Message-Id: <55206A473154D011924D0020AFF7ACB55E6A67@mail1.oulan.ou.edu>
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 13:55:29 -0600
From: "Swisher, Bob" <bswisher@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@ou.edu'" <it-fyi@ou.edu>
Subject: Edupage, 10 February 1998
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Edupage, 10 February 1998. 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.
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TOP STORIES
Clinton Administration Proposes Transferring .Edu Control
Senators Offer Support For Filtering Software
Power Computing Shuts Down
Web Profits Still Elusive
ALSO
Microsoft To Use Collier's Content In Encarta
AT&T Eyeing Cable-Net Venture
Indian Tribe Creates Web-Based National Lottery
AOL Raises The Bridge And Lowers The Water
CLINTON ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES TRANSFERRING .EDU CONTROL
As part of the Clinton Administration's proposal to shift control over
the Internet from the government to private entities, it has suggested
that an unspecified nonprofit organization assume responsibility for
overseeing the ".edu" addresses. Educom has offered to take over that
process, and President Robert C. Heterick, Jr. has pledged "a
blue-ribbon panel" of college presidents and chief information officers
to determine which applicants are eligible for the .edu designation.
Educom is the only organization to date to make a specific offer, and
NSF officials have been "encouraging," says Heterick, who adds, "We want
to make sure that somebody does it who has the best interests of higher
education at heart." The government's Internet plan can be found at
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/dnsdrft.htm . (Chronicle of
Higher Education 13 Feb 98)
SENATORS OFFER SUPPORT FOR FILTERING SOFTWARE
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R., Arizona) has
introduced a bill that would require any school or other recipient using
federal money to pay for Internet connections must use some form of
filtering software to prevent children from accessing indecent material.
The bill is cosponsored by Senators Hollings (D., South Carolina),
Murray (D., Washington), and Coats (R., Indiana). Senate aides say the
courts have previously upheld government efforts to stipulate certain
conditions and requirements binding recipients of federal money. (AP 10
Feb 98)
POWER COMPUTING SHUTS DOWN
Power Computing Corp., which until last summer was the fastest-growing
PC company of the 1990s, has closed its doors, after failing to make the
transition from being an Apple Macintosh clone maker to a Wintel machine
maker. The company had stopped production of the Wintel machines in
December, citing parts shortages, but said it planned to start back up
early this year. According to a security guard at Power Computing
headquarters, "The show is over, the monkey is dead, and they've folded
the tent." (Tampa Tribune 9 Feb 98)
WEB PROFITS STILL ELUSIVE
Despite record Internet advertising revenues in 1997, most analysts are
predicting a wave of consolidations and failures this year, as revenues
continue to fall far short of the expenses involved in electronic
publishing. And even for those publishers tenacious enough to hang on,
it could still be another three or four years before they can expect to
realize a profit. "I think this is the year where the contenders will
step forward and the pretenders will step back," says the executive VP
of SportsLine USA. The problem boils down to too many Web sites chasing
too few ad dollars, and advertisers remaining wary of the new medium:
"Many people are expecting
the big-brand advertisers like Coca-Cola and McDonald's to pile in, but
we find that this is not a great medium for brand advertisers," says a
Forrester Research analyst. (Miami Herald 8 Feb 98)
==============================================
MICROSOFT TO USE COLLIER'S CONTENT IN ENCARTA
Microsoft is acquiring the rights to use content from Collier's
encyclopedia in its own Encarta CD-ROM. Encarta, which was Microsoft's
first big multimedia success, has become central to the company's
strategy to sell software to schools. "Collier's is in a league with
Britannica and Americana," says an encyclopedia analyst. "They call
them the ABC of the encyclopedia industry." Encarta has won praise for
its use of video and graphics, but has been criticized for its original
decision five years ago to use text from Funk & Wagnalls, largely
regarded as a second-rate source. (Los Angeles Times 9 Feb 98)
AT&T EYEING CABLE-NET VENTURE
AT&T is talking with top cable-TV companies about getting involved in an
Internet-cable-TV venture. The cable companies are considering merging
Time Warner's Road Runner Internet-access unit with @Home Corp., which
is backed by Tele-Communications Inc., Comcast Corp., Cox Communications
Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp. Although executives warn there are
still numerous issues to be worked out, one familiar with the talks
says, "We all have a strong desire to do something here. There's always
been a natural alliance between long-distance and cable." (Wall Street
Journal 10 Feb 98)
INDIAN TRIBE CREATES WEB-BASED NATIONAL LOTTERY
>From a five-year-old bingo hall and casino on a two-lane country road
25 miles from Spokane, Washington, the 1,400 members of the Coeur
d'Alene Indian tribe launched the Web-based "U.S. Lottery," which they
call "the first ever parimutuel lottery to be accessible both by
telephone and Internet." The attorneys general of Missouri and Wisconsin
have sued to block the activity, and Senator Jon Kyl (R., Arizona) has
introduced a bill to ban Internet gambling outright. Wisconsin attorney
general Jim Doyle says, "It's a crime in Wisconsin to solicit or
retrieve a bet. The law is very clear. If you do it by means of
telephone, or telegraph, or the Internet, you are violating Wisconsin
laws. The Coeur d'Alenes have not greater standing than a bookie
sitting out in Minnesota receiving phone bets from Washington citizens."
(Washington Post 10 Feb 98)
AOL RAISES THE BRIDGE AND LOWERS THE WATER
In a two-punch move that has delighted Wall Street, America Online has
raised its subscription prices (from $19.95 to $21.95 a month) while at
the same time announcing a layoff of 50% of the 1,000 employees who had
come from the recent CompuServe acquisition and who have mostly been
customer service representatives. Industry analyst Michael Parekh says:
"The Internet needs to raise prices. None of the 4,000 Internet service
providers that want to grow their subscriber base can make money at
$19.95." (New York Times CyberTimes 10 Feb 98)
Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) and Suzanne Douglas
(douglas@educom.edu). Telephone: 770-590-1017
Technical support for distributing Edupage is provided by Information
Technology Services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Translations & Archives... Edupage is translated into Estonian, French,
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Today's Honorary Subscriber is Molly (actually, her real name was
Maggie) Brown, the woman played by actress Kathy Bates in the current
movie, "The Titanic"; Brown was also the subject of Meredith Wilson's
Broadway musical "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," later made into a movie
starring Debbie Reynolds. Born in 1867 in Hannibal, Missouri, Maggie
moved to Colorado, where she met and married miner J.J. Brown; they
eventually struck it rich and began to take regular tours of Europe.
(She had taught herself six languages, to make this easier.) When the
Titanic sank, she and 13 other women passengers managed to row hard
enough to get away from the suction caused by the sinking ship. After
the tragedy, she spent months raising money for destitute victims. When
reporters asked her to comment on her survival, she explained: "Typical
Brown luck. We're unsinkable."
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Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology
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