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• The Gripe Line: Keep It to Yourself

  We've devoted a lot of space here to how Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) will hurt electronic commerce and software customers in general, and endanger IT organizations specifically. There's another peril UCITA presents that we've only hinted at, however, and it may be the worst of all. UCITA could provide building blocks for a form of private censorship in this country that would dwarf our worst nightmares about government control of the media.

  Written by Ed Foster • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Madden NFL 2000 Comes to Mac

  Hell has frozen over. Those of you who doubt this assertion need only look to the shelves of your local Macintosh software dealer for proof. There you'll find copies of Aspyr Media Inc.'s Madden NFL 2000-the kind of major sports title that many claimed would arrive in a Mac-compatible version only when hailstorms came to Hades. While Madden is an attractive and rich football simulation, it may prove frustrating to all but the most die-hard players, thanks to an obtuse interface and sparse documentation.

  Written by Christopher Breen • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Nortel Ends 1999 on Strong Earnings

  Saying that its carrier and service provider business remains strong, Nortel Networks Corp. today reported operational earnings for the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 1999, of US$755 million, or 55 cents per share.

  Written by Marc Ferranti • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• PC Growth Strong in '99, Dell Beats Compaq in U.S.

  Fears about the year 2000 computer problem notwithstanding, the worldwide PC market in terms of units shipped grew over 20 percent in 1999 compared to 1998, according to data released today by market research firms International Data Corp. (IDC) and Dataquest Inc.

  Written by Douglas F. Gray • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Net Buzz

  But filing the travel request might be worth a chuckle . . . and, well, you never know.

  Written by Paul McNamara • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Siemens sees profits soar, sales rise in Q1

  Siemens yesterday said net income soared 91 per cent in the first quarter of its new fiscal year, pointing to the fact that all its divisions are now producing profits.

  Written by Mary Lisbeth D'Amico • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Study: 14M Europeans to Buy Stock Online by 2004

  Europeans are on their way to embrace Internet-based stock trading, with German and Nordic consumers leading the way, Forrester Research BV said today, announcing the results from a new study.

  Written by Terho Uimonen • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• CIOs Fail to Embrace Storage Strategies: IDC

  Very few CIOs surveyed by International Data Corp.(IDC) recently had coherent storage strategies, says IDC researcher Pat Pilcher.

  Written by Randal Jackson • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• The Winner and Wierd Tales

  An old coworker of mine used to work for Unisys Corp. as a programmer. They had a new remote-access box attached to their mainframe, and shortly thereafter, began having problems with the mainframe rebooting. Tech support removed the remote access box, but no fix.

  Written by Mark Gibbs • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Keeping Up With the Broadband Economy

  "I love Nortel," our Toronto airport cab driver said when we told him that that was where we were going. "I mean the stock," he added as he turned up the financial news on the radio. That morning, Nortel had invested in Research in Motion, developer of the Blackberry device for reading and forwarding e-mail. It seemed perfectly natural to him that a manufacturer of industrial-strength networking gear would buy into a company that makes a tiny wireless access device.

  Written by Martin LaMonica • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Want an Internet-Based Existence? Get a Life!

  As we step into the 21st century, I'm having a paroxysm of Luddite-ism. Maybe it's millennium fever that has me feeling so philosophical. Maybe it's the AOL/Time Warner megamerger, which promises even further consolidation of our media outlets and "corporatization" of the Internet.

  Written by Mary Petrosky • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• New Canon Hardware Thinks Small

  Cannon's CanoScan FB 630Ui scanner and BJC-85 printer

  Written by Frith Breitzer • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Notes from the Field

  It has not been a good week. I've had to contend with a burst water pipe in my apartment, toothache in a molar that was filled less than a month ago, and a tire blowout on Highway 101.

  Written by Robert X. Cringely • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• DenebaCAD 2.0

  The "point of sale" in architectural design is the moment when the client is suitably dazzled. For modern architects, that moment typically arrives via a QuickTime movie tour of a new structure. DenebaCAD 2.0, Deneba Software's 2-D/3-D CAD application, is optimally designed for this purpose-it renders so quickly that even a humble iMac can produce a series of on-the-fly building walk-throughs for a client. Five years ago, this feat wasn't even a delirious dream for Mac users.

  Written by Charles Seiter • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Ask Jeeves to Acquire Direct Hit

  Ask Jeeves Inc., the question-and-answer format search engine, has entered into an agreement to buy Direct Hit Technologies Inc. in a stock swap deal worth US$507 million, the company announced today.

  Written by Laura Rohde • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• PC Sales Grew 22% in '99, 2% Less Than Expected

  The year 2000 bug slowed global PC sales by 2% in the fourth quarter of 1999, but sales still grew nearly 22% over 1998, Dataquest, a division of Gartner Group Inc., said today.

  Written by Matthew Hamblen • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• 1999 Editors' Choice Awards

  The last year of the 20th century was, all in all, a great year for the Macintosh. As we head into year 17 of the Macintosh Era, it's time for Macworld's annual look at the products that improve the lives of Mac users -- products that make using your Mac easier, let you do your job more effectively, or simply give you freedom you never had before.

  Written by Macworld Staff • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• ComNet Features Blizzard of Networking Wares

  A Motorola Inc. DSL product and a spate of new tools to better manage network and VOIP (voice-over-IP) Web site enhancements were among the many offerings vendors shoveled out today at a snowy ComNet 2000 conference here.

  Written by Jennifer Jones • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Concord's Blaeser Thinking Big

  Five years ago, Concord Communications saw a niche in network performance reporting, something big net management platform vendors such as Hewlett-Packard and IBM had missed. Concord exploited that niche with its Network Health software and has since become a $40 million company that is king of the hill in that market. Now Concord CEO Jack Blaeser is setting his sights on $500 million in revenue. Network World Senior Editor Jeff Caruso recently caught up with Blaeser to find out more.

  Written by Jeff Caruso • 25 Jan. 00 12:01

• Hurdles remain before SAN to gain acceptance

  Storage-area networking will finally come into its own in 2000 - provided customers and vendors understand the concept.

  Written by Kathleen Ohlson • 25 Jan. 00 12:01