October 17, 2005

As wintertime sent a blustery scouting party of rain and chill to the city last week, New Yorkers balked at reaching for the thermostat and instead put on sweaters. Frances Chell put on two. At these oil prices, cashmere was starting to look affordable. ''Normally, I turn it on when it's cold,'' said Ms. Chell, who was sweeping leaves in her driveway on 92nd Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the other day. ''I won't turn it on now; the fuel cost is so high.'' Driven by high crude oil prices, a hot summer and damage to production facilities in the Gulf Coast, the local cost of home heating fuel is climbing at an extraordinary rate. Last week's foul weather prompted a reckoning with significant new financial burdens as homeowners filled their fuel tanks and experts warned tenants to prepare for increases in rent and electricity prices.

Microsoft Corp invites about a dozen independent computer security specialists to its headquarters to share detailed research on vulnerabilities in Windows software with its programmers; presentations suggest that while Microsoft still has work to do to secure its programs, it has made progress in slowing deluge of viruses, worms, spam and spyware that plague Windows; David Maynor, Microsoft critic, says company has done good job of addressing conventional computer threats, but warns that mobile devices make today's defense concepts obsolete; photos (M)

Often in a college football season, serendipity transcends a coach's play call or a quarterback's audible. When it helps push a team toward a national title, it develops into the lore of that team's historic season. If top-ranked Southern California finishes undefeated and wins its third consecutive national championship, its victory at Notre Dame on Saturday -- the Trojans' 28th in a row -- will stand out as a defining moment in one of college football's most surreal runs.

American utility companies are beginning to offer broadband Internet services over their power lines, challenging cable and phone companies that now dominate market; customers with broadband over power line, or BPL, simply plug baseball-size jack into outlet to connect; two biggest commercial BPL services in US are operated by Current Communications, which uses power lines run by Cinergy, local utility in Cincinnati, and city of Manassas, Va, which has teamed up with ComTek Communications Technology; dozens of other utilities across country are testing services and hiring specialists like Current and ComTek to run it; photo (M)

David Carr column on News Corp's acquisition of MySpace.com, social network with explosive ability to reach young people, as another step in blurring of divide between media and tech companies (M)