May's Online Extras

by Wm. Auckerman
Next time you're on the Web, be sure to check out the May edition of our "Online Extras."

Biological computers. circuits the thickness of a single atom inside miniature computers running at terahertz clock speeds. These may sound like science fiction, but as Thomas Caldwell reports in "The Nanites Are Coming," nanotechnologists are working toward such goals today.

According to Tom, "In Japan, leading nanotech researchers are concentrating primarily on computer applications, with the aim of creating the next-next generation of computer chip.... The Ministry of International Trade and Industry seems to be taking the lead in Japan's nanoeffort, with quite a few nanotechnology-related projects already in the works under its Industrial Science and Technology Frontier Program (ISTP). These ISTP projects last from 10 to 12 years and are budgeted at levels ranging from JPY200 million to JPY20 billion each. No tangible results are yet forthcoming from these efforts, but it may not take long."

You'll find "Here Come the Nanites," and three other features in the May "Online Extras" section of the Computing Japan website (http://www.cjmag. co.jp).

In case you missed my explanation last month, "Online Extras" is a virtual extension of where we publish articles that "don't quite fit" into the paper magazine. Why are they online instead of in the copy you're holding in your hands? Well, some articles don't quite match the magazine's editorial benchmarks, but are still worth reading. Or an article's focus may be too narrow to interest the majority of our readers. Often, an article or interview gets condensed because of space restrictions. And sometimes, an otherwise good feature just gets squeezed out of an issue, but can grow stale waiting for another open slot.

Two of our May "Online Extras" are already available for public viewing. The other two will go first into our Subscribers-Only section, and be opened to the public (just like the full online version of the paper magazine) after a three-month delay. So if you can't wait, subscribe.

The "Online Extras" for May are:

  • "Here Come the Nanites." [P] Besides its numerous industrial, medical, and biotechnology applications, nanotechnology could have a profound impact on computing. But with every new technology comes new dangers, and nanotech could be more dangerous than most.
  • "A Big Frog in a Little Pond." [P] Want to surf the Web while you're on the road, but don't want to lug along a laptop? Don Modesto reviews two Newton PDA Web applications: WebHopper (a text-based browser) and pURL (a URL management tool).
  • "An Evaluation of SCO's Open Server 5.0." [S] This one is for the Unix users among our readers. Paul Gampe offers a hand's-on look at building a multi-homed, two-NIC, application layer gateway firewall.
  • "MMX: Marketing Hype, or Innovative Technology?" - Expanded version. [S] We had to do some trimming on Associate Editor Tina Lieu's MMX article because of space restrictions. This expanded online version has the missing parts, plus an added overview of Pentium MMX systems currently being sold in Japan.
Remember, you'll find these four features at Computing Japan Online, http://www.computingjapan.com.

  • [P] = open to the public; [S] = initially in the Subscribers-Only section; open to public access in August.

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