PC World has given Mozilla’s e-mail program a shaken-down cruise and just like Mikey, they like it. There are other news stories today carrying rumors of what is to come with this free tool, and if the rumors prove to be true, Outlook could be in for some serious competition. Read more about this free program at PC World.

New Opera Browser Talks, Just Like Mister Ed

Opera has released a beta version of their browser that will allow you to use voice commands to launch tasks and the browser can read text from web pages according to CNET. Other improvements include better RSS features and cleaner menus with better support for printing. The software is not yet named but we have a suggestion, in recognition of the browsers’ speech capabilities and to honor television’s talking horse the browser could be named Mister Ed. You can try the beta version available at the Opera web site, but remember it is a beta version and bugs could cause conflicts with your system.

Apple Will Patent iPod Technology

Apple has applied for a patent that according to a report in CNET, “…allow a portable media player to detect when it is falling and then stop reading or writing to the hard drive.” This would help minimize the damage when an iPod is accidentally dropped. It is similar to a feature used in notebooks and laptops and would be a welcome addition to on any gadget with a hard drive.

Listen To The Tech Guy and Learn

Leo Laporte is The Tech Guy on KFI and he answers questions on all thing digital on KFI AM640 in the Los Angeles area and on the Internet weekends from 12-3 pm PDT. Leo has a ‘best-of’ compilation of calls from the last year scheduled to air on December 25th and will return live on the 26th.

Apple and PC Tip of the day will return on Monday.

What is DLP?

Wikipedia has this definition for DLP: “Digital Light Processing (initializedDLP) is a technology used in projectors and projection televisions. DLP was originally developed by Texas Instruments, and they remain the sole manufacturer of such technology, though many licensees market products based on their chipsets.

In DLP projectors, the image is created by microscopically small mirrors laid out in a matrix on a semiconductor chip, known as a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD). Each mirror represents one pixel in the projected image. The number of mirrors corresponds to the resolution of the projected image: 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x720 matrices are some common DMD sizes. These mirrors can be repositioned rapidly to reflect light either through the lens or on to a heatsink.”

Happy Holidays!

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Google is being pro-active and is blocking searches that are a result of the latest hack attack, Santy.A/. PC World reports that the impacts of this worm are still being assessed and that the target of this attack is a web server using phpBB software. The host of this website, is not using this software so have no fear while surfing here.

More Problems Reported With OS X 10.3.7 Update

MacFixIt readers are reporting more problems with the latest update 10.3.7 recently released by Apple. While I haven’t experienced any of these issues, some of the problems associated with this update besides the aforementioned FireWire issues are CD and DVDs that fail to mount and or will not eject. To read about suggestions for a work around visit MacFixIt’s great web site.

Turn Your iPod Into Remote Control Device

Belkin will release a Bluetooth device early next year that will transform your iPod into a remote control unit for your entertainment center. The iPod will serve as a storage device and controller capable of delivering songs wirelessly to your entertainment center from distance up to 30 feet according to a report in CNET.

New Music Service Targets Open Source Customers

There is a new music download service on the block and this one is targeting open source customers according to a report carried by Desktoplinux.com/. Mindawn is the concept and of TheKompany.com and the startup company is claiming that digital rights management restrictions are minimal. Open source users will find files for downloading include most “lossless” formats.

Open Source Updates

Secunia released the following bulletins for open source users: Mandrake Linux 9.x to 10.1 (1, 2, 3, 4), Fedora Core 2/3, Redhat Linux, KDE 3.x/, Debian GNU/Linux 3.0, and SuSE Linux.

Apple Tip of The Day: Translation With Sherlock

The tip of the day for Apple users is a handy translation tool that is hidden within the Sherlock application. This tool will translate text from and to a wide range of languages. Find this handy tool by following this path: Applications/ Sherlock and select Channel from the toolbar and click on translation. A window will open and you can begin translating that message to friends in Germany in their own language.

PC Tip of The Day: Translations for PCs

PC and Apple people can also use the translation tools at Google. From Google’s home page click on the ‘more’ option and then click on the Translate tool icon. Then you can access the same type of translation tool that Mac-heads use in their Sherlock application.

What is Bluetooth?

According to CE Windows.net Bluetooth is, “A wireless protocol that is used to communicate from one device to another in a small area usually less than 30 feet. It uses the 2.4 ghz spectrums to communicate a 1-megabit connection between two devices for both a voice channel and a 768k data channel. The Bluetooth specification calls for different profiles such as voice and serial emulation to be used by devices to communicate. However, interoperability needs to be tested to confirm compatibility of the higher-level protocols that use Bluetooth to communicate between devices. Version 1.0 requires users to register the connection between the 2 devices while version 1.1 allows a Bluetooth device to communicate with up to 8 devices.”

Please visit our other site: www.californiafairsandfestivals.com

PC World has conducted tests and determined that two-security company’s products are causing conflicts with the updated Windows Service Pack 2 package from Microsoft. The tests on Symantec's Norton Internet Security 2005 and McAfee's Internet Security Suite 2005 revealed that XP was displaying false information regarding the status of these security systems; indicating that the programs are up-to-date when they are in actually needing an update.

Nature is Tech Person of the Year

According to CNET, Nature takes the award for tech person of the year, and biology and environmental sciences are the hot subjects of the day. As a computer geek and a graduate student in biological sciences, this award is one that I can get behind!

Blinding You With Science

Speaking of science, a source we aren’t normally citing in this column carries a story uniquely related to the tech news, the Radiological Society of North America reports that radiologists are using their iPods to store medical images. Using the iPod as an external storage source is a valid argument for those searching for reasons to add an iPod to their growing list of tech toys.

Open Source Tip: Get Those Last Minute Cards Done

The tip for open source users is from Tux.org/ is a how-to on creating last holiday cards and is aimed at those of us who like to think we work better under pressure. Read all about it at Tux.org’s web site.

Apple Tip of The Day: Hide the Dock

I love the Dock feature of OS X, but sometimes it gets in the way of what I’m trying to do. If this happens to you, or the Dock just bugs you, you can hide the Dock by changing the preference settings. Open Systems Preferences and click on the Dock icon, then you can check the box to automatically hide and show the Dock.

PC Tip of The Day: Backup or Restore Registry

Before attempting to remove stubborn spyware or viruses, you should visit Microsoft’s Support site to learn about the subject of today’s PC tip, backing-up your Windows Registry. If you don’t have a backup of your Registry, you should take the time to read this how-to article and protect you and your PC in the event of the unexpected.

Open Source Security Updates

The following bulletins were released by Secunia for open source systems: Fedora Core 2/3 (1, 2, 3), Gentoo Linux 1.x (1, 2), Redhat Linux (1, 2), SuSE Linux 7.x to 9.2 (1, 2), Linux Kernel 2.6.x/.

What is the Registry?

Wikipedia has this definition for Registry: “The registry is a database used to store settings and options for the operating system, especially for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, software, users, and preferences of the PC. Whenever a user makes changes to "Control Panel" settings, or file associations, system policies, or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the registry. (Taken from infoAnarchy.org/wiki :) Many optimization and "hacking" tools are available to modify this portion of the Windows operating system.

On Windows 9x computers, an older installation can have a very large registry that slows down the computer's startup and can make the computer unstable. The registry can be edited on Windows XP by clicking start, run and typing 'regedit' and clicking 'OK'. BEWARE: editing the registry can cause irreversible damage unless you are sure of what you are doing.”