Faster, smaller, cheaper and more profitable
Intel introduced a new range of enhanced high-volume Pentium 4E processors this week, with small but significant benefits. In the long term, buyers will get faster PCs for less money, while Intel could make bigger profits.
Schofield column
Guardian Online

Music downloads and digital rights management: if buying a player, make sure it works with the service(s) you want to use, and vice versa. Apple iPod battery failures? Getting better performance with Windows XP. Backchat: EventSounds.com is back up and running.
Ask Jack

Mobile doubts
I don't hate mobile phones, but I have doubts about the mobile phone industry. It shouldn't be painful trying to use a mobile abroad.....
Schofield column
Guardian Online

Your Amazing Brain; Topix is a good place for news fiends; Microsoft follows he crowd with a popup-blocking toolbar, and Yahoo lauches Yahoo Labs; European Schoolnet events; Net squirrel offers presentations for downloading; Victorian robot times. Six of the best: Social networks.
Web watch

Tagging goes global
VeriSign has been awarded a contract to provide the ONS (Object Naming Service) for RFID tags. It plans to run it on the same servers as the internet's DNS (Domain Name System).
Guardian Online

Is open source being oversold?
Everyone now accepts the benefits of the open source approach, but it also has potential drawbacks.
Schofield column
Guardian Online


Random words in spam; sorting e-mail in Outlook Express; dialler attack; installing a new Windows Startup sound; taking your address book when you leave AOL.
Ask Jack

OnSpeed speeds up your Web browsing, and while it isn't a replacement for broadband, dial-up users could find it worth trying.
Review

Casino rewards total loyalty
Harrah's uses a loyalty card that pays back points and "comps" in exchange for the ability to track your gambling habits.
Guardian Online

"It was not a rational buy."
The Mac was launched 20 years ago, and while the launch advert was brilliant, sales flopped.....
Schofield column
Guardian Online

Phishing warning: an unfixed bug in Microsoft's Internet explorer means you can't trust links in e-mail, and you can't trust the address bar to tell you where you are -- as customers of a large British bank have recently learned. Also, tracking paperwork with bar codes, connecting wirelessly to the garden shed, and finding an upgrade to the antique Schedule+.
Ask Jack

Mars today -- with the first 360 degree panorama; The Saddam Hussein Sourcebook online; making molecules out of balloons; free legal advice in the UK; Microsoft community sites with built-in blogging, and the Goat Game that teaches kids about recycling. Six of the best: Chinese New Year.
Web watch

Delivering the goods
Ten tips to improve your Google searches.
Guardian Online

Happy birthday to GNU
It's 20 years this week since Richard Stallman started to develop a free operating system called GNU (Gnu's Not Unix) though it ended up being called Linux.
Schofield column
Guardian Online

Media on the go
Microsoft boss Bill Gates was expected to show off a portable video/music player during his opening CES keynote last night -- the same as last year.
What's New

Is it worth asking Metronomy for a free PC? Should you buy the Home or Pro version of Windows XP? What happens after Microsoft stops supporting Windows 98 and Windows 98SE on January 16? What can you do when AOL blocks your e-mail?
Ask Jack