Collection of Education/collectionofeducationcarat1997.iso/COMPUSCI/EDU0195.ZIP/EDU01225.DOC

Text File | 1995-05-24 | 9KB | 155 lines

Subject: Edupage 1/22/95
X-To: [e-mail]
X-Sender: [e-mail] (Unverified)
X-Listprocessor-Version: 7.1 -- ListProcessor by CREN

***************************************************************************
Edupage, a summary of news items on information technology, is provided
three times each 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.
***************************************************************************

EX-EMPLOYEES CHARGED WITH STEALING FROM BIG BLUE
Three former IBM employees and a Georgia businessman are charged with
stealing more than $20 million worth of memory cards for IBM mainframes
from a plant in Poughkeepsie, NY, selling them to parts outlets, and
laundering the money through computer companies in several states. (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution 1/20/95 C4)

MICROSOFT -- THE 800-POUND GORILLA
Forecasters are predicting a shrinking number of software providers as
Microsoft's dominance in the software market causes "a wave of
consolidation through the industry," says Powersoft's CEO. However, some
entrepreneurs think the threat is overhyped: "Most people who have followed
Microsoft have learned not to roll over and die every time it announces
it's going to have some really cool thing in six months. If they had, there
would be no one left in this business," says one Internet access provider.
(Wall Street Journal 1/20/95 B1)  And a federal judge has "grave doubts"
about the Justice Department's recent settlement with Microsoft, which was
reached after a 4-year investigation of Microsoft's alleged use of hardball
tactics to crush competitors. One Microsoft internal memo suggested that
the best way to "stick it" to rival Borland was to "pre-announce" a
Microsoft program that was not ready. The judge said the document was "as
close to a smoking gun as you can get." (New York Times 1/21/95 P.17)

HIGHER ED'S THE WINNER IN TELECOM BATTLES
AT&T, MCI and Sprint may still be duking it out in long-distance
commercials, but colleges and universities are the beneficiaries as
companies vie to give them the best deal. "It's like David and Goliath, but
now there are three Goliaths and they're knocking themselves out to play
with David," says a former college president. Universities now can demand
not only good service and low rates, but flexibility to adapt to changing
technology and even commissions on calls made by students, professors and
administrators. The University of South Florida earns up to $5,000 a month
in commissions from AT&T. (Chronicle of Higher Education 1/20/95 A41)

BABY BELLS IN THE CATBIRD SEAT
With the Republicans in charge, the Baby Bells are happily anticipating
full deregulation of their business, allowing them to gain access to the
nation's long-distance market and the freedom to provide video programming
services to their customers on better terms than were spelled out in last
year's ill-fated telecom reform bill. The potential losers are consumer
groups, which have been left out of the current negotiations. "It's just a
question of accommodating the cable and telephone people. Consumer groups
clearly are not going to have much of an impact," says the executive
director of the Center for Media Education. (Wall Street Journal 1/20/95
A14)

==================================================================

HARSH WORDS FOR WORD 6.0
A growing number of Macintosh users are complaining that the new Microsoft
Word 6.0 for the Mac is slow, unwieldy, and bug-infested, because Microsoft
used the same underlying software that had been developed (and fine-tuned)
for IBM-compatibles. A product review in Macworld reports that Word 6.0
takes more than 7 minutes to start on a Centris 610, and various trade
magazines conclude that the program runs at about half the speed of Word
5.1.  Macworld columnist Mike Levy says:  "It's simple. Microsoft's message
to Macintosh users is: 'Drop Dead!'" (New York Times 1/20/95 C1)

HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE ON THE INTERNET
Apparently, the folks really making the money off the Internet are those
who sell hype rather than substance. With $30 million in venture capital
pouring into anything with the word "Internet" in it over the last six
months, those businesses that are thriving are selling advice to those who
think they can sell products online. But actual online sales have been
disappointing for some: "Right now it is like an enormous library with no
card catalog. People look around and leave," says an Internet access
provider. "People don't want to pay for anything. I guess it's all part of
the culture," says a disappointed Online Bookstore vendor. Some observers
point out that humans rarely react to technology the way that technologists
think they should, and success usually isn't realized for a decade or two
after a technology is developed. (Forbes 1/30/95 p.100)

PLAYING CAT AND MOUSE WITH APPLE
While Oracle is busy lusting after Apple Computer, even going so far as to
contemplate a hostile takeover, Apple is busy wooing U S West in an effort
to fortify its disappointing online eWorld service. Insiders say Apple
plans to spin off eWorld, which has only 50,000 subscribers after a $100
million investment. Apple hopes U S West's investment would be the first of
a half dozen or so partners that could provide the service with much-needed
cash and content. (Business Week 1/23/95 p.44)

KODAK'S GOT THE PICTURE
Eastman Kodak has a new online image service called Picture Exchange, which
provides users with 24-hour access to a database containing tens of
thousands of electronic images. Customers pay $1.42 per minute to browse
and download pictures provided by stock photography agencies, news
organizations, museums, universities and archives. For more information,
call 800-579-8737. (Telecommunications Jan.'95 p.18)

A WINDOW ON THE WORLD
A new word processor by Accent Software International allows the user to
type in any of 30 languages, across five language groups (with the keyboard
automatically adapting), in any version of Windows. Linguistic tools, such
as the dictionary, thesaurus and spell checker, also adapt each time a
different language is specified. One pass over the document will check all
languages used. The software includes a 62,000 word online dictionary that
translates into English, Spanish, Italian, German and French. (Multilingual
Computing, vol.5 issue2, p.24)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EDUPAGE!
As it enters its third year of life, Edupage has been rated by Online
Access magazine as #1 of "10 great electronic magazines available only on
the Internet." (Online Access Feb'95 p.24)

**************************************************************************
EDUPAGE is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to Edupage: send
a message to: [e-mail] and in the BODY of the message type:
subscribe edupage Peter Gabriel (assuming that your name is Peter Gabriel;
if it isn't, substitute your own name) ... To cancel subscription to
Edupage: send a message to: [e-mail] and in the BODY of the
message type: unsubscribe edupage.

EDUCOM REVIEW is our bimonthly print magazine on learning, communications,
and information technology. Introductory subscriptions $18 a year in the
U.S.; send mail to [e-mail]. When you do, we'll ring a little bell,
because we'll be so happy!

EDUCOM UPDATE is our twice-a-month electronic summary of organizational
news and events. To subscribe to the Update: send a message to:
[e-mail] and in the BODY of the message type:  subscribe update
Bing Crosby (assuming that your name is Bing Crosby;  if it isn't,
substitute your own name). ... To cancel subscription to the Update: you
should send a message to: [e-mail] and in the BODY of the
message type:  unsubscribe update.

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER NOMINATIONS are always welcome: [e-mail].

ARCHIVES & TRANSLATIONS. For archive copies of Edupage or Update, gopher to
educom.edu or see