[11751] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
"Ask Dr. Internet" for October, 1997
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Michael S. Hart)
Mon Oct 20 20:26:51 1997
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 11:15:46 -0500
From: "Michael S. Hart" <hart@prairienet.org>
To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
The is the "Ask Dr. Internet" Newsletter for mid-October 1997
*
We are trying a weekend email sending time, instead of usual
midweek sending times. Please let us know if you prefer one
or the other.
*
Includes events from a few days after this date, and for the
three months before. There will probaby not be a Newsletter
for November.
*
Most of the questions we have received over the past several
months dealt with the usual topics we have worked on for you
over the past years, so while we answered all email on time,
we did not post the answers via the Dr. Internet Newsletter.
The previous Dr. Internet Newsletters are available at sites
located at promo.net.
In addition, the stories we were covering in the news were a
bit stubborn in coming to a conclusion, and, as you will see
below, would have only led to rampant speculation of much of
a sensationalist manner we have tried to avoid here. We are
not going to comment directly on these more sensationalistic
issues, but will rather quote from the pundits who make this
sort of thing their livelihood. [Many of these are from the
Edupage series, which is NOT sensationalistic, but does this
same kind of synopsis reporting, and our comments will be in
brackets.]
Since this issue deals mostly with general topics, rather in
contradistinction to our normal format, we can't present the
information in the usual "question and answer" format, other
than for the first question.
***
In general we will be covering the following:
0. Many of our questions have revolved around the new chip
technologies coming out to compete with the Pentium II, and
why programs don't seem to be running as much faster as you
might have expected on these new computers.
1. We were watching for the outcome of several interesting
events in the life of AOL [America OnLine] and were waiting
for the dust to settle before reporting on them. Includes:
selling the names, addresses, email address, phone numbers,
and All That Jazz for all of their millions of user, buyout
possibilities, and all the surrounding political flak. The
stories have gone through SO many iterations and changes in
the past few months, that we will not include all of them.
2. We were also watching for the outcome of many events at
Intel, which just concluded yesterday with quarterly report
figures that scared nearly everyone.
3. We were also watching what was happening at Apple.
[PS. . .I LOVE their new ad campaign about people who
think they can change the world. . . .]
Details below on these, and more, and. . .
3. As some of you are aware, there is not much official in
the way of any connection between "Ask Dr. Internet" and an
electronic text enterprise called "Project Gutenberg," but,
there is an overlap where Michael Hart is concerned, as the
editor of both Newsletters, and one of the founders of both
operations. Due to ill health, and an extreme case of what
he calls "tunnel vision" to the analogous extent of runners
in a marathon, coming up to the last 2.3 miles of the race,
Michael Hart was unable to perform all the functions of the
"Ask Dr. Internet" column, but did manage to answer all the
email directed to Dr. Internet, as well as complete Etexts,
to the point of getting out Project Gutenberg's 900th Etext
to the 1,000th Etext during the last four months and is now
up to #1,075. We all have our priorities and Michael's are
not health and the Dr. Internet Newsletter when compared to
posting the 1,000th Etext and answering Dr. Internet email;
at least that's they way they were. Michael says we should
not expect him to work with quite that much tunnel vision a
few years in the future when he expects to be posting Etext
#10,000, or even Etexts #100,000 or #1,000,000.
***
Q0. Why doesn't my hot new computer which is advertised as
having two, four, or even eight times the capacity of older
version, not run all that much faster than my old ones?
"Existing DOS and Windows software will run more slowly
on the new chip than on some existing Pentium chips."
See one paragraph below for details: and be advised
that the same can be said in large degree for the Pentium
Pro and Pentium II when compared to the same clock speeds
on the Plain Pentium and even earlier chips.
"Remember, a benchmark is just a benchmark. . .your mileage
will vary tremendously. . .the ONLY benchmarks really worth
consideration are those YOU run with YOUR programs." drnet
In addition to the extended reports on this below please be
advised that many of the new chips have functions that WILL
NEVER BE USED by the programs you are using, but are only a
"teaser". . .both for you to buy them as well as for others
to write programs that will take advantage of them. We did
some research on the MMX chips, and found that of all those
new functions claimed in the advertising, the average users
will probably only access about FOUR of them. We can't see
any noticeable improvement in the average function of users
we have talked to, unless their previous audio-video was in
some serious way antiquated or in disarray.
