The Masie Institute has just announced that two case studies on creating intentional online communities, will be detailed at the next TechLearn Conference. Doug Volz of Sara Lee Corporation and Laurie David of Transora, both senior HR executives, will present their experiences in launching online communities this year and describe how they play a key strategic role in how their employees work and learn. This breaking news phenomena will be an 'under-the-hood' look at what "community" means within an organization. (TechLearn Trends, 19 Oct 00) For information on the TechLearn Conference, Nov 12 to 15th in Orlando, FL CLICK: http://www.techlearn.com

A new effort at promoting eBooks will launch books by best-selling fiction authors exclusively for downloading, while they hold bound-book publications for days or weeks. Costs for the eBooks may also be cheaper than the hard copies. In this new venture, Gemstar and Thomson Multimedia will bring two new portable eBook devices into stores. The companies are optimistic about the future of eBooks because of savings benefits in production, shipping, the environment and warehousing. (Business Week, 23 Oct 00)

Houghton-Mifflin's recent participation in the online education market marks the first time a major textbook maker has allowed online use of its content. As part of the Classwell Learning Group, the company is providing testing, training and curriculum over the Internet. Future plans are for Classwell to license standard curriculum content, with schools paying $10,000 a year to use the materials. Meanwhile, McGraw-Hill is providing quizzes, special projects and animations on its Web site. Similar offerings are being made by Harcourt General. (Investor's Business Daily, 9 Oct 00)

International Data (IDC) predicts that the global knowledge management software market will hit $5.4 billion in 2004, and access tools will be the fastest-growing sector of the market by 2002. In addition, knowledge management will see more market consolidation and partnerships to integrate vendors' diverse offerings. (VNUNet.com, 9 Oct 00)

A new study run by Arbitron and Coleman for the National Association of Broadcasters revealed that Internet usage increases in households that use the capabilities of broadband. According to the study, households with broadband access average 134 minutes online per day, 61 percent more than households with dial-up access. (PC World.com, 6 Oct 00)

A joint venture of seven Canadian universities has begun student registration. This virtual university will allow students to transfer credits from one member school to another, while continuing to receive degrees from their respective universities. The students will pay tuition to the institution that provides the course. Participating universities include: Athabasca, Brandon, Manitoba, Laurentian, Open University, Royal Roads and University of Victoria. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 3 Oct 00)

Analysts say that the overall PC market is strong and will continue to grow. According to PC Data, US sales of PCs grew 14% in August, while Micron Electronics sees annual PC US sales growth at 18% and International Data foresees growth of 17% next year. Sales in Asia are high, while PC sales in Europe are slow but expected to recover. PC demand is expected to grow, despite market penetration approaching 75%. The reason - that users want to take advantage of new technologies such as CD-RW drives and MP3 players. Apple's slowdown in sales is credited to decreased interest in its unique new models.(Investor's Business Daily, 02 Oct 00)