E-Clippings

**********************************************************************
**
***************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
**********************************************************************
**
***************************************************************

New Feature: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse

In a desperate bid for me to finally wade through all those Web sites
that I keep meaning to check out, I have decided to add the results of
my efforts to E-Clippings, this way you can play along at home. I
promise I won't pass along all the duds but hopefully I will pass
along
some sites that are interesting or helpful and maybe even both! As
with
all things in both E-Clippings and NewsFlashes, if you have any
comments, complaints, etc. please feel free to pass them along!
*Also, since we just don't feel comfortable without acronyms, if
anybody
can come up with a name for this new feature, I'll run it by the huge
editorial staff here and maybe even adopt it!

The 1st: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse

Keirsey Temperament Sorter and Keirsey Temperament Theory
http://www.keirsey.com/

Just in time for the holidays, come to this site and try out their
handy
personality test based on the widely available and hugely popular
paper
version by the same name. The Personality Sorter nailed me pretty
good.

**********************************************************************
**
************************************************
"It used to be that the senior people decided what it was that you
      needed to know. The information was metered to you. But the
modern
      warfighter has to be able to craft his own information domain."

          Vice Admiral Arthur Cebrowski, on the U.S. Navy's new
          "network-centric" strategy, Wired News, 1 December 1999

        http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,32347,00.html

Putting IT into the three Rs <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=191497>
(Source: Civic.com) A high school in Virginia is graduating students
certified nationally in networking and computer repair.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=191497

Geek dictionary <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195350>
Source: CIO) Impress your friends and family by sputtering up the
latest
technological jargon.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195350

The digital century <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=192551>
(Source: PC World Online) 100 of the best, worst, and weirdest events
in
computing history.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=192551

The code of cyberspace <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=192552>
(Source: The Industry Standard) The Internet will not cause the
'withering away of the state.' If we're not careful, government could
instead wither the Net.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=192552

21st century toys <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=192553>
(Source: FEED Magazine) INTERVIEW | Steven Johnson talks to the MIT
Media Lab visionary about 21st century toys.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=192553

U.S., Nato planning crisis-management network
<http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=192920>

http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=192920

Real-World Reviews for E-Books
<http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,32723,00.html>
A publisher will start placing e-book reviews in its paper magazine.
E-book publishers take it as a good message for the medium. By M.J.
Rose.


Get smart! <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195351>
(Source: PC World Online) These 16 sites can help boost your
brainpower.

http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195351

Microsoft, Lotus battle hits Marines
<http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=194848>
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=194848

A guide to rights in Net content <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=194544>
(Source: CIO) A straightforward guide to posting audio and visual
content on the Web.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=194544

Understanding XHTML 1.0 <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=193984>
(Source: SunWorld) A look at the proposed recommendation for XHTML 1.0
and the advantages XHTML has over HTML.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=193984

Netpliance offers one-button browsing
<http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195398>
(Source: PC World Online) You can get e-mail and news on an i-opener
anywhere you have a phone.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195398

Fight spam with CommuniGate Pro <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195409>
(Source: Linuxworld) CommuniGate Pro gives you an impressive arsenal
against all kinds of spam.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195409

Fight spam with CommuniGate Pro <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195409>
(Source: Linuxworld) CommuniGate Pro gives you an impressive arsenal
against all kinds of spam.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195409

PLAY THE DOMAIN NAME GAME
<http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=14146>
How do you get that great URL, and does your business really need it?

European Web users favor portals
European Internet users seem to share Web surfing habits with their
American counterparts as they frequent the growing number of Internet
portal sites on the Web, a new survey reports. The sites of Yahoo
(YHOO), Excite (ATHM) and America Online were among the 10 sites most
frequently visited by European Web users, according to research
released
Monday by Media Metrix (MMXI). FreeServe (FREE), the United Kingdom's
biggest Internet service provider, is No. 2 among Web users in Great
Britain. Teutonic local service provider T-Online is tops in that
Germany and France Telecom's Wanadoo.fr is premier in France. The
research showed Germans are the most active, spending about five
hours a
month online - almost as much as U.S. Internet users, Media Metrix
general manager Doug McFarland told CBS.MarketWatch.com. He added the
research firm plans similar ratings reports within the next few months
for Australia, Canada and Japan.

Comdex Fall 99: Picks and pans <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=188903>
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=188903

Can't we have a brighter IT future?
<http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=189797>
(Source: IDG.net) Take virtually any movie about technology in the
future and you can predict the scene: it's dark and raining, the
quality
of life sucks and someone is always watching you.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=189797

Inflightonline.com, Lycos offer Web access from the air
<http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=189806>
(Source: Computerworld) Inflightonline.com, a provider of in-flight
Internet and intranet services, has joined forces with Lycos to
provide
limited Web access to airline passengers.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=189806

Web in a box <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=190286>
(Source: The Industry Standard) Flatiron Partners believes Internet
access can be brought to any device, portable or otherwise, that has a
display.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=190286

E-Clippings

**********************************************************************
**
***************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
**********************************************************************
**
***************************************************************

The 2nd: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse

Trend World Virus Tracking Center
http://wtc.trendmicro.com/wtc/wmap.html

Trend Micro is a maker of anti-virus software. They have added a cool
new touch to their site with an interactive map that allows you to
follow the path of a virus around the globe. Clicking on a virus name
provides you a short history of that virus. Another useful click here
is
the "Free Tools" section at the top. Trend Micro makes several free
products that allow you to conduct virus scans of your hard drive or
Outlook files through your Web browser or via a small downloadable
program. They also have a great section on virus hoaxes that everyone
should check before forwarding that latest virus alert, especially
like
that "Lump of Coal" hoax that is floating around right now.
**********************************************************************
**
***************************************************************

"Our intent is inclusive -- to humanize and democratize
the Internet. Too much of life is whom you know. We're
trying to open that up a little more."
-- "craigslist" community organizer, Craig Newmark
http://www.fastcompany.com/fast.take/nc/002/026.html


Babylonia virus can update itself
European researchers have discovered a new computer virus clever
enough to sneak onto your computer in pieces and update itself with
fresh code.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/343654.asp


BABYLONIA VIRUS MASKS ITSELF AS Y2K FIX

Virus attacks masquerading as fixes to year-2000
related problems continue to plague networks, but
the latest attack allows the virus' creator to
install potentially damaging applications onto an
infected machine.

Disguised as a year-2000 bug fix for the popular
Internet Relay Chat (MIRC) system, a new worm-style
virus called W95. Babylonia is currently infecting
systems via newsgroup chat sites.

For the full story:
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/en/xml/99/12/07/991207enbabylon.xml


Greatest innovations? There are no right or wrong answers
from the San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurycenter.com/special/mill/innovation/

Self-destructing e-mail <http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195971>
(Source: Network World Fusion) Ever shoot your mouth off and want to
take it back? The e-mail industry is on the verge of granting this
desire, in the form of "self-destructing" e-mail.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=195971

INTEL PREVIEWS BLUETOOTH ON NOTEBOOK
<http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=14179>
Wireless technology is up and running, and headed for notebooks next
year.

NSA: 'We Won't Spy on You'
<http://www.wired.com/news/reuters/0,1349,32941,00.html>
No satellites or other surveillance devices will be used by the
National
Security Agency to spy on Americans in the US, the agency promises.

Cell Phone Crypto Penetrated
<http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,32900,00.html>
Design flaws in the voice scrambling technology used in millions of
cellular phones have put the world's privacy at risk. If you've got a
GSM phone, your neighborhood hacker may be getting an earful. By
Declan
McCullagh.

Hi Folks:

Usually I don't forward entire chunks like this one from FEED, but I
though
that all the articles were interesting enough that I probably would
have
included them anyway, so please read and enjoy.

Mark Oehlert
E-Clippings/NewsFlashes Editor

Subject: FEED Alert: The Future Of Invention


11.12.99

Q U O T E  O F  T H E  W E E K

To pick the landmark inventions out of the clutter, to examine what
makes
them
happen and how they can be encouraged, FEED turned to scientists,
engineers,
authors, investors and visionaries who all share a spirit of
defiance, and
who
understand that invention must be far more than the repackaging of old
ideas.
How much does the current surplus of funding affect the quality and
consequence
of inventions? What happens to the art of invention when it is largely
mediated
by corporate cash? How can we distinguish the inventors from the
showmen?
What
will be the ideal climate for invention in the future?

-- From the Introduction to "Works in Progess," FEED's Special Issue
on 21st
Century Inventions

R E C E N T   F E E D  A R T I C L E S

WORKS IN PROGRESS
FEED'S SPECIAL ISSUE ON 21st CENTURY INVENTIONS

INTRO | 11.08.99
Introduction
Amanda Griscom and Hillary Rosner introduce FEED's Special Issue on
twenty-first century inventions.
http://www.feedmag.com/invent/index.html?alert

ESSAY | 11.08.99
Thinking Small
Mark Pesce on molecular-scale manufacturing, the gray goo problem,
and how
nanotechnology will change the world as we know it.
http://www.feedmag.com/invent/pesce.html?alert

INTERFACE | 11.09.99
Tomorrow's Desktop
Steven Johnson asks some of the industry's leading figures: what will
our
computer screens look like ten years from now?
http://www.feedmag.com/invent/interface.html?alert

ESSAY | 11.10.99
The Spy Who Financed Me
Why is the CIA turning its long history of covert invention into a
venture
capital project? Mark Boal reports.
http://www.feedmag.com/invent/boal.html?alert

ESSAY | 11.11.99
Xerox's Proving Ground
When the marketplace is king, can a corporate research outfit like
PARC
remain a real innovator? Gary Rivlin reports.
http://www.feedmag.com/invent/parc.html?alert

BRIEFINGS | 11.11.99
Immaculate Contraptions
FEED offers a sneak preview of the inventions that may transform the
next
century.
http://www.feedmag.com/invent/brief.html?alert

Coming soon...
An interview with Nobel-prize winning chemist Kary Mullis... and more!


R E C E N T  F E E D  D A I L I E S

Josh Glenn on Truth versus Beauty
http://www.feedmag.com/daily/dy111299_master.html?alert

Chris Lehmann on The Insider
http://www.feedmag.com/daily/dy111199_master.html?alert

Chris Fujiwara on the deaths of Ian Bannen and character drama
http://www.feedmag.com/daily/dy111099_master.html/?alert

Matthew DeBord on the LAPD's bum rap
http://www.feedmag.com/daily/dy110999_master.html?alert

Clay Shirky on the fall of Microsoft
http://www.feedmag.com/daily/dy110899_master.html?alert

Ana Marie Cox on "The Real World"'s psychic body slams
http://www.feedmag.com/daily/dy110599_master.html?alert

-Clippings

In honor of the new year, I have also included two great pictures
from the
New York Times. <<These are available in the "Files" section>>

Enjoy.

**********************************************************************
******
********************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
********************************************

The 3rd: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse
http://www.gurunet.com/
Gurunet.com . This product is still in beta but I think it's
seriously cool.
You download the programs and it works whenever you are connected to
the
Internet. It allows you to click on any word in a document, not just
a Web
page, and recieve contextually relevant information such as
defintitions,
encyclopedia articles, etc.


**********************************************************************
******
********************************************

I2: The Internet for humans
(Source: SunWorld) Informed speed, deliberate delivery -- tackling the
sociopolitical implications of Internet2.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=210848


Living with the Internet
(Source: PC World Online) Sure, you've got information close at hand,
but
what's it do for your quality of life?
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=210849


Meganoise
(Source: The Industry Standard) A day in the life of a pair of self-
anointed
cybergurus.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=210850
**Read this one for a scathing and disturbing review of John
(Megatrends)
and Nan Naisbitt's new book "Hogh Tech, High Touch: Technology and our
Search for Meaning."


In the year 2525
(Source: CIO) Futurists try to predict who will run computers and
networks,
if technology help us work more hours or less and what will remain
constant.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=210853


Dealing with the overload
(Source: InfoWorld.com) Feeling paralyzed by too much information?
Here's
what to do.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=210854


Be ready for these points of confusion, cautions Carliner, who
teaches human factors in information design at Bentley College in
Waltham, MA.

o  Online delivery is about more than training. Carliner discerns
     these functions as well: education (distinct from training),
     performance support, knowledge management and collaboration.


"We are using a 500-year-old system to make decisions
in a complex business environment in which the
essential assets that create value have fundamentally
changed." -- Baruch Lev, Philip Bardes Professor of
Accounting and Finance at New York University
http://www.fastcompany.com/fast.take/online/31/lev.html


The typical manager spends 17 hours every week in
meetings -- and more than six hours preparing for them.
http://www.fastcompany.com/fast.take/online/13/m4me.html

Henry Ford introduced the Model T in 1908, invented
the assembly line in 1913, instituted the $5 day in
1914, and was a billionaire by 1922.
http://www.fastcompany.com/fast.take/online/01/fordtv.html

E-Clippings

**********************************************************************
******
********************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
********************************************

The 2nd: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse

Trend World Virus Tracking Center

http://wtc.trendmicro.com/wtc/wmap.html

Trend Micro is a maker of anti-virus software. They have added a cool
new
touch to their site with an interactive map that allows you to follow
the
path of a virus around the globe. Clicking on a virus name provides
you a
short history of that virus. Another useful click here is the "Free
Tools"
section at the top. Trend Micro makes several free products that
allow you
to conduct virus scans of your hard drive or Outlook files through
your Web
browser or via a small downloadable program. They also have a great
section
on virus hoaxes that everyone should check before forwarding that
latest
virus alert, especially like that "Lump of Coal" hoax that is floating
around right now.

**********************************************************************
******
********************************************

HANDSPRING GETS EVEN HANDIER
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=14690
Slick Palm-compatible does everything from playing your MP3s to
interacting
with your appliances.


THE FATHER OF THE FUTURE?
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=14687
Sun's McNealy irks privacy groups by advocating locator chips, smart
cards.


White House to release federal network security plan
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=208963


The future of the Internet and us
(Source: SunWorld) With transfer between research and industry moving
at
lighting speed, is there adequate time available to know if change is
good
for us as a society?
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=208854


ACRONYM FINDER

http://www.mtnds.com/af/

Remember when Y2K threatened to be TEOTWAWKI? Uh, what? In today's
increasingly confusing world, acronyms are common in conversation.
Sometimes--as in the sentence above--a combination of them can be
pretty overwhelming. The next time somebody spouts alphabet soup,
you'd do well to stop into the Acronym Finder to decipher what it is
he or she is saying. The interface is simple. Type in the acronym and
the site searches through nearly 70,000 known acronyms and returns
what it finds. We tried to stump it on computer arcania and scientific
esoterica, but it had us in every instance. A valuable bookmark.


A'Hacking the Military Will Go
The US Space Command is now on the job of protecting Defense
Department
computers from hacker attacks. Its plans to disrupt enemy computer
systems
raise some thorny policy questions, however. Declan McCullagh reports
from
Washington.
in Politics
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,33443,00.html


A look at the history of the automobile offers a glimpse of the PC's
future
(Source: InfoWorld.com) OPINION | The automobile and the third
empowering
technology, the personal computer, have many parallels. [Bob Lewis]
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=208113



The future according to analysts
(Source: PC World Online) IDC analysts spout out their 5th annual
Internet
predictions.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=208116

E-Clippings

**********************************************************************
******
********************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
********************************************

The 4th: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse
O.K., I'm already breaking my intention with this feature which was
to clear
my backlog of unreviewed cool sites. I straying to provide you a site
which
I just found today and thought it was important enough to pipe out
right
away. We can get so down in the details that we occasionally forget
to look
at the big picture, well John Brockman has helped us out. As editor
of the
edge.org, Brockman asked 100 top thinkers (Freeman Dyson, Kevin
Kelly, e.g.)
what the most important and underreported story was today. Their
illuminating answers are available at http://www.edge.org/





**********************************************************************
******
********************************************


### Required reading for anyone using Norton/Symantec products ###
Potential
security problems
Last issue's coverage of three serious issues with Norton products
(see
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/jan-10-00.htm) brought a flood
of
email--- so much so I've started a separate file and am trying to sort
things out.
Meanwhile, Steve Gibson is all over this: See his excellent
explanation
here:
http://grc.com/faq-shieldsup.htm#017

And Dave Methvin at WinMag has a good overview at
http://www.winmag.com/fixes/nav2000.htm


Most Y2K fixes included a fix for the leap-year bug, so if you got
through
Y2K all right, you're probably OK for the leap year bug.
But why guess? It's easy to check on your own: Just use the procedures
detailed in http://www.winmag.com/library/1999/0101/fea0061.htm  but
use
Feb 28th as the critical date, instead of Dec 31. If your system is
OK,
you'll roll over to Feb 29th with no problem.
There are other problem dates coming up too: See
http://www.winmag.com/library/1999/0101/fea0061k.htm for a list of
some of
the biggies.


US frees up encryption export policy
(Source: IDG.net) New encryption export regulations finally ease up
after
years of pressure by U.S. software companies.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=211562


Flatlining
(Source: Civic.com) Despite progress in technology, funding and policy
issues are hampering rural telemedicine
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=211571


BEHIND THE SCENES AT EBAY
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=14749
Meg Whitman pushed eBay from a great idea to a technological
innovation.


o  "Students' Frustrations with a Web-Based Distance Education
Course" by Noriko Hara and Rob Kling of Indiana University:
http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue4_12/hara/index.html#author

o  "The Future of Multimedia in Education" by Allyn J Radford,
senior research fellow at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia:
http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue2_11/radford/


INTERNET LISTS
The List
Are you paying too much for Internet access? Compare ISP prices and
services in your area.
http://thelist.internet.com/

E-Clippings

**********************************************************************
******
********************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
********************************************

The 5th: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse: The new
adlnet.org
That's right - today's site is brought to you by shameless self-
promotion!
The home page for the ADL initiative (http://www.adlnet.org) has
begun its
migration to a totally new site with increased functionality and new
levels
of user friendliness. The first step is now on-line and shows the
direction
of the new look of the site. We expect the new new site to live
within 30
days. Enjoy and as always, your feedback is welcome and sought after.



**********************************************************************
******
********************************************
"I might be threatening to write code."

  Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, on his decision to hand the CEO
  title to Steve Ballmer so he can yell at his programmers full-time,
  News.com, 13 January 2000
  http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-1522563.html


GATES STEPS ASIDE
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=14773
Ballmer takes CEO post; Gates still chair, becomes chief software
architect.


MICROSOFT'S NEW CEO WILL WASH WINDOWS
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=14779
Next-generation Windows gives Gates a chance to be 'chief geek.'


Print out all the fonts on your system by opening Control Panel,
double-clicking the Fonts icon, then on the font of your
choice and clicking on the Print button.

Across the generational divide
(Source: CIO) When it comes to being a good CIO, graybeards and
whippersnappers have a great deal of career advice to give each other.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=211512


Getting larger than life online
(Source: PC World Online) Create your own posters and calendars
online,
complete with your company logo.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=211515



Computer chips with a genetic twist
Scientists have created a "DNA computer" from strands of synthetic
DNA they coaxed into solving relatively complex calculations.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/356279.asp


Hockenberry: Who's running the country?
Watch the politicians debate and then watch the AOL-Time Warner
announcement. Then ask yourself: Who's really in touch with what's
happening in America?
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/356124.asp


E-MAIL FOR YOUR PALM
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=14772
Actual Software adds larger file support and printing to MultiMail
Pro.


PCS HIT THE ROAD
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=14778
Talk to your radio, check e-mail, and entertain the kids in the back
seat
with a car PC.

Fahrenheit 451, Jerusalem Style
A council of ultra-Orthodox rabbis decides to ban the Internet, and
barely a
whimper is heard -- except from those who bemoan the loss of its
educational
worth. Tania Hershman reports from Jerusalem.
in Culture
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,33583,00.html


DMV Can't Sell Personal Info
The US Supreme Court, surprisingly led by Justice William Rehnquist,
upholds
the constitutionality of a federal law restricting access to drivers
license
information. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington.
in Politics
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,33611,00.html


Hackers Target Weapons Labs
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_599000/599753.s
tm


Optical fiber cometh
(Source: Network World Fusion) Start-ups are upping the ante about
how much
bandwidth you can distribute affordably.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=212133


-- 10 January 2000  December's Virus Figures
Sophos' December count of viruses places Marker Word at the top of the
list of most frequently reported viruses.
http://www.currents.net/newstoday/00/01/10/news2.html


INTERNET TECHNOLOGY
Weekly CPU Prices
This week sees the entrance of the Athlon 800MHz, which as we
speculated was to be released in the middle of January.
http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/weekly_cpu/

E-Clippings

**********************************************************************
******
********************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
********************************************

The 6th: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse
PC Magazines Free Utility Download site:
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/utilities/
I have included stories on and links to three handy downloads but rest
assured there are hundreds, nay thousands more available from PC
Magazine.
Some of these are handy, some are not, but you should certainly take a
stroll through their file library.

Great utility available for free at
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/stories/solutions/0,8224,2385358,00.html

The size of program and data files doesn't usually matter, but if you
need
to move these files from one machine to another, size can become a
huge
obstacle. If machines aren't networked, "sneakernet" is one of your
only
options, which means the files must fit on removable media like
floppy disks
or Zip disks. Smaller files are also preferable for online
distribution
because of data errors and lost connections. This issue's utility,
Slice32,
lets you slice files into manageable pieces for easy transport and
distribution. Slice32 is an update to the PC Magazine utility Slice,
a DOS
program first published on May 16, 1989.


Yet another handy freed download:
http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/info.html?
fcode=0012R
F&b=pcm

Remember the old DOS program TREE.COM? It displayed the directory and
file
structure, and you could pipe the output to a file or printer.
TREE.COM was
never updated to support long filenames, and it disappeared with
Windows 95.
This utility from PC Magazine, TreePrint, is a TREE.COM replacement
that you
access from within Windows Explorer. Simply right-click on a folder
or drive
and use the TreePrint menu to print the directory tree or save it to
a file,
starting at that point. Options let you control the number of levels
and the
amount of indentation for each level, choose whether or not to include
filenames, and request that the tree be sorted alphabetically.
TreePrint is
especially useful for documenting the contents of archive media such
as
CD-Rs. TreePrint was written by Steven E. Sipe, and first appeared in
PC
Magazine October 19, 1999 (v18n18). Source code is included.


Can you believe another free download??!!:
http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/info.html?
fcode=0012E
I&b=pcm

As you use your computer, your hard disk becomes cluttered with 'junk
files'
that take up space and serve no purpose. For example, many programs
save the
previous version of a document with the extension .BAK. ScanDisk can
leave
files with the .CHK extension in the root folder of any drive, and
these are
rarely useful. Cache directories are often filled with files meant to
speed
access to sites you will never revisit. It's time-consuming to delete
these
files manually. HDValet automates the process. Just select the junk
file
types you want to eliminate and click the 'Clean up' button. Junk
file types
are configurable, and you can add them as needed. A confirmation
process
protects against mistakes. HDValet was written by Neil J. Rubenking,
and
first appeared in PC Magazine October 5, 1999 (v18n17). Source code is
included.

**********************************************************************
******
********************************************
"The gap between the Internet 'haves' and the Internet 'have-nots'
      is widening. The goal should be to make technology accessible to
      everyone ... by creating a digital bridge."

          Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, on her plans to make
money off
          the digital divide, San Francisco Examiner, 17 January 2000

        http://eXaminer.com/000115/0115outlook.html


New ruling foils cybersquatters
(Source: PC World Online) A first-of-its-kind United Nations agency
raises a
red flag for cybersquatters who seek to profit by swiping domain
names or
abusing trademarks on the Internet.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=213850


U.S. missile defense test fails
In an apparent setback for the Pentagon's drive to develop a
national missile defense system, a prototype missile interceptor
failed to hit a mock warhead in midflight during a crucial test
Tuesday, a Pentagon spokesman announced.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/358973.asp




'The robot knows when you are ready to get dressed because it watches
you'
(Source: CIO) Kids' predictions for the future -- fifth graders share
their
views on the future of technology.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=212166


Choose your technorealism. William Mitchell's *e-topia* and Douglas
Rushkoff's *Coercion* take starkly differing views of the Information
Age. Harvey Blume looks at both books and talks with the authors
about where the digital revolution is leading us.
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/digicult/dc2000-01-13.htm


Feds prefer Microsoft breakup
(Source: The Industry Standard) A consensus appears to be emerging
among
government prosecutors in settlement talks with Microsoft that they
propose
the company be broken up, as opposed to proposing behavioral
modifications,
a state source confirmed Wednesday.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=212286


The future for mobile phones
(Source: PC World Online) Functionality, ease of use, and memory
capacity
expected to boom.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=212248


First Windows 2000 virus discovered
(Source: IDG.net) Antivirus software vendor F-Secure has received a
sample
of the first virus written specifically to operate under Microsoft's
forthcoming Windows 2000 OS.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=212254


Gov't wooing best and brightest for cyberdefense mission
(Source: FCW) Don't want to join the Navy and see the world? Then how
about
hitching up with the Federal Cyber Services (FCS) and defending the
nation's
information systems?
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=212256


If you forget your Win95 password, just press Escape at the
password box, bring up the MS-DOS Prompt and enter dir *.PWL
at the WINDOWS folder to find your .PWL files. Delete the one
with your name in front of it. Restart your system and enter a
new password when prompted.


We all know that the information revolution has made our lives easier
right?
I mean, now with computers, the amount of stuff we have to carry has
fallen
off to a minimal level right? Well, if you occasionally feel the total
opposite, like an Information Pack Mule here are some recommendations
from
PC Magazine on tech-luggage.

Best affordable shoulder bag. The Kensington Sky runner
(www.kensington.com,
800-235-6708). The nylon fabric looks expensive, but it's only $69.99
list
and, at 2.4 pounds, is a pound less than some nylon bags.

Best affordable backpack bag. The Kensington Saddlebag looks great,
converts
to a shoulder bag, has a nice padded handle, holds a lot, and doesn't
look
like a computer bag. What more could you want for $89.99 list?

Best high-end bag. Most anything from Hartmann (www.hartmann.com,
800-331-0613) or Tumi (www.tumi.com, 800-322-8864). Hartmann bags are
especially light in ballistic nylon. Try the Hartmann Deluxe Computer
Organizer 517 ($325 list in nylon, $595 in leather) or the smaller
Hartmann
Ultra Computer Brief ($295 list, $555 in leather). Note that you
can't use
the smaller one for 15-inch-LCD notebooks. Tumi uses heavier
materials and
nylon slings, which make its bags - such as the Tumi Safecase
Adjustable
Computer Brief 2632 ($395 list in nylon, $550 in leather) - heavier
and
taller than the Hartmann bags.

Best high-end backpack. The top of the Tumi Safecase Deluxe Computer
Briefpack 2640 ($295 list in ballistic nylon, $495 in leather) is a
zippered, 4-inch-tall domed pocket for the small items that otherwise
fall
to the bottom and get lost. A U-shaped elastic sling holds a 14-inch-
LCD
laptop without taking up much room (bigger notebooks fit, but barely).

