Subject: This week's "International Internet NewsClips" From: madanmohan rao Date: Fri, 16 Jun 1995 17:38:26 -0700
How the Web Was Won
Subject: This week's "International Internet NewsClips" From: madanmohan rao Date: Fri, 16 Jun 1995 17:38:26 -0700
Cc: online-newspapers@marketplace.com
Sender: owner-online-newspapers@marketplace.com
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: online-newspapers@marketplace.com
Status: RO
X-Status: 

Hello folks -
 
Here are excerpts from this week's "International Internet
NewsClips." You can find the full column plus archives at the
MecklerMedia Web site (http://www.mecklerweb.com), under the Net
Day section. Thanks again to Andreina Mandell for translating a
story from Italian.
 
Comments, feedback, more translations, gifts, etc. welcome as
usual. Happy reading!!
 
                                                       - madan
_________________________________________________________________
Madanmohan Rao                    Phone: (212) 963-1175
Communications Director           Fax:   (212) 754-2791
Inter Press Service               E-mail: rao@igc.org
United Nations, New York
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 
Internet Oversell Has Serious Drawbacks
---------------------------------------
     While the Internet definitely has a lot to offer, overhyping
and overselling it may lead to unreasonable expectations. Excessive
use of computer networks like the Internet may ''isolate us from
one another, cheapen the meaning of actual experience, work against
literacy and creativity, and even undercut our schools and
libraries,'' according to author Clifford Stoll. Online networks
like the Internet may be best suited to the United States due to
the country's "traditional fixation with technology and
individualism." As community and family ties in the U.S. become
"increasingly undervalued," thousands of people seek online
interaction as a means to break down their sense of isolation.
                               (Inter Press Service; June 16, 1995)
 
Internet Offers Creative Outlet To East European CyberJunkies
-------------------------------------------------------------
     East Europe's remote and silenced citizens are exploiting new-
found freedoms offered via the Internet. Czech brewers offer pages
of lager recipes, Hungarians launch online ecological movements,
Russians purse online dating, Polish cyberjunkies chase down Star
Trek trivia and 'Sports Illustrated' Swimsuit Calendars, and
singers in the remote province of Tuva near Mongolia advertise
their 'khoomei' singing concerts on the Internet. 
                               (Wall Street Journal; June 16, 1995)
 
U.S. Senate Bill Escalates Internet-Smut Debate
-----------------------------------------------   
     "Take a look at this disgusting material,, pictures which were
copied for free off the Internet only this week," said Senator Jim
Exon, during a watershed session which passed a measure to impose
severe penalties on those who distribute sexually explicit material
over computer networks. Opponents describe this as a "blunderbuss"
in a computer-age world, better dealt with by education and
software filters, and ill-suited for networks like the Internet
which also falls outside the complete purview of U.S. law. Several
U.S. states have already moved ahead and passed anti-porn laws for
cyberspace.
                (New York Times, Washington Post; June 15-16, 1995)
 
Swedish Police Nab Two Internet Software Pirates
------------------------------------------------
     Two students at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm
are under investigation for making available on the Internet
software packages including Aldus Pagemaker and Microsoft Word,
which users were encouraged to download. About 3,150 packages,
worth $1.7 million, were downloaded over a three-week period. This
may be the most blatant use of the Internet for software theft yet
uncovered, according to the European counsel of the Business
Software Alliance.
                           (Financial Times, London; June 15, 1995)
 
Cereal Boxes May Carry Internet Coupons In The Future
-----------------------------------------------------
     According to an EMC (entertainment, media and communications)
forecast released in London, by the year 2000 the Internet will
become largely fee-based and advertiser-supported. "Your next box
of Wheaties may contain a coupon for 50 free minutes on the
Internet," according to the report published by the Price
Waterhouse EMC Group.
                                    (Business Wire; June 15, 1995)
 
