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Weekly Happenings about & affecting the Computer World

 

 

Stamps Can Now Be Bought Online

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Now it's postage over the Internet. The Postal Service on Monday launched PC Postage, a stamp that can be printed through personal computers.

Whether it's used by the average consumer mailing holiday cards or wedding invitations or a business sending correspondence, the system eventually could change the way many people put postage on their envelopes.

Consumers would go online to one of the companies offering PC Postage. With an ordinary laser or inkjet printer, a barcode would be printed on each envelope to indicate mail processing information and postage payment. For packages, consumers would enter the weight, buy the appropriate amount of postage and print it on labels to be put on the packages.

"With PC Postage you can purchase and print postage 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the convenience of your home or office," said Pam Gibert, Postal Service vice president of retail.

Wellington Wilson, a San Francisco businessman whose Wellington E-Group is creating an online shopping mall, provided his own testimonial. "This operation is so slick, so simple, so easy," said Wilson, who has been using the Stamps.com product as part of a pilot program since January.

On Monday, E-Stamp Corp. of San Mateo, Calif., began offering the computerized postage and Stamps.com of Santa Monica, Calif., started pre-registering customers for a limited release of the Internet stamps in September. Two other companies _ Neopost Inc. of Hayward, Calif., and Pitney Bowes of Stamford, Conn. _ are to begin offering the products in coming months.

Consumers can use those companies' Web sites to purchase and print postage for domestic first-class, Priority and Express Mail and for parcel post envelopes and packages.

With each company, the consumer goes to the company's Web site to register and download any required software. Some companies offer the software free while others require a fee.

Consumers also will pay handling fees to the companies _ they will range from $1.99 to $19.99 a month depending on usage rates, according to companies' plans _ along with payment for the postage. Purchases can be made either by debit or credit card.

The procedure for usage can also vary. Some companies have hardware that can be purchased and used offline to print stamps. For others, the postage is downloaded directly off the Internet.

During the three years of working on PC Postage, each company has had to meet requirements to ensure the security of the system, Gibert said.

Even with high-tech stamps, the traditional stamp isn't headed for extinction, Gibert said. "We don't see that stamps are going away," she said. "It's simply another choice."

bradley shows true colors

And you wonder why they are not trusted!
This goof is heartless!

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ In the city that gave the Olympics its worst ethics scandal, one of the leading candidates for mayor says he wants to raise taxes "shamelessly high" to take advantage of visitors to the 2002 Winter Games.

Jim Bradley, one of 13 people running for the job that also carries the title of official Olympic host, said in a recent debate that there was nothing wrong with gouging the hundreds of thousands of people who will come to the city for the games.

"The hotel transient room tax has to be jacked up as high as we can possibly do it," the Democrat said. "We have to raise the car rental tax as high as we can possibly do it _ even shamelessly high _ to generate revenue. ... We have to look at opportunities like that to just screw them."

Taxpayers are concerned that they might be stuck with paying off any debts remaining from the Salt Lake Games' $1.34 billion budget, which is supposed to be privately financed. But Bradley's opponents bristled at his comments, saying it sent the wrong message to potential visitors. "This isn't a place to come and get fleeced," candidate Dave Jones said. "I felt it was insensitive. I thought it was a very poor message to send to the public."

Bradley, a former county commissioner who lost the governor's race to Republican Mike Leavitt in 1996, said he wished he had more time to phrase his impromptu response at the debate. But he stood behind his comment and said he was the only candidate with the guts to take a commonsense stand.

"It's not a mean-spirited idea. It's not a bad idea. It is a good idea that saves money for the citizens of Salt Lake," he said. "All I'm looking for are ways that the city's not left holding the bag."  Bradley said minor increases, such as a $10 rise in room taxes, won't keep  visitors from attending the games.

"Is that the deal-killer for you?" Bradley said. "Heavens no. You'll pay it, and you'll probably pay it and say, `Boy, at least it's not as expensive as Barcelona was." Bradley is considered among the four leading contenders for the city's top job. The two biggest vote-getters in October's primary will face off in the November general election.

Two-term Mayor Deedee Corradini, a Democrat, announced last year that she would not seek re-election. Her announcement came at the height of the scandal over the million-dollar program run by Salt Lake bidders to win the votes of International Olympic Committee members. Ms. Corradini has not been implicated.

