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Anvil
Issue Sixteen
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*Anvil is a weekly newsletter and Web site providing insight into
online industry news, issues and trends in easy to swallow caplets.
In this week’s issue:
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TOP
INDUSTRY NEWS
*AOL Struggles On
*Coalition Debunks Congestion Reports
*Net Phones on Hold
DESIGN
*Wayfarer Pushes on PointCast
*Big Brothers/Big Sisters
HOSTING
*Net Users Choice
*Lifetime Internet Access
MARKETING
*More Web Stats
*CNET Reports Q4 Results
TOP
WEB PICKS
*Cosmopolitan
*Men’s Health
*TV Guide
*Vicinity
*AT&T 800 Directory
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TOP INDUSTRY NEWS
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*AOL Struggles On
In response to the overwhelming number of complaints and lawsuits
against AOL, prosecutors from 20 states met yesterday to discuss
possible solutions. In an unending streak of good timing, AOL suffered
yet another outage yesterday that left all 8 million users stranded.
Statistics recently released by AOL outline the problems following
the introduction of flat-rate unlimited use pricing. This month,
average AOL member daily usage is 32 minutes, up from 14 minutes
in September 1996. Daily sessions have gone from 6 million in September
to 10 million, total hours daily have gone from 1.5 million to 4.2
million, and total hours per month from 45 million to an estimated
125 million. AOL attracted a record 1.2 million net new members
during the quarter ending December 31, 1996.
http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=1229136-7d3 http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,7317,00.html
*Coalition
Debunks Congestion Reports
The FCC recently hosted "The Bandwidth Forum" for high
tech companies, consumers and telephone companies to address issues
relating to Internet access and phone lines. The key issue is phone
line bandwidth and taxation, brought to light by telephone companies
and disputed by high tech companies and Internet access providers
(ISPs). The Internet Access Coalition (IAC) recently released a
report, conducted by Boston analyst firm Economics and Technology,
which refutes earlier complaints by national telephone companies
of congested lines and lost revenue opportunities. The 65 page report,
funded by computer industry giants including Microsoft, Intel, AOL,
Earthlink, Novell and Digital Equipment, claims telephone companies
have downplayed their estimated $1.4 billion in new revenues generated
directly from Internet access in 1995. Furthermore, the "telephone
network meltdown" has been greatly exaggerated by using extreme
situations (Silicon Valley) as the national norm. The report cites
AOL’s breakdown as an example, where the problem is lack of modems
and network equipment, not phone lines. According to the coalition’s
report, most of the problem areas can be fixed with packet switching
technology, creating one line for voice, and another for data.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,7222,00.html
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,7223,00.html
*Net
Phones on Hold
In an attempt to close a ten-month-old debate on the use of Internet
phones, The Voice on the Net Coalition, which includes members from
Microsoft and VocalTec, plans to file a petition with the FCC seeking
action on Internet phones, demanding action on the petition or to
drop the matter entirely. ACTA, a trade organization of phone companies,
originally made its bid to stop the sale of Internet telephones
last May. Current Internet phone technology is limited in quality,
but phone companies fear advances in audio compression will increase
the popularity and threaten long-distance rates. Furthermore, unlike
telephone companies, the Internet is not subject to Federal tariffs.
For now, the FCC is silent on the issue. Technologies currently
in development by PictureTel and Lucent Technologies will reportedly
enable users of regular telephones to make a call over the Internet
without initiating the call from a PC.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,7192,00.html
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DESIGN
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*Wayfarer Pushes on PointCast
Wayfarer recently announced a software package and information service,
called Incisa. The new product is targeted directly at the business
market currently serviced by PointCast’s IServer. The client/server
software is devoid of ads typical on PointCast, and offers a large
degree of customization. Wayfarer will initially provide news and
product information from Reuters, PR Newswire, InfoSeek, Lotus,
PC Quote, and Sqribe Technologies. Incisa is available from Wayfarer
and sells for $5,000 for 100 seats.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,7175,00.html
*Big
Brothers/Big Sisters
We are working more than ever before, and have little time left
for family, friends and fun. This trend is part of a decline of
the family unit. To this end, rather than donating money or other
tangible resources, I decided over a year ago to donate a small
amount of my free time to a favorite cause of mine: Big Brothers/Big
Sisters. My commitment to the program requires 12 hours a month
for 12 months. The program has offered me an opportunity to have
a positive influence on an "at risk" youth. Much like
other programs available today, Big Brothers/Big Sisters (a part
of United Way) was relatively easy to join. If everyone donated
just a little time, money or resources to a charity of their choice,
think how much better this planet would be. Use your favorite search
engines to find a charity of choice near you. This concludes today’s
public service announcement.
http://www.infoseek.com/
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search/options
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HOSTING
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*Net Users Choice
Internet users now have a greater selection of high-speed access
options from their local phone and cable companies. Time Warner
recently announced it would enter the California market by providing
cable modem service in San Diego starting February 6, 1997. The
service will reportedly cost $44.95 a month for service to existing
cable subscribers and $49.95 a month to those without. The service
will operate at speeds up to 10 mpbs, nearly 1,000 times faster
than today’s highest-speed modems. Time Warner plans to expand the
service to 10 additional markets by the year’s end. Similarly, @Home
is rolling out its own brand of cable modem access nationally and
is beefing up the features to offer live chat sessions. The service
is rocket fast with a proven infrastructure, yet the bi-directional
data transmission capabilities are unproven. Pacific Telesis and
Bell Atlantic plan to launch a competitive service known as ADSL
or asymetric digital subscriber line, which transmits at 1.5 mbps.
