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427 lines
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BBB III TTT SSS BBB Y Y TTT EEE SSS
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B B I T S B B Y Y T E S ONLINE EDITION
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BBB I T SSS AND BBB YYY T EEE SSS VOL 1, NUMBER 8
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B B I T S B B Y T E S 8/30/93
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BBB III T SSS BBB Y T EEE SSS
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======================================================================
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"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things you know
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absolutely nothing about." -Anon.
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======================================================================
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Falling Through The Cracks
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"This is a perfect example of how some things can fall through the
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cracks during a conversion."
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- Arthur Gillis, bank consultant and president of Computer Based
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Solutions, Inc. of New Orleans - commenting on an error in the
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conversion of Manufacturer's Hanover Trust's ATM machines to Chemical
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Bank's ATM system (MHT merged with Chemical). This error allowed
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customers withdrawing money from Chemical's ATM machines in May to
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withdraw a total of $357,000 without any money being debited from
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accounts. (SOURCE: Information Week, 8/23/93 pg. 14)
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======================================================================
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Big Business and Virtual Reality - Not Ready For Prime Time?
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[from an interview with Rich Gold, a researcher at Xerox Parc, in
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Information Week, 7/26/93, p. 46]
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Q: Why aren't they [big business] interested in virtual reality?
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A: The feeling at Parc is that tomorrow's secretary is not going to
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be wearing some sort of head-mounted display to type a letter.
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Q: You've been involved in virtual reality for a few years now. How
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would you characterize the state of the industry?
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A: Virtual reality is in about the same place today that artificial
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intelligence was, say, in the early 1970s. There was an initial
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burst of enthusiasm now it's becoming clear just how complex the
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whole area is, how complex our brains are. The world is so
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complex - a virtual cup, for example, is nothing like a real cup.
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People thought the challenge would be to render objects
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graphically, to make them look real, but it's not. The real
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challenge is to get them to act real.
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Q: Technological limitations aside, will people feel comfortable in
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a virtual world?
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A: It will happen over time, although it is a challenge. I've been
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at major companies involved in virtual reality and seen the
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engineers take off the goggles to look at the computer monitor in
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2-D. That's partly because the virtual world isn't rich enough
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yet, partly due to a need to get one's bearings.
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Q: What separates virtual reality and ubiquitous computing?
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A: In a sense they're opposites. The core of ubiquitous computing is
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that you don't have to leave your normal world to compute. You
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build very small computers into many things - your desk, your
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phone, the devices you carry. You're still entering a computer
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world when you use them, but it's very transparent. The concept
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of ubiquitous computing is very hot here. One thing we're working
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on here is called the Tab, a very small pen-based computer that
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would replace Post-It notes. You could carry it and jot things on
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it, and it could use wireless technology to communicate with
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other devices.
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Q: Speaking of large corporations, when can we expect virtual
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reality to play a large role in that market?
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A: Corporations are where the money is, and if virtual reality can
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find a killer application, it will take off. But I don't see it
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happening soon. Molecular modeling, wind-flow simulations - these
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won't find a huge audience. But there are a lot of people working
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in this area, so who knows what will happen five years from now?
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======================================================================
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The Free Form Law of Information
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Information can exist in multiple forms (voice, video, text, images,
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etc.). Everyone assimilates information differently. End systems need
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to be able to adapt to every individual in order to maximize the
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information retained. (Frank J. Ricotta Jr., "The Six Immutable Laws
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of Information," Information Week, 7/19/93, p. 63)
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======================================================================
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Are You A Target?
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The revolution in telecommunications and computer database technology
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has dramatically improved the ability of business to access and sell
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personal information, but the move toward "audience targeting" has
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spurred a debate about how much consumer data should be available to
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direct mail companies. The direct mail industry favors the status quo,
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privacy advocates are pressing for restrictions, and the government is
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moving on the issue. (Lambeth Hochwald," The Privacy Keepers," Folio,
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7/1/93, p. 62.)
