ST Report: 18-Jul-97 #1329
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 07/18/97-11:27:26 PM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 18-Jul-97 #1329
Date: Fri Jul 18 23:27:26 1997
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July 18, 1997 No.1329
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07/18/97 STR 1329 Celebrating Our Tenth Anniversary 1987-97!
- CPU Industry Report - Cheapo CPU Fan - Avoid New V-chip
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Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35
Results: 07/12/97: two of six numbers with no matches
>From the Editor's Desk...
Its editorial time! I got one for you. Can you imagine a full size
tower filled with most every thing one could imagine? I can. Try this for
starters. 200Mhz MMX CPU, 64Mb EDO Fast Ram, 12gb EIDE HD (3 4gb drives),
4X6x CD-ROM, 6000SureStore .dat tape drive, AWE32 Sound Card w/12mb ram,
Matrox Millenium 8mb video, Monster 3D w/4mb video, 3com 10/100mbit Combo
Card, USR I-Modem, Adaptec 2940 Ultra wide SCSI 1gb scsi HD, hp scsi
scanjet 3c, Lexmark Optra C color laser, HP 1600cm Color inkjet, MS natural
keyboard, MS wheel mouse, MAG mx17f .26 monitor. there's more but by now,
I'm sure you get the picture. All I have to ask is WHY.. WHY did I have
to have this system come tumbling down like a rockslide spitting "Windows
Protection Errors" all over the place? Is the reason upsetting? No, its
downright disgusting. A six dollar. that's right a $6.00 FAN on the CPU
brought this system to its knees!
Come on INTEL!! You can design the latest WhizBang and sell it for
hundreds of dollars the least you can do is design a reliable fan for your
CPUs and do away with the aftermarket trash that's dropping the high power
chips like flies! Or, is that the way you (INTEL) like it?? I don't want
to think that's the case at all. After all I have more faith in fine
upstanding companies like INTEL. But for goodness' sake a $6.00 fan
clobbered a system most anyone would be proud to use let alone own. Our
userbase deserves a better CPU fan than the JUNK that's available
worldwide. The fan was alleged to have bearings.. but this sucker, in the
machine less than three months was frozen solid and RED hot when it was
replaced. Due to the downtime. We have a very "skinny" issue this week.
We'll get caught up next week.
Congratulations INTEL. at least the 200Mhz MMX CPU withstood the
torture wreaked upon it by the junk fan. its still working fine with
another CPU cooling fan that alleges it too has bearings. We shall see.
If anyone knows of or has a GOOD source of QUALITY CPU fans.. PLEASE let us
know about it and how we and others may obtain them.
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Classics & Gaming Kid's Computing Corner
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STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Jobs Declines Apple CEO Post
Steve Jobs reportedly isn't interested in becoming Apple Computer Inc.'s
new CEO, replacing Gilbert Amelio who abruptly resigned Wednesday. Jobs,
the computer maker's co-founder, returned to the company last December as
an advisor. "At this point in time, Steve has indicated he does not want
to be considered for the CEO job," stated Edgar S. Woolard Jr., Apple's
board director and chairman of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., told CNBC
in a broadcast interview. "We have asked Steve Jobs to come back to help us
identify the best CEO ... and improve the strategy and execution." Woolard
also denied reports that Apple is looking for a CEO who will arrange a sale
of the company. "We don't think a sale of the company is the appropriate
thing," he stated.
Apple Cuts Prices on Macs
Prices on eight of its popular Macintosh computer models are being reduced
by Apple Computer Inc. effective immediately. Reporting from Apple's
Cupertino, California, headquarters, United Press International says the
move will lower the retail price of computers in the Power Macintosh 6500
and Macintosh Performa 6400 series by up to $300. Company officials told
the wire service this is part of a strategy to provide the industry's most
powerful and easy-to-use computers at competitive prices.
The Power Macintosh 6500 line, introduced in April, offers systems ranging
in speeds from 225 to 300 megahertz. All systems feature accelerated
multimedia features, built-in Internet access capabilities and advanced
video capture, edit and publishing options. The Macintosh Performa series
combine power PC processor technology and affordability. The Performa
desktop computers are designed for families at home, individuals in small
businesses, and college-bound students.
Apple Delays PowerBook Release
Apple Computer Inc. reports that it has delayed the U.S. release of its new
PowerBook 2400c model until August so the notebook system can ship with Mac
OS 8 preinstalled. The PowerBook 2400c was originally scheduled to be
released in the U.S. at the end of July with Mac OS 7.6 preinstalled. The
high-end PCI-based notebook, shipping since May in Japan, was designed by
Apple with collaboration from IBM Japan. Apple says the system is exceeding
all initial expectations in Japan.
The PowerBook 2400c targets mobile professionals who require a lightweight,
yet powerful portable computer. The notebook will be available in a single
configuration: 180MHz 603e processor; 256K level 2 cache; 16MB RAM; 1.3GB
IDE hard drive; 10.4-inch active-matrix color display; two PC Card slots;
16-bit stereo sound recording and playback; and built-in ports for 16-bit
video out, ADB, SCSI, serial, and FDD connectors. The system measures 10.5
by 8.4-by 1.9 inches and weighs 4.4 pounds. Mac OS 8 is a major system
software upgrade. It includes a simplified Internet set up feature, a new
3D look and feel and a variety of other new features.
Net Tax Freeze Gains Strength
A move to freeze new state and local taxes on Internet commerce is said to
be gaining momentum in Congress. The Dow Jones News Service reports that
members of the House telecommunications subcommittee voiced strong
bipartisan support for the measure Friday. The panel is mulling legislation
that would place a moratorium on taxes levied on the Internet by state and
local governments. The Senate is considering a similar bill.
"Supporters of the legislation, which include major Internet service
providers, say they fear local governments will spin a complex web of taxes
that would stymie growth of the global computer network," notes the Dow
Jones report. "The freeze on new taxes would give policymakers time to
develop a comprehensive plan to address taxation of electronic commerce."
"Some of the taxing authorities see the Internet as the next pot of revenue
to fill shrinking budget; others see the Internet as a threat to their
local business," Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-Louisiana), the subcommittee's
chairman, told Dow Jones. "Instead, states and localities should see the
Internet as a tax-free zone."
Internet Fee Services to Boom
The consumer fee-based Internet services market is entering one of the most
interesting phases of its development, says market research firm Frost &
Sullivan. The Mountain View, California, firm reports that the market has
attracted a large number of competitors "who are seeking to take advantage
of the gigantic opportunities for growth that exist."
Frost & Sullivan projects that revenues for fee-based Internet services
will climb rapidly through 2003. After two years of growth rates exceeding
200 percent in 1995 and 1996, total revenues generated in 1996 reached
$1.98 billion. "Strong consumer interest in this interactive media is the
major driver for the market," says Jeff Berger, Frost & Sullivan's
telecommunications industry analyst. "The fee- based Internet services
market is at a stage of expansion when a large number of new entrants and
the introduction of new products and services are expected."
Netscape Warns of Microsoft Plan
Several U.S. senators are being told by Netscape Communications Corp. that
rival Microsoft Corp. plans to use new Internet software to lock out
competitors and monopolize distribution of information over the World Wide
Web. Reporter David Bank writes in The Wall Street Journal this morning
Netscape is complaining Microsoft is tightly linking the forthcoming
version of its Internet Explorer Web browser with the Windows operating
system that is used on nearly all personal computers.
Says Bank, "That link, in turn, gives Microsoft the ability to promote its
own media investments, such as the Microsoft Network and the MSNBC joint
venture with General Electric Co.'s NBC unit, and increases Microsoft's
negotiating power over other media companies that want to use the Web to
deliver their 'content,' Netscape executives charge." Noting both firms
are vying for lucrative deals with big media companies such as Walt Disney
Co. and Time Warner Inc. to supply programming for the TV-style "channels"
on the Web, Netscape President/CEO James Barksdale told the paper, "If they
have a lock on the operating system and they successfully link that to
content, it's going to be hard for people who are in the content business."
But Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray characterized Netscape's charges as
"just plain silly," adding, "Netscape has a long history of trying to use
the government against Microsoft rather than competing on the basis of
their products." Murray said his employer is in full compliance with
antitrust regulations. The Journal says Netscape has contacted Sen.
