|
|
writenews.com
|
Tuesday, June 23rd, 1998 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Librius Inc. Introduces Electronic Publishing System Librius Inc. announced the Librius World Library, a new service for publishers and authors of trade and mass market books. The service makes it possible for publishers and authors to deliver copies of their works directly to buyers in digital format via the Internet. Later this year Librius will introduce an electronic book, about the same size as a paperback, that can store up to 10 titles at one time. Consumers will be able to download titles via a personal computer Internet connection or through dedicated terminals at their local bookseller. The company is currently working with publishers and authors in a pilot program prior to consumer rollout of its electronic reader. "With the Librius system, copies of books are never stored in any form on the user's PC, where copyright security can be compromised," explained Don Ledford, chief technologist at Librius. "The books are stored either in our archive or in the reader -- always in a securely encrypted form." The Librius "Millennium" reader device weighs about as much as a paperback book. The back-lit LCD screen displays a full page of text or graphics. Any language can be stored and displayed in user variable font sizes. Reader batteries, which can operate for up to 18 hours before re-charging, can be supplemented by external AC power or by AAA batteries if a charger is unavailable. IDG.net Launches The IT Informer IDG.net announced the launch of its newest daily newsletter, The IT Informer. The daily email publication offers IT commentary, interviews, special reports, research, and book reviews, through the work journalists and columnists from computer industry publications, including Computerworld, Infoworld, PC World, Network World, CIO and IDC. The first week's issues featured commentary from Robert Cringely and Mark Gibbs. An InfoWorld interview with Cabletron CEO Craig Benson, a research brief on India's IT market from IDC, and a Windows 98 performance preview from the PC World Test Center were also published. "The IT Informer will be a 'must-read' for IT managers, technology marketers and executives, as well as computer industry analysts," said Mark Cappel, editor-in-chief of the IDG.net site. "Commentary and analysis from industry luminaries like Bob Metcalfe, InfoWorld columnist and IDG vice president of technology; Frank Gens and John Gantz of IDC; and columnists David Moschella and Nick Petreley, guarantee that The Informer will be nothing short of thought provoking. The unparalleled journalistic capabilities of IDG's publications ensure a steady stream of top-notch interviews as well. The 'Informed' will definitely have their fingers on the pulse of technology industry thinking." Ziff-Davis Announces WindowsPro Magazine Ziff-Davis announced that its new Windows NT-focused publication will be titled WindowsPro Magazine - The NT Authority. Scheduled for a September launch, WindowsPro Magazine will have a controlled-circulation of 150,000 IT professionals. "We chose the name WindowsPro Magazine in part to reflect the knowledge and expertise of our readership," said Jason Young, publisher of the new title. "Our readers have an extraordinary skill set, and their organizations have recognized that by entrusting them with far-reaching authority for making technology buying decisions." Jackie Gavron, editor-in-chief, added: "Our publication's title also reflects the sharp focus that we plan for our editorial coverage. One of the benefits of being a controlled-circulation book is knowing exactly who we're writing for and what they want. WindowsPro Magazine will address the full spectrum of information needs typical of Windows professionals who design and manage highly networked and integrated client-server environments." Consumer Reports Online Reaches 100,000 Paid Subscribers Consumer Reports Online, the website from Consumer Reports magazine, has 100,000 paid subscribers, making it one of the largest subscription sites on the Web. The site launched in November 1997. Paid subscriptions can be either annual, at $24, or monthly at $2.95. Current subscribers to Consumer Reports magazine can join for $19 a year. "The clear consumer acceptance of www.ConsumerReports.org shows that Web users are looking for trusted, reliable information," says Nancy Macagno, Director of New Media at Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. "Some consumer information sites on the Web have built-in commercial conflicts of interest or are simply unreliable. Our site is ad-free and bias-free, so we can truly state which products and services are top-rated by experts at Consumer Reports." Designed to serve the interests of consumers, the site offers two levels of usage. All visitors can get consumer advice for free while paid site subscribers can receive product and service ratings and recommendations. This month, the website introduced Consumer Reports Online message boards -- an opportunity for subscribers to exchange questions and comments with other each other. And in the future, Consumer Reports experts in various fields, from automobiles to finance for example, will participate in scheduled discussions. CONK! Publishes 400th Daily Edition of Online Magazine CONK!, a daily humor magazine and online community has published the 400th edition of its weekday magazine. July sees the opening of "KnobCon West", CONK!'s first official "non-virtual" members' convention, which was originally organized by Knobs (CONK!'s term for members) themselves. "We know of many self-organized informal member meetings across the United States in the last six months," said Touchi-Peters, "but we decided to officially sanction this one." KnobCon West will take place at the Radisson Airport Plaza Hotel in San Jose, California on Saturday, July 18. Details can be found at http://conk.com/main/knobcon.htm NOVA/PBS Online Adventures Travels to a Deep-Sea Volcanic Ridge NOVA/PBS Online Adventures joins oceanographer John Delaney of the University of Washington and an international team of scientists and engineers as they embark on a mission a mile and a half beneath the ocean's surface. For more than a decade, Delaney has been studying seafloor structures known as black smoker chimneys, towers of rock that form over volcanic ridges and crawl with unusual life, including giant spider crabs and six-foot tubeworms. But the closest look Delaney could get at a black smoker chimney was through the four-inch glass of a submersible viewport. Why not, he thought, try to bring one or two to the surface for intensive study? It was an audacious plan, because these chimneys, which can grow to the size of Douglas firs, are inherently unstable, and the dark, mineral-rich water spewing from their cones can reach 650_F. Yet the chimneys and their attendant life forms may hold tantalizing clues to how life began on Earth and how it might look on other planets. After all, unlike most other life on Earth, these creatures do not need sunlight to live, and they exist in one of the harshest environments imaginable, at pressures that would crush a person into a stick figure. This summer, Delaney and his colleagues will attempt to retrieve three black smokers from the seafloor some 200 miles west of Seattle. The mission is dangerous and fraught with uncertainty. "It's exciting, but it's also scary," said geologist Deborah Kelley, one of the team's chief scientists. "We decided we might as well have meetings at three in the morning now because (we) wake up then...thinking about the project." Visitors to the website can follow this expedition on its journey as it descends into inner space. The site includes real-time imagery and dispatches from the expedition as well as interviews with John Delaney, a submersible pilot, and others who had to do some fancy engineering to pull off this ambitious endeavor. If the team successfully hoists a steaming, many-ton chimney on board the vessel, the team will slice it down the middle with a wire saw. One half will be set aside for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which has backed this expedition, for display in its new "Hall of the Planet Earth. The other will immediately undergo intensive scientific study. 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. |
