• Windows XP Service Pack 2, scheduled for release next month, will be available as a "critical" download on the Windows Update site and will ship with new PCs. The update will introduce technologies for network protection, memory protection, secure e-mail handling, secure browsing and PC maintenance. A new Windows Security Center allows firewall monitoring, Automatic Update and third-party anti-virus software and warns customers when they need to apply patches. Microsoft will probably ship free CDs, but consumers will probably pay for shipping and handling.

• Chipmaker, Intel, and PC makers are shifting the PC to multimedia hub for the home. Intel predicts two new categories

• Entertainment PCs will imitate stereo and video components, like a VCR, and will play music and DVDs, record TV programs and even show picture slide shows.

  Entertainment PCs will use your TV for display and be operated by remote control.

  Lifestyle PCs, designed to inhabit bedrooms and kitchens, will look like desktop computers and will be operable via remote control or keyboard, allowing users to write an e-mail and later play a video or music. Lifestyle PCs will also come with multimedia software such as Windows XP Media Center.

  The new PCs will be pricey. An entertainment PC might start at $700 - $900 and sell for $1,400. Lifestyle PCs could start at $600, but with a large flat panel display could sell for as much as $2,000. PC makers have also announced plans to offer special media adapters called the Windows Media Center Extender, which will let consumers view Media Center files on TVs. SnapStream Media has also figured out a way to get your PC in touch with TV. Firefly is a remote control that lets people manage media and entertainment on their PCs --TV tuning, DVD playback, streaming video, digital music players and photos. Firefly is compatible only with Windows XP and Windows 2000 PCs equipped with a 500MHz processor, 128MB of memory, 100MB of free hard disk space, and a CD or DVD drive. Firefly will cost $49.99.

• HP's Media Center PC of the future has a remote control with a built-in LCD screen for programming recordings. The PC, known as the Windows Home Concept, also supports Internet telephony, dual high-definition TV tuners, biometric security, and a built-in cable modem. For a web-based slideshow and more information about these new concept PCs, see: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1586428,00.asp

• Internet2, the high-speed network designed to facilitate scholarly collaboration among university researchers, has spawned a new turbo-charged file-trading network dubbed i2hub. University network administrators are concerned that copyright violations are occurring and a computer support specialist at Florida State University says: "The fact is, (the network) cost a lot of money and downloading games and music should be the last priority on any campus network."

• Yury Gitman, a self-described "wireless and emerging-media artist" in New York, has outfitted his bicycle with an iBook laptop and Wi-Fi antennas so that everywhere he goes, a cloud of free, high-speed wireless Internet access follows. Demand for wireless Internet access in automobiles has been picking up, and plans are to offer it in airplanes soon.

• Memory designer Rambus, has begun to license designs for interfaces for DDR DRAM, or double data rate DRAM, the most common type of memory found in PCs and a technology that's often used in consumer electronics devices. The interfaces let another component retrieve data out of DDR DRAM chips. A new version, called DDR 2, will be released soon that runs at 533MHz. It will soon speed up to 800MHz.

• Last year, Congress increased the amount small businesses can write off on new equipment purchases from $25,000 to $100,000. Known as the Section 179 deduction or the SUV tax, the increase is serving as motivation for sport utility vehicle purchases, but also is an incentive to purchase technology-related equipment. It's available only through 2005, so businesses should decide quickly whether or not to spend while the spending's good.

• IBM plans Web-based desktop software. Lotus Workplace strategy, is a bundle that includes e-mail, word-processing, spreadsheet and database applications aimed at business users. The new software is designed to be distributed and accessed through a Web server, and accessible from systems running Windows, MAC, Linux, Unix and handheld devices. IBM hopes to sway customers to Lotus Workplace with ease of management, mobility and price. The new software is designed to be used offline, so mobile users on laptops or handheld devices can connect, quickly access applications and disconnect to work offline. IBM plans to charge $2 per user per month for access to the software, plus the cost of server software to make the system work.

• The History Channel's 13-episode series on "Decisive Battles" that debuts July 17 makes use of a not-yet-released PC game to re-create the epic battles that mark ancient Rome's colorful history. "Rome: Total War" will be published by Activision this fall.

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