Rough Drafts

Here’s an interesting article on an early Unix BBS in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that dates back to 1983. Predating the Web by seven years, M-Net still boasts a healthy community who regularly frequent its Unix shell-based bulletin boards and live chat rooms. M-Net’s software also wound up being used by t

“Digital divide” at least 30 years old: Internet founding father Robert W. Taylor wrote presciently in 1968 on whether a nationwide network would be a force for good or evil: “For the society, the impact will be good or bad, depending mainly on the question: Will to be ‘online’ be a privilege or a r

GE beginning to migrate its proprietary EDI systems to IP-based networks: GE aims at reinvention as Net trading platform

WAP! Take that! The honeymoon is over for the Wireless Application Protocol, or WAP. This standard aims at providing a consistent transport for getting Internet data to wireless devices, such as cell phones. But some folks — particularly content providers — are upset at WAP’s requirement that they r

Do B2B marketplaces, like the one being put together by Ford, GM, and DaimlerChrysler, have the potential to become anti-competitive behemoths? Maybe so, according to this report from The Industry Standard. And the magazine may have a point. A Tweney Report subscriber wrote to me this week, saying h

A more critical report on Jeff Bezos’ patent position from Wired News, which points out that his suggestions aren’t all that new. In fact, some people have been demanding shorter patent periods for several years now. Amazon Calls for Patent Fix

Think you’re a pretty good Web designer? How about a real challenge: Design a Web page under 5KB — including HTML, graphics, the whole bit. Now enter the contest: the 5k award

No word on whether Macs are also susceptible to satanic possession: THE REGISTER: US preacher finds demon-possessed PCs

Haven’t these guys heard about Swatch’s and the UK government’s efforts to do the same thing? And — hello? Does patenting time seem ridiculous to you, too, or is it just me? BitWise files patent on Internet standard time

ICANN chair Esther Dyson terrified that democratically elected board members will lead to a tyranny of “People who are stupid, individually.” Internet Board Faces Heavy Opposition on Voting Plan (free registration required to access)

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus — and the billionaire chief executives of enormous Internet commerce juggernauts do occasionally listen to the public. Jeff Bezos is calling for a reform of the patent system that would greatly shorten the life of software and business-method patents, to 3 to 5

Consumer e-commerce still sucks: Almost half of consumers surveyed have had trouble making online purchases. 28% of would-be transactions never close because of site problems. Namely: pages that take too long to download and sites that are too confusing to navigate. Survey: A quarter of online purch