 Our January Issue PicksA Look Inside Netnavi, Nikkei Science, and Tronware
by Yuh Nagano Netnavi is a monthly magazine from Nikkei BP. Like many of the other January issues of Japanese PC magazines, most of the issue is dedicated to new products and best PC buys, as well as advice on how to put digital camera photos on the Internet and the best websites for shopping. For those considering changing their Internet Service Provider (ISP), there is a survey article that ranks the top ISPs in terms of cost, accessibility, maintenance, and homepage service. Based on the ratings of 11,581 respondents, the top three providers were IIJ4U, AT&T WorldNet, and Xaxon Internet. These results are interesting since IIJ4U is also listed as one of the worst ISPs in terms of cost. One useful article in the January Netnavi covers various ways of "cleaning up" your PC. The methods covered include reinstalling the operating system, clearing the disk cache, and removing unnecessary plug-ins and movie files for speedier browser display. Cleanup software such as WinAdvisor95 and Norton Utilities 3.5J are recommended for increasing usable memory space. There is also an article about WebTV service in Japan, which started from December 1997. Nikkei Science is the Japanese version of Scientific American, published monthly by Nikkei, but it is not a mere translation. And while the magazine is not devoted exclusively to information technology (IT) topics, it does carry many IT-related articles. The January issue, for example, covers recent research at the Supercomputer Laboratory of Kyoto University on the KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) project. The article discusses how their super parallel computer system is trying to describe life as a network of interactions between molecules. These interactions are systematically analyzed by Cray supercomputers to determine the "path" of signal transmissions, and the new pathway information is stored in the KEGG database. Eventually, when more data is accumulated in KEGG, researchers expect that an electronic "circuit" of life itself will surface. The January Nikkei Science also deals with "cars in the 21st century" in a five-part section. Original Japanese material includes detailed articles about the new "hybrid" cars from Toyota and Nissan, anti-lock braking systems (ABS), various attempts to incorporate Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) into the Japanese traffic network, and car navigation equipment that uses the Global Positioning System (through which the car receives signals from four satellites to pinpoint its location). One fascinating article covers computer-driven cars. In "platoon" style driving, 10 to 20 driverless cars move in line in a special lane about four meters apart, communicating wirelessly with each other about their speed, the location of obstacles, etc. Tests of this system have already taken place in the US and Europe. Also featured are various attempts to reduce auto exhaust emissions. Tronware, published by Personal Media, is a unique journal - not one of the standard magazines that you can find in almost any book shop in Tokyo. The focus of this publication is understandable if you have followed news about the TRON (The Real Operating-system Nucleus) project. Although the media hype of a few years ago has died down, TRON is still alive and kicking. TRON now consists of three operating systems, ITRON (Industrial TRON), JTRON (Java TRON), and BTRON (Business TRON). In contrast to Windows and Macintosh OSes, TRON is a uniquely Japanese operating system. It was developed by a team led by professor Ken Sakamura of the University of Tokyo. Due to the growth of Windows PCs, TRON has never become the mainstream, but it still enjoys the support of many TRON enthusiasts. Tronware is published every other month, and is dedicated to the promotion and development of TRON's multiple language support system and related products. Tronware volume 45 comes with floppy disks that include a sample BTRON (Business TRON) OS, one that can be installed concurrently with Windows, and explains its usage. There is also an article about the new ergonomic TRON keyboard for notepad PCs. Shifting from the standard QWERTY keyboard takes long practice, but it is good to know that there is still an effort underway to make truly user-friendly interfaces and operating systems, even in the face of the dominance of Windows.
Note: If you are interested in learning more about the TRON project, there will be an ITRON Open Seminar on July 16. Check out the ITRON home page, or keep watching the Events Calendar section of Computing Japan.
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