From: Ian Miles [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 22 September 2000 16:54
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: of interest to cybersoc??
IN THE NET: Strike one
My fellow Americans. Can you say that if you're not real? Well, Ronald
Reagan got away with it for years, so why not?
America has another choice for President, though the name won't be
found on the ballot papers. Because Jackie Strike is an interactive 3D
candidate you can only find online.
The virtual candidate is a joint venture by a number of European
firms, put together as both a method of political education and
opinion gatherer.
Jackie zeros in on key words in each statement or question and
searches her database for the appropriate response - just like being
on the trail with W.
She knows about 10,000 words and about 2,000 word combinations, many
more than the average candidate.
Depending on the input, Jackie will point users to links to voter
registration forms, let them participate in daily polls and read
election season stories.
"The reason I am running for President is because my vision and caring
leadership will improve the quality of life for millions of
Americans."
And she hasn't been endorsed by Elton John. Good news for Jackie.
Link: http://www.jackiestrike.com
BIG BYTE: Friaco fiasco
This unmetered business is getting increasingly hard to follow and the
excuses increasingly hard to swallow.
World Online has decided free isn't free any more and is increasing
its monthly charge by nearly a tenner, and penalising heavy users with
a per-minute charge.
World Online is blaming BT, because of the FRIACO fiasco which means
it can't buy internet time at a wholesale flat-rate.
The company said, "We have had to make a change to the pricing as
there is a disconnect between the cost of provision and the pricing
cost. We have brought the pricing into line with our cost base."
But coming one month after it said it had no intention of going back
on its promise of free calls, when the financial position was
identical, that looks pretty close to a deliberately false promise.
Certainly BT comes out of this with no credit, looking increasingly
like a company clinging to the last vestiges of its monopoly, busily
trying to get first mover advantage in an effort to strangle the
competition at birth.
Nor has Oftel, as impotent as a man waiting or a Viagra blockade to
end, looked anything but a waste of time. Oftel has turned inadequacy
into an art form, failing to force BT's hand at any stage. And what
else is it for?
Answers on a postcard. Because you won't be able to afford to send it
by e-mail.
Link: http://www.worldonline.com
(not my commentary)
Ian
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[log in to unmask] Director, PREST, CRIC, both University of
Manchester Tel (+44) 161 275 5922; fax (+44) 161 273 1123;
PREST's page: http://les.man.ac.uk/PREST/
POLICY RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
CRIC: Centre for Research in Innovation and Competition
MY PAGES AT CRIC, NEWLY UPDATED JULY 2000, with downloads etc:
http://les.man.ac.uk/cric/Ian_Miles/
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