What's New for the Crossroads Web Site?

Maryland Start-Up Organization Offers Electronic Service for Computer Security

August 30, 1996 - Seven Locks Software, a Bethesda, Maryland, start-up organization dedicated to providing technology and information for computer health, publishes SecurityDigest to provide a summary of security news. SecurityDigest is an electronic advisory service providing information on new viruses, vulnerabilities in applications and systems. It gives readers information about hacking attempts and procedures to increase security. This service also announces upcoming conferences and seminars of interest to the security community. Seven Locks Software offers virus protection, computer security information, data recovery products, access control and encryption. To learn more about SecurityDigest, visit the Seven Locks Software Web site.

NASD Launches Web Site for the Protection of Investors

August 29, 1996 - According to Interactive News Network, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the regulatory organization for the securities industry and the Nasdaq Stock Market, launched a Web site providing information and regulation procedures designed for the benefit and protection of investors. The new site is designed to help investors understand the regulatory functions of NASD. The site features tips on investing wisely and information on investor protection from NASD. It includes an explanation for investors about filing complaints and enforcing regulation procedures. There are also links to services provided by NASD, such as district office locations and state security regulators.

Proxima, Inc. Creates New Web Sites for Amtrak and Owens Corning

August 28, 1996 - Virginia-based Proxima, Inc., a full-service provider of business solutions via the Internet, has redesigned the World Wide Web sites for both Amtrak and Owens Corning. Amtrak's new Web site offers a full-featured travel planner providing visitors with travel information and tips. The site provides an interactive travel center where visitors can access a virtual guide of practical and entertaining information on travel planning. Visitors can also access sights and activities for vacationing travelers, accommodations options and Amtrak services. Owens Corning's new Web site utilizes the latest Internet technology to bring the firm's Pink Panther character to act as the site's host. Visitors can be guided to the site's virtual encyclopedia of information on home improvements, repair and maintenance, as well as Corning product and financial information.

Webthreads Launches Web Site Customization Tool

August 22, 1996 - Vienna-based Webthreads LLC, a spin-off of Image Communications, introduced Webthreads, a Web site development product that integrates World Wide Web site updating, customized interactivity and tracking. Webthreads provides reporting of individual users and their actions on the site. It enables the Web site to be customized in real time by discovering a user's surfing patterns and automatically tailoring content to fit those patterns so marketing and advertising content can be arranged effectively. Webthreads also provides tracking mechanisms for companies to measure the effectiveness of marketing and advertising. To learn more about these and other services offered by Webthreads, visit its site.

Net-Worker Session: Doorways to the Internet and Their Effect on Business Applications

August 21, 1996 - The Potomac KnowledgeWay Project will host its next Net-Worker Hands-On Internet Session for Net-Workers and members of their staff. The session, scheduled for Thursday, August 29, 1996, will introduce attendees to Web browsers and will show how they provide access to the vast resources available via the Internet. The session will cover several popular Web browsers and will show how they affect business applications. Following a brief demonstration, there will be hands-on participation by all. For new Net-Workers, an orientation to the Net-Worker Program will precede the hands-on session. It will cover the Communications Revolution, the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project and the Net-Worker Program. Interested individuals can register by email or can contact Cathy Lange at (703) 620-8975. For more information on the Net-Worker Hands-On Internet Session, visit Events.

George Washington University Makes Electronic Commerce Easy for Small Businesses

August 20, 1996 - The George Washington University's Center for Advancement of Small Business recently unveiled the Electronic Commerce Resource Center for Small Businesses. The site was developed to serve as an introduction to electronic commerce on the Internet and to enable the Internet novice to learn about the latest commerce developments quickly. Visitors to the site can be linked to information about Internet growth, Internet commerce security and current electronic commerce events, organizations, publications and conferences. Links are also made to commerce solutions, such as site hosting and development and to U.S. Government electronic commerce resources.