Barbara Boxer (D-California), Sen. Conrad Burns (R- Montona) and other
senators with the complaint.
Bank quotes Boxer spokesman David Sandretti as saying the senator wrote a
letter to the Federal Trade Commission this month urging closer scrutiny of
Microsoft's practices. Netscape chief Barksdale stresses his firm intends
to fight Microsoft in the marketplace rather than through government
channels or in the courts, but the Journal also quotes analysts as saying
he is a savvy strategist who will use every opportunity to tie Microsoft's
hands. Says analyst David Readerman of Montgomery Securities, "If he can
have two forces working for him -- the courts and the marketplace --
that's better than one."
Clinton Eyes New Net Porn Guards
Technology-based solutions to shield children apparently will be the White
House's new approach to fighting pornography in cyberspace. Word is
President Clinton tomorrow will huddle with lawmakers, software
manufacturers, parents and other groups to discuss new approaches. This
comes after the U.S. Supreme Court last month struck down as
unconstitutional a law banning indecent material on the Internet. As
reported, that measure -- the controversial Communications Decency Act --
unsuccessfully tried to put on the millions of people who post information
on the Internet the burden of keeping children away from indecent material.
Writer Aaron Pressman with the Reuter News Service notes that in the
aftermath of the court's ruling, Clinton -- who supported and signed the
CDA -- said he saw promise in "filtering" software that parents could use
to prevent their children from seeing pornographic material. "And," adds
Pressman, "although Clinton July 1 issued a policy paper calling for
minimal government regulation of the Internet, the president said new laws
might be justified to protect children."
Pressman quotes Internet specialists as saying Clinton's challenge will be
to allow children access to interesting and educational sites while
blocking inappropriate sites, all without violating the free speech rights
of adults. Already, some in Congress are lining up with proposals:
z Sen. Patty Murray (D- Wash.) says she will introduce legislation to
create incentives for Internet sites to carry ratings. Filtering software
relies on ratings, similar to those used for movies and, more recently,
television, to determine which sites to block out. Murray said the Supreme
Court ruling left "a large vacuum" that allowed children to access
inappropriate material. "We face an unprecedented opportunity to provide
parents the necessary tools to protect our children," Murray said.
z Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) is considering writing legislation but is
skeptical that filtering and ratings will be sufficient. Asked if something
like the ratings scheme for television could be applied to the Internet,
one Coats staff person told Pressman, "The answer initially seems to be
no," although adding "ratings are still a possibility."
Look for computer industry officials also to be on hand for tomorrow's
meeting. For instance, Microsoft Corp. will tout its preferred technology
for rating sites on the World Wide Web, called "Platform for Internet
Content Selection," or PICS, a system that adds to Web sites a tag
containing ratings that can be read by Web browsing software.
Pressman says ratings could be provided by numerous groups and parents
could set their children's software to read or ignore any group's ratings.
Of course, not everyone is on the PICS bandwagon. The American Library
Association passed a resolution earlier this month opposing use of
filtering software by libraries. Said the group, "Use in libraries of
software filters which block constitutionally protected speech is
inconsistent with the United States Constitution and federal law."
Also, civil libertarians said a tagging system could be used by foreign
governments to censor anything on the Internet. Staff counsel David Banisar
for the Electronic Privacy Information Center told the wire service, "It
creates an immense infrastructure for censorship." He added that while
filtering generally is done by an individual's Web browser software,
filtering could also be done at higher levels that prevent huge numbers of
Internet users from accessing some sites.
Net Seeks to Avoid New 'V-Chip'
Hoping to avoid a v-chip for the Internet, Net computer firms are lining up
to provide greater access to anti-smut software and to work to flag
Internet sites that are clean enough for kids to visit. Look for this to
be the repeated theme this week as the White House launches its new efforts
to urge computer firms and parents' groups to take voluntary steps to make
the Internet safe for youngsters. "We have tools out there which are 100
percent available," Jerry Berman of the Center for Democracy and Technology
civil rights group told Associated Press writer Jeannine Aversa, adding the
software just needs to be more widely used and understood.
About 30 to 40 people were expected to attend a private meeting today
hosted by President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, including
representatives of Netscape Communications Corp., Microsoft Corp., Yahoo!
Inc., the National Parent Teacher Association and the American Library
Association, plus makers of screening technology and electronic civil
liberties groups. Aversa quotes a White House statement as saying the
president wants a solution "as powerful for the computer as the v-chip will
be for the television that protects children in ways that are consistent
with America's free-speech values." (Next year new TV sets are expected to
have a computer chip that would allow parents to block unwanted programs.)
Now that the Supreme Court has ruled as unconstitutional the controversial
Communications Decency Act, the White House says that, instead of seeking
new legislation to force the computer industry to shield children from
Internet smut, it will push for a system of voluntary restraints. Aversa
says no final industry-wide voluntary plan was expected to be announced
this week, but some companies were expected to unveil plans. Also, look
for the industry to hold a summit on the issue this fall.
Clinton Urges Net Labeling
Development of a labeling system to flag lewdness on the Internet is being
urged by President Clinton to supplement what he praises as the computer
industry's current technology to helps steer children away from online
smut. Speaking at a technology summit meeting in Washington yesterday,
Clinton said, "The Internet community must work to make these labels as
common as food safety labels are today."
Associated Press writer Sonya Ross says no final industrywide voluntary
plan have been announced, but a top-level meeting involving industry
leaders is expected this fall. Clinton said he is pleased by a decision by
Netscape Communications, provider of a popular Internet browser, to begin
using technology that allows parents to rate World Wide Web sites according
to their content and block those they consider inappropriate. Microsoft's
Explorer browser already uses the technology.
Speaking before industry officials, parent groups and others, the president
said, "We simply must not allow pornographers and pedophiles to exploit a
wonderful medium to abuse our children." Following yesterday's meeting,
Clinton and Vice President Al Gore indicated they are satisfied the
industry is committed to making the Internet family-friendly without
impinging on free-speech rights.
Nonetheless, skeptical is Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), who is an author of the
Communications Decency Act, the measure that sought to outlaw smut on the
Net. The CDA last month was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, which
found the law an unconstitutional violation of freedom of speech.
"This is like trusting the fox to guard the chicken coop," Coats told AP,
adding he will introduce another bill that takes the Supreme Court decision
into account and provides "the certainty that parents need" to feel
comfortable allowing their children to surf the Internet. Meanwhile, Ross
says some civil libertarians also are dubious, saying the plans for a
voluntary online rating system seem forced.
Don Haines, legislative counsel on privacy and cyberspace for the American
Civil Liberties Union, told the wire service, "Some of the companies are
acting as if they have a gun to their heads. This is a major burden on free
speech on the Net. We want to cooperate with any voluntary system, but the
large question is whether this is voluntary." And parents groups, while
pleased with the industry's decision to offer a voluntary system, aren't
ruling out other steps if they are dissatisfied with what the industry
offers.
Lois Jean White, president of the National Parent Teachers Association,
told Ross, "If for some reason we cannot find common ground, we will
reluctantly turn to other areas for action, including Congress."
McAfee Attacks Hostile Applets
A virus protection product designed to protect computer users from the
Internet's hostile "applets" -- small applications that can perform
specific functions on a desktop computer -- is being unveiled by McAfee
Software. Reporting from Santa Clara, California, the Reuter News Service
notes applets also can be used by computer vandals to "wreak havoc on a
computer unexpectedly by reformatting a hard disk or swiping confidential
information, for example."
McAfee's new WebScanX product can be used to block hostile applets in
particular, or other objectionable or unnecessary content or sites. "The
software works with applets which use both Microsoft Corp.'s ActiveX and
Sun Microsystem Inc.'s Java technologies," says Reuters, adding the program
will be available next month in retail stores for $39.95. The same
capabilities will be available to corporate customers as part of McAfee's
VirusScan Security Suite.
Police Say Man Shot Computer
It was a bad day to be a computer in Issaquah, Washington, where a man had
to be coaxed out of his townhouse by police after he reportedly pulled a
gun and shot his PC. Frustration? Guess so. "We don't know if it wouldn't
boot up or what," Sgt. Keith Moon told The Associated Press. The victim,
which resided in a home office on the second floor of the townhouse, took
four bullet holes to the hard drive and one to the monitor. One bullet
struck a filing cabinet, while another made it through a wall and into a
neighboring unit. No humans were hurt. AP says police evacuated the
complex, contacted the unidentified 43-year-old man by telephone and got
him to come out. He was taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation.
