DIGITAL READERS
Digital readers, long featured in science fiction, will very soon be part of our every day electronic world. Look for SoftBook (Virtual Press), RocketBook (NuvoMedia) and Everybook (Everybook, Inc.) to go on sale this fall with prices ranging from US$300 to US$1,600. These digital readers or e-books, weigh in at 20 ounces to just under four pounds. Everybook, the largest and most expensive, provides a facing page display unlike the single page display of the other two e-books. Books will be downloaded from electronic bookstores or special kiosks in bookstores. With the ability to store up to ten books, you could store your summers or semesters worth of books. Our bookshelves may never be the same. (Source: Wired, July 1998)

ELECTRONIC CHECKS
"The e-check is in the e-mail." One June 30th, the U.S. Department of Defense sent the first e-check worth US$32,000 to GTE Internetworking. One of the benefits of the e-check was immediately evident. It took only five minutes to create and send the e-check and no paper was used.

The electronic check process is similar, in an electronic sort of way, to that of the paper check. Sent via e-mail, the e-check is electronically endorsed, forwarded to the accounting department and then sent electronically to the bank for deposit.

The e-check was created through a consortium of Chicago banks at a cost of US$10 million. They are expected to begin targeting the business-to-business payment market in 2000. (Source: Computerworld, 7/20/1998)

DIGITAL POWERLINE
Imagine receiving your telephone calls and getting Internet access via the same electrical lines bringing electricity into your home. Digital PowerLine is currently being tested by ten utilities serving 35 million homes in Europe and Asia. The system is able to transmit data at one megabit per second or twenty times the speed of a modem. Digital PowerLine is the creation of Paul Brown, a British electrical engineer.

In the US, Intelogis of Draper, Utah, is selling a system that allows computers to transmit data to each other over the electrical wiring within the building. This system is based on technology developed by Novell and is being marketed for home and small business use. (Source: Wall Street Journal, 7/2/1998)

WEB SITE OF THE MONTH
The State of Wisconsin celebrates its sesquicentennial this year. To find out more about the State's history and a directory of the special events linked to the sesquicentennial, visit the Wisconsin Sesquicentennial web site at www.150years.state.wi.us ________________________________________________________________
Technology Tidbits is published monthly by Jerry Price, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
© 1998 Jerry W. Price

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