1. "Breaking Down the Apple Announcements"
Macworld, Aug. 9

It was hard to keep up with the flurry of news coming out of Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., on Tuesday, so Macworld has taken some of the pain out of trying to sort out the new gear, giving a closer look at the new iMac, keyboards, Mac mini, and versions of iLife and iWork. Gone is the shiny white plastic of the old iMac, with the updated version in silver aluminum and black glass. Oh, and it's got improved technology under the hood, too. The new keyboard might not be all that, Macworld suggests, though a new Bluetooth keyboard scored higher marks. On the software side, iWork now provides the equivalent of Microsoft Office. Apple executives say that office suite users who need full compatibility with Office should, well, stick with Office, but for those who don't need that level of compatibility—if 90 percent or 95 percent will do—or for those who work solo and don't have such concerns, then iWork is now an option.

2. "Symantec Patches Critical Norton Flaw"
Network World, Aug. 9

Symantec has patched a "highly critical" flaw in the way Norton Antivirus software uses the ActiveX programming language. A bug in two ActiveX controls used by the company's client software could let attackers run unauthorized software on a victim's computer, Symantec said when it offered the patch. It advises customers to run the LiveUpdate feature to download the patch for the affected product versions as soon as possible.

3. "Restraint Urged to Allow Internet Capacity to Grow"
Computerworld, Aug. 9

Internet policymakers should not impose regulations that restrict the private sector's investment in the Internet and should figure out how to encourage investment in Internet growth, the Millennium Research Council says. Internet service providers need to be able to experiment with new traffic management technologies at a time when Internet traffic is going to make it harder for network managers to do their jobs, an 18-page report from the council said. Video websites and peer-to-peer use will be among the factors leading to more Internet traffic. But policymakers should resist the temptation to place restrictions on growth and innovation, says the report. Titled "The Never-Ending Rush Hour: Internet Traffic Growth Requires Continual Investment in Capacity and Innovation in Network Management," the report was authored by Jason Kowal of Analysys Research in Washington, D.C., and is primarily focused on network operations and related issues.