[11325] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Ask Dr. Internet Part II
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Public-Access Computer Systems For)
Thu May 22 20:43:34 1997
Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 16:14:43 -0500
From: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU>
Ask Dr. Internet Newsletter, May 1997, Part II
From: "Michael S. Hart" <hart@prairienet.org>
FABLESS CHIP FIRMS ARE THE WAY TO GO
The chairman of the Fabless Semiconductor Association says chipmakers who
outsource their production (fabless) have distinct advantages over more
traditional design-and-build-it companies: "It used to be you could build
these fabs for $2 million. Now, it's going up to $1.2 billion. Once you've
built this wonderful plant you really want to run a lot of product through
it so you can make some money. Fabless semiconductor companies get to spend
all of their research and development money on new circuit development.
They have the ability to have leadership products. But if you're a
vertically integrated company (both designing and building chips), half your
budget is spent on new circuits and half your budget is spent on new process
development." (Investor's Business Daily 8 May 97)
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE MAC?
Dan Ahlberg, a product manager in Apple's user-experience group, gives a
preview of the Apple's next MacOS: "It will look more like a Mac than it
will look like a Next machine, because there's a large installed Mac base.
Where some of the Next functionality is going to be more apparent is where
there are known to be some problems with the Mac interface, and where Next's
technology is applicable for solving that. We need to make something that
appeals to the novice and doesn't confuse them -- yet provide for
customization that makes advanced users happy." Ahlberg says the next MacOS
might even support a Unix command line for techies: "The majority of
Macintosh users would never know that such a capability even could exist.
But it may be made available. We've heard for a long time that some Mac
users want access to a command-line interface." (Information Week 28 Apr 97)
LAPTOP THEFT IS RAMPANT
Last year, a record 265,000 laptop computers worth $804.8 million were
stolen in the United States, according to SafeWare, a computer insurance
firm. That number is up 27% from 1995. To combat the theft, companies are
turning to asset management software, which records computer serial numbers,
the employee assigned to the machine and other information, or theft
software such as CompuTrace, made by Absolute. CompuTrace works by
installing a hidden software program that automatically dials Absolute's
headquarters every two weeks. The call is then traced by AT&T Canada and
the phone number is cross-checked with the owner's file. If the number
doesn't match up, the laptop is told to call the center again in five
minutes. By tracing the phone call every five minutes, police can pinpoint
the laptop's location. U.S. officials point out that CompuTrace couldn't
work here, where companies are not allowed to use AT&T's automatic number
identification information to sell services to a customer. (Investor's
Business Daily 5 May 97)
AOL, COMPUSERVE & PRODIGY ACCEPT FTC DISCLOSURE REQUEST
Accused by the Federal Trade Commission of offering free trial memberships
that resulted in customers receiving unexpected charges, online service
companies America Online, CompuServe, and Prodigy have promised to clearly
and prominently explain the rules of free membership and to provide trial
members an easy way of canceling the service. (New York Times 2 May 97)
INTEL BUG UPDATE
Intel has confirmed that its Pentium Pro and Pentium II chips contain a very
minor bug but says that the major companies using the chips (including
Microsoft, IBM and Computer Associates) have not encountered any problems
caused by the bug. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 10 May 97)
There are also at least 8 floating point bugs reported by our guru
in the latest PowerPC chips.
CORBIS DROPS CD-ROM PROJECT
Weakness in the CD-ROM market caused by competition from online content has
led to a decision by Corbis Corp. to suspend a major CD-ROM project it had
been working on: a biography of the photographer Ansel Adams. Corbis was
formed in 1989 by Microsoft chief Bill Gates to develop an archive of
digital images. (Wall Street Journal 16 May 97)
DIGITAL SAYS INTEL STOLE DESIGN FOR PENTIUM
Digital Equipment Corporation has filed a lawsuit charging that Intel
Corporation stole Digital's patented chip designs and used them to create
Intel's Pentium chips. Although declining to specify the amount of damages
his company is seeking, Digital's chief executive says: "What is obvious is
that the numbers are huge. The time has come for these unlawful practices
to stop and Digital intends to see that they do... If we prevail as we
hope, it does change the industry quite a bit in terms of Intel's hegemony
and monopoly inside the enterprise." Intel denies the charges and says it
will defend itself vigorously. Wall Street was stunned by the development,
and one analyst said that the lawsuit is "fraught with peril" for Digital,
as Digital is a major user of Intel chips. (New York Times 14 May 97)
MICROSOFT "SIDEWALK" USERS HIT DEAD END
The dispute between Microsoft and Ticketmaster over an unauthorized link
between Microsoft's Seattle Sidewalk site and the Ticketmaster Web site has
escalated. Ticketmaster, which had unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a deal
with Microsoft where Microsoft would pay for providing access to
Ticketmaster's online sales service, now reroutes all Sidewalk users who try
to link to the Ticketmaster site to a separate page that reads: "This is an
unauthorized link and a dead end for Sidewalk. Ticketmaster does not have a
business relationship with Sidewalk and you do not need them to visit us.
