PIXAR NEEDS NEW "TOY STORY"
Pixar, the Steve Jobs' computer animation company ("Toy Story"), has shut
down its commercial TV unit and plans to concentrate on full-length movies.
It was a stock market hit when the new offering was made last year at $22
and rose as high as $49.50 on the first day of selling. Now it's trading
around $18 a share. Industry analyst Michael Murphy says the problem is
that the company's expensive technology can be copied by imitators: "Cheap
software replaces expensive software. When people begin making 'Toy
Story'-sorts of movies on PCs, Pixar will have to move to more
difficult-to-animate projects." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 11 Jul 96 B8)
YAHOO GOES LOCAL
Yahoo is targeting the local market, forming alliances with television
stations and other media outlets in major markets. The cross-media ventures
give the TV stations a presence on Yahoo's Web site, and allow the online
service to provide local news and entertainment information, as well as free
communications services such as bulletin boards, phone listings and
interactive maps. Yahoo also plans country-specific services for Japan,
France, Germany, Canada and the U.K. (Broadcasting & Cable 1 Jul 96 p60)
WEBTV TO LAUNCH BY SEPTEMBER
WebTV, a Silicon Valley start-up company, has teamed with big guns Sony
Electronics and Philips Consumer Electronics to build a TV Web browser
that's operated by a simple remote control with arrow and scroll buttons.
The price is expected to be in the $200-$300 range, rather than the $500
price tag touted by other "Internet device" manufacturers, and Web TV plans
to begin shipping in September. "They figured out how to make a Web site
look pretty decent on a TV screen and they figured out how to use a remote
control as an easy way to navigate," says an industry publisher. The
WebTV's remote control works with any TV and has a green button on the upper
right corner for accessing the Web. One limitation they'll have to deal
with is that the machine's operating and browsing software are different
from the Netscape and Microsoft products that now dominate the Web. (St.
Petersburg Times 10 Jul 96 E8)
NEW SPECULATION ON APPLE
Although people close to Apple Computer say that the whole company is not
for sale they admit the possibility that one or two of its parts might be
sold off, such as the company's printer business, its Newton business, or
the division of the company that makes the new Pippin TV set-top CD-ROM and
Internet terminal. The latest rumor speculates a deal with Oracle
Corporation. (New York Times 10 Jul 96 C8)
THE WEB'S TOP TEN
Web21, a fledgling Calif.-based company, is now offering a directory for
tracking and ranking the most popular Web sites based on hit volume, with
rankings updated weekly. The company also scans for topics most frequently
requested by consumer and business users and lists the top sites in those
categories. Web21 also will provide information on how a particular
company's Web traffic compares with others' in the field. "We think our
biggest market will be for Webmasters who want to get competitive
information," says Web21's president. < http://www.100hot.com/ >
(Information Week 1 Jul 96 p40)
Edupage is written by John Gehl <gehl@educom.edu> & Suzanne Douglas
<douglas@educom.edu>. Voice: 404-371-1853, Fax: 404-371-8057.