Rob Fixmer

I burn a lot of space in this column carping about things that dont work — everything from bad technology to wrong-headed business plans to vendor hype. Sad to say, most interactive technologies dont work as promised. Software is buggy. Interfaces are ridiculous. Actual time to deployment is . . . well, were still waiting […]

Last weeks unanimous appeals court decision overturning substantive portions of the Microsoft antitrust verdict took everyone by surprise. Anticipating a complete victory for Microsoft, reporters had already lined up industry wags and economists to rail against the ruling as the death of antitrust enforcement. Pro-Microsoft observers were ready with press releases gloating over the appeals […]

Throughout its antitrust trial, a favorite Microsoft bogeyman was the “kid in a garage” with a computer, a modem and a good idea. What appeared to be a monopoly, the company insisted, was in fact a fragile market position that could be destroyed in a flash by the kinds of innovation that defined technology industries. […]

When it comes to data delivery, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has been a complete bust. Five years after its enactment, the average consumer bandwidth in this nation is 34 kilobits per second — and the Bells seem determined to keep it there, despite seemingly insatiable demand for broadband. Its time to rethink this law, […]

Im finally buying into the notion that in the next few years the application service provider model will become a major factor in the way enterprises do business — but only as long as the user is at a fixed terminal. The more I study Microsofts plans for Office.Net, the more Im persuaded that productivity […]

Even the most hardened anti-Washington, laissez-faire libertarian types generally concede at least one role for government in cyberspace: the duty to protect us from hackers and vandals and things that go bump on the Net. Unfortunately, events last week clearly demonstrated that the feds are not yet up to the task — and probably wont […]

One of the best things about being a controlled-circulation publication is that we know exactly who our readers are. Our Web site, of course, is open to everyone, and we welcome all online readers who find our content useful. But if youre reading this column in print, its because you took the time to fill […]

Its always dangerous to predict the logic or reasoning of federal courts, but based on activity in the appeals panel hearing the Microsoft antitrust case, the possibility that the company will be split up by judicial edict seems virtually nil. Still, Bill Gates and company have little reason to celebrate. Nor should Microsoft be taking […]

While last weeks headlines focused on Hollywoods battle with the publisher of a hacker magazine that posted DVD descrambling code on the Web, hostilities were also escalating in another ugly row that has even broader implications for entertainment content, copyright and antipiracy technologies. Until recently, you could almost forgive the Secure Digital Music Initiative for […]

Excite@Home, the pioneer in delivering high-speed access over cable television lines should today be a jewel among service providers. With 3.2 million subscribers — by far the worlds largest high-speed access provider — it should be growing fat off the insatiable appetite for bandwidth among consumers and small businesses. Instead, Excite@Home is bleeding red ink […]