Prediction of Mars landing in 2020, criticism of Java and the price of Dell computers

IBM's Lotus Domino ads claim that the Internet has the potential to “become a monumental economic force,” but in 1997 it has about as much influence as a two-dollar bill. That's because sites linked to corporate databases take a long time to build and a fortune to maintain.

They propose to solve these problems with the help of Lotus Domino: the software allows you to manage content using regular browsers. And also control who logs into the corporate system, what exactly they see and what changes they can make.

An article about how a computer helps a mute boy, Christian, communicate

In 1997, using computers to help children with disabilities was quite innovative. An NEC computer and monitor helped Christian communicate by creating sentences from pictures and text.

Advertisement for a new Mac that could be connected to Windows

Apple is betting on designers and says that the Macintosh has always “understood” the needs of people who create. The company boasts about the speed of the Power Mac, which has two (!) Pentium Pro processors – Photoshop works twice as fast on it.

Fun fact: The ad claims that you can see how websites and graphics created on a Mac will look in Windows. Just add a 166 MHz Pentium PC compatibility card and the Power Mac will be able to run Windows 95 or Windows 3.1 applications.

They didn't forget to take a bite out of their competitors, saying that Mac users can now “share files with clients and others less fortunate peoplewho use Windows.”

Price list for Dell computers

In 1997, Dell offered computers with Intel Pentium II processors with clock rates of 266 MHz and Pentium with frequencies of 233 MHz and 200 MHz. The price is also worth discussing separately. The cheapest computer offered costs $ 1,899, that is, about 173,000 ₽ in today's money. In the table below, I compared what you can buy for the same amount now – you get a powerful gaming computer:

The Eternal Problem of Plagiarism on the Internet

The CEO of a New York design company discovered that a Singaporean studio had stolen the code and text of his website. He contacted the plagiarists, who removed the materials, saying that they were created by a freelance student.

The essay ends with a poignant quote: “Intellectual property law is designed to protect garage geniuses, but what garage genius can afford legal fees?”

American Airlines ad with meme – even then

Sad Ned only knows that he can buy a plane ticket via the computer. And cheerful Bob knows that he can also get 500 bonus miles, use his personal account, learn about special offers, choose a seat – and much more.

News from the world of science: scientists have created a semi-organic, semi-synthetic computer chip

US researchers have invented an integrated circuit to detect pollutants, explosives and chemical compounds in soil and water. The outer part of the silicon chip contains bacteria that glow when exposed to certain substances. The integrated circuit detects photon signals and transmits information to environmentalists.

Experiments with the prototype chip were successful, but there was a serious problem: the bacteria died after a few days. To fix this, the scientists planned to create a reservoir with water and nutrients that would feed the bacteria. Apparently, this interesting project did not take off.

Indian Developer Creates Software for Sports Data Analysis

Breaking news: IBM's Inderal Bhandaria created data analytics software called Advanced Scout. It helps NBA coaches analyze game statistics and draw conclusions from the data. Many teams are now using the software to improve their training strategies.

As a reader from 2024, I was intrigued by the fact that big data began to be used in sports as early as 1997. And now such technologies are the basis of sports analytics, forecasts, and even team management.

For example, at the last Euro, a whole technological hub, FTECH Hub, was used. All data from sensors and cameras at stadiums was sent there, and FTECH Hub distributed the information to the relevant applications. The data was used to check offsides and analyze sports results.

Conceptual advertising on a full spread

I've been trying to figure out what's going on here for a long time, but it's an advertisement. Riven: The Sequel to Myst. The sequel to the cult quest was released on October 31, 1997.

Technology Charts: Comparing Search Engines, Programming Languages, Network Connections, and Software Sales

The chart about Java seemed the most interesting. It covers the period from December 1995 to December 1996 – these are the first years after the release of Java by Sun Microsystems.

It is clear that in December 1995, C/C++ was the market leader. But during 1996, their usage gradually declined, giving way to Java. The shift was due to the fact that Java provided new opportunities for creating platform-independent applications, especially for the web. And this changed the landscape of the industry.

Article about speech recognition

The article is devoted to the use hidden markov models in pattern recognition. It is said that to process speech, the system compares different examples of the same word being pronounced – and determines the most likely variant based on calculations.

Today, technologies based on Hidden Markov Models have become the basis for many machine learning and speech recognition systems. However, they are used in combination with more modern approaches.

And again Java – only this time criticism

In the article The Shame of Java, the author criticizes Java and the business strategies of Sun Microsystems. The journalist notes that the company uses Java more for corporate purposes than for creating innovative and free technology. He criticizes the closed licensing agreements and the fact that Sun maintains control over Java instead of providing it to the community. He also points out the weakness of the Java sandbox and that it does not protect users from viruses and other threats.

Another notable moment: the journalist makes a bold statement for those times that the future is not Java, but the web – a platform without an owner. He predicts that the web will become more important than individual platforms.

Advertising phone with built-in email

Just a cool ad for the Intelifone phone, which lets you check your email and send a message. The manufacturer boasts of a caller ID, a 500-number address book, and a price tag “under $300.”

The long boom: the central article of the issue: with interesting forecasts

The long text, spanning several pages, attempts to predict how technology and the global economy will develop until 2020. Here are some interesting predictions:

• in 2013 a cure for cancer will be invented;

• 10 GHz processor by 2014;

• By 2015, human life expectancy will reach 120 years;

• revival of green nuclear energy;

• by 2018, a third of genetic diseases will be under control;

• By 2020, China's economy will be the largest in the world;

• by 2020 the Automotive Industry will switch to alternative energy sources;

• By 2020, the world's population will reach 11 billion, and humanity will land on Mars.

A large text about how the development of biometrics began

At that point, 10,000 companies were already using biometrics. For example, the Canadian border could be crossed through an automated voice verification system of the US immigration service. And Coca-Cola technologies checked the hands of employees so that they did not put the cards of late colleagues to the turnstiles.

And the company Identification Technologies International planned to make its own version of FaceID. The developers promised that even “faces swollen from a hangover” would not interfere with the system. But beards or glasses could mislead the technology.

My colleague told me in detail about the current state of affairs with the development of biometrics in the article about computer vision in banks.

This concludes my selection. Scan of the number can be found in the Internet archive. Which of the news items did you find most interesting? Maybe you've also come across old magazines? Share in the comments what was written there.

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