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I-Opener
The i-Opener is a discontinued low-cost internet appliance produced by Netpliance (later known as TippingPoint) between 1999 and 2002. The hardware was sold as a loss leader for a monthly internet service. Because of the low cost of the hardware, it was popular with computer hobbyists, who modified it to run desktop PC software without the internet service. History Netpliance introduced the i-Opener in November 1999 at a $99 promotional price. It was designed to be an easy-to-use, low-cost internet appliance for first-time users of the World Wide Web. Access to the internet was limited to Netpliance's own $21/month service plan, and users were limited to Netpliance's own web browser. There was no provision for installing third-party software. The keyboard had a dedicated key for ordering pizza from participating pizza parlors. The hardware was sold below cost as a loss leader, with the expectation that Netpliance would recoup the money lost in manufacturing costs via its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TippingPoint
TippingPoint Technologies was an American computer hardware and software company active between 1999 and 2015. Its focus was on network security products, particularly intrusion prevention systems for networks. In 2015, it was acquired by Trend Micro. History The company was founded in January 1999 under the name Shbang! in Texas. Its co-founders were John F. McHale, Kent A. Savage (first chief executive), and Kenneth A. Kalinoski. Its business was to develop and sell Internet appliances. In May 1999, the company changed its name to Netpliance and in November they released the i-Opener, a low-cost computer intended for browsing the World Wide Web. The hardware was sold at a loss, and costs were recouped through a subscription service plan. When the device was found to be easily modded to avoid the service plan, Netpliance changed the terms of sale to charge a termination fee. In 2001, the Federal Trade Commission fined the company $100,000 for inaccurate advertising and unfai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virgin Webplayer
The Virgin Webplayer is a discontinued Internet appliance from Virgin Group. The device was intended as a standalone Internet access device, running a specialized operating system which limited it to the Virgin Connect ISP. It was discontinued on November 15, 2000. The remaining Webplayer hardware was liquidated and embraced by the hardware hacker community. The Virgin Connect service was innovative — for $50, a user would get the Webplayer and unlimited dial-up Internet access (provided through Prodigy) for three years. However, the Webplayer displayed advertisements while the user was online. Hardware The Webplayer is essentially a compact x86 PC and was manufactured by Acer under contract by Boundless Technologies and is also known as the Boundless iBrow. Input came through an infrared keyboard with an integrated trackball, and the webplayer came with a modem for connecting to the Internet. The Webplayer is powered by a 200 MHz Cyrix MediaGX CPU, 64 MB of SO-DI ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3Com Audrey
The 3Com Ergo Audrey is a discontinued internet appliance from 3Com. It was released to the public on October 17, 2000, for USD499 as the only device in the company's "Ergo" initiative to be sold. Once connected to an appropriate provider, users could access the internet, send and receive e-mail, play audio and video, and synchronize with up to two Palm OS-based devices. ''Audrey'' was the brainchild of Don Fotsch (formerly of Apple Computer and U.S. Robotics) and Ray Winninger. Fotsch and Winninger had a vision for a family of appliances, each designed for a specific room in the house. The brand ''Ergo'' was meant to convey that intent, as in "it's in the kitchen, ''ergo'' it's designed that way".Direct Knowledge - I was there at the time that it was said. - Rob Hudson There were plans to serve other rooms in the house as well. They considered the kitchen to be the heart of the home and the control room for the home manager. Fotsch coined the phrase "Internet Snacking" to descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Internet Appliance
An Internet appliance is a consumer device whose main function is easy access to Internet services such as World Wide Web, WWW or e-mail. The term was popularized in the 1990s, when it somewhat overlapped in meaning with an information appliance, desktop computer, network computer, or even thin client, but now it has fallen out of general use. Internet appliances were contrasted with any general purpose computer, but unlike personal computers, internet appliances were low cost and low margin products, usually using highly optimised low power silicon specifically built for internet use. Modern smart phones and tablet computers do approximately the same things, but are more powerful, more successful in the market, and generally not classified as Internet appliances. History Internet appliances were promoted by a variety of technology companies during the 1990s but, as the price of full-featured computers dropped, never met the market expectations. Jim Louderback would later descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Las Vegas Sun
The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005 and is now included as a section inside the pages of the morning ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' but continues operating exclusively on its own website. Its publisher and president is Brian Greenspun, former publisher Hank Greenspun's son, who was a college roommate of President Bill Clinton. It has been described as "politically liberal". History The ''Las Vegas Sun'' was first published on May 21, 1950, by Hank Greenspun, who served as its editor until his death. Hank acquired the ''Las Vegas Free Press'' and two weeks later renamed it to the ''Las Vegas Sun''. He started the ''Las Vegas Sun'' after he received a US$1,000-loan from businessman Nate Mack. From its founding the paper was published in the mornings. Starting in 1989, after it signed a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Network Computer