They want to traffic on our good name and your desire for information on
live entertainment events to sell advertising for their sole benefit while
offering nothing in return." Seattle Sidewalk's general manager responds
that Ticketmaster "now seems to be slamming the door in the face of
customers. I can't really figure out why that makes sense for anyone."
(Wall Street Journal 15 May 97)
POSTMORTEM ON TIME WARNER'S FULL SERVICE NETWORK
Time Warner's decision to pull the plug on its Full Service Network came as
no surprise to anyone, given the enormous costs associated with the project
and the changing landscape of cable-telco competition. "The marketplace
changed," says a Yankee Group analyst. "When the Full Service Network
began, the cable companies were up against the phone companies, which were
going to enter the cable market and offer a full suite of interactive
services. But the phone companies backed out long ago. The competitive
impetus disappeared, and the development of interactive technology shifted
to the Internet." Still, the ambitious effort, which delivered movies,
shopping, games and other interactive services on demand to households in
the Orlando, Fla. Area, produced some lessons for other would-be interactive
service providers: "It's true that there is some value in a company the
size of Time Warner making some large strategic investment that does not pay
off," says a Dataquest analyst. "The technology was not there yet. And
without the technology the content was not there. And it's clear that
people don't want a lot of what's being offered." (Broadcasting & Cable 5
May 97)
NEW SET-TOP DEVICE CHALLENGES WEBTV
A new $400 set-top box that links a user's TV set to the Internet is being
marketed by Curtis Mathes Holding Corp. The UniView is the first direct
rival to WebTV's $300 device, and unlike the WebTV product, UniView also
acts as a speaker phone and fax machine, connects to a computer printer, and
runs an on-screen TV guide. "We're hitting the TV viewer, not a computer
person," says Curtis Mathes' CEO. Later this year the company plans to
incorporate the device into a 36-inch screen TV set, which will sell for
$2,000. (Wall Street Journal 17 May 97)
COMPAQ DOUBLES ITS NORTH AMERICAN SALES FORCE
Compaq, which sells more personal computers than any other manufacturer in
the world, is doubling its North American sales force (to 4,000) in order to
build closer ties with customers. The company has felt increasing
competitive pressure in the past year from direct-sales PC companies Dell
and Gateway 2000. (New York Times 15 May 97)
COMPUTER ACCESS AND MINORITY STUDENTS
A report by the Educational Testing Service suggests that "there are
persistent patterns of inequity in student access to technology. The kids
with the most needs are getting the least access." Nationally, schools
average one computer for approximately every 10 students, but where minority
enrollment exceeds 90% the rate is approximately 1 to 17. (Washington Post
15 May 97)
MACHINES THAT THINK AND MACHINES THAT FLY
On the issue of whether the chess-playing computer that beat world champion
Garry Kasparov can "really think," Yale computer science professor Drew
McDermott says: "Saying that Deep Blue doesn't really think is like saying
an airplane doesn't really fly because it doesn't flap its wings." (New
York Times 14 May 97)
Q8.
Continued Interview with Jude Milhon [St. Jude],
the first woman in Cyberspace.
A7.
You know, I don't care about hardware. If it works, it's fast, it's
easy, it's okay. I've been using a Macintosh for a long time because
I do graphics, and the Mac has done it for me.
[You CAN run UNIX [AUX] on a Mac, but I'll bet Jude doesn't do that.]
There are also additional flavors of UNIX you can now run on Macs and
with their new OSs coming out, there will probably be more; something
on the order of a NeXT machine would be a good guess.
Q8.
Favorite programming language?
A8.
I guess I have a sentimental attachment to C. But I hope I never
have to program for a living again. I'd rather write English.
Q9.
Your Favorite website?
A9.
oops: it just changed again.
Q10.
Favorite programming language and compiler?
A10.
I guess I have a sentimental attachment to C. But I hope I never have to
program for a living again. I'd rather write English.
Section 2
About your books.
Q11.
