The US government and Network Solutions reached a deal last week to phase out the company's exclusive authority to register names in the most popular segment of the Internet. The agreement, part of the Clinton administration's plan to privatise the Internet's name and address system, requires Network Solutions to allow competing firms to share its registration database for names ending in the suffixes, or top-level domains, .com, .net and .org. A shortage of names in the .com domain spurred calls to reform the system over two years ago.
Broken Tongue Shortlisted: A multimedia title created by Irish post-grad, Martin Casey, has been shortlisted for the EuroPrix Multimedia Art '98 prize - the first Europe-wide competition to award creativity in European multimedia. In his CD-ROM, "Born with a Broken Tongue", Casey uses multimedia to share personal insights into the fears and shames of stuttering.
Ever faster: Intel plans to replace its speediest computer chips with ones running twice as fast by 2001. Last week the chip maker unveiled its future product plans, including the successor to its current Pentium II line - a chip code-named Foster with a target speed of one gigahertz - expected in late 2000 or early 2001.
Net's on show: Up to 20,000 people are expected to visit the Ireland Internet World '98 at the RDS next weekend. The exhibition includes a 100-terminal surf bay and a Welcome to the Future rolling seminar which aims to take a futuristic look at new online services. The seminar will cover home shopping, distance learning, telecommuting, Net privacy and trust.
Better late: US Republicans and Democrats differ, not just over presidential impeachment, but over how to pay for Y2K. The US government estimates that the renovation of government computers will cost US$5 billion. The Clinton administration prefers to use the budget surplus to fund these costs while the Republicans favour tax cuts over increased government spending. But costs there will be, as the US Senate's Special Committee on the Year 2000 is expected to propose that an early warning system be set up regarding possible failures in the nation's emergency services. On the subject of this week's article Who will pay for Y2K?, the US Congress has passed an act allowing some limited liability protection to companies willing to share information about the problem - but not protection against liability for faulty software.
Academic Enterprise: Enterprise Computer Solutions has been awarded a £250,000 multimedia computer contract by the School of Communications at DCU. The contract is initially for a suite of 55 Power Macintosh G3 computers, software and peripherals and is seen as a major endorsement of Apple technologies by the third-level academic sector.
Ms Courtcase: The US government has said that, if it wins its antitrust trial proving that Microsoft abused monopoly power, it may seek additional remedies to tackle the software giant. In a filing in advance of next week's trial, the Justice Department and 20 states said some relief would be needed immediately if they win the case. Meanwhile the Justice Department has urged a federal judge to force Microsoft to turn over databases of its operating systems, royalties, sales forecasts and actual revenues.
Viking Return: Thousands of Danes will arrive on our shores later this month, not to plunder and pillage, but as part of a celebration of links between the two countries, Out of Denmark. Details of the festivities planned are available from www.denmark.ie.
Old meets new: The Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands launched their new Heritage of Ireland website last week, www.heritageireland.ie. Part of a new EU-assisted marketing programme of cultural and heritage facilities, the site, designed and developed by The Irish Times on the Web, showcases Ireland's heritage, cultural centres and inland waterways using interactive mapping technology and audio-visual tours.
Attendance optional: A US college has launched what it believes is the first fully-accredited online university law degree. Regent University School of Law, Virginia, is offering a postgraduate law course which is entirely taught and assessed through email and the Internet. Many universities have already begun to supplement taught courses via the Internet, but this course is believed to be the first of its kind available entirely online.
Remote Sun: Sun Microsystems is adding a secure remote access component to its software business. The company acquired start-up company i-Planet last week to boost its presence in the market providing secure connections for users across the Net. Terms of the deal were not disclosed and Sun, which already uses i-Planet's technology internally, will implement the company's tools as part of a strategy code-named Sun.net - a reference to Sun's own internal network which allows employees to access applications securely from any device that has a Net connection.
Sellers beware: Despite the success of companies like Iona Technologies, Irish companies considering flotation should approach a Nasdaq listing with extreme caution, according to David Duffy, managing director of strategy consultants Prospectus. Speaking at the Annual Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Galway last week, he said that recent turmoil in the financial markets highlighted the danger of the greater volatility of the Nasdaq.
In brief. . . CNET has identified the iMac as the "Most Innovative Product" of 1998. Saying that its stunning design "commands a triple-take from most first-time viewers," it labelled the iMac "a perfect home machine". . . Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard have announced that HP has signed an agreement to license Sun's Java HotSpot virtual machine, a runtime product that will provide significantly enhanced Java technology performance . . . Lycos has acquired Wired Digital, the parent company of Wired News and the HotBot search engine, for approximately $83 million in Lycos stock. . . Galway-based software company Q-Set is the winner of the 1998 Lotus Beacon Award for excellence in satisfying customers. Q-Set designs software to help global companies comply with international standards and business improvement software. . .