Stories by Tom Spring

Pocket PC Moves Full Steam Ahead

Microsoft Corp.'s Pocket PC train pulled out of Grand Central Station Wednesday with chief executive Steve Ballmer declaring "it was the right time and the right device" to get the handheld computer line on track after earlier attempts derailed.

Doing the Jailhouse Rock with MP3s

Pirates. That's all the infuriated music industry sees in Napster, the first online application that lets you download basically any MP3 music without spending a dime. In fact, the Recording Industry Association of America has pushed Napster out on the plank: A San Francisco judge soon will rule on its lawsuit alleging Napster runs a giant haven for music piracy.

You've Got Broadband Content

Starting tomorrow, America Online Inc. (AOL) moves into bandwidth overdrive, for the first time piping media-rich content to broadband users of its AOL 5.0 software.

Portals Get Really Personal

"Have it your way." I always liked that idea when Burger King hawked it, and I like hearing it now from firms promising to serve up the Internet your way, on a single Web page.

ThinkPads Go Wireless by Summer

IBM Corp.'s wireless strategy gained altitude today when it announced a partnership with TDK Systems Europe to roll out a host of wireless IBM products based on the Bluetooth wireless standard.

Netscape Browser Nears Beta

Devotees of the Netscape browser have something to get excited about for the first time in three years. Netscape, now an America Online Inc. subsidiary, announced on Monday that a 6.0 beta version of its once-dominant browser will hit the Internet next month. This will replace the current Navigator 4.x line, which was launched in 1997.

Upgrade Your Home Page to a Palace

It may be a while before home improvement guru Bob Vila lends his name to a home-page building site. Why? Most do-it-yourself sites look like a Tim Allen accident from the sitcom Home Improvement. The free LiveUniverse.com site stands out from this crowd.

Do Broadcasters Really Get the Net?

When Martha Stewart spent fifteen minutes showing slides of her prize chickens rather than talking about the convergence of television and the Internet, you could hear the grumbling among the crowd of spiffily dressed TV executives.

Get Ready for Excite@Home 2000

Excite@Home Inc. is upgrading its proprietary service, tightly tying high-speed services to a new @Home 2.0 browser that gives one-click access to more media-rich content, personalization tools, and a new help center.

Three Minutes With George Bell

In January, George Bell, 43, became president and chief executive officer of Excite@Home Inc., a high-speed Internet access provider. Today Excite@Home faces enormous potential as broadband demand grows. However, it also must deal with broadband's sleeping giant, America Online Inc., which is merging with Time Warner Inc.--the owner of high-speed Net access provider Road Runner.

Bug Bites Dell Notebooks

Owners of Dell Latitude and Inspiron notebooks might find their computers have a hard time waking up after drifting into sleep mode.

Web Surfers for Hire

Search engines got you lost? Automated phone services got your goat? INetNow puts human intelligence to work for wireless Web surfers wary of help without the human touch.

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