MMDS can cover a 35-mile radius. MCI Worldcom and Sprint are testing MMDS in cities across the nation, with hopes of reaching a combined 60 million U.S. homes. LMDS is focusing on corporate customers.
Scientists are at the stage of programming DNA to perform computations in cells.
Boston U researchers have created a biological toggle switch using genes to turn the switch to on and off positions, corresponding to the computer s ones and zeroes. The biological switch, built with a circular section of DNA, holds two genes that suppress each other - one is on while the other is off, switched on and off with chemicals or temperature change. While slow compared to traditional computers, the switching proves that cells can be programmed in ways that could be useful and could ultimately lead to containers of bacteria that serve as computers and cells that are injected into the body to help patients. Books may soon follow music onto the Web, and will most likely encounter the same online distribution problems that record executives face. Time Warner plans to develop a unit called iPublish that will publish new authors and allow readers to communicate with one another.