First, there was Freespire; then, free CNR. Now, here comes FreeLinuxEmail, a free email and file storage system from Linspire. The system was developed by Messaging Engine of Melbourne, Australia. It offers anywhere-access for Linspire 5-0 and Freespire 1.0 users. FreeLinuxEmail boasts free email and file storage, and a swift Web interface. It supports SMTP for sending email and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) for mobile phone access.

A leading seller of software for investigating computer crimes has reached a settlement with federal regulators, after a hacking incident exposed data on thousands of its customers. Under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission announced on Thursday, Guidance Software must put into place a "comprehensive information-security program" and undergo audits by independent, third-party security professionals once every two years for the next decade.

Tech workers are sorely lacking in career support from their superiors, according to a study released Nov. 14 by a New York-based online career site for technology professionals, Dice.com. Eighty-two percent of IT professionals responded that being able to keep their skills up-to-date was their biggest concern. Yet, one-third of respondents said their employers’ encouragement of their skills development was "only fair" or sub par; 26 percent of techies rated their employers’ performance in this area as "excellent," though 40 percent rated it as "good."

One of the most common questions people ask about Google is whether the search-cum-media company is friend or foe. The company’s business is almost a carapace of computing power, surrounding any form of content and threatening to monetize it in the most effective way possible: advertising. This dynamic frustrates traditional media companies to no end. But Google does have weaknesses. Here you’ll find five chinks in the great G Poppa’s armor.

WinZip Computing announced the release of WinZip 11.0. WinZip is a powerful and easy-to-use compression utility that quickly zips and unzips files to conserve disk space and greatly reduce email transmission time. Highlights of WinZip 11.0, available in Standard or Pro, include practical image handling through thumbnails and a new internal image viewer, more efficient compression, enhanced data backup functionality, and support for RAR and BZ2 files.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has been named one of the Internet’s top 20 hacker targets by a leading security organization. The SANS Institute also said Wednesday that Microsoft Office and Windows Libraries and Services are some of the most vulnerable applications available on computers today. But Microsoft was not alone in the annual list, released Wednesday. Apple Computer’s Mac OS X was also cataloged, along with "configuration weaknesses" in Unix.

Borland Software announced the formation of CodeGear, a company with the goal of advancing the Borland integrated development environment tools. The CodeGear development team says the new company retains the technology’s roots. "This is really what we were looking for," said Michael Swindell, vice president of product strategy at CodeGear, based in Scotts Valley, Calif. "We wanted to be a separate company, an independent unit to focus on our strengths in Windows Vista and Eclipse, but also in PHP, Ruby and other technologies."

Remote Control software developer NetSupport, announced the release of NetSupport Manager 10. The latest version features a new "vista" style interface, real-time screen monitoring of computers, extended platform support and a range of additional management tools. NetSupport Manager now in its 16th year of evolution has consistently been recognized as one of the leading PC remote control solutions. Version 10 extends the envelope allowing for unified management and monitoring of systems across a range of platforms including, Windows 9x, 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, Mac, Linux, CE, Windows Mobile, Pocket PC and Solaris all within a single view.

Former Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman Patricia Dunn pleaded not guilty Wednesday to four felony identity theft and fraud charges for allegedly instigating the company’s ill-fated spying probe into boardroom leaks. Dunn appeared briefly for her arraignment in Santa Clara County Superior Court and was released on her own recognizance after her lawyer entered the plea for her. She and her attorney, Raj Chatterjee, declined to comment as they left court.

In 2002, the English government embarked on a $12 billion effort to transform its health-care system with information technology. But the country’s oversight agency now puts that figure at $24 billion, and two Members of Parliament say the project is sleepwalking toward disaster.