Article Abstract:
The development of a nationwide data network is expected, and experts say that computer-literate users could search through terabytes (trillions of bytes) of information. An experimental system already has linked 150 universities to 40 sources of information. Experts foresee new services ranging from on-line newspapers to the equivalent of public libraries. Such comprehensive systems have only been imagined, but now, technical problems of computing power, networking capabilities and appropriate software are being solved. But business and political problems remain. Questions of privacy and marketing must be resolved before what is technically possible becomes commercially feasible. Thinking Machines Corp, Dow Jones, Apple and the KPMG Peat Marwick firm are collaborators on research to develop a computer library called Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS). The WAIS system provides an easy-to-use arrangement for users to search volumes of information, via the Internet network. If the National Research and Education Network (NREN) is improved, it could bring computer links into schools and communities across the US.
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3DO Co's stock price rebounds to $27.50 a share Sep 8, after having fallen $4 to $26 a share Aug 20 in the wake of Nintendo Company and Silicon Graphics Inc's announcement that they were developing a rival video-game player. Investors regained their confidence in 3DO due to its partnerships with industry giants Time Warner, AT&T and Matsushita, as well as founder Trip Hawkins' focused leadership. Moreover, 3DO has already demonstrated a prototype next-generation videodisc player with vastly improved 3-D graphics capabilities, while the projected 64-bit Nintendo machine based on Silicon Graphics' MIPS microprocessor will not debut until 1995. Industry analysts consider 3DO's current $59 million market valuation unreasonable, yet concede that many investors truly believe in the company's market potential. The first 3DO multiplayer is set to appear in October for $699.
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IBM celebrated the legendary 35-year career of John Cocke in Jun 1990 with a symposium at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center and tributes that included displays of machines he had pioneered and a plaque embedded with the six chips that make up the processor of IBM's new RS/6000 workstation. Cocke's ideas have influenced a generation of the nation's top computer scientists. He has made significant contributions in virtually every area of IBM's business and his designs have been widely adopted elsewhere. Cocke, 65, joined IBM in 1956 at the outset of the commercial computer era and has led the design of some of IBM's most powerful computers, including those using the now widely popular Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) architecture.
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