397 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
397 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
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 9
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B B I T S B B Y T E S 9/6/93
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BBB III T SSS BBB Y T EEE SSS Labor Day 1993
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======================================================================
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"It is unworthy of excellent [people] to lose hours like slaves in the
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labor of calculation" - Baron Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibniz(1646-1716)
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======================================================================
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Nobel Prize winning physicist Dr. Richard Feynman writes about his
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antics while studying at MIT. The following excerpt is from his
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autobiography "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!":
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I often liked to play tricks on people when I was at MlT. One time,
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in mechanical drawing class, some joker picked up a French curve (a
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piece of plastic for drawing smooth curves - a curly, funny-looking
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thing) and said, "I wonder if the curves on this thing have some
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special formula?"
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I thought for a moment and said, "Sure they do. The curves are very
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special curves. Lemme show ya," and I picked up my French curve and
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began to turn it slowly. "The French curve is made so that at the
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lowest point on each curve, no matter how you turn it, the tangent is
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horizontal."
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All the guys in the class were holding their French curve up at
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different angles, holding their pencil up to it at the lowest point
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and laying it along, and discovering that, sure enough, the tangent is
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horizontal. They were all excited by this "discovery" even though they
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had already gone through a certain amount of calculus and had already
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"learned" that the derivative (tangent) of the minimum (lowest point)
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of any curve is zero (horizontal). They didn't put two and two
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together. They didn't even know what they "knew."
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I don't know what's the matter with people: they don't learn by
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understanding, they learn by some other way-by rote, or something.
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Their knowledge is so fragile.
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("Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of A Curious
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Character [Bantam Books 1986])
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======================================================================
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"Skilled work, of no matter what kind, is only done well by those who
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take a certain pleasure in it, quite apart from its utility, either
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to themselves in earning a living, or to the world through its
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outcome." - Bertrand Russell
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======================================================================
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National Online Media Association Formed at ONEBBSCON
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"A new trade association, the National Online Media Association
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(NOMA), was formed at ONE BBSCON '93 in Colorado Springs on August
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27th, 1993. NOMA comprises BBS operators, Internet service providers,
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and other online media and services."
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"NOMA's mission is to act for the BBS and online service industry
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on matters of national importance by creating an industry presence
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in Washington, D.C. and other means; assist its members at the
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state and local levels; educate the public on the unique social,
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business and legal roles of BBS's and other online services;
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establish appropriate industry standards and guidelines;
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promote business development in the industry; and maintain and
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provide access to resources and industry information for use by the
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public and the industry."
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An 11 person Organizing Committee composed of BBS sysops and people
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from AOL, Delphi, and other online service industries, will be
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issuing a proposal detailing NOMA's charter, bylaws, membership
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requirements, structure, and form of leadership will be distributed
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within the BBS and online services industry by November 30th, 1993.
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"Discussion areas are being set up immediately for those interested
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in participating in NOMA's early development. An Internet mailing
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list is available to all those interested at natbbs@echonyc.com
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(subscribe to natbbs-request@echonyc.com). A conference area is
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also being made available on the Delphi national information
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service."
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(ONEBBSCON is the largest gathering of BBS operators and industry
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leaders in the world. It was held in late August at Colorado Springs,
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Colorado. All quoted material is from NOMA's press release. If you
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need more information, please contact:
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Phil Liggett (LIGGETT@delphi.com), (203)233-3163
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Lance Rose, Esq. (elrose@echonyc.com), (201)509-1700
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======================================================================
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"I considered preaching, but preachers don't make a lot and have to
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work hard." - Willie Nelson
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======================================================================
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Rupert Murdoch Buys Delphi
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Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has bought General Videotex, which runs
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the Delphi and Bix services. The company will be renamed Delphi
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Internet Services when the deal closes in about a month, which gives
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you some idea where the controversial media empire's interests lie.
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Delphi will become a part of News Corp.'s news technology group, and
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with Murdoch's backing hopes to become a much bigger player in the
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interactive services future. Delphi does not yet have a graphic
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interface, although one is in the works. Tentative discussions have
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been had regarding online versions of the TV Guide, Boston Herald, NY
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Post and other Murdoch newspapers.
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Delphi hopes to develop templates for the newspapers of the future,
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which will take time, though some changes will come much sooner, like
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online appearances by authors, and the establishment of virtual
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communities for different subjects of information, perhaps in
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conjunction with Harper Collins, Murdoch's book publishing arm.
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Murdoch has bold plans for forming alliances with many other kinds of
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communication companies and Delphi could become a major player in the
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US online market.
