::: Thursday, February 28 :::
Heh:
So lonely at the top

As a matter of fact, no you're not. There's one other Bryan who shares your particular affliction predilection.


2:07 PM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Monday, February 25 :::
Good grief:
4 students held after Columbine food fight

Ok. I can understand that the faculty at Columbine High School might be a little over-protective. This, however, is completely unacceptable behavior. Arresting teens, dragging them down the hallways half-naked, and generally causing the students to become even more disruptive is not solid school management.

[thanks to The Obscure Store for the link]


10:09 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Whatever:
ICANN Needs an Overhaul

Don't let anyone kid you, this move has nothing to do with needing government involvement in ICANN's proceedings. The only reason Mr. Lynn wants to restructure is because a solid percentage of the registrars are refusing to pay their fees. This new goverment angle would give them a handy little crowbar to pry fees out of the interlopers.


9:53 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Hmm:
Napster judge denounces recording industry

The details are sparse, but at first blush this seems like a crack in the dam to me.

[update: ZDNet has more details]


9:45 AM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Friday, February 22 :::
Hmm:
The Pirates of Prime Time

A bit more information about the ReplayTV suit.


10:25 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Sad:
Checkout the OS-free PCs at walmart.com

It's a sad demonstration of what our country has become that Wal-mart is the only company that is big enough to thwart Microsoft's OEM agreement. It will certainly be interesting to see Microsoft's reaction. It's particularly insulting to Microsoft because the Walmart.com site runs on IIS5.


10:17 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Update:
Car renter ticketed for spying on speeders

I'm in shock that the rental company lost this one. Connecticut must have some pretty strong consumer protection laws.


10:12 AM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Thursday, February 21 :::
Interesting:
Webcasters Learn Cost of Music

At first this doesn't seem like a very big deal. If you consider a standard radio station which play roughly 400 songs per day, their royalty would be 28 cents per day (since they get the half rate discount). Hardly a drop in the bucket.

The problem begins when you consider that, unlike a conventional radio station, a site such as Live365.com would likely have millions of streams playing simultaneously. Let's say they only have 50,000 streams, at .0014 per song that's $70 for that one slice of time. Over the period of a day they could easily rack up $50,000 or more.

In other words, this annoucement puts traditional radio stations back on top and shafts the true webcasters. Business as usual for an environment where big business controls the actions of big government.


9:03 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Hmm:
Is ReplayTV the Next Napster?

Business 2.0 seem to disagree with the BusinessWeek article I blogged earlier. Personally, I think ReplayTV did a lot of groundwork making sure that their services, while pushing the envelope, didn't go against established case law regarding fair use.


8:51 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Sigh:
Small MS DVD privacy invasion, not many dead

If this is Microsoft trying to be "trustworthy", imagine how bad things would be if they set their minds on being sneaky.


8:41 AM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Wednesday, February 20 :::
Booyah:
The Deadly Follies of Stick Figure Warning-Man and Family

That's certainly one way to leverage the latent potential of your e-business paradigm.


9:39 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Yep:
Revamping recovery

I've said it before, but it bears repeating. HP makes great printers, but that's about it. This is just one more nail in the coffin.


9:30 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Hmm:
Linux, Windows to run on IBM servers

This could get interesting. I wonder if Microsoft has the balls to yank IBM's Windows OEM license whilst the DOJ continues nipping at their heels? If not, IBM may have finally found a way of exacting revenge against BillG for the OS2 debacle.


9:20 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Uhm:
Video games raise concerns over racism

Initially, "Ethnic Cleansing" looks little different from popular shooting games such as "Quake." The sophisticated graphics of the game could attract players who wouldn't realize the true nature of the material until they were well into the game, Foxman said.

Let me begin by saying that I abhor the existence of propaganda such as this. That said, don't you think the title alone would tip off the average person as to the content of the game? This guy seems to think gamers are a bunch of easily distracted buffoons who are held spellbound by the pretty colors.

[update: Wired's take on the issue]


9:08 AM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Monday, February 18 :::
Doh:
If Office XP's So Great, How Come Microsoft Uses Word 97?

Busted.


5:04 PM CST  ::  tell me a story
Microsoft Bob:
The Power of X

As much as I love Cringley, I think he overlooked one problem with this OSX on Intel argument. Namely, that Microsoft controls Office, Entourage, and IE for OSX. If Apple ever did pose a credible threat to Redmond, they could pull the plug on these apps and effectively shutdown OSX within six months to a year on Intel and Apple hardware alike.

Since Apple was nice enough to provide competition in the OS space, Microsoft would no longer need Office to hold up as a anti-trust buster. All Ballmer would need to do is cite rising costs and shrinking revenues in the Mac marketspace. These reasons are nothing new, but they are factual and couldn't really be countered by Apple.

Not that I wouldn't love to see Jobs give it a shot. The tech world has been pretty boring lately.


12:14 PM CST  ::  tell me a story
Damn:
U.S. Targets Deceptive 'Miss Cleo' Psychic TV Ads

I can really sympathize with Miss Cleo. Just when you think you've devised the perfect stupidity tax, the government has to come along and screw everything up.


