
                           Stockton College Memorandum

                                        Date:     17-Feb-1994 04:27pm EST
                                        From:     E-D-U-P-A-G-E
                                                  info@ivory.educom.edu@WINS@VAX003
                                        Dept:      
                                        Tel No:    

TO:  Multiple recipients of list <edupage@ivory.educom.edu@WINS@VAX003>


Subject: E-d-u-p-a-g-e 02/17/94

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technology, is provided as a service by EDUCOM -- a consortium of leading
colleges and universities seeking to transform education through the use of
information technology.
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ELECTRONIC NEWSSTAND. To use the Internet as a way to take a look at Educom
Review, The New Yorker, The New Republic, and many other national
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the mail to our subscribers.

HIGH COSTS OF "FUTZING." In a survey of 35 companies equipped with
client-server networking, Research Board Inc. found that nearly half the
total system expense can be traced to "futzing" -- end users playing around
with their machines and trying to do things for which they are not trained.
 Hardware and software combined accounted for about 15% of the cost.
(Investor's Business Daily 2/17/94 p.4)

ELECTRONIC SLEIGHT-OF-HAND. A debate in journalism about the ethics of
using digital technology to alter or combine photographs has ensued from a
recent New York Newsday cover photograph doctored to make it appear that
ice skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding were practicing together last
week when in fact they were not. The acting dean of Columbia University's
School of Journalism called the picture the "ultimate journalistic sin"
because it altered reality at a time when images carry much of a story's
message. (New York Times 2/17/94 A12)

ELECTRONIC FILING. More than 14 million tax returns will be filed
electronically this year, according to IRS estimates. (Wall Street Journal
2/16/94 A1)

BURGEONING BULLETIN BOARDS. According to Boardwatch, a magazine that
follows BBS issues, the number of electronic bulletin boards has doubled in
the past 18 months to 60,000 nationwide. More than 12 million Americans
call into a BBS every day. (Investor's Business Daily 2/17/94 p.4)

REUTERS TARGETS INFO HIGHWAY. Reuters is aggressively positioning itself to
be a major contributor of the information that will travel the information
superhighway. Over the past year the news service has acquired all or parts
of 25 companies in an effort to solidify its role in "providing the
high-margin intellectual content that the electronic pipelines of the
future will carry -- and that traders, investors and executives will pay to
receive." (Business Week 2/21/94 p.46)

GROCERIES ONLINE. Winn-Dixie supermarkets in Atlanta will soon be offering
online computerized ordering services through America Online for a $9.95
delivery fee. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 2/17/94 K1)

THE YEAR OF MERGER FRENZY. Broadview Associates reports 1993 as the busiest
year for mergers and acquisitions among information technology companies
since 1988. Transactions valued at $28 billion were up 33% from the
previous year. (Wall Street Journal 2/17/94 B6)

NAME CHANGE. Pactel Corporation, the wireless unit of Pacific Telesis, the
regional Bell operating company based in San Francisco, is being spun off
from the parent company and taking the name Airtouch Communications. (New
York Times 2/17/94)

FOLLOW THE BOUNCING BALL. "The popular pastime of karaoke takes on a
cyber-tinge with some sing-along products on computer disks." WordPerfect
offers "Kap'n Karaoke," which comes with mike included and Sirius
Publishing is marketing a similar "Elvis the King" product. For aspiring
actors, Voyager Co. offers "Macbeth" -- users choose a role and read from
lines on-screen as the play is acted out. (Wall Street Journal 2/17/94 A1)

TRADE FIGHT COULD FAVOR MOTOROLA. Motorola could reap a windfall in extra
sales if the Clinton administration succeeds in enforcing an existing trade
agreement with Japan on cellular telephone equipment, analysts say. If the
market opens up, Motorola could see a dramatic increase in sales, since
Japanese consumers will be allowed to purchase cellular handsets rather
than renting them as is now the case. (Miami Herald 2/16/94 C1)

HDTV SIGNAL SYSTEM SET. The final decision on high definition television
technical standards has been made, with Zenith Electronics' "vestigial
sideband" signal-transmission system winning out over General Instrument's
technology. The first HDTV sets are expected to be on the market in the
second half of 1996. (Wall Street Journal 2/17/94 B6)

FIGHTING CLIPPER. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is one of various
organizations fighting the Clinton Administration's endorsement of the
Clipper Chip, a communications encryption device that would have a "back
door" to allow intelligence and law enforcement agencies to monitor
transmissions with a court order.  EFF co-founder John Perry Barlow accuses
the Clipper of being "a last ditch attempt by the United States, the last
great power from the old Industrial Era, to establish imperial control over
cyberspace."  For a  listing of Clipper-related resources:
infobot@wired.com with the following message: "send clipper.index" (Wired
Magazine, issue to appear April 1994) 

HACKER-PROOF. Dallas Semiconductor Corp. has developed a microchip that it
says will foil even the best computer hackers trying to break into
corporate files. The chip, about the size of a dime, works the same way as
a hotel security card or ATM card does, and an employee could not log on
without it. (Investor's Business Daily 2/16/94 p.4)

ONLINE NEWS SERVICE.  Toronto-based Southam, the largest publisher of
newspapers in Canada, has formed an alliance with Prodigy to evaluate
consumer demand for newswire services in Canadian households.  In an
unspecified test market, Southam will offer the information it currently
provides 1.2 million households through its 17 dailies. (Toronto Financial
Post, 02/16/94 p. 14).

NTIA FUNDING GUIDELINES. The final guidelines for NTIA's NII Pilot
Demonstration Grants Program have been released. The matching grants will
be available for planning infrastructure development or for demonstrating
the interconnection and interoperability of information networks among user
communities and national and international networks. Contact NTIA National
Telecommunications and Information Administration) at 202-482-1551 for more
information. (Communique 2/94 p.17)  

PRIVACY WARNING.  Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner warned
that the information highway needs regulation to protect user privacy.  In
his recommendations, the Commissioner said legislative rules must address
ethical questions of monitoring email by employers and urged the
development of security systems to prevent third parties from intercepting
communications. (Ottawa Citizen, 02/16/94 p. D6).

DAVID AND GOLIATH IN CABLE TV FACE-OFF. FiberVision, a newly formed
company, will compete in Connecticut against cable giant TCI, which is in
the midst of a $33 billion merger with the Bell Atlantic regional phone
company.  A FiberVision co-founder says:  "We provide no services yet. We
have no customers. We have five partners and no employees.  But we will be
lower in price." (New York Times 2/17/94 A14)

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