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Bits And Bytes Online Edition Volume 2 Number 02
Rugged Geekism is the path to the information superhighway. Bill Gates
is a geek. Geeks, nerds -- they're in."
Consultant Frank Hoar (WSJ 1/28/94)
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BBB III TTT SSS BBB Y Y TTT EEE SSS ONLINE EDITION:
B B I T S B B Y Y T E S =THE ELECTRONIC
BBB I T SSS AND BBB YYY T EEE SSS =NEWSLETTER FOR
B B I T S B B Y T E S =INFORMATION
BBB III T SSS BBB Y T EEE SSS =HUNTER-GATHERERS
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Volume 2, Number 2 <HAPPY YEAR OF THE RAT!> (February 28, 1994)
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CONTENTS =
SPECIAL SECTIONS: | On Reading Mondo 2000 =
The Clipper Chip Controversy | The Online World =
The Post Human Condition | New Products and Services =
Focus on Business Issues | PDA News: The Newton Saga =
| Future Tech =
INTERNET 101: | The Kultchur Korner =
Where to get answers about | Business Briefs =
Internet basics; Internet | On the Newsstand =
Magazines; | Bits and Bytes Bookshelf =
======================================================================
= See the ADMINISTRIVIA section for subscription and back issues info=
======================================================================
Special Section: The Clipper Chip Controversy
========================
EDITORIAL
Welcome to another factoid-filled edition of Bits and Bytes Online
Edition, the electronic newsletter for information hunter-gatherers,
the last bastion of rugged geekism in the brave new age of (too much)
information. My name is Jay Machado and I'll be your guide thru
cyberspace as we roam the dense thickets of the emerging information
infrastructure, which is already in progress. Indeed, there's a whole
lot of shaking going on these days, and I don't mean in California,
where extensive earthquake damage to the highway system may give
telecommuting an opportunity to prove it's viability as an alternative
to 4 hour (one way) commutes. No, I'm talking about Clipper. After
several months of relative obscurity, the Clipper chip proposal has
burst back onto the scene with renewed vigor.
On January 4, 1994, the Clinton administration announced it's adoption
of the Clipper Chip and the SKIPJACK encryption scheme as national
standards. This system relies on a "key escrow" system with a built-in
"back door" so that security agents can decrypt and monitor even
supposedly "secure" communications. The administration claims that
there will be safeguards to prevent abuse of the system. For one thing
the two keys needed to unscramble a message will be held by two
separate government agencies, and anyone wanting to tap into your
communications will need to obtain both through proper channels. You
can trust your friendly government man. Do you begin to see the subtle
flaw in this argument?
In the meantime, WIRED Magazine reports that federal security agencies
have been meeting for some time with telecommunications companies to
design back doors into the entire National Information Infrastructure
(NII). The Clipper Chip will be installed directly into telecommunica-
tions devices such as telephones, computers, and digital set-top boxes
for interactive TV. Since the system can be used to encrypt any
communications that pass across telecommunications lines (including
text, sound and images), ANY AND ALL communication that passes through
your system has the possibility of being intercepted. Any system
connected to the NII would be required to include a "back door" in
order to facilitate monitoring by government agencies.
There's more going on than these brief paragraphs can hint at. Super-
spooky spy-type agencies are getting VERY involved behind the scenes.
The National Security Agency, who already monitor a great deal of the
data flowing in and out of the US, for one. The government has seen
the digital writing on the wall and they've realized that things are
going to slip further out of their control unless they put in the
technological fix NOW! Unsuspecting federal prisoners are having
strange electrical devices implanted in their craniums even as we
speak. I saw it on the X Files, it MUST be true!! Well, OK, probably
not, but it doesn't hurt to keep your guard up.
Opposition to the Clipper proposal has been swift and overwhelmingly
negative. Here was an issue that everyone -- the cypherpunks, the
business community, Big Business, and just plain folks -- could agree
on. Even close allies like Canada and Britain said they were not
willing to adopt Clipper. It seems nobody trusts our government with
the keys to the cookie jar anymore. Imagine that.
The folks at WIRED go on to say that:
"These government initiatives, taken together, constitute one
of the most grievous threats to our constitutional liberties in
modern times. The security agencies and the administration are
involved in a stealth strike at our freedoms that could
effectively abrogate the Bill of Rights in cyberspace, where we
and our descendants will be spending increasingly larger parts
of lives."
WIRED has set up an online Clipper Archive, accessible via gopher or
WWW or by email. The organization Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility is circulating a petition, which I am reprinting below
along with instructions for adding your name to the petition. Those of
you that feel the need for secure encryption with NO BACK DOORS are
encouraged to seek out Pretty Good Privacy, a freeware program that
provides just that. See the ACCESS area at the end of this section for
contact information.
