Technology compliments of AOL: On the heels of a similar deal with Netscape, America Online today announced that it has signed up Lotus Development Corp. to carry the AOL Instant Messenger service.
One technology the proprietary network operator - which has taken so much flack for technical troubles - has apparently got right is the stuff that lets people communicate online in real time. As Netscape's decision last month to incorporate the messaging product demonstrated, AOL has actually been able to entice "Internet companies" with the Web-based version of the product it developed for its own system. IBM's Lotus division will bundle the technology with the next release of Lotus Notes and Smart Suite; a future version of Notes will have AOL's messaging capabilities built in.
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High-bandwidth at home: With a promise that interoperability and competitive pricing will make cable modems the next consumer product to leap off shelves and bring data into homes over cable, Sony Corporation announced today that it will develop modems based on Cisco Systems reference designs and networking software.
The modems will conform to the industry standard for data over cable interface, managed by the Multimedia Cable Network System Partners, an organization made up of the major US cable operators (Comcast Cable Communications, Cox Communications, Tele-Communications Inc., and Time Warner Cable). By conforming to the standard, Sony expects its cable modems to work on any cable modem system.
"High-bandwidth networking into the home will become very commonplace in the near future, and Sony will be using its expertise to develop exciting new network-based products targeted for the home environment," said Yoshihiro Shimada, general manager of Sony Corporation Computer Peripherals and Components Company. (3.Nov.97)
