Sun Patches 7 Critical Java Runtime Bugs
Secunia labels JRE bugs "highly critical"; no word on possible exploits.

Microsoft Likely To Break Cycle, Patch Early
An "extremely critical" threat may cause Microsoft to release a patch before its next scheduled round of software patches.

Windows Vista Beta 1: A Guided Tour
The goal of Windows Vista is to give users new and better views of your data. Here's an extensive review of how close Windows Vista beta 1 is to achieving that goal.

First Windows Vista Beta Could Ship Wednesday
Microsoft is poised to ship an early beta version of its newly re-christened Vista operating system to its key developers, say reports. Microsoft is mum.

How To Survive A Windows 2003 Cluster Crash
The nightmare scenario: You bring down your Windows Server 2003 cluster nodes for maintenance and boom, the cluster explodes into a million pieces. Here's some advice for the day when you hear that eerie whistle of a cluster bomb about to land.

WinXP SP2 Without Tears
Installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 is more than just a good idea. Here's how to successfully install this OS upgrade quickly and easily.

Windows 2000 Still Dominates Enterprises
Nearly half of all business PCs still run Windows 2000, the aging Microsoft operating system that's moving into extended support at the end of June, an asset-monitoring software vendor says.

Microsoft Takes On RFID Data Management
Senior VP Flessner calls making RFID available inexpensively and plentifully from a Windows perspective a "super-important play."

When Worms Meet Trojans
A hybrid worm known variously as Eyeveg.d, Bugbear.b and Lanieca.b speads itself like a worm but carries a Trojan payload—and security companies say this sort of malware will only become more popular.

Borland Sketches Roadmap for JBuilder
"Borland Software Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a roadmap for its Java development environment, saying that it plans to introduce two new JBuilder products by the first half of next year."

AMD Launches Dual Core Athlons
AMD has followed Intel into the dual core chip market, specifically targeting digital media "prosumers."

Windows Servers Gain Traction Over Unix
The traditional dominance of Unix in the server market appears threatened by a surge in Windows' sales, says a server market survey.

Microsoft Posts Longhorn Code
Developers get a look at enhancements such as online video support and a new security offering included in the next version of Windows.

Intel Introduces Dual-Core Pentiums
Intel has formally launched its dual-core Pentium D processors, promising to ship a million of the chips by the end of the year.

Apple, Intel Cozying Up
Although nothing definite has been established, Apple is reportedly in talks with Intel about using its chips for the Mac.

micro-C++ Debuts
"In a bid to ease the burden of programmers trying to write software that can take full advantage of dual-core and multi-threading processors, a Canadian computer-science professor has developed a set of extensions to the popular C++ programming language."

AMD Moves into Consumer Electronics
AMD's new Geode LX800 processor, a 533 MHz chip designed for set-top boxes and handheld devices, puts the company in competition with embedded chipmakers such as ARM.

Sun Changes Tune on Open Source Java
The Apache Foundation has launched a new development effort, dubbed Project Harmony, to build an open source version of Java. Although Sun executives initially expressed support, James Gosling has struck a discordant note, calling the project "destructive."

Avalon, Indigo Betas Released
Microsoft is previewing two key pieces of its development platform for Longhorn: the Avalon presentation subsystem and the Indigo web services framework. There's also an updated WinFX SDK.

Microsoft Security Alert Service Debuts
"Microsoft on Wednesday posted its first security advisory since it debuted a security alert service last week, but downplayed the threat posed by the new TCP/IP vulnerability."

No Love for IPv6
Nobody cares about IPv6, an IPv6 vendor reports: "Less than seven percent [of respondents] consider IPv6 very important to achieving their IT goals...with few respondents having current plans for IPv6 migration," Juniper Networks found in a study.

Netscape 8.0 Launches
"Netscape on Thursday launched version 8.0 of its Web browser, promising better security and the ability to switch between rival browsers Internet Explorer and Firefox."

SourceForge Surpasses 100,000 Projects
SourceForge, the repository for open source development projects, now hosts more than 100,000 projects and one million registered users.

Tiger Slightly Changes Stripes
Apple has released an update to Mac OS 10.4 ("Tiger"), including bug fixes and networking enhancements.

Microsoft Launches Desktop Search
Microsoft has made its MSN Search Toolbar officially available.

A Hole in Hyper-Threading
A security flaw in Intel's Hyper-Threading technology may allow unpriveleged users to steal passwords on local machines.

Zend, Oracle Team Up
PHP is coming to Oracle with the Zend Core for Oracle, a free download slated for later this year.

Microsoft And Sun Partner on Identity Specs
Microsoft and Sun Microsystems unveiled jointly developed specifications that will enable Web single sign-on between Sun's Solaris operating system and Java Enterprise System and Microsoft's Windows Server.

Game Developers Conference Europe Scheduled
The Game Developers Conference Europe (GDCE) will take place Tuesday, Aug. 30 through Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 at London's Le Meridien Hotel.

IBM Backs Geronimo
IBM's acquisition of Gluecode Software, which offers a software stack based on the open source Apache Geronimo application server, pits Big Blue against JBoss. It's yet to be seen how IBM will position Geronimo in relation to its own commercial WebSphere offerings.

Windows Mobile 5.0 Debuts
Microsoft has released Windows Mobile 5.0, adding more customization options, persistent memory storage, and support for hard drives and USB 2.0.

PDAs Down, Smartphones Up
"Market research firm IDC released a study Wednesday showing that PDAs sales slumped for the fifth consecutive quarter while sales of converged devices are soaring."

Identity Theft Centered in U.S.
A new report suggests that identity theft occurs seven times more frequently in the U.S. than in other industrialized nations.

The Lowdown On Longhorn
In sessions at WinHEC and in interviews with Microsoft officials, CMP Pipeline Editor Scot Finnie got some deep insight into the technical details of the upcoming Longhorn operating system.

Wireless Developers Await Tools
A survey from Evans Data finds that most wireless developers would readily switch languages or tools in search of greater efficiency; dissatisfaction with existing mobile device emulators is particularly high.

It May Not Be Too Late
The Time Traveler Convention was held on May 7 at MIT. Conference organizer Amal Dorai reports: "Unfortunately, we had no confirmed time travelers visit us." …Yet.

Mac OS X Dashboard Poses Security Risk
A feature in Safari may render users of Apple's latest OS X upgrade, "Tiger," vulnerable to malicious web site owners.

Al Gore Gets a Webby
Vint Cerf will present Al Gore with a lifetime achievement award for his role in fostering the growth of the Internet during three decades as a lawmaker.

Apple Patches Panther
Apple has released a "highly critical" update to Panther (Mac OS X 10.3.9), patching 20 separate security vulnerabilities.