Best higher-than-high-end bag. Glaser Designs (www.glaserdesigns.com,
800-234-1075), an eight-person San Francisco shop, makes bags that
exemplify
the breathtaking work you can still get from skilled craftspeople. The
Glaser A4 City Tote ($600 direct, plus $90 for padded inserts) is
spacious
without being too big; women may like it in black leather with nickel
hardware.

Most rugged bag line. Overall, we were most impressed with the Tenba
line
(www.tenba.com, 718-222-9870), but you'll be giving up internal space
to the
well-padded corrugated-plastic inserts. Tenba has a neat accessory
backpack
harness for its shoulder bags that looks like Brandi Chastain's
sports bra.
Hartmann and Tumi bags should also hold up well. We also liked the
more
affordable if less exciting ballistic nylon lines from Brenthaven
(www.brenthaven.com, 800-803-7225) and Codi (www.codi-inc.com,
800-263-4462).

Outdoorsy bags. Every bag we saw from direct suppliers Eddie Bauer
(www.eddiebauer.com, 800-789-1386), Lands' End (www.landsend.com,
800-356-4444), and L.L. Bean (www.llbean.com, 800-221-4221) was well
made
and well priced. We especially liked the L.L. Bean Sportsman's Deluxe
Computer Briefcase ($139 direct) and the convertible Eddie Bauer
Laptop
Backpack Briefcase, a bargain at $58 but a tight fit for 15-inch-LCD
notebooks.

Overrated. Market leader Targus took over Port (www.port.com, 800-242-
3133),
an innovator in protective cases. High-end bags such as the Port Sport
Classic are still good, but the Port Computer Backpack ($79 list),
with a
domed pocket (like the Tumi backpack's), felt stiff, and the zippers
were
hard to work. The CourierWare Super Deluxe Courier Bag
(www.courierwareusa.com, 800-678-2247) was well constructed, and the
available colors were neat - but we're perplexed that The Wall Street
Journal top-rated it recently. There aren't many inner pockets; the
optional
insert is more like a padded envelope; and although the basic bag is
$95,
you'll need to spend another $45 for the insert and $12 for a
shoulder pad.

E-Clippings

"I may be wrong, but I'm never in doubt."
Marshall McLuhan

**********************************************************************
******
****************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************

The 64th: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse:

http://www.zooba.com
Zooba.com

No I don't know how they got the name or if it means anything. What I
do
know is that I subscribe to roughly 250+ news sources and I see most
of
those on a daily basis. thus it was with slightly jaded eyes that I
cast my
view towards Zooba. I have however, been pleasantly surprised.

Rather than just another news wire (not that there is anything wrong
with
news-filled emails!!) Zooba attempts to straddle the line between
timely
news and deep-thinking pieces. My Zooba email on "Theories and
Discoveries"
discussed Galileo and my Zooba email on American History discussed
MLK,
Jr.'s "Letters from a Birmingham Jail." They do this in either plain
text
with links or an HTML format. I recommend that you enable your email
client
to accept the HTML version. For every topic, if you want more info,
you can
sign up for a mini-series of email (3-8) dealing with just that
topic. Zooba
does rely on ads so you will find product info down the right-hand
side of
the HTML email but for once the products are related to the topic,
i.e.
books on Galileo or MLK, Jr.

I think that Zooba has found an interesting niche and I hope you try
it out,
we all need to do some reading outside of the 30-second mode (after
finishing e-Clippings and NewsFlashes of course!).
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************


****The Microsoft Story****
MS SPLIT IN TWO!
Judge orders MS to create a Windows company and an
Internet/applications company. Gives MS four
months to submit plan.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=21602&bx=http://www.zdnet.com/


Microsoft still whining about breakup
CEO Steve Ballmer is crying in his beer. (CNN)
http://www.cnn.com/cnnfn/2000/06/08/companies/ballmer/


JUDGE ORDERS SPLIT: To protect consumers and the computer industry,
Microsoft should be broken into two companies. That was the ruling
from Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson Wednesday, ending the latest phase
of a two-year trial. Of course, it isn't over: Microsoft vows to
appeal.
http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,17069,00.html
http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,17070,00.html


THE SAGA IN SOUND BITES
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=17070
Travel in time through the long-running Microsoft antitrust trial with
these quotes of note.
*******************


**Bluetooth Watch**
ERICSSON DEMOS FIRST BLUETOOTH PHONE
      (Source: IDG.net) Vendor L.M. Ericsson Telephone demonstrated its
Bluetooth mobile phone, the tri-band and WAP (Wireless Application
Protocol) ready T36, at the CommunicAsia conference and exhibition.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=271559


PHILIPPINES DROPS CASE AGAINST 'LOVE BUG' SUSPECT
(Source: The Industry Standard) The state prosecutor said there was
no law
under which he could prosecute one of the suspects.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=271807


UTV PROMISES FREE NET SERVICE FOR IRELAND
      (Source: IDG.net) Ulster Television (UTV) is launching an
Internet
service for all of Ireland -- the British province as well as the
Republic
of Ireland.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=271808



IBM DISCOVERS CRUSOE
In New York, IBM demos a Crusoe-powered ThinkPad,
the first major PC product running Transmeta's
next gen chip.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=21578&bx=http://www.upside.com/


DSL FORUM DEMONSTRATES INTEROPERABILITY
      (Source: IDG.net) Forty-two DSL vendors are demonstrating for the
first time publicly at SuperComm the "any-to-any" interoperability of
their DSLAMs to their CPEs.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=272163


NOKIA INTRODUCES WIRELESS BROADBAND ROUTERS
      (Source: IDG.net) Nokia on Tuesday introduced wireless broadband
routers and network bridges that are designed to perch on rooftops.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=272165


KNOW THY USER(S), WORLDWIDE
Conducting multi-national user research could help prevent
costly cultural errors in the design and promotion of your
Web site.
http://digitrends.flonetwork.com/cgi-bin8/flo?x=dAoomEBgEwAKmouB


OXYGEN SENDS EMPLOYEES ON 'SUMMER VACATION'
Internet and cable-TV company putting two shows
'on hiatus' for the summer. Joins ever-growing
list of content companies feeling the squeeze.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=21687&bx=http://news.cnet.com/


Wireless experts peer into future
------------------------------------------------------------
In spite of the differing backgrounds and philosophies
toward wireless in particular, most of the attendees at
today's Supercomm panel on the wireless networks of the
future say the opportunities ahead outweigh whatever
discrepancies the industry players might have. Rex Crum is
at Supercomm, checking out the latest.
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.upsidetoday.com/News/393e69d00.html


QUANTITY, NOT QUALITY
'Technology agnostic' was the buzzword at
Atlanta's Supercomm 2000 convention. It means:
First, get customers in the door. Second, figure
out what to do with them.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=21655&bx=http://www.herring.com/



7 ENDURING PRINCIPLES FOR E-BUSINESSES
The "New Economy" does not do away with "value creation",
customer satisfaction and solid corporate models. In fact,
they're required.
http://digitrends.flonetwork.com/cgi-bin8/flo?x=dAoomBAEhwAKmuuh
**********************************************************************
******
**************************************
"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do
today's
jobs with yesterday's tools."
-Marshall McLuhan

E-Clippings

"I may be wrong, but I'm never in doubt."
Marshall McLuhan

**********************************************************************
******
****************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************

The 63rd: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse:

http://freerealtime.com
Free RealTime.com

I don't even know why I am passing this one along because I know that
no one
out there would ever think of using a computer at work to check on
PERSONAL
stock prices but anyway..

Freerealtime.com actually offers you stock market quotes, you guessed
it, as
they happen! The price you pay is information. The quotes require
registration and that process is a bit probing but the service at the
other
end is fine and as opposed to some other sites which demand personal
info,
this one actually has a payoff.
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************

Worm spams mobile phones
http://www.theregister.co.uk/000606-000018.html


VIRUSES AREN'T JUST FOR PC'S ANYMORE
Timofonica worm reaches out and touches cell
phones in Spain. Is anything safe?
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=21255&bx=http://www.zdnet.com/


CRUSOE IN AQUA: First International Computer will use Transmeta's
Crusoe processor in its new Internet appliance, called the Aqua. The
unit will include a 7.4-inch display, 64MB memory, and 802.11b
wireless networking. It will run Mobile Linux and will feature
Netscape's Web browser software.
http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,17047,00.html



ERICSSON CUTS WIRES: Ericsson says its new T36, shipping later this
year, is the first mobile phone with built-in Bluetooth wireless
technology. Bluetooth uses low-frequency radio waves to avoid cables
by connecting devices. The T36 also has a WAP browser and can be used
on networks in Europe, the Asia/Pacific region, and the Americas.
http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,17052,00.html


A PORTAL THAT'S ALL BUSINESS
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=17050
Business.com promises only work-related content, but that's not all it
delivers.


MICROSOFT OUTLOOK PATCH DELAYED
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=17042
Bug fix for e-mail clients still in development for release this
month.


Senate shores up DOD security
************************************************************
Looking to strengthen the security of Defense Department systems,
the Senate urged the Pentagon to study how it might use the Army
National Guard to make up for the shortage of qualified computer
programmers and information security specialists throughout the
military.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0605/pol-dod-06-05-00.asp


Security holes going unpatched
************************************************************
The CIO Council is asking every federal CIO to find and fix the
lapses that made a top 10 list of critical Internet security threats.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0529/web-topten-06-02-00.asp


THE FUTURE OF WEB-BASED E-MAIL
(Source: Network World Fusion) Web-based e-mail systems are associated
primarily with consumer-oriented e-mail, but there is a growing trend
toward
using Web-based e-mail for enterprise messaging.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=271353


XML: OASIS OF INTEROPERABILITY
(Source: InfoWorld.com) The XML.org registry and repository is set to
debut
next week for cross-industry, cross-vendor cooperation.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=271359


READ NOVELS ONLINE
(Source: The Industry Standard) A remarkable collection of free
electronic books online is now available online ... but you'll have to
put up with lots of advertising.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=270923


IT'S OFFICIAL: THERE REALLY IS A 'DIGITAL ECONOMY'
(Source: Computerworld) Economists at the U.S. Department of Commerce
issued
a report Monday that officially acknowledges the "digital economy" as
a
reality and not just a fad.
http://www.e-businessworld.com/go.cgi?id=271452


GORE PROPOSES 'E-GOVERNMENT'
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=270888


Search the Web -- And Users' PCs (Technology 3:00 a.m. PDT)
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,36760,00.html?
tw=wn20000606
A typical Web search scans millions of servers, but that's nothing
compared to the Web search Pointera envisions. Taking a cue from
Napster, the company wants Web searching to extend to every hard disk
on the network. By Chris Oakes.


Burning Man culture clash Is the National Geographic Society trying
to wipe
out an already-extinct tribe of revelers?
By Katharine Mieszkowski [05/31/00]
http://www.salon.com/tech/log/2000/05/31/irrational_geographic/index.h
tml
**********************************************************************
******
**************************************
"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do
today's
jobs with yesterday's tools."
-Marshall McLuhan

E-Clippings

"I may be wrong, but I'm never in doubt."
Marshall McLuhan

**********************************************************************
******
****************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************

The 61st: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse:

Systran Translation Software
http://www.systransoft.com/

Ever got a letter written in French? Don't speak French? How about if
you
want to send someone a message in German, Italian, Portuguese or
Spanish but
you didn't quite master all those languages? Wel let me introduce you
to the
closest thing I have yet to see to the "universal translator" from
Star
Trek - Systran Translation Software.

This is Web-based, and if you go their site, you can enter all the
text you
want translated into the box, click the appropriate languages and off
you
go. Is it it fool proof? No, but it gets pretty close. You can even
add
Systran links to your Web site and allow those international visitors
to
your site to view it in their native language.

For a bit of a hoot, try translating some of your favorite Web sites.
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************


+++Now just stop and think for a moment what this technology means for
online learning/training and the level of interaction possible.++++
Gamers Can Share and Swear (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,36687,00.html?tw=wn20000601
  A new utility enables those who like to thrash each other online to
trash each other verbally. Socket combines instant messaging with
multi-player gaming. By Andy Patrizio.


1. What's Hot Today
INTERNET TECHNOLOGY
Two New Killer Apps Gain Momentum
A flurry of news last week convinced us that two unheralded killer
apps for Net devices are finally emerging. We're not talking about
e-mail, which is, indeed, a killer app. We're talking about e-books
and device-to-device payment capabilities. Are you ready?
http://www.allnetdevices.com/analysis/000529killerapp.htm


. What's Hot Today
WEB DEVELOPER
The New Math: Bandwidth Math
Love multimedia, hate math? Me too. That's why you and I are not
accountants. But your media won't stream well unless you know a bit
about Bandwidth Math. Take this easy intro and start smoothing your
streaming solutions!
http://www.streamingmediaworld.com/symm/tutor/bandmath/


from: Ditherati
"We view our revisions to the government's plan as putting lipstick
      on a pig. It's still irresponsible, it's still excessive, it's
      still damaging to the high-tech economy."

          Microsoft spokesperson Mark Murray, leaving unexplained the
link
          between cosmetics on farm animals, antitrust suits, and the
U.S.
          economy, Wired News, 1 June 2000

        http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36706,00.html


   "If the Internet should require an unfair and unjust paradigm to
      perpetuate itself, then it too will crack, crumble and collapse,
      and it won't take five decades of Cold War politics for it to
      happen."

          Seagram CEO Edgar Bronfman, comparing dot-communist music
pirates
          to Reagan-era bugaboos, Variety, 29 May 2000

        http://news.excite.com/news/r/000529/21/music-bronfman



      "I believe I'm creating the business magazine of the 21st
century.
      But it's kind of strange being a rock star because it blurs the
      boundaries between writing the story and being the story."

          Red Herring editor Jason Pontin, exploring his boundary
issues in
          public, The Independent, 29 May 2000


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/Digital/Digerati/2000-
05/pontin290500.shtm
l


Senate eyes Guard for info security
************************************************************
The Senate this month urged the Pentagon to study how it might
use the Army National Guard to make up for the shortage of computer
programmers and information security specialists.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0529/web-army-05-31-00.asp



Education tops security agenda
************************************************************
Congressional funding to curtail cybercrime has focused on law
enforcement and existing programs, but the real solution will come
from education and research and development programs, federal
officials said.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0529/news-secure-05-29-00.asp


GAO drafts IT guide
************************************************************
The General Accounting Office has drafted a "how-to" guide for
federal agencies to develop a management process that will help
them see a maximum return on their IT investments.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0605/news-gao-06-05-00.asp



Weapons of Mass Destruction: DOD's Actions to Combat Weapons Use
    Should Be More Integrated and Focused. NSIAD-00-97. 29 pp. plus 7
    appendices (41 pp.) May 26, 2000.
    http://www.gao.gov/new.items/ns00097.pdf



SCALE OF 1 TO 5
If your peers reviewed your course Web site, how would it rate? You
might
soon find out, thanks to a new guide to online teaching materials
that is
systematically rating academic Web sites -- and allowing users to add
their
own comments. (6/1/2000)
http://www.chronicle.com/free/2000/06/2000060101u.htm


COMPETING WITH COMPANIES
George Washington U. is pitching to other colleges the software that
it
created to put its own courses online.
http://www.chronicle.com/free/v46/i40/40a04702.htm


Joint forces seek collaboration tool
************************************************************
Looking toward future operations that will put a premium on being
light and fast, the Joint Forces Command is seeking a collaborative
planning tool to coordinate experiments among the military forces
and coalition partners.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0529/web-joint-05-31-00.asp


Access denied
************************************************************
Prompted by fears that easy access to information is putting
Americans at risk, agencies and Congress are tightening controls
over federal Internet sites.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0529/cov-access-05-29-00.asp


Canada Scraps Citizen Database (Politics Tuesday)
  http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36649,00.html?tw=wn20000531
  Hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of information on each of
Canada's citizens was compiled in a huge database. This aroused the
wrath of its people and privacy commissioner. The pressure worked.


SOCIAL LIFE OF INFORMATION
Distance education earns mostly low marks from John Seely Brown and
Paul
Duguid in their new book, The Social Life of Information. The book
tries to
get people thinking about what the authors say is "the important role
that
human sociability plays in the world of bits." (6/2/2000)
http://www.chronicle.com/free/2000/06/2000060201u.htm


from: Ditherati
   "The miserable quality of Web content also counts as a major defeat
      for the Alertbox. I have repeatedly campaigned for a new writing
      style that is optimized for the Web."

          Web usability Cassandra Jakob Nielsen, on his site's leading-
edge
          role in discouraging interesting content on the Web,
Useit.com, 28
          May 2000

        http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000528.html


DOD redefining info ops
************************************************************
Based on the lessons learned from the 78-day air war in Kosovo,
Defense Department officials are seeking to redefine the emerging
field of high-tech information operations, a senior DOD official
said last week.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0529/news-nato-05-29-00.asp


Access denied
************************************************************
Agencies say the World Wide Web is a little too public for some
public information.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0529/cov-access-05-29-00.asp


  Bush: In War, Tech We Trust (Politics Wednesday)
  http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36668,00.html?tw=wn20000601
  The presumptive Republican presidential candidate says that, if
elected, the U.S. will have technological superiority on the
battlefields of the future.

Cyberspook Tomlinson Defiantly Speaks His Mind
Western intelligence agencies face little difficulty in
intercepting Internet communications, but analyzing all
of the traffic is another matter, said Richard Tomlinson,
a former officer of Britain's foreign intelligence
service, MI6.
http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/CWFlash/000529E35E


Book Confab Techno-Crazed (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,36726,00.html?tw=wn20000603
  What are those quaint stacks of paper bound by wood pulp amidst all
the e-books and digital publishing companies at a Chicago convention
center? Why, they're books, at the Book Expo America. M.J. Rose
reports
from Chicago.

The dos and don'ts of mobile phone etiquette
http://www.theregister.co.uk/000601-000003.html
**********************************************************************
******
**************************************
"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do
today's
jobs with yesterday's tools."
-Marshall McLuhan

E-Clippings

"I may be wrong, but I'm never in doubt."
Marshall McLuhan

**********************************************************************
******
****************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************
The 60th: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse:
http://www.nowdocs.com
NowDocs

The skinny - upload your files to NowDocs and they'll print, bind and
deliver your stuff - nationwide - in as little as 2 hours - when it
absolutely positively has to be there by COB!

I am still noodling through the implications and uses of this
service, but
at first glance it seems like a roll-up of Kinko's and FedEx. They do
seem
full-service, e.g. color, 2-sided and transparencies. I see leaving
the
presentation files behind...I see calling the office and having
someone send
me the docs through NowDocs so I don't have to scramble on my end
looking
for a Kinko's or paying some hotel's inflated cost for copier use....
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************
Spud story fools the Big Boys
Slashdot, Ananova, and the BBC all ran a media prank story
about a Web server powered by potatoes. (The Register)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/000525-000013.html


YET ANOTHER VIRUS
This one's disguised as a resume. You don't want
this employee.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=19479&bx=http://www.zdnet.com/


INTERNETNEWS.COM
IBM, Zero-Knowledge Systems to Power Global Privacy Infrastructure
http://www.internetnews.com/intl-news/article/0,,6_379961,00.html


Brits: Net Monitor Is Not a Spy (Politics 6:00 a.m. PDT)
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36614,00.html?tw=wn20000526
England's controversial RIP bill calls for the monitoring of Internet
traffic, but government officials say that's not the same thing as a
cyberspace spy.


from: Salon
21st Challenge No. 33 Results "Warning: Exiting womb" and other real-
life
dialog box alerts.
By Charlie Varon and Jim Rosenau [05/06/00]
http://www.salon.com/tech/chal/2000/05/06/33_results/index.html


Need A WebBrain to Net Search? (Technology 3:00 a.m. PDT)
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,36600,00.html?
tw=wn20000526
A new, slick-looking interface called WebBrain can be placed on top of
any indexable and searchable database. It may actually find what
you're
looking for. By Andy Patrizio.


FCW's Dot-Gov Thursday column explains why ongoing, online adult
education will be necessary as technologies continue to accelerate
and converge.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0522/web-dotgov-05-25-00.asp


Giving PCs a New Dimension (Technology 3:00 a.m. PDT)
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,36433,00.html?
tw=wn20000526
It's not just for gaming anymore -- 3-D is coming to everyday PC
interfaces. A free utility gives users a taste of seeing files and
Internet content in a 3-D environment. Tania Hershman reports from Tel
Aviv.


from: The Chronicle of Higher Ed
HELP AROUND THE CLOCK
Should students in distance education be able to receive technical
help on a
24-7 basis? How can colleges meet the demand for such assistance
without
breaking their budgets? Read a transcript of an online discussion
with Mary
Beth Susman, chief executive officer of the Kentucky Commonwealth
Virtual
University. (5/25/2000)
http://www.chronicle.com/colloquylive/


BLACK ROCK CLAN
(Source: IDG.net) Many of the same people who paved the Internet are
the
engineers of the Burning Man community. Connection, allegory, or
coincidence? The facts are here.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=266329


- eTRAINING ON THE WAY?
  If e-commerce can accelerate business, why shouldn't e-learning cut
training costs? A growing number of companies examine the
possibilities of
this fledgeling educational process.  CLICK: Information Week
http://www.informationweek.com/787/learn.htm


HOW TRANSMETA DID IT
  Earlier this year, high-profile but stealthy startup Transmeta
Corporation
unveiled the product of $100 million and five years of secret toil:
fast,
low-power chips that could very well revolutionize the mobile
industry.
Tech-heavy, but captivating.  CLICK: IEEE
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/publicfeature/tran.html


Click2learn.com's Latest System Heads for Wisconsin
http://www.internetnews.com/news/article/0,,3851_379851,00.html


* INTERNET CONNECTIVITY (THE HUMAN KIND)
According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, in the last
six
months, a surge of more than 9 million women coming online has led to
gender
parity on the net. The Pew study found considerable evidence that
women's
use of the net, especially in regard to maintaining personal
relationships
differs from men's. FOR MORE, CLICK:
http://www.emarketer.com/estats/20000523_pew.html?ref=wn


  * THE BUSINESS READER REVIEW
  Looking for some good, albeit industry-related beach reading?
Theodore
Kinni offers capsule summaries of this month's new and noteworthy
business
books.  MORE:
http://www.emarketer.com/enews/052900_book.html?ref=wn


  MITNICK GAINS HIGH-POWERED LEGAL AID
  Famed hacker Kevin Mitnick will get high-powered help as he
challenges a
condition of his release that bars him from writing or speaking about
the
computer industry. Publisher Steven Brill, who may hire Mitnick as a
consultant for his Contentville site, retained the attorney.  CLICK:
C/NET
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1951220.html?
tag=st.ne.1002.bgif.ni


Filters Kowtowing to Hate? (Politics Saturday)
  http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36621,00.html?tw=wn20000529
  Blocking software firms gladly say individual homophobic sites are
off-limits for kids or corporate users. But they're suspiciously
hesitant to block powerful groups like Focus on the Family -- even if
the anti-gay and anti-lesbian statements are exactly the same. By
Declan McCullagh.
**********************************************************************
******
**************************************
"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do
today's
jobs with yesterday's tools."
-Marshall McLuhan

E-Clippings

"I may be wrong, but I'm never in doubt."
Marshall McLuhan

**********************************************************************
******
****************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************

The 59th: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse:

http://www.mindmanager.com
Mind Manager

http://www.thebrain.com
The Brain.com

Both of these sites feature free downloads of something known as
"mindmapping" software. No, it doesn't involve your head and a
scanner but
it does involve apps that attempt to allow you to "map" out projects
or
thoughts on your computer, the same way they exist in your head. By a
strange coincidence, two of the articles in NewsFlashes today are
about
mindmapping. Weird huh?

You should probably look at both programs, they both do roughly the
same
thing, but feature different look and feels. Here is the word of
caution
however, they organize things differently than you are used to. This
means
that to really explore whether or not these will work for you, you
will need
to use them a few times, maybe even leaving them alone after the
first try
and then coming back later. You need to get past the "comfortable
way" of
doing things in order to determine if either of these programs offers
you a
better way to organize whatever you need to organize.
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************

MS Judge Likes 3-Way Breakup (Politics 8:30 a.m. PDT)
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36551,00.html?tw=wn20000524
Judge Jackson says he thinks an independent proposal to break up
Microsoft into three parts is a great idea after he rejects a company
lawyer's request to dismiss the government's two-way breakup proposal.


