An article on Internet IT (www.mmp.co.uk/mmp/informer/) talks about the i-Pass Alliance (www.ipass.com) worldwide group of Internet Service Providers. Most people access the internet either through proprietary networks such as AOL --which often place restrictions on what people can view and the software that can be used-- or local service providers --who usually serve a limited geographic area. i-Pass has member service providers around the world, providing internet access via local phone calls across the globe.

In today’s brave new America, with a universal network accessible from everywhere and computers sitting in every white-collar office and one third of all homes, the battle of man against machine seems almost quaint; perhaps a throwback to the cold war. At the same time, such battles still hold our fascination. From May 3 to 11 in New York City IBM’s 1.4 ton chess-playing monster computer, Deep Blue, will again try to unseat World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. Although the $25 tickets are probably already sold out, IBM’s Deep Blue web site (http://www.chess.ibm.park.org/deep/blue/game.html) will cover the matches online. A caution, though. When we were trying to locate that portion of IBM’s web site, we found that the center of IBM’s web site at www.ibm.com is maddeningly slow. So, if you’re interested, please bookmark the Deep Blue site now.

If you’re on the developer end of the spectrum and develop software for the MacOS, you might check out the Developer’s Coalition. They seem to be well-organized and have an interesting plan to in essence force more support for developers from manufacturers of MacOS computers.