Web jam

Res Rocket Surfer hasn't headlined a major concert, and they don't have any gold records. But they've played all over the Internet globe as the world's first cyber-band.

Computer software called the Distributed Real-Time Groove Network (DRGN) lets groups of musicians jam on the Internet. It's like being in a chat room, but instead of talking, you play instruments.

Each player sends his part of the impromptu jam session live through the Internet. A musician in Germany might start the beat by playing drums. Then someone else in England adds bass? And a person in the United States plays the melody with a lead guitar - all at once.

When you start playing, DRGN blends the music together, making it seen like everyone is playing at the same time in the same place - even if there are delays on the Internet.

DRGN was developed by Matt Moller and Canton Becker in March 1996. "DRGN provides the opportunity for people to meet and play music together who would have never met otherwise," Moller said. "People will be able to form global bands easily without the hassles of geographical boundaries."

Will the internet affect the practice of medicine?

Q: Will the Internet affect the practice of medicine? How? Karima El Kori? Morocco (elam(AT)mbox.azure.net)

A:The Internet will affect almost everything, and the practice of medicine in no exception. Many affects are left already.

The Internet is accelerating the sharing or research ideas and results, and allowing health-care professionals patients alike easier access to the latest student.

People with WEB access who have a very sick relative typically go out on the Internet and see what's going on. I've personally spent many hours on the Web reading information about health issues facing my friend and family. The detail of medical information is stunning - but there's lots of quackery out on the Internet, too, so don't believe all that you read.

The Internet lets patients who share a malady stay in touch, share information and feel less alone. The community of patients is worldwide, and forums make it easy for them to connect.

If you're trying to choose between two risky procedures, it's valuable to be able to exchange e-mail with other people who now face - or have faced - the same choice.

A good place to begin your exploration of medical information and patient support groups is at the MedWeb site manufactured by the Emory University Health Science Center Library (at http://www.gen.emorv.edu/medweb).Other gateways include two U.S. goverment

site, www.healthfinder. gov andwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/.

In the years ahead, the Internet's impact on medicine will grow. Once high-speed connections are common and people adjust to the emerging Web lifestyle, remove consultation will become popular.

Strides in "telemidicine" are being made already, especially in regions of the word where doctors and medical facilities are spread thinly. For example, images such as CAT scan and X-rays are compressed and transmitted via the Internet, so those specialists elsewhere can offer rapid consultation.

The paper approach is terribly inefficient compared to want computers make possible, but this in inefficiency has the practical advantage of helping protect privacy - and protecting advantage is a virtual in electronic form, there is at least the potential for efficient but unauthorised distribution.

Fortunately, encryption and authentication technologies combined with strong privacy polices can make electronic medical records much more secure than their paper counterparts.