BRUCEB NEWS
Arguing At Cross-Purposes About Tech Policy
“If people are at cross-purposes, they do not understand each other because they are working toward or talking about different things without realizing it.” Definition of “at cross-purposes”, Collins Dictionary “One example of arguing at cross purposes would be two...
MICROSOFT IN THE NEWS
Two events this week will get more attention than they deserve. First, Microsoft will unveil the final version of its search service, MSN Search, aimed squarely at Google. Here's...
AMERICA ONLINE: THE DEATHWATCH
It's time to begin a deathwatch on America Online. It will be a lingering death but it seems inevitable. AOL is screwed. Its dialup subscriber base is shrinking fast; even poorly...
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 3
Adobe graphics software is designed for professionals and tends to be difficult for normal people to learn. I have been known to gripe about this a teensy bit. But I can't deny...
TEN AXIOMS OF MODERN COMPUTING
John Dvorak's column in PC Magazine today lists ten axioms of modern computing. He recommends simply accepting them; fighting them will make your life miserable. Although tongue...
MP3 PLAYERS
The iPod costs three or four hundred dollars, and completely dominates a rapidly growing market - currently claiming an 82% market share. The market for portable music players...
MULTIMEDIA
Aging baby boomers will soon be unable to recognize anything handling media in the home of an affluent 25-year-old. The convergence between the computer world and the audio/video...
USB FLASH DRIVE MANAGER
Microsoft has released a collection of free software for Windows XP through a web site titled "Microsoft Partner Pack For Windows." It installs updates to a couple of Windows...
WORDPERFECT: CAN A CORPSE BE REANIMATED?
Corel is planning a comeback for WordPerfect! Here's an article with details. It's interesting to read this stuff, but don't get too worked up. This marks, if memory serves, the...
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...