04/07/97 WEB SURFING THAT'LL GIVE YOU WHIPLASH

WEB SURFING THAT'LL GIVE YOU WHIPLASH

WEB SURFING IS ABOUT TO HIT hyperdrive. On Mar. 20, Adaptec Inc. in Milpitas, Calif., introduced a line of PC add-in cards that will permit Web surfing at speeds up to 30 megabits per second--more than 100 times as fast as the current PC modems. The cards, ABA-1010 and ABA-1020, use the same technology as Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) settop boxes, which allow TVs to receive digital satellite services (DSS) such as DirecTV Inc. Since DBS setups beam signals down in digital code, it's easy to deliver Web pages, in addition to TV programming, to the 18-inch satellite dish on a consumer's roof.
The idea is that DSS providers, such as DirecTV and EchoStar Communications Corp., would work with Internet service providers to tap only the most popular Web sites. These sites would then be linked to a DBS ''uplink'' station that would blast the signal to an orbiting DBS bird.
In turn, the satellite would broadcast the signal back down to a consumer's home. What's more, a single transponder on the DBS can continuously transmit more than 5,000 Web sites per day. That way, with an Adaptec card and software, users could ''program'' their PCs to be on the lookout for certain sites or topics--CNN's home page for news on Bosnia, say --and have that recorded on their hard drive for later viewing. DSS providers also are working on putting Web technology into TV programs: Imagine a financial news channel, for example, with each stock symbol linked to that company's Web page. The Adaptec $395 DBS cards are available to PC makers for testing.
By Paul M. Eng
EDITED BY IRA SAGER