AOL now does domains

Where is the DOJ and Justice Jackson & Co.?  How much more of the Internet and its functions is AOL going to be allowed to gobble up and gain control over?  Could it be the US Gov't is secretly behind AOL?

America Online has quietly begun registering the most popular forms of Internet addresses, more than three months after the domain registration system was opened to competitors. One of five registrars named in April to test a shared system for registering domain names ending in ".com," ".net," and ".org," AOL's CompuServe began selling the addresses to its subscribers Friday, a spokesman said. Like the other four "test bed" registrars, AOL is charging $70 per name for the first two years, the same fee Network Solutions--which until recently was the monopoly registrar--has charged for years.

AOL spokesman Jim Whitney said the move represents only a "first step" in the company's plans to offer new services to its subscribers. He said the firm is considering a number of refinements to the service, including bundling it with Web hosting, which it already provides through a partnership with Verio. Until recently, NSI had sole authority to register domain names with the three endings, which account for an estimated 75 percent of the world's Internet addresses. The arrangement has generated millions of dollars for NSI and has turned it into the world's dominant registrar.

Unlike some of the new competitors, whose sole source of revenue revolves around registration, AOL has taken its time getting plugged into the new system, which is being overseen by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. By contrast, Register.com, the first registrar to go live under the shared registration system, worked around the clock to get up and running.

Creative Labs Nomad 64 MP3 Player

The industry buzz had many suspecting this MP3 player would topple the competition. And it lived up to expectations for the most part, but it's not the one-size-fits-all portable audio solution we expected. Still, FM radio, voice recording, and multi-format playback put the Nomad at the forefront of the newer MP3 players.

At the top of the list of favorite features on the Nomad is its docking station, the first seen on an MP3 player since the Eiger Labs MPMan F10. Its superior because you can leave the Nomad attached to a parallel port for easy PC connectivity and battery recharging. However, if you plan on using two different computers with the Nomad (at work and at home, for instance), you'll have to carry the docking station between them.

A non-feature is the player's leather case, which has transparent plastic sections for the display and buttons; the simplicity of a belt clip is preferable. The player itself is futuristic-looking, with a neat flip-open slot for a 32MB Smart Media expansion card. Presently, it's both the smallest MP3 player available and the only one with an FM radio.

Playing MP3 files is the most important task for any portable MP3 player, and the Nomad does that well. To sweeten the deal, however, it also offers voice recording. An embedded microphone on the player saves sounds into an ADPCM file. These files can be heard on the Nomad or on a desktop with the simple bundled ADPCM player software. Another treat? The Nomad can play RealAudio files and MP2 files.

All in all, the Nomad offers a great deal for its low price tag: $169 for the 32MB version, $224 for the 64MB version. You get an FM radio, voice recording, and multiple file capabilities, all in a tiny case. There's no question that the Nomad stands above the pack of MP3 players.

Iridium defaults on $1.5 billion in loans

Iridium yesterday defaulted on an $800 million loan and a $750 million guaranteed bank loan. The troubled satellite company is continuing to consider capital restructuring options, according to a press release issued yesterday. Iridium has a network of 66 low-earth orbit satellites, enabling its customers to communicate from even the most remote parts of the globe.

The company last made headlines in April when CEO Edward Staiano resigned, following hard on the heels of the departure of Roy Grant, Iridium's chief financial officer. Also in April, Motorola, which owns a large share of Iridium, stated that it may be forced to financially support the company if Iridium could not meet its financial obligations.

Last month, what could be viewed as the final warning was issued when it became obvious that Iridium probably could not repay the twice-extended loans on time. Motorola said it was considering forcing Iridium into bankruptcy reorganization or liquidation unless the company could restructure its capital issues out of court.

IBM offers muscle drives for notebooks

IBM is flexing its muscle as a component supplier by announcing a hard drive for portable computers that has the largest data capacity yet. IBM said today that it has started shipping a 25GB hard drive for notebook PCs, the largest to date. IBM is delivering the drive in limited quantities to Dell Computer and Compaq.

