ST Report: 12-Sep-97 #1336
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 09/12/97-04:47:11 PM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 12-Sep-97 #1336
Date: Fri Sep 12 16:47:11 1997
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LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
CompuServe Sale Accords Reached
H&R Block announced this morning it is selling its CompuServe subsidiary to
WorldCom Inc., operator of Internet service provider UUNet Technologies
Inc., in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. Separately, WorldCom announced it
will give America Online all of CompuServe's content and subscribers and
$175 million in exchange for AOL's ANS network service, which supplies
about one-third of the network capacity for AOL's subscribers. Also AOL has
signed a five-year contract under which WorldCom will become its largest
network service provider.
The CompuServe Network Services division, which operates some 100,000
dial-up ports in 105 countries, is being retained by WorldCom. The
CompuServe-WorldCom agreement -- which has been unanimously approved by
boards of directors of the three firms -- calls for CompuServe
shareholders, including H&R Block, to receive a fixed exchange ratio of
.40625 shares of WorldCom stock for each share of CompuServe, subject to
certain adjustments.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post this morning quotes sources close to the
negotiations as saying CompuServe still will exist as a separate service
but be fully operated by AOL. As one unidentified source told the paper,
"AOL is going to use its scale and its resources to make (CompuServe) more
focused and efficient in servicing the business and professional market."
The Associated Press notes the deals still require approval by government
antitrust regulators. If approved, AOL's biggest competitor would be
Microsoft Corp.'s Microsoft Network.
CompuServe has been on the market for about a year by H&R Block, which owns
80 percent of the stock. A plan to make CompuServe a separate stock company
owned by H&R Block shareholders, a realignment planned for late last year,
was withdrawn after Internet stocks in general declined. Also, The Wall
Street Journal reported this summer that German media giant Bertelsmann AG,
which owns 5 percent of AOL, was contributing cash so AOL could sweeten an
offer pending at that time of roughly $1 billion for CompuServe. The Post
story this morning says Bertelsmann and AOL would jointly operate
CompuServe's European service.
AOL Promises Distinct CompuServe
America Online officials say they are committed to preserving CompuServe as
a distinct service following yesterday's complex merger agreement that
gives the Dulles, Virginia-based AOL control of CompuServe's content and
subscriber base. "We'll continue to manage CompuServe as a separate brand
... forever," AOL Chairman Steve Case told The Wall Street Journal
yesterday. "We want to preserve the existing CompuServe experience."
Robert W. Pittman, chief executive of AOL Networks, added, "Are we going to
AOL-ize it? No." As reported, H&R Block is selling its 80 percent interest
in CompuServe to WorldCom Inc., which in turn plans to sell CompuServe's
consumer business to AOL. Writing in the Journal this morning, reporter
Thomas E. Weber comments, "AOL and CompuServe have cultivated very
different images. AOL has wooed consumers getting online for the first
time with its colorful graphics, celebrity interviews and freewheeling chat
rooms. CompuServe, launched in 1969, has traditionally catered to serious
hobbyists and professional users, serving up stock prices, airline
schedules and computer-troubleshooting forums. Think of CompuServe playing
Brooks Brothers to AOL's Gap. So CompuServe's members can be forgiven for
fretting about the future."
Case maintains AOL will operate CompuServe separately, telling Bob Woods of
the Newsbytes computer news service that efforts also will continue to
develop a new interface for CompuServe's online service. Case added some
CompuServe content that is appropriate for AOL's users might find its way
over to CompuServe's new big brother. Also, Newsbytes says Pittman, former
MTV executive before joining AOL, has been named to oversee the CompuServe
operations after it comes under AOL's corporate umbrella. As noted, the
merger still must face government regulators and officials have different
views on when the deal should close. Case said six months, while WorldCom
Vice Chairman John Sidgmore said by the end of the year.
Case also said he did not think antitrust concerns will come into play in
the approval of the merger, mainly because of the commitment to keep the
services separate. Meanwhile, the Journal's Weber this morning cites these
other concerns raised by CompuServe members and AOL responses:
z Will CompuServe email addresses change? AOL says no, because
CompuServe will remain a separate service.
z Will the price of CompuServe's service go up? AOL says it has no plans
for a price change.
z With AOL trumpeting how the WorldCom deal will alleviate busy signals
for AOL members, should CompuServe subscribers expect a tougher time
getting online? No, AOL says the company will use additional capacity from
WorldCom, but won't divert any capacity from CompuServe.
"We intend to marshal the resources of AOL behind CompuServe to take it to
the next level," Pittman told the Journal. Among other possibilities, he
said AOL could offer CompuServe members its popular Buddy Lists technology,
a feature that lets users know when their friends log on.
