From cate3@netcom.com Tue Jul 11 18:55:07 1995
From: cate3@netcom.com
Subject: Life E.A
To: jwry.dli@netcom.com
Reply-to: cate3@netcom.com
---------------------------------------
Date: 8 Jul 94 11:32:34 PDT (Friday)
Subject: Life E.A
The following are selections from Edupage, a twice weekly sumary of news items
To join, send a message to:listproc@educom.edu
with the text: SUB EDUPAGE yourfirstname yourlastname
----------------------------------------------------
EXECUTIVE NEWS BREAK FROM CNN & INTEL
CNN and Intel are planning tests of a service that uses Intel's
multicast video technology to allow executives to receive CNN reports on
their PCs. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 4/26/94)
TRANQUILITY HARD TO FIND IN ELECTRONIC AGE
"I was just skiing in Vail, and they were offering cellular phones
and pagers to use on the ski lift," says an astonished observer.
Tranquility and solitude are getting harder to find in the electronic age,
but one professor of communications is philosophical: "These devices
provide an opportunity for overworking, not a mandate. Workaholics have
existed forever, with or without machines." (New York Times 4/25/94 B4)
GIMME FIVE ... AND GET YOUR HAND SCANNED FOR CUSTOMS
Kiosks set up by the Immigration and Naturalization Service at JFK
and Newark Airports allow you to zip through customs using an electronic
hand reader to verify who you are. You can sign up to get your palm read
and entered in the INS PASS system if you make at least three international
flights into those airports per year. (Business Week 5/2/94 p.132)
INTERNET STATISTICS: THE NET KEEPS GROWING AND GROWING
Traffic on the NSF backbone growing by a stunning 20.7 percent -
nearly 2 terabytes - during the month of March -- the largest single jump
in the history of the Internet. Gopher traffic grew by 17.6 percent and
http (WWW) grew by 32.9 percent to a new total of one-half terabyte per
month. Http traffic grew by a total of 0.7 percent of total NSFNet
traffic. (Internet Society)
COMPUTER VIRUSES RAMPANT IN ASIA
One consequence of the high rate of sharing and pirating computer
software is turning up in increasing numbers in Asia -- computer viruses
that destroy or alter data. A U.S. antivirus company estimates the number
of global viruses at 3,500 and says the total doubles every 10 months. A
study conducted a year ago found 32% of computers in China were infected,
10% in Thailand, 12% in Hong Kong and Singapore, and 10% in Taiwan,
compared to 6% in the U.S. and Japan. (Wall Street Journal 4/29/94 A11)
NYNEX, TIMES MIRROR PLOT PHONE-AD SERVICE
Nynex Corp. and Times Mirror Co. are planning a directory service
that will allow callers to connect to "shopping assistants" who then search
a computer database to answer questions such as, "What is the nearest
Chinese take-out on my way home from work?" The service is similar to
planned ventures between Times Mirror and Pacific Telesis, and Nynex and
Prodigy. (New York Times 5/4/94 C1)
LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS ON THE INTERNET
Internet pioneer Carl Malamud has been hosting a talk radio show
over the Internet for the past year, but this week he's broadcasting live
from Las Vegas, featuring news, live interviews and rock music over the
net. "Radio Technology for Manana" will air around the clock and showcase
the potential for delivering both audio and video fare via computer. (Wall
Street Journal 5/4/94 B5)
ACCESS TO WHAT?
In the ongoing discussions over equal access to the information
superhighway, it's often overlooked that transmission is only one component
of that access, the others being computer hardware and software. Government
officials have yet to suggest that "Compaq offer a `lifeline' computer for,
say, $1 a month, or that Microsoft be required to give away Word for
Windows." (Telecommunications Policy Review 4/29/94 p.10)
BOXERS ON THE INTERNET
The Associated Press reports a California designer underwear
manufacturer has exchanged its toll-free phone line for an Internet e-mail
address, in an attempt to reach its twentysomething target group. Joe
Boxer's billboards now read "Contact us in underwear cyberspace; Internet
joeboxer@jboxer.com." The company reports it gets 15-20 messages a day,
each of which gets a personal response. (St. Petersburg Times 5/8/94 H8)
FOR COMPUTER ILLITERATES ONLY
There's now a service for executives who receive e-mail but can't
deal with computers. A New Jersey-based telephone company automatically
faxes e-mail messages to subscribers, allowing them to read their mail "the
old-fashioned way -- on paper." (St. Petersburg Times 5/8/94 H8)
THE SENSE OF A WOMAN
Women love the geometric video game Tetris, and game-makers are
dying to find out why. While 99% of the buyers for most other games are
male, 40% of Tetris buyers are female. One theory is the appeal of the
game's goal, which is to bring order to chaos, resulting in neat little
rows of geometric shapes. Women crave order, hypothesizes a sociologist
hired by Nintendo to unravel the riddle, and by beating the clock on the
game, a woman experiences a rush of endorphins -- "feel good" chemicals
produced by the body under stress. (Wall Street Journal 5/10/94 B1)
COPY MACHINE TURNS PAGES OF A BOOK
Ricoh has developed the prototype of a copy machine with a device