LIFE AFTER PENTIUM [or why isn't my hot new computer faster than old ones?]
The new chip now being designed jointly by Intel and Hewlett-Packard will
have 20- to 50-million transistors (compared with 7 million on the most
recent Pentium II), a basic clock speed of about 1,000 megahertz (more than
twice the performance of today's fastest chips), and a 64-bit
microprocessor. Code-named "Merced," the chip is set for release within two
years. However, there will be little software optimized for the Merced when
it is introduced, and existing DOS and Windows software will run more slowly
on the new chip than on some existing Pentium chips. With that in mind,
industry observers see the new chip as a risky move for Intel. A chip
designer not associated with Intel or HP says: "They're sitting on the most
successful computer architecture in history. I'd milk the current Pentium
architecture for another 25 years. There is no reason to change anything."
(New York Times 27 Aug 97)
A0. The analogy we have used at "Ask Dr. Internet" for the
whole history of Graphical User Interfaces and subsequently
the involvement of remote servers is something like all the
differences between various cars, and other modes of modern
transportation.
We compare Graphical User Interfaces [GUIs] to limousines.
We compare command line interfaces to sports cars.
We compare network computing to making train, plane, or the
other possible transportation modes you could link with.
Graphical User Interfaces
Most newer operating systems, other than UNIX based systems
such as Linux, or nearly any other operating systems ending
with an "x", most of these are going to GUIs. . .Windows 95
and Windows NT and Macs are the primary examples, but there
are many others that present the computer to you as GUIs.
There are also UNIX based GUI's such as operating systems a
person might find on a NeXT machine, and which are also now
available for the general PC market. Some of these will be
accessible in BOTH GUI and command line modes. There are a
few interesting stories we have about some of our staff who
use the same machine, but can't actually talk to each other
ABOUT using it, since one of the uses the command line mode
while the other uses the GUI mode. Gets VERY interesting!!
GUI's are like limousines in that they have all the comfort
of home: in fact some can be more properly compared to the
"RV" or Recreational Vehicle craze which swept the nation a
decade or two ago. GUIs have SO much going on to make your
trip a comfortable one that you get really bad gas mileage,
terrible cornering, and a system you can't really work with
on your own, but need specialists for. Switching from lane
to lane on your GUI can take an inordinate about of time or
memory, depending on which way you approach the situations.
If you actually turn off one application before opening the
next one, this will optimize each application fairly well--
but you will spend a LOT of time getting in and out of your
various programs. The average person uses about 6.3 of the
48 programs they have in their computer, and even the great
big RAM hogs probably don't have enough RAM to keep all six
programs running at peak efficiency at the same time. . .in
even the most optimized local computing situations. In the
case of GUIs, the video card is also usually getting a more
than designed for workout, and many users have reported big
improvements in CPU [Central Processing Unit. . .the "chip"
that is actually running your computer, when the real setup
change was actually something to do with video display, not
the CPU itself. Getting a video card with huge RAM amounts
and massive throughput can certainly lighten up the load on
the CPU, and can also cost more than a reasonable computer,
brand new, off the shelf. It may take a little testing for
you to find the best combination of CPU, video and drives.
Command Line Interfaces
Command line interfaces are more like sports cars in that a
command line is something you type yourself, much like that
shifting of gears in a "standard" transmission, which is no
longer "standard". . .much in the same sense that most of a
new generation of computers are no longer command driven.
However, just as a person who takes the time to learn these
"stick shift" cars can get better mileage, AND performance,
a person who takes the time to learn the commands under the
Windows interface [yes, DOS is still there, in its complete
glory] can get much more performance out of a computer than
a person who simply lets the computer do all the shifting.
Until you actually SEE a command line wizard in motion, you
probably won't be motivated to get into high performance.
One recent example:
Our local sysadmin recently got fed up with Windows 95 on a
particular computer because it was running so slowly and it
crashed a lot. He added a Linux partition, loaded Netscape
and took off like a shot. He said he used to think that it
was just a slow computer that didn't work very well, but it
ran so much faster running the same programs, that it seems
like a much newer computer.
[Disclaimer; obviously Netscape for one operating system is
not usually exactly the same as for another, but the result
seems the same for the user in most cases, except that this
new one was so much faster.]