========================
William Safire on the Clipper Chip
For those of you who might have missed it, William Safire published a
very good essay on the Clipper proposal yesterday (February 14). We're
providing some excerpts here and recommend the piece in its entirety.
Well-meaning law and intelligence officials, vainly seeking to
maintain their vanishing ability to eavesdrop, have come up with
a scheme that endangers the personal freedom of every American.
* * *
The "clipper chip" -- aptly named, as it clips the wings of
individual liberty -- would encode, for Federal perusal whenever
a judge rubber-stamped a warrant, everything we say on a phone,
everything we write on a computer, every order we give to a
shopping network or bank or 800 or 900 number, every electronic
note we leave our spouses or dictate to our personal-digit-
assistant genies.
Add to that stack of intimate data the medical information
derived from the national "health security card" Mr. Clinton
proposes we all carry. Combine it with the travel, shopping and
credit data available from all our plastic cards, along with
psychological and student test scores. Throw in the confidential
tax returns, sealed divorce proceedings, welfare records, field
investigations for job applications, raw files and C.I.A. dossiers
available to the Feds, and you have the individual citizen standing
naked to the nosy bureaucrat.
* * *
The only people tap-able by American agents would be honest
Americans -- or those crooked Americans dopey enough to buy
American equipment with the pre-compromised American code.
Subsequent laws to mandate the F.B.I. bug in every transmitter
would be as effective as today's laws banning radar detectors.
* * *
Cash in your clipper chips, wiretappers: you can't detect the crime
wave of the future with those old earphones on.
(SOURCE: CPSR Alert Volume 3.04, 12/15/94)
========================
Electronic Petition to Oppose Clipper
Please Distribute Widely
On January 24, many of the nation's leading experts in cryptography
and computer security wrote President Clinton and asked him to
withdraw the Clipper proposal.
The public response to the letter has been extremely favorable,
including coverage in the New York Times and numerous computer and
security trade magazines.
Many people have expressed interest in adding their names to the
letter. In response to these requests, CPSR is organizing an
Internet petition drive to oppose the Clipper proposal. We will
deliver the signed petition to the White House, complete with the
names of all the people who oppose Clipper.
To sign on to the letter, send a message to:
Clipper.petition@cpsr.org
with the message "I oppose Clipper" (no quotes)
You will receive a return message confirming your vote.
Please distribute this announcement so that others may also express
their opposition to the Clipper proposal.
CPSR is a membership-based public interest organization. For
membership information, please email cpsr@cpsr.org. For more
information about Clipper, please consult the CPSR Internet Library -
FTP/WAIS/Gopher CPSR.ORG /cpsr/privacy/crypto/clipper
======================== Here's the text of the petition:
The President The White House Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to you regarding the "Clipper" escrowed encryption
proposal now under consideration by the White House. We wish to
express our concern about this plan and similar technical standards
that may be proposed for the nation's communications infrastructure.
The current proposal was developed in secret by federal agencies
primarily concerned about electronic surveillance, not privacy
protection. Critical aspects of the plan remain classified and thus
beyond public review.
The private sector and the public have expressed nearly unanimous
opposition to Clipper. In the formal request for comments conducted
by the Department of Commerce last year, less than a handful of
respondents supported the plan. Several hundred opposed it.
If the plan goes forward, commercial firms that hope to develop
new products will face extensive government obstacles. Cryptographers
who wish to develop new privacy enhancing technologies will be
discouraged. Citizens who anticipate that the progress of technology
will enhance personal privacy will find their expectations unfulfilled.
Some have proposed that Clipper be adopted on a voluntary basis
and suggest that other technical approaches will remain viable. The
government, however, exerts enormous influence in the marketplace, and
the likelihood that competing standards would survive is small. Few
in the user community believe that the proposal would be truly
voluntary.
The Clipper proposal should not be adopted. We believe that if
this proposal and the associated standards go forward, even on a
voluntary basis, privacy protection will be diminished, innovation
will be slowed, government accountability will be lessened, and the
openness necessary to ensure the successful development of the
nation's communications infrastructure will be threatened.
We respectfully ask the White House to withdraw the Clipper
proposal.