GATES SELLS 'PHASE 3' OF INTERNET TO CEOS
(Source: InfoWorld.com) Bill Gates spoke to 160 CEOs about a future of
technology and the Internet that will emphasize personalization and
desktop-free computing.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=266152


MS opens NexGen Windows Megaservices kimono
http://www.theregister.co.uk/000524-000007.html


House defense bill targets quality of life, readiness
http://www.af.mil/news/May2000/n20000524_000795.html


THE WORLD WIDE WEB IS MISSING LINKS
(Source: PCWorld.com) An intensive study undertaken by AltaVista,
Compaq, and IBM reveals that not all pages on the World Wide Web are
as well connected as we think.
http://www.e-businessworld.com/go.cgi?id=266643


QUANTUM COMPUTER ALGORITHM GETS RESULTS
A new algorithm has been developed that will put
the speed and imprecision of common search engines
to shame.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=19017&bx=http://www.wired.com/


E-COMMERCE/ MARKETING
Cold War: Should You Use NT or Linux?
If you're considering running your Web servers on yet another Windows
NT platform, take heed. The number of freedoms and advancements that
come with open source systems such as Linux make it a valuable if not
more robust solution in the race to build a better OS.
http://ecommerce.internet.com/solutions/e-consultant/


(Usatoday.com)
** Debate On Software License Laws Continues
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/crh162.htm


**Really amazing article on a specific culture's reaction to the
introduction of new technology.**
Thanks to a stunningly effective ear implant, thousands of deaf kids
can
hear. But, Art Allen reports, the deaf community is in an uproar
about it.
http://www.salon.com/health/feature/2000/05/24/cochlear/index.html


DOT-GOV GOES DOT-COM
(Source: Civic.com) Dot-com companies are offering federal agencies
this
deal: Turn over the day-to-day operations of your Internet
applications and
we will show you how it's done.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=265960


GOVERNMENT OUTSOURCES GLOBALLY
(Source: FCW) Similar to the "Dulles Corridor" outside Washington,
D.C., a cluster of high-tech companies has taken root outside
Brussels.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=266150


++++
from: Vertical View
FAST STATS:
-More than three-quarters of US Internet users have watched
  entertainment on the Internet, a figure that will reach
  more than 90 percent by the end of 2000. (Gemini Consulting
  and Honkworm International)

-Approximately 29 percent of viewers who have tuned in to online
  entertainment (excluding games and Internet TV) have actively
  sought out such programming. Most viewers (64 percent) come
  across online entertainment programming through random
  surfing. (Gemini Consulting and Honkworm International)

-Adult material accounts for 69 percent of the $ 1.4 billion
  pay-to-view online-content market, far outpacing video games, at
  4 percent, and sports, at less than 2 percent.
  (US News & World Report)

-More than 70% of college student surveyed use the Napster music
  service at least once a month.  A majority of those students
  said they would be willing to pay $15 a month to use the service.
  (Webnoize)

-Last year, BPI Communications, publisher of Billboard, Media Week,
  and The Hollywood Reporter, had combined revenues of $600,000
  for their daily online and fax bulletins. (Business 2.0)
++++

THE SECOND-FASTEST PIII EVER: Intel launched its 933-MHz Pentium III
processor on Wednesday, and while it's not as glamorous as its 1-GHz
sibling, PC World tests prove it packs plenty of punch. In some ways
it's even better than the 1-GHz chip: That because 933-MHz systems
should be easier to find, and they should cost less.
http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,16881,00.html


WELCOME TO THE FUTURE
Are you kidding? A pen-sized device that
de-contaminates a liter of water in 10 minutes?
It's true.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=19034&bx=http://www.wired.com/


If a Phone Rings in the Desert... (Business 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,36542,00.html?tw=wn20000524
  A phone booth in the remotest reaches of the Mojave Desert. A number
on the Internet. The ringing shrine attracted too many visitors to an
environmentally sensitive area, the Park Service says. Nonsense, say
fans of the Lonely Phone. By Leander Kahney.
**********************************************************************
******
**************************************
"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do
today's
jobs with yesterday's tools."
-Marshall McLuhan

E-Clippings

"I may be wrong, but I'm never in doubt."
Marshall McLuhan

**********************************************************************
******
****************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************

The 62nd: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse:


Here are two for the kids. Didn't want people to get the impression
that
there were no quality offerings for the children out there in
cyberland.

from: TipWorld
CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP
http://www.ctw.org

A few decades ago, these folks harnessed the power of a new medium and
created the first truly educational TV show, Sesame Street. So it's no
surprise that they've been quick to embrace the Internet with the same
enthusiasm. Their Web site is a great resource for both parents and
children. Kids will dive into all sorts of games and online activities
without even realizing that they are learning. Parents can peruse
interesting resources like the Sibling Rivalry Quiz, and The ABCs of
Child Care: A Sesame Street Research Report. Bored of peek-a-boo? CTS
has suggestions for similar but more inventive learning games. Of
course, you can never underestimate the nostalgia value of a site like
this. People who grew up watching Sesame Street can visit all their
old friends in the Golden Grover Awards section. You can even email
virtual Sesame Street greeting cards to your pals. As Snufflupagus
would say, "Ohhhh, deeeeear!"

from: Internet News Bureau
By Kids, for Kids, the ZOOM Web Site is Powered by the
Million Plus ZOOMers Who've Sent in Their Jokes, Games,
Movie Reviews, Recipes, Letters, and More
June 5, 2000 (INB) -- Kids who visit the ZOOM Web site at
http://www.pbskids.org/zoom can explore a state-of-the-art
online community where their ideas create the content of the
site. Kids can voice their opinions, express their
creativity, try out activities they see on the ZOOM
television show, learn more about the ZOOM cast, and much
more. Like the kid-powered television series, everything on
the site is based on viewer contributions - now numbering
over one million!


**********************************************************************
******
****************************************

Associated Press
June 5, 2000 | The next phase of the Internet will allow users to
gather
information from multiple places and control the manner and timing of
how
they receive it, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said Monday.
http://www.salon.com/tech/wire/2000/06/05/ms/index.html

SUPERCOMPUTERS HAILED
(Source: InfoWorld.com) IBM stresses the importance of parallel
systems to the future of e-commerce.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=270630


'I NEED TO REBOOT MY SUIT'
Find out how far MA (Mobile Appliance) wearable
computers have come--and will go--with companies
like Xybernaut at the helm.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=20561&bx=http://www.zdnet.com/


STUDY SHOWS INTERNET ALTERING ECONOMY
From large increases in worker productivity to
millions of new jobs, Commerce Department study
shows how Internet is changing U.S. economy.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=21049&bx=http://news.cnet.com/


SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE
(Source: Network World Fusion) Distributed firewalls, still in their
infancy
in terms of reporting,  configuration and management
capabilities, are gaining more attention.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=270632


  WEB COMPANY OFFERS DATA SAFE HAVEN
  Risky, subversive and plain old anti-establishment data may find
virtual
asylum with HavenCo.com. The web hosting provider is located on the
Principality of Sealand, an independent state six miles off the
English
coast.  MORE:
http://www.emarketer.com/enews/20000605_haven.html?ref=wn


INTEL GROWS ITS WIRELESS LINE
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=17028
Pro/Wireless notebook card and wireless hub support 802.11b standard.

BLUE COLLAR HIGH TECH
(Source: The Industry Standard) Auto mechanics tinker their way into
the Internet economy.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=270366


**OOps, didn't I put this in yesterday too?**
OH, YEAH, PEOPLE USE THESE
      (Source: InfoWorld.com) If you don't have an ethnographer on
staff yet
at your company, you may want to prepare for the day when one is a key
member of your product development team.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=270372

**Fear this more than a rogue missile**
A Rogue Hacker State in the Making?
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,15712,00.html?nl=dnt


from PC Wepopaedia:
term: WAP
The Wireless Application Protocol is a secure specification that
allows
users to access information instantly via handheld wireless devices
such
as mobile phones, pagers, two-way radios, smartphones and
communicators.

WAP supports most wireless networks. These include CDPD, CDMA, GSM,
PDC,
PHS, TDMA, FLEX, ReFLEX, iDEN, TETRA, DECT, DataTAC, and Mobitex.

WAP is supported by all operating systems. Ones specifically
engineered
for handheld devices include PalmOS, EPOC, Windows CE, FLEXOS, OS/9,
and
JavaOS.

WAPs that use displays and access the Internet run what are called
microbrowsers--browsers with small file sizes that can accommodate
the low
memory constraints of handheld devices and the the low-bandwidth
constraints of a wireless-handheld network.

Although WAP supports HTML and XML, the WML language (an XML
application)
is specifically devised for small screens and one-hand navigation
without
a keyboard. WML is scalable from two-line text displays up through
graphic
screens found on items such as smart phones and communicators. WAP
also
supports WMLScript. It is similar to JavaScript, but makes minimal
demands
on memory and CPU power because it does not contain many of the
unnecessary functions found in other scripting languages.

Because WAP is fairly new, it is not a formal standard yet. It is
still an
initiative that was started by Unwired Planet, Motorola, Nokia, and
Ericsson.


TOP 10 SECURITY HOLES REVEALED
  In order to help sysadmins secure office networks, Systems
Administration
Networking and Security (SANS) Institute published a list of the ten
exploits most widely used to gain illicit access to computers.
CLICK: ZDNet
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2580728,00.html


BOOKMARK
ONLINE PEDAGOGY
A new World Wide Web site offers a guided tour of virtual classrooms
throughout cyberspace, highlighting a range of interactive components
that
professors can use in their own online courses.
http://www.chronicle.com/free/v46/i40/40a04701.htm


GURUNET GETS $28 MILLION
GuruNet founder Bob Rosenschein is told by ICQ
founder, 'You're sitting on 9/10ths of a killer
app.' VCs seem to think 10/10ths.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=21030&bx=http://www.herring.com/


TOP PDA SOFTWARE PICKS
ZDNet looks back at the year in Palm and CE-based
software offerings.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?cid=20845&bx=http://www.zdnet.com/


from: Salon
Technology Log: Dot-com deathwatch A new site rewards those who bet
on the
new economy's losers.
By Janelle Brown [06/06/00]
http://www.salon.com/tech/log/2000/06/06/deadpool/index.html


AMD LAUNCHES T-BIRD: Advanced Micro Devices releases Monday its
improved Athlon processor, code-named Thunderbird. Featuring an
integrated level-2 memory cache, early PC World tests suggest the new
processor may offer better performance than existing Athlons. Read on
for a look at our exclusive test results.
http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,17016,00.html
**********************************************************************
******
**************************************
"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do
today's
jobs with yesterday's tools."
-Marshall McLuhan

E-Clippings

"I may be wrong, but I'm never in doubt."
Marshall McLuhan

**********************************************************************
******
****************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion
of a product, company or person does not represent any official
endorsement
or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain
complete
copyright.
**********************************************************************
******
****************************************

The 61st: Mark's Potentially Cool Site Clearinghouse:

on next e-clippings




**********************************************************************
******
****************************************

***Pardon me for a big "I told ya so!"
If you don't have an ethnographer on staff yet at your company, you
may want
to prepare for the day when your CTO brings one on board as a key
member of
your product development team.
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/00/05/29/000529hnhuman.xml
**


**Great security tip for Outlook users from TipWorld:
However, even though those who don't use Outlook don't have to worry
about spreading Outlook-specific worms, all users of Windows 95 and up
still risk infecting their PC by thoughtlessly clicking an infected
file attachment. Since virus vandals often use VBS (Visual Basic
Script) files, you should turn the Windows Scripting option off if you
haven't done so.

Click Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. Next, click the
Windows Setup tab, then Accessories. Uncheck Windows Scripting Host if
it is checked, then click OK to save your changes--or just click
Cancel if this box is not checked.
**


ENGLISH-ONLY SITES ARE A TOUGH SELL OVERSEAS
(Source: Computerworld) The days when English-only Web sites could
suffice internationally appear to be nearing an end, according to
analysts and other industry observers.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=268064


STREAM WEB APPS TO YOUR PC
(Source: PCWorld.com) A newcomer to Internet-based applications is
unveiling
a service designed to support the consumer and the small business
that might
be logging on through dial-up.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=267398

WEB SITES SPENDING ON THEMSELVES
      (Source: The Industry Standard) Some Web sites spent more than
20% of
their ad revenue to advertise themselves last year, a report states.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=266944



INSTANT MESSAGING: GOOD FOR E-COMMERCE?
      (Source: Computerworld) Instant messaging offers fast, convenient
communication and expands the possibilities for customer service. Now,
if only everyone could agree on a standard.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=266945


SCIENCE, SPACE GET BUDGET PUSH
(Source: FCW) Budget boosts for NASA and the National Science
Foundation are included in a $101 billion fiscal 2001 spending bill
approved Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=266984


TAKE OFF. LOG ON.
      (Source: IDG.net) Boeing now says the time has come to invite
people to
log on while they're airborne because books, newspapers, magazines and
movies just aren't supplying enough in-flight entertainment to the
ever-connected flying public.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=269505


SPACE JAM
(Source: FCW) Military users relying on location and navigation
information from the 24 Global Positioning System satellites "should
be terrified" about the possibility of jamming, a top official of the
U.S. Space Command warned.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=266989


FBI, DOJ ISSUE LIST OF WORST NET THREATS
(Source: The Industry Standard) The FBI and the Department of Justice
are
jointly releasing a list detailing the 10 most critical Internet
security
threats and how to eliminate them.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=269067


IS IT OK TO HACK BACK?
(Source: Network World Fusion) Virtual vigilante or packet pacifist?
Network
executives have mixed feelings about whether to retaliate against an
attack.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=269069


ANALYSIS: WONDERING ABOUT WAP
(Source: The Industry Standard) American companies have been slow to
adopt the Wireless Application Protocol. Will it hurt them in the long
run?
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=266946


FLAW EXPOSES REAL SERVERS
A flaw in RealNetworks streaming video servers leaves them vulnerable
to an
attack that causes the servers to stop functioning. Attackers can
exploit a
problem with the "View Source" technology by sending a single URL that
cripples the server. "View Source" allows content and media file
information
to be displayed in a browser instead of a stand-alone player. Real
said
administrators concerned about the flaw can protect themselves by
shutting
off the "View Source" option.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2581610,00.html


SONY SHARES PLAYSTATION: The maker of the PlayStation 2 games console
says it will sell the PS2 chip set--the brain of the PS2 machine--to
other vendors. That may broaden support for PS2 gaming in other
consumer electronics products, possibly including televisions and
set-top boxes.
http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,17010,00.html


YOU'VE GOT TRANSMETA: Gateway and AOL will use Transmeta's Crusoe
chips and Mobile Linux in upcoming Internet appliances. Aimed to
provide easy Internet access, the Net appliances include a small
kitchen "countertop appliance" with a flat-panel touch screen and a
wireless Web pad. You'll see them later this year, also running
Instant AOL and Netscape's Gecko browsing engine.
http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,16966,00.html


PUMP YOU UP!
With just some dedicated palm-squeezing, the
Aladdinpower handheld generator will recharge your
mobile phone. Warning: not for girlie-men!
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?
cid=20670&bx=http://www.thestandard.com/



QUESTIONS ABOUND AT BOOK EXPO
Does anybody really know what effect e-books will
have on the publishing industry?
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?
cid=20654&bx=http://www.mercurycenter.com/


NO MORE SECRETS
The Internet isn't quite as anonymous as you think, thanks to a Miami
court
ruling requiring Yahoo! and AOL to reveal some users' identities. Law
Guide
Paul Reed explores what this means for the Web community.
http://law.about.com/library/weekly/aa053000a.htm


The Corporate Logic
- MIT Tech Review
http://www.techreview.com/articles/may00/buderi.htm
Alternatives to silicon-based computing are long shots. Knowing that,
why do many big tech companies spend their time and dollars doing the
research?


IT'S THE CONTENT, STUPID
Media companies that merge content with
distribution hold the key. Some picks: Viacom,
Liberty Media, AOL, News Corp. BusinessWeek Q&A
interview with analyst.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?
cid=19803&bx=http://www.businessweek.com/


MIND YOUR TECH MANNERS
You may know how to use your Palm, but do you know
when to use it? Welcome to the world of tech
etiquette.
http://www.backwire.com/go.asp?
cid=20661&bx=http://www.mercurycenter.com/


Linguists leap to the Net
Traditionally, a linguistics degree has been among the least
marketable of
academic credentials, but now dozens of technology start-ups are
commercializing linguistics research, and competing for hires.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/413810.asp


Friday, June 2, 2000
Marketing By Word Of Mouse
Carl Christensen, of Domino Systems
Excerpt: Organizations are allocating larger budgets than ever before
to
market
their brands online and develop new channels to market and to Web
enable
their
enterprises in the new millennium
http://www.internetday.com/archives/060200.html


Wednesday, May 31, 2000
Know Your Statistics
Dave Roekle, of FSCI, Inc.
Excerpt: There is more to registering a domain name, building a web
site,
uploading
it and waiting for the visitors to come. It takes a lot of promotion,
both
online
and offline to help drive traffic to your site. How can you tell what
method
of
promotion is working and what is not? One of the most important and
often
overlooked sources of web site promotion information is right under
your
nose.
It is called a Stats Program! The stats program, available on most web
servers,
can be one of the most valuable sources of information about your
visitors
and
their viewing patterns. A stats program can reveal the total number of
unique
sessions, page views, most and least viewed pages, entry pages, exits
pages,
error pages, referrers, and more.
http://www.internetday.com/archives/053100.html

from: Tipworld
MP3-PLAYING WRISTWATCH
Down the road, the Dick Tracy videoconference watch will no doubt
become a reality. But today Casio offers a funky variation on this
theme--the digital music watch. The $250 WMP-1V Wrist Audio Player,
available this month, is the first MP3 player in the form of a
wristwatch. The player offers three levels of audio playback and, due
to the amount of data each mode requires, three different storage
capacities--CD Quality (a total of 33 minutes of audio), Near CD
Quality (44 total minutes), and FM Broadcast Quality (66 total
minutes). The WMP-1V comes with earphones and features a USB port for
connection to a PC.
Casio
http://www.casio.com
**********************************************************************
******
**************************************
"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do
today's
jobs with yesterday's tools."
-Marshall McLuhan

Enter your vote today!  Check out the new poll for the eClippings
group:


If I were to create some 'primers' on
various Web/Net topics, which one
should I do first?

   o Privacy
   o Security (Virus and Hoax)
   o Wireless
   o Online learning and education


To vote, please visit the following web page:

http://www.egroups.com/polls/eClippings

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the eGroups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

e-Clippings

"I may be wrong, but I'm never in doubt."
Marshall McLuhan
*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************
Cool Site #1 (new series)

The Mission Statement Generator:
http://www.bright.net/~flounder/mission.html

O.K. This one is a life-saver! Now when the boss gives you the task
of writing the new corporate mission statement, tell them you need
some quiet to work in and head home! One visit to this site and
you'll be done. The best part is, the boss won't understand a word of
it and your stock will rise even higher.
*********************************************************************

Business 2.0
http://www.business2.com/content/magazine/indepth/2000/08/08/15450
The foremost business thinker of our age tells what is wrong (and
right) with the New Economy. (Peter Drucker)


WHEN META-TAGS ARE TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT
      (Source: Computerworld Hong Kong) ANALYSIS | What better way to
increase traffic to your site while cornering your market place by
including meta-tags suggestive of your competitors?
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=300288

E-TRAINING MAXIMIZES SKILLS
      (Source: Publish.com) Through their respective new e-learning
courseware, DigitalThink and University.com are expected to produce
technically skilled employees with "real-world" experience.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=300289


THE NATION'S BEST AND WORST JOBS
      (Source: IT World) Based on data gathered during the second half
of last year and recently published in "Jobs Rated Almanac."
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=299943


Musical Interns Mock MS (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38220,00.html?tw=wn20000819
  Six wacky college interns at Microsoft formed an a cappella group to
sing parodies of the company such as Sue Me Baby One More Time. Now
they've cut a CD to raise money for music education in local schools.
By Katie Dean.


E-Clothes Here, So Is Fear (Technology Friday)

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,38288,00.html?
tw=wn20000819
  The first commercially available electronic clothing goes on sale in
Europe next month. Does radiation from the devices create a health
risk? No data exists, so buyers will have to wear and see. By Joyce
Slaton.

**Be sure to grab the whole URL if you are cut&pasting.


Transmeta Joins IPO Brigade (Business Friday)
  http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38304,00.html?tw=wn20000819
  That vast yawning noise on Wall Street is the sound of the IPO market
taking its annual summer break. But after September, chipmaker
Transmeta and a load of others are eagerly planning debuts. By Joanna
Glasner.

JUDGE RULES DVD-HACKING CODE ILLEGAL
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=299845

COURT BARS HACKER FROM POSTING CODE
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=18107

The New Economy Meets the Old South
By Sandra Stewart
The Internet may be revolutionizing the economy, but in Atlanta, the
conservative business culture is teaching Net firms a thing or two
about how to make a buck.
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,17730,00.html?nl=int


New Toys for Cheating Students (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38066,00.html?tw=wn20000818
  The proliferation of mobile devices gives students more ways to cheat
on tests. But the teachers are on to them. By Elisa Batista.


  Online Schools Mean Business (Business 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38262,00.html?tw=wn20000818
  Though online classes are offered from kindergarten on up, most of
this year's virtual classrooms are crammed with working professionals,
not traditional students. By Elisa Batista.


INDIANA CREATING TRUE 'SUPERHIGHWAY'
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=299469


Air Force rebuilding CIO
The Air Force is restructuring and strengthening the functions
of its chief information officer, in part by creating a new position
to take charge of the service's multibillion-dollar information
technology budget and oversight of information systems.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0814/web-cio-08-17-00.asp


The Principal Is Your Virtual Pal (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38077,00.html?tw=wn20000817
  Julie Young heads a virtual high school in Florida where the motto
is,'Any Time, Any Place, Any Path, Any Pace.' She argues there is
often more interaction over email and the telephone than in many on-
campus situations. By Robin Clewley.


Iconoclast Says Show, Don't Tell (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38169,00.html?tw=wn20000817
  Roger Schank believes that education as we know it is the wrong
approach to learning. Schank says students learn better through real-
world experiences, and he's creating software that simulates such
environments. By Katie Dean.


Costs Do Not Compute (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38079,00.html?tw=wn20000817
  Education guru Bill Rukeyser, head of Learning in the Real World,
believes schools spend too much money on technology that hasn't been
proven to promote academic achievement. By Kristen Philipkoski.


  Clinton's Right-Click Woman (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38078,00.html?tw=wn20000817
  Linda Roberts, director of the Office of Educational Technology, is
in
charge of the administration's goal of bridging the 'digital divide.'
By Peter Catapano.

*********************************************************************

Hello all!

Thanks for the emails from folks welcoming e-Clippings and me back to
the cyber-scene. I'm glad I'm back too!

I thought that before we really got back into the swing though, I
should probably take you on a little tour of e-Clippings' new digs.
So, everyone please stay with the group...

First, you do not have to join eGroups or do anything else to
continue to get the newsletters. The features that are restricted on
the Web site to people who are "eGroups members" are the chat area,
the polls and the calendar. Those are settings I can not affect.
Everything else I have set to the "public" setting. While the chat,
polls and calendar are not critical, I think they can be a lot of
fun. Also, eGroups is a member of TRUSTe, a group which sets out to
hold sites to a strict privacy policy regarding the use of
demographic data.

Starting at the front page (http://www.egroups.com/group/eClippings)
please note the "message archive" bar running from left to right. The
blue numbers indicate the number of messages archived for that month.
I hope eventually to have all the back issues up, but we're not there
yet. If you click on one of the blue numbers, you go to that month's
archive, but if you click on "messages" in the left-hand nav bar, you
go into the archive at the beginning. I did want to point out on the
archive page, the search capability which will allow you to search
the entire archive by keyword.

Back on the front page, underneath the message archive bar, you can
see the number of current members. In the past I actively sought to
keep the list small since I was basically using my own email program
to run it. Now that I am using a more robust system, i.e. someone
elses', I would love to get that number as high as possible. So,
please feel free to pass along the emails and point people to the
site. Enough on that.

Underneath "messages" in the left-hand nav bar, you'll see "files."
This is a neat feature. Using this, I can upload files to the site
and the site automatically sends an email out to the list alerting
you to the upload. This will be fun for industry reports, longer
stories and even pictures or graphics. Kind of as test cases, I
currently have two New Years 1999 pictures up there now, along with a
graphic showing that kids who use the Internet actually read more
books than those who don't surf. I am interested in your ideas as to
what you find useful to have uploaded here. Also, while I am the only
one who can upload, please feel free to send me things you'd like to
see up there and within the bounds of space and taste, I'll do my
best to accomodate you.

The "links" section is fairly self-explanatory. I'll be posting all
the "Cool Site" links there as well as others that I think will be of
interest. Please feel free to nominate sites you feel would interest
the group.

I guess that's about it. Regular, news-packed emails will resume
tomorrow, and thanks for reading!

Mark Oehlert

e-Clippings

"It is sufficient to my present purpose to say, 'It is that
  motive, which, as it stands in view of the mind, is the
  strongest, that determines the will.'"
-Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), The Freedom of the Will (1754)
*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************
Home Is Where the E-Classroom Is (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38161,00.html?tw=wn20000822
As traditional schools struggle to get classrooms online, home-school
families are on the vanguard of computer-assisted education.
Connectivity opens up new opportunities to learn and teach at home. By
Kendra Mayfield.

CLEARINGHOUSE SYSTEM FOR DIGITAL CONTENT
(BELGIUM) -- Info2clear offers content providers a way to
protect digital information from illegal reproduction by
providing a clearinghouse function for buyers and sellers of
copyrighted works. The company operates a get-a-seal.com
service that allows content creators to register their
intellectual property, set the rules for reproduction, and
receive a time-stamped get-a-seal certificate that serves as
proof of ownership. Meanwhile, Info2clear deploys its
get-a-copy.com service to manage and clear the rights to
such digital publications. Every possible form of content
can be provided with a Info2clear icon. Info2clear estimates
that 90% of potential revenues, or approximately US$18
billion, are lost each in copyright business due to the lack
of an efficient clearance infrastructure. (Corporate
communication 8 Aug 2000)
http://www.info2clear.com


  17 August 2000  GAO Security Advice
"A lack of institutional will" to maintain Internet security can be
far more destructive than any technology or hacker's efforts,
according to Rahul Gupta, assistant director in the Office of the
Chief Technologist at GAO. The Internet, he told a national
conference of CPAs, is not secure for a reason. "It was designed to
share information, not protect it from something."
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0800/081700td.htm

Readers pay for online book
Stephen King is quickly realizing that putting his work up
for sale on the Net could actually pay off. Despite
continual problems collecting money from readers
downloading books written by Maine's hardest-working
writer, the cash is rolling in for King's newest online
writing project. Matt Berger has more in Executive Briefing.
http://www.upside.com/Executive_Briefing/39a309b20.html


It's easy to change shortcut icons. Although this tip
applies to Win9x, it works better in Win98, because
Microsoft added to and refined its icon library. To change
the icon for a specific shortcut, right-click on it, choose
Properties, then click on the Change Icon button in the
Shortcut tab. Enter C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHELL32.DLL in
the File Name box, and select an icon from those in the palette.
You can also use the Browse button to search through ICL, DLL,
ICO and other files on your hard drive that may contain icons.
Click on OK to change to the new icon.

E-COMMERCE/ MARKETING
Mixing Sex and Technology
Adult site operators pushed the online technology envelope, and got no
credit.
http://ecommerce.internet.com/opinions/article/0,1467,3551_442281,00.h
tml

DRAWING A LINK IN THE SAND ---
We could soon witness the dawning of a new link-age
as a recent court ruling hints at broader ramifications.
In the recent DVD encryption case, the judge ordered a site
to cease the distribution of illegal software. The judge also ordered
the defendant to stop even linking to sites where the software could
be found. If linking is viewed as some kind of partial responsibility,
the decision could have an impact on the way content sites choose to
direct users (or not direct them) to other online destinations.
http://www.wirednews.com/news/politics/0,1283,38360,00.html

READY, AIM, DOWNLOAD  ---
A U.S. national coordinator for security is calling on
private corporations to do their part in protecting the
digital infrastructure from outside attack: "If the United States
goes to war again ... our movements of troops, our movement of
aircraft, our lines of supplies will probably be attacked not by
bombs, not by bullets but by bytes." Actually, among the three,
I tend to prefer bytes...
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2618582,00.html


FROM RAGS TO RICHES ... TO RIDICULE  ---
Maybe the hype went too far, maybe there was a
perception of greed, maybe it is just human nature -
but it is pretty clear that there is a segment of the population
that is greeting every dot com flop with open arms and
a few one-liners.
http://www.latimes.com/business/updates/lat_glee000823.htm


ASCII AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE  ---
So far, domain names are limited to those that use
ascii (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
characters. Network Solutions plans to change that in the near
future. According to a spokesperson, "People who write in Urdu
or Chinese should be able to use the functionality of the Internet."
http://www.idg.net/ic_227744_1794_9-10000.html


16 August 2000  Napster Supporter Defaces Web Sites
A cracker defaced about 60 web sites with pro-Napster propaganda and
left an e-mail address for webmasters to contact him to learn how to
fix their sites.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2616266,00.html

Intel's Future: Is It Out There? (Technology 3:00 a.m. PDT)
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,38373,00.html?
tw=wn20000823
While some believe silicon chips will soon be obsolete, Intel's
research chief says there's plenty of life left. Leander Kahney
reports from San Jose, California.