Are you as revolutionary as you sound?
A11.
I hope.
Q12.
Did everyone sound that revolutionary in the 60's?
A12.
How revolutionary is that? I lived through the damn sixties, and we were
lucky to get out alive, what with the stupidity and nastiness. That was
no Eden, I tell you. The problem with all Utopias is they're staffed
by people, and until you get a more revolutionary style of people
you get no revolutions. This may explain the ravers, in fact:
a couple decades later, with slightly better people, the ravers
have cobbled up a bogus 60s much better than the original.
Q13.
How would you compare the 60's to the 70's, 80's, and 90's?
[Or contrast, for that matter.]
A13.
Ahright, now I can tell you... Never look back. The past is better dead.
Society is slowly getting smarter. The people I love are heart-head people,
and it's getting easier to be like this.
Long ago,
50s John Wayne begat
70s John Wayne Gacey [sp.?] and
80s John Wayne Bobbit,
if you know what I mean, and I think you do. Discernment, passionate
intelligence are not so rare now. Still rare, but not SO rare.
Lemme tell you something nobody else will:
The anomie, that is, the collapse of morals and ethics that everybody was
wailing about a couple years back (including me-- that's why i wrote MUTATE),
came from the triumph of 60s anti-culture. "Easy, you know, the way it's
supposed to be." [Crosby Stills Nash & Young, not a law firm.]
Hah. To be human takes a certain amount of intentionality, if nothing else.
It ain't automatic. Kids are not little buddhas, they're little nothings.
Little blanks to be filled in by default. Let them grow up all on their own
and you get the 80s.
I'm not saying that becoming human has to be hard work and striving and force
of pure Will or anything close to that (in fact, I like Nietzsche's claim
never to have labored/striven for anything in his life.) Nah: bring on the
labor-saving devices! Let's have the good tech, the smart strategizing.
Let's make it easier and easier to be deep, smart people.
Q14.
I think it is remarkable that your books take place as future,
rather than past, commentaries.
A14.
It's hard to see the water you're drowning in. Max Headroom took place
"twenty minutes into the future", time enough to look back with acuity.
Q15.
How do you expect anyone to take your books seriously?
I can only hope they won't.
My books are supposed to be funny.
They're only coincidentally TRUE.
Q16.
Were you a "hippie?"
A16.
No way. I was too skeptical, and I didn't have the right cephalic index
for wearing headbands. When Punk came along I'd been ready for decades.
Hippies were so sweet and well-meaning I wanted to pound them.
Hippies had a strategy for re-making the world: if we keep calling it butter,
maybe it will sooner stop being shit. I think a better strategy is to
see exactly what's there, so you can fuck with it. Like hacking,
only the system you're hacking is the SOCIAL system. The solar system.
Whatever. Now, if you want to hear about HIPPIES, ask Dr Internet!
[Okay, Michael, can we leave that in? You wanna answer it?]
[Sure. . .I am willing to answer most of what they ask me, we'll see.
There doesn't seem to be as much curiosity as envy about the 60s now.]
Q17.
What happened to the people from the 60's?
A17.
They're running the world. If you said something nice to Bill Clinton
in 1972, he would probably have answered, "Groovy."
[Riiiiight. . .mh] [Sarcasm. . . ]
Q18.
Why do we still listen to music from the 60's?
A18.
I don't know; because none of your local stations will play Nerf Herder?
Sorry: it's just that I don't like 60s music very much. Even if I liked it
when I was young and gullible, I've heard it for decades, right?
Q19.
What is YOUR favorite kind of music?
A19.
Soft hardcore? punk-pop, I guess. I like Nerf Herder too much.
King Missile, Ramones, Pixies, Frank Black, just your usual
very funny smart persons.
Q20.
Do you REALLY have two husbands?
A20.
Yes.
Q21.
If so, what is it like?
A21.
Intermittently disappointing and sweet, just like other relationships.
The good thing about polygamy is that you got backup.
I'm really glad to answer questions like this. If you never need to explain
your ideas or your life, you must be living by other people's definitions.
You can customize your own customs. You can program your life to fit you.
What are you if you don't?
So, here's a definition: Polygamy is the recognition on all sides that you
consider each bond uniquely important, and that you'll work to make all of
them persist.
OK. . .we are about up to 30k again, with only a short section left
about movies such as The Net, Johnny Mnemonic, Sneakers, and Hackers.
We will conclude our interview with that next month, and also publish
the first chapter of Jude's book "The Cyberpunk Fakebook."
