533 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
533 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
From: BITS AND BYTES ONLINE EDITION <JAYMACHADO@delphi.com>
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Subject: Bits and Bytes Online v2 #5
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Date: Mon, 25 Jul 1994 06:12:44 -0400 (EDT)
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"The tool solves a problem, and then creates new and more thorny
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issues not dreamable before. Technology, unlike science, does not
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even claim to reveal larger truths about what exists, but hints
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at more ways for humanity to change the world. Born of simple need
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and want, it emerges as an agent of human evolution."
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-- David Rothenberg
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======================================================================
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BBB III TTT SSS BBB Y Y TTT EEE SSS ONLINE EDITION:
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B B I T S B B Y Y T E S =THE ELECTRONIC
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BBB I T SSS AND BBB YYY T EEE SSS =NEWSLETTER FOR
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B B I T S B B Y T E S =INFORMATION
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BBB III T SSS BBB Y T EEE SSS =HUNTER-GATHERERS
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======================================================================
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Volume 2, Number 5 (July 24, 1994)
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======================================================================
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: CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE =
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PARITY BITS : =
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================: BEST OF BOTH WORLDS; HIVE MIND; =
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: AN OBSERVATION ON GENDER; PALACES OF MEMORY; =
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: (STILL) LOST IN CYBERSPACE
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NEWS BYTES : =
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================: HOME PC UPDATE; HARDWARE NEWS ROUNDUP; =
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: ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP =
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ACCESS : =
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================: SUMMERTIME SPORTS INFO ON THE INTERNET =
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: =
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ON THE NEWSSTAND: =
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================: WIRED; NEW PERSPECTIVES QUARTERLY; AXCESS; =
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: BUSINESS WEEK =
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: =
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KULTCHER KORNER : =
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================: SPACE JUNK; BRAVE NEW BURGER; VIDEO WEDDING; =
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: BRITISH JURORS CONDUCT SEANCE =
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======================================================================
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BEST OF BOTH WORLDS (Kevin Kelly)
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No one has been more wrong about computerization than George Orwell
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in 1984. So far, nearly everything about the actual possibility-
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space that computers have created indicates they are not the beginning
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of authority but its end. In the process of connecting everything to
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everything, computers elevate the power of the small player. They make
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room for different, and they reward small innovations. Instead of
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enforcing uniformity, they promote heterogeneity and autonomy. Instead
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of sucking the soul from human bodies, turning computer users into an
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army of dull clones, networked computers -- by reflecting the
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networked nature of our own brains -- encourage the humanism of their
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users. Because they have taken on the flexibility, adaptability, and
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self-connecting governance of organic systems, we become more human,
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not less so, when we use them.
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=====
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(SOURCE: Harper's May 1994. The May 1994 issue of Harper's features a
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debate on network sociology. This was the conclusion to Mr. Kelly's
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article, "Embrace It". Thanks to Ken Laws for bringing this quote to
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my attention.)
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======================================================================
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HOME PC UPDATE
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If you're thinking of buying a home computer, here's some free advice:
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wait until the fall. Prices are always dropping, but there are some
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especially sweet price points ahead. 486-based PCs with CD-ROM drives
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will be selling for around $1000 by year's end. In fact, Intel has
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announced it will cut prices on its 486 and Pentium chips twice in the
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third quarter. You can thank the competition from the new PowerPC
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consortium and from a variety of Intel chip clone makers, including
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one manufactured by IBM for Advanced Micro Devices.
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PC sales have been slow lately, as savvy consumers wait out the
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next round of price cuts. This puts even more pressure on
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manufacturers to offer further incentives to buy. This has resulted in
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some rather nice multimedia-ready systems from the major players,
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with sound cards and CD-ROMS and bundled software. Interestingly
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enough, the high-end systems are being bought by home users as opposed
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to business users. They are the ones defining the market at present.
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With all the buzz about multimedia, CD-ROMs are selling like hotcakes,
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and there are so many titles out there that most stores can't stock
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them all. On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal reports that many
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who buy CD-ROM software are finding the offerings slow, boring, and
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full of bugs. There *are* good CD-ROM titles out there, and CD-ROMS
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are terrific as a method of software distribution (1 disk versus 16
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diskettes for Borland's C/C++ compiler, for example). Just do a little
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homework, and you can find out what the good stuff is. B&B will be
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reviewing worthwhile CD-ROMS in future issues. If you don't own a
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CD-ROM yet -- WAIT. Quadruple speed drive prices are due to come
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*way* down ($400) by years end.
