A bipartisan group in the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced legislation that would limit litigation, lawyers' fees, and damages caused by Y2K-related computer breakdowns. Supporters of the bill claim that it would help avert Year 2000 problems, since the legislation would protect only those businesses and individuals who take reasonable actions to prevent them from occurring. Some smaller developers are offering their products for free, because they feature advertisements that are displayed while the programs are in use. Advertisers pay the software developers an amount based on the number of people who are exposed to the ads. Some companies, such as Aureate Media in Indianapolis, are now active in trying to match software developers with advertisers who might be interested in sponsoring their products so that users can have them for free.
Many more sites are seeking advertising, so there's a lot more to choose from.
People are more focused about the use of the Internet. Freeserve is run by Dixons, the country's largest electrical retailer. In addition to the free Internet access, Dixons' online strategy includes a new computer games site and an online magazine. The device would be a direct competitor to the popular Rio PMP300 device, which has raised the hackles of the music industry because it allows the music to be replayed without paying the artist royalties. Liquid Audio is in talks with several electronics manufacturers and expects that the new devices should be in production by the third quarter of this year.