Survey Questions Net Privacy
A new survey finds nearly half of 70 Internet sites run by federal agencies
collect data about visitors, but most disclose nothing about how the
information will be used. This revelation, from a survey by OMB Watch, a
nonpartisan research group, comes even as the Clinton administration is
pressuring commercial ventures with Internet sites to respect the privacy
of Web surfers. Reporter Aaron Pressman of the Reuter News Service notes
privacy concerns arise on the Internet "because whenever a person using Web
browsing software visits a site, the site can collect information about the
person, sometimes without their knowledge," adding, "Some sites also ask
users to register or fill out questionnaires."
OMB Watch also found few government sites provide adequate statements about
the Privacy Act of 1974, which regulates government use of personal
information. Ari Schwartz, the primary author of the report, said, "The
new medium has blurred the lines created by the Privacy Act and subsequent
laws," adding the group is calling on the administration to develop a
government-wide policy for protecting privacy on the Internet.
Pressman notes a similar survey of mostly private Web sites released in
June by the Electronic Privacy Information Center found that none of the
100 most popular sites met basic standards for privacy protection.
Schwartz said a uniform government policy could help quell concerns that
have prevented the government from using the Internet to provide more
information to citizens, adding, "Guidance clarifying the application of
these laws to the Internet would ease the tensions of both agencies who
are reluctant to supply new information over the Web and users who are
concerned about their privacy."
Judge Attacks Encryption Rules
A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that U.S. government regulations
on the export of encryption software are unconstitutional. U.S. District
Judge Marilyn Hall Patel says licensing requirements for the export of
encryption software and related devices are an unconstitutional prior
restraint on First Amendment free speech rights. She also has issued a
permanent injunction barring the government from enforcing the regulations
against plaintiff Daniel Bernstein, an assistant mathematics professor at
the University of Illinois at Chicago, or against anyone who sought to use,
discuss or publish his encryption program.
"By the very terms of the encryption regulations," Patel wrote in a 32-page
ruling, "the most common expressive activities of scholars -- teaching a
class, publishing their ideas, speaking at conferences, or writing to
colleagues over the Internet -- are subject to a prior restraint by the
export controls." Having found the regulations to be invalid, she added,
she could have issued a nationwide injunction barring their enforcement.
But she said she had kept the injunction as narrow as possible pending
appeal because "the legal questions at issue are novel, complex and of
public importance."
The Reuter News Service comments, "The ruling is important because the
computer industry sees use of encryption technology across country borders
as essential for advancing electronic commerce and private communications
over the Internet. The government has previously cited national security
concerns over the export of encryption programs." The case centers on
Bernstein, who as a graduate student developed an encryption algorithm he
called "Snuffle." In 1992, Bernstein asked the State Department whether
Snuffle was controlled by export regulations then in force which classified
cryptographic software as "defense articles." The government told him his
program was subject to licensing by the Department of State prior to
export.
Bernstein sued the State Department in 1995, challenging the regulations on
free speech grounds, alleging he was not free to teach, publish or discuss
with other scientists his theories on cryptography embodied in the Snuffle
program. As reported, Judge Patel ruled last December that the old
regulations limiting the export of encryption software violated the First
Amendment. However, late last year, President Clinton issued an executive
order transferring jurisdiction over the export of nonmilitary encryption
products to the Commerce Department.
This latest ruling from Patel is on Bernstein's amended lawsuit which
included the new regulations and new defendants. The judge said her
finding that encryption source code was speech protected by the First
Amendment did not remove encryption technology from all government
regulation.
Stronger Encryption Rules Backed
Several U.S. senators now say they would favor imposing mandatory domestic
regulations on computer encoding technology. This would broaden the
encryption debate, which to-date has focused largely on export limits.
California Democrat Dianne Feinstein is quoted by the Reuter News Service
as saying she would favor requiring manufacturers of encryption products to
include features allowing the government to decode any message by
recovering the software keys.
Speaking yesterday at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee's
technology, terrorism and government information subcommittee, she said,
"Nothing other than some kind of mandatory key recovery really does the
job. The public safety issue is a paramount one." Senator Jon Kyl
(R-Arizona), chairman of the terrorism subcommittee, added he was "in
complete agreement."
Meanwhile, FBI Director Louis Freeh told the subcommittee he also would
favor mandatory key recovery, but said such a policy was probably
unattainable given the strong opposition from other lawmakers and interest
groups. Said Freeh, "Mandatory key recovery, to the extent that it was
implemented, would be the best law enforcement solution," adding that as a
lesser step, he suggested legislation requiring manufacturers to include
key recovery features without immediately requiring users to turn on the
features.
