"College: two hundred people reading the same book. An obvious
 mistake. Two hundred people can read two hundred books."
                                                       -John Cage
======================================================================
  BBB  III  TTT  SSS       BBB  Y   Y TTT EEE SSS    ONLINE EDITION:
  B  B  I    T   S         B  B Y   Y  T  E   S     =THE ELECTRONIC
  BBB   I    T   SSS  AND  BBB   YYY   T  EEE SSS   =NEWSLETTER FOR
  B  B  I    T     S       B  B   Y    T  E     S   =INFORMATION
  BBB  III   T   SSS       BBB    Y    T  EEE SSS   =HUNTER-GATHERERS
======================================================================
Volume 2, Number 4                                  (June 13, 1994)
======================================================================
                :                100% CONTENTS                       =
IMPORTANT!!     :                                                    =
================: New Internet Virus! Danger! Will Robinson! Danger! =
                :                                                    =
FEATURES        :                                                    =
================: Lost in Cyberspace III; The Fine Hand of Man;      =
                : "Copy Me!" Cried the Floppy!!; Springtime Sampler; =
BUSINESS NEWS   :                                                    =
================: Programmer Certification; Software Theft           =
                : The Alpha Chip - A Chip Too Fast?                  =
INFOCUS         :                                                    =
================: Information Technology - Measuring the Benefits    =
                :                                                    =
ONLINE NEWS     :                                                    =
================: New Cable Networks Announced; Batman Online;       =
                : The Financial Economics Network                    =
ON THE NEWSSTAND:                                                    =
================: Congressional Quarterly; Whole Earth Review;       =
                : PC Computing; Gnosis                               =
KULTCHER KORNER :                                                    =
================: Star Trek Update; Computing in China; Collectible  =
                : Computers; New book by author of "Snow Crash"      =
======================================================================
IMPORTANT!!!
===============================
Internet Virus Alert

A Virus has been discovered on Internet that is disguised as CD-ROM
shareware. Unknown hackers have illegally put the Chinon name on a
destructive shareware file and released it on the Internet. This
catastrophic virus is named "CD-IT". -- DO NOT DOWNLOAD. IT WILL
CORRUPT YOUR HARD DRIVE. The program, allegedly a shareware PC utility
that will convert an ordinary CD-ROM drive into a CD-Recordable (CD-R)
device, which is technically impossible, instead destroys critical
system files on a user's hard drive. The program also immediately
crashes the CPU, forces the user to reboot and stays in memory.
          *****  WIDEST DISSEMINATION IS REQUESTED  *****
[These programs make their way to the local BBS systems in no time, so
even if you aren't directly on the Internet, keep an eye out for this
one. -Ed.]  
======================================================================
Editorial Type Comments, With Greetings

Thanks to everyone who wrote in asking about the status of Bits and
Bytes Online Edition. Rest assured we are not going away. It *has*
been a while between issues. Ahem... chalk it all up to the grand
scheme of things, life in all its chaotic splendor and and infinite
Sense O' Wonder (batteries not included). How else can I explain how I
came to be typing this issue of B&B on a terrific Compaq laptop PC on
a small raft floating lazily down the mighty Mississippi, Sam
Clement's old stomping grounds. It's a long story -- briefly, my brand
new PC is back in the shop for repairs. My love life (such as it is) is
in shambles. One thing leads to another, and before you know it, there
you are. The raft... gonna catch me a heap o' catfish.

B&B is back in full effect, and it aims to stay on a something that
will closely resemble a schedule. Not the real thing, but an
incredible simulation. Next time I'll have information about the World
Wide Web-flavored version of Bits and Bytes Online Edition. It's an
online kind-of-a-thing, a zippy thing, a (virtually) interactive real-
time kind-of-a thing, and oh-so-very now. It's Bits and Bytes -- The
Next Generation. News and reviews of useful information tools,
appliances, and utilities.
======================================================================
Lost in Cyberspace III  (Dan Kennedy)

Then there's the widespread distrust and contempt in which the media
are held. Increasingly, technology is making it possible for people to
get their information unfiltered, with no interference by rude, pushy
journalists or powerful, unseen editors. It's called "new news," and
it includes everything from C-SPAN to talk radio, from Ross Perot's
infomercials to computer bulletin-board systems (BBSs) .
                             * * *
This hardly means that it's all over for traditional journalism.
Rather, journalism is going to have to adapt to new technology. In so
doing, it may find that the [overused cliche deleted] ... is a two-
way street. And that just may give the media a chance to repair their
rift with the public.

