This technology news is  from Edupage and InformationWeek Daily. These two sources provide summary of news about information technology for subscribers around the world.

SAP To Integrate Speech Recognition Into Software:

SAP yesterday disclosed plans to integrate speech-recognition
technology from SpeechWorks International Inc. into its R/3
suite of business applications. The idea is to make the
software easier to use by providing a natural language
interface to R/3.
A salesperson in the field, for instance, could dial into his
company's SAP system over the telephone and ask about such
things as inventory levels, product delivery dates, and
current prices. The system would then be able to audibly
respond with the appropriate answer.
Stuart Patterson, CEO of SpeechWorks, says he expects the
first level of integration to be completed by the second
quarter of next year. The initial integration will focus on
SAP's forthcoming customer-relationship management
applications. -- Tom Stein
 

IBM'S NEW CHIP TARGETS E-BUSINESS:

A new chip developed by IBM is capable of managing more than 65,000 network
connections simultaneously, enabling companies to develop lower-cost systems
for handling e-commerce applications. The chip operates like a traffic
controller by partitioning bandwidth for multiple connections. "It has a
number of connections all with different speeds depending on what the
network can provide you right now," says the senior marketing manager of
communications products at IBM Microelectronics. "That's very important in
e-business because many of the people delivering these services need to sell
these services based on bandwidth... For people who are building systems,
it will really cut down the time it takes them to get to market, because
they basically have all the hardware function needed for a fairly high speed
network on a single chip." (Computer Reseller News 22 Dec 98)
 

APPLE iMAC IN TOP RETAIL SLOT:

Apple's new iMac computer was the top-selling PC in November, accounting for
7.1% of all unit sales and 8.2% of total U.S. retail revenue, according to
market researcher PC Data. Strong sales over the past four months have
resulted in a doubling of Apple's overall market share, from 5% in July to
approximately 10% of the U.S. retail market. iMac's lead was closely
followed by sales of Compaq's Presario and Hewlett-Packard's Pavilion PCs.
(Reuters 23 Dec 98)
 

Vendors Roll Out Celeron-Based PCs:

Intel's release of two new Celeron processors has sparked a
flurry of activity among PC manufacturers. Dell Computer,
Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, and Toshiba rushed to market
yesterday with Celeron-based desktop systems, hoping the new
processor's promise of improved price/performance will make
their PCs a more appealing investment for small and midsize
business buyers and consumers.
Hewlett-Packard is incorporating 366-MHz Celeron processors
into its Vectra VE PCs for large companies and into its Brio
PCs for small and medium-sized businesses. Meanwhile, Dell
says it will add 400-MHz Celeron processors to its OptiPlex
G1 and Dimension V series desktop PCs, and Compaq says it
would add both the 366-MHz and 400-MHz processors to its
Prosignia desktop PCs for small businesses, and the 400-MHz
chip to its Deskpro systems for enterprise customers.
Gateway will include the chip in its GP and E-Series
desktops, while Toshiba will offer the chip in its Equium
7100 series of commercial desktops.
Pricing for the newly endowed PCs hovers around the $1,000
mark for all the vendors. --Natalie Engler
 

BELL ATLANTIC, VODAPHONE VIE FOR AIRTOUCH:

Talks are underway which may lead to the purchase by regional phone giant
Bell Atlantic, the largest local telephone company, of AirTouch
Communications, the largest wireless phone company, which serves 7.8 million
customers on the West Coast and 11 million worldwide. If the deal is
consummated, the combined company would be on its way to creating a national
and international wireless network. (New York Times 1 Jan 99) Meanwhile,
the British firm Vodaphone Group PLC is offering $45 billion for AirTouch,
jeopardizing the wireless company's talks with Bell Atlantic. A merger
between AirTouch and Vodaphone would create a global cellular giant. The
two companies already are partners in Globalstar, a satellite-based
mobile-phone system that targets high-end corporate customers, and share
stakes in wireless carriers in Sweden and Egypt. (Wall Street Journal 5 Jan 99)
 

AT&T FOCUSING ON HIGH-SPEED CABLE:

AT&T and Time Warner are planning to make a mid-January announcement of an
alliance that, combined with a similar AT&T/Tele-Communications Inc. already
in place, will provide customers with everything from cable TV and local
phone service to wireless and Internet access. As part of the agreements,
AT&T will pay most of the costs associated with upgrading the cable systems
so they can handle high-speed data and phone services. (Bloomberg
News/Atlanta Journal-Constitution 1 Jan 99)
 

AOL GETS BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER:

By adding one million new members in seven weeks (and more new members on
Christmas day than on any day in its history), America Online now has more
than 15 million members. (New York Times 1 Jan 99) Meanwhile, AOL says its
members spent $1.2 billion shopping online this past holiday season -- a
average of $80 per subscriber. Analysts are estimating that online sales
will total around $13 billion for all of 1998. (Wall Street Journal 5 Jan 99)
 

Microsoft Details Office 2000 Prices:

Microsoft yesterday disclosed pricing for Office 2000, which
is expected to ship early in the second quarter. The
highest-end bundle, Office 2000 Premium Edition, will have
an estimated retail price of $799 for new users and $399 for
upgrades from Office 97. The Premium Edition adds FrontPage
2000 and PhotoDraw 2000--Web publishing and photo publishing
products, respectively--to what's already available in
Office Professional. The Premium version will also include
all of the applications available in the Professional, Small
Business, and Standard editions of the product.
Office 2000 Professional, which will include "2000"-branded
versions of the Word word processor, Excel spreadsheet,
Outlook universal E-mail and calendaring client, PowerPoint
presentation graphics, Access personal database, and
Publisher electronic publishing products, will cost $599 for
new users and $309 for upgrades from Office 97. The
Professional edition will also include all of the Office
2000 Small Business Tools (extra utilities and tools
designed for small businesses).
The Small Business Edition will cost $499 for new users and
$209 for upgrades from Office 97. It will include "2000"-
branded versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher, and the
Microsoft Small Business Tools. Office 2000 Standard Edition
will also cost $499 for new users and $209 for upgrades.
Standard Edition will bundle Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and
Outlook.
The Developer Edition will include all of the products in
the Premium edition plus Visual Basic 6.0, as well as 600
programmable objects and tools for creating, deploying, and
managing Office-based business solutions. It will cost $999
for new users or $609 for upgrades. Upgrades from competing
suites will be available for all of the Office 2000 editions
for between $40 and $50 more than the cost of normal
upgrades from Office 97 to Office 2000.--Stuart J. Johnston
 

CISCO TARGETS HOME MARKET:

Cisco Systems, the leading provider of Internet networking gear, is debuting
a new line of home products that will enable consumers to connect a device
to their regular television cable and receive two phone connections and four
high-speed Internet connections simultaneously. The company is working with
AT&T to build an infrastructure capable of delivering voice, video and
telephone services over cable TV lines. "Today, you get cable TV,
long-distance phone service, local phone service and Internet access from
four different providers," says the general manager for Cisco's newly
created Consumer Line of Business. "This will enable AT&T to offer all four
on one bill." The Cisco cable modem device will sell for about $1,000 and
is aimed at home offices. The company plans to work with a variety of
partners to create a "personalized network" for consumers, making it easier
to connect PCs, TVs, phones and other information appliances to each other
and to the Internet. "This is Cisco landing on the beach," says Gary Arlen
of Arlen Communications. "Home automation has been around for 15 years, but
it hasn't gone anywhere. Cisco makes the whole thing credible." (Los
Angeles Times 7 Jan 99)
 

INTEL'S NEW CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK:

Intel has opted to retain its popular Pentium moniker for its
next-generation microprocessor when it becomes available in February or
March. The Pentium III, currently code-named Katmai, initially will run at
speeds of 450 and 500 MHz, and is designed for fast multimedia processing
thanks to 70 new instructions specifically aimed at speeding up graphics,
communications, audio and video. (Wall Street Journal 8 Jan 99)

Lucent Grabs Ascend For $20 Billion:

Lucent Technologies formally announced its $20 billion
acquisition of Ascend Communications Inc. yesterday at a New
York press conference. The merger gives Lucent the ability
to build equipment for carriers to transport voice, data,
and video over a single carrier network.

The merger will let carriers build "networks that encompass
data, voice, video, and fax in the wired and wireless
world," said Rich McGinn, Lucent chairman and CEO. Lucent
will fold Ascend into a broadband networking group that will
include Lucent's current data networking, optical
networking, and communications software businesses.
The transaction is expected to close by June 30.
--Mary E. Thyfault

Results Roundup: Apple, Rational Show Strong Earnings:

Driven by strong sales of its iMac computer, Apple Computer
yesterday reported first-quarter revenue, for the period
ended Dec. 26, of $1.7 billion, up 8% over the same period
last year.

Net income for the quarter was $152 million, or 95 cents a
share, compared with $47 million, or 33 cents a share, in
the comparable quarter. The results included a $29 million
after-tax gain from the sale of 2.9 million shares of ARM
Holdings plc.

Rational Software Corp. yesterday announced record third-
quarter results, for the period ended Dec. 31, driven by
strong sales of its software development testing tools.

Rational's revenue was $109.1 million, up 33% from the
comparable quarter. Product revenue was $67.4 million, while
revenue from consulting and integration services totaled
$41.8 million. Net income for the quarter was approximately
$18 million, or 20 cents a share, including a net reduction
of merger and integration costs due to its purchase of Pure
Atria. This compares to net income of $10.3 million, or
11 cents a share, year-over-year.   --Jennifer Mateyaschuk

Intel To Invest $100M In Samsung:

Intel plans to invest $100 million in Korean electronics
giant Samsung Electronics. The investment, in the form of
convertible bonds, will be used by Samsung to build
fabrication plants for the next generation of memory chips,
known as Direct RDRAM.

Intel-based PCs will begin using the faster chips by the
middle of this year. Intel views the new technology as
critical for the PC's memory to keep pace with faster
microprocessors. Intel last year made a similar investment
in Micron Technology, another memory-chip vendor.