Network Computing
Obviously, no matter how fast your local computer is, it is
not going to be the only factor in the speed of operation a
network is going provide. You have to be aware that all of
the following factors can drastically change performance of
network computing:
Your Connection To The Network
Others Using Connections To The Same Network
Your Mainframe's Connections To Other Networks
Your Mainframe's Internal Efficiency
Your Connection To The Network
Your connection to the network may not always be constant--
for several reasons. If you connect via a modem you should
be aware that you are limited by both the quality of a line
you dial through, and by the quality of the other modem you
connect to. When the phones lines are noisy, most of modem
brands today will adapt to the noise level and slow down to
the best possible connection for those noise conditions. A
good pair of modems will even change speeds "on the fly" to
adapt to changing conditions. Your modem can tell you when
you connect that it connected at a certain speed, and it is
not always going to be the same, unless you were connecting
at a very slow speed [14,000 or less]. . .and that speed is
sometimes going to change while you are connected.
So, even if all other things are constant, and even fast, a
session one day could be much different than another day.
Others Using Connections To The Same Network
However, even if the connections are made at the same speed
you could get wildly varying performances at the other end,
sometimes just because more people are using the mainframes
at the other end, or because they are running programs that
require more performance at the other end. All the systems
may LOOK the same to you, but things could speed up or slow
enormously, even if you are connecting from the same place,
and at the same speed.
Your Mainframe's Connections To Other Networks
This whole process can continue on and on as you connect in
series to yet other computers. THEIR line quality and line
loads may change even more than yours does and you may wait
literally forever, and we have advised many of our users to
click on "reload" or even to reconnect to that site. Users
should get used to the fact that SOME sites are always SLOW
. . .so slow that they should try to figure what times will
be best to try that site, or to get up and eat lunch, while
waiting for something to download. Often there is a wider,
much wider selection than people might realize, of sites to
get the same things from, so you might also do well to work
on a few search engines to check out newer sites that would
not be as crowded with users, but yet have the same files.
Also, when someone tells you there is a great site they got
a lot of files from, you will usually be MUCH faster to get
the files directly from them, if you know how. Sometimes a
query to the gurus at both of your sites is all you need to
get running on FTP [File Transfer Protocol] which should be
much faster between normal sites, than downloading from the
most popular sites on the Internet. [Disclaimer: yes, the
site will not look as popular, as a result, because you get
the files from another location.]
Your Mainframe's Internal Efficiency
You should also be aware that the same factors that changed
your own computer's efficiency are at work on mainframes to
change their efficiency. Don't be afraid to suggest to the
gurus at your ISP [Internet Service Provider] that they get
upgrades from time to time. This is usually a VERY small--
nearly minuscule--portion of their budget.
Example:
AOL created a huge publicity campaign earlier this year for
their "huge" upgrade. . .which upgrade cost $60 million. A
quick glance at AOLs multi-billion dollar budget shows that
99% of their money is spent on other things. Upgrades, and
user requests are eventually going to be honored, when user
requests number enough, and it doesn't take all that much--
given that these upgrades are less than 1% of the budgets--
if they DON'T upgrade as you have requested, keep after the
people there, and your fellow users. You would be amazed a
whole lot if you realized how easy this is.
Just remember what happened recently when AOL reported that
it was going to sell its database of user information to an
assortment of junkmail and junkphonecall operations. If it
comes down to it, even AOL will listen to its users.
In addition to the topics of AOL and Intel, most of our new
questions involved new versions of the major web browsers--
We start with a hot new one that combines both AOL and browsers:
[and end with a hot new one that outlines new "Information Age"
legal mindsets.]
NETSCAPE, AOL LAUNCH JOINT MESSAGING SERVICE
Netscape Communications and America Online are collaborating on a messaging
service that would alert users of Netscape's browser software when they
receive e-mail from AOL subscribers, enabling them to engage in a real-time
dialogue over the Net. In addition, AOL will supply information to be
included in Netscape's Netcaster product. Netcaster uses "push" technology
to deliver content to users' PC screens. Analysts see the move as part of
AOL's strategy to hedge its bets in the browser battles between Netscape and
Microsoft. (Wall Street Journal 14 Oct 97)
NetScape and MicroSoft Internet Explorer [MSIE].
At least SOME of the major problems seem to be that they do
not get along with other programs, or with some versions of
themselves, previously released, when files are used by the
new version, but were made by the old one.
