Gary Davis

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Microsoft Loves You to Death

Gary Davis
The ILOVEYOU computer bug, the fastest-spreading, most destructive virus in the history of computers, was made possible by those much-maligned folks at Microsoft. Let me explain. In the past, most people assumed that you couldn‘t get a virus unless you ran a piece of software, i.e., a program, a set......
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Star Whores

Gary Davis
On April 4, George Lucas disappointed millions of Star Wars fans by releasing The Phantom Menace only on VHS in the United States. But one day earlier, on April 3, I was sitting in a friend‘s living room in Santa Monica watching a video disc of the very movie --......
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Y2K Bugs

Gary Davis
While 1100 came and went for most people without the slightest hitch, as a systems analyst I ran into fatal Y2K errors in a wide range of software and electronic devices. The Y2K bug was real. Here are some case studies: APLUS Accounting Software Accounting software was highly susceptible to......
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Hidden Menus

Gary Davis
Chinese DVD player evades security --and it doesn’t even need a hack The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has been busily shutting down Web sites -- and instigating charges against a Norwegian teen -- to stop hackers from publishing the code that would enable people to make digital copies......
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Stamps.com

Gary Davis
I WAS SITTING IN A RESTAURANTin Beverly Hills, reading about how that city was giving out tickets to cars without front license plates, when I got a ticket for not having a front plate. (The purpose of this new enforcement policy is to prevent drivers from getting around red-light cameras......
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The Envelope, Please

Gary Davis
As the century ends, we see everything except our cars getting cheaper, faster, smaller, smarter and, now, wireless. If the technology revolutions of the last 100 years have anything to teach us, it’s that we can‘t imagine how easy life may get -- or, conversely, how hard other things will......
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Now! Jerry Springer on Your Satellite Dish!

Gary Davis
Despite the availability of hundreds of channels, an estimated 75 percent of America’s TV viewing remains fixed on local stations and network affiliates. Satellite dishes, which rely on nationwide transmission, couldn’t give you the local stations. Until now. Last week, President Clinton signed a new law allowing the nation’s direct......

Is TV Dead?

Gary Davis
Art by J.T. SteinyNO LESS AN AUTHORITY THAN TV TECHNOLOGY, THE biweekly bible of the broadcast industry, has suggested that the future of home entertainment may lie in low-definition, Internet-based narrowcasting, and not in the trillion-dollar high-definition digital upgrade to traditional broadcasting known as DTV. But is Internet programming ready......
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Psst . . . Wanna Pay for a Music Download??

Gary Davis
from: zikidisc@netvision to: alt.fan.david-bowie subject: Bowie MP3 I am looking for David Bowie's new album on MP3 for download.   LET'S LET THE RECORD COMPANIES IN ON A little secret: This guy was not looking to pay $13 to $18 on September 21, when Bowie's new album, Hours, became the......
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Go to Sleep With a Toaster, Wake Up With a Microwave

Gary Davis
IN THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT, THE SUN will come up every morning, the earth will remain solid beneath our feet, and when we push, say, the "Menu" buttons on our VCRs, the same choices will appear today as they did yesterday, and as they will tomorrow. That's because......