From diderot@hitl.washington.edu Sun Aug 21 12:42:57 1994 Received: from mx3.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.4/UW-NDC Revision: 2.30 ) id AA24181; Sun, 21 Aug 94 12:42:57 -0700 Received: from hitl-new.hitl.washington.edu by mx3.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.4/UW-NDC Revision: 2.30 ) id AA29143; Sun, 21 Aug 94 12:42:56 -0700 Received: by hitl.hitl.washington.edu; id AA20940; Sun, 21 Aug 1994 12:42:00 -0700 Resent-Message-Id: <9408211942.AA20940@hitl.hitl.washington.edu> Return-Path: owner-edupage@ivory.educom.edu Received: from localhost.educom.edu ([127.0.0.1]) by ivory.educom.edu with SMTP id <83159(5)>; Fri, 19 Aug 1994 04:07:49 -0400 Received: from [192.52.179.105] ([192.52.179.105]) by ivory.educom.edu with SMTP id <83443(5)>; Thu, 18 Aug 1994 22:02:22 -0400 Message-Id: <94Aug18.220222edt.83443(5)@ivory.educom.edu> Date: Thu, 18 Aug 1994 22:02:21 -0400 Reply-To: info@ivory.educom.edu Sender: owner-edupage@ivory.educom.edu Precedence: bulk From: info@ivory.educom.edu (Edupage) To: Edupage Subject: Edupage 8/18/94 X-Sender: info@educom.edu (Unverified) X-Listprocessor-Version: 7.01 -- ListProcessor by CREN Resent-To: scivw@hitl.hitl.washington.edu Resent-Date: Sun, 21 Aug 94 12:41:59 -0700 Resent-From: Toni Emerson Resent-Xmts: smtp Status: OR ************************************************************************ Edupage, a summary of news items on information technology, is provided three times each week as a service by Educom -- a consortium of leading colleges and universities seeking to transform education through the use of information technology. ************************************************************************ TOP STORIES Internet Backbone Set For Techno-Overhaul Drake Gets Power Macs Telemedicine Faces Obstacles Compaq Puts Warnings On Keyboards Sega Plans 50 High-Tech Theme Parks Pacific Telesis Skips Trial For Interactive Services IBM Plans Electronic Software Delivery MCI Offers Local Service In Illinois Ferraris Or Edsels On The I-Way? America Online To Compete With The Internet ALSO PCs Poised To Polish Off The Apples In Education Getting Down To Business With CD-ROM Information Detectives Microsoft And AT&T Push Windows NT Fungus-Resistant Indestructible Computer AT&T Offers Notebooks And Multimedia Computers Tax Man Encourages Electronic Filing Virtual Offices Can Create Real Problems K-III And Reed Elsevier Eye Ziff Paper In The Paperless Office Software Sales Statistics Virtual Distractions INTERNET BACKBONE SET FOR TECHNO-OVERHAUL The old NSFNet, the backbone of the Internet, will be taken out of commission this month as new equipment is phased in. Some users fear the changeover could cause technical glitches, but business users are hopeful that many of the stringent limits on advertising will not apply as forcibly on the new network. (The Internet Letter 8/1/94) DRAKE GETS POWER MACS Drake University is leasing $3 million worth of Apple Power Macintoshes, its fourth generation of computers. The school has spent $15 million on campus computers since 1987. (Wall Street Journal 8/18/94 A1) TELEMEDICINE FACES OBSTACLES The use of digital compression to send high-quality video images from rural areas to big-city hospitals for diagnosis has been instrumental in bringing specialized care to rural America. But support for telemedicine is far from universal, and doctors trained in conventional diagnostic methods are uncomfortable with the high-tech approach. In addition, fewer than 1,000 genuine teleconsultations were performed in North America last year, resulting in a lack of data on the subject. Finally the cost-effectiveness of equipping telemedical centers has yet to be proven, and the licensing and reimbursement issues involved in performing medicine across state and national borders must be resolved. (Investor's Business Daily 8/17/94 A4) COMPAQ PUTS WARNINGS ON KEYBOARDS In response to concerns over repetitive stress injuries, Compaq Computer will begin placing warning labels on its keyboards urging users to read their booklet on safety and comfort guidelines for using the machines. Earlier this year, Compaq won what was believed to be the first jury verdict in a case attempting to link keyboard use to wrist injuries. (Wall Street Journal 8/17/94 B6) SEGA PLANS 50 HIGH-TECH THEME PARKS Building on the success of its two high-tech theme parks in Japan, Sega Enterprises plans to open up to 50 similar