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       DIGITAL FUTURE NEWSLETTER (formerly FYI) Abridged Edition
                Information Media and Technology News
                   Published online every Saturday

           Volume 1, Number 19 / Saturday, November 5, 1994
            CIRCULATION: See list at end of this newsletter
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Copyright 1994 by John Hart & Hart Publishing. NOTE: This abridged version 
of Digital Future Newsletter may be freely duplicated and/or uploaded to 
BBS's and online host systems, providing that the entire contents remains 
unchanged. Except as permitted herein, unauthorized duplication is a 
violation of Pan-American & International Copyright Conventions. Any and 
all parties found guilty of infringement will be prosecuted to the full 
extent of the law.

====================
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 
====================
John Hart
767 South Xenon Court, Suite 117
Lakewood, CO 80228

Voice/Fax: 303-987-3246
CIS: 71044,2446
Internet: fyi@marketplace.com

(Please send press releases and other news to jhart@csn.org.)

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STORIES IN DIGITAL FUTURE NEWSLETTER...

1.  From the Editor

2.  Gates Confirms Microsoft Online Service

3.  Three Bells To Produce TV Shows

4.  Optigon, Online Entertainment Network Due

5.  Direct Mail Goes Interactive

6.  "Video-Over-Cellular" For TV News Reporting

7.  OneSource Launches CD/Notes - CorpTech Profiles

8.  Private Press Preview--Next Generation Internet Navigation 

9.  What's Online--New Syndicated Print Service From Tribune Media

10. California's New Online Voter Guide

11. New Technology From IOTEX Bypasses Local Exchange Facilities

12. New Zealand Gets On-line User Magazine 

13. Government Managers Get Piracy Lecture 

14. Everyone's Guerrilla Guide to Marketing on the Internet and 
       Other On-Line Services--Book Review

15. Internet Changes Foreseen

16. FCC Chairman Reed Hundt On Telecom Competition

17. Upcoming Conferences and Workshops

18. What I Want From The Digital Future

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FROM THE EDITOR OF DIGITAL FUTURE NEWSLETTER (formerly FYI)...

A new name deserves a new format...

Beginning with this issue of Digital Future, the content format will be
slightly different. All stories will be previewed in one or two paragraphs,
with full details available in the Expanded Edition of Digital Future.
It has become necessary to reduce the file size of the Abridged Edition of
Digital Future to make downloading faster on various interactive host 
systems where Digital Future is available, thus the new format. 

Now the news highlights...


Hollywood's biggest talent agency adds three familiar acts...

The New York Times reports that Bell Atlantic, Nynex and Pacific Telesis are 
looking to Michael Ovitz's Creative Artists Agency to provide new video 
programming that will allow them to offer phone subscribers customized 
shopping, entertainment and interactive services.  The software that manages 
delivery of the programming will be able to monitor what a customer watches 
and suggest similar viewing fare for the future.


Meridian threatens to build a Velocoraptor to bite Microsoft's assets...

Business Week reports that Microsoft's recent bid for Intuit combined with 
Marvel, its soon-to-be online service, could spell serious competition for 
the conventional banking industry. But some banks plan on fighting back, 
and are developing their own software to do so. "Not all dinosaurs roll 
over and die. Some of 'em can run real fast and bite the hell out of you," 
warns a senior vice president of electronic banking at Meridian Bancorp Inc.


Just how many photocopies of a journal will violate "fair use?"...

A federal appeals court ruled in a 2-to-1 decision that a corporation
violated copyright law by letting its library photocopy whole journal
articles and send them to company researchers suggesting that the
researchers make copies to keep for future use.  The court's decision
turned on the fact that "the dominant purpose of the use is 'archival' --
to assemble a set of papers for future reference, thereby serving the same
purpose for which additional subscriptions are normally sold, or for which
photocopying licenses may be obtained." 


I'll have my "agent" call your "agent"...

A system called Wildfire offers a smart phone that stores a person's
contact numbers so that it can screen incoming calls, schedule return
calls, and manage messaging functions. "Agents" do routine tasks like
forwarding calls or delivering messages, while "assistants" are trained to
know the user's schedule and direct the agents to act accordingly -- such
as to forward calls to the carphone when appropriate.  Wildfire treats
phone calls as "objects" that can be stored, forwarded and manipulated like
e-mail.  The system costs $2K per user for hardware and software.

--JH
 
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GATES CONFIRMS MICROSOFT ONLINE SERVICE

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has confirmed that Microsoft will offer 
some type of online service next year, but says he is still unsure about 
the exact content.