Northern Virginia Internet Advertising Agency Links Visitors to Local Services

August 19, 1996 - America's Choice Mall (ACM), a service offered by Northern Virginia Internet Marketing (NVIM), allows visitors to shop District of Columbia and Virginia businesses online. The mall utilizes Shopping Basket Technology, allowing visitors to order products and services quickly. ACM links shoppers to automotive, business, family and medical products and services, as well as travel and technology services. NVIM, a full service Internet advertising agency, also links visitors to information about professional Web page design, Internet marketing consulting, marketing via email and multi-media advertising strategies.

Higher Education Community Needed for Virtual University Pilot Study

August 16, 1996 - IDEA, Inc. and College Leadership Consultants, Inc. need participants for a pilot study on online teaching at the Internet Virtual University (IVU). The controlled, supervised study aims to find out how to use online teaching effectively in selected general education and elective courses. The study is a response to student and faculty interest in learning via the Internet. Participants can acquire skills and develop confidence in online teaching and learning methods and can form hands-on networking with teaching professionals across the country. For further information on IVU and/or the pilot program, visit the site.

NetDay East: A Coaltion of Communities to Wire Schools to the Internet

August 15, 1996 - Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia have joined forces in the NetDay East coalition to support the grass roots, volunteer initiative of NetDay 96. Originating last March, NetDay 96 brings together members of the business community, political leaders, educators, parents and students to provide cabling infrastructure to all K-12 schools in the United States. The NetDay East coalition will oversee the activities taking place in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia, with the goal of wiring up to 6,000 schools during the month of October. This program is a voluntary effort to wire schools to the Internet and to prepare the children for the global marketplace of the 21st century. Some local sponsors are Apple Computer, Inc., Bell Atlantic, Boeing, Folio Graphics, US Net Incorporated and VCI Internet Services. For more information on how to get involved and/or be a sponsor, visit the NetDay East site.

DynCorp is Awarded Subcontract with AT&T

August 14, 1996 - DynCorp of Reston, Virginia, recently announced its Information and Engineering Technology business unit has been awarded a subcontract with AT&T to provide information technology services in support of the U.S. Department of Defense's DISC (Defense Research and Engineering Network Inter-site Services Contract) project. DynCorp will assist AT&T in supporting science and technology, research, development and modeling/simulation activities. DynCorp will also provide network engineering support, site integration and performance analysis support. The DISC project incorporates advanced networking technologies and supports features such as switched virtual circuits and broadband Internet access.

CommerceNet to Hold SIG Forum in Washington, D.C.

August 12, 1996 - CommerceNet has announced it will host its next Special Interest Group (SIG) Forum in Washington, D.C. The SIG Forum, scheduled for August 20-21, 1996, will highlight results of the new CommerceNet/Nielsen Internet Demographics Survey and will include a special session on intelligent agents, which allow users to search, sort and retrieve data from the World Wide Web. SIG Forums are monthly meetings organized around educational and networking opportunities available to the CommerceNet consortium. The overall goal of the SIG program is to provide education, leadership, networking, outreach and status updates. Individuals who cannot attend the forum in person can join the live Internet broadcast. For more information on the CommerceNet SIG Forum contact Eric Stetzler.

BTG Launches Community Networks Unit

August 12, 1996 - Virginia-based BTG, Inc. has launched a new business unit, Community Networks, Incorporated (CNI). The newly created company will form business relationships with established cable operators and others to provide local communities with Internet access, specialized intranets and electronic commerce. The first community to be served by CNI is Loudoun County, Virginia. Currently, cable service for this county is provided by Cablevision of Loudoun. CNI anticipates that new services including high-speed Internet access, control tools to monitor Internet material and customized community and individual information will be available to Cablevision subscribers in 1997.

CollegeTown Expands Web Services

August 9, 1996 - CollegeTown, a free Internet resource, has developed a searchable database of postsecondary schools on the Web. This site consists of four-year colleges and universities, graduate schools, two-year colleges and hard-to-find accredited vocational and technical programs. Students can view a school portfolio including school characteristics, academic requirements, costs and financial aid options. Once students perform searches and find all the schools that match their preferences, they can receive a copy of the school report through email and take photo tours of college campuses. Additional services for visitors to this site are scheduled for the fall.

