Market Share, a web site that provides data from the browsers of over 40,000 urls visitors published its March statistics, in which it shows that for the first time, the open source browser, Firefox passed the 10% mark and captured 10.05% of the market.

In the report is also shows that IE dropped to 84.70% and Safari got a slight increase to 3.19%, which is the number 3 browser.

When Windows XP loads you see the splash screen with the Windows logo. But if you’re having problems with windows and you want to see that is going on during Windows startup, you can simply disable Windows splash screen.

In order to disable Windows XP splash screen follow these steps:

• Right click My Computer and select the Properties menu item
• Click on the Advance tab
• Click on the Settings button of the Startup And Recovery section
• Now click the Edit button, to edit the Boot.ini file. This will open Notepad with the Boot.ini commands.
• Find the line that execute “Microsoft Windows XP�? (usually it has a /fastdetect parameter) and add /SOS parameter to this line.
• Save the file and OK back all the way.

Now every time you’ll restart your computer you will no longer see the Windows XP splash screen.

To bring back the splash screen simply remove the /SOS switch from that line in the Boot.ini

McAfee on Monday plans to announce a repackaging of its security products for businesses, promising software that is easier to buy, install, manage and run.

McAfee will offer four flavors of McAfee Total Protection, two aimed at organizations with more than 100 computers that need protection, and two for smaller organizations, the company said. The versions for large organizations are due on April 17, the two editions for smaller users on April 25.

Source: News.com

Saif Azar, a 14-year-old video game fan, said a new title called “Re-Mission” helped arm him with the knowledge of how to fight cancer after he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2003.

“It was perfect, actually. It helped me understand the things that were going on in my body,” said Azar, who started playing the game as part of a clinical study and continues playing today as he wraps up his treatments.

Roxxi, the main character in “Re-Mission,” is a gutsy, fully-armed “Nanobot” who seeks out and destroys cancer cells throughout the body.

HopeLab, the game’s maker, said the results from its scientific study involving 375 teen and young adults at 34 medical centers in the United States, Canada and Australia showed that young people who played “Re-Mission” were more likely to stick to their medication regimens than those who did not.

The PC game is immediately available, free of charge, to teens and young people diagnosed with cancer. It will be widely available on May 1 for a suggested donation of $20.

Source: Reuters

Could it be that Microsoft’s vision for security in Vista will aggravate security product vendors? One longtime Windows watcher thinks Microsoft, hoping to fly under the antitrust radar, will sprinkle security throughout the operating system.

Microsoft can pull the consumer security software rug out from under its long-time partners and likely avoid antitrust charges by sprinkling security throughout Vista in bits and pieces, an analyst said this week.

Microsoft’s move earlier this year to debut Windows Live OneCare at $50 is a shot across the bow, JupiterResearch analyst Joe Wilcox said in an interview Thursday.

“It’s clearly chosen to compete with partners,” said Wilcox. “If you want one sign that Microsoft is aggressively competing with partners [in the consumer security market], look at the pricing of OneCare.

“Until April 30, anyone using OneCare can have it for $19.95 a year.” Even after that, the price of $49.95 for three machines, said Wilcox, is a warning to companies like Symantec, Trend Micro, McAfee and others that Microsoft is serious about taking share.

So serious, in fact, that Wilcox expects some substantial fall-out. “Microsoft’s entrance into the security product market will drive out many of the smaller vendors within 24 months,” he predicted.

Source: informationweek

NASA has created a new online ‘Kids’ Club’ serving up games, activities and plenty of action for future explorers. NASA will rollout the Web site Thursday, April 6, from 8 to 9 a.m. PDT in the Redondo Room, Hilton Anaheim Hotel, 777 Convention Way, Anaheim, Calif. The event is part of the National Science Teachers Association national conference, and it is open to the media.

The new site will feature animated, colorful, entertaining and educational activities for children in kindergarten through fourth grade. Interactive games include exploring and learning about space, building and launching rockets, exploring Mars, keeping airplanes on schedule and helping a comet travel through the solar system.

The Kids’ Club site serves a dual purpose. Children can play the games at home for their pure entertainment value. Educators can use the activities as a fun way to reach students in the classroom, the library, during after school programs or anywhere children and computers are together.

NASA’s education programs motivate and engage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The programs support activities in the nation’s schools and distribute information through instructional and outreach products.