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Anvil
Issue Seven
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*Welcome to Anvil- a weekly newsletter providing insight into online
industry news, issues and trends. In this week’s issue:
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TOP
INDUSTRY NEWS
*COMDEX Best of Show
*Challenges Ahead for Apple
*Microsoft Unveils Windows CE OS and Office 97 at Comdex
DESIGN
*Information Push Continues
HOSTING
*TV Web Access Heats Up
*Online Merchant Standard
MARKETING
*Surprising Internet Revenue Projections
TOP
WEB PICKS
*The Electronic Library
*SoundAmerica
*SPAM Haiku
*Urban Legends Archive
*ZooWorks
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TOP INDUSTRY NEWS
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*COMDEX Best of Show
Las Vegas recently survived yet another COMDEX this week. I had
the distinct pleasure of experiencing the event, along with 200,000
plus computer industry enthusiasts. Instead of boring readers with
a detailed summary, I have decided to focus on show highlights via
prestigious awards. Anvil’s First Annual Best of Show awards go
to the following: Silicon Northwest (best event), Samsung (best
booth), WebTV (best hardware), and Ifusion’s Arrive (best software).
The Silicon Northwest press reception, held Tuesday night at the
Alexis Hotel Resort, offered a viable alternative to the noisy show
floor for the forty or so companies seeking to build relationships
with key press and analysts. Around 500 press and analysts cycled
through the event this year, and the sponsors I talked to found
great value in the event. Samsung’s booth combined technology with
aesthetic architecture. Their fashion show combined the latest fall
fashion with the latest technology in a fun and innovative way.
WebTV made a big splash, and could be seen at many booths including
Philips and Sony. Ifusion’s Arrive offers a promising alternative
to current broadcast/narrowcast Internet services like PointCast.
WebTV and Arrive are covered in greater detail in articles below.
http://www.silicon-nw.com
http://www.samsung.com/
http://www.ifusion.com/
*Challenges
Ahead for Apple
Only one week after discussions of a possible deal with Be Inc.,
Apple Computer is back in the news regarding their Mac operating
system (OS). Industry rumors and speculation point to a breakdown
in talks between Apple and Be. Instead, Be is working with Apple
Power PC clone manufacturers to make BeOS the OS of choice for all
new Power PCs. To further complicate matters, head of Apple Computer’s
Applesoft division, announced his resignation this week. Isaac Nassi
headed the OS division for two years, and spent more than seven
years with Apple. Apple is gearing up to make a major announcement
about its Mac OS
in January.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C5471%2C00.html?nd
*Microsoft
Unveils Windows CE OS and Office 97 at Comdex
Adding to the noise at Comdex in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced
two new products: Windows CE OS and Office 97. CE will run on handheld
computers starting around $500 and weighing less than 16 ounces.
Manufacturers supporting the new OS include: Casio, Compaq, Hitachi
and Philips. The highly portable devices supplement desktop PCs
and can fit into a shirt pocket or purse. Microsoft also announced
the availability of Office 97 which will be available Jan. 16. Beyond
the standard Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access applications, Office
97 will have these features: Microsoft Outlook, a new integrated
communications application and Office Assistant, which provides
personalized help and tips. Users will also be able to save documents
in HTML, insert hyperlinks into documents, or publish documents
directly to intranet servers. Office 97 retail pricing is estimated
at $209 for the standard edition, with price breaks for current
Office users.