A City With a Broadband Future (Culture Tuesday)
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38346,00.html?tw=wn20000823
A prestigious trade association presents its award for this year's
'most intelligent' city -- the community best equipped for the
broadband age. The winner may surprise you. By Michelle Delio.


Today's Reference Pick of the Day is: MedTerms
at: http://www.medterms.com/
Site features encylopedic dictionary of over 9,000 classic and
contemporary medical terms. Written entirely by physicians for both
professional and non-professional readers site assists  everyone
concerned about health -- their health and the health of those that
matter to them.

Today's Reference Pick of the Day is: Airline Flight
Arrivals/Departures
at: http://www.flightarrivals.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Flights
Site offers real-time arrival and departure info for all commercial
airline flights over the US and Canada.

Today's Reference Pick of the Day is: 1stHeadlines-News
at: http://1stheadlines.com/
Current headlines from over 300 newspaper, broadcast & online sources
around the world are included in this site.

U.S. vs. Microsoft: The E-Story (Business 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38343,00.html?tw=wn20000822
  McGraw-Hill simultaneously releases the first book on the landmark
case in both print and e-book versions. Also from M.J. Rose's e-
publishing notebook: E-books go bricks and mortar; tipping encouraged;
and some sticky ideas.

Sniffing Out Chemical Warfare (Technology 3:00 a.m. PDT)
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,38306,00.html?
tw=wn20000822
  Scientists develop a portable device that can be used to detect sarin
and other deadly nerve gases. University of California researchers
hope
to shrink the prototype to the size of a cellphone. By Mary Ann
Swissler.

e-Clippings  8.24.00


QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"Governments can carve out space if they want on the Internet and
warrant influence out. But if they do, they aren't going to be part of
the Internet."
  Esther Dyson, outgoing ICANN chairwoman and digerati
extraordinaire.   Read it here -->
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=301827
*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************

Nintendo to Add Web Access to Games
By Ronna Abramson and Kenneth Li
The company unveils plans to sell a modem attachment to connect
players to the Internet.
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,17966,00.html?nl=dnt


Superpower status risks cyberattack
Cyberwarfare comes with the territory when your country is the
world's only remaining superpower, Defense Secretary Cohen said.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0821/web-cohen-08-24-00.asp


Global governments shape e-economy
A report from an international policy and technology consulting
firm looked at foreign nations' "e-readiness" -- five strengths
needed for an economy to function in an IT world.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0821/web-global-08-24-00.asp


*      T  I  P     O  F    T  H  E    D  A  Y      * *
If Windows fails to boot properly, press F8  while it boots for the
Windows StartUp menu, and pick the Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT)
option. It attempts a normal boot but records the status of every step
Windows takes during the process. You can use this option to
log a failed boot. Then, reboot to Safe mode if necessary and
use a text editor to open BOOTLOG.TXT (in your root directory).
Search for "fail" to find the boot steps Windows had trouble
with. Failed steps are often excellent clues to the cause of
the problem.

THREE LETTERS MAY CHANGE THE WEB FOREVER
      (Source: Macworld) Few people know that XML stands for Extensible
Markup Language. Read this article and get a crash course in XML.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=301741


SITE 2001
Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education
International Conference
March 5-10, 2001  *  Orlando, Florida
Holiday Inn International Drive Resort
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION - DEADLINE: OCT. 5, 2000
Co-sponsored by  Univ. of Central Florida,  Univ. of Florida
Organized by Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education
(SITE)
  and Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)
                         http://www.aace.org



MOTOROLA SCHEDULING DESTRUCTION OF IRIDIUM NETWORK
(Source: InfoWorld.com) Motorola finalized a schedule to destroy 66
satellites of Iridium LLC because the bankrupt satellite telephone it
backed failed to find a buyer.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=302335


Silicon VC Firm Plans D.C.-Area Office
By Lark Park
Mohr, Davidow says it will expand into northern Virginia to get closer
to network services talent.
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,17964,00.html?nl=dnt


Pentium 4 notebook chips on way
And how Intel met the French army
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/3/12767.html

e-Clippings 8.25.00
*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************

Israeli army grads lead business revolution
Israel's military elite has helped make the country a technology
powerhouse.
http://www.redherring.com/mag/issue82/mag-education-82.html


JAMES R. MINGLE
Developing methods to judge the effectiveness of teaching is a major
challenge for assessing the quality of online education, says James
R. Mingle, a senior policy adviser for the Southern Regional
Education Board's Distance Learning Policy Laboratory. (8/25/2000)
http://www.chronicle.com/free/2000/08/2000082501u.htm


CVU 2.0
Leaders of California's latest statewide effort to promote online
learning -- the California Virtual Campus -- have dusted off and
expanded the distance-education catalog that was the core of the now-
defunct California Virtual University. (8/23/2000)
http://www.chronicle.com/free/2000/08/2000082301u.htm


SEEKING A PIECE OF THE ACTION
The U.S. Army's plan for a $600-million program for the distance
education of soldiers is attracting interest from established
distance-education institutions as well as others that wish to make a
first leap into online instruction. Louis Caldera (left), the
secretary of the Army, says the program will draw from many
institutions to give soldiers a range of educational choices.
http://www.chronicle.com/free/v46/i50/50a03501.htm


MILITARY TRAINING
The Defense Department's appropriations bill for the 2001 fiscal year
includes some small but notable expenditures for distance education.
http://www.chronicle.com/free/v46/i50/50a03601.htm


DON'T CATCH 'EM AT ALL
(Source: PCWorld.com) The new Pokemon virus -- or 'Pokey' -- works
just like the Love Bug, but isn't as dangerous or as quick to spread.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=302520

INTEL BACKS PEER-TO-PEER WORK
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=18212
Chip maker spearheads industry group to set standards for
reliability,
security.


Scientists Advance on Path to Make Electronics Tinier
- New York Times (free registration required)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/08/biztech/articles/18mole.html
Chemists at the University of California at Los Angeles are reporting
a further advance in the effort to produce electronic circuitry on a
molecular scale.


IS YOUR CELL PHONE FRYING YOUR BRAIN?
http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?/adeskb/adt0825/2619763:9649913
That cell phone you press to your ear could be hazardous
to your health. Or is it? I'll cut through the hype
and lay out the facts. And show you some common-sense
solutions to possible dangers.


Ideaviruses IS a Big Idea
Readers admit that Seth Godin's proposed idea of using
ideaviruses to generate hysteria won't work with every
product or service, but also say it does work.
http://digitrends.flonetwork.com/cgi-bin8/flo?y=eBRL0FKBu0Cz0BH66

NINTENDO UNVEILS 2G CONSOLE, NEW GAME BOY
(Source: IDG.net) Nintendo enters the next-generation game console
market with its Gamecube, which will sell in Japan in July and in the
U.S. in October 2001.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=302523

AMD BROWSES FOR A NEW LINE
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=18205
Chip maker teams up with Opera to develop embedded browser
technology.


High-Tech Jobs Come to Logging Country
- New York Times (free registration required)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/08/biztech/articles/21oregon.ht
ml
In Oregon, Paul Bunyans are settling Into cubicles.

e-Clippings 8.28.00

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative
expression
and knowledge."
  - Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)


Cool Site #2 (new series)
*********************************************************************
PC Pitstop
http://www.pcpitstop.com/

Ever wonder why your once speedy computer is now poking along at a
snail's pace? Or why your number of crashes and freezes has
skyrocketed? PC Pitstop is a site that helps you pinpoint the root
causes behind these and many more problems. Embodying one of the
strong points of the Web, the ability to provide help whenever and
wherever needed, for free, PC Pitstop is more than worth a bookmark.
The site provides you with a wealth of non-invasive diagnostics on
everything from your Internet connection to the health of your hard
drive. If you don't know "defragging" is or what
"systems resources"
mean, you owe it to yourself and your hard drive to stop by this site.

*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************

OLD BUDDY LISTS FOR NEW USERS
  (Source: Computerworld) When a Microsoft Hotmail account expires, the
Instant Messenger buddy list remains active, so anyone who registers
with the address has access to the previous user's buddy list.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=304214

GSA STUDIES SMART CARD VALUE
  (Source: FCW) The General Services Administration has hired a
contractor to study the cost and benefits of using PKI-enabled smart
cards for federal applications.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=303805

No, Newbies, There's No Email Tax (Culture Friday)
  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38418,00.html?tw=wn20000826
  The dreaded email tax bill is alive and well, according to an email
circulating through people's inboxes. Of course it's a hoax. Why has
it
resurfaced after two years? By Farhad Manjoo.

Posted on IFETS:
"Warren, K. and Rada, R. (1997). Sustaining computer-mediated
communication
in university courses through computer-managed messaging systems.
Journal
of computer-assisted learning, 14, pp. 71-80.

Warren, K. & Rada, R. (1999). Manifestations of quality learning in
computer-mediated university courses. Interactive Learning
Environments, 7
(1), 57-80.

My doctoral dissertation (University of Idaho 1999), which
incorporates
both of these, along with a supplementary literature review, is called
"Peer Interactions and Quality Learning in Text-Based Computer-
Mediated
Communication Systems," UMI Microform 9954099"


2600 Responds to the DeCSS Legal DecisionEmmanuel Goldstein, the
editor of 2600, discusses the recent decision forcing them to remove
links to DVD decryption code. He points out that by merely pointing a
big fat finger at the DVD decryption problem, the magazine came under
threat of a lawsuit based on a profoundly flawed piece of
legislation - the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The well thought
out piece illustrates the profound clash between the world views of
the forces of commercial monopolization and the anarchic contingent
of Net dwellers. Good reading.
http://www.2600.com/news/2000/0821.html


PCWORLD.COM HOW-TO: Make Your PC Hacker-Proof.
  Our test of six personal firewalls finds the best ones for keeping
uninvited guests out of your office or home system.
http://www.pcworld.com/r/cx/1%2C2061%2Ccx-081700B17759%
2C00.html


Lessons from the Virtual Marketplace
To succeed in e-Business, think out of the box, question
Traditional business thinking and operate from the
customer's point of view.
http://digitrends.flonetwork.com/cgi-bin8/flo?y=eBRw0FKBu0Cf0BITz


Recreate your business culture
http://www.computeruser.com/newsletter/3706.html
Which cartoon character best depicts your company? Elmer
Fudd? Fred Flintstone? Tweety Bird? There are significant
cost savings, productivity gains and competitive advantages
to be found in re-creating the culture of your business.


TRUSTE LEARNS A PRIVACY LESSON THE HARD WAY
  (Source: IDG.net) TRUSTe, a nonprofit privacy watchdog organization,
learned a jarring lesson on privacy itself, when it downloaded free
visitor tracking software from TheCounter.com two weeks ago.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=304213

THWART HACKERS WITH A XYLOC WRISTWATCH
  (Source: PCWorld.com) Ensure Technologies will integrate its
proximity-based PC security system into wristwatches.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=304221


THE SPEED OF MONEY
(Source: Computerworld) The Internet is bringing about massive changes
in the way capital flows, which could translate into an economic boom
of global proportions.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=303789


'Hey, All You E-Holes Out There' (Business 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38426,00.html?tw=wn20000826
  You've heard of yuppies and geeks. How about Dipsows? That's one of
several catchwords proposed for stereotyping folks in the Internet
business. By Joanna Glasner.


Building a Jetsons-like Community (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
  http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38411,00.html?tw=wn20000826
  A new community in a Seattle suburb isn't exactly duplicating the
technology of Bill Gates' whiz-bang estate, but developers say it's
the
nation's first 'digital housing development.' Manny Frishberg reports
from Seattle.

VIBRATING MOUSE SHAKES UP YOUR SURFING
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=18223
AVB unveils pointing device that jumps when your PC makes a noise.

NewsFlashes 8.28.00

*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************

INDEX OF STORIES

1. Kansas State University: K-State's information technology provides
students with interactive learning environment

2. Primedia`s Fire & Emergency Television Network Donates $40,000
Grant Helping International Association of Fire Chiefs Expand
Training
FETN, ICHIEFS Reinforce Outreach to Help Save Firefighter Lives
PRIMEDIA's Fire & Emergency Television Network and the International
Association of Fire Chiefs are unveiling a $40,000 grant program for
16 fire departments during the Fire-Rescue International
Conference ... [Business Wire]


3. Michigan Virtual University Announces 1,100 Advanced Placement
High School Scholarships in Time for Fall Start!
Even before they check into their lockers, top-performing high school
students should check into their principal's office this fall for new
options in Advanced Placement courses. [PR Newswire]


4. `Best of the Web` Winners Announced
North Carolina and Seattle beat out close to 200 state and local
government entries in the sixth annual Best of the Web contest
conducted by the Center for Digital Government and Government
Technology magazine. [Business Wire]


5. Information just wants to be Freenet
Rob Kramer and Ian Clarke's new venture, Uprizer, wants to be the Red
Hat of peer-to-peer networks. What's behind their wall of secrecy?

6. Why Intel's into P2P If peer-to-peer networking becomes the "next
computing frontier," guess who stands to benefit?
By Damien Cave

7. 'CHEAPER THAN FREE EDUCATION'
A new distance-education Web site in Brazil will offer noncredit
courses, such as preparatory classes for university entrance
examinations. (8/28/2000)

8. INTERNATIONAL STUDY WITHOUT TRAVELING
Online education is a godsend for adults in Mexico who have never
earned a college degree and now find it too expensive and impractical
to leave their families and their jobs to get one. (8/24/2000)


9. Learning needs a human face
By Eileen McNamara, Globe Columnist, 8/27/2000


**********************************************************************
*************

FULL STORIES

1. Kansas State University: K-State's information technology provides
students with interactive learning environment
August 25, 2000
MANHATTAN
Students in Kansas State University's beginning statistics course are
encouraged to play computer games during class -- games that simulate
traveling to another planet.

This class breaks from the traditional lecture format and encourages
an active learning environment, said Elizabeth Unger, vice provost
for academic services and instruction at K-State.

"They go out to another planet in our solar system; and they gather
the data; and they get dirty data; and they get people who slam the
door in their face when they go and collect a survey; and they get
missing data," Unger said. "They work with real world data collection
problems."

Unger said K-State has five of these classes, called studio
environments, used for beginning English, biology and physics
classes, and more are planned.

"It's been very successful," she said. "Students have been very
complimentary about what they've learned. "Statistics has gone from
dull and boring to something that students enjoy doing."

K-State began its step toward information technology classrooms when
it introduced 26 high-tech classrooms, the first in 1995.

"The reason for the introduction of information technology on campus
in such a robust way in the last decade is that the information
resources of the world have become available on an easy-to-use access
mechanism called the World Wide Web," Unger said.

K-State's high-tech classrooms have Internet access, which can show
live images or capture them before class. Presentation systems that
transmit 3-D imagery have replaced transparency projectors, and
digital music storage allows the use of compact discs and audio tapes
during class.

The introduction of audience response classrooms has guided and
helped stimulate class discussions by allowing students to reveal
their opinions before actually talking, Unger said. Entering class,
students are given powerful palm-top computing systems. After hooking
their palm-top computers into the network, students can talk freely
with the professor without other students knowing the conversation,
Unger said. Professors can respond privately or to the entire class.
Since the palm-top computers are also capable of configurations,
Unger said they work nicely in physics classes as well

"It has been a very powerful tool, "Unger said. "A professor can get
an anonymous opinion about what the class thinks about something. A
professor can send the entire class formulas to use and determine how
many students understand how to use them -- all without embarrassment
to the student."

K-State students aren't all going to class every day, either. The
classes are going to them.

Combining video and computer technology allows professors to teach
students in class, but also permits a distance learning environment
that enables a professor to simultaneously teach 40 or 50 students
across the state of Kansas, Unger said. Professors can videotape
class live or digitally store it for later use. On-campus students
can access this class from any campus television, while off-campus
students use a computer program called Desktop Video to respond to
professors, making the class more interactive.

Unger said K-State taught the first Internet 2 course in the nation --
  a plant pathology course taught by three professors in three states -
- at Oregon State University, University of Nebraska at Lincoln and K-
State.

The increased bandwidth, which allows more information to travel
faster at longer distances, allowed the professors and the students
to have a three-way conversation without breaks and pauses during the
transmission of sounds and visual images.

"The connection was so great that you could talk without this
transatlantic telephone call delay," Unger said. "We had three of the
world's experts teaching our students, which has got to be some of
the finest education they could get in the world. We want to do more
and more of that." Unger said Internet 2 classes are currently being
planned for master's and doctoral classes in agriculture and
engineering.

"Professors in our master's of agribusiness class will sit each
Saturday morning and talk to students all over the world," Unger
said. "We have students in China, Cambodia, Costa Rica, South Africa
and western Kansas. Saturdays, they discuss the week's learning they
experienced on the Web course they are taking."

K-State's Website is http://www.ksu.edu

Editors: A photo is available electronically. Contact news1@...
for a copy.

CONTACT: Elizabeth Unger
Tel: +1 785 532 6520
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM



2.

Primedia's Fire & Emergency Television Network Donates $40,000 Grant
Helping International Association of Fire Chiefs Expand Training


August 25, 2000
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 2000 via NewsEdge Corporation -


FETN, ICHIEFS Reinforce Outreach to Help Save Firefighter Lives

PRIMEDIA's Fire & Emergency Television Network (FETN) and the
International Association of Fire Chiefs (ICHIEFS) are unveiling a
$40,000 grant program for 16 fire departments during the Fire-Rescue
International Conference at the Dallas Convention Center, Aug. 25-28.

FETN's $40,000 grant enables ICHIEFS to offer free satellite dishes
to 16 fire departments in the U.S. and Canada in order to receive
FETN's accredited fire and emergency training programs. The
departments will be selected based on criteria created by the
ICHIEFS' Professional Development Committee.

1999 had the highest loss of fire professionals' lives in the line of
duty with 122 deaths -- a 21 percent increase in just one year. To
help reduce firefighter fatalities and community losses, ICHIEFS and
FETN are collaborating to bring FETN's training programs directly to
fire stations via donated satellite dishes.

FETN's satellite programming allows firefighters to observe and gain
survival skills, plus learn life-saving lessons from viewing events.
FETN is continually upgrading its curriculum to include everything
from the drama of swift water rescues and aerial operations to
teaching professionals the very basics of fire suppression. Its
satellite and tape programs encourage professional development
through delivery of continuing education programs.

ICHIEFS' Executive Director Garry Briese said, "Better training is
required because the fire service has become an all-risk profession.
Preparedness gives responders an added safety margin, improving their
chances of safety and survival."

FETN President Ron Coleman said, "As a fire chief and fire
instructor, I know that training is a critical piece of reducing
firefighter injuries and fatalities. We are proud to collaborate with
ICHIEFS and are aggressively attacking issues impacting firefighter
safety."

ICHIEFS' Professional Development Committee will be developing
specifics regarding how departments can apply for the program and the
criteria involved. For more information, see ICHIEFS at Booth No.
3039.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (ICHIEFS) provides
leadership to career and volunteer chiefs, chief fire officers and
managers of Emergency Services Organizations throughout the
international community through vision, information, education,
services and representation to enhance their professionalism and
capabilities. Its Web site is www.ichiefs.org.

PRIMEDIA's Fire & Emergency Television Network (FETN) is the
recognized leader in providing training, education and information to
fire and EMS departments worldwide. Its comprehensive multimedia
programming meets CEU requirements for fire and emergency personnel.
Its Web site is www.fetn.com.

PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning (PWPL), a PRIMEDIA (NYSE:PRM) company, is
the leading provider of distance learning for more than 1.6 million
viewers in the automotive, banking, fire, healthcare, industrial and
law enforcement markets. PWPL is a PRIMEDIA (NYSE:PRM) company, a
targeted media company with print, video and Internet businesses
focused on consumer and business-to-business audiences. The Company
owns and operates more than 300 Web sites and other Internet
properties. For more details on PWPL, visit www.pwpl.com.


CONTACT: FETN, Dallas | Amy Morenz, 972/309-4014 | amorenz@... |
or | ICHIEFS | Bill Hershman, 703/273-0911 | dircomm@...
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM



3. Michigan Virtual University Announces 1,100 Advanced Placement
High School Scholarships in Time for Fall Start!


August 25, 2000
LANSING, Mich., Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation -

Even before they check into their lockers, top-performing high school
students should check into their principal's office this fall for new
options in Advanced Placement courses.

With funding approved in June by the Michigan legislature, the
Michigan Virtual University will award more than 1,100 one-semester
scholarships for Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Scholarships are
awarded to school districts that do not offer AP courses in the
subjects listed below. School staff decide which students are
eligible for Advanced Placement courses and who will receive them
free.

The scholarships are especially valuable to college-bound students,
who otherwise might spend $395 per course, because students who score
well on an independent test may earn college credit that would
typically cost much more. Testing is conducted by the College Board
and the Educational Testing Service; the $75 test fee is not covered
by the scholarships. (The Michigan Dept. of Education also has
federal funds to underwrite costs for low-income students.)

The courses for the 2000-01 school year, below, are made available
through a contract between MVU and Apex, a leading Internet education
service provider. The list includes courses developed separately by
Michigan State University faculty and courses authored through the
collaboration between Apex and Michigan State University, as well as
selections from Apex's catalog of award-winning offerings.

Calculus AB (two-semester course) U.S. Government & Politics

(one semester)

Statistics (two-semester course) Microeconomics (one semester)

English Composition (two semesters) Macroeconomics (one semester)

English Literature (two semesters) Human Geography (one-semester
course,

offered 2nd semester only)

Physics B (two semesters) Psychology (one-semester course,

offered 2nd semester only)

Chemistry (two semesters) U.S. History (two semesters)

In addition to the accredited online AP courses, students will have
access to Apex's award-winning online Exam Review.

Students interested in taking an online Advanced Placement course
should contact their high school principals, counselors or
coordinators of talented and gifted programs.

About Apex Learning (www.apexlearning.com )

Apex Learning, founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is a
leading Internet education service provider for the K-12 education
system. It provides online educational content, technologies and
services to states, school districts and other partners in the K-12
system. The company's online educational offerings are fully
accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. Apex
Learning is a privately-held company with significant investments
from such organizations as Edison Schools, Kaplan and Michigan State
University.

About Michigan Virtual University (www.mivu.org )

MVU is a private, non-profit corporation established in 1998 by Gov.
John Engler to provide online learning opportunities to Michigan's
citizens. MVU does not grant degrees or certificates or teach
courses, but acts as a broker of programs made available by
Michigan's public and private colleges, universities and commercial
training providers. In June 2000, Gov. Engler signed legislation to
fund the Michigan Virtual High School and Advanced Placement Academy,
and selected MVU and the program administrator. MVU selected Apex
Learning as its first partner in increasing learning opportunities
for thousands of Michigan students.

SOURCE Michigan Virtual University


CONTACT: Deborah White of Michigan Virtual University, 517-324-5357,
or dwhite@...

Web site: http://www.apexlearning.com

Web site: http://www.mivu.org

Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM



4. 'Best of the Web' Winners Announced


August 25, 2000
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 2000 via NewsEdge
Corporation -

North Carolina and Seattle beat out close to 200 state and local
government entries in the sixth annual Best of the Web contest
conducted by the Center for Digital Government and Government
Technology magazine.

Web entries were scored on their online innovation to deliver
government services, efficiency and time saved, economy, and
functionality for improved citizen access. Last year's winners,
Access Washington and Boston, were excluded from entering the contest
this year.

"North Carolina's portal illustrates a major shift for state
government as it becomes more entrepreneurial in its operations,"
said the state's Chief Information Officer, Ronald Hawley. "NC@Your
Service will help government leaders rethink the delivery of their
services for citizens as we move more services online."

Seattle officials were pleased with this honor and said their Web
site is just one example of the city's commitment to improve service
delivery to its citizens. "A tremendous amount of useful information
is available via Seattle's site and people know it," said Mayor Paul
Schell.

Judging the contest were the Center for Digital Government,
Government Technology magazine, Public Technology, Inc. (PTI), and
State Technologies.

"State and local governments have made huge progress in their online
applications," said Cathilea Robinett, executive director of the
Center for Digital Government. Robinett has been judging the contest
since its inception six years ago, and is impressed with the number
of Web sites that cater to their citizens. "Customer satisfaction is
obviously a priority to these state and local government sites. Most
of them provide comprehensive information and easy access to a
variety of online services."

Top State Government Web Sites: 1st place: North Carolina --
http://www.ncgov.com 2nd place: Georgia -- http://www.state.ga.us 3rd
place: Virginia DMV -- http://www.dmv.state.va.us

Top Local Government Web Sites: 1st place: Seattle --
http://www.cityofseattle.net 2nd place: Douglas County --
http://cltr.co.douglas.nv.us 3rd place: San Jose --
http://www.sjpermits.org

Winners will be recognized and awarded cash prizes at an executive
dinner held in conjunction with Government Technology Conference
(GTC) on Sept. 15, in Albany, New York.


CONTACT: Best of the Web Contest | Cathilea Robinett, 916/363-5000 |
or | Government Technology | Jodi Martinez, 916/363-5000 ext. 308 |
jmartinez@...
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM



5. Information just wants to be Freenet

Rob Kramer and Ian Clarke's new venture, Uprizer, wants to be the Red
Hat of peer-to-peer networks. What's behind their wall of secrecy?


- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Damien Cave

Aug. 28, 2000 | About a year ago, Rob Kramer read about Freenet and
wanted to get involved. The recording industry hadn't yet sued
Napster, "peer-to-peer" was still not a buzzword and Ian Clarke, the
creator of this Napster-like network called Freenet, was still an
unknown Irish programmer. But Kramer -- who had only recently sold
his stake in Moving Pixels, an animation company -- saw value in
Freenet's decentralized file-sharing network, and contacted Clarke
just days after finding the Freenet Web site.

Now the fruits of that correspondence can be seen. Or rather, they
can almost be seen. Uprizer, the company that Kramer and Clarke have
formed, remains mysterious. There is no Web site, and when I talked
to Kramer, who is the CEO, he refused to say when the Los Angeles
company would release its first product. He also refused to talk
about funding except to say, "We have some." Even the number of
employees remains a secret.

Is Uprizer trying to be the Transmeta of P2P? Kramer, 40, says that
he is reticent to talk because the details are still being worked
out. "Ian [Clarke] is only now on his way here to California," he
says.

Still, some things at Uprizer are set in place -- like what the
company is not, and what peer-to-peer will eventually be. Kramer was
more than happy to discuss these subjects.

What exactly is Uprizer?

Uprizer is a technology infrastructure company, which will leverage
the Freenet platform.

Leverage it into what areas?

I can't tell you that.

Well, are you taking the same tack as Scour.net, making deals with
the record and movie industry?

That's always been Scour's main focus, but let's just say a majority
of our business model is not focused on content distribution. We are
not the next Napster. Everyone thinks that Ian is starting this
company for file-sharing; that because Ian is a stalwart for the
freedom of information, that's all he wants to focus on. We applaud
him in that, but that's not what Uprizer's all about. Uprizer is
about leveraging a technology that has powerful functions.

And there is a wireless play involved.

