Last updated:Friday, May 16, 1997, 8:30 a.m.
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Oracle may be ready to sign a big deal with CNN for a joint interactive news site. According to Computer Reseller News, Oracle will provide CNN with some of its advanced text, video and data searching capabilities for its site, as well as video streaming.

Oracle and the Philippines have a deal to build a nationwide telecommunications and computer network based on network computers. Philippine President Fidel Ramos sealed the deal in Silicon Valley yesterday.

Learn some Malay: "Cyberjaya" means cyber-success in Malay, which is what the Malaysian government hopes will happen with its new city of the future where every home has Net access, all business transactions will involve smart cards and multimedia developers are welcome.

The Chinese are discovering personal computers and demand is growing at 70 to 80 percent annually. Three million units are expected to be sold this year, but only 5 percent of Chinese families have PCs ... so far.

Sony PlayStations are selling so well that Sony is considering raising production. Sony's currently producing 1.5 million of these units per month.

Out of control: A man was charged with extortion, accused of threatening Microsoft chairman Bill Gates through the mail.

The rate of software piracy in the Arab Gulf nations is among the highest in the world, the Business Software Alliance said yesterday, and it's costing legitimate firms nearly $68 million per year.

The CEO of Corbis Systems has resigned, and a key CD-ROM project has been delayed. Corbis, from Seattle, was founded by Bill Gates to acquire and license digital images.

MasterCard and seven high-tech companies are getting into the "smart card" scene, launching a new high-security system for the combination bank, credit, debit, prepaid phone and cash cards.

The rockers Oasis are warning hundreds of fans who have web sites devoted to the group to cease and desist posting samples of music and video because they're violating the band's copyright.

C++ rules: You spent all that time learning C++ and now Java seems to be taking over the universe. But never fear -- most developers still depend upon C++ for the "down-and-dirty system-level programming and for generating high-performance code," according to the experts in this story.

Developer release: Netscape has a beta version of its Netcaster push technology available. Right now, it's developers only, please -- but in a few days we hoi polloi can get our hands on it.

Wow: Did you see Amazon.com's IPO take off? Offered at $18 per share (up from the $12 expected from its March filing), the stock closed yesterday at $23.50.

Don't get your hopes up: That's what Netscape is warning investors who may be dazzled by the IPOs out there; competition is tough, and it costs money to develop and grow. Words of warning from another hot IPO of yore -- Yahoo says spending on sales and advertising may disappoint investors.

Mac clone vendors are propping up the Mac platform in terms of market share, Dataquest reports.

Risky business: Mixing Microsoft Exchange and Outlook on the same desktop could cause problems, Microsoft warns. The combination can bring network and application performance to its knees.

Exponential Technology closes doors
H-P vows better growth
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