The Buzz

This is a test of the emergency e-mail network . . .

Everyone has endured those earsplitting emergency warning tests on radio and television. Given the prevalence of computers, should there be such a system for e-mail as well?

The Emergency E-Mail and Wireless Network (emergencyemail.org) seeks to assume that role. This free service distributes weather, disaster and terrorism-related alerts from a variety of government and other agencies. It is able to offer the alerts at no charge because it markets a similar fee-based service to corporations.

To set up an account, users identify a home state and county, then select which alerts they would like (weather updates, power failures and so on), and the device that will receive them (PC, BlackBerry, digital pager, cell phone or fax).

Several hundred thousand people have signed up for the service since it started in 1999, company chairman J. William Tamargo said. Last year, it sent out 30-million messages.

The ability to localize alerts is one benefit of an e-mail-based system, Tamargo said. Most of the agencies that have collaborated with Emergency E-Mail are at the town or county level. But the service also obtains information on its own. For example, it recently decided to forward any changes in the Department of Homeland Security's threat advisory.

Instant messaging grows as fast as, well, instant messaging

Instant messaging is moving into the workplace with a speed and impact that has started to rival e-mail and the cell phone.

Less intrusive than a phone call and more immediate than e-mail, instant messaging is finding users far more quickly than e-mail did when it was introduced, according to Forrester Research, an independent technology research company in Cambridge, Mass.

In the past year, the number of instant messagers has grown by more than 50 percent, so that nearly one-third of American adults are now IMing, as it is called, with their children, clients, colleagues and each other.

The growth is driven in part by the availability of free IM software on the Internet, as companies such as Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo use it to lure customers to their other services. In addition, the first generation of teenagers who grew up with instant messaging are bringing it with them into the workplace.

New Toshiba laptop built for mobility

Less than an inch thick when closed, the new Toshiba Portege R100 computer is thinner than many paper notebooks. And since the R100 has an integrated wireless-networking function that makes connecting to the Internet a snap, you won't miss paper when you need to pass someone a note.

The R100 was built for mobility without lower-back strain. It tips the scales at a svelte 2.3 pounds, and its 11- by 9-inch dimensions allow it to slide easily into a roomy purse or a briefcase. The R100 runs on Intel's new Centrino platform, a mobile technology that incorporates wireless networking with the new Intel Pentium M 900-megahertz processor, a high-powered chip designed to provide fast processing power with long battery life. The laptop comes with a 12.1-inch color screen, 256 megabytes of RAM and a hard drive with 20 gigabytes or more. It is available with the 802.11b wireless standard, or with 802.11a and 802.11b combined so it can be used with either of those common types of networks, also known as Wi-Fi.

Because of its small size, the Portege R100 does not have a built-in CD or DVD drive. But there are two USB 2.0 ports for attaching hardware peripherals, a Type II PC card slot and Ethernet and modem connectivity. Prices for the laptop start at $2,200, and it will be available in stores and at www.shoptoshiba.com next month.

The Portege R100 is available with either Windows XP Professional or Windows 2000 but weighs far less than most manuals and guidebooks for Windows.

Revamped ThinkPads expected soon

IBM, the world's No. 4 maker of laptop computers, is overhauling its ThinkPad computers to add wireless Internet hookups and make batteries last longer as competition intensifies.

IBM will introduce three ThinkPads, including some with Intel Corp.'s new Centrino chip package that has a built-in wireless Web connection. The ThinkPad T40 model's battery lasts as long as 51/2 hours, almost twice as long as its predecessor, the company said.

Analysts expect notebook computer orders to outstrip desktop demand this year, and the 10-year-old ThinkPad lineup faces tougher competition. IBM lags Hewlett-Packard, Dell Computer and Toshiba in laptops, and analysts said IBM has to keep up with the latest features as rivals cut prices to chase sales.

Microsoft plans Office expansion this summer

In its latest overhaul of the Office productivity suite, Microsoft Corp. offers a sweeping set of software tools designed to help workers collaborate on projects, locate and share network-accessible data and keep tighter corporate control of "sensitive" e-mail and documents.

Microsoft said the software, code named Office 11, will be called Microsoft Office 2003. It is slated for final release this summer, said Simon Marks, Microsoft Office product manager.

But the biggest changes aren't in the standard word processing, spreadsheet and other business applications that people have come to associate with Office. Rather, Microsoft has developed two new software programs and is shifting how it markets Office. Instead of touting individual applications or the traditional Office suite, Microsoft is billing Office as an integrated system of software and services.

Microsoft's second beta includes new applications, called OneNote and InfoPath. OneNote allows users to type or handwrite notes with search and organizing functions. InfoPath allows organizations to automatically enter, collect and use data in a variety of applications.

The company said it has not yet determined a price for Office 2003.

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