In a first for any of the major television networks, NBC announced that starting November 7 an online version of the day's nightly national newscast will be available online. At 10pm ET, a 21-minute version of NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams will be offered to visitors of MSNBC.com.

The program would be the same that aired earlier in the night, but without the commercial breaks. MSNBC.com would insert one commercial break during the show. NBC also plans to archive past newscasts for later viewing, however it was not specified as to how long previous shows would be kept on the site.

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As one of the new Windows Live services, Microsoft has brought online a beta version of its "Safety Center" that does Web based scans of a PC. The Safety Center utilizes an Active X control to check for and removes viruses, clean up the "junk" on a hard disk, and even schedule a disk defragmentation if needed.

"Use the full service scan to check everything, or turn to the scanners and information in the service centers to meet your specific needs," Microsoft says. The company warns, however, that Windows Live Safety Center is still in beta, and has setup a Web log to obtain feedback from users.

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One of the most frequently asked questions following the Windows Live launch on Tuesday has been: "What happens to MSN?" Microsoft executives were quick to reassure that the online brand will survive. But with Messenger, Search, Mail and more becoming Windows Live services, what's left for MSN?

The answer isn't yet clear and will likely only come into focus once Microsoft's next-generation products begin rolling out next year. What is known is that most existing MSN services will get the new Windows Live moniker.

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As part of its Windows Live unveiling Tuesday, Microsoft rolled out a new version of MicrosoftGadgets.com, which serves host to mini-applications that can reside either in Windows Vista's Sidebar or on the new Live.com Web site. The company is offering up three Xbox 360 consoles to spur development of Live.com Gadgets.

"The Microsoft Gadget platform is much more than just desktop items- it will connect Windows and the Web," says Microsoft product manager Sean Alexander. "Start.com was just the beginning." Current Web-based Gadgets include Virtual Earth and Flickr. A tutorial is available for would-be developers.

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Microsoft on Tuesday took the lid off its highly anticipated line of online services, called Windows Live and Office Live. The company has been quick to say that the new products are not meant to replace traditional desktop software, but instead are intended to enhance the Windows experience.

Using a phrase from rival Apple, the company says the goal of the Live initiative is to bring together all Microsoft technologies in a way that "just works," according to company CTO Ray Ozzie.

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Ford on Tuesday demonstrated a truck that can double as an office at the Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show, an annual event for automotive specialty parts manufacturers in Las Vegas.

The company teamed up with Microsoft as well as Stargate Mobile to create a truck that would be useful for contractors who spend a good deal of their workday out in the field. The truck is a customized F-250 Super Duty and includes a GPS unit, wireless broadband connectivity, a printer and digital camera-enabled tablet computer.

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IBM and Sun plan to hold a meeting Friday to help advance the Open Document Format (ODF), and ensure its implementation in products from many software vendors.

According to the invitation, the two companies are hoping that the meeting will clarify some critical issues that some parties interested in implementing the standard have raised. Also, the note suggests that IBM and Sun may be looking into the viability of an "Open Document Foundation."

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Internet users are warned repeatedly about phishing, yet some still are careless as to whom they hand out their personal information. But the authorities are beginning to crack down on the growing problem. On Tuesday, 29 year-old David Levi of Lytham, England was sentenced to four years in jail for stealing money and committing identity theft through an eBay phishing scam.

Levi, along with six others, stole nearly $360,000 from over 160 people through a scam that asked them to update their bank information with eBay. The auction site never sends out such e-mails, and has repeatedly warned its customers about phishing scams that appear to be legitimate eBay communications.

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Sony's PlayStation Portable soared off store shelves with the promise of the first true portable entertainment experience: in addition to video games it plays music and movies, photo slideshows and even supports Web browsing. But getting content onto the PSP has proven easier said than done.

On Tuesday, Sony responded to the complaints by releasing the PSP Media Manager, a software application designed to ease the process of transferring content to the device. Using thumbnail navigation, users can select photos and videos to be converted into formats the PSP supports.

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Nokia said on Tuesday that it had completed both voice and data calls using the Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) standard at a lab in the United States. UMA is a technology that will allow a cellular call to be handed over to a Wi-Fi network. Carriers see UMA as a way to more cheaply extend their wireless networks.

"UMA is poised to open up a number of new opportunities and choices for operators and their end-users," said Mark Louison, senior vice president at Nokia America. "We're one step closer to simplifying the end-user mobile experience to access voice, personal information, and multimedia services on one device irrespective of their location, whether at work, at home, or on the go."

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Nikon on Tuesday announced a new digital SLR camera known as the D200, which is aimed at the professional photographer and capable of a resolution of up to 10.2 megapixels.

The camera will come packed with features useful to pros, such as quick response time, 11-area autofocus, better battery life, and optional Wi-Fi connectivity through a separate add-on to be made available early next year.

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Wired Magazine said Tuesday that it plans to open a retail location in the Soho District of Manhattan, which would stay open from November 18 through December 24. The purpose of the store would be to give shoppers a chance to see the latest technology and gadgets up close. 65 products will be featured, including an auction for a trip into space, worth $102,000.

Customers will make purchases from kiosks around the store, and items would be shipped directly to their homes. In a further twist to the average shopping experience, those who make purchases during the weekends will also receive free shuttle service to their next destination in Wired Volkswagens. "Just as the magazine ushered in a new vision and voice for what's next, the Wired Store expands the boundaries of branded retail outlets," said Wired publisher Drew Schutte.

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Just in time for the holidays, Microsoft on Tuesday took the wraps off Digital Image Suite Plus, which bundles the company's photo editing and organization tool of the same name with Pinnacle Studio 10.0 - a popular video editing application for creating home movies.

Microsoft's answer to Apple's iPhoto, Digital Image Suite 2006, lets users create a photo library using keywords, flags and a "star rating" system, along with effects to pictures such as a black and white filter. RAW images from Canon and Nikon cameras are supported in the latest release.

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Not content with just shipping its Web browser in mobile devices and on the desktop, Opera Software is expanding its horizons to in-flight entertainment systems. As part of a deal announced Tuesday, Opera will be offered as part of the Thales TopSeries System to provide airline passengers with a full Internet experience.

Thales is currently in use by a number of airlines worldwide and functions on most new Boeing and Airbus jets. Opera's international support was named as a key reason for its selection. "Opera's speed, small-size and Extensible Rendering Architecture (ERA), coupled with its headache-free portability to Linux devices, make it the natural choice for new Internet devices and use cases," Christen Krogh, Opera's VP of Engineering, said in a statement.

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Apple released the third update to Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) on Monday afternoon. The upgrade includes over 60 significant fixes to various portions of the operating system including Finder, Spotlight, Safari, Mail and iChat, as well as updates to the networking and syncing features.

Among the notable fixes are speed improvements to finder Spotlight searches, a fix to allow sending of .Mac mail if port 25 is blocked, improved window scrolling, fixes for compatibility issues with Word and Excel 2004, better mounting of MS-DOS formatted volumes, and more detailed error messages for .Mac problems.

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