Saturday, August 31, 2002
Top Stories
Telecommuting Rewires Traditional Views Of The Workplace
What was once a "Jetsons"-esque vision of the future has become established fact: A new study shows that more than 80 percent of full-time American employees work via electronic communication, either because they labor off-site or work with those who do.
Conversation Trumps Convergnce
Most of your users will be far better off carrying a well-designed PDA, a cellphone and, if needed, a wireless data device.
News
Home Is Where Fast Net Access Is
Developers use high-speed hookups as a hot new selling point.
No Clear Signal For Wireless
As new subscriptions slow, only new applications can speed up the handset-replacement cycle. So far, consumers seem less than impressed.
Gartner: Linux Will Be The Savior Of Unix
A "significant proportion" of server revenue will be on Linux by 2006.
W3C Group Gets Back To Basics
After nine months of public analysis and debate, the Web's leading standards organization has outlined the core principles and practices behind the Web's technologies.
Red Hat Is No Microsoft
While the parallel may be tempting to draw, I think it's safe to say that Red Hat will not become the next Redmond.
Out WIth AOL, In With Jabber
When AOL closed its door on efforts to standardize instant messaging, a new one may have opened for Jabber.
Friday, August 30, 2002
Top Stories
Platforms
The best way to kill a platform is to make it hard for developers to build on it.
Publishers Ruining E-Books' Prospects
"When I purchase a paperback, I can share it with my wife or friend. That is not possible with an e-book."
News
Google Searches For Exposure—Overseas
Gogle is quietly expanding advertising sales efforts in several European markets and Japan, potentially setting the stage for a renewed turf battle with rival Overture.
Why This Grammy Winner Gives Away Her Music
And while this model may not work for Britney, it certainly works for Janis Ian and—as a quick Net search will tell you—thousands of other artists as well.
A Universal Tool To Rescue Old Files From Obsolescence
What is needed, some archivists argue, is a kind of computer Esperanto — a common preservation system that can read and present today's formats and the thousands that will follow in a simple, standard way that can be emulated or mimicked on whatever computers lie ahead.
Ambient Findability
I want to be able to find anything, anywhere, anytime.
Standard Practice
Weighing the risks and rewards of standards.
Web Services And The Search For Really Big Prime Numbers
What do searching for extraterrestrials, curing cancer, and finding big prime numbers all have in common? These problems are all being attacked with grid computing, a a technique of breaking a large problem into small tasks that can be computed independently.
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Top Stories
Making A Mesh On The Move
A new way to give us fast mobile net access spells further trouble for 3G.
See The News Of The Future At Starbucks
Wi-Fi and tablet PCs finally arrive.
News
Spam—It's Worse Than Ever
Corporate networks are becoming increasingly clogged by e-mail pitches for pornography, money-making schemes and health products, and there's little relief on the horizon.
Liberty Alliance Adds Technical Muscle
The Liberty Alliance Project added a new member on Wednesday, boosting its efforts to establish an online authentication plan to compete with Microsoft's Passport online ID system.
Whe The Cellphone Is The Home Phone
In what may be the start of an alarming trend for the nation's largest telephone companies, the total number of business and residential telephones lines declined last year for the first time since the Depression.
Root Technology Protects CD-ROMs From Illegal Copying
Hudson Soft's and JVC's Root encryption technology — so-called because it is intended to prevent illegal copying "from the roots up" — features special encryption keys which are hidden in software that's pressed onto a CD-ROM and cannot be read with ordinary procedures.
Satellite Radio Flopping - A Lesson For The Web?
Internet users may well find similar but not-quite-as-good content for free that's good enough. It won't be easy for many Web publishers to get online users to pay up.
Smile, The Videophone's Ringing
Maybe it simply hasn't been offered in a way that gets consumers interested. Perhaps Vialta's Beamer will change that.
Internet
Meet Mr. Anti-Google
A crusading webmaster says the popular search engine's page-ranking algorithm is "undemocratic."
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
Top Stories
Free Vs. Fee Wireless Conflict Emerging?
A conflict may be emerging between community groups that offer free Internet access via wireless links and companies that want to offer the same service for a fee.
News
Linux, The GPL, And A New Model For Software Innovation
In this next generation of software, those who understand 'copyleft' licenses like the GPL will have the upper-hand, and will be best positioned to take on closed-source shops like Microsoft.
There's Plenty Of Life Left In 3G Wireless
The investment in increased spectrum capacity won't drive growth but stands to lower costs down the road.
