In this spooktacular episode of TROLOV — or TR Out Loud on Video — Sonja Thompson gives the TR community plenty of costume ideas for Halloween as she runs down the weekly highlights at TechRepublic. If you’re not a fan of video, you can choose to just listen to the audio file.

Notes:
Top discussion threads:

  1. Cybersecurity: Is the U.S. Government doing enough?
  2. Social Networking: Why is the CIA interested?
  3. IT leaders trust Microsoft more than Google, 2-to-1
  4. Create a Windows XP and 7 dual-boot system staged for an easy migration
  5. FNM – Women in Rock and Roll

Here are a few other links that you should check out:

If you’d like to contribute to the pics galleries, please send us your photos.

Also, don’t forget to sign up for the TechRepublic Community Central newsletter!

Most “Thumbs Up” in the TR Questions arena over the past week

  1. Jacky Howe (12 thumbs)
  2. OH Smeg (9 thumbs)
  3. OldER Mycroft (5 thumbs)
  4. Churdoo (4 thumbs)
  5. —TK— (3 thumbs)

Most Comments in the TR Forums this week

  1. jck (149 posts)
  2. boxfiddler (140 posts)
  3. jdclyde (124 posts)
  4. NickNielsen (103 posts)
  5. Palmetto (95 posts)

TR Member participation

Many thanks to Darryl, Oz_Media, Jacky Howe, Hal 9000, and Shellbot for participating in the show. These folks are eligible for some free TR swag!

Here’s a new picture of Justin James (aka J.Ja) at this year’s South Carolina State Fair. Please send your photo captions to trol at techrepublic.com.

Last week’s Question of the Week was submitted by yours truly: “What new feature(s) in Windows 7 do you find most impressive?”

Jacky Howe: “The most impressive feature in Windows 7 for me is its ‘Driver Detection.’ I haven’t had to find a driver for any of the systems that I’ve installed on Windows 7, such as my networked HP printer that’s also connected to an XP system and even a Logitech webcam. There are many other features that I like, but that’s the one that stands out for me.”

Hal 9000: “That’s easy. I just love the new lights that appear on the screen as the OS starts to load and fly all around to resolve into a Microsoft flag. It looks so pretty. As for what the OS does – come on, it’s an operating system, not a religion. Every OS should try to be invisible, because they are only there as a platform to run the necessary applications. Oh, and Quake 4 doesn’t work on it, so it’s no good. What more is there to say?”

Voice messages, e-mails, and photos = swag
If you’d like to earn some free TR swag, send in an e-mail with a Question of the Week, and answer to the Question of the Week, comments, photos/photo captions, or original video clips to trol at techrepublic.com. You can also leave a voice message — our toll free number is (866) 414-CNET (2638) and our Skype ID is tr.out.loud.

We have lots and lots of swag. If you’d like a complete listing, shoot me an e-mail, and I’ll send a reply.