ON THE WEB, PRICE TAGS BLUR
A recent "price test" by Amazon.com hinted at a growing trend in e-commerce: dynamic pricing. With dynamic pricing, a Web site can evaluate the personal information pertaining to a particular customer and change a product's price based on that customer's income, geographic location, or one of many other variables. In one instance, an Amazon customer saw the price of a certain DVD vary between $22.74 and $26.24 over multiple visits to the site. A University of Michigan professor claims to have seen price differences of as much as $10 for certain items. Customers were particularly angered that Amazon seemed to have targeted repeat customers for the price increases. Observers say the e-tailer incorrectly assumed customers would be willing to pay more and did not prepare for a possible backlash. Amazon admitted that dynamic pricing had been a failure and would not happen again, and company spokesperson Bill Curry went so far as to call it "stupid." However, some observers believe that other Web sites will pick up this trend and that consumers may be powerless against it. (Washington Post, 27 September 2000)

NEW SITE STREAMLINES ONLINE GOVERNMENT
President Clinton on Friday launched FirstGov.gov, a single portal that will connect citizens to nearly all online government resources. By linking nearly all government resources, the site will allow users, for example, to download tax forms, apply for student loans, track Social Security benefits, and make reservations at national parks. Using a privately developed search engine called FedSearch, FirstGov combs through 27 million Web pages from 20,000 government sites. "This cutting-edge site gives the American people the 'Information Age' government they deserve," Clinton said. Inktomi chief scientist Eric Brewer, who suggested the idea for FirstGov when he met Clinton at the 1999 World Economic Forum, created and donated the FedSearch engine. Brewer also established a foundation that will maintain FirstGov for the next three years, with $4.1 million in government funding. (Washington Post, 23 September 2000)

REPORT: HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SET FOR U.S. BOOM
Although broadband Internet service is more expensive than traditional Internet access and is not yet available in many parts of the United States, a new report from eMarketer says the use of high-speed Internet connections will grow sixfold in the next three years. Broadband subscribers will increase from 5.43 million to 32 million, the report claims. The report also predicts that broadband subscribers will favor digital subscriber lines (DSL) rather than cable modems for their broadband connections. By 2003, DSL subscribers will number 10.95 million, while 9.78 million subscribers will use cable modems. Most businesses will favor fiber-optic broadband connections, and residential users will dominate the cable modem and DSL market. Availability may be disproportionate, however, as an FCC report released earlier this year identified rural, low-income, minority, inner-city, and tribal groups as potentially ignored by broadband providers. The FCC report concluded that 91 percent of broadband subscribers live within a select group of the most affluent zip codes. (E-Commerce Times, September 19 2000)

WIRED SCHOOLS
Technology is expected to transform America's schools over the next 10 years in the same way it has changed the world of business, and high-tech companies have done their part to encourage the education community to throw its support behind e-learning. Technology spending has reached $6.2 billion over the past eight years. IBM is involved with top research scientists in its Reinventing Education project, while Intel and Microsoft are training teachers to use technology. Apple Computer and America Online have joined 20 other companies to form the CEO Forum on Education & Technology, a Washington-based group developed to push the high-tech agenda. Although supporters such as futurist David Thornburg say Internet access in the classroom could have the same impact on education as the Gutenberg press, critics are skeptical. Some see the e-learning movement as dangerous if schools start accepting free products and services from high-tech companies in exchange for allowing firms to advertise on school computers. According to a 1997 presidential report, the nation needs to triple current spending on technology to $18 billion to reach all schools. (Business Week, September 25 2000)

CENSORED STUDENTS POST THEIR EXPOSES ONLINE
High-school students frustrated by the editorial policies of their schools' newspapers are publishing their pieces of suppressed or "alternative" journalism on the Internet. Students now publish more than 10,000 underground high-school newspapers on the Internet, according to the Student Press Law Center. In many cases, these papers print stories that high school papers would not run. Some tend toward gossip or ranting, while others are little more than an excuse to mock educators and fellow students. Educators worry that even "serious" underground student newspapers could be damaging because the students publishing them have no one to advise them on the basics of journalism, including libel issues. In one case, a Milford, Utah, high school suspended a student after it deemed his Web page a threat to students and teachers. Criminal charges against that student were dropped, however, and courts have generally ruled in favor of a student's right to free speech outside of a classroom. (Washington Post, September 19 2000)

MINNESOTA STATE CAMPUS TO SERVE AS WIRELESS TESTBED
Minnesota State University at Mankato announced on Friday it will begin testing personalized mobile services for Nokia and Midwest Wireless in October. The companies hope the deal will help them observe how handheld wireless devices can be used for learning and research, while the university's president says the agreement will move the school closer to becoming a renowned wireless institution. Nokia will initially give the university 200 wireless cell phones with e-mail and Internet capabilities, to be distributed free of charge to students and faculty members. In addition, Nokia will contribute a wireless application protocol (WAP) server and developer software. For its part, Midwest Wireless has installed a cell tower on the Mankato campus. The university also plans to serve as a testbed for a new Midwest Wireless service that uses a local multipoint distribution system (LMDS)--a new broadband, fixed wireless technology that could become a wireless alternative to fiber-optic networks. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, September 18 2000)

SCHOOL BOARD MOVES ON AD-FINANCED LAPTOPS
The New York City Board of Education is considering a plan to provide each of its students with computers and access to the Internet. Officials estimate the plan would cost $900 million. However, a report from Andersen Consulting says the school board could easily pay for the system and generate additional revenue by allowing advertising on a Web site that would be the new system's portal. Advertising revenue could be as high as $4 billion over the next 10 years, the report predicts. Educators, legislators, and parents have already protested the use of advertising in the proposed system, but the Andersen report suggests separating commercial and educational content on two Web sites. The system would also allow parents to block access to sites that they deemed objectionable. (New York Times, September 20 2000)

ED-TECH SUCCESS HARD TO ASSESS
Educators around the globe are struggling to prove to their governments and to taxpayers that wiring schools for the Internet and other technology is worth the expense. However, most educators agree that there is no good way to measure the impact that technology has on students and that standard measures of student progress may not reveal what technology teaches students. Pedro Paulo Poppovic, Brazil's secretary of distance education, is trying to convince his government that distance learning is key to educating the country's rural population, but so far the government has set up Internet access for only 10 percent of the country's schools. Schools in Brazil and in the United States must spend money and time training teachers, but educators worry that the teacher training and the schools' computers quickly become obsolete with today's ever-changing technology. This makes it even more difficult to convince lawmakers to invest money in education technology. However, educators point to the success of programs such as the International Education and Resource Network and Kidz Online as examples of what education technology teaches students. (Wired News, September 13 2000)

THE REFERENCE DISC MOVES ONLINE
Both major CD-ROM encyclopedias, Encyclopedia Britannica and Microsoft Encarta, are now available online at no cost. Britannica has placed its entire contents on the Web, while Encarta has made available only a condensed version of its CD-ROM edition. Britannica now boasts 45 million words and a publishing tradition that began in 1768. In contrast, Encarta first appeared in 1993 but has since built a database of 50 million words. Encarta relies heavily on multimedia displays, a feature that makes its online version slow and awkward, observers note. In fact, the encyclopedias' CD-ROM editions may be the best choice for users who have particularly slow Internet connections. Both Web-based encyclopedias lack current updates, and both feature advertising prominently to compensate for making access to their content free. (Washington Post, September 15 2000)

SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS RACE TO CREATE NEW MOVIE-DOWNLOAD FORMAT
Software developers are racing to produce new versions of DivX, the program that compresses video files by as much as 85 percent. DivX video files require only 750K of bandwidth, meaning users with a basic DSL or cable-modem Internet connection can download feature-length films in only a few hours. The files are small enough to be stored on a standard compact disk. The technology could provide movie studios and other content producers with a new distribution system and a new source of revenue. However, it could create a security nightmare, as DivX-based bootlegs of many movies have already begun to appear on the Internet. Although the trading of these illegal DivX files is underground now, some security experts fear that as the technology improves a Napster-like service for the exchange of movies will emerge. To combat this, companies such as Real Networks and Microsoft are incorporating encryption programs into their DivX software. (Wall Street Journal, September 14 2000)

NSF PUMPS MILLIONS INTO COMPUTER SCIENCE
The National Science Foundation (NSF) this week awarded grants to over 200 computer-science research projects as part of its Information Technology Research (ITR) program. Projects receiving grants include a University of Pittsburgh effort to design a robotic assistant for the elderly and a University of Illinois attempt to improve efficiency in network-based programs for remote surgery, satellites, and air traffic control. In all, NSF received 1,400 proposals for the first ITR grants. The NSF awarded each of 62 large-scale projects three- to-five-year grants of $1 million a year, while each of 148 smaller-scale projects will receive as much as $500,000 a year for no more than three years. The projects chosen are on the cutting edge and are often too advanced to receive financial support from the high-tech industry, NSF officials say. The NSF has asked Congress for $190 million for next year's ITR grants, for which the foundation is already accepting proposals. (Federal Computer Week Online, September 13 2000)

