BLUETOOTH CONNECTS - Applications based on the Bluetooth standard for wireless networking is allowing leading companies such as IBM, Nokis, Intel and Microsoft, to develop low-cost electronic devices that can communicate with each other via a 2.4 GHz radio signal, without a physical connection. IBM is set to release a Bluetooth network card next month and is in the process of developing an antenna for laptop cases. A cordless headset will be released by Ericsson before Christmas. Projections from Cahners In-Stat are that 670 million devices will be Bluetooth-enabled by 2005. (Miami Herald Online, 22 Oct 00)

HUMAN TOUCH FOR VR - New experimental e-training programs are adding human interaction to their software, providing the capability for users to communicate via live voice, animated personality or even an action figure. Developed for training workers online, the programs should prove valuable for all types of education. According to Astound's Stephen McWilliam, retention rates are higher when online courses incorporate interaction. It is well-known that reading material alone has a 10% retention rate, and visual and audio material have a retention rate of 20% and 30% respectively, while audio and visual material combined in an interactive program produces retention rates as high as 70%. IBM Canada has developed a simulation model of coaching skills for managers called Basic Blue, in which on-screen characters actually respond to users through facial expressions. (Toronto Globe and Mail, 16 Oct 00)

CARNEGIE MELLON TO MAKE COMPUTERS INVISIBLE AND PERVASIVE - Carnegie Mellon University is using its wireless network to conduct a range of research projects that would make computing more ubiquitous and invisible to the user. Professor Daniel P. Siewiorek is developing "invisible halos" of computing and information services that would follow users around the campus. These halos could allow users to interact with computers without using their hands and could make computing less distracting, says Siewiorek. In addition, Siewiorek's computer science students have created a program called "The Stalker" that locates people on the campus. The program transmits queries to the wireless network's management software to determine how close a person is to a wireless access point, assuming the person has a wireless handheld device or a laptop turned on. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 13 Oct 00 - 16 Edupage 00)

YAHOO! BY PHONE - A new service, the first significant voice portal, has been introduced by Yahoo! The service will provide customers with access to eMail and Messenger information via the phone - free. Subscribers will sign up via a Web site, select a 10-digit code and four-digit password and then dial 800-MY-YAHOO for news and other information based on text-to- speech technology. Free calls can be made from any location in the United States. (USA Today, 10 Oct 00)

DESKTOP VR - Some believe that learning in the context of 3D environments would vastly improve collaboration among students for activities such as virtual science labs. Others say that the technology is too costly and unnecessary. New desktop VR, accessible to anyone with a 56K modem and a fairly new PC, provides a 3D environment with some of the same features as high-end VR but at a lower cost. Cornell University uses desktop VR for its virtual science museum. Meanwhile, other universities are creating 3D virtual spaces instead of Web sites for their courses, allowing students to interact with digital characters or avatars. (Chronicle of Higher Education, 6 Oct 00)