Microsoft Vista: Companies Can Wait

Corporate buyers may be slow to adopt the new operating system and Office business programs
it's been five years since the last release of Microsoft's Windows operating system, and more than three since the previous iteration of its Office word-processing and spreadsheet program debuted. So when businesses get the chance to buy the newest flavors—Windows Vista and Office 2007—on Nov. 30, you might think there would be a lot of pent-up demand. Not so much.

When Microsoft's two most important products become available for businesses (the consumer version of Vista will be ready in January), adoption is likely to be modest at best. To some extent, that's because companies are cautious about adopting new technology. They want to make sure new products work with existing systems. And they don't want to disrupt employees who are accustomed to using what they have.

Much to Be Thankful for at Dell

A better-than-expected third quarter earns Dell CEO Kevin Rollins some needed goodwill on Wall StreetIn its first upbeat financial news in more than a year, Dell reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, raising hopes that the PC maker may finally be finding its way out of a prolonged slump.

TRACY 'TRASHED' AGAIN

'SNL' VET IN DWI BUST HERENot - so - funnyman Tracy Morgan was caught stinking drunk behind the wheel in upper Manhattan yesterday - earning his second misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated charge in 11 months, cops said.

The comedian, who got more snores than laughs on "Saturday Night Live" and currently plays a drunk, washed-up comic on "30 Rock," was arrested at 4:30 a.m. when cops allegedly spotted his Cadillac Escalade weaving in and out of lanes on the Henry Hudson Parkway near 158th Street.

He was a few minutes from his apartment in Spuyten Duyvil in The Bronx.

Morgan, 38, is still on probation after a Hollywood bust for impaired driving last December, when cops stopped him for speeding. He pleaded no contest in February to a misdemeanor charge of drunken driving and had to attend an alcohol-education program.

"I am coming from a club," cops said the boozy-breathed, watery-eyed Morgan told them during his pre-dawn arrest yesterday. "Yes, I had some beer."

Once taken to the 28th Precinct, the stand-up comic was falling-down drunk, Manhattan prosecutors charge. He gave an allegedly stumbling, unsteady performance during his coordination test - which he failed.

He also blew a .126 on his breath test, indicating his blood-alcohol content was well above the .08 limit, cops said.

Morgan's blood-alcohol level had been .13 after his Hollywood arrest.

Morgan was brought before a Manhattan Criminal Court judge by 2:30 p.m. and charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, and the violation of operating a motor vehicle while impaired.

He refused - at least for now - a plea deal in which he would avoid jail by paying a $1,000 fine, serving five days community service.

SOLITARY MAN

LILLO Brancato Jr., the fledgling actor who appeared in "A Bronx Tale" and is now a Rikers Island inmate, is doing his third stint in solitary confinement (referred to as "punitive segregation") after sources say he tested positive for heroin. The first two times he landed in solitary, sources say the punishment was for disrespecting an officer. Brancato is being held on murder charges relating to the shooting death of Police Officer Daniel Enchautegui in The Bronx last year

3 BIMBOS OF THE APOCALYPSE

NO CLUE, NO CARES, NO UNDERWEAR: MEET THE PARTY POSSE OF THE YEAR
- THEY have already been dubbed "The Brit Pack": three girls, increasingly famous for making spectacularly bad choices, marshaling their collective brain power to navigate the booths and banquettes at Hyde or Spider Club or wherever it is they're drinking it off on any given night.

Paris Hilton, her frenemy Lindsay Lohan, and newly separated Britney Spears: three party girls without a care (babies? what babies?), a high tolerance for alcohol, or a good publicist.

In the past week, Spears - who has a 1-year-old and 2-month-old at home - has spent every single night partying with Hilton (and, occasionally, Lohan). A quick study, Spears - long absent from the scene, what with being married and pregnant and all - has already picked up such "It" girl tricks as how to make sure your picture winds up everywhere. Such as, don't wear underwear and flash your crotch while pretending you hate the paparazzi and tearfully beg for them to leave you alone.

JUDGE & FURY

A day after claiming police used "excessive force" in the strip-club car shooting that left an unarmed man dead on his wedding day, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday said he was speaking only as "a civilian" - but then stated he wants the cops tried in Queens.

Responding to criticism from the police unions for labeling the actions of five cops who unleashed 50 rounds "unacceptable," Bloomberg stated, "I said what I believed. I am a civilian. I am not a professional law-enforcement officer."

And although not a single indictment has been handed up in the shooting death of Sean Bell, 23, the mayor - who urged New Yorkers not to rush to judgment - was already talking about where the jury should sit.

Jesse Jackson Urges Boycott of 'Seinfeld' DVD Box Set in Wake of 'Kramer's' Racist Rant

LOS ANGELES — Black leaders on Monday challenged the entertainment industry, including rappers, to stop use of the racial slur that Michael Richards uttered in his tirade.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and others said they will meet with TV networks, film companies and musicians to discuss the "n-word."

"We want to give our ancestors a present," Jackson said at a news conference. "Dignity over degradation.

Grease & quiet?

O.J.'s ex sis-in-law: News Corp. tried to buy my silence in failed TV, book deal

The O.J. Simpson book fiasco took another shocking turn yesterday when his former sister-in-law claimed that Rupert Murdoch's deputies offered her family "millions of dollars" in "hush money."

Denise Brown concluded the money was intended to buy her family's silence on Simpson's print and TV deal with Murdoch's News Corp. in which Simpson was to expound on how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

But the offer made to the Brown and Goldman families over the weekend - after criticism erupted over the book and TV deal - amounted to a hollow promise because it was contingent on the book and TV special turning a profit.

With advertisers balking at backing the TV show, stores threatening to keep the book off shelves and millions of dollars in expenses, any profits would have been iffy at best.

Simpson, much to the fury of the Browns and Goldmans, may get the last word on his scandalous tome titled "If I Did It." His attorney Yale Galanter told The News that Simpson is planning to break his silence and do "a couple of major interviews" to react to the book debacle.

Both the Brown and Goldman families turned down the money offer made by senior News Corp. executives, and on Monday, Murdoch pulled the plug on the entire project calling it "ill-considered."

"They wanted to offer us millions of dollars. Millions of dollars for, like, 'Oh, I'm sorry' money. But they were still going to air the show," Brown, 50, told NBC's "Today."

"We just thought, 'Oh my God.' What they're trying to do is trying to keep us quiet, trying to make this like hush money, trying to go around the civil verdict, giving us this money to keep our mouths shut."

Mills: Split worse than limb loss

Heather Mills has said she would rather lose the rest of her limbs than repeat the trauma of her marriage breakdown.

In her first television interview since her split with Sir Paul McCartney, she told US entertainment show Extra she would never marry again.

The 38-year-old former model, who lost a leg in a motorbike accident in 1993, said she had been "vilified".

"I would rather someone come up and chop off all my limbs than go through what I went through," she said.

