Hybrids of CD ROM with online services should grow exponentially through the turn of the century. Some 720 hybrids are expected in 1996; 6,500 in 2000. (That would be 9% of all CD-ROM titles.) [NewMedia, 5/13/96, p. 31. Flash Information.]

The US advertising market is about $125B/year. Online advertising was only $80M in '95, $343M in '96, and maybe $5B in 2000. Advertisers consider current web advertising to be non-intrusive (and some would say ineffectual). Some consumers disagree, and object to paying for downloads of ads, graphics, and blinking or scrolling text. A company called PrivNet hopes to sell software to block such material. . [LA Times, 6/10/96, B6. EDUPAGE.]

eShop Inc. (San Mateo), a 4-year-old company helping set up WWW storefronts, has been purchased by Microsoft. [WSJ, 6/11/96, B6. EDUPAGE.] (Selling your business is often a good business move.)

Seignorage is the amount of profit that a government makes by converting silver bullion into coins. Electronic commerce threatens that revenue, which amounted to about $20B in the US in 1994. [Mark Bernkopf, Electronic Cash and Monetary Policy, 1996. AWAD, 6/5/96.] (Couldn't they just print more digital money?)

On the other hand, government profits when business profits. Californians who want help selling software internationally should contact the State of California Trade & Commerce Agency, which has eight overseas offices. Katie Vorreiter , San Jose Export Resource Center, (408) 277-3506 (or 2506?), 408-282-1005 Fax. See also the BAYTRADE information system at . [Charlie Pfefferkorn <[email protected]>, 5/14/96. Bill Park.]