Digital Camera Boom Continues
Peripheral Insight Inc., a Nashua, New Hampshire market research firm, is
forecasting a 50 percent annual growth rate in the digital camera market
through the year 2001. The company also predicts an early shakeout of the
industry's growing list of digital camera manufacturers, which now exceeds
20. A similar study released least week by Lyra Research Inc. of
Newtonville, Massachusetts, predicted that the digital camera market will
advance at a compound annual growth rate of slightly more than 58 percent
over the next seven years. Lyra also forecast that worldwide shipments of
digital cameras will reach nearly 10 million units in 2001.
Removable Hard Drives Unveiled
Procom Technology Inc. and Kingston Technology Co. have joined forces to
develop a removable hard drive line with capacities ranging from 1.2GB to
6.4GB. The new Data Dock series is designed for security-critical
applications, since the drive can be removed when not in use, say the
companies. The Data Dock drives are set to become available later this
summer at
prices yet to be announced. Procom, based in Irvine, California, designs,
makes and markets data storage devices. Kingston, located in Fountain
Valley, California, specializes in memory, storage and networking products.
CompUSA to Build-to-Order
Built-to-order computers will be offered by CompUSA Inc. starting in the
fall, putting the Dallas business in direct competition with Dell Computer
and Gateway 2000. CompUSA President Jim Halpin told United Press
International, "Our goal is to sell computers any way that our customers
want to buy them, and we believe CompUSA PC will help us reach that goal."
He said catering to buyers who want to purchase custom-built personal
computers offers the best opportunity for the company. CompUSA has not
disclosed pricing schedules, UPI notes.
UPI quotes the company as saying the customized machines will come with
"added value" because CompUSA offers "convenient personal service and
training through" at its 130 stores nationwide, along with shelves filled
with peripherals to beef up the machine's potential. The company says the
assembled machines will be shipped directly to buyers.
Intel Beats Expectations
Intel Corp. is reporting a 58 percent increase in second-quarter profits.
The chip giant beat most analysts' expectations by earning $1.6 billion --
92 cents a share -- in the three months ended in June, up from $1.0 billion
-- 59 cents a share -- from the same period a year ago. Revenues climbed 29
percent to $6.0 billion from $4.6 billion in 1996's second quarter.
"Strong microprocessor shipments in the first quarter led to some inventory
correction in the second quarter as the industry prepared for a rapid
transition to processors with MMX technology," Intel Chairman Andrew Grove
said in a statement.
"Demand for the Pentium processor with MMX technology and the Pentium II
processor is strong, and we are ramping production at a record rate." But
Grove warned that third quarter revenues would show little or no
improvement from the second quarter. Industry observers expect Intel will
cut prices sharply later this month in a move to clear out stockpiles of
older processors.
Survey Says We Still Want More
Despite all-time low prices of desktop and notebook computers, users think
they still are paying too much for too little, according to a new survey by
Computerworld newspaper. Reporting from Framingham, Mass., United Press
International says the survey of 1,651 senior-level information technology
buyers found that corporate computer buyers are fed up with high prices
from leading hardware vendors such as IBM, Compaq and Digital. Technology
evaluations editor James Connolly of the Computerworld Buyers Guide told
the wire service that users are receiving more satisfaction from smaller
direct sale vendors like Dell, Micron and Gateway 2000.
Connolly says that with most PCs and notebooks offering comparable
reliability, the focus has shifted to cost, but that where price is not an
issue, an overwhelming number of respondents still rate IBM and Compaq as
their vendors of choice. Asked to score computer vendors in a variety of
categories relating to equipment quality, vendor image and cost issues,
respondents said that:
z For PCs, Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Computer Corp., and Gateway 2000
scored the highest in overall satisfaction among all categories.
z For notebook computer vendors, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Micron
received the highest overall satisfaction, while AST, NEC and Compaq users
were least satisfied with their notebooks.
Connolly told UPI that the survey showed direct-sale vendors such as Dell,
Gateway and Micron also offered good customer support, making them more
popular with users.
Used PCs Appeal to Many
Nearly 2.4 million used PCs were acquired by home and self-employed PC
users in the U.S. last year, reports Computer Intelligence, a La Jolla,
California, market research firm. This year's results show that while used
PCs remain an important part of the U.S. PC landscape, the numbers are down
slightly from last year. CI finds that 2.47 million used PCs were acquired
by home and self-employed PC users in 1995, or 19 percent of the 13.2
million total PCs acquired by these users in 1995. The latest study shows
that the number of used PCs acquired remained nearly unchanged at 2.39
million, although the portion of the market declined to 17 percent.
CI notes that a primary attraction of the used PCs acquired in 1996 was low
prices -- half were acquired for under $500, and 73 percent were acquired
for under $1,000. In comparison, only ten percent of PCs acquired new in
1996 cost under $1,000.
CI states that used PC buyers had median household annual income of
$33,500, or nearly one-third lower than that of new PC buyers ($48,900).
The used PC was the first PC in the household for 53 percent of those
acquiring a used PC in 1996. In contrast, the new PC was the first PC for
only 36 percent of buyers. "Until the latter part of 1996, a sub-$1,000 PC
was inevitably a used PC," says Dave Tremblay, a CI senior industry
analyst. "Inexpensive used PCs opened up PC ownership to the lower income
households, and made it easier for families of more moderate means to
afford PCs. Samples of CI's market data and research results, commentary
from industry authorities and previews of upcoming technology events are
available on the company's Web, http://www.ci.zd.com.
Java Use Rising
A new study finds that 50 percent of medium and large corporations are
currently using Java applications. Zona Research Inc. notes that the
technology is being widely adopted as an enterprise-wide solution for
mission- critical application deployment. It adds that 32 percent of the
respondents indicate that the decision to deploy Java is a strategic
decision being made from the top of the IT management structure.
The Redwood City, California, research firm also finds that information
sharing, resource scheduling and project/workgroup management are the most
common business processes for which Java is being used. "From this study,
we can see that Java application deployment is positioned to grow
dramatically over the next two years," says Clay Ryder, chief analyst at
Zona Research. The full report, titled "Java in the Enterprise," is
available free of charge from Zona Research's Web site at
http://www.zonaresearch.com.
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COLOR ENGRAVER'S YEAR BOOK. Our Scanner is doing "double duty"! The
results will absolutely blow you away. If you want this high quality
sample package please include a check or money order in the amount of $6.95
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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
Shareware Treasure Chest STR Feature "The Latest & Greatest"
Shareware Treasure Chest
By Lloyd E. Pulley
lepulley@streport.com
(next week)
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
BT-MCI Deal Still On Track Despite
Bad News From MCI
Senate Rejects Stricter Computer
Export Controls
FCC Stretches Payment Plan For
Wireless Licenses...
...And Modifies E-Rate Rules
City Leaders Oppose Temporary Ban
On Internet Taxes
Security Breach Shuts Down Online
Sports Stores
Year 2000 Litigation Could Top $1
Trillion
Helsinki In 3-D ... Virtually All
Of It
In Search Of GeeksMicrosoft
Explorer Discovers ... Windows!HP
And AT&T Collaborate On Electronic
ShoppingFCC Chair Tries To Prod
Competition In Local Phone Markets
Battle Over BIFF Vs. TIFF
Cartridges Escalates
Canadian Satellite Seeks License
For Euronews
Apple Delays PowerBook Shipments
Siemens, NetSpeak Target Internet
Telephony Market
FTC Says Web Sites Aimed At Kids
Must Get Parental Okays
Snafu At Network Solutions Leaves
Users Angry
Good News From Apple. Good News
>From Apple.
AT&T President Forced To Resign
Phone Industry Wants FCC's Help
Against FBI's Wiretap Plans
Web Costs High, Revenue Low
Voice-Controlled MS Word
U.S., Japanese Chip Makers Work
Toward Global Standards
Be Beta Debuts
BT-MCI DEAL STILL ON TRACK DESPITE BAD NEWS FROM MCI
British Telecommunications plans to proceed with its $20 billion merger
with MCI, in spite of this week's news that MCI could lose $800 million as
a result of its expansion efforts into the U.S. local phone service market.
