Today's Internet has been brought to you by porn
After a wild and passionate youth, YouTube and Ning have both announced they're adopting a policy of abstinence. Heck, they might even join a convent. Why? Money, of course. Ning is saying sayanora to its Red Light District, the...
Web of the Living Dead
Consolidation fever has gripped the valley, and that's not good. Last week it was IWantSandy. Yesterday, Pownce. Tomorrow, who knows? The current financial crisis is claiming a passel of Web 2.0 startups whose VC sugar daddies...
Six ways to save beaucoup bucks on electronics
The economy may be going to hell in a shopping basket, but you wouldn't know it from the crowds I saw at my local Big Box store today. The parking lot was a snarl and lines were out the door, even in my relatively sleepy southern...
49 and a half reasons to give thanks
If I'm conscious, I'm usually complaining about something. But because it's almost Thanksgiving I've decided to list some of the things I'm grateful for, in and slightly outside the world of tech. 1. Open source software. Because...
Is Gmail really a 'train wreck'?
Dear Gmail: I know, I know. You're totally cheesed off about me calling you a "train wreck" the other day. I admit that was a bit harsh. It's been an emotional time for me lately. But did you have to send your boyfriend and his...
Dear Firefox: Please forgive me
Dear Firefox: When we met three years ago, I thought: This is it, the browser I've been waiting for. I've found my life partner. So I dumped Internet Explorer faster than you can say unrecoverable system error and we moved in...
Death, taxes, and the RIAA
The recording industry is doing the Tennessee Waltz right now, thanks to a bill recently signed by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen that commits nearly $10 million of taxpayer money to fighting music piracy on state campuses. As Jon...
Obama's CTO: Just do what, exactly?
It might possibly be the worst job in the world, outside of replacing Jerry Yang as Yahoo's CEO. Yet people seem to be clamoring for it -- or at least, clamoring to have someone famous fill it. I'm talking of course about the brand...
Today's forecast: Gloom followed by increasing doom
Don't look now, but the sky is falling.At least it is if you believe Gerald Celente, who's making headlines today across the blogosphere with some real downer predictions. By 2012, the CEO of the Trends Research Institute says we'll...
Emru Townsend - In Memorium
It is one of the great regrets of my life that it took me so long to get to know Emru Townsend, and that I will never have the opportunity to know him better. I'd known about Emru for years. He was part of PC World's extended family...
The 10 Funniest Election Videos of 2008
Afterglow or hangover? Before the election fades from memory and the work of actually sorting out our nation's mess begins, I'd like to look back fondly at one of the highlights of the past year: terrific political satire, all neatly...
Momma Pajama is not your friend
Checking email obsessively on a Sunday morning, I got a message from MySpace saying "Momma Pajama wants to be friends."Spam, of course. But I like to keep an eye on these things to see what the dark side is up to, so I clicked. And...
The 21st Century President
I'm sorry, but I have to say this: It's nice to finally have folks in the White House that embrace technology instead of being terrified of it. Hallelujah.I don't know about Obama personally, but the team he assembled "gets" tech...
Will the next president be virtual?
Tomorrow, at long last, the Most Grueling Presidential Election in Modern Times will be over. Amen to that, brother. But while thousands of volunteers are sweating out the final 24 hours knocking on doors, making calls, and praying...
TiVo + Netflix: A marriage made in heaven
I'm so happy I could plotz.According to the New York Times, two of my all-time favorite product/services are teaming up. To wit:Netflix will place its Watch Instantly streaming-movie service on TiVos HD-compatible set-top boxes,...
Wicked-cool political Web sites
I can't eat, I can't sleep, and I can't seem to pull myself away from the Net. Election time must be near. While obsessing over politics, I found some wicked-cool sites I had to share with my faithful readers. Election...
You say you want a (music) revolution?
If you want to see how technology has affected culture, just look at what's happened to music. From MP3s to the Apple iPod and the iTunes Store; from the original Napster through Kazaa and the RIAA lawsuits, the digital revolution...
The Twitter - Al Qaeda connection
I always knew those Twitterati were up to no good. And now it seems the US Army has cottoned on to this as well. A draft US Army intelligence report has identified Twitter as a potential tool for terrorism. (You can find a copy on...
Do you text during sex?
Not to get too personal here, but: According to a new survey by Osterman Research, 11 percent of adults have used their mobile phones "during a romantic moment" (their italics, not mine). Is that your phone vibrating, or did you go...
Use Gmail, go to jail?
Fans of the classic Animal Farm may remember the scene where the ruling pigs are caught secretly revising the Commandments of Animalism painted on the barn wall. (Or maybe not -- does anyone read Orwell any more?) Google may soon be...
