TV screen opens onto Internet
Article Abstract:
PCs and TVs are merging, as Microsoft's Microsoft Network (MSN) transforms computer networks into something resembling a TV network, and WebTV Networks makes a TV resemble an Internet computer. Microsoft has redesigned its MSN information service and plans to implement it in Nov 1996. MSN will provide a simple and inexpensive way to use the Web and Internet without purchasing a PC. WebTV requires a $300 device and costs $19.95 per month for the Internet connection service. The device, which includes a 33.6Kb modem, connects to nearly any TV set and plugs into a standard telephone line. The WebTV devices are currently marketed by Sony and Philips Magnavox. TV sets that offer the picture-in-picture feature will allow users to watch TV shows while simultaneously surfing the Web. The system includes a Smart Card for electronic shopping and home banking. The technology is promising, but not yet mature.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
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Behind an Internet message service's close; pressure from Church of Scientology is blamed for the shutdown
Article Abstract:
A Helsinki-based Internet messaging service that offered anonymous E-mail has ceased operations. The remailer, which was known by its anon.penet.fi Internet address, was the best of a small number of similar services. Their users range from political dissidents to those with medical or drug problems. Anon.penet.fi's shutdown is blamed on a court ruling ordering the remailer's founder and operator, Johan Helsingius, to reveal the name of one of the system's users to the Church of Scientology. Finland's telecommunications laws do not currently extend the privacy protections accorded to postal mail or telephone calls to Internet E-mail. The Church of Scientology is attempting to stop dissemination of scriptures over computer networks, thereby protecting their copyright. An anonymous person reportedly used anon.penet.fi to distribute these documents over the Usenet bulletin board system.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
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Follow-up survey reports growth in Internet users; newcomers are older and less educated
Article Abstract:
The number of Internet users continues to grow, but a survey finds the new users tend to be older, poorer, less educated and spend less time online than earlier users. A demographic study commissioned by the Commercenet Internet industry consortium shows that Internet accessability is increasing and 22 percent to 24 percent of the people in the US and Canada now have access. This compares to 17 percent in an Aug 1995 survey. Commercenet sees the findings as encouraging and indicative of a huge potential for electronic commerce. However, the study also shows that 20 percent of the users reported in the 1995 survey no longer accessed the Internet. The majority of new users access the Internet through commercial online services, which offer connections with a minimum of technical knowledge. The survey, conducted by Nielsen Media Research, is based on contacts with 4,200 households.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
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