BUG FIX: you can solve some of the installation problems a
new browser might have [MSIE especially] by turning off the
anti-virus and other TSR [Terminate and Stay Resident] type
programs you might be running. Apparently MSIE attacks the
hard drives in such a major manner that the anti-virus pack
won't let it run properly, or perhaps the two programs just
fight too hard for control of your computer. At any rate--
you can usually reinstall those programs again afterwards.
and
NETSCAPE PLANS JAVA-BASED BROWSER
Netscape Communications plans to develop a new Web browser based on Sun
Microsystems' HotJava software. In return, Sun will use Netscape's product
instead of its own software in new Sun computers. The new Java browser is
expected to ship in early 1998. Separately, Sun and IBM will collaborate to
improve Java's performance and ensure that it's distributed more quickly and
consistently. "The thing that is holding up Java is performance," says an
analyst with the Hurwitz Group. Sun and its allies "need to focus their
efforts on fixing those problems." (Wall Street Journal 27 Aug 97)
and
NETSCAPE, MICROSOFT DEBUT NEW BROWSERS
Netscape introduced Aurora, its next-generation Communicator user interface,
one day before Microsoft was scheduled to announce the next generation of
its Internet Explorer Web browser. Aurora will be closely integrated with
several operating systems, including Windows 3.1 and Windows 95, with future
versions targeting a variety of Unix platforms and Mac OS. Netscape CEO
James Barksdale calls the new Internet Explorer 4.0 "cumbersome and
confusing," and warns that its integration with Windows 98 could result in
feature overkill: "I have a house and I have a boat, but that doesn't mean
I want a houseboat," says Barksdale. (InfoWorld Electric 29 Sep 97)
***
WHY ARE THE AREA CODES AROUND YOU CHANGING TOO OFTEN?
Ever wonder how 10 million new phone numbers can get
used up so fast? Hoarding! According to news reports
the new 847 area code in Chicago has barely half of its
10 million possible numbers already in use, but the
phone companies are already applying for another area
code or 11 digit dialing of all Chicago area phones.
This is a result of all the new phone companies and
other businesses overestimating their growth needs
by 100% in their business plans, said the reports.
The total numbers being reserved for the businesses
is apparently 200% of the possible numbers that will
actually be used, making the 5 million number in use
actually appear as 10 million needed by the companies.
I don't think I would trust in these figures or the
businesses who generate them.
AOL*
Many of these articles led us to believe something was up at AOL.
COMPUSERVE GOES FOR FLAT FEE
CompuServe, joining other Internet service providers, has announced a move
to flat rate pricing -- beginning Oct. 1, North American subscribers will
pay $24.95 per month for the commercial online service. Although the new
flat rate is higher than the $19.95 plans offered by most other ISPs,
including rival America Online, the company says it feels its higher cost is
justified. "Users wanting the flat rate option said CompuServe's added
value is worth $24.95 per month, compared with the typical $19.95 monthly
flat rate fee charged by mass consumer online services," says CompuServe's
acting CEO. (TechInvestor 20 Aug 97)
H&R BLOCK MULLS OFFERS FOR COMPUSERVE [hee hee]
H&R Block is considering several offers for its 80% controlling interest in
CompuServe: Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a leveraged-buyout firm, is
proposing a deal wherein it would buy a controlling stake in CompuServe,
with H&R Block maintaining a minority share. Welsh Carson would also
attempt to purchase, at approximately market price, the 20% of CompuServe
stock that is publicly traded. In addition, H&R Block has received offers
from WorldCom and America Online. CompuServe has 2.9 million subscribers
worldwide. (Wall Street Journal 4 Sep 97)
NEWS CORP. SUES AOL OVER COMPUSERVE DEAL
News Corp.'s Kesmai unit, which offers games on America Online, CompuServe
and Prodigy, has filed a complaint in U.S. District Court, claiming
"flagrant" antitrust violations and seeking to "enjoin AOL from abusing its
monopoly power." The lawsuit also attempts to block what it calls an
"illegal merger" with CompuServe and claims that AOL "engaged in a course of
conduct designed to defraud and destroy Kesmai" when it launched its own
WorldPlay multiplayer gaming service. WorldPlay offers various gaming
options, including games from AOL and Kesmai. Kesmai's CEO says that while
Kesmai has agreements for game distribution through AOL competitors, "the
vast majority of revenue -- over 90% -- comes from AOL." Since the
inception of the WorldPlay service, Kesmai has seen its revenue drop by as
much as 92%, a situation it attributes to AOL's marketing scheme, which
gives its own services much more aggressive promotion. "Our business is
virtually ruined," says Kesmai's CEO. (Wall Street Journal 30 Sep 97)
***
APPLE*
MOTOROLA DISCONTINUES MAC
Motorola, in response to Apple's recent decision to put limits on Mac OS
licensees, has decided to drop its Mac OS clone business. "This was a tough
decision for all of us, but given Apple's position we had no choice," says a
Motorola VP. "You can sue for divorce, but you can't sue for marriage."
