What's New for the Crossroads Web Site?
Technology Summer '96: Opportunities for
Educators
Mexican Commentary Offers Expanded Web Site Coverage
June 28, 1996 - The Mexican Commentary, a weekly newsletter headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, has expanded its
Web site
to include some past issues. These issues have been filed in portable document format, which allows the reader to view and print them in graphic format from any computer with the help of the
Adobe Acrobat reader. The newsletter is eight pages long and contains charts and tables offering comprehensive coverage of the Mexican economy and individual companies. The site also has over 100 charts with daily and weekly price movements for Mexican stocks. Links are offered for
stock quotes, future quotes and other reference material including
country background information and the monthly report from the Treasury
Department.
Maryland Architect/Engineer Uses Internet to
Conduct Business
June 27, 1996 - The INTEC Companies Incorporated, an
architectural and engineering design firm based in Rockville, Maryland, has set up its
Web site to use as a means of
connecting with its clients and extending its design team locally and
around the world. INTEC's design team anticipates sharing drawings, specifications, cost estimates and correspondence as they are developed. INTEC is also assembling an Internet directory of resources used in the building design and construction industry. It will include manufacturers, vendors, codes, associations and other useful information sources. This innovative way of conducting business will slash construction site coordination and approval times. Feasibility of managing remote sites will be dramatically improved when a field representative can access the same information as the home office. INTEC is willing to assist other design and construction professionals to create the Intranet system needed to support commercially viable internet connectivity.
CB Commercial's Window on the Market
June 25, 1996 -
CB Commercial Real Estate Group,
Inc. recently introduced the first publication of its new regional
report, Window on the Market. This new report replaces the former
Regional Profile and is the result of information that has been
streamlined and condensed for clarity and ease of use. This information
has also maintained a comprehensive approach. Window on the Market
represents CB Commercial's perspectives, forecasts and overviews on the
major submarkets of metropolitan Washington and Baltimore. Special
focus is also given to the views of investors/owners, users/tenants and
retailers.
Wood River Technologies Introduces New
Active Federal Contract Database
June 24, 1996 - ContractSearch is a new service of
The Federal Marketplace
offered by Idaho-based Wood River Technologies, Inc. This
service allows you to perform detailed queries on a database of
approximately a half million federal contract actions. From your
PC, you can make as many market research queries to the database
as you wish. With this database, you can find acquisition
candidates and potential teaming partners and analyze the
contracts they hold. You can also find out what contracts are
held by your competitors and how much they are worth; what the
termination dates are of valuable contracts; where the locations
are of contracting offices that buy your company's products or
services and which federal contracts offer subcontracting opportunities.
Regional Technology Database Goes Online
June 19, 1996 - The Northern
Virginia Technology Council (NVTC)recently incorporated
a Web-based application enabling users to search and browse
profiles of over 900 Northern Virginia technology businesses.
This system, which was developed by
Clara Vista Corporation,
also allows Northern Virginia technology companies to submit
additions and changes for verification and incorporation into
the database. The business profiles in the system are based on
information collected through the Regional Technology Database
Project, a cooperative effort among NVTC,
Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology and the
Center For Regional
Analysis at George Mason University. Each company profile
contains contact information, business categorization, business description, customer base, products and services offered and core competencies.
CyberEd Truck Visits Baltimore's Empowerment Zone
June 19, 1996 - Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and other
dignitaries hosted a kick-off event for a CyberEd truck visit
to the city. The CyberEd truck is an 18-wheel mobile
state-of-the-art training facility and cyber classroom
equipped with the latest hardware and software for
educational applications. Earlier this year, Vice President
Gore announced an initiative to connect every school in
Empowerment Zones across the country to the Information
Superhighway. Designated by President Clinton, Empowerment
Zones include 15 regions across the nation that bring
public and private sectors together in partnerships to
aid the nation's most distressed communities. The truck
was in Baltimore from June 12-15. During the week, which
highlighted the importance of education technology, Empowerment
Zone school principals, teachers, students, parents and
residents participated in training sessions on the truck.
CyberEd is a national, educational technology initiative developed, maintained and funded by a coalition of non-profit,
corporate and private foundation partners, including the Corning Foundation, DSC Communications Corporation,
Microsoft Corporation,
MCI Communications, the Milken Family Foundation and the William McGowan Charitable Foundation. Through a national tour, CyberEd will bring technology resources to local communities in an effort to achieve a 21st century education for our nation's children and a preparation tool for others in the workforce.
Intuit Purchases Greater Washington Start-Up Company
June 17, 1996 - The Washington Post reported that Intuit,
Inc., the leading personal finance software company, recently purchased Interactive
Insurance Services Corp. (IIS) for $8.6 million. IIS, based in Alexandria, Virginia,
was created in May 1995 by three entrepreneurs. Through this acquisition, Intuit
plans to provide an array of new services including selling and servicing insurance
policies and offering online banking software through a new service called BankNow.
