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The San Francisco Giants' SBC Park, home to Barry Bonds, McCovey Cove and gourmet garlic fries, has a new attraction: free wireless Internet.

The Giants, along with SBC Communications, Intel and other corporate partners, have installed 121 high speed Wireless Internet access points. The stadium is one giant Wi-Fi hot spot.

San Francisco Giants Chief Information Officer Bill Schlough goes Wi-Fi on his handheld computer at SBC Park. (MPR Photo by Jon Gordon)

Fans with laptops or handeld computers can log on to the Giants network to get baseball video, stats, scores from around the league, and interactive games. The can check their e-mail or visit any site on the Web.

At least 13 states are posting the names of individuals and businesses who owe back taxes. The idea is to expose taxpayers' scofflaw status to a wide audience, and frighten them into paying up.

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The New York Times has an interesting take on the outsourcing debate. Some companies are finding out that shipping jobs to Bangalore is counterproductive.

"Even as the prospect of high-skilled American jobs moving to low-wage countries like India ignites hot political debate, some entrepreneurs are finding that India's vaunted high-technology work force is not always as effective as advertised."

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When will digital video recorders become mainstream?

I was listening to a Guy Clark song the other day, a little ditty called "Stuff That Works."

I got an ol' pair of boots And they fit just right I can work all day And I can dance all night I got an ol' used car And it runs just like a top I get the feelin' it ain't Ever gonna stop

Stuff that works, stuff that holds up The kind of stuff you don't hang on the wall Stuff that's real, stuff you feel The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall

It got me thinking about the technology in my life: What are the trusty old machines that never fail me? Unfortunately I didn't come up with much. A Sharp portable CD player that I've abused but never gives out, and is easy on the batteries. A Mitsubishi telelvision that fell off my entertainment center the day I bought it in 1996, but despite crashing to the floor held up until recently. My generic beige Windows 2000 box, while not perfect, certainly works better than any PC I've owned (including a really crappy Mac from the Gil Amelio era).

Do you have "Stuff that Works?" I'd also like to hear about stuff that really, really doesn't work -- the gadgetry you hate the most. Share your stories in the "Comments" section below. You can even send me a photo of the equipment in question, in your loving embrace or under your cold, hard glare.

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Digital video recorders like the Tivo will cause a major shift in the kinds of product ads we see, according to a new report from Forrester Research.

DVRs, which record tv shows on hard drives like those found in personal computers, allow consumers to easily skip or fast-forward through 30-second ads. Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff talked with big TV advertisers for his report, and found them resigned to the changes that DVRs will bring.

BERNOFF: I think advertisers pretty much have accepted that this technology is coming and there's not much they can do about it. The advertisers that we spoke to thought that we'd reach 30 million DVR households within five years. Enough to cause a problem within five years. And they didn't generally agree with statements like, "We should lobby Congress to get this made illegal' or "We should try and get cable and satellite operators not to include this technology."

Bernoff calls 30-second ads the "mother's milk" of television and says they won't disappear any time soon. But three of four advertisers surveyed expect that DVRs will eventually destroy the effectiveness of 30-second spots, so they'll be experimenting with new forms.

BERNOFF: 10-second spots. 45-second spots. Spots that are shown in pieces. Advertisements that appear in geographical areas of the screen, say the upper hand corner, instead of running in between programming. Product placement. All sorts of ways to reach consumers with advertisements that aren't easily skippable with these personal video recorders.

About 75 percent of advertisers expect to reduce their spending on TV when DVRs become more mainstream. They plan to increase spending on the Web, radio, magazines, and on product placement advertising. But what they really want to do is deliver targeted ads.

BERNOFF: This technology depends on using cable and satellite boxes to direct ads to individuals based on their household characteristics. We're probably a few years away from this being practical. But based on the level of interest the advertisers are showing to it, it definitely seems like in the future you are more likely to get commercials sent to you that are specifically designed for your household. Since they know your location and demographics, they are in a position to target those ads based on who they think you are. If you are in an upscale neighborhood they'll try to sell you a Cadillac. If you're in the downscale neighborhood you might end up getting an ad for a Chevy. If they know you have children, you might see the Pampers ad. If you don't have children you might see an ad for a big screen TV.

No surprise that iTunes is the top music download site. Care to venture a guess who's next on the list?

The BBC reports on a new study that says people give human characteristics to PCs and demonstrate loyalty to one machine over another.

"People tend to develop strong ties to a specific computer, even if it means waiting to use their favourite machine, say researchers.

The researchers say their findings could have profound implications for computer manufacturers and advertisers. "

On the other hand, according to the Beeb, Scots are suffering from "Internet Rage."

"One in five Scots who use computers suffer from "internet rage" and feel like hurling their PCs out of the window, according to research.

Slow download times are more annoying than noisy neighbours, watching their football team lose or being stuck in a queue, Scottish Enterprise found."

