Previous | Table of Contents | Next |
Intuit, immediately after the failed acquisition by Microsoft, signed alliances with 20 of the largest U.S. financial institutions toward the provisioning of home-banking services using Intuits Quicken personal finance software. The alliance includes Chase Manhattan Corp., Bank of Boston, Union Bank, American Express Co., and Wells Fargo & Co. The banks and financial institutions will offer Quicken to their customers. Reportedly, several large banks now have cast an eye toward Intuit, although electronic banking has been less than a stunning success up to this point.
Continental Cablevision in September 1995 announced its intentions to invest $700 million to add voice, data, and VOD services to its existing networks in Los Angeles and the Central Valley of California. Pacific Bell currently provides telephone service to most of Continentals 900,000 California customers [15-41].
Disney Development has teamed with AT&T Microelectronics, Broadband Technologies, Jones Intercable, General Electric and Honeywell Home Control to build a Fiber-to-the-Curb (FTTC) network in Celebration, Florida, a planned residential community near Disneys EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) Center. The ATM-based fiber network ultimately may serve as many as 20,000 residences via OC-1 SONET fiber at 51 Mbps. Each group of 100 homes will have access to the full 51 Mbps downstream via a local ATM switch; upstream bandwidth was not discussed. The FTTC system can be justified as the community will be a new development, with the network not being constrained by legacy technologies. The first residents were scheduled to move in in June 1, 1996, and the full broadband capabilities of the system are scheduled to be activated in 1997 [15-42].
Cablevision Systems Corp. spent $300 million in 1995 to rebuild its CATV system in Cleveland largely to fend off Ameritech [15-7].
Sprint, Comcast Corp., Cox Cable Communications and Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) called off (January 1996) their 1994 agreement to upgrade millions of CATV lines to carry voice and data. The deal called for Sprint to pay its partners $1.75 per premise per month, plus 22% of the revenue from local exchange services. Sprint now plans to resell loops leased from LECs [15-43].
Bay Networks agreed in September 1995 to buy Xylogics for $330 million in stock. Xylogics competes in the remote LAN access market.
Cisco Systems, Inc. announced in September 1995 it would buy Internet Junction, Inc. for $5.5 million in stock. Internet Junction manufactures software for Internet access.
Oracle (Media Server software) and Intel (ProShare videoconferencing software) announced in June 1995 their intention to develop technology to provide video conferencing and videomail through servers in a convergence environment, over ISDN lines.
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced in June 1995 its intentions to wire 50 households is Walnut Creek, California. Through the CATV energy channel, users will be able to see how much their accrued bill is at any point in the month, what price they are paying per kilowatt hour, how much electricity their refrigerator is using and other information. Through a wireless remote control device, they will also be able to program a small computer on the TV set to change thermostat settings, turn appliances on and off, control lights when away from the home, pay energy bills automatically, and reduce bills by using certain appliances only during non-peak times. Communications with the appliances and meters will be through the use of power-line carrier, operating on existing electrical wiring. The project is in partnership with Microsoft (software and set-top box) and TCI (CATV). PG&E intends to extend system capabilities to include home security and fire alarms, and medical emergency panic buttons. The system and installation costs about $1,800 per household, and will be available to users at a cost or around $10 per month.
Cyberhomes, some 40,000 of them, exist using home automation systems such as that manufactured by Honeywell (Total Home), based on the X-10 chip. The cyberhome takes advantage of what some have termed to be a Home Area Network (HAN). In Corte Madera, California, 150 cyberhomes are offered, beginning at $450,000, plus $23,500 for the high-tech extras. Features include videoconferencing, Internet access, 5 PCs, a combined printer/copier/fax, and 5 residential local loops. The HAN is Ethernet in nature, with redundant fiber optic cables reserved for future use; an optional satellite dish is available.
US West announced (August 1995) its intentions to pull the plug on US Avenue, a Home Shopping venture in San Ramon, California. According to a company spokesperson: More evolved technologies that could unlock home shopping are elusive. Cost-effective entertaining and informative programming formulas are yet to be discovered [15-44].
Intel (software/firmware) announced (September 22, 1995) its intention to work with Lotus (software) to create software that will allow videoconferencing using Intels ProShare videoconferencing board while using Lotus Notes collaborative software. IBM, which recently acquired Lotus, will install the boards.
Netscape Navigator software security was recently (September, 1995) cracked, again. Two UC Berkeley students broke the security code and published the results on the Internet, forcing Netscape to scramble to provide a fix. The Internets security remains questionable.
The Computer Security Institute released in September 1995 the results of a recent study indicating that 20% of major companies, government agencies and universities have suffered a breach of computer network security. Nearly 40% indicated that they do not use firewalls. Startlingly, 30% of the break-ins occurred at sites where firewalls were installed! The study was mailed to 3,511 security professionals, of whom 320 responded. Sales of firewalls are expected to increase from $1.1 billion in 1995 to $16.2 billion in 2000, a compound growth rate of 70%. The same study indicated that 78% of the organizations used the Internet and that 83% of employees were provided Internet access.
The city and county of San Francisco announced in September 1995 its decision to accept 3Coms offer of $4.0 million to rename Candlestick Park to 3Com park, at least for a period of four years. (Is nothing sacred in the Information Age?)
Previous | Table of Contents | Next |