BRUCEB NEWS
SATELLITE STORY, PART 2
Pegasus Communications gave me a call this morning. They’re going to start taking orders in a couple of days, and promise to have equipment delivered and installation scheduled within a week after that. Pricing is the same as the Orbitsat.com offer – $499 for…
JURORS MISCALCULATE MP3.COM DAMAGES
My lawyer friends will appreciate this story. Last week jurors in a federal court trial in New York awarded $300,000 to an independent record label for copyright violations – delivered as 145 individual awards, one for each infringed song. The defendant,…
THE SATELLITE STORY
How about if I use this page to share my experience with satellite Internet access? Okay with everybody? When we last checked, Starband was the only company offering two-way satellite service. During the first couple of months of 2001, there were lots of problems…
NO SUPPORT FOR BLUETOOTH OR USB 2.0 IN WINDOWS XP
Last week Microsoft announced that Windows XP won’t support Bluetooth. Today Microsoft turned its back on another emerging technology when it announced that Windows XP won’t support USB 2.0. Bluetooth and USB 2.0 have both received lots of publicity, but…
DSL LOSING MOMENTUM
There’s no good news about DSL any more. Prices are going up, availability is going down, the horror stories about installations keep multiplying, and Northpoint’s demise has everyone scared about relying on any provider besides Pacific Bell. And Pacific…
INTEL TO INTRODUCE 1.7GHz PENTIUM 4
Keeping up? In a couple of weeks Intel will roll out a 1.7GHz Pentium 4 processor, and slash prices yet again on most of the rest of its processors. Dell has been doing a lot of price-cutting lately too. Buy a computer or two for yourself, okay?
INSTANT MESSAGING
Two years ago America Online decided to block outside access to its instant messaging system, in a heavyhanded tactic that made their boo-hoo complaints about Microsoft look very hollow. It may have backfired. A new study shows Microsoft Messenger has taken the lead…
MUSIC INDUSTRY FOLLOWUP
Here’s a good article that explains all the issues about file formats and pricing for downloadable music from the record labels – and concludes that they stand a good chance of getting it completely wrong.
RECORDING INDUSTRY GREED
Here’s a glimpse of the future according to the recording industry. Like the announcement with RealNetworks a couple of days ago and MSN yesterday, MTV and VH1 are rolling out a service with the cooperation of the major record labels. It’s routine –…
MICROSOFT TO CHANGE PASSPORT PRIVACY POLICY
Microsoft is hustling to revise its privacy policy for Passport and Hotmail, after a torrent of criticism from privacy advocates. (See my item on March 30.) Microsoft says it’s a terrible misunderstanding, just some old legalese that they forgot to update….