Intel's Samsung investment will be convertible to common
stock representing ownership of about 1% of the company,
which had $17 billion in 1998 revenue. The investment,
slated to close in February, must be approved by both
companies' boards of directors and the Korean government.
--Tom Davey
 

SUN, SONY AND PHILLIPS JOIN TO DEVELOP A POST-PC ERA:

Sun Microsystems is forming an alliance with consumer electronics giants
Sony Corporation and Royal Phillips Electronics NV to integrate Sun's Jini
(pronounced gee-nee) programming environment with the HAVI (Home Audio
Visual Interoperability) architecture developed by Sony, Phillips and
others;  the result of this integration will be the creation of a new
generation of networked entertainment devices and appliances (TVs, stereos,
VCRs, thermostats, etc.) that can communicate with humans and each other
over the Internet.  New York Times information technology analyst John
Markoff says:  "Both the Sun Jini and the new Microsoft Universal Plug and
Play alliance appear to be attempts to do roughly similar tasks," but the
two technologies "represent deep philosophical differences. Microsoft and
the personal computer makers are developing standards for a PC-centric
vision of the home of the future, in which a personal computer controls
everything from energy efficiency to telephone messaging and video delivery.
In contrast, the Jini-HAVI alliance is a radical decentralized approach to
computing in which control is spread throughout a network with no central
point.  In the Jini-HAVI vision of the world, the consumer could control all
the appliances in a networked home from a personal computer but could also
use a television or even some all-in-one infrared remote control device."
(New York Times 19 Jan 99)
 

INTEL TEAMS UP WITH SECURITY COMPANY:

Through an alliance with the computer encryption company RSA Data Security
Inc., chip maker Intel Corp. will develop and manufacture high-performance
chips with embedded RSA encryption technology.  One question yet to be
resolved is whether the chips will meet various export restrictions imposed
by the U.S. government, which fears that such technology could fall into the
hands of international criminals or terrorists.  Industry analyst David Wu
says, "These high-performance chips are going to make Internet commerce more
safe.  It helps the overall computer industry, but Intel may have to use
good, persuasive lobbyists and lawyers in Washington to get them accepted."
(AP/Washington Post 19 Jan 99)
 

Microsoft Set To Launch SMS 2.0:

Microsoft next week will release a new version of its
Systems Management Server application for administering
Windows desktop and server environments that incorporates
new tools for planning, troubleshooting, and software
distribution.

SMS 2.0 includes a slew of new features, including CIM-based
hardware inventory for discovering network devices and
discovery-based software inventory that checks information
on software versions from the desktop itself, instead of a
potentially out-of-date database. Microsoft has also
included capabilities for checking year 2000 compliance.
SMS 2.0 comes with a database of Microsoft applications and
their appropriate year 2000-compliance levels.

SMS 2.0 promises a more efficient software distribution
system, which will let system administrators specify by
user, user group, IP network segment, or particular machines
how software is deployed. This gives IT managers more
options for distributing software to a specific target
machine, which will then fan out software distribution to
other machines in that region. Microsoft has also included
software metering, which will track software usage by users,
group, workstation, time, or license quota. The software
will ship Monday.    --Amy K. Larsen
 

IBM JOINS WITH BELL ATLANTIC TO OFFER HOME NETWORKS:

IBM and Bell Atlantic have formed an alliance that will allow them to work
with home builders to equip new houses with networks costing between $1,000
and $10,000, which will link different machines so that they can access the
Internet through one account, exchange files, and share the same VCR.  The
most expensive system will let people operate all their electronics
(security systems, kitchen systems, garage door openers, etc.) using a
universal remote control.  (USA Today 3 Feb 99)

Cisco, Motorola Team On Wireless Internet Development:

Cisco Systems and Motorola Inc. will jointly spend $1
billion over the next four to five years to build a wireless
Internet service network platform that will deliver data,
voice, and video, the companies announced yesterday. Other
wireless companies, including AirTouch, Cellnet, Nextel, and
Sprint PCS, will support the effort.

The new architecture will let wireless carriers offer IP
services, such as virtual private networking, that let
remote users connect to each other and their company
offices. It will also enable wireless carriers to build
unified messaging services that let wireless-phone users
send and receive E-mail and faxes while talking on the
phone.

The two companies say they have been working on the
specification for more than a year, and they are inviting
others to comment on it when they publish a white paper in
May. They expect carriers to roll out services based on the
architecture by year's end.  -- Mary E. Thyfault
 

W-FOUR:  THE WORLD WIDE WIRELESS WEB:

Several just-announced corporate alliances are new signals that the World
Wide Web will, before too long, break out of the wires that now bind it
together.  Nextel and Netscape will work together so that Netscape's
software will allow Nextel customers to use their wireless phones for
retrieving e-mail and accessing Internet or corporate databases.  Microsoft
will work with British Telecommunications PLC to adapt Microsoft's Windows
CE operating system for British Telecom's pocket phones.  And Cisco Systems,
the data networking equipment company, will work with Motorola to develop
products and standards for transferring Internet data over wireless
networks.  (Washington Post 9 Feb 99)

FREE-PC.COM HAS A DEAL FOR YOU:

Free-PC.com, a closely held start-up backed by cyber-business investor Bill
Gross, plans to offer consumers a free sub-$1,000 Compaq PC plus Internet
access in exchange for agreeing to use the machine at least 10 hours a month
and downloading advertising that is displayed in a strip on the right side
of the screen.  Gross, who has funded more than 20 companies through his
Idealab! investment company, says the economics of the giveaway finally make
sense because each Web customer is valued at about $1,000 in potential
advertising and transaction fees over several years -- more than the price
of the PC.  (Wall Street Journal 8 Feb 99)

PROFESSORS NEED PERMISSION TO DOWNLOAD PORNOGRAPHY:

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reaffirmed a Virginia law
prohibiting state employees from using state-owned computers to access
Internet pornography.  The law had been challenged by six professors who
said it infringed on their First Amendment rights and restricted their
ability to do research;  for example, several of the professors said the law
hampered their research on human sexuality or their studies of sexually
explicit poetry.  The American Civil Liberties Union calls the ruling an
outrageous abridgment of academic freedom.  The state attorney general's
position is, "All the professor would have to do is get permission to
download the material, so it's not going to be a problem... Taxpayers in
Virginia should not be forced to pay for state employees to use state
computers on state time to download pornography."  (Washington Post 11 Feb 99)

FREE-PC STARTS WITH THE WELL-TO-DO:

After announcing its plans on Monday to give away inexpensive PCs to users
in exchange for divulging personal information and agreeing to watch
advertising, startup FreePC Inc. was deluged with 375,000 applications on
the first day.  The company had planned to distribute only 10,000 PCs in the
first 90 days, starting with people who fit advertisers' desired
demographics.  Later on, FreePC hopes to have enough computers to supply
less affluent applicants, says the company's CEO.  (Wall Street Journal 11
Feb 99)

EDS AND MCI WORLDCOM SWAP EMPLOYEES AND SERVICES:

In a $1.67 billion deal, computer consulting and services company Electronic
Data Systems and No. 2 long-distance company MCI WorldCom are trading 13,000
employees and entering into multi-year mutual support agreements.  EDS will
acquire the MCI Systemhouse division and acquiring 12,000 MCI employees.
MCI WorldCom will acquire 1,000 EDS workers.  EDS will provide computer
services for MCI and MCI will provide telecom services for EDS and its
customers.  (San Jose Mercury News 11 Feb 99)

IBM HOME DIRECTOR IS WIRED FOR SOUND:

Bell Atlantic customers soon will be able to link their TVs, VCRs, and
eventually PCs together to control remote appliances and share Internet
signals.  The IBM Home Director "will allow interplay between all these
devices," says the general manager of enhanced services for Bell Atlantic
Communications & Construction.  In addition, the Home Director will enable
music downloaded from the Internet to be piped into any room in the house
via stereo speakers installed in the walls.  Bell Atlantic is working with
100 building contractors to install the Home Director in new houses, and
will be offering a retrofit package for existing homes later this year.  The
company plans to have Home Director in 200,000 households by the end of
2000.  (Broadcasting & Cable 8 Feb 99)

Lotus Brings Document Sharing To The Web:

Lotus Development Corp. next month will ship a Web
collaboration package designed to let businesses use the
Internet to let employees in different locations share
documents and work on them simultaneously. QuickPlace is an
inexpensive alternative to intranet groupware packages such as
Notes, Lotus says. It's designed to use the Web to set up
document libraries for nonspecialized, short-term projects.

The package is installed and run over the Web for users with
PCs that have browsers. It includes typical components of
groupware packages: document sharing, document libraries,
calendaring, and more. QuickPlace includes easy development
tools that let users build online document libraries without
extensive training. It comes with an HTML editor so users can
create HTML documents without having to do any coding
themselves.

