Monthly Archives: April 2001

Salon: Generation bankrupt. And if these wrinkle-free failures — who have already gone from slackers to high rollers to slackers again — aren’t feeling so exuberant anymore, who can blame them? Their lives are about to get worse. A new … Continue reading →

ZDNet: Yahoo backs off on porn sales. Yahoo has come under considerable scrutiny over the past few days after the Los Angeles Times reported that the company was expanding its online sales into sex-related videos and DVDs. In January, after … Continue reading →

Brad Templeton sends along the following: Two years ago, rec.humor.funny published a sick satire of the Mastercard“Priceless” ads (There are some things money can’t buy, for everythingelse there’s Mastercard) based around the Columbine tragedy. I won’t repeatit here, since it … Continue reading →

Every financial institution is in the process of mailing “privacy statements” to customers, explaining how they plan to sell, trade or otherwise make use of customers’ data. You can only opt out of having your information traded to non-affiliated companies, … Continue reading →

Some of Silicon Valley’s most talented people are also some of the least humble. So often, arrogance seems to go with brilliance. But not in the case of a man who coined one of technology’s most basic rules. When Gordon … Continue reading →

New York Times: Internet Critic Takes on Microsoft. Right now (Dave Winer) is sounding the alarm about Microsoft, which he says is trying to contort network software standards in an effort to dominate the future direction of the Internet. Here’s … Continue reading →

Yesterday’s column about one congressman’s efforts to restore some balance in the intellectual property arena brought lots of e-mail and further ideas. Gordon Mohr notes this from the Washington Post: Pat Schroeder’s New Chapter. The (Association of American Publishers) is … Continue reading →

AP: Amazon to take over Borders Group’s online bookselling operations. Amazon will become the seller of record, providing inventory, fulfillment and content and customer service for the site. There’s something sad about today’s announcement, because Amazon is the enemy of … Continue reading →

Los Angeles Times: PG&E Gave Bonuses Prior to Bankruptcy. Before its filing, the utility also had $2.5 billion on hand and had restarted services suspended earlier because of shaky finances. Hardly the best way to inspire good will… Comments

Rep. Rick Boucher has been taking strong stands on behalf of users, not owners, in the intellectual property wars. It’s a lonely and courageous position in a Congress that seems mostly in the pocket of Hollywood and other copyright owners. … Continue reading →