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======================================================================
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HIVE MIND (Kevin Kelly)
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A hive mind is a distributed memory that both perceives and remembers.
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It is true that a human mind may be chiefly distributed, yet, it is in
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artificial minds where distributed mind will certainly prevail. The
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more computer scientists thought about distributing computer problems
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into a hive mind, the more reasonable it seemed. They figured that
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most personal computers are not in actual use most of the time they
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are turned on! While composing a letter on a computer you may
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interrupt the computer's rest with a short burst of key pounding and
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then let it return to idleness as you compose the next sentence. Taken
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as a whole, the turned on computers in the office are idle a large
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percentage of the day. The managers of information systems in large
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corporations look at the millions of dollars in personal computer
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sitting idle on worker's desks at night and wonder if all that
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computing power might be harnessed. All they would need is a way to
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coordinate work and memory in a very distributed system.
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=====
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[SOURCE: Kevin Kelly's excellent new book "Out of Control: The Rise
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of Neo-Biological Civilization". Addison-Wesley, 1994. 522 pp. $28.
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Mr. Kelley is currently executive editor of WIRED, but the ideas
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presented here have been incubating for far longer than that. This
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book is chock full of challenging ideas, and is essential reading for
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anyine interested in the shape of the future. There's a whole lot of
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paradigm shaking going on! Check it out at your bookstore or library.]
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======================================================================
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HARDWARE NEWS ROUNDUP
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<>Silicon Graphics and Toshiba are shipping a microprocessor touted
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as the world's fastest for technical computing. The two-chip R8000 is
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rated at 310 in measurement of floating point calculations, beating
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the prior record of 279 held by IBM. Suddenly my new Pentium seems
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very pokey indeed. <>Elsewhere, Convex's new C-4 supercomputer is
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claimed to be the fastest single processor air-cooled system, able
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to process more than a billion floating point operations a second
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(1 Gflops). It uses gallium arsenide rather than silicon technology.
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<>Motorola's Micro-TAC Elite cellular telephone weighs 3.9 ounces,
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less than a D-cell battery. It can be equipped with a chip that acts
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as a digital answering machine capable of storing up to 75 seconds of
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messages. <>Silent Systems of Burlington, Mass. has developed a
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noiseless alternative to the average PC that operates at an average of
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44 decibels -- almost as loud as a normal conversation. Their FE4
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model is absolutely silent. Is that a pin I hear dropping? <>Packard
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Bell plans to offer PCs that can double as radios, TVs, telephones and
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fax machines. Priced at $1000-3000, the systems will use Intel 486 and
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Pentium microprocessors and will come with stereo speakers; Most will
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have a CD-ROM drive and include 27 software titles. <>IBM would like
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to sell you a mainframe -- by mail. They mailed out 40,000 copies of
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their new mainframe catalogue, Mainframe Direct. Customers can order
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anything from an ES/9000 supercomputer to spare parts for old systems.
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If you need a mainframe for your home or office, call them at:
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800/xxx-xxxx. <> Intel and CNN have teamed up to test "LAN TV," a
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system that turns a regular broadcast TV signal into a compressed
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digital data stream, capable of being received on regular 486-type
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desktop PCs. While Intel tests the technology, CNN will concentrate on
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determining what it is people want to watch on their computers, in
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order to develop a special corporate news service.
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======================================================================
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PALACES OF MEMORY I (Chancellor von Mueller)
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After the concert we had supper with the Egloffsteins at Goethe's, who
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was in a most agreeable humor. When among other toasts one was made to
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Memory, he broke out suddenly with these words:
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"I admit no memory in your sense of the word, which is only a clumsy
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way of expressing it. Whatever we come on that is great, beautiful,
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significant, cannot be recollected. It must from the first be evolved
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from within us, be made and become part of us, developed into a new and
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better self, and so, continuously created in us, live and operate as
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part of us. There is no Past that we can bring back to us by the longing
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for it, there is only an eternally new Now that builds and creates
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itself out of the elements of the Past as the Past withdraws. The true
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desire to bring the Past back to us must always be productive and
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create something new and something better."