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======================================================================
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Market Predictions
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Sales of new computer products will expand from $800 million this year
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to about $3.5 billion by 1998, according to a study by International
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Data Corp. The report predicted that 10 million organizers, personal
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digital assistants and electronic notepads would be sold over the next
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five years. (source: Tampa Tribune 7/25/93 B&F10, Newsbytes)
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According to a report from Market Vision, a market research group,
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less than 1% of the total market for multimedia has been tapped. They
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project that by 1997 multimedia will generate $9 billion in revenue
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for the computer industry and $15 billion in consumer-related
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products. The top applications will be video games, movies on demand,
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interactive movies, electronic photo albums, home shopping, personal
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data management and e-mail. Quality consumer titles will be priced
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below $50, making them attractive entertainment values.
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(SOURCE: Newsbytes 8/13/93)
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A study called "Online Services: 1993 Review, Trends & Forecast,"
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says that although business and professional on-line services still
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represent 95 percent of the business (worth $4.5 billion), consumer
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services like Compuserve, Delphi, and America Online are showing the
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fastest growth, and are on there way to becoming billion dollar
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industries. North American is where the online action is, accounting
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for 56% of the world's total sales volume. (SOURCE: Newsbytes 8/11/93)
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======================================================================
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NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES:
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+LOW COST LASER PRINTER. The Okidata OL400e laser printer, expected to
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have a street price of $499, represents a new low price point for
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laser printers. The 300 dot-per-inch, 4 page-per-minute output, is
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upgradeable via memory add-ons and a built-in PCMCIA peripheral slot.
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(CONTACT: Okidata: 609/235-2600, fax 609/778-4184)
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+PC MODEMS: 28,800 BPS, ANYONE? Practical Peripherals announced it
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would begin shipping 28,800 bps modems under the emerging V. Fax
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standard in the fourth quarter of 1993. The V. Fax standard is not due
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to be ratified until mid-1994. In the meantime, prices continue to
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drop on 9600 and 14.4K modems, with Hayes and Boca Raton announcing
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price cuts. (SOURCE: Newsbytes 8/25/93)
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+THE UNCOPIER. Ricoh Co. has developed a technique for erasing photo-
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copied documents by lifting the toner off. The process reverses what
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happens when an image is photocopied -- it applies a chemical "peel-
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off" solution to the paper, then melts the toner and peels it off the
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page with a heated roller. The resulting page can then be used again
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to make more copies. Production should begin within two years.
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(SOURCE: Wall Street Journal 8/20/93 p. B2, Edupage)
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======================================================================
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Y.A.H.D.S.D.
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Yet another high density storage device was announced by a consortium
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of 8 Japanese firms and researchers at Tohuku University. The
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prototype, capable of storing 100X more data than conventional disks,
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uses clean room technology and a layerered pure cobalt-nickel-chrome
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hard disk to increase magnetic retention ability by 60%. The device
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will cost less than conventional drives to mass produce. According to
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Newsbytes, the private firms that participated in this project include
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"Nikko-Kyoseki, Nichiden-Anelba, Asahi Glass, Alps Electric, Kobe
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Seikosho, Hitachi Kinzoku, Fuji Electric, General Research Institute
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and HOYA." Just wanted to get those cool Japanese names in.
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(SOURCE: Newsbytes, 8/23/93)
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======================================================================
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DIGital Media
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"The use of desktop videoconferencing is going to be a one-on-one kind
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of thing - just one or two people at [different] sites working
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together on a document." (Nick Odowick, videoconferencing specialist,
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Northrup Corp., quoted in BYTE, September 1993, p. 80)
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= = = = = = = = = = = = =
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Fox News is using digital technology to rescue 55 million feet of
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decaying newsreel film archives, the equivalent of 5,000 feature-
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length movies. A lens scans the film and converts it to digital form
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for storage on recorders from Kodak and Sony.
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(SOURCE: New York Times 8/25/93 C2, Edupage)
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======================================================================
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Media Wars I
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Round and round it goes... and who gets to deliver the multimedia-
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flavored snack food to a waiting populace, nobody seems to know.
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Hi-tech bread and circuses, fun for the entire post-nuclear family.
