When Microsoft ships Windows Vista later this year I’m hoping that it will finally take a chance and keep the price reasonable for a change. Nearly every version of Windows has been priced at levels clearly aimed at corporations. Given this, many consumers have opted to essentially pirate Windows instead of pay the ridiculously high […]

I’m seeing more references by conservative pundits that Democrats simply want nothing to do with appointing a conservative to the Supreme Court and will resort to any tactic to avoid doing so. The argument is that Democrats will only accept a moderate or liberal and will filibuster, if necessary, any nomination that doesn’t fit their […]

1-9-2006 @ 7:59pm. That’s when I officially had passed my breaking point for hearing politicians use the phrase, “up-or-down vote”. Of course this phrase is now being used by the Right to describe their so-called “belief” in what Supreme Court nominee Sam Alito deserves. It wasn’t that long ago that they said the same thing […]

Remember the fictional “Pottery Barn Rule” that then Secretary of State Colin Powell used to caution President Bush about Iraq (“If you break it, you own it”)?   Perhaps today’s events should be referred to as the “Time Machines are Fictional Rule”. Is anyone out there buying into any part of the President’s scheme to […]

Back in 1994 I managed to break free from the clutches of a tyrant that was holding my entertainment dollars and enjoyment hostage. That tyrant was Garden State Cable (soon to be absorbed by an even bigger tyrant—Comcast). In 1994 Garden State Cable offered 62 channels of television for $90 a month. The service was […]

Bill O’Reilly is at it again. For the last couple of weeks he’s been going on and on about how the Left is out to destroy and secularize Christmas by using phrases like “Happy Holidays” and referring to the corporate party as a “holiday party”. This guy really needs to see a doctor to have […]

I’ve been fighting the copy protection war since the very first days of my computing experience. In all that time I’ve never seen firm evidence that copy protection achieves the goal it sets out to meet. Instead, what I’ve seen are examples that stand in stark contrast to the perceived problem of illegal copying. Don’t […]

A few days back I mentioned the ridiculous comment John Dvorak made regarding the Xbox 360 and it’s so-called great usefulness in its ability to stream content from your PC. As I mentioned, I’ve seen this same position crop up at many a tech-oriented web site, forum or mailing list. Today I notice that Extreme […]

Okay, I’ve now had both of these products in heavy use for several days. The experience has given me a bit more perspective on both products. First off is the G7 mouse, which I’ve been using a bit longer than the keyboard. It’s not winning me over and I’m starting to wish the poor cradle […]

I have a long, love-hate relationship with Logitech. From the earliest days of using a Microsoft mouse I knew there had to be a better way. Logitech came along and finally gave Microsoft some much needed competition. It was during these years that Microsoft developed the infamous “Dove Bar” mouse that won vast praise at […]

Over the years I’ve been involved in various markets (most notably the multimedia/game markets) and have worked alongside, worked as and worked against all three sides of it. The three sides comprise the consumer side, the publisher/developer/manufacturer side and the press side. That experience has helped to give me a fairly healthy understanding of the […]

As mentioned here last week, President Bush made an international speech in Panama City to profess that “We do not torture” while, at the same time, Dick Cheney was back home lobbying Congress to drop its anti-torture bill or to add an exception for the CIA. It’s clear to anyone paying attention that these two […]