http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=548337-3c4
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C5463%2C00.html?nd
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,5485,00.html
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DESIGN
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*Information Push Continues
Competition continues to heat up in the personal information delivery
industry. The latest player to enter the game, Ifusion, recently
announced their flagship product, available in January. Similar
to Intermind, BackWeb, Marimba and NetDelivery, Arrive allows users
to schedule the type of information they want to receive from various
information providers through their Web browsers. Ifusion recently
announced partnerships with the following content providers: Epic
Records, GolfWeb, KPIX, Showtime Networks, Ski News from AMI, USA
Today, The Weather Channel and Yahoo. After reviewing the product
at Comdex, I can say the ActiveX-based product has huge potential
for Web developers. The interface works within Internet Explorer
and Netscape Navigator (with an ActiveX plug-in). ActiveX allows
for streaming multimedia much like PointCast, yet offers additional
flexibility PointCast cannot. In related news, AirMedia enhanced
their Live Internet Broadcast Network, a service that delivers news
and other information from the Internet to users via a wireless
network. Unlike the delivery services mentioned above, The AirMedia
Live system delivers information to users via pager or through Global
Village’s NewsCatcher FM receiver. AirMedia will offer headline
news from CNN in the near future. Watch for bundling deals with
handheld devices and portable PCs. Netscape also plans to enter
the Internet broadcast arena with Constellation, which allows users
to automatically receive information channels from ordinary Web
servers into browsers. Interestingly, Netscape will also announce
deals with two pioneers in the area of Net broadcasting, PointCast
and Marimba. I’m interested to see how Netscape can unite competitors
in this growing market.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,5480,00.html
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HOSTING
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*Online Merchant Standard
Along the lines of Internet standards, a group of merchant Web sites
have formed a new logo program, called shop.org, for merchants whose
sites meet minimum requirements for security, product quality and
merchandise guarantees. Participants, reviewed by The Public Eye,
include GardenEscape, GolfWeb, Internet Shopping Network, iVillage,
and Virtual Vineyards. This program should help instill a degree
of confidence with Internet consumers.
http://www.news.com/
*TV
Web Access Heats Up
WebTV is turning up the heat on TV Internet access competition with
low prices and service upgrade including RealAudio 2.0. In response,
Bandai Digital Entertainment has delayed the release of its much-touted
Pippin@World Internet appliance to December 1, and has lowered its
price from $599 to $500. Analysts believe Pippin@World, may flop
due to competitive pricing from WebTV, Net TV and Sega as well as
upcoming products from Sanyo Electric, Samsung Electronics, Hitachi,
Mitsubishi, Philips, Sony and Zenith.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,5199,00.html
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MARKETING
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*Surprising Internet Revenue Projections
As Internet-related companies try vigorously to succeed in a decidedly
noisy industry, analysts and CEOs debate over where the real money
will be made. Hambrecht & Quist recently released revenue projections
for various market segments for the year 2000. The numbers are somewhat
surprising. Currently, the client software market is valued at $185
million, and is estimated to increase to $500 million. While this
is a large increase, it is small compared to the burgeoning marketing
and publishing segment, currently at $2 million, is projected to
be $800 million by 2000. Two other strong market segments include
security and multimedia, both estimated at $500 million. The server,
system, tools, search, content management and enterprise are all
projected at $300 million.
http:www.zdmag.com
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TOP WEB PICKS
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*The Electronic Library
The Electric Library makes it possible to conduct quick and easy
research, using a deep database of reliable sources. With The Electric
Library, any person can pose a question in plain English and launch
a comprehensive, simultaneous search through more than 150 full-text
newspapers, nearly 800 full-text magazines, two international newswires,
two thousand classic books, hundreds of maps, thousands of photographs,
as well as major works of literature and art. Originally designed
as a pay-per-use service, the site now relies on advertising revenue.
http://www2.elibrary.com/
*SoundAmerica
Looking for a favorite cartoon or movie sound to put on your computer?
SoundAmerica is the solution for you. This comprehensive directory
offers complete sound archives including cartoons, comedy and movies.
http://www.link-net.com/sounds/
*SPAM
Haiku
Poets and SPAM fans will love the SPAM Haiku archive, which contains
over 5,000 contributed haikus on this country’s most famous, least
understood meat-like product. I recommend reading the first 100,
then submitting your own.
http://www.naic.edu/~jcho/spam/archive.html
*Urban
Legends Archive
According to this site, an urban legend appears mysteriously and
spreads spontaneously in varying forms contains elements of humor
or horror (the horror often "punishes" someone who flouts
society’s conventions), makes good storytelling, does not have to
be false, although most are. Urban Legends often have a basis in
fact, but it’s their life after-the-fact (particularly in reference
to the second and third points) that gives them particular interest.
Read up on some of the most interesting stories anyone has ever
told.
http://www.urbanlegends.com
*ZooWorks
Tired of losing track of valuable information with confusing bookmarks?
ZooWorksPE ends the frustration and inefficiency by automatically
recording every keyword on every web page you visit. Once Web sites
are registered, a quick search will bring up desired information
from previously visited sites. The easy to use interface allows
you to easily view, search, and manage this captured Web information
with any popular browser supporting HTTP 1.0 and HTML 2.0. Be cautioned
that the search is only as accurate as the information registered
by the user.
http://www.zoosoft.com/zooworks/
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