'Wi-Fi' Makes Laptop Net Access A Breeze In The Auckland CBD
Wireless operator RoamAD has built a network covering three square kilometres of the central business district.
Notes Is Dead
According to police reports, Notes was killed by inventor Ray Ozzie, arimed with Version 2.1 of the Groove collaboration platform and its new peer-to-peer e-mail functionality.
A Blind Computer User's Thoughts On News Web Sites
Rich Caloggero of MIT Adaptive Technology for Information and Computing is a blind computer user. I asked him whether he would share his opinion on the accessibility of news sites for the benefit of designers who don't usually think about that.
Why Telecoms Back The Pirate Cause
Now consumers have a powerful new ally.
Internet
Dotcom Chapter Of Success
Second-hand bokshops have combined their dustry image with the internet to make money.
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Top Stories
Instant Answers With PDA Pop Quiz
Developers at Wake Forest University have written software that turns a Compaq iPAQ PDA into a mobile, wireless Web server, allowing teachers and students to communicate in new ways in the classroom.
WLANs May Be Banned At Agencies
The proposed National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace plans to get tough on wireless technology, saying that if secure WLANs don't exist, federal agencies shouldn't use them.
News
Discussion: Transitioning To IPv6
Music Industry Blames Net For All Evil
No, the industry is doing everything right, so the only possible explanation for a loss of revenue has got to be the pestilence of Internet piracy.
AOL: New Execs, Same Old Problems
They must shift subscribers to broadband, fend off Microsoft, and cope with declining ad revenues — and do it all as federal probes widen.
Study: 'True' Broadband Could Bolster Economy
With the implementation of a "true" broadband infrastructure, advanced countries such as the United States could add sizable incremental growth to their gross domestic product measurements, according to a study by San Jose-based Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Inc.
Do Notebooks Pay?
Through 2003, integration and extension of mobile, wireless, and enterprise applications will require specialized IT skills and resources.
Burning For Web Services
A battle is brewing between traditional firewall players and a new breed of XML-applicaiton firewall vendors as both push wares that promise to protect enterprises from the security threats Web services may bring.
Researchers Lure Wi-Fi Hackers
How does a honeypot work? It essentially is a closed system with no valid users and no purpose beyond presenting an attractive target for intruders.
Broadband Checking Into Hotels
Broadband-equipped hotel rooms are expected to grow to 15 percent in North America next year, according to an announcement Monday by research firm In-Stat/MDR.
Japanese Phones Vulnerable To Hackers?
Cell phone users in Japan have already had to contend with spam and technical glitches, but that may seem like a breeze when hackers finally turn their attention to the wireless world.
EU Regulators To Decide Soon On Proposals For Cooperation In British Mobile Phone Infrastructure
European Union regulators are expected to make a preliminary decision soon on whether to approve proposals for German and British telecommunications companies to share the costs of building a new mobile-phone infrastructure in Britain, officials said Monday.
Students Complain About Devices For Reading E-Books, Study Finds
E-book technology needs some improvement before students will be willing to use e-books instead of textbooks, according to a report on a study conducted at Ball State University.
Monday, August 26, 2002
News
New Videophone Zooms In On Sign-Ups
KDDI, Japan's second-biggest wireless company, said on Monday that it plans to launch a service in October that will allow users to send and receive videos on their mobile phones, intensifying competition in the hot sector.
DoubleClick Pays To End Privacy Probe
DoubleClick said on Monday that it agreed to pay $450,000 and alter its policies to settle a 30-month, multistate investigation into the online advertising company's use of consumers' personal data.
A Pretty Picture
As 3G languishes, Europe's wireless players find a glimmer of hope in camera phones and multimedia messaging. So what do you want to see?
Time's Running Out For Giant That Thinks The Web Is TV
If at first you don't succeed, fail, fail again. This seems to be the motto behind the world's greatest media conglomerate, AOL Time Warner.
Sunday, August 25, 2002
Top Stories
Activists Take On Hollywood Cartel
A movement is beginning to stir in America, an overdue reaction to the predations of a cartel that is bidding to control how digital information may be created and used.
News
Can Computers Do A Better Job Rating Stocks?
Major computerized stock-rating systems hand out fewer postitive stock ratings than do Wll Street analysts, who seem to dole them out like candy.
The Little Penguin That Could
Ready to dump Windows? Rival operating system Linux is showing up in easier-to-use packages.
