BRUCEB NEWS
A Cautionary Tale About Always-Connected Computers
This is a fun and interesting story that ends with me so angry that I want to feed my laptop into a wood chipper. Fair warning: to get there, you have to read a bit more about ARM processors and Intel processors. Yuck! I know, right? But this story is WAY easier than...
MICROSOFT BUTTERFLIES
The press lovingly covered the spanking delivered to Microsoft by the city of New York for plastering butterfly decals all over to promote the launch of MSN 8. “Illegal,...
NIGERIAN E-MAIL SCAM
You’ve probably gotten one of the infamous “Nigerian e-mail” messages. A member of the Nigerian government, or a son of a Zimbabwean diplomat, or a widow of an African dictator,...
OPEN OUTLOOK TO A PARTICULAR FOLDER
Your copy of Outlook probably opens to your Inbox, or to Outlook Today. It's a setting under Tools / Options / Other / Advanced Options. A client inspired me to discover how to...
ATTACK ON THE INTERNET
Here’s one that didn’t get reported widely. Yesterday afternoon, the largest and most sophisticated attack ever was launched against servers worldwide that play a crucial role in...
WINDOWS XP LIFESPAN
Microsoft announced a new, simplified scheme for determining how long it will support its products. Most small businesses and home users upgrade often enough that the details...
NEW WALLACE & GROMIT
Great news for W&G fans: A new two-minute Wallace & Gromit short can be downloaded for free from Atom Films, and on October 22, nine more Wallace & Gromit shorts will...
APPLE CONTINUES TO LOSE GROUND
Reading the papers might have given you the impression that Apple is a strong contender, with a solid operating system, fabulous products, and booming sales. Sadly, the business...
LAWRENCE LESSIG COMMENTS ON ELDRED v. ASHCROFT
On Wednesday, October 9, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Eldred v. Ashcroft, a fascinating case that could have important implications for the future of copyright...
SPAM
The unbelievable deluge of spam is the hot topic in the tech industry, in the legislature, in the policy thinktanks, in magazine columns and editorials and online forums -...
PRICE DROPS SOON ON POCKET PCs
You may not realize it, but Palm is struggling for its life, and many analysts don’t expect it to be in the handheld market for much longer – perhaps a few years, no more. I...
RIAA SUES RADIO STATIONS FOR GIVING AWAY FREE MUSIC
Count on The Onion to give you the news that really matters. Here’s an article from this week’s issue that nicely catches the flavor of the recording industry’s wrongheaded...
DICTIONARAOKE
Looking for a new way to waste some time online? Try visiting Dictionaraoke, which features one of those concepts I wish I had thought of. You know the online dictionaries that...
TELEDESIC KILLS GLOBAL SATELLITE PLAN
Teledesic was the brainchild of Bill Gates and Craig McCaw, set up a few years ago to launch a constellation of low-earth orbiting satellites and provide global high-speed...
THE ROLLING STONES
Thirty years ago, on June 9, 1972, I saw the Rolling Stones at the Hollywood Palladium, the smallest venue they played in the United States on that tour. On November 4, I’ll be...
THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT
MSNBC has a wonderful article about an unexpected side effect of global warming – huge ice blocks, 22 lbs or more, which form in the upper atmosphere on clear days and fall to...