EXTREME TRAINING NEEDED? "While we can point to innovations in CBT, Online Learning and Performance Support, are there any RADICAL or EXTREME approaches to training being developed and implemented?" asks Elliott Masie of the Masie Institute.

"It is time for the training industry to look at EXTREME measures. What can we do, as a field, to develop extreme new models for delivering workplace (and educational) training and performance?" Masie's Conference, TechLearn '98 (November 15 - 18, 1998 in Orlando, Florida), plans to host a session called Extreme Training. The purpose of this brainstorming session will be to explore dramatic new models for training. The results will be published after the Conference. If you would like to highlight your projects or ideas for Extreme Training, send an email to: emasie@masie.com (TechLearn Trends #72- 29 Sept 98)

BIOMETRIC SECURITY SYSTEMS - The advent of low-cost, high-power PCs is making it possible to implement biometric security systems without spending a lot of extra money. Compaq is now offering a $99 fingerprint reader as a peripheral for its Deskpro PC line; and voice recognition and facial verification technologies are also becoming more affordable. "A little software, some hardware, 8-bit digitization, a $1.50 microphone and you have some pretty discriminating (voice-recognition) technology," says Wendt. "Facial-verification technology can be implemented for less than $50." (TechWeb 3 Sep 98)

GIGAMACHINES BY THE MILLENNIUM - Tomorrow's computer users will need more computer power as they begin to take advantage of technologies such as speech software and voice e-mail. According to the VP and general manager at Intel, they'll want a gigahertz machine for multimedia, three-dimensional graphics, continuous speech input, visualization and videoconferencing. Intel also plans to introduce 'constant computing' to utilize the unused idle power. Meanwhile, a researcher at IBM predicts that by the millennium, 50 million people will be using speech software to control their computers. You'll be able to ask your browser to find you things on penguins in Antarctica or dictate your emails, which will be multimedia; so instead of dictating the text you could record your voice and it would automatically arrive at either the recipient's PC or telephone. People will realize that voice is more valuable than the same words recorded as text." (Financial Times 23 Sep 98)

LIVE PICTURE OFFERS IMPROVED WEB VIEWING - Live Picture Inc., a Campbell, California startup backed by former Apple CEO John Sculley, is planning to market software that makes it easier to view graphically sophisticated documents, such as brochures, catalogs and newsletters, by converting Adobe Acrobat files into a simpler format that doesn't require extra software to use. Sculley is pushing a "network-printing" approach to documents with information that changes frequently, such as sales brochures, noting that as much as 30% are wasted each year because they're out of date by the time they're needed. Live Picture has endorsements from Sun Microsystems and Canon Inc., but faces stiff competition from Hewlett-Packard, which is said to be developing its own, similar solution to the problem. (Wall Street Journal 1 Sep 98)

HORIZON LIVE DISTANCE LEARNING - Horizon, based in New York, is a leader in providing interactive group learning and collaboration solutions on the Internet. Horizon connects geographically dispersed individuals via Web browser allowing real-time virtual group meetings in a classroom atmosphere. The system, which eliminates costly business expenses, allows organizations to feature live instructor-led training anytime worldwide. Horizon Live Distance Learning Inc., previously a subsidiary of i/o 360 Digital Design, Inc. was spun off as a separate corporation in March, 1998. Current clients and trial customers include Reuters, Prentice-Hall, Computer Sciences Corporation, Amdahl, Financial Courseware, Process Sciences and a major credit card company, among others.

TRISTRATA SECURITY SOFTWARE - TriStrata Security Inc. has developed a new approach to encrypting computer files that it claims is hundreds of times faster than conventional cryptographic techniques, which rely on mathematical algorithms and their "keys." The TriStrata approach was inspired by a concept where each letter of a message is changed to a code by an addition process determined by randomly generated numbers. In the old days, spies kept code books containing pages of random numbers, but today's computers are powerful enough to generate a set of random numbers so large that the same set can be used in every server that manages encryption operations. In its demonstration, TriStrata was able to use its software to encrypt a standard word-processing file in one-hundredth of a second. Larger files containing video, for instance, can be scrambled the moment they're sent over the Web. In its endorsement of the new software, PricewaterhouseCoopers says it will use the TriStrata product for its internal communications and the accounting firm is setting up a business to help other companies install and use it. (Wall Street Journal 8 Sep 98)