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=====
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(from The Practical Cogitator: The Thinker's Anthology, 3rd Edition.
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Houghton Mifflin, 1962)
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======================================================================
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ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP
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A quick look at the world of online services and email: <>There's a
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population boom in cyberspace -- by the end of this year, nearly four
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million U.S. households will have signed on with one of the Big Three
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online services -- America Online, CompuServe and Prodigy. <>A survey
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of 301 companies by Macworld Magazine showed that 78.4% of the firms
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do not spy on employee e-mail or search their electronic files. Sen.
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Paul Simon (D-Ill.) has drafted legislation requiring that companies
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tell their workers that their e-mail might be monitored. <>CEOs and
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other VIPs are suffering from e-mail overload, and some are requesting
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to be contacted by more conventional methods, because they no longer
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attempt to handle their e-mail backlog. "E-mail is a powerful tool to
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promote communication and flatten hierarchies. But what nobody wants
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to admit is that people in an organization have different amounts of
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power and status. And that those who are better off want to restore a
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degree of isolation," says Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Langdon
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Winner. And it's not just the top dogs that are overwhelmed -- the
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chairman of Computer Associates shuts down the company's e-mail system
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five hours a day so that everyone can get their real work done. <>Voice
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mail isn't much better: the Eastern Management Group has calculated that
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11,900,000,000 messages were left on voice mailboxes last year. <>With
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all this electronic communication going on, you'd think maybe we're
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getting closer to the paperless office. Keep dreaming. Figures from
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the American Forest & Paper Association indicate that the tonnage,
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since 1983, of annual shipments of U.S. office paper, has gone up 51%.
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======================================================================
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LOST IN CYBERSPACE IV (Dan Kennedy)
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... But even though the people who take part in these online
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discussions are sometimes called a "virtual community," cyberspace can
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be a lonely place. Embark on an electronic cruise, and you find a lot
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of alienated people sitting at home in darkened rooms before glowing
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screens, pouring out their frustrations and their prejudices without
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ever having to face the victims of their wrath.
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=====
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(Originally published in The Boston Phoenix (May 7, 1993), this
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portion was extracted from the Utne Reader, Jan/Feb 1994 issue,
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p. 104-105)
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======================================================================
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AN OBSERVATION ON GENDER (Anne Gregor)
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A bird's Eye view of a trade show I attended recently said it all.
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Hordes of men were crowded into one aisle in the rear of the hall.
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Were they engrossed in a preview of a new Microsoft title? Or a new
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CD-ROM on baseball. Are you kidding? It was girls.
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Women, in all forms of undress, and performing all manner of sexual
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acts on the computer screen. Here we had the electronic version of the
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action on Times Square. Only the barkers weren't promising live
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performances. Instead they were touting interactivity, a chance to
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click on a menu and take digital command of any number of women.
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Taking offense is a waste of time. It's still look-but-don't-touch,
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just presented in a different format with a little more control. The
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words pathetic and adolescent spring to mind. More disconcerting are
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the implications for future male-female relations. ...
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... It's all rather silly, and somewhat sad. We just got rid of the
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girly calendars on office walls and now they've gone high-tech.
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... Judging by the crowd and the sales figures, there seems no doubt
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that many men seem to live in their pants. My prediction: a left-
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handed mouse for right-handed people will be a hot seller.
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=====
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(SOURCE: from a sidebar on page 50 of an article entitled "Sex on CD-
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ROM" in the June/July issue of CD-ROM Today magazine.)
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======================================================================
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STRAWBERRY LEMONADE
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1 cup strawberries, hulled
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1/2 cup granulated sugar
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1 cup fresh lemon juice
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1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups COLD water (sparkling mineral water is nice)
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Puree strawberries in blender. Mix the sugar into the lemon juice.
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Add the sparkling water and the puree. Stir and pour into ice-filled
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glass. Chill. You, not the drink. (SOURCE: "Good Old Fashioned
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Lemonade is Coming Back" by Suzzanne Hamlin, NYT 7/13/94, p. C4)
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======================================================================
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<<<ACCESS>>> SUMMERTIME GUIDE TO SPORTS INFO ON THE INTERNET
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It's springtime, when there's a special glow in the air: the birds,
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(see camping) the bees (ftp sunsite.unc.edu in /pub/academic/
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agriculture/sustainable-agriculture/beekeeping/*) and somehow a
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young man's mind turns to thoughts of... Baseball! Go figure. How
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about that local sports team?
