A few years ago, the pen-and-pencil game "Shadowrun" would have seemed an especially geeky fantasy. In the Corporate Republic, it looms much larger, both a warning and a prophesy. Many of us are Shadowrunners now, many more are going to be in the 21st century. Fifth in a series. (Read More).

The Internet and its distinctive architecture have created a freer culture than we have ever had before -- or even imagined. The next few years will decide whether the Net will be made to conform to existing laws and values, or whether society will recognize it as a new kind of realm. The fighting has started. (Read More).

On the Net, the notion that Microsoft is predatory and monopolistic is old news, but this was sure a stunner to most Americans, who've been reading all those adoring profiles for more than a decade. Judge Jackson's findings of fact drew big headlines and flooded the talk shows all weekend. Microsoft's fat stockholders won't have a happy day today either, as brokers and analysts weigh in after a busy weekend of reading. As one said on CNN yesterday: the judge's report isn't pretty.

Generally known as blocking, filtering, disabling, convenience or preference software, ShutUp Software (my term) is spreading wildly on the Web, especially on e-trading sites where time is literally money. Other sites, including this one, use it so people will have more choices. Here's why I -- a frequently blocked Web writer -- will never use it, and hope nobody else will either.

Eric S. Raymond wrote in with his summary of the proceedings from the recent O'Reilly Open Source Summit. Click the link below to read his comments on the proceedings.