Bits and Bytes

BR>

A MICROSOFT EDUCATION

The three R's of education might have to make room for an "M." Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft is expected to capture 56 percent of the K-12 education market for computer software during the 1996-97 school year, according to a survey by IDC/LINK, Farmington, Mass. Windows 95 was voted a top teacher's tool in the 1996-97 Technology & Learning Software Awards. Microsoft also has donated more than $1 million in software and instructional materials to teacher training programs.

HUMAN RESOURCES GETS SOME HELP

You'd think a government office crowing about its advancements in "artificial intelligence'' would be setting itself up for a Jay Leno punch line. But Prince William County, Va., officials recently announced that they're using this technology to start up an automated applicant processing system in its human resources office. The system will scan resumes and rank potential employees much more quickly than humans, county officials say. It can scan and rank 50 applicants in
30 minutes.

BRITAIN GOES ON INFOTECH WELFARE

For a guy at the top of Britain's Conservative Party, Prime Minister John Major is starting to sound like a socialist when it comes to getting his country's voters to bone up on IT. He plans to offer every adult in the country free information technology training at Microsoft, British Telecom and Dixons outlets via a voucher system.