A Free PC Tuneup ... PC Pitstop can help you get your PC in top form -- running fast, stable and secure. PC Pitstop runs diagnostics on your PC to identify things that might help improve performance. The process is fully automated, private and safe. After the diagnostics run, they'll give you tips for improving all kinds of things. Best of all, the service is free!

Happy Birthday, Thong!... The Itty-Bitty Underwear, Once a Novelty, Now a Cultural Phenomenon turns 20! It's time to honor the underwear that nearly brought down a presidency. Which came first, the underwear or the bikini? In the evolution of the thong, the bathing suit inspired the founder of Frederick's of Hollywood to create a new line of underwear. (Frederick's of Hollywood)

Cannot find the damn server This page sucks and cannot be displayed

The page you are looking for sucks and is currently unavailable. The Web site might be experiencing technical difficulties, you may need to adjust your browser settings or it might suck.

Cringely on Widows XP... "Unless this feature [raw sockets] is changed before XP is released, it will mean that millions of new computers will be manufactured as perfect little virus machines. Virus authors who are anticipating these new PCs will be able to pre-position their digital vermin to take advantage of the socket flaw as the new machines appear. The result is that, in all likelihood, there will be massive data security problems, as well as massive damage to files and property, all as a result of Windows XP.... Programmers who ought to be familiar with Microsoft's plans have suggested that the real motive for raw socket support is for Microsoft to use Windows XP to exploit a bad situation, to deliberately make things worse....According to these programmers, Microsoft wants to replace TCP/IP with a proprietary protocol -- a protocol owned by Microsoft -- that it will tout as being more secure."

Dan Gilmore: Government should block XP release (8/02/2001)... The antitrust cops are the only people with sufficient clout to make a difference at this stage. Do they understand that it may be too late to remedy much of anything once Windows XP is on 100 million computers and Microsoft has another $10 billion in its checking account? Do they have the spine to do the right thing?

Update Your PC - CatchUp Services - CNET.com It's never been easier to manage your PC.From software updates to security fixes, CatchUp automatically finds what you need to keep your PC up-to-date. Get started by installing the free CatchUp software.

TIME.com: Columnist-- Chris Taylor -- Why Worms Like Code Red Are Good For You... At most, Code Red proved you should always be wary about what Microsoft software does to your machine, like turning it into a server without your implicit knowledge. Apart from that, the whole red-alert reaction only demonstrated that there's seemingly infinite space on the Feds' faces for more egg. That's what happens when you cry wolf over a microbe, guys.

It just got way worse than Amazon patenetin "One Click" shopping.... Dave Winer: "Microsoft files and gets lots of patents. Last week for the first time they said they will use patents to limit competition. That means if you produce software that uses some technique that Microsoft has patented, they'll either make you take the feature out or send you a bill."

Cowgirl's Dream® Trading Post Catalog... Hey! Wanna buy a horse? Cowgirl's Dream is a small mother-daughter business out of Colorado that has been on the web since March 1995. They try to find items of interest to western folks that are not that easy to find either locally or on the internet.

Feng Shui For Dummies... I've been thinking of trying to use Feng Shui. This may just be the way to go about it.

Bottomquark ... Science can be interesting and often entertaining; you shouldn't need Bill Nye or Beakman to explain it. If you're lucky, you might have had a high school science teacher who made learning fun, rather than some old guy reading molecular equations from a blackboard. The quark team collects interesting stories and tidbits from the world of science, and posts them for your scientific enjoyment (and you can post your own stuff, too). Those with curious minds will enjoy this resource, though I'd also recommend it for anyone who's interested in seeing how much a part of our lives science has become. From Chris Pirillo.

Vmyths.com- Truth About Computer Virus Myths & Hoaxes... Poor Internet, we hardly knew ye. Vmyths.com hopes the fearmongers prove us wrong. Call us jaded, but we want to see the Internet writhe in agony. We want only 30 million AOL users to survive when the Code Red worm strikes... Rob Rosenberger reports just hours before the Internet's predicted "meltdown." [7/31/01]

TechTV | Transfer Video to CD... If you have piles of videotapes crowding your home entertainment center, it's probably time to consolidate the tapes and upgrade your system. You can transfer the videos to CD and watch them in a DVD player.

Cyberspace--it's for stupid people too!...Deborah Branscum on spam reminiscent of the snail mail scam, "You may already be a Wiener".

HMOs are sick, and there´s no cure in sight -- The Washington Times... Excerpt: "When or if enacted, patients' rights legislation may mollify managed care consumers and critics. But those who know say it's too late to save the $600 million system.... As managed care weakens, the need increases for a new way to assure that ordinary people can get medical care they can't otherwise afford. Yet financial consultants say any new system will cost more."

Cringely on the Code Red worm... This thing, or something very much like it, is going to be with us for a very, very long time....This is very, very bad news, but there is a solution that will shortly be presented that will be claimed to save the day. This miracle solution will be the subject of my regular column this week, which will appear, as usual, on Thursday. Please come back then. Because while there is a solution, I believe that many people will see the cure as being nearly as bad as the disease.

Amazon Auctions: Going once... "I don't think they're putting a lot of effort into (auctions) right now, and I don't expect them to," said Jeetil Patel, a financial analyst who covers Amazon for Deutsche Bank Alex Brown. "If they're looking at areas to trim the fat, obviously this seems to be one of them," since revenue from auction sales is an "insignificant" piece of Amazon's business.

Genesis Mission - Search For Origins... NASA's Genesis mission will send a spacecraft to collect pieces of the sun, called solar wind, that may contain the answers. After an August 1, 2001 launch, the Genesis spacecraft will journey a million miles sunward, unfold its collectors, and "sunbathe" for nearly three years before returning to Earth with its precious cargo. Scientists will study the solar wind samples for years to come.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

It seems Ebay is being invaded by honest to goodness brick-and-mortar stores. According to a report heard on a talk radio investment program, some major retailers are using Ebay to rid themselves of unwanted or out-of- fashion merchandise. The report stated that Bloomingdale's now has a staff of 12 whose only job is to take digital photographs, post to Ebay, and ship when sold. The retailer is said to make more than 1000 posts per day.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Magnificent DOORSTOP?... This doorstop documentary includes: never-before-seen footage from a rubber doorstop factory; philosophy professors debating the essence of a doorstop; an all-doorstop auction; confessions of doorstop-obsessed collectors; a doorstop dispute that wound up in court; a linguist unraveling the etymological riddle of frog doorstops; film critics revealing how they keep their doors open; and much more!

Jail Time in the Digital Age... Something is going terribly wrong with copyright law in America. Mr. Sklyarov himself did not violate any law, and his employer did not violate anyone's copyright.

Tracking Bloggers With Blogdex... MIT's Media Lab is experimenting with a tool for indexing the most popular hypertext links across thousands of weblogs and has ambitious plans to turn it into a resource for the mass media.

How much are you worth?... The more honestly you answer the questions, the more realistic the dollar value returned will be.

LANCE IS NUMBER ONE! TOUR DE FRANCE 2001/... For the third successive year, Lance Armstrong has proven that he’s the most complete cyclist of July. And in the minds of most riders – particularly the likes of, Jan Ullrich, who also has just one focus for the 11-month season – the American is the most accomplished rider of the current generation. Lance’s hat-trick win came through consistency. This year, however, it was also a stage-winning blitz – two time trials and two mountain-top victories – which confirmed the dominance of the rider who, in his own words, wants to be remembered as a cancer survivor. Last year Lance came back for his second consecutive win after fighting testicular cancer into remission.

Lance's story is available in: It's Not About the Bike : My Journey Back to Life.