With an increasing number of people not going to visit friends and relatives over the holidays because of their fear of flying, an increasing number of people who have connections to the Internet are making use of new technologies to have face-to-face conversations, on camera, with friends far away -- even those on the other side of the world.

An informal survey taken by UPI in Las Vegas shows that many people from all walks of life who have some mastery of the computer have purchased small, inexpensive "cams" in order to be seen at distant points. The cost of these cams has now come down to the point that an adequate one can be purchased for as little as $22 on some Internet Web sites.

Many say they use a protocol call Netmeeting. It's imbedded in most Windows applications, though not some of the latest ones. Nor is it available for use on Macs.

One person said she and her sister visit many hours a day using Netmeeting, leaving it on all the time, giving the feeling that they both live in the same house again.

By the way, the same technology -- once only dreamed of by AT&T and horribly expensive when it did become available -- is now a free service on the Internet. Many news organizations, including CNN, often show reports from correspondents via Web cams. The pictures are often choppy, but the concept works and it is bringing families together.

(Thanks to UPI Feature Reporter Dennis Daily)

YOU'VE GOT SUBSCRIBERS

America Online says worldwide usage of its AOL service has surpassed 33 million. The latest 1 million subscribers came onboard in just the last month -- with the company having reported 32 million subscribers at the end of November.

Though continuing its steady ascent in terms of subscribers, the overall company -- AOL Time-Warner -- has faced large financial challenges this year from the marked drop in advertising revenues that have plagued the entire media industry, and from the cost of implementing one of the biggest business mergers in history.

Also, while each customer represents a potentially long-lasting income stream -- depending on how long they stay with the AOL service, and how much they use the service -- there is a large acquisition cost in terms of marketing and advertising to get each new subscriber.

AOL's new chairman Barry Schuler hailed the continued upswing as an ongoing vote of confidence by the online public for the AOL service, the largest online service and Internet-access provider in the world.

"Our continued strong membership growth and usage, as well as climbing popularity of our music and other entertainment offerings, underscore the increasing value of the AOL service," he said. "With our engaged audience and unmatched selection of broadband content, AOL is uniquely positioned to drive broadband adoption among mass market consumers and accelerate the development of the Digital Household."

According to the company, AOL 7.0 -- the new version of the service launched in October -- helped to further drive usage of the service and now accounts for almost 45 percent of AOL sessions in the United States. The company said that on average AOL members are spending almost 70 minutes online daily.

(Thanks to UPI Deputy Business Editor T.K. Maloy)

PROGRAMMERS PRETTIFY INFORMATION

Computer scientists are trying to engage the senses while presenting information. For example, the Meeting Pot -- designed by Itiro Siio of Tamagawa University in Tokyo -- sends a waft of coffee smell to someone's office when others have begun to brew coffee in the break room.

The odor, produced by a fan and a package of coffee grounds, is a subtle signal that people are gathering for a break.

The idea behind such projects is to put a more pleasing face on the ever-increasing presence of technology in our lives. "We are rapidly headed to a world where every person uses dozens of things with computation and communications capability in them," Scott Hudson, an associate professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, told the New York Times. (NYSE:NYT) "Information overload threatens to gobble up all of our attention."

So-called 'calm' technologies shift information from the user's center of attention to its fringes, allowing him or her to absorb it at a comfortable pace.

"Imagine an ambient display that can generate hundreds of aromas," said Ishii, extending the concept of the Meeting Pot. "You could map a variety of activities in cyberspace to one aroma or a combination of many. The user could be made to feel as if he were actually surrounded by the ether of information."

(Thanks to UPI Science Writer Jim Kling)