Internet May Boost EDI Use In Europe
-------------------------------------
     The popularity of the Internet gives promoters of EDI
(Electronic Data Interchange) a new opportunity, according to Gary
Lynch, chief executive of the UK EDI Association. (By the end of
the decade, software for Internet applications will grow into an
annual market of $750 million.) Though EDI and the Internet are
both a part of electronic commerce, the most contentious issue in
the area of electronic trading is whether the Internet is capable
of becoming a vehicle for such activity. Currently, the UK is ahead
of most European countries - and even ahead of the U.S. in some
fields - in the use of EDI. Other topics covered in this 14-page
supplement on telecommunications in business include ISDN, faxes,
cellular phones, videoconferencing, the importance of customer
attitudes, global outsourcing, and developments in China, Japan,
Italy, and Brazil.
                           (Financial Times, London; June 15, 1995)
 
Murdoch's New Deal May Pose Challenges Down The Road For China
--------------------------------------------------------------
     Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has announced an information
technology deal with 'People's Daily,' the Chinese communist party
newspaper. The deal will cover electronic publishing, online
information databases, data transmission networks, and digital
mapping. Though China will try to harness the new technologies
without running serious risks, the Beijing leadership may soon
realise that developments like the Internet will put too much
information beyond the censors' reach, thus making it harder to
retain its group on power.
                           (Financial Times, London; June 14, 1995)
 
Zambian Newspaper Faces New Editorial Challenges Through Web Site
-----------------------------------------------------------------
     "The Post," Zambia's first newspaper on the World Wide Web, is
accessible through the Zamnet home page (http://www.zamnet.zm).
Zamnet is the main Internet server for Zambia. Editor-in-chief Fred
M'membe said this worldwide availability also poses editorial
challenges because it "imposes a very high demand for accuracy,
completeness and balance" from readers worldwide.
                                  (The Post, Zambia; June 13, 1995)
 
British Internet Users Can Cast Off Anorak Image And Reveal Suits
-----------------------------------------------------------------
     No longer a toy for nerds, the Internet is now emerging as a
forum for decision-makers in Britain. According to the first
definitive survey of Internet use in Britain, about two-thirds of
the polled Internet users are between the ages of 25 and 55. More
than a third of the sample earned more than 25,000 pounds a year.
The survey also found that the explosive growth of the Internet
will continue. 100,000 Britons are estimated to have Internet
access.
                         (The Independent, England; June 13, 1995)
 
Web Is Like 1940s TV: A Promising Medium Trying To Define Itself
----------------------------------------------------------------
     The World Wide Web has the potential to become "the world's
largest bazaar" - but despite the glossy surface of many company
home pages, the general impression is of "drive-by billboards that
are about as interesting and informative as rocks in the road."
Once hurdles of sluggish phone lines, poor indexing systems,
insecure transactions, and lack of innovative design are overcome,
the Web could become a truly powerful and useful medium.
                                (Wall Street Journal; June 13,
1995)
 
Wireless Internet E-Mail Launched In Hong Kong
----------------------------------------------
     California-based RadioMail Corporation has launched wireless
services including Internet e-mail, graphics in Chinese and Kanji,
peer-to-peer messaging and worldwide faxing in Hong Kong. RadioMail
also operates in the Netherlands, Singapore and Australia.
                                     (Business Wire; June 12, 1995)
 
Anti-Internet Neo-Luddites Are Here
-----------------------------------
     "It was astonishing how good it made me feel," remarked
Kirkpatrick Sale, author of "Rebels Against The Future," who
recently destroyed an IBM PC during an appearance in New York. Sale
is one of several anti-technologists who see nothing but evil in
digital technologies like the Internet. Stephen Talbott's book,
"The Future Does Not Compute," even has a chapter called "Can Human
Ideals Survive The Internet?" However, such criticisms are
generally uniformed and misguided.
                              (Newsweek, June 12; Wired, June 1995)
 
Scrambling Technology Important For Information Superhighway
------------------------------------------------------------
     From satellite TV to mobile phones and the Internet,
encryption technology is becoming increasingly important for
commercial use of the information superhighway. But though such
technologies help facilitate secure transactions, they also raise
serious national security concerns. The proliferation of encryption
software on the Internet has "attracted criminals to the Internet
and tarnished its name."
                          (The Sunday Times, London; June 11, 1995)
 