Freeh said network service providers, like online services, also might be
required to build key recovery features into their systems. Reuters
reporter Aaron Pressman writes no opponents of the current export limits
testified at the hearing, but "afterwards, some said they were shocked by
the discussion." Alan Davidson, staff counsel at the Center for Democracy
and Technology, told the wire service, "It was really shocking to hear how
casually Senators and the FBI director talked about imposing domestic
controls. They've crossed a new line in this debate."
Pressman notes, "Software companies oppose mandatory key recovery schemes,
arguing they are unworkable, expensive and not required by customers. Civil
libertarians also oppose such plans, fearing the government could trample
the privacy of individuals." David Banisar, staff counsel at the
Electronic Privacy Information Center, said mandatory key recovery would
violate at least three parts of the constitution's Bill of Rights, adding,
"It appears that Senator Feinstein wants a Constitution-free zone for the
Internet."
He said such a law might violate the first amendment's guarantee of free
speech, the fourth amendment's privacy protections, and the fifth
amendment's prohibition of self-incrimination. As reported, the Senate is
considering a bill sponsored by Arizona Republican John McCain and Nebraska
Democrat Bob Kerrey that would slightly relax export controls while
imposing strong incentives to promote the use key recovery within the
United States.
In June, the bill was approved by the Commerce Committee, "but growing
opposition, including from majority leader Trent Lott, may derail the
bill," Pressman says. Meanwhile, a House bill sponsored Virginia
Republican Bob Goodlatte dramatically reduce export controls and prohibit
mandatory key escrow has been approved by several committees "but faces a
significant challenge in the National Security Committee," Reuters says.
California Backs Freeing Encryption
A resolution calling on President Clinton and Congress to take immediate
action to remove export barriers for encryption technology has been
unanimously passed by California state lawmakers. Okayed yesterday on a
77-0 voted by the California Assembly, the resolution previously passed
38-0 in the state Senate. Reporting from Sacramento, the Reuter News
Service notes the resolution does not require approval by Gov. Pete Wilson
and will be forwarded to Clinton and the Congress, legislative aides said.
Speaker Cruz Bustamante, a Democrat, told the wire service, "There is a $65
billion market worldwide for encryption technology that California
companies are losing out on because of misguided federal export law."
Authored by state Sen. John Vasconcellos, the resolution urges Clinton and
Congress to "take immediate action to revise the current federal export
controls on the export by American companies of cryptographic products."
As reported, Congress is considering three bills to end the export
controls. Bustamante added, "Because of the global availability of
encryption technology, the export ban does not aid America's security
interests, but does jeopardize individuals and businesses in California."
Clinton Rejects Encryption Plan
Word is the Clinton administration has reservations about a new
congressional proposal that would tighten export limits on computer
encoding technology, though the White House apparently does prefers it to
an approach contained in earlier legislation. And in another development,
Vice President Al Gore is distancing the administration from the FBI
director's proposal to regulate U.S. sales of high-tech devices that
maintain the privacy of computer messages.
On Capitol Hill, Under Secretary of Commerce William Reinsch told reporter
Aaron Pressman of the Reuter News Service a surprise amendment approved
yesterday by the House National Security Committee would give the secretary
of defense veto power over encryption export decisions. Says Reinsch,
"Giving the secretary of defense a veto is inconsistent with the
president's executive order and inconsistent with the policies of four
prior administrations. The administration thinks all relevant agencies
should have a seat at the table and none should have a veto."
Pressman notes that under current policy enacted by presidential order last
year, encryption export requests are reviewed by the Departments of State,
Defense, Energy, Commerce and Justice, along with the Arms Control and
Disarmament Agency. As reported, the most powerful encryption products
cannot be exported unless they contain a feature allowing the government to
decode any messages covertly. The new amendment -- sponsored by Rep. Curt
Weldon (R-Pennsylvania) and Rep. Ron Dellums (D-California) -- would
require the president to set "the maximum level of encryption strength that
could be exported from the United States ... without harm to the national
security of the United States." Products at or below the established level
could be exported after a one-time review specified by the secretary of
commerce with the concurrence of the secretary of defense.
Reuters comments the proposal "virtually gutted" the bill to which it was
attached, a measure written by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) that would
greatly relax export controls. Pressman quotes Reinsch as saying the
administration supports the "harm to the national security" standard,
saying, "It gives the administration the authority it needs. We'd much
rather have this" than the original.
As noted, software companies, civil libertarians and Internet user groups
favor relaxing the current limits and expressed strong concerns about the
Weldon amendment. Meanwhile, Associated Press writer Jeannine Aversa
reports Vice President Gore, in a speech to the Software Publishers
Association, says the administration is not in favor of FBI Director Louis
Freeh proposal to regulate sales of high-tech devices that maintain the
privacy of computer messages.
