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L.A. (Low Ammo), CA: The toughest part of preparing for the Internet World (http://www.iworld.com) show in Los Angeles is deciding which caliber of weapon to pack. This was my third Internet World show story, and the first time it has been held in beautiful Los Angeles, California, within normal high-speed pursuit range of my home. As with previous reviews of this show, I've taken a "shotgun" approach to my "duck and coverage". 

Judging from the 400+ press releases and party invitations I received in the last week prior to the show it appeared that the real battle taking place was about who could throw the most outrageous party. They ranged from a star-studded celebrity bash put on by Hewlett-Packard at the Biltmore to an all-night rave at the Hollywood Palace with the entertainer Beck performing. As a serious Internet Journalist, it was my duty to thoroughly research each of these experiences. 

Internet World keeps doubling in size, both in the number of visitors and exhibitors, with over 600 vendors gunning for our attention and roughly 2 gazillion people, each armed with a cell phone and a pager. 

Show Me The Mondex

AT&T introduced the Mondex card, the first wide-scale solution to handling micro payments. In my opinion, this was the most important announcement at the show. One of the issues that has held back Web commerce is the ability to handle very small transactions, down to a fraction of a cent, cost-effectively.

Using credit cards has not been practical on the 'Net because of the double whammy of a minimum fee to the vendor and the misconception that credit card numbers are not secure.

While early pioneers like Digital Cash and eCash still provide the ability to make micro payments in the form of digital "coins", no clear standard for a "software" solution has emerged.

The Mondex card offers a "hardware" solution in the form of  a smart card, similar to an ATM card. The card is tied to your bank account, and you can download cash into the card, or upload it to your account. It is exactly like cash, except you can't fold it or hear it in your pocket.

Mondex card readers will soon begin arriving on PC's, vending and slot machines, and probably even pay toilets in the near future. Even creative panhandlers may eventually accept them.

Here's what the AT&T press release had to say:

Mondex is currently the only system that enables the direct transfer of electronic cash between cards. The cash value is transferred immediately without central routing and collecting each point-of-sale transaction, making it the most cost-effective electronic cash system for merchants and card issuers.

The importance of this is profound. I would bet that we will eventually be faced with paying for information, entertainment, software, and anything else that can be transmitted digitally in the not too distant future. But the price of goods will be scaled appropriately. You may find a miniature price tag on some object and you will have to decide whether or not you want to pay for it before you get it. Just why do you think that Bill Gates is buying up the art of the great masters?

MasterCard must have also thought that it was important, which is perhaps why they recently purchased 51% of Mondex. You can read about it in their press release at http://www.mastercard.com/press/970224a.html. Mondex's technology probably won't see wide-scale implementation until 1998. It is currently being tested in about a dozen cities around the world.

Everyone has had the experience of buying a CD for the one song they like or a technical book for the one chapter they need. With micro payment technology like Mondex's, it will soon be possible to buy that one song or that one chapter. Would you rather pay US$14.95 for a CD that you had to pick up at the store or would you rather pay US$1 for a downloaded copy? Digital publishing will go ballistic. it removes the entire production and distribution part of their business, allowing publishers to scale back the cost to the consumer.

Eric J. Savitz's article in Barron's (http://www.barrons.com/) of March 17, 1997 entitled "Show Us The Money" observed that the only people who were making money at the show were "those who were selling hot dogs, T-shirts, hats and mouse pads featuring the corporate logos of 'Net-related companies". He was at least partially right, but in my opinion he may have missed the point: It was about money. Small change. Very small change. Though hot dogs may not yet be sold over the 'Net, things that cost less than a hot dog will soon be. 

Random Shots

• MKS, of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, eh?, (http://www.mks.com) proved their cunning use of resources by foregoing on an actual booth, replacing it with a party at the House Of Blues (http://www.hob.com). They showed off their new Web Integrity product, which "cleans" a web site in the event that it is corrupted or hacked, sort of like a Source Code Control System for a web site. This can be particularly useful in sites where a large number of people contribute to a site.
• In case you have never been to The Viper Room (owned by movie star Johnny Depp), let me share the experience with you. The trendy folks who publish Wired Magazine (http://www.wired.com) hosted a press party there. Here's how you can simulate being there in person. Take a room that's roughly 20 feet wide by 20 feet long. Put in a mirror ball with extremely powerful spots, to ensure that everyone will be uniformly blinded. Paint the walls, ceilings, bar, and support columns (you need three or four of these) jet black. Pipe in a fashionable mix of sounds by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Louis Prima, and Wayne Newton. Now, add 600 people. Turn the music up again. Now, everyone, at once, start yelling into each others ear. Presto! You're there! 
• US Robotics (http://www.usr.com) talked about their new X2 technology that will enable modem speeds of up to 56K bps over normal phone lines, although they are still having problems getting it to work faster than about 46K. The kicker is that you have to have their equipment on both ends of the line. Rockwell International also offers 56K modems with the same requirements, creating yet another standards battle in the marketplace. Each is teaming with large Internet providers in their battles for market share, with US Robotics already having landed the AOL ( http://www.aol.com) account, assuring users of now getting busy signals twice as fast as before. 
• The award for "Potential For Actual Fist-Fights Between Adjoining Booth Workers" would have to go to NetScape (http://home.netscape.com ) and Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com ), who positioned their "Partner Pavilions" with dozens of mini-boothlets directly across the aisle from each other. While this reporter did not have any confirmed reports of actual physical contact, we did hear rumors of efforts to locate more security holes in their respective competing browsers.
• In the booth shared by Bank of America (http://www.putthemoneyinabag.com) and the NRA (http://www.nra.org), prospective bank customers and robbers were treated to a demonstration of the new bulletproof ATM kiosks. The metal detectors leading into the booth resulted in a bit of a wait, causing some of the masked booth attendees to get a bit jumpy. It didn't help matters at all when a forklift backfired nearby, causing the whole staff to hit the deck in unison. Just to be safe, an LAPD Armored Personnel Carrier leveled the AOL booth. 
• Alert Reader Bruce Cameron sent me a link to the Kittery Trading Post (http://www.kitterytradingpost.com ). While this is not, technically, related in any way to Internet World, I just had to pass on a site that is brave enough to sport a "Moosage" button. I swear. Plus, on their seminars page, they actually offer one on "Mastering Shivling". Again, I swear. Maybe it has something to do with moosing? 

So in case you happen to hit Los Angeles during the current fashion cycle, here's some fashion advice: the current hot attire is a full-body Armorani suit with a white NetScape T-shirt. Sort of like "Rain Man" meets "S.W.A.T." And the correct caliber is 9mm for guys, .25 cal for ladies. 

For a related story, see the article written by Jim Massey in Web Techniques Magazine at the URL http://www.webtechniques.com/features/1997/04/weekly/041497/massey.shtml 

See you next issue.

Jon Sisk
www.jes.com

Original article for Computing News & Review, March, 1997

Copyright © 1997 Jonathan E. Sisk.