FCC ENTERS DEBATE ON INTERNET ACCESS
Until now, the FCC has avoided enacting guidelines to resolve issues related to high-speed Internet access amid concerns that regulations could hurt access to the international computer network. But today the FCC is set to begin a probe into the issue of whether competitors should be provided with open access to cable TV networks, which are used to provide broadband services. The FCC has been forced to deal with the issue since America Online's proposed $183 billion merger with Time Warner. Rivals of the two firms have opposed the deal, citing concerns that they would be blocked out of significant segments of the marketplace. Sources familiar with the investigation say the FTC is strongly in favor of requiring the companies to share their cable networks with rivals as a condition for merger clearance. The FCC's own probe, which is set to begin today, will be charged with gathering opinions on whether consumer choice and changing competition necessitate federal guidelines that allow open access to all cable networks. (Washington Post, September 14 2000)

THE BIG LAN ON CAMPUS IS WIRELESS
Many colleges are implementing wireless LAN networks that allow students to use Ethernet cards and laptops to compute in the classroom and other locations outside of the computer lab. Wireless LANs allow colleges to eliminate computer labs and use the space for other purposes. In addition, wireless networks eliminate the need to wire old buildings to support emerging technologies, which is often a complicated task. Wake Forest this year included the cost of a notebook PC and wireless Ethernet card in tuition for freshmen. Meanwhile, Carnegie Mellon supports both a wireless and a wired network. The wireless network includes 400 antennae linked to the school's wired backbone to offer 11 Mbps access. About 1,500 of Carnegie Mellon's 10,000 students bought $150 wireless LAN cards. A potential drawback is that each access point in a wireless LAN costs between $1,000 and $2,000, meaning the technology can be more expensive than wired networks. Still, many wireless proponents say the utility, ease of use, and applications make the technology a worthwhile investment. (Computerworld, September 4 2000)

NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR, PROXIM IN HOME WIRELESS DEAL
National Semiconductor and Proxim, a manufacturer of wireless products, have announced an agreement to co-develop wireless products for use in home networking. The deal comes after the FCC ruled recently that it was increasing the amount of bandwidth to be available for frequency hopping and spread-spectrum wireless technology, the companies reported. The ruling will enable the companies to make new wireless modem devices for fast and safe Internet connection. In addition, they will be able to provide multimedia and mobile telephony services. Proxim says the new technology will increase the speeds of wireless home-networking from 1.6 Mbps to over 10 Mbps. Financial details of the deal were not released. (Reuters, September 7 2000)

INTERNET AT SCHOOL IS CHANGING WORK OF STUDENTS--AND TEACHERS
Nearly every school in the United States now has some form of Internet access, and education experts believe the Internet is changing the classroom dynamic. Educators claim students who once struggled in the traditional classroom--shy or learning-disabled students, students still learning to speak English, "visual learners"--feel more confident with and are learning more from Internet-based lessons. Students can use the Internet to communicate with students all over the world, to visit interactive museums and historical sites, and to investigate "real-world" topics such as cloning or forensic science. Educators believe Internet use encourages creativity while freeing teachers to spend more time coaching and less time lecturing students.Ninety-five percent of the nation's schools now have Internet connections, thanks in large part to the federal government's $6 billion e-rate program. But efforts to instruct teachers in the use of the Internet are lagging behind. According to a recent survey by the Department of Education, almost two-thirds of teachers do not feel confident using computers or the Internet. (Washington Post, September 5 2000)

BIGGER, BETTER, FASTER: HERE COMES INTERNET2
Internet2's latest advance is the Next Generation Internet (NGI)Initiative's ultra-fast network, vBNS (very high-performance backbone network service), which now links nearly 200 campuses. The network handles powerful new applications, allowing astronomers, for example, to remotely manipulate telescopes at an observatory in Hawaii from anywhere in the world. Work is proceeding on the Abilene network and on Internet service quality so collaborative medical procedures, for example, will not be disrupted by e-mail traffic. Meanwhile, the University of Illinois at Chicago's Electronic Visualization Laboratory is working on technology that allows users to walk around and inspect 3D images. The next Internet will link these virtual spaces, called "caves," allowing designers in Germany to look at a car model located in Detroit. Students, too, are expected to benefit from Internet2 technology as universities such as Northwestern allow them to send and receive video from their dorm rooms. (Interactive Week, August 28 2000)

U.S. NET DEMOGRAPHICS SET TO SHIFT
The demographics of the U.S. online population will change over the next several years, becoming more representative of the population as a whole, according to a recent study from International Data. About 103 million users from all age groups and economic levels will go online for the first time by 2004. These new users will bring the total U.S. Internet population to about 210 million users in 2004. Older Americans are now the fastest-growing community of users, and the number of online adults 55 and above is expected to more than triple from 1999 to 2004, reaching 34.1 million users. As a result, observers say online marketers should begin to target older adults. The changes in the online population will force marketers that have not yet gone online to do so, and will also offer opportunities for new online firms to win the loyalty of novice users, says International Data's Barry Parr. (E-Commerce Times, August 30 2000)

LAPTOPS ARE NO LONGER A LUXURY FOR STUDENTS
A number of U.S. schools, mostly private but some public, are abandoning computer labs with desktops and requiring students to have laptops instead. The number of high schools that have switched from computer labs to laptops has jumped to over 500 across the country in less than four years, says Albert Throckmorton, director of technology curriculum at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. Episcopal started requiring freshmen to have laptops four years ago and will become a laptop-only institution this school year. The laptops help Episcopal students continue their education outside of the classroom. For example, students use digital probes in science classes to gather data in real time, which is then loaded into a spreadsheet and analyzed at home, says Throckmorton. Although schools that have implemented laptop requirements declare the move an educational success, asking parents and students to purchase $1,500 laptops is controversial in many cases. Critics are concerned that the laptop push will leave students from poorer families at a disadvantage. Schools are trying to address the cost issue by offering buy/lease options, used laptops, and financial aid. (USA Today, August 31 2000)

TAKING SIDES IN THE NAPSTER WAR
Napster foes John and Michael Fix, who admit they once downloaded Bruce Springsteen tracks from the Napster Web site, now send "cuckoo's eggs" into the Napster database. These eggs are song files, often mislabeled, in which the music is cut off after about 30 seconds and replaced by the sound of a cuckoo chirping. The brothers say they were prompted to act against Napster by Michael Fix's wife, Stephanie, a singer-songwriter who believes the service is unfair to artists. Stopnapster.com, a site with similar aims, claims more than 4,000 visitors each day. Stopnapster's founder says record companies and angry artists such as himself could easily flood Napster with bad files, rendering the service unusable. Record companies can also turn to Media Enforcer, a new software program that can trace Napster users to their Internet service providers. (New York Times, August 31 2000)

NEW STANDARDS GET US CLOSER TO DATA MINING ON THE WEB
A coalition of universities and businesses, including IBM, Oracle, and NCR, are working to develop open standards that will allow users to access and manipulate data stored on disparate database servers. "I think it's what people for a long time have been looking for," says IBM's Claudia Gardner. First, data must be presented in predicted model markup language (PMML), enabling it to be manipulated by the dataspace transfer protocol (DSTP), which was just released last week by the Laboratory for Advanced Computing at the University of Illinois in Chicago. "We want to make it simple to publish data so other people can do meaningful things with it," says Robert Grossman, the Laboratory of Advanced Computing's director. The relationship between PMML and DSTP is similar to that of HTML and hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Using PMML and DSTP, an Internet user could access data on sunspots, for example, from one database, and compare it to data on global warming from another database. (New Scientist Online, September 1 2000)

EASY-ON-THE-EYES TYPEFACE CLEARS SCREEN FOR BETTER CONTENT
Several companies are looking to speed the adoption of e-books by Microsoft, for example, created ClearType for its Microsoft Reader Software. Microsoft Reader typeface is nondescript so as not to distract readers and can be adjusted to different sizes. In addition, books downloaded with Microsoft Reader do not offer features such as toolbars or digital clocks that compete with the text for the reader's attention. However, the software does offer tools aimed at improving the reading experience, such as a dictionary and highlighter. Meanwhile, e-publishing software leader Adobe offers Adobe Acrobat Reader, which provides a portable d ocument format that is known for its ability to maintain a book's original design. Other companies targeting the e-book market, such as Lightning Source, are offering print-on- demand technology that can quickly generate a single copy of a text. (USA Today, August 30 2000)

