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Tell me something I didn’t know! It appears that more than 95% of email is junk, spam, error messages or viruses, according to the worlds leading email monitoring companies.. Most junk mail originates from hijacked home computers. Security firm Return Path says 99% of the computers it monitors have been taken over by spammers and virus writers, with actual computer owners unaware of the problem.

This highlights that users really have a responsibility when they connect the internet that must employ correct procedures to make sure their machine does not become converted into a spam factory.

Microsoft wants users to upgrade to the Internet Explorer 7 browser. To the point where it will make the upgrade part of its automatic updates program for Windows XP. However, they will be able to say no if they wish. Users will be urged to get the upgrade when automatic updates are downloaded.However, mindful of the bad publicity it received recently when it used its automatic updates facility to foist Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) on unsuspecting users, Microsoft will make sure that users have a clear option to refuse the IE 7 update.Instead of installing automatically, users will be presented with three options on a screen describing the benefits of IE 7. The options are the familiar Install, Don't Install and Ask Me Later buttons.Microsoft promises that clicking the Don't Install button will stop users from receiving any future prompts to upgrade to IE 7 from Microsoft.

Full story here: http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/5113/53/

America’s famous metal rock group Metallica became infamous in the eyes of mp3 fans when they fought a protracted legal battle with Napster in 2000. This was when the program Napster was allowing people to download music from each other for free. However, when the Apple iTunes Music Store launched in 2003, the band stated that the downloading of songs would "contribute to the demise of the album format," and refused to allow their songs to be sold individually. However, just recently the band has relaxed that come into the modern age as Metallica songs are now available both on Napster and in the iTunes Music Store.

This seriousely dramatic shift in policy from the band members Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo, and Lars Ulrich is said to be prompted by changes in the industry and watching the incredible number of songs sold by iTunes. Metallica's back catalog is now available on line for purchase and download and the band have added previously-unreleased tracks to their first four albums exclusively online for download.

Its official, well if it wasn’t before. I mean Microsoft is as leaky as a colander when it comes to keeping secrets, but in a leaked copy of US music rag Billboard magazine (not due on shelves until next week) Microsoft has finally told everyone that it’s building an iPod rival. Yipeeee Not!
Well as per usual articles like this are strategically aimed at getting our attention and making us look out for it to see if it is worth purchasing. However, Microsoft have said that it will run video and mp3 formats and its windows media formats and it will be releasing an end to end software for the sole purpose of migrating the data to the unit just like Itunes does with Apples Ipod. The item is called a Zune. But it looks like the Zune will interfact also with the XBOX 360, Windows Vista and XP PC’s and the Apple Mac although I’ve never known an Apple purist to contaminate their Mac with something made by Microsoft. I know heaps of Apple users running Microsoft Office 2004 but then again the are not Apple Purists.

Mobile Phone technology RAGE!!!!!!!!
Well about 4 months ago I was reading an article in one of the Sydney papers written by the ABC Television show “The Glass House” presenter Will Anderson. The article was about how he had bought a new mobile phone and it had come with all the whistles and bells. However, according to Will Anderson the phone lacked one important thing, a 10 year old who could instruct Will how to use it!!!

Its scary but we seem to be finding that technology is surpassing some our abilities to operate it. Our kids seem to be having a faster grip on the technology than we do. I thought this was a bit of nonsense (I’m 29) until the other day when arguing with Telstra that I didn’t need a new handset when I upgraded my mobile phone, found I too was looking for someone to show me how to use it. Sure I liked the options of an mp3 player, which I had on my existing phone but do I really need internet, video calling and all that crap. If I do then it aught to be easy to operate it should it not!!!!! Ok here’s the thing also how about phone reception so it can do the one thing I bought it for TOO MAKE PHONE CALLS!!!

But makers of hardware and software for mobile phones, PDA, Computers need to realize that older people and 29 year olds need to operate them easily. It doesn’t mean “dumming” them down it means making them easy to operate with out it being condescending to the operator like Microsoft Word Paper Clip was in Office 97 and 2000. Microsoft have got the level of intervention and “help” correct in the Office XP and 2003 versions. It is also said that Office 2003 is the easiest to learn of all the office suites Microsoft have ever released.

So now I am left with battling to learn how to use a new Samsung mobile phone ( won't be a problem I'm just whinging for the perpose of thise excercise), or, perhaps I should do what the sales rep at the Telstra shop suggested put the handset in a draw and put my new 3G GSM card in my old phone.