Wireless?

I can't tell you about that either.

Well then maybe you can tell me why you think the record labels won't
come after you just like they've gone after Scour.net and
MP3Board.com?

We're not a consumer play. Freenet is Freenet. We won't control and
can't control Freenet -- even if you put a gun to Ian's head, as he's
said. Freenet is out and it will do what it does the same way that
people will use videotape for legal or illegal purposes. We are not
the next Napster, therefore we are not trying to aid and abet a
Napster-like environment. We will support content consumer plays but
we will support them as a technology infrastructure company.

So you're hoping to let the consumer plays take the fall or at least
test the waters ...

We have no intention of breaking laws. We have no desire to do that.
We're not 19-year-olds; that is not our mission in life. Our mission
is to efficiently flow information through Internet, intranet,
extranet and closed-network environments.

Technology infrastructure is a broad term, though. Are you focusing
solely on selling to businesses, like Digital Island?

Uprizer is focused on both enterprise software and consumer
applications; it's both for business and the consumer. But I just
want to reiterate that Freenet is Freenet and Uprizer is Uprizer;
Uprizer is not the next Napster. Scour wants to be the next Napster;
AppleSoup wants to be the next Napster. That's not our goal in any
way, shape or form. We have a much different business plan.

We believe this could be an alternative, better, synergistic Akamai
[which minimizes Web congestion to sites like Yahoo and CNN by
regulating traffic through its servers]. It's a multi-level network.
Akamai has 4,000 servers; we could have millions of servers, servers
being a euphemism for computers.

And what would happen to Freenet if Uprizer becomes commercial? Will
additions and improvements to it remain open-sourced?

Freenet will stay open-sourced. We support that in the same way that
Red Hat supports Linux.

What advantage does Freenet have over Gnutella?

Freenet and Gnutella share only two things: They're both peer-to-
peer, and they're both decentralized. That's where the similarities
stop. Freenet is a very powerful peer-to-peer platform. The reason
it's so powerful is that it takes data onto the network, it migrates
the data toward demand and it mirrors that data so that it enables
high-bandwidth data to move efficiently through the system. Here's
the picture: With Gnutella, if someone wants something they go out
into the middle of the street and they say, "Does anyone have Britney
Spears," or "Does anyone have X document?" And if 1,000 people have
it, 1,000 people are going to shout back and it's going to get really
noisy. And when 1,000 people send it to you, they'll clog the
network.

With Freenet, someone says, "Hey, does anybody have it?" and the
information is sent to that person once. So, for instance, let's say
there is a request for information "A" in London -- a music file or a
piece of financial information -- and that info currently exists
around nodes in Chicago. When enough people request it around London,
the information will be sent once under the Atlantic. It will then
mirror itself and spread itself among multiple nodes so that when you
request in London it will be on a node that's closest to you. In
other words, if there are 1,000 people in London that request that
data, it's right there; whereas with the Internet or Gnutella, 1,000
requests translates to 1,000 messages that are sent under the
Atlantic. That's what makes today's World Wide Web so inefficient.
Freenet, you see, operates on the Internet, but outside the Web.

But when you make multiple copies, don't you run into another kind of
redundancy? Instead of clogging the network aren't you just filling
up hard drives? For example, how long does that piece of information
from Chicago stay on the computer in Piccadilly Square?

It will stay there on the basis of demand. The specifics can vary,
but popular data thrives on the network and unpopular data does not
thrive. It's very Darwinian. It's a very intelligent and adaptive
system; as Freenet learns the behavior of the flow of that
information, it will respond accordingly. For Gnutella to achieve any
of those things, as Ian would say, "They would literally have to
start from scratch."

OK, if Freenet is indeed better than Gnutella, how do you plan to
differentiate yourselves from other Uprizers, other Freenet-based
businesses?

We have not only the creative architect and founder of Freenet, we
also have a lot of the development team who are familiar with the
environment. We can't stop anyone from building on top of Freenet.
You can do it today. But I think we have a little more insight into
what the possibilities are based on the nuance of the architecture.

Ultimately, where do you think all of this is going? You've made
Freenet out to be the Internet's savior -- do you really think it can
re-architect the Net?

Well, the original Internet is peer-to-peer, but when the Internet
became commercialized it became centralized. The implications from a
bandwidth standpoint are less than spectacular because it's not an
efficient means of distribution. It doesn't handle high-bandwidth
data efficiently.

But whether we could re-architect the Net is a bigger conversation.
It's like the conversation about decentralized eBays, which sounds
like a good idea but there probably needs to be some central place
where the exchange is based, and that's eBay.

Really, the point is that the whole peer-to-peer story has been
focused so far on Napster, Gnutella, Freenet and how artists and
copyright-holders get ripped off. That's not the conversation that
Uprizer is having. Uprizer is having a technology conversation. We
believe peer-to-peer computing, distribution and infrastructure is
the wave of the future. Everyone's focused on music, on movies; I
think it's going to be 5 percent of the story relative to peer-to-
peer. We really believe there is a serious paradigm shift occurring
as we speak.


- - - - - - - - - - - -

About the writer
Damien Cave is a staff writer for Salon Technology.


6. Why Intel's into P2P

If peer-to-peer networking becomes the "next computing frontier,"
guess who stands to benefit?


- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Damien Cave

Aug. 28, 2000 | Intel stoked the fires of file-sharing hype last week
at its annual developer conference when CTO Pat Gelsinger declared
that "peer-to-peer computing could be as important to the Internet's
future as the Web browser was to its past."

But before you start trying to figure out the back-end technology of
Napster or its decentralized file-sharing clones like Freenet and
Gnutella, or before you join Intel's new peer-to-peer working group --
  you might want to consider not just the message, but also the
messenger. Intel is not some independent analyst, nor a disinterested
Walter Mossberg. Rather, it's a chip manufacturing giant whose
success depends on convincing the world to buy newer, faster
computers. Moore's Law dictates that chip processing power will
double every 18 months, but the best way to make us buy the new
computers (with Intel inside), is to convince us that we need them.

That's where peer-to-peer comes in. First, consider file trading,
which taxes your computer far more than some routine multitasking
between your browser, e-mail and PowerPoint. If you use Napster, the
more songs you save, the more work your computer has to do to find
and play them; and every time someone grabs a few Beastie Boys'
tracks from your hard drive, the computer acts like a server,
processing the request, the search and certain aspects of the
download. It all requires computing effort -- and could be speedier
with more processing power.

But beyond the performance issues, widespread file-sharing and
distributed computing bring up questions of interoperability and
security, which could be addressed in new computing architecture and
new chip designs. And wouldn't it be great for Intel if -- hooked on
file-sharing and eager to shelve our plans for a new company server
so that we might instead invest in desktop machines that could handle
our personal work as well as a piece of the old server's job -- we
all felt the need to buy a new computer with a flashy new processor?

There is, of course, nothing wrong with drumming up business, even if
it's not exactly what you expect from a CTO purportedly sharing his
technological vision with developers. And Gelsinger may be right when
he says peer-to-peer networks may represent "the next computing
frontier." Surely, the 22 million people who have downloaded
Napster's software point to peer-to-peer's potential. And distributed
networks like SETI@home, which use a million home computers to
process signals from outer space as it looks for signs of intelligent
life beyond Earth, could use more computing power.

But by making technological predictions that seem to be equal parts
wishful thinking for Intel's future and reality, Gelsinger diminishes
his own credibility. Come on Pat, we may not be as fast as your
chips, but we're quick enough to recognize a sales pitch disguised in
those predictions for the future.


- - - - - - - - - - - -

About the writer
Damien Cave is a staff writer for Salon Technology.



7. A Brazilian Web Site Will Offer Noncredit Distance-Education
Courses
By DANIELA HART

Sao Paulo, Brazil

A new distance-education Web site in Brazil, inaugurated last month,
will offer noncredit courses, such as preparatory classes for
university entrance examinations.

The site, Educativo, is expected to be offering 52 courses by
December, including courses for those entering the diplomatic
services and supplementary support for basic university courses.

Through Educativo, students will also be able to complete the
supletivo, a substitute course for secondary education, and they will
be able to receive the equivalent of a high-school diploma after
taking examinations in person in a traditional classroom.

Brazilian law does not permit students to earn credit for
undergraduate and graduate courses taken on the Internet.

Distance education via the Internet in Brazil started four years ago,
at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, and is now used by
various universities for extension courses and continuing education
for teachers.

But Wagner Horta, the co-owner of Educativo, said none of them make
full use of multimedia resources. By contrast, he said, Educativo
provides instant correction of all work, as well as chats and online
discussions.

"This is the first site actually offering distance education, as
opposed to distance reading, which is what existing sites do." said
Mr. Horta, a professor of sociology and education in Brazil. "Our
courses are fully interactive, offering a similar structure to
classroom study."

Educativo course contents are prepared by a team of around 50
professors; 12 professors are available to work with the students.

"We will be taking quality education to the whole country with
minimum costs," said Mr. Horta, adding that this is particularly
important in a large country like Brazil, which has many regional
differences. "Paradoxically, Educativo courses will be even cheaper
than free education, which involves students paying for transport,
books, and stationery," he said.

Paulo Renato Souza, Brazil's minister of education, praised Educativo
as "a pioneer initiative" and said that information technology could
improve learning conditions throughout the nation.

Prices for Educativo courses will vary from a $8.50 a month for the
preparatory course for university entrance examinations to $80 a
month for the specialized course for those entering the diplomatic
services.

Educativo will offer free courses for parents and teachers, such as
orientation courses on drug use among young people and courses for
teachers in special education.

Brazil currently has seven million to eight million Web users, but
the potential education market is over 60 million, according to
Educativo staff members. Mr. Horta also plans campaigns to bring
second-hand computers to Brazilians who otherwise could not afford
them.


8. A Massachusetts College Finds Hunger for Distance Education in
Mexico
By RHONA STATLAND DE LÓPEZ

Mexico City

Eloisa Bueno de Cudney has been an educator for nearly 30 years. Ms.
Cudney -- who coordinates English instruction at the Oak Tree School
here -- will be sharing her experience with others this month by
teaching a course called "Methods of Teaching English" at the
Universidad Anahuac.

But the teacher wants to be a student, as well. Ms. Cudney says she
is eager to take education classes through a distance-education
program being established by Endicott College, in Beverly, Mass.

The reason? Ms. Cudney does not yet have a college degree.

Online education is a godsend for the many adults in Mexico who, like
Ms. Cudney, have never earned a college degree and now find it too
expensive and impractical to leave their families and their jobs to
get one.

In response, American colleges are flocking to attract Mexican
students. This fall, for example, Endicott plans to equip a classroom
with sophisticated teleconferencing equipment so that students here
can interact with professors in Massachusetts.

But the boom in distance education also creates new instructional
challenges -- in part, simply because it brings together students
from different cultures and educational backgrounds. And it
challenges the very ethos of international study, in which a student
immerses himself or herself in another culture.

A recent push to upgrade teachers' qualifications is helping fuel the
demand for online instruction here. Only a decade ago, few teachers
of elementary or high school in Mexico were college graduates. In the
1990's, a greater emphasis was placed on educators' having college
degrees. Teachers and administrators who have many years of
experience now want to earn degrees, and distance education is a
convenient venue for earning one.

"We have adults who are taking a traditional master's in education
without credit because they have never earned their bachelor's
degree," says Vivian Antaki, dean of Endicott College's campus here.

Endicott has operated the campus here since 1996 -- before the boom
in online education. Since the campus opened, students have studied
for two years here before going to Beverly to complete their
bachelor's degrees.

But now Endicott also allows students -- in Mexico and elsewhere --
to earn a bachelor's degree online by taking courses from a variety
of colleges through Virtualstudent.com, an online-education portal.
Endicott requires that students take an "integrative course," taught
by Endicott, after every four online courses. The integrative courses
can be taken at the Mexico City campus as well as in Beverly.

Endicott officials believe that teleconferencing will be a key part
of attracting students in Mexico. A digital broadcast studio in
Beverly is equipped with advanced production equipment that is in use
at only a handful of television stations.

The equipment permits one person to replace the team of people -- a
producer, engineers, and camera operators -- that is ordinarily
needed to produce a television broadcast of a professor's lecture.
For example, the professor wears an electronic chip around his or her
neck that allows the camera to follow the professor around the room
without assistance from a human camera operator.

Using the technology, a professor in Beverly can teach students in
Mexico City by long distance. When similar equipment is installed
here, faculty members in Mexico City will be able to teach students
in Massachusetts as well.

The teaching is interactive, with students in Mexico City being able
to ask questions live and get answers from the professor. In
addition, a class at Beverly will be able to interact with a class in
Mexico.

"We intend to begin broadcasting simultaneous courses in Mexico City
and Boston by late October," says Robert Boose, vice president of
Endicott College and dean of its graduate school. "Students in both
countries will be able to study subjects and work on group projects
together."

Having instant interaction is important to many potential students
here. Beverley Blount de Perez-Palma, owner and director of the
Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in the outskirts of Mexico City,
started an online program with a Mexican university that, she says,
had a "snail-mail mentality." Ms. Perez-Palma got the assignments
online but had to mail her completed work to the university.

Since Mexican mail service is often slow and unreliable, the courses
dragged on and she finally gave up, Ms. Perez-Palma says. "I didn't
want distant education. I wanted instant education."

The broadcast technology will help to overcome the problem facing
students of English as a Second Language, who often rely on facial
expressions and hand gestures as cues to what the speaker means,
Endicott officials say. Being able to see the students on the other
campuses will be helpful for Mexican and Spanish students seeking to
improve their language skills, as well as for Spanish majors at
Endicott hoping to perfect their accents.

Endicott officials are considering broadening the program to include
a number of different countries in Central and South America. "We see
Endicott/Mexico as a platform for Latin American students who would
find it easier and cheaper to go to our Mexican campus for the
integrative courses than to travel all the way to Beverly," says
James L. Citron, dean of international studies and programs at
Endicott.

Endicott already has added a new branch in Spain, using the campus of
the College of International Studies, which may eventually serve as
Endicott's European base. "Madrid will be added to the broadcast in
the spring," allowing three-way videoconferencing of faculty meetings
and other cross-cultural exchanges, Mr. Boose says.

However, Endicott officials see some challenges facing distance
education here. Ms. Antaki, the dean of the Mexico City campus,
predicts that some Mexican students may have difficulty in adapting
to American learning styles.

"Since people haven't had the practice of doing research because of
lack of material, they are used to rote learning," she says. "In the
U.S., students learn to use information, whereas in Mexico, students
are used to being receptacles of information."

Ms. Antaki is also concerned that internationalizing education may
actually mean Americanizing it, since the United States is the
dominant online-education purveyor. "Americans are not yet aware of
the different learning styles and expectations in other countries,"
she observes.

Endicott is trying to address the problem by seeking to "tropicalize"
some courses, making them more relevant to the Mexican reality. In
teaching ethics, for example, "we would probably add some outstanding
Mexican writers, such as Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes, who speak
directly to the Mexican condition," says Ms. Antaki.

Some administrators even worry that students may not be getting via
technology what they used to get out of face-to-face
encounters. "We're shrinking the distance and eliminating some of the
barriers by using the newest technology, but students may end up with
the sense of mastering a culture simply with the flick of the wrist
on their computer," says Mr. Citron, the international-studies dean.

Acquiring a bachelor's degree online eliminates the hidden curriculum
of study abroad -- what students learn above and beyond the knowledge
they receive in the classroom. By studying online, says Mr.
Citron, "students might never know what it is like to go through
customs or to live with a roommate from another country."

"They will miss the chance to develop the self-esteem and
independence that comes with making your way in a new cultural
environment," he says. "Knowledge can be transmitted by technology,
but cultural interaction cannot. It is paradoxical that by
encouraging globalization through technology, we may be losing the
essence of international education."


9. Learning needs a human face
By Eileen McNamara, Globe Columnist, 8/27/2000


emember correspondence courses that promised you the equivalent of a
Harvard education ''from the comfort of your own home?''


A new brand of the old hucksterism was legitimized last week when the
Massachusetts Board of Higher Education gave degree-granting
authority to the first for-profit, online college in the Northeast.


Harcourt Higher Education is a subsidiary of the Newton-based
publishing conglomerate, Harcourt General Inc. It is not affiliated
with any accredited college. It has no track record in teaching. It's
a start-up, gambling that there is profit to be mined in the public's
infatuation with new technology.


You don't have to be a computer-phobic Luddite to have some doubts
about a university without classrooms and a faculty without faces.
The rush to embrace this virtual college - the board approved a
November start date with little input from educators - reflects the
kind of thinking that has elevated the standardized test to god-like
status. The Internet, like the MCAS, is a tool to supplement
traditional education, not supplant it. Computers are an efficient
means of delivering facts to students, just as standardized tests are
a handy method of retrieving them. But education is more than
information gathering.


Harcourt paints a cyber-world in which chat rooms will be electric
with critical analysis and impassioned debate, where shy students
will blossom behind computer screens, where e-mail exchanges will
trump the human interactions of the classroom. Maybe, but it is hard
to imagine a substitute for the spontaneous magic that happens when
an idea catches fire, when one student's analysis sparks another's re-
interpretation, when one student hears her unarticulated thoughts
voiced, and validated, by that very real fellow across the room. How
do you go out for coffee after a virtual class to continue the
discussion?


The most reputable universities are experimenting with online
courses, but not because they are better. They're cheaper. Watching a
lecture on line is also more convenient than having to show up at an
appointed place and time and run the risk that the professor is
having an off day. But pre-taped lectures preclude the random
thought, the tangential aside, the relevent anecdote, that occurs to
the lecturer in midstream.


At base, this enterprise is about money. Why else would Harcourt
insist that its ''professors'' use Harcourt-published texts, easily
downloaded from the Harcourt database, in their ''classes''? This
company did not have $2.1 billion in sales last year for lack of
interest in the bottom line. But Harcourt is selling its college as a
noble act of outreach to the elderly, the disabled, and the working
poor. Why should college be accessible only to the young, the
healthy, and people of means? Good question. But if cyber-learning is
the equal of a world-class education, why hasn't Harvard put those
ivy-covered bricks on the block and John Kenneth Galbraith on
videotape?


Clifford Stoll, an astronomer and self-described ''computer
contrarian,'' bristles at inflated claims for the instructional value
of cyberspace. ''Who'll get the live teachers?,'' he asked last year
in his book, ''High Tech Heretic.'' ''The affluent, of course.''


Stoll recounts the experience at Vanderbilt when the university
enrolled 250 students in technology workshops over the Internet. Only
one completed completed the work, but the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
renewed the project's grant to build more cyberspace courses. ''No
pilot project in educational technology has ever been declared a
failure,'' Stoll wrote. '' ... most [educators] have been cloyed by a
river of money flowing into such `research' projects. Who do you
think gets the grants: those who promise wonders from electronic
classrooms or those who challenge the results?''


Harcourt expects 1,000 students of health sciences, technology, and
business to enroll the first year, 20,000 in five years. It doesn't
say how many it anticipates will actually earn a two-year or four-
year degree. Like those correspondence courses before it, Harcourt
can make as much money from the dropouts as the graduates.


Harcourt may sell itself as a real college but the buyers are likely
to be the same people who thought that ''Survivor'' was ''reality-
based'' television.


Eileen McNamara's e-mail address is mcnamara@...


This story ran on page B01 of the Boston Globe on 8/27/2000.
© Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.

e-Clippings 8.29.00

"The New Economy, as I see it, is part of a larger
context in which we are redefining what it means to be
human."
--Rabbi Irwin Kula, Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
http://www.fastcompany.com/fast.take/online/38/one.html#kula


Cool Site #3 (new series)
*********************************************************************
FreeNet
http://freenet.sourceforge.net/

FEED Magazine article: re: Ian Clarke
http://www.feedmag.com/re/re369_master.html


If industries which profit from copyright thought that Napster was
alarming and that Gnutella could be worse have not yet met their real
nightmare. It's called FreeNet and it could kill copyright.

From FreeNet's FAQ's: "Unlike the Web, information on
Freenet is not
stored at fixed locations or subject to any kind of centralized
control. Freenet is a single world-wide information store that
stores, caches, and distributes the information based on demand. This
allows Freenet to be more efficient at some functions than the Web,
and also allows information to be published and read without fear of
censorship because individual documents cannot be traced to their
source or even to where they are physically stored. To participate in
this system users will simply need to run a piece of server software
on their computer, and optionally use a client program to insert and
remove information from the system. Anyone can write a client (or
indeed a server) program for Freenet, which is based on an open
protocol. Reference implementations of these programs are being
written in the Java programming language."

*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************
CIO Council goes on offense
The CIO Council plans to issue two memorandums within the next
two weeks to agencies and Congress that urge putting in place
policies that would better secure government computers.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0828/news-cio-08-28-00.asp

Web firms fret over FirstGov's fees
Fees running as high as tens of thousands of dollars each year
may make it too pricey for some Internet companies to link to
the federal government's planned Internet portal.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0828/news-fgov-08-28-00.asp


(Instat.com)
** U.S. Companies Invested $89 Billion on Internet Strategies in
1999,
Spending to Increase to $120 Billion in 2000,
http://www.instat.com/pr/2000/ebusiness_pr.htm


** Internet Economy To Employ 10 Million By 2002 - Report
http://www.newsbytes.com/pubNews/00/154326.html


PDA SALES TO DOUBLE IN 2000
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=18243
Sales of handheld computers are up, thanks to falling prices and the
new Handspring Visor.


IS GOVERNMENT'S FUTURE ELECTRONIC?
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=18244
Citizens can go online instead of standing in line, but security and
privacy are still concerns.

"After Babelfish"
Random acts of senseless beauty? FEED columnist Julian Dibbell takes
the
wonderful translation machine out for a spin.
http://www.feedmag.com/book2/essay_dibbell.html?alert


SPECIAL REPORT: GOVERNMENT & IT
(Source: Computerworld) The Microsoft case. Online privacy. H-1B
visas. Internet taxation. Whatever the federal government does with
these issues could affect your job, your company, even your industry.
http://www.e-businessworld.com/ic_232210_373_11111-11.html


** McAfee First and Only Anti-Virus Software to Protect Against
World's First Wireless Trojan
http://www.wugnet.com/


Dot-Coms Failed to Learn Old-Economy Lessons
- San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/special/dotcom/docs/main08210
0.htm#continued
As the great dot-com shakeout moves beyond its initial
bubble-bursting phase, the pioneers of the New Economy are
discovering
that the Old Economy rules are fashionable again


Talking the Same Language
- Financial Times
http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?
pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3KMYKWXBC
Who will end up controlling the language of electronic commerce?


BROADBAND UNCLOGGED
http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?/adeskb/adt0829/2620910:9649913
The pressure for fast Internet access has finally produced needed
innovation. There's a new way to offer broadband service in
metropolitan areas.
  It's so fast and cheap it may put the phone company out of business.


A CURE FOR E-MAILOVERLOAD
  (Source: Network World Fusion) 'Sieve' touts a simple, universal way
to create filters for sorting, deleting and forwarding e-mail
messages before they enter your inbox.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=304392


LET YOUR FINGER DO THE TRACKING
(Source: Macworld) Ever wondered how the Trackpad on your PowerBook
works? We have the  answer.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=304650


ELECTRONIC INK SHOWS ITS TRUE COLORS
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=18246
E Ink and Xerox are among the companies hoping to change the way you
use a pen and paper.


ADOBE OFFERS INK FOR E-BOOKS
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=18255
Adobe announces acquisitions and partnerships to craft PDF technology
into e-books you can print.

NewsFlashes 8.29.00


*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************
INDEX

1. Online Learning: The Competitive Edge -- COMPANIES BLEND E-
LEARNING INTO
THEIR BUSINESS STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL
Online learning has gained acceptance as an alternative form of
education
that delivers training to every desktop and helps companies reduce
employee
travel costs. [CMP Publications]


2. Virtual Learning Struggling To Make The Grade
James E. Gaskin Despite years of teasing us about the possibilities of
distance learning, educators in the near future are more likely to be
standing in front of classrooms than in front of computer monitors
due to
the limited bandwidth available at most schools. [Ziff-Davis
Publishing]


3. New Economy, New Education: Gate Conference to Explore Impact of
New
Technology, Globalizaton on Education Worldwide <>
The impact of distance and online learning on higher education and
work
force training will be explored at the annual conference hosted by the
Global Alliance for Transnational Education . "Delivery and
Evaluation of
Transnational Education ... [PR Newswire]


4. $10.6-MILLION IN DISTANCE EDUCATION GRANTS
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded $10.6-million in grants
for
distance learning projects to 10 partnerships of institutions of
higher
education, community organizations, businesses, and other public and
private
agencies. (8/29/2000)

5. COLLOQUY LIVE
DISTANCE EDUCATION AND THE ARMY
How will the U.S. Army's drive into distance education change the
online-learning industry? Will colleges benefit from this push? Join
a live
chat today at 3 p.m. U.S. Eastern time with Louis Caldera, secretary
of the
Army. (8/29/2000)

6. BEYOND E-COURSES


FULL STORY

1.
Online Learning: The Competitive Edge -- COMPANIES BLEND E-LEARNING
INTO
THEIR BUSINESS STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL
August 28, 2000
GENE KOPROWSKI

Online learning has gained acceptance as an alternative form of
education
that delivers training to every desktop and helps companies reduce
employee
travel costs. Yet some companies have also come to believe that E-
learning
provides them with a competitive edge, and they are incorporating it
into
their overall business strategies.

Burson-Marsteller Inc., a New York communications and marketing firm
with 75
offices and 2,000 employees, has made a considerable investment in
both
online and classroom training. "Our product is our ideas," says
Barbara
Smith, chief learning officer for Burson-Marsteller. "If we don't
have the
best people creating the best product, we can't compete. What I'm
after is
creating the best people in the industry. E-learning is an option that
provides us with a real competitive edge-it helps us maximize our
intellectual capital."

U.S. companies last year spent about $62.5 billion training
employees, $3
billion of which was spent on IT-based delivery of training,
according to a
recent report by WR Hambrecht & Co. and International Data Corp. By
2003,
companies are expected to spend $11.5 billion annually on
electronically
delivered education.

But E-learning is rarely the sole answer for employee-education
needs. "We
know that this isn't a panacea for everything," says James Sharpe,
director
of distributed learning for IBM Global Services. "This is not an
absolute
solution."

Rather, E-learning must be integrated into ongoing training processes
at
companies and viewed as an adjunct to face-to-face classroom
instruction. At
Interim Services Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., staffing company, E-
learning
won't replace other training initiatives. "Our expectation is that
E-learning will complement other development activities," says Perry
Borman,
Interim Services' director of organizational development.

According to training executives, there are four levels of learning
that
companies must accommodate if they are to train their employees
properly.
One is basic knowledge transfer-an imparting of information about an
industry, a line of business, or particular processes used within that
field. Another is interactive learning, in which the student takes
the basic
knowledge and applies it to a given scenario in a simulation. Then
comes
collaborative learning, in which the student takes the information
gleaned
in the two earlier learning modules and applies it to a project he or
she is
working on with colleagues. Finally, there's group-level instruction
or
conferences. "When you do bring your associates together, you should
try to
get the biggest bang for the buck," Sharpe says. "Basic knowledge
transfer
should have already occurred. That knowledge should be a prerequisite
before
you can actually show up at a conference."

