Groups Seek Exemptions From Curbs on Political Ads. Several organizations contend that the rules would stifle their ability to convey their views on public issues. By David Stout. [New York Times: Politics]

Explorer putting the squeeze on Netscape. Despite new technology from Netscape, Internet Explorer now commands well over 90 percent of the market, according to a new study. [CNET News.com]

IE has now reached 96 percent market share, according to StatMarket, up from 87 percent a year agoIE has now reached 96 percent market share, according to StatMarket, up from 87 percent a year ago.

Microsoft’s New Irrelevance.  [osOpinion]

Not worth reading. however it has one good quote: “Buzz has been missing from Redmond, Washington, for so long that if it suddenly descended upon Microsoft headquarters, the company’s executives would probably flee in terror, mistaking it for a swarm of bees sent to annihilate them.”

Microsoft puts privacy policy on display. The latest beta version of the software maker’s Windows Media Player 9 Series isn’t shy about letting consumers control the amount of information they choose to share. [CNET News.com]

Mozilla 1.1 debuts to mixed reviews. The new browser is faster and easier to use, according to its developers. But some users are saying the software still has a ways to go. [CNET News.com]

HP and Dell ditch MS Works for WordPerfect. Retail play [The Register]

This Modern World. We’ve got to attack … something. [Salon.com]

New MP3 License Terms Demand $0.75 Per Decoder [Slashdot]
Linux gets less useful.

There is an article on Security Focus talking about ICF:
ICF is an excellent security tool for most people. It blocks most attacks from the Internet. And it works automagically with applications that are aware of the ICF API. It has support for industry standard protocols like FTP, H.323, and PPTP. However, if you are a corporate user and/or a power user, you’ll probably want another personal firewall that allows more granular control. [security focus]

When did msdn start linking to weblogs?