that uses static electricity to automatically turn the pages of the book or
magzine being copied. You will no longer have to stand at the machine,
wetting your fingers, unless you want to. (New York Times 5/14/94 p.19)
THE AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD TO HAVE 2.5 COMPUTERS
Dallas market research firm Channel Marketing projects that 109.1
million computers will be sold in the U.S. in 1999, and that by that time
American houeholds will on average have 2.5 PCs. (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution 5/15/94)
HIGH-TECH COURT
In a move to save lawyers time and money, the Quebec Court of
Appeal announced it will become the first judicial body in Canada to allow
lawyers to argue motions and plead cases using video-conferencing
technology. (Toronto Globe & Mail 5/14/94 A5)
CAR PHONE CRACKDOWN IN BRAZIL
A new law in Brazil makes it illegal to talk on a hand-held
cellular phone and drive at the same time. Even talking while stopped at a
red light is prohibited. "Anyone who wants to answer a cellular phone
should pull over to the side of the road," advises the National Traffic
Council president. The ban doesn't apply to dashboard panel phones that
allow the driver to keep both hands on the wheel. (Miami Herald 5/18/94 C1)
REACH OUT AND PLAY WITH SOMEONE
A system developed by AT&T and Sega Genesis will allow players to
link two Genesis game systems over a phone line and compete, aided by an
AT&T VoiceSpan technology that will let them speak to each other while they
play. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 5/19/94 C10)
RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY
A student group at Pennsylvania State University has found a new
use for old computers. They donate them to elementary and secondary schools
in rural and inner-city areas. The group makes sure the units are in
working condition, and that compatible machines are shipped to each
location. (Chronicle of Higher Education 5/18/94 A19)
COLLECTOR'S COPY OF EDUPAGE
The May 20th edition of Edupage was incorrectly dated 05/120/94. Be
sure to save this valuable collector's item; like a misprinted postage
stamp, it may someday be worth a lot of money, especially when there are
only a few copies left in existence.
NOVEL PUBLISHING GIMMICK
G.P. Putnam's Sons is trying something new in its release of "The
Haldeman Diaries." In addition to the $35.95 book containing 1,000 pages of
edited text, it's offering a $69.95 CD-ROM consisting of 2,200 pages of
unedited text. (Wall Street Journal 5/23/94 B1)
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK GOES VIDEO
At a time of feverish competition in the retail sector, YOUtv has
developed an on-site "video-suggestion box" it says will make gathering
market intelligence easier. The interactive electronic kiosks allow
customers to record comments about their shopping experience and the
service, or lack of, they received. Retailers get an edited videotape and
an analysis of the responses. (Toronto Financial Post 5/26/94 p.13)
ELECTRONIC FINGERPRINTING
Los Angeles County is the first place in the U.S. where welfare
applicants must press their fingers against a glass scanner that checks
against a computer database to insure that the applicants have not used
assumed names to receive multiple benefits. The electronic fingerprint
industry has great potential, and one analyst predicts that ten years from
now we won't be using housekeys to get into our own houses. However,
industry growth still lags because it depends a lot on adoption by large
government agencies, which are slow to make decisions. The chairman of one
of company built around electronic fingerprinting says that the real growth
market is in point-of-sale, automated teller machines, and health
maintenance organizations. (New York Times 5/31/94 C4)
NETWORKED GAMING NOW
Catapult Entertainment is marketing modems that will enable
video-game players to compete with each other over existing telephone
lines. (Wall Street Journal 6/6/94 B5)
VIRTUAL TOURING
Apple Computer unveiled new technology based on virtual reality
that enables users to take realistic "tours" of buildings and places.
QuickTime VR fits on a compact disk and requires a companion program called
QuickTime 2.0, which will be available this summer. (Wall Street Journal
6/8/94 B6)
MOTOROLA STUDENT DESIGN CONTEST FOR PAGING DEVICES
A student from Rochester Polytechnic Institute won a Motorola
student design contest with a palm-sized pager that fits on a belt and can
send and receive e-mail, faxes, and voice mail. (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution 6/9/94 E2)
MUSEUM IN CYBERSPACE
The Canadian Museum of Civilization is about a year away from
launching interactive CD-ROM adventure games designed to educate Canadians
about heritage while letting them fight battles or build pyramids. Through
its DigiMuse project and using SEAL [Screening External Access Links]
software from Digital Equipment, the museum also plans to put information
on Internet by September. (Ottawa Citizen 6/11/94 G1)
PC WITH TV, PHONE, RADIO, FAX
Packard Bell will be offering personal computers that can double as
radios, TVs, telephones and fax machines. Priced at $1000-3000, the systems
will use Intel's 486 and Pentium microprocessors and will come with stereo
speakers; Most will also have CD-ROM drives and include 27 software titles.
