INTERNET
Internet Retail Sales Rising Sharply (WP)
Internet Retailing May Drum Up $13 Billion in Revenue This Year (WSJ)
Yahoo! To Expand Its Shopping Channel As Demand Grows for Online
Commerce (WSJ)
AOL, Netscape Consider Partnership, Including Possible Internet
Browser Deal
(WSJ)
Lawsuit Challenges Internet Subsidy for Parochial Schools (NYT)
COPYRIGHT
Sun Wins Microsoft Injunction In Java Case (WP)
Microsoft Told to Stop Shipments That Violate Contract With Rival (NYT)
TECHNOLOGY & FAMILY
Work & Family: Flood of Pagers, E-Mail Gives Family Means To Communicate
More (WSJ)
INFRASTRUCTURE
Cable and Wireless to Build New Network (NYT)
ANTITRUST
Microsoft 'Tools' Called Barriers (WP)
Microsoft Hampered OS/2, IBM Official Tells Court (NYT)
Gates E-mail Bemoans IBM's Use of Java (WSJ)
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INTERNET
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INTERNET RETAIL SALES RISING SHARPLY (WP)
INTERNET RETAILING MAY DRUM UP $13 BILLION IN REVENUE THIS YEAR (WSJ)
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Online retailing is growing much more quickly than anyone realized.
Shop.org, an association of online retailers, surveying 127 online
companies, concludes in a study that total 1998 Internet consumer commerce
will reach $13 billion. The four top-selling categories of merchandise on
the Web--which account for 80% of all revenue--are computer goods,
entertainment, travel and discount brokerages. Nearly 60% of Internet
revenue is generated by established retailers. Only about 5% of consumers
who visit Web commerce sites make purchases. Ten Web sites (unspecified)
account for 50% of online revenue. The study asserts that the Internet is
bringing new customers to businesses and is not taking sales away from
stores or catalogs.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C11), AUTHOR: Leslie Walker]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-11/18/102l-111898-idx.html
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Rebecca Quick]
http://www.wsj.com/
YAHOO! TO EXPAND ITS SHOPPING CHANNEL AS DEMAND GROWS FOR ONLINE COMMERCE
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Jeff Mallett, Yahoo's COO, says his Internet portal will become more
oriented to commerce. Yahoo is offering comparison shopping in 14
categories which will help shoppers choose among the two million products
offered by 2700 online merchants. Yahoo will not be a seller itself but
will permit shoppers to use a "universal shopping cart" that lets consumers
enter addresses and credit card data only once when buying from multiple
companies. Yahoo hopes to increase the number of key merchants it has under
contract for the service and to provide a new stream of earnings for the
company.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: George Anders]
http://www.wsj.com/
AOL, NETSCAPE CONSIDER PARTNERSHIP, INCLUDING POSSIBLE INTERNET BROWSER DEAL
Issue: Mergers
A range of options is on the table as high-level officials from America
Online and Netscape Communications continue discussions about online
services and browsers. AOL has an option on January 1, 1999 to terminate or
change the exclusivity clause for browsers that it presently has with
Microsoft. Netscape could replace the current Microsoft browser or be
added as a second option. AOL is concerned that Microsoft's continued
expansion of MSN Web sites pose a threat to its online service. Netscape is
concerned with its decline in the share of the browser market. Other options
could create co-marketing agreements or even give AOL an equity stake in
Netscape.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B11), AUTHOR: Kara Swisher]
http://www.wsj.com/
LAWSUIT CHALLENGES INTERNET SUBSIDY FOR PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS
Issue: Internet/First Amendment
A Wisconsin group has just filed what might be the first lawsuit involving
the Internet and the First Amendment. The Freedom from Religion Foundation
is challenging a new state program that offers telecommunications subsidies
to public and private schools. The state of Wisconsin's Educational
Telecommunications Access program, similar to the federal E-rate program,
gives educational institutions access to high-speed data lines at highly
discounted rates. The plaintiffs argue that giving parochial schools
discounts would constitute a government subsidy of religion, because the
Internet might be used to access religious materials and would generally be
used for the advancement of religion.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/11/cyber/education/18education.html
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TECHNOLOGY & FAMILY
=====================
WORK & FAMILY: FLOOD OF PAGERS, E-MAIL GIVES FAMILY MEANS TO COMMUNICATE MORE
Issue: Education Technology
Looking your kids in the eye is difficult using a computer, pager, or cell
phone but technology can also play a role in family communication.