parks in the U.S. by the end of the century. The company says it already has 40 to 50 proposals for partnerships to build the parks. (Miami Herald 8/17/94 C3) PACIFIC TELESIS SKIPS TRIAL FOR INTERACTIVE SERVICES Pacific Telesis Group has decided to forego the trial stage and will move directly into commercial deployment of its interactive video network in California. The company cited the looming prospect of competition from cable in the local phone market as the impetus for jumping the gun on its planned $16 billion statewide network. (Wall Street Journal 8/17/94 B6) IBM PLANS ELECTRONIC SOFTWARE DELIVERY IBM is planning a service that will allow customers to order, receive and distribute software over its IBM Global Network. The company is also looking into delivering software through online services such as Prodigy, the Internet, and through advanced digital satellite technology. (Investor's Business Daily 8/17/94 A7) MCI OFFERS LOCAL SERVICE IN ILLINOIS MCI's plan to offer local phone service in Illinois is quite different from Ameritech's. Ameritech had asked the state's commerce commission for permission to open the Illinois market to competition in exchange for the right to enter the long-distance market; MCI says Ameritech's proposals would actually impede local competition. Ameritech's plan would make customers change phone numbers if they switched providers; MCI wants to let them keep the same numbers. MCI also disputes Ameritech's formula for charging MCI for calls across Ameritech lines. (New York Times 8/18/94 C1) FERRARIS OR EDSELS ON THE I-WAY? A Wall Street Journal editorial deplores the over-regulation contained in S. 1822, sponsored by Sen. Fritz Hollings, and comes out in favor of a draft bill being circulated by Sen. Bob Dole. On the Hollings bill: "The worst restrictions have to do with `universal service,' which is so generously defined that companies may be forced to provide video-on-demand and other entertainment options free to impoverished customers." On the Dole bill: "His draft legislation would even repeal the 1992 Cable Act. Such sweeping deregulation is surely the only way the I-Way is likely to get built." (Wall Street Journal 8/17/94 A12) AMERICA ONLINE TO COMPETE WITH THE INTERNET America Online has formed an alliance with publishing giant Simon & Schuster to form the "College Online" interactive computer service which would seek to become a commercial alternative to the Internet. AOL also announced that its subscriber base has passed the 1-million mark. (New York Times 8/17/94 C4) ======================================================================== PCs POISED TO POLISH OFF THE APPLES IN EDUCATION As schools step up spending to replace the discontinued Apple IIs that constitute almost half of all their computers, IBM and Compaq are poised to do battle for Apple's core education market. They point out that students should be trained on the type of computer that they will most likely find in the working world, which is 85% IBM-compatible. "The Apple mind-set among educators is beginning to dissipate," says an Arizona school district official. It's estimated that primary and secondary schools will spend around $2.5 billion on computer hardware this year, and that spending will increase by 12% to 14% per year. (Wall Street Journal 8/18/94 B1) GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS WITH CD-ROM Corporations that previously looked on CD-ROMs as storage mechanisms only are now experimenting with the technology for presentations and multimedia spreadsheets. Last year, business and government accounted for half the purchases in CD-ROM multimedia applications. Market penetration is still a problem, however, with only 2.7 million of the 39 million PCs currently installed in business and government equipped with CD-ROM drives. (Investor's Business Daily 8/18/84 A4) INFORMATION DETECTIVES A new breed of high-tech detectives are selling their skills in negotiating computerized databases to help you answer questions such as: is your nanny a dangerous driver?...has your home builder ever filed for bankruptcy?...has your new employee really earned the credentials on his resume? One such group is the Detective Information Network in Annandale, Virginia, which bills callers $4 an hour for consultation. (New York Times 8/18/94 C1) MICROSOFT AND AT&T PUSH WINDOWS NT Microsoft and AT&T want to make the Windows NT operating system an