She added: "It's a fact because if your limbs are chopped off you ... get another limb and there's light at the end of the tunnel.


"When you're vilified for doing nothing but falling in love with an icon ... I'd rather have all of my limbs cut off that's the God's honest truth."

iPod report boosts Apple shares to all-time closing high

Shares of Apple Computer closed at an all-time high Thursday after PiperJaffray released an upbeat research note stating that the company appears on track to see record-setting sales of its iPod digital music players during the December holiday quarter.

Demand for Apple's new iPod shuffle outstripping supply

Apple Computer's second-generation iPod shuffle is in extremely high demand this month with sales tracking in excess of 5 million for the quarter, AppleInsider has been told.

People familiar with the matter say Apple executives are thrilled with the strong response to the diminutive 1GB flash-based digital music player, which recently eclipsed the iPod nano by rising to the forefront of the company's top seller list.

Fifty Mistakes Men Make When Having Sex

Just in case you thought the route to sexual bliss was straightforward, here's a list of things to avoid. They're all pretty much guaranteed passion killers for a woman - and if your check list contains more than ten of these, you've got some serious work to do on your sexual etiquette!

Meet me at the Apple Store

Walk by the Staten Island Mall's Apple Store on any given night, and the scene is similar: inside are just as many young teens mugging for the digital cameras as hip elders learning how to edit their own movies and cut their own podcasts. The toughs in baggy jeans futz with iPods and try to lay hip-hop tracks on the digital synthesizers (with, often, the computer belching their discordant notes back at them through high-fidelity speakers). And the computer brainiac workers recognizable by their shirts emblazoned with the word "genius" are the most sought-after people in the place.

It's a place where computer geeks and the tech-savvy download, surf and shop in harmony.The customers say they love it.

"I always come in here," says Michael Tedesco, a 20-year-old from Tottenville. "It's like a social attraction."

The Staten Island store's arrival was hailed as a sign that the borough "could be achieving cultural hipitude," by the magazine Time Out New York, which also pointed out that the shorter wait times for technical help at the Island store make it a magnet for Mac lovers from other parts of the city. It also received an accolade from Apple as having some of the fastest service the company offers, which the staffers brag about with little prompting.

"It's the bridge between average Joe and computer elite," says Joshua Toro, one of the store's geniuses, who spends hours every week giving one-on-one lessons newly available in the store.

Toro speaks with casual confidence about today's tech-savvy consumers. Those consumers are using their computers to do what radios, CD players, televisions, desk calendars and even alarm clocks are supposed to do. They are becoming homegrown radio stars by publishing podcasts.

And they are showing up in droves at the Apple Store to learn and play.

Toro says the store has hooked into the changing attitude of electronics customer -- from "How do I use it?" to, "What can I do with it?" -- so that as consumers incorporate these devices into their lives, the Apple's tech support structure becomes an important part of their lives as well.

But, more simply, Apple Stores are seen as cool, and part of the answer to why may lie in their shrewd minimalist design: though all the other electronics-centered stores allow customers to sample and test the merchandise, the light-wood, open-spaced setting of all Apple Stores is uniquely inviting. And the merchandise, ranging from sleek iPods to elegant laptops, resembles works of art. The experience is fully hands-on: shoppers are encouraged to come in to play music, browse the Web, check email -- basically, to do whatever they want on Apple's dime and time. A low table, squishy seats and computers stocked with colorful games appeal to the younger critters.

O’Reilly: iPods Are Endangering America

I don’t own an iPod. I would never wear an iPod… If this is your primary focus in life - the machines… it’s going to have a staggeringly negative effect, all of this, for America… did you ever talk to these computer geeks? I mean, can you carry on a conversation with them? …I really fear for the United States because, believe me, the jihadists? They’re not playing the video games. They’re killing real people over there.

Second iPhone in the Works

Apple Computer is now working on developing a second iPhone that will likely have instant messaging capabilities and will work with its iTunes software, according to one Wall Street analyst.

Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research, wrote in a Nov. 20 research paper that this iPhone will leverage the iChat feature on the company's Macintosh computers to offer users IM capabilities.

Royal flush: Fancy new public bathrooms in Times Square

Even amid the flashing lights and dizzying colors of Times Square, this is one tourist magnet that's hard to miss: a huge, glowing blue sign bearing the word "Restrooms" and an arrow pointing down.

In a public relations extravaganza that just begged for potty humor, a toilet-paper company rolled out a fit-for-royalty complex of new public thrones in Times Square on Monday, just in time for the busy holiday season.

"You put in a bar in this place and we'd really rock," said actress Doris Roberts, best known as the cantankerous mom on television's Everybody Loves Raymond. As newly crowned "Queen of the Throne," Roberts snipped a white toilet paper ribbon with jumbo scissors before commencing with the ceremonial first flush.

Richards Racial Tirade Draws Castigation

A barrage of racial epithets unleashed by former "Seinfeld" star Michael Richards during a stand-up comedy routine drew condemnation from Richards' industry colleagues.

OJ BOOK, INTERVIEW PULLED

News Corporation today announced it is canceling the publication of O.J. Simpson's hotly controversial book, "If I Did It" because of public outcry over the project.

Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and CEO of News Corp., said he also has ordered the company to nix an upcoming Fox TV special in which the suspected murderer "confesses" as he details his hypothetical role in the grisly slayings of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her waiter pal, Ron Goldman.

Renewing a License to Kill and a Huge Movie Franchise

The latest James Bond vehicle — call him Bond, Bond 6.0 — finds the British spy leaner, meaner and a whole lot darker. Now played by an attractive bit of blond rough named Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan having been permanently kicked to the kerb, Her Majesty’s favorite bad boy arrives on screens with the usual complement of cool toys, smooth rides, bosomy women and high expectations. He shoots, he scores, in bed and out, taking down the bad and the beautiful as he strides purposefully into the 21st century.

ZITO WILL END UP A MET

Eight execu tives were queried as they departed the GM Meetings yesterday on where they thought free agent Barry Zito would end up, and five predicted the Mets.

WHY I SQUEEZED THE JUICE

- The powerhouse publisher who's hawking O.J. Simpson's "tell-all" tome - and who asked him point-blank how he "would" have killed his ex- wife - is now making a confession of her own.http:

A Digital S.L.R. That Gives Hints on What an F-Stop Means

Like many recent digital single-lens-reflex cameras, the new Nikon D40 is considerably smaller than its corporate siblings. At $600 with a zoom lens, it is also substantially less expensive. In an attempt to distinguish itself from competitors, however, the 6.1-megapixel D40 takes a novel approach to giving photographers advice on how to use it.

Airlines prepare for iPod take-off

Microsoft teams with Sprint on mobile Web service

Microsoft and Sprint are launching a combined service that will allow some Sprint customers to use Windows Live Search to look for location-based information from the Web.