Linux, The Cheap Chic For Computer Fashionistas
The decade-old operating system is getting as corporate as button-down shirts and PowerPoint presentations.
Optical Networkers Talk Survival
People in the optical networking industry don't talk much about recovery these days. They talk about survival.
US Airlines Allowing Use Of PDAs That Can Connect To Net
While the US aviation regulatory body has not banned the personal digital assistant, airlines in Asia-Pacific do not allow its use.
Saturday, August 24, 2002
Top Stories
Is This One Nation, Under Blog?
The rumors of a weblog nation may be vastly overrated.
News
IBM Building Emergency IM Network
IBM and a consortium of government agencies in the Washington DC area are creating a wireless emergency network that will allow police, fire and safety agencies to communicate via instant messaging.
Know Thy WLAN
Securing and troubleshooting wireless networks invovles unique challenges not found in wired networks, and fortunately, we've found an excellent tool for doing so.
File Sharing: Guilty As Charged?
New numbers on declining music sales could mean that MP3 trading really is hurting CD sales. But that still doesn't mean we should lock up the pirates.
Standardization Not Always An Answer
As standards address more and more specialized fields, it often becomes less clear whether the benefits of "everyone's doing it" outweigh the costs of "we all have to do it the same way."
Choosing A Blogging Package For Students
Selecting blogging software is becoming increasingly tricky, in part because there are so many packages out there, and because so many of them are so good.
Chicagotribune.com Strike Countdown
Relying on client-side information to produce content that aims to be journalistically sound is a bad idea.
Wireless, Defenseless
Protect your wireless network before someone takes advantage.
StarHub Launches Singapore's Largest Wireless 'Hotzone'
A wireless broadband hub has been launched at the Suntec City, making it Singapore's largest public wireless 'hotzone' to date.
Friday, August 23, 2002
Top Stories
She Wants P2P For The People
Tara Sue Grubb is sick of having her digital rights stepped on — and she's mad enough to run for Congress. Despite strong online support, it's a steep climb up Capitol Hill.
News
Setting A Trap For Laptop Thieves
New services being offered by major PC makers could help track down pilfered systems.
US Secret Service Rolls Out Cybersecurity Task Forces
Businesses in large cities soon will have a chance to send their information technology specialists to quarterly government-sponsored meetings to compare notes with their peers on the subject of cybersecurity.
Web Services: Is It CORBA Redux?
The two things that could actually kill Web services adoption are improper Web service implementations and lack of planning for successful launches.
BT Group Loses Bid To Sue Prodigy Over Internet Hyperlinking
The judge also said the Internet itself does not infringe the patent.
Rethinking The Java Curriculum: Goodbye, HelloWorld!
We'll rethink what new programmers should learn in an introductory course in Java.
Open Source Tools And The Process Of Programming
Open source programming tools, where it's pretty much a given that the authors will be using the products of their effort, benefit from this even more than commercial products.
A New Tactic In The Download War
Online 'spoofing' turns the tables on music pirates.
Internet
America Online Goes Into 'Underdog' Mode
To help spur a turnaround, the company is looking to its roots — and counting Version 8.0.
Thursday, August 22, 2002
Top Stories
Wi-Fi And Free Lunches
Stopping for a bite to eat in a small New England town, was I ever surprised to find a Wi-Fi connection available at 1.2 megabits per second. Where was this bandwidth coming from? No idea. Who was paying for this bandwidth? Same answer.
Government-Mandated Open Source
Why limit the government's choice? That affects every last single one of us.
News
DVRs Tune In To Integration
Digital video recorders may someday be ubiquitous, but first they're going to have to disappear.
The Linux Developer Lifestyle, Exposed
According to a new survey, open-source software developers are mostly men in their twenties, and they vastly favor the Debian operating system distribution.
No 'Wows' Over Starbucks Wireless
When independent coffee shop owners and wired workers learned of Starbucks' plan to offer high-speed wireless Internet service in almost all of its 5,200 shops worldwide, they gave a puzzled look.
An Ad-Free Web Might Be A Barren Place
As annoying as the pop-ups are, computer users would be wise not to let their anger translate into a wish that the Internet become an advertising-free zone.
Palmtops In The Operating Room
The hand-held computer may someday be as ubiquitous as the stethoscope, as the medical industry adapts to new federal regulations on the privacy of medical records, released earlier this month, and works to overcome the problem of records and drug prescriptions based on the infamously illegible handwriting of doctors, which studies have shown are error prone.
Will Price Cuts Rescue The Wireless Web?
