Internet Digest for 08-Oct-96

Internet News

Internet World Wide Web entertainment networks

American Cybercast is launching World Wide Web entertainment network on Oct. 14. It is making its three series, The Spot, and new show The Pyramid, accessible through a single gateway site, (http:/www.amcy.com). AMCY has signed artists including Spalding Gray, Kathy Najimy, Dave Thomas and Paula Poundstone to create comedy sketches and short narratives that would be similar to interstitials on network TV. The comparison isn't exact, since the Web isn't linear, and users don't have to wait for the end of a show to watch the bumpers. AMCY is emulating television, Herman said, because the system has proven it works. "The networks still have a lock on the business, but they also gave birth to the dozens of channels on cable TV."

California is launching an initiative to create and market college courses and degrees through the Internet and other emerging technologies. It will form a design team in consultation with leading universities in the state. He said the team would seek to create and market college courses through the Internet and other multimedia technologies for state, national and international markets.

AT&T and Microsoft teamed up today to package each other's Internet products: AT&T's WorldNet Service and Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser. Computer users who have Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system will have access to Internet Explorer 3.0 when they order the WorldNet Internet service, the companies said. AT&T said it designated Internet Explorer 3.0, the latest version of the software needed to view the Web, as the default browser for WorldNet, which has 425,000 subscribers. Before today, AT&T had offered Netscape Navigator with WorldNet.

Under AT&T's free trial offer, AT&T long-distance customers who sign up for AT&T WorldNet Service in 1996 have free access to the Internet for the first five hours each month for a year as long as they use the service one hour each month. Customers pay $2.50 for each hour beyond the five. Under a separate plan, AT&T long-distance customers can opt for a flat monthly rate of $19.95 for unlimited access.

Membership at the country's oldest major commercial online service has stagnated at 2.5 million in the United States and Canada and 5.2 million worldwide, while archrival America Online has passed the 6 million mark.

AT&T will offer in a new product, AT&T Digital PCS, which combines voice, messaging and paging communications in a single telephone. It will offer AT&T Digital PCS to 70 million potential customers starting today, and plans to extend it rapidly to more than 212 million more potential customers.

The pager, phone and personal messaging system combination reduces the number of required batteries and charging systems customers must have, the company said. AT&T Digital PCS customers will pay a flat rate in the U.S. of $0.60 per minute for "roaming" calls -- those calls made from outside the customer's "home," or local, calling area. The company said it will offer a range of service packages, starting at $24.99 per month.

Netscape and CyberCash have entered into new technology and marketing agreements today designed to bring consumers added payment options on the Internet. CyberCash licensed its CyberCoin service to Netscape, payment technology geared for online purchases of items that cost between $.25 and $10.00.

Mercury Mail Inc. and Netscape will provide users with free text-based content via e-mail. The companies report they are offering free, personalized news, weather, stocks, sports, entertainment, and reminders in HTML format through Netscape's Inbox Direct program. InBox Direct is a service designed to deliver fully-formatted HTML pages right to a user's e-mail in-box. "Since all of our services will be available in HTML, e-mail will be able to shed its text-only image". It provides Web links, color, bolding, italics and sizing.

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