From CNET: Briefly: Mailblocks CEO and WebTV founder dies. Cause of death unknown.Â
I am blown away. I had only a few opportunities to work with Phil at MSFT, but always found him intelligent, softspoken, and willing to listen to someone with a good idea.Â
Cheap chips seen driving next tech wave: From News.COM. In general I think this is true, with the exception of the assertion that products will be sold below cost, and the difference made up in service fees. This is a flawed model for most businesses. Consumers have demonstrated that they are willing to pay for some kinds of content, and for some kinds of communications services using fees that allow the handset to be subsidized, but certainly not anywhere near the breadth of services and content that folks were envisioning just a couple of years ago. Some whacky models were getting tried out, including Microsoft’s notion that WebTV customers would be willing to pay $10/month extra for fast forward / rewind capabilities on the PVR. Whew!
