Message-Id: <55206A473154D011924D0020AFF7ACB527C90C@mail1.oulan.ou.edu>
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 16:23:57 -0500
From: "Swisher, Bob" <bswisher@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@ou.edu'" <it-fyi@ou.edu>
Subject: Edupage, 30 September 1997
> ************************************************************
> Edupage, 30 September 1997. Edupage, a summary of news about
> information technology, is provided three times a week as a service by
> Educom, a Washington, D.C.-based consortium of leading colleges and
> universities seeking to transform education through the use of
> information technology.
> ************************************************************
>
> TOP STORIES
> News Corp. Sues AOL Over CompuServe Deal
> Netscape, Microsoft Debut New Browsers
> New York Vs. International Child Cyberporn
> The Internet Audience Measurement Business
>
> ALSO
> U.S. Imposes Anti-Dumping Duties On Japanese Supercomputers
> United Airlines Calls On Speech Technology For Flight Booking
> Xerox Challenges HP In Mopier Market
> Qwest And Cisco Form Alliance
> Are There Enough Programmers To Cope With Millennium Bomb?
>
> NEWS CORP. SUES AOL OVER COMPUSERVE DEAL
> News Corp.'s Kesmai unit, which offers games on America Online,
> CompuServe and Prodigy, has filed a complaint in U.S. District Court,
> claiming "flagrant" antitrust violations and seeking to "enjoin AOL
> from abusing its monopoly power." The lawsuit also attempts to block
> what it calls an "illegal merger" with CompuServe and claims that AOL
> "engaged in a course of conduct designed to defraud and destroy
> Kesmai" when it launched its own WorldPlay multiplayer gaming service.
> WorldPlay offers various gaming
> options, including games from AOL and Kesmai. Kesmai's CEO says that
> while Kesmai has agreements for game distribution through AOL
> competitors, "the vast majority of revenue -- over 90% -- comes from
> AOL." Since the inception of the WorldPlay service, Kesmai has seen
> its revenue drop by as much as 92%, a situation it attributes to AOL's
> marketing scheme, which gives its own services much more aggressive
> promotion. "Our business is virtually ruined," says Kesmai's CEO.
> (Wall Street Journal 30 Sep 97)
>
> NETSCAPE, MICROSOFT DEBUT NEW BROWSERS
> Netscape introduced Aurora, its next-generation Communicator user
> interface, one day before Microsoft was scheduled to announce the next
> generation of its Internet Explorer Web browser. Aurora will be
> closely integrated with several operating systems, including Windows
> 3.1 and Windows 95, with future versions targeting a variety of Unix
> platforms and Mac OS. Netscape CEO James Barksdale calls the new
> Internet Explorer 4.0 "cumbersome and confusing," and warns that its
> integration with Windows 98 could result in feature overkill: "I have
> a house and I have a boat, but that doesn't mean I want a houseboat,"
> says Barksdale. (InfoWorld Electric 29 Sep 97)
>
> NEW YORK VS. INTERNATIONAL CHILD CYBERPORN
> The New York state attorney general's office says it has identified
> more than 1500 persons around the world suspected of trafficking in
> child pornography over the Internet, in an 18-month investigation that
> led to the arrest of 34 people in New York and to the referral of 90
> other suspects in other states and in Germany and Britain. An
> executive of the National Law Center for Children and Families says:
> "This is the first major effort by a state attorney general's office
> to supplement the efforts underway by the federal government. It
> shows that local law enforcement has a role to play even in
> international issues." (New York Times 30 Sep 97)
>
> THE INTERNET AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT BUSINESS
> Nielsen Media Research Inc., the company that watches the watchers (of
> TV), will focus some of its attention on the Net, and start studying
> the surfers using statistical services to help marketers gauge online
> viewing patterns and choose the best sites for advertising their
> products. To provide those services, the company is developing a
> system that would track PC usage both online and off-line. Existing
> competition for Nielsen's new business includes Media Metrix. Inc./The
> PC Meter Co.; RelevantKnowledge Inc.; and Web21 Inc. (Inter@ctive
> Week Online 29 Sep 97)
>
> ==============================================
>
> U.S. IMPOSES ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES ON JAPANESE SUPERCOMPUTERS
> In response to a complaint filed by Cray Research in July 1996, the
> U.S. International Trade Commission has ruled that "dumping" by
> Japanese supercomputer makers -- specifically NEC and Fujitsu -- has
> injured or threatened to injure the U.S. vector supercomputer
> marketplace. The decision means that Japanese vector supercomputers
> will be subject to anti-dumping duties, which will make them less
> competitive on price against U.S. models. HNSX Supercomputers, NEC's
> U.S. subsidiary, describes the
> ruling as "highly regrettable," and adds that "the dumping charge is a
> blatant fabrication, based on grossly inflated research... This
> dumping case is the latest in a series of barriers erected by the U.S.
