UK - Demon Internet Services Plans National Access 09/20/95
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1995 SEP 20 (NB) -- Demon Internet Services (DIS)
plans to be the first Internet service provider (SP) to offer national
local call access to its Internet point of presence (PoP) network
in the UK. Plans call for 100 percent local coverage to roll out at
the end of October.

Because of the changes to its network, DIS plans to phase out the
terms tPoPs (traditional points of presence) and vPoPs (virtual points
of presence), the two phrases that the company claims it originally
coined.

In their place will be ROMPs (regionally organized modem pools). To
cover the UK, DIS will operate three main ROMPs, covering: Central
England and Southern Scotland; Southern England and Northern Scotland;
and London.

Full details of the ROMPs and further information on UK local access
numbers can be found on DIS's World Wide Web page at http://www.demon.net .

(Steve Gold/19950918/Press Contact: Foresight PR, +44-181-371-3711;
Internet e-mail pr@demon.net; Reader Contact: Demon Internet Svcs,
+44-181-371-1234; Internet e-mail sales@demon.net)


Wall Street Journal Web Site Adds Company Reports 09/20/95
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 SEP 20 (NB) -- The interactive
Internet World Wide Web publication from the Wall Street Journal is
adding a new feature that will let Net surfers access background
reports on almost any company in the news.

The new section, called "Company Briefing Books," offers highly
graphical compilations of financial data, stock charts, and recent
news from more than 6,500 US and international companies, officials
said. These reports offer Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones newswire
content, as well as company performance data and background from
other sources.

The Briefing Books are split into five sections. The Company
Background area includes an updated overview of each company's
business and history. The Financial Overview includes a chart of
quarterly earnings over a two-year period, and other data in graphical
form. The Stock Performance section features the company's highs,
lows, and closings on the stock market over a 200-day period, along
with other stock data. The Company News and Press Releases sections
cover happenings on each company from both independent news sources
and from the company's perspective.

Company Briefing Books can be accessed from the Journal's "Money &
Investing Update" Web publication, which Newsbytes first reported on
last July. The Web newspaper is updated throughout the day and evening
as news breaks, with full stories behind each news item appearing in a
summary.

In an interview with Newsbytes at that time, Neil F. Budde, editor of
Money & Investing Update, had hinted at a "Company Briefing Books"
feature. In general, he said the Web newspaper would be more
than a dumping site for news wire stories. "We're trying to treat it
like a newspaper in the sense that editors cultivate and organize
information based on some order of priority of what's important."

News stories about companies in the Company Briefing Books area will
now have direct hotlinks to the detailed reports provided in the new
section of the Web site, officials said. Also, readers can ask for
a Briefing Book on a company of their choice at any time by entering
the concern's name or stock symbol.

Like the "Money & Investing Update," the Company Briefing Books are
on a free trial period. Officials said the Web offerings will continue
to be free over the next few months, but nothing more specific was
released.

The Journal's Web page is at http://update.wsj.com .

(Bob Woods/19950919/Press Contacts: Wendall Wood Collins, Wall Street
Journal, 609-520-4685; Lisa Gilbert or Michael Bayer, Miller/Shandwick
Technologies, 617-536-0470)


Global Post Code & Demographic Info On The Web 09/20/95
BUSHEY, HERTFORDSHIRE, 1995 SEP 20 (NB) -- ALLM Systems and Marketing,
publisher of the Global Gazetteer, has plugged into the World Wide Web,
opening up a home page at http://www.knowledge.co.uk/xxx/geodata .

According to Alan Pritchard, who heads up the company, the Global
Gazetteer is one of the "largest and most complete" files of
international geographical data available. The Gazetteer contains
geographical data in "machine readable form," which is available to
customers of ALLM.

"We see the Internet as very much a shop window for our products, and
a means by which potential customers can view our services and
download sample files," Pritchard told Newsbytes. He added that the
Gazetteer now covers more than 900,000 international place names and
11,000 administrative areas around the globe.

Data held on file includes geographic and statistical information,
as well as ISO (International Standards Organization) codes, time
differences, NUTS levels, phone dialing codes, postcodes details,
population, latitude, longnitude, and preferred/non-preferred place
names.

The basic data set is available in three main formats: dBase (ASCII,
delineated by commas); PICK T-Dump; and as plain ASCII. Data files
cost UKP20 per 1,000 records, plus UKP10 per 1,000 fields for enriched
data, and UKP50 per 1,000 Unicode fields.

Depending on the size of the file, ALLM will send out the data on disk
or by electronic-mail. "Some of the data files are big that using e-mail
can be impractical, especially over the Internet, so for these files we
tend to use disks to mail out the data to customers," Pritchard said.