Connect 96: An International Summit on Regional and Global Networks

August 9, 1996 - Smart Valley, Inc. and Stanford University are sponsoring "Connect 96: The Global Summit on Building Electronic Communities." This international summit on regional and global networks will be held September 9-11, 1996, at Stanford University. Connect 96 is a conference for those dedicated to improving the quality of life and competitiveness of their community through a networked infrastructure. The conference program is compromised of panel sessions, case studies and workshops which will provide information on how to form a regional network. During these sessions, delegates from the world's leading regional alliances will share their challenges and triumphs in creating these networks. Corporate sponsors of the event include 3Com, Bay Networks, Hewlett-Packard and Price Waterhouse LLP. For more information, visit Connect 96.

U.S. Department of Education Posts Papers

August 8, 1996 - In 1995 the U.S. Department of Education commissioned a series of white papers on issues related to networking technologies for education. These papers are now on The Future of Networking Technologies for Learning Web site. The papers address such topics as the funding of the information infrastructure, the role of personal digital assistants in the classroom and virtual educational communities, as well as the concomitant curriculum reform that these advances will require. The papers make use of hypertext links to provide immediate access to data, reports, relevant legislation and related Web resources. Abstracts of the papers are also available on the site, as well as information about the authors. *This item was reprinted with permission from Edupage. If you'd like your own subscription to Edupage, send them email and in the body of the message type: subscribe edupage <your name>.

MCI and the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project Join Forces

August 7, 1996 - MCI has announced that it has joined forces with the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project to catapult to the forefront of the global economy a new kind of entrepreneur: the "net entrepreneur." MCI and the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project will devise a support system to help net entrepreneurs in the greater Washington region bring net-centric products and services to market faster. The centerpiece of this system will be a new Web site to be developed, designed and hosted by MCI. The next few months will be spent finalizing the details of the net entrepreneurs program which will be rolled out by the end of 1996. The program will be designed to turn the region's net-centric entrepreneurial movement into an economic force in the global economy and to serve as a model that can be duplicated in other high-tech centers. For questions or comments, click on feedback button at the top of this page.

Success of ALEX is Success of ACE

August 6, 1996 -Electronic Alexandria Community (ALEX), a citizen-managed "electronic community" based on the actual community of Alexandria, Virginia, has recently expanded the number of online groups on its site. The addition of a community events calendar, available to use by all groups, was created to compliment and highlight the growth of these groups. ALEX offers free Web page design to community groups and free links to Alexandria-based businesses. Americans Communicating Electronically (ACE) helped to launch ALEX in 1994.

Holography Lessons Available Online

August 6, 1996 - Frank DeFreitas Holography Studio of Allentown, Pennsylvania, is teaching holography via its Web site. The Internet Webseum of Holography contains holography information for students of all ages. The "Education Wing" of the site provides visitors with resources, book lists, a dictionary of technical terms and a guide to making holograms. It includes places to find holograms in the United States and Canada as well as a 24-hour service to answer the visitor's questions. The Webseum Laser Theater allows visitors to view hands-on instructional videos and laser light shows from the SMART Discovery Center of Lehigh University. The site's gallery displays works from around the world and the gift shop offers kits to further the visitor's understanding and enjoyment of holography.

New Linkages Available Through ACE

August 5, 1996 - Americans Communicating Electronically (ACE) offers several new services to its online visitors. ACE's Web site links visitors to a guide providing government information from national, state and local levels. Visitors to the site's directory to public access projects can find out what communities throughout the nation are doing to improve public access. The site also provides information on how to acquire recycled computers for use in one's community and what to do with surplus computers that are lying idle. Visitors can also find out information available about efforts in their state and community to get connected to the Internet. ACE is a group representing private and public organizations and individuals who wish to promote interactive communications among government, private businesses, public libraries and schools and job training services.

Briefing for Virginia-based Companies Interested in Expanding Globally