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Wednesday, May 27th, 1998 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Barnesandnoble.com Website Undergoes Redesign barnesandnoble.com announced the launch of an enhanced version of its e-commerce website. The new site features Express Lane one click ordering, a new design and navigation, improved book search capabilities and expanded product offerings including software. "Throughout our first year in business we have listened intently to what our customers have asked for and believe we have delivered a vastly superior product based on those requests," said Jeff Killeen, chief operating officer, barnesandnoble.com. "Innovation based on customer-focus has been the hallmark of our success and we see our new site as proof-positive of our commitment to be the leader in online bookselling and related products. We're also extremely excited to have Intel, a leader in the technology products category, open its SoftwareForPCs.com site at barnesandnoble.com." Jewel to Judge Online Poetry Contest on TVGEN TV Guide Entertainment Network has unveiled "The Official Jewel Online Poetry Contest," giving would-be-poets a chance to shine online. The contest, marking the release of singer-songwriter Jewel's first poetry collection, A Night Without Armor (HarperCollins), invites visitors to TVGEN through June 16 to submit their original prose online. One grand-prize winner, hand-picked by Jewel, will receive prizes including a $500 cash award. As part of the promotion, TVGEN invites fans to sift through the site's exclusive "Jewel Box" feature -- an extensive photo gallery, as well as audio and text excerpts from Jewel's new poetry collection. Visitors to the feature will then be invited to submit an original, previously unpublished poem via an online entry form. One grand-prize winner will be awarded $500; Jewel will match that amount and donate it to the charity of the winner's choice. The grand-prize winner and 10 runners-up will receive a signed copy of A Night Without Armor, as well as the audio CD version of the poetry. All of the winners' poems will be published on the TVGEN site at the conclusion of the judging. Full contest rules and regulations can be found at TV Guide Entertainment Network at: http://www.tvgen.com/jewel/. PC Magazine Looks at the Future of Computing in the New Millennium They may not look like HAL 9000, the independent-minded computer from the movie, but personal computers in 2001 will be found in TVs, lights, refrigerators and even watches. We may talk to them, but they may not all talk back to us. PC Magazine, a Ziff-Davis publication, addresses these forecasts in its latest issue "2001: Computing in the New Millennium." The 2001 issue takes a practical look at trends in four computing categories: PCs, peripherals, software and the Internet. In addition, the editors look a little further into the future in a four-page foldout titled "2010: A Day in the Life in the New Millennium." PC Magazine forecasts the following computing future for 2001: PCs will offer more realistic 3-D graphics, run full-motion video and will be more powerful, faster and less expensive than today's top-of-the-line models. In addition to desktop versions, PCs will be embedded in TVs, telephones and everyday appliances, including refrigerators, and may even be flat panels on your wall that you use for specific purposes such as for controlling lighting, security and other home functions. Or, in the case of your refrigerator, they may actually keep a grocery inventory, search databases or the Internet for recipes based on what foods you have in the house, and even place orders at the grocery store for missing ingredients and to replace what's been used. These network PCs will link into massive server databases situated either in the home or across the country. Homes will have several media computers, many taking the form of a $300 TV set-top box. PCs will support next-generation games, cable TV and Internet access for fast Web browsing. These convergence systems will let users browse the Web while watching television and even allow for videoconferencing with a friend located across the country -- to discuss the final Seinfeld episode, for example. Next millennium PCs will have higher definition than the televisions of today so that digital video for work and entertainment will be widely used. In addition, editing software will be as easy to use as today's desktop publishing tools. By just answering questions about storylines and views, future editing software will guide users through movie creation. And, the price of digital video camcorders will drop below $1,000, making everyone a budding director. In addition to pervasive PCs throughout the home, we'll be traveling with a PC all the time. Hand-held PCs will be smaller, use less power, cost less money and offer more features, including the ability to wirelessly connect to others computers. That means you'll be able to check e-mail and surf the Net while walking down the street, and give a client a copy of updated pricing, for example, by simply pointing your handheld at her PC and pressing the send button. Advanced handwriting recognition will make computing easier, battery lives will be measured in weeks rather than hours, and many PCs will support voice-recognition, so users can talk, walk and compute all at once. By 2001, many more people will be