BRUCEB NEWS
MUSICNET DETAILS
RealNetworks and three of the five biggest music companies announced a new Net music service yesterday. Notably absent was Universal – the biggest catalog, but also the most vociferous opponent of online music – and Sony, busy developing its own service. RealNetworks…
MICROSOFT OUTLOOK UNABLE TO SPREAD FOOT-AND-MOUTH
Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Symantec’s AntiVirus Research Center today confirmed that foot-and-mouth disease cannot be spread by Microsoft’s Outlook email application, believed to be the first time the program has ever failed to…
TIME IS NOT ON YOUR COMPUTER’S SIDE
Your computer will probably automatically adjust the time when Daylight Savings Time returns tomorrow morning. But that may be the only thing it gets right about the time. Here’s an article that explains why your computer’s clock is notoriously unreliable.
MICROSOFT AND CONFIDENTIALITY
Microsoft has new initiatives on the way that are meant to move programs and data online, relieving companies and users from some of the burden of maintaining it all. Confidentiality will be the key issue that will persuade or dissuade people from trusting the…
WORDPERFECT DEATH WATCH
Corel’s quarterly results showed a trivially small profit, but sales have completely collapsed for the WordPerfect suite. “Word processing and productivity sales plummeted from $22.1 million in Q1 2000 to $11.6 in Q1 2001.” I wasn’t able to…
NORTHPOINT DSL NETWORK DIES
Last night 100,000 DSL subscribers were shut off after negotiations broke down between bankrupt Northpoint Communications and a dozen ISPs. My line is down. Here’s some more info.
DIRECPC SATELLITE ACCESS
I just went and checked the status of satellite Internet connections, since my DSL line may go dead any day now. I’ve got lots of clients growing old waiting for DSL and cable in their areas. Hughes runs the DirecPC network of satellites. They’re the only…
SUPER MINI OPTICAL MOUSE
Notebook computer users that are frustrated with their touchpad or pointing stick might want to check out the Super Mini Optical Mouse. Two and a half inches long, an inch wide – in the pictures they show it resting on the palm rest of a notebook. Looks like a…
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
Adobe Photoshop is legendary. Graphics professionals can do magic with it, and they turn up their nose at anything else. I’ve tried to learn it repeatedly, and I remain firmly convinced it is the least intuitive, worst designed, most annoying program in the…
NORTHPOINT DSL SUBSCRIBERS BEING DUMPED
Personally, I blame Pacific Bell. A year ago business was thriving for Northpoint and Covad, who acted as wholesalers and contracted with ISPs to set up and maintain DSL connections. The wholesalers were required to rely on Pacific Bell for one phase of the work,…