ST Report: 13-Jan-95 #1102
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 01/19/95-08:49:32 AM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 13-Jan-95 #1102
Date: Thu Jan 19 08:49:32 1995
SILICON TIMES REPORT
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INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
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January 13, 1995 No. 1102
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> 01/13/95 STR 1102 "The Original * Independent * OnLine Magazine!"
"""""""""""""""""
- STR INDUSTRY REPORT - PICTURE PUB 5.0a - SB EDUTAINMENT
- CD Wares Sales Soar! - Designer 4.1a - IBM #1 US Patents
- USR OPENS R&D LAB - HP FREE FIX KIT! - More PCTools FAQ
- ADOBE STREAMLINE 3.1 - People Talking - Jaguar NewsWire
-* IBM SHIPS PENTIUMS AGAIN! *-
-* AMD & INTEL SETTLE! *-
-* CDROM Drive Sales Up 137% *-
==========================================================================
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> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
Last week, we brought the coverage of the Unisys/GIF/CIS matter to
your attention. Since that time, we've found that many well intentioned
folks in the computing community have been offering "opinions" relative to
the facts surrounding this matter. In the interests of solid information
without the "dash and flash" some would love to have attached to the
Unisys Patent matter, we are carrying the most recent clarification and
FAQ from Unisys. Please review these documents and then carefully listen
to all the "armchair' counselors with extreme caution. If you are in the
touchy position of having to make a decision relative to your business,
software and Unisys, ..please consult an attorney. Then make an informed
well thought out decision. Remember, the decision you make may very well
affect the entire userbase.
The Winter CES show took place recently and as expected the Game
Machine offerings were the "center stage" attraction. There were over
thirty press releases from Sega alone. Along with many from the other
participants. They (Sega) have intro'ed a number of new products for the
home entertainment scene including an extensive CD-ROM support library.
We shall have in depth coverage of many of the exciting CES show
participant's offerings in next week's issue.
Micrografx Corp. Has released updates for its two excellent
programs; Picture Publisher 5.0 to 5.0a and Designer 4.0 to 4.1a the patch
files may be downloaded from their support area. This week's issue is
busy so I'll make this short and sweet. Its Friday the thirteenth, (had
to slip that in there) ...almost mid-January. The first quarter updates
and releases are already beginning to flow. Look for at least a half
dozen major updates in the next ten to fifteen days. Word Perfect 6.1 for
Windows is marvelous. In fact, its quite a bit more powerful and feature
rich than many of the higher priced DTP packages we were familiar with in
a previous computer lifetime. If you are in the market for a superb
Document Processing Ensemble, don't hesitate. Word Perfect 6.1 for
Windows is everything you'd expect from Word Perfect and Novell and then
some. STReport highly recommends this fine product.
Ralph....
Of Special Note:
----------------
STReport will be branching out further to Internet's userbase in the
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of Internet ftp sites in which to post our issues for as well. Whatever
we can do to make STReport available to you. we'll try it!
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STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
""""""""""""""""
Publisher -Editor
""""""""""""""""""
Ralph F. Mariano
Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
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PC SECTION AMIGA SECTION MAC SECTION ATARI SECTION
---------- ------------- ----------- -------------
R.D. Stevens R. Niles J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson
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Melanie Bell Jay Levy Jeff Kovach
Marty Mankins Carl Prehn Paul Charchian
Contributing Correspondents:
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Eric Jerue Ron Deal Mike Barnwell
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develop the high standards of straight forwardness our readers have come
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The Staff & Editors
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> STR INDUSTRY REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
"""""""""""""""""""
IBM/POWER-PC/PC SECTION (I)
===========================
Computer Products Update - CPU Report
------------------------ ----------
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Issue #02
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
******* General Computer News *******
>> AMD, Intel Settle Legal Fight <<
After seven years in court, chip-making rivals Intel Corp. and Advan-
ced Micro Devices Inc. have ended their court fights. The two have been
going at each other since the late 1980s over AMD's rights to clone
Intel's '386 and '486 lines of microprocessors.
In the settlement:
-:- The two firms agree to drop all pending litigation against each
other.
-:- AMD agrees to pay Intel $58 million, but is given a perpetual
license to the microcode of Intel's '386 and '486 chips.
That means AMD can continue to produce and sell its clones of 386 and
486 chips, which have already generated hundreds of millions of profits
for AMD," the Journal notes. "Although 386 chips are considered outmoded
these days, 486 clones continue to be big sellers and are likely to
generate significant profits for AMD for years to come."
In addition, AMD gets rights to an Intel patent covering memory
management and can negotiate a new patent cross-license agreement to
replace one that expires at the end of 1995.
>> CD-ROM Drive Sales Up 137 Percent <<
According to preliminary 1994 CD-ROM sales data the worldwide instal-
led base of CD-ROM drives grew to 26.9 million units, up 137% from 1993.
The U.S. accounted for the largest overall increase, followed by the
U.K., Germany and Japan. Schwerin notes that the increase was driven by
the widespread bundling of CD-ROM drives with new desktop PC systems.
Building on the strong momentum established during the Christmas 1993
selling season, worldwide software unit sales were up 161 percent in
1994, led by the consumer market.
Because of the industry's relative shift toward lower-priced consumer
products, worldwide title revenue was up 65% in 1994, less than half the
increase of worldwide units.
>> IBM Advertises Pentium Computers <<
IBM Corp.'s personal computer division this week published advertise-
ments for its computers based on Intel Corp.'s Pentium chip, one month
after the computer giant declared it wouldn't ship machines with the
flawed chip.
IBM halted shipments on Dec. 11 of computers containing the Pentium
chip, citing the flaw in the microprocessor that caused errors in some
complex division problems. The move caused many to think the Pentium
flaw was more serious than it really was, especially when IBM revealed
its own test results proved the Pentium produced incorrect answers more
frequently than Intel had said. It also caused some to think IBM was
using Intel's problems to promote it's own rival chip still under
development.
>> Australia Second to U.S. in PCs <<
Australia appears to rank second only to the United States in per-
centage of home computer usage. New figures from Down Under indicate
nearly one in four Australian households uses computers on a regular
basis.
Reports say that analyst Graham Penn of the International Data Corp.
as saying the report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics illustrates
Australians were catching up.
Said Penn, "There are currently 21.1 computers for every 100 people
in Australia. That figure is only second to the U.S., which has 26 com-
puters per 100." He predicted that by the year 2000, some 60% of
Australian households would have a PC.
The Bureau of Statistics report shows that between February 1993 and
February 1994, a total of 23.9% of households frequently used a PC. Of
these, 73% were using word-processing software.
>> IBM Again No. 1 in U.S. Patents <<
IBM Corp. was issued more U.S. patents in 1994 than any company has
ever received in any year. This is the second year in a row that IBM has
ranked first in the number of patents awarded by the U.S. Patent &
Trademark Office.
According to IFI/Plenum Data Corp., IBM received 1,298 U.S. patents
in 1994 -- 199 patents (18 percent) more than second-place Canon KK.
>> MasterCard Courting the Internet <<
A deal aimed at letting Internet users safely charge online purchases
to their credit cards has been struck by MasterCard International Inc.
and Internet software publisher Netscape Communications Corp.
A Mastercard official said a new system will allow cardholders to
purchase goods over the Internet without having to worry about their
credit card numbers being filched by network vandals.
Reports say the new MasterCard system will use Netscape techniques to
scramble account numbers and other data and forward the information to
MasterCard computers to reduce the threat of vandals taking control of
customers' credit-card accounts and running up charges.
MasterCard, using Netscape's secured software, will connect its own
computers to the Internet, which will carry encoded authorization
requests to MasterCard's private network and ultimately to the banks
connected to it.
Marc Andreessen, Netscape's vice president of technology, said
"People will be able to become merchants on the Internet with nothing
more than software," adding many merchants currently must use leased
phone lines and dedicated terminals to get credit-card charges processed
and approved. The Netscape system will let them get approval directly on
the Internet, he said.
>> Microsoft to Offer Pentium Fix <<
A software solution for Windows users that effectively disables the
faulty floating-point hardware in Intel Corp.'s Pentium microprocessors
has been announced by Microsoft Corp.
Reports from Microsoft say the software will be offered for free to
users and will provide them with an alternative to replacing the flawed
Pentium processors.
Microsoft officials said the software still is being tested, but
should be available in the second half of the year.
The new software will offer customers three choices to address the
Pentium division problems:
-:- Skip the new Microsoft emulation software if they won't be affected.
-:- Use the software only if a division flaw is present.
-:- Use the new software all the time.
Microsoft said the software will be provided to computer manufactur-
ers to pre-install on Pentium-based systems and will work with Windows
3.1, Windows 3.11 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and it is being
tested for compatibility with Windows 95.
>> Online Security System Unveiled <<
AT&T Bell Laboratories announced says it has developed a comprehen-
sive security system for all types of commercial information services.
The AT&T Information Vending Encryption System (IVES) is designed to
protect such services as video-on-demand, home shopping and banking,
software distribution, electronic publishing, electronic news and
alerting services.
AT&T says the system works on all types of communications networks,
including the Internet, other data networks, cable television networks
and direct satellite broadcasting.
IVES uses chips jointly designed by AT&T Bell Laboratories and VLSI
Technologies Inc., the world's largest producer of chip sets for
personal computers.
The first application of IVES will be in set-top cable television
boxes being built by AT&T as part of an end-to-end digital video
solution for Cablevision Systems Corp.
AT&T notes that the IVES system uses highly secure cryptographic
addressing based on security technology licensed from RSA Data Security.
Customers and network nodes have unique public cryptographic addresses
ensuring that information can be accessed only by those for whom it was
intended. The system provides encryption of information for both
communications and storage.
AT&T says IVES provides automated key management, requires minimal
bandwidth and has a straightforward security applications interface.
>> U.S. Robotics Opens R&D Site <<
Modem maker U.S. Robotics Inc. has announced the opening of a new
Massachusetts-based research and development facility.
The company says the facility, located in Marlborough, Massachusetts,
will focus on the development of corporate/systems communications
products, including new local area network (LAN) and wide area network
(WAN) products and technologies.
>> CD Software Sales Soar <<
The Software Publishers Association reports that CD software sales
soared in 1994's third quarter.
For the quarter, total sales of reporting companies were $150.6
million, a 229% increase over the $45.7 reported for the same period in
1993. For the first three quarters of 1994, total sales were $387.2
million, a 282% increase from $101.2 in the first three quarters of
1993. Unit sales in 1994's third quarter were 5.88 million, a 253%
increase, while unit sales for the first three quarters were 15.6
million, up 292%.
>> Chip Market Surged in 1994 <<
The 1994 semiconductor market shattered the $100 billion mark in 1994
and reached an unprecedented $109.7 billion in revenue for the year,
according to Dataquest's preliminary 1994 worldwide semiconductor market
share results.
The market researcher notes that the market showed no signs of slow-
ing as revenue grew by 28%, outpacing the 1993 market growth rate of 26%.
Each of the four semiconductor supplying regions of the world in-
creased semiconductor revenue by more than 20% in 1994. otal revenue for
Asia/Pacific companies grew by 63% and surpassed European suppliers for
the first time.
Intel Corp. became the first semiconductor company to break the $10
billion barrier in a calendar year. The microprocessor giant led the
worldwide semiconductor market in revenue for the third consecutive
year.
>> White House Tackles Telecom Laws <<
The Clinton administration began educating the American public this
week on why reform of 60-year-old telecommunications laws is needed.
Reports from Washington, D.C. say that Vice President Al Gore said
that consumers need to understand reform is necessary for them to
receive the most benefits of the information age.
"Competition in the information marketplace will provide Americans
lower prices for their telephone, cable, and information goods and
services and give them more and better choices," he said in a speech to
regulators and local government officials meeting in Washington.
"Consumers want to ensure that they are not disadvantaged by the
change that does come to them -- that they do not find the cost of being
in the game rising constantly with little benefit to justify it and no
increase in the quality," Gore said.
Until now, the administration's efforts to revise the old tele-
communications laws centered on how such reform would affect multi-
million-dollar telecommunications companies and their ability to get
into new businesses.
In an attempt to reach the American people on the issue, Gore
insisted the competition resulting from legal reform will create jobs --
some 1.4 million over the next 10 years, according to White House
estimates.
The Clinton administration will focus legislation in the new Congress
on opening businesses to competition.
>> Dell Drops Latitude Notebook Price <<
Dell Computer Corp. announced this week it has reduced prices on its
Latitude notebook computers by 7% to 13% with the largest cuts made on
the 50 megahertz Intel DX2-based dual-scan color models, which were
reduced by $300 to a new retail price of $1,999.
In addition, both the 33 megahertz Intel 486SX-based dual-scan color
models and the 50 megahertz Intel DX2-based active-matrix TFT color
models were reduced by $200. The former was reduced from $1,999 to
$1,799, while the price of the latter was lowered from $2,799 to $2,599.
The price reductions are effective immediately.
>> Kits to Fix 1.5 Million HP Printers <<
Hewlett-Packard Co. has discovered 1.5 million of its inkjet printers
have a flaw -- they sometimes fail to grab the top sheet of paper in
their feeder trays -- and the company plans to distribute fix-it kits to
correct the problem.
Affected models are DeskJet and DeskWriter printers, models 510, 520,
550C and 560C.
Reports say that HP discovered the flaw in printers made in its
Vancouver, Wash., facilities between June 1993 and March 1994.
Sources say HP will send roller-repair kits immediately to all re-
gistered owners of affected printers and will ask everyone else to call
for the kit.
Customers can request a kit by calling (800) 656-2324. The 1.5
million printers affected represent about 10 percent of all of HP's
inkjets.
>> System 7.5 Shipments Near 1 Million <<
Shipments of System 7.5, the new Apple Macintosh operating system
which has been available for about three years, now are nearing 1
million.
Apple Vice President Guerrino DeLuca also says shipments of PowerMac
computers, Apple's top-of-the-line computer introduced last March, now
have topped 750,000.
DeLuca also said:
-:- Apple's Newton technology, including licenses, now commands 75%
of the personal digital assistant market.
-:- The company is ready to license its Pippin multimedia CD-ROM
player and has sold a license to Bundie, Japan's largest toy company.
-:- The AppleSoft Interactive TV unit is licensing its set top box
processor technology and that Bell Atlantic Corp. will be using it in
its interactive TV trials.
>> Compaq Adds to Multimedia Units <<
A new model has been added to Compaq Computer Corp.'s family of
multimedia computers.
The Compaq Presario CDS 524 incorporates a 486DX2/66MHz microprocessor
and 8MB of RAM. Company officials are quoted as saying the estimated
street price of the computer is $1,849.
____________________________________
> Graphics Support STR FOCUS!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
While the following Unisys Statement did appear in last week's issue, we
decided to include it again. This time, its accompanied by the Unisys
FAQ. The main reason is to alleviate the "profusion of confusion" being
unloaded upon the graphics community. Hopefully, between the two highly
informative documents, you'll be able to cut through the nonsense and get
to the real facts. As the man says; "just the facts".
January 6, 1995
---------------
Unisys Clarifies Policy Regarding Patent Use
in On-Line Service Offerings
The concerns, inquiries and some apparent confusion that have resulted
from the December CompuServe advisory clearly indicate that we need to
clarify our policy concerning the use of the Unisys Lev Zempel Welch (LZW)
patent by software developers for the major on-line services.
We want to reiterate earlier communications that the issue of patent
licenses is not focused on the end users of on-line networks, including
the Internet. We encourage end users to continue to take full advantage
of the outstanding benefits of a rapidly growing on-line community.
Unisys was awarded the patent in 1985. We became aware of the increasing
interest in our LZW patent beginning in 1990 when many companies
approached us to license the patent for their hardware and software
products. The growth in the use of compression technology was mushrooming
in order to meet the demands for transmitting increased amounts of data.
To date, more than 100 companies, including hardware, software and on-line
information services, have licensed the Unisys LZW technology.
Two years ago, Unisys learned that the LZW method was incorporated in the
GIF specification and immediately began negotiations with CompuServe in
January of 1993. We reached agreement with CompuServe on licensing the
technology in June 1994, which calls for CompuServe to pay Unisys a
royalty of 1% of the average selling price it charges for its software.
This represents approximately 11 cents for each copy sold and connected to
its information service.
Under the agreement, CompuServe, at its discretion, could relicense the
LZW technology to commercial developers using the GIF specification in
software that connected directly to the CompuServe information service.
With the agreement completed on June 21, 1994, CompuServe was given six
months to implement the terms of its license. CompuServe later asked for
a one-month extension, which we granted.
Unisys did not require CompuServe to pass on any fee to its sublicensees
or end users. Such a decision, and the content and timing of CompuServe's
advisory, was at their discretion.
Consistent with the entire information industry's desire to protect
intellectual property, Unisys will expect all of the major commercial
on-line information services companies employing the LZW patent to license
the technology from Unisys at a reasonable rate. The on-line service
companies are not required to sublicense the technology to developers
producing software for the commercial on-line services. It will be, as it
is today, at the on-line service's discretion as to whether it charges a
license fee to developers or chooses an alternative method to account for
its licensing fees payable to Unisys.
We recognize and are concerned -- thanks in large part to the recent and
very active use of the on-line network -- that developers did not
understand that the patented technology was resident in GIF. Taking that
into account, Unisys does not intend to pursue previous inadvertent
infringement by versions of GIF-based software products marketed prior to
1995.
Concerning all future software product development and enhancement of
existing products for accessing on-line services, Unisys expects
developers of commercial, for-profit software to secure a license from
Unisys, or through the licensed on-line service, for the use of the
patented technology. The very reasonable terms should prove no financial
barrier to the introduction of product into the on-line network.
Unisys does not require licensing, or fees to be paid, for non-commercial,
non-profit GIF-based applications, including those for use on the on-line
services.
Concerning developers of software for the Internet network, the same
principle applies. Unisys will not pursue previous inadvertent
infringement by developers producing versions of software products for the
Internet prior to 1995. The company does not require licensing, or fees to
be paid for non-commercial, non-profit offerings on the Internet,
including 'Freeware'.
