The big news on the browser horizon is the release of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8. It’s promising new contextual services–like being able to Digg a page with an integrated menu–and a feature called WebSlices, which lets you bookmark and track only a certain portion of a page. But Microsoft isn’t the only one with updates in store. The other big browsers are rolling out changes at least as promising as IE8's.

Until it went on sale last November, Microsoft's Zune was heralded as the first true iPod-killer. But with its overly aggressive copyright protection and the odd, self-imposed limits to its most innovative features (like built-in Wi-Fi), it has so far failed to make even a dent in the iPod's shiny white-and-chrome armor. It's likely the Zune will improve with version 2.0 and beyond, but until then, here are three easy Zune tune-ups to ease the pain of waiting for a better model.