NWS: Severe Weather Coming to Tri-State

The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for the tri-state area.

A fierce storm and its surrounding low-pressure system is will head to the northeast Thursday, through the Ohio Valley into Canada. But rather than putting the northeast in the clear, that system will "drag its trailing cold front across the tri-state area Thursday night," the service reported.

The NWS warned heavy rains, isolated thunderstorms, and flash flooding will all be possible through Friday morning, with estimates of rainfall amounting to 1.5 to 2.5 inches.

The weather warning was issued for the following counties:

Northern Fairfield
Passaic
Bergen
Essex
Hudson
Union
Orange
Putnam
Rockland
Westchester
Manhattan
Bronx
Richmond
Kings
Queens

What I Would've Done ?????

WE HEAR . . .Donald Grandpa ????

Donald Trump will become a grandfather for the first time next year when Donnie Jr.'s wife, Vanessa, gives birth. The gorgeous mom-to-be celebrated her cover on the Hamptons magazine holiday issue last night at the 460 Degrees Gallery on Fifth Avenue . . . THAT Robin Schiff, writer and executive producer for the up-and-coming "The Devil Wears Prada" TV series, is shadowing Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles and other editors to research what it's like to run a national women's magazine.

TURNER TURNS UP THE POWER

CONDO CRAZE

TENANTS resisting the conversion of Manhattan House at 200 E. 66th St. (once home to Grace Kelly) into condos blame it for the death of a 97-year-old resident. Martin Burwick, whose unregulated lease would have been up in April 2007, died of pneumonia on Monday, causing some activists to blame the stress of eviction. "A man is dead, and it's from the conditions in the building," one tenant said. A spokeswoman for Manhattan House, owned by Richard Kalikow and Jeremiah O'Connor, denied the claim: "We are all very sorry to hear about the death of the 97-year old gentleman. We have taken every precaution to ensure the safest and healthiest environment for the tenants."

SAPPHIC SISTERS

ANOTHER day, another celebrity coming out of the closet. This time it's "Terminator 3" hottie Kristanna Loken. When The Advocate came to interview Loken at her L.A. home, she let them know she was romantically involved with her "Bloodrayne" co-star, Michelle Rodriguez - who has never made a secret of her bisexuality. When the magazine asked her point-blank about Rodriguez, Loken giggled, "There is the $64,000 question. Um, I don't even know how to answer that . . . Just don't look upstairs, OK?"

PAY UP OR ELSE

JAN. 4, 2007, looms as a crucial date for soon-to-be single Whitney Houston. According to the Morris County Daily Record, Houston has a $1 million mortgage to pay off on her $5.6 million Morristown, N.J., home. If the recently revamped singer-turned-reality TV star doesn't pay up by the deadline, the house "will end up in a sheriff's sale." Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, which holds the mortgage, said the cash will probably come from a sale rather than a foreclosure. "There are people interested," a rep for the firm said. Houston's publicist did not return our calls.

DOUBLE VISION

IT'S Stereo vs. Stereo. The original Stereo nightclub on West 29th Street is up in arms over another Stereo club opening up tomorrow on West 33rd Street in the former Octagon space. "They're impostors. We've been so successful and they're coming in trying to ride on our coattails," fumed West 29th Street owner Mike Satsky. His lawyer, Bruce Bronster, has asked the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to force the copycat club to find a new name.

PIVEN CUTS IN

JACK Black says Jeremy Piven is holding a six-year grudge against him because he beat the "Entourage" star for the role of the record-store geek in "High Fidelity." Black told Howard Stern on Sirius that as he talked to a director at a recent premiere, Piven "stepped in and all of a sudden he was talking to the director and I was standing there facing the back of his head. I was like, 'Whoa, dude! What are you doing? You just cut me off' . . . He turned around and there was this strange, awkward tension." Could he take Piven in a fight? "I don't know, apparently he's a yoga master," Black quipped. A Piven rep insisted, "He loves Jack Black."

PINSTRIPE PIN-UP for Derek Jeter ??????

DEREK Jeter has a new babe. The Yankee shortstop went out in L.A. Tuesday night with his new squeeze, Jessica Biel . According to my spy's around town, the couple were huddled in a corner of hot club Hyde, "laughing and giggling together." At one point, Jessica, voted Esquire's "sexiest woman alive" in 2005, went to the restroom and three girls quickly scurried over to chat with Jeter. But as soon as Biel returned, he put all his attention on her. The two left together. A Biel rep didn't return calls.

O.J. SPILLS HIS GUTS IN TV TEARFEST

A pathetic O.J. Simpson delivered a blubbering double-murder "confession" during his shocking TV interview that hypothetically details his role in the grisly slayings.

Firefox 2 tops IE 7 in anti-phishing study

A Mozilla-commissioned study has given the anti-fraud features in the Firefox 2 browser high marks, finding they are much more effective than those in Internet Explorer 7.

SIGHTINGS

NAOMI Campbell, incognito in a short wig, in Fred Segal in Hollywood apologizing to a fellow shopper after she accidentally hit him with her huge purse . . . ABC news anchor Charlie Gibson being joined by rival NBC evening news anchor Brian Williams at halftime at the Yale/Princeton football game at the New Haven stadium . . . ASHLEE Simpson and new best friend Lindsay Lohan partying at Area in L.A. for the Genetic Jeans party while big sister Jessica Simpson stayed home due to depression . . . JASON Patric having dinner with CAA mega-agent Bryan Lourd at Tower Bar in Hollywood . . . BARRY Manilow eating inside at Da Silvano while his two beefy bodyguards kept watch outside . . . NICK Lachey and gal pal Vanessa Minnillo downing tequila shots and making out at Pure in Las Vegas.

ONE SMALL STEP

CHRISTIE Brinkley and soon-to-be ex-husband Peter Cook finally found something to agree on. The warring spouses reached a legal agreement last week allowing Cook "interim visitation" rights so he can regularly see the couple's two kids, Jack and Sailor, while their divorce is being hashed out, reports The Post's Dan Mangan. The supermodel and the amorous architect, whose trysts with teen temptress Diana Bianchi busted up their decade-long marriage, showed up in a Suffolk County court room last week to seal the visitation deal. Cook lawyer Norman Sheresky would only say, "He's pleased."

QUEEN GETS MEAN

SHE was kind to Catherine Zeta-Jones at the Glamour Awards, but Queen Latifah was royally rude to "Law & Order" actor Bill Burns last week. Burns approached Latifah at Newark Airport and tried to give her his business card. She responded by prompting a friend with her to "rip it to pieces and throw it on the ground," our source says, adding that the companion also spewed racial epithets at Burns (who is white) in front of a crowd. One onlooker called Latifah's friend "a total thug," though no one dared to insult the diva. Her reps said the tale of racist comments is "completely untrue."

MOGUL DUCKS ON HEATHER $EX

- THE searing question of whether Heather Mills McCartney was once a high-priced hooker for wealthy Arab clients has been put to the very man who is accused of hiring her in the first place - and he's not denying it.

