Miller's Choice is a weekly selection of the top news, features and commentary by Ziff Davis journalists. Edited by Michael J. Miller, Executive Vice President and Editorial Director of Ziff Davis Media as well as Editor-in-Chief of PC Magazine, this copyrighted material is offered with the understanding that any fair usage will give attribution to the source.
Week in review for November 22: On the business front, probably the big news of the week seems to be that Oracle's bid for Peoplesoft is coming to a head. On Saturday, Oracle announced that it had received 60 percent of outstanding shares (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1730433,00.asp), but Peoplesoft's board still says it will fight on (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1730513,00.asp). For the long term, though, the big story may be the question of how far Microsoft is willing to push its intellectual property claims, and whether they will go after Linux users. Microsoft was on the defensive this week when asked about CEO Steve Ballmer's comments about IP claims against Linux (http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1729567,00.asp). Some people took it to be Ballmer warning customers; Microsoft says Ballmer was just citing a third-party study. The author of study refuted Ballmer's interpretration (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1730190,00.asp), saying other operating systems may be just as vulnerable. It's become a big issue because Microsoft, which had earlier extended its intellectual property indemnification coverage (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1723354,00.asp), has been pushing for more patents, something that worries open source advocates. We saw the usual number of threats surfacing this week: both a couple of new holes for Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1728838,00.asp) and a new Linux "phishing" attack (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,,1730352,00.asp). On the product front, games took center stage with Nintendo shipping its new DS handheld (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1730086,00.asp) and Half-Life 2 popping up for the PC (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1729874,00.asp and http://pc.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3136772&did=1) We released our reader satisfaction study for cameras (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1729855,00.asp) - - showing a clear favorite among our readers. And here's more from the Ziff Davis websites and publications: _________PC Magazine______________________________ CHOOSE YOUR NEXT PC http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1724798,00.asp Whether you're a hard-core gamer, a frequent business traveler, or a bargain hunter, PC Magazine has just the PC for you. We review 23 desktops and 24 notebooks and test them using our new set of benchmarks. SUPER SCANNERS http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1729237,00.asp While you wait for the paperless office and flying pigs, take a look at five of the best devices for digitizing hard output. _________ExtremeTech______________________________ EXTREMETECH'S MASTER MODDER http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1729705,00.asp Check out our new column on case-modding, from the capable hands of Russ Caslis, author of the ExtremeTech book, Going Mod. 64-BIT SHUTTLE SFF MAKES GREAT GAMING RIG http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1729071,00.asp We review the first Athlon 64 (socket 939) small form factor PC, and compare it with an equivalent Pentium 4. Along the way we discover where Intel falls short, and where AMD lags. _________eWEEK____________________________________ NEW SOBER WORM ON THE LOOSE http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1729822,00.asp A new version of the Sober worm is having quite a bit of success infecting users in Europe through the use of social engineering. eWEEK has the story. ORACLE, IBM SPAR OVER RFID SENSORS http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1729708,00.asp Like IBM, Oracle has launched a special arm to handle both RFID and other sensors. But Oracle's lower-profile approach to the technology is quite distinct from IBM's new $250 million division. And other huge vendors such as HP, Sun and SAP are also making moves. _________Microsoft Watch__________________________ IS MICROSOFT RATTLING THE LINUX-PATENT SABERS? http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1729352,00.asp Did Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer say that Microsoft believes Linux violates 200-plus software patents? Or was Ballmer simply citing a study claiming that same fact? In either case, the bombastic Ballmer found himself on the Linux hot seat, yet again, for remarks he made to a group of Asian government leaders in Singapore on Thursday. Get the details with Microsoft Watch. _________Baseline_________________________________ PANAMA TECHNICIANS FOUND GUILTY http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1397,1729470,00.asp Two radiology technicians have been found guilty of homicide in applying "super-radiation" to 12 patients at the National Cancer Institute of Panama in 2000 and 2001. The doses were calculated using software from a U.S. company, as first reported by Baseline in March. _________CIO Insight______________________________ CAN IT SAVE THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY? http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1730031,00.asp Everyone agrees that the healthcare system is gravely ill. IT can help, but only if the industry's competing interests can be realigned. CIO Insight takes a look. _________1UP______________________________________ FRAG DOLL DREAM DATE http://1up.com/do/feature?cId=3136154 1UP.com's Seanbaby unravels the mysteries of the female gamer's heart. Follow them on their gamer's dream date. _________Newsletter Information_________________________________ The e-mail address for your subscription is: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNSUBSCRIBE from Miller's Choice, click here: http://www.pcmag.com/unsubscribe_newsletter/0,4223,,00.asp?n=81&type=u&[EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE to Miller's Choice or other PCMag.com newsletters, click here: http://www.pcmag.com/newsletter_manage/ Copyright (c) 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Ziff Davis Media Inc., 28 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016 Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis Media is prohibited, except that journalists are free to use any of the summary descriptions above as long as they cite the author and source, and, in the case of online use, as long as they include the link back to the actual story. PC Magazine, ExtremeTech, eWEEK, CIO Insight, Baseline, Microsoft Watch, 1UP, Sync and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Ziff Davis Media.