========================
<<<ACCESS>>> Clipper Chip and related files
=== WIRED Clipper Archives
o WIRED Infobot e-mail server send e-mail to infobot@wired.com,
containing the words "send
clipper/index" on a single
line inside the message body
o WIRED Gopher gopher to gopher.wired.com
select "Clipper Archive"
o WIRED on World Wide Web http://www.wired.com
select "Clipper Archive"
o WIRED on America Online keyword: WIRED
o WIRED on the WELL type "go wired" from any "OK" prompt
type "clipper" to access the menu
=== Pretty Good Privacy
pgp23.zip is the latest version and can be FTP'd from:
sunb.ocs.mq.edu.au Location: /PC/Crypt
ftp.cc.adfa.oz.au Location: /pub/security/pgp23
ftp.lcs.mit.edu Location: /pub/pgp
pc.usl.edu Location: /pub/msdos/crypto
ftp.luth.se Location: /pub/infosystems/pgp
alf.uib.no Location: /pub/unix/next/source/crypt
isy.liu.se Location: /pub/misc/pgp/2.3
ftp.germany.eu.net Location: /comp/msdos/utils/pgp
=== PGPShell (a friendly front end to PGP)
This program is archived as pgpshe30.zip.
ftp to garbo.uwasa.fi in /pc/crypt
ftp to oak.oakland.edu in /pub/msdos/security
=== Related Usenet Newsgroups
alt.risks (discuss all aspects of the dangers of computers)
alt.security.pgp (issues relating to the pgp program)
comp.org.eff.news (News from the Electronic Frontier Foundation)
comp.society.cu-digest (The Computer Underground Digest)
sci.crypt (discuss all aspects of encryption)
talk.politics.crypto (Here's a place to get political about it)
======================================================================
THE ONLINE WORLD
=> NEW ONLINE SERVICES. Starting this fall, Ziff-Davis will offer the
Interchange Online Network, carrying on-line versions of its
publications -- including PC Magazine, PC Computing, PC Week, Mac
User and Mac Week. The interface is said to be most impressive,
with a Windows interface, photo-realistic images and a hypertext
"shared data space". APPLE COMPUTER is set introduce their eWorld
service in April, and MICROSOFT's rumored InfoServ service
continues to be that -- a rumor. The word is on the street but MS
isn't talking. News publisher KNIGHT-RIDDER and BELL ATLANTIC will
introduce the Stargazer Service in 1995. Stargazer will deliver
information via video and text over Bell Atlantic's networks,
including movies, TV programs, interactive commercials and home
shopping. Knight-Ridder will contribute news, entertainment and
advertising to the service. The two are still ironing out the
details. (SOURCES: St. Petersburg Times 1/31/94, Boardwatch,
Investor's Business Daily 2/3/94)
=> HOLE IN THE CENTER. John Perry Barlow, co-founder of the Electronic
Frontier Foundation, says that one thing that is essential to
community is some sense of physical proximity, and that a problem
with network communities is that "all they've got is a shared
interest, not a shared necessity"; he makes the point that it's
easy to drop out of network discussion groups, but "not that easy
for me to leave my little town in Wyoming. There, we have to learn
to stick it out and make it work." He says that "if you look at
the overall trend, not just in cyberspace but everywhere, it's
toward globalization and localization. What seems to be coming
apart is everything in the middle." (New York Times 12/26/93 p. F8)
(E/P)
=> ONLINE MAGS MOSTLY TALK. Most publishers may not realize it yet,
but online services won't become a repository for magazines until
they provide access to back issues, computer programs, and other
features, like text search and information-filtering front ends.
According to one industry observer, people go on-line not read but
to chat -- and that's why "there are more bars than libraries."
(SOURCE: "Testing The Waters Online", Thomas Forbes. Folio, 12/1,
p. 65)
=> TRAFFIC JAMS ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY? (Sorry, I couldn't help
myself) America Online's president publicly apologized in a letter
to AOL customers for the network's recent sluggish performance. He
further promised the unusual step of postponing efforts to attract
new customers. AOL's online population has doubled from 300,000
since last summer. ... On the Internet, increasing use of MOSAIC,
a nifty graphical internet front-end was reported to be causing
data traffic jams. ... In the February 94 issue of Boardwatch,
editor Jack Rickard makes the bold prediction that by the end of
1994 there will be a SHORTAGE of BBS's and ONLINE SERVICES, even
taking into account some of the new services coming online. Heads
up, all you entrepreneurial types! (SOURCES: NYT, Boardwatch)
======================================================================
The Post Human Condition
======================== (Jeffrey Deitch)
The issue of using genetic engineering to "improve" the fetus will
potentially become much more highly charged than the controversy over
abortion. It may not be an exaggeration to say that it will become the
most difficult moral and social issue that the human species has ever
faced. Genetic engineering is not just another life-enhancing
technology like aviation or telecommunications. Its continued
development and application may force us to redefine the parameters of
life. ("Post Human," Adbusters Quarterly, Winter 1994, p. 21)
=> REALLY SMART CHIPS. Researchers are experimenting with electronic
microchips that use living brain cells. The embryonic cells are
placed on silicon or glass chips and induced to grow along desired
paths. The scientists hope to encourage the brain cells to form
connections, gaining insight into how neurons work.