Estimates are that only 4 to 5% of U.S. households have all family members
using
technology to communicate regularly, but the number of "tele-households" has
probably doubled in the past year. It is happening in the name of
"connectedness."
E-mail is becoming popular for parents and students (and not just college
students) to communicate regularly. Parents can mix homework reminders with
jokes or bits of online research for the kids. Parents are setting tougher
rules on kids' use of pagers and cell phones and are also using them to
keep in touch.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Sue Shellenbarger]
http://www.wsj.com/
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COPYRIGHT
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SUN WINS MICROSOFT INJUNCTION IN JAVA CASE (WP)
MICROSOFT TOLD TO STOP SHIPMENTS THAT VIOLATE CONTRACT WITH RIVAL (NYT)
MICROSOFT LOSES JAVA DECISION IN U.S. COURT (WSJ)
Issue: Copyright
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction that orders Microsoft to
rewrite the Java components of Windows 98 to comply with Sun's version of
their programming language. Ronald M. Whyte, U.S. District Judge in San
Jose, gave Microsoft 90 days to make its Windows 98 and other software
products compatible with Sun's Java specifications or stop selling them. Sun
sued Microsoft last year after Microsoft altered parts of the Java language
so that programs written in Java for other operating systems would not run
on Windows machines and vice versa.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C11), AUTHOR: Elizabeth Corcoran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/stories/19
98/sun111898.htmIVAL
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/11/biztech/articles/18sun.html
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A3), AUTHOR: Lee Gromes]
http://www.wsj.com/
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INFARSTRUCTURE
===============
CABLE AND WIRELESS TO BUILD NEW NETWORK
Issue: Technology
Cable and Wireless plans a long-distance "supernetwork" among more than 40
major European cities in 13 countries. C&W said it is prepared to spend $1
billion over five years to build the high-speed telecommunications network.
The network is more ambitious than plans announced previously by MCI
Worldcom and Colt Telecom Group. By directing users onto leased or
purchased high-speed lines, C&W anticipates doubling its revenue every year
for the next five years.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Nov. 17,C6), AUTHOR: Bloomberg News)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/17cable.html
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ANTITRUST
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MICROSOFT 'TOOLS' CALLED BARRIERS (WP)
MICROSOFT HAMPERED OS/2, IBM OFFICIAL TELLS COURT (NYT)
GATES E-MAIL BEMOANS IBM'S USE OF JAVA (WSJ)
Issue: Antitrust
The creation of personal computer operating systems that could compete with
Microsoft's Windows was restricted by Microsoft Corp.'s market dominance and
business practices, according to John Soyring, softtware director for IBM.
Soyring was on the stand yesterday at the Microsoft antitrust trial.
Soyring said that Microsoft licensing agreements prevent software designers
from using its popular programming "tools" which effectively stymied
competition. Microsoft contends that its tools work reliably only on
Windows-compatible products and that IBM, the creator of the rival OS2
operating system, restricts use of its own tools. In an e-mail introduced
in court Microsoft's Bill Gates bemoaned IBM's support for Java, a
computer-programming language which does not require Windows and called IBM
"rabid Java backers."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C12), AUTHOR: Rajiv Chandrasekaran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/micro.htm
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/11/biztech/articles/18soft.html
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Bryan Gruley & Keith Perine]
http://www.wsj.com/
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