Best Buy is apparently dropping some of its "optimization" services, and will instead provide the "Best Buy Software Installer," a new tool that the company says will "radically simplify how you set up and customize your new PC or upgrade an existing one."

The document also states that, because these computers will have less trialware installed by manufacturers, and Windows 7 actually works, selling optimization is suddenly much harder.

While the Open Source video player VLC has been doing well among Windows and Linux fans, it seems that Apple won't list the player on its downloads site.

The VideoLAN Foundation said that the Macolytes have "greatly exaggerated" the situation, but admitted that the current graphical interface "is not being maintained at this time."

Mozilla Messaging on Wednesday conjured up the first release candidate for version 3.0 of their popular open source email and news client.

New toys in Thunder B3 include search with advanced filtering tools and auto-complete, tabbed email messages, a redesigned mail toolbar, smart folders, an improved address book, and a new add-ons manager.

In addition to connecting to a Lithuanian master command channel, it also changes the root password for the device, making it harder for owners trying to regain control. Infected iPhones are also tagged with a unique ID number.

One would think people who are smart and energetic enough to jailbreak a smartphone would know about the perils of SSH and default root passwords, but the success of these worms suggests otherwise.

All applications are designed to run in a web browser and all the user's data is stored on Google's servers.

Any documents and files created on the computer were automatically synced and saved on Google's servers, said Matthew Papakipos, an engineer working on the system.

From Nov 10th to Nov 13th the Brazilian Government hosted a public hacking contest to test the robustness of its voting machines.

All attempts (aside from a minor one which would not compromise the overall results) failed, and observations from the participants and neutral observers will be taken into account to improve the process even further.

From January, many of Lenovo's Ideapad laptops will have Lenovo Video Chat, which uses Oovoo as the underlying engine, pre-installed as part of an agreement between the two firms.

Oovoo uses a mixed pricing model, with certain features such as two-way video chat being free, but other premium functions such as higher resolution video and including more participants requiring payment.

According to Skype's chief blogger Peter Parkes, "If you're fortunate enough to get your hands on a Lenovo ThinkPad or ThinkCentre for your home or office, be sure to keep an eye out for Skype."

The announcement means that those hoping for a fresh Windows install, free of clutter or any applications beyond those they choose to install, might want to look elsewhere - however PC makers offering such a package are becoming increasingly thin on the ground.

Mozilla developers have blocked a Firefox plugin that was quietly pushed out by Microsoft, saying that it presents a security risk.

"Because of the difficulties some users have had entirely removing the add-on, and because of the severity of the risk it represents if not disabled, we contacted Microsoft today to indicate that we were looking to disable the extension and plugin for all users via our blocklisting mechanism," wrote Mozilla Vice President of Engineering Mike Shaver in a blog posting.

One of these sites, MediaFire, is bothered by a Firefox plugin called SkipScreen which automates the user straight past the ads. Instead of going after the software's developers, however, they've apparently targeted Mozilla, which hosts a link to the plugin.

Not only did it start the download without any user intervention, but as soon as the file started downloading, it replaced the MediaFire page with one of its own making that's largely an ad for SkipScreen itself, with a Google-supplied text ad thrown in as well.