While the service is slower, it utilizes existing phone lines for
simultaneous voice and data transmission. The primary drawbacks
to ADSL are high pricing and a largely untested switching technology,
which is estimated to cost $100 a month. While it’s too early to
tell which mode of connection will ultimately succeed.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,7262,00.html
*Lifetime
Internet Access
A new player has changed the rules in the ongoing battle of Internet
access pricing. Bigger.net recently announced a one flat fee of
$59.95 for unlimited lifetime use. Service includes full PPP access,
local dial-in access numbers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area,
Netscape Navigator 3.01, technical support, email address and 10MB
of disk storage for files. While Internet access is a one-time cost,
email service will cost $10 a year. Bigger.net currently services
the San Francisco area but there are plans to expand to Los Angeles
and San Diego over the next two months. What’s the catch? Members
have to view a 2 1/2-inch by 1/2-inch ad, which can be moved around
the screen using a mouse. Customers will likely agree viewing an
ad is a small price to pay for unlimited lifetime Internet access.
http://www.bigger.net
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MARKETING
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*More Web Stats
According to the latest data from Crestwoods and Associates "Inside
Internet Review," the majority of Internet users have x486
PCs with an average of 77 hertz processors and 14.4 bps modems.
The phone survey includes a pool of 2,000 randomly selected households
throughout the U.S. The pool is divided into four primary groups:
Internet avoiders, intenders, newcomers and veterans. Interestingly,
the progression of processor type and modem speed are not linear
when comparing the four groups. According to the data, Internet
veterans are less likely to own a Pentium processor and 28,8 bps
modem, compared to newcomers. This information supports current
theories that Web developers may want to tone down the use of heavy
graphics and animation when appealing to Internet veterans, who
may not have the proper hardware and prefer an uncluttered presentation
of information in the first place.
http://www.crestwoods.com
*CNET
Reports Q4 Results
One of the most popular and respected online content sites, CNET,
recently posted Q4 financial results, revealing another losing quarter,
typical of Internet companies today. CNET has reported a net loss
of $4.25 million for the fourth quarter of 1996 to end-December,
compared to a net loss of $4.68 million in Q3. The losses were reported
despite a 33 percent increase in quarterly revenues from $4.52m
in Q3 to $6.03m in Q4. Revenues for the year to end-December 1996
were also up, reaching $14.83 million compared to $3.50 million
for the previous year. Net loss for the year was also up $16.95
million compared to a net loss of $8.61million for 1995. Advertising
revenues from CNET’s Web sites grew 60 percent to $4.41million in
Q4 from $2.76 million in the previous quarter. The number of banner
advertising units sold on CNET’s Web sites increased to 326 units
a 72 percent increase over the previous quarter’s 190 units. The
number of unique advertisers on CNET’s Internet sites grew to 101
in the fourth quarter from 75 in the previous quarter. CNET hopes
to increase revenues with recent investments in GAMECENTER.COM and
MEDIADOME. Traffic on CNET’s sites increased 55 percent to 2.28
million average daily page views from 1.47 million in the previous
quarter.
http://www.mmp.co.uk/mmp/informer/netnews/HTM/124n!e.htm
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TOP WEB PICKS
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*Cosmopolitan
The online version of this famous fashion publication is finally
up. The site is simple, elegant, and full of juicy tidbits. Sections
include: features, weekly tips, astrology, advice, quiz, give-aways,
bachelor of the month.
http://www.cosmomag.com/
*Men’s
Health
The alter ego for Cosmo Online is Men’s Health Online. Modeled after
the brother print publication, this site successfully transitions
to the Web with new features including Recon Man, Men’s Digest,
Rants and Quickies. There’s plenty of useful and entertaining information
on this site.
http://www.menshealth.com/
*TV
Guide
As recently discussed in Anvil Issue Fifteen, TVGuide is getting
aggressive online. Their fully functional site, soon to be redesigned
for WebTV, currently offers a wide variety of options. Features
include online chat, crossword, feature stories, and a robust database
including movies, sports and music. Most importantly, the site features
customized viewer information and listing information by zip code.
http://www.tvguide.com/
*Vicinity
Vicinity offers door to door driving directions in major metropolitan
areas nationwide. Directions are turn-by-turn and include detailed
directions with an overview map showing the entire route. Directions
are calculated in seconds, and offer users a choice of fastest,
shortest or easiest routes.
http://www.vicinity.com/vicinity/driving.html
*AT&T
800 Directory
Search AT&Ts database of 150,000 businesses and organizations
toll-free numbers. It’s an ideal way to comparison-shop, track down
hard-to-find items and services or find a supplier. Use our Category
Index to scan listings by familiar "yellow pages" categories
or use our on-line Search to find businesses by name, city, or state.
http://att.net/dir800/
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