talking to their PCs instead of using mice and keyboards. Efforts are currently underway to create entirely new ways to use PCs, including hand-gesture input and their request for information and then deliver it to the monitor nearest to them. PCs will make even more strides towards becoming real assistants. By 2001, users will be able to wake up and ask their PC to read e-mail and to play voice mail messages. PCs will provide a run-down of the day's calls and tasks, automatically updating calendars and databases throughout the day. Software agents will regularly search the Internet, and other sources, for news and information that are of specific interest. Huge strides in 3-D technology will make virtual reality a commonplace in 2001. Immersive 3-D environments will let designers work collaboratively from different locations, visualizing their design in 3-D. Home users will be able to see products in 3-D on the Internet, changing attributes such as color and dimensions. Families will sit under a vision dome that creates a 3-D environment for group games or to "visit" travel destinations. PC Magazine, published by Ziff-Davis, has a circulation rate base of 1.175 million. PC Magazine publishes 22 times a year in print, quarterly on CD, and continuously on the Web at: http://www.pcmag.com. BMG Entertianment Announces Redesign of Bugjuice.com BMG Entertainment North America announced a complete redesign of its website, Bugjuice, a music and lifestyle-related community. With the redesign, visitors will have the opportunity to visit exclusive areas, including "The Nest" and experience behind the scenes action for artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Dave Matthews Band, Natalie Imbruglia, Beth Orton, Creed and Spiritualized. BugVisitors can sample video and audio clips prior to their release, access current music news, view musical animations and enter contests. "Bugjuice is a proven music and lifestyle online destination for consumers who want to experience the best in alternative music," said Kevin Conroy, Senior Vice President, Marketing, BMG Entertainment North America. "We have created unique and compelling programming which is why so many people come back to Bugjuice and why its becoming such a strong online community." Bugjuice.com is currently hosting a visitor contest designed to encourage sampling Bugjuice music using Liquid Audio technology. An additional lifestyle element that was recently added to bugjuice.com is WhirlGirl, an animated action cartoon series featuring new episodes twice a week. Wired Magazine Launches Alternative to the Dow In its June issue, Wired magazine will introduce a new alternative to the Dow -- the Wired Index of forty blue chips. "Our aim is to do for the information age what the Dow did for its predecessor," say Wired editors Spencer Reiss and John Browning who put the Index together, "track the growth of the companies to watch if you want to know who's really building the new economy -- not just the usual high tech suspects, but a broad range of enterprises that are still using technology, networks, and information to reshape the world." Characteristics required in the Wired Index are: Globalism, Communication, Innovation, Technology and Strategic Vision. From agribusiness, bioinformatics and pharmaceuticals to data storage, chip manufacturing, telecommunications, information, and networked media -- the Wired Index's goal is to track companies poised to make an impact in a game where boundaries are few and the rules have changed. Web Publishers Brainstorm About Advertising Revenue at Forum Mark Welch is planning a July forum to help web publishers evaluate hundreds of affiliate programs, banner advertising networks, and other advertising and revenue programs for Internet websites. For the past two years, Welch has maintained a website that lists and analyzes advertising networks, brokers, and "affiliate" or "partner" programs. The site is visited by tens of thousands of web publishers each month. But the sheer volume of revenue options is beginning to overwhelm web publishers, who find it difficult to compare programs or predict likely revenue. "Every day, I receive several queries from web publishers asking, 'Which program is best for my site?' but that's not a question I can answer," said Welch, who does paid consulting work for advertisers, ad networks, and vendors, but not for individual web sites. "I decided to just bring a group of web publishers together in a room to discuss their experiences and goals, and see what would happen." In April, Welch hosted a small meeting where a dozen California web publishers discussed their experiences with online advertising. Based on the success of that event, Welch is now planning a larger two-day "Web Advertising Forum and Web Publishers' Brainstorm Session," to be held July 17-18, 1998 in Dublin, California. The two-day "Web Advertising Forum and Web Publishers' Brainstorm Session" will be held on Friday and Saturday, July 17-18, 1998, at the Monarch Hotel in Dublin, California. Registration is $95 for one day or $145 for both days, including lunch. Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 100 web publishers. Click here to return to the homepage of The Write NewsTM Click here to subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter.  www.writenews.com Copyright © 1997-2007 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
