Listed below is a sampling of recent information technology news.
THE (E)VOICE OF THE PEOPLE. President Clinton may now be reached by email at president@whitehouse.gov Vice President Gore can be reached by sending email to vice.president@whitehouse.gov The response you receive from the White House Director of Correspondence will say: "Your message has been read, and we are keeping careful track of all the mail we are receiving electronically. We will be trying out a number of response-based systems shortly, and I ask for your patience as we move forward to integrate electronic mail from the public into the White House."
ON & OFF AT THE WHITE HOUSE. To get on some net e-mail lists, send a message to clinton-info@campaign92.org and type RECEIVE on the subject line along with what type of information you desire (economy, foreign, social, speeches, news).
WATCH OUT, DISNEY. Sega Enterprises has plans for dozens of "virtual reality" theme parks that would use machinery similar to military aircraft simulators to create the sensation of thrill rides. And while Disney attractions require thousands of acres and are fixed for decades, a virtual reality attraction requires a much smaller space and can be changed or updated just by changing the software (New York Times 7/4/93).
TOGETHERNESS. AT&T and Sega Enterprises have announced technology that will enable two people to play with each other as if they were sitting at the same unit although they may be miles apart. Motions on the joystick would generate signals which are sent over the phone line, simulating side-by-side play. The units will go on sale next summer (St. Petersburg Times 6/6/93 I2).
COMPUTER CRANKS OUT PURPLE PROSE. It took ten years, but Scott French and his Macintosh named Hal have published a full-length novel, "Just This Once." The computer was programmed with a series of formulas devised by French after a careful analysis of two Susann best- sellers,Valley of the Dolls and Once is Not Enough (New York Times 7/2/93).
TV ENFORCER. The North Carolina PTV Foundation sells an electronic device that automatically limits children's TV viewing and enforces specific viewing hours. The TimeSlot Box requires each family member to use a magnetically- coded credit card to turn the television set on for a certain time period determined by the parents. When the hours are depleted, the set shuts off (Current 8/9/93).
DOW VIDEO VIA COMPUTER. Dow Jones & Co. has announced a new service that will deliver business news via video to customers' desktop computer terminals. Starting in September, Investor Network will transmit video interviews with CEOs, government policy makers, and others, as well as news coverage of press conferences, corporate announcements, and other programming. (Wall Street Journal 8/13/93).
LISTS OF LISTSERVS. The third edition of the Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters, and Academic Discussion Lists is now available from the Association of Research Libraries Ñ (202) 296-2296. The directory compiles 1,152 listservs and 240 electronic journals (Chronicle of Higher Education 6/2/93 A15).
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