After a record-setting week of Microsoft and Adobe security patches, Oracle is gearing up for a major update of its own next week.

Next Tuesday, the database vendor will release its quarterly Critical Patch Update, which "contains 38 security vulnerability fixes across hundreds of Oracle products," according to an advance notification posted to Oracle's Web site.

IBM disclosed the plans at a time when server sales among all vendors have taken a bruising during the economic downturn, and IBM is no exception. In a third quarter earnings call yesterday, said Mark Loughridge, IBM's CFO, said that the company's third quarter mainframe revenue declined by 26 percent from the year-earlier period.

New applications are turning up on Facebook. Unfortunately, some of them are fake anti-virus programs.

While researching Web sites that host malicious software, Roger Thompson, chief research officer of software security company AVG, noticed something funny. A Russian Web site known for hosting malware was getting lots of referrals from Facebook.

Apple has introduced an in-app purchase feature for free iPhone apps that allow you to fulfill transactions within the iPhone applications themselves -- no Apple App Store required. The feature was previously available for paid applications.

Despite its valiant attempts at creating a carnival atmosphere, when Microsoft launches a new operating system, it seldom feels like a world-changing event in the world of design. Even the considerable hoopla surrounding the introduction of Windows XP was hardly like the introduction of the bikini or the Volkswagen Beetle -- or, dare we say it, the iPhone.