BRUCEB NEWS
The 2019 Bruceb News Year In Review
(This will be the last Bruceb News article until I recover from an upcoming business conference trip to Hawaii. Happy holidays!) I think I accomplished two goals in 2019: writing articles about privacy and security that were so terrifying that they kept you awake at...
CHEAP COMPUTERS
Look for cheap Emachines and Compaq Presarios in the stores for your Christmas shopping pleasure. They’ll each have systems at various price points - $399, $499, $599, $750 –...
VIDEO ON DEMAND IS HERE TODAY
The New York Times has an article today with an intriguing premise: the world of video on demand is here, and it’s being delivered by . . . the Post Office. DVDs hold digital...
NEW VERSION OF KAZAA
Kazaa introduced a new version of its file sharing software today. It should be available at download.com. I don’t have any information yet about any spyware included in this...
NEW HP PRINTERS
Hewlett Packard has a line of color printers for business – including “business Deskjets” that don’t turn up often at the neighborhood stores. They feature faster speeds and...
HOTMAIL SPAM FILTER
It’s not just your imagination – Hotmail accounts get far more spam than any other mail service through any other ISP. Microsoft has finally signed a deal that might cut down on...
DIGITAL IMAGES
For consumers, the world of graphics software breaks down roughly into two categories: Photo editing programs – for working with images from your scanner or digital camera....
HOW COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS SURVIVE
Here’s an article about rumors that Gateway is receiving unsolicited takeover bids. Gateway’s public stance is that it has no interest in being acquired, but there’s no way to...
ON SALE
Costco has been carrying Sylvania conventional and flat screen monitors for a while now – and they’re perfectly good, in my experience. Today, though, the 17” monitors in stock...
MAC OS X – THE MANDATORY UPGRADE
Apple has a problem – its users aren’t flocking to the new operating system, OS X, as fast as Apple needs. So Apple came up with a plan to fix their problem. Guesses, anyone?...
RECORD INDUSTRY AND SLUMPING SALES
Dan Bricklin is an old-timer in the computer industry – among other things, he developed VisiCalc, the granddaddy of the spreadsheets. He’s done a lengthy statistical analysis of...
INSTANT MESSAGING IN THE DOLDRUMS
At one time it appeared that instant messaging would be standardized and as a result would become a mainstream tool, widely adopted by businesses and as common as e-mail. Then it...
SERVICE PACKS
Now that Windows XP Service Pack 1 is out the door, almost everybody should be installing one of the recent updates. Although the service packs fix a slew of bugs, their primary...
PRIVACY POLICIES
Nobody reads privacy policies. If you’re like me, you assume that a web site’s reference to a “privacy policy” must mean something good. Here’s an ominous reminder that we must...
NEW MICROSOFT HARDWARE
Microsoft is rolling out a completely new lineup of mice and keyboards. Here’s the Microsoft press release. The lineup includes new wireless equipment, plus a smaller mouse sized...
SAM & MAX HIT THE ROAD AGAIN
LucasArts announced that another game is in the works featuring Sam & Max, “popular madcap dog and rabbity thing.” Here’s the press release. The original game, Sam & Max...