11.02.1996. 12:19
Online companies lay out their wares in Cannes
By Marcel Michelson
CANNES, France, Feb 11 (Reuter) - Online computer service
suppliers, laying out their wares at a trade fair in Cannes, are
convinced they can conquer Europe in 1996, changing the way
people communicate, relax and do their shopping.
At the five-day MILIA multimedia show here which lasts until
Monday, the media industry is out in force to show their new
products in a bid to conclude licensing and distribution deals.
Glamorous girls tried to exite interest in pornographic
CD-ROMs while a group of priests touted a CD-ROM of the
treasures in the Vatican Museums.
But the spotlight was on online services with CompuServe and
AOL both aiming to dominate a growing market.
An online computer service is accessible over a telephone
line by anybody with a personal computer and a modem.
The services, which charge a monthly subscription, offer
information such as news and magazines, weather forecasts,
cinema listings and others.
They also give access to the world wide Internet computer
network, allowing electronic mail messages to be sent to
anywhere on the globe.
There are some 30 million people connected to online
services, mainly in the U.S.
Jack Davies of U.S. market leader America Online said his
service had more subscribers than many newspapers and claimed
that more people were logged on to America Online during prime
time in the evening than there were people watching CNN,
Thomas Middelhoff, a board member of German media group
Bertelsmann which is launching AOL in Europe in joint venture
with America Online, said AOL would become "the biggest cable
company" of Europe, bypassing television companies and
transporting a large chunk of personal communication.
Andrew Gray, general manager Europe of H&R Block's
CompuServe, said he expected to reach one million subscribers in
August. Middelhoff said AOL would have more paying members than
CompuServe within two years.
"This is no more a market for tomorrow. The market is here,
its coming to the boil," said Arnaud Lagadere, president of
Grolier Interactive which is part of Lagardere Groupe.
Magazines like Elle are already online, allowing women to
check out fashion trends, beauty and health advice or recipes.
Originally, online services were difficult to use. A
complicated adressing system required computer programmer skills
to find even the simplest information.
But so-called browser software programmes, like the ones
made by Netscape or Microsoft, are making it very simple.
Many publishing houses are now combining their CD-ROM titles
with online links -- a person using the CD-ROM on a computer can
with a click of a mouse connect to a database with fresh
information.
Philips Electronics aims to link its CD-i interactive
compact discs with online services, turning the television in
the living room into an Internet terminal with mail
possibilities.
Television companies are switching to digital television and
electronics groups Thomson and Sun Microelectronics teamed up to
develop a technology to make television interactive, allowing
viewers to participate in programmes.
Music is also going online. AOL has a music channel on its
service and small French online group Infonie is going a step
further -- its subscribers can listen to new records when they
browse through the online record shop.