The systems will have removable plastic panels that allowing a consumer to
make a fashion statement by adding splashes of colors such as teal or
azure. "This is like adding a tie to a suit," says a company executive.
(New York Times 6/14/94)
VIRTUAL BILLBOARDS AT THE BALL GAME
Electronic Billboards has a computerized system that inserts
images into the game picture seen by TV viewers, allowing home viewers to
see billboards that aren't really in the ballpark. Will the next
enhancement be virtual baseball players? (Washington Times 6/13/94 A17)
WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT?
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of information
highway. In 1844 Samuel F.B. Morse sent a message from Washington to
Baltimore asking: "What hath God wrought?" The question remains unanswered
even as we conclude another issue of Edupage.
COMPUSERVE TO ROCK WITH AEROSMITH SONG
The new song "Head First" by rock group Aerosmith will be
distributed through CompuServe. The group is waiving royalties and
CompuServe will not charge for the downloading time. (Washington Post
6/16/94 B6)
REVISING FAMILY HISTORY
DivorceX offers to expunge all traces of your ex-spouse in the
family photo albums, using a popular software called Photostop. The
proprietor scans the photo, erases the unwanted party's image, and reprints
the picture -- all for $100-200 a pop. What if you get back together? No
problem. He'll reinsert it by the same process. (Wall Street Journal
6/16/94 B1)
IN-FLIGHT COMMUNICATIONS TO SOAR BY 2000
The $100 million in-flight communications market is predicted to
skyrocket to $1 billion in the U.S. and $2 billion worldwide by the year
2000, according to industry observers. Soon to come are air-to-air
telephone conversations, seat-to-seat calling, and the ability to receive
phone calls from the ground. (Investor's Business Daily 6/22/94 A3)
LONG-DISTANCE SURGERY
A doctor in Joliette repaired a patient's hernia using laparoscopy
that speeds recovery time by several days while a doctor in Montreal led
reporters on a "gut-wrenching tour" of the surgery via video-conferencing
in Montreal. (Montreal Gazette 6/23/94 A1).
SING-ALONG ON DEMAND
Sega is planning an interactive karaoke system that will allow
consumers to order sing-along karoke tunes, with lyrics, over the net. The
system will use an Hitachi 32-bit RISC processor and use an operating
system from Integrated Systems. (New York Times 6/22/94 C5)
TWENTY YEARS AGO ... THE ALTAIR 8800
The first PC sold to the general public was the Altair 8800, which
appeared in the December 1974 issue of Popular Electronics. Its $250 price
tag purchased a box of circuits and lights, but no software or screen, and
it required 50 commands, executed by flipping switches, just to get
started. (Tampa Tribune 6/27/94 B&F3)
"I'M AWAY FROM MY DESK OR ON ANOTHER CALL"
The Eastern Management Group has calculated that 11,900,000,000
messages were left on voice mailboxes last year. (Fortune 7/11/94, p.62)
MAN WANTED ON THE INTERNET
When the Okaloosa County (FL) Sheriff's Office put a "man wanted"
posting on the alt.internet.services and alt.culture.internet newsgroups,
responses ranged from criticism of the posting to these particular
newsgroups, to praise of the Sheriff's Office for yet another novel use of
the Internet, to suggestions for creation of new newsgroups (alt.wanted,
alt.unsolved-mysteries...).
"BOSS" KEYS
Many applications programs now have games built into them for
workers to play when the boss isn't looking -- along with "boss" keys which
can instantly throw onto the screen a spreadsheet or some other
serious-looking display. The Gartner Group calculates that businesses lose
26 million hours of employee time (or $750 million a year) from game
playing. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 7/3/94 R8)
IBM SCOFFS AT MICROSOFT
Mobile billboards towed around New York this past week during PC
Expo were used by IBM to taunt Microsoft for the lateness of Chicago, the
new version of Microsoft Windows: "If you're headed to Chicago, don't
forget to set your watch back. Two years." A Microsoft response: "They're
taking a page out of political campaigns, that when you have nothing
positive to say, go negative." (Wall Street Journal 7/1/94 B3)
WEDDING BY VIDEO CONFERENCE
The first wedding by video conference took place last week at PC
Expo in New York; the bride and bridegroom were at the Expo, the judge
(who knows why?) was in California. (New York Times 7/3/94 Sec.3, p.4)
FOREFATHERS ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY
On this weekend honoring the American War of Independence, we take
a moment to pay tribute to Paul Revere, the technologist who rode the
information byways telling his countrymen that the warning for a British
attack would be: "1 if by land, 2 if by sea." He meant 0 and 1, of course,
but he had the right general idea. Happy Fourth of July.
--
Henry Cate III [cate3@netcom.com]
The Life collection maintainer, selections of humor from the internet
From: "Patrick Ryan" [p.ryan@uws.edu.au]
"Honour thy father" does not mean repeat his mistakes.
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