Microsoft can stop selling older operating systems, and it can even stop supporting them, but that doesn't mean that customers won't still use them. Even though Microsoft said this week that it will stop distributing Windows 98 at the end of this month, a new study shows that a substantial number of businesses, both large and small, are still using it. The study, released this week by technology consultant AssetMetrix, found that more than 80 percent of companies still have some machines using Windows 95 or Windows 98. Of those companies still using the older operating systems, an average of...

Windows Server 2003 for 64-Bit Extended Systems can provide higher performance for both 32-bit and 64-bit applications running on Dell PoweEdge Servers built on Intel Extended Memory 64-bit Technology (EM64T). The underlying architecture of Windows Server 2003 for 64-bit Extended Systems is based on 64-bit extensions to the industry-standard x86 instruction set, allowing today's 32-bit applications to run natively on 64-bit extended processors. At the same time, new 64-bit applications are executed in 64-bit mode, which processes more data per clock cycle, allows greater access to memory, and speeds numeric calculations. The end result is a platform that leverages the...

The systems of the 1960's were also batch processing systems, but they were able to take better advantage of the computer's resources by running several jobs at once. So operating systems designers developed the concept of multiprogramming in which several jobs are in main memory at once; a processor is switched from job to job as needed to keep several jobs advancing while keeping the peripheral devices in use. For example, on the system with no multiprogramming, when the current job paused to wait for other I/O operation to complete, the CPU simply sat idle until the I/O finished. The...

A lot of time and effort has gone into making Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional easier to install and use. Take, for example, the improved Setup wizard that helps to make installation as pain-free as possible. This includes a new Dynamic Update feature, which lets the operating system update itself with new drivers, fixes, or other code updates directly from the Internet. With Windows XP installed, your startup times will be faster than they were with other Windows operating systems. Configuring a fresh install is also speedier thanks to a Transfer Files and Settings wizard, which lets...

Toshiba Research Europe has demonstrated what it claims is the world's first reliable automated quantum cryptography system. The system, which has run continuously since it was set in motion last week, relies on single photons to transmit an untappable key over standard optical fibers, the company said. It is capable of delivering thousands of keys a second and can be effective over distances of more than 100 kilometers.

Hundreds of buyers of "Half-Life 2," the hotly anticipated shooting game released last week, are reporting in developer Valve Software's user forums that they feel queasy and often develop a bad headache after playing the game for as little as an hour.

The Internet may soon see two new top-level domains: .jobs and .mobi. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) said Monday that its board had voted unanimously to begin discussions with the companies that have submitted bids - and a $45,000 application fee each--to operate those domain name suffixes.

A survey of office workers in London found that almost three quarters would reveal their network-access password in exchange for a bar of chocolate. The survey was conducted by the organizers of Infosecurity Europe 2004, a security exhibition to be held in London next week. They offered 172 commuters at Liverpool Street Station a bar of chocolate if they would reveal their corporate password.

I am regularly asked what average Internet users can do to ensure their security. My first answer is usually, "Nothing - you're screwed." But that's not true, and the reality is more complicated. You're screwed if you do nothing to protect yourself, but there are many things you can do to increase your security on the Internet. Two years ago, I published a list of PC security recommendations.

Postini, the industry's leading provider of email security and management for the enterprise, today announced that only 12 percent of all email messages processed in November were legitimate, a two percent decrease from last month. Of the 6.9 billion messages processed by Postini, 88 percent were malicious attacks such as spam, phishing, viruses, and directory harvest attacks.