It's already happening on a small scale on Prodigy, where users can
mix it up with syndicated columnists Jack Germond and Robert Novak.
... "the wall between the media and the consumer breaks down a bit."
                             * * *
... Media consultant John Carey told the Freedom Forum gathering that
the new environment will not eliminate the need for "an editor and a
filter." As Les Brown put it, "One of the functions of a newspaper is
to provide you with editorial guidance as to what is important."
                             * * *
Other trends, though, make it difficult to share this optimism. In
Montreal, the cable TV system is trying to win back news viewers by
offering five minutes of headlines followed by a menu of choices of
more in-depth reports; if you punch in "1" for Bosnia, you won't know
what's happening in, say, education or health unless you go back and
select them later. In the United States, those 500 channels will allow
you to select a customized menu offering information on only those
topics that interest you.

The phrase the pros use to describe such targeted choices is
"narrowcasting" -- and they love it, because it makes a more efficient
buy for advertisers. Narrow is indeed the word for it. The danger is
that people will travel the information highway with blinders on,
reinforcing their prejudices, closed to new ideas.

(Originally published in The Boston Phoenix (May 7, 1993), this
portion was extracted from the Utne Reader, Jan/Feb 1994 issue,
p. 104-105)
======================================================================
   THE ONLINE WORLD

=> INFOBAHN MEGAPROJECTS. In early May, the U.S. Advisory Council on
   the National Information Infrastructure launched three
   "Megaprojects" aimed at providing a framework for the council's
   work on the NII. One project will examine issues and determine
   goals in key applications like health care, electronic commerce,
   and public safety. The second will study issues of access and
   cost, and the third will address issues related to the rights
   of users and vendors. (SOURCE: Computerworld 5/2/94, p. 16)

=> TV NETWORKS: NEW ARRIVALS. Gay Entertainment Television is a
   Manhattan-based syndicator of gay shows to cable stations. GET is
   available in an estimated 7 million homes and counts Miller Lite
   and Dewar's Scotch among its advertisers. They have plans to
   become a 24-hour network says the firm's founder, and to do so by
   "presenting gays as more than just sexual creatures." (SOURCE:
   Newsweek 3/14/94, p.67) ... The Classic Sports Channel plans to
   broadcast old boxing matches like the Ali-Frazier fight, and
   classic superbowl confrontations and such. Can the Golf Channel be
   too far off?

=> TV NETWORKS: NEW ARRIVALS II. New networks announced at the cable
   TV's industry's annual show in New Orleans include: the Golf
   Channel (24 hours a day of 18 holes!), the Game Show Network, the
   History Channel, PNS (Parenthood Satellite Network), and the World
   African Network. There's America's Health Network, a Military
   channel, and the Home and Garden Channel. Note that some of these
   networks will never see the light of day, God willing. (SOURCE:
   Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/5/94, p. A1)

=> FINANCIAL ECONOMICS NETWORK (FEN). Formed early this year, FEN has
   become the largest electronic network in the world linking people
   with scholarly and practical interests in business and economics.
   Their goal is to make FEN the best business and economics network
   on the Internet -- leading to the Financial News Network on
   television (but with interactivity). The Network consists of a
   master subscription, called AFA-FIN, with 40 channels or sublists.
   Currently 39 channels are available to AFA-FIN subscribers,
   including channels on Accounting and Finance, Investments,
   Actuarial Finance, Job Postings, Agricultural Finance, Law &
   Economics, Auditing, Banking, Corporate Finance, Personal Finance,
   Real Estate, Regulation, Electronic Commerce, Resumes, Risk Mgt &
   Insurance, Small Investor, Emerging Markets, Small Business Fin.,
   Social Investing, Environmental Finance, Financial Software,
   Financial Theory, Venture Capital, and International Finance.
   Additional plans for the Network include: an electronic phonebook;
   virtual conferences on topics of interest; Internet courses offered
   by world-renown faculty; a FEN newsletter (published monthly); and
   possible electronic finance journals. Access to the Network is
   free. But you must request a subscription to be included. Please
   contact Wayne Marr at Clemson University or John Trimble at
   Washington State University; John Trimble's Internet address is
   trimble@vancouver.wsu.edu; telephone: (206) 737-2039. Wayne Marr
   can be reached at his Internet address: marrm@clemson.clemson.edu;
   telephone (803) 656-0796 (voice) or send a fax to (803) 653-5516.

