Microsoft CRM Arrives. The much-anticipated customer relationship management product is now available in North America. [Internet Product News]

Veritas Refreshes Backup Exec. Backup Exec 9.0 features the first integrated Windows Server 2003 support. [Internet Product News]

Kennedy Hopes Accessible Site Leads Way“Sen. Edward Kennedy's office unveils a revamped Web site, one of the first congressional sites to fully comply with federal laws requiring accessibility for disabled users.” [CNET News.com] (Amazingly, CNET doesn't actually link to Kennedy's site anywhere in the article!)  [The Shifted Librarian]

Is Customer Always Right?. Just stumbled on this Fast Company article “Desire: Connecting With What Customer Want.” Some of it sounds very familiar from one of Lou's presentation at least year's summit and little bit of Maslow's Hierarchy of Need. From a marketing standpoint it makes sense, but user researchers out there should still take… Continue reading Is Customer Always Right?

O'Reilly swag for sale. “For years, our customers have asked us to make and sell various items with our animals on them. We are pleased and proud to present our first collection of official O'Reilly animal swag.” So, if you're a geek and you know it, um, buy a t-shirt (and clap your hands if… Continue reading O'Reilly swag for sale

The New Yorker(Issue of 2002-12-09): The Talk of the Town(comment) – Too Much Information. The Information Awareness Office plays it so weird that one can't help suspecting that somebody on its staff might be putting us on. The Information Awareness Office's official seal features an occult pyramid topped with mystic all-seeing eye, like the one… Continue reading Too Much Information

Court Rules Against Network Associates' Software Review Policy. A court has ruled that the company may not require people who buy its software to get permission before publishing reviews of its products. By Matt Richtel. [New York Times: Technology]

Harry Potter, AWOL, Returns in June for No. 5. The long-delayed fifth book in the Harry Potter fantasy series is now scheduled for release on June 21. By Seth Schiesel. [New York Times: Books]

NY Times: “The Supreme Court today upheld the 20-year extension that Congress granted to all existing copyrights in 1998, declaring that while the extension might have been bad policy, it fell clearly within Congress's constitutional authority.” [Scripting News]

Local Optimization, or, The Trouble With Dell One of my core beliefs is that if you pick some aspect of your business to optimize, and focus only on that one number, you tend to ruin other parts of the business that you're not measuring as carefully, resulting in a local optimization that actually harms your… Continue reading Local Optimization, or, The Trouble With Dell