Internet applications

Q. I'm having issues with the MSN software Verizon gave me. Is there a newer version, or should I get another program?

A. MSN Premium is a combination of software and services (http://get.msn.com) you can buy for $9.95 a month or get bundled with broadband services -- though some, such as Verizon, no longer advertise it to new users.

Dell confirmed Friday that it plans to enter the smartphone market with wireless carriers in China and Brazil for its new Mini 3 device. Dell has inked deals with China Mobile, the world's largest telecommunications company with more than 500 million customers, and Claro, which serves more than 42 million consumers in Brazil.

Dell confirmed Friday that it plans to enter the smartphone market with wireless carriers in China and Brazil for its new Mini 3 device. Dell has inked deals with China Mobile, the world's largest telecommunications company with more than 500 million customers, and Claro, which serves more than 42 million consumers in Brazil.

They think it's pointless, narcissistic. Some don't even know what it is.

Even so, more young adults and teens -- normally at the cutting edge of technology -- are finally coming around to Twitter, using it for class or work, monitoring the minutiae of celebrities' lives.

It's not always love at first tweet, though. Many of them are doing it grudgingly, perhaps because a friend pressures them or a teacher or boss makes them try the 140-character microblogging site.

They think it's pointless, narcissistic. Some don't even know what it is.

Even so, more young adults and teens -- normally at the cutting edge of technology -- are finally coming around to Twitter, using it for class or work, monitoring the minutiae of celebrities' lives.

It's not always love at first tweet, though. Many of them are doing it grudgingly, perhaps because a friend pressures them or a teacher or boss makes them try the 140-character microblogging site.

Netbooks have turned plenty of consumer heads in the computing world lately by virtue of being so small, light and affordable.

Indeed, few customers can say no to a computer for between 350 and 550 euros (515 to 810 dollars). A German consumer research agency has reported that netbooks enjoyed a three-figure percentage growth rate between January and July of this year to a point where they now claim 21 per cent of the market.

But traditional notebook computers are fighting back, in some cases by dropping their prices to netbook levels.

Failed technology trends tend to be recycled every five or so years in hopes that businesses and consumers eventually will be ready to adopt what surely is a great idea.

The idea of the "thin client" -- a processor and monitor setup that loads all files and even the operating system from a central server -- has been trumpeted as the next big thing at least three times since I replaced my baseball mitt with a keyboard and mouse.

The latest incarnation of the thin client finally is starting to gain a hold as a "netbook," an incredibly portable notebook.

Adobe Systems is poised to launch several key enhancements to its Adobe Flash platform in San Francisco this week at its MAX 2008 conference.

Any major upgrade to Flash is significant because 81 percent of worldwide online videos are viewed with Flash technology, making it the number-one format for video on the Web, according to comScore. Adobe's Flash Player is also installed on 98 percent of Internet-connected desktops and a growing number of mobile devices.

Just weeks after releasing the beta version of its Flash Player 10, code-named Astro, Adobe Systems this week released the final version for Linux, Windows and Macintosh computers. Flash Player 10 comes with a slew of new features and goes head-to-head with Microsoft's Silverlight 2, which was also released this week.

The multimedia products are competing head-to-head. Adobe has the lion's share of the market, but adoption of Microsoft's Silverlight has ramped up since it launched a year ago with 150 partners, including NBCOlympics.com, Blockbuster, Yahoo Japan and AOL.

T-Mobile is expected to be the first carrier with a Google Android-based cell phone, with an announcement Sept. 23. And HTC says it will be the first handset maker to use the open-source mobile-phone operating system.

T-Mobile promised to unveil details of the first mobile phone based on Android at a Sept. 23 press conference in New York, according to The New York Times. T-Mobile could not immediately be reached for comment.