Fry's Weekend Ads
So it's my favorite day of the week and I have looked at the Fry's Ads to see what the deals are for the weekend. Some of the deals worth looking into are the Western Digital 120GB DMA100/8Mb/7200 for $109 out the door, $50 rebate. Final price $59. There is also a deal for a ECS Motherboard with XP2400 processor. The ECS Motherboard is trash but the lowest price for an XP2400 processor is $63, so this $70 deal isn't that bad, just throw out the board or ebay it. It gets about $10 on Ebay.
LA Times Fry's Ad

Big Brother News - Some states withdraw from MATRIX
Wisconsin and New York on Wednesday withdrew from the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, leaving just Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut -- and possibly Utah -- in a law-enforcement and anti-terrorism program that some Utah officials have said is a tool law enforcement needs.
The Salt Lake Tribune -- MATRIX threatened by states' withdrawal, document

Viacom network restored on Dish network.
EchoStar Communications Corp. (ticker: DISH, exchange: NASDAQ) News Release - 3/11/2004
Viacom and DISH Network Reach Long-Term Agreement; CBS, MTV Networks and BET Restored

NEW YORK & ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2004--Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) and EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) and its DISH Network today announced that they have reached a long-term, multi-channel agreement that provides for the satellite TV distribution of CBS, BET, and the MTV Networks channels previously carried by DISH Network.

"It's great to have our networks back in front of all our viewers, and to bring a new service, Nicktoons, to DISH Network subscribers," said Mel Karmazin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Viacom. "We apologize to our viewers for the disruption in their service, and want to thank them for their patience and support. We look forward to continuing to serve our viewers through DISH Network well into the future."

"This agreement with Viacom allows DISH Network to remain the lowest-cost, all digital TV provider in the country," said Charles Ergen, chairman and chief executive officer of EchoStar. "We understand that this has been a difficult few days for our customers, and we thank them for all the encouragement they have given us throughout. We also look forward to a long relationship with Viacom in which we can provide their quality channels to our viewers."

The multi-year agreement restores full service of CBS in 16 markets as well as Comedy Central, MTV, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Noggin, GAS, VH1, VH1 Classic, MTV Espanol and BET in all markets. Additionally, the agreement extends the term of the carriage for CBS HD (East and West) channels, as well as Spike TV, CMT and TV Land. DISH Network will also launch Nicktoons on its America's Top 180 package this spring.

As part of the agreement, Viacom and DISH Network have settled all litigation between the two companies.

Viacom is a leading global media company, with preeminent positions in broadcast and cable television, radio, outdoor advertising, and online. With programming that appeals to audiences in every demographic category across virtually all media, the company is a leader in the creation, promotion, and distribution of entertainment, news, sports, music, and comedy. Viacom's well-known brands include CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, Infinity Broadcasting, Viacom Outdoor, UPN, TV Land, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV, Showtime, Blockbuster, and Simon & Schuster. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.

About EchoStar Communications

EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) serves over 9 million satellite TV customers through its DISH Network(TM), and is a leading U.S. provider of advanced digital television services. DISH Network's services include hundreds of video and audio channels, Interactive TV, HDTV, sports and international programming, together with professional installation and 24-hour customer service. DISH Network is the leader in the sale of digital video recorders (DVRs). Visit EchoStar's DISH Network at (www.dishnetwork.com) or call 1-800-333-DISH (3474).

CONTACT: EchoStar's DISH Network
Steve Caulk, 303-723-2010
Steve.Caulk@echostar.com
or
Marc Lumpkin, 303-723-2020
Marc.Lumpkin@echostar.com
or
Viacom
Carl D. Folta, 212-258-6352
Carl.Folta@viacom.com
or
Susan Duffy, 212-258-6722
Susan.Duffy@viacom.com

SOURCE: EchoStar Communications Corporation

Big Brother Alert - Matrix Expands to Wisconsin
Even as states retreat from participating in a controversial interstate antiterrorism database that holds billions of records of ordinary Americans' activities, Wisconsin has decided to join the program.
The head of Wisconsin's division of criminal investigation, James R. Warren, signed on to join the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, or Matrix, on Feb. 11, said Tom Berlinger, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which runs the program
Wired News: Matrix Expands to Wisconsin

Microsoft rethinks latest security patch
Upgrades fix for Outlook from 'important' to 'critical'

One day after releasing a trio of security patches, Microsoft Corp. is upgrading the seriousness of one of those fixes to 'critical.'
The software update attached to security bulletin MS04-009 was initially described as an 'important' patch (see story). The change follows 'continued evaluation' by Microsoft's Security Response Center, a company spokesman wrote in an e-mail today.
More of the story: Update: Microsoft rethinks latest security patch - Computerworld:

Pocket PCs Masquerade as IPods
source: Wired

Creative Technologies diminutive Muvo2 digital music player has been hailed by some as the "iPod killer." With 4 GB of storage and priced at just $200, Creatives player has the same capacity as Apples new iPod mini, but costs $50 less. Well, a British software firm can beat that. StarBrite has created another "iPod killer" that in most respects is identical to the iPod -- and costs only $20. StarBrite is selling a pPod, a virtual iPod for Pocket PCs, that -- given Apples past tolerance for knockoffs -- may not be available for very long. On the market just two weeks, the product is a software iPod that runs on Pocket PCs, Microsofts Palm-like operating system for handhelds. The virtual iPod is, well, virtually identical to a real iPod. The application fills the Pocket PCs entire screen with a faithful facsimile of the iPod, including the players distinctive scroll wheel and four buttons for playing, pausing and so on. Like the iPod, the pPod is controlled by its virtual scroll wheel. Most Pocket PCs have touch-sensitive screens, which allow users to navigate the pPods menus with their fingers -- just like the iPod. Naturally, the pPods interface is also just like the iPods. Songs are arranged by a series of nested menus, which can be browsed by artist, album, genre, etc.

I thought this already existed?
Are they trying to put one past us?

Microsoft plans to release a new version of its popular Windows XP software that automatically downloads and installs software patches onto personal computers - one of the company's most aggressive moves to promote Internet safety.

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