Sharpe says many companies don't have properly structured training
initiatives. Some send employees off to conferences hoping they'll
come away
with useful knowledge. By using E-learning to impart basic knowledge,
employees can get the most out of group-instruction time and more
readily
improve job performance with their newfound skills.

Creating a companywide E-learning system is not a simple process of
slapping
some content on an intranet and licensing a few skills-development
courses.
Learning initiatives must be closely correlated with a company's
overall
strategy-and its corporate vision-if they're to succeed.

Proponents say training must be perceived by senior executives as a
key
operational function, like sales, marketing, and manufacturing. If a
company
outsources E-learning content creation or infrastructure to a vendor,
it
can't forget about training as a top business priority. Otherwise, the
knowledge level of the employees won't grow and the company won't
flourish.

"The first thing we thought of when we began looking at E-learning
was, how
does this fit into our strategy? What are we trying to accomplish
here?"
says Interim's Borman, whose company employs 10,000 full-time workers
and a
legion of temporary employees that serve its client base. "We wanted
to
build the most competitive workforce in our industry. Ongoing skills
development is essential to that."

When devising the companywide E-learning program last year, the
staffing
company's executives started by determining the skill level for each
position within the organization-from clerk to manager to executive-
and then
developed a skills road map. The road map outlines all the knowledge
employees should have to perform their jobs, and successive jobs,
within the
company.

Interim found that putting the road map together was a lengthy and
tedious
process, involving the directors of various departments. But once
complete,
the goal of communicating its vision to employees could begin. "They
needed
to be shown what skills were important for them to have for their
current
jobs, as well as the competencies that would be important for future
positions they wanted to fill," Borman says.

Management notified Interim employees via E-mail about the company's
new
training methodology and its intranet, which contains online job
descriptions on what Interim calls its Me Inc. training site. The job
descriptions there include details about what skills the employee or
job
applicant should have.

Now the vision of ongoing E-learning and skills assessment is
communicated
to employees as soon as they join a company. "Our basic orientation
program
is online," says Smith of Burson-Marsteller. "All employees see it
and are
aware of the company's mission and goals. There are also different
skills
assessment tests online, which lets them see where they are in their
development."

In the early days of E-learning-meaning much of the 1990s-the only
widely
available offerings focused on developing IT skills. Training for so-
called
soft skills-management, leadership, writing, and strategic thinking-
has
emerged within the past few years, but the options are still limited.
There
are a handful of companies that can provide soft-skills development
for a
set licensing fee, including About .com, DigitalThink.com, and
SkillSoft.com. But a company that has very specific skills
requirements,
such as a sales program for a new product, must develop its own
content or
outsource that customization job to one of the E-learning vendors.

Customized E-learning content requires collaboration among a number of
departments. Many large companies already have some sort of training
department that spearheads that effort and specializes in
understanding what
skills are needed companywide.

Burson-Marsteller has a five-person training department that has
traveled to
company offices around the world for the past two years, conducting
one- or
two-day seminars on skills development. But the company's skills
experts are
now being deployed to develop online curriculum in each of the
disciplines
that the company finds important for its employees, Smith says. "We're
packaging for the E-learning program the key skills that people have
to
have, including media relations, writing, strategy, and presentation."

The training personnel worked closely with the company's Web-design
and
graphics department, and consulted with its IT department. Because the
company was already using the Lotus Notes and Domino-based intranet
for
internal communications, it used those technologies to deliver its
curriculum when it launched the E-learning initiative in January.

Some of the courses are already available, while others are in
development,
including those on perception management and integrated marketing
communications. Courses have been designed to be intuitive and
interactive,
and use simple animation tools to convey the learning message. One
course
the company developed was called Fun with Finance. "This is an online
training course that's about how to do basic finances. It's
entertaining and
informative. It's the model for what we're doing with the other skills
courses," Smith says.

The company's graphics design department-not IT-helped link the Lotus
Notes
program to the company's E-learning databases through middleware. But
with
the competitive pressures facing businesses these days, developing
E-learning systems outside of the IT department may not be all that
unusual,
says IBM's Sharpe. "If an E-learning initiative comes from a
particular line
of business, IT and human resources may not even be involved," he
says.
"Departments may be looking for someone to help develop the content,
and
even possibly host it, and then go away in six months."

Installing E-learning systems and creating or licensing the content
is a
huge managerial task. But there's another challenge that executives
have
before them: getting employees to buy in to the E-learning
initiatives.

That's not always easy, says David Wertheim, business manager for
Hewlett-Packard Education Services, which produces training content
for both
HP and its customers. "Sometimes employees are reluctant to give up
the
perks-to give up the travel to the conference in San Francisco, which
they
planned to take their family to and turn into a mini-vacation,"
Wertheim
says. Companies, conversely, often view those savings as a huge
benefit. IBM
last year saved $200 million by reducing travel expenses for
educational
seminars through E-learning projects, Sharpe says.

Getting employees to actually attend scheduled online classes can be
a chore
as well, says David Daines, director of employee and organizational
development at NuSkin Enterprises Inc., a Provo, Utah, toiletries
company.
"That's why making the classes available 24-by-7 is important," he
says.
"Employees can fit them into their own schedules."

Companies also need to consider cultural issues, particularly if they
have
global operations. "In some countries, learning is expert-based, and
people
may feel as if they have learned nothing if they haven't met with the
expert
on a particular issue," says Smith of Burson-Marsteller. "That's why a
blended approach-traditional learning and E-learning-is very
effective."

E-learning-once viewed as impractical for the development of many
skills-appears to be moving past the early adopter stage. What's on
tap is
for more companies to integrate E-learning into their traditional
training
programs and explore ways to use it to improve bottom-line
performance.

"I think the early adoptive phase is over," IBM's Sharpe says. "The
seriousness with which many companies are treating E-learning
indicates that
this isn't a maturing market-it has matured. And in the coming years,
you'll
see broad-based business skills E-learning eclipse IT skills E-
learning,
which today has the lion's share of users.

E-learning is one way to be smarter than the competition."

http://www.iweek.com/

Copyright c 2000 CMP Media Inc.

By GENE KOPROWSKI
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM


2.
Virtual Learning Struggling To Make The Grade

August 28, 2000
James E. Gaskin

Despite years of teasing us about the possibilities of distance
learning,
educators in the near future are more likely to be standing in front
of
classrooms than in front of computer monitors due to the limited
bandwidth
available at most schools. Trainers in the business world, however,
seem to
have brighter prospects. Call it distance learning or e-learning or
virtual
classes, but recreating a traditional learning environment over the
Internet
remains nearly impossible.

"You need interactive video, animation and more for an immersive
educational
experience," says Kevin Oakes, president and chief executive of
Click2Learn.com, a leading provider of e-learning for business,
government
and educational clients worldwide.

Each feature Oakes lists "for an immersive educational experience"
requires
bandwidth. Until every office and home has bandwidth to burn, passing
knowledge across the Internet requires careful planning about the
goals of
the training and the limitations of the conduit.

Distance learning has two markets: academia and corporate training.
Academia
may have tradition, but corporations have more money, more bandwidth
and
more autonomy.

<span class="sphead">Academia</span>

Years ago, TV commercials began to tease us, showing teachers calling
on
students hundreds of miles away through the "magic" of
teleconferencing. The
teacher still wrote on the blackboard, rather than on a computer
screen, and
students raised their hands to ask questions. Not exactly a shining
use of
technology, and yet we can't even do this much today.

What better name than "Virtual High School" to spark an image of
cutting-edge knowledge transfer regardless of geography?
Unfortunately, only
about 200 schools are in the program (vhs.concord.org) that began in
October
1996. Funded by the Hudson Public Schools, the Concord Consortium
provides
the technology for the project that makes NetCourses available to
students
in participating schools, providing subjects not offered locally.

Written for a Lotus Notes Domino server system using the LearningSpace
product, scrolling text screens predominate at the Virtual High
School. A
demonstration course looks like four years back in time, not four
years
forward. Interaction consists of threaded discussion lists.

Byron Geddes admits to being surprised at the attention he's getting
for his
new class on information technology at the Kevin and Debra Rollins
Center
for eBusiness at the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young
University. "I didn't think anything here was noteworthy. We're just
doing a
class on computer technology without using paper. Earlier attempts to
rely
on e-mail with attachments didn't work well.

"I went to the director Dr. J. Owen Cherrington and said my research
found a
company that could help in two ways: leverage a partnership between
their
company and the school, and go paperless," Geddes
says. "NetDocuments, my
choice, was already discussing a partnership with Owen." The summer
class
functioned as a beta test, and 500 students will be enrolled in the
required
class during the August-to-December semester.

<span class="sphead">Corporate education advances</span>

Geddes' background as a computer consultant and systems integrator
taught
him that business remained ahead of education, and the two were
valuable
partners. While no businesses are completely paperless today, they do
see a
substantial return on investment from distance learning, and are
increasing
the reach of existing programs.

Click2Learn began as Asymetrix Learning Systems in 1984, founded by
Paul
Allen, a Microsoft co-founder. With 500 employees and $40 million in
revenue, Click2Learn is a small computer company, but huge in the
world of
e-learning.

"We targeted the corporate market, because they have the most
traction in
e-learning," says Click2Learn's Oakes. "Academics are slower to catch
on.
Corporations see return on investment faster than other segments, and
they
have less history to overcome."

Click2Learn provides tools for both symmetrical - the classroom
teleconference - and asymmetrical - Virtual High School - training.
Community is a big part of both systems, with voice-over
presentations, a
companion audio teleconference or an instant messaging window for text
questions available in the symmetrical mode. Discussion lists, e-mail
and
repeatable presentations try to provide a sense of community in the
asymmetrical sessions.

"Jack Welch, CEO of GE, wants 50 percent of all GE training to be
online by
2001," Oakes says. "It will happen."

Going forward, Oakes expects all types of end devices to be involved
as
training becomes "knowledge device-independent." Telephones, PCs, set-
top
boxes, Internet appliances and even handheld systems will be used for
information delivery.

And coming technologies will address the weaknesses of teaching to
scattered
students at different times. Microsoft, for example, is developing
methods
for users to annotate Web content for the benefit of other users.
Anoop
Gupta, senior researcher and manager of the Collaboration and
Multimedia
Group, cites as an example an online class or lecture attended on-
demand and
individually.

In his example, each student sees not only the lecture and content
assembled
by the instructor, but all of the questions left by other students who
attended earlier and the context in which they were asked, as well as
replies by the teaching assistant, instructor or other students. Each
student is able to add his or her own notations, which can be
automatically
duplicated in an e-mail sent to the instructor or teaching assistant.
And
the replies to the e-mail would be added as an annotation to the Web
site
automatically, too, Gupta explains.

Gazing into his crystal ball, Oakes crosses his fingers and hopes
2004 has
solved the "real problem with changing standards, and the need to
adopt
common ways to track courseware and student management and learning."
Smarter pretesting and student evaluation will help. "I want to see
meta
data for courses, so a pretest will throw out topics a student
understands,
and move to the others. Don't waste time going over strengths."

Bandwidth has been a problem for Click2Learn. "We started with laser
discs
over a decade ago. Interactive, full-motion video is great, because
you can
see people's actions," Oakes says. Subject presentation must be more
involved, he adds, such as animation showing the inside of a water
heater
for technicians. Anything to improve dull lectures. "Standard
comprehension
in a classroom is just not that great."
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM


3.
New Economy, New Education: Gate Conference to Explore Impact of New
Technology, Globalizaton on Education Worldwide


August 28, 2000
Best-Selling Author and Futurist Alvin Toffler to Deliver Keynote
Address at
Annual Conference Hosted by Global Alliance for Transnational
Education
(GATE)

DENVER, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The impact of distance and online
learning
on higher education and work force training will be explored at the
annual
conference hosted by the Global Alliance for Transnational Education
(GATE).
"Delivery and Evaluation of Transnational Education: Challenges and
Rewards"
will be held October 2-4 at the Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado
Springs.

GATE is an alliance of business, higher education, and government
advocating
quality in education that crosses borders. Transnational education
includes
corporate universities and training programs, independent e-learning
programs, university study-abroad programs, and virtual universities.
As
part of its mission, GATE offers a peer-review and quality-
certification
program for educational and business institutions.

Alvin Toffler, futurist and best-selling author of Future Shock, The
Third
Wave, and Creating a New Civilization, will deliver keynote comments
on the
future of borderless education.

Said Roberts T. Jones, president and chief executive officer of the
National
Alliance for Business and a member of GATE'S Board of Directors: "The
recent
explosion of distance education programs-from Internet-based employee
training to university study-abroad programs -- are creating exciting
new
opportunities for learning. At the same time, new modes of education
are
demanding new approaches to implementation and quality assurance. In
bringing together some of the leading visionaries and practitioners in
distance education, the conference aims to provoke thought, generate
practical insights -- and in the process help set the quality agenda
for
transnational education in the 21st century."

Innovators from government, business, and academia will be presenting
at the
conference, including: Michael Moe, Director of Global Growth
Research at
Merrill Lynch; Dr. Ricardo Mercado del Collado, Dean of Institutional
Planning, Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico; Roberts Jones, President
and
CEO of National Alliance of Businesses; Kristin Arnold of the American
Productivity and Quality Center; Gregory W. Cappelli, Director, Credit
Suisse/First Boston; Professor G.O.S. Echaguerre, President,
Association of
African Universities, Ghana; Dr. Pamela Pease, President, Jones
International University; and Glenn R. Jones, CEO of
JonesKnowledge.com.

Presentations and panel discussions will explore new opportunities,
new
challenges, and review best practices in distance education. Session
themes
include: "Challenges for the New Economy: Reskilling and Retaining a
Global
Workforce," "Distance Education Standards for Quality Assurance,"
and "Modes
of Transnational Education: From Online to On-the-Ground," and "E-
Learning,
Power for the Knowledge Economy."

The conference will also feature social and networking events,
beginning
with a reception and chuckwagon dinner Monday night at the famous
Flying W
Ranch. Tuesday night, Jonesknowledge.com, a leading provider of e-
learning
solutions to individuals, educational institutions and corporations,
will
host a dinner and awards ceremony at the Broadmoor Hotel, where GATE
member
Tomsk Polytechnic University will receive a formal award of GATE
quality
certification for several programs in engineering and computer
science.

For more information or to register for the conference online, visit
http://www.edugate.org. Or contact Ana Mostaccero at 303-784-8212
(amostaccero@...).

About GATE

GATE, an alliance of business, education, and government, is the
leading
advocacy and quality assurance organization for transnational
education
providers, including corporate and workforce training programs, online
universities, and university distance-learning programs. Established
in 1995
by Glenn R. Jones, CEO for Jones International, Ltd. and
JonesKnowledge.com,
GATE's primary mission is to establish quality guidelines for
transnational
education and to offer a voluntary certification process for affiliate
institutions. GATE also convenes annual conferences and serves as a
leading
forum to discuss issues of implementation, quality assurance,
purpose, and
responsibility in transnational education. GATE and Jones
International,
Ltd., are based in Englewood, Colorado.

SOURCE Global Alliance for Transnational Education


CONTACT: Press - Steven Shapiro, 303-784-8271, or
sshapiro@..., for GATE

Web site: http://www.edugate.org
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM



4.
U.S. Department of Education Awards $10.6-Million for Distance
Learning
By KAROLINA AUGUSTYNOWICZ

Washington

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded $10.6-million in grants
for
distance-learning projects to 10 partnerships composed of
institutions of
higher education, community organizations, businesses, and other
public and
private agencies. Awarded through the Learning Anytime Anywhere
Partnerships, the three- to four-year grants will support programs
expanding
access to high-quality learning opportunities students can get access
to
"anytime, anywhere" -- for example, through the Internet.


The lead institutions, their partners, and the grant amounts:




Lead: American Academy for Liberal Education.
Partners: Pennsylvania Department of Education; eCollege.com; Regents
College, in New York; State Commission on Higher Education, in
Virginia;
Temple University, in Pennsylvania; University of Maryland University
College; Western Governors University; and Cardean University.

Total amount awarded for three years: $884,439.



Lead: Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
Partner: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center.

Total amount awarded for three years: $1,049,558.



Lead: Governors State University.
Total amount awarded for three years: $1,335,882.



Lead: Kansas State University, in Manhattan.
Partners: University of Nebraska, Iowa State University, Montana State
University, North Dakota State University, South Dakota State
University,
Texas Tech University, and Oklahoma State University.

Total amount awarded for three years: $1,073,779.



Lead: Maryland State Department of Education -- Correctional Education
Program.
Partners: Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional
Services,
Maryland Community College Consortium, Mitretek Systems, and the
Correctional Education Association.

Total amount awarded for three years: $947,641.



Lead: University of Massachusetts Medical School, Eunice Kennedy
Shriver
Center.
Partners: Lotus Development Corporation, Regents College, the Browns
Group.

Total amount awarded for three years: $887,000.



Lead: Montana State University, in Bozeman.
Partners: University of South Dakota; Northern State University, in
South
Dakota; University of Nevada, in Las Vegas; and WebCT.

Total amount awarded for three years: $866,851.



Lead: Fordham University.
Partners: Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York,
North
Carolina Partnership for Excellence, the Lightspan Partnership Inc.

Total amount awarded for three years: $1,419,215.



Lead: University of Tennessee, in Knoxville.
Partners: Nashville State Technical Institute, Roane State Community
College, Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Bechtel
National
Inc., Science Applications International Corporation, IPIX Internet
Pictures
Corporation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Knoxville-Oak Ridge
Regional
Network/Computers for Homebound and Isolated Individuals, Oak Ridge
Association University, the Chauncey Group International, Course
Technology,
and Blackboard Inc.

Total amount awarded for three years: $1,170,339.

Lead: University of Wisconsin System.
Partners: University of Wisconsin, in Stevens Point; University of
Wisconsin, Extension; University of Wisconsin, in Oshkosh; University
of
Wisconsin, Colleges (system of 13 community colleges); University of
Wisconsin at La Crosse; United Migrant Opportunity Services Inc.; and
Midwest Food Processors Association Inc.

Total amount awarded for four years: $1,002,278.

Background stories from The Chronicle:
"President Clinton's Proposed Fiscal-2001 Budget at a Glance,
Compared With
2000," 2/8/2000.
"Across-the-Board Cut in Federal Budget Nicks NIH and Pell Grants,"
1/21/2000.
"NIH, Pell Grant Program Are Grazed in Small, Government-Wide Budget
Cut,"
1/13/2000.
"A Philanthropy Puts Millions Into Asynchronous Learning," 11/13/1998.



5.
The Army's Big Push in Distance Education
Tuesday, August 29 at 3 p.m. U.S. Eastern time

How will the U.S. Army's drive into distance education change the
online-learning industry? Will colleges benefit from this push?



The Army announced in July that it would spend $600-million over the
next
six years to enable any interested soldier to take distance-education
courses on the Internet, at little or no cost. The Army will be
working with
colleges and other entities to provide the education, and many
experts think
the Army's role in distance education is about to become extremely
significant. If the program is expanded to include family members of
soldiers, as some officials hope, the market could exceed a million
students.
Louis Caldera has been secretary of the Army since 1998. A 1978
graduate of
West Point, he served as an Army officer for five years and then went
to
Harvard University, where he earned an M.B.A. and a J.D. Prior to
becoming
secretary of the Army, he worked as a lawyer, as a member of the
California
State Assembly, and as chief operating officer of the Corporation for
National Service. He will respond to comments and questions about the
Army's
new distance-education effort on Tuesday, August 29 at 3 p.m. Eastern
time.
Questions submitted in advance are welcome, and concise questions are
encouraged.


6.
BEYOND E-COURSES

Are you thinking what Greg Priest thinks you're
thinking?

Priest, chief executive of SmartForce PLC
( http://www.smartforce.com ), believes trainers
are looking beyond issues such as which e-courses
to pop into what learning-management system.

He thinks your eye is turning to the big picture:
applying e-learning to your organization's business
problems.

That's the rationale behind the SmartForce deal
with Docent Inc. ( http://www.docent.com ) announced
last week, Priest said in an interview with OnLine
Learning News.

The pact undergirds SmartForce's 1,300-course library
with Docent's learning-management system.

Such alliances create one-stop sources for e-learning
services, and may raise some of the fog over the
e-learning landscape.

"The overall industry's confusing now," Priest
acknowledged. "Buying a learning solution is a
complicated process."


PERSISTENT PARTNERING

The deal is part of a persistent partnering pattern
among e-learning firms. Two recent examples:

o  DigitalThink Inc. announced earlier this
     month that it would develop and deliver
     multi-language Web-based technology training
     to customers of Electron Economy Inc., a
     Cupertino, CA, e-commerce firm.

o  Saba Software Inc., also this month,
     allied with Niku Corp., a Redwood City, CA,
     professional-services provider to co-market
     Internet-based learning.

In the SmartForce-Docent duo, Docent brings learning
management. Docent, of Mountain View, CA, helps its 150
customers track enrollment, payment, course development
and delivery of Web-based training.

SmartForce brings content. The Redwood City, CA,
business -- formerly called CBT Systems -- offers its
2,500 customers e-courses in technology, business skills
and project management.

But SmartForce has gone beyond courses. Two years ago,
100% of its business was content. Now, said Priest, it's
about 50%.

In short, SmartForce's 400 sales reps are pushing
related services, not just courses. "I'd like to see
every single customer that we have moving beyond simply
purchasing a course from us," said Priest.

Along the way, trainers with a traditional definition of
training may face some changes, Priest argued. "A fair
number of people," he contended, still look at training
"in pretty narrow, product-focused way" -- courses and
learning-management systems.

More trainers now ask, claimed Priest, "What is my
strategic objective? My financial objective?"

e-Clippings 8.30.00


Cool Site #4 (new series)
*********************************************************************
Discmakers.com
http://www.discmakers.com/

Don't take this as a recommendation of this one vendor, but I
want to
use this vendor as an example of a whole field.

Super secret #1, CD-ROMs don't have to be round. Super secret #2,
CD-
ROMs don't have to be full-sized. If you are using a desktop,
open
your CD-ROM tray. See that little inset (kinda like a sunken living
room)? All a CD-ROM has to do is to fit into that tray. If you are
using a laptop, open the CD-ROM tray. All a CD has to do here is to
fit on the spindle.
Discmakers.com is one company, out of several, that will burn custom-
sized and artworked CD-ROMs for you. The only thing you lose when
going down in size is available memory. A "business-card
CD-ROM"
still has plenty of room for documents, photos, even MP3's and
full-
motion video.
Anyway, they look cool, get attention, hold a lot of stuff and are
not that expensive.
*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************

Cohen: Superpower status has a downside
Cyberwarfare and other security threats simply come with the
territory when your country is the world's only remaining
superpower, Defense Secretary William Cohen said.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0828/news-cohen-08-28-00.asp


Business Case: Measuring e-gov value
Agencies try to solve the riddle of how to calculate a return
on investment for their Web sites.
http://www.fcw.com/supplements/B2G/2000/b2g-egov-08-28-00.asp


**Careful! Shocking news ahead!**
Harnessing the Internet economy
Government can benefit by using the same kinds of ideas and
technology that are redefining how people and organizations
interact in the mainstream economy.
http://www.fcw.com/supplements/B2G/2000/b2g-letter-08-28-00.asp


FIRST VIRUS STRIKES PALM
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=18261
Damage from Trojan horse virus appears to be minor, but antivirus
vendors gear up.


PALM GETS FIRST TROJAN HORSE
Posted at Aug 29, 2000 02:03 PM Pacific
The first known Trojan horse aimed at handhelds struck
late last week. A Trojan horse is a malicious program
that appears to be legitimate, which is often attached
to free gaming software. Trojan horses can locate
password information, make systems more susceptible to
future entry, or sabotage data on a user's hard disk.
For the full story:
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/00/08/29/000829hntrojan.xml?
0830weic


(Nua.ie)
** IDC Research: US To Gain 103 Million New Online Users
http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905356007&rel=true


Feds certify lab to test security apps
The government has certified CygnaCom Solutions Inc.'s Security
Evaluation Laboratory to test information security software to
assure users that security products perform the functions that
vendors claim.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0821/pol-certify-08-21-00.asp


Security: From wristwatches to handhelds
Three security solutions help protect organizations that have
mobile workers and make online transactions.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0821/web-tech-08-23-00.asp


dc.internet.com
MicroStrategy Plans 10 Per Cent Employee Layoff
http://dc.internet.com/news/article/0,1934,2101_447811,00.html


INTERNET TECHNOLOGY
Looking for the Latest Browser?
Come get all the breaking news in the browser and plug-ins industry,
in one place.
http://browserwatch.internet.com/


George W. Bush to grant online interview
Uh, gosh. (CNN)
http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/08/29/bush.advance/index.h
tml


From Winmag
* *      T  I  P     O  F    T  H  E    D  A  Y      * *
Find out exactly what a program does when you install it by
using the System File Checker's log feature. After installing a
program, open the log by launching the System Information utility
(Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information),
choosing System File Checker from the Tools menu, clicking on the
Settings button and then on the View Log button. The log will tell
you exactly which files were added to your computer and which were
updated with a newer version.


TOSHIBA INTROS SILENT DESKTOP
  (Source: IDG.net) A "silent" desktop PC with a tool-free sliding
drawer for component service hit the market Monday.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=304934


THE FREE E-BOOK MARKET ECONOMY
  (Source: The Industry Standard) A new study reveals that Americans
will read e-books; they just won't pay for them.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=304935


BROADBAND ALTERNATIVE DEBUTS
  (Source: PCWorld.com) World Wide Packets builds units that bring
1-gigabit Ethernet to homes. Get in line!
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=304936


INCIVILITY ON THE JOB
(Source: CIO) A recent study show that when coworkers treat each other
badly, it's not just morale that can suffer -- so, too, can the
company's bottom line.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=305156


High resolution (1280 x 1024 pixels and 1152 x
864) surfing is on the rise, according to new data from WebSideStory's
StatMarket. Both resolution groups show double-digit percentage
increases (42% and 29% respectively) since last year -- most likely
fueled by Web
developers, StatMarket says.
NOTE: More than half the world's surfers have resolutions set at 800 x
600. At least I've got lots of company.
Find Out More!
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2618061,00.html


ONLINE POLL: Learn Your Lesson
Which is a more valuable learning tool?
A WOW! Project -- 62%
An OW! Project -- 38%
"A successful businessman was being interviewed. 'To
what do you attribute your success?' the interviewer
asked. 'Good decisions,' the businessman replied. 'How
have you been able to make good decisions?'
'Experience.' 'And how does one gain this valuable
experience?' 'Bad decisions.' While a WOW! project is a
much more pleasant learning tool, it may not be the
most valuable. There are some things that only
adversity can teach."
--Bruce H. Anderson, Jacksonville
Cast your vote and comment at:
http://www.fastcompany.com/fast.take/homepage


**I'm sorry, I just had to include this!
Giant codfish swallows man's head
Let's see the Boogie Bass top that one. (BBC)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-
pacific/newsid_901000/901077.stm

NewsFlashes 8.30.00


*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************
INDEX

1. WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2000 -- DoD researchers are working to
make Internet connections 1,000 times faster than they are
today, which will open up amazing new possibilities for
using the Internet.