=> NEW ONLINE SERVICES. Holy Clipper Chip, Batman, it's DC Comics
   Online, coming soon to America Online. DC Comics, the creators of
   Batman and Superman, will offer previews of upcoming comics,
   interviews, a graphics library, behind-the-scenes looks at how
   comics are made and special online events, including trivia
   contests and celebrity visits. (SOURCE: Newsbytes 4/21/94)
======================================================================
"Copy Me!" Cried the Floppy!!   (Ben Roske)

Do vendors really care about security? ... one aspect of the issue
[software piracy] hasn't gotten nearly the attention it deserves. Are
software vendors doing enough to prevent unlawful copying? Are these
vendors -- the very people who complain the most about piracy -- truly
doing enough to help IS administrators keep track of licenses and
usage?

I'm not trying to justify illegal usage. Yet I know that, say, a
single-copy release of WordPerfect or Word for Windows can be set up
on a network to allow access by an unlimited number of users. It's
almost as if the software screams out, "Copy me! Install me
everywhere!" The software manufacturers give us the features, but
where is the control?

And while WordPerfect Inc. found time to write printer drivers for
nearly every printer conceived, there isn't a single feature on the
company's products that makes it easier to keep track of licenses. In
other words, if I have WordPerfect on my global wide area network,
there is absolutely no way for me to know if and when I'm violating
the product's copyright.

And there's more. The latest release of Microsoft's Word for Windows
takes up more than 30 Mbytes of hard-disk space. The product has so
many bells and whistles that I doubt most users will even get time to
experiment with some of them. Yet within those 30 Mbytes of code, try
finding a software metering tool. Actually, don't; it isn't there.
Microsoft has made the installation process so easy that a single copy
of Word can be used -- illegally, of course -- by an unlimited number
of network users.

It's mind-boggling that companies with the proven skills of Microsoft,
Lotus, WordPerfect, and Borland, among others, moan about piracy and
support the Software Publishers Association and its policing
activities, yet add nothing to their products to assist IS managers in
software license management. All these software companies complain
that software piracy hurts their bottom line, yet they fail to include
adequate monitoring facilities in their programs. (SOURCE: Information
Week 2/14/94, p. 72)
======================================================================
   BUSINESS BRIEFS

=> CERTIFICATION FOR COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS. There is a growing movement
   afoot to license I.S. professionals. Several professional organiza-
   tions like the IEEE Computer Society and the Association for
   Computing Machinery (ACM) are drafting agendas on competency train-
   ing and government licensing for computer programmers. Supporters
   say this will protect the public from buggy software and
   incompetent employees and consultants, while detractors point out
   that the technology changes so fast that the tests would have to be
   updated constantly. Note that these studies are preliminary and
   that many members of the software development community are
   strongly opposed to licensing. (SOURCE: COMPUTERWORLD, 5/2/94, p.1)

=> SOFTWARE THEFT RISING. The Business Software Alliance reports that
   vendors lost $12.8 billion worldwide to software theft in 1993.
   That figure is up from $12 billion in 1992. Some of the worst
   losses were in Japan, where only 20% of the software in use there
   is legally obtained. (SOURCE: COMPUTERWORLD, 5/2/94, p. 8)

=> A CHIP TOO FAST? Sales of Digital's Alpha chip have been sluggish,
   and analysts are asking whether it's a chip ahead of its time. The
   64-bit supercomputer-class chip has been hurt by delays in
   developing the software operating systems needed to use the chip
   and by customers who are asking, "Tell me again why I need a car
   that goes 500 miles an hour." (SOURCE: Wall Street Journal 2/23/94,
   p. B4)  (E/P)
======================================================================
FOCUS ON BUSINESS ISSUES
==================================
Laying The Tracks for Information Technology

Systems infrastructure is hard to explain, and its benefits for any
single individual or group are hard to quantify. So how can
Information Systems managers convince their organizations that letting
the infrastructure founder can be just as deadly as letting roads,
bridges, public schools (ahem), and hospitals fall apart, or not
paying the cable bill? Yikes.

