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One of the great perks of being a columnist for a big-time publication like Computing News & Review is getting press credentials for trade shows. Judging by the number of press releases I have received this year from companies who are demonstrating their newest 'net-products at this years Spring Internet World in San Jose, California, I predict that it will be an exciting opportunity to evaluate lots of cool stuff while munching on free shrimp.

So for those of you who are not going to attend Internet World this year, please allow me to share some of the new products and services with you, so you can wind up their Web pages and at least pay a digital visit:

• NetPartners Internet Solutions will be unveiling their new WebSENSE software designed with "the business user in mind". It is an Internet screening and monitoring system which allows businesses to define Internet access privileges. http://www.netpart.com.
• "Giving students a new reason to use the World Wide Web", is the pledge of Infonautics Corporation, who has developed "The Electric Library", a "one-stop digital archive, providing ease of use and an affordable source of research on the Web". http://www.elibrary.com.
• The CyberHound Online Internet Directory service, launched by Gale Research, offers a "sophisticated service for Internet site evaluation and highly selective, easy to use searching options". It is a filtering service for locating information without "a lot of aimless surfing". http://www.cyberhound.com.
• The LinkStar Site Launcher simplifies the process of deploying Web pages from your PC to the Web by simply uploading them to the LinkStar Internet Directory, where they are hosted and submitted to other popular Internet search engines. http://www.linkstar.com.
• Bowing to apparent market pressures, Internet veterans O'Reilly and Associates announce in their press release sweeping price decreases in all of their software offerings ranging from roughly 35-75%. http://www.ora.com.
• DocuMagix Hotpage is the first companion product for NetScape Navigator that easily captures, organizes and manages Web and Intranet information into a useful filing cabinet. http://www.documagix.com.
• One press briefing we'll be sure to attend -- not just for the food -- will be the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. They will outline their new "Internet Capabilities which enable 'fast track' business with Hong Kong and the region". This should be interesting, in the wake of the local government's recent crackdown of local Internet access, which ostensibly shut down all but one of the local ISP's. http://www.tdc.org.hk.

See you next issue, where I'll recap the highlights of Internet World.

Jon Sisk
www.jes.com

Original article for Computing News & Review, April, 1996

Copyright © 1996 Jonathan E. Sisk.