the query column

Got a computer-related question, or a better answer to a previous query? Send it to The Query Column by mail, e-mail (question@cj.gol.com), or fax (03-3447-4925).Getting the latest news and finding cheap leased linesby Thomas Caldwell

News on demand

"Do it, Tom. Just do it. Trust me -- just do it."

An interesting invitation wouldn't you say? Most of the letters, faxes, and e-mail messages I receive regarding new computer products and services go into exhaustive detail about their benefits and value pricing. But not this time. All I was told was to "do it."

So I loaded my trusty Netscape Navigator and checked out the site my friend had told me about. I followed the instructions for downloading the software, installed it on my PC, and... WOW!!!

I often get questions about where to get reliable news (not just speculation or the latest conspiracy theories) on the Internet. But until recently, I hadn't found anything that tickled my fancy.

A lot of people in the news business have been both optimistic and worried about what the future holds. After all, television replaced newspapers and radio as the main means by which people keep abreast of what the rest of the world is up to (and put many journalists out of work in the process). History is again repeating itself; like it or not, the Internet is quickly becoming the way many people will be getting their news.

Nobody likes change, least of all those of us in the news business. Life is hard enough in the industry without having to learn new ways to get the story out. New technologies for delivering news to clients are making the job of journalist more competitive and technology-intensive than ever before.

Now, the news hounds have another reason to worry. California-based PointCast Network is being billed as a "personalized news network," delivering news via the Internet. You are the one who chooses what news and features you want to receive -- not a newspaper editor or TV producer. The service contains the latest news, sports, stock market quotes (pick the company and PCN will watch the wires for related stories), weather from around the US (hopefully the rest of the world will be included at some point).... It will even tell you your horoscope.

The system uses the standard PPP link to your computer to deliver text and graphics using the much heralded Java system. In the opinion of many who've seen it, this is probably the very best example of a practical JAVA application to date.

How much does it cost? Well get this: The service is FREE. It operates on advertising revenue, which is very well integrated into the system's front end. It also has the facility to call up the WWW site of a particular advertiser you are interested in with the click of your mouse.

As I write this, the system is still under beta testing (version 0.9b2). But it operates with few, if any, bugs (at least I've been able to find none). Hats off to the people who put the thing together. Not only did they come up with a terrific news product, but, more important, they've figured out a way to actually make money using the Internet.

Oh. Did I forget to mention the URL? Check it out at http://www.pointcast.com. It works with Windows (3.1, Workgroups, and 95); versions for the Macintosh, UNIX, and Windows NT are said to be under development. So, download the software, install it, and be prepared to pick your jaw up off the floor.

Just do it!

Competitive leased lines

Everybody hates a monopoly, especially one that makes an obscene amount of profit, like NTT. Let's face it, nobody likes Japan's monstrous phone company. I've poked fun at, complained about, and insulted the people at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation in this column many times in the past, so there is no reason to do so further. (Until they do something stupid again. Just wait a while; they will.) Instead, I would rather announce a nice piece of news all you folks looking for leased lines will be real interested in.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (a good monopoly; at least, I think so) has entered the telecommunications business and is competing in the leased line market with guess who. TTNet (Tokyo Telecommunication Network Corp.; headquarters phone 03-5476-0091, fax 03-5476-4713; English-speaking sales people available) is a wholly owned subsidiary of TEPCO, the company that also powers your PC in Tokyo. (Talk about one-stop shopping!)

These guys can deliver leased lines in the Kanto region far cheaper (and, some might say, far better) than the boys making the billions of yen in profit. They have everything from 2400- baud lines to 6 megabyte lines (I didn't even know there was such a thing), at prices lower that "the other guys."

Wait, it gets better. I hear from reliable sources that they will soon start a competing dial-up phone service for the general public. (They currently have a point-to-point dial-up service but, just like the phone companies of old, both parties must be TTNet clients.)

If your company uses leased lines, or if you plan on hooking your PC up to your Internet provider with one, check these people out. If not to save heaps of money, then just out of spite for "the other guys."

You'll find the TTNet home page at http://www.ttnet.co.jp/.

Thomas Caldwell is a radio correspondent and Japan marketing manager for the United Press International Tokyo Bureau. You can reach him by e-mail as caldwell@gol.com, or check out his Web page at http://www2.gol.com/users/caldwell.