June 22, 1999
Builder.Com: Everyday Life in Cyberspace.
Dan Shafer. My belief that this role of the Web as a future archeological dig is really important and influences some of my thinking about how we manage our Web sites.
NY Times: Reuters Invests in Digital-Rights Concern.
It will allow Reuters to sell its content, which includes news, financial and investment data, video and photographs, on the Internet and monitor its use, though the company has not yet determined exactly how it will make its vast resources available.
MSNBC: CMGI said in talks to buy Alta Vista.
Sources Tuesday confirmed those reports, saying that CMGI is close to a deal to buy Alta Vista, along with associated Internet assets including Shopping.com.
Media Life: Think you hate banners? Then meet Jakob Nielsen.
"You shouldn't hope for being so sticky that you really take over the user." The most any web site can hope for is to hang onto a surfer for 10 percent or at most 20 percent of their total web session.
Internet World: Devices Market: Not Quite Yet.
"They're not browsing devices, they're not casual-use devices. Their job is to get something done. So usability is the real crux of the matter. Content providers are going to have to get wise to that real quickly."
News.Com: 3Com puts AOL in the palm of your hand.
Under the deal, AOL members will be able to send and receive email from their AOL accounts on their PalmPilots.
Wired News: Coupons for the Wireless Crowd.
"I don't see how a company flashing a pair of pants that are on sale over a wireless device, for example, is really going to translate any value to the end user..."
ZDNN: Allen, MCI invest in wireless Net service.
But a new broadband Ricochet service is currently being tested in San Francisco. Utilizing a higher-frequency range, it allows ISDN-like 128 KBPS downloads, and is scheduled to be available in 12 cities by the middle of next year and 46 cities by 2001.
News.Com: DSL modem standard gets final approval.
Instead of relying on a technician to install a DSL modem, a consumer would be able to buy the technology at a retail store and install it--saving phone companies a considerable amount of money.
Wired News: A Garden of Digital Delights.
For his second Digital Living Room conference, technology journalist David Coursey has blended a sober examination of new consumer technologies with pure whimsy.
InfoWorld: AOL's Andreessen makes pitch for consumer convenience.
They don't care about technology; they buy brands; they aren't systems administrators; they are put off when things are hard to do; and they are driven more by convenience than anything else.
Red Herring: Computing giants look past the PC.
"Our mission is to help make a range of appliances that are very easy to use, reliable, and affordable. It's not about replacing the PC, but connecting other appliances in the home to the Internet."
Interactive Week: Fingerhut: Wal-Mart, eToys Are Us.
Though it serves 90 million consumers through its network of more than 2,400 stores and 450 membership clubs in the U.S., Wal-Mart's distribution and fulfillment network was not designed to handle individual online customer orders on a mass-market scale.
News.Com: Nike expands Web site.
The redesigned site features an upgraded database for locating more than 10,000 stores that sell the company's athletic footwear, and includes more Nike products for sale...
TechWeb: U.K. Plays Catch-Up With E-Commerce.
Crippling telecommunications costs, inflated hardware prices, and financial and regulatory bureaucracy could prevent European and U.K. businesses from getting their fair share of online sales.
Business Week: Why Seven Cycles Is Racing Ahead: The Net.
Seven uses its Web site to let customers get deeply involved in the frame-building process, enabling them to design their own high-end bike frames and track their development all the way through the process.
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