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Here are some of the latest doings as a variety of of business
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interests jockey for position:
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Bell Atlantic got the judicial go-ahead to try and tap into a multi-
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million dollar market providing interactive services such as video
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games, home shopping and movies-on-demand. The court found
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unconstitutional a law barring telephone companies (telcos) from
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providing content, as opposed to merely acting as the plumbing the
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information comes through. Telephone companies say this provides them
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with the financial incentive to upgrade their systems to full fiber
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optic connectivity, while opponents say this will stifle innovation
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and slow the development of the third-party content providers on
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which the success of this new medium depends.
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*
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Continental Cablevision Inc., the third-largest cable TV company in
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the US, will offer Internet access via a PC/Modem hookup directly into
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their cable lines, bypassing local phone hookups while providing
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download speeds of up to 10 million bits per second. That'll do - for
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starters. Other multimedia services are planned, including TV quality
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video and hi-fi digital music feed. Internet hookup will be courtesy
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of Performance Systems International Inc. (PSI). Continental's
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networks are being expanded to supported LAN standards like Ethernet
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and emerging standards like FDDI (fiber distributed data interface).
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A special modem will be required for access, marketed by both PSI and
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local cable operators. Part of the agreement provides several cable
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channels dedicated to PSI's Internet customers in areas served by
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Continental. Upgrades to emerging standards are planned, and PSI hopes
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to sign on at least 50 other cable operators during 1994. The system
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will debut later this year in the Boston area.
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*
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The telcos have the upper hand financially, having easy access to vast
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pools of investment-grade money, while cable companies need to invest
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$20 billion to $40 billion on infrastructure upgrades for planned
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hi-tech offerings like telepresence and virtual dry cleaning.
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*
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Following in AMD's footsteps, IBM plans to create their own clone of
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Intel's microprocessor chips in an effort to regain their dominance of
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the personal-computer business. IBM is currently one of Intel's best
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customers. An added twist is that IBM's new product will be in direct
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competition with the PowerPC chip, a collaborative effort between IBM,
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Motorola and Apple.
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*
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IBM and Blockbuster Video Would like to sell you made while you wait
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CDs. Using satellites and computer technology, your selections would
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be downloaded from a database, and put on a CD for you. Color artwork
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and credits would be mailed to you separately. Every store would
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theoretically have access to the entire record catalog. You could be
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buying a movie, a music or audio video, or some computer software, the
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delivery method would be the same.
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*
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Of course the big financial news in this area is the recent $12.6
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billion merger of AT&T and McCaw Cellular Communications. The nation's
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biggest long-distance network and biggest cellular carrier will soon
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be as one, in a strong position to provide seamless service to the
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mobile computing and wireless communications markets. This is a major
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shakeup for the telecom industry. The deal will take about a year to
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consummate and to receive regulatory approval. PDAs are expected to
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play a major part in this new entity's bid for success. AT&T owns
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controlling interest in the EO line of Personal Communicators.
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*
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Round and round it goes... and where it stops let's have a word from
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our sponsor.
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(SOURCES: Edupage, Newsbytes, Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia
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Inquirer, Atlanta Constitution, and my own feverish imagination)
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======================================================================
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V/R Superstar
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"The technological battlefield of the future will be adding layers
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between the user and the raw machine to make the interface as
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invisible as possible," said Pierluigi Zappacosta, president and
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founder of mouse pioneer Logitech, Inc.
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In Japan, he said, research under way aims at enabling computers to
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distinguish between "yes" and "no" from human brainwaves.
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... "It's not so strange to think computers will allow us to make our
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next evolutionary step by expanding our brain power - we will become
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part of it and it part of us."
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A number of developers, Logitech included, remain convinced that
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virtual reality represents the next evolutionary step for the
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interface. While also limited to entertainment use so far, virtual
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reality is causing a great deal of enthusiasm as an interface,
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Zappacostas said. "Virtual reality has raised the interface to the
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level of superstar." (Stephen P. Klett, Jr., "Innovative input,"
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ComputerWorld 8/23/93, p.28)
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======================================================================
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Social Computing
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A recent report from Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research, Inc.