CYBERSPACE U.
Harcourt Higher Education has joined the exclusive ranks of for-profit Internet-based providers of higher education, having received approval from the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education to award two-year associates degrees and four-year bachelor's degrees. The University of Phoenix, Nova Southeastern University in Florida, and Jones International University in Colorado are the only other for-profit entities in the Internet-based education space. The 1,000 students that are expected to enroll in the first year will pay apply for admission, attend classes, go to the library, take tests, participate in classroom discussions, and eventually graduate online. Each three-credit-hour course will cost $900, and revenues are projected to reach $18 million in the first year. There are expectations of breaking even in 2003, and of having an enrollment of 20,000 students by 2005, when tuition revenue should reach $45 million. (Boston Globe, August 25 2000)

FIRMS TO CREATE LAB FOR LINUX TESTING
A group of industry giants, led by IBM, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and NEC, has announced an initiative to create a laboratory in which programmers can test Linux applications on high-end computer systems. The lab is intended to help Linux gain a higher profile among large companies, as Linux software is most often tested on desktop computers rather than on the sophisticated systems common in the corporate world. Along with the four leading sponsors, Dell, Silicon Graphics, and Linux providers Red Hat, Turbolinux, Linuxcare, and VA Linux Systems have also pledged support for the lab, which will open by the end of the year. The founding companies said a nonprofit organization will choose which projects will be tested in the lab. (Associated Press, August 29 2000)

CLINTON OPENS TEACHER MATCHING SITE
President Clinton has announced a Web site that aims to match school districts with qualified teachers. The site, www.recruitingteachers.org, is expected to ease the nationwide teacher shortage and reduce class size. As student enrollment increases and teachers retire over the next decade, the United States will need to hire 2.2 million new teachers--a task Clinton says will be facilitated by the Internet. (Cnet, August 26 2000)

TECHNOLOGY SAVVY SCHOOLS Digital educational tools in public schools across the country may prove to be a disappointment if educators are unable to incorporate the technology into their curriculum. Getting the most out of computers and Internet access in schools is a major challenge for teachers because many do not have the skills to use the technology effectively. The first step in making the technology effective in schools is for teachers to master the digital tools. Teachers could then focus their attention on preparing digital content and coursework for their students. However, teachers will need to determine how appropriate digital content would be for particular subject areas, grade levels, and developmental stages of students. Teachers and school boards may find it difficult to gauge the usability, appropriateness, and educational impact of digital content. Finally, school systems that place a greater emphasis on making use of technology could play a major role in closing the digital divide. (Business 2.0, September 2000)

CODE NAME: MAINSTREAM
The President's Information Technology Advisory Committee, a group of university researchers and corporate executives, will issue a report advising President Clinton to support open-source software as a way to meet the increasing demand for better software. The support of the federal government would be a significant victory for proponents of open-source, who recently have seen their ideology move from the fringe to the mainstream of the computer-programming world. Open-source programs such as Linux and Apache serve as the basis for numerous operating systems and Web sites, and major corporations such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Microsoft have announced open-source initiatives. However, many corporations remain wary about open-source, which they see as infringing upon traditional intellectual-property rights. Open-source proponents argue that these corporations are fixated on an outdated notion of software as a finished "product", and say the advantage of open-source is not that it allows for more innovation but that it streamlines the debugging and general maintenance that consume so much development time. (New York Times, August 28 2000)

GET SERIOUS ABOUT EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
States wanting to speed the use of information technology to improve education, should work to share the most qualified teachers and the best resources by developing a collaborative environment that supports e-mail, videoconferencing, and Web hosting. Otto Doll, chief information officer of South Dakota, says the collaborative environment should also support portable group computing platforms, which combine Internet, TV, and personal computing. Each school needs a server and ample local storage and processor cycles. States should form an intranet that links K-12 schools with colleges as well as state and local governments, providing access to the Internet and to legacy systems. To connect the whole infrastructure, states should use high-speed, scalable communication lines. Another important consideration in using IT to improve education is teacher training. Each teacher and administrator should have at least 200 hours of network and computing training. In addition, public teaching universities should train all future educators to use technology, Doll says. (Government Computer News, August 2000)

MUSEUMS, UNIVERSITIES, AND LIBRARIES FORM KNOWLEDGE PORTAL
Fathom, a joint venture among six cultural and educational institutions, aims to provide the public with an online resource for authenticated knowledge on academic, cultural, and professional topics. Fathom's participants include Columbia University, The New York Public Library, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, The London School of Economics and Political Science, Cambridge University Press, and The British Library. The site will contain a directory of online courses offered by the institutions. Users will access the courses through the site and pay fees determined by individual institutions. Other educational resources on Fathom.com will include textbooks, specialized periodicals, articles, and CD-ROMs. The site also will host forums led by professors, curators, and other experts. The site's content will be reviewed for academic and editorial integrity by the Fathom Academic Council, which consists of senior faculty and curators from member institutions. (Intelligent Enterprise, August 18 2000)

E-BOOKS EMERGE
Sales of electronic books may be slow, but high-profile activity such as the Web publishing of the Stephen King story "Riding the Bullet" is boosting consumer awareness. Reference books such as encyclopedias are most likely to shift to an electronic format, predicts Tim Ingoldsby, American Institute of Physics director of business development. Dedicated reading devices are relatively easy to use and can download a high volume of material, but only a small number are available. The Open eBook Forum is working on standardizing e-publishing and addressing concerns about e-book piracy. Other tools in development include digital textbooks and a digital library service that allows customers to "borrow" e-books. Print-on-demand services can offer readers hardcover and paperback books printed from digital titles. (Chemical & Engineering News, August 21 2000)

IN U.S., DIGITAL HAVES OUTNUMBER HAVE-NOTS
The Internet continues to integrate itself into the day-to-day routines of Americans, according to the results of a random telephone survey of 65,000 Internet users by Nielsen NetRatings. U.S. home Internet penetration reached 52 percent in July--the first time more than half of all Americans had home Web access. Home access rates jumped 35 percent from July 1999 to July of this year, from 106.3 million home users to 144 million users. Likewise, the time Internet users spend online is going up. The average Internet user spent 9 hours 41 minutes online this July compared with 7 hours and 39 minutes last July, an increase of 26 percent. Internet users are also looking at fewer Web sites, meaning that larger sites are successfully leveraging their brand to hold users' attention. Cheaper Web access is enabling Americans to go online in ever-increasing numbers, says NetRatings' Sean Kaldor. (Washington Post, August 24 2000)

PORTABLE TECHNOLOGY STEPS INTO ELECTRONICS YOU CAN WEAR
Levi Strauss and Phillips next month will introduce the ICD+, a jacket that features a built-in cell phone, MP3 player, and headset. The jacket, which will retail for $900 at exclusive European boutiques, also includes remote and voice-activated controls. Woven into the ICD+ are an electronic circuit and approximately four feet of wires, which together establish a personal area network, or PAN, to conduct data and power throughout the jacket. The electronic components weigh only five ounces. Although Levi Strauss and Phillips are aiming this early model at young people and those who must have the latest trends,they believe interactive clothing will soon find a place in every wardrobe. Several other companies are working on similar technology. Motorola and Swatch are teaming on a wristwatch cell phone, while Nike is designing clothes equipped with MP3 players. Tech labs have built concept clothes such as a solar-powered T-shirt. Levi Strauss is already envisioning the next generation of wearable electronics. The company wants the devices in its next line of clothes to be wireless. (Wall Street Journal, 22 Aug 2000)

DICTIONARY PUBLISHERS GOING DIGITAL
Dictionaries are redefining themselves by going digital. Merriam-Webster and Microsoft's year-old Encarta dictionary is now embedded in the software company's new Reader application, and it is being touted as the digital age's first lexicon. Online linguistics are expected to spread greatly. Houghton Mifflin expects to garner over $1 million in profit by licensing its digital dictionary for Web sites, software, and digital publications, while Merriam-Webster's Web site may soon be displayed on Palm devices. Also online is a wealth of material for linguistic research, with scholars gaining the opportunity to track the creation of new words as they arise and spread through online discussion groups. Even the most traditional of dictionary publishers are adapting to the Internet Age. The 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary was revised for the first time since 1928, thanks to the Internet. Twenty more volumes are planned for the online edition, which will be updated completely by 2010. Yet the industry change has met some resistance from linguists. (New York Times, 21 Aug 2000)