Motorola will continue to sell its StarMax clone up to the end of the year,
but it cannot sell its StarMax Pro 6000, built on the CHRP (common reference
hardware platform) architecture. The StarMax Pro 6000 was slated to ship in
the first two weeks of this month, and was reputed to be the fastest Mac on
the market; it was also able to run PC applications at the speed of a
166-MHz Pentium. Umax now remains the only company able to license the Mac
OS for its clones. (InfoWorld Electric 11 Sep 97)
APPLE BUYS MAC CLONE MAKER
Apple will pay $100 million to buy Power Computing, the Texas company that
has been manufacturing Macintosh clones under a license from Apple. Apple
co-founder Steve Jobs says: "Power Computing has pioneered direct marketing
and sales in the Macintosh market, successfully building a $400 million
business. We look forward to learning from their experience, and welcoming
their customers back into the Apple family." Industry analysts are
expecting a reversal of Apple's 1994 decision to allow licensing, a move
that Jobs thinks has taken business away from Apple rather than expanding
the market for products based on the Macintosh platform. Power Computing,
which will retain its name, will now focus on producing clones based on
Intel microprocessors and Windows operating systems. (New York Times 3 Sep 97)
Netscape*
NETSCAPE UNBUNDLES NAVIGATOR
Netscape Communications Corp. will offer its Navigator Web browser software
as a stand-alone product, separate from its much larger Communicator
software suite. The new Navigator will include many Communicator features,
such as dynamic HTML, but won't handle e-mail. For that, a user must
purchase the Communicator package. Other companies, particularly Lotus
Development Corp., have complained that the Communicator suite was too
large, and that they wanted a stripped-down version of the browser to
include with their machines. "Netscape and IBM had decided that this was
in everybody's interest," says a Lotus VP. "It was really a combination of
events led by the marketplace." (Boston Globe 19 Aug 97)
INTEL*
We decided to hold off on our Intel stories, which included official
Intel dealers swearing there would be $95 Pentium 166s in August. I
held off on this one because there was the same kind of thing a year
ago, about an August price reduction on the P90s or P120's, that was
never actually going to become a fact.
This year's reported price reduction campaign seems to be similar to
an uncanny degree, followed by another negative quarterly report, to
possibly shake out shaky Intel stockholders. As I recall friends of
lost a fortune in last year's shakeout and I don't want to be a part
of that kind of manipulation, so I kept my mouth shut this time.
In addition, here are a few other items that may be of concern here.
IBM WILL USE CHIPS FROM ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES
Some models of IBM's future line of Aptiva personal computers will make use
of new K6 MMX chips designed by AMD, in an agreement that industry analysts
say will give new credibility to AMD as an Intel rival. (Wall Street
Journal 19 Aug 97)
and
INTEL AND DIGITAL HANG UP THEIR GLOVES
Executives from Intel Corporation and Digital Equipment Corporation are
close to an agreement that would end the legal battles begun when Digital
filed a patent infringement suit last May, charging that Intel had
misappropriated some of Digital's designs for its Alpha Chip. Under the
agreement, Intel is expected to pay about $650 million for Digital's Fab-6
semiconductor manufacturing plant in Massachusetts and $100-200 million for
rights to the Alpha chip technology, as well as giving Digital steep
discounts on its future purchases of Intel processors. The deal will free
Intel of a protracted lawsuit and will help Digital remain competitive in
the personal computer marketplace. (San Jose Mercury News 7 Oct 97)
***
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AND MUSICAL BIRTHDAY CARDS
Now 73 years old, Jack Kilby, who invented the integrated circuit at a Texas
Instruments laboratory in 1958, marvels at how much impact his invention has
had on the world. "I am continuously being surprised by some of the
products coming onto the market. Some of them are fascinating... Musical
Christmas and birthday cards, neckties that play tunes. I certainly couldn't
have foreseen those." Looking back on the microchip revolution, Kilby says:
"It didn't happen overnight. It has been the result of 40 years of hard work
by tens of thousands of people." (Reuter 9 Sep 97)
***
LOWER-PRICED PCs HIT THE "SWEET SPOT" [and $299 "NC" Network Computers]
The new crop of bargain-basement PCs, priced at $1,000 or lower is
germinating a new market of buyers that could change the computer industry's
economic model. Packard Bell says its two top-selling models both fall into
this category, and that the lower-priced PCs now account for 30% of its
retail sales, a figure that's representative of the industry as a whole.
