Microsoft updating without permission?

Microsoft Corp. has started updating files on computers running Windows XP and Vista, even when users have explicitly disabled the operating systems’ automatic update feature, researchers said today.
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Can you believe this? Looks like your home computer running windoze is not yours, it belongs to Microsoft. If they can do this, then what other information are they grabbing from your hard drive? With this "swiss cheese" OS, they are able to roam your drive at will. How far do you trust these folks?

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys opened the Wade Phillips era with a 45-35 win Sunday against the New York Giants at Texas Stadium.

"That's one of the biggest things we've emphasized," tight end Jason Witten said. "When one guy goes down, other people have to step up. I still think it's going to be a challenge for us, but I think it was good to see that we were capable."

The 45 points were the most for the Cowboys in a season opener since they beat Buffalo, 49-37, in 1971, when only one current Cowboy (Brad Johnson) was even alive.

The Cowboys are 1-0 for only the second time this century because when it was time to make plays, they made them, especially on offense.

Fry's bad experience.

I went over to Fry's this morning to check on a AMD64, 5600, dual core processor w/motherboard. I got there early and the lady behind the counter was a manager. I told her what I wanted and she started the process on the computer. A lady customer walked up and the manager asked her what she needed. She dropped me and waited on the lady. I walked off and came back later, hoping there would be someone else there, but no luck. I told her how rude that was and she mumbled something under her breath. I will continue to shop Fry's, but I won't let her wait on me again, and I will tell her why, if she inquires. This was at the Plano store, #33.

Lake Tawakoni Spider Web

If you hate creepy-crawlies, you might want to avoid Lake Tawakoni State Park, where a 200-yard stretch along a nature trail has been blanketed by a sprawling spider web that has engulfed seven large trees, dozens of bushes and even the weedy ground.

But if you hate mosquitoes, you might just love this bizarre web.

"At first, it was so white it looked like fairyland," said park Superintendent Donna Garde. "Now it's filled with so many mosquitoes that it's turned a little brown.

"There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs."

There have been heated Internet discussions among experts whether the web was constructed by social cobweb spiders, which work together, or is perhaps a mass dispersal in which the arachnids spin webs to spread out from one another.

Either way, it's generating a lot of bug buzz.

"I've been hearing from entomologists from Ohio, Kansas, British Columbia -- all over the place," said Mike Quinn, an invertebrate biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department who first posted photos of the web on the Web.

But there is little consensus about what sparked the phenomenon or even the type of spider responsible. Parks officials say similar but smaller webs have appeared along another trail.

"From what I'm hearing it could be a once-in-a-lifetime event," said Herbert A. "Joe" Pase, a Texas Forest Service entomologist. "It's very, very unusual."

Park officials say they have gotten mixed reactions from visitors.

"Some can't wait to see it, while others don't want to go anywhere near it," said Trisha Brian, a park volunteer. "It's definitely not for everyone, but I'm so fascinated by it that I come down to look at it every day. Every time I come by, there's something new."

But one Texas spider expert couldn't muster much excitement about the giant web.

John Jackman, a professor and extension entomologist for Texas A&M University and author of A Field Guide to the Spiders and Scorpions of Texas, said he receives similar reports every couple of years.

"There are a lot of folks that don't realize spiders do that," Jackman said. "Until we get some samples sent to us, we really won't know what species of spider we're talking about."

Garde just wishes the entomologists would check out the spider web in person instead of arguing about it over the Internet.

Rangers expect the giant web to stick around until fall, when the spiders will start dying off. Unfortunately, it probably won't last until Oct. 31.

"It would make a good Halloween set, wouldn't it?" said park ranger Freddie Gowin, who found the giant web while mowing about a month ago. "But I don't think you could pay me enough money to run through all of those webs."

This is from the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram.

Linux on Intel MID

Looks like Mandriva Linux is the first distro to appear on Intel's new Mobile devices. Here is the link Not sure how these devices will appeal to the public, they are smaller than laptops, but larger than PDA's & the pocket pc's. I would think the college student would be more interested than the average man on the street, or even a high schooler. Don't know if Microsoft has a platform for these units yet, but assume they do. Given Microsoft's design and security problems Linux would be a better choice for students. Linux isn't hacker proof, but it is much harder to break in, and not being integrated, like MS, information is more secure. I ran a Linux server, in my house, for three years and never had a problem with hackers, had a lot of tries, but no one made it onto my unit. It ran 24/7 with no problems, only time it went down was when we had a power outage. I doubt a windows server could do that.