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One thing Delphi will *not* change is "the community feel people
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really cherish on Delphi," explained Rusty Williams, vice president
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and general manager of Delphi. Smart move, since these are the things
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that keep people online. I can personally recommend Delphi's service.
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If you are looking for an inexpensive point of entry to the internet,
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their 20/20 gives you 20 hours of access for $23 monthly, including
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email, gopher and FTP. They have a well-stocked file library of basic
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guides to the internet, and their internet forum is full of budding
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infonauts eager to help beginners out.
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(CONTACT: Delphi 800/111-1111) (SOURCE: Newsbytes 9/2/93)
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======================================================================
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"Bozo" Filters Revisited
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In B&Bv1#7, I reported of a biologist from Ohio's program that
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automatically wipes out anonymous messages on the internet. It seems
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I misunderstood exactly what the program did. A reader writes:
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> Could you check the original story again? The way I heard it, the
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> guy was in fact ARMMing the anonymous messages, using a demon that
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> automatically sent out unauthorized "cancel" messages for the
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> messages he didn't like. A cancel message causes the original
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> message to be deleted from every machine that the cancel message
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> reaches. This, I think you'll agree, is much more serious than
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> simply having a kill file.
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In other words, his program was actively seeking and destroying
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messages he found personally offensive as opposed to merely filtering
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them out from his view. When I understood that fact, a small chill
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went up my spine and I began to see how tricky things can get in a
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digital universe, where all information and communications are subject
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to manipulation. Issues of privacy and genuine freedom of speech, of
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secure lines of communication and information exchange, take on new
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and added urgency as more and more people come online and begin to
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transact business and exchange confidences there.
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On the one hand, I subscribe to the concept of owning one's words, of
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standing behind them. This can be problematic in the real world, as
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evidenced by the disclaimers on many postings that opinions expressed
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do not necessarily blah blah blah... my employer's opinions. Gregory
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Steshenko, an employee of Microsoft, was allegedly fired from his job
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because his usenet postings (posted through the company email system)
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were deemed politically offensive. Microsoft says he was dismissed
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for performance reasons. I myself have not read the postings and so am
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in no position to defend or denounce them. I do however, defend his
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right to express himself to anyone who cares to listen.
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Perhaps people should use their own facilities to send postings that
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may be deemed offensive; even so the possibility exists of someone
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reading your posting, disagreeing or being offended by it, and taking
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some kind of action: Sending a complaint to your employer (as happened
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in the Steshenko case), or perhaps sending a program out on the net to
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delete your postings wherever it finds them. What if everyone decided
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to send out programs to delete postings they found offensive or
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politically incorrect? Dangerous precedents are being set: in a medium
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where the free flow of information is critical, any stanching of
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that flow will only slow the growth of that medium and stunt it in
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unforeseen ways. Freedom of expression must be maintained on the net
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if it is to be an accurate mirror of our society.
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======================================================================
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"We had pleased ourselves with the delectable visions of the
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spiritualization of labor....Each stroke of the hoe was to uncover
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some aromatic root of wisdom....But...the clods of earth, which we
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constantly belabored and turned over and over, were never etherealized
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into thought. Our thoughts, on the contrary, were fast becoming
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cloddish. Our labor symbolized nothing and left us mentally sluggish
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in the dusk of the evening." - Nathaniel Hawthorne, as quoted in "In
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the Age of The Smart Machine" by Shoshana Zuboff(Basic Books 1988)
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======================================================================
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NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES:
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+ADVENTURES IN TELEPHONY I: LET'S PLAY PHONE TAG! Here in the stone
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ages of information age we must often make do with the tools we are
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provided with until something better comes along. Anyone who has ever
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had to play phone mail tag or deal with an automated answering system
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from hell know how frustrating some "labor-saving" gizmos can be. For
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those of us who have to use voice mail to communicate, a FREE 12 page
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booklet, "Making The Most Of Voice Mail" provides some good tips and
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techniques for making vmail work for you and not vice-versa. The
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booklet was prepared for the Voice Messaging Educational Committee, a
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consortium of voice messaging manufacturers and service providers, by
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Vanguard Communications Corp., facilitators for the committee.
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Some tips are common sense, like changing your greeting if you know
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you'll be out of the office or on vacation, but some advice is not so
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obvious. The elements of a good voice mail greeting, how do deal with
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an unknown voice mail system, and design of voice mail menus ("press 7
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to speak to Kuthumi...") are among topics touched on. The info
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provided will help users of conventional v-mail systems make the best
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of it until next generation PDAs, smart phones, and other computer-
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driven technologies simplify the task of staying plugged-in in an
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increasingly networked world.