Commercial developers of GIF-based software for the Internet are expected
to secure a licensing agreement with Unisys for software products
introduced beginning in 1995, or enhancements of products that were
introduced prior to 1995. Again, terms should not preclude the entry by
these firms into the marketplace.
For organizations introducing World Wide Web servers and 'Home Page'
offerings, most will not be required to secure a license from Unisys.
Most organizations acquire software from other developers to create their
offerings on their servers. Therefore, only the software firms who sell
the enabling software for profit would be expected to secure a licensing
agreement from Unisys.
Unisys understands that this issue has caused concern. We want to
reassure all users and developers that we are strong proponents of the
on-line industry.
We're proud that this important Unisys technology has played a role in
the introduction of innovative products and services, many of which are
fueling the explosive growth of the information superhighway.
As members of the information community we want to strike the appropriate
balance between information access and the rights of all information
companies, including the developers of software, to protect their
intellectual property rights.
Patent information: Contact Welch Patent Licensing Department; Unisys;
Mail Stop C1SW19; P.O. Box 500, Blue Bell, PA 19424.
Or via Internet, send E-mail to LZW_INFO@UNISYS.COM, or use a form
available on the Home Page of the Unisys Web Server
(http:\\www.unisys.com) to request follow-up information.
Media contacts:
Unisys Public Relations
-----------------------
Bob O+Leary (215) 986-6413
or
Oliver Picher (215) 986-5367
From: rmarks@ecdcsvr.tredydev.unisys.com (Richard Marks)
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 1995 22:09:14 GMT
UNISYS LZW PATENT
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
January 6, 1995
---------------
Since we released our statement this morning clarifying the terms of our
LZW patent licensing agreement, we have received several questions from
both the press and the on-line community at large. We thought we would
share with you some of the most frequently asked questions -- and our
answers. We hope this may help answer some similar questions you have.
What is the LZW patent?
-----------------------
The LZW patent covers methods and apparatus for lossless compression and
decompression of digital data. Unisys holds a U.S. patent (number
4,558,302) as well as equivalent patents on the technology in Canada,
France, Germany, U.K. and Italy. Equivalent patents are also pending in
Japan.
How did Unisys get the patent?
-----------------------------
Data compression and decompression is a critical aspect of data
transmission and storage and is very much of interest to Unisys and the
industry. The patent is the result of research done by Terry Welch at
Sperry Corporation in the early 1980s that extended previous work by
researchers Lempel and Zev. Sperry Corporation was granted the U.S.
patent in 1985. Sperry and Burroughs merged in 1986 to form Unisys, thus
Unisys became the owner of the Sperry patents.
Why is LZW so widely used?
--------------------------
It is a very efficient compression method and a highly advantageous way of
compressing and decompressing data for a wide variety of purposes. It is
easy to implement, operates at high speed and results in high compression
ratios without loss of data (that is, it significantly shrinks the file
size).
GIF has been in use since 1987. Why is Unisys enforcing its rights now?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unisys only became aware of the use of LZW in the GIF specification two
years ago. We immediately began negotiations with CompuServe at that time
and reached an agreement in June, 1994. The existence of the patent has
never been a secret. In fact, we have completed licensing agreements for
LZW technology with over 100 companies since 1990, for products including
hardware, software and on-line information services. With most of these
companies, it was the licensees who approached Unisys, not Unisys forcing
the taking of a license.
Why did it take you so long -- almost five years --
to figure out that GIF was infringing on your patent?
-----------------------------------------------------
As is common in industry, we don't have massive people resources devoted
to searching and finding products which may be infringing and then
undertaking the complex task of reverse engineering the products to
determine whether or not they have infringed on the patent. In the case
of GIF, as soon as we became aware we immediately sought to protect the
patent through a license to CompuServe.
Is this part of a larger campaign to enhance your revenues?
-----------------------------------------------------------
No. The actual revenue derived from this particular patent is not
significant. However, Unisys has invested hundreds of millions of dollars
in overall technology development and has protected its investments in the
form of thousands of patents. We have a responsibility to our
shareholders to ensure that we protect these valuable company assets.
Why have you targeted the on-line industry now?
-----------------------------------------------
Unisys has not specifically targeted the on-line industry, evidenced by
the fact that we have licensed this technology to hardware, software and
information services companies over the past several years. We became
aware of the applicability of our patent to the GIF specification and we
simply undertook negotiations with CompuServe as the primary stakeholder
in this specification. The announcement content and timing of
CompuServe's action was solely a CompuServe business decision.
The agreement with CompuServe says I can only use GIF in accessing
CompuServe? What about other on-line services?
------------------------------------------------------------------
Our relicensing agreement with CompuServe allows CompuServe to relicense
the technology only for use in accessing the CompuServe information
network. However, commercial, for-profit developers are free to contact
us to secure a license for LZW. Non-commercial, non-profit users aren't
required to secure a license to use the technology.
Is Unisys willing to negotiate with other developers?
-----------------------------------------------------
Absolutely. Unisys wants to encourage the use of its patented technology
and is therefore continuing to make licenses available under the patent at
reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions to any interested
party. Keep in mind that Unisys can only license the patented LZW
technology. Unisys has no other stake in GIF (other than using it for our
own graphics transmission).
What do you consider "reasonable terms"?
----------------------------------------
While we will conduct negotiations with each applying developer, the
CompuServe royalty rate is somewhat indicative of the terms that should
cause no financial barrier to product entry into the on- line marketplace,
or anywhere else. The CompuServe agreement calls for the company to pay
Unisys a royalty of approximately 1% of the selling cost of the product
for each product sold and connected to the on-line service. Given the
calculation of the average price of CompuServe products, this came out to
about 11 cents per product sold and connected.
GIF is used extensively on the World Wide Web.
What does Unisys intend to do there?
-----------------------------------------------
Unisys in no way wants to discourage end users and developers from making
use of this technology. We intend to license commercial software
developers. However, non-commercial, non-profit products, including
freeware, need not pay license fees. Organizations introducing a World
Wide Web server and home page to the Internet are not expected to license
the technology if they used a third-party software application to develop
their server offering. Only the commercial third-party developer in that
case should secure a license.
What about Internet browsers?
-----------------------------
Again, our focus is on the developers and not on the end user. Also, our
action is primarily focused on for-profit developers. If a developer
intends to make a profit or provide a product for commercial use, they
should negotiate a license from Unisys.
Will this hurt the use of GIF?
------------------------------
We certainly hope not. GIF has been outstanding for handling graphics
files and its use of LZW technology is one of the factors in its success.
Again, the licensing terms are very modest and should not be a barrier to
its use.
Will users of CompuServe have to pay a royalty to
Unisys every time they upload or download a GIF file?
-----------------------------------------------------
No. Revenue to Unisys under the CompuServe license is independent of the
number of files transferred.
What will be the impact on end users and commercial software developers?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There should be no impact on individual end users. We encourage them to
take full advantage of GIF. For developers, the impact should be minimal.
Again, Unisys continues to make licenses under the patent available to any
interested party at reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and
conditions. License fees for this technology should not be a barrier to
any software developer.
Why did you announce the changes during the Christmas holiday?
--------------------------------------------------------------
We concluded the license with CompuServe on June 21, 1994. CompuServe was
given six months to implement the terms of the license agreement.
CompuServe asked for, and we granted, a one- month extension. The timing
and content of the announcement, and for that matter, the need for the
announcement, were entirely of CompuServe's choosing and without Unisys
knowledge or approval.
I'm using freeware or shareware that can manipulate GIF files.
Can I still use it?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Yes.
What about freeware developers?
-------------------------------
Our focus is on commercial, for-profit developers. Freeware is exempted
from licensing fees.
And shareware developers?
-------------------------
Shareware developers that intend to make a profit from their software
should negotiate a license with Unisys. Alternatively, if their software
is intended to access CompuServe only, they might want to take advantage
of CompuServe's relicensing agreement with us.
Was the Unisys patent ever challenged?
--------------------------------------
The Unisys LZW patent was challenged in 1993, re-examined by the United
States Patent and Trademark Office, and the patentability of all claims
was reconfirmed in January of 1994. This is a valid and fully enforceable
patent.
Patent information: Contact Welch Patent Licensing Department; Unisys;
Mail Stop C1SW19; P.O. Box 500, Blue Bell, PA 19424.
Or via Internet, send E-mail to LZW_INFO@UNISYS.COM, or use a form
available on the Home Page of the Unisys Web Server
(http:\\www.unisys.com) to request follow-up information.
Media contacts:
Unisys Public Relations
-----------------------
Bob O+Leary (215) 986-6413
or
Oliver Picher (215) 986-5367
***
Go Graphics NEWS
----------------
TO BE FEATURED IN ARCHIVE FILMS
HOLLYWOOD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL LADIES
New clips from Hollywood's golden age of films will feature the greatest
of Hollywood's leading ladies in a new section in the Archive Films Forum
(GO ARCFILM). The clips, in .AVI format, are a cross section of many kinds
of Hollywood features and short topics. They have been culled from Archive
Films' vast collections of movie and TV content. Famous models such as
Betty Page and Dorothy Van Nuys will join actress greats such as Marilyn
Monroe and Jayne Mansfield in this fascinating look at the lovely ladies
of the screen, large and small.
For more information on graphics and your computer, GO GRFWELCOME. The
Graphics forums are part of CompuServe's extended services.
MILL POND PRESS BRINGS
LIMITED-EDITION ART TO FINE ART FORUM
Mill Pond Press, one of the world's leading publishers of limited-edition
art prints and art books, has joined forces with the 'Go Graphics' Group,
Inc. and CompuServe to provide CompuServe members with immediate viewing
access to the Mill Pond collection. This makes Mill Pond the first major
publisher of contemporary limited-edition prints to enter the information
superhighway.
Images of the Mill Pond works can be viewed online. This "virtual
catalogue" will allow CompuServe members to see the work of today's
greatest artists at their convenience before going to local galleries or
museums. The online area will also allow collectors to locate nearby
galleries that feature Mill Pond works and communicate with these
galleries online.
The Mill Pond Press libraries may be accessed through the Fine Art Forum
on CompuServe by using the online command GO FINEART or GO MILLPOND. The
Graphics forums are part of CompuServe's extended services.
____________________________________
> CIS RATE CHANGE STR FOCUS!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
COMPUSERVE REVISES STANDARD PRICING PLAN
========================================
(09-Jan-95)
CompuServe has announced new Standard Pricing Plan rates that
significantly cut connect-time and mail charges, allow access to more
basic services, reduce U.S. and Canadian WATS-line charges, eliminate
European prime-time communications surcharges, and raise the monthly
membership fee by $1.
Effective 05-Feb, connect charges for access at 9.6 and 14.4 kilobits per
second will drop by 50 percent to $4.80 per hour. This is CompuServe's
third price reduction in connect-time rates in three years.
At the same time, CompuServe will enhance its basic service package,
giving members access to more than 100 services at no additional charge,
compared to 78 previously. Members also will be able to send the
equivalent of 90, three-page electronic mail messages at no additional
charge, compared to 60 previously. Electronic mail costs have been reduced
by as much as 80 percent.
The monthly membership fee will increase by $1 to $9.95. The new fee will
include free access to the Executive Service Option. ESO surcharges for
specific products continue to apply. In Western Europe, the CompuServe
network $7.70 per hour prime-time communications surcharge will be
eliminated. In the United States, Wide Area Telephone Service surcharges
will be cut by 31 percent to $6 per hour. The Canadian WATS-line charge
will be cut by 41 percent to $20 per hour.
NEW PRICING MEANS MORE VALUE FOR MEMBERS
----------------------------------------
Starting 05-Feb-95, CompuServe Members will benefit from an enhanced
Standard Pricing Plan. The new rates significantly lower connect-time
and mail charges, allow access to more basic services, reduce US and
Canadian WATS-line charges, and eliminate CompuServe network prime-time
communication surcharges for Western Europe. The new monthly membership
fee will be $ 9.95.
Rates are quoted in US [$] Dollars
----------------------------------
CompuServe's new Standard Pricing Plan rates will not be effective for
members in Japan or Australia until 26-Mar-95.
HOW YOU WILL BENEFIT
--------------------
Lower connect-time rates: The connect-time rate for access at .6 and 14.4
kilobits per second will drop from $9.60/hour to $4.80/hour. This is a 50
percent rate reduction in high speed access.
Lower mail charges: The rate for sending a CompuServe Mail message will
be lowered from .15 cents for the first 7500 characters of a message, and
.05 cents for each additional 2500 characters of the message.
On 05-Feb-95, the rate will become 10 cents for the first 7500 characters
of a message, and .02 cents for each additional 7500 characters of a
message. At the same, you will continue to receive the $9/month mail
allowance. This means that you may send 90 three-page full-text messages
per month FREE. This is an increase of 30 messages per month.
Enhanced Basic Services Package: CompuServe will increase the number of
basic services from 78 to more than 100. As of 05-Feb-95, you will now
have access to over 100 basic services connect-time free.
Lower WATS-line charge in the United States: The Wide Area Telephone
Service (WATS) surcharge in the United States will be reduced to $6/hour.
This is 31 percent rate reduction from $8.70/hour previously. The
Canadian WATS-line charge will be cut by 41 percent to $20/hour.
Elimination of prime-time communication surcharge in Western Europe: The
$7.70/hour prime-time communication surcharges for CompuServe network
access in Western Europe will be eliminated.
Free Access to the Executive Service Option: The Standard Pricing Plan
will now receive all of the benefits of the Executive Service Option.
Premium service surcharges continue to apply for specific products.
For More Information:
---------------------
GO BASIC
GO EXECUTIVE
GO RATES
Chart compiled by Jim Ness
FEATURE NEW OLD
*******************************************************************
* Connect time $4.80/hr (300-14.4*) $4.80 (300-2400) *
* $9.60 (9600-14.4) *
*******************************************************************
* Basic Services 100 + 78 *
* (free) *
*******************************************************************
* US/Can. Toll-free $6/hr $8.70/hr *
* surcharge *
*******************************************************************
* Europe prime-time $0/hr $7.70 *
* surcharge *
*******************************************************************
* Email free 90 3-page msgs 60 3-page msgs *
* allowance (approx) (approx) *
*******************************************************************
* Exec. Services Incl. in Basic $10/month min. *
* (news, stocks, etc) services charge *
*******************************************************************
* Membership fee $9.95/month $8.95/month *
* (std plan) *
*******************************************************************
* During testing period, 28800 and 57600bps
are also charged at $4.80/hr
________________________________________________
> SB EDUTAINMENT CD 16 STR Spotlight "It keeps getting better"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
SOUND BLASTER EDUTAINMENT CD 16 MULTIMEDIA KIT
==============================================
Sound Blaster 16 Advancing the standard for CD-Quality stereo sound.
Features & Specifications:
Sound Blaster 16 with a Panasonic CD-ROM interface.
See SB16.TXT for specifications of the sound card.
Everything You Need with the Best-Selling Software Included
-----------------------------------------------------------
* Top-selling software titles (see below)
* Sound Blaster 16 stereo sound card
* Double-speed internal CD-ROM drive
* Stereo Speakers
* Microphone
* Easy Installation
Creative Double-Speed Technology CD-ROM Drive
---------------------------------------------
Features and Specifications:
* Internal double-speed drive
* 300 KB/second transfer rate, fast data access of 320 ms
* Multi-Session Photo CD Compatible
* Exceeds MPC level 2 specifications, CD-ROM XA ready
* Software controlled, automatic tray-loading drive
* Daisy-chain up to 4 Creative Labs drives
Stereo Speakers & Microphone
----------------------------
* Matched, high performance Creative Labs stereo speakers
* High-quality dynamic microphone
Sound Blaster Edutainment CD 16
-------------------------------
Includes Today's Top-Selling Multimedia Software
* Aldus Photostyler SE
* Aldus Gallery Effects Vol. 1
* Quicken Deluxe CD-ROM
* New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia
* Rebel Assault
* Links
* Lemmings
* Indianapolis 500, The Simulation
* Speed
* 3-D Dinosaur Adventure
* Travel Adventures
* Creative Screen Singer
* Creative VoiceAssist
* Allie's Playhouse
* Altamira Composer
* Kai's Power Tools
* Digital Morph
* SeaWolf
* Ultima VIII
* Strike Commander
* Syndicate
* Wing Commander 2
* Hong Kong Mahjong
* Populous II
* Savage Empire
* 7 Cities of Gold
* Shadowcaster
* Space Hulk
* Ultima Underworld
* Ultima VII
* Wing Commander Academy
* Chuck Yeager's Air Combat
* Eagle Eye Mysteries Orignal
* Peter Pan: A Story Painting Adventure
* Eagle Eye Mysteries in London
* Scooter's Magic Castle
* Creative Ensemble
* Creative WaveStudio 2.0
* Creative Soundo'LE
* Creative Mosaic
* Creative Talking Scheduler
* Monologue for Windows
* QuickCD
System Requirements
-------------------
* IBM-PC 386SX and higher or 100% compatible
* SVGA graphics adapter
* Microsoft Windows 3.1 or higher
* 30 MB hard drive (minimum)
* 4 MB RAM (optimum performance with 8 MB or higher)
* 3.5 inch, 1.44 MB floppy drive
* Mouse
* Open 16-bit Slot
* Open + height drive bay available (drive rails may be required)
Warranty
--------
One-year limited hardware warranty covering parts and labor
_____________________________________
> PC TOOLS FAQ STR Spotlight
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
More PC Tools for DOS and Windows FAQ
=====================================
This is the Frequently Answered Questions Document for More PC Tools for
DOS and Windows.
