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Web Watch

IDG staff, Information Age

01/02/1999 12:01:01

IDC issues annual Net predictions

Global Internet users will soar to 147 million -- more than the population of Japan -- while World Wide Web portal sites follow the consolidation trend, Internet stocks take a "dramatic" correction and PC prices continue to fall, according to 1999 predictions from International Data Corp (IDC).

The Fourth Annual Predictions report by Frank Gens, a senior vice president for Internet research at IDC, also envisions Yahoo entering a partnership with TimeWarner or CBS, while Microsoft jumps into the fray, buying a major portal to round out its Internet portfolio. Compaq might sell AltaVista, and Infoseek and Lycos might merge. A major global financial services company could buy E-trade, which enables users to buy and sell stocks online.

As for Gens' accuracy, he predicted three years ago that PC prices would fall below $1000. That prophecy was on target, but he scored a slight miss last year forecasting that Oracle would buy Netscape Communications. He got the year right, but the not the buyer -- America Online has put in a bid for Netscape in a deal that also involves Sun Microsystems.

Y2K Web sites abound!

Hundreds of Internet sites include information, of varying accuracy, regarding the year 2000 computer bug. Here's a sample of what's out there:http://www.year2000.com/ -- Peter de Jager was one of the first to sound the year 2000 alarm in an oft-quoted September 1993 Computerworld article in the US, available at this site run by de Jager, which also includes various other of his writings and assorted links. http://www.yourdon.com/ -- Software engineering consultant and author Ed Yourdon is often quoted, and, he contends, misquoted, regarding his thoughts on year 2000. His site presents his unfiltered, often witty, views.http://www.yardeni.com/ -- Ed Yardeni, chief economist of Deutsche Bank Securities in New York, has links to year 2000 information on his Web site.http://www.prepare4y2k.com/ -- Preparation advice, opinion, rumour, speculation and innuendo with links to a range of other year 2000 sites.http://www.SurviveY2K.com/ -- See above, but add exclamation points.http://www.garynorth.com/ -- Gary North is variously described as a visionary and an extremist. He tends to fall in with the gloomy crowd regarding year 2000 prophecy, and his writings are available at his site, as are links to various other millennial sites.http://www.Duh-2000.com/ -- An ongoing contest of the wackiest things people say about the year 2000 bug.

Buyer's guide to link analysis tools

Keeping all of the links on your Web site up to date is a nightmare for any webmaster, but these tools can help make it easier. There are all kinds of tools available, from log analysis software that you can download off the Web for free to sophisticated Web site analysis suites that start at about $US10,000. Here are a handful of tools to get you started.

Company URL

Aman Software http://www.cyberspyder.comBigg Byte Software http://www.biggbyte.comCoast Software http://www.coast.comDuke Engineering http://www.linkcop.comInContext Systems http://www.incontext.comMercury Interactive http://www.merc-int.comMicrosoft http://www.microsoft.comNet.Genesis http://www.netgen.comTetranet Software http://www.tetranetsoftware.comTrellian Australia http://www.msw.com.auTeach your old browser new navigation tricksWhen you click Internet Explorer's Search button, the browser brings up a special search menu in its Explorer Bar -- a pane to the left of the browser. What makes using this search bar better than heading to the search site itself? All the search results display in the left pane, so you don't have to keep clicking the Back button to return to the search site. You can toggle the search frame on and off by clicking the Search button.

If you're using Internet Explorer 4, you can configure your browser to rely on almost any search engine. Set this preference on http://home.microsoft.com/search/lobby/searchsetup.htm. IE 5 makes things easier still, by combining several search engines into a one-stop search tool. With IE 5, the key to effective searching is the Next button in the search bar, which lets you scroll through results from all participating search engines.