Network Solutions is ready to accept domain registrations using Chinese characters and Japanese or Korean phonetic symbols. [WSJ, 05Oct00. NewsScan.]

AOL has 23M members, of which more than 1M may be online at any one moment. They average 64 minutes online each day, exchanging 110M email messages and looking at 5B Web pages. AnchorDesk says that AOL captures 38% of Americans' online time. [RCFoC, 17Jul00.]

Despite a report that information technology is using 13% of US electrical power (and rising), Dr. Joseph Romm says that the efficiency of IT has slowed the growth of US electricity demand and reduced US consumption of electricity. Romm is the former Acting Assistant Secretary of DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. . [RCFoC, 02Oct00.]

The bits/dollar provided by optical equipment will most likely double every nine months. Already an optical connection can download a digital movie in four seconds, and wavelength division multiplexing can multiply that capacity by 160 or more. This will be needed, as Internet traffic continues to double every three months. [BW, 09Oct00. Edupage.]

Hewlett-Packard has introduced a new pricing model, charging supercomputer users according to their computing needs rather than the computer's theoretical capacity. [NY Times, 13Sep00. NewsScan.]

Clarion Corp. has had difficulty selling in-car AutoPCs, and plans to switch its emphasis to entertainment instead of information applications. Problems have included frequent crashes, a voice recognition system that confuses "tonight on NBC" with "AutoPC" (thus activating itself), and users' feelings of intimidation. (Wireless competitors such as GM's Onstar Virtual Advisor plan to add computer functions.) [WSJ, 04Oct00. NewsScan.]

Apple's new Unix-based operating system, OS X, is available in public beta. Users must purchase a CD from the Apple website. The "Aqua" interface is stunning, but performance and acceptance are still unknown. [NY Times, 14Sep00. NewsScan.]

----- "The one function that TV news performs very well is that when there is no news we give it to you with the same emphasis as if there were." -- David Brinkley. -----