PC World - Windows 7 may be brand spanking new, but that doesn't mean you can't find free or cheap tools to tweak its settings, add features, or smooth an upgrade from XP or Vista. We've compiled a list of ten valuable software tools -- many of them free -- that can make your Win7 experience a lot more rewarding. (Click on each of the images for a closer look at the tool.)

Macworld.com - Apple will never lack for opinions about how it should be running its business. Unfortunately almost all of it’s bad. Retrevo is still working the netbook thing (netbooks are so last year!) and a collection of tech pundits weighs in on whether the iPhone will win the mobile wars, causing metaphors to run wild. And, as Microsoft tries to copy Apple’s retail experience, Apple starts running serpentine!

PC World - Why do so many people want to dress up as an iPhone for Halloween? Can't nerds dress up as something normal like Steve Jobs or the Linux Penguin? In recent years more and more Halloween party goers are choosing to dress up like an iPhone.

PC World - This must be a joke: A Novell corporate blog item that chastises the City of Los Angeles for recently selecting Google Apps to replace Novell's GroupWise e-mail and calendaring software.

Macworld.com - Perhaps you’re heard the expression “shoot first, ask questions later?” That pretty well sums up the philisophy of Santa Cruz, Calif.-based BlueBeat.

PC World - The launch of Google's Chrome browser a little over a year ago brought with it a mountain of hype and expectations, with some suggesting it could be as instantly disruptive and beneficial as Gmail was to the webmail market.

AP - The United States is well behind the curve in the fight against computer criminals, Sen. Joe Lieberman said Friday, as Homeland Security officials opened a $9 million operations center to better coordinate the government's response to cyberattacks.

AP - Intuit Inc. gave CEO Brad Smith compensation valued at $3.6 million, according to an Associated Press calculation of figures disclosed in a regulatory filing made Friday. The compensation was about half of what he earned last year, as the financial software maker's profit took a hit in the downturn.

AP - A former telemarketing company official admitted Friday that he scammed small businesses out of millions of dollars by duping them into paying for Internet services without their consent.

Reuters - Cisco Systems Inc and EMC Corp are teaming up to sell a new line of networking gear, computers and storage equipment designed for use with cloud computing, according to sources familiar with their plans.