FOR THIN, FOLDABLE MONITORS, ONE WORD: PLASTICS
University of Arizona, Tucson optical sciences department assistant research professor Ghassan Jabbour is attempting to develop a display screen so thin and flexible that it can be folded and unfolded repeatedly. The technology is in its early stages, but Jabbour and his team are already able to fabricate screens 1,000 times thinner than a human hair on plastic film using simple, inexpensive printing techniques. Using a frame, a fabric, a design stencil, and a squeegee, the team deposited an "ink" of carbon-based molecules on the plastic film; these molecules comprised three diodes that emit blue, green, and red light when activated by an electric current. The diodes make up single pixels that form a monitor image. Jabbour's program is part of a Defense Department-funded consortium that plans to apply the technology to the marketplace. The plastic film monitors differ from liquid crystal displays in that they emit their own light, and can be viewed from almost any angle. The foldable monitors will be cheaper to produce and more efficient, Jabbour believes. (Los Angeles Times Online, 14 Aug 2000)

25 MIL HOMES USE NET/TV TOGETHER--STUDY
The future of interactive TV looks bright, according to the fourth installment of Showtime Networks' annual study on households with Internet access. The study determined that the number of U.S. households that own at least one computer rose 22 percent from January 1999, to 55 million, while the number of houses with Internet access rose 36 percent, to 45 million. During that same time period the number of people using both the Internet and TV at the same time rose 39 percent, leading Showtime's Mark Greenberg to conclude that there exists a "two-box solution to a one-box opportunity." Showtime uses the results of the studies to help determine the future shape of its programming. The study also determined that just under half of all teenagers watch TV while using the Internet, compared with 30 percent of adults in the 18-to-49 age group, and 15 percent in the over-50 set. News, sitcoms, and sports programming are the most likely to lead to dual usage of the Internet and TV. (Newsbytes, 16 Aug 2000)

GNOME GETS MAJOR CORPORATE BACKING
IBM, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Red Hat, and Sun Microsystems have agreed to advise and support the Gnome Foundation. The group, sponsored by the Free Software Foundation, was formed to improve and promote Gnome's Linux desktop user interface. Although Gnome is being pushed as an alternative to KDE, the other graphical user interface for Linux, KDE will still be offered on IBM's laptops for Linux. IBM's Linux software and hardware for networked computer groups was unveiled Tuesday, and IBM and Red Hat have just sealed a joint Linux marketing and selling pact. The two companies will sell and support Red Hat Linux offerings on IBM's DB2, Lotus Domino server, and Tivoli's storage-management solutions. Lotus and Tivoli software will also be integrated with upcoming Red Hat products. IBM's Dan Frye says customers will be able to decide which Linux user interface they prefer. He says, "We don't have a policy that it's going to be one or the other." (TechWeb, 15 Aug 2000)

DIGITAL TV ERA STILL REMAINS OUT OF REACH
Consumers in the U.S. have purchased only 230,000 digital televisions in the last two years, frustrating the government's attempt to convert the nation's analog television channels to digital. The government plans to auction all 1,600 of those analog channels in 2006, after which only digital channels will broadcast over the air. Each existing analog channel has already received a digital channel for this purpose. However, only digital televisions or those equipped with digital converter boxes will be able to receive the digital signals, which is why consumer interest is so vital to the plan's success. The price of digital televisions and receivers is one factor in the slow sales, and there are few compelling reasons for consumers to make the switch. Hardly any of the 150 stations now broadcasting a digital signal offer programming designed for digital televisions, while the cable industry, which services two-thirds of American viewers, has said they will not carry digital channels. The movie industry has also objected to the new technology, arguing that it will make it easier for pirates to make high-quality copies of recent films. In response, manufacturers such as Sony are delaying the introduction of new digital units, while analog channels are offering their digital channels for other uses. (New York Times, 7 Aug 2000)

$45 MILLION GRANT AWARDED TO BUY SUPERCOMPUTER
The National Science Foundation yesterday awarded $45 million to the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center to purchase a new supercomputer from Compaq. The new supercomputer will perform 6 trillion mathematical operations each second, making it the fastest nonmilitary supercomputer in the world, Compaq claims. The most powerful military supercomputer, currently being installed in Livermore, Calif., will be able to perform 12 trillion mathematical operations each second. The foundation intends its award to help make civilian supercomputers more comparable to these powerful military computers. After its installation is completed in 2001, the new Pittsburgh supercomputer will be employed for a wide range of scientific projects such as climate modeling and materials science, and scientists are excited about the potential discoveries the powerful new computer could permit. Industry observers were surprised when the foundation selected Compaq rather than supercomputer giants IBM or Intel to build the new machine. (New York Times, 4 Aug 2000)

NAPSTER-LIKE WEB SITE ALLOWS VIDEO-GAME SWAPPING
A new Web site called Swapoo allows users to share copyrighted video games just as Napster lets users exchange free music files, bringing large-scale piracy concerns to the gaming industry. Swapoo launched last week and brought in 15,000 visits a day earlier this week. The site uses file-sharing technology to allow users to download and play popular games from large game makers such as Nintendo and Sega. The site's founder, 17-year-old Jeff Freeman, says he designed the site for freeware, but users quickly began trading commercial titles. Sega is considering asking Swapoo's Web-hosting services to shut down the site, and Nintendo is looking into the issue as well. Still, analysts say lawsuits will do little to stop Internet users from forming online communities to trade all types of copyrighted material. (USA Today, 4 Aug 2000)

POURING WEB FAVORITES ONTO ONE SITE CREATES A SPECTRUM OF SECURITY CONCERNS AND COMPETITIVE ISSUES
Aggregators that pull all of a consumer's online services and information into a single location are emerging on the Internet, offering convenience but also sparking debate over security and data ownership. Companies such as VerticalOne and Yodlee.com offer to simplify a consumer's Web surfing by creating a single site that provides access to a user's financial accounts, online billing, e-mail, frequent-flier miles, and personalized news updates. Aggregation services are increasingly appealing to consumers as more and more information moves to the Web, forcing users to visit multiple sites to find all the information they need. Roughly 400,000 consumers currently use aggregation services that cull financial data, according to Celent Communications. However, the market is growing rapidly, and some experts predict that as major Web portals and financial institutions enter the aggregation space, up to 30 million Americans will use aggregators within five years. Skeptics disagree with this figure, suggesting that privacy and security issues will limit the growth of aggregation. (USA Today, 1 Aug 2000)

INTEL AGAIN HAS SPEEDIEST CHIP WITH FASTER PENTIUM III
Intel yesterday released a new Pentium III chip that, at 1.13 GHz, is the fastest microprocessor now available, and faster than Advanced Micro Devices' soon-to-be released chip. AMD earlier this year was the first to release a 1 GHz chip, although Intel was quick to begin offering its own 1 GHz chip. AMD is expected to release a 1.1 GHz chip on Aug. 28. Intel is set to release its first Pentium 4 chip running at 1.4 GHz later this year. The new Pentium III will cost $990 and is available in limited quantities. Although most software does not need the added processing power the new chips offer, they will improve the performance of games and graphics applications. (Baltimore Sun, 1 Aug 2000)

ALTAVISTA TO OFFER NEW POWER SEARCH
AltaVista on Wednesday will unveil a new search platform called Power Search that aims to help novice users find relevant information more easily. Power Search offers easy-to-use menus that allow users to restrict searches by date, time, country, and other parameters. In addition, Power Search lets users customize searches and organize results in a variety of ways. "Power Search is Advanced Search with training wheels," says AltaVista's Vaughn Rhodes. Beyond the improved search capabilities, the new platform offers an E-Mail and Tools productivity application section and one-click access to customized search centers such as AltaVista's Entertainment Center. The new Search Trends feature displays the top 25 search terms of the week and top five lists in a range of popular categories such as CD titles. Meanwhile, the Search Guides feature offers tips on how to use AltaVista's tools to find particular Web sites, products, and images. AltaVista also aims to help users search its own site more easily with a new entertainment service that helps users find items among AltaVista's 6,000 broadcast and Internet radio streams and its 35 million audio, video, and image files. (eWeek Online, 1 Aug 2000)

THRILLING NEWS: KING FINDS HONESTY PAYS OFF ON THE INTERNET
Stephen King's experiment with using the honor system to encourage fans to pay for the first part of his online novella "The Plant" has proven successful so far, with an estimated 76 who have already paid or have agreed to pay the author. About 93,000 fans have paid the $1 fee King requested, out of a total of 152,000 people who downloaded the work in its first week online. King promised earlier to continue posting installments of "The Plant" if more than 75 percent of readers paid the fee, and he now plans to proceed with putting the second installment on his site. The publishing industry is watching King's online move closely, and publishers expect other well-known authors to follow King's lead based on his success. Experts say King's success is partly due to devoted fans who did not did not want to feel as if they were cheating their favorite author. If the honor system continues to prove effective, the strategy might move beyond the publishing industry, observers say. (Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug 2000)

