Hype List
| On the Rise/ In Decline| Ranking| Life Expectancy (Months)
| up| 1| 12| Embedded NT
Redmond is expanding its beachhead in the networking world with embedded NT, a version of its operating system designed for switches, routers, and PBXs. But even if NT's code is pared down to fit into networking equipment, custom-built OSes will still be smaller, cheaper, and more robust. Yes, NT features the familiar Windows interface, but the price and sacrifice in memory and reliability will tax any real-time corporate network. When my fridge gets "smart" enough to leave messages on my voicemail, I'll call Microsoft – until then, embedded NT should be kept on hold.
<p> <strststrtstrststrification Authorities</stN
that <em>merce</emevery investor's favorite buzzword, analysts are hyping the arrival of a public key infrastructure that makes network authentication, encryption, and authorization pervasive. Yet certification authorities, the parties that verify a message's sender, must guarantee privacy before they can convince John Q. Public to spend cash online. Companies such as VeriSign keep touting their digital certificates, but legislative and judicial bodies will increasingly scrutinize private key authentication. When it comes to ecommerce, the technology is the easy part.</p>
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gies that make your single-family-home life more convenient are hot, and none are hotter than shopbots. These Web-based agents, offered by companies like Junglee, search many different commerce sites for the best bargains. At the same time, however, the big-name searchcos are busily latching onto one-stop "portals" to the products and services of the great electronic mall. And if there's anything to be learned from the success of Amazon.com and CDnow, it's that people enjoy the ritual of browsing before they buy. Why let the bots have all the fun?</p> <p
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veloped a 3-D technology that drains way too much processing power, don't worry: You can always pitch it as a "business application," assuming you've got Microsoft's marketing clout. Take Chrome, the Windows enhancement that delivers lively visuals to browsers and other applications via DirectX and XML. Sounds good, but Chrome runs only on 350-MHz Pentium II PCs, which effectively prices it out of its logical niche in the consumer market. And, as a wise exec once said, "3-D accelerators are used for two things: games and 3-D benchmarks."</p> <p> |
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ech-cessorize a wardrobe that already includes computer-chip earrings and the Swatch @ watch? Why, cyber make-up, of course. Clinique's Moisture Online, M.A.C.'s Cyber lipstick, and Lancôme's Morphing Violine nail polish are just some of the items now gracing department store counters. The most brazen form of the new hack couture is called E-Nail, a trio of products that map cutesy graphics onto fingernails. Apply the Icons with a fixative called Command-Save. If you don't like the look and feel, buy the remover. It's called Delete.</p> <p> <em>T
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