OSOpinion: “Apple has been, from the beginning, the only company in Silicon Valley that mattered. They were, and may very well continue to be, the force behind computers, the face of the screen, and its design. Every component you are touching right now, whether it is the keyboard, or its monitor, has somehow reached into Apple’s life and pulled its existence from it. To be more specific, it came from Steve Jobs.” –Kelly McNeill

Slashdot is discussing a ZDNET article that analyzes the dangers of humans translating syntax into meaning.

OSOpinion: “I composed an e-mail that, I hoped, would not immediately attract buzzword-compliant sales babble. One that would give concrete reasons for our expectations of complete delivery of what we’d already paid for, and been certified to instruct upon. Amazingly, this did penetrate. We did get what we needed to conduct the class. (And we even got the silly t-shirts too.)” –Kelly McNeill

CNet warns of another vulnerability in Microsoft’s recent Internet Explorer version 5.5 allowing near total control of a targeted computer, using ActiveX and Java.

ZDNet comments on the growing popularity of wireless peripherals such as keyboards and mice, and why people are turning away from traditional connectors.

ZDNet has an article about the technology of the future. The article claims that paper will be around in twenty years while other technologies may come and go. After thousands of years of use, paper may yet prevail.

Intel, says NW Fusion, is releasing five new NetStructure products.

Slashdot has a discussion about a story on the rebuilding of the British code-breaking computer Colossus from World War II.

From PR Newswire: Southern Arkansas University has
chosen Prometheus, an Internet-based online course software product developed
at The George Washington University, to deliver online course management for
students, faculty and staff. Prometheus is a
scalable software based on proven technologies such as leading databases from
Oracle and Microsoft as well as an open source code application built with
Cold Fusion.

From the Meta Group (on CNet): “Linux hardware seller VA Linux has an interesting strategy, and its
financial grounding in computer hardware sales makes it stand out
among the pure Linux companies.

Whether VA can actually fulfill CEO Larry
Augustin’s promise of profits by the end of calendar 2001, however, is
doubtful, even if the economy stays strong.” (Disclosure: VA Linux owns NewsForge.)