Monday, April 22, 2002

Gates to Testify in Microsoft Trial. Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, is scheduled to testify today against tougher penalties sought by nine states that are still pursuing the antitrust case. By The Associated Press. [New York Times: Business]   Will Gates repeat his previous performance??  This is going to be a hoot. 12:21:44 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

Matt Pope found a mobile PC from OQO that costs 2x the iPod but has the same form factor and the same storage capacity. 12:15:49 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

Pay Features Gather Steam on Web. As paid online content becomes more common, larger media companies mull over charging for entry. By Bob Tedeschi. [New York Times: Technology]   A sign of life. 8:30:25 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

WSJ.  >>>But now cable companies are gearing up to compete head-on with AOL's dial-up charges. Already, Cox Communications is testing a price of $26.95 a month with customers in Las Vegas. You won't get the full speed of cable-modem service at that price. The bargain rate delivers 256 kilobits per second, roughly one-sixth the speed of a full-fledged cable service.<<<  More pressure on AOL. Of course, the cable companies and the telcos are starting to use information on how you use your service to charge you more (part of an unsettling trend that government regulation may be needed to stop): >>>Some cable companies have already sought extra fees for virtual private networking connections, or VPNs. These connections, riding on top of a standard Internet connection, give employees at home a secure means of tapping into a corporate network. Comcast, for instance, restricts VPN use to customers paying $95 a month for its "Pro" service.  When a consumer uses a VPN connection, it doesn't actually cost Comcast any extra money. But people who are using VPNs are probably work-at-home types, and are therefore more likely to use their connections a lot. VPN use has also become a way to identify business users -- the Net equivalent of the Saturday night stay-over.<<< 8:28:46 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

NYT.  >>>Rather, Mr. Scheirer said, the probable outcome is that the sides will settle in "rapid order" because neither Bertelsmann nor its fellow record labels want to see Napster's investigation proceed.<<< 8:10:23 AM    Comment_ Trackback []