Gates, speaking at Microsoft's annual shareholders meeting at the
Bellevue Hyatt hotel, confirmed widespread speculation that the
company is working on a product code-named Marvel and said it will
be unlike other commercially available services, but declined to
elaborate. He did confirm that some of the features of the proposed
online service will be included in the beta version of Windows 95,
the next incarnation of the Microsoft's operating system for
personal computers. The next beta version of Windows 95 is expected
to go out to testers in early November. 

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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THREE BELLS TO PRODUCE TV SHOWS

Three regional Bell operating companies, or RBOCs, have decided to 
venture into the world of TV show production and interactive services. 
Working with Hollywood deal maker Michael Ovitz and his Creative Arts Agency,
they intend to lay a foundation for near-future forays into cable TV
and video dial-tone territories.

The three "Baby Bells" are Bell Atlantic (NYSE: BEL), Nynex (NYSE:
NYN), and Pacific Telesis Group (NYSE: PAC), acting as equal
partners in a new entertainment network that will compete with
traditional cable operators. CAA will have no direct ownership
stake, sources said, but Ovitz may be paid up to $50 million for his
part in the venture over the next several years, according to
published reports.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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OPTIGON, ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK DUE

The Total Entertainment Network (TEN) is in its beta testing
stage in the San Francisco Bay Area. Developed by Optigon, a
start-up company launched by a former executive from Maxis,
maker of SimCity, TEN promises to be the first online service
devoted to real-time multi-player games, custom graphic
environments, and user interactivity at 9600 baud rate modem
speed.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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DIRECT MAIL GOES INTERACTIVE

A Cleveland design company has moved direct mail to a new level by 
putting the firm's advertising brochure on interactive disk.

Ramba Design Inc., has created an interactive digital portfolio that
lets viewers turn the pages of the brochure electronically with the
click of a mouse to view samples of the firm's work.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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"VIDEO-OVER-CELLULAR" FOR TV NEWS REPORTING

"Hello, Sweetheart, get me rewrite," has long been the cry of the busy
print reporter, calling in a breaking news story from the scene. Now, 
with an assist from Bell Atlantic Mobile, a subsidiary of Bell Atlantic 
(NYSE:BEL), TV reporters for the cable channel Newschannel 8 in Washington 
will be able to call in their video stories over cellular phones.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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ONESOURCE LAUNCHES CD/NOTES - CORPTECH PROFILES

The latest addition to OneSource Information Services Inc.'s CD/Notes 
line of CD-ROM products is CorpTech Profiles, a collection of
corporate and product information on more than 36,000 companies
in the US.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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PRIVATE PRESS PREVIEW--NEXT GENERATION INTERNET NAVIGATION

Quarterdeck Office Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: QDEK) has announced plans to 
hold a private press preview of their Project Normandy on Tuesday, 
Nov. 15, in Las Vegas in conjunction with Comdex '94.  Normandy is a 
next generation complete family of software products for use on the 
Internet and on private distributed data networks.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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WHAT'S ONLINE--NEW SYNDICATED PRINT SERVICE FROM TRIBUNE MEDIA

Tribune Media Services has announced the creation of a new service 
that will allow newspaper readers to keep up with the rapidly growing 
world of online events.

The new service, called WHAT'S ONLINE, will provide newspapers with 
up-to-date listings of celebrity guest appearances and other major 
events on the nation's online services.  In addition to concise listings, 
WHAT'S ONLINE will include highlights, previews, reviews and tips.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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CALIFORNIA'S NEW ONLINE VOTER GUIDE

A collection of non-profit organizations, telecom companies, pubic library 
services, computer firms, and print publications has brought the California
Online Voter Guide onto the Internet. The Guide, available through
Internet Gopher services, World Wide Web, and America Online,
describes candidates and issues in the coming California election.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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NEW TECHNOLOGY FROM IOTEX BYPASSES LOCAL EXCHANGE FACILITIES

Amnex, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMXI) has today that it has acquired an exclusive 
15-year license from IOTEX, Inc., a privately owned company, to market 
and deploy in certain territories a new revolutionary technology which 
has been designed to allow carriers, public communications companies and 
other telecommunication service providers to bypass local exchange 
facilities in a wireless environment.  

Additionally, this technology has been designed to process digital 
voice/data information at speed up to 20 times faster than currently 
available wireless solutions, while reducing transmission cost by as 
much as 30%.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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NEW ZEALAND GETS ONLINE USER MAGAZINE 

"The Net" is a new magazine which specializes in online communications 
and related fields. In a country with less than four million people, it 
has a creditable print run of 10,000 copies.