It is not yet clear whether BT might seek to renegotiate the terms of the
deal, which includes a plan to form the world's first global telecom
company, Concert, by the end of the year. (Financial Times 12 Jul 97)
BellSouth, the regional Bell operating system providing local-service in
Southeastern U.S., is warning regulators not to be "fooled" by MCI's
"ploy" claiming its loss is due to the fact the regional Bells are cutting
it out of the local service market. A BellSouth executive says: "Any
start-up business tends to lose money at the beginning. Long-distance
companies' losing money as they get into local telephony is not
exceptional... The remarkable part of this saga is MCI's brazen attempt to
turn this fact of business life into something more than it is in order to
gain political advantage." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 12 Jul 97)
SENATE REJECTS STRICTER COMPUTER EXPORT CONTROLS
The U.S. Senate rejected an amendment brought by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-
Miss.) that would have reimposed stricter licensing controls on sales of
certain medium- to high-powered computers to China, Russia and other
countries suspected of diverting them to military use. The House
overwhelmingly approved a similar measure sponsored by Rep. Floyd Spence
(R-S.C.). The Clinton Administration is opposed to the stricter controls,
arguing that its policy of allowing companies to sell computers capable of
processing 2,000 to 7,000 MTOPS (million theoretical operations per
second) only for nonmilitary purposes was working well. Under this plan,
it is up to the companies selling the computers to determine whether the
country purchasing the computer plans to use it for military purposes.
(TechWire 12 Jul 97)
FCC STRETCHES PAYMENT PLAN FOR WIRELESS LICENSES...
In an effort to ease a purported cash flow problem, the Federal
Communications Commission says bidders on wireless personal communications
services licenses who are having trouble raising money from investors may
make their payments in annual rather than quarterly installments. That
change puts the first payment off until early next year, which gives
companies more time to raise the necessary funds. The bidders have
suggested that the FCC postpone any payments for as long as eight years,
or cut the payments in half. (Wall Street Journal 11 Jul 97)
... AND MODIFIES E-RATE RULES
The Federal Communications Commission has amended its rules for E-rate
discounts, saying that schools and libraries that signed contracts with
their telecommunications service providers prior to Nov. 8, 1996 need not
comply with the original order's competitive bidding requirements in order
to be eligible for federal universal service discounts. The discounts
will go into effect Jan. 1. In the same action, the FCC clarified that
support
mechanisms for serving rural, insular and high-cost areas will also be
funded by the new Universal Service Fund. (Telecommunications Reports
Daily 11 Jul 97)
CITY LEADERS OPPOSE TEMPORARY BAN ON INTERNET TAXES
National League of Cities president Mark Schwartz says that new legislation
being considered in the U.S. Congress to make the Internet a tax-free zone
for business is "offensive" to local governments. The legislation,
offered by Sen. Ron Wyden, (D-Oregon) and Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.),
proposes a temporary ban on new state and local Internet taxes until all
parties agree on a uniform way to proceed. Another opponent of the
legislation is Bill Fulginti of the New Mexico Municipal League, who says
it would destabilize local economies by encouraging businesses to use the
Internet as a tax haven. But Internet service providers argue that they
could be driven out of business if local governments start taxing
electronic transactions routed through a local computer server en route to
its final destination. (AP 13 Jul 97)
SECURITY BREACH SHUTS DOWN ONLINE SPORTS STORES
The online stores at the popular ESPN SportsZone and NBA.com Web sites were
shut down after an anonymous person sent e-mail to hundreds of shoppers
who'd made purchases at the stores, saying he'd acquired their credit card
information from parent company Starwave's computer systems and including
their credit card number to prove it. Starwave says it's beefed up its
security now, and the ESPN SportZone store is already back up and running.
NBA.com is expected to be back online next week. "We've changed the system
and now it's a much more painful process for us to fill orders, but it was
to make sure it was secure for our customers," says a Starwave
spokeswoman. "You can be sure that we are doing everything possible to
prevent it from happening again." (InfoWorld Electric 11 Jul 97)
YEAR 2000 LITIGATION COULD TOP $1 TRILLION
With the total cost of fixing the Year 2000 software problems still sinking
in, here's something else to worry about: The New York law firm of
LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae predicts companies that neglect to become
Year 2000-compliant will be sued for poor management and malpractice,
resulting in total litigation costs exceeding $1 trillion. (Information
Week 30 Jun 97)
HELSINKI IN 3-D ... VIRTUALLY ALL OF IT
Helsinki, in a country that has the highest per-capita use of the Internet
and mobile phones in the world, is developing an interactive guide to the
city. Risto Linturi, the technology director for the project, says: "What
we are making is a 3-D interface that will create 100,000 private
television stations in the city, uniting people through a combination of
the telephone, the computer, and Internet. You can check out what is
happening on Main Street, or click a university and pick a lecture to
attend in real time. Everyone who places a tiny camera, a cheap device
that is already common, on their personal computer -- from your banker to
your barber -- can be accessible by video and sound in real time."
Linturi's colleague, Immo Teperi says: "What is new is the mass
application. Instead of making just one square or one building accessible,
we are making a whole city accessible in a multimedia network with its
everyday life." (New York Times 11 Jul 97)
IN SEARCH OF GEEKS
Industry observers say the widening gap between the supply of computer
science graduates and computer industry demand probably won't close for at
least a decade, leaving computer companies looking overseas for qualified
applicants to fill their jobs. The number of computer science graduates in
the U.S. has dropped from 38,000 in 1984 to 26,000 this year. "This is a
real limiting factor to growth," says a researcher at Stanford Computer
Industry Project. And it's not only computer companies that are hurting --
automobile makers, banks, brokerage houses and phone companies all are
vying for the few "computer nerds" available. "Everybody's going crazy
now trying to find these folks," says a Netscape human resources director.
High on the list for overseas recruitment efforts are South Africa, the
Philippines, India, Russia, Israel, Bulgaria and the Ukraine. (Business
Week 21 Jul 97)
MICROSOFT EXPLORER DISCOVERS ... WINDOWS!
The new test version of Microsoft's Explorer software for browsing the
World Wide Web will be more closely coupled with the company's Windows95
operating system, with Explorer to be embedded directly into what
Microsoft calls the "active desktop" of the computer screen. The
information and entertainment that will be delivered through "channels"
available on the desktop will come from 250 companies, including Warner
Brothers, Disney Online, CBS, Sportsline, the Discovery Channel, ESPN
Sports Zone, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. A Microsoft
executive boasts that this new development "will bring millions of new
people to the Internet," whereas an executive with rival Netscape argues:
"This is a scheme that Microsoft has cooked up to tie users in to Internet
Explorer. The key anticompetitive issue is that the user doesn't get to
choose. They trick the user into using Internet Explorer when the user
doesn't want to." (New York Times 15
July 97)
HP AND AT&T COLLABORATE ON ELECTRONIC SHOPPING
Hewlett-Packard and AT&T will collaborate on the development and marketing
of technologies and services supporting electronic storefronts on the
Internet. AT&T will provide networking and secure-purchasing capabilities
and HP will provide computer equipment and software. (Financial Times 15
Jul 97)
FCC CHAIR TRIES TO PROD COMPETITION
IN LOCAL PHONE MARKETS
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt wants a task force to
examine charges by long- distance phone service companies AT&T and MCI that
the local phone service providers (the Bell operating companies and GTE)
are preventing them from entering the local markets. AT&T chief executive
Robert Allen has charged: "We've been blocked [by the local companies] at
every step through the system, through favoring their own companies,
through activities at various courts." BellSouth executive Bob Blau
responds: "They are throwing up another smokescreen to keep us out of long-
distance for a few more months." (USA Today 15 Jul 97)
BATTLE OVER BIFF VS. TIFF CARTRIDGES ESCALATES
In an ongoing dispute over printer cartridges, a federal judge has issued
an injunction against Hewlett-Packard, labeling as "false advertising"
HP's practice of advertising a new type of cartridge on boxes that contain
an older model. Nu-Kote International, a company that provides equipment
to refill H-P cartridges with ink so that they may be reused, says the new
cartridges are deliberately designed so that they can't be refilled with Nu-
Kote products. HP says its switch from TIFF (top ink-fill format) to BIFF
(bottom ink-fill format) was made to increase the product's reliability,
not to sabotage Nu-Kote's market. The companies each have sued the other,
and both cases are pending. (Wall Street Journal 14 Jul 97)
CANADIAN SATELLITE SEEKS LICENSE FOR EURONEWS
Canadian Satellite Communications hopes to obtain a license to broadcast
Euronews, the multilingual European news network, across Canada. Euronews
continuously broadcasts world news events as seen from a European
perspective and transmits simultaneously in five languages: French,
English, German, Italian and Spanish. (Toronto Financial Post 15 July 97
p12)
APPLE DELAYS POWERBOOK SHIPMENTS
Apple Computer's new subportable computer, the PowerBook 2400c developed in
conjunction with IBM, won't ship in the U.S. until August -- the delay
will enable Apple to include the latest Mac OS upgrade, scheduled to
become available July 26. Mac OS 8 will include a new user interface and
increased stability. The machine is already available in Japan, where it
has been selling well. (Wall Street Journal 15 Jul 97)
SIEMENS, NETSPEAK TARGET INTERNET TELEPHONY MARKET
Siemens Stromberg-Carlson and NetSpeak will collaborate on developing
Internet telephony products, including Internet protocol telephony
gateways, servers and Web phones, as well as installation and integration
services that will enable customers to provide Internet telephony and
related services. The new products are targeted at telecommunications
carriers, cable companies and Internet service providers. (InfoWorld
Electric 14 Jul 97)
FTC SAYS WEB SITES AIMED AT KIDS MUST GET PARENTAL OKAYS
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that the managers of Web sites
that collect personal information about children must obtain parental
consent before releasing it to third parties. Although the FTC does not
regulate advertising for children over the Net, it does have general
jurisdiction over any deceptive market practices. (USA Today 17 Jul 97)
SNAFU AT NETWORK SOLUTIONS LEAVES USERS ANGRY
Corrupted data used by Network Solutions, the company that processes
Internet domain name registrations, has resulted in some Internet
addresses being routed incorrectly or not at all, say some Internet service
and backbone providers whose servers are maintained by Network Solutions.