E-TEXTBOOKS LET COLLEGIANS TAKE BYTE OUT OF BOOKSTORE
Electronic textbooks are gaining popularity on college campuses as more materials become available in a digital format, offering advanced features such as audio and video while costing the same or less than traditional textbooks. WizeUp.com, for example, offers 30 college textbooks that provide note-taking and highlighting capabilities. Meanwhile, Versaware.com offers eStudyBooks for both online and traditional classes that provide video and audio clips. Digital Learning Interactive offers multimedia textbooks that are designed specially for the Web and are used at more than 400 colleges and universities. E-textbook companies provide students with a CD or a password that allows them to download content onto their PCs. Students benefit from interactive tools such as companion study guides, discussion groups, and search programs, while professors are able to tailor content by reorganizing chapters and adding or deleting material. In addition, the digital format allows publishers to update textbooks more quickly, sometimes even in one day. (USA Today, 2 Aug 2000)

RECORD COMPANIES EXPLORE ONLINE MUSIC SUBSCRIPTIONS
EMI, Sony, and Universal will soon offer music-subscription services over the Internet, executives from the three record labels announced yesterday. Users would pay a flat rate to download songs from a selection of each label's catalog. The songs will be encrypted to prevent piracy, the labels said. EMI will debut its service next month, while Sony and Universal will launch their joint service before the end of this year. Executives from the three labels acknowledge the services come as a direct response to the popularity of Napster, the free music-exchange service that the record industry is currently attempting to shut down for copyright violations. The new services will probably borrow heavily from Napster's design, but they will not feature as many songs, concentrating instead on those tracks most likely to meet consumer demand. Although some observers believe the subscription services are a step in the right direction for the major record labels, critics contend the services are too little, too late to satisfy users' desire for getting music online. (New York Times, 2 Aug 2000)

AUTO MAKERS TAKING HIGH-TECH ROAD
Major automakers and their suppliers are embracing technology by outfitting vehicles with "telematic" devices that provide a range of Internet, satellite, and telecommunications services. General Motors, considered a telematics pioneer, has been offering its OnStar system since 1996. OnStar automatically phones police and ambulance services when air bags are deployed, and can also serve as a concierge service that makes dinner and theater reservations, for example. This year, GM will release its OnStar Virtual Adviser, which will use voice software to read drivers their e-mail, as well as stock, sports, or weather reports. Meanwhile, Cadillac offers its Infotainment System, which lets passengers play CDs, CD-ROMs, and MP3s; use a computerized address book; and write e-mails on a Windows CE-based system. The Infotainment system also reads news aloud, records voice memos dictated by users, and offers an infrared port to let users share data with handhelds. Meanwhile, companies such as XM Radio and Sirius are creating satellite radio systems that will allow users to listen to hundreds of radio stations. (Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2000)

FEW NOTICE $10,000 KIOSK SET UP TO MAKE GOVERNMENT ACCESSIBLE
An Internet kiosk was installed in a grocery store in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, as part of a federal effort to form a closer link between the government and citizens. The General Services Administration (GSA) is testing the kiosks, and has already sent the devices to several other cities. The $10,000 kiosk provides information about birth certificates, driver's licenses, student loans, taxes, and Social Security. Users can also print out federal and local forms and e-mail elected officials. The kiosks will help D.C. and federal governments to better serve constituents, says D.C. Deputy Mayor Norman Dong. The GSA has purchased 36 kiosks, all of which will contain the same federal information. Meanwhile, local governments will be able to customize their section of the kiosks to provide information relevant to their specific region. Although few shoppers noticed the new D.C. kiosk, one user suggested that the device might catch on as people become more comfortable with technology. (Washington Times, 31 July 2000)

NAPSTER WINS REPRIEVE FROM COURT-ORDERED SHUTDOWN
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday granted music-sharing site Napster a reprieve from an injunction that would have forced the site to shut down on midnight of the same day. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel issued the injunction on Wednesday, saying that "overwhelming" evidence suggests that Napster was created specifically for the purpose of providing free access to copyrighted works. Although the appeals panel did not object to Patel's reasoning, the panel stayed the injunction due to concerns that shutting down the site would destroy Napster's business. Napster says the shutdown would have forced it to lay off its workers, and observers note that the preliminary injunction would have effectively determined the outcome of the company's legal battle with the recording industry. The reprieve allows Napster to continue offering its Internet service through at least mid September. By Aug. 18 Napster's attorneys must submit a more detailed brief arguing against the injunction, and the Recording Industry Association of America will respond to Napster's arguments by Sept. 12. The appeals court will rule shortly thereafter, clearing the way for the defeated party to take the case to the Supreme Court. (Washington Post, 29 July 2000)

ALLEN IS WOOING ELITE COLLEGES TO TEACH ONLINE
Major media financier Herbert Allen Jr. is preparing to launch the Global Education Network (GEN), an attempt to offer Ivy-league caliber liberal-arts courses over the Internet. Allen and his co-founder, Mark Taylor, a professor at Williams College, Allen's alma mater, say GEN will prevent liberal arts courses from falling too far behind the online presence of science and business courses, while providing liberal-arts content to a wider audience than elite colleges and universities can allow. GEN, Allen believes, will appeal to a wide-range of distance learners, from so-called "lifelong learners" to ambitious high-school students, and will offer both audited courses as well as courses for credit. Like other online "universities," GEN has met with a decidedly mixed reaction in academia. Many professors believe that the Internet cannot reproduce the classroom environment, while many of the elite universities that Allen hopes to court worry such services will dilute the special nature of their courses and deprive them of their intellectual property. GEN has already struck a deal with Wellesley College and is negotiating with several other schools. A beta version of some GEN courses should appear later this year. (Wall Street Journal, 28 July 2000)

SAVING THE NATION'S DIGITAL LEGACY
The National Academy of Sciences released a report yesterday severely criticizing how the Library of Congress has conducted the archiving of electronic material. The report says the library has neither the digital storage capacity nor the technical expertise necessary to preserve the immense amount of copyrighted material based on the Internet and other electronic sources. Furthermore, the library is so dependent on bureaucratic measures that it cannot react quickly enough to preserve Web sites and other such media that may not exist for long. For example, there is no record of Web sites that went offline before 1996. The library has acknowledged its shortcomings, but its head librarian cautions that the library is likely to be short on funding for its electronic archives. Still, the head librarian believes that the library will be able to maintain these archives through partnerships with other libraries and institutions as well as advances in the library's own archiving systems. The Library of Congress, like all major research libraries, must also determine what part of the wealth of electronic content is worthy of saving. (New York Times, 27 July 2000)

STUDY FINDS WEB BIGGER THAN WE THINK
The Web is expanding so rapidly that today's search engines only cover a fraction of the existing pages, but some companies are developing new search software that will tap the volumes of information that are now part of the so-called "invisible Web." BrightPlanet, a company that offers sophisticated search software called LexiBot, on Wednesday released a study estimating that the Web is 500 times larger than the segment covered by standard search engines such as Yahoo! and AltaVista. Although the Web now holds about 550 billion documents, search engines index a combined total of 1 billion pages, BrightPlanet says. One reason that search engines have not kept up with the number of pages on the Web is that data is increasingly stored in large databases maintained by government agencies, universities, and companies. The dynamic information housed in databases is difficult for traditional search engines to access, because the search software is designed to locate static pages. However, BrightPlanet created its LexiBot to find information in databases, as well as data that is covered by traditional search engines. LexiBot targets advanced users in the academic and scientific communities. (CNet, 26 July 2000)

FOR MANY ONLINE MUSIC FANS, COURT RULING IS CALL TO ARMS
Music fans yesterday overwhelmed Web sites offering services similar to Napster after Judge Marilyn Patel issued a preliminary injunction against the popular music-exchange site, ruling that it was clearly engaged in the intentional violation of copyright law. Freenet saw its daily traffic quadruple before noon, while Gnutella's Web site was so swamped it temporarily went offline. Unless Napster receives a last-minute reprieve from a federal appeals court, it will shut down at midnight tonight and remain offline pending a full trial later this year. Although executives for the recording industry and some musicians hailed the judge's ruling as a landmark decision for Internet copyright law, industry observers noted that Napster's more than 20 million users will have little trouble finding a replacement site. In fact, sites such as Gnutella and Freenet could be an even bigger headache for record companies, since those sites do not operate with a central database as Napster does, but exist only to offer free downloads of peer-to-peer software. With this software, users can trade music, text, or even movie files between their computers without going through a Web site. (New York Times, 28 July 2000)

