Multiple Platforms.com
Our goal is to inform you about the tech news, tools, and techniques to help your Apple, Windows, and Linux operating systems work together for you!

Please visit our web site for the links to these stories and more.

Tech News Blog
5.11.05
Patch For Microsoft Important
The latest security update released by Microsoft for Windows XP is ‘important’ and you can learn more about the issue by checking out the following from CNET:
Fix in for Windows flaw
Microsoft patches "important" security hole in the OS and publishes two early alerts in its new advisory program. CNET News.com - Security

New Operating System for Mobile Devices
PC World has a mini-review of Mobile 5, the new operating system released by Microsoft for PDAs and smart phones. Although some have declared the PDA market DOA, Microsoft seems to be providing users with reasons not to throw out the Treo just now and the added tweaks for smart phones won’t hurt sales of the new system either; read the story at PC World:
Microsoft Unwraps Windows Mobile 5
New handheld OS offers increased reliability, improved hardware support, and a host of new features. PCWorld.com - Latest News Stories

Brakes Put on Googlecelerator
The Midas touch that has been so instrumental in the success of Google has apparently failed as the search giant stopped users from downloading their latest software, Accelerator. In a CNET article, Google claims it is a matter of capacity or a lack of the same. Read more about the issue from CNET:
Google puts brakes on Accelerator
Company stops downloads of new Web software, blaming capacity issues. However, some have complained it compromises privacy. CNET News.com

Advice for Widget Monitoring
MacFixIt is an excellent source for advice on anything effecting Apples and they have suggestions for keeping tabs on your Widgets. Remember, if you are just using the Widgets that are supplied by Apple you are not at risk and if follow the directions provided yesterday regarding preference settings you are safe from crackers:
Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) #14: More on managing Widgets; Another CD/DVD burning fix; iSync problem; Classic startup; DHCP; more
Another method for monitoring your Widgets folder Yesterday, in our coverage of an emerging issue where malicious, or at least annoying Widgets could be installed, without the user's… MacFixIt

Open Source Updates
Secunia released these updates for open source users: Mandriva, Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat, Sun Solaris, and Gentoo (1, 2).

Tip of the Day from Multiple Platforms: Hot Web Site
If there is a Cinderella story for startup web sites then ipodlounge.com wouldn’t require an audition to grab the lead role; the site is still gaining visitors and when you host a site that highlights the hottest music player on the market it is understandable. If you want to know about iPods, the ipodlounge.com is the place for you to hang. If you are having iTunes annoyances, check out the solutions we have found in response to visitors questions.

What is a Widget?
Apple’s new Widget could be the first crack in security for Mac owners; what is a widget?
Wikipedia provides this on that: “A widget (or control) is a graphical interface component that a computer user interacts with, such as a window or a text box. Widgets are sometimes qualified as virtual to distinguish them from their physical counterparts, e.g. virtual buttons that can be clicked with a mouse cursor, vs physical buttons that can be pressed with a finger. Widgets are often packaged together in widget toolkits. Programmers use widgets to build graphical user interfaces (GUIs).”