The so-called digital divide is just one more way to make those of us born white and middle class feel guilty ("Great Divide," May, 2000). Well, I don't feel guilty. In an age where you can get on the Internet at the local public library for free, there is no excuse for not bettering one's self.
—Beth A. Davis
"Great Divide" claims, "According to a massive research project . . . 'By far the most important factors facilitating or inhibiting Internet access are education and age, and not income.' " Has Paul Somerson ever asked himself how those factors relate to one another? Doesn't access to education have something to do with race and income?
—Brian Carless
Read the article online - The Great Divide
| The Check's in the E-Mail
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The problem with electronic bill payment is not high cost or public distrust (April, 2000). It's that many companies don't accept electronic payments. It took my bank three weeks to apply my electronic car payment to my account. What happened? Well, the car dealer didn't accept electronic payments, so my bill payment company had to print a check and mail it to them. I've had too many problems with delays. I'm giving up on electronic bill payment.
—Patrick Hoyer
Your optimistic view of online bill payments is refreshing ("Pay Up") but ill conceived. Financial institutions make much of their money from late fees. A bill payment system would eliminate late fees. You can be sure the financial community will oppose it 100 percent.
—Scott Sanville
Read the article online - Pay Up
"25 Top Technologies That Will Transform Your Business" (May, 2000) reflects the widespread confusion that exists between standard digital TV, called SDTV, and HDTV. Most digital TV broadcasting will not be HDTV for the foreseeable future. Although the major networks will broadcast HDTV programming on occasion, the majority of their programming will be SDTV. So don't expect to see the evening news or your favorite talk show in HDTV resolution on your new HDTV set.
—Ken Lundgren
Read the article online - 25 Top Technologies That Will Transform Your Business
Your article on Internet site routing ("You Surf, They Pay," May, 2000) states, "The agreement also provided Microsoft with indemnification . . . a company unhappy with GoTo.com's pay-per-click search method can't sue Microsoft." Two parties can't enter into a contract to prevent a third party from suing; that would deprive the third party of its rights. Indemnification makes one party responsible for the obligations of another. In this case, you can sue Microsoft, and if you win Microsoft has to pay you. The indemnification contract between Microsoft and GoTo simply means that GoTo would have to pay Microsoft back. And if GoTo is out of money? Then Microsoft is out of luck.
—Shaun Breidbart
Read the article online - You Surf, They Pay
| A Good Name Is Hard to Find
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Jane Weaver's conclusion that "a good domain name can be all your business needs to make it big in cyberspace" ("The Name Game," April, 2000) is flawed. Amazon.com, Yahoo, and Beyond.com didn't succeed because their domain names said anything about their business. Anyone starting a new business would be wise to spend money on good employees and a sound business plan instead of a cute generic domain name.
—Kerry Faunce
Read the article online - The Name Game
It's bad enough that my money is wasted when recording formats and players become obsolete and my music, video, and software libraries become worthless ("A Lock on Digital Content," May, 2000). Now with digital rights management and its electronic key, I won't have to wait for whole technologies to be obsolete. I can suffer loss as soon as my digital devices break, are lost, or are stolen.
—Tom O'Leary
Read the article online - A Lock on Digital Content
Your article about how long to store documents (Answers, April, 2000) lists which records to retain for seven years. It would have been more accurate to say seven years pending a tax audit. If an audit is in progress, you may not destroy any relevant records. Also, employee personnel files often fall under Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules; those files should be held for 30 years from the date of termination of the employee.
—E.J. Vandeman
Read the article online - Answers
Although the .gov domain is reserved for the U.S. government only, other extensions may be used by non-U.S. entities ("The Name Game," April, 2000). Hungarian is not a Slavic language; it's Uralic ("Go East, Young Capitalist," May, 2000). The phone number for NetLedger is (650) 627-1000 ("Guide to the Top ASPs," May, 2000).
Read the article online - The Name Game
Paul Somerson's May editorial "Great Divide" touched on a sensitive subject: the so-called digital divide between the privileged and the disadvantaged. Adding fuel to the fire is Forrester Research's April 2000 brief, "The Truth About the Digital Divide." Forrester found in a mail survey of more than 80,000 U.S. households that Caucasian Americans are not the most likely to be online. They don't even come in second.
Read the article online - The Great Divide
