IDAMS Release 4.0

IDAMS Release 4.0, DOS version for micro computer is available along with the User Manual. The bidirectional interface between IDAMS and micro CDS/ISIS is now distributed together with the IDAMS and its description is provided in IDAMS User Manual. This interface can be added to the micro ISIS package, release 3. Although IDAMS is not yet available on Internet, its general description as well as the list of official distributors can be found on the UNESCO GOPHER at GOPHER.UNESCO. ORG and on the World Wide Web at WWW. UNESCO. ORG under the item title 'Information service' or 'Programmes; Communication, Information and Informatics; CII sector'.

Experiences on the use of the IDAMS software, any problems and suggestions for improvements, etc. can be shared by joining the 'IDAMS Discussion Group' on Internet by sending an e-mail to majordomo[at]po12.ucl.ac.be with the message: `Subscribe idams your e-mail address'.

For details, contact or write to :

Shri Vimal Kumar Varun, SSO I
NISSAT, DSIR
Technology Bhawan
New Mehrauli. Road
New Delhi - 110016
Tel : 6962819 Ext 496
Fax : +91-11-6960629
E-mail: vkv[at]nic[dot]in or nissat[at]alpha[dot]nic[dot]in

(Source : Unesco brochure)

VIRTUAL LIBRARY

NEC Corporation has developed the Universal Digital Library, the world's first network-based virtual library. The system was so named because of its universal access to users, regardless of computer abilities. It utilizes 'Walk around' and 'virtual agent' technologies to provide an advanced graphical interface that simulates browsing through real library for users. Walk around technology provides interaction with an animated virtual librarian for such information as directions around the library and location of books. The library's extremely user-friendly interface provides an intuitive means of presenting information, spanning the volumes inside the library itself and data gathered from sources on the world wide web (WWW). Such a breakthrough opens up information to professional and private users worldwide-from business and education professionals to homemakers and students.

For further information write to:

NEC Corporation, Public Relations Div.,
5-7-1, Shiba, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 108-01
Fax : (81-3-) 3457-7249]

(Source : Dr. V.T. Chitnis, Embassy of India, Tokyo)

PDA Recognizes User's Voice

A personal digital assistant (PDA) that records and displays data entered by voice has been released by Melcom Inc. After a user's voiceprint has been registered in the device, he or she can input data such as telephone numbers and appointments. Voice Organizer responds only to the voice that has been registered. A user who wants to call someone says that person's name, and the device will display the telephone number on its tiny screen. The device can also record appointments for upto a year. When a user says a date, it displays the day's schedule. It can also be used as a memo pad, the company said. The palm-size product comes in two models.

For more information:

NEC Corporation, Public Relations Div.,
5-7-1, Shiba, Melcom Inc., 1-35-2,
Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo.
Tel : (81-3)3835-3751)

(Source : Dr. V.T. Chitnis, Embassy of India, Tokyo)

TELEDESIC - INTERNET IN THE SKY

Cellular phone tycoon Craig McCaw and the world's richest man, Bill Gates have proposed the most audacious satellite scheme of all, Teledesic — Internet in the sky. As planned, Teledesic would use 840 satellites to provide the same kind of broadband, multimedia connections, such as videoconferencing, that work best over fiber-optic cables. And do it from anywhere in the world. The $9 billion service will be aimed initially at linking far-flung international corporate offices. Individuals who choose to sign up will be able to download multimedia data from the Internet at a sizzling 28 megabits per second — 1,000 times faster than a dial-up telephone connection. In the year 2000, Hughes the dominant satellite builder and a major service provider plans to offer its own $3 billion global broadband system called Spaceway, utilizing eight of its giant HS 7O2 satellites. Laral Space & Communications hopes to have its version, called Cyberstar, operating in 1999. Motorola and Alcatel also are planning similar services.

(Source : Dr. A.K. Jain, Indian Counsellor in Tokyo)

 

NEXT GENERATION INTERNET

President Clinton recently announced a $500 million Next Generation Internet (NGI) program. Under this programme about 100 sites within United States will have a connection 100 times more powerful than what is now available on Internet and 10 sites with 1000 times of the present capacity. A group led by Carnegie Mellon University Computer Scientist Raj Reddy and Microsoft's Jim Gray is hoping to complete a report on NGI by June, 1997. Two other subcommittees — one to examine high performance computing and the other to address information management — are being formed to develop recommen-dations for a new information superhighway presidential panel. This panel is called the Advisory Committee on High-Performance Computing and Communications, Information Technology, and the Next Generation Internet.