The rush to buy the new machines has boosted home-PC sales growth, and is
predicted to push PC penetration of U.S. homes to 53% by 2001, according to
estimates by Forrester Research. "That sweet spot of $999 was something I
couldn't resist," says one typical consumer. (Wall Street Journal 10 Sep 97)
***
PC USERS IGNORE MOST PROGRAMS
The average home PC owner has about 48 software programs installed, but uses
only about 6.3 a month, according to surveys conducted by Media Metrix Inc.
The report also indicates that business productivity software is used more
than twice as often as entertainment programs. "Personal computers are
clearly a tool for getting work done," says a Media Metrix VP. "While
entertainment plays a strong role in PC usage, the variety of packages used
in any given month is much more narrow than the common perception." (St.
Petersburg Times 22 Sep 97)
***
NET ADVERTISING HITS THE MAINSTREAM
Analysts predict that 1997 will the year that Web-based ad spending
approaches the magic $1-billion mark, and companies outside the traditional
realm of computerdom are finding the Web an effective and inexpensive way to
get their message out. Yahoo! says its profile of advertisers has gone from
85% high-tech in 1995 to nearly 80% consumer-oriented this year. According
to Jupiter Communications, top spenders on the Net now include General
Motors, American Express, Walt Disney, and Proctor & Gamble. "The Internet
is no longer in the realm of experiment," says one Internet ad coordinator.
"It's part of our mainstream advertising, like television or print."
(Business Week 6 Oct 97)
***
YORK U. PROFESSORS JUST SAY NO TO TECHNOLOGY [LUDDITES COUNTER-ATTACK]
In what may be a first, Toronto's York University professors have negotiated
a new contract that ensures that they will not be forced to use technology
in the classroom if they don't want to. The contract stipulates that
decisions to use technology "shall be consistent with the pedagogic and
academic judgments and principles of the faculty member employee as to the
appropriateness of the use of technology in the circumstances... Normally,
a faculty member will not be required to convert a course without his or her
agreement." The faculty union that spearheaded the negotiation says that
the issue revolves around protecting the autonomy of professors: "When you
put your course on a Web site, you are essentially giving up control of the
course," says a professor who points out that redesigning a course to fit
the constraints of a Web site constructed to someone else's specifications
can interfere with a professor's plan for the course. (Chronicle of Higher
Education, 3 Oct 97)
***
INFO FATIGUE SYNDROME IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH
Getting physically sick as a result of the stress caused by information
overload now has an official name -- Information Fatigue Syndrome -- and
according to a 1996 Reuters Business Information report, almost half of all
senior managers and a third of all managers suffer from the syndrome.
(Investor's Business Daily 1 Oct 96)
This was called "Neural Attenuation Syndrome" in Johnny Mnemonic,
though it seems to attack mostly the "slave wage laborers" and not
the senior managerial classes.
***
SPAM WARS
A Texas county district judge has entered a temporary injunction against a
California man who sent large quantities of unsolicited commercial e-mail
from a misappropriated domain name belonging to a business in Austin, Texas.
