Nikkei Science

Open Yahoo or Altavista, type a keyword, and voila!, we get a plethora of information, so vast that we manage to read only the first few picks in full detail. To our dismay, there is no guarantee that the top responses are truly relevant to our search. ARC (Automatic Resource Compiler), developed by IBM and universities like Cornell and UCLA Berkeley, attempts to select the best Webpages related to the keywords. It executes the normal retrieval by the major search engines, makes a list of 200 Websites, and then adds to this list Websites that are linked to and from these 200 sites. Then ARC analyzes the access rate of the links. If a Website is quoted frequently, ARC assumes that it is a "quality" Website and gives it a high score. After repeating this process, the most highly scored Webpages are listed. This way, the most apparently irrelevant sites can be filtered out. One characteristic of ARC is that a search always groups the result in "communities," which are sets of Webpages of similar topics. For instance, if you look up "abortion," ARC is likely to provide information grouped into pro- and anti-abortion. This is because a document about a certain topic tends to lead to another document with the same topic. As information on the Internet is showing exponential growth, the needs for effective searching will undoubtedly increase. ARC rates the Webpages by their access rates, but is there any better way to evaluate the contents? There could be other algorithms for a better search. ARC is just another example of the fact that technological advances shine only when actual human abilities are taken into account. --YN

[For more information on intelligent search engines, see Copernic on our Product Profiles, page 44.]

Entre

Entre, published by Recruit, Co., is the Japanese version of Entrepreneur published in the US. Most of the articles are Japan-specific (a few articles are taken from their US sister publication every month), and the contents are generally quite distinct from the US version. One of the most prominent differences is the way Entre posts their classified ads. Every month in the middle of the magazine, Entre includes a voluminous classified section where people can find business partners. Some are individuals looking for start-up loans or trying to sell their ideas, and some are corporations searching for a way to expand their market. This section accounts for almost half of the magazine. The classifieds in the October issue focus on corporations looking for franchisees and new agencies. Another feature is on computer and communication industries looking for partners.

There are over 680 ads in the October issue, and these entrepreneurial-minded ads are available on the Web at http://www.recruit.co.jp/BI/. The whereabouts of those who placed ads in previous issues are introduced in another part of the magazine called "Entre Effects," which intends to show how effective the ads were, and how their advertisers' businesses had therefore improved. Entre also has several feature articles and regular columns, and many of the articles include interviews with entrepreneurs, or feature information on what is needed to start an entrepreneurial business. One of the informational columns in this issue targets SOHOs (Small Office Home Office), and the rewards they can reap from communication tools such as computers, telephone, and fax. The article -- the first of a four-part series -- introduces some useful services offered by NTT. Along with some well-known tools like Catch Phone (call waiting), Voice Warp (call forwarding) and Free Dial (toll-free calling), the article also reports on how to use NTT's CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) system to connect incoming phone numbers (displayed with caller-ID service) to a customer database. --KF

SOHO

SOHO Computing by CYBiZ is similar to Entre, in that it provides many ideas for small businesses, but the articles are focused more on how SOHO owners can get the most out of their computers. Useful software and hardware are introduced every month, and the October issue offers articles on accounting and payroll software, along with a few handy tax tips. Introduced as an easier-to-use LAN package, Microsoft's Small Business Server was given some flattering coverage. For hardware, a do-it-yourself instruction on computer upgrades using a reader's machine as a test case was highlighted. Another article provided information on Web sites of interest to SOHOs (virtual consulting, how to choose an ISP, etc.). A feature article on rental servers in this month's issue, describing the advantages of renting a server over using an ISP, gave suggestions on which server to choose based on price, reliability, and services.

A feature article introduced the "Multi-Media House," in which communication infrastructure is installed as the home is built, right along with gas piping and electrical wiring. A rack called a "free box" is built inside one of the walls, providing communication connections to every room in the home, complete with the outlets and jacks necessary for "plugging in." Any computer in the house could then connect to the LAN, as either a client or a server. This certainly sounds intriguing for SOHO owners like the SOHO author, who uses 4 computers, 2 printers, a TA, and a gaggle of other devices placed in different rooms throughout his house, connecting the whole mess with streams of cables and extension cords. If you are thinking of rewiring your place to create a geeky SOHO haven, think again. As costly as it is to build a home from ground level with these features, it is even more so to rewire an existing home. Realizing the techno-dream house of the future is out of his budget, the SOHO writer settled in to develop his own system, a sort of "less-wired home." His detailed effort is described in the article, and his system is, of course, much more affordable. --KF�

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