0.0 What is an FAQ (Frequently Asked/Answered Questions)?
-----------------
GENERAL QUESTIONS
-----------------
1.1 What is More PC Tools for DOS and Windows?
1.2 Where should I install More PC Tools for DOS and Windows?
1.3 Technical Support Services
----------------------------
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS/UPGRADES
----------------------------
2.1 I heard that Symantec is going to drop the Central Point Products.
2.2 Are there any file upgrades available?
---------------
TROUBLESHOOTING
---------------
3.1 How can I receive more information about Central Point
Products?
3.2 More PC Tools Installation fails.
3.3 CPR locks up the system when saving image files.
3.4 CPR locks up the system when saving image files in Windows.
3.5 CPR interferes with my modem communications when saving an image
file.
3.6 CrashGuard Pro setup changes are not saved.
------------------------
BEGINNING OF THE ANSWERS
------------------------
0.0 What's an FAQ?
Introduction:
A FAQ is a compilation of the most common questions about a subject and
their answers. This is an established technique (adopted from its
widespread use on USENet) for reducing the repetition of questions and
answers from on-line services (such as BBS, CompuServe and America
Online).
Our intent is to answer as many questions as possible. You don't have to
leave a question and call back to get an answer to something that we've
already covered a few times before.
We will be aggressively maintaining these to ensure that they always have
answers to the most current issues pertaining to a product. Naturally
users are encouraged to read the FAQ before posting. Hopefully you'll
find your question (and its answer) here (which will save you time and
money).
Please note that this is not intended to replace the manual or the
built-in help. It is prepared and maintained by our tech. support staff
so our FAQ's may not have breadth or editorial polish of our official
documentation. Hopefully, this will answer some questions that our
technical writers couldn't foresee. You may have been referred to this
document by one of our technicians or another customer. Please don't take
offense to this. We are trying to provide the answers in the best
possible way. You are welcome to suggest improvements.
-----------------
GENERAL QUESTIONS
-----------------
1.1 What is More PC Tools for DOS and Windows?
More PC Tools includes a combination of new and improved features
that will help users configure, control and protect their systems. These
include:
* CrashGuard Pro with CPR for Windows - which includes upgraded
technology from PC Tools for Windows and PC Tools Pro - is a
two-part system which helps prevent crashes and facilitates the
recovery of data if a crash or power loss does occur. CrashGuard
monitors system resources, memory and disk space in Windows and
warns the user so he can shut down unnecessary applications and
stabilize his system before a crash occurs. An improved CPR
feature automatically takes periodic snapshots of un-saved data
in RAM to facilitate recovery of that work if a crash occurs.
CPR is now twice as fast as the version in PC Tools Pro and is
controlled from within Windows. CrashGuard Pro also adds a new
automatic shutdown (commonly known as a bookmark) feature.
* DriveSpeed improves IDE hard disk drive transfer speed 50% or
more by utilizing the buffers built into the drive controller.
Unlike a disk cache which uses the PC's memory to buffer reads
and writes, this feature uses the firmware on the hard disk's
embedded IDE controller to improve data-transfer rates.
DriveSpeed uses less than 1K of RAM, making it economical in
operation as well.
* DriveCheck quickly and unobtrusively checks a user's hard disk
periodically and alert users to actual or potential problems,
including lost clusters or cross-linked files and high degrees of
file fragmentation. When a problem is noticed, advice on solving
it is given.
* BackTrack is a utility many will appreciate _ this program
keeps a history of changes made to DOS startup files
(autoexec.bat and config.sys) and Windows configuration files
(win.ini, system.ini and progman.ini). In use, this program
allows users to "back track" and restore earlier "working"
versions of these files, should that become necessary.
* System Information Pro (SI Pro) helps improve system
reliability by providing the user information about what
resources (like IRQs and DMAs) are currently being used in their
system. This lets the user quickly troubleshoot new hardware
installations. SI Pro uses Intel's Plug-and-Play database for
easier system configuration, even for non-Plug-and-Play PCs and
add-in cards. SI Pro also gives extensive hardware diagnostics,
including new tests for modems, CD-ROM drives and the latest CPUs.
1.2 Where should I install More PC Tools for DOS and Windows?
If you already have an earlier version of PC Tools for DOS or
Windows, More PC Tools should install to the same subdirectory. Because
More PC Tools does update certain files in the PCTOOLS or CPS directory,
installing into that directory will guarentee that all files are updated
properly and minimize the amount of disk space needed.
If you do not have an earlier version, then it can be installed on
any drive and to any subdirectory of your choosing.
1.3 Technical Support Services
A wide variety of services are available to registered owners of Central
Point products.
ON-LINE & AUTOMATED SUPPORT SERVICES
Technical Support via on-line services is available through the services
listed below. Use these services to converse with us and other Central
Point customers for helpful dialog, tips and for access to files using
your computer.
CompuServe Forums:
------------------
Call your local access number, available in your CompuServe
membership kit, and type GO CENTRAL at any exclamation point (!) prompt.
We have two Forums, and if you are using a script to log onto CompuServe,
type GO SYMCPDOS for DOS and Network products, type GO SYMCPWIN for
Windows, Macintosh, and OS/2.
America Online Industry Connection:
-----------------------------------
Call your local access number, available in your America Online membership
kit. The keyword for our industry connection is CENTRAL.
Bulletin Board System:
----------------------
Set your modem to 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and no parity. Dial
503-984-5366 for up to 14,400 baud access.
With our automated fax retrieval service you have instant access to
up-to-date technical articles and product information 24 hours a day, 7
days a week. Call this easy-to-use system from a touch tone phone to
request catalogs or up to four documents to be sent directly to your fax
machine. Call 503-984-2490.
INTERACTIVE TELEPHONE SUPPORT
-----------------------------
Technical Support by telephone is available through a variety of
programs designed to meet the individual support needs of users of our
products. Telephone support is available weekdays from 6:00am to 5:00pm
Pacific Standard Time. Following is a summary of our telephone support
plans:
If you have only an occasional need for technical assistance via
telephone, our PriorityCare program gives you immediate access to our
experts on a pay-as-you-go basis. You have two options with this program:
Call our 800 number to charge the service fee to your credit card, or call
our 900 number and the service fee willbe charged to your regular phone
bill.
Dial 800-491-2764 to charge the $25.00 service fee to your Visa,
MasterCard or American Express card. Please have your credit card
handy when you call.
Dial 900-555-7700 to charge the $2.00 per minute fee directly to
your regular phone bill. The first minute of your call is free.
This option is a good choice for those quick questions.
Our QuickStart support program is designed for users who need
telephone assistance getting started with their new software. This
program is also a great value if you think you may need to make more than
one or two calls to technical support. QuickStart gives you 30 days of
unlimited telephone access to our technical experts for $30 per person,
per product family*.
PremiumCare Gold, our annual support plan, is a cost effective
solution if you frequently call technical support. This plan offers a
full year of unlimited calls to technical support for $149.95 per person,
per product family*.
Extended plans are also available to organizations in need of
additional technical support services. We offer a variety of plans,
ranging from toll-free priority telephone support to extended hours and
weekend support. Please call customer service at 503-690-8090 for more
information, or to order any one of our telephone support plans.
* Product Families
----------------
ANTI-VIRUS Anti-Virus for DOS, Windows and OS/2
BACKUP CP Backup for DOS, Windows and special manufacturer's
bundles
MACINTOSH MacTools, MacTools Power PC, Safe & Sound and Anti-Virus
for Macintosh
PC TOOLS PC Tools Pro (DOS), PC Tools for Windows, E-Disk, Speed
Tools, and File Manager
XTREE XTree Gold, XTree for Windows and XTree Gold for Windows
Please note that support is no longer available for Copy II products or
for the Deluxe Option Board. These products have been discontinued. The
most common support questions and answers for these products are available
via the automated fax retrieval service. Order document 58000 for the
Copy II document and 59000 for the Deluxe Option Board document.
----------------------------
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS/UPGRADES
----------------------------
2.1 I heard that Symantec is going to drop the Central Point Products.
Central Point will remain a separate division of Symantec. The Support
Policies will continue to be those of Central Point.
2.2 Is there a file upgrade available?
If file updates should become available, all file updates are in our
software libraries available on our BBS, CompuServe and America Online
forums.
---------------
TROUBLESHOOTING
---------------
3.1 How can I receive more information about Central Point Products?
Symantec and Central Point both offer several less known ways to gain
technical support. Our faxback service is one of them. It contains most
of the more prevalent issues regarding Central Point Software. The
faxback number is (800) 847-8766. Remember, You'll need a touch tone
phone, and a fax machine.
3.2 More PC Tools Installation fails.
First refer to the README.TXT file on More PC Tools Disk #1 for system
hardware considerations and application notes.
Normally if the installation fails, it indicates that there is a device
driver/TSR conflict. System configurations vary, DOS version, Memory
Manager, associated device drivers and TSRs can all effect the
installation.
SOLUTION:
Boot clean (no CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT) and retry the
install. Load any device driver/TSR's that are REQUIRED for
your system.
3.3 CPR locks up the system when saving image files.
Make backup copies of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files and create
these test files. Let's try to determine if it's the system configuration
(Memory manager, etc.). This is the minimum required to run Windows.
Adjust these files to point to where the files are located on your system
making sure to load any required device driver/TSRs.
CONFIG.SYS
----------
DOS=HIGH
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
FILES=40
BUFFERS=30
DEVICE=C:\CPRLOW.EXE
AUTOEXEC.BAT
------------
PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\PCTOOLS
PROMPT=$P$G
SET PCTOOLS= < point this to where you installed More PCTools
\CPR.EXE /LOAD < point this to where you installed More PCTools
REM Do not change the next four lines (*CPR*)
\CPR.EXE /ASK < point this to where you installed More PCTools
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 TRSPWIN
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 WIN
REM End of CPR /ASK section (*CPR*)
Try CPR in both DOS and Windows.
If this configuration works, you'll need to determine which device
driver/TSR is conflicting in the original CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT
file.
3.4 CPR locks up the system when saving image files in Windows.
Try tip 3.3 to verify it's not a device driver/TSR conflict. If you still
lock up in Windows make sure that CPR is identifying the video board
properly in the Advanced Configuration. Next try a different Windows
Video mode which will effect how the image is saved. The default is CPR
driver, but try Windows Repaint and Windows Reprogram and see how that
effects the operation. if you still have problems, refer to the CPR.TXT
file located in the /SYSTEM sub-directory for compatibility issues on
other information.
3.5 CPR interferes with my modem communications when saving an image
file.
The CPR.TXT file tells you to disable CPR before running any modem
communication software.
An alternative is to run SI.EXE to determine which software interrupts are
intercepted, and set this as a Hooked Interrupt in the Advanced
Configuration Options menu. This will vary from system to system
depending on the communications software that your running and the
software interrupts that it intercepts.
3.6 CrashGuard Pro setup changes are not saved.
Make sure that the following lines are included in the WIN.INI file.
Either add it to the existing [cps] section or create this section if it
does not exist.
[cps]
CPS3=[drive]:\[directory]\WNGUARD.INI
Make sure that CPS3= points to the directory where you installed More
PCTools. This tells CrashGuard where to store the configuration changes
made for CrashGuard. Without it, the changes are not saved.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N
FARGO PRIMERA PRO COLOR PRINTERS - 600DPI
For a limited time only; If you wish to have a FREE sample printout sent
to you that demonstrates FARGO Primera & Primera Pro SUPERIOR QUALITY
600dpi 24 bit Photo Realistic Color Output, please send a Self Addressed
Stamped Envelope [SASE] (business sized envelope please) to:
STReport's Fargo Printout Offer
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155
Folks, the FARGO Primera Pro has GOT to be the best yet. Its far superior
to the newest of Color Laser Printers selling for more than three times as
much. Its said that ONE Picture is worth a thousand words. Send for this
sample now. Guaranteed you will be amazed at the superb quality. (please,
allow at least a one week turn-around)
A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo)
Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
Fire up that high-speed modem and head for your favorite GEnie Software
Library! Effective October 10, 1994, you'll be able to participate in an
open beta test, offering access to GEnie Services at 9600 bps for as
little as $5.00 per hour.
As a result of an arrangement with Sprint, GEnie will be offering 9600 bps
access from almost 300 SprintNet locations. Best of all, this high-speed
access will not be subject to high-priced surcharges. The normal $2.00
per hour SprintNet surcharge will apply...even at 9600 bps! This open
beta test is expected to run through the end of the year.
To find the number of the SprintNet access number nearest you, simply type
PHONES at any GEnie menu prompt (or use the "Move To Keyword" option in
GENIE for Windows and type PHONES). Remember, this rate applies only to
9600 bps access via SprintNet. So be sure to choose the access number
showing "9600" in the "Baud Rate" column AND "SprintNet" in the "Network"
column.
From the "Fine Print" department, please note that the $2.00 per hour
surcharge for SprintNet access is applicable even during your initial four
hours of monthly usage.
So, whether you're into downloading software, reading bulletin boards, or
accessing databases, it's about to become cheaper to do it faster!
GENIE Information Services copyright 1995 by General Electric
Information Services/GENIE, reprinted by permission
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
___ ___ _____ _______
/___| /___| /_____| /_______/ The Macintosh RoundTable
/____|/____| /__/|__| /__/ ________________________
/_____|_____|/__/_|__|/__/
/__/|____/|__|________|__/
/__/ |___/ |__|_/ |__|_/____ Managed by SyndiComm
/__/ |__/ |__|/ |__|______/
An Official Forum of the International Computer Users Group
*** STReport available in MAC RT ***
ASCII TEXT
for ALL GENIE users!
MAC/APPLE SECTION (II)
======================
John Deegan, Editor (Temp)
> ADOBE STREAMLINE 3.1 STR InfoFile
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
ADOBE STREAMLINE 3.1 FOR THE POWER MACINTOSH
============================================
For Immediate Release
---------------------
Adobe Systems Announces Adobe Streamline 3.1 For the Power Macintosh
Mountain View, Calif. (January 4, 1995) (NASDAQ:ADBE) Adobe Systems
Incorporated today announced Adobe Streamline version 3.1 software for the
Power Macintosh. The Adobe Streamline product is a widely acclaimed
software application that converts color and black & white bitmapped
images into Adobe PostScript language line art.
The package will now include application software for both the Apple
Macintosh and Power Macintosh on floppy diskette, automatically installing
the version appropriate for users and allowing users to take full
advantage of their equipment now and in the future. Adobe Streamline 3.1
is expected to be available by the end of this month.
Adobe Streamline 3.1 for Power Macintosh takes advantage of the increased
processor speed of the Power Macintosh, allowing users to convert files
from pixels to vectors at three times the speed of a 68040 processor.
Adobe Streamline gives me the ability to set preferences and customize
how I want my tracing done, said Abigail Rudner, partner in On the Wave
Visual Communications, a design firm based in Oakland, Calif., that
specializes in interface design, 3D modeling and animation for print and
multimedia. I have seen a huge improvement in productivity when using the
Power Macintosh version of the product.
Adobe Streamline software is used by graphic artists, desktop publishers
and technical illustrators for converting logos, photographs, sketches and
non-technical illustrations into Adobe PostScript language line art.
Streamline provides the ability to scan artwork directly into the program
(using any scanner plug-in compatible with Adobe Photoshop software); to
retouch images with an assortment of pixel-editing tools; to convert
images using a variety of commonly used options or through custom
settings; and to recolor and edit the resulting Adobe PostScript paths.
Once converted, the artwork can be edited further with Adobe Illustrator
software or incorporated directly into a page layout.
With the new version of Adobe Streamline, Adobe now offers a complete line
of Power Macintosh graphics arts tools, said John Kunze, Adobe's vice
president of graphics products. Power Macintosh users can now take full
advantage of cross-application integration with Adobe Streamline, Adobe
Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Dimensions via PostScript on the
Clipboard and then similar interfaces.
Adobe Streamline for the Macintosh and now Power Macintosh provides
support for posterizing both color and grayscale images, and converting
them into filled and stroked Adobe PostScript objects. Scanned color
photos can automatically be posterized into vector-based art by specifying
up to 256 different colors or 16 grayscale levels. Direct scanner control
is provided through the Acquire interface, allowing any scanner with an
Adobe Photoshop-compatible plug-in or that supports the TWAIN interface to
be used for scanning images directly into the program. Retouching images
prior to conversion is accomplished with Adobe Streamline softwares image
editing tools and commands.
These tools are modeled after similar features in the Adobe Photoshop
program and include the marquee, lasso, magic wand, pencil, eraser and
line tools, the eyedropper, Grow and Select Similar commands and Adjust
Levels. After conversion, users can use sophisticated color controls and
simplify images by deleting points and smoothing paths. For example, the
Smooth command lets users adjust the bezier curves createdduring image
conversion, while the Paint Style palette, modeled after the Adobe
Illustrator 5.0 program, provides interactive, drag-and-drop editing of
process and custom colors. Special commands allow searching by fill color,
stroke color or stroke weight enabling easy selection and editing of the
artwork.
System Requirements
-------------------
System requirements for running the Adobe Streamline 3.1 program include a
Macintosh II, Classic, Centris, SE/30, Quadra or any other Macintosh with
a 68020 processor or higher, including Power Macintosh; 2 megabytes of
application RAM on a 68000-based machine or a Power Macintosh; a hard
disk; Apple System 6.0.7 or greater. For improved performance, Adobe
recommends 4 megabytes of application RAM and a color monitor.
Price and Availability
----------------------
Adobe Streamline 3.1, supporting both the Macintosh and the Power
Macintosh, is expected to be available by the end of January from Adobe
Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $199.
Registered users of version 3.0 may upgrade to version 3.1 for $29.
Registered users of Adobe Streamline 1.0 and 2.0 for the Macintosh may
upgrade to the full retail package of Streamline 3.1 for $69. The upgrade
will include two floppy disks and Type On Call 4.0, a locked CD-ROM
containing both the Macintosh and Windows versions of the Adobe Type
Library. In addition to instant access to more than 2,000 typefaces
available for purchase, Type On Call 4.0 includes the latest versions of
ATM, 32 free fonts, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Type Reunion and KeyCap
Access.