2. [B] FULL: click2learn.com to use PlaceWare's Web conferencing
svcs
New York--Aug. 29--Click2learn.com Inc. and PlaceWare Inc. reached a
pact to integrate PlaceWare's conferencing services into its e-
Learning network. [Bridge Information Systems]


3. What Gilder Wants: When technovisionary George Gilder speaks, CEOs
and presidents listen. Now, he says, we're all going to heaven, and
sooner than you think.


*********************************************************************
FULL STORY

1.
By Staff Sgt. Kathleen T. Rhem, USA
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2000 -- DoD researchers are working to
make Internet connections 1,000 times faster than they are
today, which will open up amazing new possibilities for
using the Internet.

"Today's Internet does amazing things," said Mari Maeda,
project officer for the <a href= http://www.arpa.mil/ >Defense
Advanced Research Projects
Agency</a>. "But compared to what it could do, it's really only
the tip of the iceberg.

"The Internet has changed the way we live, the way we
shop," she continued. "Once we have this new technology in
place, and as the Internet evolves, we will be able to do
all sorts of new things that are just outside the realm of
our imagination today."

Maeda said performance and speed are the main limitations
to today's Internet. A person using a high-speed corporate
network might download Web pages at speeds of millions of
bits per second, but a home user might get only one-tenth
or one-hundredth of that speed, she said.

"What we are trying to do is increase that speed by 1,000
times. That will enable you to do tremendous things," she
said. For instance, Maeda explained, today's Internet
allows users to download digital photographs, but the
Internet of the future would allow doctors to share x-ray
images, which require much higher resolution, in real time.

She said such an advanced new Internet would have "all
sorts of applications" in crisis management, the medical
and entertainment professions, and the military. The new
Internet would also allow more people to use it at one
time, Maeda added.

DARPA researchers are currently working on prototypes of
new software and hardware that would enable this high-speed
network. They are also working on a test of the new system.
Maeda said the test, called "SuperNet" and in its third
year, links two or three dozen sites.

"This is not a replacement for the Internet," she said.
"It's a network-growth experiment so that researchers can
basically field, test and experiment with their new
software and hardware and try them out."

Applications for the military might include high-definition
radar images seen in real time, more advanced
meteorological radar images, and less expensive, high-
quality teleconferencing.

DARPA, located in Arlington, Va., is spending $30 million
per year over the next five years to get the system up and
going. Maeda said continued funding is necessary if the
United States wants to stay at the forefront of Internet
technology.

"We are basically harvesting a lot of research that we have
done in the past three to six years. All of the research
that DARPA and other agencies have funded in the past is
starting to pay off now," she said. "Unless we continue to
fund research and continue to do far-looking research, the
world is going to dry up. The U.S. is right now No. 1 in
this area, and the U.S. cannot maintain that superiority
unless we continue to fund research."

Maeda said the military would likely be the first to
benefit from this research, followed by corporate America.
She foresees private users upgrading from modems to cable
digital subscriber lines over the next several years, and
said their 1,000-times-faster Internet service is five to
10 years away.

But DARPA researchers aren't limiting their vision to 10
years in the future. They're even looking at how we'll be
able to send the Internet to space, she said.

"One of the farthest-term research projects we are funding
is interplanetary Internet -- how we are going to actually
extend this Internet to space, to the solar system," Maeda
said. "It's not something that is going to happen in the
next three to four years, but it's something we need to
start thinking about. It will definitely be a real issue in
the next 20 years."

##END##



2.
click2learn.com to use PlaceWare's Web conferencing svcs


August 29, 2000
By BridgeNews

New York--Aug. 29--Click2learn.com Inc. and PlaceWare Inc. reached a
pact to integrate PlaceWare's conferencing services into its e-
Learning network. The agreement will enable corporations and
organizations to create and attend interactive Web-based meetings,
classes, product demos and sales training on their corporate e-
Learning sites powered by click2learn e-Learning network.

--Vinod Nair, BridgeNews



*              *              *


The following is the text of today's announcement with emphasis added
by BridgeNews. BridgeStation links to company data have been inserted
at the end:

-- click2learn.com Joins Forces With PlaceWare to Integrate Web
Conferencing -- Services Into e-Learning Network

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29, 2000--

New click2learn.com Conference Center Provides Web-based Meetings,

Classes, and Product Demos Through Corporate e-Learning Sites

CLICK2LEARN.COM, INC. (NASDAQ:CLKS), THE OPEN E-LEARNING NETWORK, AND
PLACEWARE, INC., A LEADER IN WEB CONFERENCING SERVICES FOR INTERNET-
BASED BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS, TODAY ANNOUNCED A NEW ALLIANCE THAT
WILL INTEGRATE PLACEWARE'S WEB CONFERENCING SERVICES AS THE NEW
CONFERENCE CENTER IN CLICK2LEARN.COM'S E-LEARNING NETWORK, A WEB-
BASED ASP E-LEARNING SOLUTION.

THROUGH THE NEWLY CREATED CLICK2LEARN.COM CONFERENCE CENTER, THE
AGREEMENT WILL ENABLE CORPORATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO CREATE AND
ATTEND INTERACTIVE WEB-BASED MEETINGS, CLASSES, PRODUCT DEMOS AND
SALES TRAINING ON THEIR CORPORATE E-LEARNING SITES POWERED BY THE
CLICK2LEARN E-LEARNING NETWORK.

THE CLICK2LEARN.COM CONFERENCE CENTER PROVIDES UNIQUE INTERACTIVITY
FOR PRESENTERS AND AUDIENCE MEMBERS ALIKE. PRESENTERS CAN INJECT A
BROAD RANGE OF MULTIMEDIA AND INTERACTIVE CONTENT INTO THEIR EVENTS
IN REAL-TIME, INCLUDING POWERPOINT SLIDES, AUDIENCE SURVEYS,
GRAPHICS, WEB TOURS AND SOFTWARE DEMONSTRATIONS. WITH PLACEWARE
TECHNOLOGY, CLICK2LEARN.COM CONFERENCE CENTER USERS CAN COMMUNICATE
THROUGH AUDIO, REAL-TIME TEXT OR PRIVATE ONE-ON-ONE CHAT ROOMS
THROUGH THEIR REGULAR INTERNET CONNECTIONS AND BROWSERS. PARTICIPANTS
CAN ASK QUESTIONS, SHARE AN INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD, AND EVEN INDICATE
THEIR MOOD AND RECEPTIVENESS TO NEW INFORMATION.

"One of the great appeals of Web conferencing is that it increases
interactivity and dramatically emphasizes the human element in e-
Learning," said Kevin Oakes, President & CEO of
click2learn.com. "Through the e-Learning Network, click2learn.com is
already providing the fastest, simplest, most cost-effective way for
corporations and organizations to benefit from e-Learning. This
strategic partnership with PlaceWare exemplifies our commitment to
provide the most complete e-Learning solution on the market today."

"click2learn.com is committed to building on its position at the
forefront of e-Learning technology, and integrating PlaceWare's Web
conferencing capabilities into the e-Learning Network is a great
example of that," said Barry James Folsom, President & CEO of
PlaceWare. "With PlaceWare Web conferencing, click2learn.com is able
to combine the dynamic interest of personal instruction with the
efficiencies and access of e-Learning, leading to enhanced learning
results and a broader range of applications."

About PlaceWare, Inc.

PlaceWare is a leading provider of Web conferencing services and
products that enable businesses to conduct real-time, interactive
meetings and presentations over the Internet. With PlaceWare's
flagship service, Conference Center 2000, business professionals can
meet, share and exchange information with anyone using only a Web
browser and a phone. PlaceWare's base of more than 750 customers
consists of leading companies operating in many different industries
worldwide including high technology, financial services and
professional services. For more information about PlaceWare, visit
www.placeware.com.

About click2learn.com, inc.

click2learn.com (Nasdaq:CLKS), formerly known as Asymetrix Learning
Systems, Inc., is a leading provider of full service e-Learning
solutions to businesses, government, and educational institutions
throughout the world. By developing a powerful and full-featured
outsourced platform for e-Learning, and partnering with market-
leading content publishers, click2learn.com provides customers with
an Application Service Provider (ASP) model that gives organizations
instant access to a vast e-Learning Network. Customers can access
thousands of courses and use browser-based publishing and learning
management tools through a custom-configured site or directly through
the click2learn.com e-Learning portal. In addition to an outsourced
solution, click2learn.com is a leader in providing internal e-
Learning implementations. The click2learn.com enterprise e-Learning
initiatives include learning management products, spearheaded by the
market-leading Ingenium total learning management solution, and e-
Learning authoring software products -- featuring the acclaimed
ToolBook II Instructor and Assistant authoring tools. Each solution
is augmented by one of the industry's largest professional services
groups, including award-winning custom content development, strategic
consulting, and integration services. For more information on
click2learn.com e-Learning solutions, call 800/448-6543 or 425/462-
0501. Visit click2learn.com at www.click2learn.com or visit the e-
Learning portal at www.click2learn.com/c2l.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, including information contained in this
document where statements are preceded by, followed by or include the
words "believes," "plans," "intends," "expects," "anticipates" or
similar expressions. For such statements, The Company claims the
protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements
contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted, and
reported. Results should not be considered as an indication of future
performance. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from
those contained in the forward-looking statements include market
acceptance of internet-based training and the click2learn.com
learning portal, the ability to successfully implement
click2learn.com virtual universities and strategic relationships with
content providers and other web-based companies, the ability of those
relationships to result in increased users and increased revenues and
the risk factors set forth in filings the company has made with the
SEC.

click2learn.com, click2learn.publisher, click2learn.author,
click2learn.manager, Ingenium, ToolBook II Instructor and ToolBook II
Assistant are trademarks of click2learn.com, inc. All other company
and/or product names are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Text 100 Public Relations

Patrick Van de Wille, 206/381-3791 x.116

patrickv@...

End Copyright 2000 Bridge Information Systems Inc. All rights
reserved.
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM


3.
What Gilder Wants
When technovisionary George Gilder speaks, CEOs and presidents
listen. Now, he says, we're all going to heaven, and sooner than you
think.
By Steffan Heuer

George Gilder, the man who brought you supply-side economics and
entrepreneurship as moral destiny, once again has blunt advice for
the corporate masses: Bet on bandwidth. It won't only make you rich,
it will bring you closer to heaven.

With the publication this month of his long-awaited book, Telecosm:
How Infinite Bandwidth Will Revolutionize Our World (Free Press,
$26), Gilder has reached the apex of a journey from political
visionary to technology visionary to just plain visionary. In his
coming world, an abundance of fiber-optic communication channels will
span the global economy, connecting "cathedrals of light" in
which "angelic messengers" touch the lives of all. This is not a
metaphor. As Gilder wrote in Forbes ASAP a few years ago, the 21st
century, thanks to this broadband revolution, will be a "new epoch of
spirit and faith" where life is lived in "the blazing light, majestic
cumulative power, truth and transcendence of contemporary science and
wealth, enterprise and adventure on the capitalist frontier."


In an America obsessed with spirituality and money, Gilder has found
an influential and lucrative niche. He has been propagating his
worldview, along with his stock picks, in his Technology Report since
1996. The monthly newsletter boasts more than 65,000 subscribers (at
$295 per year) and has contributed a new phrase to the market
lexicon: the "Gilder effect," in which the guru's pick alone is
enough to send a stock skyrocketing. ("It's an awesome burden,"
Gilder says.)


His company is selling insights about several other subjects, as
well. It puts out New Economy Watch and the Digital Power Report. A
publication on semiconductors is scheduled to launch later this month
and a fifth newsletter (on biotechnology) is in the works. In
addition, Gilder is planning a magazine dedicated to discussing his
philosophy at length. His conferences, sometimes run in conjunction
with Forbes, are also hugely successful. October's Gilder/ Forbes New
Economy Conference in New York, for example, is charging $2,995 a
head and will most likely sell out.


It's a pretty good business, and if history is any guide, it will
only get better.




Gilder began his intellectual life as a conservative revolutionary at
Harvard University in the 1960s. As a student of Henry Kissinger, he
made connections in the nascent neo-con movement and ended up writing
speeches for, among others, Richard Nixon and Nelson Rockefeller. He
rose to national prominence as the author of the arch-conservative
Men and Marriage in 1972 and Sexual Suicide in 1974 and went on to
become an early and vocal proponent of the supply-side economics that
famously inspired Ronald Reagan's political philosophy, if not his
budgeting.


Gilder's Wealth and Poverty, a 1981 bestseller considered by many to
be the supply-side bible, could be found on the coffee tables of
intellectual conservatives throughout Washington, and Gilder became a
favored adviser to Reagan. (Gilder claims Reagan quoted him more than
any other living person during his administration.) Microcosm,
Gilder's 1989 bestseller, anticipated many of the themes of the
Internet Economy and assured him a place on any shortlist of high-
tech visionaries.


Today, Gilder's various activities are run out of an organization
called the Gilder Technology Group, the home of which is a graciously
decaying mill hidden away in the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts.
Sitting on the banks of the Housatonic River, the office is reachable
only on narrow country roads. Cell phones don't work here, and the
biggest crowd to be found is an occasional horde of antique-hunting
Manhattanites.


Gilder himself is no less unpresupposing. The lanky 60-year-old is
reputed to be something of the absent-minded professor, and sure
enough, the laces of his black and orange sneakers are untied, his
navy-blue jacket stained, his reading glasses misplaced.


Not surprisingly, then, his latest opus has been a long time coming,
mired in rewrites, crowded schedules and the general rush of
commitments that come with guruhood. "My articles on the subject [in
Forbes ASAP ] go back 10 years. They were supposed to comprise a
book, and they're surprisingly good," Gilder says. "They were just
getting repetitious."


Aiming to give a more coherent overview of things to come, Gilder sat
down and wrote 350 pages on what comes after the age of the
microprocessor. Nonetheless, even as the manuscript wended its way
through the production process, Gilder was making last-minute
changes. He completed Telecosm while aboard a cruise ship in the
Baltics.


The final book is part history, part tech primer, part bible-style
revelation – think of Reagan jacked into The Matrix. Gilder
describes
the history and potential future of photonics (the catchall for light-
oriented technologies such as fiber optics) with an engaging eye for
the work of pioneers, from James Clerk Maxwell, who discovered
electromagnetism in the 1860s, to Greg Amadon, founder of Seattle-
based TeraBeam, the first company to install a fixed wireless-laser
system in a metropolitan area.


Gilder provides tough reading between the portraits, though, as he
plows through the technical details of wavelengths, lasers and
quantum physics. "I try to get the physical principles first," Gilder
explains, "because these lead to the paradigms and [eventually] to
companies."




The paradigm itself is pretty simple. Basically, the tables have
turned. Gilder writes, "A global economy designed to waste
transistors, power and silicon area and conserve bandwidth above all
is breaking apart and reorganizing itself to waste bandwidth and
conserve power, silicon area and transistors."


By manipulating photons to carry information through strands of glass
as thin as a human hair, Gilder says, data throughput can be
increased by a factor of at least 1 million, all in the next six or
seven years. Moore's Law moves at a glacial pace in comparison, and
Gilder says that no matter how much engineers tweak chips and buses
they won't be able to keep up.


The real-world implications are clear: Big pipes will change
everything. Intelligence will be pushed from the core of the network
to its edges. Software will be downloaded on the fly, Java-style, and
hardware – the chips, switches and routers that make up the
telecosm –
  will evolve rapidly. In order to communicate at the speed of light,
hardware has to "soften," Gilder says. By that he means equipment
must be upgradable from a remote location – a concept that
startup
chipmaker Transmeta has embraced. In Gilder's cosmos, the network is
one of ultrafast but essentially "dumb" circuits, much like the old
telco world.


Like his previous writings, Telecosm is suffused with Gilder's
signature mix of religion and libertarian capitalism. He relentlessly
repeats that ideas precede matter, and entrepreneurs are the heroes
who seize these ideas and act upon them. The history of the telecosm
to him has biblical parallels: "The powers it offers bring us back to
the paradigms of paradise, and its perils, prophets and their
nemeses: infinite abundances and demonic scarcities."


The last part of the book takes a quantum leap of faith into "The
Meaning of the Light." Gilder sees network nodes and enterprises
as "crystal cathedrals of light and air" where wealth and learning
are shared by billions of empowered customers and stakeholders. It's
a utopia of capitalism radiating out into space, where the only
scarce resource is time. "People will be able to discover their most
productive roles and pursue them more effectively," Gilder
writes. "Under capitalism, where profit comes from serving others,
this release of entrepreneurial energy will be more edifying than
the 'leisure' diversions that many imagine to be the end and meaning
of life."





What is one to make of such claims? "George sees a lot of things
clearly, sometimes more clearly than they happen," says ICANN
chairwoman Esther Dyson, whose newsletter, Release 1.0, Gilder
briefly edited. "It's not stuff you should believe in, but you should
think about it."


Paul Saffo, director of the Institute for the Future in Menlo Park,
Calif., says Gilder is a "cultural broker" with one foot in the tech
world and another in the business world. What sets Gilder apart from
your average futurist, Saffo says, are his "politics and hopes to
influence the outcome. A visionary can be completely wrong and still
have something important to say."


Fiber optics and bandwidth aren't news anymore, but they are still
fresh enough to warrant some creative interpretation. Ambitious as it
is, Telecosm is only the halfway point in Gilder's journey into the
light. Up next, he says, is a book that further analyzes the
photonics boom and wraps it into his old favorite topic, supply-side
economics.


As for the spiritual side of things, Gilder dismisses secular critics
of his conflation of economics and angels. "The secular establishment
is really stupid about religion," Gilder says. "They treat my views
as an alien phenomenon, but I'm not interested in their views. You
can't see a new thing from an old space. You have to jump. It forces
people to think. This isn't a matter of predicting, but of
advocating. I wouldn't say things if I didn't want them to happen."


Steffan Heuer is a contributing writer in New York.

e-Clippings 8.31.00

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"Our prediction in Y2K was that there would be few disruptions around
the world. I wish we could say the same here."
  -- McConnell International, in their study of 'e-readiness'
situation in the 42 countries.
Read it here -->http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=305708


*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************

Report: Online Training 'Boring' (Business 3:00 a.m. PDT)
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38504,00.html?tw=wn20000830
Businesses encourage employees to bolster their professional
education
with online training, but a study questions their value. By Michelle
Delio.


Word documents susceptible to "Web bug" infestation
By Paul Festa and Cecily Barnes, Staff Writers, CNET News.com
August 30, 2000, 1:05 p.m. PT Microsoft is weathering complaints that
documents created with Microsoft Word and some of its other popular
desktop applications can be embedded with electronic surveillance
tags allowing document authors to track their use.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2652562.html?
tag=st.ne.1002.tgif.ni


Cheney Steps Up Criticism of Military Readiness
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52100-2000Aug30.html


Computers Make 'Life Forms'
Scientists say computerized system creates, improves and builds
simple robots without human intervention.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50669-2000Aug30.html



AIM ME FOR PSYCHOANALYSIS
(Source: Macworld) Mac user Kevin Fox has created a set of scripts on
his Mac that pose as a human being... and some AOL users can't tell
the difference.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=305711


BOOK REVIEW | THE TALMUD AND THE INTERNET
(Source: The Industry Standard) Jonathan Rosen's Net treatise uses the
fragmented world represented in the Talmud to demonstrate the
Internet's paradoxical potential for wholeness.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=305713



INTEL'S NEW PCS CAN LOOK AND LISTEN
(Source: PCWorld.com) Research division looks beyond processors and
dives into future tech of all types.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=305714


IMESH OFFERS FILE SWAPPING WITH OPTIONS
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=18282
Site uses sophisticated downloading tools to share any type of files,
but can it stay out of court?


Developer Unleashes Palm Trojan Horse Program
An independent developer inadvertently unleashed a Trojan horse
program that can wipe out the files on Palm handhelds. Palm Inc.
downplayed the impact but
acknowledged that its devices are susceptible, as analysts warned of
copycat
attacks.
http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0%2C1199%2CNAV65-663_STO49272%
2C00.html?s


Government Wants To Know: How Do You Handle Security?
The CIAO reaches out to IT leaders and asks them a series of
questions about the state of security at their companies. The
presidential commission has been
meeting with leaders around the country and most recently held a
conference in California.
http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0%2C1199%2CNAV65-663_STO49269%
2C00.html?s



It's been one of the most contentious debates on the wireless
Internet: What is the best way to access the Internet on your phone,
WAP or i-mode? Both sides say they are not competing with each other,
but they still duke it out. By Elisa Batista.
  http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,38333,00.html?
tw=wn20000830


Bang Bang (You're Not Dead) (Culture 3:00 a.m. PDT)
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,38314,00.html?tw=wn20000830
A new interactive art exhibit challenges computer gamers to bring
people back to life instead of shooting them dead. Will this inspire
game designers to ditch blood and guts? By Katie Dean.

NewsFlashes 8.31.00


*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************
INDEX

1. The University of Colorado and eCollege.com(SM) Extend eLearning
Opportunities With Three New Online Degree Programs Degrees Include
Master`s
in Public Administration, Master`s of Science <>
The University of Colorado and eCollege today announced the addition
of
three new online degree programs to the CU-Online curriculum,
including a
Master's in Public Administration, a Master's of Science in Nursing,
and a
Bachelor's of Science in Nursing for Registered Nurses. [PR Newswire]


2. E-Business Network Presents Strategies for Online Learning Success
Thinking about taking an online class? Preparing for your first e-
learning
experience may make the difference between success and failure. [PR
Newswire]


3. Newspaper Announces First Ever e-Commerce Purchase Directly From
Printed
Edition Utilizing GoCode, The World`s Smallest Bar Code Standard,
Regional
Newspaper <>
Beginning in early May, The Charleston Post and Courier made history
by
becoming the first daily newspaper to physically link its print
edition to
additional on-line content through the use of technology provided by
GoCode
... [PR Newswire]


4. By 2006, US Government Will Collect $602 Billion Over the Net,
According
to Forrester Research
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Despite funding
struggles and
bureaucratic inertia, eGovernment will change the way authorities
deal with
citizens and businesses. [US Newswire]


5. Documents Sent on the Internet Can Be 'Bugged'; Privacy Foundation
Reports New Research
Readers of email document attachments beware: the author of a
computer file
may be able to track the path of the file to your computer and others
through the use of "Web bugs," the Privacy Foundation reported today.
[PR
Newswire]


6. (from The NAKEDPC List)
How Can I Learn This Real Fast - Part 2 (by T.J. Lee)

I was swamped with feedback on my "How Can I Learn This Real
Fast" article in the last issue (TNPC #3.17). This rant of mine
generated more reader comments than anything else I've ever done
in TNPC. To all of you who sent me email I'm afraid that I cannot
possibly reply to everyone, but I did read every message and I
want to thank all of you for your thoughtful comments.

*********************************************************************
FULL STORY

1.
The University of Colorado and eCollege.com(SM) Extend eLearning
Opportunities With Three New Online Degree Programs


August 30, 2000
Degrees Include Master's in Public Administration, Master's of Science

In Nursing, and Bachelor's of Science in Nursing for Registered Nurses

DENVER, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Colorado and
eCollege
today announced the addition of three new online degree programs to
the
CU-Online curriculum, including a Master's in Public Administration, a
Master's of Science in Nursing, and a Bachelor's of Science in
Nursing for
Registered Nurses. Registration for the CU-Online Fall term is
currently
open. Students can access information about the degree programs
through the
University's online campus at www.cuonline.edu.

The Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado at
Denver is offering the Master's in Public Administration online
degree. The
Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences, a part of the
University of
Colorado - Colorado Springs campus, is offering the two nursing
degrees.

"The opportunity to complete the Master's in Public Administration
degree
online is appealing to students in this field since the majority are
working
professionals returning to school mid-career," said Linda deLeon,
associate
professor at CU-Denver's Graduate School of Public Affairs. "The
online
program allows us to offer theses students the same educational
opportunities as traditional, on-campus students."

"Our faculty members are excited about developing our graduate nursing
courses with eCollege," said Barbara Joyce-Nagata, PhD, CNS, RN,
Associate
Professor at the Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences. "This
relationship provides flexibility and saves a lot of time for an
already
demanding schedule."

The CU-Online campus is powered by eCollege, a leading application
service
provider that develops online campuses and courseware for complete
eLearning
solutions.

"Online degrees are entering the education mainstream as more students
embrace the convenience and accessibility of eLearning, without
having to
sacrifice quality or outcome," said Oakleigh Thorne, chief executive
officer
of eCollege. "As our first educational partner, have watched the CU-
Online
program grow from one course a few years ago to now hundreds of online
courses and nine degree programs. The addition of these degrees to
the solid
CU-Online program will better serve an ever growing student body."

About CU-Online:

CU-Online is the virtual campus of the University of Colorado system,
with
11 collegiate and professional development programs offering more
than a
hundred courses via the World Wide Web. A vast range of student
services is
also available. Students can search course catalogs, register for
courses,
order text books and other course materials, and more -- all over the
Internet -- making CU-Online one of the most comprehensive online
institutions of higher education in the world.

About eCollege

eCollege (Nasdaq: ECLG) is a leading application service provider
(ASP) that
develops online campuses and courseware for complete eLearning
solutions.
Comprised of educators and technologists, eCollege partners with
colleges,
universities, schools and corporations to design, build and support
high
quality learning communities. eCollege educational partners include
such
institutions as Seton Hall University; University of Colorado; DeVry
Institutes; Kentucky Virtual High School; and Microsoft Faculty
Center. The
company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Denver. For more
information, visit www.eCollege.com.

This release may contain forward-looking statements as well as
historical
information. Forward-looking statements may involve known or unknown
risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the company's actual
results
and performance to differ materially from the company's outlook. Such
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release.
The
company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in
company
expectations or results or any change in events.

eCollege, Teaching Solutions, Campus Solutions, and eCollege System
are
service marks of eCollege. All other trademarks or registered
trademarks are
the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE eCollege.com; University of Colorado


CONTACT: Kristi Bledsoe of eCollege.com, 303-873-3788,
kristib@...;
or Brad Bohlander of University of Colorado, 303-492-3186,
bohlande@...

