>From: Edupage Editors <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >... >AOL BUMPS NICHE PRODUCTS OFF THE SHELF >America Online no longer makes it easy for its small content providers to >reach an audience, and instead submerges them into information "channels." >An AOL spokesperson explains: "Our new mission reflects our belief that >there is limited shelf space online or on the Internet and that in order to >compete in the content business, we needed to launch categories that target >large consumer segments, not niche players." And the company's president of >creative development explains that it's a cruel world out there on the >Internet, just like everywhere else: "We want our partners to be >successful. But guess what? We can't guarantee that. Just like in >television with the new fall season, there's going to be one success for >every eight failures." (New York Times CyberTimes 2 Feb 98) The same issue of Edupage also contained another nugget about corporate welfare and the Net. Internet 2, funded largely (exclusively?) by govt. money, was originally supposed to be a means for helping all those poor scientists who can't do their fun experiments on the Net anymore because too many hoi polloi are on it, and it was also supposed to be a basic research lab for experimenting with high-speed networks. Guess what it's up to now: >INTERNET2 FOCUSING ON APPLICATIONS >Doug Van Houweling, CEO of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet >Development, the group creating Internet 2, says that a major focus of that >project is commercial applications: "We're starting off this time with an >even more determined effort to work with the major companies in the >industry. The applications are the focus of what we do -- we don't want to >build a highway for some kind of vehicles that will never arrive." Among >the many possibilities are the use of Internet 2 by manufacturing companies >to securely transfer technical design data between offices and suppliers. >(New York Times CyberTimes 2 Feb 98) Anders Schneiderman >************************************************************ > >Edupage ... is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to Edupage: >send mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: subscribe edupage >Louis Sullivan (if your name is Louis Sullivan; otherwise, substitute your >own name). To unsubscribe send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with >the message: unsubscribe edupage. (If you have subscription problems, send >mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED])
