America Online will buy WAIS Inc., for about $15M. AOL is also buying and/or allying with CD ROM publishers. [WSJ, 5/22/95, B5. EDUPAGE.] (WAIS sort of faded out after it went commercial, perhaps because formatting pages for WAIS indexing and retrieval was more trouble than posting ASCII or HTML by FTP, Gopher, or WWW. I don't foresee widespread use again on the Internet, but AOL could exploit the technology for indexing CD-ROM-style multimedia content.)

Sun has licensed NEXTSTEP for its SPARCstation models 4, 5, and 20, as a path to an OpenStep object environment. NEXTSTEP Developer Release 3.3 ($4,999) includes all of the tools to build interoperable, scalable client/server applications. A $799 NEXTSTEP Release 3.3 is available for users. 1-800-821- 4643. [, comp.sys.next.announce, 5/24/95.] (You can get a competitive upgrade discount on a workstation if you trade in a competing NEXTSTEP system.)

AT&T is about to make its entry into the Internet market, reportedly with cheap modems and universal local access at 28.8 Kbps. It may offer its own secure TCP/IP "Internet" for business customers, and has turned its Downtown Digital (NY) studio to development of interfaces and services for home users. [John W. Verity, BW, 6/5/95, p. 118.]

AT&T is licensing Apple's QuickTime Conferencing software for its WorldWorx network. [IBD, 5/23/95, A9. EDUPAGE.] (So, when are we going to see workshops on the net instead of as conference events?)

Telecommuting centers are less promising than had been hoped. Employers pay $100/month for each employee at these suburban work sites, but that's only a 3% return on the $6M construction cost. [Telecommuting Review, 5/9/95. Flash Information.] ($100/month! Try renting a restaurant table for so little!)

The average telecommuter works 11% more hours than office counterparts, according to a British Telecom/Gartner Group study. Employers also save 17% of annual salary on office space and other overhead. [Fortune, 5/1/95, p. 123. EDUPAGE.]