Despite its rural image, New Zealand has always been an early
adopter and exporter of technology, often jumping ahead of
neighboring Australia. Although the country only supports a handful
of computer magazines, the Net has found quick acceptance in its
first five issues.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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GOVERNMENT MANAGERS GET PIRACY LECTURE 

Government information managers have attended a copyright infringement
conference, reportedly the first of its kind targeted at such
officials.

"Development of the national information infrastructure (NII) will
make digital storage, retrieval, and delivery systems widely
available in the United States, and will change the way that
information and entertainment products are created, marketed,
and delivered," Patent and Trademark Commissioner Bruce Lehman
told a group of information managers from 20 federal government
departments and agencies.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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EVERYONE'S GUERRILLA GUIDE TO MARKETING ON THE INTERNET AND OTHER 
ON-LINE SERVICES

In their new book, one that is sure to rank among the most controversial 
of  the year, Laurence A. Canter & Martha S. Siegel point out that, 
whatever else it may be, the Information Superhighway is a terrific 
venue for the ordinary entrepreneur to do something very simple and 
very dear to the heart of every American.  

According to the authors, The Internet, with its instantaneous access to 
a marketplace of over "thirty million computer users," is a great place 
to make money. Correction, the Internet isn't yet a marketplace, and
correction deux, the Internet isn't thirty million computer users dying
to buy something.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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INTERNET CHANGES FORESEEN

The Internet will go through some major changes in the next few years, 
but will emerge the better for it, according to a recent report from
Forrester Research, Inc.

In its report entitled "Internet Adolescence," Forrester points
out that the NSFnet network funded by the United States
government is the backbone of the Internet in the US today.
Regional operators can send traffic over the NSFnet at no cost.
But the National Science Foundation plans to stop bankrolling the
Internet as of April 30, 1995, and plans a transition to a
commercially operated Internet.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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FCC CHAIRMAN REED HUNDT ON TELECOM COMPETITION 

The development of the information superhighway "gives us a great 
opportunity to commit irrevocably to a policy of competition," Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt said on Thursday.

"Let broadcast compete with cable, let cable provide telephone
service, let telephone companies deliver video programming," he
said.

[Details in Expanded Edition of Digital Future]

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UPCOMING INFORMATION MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY RELATED 
CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS

NOVEMBER 1994
    Multimedia 1994: Positioning For Profit In An Interactive World,
    November 6-8, 1994, San Francisco, CA. Contact 212-279-2525.

    CMA Telecom 94, November 7-10, 1994. New York Hilton Hotel & Towers.
    Contact 800-CMA-EXPO. Fax 214-245-8700.

    Silicon Studio '94: The Entertainment Authoring Conference, November 8-10,
    Los Angeles, CA. Contact 415-390-3156.

    Technology 2004, the fifth annual technology transfer conference
    and exposition, November 8-10, at the Washington Convention
    Center, Washington, DC. Contact: 212-490-3999.

    COMDEX, November 14-18, 1994, Las Vegas, NV, contact Registration Dept.,
    300 First Avenue, Needham, MA 02194-2722, or fax 617-449-2674.

    Supercomputing '94, November 14-18, 1994, Washington D.C. Convention Center
    Contact: Linda Callahan, 607-254-8609; fax 607-254-8888.

    New York Virtual Reality Expo 94, November 29-December 2, New York.
    Contact 800-632-5537 or 203-226-6967.

    E MAIL World--The Mail Enabled Technologies Conference & Expo,
    November 29-December 1, 1994, Boston, MA. Contact 508-470-3880.

    Convergence IV: Opportunities On The Information Superhighway,
    Washington, DC. Contact: 303-393-7449.

DECEMBER 1994
    Electronic Learning Fair, December 2-4, 1994, San Jose, CA.
    Contact: 408-271-3797.

    Internet World 94, December 6-9, Washington Hilton & Towers, 
    Washington, DC, contact 800-632-55337 or 203-226-6967.

    Interactive Information Expo, December 6-8, 1994, New York, NY.
    Contact: 201-346-1400.

    Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications, December 8-9, 1994,
    Dream Inn, Santa Cruz, CA, contact 313-763-4413.

JANUARY 1995
    Mobile Communications '95 Conference, January 16-18, 1995, Dallas, TX,
    contact 800-256-1076.

    Lotusphere '95, January 22-26, 1995, Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel,
    Orlando, FL, contact 617-894-5326. 