Earlier this year, London's News of the World claimed that Mills, embroiled in a nasty split from Paul McCartney, once worked as a prostitute for rich and powerful clients including reputed arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi - an allegation she has denied while admitting she did meet Khashoggi at a party.

Now, celebrity interviewer Daphne Barak has landed a sit-down with Khashoggi in which she asks whether he employed Mills for sex acts. "Was Heather Mills paid for sex - or wasn't she?" Barak asks on a short teaser clip from the interview available on her Web site, daphnebarak.com, which has been viewed by Page Six and will be released next week.

Queens Restaurants Offer Varied Cuisines, Excellent Quality

Across the five boroughs, Queens is the place to eat. Sripraphai in Woodside is the number one restaurant for Thai food and Trattoria L'Incontro in Astoria is the number three restaurant for Italian food, according to the 2007 New York City Zagat Survey. And for the first time, a Queens street food vendor has edged out the Manhattan competition.

Plan To Make 351-Year-Old House Part Of Nat'l PK. System

Congressmembers Carolyn Maloney and Joseph Crowley announced last week that the National Park Service is conducting a three-step process to determine if a 351-year-old house in Astoria, oldest house still being used as a home in New York City, might be eligible for favorable consideration as part of the National Parks System.

Funds Ready To Rebuild Queens Plaza, Job to Start In 2007

(L. to r.): Amanda Burden, Department of City Planning director, Joseph Conley, Community Board 2 chairman, Long Island City Business Development Corporation President Gayle Baron, Borough President Helen Marshall and City Councilmember Eric Gioia listen as Congressmember Carolyn Maloney (at lectern) outlines plans for Queens Plaza development.

Newly Painted Murals At P.S. 122 Vandalized

Photos Mamie Faye School P.S. 122 The P.S. 122 "Handball Wall" completed art mural before graffiti vandals struck.

New Weapon To Halt Identity Theft

A new weapon in preventing identity theft was unveiled on November 1 as a new law went into effect in New York state under which a person can request that a security freeze can be placed on their credit files.

The new law will give New Yorkers a way to prevent identity theft because it will block access to your credit history, explained Consumer Protection Board Chairperson Teresa Santiago.

Graffiti Vandal Arrest Hailed

Ann Bruno, 114th Police Precinct Community Council president (c.), and George Delis, Community Board 1 district manager, pose with Melinda Caudill at the council's October meeting at Riccardo's By the Bridge, Astoria. Caudill contributed $1,000 to the total of $3,185 raised at the meeting for the council's annual children's Christmas party, scheduled for December 2.

106th Precinct breaks up stolen cell phone ring in S. Ozone Park

Police in the 106th Precinct said they had broken up a ring of illegal cell phone sales that may have largely contributed to the area's recent spike in robberies. Capt. John Doherty and Deputy Inspector Michael Coyle held a news conference Monday to announce the arrest of Rajinder Singh, 35, and Sand

Two-alarm blaze damages 2 homes in Astoria: FDNY

Fire Department officials were investigating whether a ruptured gas line was to blame for a two-alarm fire that ripped through two homes in Astoria last week.

From Rocketboom to ABC

Video blogger Amanda Congdon is the latest "cewebrity" to jump to mainstream media; an industry is forming to help others follow her lead

Install Your iPod in Your Car, Permanently

Upgrade your car’s console to house the iPod and integrate the iPod with your car’s audio and electrical systems.

Sirius and XMSR: Merger, Apple Buyout Among the Possibilities

After great quarters for both Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) and rival XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), merger and takeover speculation has picked up and continued to make its way around. (StockRumors.com initially reported merger and takeover rumors between SIRI and XMSR in July of 2006.)

Both companies are growing and appear to have good future potential; however all of the takeover and merger speculation that has been going around has affected the valuation of the stocks. Some have argued that the shares are not overpriced as merger and takeover premium could be built in.

XMSR has typically been the target of the takeover rumors, as it has the smaller market cap of $3.7B. XMSR posted a positive surprise on its earnings, losing less than expected per share (-$0.32). XMSR has cash and securities of $211M.

New MacBook, MacBook Pros get 802.11n treatment

Apple's recently introduced MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops feature an additional upgrade the company has yet to tout: 802.11n wireless connectivity.

Like the iMac line that received a Core 2 Duo upgrade in September, the new laptops have seen their wireless cards replaced by a new varient that supports the 802.11n Draft 1.0 networking standard, although Mac OS X drivers are not yet available.

Apple Computers: the power of creativity and intelligence

For everyone who knows me now this may come as a shock, but I was a bit of a nerd when I was in high school. Specifically, there was an eminently forgettable period of my high school career in which I became obsessed with computers. This was not manifest in the traditional ways—an insatiable craving for computer games or a mastery of the most forgotten-about corners of the C++ coding language. I was too lazy for all of that. Rather, for some reason, in the winter of ninth grade, I decided that I wanted my boring PC to look like a Mac, and I just became obsessed with fooling myself into thinking I had a Mac. This was long before the Steve Jobs renaissance, the iPod, or even OS X. In fact, I suspect that this was some sort of rebellious urge to control and create my personal space. As my parents had long since deprived me of that right vis-a-vis my bedroom (honestly, who needs 12 decorative pillows on his bed?), I guess that controlling my virtual space was the best available substitute for putting up posters in my room.

I downloaded some program that changed the appearance of all of my desktop windows, and I configured them so that they would look and act like a Mac’s. I somehow changed my startup and signoff screen to look like the Apple ones, and I even configured the sounds so that I could hear that odd little “dripping” sound that used to be on the old Macs. To a large extent, I succeeded, until the brilliant gray facade of the fake Macintosh began to crack, choking my sluggish Windows 98 machine with the sheer amount of crap I had loaded to hide the truth. The computer ended up completely shriveling to a slow death, until I had to format and reload everything. As I said, I was a bit of a nerd in high school.

That inexplicable urge I felt in high school to have an Apple seems to have spread virulently to pop culture in an entirely quantifiable way, to which Apple’s explosive fourth quarter profit reports attest. While no one doubts that its products’ chic image and near-flawless functionality have powered the company to its current position, the recent numbers are particularly arresting because they were not fueled by the iPod—rather, it was its Macintosh computer that was, as BusinessWeek calls it, “the belle of the earnings ball.”

Most Reliable Computers Made by Apple, IBM/Lenovo.

According to a recently released report, computers from IBM/Lenovo and Apple Computers experience the least amount of problems and need assistance of highly-experienced tech support.

The first annual computer reliability report from a tech support company called Rescuecom, an analysis that compares computer vendors’ market share with consumer service call data from Rescuecom’s call center, revealed that the number of computer users who own computers by Apple or IBM/Lenovo ask for tech support a lot less compared to users of systems supplied by other leading brands.