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Record industry lawsuits are making an impression on Internet users.

More than 17 million Americans who once traded copyrighted songs on the Internet have stopped doing so since big record labels began suing consumers over the practice. That's the finding of a new survey by comScore MediaMetrix and the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Linux, the open source computer operating system, has made big inroads in corporate America, where it's revered for its stabiity, security, and low cost. But is Linux a good alternative to Microsoft Windows on consumers' desktops?

Image courtesy of Linspire.com

Future Tense news analyst Dwight Silverman has been testing a version of Linux called "Linspire."

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Palisade Systems of Ames, Iowa is set to launch software this week that identifies and then blocks copyrighted songs as they're being traded on peer-to-peer networks. The software is designed to be installed by Internet service providers and on college and university networks, where file sharing is rampant.

The software is backed by record labels, and has been shown to sympathetic Congress members.

File sharing industry trade group P2P United says it's not convinced the technology works. And executive director Adam Eisgrau says the song-filtering software is akin to wiretapping without a warrant.

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Several former Sun Microsystems and Netscape engineers have created what they call the largest news Web site ever.

(Image from Topix.net)

Topix.net has a page for 30,000 cities and towns. It has pages for celebrities, sports teams, and lots more. Topix computers scour news Web sites, and use artificial intelligence to assemble pages.

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Microsoft has agreed to settle a class action antitrust lawsuit brought by Minnesota -- but will consumers who were allegedly overcharged for software even care?

Microsoft says final terms of the settlement won't be revealed until early summer. The company had previously settled with nine states and Washington, D-C. The largest settlement was with California -- for over one billion dollars. But very few California consumers and businesses have filed claims against Microsoft -- only four percent of the 14 million who are eligible, according to the settlement administrator.

Microsoft has settled its class action lawsuit with Minnesota.

Expect the settlement to look like California's (but smaller), where, according to the San Jose Mercury News, only four percent of eligible consumers have filed claims. (REGISTRATION REQUIRED)

"Five months after California consumers could begin claiming money from a Microsoft antitrust settlement, only about 4 percent of the estimated 14 million people who are eligible have filed claims. So far, about 590,000 claims from individuals have been filed, along with about 2,500 claims from businesses, according to the claims administrator."

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You've probably heard the phrase in a science fiction or war movie at some point: "We can't get through, our signal's being jammed." Well, jamming is real -- not just for the military, but for anyone with a few hundred bucks. Jamming cell phones is the hot issue right now. In countries like France, Japan and Israel it is legal to use a device to disrupt cell phone service. In the U.S. it's not, and it carries a hefty fine.

But there are jammers in use here; no one knows how many. And there are jamming fans -- they might call themselves a "silent" majority. One of them is Matt Pullin, a senior at DePauw University who tracks the issue on his website. (Jeff Horwich guest-hosts.)

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The United States Federal Trade Commission adopted a rule this week that promises to go after those unexpected, raunchy email messages we all seem to get.  Starting May 19th, all unsolicited, sexually explicit email must be clearly labeled and must "hide" its sexual content from unwilling recipients.  It's what the FTC is calling a "brown paper wrapper," like those used in the physical world to cover up a skin magazine at a newsstand.

This is part of the so-called "CAN-SPAM Act," passed by Congress late last year.  FTC consumer protection bureau attorney Jon Kraden says enforcement may be a challenge.  But all spammers are required to follow the new rules. (Jeff Horwich guest-hosts.)

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One month ago today, plaintiffs began opening statements in the first class action suit against Microsoft ever to reach trial. The plaintiffs are deep into presenting their evidence. They claim that Microsoft's software monopolies allowed the company to overcharge one million Minnesota consumers and businesses over a period of seven years.

Yesterday we had an update from one of the main plaintiffs' lawyers.  Today it's David Tulchin, the lead attorney defending Microsoft.  Speaking outside the courtroom, Tulchin said through all the testimony so far, the plaintiffs have yet to demonstrate one crucial fact: That Microsoft ever overcharged anybody for its software. (Jeff Horwich guest-hosts.)

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Tomorrow marks one month since opening statements began in the case Gordon v. Microsoft. In the late '90s the U.S. government and a number of states took on the software giant for anti-competitive practices. But Gordon v. Microsoft is the first private, class-action lawsuit against the company to actually go to trial.

The plaintiffs have just called one of their main expert witnesses. Stanford antitrust economist Roger Noll is expected to tell the jury how Microsoft overcharged up to one million Minnesota consumers by maintaining an illegal monopoly in software. The suit seeks damages of more than $400 million.

Tomorrow I'll talk with one of Microsoft's lawyers, but today we'll check in with the plaintiffs. Outside the Minneapolis courtroom, attorney Richard Hagstrom says his team is trying to keep the jury interested through weeks of evidence and testimony. (Jeff Horwich guest-hosts.)