High prices have dissuaded many consumers from accessing the Web via cell phones, but there are some indications that prices are falling.
Businesses Pushing Web Services To Simplify Work
Web services have been hyped since the dot-com boom as a way to manage transactions over the Internet, and were seen as a victim when the technology bubble burst. Research firm Gartner, however, said that now even cautious firms have once again begun to test Web services as a key part of their strategy.
Voice Over Internet Service Talks To Consumers
For years, the high cost of phone calls was the biggest obstacle to Internet growth. These days, that curse is proving to be a bit of a blessing.
New Salvo In Piracy, Privacy War
The music industry's trade association is asking a federal district court to force an Internet service provider to turn over private information for a subscriber, heating up the legal war between technology and entertainment companies.
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
Top Stories
Web Services Are Delivering Savings
Although Web services will eventually turn the Internet into an application development platform, the initial promise of Web services was to lower the cost of application integration.
News
1,200 Starbucks Offer Wireless Jolt
Starbucks is now serving up high-speed wireless Internet access at about 1,200 of its coffee shops, the company said Wednesday.
Media Chief Decries Net's Morality
The president of media giant News Corp. warns that the Internet has become a "moral-free zone," with the medium's future threatened by pornography, spam and rampant piracy.
Lowering The Bar For Wireless Web
High prices have dissuaded many consumers from accessing the Web via cell phones, but there are some indications that prices are falling.
A New AES Standard For Wireless
A new encryption mode joins 16 others Tuesday for consideration by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a security mode using the advanced encryption standard (AES).
Morpheus 2.0 Integrates Web, Commerce
The leatest release offers not only a new engine but a new interface that integrates the file-sharing capabilities with the Web and an e-commerce platform.
Samsung Preparing Palm-Based Cellphones
UK Keeps Firm Line On 3G Licences
Despite speculation that the 3G sector could be heading for catastrophe, the British govenrment isn't planning to make things easier for UK 3G licence-holders.
The Most Important Open-Source Project You've (Probably) Never Hear Of
Eclipse provides a common platform, user interface, and plug-in framework for integrating development tools.
KPN Plan To Sell 3G Stake
News of the sale plan delivered a broadside to Hutchison's hopes for faster wireless internet services, known as 3G.
PC-Based Grid Shows Promise
A Grid computing project that focuses on using desktop PCs instead of mainframe computers is doing much better than originally anticipated.
ICANN Taps ISOC To Run .Org
ICANN weighed in with its choice on who should run the .org domain name registry.
DOJ To Swappers: Law's Not On Your Side
The U.S. Department of Justice is prepared to begin prosecuting peer-to-peer pirates, a top government official said on Tuesday.
Internet
Web Site Flouts Linking Bans
Want David Sorkin to link to your Web site? Just ask him not to.
Spam's Other Victims
If you're going to use a spam filter, do it the right way. Use a challenge-and response system such as ChoiceMail or filter it yourself on your own computer.
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Top Stories
Notebook Overhaul On The Horizon
Five years from now, the desktop will probably look pretty much like it does today, but the notebook will likely be smaller and lighter, capable of making cellular calls on its own and running on methanol.
Opposition To Nanotechnology
The ultimate nightmare was the so-called Gray Goo catastrophe, in which self-replicating microscopic robots the size of bacteria fill the world and wipe out humanity.
This Time Around
Even on vacation in Italy, Oliver Thylmann can't keep himself away from wireless matters. Read about what Oliver and his friends tried to do, failed to pull off and want to happen.
Searching Leads Back To Google
More often than not these days, it's Google that brings on the flashes of appreciation.
News
Haiku'da Been A Spam Filter
A hidden scrap of copyrighted poetry embedded in e-mails will be used to guarantee that any message containing the verse is spam free. And if spammers dare to hijack the haiku, they will be aggressively sued for copyright infringement.
Starbuck's Sells Free WiFi Access
If they can sell burnt, ruined coffee at premium prices, why not wireless Web access one could have for free?
Wanted: Killer App For New Smart Phone
Swedish-Japanese mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson invited outside software developers on Monday to come up with a "killer app" for its advanced forthcoming P800 phone to help it stand out in a competitive market.
Making Money With Weblogs
There will not be ghost writers for CEOs, the ghost writer will be the CEO.
Internet
A Time To Compare Numbers
Advertising measurement experts seek to standardize online traffic, print circulation and broadcast audiences.
