If you're installing Windows XP SP3 on multiple machines, or you still haven't got around to downloading it at all - you'll be pleased to learn Microsoft has released SP3 as an ISO image you can burn to CD, and then install from disc.

As Vista and Windows 7 share the same core code, Microsoft has decided to merely nudge up the version number (Windows Vista was 6) so that applications are tricked into thinking it's Vista they're dealing with

Kapersky Antivirus has been around for some time and often pops up on home computers as the uneducated user’s anti-virus software of choice. Unfortunately, it really isn’t as user friendly a program as it should be for novice users.

Encarta Premium Suite claims a base of 130,000+ articles, along with 25,300+ photos and illustrations and 1.8 million map locations. That's more than a bit of bedtime reading, although of course there are really only two reasons why people buy digital encyclopedias these days -- either they've got kids to educate, or they're after some verifiable and quotable facts for a research project. For almost anyone else, of course, there's Google.