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Latest rumours say that some new cars are to be equipped
with Windows as well as windows. Microsoft said that automobiles, telephones, and
televisions are the main target markets for expanded deployment of their operating system.
Car manufacturers are to take advantage of the small Windows CE version
to develop personal information managers for the cars, which would give drivers access to
their address books and schedule with easy connectivity to laptop computers via infrared
ports. Using voice commands, a driver could check electronic mail whilst driving. Scary!
As we all know, Metallica, the Corrs, music executives and copyright lawyers are suing the
free online jukebox known as Napster. But copyright infringement is not
the only hazard computer users face when using Napster software. Network security experts
and administrators are concerned over the the online music downloads. The risk comes from
users allowing access to anonymous Web surfers who download songs to their own computers.
Network administrators also complain about jamming of corporate networks due to digital
music downloads, since an average 3 minute MP3 song takes up about 4Mb.
Napster on the other hand says that its system is safe and that there still haven't been
any security problems, despite its 20 million registered users. Napster engineers say that
their program doesn't allow 'executable' files onto the systems. The Love Bug and Melissa
computer viruses which caused havoc inside millions of computers, were launched with such
files. Napster only handles data files that carry music. So is Napster 100 percent
guaranteed to be safe? No software maker can make such claims, since no computer system is
failsafe. Whenever a computer user's IP address is known, it could summon a visit from an
intruder. These risks are inherent within high-speed connections, as they are always kept
open and connected to the Internet, unlike dial-up modems.
Apple announced several new Macs with new fashionable designs, albeit
with old processor configurations. It seems that G4 chips cannot reach above 500MHz, even
though Intel has been selling 1000MHz Pentiums for months. The new Macs still run at 400
and 500 MHz, with one model at last featuring the first ever dual processor Mac. Since the
current Mac OS does not support multiprocessing, Apple is now in the process of making the
UNIX OS run on Macs and this forthcoming OSX should be available by mid 2001.
 Apple also announced a great-looking mini computer, an 8-inch iCube,
which will come in two models, based on 450MHz or 500Mhz G4 processors. All of Apple's new
computers will now ship with a better keyboard and a proper mouse to replace the company's
much hated "hockey puck". In addition, the company announced four new iMac
systems in new colours such as indigo, ruby, sage and snow. This means that the old fruity
colours are phased out. Unfortunately, this also means that all the iMac accessories that
matched old iMac colours will now be out of style too. So, if you want to stay
fashionable, it's time to go shopping for new scanners, cameras and mice, yet again!
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