In a recent paper, "Information Management Infrastructure: The New
Competitive Weapon?", Jane Linder, co-author and senior manager at
Polaroid Corp. has some ideas on what not to do. She said one of the
biggest mistakes IS managers make is to try selling the infrastructure
concept without the support of line managers. Linder reports that this
is a recipe for disaster, and that such efforts usually lead to an
explosion of technologies and conflicting standards across business
units and line functions. Once set in motion, the results can be
impossible to collect and control.

Technocentric approaches to IT infrastructure take hot new technology
tools and graft on business objectives to justify their purchase and
implementation. Wrong. Technologies should be evaluated for their
relevance to solving existing business problems (with an eye to the
future of course), and should be implemented only if there is a
business need for that technology, no matter how "gee-whiz" it might
be to the techno-wizards in your organizaton.

To prevent these problems, Linder says IS managers should meet with
line managers, draw up a list of core processes that need redesigning,
then pilot a technology prototype and observe the benefits. Process
engineering -- not technology -- will drive change.

(For information about Ms. Linder's paper, contact Ernst & Young at
617/742-2500. SOURCE: InformationWeek 12/20-27/93, p. 49)
==================================
Knowledge is Power

What's the link between information technology investment and
profitability? A survey by the Keystone Group, an IT management
consultancy recently asked that question of 68 chief executives at
U.S. companies with annual revenues ranging from $15 million all the
way up to $5 billion. The consultants then separated the respondents'
companies into two groups -- those with rising profits in the last two
years, and those that are running in place or losing ground -- to see
if there was any difference in how they implemented or judged new
technology.

Guess what? Keystone discovered that the companies that were thriving
generally had a broader array of measures for judging IT's
effectiveness than their less-prosperous counterparts. Those measures
included value for expenditures, user satisfaction, and support of
business objectives. Measuring techniques were a lot simpler among the
not-so-well-off respondees. In fact, 80% of the companies in this
group used cost vs. budget as the leading measure of a project's
success. The report advises companies to use more quantifiable
measures to make fact-based IT implementation decisions and more
accurately judge whether a key IT project is on track.

(For more information, contact Keystone at 708/866-6010. SOURCE:
InformationWeek 11/22/93)
==================================
Technology Payback

If economists can't reliably measure whether information technology
makes workers more productive, they can at least shed light on how
much IT lures more customers. A study by Erik Brynjolfsson of Sloan
School of Management examined 367 large companies, and found that
manufacturing and service companies had an average gross annual return
of 81% on their IT investment. SOURCE: "What Computers Are For." The
Economist, 11/22/94, p. 74)
======================================================================
The Hand of Man   (David Rothenberg)

Technology seems to make us larger than life. Just as powerful is the
basic idea that the world exists to be bent toward our purposes. This
world is revealed to the extent that we can turn it toward our
designs.... The more we learn about how to use an instrument, the less
we think about it as we use it. It becomes like an extra limb, a new
way to reach out and change the world. But what is it precisely that
is extended? Not simply an internal human idea, but an idea to act, a
thought that engages the world, making the possible actual. The more
we understand of this the more ways we conceive of how it may be put
into practice. Our desires and intentions to act upon the world are
themselves altered through the tools that create to realize them.
(from:  Hand's End (Technology and the Limits of Nature)  by David
Rothenberg.  University of California Press, 1993; 256 pp. $30
ISBN 0-520-08054-8)
<<>> phone: 800/777-4726
======================================================================
   THE KULTCHUR KORNER