The judgment was the result of a lawsuit initiated by Tracy LaQuey Parker
and her partners, who say the spammer had illegally used their domain name
(flowers.com) "as his personal trash bin." (NewsBytes 24 Sep 97)
INTEL AND DIGITAL HANG UP THEIR GLOVES
Executives from Intel Corporation and Digital Equipment Corporation are
close to an agreement that would end the legal battles begun when Digital
filed a patent infringement suit last May, charging that Intel had
misappropriated some of Digital's designs for its Alpha Chip. Under the
agreement, Intel is expected to pay about $650 million for Digital's Fab-6
semiconductor manufacturing plant in Massachusetts and $100-200 million for
rights to the Alpha chip technology, as well as giving Digital steep
discounts on its future purchases of Intel processors. The deal will free
Intel of a protracted lawsuit and will help Digital remain competitive in
the personal computer marketplace. (San Jose Mercury News 7 Oct 97)
***
TELESCOPE FOR THE WEB
Case Western Reserve University is modernizing an 8-ton telescope at the
Nassau Astronomical Station in northeastern Ohio by installing a
computerized drive and imaging system and research spectroscope to make it
the world's largest robotic telescope. It will be one of just a few large
telescopes that can be accessed over the Internet. Others are at the
University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Iowa, and the
University of Bradford (U.K.). (AP 12 Oct 97)
***
FORGET WINDOWS -- THINK HYPERBOLIC TREE
Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) director John Seely Brown says
windows-based interfaces are no longer appropriate for today's complex
software programs: "It's like walking around with two toilet-paper tubes on
your eyes. There's no sense of things moving smoothly from the periphery
into your center of vision." In response, a PARC spinoff called InXight has
designed a new user interface called Hyperbolic Tree. Rather than using
pull-down menus and a series of windows for organization, the Hyperbolic
Tree approach works much like dragging a magnifying glass over a circular
organizational structure, with parts of the structure expanding or shrinking
depending on where the mouse pointer alights. "It was designed with a deep
understanding of human perception and cognition," says Brown. (Business
Week 29 Sep 97)
***
WHAT KIND OF VISIONARY IS THIS GUY?
Predicting that the Internet will become so ubiquitous and easy-to-use that
people will take it for granted, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates says: "Ten years
from now if I give a speech, 'Living the Web Lifestyle,' people will laugh -
just as they'd laugh if I said the 'phone lifestyle' today. They'd say,
'What kind of visionary is this guy?'" (AP 1 Oct 97)
****
NEW BILL TARGETS NET PIRATES
A bill introduced in Congress by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) would penalize
first-time offenders who steal and distribute software, music or other
copyrighted works on the Internet with fines up to $250,000 and three years
in jail. Repeat offenders would receive even stiffer sentences. The No
Electronic Theft Act amends federal copyright law to define "financial gain"
as receipt of anything of value, including copyrighted works. The bill also
extends the statute of limitations for criminal copyright infringement from
three years to five years. (TechWire 13 Oct 97)
and
FBI SAYS PRIVACY "EXTREMISTS" ARE "ELITIST"
Alan McDonald, a senior executive with the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
says that "extremist" positions on electronic encryption are a threat to
normal law enforcement and are elitist and nondemocratic. Insisting that
the United States had remained true to the Constitution and to a system of
ordered liberties, McDonald says: "When people don't know much about
electronic surveillance, they are fearful of it. But when they know Congress
passed laws and the Supreme Court reviewed them and that there are numerous
constraints and procedures, then it makes sense to them. It seems rational
and balanced." (TechWire 25 Sep 97)
***
BLAIR WANTS ALL U.K. STUDENTS WIRED TO "NATIONAL GRID"
A report by the Olivetti company asserts that one-third of British homes
already have a personal computer, compared with 28% in the U.S. and 20% in
Germany. The report also says that Britain has an average of one computer
for every secondary 8.5 secondary school students (double the number in
Germany and better than Japan, France and Italy). However, only 6,000
schools in Britain are connected to the Internet, so Prime Minister Tony
Blair wants all students connected via the Internet in a "national grid for
learning" by 2002 -- a plan greeted with skepticism by teachers' unions.
(Christian Science Monitor 16 Oct 97)
[I haven't heard of a figure as low as 28% for the US in ages. . .I had
the impression the US was between 33% and 50% for the last year or so.]
***
BMI CREATES ROBOT TO PROTECT COPYRIGHTS ON WEB
BMI, the music licensing agency that represents 180,000 songwriters and
music publishers, has developed a Web robot to make sure copyright holders
are justly compensated for music played on the Web. The so-called
"Musicbot" will surf the Web to identify sites that use music and to count
the number of people who visit them. Up till now, BMI has not initiated
legal proceedings against potential copyright violators on the Web, but a
company vice president says that "it stands to reason in the future that it
will happen." (AP 15 Oct 97)
