Everyone Has One

I like the fact that the FCC is checking up on these big companies. I don’t expect us, the consumers, to benefit much which is presumably the point. However, this peak behind the scenes should push the companies in the right direction so that they avoid PR problems.
I do note with interest that only Google [...]

Windows Vista is out and the lack of enthusiasm is pretty great. Very few people are upgrading. I know that I am not. Unlike past OS releases this is unlikely to provide a big boost to Microsoft sales. The argument on the other side says that they will sell lots of copies to buyers of [...]

One of the most insightful blogs on the net is Techcrunch. Michael Arrington has connections throughout the industry and seems to get early access to all the new, hot companies. Combine that with an experienced eye for tech trends and the result is a great source of information.

Everyone knows by now that Google to Acquire YouTube but is it a good business move? I say yes.
The three knocks against youtube (from a business point of view, not the user experience which is obviously a huge hit) have been copyright infringement, bandwidth costs, and how to monetize. In fact, when discussing the [...]

An article on Wired describes how Apple slapped a cease and desist order to stop Podcast Ready from using the terms “podcast ready” and “myPodder”. I think they are off base with that.
I can understand them trying to protect the word “pod” as it relates to music players. However, podcasts aren’t players, rather they are [...]

ESET makes the fine antivirus product Nod32 which I used with no problems for one year.
However, when my subscription was about to end I never received any notification from Eset either by email or through some indication (e.g. popup) from the software itself. I looked on their website for something about renewal but didn’t [...]

Why do the RIAA, MPAA, CRIA, etc. assume that consumers are all pirates and their first notion is to sue and not talk to them/us?
These industry associations answer to the big companies in their industry not to consumers so it is unlikely that they will change their ways. But that doesn’t mean that we [...]

I like this top 10 list: Top 10 dot-com flops – CNET.com because I don’t recall even hearing about some of them (boo.com, kibu.com). That makes me feel good that I didn’t waste any mental energy on them.
I have to admit that I did spend some money on one of them. I got one load [...]

For dedication to their 800,000 website customers by staying open in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Sleeping on the floor and running the looter gauntlet to get diesel fuel to keep backup generators running. Downtown New Orleans is not exactly a peaceful work environment at the moment.
Too bad the people responsible for the rest of [...]

Microsoft is trying to patent the smiley face? What’s up with that? Sounds more like an April Fool’s joke. But it’s real. Here’s a link to the patent. Here’s the main claim:
A method, comprising: selecting pixels to be used as an emoticon; assigning a character sequence to the pixels; and transmitting the character sequence to [...]