Mac users get Napster
You would think that Napster should be busy enough, given all of its legal battles. But the company has managed to find the time to create a version of its MP3 file-swapping software for Mac computers. Simply called Napster for the Mac, the new version includes features available in the PC version: users can search for MP3 files and sort them by name, size and sound quality. The Mac version also enables users to use a “Hot List,” letting them know when friends are on-line, and allowing them to chat privately and send messages back and forth.
Romanian candidate is “most wanted”
Romanian voters who visited the Web site of one of the leading candidates in their presidential election this month might have been a little surprised at what they found. A Web site featuring former Romanian president Ion Iliescu, who is running for president again, experienced a bit of difficulty. Visitors of www.ioniliescu.com found that the site linked directly to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives site. Iliescu was elected president in 1990, but in 1997, he lost the presidency to the country’s current president, Emil Constantinescu. A former Communist, Iliescu is currently the president of the country’s Social Democratic party, the PDSR. Although there were problems with one site, www.iliescu.ro, a site with current information relating to the campaign race, was still up and running.
Canada gets its first e-church
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada has teamed up with IBM to get on-line. The partners announced last month that the program will launch in January, enabling congregations to connect on-line. The churches will be able to manage things such as baptisms, weddings, funerals and donations, and will also find help to locate pastors. Bishops and highly ranked church officials will be assigned passwords to gain access, and each congregation will manage its own information with the new software. The program will first be used next year, as a method for delegates attending the church’s national convention in Waterloo, Ont. to register on-line. According to the church, it wanted to get on-line because it has limited resources, and needed a way to be able to access and capture information.
A Canadian store makes a comeback on the Web
A Canadian icon in the retail world has made a comeback in print and on-line. Eatons, now a division of Sears Canada Inc., opened its doors on the Web at the end of October at http://www.eatons.com. The on-line store includes some snazzy features, including the ability for shoppers to see a selected product in action, and the ability to rotate it. Colour swatches also enable shoppers to see products in different colours. The site features a selection of items that are available in its new catalogue, including jewellery, furniture and clothing. Other on-line options include access to the store’s gift registries and the ability to apply for an Eatons credit card. Customers who use the site to place orders will have the option of picking up their merchandise at either a Sears catalogue pickup location, or at one of the seven Eatons stores that are scheduled to open this month.
Western Canada gets convenient Web access
A chain of convenience stores is testing coin-operated Internet kiosks in 15 of its stores in Western Canada. Mac’s Convenience Stores and Burnaby, B.C.-based Info Touch Technologies are placing the kiosk in stores that already have seating. Users can dump in their change, use their credit card or a prepaid Internet card that is available for purchase in the store. The cost, according to the companies, is 20 cents for each minute on-line. The machines have been set up with a camera and a phone, allowing users to record a video with sound, which they can then send as an e-mail. Another feature on the machines allows users to register a password if they don’t use all of the time they paid for. They can then go back at a later time to use up the time they had saved.