Under the aegis of its technology group, IBM has accelerated its push this year to establish itself as a major supplier of components to computer makers. IBM is one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard drives, liquid crystal displays, and semiconductors. IBM also said today that it has started to deliver an 18GB drive. Typically, the largest hard drive in most notebook PCs is about 14GB. This matches Fujitsu, which has begun shipping a drive with 18GB of data capacity.

High-capacity drives enable the storage of large music, video, and multimedia files on a computer. For example, the IBM drive can hold about 20 TV-quality movies, the company said. Dell is already taking orders for these IBM "Travelstar" brand drives, and volume shipments will begin from IBM in September.

"This technology offers...storage capacity of up to 50GB in a notebook form factor," said Erik Stannow, director of product marketing at Compaq's portable computer division, in a statement. Notebook PC makers can potentially use two of the drives in laptops to achieve 50GB of capacity.

IBM said the drive can operate at 5,400 revolutions per minute, making it faster than previous products. In addition, IBM is shipping a 12GB model for ultra-portables and billing it as a "rugged" hard drive that has less chance of being damaged if dropped or bumped. Hard drive for ultra-portable notebook PCs today top out at 6.4GB typically. Ultra-portable notebooks usually weigh less than four pounds.

IBM embraces new AMD Athlon chip

 IBM roundly endorsed AMD's new Athlon chip today with a broad direct sales push, marking an overhaul of its consumer PC line and a bid to gain market momentum. Most of the new Aptiva computers introduced today will be sold direct, with certain models only available directly from IBM, indicating that Big Blue has pulled out all the stops out to emulate Dell Computer and Gateway in the consumer and small-business segment.

IBM will also launch Internet initiatives including free CompuServe service and models with high-speed ADSL modems--including a waiver of steep installation fees--in some markets. Big Blue has been laboring to gain ground in the consumer PC market: In the first quarter of this year, it was still ranked behind Compaq Computer, Packard-Bell NEC, and even No. 5 Emachines in the consumer market, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).

The direct sales strategy should help their cause, however. "They've been laggards. IBM is finally moving along [to direct sales]," said Roger Kay, an analyst at IDC. "They seemed to fret over this for a long time." Kay says that a well-executed direct push can shave about five percent in costs almost immediately.

The new S series and E series Aptiva models are aimed at more sophisticated users and not the sub-$1,000 segment that so many PC makers have been targeting during the last 18 months. "If you look at these systems, they fit the profile of buyers that can jump right on the Internet and go shopping," Kay said.

The top echelon of the line is comprised of an S series 865 model with AMD's fastest Athlon chip running at 650 MHz. The 860 comes with a 600-MHz processor, 128 MB of memory, a DVD-ROM drive, a 20 GB hard drive, an Nvidia graphics subsystem, and Intel "AnyPoint" Home Network.

Athlon, formerly known as the K7, is AMD's newest processor and was formerly introduced this week. Analysts have raved about the chip's performance, stating that it will outperform the Pentium III. The big question now is whether AMD will be able to manufacture the chip in large enough volumes and capture market share from Intel in the high-end performance computing segment. The chip is coming out at speeds ranging from 500 to 650 MHz.

"This is a major change to the PC landscape," said Mark Del Tufo, a manager in the Aptiva group. "AMD has actually eclipsed Intel [in performance]." IBM appears more enthusiastic about AMD chips than those from Intel--even at the high end which has been Intel's stronghold. "For our customers, Athlon delivers better value and better performance [than Intel]," he added.

But not everybody is as keen on the Athlon processor as IBM. A Gateway spokesman stated that the company decided not to add Athlon to their performance-PC line at this time and instead will stick with current processors, or the Pentium III from Intel. Gateway broke away from the Intel-only camp this year and has been a fairly heavy consumer of K6-2 processors. Gateway was expected to adopt the Athlon.

IBM also released a bevy of E series boxes targeted at small businesses as well as consumers. The models use lower speed grades of the Athlon chip. Prices for all systems range from just above $1,000 for the E series to $2,299 for the high-end S series. Most models will be available in 30 to 40 days. Exact pricing and configuration were not yet available for the E series models which will be sold via the "ShopIBM" direct sales route and in retail outlets. A program with OfficeMax in select markets offers E series models at IBM "stores" located within OfficeMax outlets.

