Small Business Computing Staff

by Michael Warshaw Do you know the german term schadenfreude? What a great word. It means the joy we take in the misfortune of others. I saw a lot of it last year when the dot-com bubble burst. CEOs I know who had long struggled to build actual businesses — you know, built to last […]

by David G. Propson It was a cold sunday in the midwest when I hopped the plane to Atlanta for the IBM Partnerworld conference. I rented a car at Hartsfield International Airport, drove directly to my hotel, and turned the keys over to the valet. A charming woman named Lolita checked me in. “Welcome to […]

by Robert J. Wagman Elected representatives in Washington, D.C., are working to make Americans’ telephone bills a little bit cheaper. President George W. Bush has pledged to abolish the 3-percent federal excise tax (FET) on telephone and telecommunication bills, and Congress is following through to make that pledge a reality. The FET was originally imposed […]

by William C. Gillis The Widespread havoc caused by the Love Bug, Melissa, and Anna Kournikova viruses made headlines around the world and cost businesses billions of dollars. Now, insurance companies around the world are offering specific policies against technology-related losses caused by viruses and hackers. Zurich Insurance Group, Lloyd’s of London, American International Group […]

by Robert J. Wagman For months, federal and state lawmakers have been locked in heated debate over whether to allow states to collect taxes on Internet sales. In October, the current three-year moratorium preventing states from taxing such transactions expires. The matter is before Sen. John McCain’s, R-Ariz., Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. The Internet […]

by Gwen Moran Brent Hall knows that when Jeff Copeland gets to his workstation at 7:30 a.m., he’s going to put in a hard day’s work. But Copeland, a senior developer for IT firm Buchanan Associates, is 537 miles from the office, and as Buchanan’s vice president of human resources, Hall had better be sure. […]

by Micheal Grebb Annette Spector keeps a one-page Indian parable in her desk drawer. In the story, a cracked pot feels guilty that it can’t hold its water but is redeemed when it discovers the leak has nourished flowers on the ground. “It means that everyone is unique,” Spector says. “You have to find the […]

by William C. Gillis You might think name-calling is a tactic best left on the playground, but on the Web it’s alive and well, and it may be perfectly legal. In February, a Los Angeles judge dismissed a suit brought on by Newport Beach, Calif.-based telecommunications company Global Telemedia International Inc. against anonymous defendants who […]

by William C. Gillis Over 100,000 computer users were cut off from Internet access in March when NorthPoint Communications, a nationwide DSL provider, shut down operations. Although NorthPoint had been in bankruptcy since January, it repeatedly assured the small ISPs it partnered with that it would keep its DSL network running. As a result, many […]

by Robert Richardson Richard Bond is in the instru mentation business. His fledgling Mill Valley, Calif., Formotion Products Company makes two products — the Scooter Clock and the Scooter Thermometer. They’re shiny and attractive, and perhaps most importantly (since they get mounted on motorcycles), they’re waterproof. Bond promotes his instruments on Formotionproducts.com. The instant messaging […]

by David G. Propson Kathryn Morton had a nice little business that was actually doing well on line. With a staff of 10 in Newmarket, Ont., her Avonlea Traditions Inc. wholesaled collectibles with Canadian themes, particularly those relating to the L.M. Montgomery novel and T.V. miniseries Anne of Green Gables. Morton sold a few items […]

by David Shcloss Remote access systems allow business professionals to tap into their office’s network while on the road or at home. Still, they haven’t been implemented in most office systems. While Ethernet speeds reach the gigabit mark, many users are unable to access a company’s files even from just a stone’s throw from the […]