Monday, August 19, 2002
News
Newspapers Not Dead Yet
Despite predictions to the contrary, newspapers can have a bright future as technology-driven information companies, a top industry executive said.
New Handhelds Get A Grip On Palm OS
Both Sony and Acer have recently unveiled new devices based on the Palm operating system, but the gadgets are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to price and features.
Search Sites Work To Clean Up Their Act
The commercial practices of search engines are once again in the spotlight after a recent warning shot from federal regulators over inadequate disclosure of paid links.
Linux Desktop Due
Linux vendors are showing a renewed interest in developing a desktop version of the operating system to challenge Microsoft. But many corporate users are simply not ready for—or not interested in— such a product.
Wired Students Prefer Campus News On Paper
Even though college campuses are some of the most wired places on Earth, printed versions of college newspapers remain far more popular than their online editions.
Let Users Control Font Size
Tiny text tyrannizes users by dramatically reducing task throughput.
Internet
Yahoo Drops Fees On Payment Service
Yahoo has restored a free version of its person-to-person payment system, in a sign that fees may not always fly with visitors of the online portal.
Sunday, August 18, 2002
News
Living In The Blog-osphere
Welcome to the world of a half million (and counting) Weblogs, where anywhere can instantly publish his passions and favorite Weblinks. And the fun's just begun.
Microsoft Readies Bluetooth Keyboard, Mouse
FCC OKs wireless peripherals, which support 30-foot connections.
Oracle, IBM, Microsoft Challenged By Free Database Softare
MySQL and others are starting to eat into the $8.8 billion market for database software dominated by Oracle, IBM and Microsoft, users said.
Firewall Follies
The complacency firewalls breed is ultimately more damaging than the computer priates they keep out.
Saturday, August 17, 2002
Top Stories
Analyst: RIP 3G—Cut Your Losses Now
A leading analyst house is urging mobile operators to abandon their plans for third-generation (3G) networks.
The Growing Politicization Of Open Source
Any victory for open source achieved through deprivation of the user's right to choose would indeed be a betrayal of hte principles that free software and open source have stood for.
User Created Mobile Content
Will user-generated content be as important for the mobile Internet as it is for the wired Internet?
News
Ultrawideband Squeezes In
A newly approved radio technology promises wireless home electronics and positioning systems accurate to the centimeter. But opponents say it could also mean dead cell phones, thwarted satellite receptionóeven plane wrecks.
Speech Recognition Follies
I'm guessing the keyboards will always be with us.
Standards Help Linux Avoid Unix Fate
Efforts to prevent the Linux from splitting into several incompatible versions—a problem that has in the past hobbled Unix, the operating system upon which Linux is modeled—moved several steps ahead this week.
Friday, August 16, 2002
Top Stories
Push-Button Innovation
The telecom industry doesn't need more bandwidth. It needs ways to get people to use the bandwidth they have.
News
Does Your Business Need A Voice?
Voice recognition and other speech technologies are garnering interest in the Australian marketplace. But how aware are businesses of the amount of education their users really need?
As Gadgets Go To Class, Schools Try To Cope
With cellphones and other gadgets becoming standard equipment for students, schools are working to devise rules for their use.
Lawrence Lessig Keynote From OSCON 2002
Freedom is about stopping the past, but we have lost that ideal.
Switch To Linux Saved Us Millions, Amazon.com Says
"We wanted the best tool for the task."
Thursday, August 15, 2002
Top Stories
Why You Should Keep An Eye On Linux
The stocks are in the dumps, but the technology is gaining momentum.
The News On 3G
3G technologies promise to revolutionaize news distribution for both journalists and viewers alike. But it may still be fiction than science at this point.
News
New Yahoo IM Pushes Video, 'Emoticons'
Yahoo on Thursday will launch a new version of its instant messaging software that will offer a boosted Webcam feature for broadband users, the Web portal's latest effort to distinguish itself from rivals AOL and Microsoft.
Picture Your New Password
In an idea with vision, security software maker Pointsec has introduced picture passwords for Pocket PCs.
New Sidekick Wireless Computer Is A Breakthrough
With consumers in mind, the monthly fee for the Sidekick will be just $39.99 for unlimited data usage over a high-speed, always-on GPRS network.
Pirates Of The Hollywood Seas
Todd Kluss doesn't need to go to the movies. They come to him.
More Retailers On The Web Look A Lot Like Amazon
It's fascinating to watch how traditional retailers continue to partner with Amazon, in effect paying the Seattle firm to do their online selling.
