The following are stragglers, the things I didn’t get around to commenting on this week or last. Calling them “leftovers” seems, well, unattractive. So I’ll dub them “bits and pieces…” It’s all about packaging, right?
Porn - Surprising to many, porn occupies only about one percent of ‘Net sites according to a recently published study based on extensive random sampling. Of course, that’s little consolation to parents - there are an estimated one billion ‘Net sites, so one percent is still ten million. …
Cisco vs. Apple - Apple and Cisco had negotiated for over two years without reaching agreement over the use of the word “iPhone” at the time Apple’s iPhone was introduced, prompting a trademark infringement lawsuit. Well, it looks like the two have reached an accord. Both will continue use of the name with each sticking to their respective current uses - Apple will use it to describe their cell phone devise and Cisco to describe their VOiP device. Seems reasonable. …
Vista - The new Windows OS, hyped for two years, coming for five, isn’t drawing any “you gotta have it reviews.” In fact, two reviewers I read compared it unfavorably to Mac as requiring far too many unnecessary prompts; It needs a big computer; It’s likely to be SLOW on your computer (that ran XP just fine.) Problem: there is no uninstall - You must reformat your hard disk, losing any stored data and apps, to reinstall XP. …
DRM - Steve Jobs’ call to drop DRM (music copy protection) is meeting passionate opposition from those who still hope to make money from new music releases. Don’t expect any breakthrough soon. …
Google - Telecoms are worried. Rumor has it that Google is planning to provide ‘Net phone service. It’s now easy to do well; Vonage is doing it and must be making money to afford all that TV advertising. Google’s clout and funding ability, together with the possibility of a combined phone and ‘Net access service, could cause some real headaches for phone companies. …
And there you have it. Enjoy a wonderful weekend!