APPLE
Since his return three years ago, Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs has turned the stricken company around with the launch of the iMac, while at the same time slashing operating expenses. The company's revenues have risen 17 percent in the latest quarter, to $1.8 billion. This success stems from Apple's superlative design and "Think different" ad campaign for the iMac, as well as Jobs' streamlining by outsourcing product manufacture and hiring Timothy D. Cook, former Compaq procurement executive, to increase efficiency. Cook cut the number of Apple's suppliers down from 100 to 24 and established a build-to-order system for online purchases; as a result, Apple ships 75 percent of orders on the day they're placed. Cook also got parts inventory down to less than a day. But many challenges lie ahead if Apple is to maintain its innovation lead, and it is nowhere near its past peak performance. The most daunting task will be upgrading Mac software to MacOS X, which is supposed to reduce Mac crashes, feature the new Aqua user interface, and carry out multiple operations. Not everyone is confident Apple will have MacOS X out by its January deadline, and its radical 3D navigation design might not go down well with Apple's loyal customers. (Business Week, 31 July 2000)

RADIO STATIONS FIND WEB A GOOD DELIVERY CHANNEL
Radio stations are increasingly broadcasting over the Internet as more consumers begin using their PCs to listen to the radio. About 30 million Internet users in the U.S., or 36 percent of the online population, accessed online streaming audio and video in May, compared to 21 million users and 28 percent in November, according to Nielsen-NetRatings. Web radio is credited with a large part of this streaming audio and video use. Yahoo! and others such as BroadcastAmerica.com, GlobalMedia.com, GetMedia, RadioWave.com, and WebRadio.com provide services that help radio stations broadcast and earn money online. For example, GlobalMedia offers radio stations its audio software player and establishes e-commerce operations to help stations sell CDs, books, and videos. GlobalMedia manages product inventory as well as delivery, and splits e-commerce and advertising revenues with radio stations. For radio stations, the main reason for moving online is to reach a new audience of at-work listeners who might not have access to a traditional radio. In addition, some radio stations are anticipating wireless devices with radio capability, which BroadcastAmerica and other companies are working to develop. (Investor's Business Daily, 25 July 2000)

TECH TALENT TURNS TABLES ON BIG RECORD COMPANIES
Internet startups are attracting many of the talented young people who might otherwise seek work in the record industry, and record companies are now struggling to find new employees while they fall further behind the technological curve. Industry analysts blame no one but the record companies themselves. The major labels long resisted embracing innovative new technologies such as MP3 files and file-exchange software, relying instead on traditional methods of marketing and promoting stars. Although most labels now offer some music online, they are hard-pressed to compete with the popularity of services such as Napster. The record industry's belief that Napster engages in indefensible copyright violation has further alienated young, would-be employees who have a passion for music but also want to explore the possibilities of the Internet. Overall, the record industry has entered a period of stagnation; employees have been laid off after the consolidation of several labels, while salaries, especially for new workers, have not increased much over the past four years. By contrast, Internet startups offer young workers much higher salaries and creative freedom. (Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2000)

NAPSTER ENLISTS LIQUID AUDIO
Napster, the beleaguered online music-exchange service, has reached a licensing agreement with Liquid Audio, a company that develops copyright-protection technology. Napster CEO Hank Barry announced the deal yesterday, two days before a federal judge will hear arguments on whether the Web site should be shut down for copyright infringement. Although representatives for both companies maintain that the deal is merely for research and development and that no changes to Napster's services are imminent, industry observers are intrigued by how this could affect the operations of the increasingly popular site, which now claims over 21 million users. Liquid Audio CEO Gerry Kearby says Liquid Audio technology could place an electronic watermark on each music file. This watermark would allow the file's creator to follow the file as it was copied and downloaded over the Internet. Liquid Audio may also link music files to an artist's Web site or possibly to a Web site that solicits payment for downloaded files. But Napster has not said whether it will begin charging users for its services. (SiliconValley.com, 24 July 2000)

EMUSIC.COM ADDS SUBSCRIPTION WEB-MUSIC SERVICE
EMusic.com will soon introduce a subscription service that will allow customers to download music files in exchange for a monthly fee. EMusic CEO Gene Hoffman believes that a subscription service is the logical replacement for Napster, which he calls a "short-term phenomenon" that will likely lose in court. The monthly fee will vary based on the length of the subscription: $9.99 a month for a year's subscription, but $19.99 for only a one-month subscription. EMusic will share revenue with artists and their record labels. Although many in the music industry believe that a subscription service is a great idea, they have serious doubts about EMusic's venture. These observers question whether the price is too high, considering that EMusic does not have licensing agreements with any of the major record labels. Many of the major labels are developing their own subscription or pay-per-download systems. Furthermore, EMusic's files will not have any protection from piracy, which may damage the service's credibility as being friendly to artists and record labels. (Wall Street Journal, 24 July 2000)

FORMER NAPSTER EXECUTIVES LOOK FOR LEGITIMACY
When AppleSoup debuts on the Web, it will differ in at least two key respects from the peer-to-peer (P2P) services, such as Napster and Gnutella, whose success it is trying to emulate. AppleSoup will respect the copyrights of the content it distributes, and it will generate revenue. Founded by two former Napster executives, AppleSoup will try to grab a piece of the surging market for P2P technology, which allows users to trade files between their PCs. Over 20 million people have now tried P2P services. AppleSoup will provide content from various media, "...everything that you can turn into bits and bytes," according to Chairman Adrian Scott, but it will not attempt to compete with Napster's music service. Although much of AppleSoup's content will be free, it may charge a fee for access to more complex content. The company expects to generate most of its revenue from advertising and product-revenue-sharing agreements with its content providers. The Web site should appear within the next two months and has received $2.5 million in initial investments. (Investor's Business Daily, 18 July 2000)

CAMPUSES MAKING ADVANCES WITH INTERNET2
Universities involved in the Internet2 project, a test-bed for advanced applications, are experimenting with technologies such as virtual reality and distance medicine that would be impossible on the commercial Internet. The University of Pennsylvania, is creating an integrated database for digital mammograms allowing doctors to view a patient's mammogram taken years earlier in a different city. At Northwestern, researchers this summer expect to launch a technology that will allow students to view high-quality videos of professors' lectures from PCs in their dorm rooms. Meanwhile, several Internet2 universities have teamed with the National Tele-Immersion Initiative to develop virtual reality tools that would allow professors wearing 3D goggles to take part in roundtable discussions with colleagues around the world. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 2000 July 13)

STREAMING A NAPSTER SOLUTION ON CAMPUS
Bucknell University recently signed up for Launch.com's music and video program, hoping to ease congestion on the campus network caused by heavy use of Napster's music-sharing service. After discovering last year that Napster use represented 40 percent of its Internet traffic, Bucknell decided to search for an alternative that would meet student demands without draining the network's bandwidth. Launch.com's Launch College Direct program provides access to multimedia content that includes 70,000 song titles and over 5,000 videos. In addition, the program directs traffic to an iBeam Broadcasting infrastructure that uses satellites to transmit content, and stores the content on servers close to Bucknell for students to stream locally. Other universities such as Georgia Tech are also interested in Launch.com, and the company expects to have 30 to 50 schools signed up for its service by the end of the year, says Launch.com CEO Dave Goldberg. (ZDNet, 2000 July 12)

AS COMPUTERS IDLE IN CLASSROOMS, TRAINING FOR TEACHERS IS THE NEXT CHALLENGE
Although 95 percent of American schools now have Internet access, many teachers still do not know how to use the tools or do not feel comfortable using the technology in their classrooms. According to a survey by Market Data Retrieval, 61 percent of teachers in elementary or secondary schools consider themselves "somewhat prepared" or "not at all prepared" to incorporate technology into their lessons. Many of these teachers feel intimidated by having computers in their classrooms, especially when their students may have more computer experience than they do, while other teachers simply do not think computers add anything to the educational process. The White House has already given $75 million worth of grants for teachers' technology instruction, and Intel is creating a group of "master teachers" from across the country who will then be able to train other teachers. (New York Times July 3 2000)

PATENTS GRANTED FOR ENCRYPTION OF WEB MUSIC
Three mathematicians at Brown University recently were awarded a patent for a system that encodes every second of music downloaded from a Web site with a different encryption key, breaking a typical song up into more than 200 different codes. NTRU Cryptosystems, a Rhode Island firm, now owns the patent to the device. The system, which utilizes "public key" encryption, makes it impossible to play a song on any other device except for the one owned by the authorized user. The system works for virtually all data transmissions between computers, cell phones, digital music players, or any consumer electronic device that has Web access. Once a consumer orders music online, the user's computer or music player gives the Web site's server the encoding key, which is used to encode the data and then thrown away, and the music is sent back to the user's computer, which already knows the key. (New York Times, July 3 2000)