One that considers the numbers from Rescuecom should keep in mind that not all the end-users turn to third-party supporter to fix the issues, not all the end-users ask third-party supporter Rescuecom to help them with the issues and other factors that may potentially decrease the reliability of the report from Rescuecom.

Astoria contractor arraigned for failure to pay workers

A 66-year-old contractor who operates on Steinway Street in Astoria was arraigned last Thursday on charges of allegedly failing to pay nine workers more than $33,000 in wages for work they performed at various sites in Queens between 2003 and 2005, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

Roberto Perez of Woodbury was charged with allegedly violating the state's labor law by failing to pay the workers for manual labor at sites throughout the borough between January 2003 and June 2005, Brown said. Perez is the president and owner of Park Construction Management at 18-49 Steinway St. in Astoria, the DA said.
"The victims, who are undocumented residents, were trying to earn an honest living and send money back to their families in their native countries," Brown said. "The defendant assumed, incorrectly, that his alleged greed would go undetected because the victims would be fearful of possible deportation and not complain to authorities."
If convicted, Perez could face a $1,000 fine and a year in jail, the DA said.

City acquires $22M for Queens Plaza revamp

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) and Borough President Helen Marshall said last Thursday that the city has the $22 million necessary for the planned renovation of Long Island City's Queens Plaza.

Upgrades to the plaza will include widened medians, open space, new trees and lighting and a bicycle lane, Maloney said. The project will break ground in 2007 and should be completed by 2009, she said.
"Queens Plaza will soon become the welcoming gateway that the residents of Long Island City deserve," she said. "Queens Plaza has become known for rusty elevated tracks, traffic snarls and take-your-life-in-your-hands crosswalks - but that is all about to change."
Maloney said the federal government will contribute $6.4 million in the next five years, bringing its total contribution to $19.05 million.

WISEGUYS PLAY THE MARKET

GAMBLING RING IS BUSTED IN HUNTS PT.

That's a lotta cabbage.

Tucked in among the bananas and potatoes at the Hunts Point markets in The Bronx, a Genovese -run gambling ring pulled in $1 million a year in green stuff, prosecutors charged yesterday.

The ring -run out of the New York City Terminal Produce Cooperative Market and the Hunts Point Cooperative meat market - allegedly offered sports and numbers betting to both customers and wholesalers.

Market-goers could allegedly place $50 on the Giants - or on their mother's birth date - even as they picked string beans or haggled over sides of beef.

"T

heir overall take was small," said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

"What concerned us was that organized crime was trying to get a foothold into the Hunts Point markets. We are determined to rid these markets of any mob activity whatsoever," he added.

M

anhattan rackets prosecutors and NYPD organized-crime investigators announced the "fruits" of their 17-month-long probe - dubbed "Operation Rotten Apples" - after a morning in which 11 alleged Genovese, Luchese and Bonanno mobsters were arrested in their homes and on the streets.

Key among them is John Caggiano, 59, of Country Club Road in The Bronx.

GRACING GRACIE

GOV-ELECT VISITS MIKE AT MANSION

Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg yesterday sat down for a private breakfast at Gracie Mansion that included political gossip and policy talk about the city - such as how to get the stalled Moynihan

Station back on track.

"It's always been a great relationship with Mayor Bloomberg at a personal level, at a substantive level, and I hope that will continue," Spitzer later told reporters.

Both said they would like to see the stalled station project move forward, although Spitzer later warned there are still "open issues" that need to be worked out.

Spitzer called the proposed Moynihan Station a "spectacular project" and vowed to "move it forward as rapidly as we can, make sure it's financed properly that we understand it."

MOB 'GROWING' PAIN

BUGGED WISEGUYS TAPED TRASHING 'DISGUSTING' GOTTI REALITY-TV SHOW

"Growing Up Gotti" got two thumbs down from a group of old-school gangsters who were secretly taped ripping the reality show, which cashed in on the name of infamous Mafia boss John Gotti.

"It's a soap opera . . . The kids look like girls," Genovese capo Ciro Perrone, 85, groused over dinner at Don Peppe, his Italian restaurant in Ozone Park, Queens, according to an FBI affidavit filed in Manhattan federal court.

Calling the show "insulting" and "one of the most disgusting shows," reputed mobster John Yannucci, 61, scoffed at how the Gottis had resorted to make a buck.

"They are paying a hell of a price to be an embarrassment," Ralph Scopo, a Colombo soldier, said during the Dec. 14, 2004, gripe session, which was first reported on the Web site ganglandnews.com.

The show gave viewers an unscripted view of the blond-trussed Victoria Gotti, daughter of the Dapper Don, and her three unruly and hair-gelled teenage sons living large in their glitzy Old Westbury, L.I., mansion.

Scopo, who was a close pal to the don, trashed the former Gambino boss' grandsons, telling his fellow gangsters, "The kids can't even talk." A&E Network added subtitles to the show so that the boys could be understood.

Scopo added that he was "so embarrassed" for the family that he can't even speak about it, according to the affidavit.

The network pulled the plug on "Growing Up Gotti" in December 2005 after three seasons.

The show likely would have shocked the late Gambino boss, who was known for his fierce sense of pride and never even permitted his wife and daughters to come to court while he was on trial.

But with Gotti gone, the dismay was left to his old cronies.

The gripe session was secretly recorded by an FBI bug placed at a table in the back of Don Peppe, where the crew met every Tuesday and Thursday to discuss mob business, according to the affidavit by FBI Agent John Penza.

The trio talked about how Victoria's ex-husband, Carmine Agnello, father to the Gotti teens, was expected to be released from prison, but they figured he probably wouldn't be able to set the family straight.

HEAVY'-DUTY RESCUE

The City Council has revived a proposal to buy special "jumbo" ambulances for the morbidly obese, officials told The Post.

The idea for the ambulances - which can easily transport people over 500 pounds - has languished in the council for years, but now lawmakers plan to hold a hearing on the issue on Tuesday.

It was spurred by the plight of labor leader, 420-pound Mark Rosenthal, who suffered a stroke in 2003.

The District Council 37 representative was forced to lie strapped on an ambulance floor, because the stretcher couldn't fit him.

"We have to ensure that no one has to ride on the floor of an ambulance again; we would not stand for it for any protected group," said Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D-Queens), the bill's sponsor.

"I'm insisting that the city has one so if there is a call we know that we can save someone's life. We read of these cases where we have to cut a wall to save someone's life then we don't have a way to transport them."

Miguel Martinez, chairman of the council's Fire and Criminal Justice Committee, added that the council wants to ensure the Fire Department is equipped for every New Yorker, morbidly obese or not.

"We've seen pictures of cranes used to lift people," Martinez (D-Manhattan) said. "And in this city we should be able to transport these citizens."