(Steve Gold/19950919/Press Contact: The Media Crystal,
tel +44-1332-823781, fax +44-1332-823755, Internet e-mail
smallsopp@cix.compulink.co.uk; Reader Contact: ALLM Systems and
Marketing, tel +44-1923-230150, fax +44-1923-211148, Internet e-mail
apritchard@cix.compulink.co.uk/GAZETTEER19950920/PHOTO)


See Lake Michigan....On The Internet 09/20/95
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1995 SEP 20 (NB) -- All kinds of sites can
be seen on the Internet -- from the inside of various offices, to a
fish's artificial home in an aquarium, to a shot of the "infamous"
Hollywood and Vine corner in Los Angeles. Now, the Midwest enters
cyberspace as views of Lake Michigan from Chicago can be seen on the
Net's World Wide Web.

The Habitat Company, a Chicago-based real estate development and
management firm, and American Information Services (AIS) are
providing the views of the lakefront as a part of a new Web
information site featuring the Habitat Company.

The view Net surfers see is from the 33rd floor of the Buckingham
Building, which Habitat manages. The real-time image is updated 24
hours a day and features the newly-renovated Navy Pier, which now
contains shops, restaurants, an IMAX theater, a Ferris wheel, and
an indoor garden, among other features.

Josh E. Schneider, AIS president, told Newsbytes the camera can
also be swung around to capture other Windy City sites, including
Meigs Field, Grant Park, the Ritter Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium,
and other views of the lakefront.

When Newsbytes surfed to the site, we saw the Navy Pier shot framed by
a typically cloudy Chicago setting. Habitat and AIS have archived two
other views at the site: a rainy day, and a night view.

Already Schneider said he has received many electronic-mail
messages from the Internet community, saying the site and the view
are very "cool."

Habitat's home page, which contains the real-time view of Lake
Michigan, is on the Web at http://www.habitat.com .

Besides the Navy Pier view, the Habitat site also contains information
on apartments it manages in the downtown Chicago area. Future plans
call for giving users the ability to cross-market any of 21 properties
from any leasing office a prospective tenant walks into.

(Bob Woods/19950918/Press Contact: Josh E. Schneider, American
Information Systems, 312-255-8500, Internet e-mail jschneid@ais.net)


 ****IBM Launches Internet Search Service 09/20/95
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1995 SEP 20 (NB) -- Trying to solve what
it described as one of the Internet's three big problems, IBM has
launched infoMarket Search, an Internet search service.

InfoMarket Search will let Internet users search multiple Internet sites,
including World Wide Web sites, Usenet news groups, and other documents
available on the Internet. Searching is free, and according to IBM it will
probably remain so. The company hopes to make money from the service by
getting a cut from information providers who sell information to users
thanks to infoMarket Search.

IBM announced agreements to provide access to the Yahoo! index of Web
sites, the Open Text index of Web documents, and the McKinley database of
Internet sites. IBM also said the content of more than 13,000 Usenet news
groups will be searchable through its service.

Several content providers have also signed up to make their information
available through infoMarket Search. Newsbytes is one of these, along with:
Disclosure Inc., which provides financial and management data on public
companies around the world; Comtex, a distributor of press-release services
and some news wires; Information Access Co., which produces more than
7,000 journals, magazines, newspapers, and other materials electronically;
and Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, a publisher of scientific and technical
information.

Jeff Crigler, vice-president of IBM infoMarket, said one of the key problems
IBM has found with the Internet is the difficulty of finding the information
one wants. He described infoMarket Search as a "lighthouse in the
information fog." The other two big problems, Crigler added, are how to pay
for the information once you find it, and how intellectual property can be
protected. IBM is also planning to address those issues in the future,
he said.

Internet users can try out infoMarket Search at
http://www.infomkt.ibm.com. There is no charge to use the searching
capability. "We think essentially that browsing the store should be free,"
Crigler said. IBM apparently hopes to keep it that way, though Crigler said
at one point during the teleconference that searching "is free to users and
it will continue to be free," but at another point that "we hope to continue
making searching available for free forever or for as long as we can afford
to do it."

For the rest of this year, there will also be no charge for access to
information that content providers offer through the service, Crigler said.
Later there will be charges, and IBM will get a cut. Asked about the level
of usage IBM would need to break even, Crigler would say only that it would
be within the bounds of what would be expected on a large net site.

(Grant Buckler/19950919/Press Contact: Mike King, IBM, 914-766-1119,
Internet e-mail mikeking@vnet.ibm.com)


 ****President Clinton Live On America Online 09/20/95
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 SEP 20 (NB) -- Have something you
really want to say to President Bill Clinton? You'll be able to
do that online, in real time, online, tomorrow, if you are quick
or lucky enough, and a member of America Online.

The President will be on the premiere of "Larry King Super
Special" radio show, billed as a "radio town meeting" by producer
Westwood One. Listeners can ask questions of the President via
telephone, fax, and in a live auditorium session on AOL.

In addition to posing zingers to Bill Clinton, AOL members can
get news, photos and special information in an area dedicated to
the event.

The radio town meeting will be aired from the Westwood One
studios in Los Angeles at 6:30 pm, EST. AOL members can access
the event by using the keyword "Clinton Live." The auditorium
event will take place in the "AOL Live" area.

