InfiNet sale should benefit Hardin Internet users

July 22, 2000

 

By JIM BROOKS

The news hit most e-mail boxes late the evening of Monday, June 24: Norfolk, Va.-based InfiNet -- the News-Enteprise's Internet service provider/partner -- was selling its Internet access business to Earthlink, Inc.

The move may have taken users by surprise, but overall, the move makes sense.

Earthlink is the nation's second-largest Internet provider (second only to America Online), and received PC World magainze's 2000 World Class Award for Best ISP, and was named Best ISP in MacHome Jounral's annual reader's poll.

Earthlink's pricing is comparable to InfiNet's, and in some cases, offers additional perks that make it really tough to beat.

For example, the standard dial-up account -- which costs the same as the current $19.95 InfiNet unlimited access account -- includes 3 e-mail boxes and 5 MB of server space for a personal Web page at no additional cost. And like InfiNet, Earthlink's technical support also is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Earthlink subscribers also will get a free subscription to bLink, a free bimonthly print magazine, and have access to eLink, a weekly e-mail newsletter. Subscribers also get free software upgrades as they are needed.

InfiNet subscribers won't be full-fledged Earthlink subscribers right away, as Earthlink is allowing customers a period of transition. According to a press release, InfiNet customers will keep their same e-mail addresses for at least the next six months.

There's a complete list of Frequenty Asked Questions regarding the sale if you are an InfiNet customer and need answers.

To read the latest FAQ, visit www.infi.net/elsubscfaq.html.

NE ONLINE STAYS PUT. In the wake of all the changes, some things at the News-Enterprise are staying the same.

The News-Enterprise Online Web site -- the Internet version of the newspaper -- won't go anywhere.

And the newspaper's online team will continue to sell online advertising, build and update Internet products and Web sites for customers.

"We've had several customers ask what we're going to do now," said Kathy Helm, N-E Online sales consultant. "but really, it's business as usual. The Internet access relationship we had with InfiNet is changing, but we're not going anywhere."

In addition to the News-Enterprise Online Web site, the paper's online team also offers a real estate Web site -- www.CKHomes.com -- and a site devoted to car buying, www.KyCarWave.com.

WEATHERBUG. My sister Alice put me on the track of a neat little program for weather watchers called the WeatherBug.

The WeatherBug is offered by Automated Weather Source (AWS), a company that specializes in automated weather systems.

The WeatherBug uses information gathered from the AWS School WeatherNet, which is an estalbished network of more than 4,000 AWS weather stations located mostly in schools around the country.

The schools benefit by having the AWS technology to use as a classroom teaching tool; others using WeatherBug benefit by having instant access to real-time weather info from the school's weather station.

The WeatherBug computer software looks like something you might see on a display in a recent episode of ``Star Trek: Voyager.'' It's very slick and easy to use.

When it isn't maximized, it runs in the background, displaying the current temperature in the tray area on the bottom toolbar of your Windows desktop.

The WeatherBug display shows the current weather conditions, wind speed and direction and complete weather almanac information, including moonphase, radar imagery and forecasts.

It even lists weather watches and warnings in your WeatherBug location as soon as they are issued. A flashing indicator in the tool bar tray is a visual alert that severe weather is possible.

No school in my home town is a particpant in the AWS School WeatherNet, but other stations nearby made WeatherBug's data useful and valuable.

Visit the AWS home page for more information at www.aws.com.

Tell them Alice sent you.

NAME GAME. A couple of years ago, the first wave of dot-com business names hit mainstream advertising.

Every business on the planet wanted to get in on the Internet craze, and the ``dot-com'' moniker equated to trendy, hip and a rocket-propelled IPO (initial public stock offering).

For the time being, it looks like the wave has crested; we're seeing what you might refer to as a ``dot-com'' undertow as the former darlings of the Internet world ditch their once trendy ``dot-com'' names and struggle to remain afloat.

JFax.com dropped the ``dot-com'' part of its business name as a pure survival tactic, according to CEO Steven Hamerslag in a recent Bloomberg interview.

``People are perceiving we're on the endangered species list,'' he said.

A wide range of other Internet-related companies are following suit with the ``dot-com'' name surgery, including Infospace and LifeMinders.

Voip Technology Inc. was formerly known as Tradersecrets.com; Cybershop.com changed its name to GSV Inc.

Just last year, a start-up company needed little more than a business plan and a ``dot-com'' name to attract investors. Companies that sold IPOs in 1999 gained 154 percent on average; IPOs in 1998 soared an average of 770 percent, according to figures by CommScan.

This explosive trend has been reversing since the first of the year, forcing companies without earnings or operating on unsound business principals to either adapt or fold.

Many have folded, according to a survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. More than 5,400 Internet-related jobs have been cut this year to date by U.S. Internet companies.

iMAC CHANGES. The stylish iMac -- the translucent-cased computer that's available in different colors -- is getting a few improvements.

Demand for the iMac remains steady, though a couple of minor glitches that have plagued the Mac faithful look to be nearing extinction, according to sources close to Apple.

The improvements on the iMac aren't in the real hardware, but in its interface -- how it connects to human beings, with its keyboard and mouse.

Since its debut, both the iMac keyboard and mouse have received a great deal of criticism.

The mouse is round, with a single button, and users complained it wasn't easy to use without looking at the mouse to see how it was oriented. A PC mouse is oblong, giving the user a better sense of its orientation. The perfectly round iMac mouse did not.

True to Apple's ``make it better'' attitude, the new mouse won't simple be an iMac version of the PC-style mouse. No, the new mouse won't even have a button.

Reports say it will be more oblong and more comfortable to use. But to click the mouse only requires a slight ``rocking'' motion. Your fingers never leave the mouse, or need to hunt for a button.

Also due for replacement is the original compact keyboard that came with the iMac. The keyboard generated complaints for typers because of its small size and key placement.

Aftermarket providers have done big business in selling full-size keyboards to fill this need.

The new keyboard will feature full-sized function keys, a numeric keypad, and return many of the keys the original compact keyboard is missing.

It will be styled in the iMac styling, of course.

Introduced in August 1998, the iMac helped stage a comeback for the once down-and-out Apple Computer Corp. It's stylish and futuristic looks have set the tone for the entire product line.

For more information on Apple and the iMac, visit www.apple.com.