__ Double Barrel __
The promise of widespread ISDN is finally here - although it arrives in the guise of plain old telephone service. Diamond Multimedia Systems' new Shotgun software ties together the datastreams of two analog phone lines, so these bonded 56K modems are free to realize download speeds similar to ISDN's 115 Kbps.
A bonded 56K modem won't come cheap: Diamond Multimedia's offering, the SupraSonic II, which is actually a single board holding two modems, costs around US$200, and ISPs will certainly charge for the second phone connection. But the cost-benefit ratio of a bonded modem does compare favorably with ISDN. Plus, Shotgun allows you to release the second phone line, so you can choose to receive calls while the data connection is live.
The bigger question: When will the 56K standards schism be resolved? Diamond Multimedia supports Rockwell's K56 flex technology, and 3Com is developing a similar product for U.S. Robotics's x2 format. Both sides have vowed to reconcile their differences this year, but it'll be difficult to convince consumers to plunk down big dollars while the smoke is still clearing. Then again, if the closest alternative is ISDN, people frustrated with spotty service will likely line up to get aboard the bonded-modem bandwagon.
__ Monumental Misadventure __
The new game Douglas Adams Starship Titanic, conceived by the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, tells the story of an interstellar liner that abruptly crashes into your living room. Board the wreckage and talk to the traumatized robots and a crazed parrot (voice talent provided by Monty Python's Terry Jones) to determine what caused the fatal accident.
__ Return of the Dragon __
Blackstone Group senior adviser Daniel Burstein's latest book about an Asian economy, Big Dragon, focuses on the threat, challenge, and opportunity posed by China. Among other controversial predictions, the author believes that "in the 2030s, China will emerge as the biggest single national economy in the world."
__ Mutant Faire __
From the French company Ubi Soft comes a charming little game called Tonic Trouble. Help the kooky purple monster Ed retrieve a can of mutation-inducing agents that has accidentally fallen into the grasp of the evil Grogh the Hellish. Enhanced by the Pentium II processor, this is one of the first DVD-ROM games on the market. In all, the new title features both a clever story line and richly textured graphics.
__ Schizo ISDN __
For all of you with ISDN connections, Ericsson's new Home Internet Solution employs a watered-down DSL technology to transmit voice and data over the same line at the same time. When the phone rings, this modemlike terminal reduces your networking speed to 70 Kbps - down from ISDN's usual 115 Kbps - and lets you yap away to your heart's content.
__ Very Dumb Terminal __
What do you get when you combine Windows NT, Windows CE, and a LAN? Aside from a whole lotta Microsoft, Network Computing Devices thinks that its latest product, a thin-client code-named Thumper, answers that question with a cheap and simple way for businesses to give many workers access to Windows applications and companywide resources.
Thumper falls under the thin-client umbrella because it reigns in local computing power - the device offers a modicum of processing power, no local storage, and the simple Windows CE operating system - but the product ties into Microsoft's new Hydra networking software, which allows people to tap applications and computational brawn residing on shared Windows NT 4.0 servers. While some pundits have questioned Bill Gates's commitment to network computing, Hydra signals an impressive initiative - in part because it gives an entire intranet a Microsoft-controlled interface.
For its part, NCD is quick to emphasize the advantages of a Thumper-NT, client-server architecture: the hardware is inexpensive, people have a familiarity with Windows, and it's easy to manage applications in a centralized environment. From a business perspective, the product's main advantage over the big-iron mainframe terminals of yesteryear is a decidedly cheaper, somewhat prettier, and entirely Microsoft display for, well, the network itself.
