Digital Village Radio October - December 1996 Programs

Digital Village Archives

Digital Village Radio
October - December 1996 Programs

12/28/96:Year in Review/Open Phones. Today we looked back on 1996 and some of the issues surrounding technology that were of concern through the course of the year. It seemed that Privacy was of particular interest to our listeners who called.

In the news:
The State Dept is expected to hand control of encryption over to Commerce next week - Cybersitter is drawing fire for the sites it's filtering - Malicious emailing lawsuit is brought - France really doesn't like English only sites within its borders - Does Shetland have room for two newspapers online - Copyright issues threaten West/Thompson merger - Digital T.V. Standards are approved - ISPs won't have to pay access fees, yet
12/21/96:Web Wambooli. Our guest today was Dan Gookin, author of the incredibly successful DOS for Dummies, and talked about his new book: Web Wambooli. It's an introduction to the Internet and Web that, despite its name, spends much time with often overlooked non-Web Internet services like e-mail.

In the news:
Apple is going to buy Next and bring back Steve Jobs - Judge Patell rules encryption is protected speech - WIPO attendees approve two out of three treaties, but reject Article 7 - Parolees can be forced off the 'net - IAHC releases its proposal for top level domains - A security hole in Windows NT rears its head - Netcom is going to raise its prices - AltaVista is going to start selling ad space - Spam King loses... again - WebTV is having a tough time catching on - NetAction is well worth checking out
12/14/96:More Steve Bass! Proving that you can never get enough of a good thing, we were joined for the second week in a row by Steve Bass. He mentioned Accelerator as interesting product, worth checking out. Last week, we suggested internet email as a solution for a small company's email need. This week we also suggested considering setting up a BBS using something like Mustang's Wildcat software. We also mentioned the rash of virus warnings going around which persist long after any threat is gone.

In the news:
Maxis fires programmer for unauthorized gay easter eggs - A year's probation for a bad joke - Remember the 809 pager scam? Well now there's one involving the 664 area code. Call there at your own risk - AOL wants its content providers to sign exclusive deals - A Minnesota judge rules a state can regulate Internet gambling - Lanacom is trying to give Pointcast a run for its money - Reuters and Wired are teaming up
12/7/96:Steve Bass & Open Phones. We were joined in studio by Steve Bass, editor for PC World magazine and President of the Pasadena IBM Users' Group. Some of the things that have caught his eye lately include Net.Jet from Peak Media, a new NEC PDA running on Windows CE, and Symantec's new search tool FastFind. Mention was also made of the famous Exploding Whale and Liquid Oxygen BBQ web sites.

In the news:
It's official! The CDA is going to SCOTUS - Index Radio and Radio B92 take their fight to stay on the air to the net - The DOJ wants documents from Netscape with regards to the Microsoft anti-trust case - MS is still mucking around with Java - Members of Congress are getting online, maybe their campaign expenses will make it too - A Judge in California wants court papers filed online, Stanford obliges - Project Gutenberg is having a tough time meeting its goal - Another WiReD venture goes PoP! - Compuserve doesn't want to serve spam - The ACLU is fighting for political mass mailing. - Copyrighting is still being hotly debated by both Industry and Politicos - The White House is forming its own digital agenda - The Rogue Market may be the perfect Hollywood Website
11/30/96:Mission College's Commitment to Technology. John Beck is the Senior Microcomputer Systems Specialist at Los Angeles Mission College. The school is one of California's Community Colleges and is currently building a new library with a serious focus on computers and digital technologies. With nearly 400 machines, a T-1 Internet connection and real-time video netcasting, the new facilities promise to bring forth the next era in Online Education. And this from a Community College!

In the news:
The big © problem is a hot topic that is being discussed by WIPO - The EU is working on an International Site - Sunday is World AIDS Day, check out the quilt -The CDA case is delayed as two cases are combined - the Clinton administration reports on E-commerce - a tired Wired surrenders to advertisers - an Australian State MP censor's an author's web page - TVNZ threatens lawsuits for improper linking - WebTV faces Porn Debate - Cyber Promotions must spam through a nomadic existence - JavaScript evolves into a standard as MS messes with Java - New top level domains are coming next year - Pointcast has a new version - a VISA laptop is stolen with info on 314,000 accounts - Power Computers will run BeOS - Yahoo! LA teams with KCAL - PGP goes commercial - 56k is still a ways away
11/23/96:Java & COMDEX Update. We were first joined on the phone by Kim Polese, CEO and Founder of Marimba (and the person credited with naming Java). We talked a little about why she thinks this new computer language will change the way we get information from the Internet. Her company is introducing a "tuner" named Castanet and another application named Bongo, which is designed to make creating Java applets much easier. She also stressed such things as Java's security and portability between platforms as major advantages of using the language.

During the second half, we reviewed COMDEX which took place this last week in Las Vegas. Bill Gates still thinks Microsoft should rule the desktop. Jim Barksdale disagrees. And Andy Grove doesn't care, as long as it runs on an Intel chip. Lot of talk about increasing bandwidth and cheaper computers. Microsoft was plugging its new Windows CE, while Apple stands firm besides its Newton. The big talk of course was all about the Push Model of delivery (see Marimba above) where content is sent to you, rather than being retrieved by you.

