BRUCEB NEWS
The $240 Question: Is Free AI Good Enough?
In the last article I ordered you to subscribe to a $20/month plan for ChatGPT or Google Gemini. I didn’t explain why and in hindsight I shouldn’t have phrased it as “Follow and obey me, you low-bandwidth peasantry.” That was rude. Let’s talk some more about that….
IPHONE BACKLASH
It’s predictable that there would be a backlash after the rapturous reception of the iPhone in the first rush of media reports. Here’s an article that sums up the…
WINDOWS & DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
The dates for Daylight Savings Time are changing this year, as required by a law passed in 2005. It turns out your computer doesn’t yet know about that and is fully…
VISTA PARENTAL CONTROLS
Vista has many new features – so many that it will be difficult to decide which ones to call attention to. For home users and families, the built-in parental controls will…
VISTA DISCOUNT
Apparently Microsoft believed it wasn’t sufficiently confusing to offer four different versions of Windows Vista (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate), with…
ONECARE & DEFENDER – CONFUSION AHEAD
The upcoming update to Windows Live OneCare version 1.5 is going to have one unexpected wrinkle – the kind that makes people feel confused and overwhelmed. It starts with a…
ONECARE & DEFENDER UPDATES
Windows Live OneCare users will receive an automatic update to version 1.5 at the end of January. Most changes are modest, but there will be more options for backups –…
ADOBE ACROBAT 8 PROFESSIONAL
PDFs have become the common language for shared documents in most businesses and law offices, but the frequent upgrades to Acrobat have been uncompelling, with a confusing…
WINDOWS VISTA TEST DRIVE
If you’re curious, Microsoft has created a web site that lets you test drive a credible imitation of Windows Vista Business Edition. Get a look at the visuals, poke at some…
APPLE IPHONE
You’ll see lots of press about the Apple iPhone. Here’s as good a summary as I’ve seen today: “The iPhone is much higher-end than I thought it would be:…
MICROSOFT OFFICE STUDENT EDITION
Here’s an article with an interesting statistic: Microsoft Office 2003 Student And Teacher Edition made up 80% of all sales of productivity suites in 2006. Microsoft…
WINDOWS HOME SERVER
Microsoft is taking the wraps off “Windows Home Server” today at a trade show. The first details are just coming out from people freed from their nondisclosure…
AMAZON’S SECRET PRICE GUARANTEE
I can’t vouch for this, but Timothy Noah at Slate writes that Amazon has a 30-day price guarantee – if the Amazon price drops on any item within thirty days after you…
APPLE AND PROPRIETARY FILE FORMATS
Microsoft will take some well-deserved heat for letting copy protection drive it to make bad decisions for technology and consumers, but Apple has also played an unappealing role…
WINDOWS VISTA & CONTENT PROTECTION
The entertainment industry is obsessed with copy protection and has been browbeating legislators, courts, hardware manufacturers and content creators with demands for more…
RIAA DECLARES INSANITY
The RIAA is resorting to even more bizarre behavior in its quest to be institutionalized for its own protection. AllOfMP3.com is a Russian site that has been thumbing its nose at…