From: John Conover <john@email.johncon.com>
Subject: forwarded message from Edupage Editors
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 22:18:16 -0700
FYI, "INTERNET-FROM-THE-HOME DOUBLES DURING PAST YEAR" is kind of an
interesting demographic. "AGENCIES, SCHOOLS COMPETE FOR INTERNET II
FUNDING" is discouraging. You see, up until 1 April 1994, the NSF ran
the old ARPANET under contract from the DOD for 4 million bucks a
year, total, which linked all University students, and the entire
National Laboratory System, and administered the world wide Internet,
including all ISP's, and online providers. Maybe something went wrong
since it takes 25 times as much to do it now. Of course, I realize
that the Helium Reserve[1] is a necessary infrastructural requirement
for our way of life ...
John
The Helium Reserve was mandated by Congress in 1925 to maintain the
Army's blimp inventory. It is still maintained, just in case someone
wants to make a blimp.
------- start of forwarded message (RFC 934 encapsulation) -------
Received: (from john@localhost) by johncon.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with UUCP id WAA06677 for john@email.johncon.com; Tue, 22 Oct 1996 22:02:12 -0700
Received: from elanor.oit.unc.edu by netcomsv.netcom.com with ESMTP (8.6.12/SMI-4.1)
id VAA22963; Tue, 22 Oct 1996 21:46:00 -0700
Received: (from server@localhost) by elanor.oit.unc.edu (8.7.2/8.7.1) id RAA15637; Tue, 22 Oct 1996 17:45:33 -0400 (EDT)
Received: (from educom@localhost) by elanor.oit.unc.edu (8.7.2/8.7.1) id PAA03515; Tue, 22 Oct 1996 15:31:19 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <Pine.SOL.3.91.961022153108.3185A-100000@elanor.oit.unc.edu>
Reply-To: educom@educom.unc.edu
Sender: owner-edupage@educom.unc.edu
Precedence: bulk
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
X-To: edupage@elanor.oit.unc.edu
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.0 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
From: Edupage Editors <educom@educom.unc.edu>
To: "EDUCOM Edupage Mailing List" <edupage@elanor.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: Edupage, 22 October 1996
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 15:31:19 -0400 (EDT)
************************************************************
Edupage, 22 October 1996. Edupage, a summary of news about information
technology, is provided three times a week as a service by Educom,
a Washington, D.C.-based consortium of leading colleges and universities
seeking to transform education through the use of information technology.
************************************************************
TOP STORIES
Internet-From-The-Home Doubles During Past Year
Agencies, Schools Compete For Internet II Funding
E-Rate Proposed By Clinton Administration
PICA Pushes For Cryptography Standards
European Commission Eyes Internet Regulations
ALSO
Coming Soon: CDs That Can Read, Write And 'Rase
Customized Searching Goes Beyond The Net
Frontier And Quest To Build New Voice/Data Network
Andreessen Is Our Kind Of Guy
INTERNET-FROM-THE-HOME DOUBLES DURING PAST YEAR
The number of U.S. households linked to the Internet doubled during the past
year to 14.7 million, according to Find/SVP, which conducted its most recent
survey with Jupiter Communications. And while commercial online services
provide access for 8.9 million of those households (up 28% from last year),
plain-vanilla Internet service providers are increasing their presence,
providing access to 4.4 million households (up from 1.4 million last year).
"What's really dramatic is the acceptance of the Internet from home," says
Find/SVP's VP. "Consumers are ready for information access from the
Internet." (Wall Street Journal 21 Oct 96 B11)
AGENCIES, SCHOOLS COMPETE FOR INTERNET II FUNDING
Federal agencies are vying for their share of the Clinton administration's
proposed $100 million Internet II funding, with the National Science
Foundation, the Department of Energy, NASA, the Defense Department's
Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the National Institutes of Health all
slated for a piece of the pie. These same agencies were involved in the
High Performance Computing and Communications program initiated at the end
of the Bush administration. At the same time, eight more colleges and
universities have signed on as charter members of the project, and coalition
members are beginning to jockey for position. Ira Fuchs, president of the
Corporation for Research and Educational Networking, says it's important to
remember the needs of smaller schools, too: "Right now, it is an elite
group. We want to make sure it's not an elitist group." (Chronicle of
Higher Education 25 Oct 96 A29)
E-RATE PROPOSED BY CLINTON ADMINISTRATION
The Clinton administration has presented a framework for a discounted
"E-rate" for telecommunications services to educational institutions. Under
the two-tiered pricing proposal presented to the Federal-State Joint Board
on Universal Service last week, schools and libraries would receive
first-tier services at no charge. This would include "basic connectivity
and Internet access, at adequate transmission speeds." The second tier of
services would be discounted. Further discounts would be available for
schools and libraries in "high-cost or low-income areas." (Education Week on
the Web 16 Oct 96)
PICA PUSHES FOR CRYPTOGRAPHY STANDARDS
The Platform Independent Cryptography Application Programming Interface
Alliance (PICA) has endorsed a set of cryptography standards to assist
developers in creating security features for new software. PICA members
include Apple, IBM, JavaSoft, Motorola, Netscape, Nortel, Novell, RSA Data
Security Inc. and Silicon Graphics. Notably missing is Microsoft, which
recently released its own cryptography standard, available for free to
developers. "Ultimately, they all have to play together," says an analyst
at Zona Research Inc. "Unless you include the Microsoft world there is no
choice." (Interactive Age Digital 18 Oct 96)
EUROPEAN COMMISSION EYES INTERNET REGULATIONS
The European Commission has recommended a voluntary code of conduct on the
Internet, and suggests that increased use of software labeling and filtering
systems could be used to stop the spread of offensive electronic material.