(WSJ 4/1/94, p. B7)
======================== (Claudia Springer)
Cyberpunk fictions visions of the future extrapolate from our current
cultural preoccupation with computers to create worlds where the
computer metaphor for human existence has triumphed. When cyberpunk
characters are surgically hardwired, jack into cyberspace, plug
software programs directly into their brains, create computerized
virtual bodies for themselves while their actual bodies decay, or
abandon their bodies to exist inside the computer matrix, the boundary
between human and computer is erased and the nature of the human
psyche is redefined in accordance with the computer paradigm.
Computers and human minds become thoroughly compatible because the
differences between them have been effaced. ("Sex, Memories, Angry
Women," The South Atlantic Quarterly Fall 1993, p.720)
=> BRAIN SALAD SURGERY. Hippocampal neurons, the brain cells
responsible for logic and memory functions, may become the
computing platform of the future. The Naval Research Laboratory,
National Institutes of Health, and others are cooperating in
developing the science of bioelectronics to speed the integration
of living brain cells -- currently donated by lab rodents -- with
solid-state devices. These could outperform silicon-based computing
chips, which are predicted to have no more cognitive capability by
the end of the century than a chicken. (SOURCE: Clarence A.
Robinson Jr, "Bioelectronics Computer Era Merges Organic, Solid
State", Signal, February 1994, p. 15)
======================================================================
NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES:
=> PATENT DATABASE. PatentScan Plus is a set of 10 CD-ROMS with
information on close to 2 million patents spanning the past 20
years. "This may be the most significant body of information
ever published in electronic format." (WIRED) (ACCESS: PatentScan
617/576-5747)
=> THE SOUNDS OF WORK can now be purchased on a 90-minute cassette.
This is ideal for one man offices or telecommuters who want callers
to think they're working in a busy office. The tape, from Nextech,
features the sounds of doors closing, phones ringing, typewriters
clacking, drawers banging, and unintelligible voices droning in the
background. (Atlanta Journal/Constitution 11/3/93 F2) (E/P)
=> MULTIMEDIA MODEM. AT&T Paradyne has developed a new modem capable
of sending text or voice plus video images over the same phone line
simultaneously. The DataPort 2001 uses a technology called
VoiceSpan, which increases the capacity of existing phone lines by
splitting a single line into two channels, one for audio and the
other for high-speed data, such as images. (St. Petersburg Times
11/2/93 E1) (E/P)
=> COMMERCIAL ZAPPER. The Arthur D. Little consulting firm has
developed the technology for a device that can detect and eliminate
commercials; it finds a commercial by sensing blank frames and
sound-level dips that precede and follow it. God bless Arthur C.
Little. (SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bill Husted, 2/3/94,
p. C2) (E/P)
=> CHANNEL-SURFER ZAPPER. Keep your eye out for Stop It!, a device
designed to temporarily jam the remote control's infrared signal,
rendering it inoperative. Couch Potato power politics may never be
the same again. Since channel-surfing seems to be a male behavior,
the idea of an equalizer appeals to some women. But how long before
we see the device used as evidence in a murder case? The device
should retail for about $30. The inventor's wife, who has been
testing prototypes, says the best strategy is not to use it all
the time. "It works better when there's an element of surprise."
What possesed this man to invent this insidious device?
(SOURCE: WSJ 11/24/93, p. B1)
======================================================================
"We know a former senior intelligence official who says, 'Give me $1
billion and 20 people and I'll shut America down. I'll shut down the
Federal Reserve, all the ATMs; I'll desynchronize every computer in
the country.' We are in fact going to see infoterrorism, not just
hackers playing games." - Futurist Alvin Toffler, interviewed in
Information Week 1/10/94, p. 10
======================================================================
FOCUS ON BUSINESS ISSUES
==================================
Stop Wasting Time!
Let's get right to the point: About 280 hours a year, or some seven
typical work weeks are wasted due to poor communication. That's the
conclusion Office Team, a temporary-staffing firm in Menlo Park,
Calif., arrived at after they asked 150 executives at large U.S.
companies to estimate how much time was wasted in their companies each
week because of crossed wires between staff and management. All the
executives queried were VPs or higher, and included several IS
managers. They responded that on average 14% of each week is wasted.