A HISTORIAN PRESENTS THE CIVIL WAR, ONLINE AND UNFILTERED
Through the project, "The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War," University of Virginia professor Dr. Edward L. Ayers is bringing historical content to the digital world. Financed by the university, various grants, and donations from organizations including IBM and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Internet-based archive presents more than 5,000 digitally-scanned pages of diaries, photographs, maps, newspaper articles, church and census records, wills, and military rosters--in other words, anything that documents the lives of thecitizens of two Shenandoah Valley counties. Although Franklin County in Pennsylvania and Augusta County in Virginia are separated by just 200 miles, they fought on different sides of the Civil War. Unlike history texts or documentaries, the online archive has no narrative, but instead is intended for users to investigate and analyze independently. The archive is, however, organized by a searchable database. The archive can be found at valley.vcdh.virginia.edu. (New York Times, 29 June 2000)

ONLINE AND UNIDENTIFIABLE
AT&T Labs today will announce a new system, Publius, that is meant to guarantee freedom of speech and anonymity on the Internet while abolishing online censorship. Other projects have similarly attempted to liberate the Internet from censorship and control, but AT&T Labs brings a high-profile presence to the movement. Publius accomplishes its tasks through the encryption of files, which are fragmented and distributed over several servers. The files are reassembled when needed. The use of several servers greatly inhibits censorship efforts. Publius will begin a two-month trial period, which if fruitful will lead to the creation of a permanent version of the system. Internet experts are impressed with Publius; those concerned with criminal activity on the Internet less so. "Who wants to be more anonymous than criminals, terrorists, child molesters, child pornographers, hackers, and email virus punks?" asks Bruce Taylor of the National Law Center for Children and Families. (Washington Post, 30 June 2000)

DIG SIG BILL: A DONGLE ON EVERY KEY RING?
Pending President Clinton's approval, electronic signatures will be legally binding after October 1. Hardware security companies such as DataKey and OS Crypto are poised to take advantage of the legislation; portable smart identification devices and cards will soon be as ubiquitous as ATM cards, they say. U.S. consumers have been wary of digital signatures, fearing identity theft. But the increasing sophistication and convenience of hardware security systems may entice consumers to conduct major transactions such as opening bank accounts and completing insurance forms online. Unlike passwords stored on PCs, a smart card cannot be cracked, and if stolen, passwords lock up after three unsuccessful attempts to access using an incorrect PIN. Biometrics can provide further security, by storing fingerprints and other physical data. (American Banker, 28 June 2000)

NASA MODEL-SCHOOL COULD PUT 'GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY' ON THE MAP
The high-tech school that NASA plans to establish in southwest Georgia could become the model for high-tech schools across the country. The school would prepare students to "embrace emerging technologies and fill the work force needs these technologies create," says John Wilson, NASA education program coordinator at the Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss. Along with the Southwest Georgia Chamber of Commerce, several state agencies, and a group of educators, NASA will establish a school that will train students in Clay, Randolph, Quitman, and Stewart counties to work for the space agency and in other high-tech venues. In addition to high school diplomas, the school would offer certificates in geospatial technology, which involves performing operations based on geography using computers and satellite imagery. The students would work with global positioning satellites, graphic information systems, and remote sensing. The high-tech school would serve students in grades six through 12, although at first it would be open only to students in grades six through eight. The school could open in two to three years, and local organizers are working to raise $3.6 million to build it. (eSchoolNews.com, 19 June 2000)

'OPTOCHIPS' SWING OPEN A NEW DOOR FOR IMPROVING OPTICAL PRODUCTS
New "optochips" developed at the University of Southern California and the University of Washington offer information-processing speeds that are upward of 10 times faster than speeds from current modulators. The optochips, also known as polymeric electro-optic modulators, transform electrical signals into optical signals at speeds as high as 100 Gbps. New polymers replace standard lithium niobate in the electro-optic modulators, which serve as a link between electronics and fiber-optic equipment. New polymers are intended to bring about the development of high-capacity devices with low noise and low power usage. Although the technology is focused on optical modulators, manufacturers of integrated optical devices are also showing interest in the technology. Some believe the optochips will improve the performance of routing switches, sensors, directional couplers, and other optical-networking equipment. Long-distance and high-speed communications are among the applications for the technology, said James Bechtel of fiber-optic systems maker IPITEK. Although additional testing is necessary, initial results show promise, Bechtel says. (Lightwave, June 2000)

E-LEARNING HAS ARRIVED ON THE PLANT FLOOR
E-learning is the latest tool companies are using to cut costs, boost efficiency, and maintain a highly trained workforce. Online learning is increasingly displacing the more expensive and harder to update CD-ROMs, and the trend is expected to grow in corporate use from 10 percent of all corporate learning currently to 50 percent in 2003. Sun Microsystems' assemblers can maximize efficiency by logging on to company computers to take a company-produced online course when assembly lines are slow. The assemblers can also consult screens hanging throughout the plant for alerts, which in paper form were often lost or misfiled. Distance learning programs are also infiltrating such old-line manufacturers as Kodak, Motorola, and Rockwell Collins. In addition to e-learning's around-the-clock availability, it can also be tailored to an individual student's needs. Furthermore, e-learning is one way that new economy and old economy companies alike can address labor shortages in fields where large numbers of workers must be trained thoroughly, efficiently, and on anongoing basis. However, traditional classroom instruction will still have its place in training workers to perform more detailed manufacturing tasks. (Fortune--Industrial Management and Technology, 26 June 2000)

MUSIC COMPANIES HOPE DOWNLOADS FOR FEES CAN PROVE POPULAR
While major record labels and Napster are dueling in the courts, recording companies are deciding to be proactive by doing some online music marketing themselves. Recording companies object to Napster because they say that the music-sharing site contributes to widespread piracy. But now BMG, EMI, Warner, Universal, and Sony are entering the game: this summer they are expected to begin offering authorized downloads of popular music via promotional programs. The five major labels may also introduce Napster-like online music services, only users will have to pay to download complete albums or single tracks. Record companies are also exploring music subscription services and other royalty-accruing ventures to increase the industry's already sizable revenue. The industry is also devising various digital schemes to decrease piracy, from encoding CDs so they cannot be transferred to MP3 files to graphics exclusive to authorized downloads. The debate continues over whether such ventures will hurt or help record sales. (Wall Street Journal, 20 June 2000)

AOLTV ROLLS OUT AWAITED INTERACTIVE SERVICE IN JULY
America Online today will unveil its new interactive TV service called AOLTV, which will let subscribers use their televisions for e-mail, Web surfing, instant messaging, and online chatting. AOLTV will launch next month in eight test cities and should be available across the nation by this fall. In addition to letting users access the Internet while watching TV, the new service will group channels into categories to make channel surfing easier. AOLTV will also allow users to learn about products or purchase items by clicking a button. Some analysts expect consumers to balk at the price of the service, which will cost AOL subscribers an extra $14.95 a month and non-members $24.95. The AOLTV set-top box, made by Philips Electronics, will cost $249. In addition, the FTC has expressed concern that AOLTV will favor Time Warner channels, which could complicate the FTC's antitrust review of the forthcoming AOL-Time Warner merger. Meanwhile, some analysts predict that AOL's huge subscriber base and widely recognized brand will help the company succeed in the interactive TV market. (USA Today, 19 June 2000)

WILL MY PC BE SMARTER THAN I AM?
The line between humans and computers will increasingly blur in the future, as cell-sized robots called nanobots allow scientists to make computer-based models of the human brain and to enhance human minds with nanobot implants, writes Ray Kurzweil. Nanobots will likely be able to scan the inside of the brain by 2030, enabling researchers to reverse-engineer the brain. Nonbiological models of the brain will be able to learn more quickly than humans, since the replicas will be able to easily share information with other computers. In addition, the models will run on systems that are over 10 million times faster than the brain's electrochemical processes. Neural computers will surpass the brain's basic computational power by a significant amount, combining humans' diverse skills with machines' speed, accuracy, and data-sharing capability. Nanobots will also enable completely realistic, immersive virtual reality, so that visiting a Web site would mean interacting in a life-like virtual environment in which natural human senses would be replaced with signals designed for the virtual realm. (Time, 19 June 2000)

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
A Department of Commerce study shows that 80 percent of households with incomes over $75,000 have computers, compared with just 16 percent of those with incomes of $10,000 to $15,000. President Clinton supports budget proposals that would devote $100 million to developing 1,000 community technology centers, and $150 million to training new teachers in technology. A program sponsored by several computer and software companies provides laptops for all the teachers and students at a school in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood, and a study reveals that students have become more motivated to attend class and participate in school projects since the program began. Student Anthony Reyes says he never knew what he or his community could do until he got on the Internet, adding that access will make a difference for minorities and the jobs that they get. (Access Magazine, 18 June 2000)

