Just when Windows administrators thought they could rejoice over a lighter-than-usual Microsoft security update, reports began circulating about a problem with their primary patch deployment tool. By early Tuesday morning, Microsoft had confirmed the issue and promised that it had been fixed.

According to a string of postings on the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) online forum, some users are getting back an error message when trying to operate WSUS, which most IT shops rely on to push out Microsoft’s monthly security fixes.

Microsoft and the GSM Association are promoting 3G (third generation) mobile telecommunications by asking companies to build laptop PCs that automatically connect to the Internet wirelessly over mobile phone networks.

They’re hosting a contest challenging companies to design mobile phone-like connectivity into easy-to-use laptops aimed at mainstream users looking for a hassle-free device able to connect them to the Internet wirelessly anytime, anywhere.

These laptops will be aimed at the mass-market consumer laptop PC segment in the $500 to $1,000 price range, the GSMA said in a statement. The group, a promoter of mobile phone networks and technology, points out that mobile phone networks offer far greater range than competing wireless technologies.

As promised, we’ve now got ads running in the RSS feeds and are doing testing of this beta feature. If you notice any functional problems with the RSS feeds over the next day or so, please send a note to david@zatz.com.

During the implementation process, we realized that ads in feeds allowed us to do something cool that’ll make the feeds more useful to everyone. Up until now, when you clicked on a link in a feed news item, you were taken to our permalink page for that news item, rather than the actual news item itself. To get to the news item itself required a second click.

The reason for this was economic, of course. If you read the news items solely in the feed and just clicked through to the destination, you’d never see any of our sponsors’ ads, and we wouldn’t be able to continue to provide the service, since that’s what pays for the business.

But now, since you’re seeing ads in the feeds, we can let you click directly to the news items, bypassing the Web page permalink, getting you to the news you’re interested in with one click, rather than two.

In effect, rather than the feeds being a promotional vehicle for our Web site, the feeds become our new news medium directly. We’ll let you know how that all turns out. For now, though, click away, support our sponsors, and let us know if you run into any snags.

This is a short test message. We’re testing the updated system.

A Microsoft spinoff plans to release an open beta of a new mobile browsing user interface in mid-December. ZenZui, the Seattle spinoff, was also set to announce on it is changing its name to Zumobi.

Zumobi is offering a piece of software, currently only compatible with Windows Mobile phones, that works in connection with a back-end server and is designed to make mobile Internet use easier. The user interface is made up of 16 tiles on which users can easily zoom in and out. Each tile represents a Web page.

Microsoft is on track to begin testing a console by the end of the year that will give customers a single tool for managing all of its Forefront enterprise security products.

Code-named Stirling, the console will manage Microsoft security products for desktop clients, instant messaging servers and email, as well as antispam applications and two of Microsoft’s gateway security products, said Steve Brown, director of product management for Microsoft’s security and access division. Stirling will handle the creation of security policies, configuration tasks and centralized reporting.

Microsoft plans to buy mobile music service provider Musiwave, as the software giant looks to step up its consumer mobile offerings. Musiwave allows mobile operators to offer self-branded music applications, including full song-over-the-air downloads, ringtones, and ring-back tones. Operators including O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange, Telus, Telefonica, and Virgin Mobile are among Musiwave’s customers.

If you bought one of Seagate’s Maxtor Basics consumer hard drives recently, check it for viruses. Especially if you’re a gamer.

Seagate is warning that a "small number" of its Maxtor Basics Personal Storage 3200 hard drives recently shipped with the Virus.Win32.AutoRun.ah virus, malicious software that "searches for passwords for online games and sends them to a server located in China," according to a note posted on the Seagate Web site. Only drives purchased since August 2007 are affected, Seagate said.

The hard drive maker is blaming an unnamed subcontractor, located in China, for the problem. Seagate said it learned about the problem from antivirus vendor Kaspersky Lab. According to published reports, Seagate has had problems with Maxtor Basics drives sold over the past few months in the Netherlands and Taipei.

Trusteer announced that the Microsoft Windows DNS Server is vulnerable to a severe DNS cache poisoning vulnerability which allows immediate execution of pharming attacks on consumers. Attackers could steal users’ credentials and execute fraudulent transactions through this particular attack mechanism.

A federal judge ordered the White House to preserve copies of all its emails, a move that Bush administration lawyers had argued strongly against. U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy directed the Executive Office of the President to safeguard the material in response to two lawsuits that seek to determine whether the White House has destroyed emails in violation of federal law.

The White House is seeking dismissal of the lawsuits brought by two private groups–Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government and the National Security Archive. The organizations allege the disappearance of 5 million White House emails. The court order issued by Kennedy, an appointee of President Clinton, is directed at maintaining backup tapes which contain copies of White House emails.