Microsoft's second generation Zune player is on the market now and it has fixed most of the issues on the old Zune versions. It comes in 3 different models. The most comprehensive one comes with an 80 GB hard drive and a price tag of $250; also available - the 48 GB hard drive at $150 and the 30GB disk at $200.

One of the main features of the new Zune 2.0 is the control pad which allows you to scroll by rubbing the face and control your multimedia files in a very easy way. When you compare the new zune with iPod, the 80 GB Zune player has a bigger screen. Podcasts are now supported on the Zune, for both video and audio.

Zune's wireless feature allows you to beam multimedia files with your friends Zunes, which is one of the biggest advantages over iPod. Also, the wireless capability allows you to synchronize your Zune files with your PC using your home wireless network. Currently, this feature is available only for music files and photos, not for videos. Microsoft has also created a windows-only loading dock program, which allows you to manage your Zune files very easily and effectively.

Microsoft has given something to the multimedia market with improved quality of sound, brighter screen and better controllers.

Verizon has announced that it will open it's network to the world, starting in 2008. The company will provide API documentation to allow "any device, any software" to operate over Verizon's network. Verizon is redefining their business from selling handsets, to selling access. In doing so they open their largest physical asset, the network itself, to valuation. This may be related to a recent announcement that the number of cellular accounts has passed 3.3 billion, or 50% of the planet's population. Verizon has correctly deduced that in order to outgrow a saturated market, they need to change the focus of their business.

Verizon's announcement came shortly after Shai Agassi garnered media attention for his business, which will be giving away free electric cars, and selling the juice to power them. In a recent post on his blog he explained, "The cost of the average used car in Europe is now cheaper than the cost of gasoline to drive it for a year." Just like a handset, the cost of the car is a small fraction of the lifetime cost.

As other cellular providers open their networks a panacea of new companies will sprout, giving customers useful applications for their phones. This second tier of businesses will be obligated to rent access to the network, in perpetuity.

Many users fear the nightmare of their hard drive crashing and the loss of data becoming a reality. Data loss is common, but there are several ways to prepare for such an occurrence.

There are numerous ways for hard drives to crash but the two most common ones are logical and physical. Logical failures are usually a result of file system corruption. This can occur due to a virus, accidental deletion of key files or registry components, and in some cases, even electro-static discharge. In most logical failure cases, your data should still be intact on the drive, even though it may appear inaccessible.

If the system BIOS does not detect the presence of the hard drive, then chances are a physical failure has taken place. Physical failures can result from a wide variety of causes. They can either be electronic of mechanical. Occasionally you will hear a loud whining or grinding noise coming from your computer or a high pitched screech. There may be times when you get a warning from your computer. In any of these instances, it is highly recommended to back up your data immediately.

When such a failure has taken place, there are chances that your data can be recovered. However you may find that the hard drive may have been zapped and there really is no recovery method for it.

We recommend that you always back up your sensitive data. For users in networks with servers and storage devices, it is always very imperative that you place your data within your assigned folder(s), as there are daily backups being performed both on and offsite. Placing work-related items on your local PC only runs you the risk of a potential disaster with no backups recorded.

For those users who work from home and have a substantial amount of data, it is recommended to purchase an external hard drive as a means of backup and to regularly make a copy of all your important data onto the external hard drive. Some users may not have a large amount of data and find that they can store all of their information on USB memory sticks. In any case, it is always recommended to have a copy of your data on another storage device that will be kept in a safe place.

Many users tend to download free music, movies and other goodies online. Although free music download can be a good source of entertainment, everyone should be very careful when it comes to sharing files on their computers with potential online predators. Some people will even share files that are harnessed with their personal folders while online and thereby enabling strangers to access that information. With such online files, people can often access more information than you may want to share.

File sharing could also put your personal and financial information at risk. With identity theft so rampant on the Internet using strong fire wall and anti-virus software is one the most prevalent protections against identity theft. Above all, do not store critical personal information on your hard disk. It is recommended that you keep personal files such as taxes and other important data on removable media. Those files should then be stored in a safe location for all future references.

Tips: Depending on your operating system (e.g., in Windows 2000), shared folders typically use the icon of an upturned hand holding folders to denote that information in those folders can be accessed by other users. Commands for restricting access, however, can differ – even among the various generations of the same brand-name operating system. If you notice a hand under your folder right click on it, choose properties from the short cut menu, select do not share this folder, and click the apply button.

While anticipating the wait for Vista with beta SP3 to be released, numerous tests have been conducted to prove the powerful and efficient new program. A software development company in Florida tested both Vista with and without SP1 and XP with SP3.

Vista took 80 seconds to complete the test, when XP took only 35 seconds. With Vista's SP1, it ran poorly compared to XP with its use of SP3 improvement of 10 percent. There have been problems with Vista since its first release, which gives producers more reason to run tests and aim for perfection.

Vista's first service pack is due to be released sometime early next year; however, many adjustments and improvements still need to be made to its service pack. Otherwise, there will be a much longer wait.

Firefox 3 Beta 1 has made improvements and additions, including malware protection for testing purposes only.

Many of the new features are security related:

• Web Page Forgery Protection
• Clearer SSL Error messages when invalid SSL certificates are found
• Automatic plug-in checking that can disable insecure plug-in updates, integration with anti-virus programs
• Compliance with Windows Vista’s Parental Control Settings

Collectively, programmers have fixed over 11, 000 bugs and features. Firefox 3.0 will also be able to take it's icons from the Linux OS (as it does now with Windows and OSX), improving visual integration for Linux users.

The date for the final release of Firefox 3 is unknown, but will be released when the project leaders are sure that the program is fully qualified for the public.