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(ACCESS:) Copies of this useful booklet may be obtained from Vanguard
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at 210/605-8000, or from AT&T (800/325-7466 x93000, Digital Sound
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Corporation (800/366-0700 x2130), or VMX Inc.(800/444-4VMX).
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+HYBRID NETWORKS INC.'S "NEW INTERNET" SERVICE. Hybrid Networks Inc.,
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announced the Hybrid Access System (HAS) Service, which delivers
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information at 10 Mbps (Ethernet-speed) using common personal
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computers, modems, telephone and cable lines, and Hybrid's Remote Link
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Adapter. The HAS provides wideband remote access to the Internet and
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corporate networks in selected metropolitan areas. With one of
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Hybrid's systems, home and business users can connect to the Internet
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at speeds previously available only to users at large corporations or
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universities.
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Hybrid announced two services that work off of the HAS: The Hybrid
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Telecommuter Service and The New Internet. The Telecommuter Service
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provides access to corporate information without the expense of
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dedicated lines, and the New Internet service provides access to
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Mosaic, a user-friendly Internet search-and-retrieval tool from the
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National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).
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Hybrid President and CEO Howard Strachman, claims that his company has
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constructed the on and off ramps to the data highway. Sounds good to
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me. Not surprisingly, the PCs used will need lots of RAM and
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processing power to handle the images users want to display. The
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system will require *at least* a 9600-baud modem. (CONTACT: Hybrid
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Networks, 408-725-3250) (SOURCE: Newsbytes, 8/11/93)
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======================================================================
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INTEROP CONVENTION 1993
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An estimated 75,000 people attended this year's Interop convention in
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San Francisco, where the techno-people go to see what's coming next in
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interoperable systems - new gizmos that perform more and more
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functions, perhaps operating in conjunction with other networked
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devices to deliver seamless service to a waiting public - at least
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that's the phantasy.
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The TV people were there, and the cable operators and telco reps too.
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They see these technologies (and rightly so) as the key to their
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continued well-being, and have all invested major amounts of money
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and effort in positioning themselves in these emerging markets through
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a truly mind-boggling array of mergers and alliances. A major problem
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all are faced with is that of the interface: If these new services are
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to gain mass acceptance, interfaces must be easier to use than current
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ones. A million blinking VCR clocks just won't cut it this time. The
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stakes are too high.
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There is a wealth of useful (and just plain neat) information out on
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the internet, but it's usually not easy to find or to get to. Well
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this just won't sell to a populace that will want at least the same
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push-button ease of use they get from their TVs and microwave ovens.
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Now I don't mind diving into the internet for some data, but it sure
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would be nice if certain standard ways of accessing and retrieving
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information were available so I could save my energy for the much
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more difficult task of analyzing that information for possible
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relevance or usefulness (or entertainment value, for that matter).
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Here are summaries of two convention reports, gleaned from the net:
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I. Laws of The Telecosm
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The keynote speaker George Gilder, delivered an address entitled "Laws
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of Telecosm" that forecasts the death of TV, the telephone, and
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computers as we now know them. The fatal blow will be delivered by
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advances in cellular telephony coupled with wireless computer
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networks. Gilder stressed that the standalone PC is an inadequate
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tool. "A computer without a network is like a car in the jungle...
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The magic of a car comes in conjunction with asphalt. The real
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benefits of computers arise from the links among them." said Mr.
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Gilder, a former Kissinger staffer and author of "Life After
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Television (1991)".
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Between 1989 and 1993, the percentage of computers connected to
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networks rose from less than 10 percent to more than 60 percent.
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"Networks are the driving force of economic growth today," Gilder
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said. Those of us who have played with our computers for (too?) long
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know that there's only so much you can do with one that can be
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considered meaningful before you need to connect with the outside
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world - the journalist checks his sources :, the scientist publishes
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his findings and exchanges data with colleagues. The computer has
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played a major role in bringing on the so-called information
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explosion.
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Gilder describes three technologies emerging to rule the new telecosm:
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sand (silicon chips), glass (fiber-optics), and air (the electro-
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magnetic spectrum). He says that there will be more than enough
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bandwidth to go around for emerging technologies. "Today, we're on the
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verge of the largest opportunity in the history of technology," he
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said, adding that by the turn of the century the power of 16 Cray
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supercomputers would be available for less than 100 bucks. Network
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architectures based on the assumption of scarce bandwidth are
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obsolete. On the contrary, Gilder envisions 25,000 gigahertz system
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capacity , which is the equivalent to " the number of phone calls in
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America during the peak moment on Mother's day" (WIRED 1.4). Imagine
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that much data coming at you on a thread of glass the width of a human
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hair. "The most common PC of the next decade will be a ... as personal
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as your wallet." To what uses will we dedicate these amazing
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bandwidths and processing abilities? What exactly will we paying
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attention to with our brave new senses?
