Made for each other
Sun Microsystems Incorporated have developed new
microprocessor chips compatible
with their newly launched Java
software. The chips bearing
price tags that range from US $25
to $100 could eventually replace
the current desktops and enable the
user to hook directly onto the
Internet. All one would need is a
'stripped down' computer and
Internet access, which can be
obtained at as Iowa cost as US $500.
Scott McNeally, chief executive officer of the company, recently unveiled
the prototype device in San
Francisco, US.
No nonsense
Access to 'unwanted' material on
the Internet had been disturbing
the Chinese government a great
deal. James Chu of the University
of California at Los Angeles, US,
has now sorted out the problem.
Based on the latest filtering technology developed by Sun Microsystems Incorporated - which
produces a software called 'Firewall' - Chu has come up with 'Intranet',
an isolated corner of the
cyberspace. Although Chinese users
will hereafter have unrestrained
access to each other, their links with
the outside world shall be screened.
All international Internet access
would be channeled through the
ministry of posts and telecommunications which is under the direct
control of the State Council - the
Chinese cabinet.
Ring, ring...
Installing the right software can
transform one's computer into a toll-
free phone. Internet Phone, a software developed by VocalTec of
Northvale, New Jersey, USA, is currently the most popular and can be
installed for US $50. International
Discount Telecommunications of
Hackensack, New Jersey, is also planning to introduce Net2Fone. This
software would enable a PC owner to
dial any phone number anywhere in
the world. The call would travel
through the net to the destination
and jump back to the local phone system. This would cost a mere 10 cents a minute. The 'netizens' of the world
might just shrink it further.
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