Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 10:53:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Foster Provost foster@Basit.COM Subject: Free internet via data mining ? (from Edupage:) IS FREE INTERNET ACCESS IN U.S. INEVITABLE? AltaVista has announced the upcoming launch of FreeAccess, which will provide users with a no-cost Internet connection and has prompted many to question whether free Internet access soon will be the norm. FreeAccess follows other companies such as NetZero and Freei.Net into the U.S. free Internet access market, but practically all Internet service providers in the United Kingdom have succumbed. AOL and Microsoft both were compelled to provide free access when the upstart Freeserve quickly surpassed them in market share. In the U.S., AltaVista, owned by Compaq Computer and CMGI, expects to generate revenue by using data mining to feed targeted advertisements to a 5 percent area of the user's screen. Microsoft has hinted that it is considering providing a no-charge Internet connection, but many have dismissed the threat as sabre rattling during its instant messaging duel with AOL. (E-Commerce Times 08/18/99) [News abstracts Copyright 1999, Information Inc., Bethesda, MD Edupage Copyright 1999, EDUCAUSE. Copied by permission of EDUCAUSE.]
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