From: "Swisher, Bob" <bswisher@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@listserv.ou.edu'" <it-fyi@lists.ou.edu>
Subject: it-fyi: Edupage, 12 April 1999
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 16:31:33 -0500
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Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, an international nonprofit association
dedicated to transforming education through information technologies.
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TOP STORIES for April 12, 1999
3 Industries Pass Tests for Year 2000 Computer Glitch
Online Retailers to Have a Hard Time Showing a Sequential Revenue
Growth
IBM, RealNetworks Join to Develop Net Music System
Safeguards Considered against Smut for Schools Seeking Internet
Funds
ALSO
China Sets Up Its Own Web Site to Lure U.S. Concerns' Business
Why Melissa Is So Scary
Graduates Go Digital
The Invisible Computer
3 INDUSTRIES PASS TESTS FOR YEAR 2000 COMPUTER GLITCH
The securities, electric utilities, and airlines industries all recently
passed important Y2K testing. The most important phase of the
securities industry testing occurred on Saturday, when the first trading
day in 2000 was simulated. None of the participating exchanges and
organizations that provide the securities industry with back-office
services experienced Y2K glitches. Although the Federal Aviation Agency
tested only a single flight at the Denver International airport, the
test was successful. The electric utility industry conducted a drill to
see how over 200 utilities in the U.S. and Canada would respond to a Y2K
disaster. On Friday, the utilities tested response to the loss of voice
and data communications used to monitor power production and
distribution. (New York Times 04/12/99)
ONLINE RETAILERS TO HAVE A HARD TIME SHOWING A SEQUENTIAL REVENUE GROWTH
The fourth quarter of 1998 was the high-water mark for electronic
commerce sales, as most Internet retailers have shown declines in the
first quarter of 1999. Most e-commerce companies are posting increased
losses due to large investments in marketing and elsewhere. The ease
of comparative shopping over the Internet is largely responsible for
tight margins, particularly among computer resellers, says analyst Derek
Brown. However, e-commerce leaders such as Amazon.com and eBay will
likely show increases over fourth-quarter results, say some analysts.
(Wall Street Journal 04/12/99)
IBM, REALNETWORKS JOIN TO DEVELOP NET MUSIC SYSTEM
IBM and RealNetworks will unveil plans Monday to jointly develop a
system for securely distributing music over the Internet. The two
companies will combine RealNetworks' software for playing audio and
video over the Internet and IBM's end-to-end electronicmusic-management
system. Meanwhile, IBM and RealNetworks will battle Microsoft to
capture market share before the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI)
selects a standard technology early next year. Analysts say both
competitors hope to capture enough of the market to become a de facto
standard before SDMI is able to meet and announce a standard. (Los
Angeles Times 04/12/99)
SAFEGUARDS CONSIDERED AGAINST SMUT FOR SCHOOLS SEEKING INTERNET FUNDS
Larry Irving, chief of the Commerce Department's National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, said Thursday that
the Clinton administration wants schools and libraries receiving federal
funding for Internet access to be required to implement usage policies
that protect children from inappropriate content on the Web. Irving
says the policies should assure parents that their children's
educational experiences on the Internet are being safeguarded. The
White House prefers a policy-oriented approach, rather than the use of
filtering or blocking software, to keep children away from smut on the
Internet, according to Irving. (Associated Press 04/09/99)
=======================================
CHINA SETS UP ITS OWN WEB SITE TO LURE U.S. CONCERNS' BUSINESS
The Chinese government is establishing its first electronic
commerce-oriented Web site, www.meetchina.com, where Chinese companies
will be allowed to post company, product, and service information for
the benefit of American corporations. Chinese companies will also be
able to provide their e-mail addresses and other contact information.
U.S. Business Network is operating the site for China, and CEO Ken
Leonard says the site will help Chinese companies develop contacts with
American companies. Leonard says the site represents the first time
Chinese companies have been allowed to make direct contact with
international companies. Michael Borrus of the Berkeley Roundtable on
the International Economy says the site is part of the Chinese
government's efforts at privatizing its industries. (New York Times
04/12/99)
WHY MELISSA IS SO SCARY
The recent Melissa virus alerted people to the frightening speed with
which viruses can spread. Although publicity limited the damage,
computer experts, including IBM's Steve R. White, say existing antivirus
methods are becoming obsolete. The way viruses are dealt with -- the
detector sends a copy of the suspect code to an expert for evaluation,
and, if determined a virus, the fix is sent out to computer users -- is
too slow, taking a few days. White recommends automating the system and
removing the human link. In fact, IBM has teamed with Symantec to
develop the Digital Immune System (due for early 2000) that
automatically scans a system for a virus code in the making, relays it
to several computers for evaluation, and those computers would then
create a fix and distribute it electronically. Another antivirus
software producer, Network Associates, is developing a similar system
called Auto Immune (due late this year). (U.S News & World Report
04/12/99)
GRADUATES GO DIGITAL
The final Graduate Record Examination (GRE) to be administered by paper
and pencil was given on April 10, and all general GRE testing is now to
be conducted by computers. Kevin Gonzalez of the Educational Testing
Service says the GRE can now be taken 150 days a year, rather than six
times, and test-takers can work at their own pace without having to stop
at the end of each section. The computer-based GRE consists of only 25
questions, which are automatically adjusted to the level of each
test-taker. A test-taker is first asked a randomly selected question of
medium difficulty. If the question is answered correctly, the next
question will be of the same level or harder, and if answered
incorrectly, an easier question will appear. However, Gonzalez says the
questions are weighted. "If you answer easy questions, they're worth
less, and you'll get a lower score," he explains. A negative aspect of
computer-based GREs is that questions cannot be skipped and answers
cannot be rechecked at the end of the test. (Wired News 04/09/99)
THE INVISIBLE COMPUTER
Donald A. Norman, professor emeritus at the University of California and
owner of the Nielson Norman Group, writes that the time for the
information appliance has come. Norman cites three main problems with
PCs: a single device designed to perform too many tasks cannot do every
task in a superior manner, a single machine cannot be well-suited to
every person in the world, and the PC business model involving yearly
upgrades results in an increasing level of complexity in the machines.
Information appliances are created to suit the needs of the user and to
accomplish a specific task, which Norman says makes them more
appropriate than PCs. Several information appliances are already being
used, including cellular phones, fax machines, pagers, and electronic
reference books. These products hide or minimize the technology visible
to users, and Norman says, "This will be the generation where the
technology disappears into the tool, serving valuable functions but
keeping out of the way--the generation of the invisible computer."
However, in order for information appliances to reach their full
potential, Norman says they must be able to communicate with one another
using a standardized, international protocol for sharing information.
(Financial Times 04/12/99)
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UPCOMING EDUCAUSE CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS:
Networking '99 Conference on Advanced Networking
April 28-30, 1999, Washington, DC
http://www.educause.edu/netatedu/contents/events/apr99/
Information Resources for the 21st Century
May 5-7, 1999, Portland, Oregon
http://www.educause.edu/conference/regional/nwacc/1999/
CUMREC '99 Breaking Through: 2000 and Beyond
May 9-12, San Antonio, Texas
http://www.cumrec.com/cumrec99/
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Edupage Copyright 1999, EDUCAUSE
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EDUCAUSE, an international nonprofit association dedicated to
transforming education through information technologies
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