Windows 98 is out. Pc magazines are chalked-full with information about the release and the July 24 issue of Hello PC is no exception. The magazine has 50 half-page tips to better use Windows 98, such as how to edit Windows default files and how to customize document folders. Hello PC also has a manual for making video CDs with MPEG1 capture hard/software. After these rather technical pieces comes a relaxing read (probably the only non-technical article in the magazine) entitled "Pasocon Giants." A column about prominent people in the industry, this issue features Bjarne Stroustrup, the Danish developer of C++ programming language. It includes his personal and academic background, his quotes and favorite books, and the path he followed to create C++. The rest of the magazine is dedicated to a comprehensive product profile, picking and dissecting the latest models of the most popular notebook PCs such as Toshiba's DynaBook Protege series and Libretto. The profiles include actual test drives of three CD-ROMs and their benchmark test analysis.

The magazine finishes with "super Web technique," an article about how to install CGI programs on an Internet-connected UNIX machine. All in all, contrary to the seemingly friendly title, Hello PC is a techy magazine best suited for the computer-literate.

Pasocon Hihyo is a very unique bimonthly journal in that it is printed on recycled paper without advertisements. Written in Japanese style, that is you read from top to bottom, Volume 16 of Pasocon Hihyo looks back on Japan's PC fever created in the last two and one-half years by the arrival of Windows 95. It reflects on the five upgrades of Windows 95, their bugs and how they impacted the sales of PCs in Japan. The magazine also contains a number of well-researched materials such as the success rate and reality of Internet shopping (illustrating L.L. Bean's online business in Japan), push services (such as Pointcast) and online chatting (on ICQ and AOL).

A very small article about the less popular Internet browsers was the most interesting. It mentions "forgotten" browsers such as NCSA Mosaic. (http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/WinMosaic/HomePage.html), HotJava (http://java.sun.com/) and Opera (http://www.operasoftware.com/). The article's intent is obvious: Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer have both become very heavy and overly multi-functional. The magazine offers favorable opinions of Opera. Though not localized in Japan, Opera is a browser made from scratch (without other licenses), supporting only major plug-ins for NN, and only scripts for Java, thus maintaining a small file size and fast response time.

The August issue of Nikkei Science, the Japanese version of Scientific American, features topics from a wide array of topics including biology, mathematical modeling of financial risk management, cosmic antimatter and more.

Two articles are about information technology. "Television's Bright Future in Technology" talks about the technology and development of large flat panel displays. Over the years, a number of flat panel displays have been developed but the only one that got mass produced was the liquid crystal display, now widely used for notebook PCs and electronic gadgets. However, with the emergence of HDTV, larger and more effective flat panel displays are going to be in much demand. Of about a dozen flat panel display technologies now in development, the top runner is plasma display panel (PDP). Also noted is the organic electro-luminescence device (OEL). Organic because an active layer of organic compounds (including DCM and polymer) are thinly pasted onto a flexible plastic board. As a result the display can be rolled up, or pasted on a bumpy surface, and theoretically the weight can be reduced to less than a hundred grams. The potential of this technology is so vast that a number of enterprises worldwide have invested millions of dollars each into research.

The problem with flat panel displays is that they need so many circuits and the production costs can be massive. Another problem is intensity deterioration over time. Intensity can deteriorate to half its initial value in just under 10,000 hours (30,000 according to some manufacturers). There is much room for improvement, but the author concludes that Japanese enterprises will remain strong in this area because of their determination and funding resources.Nikkei Science also features a short article about Japan's digital media experiments. It talks about the experimental digital broadcasting under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications involving large data broadcasting, digital HDTV, multi-channel broadcasting and others. For example, in the large data broadcasting, information from newspapers, journals, weather forecasts and library information is stored in a receiver after broadcast.

A user can retrieve this information and display it on a TV or PC. This experiment is going to start in November in five locations, with a budget of \240 million. The article also talks about data broadcasting by TBS and Fuji TV, which allows a TV screen to display a TV program or both the TV and home page information.

The highlight of Nikkei Science is this fascinating challenge about RoboCup: "By the mid-21st century, autonomic humanoid robots will win a football game against the world cup champions, by the official FIFA rules." Robocup is an annual project that started in Japan and now involves nearly 1,000 top researchers and students from all over the world. It's a landmark project, meaning it does not have much direct social or economic impact but does encompass big ideas. Algorithms and methodologies created for the project can be applied to many actual social situations, which is why this event may be so meaningful. The current list of imaginary situations includes rescue operations in natural disasters, attending to the needs of the disabled and elderly, removal of land mines, space adventures and games that involve robots.

The article explains Robocup rules, the types of robots being developed, and most interestingly, how these robots play football. There are many aspects to consider when robots replace human athletes, and each element requires a vast amount of technology, calculations, and algorithm refinement. The article introduces a few examples of university robot teams and it is a true joy to read about their meticulous and original approaches to this difficult yet intriguing exercise.

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