The Internet continues to re-invent itself with surprising and exciting new
innovations and tools. There are two that stand out from the pack as
applications that make sense for the future as the Internet becomes part of
main stream daily life.
Real Audio:
Real Audio is the latest and greatest in audio on the the Web. A year ago
to listen to a sound clip you would click on a sound link and wait for the
entire clip to download before you could hear the first note or word that
was being spoken. For all of you who think the Internet should be about
speedy delivery of information, waiting 5 minutes to hear a 2 minute clip
was just not cutting it.
Real Audio allows what is called streaming. In other words you hear the
sound clip as you are downloading it. What a world this opens up! Point
your browser to: http://www.audionet.com. Here it will tell you where to download Real Audio (a plug in for Netscape)and present a plethora of new and exciting links to live radio broadcasts, pre-recorded interviews, music, sports events, books on tape, and much more.
PointCast:
Another exciting new feature on the Internet is PointCast (PCN), a personal
news agent that is configurable to satisfy your particular tastes and
interests. PointCast is not part of the Web, email or newsgroups, but is
its own application. To download this package, go to: http://www.pointcast.com.
Installation is a snap. Once installed, it gives you an option to
personalize the program... what are you most interested in seeing today?
News? Weather? Sports scores? Wall Street updates (you can specify up to 25
stocks for PCN to keep track of)? Or maybe you would like a sampling of
Time, Money, or People Magazine. Even better - how about all of the above?
The possibilities are endless. PCN can run as a stand along program as
well as function as your screen saver. Once it is activated, news, sports
scores, weather and more are downloaded from various sources and randomly
appear in boxes while ticker tapes scroll across your screen.
For example, clicking on 'companies' shows the current prices of your
favorite stocks, a graph and history of individual stocks is available at
the click of a button. In a box at the top of the screen PCN has gathered
news stories that contain some of the latest information about each of the
companies you have selected. PCN is just as complete with News, Sports,
Politics, Weather, etc. This is one of those programs that you will want
to spend a little time playing with (you will be amazed at the options),
but once you settle on the configurations that work for you, it will become
another handy tool that you'll wonder how you ever lived without.
Please email comments/suggestions to editor@cyberia.com.
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