=> CASH-CRAZED PINHEADS TRASH LIBRARY. The Fort Worth Central Library
   in Texas was ransacked by about 500 people responding to a local
   radio station's ill-conceived stunt of hiding $100 in 5 dollar
   bills in the books in the library's fiction section. The amount
   escalated to $10,000 thanks to the rumor mill. A librarian reported
   that people were climbing the shelves, climbing over each other,
   and that books were flying around the place as searchers became
   more and more agitated. Some books ended up ripped and otherwise
   damaged. Not Nice! (SOURCE: NYT 4/7/94, p. A16)

=> CASH-CRAZED TELCO EXECS COOK UP MISGUIDED PROMOTION. New York Tele-
   ephone mailed customers a sweepstakes entry that featured a
   cardboard replica of their calling cards with their secret PIN
   numbers written right on the card! Saavy telephone phreakers could
   have a field day scavenging usable PIN numbers from everyone's
   garbage cans. Someone at the company (Nynex) should have been
   network-aware enough to realize what a bad idea mass-mailing out
   everyone's pin number was. Later, a company exec said that in
   hindsight, maybe it hadn't been such a good idea. Duh.
   (SOURCE: New York Times 4/7/94, p. A1)

=> COMPUTING IN CHINA. The Chinese government estimates the number of
   PCs there at 1 million, but industry monitors say the figure is
   closer to 3 million, and will grow to 4 million in 1994. An
   estimated 90% of the country's microcomputers are infected by
   viruses, according to the Beijing Evening News, which also said
   that the situation "threatens the nation's security." (SOURCE: WSJ
   2/23/94, p. A15) (E/P)

=> DEFRAUDING BY COMPUTER. The Internal Revenue Service is finding
   that its efforts to save on paperwork by encouraging electronic
   submission of tax returns may be providing the opportunity for more
   fraudulent refunds, because refunds are made before their
   authenticity can be verified by paper documents such as W-2;s and
   handwritten signatures.  (SOURCE: NYT 2/21/94 A1)  (E/P)

=> COLLECTABLE COMPUTERS. Early personal computers are now collectors'
   items. For example, the first IBM PC, marketed in 1981, sells for
   $50 to $60. "People collect them like old radios that don't work,
   like old TV's that don't work," said one dealer. Someday we'll be
   collecting mainframes that way. "Yeah, this old IBM 3090 is almost
   as smart as my car!" (source: NYT 2/24/94 B6)  (E/P)

=> BOOK ALERT. Fans of Neal Stephenson's novel "Snow Crash" (B&B v1
   #4) will want to read his latest, "Interface". It's at the
   booksellers now, except the author is listed as Stephan Bury -- a
   collaboration between Stephenson and his uncle. More political than
   Snow Crash, more realistic in approach. I liked it. (Bantam 1994)

=> STAR TREK UPDATE. There's a lot of activity going on in the Star
   Trek sector of the universe. STAR TREK:THE NEXT GENERATION just
   wrapped up their seven-year TV reign with a two-hour final episode
   that wrapped things up most satisfyingly while giving some hint
   of things to come. The ST:TNG cast goes on to the big screen. Even
   as we speak, the next big screen outing STAR TREK:GENERATIONS is
   being prepared for a late '94 release. This movie will bring the
   cast and crews of the classic and current series together in some
   crazy cosmic space/time rift kind of a thing. The movie is the
   passing of the baton to the ST:TNG cast, who will be doing future
   TREK movies. Meanwhile, more details have been made available about
   STAR TREK: VOYAGER, a new Trek-based TV series, which will debut in
   early '95. Email me (jaymachado@delphi.com) and I will be glad to
   send you the FAQ. Put "Star Trek FAQ" in the subject area.
======================================================================
Wrong Arm of the Law

A judge admonished the police in Radnor, Pa., for pretending a Xerox
copy machine was a lie detector.  Officials had placed a metal
colander on the head of a suspect and attached the colander to the
copier with metal wires. In the copy machine was a typewritten
message: "He's lying."