CBS EYE SHEDS A TEAR FOR ED

DEATH OF '60 MINS

November 10, 2006 -- Trailblazing "60 Minutes" correspondent Ed Bradley, who covered the major stories of the last four decades, died unexpectedly yesterday, leaving colleagues and fans in a state of shock.

Friends said Bradley, 65, who died of leukemia at Mount Sinai Hospital, was "an extremely private guy" who had quietly been battling a dormant form of the disease for a year.

Recently, he had been scheduled to have his spleen removed, but the surgery had to be postponed when his condition took a turn for the worse.

"It was in the last 10 days that it spiraled out of control," said "60 Minutes" executive producer Jeff Fager. "He just fought hard and couldn't fight it off. It's a horrible loss."

Bradley's sudden death stunned his CBS colleagues, few of whom knew how ill he was.

"I knew that he had been having a hard time," fellow "60 Minutes" correspondent Mike Wallace said. "But I didn't know how serious it was."

As the news of Bradley's death spread, the network broke into regular programming to announce the tragic news.

The iconic broadcaster will be remembered as one of the most prominent African-American TV journalists in history.

He started with CBS radio in 1967 and joined CBS News in 1971. One of his first TV assignments was the Vietnam War. He was injured in Cambodia. He covered the White House in the late 1970s and anchored the "CBS Sunday Night News" from 1976 to 1981.

Bradley also reported for "CBS Reports" and "Street Stories."

He joined "60 Minutes" in 1981 and continued to appear on TV until his health failed him.

Last month, Bradley made headlines when he interviewed the major players in the case of the alleged rape of a stripper by Duke University lacrosse team members.

Trying Out the Zune: IPod It’s Not

David Pogue - tech writer for the New York Times et al - gives his honest "hand's on" opinion of Microsofts "second" attempt at killing the iPod - the Zune.

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Verizon near content deal with YouTube?

"Verizon Communications, the No. 2 U.S. telecommunications company, is in advanced talks with YouTube to bring the Web site's videos to cell phones and television sets, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday..."

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Google Earth photo tour!

Great overview of the best images on Google Earth - from Area 51, the GooglePlex and Microsoft's HQ, to topless sunbathers and some bizarre crop circles in the North of England.

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Apple ditches "Mac Guy" from Mac commercials

"As Apple prepares a new batch of commercials, 'Mac guy'
—aka Justin Long, of Dodgeball and Herbie: Fully Loaded semi-fame—is nowhere to be found.

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Bush Admits He Lied About Rumsfeld For Political Purposes

Last week, Bush unequivocally told a group of reporters that “Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney to remain with him until the end of his presidency. Today Bush admitted that he had talked to Rumsfeld about resigning and was actively searching for his replacement at the time.

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Macbook Core 2 Duo Is Finally here! W00t

The new intel macbook up mto 25% faster!

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Flickr's Desktop Wallpaper Pool

Over 1,800 Flickr users have posted their favorite wallpaper photos. Minimum 1024x768 resolution.

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Rumsfeld Resigns

Republican officials say Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down.

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Silicone Cleavage Bounces Back

Women in the United States may soon have open access once again to silicone breast implants, which were taken off the market in 1992 because of safety concerns.

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Review: Microsoft improves Web browser

The long-awaited upgrade to Microsoft's Web browser is here, introducing the masses to features available for years in rival products.

My initial thought to Microsoft Corp.'s game of catch-up was "no big deal." But after trying out version 7 of Internet Explorer, the first major release since 2001, I found a number of improvements to like. Normally, those might provide enough reason to switch to IE7 - except rivals like Mozilla's Firefox have been pushing forward with new tools as well.

The most noticeable change in IE is a redesign that replaces menus like "file" and "edit" with task-oriented buttons for printing, searching and the like.

Just as Google Inc.'s novel, folder-less approach to e-mail took getting used to, Microsoft's new interface initially will seem odd. But in no time, I started questioning the old ways - why, for instance, was "print" under "file" and not "view"?

IE7 also introduces a built-in search box and tabbed browsing, which reduces clutter by opening multiple Web pages in a single window. That'll come as new to the 90 percent of Internet users who don't use Firefox and Opera, which already sport both features.

The new Microsoft browser also carries security improvements, including warnings when Web visitors try to go to known "phishing" sites that try to steal passwords.

Version 2 of Firefox, which came out last month a week after IE7, also added a phishing filter, while Opera Software ASA plans to include it with Opera 9.1, expected later this month (The current version, 9.0, came out in June).

I've been a longtime fan of tabbed browsing, first with Opera, then with Firefox, my primary browser these days.

Microsoft has a few unique features, including the display of small, thumbnail versions of all open pages at once. It catches up with Opera and Firefox in letting you save related tabs in groups to reopen at once. But IE7 lacks Firefox's and Opera's ability to reopen a tab you've accidentally closed.

Firefox gets points for search, offering the easiest ways to add search engines and organize them within your search box. In addition, as you start typing in your search, Firefox offers suggestions to finish the query.

Microsoft, on the other hand, has the clearest way to add obscure search engines for which a tool hasn't already been produced (Opera's is easier - but only after you figure it out). And IE7 lets you search recently visited sites based on their content rather than the title or address alone, a task for which I now need Google Inc.'s Desktop program.

The three browsers now support Really Simple Syndication, or RSS, a technology for notifying users of new entries on their favorite news sites and Web journals.

Though Microsoft is catching up with IE7, it is turning RSS into a platform on which outside developers can build standalone applications. Few are available now, but I like the fact you'll be able to update feeds for all programs at once.

That said, Firefox 2 introduced the ability to add feeds to standalone applications or outside RSS services from Yahoo Inc. and others (though unlike with IE, adding to one won't add to all). Opera has a nice e-mail-like interface akin to what's available in standalone programs.

But the most useful feature comes with Firefox 2 and IE7. If you click on a link that is an RSS feed, you get a preview on the Web page along with easy ways to add it to your collection. With Opera, as with previous versions of Firefox, you get garble.

All three browsers now have easy ways to clear private data, such as cookies and browsing history, and to restore open pages the next time you use the browser.

IE7 now lets you enlarge and shrink images along with the text, a feature Opera had before. And IE7 matches Firefox's and Opera's ability to automatically shrink Web pages when you print so margins don't get cut off.

Microsoft introduced a number of security features - a welcome development because it's often the target of hacking and other exploits given its dominant market share.

Active X controls, which are used to make Web sites more functional but can let in spyware and other malicious programs, are disabled by default. But there's a nice touch: Microsoft built in exceptions for well-known, trustworthy sites so most people will never have to turn Active X on - only to forget to shut it off.

Other features include displaying the special codes behind non-English Web addresses, preventing a scam artist from substituting the "a" in the Latin alphabet with the "a" in Cyrillic, so users might think they are visiting the real PayPal site, for instance.

Time will tell whether the security initiatives are enough or even better than those Firefox and Opera engineers have developed - including the rejection of Active X completely.