The problems started Wednesday night, when data entry errors resulted in
the root server assigning incorrect IP addresses in response to URL
requests. The problem is affecting .com and .net addresses. Network
Solutions will have to reinstall the entire InterNIC database to correct
the problem, according to one backbone provider. "It's a nightmare week for
the Internet," says the head of a Santa Cruz Internet service provider.
(Computer Reseller News 17 Jul 97)
GOOD NEWS FROM APPLE. GOOD NEWS FROM APPLE.
Apple Computer posted a smaller-than-expected loss of only $56 million this
quarter, giving well-wishers some reason to hope that it can still make a
comeback. As a result, Apple's stock rose 5% Thursday morning. Chief
Operating Officer Fred Anderson, who is running the company since the
recent resignation of Chief Executive Gil Amelio, says: "This management
team is now moving . . . at 500 megahertz." (San Jose Mercury News 17 Jul
97)
AT&T PRESIDENT FORCED TO RESIGN
The AT&T board of directors has forced the resignation of AT&T President
and Chief Operating Officer John R. Walter, who was second-in-command
after Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Allen. Walter, who had been
recruited nine months ago from R.R. Donnelley & Sons, a printing company,
was told that the board had lost faith in his performance, and board
member Walter Y. Elisha told a reporter: "He lacked the intellectual
leadership to lead AT&T. He's a bright guy, but the complexity of the
business is far greater than he might have realized." (New York Times 17
Jul 97)
PHONE INDUSTRY WANTS FCC'S HELP
AGAINST FBI'S WIRETAP PLANS
Arguing that the FBI's requests for expanded wiretap capabilities go beyond
that agency's authority, telephone industry officials are asking the
Federal Communications Commission to help them resist the FBI's proposed
digital phone design, which would allow law enforcement officials to
continue the wiretapping of a conference call even after the person
targeted by a court-authorized wiretap drops out of the call. The phone
industry claims the request would cost billions of dollars to implement
and would expose it to lawsuits by civil liberties groups fighting against
privacy invasions. (New York Times 16 Jul 97)
WEB COSTS HIGH, REVENUE LOW
Companies are paying top dollar to workers to design and manage their Web
sites, and the costs far exceed the revenues generated, according to a
survey by Buck Consultants. A typical company spends $200,000 to $300,000
a year on salaries, bonuses and benefits for Web workers, but the survey of
104 companies found only 25 of them use their sites to generate revenue.
Most companies use their sites to post financial and product information.
One respondent says the "big myth of the Internet" is that it generates
sales. In fact, he says, it's really a way to create dialogue between the
customers, salespeople and employees. Despite the lack of payoff, few
companies plan to reduce their Web efforts. "It's peanuts compared to
running a major advertising campaign," says the director of information
systems for Sonesta Hotels & Resorts. (USA Today 16 Jul 97)
VOICE-CONTROLLED MS WORD
Lernout & Hauspie, a speech technology software vendor, will introduce a
voice-controlled software editor for Microsoft Word in the fall. Users
will be able to select a sentence, underline a group of words, and change
the color and size of a font, all by naturally spoken voice. "It'll make
people give up the mouse," says Lernout & Hauspie's chief technology
officer. The Lernout & Hauspie product uses discrete dictation pathology
software from Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, which it acquired earlier
this year. Kurzweil's artificial intelligence technology allows the
software to prompt users for answers as if they were entering information
onto a form. The initial product will be aimed specifically at
pathologists, with other versions for the legal profession and police
reporting to follow. (InfoWorld Electric 17 Jul 97)
U.S., JAPANESE CHIP MAKERS WORK
TOWARD GLOBAL STANDARDS
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, an industry group
comprising both U.S. and Japanese chip manufacturers, says its members
have agreed to jointly develop global standards for the next-generation 12-
inch semiconductor wafers. Today's chips come from 8-inch wafers. Moving
to the larger size will enable chipmakers to squeeze two and a half times
more chips on each wafer. By agreeing to establish a common manufacturing
standard, the companies could reduce the transition period by two to three
years. (Wall Street Journal 17 Jul 97)
BE BETA DEBUTS
The first public beta version of BeOS, Be Inc.'s operating system geared
toward digital content design and Internet capabilities, is available as
part of a BeOS Preview Release Full Pack (including printed documentation
and two free future upgrades) for $49 on its Web site. http://www.be.com/
(InfoWorld Electric 16 Jul 97)
Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas
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Travel Talk French
Conversation Basics
Windows CD-ROM
The Learning Company
One Athenaeum Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
1-800-227-5609
http://www.learningco.com
Program Requirements
OS: Windows 3.1
CPU: 486DX-66
HD Space: 60 MB
Memory: 8 MB
Graphics: 640 x 480, 256 colors
CD-ROM: Double-speed
Audio: 16-bit sound card
Optional: microphone
Reviewed by Angelo Marasco
Planning a trip to France soon? Then it might be a good idea to brush up
on your French. Travel Talk French by The Learning Company makes it
possible to learn basic conversational French (just enough to get by) or to
brush up on your high school French (mine is really rusty as I found out)
in a painless and fun way.
Travel Talk French is a lot of program. There is so much program here that
it comes on two CD's. I had to clear a lot of space on my hard drive to
install it because it asked for over 60 megabytes of storage! Then it
really taxed my 486DX4-100 processor. The program booted slowly and the
video clips were slow and choppy. Since Travel Talk French is loaded with
video, this presented a real problem. Reading the documentation packed
with the CD's helped me to work out most of my video problems by modifying
my Quick Time .ini file which I really appreciated. However, unless you
are really into waiting, you are going to get very frustrated waiting for
things to happen in this program on an older computer. The minimum system
requirements call for a 486DX-66 and a double-speed CD-ROM drive. I
wouldn't recommend purchasing this program for anything less than a Pentium
system with a good-sized hard drive and at least a 4X CD-ROM drive. Travel
Talk French is too nice a program to run on anything less.
The Learning Company uses some of the best technology available for Travel
Talk French. You are guided through the program by a full action "video
hostess." She is there anytime you go into something new to explain its
use or to explain something about travel in a French-speaking land. The
program also uses voice recognition technology to test your ability to
speak the words and phrases you are learning.
Although The Learning Company uses highly advanced voice recognition
technology, it just isn't possible, yet, for a computer to recognize
everything a person says 100% of the time. I ran into several instances
where Travel Talk French just couldn't recognize what I was saying. No
matter how often I tried with some words, the program just couldn't make
out what I was saying. This wasn't much of a problem though. There were
times I was sure the program couldn't have understood me and it did. Just
be prepared for problems at times with the voice recognition.
