David Benjamin is a Brooklyn-based journalist and novelist who writes on technology issues, usually from the Luddite point of view.
Ever since I learned about the Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns in Economics 101 at Rockford College, I've been trying to understand the economy — with only occasional success. For instance, I often indulge in Robert J. Samuelson, hoping he'll write something that reminds me of the work of his father, Paul, the 1970 Nobel…
I recently had the thrill of two flights, each more than five hours, on an airline where I enjoy no exalted frequent-flyer status. On United Airlines' glad-to-see-ya scale, I rated somewhere between a homeless wino and a bag of snakes. True to my status, I paid too much for too little leg space, paid extra…
Unbeknownst to me (I had to be told), {complink 379|Apple Inc.} has enjoyed an incredible rise on Wall Street, briefly reaching a valuation of $600 billion and a stock price above $600. A lot of factors contributed to this phenomenon, foremost among which is consumer passion for Apple's line of iProducts. However, since Apple cracked…
One of the mysteries that haunts my wife — Junko Yoshida, editor of EE Times — is why engineers, as a rule, tend to be so politically conservative. As an amateur political scientist and lifelong know-it-all, I tell her that this tendency is partly explained by ethnicity, income, and gender. America's conservative party, the Republicans,…