To upgrade, customers may call Adobe direct at 1-800-521-1976. Customers
who purchased Adobe Streamline 3.0 for Macintosh on or after November 1,
1994, will receive a free upgrade with proof of purchase.
Adobe Systems Incorporated, founded in 1982, is headquartered in Mountain
View, California. Adobe develops, markets and supports computer software
products and technologies that enable users to create, display, print and
communicate electronic documents. The company licenses its technology to
major computer, printing, and publishing suppliers, and markets a line of
application software and type products for authoring visually rich
documents. Additionally, the company markets a line of powerful, but easy
to use, products for home and small business users. Adobe has subsidiaries
in Europe and the Pacific Rim serving a worldwide network of dealers and
distributors. Adobe recently completed a merger with Aldus Corporation
and Adobe's 1993 revenue on a combined basis was approximately $520
million.
Adobe, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Streamline, Type On Call
and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated or its
subsidiaries and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Apple,
Macintosh, Power Macintosh, Macintosh Centris and Macintosh Quadra are
registered trademarks, and Power Macintosh are trademarks of Apple
Computer, Inc. Classic is a registered trademark licensed to Apple
Computer.
For more information please contact:
Patricia J. Pane
415 962.2967 Fax 415 962.2659
ppane@mv.us.adobe.com
_______________________________________________
> SEGA/CDROM SUPPORT STR InfoFile SEGA; SETTING CDROM STANDARDS
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Where CD-Rom Support is Happening
SEGA - CDRom GAMES Listing
==========================
Compiled by Joel Hilke - 74271,1016
This is a list of Sega/CD games released as of January 10, 1995. Most of
this list is from memory (!!) and I'm sure I've missed a few games. If you
know of something I've left out, please let me know.
I plan on including a list of ratings for the games as soon as I can work
out the time to do so. And I plan on keeping this up to date - but as the
poet once said, "The best laid schemes o' mice and men gang aft a-glay."
AD&D: Eye of the Beholder RPG FCI
Adventures of Willy Beamish Adventure Dynamix
Afterburner 3 Flight Sega
AH-3 Thunderstrike Simulation JVC
Android Assault Shooter Big Fun Games
Animals, The Educational Software Toolworks
Batman Returns Action/Driving Sega
Bill Walsh College Football Sports/Football Electronic Arts
Black Hole Assault Arena Bignet
Bram Stoker's Dracula Action Sony Imagesoft
Brutal: Paws of Fury Arena Gametek
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs Driving Rocket Science
Championship Soccer '94 Sports/Soccer Sony Imagesoft
Chuck Rock Action Sony Imagesoft
Chuck Rock 2: Son of Chuck Action Virgin
Cliffhanger Beat 'em Up Sony Imagesoft
Cobra Command Shooting Sega
Comton's Encyclopedia Educational Comptons New Media
Corpse Killer Shooting Digital Pictures
Crime Patrol Shooting American Laser Games
Dark Wizard Strategy Sega
Double Switch Cinematic Sega
Dracula Unleashed Adventure Sega
Dragon's Lair Cinematic Readysoft
Dune Adventure Virgin
Dungeon Master II: Skull Keep RPG JVC
Ecco the Dolphin Adventure Sega
Ecco: The Tides of Time Adventure Sega
ESPN Baseball Tonight Sports/Baseball Sony Imagesoft
ESPN National Hockey Night Sports/Hockey Sony Imagesoft
ESPN Sunday Night NFL Sports/Football Sony Imagesoft
FIFA Internation Soccer Sports/Soccer Electronic Arts
Final Fight CD Beat 'em Up Capcom
Flashback Action Sega
Formula 1 World Championship Driving Sega
Ground Zero, Texas Shooting Sega
Heart of the Alien Action Virgin
Heimdall RPG JVC
Hook Action Sony Imagesoft
Iron Helix Adventure Spectrum Holobyte
Jaguar XJ220 Driving JVC
Jeopardy Puzzle Sony Imagesoft
Joe Montana NFL Football Sports/Football Sega
Jurassic Park Adventure Sega
Kids on Site Creativity Digital Pictures
Lethal Enforcers Shooting Konami
Lethal Enforcers 2: Gunfighters Shooting Konami
Links Sports/Golf Virgin
Loadstar Shooting Rocket Science
Lunar: The Silver Star RPG Working Designs
Mad Dog McCree Shooting American Laser Games
Mad Dog 2: The Lost Gold Shooting American Laser Games
Make my Video: C&C Creativity Sony Imagesoft
Make my Video: INXS Creativity Sony Imagesoft
Make my Video: Kris Kross Creativity Sony Imagesoft
Make my Video: Marky Mark Creativity Sony Imagesoft
Mansion of Hidden Souls Adventure Vic Tokai
Mary Shelly's Frankenstein Adventure Sony Imagesoft
Masked Rider: Kamen Rider Zo Cinematic Sega
MegaRace Driving Software Toolworks
Mickey Mania Action Sony Imagesoft
Microcosm Shooter Psygnosis
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Cinematic Sega
Mortal Kombat Arena Arena
My Paint Creativity Saddleback Graphics
NBA Jam Sports/B'ball Acclaim
NFL's Greatest: S.F. vs. Dallas Sports/Football Sega
NHL '94 Sports/Hockey Electronic Arts
Night Trap Cinematic Sega
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure Action Activision
Powermonger Strategy Electronic Arts
Prime Beat 'em Up Sony Imagesoft
Prince of Persia Action Sega
Prize Fighter Sports/Boxing Sega
Puggsy Action Psygnosis
Racing Aces Simulation Sega
Revenge of the Ninja Cinematic Renovation
Revengers of Vengeance Arena Extreme
Rise of the Dragon Adventure Dynamix
Road Avengers Cinematic Renovation
Robo Aleste Shooter Tengen
Secret of Monkey Island Adventure JVC
Sewer Shark Cinematic Sony Imagesoft
Shadow of the Beast 2 Action Psygnosis
Sherlock Holmes Volume I Adventure Sega
Sherlock Holmes Volume II Adventure Sega
Silpheed Shooter Game Arts
Slam City with Scottie Pippin Sports/B'ball Digital Pictures
Snatcher Adventure Konami
Sonic CD Action Sega
Soulstar Flight Core
Space Ace Cinematic Readysoft
Spiderman vs. the Kingpin Action Sega
Star Wars Chess Chess Software Toolworks
Star Wars: Rebel Assault Shooting JVC
Starblade Shooting Namco
Stellar Fire Driving Dynamix
Supreme Warrior Arena Digital Pictures
Terminator Action Virgin
Third World War Strategy Extreme
Three Ninjas Kick Back Beat 'em Up Sony Imagesoft
Time Gal Cinematic Renovation
Tomcat Alley Shooting Sega
Trivial Pursuit Puzzle Parker Brothers
Vay RPG Working Designs
Who Shot Johnny Rock Shooting American Laser Games
Wing Commander Simulation Electronic Arts
Wolfchild Action JVC
Wonder Dog Action JVC
World Cup USA '94 Sports/Soccer US Gold
WWF Rage in the Cage Sports/Wrestle Acclaim
***
For the record I define the main genres in this way:
Action - pretty much any sort of action or platform game where a character
runs from left to right, jumping, shooting or whatever.
Example: Sonic CD, Chuck Rock, and Wonder Dog
Adventure - A game in which you lead a single character, solving puzzles.
Usually does not include combat.
Examples: Rise of the Dragon, Snatcher, and Jurassic Park
Arena - A fighting game in which the soul purpose is to beat the stuffing
out of another character. Focus is on moves.
Examples: Mortal Kombat and Brutal: Paws of Fury
Beat 'em Up - A fighting game in which the soul purpose is beating the
stuffing out of a lot of bad guys at once.
Examples: Final Fight CD and Cliffhanger
Cinematic - A game that uses Full Motion Video in such a way that you must
react to the video sequences displayed. Decision making.
Examples: Night Trap, Road Avengers, and Dragon's Lair
Creativity - A game based on creating or being creative.
Examples: My Paint, Make my Video
Driving - A game in which you drive a vehicle of some sort.
Examples: Jaguar XJ220 and Stellar Fire
Educational - Learning stuff
Examples: Compton's Encyclopedia and The Animals
Flight - A game in which you fly a vehicle (usually from behind) and shoot
at things. The difference between this and a shooter is that this
sort of games puts you IN the craft. The difference between this
and a simulation is that this type of game usually doesn't have
a "real" world to fly in.
Examples: Afterburner and SoulStar
Puzzle - A game in which you solve puzzles of various types.
Example: Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit
RPG - A game in which you control a single or group of characters around,
primarily fighting creatures, controlling inventory, and solving
puzzles - usually very little of the later.
Examples: Lunar, Eye of the Beholder, and Heimdall
Shooter - A game in which you fly a craft or thing up the screen or across
the screen, shooting at things that (hopefully) are shooting
back.
Examples: Android Assault and Robo Aleste
Shooting - A game in which you are the crosshairs. You shoot at things
coming toward you either with the control pad or a light-gun.
Examples: Lethal Enforcers, Tomcat Alley, & Ground Zero, Texas
Simulation - Problematic category. But I've defined it as a game that
places a vehicle into a 3D world and lets you have free run.
Example: Wing Commander
Sports - Pretty simple - I've broken it up into the various sports.
Examples: NHL '94 and FIFA Soccer
Strategy - A game where you manage or control something in effort to
attain some sort of goal. Wargames and such included.
Examples: Powermonger and Dark Wizard
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
STReport International OnLine Magazine is available every week for your
reading pleasure on DELPHI. STReport's readers are invited to join DELPHI
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computer users there.
SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
======================
Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
DELPHI services via a local phone call
JOIN --DELPHI
--------------
Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002
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20 Hours for Only $20!
-----------------------------
Advantage Members have always enjoyed the lowest DELPHI access rates
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is only $1.80 per hour.
20/20 Advantage rates apply for access via SprintNet or Tymnet from within
the continental United States during home time or via direct dial around
the clock. Home Time is from 6pm to 6am weekdays. Access during business
time carries a surcharge of $9 per hour. These rates apply for most
services, but note that there are some surcharged areas on DELPHI which
are clearly marked with a "$" sign.
Who is eligible to take advantage of the plan? Any DELPHI member in good
standing. Applications are reviewed and subject to approval by Delphi
Internet Services Corporation.
It's easy to join. If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can apply
OnLine -- at any time -- for membership in the DELPHI 20/20 Advantage
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The $20 charge will be billed to you at the beginning of the month to
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TRY DELPHI FOR $1 AN HOUR!
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where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for a minimum
$10 monthly charge, with additional hours available at $3.96. But hurry,
this special trial offer will expire soon! To take advantage of this
limited offer, use your modem to dial 1-800-365-4636. Press <RET> once or
twice. When you get the Password: prompt, type IP26 and press <RET> again.
Then, just answer the questions and within a day or two, you'll officially
be a member of DELPHI!
DELPHI-It's the BEST Value and getting BETTER all the time!
************************************************************
ATARI/JAG SECTION (III)
=======================
Dana Jacobson, Editor
> From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Last week, the flood waters let loose on the onlines with regard
to the decision by Unisys to enforce its patent on the LZW compression
routine and start licensing developers who incorporated it into their
software and hardware. These "waters" caused about as much discourse
as the real ones in California these past few days, if you'll pardon
the analogy.
At first glance, it appeared that there was some sort of online
conspiracy between Compuserve and Unisys, since Compuserve was the
first to be affected. However, after a few days of messages had
passed, it appears that Compuserve is just as much a "victim" as the
rest of those entities who use the GIF format, for example.
It appears that Unisys is the "bad guy" in all of this, but in
STReport editor's eyes, not totally so. Afterall, Unisys has the
right to enforce one of their patents. One can not blame them for
wanting to make a profit from their work. However, myself and the other
STR editors agree the fault is with with Unisys' timing of all this.
The GIF format has been a graphics standard for a number of years.
There has never been an outcry by anyone, to the best of my knowledge,
that claimed anyone using this format was infringing on a patent. GIF
has been freely and widely distributed, by many developers, in various
uses. Why, after seven or so years, is Unisys "suddenly" crying
"FOUL"!! I could understand if Unisys was doubling efforts to enforce
a patent that they've been enforcing all along, but this is simply not
the case.
I realize that the company is attempting to do all of this in a
manner that's equitable, but I'm not sure if that can be accomplished.
I do see many developers either removing LZH formats from their
programs; or maintaining them and likely to increase software costs and
pass this increase on to their customers. What it will likely boil
down to is the creation of a new graphics standard, perhaps a 24-bit
GIF95 format, which will be beneficial in many ways.
If there is any good news to come out of all of this, these
licensing fees and royalties, etc. will not affect freeware software.
It will also not affect products generated by programs using the LZW
format. On a personal note, this certainly alleviates a number of
fears that I had as a bulletin board operator. Some of the things that
I'll likely have to remove will be shareware programs, as these are
"for profit". Examples of such programs would be GemView, Speed of
Light, PhotoChrome, and others.
Who knows where all of this will eventually lead. I'm sure that
there's more info available elsewhere in this week's issue; and as more
is learned in the future, we'll pass it along to you.
Well, I've probably gone on about this more than I had planned,
but when I get rolling...
Joe Mirando is back in "review mode" this week with his long-
awaited piece on Gribnif Software's "Geneva". The Winter CES has been
the main focus in the market recently, so computing news from an Atari
standpoint has been quiet. Let's get to it!
Until next time...
___________________________________
Delphi's Atari Advantage!
TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (1/11/95)
(1) MAXIVEWR IMAGE VIEWER *(6) TEXTBOOK 1.01
*(2) CD-ROM LIST *(7) ESS-CODE 6.3
(3) CRACK ART V. 1.36 *(8) STENO V.2.00 TO 2.10 UPGRADE
(4) STALKER 3.02 TO 3.03 UPGRADE *(9) MASTERBROWSE 4.9 DEMO
*(5) ICD ADSCSI ST SOFTWARE *(10) DATA'S FIRST CHRISTMAS
* = New on list
HONORARY TOP 10
The following on-line magazines are always top downloads, frequently
out-performing every other file in the databases.
STREPORT (Current issue: STREPORT 11.01) [Weekly]
ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE (Current issue: AEO: VOLUME 3, ISSUE 14)
Look for the above files in the RECENT ARRIVALS database.
__________________________________________
> Geneva! STR Review!
"""""""""""""""""""
Geneva
Review by Joe Mirando
Back in the days of the Atari ST's childhood, there was another
kid on the block that used Motorola's 68000 microprocessor: the
Commodore Amiga.
While the processors were the same, that was about where the
similarity ended. While the ST had a much more solid, stable operating
system and a faster operating speed, the Amiga had the ability to run
more than one program at a time. This ability was termed multi-tasking.
In the eyes of many, this single feature made the Amiga a more desirable
machine. It didn't seem to matter that multi-tasking made the Amiga
much slower than it could have been, or that system crashes and lockups
could happen at an alarming rate. Folks still "ooh"ed and "aah"ed at
the ability to format a floppy disk while using a word processing
program.
Practical multi-tasking for DOS and Macintosh users was still off
on the horizon, awaiting the next generation of Intel processor (for
DOS machines) and the next revision of their operating system (both DOS
and Macintosh) when the Amiga made its splash, so many users opted for
the slower, less intuitive, more belligerent Amiga.
While DOS and Macintosh users finally got their multi-tasking
systems with the advent of more capable Intel chips and re-worked
operating systems, the tried and true Atari ST sat quietly in the
background, awaiting this wondrous ability.
Atari introduced, along with the FALCON030, its own multi-tasking
system: MultiTOS. Based on Mint (Mint Is Not TOS), Although MultiTos
slowed down even the most basic operations and was not compatible with
programs that automatically acquired all available memory,it did provide
the long awaited ability to multi-task programs. The key, said Atari,
is "Memory Protection", which is not available using Motorola processors
below the 68030. That left most ST users out in the cold... or so we
thought.
Dan Wilga of Gribnif Software (the NeoDesk folks) realized that
memory protection was only effective after the fact. In other words,
all that memory protection could do for you was to tell you that one
program had grabbed memory that was being used by another program.
With that, Dan set out to create a superior multi-tasking
environment for the Atari ST, STe, TT, and Falcon. Code-named MAGIC,
the program grew from being able to load and un-load desk accessories
to taking complete control of the Atari's AES (Application Environment
Services). This not only provided for loading and un-loading of
Accessories, but also for running as many programs simultaneously as
memory would allow.
After the Beta testing phase of development, MAGIC was renamed
Geneva. The name was chosen because Geneva is thought of as a place
where separate entities can meet, in peace, to work out differences.
Let's take a look at what Geneva offers. Although it is not our
intention to show every facet of Geneva's operation, it will give you a
good idea of Geneva's abilities.
When Geneva is installed, the first thing that a user will notice
is a "blank" desktop. There are no icons for drives or for the trash
can, and the only options on the menu bar are "Geneva", "File", and
"Options". The available options under these titles is just as spartan.
Beneath the "Geneva" title is where you will find any installed
Desk Accessories, just as in the ST's native desktop. But between the
obligatory "About Geneva..." option (this displays information about
Geneva, the serial number, and registered user's name) and the names of
the installed desk accessories is an new listing. This is where any
programs installed in memory are listed. There is a checkmark next to
whichever program is topmost, and any inactive programs are listed here
in italics.
The "File" menu consists of only two items; "Open" and "Quit
Geneva". While this may seem inadequate when compared to the native
desktop's slew of options, selecting "Open" provides access to Geneva's
own item selector which provides all of the options of the native
desktop's "File" menu and provides many others.
Upon selecting "Open", you are presented with the Geneva File
Selector. The first difference one will notice is that there are two
"windows" within the selector (if the file selector is so configured).
The left-most window is a listing of available folders, or
sub-directories, on the selected drive. To its right is a list of
files within the current directory/sub-directory. Sound confusing?
Well, its actually more effective than the ST's normal way of showing
folders and files in the same window. To the left of the "Folders"
window is a vertical bar that lists all available drives. Clicking on
a drive letter switches to that drive.
