bruceb news

Here’s a comparison of a picture that was used on Microsoft’s US web site and the same picture on Microsoft’s Polish web site.

Microsoft is taking some well-deserved heat today for photoshopping out the black guy’s head and replacing it with a white guy’s head. It’s probably done for a business or demographic reason instead of latent racism, but it’s still a pretty clumsy move. Heck, it’s not even a good Photoshop job – notice the guy’s hand was overlooked, one of those details you can’t stop noticing once somebody points it out.

But that’s not important. I want to know where I can get one of those fabulous Dell monitors that don’t require electricity or a cable running to a computer. […] continued

If you have five minutes free, click here for a moderately amusing video from Microsoft about the history of the Internet.

. . . I bet you thought that last post was about you . . .

Frustrated by flaky wireless connections? You’re not the only one. I’m proud of the solution that one of my friends and clients is using to increase the strength of a weak signal in his house. That’s the wireless USB adapter on the remote computer that you see in there, pointing towards the room with the wireless access point. Works like a charm – signal strength increased from “low” to “very good.”

I don’t think he’ll get venture capital funding until further testing is done with colanders, miners’ helmets, and tubas.

There will be time next year for news about technology that affects your business. Let’s focus on something more important.

On Xmas day, a new Wallace and Gromit short film, “A Matter Of Loaf And Death,” was broadcast on British television! This is exciting news for anyone who enjoyed A Grand Day Out, A Close Shave, The Wrong Trousers, and The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. Everyone likes Wallace and Gromit! The new film is just as wonderful as the rest. It will eventually be released in the US, although anyone familiar with Bittorrent can find a copy pretty quickly. […] continued

Plaintiffs, consisting of the class of all children who on or about Dec. 24, 2008 were hanging stockings by the chimney with care in the reasonable belief that St. Nicholas soon would be there, sue defendant and allege:

1.    This is an action for an accounting, damages and injunctive relief.

2.    Upon information and belief, defendant is a citizen and resident of the North Pole, where he maintains his principal place of business.  The court has subject matter jurisdiction of the amount pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1332.

Count I: Breach of Contract.

Throughout the fall of 2008, plaintiffs met with agents of defendant at various shopping malls to negotiate the delivery of certain goods on the evening of Dec. […] continued

A lot of companies are trying to cook up the next viral video, the link that will be passed from person to person until we’re all heartily sick of it. I wouldn’t expect the Disney corporation to be successful at that – but I have to admit, this is a very nice piece of work. Go to the Sun 7 News site for a very special video!

All my best wishes for a peaceful Thanksgiving, surrounded by family, happy computers, and cooperative turkeys.

Finally, some online technology that you can use!

In the last ten years, many newspapers, magazines, and other publishers experimented with putting material online behind walls set up for subscribers only. One by one, the experiments failed to attract much interest and frequently instead drove consumers to free alternatives, so for the last few years more and more content has been made available for free, albeit surrounded by ads. Even television shows are increasingly likely to be available online, at least for a while, at sites like Hulu and Fancast.

Now a big barrier falls in the world of newspaper syndication. […] continued