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=====> Baseball
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The Internet Baseball Archive contains softball simulations software,
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which sounds interesting, major/minor league schedules/stats, and of
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course ticket info.
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=FTP address: eucalyptus.cc.swarthmore.edu in /baseball
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And, also...
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=Mailing lists: (subscription is by request, drop the listowner an
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email and explain why you are worthy of being an XXYZ fan)
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Boston Red Sox: bosox-req@world.std.com
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Minnesota Twins: fan@twins.corp.sun.com
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New York Mets: mets-request@asd.com
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Oakland Athletics: athletics-request@eng.sun.com
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Pittsburg Pirates: pirates-request@cats.ucsc.edu
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San Francisco Giants: giants-request@medkraut.apple.com
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Toronto Blue Jays: jays-request@hivnet.ubc.ca
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Minor League Baseball: minors-request@medkraut.apple.com
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=Usenet Newsgroup(s): rec.sport.baseball, rec.sport.baseball.college,
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alt.sports.baseball.atlanta-braves
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=telnet culine.colorado.edu 862 / 128.138.129.170 862 (schedules)
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=finger mlb@spam.wicat.com or mlb@192.150.148.62 (scores, standings)
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=finger jtchern@headcrash.berkeley.edu (scores, standings)
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=====> Hiking, Camping, and the Great Outdoors
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Articles and guides about hiking and the great outdoors. See also
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Boating and canoeing.
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=FTP Address: ftp.spies.com in /Library/Article/Outdoors/*
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=gopher: wiretap.spies.com,
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path=Wiretap Online Library/Articles/Backcountry and Outdoors
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==> Archery
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=Usenet Newsgroup(s): alt.archery
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==> Birdwatching
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listserver: email listserv@arizvm1.ccit.arizona.edu,
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message body: SUB BIRDCNTR <your full name> (Central US)
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SUB BIRDEAST <your full name> (Eastern US)
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SUB BIRDWEST <your full name> (Western US)
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==> Boating
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Usenet Newsgroups(s): rec.boats, rec.boats.paddle, rec.sport.rowing
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==> Canoeing, Kayaking, Rafting info.
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River ratings, safety guides, contact addresses and more.
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=FTP Address: rtfm.mit.edu in /pub/usenet/news.answers/paddling-faq
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=Usenet Newsgroups(s): rec.boats.paddle, rec.sport.rowing
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==> Caving
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=Mailing list. Serious inquiries only. Email me (jaymachado@delphi.com)
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for the particulars.
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==> Climbing, Mountaineering
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=mailing list: email listserv@trmetu.bitnet,
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message body: SUB MOUNT-L <your full name> (for mountaineers)
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=Usenet newsgroup: rec.climbing (discuss climbs, techniques,
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and competition)
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==> Cycling
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The Global Cycling Network is an electronic information desk for
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cyclists. Information is made available by way of five basic
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mechanisms: gopher, CSO phone lookup, mailing lists, anonymous ftp
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and ftpmail. It is hoped that this service will be used locally,
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nationally and internationally to build a database of cycling-
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related information accessible to anyone with a modem and a
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computer. This gopher was launched in April, and they are looking
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for cycling-related information that you'd like to share with your
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region and the rest of the world. Please send a message to:
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submissions@cycling.org
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=gopher cycling.org, Port=70, Type=1
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Bicycling FAQs, bike guides, racing schedules, technical hints and
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tips, and generally interesting information can be found at the
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following anonymous FTP sites...
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=FTP Address: draco.acs.uci.edu in /pub/rec.bicycles/*
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=FTP Address: rtfm.mit.edu in /pub/usenet/news.answers/bicycles-faq/*
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=FTP Address: ugle.unit.no in /local/biking/*
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=FTP Address: biome.bio.dfo.ca in /pub/cycling/* (Canadian info)
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=Usenet newsgroup(s): rec.bicycles.racing, rec.bicycles.marketplace,
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rec.bicycles.misc, rec.bicycles.rides, rec.bicycles.soc (laws, soc),
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rec.bicycles.tech (engineering, construction, repair)
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==> Fishing
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=Usenet newsgroup(s): rec.outdoors.fishing
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==> Frisbee!
