__ Just Outta Beta __
__ Internet, Meet TV. Play Nice __
Release: Summer
There's a media convergence going on, and you don't need a meteorologist to know which way the wind is blowing. It's become clear that the Web is emerging as the world's premier media for distribution. It's cheap, easy to maintain, and hyped to the hilt. So it was pretty much inevitable that television would find its way to the infobahn.
Internet Live, a new program about and for the Net, stretches the paradigm and Net bandwidth to its limits, combining broadcast TV with live netcasts using Cu-SeeMe, Streamworks, and VDOlive video-streaming software.
Developed by Broadcast Production Group, Internet Live will wrap the infobahn in separate segments, including IBiz, IFeatures, INews, IPlanet, IPower (for power users), ILash, and Just the FAQ's. Your total connection to Internet Live can be found on IGuide, a listing that keeps you on top of both the broadcast and netcast schedules.
Internet Live is designed to bring the Internet to newbies, while retaining enough of an insider's view to keep seasoned netters interested. Bill Cleary, founder of CKS Partners, will lead the charge in IBiz. Glee Harrah Cady, author of Mastering the Internet, will host Just the FAQ's, an opinionated Q & A session that because of the show's digital infrastructure can take emails and other submissions up to air time.
This is Internet Live's most promising feature. By integrating the Net with TV in real time, the program has the ability to bring viewers into the production process and allow them to influence the direction a segment might follow.
But a larger question surrounds the current crop of video-streaming software. If TV is making inroads on the Net, a stable, approved multicasting protocol must be put in place to deal with the bandwidth. Right now, there is none. The MBone, remember, is just an experiment.
So if business is driving the cart, we'd better put up some signposts or this whole crazy ride is going to end up in rush-hour gridlock or worse, a 400-million packet pileup.
- Tim Barkow *
__ Internet Live: www.internetlive.com/. Broadcast Production Group: +1 (408) 559 6300. __
__ Connectix __
Release: April/May
Connectix has served up a color QuickCam that should prove even more popular than its black-and-white predecessor. It's tied to your computer, but the price/performance ratio is keen.
Connectix Corp.: (800) 950 5880, +1 (415) 571 5100.
__ The Dilbert Principle __
Release: June
Ostensibly, this is a business book. And if you're trying to figure out how to be the best worker you can be, then heed the advice of Scott Adams to the letter. Otherwise, read along and chuckle under your breath as your fellow employees mimic the experiences Adams chronicles. Simply put, the best place to read Scott Adams's The Dilbert Principle is in the bathroom at work. He wouldn't have it any other way.
HarperBusiness: (800) 242 7737, +1 (212) 207 7633, on the Web at www.harpercollins.com/business/.
__ Golden Nugget __
Release: June
What's a CD-ROM gambling game without risk? Adam West leads you through Golden Nugget as you try to determine who stole the "Chaos Chip" that predicts the outcome of gambling games. Included are 14 casino games that should sate most of your risk-taking urges.
Virgin Interactive: (800) 874 4607, +1 (714) 833 8710.
__ MediaCUBE 30 __
Release: June
Need a box to serve your video? nCUBE's MediaCUBE 30 débuts this month and should help fill the gap between low-end and high-end media servers. It will support up to 300 videostreams, sharing 450 Mbps of total bandwidth.
nCUBE: (800) 654 2823, +1 (503) 629 5088.
__ Devo Presents Adventures of the Smart Patrol __
Release:June
Ace Ventura is back in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. To design the CD-ROM (probably the only medium Ace hasn't already conquered), 7th Level teamed up with Morgan Creek International, the developers of the Ace television cartoon.
7th Level Inc.: (800) 884 8863, +1 (214) 437 4858, fax +1 (214) 437 2217.
__ Ace Ventura: Pet Detective __
Release: June
Ace Ventura is back in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. To design the CD-ROM (probably the only medium Ace hasn't already conquered), 7th Level teamed up with Morgan Creek International, the developers of the Ace television cartoon.
7th Level Inc.: (800) 884 8863, +1 (214) 437 4858, fax +1 (214) 437 2217.
__ Top Secret Decoder __
Release: June
Try to explain the battle over crypto control to a 6-year-old. They just don't get it. But after a few hours with Top Secret Decoder, the tyke should see the light. This is code-cracking fun for the younger set. The only question is whether or not this CD-ROM qualifies as a munition under government export controls.
Houghton Mifflin Interactive: (800) 829 7962, +1 (617) 351 3333.