You know, what I’m doing just, I might have three different prepaid mobiles and one on a plan but they all need to be simple. If it was good enough for NASA to land numerous missions on the moon with computers with less processing power than the average calculator used in a HSC mathematic examination. Then I am happy to use the same processing power in a mobile phone that is simple, quaint and easy to use.

Windows 98, ME and Windows 2000 will not longer be supported by Microsoft. This means there will be no further security updates, no further programming resources or applications designed to run on the Windows legacy operating systems and be windows xp compatible. Its time for domestic users to look at going to windows xp if the legacy machine they are running can handle the operating system.

A legacy machine to run Xp properly will have to be over 400mhz and have at least 256mb of ram, but you could get by with 128 if your prepared to go make yourself a cup of coffee whilst waiting for it to start up. So Microsoft have released the Windows XP starter edition aimed at the older PC market it is a cut down version of XP that will boot happily on a machine with 64MB of ram and the product is aimed at low income families and developing countries, who often get ex government pcs from developed countries.for use by civilians and government agencies.

Microsoft on the cut out date for support to the legacy operating systems have released a “thin client” package called windows fundamentals which has to be operated in a client/server network situation so it will be useless in the domestic situation. This is why they have released the starter edition for home users.

The Sydney Morning Herald says that Adobe's Dreamweaver is the gold standard for creating good-looking websites from scratch. The $600 or thereabouts price tag is a sound investment if you plan to spend a lot of time manipulating the HTML code used to build web pages, but it's a lot of money to pay for the occasional foray into cyberspace.
But a reader from the Central Coast Seniors Computer Club suggested they papers editors and the readers look at look at NVU, pronounced N-view. It's a freeware web design program based on the Mozilla technology used by the Firefox browser. You can download it at http://www.nvu.com and there are versions for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
Although NVU is free, it's an impressive, though still evolving, competitor to Dreamweaver. The software appears to have been designed so people can get reasonable websites running quickly without having to learn the mysteries of HTML. One of the downfalls according to article in the paper is that it doesn't make easy for slightly more confident web designers to get into the code and hand-tweak things. This definitely important for hiend developers and after I used the program myself I found I quickly went back to dreamweaver.

I found myself agreeing with the articles writer the package does seem unfinished but like most open source products, they tend to be in a state of flux and constant evolution. It will one day soon be a serious contender in the web creation industry. But not yet!

Full story at http://www.smh.com.au/news/home-office/cyberspace-for-peanuts/2006/07/12/1152637733264.html

According to the information week website in the same week that Microsoft discontinued support for its aged Windows 98 and Windows Millennium operating systems it rolled out thin-client software that turns older PCs into cousins of ones running Windows XP SP2.
Once code named "Eiger," the "Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs" software gives nearly-obsolete systems some of Windows XP's security technologies, notably Windows Firewall and Automatic Updates.
Microsoft made it clear that Fundamentals is not a true operating system. Although it's based on Windows XP Embedded SP2 it "is designed to work with the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection client or third-party clients such as the Citrix ICA client," the company said on its Web site. Essentially, Fundamentals morphs the PC into a thin-client that runs most of its software from a server.
Fundamentals is available only to customers of Microsoft's Software Assurance (SA) volume licensing program, which gives users update rights in return for annual payments over a two- or three-year period.
This means whilst it won’t really be available to domestic users it may actually decrease the 3 yearly rollover we see in corporate computing environments as PC’s age.
Full story at http://www.informationweek.com/software/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=190400424&subSection=Hosted+Software

According to the beta news website … Microsoft have withdrawn a new free application it placed on its site for download to allow people to lock of portions of the their hard drives and keep files secret.
Full story below….
Following a barrage of criticism from security experts and IT administrators, Microsoft has withdrawn its new Private Folder application. The program was introduced last week as a free download for those who verify their operating system as genuine through Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage Program.
Private Folder was designed to hide data from the hard drive in addition to protecting it with a password. However, the application quickly drew concern from administrators who feared users would lose their password and not be able to unlock their files. In addition, parents voiced worry that kids could use Private Folder to hide content they download.

The recent theft of a laptop in America from the Veterans Affairs department has highlighted the data security issues that laptops do cause to business trying to protect privacy and intellectual property.

Laptops are the highest prized items on thief’s lists. Thousands of mobile phones, PDA palmtop computers, tablet PC’s and Laptops constantly are stolen, misappropriated or lost each year. This costs not only millions in replacing hardware but possibly billions around the world in lost productivity and intellectual property.