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Comments on general communication forms and then e‐mail in particular, in various applications. Presents the Indian scenario, with service providers from government agencies: ERNET, SIRNET, NICNET, INDONET, VSNL, and from corporate agencies: ICNET, UUNET India, DART, BIIT, RPG Sprint, Datapro. Lists the problems and prospects, considering the views of the infrastructure and the service provider. Concludes that novelty will give way to necessity, that demand will be driven by competition among service providers, and by the prospect of improving the work culture in organizations.

Discusses CD‐ROM as a provider of multiple, simultaneous and remote access to a large amount of information such as abstracts, full text, directories, education materials, music, etc. Presents a number of options that are available to increase access to a CD‐ROM collection and commonly used CD‐ROM networks under LANs, viz., peer‐to‐peer, file servers, client/server and optical servers. Also discusses selection of hardware and software for successful networking. Concludes that careful study of the pros and cons of establishing a CD‐ROM network has to be weighed in terms of cost and usage.

Presents briefly the publishing activities and the impact of new technologies on the publishing and delivery of electronic information. Highlights the hybrid solutions, namely online launch, information augmentation, information supplementation and update, delivery, ways and means of accessing through online services from commercial companies and publishers. The paper discusses Internet, magnetic media, fax on demand, and personal digital libraries or intelligent Internet terminals. Concludes with publishing information transforming into media production, the need for laws on intellectual property to become global, and the term subscription replacing the term licensing.

Provides a broad view of the role of an Internet service provider (ISP) and the factors to be considered before entering the ISP market. Describes the Internet/ISP scene within India and discusses the configuration of local, regional and national level ISPs, and the supporting infrastructure. Identifies success factors. Concludes that though many companies entered the nascent ISP business in India due to deregulation, many of them are unlikely to survive in the longer term.

Briefly discusses the impact of information technology on medicine and health care. Introduces the concept of an integrated health information system, and details its functions and its benefits, especially for developing countries. Defines telemedicine and describes its origin, scope and functioning. Details its advantages, namely the expansion and export of skills, and explains its use in fetal telemedicine, teleendoscopy, telemedical education and telepathology.

An Internet service provider is examined, along with the factors that should be considered when entering the ISP market. The global Internet scenario is discussed regarding the phases of the Internet in India, i.e. pre and post commercialisation. The main players are described: ERNET, NICNET, STPI, VSNL, MTNL, Satyam Infoway and Bharti‐BT. The financial and legal implications are highlighted in the Indian context. Many companies entered the nascent ISP business in India due to deregulation. Building local content, foreknowledge of new Internet technologies, connecting issues, competitiveness, etc. would help in their sustainability.

This article identifies the changes that libraries and information centres (LICs) need to undergo for networking, and lists the existing communication networks (INDONET, ERNET, NICNET, GPSS, RABMN, INET) and libraries and information networks (INFLIBNET, DELNET, BTIS, SIRNET, TIFACLINE, CALIBNET, MALIBNET, BONET, MYLIBNET, PUNENET, etc.) in India. It mentions the paradigm changes that LICs undergo, challenges to their networking, and also highlights the role of IT in transforming traditional LICs into a digital mode. It discusses the various Governmental policies that led to the development of national information infrastructure, the inadequacies of the infrastructure, the status of IT application in Government, and the challenges in converting library contents into computer readable form. It concludes that, although India has drawn up ambitious plans, it has not seen the benefits that could come from employing these facilities to improve the socio‐economic conditions of its citizens or help it emerge as an economic superpower.

This paper discusses the genesis of e‐books and derives a comprehensive definition from various definitions reported for them. It lists the various types of e‐books with their characteristics and the major players in the market. It also highlights the pros and cons of e‐books, and compares select e‐book reader hardware and software with their specifications, requirements and characteristics. The impact of e‐books on the publishing industry, on libraries and librarians, and digital rights management is discussed. The author concludes that e‐books are rapidly becoming a viable alternative and provide growing advantages over the traditional medium.

This article covers the evolution of traditional intellectual property rights (IPR) laws and associated concepts from printed to digital works, and discusses how the characteristics of digital replication pose problems for traditional IPR systems. It highlights international treaties on copyright, including the Universal Copyright Convention, the Berne Convention, the Performers and Phonograms treaty and the Sui‐Generis Protection of Databases. It provides some insight into the Indian software industry by discussing the scope of Indian copyright law, the rights of owner, infringement, penalties, and makes a comparison with US law. The article concludes that judicious participation by all countries in the development of a globalized IPR regime would strengthen the global digital economy.

Discusses the efforts of manufacturing enterprises to make themselves Internet‐ready, to cope with future e‐ business. Changes brought by the Internet will force enterprises to become more agile and responsive. However, the same changes force a need to deploy integrated information systems, and to have business processes in place to facilitate rapid decision‐making, and optimize the extended supply chain by integrating internal business processes with those of business partners. Concludes that e‐business has not yet caused the revolutionary changes in asset‐intensive process industries that it has in information‐based industries.