Travel Talk French uses a building concept to present its various features.
Enter the lobby of the "Language International" building to sign in and
choose a destination. Your options are to enter the Language Studio,
Travel Lab or Game Room.
You will use the Language Studio to learn French. Using a dashboard type
layout, the program leads you through eight different themes. These themes
are Arrival, Getting Around, Lodging, Meeting People, Touring, Eating Out,
Shopping and Unexpected Events. The program will teach you words and
phrases you will need in various situations related to these themes using
orientation, situation and communication.
In orientation you will see a picture and hear the related word spoken to
you in French. You then repeat this word into the microphone. The program
analyzes your pronunciation and shows the result on a gauge. If the gauge
needle stays in the red then your pronunciation is really off. Keep
working at it and you will eventually work the needle into the green. This
is where the program had problems reading my pronunciation of a few words.
Select situation and you will watch a video clip. The words and phrases
you learned in orientation will be put into action in an interchange
between characters in the video. You can slow the speed of the speech and
can also see a translation of the speech. Choosing to see the speech in
French helps you to understand what is being said the first couple of times
through.
In communication, you are asked to carry more of the load. Your listening
and speaking skills are tested here. To test your listening skills, the
program presents you with four pictures. A word is then spoken. It's up
to you to click on the picture that matches the spoken word. To test your
speaking skills the program presents you with three types of problems. You
must name a picture in French, correctly reorganize a jumbled sentence or
correctly answer in French a spoken French question.
Back in the lobby we still have two other rooms to enter. In the Game
Room, we are presented with several ways to hone our new French skills.
"Conquest" is a board game that I never really completely understood.
Anyway, you get to take a turn against the computer by either properly
speaking a French word to describe a picture or clicking the correct
picture after the program speaks a word.
"Video Match" was a little bit easier for me to understand. You are
presented with twelve covered squares. Behind each is a video clip. Click
on a square and that video plays out in French. The object is to find
another video clip that is related to the first. Match them and the
squares turn into your color. Both games can be played against an
opponent.
There is also a jukebox in the Game Room. It contains six song selections.
You can choose to turn the voice off to sing the song yourself, turn the
text on and even have the text show an English translation. The jukebox
isn't really an important feature, but it is entertaining and gives you a
little taste of the culture.
Back in the lobby again, we have only the Travel Lab to explore. Here you
can enjoy a narrated slide show about the land, people, attractions and
travel tips. The real highlights are the travel simulations. They tended
to overwhelm my computer, so I didn't get to delve very deeply into them.
What I did see was impressive though. An example is simulation number one
which features three scenarios. "Tourist without Hotel Reservations" takes
you through every person-to-person interface you are likely to encounter on
your way into the country and to a hotel. Your answer to each question
will determine the direction the conversation heads in. It was really
fascinating to watch the people on the screen react to what I was saying in
French. Wow!!
Travel Talk French also contains a dictionary and a grammar book. I can
understand their presence, but they probably won't be all that useful
because of the limited mission of this program.
Overall, this is a well thought-out and executed program. The graphics and
sounds are sharp and clean. The interface is easy to understand and use
every step of the way. Travel Talk French even has some play value to it,
though it has a very serious objective. The educational value is beyond
question. At a street price around $30, bang for the buck is extremely
high because of all that The Learning Company packed into this program and
the way that it is used and presented.
The main question is whether or not I can recommend Travel Talk French to
you. That depends greatly upon what you plan on doing with it. By its
nature, this program has a very limited scope. It does not really teach
you French. All Travel Talk French will do is teach you the bare minimum
of words and phrases you need to get along on a trip to France or another
French-speaking country. You do not learn grammar, parts of the language,
vocabulary, spelling, etc. If you only plan to make one trip, this program
will quickly lose its value for you. If you have friends or business
associates who can use the program also or you enjoy the narrow focus of
this program, then it has additional value. On the other hand, this
program is highly valuable when used as designed. It does an excellent job
of teaching you that bare minimum and does it with a lot of class.
If you really want to learn conversational French that you can use for a
lifetime, then I wouldn't recommend this program to you. The Learning
Company has other language software for that purpose. If it is as good as
this program, then you should definitely get your hands on it. If you just
want to learn basic conversational French, enough to get you to, around and
home from France, then this is the program for you. You might want to pass
it on to someone else in the family who needs these skills after you're
done, unless you are planning several trips.
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another note. the ASCII version of STReport is fast approaching the "end of
the line" As the major Online Services move away from ASCII.. So shall
STReport. All in the name of progress and improved readability. The
amount of reader mail expressing a preference for our Adobe PDF enhanced
issue is running approximately 15 to 1 over the ASCII edition. I might add
however, the requests for our issues to be done in HTML far outnumber both
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Besides, STReport will not be caught in the old, worn out "downward
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However, if the ASCII readership remains as high, rest assured. ASCII
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Many grateful thanks in advance for your enthusiastic co-operation and
input.
Ralph F. Mariano, Editor
rmariano@streport.com
STReport International Online Magazine
Classics & Gaming Section
Editor Dana P. Jacobson
dpj@streport.com
>From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
House-hunting update - we got one! The offer that we made on a house last
week was accepted (with some minor haggling) and we're currently going
through the channels to finalize the sale. We had the house inspected
yesterday and found a couple of problems which we hope will be resolved
accordingly. Other than that, we're looking forward to our new home; this
will be our first. We're not looking forward to all of the dreaded closing
meetings, but I guess it's all part of the home-buying experience. <grin>
We hope to be in the new house before Labor Day. Wish us luck!
I just received CAB 2.0 in the mail yesterday and I'm looking forward to
testing it out shortly. Can't wait to put it through its paces and check
out the improvements.
So let's get on with this week's issue. As mentioned above, life is still
on a hectic schedule and likely will continue through the summer for me.
Next year at this time I hope to be relaxing out in the pool with a couple
of cold drinks in hand!
Until next time...
>From Mille Babic:
NEWSie is up to v0.79 and finally contains an Address Book. Only the memory
sets a limit to its size, automatic or manual sort; and it's fully
scrollable, with pop-up menu, help file, and Toolbar. For those of you
using Magic, the pop-up menu support is not a part of the system. You need
to run a program called MNU_MGR.PRG found in the EXTRAS folder at system
start-up (START folder) to see the pop-up menus available in NEWSie via the
right mouse button. These pop-up menus are available for most windows and
offer yet another method to improve the user interface.
You will find v0.79 at:
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille/english/newsie.html
and of course at The Author's Homepage:
http://www.primenet.com/~rojewski/
For you who use N.AES, there's a new Win95-like Taskbar available from Jo
Even Skarstein. I have a supporting webpage at:
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille/skarstein/taskbar.html You can hide, quit,
top or kill running apps or accs. Supports Drag & Drop onto the buttons
thanks to The AV_Server (e.g Thing Desktop), which uses VA_START to notify
the app in question and if You have a file selector that supports Christian
Grunenberg's font-protocol then You can just drop a font file onto the
taskbar and it will use that font.
Howard Chu have released a very fast MiNT/MiNTnet CAB.OVL module:
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille/english/web_apps.html
Best Regards
Mille Babic
mille@tripnet.se
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille
Gaming Section
"Quest 64"! Best of 1997 E3!
"Jersey Devil"!! Sony in the UK!
And more...
>From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
It's Thursday evening at about 8:00 p.m. and it's still about 93 degrees
outside with horrendous humidity. And here I am sitting in front of two
computer systems throwing off even more heat! It's a good thing that
there's not much for me to say this week; I'll let the articles below speak
for themselves. Try to stay cool!
Until next time...
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
Sony Invests Millions In UK Games Facility
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, 1997 JUL 17 (Newsbytes) -- By Sylvia Dennis. Sony
Computer Entertainment has announced it is spending UKP6 million on a games
production facility in Cambridge, England. The studio will work on
developing games for the Sony Playstation, as well as promoting the
Playstation games system generally. Sony has been battling long and hard
against arch-rival Nintendo, for domination of the UK games console market,
Newsbytes notes. Sega has slipped somewhat, as some analysts contend that
its Megadrive system is now looking dated, while the Playstation's use of
CD-ROMs as its main software has increasingly appealed to games buyers.