The S series computers will be sold as direct models only. In addition, IBM customers will get six months of free Internet Service from CompuServe with the purchase of systems before October 2. Big Blue is also collaborating with Pacific Bell to offer ADSL models in what IBM is calling a "pilot program." In the San Francisco area, Pacific Bell will waive the ADSL equipment and service installation fee for residents who purchase a DSL-enabled Aptiva model 800 or 902 via the ShopIBM Web site and sign a one-year DSL service contract, the company said.

New plans could lower broadband costs

Don't expect a free high-speed Internet anytime soon.

The high costs of "broadband" services will keep them out of the current rush toward free Net access. But a variety of ad-supported and package plans are on the way that could help lower the price of high-speed Net services substantially over the next year, companies say. Several Internet service providers (ISPs) that offer discounted or free dial-up service are in talks to offer discounted broadband services. And the big telephone companies are moving closer to packaging their broadband services with telephone service and other products, providing discounts across the board.

For the most part these experiments are still in the planning stage, and will take time to roll out to the mass market. "I don't think we'll see really low prices for a long time," said Michele Pelino, an Internet analyst with the Yankee Group. "That's a long way down the road." Nevertheless, even the thought of falling subscription revenue is driving many high-speed Internet players to develop new advertising and content partnerships, hoping to diversify their source of profits before it's too late. "Subscriptions will go to nothing," Excite@Home chief executive Tom Jermoluk said recently. "If that's your only source of income you risk being leveraged out." Looking for deals 1stUp.com, the company that provides AltaVista with its free dial-up Internet service, says it is also looking for a way to provide ad-subsidized broadband service.

"We're in talks with a number of high-speed Internet providers," said Charles Katz, the company's chief executive. "I think it will be some time before it's free. But I think it is a short time before we see tiered pricing in that space." 1stUp.com is planning to have an ad-supported broadband service in the works by the end of the year, Katz said. While company is still hammering out the best pricing arrangement with possible partners, Katz said even the ad-supported version would likely be more than $20 per month.

Other companies are looking at new ways of getting to cheap high-speed connections. LibertyBay.com, a Tacoma, Washington-based ISP that currently offers $8.95 dial-up service, is looking at using inexpensive Internet telephone service to subsidize the cost of a broadband connection. Consumers are already used to paying relatively high phone bills, says Liberty Bay chief Todd Ostrander. Once Net-based telephone services drop the cost of voice, Liberty Bay and other companies can provide a bundle of voice and broadband services at a low cost--much as Qwest Communications today offered a bundle of long distance and dial-up services for just $24.95.

Many other ISPs are also moving down the path toward offering telephone service. All of these firms face a difficult hurdle in competing with the big local and long distance telephone companies, however. For the most part, telcos see this bundled future as their territory. AT&T, which has committed more than $100 billion to buying cable companies in the past year, plans to roll out a bundled package of video, high-speed Internet, and local and long distance telephone service by next year.

The company is midway through trials of its cable phone system, but hasn't yet integrated its Excite@Home cable modem service into its package of products. Nor has it released information on the final pricing plan for its communications services package. But analysts say they expect the company to cross-subsidize its services, potentially dropping the price of broadband Net service for AT&T subscribers.

Analysts caution that subscribers expecting genuinely cheap high-speed Net service will have a long time to wait, however. "My sense is that it will never be free, or at least not until content and deployment become much stronger," Pelino said. "This is something that users should really be willing to pay for."

THE BAIT
Many of the biggest companies now offering high-speed Internet service are already cutting prices to draw people to their services. Pacific Bell and BellSouth each have waived all or most of the DSL startup fees, which can range upwards of $200 for modem and setup, for some of their customers. US West has introduced a cut-rate version of DSL that isn't always on, but still provides the fast download times of other high-speed Net offerings. Priced at $37.90 when bundled with ISP service, it is the cheapest broadband offering on the market.

Nevertheless, the economics of broadband still make it difficult to offer service much below the $40 mark, analysts say. Services deployment is still relatively small, equipment is still expensive, and overhead is high. And the phone and cable companies are still investing hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars in their networks to upgrade them for high-speed Net service. "Even at that [$40 to $50] level...many of them may not be making money, or may even be losing money," said Jeanette Noyes, an industry analyst with the International Data Corporation.

 

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