To regain that time, Office Team recommends that managers give clear
and precise instructions, and employees should speak up if they fail
to understand what's expected of them. In general, the firm says,
everyone should try to stay focused on the task at hand. Can't say it
clearly? See the next item. It all sounds so simple, and yet . . .
what was that last part? (SOURCE: InformationWeek, 11/22/93)
==================================
In Memos, Brevity is the Soul of IT
IS workers can expect to do a fair amount of writing on the job. Every
day, there are a profusion of memos, documents, letters, plans,
reports, and performance reviews to turn out. There's one small
problem: IS people are sometimes more fascinated by technology and
business than by grammar and sentence structure. Their [non-computer]
language writing skills frequently leave something to be desired.
Gary Blake, a consultant in Port Washington, N.Y., has written a guide
called The IS Manager's Friend. Designed to help IS managers write
clearly and concisely, it includes samples of status reports, meeting
minutes, and memos written by real IS managers. All of the prose is
easy to read; in many cases, names and details have been changed to
protect the innocent. The guide shows IS managers how the most
successful execs communicate with top management, subordinates,
consultants and vendors. It also includes tips on the proper tone and
level of persuasiveness for various topics. Blake says good writing is
vital. "If managers want their staff to communicate more clearly, they
have to lead the charge."
For a copy of the $18 guide or further information, write to Blake --
clearly and concisely -- at the Communications Workshop, 130 Shore Rd.,
Port Washington, N.Y. 11050.
==================================
Surefire Cures for Meeting Madness (Stanley Bing)
REMEMBER delegation? Sure you do. That was the thing you did when you
had staff -- people you could tell to go to all the meetings you
didn't wish to take, make or do. Today, even the most august nabob
must attend an endless series of confabs, sitdowns and chatfests. Here
are some easy, fun games to lighten the meeting load, or at least keep
you awake.
= PASS THE TRASH. Carefully scan the table for the other individual
who is about to experience synaptic collapse. Don't worry -- he'll be
there. Now carefully and soberly write something idiotic on a small
piece of paper and, in full sight of reigning authority, pass it
across the table to him. Again: this move should be obvious and
unabashed, so brazen that no one could possibly guess that the inside
of the missive reads: "LaVigne should probably do something about the
hair in his ears." Your goal here is to make your colleague blow ice
water through his nose.
= VISION QUEST. Deep into the meeting, while the V.P. of H.R. is
touting the new H.M.O., when the only light at the end of the tunnel
is an oncoming train, have some real fun. Think back to your company's
Big Themes over the years. Remember 1984's "You Make the Difference"?
How about "Reachin' the Top!" from 1989? Or why not make a chart
showing how "Employee Ownership" led to "Stewardship Through
Excellence," producing today's thrust toward "Performance Plus"?
= MANAGING BY WALKING AROUND. When all else has failed, you're going
to have to stave off sleep by appearing so engaged that you can't stay
in your seat. Bonus points are granted to those who move cleanly and
swiftly to a corner of the room and stand rocking back and forth,
looking as if they just might say something of great import.
(Stanley Bing came up with these. He writes the pseudonymous
"Executive Summary" column for Esquire, and his 1992 book "Crazy
Bosses" is available in paperback from Pocket Books)
======================================================================
INTERNET 101:
=======================
The Magic of the Internet (Peter H. Green)
According to research supplied at the Internet World '93 conference in
Manhattan last week, the Internet is attracting some 150,000 new users
each month, who join a population now estimated at 15 million or more.
Many of these new users are businesses that sense the importance of
being on the "Net" but may not understand why, beyond the obvious
appeal of electronic mail.
"It's like magic, it's like an incantation," said Elizabeth Lane
Lawley, director of Internet Training and Consulting Services of
Tuscaloosa, Ala. "You don't have to know what it means. You just say
'Internet' and everyone smiles and nods their heads and says, 'Oh yeah,
it's the wave of the future, yeah.' " Internet mania affects companies
large and small. "Kentucky Fried Chicken just sent me an inquiry, and
I've been talking to cable companies," she said. "I've also been
hearing from relatives who operate small businesses and want to know
what the Internet is all about."
What the Internet is all about, basically, is this: It has become the
postal service, telephone system and research library of the
electronic age allowing millions of people to exchange information
virtually anywhere in the world and at any time usually in a matter of
minutes, using commonly available technology.
The source of the Internet's appeal is that anyone on the Net can post
and retrieve information, but the practical result, which is often
frustrating to businesses accustomed to logical hierarchy and order,
is that there is no defined or enforced structure for posting that
information. As a result, even experienced Internet users often wind
up chasing their tails when they try to fetch information. (SOURCE:
"A Growing Internet is Trying to Take Care of Business", NYT 12/12/93,
p. F7)
=======================
<<<ACCESS>>> Where to get answers about Internet basics
= Internet Services Frequently Asked Questions & Answers (FAQ)
As a novice, you will be more welcome on the internet if you make an
effort to at least understand the basics. Most of us aren't used to
dealing with a communications medium like this, where your every
utterance can be spread far and wide. It must be annoying to hear
people asking the same questions over and over. "How do I FTP files?