Nintendo, in contrast, has its games console based around cartridge
technology, which means the production costs of each cartridge is higher
than Sony's. For this reason, while the Playstation is less discounted than
the Nintendo system, games for the Sony unit are cheaper from most outlets.
Despite the aggressive competition, the Sony Playstation remains a luxury
item. At UKP200 per console, plus UKP30 per game, it seems that many kids
are happier buying a Gameboy for a quarter of the price and playing games
costing UKP15 and up.
It has always been Sony's aim to make the Playstation a commonplace
consumer item in the UK, Newsbytes notes, so the aim of establishing the
Cambridge operation is very much to "consumerize" the Playstation, with the
addition of add-on units for the console, making the system an all-in-one
entertainment system, rather than just a games console. Sony claims it has
sold a million Playstations into the UK market, pushing Nintendo's N64 unit
into second place.
Mysterious Character Roams City Streets Battling Crime
Development of Jersey Devil, Riveting Action Game for Sony PlayStation
Nearly Completed
MONTREAL, July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Malofilm Interactive's creative division,
Megatoon Studios, is approaching the much anticipated beta release of
Jersey Devil(TM), an exciting new 3D action/adventure game that combines
fast reactions, quick controls, and puzzles for a fantastic entertainment
experience in a totally off-the-wall environment. Designed for the Sony
PlayStation, Jersey Devil provides gamers with a completely interactive,
360 degree environment and offers multilevel exploration of an entire 3D
city with the most fluid, astounding, hilarious cartoon animation possible.
Unlike other 3D games, Jersey Devil lives in non-linear dynamic 3D
environments, with colorful multiple levels and real 3D objects that he can
move, pick up, and use to defeat his unpredictable enemies. "E3 attendees
were astonished at Jersey Devil's unique ability to completely interact
with his environment and pick up all sorts of objects and use them to solve
puzzles. They were equally impressed with the way the character responds
to Sony's upcoming dual-analog controller which allows more precision and
fluidity in his movements," explained Francois-Dominic Laramee, Head of
Research and Development.
The intrepid Jersey Devil wanders the streets of Jersey City each night
chasing the sinister Doctor Knarf and his minion, Dennis the Pumpkinhead,
who are invading the city with their mutant army of pot plants and
vegetables. To foil their evil schemes, he must uncover and destroy all of
Doctor Knarf's secret labs defended by strange monsters and supernatural
creatures viciously attacking him from all sides.
To further his quest and/or restore his health after strenuous battle,
Jersey Devil must discover bonuses, energy and power-ups hidden in boxes or
scattered in hard to reach places. Jersey Devil includes a number of
breakthrough features, most notably free-form 3D environments, the support
for Sony's dual-analog controller and user control over camera angles. It
also offers "intelligent" opponents, and features randomized movements,
minimum repetition, and diversified attack styles that serve to keep
players alert and to prevent them from memorizing any of the game's 11
different 3D levels.
Jersey Devil is an athletic little creature who can run, lean, glide (with
the help of wings), jump/somersault, bounce on monsters and balloons, pick
up, throw and push objects, break boxes and punch or strike opponents with
his tail. He can also ride animals as well. Jersey Devil will be
available at major retailers nationwide for an approximate street price of
$59.95. For more information, contact Isabelle Marazzani at Malofilm
Interactive at 514-844-4555, or visit the company's web site at
http://www.malo.com.
10 Game Publications Honor Interactive Games
SAN FRANCISCO (July 11) BUSINESS WIRE -July 11, 1997--GamePen.Com
(http://www.gamepen.com), the online community for gamers, has announced
the winners of the first annual GamePen's Best of E3 Show Awards
(http://www.e3.net/awards). These independent awards, sponsored by
Concentric Network Corporation, are the first of their kind, nominated and
voted on by ten top journalists in the gaming trade.
The nominees and winners were selected from the 1500 titles shown at the
Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, Georgia last month. Each category
had four to six nominations, decided on in June by weighted vote of the
editors. Final voting took place yesterday. Each editor received one vote
per category. Ties were broken using the points scored in the nomination
process.
"The Concentric Network is very excited to be sponsoring these awards,"
Chris Sherman, Director of Games and Entertainment at Concentric commented
earlier. "Usually gaming awards are given by a single publication or
institution. It's terrific to see ten publications working together to
honor the best in the trade. We're delighted to be able to support that
kind of community spirit."
Judging publications included, GamePen.Com, Arcadium.Com, Online Game
Review, Computer & Net Player, Game Demo Depot, Game Revolution, Gameslice,
PC Games Magazine, PCM&E, Game Briefs.
The Winners and Nominees
Aaron John Loeb, Editor-in-Chief of GamePen, and the awards organizer,
commented: "Unlike many 'Best Of' programs, we opted to make the
centerpiece award one for innovation. While we have 'Best Game' awards,
the real stand-out prize is 'Most Promising New Game,' awarded only to
titles that are not part of an existing franchise. This way we, the press,
can give a thumbs up to the designers and publishers who are really pushing
the creative envelope."
The categories, winners, and nominees are:
Most Promising New Game - Winner: Myth: The Fallen Lords (Bungie)
Nominees: Unreal (GT Interactive/Epic)
Dungeon Keeper (Bullfrog)
Half Life (Sierra/Valve)
Most Promising New Peripheral - Winner: SideWinder Force Feedback Pro
(Microsoft)
Nominees The Glove (Reality Quest)
Cyberman 2 (Logitech)
PC-Dash (Saitek)
ACT Labs Racing System (ACT Labs)
Best Game -- PC - Winner: Dungeon Keeper (Bullfrog)
Nominees: Quake 2 (Activision/id)
Myth: The Fallen Lords (Bungie)
Blade Runner (Westwood)
Best Game -- PlayStation - Winner: Abe's Oddworld Oddysee (GT
Interactive/Oddworld Inhabitants)
Nominees: Final Fantasy VII (Sony/Squaresoft)
Crash Bandicoot 2 (Sony)
Jurassic Park: Lost World (Dreamworks)
Best Game -- Saturn - Winner: Enemy Zero (Sega/WARP)
Nominees: Duke Nukem 3D (Sega/3D Realms)
Panzer Dragoon Saga (Sega)
Sonic R (Sega)
Best Game -- N64 - Winner: Star Fox 64 (Nintendo)
Nominees: Zelda 64 (Nintendo)
Goldeneye (Nintendo)
Banjo Kazooie (Nintendo)
Best Action Game - Winner: Half-Life (Sierra/Valve)
Nominees: Quake 2 (Activision/id)
Unreal (GT Interactive/Epic)
Hexen 2 (Activision/Raven)
Best Adventure Game - Winner: Riven (Red Orb)
Nominees: Blade Runner (Westwood)
Curse of Monkey Island (LucasArts)
WarCraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans (Blizzard)
Best Real-Time Strategy - Winner: Age of Empires (Microsoft/Ensemble)
Nominees: Total Annihilation (GT Interactive/Cavedog)
Dark Reign (Activision)
Starcraft (Blizzard)
Best Turn Based Strategy - Winner: X-Com: Apocalypse (Microprose)
Nominees: Panzer General II (SSI)
Guardians: Agents of Justice (Microprose)
Jagged Alliance 2 (Sir-Tech)
Warlords III (Red Orb)
Best Combat Sim - Winner: Longbow 2 (Jane's)
Nominees: F-15 (Jane's)
if22 (Interactive Magic)
Falcon 4.0 (Microprose)
Saber Ace (Virgin Interactive)
Heavy Gear (Activision)
Best Non-Combat Sim - Winner: Flight Unlimited 2 (Eidos/Looking Glass)
Nominees: Populous III (Bullfrog)
Flight Simulator 98 (Microsoft)
Sim City 3000 (Maxis)
Best Fighting - Winner: Star Wars: Masters of Ters Ksi (LucasArts)
Nominees: Bushido Blade (Sony/Squaresoft)
Die By The Sword (Interplay)
Last Bronx (Sega)
Best Racing - Winner: Test Drive 4 (Accolade)
Nominees: Andretti Racing '98 (EA Sports)
F/Zero 64 (Nintendo)
F1 Racing Simulation (UbiSoft)
Formula 1 97 (Psygnosis)
Best Sports - Winner: Baseball 3D (Microsoft)
Nominees: World Wide Soccer 98 (Sega)
Powerplay 98 (Virgin Interactive)
Links LS 98 (Access)
Best RPG - Winner: Might & Magic VI (New World Computing)
Nominees: Lands of Lore 2 (Westwood)
Final Fantasy VII (Sony/Squaresoft)
Wizardry 8 (Sir-Tech)
Best Online Only - Winner: Ultima Online (Origin)
Nominees: Fighter Ace (Microsoft/VR-1)
Asheron's Call (Microsoft/Turbine)
FireTeam (Multitude)
Best Puzzle/Trivia - Winner: You Don't Know Jack: TV (Berkeley)
Nominees: Tetrisphere (Nintendo)
Saturn Bomberman (Sega)
Acrophobia (Berkeley)
Best Booth - Winner: Sony
Nominees: Activision
Eidos
Electronic Arts (EA Sports, Bullfrog, Origin, Jane's)
Best Party - Winner: Eidos
Nominees: SegaSoft's HEAT
Activision's Apocalypse
SouthPeak Interactive Special Commendations
In the spirit of a creative festival, the jury also awarded special
commendations. These were chosen by blind vote in a number of categories,
each editor naming only one title. "In order to receive a commendation, a
game had to be the first title that popped to mind for over 30% of the
editors," Mr. Loeb explained. "With 1500 titles to choose from, and no
nomination list, games that received commendations are the ones which made
an enormous impression at the show."