In the news:
The two CDA cases may be combined when they go to the Supreme Court - Javascript may become standardized - American Cybercast may have grown a little too fast - Trace is now online - AOL has reached an agreement regarding their price changes - Compuserve isn't saying WOW any more - PacBell loses (for now) in its attempt to raise ISDN rates
11/16/96:Leary Online While Doran took the week off to visit the Hooker Telescope on Mt Wilson, Ric was joined by Zach Leary and webmaster Chris Graves from The Leary Home Page. This is a site which remains intimate, even though it's regularly visited by thousands and thousands of people. Tim wouldn't have had it any other way.

In the News:
Cable modems are being tested in Akron, Ohio - InfoSeek to allow "Plain-English" queries - Yahoo to post 'net events - Hewlett Packard beefs up encryption technology - Netscape and Microsoft sling Java at each other - NetAngel combines features - AnySoft promises it all
11/9/96:Net Decency Teach-In & Open Phones. We first Spoke with Shabbir Safdar from Voter's Telecommunications Watch about last week's Net Decency Teach-In.

During the second half, we opened the phones to your calls. It was much more exciting than this one sentence can express.
11/2/96:Election Coverage Online. During the first half of today's program, we discussed Proposition 211's affect on High Tech. First we spoke with Kelly Hayes Raitt from the Yes on 211 campaign, who (understandably) says that adopting the proposition would be a good thing. (Note: Opponents to 211 had originally agreed to appear, but later refused after their contributions to other campaigns were exposed on KPFK's Up for Air program). We then spoke to Rebecca Vesely from HotWired's Netizen about how this Proposition and others have been covered on the 'net.

During the second half, we spoke to Mike Yamamoto, Managing Editor from c|net's news.com and Steve Hull, the General Manager of PoliticsNow! about how much of an impact the Internet has had on this year's election. The consensus seems to be that, while the net may have had some affect, it won't be until the next time that it will play a real part in deciding the election. Until then, there will be many hi-tech battles between government and industry. Stay tuned.

In the news:
British Telecom is buying MCI - The CIA decides to post some information about Gulf War Syndrome, but not everybody thinks it's enough - Is Apple coming out with a new Operating System? Maybe they are, maybe they aren't - Webstock happens
10/26/96:Information about DisInformation. EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG! That's the greeting that awaits you at the DisInformation web site. Today we spoke to Richard Metzger and Tom Spontelli about the site and its rather unique approach to finding information on the Internet. Whether it's Cocaine Smuggling or Crop Circles, this is the place that will help you find the hidden facts.

In the news:
The Consumer Project on Technology thinks email labeling might be a good idea - Yahoo! is going 3D - Wired isn't going public, yet - NIST is giving 3 million bucks to CERT & CIAC to protect government computers against malicious attacks - Speaking of attacks, Microsoft got it in their Wazzu - Aren't those MSN billboards (the one's with the pointing finger) a little creepy? - MS is coming out with their own Network Computer - Also, Microsoft is pushing hard to get Internet Explorer 4 into your mind. Oops! They just did.
10/19/96:The Latest White House Encryption Plan. Just what is the White House planning with its new proposal for regulation of powerful encryption applications? We spoke to Alan Davidson, the Staff Counsel for The Center for Democracy and Technology and asked him just that. The new proposal will allow for the export of slightly more powerful encryption programs, but would still mandate that a "back door" be provided for the government within the next two years. Once again, this is a perfect opportunity for the government to take away the rights of its citizens in order to "protect" us from the bad guys. If you don't think it can affect us, just ask Peter Junger, a professor in Cleveland. If you are interested in expressing your opinion regarding this proposal, you should contact your congressional representatives, including Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer.

In the news:
Japan bans political campaigning on the Web - The Taxpayer Access Project wants to put public documents on the Web, beginning with the Supreme Court's decisions from the last 14 years - Aristotle will pay you to read your sample ballot - TCP may not be practical for use with satellites - US Robotics pushes up the speed of modems - intel is putting PCs into cars - Look out for scams on the net
10/12/96:Director 5 Revealed. This was a "No Pitch Day" during Week 2 of KPFK's Fall Fund Drive, which gave us more time to talk to our guests.

We were joined on the phone by Jason Roberts, author of Director Demystified, a comprehensive look at using the powerful multimedia application from Macromedia. The book also covers Shockwave and Lingo, the programming language. Also joining us was Darcy DiNucci from Macromedia Press, a new joint effort by Peachpit Press and Macromedia. In a different vein, Jason also turned us on to Learn2, which debuted this last week. It offers a diverse range of tutorials on a variety of subjects.

Joining us in-studio during the first half was Garry Howard, author of The Introduction to Internet Security. We talked about the trend toward government regulation of speech on the net. More and more, there is a movement for increased restrictions on what can be presented over the wires. Many of these restrictions wouldn't even be considered if it were the print media that was being talked about. But the fear that ignorance breeds is raising its head and many people are afraid of computers & the Internet.

In the news:
Seymour Cray dies a month after a car crash - Today is NetDay2 - Clinton talks up free computers and faster connections - 3 Senators pass on FTC proposals regarding privacy in favor of a study to be done next year - the FCC may allow access fees on your Internet connection
10/5/96:Fund Drive, Week #1. This was the first week of KPFK's Fall Fund Drive. We were joined on the phone by Larry Magid and found out about what he thinks is around the corner with computing. Thanks to everybody who called in a pledge. We really do appreciate it.
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