Lotus will offer a number of packaging options. Customers can
get QuickPlace through service providers such as America
Online, or they can buy it and run it as part of an intranet
or extranet. A standalone copy will be priced at $995;
individual client licenses will be $40. Lotus will also bundle
QuickPlace with its forthcoming Notes release 5 client. Users
don't have to run Lotus Notes to use QuickPlace, but if they
do they can tie in Notes release 5 features.
-- Amy K. Larsen

JUSTICE COULD TURN MICROSOFT INTO "BABY BILLS":

The U.S. Department of Justice and the 19 states suing Microsoft are
considering breaking up the software company into a group of "Baby Bills" if
they succeed in their antitrust action.  Another possibility would be
forcing Microsoft to license the Windows operating system to its
competitors.  Justice officials cite previous actions taken to neutralize
monopolistic companies -- AT&T was ordered to split up into seven "Baby
Bell" companies in 1984 and Xerox was forced to license its copier patents
in 1975.  Antitrust expert Robert Bork has endorsed an approach that would
break up Microsoft into five or so identical Baby Bills, each with equal
access to Microsoft intellectual property, and which would then compete with
one another.  (TechWeb 16 Feb 99)

INTEL BOYCOTT BY GROUPS OBJECTING TO I.D. FEATURE OF PENTIUM III:

Junkbusters Corp. and the Wash., D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information
Center are trying to engage other privacy and consumer groups and the
Federal Trade Commission to prevent Intel from going to market with its new
Pentium III chip.  The chip contains a feature which, if the computer the
voluntarily turns it on, will allow the user's surf-trail to be tracked
throughout cyberspace.  FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky says his agency has no
authority to do such a thing.  Although the feature is active only when the
user voluntarily turns it on, the privacy groups argue that "Experience
shows that consumers will be coerced into submitting to the tracking
mechanism."  (AP/Washington Post 16 Feb 99)

ONLINE SITE AIDS VISUALLY IMPAIRED:

A Purdue University research and development program has created a program
that allows visually impaired students to work with charts, graphs,
diagrams, and maps.  A drawing printed on special paper is run through a
heater that causes the black ink lines, Braille letters and markings to
bubble up in a raised image.  (AP 15 Feb 99)
http://www.purdue.edu/odos/TAEVIS/index.htm

DIGITAL WATERMARK STANDARD:

The "Galaxy Group" of consumer electronics companies -- IBM, NEC, Hitachi,
Pioneer and Sony -- have agreed on a new digital "watermark" standard for
preventing illegal copying of digital material.  The watermark is an
indelible binary code embedded in each frame of a digital recording so that
a digital recording device will refuse to make a copy recognized as
unauthorized.  (New York Times 17 Feb 99)

Red Hat's Linux To Run On IBM Products:

Linux got a big vote of support yesterday as IBM and Red Hat
Software outlined a partnership in which the companies will
develop IBM's server and client systems to run on Red Hat's
Linux platform. IBM hopes the move to an open-source
platform will satisfy customers who are looking for more
than just Unix systems.

By developing with Red Hat, IBM adds credibility to Linux at
the CIO level in the enterprise, and raises the bar when it
comes to vendors waving the Linux flag, according to Stacey
Quandt, an analyst with the Giga Group. "There's a lot of
noise in the Linux space, but IBM has taken it to a whole
new level by developing it from the server to the desktop,"
she says. "Now other hardware or server vendors will need to
do something of a comparable nature if they want to remain
competitive."

Developers from IBM and Red Hat will be working together to
move Linux onto IBM's Netfinity servers, PC 300 Commercial
Desktops, IntelliStations, and ThinkPads. Red Hat will also
train IBM's support staff in Linux, and the two will work
collaboratively on offering customer support.
-- Eileen Colkin

For more on Linux, see "More Hardware Support Fuels Linux
Momentum"
http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?CRN19990201S0016

MCI WORLDCOM BEGINS UPGRADE OF NSF BACKBONE NETWORK:

MCI WorldCom, which has a five-year contract to operate the National Science
Foundation's vBNS ("very-high-speed Backbone Network Service) has begun a
major upgrade of that network that will quadruple its capacity.  The
LA-to-SF portion of the network will be the first to be upgraded to allow
the movement of 2.5 gigabits of data per second, which is equivalent to more
than what 1,600 T-1 lines can carry.  (Los Angeles Times 19 Feb 99)

ISP OFFERS FREE PCs:

Internet service provider Empire.net is offering subscribers free PCs in
exchange for committing to the ISP for three years at $29.95 a month.  The
computers in question include a 300MHz microprocessor, 32 MB of RAM, a 2.1
GB hard drive, 24x CD-ROM, 56K modem and a 14-inch monitor.  "With prices
plummeting on hardware, we were able to do it," says a sales manager for
Connect Plus, Empire.net's parent company.  Industry observers have said
that it would only be a matter of time until ISPs started giving away free
PCs, following the same business model many cell phone companies have used.
"The trick with the cell phone model is that there's enough margin in the
service that you can do that," says a Dataquest analyst.  "The issue with
PCs is you've already got relatively high penetration and you're not making
a lot of money on the service."  Nevertheless, he continues, such a model
does eliminate one of the ISP's industry's more vexing problems -- churn.
"The thing that should concern the PC makers is that in this case, consumers
are not focused on the value of the hardware, they're focused on the value
of the service.  The brand equity begins to shift to the service provider.
The hardware is increasingly a commodity, where consumers say 'I don't care
what kind it is, I just want the service.'"  (MSNBC 19 Feb 99)

INADEQUATE COMPUTER TRAINING FOR NATION'S TEACHERS:

A report released by the CEO Forum, a national group of business leaders,
says that although there are more than 6 million computers in the nation's
schools, most teachers lack the training to use them effectively.  Why?
Because one-third of teacher's colleges don't have enough computer
equipment, and because schools are spending less than $6 per student on the
computer training of teachers, contrasted with more than $88 per student on
computers, computer programs and network connections.  (AP 22 Feb 99)

 ISP FREE-FOR-ALL SPARKED BY U.K. RETAILER:

In the past few weeks, three of the biggest names in the U.K. Internet
service provider market -- Tesco, British Telecommunications and the Virgin
Group -- have announced they're abandoning their monthly payment business
model and offering a free service instead.  The move toward free Internet
access has been sparked by five-month-old Freeserve, which has attracted
more than 1.3 million users -- more than double the number claimed by its
nearest competitor, America Online.  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.  (Financial Times 24 Feb 99)

COMPUTER MAKERS JOIN FORCES ON PRIVACY PROBLEM:

Computer manufacturers are working together to address the privacy concerns
raised over Intel's new Pentium III chip, which is expected to appear in PCs
beginning Sunday.  The Pentium III includes a unique serial number designed
to support secure online transactions, but the fact that it can identify the
processor -- and indirectly, the PC user -- has resulted in calls for a
boycott of the new machines.  Meanwhile, IBM, Dell, Gateway, Compaq and some
other major vendors say they will disable the ID in the basic input/output
system (BIOS) software that controls basic PC functions.  "We know that the
BIOS mechanism is completely secure," says Gateway's VP of product
management & planning.  Computer buyers will still have the option of
reactivating the serial number if they so choose.  (Los Angeles Times 26 Feb 99)

POCKET-SIZE WEB SERVER:

A professor of computer science at Stanford University has created a tiny
Web server about the size of a business card and only a quarter-inch thick.
Vaughan Pratt developed the device "initially just for the impact...  Fifty
years ago, a computer with less computational power than a modern pocket
calculator filled a whole room, and ran programs consisting of only a few
hundred instructions.  Today we can fit the extensive software needed to
drive a World-Wide Web server into a computer the size of a box of matches."
Pratt's server uses a 486 processor and runs the Linux operating system.  <
http://wearables.stanford.edu/ >  (Chronicle of Higher Education 26 Feb 99)

Linux gains more support:

By Doug Levy, USA TODAY
PALO ALTO, Calif. - As thousands of computer professionals gather near
here Tuesday for the LinuxWorld Expo, it is clear that the free operating
system Linux is increasingly viewed as a viable alternative to Windows NT
for running corporate networks.
Over the past few months, a growing number of companies have
announced plans to support Linux (pronounced LINN-ucks). IBM,
Hewlett-Packard, Compaq and Dell are among hardware vendors that
offer equipment compatible with the operating system.
More announcements are coming this week:
Giant chipmaker Intel is buying a stake in VA Research, which
makes computers that use the Linux operating system.
Caldera Systems will provide Linux for a variety of IBM's systems
and offer training and support for IBM employees. IBM has a
similar arrangement with Red Hat, another provider of Linux
software and services.
Computer Associates is making its Unicenter software, which runs
large corporate networks, work on Linux machines, CA Senior Vice
President Ken Farber says.
Oracle will have a Linux version of its popular database program,
Oracle 8i, available next month.

Even Microsoft executives acknowledge Linux's impact. They have pointed
to Linux's soaring popularity during Microsoft's antitrust trial to argue that
the software giant faces competition though its software runs 95% of the
world's PCs.
Unless Microsoft significantly improves NT in its next version, called
Windows 2000, the company faces losing market share to Linux by 2003,
says a report just out by researcher First Albany/META Group. Windows
NT has a reputation for frequent crashes.
Red Hat and Caldera are among companies that bundle the original free
Linux code with related software to form a system that sells for $1,600, vs.
$10,000 for a comparable Windows NT system.
But for Linux to really take off it needs applications - such as personnel
management and accounting programs - that are designed to run on Linux
machines. This week will be the first time many commercial applications are
demonstrated, Dan Kusnetzky of International Data says.
"These things are just starting to appear," says Bob Young, CEO of Red
Hat, which is backed by Intel, Netscape Communications and others.

