Monday, November 29, 1929 The Indianapolis Star InfoLine: 624-INFO (4636) Online: www.starnews.com mil TECHJALK Slfl'lJfn W(Q(g( 2 sources offer good Web site critiques 1 Ifisdi i ill: 1 I ii ADDING COMMENTS: Software that allows chat discussions on top of Web pages and posting of sticky-note-type messages on their text has been likened to digital graffitti. By Doug Bedell THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS 3o Internet Web-page designers, a new breed of browser plug-ins has handed users a can of digital spray paint, allowing them to deface serious work with Web graffiti. But developers of the plug-in software say they're simply giving Net surfers a communications breakthrough that fosters collaboration and queme. The underlying technology allows these chatlike programs to "see" where their users are surfing on the Internet. Only those running the same software can locate others on a Web page, so notes and ongoing chats that overlay any page are invisible to others.
Third Voice has caused most of the hand-wringing from designers because, for those running the program, it alters the appearance of pages where notes are inserted by others. For example, a user without Third Voice visiting the federal government's White House site (http: www.whitehouse.gov) to look at the president's latest speech would see nothing but the actual text. A browser equipped with Third Voice would encounter the same text littered with "tags" left by others. Clicking on any of those Third Voice tags pops up a window with the user-added comments. Some are serious and political; some are juvenile and profane.
Still others may include vulgar sound files or junk advertising. But the experience is definitely altered. On popular news sites such as CNN (http: www.cnn.com), it is not unusual to find thousands of annotations cluttered together in such mass that the page becomes almost unreadable. A group of more than 500 Web-page designers is so concerned about the technology that it has opened up a site called Say No to Third Voice See VOICE Page 7 adds a layer of Interaction to static Net content. At the heart of the debate is a group of free downloads that allow chat discussions on top of Web pages and posting of sticky-note-type messages on their text.
The claims of the program being digital graffiti is absolutely wrong," says San Mai, director of product management for Third Voice, a free Web-page annotation program. The kind of graffiti we see in subways does actually alter the original work. We don't. It's not vandalism." A group of information professionals disagrees and has banded together to seek changes in the way the software programs perform. Known as viral applications, Web notes or overlays, this type of program began appearing in May with Third Voice (http:www.thirdvoice.com) and has expanded with the recent release of various permutations, including Gooey, uTok, Odigo and Cli- Millions heading for the 'Millionaire' Web site Searches for ABC's hit game show Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? jumped to the No.
8 spot on Lycos' top 50 searches for the week of November 20. The Lycos 50 is a list of the most popular user searches done through the company's online search service. And ABC reports that more than three million players have accessed the game site (through http: abc.go.com) since its launcn on November 7, with almost 300,000 of those reaching the winner's page. Totally wired hotel Many hotels that cater to business travelers offer in-room Internet access, or have business centers. But how many go this far? The Kowloon Hotel in Hong Kong has PCs with fast connections to the Net and fax machines in every one of its 736 guest rooms.
It also offers guests individual e-mail addresses for the duration of their stays. Art on the Net A French Internet company on Friday launched what it says is the biggest online auction of major art works, including works by Picasso, Renoir, and Man Ray. The sale, which runs until Dec. 6, is being run by the French online jcompany Nart. It can be accessed at www.nart.comauctions.
The collection includes pictures, sculptures, furniture and engravings and is valued at $1.2 million. IT workers dislike pay More than seven out of 10 IT professionals consider themselves underpaid, according to a survey by Computerjobs.com, an Atlanta-based IT employment Web site. In the survey of 21,000 workers, 75 percent who make less than $44,000 a year said they consider themselves underpaid. Other findings: Vice presidents and directors are the highest paid at $94,000 a year, followed by CEOs, presidents and chairmen at $86,000. Those between 35 and 50 earn between $54,000 and $64,000.
If you have information for this column, fax it to Tech Talk, (317) 633-1233, or send it to Tech Talk, Business Desk, The Indianapolis Star, P.O. Box 145, Indianapolis, Ind. 46206-0145. www.slarnews.comcars Mustang Market www.mustangmarket.com Barn 31 7-487-8473 1309 S. High School Rd Indpls.
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I Jay Small Confused? Heh, so was I. But I received a thorough straightening-out when I started i checking out sites that claim to review online commerce services on behalf of consumers. Two such sites are worth checking out. Consumer Reports Online (http:www.consumerre- ports.org) offers "e-Ratings" of commerce sites for usability, con1 tent and business practices. Some of the data compiled for the e-Ratings were also published in the December issue of Con- sumer Reports magazine.
For the full scoop, however, the Web site is the place to be. Unfortunately, you have to pay to get to the e-Ratings. The site carries no ads to cover costs; in-! stead, you subscribe to see most 'of the content. It's $3.95 a month, i $24 a year or $19 a year if you already subscribe to the printed magazine. If those prices aren't right, well, how does "free" sound? Forrester Research (http: i www.forrester.com) offers Power Rankings, which rate e-commerce sites based on consumer surveys, real-world testing and the judg- i ments of Forrester's business analysts, i Forrester compares item customer service, delivery, content, transactions and overall usability.
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