How do I get information about the Internet online? What's a good
book to read for more information about the Internet?" The
internet-services.faq was created to answer those basic questions and
more. It's short, it's sweet, and it will tell you where to go from
there.
To receive the latest version by email,
send a message to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu
message: send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/faq
A program at that address will read your mail, process your request,
and reply with mail containing the FAQ. You'll be off to a good start.
=======================
<<<ACCESS>>> Internet Magazines (All prices in US dollars)
= 3W - A global networking newsletter, published bi-monthly. ($45 a
year) including airmail postage. Individual issues cost $7.50
including airmail postage. For more information, contact
3W@ukartnet.demon.co.uk . 3W has a nice homebrew air about it.
= Boardwatch, published monthly. ($36 a year) (800) 933-6038.
E-mail: jack.rickard@boardwatch.com
Focus includes bulletin board systems, legal aspects of the online
world and the Internet. Boardwatch also has an online BBS. This is a
good place to keep up with the online scene. Check your local
newsstand.
= The Internet Business Journal, a monthly newsletter ($149 a year;
$75 for educational institutions and small businesses.) published
by Strangelove Press. E-mail: mstrange@fonorola.net
or phone: (613) 565-0982. Sample copies available on request or by
gopher to "gopher.fonorola.net".
= The Internet Letter, a monthly newsletter ($249 a year) published by
Net Week Inc., Washington (800) 638-9335.
= Internet World, a bimonthly magazine ($29 a year) published by the
Meckler Corporation, Westport, Conn. (800) 632-5537.
E-mail: meckler@jvnc.net
Internet World has been getting better with each issue. The March/
April issue has features on museums online, the trouble with gopher,
and Internet culture. A general interest mag for the net. Check your
local newsstand.
= Matrix News (Matrix Information and Directory Services.) Published
in online and paper editions. Online edition is $25 for 12 monthly
issues ($15 for students.) Run by John Quartermain, author of The
Matrix, one of the first comprehensive overviews of the emerging
information infrastructure. E-mail: mids@tic.com
= Online Access. Subscription is $19.80 for 8 issues.
E-mail: 70324.343@compuserve.com
Their coverage is more oriented towards BBS systems, and they
publish lots of resource listings, like BBS numbers arranged by
subject areas.
======================================================================
On Reading Mondo 2000 (Vivian Sobchak)
Writing at a historical moment when the starving or dead bodies of
Somali children and the emaciated or dead bodies wrought by Bosnia's
civil warfare fill our television screens and the displaced bodies of
the homeless fill our streets, it is both comprehensible and extremely
disturbing that Mondo 2000's supposedly utopian celebration of the
liberating possibilities of the new electronic frontier promotes an
ecstatic dream of disembodiment. This is alienation raised to the
level of ekstasis: "A being put out of its place." It is also an
apolitical fantasy of escape. Historical accounts of virtual reality
tell us that one of the initial project's slogans was "Reality isn't
enough anymore," but psychoanalytic accounts would more likely tell us
that the slogan should be read in its inverse form -- that is,
"Reality is too much right now."
Hence the ambivalence of mondoid desire. In a cultural moment when
temporal coordinates are oriented toward technological computation
rather than the physical rhythms of the human body, and spatial
coordinates have little meaning for that body beyond its brief
physical occupation of a "here," in a cultural moment when there is
too much perceived risk to living and too much information for both
body and mind to contain and survive, need we wonder at the desire to
transcend the gravity of our situation and to escape where and who we
are? It is apposite that one of the smarter articles in the early
issues of M2 philosophically entitles itself "Being in Nothingness,"
and tells us of the ultimate escape: "Nothing could be more
disembodied or insensate than . . . cyberspace. It's like having had
your everything amputated." This is dangerous stuff -- the stuff that
(snuff) dreams are made of. Indeed, M2 is exceedingly -- and
apparently indiscriminately -- proud that it is dangerous, for, as of
its fourth issue, it quoted the preceding sentence as a "come on" to
potential subscribers. ("Reading Mondo 2000", The South Atlantic
Quarterly, Volume 92, Number 4 (Fall '93) p. 576) ==>On the Newsstand
======================================================================
THE KULTCHUR KORNER
=> CYBERSPACE-SHIP ENTERPRISE. Though commercial uses of the Internet
have been growing rapidly, Educom VP Mike Roberts says that "for
every greedy guy who shows up on the network trying to make a buck,
there will be people around with something of equal value that's
available for free. That will be do a lot to thwart the greed."
