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Info Briefs...
By Peter Bohush
(First published in 1994.)
The trouble with information is that you can have too much or too
little, but never just enough.
Some days, I get tons of information thrown at me -- press releases, e-mail, Internet
postings, phone calls. On other days, I feel like I'm the only one who came to work. I
never feel like I've gotten just enough info to satisfy my hunger for knowledge -- without
getting info-gestion. (Burp!)
I've been keeping snippets of good information in a small, three-foot high pile.
Yanking out a handful of papers brought forth the following series of short takes that
should whet your appetite for wisdom:
- Just five years ago, Boardwatch magazine estimated there was an average of one computer
bulletin board system (BBS) per 4,425 population. A publishing industry newsletter,
On-Ramp, estimated there were approximately 57,400 BBSs in the U.S. Since that time, more
than 12 million websites (the current equivalent to a BBS) have been launched.
- A 1994 survey by Pulse Research found that 31 percent of people don't have time to read
a newspaper (but since they didn't have time to read about that in their local newspaper,
they will never know it). If you think that figure bodes poorly for newspapers, consider
that more people -- 37 percent -- don't have time to shop.
- A law in Brazil makes it illegal to talk on a hand-held cellular phone and drive at the
same time. Even talking while stopped at a red light is prohibited. Drivers must pull over
to the side of the road to use their phones. The law doesn't apply to car phones with a
hands-free microphone. So it's okay for Brazilians to distract themselves right into the
back end of a semi truck, as long as they have both hands on the wheel when they do it.
- Ricoh developed the prototype of a copy machine with a device that uses static
electricity to automatically turn the pages of the book or magazine being copied. You will
no longer have to stand at the machine, wetting your fingers, unless you want to.
- Business and consumer spending on high-tech equipment accounted for 38 percent of the
U.S. economic growth since 1990, according to the Commerce Department. Meanwhile, earnings
for male computer programmers have risen 12 percent since 1990, compared to 6 percent for
all male workers. Female computer programmers' wages are up 21 percent since 1990, versus
13 percent for all female workers. The survey people must have called while I was out,
because my meager earnings would certainly have skewed their results.
- Microsoft was an "economic partner" with the Canadian province of Quebec,
giving the company preferential treatment from the government there. Maybe President
Clinton could take a lesson from Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the $100 Billion Man, on
signing treaties and trade agreements.
- Finally, I thought all this jabber about commercializing the Internet had met its match
in the International Internet Association, which was giving away free Internet access
accounts to anyone who called (800) 669-4780. The non-profit organization had signed up
100,000 people five years ago and was targeting small businesses that wanted e-mail and
Internet research capabilities. Then, we heard no more about this deal. But AT&T and
MCI decided to offer free Net access as a loss leader for keeping your long distance
service with them.
This promotion largely fell on deaf ears. Two years later (1996),
AT&T offers the same gimmick and gets overwhelmed with customers.
What companies will try this next? How about banks? "Stay with us and we'll give
you your choice of 2 percent interest on your checking, OR a free Internet account."
Or maybe "Fill up at Shell and we'll give you a free car wash and a free Internet
Shell account."
You think you've been bombarded with America Online diskettes? Wait until you start
getting free Net time from a hundred different places. Hey, keep them coming. I can always
use the extra coasters.
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