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April 23, 2003
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Microsoft patches holes in IE, Outlook
Microsoft once again has welcomed Wednesday with patches for security flaws discovered in its Windows applications.
The software giant warned customers that they should apply updates for both Internet Explorer and Outlook Express to fix critical security vulnerabilities that could let attackers run programs on a victim's PC.
"The No. 1 thing that we want people to walk away with is to install the updates so their machine is protected," said Stephen Toulouse, security program manager for Microsoft's security response center.
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Satellite Radio: Finally, Something to Listen To
Radio is in the doldrums. The dominant Clear Channel network of stations has enforced a bland sameness coast-to-coast, and the first of the large networks to announce quarterly results this week had bad news. Viacom (VIA) president Mel Karmazin had one word to describe how Infinity, his radio network, was doing: "Disappointing."
Let's go back a generation. The blandness and homogeneity of network television, coupled with an advance in technology, gave cable television an opening. There may be times when it feels like you have 500 channels and none worth watching. But you can't argue with the fact that, despite the mind-numbing shopping channels and endless reruns of Designing Women, programming is more diverse now than it was when only three broadcast networks existed. These days there are hundreds of narrowcast networks, many of which have grabbed thin but lucrative market slices.
Some prognosticators thought Web-based radio would accomplish the same thing, smashing the soporific hegemony of regular radio, but the combination of copyright concerns and relatively low-quality streams has kept that medium from exploding. Plus, any radio medium that doesn't work well in cars is doomed.
That's where Sirius (SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) come in. For two years, they have been battling to solve the problem in a different way -- closer to the cable model. Subscribers pay a monthly fee to receive exclusive programming. Like cable TV, satellite radio offers some interesting advantages over its broadcast rivals: It boasts better reception and a wider menu of offerings -- each hosts roughly 100 channels of familiar (NPR, CNN) and homegrown programming. And with devices like the portable XM Radio, made by General Motors (GM) spinoff Delphi (DPH), it's now easy to bring satellite radio more or less anywhere. (Sirius expects to release a similar portable system midyear.)
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James Cameron goes back to the Titanic
All right, so James Cameron delivered the textbook case for creating a sequel that can stand on its own without merely copycatting the original ("Aliens").
He made science fiction both smart and rousing in the relatively low-budget "The Terminator," then pioneered morphing visual effects in its sequel, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."
He launched modern cinema's biggest blockbuster with "Titanic," dominating the Academy Awards and luring teenage girls back to see it again and again to pine over Leonardo DiCaprio.
But what's he done for us lately?
Five years after his Oscar triumph, Cameron goes back to Titanic with "Ghosts of the Abyss," an hourlong documentary chronicling his return trip to the wrecked vessel in summer 2001. The movie will play in huge-screen IMAX cinemas and specially equipped regular theaters.
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