ActiveX and Java

[claribba <claribba@jps.net>]

  On the CNET site last night, 11-10-97, was yet another warning of the
  danger of using ActiveX and Java on your computer.  They can both be used
  to access your hard drive, but the article was more inclined toward A-X as
  being the most dangerous of all.  It mentions some web sites that have been
  either deliberately malicious, or show demos of what can happen.  The story
  came from Hong Kong.
  
  As for the "home market", I see many people who consider computers as
  info-tainment access  vehicles rather than work-intensive machines.  If
  these people only want the latest toys, then the OS they want is one that
  requires the least effort.  This is a huge potential market.
  
  I do remember quite a few years ago, Steve Jobs went to Washington, DC to
  lobby for Apples in every school.  He didn't get what he wanted but did get
  a lot of notice by the media.  
  
  For some realistic reasons why libraries should remain low-tech, and refuse
  MS involvement, you might read Clifford Stoll's paperback "Silicon Snake
  Oil".  Stoll is a computer-savy astronomer. 
  
  Claire Macdonald