Wanted: Web-Savvy Schooling
Teens favor more Internet-related lesson plans, study finds.
You've Got No Mail
What happened when a city council tried to free staff from their inboxes.
Thanks, Sprint! You've Given Us A Good 3G Network
With this single announcement, Sprint has seized the initiative and assumed leadership in 3G cellular service in the U.S. market.
New Wireless Hardware Gets FCC Nod
Wireless networking equipment from Cisco Systems, Intersil and D-Link based on the 802.11a wireless standard received federal approval this week to be sold in the United States.
Net Surfers Are Getting The Message: Pay Up
Remember when the Internet was the land of the free and the home of the freebie? You know — the good old days, when Web surfers got a whole lot of something for absolutely nothing.
Not A Moment Too Soon
Digiportal's innovative new ChoiceMail program means the end of spam.
The Myth Of Cybersecurity
People are always the weakest link.
The Absent Yet Present Link
As is often the case, the technical and the social interpenetrate each othe rin a kind of warp and weft, which can make things hard to sort out.
Wednesday, August 14, 2002
Top Stories
IBM Adds Roaming To Everyplace Wireless Gateway
IBM plans to announce Thursday that it has added roaming capabilities to its Everyplace Wireless Gateway product, allowing users to roam seamlessly and securely between many types of wireless and wired networks.
News
Siemens Calls For 'Live Betting'
The concept of wagering on results of a sporting event after it has begun, and the technology developed to make it happen, debuted at the World Cup this summer.
Dodging Pop-Ups With Mozilla
Mozilla 1.0, the open-source technology whose coding is the basis for America Onlineís latest Netscape browser, is garnering favor for a new feature that helps block irksome pop-up advertisements. But donít expect to see the tool in the coming full release of Netscape 7.0.
Blogs Finding Fans In BusinessWorld
Are Weblogs a legitimate business tool, or merely the Internet's latest vehicle for personal indulgence?
The Future Of Digital Television
The current situation for consumers with DVRs is a border phenomenon. Individual consumers can take advantage of the turmoil, but not forever.
Internet
Schools Not Making The Grade In Web Use
Computers may now be nearly as common as blackboards and lockers in U.S. schools, but they are not meeting the needs of Internet-savvy students, according to a study released Wednesday.
Tuesday, August 13, 2002
Top Stories
Language Barriers On The Web?
As the Web marches into the future, some developers say they're concerned about what will become of its past.
A Fresh Breath Of Oxygen
MIT researchers are working to make computers more intuitive.
Blogging For Dollars: Giving Rise To The Professional Blogger
It's time to take blogging to the next level and that starts with paying people to produce high-quality, focused blogs for commercial Web sites.
News
File-Swapping Foes Exert P2P Pressure
The anti-piracy war is about to spill over onto the home front.
Sun To Fund Open-Source Java Efforts
Sun on Tuesday announced a $3 million scholarship program to help software developers build open-source implementations of Java standards.
Red Hat Unfurls Hammer Plans
Red Hat will bring out a version of its server software for the Hammer processor family from AMD, as momentum for the chip builds.
India's Supercomputing Agency Goes For Linux
India's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, which makes supercomputers used for heavy-duty data processing, said on Monday it had decided to use open source Linux software in a high-performance computing lab.
You Only Hurt The ONE You Love
Does Scott McNealy really matter?
Internet
Yahoo Yields To Chinese Web Laws
Yahoo on Tuesday defended its decision to sign off on voluntary content limitations in China, a move that critics say opens the door to online censorship by the Web portal.
The Media Titans Still Don't Get It
Corporate America lost billionson the Net. That doesn't mean the medium has no value — but the moguls remain clueless about where it lies.
Monday, August 12, 2002
Top Stories
Keyboard For Those On The Move
An inventor believe sthat he hs overcome some of the problems of being deskbound because of the traditional computer keyboard.
News
Tuning In To Digital Radio
A company whose technology will serve as the basis for most digital radio broadcasting announced Monday a number of deals for compatible radios and the chips that will power them.
Bigger Bar Code Inches Up On Retailers
Starting Jan 1, 2005, the 12-digit bar code retailers use to identify everything will go to 13 digits. But many retailers have yet to focus on this problem that will require significant investments in time and capital.
RealNetworks' Open-Source Strategy: Talking Infrastructure With Rob Glase
We've been hearing for years that RealNetworks had long been a Linux company on th einside, with plenty of internal developers who have been eager for the company to join the open source conversation. And now they have.