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predicts a new computing architecture, called "social computing,"
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which will emerge as new interactive technologies such as hand held
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computers, intelligent telephones and interactive TVs begin to collide
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with unmet needs in American society. This will bring about new
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relationships between producers and consumers as they are brought into
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direct contact each other electronically. The report states that this
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alone "reshuffles the competitive deck," and that suppliers failing to
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embrace the new architecture will be abandoned by "cable-ready"
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customers increasingly impatient with the frustrations of modern life,
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with counterintuitive interfaces and clumsy controllers. Consumers
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just want the goods delivered in a timely and entertaining manner -
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the time being NOW of course - and at a reasonable cost.
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The report acknowledges that activity in the marketplace resembled a
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"frenzied mating dance," but also foresees that some trends will
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emerge from the chaos:
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Within five years a new generation of TVs, telephones and hand held
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electronic devices, derivatives of PC hardware, will support two way
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communication. A variety of PDAs and specialized information devices
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will be manufactured for specific tasks (such as notetaking for
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classes, research work, reading, or letter writing). One device may
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perform a variety of functions previously done by several others.
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Wireless and traditional networks will offer "anywhere, anytime"
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communications. Commercial Information services and BBS systems will
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explode in number and move towards mainstream use as user friendly
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interfaces are developed.
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"The Market is driven by, 'Make my job easier, make me smarter faster
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and make me have more fun in the limited time that I have,'" said
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Carl Lehmann, director consumer media and electronics at BIS Strategic
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Decisions in Norwell, Mass. Lehman also said that a true mass market -
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defined as being in use in over 30% of US homes - is at least a decade
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away. (SOURCE: Gary H. Anthea, "New devices to propel technology into
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social fabric," ComputerWorld 8/23/93, p. 78)
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======================================================================
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Bits and Bytes Bookshelf
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Virtual Light by William Gibson [Bantam Spectra, 1993. 325 pp. $21.95
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- William Gibson is kind of the guy who defined the cyberpunk genre
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with his award winning novel Neuromancer (1984). In that novel and
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the two that followed, Gibson created the Sprawl - an urban
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battlefield where "the street finds it's own use for things." A
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world of corporate intrigue and Japanese Biotech, a world where
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virtual reality, the worldnet and more are givens, a film noir world
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that Raymond Chandler would've felt at home in, yet strangely
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familiar. Since this was Gibson's first work (not counting his 1992
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collaborative effort with Bruce Sterling called The Difference
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Engine) to be set outside the world he had so painstakingly
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imagineered, I wondered how he would escape the shadow of his
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well known 'trilogy'.
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I needn't have worried - Bill Gibson is a master craftsman, and
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Virtual Light is his best written novel yet. If this issue seems
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like it was thrown together at the last minute - it was, and you
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can thank William Gibson for that! I spent a good portion of my free
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time immersed in his book this week. Now I'm a fast reader, but some
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texts are designed to be savored.
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Mr. Gibson is a poet in cyberpunk's clothing. In a style that can
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be described as future-gothic, he spins a tale, hard-boiled and
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luminous, and it cuts closer to the bone than previous efforts since
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the future described is *almost* familiar - too close for comfort in
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some cases, which makes it harder to just laugh it off as "mere"
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science fiction. Set in the year 2005, life goes on pretty much like
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it does now, except that earthquakes have leveled Tokyo and San
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Francisco, and California is divided into two states. The coming
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world depression occurs more or less on schedule, and virtual
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reality and teleprescence are givens. The proliferation of cable TV
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has made possible a surge in strange new religious cults using
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televison as their pulpit, and offering hope in strange and twisted
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times.
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It's hard to describe in a few paragraphs what this book is a about.
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There is a plot here, about stolen virtual-reality glasses, and
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plenty of action, but Gibson's prose is the driving force here,
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immersing you in a universe at once familiar and disorienting,
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making you think about the present in new ways. This novel has some
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points to make, a moral agenda and quite a tale to tell. It looks as
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if William Gibson has found a new world to explore.
