At 14 libraries across the U.S., the U.S. Patent Office is testing public access to the Automated Patent System by providing full-text, online patent searches. Participating public libraries include those in: Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami-Dade, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and New York City. Participating state-university libraries include Auburn, North Carolina State, Nebraska, Utah, Arizona State, and Oregon State.
Microsoft is once again under the Justice Department's antitrust microscope, this time because of the company's recent $1.5 billion acquisition of Intuit Corp. and its Quicken personal-finance software. Microsoft claims that the government's interest is standard procedure, but the department has asked for additional information, indicating more than normal scrutiny.
Researchers at the University of Southern California are using DNA as molecular computers, having translated--and solved--the traveling salesman problem in the language of molecular biology. Dr. Leonard Adleman carried out the reaction in 1/50th of a teaspoon in a test tube. For details, see his paper in the November 11, 1994 issue of Science magazine.