Graffiti Points Hackers Toward Vulnerable PCs
While net users might rejoice at the idea of free Internet access cattered throughout their town, security experts are quick to point out the downside.
Sunday, August 11, 2002
News
The Sprint 3G Ballyhoo: So What?
Sprint PCS may face an uphill battle to sell its new high-speed Internet services for mobile phones.
A Web Site May Help People Tell How Low Is Too Low
New York residents could have a new tool for fighting airport noise: a Web site that lets residents track which planes are overhead, and just how low they are flying.
So You've Got Your HDTV. Now What's There To See?
When the gizmo is hooked up and ready to display its wide-screen, high-quality pictures, what will there be to watch?
The Death Of E-Mail
I don't care about spam. Spam will go away — with the death of e-mail.
Saturday, August 10, 2002
Top Stories
Disruptive Adoptoin Of Wi-Fi
A US 3G mobile data network deployment may be delayed significantly as cariers look to the lower cost of 802.11 based networks.
Open Source's New Weapon: The Law?
Open-source software advocates will unfurl a legislative proposal next week to prohibit the state of Calfornia from buying software from Microsoft or any other company that doesn't open its source code and licensing policies.
News
Airport Insecurity
Until there is a workable technology to detect explosives, let's force the terrorists to use suicide bombers, and let's spot them at the airport.
The Myth Of Airport Biometrics
Post-Sept 11 legislation sets ill-considered biometric policy for the United States, will slow down the adoption of systems and take years to correct, says one expert.
Sun Snubbed In Web Services Spec Effort
Microsoft, IBM and BEA are throwing another Web services party and, once again, Sun is not on the guest list.
Internet
Why Ads On The Net Don't Work
There will be no room for the net's equivalent of small and medium sized businesses, the powerhouse of the real economy.
Friday, August 9, 2002
News
Automakers Set To Use Wireless Chips, Study Says
The promise of dashboard mobile telephone dialing, more advanced stereo systems, and even more efficient car production has automakers looking at the use of wireless chips.
Trellix Adds Blogging To Its Web Tools
Software maker Trellix is adding a Web logging capability to its site-building tools.
Thursday, August 8, 2002
Top Stories
Gnutella Bandwidth Bandits
The file-trading network's developers are discovering that even their wide-open, free-for-all technology might need a little policing.
A Screen That Cuts The Cord
Panasonic's new MDWD eliminates a central piece of hte traditional computer: the cable that connects the screen to the computer.
News
Revoution Will Not Be Televised
Broadband is not just a substitute for television.
Double Wi-Fi Network Speeds?
U.S. Robotics' 22-mbps wireless network products improve on Wi-Fi speeds—but only on networks with no Wi-Fi clients.
One Step Closer To 3G Nirvana
The Bush administration's decision to allocate spectrum for next-generation wireless services is a big win for consumers, the wireless industry and the entire information technology sector.
New Tech Could Kill The Ump
If MLB umpires seem a little insecure about a high-tech system to monitor their ball-and-strike calls, they have good reason: Improvements on that system could take their jobs soon enough.
Smile, You're On In-Store Camera
Thanks to advances in various types of recognition software, you're not even safe from prying eyes — and greedy retailers — when you wander around a department store.
Wednesday, August 7, 2002
Top Stories
What To Do About Spam?
The winner will be the system that never generates false positives.
Some Hope In The Fight Against Spam
A start-up company called Cloudmark is offering a "peer-to-peer" solution called SpamNet.
The Bot Who Loved Me
Are those secret-admirer e-mails real — or just the latest excrescence of an Internet marketing machine grown unfathomably sleazy?
News
Web Standards For Hard Times
Web standards? You can't afford to ignore them anymore.
Speaking About VoIP
Why VoIP is on the verge of taking off.
Smarter Content Publishing
Building a semantic website to increase the efficiency and usability of publishing systems.
Spam Filters Even Block Anti-Spammers
"Our own validation e-mail, sent to people that register for our service, was scoring a 5.9 in Spam Assassin and not reaching many of our users. Ironic, isn't it?"
Giving Soldiers A Better View
Augmented reality technology can help make sense of unfamiliar battlegrounds.
TiVo Might Rue Arrival Of DTV
Consumers who have shelled out hundreds of dollars for digital video recorders could be out of luck in the near future.
Blow For Europe 3G Telecoms Hopes
Plans for rolling out next generation mobile phone networks in Europe have been delat a fresh blow with news that start-up of the services in Sweden is likely to be late.