Web site: http://www.cuonline.edu http://www.eCollege.com (ECLG)
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM



2.
E-Business Network Presents Strategies for Online Learning Success


August 30, 2000

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge
Corporation -

( http://www.oracle.com/tellmemore/?298874 ) Thinking about taking an
online
class? Preparing for your first e-learning experience may make the
difference between success and failure. E-Business Network
presents "How to
Prepare Learners for the E-Learning Experience," the second show in
the new
E-Learning Report series. Sam Shmikler of the Periscope Organization,
and
Oracle University's Liz Wiseman will discuss how to prepare for a
successful
e-learning experience by reinventing communication protocols,
requiring
students to manage the e-learning experience, and establishing
learning
partners. Shmikler will also focus on e-learning design principles,
and
review design strategies to attract online learners and ensure a
successful
learning experience. All E-Learning Report shows are available on-
demand on
the e-Business Network's eLearning channel. E-Business Network is
brought to
you in part by Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL) and Compaq Computer
Corporation.

NOTE: Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation.

SOURCE Oracle Corporation


CONTACT: Kimberly Pineda of Oracle Corp., kimberly.pineda@...

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/100462.html or
fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 100462

Web site: http://www.oracle.com/tellmemore/?298874 (ORCL)
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM



3.
Newspaper Announces First Ever e-Commerce Purchase Directly From
Printed
Edition


August 30, 2000



----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
----


Utilizing GoCode, The World's Smallest Bar Code Standard, Regional
Newspaper

Consortium Now Allows E-Commerce Purchases Straight From Paper Edition

CHARLESTON, S.C., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning in early May, The
Charleston Post and Courier made history by becoming the first daily
newspaper to physically link its print edition to additional on-line
content
through the use of technology provided by GoCode, Inc., the leaders
in print
to digital linkage and makers of the World's smallest bar code
standard.
Today, The Post and Courier took the technology a step further by
using
GoCodes to link its print edition to its e-commerce site,
ShopCharleston.net, which resulted in the world's first bar code-based
e-commerce purchase from a daily paper.

The purchase?

A dozen red roses, delivered to an expectant wife.

"It seems like a symbolically appropriate purchase," said Larry
Tarleton,
assistant publisher of The Post & Courier. "We've been working
diligently
with GoCode over the past few months to marry our print to the
Internet, and
e-commerce was one of the expected offspring."

GoCode, Inc. is a business technology company that expands
circulation,
e-commerce revenue and general utility for publishers, by providing an
unobtrusive method of hyperlinking print media to digital. As the
world's
smallest bar code standard, GoCode is the only barcode that fits
within
printed lines of text, connecting editorial, advertising and
classifieds to
additional on-line information. GoCode also enables users to make
instant
e-commerce purchases directly out of a newspaper, magazine or catalog,
without typing or calling a toll free number.

The Post & Courier's GoCode-enabled e-commerce came about as a result
of a
print ad featuring products offered on-line by ShopCharleston.net .
The ad
included a GoCode next to the featured items, which caught the eye of
Post &
Courier subscriber John F. Walters. Walters, who learned via
ultrasound the
previous day that his wife was expecting twins, decided to experiment
with
his recently acquired GoCode Reader(TM).

"I shot the code, and the purchase was processed automatically," said
Walters, an emergency medicine physician. "The computer drilled down
directly to the vendor's page at the ShopCharleston site, and my
personal
information was automatically filled in. All I had to do was shoot the
GoCode under the product and the roses were on the way to my home
address."

ShopCharleston.net is powered by an e-commerce platform developed by
PC2WEB.com , which offers a suite of enabling tools for publishers,
telecoms, broadcast, and cable operators. ShopCharleston.net provides
e-commerce services for a wide variety of Charleston merchants, many
of
which have no internal e-commerce capabilities.

"I believe what we have here is a perfect example of how print media
and
technology can work together," said Bruce Coy, president of
PC2WEB.com .
"We're working with newspapers because they naturally aggregate local
buyers, and our platform supports local sales. We're working with
GoCode,
because its Reader is easy to use and the tiny bar codes fit
seamlessly into
our print layouts."

Programming the e-commerce platform to accept GoCode data was simple,
according to Coy. The whole process took only a few hours, and was
handled
through GoCode's Tech Support via telephone and E-mail.

"I think it's worth noting that the system didn't just deliver the
buyer to
an e-commerce site," added Tom Pickens, Chairman of GoCode, Inc. "It
handled
the entire transaction from start to finish ... and only took about 10
seconds to do so. You couldn't have bought those roses faster if you
were
standing in the store paying cash."

The Post & Courier's Tarleton also announced today that they are
planning to
expand their relationship with GoCode by adopting the technology in
other
publications within The Evening Post Publishing Company's newspaper
holdings. The Evening Post Publishing Company's other regional
publications
include The Moultrie News, The Salisbury Post, The (Kingstree) News,
Aiken
Standard, Buenos Aires Herald, Editors Press Service, Inc., Georgetown
Times, Summerville Journal-Scene, Davie County Enterprise and The
Clemmons
Courier.

"We've been extremely pleased with GoCode; it prints and holds up
beautifully in newsprint," said Tarleton, "and that's no small feat
for a
bar code that tiny. In addition, we've received excellent feedback
from our
subscribers who have GoCode Readers. We're looking forward to
expanding our
interactive efforts into both editorial and classified ads in the near
future."

About GoCode

Based in Charleston, SC, GoCode, Inc. (http://www.gocode.com ) is the
developer of the world's smallest bar code standard. GoCode now
enables
print media to incorporate hyperlinks to the Internet in a simple and
direct
way. GoCode is currently focused on integrating circulation building
and
e-commerce applications into newspapers, magazines, and both
business-to-business and consumer-oriented catalogs. Easy to
implement and
designed to work within existing print standards, GoCode's unique
solution
is transparent to consumers and ideal for publishers, advertisers and
mail
order catalogs.

About The Post and Courier

The Post and Courier's history in Charleston goes back to 1803, when
it was
first printed as the Charleston Courier. For nearly two centuries,
The Post
and Courier has kept its readers informed earning its title, "The
Oldest
Daily Newspaper in the South." Today, with daily circulation of over
110,000
and a Sunday circulation of 123,000, the paper employs a staff of
650. The
privately held newspaper is one of six in South Carolina owned by The
Evening Post Corporation. Other properties include papers in North
Carolina,
an English-language daily in Argentina, nine television stations, a
press
service, and a forestry company.

SOURCE GoCode Inc.


CONTACT: media, Peter Evers of Magnet Public Relations, Inc. for
GoCode,
Inc., 415-282-8800, or e-mail peter@... , or investors,
Prioleau
Alexander of GoCode, Inc., 843-577-7560, or e-mail asa@...

Web site: http://www.gocode.com

Web site: http://ShopCharleston.net

Web site: http://PC2WEB.com CO: GoCode Inc. ST: South Carolina IN:
MLM PUB
REA SU:
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM


4.
By 2006, US Government Will Collect $602 Billion Over the Net,
According to
Forrester Research


August 30, 2000



----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
----

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 30 /U.S. Newswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation -
Despite
funding struggles and bureaucratic inertia, eGovernment will change
the way
authorities deal with citizens and businesses. According to a new
Report
from Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR), federal, state, and
local
governments will collect 15 percent of fees and taxes online by 2006 -
-
totaling $602 billion.

"An increasingly demanding and wired public is looking for speed and
convenience from its government," said Jeremy Sharrard, associate
analyst at
Forrester. "Even though constituents are concerned about privacy and
paying
convenience fees, users see the value of online government and want
those
services now."

Most government services and regulatory requirements involve the
filing of
an application or report by businesses and constituents. Governments
at all
levels will receive 333 million online submissions by 2006. State
governments will receive the most -- 137 million in 2006 -- fueled by
online
business reporting. By 2006, authorities will roll out almost 14,000
total
online service applications nationwide. The majority of these
services will
come from the nation's 35,000 cities and towns.

eGovernment adoption will evolve through three phases:
experimentation,
integration, and reinvention. Governments' initial forays onto the
Net over
the next 24 months will continue to be marked by a smattering of low-
risk,
clearly bounded, constituent-focused services online. Applications
will be
simple, posing little privacy threat to users, requiring minimal
identity
authentication, and calling for a low level of system integration.
Volume
will be low also, due to the lack of technological sophistication
that will
keep 90 percent of cities and towns from offering eGovernment
services until
2002.

Expectations for online government will rise quickly as citizens
incorporate
private sector eCommerce into their daily lives between 2002 and
2005. This
will force governments to respond with business-focused services as
well as
more sophisticated, customer-centric offerings that require
integration
among multiple departments and address privacy concerns. But linking
different departments' legacy systems will slow deployment as
authorities
struggle to tie their systems to new payment and authorization
services.

In 2005 and beyond, legislative mandates will drive the organizational
reinvention necessary to synchronize governments' processes and
jurisdiction
with their Net front ends. Once constituents and lawmakers see the
structure
of their government laid out before them on the Web, they will
question why
so many departments offer overlapping services. By consolidating
applications and building easy-to-use sites, government will
eventually
become less visible and constituents will become more autonomous.

"By 2005, local governments will receive federal funding to bridge the
digital divide controversy -- making eGovernment services available
to all
constituents," added Sharrard.

For the Report "Sizing US Government," Forrester interviewed CIOs and
other
heads of eGovernment efforts at federal, state, and local governments
that
have already begun eGovernment implementations, as well as five
international governments.

Forrester Research is the leading independent Internet research firm,
analyzing technology change and its impact on business, consumers, and
society. Forrester's "Whole View" of the Internet economy enables
clients to
weave together Internet commerce initiatives with eBusiness
technology to
satisfy customers' changing needs. Clients receive continuous
research and
analysis through Forrester's eResearch(tm) Reports, an array of
advisory
services, bit products, and topical events. Established in 1983,
Forrester
is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. Forrester's European Research
Center is
located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and its UK Research Centre is
located in
London. Additional information about Forrester Research can be found
at
http://www.forrester.com.

------ Forrester Research and eResearch are trademarks of Forrester
Research, Inc.

KEYWORDS: INTERNET GOVERNMENT
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM



5.
Documents Sent on the Internet Can Be 'Bugged'; Privacy Foundation
Reports
New Research

August 30, 2000
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
----

DENVER, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation -

Readers of email document attachments beware: the author of a
computer file
may be able to track the path of the file to your computer and others
through the use of "Web bugs," the Privacy Foundation reported today.

The finding could have broad implications for businesses, public
agencies
and other entities, which may seek to use this tracking ability --
and for
individuals, who are unlikely to know that the file they are reading
is
communicating back to the author through the Internet.

"We are not aware of Web bugs being used in this way," said Richard M.
Smith, chief technology officer of the Privacy Foundation. "But the
possibility is troubling given the trend of using the Internet and
monitoring software to track individual behavior."

A detailed Privacy Advisory, along with demonstrations and graphics
of how
the document Web bug works, plus a list of questions and answers, is
available at the foundation's website at www.privacyfoundation.org.

The tracking potential occurs when a file sent through the Internet,
typically as an email attachment, contains an image file located on a
remote
Web server. This can happen through a range of popular Microsoft
programs,
including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. (The Privacy Foundation
continues to
investigate this issue with regard to other software programs.)

If the document contains an invisible marker called a Web bug, then
when the
request for the image is made and acted upon within the displaying
program,
a signal will be sent back to the document author. This signal,
obtained
through server logs, will contain the IP number, from which a host
name of
the computer can usually be obtained.

In addition, if the bugged document is forwarded to any another
computers
and opened, it can send back the IP number and host name of those
computers
to the document author. In some cases, by using cookies in Internet
Explorer, an author could match up the computer viewers of a document
to
their visits to the author's Web site.

The Privacy Foundation findings were presented to Microsoft Corp.
earlier
this month for review. The company acknowledged the potential use of
Web
bugs to track Word documents, but said that there is no evidence that
such
activities are occurring.

The Privacy Advisory, authored by Smith, notes a myriad of potential
uses
for document Web bugs: tracking the path of confidential files,
detecting
copyright infringement, and surreptitious market research. In most
cases, it
is unlikely that the person who opens such a document on a computer
would
know that the Web bug exists.

"The potential use of Web bugs in Word points to a more general
problem,"
said Smith. "Any file format that supports automatic linking to Web
pages or
images can lead to the same problem. Software engineers should take
this
privacy issue into consideration when designing new file formats."

Smith noted, for instance, that Web bugs could be used within text
material
that accompanies downloaded MP3 music files to track how many times a
song
is played and on which computer.

The investigation into this matter by the Privacy Foundation was
triggered
by a tip from Barry Shell, research communications editor at the
Centre for
Systems Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.

As part of a quarterly program to acknowledge privacy research, the
Privacy
Foundation will present Shell with a check for $1,000.

Also new at www.privacyfoundation.org is a wide-ranging interview with
Robert Ellis Smith, known as the "Ralph Nader" of privacy, and an
article on
the privacy implications of supermarket discount cards.

Based in Denver, the Privacy Foundation is a non-profit and non-
partisan
organization dedicated to research on electronic privacy issues and
efforts
to educate the public. The Foundation's research on communications
technologies is conducted at the Privacy Center at the University of
Denver,
under the direction of computer science professor David Martin, in
consultation with Richard M. Smith.

Contacts: Richard M. Smith at the Privacy Foundation,
rms@..., or Stephen Keating at the Privacy
Foundation,
sk@.... Phone: (303) 717-2607.

SOURCE Privacy Foundation


CONTACT: Richard M. Smith, rms@..., or Stephen
Keating,
sk@..., both of the Privacy Foundation, 303-717-2607

Web site: http://www.privacyfoundation.org
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM



6.
How Can I Learn This Real Fast - Part 2 (by T.J. Lee)

I was swamped with feedback on my "How Can I Learn This Real
Fast" article in the last issue (TNPC #3.17). This rant of mine
generated more reader comments than anything else I've ever done
in TNPC. To all of you who sent me email I'm afraid that I cannot
possibly reply to everyone, but I did read every message and I
want to thank all of you for your thoughtful comments.

The vast majority of those who wrote me agreed that most computer
users don't have much patience when it comes to learning software
and want the instant solution now. Needless to say many of these
people were in a help desk or support environment. Many of these
comments were quite eloquent and went on for several pages. It
was very nice to know that so many of you believe in RTFM
wholeheartedly.

If you want to read some of the thoughts from other TNPCers that
agree that a linear approach is still the way to go stop by:
http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/318/tr.cgi?learn2

I did get less than a handful of responses that linear learning
is dead and the "don't teach me how it works, just show me how to
do it" is the right way to go. Consider this response.

"Seems kind of strange that you have to buy a book to learn to
use software? Doesn't it seem like going [sic] backwards. No one
has time to learn by sitting and reading for hours. Books are
picked up for short periods of time and each page should stand on
its own."

While I disagree with the premise, her outlook is one that I'm
hearing more and more often. But is it backwards to learn about
software from reading a book? I don't think so but then I feel
that some theory is essential before practical application if
you're really trying to learn something. Whether you get that
from a book format, CBT (computer based training) materials, or a
video tape doesn't matter. What's important is that you study the
material so you'll know what you're doing. Then you must sit at
the keyboard and start doing things with the software.

Saying that no one has time to learn anything is perhaps
something we can all identify with... even though it's not true.
I agree that time is the single most precious thing that there
is, and it is true that we're all overworked. Downsizing has
forced those still left to do more work with fewer bodies. That
today you need two incomes to keep a family going has hardly left
time to have a family meal let alone read books. But if you're
going to learn how to use a computer and the related software,
you're going to have to make some time.

You can't count on employers to make adequate training available.
They don't want to spend the money or, and here it comes again,
the TIME. (To any employers who may be listening, to do "job
specific" computer training right you have to spend both time and
money. For more on what it takes to do training right go here:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/318/tr.cgi?learn1 )

You can either bite the bullet and learn it the hard way, be that
by reading a book, taking a class, and always by pounding the
keyboard, or you can wait until the software runs itself, which I
think will be an awfully long wait.

Software companies are trying for "ease of use" but there are
some real problems with the approaches open to them. First, it's
unwieldy to run a Wizard that walks you through every single
process a particular application can perform. Imagine having a
Wizard kicking off every time you want to save a file. The second
problem is trying to dumb down the software interface so that it
works for both novices and experienced users.

As if to illustrate this very point another TNPCer asked, "Why
isn't there an option that just says "lighten this picture," why
should I have to know that this feature goes under some obscure
terminology like "gamma correction?"

Well, because gamma correction isn't the brightness control.
Gamma correction allows you to change brightness *and* contrast
in both light and dark areas, by differing amounts, which you
can't do by adjusting either overall brightness or overall
contrast alone. This lets you better bring out the details in
both light and dark areas on the same photograph. Gamma
correction is not a brightness control so it shouldn't be called
one. Having a high-powered graphics software package does not
make you a graphics artist or a photographer anymore than having
a word processor automatically makes you a writer.

No matter how easy they make the interface, the software is only
a tool and you're going to have to learn not only the terminology
but also the basics of what you're trying to do. Again, a linear
approach of first laying a foundation of knowledge which is then
built upon to the point where, hopefully, you actually know what
you're doing.

Finally, for the reader who said, "Linear is for novices, multi-
dimensional learning is for the rest of us," all I can suggest is
that you buy books with a good index.

NewsFlashes 9.1.00

*********************************************************************
This email is provided for information purposes only. Mention or
discussion of a product, company or person does not represent any
official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and
organizations retain complete copyright.
*********************************************************************

INDEX

1. Viruses threaten to evolve beyond PCs
Handheld devices at risk, experts say
A nasty bug on the Internet this week threatened to wipe out the
contents of
Palm handheld computers. This time, it was a false alarm. Still, this
minor
infestation could belie havoc to come. Experts warn that in two to
four
years, mobile phones, handheld computers, video game consoles, cars
and
other devices could become infected by software code with the
destructive
power of the ``ILOVEYOU'' worm that ravaged computer networks in May.


2. This Fall, More University Students Head Back to School Online;
For Four
Students, Online Learning 'Has Changed Everything'
When America's college students head back to school this fall, a
growing
number will not be jockeying for a parking space or even heading for
that
seat at the top of the lecture hall. [PR Newswire]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
-

FULL STORY

1.

Viruses threaten to evolve beyond PCs
Posted at 10:52 p.m. PDT Thursday, August 31, 2000
BY JON FORTT

Mercury News


A nasty bug on the Internet this week threatened to wipe out the
contents of
Palm handheld computers. This time, it was a false alarm.

Still, this minor infestation could belie havoc to come. Experts warn
that
in two to four years, mobile phones, handheld computers, video game
consoles, cars and other devices could become infected by software
code with
the destructive power of the ``ILOVEYOU'' worm that ravaged computer
networks in May.

``It's an example of what's possible. All these things are just little
computers with weird interfaces,'' said Bruce Schneier, founder and
chief
technical officer at Counterpane Internet Security. ``You can write a
worm
in 1,000 lines of code.''

As more computing devices become networked, it opens up the potential
for
viruses and worms to spread, disguised not just in e-mail
attachments, but
also in voice messages, MP3 files, video games, interactive maps and
other
seemingly harmless communications.

Today there is little chance that such an attack could do real damage,
though security experts disagree whether the real threat is years, or
mere
months away. A virus probably couldn't spread fast enough outside of
the PC
network today because few devices are Internet-enabled, and for the
most
part people are not yet using such Internet-connected devices to
freely
share programs.

Though there are rumors about viruses and keystroke combinations that
can
freeze up mobile phones, there is no solid evidence yet that phones
are
truly vulnerable to such attacks. Plus, mobile phones and handheld
computers
are increasingly using many different operating systems, so malicious
software would not spread as quickly.

``To date, we have been unable to confirm that any user data has been
affected by a virus or a Trojan horse,'' said Palm Inc. spokeswoman
Julia
Rodriguez. ``We believe that as handhelds and other devices like
phones,
pagers, even cars become increasingly connected through wireless or
wireline
connections to the Internet and to e-mail, the threat of malicious
software
will naturally become greater than it is today.''

The program that caused the stir this week -- ``Palm_Liberty.A,'' --
was
technically not a virus. It was a type of malicious program called a
Trojan
horse, named for Ulysses' famous trick.

To become infected, a user would have to deliberately download it; the
program wouldn't simply appear. People would have to mistake it for a
program that could ``crack'' the electronic lock on a video game, then
download it from a public bulletin board. If they ran it on a Palm,
the
program would delete most of the device's software, much in the way
the
Greeks sacked Troy.

``If you download anything from a place that is not inherently
trustworthy
such as the manufacturer's Web site, you're just asking for
trouble,'' said
Roger Thompson, technical director of malicious code research at
ICSA.net, a
security consulting firm.

While a virus is a program that can corrupt other programs on a single
device by altering them to include a version of itself, a Trojan horse
doesn't necessarily modify other programs. It just does something
unexpected
and mean, behind the scenes.

Potentially worse than a virus or Trojan horse is a worm, like
``ILOVEYOU''
and ``Melissa.'' Unlike Trojan horses and viruses, worms intentionally
spread themselves from one computer to another, often by e-mailing
copies of
themselves to everyone in a user's address book.

Though many worms do nothing more threatening than pack e-mail boxes
with
unwanted messages, some are quite dangerous. The Melissa virus, for
instance, was a worm/virus cocktail, so it was able to replicate at an
exponential rate and also do a lot of damage before anti-virus firms
could
deliver a remedy.

These were special cases. There are more than 55,000 viruses in
existence
for the DOS and Windows platform, according to ICSA.net, but only
about 200
regularly show up on people's PCs. ``Most of them don't get to
spread. Most
of them are just trapped in the zoo, so to speak,'' Thompson said.

As more devices get connected, worms have a better chance of getting
out and
causing problems for more than just PCs. A month after the
``ILOVEYOU''
virus outbreak, another worm targeted mobile phone users in Spain,
sending
out a disparaging message about Telefonica, a telecommunications
carrier
there.

The Telefonica worm was not especially clever or sophisticated; it
simply
sent a text message to randomly generated phone numbers, like prank
calls to
answering machines. The phone worm did make the point, though, that e-
mail
addresses are just one of many potential ways to infect a device.

The cell phone community has taken precautions against truly damaging
attacks, said Jim Caile, corporate vice president for Motorola Inc.'s
personal communication sector. But within the next two years,
Motorola and
other manufacturers will begin building more advanced phones that will
probably need to carry anti-virus software.

At that point, cell phones will probably be a tempting target. There
are an
estimated 600 million active cell phone subscribers in the world,
Caile
said, and there will be 700 million by the end of the year. There
aren't
half as many personal computers.

Meanwhile cell phones are already on the way to becoming more
versatile. In
recent months, mobile phone manufacturers have begun showing off
phones that
can play MP3 files as well as more sophisticated games.

``As more and more devices out there can allow people to program for
them,
and use more executable files, the holes will open up,'' said Stephen
Trilling, director of research at the Symantec Antivirus Research
Center.

Thompson of ICSA.net echoed that sentiment.

``Security and functionality exist in an inverse relationship,''
Thompson
said. ``The more powerful these things are, the less secure they
become.''

Contact Jon Fortt at (408) 278-3489 or jfortt@...
# # #


2.

This Fall, More University Students Head Back to School Online; For
Four
Students, Online Learning 'Has Changed Everything'


August 31, 2000
DENVER, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation -

When America's college students head back to school this fall, a
growing
number will not be jockeying for a parking space or even heading for
that
seat at the top of the lecture hall. They won't be in line to talk
with
their professors or teaching assistants either. They'll be online,
logging
on to Internet-hosted coursework created by their universities.

The university experience is much as it always has been, but in many
ways,
education is new again. eCollege.com(SM) (Nasdaq: ECLG), an
application
service provider (ASP) that offers online campuses and courseware for
colleges and universities, is playing an important role in the
transformation, creating new, flexible ways of learning. Online
alternatives
are fast becoming an expected offering at colleges and universities
across
the country where online courses and degree programs are multiplying -
-
Merrill Lynch reports the U.S. online market in higher education now
totals
$1.2 billion and is expected to grow to $7 billion by 2003.

Online courses loosen the ties of geography, and open avenues of
learning to
students who are too far from campus, too committed to demanding
employment
or too unwilling to leave their families night after night in pursuit
of an
advanced degree, says Dr. Kathy Winograd, director of academic
services at
eCollege. "It's true for traditional on-campus students, as well, that
eLearning offers choices -- to augment classroom interaction with
online
work groups or to add in the Internet resources college students
expect from
their universities today," she says.

Four students, with differing goals and studying at different
institutions,
help explain how online learning is expanding the college classroom
and
changing when, where and how people learn:

-- Kathryn Courtright's accounting class meets shortly after dinner

dishes are done and her 13-year-old daughter has headed to bed. A

student at Dallas Baptist University, Courtright studies late at night

and early in the morning, entirely online. "It's wonderful,

especially because I am a single parent," says Courtright, who through

Internet-based courses was able to work full-time and pursue nine

credits last term -- just a course shy of a full schedule.

-- Tim Sabol, a sophomore at Drexel University in Philadelphia,
submits

coursework, reviews lectures and checks ideas with other students

online through Internet-based tools that extend Drexel's traditional

classroom experience. "The Internet has changed everything. It was

only a matter of time that it would change how we learn," says Sabol.

-- Todd Pasquale graduated in spring 2000 from Eastern Michigan

University with a double major in geography and sociology. A

quadriplegic whose coursework required traveling to campus to listen

to and record lectures that he would later have to painstakingly

transcribe, Pasquale could forget note-taking once study materials,

lectures and assignments were conveyed online.

-- With a full-time career, online coursework was a natural time-
shifter

for Renee Hawkins, who studies marketing communications at the

University of Colorado-Denver. Online, Hawkins says, she found

relaxed, self-paced but rigorous courses that, for her, improve the

learning process and still showcase the distinctive teaching "voices"

of her professors. Moreover, they suit her schedule, not the

university's. "The structure is my structure -- online courses offer

me the flexibility to live my life and do what I want to do," says

Hawkins.

Convenience first attracts students to online courses, says Winograd,
but
the experience brings them back for course after course. "Online
learning is
convenient, but it is creating a new concept of teaching and learning
that
is expanding what higher education can be," says Winograd.

eCollege (Nasdaq: ECLG) is a leading application service provider
(ASP) that
develops online campuses and courseware for complete eLearning
solutions.
Comprised of educators and technologists, eCollege partners with
colleges,
universities, schools and corporations to design, build and support
high
quality learning communities. eCollege educational partners include
such
institutions as Seton Hall University, University of Colorado, DeVry
Institutes, Kentucky Virtual High School, and Microsoft Faculty
Center. The
company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Denver. For more
information, visit www.eCollege.com.

This release may contain forward-looking statements as well as
historical
information. Forward-looking statements may involve known or unknown
risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the company's actual
results
and performance to differ materially from the company's outlook. Such
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release.
The
company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any
forward-
looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in company
expectations or results or any change in events.

eCollege, Teaching Solutions, Campus Solutions, and eCollege System
are
service marks of eCollege. All other trademarks or registered
trademarks are
the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE eCollege.com


CONTACT: Jennifer Miller, 303-632-1697, jenniferm@..., or
Kristi
Bledsoe, 303-873-3788, kristib@..., both of eCollege.com

Web site: http://www.eCollege.com (ECLG)
Copyright © 2000, Individual.com, Inc.TM