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Mobile Robots: Inspiration to Implementation by Anita Flynn and
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Joseph Jones [A.K. Peters, 1993. 349 pp. $39.95]
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- Based on research from the Mobot Lab at MIT, this appears to be a
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very good beginner's manual for the aspiring robot maker. It covers
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the design and construction of mobile robots, sensors, power
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supplies and intelligence systems. Construction techniques for two
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simple robots, TubeBot and Rug Warrior, are shown, and techniques
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are outlined for building more sophisticated devices. Appendixes
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contain schematics and interface electronics, a program of
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behaviors, and lists of parts suppliers, magazines, journals and
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BBSs devoted to robotics.
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======================================================================
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On The Newsstand
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BYTE magazine is always a good read for us techno-weenies, but the
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September issue is especially useful. The cover story on video
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computing showcases new machines from Apple and Silicon Graphics with
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extensive multimedia capabilities. The Silicon Graphics Indy has a
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direct-to-digital camera with microphone built in on top of the
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monitor! (Sony has something similar in the works) Other articles
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include a test drive of three of the new personal digital assistants
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(PDAs) now hitting the market, several articles on electronic
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publishing, and a roundup of the best buys in high-speed drives.
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Byte's coverage is always comprehensive without being exhaustive;
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their new layout and contents page make it easy to take in as much or
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as little as you need on a given subject. Look for George Jetson on
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the cover.
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======================================================================
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Ren and Stimpy on the Information Explosion
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REN: Stimpy, your wealth of ignorance astounds me!
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STIMPY: They don't call me stupid for nothing!
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(Ren and Stimpy can be seen on Nickleodeon Cable Channel Sundays at
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11 AM. Not for the weak-hearted)
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======================================================================
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### ADMINISTRIVIA ###
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IN THE FUTURE...Watch this space for some announcements.
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REQUEST FOR CONTRIBUTIONS. This one too. In the meantime, feel free.
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THANKS! Thanks to all of you who have unsubscribed, and are now
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receiving B&B through the elven magic of the Internet. "They say the
|
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world is getting smaller every day, but I'd hate to have to paint it."
|
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(Steven Wright) Thanks to Elizabeth Lane Lawley(via alt.quotations),
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for the anonymous quote that heads up the issue. Thanks to someone
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(whose name I misplaced) for sending in the section titled Falling
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Through the Cracks.
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ACCESS. B&B is available for downloading on America Online in their
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telecom files area, and in Compuserve's telecom forum library. Delphi
|
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access is forthright and forthcoming.
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INTERNET ANONYMOUS FTP SITES:
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ftp.dana.edu in /journals
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INTERNET GOPHER ACCESS.
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- gopher.law.cornell.edu in the Discussions and Listserv archives/
|
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Teknoids directory
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- gopher.dana.edu in the Electronic Journals directory
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======================================================================
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BITS AND BYTES ONLINE, is the weekly electronic newsletter for high-
|
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tech dumpster divers. E-mail Subscriptions are available at no cost
|
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from slakmaster@aol.com or jmachado@pacs.pha.pa.us. Put "SUBSCRIBE in
|
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the subject header and your email address in the body of the message.
|
|
If you work for "the rail" send a similar message to my internal
|
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emailbox. To unsubscribe, send a message with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the
|
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subject header and your email address in the body. See you next week.
|
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======================================================================
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Jay Machado = (Copyleft 1993 Jay Machado) *unaltered* =
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1529 Dogwood Drive = ELECTRONIC distribution of this file for =
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Cherry Hill, NJ 08003 = non-profit purposes is encouraged. =
|
|
ph (eve) 609/795-0998 = In fact, I dare you *not* to. The editor =
|
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======================== is solely responsible for the contents, =
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= but makes no claims or assurances implicit =
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|
Calm down. It's only = or otherwise regarding the validity of =
|
|
ones and zeroes. = opinions expressed herein. Changes in the =
|
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= texture of the fabric are the result of =
|
|
- Sam Kass = natural processes and should not be seen =
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= as defects in the pattern. =
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