CREATING THE FUTURE INTERNET
Next-generation Internet, a term that describes the future network and the current methods being used to create it, will gradually come into being as technology advances. Three primary advances constitute the next-generation Internet, according to visionaries. First, broadband networks will provide data transmissions that are up to 1,000 times faster than current modems. Also, video-rich media, interactivity, joint access by more than one end-user, 3D design and display capabilities, and other programs will be the major applications driving the Internet. Last, a greater amount of intelligence will be stored in the network, and this data will be managed, distributed, stored, and cached by a better quality of service. Both the public and private sectors are working to achieve the next-generation Internet. The government provides financial backing for many agencies and the academic and corporate worlds are partnering in a consortium called Internet2 to determine how to find and utilize commercially marketable products for the future online environment. New tools are being created that will assist e-meetings by providing real-time language translations. Wireless devices with high-speed connections to the Internet will enhance these services. (Wireless Week, 12 June 2000)

'OPEN SOURCE' SOURCE OF NEW SOFTWARE TYPE
Free software is gaining momentum as open source developers begin to release high-quality applications for business-to-business e-commerce and other areas. Traditionally viewed as a cheap alternative to better applications, free software is now seen as a viable option even at the higher end. Companies are now emerging with business models that aim to profit from free software. For example, Akopia offers free programs that allow companies to establish online trading sites, and it earns money by providing services. In addition, Akopia includes links in its software to service organizations, taking a share of the profits from any agreements that originate from the links. Another startup called Collab.Net serves as an exchange that allows developers to bid on open-source projects. Experts say e-commerce growth will make open source software an important part of online trading and bring more business users to the open source movement. (Investor's Business Daily, 19 June 2000)

SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTIONS: 100 TITLES, $9.95 A MONTH
Software subscriptions that provide access to a large number of titles for a flat monthly rate are gaining popularity among consumers, and experts say the trend could transform the software industry and fuel the growth of high-speed Internet services. Walt Disney's Disney Interactive today will announce a subscription service for Disney software, and Comcast already offers its $9.95-a-month PlayNow service, which provides access to more than 100 programs. Consumers appear to be enthusiastic about the subscription services, since paying a flat rate can be cheaper than buying new games for about $40 each. In addition to targeting the consumer market, subscription provider Into Networks intends to focus on small businesses by providing office software for users who do not want to buy a full office suite. The software subscription market is small, but experts believe the market will grow as broadband use rises. By the end of this year 3.3 million homes are expected to have broadband, up from 1.7 million homes currently, according to the Yankee Group. The figure is expected to reach 16.6 million homes by 2004. (Wall Street Journal, 19 June 2000)

THE LIBRARY AS THE LATEST WEB VENTURE
Libraries are entering the Digital Age with the advent of electronic library research companies such as Ebrary.com and Questia Media. Electronic library projects are intended to help users do scholarly research, not to be confused with the electronic book industry, which is focused on the popular reading experience. Companies are hoping to appeal to Internet-savvy students who consider cyberspace more efficient than the stacks. NetLibrary already allows users to view books online for a limited period of time, but its relatively modest number of books and publishers' objections to the subscription system has hampered success. Ebrary.com plans to have 600,000 volumes online by its fall opening, compared with NetLibrary's 18,000 copyrighted books. Furthermore, publishers can make money each time a user views the scanned book pages with Questia, and each time a user prints a page with Ebrary.com, compared with one-time library profits. Some have expressed concerns about public libraries turning into profit-making ventures, taking low-income access to online materials into account. But other librarians say electronic libraries will ultimately lead users back to traditional libraries for closer reading. (New York Times, 15 June 2000)

GLOBE SUIT HIGHLIGHTS NET USAGE DEBATE
A number of freelance writers are suing the Boston Globe over a licensing agreement that allows the paper to distribute their content over the Internet without additional compensation or benefit. Several groups are backing the suit, including The National Writers Union, The Graphic Artists Guild, and the American Society of Media Photographers. Although the freelancers can sell their copyrighted work to other media outlets, they claim that the Globe undermines the market value of the work because the paper can distribute their content on the Web and elsewhere. Many other newspapers across the country have similar licensing agreements with freelancers, so the outcome of the Globe lawsuit may very well establish a precedent regarding intellectual property on the Internet. (Boston Globe Online, 15 June 2000)

DREXEL UNIVERSITY PLANS WIRELESS CAMPUS
Drexel University President Constantine Papadakis on Saturday unveiled a plan to establish a completely wireless campus by September. Since 1983 the Philadelphia institution has required that each student have a PC. Papadakis insisted that wires would only limit comprehensive access, and in fact, some of the campus started going wireless two years ago. Students would use privacy-encrypted wireless adapter cards costing $175 with their laptops, transmitting radio signals to small antennas located around the 46-acre campus. University vice president for information resources and technology John A. Bielec says that with the new network "you can be watching a soccer game standing on the sidelines and be connected to the Internet." (Associated Press, 11 June 2000)

HOW THE WEB YANKED OBSCURE U.S. AGENCY INTO LEGAL LIMELIGHT
Although U.S. copyright laws have been evolving since the 1700s, the digital revolution has presented even more challenges for an already complex system. The Library of Congress' U.S. Copyright Office has been beset with copyright issues, pitting librarians against online publishers, musicians against online music providers. Some of the battles are being fought in court, as Metallica is suing Napster for violating copyright and not paying royalties, and online publishers are lobbying Congress for stricter laws, although Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in 1998 to address copyright in terms of the Internet. The act made it illegal to break into a company's erected defenses, but Congress has left it up to the copyright office to decide exemptions to this law because universities, libraries, and other educational institutions had concerns about restrictions on using books and other scholarly materials. The Association of American Universities wants an exemption for digital versions of scholarly journals, arguing that facts are not copyrightable. In a few months the Copyright Office will submit recommendations on many of these issues to James Billington, Librarian of Congress, who is responsible for the final decisions. (Wall Street Journal, 14 June 2000)

APPLE, REALNETWORKS JOIN TO BROADCAST AUDIO, VIDEO OVER INTERNET
Apple Computer and RealNetworks yesterday announced at a trade show in New York that they have joined forces to compete against Microsoft in the market for distributing multimedia files over the Internet. RealNetworks will integrate Apple's QuickTime program into its RealServer 8 software that RealNetworks will sell to companies for streaming audio or video broadcasts on the Web. The companies also agreed to support "Ask, Tell, Help," an industry agreement that encourages the use of software that does not take over all multimedia functions once it's installed. Apple has been pulling out all stops to promote QuickTime products, from digital cameras to video editing programs, including giving away a QuickTime server program and its source code. Although Apple CEO Steve Jobs had accused RealNetworks of "hefty" pricing, Jobs and RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser were ushering a new era of collaboration at Monday's conference. Both companies emphasized the need to expand their services against Microsoft, and Jobs declared that Sun Microsystems, another Microsoft competitor, will also join this effort. (Wall Street Journal, 13 June 2000)

WEBCASTING SET TO BECOME FORMIDABLE MEDIA FORCE
The practice of Webcasting is allowing site developers, content providers, and advertisers to distribute video online more often, a trend that raises the possibility of the Internet becoming a competitive medium in the broadcasting community. Several companies have been broadcasting online videos. MSN has provided several concerts online, RealNetworks' software enables television programs to be viewed live on the Internet, and SightSound.com and MyMovies.Net both provide movies online. Redbus Film Group intends to provide a video-on-demand service called Film2 this fall, and similarly, IchooseTV plans to enable customers to choose and download the programs they wish to see. The greatest problem with online broadcasting is that the video files require compression in order to be transmitted, which compromises the quality of the image. Yet this obstacle may become obsolete as future technologies are developed. Currently, digital subscriber lines (DSL) are making the connections between homes and the Internet faster and more efficient, and fiber-optics, which are the framework of the Internet, are being upgraded. (Financial Times--Information Technology, 7 June 2000)

FAST-GROWING INTERNET INDUSTRY SURGES 'STARTLING' 62%
The Internet industry showed surprisingly healthy gains last year, boosting its revenues 62 percent to $524 billion and creating 650,000 new jobs, according to a new study from the University of Texas that was commissioned by Cisco Systems. The industry now employs some 2.5 million people, more than the insurance or public utilities industries. The industry appears to be poised for even greater growth, as the study notes that the industry is still in its nascent stages. Despite the recent downturn in technology stocks, the study predicts that the industry could produce another 62 percent growth spurt this year, meaning revenues could hit $850 billion. The study included pure online companies as well as brick-and-mortar companies with an online presence. (USA Today, 6 June 2000)

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Jón Hrólfur Sigurjónsson (28.09.2000)