(Source : A.K. Jain, Indian Counsellor in Tokyo)

Internet connection : Europe far behind the USA

The US leads Europe by a factor of 10 when it comes to Internet connection and this could severely hamper business on the continent, says research carried out by Tele Danmark's Consult consultancy arm - one of the leaders of the European Telework Development (ETD) initiatives supported by the EC's DG-XIII to raise awareness, understanding and effective use of telework, teletrade and telecooperation across Europe. In Europe less than one in 50 citizens are connected. A study in one European country found that E-mail is consistently the cheapest way of moving information domestically and internationally. But ETD figures show that, while more than one in four US managers can be contacted by E-mail, less than one in twenty in Europe are in the some position. The ETD's management team have also reported that, despite having technical knowledge within Europe, the EU is buying, not selling innovations

(Source : Dr. R Balasubramanian, Embassy of India, Bonn)

IBM Digital Library Forum

This Forum was arranged by IBM to promote their concept of the digital library and publicize their achievements in Asia and the Pacific. The IBM concept of the digital library is a loose and broad framework encompassing almost any object in digital form. Their assumptions are that : a physical book can be read only by one person at a time, a digital book can be shared by a great number of readers at the same time, scanning is getting cheaper, it costs as little as 25 cents or as high as $5 per image depending on the resolution level, magnetic disc capacity demand will grow by a factor of 10 annually, storage costs are decreasing by 40% annually on the average.

All these factors are favourable to launching large cultural digital libraries, archives, museums and digital publishing and broadcasting projects. It was, however, stated that copyright remains the main obstacle to providing universal access to these stores of information and knowledge.

(Source: UNISIST Newsletter 24, N0 2, 1997)

New chip card makes computers speak

A module that generates synthetic speech signals, converting printed words into sounds, has been developed jointly by the Department of Technical Acoustics at the Dresden University of Technology, Zentrum fuer Angewandte Microelectronic Dresden GmbH, American Microsystems GmbH Dresden, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems. The PCMCIA or "VOICE" card, not much larger than a standard credit card or chip card, can simply by inserted into a computer slot. Tailoring the system to different languages is very easy; versions in English, Czech, and Chinese are currently being developed. Applications could be found in telecommunications, perhaps to call up fax or E-mail messages by phone from a remote location, or for information systems such as digital radio traffic information, voice-command navigation systems in cars, or information services.

(Source : Dr. R. Balasubramanian, Embassy of India, Bonn)

Magneto-Optical Disk Eclipses DVD Capacity

Digital videodiscs that can hold a entire movie's worth of data promise to be the hot product of the year but already new computer disk-storage technologies are being developed that will make those DVDs seem paltry in comparison. Most of those technologies are still years away, but Hitachi Maxell Ltd. and Sanyo Electric Co. said they have developed a magneto-optical disk that utilizes existing laser systems to store data at 10 times greater density than a DVD. A standard-size disk could hold 30 gigabytes of data, or enough for six or seven movies. Hitachi Maxell said it plans to develop a practical system soon after 2000 to record and play high definition motion pictures. By then, however, the companies likely won't have the market to themselves. In recent weeks, at least one US firm has announced a similar technological breakthrough and plans to bring high-capacity hard-disk drives to market sooner. The kay to the new technologies is increasing the amount of data that can be stored on a disk. Capacity in optical disk systems is determined by the size of the spots where data bits are written and read. The smaller the spots and the closer they can be packed together, the greater the amount of data the disk can hold. But some way of reading the data is also required, and the tighter the spots are packed, the harder they are to distinguish with a conventional red laser. One way to get around the problem is with shorter wavelength light. Tremendous effort is being placed into the development of blue semiconductor lasers that can fit the bill. But in the technology developed by Hitachi Maxell, Sanyo and others a standard red laser is used.

(Source : Dr. V.T. Chitnis, Embassy of India, Tokyo)

E-mail System Capable of Delivering High Quality Moving Pictures

Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication's Communications Research Laboratory (CRL) and NTT Multimedia Networks Laboratories have jointly developed an e-mail system capable of sending text accompanied by moving pictures. Called the Video & Audio (VA) Mail System, this e-mail system employs a broadband network and a video-on-demand (VoD) system to support transmission of high-quality moving images together with text over a long period of time. Such performances has been difficult for existing systems to achieve. In addition to receive-only VoD services, it is expected that the development of VA mail enabling individuals to send moving images easily, will lead to multimedia network services targeted at individual users. Existing e-mail systems send information directly from senders to receivers via a network. With the VA Mail System, the moving images a sender wants to transmit are first uploaded to a VoD server. The person then sends mail consisting of a text message and still-image digest and decides whether or not to receive the moving images. The moving images are delivered from the VoD server if the person opts to receive them. In addition to ordinary playback, the capabilities of the VoD server also allow such special playback functions as fast-forward and reverse playback. Unlike ordinary e-mail that sends information all at the same time, the VA mail System initially uploads moving images to a VoD server, allowing the receiver to use them whenever desired. As a result, this system reduces the load on the network and on mail servers (computers). Moreover, since moving images can be transferred between VoD servers located at different places on the network, VA mail service can be used regarding of the user's location.

