David Coursey

Should American companies help China filter the Internet? Thats a question that came up twice in my life over the past week. In one case, I think a small Utah company is doing the right thing, while in the other I think Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and Cisco are putting profits over human rights. Both of […]

I hope that when Apple adds a Podcasting feature to iTunes—as Steve Jobs says the company will do this summer—that it will turn out better than iTunes Internet radio feature. The problem with iTunes radio is that most online broadcasters use RealNetworks or Windows Media formats not supported by the iTunes player. That severely limits […]

“So, whats this about Microsoft deciding it wants to compete with Adobe?” The question came from a friend of mine, a Mac user who knows I follow Microsoft. Like seemingly all Mac business users, shes also an Adobe customer. Any threat to Adobes Acrobat or Creative Suite would concern her greatly. While I was aware […]

My friend Ben Edelman hopes the gang of three who run Google—Larry, Sergey, and Eric—will take a strong stand against spyware. How? By making sure Google AdSense dollars dont flow to companies that use spyware, adware, and other unsavory tactics to generate the clicks that Google pays them for. AdSense is a program under which […]

Philippe Kahn, the founder of Borland, once gave me a very good piece of advice: “Dont ever give your customers a reason to reconsider.” Why? Because when customers are forced to think about their buying decisions, some of them are going to shop elsewhere. Apple is a good example of this. In the past when […]

There are three things in life that should be postponed for as long as possible. Two of these you are already familiar with: death and taxes. The third is less well-known but is also something wed just as soon take a pass on, though it eventually catches up with us. Im talking about changes in […]

Its been rare in my reporting life that one minute I realize I have a problem and the next minute—literally, almost—the solution appears during an interview. Heres the setup: E-mail arrives with an attachment. Most attachments get stripped off by the anti-virus/anti-spam software on my Exchange server. Or by Exchange itself, which automatically stops certain […]

Its hard not to get excited about the local search services recently announced by Microsoft and Google—and Amazon now is jumping into the mix. Merging street maps with aerial photography, point-to-point routing and a database of interesting places make for some impressive screen displays. Microsoft is calling its effort Virtual Earth. The demonstration I was […]

As Intel recasts itself to become “a platform company” customers have every reason to wonder, “Whats in it for us?” Its too early to tell, but Im hopeful Intels platforms will make PCs easier to buy and less expensive, as well as allow them to add important functional improvements. The challenge in creating new platforms […]

Once again we are hearing rumors that Apple Computer is in talks with Intel about using that companys processors to replace at least some of the IBM PowerPC in its Macintosh. What are we to make of these whispers? Id bet that the rumor is a reflection of Steve Jobs displeasure with the speed at […]