AOL says it will open the auditorium in advance. It says that in
keeping with the town meeting theme, virtual seating in the
auditorium is limited to 5,000.

Westwood One is America's largest producer and distributor of
radio programming and the parent of the Mutual Broadcasting
System and NBC Radio Network. Among the radio personalities it
distributes are Don Imus and Howard Stern. Westwood One
programming airs on over 6,000 stations around the world.

So Thursday, 6:30 pm on America Online is your chance to show
those White House reporters just how to question the chief
executive and commander-in-chief.

(Kennedy Maize/19950920/Press Contacts: Margaret Ryan, AOL,
703-883-1625; Laurie Peters, Westwood One, 310-306-4125)


Vanguard Offers Online, Internet Education Programs 09/20/95
VALLEY FORGE, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1995 SEP 20 (NB) -- The Vanguard
Group will begin offering educational materials in separate cyberspace
channels for people who want to learn about mutual funds and retirement
planning. The "Vanguard Online University" mutual fund area will be
on America Online (AOL), while 401(k) retirement program information
will use Internet World Wide Web technology.

These two initiatives aren't the first forays into electronic-based
information, John S. Woerth, communications manager for the Vanguard
Group, told Newsbytes. He noted the group has been on AOL since the
beginning of this year. "Vanguard is setting out to be a leader in
online information about investing," he said. "We feel that cyberspace
will be the next "800" number, and supplement our telephone and mail
mediums in a cost-effective and more timely manner."

On AOL, the Vanguard Online University will offer a six-week
introductory course to help novice investors learn about the
fundamentals of mutual fund investing. Topics will include "how-to"
subjects like setting up an account, selecting funds, and tracking
returns. Other classes will address different investment objectives,
various investment strategies, and the nature of risk.

The AOL classes will begin September 27, and run through November 1.
Study materials are made available several days before each class.
There is a "final exam" that will test students' knowledge in
investing in mutual funds.

On the retirement side, a new service called "Participant Online" will
educate and give Vanguard 401(k) plan participants information on
developing a financially sound retirement program. Investing, asset
allocation, risk, and other investment-related topics are covered
in this venture. Users can also obtain account balances and their
current allocation mix through the system.

Participant Online is based on Web technology, although it is not a
site that everyone can access, Woerth told Newsbytes. The Vanguard
customer will access the site using customized software from Spyglass
Inc. (NASDAQ:SPYG) and Logical Design Solutions. Since the system is
Web based, it uses hypertext markup language (HTML), which makes
navigation easier through hyper links.

Although Participant Online is best suited as a desktop application
that participants access from their workplace PC's that are connected
to a local area network (LAN) with Internet access, Vanguard said it
plans to make dial-up access available for those who would access
the system from a home computer.

(Bob Woods/19950920/Press Contacts: Brian S. Magges, 610-669-6219,
or John S. Woerth, 610-669-6224, both of the Vanguard Group)


CompuServe Readies Internet Home Page Service 09/20/95
READING, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, SEP 20 (NB) -- CompuServe has announced
it will soon be allowing subscribers to upload their own Web pages on
to its server. In preparation for this, the online giant has announced
a dual-application package called the Home Page Wizard and Publishing
Wizard.

According to CompuServe, the package is a unique authoring and
submission utility that allows users to create, edit and test Web
pages on their own PCs, prior to uploading them to a live Internet
environment.

In parallel with the launch of the new software and planned new
subscriber Web service, CompuServe also plans to offer a mail-in
picture digitizing service. This will allow subscribers to mail their
paper pictures to a central point and have the images returned
to them on disk.

Judith Coley, a spokeswoman for CompuServe, told Newsbytes that plans
are in hand to launch the CompuServe Home Page service to subscribers
this coming November.

"The Home Page Wizard software will be offered to subscribers free of
charge on a free time download basis," Coley said, adding that the
arrangements will be similar to those offered with CompuServe's
NetLauncher Internet and Web access package.

The aim of releasing Home Page Wizard is to allow subscribers access
to Web page creation facilities, without all the usual hassle of
designing and submitting a home page. Home Page Wizard will offer drag-
and-drop editing, templates and hints to assist users in designing
attractive, personalised home pages. It will also support hotlines
that can jump to other sites on the Web.

The Publishing Wizard, meanwhile, is an application that allows
transmission and upload of one or more Web pages to CompuServe's
Internet server system. This element of the package will create a
subscribers personal Uniform Resource Locator which will be in the
form of http://www.compuserve.com/home/<user's name>.

Plans call for CompuServe to offer a series of indexes for subscribers
Web pages, based on name, subject matter and other topics.

More information on the new Web services are available on CompuServe's
home page, which is at http://www.compuserve.com .

(Steve Gold/19950920/Press Contact: Judith Coley, CompuServe UK,
+44-1734-525516, Internet e-mail jcoley@compuserve.cim; Reader Contact:
CompuServe UK, +44-1734-525555)

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