(Source : Dr V.T. Chitnis, Embassy of India, Japan)

European Research network put into operation

The TEN-34 Network (Trans-European Network at 34 Megabit per second) was put into operation, linking the national research networks and replacing the present Europanet. In its initialization phase, 40 percent of the project are funded by the Commission of the European Union, the other 60 percent are raised by national user organisations, in Germany the DFN-Verein (German Research Network). Already 1998, the transmission rate will have to be raised to 155 megabit per second. At the national level, the BMBF made an enormous step forward last year by making the DFN science network a broadband network, providing 70 34-Megabit and 9 155-Megabit connections. Almost all German universities and research facilities, more than 200,000 scientists, are linked to it. Every month it transmits a data volume of more than 20 Tera Byte.

(Source : Dr. R Balasubramunian, Embassy of India, Bonn)

European-Southeast Asian University Network on Engineering

The National University of Singapore (NUS), together with nine ASEAN and EU engineering institutions has entered into a memorandum of understanding to establish a European-ASEAN University Network on Engineering (ESAUNET) to enhance co-operation among participating institutions. The focus of this co-operation is to promote the transfer of university technology to industry and the enhancement of the engineering curriculum in response to industry needs.

As a first step in the collaboration, a joint project entitled "Synergy between Technological Universities and Industry in SE Asia and EU Countries" has been initiated. The project comprise collaborative activities in University Industry Technology Transfer, Industrial Wastewater Treatment, Energy Conservation, and Demand-side Management.

The Industry and Technology Relations Office co-ordinates the NUS participation in ESA-UNET. It is also the joint lead agency for the subproject on University-Industry Technology Transfer. The EU participation is led by the Institute for International Technical and Economic Co-operation, Aachen University of Technology, Germany. This project involves a study of effective mechanisms for the transfer of technology and exploitation of knowledge derived from university research.

(Source: UNSIST News letter Vol 24, N. 2, 1997)

OVID BIOMEDICAL COLLECTION II

Ovid Technologies, a leading provider of electronic information retrieval services worldwide has announced the release of Ovid Biomedical Collection II — a new product that will allow physicians, librarians, and researchers to procure critical health-related literature from their desktops.

Building upon the resources available in the Ovid Core Biomedical Collection, which features the full text and graphics from fifteen preeminent journals, the new collection utilizes the same, powerful Ovid Full Text search software, and provides access to the full text and graphics from fifteen additional biomedical journals, including : The American Journal of Cardiology; the American Journal of Psychiatry; the Archives of Internal Medicine; the Archives of Neurology; the Archives of Surgery; Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology; the British Journal of Surgery; Circulation Research; Fertility and Sterility, Gut; the Journal of Pediatrics; Mayo Clinic Proceedings; Medicine; Quarterly Journal of Medicine; and Thorax.

Links from one full text article to another are available not only within an Ovid Full Text collection, but also between collections. Users can link from the reference section of an article appearing in Ovid Biomedical Collection II, for example, to an article appearing in the Ovid Core Biomedical Collection.

Ovid also plans to release Ovid Biomedical Collection III, which will feature links to its sister collections, and provide access to the full text and graphics of articles appearing in fifteen additional journals. Ovid Biomedical Collection II and the Ovid Core Biomedical Collection are available separately and as companions.

For more information contact:

The Ovid Sales Department at (800) 950-2035, x400.
Also refer to the Ovid Homepage at http:/www.ovid.com

Water and Waste Water Treatment

The Ion Exchange (India) Ltd. provides professional information on waste and waste water treatment, sewage treatment, industrial waste water treatment, environment and environmental management, ion-exchange technology, membrane technology, agroforestry and farming, and wildlife. The company provides library services including consultancy, supply of bibliographies, citation indices, xeroxing and abstracting services on cost/subscription basis.

For further information, contact:

Ion Exchange (India) Ltd.
Plot No C-4
MIDC Chemical Zone
Amarnath - 421501
Maharashtra, India.
Fax : 0251-582122

Unique Pest management resources reaches desktop PC

CAB International has now completed the first stage of a four-year project to produce a CD-ROM for global pest management. The US$1.5 million project, funded by a development consortium of multilateral and bilateral donor agencies, charitable foundations, and many private sector corporations, has now reached the first stage towards a global compendium of the pests and diseases of economically important crops.

