World Telecommunication Day 1999 |
IHT October 14, 1999 |
Is your dishwasher on the Net? The question may raise
eyebrows now, but in a few years, even asking might seem old-fashioned. The
networked, automated home is not far away as technology advances and the
telecommunications and computer industries converge. Baby boomers who grew up
with labor-saving inventions such as electric can openers and TV dinners may
soon see the automated, robot-inhabited home, once spoofed in the cartoon series
''The Jetsons,'' become reality.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
Consumers have long been promised an Internet rich in
multimedia and interactivity
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
Western Europe has long been seen as lagging behind the
United States in the race to Internet connectivity, but the Old World is
catching up fast and, in some cases, even bypassing its trans-Atlantic rival.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
The extraordinary variety among the thousands of on-line
communities using the Internet seems limited only by the diversity of human
behavior. If there is a common link, it is a desire to bring people together
through a shared interest, to connect strangers around the world and people
living in the same neighborhood who might otherwise never meet.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
According to some estimates, on-line retail shopping
around the world could reach an annual figure of $3 trillion within the next
five years.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
Business education to date has mostly been a
face-to-face affair. Top management schools have consistently argued that
nothing can replace the effectiveness of direct interaction between students and
professors in the classroom and in team working.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
The security of e-commerce transactions continues to
worry many home Internet users - the potential shoppers e-commerce companies are
so busy courting. The most concerned still use floppy disks to transfer
sensitive information from one computer to another. But new systems are about to
revolutionize on-line protection.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
Consumers are being bombarded with a wide range of
telephone options, from prepaid long-distance and cellular phone cards to
toll-free lines and cheaper rates. Rates are lower than ever before in some
countries, thanks to deregulation and privatization. They are continuing to fall
fast.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
For all the talk of a revolution in on-line shopping,
the services driving real profit and traffic in the consumer market are
receiving comparatively little attention. While eyes focus on the success of
Amazon.com and eBay, gambling and gaming Web sites are quietly attracting
increasing numbers of on-line Americans, as well as the attention of legislators
and game developers.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
Intranets protected internal, corporate networks based
on the Internet Protocol (IP) - and connected to the global Internet, are
presenting employees with new opportunities: to work from home or an Internet
café, if they wish.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
Europe boasted roughly 104 million households with
televisions at the end of 1998, compared with only 32 million with PCs
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
Until recently, European telecommunications companies
charged high tariffs for international calls. Since the majority of
international callers were businesses, the consumer was caught in the middle,
paying high rates without much hope of competition's bringing change. At the
beginning of 1998, most European Union countries, along with some nonmembers,
opened up their telecommunications markets fully to competition. Fierce rivalry
among incumbent and new service providers has resulted in plummeting prices for
phone calls and a raft of new services.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story
Today is World Standards Day, and two initiatives coming
out of Telecom 99 this week will make a significant impact on this key issue.
Oct. 14, 1999 The Full Story