BRUCEB NEWS
Are You Feeling Subscription Fatigue Yet?
There are a lot of video streaming services. During the years when cable TV ruled the earth, all of us complained about the pricing of the bundles pushed by the cable companies. "I just want to watch The Daily Show! How unfair that I have to pay for a bundle that also...
RIAA DOUBLETHINK
The recording industry filed 80 more federal lawsuits around the country Thursday against people using file sharing programs. Here's a wire service article about the lawsuits....
PHISHING IS FOUL
"Phishing" is a new buzzword for an old scam. Crooks are sending e-mails posing as legitimate businesses asking users for personal information - passwords, account numbers,...
MICROSOFT OFFICE 2003 STUDENT EDITION
Microsoft Office 2003 has arrived in the stores. The "Basic Edition" includes Word, Excel, and Outlook. The "Standard Edition" adds Powerpoint. There's increasing interest in...
DELL MP3 PLAYER
Dell will be unveiling its MP3 player and online music service tomorrow, in another direct shot at Apple's iPod and iTunes. Like the iPod, the Dell Digital Jukebox is a high...
MESSENGER SERVICE POPUPS
You may get ads popping up on your screen through the “Messenger Service” built in to Windows. It is a rarely used service that probably should have been disabled by default. Now...
BROADCAST FLAGS AND THE FUTURE OF TELEVISION
The FCC is preparing to move forward with regulations to support the embedding of a "broadcast flag" to encrypt digital television signals. This is a complex issue but it may...
SKYPE
The buzz is rising to deafening levels for Skype, new software for making telephone calls over the Internet. It's a new project from the Swedes who invented Kazaa, and in the...
NORTON ANTIVIRUS 2004
Norton Antivirus 2004 cannot be used until the product is "activated," just like Windows and Office. That means a separate copy has to be purchased for each computer - you can't...
MICROSOFT OFFICE 2003
Microsoft Office 2003 goes on sale this week. If you're using Office 2000 or Office 97, there are improvements throughout the programs in the suite that make upgrading...
AUTOMATIC UPDATES
Microsoft released a batch of security updates for Windows 2000 and Windows XP. If your system notifies you that it has downloaded new updates, be sure to install them. Or go to...
SMALL WORLD
I stumbled on a web site full of wonderful photos - Molecular Expressions, devoted to the world of optical microscopy. Hundreds of photos of common objects viewed on a...
REMOTE CONTROL
It's increasingly common to feel the need to be able to access Outlook remotely. Maybe you want to check your mail or do some work from home, or maybe you want to stay in touch...
GO GO POGOWAVE!
Pogowave Communications delivers wireless Internet communications to rural Sonoma County. Prices are reasonable and the Pogowave tower can reach areas not served by DSL or cable....
HANDHELD MARKET HEATS UP
The handheld market slumped this year. Prices are down, speed and usability are up, but not very many people are buying. After a few buyouts and burnouts, Palm and Sony are the...
QUICKBOOKS CUSTOMER MANAGER
Quickbooks Customer Manager is an inexpensive new program aimed squarely at the market previously dominated by Act. It integrates with Quickbooks and Outlook and presents all the...