CONGRESS EXTENDS PRIVACY PROTECTION TO DIGITAL WIRELESS:

The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed The Wireless Privacy
Enhancement Act of 1999, which extends the privacy protection afforded to
analog wireless devices to digital ones.  The bill, which passed on a vote
of 403 to 3, closes some loopholes in an earlier Privacy Act, which excluded
digital technology.  It also cracks down on eavesdropping on a cellular
phone call, stipulating punitive measures such as fines, warnings, and
possible imprisonment for such actions.  In addition, the bill requires the
Federal Communications Commission to ban scanners that can intercept
cellular and digital calls and asks the FCC to evaluate the idea of
requiring warning labels to be placed on such scanning receivers.  (tele.com
3 Mar 99)

GNOME DRESSES LINUX IN PRETTY CLOTHES:

Supporters of the popular free operating system known as Linux (and
pronounced Linnux) have announced the development of a new user-friendly
graphical interface for that system.  Called Gnome, the interface was
developed by a software effort led by the Mexican programmer Miquel de Icaza
of the Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico, and is distributed with a
word processor, spreadsheet, data base, presentation manager, Web browser,
and e-mail.  Gnome stands for GNU Network Object Model Environment, and GNU
is an acronym that suggests that the software is "not Unix."  Linux has been
gaining steady acceptance in the corporate world, and this new development
will give it more credibility in the desktop market now dominated by
Microsoft's Windows operating systems.  De Icaza predicts that Gnome and
Linux will attract a strong international backing, and says that the Mexican
government is planning to distribute a million copies to schools.  MIT's
Richard Stallman, founder of the "free software" movement of the 1970s,
says, ""Fifteen years ago they said this was impossible.  They said this was
too large a task."  (New York Times 4 Mar 99)

ONLINE UNIVERSITY ACCREDITED TO GRANT DEGREES:

Jones International University, which specializes in selling online courses
for profit, is the first Internet-only school to be accredited to grant
college degrees.  The school was accredited last week by the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools.  Jones International, which features
courses designed by professors from schools like Columbia and Stanford and
taught by part-time professors free-lancing for extra cash, offers
bachelor's and master's degrees in business communications.  "In the U.S.
there are 100 million people who need some kind of additional education, and
there are only 15 million seats in universities," says founder Glenn Jones.
The school started offering Internet courses in business communications four
years ago.  (Wall Street Journal 9 Mar 99)

MICROSOFT TO SPLIT INTO FOUR GROUPS:

Microsoft is reorganizing its operations into four major groups, focused on
the needs of distinct customer groups rather than particular product lines
and engineering efforts.  The customer groups are: corporate chief
information officers, "knowledge workers," software programmers, and
consumers.  A report by Zona Research speculates that the move may be
prompted by a desire to preempt any government-ordered breakup, but a
Microsoft spokesman says that suggestion is without merit.  (Wall Street
Journal 12 Mar 99)

MOTOROLA SUES INTEL OVER WORKERS' MINDS:

Motorola is seeking injunctions against Intel from hiring key Motorola
knowledge-workers in order to get access to secrets they take with them in
their heads.  A Motorola executive explains, "It became obvious that our
intellectual property and knowledge was significantly at risk here.  We
don't want them to place these former employees in a position where they
will disclose our trade secrets."  (San Jose Mercury News 12 Mar 99)

INFORMATION SUPERDRIVEWAY, MERCEDES-STYLE:

The rear of the new Mercedes-Benz V-Class Multipurpose Vehicle will have a
removable desk, IBM notebook computer, printer, phone, fax and high-speed
wireless link to the Internet. (USA Today 15 Mar 99)

INTEL PROGRAM TESTS IF CHIPS ARE UP TO SPEED:

A new program from Intel Corp. helps consumers determine whether their chips
are performing up to the level they should be.  The program, which is
available on Intel's Web site, displays both the processor's original speed
and the speed at which it's currently operating, and alerts consumers to
chips that may have been falsely labeled with a faster speed or
"overclocked" to operate at a faster speed than Intel's original design.
(Wall Street Journal 16 Mar 99)

APPLE OPENS UP ITS SERVER OPERATING SYSTEM:

Apple is taking an "open source" approach to the new "Darwin" operating
system it has developed for its server computers, called Mac OS X Servers.
"Open source" makes the source code freely available, and is growing in
popularity because of the increased stability and security made possible
when large numbers of programmers and software developers are continuously
testing the software and fixing problems.  Darwin will function as a
platform for server programs that coordinate the shared operations in work
groups and other environments.  It is a variant of the Unix operating
system, and includes the operating system inner software "kernel" known as
Mach, as well as a set of services based on the Berkeley Systems Design
version of Unix.  (New York Times 17 Mar 99)

SIEMENS EXPLORES USING ELECTRICITY CABLES FOR VOICE-DATA:

German electronic giant Siemens is in discussions with Swiss firm Ascom over
the possibility of using existing electricity cables to deliver high-speed
voice and data services, and German utility RWE says it will be using Ascom
on its lines within two years.  Meanwhile, in the U.K. United Utilities is
developing technology for using electricity lines to deploy broadband
telecommunications.  (Financial Times 17 Mar 99)

COMCAST BUYS MEDIAONE IN $53 BILLION CABLE DEAL:

A planned Comcast acquisition of MediaOne will make the combined company the
nation's third-largest cable TV company.  A main motivation for the deal is
the desire to beat the phone companies in offering high-speed Internet
access.  Industry analyst Howard Anderson of the Yankee Group says, "There
is a race to be first to offer Internet access and ultimately telephone
service to the upscale neighborhoods that will buy it first. It's called the
'first-move advantage.'  If customers go with the phone companies, it will
be hard, if not impossible, to lure them back to cable.  So cable companies
want to get big so they have as much cash flow as they need to build their
Internet business.  Size is everything."  (New York Times 23 Mar 99)

PRIVACY GROUP SCOLDS MICROSOFT BUT DOES NOT DEMAND AUDIT:

The Santa Barbara, Calif.-based nonprofit group called Truste that monitors
online privacy policies has chastised Microsoft for compromising consumer
policy by including a unique ID number in each copy of the Windows 98
operating system to surreptitiously collect consumer data.  On the other
hand, Truste said that it had found no actual privacy violations involving
information collected through Microsoft's Web site.   Privacy advocate Jason
Catlett, who is critical of Truste's decision not to demand a full audit of
Microsoft's privacy policies, says that "they haven't caused any
consequences for Microsoft other than this rebuke.  It really demonstrates
that self-regulation is a toothless tiger."  Microsoft is a "premier
corporate partner" of Truste and has contributed $100,000 to the
organization.  (New York Times 23 Mar 99)

HOUSE PANEL URGED TO SUPPORT COMPUTER RESEARCH:

Supporters of the Information Technology for the 21st Century program
appealed to lawmakers last week to fund the $366-million endeavor.  The
program, which would involve six government agencies working with university
research centers, would focus on long-term research, improving computer
infrastructures, and exploring the social, economic, and workforce effects
of information technology.  The Information Technology for the 21st Century
effort was conceived in response to a recent report by the President's
Information Technology Advisory Committee, which urged more funding for
long-term computer science research.  (Chronicle for Higher Education 26 Mar 99)

HUGHES PLANS HIGH-SPEED SATELLITE DATA NETWORK:

Hughes Electronics is planning a $1.4-billion North American satellite
network designed to provide high-speed bandwidth for data, Internet access,
videoconferencing, etc.  The Spaceway, as it's called, will debut in 2002 as
part of Hughes' Direc services, which include DirecPC Internet and DirecWay
Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT).  Spaceway will offer users 16-Mbps
uplinks and 400-Mbps downlinks.  (Data Communications 23 Mar 99)

Melissa Traced To Its Source:

Melissa, the E-mail-borne virus carrying the header
"Important Message," has been traced to its roots.
Newsgroup-sniffing software from security vendor Network
Associates Inc. discovered where the virus was first posted:
at the alt.sex newsgroup. A search of the file spotted an
origin time close to the time it was published on the
newsgroup.

Network Associates researchers at the vendor's Anti-Virus
Emergency Response Team (AVERT) lab identified an AOL user
with the moniker "Sky Roket" as the person who first posted
the virus. The FBI is searching for this person.

The Melissa virus, which sends 50 infected E-mail messages
with a list of pornographic sites to recipients named in the
end user's address book, first surfaced late Friday. Late
Monday, the inevitable follow-on to the Melissa virus made
its first appearance. Named Papa, this new Excel virus works
in a similar way to the Melissa bug. Papa arrives via E-
mail, claiming to be sent by "all.net" or "Fred Cohen" in
the end user's inbox, and then replicates, mailing itself to
the first 60 users in the address book.  -- Amy K. Larsen
 

MORE FREE PCs:

Another company is offering to give away free PCs, this time to customers
who sign up for its Internet service.  DirectWeb, a Mount Laurel, N.J.
startup, plans to give away 25,000 PCs in the Philadelphia area in exchange
for unlimited Internet access, priced between $19.95 and $49.95 a month.
The more expensive monthly fee entitles customers to a more sophisticated
PC, but doesn't change the basic terms of the service.  DirectWeb says that
unlike Free-PC.com, its customers will not be forced to view advertising or
divulge personal demographic information.  (Wall Street Journal 30 Mar 99)

DOUBLE-GATE TRANSISTOR BOOSTS SPEED, SAVES POWER:

Researchers at IBM say two gates are better than one for controlling the
flow of electrons through a transistor.  The double-gate transistor solves
the problem of electron leakage when the voltage to a transistor is shut off
-- a situation that will only worsen as transistors get smaller thanks to
advanced lithography technology.  Double-gate technology is expected to
function down to channel lengths of 20 to 25 nanometers (at which point
fundamental physics will no longer permit conventional metal-oxide
semiconductor technology to function).  The double-gate system has
additional benefits -- it is inherently higher-performing, thus boosting
processor speed, and also is capable of modulating the threshold voltage of
the transistor, thus reducing power requirements.  (Scientific American Mar 99)

Compaq, IBM To Unveil Low-Priced Unix Systems:

Vendors are cutting the prices of some Unix systems that
offer high availability and simplified management. Compaq
and IBM will introduce products this week for about $100,000
or less, about half the cost of other comparable Unix
systems.

Compaq's AlphaServer ES40, to ship in May, will support up
to four 500-MHz Alpha CPUs. Equipped with Tru64 Unix, it
starts at $30,000. This summer, Compaq will update Tru64
Unix and TruCluster Server. Low-end to midrange clusters
featuring dual ES40 servers and the new software will range
from $50,000 to $100,000.

Tru64 Unix 5.0 delivers dynamic allocation of resources,
mainframe-like partitioning for running multiple workloads,
and management via the Web from any system on the network.
Drawing on OpenVMS, TruCluster 5.0 will let users install
apps or add disks across an ES40 Tru64 cluster in one step.