Each time investigators received answers they didn't like, they pushed
the copy button and out popped the message, "He's lying." Apparently
convinced the machine was accurate, the suspect confessed.
======================================================================
   ON THE NEWSSTAND

=> CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY (Supplement to No. 19) 5/14/94. 74 pp.
   $9.95) A special report on "The Information Arena." This looks like
   crucial reading. Bet your local library subscribes. But it's worth
   getting. Subdivided into topic areas like FIELD OF PLAY,
   COMPETITION, ACCESS, PRIVACY, and FINE PRINT (Which contains an
   *extensive* side by side contrasting of the 1994 Communications
   Bills before the House and Senate, HR 3626 and S 1822. Everything
   is touched on here: electronic publishing, privacy, equal access,
   open networks, industry standards, cable/telco -- it's in here. All
   the details and differences are explained clearly and concisely in
   human-being English, not legalese. Scattered throughout are a
   series of charts explaining the resources and the agendas of all
   the major players: the information services, the newspapers and
   broadcast companies, equipment manufacturers, and of course the
   cable contingent and the telephone companies. Informative articles
   round out the mix: One looks at the social aspects of the coming
   infrastructure, considering issues of universal service and equal
   access; Another examines the real vs. imagined economic benefits of
   a deregulated telecommunications industry. With so much at stake
   here, there may be some not-so-obvious bias in the material. I am
   just now reading this, but so far the tone seems to be pretty even-
   handed, and if you'd like to get a handle on where all this is
   headed, I don't know of single better place to start. This is
   information done right.  <<>>  800/854-9043

=> WHOLE EARTH REVIEW (Spring 1994. 128 pp. [1 page of reader
   classifieds, otherwise no advertising] $6.75)  My favorite
   magazine in the universe! Editor Howard Rheingold's editorial
   farewell is chock full of interesting articles and reviews.
   Excerpts from WIRED executive editor Kevin Kelley's forthcoming
   book "Hive Mind: The Rise of Neo-Biological Civilization" will
   have you thinking about the future in new ways, as Mr. Kelley
   discusses bee swarms, network economics, and distributed
   systems. The last excerpt, "The Nine Laws of God" (which govern
   he incubation of somethings from nothing) will give you clues
   about how complex systems evolve over time. There are articles on
   Civic Networking, making movies on your PC, the story of a town
   that turned off its TVs for a week. Reviews of useful books and
   tools fill every issue of WER. Everything from computer software
   to woodworking clamps are reviewed. Full contact information is
   always provided. A nifty resource for generalists everywhere!
   Subscribe to the Whole Earth Review and prepare to be amazed four
   times a year.  <<>>  415/332-1716

=> PC COMPUTING (June 1994. 366 pp. [half or more is ads] $2.95)  This
   issue features a "Best 200" Hardware Buyer's Guide. Useful if
   you're in the market for a new PC system or peripheral.

=> GNOSIS: A Journal of Western Inner Traditions (Summer 1994. 88 pp.
   $5.95)  For the past decade, Gnosis has explored various Western
   spiritual traditions in a handsomely-produced magazine. Every
   issue has a primary theme; Past themes have included Kabblah,
   Secret Societies, Ritual, the Goddess, The Dark Side, The Middle
   Ages, Holy Wars, Sacred Art and Music, and Russia and Eastern
   Europe. This issue's theme is "Pop Culture & the Esoteric," and
   there is some interesting material here if you are inclined to
   ponder these matters. There are articles on Science Fiction and
   The Mythic Future, Gothic Romances, Comic Book Gods, the Firesign
   Theatre, Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and one essay called
   "The Diary of a Net Fiend." Book reviews and a lively letter column
   round out every issue. Check out the way cool cover! GNOSIS is a
   labor of love and it shows. Recommended.  <<>> 800-7-GNOSIS
=====================================================================
...and now for something completely different...