(New York Times Week in Review 1/2/94 p. 5) (E/P)
=> BILLBOARDS IN SPACE. Public outcry over plans to put a mile-long
inflatable billboard in Earth orbit has prompted the House and
Senate to introduce legislation banning space advertising. The
Space Advertising Prohibition Act would deny licenses for space
billboards, ban import of products advertised on billboards, and
ask the president to seek an international agreement on space
advertising. (SOURCE: The Internet Letter Vol.1, No1, October 1993)
=> RADIO SHACK IN RUSSIA. In mid-December, the first Radio Shack store
in Russia opened on Leninsky Prospect in Moscow. (Atlanta
Constitution 12/28/93, pg. F3) (E/P)
=> GO OUT AND PLAY. Japan's Education Ministry blames deteriorating
eyesight in Japanese youth on the increasing use of video games and
monitors, and long study periods. An agency survey reported children's
eyesight at the worst levels ever. (WSJ 1/5/94, p. A7) (E/P)
=> THE SLOB FACTOR. The IT-enabled telecommuting phenomenon has led to
numerous new problems, such as isolation, stagnation, and family
strife. The problem that has gotten the least notice is sloppiness.
Telecommuters have very messy offices. Thus, a cottage industry is
springing up to help people who are technologically adept but lack
more mundane skills. (SOURCE: Home Workers Are A Bunch Of Slobs, Sue
Shellenbarger. WSJ, 12/15/93, p. B1)
======================================================================
FUTURE TECH
=> I CAN TELL BY THE WAY YOU SMELL. Australian engineers have created
prototype robots that can find their way around by sense of smell.
Like ants, who use pheromones to mark the path to food, these
mobile robots can spit out, detect, and follow a trail of camphor.
This gives the robot two new abilities -- it can find it's way home
and it "knows" where it's been. (SOURCE: Sunny Bains, "Stinking
Robots", WIRED 2.02 February '94, p. 26)
=> CDC BITTEN BY VIRUS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) in Atlanta, the federal government's top agency in fighting
biological viruses and diseases, recently got infected by a
computer virus. According to a memo to CDC employees, the virus,
named Chile Medeira, was introduced via a computer disk sent from
overseas. The cost to the CDC-mainly from employee downtime and
systems repair -- has not been tabulated, but estimates run as high
as $300,000. No data was lost, however, as the virus spread from
a single workstation through the CDC network and prevented other
workstations from being booted.
=> ROBOTS DISPENSE DRUGS. Hospitals are finding that using robots to
dispense drugs frees pharmacists to spend "more time monitoring
patient therapy and teaching [patients] how to take medication,"
according to a doctor at the University of Wisconsin Hospital &
Clinics. Meanwhile, nurses at the University of California San
Diego Medical Center use an ATM-like machine that issues drugs for
patients when the correct personal code is punched in.
(WSJ 11/4/93 p. A1) (E/P)
======================================================================
BUSINESS BRIEFS
=> PRICE/PERFORMANCE SHAKEUP IMMINENT. Intel recently announced that
that its entire line of chips will double in speed over the next
year -- without a price increase. With the PowerPC chip due to hit
the market soon, there should be some great prices on Pentium and
486 machines by the end of the year.
=> MULTIMEDIA PATENT. Back in November Compton's New Media surprised
the world by announcing that it effectively had a patent on
multimedia. US Patent #5,241,671 holds that the company invented
"multimedia search system using a plurality of entry path means
which indicate interrelatedness of information." Compton's wanted
a 3% royalty payment on any products using the multimedia/hyper-
text interface, which covers a lot of ground. Last I heard, the
patent is not holding up in court on the basis of "prior art" --
in other words that people had been working on similar designs
before the patent was applied for. (SOURCE: NYT)
=> DIGITAL HDTV STANDARD CHOSEN. The Digital HDTV Grand Alliance chose
Zenith's Vestigial Sideband, or VSB technology as the standard on
which future HDTV transmissions will be based. The technology was
chosen based in factors such as geographic coverage area, minimal
interference with with existing analog TV, and the robustness of
the broadcast signal. A complete HDTV system is scheduled for field
testing later this year in Charlotte, N.C. The first HDTV systems
are expected on the market by 1997. (SOURCE: NYT, 2/17/94, p. D1)
======================================================================
LESSONS OF TIME (Joel Dreyfus)
The story of the hardware company that becomes obsolete has
turned into a computer industry cliche. But software companies
are also vulnerable to marketplace shifts. For example, when new
desktop platforms arise, software companies scramble to respond
to the capabilities of the new machines. Not all can successfully
make the transition (remember SuperCalc?). So you can bet that a
number of big software companies are having sleepless nights over
the possible emergence of new computing platforms based on the
PowerPC and Alpha chips. (InformationWeek, 1/31/94, p. 4)
======================================================================
PDA NEWS
===================
The Newton Saga
JOHN SCULLEY, chief executive of Apple Computer Inc., traveled the
world last year to preach about products he predicted would set his
company apart from the rest of its industry.