Although IIS's insurance offerings are not yet ready for consumers, one can see a
preview on Intuit's Web site.
Fairfax County Foundation Donates Funds for Programs
Supporting Innovation Through Technology
June 11, 1996 -The Fairfax
County Public Schools Education Foundation (FCPSEF) recently made donations to
support programs that ultimately benefit students, teachers and the
community. FCPSEF, the single largest source of private funds for the
Fairfax County Public School System, has
donated over $67,000 to three programs in the system. IMPACT II received
more than $10,000 to support teachers who implement innovative and effective
instructional strategies. Teaching with Technology, a grant source that
annually awards teachers who work to connect the curriculum with teaching
strategies that use technology, received $27,000 from the foundation. Also,
Matching School Technology Grants, a program that encourages and supports
innovative educators in their quest to improve instructional delivery through
the use of technology, received $30,000 from the foundation.
Virginia Corporation Releases Financial Modeling Tool
June 10, 1996 - Interpro Corporation released its first financial
modeling product ValuePoint. This product is a tool for business
analysis and is designed for use by CEOs, CFOs, analysts, consultants
and the education community. It runs with
Microsoft Excel
as an "Electronic Workbook" and enables the user to analyze,
manage and evaluate complex relationships between financial data,
company performance and future values. ValuePoint incorporates and
integrates a set of complex spreadsheets for up to nine years of income
statements, balance sheets, forecasts and proformas. It includes cash
flows, a net-present value model, a complete matrix of financial ratios
and a set of quick evaluation tools. Special discounts are available for
students and educators. For more information, contact
David Lucien.
Virtual Museum of Virginia Provides Summer Education
Through Stories
June 10, 1996 - Although schools may be closing for the summer,
the Children's Virtual Museum of Virginia is providing summer story fun.
From June through September, the Telephone Zone at the Children's
Virtual Museum provides great stories from Africa, South America,
Europe, Asia, North America and the South Seas - and all students need
to access these stories is a touch-tone telephone. There is no charge of any
kind for these classic folktales and fairytales, which are available 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. You can help your children improve their
listening and language arts skills over the long summer days. For
more information on the stories, visit the Children's Virtual Museum
online.
Sibling Programs Available Online
June 7, 1996 - The Sibling
Support Project Web Page has implemented over 200
local sibling programs and other
'Sibshops'
throughout the United States, Canada and England. This directory is
the most complete of its kind and is open to siblings, their parents,
service providers and all others interested in the well-being of these siblings.
Visitors to the Sibling Support Project Web Page may also subscribe
to SibNet, the first
listserv for and about brothers and sisters of people with special health,
developmental and emotional needs. On SibNet, siblings share information
and discuss issues of common interest.
Greater Washington Area Organization Teaches Public
Housing Residents Important Skills
June 7, 1996 - John Rosenthall
understands how to improve the quality of one's life through the use of
computers and wants to spread this knowledge to others. Rosenthall is the
executive director of the National Urban Internet Project, which
is trying to show public housing residents how this global communications
network can help them learn employment skills, find jobs, complete their
education and maybe even create thriving small businesses. The Highland
Addition, a town house and apartment complex in Southeast Washington,
is currently the designated computer training center, where donated computers
serve as the tools to build the residents' knowledge. Upgraded computers and
Net access are goals to be attained depending on the generosity of donors.
Rosenthall stresses that the future of the National Urban Internet Project-which
has the backing of 14 groups, including the
Washington Naval District,
Howard University's Urban Environment,
Bureau of Land Management
and the Riddick Bowe Foundation-is in he hands of those who will
ultimately benefit.
Transportation Department Awards Information Systems
Engineering Contract to Virginia-based Team
June 7, 1996 - The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has
selected Virginia-based BTG, Inc.
as one of the prime contractors on the $1.1 billion Information
Technology Omnibus Procurement (ITOP) program. The ITOP
contract, designed for the purchase of information technology
services and products by DOT, is also open to other federal
agencies.
BTG's team members are Coopers & Lybrand,
Telos Federal Systems,
Computer Based Systems,Harvard Design & Mapping,
Novadyne Computer Systems, Inc.,
Reliable Integration Services, Technautics, D.H. Wagner and
Associates and Wizdom Federal.
The information systems engineering area of ITOP covers
electronic commerce and electronic data interchange; Internet
access and Intranet support; local and wide area networks;
software engineering, licensing and maintenance; office
automation support; strategic planning and business process
reengineering.
Banking Is Made Easy On-line
June 7, 1996 - The trend that started with ATMs has lead to the use of
PCs. A one-branch bank in Kentucky has attracted nearly 3,000 customers
in its first year, most of whom have never been in the state of Kentucky.