Internet-Based Music Service Could Transform British Music Industry
-------------------------------------------------------------------
     The Cerberus company's Digital Jukebox (http://www.cerberus.co
.uk/cdj/) will be offering a massive selection of music - online.
Special encryption and compression software speeds up and secures
the downloading of songs so that transferred material can be played
only through authorised users' systems. Reviews, sales and
advertising information will also be integrated with the music.
Special deals will be struck with independent and unsigned artists.
                           (The Independent, England; June 9, 1995)
 
Internet May Pose Risks To Regulation Of World Financial Markets
----------------------------------------------------------------
     The World Wide Web may pose dangers to the future regulation
of financial markets. Fraudsters and insider dealers can post
anything anonymously on the Web, thus spreading malicious rumours
or abusing their access to inside information. "By far the most
gargantuan task is to monitor the information available to the
market," according to the British Surveillance Department.
                                       (Korea Herald; June 9, 1995)
 
Brazilian Embassy In London Launches World Wide Web Page
--------------------------------------------------------
     The Brazilian embassy in London has opened a World Wide Web
site (http://www.demon.co.uk/Itamaraty/welcome.html) with
information about the country. Available information covers
science, technology, culture and government.
                              (The Guardian, England; June 9, 1995)
 
Online Technology Raises Serious Concerns For European Publishers
-----------------------------------------------------------------
     What kind of effect will digital technology have on copyright?
As compared to the U.S., fewer cases involving electronic copyright
have come to court in Europe, but this may change. The National
Union of Journalists in Britain is taking issue with a number of
publishers who have made the work of freelance journalists
available online without permission or payment.
                              (The Guardian, England; June 9, 1995)
 
Italian Publishers Say 'Radical Change' Necessary In Age Of Networks
--------------------------------------------------------------------
     The future of publishing is in networks, according to Giovanni
Giovannini, chair of the Italian trade association of publishers.
A radical change is necessary for survival, but the "sad fact" is
that Italian information technology professionals are not able to
speak the same language as the communications specialists.
                              (Il Sole 24 Ore, Italy; June 7, 1995)
 
Genealogy Via Internet Becoming Popular In Australia
----------------------------------------------------
     Studying genealogy via the Internet is becoming quite a
popular pastime in Australia - the Oz Gen Dead Persons' Society
(http://www.ozemail.com.au/~jsnelson/descent.html) has even
launched a Web site. "It's a very Anglo-Celtic fascination,"
according to genealogist John Wright. Several organisations in
Ireland and England have made family history information available
on the Internet. 
                (Sydney Morning Herald, Australia; June 6-12, 1995)
 
Sociologists Offer Differing Interpretations Of Internet
--------------------------------------------------------
     For more than a decade, researchers have been studying the
effects of electronic communication on societies. U.S. professors
Lee Sproull and Sara Kiesler claim that e-mail can break down
traditional hierarchies and equalise human relationships, while
Susan Herring maintains that the Internet is not Utopia - for women
at least. 
                         (The New Scientist, England; May 27, 1995)
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------

From owner-online-news@marketplace.com Fri Jun 16 22:58:44 1995
Received: from marketplace.com (majordom@marketplace.com [199.45.128.10]) by cnj.digex.net (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id WAA04741 ; for ; Fri, 16 Jun 1995 22:58:41 -0400
Received: (from majordom@localhost) by marketplace.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id SAA16392 for online-news-outgoing; Fri, 16 Jun 1995 18:36:20 -0600
Received: from cdp.igc.apc.org (cdp.igc.apc.org [192.82.108.1]) by marketplace.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id SAA16338; Fri, 16 Jun 1995 18:35:47 -0600
Received: from igc2.igc.apc.org (igc2.igc.apc.org [192.82.108.39]) by cdp.igc.apc.org (8.6.12/Revision: 1.202 ) with SMTP id RAA22017; Fri, 16 Jun 1995 17:38:45 -0700
Received: (from rao) by igc2.igc.apc.org (8.6.11/Revision: 1.12 ) id RAA28603; Fri, 16 Jun 1995 17:38:26 -0700