Each weekend we highlight the most relevant stories Wired News has covered. To find out what's coming up, jump to The Week Ahead.
Instant warfare: The Microsoft-America Online tussle over instant messaging continued into a second week, turning into a game of patch-counterpatch. Microsoft would release a new version intended to break through AOL's defenses, and AOL would answer with new disabling software. And so on.
By the end of the week, Apple had chosen sides in this clash of tech titans. Steve Jobs said his company would work with AOL to create a compatible messaging client for the Macintosh platform that will provide access to the 40 million AOL Instant Messenger users.
Deep stuff: Movie-List, which features links to externally hosted movie trailers, got a letter from Universal Studios asking it to stop linking to trailers on the Studios' Web servers. Hard to say who has the legal upper hand in this one. Because no court has ruled on the issue of "deep linking," there's no precedent to govern who has the right to link far into the Web site of another person or company.
Size counts: PC Magazine's John C. Dvorak slammed the iBook, Apple's new notebook, as too feminine for any real man to dare whip out of his briefcase. And who could argue? Not Polly Sprenger, who agrees computer makers should be producing machines worthy of manhood, with plenty of hard disk space, meg upon meg of RAM, throbbing active matrix screens.... Well, you get the idea.
At it again: Once more, Web site administrators were peeved at Network Solutions. The admins said they weren't able to transfer Web sites from one host computer to another, or change other critical administrative functions at the NetSol site. Worse yet, they had no info on what was going on.
On the Hill: 'Twas a day when Washington didn't have a clue about the Net. Now it sometimes seems to be all the town talks about. Privacy dominated the discussion this week, especially after word got out about Fidnet, a White House plan to keep a very close eye on the Internet.
Republicans kicked up a fuss about the National Security Council brainchild, which would shield government and industry computer networks by monitoring them for intruders. Responding to the criticism, the White House said it had made no final decision on the matter and was carefully reviewing any privacy implications.
Meanwhile, the Center for Democracy and Technology told a House committee that fewer than 10 percent of sites meet the minimum privacy standards called for by the Federal Trade Commission and seal programs. And criticism grew about companies using an old legal tool, the subpoena, to expose anonymous posters on Internet discussion boards.
Strong crypto also took a pummeling. Two House committees warned that widespread use of such technology would be "devastating" for US law enforcement and the national security establishment. And a Republican from Florida introduced legislation that would give companies a 15 percent tax break on the costs of developing government-snoopable encryption products.
A tax break there and how about a new tax elsewhere? Never mind that a federal commission is studying the issue; South Carolina's Fritz Hollings wants to slap a 5 percent sales tax on Web merchandise ASAP. Under his plan, the money raised would help pay teacher salaries.
Still on the Hill: NASA condemned an 11 percent cut to next year's proposed US$13.6 billion budget, passed by the appropriations subcommittee in the Republican-controlled House. The cuts are some of the most drastic in the space agency's 41-year history, and could spell the end of planned missions to Mars, NASA said.
One way NASA may withstand budget cutting is by producing revenue. To that end, the agency said it would submit a plan to Congress to commercialize some services on the space shuttle.
Just politics: Ten Republican senators took a five-hour bus tour of Virginia's tech firms, hoping to prove to the likes of America Online, Oracle, and Network Solutions that they're eager to listen and respond to CEOs' concerns. Amid all the politicking, the senators actually seemed quite interested in the technology -- and a little naive about it.
Something old: Billboards, of all places, are where "high-tech companies talk to their investors, their customers, and their competitors," said one outdoor ad space rep. And it's true -- especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where companies are paying upwards of $40,000 a month for prime boards on US 101. And for those who can't put together that kind of cash, there are always urinals. Swear to God.
Something new: Shareware software also found favor as an advertising venue. ZDNet began offering a range of financial, entertainment, education, and Internet applications, as well as games and utilities featuring Web-like banner ads or buy-now buttons. Observers see this concept gaining ground rapidly.
IPO gravity: Drugstore.com had all the elements of a typical hot Net IPO -- deep-pocketed backers, high-profile underwriter, lots of buzz -- and it paid off big as it went public this week. But some analysts said its first-day tripling in value all but ensured that share prices will fall.
Not our type: ETrade's account requirements threw a wrench in RedHat Software's plan to offer open-source developers an early crack at shares in its upcoming IPO. Later, though, eTrade suggested the spurned investor-wannabes try again, this time giving themselves a little more credit.
Covering expenses: E-zine publishers gathered in San Francisco to swap stories of the misery and glory of doing small-scale Web publishing amid all that damn e-commerce. It's a labor of love for these folks, although some said they wouldn't mind taking in some ad money -- if only to keep their operations afloat.
All porn, all the time: An adult entertainment company in Canada talked up a new online network devoted exclusively to pornography. The company is promoting Adult Cyberspace as a user-friendly locale for good, clean, porn-related fun, but some observers wonder how many people will download to the browser needed to access the independent network.
Here's hoping Adult Cyberspace has tighter security than Diva Futura. This Italian online porn palace is configured in such a manner that several databases containing confidential user information -- names, credit card numbers, that kind of thing -- can be easily accessed by anyone with a Web browser.
Geezer geeks: Bosses don't admit it, but there is an age barrier in the tech industry. That's why programmers over 35 are banding together to fight for their right to code. Good for them, and good for the industry. "I already have the arrows in my ass that many people who've been in the business for five years still have to acquire," said one old techie, Al Hadsell, who's a ripe ol' 50.
Addicted: "The digital version of crack" -- that's what one player called the new MUD world phenomenon EverQuest. Advancing in the game has become so important to some people that they're paying serious money for levels and loaded characters.
E-wallet: A start-up called Confinity said it will soon unveil an application that allows people to "beam" sums of money between handheld devices such as mobile phones, Palm Pilots, and pagers. Nokia, for one, thinks highly of the scheme -- it's backing Confinity to the tune of $3 million.
That's one use for palm-size computers. Another: They're finding their way into thousands of doctors' lab coats, taking the place of prescription pads.
Good spam: Doing junk email the right way -- that's the goal of Whitehat.com, a start-up that wants to help companies set up and use only "opt-in" email marketing lists. If Whitehat succeeds, it won't stop the spam we see now, but it might keep more marketers from joining the fray.
Casino loses: A New York judge said that gambling takes place where the user sits -- not where the Net casino's servers sit. That precedent-setting ruling was cheered by law enforcement, which now may have wider latitude in enforcing laws that restrict gambling. THE WEEK AHEAD
1 August, Los Angeles: "Convergene: Deal with It," is the title for this year's Herring on Hollywood. Expect big shots talking partnerships, mergers, tie-ins, and acquisitions. At the Century Plaza Hotel.
2 to 4 August, San Francisco: BancBoston Robertson Stephens analysts share their vision of the technological future, so you'll know where to put your money. Investing in Innovations. At the Ritz-Carlton.
2 to 4 August, Sydney: Australia likes to think of itself as very wired, despite the recent passage of a pretty ridiculous content-restriction law. Internet World Australia '99 claims to be the country's biggest Net trade event. At the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.
5 to 7 August, Pittsburgh: Soulless machines and the human quest for deeper understanding. Seems an odd match, but computer ethics, artificial intelligence, and a host of other topics will give participants plenty to talk about at the 14th annual Conference on Computing and Philosophy. At Carnegie Mellon University.
