Looking to draw Windows users away from Apple's wildly popular iPod, Creative has released a mammoth update to its NOMAD Jukebox Zen portable audio player. The hard drive based Zen boasts an immense storage capacity of 60GB - twice that of largest iPod.

The NOMAD Jukebox Zen sports a sleek aluminum case and USB 2.0 connectivity for fast song transfers. Creative has priced the Zen at $400, $100 cheaper than Apple's new 30GB iPod.

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Intuit is seeking beta testers for Quicken 2004, the next release of the company's flagship personal finance software. Both Windows and Mac versions will be tested in separate betas.

Quicken 2004 for Windows, code-named Aquarius, will enter testing this month. Testers will be asked to download beta software updates and submit problems reports and printed forms for technical review. The beta has little system requirements, running on any machine with Windows 95 or newer.

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Apple has begun taking the first steps to build a Windows version of iTunes, a move that CEO Steve Jobs hinted at during Monday's launch of the iTunes Music Store. Jobs said Apple would bring the music download service to Windows by the end of the year, but did not disclose whether the company would develop the necessary software in house.

However, a recent job posting on Monster.com reveals that Apple is indeed seeking developers to create iTunes for Windows.

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Bringing to a close months of speculation and rumor, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took center stage Monday at the Moscone Center in San Francisco to announce the launch of the iTunes Music Store and fresh iPod models.

Built directly into the newly released iTunes 4, the Music Store features 200,000 songs from the five major record labels, each available for $0.99 without a subscription fee. Full albums can be purchased at discount rates depending on the number of tracks, with standard albums priced at $9.99.

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Continuing the suspicious trend of major Longhorn builds appearing on the Internet like clockwork, Milestone 5 of Microsoft's next generation Windows release has leaked out of Redmond. The internal alpha build, numbered 4015, is the third Longhorn milestone to end up available for download on newsgroups and IRC channels.

After acknowledging previous Longhorn leaks, however, Microsoft claims it is working to find the source.

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Initially on schedule to follow Office 2003 Beta 2 with a release candidate, Microsoft disclosed that it will instead issue a refresh of the entire Office System second beta containing numerous improvements.

It is not clear what effect the surprise update will have on the final release timetable, but Redmond still expects a release to manufacturing this summer.

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At a gala event in San Francisco Thursday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer heralded the arrival of Windows Server 2003, bringing to a close almost three years of development and four name changes.

Windows Server 2003 is set to serve as the foundation for Microsoft's Windows Server System, which includes products that run atop the new operating system. Redmond's Real-Time Communications Server, originally code-named Greenwich, and Rights Management Services are slated for release in the coming months.

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At the Embedded Systems Conference in San Francisco this week, Microsoft announced that Windows CE .NET version 4.2 has been released to manufacturing. Over 60 companies such as Toshiba and Samsung took part in development of the embedded operating system, code-named McKendric.

Windows CE .NET 4.2 boasts increased security and kernel enhancements including a new compression engine and flexible cache flushing. McKendric adds support for Internet Protocol Firewall and IPsec, as well as providing a full graphical interface for telephony.

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Hughes Network Systems is looking for current DirecTV subscribers to beta test its latest satellite television products. Applicants must be a current customer in good standing and have Internet access. Testers will be asked to perform tests as needed and fill out bug reports.

DirecTV has garnered a fair amount of media attention this year, as speculation swirled over who would purchase the company. Earlier this month, General Motors sold Hughes and DirecTV to News Corp. in a $6.6 billion deal.

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A preview version of Microsoft Virtual Server, Redmond's rebranded version of the Connectix product it purchased last February, has slipped out onto newsgroups and Internet sites. Never publicly released, Connectix began beta testing Virtual Server late last year.

Microsoft Virtual Server enables enterprises with large server clusters to reduce the amount of physical machines by running multiple virtual servers on each. Microsoft plans to also position Virtual Server as a migration path for businesses still running Windows NT4 servers, which can be consolidated onto a newer machine running Windows Server 2003.

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In a cash and stock deal valued at about $36 million, RealNetworks announced this week that it has agreed to acquire Listen.com. Real plans to integrate Listen's Rhapsody music subscription service into its own RealOne offerings. Rhapsody will also transition from Microsoft's Windows Media format to RealAudio.

The deal brings into question Real's future with MusicNet, the joint venture subscription service the company launched with Bertelsmann, AOL and EMI. RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser says Real will continue to support MusicNet as an underlying technology for other services, but feels Listen has created a "best of breed" experience for consumers.

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Beta test firm Centercode is looking for technical and non-technical BetaNews readers interested in testing an innovative new personal security system. Using infrared detection, the device can be placed anywhere and provides a simple and efficient method for personal safety or protecting property.

Weighing approximately five pounds, the security system plugs into a phone line and is equipped with a battery backup in case of power failure.

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Following up on its winter-themed add-ons for Windows XP released last December, Microsoft on Tuesday issued new XP "Fun Packs" to celebrate the spring season.

The Fun Packs are designed to showcase digital media features in Microsoft's flagship operating system, adding functionality to Windows Media Player 9 and Movie Maker 2. New Power Toys are also available for Windows XP: a video screen saver and automatic desktop wallpaper changer.

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Apple developers have made available the source code to version 6.5 of Darwin, the BSD UNIX operating system that serves as the core to Mac OS X. Darwin 6.5 corresponds to the recently released Mac OS X version 10.2.5.

Although Darwin binaries are issued for major Mac OS X revisions, Darwin 6.5 constitutes a source-only update designed specifically for developers.

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Continuing efforts to phase out confusing .NET nomenclature from its product names, Microsoft has repackaged its enterprise server family as the Windows Server System. The new brand will revolve around Windows Server 2003 and include those products and services that run atop the Redmond's server operating systems.

Forthcoming additions to Windows Server 2003, including Real-Time Communications Server and Rights Management Services, will become part of the new brand. SQL Server, BizTalk Server, Commerce Server, Content Management Server, Host Integration Server, Exchange Server, SharePoint Portal Server, Project Server, Internet Security and Acceleration Server, Systems Management Server, Operations Manager, and Application Center will also be members of the Windows Server System.

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