Firefox 2, meanwhile, sports a universal spell checker. Misspelled words are underlined in red, whether you're composing an e-mail or a blog entry. There's also a feature called Live Titles that lets you see updated stock quotes and eBay auction prices in a bookmark title.

With Opera 9, you get support for an emerging file-sharing mechanism called BitTorrent along with widgets - Web-based applications for checking weather, soccer results or anything else. Plus, Opera lets you easily block individual images - like an annoying graphic - from specific sites, rather than being forced to block all or none.

All three browsers are free downloads, and Microsoft is pushing IE7 as part of its Windows Update service starting this month. Users will be prompted, even if their service is set to automatically install updates. Only Opera and Firefox have Mac and Linux versions.

There are things to like about each browser, and I recommend that IE users at least upgrade to version 7. They may find features to like in Firefox or Opera, but the gap is much narrower now, so IE7 may be satisfactory.

I'll stick with Firefox, however, because IE7 and Opera 9 don't offer enough novel features to break inertia. Firefox 2's improvements are minor but show that its developers aren't resting and waiting five years for the next breakthrough.

Microsoft Relaxes Vista License Terms

Responding to a wave of criticism following news that the licensing terms in Windows Vista allowed the operating system to be moved to another computer only once, Microsoft has changed its position and relaxed the restriction for retail copies of Vista.

Previously, Microsoft had allowed its operating systems to be installed as many times as the customer liked, as long as it was uninstalled from the previous computer. However, with the arrival of Windows Vista, that was to change.

Microsoft attempted to brush off the negative response by saying it was simply updating its licensing terms in Vista to be more clear, noting that Windows XP had the same restriction. But a number of industry pundits and bloggers poked holes in that claim, noting that Microsoft's own documentation said nothing of the sort.

Now, Microsoft is removing the one-computer transfer limit altogether from its retail licensing terms. The company did not specify whether OEM licenses, which come with new computers already running Windows Vista, will also be changed.

"You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this license between devices," the license now reads. "The software may include more than one version, such as 32-bit and 64-bit. You may use only one version at one time."

"Our intention behind the original terms was genuinely geared toward combating piracy; however, it’s become clear to us that those original terms were perceived as adversely affecting an important group of customers: PC and hardware enthusiasts," explained Vista product manager Nick White.

"We respect the time and expense you go to in customizing, building and rebuilding your hardware and we heard you that the previous terms were seen as an impediment to that -- it’s for that reason we’ve made this change," White added. "I hope that this change provides the flexibility you need, and gives you more reason to be excited about the upcoming retail release of our new operating system."

Dell puts AMD-powered notebooks on sale

Dell's first notebooks with chips from Advanced Micro Devices appeared for sale on its website Wednesday, although the company made no formal announcement.

The PC maker has never publicly discussed plans to use AMD's notebook technology. But sources familiar with Dell's strategy said earlier this year that it was only a matter of time before the company added notebooks to the AMD-based desktops and servers it had already introduced.

Three Inspiron 1501 notebooks were available for ordering on Dell's site Wednesday, but the company did not issue a press release. A representative did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The Inspiron 1501 notebooks have a 15.4-inch widescreen display. Two of the models listed on Dell's site use a new processor not listed on AMD's pricing page, the single-core MK-36 processor. Customers have the option of upgrading to more powerful dual-core Turion X2 chips for $50 or $100, depending on the clock speed. With the MK-36 processor, the base price of the first Dell AMD laptop is $704, but a $549 model is available with AMD's Mobile Sempron.

Dell lists a ship date of Nov. 30 for the notebooks. The systems help explain AMD's soaring market share among notebook processors during the third quarter. As for the availability date, a manufacturing pinch might help shed light on why potential customers might have to wait so long to get their hands on the laptops. AMD is moving to new manufacturing technologies just as demand for its chips is increasing, in part because of its new partnership with Dell.

Reading Between the Lines

THIS week brought another spate of bad news for newspapers. Daily circulation is down an average of 2.8 percent over the last six months, continuing a slide that started at least a decade ago. Layoffs and labor strife continued across the country, from Philadelphia to Oakland, Calif.


There’s no question the newspaper industry is “under siege,” as a MediaNews Group publisher told his employees in a memo warning of layoffs at his San Francisco Bay Area newspapers

(eastbayexpress.com). But how bad are things, really?

For starters, those circulation figures may not be as dire as they sound. A “significant portion” of the drop “results directly from the industry’s long-term, and arguably long-overdue, initiative to eliminate inefficient vanity and promotional circulation,” writes Allen Mutter on his blog, Confessions of a Newsosaur (newsosaur.blogspot.com).

SIGHTINGS . . . SIGHTINGS . . . SIGHTINGS

ELISABETH Has selbeck of "The View" costumed as a UPS box with her husband, Tim, in a brown UPS uniform at the N.Y. Giants Halloween party at Tenjune, while Eli Manning made a convincing Super Mario and Michael Strahan scared the ladies off as Hell Boy . . . SHIRLEY MacLaine at Elaine's with Carl Bernstein after seeing Twyla Tharp's "The Times They Are A-Changin' " . . . QUEEN Silvia of Sweden celebrating Halloween at Japonais and dining on filet mignon . . . CHELSEA Clinton at new Village hotspot Cafe Cluny with a group of girlfriends . . . MARK Ruffalo heating up in a sauna at the Castle Beach Club Russian Bathhouse . . . LANCE Bass supporting his boyfriend, Reichen Lehmkuhl's, new book, "Here's What We'll Say," at the Hotel Gansevoort . . . BILLY Baldwin and Chaz Palminteri dancing - not with each other - at the once-"private" Bruno Jamais restaurant, which is now listed in Zagat . . . JOAN Collins in a full-length leopard coat at Arte Café.

MADONNA BURNING UP STREETS

Since arriving in New York on Monday to promote her new children's book - and defend her adoption of a 13-month-old urchin from Malawi - the Material Mom has been acting like a speed freak.

She's ordered her chauffeurs - one a retired cop whose brother is a state senator - to leave the paparazzi in the dust.

As a result, the drivers are breaking every rule - using fake police lights and flashers, zooming through red lights, making illegal U-turns and burning rubber on major thoroughfares.

In fact, Post reporter Marianne Garvey watched Madonna's drivers zip through 40 red lights in four days as startled pedestrians shook their fists in anger.

One driver, who identified himself only as Abel, explained, "Some days she gets in back and says, 'Abel, I don't want to be followed' - and I know what to do."

"She enjoys this," he added. "She likes it when we do bad things."

Madonna has a right to be wary. She's regularly followed by three paparazzi on bicycles, two on motorbikes and others in three cars. Still, state law specifies that only law-enforcement and government vehicles are allowed to use lights and sirens.

Saddam, 2 Others Sentenced to Death

Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced Sunday to hang for crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shiite town, as the ousted leader, trembling and defiant, shouted "God is great!"