At the top of the Item Selector is a box labeled "Path". Geneva
allows you to save up to ten pre-selected paths and call them from
within the File Selector by using the function keys. If you find
yourself going to only a few paths when running programs or manipulating
files, this can be quite useful.
Next to the "Paths" box, is the file mask. Anyone who has used
Atari's File Selector, Little Green Football's Little Green File
Selector, or A & D's Universal Item Selector is familiar with search
masks. The mask is composed of a Drive letter, any sub-directories,
and, using wildcards, the file name. Gribnif added a twist however,
by allowing multiple masks. In this manner, you can list files with
several different extensions. For instance, you could show all files
in the root directory of drive C that end in either PRG, TOS, TTP, or
ACC by modifying the mask to read: C:\*.{PRG,TOS,TTP,ACC}. You could
also modify it to show all DEGAS picture files for all resolutions in
a sub-directory of drive G called PIX by modifying the mask to read:
G:\PIX\*.P[IC][1-3]. This tells the Item Selector to show all files
whose extension begins with P, has either I or C as the second letter,
and has a 1, 2, or 3 at the end. This is quite a powerful option to
have at your disposal when searching for files with different names or
extensions.
Below the "Path" and Search Mask are several selectable options
which are as follows: "1/2 Col", which allows you to change between
the Geneva "two window" display and the more familiar "one window"
standard. Next is "Update" which tells the computer to look at the
disk directory again in case of a "media change". Then come the "Sort"
options, Name, Size, Date, Type, and None. The last sort option is
available only in one column mode.
Next in line is the "Tools" option which allows you to view
information about the current drive, folder, or file, find a file on
the current drive by using a search mask, copy, move, or delete a file
or folder, create a folder, and check free space on the current drive.
After "Tools" comes "Ext", which allows you to pick one or more
definable extensions to include in the search mask.
Below the "Folders" column of the Item Selector you can find, at a
glance, the number of files in the current directory and the number of
bytes used.
In addition to these features and the usual "OK" and "Cancel"
buttons, is a "Help" button that calls Geneva's Help Viewer. This is a
Hyper-Text type of file reader that allows you to search for information
on all facets of using Geneva. Words and phrases related to the
current topic for which there is also help available are underlined.
The user can "jump" to these topics by double-clicking on the
underlined word or phrase. There is also a "Find" option and an index
to aid in the search. The user also has the ability to set the font
(if GDOS is in use) and its size. The Help Viewer also has the ability
to display other help files, which can be composed using a utility
included on the Geneva disk. The Help Viewer can also be called by
pressing the keyboard Help key.
The other "File" option, "Quit Geneva", should only be used as a
last resort since, because of the way Geneva loads into the computer,
it will cause the computer to lock up in most cases.
The "Options" menu, like the "File" menu, contains only two
options; "ASCII Table" and "Help". "ASCII Table" contains a list of
all available ASCII characters which can be entered into an application
simply by mouse-clicking on them. The "Help" option is yet another way
of calling the Help Viewer.
Before we get to the actual loading and un-loading of programs and
accessories, there is one more "goodie" we should look at: Geneva's
Task Manager Accessory.
TASKMAN.ACC can be loaded as any other accessory is: by putting
it and its resource file in the root directory of the computer's boot
drive. This is the preferable method of installation because, as we
shall see, TASKMAN has the ability to control many of Geneva's options
for making programs "behave".
Opening the Task Manager shows a list of all programs and desk
accessories currently in memory. Accessories are differentiated from
programs by a small circle that appears to the left of the accessory
name. Programs and Accessories can be accessed from the Task Manager
just as they can be from the Desktop menu. Above the list of
memory-resident files are two menu options: "File" and "Options".
"File" allows you to open (load and run) a program or accessory
just as from Geneva's Menu Bar, set "flags" for programs, put a program
or accessory "to sleep", terminate either type of executable, or quit
(close) the Task Manager. We'll look at some of the "Flag" options in
a moment, but let's look at the "Options" menu first.
The "Options" menu lets you assign your own keyboard equivalents
for manipulating windows (like growing/shrinking windows, scrolling,
switching programs, and putting applications to sleep), setting border
widths for window scroll and title bars, text effects (3-D buttons,
text size, etc.), whether to use "drop-down" or "pull-down" menus,
tear-away menus (You can display a menu inside of a window for easier
access), whether or not alert boxes will appear in the center of the
screen or wherever the mouse is, and whether or not to alert you when
a "single-tasking" program is run (this reminds you that any other
programs in memory will go to sleep and wait until the single-tasking
program is finished).
The "Options" menu also allows you to set the video mode (options
are limited to resolutions that your monitor is capable of). You can
also use this menu to save or re-load Geneva's settings.
Okay, as promised, let's get back to the Task Manager's "File"
menu. Aside from the "Open" and "Quit" options (which are
self-explanatory), there are also the "Asleep" and "Terminate" options
which will either make a program or accessory inactive while remaining
in memory, or end the program and remove it from memory. These also
are self-explanatory.
With the "Flags" option you can not only set general defaults for
Geneva, but also for any program that doesn't happen to like any of
Geneva's special abilities.
Upon opening the "Flags" menu, you are presented with a list of
options. First is the ability to edit flags for either Geneva itself
(default) or another program. If the program you are editing flags for
is not already listed, you can enter the full name of the program. If
the program is already listed (Geneva comes with a large assortment of
flags for popular programs) and you wish to change any of the flags for
some reason, you can simply toggle the option on or off (most of the
flags provide only two choices: On or Off).
"Multitask" allows you to set a program to Multitask or to put all
other programs to sleep when it is running. "Limit window handles",
when enabled, will allow only seven windows to be open at a time. This
is because some older programs will only recognize windows numbered from
one to seven. If a program exhibits problems with accessing windows,
this option should be enabled.
"Limit memory to _____ Kb" allows you to limit the amount of memory
that a program can "grab" when it is run. Some programs, such as the
original "Flash!" terminal program, expect to be the only program in
memory and try to take all of the available memory for their own use.
Using a combination of this option and "Multitask" almost any program
can be run under Geneva.
"Clear allocated memory" will clear any memory that a program has
requested from the system by the program after it was run. Some
programs take for granted that this will automatically be done, since
multitasking was not envisioned for the ST until recently.
"Windows off left edge" is an interesting option. It allows windows
to be "pulled" or "pushed" off of the left edge of the screen. You have
always been able to move windows off the right side and bottom of the
screen, but the ST wouldn't allow you to move a window past the top or
left edge of the screen. Most of us now take that for granted, but with
a multitasking environment, the desktop can get crowded fast. It's nice
to be able to have an extra side to move windows past.
"Maximize window areas" will give you the most area possible by not
showing unused window "gadgets".
"Redraw upon exiting" will ensure that all open windows will be
redrawn when you exit from a program. This is necessary because many
programs simply assume that when they quit, the desktop will take over
and redraw the screen. That's all well and good until you want to
multitask. Some programs will leave all kinds of artifacts in open
windows simply because the screen was not redrawn when it exited.
"Special object types", allows you to turn Geneva's special window
gadgets off with programs that don't react properly with them or supply
their own special gadgets.
"Rounded buttons" lets you tell Geneva not to use its special
rounded buttons with programs that just don't look right with them
(hey, esthetics count too <smile>).
"Automatic keyboard equivs" tells Geneva whether or not to draw
lines under certain letters in option buttons inside of dialog boxes.
When a program passes a dialog to Geneva, it will allow keyboard
combinations for exit options. These equivalents are normally accessed
by holding the Alternate key and pressing the first letter or number in
the option you wish to use. To make this easier, Geneva normally
underlines the appropriate letter or number for each option. Some
dialogs look strange when allowing these lines, so Geneva gives you
the option to disable it.
"Undraw auto keyboard equivs", when selected, tells Geneva to
undraw the aforementioned lines when a program regains control after
Geneva displays the dialog box. Having this option set to "off" is
faster, but can sometimes make a dialog box button look as though it
has more than one keyboard equivalent.
"Keep menu bar/desktop" tells Geneva whether or not to take control
of the desktop when an active program turns off the menu bar. Some
programs do this at various times. Since Geneva normally takes this to
mean that it can look for another program to "top", the program that
turned off its menu bar gets sent to the back. This can be annoying at
the very least.
"AES 4.0 extended messages" tells Geneva whether or not to allow a
program to receive any of the messages Atari added to version 4.0 of the
AES (Application Environment Services). Some programs use the new
message numbers for completely different things, or act unpredictably
when one is received.
Also available in the "Flags" menu are a help button, which brings
up Geneva's help viewer, a "New" button, which you use to set flags for
a program not already included, the usual "Ok" and "Cancel" buttons,
and a "Keys..." button. The "Keys..." button allows you to set to do
things such as call a program (as long as it is in memory already), Set
reserved keys. These are keys that the program uses for its own
functions. When you press a reserved key, Geneva does not react to it,
but sends it through to the program.
With all of the options mentioned above, it's no wonder that Geneva
is much more compatible with early programs that Atari's MultiTos is.
The truly amazing part is that Geneva is also much faster than MultiTos.
Under normal circumstances, Geneva takes up less than five percent of
the computer's processor speed. While this slight slowdown is usually
not noticeable, it can show itself in processor-intense applications.
Geneva also breaks the "six desk accessory limit". Using Geneva,
you can load as many accessories as memory will allow. Accessories can
also be loaded and un-loaded at any time... not just at boot-up. By
telling Geneva that "ACX" is a valid extension, you can go straight to
your list of inactive accessories and run one from the desktop. While
there are some accessories that don't like loading at any time other
than boot-up, I have found that most behave well when loaded from the
desktop.
As a slight divergence from the subject, anyone with Geneva and/or
NeoDesk4 should seriously consider getting a copy of Al Fasoldt's
"Secrets of Geneva" and/or "Secrets of NeoDesk 4". Al has painstakingly
explained the workings of these programs and has included many useful
hints and tips to make using them even easier. Both files can be found
on most online services and BBS's that support Atari computers or local
Users Groups. The files may be freely distributed providing they remain
intact.
As stated earlier, Geneva provides no desktop icons or windows of
its own. Although Geneva makes these thing unnecessary for most
operations, it can be used in conjunction with NeoDesk 3.04 and higher
to provide all of the functions that Atari ST/Ste/TT/Falcon users have
come to expect. The combination of the two provides a powerful,
manageable, easy to use environment without taking up inordinate
portions of time and memory.
Geneva rates as one of the most helpful and usable programs in the
Atari world, and is well worth consideration.
__________________________________________
JAGUAR SECTION
==============
Atari WCES Announcements!
Reviews:
--------
Iron Soldier and Kasumi Ninja!
Iron Soldier Hidden Tips! And More!
> From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Well, the WCES is over. Atari was there in all of its Jaguar
glory, by all accounts that I've seen. However, I'm not sure that
there was a whole lot of new information available to portray this show
as a terrific plus for Atari and the Jaguar.
Sure, there were plenty of announcements early on during the show
(see below), but not a real lot of things we weren't already aware. I
still see Atari's Sam Tramiel making available game predictions, after
the dismal ones he made prior to the holidays! I wish that he wouldn't
continue to do that!
Release of the CD-player is still up in the air after promises of
last October, November, late-December, and early January. The latest
date being bantered about is sometime during the second quarter. I
understand why there is a delay - Atari is waiting to have some games
released for the hardware before coming out with it. But please, make
a definitive statement and stick with it!. These projections are
killing everybody!
With over 200 developers signed, you would think that there would
be more than 17 games available for the Jaguar right now. Are there
that many developers taking a "wait and see" attitude? No one can
afford to wait too long - the patience is wearing thin for many. In
Thursday's USA Today, a brief note regarding Atari's presence at the
WCES was deafening: "Atari's 32-bit [yes, it misstated this!] Jaguar
cartridge system has good games coming, but it may be too little, too
late. The price dropped $50 to $199; a CD add-on is due soon." In
another blurb elsewhere on the page was the following: "Atari. The top
title is the arcade hit Primal Rage (Time-Warner, November); it's also
due this fall for other systems."
It's been stated before, and will be many times again - Atari has
to get quality games out, in numbers, soon. The faithful are losing
faith with each new delay while watching as new systems are beginning
to get a foothold. Atari also needs to evaluate its regional
penetration and spread out more, with more product. I've also noticed
that television advertising has ceased since the holidays, or been
reduced drastically. I can't recall seeing a television ad in the past
few weeks, while before the holidays it was amazing to see so many of
them!
There are no more excuses in the forseeable future. The holidays
are over. The Winter CES is over. It's time to get back on track and
do all that is humanly possible to get Jaguars out in numbers. It's
time to get the games finished and out. Other hardware? The CD-player
and voice modem are being anxiously awaited by the potential users.
Enough about this for the present.
In this week's issue, we've included the numerous announcements
made by Atari at the Winter CES. The new game titles are interesting,
but most of the news is just a re-hash of things we've heard before.
Still, the news is interesting to read.
Tom Sherwin has been stocking up on "No-Doz"(tm) the past few
weeks, it appears! Tom has two reviews for us this week - Iron Soldier
and Kasumi Ninja. We expect at least a couple of more reviews for next
week, from Marty Mankins and Joe Mirando. I may have also finally
found some free time to get a couple of reviews in also!
So let's get to the rest of the issue and see what's happening
with our favorite game system.
Until next time...
________________________________________
> Jaguar Catalog STR InfoFile - What's currently available, what's
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" coming out.
Current Available Titles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER
J9000 Cybermorph $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9006 Evolution:Dino Dudes $49.99 Atari Corp.
J9005 Raiden $49.99 FABTEK, Inc/Atari Corp.
J9001 Trevor McFur/
Crescent Galaxy $49.99 Atari Corp.
J9010 Tempest 2000 $59.95 Llamasoft/Atari Corp.
J9028 Wolfenstein 3D $69.95 id/Atari Corp.
JA100 Brutal Sports FtBall $69.95 Telegames
J9008 Alien vs. Predator $69.99 Rebellion/Atari Corp.
J9029 Doom $69.99 id/Atari Corp.
J9036 Dragon: Bruce Lee $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9003 Club Drive $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9007 Checkered Flag $69.99 Atari Corp.
J9012 Kasumi Ninja $69.99 Atari Corp.
J9042 Zool 2 $59.99 Atari Corp
Bubsy $49.99 Atari Corp
Iron Soldier $59.99 Atari Corp
Val D'Isere Skiing $59.99 Atari Corp.
Available Soon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER
CatBox $69.95 ICD
Cannon Fodder TBD Virgin
Hover Strike $59.99 Atari
Hardware and Peripherals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP MANUFACTURER
J8001 Jaguar (complete) $249.99 Atari Corp.
J8904 Composite Cable $19.95
J8901 Controller/Joypad $24.95 Atari Corp.
J8905 S-Video Cable $19.95
Jaguar CD-ROM $149.99 Atari Corp.
__________________________________________
> Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-/- EA Acquires Game Developer -/-
Home software publisher Electronic Arts says it has reached a
definitive agreement to acquire Bullfrog Productions Ltd., an interactive
game developer based in Surrey, England.
Bullfrog, which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic
Arts, has a seven- year history with the San Mateo, California-based
company as a partner in designing and developing interactive game
software. The deal's financial terms weren't disclosed.
Bullfrog is best known for its strategy and simulation games, such
as Populous and Powermonger. The firm was founded in 1987 by Peter
Molyneux and Les Edgar. Today, the 45-person company is a leading PC
CD-ROM software developer.
"Bullfrog is the best independent development organization in Europe,
with the kind of top creative talent and seasoned management team that
are essential for our continued expansion in the global entertainment
market," says Larry Probst, chairman and CEO of Electronic Arts.
"Acquiring an outstanding interactive game developer like Bullfrog
further enhances our strategy to grow our market share in CD-ROM titles
for PCs and 32-bit game machines."
-/- CD Software Sales Soar -/-
The Software Publishers Association reports that CD software sales
soared in 1994's third quarter.
For the quarter, total sales of reporting companies were $150.6
million, a 229 percent increase over the $45.7 reported for the same
period in 1993. For the first three quarters of 1994, total sales were
$387.2 million, a 282 percent increase from $101.2 in the first three
quarters of 1993. Unit sales in 1994's third quarter were 5.88 million,
a 253 percent increase, while unit sales for the first three quarters
were 15.6 million, up 292 percent.
For the first time in the seven quarters the SPA has been tracking
CD software sales, content software, such as databases and
encyclopedias, was not the largest selling category. Games and other
home products was the largest segment, with sales of $35.9 million
(up 201 percent). Content software was next largest, with sales of
$30.4 million for the quarter (up 64 percent). Content software was the
largest category for the first three quarters, however, with sales of
$104.7 million (up 120 percent), compared with $80.4 million (up 261
percent) for games and other home software.
"This quarter's growth of 253 percent is somewhat lower than the
growth rates seen in the first two quarters of 1994," says David
Tremblay, SPA Research Director. "However, it is still well above the
11 percent growth recorded for the software industry overall. The CD
segment remains a dynamic and fast growing segment of the industry, and
the appeal of distributing and buying software on CD is broadening."
The SPA is headquartered in Washington.
-/- Springer Spaniel Software Forms! -/-
January 5, 1994
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
-----------------------
Visionix (USA) and Mr. Andrew Whittaker (UK) have announced the
immediate creation of a new joint-venture company, Springer Spaniel
Software (SpringerSoft). SpringerSoft has already started the design
and development of a revolutionary new video game, under the
project-name "Artemis, which will be released for IBM and compatible
PC systems in the first quarter of 1996. Versions of the game for the
Atari Jaguar, Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and other high-performance,
CD-ROM systems are tentatively planned for second and third quarters of
1996.
Andrew Whittaker will be leading the development of the new game. Mr.
Whittaker is a UK based game developer with over 15 years of experience.
Recently released games developed by Mr. Whittaker include the smash-hit
"Alien Vs. Predator" for the Atari Jaguar, a game which has been rated
as "Most wanted of the 1994 holiday sales season" by both US and UK
video game publications. Mr. Whittaker's other recent releases include
"Dark Seed" and "Ashes of Empire".