Security First Network Bank is the first
full-service Internet bank offering checking and savings accounts insured
by the government. Home banking has been custom for the past decade,
but computer companies like Microsoft,
Intuit
and Checkfree.
are showing consumers an easier way of moving money around electronically.
Online Resources builds and operates the backbone computer system linking
banks to homes for paying bills and transferring money between accounts.
Consumers send their bill-paying messages through their PCs to Online
Resources' computers and the company relays the information to the
appropriate banks.
College Recruiting Site Offers Free Ads on the Internet
June 6, 1996 - Corporations and organizations seeking college students
for jobs and internships and college students seeking similar positions
might find what they're looking for on the Internet.
JobSource
is an online job-listing, resume-posting
service site targeting the entry level job-seeker from the ranks of
college and university students and graduates. From now until July 15,
1996, JobSource is offering free classified job recruitment ad listings.
The site includes employer profiles, helpful interviewing tips and links
to several other online career centers, newsgroups and sources of
potential employment. For more information, contact
Jason Fischel.
Entrepreneurship Continues to Grow in Greater Washington
June 4, 1996 - Washington, D.C., based
FreeLoader, Inc. has been
acquired by Individual, Inc. of Massachusetts for $38 million.
FreeLoader has developed an offline Web delivery service that
allows end users to automatically download Web pages and read them
offline or online. In the end, FreeLoader's products provide their
users with a quicker way to view news and information of greatest
interest to them.
FreeLoader will become a separate arm of
Individual, Inc.. Sunil Paul and
Mark Pincus, FreeLoader's chairman and president and chief
operating office, respectively, will stay on in their current
positions and run FreeLoader. FreeLoader was founded in October
1995 and announced its first product in January of this year.
MindQ Releases CD-ROM Designed to Teach Java Programming
June 4, 1996 -- MindQ Publishing, Inc. of Herndon,
Virginia, is now shipping "An Introduction to Programming Java
Applets," the first in a series of interactive CD-ROMs designed to
teach Java programming. This product was developed with
Rapid Systems Solutions of
Howard County, Maryland.
The CD-ROM uses visualizations, animations, narration and video to
help people with limited object-oriented programming experience to
understand "applets," "objects," "classes," "inheritance,"
"threads" and other key concepts used in Java. With over 2,000
topics, glossary items, popups and audio clips, the CD-ROM is
flexible and rich enough to train first time programmers as well
as programmers who are not yet familiar with object-oriented
programming techniques. For more information or to place an order
see MindQ's product
description or call 1-800-MIND-0008 or 703-708-9380.
Regional Effort Provides Access to Disabled, Discarded Modems Find
a Home
June 4, 1996 -- Thanks to MEI Computers, the Potomac
KnowledgeWay Project's Disabilities Action Team and the Community
LINC of Montgomery County, some 25 individuals with disabilities
can now access a computerized bulletin board (LINC-BBS,
301-424-5123) that specializes in serving the disability
community.
When Community LINC learned that some people could not call
LINC-BBS because they did not have a modem, they went to MEI
Computers who provided 25 discarded 2400 baud modems. Once the
modems were in hand, members of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project's
Disabilities
Action Team volunteered their time and tested each modem
before they were distributed to those who need them the most.
LINC-BBS offers its users news, insights, information and a place
to talk.
Additional modems, 2400 baud or faster, are still needed. Please
contact Community LINC via email at comlinc@erols.com or call them
at 301-217-0500 if you have modems to donate. Tax deduction
letters will be provided.
O'Reilly Releases New Study, "Conducting Business on the Internet"
June 4, 1996 -- Based on a recent assessment of O'Reilly &
Associates' WebSite (TM) users, the Internet may no longer be
perceived as only a mass-market fantasyland; it is radically
shifting and refining itself in new directions. Business users are
constructing web sites to meet specific needs, and Intranet,
business-to-business, multi-homing and database-driven web sites
are becoming common applications.
"Everyone is still obsessed with the vision of the Internet as a
mass market," says Tim O'Reilly, president of O'Reilly &
Associates, Inc. "But whether you believe that the Internet has 10
million users or 30 misses the point: the Internet has always been a
'network of networks' -- an aggregation of many small groups
into one larger whole."
According to "Conducting Business on the Internet," a new study
from O'Reilly & Associates'
Online
Research Group, more businesses are using Intranets (internal,
private web sites) than public Internet sites. Organizations such
as Eastman Kodak and Harvard University depend on WebSite-based
Intranets for internal communications among select groups of staff
and/or clients. "In a way, the Web is the first technology that's
starting to create even a touch of the 'paperless office' vision
that was so prevalent in the seventies," says O'Reilly. "Internet
technology is so appropriate for the corporate Intranet. All the
hype is stripped away, and you get down to the basics of what this
technology excels at: connecting small groups of people with
common interests."