Inquiring minds can now turn to the Web for news
Aug.
24, 1997
By JIM
BROOKS
If you're tired of waiting a week to pick up your copy of the nation's
top-selling supermarket tabloid, there's a way to get that gossip
as fast as your modem will carry it.
The National Enquirer re-launched its site on the World Wide Web
this week, and like the print edition, the new-and-improved Web
site offers a healthy dose of Hollywood gossip and other features.
And like the print edition, it's a very slickly produced Web site.
You'll find gossip, classified ads, features like horoscopes and
even diet tips from Jenny Craig.
Fans can subscribe to receive e-mail alerts of the latest breaking
gossip, and contribute their own outlandish or tragic stories in
a weekly contest that offers a $300 weekly prize.
The entire contents of the print edition aren't published online.
However, the site is updated daily for those who want the latest
celebrity news and gossip.
BROWSER UPDATE. The turf war between Netscape and Microsoft
for top World Wide Web browser shows no sign of subsiding.
-- Microsoft announced this week it will officially
release the final version of its Internet Explorer 4.0 Web browser
on Sept. 30.
It'll be available for free for downloading from their Web site
at www.microsoft.com.
The new browser will at first be available only the Windows95 and
NT operating systems. Versions for Windows 3.1 and Macintosh operating
systems will be forthcoming by the end of the year.
-- Netscape Communications gave official word this
week that it would offer Navigator 4.0 as a stand-alone product.
Navigator 4.0 is currently part of the Communicator 4.0 software
suite, which bundles the Web browser with other applications, including
a Web page editor, e-mail application, and other networking tools.
Downloading the Communicator package on the Web is no small task,
as the file is 11 megabytes in size.
The new stand-alone Navigator 4.0 will be only 5 megabytes in size,
the company said, and includes the new Netscape Netcaster "push"
feature that allows content to be sent automatically to your browser.
COMPUSERVE GOES FLAT. Online service pioneer CompuServe announced
this week it would offer flat-rate pricing effective Oct. 1.
The plan offers unlimited use of the service for a flat-rate of
$24.95. The plan affects only the U.S. and Canada.
CompuServe has resisted the move to flat-rate pricing. It isn't
abandoning it's by-the-minute pricing that it has always had, only
adding a more cost-effective option for heavy users of the service.
The company has stated in the past that flat-rate pricing below
$20 per month wasn't a profitable option for the company.
CompuServe's been for sale for some time now, and after a failed
bid in April by America Online, a New York financial firm seems
to be the leading candidate to buy the struggling online service.
H&R Block, CompuServe's parent company, turned down $1.3 billion
in AOL stock for the company, and is seeking a lower cash price
of about $800 million.
While the flat-rate pricing alternative is aimed at boosting its
shrinking 2.6 million subscriber base, the move may be modified
if the company is sold.
For details, point your browser to www.compuserve.com on the World
Wide Web.
ONLINE INCREASE. The number of PCs on the Internet will
jump 71 percent by this year, according to a new report.
Eighty-two million computers will be on the Internet by year's
end, according to the San Jose, Calif-based Dataquest.
Most of the Internet's early growth has been attributed to consumer's
going online; this year's increase will be due to businesses incorporating
the Internet into their company computer networks.
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