bruceb news

On Saturday, the Washington Post reported that America Online was in negotiations to buy Linux manufacturer Red Hat – leading to lots of talking heads speculating about the possibility that AOL would make a head-on assault against Windows on the desktop.

Today, America Online denied the reports in particularly vigorous terms. When talks are really going on but folks want to stay private, the denials are usually guarded. Today AOL seemed rather certain that the whole thing was imaginary.

In other news, you’ll recall that Kazaa (the company behind the FastTrack software that powers the most popular file swapping services – MusicCity, Kazaa, and Grokster) was ordered by a Dutch court to halt file transfers. […] continued

If you need to stock up on blank 80-minute CDRs, Amazon has spindles of 50 Fuji CDRs for $14.99, with free shipping. Good deal!

The “Segway Human Transporter” is out in the open now – Dean Kamen’s battery-powered, highly balanced scooter that caused a hubbub when some high-tech folks gushed enthusiastic and it leaked into the press. I kind of like the looks of it (here’s The New York Times article about it). The Register’s summary seems about right.

So, will it revolutionize urban life as the press-hype surrounding its initial disclosure dared predict? Probably not.

First off, it’s expensive. On top of that, it weighs 65 lbs, making it a real monster to drag home on an empty battery. But then again, it’s not so heavy that it can’t easily be grabbed and tossed into the back of someone else’s pickup truck.

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A fascinating look at technology recycling – and a sobering example of how little the assets of failed dot-coms are worth. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals is taking over Webvan’s lease on its giant Oakland warehouse and buying the software and machinery to run Webvan’s highly automated equipment.

Webvan spent twenty million dollars on equipment for high speed distribution, and one hundred million dollars developing the software to run the warehouse. Kaiser is buying the software and machinery for about four million dollars.

Kaiser intends to modify the software and equipment and use it to send hospital supplies to its 27 hospitals in California. […] continued

John Heilemann wrote an article for PC Magazine a few weeks ago describing some of the things that might become part of our world in the next thirty years. It’s always dangerous to predict the future, but his central point is well taken and already starting to be felt. The next wave will not be about computers, but rather about what can be accomplished with ubiquitous computing power. It reads like science fiction, but you’ll end up with a head start on some fascinating things coming at us.

One of the pieces of legislation being reviewed to deal with terrorism would permit Internet surveillance without a court order. The scope of that surveillance was debated at a Congressional committee meeting on Tuesday. The bill’s advocates argue that prosecutors should be able to intercept e-mail headers (TO: and FROM:), since it’s analogous to what they can discover about incoming and outgoing phone calls. But they’re also requesting the right to intercept the addresses of all web sites visited, without a court order. And that’s a wildly different thing, eh? Wired Magazine quotes Senators Hatch and Schumer as saying that “Americans have no reasonable expectation of privacy in the identities of their e-mail correspondents, or the addresses of Web pages they visit.” Boy, that sounds flatly wrong to me. […] continued

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat has somebody working their Business section with an anti-Microsoft grudge. The paper has been more and more bold about printing articles bashing Microsoft as if they’re straight news items. It’s confusing to people – a combination of misinformation and half-truths, with no indication that there’s another side. I sent this letter to the editor today:

You’ve printed many Microsoft-bashing articles in the past few years, but recently you’ve begun presenting them as straight news items – to your discredit. “Windows XP: Useful But Limited” appeared Monday, September 24, as the lead news story in the business section.

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I mentioned a couple of background articles on Osama Bin Laden earlier this week, but here’s what wasn’t covered by those articles – a concise (and scary) description of what he believes and why he hates the U.S.

I find I’m spending more and more time at Slate Magazine for news and politics. A particularly valuable daily feature is called “Today’s Papers,” which compares the front pages of the nation’s largest daily newspapers – always fascinating, sometimes eye-opening. Recommended for news junkies.

Despite past differences, you may have the impression that America has been united by this tragedy. I offer this without further comment.

According to The Washington Post and the New York Times, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson said that liberal civil liberties groups, feminists, homosexuals and abortion rights supporters bear partial responsibility for Tuesday’s terrorist attacks. Falwell appeared on Robertson’s “700 Club” and the pair agreed that God gave the U.S. “what we deserve.”