|
|
|
America Online has announced a new high-speed service called AOL Plus that allows users connecting at high speeds to receive multimedia content woven into the existing AOL 5.0 environment. For $19.95 a month, on top of the regular AOL service fees, any user with a high-speed connection of any kind will begin receiving enhanced multimedia content, which will be delivered in the context of what the user is doing online at the time. The streaming audio and video content is being provided by a variety of outside partners including CNN, CBS Sports Line, CNET, Travelocity and The Weather Channel. What distinguishes AOL Plus from other broadband service efforts is the way it will be worked into the context of the existing service, rather than being a new environment that users must switch to. What’s more, in usual AOL fashion, the technology is presented in a more or less idiot-proof way. Users just have to sign up and the technology is delivered to them automatically; AOL Plus will detect what sort of connection the user has, and a special screen icon leading to multimedia enhancements will automatically appear whenever the user signs on at high speed.
New broadband portal
debut spoiled by glitch
Speaking of new high-speed services, yesterday marked the debut of
Excite@Home’s new @Home2000 broadband portal. It didn’t go quite as
planned. By the end of the day yesterday, the company officially
acknowledged what it called "some performance issues" with the
service’s opening day. In other words, lots of people could not get
online to experience what had previously been billed "the easiest and
most powerful" online service on the market. The @Home2000 interface
has been a year in the making and is considered the first major product of
the merger between Excite and @Home Network, which was supposed to
smoothly merge high-speed connectivity with compelling multimedia content.
Excite@Home figures that about 15 percent of users were affected by the
problem, which was apparently cleared up by yesterday night.
Mr. Gates goes to
Washington, friendly-like
Bill Gates has had a tough week: the press is frying him, the NASDAQ’s
knees buckled and, of course, there was a certain legal ruling in U. S.
District Court. So where is Gates today? He’s at the White House
chumming with Alan Greenspan and Bill Clinton. Just two days after Judge
Jackson ruled that Microsoft mounted a "deliberate assault" on
industry competition, Gates is participating in an all-day conference on
technology and the world economy. After Greenspan speaks on where the tech
sector is steering the economy, Gates will take a seat on a panel to
address the "digital divide." Other speakers will include
prominent businesspeople, economists and scholars. Gates’ spokesperson
insisted without irony to the Associated Press that "Bill is very
excited about coming to the White House to participate in this
forum."
Native Americans offer
cheap smokes online
Not only can smokers now buy their cigarettes online, but they can get
them at prices comparable to costs in the 1970s. A carton of brand-name
cigarettes costs $10 or less (about a third of the regular retail price)
at any number of online smoke shops run by Native American tribes. The
Seneca alone operate over three dozen sites. The tribes are able to sell
their smokes so cheaply because Native American nations are exempt from
taxes on tobacco, which is one of the most heavily taxed items on the
market. Tobacco e-tailers touch a variety of sensitive political nerves:
internet taxation, Native American rights and anti-tobacco fervor, to name
a few. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has voiced its objection to
cigarette sales on the net. They point out that online merchants have no
way of verifying their customers’ ages, and, moreover, the cheaper
prices make tobacco easier for children to get. Last year New York State
legislated a ban on online tobacco sales, and other states are expected to
follow suit.
Sega.com formed for
online efforts
In an effort to break away from a dense pack of competitors, Sega
announced yesterday that it will form a new company dedicated to online,
multi-player gaming. Sega.com will operate independently from its parent
Sega Enterprises Inc., and has already secured $100 million in funding.
The venture will include SegaNet, a high-speed ISP geared towards gaming
and chat functions. The move represents a shift in philosophy at Sega,
which will divert a large amount of its resources away from self-contained
gaming boxes toward online play. In the past Sega has charged a hefty sum
for the gaming equipment, but Sega.com plans to give away its console for
free to any customer who agrees to a two-year contract. Sega had been
feeling the squeeze of a crowded market until last September, when the
launch of Dreamcast catapulted it back into the race for market share. By
pioneering web-based gaming now the company hopes to capitalize on its
position as well as head off the impending launches of Sony’s
Playstation 2 and Microsoft’s entrant, X-Box. Sega.com will be up and
running just in time for the 2000 holiday season.
