[9] Software valets that will do your bidding in cyberspace
Evan I. Schwartz
The New York Times, 9 Jan 94
Larger and well-financed companies get the ink, but smaller companies
have been selling agent software for the past 18 months or so, agent
software that schedules meetings, responds automatically to incoming
e-mail, ... and even optimizes computer network configuration.
Hoover, from Sandpoint Corporation (Cambridge, MA), is a PC-compatible
program for information gathering. Hoover's search results are compiled
into a customized electronic newsletter, with headlines that can be
clicked on with a mouse to retrieve full-text articles. Microsoft's
Office suite includes Intellisense for realtime spelling error
correction. And Apple's equivalent to Hoover is Applesearch.
The term "intelligent agent" was coined in the '60s by then MIT Lincoln
Laboratory computer scientist Oliver Selfridge. Today, MIT's Media Lab
is pursuing Selfridge's vision. Other software packages include
Beyondmail from Beyond, Inc. and Open Sesame! from Charles River
Analytics (Cambridge, MA). Beyondmail automates responses to incoming
e-mail. Open Sesame! monitors repetitive PC activity ... and then, in
essence, automatically creates intelligent, autonomous macros.
[10] Robo-software reports for duty
John W. Verity with Richard Brandt
Business Week, 14 Feb 94
At Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Stanford, and software think-tank
Interval Research, researchers are attempting to create so-called
"believable agents" that embody human character and present themselves
as animated cartoon faces. The agents react to stimuli with convincing
human expressions.
[11] The metaphor is the message
Barbara Kantrowitz
Newsweek, 14 Feb 94
Microsoft is working on its own version of a third generation interface.
Its design project is code named "Utopia."
Contact: Virginia Howlett, Director of Visual Interface Design, Microsoft
[12] The butlers of the digital age will be just a keystroke away
Barbara Kantrowitz
Newsweek, 17 Jan 94
About a dozen companies, including America Online, AT&T, and OAG
(Official Airline Guide), expect to have agent-based products by the end
of the year. Matt Kursh, president of eShop, Inc., says his company
is designing electronic stores that consumers -- or their agents -- will
enter via PCs or PDAs.
[13] Software 'agents' will make life easy
Andrew Kupfer
Fortune, 24 Jan 94
When AT&T introduces Telecript e-mail this year, users will be able to
type in the addressee's phone number; an agent will then look up the
e-mail address corresponding with that number and deliver the message to
the addressee's computer. General Magic plans to license Telescript
freely to companies throughout the computer and telecommunications
industries.
[14] Just like Magic?
Tom R. Halfhill and Andy Reinhardt
Byte, Feb 94
After four years in development, General Magic (Mountain View, CA) is
bring several technologies to market. The technologies include:
Telescript, a communications-oriented programming language; Magic Cap,
an OOPS designed for PDAs; and a new, third generation GUI. Motorola's
Envoy, due for release in 3Q '94, will use Magic Cap as its OS.
What PostScript did for cross-platform, device-independent documents,
Telescript aims to do for cross-platform, network-independent messaging.
Telescript protects programmers from many of the complexities of network
protocols.
Competitors for Magic Cap include Windows for Pens/Winpad (Microsoft),
PenPoint, Newton Intelligence (Apple), and GEOS (GeoWorks). The
competition for Telescript is more fragmented.
[15] Agent technology stirs hope of magical future
Michael Fitzgerald
Computerworld, 31 Jan 94
Analysts believe that agent technology will present a powerful example
for remote computing, especially in a client/server environment. In a
client/server environment where the client leaves, the message has to be
smarter because the client isn't there to guide it.
Contacts: Ken Dulaney, Gartner Group (Stamford, CT);
Kimball Brown, Dataquest, Inc. (San Jose, CA);
Bruce Stephen, International Data Corp. (Framingham, MA)
[16] Telescript eases cross-network communication
Yvonne L. Lee
Infoworld, 17 Jan 94
Contact: Thomas Cantrell, West Coast senior editor,
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