A big batch of patches: Microsoft Corp. says it has distributed about 106 million copies of its major security update for the Windows XP operating system.
Microsoft completed work on the update, called Service Pack 2, more than two months ago. It has since been gradually distributing the big fix through automatic and manual downloads and via CDs.
About 80 million of those copies have gone to consumers or small businesses who chose to let Microsoft automatically deliver updates and security fixes as they became available.
The company initially said it hoped to deliver 100 million automatic downloads by the end of October. Barry Goffe, a Microsoft group product manager, said it’s hard to say if the company will meet that goal, but it will at least come very close.
Microsoft has metered the downloads out slowly, to avoid clogging networks and to monitor for any unexpected problems.
A new king of the file-sharing hill: Kazaa’s long-standing position as the most popular online file-sharing software appears to be over.
Last month, the daily average of file-swappers on the FastTrack peer-to-peer network, which includes Kazaa and related programs, was surpassed for the first time by users on the eDonkey/Overnet network, according to online tracking firm BayTSP Inc.
EDonkey/Overnet averaged 2.54 million users a day while FastTrack averaged 2.48 million, the firm said. Kazaa users make up the largest proportion of FastTrack, said BayTSP spokesman Jim Graham.
Graham said there has been a steady decline in Kazaa users and a commensurate rise in eDonkey users since BayTSP began monitoring file-sharing networks 18 months ago for piracy on behalf of film and music companies.
Kazaa quickly became the most popular file-sharing software following the demise of the original Napster network, which shut down in 2001 after losing court battles with the music industry.
PDAs are MIA: Sharp Electronics Corp. plans to stop selling its Linux-based hand-held computer in the United States, another sign of the slowing market for personal digital assistants.
The New Jersey-based subsidiary of Sharp Corp. said the company will continue to sell PDAs in its home market of Japan but “has made a business decision to cycle out of business development activities for the Zaurus SL6000” in the U.S. market.
Sharp, which introduced its Zaurus PDA in 2002, did not further explain its decision. However, analyst research shows that Linux-based organizers have not caught on with consumers in a market dominated by handhelds running operating systems from PalmSource Inc. and Microsoft Corp.
Also, sales of basic PDAs are slowing down while sales of its smart-phone cousins are rising. Smart phones are handhelds that combine cell phone and PDA organizer features.
The power of trust: A quarter of online Americans have taken advantage of one of the Internet’s true powers: the ability to let users collectively decide whether to trust a product, service or individual.
Such reputation systems are found on sites like eBay, where members rate fellow buyers and sellers, and Amazon.com, where customers review books and other items. Other sites are devoted to rating consumer products, movies and even schoolteachers.
According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 26 percent of adult Internet users have posted such a rating. More experienced and active users were more likely to have done so, as were men and younger adults.
“The more voices that are in the mix, … the better off everybody is,” said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew group. “There’s more wisdom in groups than there are in individuals no matter how expert they are.”
Associated Press
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