Firefox has passed 17 million downloads. Many of our readers proclaim it to be the best Web browser, especially with its large support community and long list of extensions. Tell us what you like about Firefox 3.
Why would you ditch your cable box or satellite dish? We've got five reasons for you. Reader responses are mixed, though. Some say that it's a great idea, and others say no way. Would you ditch your cable or satellite? Let us know.
Bill Gates is moving on from Microsoft. What should he do now? We have some suggestions, but many readers have added their own. What do you think he should do? Join the discussion.
Popular stories this week cover digital cameras, Firefox 3, and an OS smackdown. To vote for your own favorites, click one of the thumbs-up icons on an article's page.
We end with product reviews from users like you. Have you gotten any new high-tech goodies recently? Let us and your fellow PC World readers know what you think of them. Go to PCW Shop & Compare to search for your gear and add a review.
Note: To use our interactive features, such as adding comments to discussions, voting in the weekly poll, and contributing your own product reviews, you must be signed in to the PC World Web site. (Not registered? You can sign up online.) However, you can view the discussion threads and poll results without being signed in.
poweruser2 says: Best browser on the planet!
Yert says: What makes Firefox so popular? Its not the features, speed, or anything like that. Other browsers do those things very well too. So what makes Firefox more popular? I have to say its not some silly reason that very few people care about (i.e. open source). The reason is that Firefox has a very nice community that makes it popular.
Tincan says: It's popular in my book because of one word: extensions.
Justenuf says: I love it for one simple reason: it works! I can get to where I want to go easily, without the freezes and cryptic errors given by other browsers. I have no particular loyalty to any of the browsers; I just want one that works quickly and error-free and Firefox does that best.
Read the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion.
free2speak says: No thanks. I will stick with high-def cable on my 48-inch widescreen HDTV with Dolby Digital surround sound, and of course the comfort of the couch. I would have to spend a lot of money to have a PC system that comes close to the performance of my home theater. I have never seen a PC equal to my home theater, and I don't think I will see one anytime soon.
Mjd420nova says: No, I don't think I'll ever get rid of cable. I'm addicted to the high-speed Internet it brings me; the digital TV services are just a plus.
Ogman says: I connected my PC to my 42-inch TV long ago and I watch less cable content all the time. The author is right, there's a lot more content out there than the limited choices offered by the local cable monopoly. Not only that, but games look and sound awesome using the TV and the surround sound speakers.
Breez says: I totally agree with the article. Not only can you use these recommended services, but you can also log on to the cable network sites and order HD pay-per view a whole plethora of services. Thank goodness I can now tell Comcast to come retrieve that clunky gray latency-ridden cable box.
Read the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion.
zeth006 says: Bullying and monopolist practices aside, Bill was a visionary no doubt. You don't see too many people running corporations and spinning out new ideas too often.
Mcbarker says: I'd like to see him take a job as a target in a fairground dunking booth.
RobbiFr says: Bill's give-and-take with attorney David Boies certainly qualifies as one of his outstanding milestones. But where is his prediction that "640K ought to be enough for anybody"?
Milbrescu says: Gates should start a new company that offers free tech support to Windows users for all Microsoft products. Support reps would be located in the U.S. and a live human would always answer the call after the first ring. Is your PC constantly freezing? No problem, this company will tell you what to do to fix it. For free.
Read the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion.
Epson Stylus Photo RX580 All-In-One Printer: Worst printer I've ever owned; it does not live up to Epson quality. The most I print is three times a month and the ink has to be replaced every two months. Six ink cartridges times $18 is not cheap. If just one ink cartridge is out will not allow you to print or clean nozzle. I should have stuck to a cheaper brand.
Read more reviews and write your own.
7-Zip: I use this program to mostly unzip files but it works very well and has good compression. It also has a self extracting capability.
Read more reviews and write your own.
Driver Detective: This isn't worth the money. Without Kaspersky keeping an eye on what was going on, I would have loaded an Invader virus with my Epson R800 driver. You are better off not shelling out any money. Use the product to identify problems and go to reliable sites for your drivers. Do not download these drivers without a good security system in place.
Read more reviews and write your own.
SanDisk Sansa e260 4GB MP3 Player: I've had it for a year so far, and it still works perfectly, even after the times I've dropped it. It still works fine if I have the system full, and the battery is quite low. All I have to do is sync music from my Windows Media Player to it, and voila!
Read more reviews and write your own.
Kingston 2GB DataTraveler USB Flash Drive: It's a great flash drive with plenty of space--more than enough for me. It transfers all types of files quickly, and does everything I need it to do.
Read more reviews and write your own.
Kellie Parker, PC World
