Did Google launch its own PC?
Not at all. The rumours were wrong - instead, Larry Page announced that Google is setting up an online video store at video.google.com where you'll be able to download programmes from CBS, basketball games, music videos, news content and more. Although the Google Video Store will be accessible throughout the world, it will only be possible to buy premium content in the US, says Google. And rather than using an existing digital rights management (DRM) system, the company has developed its own, which will create more headaches.
Alternatively, by using BitTorrent you might find the same content sans DRM in a higher resolution that you can save to a CD or DVD and watch free. In other words, Google Video is targeted at people who don't have much clue; and it is probably bad news for Apple's iTunes.
What does 'podcast' actually stand for?
According to Creative Labs, it stands for "Personal On Demand broadCAST" (from www.zencast.com/about). However, that interpretation differs significantly from that intended by web developer Ben Hammersley. He first used the phrase in an article in the Guardian on February 12, 2004, as a synonym for the unwieldy "audioblogging". He meant it as a contraction of "broadcasting" (because the content is sent over the net) and "iPod" (as a byword for MP3 players).
Says Hammersely: "Creative are talking rot. The pod in 'podcast' was obviously and blatantly meant to refer to the iPod. The accusation that I'd use such a clumsy acronym invites another one: stfu, kthxbye." We're sure Creative will spell out what that means.
Is Windows really more secure than Unix?
The US-CERT Cyber Security Bulletin has published a year-end summary of software vulnerabilities identified in 2005. It reveals there were 5,198 reported operating system vulnerabilities: 812 for Windows; 2,328 for Unix/Linux; and 2,058 for "Multiple". Many aren't individual, verifiable faults; many are "updates" to some found earlier - which is true for most of the Unix, Linux and Mac entries. The grouping isn't precise: among the Windows vulnerabilities is an Apple Darwin Streaming Server Denial of Service - so open source Unix code packaged by Apple appears as a Windows operating system flaw. Finally, an advisory doesn't tell you whether the flaw was significant, or appeared in an important bit of software. Nor does it tell you if the flaw was fixed.
· If you'd like to comment on any aspect of Technology Guardian, send your emails to tech@theguardian.com