    ComNet '95, January 23-26, 1995, Washington, DC. Contact 800-225-4698.

    NATPE, January 23-26, Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas, NV. 
    Contact 800-628-7346.

    Information Superhighway '95, January 24-27, 1995, Santa Clara Convention 
    Center, Santa Clara, CA,  contact Charles Van Horn, ITA, 
    505 Eighth Avenue, New York 10018; Tel: 212-643-0620; Fax: 212-643-0624. 

FEBRUARY 1995
    InterMedia '95--The International Conference and Exposition on Multimedia
    February 7-9, 1995, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA. 
    Contact: 203-840-5634.

    Inter Comm 95, February 20-23, 1995, Vancouver, Canada, 
    contact 604-669-1090.

    SALT -- The Society for Applied Learning Technology, February 22-24, 1995,
    Orlando, FL. Contact 800-457-6812 or 703-347-0055.

    High Tech Direct 2000, February 27-March 1, 1995, 
    Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA, contact 800-808-3976.

MARCH 1995
    IEEE INFOCOM'95 -- The Conference on Computer Communications, 
    April 2-6, 1995, Boston, MASS., USA, contact 816-235-2361.

JUNE 1995
    INET'95, the 5th Annual Conference of the Internet Society
    focusing on worldwide issues of Internet networking, 
    June 28-30, 1995 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Contact: 703-648-9888.
    Fax: 703-648-9887.
 
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=========================================================================
                                                                        
INTRODUCTORY SUBSCRIPTION FOR EXPANDED EDITION OF DIGITAL FUTURE 
NEWSLETTER!     
                                                                        
   The expanded edition of DIGITAL FUTURE NEWSLETTER is available only 
   by subscription and delivered electronically to e-mail addresses.        
   Limited offer: 26 weekly issues of the expanded edition of DIGITAL FUTURE,       
   uploaded to your e-mail address, are $25.00; 52 weekly issues are     
   $40.00. SPECIAL OFFER EXPIRES December 31, 1994.

NAME_________________________________________________________________

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   Print the above coupon and mail it with check or money order in          
   U.S. funds on a U.S. bank, to:                     
                                                                         
              John Hart,                                
              767 South Xenon Court, Suite 117                     
              Lakewood, CO 80228 USA                          
              CIS: 71044,2446
              INTERNET: fyi@marketplace.com                      
                                                                         
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WHAT I WANT FROM THE DIGITAL FUTURE
by John Hart

This week, this is what I want from those wonderfully inventive Japanese 
video-heads:

No more video cassette recorders. Instead, one box. With HDTV, built-in
hard drive or chip sets that record any program I want by touching the
screen. Trash those stupid remotes. Burn those ridiculous rolls of VHS
tape. 

C'mon, it can't be that hard. Touch Thursday. 7:00 p.m. Channel 4,
and I've got "Mad About You" recorded for time-shifting. No tape to load.
No brain surgery to perform. Touch "Replay," and I get a list of what
I have stored.

And to change channels, all I do is speak into a small handheld mic and
say "7." "4." "10." "Mute." Or maybe "Internet." Yeah, that's it. Log on 
to the Internet, get my e-mail and display it on screen. Answer back with 
my voice and the cursor types out every word I say. Then, "Send e-mail and 
log off. Get latest news on Microsoft." Zap. The screen displays text and 
graphic files on the big MS.

Now that's a video box I could love.

--JH

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==========================
DIGITAL FUTURE CIRCULATION
==========================

DIGITAL FUTURE NEWSLETTER (abridged edition) is available every Saturday by 
one of these methods:
 
1. Internet, gopher Marketplace.com
2. E-mail. Submit your email address for free delivery every Saturday
3. CompuServe at these locations:
      IBM Communications Forum, Library 6, Hot Topics
      Internet Forum, Library 1, General Information
      Telecommunications Forum, Library 14, Internetworking
      Work At Home Forum, Library 1, General Information


BBS Sysops worldwide are welcome to make this abridged version of 
DIGITAL FUTURE Newsletter available to your callers, however, if you do make 
it available on a regular basis, please email your BBS name and phone number 
so the information can be published here.

==========
DISCLAIMER
==========

DIGITAL FUTURE Newsletter publishes the information herein with the 
understanding that it is accurate and reliable, however, it can not be 
guaranteed. Although every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy of 
the data contained herein, the publisher cannot accept liability for 
misstatements. Furthermore, the views represented herein do not necessarily 
reflect those of the editor or the publisher.

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END DIGITAL FUTURE Volume 1 Number 19 / Saturday, November 5, 1994.
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