AVG AntiVirus Free Edition 8 AVG has released a new version of their free antivirus software: AVG AntiVirus Free Edition 8 (Download) - So far, I'm impressed. I have it running on two Vista machines and two XP machines. It does have a slightly larger RAM footprint, as it includes some new features, as shown in the screenshot below.

SP3: My Results, So Far I've installed SP3 on three different XP computers, and I haven't run into any problems.

DRM: The 8-Track of Our Time? Ed Bott: DRM: The 8-Track of Our Time?

Windows XP SP3 Download Link You may now download the final version of Windows XP SP3 from Microsoft. This is a direct download link: SP3 for Windows XP. (316 MB)

Lost Last night's episode of Lost may have been the best one ever. It definitely ranks among the top five. If you missed it, you can watch it at Hulu.com at any time.

Is XP Really Dead? It would seem that Microsoft cannot make up its mind on whether to kill Windows XP on June 30, as previously announced.

In other news, John Dvorak whines about Vista. I don't think I've ever read a single article of his that I agree with. Out of the eleven points he discusses in this article, I would say that numbers 1 and 6 have some validity. The others are debatable, if not bogus.

SP3 on April 21 ZDNet: Microsoft XP SP3 on track to RTM on April 21

DVD Ripping Tools Lifehacker: The Five Best DVD Ripping Tools

Shift Windows into High Gear PC World: Shift Any Version of Windows into High Gear

Natural Causes of Cancer Slate: Why Do We Focus on the Least Important Causes of Cancer? - "In the end, admitting that most cancers have natural causes rightly shifts the focus on cancer prevention away from individual consumers. That's a good thing, since in the end, you can't always shop your way to becoming cancer-free."

Turn Your iPod Touch into an iPhone Lifehacker: Turn Your iPod Touch into an iPhone - It may work, but I would like to see a cheap microphone and a turn-key software solution, bundled into one supported package. Is that too much to ask?

Wearable Mouse? istartedsomething: Microsoft Patent Reveals Wearable Mouse Design

How to Calibrate Your HDTV ZDNet: How to Calibrate Your HDTV

Vista Pricing Ed Bott: "Those prices are, frankly, higher than what any sane person would pay. You can get a better deal direct from Microsoft, just by installing an unlicensed copy of Windows and not activating it within the first 30 days. As I noted back in December, Microsoft will sell you a fully legal Vista Ultimate license for $199, no questions asked, as part of its "get legal" program. In fact, Microsoft's direct prices are significantly better than the suggested retail prices and practically identical to the discounted prices available from partners like Amazon."

Need a Tax Extension? IRS: Extension of Time to File Your Tax Return. I used Turbo Tax Deluxe to file my 2007 returns on Saturday.

Is Vista Dead in the Water? BetaNews: Is Vista Dead in the Water?

AP: Users Fight to Save XP

John Ellis Broome: 8 Weeks Old


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BillShrink.com BillShrink.com - A free service designed to find the best cell phone plan for you.

I used this site to confirm that I'm already using the right plan for my needs.

Friday Fun YouTube: Wilford Brimley Diabeetus Remix

How Big Should My Down Payment Be? The Simple Dollar: How Big Should My Down Payment Be?

Trent Hamm advises, "Here's what you should do, summed up in one sentence: Have at least a 20% down payment (unless you're buying an old car, then 10% is the bare minimum), but if the interest rate is over 7%, save for a bigger down payment and wait until you absolutely need the car."

Wal-Mart Exposed ABC New: The Wal-Mart Videos You Weren't Supposed to See

OS X More Expensive Than Windows? Robin Harris: Why Mac OS X Costs Twice as Much as Windows

Adobe Media Player 1.0 Adobe has released Adobe Media Player 1.0 and it is now available for download.

The interface (GUI) sucks, but there is a large selection of content, including shows from CBS, MTV and the Food Network.

"XP is Dead" Microsoft will give Windows XP the ax on June 30, 2008. The 'Save Windows XP' petition did not work. Long live Vista?

"Vista is Dead" Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, writing at eWeek.com, rings the death bell for Vista: "Goodbye Vista. It has not been fun knowing you. I predicted that Microsoft was giving up on Vista in January. It seems I was right. Microsoft's own top brass had hated Vista when it first came out, why should they expect anyone else to like it? Vista SP1 has proven to be a painful upgrade and its performance still lags behind XP SP2 and, the still unreleased XP SP3. Worse still, from a Microsoft executive's viewpoint, Windows is actually losing desktop market share to Mac OS X and Linux. Microsoft never loses desktop market share. But with Vista Microsoft is finally losing customers."

My take? It's too early to tell. There are many power users that love Vista. Further, it runs pretty well on newer hardware. If Microsoft kills XP, Vista is here to stay.

Battlestar Galactica Battlestar Galactica, Season 4, Episode 1 (Season Premiere) - Other than the first five minutes (in which a hallucination sequence made my jaw drop and my eyes pop out), this episode was underwhelming, if not disappointing.

John Ellis Broome: 7 Weeks Old


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B'rer McCain and the Briar Patch Writing at American Thinker, Clarice Feldman talks about the unintended consequences of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Legislation: "But for the Democrats, the new legislation seems to have encouraged the creation of countless nutty fringe groups, largely on the left: Kos and MoveOn exemplifying my point. These groups have concentrated their fire, not on the opposition party, but like the French revolutionaries, on the moderates in their own party like Senator Lieberman. They favor unelectable candidates like Lamont who curry their favor and share their fringe beliefs. The more the Democratic Party gets pushed off to the left, the less likely it is to prevail in any general election."