BRUCEB NEWS
The Best New Music Of 2020
Spotify released the personalized Wrapped 2020 playlist a few days ago. I was a bit surprised to discover that my fave-rave most-played song in 2020 was the sound of soothing ocean waves. It turns out that Spotify’s algorithms get the teensiest bit confused if you...
GOOGLE DESKTOP
The Google Desktop is a free program that indexes and searches your Outlook folders and the documents on your computer. This will have more of an impact on your world than you...
DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT AND THE LONG TAIL
This article from Wired Magazine is essential reading. We are watching the creation of an entirely new economic model for the media and entertainment industries, with...
MSN MESSENGER AND REMOTE ASSISTANCE
I'm starting to recognize the power of "Remote Assistance," a feature built into Windows XP. Click on Start / Help / Remote Assistance for information. From your computer, you...
OUTLOOK 2003 RULES AND JUNK MAIL
When Outlook 2003 was first released, some people had to turn off the rules sorting their incoming mail into different folders. The problem was that the rules processed messages...
SERVICE PACK 2 AND “TV MEDIA” ADWARE
I've recently discovered "TV Media" on the Add-Remove Programs list of several computers. It's just the usual adware, installed on a computer to generate popups popups popups....
THE INTERNET AND THE VICE-PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
An amusing technology note from the debate last night. Dick Cheney responded to charges about Halliburton by urging viewers to go to "factcheck.com, an independent Web site...
NEW SEARCH ENGINE – “CLUSTY”
Google is one of the world's best-known brands; it also supplies the technology powering searches done from scores of other web sites. As you might imagine, lots of web sites...
SONIC DIALUP ACCELERATOR
If you have a Sonic dialup account, you might want to look into free software from Sonic designed to accelerate your Internet connection. It can't move bits across a phone line...
DELL SUPPORT INFO RE SERVICE PACK 2
If you're looking for information about Windows XP Service Pack 2, before or after you install it, Dell has an SP2 page with a wealth of information, clearly presented and full...
QUICKBOOKS SIMPLE START
Intuit will release Quickbooks Simple Start next week, a simplified $100 version of Quickbooks aimed at sole proprietors and very small businesses currently keeping paper...
DON’T INSTALL CRAP ON YOUR COMPUTER
You can still screw up your computer after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2. Web sites might ask permission to install "ActiveX Controls" or other kinds of programs....
MICROSOFT .JPG PATCH
Microsoft released a critical update yesterday for an intriguing problem. Microsoft discovered a flaw in the way various Microsoft operating systems and programs process .JPG...
ADOBE PREMIERE ELEMENTS
Not everyone would have predicted it a few years ago, but digital cameras have become a matter-of-fact item in many homes. Normal, non-tech people have learned to unload pictures...
APPLE VS. APPLE
An interesting lawsuit may be nearing settlement soon. Baby boomers with long memories will recall that the Beatles' record label was "Apple Records," and their company was...
PRICE DROPS ON MEMORY DEVICES
Prices are down and capacities are up on memory cards and devices. Here's some random examples from a sale at Buy.com tonight: - 1Gb Compact Flash card for $82. It was impossible...