SPRINGTIME SENTIMENTS
==================================
I.  James Brown, Not Jean Baudrillard    (Thom Metzger)

Ziggurat can no longer stand idly by while lies, half -- truths, and
stinky fish contaminate the minds and precious body channels of the
faithful. The truth must out and OUT IT WILL! Ziggurat stands
unshakably and eternally for Smokin' Hot Pants, for Funky Butt, for
Hit Me Hit Me, for the Good Good Good Foot. Lies spew out as spittle
from the mouths of philosophical cadaver cranks who smell of rancid
cheese, when in fact the source of truth can only be: The Hardest
Workin' Man in Show Business, Mr. Please Please Please, The Godfather
of Soul, Mr. Dynamite, Soul Brother Number One. There are three truths
and three truths only:

1. It got to be funky
11. Maceo, Maceo, let me hear you blow
111. Sexy, sexy, come on and walk your dirt

Stand up and be counted, pilgrims. The mighty JB (not to mention his
Famous Flames) has hit the nail on the head, with the glossy, ebon
peak of his most high pompadour. "Your bottom, your bottom, your
bottom, that potato pie gotta scrape your bottom, oooh, sink it in!
Let my dirt do the work. Sink your teeth into this greasy thing. Ooow
baby, ghuhhhn, uhhnngg, Nugghhhnn ! " (Sex Machine Today II.iv.)

(from:  This is Your Final Warning by Tom Metzger, 1992 Autonomedia;
181 pp.  $6)  <<>>  Autonomedia: 718/387-6471
==================================
II.

Some things will never change. Some things will always be the same.
Lean down your ear upon the earth, and listen.

The voice of forest water in the light, a woman's laughter in the
dark, the clean, hard rattle of raked gravel, the cricketing stitch of
midday in hot meadows, the delicate web of children's voice in bright
air -- these things will never change.

The glitter of sunlight on roughened water, the glory of the stars,
the innocence of morning, the smell of the sea in harbors, the
feathery blur and smoky buddings of young boughs, and something there
that comes and goes and never can be captured, the thorn of spring,
the sharp and tongueless cry -- these things will always be the same.

All things belonging to the earth will never change -- the leaf, the
blade, the flower, the wind that cries and sleeps and wakes again, the
trees whose stiff arms clash and tremble in the dark, and the dust of
lovers long since buried in the earth -- all things proceeding from
the earth to seasons, all things that lapse and change and come again
upon the earth -- these things will always be the same, for they come
up from the earth that never changes, they go back into the earth that
lasts forever. Only the earth endures, but it endures forever.

The tarantula, the adder, and the asp will also never change. Pain and
death will always be the same. But under the pavements trembling like
a pulse, under the buildings trembling like a cry, under the waste of
time, under the hoof of the beast above the broken bones of cities,
there will be something growing like a flower, something bursting from
the earth again, forever deathless, faithful, coming into life again
like April.

(SOURCE: Thomas Wolfe, You Can't Go Home Again, 1934, Harper & Row,
seen in the New York Times)
======================================================================
                     ### ADMINISTRIVIA ###

IN THE FUTURE. The Information Superhighway mega-issue is still...
under construction! (I absolutely could not help myself).

LETTERS. How's my driving? We welcome submissions and commentary. All
mail sent to the editor or to B&B will be treated as a "letter to the
editor" and considered printable, unless you tell me otherwise.

(E/P) This symbol on some of the news items indicates that the source
for this article was the EDUPAGE newsletter. EDUPAGE is a bi-weekly
summary of recent news items on information technology. To subscribe,
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======================================================================
= BITS AND BYTES ONLINE, an electronic newsletter for information-   =
= based lifeforms, is printed using 100% recycled electrons, and is  =
= intended for distribution IN THAT MEDIUM. Please contact the       =
= editor for reprint permission in other media. Please don't print   =
= this rag out, these bytes were constructed with the new digital    =
= lifestyle in mind. We're not there yet, but we're working on it.   =
======================================================================
= Jay Machado            =  (Copyright 1994 Jay Machado)  *unaltered*=
= 1529 Dogwood Drive     =  ELECTRONIC distribution of this file for =
= Cherry Hill, NJ 08003  =  non-profit purposes is encouraged. I am  =
==========================  solely responsible for the editorial     =
= jaymachado@delphi.com  =  content or lack thereof. This edition of =
==========================  B&B was produced completely in the nude. =
= ph (eve) 609/795-0998  =  Just thought you'd like to know.         =
======================================================================
=============== End of Bits and Bytes Online V2, #4  =================
======================================================================