Message-Id: <55206A473154D011924D0020AFF7ACB53270D5@mail1.oulan.ou.edu>
Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 08:32:20 -0600
From: "Swisher, Bob" <bswisher@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@ou.edu'" <it-fyi@ou.edu>
Subject: Edupage, 30 October 1997
> ************************************************************
> Edupage, 30 October 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
> Shake-Up At Silicon Graphics
> BT May Buy Out MCI Share Of Concert
> Rockwell Ups The Ante In Modem Wars
> Motorola Pagers Tie Into MTV Info
>
> ALSO
> Whither Digital Now?
> U. Of Minnesota Links To Internet2
> Internet Ethics Code
> IBM Offers Design Kits For Copper Chips
> Live, Streaming Educom97
>
> SHAKE-UP AT SILICON GRAPHICS
> Ed McCracken has resigned as chief executive officer of Silicon
> Graphics Inc. but will remain as chairman. The SGI board of directors
> has also decided that the company will lay off 700 to 1,000 employees
> in its 11,000-member workforce and will continue to try to transform
> the company from a high-end graphics workstation manufacturer to a
> provider of server computers. (San Jose Mercury News 30 Oct 97)
>
> BT MAY BUY OUT MCI SHARE OF CONCERT
> British Telecom says it's considering buying MCI out of its 25% share
> of Concert Communications Services if the two companies don't merge.
> "If MCI is taken over, we have the right to reclaim that company if
> certain conditions apply. But the way to look at it is that, in just
> about any circumstances, Concert Communications Services will be
> controlled by BT," says BT's CEO. Concert is the cornerstone of BT's
> ambitious global strategy to form alliances with foreign carriers and
> offer one-stop telecommunications services for multinational
> corporations. (TechWeb 30 Oct 97)
>
> ROCKWELL UPS THE ANTE IN MODEM WARS
> Rockwell International, in an effort to influence a current meeting of
> the International Telecommunication Union, says that within a year it
> may introduce computer modems capable of transmitting data over
> conventional phone lines at speeds up to 20 times faster than current
> models. "We hope that, by presenting this technology very early in
> the ITU discussions, we can accelerate the standardization process,"
> says a Rockwell VP. Meanwhile, 3Com's U.S. Robotics has developed a
> competing standard for 56-Kbps modems. Rockwell says that if its
> standard is accepted now, it can provide "a seamless transition"
> between 56-Kbps technology and the next-generation consumer digital
> subscriber line standard. (Wall Street Journal 29 Oct 97)
>
> MOTOROLA PAGERS TIE INTO MTV INFO
> In a marketing strategy to make its pager products more attractive to
> young adults and teenagers, Motorola plans a new line of pagers that
> display news about contests and programming on Viacom's MTV cable
> network. The devices, which will also provide traditional pager
> services, will be available next month. (Los Angeles Times 29 Oct 97)
>
> ==========================================
>
> WHITHER DIGITAL NOW?
> Now that Digital has settled its differences with Intel and will turn
> its Alpha plant over to Intel in return for cash, CEO Robert Palmer
> says he plans to move Digital ahead as a provider of computer hardware
> services and consultancy, similar to Electronic Data Systems Corp.
> And although Digital plans to continue making computers with both
> Alpha and Intel chips, Digital founder Ken Olsen, who was forced out
> in favor of Palmer five years ago says, "Alpha was a good chip, but
> they set about to destroy the rest of the company to build Alpha, and
> that wasn't smart. I hope they're finally seeing the light." (Wall
> Street Journal 30 Oct 97)
>
> U. OF MINNESOTA LINKS TO INTERNET2
> The University of Minnesota has completed its hook-up to the Internet2
> network -- a high-speed backbone that links the national supercomputer
> centers at speed up to 1,000 times faster than the original Internet.
> The OC-3 link-up to Internet2, provided by Norlight
> Telecommunications, is 84 times more powerful than a standard
> university Internet connection, and more than 5,000 times faster than
> a typical home modem, according to a Norlight VP. Besides linking the
> University of Minnesota to Internet2, Wisconsin-based Norlight will
> maintain and monitor the connection under a two-year renewable
> contract, says university Chief Information Officer Don Riley.
> (NewsBytes 29 Oct 97)
>
> INTERNET ETHICS CODE
> The Canadian Direct Marketers Association, which represents 80% of the
> country's $11-billion annual direct marketing industry, is amending
> its code of ethics and standards of practice requiring its 650
> corporate members to respect consumer privacy on the Internet. The
> measures, to take effect in January, focus on two areas: giving
> consumers a clear opportunity to reject unsolicited e-mail (commonly
> known as spam); and informing consumers about what personal
> information is being collected from them on-line and how it might be
> used. (Toronto Globe & Mail 24 Oct 97)
>
> IBM OFFERS DESIGN KITS FOR COPPER CHIPS
> IBM says that in January it will begin offering manufacturers chip
> design kits, allowing them to use IBM's breakthrough technology using
> copper rather than aluminum for computer chips. Copper chips will be
> significantly faster and more powerful than chips currently available.
> (Wall Street Journal 27 Oct 97; revised from Edupage 26 Oct 97)
>
> LIVE, STREAMING EDUCOM97
> Yesterday's live webcast of Eli Noam's speech was viewed by at least
> 120, and possibly as many as 500 people located all over the world.
> That speech, as well as today's address by Sherry Turkle and
> tomorrow's by John Perry Barlow, will be available for viewing on the
> Educom Web site for the next month. Tomorrow's keynote session at
> EDUCOM'97 will be available as a live, streaming webcast via RealMedia
> at www.educom.edu/conf/97/webcast.html. Viewers will need the
> RealPlayer, Version 5 (at www.real.com) and at least a 28.8 connection
> to the Internet. Webcast time (CST -5000 UT) is 11:15 am October 31.
> Feedback on the webcasts is solicited on the webcast page.
>
> 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 Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-1579), the
> English financier and merchant best known for the creation of
> "Gresham's Law" - the idea that "bad money drives out good." The law
> was concerned with the probability that coins with bullion content
> higher than their face value would be removed from circulation and
> melted down -- leaving in circulation only coins with a metal value
> lower than their face value. The proposition has little application
> today in finance, but can still explain various developments in the
> general cultural confusion of this (or any) age.
>
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