IBM's H70 server, due later this month, will start at
$26,900, with AIX and support for four 340-MHz RS64-II CPUs.
Its HA-H70 Cluster Server bundle, priced at $111,920, will
feature two servers, integrated storage, High Availability
Cluster Multiprocessing software, optional hardware and
software for pretested applications, and high-availability
services.  -- Martin J. Garvey
 

Whirlpool May Be First Non-Automotive User Of ANX:

Appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp. may soon become the
first non-auto industry user of the Automotive Network
Exchange extranet.
ANX's IP-based virtual private network could potentially
support Whirlpool's electronic data interchange and Internet
transactions with its 300 largest suppliers, many of whom
also supply the auto industry. Whirlpool steel supplier
Dofasco is an ANX member; another, Inland Steel, plans to
join.
Whirlpool plans a cost-justification study on joining the
ANX extranet, and a decision is due by late spring, says Ken
Kinlock, lead E-commerce analyst at Whirlpool. The company
will compare its per-transaction fees for EDI on a value-
added network with the costs of ANX, which involve
subscription fees for Whirlpool and its participating
suppliers, as well as a negotiated price with an ANX-
certified Internet service provider.
The Automotive Industry Action Group, which oversees ANX, is
also talking with the Greater Detroit Area Health Council, a
group of health-care providers and insurers, about joining
ANX.  -- Clinton Wilder

MICROSOFT TO OFFER PRIVACY TOOLS:

Microsoft and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have partnered
to offer free privacy tools that will eventually give consumers
control over their personal information on the Internet.  Through
the use of P3P technology, the tools will allow Web browsers to
make sense of Web sites' privacy policies, negating the need for
consumers to undertake the often-laborious task of manually
reading through the policies themselves.  Mass adoption of the
tools -- months away at the earliest -- is being held up by a patent
dispute and the likelihood that many Internet users will need to
upgrade to new browser software. (Associated Press 04/06/99)

CUTTING MICROSOFT TETHER? DELL MAKES LINUX MOVE:

Dell Computer, historically a strong Microsoft ally, announced
Tuesday several deals that link the company to the free,
open-source Linux operating system that Microsoft sees as not
only its ideological antithesis but also as a growing competitive
threat.  Dell announced its first-ever contract for PCs running
Linux, and also announced an equity investment -- the company's
first of any kind -- in Linux distributor Red Hat Software.  Dell
will supply Burlington Coat Factory with 1,250 desktop PCs
running Linux, making Dell the first PC maker to extend Linux to
the desktop.  Further, the company is the first to preinstall
Linux at its factories, as most companies leave that task to
systems developers.  The strategy is beneficial to customers,
Dell says, because Linux has a reputation as being difficult to
install.  (Investor's Business Daily 04/07/99)

THE NEXT GENERATION SHOWS ITS POTENTIAL:

Several next-generation Internet networks are now being built in
the United States, and the features of these new Internets may
indicate the future direction of the Internet.  The Internet2 is
a private network 1,000 times faster than the World Wide Web,
which aims to connect over 130 university and government
research centers.  The congestion that affects the public Internet
will not apply to the Internet2 because it is a private network.
Several companies are working on separate next-generation
Internet projects that will extend the Internet through wireless
devices, such as hand-held computers and smart phones.
Over the next four to five years, Motorola and Cisco Systems
plan to jointly invest over $1 billion in the development of a
wireless Internet.  In addition, Microsoft and British Telecom
will work together to develop Internet services based on wireless
devices using the Windows CE operating system.
(Financial Times 04/07/99)

HOLE IN ONE:

Peter Vettiger and his team of researchers at IBM's micro and
nanomechanics group in Zurich are in the process of creating the
world's smallest data storage disks.  With a certain number of
cantilevers, Vettiger's new product, called the Millipede, can
store more than 100 times more data on a polymer-coated disk
than today's magnetic hard disks can store.  The Millipede can
read and write data at roughly 100 Mbps, and can store as much
as 3000 GB of data on one square centimeter.  Such a microscopic
mechanism may have a few problems, one being that an assembly
has not yet been built to fit into a real computer's disk drive.
Other problems relate to the long-term durability of the moving
parts, and to the fact that the polymer surface that contains the
data only moves in a straight line and has not yet been formed
into a disk.  However, IBM says these problems should be solved
soon, and that it will not be too long before the product is
available on the market.
(New Scientist 03/27/99)

MICROSOFT ALTERS WINDOWS STRATEGY, HINTING IT MAY
UNVEIL UNDERLYING CODE:

Microsoft vice president Brian Valentine said the company is
"seriously considering" opening the source code of the Windows NT
kernel to allow outside programmers to improve on the technology.
The company may not follow through on the idea, but the fact that
it is even considering the open-source strategy is a major shift
in thinking for a company known for fiercely protecting its
intellectual secrets and dismissing the open source movement.
The news follows another about-face this week by Microsoft, which
announced it would release a new Windows 98-based consumer
operating system and tailor the long-awaited Windows 2000 for
corporate use.  Previously, the company had planned to abandon
Windows 98 and focus on the entirely new code contained in
Windows 2000.  (Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition 04/08/99)

IBM DRIVES RESEARCH INTO ADVANCED MULTIMEDIA ON NET:

IBM recently announced that it has opened the International
Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR) with Northwestern
University.  The center is dedicated to the development of
next-generation multimedia and e-business applications that run
over the high-bandwidth Internet2 network.  Internet2 is expected
to run 1,000 times faster than the traditional Internet.  As a
result of the increased speed, the network will be able to handle
media-rich applications.  The new center is devoted to developing
such applications, and will initially focus on videoconferencing,
manufacturing and design simulation, collaborative engineering,
and interactive distance learning technologies.
(InfoWorld Electric 04/06/99)

BIOLOGY COMPUTES:

Scientists and researchers from the fields of biology and
computing are exploring connections between the two sciences
that could lead to a better understanding of living creatures and to
advanced computers that handle information in a similar manner
as animals and humans.  Shawn Lockery and researchers at the
University of Oregon's Institute of Neuroscience have created a
worm robot, or "biobot" that is programmed to "think" and act
like a round worm searching for food.  Instead of sniffing levels
of chemical concentrations to find food as an actual round worm
would do, the worm robot detects a range of light intensities.
Round worms have neuron signaling far more powerful than the
computing used by desktop computers, and the worm robot could
lead to computers that better adapt to changing conditions and
component failures.  Meanwhile, a group of researchers at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland are working on a robotic
hexapod, resembling a cockroach, and robots similar to crickets
and ants have been developed at European universities.
(Popular Science 03/99)

HP Wants To Take The Internet To The Nth Degree:

Hewlett-Packard today will introduce its HP 9000 N-class
line of enterprise servers. The midrange PA-RISC HP-UX
servers pack a lot of power into a small frame, come with
integrated management and Internet capabilities, and will be
ready to run on IA-64 processors when they are available by
next year.

The design of the N class will let customers squeeze a lot
of power into a fixed amount of space. A low latency memory
controller allows data to move across the bus at 7.6 Gbytes
per second, and dual input/output controllers with 12 hot-
pluggable PCI slots can move data in and out of the system
at speeds up to 5.8 Gbytes per second. Power will come from
as many as eight PA-8500 350-MHz and 440-MHz RISC
processors.

Four N-class servers, each with as many as eight processors,
reside in a new 2-meter rack-mounted design for HP-UX
systems. They will be available next month, for the price of
$48,000 in a base configuration. The integrated management
includes a dedicated processor, with memory, that monitors,
diagnoses, and fixes system problems, and forwards messages
to enterprise system-management consoles such as CA-
Unicenter or HP OpenView. The N-class server in trouble is
fixed before there's an outage. This feature doesn't exist
on HP's V class servers.

The Internet capabilities include HP WebQoS 2.0 software,
which lets companies distinguish between Internet buyers and
browsers, and structure services appropriately. The IA-64
readiness means that an N-class server purchased next month
will be able to run both HP-UX and Windows 2000 when the 64-
bit chips are available. Even before the dual operating
support, an N-class cluster will be available with 99.995%
availability guarantees for the server, the operating
system, the Oracle database, EMC storage, and Cisco Systems
networking.  -- Martin J. Garvey

FAKE WEB POSTING LEADS TO FRAUD CHARGE:

Gary Dale Hoke, 25, a computer engineer at Pairgain Technologies,
a maker of telecommunications equipment, was arrested for
securities fraud for his involvement in the posting of a bogus
Internet announcement that sent his company's stock skyrocketing.
Hoke allegedly used an account at Angelfire--a service that
allows people to create their own Web pages--to post a fake
article designed to be like a Bloomberg News publication
announcing that Pairgain would be taken over by an Israeli
company, ECI Telecom.  Hoke then posted a message and a link
on a Yahoo bulletin board alerting users to the "news" on April 7.
Pairgain stock proceeded to rise as high as $11.125, up from
$8.50 a day earlier, before closing at $9.375. He could face
up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
(New York Times 04/16/99)

AOL TO ROLL OUT DEVICES THAT GET YOU ON THE INTERNET WITHOUT REQUIRING A PC:

AOL in the next several weeks plans to unveil a range of devices
that can access the Internet without needing a PC.  The company
aims to make AOL more ubiquitous in consumers' lives and to
increase advertising and electronic commerce revenue
opportunities.  The new devices could be used by AOL members to
quickly access email and Web pages.  An example of one of the
gadgets is a screen phone, which is similar in appearance to an
ordinary desk phone, but with a screen and a small keyboard.
Screen phones could fit easily in a living room or kitchen, and
because they lack much of the software that slows a PC's boot-up
process, the devices can access the Internet in seconds.
(Wall Street Journal 04/16/99)

Final Beta Of Win2000 Set To Debut:

Microsoft will release to manufacturing within 12 days the
third and final test version of Windows 2000, the highly
anticipated successor to its Windows NT operating system. To
set the stage, Microsoft and its partners this week will
unveil a variety of Win2000 "readiness" initiatives,
including service and support programs, promotional
licensing, and software kits for Microsoft's vast reseller
channel.

