The Register: The MS Tablet - nice app, but why's it a PC?"It's the Tablet PC that you're supposed to truck around with you, and when it comes down to it we reckon it's all Bill's fault. In his presentations on the subject he's positioned Tablet as a full desktop replacement you take with you everywhere, and pitched it as the product that will likely replace the conventional notebook, and then the desktop PC as well. It, and its successors, probably will, and the addition of writing, then recognition, then maybe voice will be significant benefits for the general-purpose PC platform as it is currently defined.
Who should be doing the defining is a separate argument we won't have here, as is the question of whether PC-centricity is increasingly absurd in an increasingly networked world. Suffice to say, for the moment, that Microsoft's determination to preserve and nurture the PC as the centre of all things is not, in our view, wholly positive. But it is nevertheless what has defined the script for the Tablet PC." The Register: not a fan

The Tablet PC "For now, the bottom line is that the Tablet PC is here, and if I were condemned to never read another book on a paper copy, I'd survive. I wouldn't like that—I like books—but I could live with it. The Tablet PC implementation I have is very nearly good enough even in the beta version, and I can do things with it I can't do with anything else. I really love this thing; and once these get out in widespread use, you can expect the e-book market to boom." Jerry Pournelle is a fan...

The Register: RMS: why open source needs Free Software's ideals Good summary of Stallman perspective on free software, MSFT, etc.

WebServices.Org - The Web Services Community Portal - The 'big boys' unite forces - What does it mean for you? "Understandably, the question arises what has led IBM, Microsoft and BEA Systems to virtually ignore existing standards efforts, even those they have helped develop. In the first instance, one would have expected these vendors to work through existing bodies (where they have already membership status) to inject any superior concepts and drive the standards process forward in order to eliminate the need for later convergence." Article includes some useful speculation.

Student Skill Is Expected to Bolster Technology "One fifth of today's college students began using computers from the ages of 5 to 8, the authors state, and an overwhelming 86 percent of them had gone online compared with 59 percent of the general population; 72 percent check e-mail messages at least once a day." Excerpted from this Pew report

Performance Comparison: .NET Remoting vs. ASP.NET Web Services "Though both the .NET Remoting infrastructure and ASP.NET Web services can implement inter-process communication, each is designed with a particular level of expertise and flexibility in mind to benefit a different target audience. If your application needs interoperability with other platforms or operating systems, you would be better off using ASP.NET Web services, as they are more flexible in that they support SOAP section 5 and Document/Literal. On the other hand, use .NET Remoting when you need the richer object-oriented programming model. See ASP.NET Web Services or .NET Remoting: How to Choose for details. In scenarios where performance is the main requirement with security and process lifecycle management is not a major concern, .NET Remoting TCP/Binary is a viable option; however, keep in mind that you can increase the performance of IIS-hosted implementations by adding a few more machines into the system, which may not be possible when using a .NET Remoting TCP/Binary implementation."

Unauthorized biography of Steve Ballmer turns up little new "I have never come across a less helpful group of public affairs people than Microsoft's propagandists."

Five reasons against migrating Java EJB applications to .NET Via TheServerSide.com. Page had a nice Flash-based VS.NET ad on it, when I read it...

Data Extinction "It's too late for old word-processing files. But new technologies will preserve access to digital photos, music and other electronic records forever." (via Tomalak) Does this mean I should forget about ever retrieving my c1983 Kaypro (CP/M) WordStar files?...

The Register: First ever smiley found, preserved for posterity "The original smiley, or emoticon, invented in 1982 by Scott Fahlman but subsequently lost, has been retrieved through the efforts of Microsoft researcher Mike Jones and facilities staff at Carnegie Mellon University. And isn't it a blessing to find Microsoft Research staff keeping themselves profitably occupied like this, when they could be posing a threat to world freedom instead?"

America Online Is Making More Changes at the Top "In an interview, Mr. Miller said: "This organization wasn't clear about broadband in the recent past. Now we are in it to win it.""