The star of his show was a palm-sized computer that would read
handwritten notes jotted on its screen with a special pen, convert
them to text, store them for future use, even transmit them wirelessly
to other computers. More than that, the computer would anticipate its
master's needs like a secretary for example, automatically entering
into the machine's electronic datebook an appointment time transmitted
from someone else. Dubbed the Newton the new device would arrive, he
promised, not in the 21st century but well in time for a place under
the Christmas tree in a year or two.
To those who heard Mr. Sculley and watched demonstrations of the
Newton, it seemed it was almost ready to ship.
The truth was very different. While Mr. Sculley was proclaiming an era
of "Newton Intelligence," the team designing the computer was
floundering. For one thing, the computer language on which the Newton
was supposed to be based was nowhere near ready; even as Mr. Sculley
was touting the Newton, its design team was throwing out four years of
Apple research and starting from scratch using another language.
The completion of the Newton, originally scheduled for April 1992,
would ultimately be postponed until August 1993. And the computer
would be far less ambitious than the one Mr. Sculley was describing.
The pressure to finish, exhilarating at first, eventually overwhelmed
some of the young designers. After 18-hour days, some engineers went
home and cried. Some quit. One had a breakdown and ended up in jail.
One took a pistol and killed himself.
For all their efforts, though, the Newton has so far come up short. It
has been ridiculed for its mistakes in translating handwriting and
called unworthy of its price, $699 and up. Apple has sold little more
than 50,000 Newtons in the four months since the computer hit the
market; by contrast, the company's Macintosh computer sold 70,000
machines in just its first three months a decade ago, even though it
cost three times what the Newton does.
=> TRY AND TRY AGAIN. The first generation of personal communicators
is dead in the water -- long live the second generation. History
indicates there's nothing remarkable or ominous about, say, the
Newton's slow start; Apple's own Macintosh, for example, languished
for two generations. Now, Sony and Compaq are preparing their own
personal communicators, and Apple and AT&T will be back with
follow-ups. (SOURCE: Christian Hill, "First Hand-Held Data
Communicators Are Losers, But Makers Won't Give Up", WSJ, 2/3/94,
p. B1)
=> WHEN THE PEN IS NOT MIGHTY. After collectively investing nearly
$100 million in the technology, several companies are coming to
the reluctant conclusion that pen-based computing isn't all it was
cracked up to be. AT&T's Eo Inc. subsidiary, whose combination
cellular phone/fax/pen computer sold poorly, is reorganizing to
sell a "smart" cellular phone instead. Slate Corp., a pen computing
software developer, has run through its funding and sold most of
its assets to Compaq. (SOURCE: Rory J. O'Connor. "Pen Computing's
Tragic Heroes Meet Their Fate", San Jose Mercury News, 12/2/94,
p. lF)
=> EO SHIFTS GEARS. AT&T's Eo Inc. announced it will throw in the
towel on its Model 440 data communicators, and will refocus on
producing cheaper, smart cellular phones. (SOURCE: WSJ 2/1/94, p.
B6) (E/P)
=> HAND-HELD WIRELESS. Motorola is entering the personal communicator
market with Envoy, a hand-held communicator with built-in ability
to send data over a digital wireless network. (SOURCE: WSJ 2/3/94,
p. B6) (E/P)
======================================================================
Bits and Bytes Bookshelf
Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction - by
Steve McConnell [Microsoft Press, 1993. 880 pp. $35.00]
- This book, written for software developers and their managers,
covers the art and science of the development process from design
to testing. Example programs are provided in C, Pascal, Basic,
Fortran and ADA, but the emphasis here is on programming
techniques. This looks like an excellent reference for anyone
interested in improving their coding skills. I look forward to
living with this book and learning some secrets of the Master
Programmers at Microsoft.
======================================================================
On The Newsstand
WINDOWS MAGAZINE. The March 1994 issue has VERY useful articles on
tuning and troubleshooting Windows. The latter would come in quite
handy when you're having trouble with your Windows system.
======================================================================
Beautiful Plans for World Marketing . . . er, Peace:
"We now sell virtually the same toys all over the world. So it stands
to reason, if all these kids are playing with the same toys, how could
they ever possibly fight with each other? There's a common thread
about how they grow up and what they play with. I thinks that's
terrific. It makes for one world." - Charles Lazarus, founder and
C.E.O., Toys "R" Us (SOURCE: Unplastic News)
======================================================================
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