Win2000 Beta 3, originally set to ship this week, will be
the first version of Win2000 to be "feature complete." New
in this release are a global directory service, security
system, plug-and-play support for add-in cards, self-healing
IntelliMirror software, Windows Terminal Services, and
technology that enforces applications-install rules.
Microsoft estimates that 500,000 copies of the beta will be
distributed.

At the Comdex/Windows World conference in Chicago this week,
more than 20 PC vendors--including Compaq, Data General,
Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Micron, and Unisys--will launch
programs to sell PCs, notebooks, and servers with Win2000
beta three installed and ready to run, according to
Microsoft. Some vendors will also provide technical support
and evaluation and migration-planning services. The beta
will ship in three versions: Windows 2000 Professional,
Windows 2000 Server, and Advanced Server.
--Stuart J. Johnston

LINUX SHOWING UP IN SUPERCOMPUTERS:

The open source operating system Linux is moving toward
supercomputers.  Linux's low cost, sharing of software code, and
similarity to Unix are attracting high-performance computing
centers, universities, and government laboratories.  Although Linux
is not yet being used on multimillion-dollar supercomputers, the OS
is now being used in scalable clustered systems.  Previous attempts
to use Linux in clusters were difficult because there were no
computer makers to support the systems.  Now as funding becomes
available, computing centers such as the Albuquerque High Performance
Computing Center are beginning to use cluster computers with Intel
Pentium II processors and the Linux operating system.  Albuquerque's
system, called Roadrunner, has 128 Intel Pentium II processors running
at 450 MHz.  Engineers at Albuquerque will be able to share work with
those at other supercomputing centers because Linux runs on IBM's
PowerPC processor architecture, Compaq Computer's Digital Alpha
processor, and Sun Microsystems' Sparc technology.  Roadrunner is the
most recent addition to the National Technology Grid, a developing
network that will link supercomputers across the U.S. allowing
scientists remote access to high levels of computing power.
(Reuters 04/19/99)

JUSTICE SAID TO BE SEEKING BREAKUP OF MICROSOFT EMPIRE

The Justice Department plans to seek a Microsoft breakup as a
solution to its antitrust suit against the software giant and
will outline the plan in next week's settlement talks, according
to people close to the case.  Government lawyers want to split
Microsoft into three separate companies, although it is unclear
at this point how they wish to restructure the company.  One
source says lawyers do not want separate companies for the areas
of Windows, software applications, and Internet content.  Another
solution that had been suggested is splitting Microsoft into
several "Baby Bills" that would offer the same products and
compete with one another.  State attorneys general from the 19
states that sued Microsoft are now considering whether to support
the breakup or pursue a different solution, but sources say they
seem to favor the breakup.  The Justice Department believes that
lesser sanctions against Microsoft would be inadequate, while
Microsoft's Jim Cullinan calls the breakup proposal "extreme and
radical."  (Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan 2000)

ETHERNET IS CHANGING DORM LIFE

U.S. colleges and universities have led a major push to wire
dorms with Ethernet connections in recent years, creating a
generation of students accustomed to high-speed Internet access.
In addition to academic uses, students use the high-speed
connections for music files, instant messaging, toll-free phone
calls, e-commerce, games, and digital movies.  The connections in
most dorms offer 10 Mbps connections, which are 200 times faster
than today's fastest dial-up modems, and students find it
difficult to revert back to using slower connections.  The
Ethernet trend on campuses is creating a technology gap between
younger and older generations.  Although about 2 million
households now have high-speed Internet connections, about 7
million college students now have high-speed access through their
schools, according to Jupiter Communications.  School
administrators say students often base housing decisions on
Ethernet availability, and incoming freshmen sometimes decide
whether to attend a school based on high-speed access.  Ethernet
connections have been expensive for schools, and problems have
emerged with students accessing illegal MP3 files and bootleg
movies.  (Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan 2000)

FREE INTERNET PROVIDERS ARE MAKING INROADS

Fee-based ISPs such as AOL would do well to take note of the
rising popularity of free Internet access services.  Rookie and
veteran Web users alike are abandoning the pay-for-service
providers for free services, which often collect personal data or
clutter users' screens with prominently placed advertisements.
Still, these users seem unconcerned that they may be giving up a
bit of privacy to go online at no cost.  There are dozens of free
ISPs available and they may ultimately threaten the existence of
small fee-based services.  The larger ISPs, including AOL and
EarthLink, could also find themselves in jeopardy if free ISPs
begin cutting into their subscriber bases.  NetZero, now the
second largest ISP in the world behind AOL, depends heavily upon
customer data to support its operations.  NetZero offers
advertisers the chance to purchase an ad "missile" that is
designed to pop up when a user is viewing particular information
on the Web.  (Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan 2000)

SUPERCOMPUTER IS NEW KID ON WEATHER BLOCK

The new IBM SP computer at the National Centers for Environmental
Prediction in Bowie, Md., is helping scientists better predict
snow storms like the one that descended on the East Coast
Thursday morning.  "It has put us closer to our goal of being
America's no-surprise weather service," says John Kelly Jr.,
director of the U.S. Weather service.  The computer, one of the
world's two fastest, is currently capable of performing 690
billion calculations per second.  Once it has been adjusted to
its full potential in September, it will be 28 times faster,
capable of 2.5 trillion calculations per second.  The IBM SP
replaces an older Cray C-90 and is on lease until 2002 for $35
million.  (Washington Times, 20 Jan 2000)

TINY U.S. SATELLITES MAY BE COMMUNICATIONS FUTURE

Satellites the size of wireless handsets may be used for future
telecom applications, announced researchers on Friday.  Two of
the minuscule satellites, weighing under a half a pound, were
deployed in space in late January.  As battery power eroded, the
journey of the satellites ended on Friday.  Called "picosats,"
the two satellites sent and received data transmissions from
Earth.  They were launched by scientists at Aerospace Corp.
According to Ernest Robinson, head of the mini-satellite project,
the satellites may take the place of larger, costlier telecom
satellites in existence today.  Rockwell International Corp.
supplied the satellites' silicon relays and wireless gear.
Scientists predict a slightly larger type of satellite will be
developed called a "nanosat," which will be deployed in groups to
provide advanced telecom services.  (Reuters, 11 Feb 2000)

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL

Educators and high-tech leaders are recognizing the importance of teaching Internet ethics in school as children grow increasingly proficient with technology. Many students have the skills to hack computer systems, spread viruses, download illegal music files, and plagiarize content from the Internet, but they do not understand the ethical issues involved in these activities.  “Kids today have the technical skills of adults but the ethical skills of very small children,” says Cherie Geide, an adjunct professor at Marymount University. A recent Scholastic survey reports that almost half of elementary and middle school students indicated they do not believe hacking is a crime. Students tend to view stealing and other illegal activities differently on the Internet than in the real world because victims and perpetrators are anonymous in the online environment, Geide says. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice and the Information Technology Association of America have formed the Cybercitizen Partnership, which is creating a technology ethics curriculum that will be released to schools next year.
(Industry Standard, 20 November 2000)

AT COMDEX, COMPUTING GETS SMALL

Wireless, PC-free devices dominated the range of products featured at this year’s Comdex computer trade show in Las Vegas.  Microsoft debuted its new tablet computer, even though it will not be available until 2002, and Honeywell and Gateway both introduced Internet appliances. IBM and Compaq unveiled new systems that run on the Bluetooth wireless standard, while vendors of two other wireless standards, HomeRF and WiFi, argued with each other about the value of each other’s technology.  Compaq introduced a wireless Internet access service for its handhelds, while Replay TV showcased software that allows Palm VII users to control their Replay TV devices wirelessly. Palm found itself in a war of words with Microsoft over the relative value of each company’s handhelds. Of the non-computer based technology highlighted at the show, Pioneer’s recordable DVD player was quite notable, although analysts said its $2,500 price tag might be prohibitive on the consumer market.  (Washington Post, 17 November 2000)

NO CABLE? NO D.S.L.? TRY SATELLITE
Two-way satellite services are emerging as a viable broadband alternative to cable modem and DSL service. The satellite alternative is likely to appeal to consumers who need high-speed Internet access but face long waits trying to obtain cable modem or DSL access. In addition, two-way cable systems do not reach many rural areas, and DSL only functions within about three miles of a telephone central office. In the past slow uplink speeds have inhibited satellite service, but several companies are now offering faster two-way satellite services. StarBand, for example, announced a two-way service earlier this month that provides download speeds of up to 500 Kbps and upload speeds of up to 150 Kbps. Unlike DSL or cable modem access, satellite services are available to anyone with a satellite modem and a dish antenna, as StarBand recently demonstrated by bringing satellite access to the Havasupai tribe at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Hughes Network Systems and startup Wildblue are also planning to offer two-way satellite services. However, experts warn that satellite services will slow down as they acquire more users and that bad weather can interfere with satellite signals.
(New York Times, 23 November 2000)

PIRATING OF SOFTWARE RAMPANT ON CAMPUS
College students are increasingly using the Internet to pirate music, movies, and software rather than purchasing the materials.  At Stanford University’s Toyon Hall, students download episodes of “The Simpsons,” illegal copies of Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Money Deluxe, and movies as recent as “Charlie’s Angels.” Many Stanford students, like their counterparts nationwide, say they are spending significantly less on CDs because of the Internet, and one student estimates that every computer on campus is equipped with Napster software. Although some students believe piracy is wrong, many others believe they have the right to download copyrighted materials for free. Some observers, such as Artists Against Piracy executive director Noah Stone, say colleges should try to teach students Internet ethics.  Meanwhile, members of the band Metallica and some other media representatives have called on universities to block access to Napster. Although more than 100 universities have tried to block Napster, most schools have tried to stay out of the issue. “As an educational institution, we believe in academic freedom and try not to censor information,” says Stanford’s acting general counsel Debra Zumwalt.
(Washington Post, 24 November 2000)

