An article from the Washington Post provides a number of complaints from Microsoft competitors indicating that they are violating the spirit, if not the letter, of the anti-trust agreement with the Feds. One issue is the licensing terms and prices for crucial interoperability technologies from Microsoft. These include a host …

According to an article on Space.com, NASA wants to start launching again before the end of the year and finish the US portion of the ISS by 2005. Among the other interesting tidbits: No more nighttime launches Redesign of the external fuel tank (to prevent falling foam incidents) Possible …

An article from Business 2.0 has an interesting idea for Apple and the record companies. Why not release specialized versions of the iPod with an entire music catalog for a particular group and a special engraving on the back. According to the author, neither the record companies, nor Apple …

One of the problems with Apple's 3G iPod is that the connectors are in a different location than the first two generations. This means that most after-market cases are inappropriate until redesigned. Continuing the flurry of post-iPod announcements is the latest set of releases from Speck Products, including three new …

The Philadelphia City Paper has an article about a local Philly DJ who uses iPods as a distribution mechanism for programmed music in eating establishments, stores, and the like. The benefits are small size, big capacity, and ease of programming as well as the LCD display that the current …

Ever since the release of Adobe's Photoshop, the last significant OS 9 holdout application on the Macintosh has been Quark Xpress, the page layout program from Quark. This week, Quark announced the shipment of their OS X compatible version and the design community has responded with a flurry of comments …

An article from MacMegasite confirms that the Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit is not planning on releasing any future version of Microsoft Internet Explorer for the Macintosh. Coming after the recent Microsoft announcement that there will be no further stand-alone versions for Windows, this isn't a big surprise. So, make sure …

An article from CNet talks about HBO Networks decision to move to a digital broadcasting system starting later this month. Perhaps more importantly is the use of Sun hardware as the platform for this. In the days of Microsoft touting their media solutions, it is important that we continue to …

The Supreme Court decided not to take on an appeal of the Sex.com case, according to this article on CNet. The original judgment will stand, with the registrar not being held financially liable for the fraud committed on the part of the person who stole the domains (who, himself …

Science Daily is reporting that skulls found in Ethiopia have been dated at 160,000 years, making them the oldest examples of modern humans that have been found to date. The article is very thorough and I won't rehash it here, but the gist is that it fills in a …

CNET is reporting that John William Racine II, the man who convinced Network Solutions to give him control over the AlJazeera.net domain in the opening weeks of the Iraq War, has signed a plea agreement with prosecutors in California that would let him off with three years probation and …

Yesterday, the IEEE approved the 802.11g standard for higher-speed wireless in the same band as 802.11b. The official announcement is available online. And now, the fun begins. With the finalization of the standard, everybody will be upgrading their firmware and conducting compatibility tests and the magazines will finally …

One of the great movie actors, Gregory Peck, has died. I heard the proclamation on NPR yesterday and couldn't help but think of the man leaning back in a chair against a jailhouse in the deep south waiting for the lynch mob. To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my …

According to an article from BBC News, The Matrix Reloaded is just a bit too religious to be shown in Egypt. The concern is that the "social peace" will be disrupted if people discuss the origin of creation. The article hints at some concern over the use "Zion" as the …

According to their offerings list on their site, T-Mobile is now offering unlimited GPRS (packet data over GSM cellular) for only $19/month if you have a voice plan that runs at least $29/month. They've also realigned their National Business plans: Plan name minutes Cost/mo National Business Plan …

An article in the Washington Post details some of the requests from the FTC for new authorities requested in the fight against spam. The requests may go to far, though, when they ask for criminal penalties for forging email addresses. In the typical governmental hyperbole, Orson Swindle of the FTC …

All of this discussion about nearly-flawless DRM, GPS-based tax programs, and travel restrictions makes me wonder what happens as technology makes it more possible to locate and cite every transgression and whether that means we need to be changing the underlying laws. Imagine this: you are driving down a country …

The Open Group (also known as X/Open) sued Apple Computer 18 months ago, according to an article on CNET. The suit is over the trademark to Unix, a trademark owned by The Open Group, and whether Apple will have to: 1) pay a license to use the name; and …

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald describes the surprise of a British citizen who received a nasty letter from the MPAA over his domain RatedNC-17.com. The MPAA says they are trying to prevent him from diluting their trademark. The current owner is confused, because RatedR.com has a …

An enjoyable article appears in Wired today about Burt Rutan (of Scaled Composites and well known to any experimental aircraft buff) and his quest for space. Burt is working on Space Ship One as part of the competition for the X-Prize.