"The problem right now is that the labeling and filtering systems are not
compatible," says a Commission spokesman, who notes that the new Platform
for Internet Content Selection (PICS) is the best candidate for becoming a
universal filtering standard. In addition, a Commission report says that "a
common European framework to clarify the administrative rules and
regulations which apply to access providers and host providers should be
assessed... In order to ensure that users have access to rating systems
suitable to their needs and in order to avoid a situation whereby they have
to rely on rating systems developed for the U.S. where there may be a
different approach on what is suitable content for minors, encouragement
should be given to setting up European rating system." (BNA Daily Report
for Executives 17 Oct 96 A4)
=====================================================
COMING SOON: CDs THAT CAN READ, WRITE AND 'RASE
Philips Electronics N.V., Hewlett-Packard and others have unveiled an
erasable CD-ROM, called CD-RW, or CD-ReWritable. Backers of the new
technology say that erasable CDs will become a flexible new storage
solution, holding 450 times more data than a typical floppy. Critics fear
that "Consumers will be confused," says an industry analyst, who points out
that CD-RWs can't be played on most of the currently installed CD-ROM
drives. CD-RW drives will appear in the first quarter of 1997, and
eventually will replace today's CD-ROM drives. HP hopes to market a
temporary solution called "MultiRead" to enable all new CD-ROM drives to
handle CD-RW discs. CD-RW technology differs from CD-Recordable (CD-R)
technology, which can be recorded on only once. If a mistake is made, the
disc is worthless. Meanwhile, the new DVD (digital video disc) drives that
will be coming out next year will be able to handle CD-RW discs.
(Investor's Business Daily 22 Oct 96 A8)
CUSTOMIZED SEARCHING GOES BEYOND THE NET
Gerd Meissner, who helped customize the German edition of Edupage, has
developed a search service called BOB, The Human Search Engine, which
combines searches of the Net with searches beyond the Net, to help you when
you're looking for such things as: a special German saying? A bookstore in
FRONTIER AND QUEST TO BUILD NEW VOICE/DATA NETWORK
Rochester, N.Y.-based Frontier Corporation, the nation's fifth-largest
long-distance phone service provider, is joining with Quest Communications,
which is in the network construction business, to build a $2-billion
national voice/data network that will connect almost 100 cities and provide
Frontier a 25-year lease for up to a third of the network's carrying
capacity. (New York times 22 Oct 96 C4)
ANDREESSEN IS OUR KIND OF GUY
Netscape co-founder and programming whiz Marc Andreessen admitted on the
Charlie Rose TV show that his home PC crashes regularly; that he hasn't been
able to get his printer or CD-ROM drive to work; and that he has not yet
figured out how to program his VCR. We feel his pain. (Computerworld 21
Oct 96 p138)
THE KEYBOARD FROM HELL?
The QWERTY keyboard, replete with arcane keys such as "Print Screen,"
"Scroll Lock" and "Pause," is a source of frustration to hardware makers,
who say the keyboard will be the last part of the PC to be redesigned,
because what's available now works for most people. Donald Norman, an Apple
fellow, has another opinion, however: "The keyboard is the most bizarre,
ridiculous, nondesigned monstrosity foisted on the American public. We've
put huge amounts of effort into the design of the things you see on the
screen, but the keyboard seems handed down by God -- and it's an evil god...
Everybody will agree it should be fixed. So we'll put it on the list. But
this list is long, and when it comes to ordering it in importance, the
keyboard is just never quite important enough to get our attention." A New
York-based designer and editor concurs: "The keyboard is the most
humiliating and despicable object we have to work with in our daily lives."
(Wall Street Journal 22 Oct 96 B1)
Edupage is written by John Gehl <gehl@educom.edu> & Suzanne Douglas
<douglas@educom.edu>. Voice: 404-371-1853, Fax: 404-371-8057.
Technical support is provided by Information Technology Services at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
************************************************************
Edupage ... is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to Edupage:
send mail to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: subscribe edupage
Ole-Johan Dahl (if your name is Ole-Johan Dahl; otherwise, substitute your
own name). ... To cancel, send a message to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with
the message: unsubscribe edupage. (If you have subscription problems, send
mail to manager@educom.unc.edu.)
Educom Review ... is our bimonthly print magazine on information technology
and education ... Subscriptions are $18 a year in the U.S.; send mail to
offer@educom.edu. When you do, we'll ring a little bell, because we'll be
so happy! Choice of bell is yours: a small dome with a button, like the
one on the counter at the dry cleaners with the sign "Ring bell for
service"; or a small hand bell; or a cathedral bell; or a door bell; or a
chime; or a glockenspiel. Your choice. But ring it!
Educom Update ... is our twice-a-month electronic summary of organizational
news and events. To subscribe, send mail to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with
the message: subscribe update Kristen Nygaard (if your name is Kristen
Nygaard; otherwise, substitute your own name).
Archives & Translations ... Edupage is translated into Chinese, French,
German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian,
Slovak and Spanish. For translations and archives, see
<http://www.educom.edu/ >. Or send mail to translations@educom.unc.edu for
info on subscribing to any of these translations.
The CAUSE96 conference for managers of information resources in higher
education -- see < http://cause-www.colorado.edu > -- will be held Dec. 3-6
this year in San Francisco.
Today's Honorary Subscribers are Ole-Johan Dahl and Kristen Nygaard, who in
1967, at the Norwegian Computing Centre, completed a general-purpose version
of Simula, the first "object-oriented" programming language.
************************************************************
Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology
************************************************************
------- end -------
--
John Conover, john@email.johncon.com, http://www.johncon.com/