6/26/99Guy Kawasaki. What does a start-up company do when it needs a bit of capital to take its product to the next level? That's the question the folks at Garage.com are engaged in answering. Our guest today was Garage.com CEO Guy Kawasaki, once of Apple, and who is now evangelizing about the joys of revolutionary capitalism.
In the news:
House passes Net filtering bill - Senate committee approves encryption bill - It's time for the DOJ vs. Microsoft trial to enter a new phase, and at least one person is happy about it - Mr. Gate's email contradicts his company's court strategy - A different judge, in a different case, wants MS and Sun to make nice, please - Cell phone calls get streamed via ShoutCast - U.K. wants ISPs to build in interception capabilities - FTC to build Net-Fraud Lab - Microsoft to include game blocker in next Windows -
6/19/99Joel Kleinberg and eMusic. This was a good week for MP3, both in the courts and on the convention floor. Our guest today was Joel Kleinberg, director of Artists and Labels at eMusic (formerly GoodNoise.com), probably the first company to sign a major artist to an online distribution deal. We talked about how the Internet, with the help of the MP3 standard, is beginning to change the way people get their music. Joel thinks, and many people agree, that most people will soon be downloading their music over the Internet, perhaps at a far lower cost than present "hardcopy" CDs. Of course, critics are concerned that even though this will, in effect, turn the customer into a CD mastering plant, the big record companies will still keep prices of the music artificially high.
6/12/99Open Phones. Today we opened the phones to listeners. They told of the problems being wrought by the latest virus making the rounds. We also talked about the Battle of the Temps being fought at Microsoft. Another caller suggested computer consumers should mount their own battle for a set of acceptable standards in the computer industry. Finally, a caller asked if it hasn't become time for us to do something about ultra-violent media.
6/5/99Frederic Paul. What are the important things to know if you're moving your business online? What are the most common mistakes by today's e-vendors? What's the quickest way to set up a successful online business? To help answer these and other questions, we spoke with Fredric Paul of Builder.com and the soon-to-open AllBusiness.com.
In the news:
Hackers force the shutdown of more U.S. Government web sites - Computer activists hold protests of Kevin Mitnick's jail term, even in Moscow - Australia may radically limit access by its citizens to the Internet - Dr. Fisher questions Mr. Gates' public statements - Microsoft emails reveal media spin strategy - Kennard criticized for hawking censorware, but not any alternatives - Raytheon ends "John Doe" lawsuit after learning identities of those involved - SportsLine loses a million visitors in April - Barbie Doll Benson is in trouble with Mattel
5/29/99Jon Katz and Dr. Henry Jenkins.
Today we explored the question of what effect Media has on the public. Our
guests were author Jon Katz, of Slashdot.org,
Freedom Forum
and elsewhere,
and Dr. Henry Jenkins of MIT's Comparative Media Studies program. Jon's recent
writings in the aftermath of the Littleton shootings have generated many thousands
of messages from the nation's young people. Dr.
Jenkins recently testified before the U.S. Senate as part of a panel discussing
media, violence and America's youth.
In the news:
There's a new effort to reunite Kosovar
families - Both the FBI
and Senate
web sites get shut down - EU may
demand US privacy compliance - Microsoft Trial starts
up again next Tuesday - Buffy's season finale gets axed in US, but the
fans carry
on over the Internet
5/22/99Seti@Home. When it comes to the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, the truth really is out there. The problem is just sorting through all that data. An interesting approach to solving that problem is put forth by the Seti@Home Project. Our guest today was Dr. David Anderson, Project Director for Seti@Home. By downloading the project's screen saver software, a person with regular dial-up access to the Internet can download a small piece of data (from the Arecibo Telescope, no less) to process on their desktop when they're not using the computer. When it's done processing (usually after a couple of days) you connect again to upload the results and download another piece of data. By having hundreds of thousands of people do this, the project is able to crunch more numbers than even the most powerful of supercomputers.
In the news:
A survey shows half of UK users attack their PCs - B92 does its best to keep broadcasting - RIAA loses court battle over royalties paid for digital music - Don't Panic! Y2K Fears are subsiding - Dr. Laura does her part for censorship - Senate votes to ban some information about making bombs - In the meantime, a group urges private companies to do the same - Some Senators push FCC on rural initiatives - Court strikes down fee cuts applied to Bells - Gore's plans to connect satellite to the Internet opposed in Congress - ICANN gets ready for next week's meeting while critics prepare their own plans - It's a HOAX! The Post Office is not asking for a five cent per message surcharge on email
5/15/99Apple Developers Update/Spring Fund Drive.This week saw a bit of a shift in Apple's strategy with regards to its Macintosh Operating System and the eventual release of OSX, its much anticipated next generation OS. This and many other things were all part of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference held in San Jose. To help us sort these happenings out, we were joined today by Joe Meldrum and Vin Capone of Apple. Vin also told us of the buzz surrounding Apple at this year's E3 Expo in Los Angeles.
Since the Presidential Impeachment pre-empted Digital Village during the last Fund Drive at KPFK, it has been several months since we came to our listeners asking for contributions to keep KPFK on in the air. Proving that there was a large amount of pent up philanthropy, our listeners responded with a tremendous showing of support. Once again, a heartfelt thanks from us here at Digital Village.
5/1/99Steve Trilling and Virus Research. With all the talk about Melissa and the Chernobyl Virus lately, a lot of people are concerned about how to keep these little nasties off their machines. Our guest today was Steve Trilling, Director of the Symantec Anti-virus Research Center. He talked about the tactics used to find new virii, develop fixes and get them into users' hands quickly. The newest generation of software can even detect some previously unknown virii by simulating a file and then waiting for some unwanted program to attack it. We also talked about why it's important to keep your virus software up to date and some of the confusing terminology used in this area.
4/24/99Ed Yourdon and Y2K. So, will the upcoming new year merely introduce a new millenium, or will it be TEOTWAWKI? If it's not the end, then what do we need to do to prepare for 1/1/0? To help gain some insight into these questions, today we spoke with Ed Yourdon, author of Timebomb 2000.
4/17/99Internet World '99 Update. This year Ric and Doran made their annual trek to the Los Angeles Convention Center for Spring Internet World '99. Here is a special page about what we found.
4/10/99Bob Johnstone. The standard view of the success of Japan's electronics industry is that it was a result of government sponsorship and efficiency rather than innovation and risk taking. In fact a term like Japanese Entrepreneur would be an oxymoron to many people. Our guest today was Bob Johnstone and his new book We were Burning tells the stories of those people in Japan (and other countries) who took the risks that produced a revolution in electronics and personal communication.
In the news:
Gore really wants to be a geek but he's really trying too hard - Microsoft hints at Windows rental fees, again - Senator insults Microsoft antitrust judge
4/3/99Phil Agre & The Red Rock Eater News Service. One of the keys of the Internet is people passing along useful information. Few people do it better than Phil Agre, associate professor of information studies at UCLA, coeditor of Technology and Privacy: The New Landscape, and the person who runs the Red Rock Eater News Service, a mailing list sent to several thousand people in several dozen countries several times a week. Among the sites mentioned were Google, the new best search engine on the Internet, and The Institute for War and Peace Reporting with it's news from the Balkans.
In the news:
David Smith gets busted for the Melissa Virus - Jamie Zawinski resigns from Netscape/Mozilla/AOL
