David Coursey

For almost as long as Ive been in the industry, Ive watched Intel muscle both competitors and customers. I wasnt surprised to see AMD file suit and, though I havent seen the evidence, I tend toward AMDs side. Intel has become the worlds largest semiconductor company based both on its innovations and its prodigious street-fighting […]

There are laws that prevent criminals from profiting off of their crimes. If some high-profile perp decides to write a book, the proceeds are supposed to compensate the victim. But if Microsoft buys the company formerly known as Gator, I somehow dont see the profits going to users terrorized by Gators adware. And since that […]

The recent columns by Mary Jo Foley and myself on Microsofts announcement of “presence” as a major new product feature have drawn considerable reader comment, mostly from people who dont seem to understand what presence is all about. I have received almost as many e-mails from people who say that I dont understand. But my […]

Todays Supreme Court ruling is a step toward something Ive been predicting for many years: the filtering of Internet sites and content by some sort of “national firewall.” After all, what value is the MGM versus Grokster ruling if all it does is make IP thieves move offshore, as many have done already? Government has […]

I understand there are people who see Microsofts move to add “presence” to its applications as yet another manifestation of that companys demonic plan to subjugate humanity. However, Microsoft doesnt have a monopoly on such accusations. Perhaps another recent example, also involving communications technology, will be instructive as to what will and wont undo civilization […]

Like many people, ever since RSS burst onto the scene, Ive had one question: Whats in it for me? If youre not into listening to Podcasts or reading lots of blogs, RSS—short for Really Simple Syndication—could be pretty much off your radar. Not anymore. Microsoft has decided that subscribing, via RSS, will become the third […]

CodeWeavers, described in an eWEEK.com story as “a leading Windows-to-Linux software ISV,” announced on Wednesday that it will bring Windows application support to future Macintoshes running on Intel x86 chips. There will be a pause for the big yawn that naturally follows that announcement, followed by a perplexed look wondering what it means to be […]

After reading my recent columns on Weblogs and Podcasting, a friend sent me this quote from Dave Winer, developer of the RSS format used for content distribution: “John Lennon said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. No argument, it was true, they were. Well, even though the vast majority of people have never heard […]

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 […]