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FAQs, archives, rules for Disc Golf, Ultimate, and other disc games.
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=FTP Address: ftp.cs.wisc.edu in /pub/ultimate
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==> Horseback Riding
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=Listserver: email listserv@pccvm.bitnet,
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message body: SUBSCRIBE EQUINE-L <your full name>
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=Listserver: email equestrians-request@world.std.com, post them a
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note requesting to join the list.
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=Usenet newsgroup(s): rec.equestrian (same as 2nd listserver item)
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==> Scuba Diving
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Equipment guides, huge archives on underwater activities
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=FTP address: ames.arc.nasa.gov in pub/SCUBA/*
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=FTP address: rtfm.mit.edu in /pub/usenet/rec.answers/scuba-faq
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=Listserver: email listserv@brownvbm.bitnet,
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message body: SUB SCUBA-L <your full name>
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=Usenet newsgroup(s): rec.scuba
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==> Skating
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Rollerskating/rollerblading Equipment guides, instructions, and
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maintenance advice for all levels
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=FTP address: rtfm.mit.edu in /pub/usenet/news.answers/rec-skate-faq/*
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=Usenet newsgroup(s): rec.skate
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===> Sports Schedules
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NBA:telnet culine.colorado.edu 859 / 128.138.129.170 859
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NHL: telnet culine.colorado.edu 860 / 128.138.129.170 860
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NFL: telnet culine.colorado.edu 863 / 128.138.129.170 863
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finger copi@oddjob.uchicago.edu for sports schedules
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offers: Sports schedules on-line. help for help,
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return for today's games.
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===> Sports Scores/Standings
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finger nfl@spam.wicat.com or nfl@192.150.148.62 (Football)
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finger nflline@spam.wicat.com (NFL Line Spreads)
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offers: Football scores, standings, and next weeks schedule.
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===> Olympics (Summer and Winter)
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There is a gopher collection on the Olympics at the U of Utah.
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=gopher: gopher.cc.utah.edu, Type=1+, Name=Olympics,
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Path=1/News And Calendars/Olympics, Port=70.
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This list is far from complete. Soccer is one glaring omission, I'm
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sure you can find others. I'd appreciate knowing about any sites that
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might have been overlooked.
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======================================================================
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There are three kinds of people in this world: those who can count and
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those who can't. (Sent in by Richard Samborsky. Thanks Richard!)
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======================================================================
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ON THE NEWSSTAND
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AXCESS (Music - Cyberculture - Art - Style) Volume 2, Number 3. The
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latest in a line of MONDO 2000 inspired magazines. A more down-to-
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earth take on cyberculture, with lots of music interviews (Ozric
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Tentacles, the Residents, Trance Mission and King Missile), a B-movie
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appreciation and guide to resources, and some pretty interesting tech
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stuff: an article on Holy Flame Wars on USENET, SLIP access
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providers, and CD-ROM erotica. Book, magazine, software, hardware and
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music reviews and some fashion fluff round out the mix. A fun read,
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this is a a popular-type magazine to keep your eyes on...
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NPQ (New Perspectives Quarterly, Volume 11 #1, Winter 1994) A lengthy
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section entitled "Life, Death, and the Boundaries of the Person"
|
|
contains articles on health care from womb to tomb ("Brave New
|
|
Biocracy" by Ivan Illich), the profit motive in genetic research,
|
|
as well as liberal, Islamic and Vatican views on the new meaning of
|
|
life in an age of genetic research, organ transplants, and cloning.
|
|
There are articles here by Octavio Paz, Betty Friedan, and Dr. Jack
|
|
Kevorkian. Much food for thought here.
|
|
|
|
BUSINESS WEEK, special 1994 bonus issue. "The Information Revolution:
|
|
How digital technology is changing the way we work and live".
|
|
Articles, charts and graphics on the information economy at home, and
|
|
in Europe, Japan and the emerging nations. Also featured: An interview
|
|
with Intel CEO Andy Groves, an article explaining 10 critical
|
|
technologies of tomorrow (optoelectronics, parallel programming, mass
|
|
storage, object programming, software agents and artificial life,
|
|
wireless, speech recognition and more). One section explores the
|
|
changing face of business in a digital world, other articles explore
|
|
social issues like privacy, information have-nots, and love via email.
|
|
A Personal Technology rounds out the issue, with tips and advice on
|
|
getting up to speed. A useful resource.
