1998 on the Web - Technology Diary

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WORTH KEEPING AN EYE ON
Has Microsoft Corp. chased Java off the desktop? Not according to SevenMountains Software Inc. Next week at Internet World, the Java startup will introduce TaskForce, a Java desktop and productivity suite aimed at enterprises. Code is due to ship in mid-November. Click here for details.

RECORDABLE DVD
The battle between digital versatile disc and Divx has left more than a few consumers confused, and the multiple rewritable DVD formats are only going to make things worse. More info here.

LAST MINUTE ACTIVITY
The U.S. Congress may pass more high-tech legislation than expected in the next few days before it adjourns for the November elections, a policy analyst said last week. Bills on Internet copyright, taxes, and employment are likely to be passed and on the way to the White House for President Clinton's signature before lawmakers leave town. Highlights here.

Thought for the day: "Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." - John Cotton Dana

NOW IF THEY'LL BUY IN
The World Wide Web Consortium today finalized the Document Object Model Level 1 specification, providing guidelines for creating the next generation of Web documents. Browser developers Netscape and Microsoft both contributed to the spec, which outlines a standard API for manipulating objects and controlling HTML and XML documents and data.

NETSCAPE GIVES IE A TUNEUP
In an effort to drive traffic to its Netcenter website, Netscape is rolling out just the kind of aggressive strategy it has often attributed to its rival, Microsoft. Netscape TuneUp for IE is a small Active X control that runs on top of IE. Netcenter will begin offering it for free by the end of this month. Full story here.

BELL ATLANTIC TO LAUNCH DSL
The phone company is expected to annouce a major -- and long-awaited -- DSL rollout on Monday in a move to gain ground in the high-speed Internet access market. More info here.

Thought for the day: "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." - James Baldwin

1998 ON THE WEB SUPPORTING GREY DAY
Beginning tonight at midnight, I will transform the entry page to this site to one without color. Why? October 1st is Grey Day. You can help by participating in the struggle against the ever growing copyright infringement that exists on today’s Web. Only with education and understanding can we keep the web filled with original creative content and prevent the dull grey you will see here tomorrow from becoming a long lasting harsh reality.

MCI WORLDCOM NOT SURE
Netscape and Intel may be cranking up support of Linux with their investment in Red Hat Software, but not all ISPs, particularly the largest one, plan to quickly embrace this suddenly popular version of Unix. Full story here.

PLAYING FAIR
Microsoft unveiled features that will appear in the final version of FrontPage 2000, including one that makes sites easier to read with rival Netscape Communication Corp.'s Navigator browser. More info here.

Thought for the day: "The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you've got it made." - Jean Giraudoux

MAC USERS EXCITED
The date has been set for the release of the newest version of the Macintosh operating system. Apple will unveil an updated version of its operating system software, Mac OS 8.5, with special launch events to be held by resellers on October 17, according to industry sources. More info here.

NOT AGAIN
Microsoft yanked the Office 97 Service Release 2 off its Web site, citing installation bugs. The company is telling customers who have had trouble to wait until the company reposts a patch. If all this sounds familiar, it should. Last year's SR1 was so buggy Microsoft had to pull it from its Web site and repost an update. Full story here.

SAMMY SOSA OF ASTRO PHYSICS
A burst of radiation from a distant star smashed into the Earth’s upper atmosphere last month with enough energy to power civilization for a billion billion years, astronomers say. The immense wave of energy, the most powerful ever recorded from beyond the sun, caused at least two satellites to shut down briefly. Details here.

Thought for the day: "Watermelon -- it's a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face." - Enrico Caruso

1998 on the Web

WHY IS INTEL EMBRACING LINUX?
First and foremost, say industry experts, Linux provides Intel with access to the much-coveted Internet Service Provider (ISP) market. Intel is expected to make several Linux-related announcements tomorrow at the ISPCon trade show -- including an investment in Linux developer Red Hat Software Inc. Click here for full story.

SUPER PORT
Two weeks after completing its $37 billion merger, MCI WorldCom today announced On-Net, its first suite of "local-to-global-to-local" end-to-end services for business customers that include voice, data, and Internet services. They are also offering customers the ability to control their own services using online Web-based products that include invoicing, payment, customer support, and call detail. It will also provide business customers with real-time network monitoring, traffic, and usage-analysis tools. Get the details here.

HELP ME IMPROVE
As you can tell from the name of this site, there are only 3 months left in its lifetime. I have been working on the design/development cycle for what's to come in January, and you can help me put the content together. The new survey found at left gives you a chance to let me know what you want to see more of in the future. So take just a moment to enter your choice, then hit your browser's back button to return here.

Thought for the day: "Men are what their mothers made them." - Ralph Waldo Emerson