COMPANY OFFERS SECURITY FOR STUDENTS
VeriSign announced that it will offer PKI support to federal agencies so that students can complete financial aid and other transactions securely over the Internet. The move will make it easier and safer for potential college students and their parents to complete college applications online. Meanwhile, the Postal Service and various other federal departments are working to provide students with a unified access point to government programs.  (TechWeb, 21 November 2000)
 

HATE GROUPS PROLIFERATE ON THE INTERNET
Hate-related Web sites are growing rapidly on the Internet, jumping from 1,400 to over 3,000 in the last year, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an organization that monitors hate group activities around the world. The United States is largely responsible for the rise in online hate content, because the First Amendment protects racist and extremist materials that many European countries prohibit, says Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the center’s associate dean. The center’s report about hate on the Internet is available on a CD-ROM called Digital Hate 2001. Last year, Yahoo! removed 39 hate groups from its service after reading the center’s report. This year’s report comes on the heels of a court order requiring Yahoo! auctions to block the sale of Nazi memorabilia to French users.
(TechWeb, 21 November 2000)

NET FRAUD COSTS MOUNTING
The number of people who have been victimized by Internet fraud has grown, with the average loss per person growing from $310 in 1999 to $412 in the first nine months of 2000, according to a report by the National Consumers League (NCL). The online auction industry continues to draw the largest number of complaints. Jupiter Communications predicts that consumer-to-consumer auction sales will jump from $3 billion in 1999 to $15.1 billion in 2004. Meanwhile, the FTC reports that cases involving auction fraud rose from 100 in 1997 to 10,000 in 1999. Work-at-home scams, general merchandise sales, Internet access services, and advance fee loans are other forms of Internet fraud on the rise. The NCL advises consumers to use their credit cards to pay for merchandise on the Internet to help prevent fraud, as credit card charges can be tracked, unlike checks or cash.
(E-Commerce Times, 17 November 2000)

GLITCH-FREE, PEOPLE-PROOF COMPUTERS?
NASA plans to announce partnerships with several major high-tech firms and scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in an effort to build glitch-free computers. The partnerships, to be made on Dec.  11 at NASA’s Ames Research Center, will highlight the space agency’s attempts to coordinate the development of new projects with the private sector. NASA and firms such as Hewlett-Packard and IBM will work on ways to make computers less prone to error.  Such errors likely costs trillions to governments, people, and businesses. The problem is especially acute for NASA, which needs computers to be reliable as possible to survive missions throughout the solar system while operating without any direct human control. Scientists undertaking this project will explore ways to improve the computers themselves, the operating systems and software that run them, and the infrastructure that powers and connects them to one another. They will take a special look at the semiconductor industry, where error rates fall far below those in the computer industry despite a similar level of complexity. However, many scientists are skeptical of the NASA effort, saying glitch-free computers would be a great idea if anyone could afford them.
(SiliconValley.com, 3 December 2000)

IBM TO BUILD $10 MILLION COMMERCIAL SUPERCOMPUTER FOR GENE STUDY
Within a month IBM will install for NuTec Sciences the core of what promises to be the world’s largest commercial supercomputer to date. Once the phased installation of 1,250 IBM pSeries 640 servers is complete, the computer will be capable of 7.5 trillion calculations per second, about five times faster than the current largest commercial-use supercomputer. NuTec will use the IBM supercomputer to power its genetic and pharmaceutical research, a field expected to grow significantly now that the human genome has been mapped. In addition to providing the computer, the $10 million contract calls for IBM to work with NuTec to develop software that will help scientists submit complex queries to NuTec and its supercomputer via the Internet.
(Bloomberg, 17 December 2000)

Videoconference in Distance Learning (Collaborating Learning)
 We are in the early stages of a distance learning project
between The University of Penn and The University of Grenoble
in France.
    Essentially what we are doing is taking a group of advanced
students from Wharton to engage their counterparts in France in a
bilingual discussion about the purchase of an office complex in
one of the two countries. We plan on several team meetings to
be held via H.323 and then one final group discussion at the
end of the semester.
(Message from Steve Blair to Listserv-Megaconference, Jan. 12,2001)

LINUX APPEAL GROWS AMONG RESEARCHERS, CORPORATIONS
The open source Linux operating system continues to gain
followers in both the business and academic communities.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign officials
announced that the institute would soon introduce 600 IBM
computers running Linux. The computers will compose two
clusters, each with processing power 2,000 times greater than a
desktop PC. Meanwhile, Kemper Insurance reports that its Web
site has yet to go down since the installation of a Linux
operating system. Linux proponents say the software, created by
Linus Torvalds 10 years ago, is very cost-effective, because users
do not have to pay licensing fees. Also, because the code is
open to all, users can modify it to fit their specific needs and
can also catch bugs that may have gotten past the original
developers. (Chicago Sun-Times Online, 23 January 2001)

GET UP AND GO: CISCO ROLLS OUT WIRELESS NET
University and corporate campuses alike are being outfitted with
powerful wireless local networks provided by Cisco Systems.
Using Cisco's Aironet PC cards, students or employees away from
their desks can access high-speed Internet on their laptop by
connecting to transmitters located around the campuses. Already,
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has rigged its
freshman class with IBM laptops with the Cisco hardware. Vice
chancellor for technology Marian Moore says the school will save
millions of dollars by not having to equip classrooms with
desktop networks. Students participate using their laptops in
online study sessions with professors and classmates while
anywhere on campus. Microsoft, which provided the encryption
software for the system, has implemented the technology, and
hundreds of other colleges and companies are testing it.
Cahners In-Stat says the market for wireless local networks (WLAN)
will grow from $800 million this year to $2.2 billion by 2004.
(USA Today, 24 January 2001)

A CAMPUS WITHOUT WIRES
Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, has installed a wireless
system to allow students and faculty to access the university's
network from nearly everywhere on campus. Using a laptop
equipped with a wireless card, students and faculty can access
the network from one of 48 access points across campus.
Officials say the new system will complement, not replace, the
school's existing network. "We've got so much in place right
now, and everybody loves what they have," says Robert Walker, the
university's IT director. University officials decided to build
the new network to assist its graduate students in preparation
for future employment. Students can purchase laptops and
wireless cards directly from the university.
(IT Support News, January 2001)

NEW LINUX LAB OPENS, STARTS PROJECTS
Backed by IBM, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and several other
high-profile tech companies, the Open Source Development Lab has
begun operations in Beaverton, Oregon. The lab is intended to
promote Linux development by giving open source enthusiasts a
place to test their programs. The lab is equipped with high-end
business hardware, including six 4-way systems and one 8-way
system. The first project for the lab will be a scalability
project designed to bolster Linux's ability to support 16-way
configurations. The project may help Linux gain credibility
within the business and commercial space.
(IDG News Service, 24 January 2001)

PCs with processors running at 1GHz are quickly becoming mainstream items.
Consumers now can find $1,000 PCs that sport 700MHz, 800MHz or even 900MHz processors, and
analysts say they will soon find models priced at a buck a megahertz. The first 1GHz processors from Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) lone cost as much or more than a $1,000 PC. AMD's initial pricing on the 1GHz Athlon chip was $1,299, while Intel priced the then hard-to-find 1GHz Pentium III at $990. The chips now list for $233 and $425, respectively. Analysts believe 1GHz PC will hit the $1,000 mark with the introduction of 1GHz value processors starting in the third quarter of this year. Both AMD and Intel "will get there soon" with their low-cost chips, said Kevin Krewell, a senior analyst with Micro Design Resources.  "I would say by the third quarter they would hit that mark, though it also depends on configuration," he said. "You could do it today, but it wouldn't be an appealing machine."  A consumer could, for example, use Compaq Computer's Web site to configure a new Compaq Presario 7000 series PC with a 1GHz Athlon chip and 128MB of RAM to be priced at about $1,200. But certain options, such as a DVD-ROM drive, a high-end graphics card, premium speakers and a larger 17-inch monitor, must be forfeited to arrive at the price. That could be in part because "neither Intel nor AMD wants the value parts to be too good, because
it takes away from the more expensive parts," Krewell said.  "Maybe this crazy gigahertz race is slowing down just a little bit," he added. Though value 1GHz chips may not be coming as quickly as their high-end counterparts did early last year, AMD is still moving aggressively to hit the mark.  The chipmaker had originally stated plans to offer a 900MHz Duron in the second quarter of this year, followed by a 950MHz Duron in the second half.  But during AMD's most recent earnings call, CEO Jerry Sanders upped the ante, saying he thought Duron would pass 900MHz in the second quarter of this year and hit 1GHz in the third quarter.  AMD, which was first to the 1GHz mark by two days, is likely moving more aggressively to hit certain retail cycles, including the fall back-to-school period and the holiday buying season. The 1GHz Duron would hit around the back-to-school period, sources said, and systems will likely reach the $1,000 mark by the holidays.  It's also not out of the question that PCs-based on 1GHz Athlon chips or 1GHz Pentium IIIs could reach the $1,000 mark.  When AMD launches its next Athlon chip--a 1.33GHz chip--toward the end of March, the chipmaker will also drop prices on slower Athlon chips, moving each one down a rung on its pricing ladder. Meanwhile, Intel is on track to deliver its 850MHz Celeron chip in the second quarter, according to
industry sources. It is also expected to offer a 900MHz Celeron in the third quarter.

