Last updated:Monday, May 27, 1997, 8:30 a.m.
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The 1996 chip price crash really hurt the bottom line of certain Japanese companies.

Games canceled because of strain: Gamemakers Sega and Bandai have called off their merger, rumored to be caused by strong opposition by mid-level managers at Bandai.

AT&T and SBC are in merger talks which would be a $50 billion merger if it goes through. SBC owns Southwestern Bell and Pacific Telesis, two companies that provide long distance service in the Southwestern U.S. and California.

NEC is going to start using the Net for 90 percent of its purchasing, which is worth about $17.3 billion a year.

Read 'em if you got 'em: The changes in the book-selling business are being driven by online books sites and it's only going to accelerate as Barnes and Noble's site ramps up, and Borders enters the online sales fray.

IPOs for tech companies have been falling from the record pace of 1996.

Netscape, Firefly and VeriSign and 60 other online or technology companies want to set a standard for privacy on the web so that users can control those cookies.

Let's say encyclopedias become trendy: Do you suppose we'd have cops thumbing through the "S" listings for sexually-oriented material? or kids rooting around the chemistry stacks looking for elementary bomb recipes? Students using the web to cheat on term papers? Government tries to control access to the Encyclopedia Brittanica? Scammers trying to sell you inflated sets of knock-off encyclopedias? Just a thought.

A Mac clone notebook: UMax and Sotec are developing a laptop that will run multiple operating systems, the Nikkei News reports. UMax had previously planned to build a Mac OS laptop using the CHRP standards.

Internet Company unplugs: That's THE Internet Company, which was supposed to help businesses exploit the Net for commerce, but found that it couldn't do the job for itself.

Played those 3D games, have you? You know what's missing: The sense of touch. But research is bringing the day closer when you can reach out and touch -- a human liver or a virtual circuit board.

We don't want to lose you: Brand X asks the musical question: Is Utah finished as a tech mecca? We hope not. We like all the virtual Silicon Valleys scattered around the globe. Even though Novell's downsizing, lots of small startups are thriving on the salt flats.

Have you seen what Lotus is doing with its newest versions of Notes? Some interesting features, although you still can't send HTML pages from its mail client.

Say it loud: We're nerds and we're proud.

Dan Gillmor on Bill Gates in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley hosts cricket explosion
Oracle expands quest for dominance
Floppies: Soon just a memory?
C|Net roots for Ziff-Davis venture
Consumer smart cards gearing up
Five gallons of unleaded, and UNIX advice, please
Software talent shortage grows more acute
Net resources changing human resources departments