ZDNet |UK| - News - Story - Oracle appeals to W3C on Web services More fun with politics and standards... but I suspect the BEA/IBM/MSFT train has already left the station

WSJ.com - Amtrak Plans to Test New System For Internet Access on Its Trains "In a test scheduled for next month, riders in a cafe car on an Amtrak line with stops in Harrisburg, Pa., Philadelphia and New York will be able to watch movies and television shows, check e-mail or shop online using interactive touch screens."

The New Arena for Video Games "For example, installing an online game on a PC is, in most cases, only the beginning to actually playing on the Internet. Besides the challenge of configuring the PC and game for online play, the very act of finding someone to play can be an irksome task of wandering virtual lobbies and rooms begging and negotiating by way of keyboard chat.
In contrast, what Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are trying to do is what John O'Rourke, director of worldwide marketing for Xbox, calls making the game experience "console simple," meaning that online games cannot initially demand more than a few button clicks on the control pad."

WSJ.com - Microsoft Faces New Challenge With Linux's Rising Popularity "In the biggest development, Microsoft archrival Sun Microsystems Inc. next week plans to announce its first full-fledged commitment to Linux on desktop PCs. The computer maker, whose server business has been hurt by low-end systems running Microsoft Windows, is determined to counterattack by cutting into Microsoft's cash-cow franchise in desktop-PC software. "We have a chance to be a force for change in the industry," says Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's executive vice president of software." ... "IDC estimates that unit sales of desktop versions of Linux grew 49% in 2001, while server shipments of the program were flat. That still leaves Linux with just 2.7% of desktop operating system unit shipments last year, while 94% of those 110 million shipments came from Microsoft. Those figures don't include free copies of Linux; Dan Kusnetzky, another IDC analyst, said some companies distribute 12 to 15 copies of Linux for every one they purchase."

XDegrees Home Page Microsoft acquires XDegrees for an undisclosed amount, and the products, solutions, and partners sections of the XDegrees Web site disappear...

Salon.com Technology | Mozilla rising "All of which is to say: Netscape is doomed. If there are good reasons for Internet Explorer users to switch to Netscape, there are better reasons to switch to Mozilla, which has all the features Netscape offers and none of the downsides -- especially Netscape's AOL Time Warner branding. Indeed, after its very bumpy first few years, during which it was ignored and called a failure, the Mozilla project is now becoming the most interesting thing in browsers. The faithful following of Mozilla developers working on all sorts of side projects -- blogging in the browser, a file manager, a chat client, an emulated Google Toolbar -- may have finally hit critical mass."

Microsoft's Allchin touts future of Windows server platform "Allchin panned Linux, comparing it to a puppy that is cute upon arrival, but then the owner suddenly realizes he must bear the burden of housetraining, feeding, and walking the animal."

ZDNet: Story: The fatal flaw inside MS's new Media Center PCs "If Microsoft's handling of digital-rights management in its new Media Center PCs is any indication, Redmond is perfectly happy to sell out its customers to keep the entertainment industry happy.
What I'm talking about are features built into Windows XP Media Center Edition that let some next-generation PCs act like TiVo-esque personal video recorders (PVRs). The first Media Center machines, due before Christmas from HP, also come with a DVD burner. That combination means you can copy TV programs you've recorded using the PVR features from your hard drive to DVD.
THAT'S WHERE the catch comes in: The DVDs you burn can only be played on the same machine on which they were recorded."
I suspect this won't last long -- e.g., just as Windows Media Player lets you easily turn off copy protection.

Boston Globe Online / Business / Apple's good, but that's no reason to switch "Still, why switch? The newer versions of Windows are themselves mighty fine. In the ads, ex-Windows users gripe that their PCs were flaky and unreliable. It's a fair criticism when aimed at ''Windows 9X'' - the old operating system line that includes Windows 95, 98, and ME. These systems, based on archaic code dating back to the 1980s, were never up to the task of running powerful modern PCs.
But Windows 2000 and XP are another story. After a year's use, my home XP machine has crashed perhaps three times, usually in the middle of some heavy-duty game like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. The Windows 2000 computer at the office has never crashed. Those of us running 2000 or XP listen to the laments of the Mac switchers and wonder what in blazes they're talking about."