TOPIC: Internet Explorer 7 Released!
Why it happened during the evening is anyone's guess. BUT, BusinessWeek filed a report at 8:00pm last night -- stating that IE7 is live.

OCT. 18 8:01 P.M. ET - Microsoft Corp. is giving its Web browser software its first major upgrade in years, amid signs that Internet Explorer's market share is eroding. The release late Wednesday brings Microsoft's browser more in line with competing products such as Opera Software ASA's Opera and Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox. Internet Explorer 7, or IE7, adds features such as tabbed browsing, which lets people open several Web pages without cluttering their desktop with multiple open browser windows. Microsoft has been heavily testing the new browser, releasing five beta versions over 14 months, and has periodically offered security updates for IE6, first released in 2001.
Still, a lag of more than five years between official releases has cost the company. Web analysis company WebSideStory estimates that Internet Explorer's U.S. market share is about 86 percent, while Firefox commands about 11 percent of the market and smaller offerings account for the rest. Two years ago, IE had about a 93 percent share. Dean Hachamovitch, Microsoft's general manager for Internet Explorer, acknowledged the company could have done more sooner, but he said the new version should address users' concerns. "We did have active development," he said. "The question is whether it was enough."
Matt Rosoff, analyst with independent researchers Directions on Microsoft, said Internet Explorer is important to Microsoft's business because most people believe an operating system should include a way to immediately access the Web. Still, he said, Microsoft may not have seen much reason to spend a lot of money upgrading sooner since most people continued to use the older version. Rosoff said the new product includes enough improvements to lure back some users. But Colin Teubner, an analyst with Forrester Research, said people already using Firefox and rival products might not immediately come back. That's partly because those users have soured on Microsoft, he said, and partly because IE7 doesn't break much new ground. "A year ago Firefox was head and shoulders above Microsoft's current offering, and I think even with IE7 it's mostly playing catch up," Teubner said. But he does recommend that IE6 users upgrade, and he believes Microsoft may surpass competitors with future improvements. Besides tabbed browsing, Microsoft has improved security to help keep users from falling victim to things like malicious software attacks and phishing scams. Microsoft products are a near-constant target of Internet attackers, and some people have recommended switching browsers because a less high-profile product might be more secure. The Redmond software maker also has added a box in the browser that lets people search the Internet without going to a separate Web page, much like competitors.
In a last-minute change, people who are upgrading from the previous version of the browser will now have a clearer way to choose whether they want to use Microsoft's search engine or a competing one from companies like Google Inc. or Yahoo Inc. The change announced Friday was one of several aimed at soothing antitrust worries in Europe, where Microsoft faces a longrunning regulatory battle. IE7 will be available as a free download beginning Wednesday evening. Next month, the company also will begin delivering it to Windows XP users who have signed up to automatically receive security fixes. Hachamovitch said that's because the product makes major security improvements. Such distribution also will provide a powerful tool in countering competition from rival browsers.
Security updates typically download with little or no user intervention, but with IE7 people will get an extra opportunity to elect not to upgrade. Also, even people using automatic updates will have to agree to let Microsoft check whether their copy of Windows is pirated before they can get IE7. Microsoft expects that it will take months to gradually release IE7 automatically. The browser also will be an integral part of Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista, due out for big businesses in November and for consumers in January.

I would suggest NOT switching back to Internet Explorer until it has proven itself not to be the security risk that was IE6. IE7 doesn't offer anything that Firefox hasn't had for months (or longer). Maybe I'm being cynical, but as an IT professional, I simply don't trust that Internet Explorer 7 will be as secure as advertised.

TOPIC: Remember When I Told You The World Had Changed?
The Sope-Bocks made that statement on October 9th. Well, here's more proof that the world we live in has become a much more dangerous place. In an article published on FOXNews.com, North Korea called U.N. sanctions imposed over its nuclear test a "declaration of war" Tuesday and warned of "merciless blows" if its sovereignty was violated.

The communist country's first official response to the U.N. sanctions came as Japan and South Korea said the communist nation appeared to be readying for a second atomic blast. U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill referred to unspecified reports from Seoul that the North was preparing for a second nuclear test, saying it would be "a very belligerent answer" to the world. Hill said the North's latest comments about the sanctions were "not very helpful" and added that Pyongyang was falsely assuming it would win more respect with atomic explosions. "The fact of the matter is that nuclear tests make us respect them less," he told reporters in Seoul.
Japan's government also had "information" about another possible blast, Foreign Minister Taro Aso told reporters, without elaborating. In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prepared to leave for Japan, South Korea, China and Russia on a tour to discuss how to enforce the U.N. sanctions against the North, approved Saturday.
The sanctions include a call to inspect cargo on ships sailing to and from North Korea. But China and Russia contend that interdicting vessels might needlessly provoke the North.
North Korea slammed the U.N. measures with a stream of bellicosity in a Foreign Ministry statement released on the official Korean Central News Agency. "The resolution cannot be construed otherwise than a declaration of a war" against the North, also known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the statement said. The North also warned it "wants peace but is not afraid of war," and that it would "deal merciless blows" against anyone who violates its sovereignty. It said it wouldn't cave in to "the pressure and threat of someone at this time when it has become a nuclear weapons state."
South Korean nuclear envoy Chun Yung-woo said the North's reaction wasn't surprising, and was full of "the usual rhetoric." A senior South Korean official told foreign journalists that despite signs of a possible second test, it was unlikely to happen immediately. "We have yet to confirm any imminent signs of a second nuclear test," the official said on condition of anonymity, due to the sensitivity of the information. China, the North's longtime ally and biggest trading partner, warned Pyongyong against aggravating tensions. "We hope North Korea will adopt a responsible attitude ... and come back to resolving the issue through dialogue and consultation instead of taking any actions that may further escalate or worsen the situation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a regular press briefing in Beijing. Liu wouldn't directly comment on why China refuses to board ships but insisted that "the Chinese side has always implemented Security Council measures seriously and in a responsible manner. This time is no exception," Liu said.
South Korea has said it would fully comply with the U.N. sanctions resolution. Seoul has also indicated that it has no intention of halting key economic projects with the North, despite concerns that they may help fund the North's nuclear and missile programs. "Sanctions against North Korea should be done in a way that draws North Korea to the dialogue table," South Korean Prime Minister Han Myung-sook said, according to Yonhap news agency. "There should never be a way that causes armed clashes."