Monthly Archives: January 2000

Nearly lost in the noise surrounding AOL’s buyout of Time Warner was some fairly big news about Microsoft. Our favorite monopolist forked over at least $150 million — and most likely a lot more — to settle a civil antitrust … Continue reading →

“Recollections of Early Paint Systems” is the topic of a talk tomorrow by technology pioneers Richard Shoup and Alvy Ray Smith. They’ll be speaking at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Comments

Nearly lost in the noise surrounding AOL’s buyout of Time Warner was some fairly big news about Microsoft. Our favorite monopolist forked over at least $150 million — and most likely a lot more — to settle a civil antitrust … Continue reading →

I’m in awe of the counterspin techniques at the U.S. Department of Justice or in the offices of the state attorneys general who are part of the Microsoft antitrust case. Someone is

The National Association of Attorneys General goes by the acronym NAAG, which sometimes defined the mission. But this group does important work. Many of the 50 state attorneys general, plus U.S. Justice Department head Janet Reno, are meeting today and … Continue reading →

No company has complained louder than AOL about the cable-TV companies refusal to open their fast data pipes to competing Internet service providers. Those complaints have been totally justified. Now that AOL will own some large cable-TV systems — Time … Continue reading →

Yesterday morning, when I heard the news about the AOL Time Warner deal, I posted a quick commentary on this page. Later in the day I rewrote it. Rewriting is the most essential part of the writing process. The piece … Continue reading →

Microsoft has decided to do the practical thing. With consumers taking advantage of an unintended rebate loophole, the company is suspending the program. The deal allows customers of electronics stores to take $400 off their tab if they sign up … Continue reading →

Doug Engelbart and his colleagues see complexity as a threat to our future. They’re right. They also see their activities at the Bootstrap Institute as an answer. I don’t know if they’re right about that. In any event, Engelbart is … Continue reading →

When people start using Roman numerals in product names, you know there’s more than a little self-importance involved. Exhibit A: the Super Bowl. Now comes Apple Computer’s Mac OS X, which shows a certain level of hubris, too. But at … Continue reading →