THE WEB, WITHOUT WIRES, WHEREVER
Travelers at the airport, customers lounging at coffee shops,
and people waiting at the laundromat soon will be able to
access a high-speed Internet connection using a notebook with
a wireless card. A number of companies are working to build
a national network of wireless Internet access points with the
idea of charging people for an unprecedented level of Web
convenience. MobileStar CEO Mark Goode envisions a pervasive
network that includes 5,000 Starbucks shops by January 2003.
Besides the Starbucks deal, his company already covers more than
150 hotel and airport locations. The market is still growing,
with standard fees and technologies yet to emerge. So far, most
carriers charge a few dollars for each use or about $50 for
monthly service. However, roaming agreements among the providers
could greatly increase the value of their services, as well as
change the dynamics of the emerging sector. The most commonly
used wireless protocol is IEEE 802.11b, a radio transmission
standard that operates similar to a 2.4 GHz cordless phone.
Apple Computer has wholly embraced 802.11b. Other contenders
include Bluetooth and HomeRF.
(New York Times, 22 February 2001)

NCSA CREATES FASTEST IBM LINUX SUPERCOMPUTER IN ACADEMIA
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, has built the fastest
Linux supercomputer for academia out of a IBM Linux cluster.
The computer will be used to aid in fundamental scientific
research. NCSA director Dan Reed said, "The explosion of the open
source community, the maturity of clustering software, and the
enthusiasm of the scientific community all tell us that Linux
clusters are the future of high-performance computing." Each
cluster combines two teraflops of computing power with a single
computing interface for systems ranging from single-user desktop
workstations to terascale systems. IBM has installed the first
cluster, which features IBM eServer x330 thin servers running Red
Hat Linux on 1 GHz Intel Pentium III chips. A second cluster will
be built this summer to operate TurboLinux on Intel's next-
generation Itanium processor. Altogether, both clusters will
consist of more than 600 IBM eServer eSeries running Linux and
Myrinet cluster information network software from Myricom.
(Mainframe Computing, March 2001)

COLLEGE STUDENTS' GADGETS A FAR CRY FROM TEN YEARS AGO
Today's college students have taken to computer technology and
consumer electronics more than their counterparts of recent
decades. Although most colleges require or recommend computers,
students are embracing the latest gadgets such as Webcams,
wireless PC mice, Palm organizers, and even robotic dogs.
Meanwhile, the Internet is already ingrained into campus life all
across the country, but students are finding new ways to use the
technology, such as for online file storage. An SWR Worldwide
study, commissioned by Best Buy, found that more than 50 percent
of college freshmen brought a desktop or laptop computer to
college in 2000, compared to just 13 percent in 1990. The study
also found that 24 percent of today's students plan to bring a
laptop to class regularly, compared to 4 percent of students 10
years ago. Meanwhile, 20 percent of today's students use cell
phones, 11 percent use pagers, 44 percent use CD players, and 11
percent use personal digital assistants. The study revealed
that 17 percent of students used the Web or e-mail to register
for classes. (Knight-Ridder, 22 February 2001)

STUDY OF WORKSTATIONS FINDS THAT COMPUTING POWER IS WASTED
Computer-science researchers at University College Cork in
Ireland recently found that most of the PCs in faculty and
student computer labs were operating at far less than their
capacity. The study, which followed 37 PCs in one lab over one
month, found that the computers were performing at no more than
10 percent of their capacity. Sometimes, the combined power of
all users in the lab could have been handled by a single
workstation, the researchers said. John P. Morrison of the
college's Center for Unified Computing said the study casts doubt
on the pressure many higher-education institutions feel to
upgrade PCs on a regular basis. "If successive releases of an
application do not require extra computing power, then there is
no advantage in upgrading the machine," he said.
(Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 1 March 2001)

BRAZIL DESIGNS A CHEAP PC FOR THE MASSES
Researchers in Brazil have developed a no-frills PC that should
retail for $300. Government officials hope that the low-cost
computer, which consumers will be able to purchase in $15 monthly
installments, will help narrow Brazil's digital divide. Although
Brazil has 170 million people, including 3.9 million regular
Internet users, and a gross domestic product of $580 billion,
many of its people lack phone lines, not to mention computers,
and the average minimum wage is only $75 per month. Sergio Vale
Campos of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, who led the
team that designed the computer, said it is "cheap, but is not
trash." The PC features the basic components: a monitor, a
mouse, speakers, and a browser for the Internet. A printer or
disk drive can be added as modular units. It has 64 MB of RAM,
a 500 MHz processor, and a 56K modem. The researchers further
reduced costs by relying on free Linux-based software. However,
the government may have difficulty finding a company that will
manufacture the new PC. Several firms have said the projected
market price is too low, and critics have suggested the
country's lack of IT infrastructure may make using such a
device problematic.
(Associated Press, 5 March 2001)

FORGING THE WIRELESS PIPELINE
Analysts predict that wireless broadband systems will become more
popular as DSL and cable fail to keep up with consumer demand.
Strategis Group said fixed-wireless broadband will generate $3.4
billion in 2003. Wireless broadband is crucial for carriers,
ISPs, and integrators looking to provide high-speed Internet
solutions. Frank Kelly, director of marketing operations at ADC
Telecommunications, said companies will begin deploying the
technology on a large scale this year. Many wireless vendors are
partnering with solution providers in launching wireless
broadband. For instance, Cisco Systems has partnered with EDS
and Concourse Communications, among others, in launching its
Mobile Office Initiative (CIMO), which provides both wired and
wireless broadband connections to business users. And as more
companies launch similar services, wireless broadband is gaining
more presence in the market. (CRN, 5 March 2001)

NADER CALLS FOR INTERNET USERS 'BILL OF RIGHTS'
Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader has introduced a Bill
of Rights for Internet users, with the idea that federal and
state legislators will adopt his proposal. Nader's bill takes a
two-pronged approach in addressing the issues of online privacy
and Internet fraud. The proposal mandates that companies notify
consumers about how their personal data is being used and enable
consumers to block personal data from being shared with other
companies. Nader's privacy proposal also would give Internet
users the guarantee of security, the option of legal recourse,
and the ability to access their own data files. Nader's online
fraud proposal would regulate e-commerce in several ways,
including requiring that paper records of online transactions
be available to consumers. Further, online retailers would be
required to use regular mail to notify consumers of a purchase
if the consumer fails to respond to an e-mail.
(Associated Press, 13 March 2001)

STUDENTS' INTERNET ACCESS SLOWS WHEN THEY COME HOME FROM COLLEGE
Broadband access has become so important to college students
that schools now consider high-speed Internet access to be a
selling point. Sweet Briar College in Virginia hails itself as
"the world's most wired women's college," and other colleges and
universities have sent out press releases and announcements after
being named to Yahoo! Internet Life magazine's "America's 100
Most Wired Colleges" list. College students do everything from
downloading songs to playing online games to chatting over the
high-speed connections that are available at their schools.
However, most students return to dial-up modems when they head
home to their parents. In fact, only 12 percent of the 100 million
Americans online have high-speed Internet access, according to a
survey released last month by the U.S. General Accounting Office.
Although broadband service has grown by 148 percent over the
last year, high-speed Internet access still is not available in
many rural and underdeveloped parts of the country.
(San Diego Union-Tribune Online, 13 March 2001)

MEMORY MAY NEVER BE CHEAPER
Computer memory is now at its lowest price ever, partly due to
excess inventory and partly because of the advent of double data
rate (DDR) technology. Last October, $66 bought 64 MB of SDRAM,
but today the same amount can purchase 256 MB. Because low
consumer demand has slowed the production of PCs, memory chips
are stockpiling and selling at bargain prices. At the same time,
SDRAM, the most common type of memory used in desktop computers,
is about to be superceded by new DDR-equipped modules that will
move memory twice as fast. DDR is available now but has yet to
gain stability in the market. As production facilities switch
over, SDRAM will become scarcer and hence go up in price.
(Washington Post, 30 March 2001)

RED HAT COUNTERS MICROSOFT'S EDUCATION OFFER
Microsoft has proposed settling over 100 private antitrust
lawsuits by pledging to donate more than $1 billion in hardware,
software, services, and training to the poorest schools in the
United States, but Red Hat has put forward a counter-proposal. It
will offer its open-source Red Hat Linux operating system to all
U.S. school districts free of charge, and has suggested that
Microsoft concentrate solely on purchasing new hardware. In this
way, more computers could be made available to schools and
Microsoft's monopoly would not be extended further into the
education sector, says Red Hat CEO Matt Szulik. He estimates
that over one million computers could be allocated to schools
under the new proposal, compared to 200,000 under the old one. In
addition, Szulik says that Red Hat will provide free software
upgrades and license renewals in perpetuity, whereas Microsoft
would only provide such services for five years.
(eWeek Online, 20 November 2001)

SUPERCOMPUTER TO FORECAST WEATHER
IBM will build the world's fastest supercomputer for weather
prediction. The European Center for Medium-Range Weather
Forecasts (ECMWF) will be able to make four-day weather
forecasts as accurate as three-day forecasts, according to
European experts. IBM said the computer, dubbed Blue Storm,
will be 1,700 times as fast as Deep Blue and will be capable of
processing 7 trillion calculations per second when it debuts next
year. By 2004, that peak rate will have surged to 20 million.
ECMWF needs such formidable computing power in order to handle
data gathered from 21 million grid points, as well as satellite
imagery with higher resolution. ECMWF director David Burridge
expects forecasting improvements to be gradual; the aim is to
lengthen the forecast period by one day every decade. University
of Oklahoma's Kelvin Droegemeier said efforts to use computers
to predict the weather have been ongoing since the dawn of the
Manhattan Project during the 1940s.
(USA Today, 21 December 2001)

OPTICAL INTERCONNECTS
Data transfer rates between computer components could be
significantly enhanced with the deployment of optical
interconnects, and researchers predict such devices will make
their way into high-end computers within the next decade.
Replacing the metal wires that transmit data between chips with
optics will consume less power and eliminate data bottlenecks.
Agilent Labs and Anthony F.J. Levi of the University of Southern
California have devised a method to network computers optically
using vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. Agilent's Waguih
Ishak thinks these devices could be applied to data transfer
within computers as well. A technique to direct light through
a circuit board must also be formulated, and several initiatives
are under way to solve this problem. Agilent and IBM are
researching photonic crystals as a building material for
waveguides. Lionel Kimerling of MIT has built 200-nm waveguides,
while Stanford University electrical engineer David Miller has
proposed using a mirror array to bounce light rays through air
gaps.
(Technology Review, December 2001)