Friday, June 29, 2001, Issue VI, Volume I
First, Microsoft. As you may already know, this week a federal court ruled that M$ doesn't have to break up. Of course, the court did agree that they are, in fact, a monopoloy. (It's probably fair to say that they've been a monopoly for at least six years. Who could compete with Windows 95?) Basically, if you own a computer, more than likely you're using a M$ operating system. Plain and simple. Yes, there is Linux, and yes it is "better" in some respects, but new computers don't come with Linux preinstalled. Additionally, if you have a business and you need to interact with clients and vendors, you almost invariably have a need to install Windows on your company's computers. There is virtually no way around their products. Where does that put us? Is this inherently evil? Well, it seems to me that there are negative and positive aspects to M$'s monopoly of the operating system market and the office software market.First the positive. I like the fact that Microsoft has created a standard for office documents. Word and Excel have made the terms "document" and "spreadsheet" universal. This is a valuable standard. Imagine the frustration of needing to communicating with ten different companies if all of those companies were using different software suites. Not pretty. Additionally, in all fairness, Windows 2000 is a quality product. Why praise Windows 2000? Simply put: It works! It works very well, actually. M$ even admits that it is 13 times more reliable than Windows 95. I believe it. It's true, you need a hefty processor and plenty of RAM to run it, but all new computers can handle it.
Now the negative aspects of M$'s monopoly. M$ has no incentive to provide you with the latest (most trouble-free) version of their products. In fact, in theory, it is financially in their best interests to trickle updates to you (and make you pay for them). Case in point: Windows 98. The upgrade to Second Edition was not free. Second Edition was a much better product. See what I mean? Who's to say that SE didn't exist when the first edition of Windows 98 was released? If there were competition among operating system manufacturers, upgrades and bug fixes might be cheaper and more readily available.
Admittedly, making the operating system market competitive would be a nightmare for programmers and harware manufacturers. Is there a simple solution to the negative aspects of M$'s monopoly? I don't think so. Please send me an email with your opinion on these issues.
A little random news...Dick Cheney is getting a pacemaker. Julia Roberts and Benjamin Bratt have split. Tony Gwynn is retiring from baseball.
Remember to take your medicine...
"...and have a great weekend!
Friday, June 22, 2001, Issue V, Volume I
Well, basketball is over and the Lakers won again. Big surprise. Here's my question: Who thought is was a good idea to feature the "Weakest Link" during half-time? What were they thinking? This lady has got to be the most annoying person on the planet. I leap for the remote if I hear her whiny voice.This was not exactly a cheerful week. Here are some unrelated rants: Bill Gates has (once again) been declared the richest human being on earth. (And yes, he's still running FreeBSD on some of his servers.) There is nothing good on the radio. (I must confess, however, that I do like Nelly Furtado's song, 'I'm Like Bird', even though she does whine like a baby.) A sicko in Texas completely lost her mind and drowned her children. What kind of a mother would do such a thing? She won't last long in any prison. Archie Bunker kicked the bucket. Cookie Monster was attacked.
Who thinks I'm 'amused' by the fact that the Disney film 'Pearl Harbor' didn't exactly break any records at the box office?
One of the trailers I saw in the theater last week was for Jurassic Park III. Steven Spielberg is not directing this one. Normally I would be disappointed, but the Lost World stunk so bad, I was glad to see him leave the dino project. Aren't these movies great? There is no thinking involved. You've got hungry, man-eating dinosaurs, and plenty of stupid people for them to chomp on. It's the perfect 'Friday night movie' plot.
'Cast Away' is available on DVD. Most of you have probably seen it by now. It's what I call a "small film". When I saw it at the theater I was expecting something different. I did enjoy it, but I probably won't watch it again. I felt the ending was horrible. Ebert had it right when he said that a better ending would have been the large tanker looming over Hanks while he's on the raft, drifting on the open sea. The End. Instead, we get a hokey, troubling ending that is not satisfying at all.
Have a great weekend! More next Friday...
Friday, June 15, 2001, Issue IV, Volume I
What is the deal with the Associated Press taking horrible photos of Dubya? Look at these: Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3. See what I mean? If they're trying to make him look bad, they're doing a pretty good job. Ouch.OK, I want to talk about radio stations taking perfectly good songs and playing them to death. Here are my nominees for the most played out songs of the past year. 'Again' by Lenny Kravitz (and now there is even a remix that's even worse), 'Thank You' by Dido, 'Follow Me' by Uncle Kracker, and basically anything by Creed. I liked all of these songs the first few times that I heard them, but after you scan through the stations and can't get away from them a few times, you develop a loathing for them. Yes, a loathing. If you are a DJ, then I'm pleading with you: Please quit playing these songs! Speaking of music, I just have to give you this warning: There is a remake of Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' on the airwaves right now. I almost had to pull off the road when I heard it. It was making me sick. Is nothing sacred? Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Meet Joe & Jane Six Pack, the 'Average American Beer Drinkers'. Have you heard about this one? This organization is trying to get rid of the tax on beer. Believe it or not, taxes represent 44% of the retail cost of beer. If I understand this correctly, is basically means that if the taxes were dropped, there would be an instant 'half-off' sale on beer. Fast Fact: Over 35 million women in the U.S. drink beer.
Have a great weekend! See you next week.