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@ianb: Enjoying the @SarrahPalinU5A twitter stream. Hilariously parodical or chillingly accurate? 1 day ago

The 10 Most Disappointing Technologies of the 2000s

December 31, 2009

I have just realized that FOIB and ianbell.com passed their 10-year anniversary some time in 2009 without me really marking the event.  During that time I’ve authored thousands of articles, missives, and comments that have been shared from my online pulpit and you, dear reader, have astonishingly tolerated it all with few complaints.  Thanks! Lately [...]

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More Canadian Wireless Carrier Greed

July 8, 2008

Apparently trying to steal the thunder of customer ire from Rogers Wireless’ ill-considered iPhone launch, Bell and Telus are trying to slip out the back door with an announcement that they’re going to be charging users extra for text messaging. To be specific, that charge is $0.15 for each incoming message you receive, whether you [...]

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iPhone Mania Persists Despite Apple’s Cold Shoulder

September 26, 2007

As Liz Gannes reports, iPhone mania persists in NYC, with folks lining up at 3AM clutching fistfuls of twenties to buy iPhones five at a time — for export to Europe. This despite the fact that Apple has been throwing cold water on the whole iPhone unlocking marketplace by warning people that a future firmware [...]

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Whither Telus » Bell .. so Shaw » Rogers?

June 21, 2007

Telus and Bell have confirmed they’re in merger talks, after BCE earlier announced it was mulling over its options earlier this Spring. Both companies are weakened by declining landline revenues as competition from Wireless and the Cable Guys and, to a lesser extent pure-play VoIP contenders, is heating up. This makes a lot of sense, [...]

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Putting A Lid on Broadband..

September 22, 2003

http://news.com.com/2100-1034-5079624.html Putting a lid on broadband use By John Borland Staff Writer, CNET News.com http://news.com.com/2100-1034-5079624.html Earlier this month, a Philadelphia Comcast broadband subscriber got a letter from his service provider, telling him he’d been using the Internet too much. Keith, who asked to keep his full name private, said he’d subscribed to the service for [...]

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Richard Forno article on “high tech heroin”

September 19, 2003

Begin forwarded message: > Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 21:01:30 -0400 > Subject: Article: High-Tech Heroin > From: Richard Forno > > High-Tech Heroin > Richard Forno > > (c) 2003 by Author. All Rights Reserved. > Permission granted to redistribute this article in its entirety with > credit > to author. > > Dostoevsky [...]

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Cable Industry Sees VoIP Looming…

September 3, 2003

http://news.com.com/2100-1033-982130.html By Ben Charny Staff Writer, CNET News.com January 27, 2003, 4:00 AM PT Read more about VoIP A group of telecommunications giants is quietly pushing a proposal that could create hang-ups for up-and-coming Internet-telephone rivals. At stake are rules used to divvy up the 5.2 billion unassigned phone numbers set aside for use in [...]

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AOL Gets Its Dead Reckoning…

July 24, 2003

AOL didn’t lose 846,000 subscribers. It never had them in the first place. -Ian. —– http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid04&ncids8&e=6&u=/ washpost/20030724/tc_washpost/a32817_2003jul23 AOL Subscribers Down by 846,000 Thu Jul 24,12:23 AM ET Add Technology – washingtonpost.com to My Yahoo! By David A. Vise, Washington Post Staff Writer America Online’s subscriber base plunged by 846,000 in the second quarter, as hundreds [...]

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WiFi Here To Stay…

July 14, 2003

http://www.iht.com/articles/102711.html Wi-Fi’s true believers see powerful ‘grass-roots’ force John Markoff NYT Monday, July 14, 2003   SUN VALLEY, Idaho Is the Wi-Fi boom about to bust? Even though that has lately become the fashionable view, the answer is probably no. Critics argue that there are too many competitors trying to deliver high-speed wireless connections to [...]

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FBI Seeks IP Telephony Surveillance…

March 27, 2003

http://www.securityfocus.com/news/3466 FBI seeks Internet telephony surveillance The Justice Department and the FBI ask regulators for expanded technical capabilities to intercept Voice Over IP communications… and anything else that uses broadband. By Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus Mar 27 2003 1:11AM The FBI and Justice Department are worried that Voice Over IP (VoIP) applications may become safe havens [...]

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