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Last week, I talked about a finger service for getting information about your phone number. That service has now been taken offline. I spoke with North County Communication's Bill Cerny about the decision to suspend the service. Publicity from 56K.COM caused a spike in usage, and raised some legal concerns for the company. As far as we know, the information isn't available elsewhere in a publicly-accessible format.
TeleChoice reports that AOL is preparing a DSL trial in selected cities.
IBM has released a V.90 upgrade for their ISA 56K/33.6 Kbps Plug and Play Data/Fax Modem. The same page has placeholders for other IBM modems.
A Zoom Telephonics press release touts the impressive list of awards their 56K modems have garnered.
Smart Link has announced an HSP-based V.90 modem/sound card combo.
I've archived recent news items about V.90 into a V.90 Upgrade FAQ.
3Com released the V.90 code for their Total Control remote access concentrators. Many x2 ISPs will be offering V.90 soon. 3Com issued a press release.
Global Village has sold its modem business and brand name to Boca Research for $10 million, according to Wired. Global Village, best known for selling Macintosh modems, has faced financial setbacks and recent dismal stock prices. Recent rumors had Apple buying the company.
Motorola is considering a major restructuring, according to News.com, but that may be affected by the resignation of a senior executive.
Netscape released its browser source code yesterday.
Did you remember that today is April Fool's Day?
ISP news
AT&T Worldnet will end unlimited pricing on May 1st. Usage in excess of 150 hours per month will be billed at 99 cents per hour.
WebTV is raising the rates for its plus service, from $19.95 per month to $24.95, effective June 1st.
Livingston rescheduled the beta release of their new, V.90-compliant server code to allow time for further testing. Check the Lucent page for future release dates.
Wired's "Iridium's Final Thrust: the World Watches" looks at the final phases of Motorola's 66-satellite Iridium project, which is now just six months away from going online.
ISP News
A Los Angeles court has ordered spammers Cyber Promotions and its founder Sanford Wallace to pay $2 million to EarthLink. Wired has the story.
VersaNET is shipping V.90 modems with its ISP-Accelerator remote access servers.
Michael Surkan of PC Week tested a late beta of Ascend's new 96-port MAX 6000.
A TechInvestor article by Gabrielle Jonas, "Small ISPs stand firm against buyouts," indicates that many small ISPs can remain solvent for several years. In a survey, 77 per cent said they would sell if offered three to five times their revenue.
56K.COM is written and maintained by Les Jones. Artwork by Mark Maxwell.