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The price of gasoline is now higher than most Americans have ever seen, and analysts see it rising even more by this summer. In Canada, gas prices are falling at the moment, but still at near-record levels. If you're tired of driving around the block to find that one out-of-the-way station with a good deal, the internet offers an elegant solution. GasBuddy.com relies on a network of volunteer "gas price spotters" for updated price listings at filling stations around the U.S. and Canada. The website is four years old, but co-founder Jason Toews says the audience has grown with the recent spike in prices. (Jeff Horwich guest-hosts.)

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In a recent New York Times column, writer Verlyn Klinkenborg wrote that the need for broadband Internet in rural America is analagous to the rural electrification movement of the 1930s.

Klinkenborg, author of "The Rural Life" and other books about the rural experience, says broadband is no longer a luxury.

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Two-thirds of American Internet users go online to practice their religion, according to a new report.

Researchers at the University of Colorado say their survey shows that 64 percent of Internet users, or about 82 million people, perform spiritual and religious activities on the 'net.

In Australia's CIO Magazine, e-democracy activist Steven Clift sounds a pessimistic note about how the Internet politics movement is progressing. He writes,

"After speaking hundreds of times across 24 countries, mostly to e-democracy interested governments, it is clear to me that what is possible is not probable. The best practices and e-democracy technologies are not being effectively shared. If we want the demonstrated potential of the new medium to spread, democratic intent will be required. The default path I see, without a political and resource commitment, is democratic decline. As we enter the second decade of e-democracy activity, now is the time to use the amazing online tools before us and build information-age democracy for our own and future generations."

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Weblogs allow publishers who don't have the backing of big media companies to reach millions of people. But as one blog is finding out, popularity is expensive.

Boing Boing is one of the Internet's top blogs, with about 100,000 readers each day. The small group of freelance writers who run Boing Boing have to pay the costs of hosting the site out of pocket. And those costs are rising as readership increases.

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This past weekend in San Francisco, more than 700 computer users wired their PCs together in an attempt to create an instant supercomputer with enough power to qualify as one of the world's 500 fastest.

The effort was organized by faculty and students at the University of San Francisco. Computer science professor Greg Benson says even though the ad hoc network didn't achieve the desired benchmark, the effort was a success.

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Internet search company Google is introducing a free e-mail service. The company is promising to provide up to 500 times more storage space for users than the market-leading e-mail services provided by Yahoo! and Microsoft Hotmail.

Google's computers will mine the topics in the e-mails and then deliver text-based ads related to those subjects. For instance, an e-mail from one friend to another discussing an upcoming concert might prompt Google to include an advertising link from a ticketing agency.

Some privacy activists say these targeted e-mail ads amount to snooping. The Electronic Privacy Information Center says it's like a telemarketer listening to your calls and then trying to sell you something.

Ari Schwartz with the Center for Democracy and Technology, another a privacy group, is less concerned. He says an existing law should protect e-mail users from surveillance.

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The U.S. military's unmanned Predator drones have been used mostly for surveillance in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But in five years, the military wants to turn drones into heavily armed battle machines.

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Alex Boese operates a Web site that examines the history of the hoax. It's called The Museum of Hoaxes. He's written a book by the same name. Boerse says the Internet is democratizing the act of pulling pranks.

BOESE: It used to be that you had to have some media connections to pull off a really big hoax. Nowadays anybody with access to a computer can potentially reach an audience of millions of people and pull off a big hoax. That used to be the preserve of people in the media like journalists, radio DJs, etc.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

BOESE: It's kind of a sign of our open culture. And the lesson I guess is that hoaxing, deception and misinformation is the price you have to pay for having an open, public culture. If you close down the culture and don't allow people to communicate as freely, you could probably get rid of the hoaxes.

What are some the more notorious Internet hoaxes you have come across?

BOESE: It was 1994, and this e-mail started to circulate around the Internet claiming that Microsoft had bought the Catholic Church. It was going to gain exclusive electronic rights to the Bible and was also going to develop the technology to deliver the sacraments online. Enough people believed it that Microsoft had to put out a press release denying that it had any intention to buy the Catholic Church.

For most people that hoax was easy to detect. But recently there was a news report that Microsoft was developing some sort of Internet toilet.

BOESE: This was the Microsoft i-Loo.

Right, the i-Loo. For me it was never clear what was going on. Microsoft denied it, confirmed it, and denied it again. Was it a hoax or not?

BOESE: Microsoft kept flipping back and forth. At first it put out this fantastic press release about how you could surf the Internet while you were at a public toilet. And then it said it was a hoax, and a screw-up from Microsoft marketing guys in England. It changed its mind again and said it was actually real. Then it flipped back again. I think ultimately it ended up being a hoax.

Are we getting savvier about Internet hoaxes?

BOESE: Maybe. We've all been exposed to so much of this. But you have to hand it to the hoaxers. They keep coming up with these crazy ideas that still manage to fool us in so many ways.