Targeting The PDA
How can a handheld operating system company succeed in the burgeoning smart-phone market without having to create a new operating system?
Takings Dip At The First 3G Network
The world's first operator of 3G mobile phones has revealed a fall in revenue for the new services in Japan despite signing up more customers.
"802.11b+" Protocol Bridges 802.11a, 802.11b
It's proprietary; does that matter?
Tuesday, August 6, 2002
Top Stories
"Does XML Suck?" Revisited
What technology should (and shouldn't) try to achieve.
News
Beyond The Buzz: Putting Web Services Theory Into Practice
Web services are a viable application architecture today, even if they won't be a robust and vigorous marketplace until many days after tomorrow.
HP Looks To Keep Systems Cool
Addressing the growing problem of heat dissipation in chips and systems, Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday announced it is working on a suite of technologies to address heat generation and energy use in increasingly powerful microprocessors and datacenters.
Sprint, Treo To Turn Up 3G Volume
Although Sprint would not confirm details of Thursday's expected announcement, the company has long promised the rollout of the high-speed data service this summer.
The High PSark Of Low Power
Despite the public safety or medical imaging aspects of UWB, it has been the category of wireless broadband transmission that has set off a flurry of commercial activity.
802.11b Gets A Little 'WiSER'
OTC Wireless Friday announced it is currently beta testing hardware that will let users use an 802.11b solution to connect any two RS-23w2 devices together, eliminating the physical serial cable that connects them.
A Decision On Digital Television
The federal government's languishing effort to provide the nation's couch potatoes with digital TV signals is expected to lurch forward this week.
Is Open Source Java Dead In Its Tracks?
Sun should treat Java as a programming language, not a product.
Monday, August 5, 2002
News
Sun To Announce Leap Into Linux
Sun will overhaul two major components of its low-end server strategy later this month, introducing new low-end systems and detailing support for the Linux operating system.
RosettaNet Merges With UCC
In an effort to boost business-to-business integration efforts in the high-technology and retail sectors via XML and Web services standards, the Uniform Code Council and RosettaNet have agreed to merge their organizations, officals said Monday.
Downloading Magazine Replicas
Technology Review magazine plans to announce a new service today that enables users to download an exact replica of the magazine to read at their leisure, placing the magazine among a fast-growing crowd of publication susing this form of online distribution.
Computers Under Attack Can Hack Back, Expert Says
Can vigilantism save computers from the next big virus threat?
Sunday, August 4, 2002
Top Stories
In An Ancient Game, Computing's Future
In programming a computerized version of Go, an ancient Asian board game, the very limits of artificial intelligence are being tested.
News
Fair Use Or Foul Play?
Congress has already sold out some very basic rights, and with elections coming and campaign coffers needing to be filled, our politicians appear eager to sell out some more.
Flash On Mobile And Embedded Devices
There are two main technical reasons to start thinking seriously about Flash development for embedded and mobile devices: new software and better hardware.
Saturday, August 3, 2002
Internet
Blog's The Word At MSNBC.com
Web news site MSNBC.com will introduce a new Web logs section by the end of August, a move that will allow it more editorial control over the opinionated ramblings of its former online discussion boards.
4 Florida Newspapers To Charge For Online Content
News delivered online by four Freedom Communications Inc. newspapers in the Florida Panhandle is no longer free.
Character Assassination Of SpamAssassin
SpamAssassin isn't perfect, but it's a step up the evolutionary ladder.
Friday, August 2, 2002
Internet
Taking The Air Out Of Pop-Ups
Some online publishers are taking pins to pop-up advertisements, but Web surfers won't likely notice a decline in the annoying marketing ploy anytime soon.
A Shift Registers In Willingness To Pay For Internet Content
More Internet users are showing a willingness to pay for content online, suggesting a shift in consumers' expectaions that online services should be free.
Journalists Are From Mars, IT Managers Are From Venus
I get the impression that many IT managers care only about "solving the spam problem," and don't see the threat to content as important.
Thursday, August 1, 2002
Internet
Dot-Coms Bucking The Trend
More dot-coms than you'd guess are reporting genuine profits — not fake "pro forma" income, but real black ink.
Web Services And The Eight Fallacies
HTTP defines the single most general coordination language ever developed.
How Weblogs Keep The Media Honest
It's called influencing the debate, in real time.
Delicious Irony
Spam filters, especially the increasingly popular SpamAssassin, ar ehurting ethical e-mail publishers.