| Anvil
Issue Twenty One
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*Use Anvil, a newsletter and Web site providing insight into online
industry news, issues and trends to brighten your brights and whiten
your whites.
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TOP
INDUSTRY NEWS
*Web 97 Shows Insight
*DOD Avoids The Issue
*Media Sues TotalNews
DESIGN
*Newest Battle In The Browser War
*Surf The Net With Blazing Speed
HOSTING
*U.S. Robotics Ships 56K Modem
*Hotels Get Wired
MARKETING
*Ad Bidding With FlyCast
*Internet Spamming Provider
TOP
WEB PICKS
*Cyberian Outpost
*Fun.com
*Gameshows
*Interactive Democracy
*You Don’t Know Jack
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TOP INDUSTRY NEWS
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*Web 97 Shows Insight
Miller Freeman’s Web97 conference held this week in San Francisco
was host to new Internet technologies. Perhaps the most intriguing
of the lot is Intel’s Internet TV broadcasting hybrid application.
Intercast will be able to combine streaming video, telephony, html
text and graphics. Broadcasters like PBS will be able to broadcast
TV programming on the Internet along with supplemental text and
graphical content on one screen. Synchronization tools for multimedia
was a popular new market with the introduction of NetMC and LiveStation.
Both products provide full synchronization between audio, video,
Java and html.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,8175,00.html
*DOD
Avoids The Issue
The U.S. Government, a longtime target of computer hackers worldwide,
has endured more than a few security breaches via the Internet.
The latest involves three Croatian high school students and classified
military information. The latest security compromise has been downplayed
drastically by the Department of Defense. According to the Zagreb
Daily, three high school students used the Internet and decoding
software to gain access into several U.S. military installations
including Anderson Air Force base. The Department of Defense denied
the teens accessed any classified information, but admitted personal
email and files can be accessed via the Internet. While our government
networks are just as vulnerable to attack as the private sector,
steps are hopefully being taken to minimize the possibility of further
successful security breaches. Previously, hackers have successfully
compromised key government Web sites including: The Central Intelligence
Agency, Department of Justice, Air Force and Navy.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,8138,00.html?nd
*Media
Sues TotalNews
Web sites which linked to related sites and content may want to
tune into the latest Internet court case, brought on by a powerful
consortium of media companies. Washington Post, Time Warner’s CNN
and Dow Jones & Co.’s Wall Street Journal filed a suit in federal
court last week accusing TotalNews Inc of illegally publishing and
repackaging their online content for profit. TotalNews, a popular
information directory provides links to other popular media outlets
via a "framed" environment which allows for banner advertising.
The consortium is asking for a cease and desist order and specified
damages for copyright infringement.
http://www.wsj.com
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DESIGN
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*Newest Battle In The Browser War
The latest in the ongoing browser war between Netscape and Microsoft
includes the second release of Netscape’s Communicator Beta and
detailed information posted by Microsoft regarding Internet Explorer
4.0. The latest Communicator release is multi-platform, including
Mac and Unix and provides a wealth of features: Navigator, mail,
newsreader, html editor, Internet phone and assorted plug-ins. The
beta version is available for download now via Netscape’s Web site.
Internet Explorer will offer similar features: Internet conferencing,
broadcasting, Web authoring capabilities and best of all, personal
information delivery. The personal information delivery will be
limited to offline browsing capabilities similar to Traveling Software’s
WebEx and notification of changes to favorite sites similar to URLMinder.
http://www.pcweek.com/reviews/0224/24comm.html
http://home.netscape.com/comprod/mirror/client_download.html
http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie40/
*Surf
The Net With Blazing Speed
Past attempts at increasing Web surfing performance have met with
mixed reviews and concern. The latest product to tackle the dilemma
is Datalytics’ Blaze. Blaze Web Performance Pack 1.1 is an intelligent
pre-caching Web acceleration tool utilizing special "xspeed"
technology. In addition to speed increases, the product is reported
to allow for easier and faster information access. The product works
with Navigator and Internet Explorer and requires Windows 95 or
NT 4.0. Download a 14-day trial or pay the $49.99 sticker price.