As he, his half brother and another senior official in his regime were convicted and sentenced to death by the Iraqi High Tribunal, Saddam yelled out, "Long live the people and death to their enemies. Long live the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!" Later, his lawyer said the former dictator had called on Iraqis to reject sectarian violence and refrain from revenge against U.S. forces.

The trial brought Saddam and his co-defendants before their accusers in what was one of the most highly publicized and heavily reported trials of its kind since the Nuremberg tribunals for members of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime and its slaughter of 6 million Jews in the World War II Holocaust

MacOS X Demo

I put a little video together to show people who don't use Macs or what the big deal is or even if they're thinking about getting one but aren't sure because they don't know what to expect. It's 28 minutes long and covers most of the basics. I could have gone on and on for 24 hours talking about all the cool things, but I hope this satisfies.

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40 Year Old Actress Found Dead in NY Office

Adrienne Shelly, a writer, director and actress who appeared recently in a movie with Matt Dillon, has been found dead in her office by her husband, her agent said Thursday.

Shelly, whose birth name was Adrienne Levine, was found Wednesday at about 6 p.m. An autopsy was performed Thursday, but the medical examiner's office did not have a cause of death.

Shelly, who was 40, recently appeared as Jerry in "Factotum'' with Dillon and had written and directed a film called "Waitress,'' which starred Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion.

She was married to Andy Ostroy and had a 3-year-old named Sophie, according to her agent of about a decade, Rachel Sheedy.

Originally from the New York area, Shelly lived in Tribeca with her family and had been focusing more on writing and directing lately and caring for her daughter, Sheedy said, adding that the death caught Shelly's friends and family off guard.

"She was so psyched about the film,'' Sheedy said, referring to "Waitress.'' "She gathered an amazing cast, and she was really happy and excited to hear back from Sundance about it.''

Pot is Just a Phone Call Away for Many in NY

n a city where you can get just about anything delivered to your door _ groceries, laundry, Chinese food _ a pot smoker named Chris finds comfort in knowing that a quality buzz is just a phone call away.

His call to a pager prompts a return call from a cheery dispatcher who takes his order for potent strains of marijuana.

Within a couple hours, a well-groomed delivery man _ sometimes a moonlighting actor or chef _ arrives at the doorstep of his Manhattan apartment carrying weed neatly packaged in small plastic containers.

"These are very nice, discreet people,'' said the 37-year-old Chris, one of the home delivery marijuana customers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition only their first names be used. "There's an unspoken trust. It's better than going to some street corner and getting ripped off or killed.''

He is among a growing legion of otherwise law-abiding professionals in New York and elsewhere who rely on door-to-door delivery to meet their marijuana needs. Though the phenomenon isn't new, home pot delivery become more prevalent thanks to a shrewder brand of dealing that has transformed the operations into corporate-style businesses.

"It's certainly been the trend in the past 10 years in urban areas that are becoming gentrified,'' said Ric Curtis, an anthropology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who specializes in the drug culture.

As pot smokers have become more genteel, so have the dealers, adopting distribution methods designed to put their customers at ease and avoid the messy turf wars associated with other drugs.

Verizon Moves to Create Cable TV Competition

More than 2 million New Jersey households moved closer Thursday to getting more choices when it comes to cable television service.

The state's leading telephone provider, Verizon, sought state regulators' approval Thursday to offer television in 316 New Jersey communities, bringing more competition to a state where television has been dominated by cable companies.

Verizon said its plan would include 2.1 million homes, or 70 percent of the state's households. It hopes to begin offering the service in late December and have it available to 500,000 homes by March.

The Board of Public Utilities has 45 days to act on Verizon's application.

For $42.99 per month, Verizon proposes offering over a fiber-optic network nearly 200 digital channels, more than 20 high-definition channels and a video library with 3,000 titles.

`We're throwing open the door to video choice in New Jersey and consumers will be the true winners,'' said Dennis Bone, Verizon New Jersey president.

He said Verizon's offerings cannot be matched by cable companies.

But the cable industry said it's ready to compete with telephone providers just as it has competed with satellite companies. Cable companies have also gotten involved in phone service, providing competition to companies like Verizon.

4 Convicted in Beating of NY Tourists in St. Maarten

Four French nationals were convicted Thursday of beating two gay tourists from New York on this Dutch Caribbean island in a brutal attack that left one of the victims, an employee of the CBS News show ``48 Hours,'' with brain damage.

Three citizens of the island's French half, Glen Cockly, Micheline Delaney and Allan Daniel, and a man from the nearby French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, Michel Javois, were found guilty of public violence and grievous bodily harm by Judge Jan Bosch.

Bosch determined that Javois, nicknamed Duracell, was the one who assaulted Ryan Smith and Richard Jefferson with a tire iron as they left a bar with friends on April 6.

Smith suffered brain damage and was unable to speak properly for months. Jefferson's skull was cracked by a blow from the tire iron.

H'WEEN WHIPS AND WEIRDOS

THE rich and famous mixed it up with the nubile and naked at the $1,000-a-head Halloween party at Scores West hosted by Amy Sacco and Jeffrey Jah.

Harvey Weinstein looked smitten as he swigged champagne straight from the bottle and chatted up a stripper dressed as a dominatrix and wielding a whip. "He was quite taken with her," a witness tells us.

TRUMP REACHES OUT TO IVANA

DONALD Trump has had his differences with ex-wife Ivana over the years, but he phoned her after reading our story about her meltdown at the Carousel of Hope ball in Beverly Hills, and offered his help. "He told her he'd love to help her quit drinking," said an insider. "But she told him she just had a bad reaction to NyQuil. She's in denial." Trump, whose older brother, Fred, died of alcoholism, has always been a teetotaler. He recently told a friend, "If I drank, it's guaranteed I'd be an alcoholic, with the life I lead." But while Trump has always tried to be supportive of the mother of three of his kids, he doesn't want her using the Trump name in connection with real estate developments - particularly after two projects she was promoting went bust, one in Las Vegas and one in Australia. "She's not allowed to use 'Trump.' We stopped her," The Donald told a friend. "I have 72 buildings going up. I can't let that happen." Meanwhile, Trump will earn $30 million next year by making 20 speeches for the Learning Annex on a tour that kicks off in Atlanta in February. "It's good money for 20 hours of work," understated Trump.

Announcing New Packaging for Windows Vista and 2007 Office System

With Windows Vista and 2007 Office system, we didn't just redesign the software packages themselves, but are also introducing new packaging for the two products. The packaging has been completely revised and, we hope, foreshadows the great experience that awaits you once you open it. Check out the photos below.

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Analyst: Microsoft Should Buy Yahoo

Merrill analyst Justin Post brought back suggestions that Redmond software behemoth Microsoft should consider a Yahoo acquisition. He said the No. 2 search company would be a catch for either Microsoft or a large media company looking to boost its online presence.

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