Consumers who shop by phone, fax, or email will now get the same FTC protections as those who order by mail. Merchandise must be shipped within 30 days or consumers must be given a chance to cancel. [NYT, 9/21/93. EDUPAGE.]

Network Systems Corp. (Minneapolis) has delivered a HIPPI- over-SONET OC-12c gateway: "the world's fastest modem -- 60,000 times faster than a 9600-bps modem." The new HIPPI technology can send supercomputer data thousands of miles at 800 Mbps. [HPC Select, 9/24/93.]

In a challenge to Novell's Netware, Microsoft has dropped the price of its NT networking software to $1,495. Such advanced server software has been selling for $37K-$50K to link 1,000 computers. [WSJ, 9/22/93. EDUPAGE.]

Microsoft will incorporate Inference Corp.'s CBR technology to provide intelligent user assistance in future versions of Windows. [Business Wire, 9/7/93. Bradley P. Allen (bpa@netcom.com), comp.ai.shells, 9/14/93.]

Nathan Myhrvold ("mervahld"), 33, is Microsoft's senior VP for advanced technology. He graduated from UCLA at age 19 with a BS in math and an MS in geophysics and space physics, went to Princeton for an MS in mathematical economics and a PhD in theoretical physics, spent a postdoc year with Stephen Hawking at Cambridge, and then used $10,000 to start a software company with friends in Berkeley. Microsoft bought him out, and he's worked happily with Bill Gates ever since. He's currently deep in negotiations with telephone and cable companies. "Nerds like us can do lunch with anyone these days." [Julie Pitta, Forbes, 8/2/93.]

Igor Tulchinsky is a venture capitalist with the investment banking firm D.H. Blair & Co., Inc. Contact p00867@psilink.com if you have a breakthrough technology or an early stage growth company. [9/15/93.] (Igor is VP of Technology Assessment. Sounds like a neat job.)

Dan Yurman is offering an 8-page paper on commercial applications of geographic information systems (GIS), especially for market research decision support. Contact djy@inel.gov. [CARR-L, 9/15/93.]

Free publicity for computer service providers is available from MZ Group (San Francisco). Write to agora@delphi.com by 11/15 to get a free listing in their AGORA Services Directory (formerly the Macintosh Services Directory, MSD), available at trade shows and bookstores. ("100,000 prospective clients.") Clients may also call AGORA at (800) 927-1200 x177 for referrals to services. AppleLink AGORA, (415) 543-8290, (415) 543-8232 Fax. [biz.comp.services, 9/27/93.]