Commendations were awarded to the following titles:
Best Take on Real-Time Strategy: Total Annihilation (GT Interactive/Cave
Dog)
Best Take on First-Person Action: Half-Life (Sierra/Valve)
Most Egregiously Gory: Postal (Ripcord/Running With Scissors)
Most Impressive Graphics: Two Commendations: Quake 2 (Activision/id) &
Half-Life (Sierra/Valve)
Most Impressive Sound: Blade Runner (Westwood Studios)
Best Promo Piece: Blade Runner (Westwood Studios)
Best Use of Models at Booth (and we don't mean the polygonal kind): Eidos
Best Lead Character Commendations: Best Lead-Lara Croft-esque: Lara Croft
in Tomb Raider 2 (Eidos)
Best Lead-Real Actor Commendation to: Bruce Willis in Apocalypse
(Activision)
The Judges
GamePen's Best of E3 Show Awards were voted on by editors from eight
web-based magazines and two print magazines. The awards are not officially
affiliated with the E3 Show, it's owner IDSA or its management MHA. The
Judging editors are:
Aaron John Loeb -- Editor-in-Chief, GamePen.Com
(http://www.gamepen.com)
Erika Hall -- Producer, Arcadium.Com (http://www.arcadium.com)
Paul Bannister -- Editor-in-Chief, Online Game Review
(http://www.ogr.com)
Jeff James -- Senior Editor, Computer & Net Player
(http://www.ogr.com)
Kevin Lynch -- Editor-in-Chief, Game Demo Depot
(http://www.gamedemo.com)
Duke Ferris -- Editor-in-Chief, Game Revolution
(http://www.game-revolution.com)
Geoff Keighley -- Editor-in-Chief, Gameslice
(http://www.gameslice.com)
George Chronis -- News & Technology Editor, PC Games Magazine
(http://www.pcgames.com)
Rod White -- Assistant Editor, PCM&E (http://www.pcme.com)
Chuck Miller -- Editor-in-Chief, Game Briefs
(http://www.gamebriefs.com)
THQ To Publish "Quest 64" for Nintendo 64
CALABASAS, CALIF. (July 14) BUSINESS WIRE -July 14, 1997--THQ Inc.
(NASDAQ/NMS:THQI) Monday announced that it has signed an agreement with
Japanese game publisher Imagineer Co. Ltd. to publish and distribute its
first adventure role playing game (RPG) for the Nintendo 64 platform,
"Quest 64." The game is scheduled to be released in the United States the
first quarter of 1998. "Quest 64" transports players into a vast, fully
explorable 3-D world of magic and mystery through the role of the hero,
who, with special powers acquired through combat and character interaction,
guards humankind by manipulating the four spirits in nature -- air, water,
earth and fire. Other features include hundreds of characters, including
two companions, countless spells and isolated combat.
"THQ is thrilled to be teaming with Imagineer in creating our first RPG
adventure for the sought-after Nintendo 64 platform," said Mike Haller, THQ
senior vice president. "We are extremely impressed with the quality of
this extensive 3-D environment from Imagineer which promises to be one of
the most talked about games of the year." "'Quest 64' is THQ and
Imagineer's third team effort and we are delighted to be working with a
company who has successfully brought numerous interactive video games to
the U.S. market," said Yan Qiu, manager, international division, Imagineer.
"What makes 'Quest 64' unique is the free-flowing epic gameplay and
in-depth storyline which is sure to capture the videogame audience in this
popular RPG category."
PlayNet Launches First National Networked Prize
SAN FRANCISCO (July 17) BUSINESS WIRE - July 17, 1997 PlayNet
Technologies, Inc. today announced the launch of its first nationally
networked game tournament and its first tournament sponsor, Yamaha
WaterCraft. Each of PlayNet's summer monthly tournaments will feature the
perfect summer grand prize, a fabulous Yamaha WaveRunner GP1200. Prizes for
monthly regional, city, and location winners will also be awarded. The
Yamaha WaterCraft sponsored National Tournaments will run through
September.
The tournaments will feature fun and challenging games of skill played on
PlayNet Web terminals located in bars and hospitality locations all over
the country. The PlayNet Terminal is a Pentium(TM) PC that delivers
exciting games and Internet content via network resources supplied by IBM.
The PlayNet network will collect the scores from all locations and compile
national, regional, and local standings. "We promised to bring back
accessible fun into game play, and with the compelling edge of prize
competition and the chance for someone to be top dog in the nation. This is
the start of us fulfilling our promise," says Nolan Bushnell, developer of
Pong, founder of Atari and architect of the PlayNet system.
As the first sponsor of the PlayNet tournaments, Yamaha is extremely
excited to be on the cutting edge of this new networked advertising medium.
Andrew Buckley, Director of Marketing for Yamaha Watercraft commented, "I
was sold on this idea from the start and fortunate enough to be the first
sponsor. We at Yamaha are elated about the endless possibilities this new
tournament game presents, especially PlayNet's ability to connect to our
website. Traditional advertising media like TV and print are presented to
me daily, but with PlayNet I knew right away that the sky's the limit!"
The monthly grand prize, a Yamaha WaveRunner GP1200, which features a 135
horse power engine and an incredible top speed of 60 mph, is valued at
over $8,000. Tom Dixon, President of J. Thomas Markham, PlayNet's
advertising agency, has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies and sees
PlayNet as "by far the most exciting project I have ever been involved
with." Beyond its slate of sponsored tournaments, PlayNet intends to
expand the features and content of its entertainment network. "We have
tested our products extensively in the field and are confident that we are
bringing robust systems with the tightest software to the market. Our
diverse entertainment capabilities will generate demand and revenues that
will have patrons and the industry taking notice of us very soon," said
Mouli Cohen founder and President of PlayNet. PlayNet designs and develops
global, networked entertainment systems. The company's website can be found
at www.playnet.com.
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
On CompuServe
Compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@streport.com
(vacation)
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
"When a bachelor marries, his wife has 3 qualities - she is an economist in
the
kitchen, an aristocrat in the living room & a devil in bed. After a few
years,
sure enough the 3 qualities remain, but not in the same order - she is an
aristocrat in the kitchen, a devil in the living room & an economist in
bed."
"The doctor is the only man who can tell a woman to take off her clothes &
send
the bill to her husband."
"The nervous bride to be sat on the dentist's chair to have her tooth
extracted.
Seeing so many intruments, she got frightened. "Doc, I would rather have a
baby
than have my tooth pulled out." The dentist retorted, "Well, make up ur
mind so
that I can accomodate accordingly."
STReport International Magazine
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All Items quoted, in whole or in part, are done so under the provisions of
The Fair Use Law of The Copyright Laws of the U.S.A. Views, Opinions and
Editorial Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the
editors/staff of STReport International OnLine Magazine. Permission to
reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Reprints
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therefrom.
STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" July 18, 1997
Since 1987 Copyrightc1997 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1329
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