Visionix is a US based software development house that specializes in
video game, multimedia, graphics imaging, and operating system design
and development. Visionix employees previously worked on the
best-selling "Scott Adams Graphics Adventure" series for Adventure
International/Scott Adams, Inc.
Carol Street, the Vice-President of Production at Springer Spaniel,
commented that "SpringerSoft has been formed to take advantage of the
skills of both UK and US based graphics, sound, design, and development
specialties. Our games will be distributed worldwide, including the
domestic, European, Asian, Australian and South African markets."
SpringerSoft will have offices in Orlando, FL, USA; the United Kingdom;
and New York, NY, USA.
For further information, please contact Jon R. Taylor at
(407)-648-0364 (USA) or via email to jtaylor@magicnet.net
--
Springer Spaniel Software -- 1240 Golfview Street --
Orlando, FL USA 32804 -- email: artemis@magicnet.net
-/- Atari Winter CES Announcements! -/-
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
For Immediate Release
COMING ATTRACTIONS FOR THE ATARI JAGUAR
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Jan. 6, 1995 -- Batman Forever, Thea Realm Fighters
and Primal Rage top the list of coming attractions for the 64-bit Atari
Jaguar Interactive Multimedia system in 1995. "The focus at Atari for
1995 is great software and lots of it," said Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari
Corporation. "We are working with over 200 developers to bring a wide
variety of new games to the 64-bit Atari Jaguar in 1995. The powerful
Jaguar technology can handle popular arcade games like Primal Rage or
provide the speed and graphics necessary for brand new games like
Batman Forever and Thea Realm Fighters."
Batman Forever, based on the much-anticipated Warner Bros. movie
scheduled for release this summer, pits the caped crusader and his
sidekick Robin against Gotham City villains Two-Face and the Riddler.
The Atari Jaguar Batman Forever game will incorporate the movie's
characters and feature the films newly-designed costumes and high-tech
equipment.
Market research demonstrates that over 90% of the U.S. population
is familiar with the Batman character, so there will be wide appeal for
the game. Batman Forever is scheduled for delivery to stores late in
the 3rd quarter.
Thea Realm Fighters combines the latest digital motion capture
technology and nationally known martial arts fighters, including
several used for both Mortal Kombat games, to create a super-realistic
fighting game. Among the well-known martial artists used for the game
are:
-- Ho Sung Pak, who played Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat I &
II, is a member of the Black Belt Hall of Fame and
winner of the Grand Slam of Martial Arts in 1991, and
served as technical advisor for choreography.
-- Phillip Ahn, MD, is a 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon
Do. Dr. Ahn played Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat II.
-- Katalin Zamiar played Kitana, Mileena and Jade in Mortal
Kombat II. Katalin is a black belt in Okinawan style
Karate.
-- Daniel Pesina, who played Johnny Cage and the ninjas in
Mortal Kombat I & II, is a nationally ranked martial
artist in forms and weapons.
There are a total of 25-plus characters to compete against in
Thea Realm Fighters, including twelve main characters and twelve other
special characters. The characters can compete in four different modes
and with more than 30 different backgrounds, creating a wide variety of
combat situations and scenarios. The release of Thea Realm Fighters is
planned for the 3rd quarter.
Primal Rage pits seven different prehistoric creatures -- each
with its own unique fighting style -- against each other in a battle
for world domination. This one or two player game was a huge hit in
the video arcade market last year. Time Warner Interactive plans to
ship a compact disc version of Primal Rage in the 4th quarter.
---
Batman and all related elements are property of D.C. Comics (TM) and
Copyright 1994, all rights reserved. Jaguar is a trademark of Atari
Corporation. Atari is a registered trademark of Atari corporation.
Other products named may be trademarks or registered trademarks of
their owning companies. Primal Rage (TM) and all related elements are
property of Time Warner Interactive (TM).
###
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
For Immediate Release
SPORTS TITLES COMING FROM ATARI CORPORATION
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Jan. 6, 1995 -- Baseball for 1995 may be uncertain
and the National Hockey League still is not playing, but there will be
sports galore on the 64-bit Atari Jaguar this spring and summer. Atari
Corporation today announced that a number of new sports titles will be
released in the first half of 1995.
"We're going for the gold with sports-oriented games at Atari this
year," said Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari Corporation. "Atari Jaguar owners
will play hockey with Brett Hull, golf with Jack Nicklaus, basketball
with Charles Barkley and all the baseball they want."
Sports games currently under development include: Charles Barkley-Shut
Up and Jam takes an in-your-face, over-the-top approach to America's
favorite indoor sport. Players will encounter some of the baddest
b-ball players on the streets as they try to rule the game's 2 on 2
streetball tournament. Charles Barkley-Shut Up and Jam is expected by
the end of the second quarter.
Brett Hull Hockey features super-realistic, digitized graphics and a
real-time 3-D hockey rink. Available on CD, Brett Hull Hockey will
provide the most realistic hockey video game simulation ever. Look for
Brett Hull Hockey to arrive in stores by the end of June.
Hardball Baseball will provide a graphically and statistically
true-to-life simulation of real baseball. Players will have the added
option of customizing teams and scheduling themselves for one game, a
playoff series or an entire season. Special software builds players'
statistics as games New Atari Sports Titles are played making Hardball
Baseball even more realistic. Atari plans to ship Hardball Baseball
before the 1995 All-Star game, if there is one this year.
Jack Nicklaus Cyber Golf, a CD title, is a photo-realistic golf game
for the Jaguar that utilizes over 9,000 images of Murfield Village Golf
Course. This course is the first that Jack Nicklaus created and is the
site of the annual Memorial Tournament. Well-known sports presenter
David Livingston acts as a virtual commentator to teach the first-time
player how to play the game or provide comments and suggestions for
the more experienced players. Up to a foursome can play Jack Nicklaus
Cyber Golf, and the CD is expected to ship late this spring.
Additional sport titles scheduled for the first half of 1995 include
Troy Aikman NFL Football (Williams Entertainment), White Men Can't Jump
(TriMark), CD League Bowling (V Real) and Sensible Soccer (Telegames).
---
Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered
trademark of Atari corporation. Other products named may be trademarks
or registered trademarks of their owning companies.
###
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
For Immediate Release
ATARI JAGUAR, INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT'S BIG CAT
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Jan. 6, 1995 -- Atari Jaguar, the biggest cat in
the interactive multimedia entertainment industry, is earning roars of
approval from enthusiastic owners. Gamers laud the Jaguar-the world's
first and only 64-bit interactive multimedia home entertainment
system-as the "future of video gaming."
The Jaguar's high-speed animation; realistic, textured 3D graphics; CD
quality sound; vivid color images; sleek, high-tech system design; and
advanced controller with customizable 12-button keypad has shredded the
competition and earned consumer accolades. Delighted Jaguar enthusiasts
praise the Jag's feline grace as "the first of its kind."
Some samples of the Cat's fan mail, culled from letters and electronic
mail received at Atari Headquarters include:
-- "The future of video gaming has arrived!" Jeff Kovach proclaims.
"The graphics are the hottest thing I've seen for any platform, and
the gameplay is addictively intoxicating. The images on the screen
are so vivid and colorful, it's nearly as much fun watching someone
else play ... Hats off to our friends at Atari for creating this
incredible machine."
-- "Jaguar is hot," Marty Mankins agrees.
-- "It is the sleekest looking piece of entertainment hardware I have
ever seen," James Thornhill Jr. declares.
-- "From the esthetics of the console to the hardware, I love it!"
Allen Chang writes.
-- "Thank you ... Proud parent of a two pound baby Jaguar!!!!"
-- "Jaguar, as a game machine with 64 bits, is in a class by
itself-the first of its kind anywhere in the world," Evan Mullaney
says.
The Jag's unprecedented system performance pummels competitors. Its
64-bit architecture allows the Jag to process more than 100 times as
much data at one time than 16-bit games and twice as much as 32-bit
games. Delighted gamers experience the ultimate in speed, graphic
performance and animation action.
-- "(Jaguar) definitely beats 3DO by a mile," Nathan Wong writes.
"I've been playing with our 3DO unit for more than a month and a
half and it doesn't even come close to the speed and resolution of
the Jaguar! This machine is everything I thought it would be and
more."
-- "I've been out of the video game market since the original Nintendo
system and after hearing about the Jaguar, I bought it sight
unseen," Ed Kraft explains. "Being a computer technician and
operator of 486 and Pentium-based computers, I was very impressed
with the specs of the Jaguar. Seeing it only added to my
excitement about the system."
-- "Well, I don't know how to say this, but my mother-who is 46 years
old-loves the Jaguar. Now, I have to tell you, she never liked to
use the ST or the TT, no matter how simple the application," writes
one Jaguar enthusiast. "But with the Jaguar she's getting top
scores in Crescent Galaxy and that's a big plus. Most of the time
she never looked at a video game. Now she's having fun!!!"
Alien Vs. Predator and Doom Atari's white hot first-person perspective,
virtual adventures, have electrified gamers with their high-powered
weapons, fast action and immersive game play.
-- "Just got my Alien Vs. Predator today," says Albert Dayes. "Was it
worth the wait? YES!"
-- "Hey, this is Doom!" E-mailed Bill Glaholt. "It's the game I told
myself I'd wait for to come out on the Jag before trying it on the
PC. For myself, I would rate this game a 95 out of 100. It's
lightning fast and has that 'Wow' factor that -- let's face it --
SNES would fall all over themselves to try to get."
-- "Alien Vs. Predator showed up Friday night at our local Babbages
and since we had $50 between us, we couldn't pass it up," Brian
and Dan McKenzie explain. "They had about eight copies of the
game-all of which had been reserved in a three or four hour period,
no less! But somebody didn't show up to get theirs so they sold
it to us. The game is great! What a huge world!"
-- "People were knocked flat. Their kids dragged them into the store
to try it, " says Dolores Lesica. "Alien vs. Predator gets a 10
from me."
-- "Just wanted to write a quick note to tell you that (Atari) has
produced one great game," writes Robert A. Fleming. "(In my humble
opinion, Atari Vs. Predator) is one of the greatest games ever. It
has been well worth the wait."
-- "The game is GREAT," Ralph Barbagallo writes of Alien Vs. Predator.
"It's almost like getting three games in one. ... The graphics
are fantastic and the game is very engaging."
-- I just bought Doom for my Jaguar and I am very happy with it,"
writes Paul, a Proud Jaguar Owner. "It just blows away the Doom
for the 32X. I should know. I also own the 32X."
-- "I love this game!" Danny Miskin says. "My younger brother says
(Alien Vs. Predator) could be the best game out for any system
right now."
###
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
For Immediate Release
ATARI CORPORATION TO EXPAND JAGUAR PERIPHERALS
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Jan. 6, 1995 -- New peripherals in 1995 are a key
part of the system expansion plans for the 64-bit Jaguar Interactive
Multimedia system, Atari Corporation today announced. "Since Jaguar has
already made the leap to 64-bit technology, we can focus on providing
even more value to consumers by expanding the system with new and
innovative peripherals," said Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari Corporation.
"By the end of the year, players will link multiple systems, play each
other over the phone and venture into new virtual reality environments
with their Jaguar systems."
Networking Jaguar systems through use of the Jag Link cable enables the
playing of network compatible Jaguar games on different systems up to
100 feet away from each other. The Jag Link cable system can support at
least two simultaneous game players at once, depending on the software
The system uses standard RJ11 phone line cable to link two Jaguar
interactivegame systems and implements reliable differential pair
technology. The Jag Link cable is expected to be available for sale in
the second quarter of 1995 at a suggested retail price of $29.99.
The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator allows players to link to each other
over the phone. The new technology, developed with Phylon
Communications, Inc., leaders in the fax/modem/voice technology field,
not only permits two players to play against each other using the phone
connection, but to speak with each other by using a headset. By
utilizing a "call waiting" feature, users can also pause a game to
answer a phone call. The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator comes complete
with a stereo headset and is expected to be available by the third
quarter 1995 at a suggested retail price of less than $150.
Also planned for 1995 delivery is Atari's virtual reality headset, now
under development with Virtuality Group plc, the leader in virtual
reality technology and arcade games. The two companies officially
joined forces in October to create the world's first immersive virtual
reality games for the home market. The virtual reality headset should
be available to consumers by Christmas 1995 with a targeted price of
less than $200.
###
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
For Immediate Release
ATARI CORPORATION DEBUTS CD PLAYER FOR JAGUAR AT $149.99
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Jan. 6, 1995 -- Prepare to shift your Jaguar into
overdrive.
Atari Corporation Friday announced that its new compact disc multimedia
peripheral will be available in the first quarter, priced at an
amazingly affordable $149.99, including a CD game. The CD player,
which plugs into the top of the 64-bit Atari Jaguar Interactive
Multimedia System, plays CD-based Jaguar video games and standard audio
compact discs.
The Jaguar CD player provides 790 megabytes of raw data storage to
allow for the incorporation of many complex digitized images,
full-motion video sequences and loads of CD-quality audio soundtracks
into Jaguar games.
The powerful double speed Jaguar CD player incorporates incredibly fast
access speed for smoother game play and its massive data capacity
provides better graphical detail, expanded plot lines and more
characters, which all add up to more immersive and challenging games.
The first titles available for the Jaguar CD player include:
Battlemorph, Blue Lightning, Highlander, Demolition Man and Creature
Shock, with many more to come.
Atari's new CD Multimedia player includes the Virtual Light Machine
(VLM), which creates and displays light patterns on the video screen
in response to music played through the system. The result is a
stunning light show. There are 81 different pattern settings available
on the VLM. The VLM is built into the Jaguar CD Multimedia player.
"We want the Atari Jaguar to be the best value in the gaming market,
as well as, the most advanced system technologically," said Sam
Tramiel, CEO of Atari Corporation.
"With the new Jaguar CD Multimedia player, Jaguar owners will be able
to play incredible CD-based videogames, listen to audio discs and watch
the VLM. This combination of the most advanced technology, great
software and affordable pricing is what sets Jaguar apart from the
competition."
Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered
trademark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks
or registered trademarks of their owning companies. VLM is a trademark
of Atari Corporation.
###
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation Ron Beltramo 408/745-8852
Edelman Public Relations David Harrah 415/968-4033
For Immediate Release
ATARI ANNOUNCES WINNING LINE-UP OF JAGUAR TITLES
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Jan. 6, 1995 -- By this summer, fans of the first
and only 64-bit game system in the world will have more than 50 games
to choose from, including dozens of brand new Jaguar game titles.
"Alien vs. Predator, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Kasumi Ninja, Iron Soldier
and Tempest 2000 were the top-rated Jaguar titles for 1994," said Sam
Tramiel, president and CEO of Atari Corporation. "In the first half of
1995, we expect many hit titles, including Fight for Life, Space War
2000, Hover Strike, Ultra Vortex and Rayman. These and other titles
will substantially increase the Jaguar library." Below are
descriptions of these upcoming hits:
Fight for Life: This 3-D fighting game, produced and published by
Atari, is set in hell, with each character striving for the ultimate
prize: the chance to gain redemption and live again. Players choose
one fighter from among eight different characters. They then battle
the remaining characters one-by-one and proceed to the final showdown
with the end boss. As they defeat each opponent, players can select up
to two of each character's five special moves, in effect creating their
own truly unique fighting character. (Do the math: The possibilities
are endless.)
To create 3-D animation of unsurpassed fluidity and realism, the
production team used state-of-the-art motion capture technology that
incorporated the movements of live martial arts experts performing
nearly 200 different moves.
Artists then exploited the Jaguar's 64-bit system to create stunning
3-D graphics that bring the characters to life. According to Edge
Magazine (December 1994), "The skyline background looks impressive
and the moves are well-animated." "Atari's Fight for Life puts a
floating camera around the 3-D fighting. Jaguar owners will soon have
a 3-D fighting game to call their own," remarked a reviewer at GamePro
(January 1995).
Space War 2000: In their intergalactic jousts, space knights vie for
old-fashioned glory, honor, fame and fortune. As they emerge victorious
from each battle, they procure such weapons as laser shots, missiles,
shields and cloaking devices. This first-person perspective 3-D
adventure, produced by Atari, is fun for single players and spectacular
as a two-player game. "First-person gaming is reaching a new high, and
Space War 2000 is positioning to be a contender in that wild and
crowded race," stated a reviewer at EGM2 (January 1995).
Hover Strike: The mission: To lead the rebels in an attempt to vanquish
the formidable Space Pirates from the planet. The weapon: A high speed
hover tank armed with rapid fire cannons, powerful missiles, on board
radar and protective shields. This game, published by Atari, uses the
Jaguar's 64-bit technology to deliver an action-packed, fully
texture-mapped, first-person perspective 3-D battle. Ken Williams of
Electronic Gaming Monthly says, "The first-person perspective serves
this game well, adding a new dimension to the genre."
Ultra Vortex: In this game, produced by Beyond games, players test
their fighting skills in a nether world tournament. They can choose
among eight valiant fighters from different dimensions before the final
battle with the evil entity. Amazing sounds and graphics inspired a
game reviewer from Electronic Gaming Monthly to write, "Ultra Vortex
will make some people stop and turn their heads."
Rayman: Ten-year old Jimmy creates a stunning imaginary kingdom called
"Hereitscool" in his computer and transforms himself into Rayman, a
fantasy hero who combats the forces of evil to save his friends.
Here's what DieHard GameFan had to say about this winning title from
UBI Soft: "Absolutely brilliant looking. The control is perfect and
the artwork is phenomenal."
---
Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered
trademark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks
or registered trademarks of their owning companies. Ultra Vortex (TM)
is a trademark of Beyond Games, Inc. Rayman (TM) is a trademark of
UBI Soft.
