Hewie's Views and Reviews 20030220
By Hewie Poplock

Welcome to this issue of Hewie's Views & Reviews. Be sure to visit Hewie's Favorites at http://www.hewie.net/ . Hewie's Quick Thoughts appear almost daily at http://www.hewie.net/weblog/ .

In this issue
++++ Microsoft introduces a new free home-user version of its e-mail
++++ security alerts
++++ Bye-Bye CD-RW?
++++ Goodbye to the Floppy disk?
++++ The net is no longer a haven from sales taxes
++++ People Who Play At Work, Work At Home
++++ New additions to Hewie's Favorites


March, 2003


++++ Microsoft introduces a new free home-user version of its e-mail
++++ security alerts

Microsoft announced that non-technical home users will now be notified about new product patches and other security issues by signing up for a new free newsletter. Unlike many of their other newsletters, you do not have to belong to their Passport service. Sign up at http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/decision.asp

++++ Bye-Bye CD-RW?

Prices for the CD-R/CD-RW have dropped dramatically. You can purchase them with and sometimes without a rebate for as little as $20-$30. I am seeing some of the DVDR/DVD-RW drives in the $300-$400 range. My advice has been to hold off on the DVD writers as the standard has not been decided. However, many of the drives now include the popular standards. The large storage space per disk of 4 gigabytes plus) and the price of the media now under $2, makes the switch more desirable.

++++ Goodbye to the Floppy disk?

The floppy drive is heading toward extinction at Dell Computer. Later this month, the PC maker plans to drop the floppy as standard equipment on one of its Dimension desktops. Apple has already eliminated the floppy in the latest MACs. When is the last time that you had data or a program that would fit on a floppy? It's cheaper to use CDR or CDRW disk than a floppy.

We have always been afraid of how long data will last on the media. The question is really, "how long will the media be useful?" I have a lot of data that is probably still good, but on 5.25 inch floppies and I don't have a drive that will read them. No, I don't need that 5.25 drive in your closet!

++++ The net is no longer a haven from sales taxes

Did you see in the news that within the last few weeks several large retailers began collecting sales tax on Internet purchases?

The move arose from an agreement among about 38 states and the District of Columbia that went into effect in February. The deal was struck last fall after states complained that they've been losing billions of dollars in tax revenue as online sales rise.

Retailers including Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart and Target recently posted new policies on sales taxes. Amazon.com, which has partnerships with Target.com, MarshallFields.com and Mervyns.com to sell items online, notified customers of the change through a posting on its site.

With the economy the way it is, states need money, and they are losing huge amounts to sales on the Internet. You will see a push for this to change in the coming months.

++++ People Who Play At Work, Work At Home

I found this to be interesting. What employers lose in productivity when workers goof off, bidding on eBay and circulating jokes, is made up in the home, according to a survey by the University of Maryland and Rockbridge Associates. The study found that employees with Web access both at home and at work spend an average of 3.7 hours a week doing personal online chores in the office. Those same employees, however, spend an average of 5.9 hours a week at home catching up on work. "I think what this says is the Internet is actually helping business productivity," says Roland Rust, director of the Center for eService at the U. of Md.'s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Rust warns that, based on his findings, employers should think twice about banning personal online activities in the office. (Wall Street Journal 6 Feb 2003)

So, the next time your bosses catches you surfing or bidding, show this article.

++++ New additions to Hewie's Favorites