NETWORK COMPUTER ON THE VERGE OF WIDESPREAD DEPLOYMENT

The hyperbole surrounding the “network computer” is second only to that surrounding the Windows 95 announcement last year. In light of the recent bloodbath in high technology stocks, the arrival of a new product promising to generate large volume of sales is most welcome, especially a product intended for the 63% of households without a PC.

Typical of the new products starting to come on the market is the iBox by JCC USA of Palo Alto, Calif., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Internet service provider Japan Computer Corp. The iBox contains a built-in 28.8 kbps modem and CD-ROM drive inside the basic unit along with 4 to 8 megabytes of main memory.

A CD-ROM disk supplied with the system contains all the software to drive the unit and connect with the Internet: a small operating system, an e-mail program and a World Wide Web browser. Once the CD disk is loaded in the drive, the user sees a menu of choices for Internet use.

User input to the iBox is handled via a hand-held selector that plugs into the device, or the user may purchase an inexpensive optional keyboard. A variety of other add-on peripherals can be connected to the serial and parallel ports included, such as floppy-disk drives and printers.

Since the system is intended for novice users, when the iBox is connected with a phone line, the user can take advantage of prepackaged information on linking to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provided on the disk. ISPs contained on the box suppliers’ disk are assured of new subscribers, a lucrative marketing arrangement. Once the ISP connection is made, the Internet is ready for access.

The iBox, designed to sell for less than $500, contains all the software, memory and input devices necessary for users to send e-mail messages, tap into the World Wide Web and access any of the tens of thousands of Web sites on the Internet.

One application of the iBox is expected to be electronic shopping over the Web. To make such transactions secure, the iBox includes a built-in secure digital system featuring RSA Data Security cryptography, that protects privacy and credit card information.

Only when an order is placed with a merchant equipped with the iBox commerce server is credit information securely transmitted across the Internet. Shopping and information retrieval is fast, reliable and secure (see story above for more).

In addition to home use, the iBox will have a variety of other initial applications, such as installation in hotel rooms. Another primary example is JCC USA’s pilot project with Teachers University in Corvallis, Oregon, allowing students access to campus resources from their own homes, the first widely used application of a single Internet device to off-campus learning.

In another test, JCC USA is working with a southern California office of Century 21, A First Choice Realty, to develop an Internet-based remote sales application for their premium properties.

Using the iBox, a customer will be able to specify criteria—including price range, location, number of bedrooms and other specifications— that is stored on a server. The customer will be able to get immediate, detailed information on which properties most closely fit his or her needs.

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