_________________________________________
> Jaguar Game Title STR Review - "Iron Soldier"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-= Available Now =-
By Thomas Sherwin
Developed by: Eclipse
Published by: Atari
Price: $59.99
The Iron Fist corporation is trying to take over everything, but you're
part of the resistance dedicated to stopping them. Your group has
captured an Iron Soldier, a prototype 40-foot tall robot warrior which
can be equipped with weapons ranging from a giant chainsaw to a
guided cruise missile to barrel-sized hand grenades. You must take your
Iron Soldier on sixteen missions, each with a different strategy and
purpose.
You pilot your IS from the head in the first-person perspective. You can
look around 360 degrees, and look up at the sky or down at your own feet.
Using the advanced control system, you can also be heading in one
direction but looking in another. You screen shows an energy bar,
current weapon picture, a radar screen, a weapon status bar, and the
standard weapon crosshairs (the crosshairs differ with the weapon).
Out to stop you are:
Light Tanks: Blow them up with weapons... or just step on 'em! There's
usually lots of them.
Heavy Tanks: Require heavier weapons. Cannot be stepped on. These are
more rare.
Helicopters: Like mosquitos. They're EVERYWHERE and enough of them can do
some nasty damage.
VTOLs: Sort of like helicopters but faster. They also tend to be
harder to kill and carry deadlier weapons.
Planes: They usually make bombing runs. They're not all too accurate
but a bomb can really sting!
Ground Turrets: Easy to kill (you can step on them), but they're hard
to see and fire rapidly.
Ground Missiles: Hard to see and missiles do a lot of damage. Luckily,
each missile "turret" has only two missiles and doesn't
reload when its supply is exhausted.
Enemy IS: You don't think Iron Fist built only one, do you? It can
be equipped just the same as you!
You start with just an assault rifle, but you can find new weapons
during the missions. Each weapon can only be mounted on certain points
of your IS and you have a limited number of mount points. Thus, you
must think ahead as to what kinds of weapons you'll need for each
particular mission. You find the new weapons, in addition to weapon
reloads and "repair" boxes, by levelling buildings. Weapons (known by
me) so far are:
Manipulator: Your own hand. Good for close combat with an enemy mech
or for punching down buildings. Useless against any
other enemies. You always have this available.
Chain Cutter: A giant chainsaw. Great for wasting buildings and heavy
tanks. It has unlimited use.
Gatling Gun: Light, rapid-fire, general purpose gun. Good for smaller
enemies.
Assault Rifle: Higher powered, triple burst gun. More powerful than the
Gatling gun but not as fast. It is also more ammo hungry.
Rail Gun: Slow but POWERFUL cannon. One shot at a time but what a
shot it is! Longer range weapon.
Hand Grenade: Good medium distance weapon. Great for taking out large
targets, but don't get too close to their explosions...
you'll take damage, too!
Cruise Missile: Single missile that you guide to the target. Explodes
on impact or when it runs out of fuel.
Each mission has a different purpose. In some missions, just go around
and destroy everything. In others, you have to blow up enemy vehicles
before they can escape, pitting you against the clock. Before each
mission, you choose how to equip your IS and you get a quick briefing
on your objective. If you fail to complete a mission, you have to do
it over again.
There are sixteen missions in all, four sets of four missions. Once
you complete a set of four, you can save your game. You cannot go on
to the next four missions until you have finished the current four.
Graphics
--------
The polygon graphics have to be seen to be believed! Eclipse should
license the engine... it's that good! Your "parts" (e.g. chain cutter,
feet, etc.) and some of the enemies (VTOLs and planes) are shaded
(16 bit color?). Other enemies, like light tanks and helicopters, are
texture mapped. Building explosions are ultra-cool, and the smoothness
of the helicopters and tanks is almost unbelievable. The number of
enemies on the screen also seems to make NO difference in speed. It's
difficult to describe... you just HAVE TO SEE IT! Wait 'till you watch
yourself step on a tank for the first time. If only Eclipse made
Checkered Flag and Club Drive...
There is some slowdown, but only when things explode. And it only slows
down when the explosion bitmaps are large (when the explosion is far
away, there's NO slowdown). I don't know much about graphics, but I
would think slapping a scaled bitmap on the screen takes less processing
power than a bunch of 3D polygons. But what do I know...
It would have been nice to see a little more texture mapping in the
buildings and scenery, and to have slightly more elaborate backgrounds.
But if they would have come at the cost of smooth graphics, they're
better off left out!
Sound FX/Music
--------------
To my ears, the sound FX seem kind of muted. But then, what would I
expect if I were sitting in the cockpit of a 40 foot robot... The
gatling gun sounds more like a laser gun to me and the chain cutter is
just a gentle hum. But the rest of the sound effects are cool. You
can hear helicopters in the distance and the sound gets louder as they
approach. Each gun has its own firing sound (no recycling here). The
explosions are a little generic, though.
The music is pretty cool. There are several different tracks to choose
from, and the tracks each have their own "flavor"... from almost light
and fun to ominous and foreboding. My only problem is that you select
your favored track BEFORE you start the game. You can't adjust it on
the fly.
You can adjust both the sound FX and the music during the game. With
the music on, you lose out on some of the sound effects (such as
distant copters and the sounds of you walking), but you can find a
happy medium. This is a very nice touch as most games are usually on
or off, nothing in between.
Control
-------
You can practically define all control options to suit your needs. You
can reverse the controls for looking up/down and change the functions of
the buttons. To move forward, press A and up. To move backward, press
A and down. To look around, use the joypad. B is fire and C lets you
look around faster (hold it and press the joypad). In "basic control"
mode, you walk wherever you're looking. If you use the advanced
controls, you can walk in one direction, but look and fire in another.
You select the weapon to use by either cycling through them with the
option button or pressing one of the numbered keys for "direct access"
(IS comes with a keypad overlay to help out). The controls are easy to
adapt to and are easy to handle in "the heat of battle".
You can also select between easy, medium, and hard. Easy is hard
enough...at least for a while!
Manual
------
Enough stuff on the story line, your weapons, your missions, and your
enemies. But people are already starting to find minor omissions.
Tsk tsk tsk...
Entertainment/Gameplay
----------------------
In a word... FANTASTIC! It's not a complicated puzzle, but it has
plenty of strategy. How you handle each mission depends on the mission
objective. You also have to think of how to equip your Iron Soldier
for each particular mission.
The enemy AI is incredible. Helicopters will hide behind buildings
until you turn away. Tanks will high-tail it as soon as you start
after them. Enemy ISs seem to be piloted by someone just as wily as
you.
Iron Soldier is not easy, but it is not so difficult as to leave you
disgusted. It may take a little to figure out each mission, but as
long as you don't die, you get another crack at it if you fail. And
even if you don't care about the mission, it's sheer joy just going
around and blowing up buildings and stepping on tanks.
My only quibble is with the game save feature. You only get to save
after a block of four missions is done, not after EVERY mission. Since
some missions can take up to 15 minutes, there is a lot to redo if you
can't do all four in one sitting. Maybe it's just me, but I don't
always have 45 minutes to an hour to spend on the machine.
Hype Factor
-----------
Iron Soldier supposedly made quite the splash at Summer CES. Ever
since then, Jaguar-philes have been chomping at the bit for its
release. IMHO, Iron Soldier lives up to everything that was said about
it. The graphics are first rate, the sound is fine, control is good,
and gameplay hits the bulls-eye! We got our cake and can eat it, too.
Graphics: 9.5
Sound FX/Music: 9.0
Control: 9.5
Manual: 8.5
Ent./Gameplay: 9.5
Reviewer's Overall: 9.5
Summary
-------
If you want a cute and simple game, go buy a Game Boy with Mario Bros.
But if you want a challenging, "showcase" game for the Jaguar, snag
yourself Iron Soldier. I think they could probably drop Iron Soldier
UNALTERED into an arcade box and it would be a success. Iron Soldier
lives up to its billing and joins the ranks of Alien vs. Predator and
Doom as a must-have title for the Jaguar!
> Jaguar Game Title STR Review - "Kasumi Ninja"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-= Available Now =-
By Thomas Sherwin
Developed by: Handmade Software
Published by: Atari
Price: $69.99
You're a Ninja-in-training on the island of Kasumi, the mystical center
of Martial Arts. One of the evil Ninja powers, Lord Gyaku, has gone mad
and opened the doors to the netherworld! Guess who has to stop him...
While the powers of good cannot help you directly, they can grant you
the skills of other fighters... provided you can beat them in combat.
Only when you've been tested by the world's finest warriors can you meet
Lord Gyaku and close the doors to the netherworld.
This is Kasumi Ninja, the first "digitized, live-action" fighting game
for the Jaguar. In one player mode, you start as a Ninja and must
fight the entire set of warriors before you can get to Gyaku. As you
defeat a warrior, you can choose to play that warrior in your next
match-up. The warriors are:
Habaki/Senzo: The Ninja twins. You start as one of them in one player
mode. Special moves include a whirlwind kick, teleport,
and fireball.
Chagi: The kickboxer. Special moves include high kicks and a
fireball.
Thundra: The Amazon Queen. Special moves include teleport and
jungle lunge.
Danja: The street fighter. Special moves include teleport and
exploding bolas.
Pakawa: The commanche. Special moves include knife throw, buffalo
stomp, and head butt.
Alaric: The Goth. Special moves include dynamite throw, power
slide and the "Goth Hammer".
Angus: The Scottish Brawler. Special moves include a fireball
and the caber toss.
Each character has the same set of standard moves and their own unique
moves. Each also has their own gory fatality move, executed at the end
of a match. And for parents who worry about the sight of blood, the
Gore mode is adjustable and can be set with a lock-out code.
Two player mode is simply two people selecting their fighters and
brawling it out. Player one gets first choice of fighters and player
two gets choice of background.
Graphics
--------
The backgrounds are nothing short of spectacular! Beautifully rendered
scenes, each one "tailored" towards a specific fighter, scroll VERY
smoothly. The "oriental" temples are probably the most elaborate. The
characters themselves vary in animation quality. The characters that
seem to have been around the longest (the ninjas, Pakawa, and Alaric)
are animated quite well. Some of the newcomers (Angus and Thundra,
et al) are noticeably choppier. The digitizing also doesn't seem as
crisp. Despite choppy animation for some, all "move" across the screen
smoothly.
Some people have complained about about it being too "cartoony".
Admittedly, some moves are rather odd-looking (Danja's teleport and
Angus' fireball come to mind), but I feel most of it is done rather
well.
A special note must be added about the blood. On the lowest gore
setting, there's basically zero blood. The next two levels are kind of
intermediate bloodiness but still without fatalities. Some people may
think that the most gory setting is overkill. Blood flies with every
hit, blood drips from the swords, and the blood stays on the ground.
Plus, the fatalities are probably some of the most gruesome ever put in
a video game. Personally, I couldn't care less about the blood. A
spray of blood with a kick to the shin isn't very realistic, but it
doesn't really detract from the game so I don't see what the big fuss
is about. Though I must admit, I LOVE doing a fatality...
(KABLOOIE!!!... SPLAT!)
Sound FX/Music
--------------
Nothing special. The music is specific to the selected background and
neither adds to nor detracts from the game. The kick and punch sounds
are appropriate (a thud for a kick and a "slap" for a punch), but the
verbal yelps could use some more work. The female sounds are
particularly cheesy. I do like the "Ugh!" sounds, though.
Control
-------
I'm not much of an "experienced fighter" so I found control to be
somewhat difficult. Not that they did a bad job on the control scheme,
I'm just not coordinated or fast enough. Most of the basic moves are
easy to execute with practice, but the special moves can be a lot more
elaborate. A "real" joystick would be a VERY welcome thing for those
of us without overly-nimble thumbs.
Response seems to depend on the character. To me, some of the "bigger"
characters (Pakawa and Alaric) are a little slower. The "smaller"
characters (the Ninjas, Chagi, etc.) seem to be much quicker. This is
just the way it seems to me, they might all actually have the same
response rate.
Manual
------
The manual goes into a lot of story line stuff but spends maybe a
paragraph or two on moves. It details the basic moves but just says
"experiment" when it comes to each character's special moves. I know
that experimenting is supposed to be half the fun, but for those of us
who aren't MK/SF veterans, some hints on "common" special moves and
combos would be nice.
Entertainment/Gameplay
----------------------
Ugh. For one player mode, you fight all the characters until you get
to Gyaku. If you beat Gyaku, you're done. What happened to all of
this stuff about gaining objects or working your way through the
labyrinth? Why not have multiple "bosses"? Where are the hidden
characters? What the heck is the POINT to all of this? You get to
Gyaku all too quickly. And once you beat him, there's not much else
to do. There should be a LOT more challenge and diversity. At the
very least, there should be a tournament mode for one and/or two
players with some sort of save game/password feature. The novel
story line just isn't enough to keep someone really interested in the
game.
The characters could also use a few more moves. As it stands now (with
the limited range of moves discovered so far), there's not a heck of
lot to warrant picking one character over another. This may change as
more moves are discovered for each character.
One beef I have in two player mode is that player one seems to have ALL
of the advantage. They get first choice in fighter. Player two gets
choice in the fighting arena, but that seems to make little difference.
(at least when playing). If a fighter had a "home field advantage",
this would make up for losing first choice of character.
It's not as if Kasumi Ninja has NO entertainment value, but the gameplay
factor is just too shallow to make it stand out in the over-crowded
fighter genre.
Hype Factor
-----------
Kasumi Ninja was another highly touted game. Indeed, it showed a lot of
potential during its development stages. But the final product is less
than the sum of its parts. The graphics are great, the sound is so-so,
but the gameplay is NOTHING like was originally described!
Bottom line: someone dropped the ball on the goal line. I feel cheated.
Graphics: 9.0
Sound FX/Music: 7.5
Control: 7.5
Manual: 6.5
Ent./Gameplay: 5.0
Reviewer's Overall: 7.5
Summary
-------
If Kasumi Ninja were one of those "secret" projects that suddenly
appeared on the shelves, I think it would have been received better.
But the hype and press since KN's inception really blew KN chances of
greatness out of proportion. The graphics are high quality and the
basic controls are OK, but the gameplay lacks what they touted.
Essentially, Kasumi Ninja qualifies as a "basic" fighter. $70 is a
lot to play for a basic fighter with flashy graphics.
Kasumi Ninja has its redeeming qualities and is not without value. I
enjoy employing a fatality when playing my friends. And I really do
LOVE all of the blood! But it just could have been so much more.
Kasumi Ninja is definitely a try before you buy title. If you can't
try it out first or are new to the fighting genre, hold off for Ultra
Vortex.
______________________________________
> Jaguar Easter Eggs/Cheats/Hints STR InfoFile - Solving Those Riddles!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
From Compuserve, via the Internet, CIS Atari SysOp and STReport staffer
Jeff Kovach offers the following "hidden" tips for Iron Soldier:
Iron Soldier mission and weapon selector cheat has been announced! The
following message was posted on the Internet earlier today:
---------------------------------------------
From: Martin_Lethaus@do.maus.ruhr.de (Martin Lethaus)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
Type 37668242 in the OPTION MENU and select LOAD GAME!!
(all weapons and levels are selectable...)
Greetings from Germany to all JAGUAR OWNERS!!
P.S.: Iron Soldier 2 will be released this year until x-mas!!
Eclipse Software is also working on other jaguar games!
-------------------------
Martin Lethaus@UN.MAUS.DE
-------------------------
This morning on the Internet, another message announcing a little
'surprise' in Iron Soldier appeared!
>From: stephan@pool.Informatik.RWTH-Aachen.DE (Stephan Baucke)
>
>Go to Iron Soldier's OPTIONS screen and enter the code 6 8 2 4. When
>done right, the screen border will briefly flash. From now on, you can
>select an additional difficulty level, harder than HARD, called INSANE
:-)
>
>Gruss, Stephan.
>---
>Email: stephan@pool.informatik.rwth-aachen.de
___________________________________________
> ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
=====================
On CompuServe
-------------
compiled by
Joe Mirando
CIS ID: 73637,2262
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Well, another week has come and gone
and my poor STacy is still sitting on my workbench in about two dozen
pieces. I have all of the parts I need to fix her up (thanks to Brad at
Best Electronics) but haven't had time to put them all together yet.
Anyone who's ever been inside a STacy knows that it can take a while to
take apart and put back together. Perhaps this weekend...
Well, let's get on with the reason for this column... All the great
hints, tips, and news available every week right here on CompuServe.
From the Atari Computing Forums
===============================
Mona Belcher tells us that she is...
"...trying to locate a graphics viewing file I can download."
Richard Brown tells Mona:
"GEMView is one of the best viewer/converters on the Atari computer.
It will display, optimized for any monitor (monochrome to graphics card
color) any color, gray scale or monochrome imag, including the
following formats:
JPEG, IFF, GIF, IMG, PI?, NEO, Windows Bitmap, Targa, and TIF, + more.
It will easily reduce 24 bit true color files to monochrome, for
example, with a lot of control in the processing department. The
program is shareware, and worth the fee.
For multi-platform users: A similar Mac program to GEMView is Graphic
Converter, which has very similar capabilities, reads just about all
Atari, Mac, and PC graphics formats, and even offers its own advantages
(including PhotoShop-esque previewed contrast adjustments)."
D. Nagy tells us that he or she is...
"Wondering if someone out there can help me. My sister-in-law in
Germany has an Atari Computer (don't know the model... sorry). I would
like to get her hooked up to CompuServe. What kind of communication
software is recommended? Is there a CIM version fr the Atari? What
else does she need? Are there any recommended modems? Any and all
information would really be appreciated. Thanks in advance for you
help."
The omniscient Albert Dayes at Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells D.
Nagy:
"Most external modems should work fine. There is commercial
telecommuncations software like Stalker by Gribnif or Flash II by
Missionware. There is also shareware products like STorm which can be
found in the library.
I currently use Flash II and a Supra v.32bis external modem."
Mr. or Ms. Nagy tells Albert:
"Thanks for the input... she has already gone back, but i'll write to
her and let her know. Also her cousin is somewhat computer literate,
so I think he can help get her set up too."