industry standard for large-scale computer jobs. AT&T says it will add several mainframe-class features to Windows NT by the end of 1995, including high-speed transaction processing and so-called high-availability technology for minimizing breakdowns. A new version of Windows NT is due out in October, and is expected to be twice as fast as the original version while using 25% less memory. (Wall Street Journal 8/18/94 B6) FUNGUS-RESISTANT INDESTRUCTIBLE COMPUTER Group Technologies has come out with the Badger, a 6.5-pound notebook computer designed to resist rain, extreme temperatures and even fungus. The Badger is aimed at the military, law enforcement, utility workers and other mobile employees. (Tampa Tribune 8/17/94 B&F 8) AT&T OFFERS NOTEBOOKS AND MULTIMEDIA COMPUTERS AT&T is coming out with lightweight notebooks and multimedia computers aimed for the mobile professional and small-office market. (New York Times 8/17/94 C3) TAX MAN ENCOURAGES ELECTRONIC FILING To encourage employers to file workers' statements of earnings electronically, the Canadian revenue service is offering free copies of self-mailing slips for the 1994 tax year that will save companies the expense of buying envelopes and eliminate the cost of manually separating slips from carbons and distributing them. (Ottawa Citizen 8/17/94 D12) VIRTUAL OFFICES CAN CREATE REAL PROBLEMS As companies take advantage of new technologies to move workers into "virtual offices," they're running into some very real problems, including low morale and employee burnout. An office in the home means that there is no clearly defined end to the workday, and one Compaq vice president worries about getting her staff to stop sending faxes in the middle of the night. "People are now thinking and working on the job 12 to 18 hours a day," she says. Employees who are forced into telecommuting also sometimes feel taken advantage of. "Everybody feels that having an office in their home is kind of a sacrifice for the company," says a manufacturer service rep. (Wall Street Journal 8/17/94 B1) K-III AND REED ELSEVIER EYE ZIFF K-III Communications and Reed Elsevier are considering acquiring parts, but not all, of Ziff Communications, which is up for sale to the highest bidder. The Ziff family is hoping to get $2 billion to $3 billion for the high-tech publishing empire and would strongly prefer to hand over the company intact rather than auction it off piecemeal. (Wall Street Journal 8/17/94 B5) PAPER IN THE PAPERLESS OFFICE 50% of respondents to a survey by Pitney-Bowes said that computers create more paper flow than non-computerized offices as users continue to send paperless memos and reports straight to the nearest printer. (Ottawa Citizen 8/17/94 A5) SOFTWARE SALES STATISTICS First quarter sales figures from the Software Publishers Association indicate that compared to first quarter a year ago sales of programs written for Windows are up 42.9%, for DOS down by 32.3, for Macintosh up 17%. Overall, the biggest jump in a program category was home education software, up 127%; next was entertainment software, up 57%. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 8/18/94 E2) VIRTUAL DISTRACTIONS Dentists are using Virtual Vision Rx goggles to divert patients' attention while in the chair. The goggles come with headphones, and are hooked up to a tuner and VCR so patients can watch relaxing videos and listen to music. One dentist notes he hasn't had to sedate as many patients since he started using the goggles: "It takes patients to a different place. You leave the room and your mouth stays there." Some patients prefer the combination of a computer-generated space graphics video and nitrous oxide: "It's kind of like a mild trip for them." (Miami Herald 8/18/94 C1) ************************************************************************ EDUPAGE is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to Edupage: send a message to: listproc@educom.edu and in the BODY of the message type: sub edupage Ralph Roister Doister (assuming that your name is Ralph Roister Doister; if it isn't, substitute your own name). ... 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To communicate with Edupage or Educom, send mail to comments@educom.edu or info@educom.edu. ************************************************************************ Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology ************************************************************************ From news@mozz.unh.edu Mon Oct 17 15:48:16 1994 Return-Path: Received: from mx5.