> government to bar Japanese supercomputers from the U.S. market." NEC
> and Cray reportedly are discussing a settlement in which NEC would
> swap an undisclosed technology in return for Cray dropping the
> charges. (Electronics Buyers News 29 Sep 97)
>
> UNITED AIRLINES CALLS ON SPEECH TECHNOLOGY FOR FLIGHT BOOKING
> In the next couple of weeks, United Airlines will debut a new
> speech-recognition system for its 80,000 employees that will enable
> them to book flights simply by stating the origination and destination
> cities and desired day and time of departure. The system uses
> technology developed by Applied Language Technologies, and if it's
> successful, the airline is considering making it available to
> customers as well. (Investor's Business Daily 30 Sep 97)
>
> XEROX CHALLENGES HP IN MOPIER MARKET
> Xerox Corp. is introducing a new line of powerful digital network
> laser printers -- so-called "mopiers" because they're designed to make
> multiple copies of computer-created documents at prices comparable to
> regular copiers. The mopier market is expanding as small and mid-size
> businesses increasingly use printers rather than copy machines for
> producing documents. In a challenge to printer giant Hewlett-Packard,
> Xerox is pricing its machines $500 lower than the comparable HP model
> and says its toner cartridges produce 53% more copies than HP's. "We
> have to compete ferociously," says Xerox President Rick Thoman. (Wall
> Street Journal 30 Sep 97)
>
> QWEST AND CISCO FORM ALLIANCE
> Qwest, the telecom company, is forming a partnership with computer
> networking company Cisco Systems to provide voice, video, data and fax
> services over the Internet. By offering a multimedia communications
> model centered around the Internet, the Qwest/Cisco alliance takes an
> alternative approach to traditional telecommunications design. Some
> industry analysts are predicting that Internet-based networks could
> replace traditional phone networks within five or ten years. (San
> Jose Mercury News 29 Sep 97)
>
> ARE THERE ENOUGH PROGRAMMERS TO COPE WITH MILLENNIUM BOMB?
> A survey of large international organizations conducted in England by
> the Manpower employment agency found that fewer than one out three
> such companies are now prepared to cope with the "Millennium Bomb"
> (when computers that were programmed with two-digit fields to
> represent years will miscalculate dates unless they are reprogrammed).
> The result? A predicted shortage of programmers. More than 40% of
> the companies expect a serious shortage of application programmers.
> (Financial Times 29 Sep 97)
>
> Edupage is written by John Gehl <gehl@educom.edu> & Suzanne Douglas
> <douglas@educom.edu>. Telephone: 770-590-1017
>
> Technical support is provided by Information Technology Services at
> the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
>
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> Today's Honorary Subscriber is the New York Times political columnist
> who also writes a weekly article about language. Here is a recent
> excerpt: "The most famous eponymous characters are Amelia Bloomer, a
> suffragist who wore Turkish-style pants, Capt. Charles Boycott, the
> shunned British land agent in Ireland, and Samuel Maverick, the Texas
> rancher who didn't brand his cattle; less well known are Thomas
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> the counterman; Rudolf Diesel, the internal combuster, and King
> Mausolus of Caria, whose tomb was one of the seven wonders of the
> world."
>
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