11:05 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Finally:
Net snooping laws 'too costly'

At last someone stands up against the ridiculous Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). There are far more serious issues than just the cost of implementing the so-called anti-terrorist measures, but this tactic is most likely to generate results. Politicians, even the ones who couldn't work a microwave on a bet, understand the laws of business and are loath to upset the business community.


11:03 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Interesting:
Judge orders Microsoft to reveal source code

Well, this is certainly a surprise. I wonder how long it will take Microsoft to get the new judge thrown off the case? She's obviously "biased" in the same manner as Judge Jackson.


9:52 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Hmm:
Lindows CEO delivers broadside in MS trademark dispute

This guy seems like a logical sort and that's the very reason that Microsoft will likely win this case. Microsoft has come to understand that logic and law are not only at odds, but are nearly mutually exclusive terms.


9:44 AM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Friday, February 15 :::
Booyah:
pamie.com Valentine's Special

Don't call it a come back.


2:10 PM CST  ::  tell me a story
Hmm:
Canadian skaters get gold; judge suspended

I guess this is the best that can be done, but it still sucks. The bigger problem here is that regardless of how well either pair skated there will always be a little star next to their medal listings. A little star that will forever call into question the true meaning of their accomplishment.

I suppose winning gold should be enough, regardless of circumstances, but I can tell you right now that I would be really frelling bitter if my last chance to win gold was marred by a tiny little star telling the world that even though I was the best it was more of a technicality than fact. That would truly suck.


2:08 PM CST  ::  tell me a story
Indeed:
DMCA Protection at U.S. Border

"I guess when you've got the big hammer of the DMCA, everything starts looking like a nail."

I couldn't have said it better myself.


10:18 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Enigma:
Accounting worries nip at Nvidia

Here's a riddle for you: how can a company virtually own their marketspace and still not make money?


10:14 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Uhm, no:
MS to block internet apps by default in .NET

Why not just keep the machine from booting? Wouldn't that make .NET the most secure OS on the planet? From what I've been hearing about XP Home they've just about got that feature perfected already.


10:05 AM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Thursday, February 14 :::
Whoa:
Olympics Tour - Salt Lake City 2002

NASA zooms in on Salt Lake from space. Pretty cool.


11:22 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Hmm:
Mythic sued over EULA

This is the strangest idea I've ever heard of for a start-up. I suppose the case is important, if only to establish case history in regard to the strength of EULA's, but I'd have to agree with Mystic here. It sort of ruins the game for everyone if experience and wealth goes to the highest bidder rather than the most dedicated player.


9:00 AM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Monday, February 11 :::
heh:
My crime is that of curiosity

Prime kitten bait.

[Truth be told it's prime danelope and dinoneil bait as well, but that's not as much fun, now is it?]


4:55 PM CST  ::  tell me a story
w00t:
b-may

Your very own personal coverage of the Olympics, back-stage stylee.

[thanks to Lance for the link]


10:17 AM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Friday, February 8 :::
Cool:
Hivelogic Email Address Encoder

It's always good to have tools like this bookmarked.


12:31 PM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Thursday, February 7 :::
Heh:
Google Down on Pop-Up Sneaks

"Scumware". I like that.


11:12 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Interesting:
ReplayTV Is Not Another Napster

ReplayTV sound pretty cool. I guess this is the first time I've read a detailed description of why it's different than TiVo. If the RIAA and the MPAA are able to kill this one, then Fair Use is a thing of the past.


11:10 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Hmm:
US votes on MS-DoJ deal

It appears that occasionally the system works as it should. This is assuming, of course, that positive changes are made to the settlement. I wouldn't exactly call that a sure thing as of yet.


10:59 AM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Wednesday, February 6 :::
Whoa:
The online 'Blog' phenomenon

You can't put anything over on Ol' John, can you? He's all over this "new" bloggin' thang.


3:32 PM CST  ::  tell me a story
Yay:
New Device = More Ads, Less Show

<Bender>What can I say? I'm thrilled.</Bender>


3:28 PM CST  ::  tell me a story
Thppt:
ActiveBuddy lets companies control bots

Just what the world needs... yet another way to send spam.


3:23 PM CST  ::  tell me a story
Sigh:
Major privacy hole in MSN Messenger

Yet another case where Microsoft flaunts its untrustworthy nature. This time it's directly into the face of the very people from whom it is asking for trust. Bad form indeed.


3:18 PM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Monday, February 4 :::
Hmm:
'Dangerous' hole discovered in Morpheus

Not that I would ever recommend ignoring a security bulletin, but this one seems fishy. There's no mention of what type of exploit it is, nor is there any mention of how to protect yourself. It seems possible, if not likely, that this could merely be a ruse promoted by those who want to shut Morpheus down. Either way, I'd hold off connecting until MusicCity comments on this.


8:31 AM CST  ::  tell me a story
Uhm, yeah:
MS declares programming moratorium

Let's see... 24 years of sloppy code vs. 1 month of clean up time. Seems logical to me.


8:15 AM CST  ::  tell me a story

::: Friday, February 1 :::
Heh:
All shook up over game controllers

[insert your own dildo joke here]


3:07 PM CST  ::  tell me a story
Yep:
The Big Rip-Off / Labels move to block CD audio ripping

More noise about the Philips press release. This time with a little commentary thrown in for good measure.


2:59 PM CST  ::  tell me a story
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