PC makers take slow road to XP update. The release of a first service pack is typically a watershed event for a new version of Windows, but PC makers are taking their own sweet time to add this update to new machines. [CNET News.com]

Two Things:

1. “A number of factors apparently affected PC makers’ slow approach to the service pack. Many manufacturers have reported a dramatic decline in technical support calls with Windows XP compared with older versions of the operating system.”

2. They don’t talk about the fix that were made to eliminate crash found because of the semi-automatic Error Reporting feature. There are a whole lot of crashs that just go away.

Balancing Linux and Microsoft. The case of Bruce Perens, who until recently was a strategist for Linux software at Hewlett-Packard, illustrates the balance that companies must achieve as they promote Linux but continue doing business with Microsoft. By Steve Lohr. [New York Times: Technology]

BBC Hails “fair” Microsoft XP SP1 [Slashdot]

The Warriors Stood in the Shape of a Heart [Slashdot]
Online communitys make a heart.

MS Exec: ‘Our products just aren’t engineered for security’ [Slashdot]

China admits one million HIV cases. The Chinese Government revises its estimate of the number of infected people as it slowly owns up to the extent of the Aids crisis. [BBC News | WORLD]

Storage technology clears key hurdle. A technology that promises to bridge the worlds of data storage and networking has passed a key point on its path to becoming a usable standard. [CNET News.com]

The Bully’s Pulpit. The Bush team’s pronouncements rely on doublethink, the ability to believe two contradictory things at the same time. By Paul Krugman. [New York Times: Opinion]

How We Won the War. Recently, in an elaborate war game, the American fleet confidently steamed off to war in the Persian Gulf and promptly got creamed. By Nicholas D. Kristof. [New York Times: Opinion]