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If you’re at all tuned in to tech news you know that Microsoft released 3 critical and a 4th important patch to XP last Tuesday. Here’s a quick description of the areas of each of the fixes from eWeek. Embedded in the story are links to the bulletins from Microsoft as well as a more detailed description and analysis of the issues.

PlanMaker from SoftMaker is in beta now. It’s a spreadsheet that’s compatible with Microsoft’s Excel and is available on Windows, Pocket PC, Handheld PC and Linux. Free for now.

Internet Explorer has a default of 4 maximum simultaneous connections. That’s just way too low.

Microsoft’s KnowledgeBase article on this (183110) tells you how to change this. Modify the following two keys in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet&nbspSettings: MaxConnectionsPerServer and MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server.

PC Magazine has this mini-review of the Philips KEY019 Key Ring Camcorder. It’s got 128MB onboard and it’s a camcorder, a 2MP digital camera and an MP3 player. It’s pricey at $249 but if you’re a gadget freak you’ve gotta have it.

OSVBD.org is a free and independent repository for detailed information about security exposures and vulnerabilities.

From the “About Us” page:

OSVDB is an independent and open source database created by and for the security community. The goal of the project is to provide accurate, detailed, current, and unbiased technical information on security vulnerabilities. The project will promote greater, more open collaboration between companies and individuals, eliminate redundant works, and reduce expenses inherent with the development and maintenance of in-house vulnerability databases.

BBC News reports in this story. Here’s an excerpt:

Einstein proposed in 1916 that space and time form a structure that can be curved by the presence of a body.

Gravity Probe B will test how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth, and how the Earth’s rotation twists and drags space-time around with it.

I found out about this site from Leo Laporte’s Weblog. It “maps” the news, grouping it by area (Tech, Business, World, Health, etc) and color codes each story section by age. You can click on any headline and get the full story.

TechLive reports here that you can buy a Creative Muvo MP3 player for about $200 and inside is a Hitachi hard drive that sells for $500

Here’s a partial list of cameras that’ll accept the drive:

Canon EOS 300D (Digital Rebel)
Canon EOS Kiss Digital
Canon G5
Kodak DCS Pro 14n
Minolta DiMAGE A1
Nikon D100
Nikon D1H
Olympus Camedia C-5060

The article has a pointer to a more comprehensive list.

(This is really pretty deeply technical and I’m not going into a long explanation about it. If you understand what I’m talking about, fine. If not, don’t worry about it.)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters]
“IsDomainMaster”=”FALSE”

Also, the WebClient service (used with WebDAV to browse and share files via IE) can slow browsing of Network Neighborhood. Turn it off by stopping the WebClient service and see if it impacts on your operation.

PC Magazine reports in this article that the Bagel worm exploits the vulnerability talked about in Microsoft’s MS03-040 update without requiring the user to do anything other than view the email, even in a preview pane.. If you haven’t applied the update, do it now or switch to an email client like Thunderbird or Mulberry or PINE.