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II. Internet 101
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In this tutorial presented by Sue Estrada (formerly of CERFNet and now
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of Aldea Communications), Ms. Estrada gave a basically negative
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assessment of accessibility on the Internet. "She presented most of
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the new Internet "tools" in her tutorial, but was frank and often
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funny in her description of her own difficulties in getting these
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"tools" -- mail ftp telnet, Usenet, gopher, WWW, WAIS, Archie -- to
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work right. It's not a perfect world on the Internet yet, Sue told
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us, and it's far better that we admit this and admit it to our users
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than that we pretend that we can do the impossible on what
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nevertheless still is the most exciting new information resource since
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the printed book." (From a conference report by Jack Kessler to the
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Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS@uhupvm1.bitnet>,
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transmitted from the convention floor on a "wireless" radio modem-
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equipped Powerbook laptop, via a little "cigarette-girl" front-pack
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display rack, carried by a guy named Chris who is walking around the
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Convention Center selling the RadioMail Service ($89/mo) to Interop
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Conference attendees)
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* * *
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(SOURCES: Newsbytes, WIRED 1.4, Public-Access Computer Systems Forum)
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======================================================================
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(Not So) Stupid E-Mail Tricks
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Interested in getting some data from the internet but only have access
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to internet e-mail services? Or perhaps you don't want to master the
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intricacies of ftp to get something to read? Well hang on, help is on
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the way! Try this one out: (from WIRED 1.3)
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Send a message addressed to: "info.new.technology@ieee.org" (leave the
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quotes out). Doesn't matter what the message is, it probably won't be
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read by hu-man eyes, but what you will get back in email is a voice
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mail type menu explaining how to request a variety of technical
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reports on emerging technologies. The process was likened to an
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"internet vending machine," and the requested document could be in
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your mailbox in minutes, depending on traffic. It's elven magic, I
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tell you! The idea is also known as ftpmail (anonymous ftp, or file
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transfer protocol, is one of the commonest tools for getting files on
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the internet), and I will be posting other mail-server addresses in
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upcoming issues of B&B.
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======================================================================
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AT THE NEWSSTAND:
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I would be remiss if I did not inform you that WIRED 1.4 (Sept/Oct)
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has hit the racks, and by gummy it is another fine issue, jam packed
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with thought-provoking reading in a visually stimulating package. The
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centerpiece is William Gibson's first major piece of non-fiction, a
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report from Singapore, that most determinedly high-tech of the pacific
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rim nations. From the sound of it, a strange and twisted place to find
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oneself. Other articles include an interview with George Gilder about
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"dark fiber", a look at successful commercial BBS systems, a
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fascinating article by Michael Critchon (The Andromeda Strain,
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Jurassic Park) on where the mass media is headed (hint: the way of
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the dinosaur), the state of the telephone industry in Russia,
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cyberpunk R.I.P., and a tour of Industrial Light and Magic's special
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effects facilities by Rudy Rucker. A new column, Net.Surf, is a two
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page grab-bag of internet goodies, addresses and stories, and makes an
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excellent addition to their other ongoing columns. Amazing Stuff!
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======================================================================
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"Blessed is he who has found his work. Let him ask no other
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blessedness." - Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
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======================================================================
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### ADMINISTRIVIA ###
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IN THE FUTURE...Please note the new release schedule. The next issue
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is due out 10/20/93.
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THANKS! I'd like to thank the academy, and my pet dog sparky, and all
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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 /periodic directory
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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, an electronic newsletter for text-based life-
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forms, is published three dozen times a year, on the 1st, 10th, and
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20th of each month. E-mail Subscriptions are available at no cost from
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slakmaster@aol.com. Put "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject header and your
|
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email address in the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send a
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message with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject header and your email
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address in the body. Send correspondence to jmachado@pacs.pha.pa.us.
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*This newsletter is printed on 100% recycled electrons*
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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. =
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ph (eve) 609/795-0998 = Opinions expressed in B&B are subject to =
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======================== change without advance notification. =
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======================== Consult your local newspaper for daily =
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======================== show times. =
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=============== end of Bits and Bytes Online V1, #9.==================
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