Each weekend we highlight the most relevant stories Wired News has covered. To find out what's coming up, jump to The Week Ahead.
LinuxWorld, indeed: Once the exclusive province of starry-eyed geeks, the Linux OS this week became tech's hottest story. Some 6,000 people showed up for Linus Torvald's LinuxWorld keynote address in San Jose, California. And given open-source's momentum, his prediction that the crowd would be 50,000 in a few years seemed entirely plausible.
There was news amid the hype, too. Linux got a graphical user interface; Opera Software said it was working on a Linux version of its alternative browser; a company promoted a Linux-based car stereo/computer; and Linuxheads gave life to the ancient Mac SE.
And that was just the beginning. Check out our full coverage of LinuxWorld.
Addition by subtraction: Hewlett-Packard, the original Silicon Valley garage start-up, said it would spin off its US$7.6 billion test-and-measurement, chemical-analysis, and medical businesses into an as-yet-unnamed publicly traded company.
A day later, the invigorated HP announced a bold e-commerce effort with Ariba, a company that connects buyers and suppliers.
Shared secrets: One of those new "infomediaries" said it can give consumers the ability to control what marketers know about them. Fine and good. But can we trust them?
Also this week, an advocacy group warned that Microsoft's proposed software registration could exploit consumers' personal information. Microsoft denied the charge.
Goliath has a plan: Microsoft tried to articulate a coherent e-commerce vision. Finally. Gates and Company plan to piece together the Windows NT operating system, SQL database, and commerce Web servers -- and offer the MSN portal site as a stage for large and small businesses.
On the same day, Redmond announced it was buying CompareNet, the comparison-shopping network. The plan is to merge CompareNet with the Sidewalk guides, further bolstering MSN retail operations.
They can: Meeting in Singapore, ICANN laid down requirements for establishing new domain-name registrars in the .com, .net, and .org top-level domains. Those are the domains now run by Network Solutions under exclusive contract to the US government.
Bill's guy: As for what role government takes in protecting the online public, that'll partly be up to Peter Swire, soon to be installed as the administration point man on the issue. So far, he's taking a laissez-faire approach.
Tools of the trade: A new program allows crackers to work with far greater effectiveness, and security experts confessed they're pretty spooked. "Everything that the wily hacker needs to know about your system is there," said one.
Tech Oscars: If your lexicon includes terms like cable-mounted camera dolly and lightweight boom poles, this awards show was for you. Said one winner: "This is geek heaven."
Earning loyalty: Experts confirmed what you already knew: E-commerce customer-service sucks. The good news -- courtesy of those same experts -- was that companies that don't improve are doomed.
Move over, Hef: Joe Preston's got it figured out. Give men LASSS -- ladies, automobiles, sports, stocks, and spirits -- and they'll give you money. Lots of it. Craig Bicknell profiled the cocky 28-year-old, who boasted that his new Web site, Efox.net, is going to make people forget about Playboy.
Fantasy, fatalism: Unprotected gay sex, or "barebacking," has become a hot topic in recent years. This week, Steve Silberman looked at Xtremesex, an online meeting place created for men attracted to the scary idea, if not the practice.
Our legacy: We can only hope that future generations won't be too harsh when they look back to 1999 and see that the first book published simultaneously in paper and electronic-book editions was Monica's Story.
Pride of ownership: The cable modem is advancing beyond proprietary, rentable devices. The first compatible products were certified this week and should be on store shelves soon. That means lower prices and wider adoption.
Sweet sounds: Several tech and music companies agreed on a content-protection framework for DVD Audio. These doohickeys are like CDs, but can encode higher-quality, multichannel surround sound and hold about 13 times as much data.
Defining the Net: "Stickiness" is a simple concept, nothing more than a company's ability to keep users glued to their Web site. But it's oh so important, said Jerry Yang, the Yahoo co-founder who ought to know.
Yang was not among the Yahoo heavies unloading stock recently. Still, the list was long and raised eyebrows.
In the capital: Post-impeachment, there was actual legislative activity. Democrat Feinstein and Republican Hatch introduced a bill that would restrict Y2K liability lawsuits. And a House committee voted down a plan to require banks to tell the Feds about all transactions that aren't "normal and expected" for a particular customer.
US v. Microsoft: The trial was on hiatus, but not the politicking. Home-state senator Slade Gorton harrumphed that the government's suit was a designed to placate California high-tech companies being wooed by Al Gore. And a prominent software-industry trade association began circulating a confidential 40-page paper that calls for the breakup of Microsoft.
Hard numbers: Internet ad revenue is growing fast, but many advertisers have shied away from spending large sums on the Net because data about who actually sees their ads are either inconsistent or undercounted. So said an industry group, which proposed new standards for measuring penetration on the Web.
High-tech accommodations: Comdex impresario Sheldon Adelson is building a Las Vegas hotel filled with all sorts of high-tech gadgetry. Our man in Vegas Vince Beiser checked it out.
Stop, smell: Pretty flowers for your pretty computer. How cute. THE WEEK AHEAD
6 March: Wall Street's Y2K test went well last August; now markets expand the number of firms that will spin their computer's dates ahead to 29 December.
8 March, Washington: Local officials eager to tax Internet sales will file suit to block a federal commission on the issue from meeting.
8 and 9 March, San Francisco: East Coast entrepreneurs come west, hoping to find venture capital at the second Alley to the Valley conference.
9 March, Washington: Last 8 June, the Federal Trade Commission alleged that Intel violated antitrust laws by exerting its market dominance to muscle customers and competitors. Nine months later, the trial begins.
10 March, Berkeley, California: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison appears in conversation as part of the University of California at Berkeley's Herb Caen/San Francisco Chronicle Lecture series.
12 March: The first trailer for the upcoming Star Wars prequel sent fans into a tizzy last November; now, Trailer B.
