Adam
************************************************************
Edupage, 10 September 1996. Edupage, a summary of news about information
technology, is provided three times a week as a service by Educom.
************************************************************
ORACLE CEO PREDICTS PHONE COMPANIES WILL OFFER NCs
Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison is predicting that some phone companies
will begin consumer trials of Internet appliances sometime during the next
six months, with the appliance being distributed to phone customers along
with communications services for one monthly fee. But Ellison warns that to
make the venture a success, phone companies will have to make surfing the
Web as simple as using a telephone. (Wall Street Journal 10 Sep 96 A7)
DELL SLASHES SERVER PRICES
Dell Computer has priced its new line of computer servers as much as 50%
below comparable models. The new machines are based on Intel's Pentium Pro
processors and start at $3,799. (Wall Street Journal 9 Sep 96 B8)
COREL'S NEW PDA, WORDPERFECT FOR JAVA
Corel has developed a new generation of personal digital assistants (PDAs)
and is now seeking a manufacturer for the units. The Corel PDA will allow
users to browse the Web, do e-mail, etc. (Ottawa Sun 10 Sep 96 p18)
Meanwhile, the company will offer a public beta version of Corel WordPerfect
for Java later this month. The new WordPerfect for Java is written entirely
in Sun Microsystems' Java programming language and will be available at
Corel's home page < www.corel.com >. (Information Week 2 Sep 96 p24)
INTERNET ARCHIVE
A group of history-conscious Web surfers have created a nonprofit
organization to log and document information on the Web and make it
available for future historians. "We don't know what early TV looked like,
because no one was recording it," says the Internet Archive's president.
"No one knows in any real way what the Web looked like a year ago." The
archive can be found at < http://www.archive.org >. (St. Petersburg Times 9
Sep 96 p8)
TOSHIBA OFFERS NEW LINE OF DESKTOP SYSTEMS
Toshiba, best known for notebook computers, is now offering a line of
desktop machines called Infinia, made to operate like computer appliances,
with features such as radio-style dials to turn up the volume and push
buttons to control other computer operations. Infinia computers can play
CDs, serve as a phone answering machine, and receive TV and radio
broadcasts. (New York Times 10 Sep 96 C6)
FLASHPIX ARE NO FLASH-IN-THE-PAN, SAYS SCULLEY
Live Picture, which counts former Apple Chairman John Sculley as one of its
investors, is hoping that its FlashPix technology will set the standard by
which all photographs will be stored on computers. FlashPix technology is
designed to trim the amount of time it takes to work with color pictures on
a PC, by making it possible to work with only a small portion of the image
file and still generate high-quality results. Although FlashPix faces
competition from several PC software products already on the market, Sculley
predicts FlashPix will do for high-quality color images what desktop
publishing did for black-and-white layout. The technology also has an
Internet tie-in -- rather than sending an entire picture file across the
Net, users can send just a sampling of the file. Live Picture is
collaborating with Eastman Kodak, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard in its
FlashPix venture. (Wall Street Journal 9 Sep 96 B8)
WIRED WORLD WILL "DIMINISH NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY"
A leading Clinton Administration official on information security and
cryptography matters says that traditional notions of sovereignty, national
security and warfare will be undermined by the year 2020, when the whole
world is "wired" and e-cash is the norm. The result will be less powerful
governments in relation to criminal organizations such as the Mafia and
international drug cartels, says Michael Nelson, who adds that organized
crime members are already some of the most sophisticated users of computer
systems and strong encryption technology. In addition, computer crackers
will pose a more significant threat. In response, Nelson advocates
resolving the issue of whether unauthorized access of a computer is an "act
of trespass" or an "act of war," and prosecuting the intrusions accordingly.
(BNA Daily Report for Executives 6 Sep 96 A14)
WEB SITE SUIT DISMISSED
A federal judge in New York City has dismissed a trademark-infringement
lawsuit filed by the operator of the Blue Note jazz club against a Columbia,
Missouri music club of the same name. The Blue Note music club had used its
Web site to promote its business locally, the judge observed: "Creating a
site, like placing a product into the stream of commerce, may be felt
nationwide -- or even worldwide -- but, without more, it is not an act
purposefully directed toward (New York)." "What Judge Stein's ruling means
is that the operator of a regional business can't be hauled into court in a
remote place just because somebody thinks they've been hurt by a Web site,"
says the Missouri Blue Note club's attorney. The New York Blue Note plans
to refile its suit, arguing that its registered trademark to the name "Blue
Note" is being "diluted" by the Missouri club's use. (Wall Street Journal
10 Sep 96 B10)
Edupage is written by John Gehl <gehl@educom.edu> & Suzanne Douglas
<douglas@educom.edu>. Voice: 404-371-1853, Fax: 404-371-8057.
***********************************************************