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Focuses on Apple Computer's launch of iTunes and iPod as a way to give Wintel users a relationship with Apple. Deals with issues of brand equity, corporate and brand goal setting, target selection, and matching product and service characteristics with goals and targets. Also allows for a discussion of channel partners, their interests, and their impact on the likely success or failure of a strategy.

The University of Leicester Library’s Distance Learning Unit identified Internet Chat software as an exciting new option to support their enquiry service for distance learning students based all over the world. A trial service began in October 2000, using ‘HumanClick’software. Chat Icons were displayed on appropriate web pages, which offer a direct link to a librarian, or the opportunity to send an email message if the service is not staffed at that time. Students do not have to download any software to access the service and the librarian can deal with several chat requests at the same time. The ‘HumanClick’software allows the librarian to track where the enquirer is on the web site and allows them to ‘push’ relevant web pages to them. The trial revealed that chat has great potential for providing an alternative method of communication with students as a distance, but does require experience and patience to make the students feel comfortable with this new method. Library staff training and practice was vital to the success of interactions and it became evident that certain types of enquiry were more suited to this method than others.

To meet the growing need for computer law information, West Publishing Company has announced two new books by Professor Steven L. Mandell, ‘Computers, Data Processing, and the Law’, and ‘Computers, Data Processing, and the Law: Text and Cases’, the professional edition.

YADE‐OPEN DEM is an open‐source software based on the discrete element method, (DEM) which uses object oriented programming techniques. The purpose of this paper is to describe the software architecture.

The DEM chosen uses position, orientation, velocity and angular velocity as independent variables of simulated particles which are subject to explicit leapfrog time‐integration scheme (Lagrangian method). The three‐dimensional dynamics equations based on the classical Newtonian approach for the second law of motion are used. The track of forces and moments acting on each particle is kept at every time step. Contact forces depend on the particle geometry overlap and material properties. The normal, tangential and moment components of interaction force are included.

An effort is undertaken to extract the underlying object oriented abstractions in the DEM. These abstractions are implemented in C⁺⁺, conform to object oriented design principles and use design patterns. Based on that, a software framework is developed in which the abstractions provide the interface where the modelling methods can be plugged‐in.

The resulting YADE‐OPEN DEM framework is designed in a generic way which provides great flexibility when adding new scientific simulation code. Some of the advantages are that numerous simulation methods can be coupled within the same framework while plug‐ins can import data from other software. In addition, this promotes code improvement through open‐source development and allows feedback from the community. However implementing such models requires that one adheres to the framework design and the YADE framework is a new emerging software. To download the software see http : //yade.wikia.com webpage.

The frustrations of attempting to deliver as wide access as possible to CD‐ROMs, for users of different platforms, led David Price to consider SilverPlatter's Electronic Reference Library. In this article he outlines some of the important features, describes its implementation at Oxford, including testing of a Web gateway, and looks forward to future developments.

This paper aims to present a methodology for defining and modeling context-awareness and describing efficiently the interactions between systems, applications and their context. Also, the relation of modern context-aware systems with distributed computation is investigated.

On this purpose, definitions of context and context-awareness are developed based on the theory of computation and especially on a computational model for interactive computation which extends the classical Turing Machine model. The computational model proposed here encloses interaction and networking capabilities for computational machines.

The definition of context presented here develops a mathematical framework for working with context. Also, the modeling approach of distributed computing enables us to build robust, scalable and detailed models for systems and application with context-aware capabilities. Also, it enables us to map the procedures that support context-aware operations providing detailed descriptions about the interactions of applications with their context and other external sources.

A case study of a cloud-based context-aware application is examined using the modeling methodology described in the paper so as to demonstrate the practical usage of the theoretical framework that is presented.

The originality on the framework presented here relies on the connection of context-awareness with the theory of computation and distributed computing.

Outlines the introduction of a new service dubbed InfoEyes that was launched early in 2004 to provide online reference services and related information training specifically for print‐impaired individuals. InfoEyes is a multi‐state project involving libraries for the blind and print impaired in 11 states and the District of Columbia. Briefly reports on the genesis, planning, and the first few months of the pilot test phase.

Connect is an intelligent terminal package developed specifically for use with online information retrieval and electronic mail services. It allows complete flexibility in both uploading and downloading information, including logon procedures and prepared search profiles. Capture of data is simple and all host products can be emulated, including Flow Control. Ten user definable keys, independent of hardware, are available for storing information such as logon procedures. An unlimited number of Host Profiles can be used to store the values of User Keys, protocols, baud rate, etc. All communications parameters are controlled by Connect with no need to use separate utilities such as Setup, Configure, etc., and can be stored in each Host Profile. A unique feature of Connect is a usage Log, which enables details and ownership of search sessions to be stored on disk in a format compatible with many applications packages, such as Dbasell and Infostar, for the production of itemised activity reports and analyses. Connect can also be used to transfer files, including programmes, from micro to micro, and is available for most common machines.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework that explains international activities of open source software (OSS) firms.

This paper reviews relevant literature related to international operations of knowledge‐intensive firms, especially in the software industry. Theoretical development is based here on a combination of the network approach, international new venture theory and inward–outward internationalization.

The findings in this study suggest that the international activities of OSS firms can be divided into project activities and business activities. Project activities include inward and outward linkages, and partner identification. Business activities include domestic and partner network activities that can lead to international business as well.

For scholars, the framework provides a new approach to explain many international activities of OSS firms by integrating three international business theories. In addition, it provides good starting point for further empirical examination.

The framework helps managers gain a better understanding of complex circumstances embedded into the international activities of OSS firms. With that better understanding, the managers can focus their activities, which helps further to improve their firms' competitiveness engendered by the international activities in the OSS development.

The framework developed in this study is believed to be the first serious attempt to provide a deeper theoretical understanding of international activities of OSS firms.