In computer networking, a thin client, sometimes called slim client or lean client, is a simple (low-performance) computer that has been optimized for establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. They are sometimes known as ''network computers'', or in their simplest form as ''zero clients''. The server does most of the work, which can include launching software programs, performing calculations, and storing data. This contrasts with a rich client or a conventional personal computer; the former is also intended for working in a client–server model but has significant local processing power, while the latter aims to perform its function mostly locally. Thin clients occur as components of a broader computing infrastructure, where many clients share their computations with a server or server farm. The server-side infrastructure uses cloud computing software such as application virtualization, hosted shared desktop (HSD) or desktop virtuali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nettop
A mini PC (or miniature PC, nettop, or Smart Micro PC) is a small-sized, inexpensive, low-power, Legacy free PC, legacy-free desktop computer, desktop computer designed for basic tasks such as Web navigation, web browsing, accessing web application, web-based applications, document processing, and audio/video playback. The word ''nettop'' is a portmanteau of ''Telecommunications network, network'' and ''desktop computer, desktop''. It is the desktop counterpart of the netbook. Modern ( 2020) mini PCs or Small form factor (desktop and motherboard), small form factor PCs can be much more powerful, being equipped with high-end laptop components or mid-range desktop components. Compared with ordinary desktop computers, nettops are not only smaller and less expensive, but they also consume much less power. For example, CompuLab's fit-PC2 consumes no more than 8 watts of power whereas a typical desktop would easily consume more than 100 watts of power; consequently, nettops requi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bloomberg Business News
Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', ''Bloomberg Markets'', Bloomberg.com, and Bloomberg's mobile platforms. Since 2015, John Micklethwait has been editor-in-chief. History Bloomberg News was founded by Michael Bloomberg and Matthew Winkler in 1990 to deliver financial news reporting to Bloomberg Terminal subscribers. The agency was established in 1990 with a team of six people. Winkler was first editor-in-chief. In 2010, Bloomberg News included more than 2,300 editors and reporters in 72 countries and 146 news bureaus worldwide. Beginnings (1990–1995) Bloomberg Business News was created to expand the services offered through the terminals. According to Matthew Winkler, then a writer for ''The Wall Street Journal'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de Young. The paper is owned by the Hearst Corporation, which bought it from the de Young family in 2000. It is the only major daily paper covering the city and county of San Francisco. The paper benefited from the growth of San Francisco and had the largest newspaper circulation on the West Coast of the United States by 1880. Like other newspapers, it experienced a rapid fall in circulation in the early 21st century and was ranked 18th nationally by circulation in the first quarter of 2021. In 1994, the newspaper launched the ''SFGate'' website, with a soft launch in March and an official launch on November 3, 1994, including both content from the newspaper and other sources. "The Gate", as it was known at launch, was the first large ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It shares jurisdiction over federal civil antitrust law enforcement with the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Department of Justice Antitrust Division. The agency is headquartered in the Federal Trade Commission Building in Washington, DC. The FTC was established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, Federal Trade Commission Act, which was passed in response to the 19th-century monopolistic trust crisis. Since its inception, the FTC has enforced the provisions of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, Clayton Act, a key U.S. antitrust statute, as well as the provisions of the FTC Act, et seq. Over time, the FTC has been delegated with the enforcement of additional business regulation statutes and has promul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Termination Fee
An early termination fee (ETF) is a charge levied when a party wants to break the term of an agreement or long-term contract. They are stipulated in the contract or agreement itself, and provide an incentive for the party subject to them to abide by the agreement. Service industries Termination fees are common to service industries such as cellular telephone service, subscription television, and so on, where they are often known as early termination fees. For instance, a customer who purchases cellular phone service might sign a two-year contract, which might stipulate a $350 fee if the customer breaks the contract. Consumer interest groups have criticized such fees as being anti-competitive because they prevent users from migrating to superior services. In the suburban Atlanta county of Gwinnett, customers were hit with termination fees of over $23 when the county commission chose not to renew the contracts of the county trash collectors in November 2008. The two companies char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