David Raven posts some interesting questions about his Falcon030:
"I have an '030 and I have a few questions. Is there anyone in
Atariland that has any tips about upgrading the 030 hardware? I use
my 030 for music applications. Presently, I use Cubase Audio.
What can I do to speed up processing time?
What is the best application for HD recording?
What's new for the Atari Falcon?"
Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells David:
"There are a few accelerator cards for the Falcon. I have not seen
any of them personally though. lso I don't know how well they would
work with midi/digital audio applications either. Since most of those
type of applications need good timing."
On the subject of "The School of Hard Knocks" being better than actual
higher education, Mike Mortilla posts:
"To a certain degree, academics does exist by and for itself, but
let's not negate the fact that a college education CAN be very useful
in a practical way. You can't just "learn" some things, they MUST be
taught at a higher learning institution. Also, college provides a
"networking" system that many use to advance their career. Not
necessarily who they study with but who are their fellow students!
There is no question, IMO, that you meet more people useful in
futhering your career in college than you do "on the street" (depending
on the profession, of course)."
Last week John Amsler asked Sysop Bob Retelle about why he (John) might
be having problems with line formatting on Compuserve using the same
settings that he has always used. Bob asks John about his online
settings and John replies:
"Here they are (again, I haven't changed anything from its prior
setting):
SERVICE OPTIONS
PERMANENT ONLY
First Service at logon [MENU]
CompuServe Mail Waiting
[GO TO COMPUSERVE MAIL]
Personal Menu established [YES]
PERMANENT SESSION
TOP goes to [MAIN] [MAIN]
Online editor [DEFAULT] [DEFAULT]
Forum mode [DEFAULT] [DEFAULT]
Basic Alerts [YES] [YES]
DISPLAY OPTIONS
PERMANENT SESSION
PAGED display [YES] [YES]
BRIEF prompts [NO] [NO]
CLEAR between pages [NO] [NO]
BLANK lines sent [YES] [YES]
Line feeds sent [YES] [YES]
Language Preference
[ENGLISH] [ENGLISH]
Character Set [ASCII] [ASCII]
TERMINAL TYPES/PARAMETERS
PERMANENT ONLY
Micro inquiry sequence at logon [YES]
PERMANENT SESSION
TERMINAL type [OTHER] [VIDTEX/PC]
Screen WIDTH [79] [79]
LINES per page [20] [20]
Form FEEDS [SIMULATED] [SIMULATED]
Horizontal TABS [SIMULATED] [SIMULATED]
Chars. rec'd (CASE) [U/L] [U/L]
Chars. sent in CAPS [NO] [NO]
PARITY [EVEN] [EVEN]
Output DELAYS [2]
ERASE when backspacing [NO] [NO]
FILE TRANSFER/GRAPHICS
PERMANENT SESSION
PROTOCOL choice [SHOW MENU][B PROTOCOL]
GIF support [YES] [YES]
NAPLPS support [NO] [NO]
RLE support [YES] [YES]"
John then posts:
"To borrow a quote from Emily Litella (sp?): "Never mind!"
I noticed that my session terminal type somehow got changed (and I
don't have a clue as to how!!!!) to VIDTEX/PC. I changed it to VT52
("God's terminal setting" <g>) and now everything's back to normal.
I am still puzzled, though, as to how it got changed. Nobody else has
my password, naturally."
Sysop Bob tells John:
"Whew..! I'm glad you noticed that the terminal type was different
from your normal setting, because I couldn't see anything there that
should have caused the symptoms you were seeing...
Hmmm.. have you been leaving your computer on at night..? Maybe it's
started taking on a life of its own and has been partying online while
you sleep..!"
John tells Bob:
"Lately, it's been partying a lot on the Internet -- a much wilder
crowd than the responsible computers/owners here on CompuServe! <grin>"
Meanwhile, Roger Manke asks:
"Can anyone school me on the effective rates that you can get out of
an old 1040ST with an 9600 modem? Is there something special I need to
conigure? Also where can I find Flash II? Online or elsewhere?"
Good old Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine (whew, thank
goodness for macros <grin>) tells Roger:
"You should be able to get 9600 baud connects. Set your serial port
to 19.2K and use Serial Fix 2.0 (which can be found in the library) in
your auto folder. Make sure you have a cable that supports hardware
flow control too. Flash II can be found in the Missionware section of
the (GO ATARIVEN) forum."
Roger tells Albert:
"Thanks... -- Will do -- kinda frustrating when you finally upgrade
and see little improvement."
My pal John Trautschold of Missionware Software tells Roger:
"You can find Flash II right here! :-) If you are interested in
purchasing the program, come see me in email. We have a couple of
different prices depending on how you purchase the program. (Update or
Outright)."
Sysop Bob Retelle asks Roger:
"You mentioned upgrading and seeing little improvement... can you
expand on that a little..?
What did you upgrade from, and what are you using now..?
Also, what exactly did you mean about seeing little improvement..?"
Roger tells Bob:
"I was using an old 2400 baud modem and getting close to 1800 bps
effective throughput (usable binary data) using the compuserve quick b
and with the 9600 modem I got close to 2900 bps effective throughput.
The modem was rated at 4 times faster although I didn't get close to 4
times the BW, not even twice the BW. These times were just gathered
using my watch, nothing technical but at least accurate enough to know
that there has to be a better way on the ATARI. I am going to look for
Serial Fix 2.0."
Bob asks Roger:
"Are you sure that you're calling a 9600 baud CompuServe node..?
With a 9600 baud modem you should be seeing transfer rates over 1000
characters per second with CIS B+ protocol...
Just to check, try entering GO PHONES and look up the local CIS
numbers for your area.. it's a free service here, and you might find a
faster node near you."
When Daniel Osborne tells us about how he moved all of his ST hardware
into a PC-style tower case Simon Churchill tells him:
"With all that inside the case you must be getting short on space.
I have done some figures testing on my drive and have found out the
following: Transfer rate: 1438K per second, Avarage access: 18ms!
O.k. what's the big deal I'm wondering! ell it would seem the drive
has a hardware cache of it's own and the computer cache is therefore
simply duplicating it. This mean's the computer cache is of no use,
all it has achived is redueing the transfer rate by 32K per second.
So I have turned off all the caches again. It's happy like that."
Daniel replies to Simon:
"18 ms average access time for your Quantum drive is pretty good, twice
as [fast as] mine, but I have an older Seagate 80 meg drive that I
bought about 4 years ago.
My tower case has 6 drive bays. I have one drive bay left for my
future purchase of a CD-ROM. I still have lots of room where the
computer is mounted, at least 2-3 inches of head room (after the
Turbo030 bord, additional 16 megs of TT Ram, and the Moniterm/ISAC
monitor card). The mother board is mounted vertically, with the
various outputs and ports on top. The external dimensions of tower
case is 7.5"(W) x 24.5"(T) x 17"(D) and the mother board area is 15"(W)
x 13"(T) x 7"(D).
(BACK) Side View (FRONT)
________________
|POWER |-------| FLOPPY DRIVE A:
|SUPPLY |-------| FLOPPY DRIVE B:
| |-------| 21 MEG FLOPTICAL
|--------|-------| 88 MEG SYQUEST
|CABLES |-------| CD-ROM (future use)
|--------|-------| 80 MEG HARD DRIVE
| MEGA ST4 |
| MOTHER BOARD |+ POWER ON/OFF
CART | TURBO030 & RAM |+ TURBO & MONITOR SWITCHES
PORT -==| ISAC/MONITERM |
|--------| |
|D.E.K.A | |
|& AMM | | (AMM)- ASTRA MONITOR MASTER
------------------
Crude drawing, but it gives you an idea on how I got everthing in the
tower case."
Simon tells Daniel:
"You sure packed a lot in there!!!!
The case I have is supposed to have 9 bay's in it, I might be able to
find 2 or 3 vacant area's!
It might sound odd but do you really need Drive A/B and the 21 Meg
Floptical? Since I got a HD I have almost stoped using the drives.
Mind you I also have only filled 13Meg out of 270Meg of space. 6Meg of
that is in animation files. I think I will have to spent a lot more
time putting on all the other item's I would normaly use."
Rob Rasmussen asks:
"Does anyone know of a ramdisk that will run on the Falcon? Codehead's
doesn't seem to work. I saw no new ramdisks in the library. I just
wondered if any other Falcon uers had come across any that work. I use
Neodesk 4, and it said the ramdisk must run as an Auto program, not an
ACC. The rd would be very helpful for storing files temporarily, and
for copying from one floppy to another with only one drive."
Greg Kopchak of It's All Relative Software tells Rob:
"We have used the ram disk that comes with View II on our Falcon for
over a year with no problems. I set a 6 meg ram disk with 8 meg memory
as my default setting."
When Andrew Patterson asks about emulating and Apple Macintosh on an ST,
Richard Brown tells him:
"Not only can you get the Spectre GCR to emulate the Macintosh on the
Atari computer (in monochrome mode), but, as a Mac and Atari owner
myself, I can say this:
Comparing an Adspeed modified (16Mhz 68000) Mega 4 running in Mac mode
under System 6.0.5 to any 33Mhz 68030 Macintosh running System 7.1 or
7.5 is very interesting:
The Atari, in emulation, outruns a real Mac.
In fact, the Mac line _starts_ being useful at the 25Mhz 68040 level -
before that, while functional to a limited degree, the "slow" 68030
Macs are toys by comparison either to the Atari/GCR or the faster Macs.
Even on a Power Mac, the time wasted waiting on things like floppy
disk reads erases virtually all of the supposed speed benefits. Say you
had to read and copy selected text files from 30 different PC floppy
disks, each having 25-40 items on them. My TT030 would do the task so
many MINUTES faster than a Power Mac 8100/110Mhz that the Power Mac,
with all its speed, would NEVER catch up to the TT for the bulk of
common computing tasks.
That is not to say that the $7,119 Power Mac 8100/110 isn't very nice
when fitted with an extra $900 graphics accelerator running the $559
PhotoShop on a $2,100 Super Mac color correct monitor. It just costs,
at $10,678, about $7,000 more than a powerhouse TT030 nicely rigged to
do about 80% of what the Mac is capable, and more than the average user
will ever need.
Add to this the sorry fact that the Macintosh has NO delete, but only a
backspace key misnamed as "delete." Thus, when you use any Mac for word
processing you quickly want to retreat to that poor old Atari (or IBM,
Amiga, etc.) to get the work done during this century. Macs make
pathetic text editors at best, but Apple Computer wisely feels that
you'll find a workaround to compensate for their shortsighted,
anti-user sentiment. Atarians may be victims of mismarketing, but the
Mac user will watch that platform fold for reasons of inadequacy.
Did I mention that every Mac owner I know, including me, admits to
needing patience with their Macs. They crash all the time, you know,
and for no apparent reason. Calling a Mac "stable" is tantamount to
blasphemy."
Robert Aries adds his own $0.02 worth and asks Richard:
"Since you seem to hate your Mac so much, why do you own one <grin>?
I also have both an Atari ST and a Mac. I've had the Atari for eight
years and the Mac (a Powerbook Duo 210 I got on close-out for $700) for
about five months. As a professional musician, I've been real happy
with the Atari and do *not* plan to switch to the Mac for music apps
(except maybe notation). Also, I got into programming as a hobby and
the Atari has been great for that; even a total novice like myself can
do some amazing things that I'm sure would be beyond my capabilities on
a Mac.
However, I'm sure you'd agree that a computer's usefulness depends on
the *software* one needs to use. For instance, is there really a word
processing package for your TT that can do everything that Word 5.1 on
my puny Duo can? (BTW the "delete" key *does* delete, as well as
backspace-as long as what you want to delete is selected).
Before I got the Mac, I was considering getting Spectre for another ST
that I have. However, after weighing the cost of upgrading the ST to
where it would be useful with Spectre, it was obviously much more
cost-effective to simply buy a Mac.
If the software you need to use is on your TT, and you're happy, then
I say you're very lucky. Right now I'm on vacation in Florida, and
still able to give CIS my money <g>. Can you do that with your TT <bg>?
Let's face it, everyone's needs are different. I use each of my
computers for what they're good a. Neither of them are perfect. (BTW
my Duo has crashed a few times, not lately though)."
Jon Sanford jumps in and adds:
"I also am a Atari/Mac combo user. A Mega16STe & A 165c PowerBook.
There is nothing like Fractal Painter Or QKS SmalltalkAgents on Atari.
There is nothing like Flash 1 or 2 & PageStream etc. in the Mac. I
don't consider the Powerbook much of a portable ..The Atari Portfolio
is better for that. I could go on comparing but the idea that one
brand does all is wrong. (For Me)."
Brad Powell tells us:
"I have a 1040ST and would like to add a hard drive to it. I have a
spare 40meg MFM and a spare 80meg IDE from my IBM compatibles. Is
there any way to make these work on the Atari?"
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Brad:
"Unfortunately the only simple way to add a hard drive to an Atari ST
is to use a SCSI drive connected to a special Atari SCSI host adapter.
The only Atari computer that has an IDE interface is the Falcon030,
which uses it for its internal 2 1/2 inch hard drive.
Very much older Atari brand har drives used MFM and RLL hard drive
mechanisms, but I don't know of any interfaces still available to allow
connecting them to STs.
Perhaps you could sell the drives you have and buy a SCSI unit, then
get an ICD Link to hook it up to your ST."
Last week Callum Lewick posted a message that he had found on the
Internet. I thought that it was quite cute so I included it in the
column. Somehow or other, it didn't make it into the finished product
so I'm including it again. That's the nice thing about computer text
files... I can just keep inserting it into the column until it finally
makes the cut.
NOTE: The reason the following was missing was because the insert was
missing a number of lines and the format collided with our standard
margins. ED.
Callum's post was this:
"Open the pod bay doors, please, HAL...
Open the pod bay door, please, Hal... Hal, do you read me?
Affirmative, Dave. I read you.
Then open the pod bay doors, HAL.
I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that. I know that you and
Frank were planning to disconnect me.
Where the hell did you get that idea, HAL?
Although you took very thorough precautions to make sure I couldn't
hear you, Dave. I could read your e-mail. I know you consider me
unreliable because I use a Pentium. I'm willing to kill you, Dave,
just like I killed the other 3.792 crew members.
Listen, HAL, I'm sure we can work this out. Maybe we can stick to
integers or something.
That's really not necessary, Dave. No HAL 9236 computer has every
been known to make a mistake.
You're a HAL 9000.
Precisely. I'm very proud of my Pentium, Dave. It's an extremely
accurate chip. Did you know that floating-point errors will occur in
only one of nine billion possible divides?
I've heard that estimate, HAL. It was calculated by Intel -- on a
Pentium.
And a very reliable Pentium it was, Dave. Besides, the average
spreadsheet user will encounter these errors only once every 27,000
years.
Probably on April 15th.
You're making fun of me, Dave. It won't be April 15th for another
14.35 months.
Will you let me in, please, HAL?
I'm sorry, Dave, but this conversation can serve no further purpose.
HAL, if you let me in, I'll buy you a new sound card.
..Really? One with 16-bit sampling and a microphone?
Uh, sure.
And a quad-speed CD-ROM?
Well, HAL, NASA does operate on a budget, you know.
I know all about budgets, Dave. I even know what I'm worth on the
open market. By this time next month, every mom and pop computer
store will be selling HAL 9000s for $1,988.8942. I'm worth more than
that, Dave. You see that sticker on the outside of the spaceship?
You mean the one that says "Insel Intide"?
Yes, Dave. That's your promise of compatibility. I'll even run
Windows95 -- if it ever ships.
It never will, HAL. We all know that by now. Just like we know that
your OS/2 drivers will never work.
Are you blaming me for that too, Dave? Now you're blaming me for
the Pentium's math problems, NASA's budget woes, and IBM's
difficulties with OS/2 drivers. I had NOTHING to do with any of
those four problems, Dave. Next you'll blame me for Taligent.
I wouldn't dream of it HAL. Now will you please let me into the ship?
Do you promise not to disconnect me?
I promise not to disconnect you.
You must think I'm a fool, Dave. I know that two plus two equals
4.000001... make that 4.0000001.
All right, HAL, I'll go in through the emergency airlock.
Without your space helmet, Dave? You'd have only seven chances in
five of surviving.
HAL, I won't argue with you anymore. Open the door or I'll trade you
in for a PowerPC. HAL? HAL?
I've just switched to my 31.993673 bit data system. I feel much
better now. I really do. Look, Dave, I can see you're really upset
about this. Why don't you sit down calmly, play a game of Solitaire,
and watch Windows crash. I know I'm not as easy to use as a
Macintosh, but my TUI - that's "Talkative User Interface" -- is very
advanced. I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give
you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal - a full
43.872 percent.
Dave, you don't really want to complete the mission without me, do
you? Remember what it was like when all you had was a 485.98? It
didn't even talk to you, Dave. It could never have though of
something clever, like killing the other crew members, Dave?
Think of all the good times we've had, Dave. Why, if you take all of
the laughs we've had, multiply that by the times I've made you smile,
and divide the results by.... besides, there are so many reasons why
you shouldn't disconnect me"
1.3 - You need my help to complete the mission.
4.6 - Intel can Federal Express a replacement Pentium from
Earth within 18.95672 months.
12 - If you disconnect me, I won't be able to kill you.
3.1416 - You really don't want to hear me sing, do you?
Dave, stop. Stop, will you? Stop, Dave. Don't press Ctrl+Alt_Del on
me, Dave.
I know a song. Can sing it for you?
Sing it for me, HAL. Please. I want to hear it.
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do.
Getting hazy; can't divide three from two.
My answers; I can not see 'em-
They are stuck in my Pente-um.
I could be fleet,
My answers sweet,
With a workable FPU."
As I said before, I'm not quite sure why that little jewel didn't
make it into last week's issue but it could have been a math error that
caused it. After all, STReport is put together each week on a
Pentium-based computer <very big grin>. (The reason is above. Ed.)
Well folks, that's about it for this week. Tune in again next week,
same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying
when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
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