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In this issue:

* Airlines' Online Strategies
* Turmoil in the Speech-Technology Market
* The Drive to Demystify Learning Objects
* A Shaky Start for Web Services
* A Marriage of Silicon and Biology
* Ethernet in the Factory
* Opportunities for Peer-to-Peer Computing
* Online Psychotherapy
* Scan Meeting in Europe
* Trouble for DRAM Producers


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(Full text of SRIC-BI publications is available to sponsoring 
clients only.  To find out if your company is a sponsor, please 
visit http://www.sric-bi.com/info.shtml.)
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Airlines' Online Strategies

Travel is the largest category of e-commerce today, and
airlines see ample opportunity to boost their online
bookings. More than one route to Internet success is
available, however: Travelocity, Orvitz, and Southwest
Airlines have done well with dramatically different
strategies. (Airlines Online: Internet Travel Leads the Way
in E-Commerce)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B303.shtml#2363


Turmoil in the Speech-Technology Market

Speech technology is branching out from its first
applications in customer service to find a role in
enterprise resource planning, human-resource functions, and
inventory warehouse and management systems. Yet vendors and
users alike need to recognize the limitations of speech and
separate hype from fact. (Speech Technology Applications and
Markets)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B303.shtml#2364


The Drive to Demystify Learning Objects

Though many people think that learning objects (LOs) are
suitable only for companies with well-established eLearning
infrastructures, LOs can in fact be a quick and easy way to
gain a start in eLearning. Some organizations have also
found that object approaches are useful for converting
classroom courses to eLearning. (LoD Bulletin, Fourth
Quarter 2001)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/bulletins.shtml


A Shaky Start for Web Services

The information-technology community has done a poor job of
explaining the benefits of so-called Web services to
enterprise users. Some players hope that Web services will
be the savior of high-tech industries, but no one has shown
that sharing data through Extensible Markup Language is
preferable to doing so through existing database-to-database
techniques. (Web Services)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B303.shtml#2362


A Marriage of Silicon and Biology

By combining silicon with biological material, researchers
hope to find a route to nanofabrication of materials for
advanced technologies. Silicon may also offer a structure
for growing cells or provide an interface between neural
cells and computing systems. (February 2002 Biomaterials
Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/BM.shtml


Ethernet in the Factory

Problems with today's industrial networking applications and
improvements in Ethernet are prompting many manufacturers to
introduce Ethernet to the factory floor. Ethernet can
streamline access to information, reduce training needs, and
open the door to remote monitoring, standardization, and
speed. (Ethernet in the Factory)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B303.shtml#2365


Opportunities for Peer-to-Peer Computing

The explosion of content on the Web and introduction of Web
services are opening the door to peer-to-peer (P2P)
computing in wireless communications, management of content
distribution, and workplace collaboration. However,
successful implementations of P2P computing techniques will
integrate and extend the value of current client-server
systems rather than replace them. (Peer-to-Peer Computing:
Finding New Value)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B303.shtml#2366


Online Psychotherapy

An innovative but controversial new knowledge-based program,
Beating the Blues, has shown that it can help patients
reduce depression and anxiety. The patients sit at a console
and learn to identify and manage their psychological
problems by interacting with the program. (February 2002
Knowledge-Based Systems Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/KBS.shtml


Scan Meeting in Europe

SRIC-BI analysts in Europe met in November 2001 to pinpoint
signals of change with implications for clients. Their
discussion ranged from use of niche energy technologies as
backup sources for mobile devices to intellectual-property
licensing and techniques to help companies manage their
vulnerabilities and manage uncertainty. (Signals of Change:
November 2001)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B303.shtml#2367


Trouble for DRAM Producers

Analysts estimate that the market for dynamic random-access
memory dropped more than 60% in 2001, a victim to dramatic
slowdowns in the semiconductor industry. As a result,
companies like NEC, Toshiba, and Fujitsu are withdrawing
from or dramatically downscaling their memory businesses.
(February 2002 Advanced Silicon Microelectronics/ULSI
Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/ULSI.shtml


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Copyright 2002 by SRI Consulting Business Intelligenc.