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.4/UW-NDC Revision: 2.30 ) id AA17086; Mon, 17 Oct 94 15:48:16 -0700 Received: from hitl-new.hitl.washington.edu by mx5.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.30 ) id AA05089; Mon, 17 Oct 94 15:48:14 -0700 Received: by hitl.hitl.washington.edu; id AA06164; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 15:45:28 -0700 Received: from relay2.UU.NET by rodan.UU.NET with SMTP id QQxmbj28073; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 18:48:07 -0400 Received: from news.unh.edu by relay2.UU.NET with SMTP id QQxmbj28864; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 18:47:39 -0400 Received: by news.unh.edu id AA03186 (5.67b/IDA-1.5 for sci-virtual-worlds@uunet.uu.net); Mon, 17 Oct 1994 18:43:26 -0400 To: sci-virtual-worlds@uunet.uu.net Path: unhn.unh.edu!w_costa From: w_costa@unhn.unh.edu (Bill Costa - UNH Computing & Information Srvs) Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds Subject: Re: TECH: See Thru HMDs Date: 17 Oct 1994 18:47 EST Organization: Comp. & Info. Services, University of New Hampshire Lines: 63 Distribution: world Message-Id: <17OCT199418470792@unhn.unh.edu> References: <37kjvl$n5g@nntp1.u.washington.edu> Nntp-Posting-Host: unhn.unh.edu News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.50 Status: OR In article <37kjvl$n5g@nntp1.u.washington.edu>, ROY RUDDLE writes... >On Wed, 12 Oct 1994, TPK wrote: > >> I have seen several articles about glasses that is a see-through >> TV. Can anyone tell me anything about these? > > >I know of GOGGLEVOX (Virtual Vision, Redmond, Washington, +1 206 882 7878) > >A contact is Gordon Kuenster. I think TPK (kim@opsmaster.msfc.nasa.gov) was asking about "Virtual Vision", an NTSC TV you wear as a HMD. [I, on the other hand would like to hear more about GOGGLEVOX.] But back to "Virtual Vision". It's like a large pair of wrap-around sun glasses, with the thick band across the top. This contains a minature video screen that faces down. Below the screen, attached to the bottom edge of the lense is small, adjustable parabolic mirror to project the image directly at your eye, giving rise to an aerial projection. Only one display/mirror is used, so you have to order a right eye or left eye unit, depending upon your dominant eye. The unit contects to a belt pack unit that features a removable TV tuner (non-stereo audio) and the video control unit. The control unit also accepts NTSC composite video and stereo audio inputs. The visor comes with two lens, a dark and a light tint that are interchangable, the mirror has to be moved from one to the other. It also has a set of bud-style earphones. It runs on batteries or with an adapter. I ordered one about a year ago from Hammacher Schlemmer to try out. I was skeptical that it would work well. I was right. The maker had it almost right, but screwed up on the mirror, a surface coated plastic affair that made it impossible to get a clear image from top to bottom. I sent it back (which is why I bought it from HS, they're no hassle on returns and no real time limit either). Since then I've seen it advertised with "improved optics" and a cheaper price ($699.94 - down from the $1K+ I paid HS). One catalog (SuperLife 1-800-865-7575) incorrectly describes the unit as 3-D reality and does not advise the consumer how to correctly pick the correct unit, based on your dominant eye. The manufacturer's own claim of the image appearing as a giant screen projected about 10 feet in front of you is fairly accurate, although I found that the apparent size could vary depending upon how you focused your eyes. Later......BC PS: Trivia: to find your dominant eye, hold your hand out at arm's length and make an "OK". Center the circle of your fingers over an object like a door knob. Without moving your hand, alternately close your left, then right eye. Whichever eye sees the object still centered in the circle, is probably your dominant eye. ## ## ## ## +----------------------------[ Bill.Costa@UNH.EDU ]---+ ## ### ## ## | Bill Costa | ## #### ## ## | Computing & Information Srvs | ## ## ## ######## | Kingsbury Hall PHONE: +1-603-862-3056 | ## ## #### ## | University of New Hampshire FAX: +1-603-862-4778 | ## ## ### ## | Durham, NH 03824-3591 | ####### ## ## +----------------[ No good deed goes un-punished. ]---+