A new beta version of the Windows Media Player is available. This version has an attractive look and a nice feel, but Itunes is still my primary music player. We'll also look at some oddities in technology news and a fake postcard that's a Trojan Horse. In Nerdly News, we see the end of support for Windows 9x.

This week's program is short because I'm taking some time off for the Independence Day weekend, but I wanted to pay tribute to Knight-Ridder and the San Jose Mercury News. Also this week I replaced the battery in my aging Ipod.

I've been using a high-priced FTP application for several years, but the best FTP program today is free. Updating a Microsoft application failed because Microsoft couldn't vouch for its own software. Higher speeds mean hotter laptop computers, but Apple's latest crop is hotter than ever. (Listen for the cat at 9 minutes 18 seconds.)

Nero's latest version has enough new features and improvements to get anyone's attention. It certainly got mine. We'll take a look at some of the reasons I like Itunes and at the world's largest Ipod.

Ever find yourself at a premium-content portal after starting a Google search? Now you can get the information for free! After grumbling about poor customer service recently, I had the opportunity to see customer service done well.

One of the main reasons I like the Firefox browser is all the plug-ins (extension) that are available. I'll take a look at a few of the nearly 1600 that are available. And then I'll cast a surly eye (can eyes be surly?) toward customer service. And, of course, there's Nerdly News.

Juice is a free open-source podcast receiver, so it's free and it works on both PCs and Macs.

If you receive a greeting card from "a family member" there's a good chance that it's not a greeting card and that it's not from a family member.

Some audio considerations if you want to record professional-sounding audio.

Short (1 minute 30 seconds) test podcast.