The first module includes information (text, maps and illustrations) on over 1,000 major pests and their natural enemies. It focuses on South-East Asia and the Pacific, but includes many pests of global significance, along with information on over 150 crops of the world, and 150 countries.

The Crop Protection Compendium will be essential for plant protection practitioners, advisers, researchers, students, quarantine officers, national and regional plant protection organizations, and also farmers and growers. It is a user-friendly electronic equivalent of a whole series of expensive library resources and is a relational database system, containing names of pest organisms, beneficial organisms, crop plants and countries, which allows the derivation of host and geographic ranges of any organism. By pressing a few keys, the user can: view a summary of information about, say China, with a map; compile a list of all the insect pests attacking rice stems in China; call up an illustrated interactive key to identify a particular species; check its appearance against full-colour illustrations; see its global distribution on a world map or regional enlargements; read about its biology and economic significance; list its natural enemies, call up their data sheets and view illustrations of them; review control methods; browse through relevant abstracts from the literature (50,000); digress to a related pest mentioned in the literature; call up a data sheet about the new pest; record personal notes on any of these topics in context.

The Compendium will be updated annually in parallel with the next stage of the project which moves forward towards a global compilation, scheduled for completion in January 1999. Free trials of the CD-ROM with selected data, and a guided tour showing the capabilities of the Compendium, are available now. The Crop Protection Compendium : Module 1 is now available for sale.

For more information, contact:

Lorraine Rogers
CAB International
Wallingford, OXON, x10 8DE, UK
Tel : +44(0) 1491 832111
Fax : +44(0) 1491 826090
E-mail: l.rogers[at]cabi[dot]org

CAS PRODUCTS/SERVICES...

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) has appointed Sci-Edge Information as its representative in India. Thus CAS and Sci-Edge Information have started a new era in building a long and fruitful partnership with scientific community in India. The CAS services and products include the printed and CD-ROM versions of the prestigious Chemical Abstracts, the renowned STN International online service - STN Easy. Internet users can access CAS information and STN on the WWW. One can also use the CAS Web Server to access STN through a telnet window.

The products and services handled by the company are:

• Chemical Abstracts and Collective Index — print version since 1907

• Chemical Abstracts and Collective Index (12th & 13th) — now on CD-ROM

• CA Selects — monthly current awareness print service on special topics

• Chemical industry Notes — Weekly industry news print service

• National Chemical Inventories — regulatory compliance information on CD-ROM

• STN International — online service with over 200 techno-commercial databases

• STN Easy — new internet (web) based easy-to-use online service

• STN Express — essential software for searching molecule structures on STN

• STN Training — schedule of forthcoming training programs

• CAS Document Detective Service — to order reprints of articles & patents

For further info write to:

Mr. Makarand Waikar
Sci-Edge Information
P B No 8134, Bandra East, Mumbai 400 051
Tel: 022 641 0771 (1400 to 1800 Hrs)
Fax: 022 282 6687
E-mail: mwaikar[at]usa[dot]net

Exchange Programme for Scientists/Engineers

Application are invited from outstanding scientists for deputation abroad during the year 1998-99 in all fields of science and technology including engineering, medical, agriculture for short term visits (2-4 weeks for senior scientists) and long term visits (3-6 months for younger scientists) under the INSA scientific collaboration Exchange programmes with overseas academies, organisations in Brazil, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary. Japan. Kyrghyz Republic, Nepal, Netherlands, Poland, Philippines, South Korea, Russia, Slovak Republic, Ukraine and UK.

Application forms and futher details may be obtained latest by October 15, 1997 from:

The Assistant Executive Secretary (IA)
Indian National Science Academy
Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002

IFS Research Grants

The International Foundation for Science (IFS) a non - governmental organisation supports young scientists from developing countries for their research efforts in the fields of crop science, forestry/agroforestry, food science, natural products, animal products, and aquatic resources. IFS provides research grants upto US# 12,000 (for one research period from one to three years)

Research grants applications from Young Indian Scientists (normally under 40 years of age) working at any university or research institution may be sent to :

International Foundation for Science, Grev Turegatan
19, S-114 38 Stockhalon, Sweden.
Tel : + 468-545-81 800, Fax : + 468-545-81801
E-mail : INFO[at]IFS[dot]SE.

Or

Indian National Science Academy
1, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi - 110002
Tel : 91 - 11 - 323 2066, 323 5153
Fax : 91-11 - 323 1095, 323 5648
Telex : 31-61835