http://www.xspeed.com
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HOSTING
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*U.S. Robotics Ships 56K Modem
It’s finally here. U.S. Robotics shipped their 56 kbps X2 modems
this week. The new modems provide twice the performance of 28.8
kbps modems currently in use. Many U.S. Robotics 28.8 and 33.3 kbps
modems are easily upgradeable to 56kbps. Early adopters have no
need to rush out and purchase the new modems, as it will take a
few months for ISPs to upgrade to the new modems. The X2 technology
requires a 56 kbps modem at each end of the connection for optimized
speed. Competition is close behind with similar products. Cardinal
Technologies’ modem will ship soon and Rockwell-Lucent’s modem is
still under review by the FCC. As modem performance increases, the
disparity between speeds may cause concern for Web surfers with
older modems. Many users still have 14.4 kbps modems, which surf
at a fraction of the speed of 56 kbps modems, yet users currently
pay one flat rate to access providers. To better meet the needs
of users, access providers may want to consider specific pricing
for each type of modem speed.
http://x2.usr.com/news/ships.html
*Hotels
Get Wired
Shortly after the announcement of WebTV and OnCommand partnership
agreement to provide Internet Access and Web surfing capabilities
to hotels nationwide, MAID and 4th Network have announced a similar
agreement. MAID will offer a "Net on TV" technology similar
to WebTV that lets users surf the Net via the hotel room TV. In
addition, MAID will transfer Internet access to 4th Network which
includes Europe’s largest in-room entertainment provider. These
new partnerships will provide the nearly half of business travelers
and one third of leisure travelers currently using online services
the access they desire on a global level.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,8241,00.html
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MARKETING
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*Ad Bidding With FlyCast
Media buyers and advertising providers alike should enjoy the flexibility
of a new service provided by FlyCast Communications. The new real-time
media buying service hopes to negate the need for rate cards for
Web ads. The dynamic pricing approach is designed to maximize ad
budgets for advertisers and revenue for Web sites. Media buyers
can identify optimal placements for each target audience and message.
The core technology, AdAgent, allows for the creation of a user
profile, dubbed "nanotargetting" by FlyCast. Similar to
an auction, ad space is purchased by the highest bidder in a real-time
environment. AdAgent tracks user cookies and stores the information
into databases for tracking and analysis. While the final product
is not due until April, beta tests are currently underway with Internet
ad agencies including BBDO and Fallon McElligot.
http://www.flycast.com
*Internet
Spamming Provider
Known as "The Spam King," Sanford Wallace and his controversial
company, Cyber Promotions are venturing into the Internet access
service. Cyber Promotions is planning to launch the first spam-friendly
ISP in the nation March 17, 1997. The service will provide local
dial-up numbers for Philadelphia and toll-free numbers nationwide.
Customers will pay $50 a month to send unlimited amounts of unsolicited
bulk email. Critics are in an uproar over the attempt to legitimize
electronic junk-mail. No matter how much heat Cyber Promotion’s
takes for their marketing methods, one thing should be kept in mind:
Sanford Wallace is making money because companies are paying for
his service. Critics should focus on Cyber Promotions’ clients who
are responsible for fueling the beast rather than a small-time morally-declined
entrepreneur.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ct860.htm
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TOP WEB PICKS
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*Cyberian Outpost
This week’s links focus on fun and games. The Cyberian Outpost,
one of the first online selling ventures to be profitable, is now
the largest and fastest growing online retailer. The Outpost has
expanded its services to a global level, providing online shoppers
with options of 10 different languages.
http://www.cybout.com
*Fun.com
This site offers a great starting point for adults and children
interested in games, music, sports, movies, news, horoscopes and
more. The site focuses and all things fun and is always looking
for fun sites and partners to link to.
http://www.fun.com
*Gameshows
Tired of Doom and Quake? This popular gaming site offers two entertaining
and challenging word games: Strike a Match and Out of Order. Strike
a Match challenges players to uncover the relationship between two
words while Out of Order offers a word scramble exercise.
http://www.gameshows.com/
*Interactive
Democracy
Email all of your favorite governmental and media types to let them
know exactly what you think about the issues that matter to you
the most. Let Interactive Democracy worry about maintaining all
those complicated e-mail addresses and spend your time addressing
the issues. Unfortunately, Representative Coburn (Rep, OK), responsible
for surprising comments regarding NBC’s airing of Shindler’s List,
doesn’t have email.
http://www.cgx.com/idscripts/id.idc
*You
Don’t Know Jack
If clever word play isn’t your game, how about an interactive and
borderline hilarious Internet gameshow. You Don’t Know Jack by BeZerk
is perhaps one of the most intriguing games around. Rather than
heavy graphics, users are bombarded by layered streaming audio.
Download a small player and get going. New episodes are available
twice a week, with minimal commercial interruptions. Gaming is possible
on Windows and Mac for up to four players and is also available
on CD-ROM.
http://www.bezerk.com/htmls/tuner1.html
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