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
THE KULTCHUR KORNER
|
|
|
|
=> JURORS IN BRITAIN CONDUCT SEANCE. Britain's Appeal Court was
|
|
recently asked to review a murder trial because three jurors
|
|
allegedly used a Ouija board to contact one of the victims before
|
|
finding the defendant guilty. The alleged seance took place in the
|
|
juror's hotel room, where the ghost of one of the victims named the
|
|
accused, one Stephen Young, as the killer. A twelve member jury
|
|
went on to unanimously convict Young. The appeals court, asked to
|
|
decide whether it was entitled to inquire into the allegations
|
|
about the sceance, reserved judgement to a later date. (SOURCE:
|
|
From Reuter's News, appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer withing
|
|
the past month, sorry I don't have a date.)
|
|
|
|
=> WEDDING BY VIDEO CONFERENCE. The first wedding by video conference
|
|
took place last week at PC Expo in New York; the bride and
|
|
bridegroom were at the Expo, the judge was in California. (SOURCE:
|
|
New York Times 7/3/94 Sec.3, p.4, E/P)
|
|
|
|
=> SPACE JUNK. The New York Times reports that more than 7,000 pieces
|
|
of trackable space debris currently are threatening the performance
|
|
and integrity of approximately 300 satellites now circling the
|
|
globe, including 30 North American communications satellites. Plans
|
|
like Motorola's Iridium system, comprising 77 satellites, and the
|
|
McCaw-Gates Teledisc project, consisting of some 240 satellites,
|
|
will just exacerbate the problem. (SOURCE: Telecommunications
|
|
Policy Review 5/29/94 p.1, E/P)
|
|
|
|
=> BRAVE NEW BURGER. Federal health officials want at least some of
|
|
the nation's ground irradiated to kill off virulent new strains of
|
|
bacteria. The FDA has already approved irradiation of poultry and
|
|
some dairy products. Elsewhere it has been reported that common
|
|
bacteria are growing resistant to the antibiotics normally used to
|
|
treat them, posing a health hazard in some cases. Scientists are
|
|
hard at work trying to develope new antibiotics. In the meantime,
|
|
it looks like we've decided to try our hand at breeding radiation
|
|
resistant bacteria. Experts say irradiation is perfectly safe, but
|
|
I think this is one of those deals where we find out, ten or twenty
|
|
years down the line that zapping our food with nuclear waste wasn't
|
|
such a hot idea. Kind of like recent discoveries that prolonged
|
|
exposure to electrical fields may be responsible for greater
|
|
incidences of certain types of cancers. (SOURCE: Time 7/25/94, p.
|
|
14; various newspaper clippings, Science Times)
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
### ADMINISTRIVIA ###
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LETTERS. We welcome submissions and commentary. All mail sent to the
|
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editor or to B&B will be treated as a "letter to the editor" and
|
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considered printable, unless you tell me otherwise.
|
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|
|
(E/P) This symbol on some of the news items indicates that the source
|
|
for this article was the EDUPAGE newsletter. EDUPAGE is a bi-weekly
|
|
summary of recent news items on information technology, and is a
|
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highly recommended "one-stop" source of news. To subscribe,
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======================================================================
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= BITS AND BYTES ONLINE, an electronic newsletter for information- =
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= based lifeforms, is printed using 100% recycled electrons, and is =
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= intended for distribution primarily IN THAT MEDIUM. Please contact =
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= editor for reprint permission. =
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======================================================================
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= Jay Machado = (Copyright 1994 Jay Machado) *unaltered*=
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= 1529 Dogwood Drive = ELECTRONIC distribution of this file for =
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========================== The editor is solely responsible for the =
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========================== This issue of Bits and Bytes has been =
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======================================================================
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=============== End of Bits and Bytes Online V2, #5 =================
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======================================================================
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