Archives

Tech #29November 21, 1997 Tootie, my tiny Toyota Tercel is in trouble. The engine started making a terrible noise. After a tow, the mechanic had a tale of terminal disorders. “Tough luck.” he said. So I went on-line, posting an Internet for-sale sign around the globe. I started with va.forsale...

Tech #27November 6, 1997 It seems international DVD(Digital Video Disk) sales have been lackluster since their introduction one year ago. The DVD is a compact disk the same size as a music CD or CD-ROM. Instead of a record album or computer program, the DVD holds a full-length motion picture, in...

Tech 26x revised NEW TOPIC O.K., so not everyone has a home computer. Not everyone has Internet access at work. A friend asked me to explain. “What’s up there? What kind of world-wide-whatever things apply to this area for example?” Carmen Green of Virginia Beach wanted to know. Oh, lot’s...

Note - The editor asked for a new topic so I don't think this was actually published. See Tech 26X Revised Topic. TECH #2611/1/97 As you read this, some 60 local business, community and government leaders are getting ready to jet to the left coast for some very important meetings on the topic of...

TECH #2510/24/97 So what’s all the hubbub over Internet2? You may have seen coverage of ODU’s participation in a project which promises to speed up the transfer of information between computers by hundreds of times. It involves a technology called ATM, or asynchronous transfer mode. “First...

October 17, 1997Tech #24 What’s the buzz about 56K modems? Just hype I’m afraid. With promised download speeds twice as fast as the next lower model, the internet could look downright zippy at 56Kbps (kilobytes per second). The problem is, under almost all home use conditions, they just...

TECH # 23 10/10/97 Survey says... A recent report issued by Zenith Media says advertising on the world-wide-web will explode over the next five years. “Oh, we’re very excited!” says Barbara Elliott, sales development manager for Pilot on-line, the Internet arm of local newspaper the...

TECH #22 10/3/97 Tech resumes this week with part three in a series on getting on-line service. We’ve looked at national full service, and discount providers. Not a bad option, but a far cry from any kind of personal attention. That leaves local Internet service providers (ISPs), and boy are...

Tech #20September 19, 1997 With a week in between to describe my hard drive crash, Tech resumes this week with part two in a series on getting on-line service. There are many options, but it boils down to this: a local Internet service provider (ISP) or a national one. Since there are hundreds of...

TECH # 199/15/97 My home computer had a stroke this week. No kidding. What I mean is, the hard drive developed bad areas. It’s hard to determine if bad areas on the hard drive are some sort of stealth, or hidden virus, or simply a worn out piece of hardware. Either will make files all over the...