Gore reaffirmed the White House's policy against restricting the sale of
such data-scrambling devices in the United States, adding, "The
administration's position has not changed on encryption." As noted, Freeh
last week stunned the communications industry by suggesting to a Senate
subcommittee that encryption devices sold or imported into the United
States be required to include a feature allowing law enforcement agencies
to unscramble coded messages.
Aversa reports, "His comments rattled industry groups, which generally
oppose such a requirement, saying it would be expensive, difficult to
implement and raise privacy concerns. Gore didn't specifically mention
Freeh's proposal. But White House aides, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the vice president's brief comment on the administration's
policy was intended to respond to Freeh and show that for now the
administration is not changing its position on the sale of encryption
devices in the United States."
Quarterdeck Courts Anti-Viruses
Quarterdeck Corp., best known for its computer utility software, is
branching into the anti-virus program market. Reporting from Marina Del
Rey, California, the Reuter News Service says Quarterdeck has acquired
global licensing rights to anti-virus software technology and is set to
enter the growing computer anti-virus market. ViruSweep is built on
technology licensed from privately-held EliaShim Ltd. and will be
integrated into its portfolio of system protection products. The wire
service notes Quarterdeck's anti-virus product will go up against products
made by McAfee Associates Inc., Symantec Corp. and Computer Associates
International Inc.'s Cheyenne Software unit.
McAfee Sues Symantec for $1 Billion
A $1 billion defamation suit has been filed against virus software expert
Symantec Corp. by rival McAfee Associates Inc., escalating their closely
watched trade-secret court fight. From Santa Clara, California, the Reuter
News Service calls the suit the latest volley involving two batches of
software code that appear in two McAfee products. As reported, Symantec
sued McAfee earlier this year, accusing McAfee of stealing those codes.
McAfee denied the allegations.
"Even by the competitive standards of Silicon Valley," says Reuters, "the
legal battle between the cross-town rivals is nasty. The chief executives
of both software companies have exchanged personal barbs against each other
in the press."
z On April 23, Symantec accused McAfee of stealing portions of Symantec
Crashguard -- a program that enhances the performances of personal
computers -- and using it in McAfee PC Medic 1997, a rival product.
z On July 21, Symantec expanded its lawsuit alleging that McAfee stole
another 100 lines of code and used it in McAfee VirusScan.
z Earlier this week, McAfee has said an internal investigation had found
that the 100 lines of code in VirusScan were downloaded from the Internet
by one of its programmers, not stolen from Symantec. The programmer cannot
specify from which Internet site he took the code. McAfee also said in the
release that the code did not perform any functions in the program and has
been deleted.
z Yesterday, Symantec issued a statement headlined "McAfee confirms that
VirusScan contains misappropriated Symantec code," citing McAfee's
statement the previous day.
z Now McAfee said it sued Symantec for defamation and trade libel,
deliberately twisting facts to bolster its case.
Angry McAfee general manager Zach Nelson told Reuters, "Where do we say
that we stole their code? Symantec has tried to distort fact after fact,
and we're tired of it." Symantec chief technical officer Enrique Salem
countered, "What McAfee is trying to do is hide the facts with a diversion.
They are in a desperate situation." Stay tuned.
Microsoft Foes Tighten Alliance
Tightening an alliance against Microsoft Corp.'s dominance, IBM, Sun
Microsystems Inc. and Netscape Communications Corp. are coordinating work
on a universal language for developing software that works on any computer
system, not just Microsoft's Windows. Business writer David E. Kalish of
The Associated Press says engineers from the three firms will work together
to make sure the Java language smoothly runs software formatted for
different computers, ranging from Windows to Sun machines. "And," he adds,
"they'll fine-tune the language to lessen problems, as well as time new
releases so software developers get the latest versions at the same time."
As reported earlier, Netscape plans to use Sun technology in its browser
for cruising the Internet. Meanwhile, in a third Java push, Sun announced
licensing deals with three big telephone equipment makers that plan to use
Java software in new phones, dubbed webphones, that can tap into the
Internet. "And Sun, Netscape and several other high-tech companies -- with
the notable exception of Microsoft -- proposed a technical standard aimed
at helping to unclog bottlenecks that have slowed the flow of information
across the Internet," Kalish reports.
Samsung Responds to Spamster
Samsung America Inc. is striking back at an unknown spamster who is
reportedly sending fraudulent e-mails under the name of the South Korean
electronic giant. "An unknown party continues to mass distribute
fraudulent e-mail messages under the name of Samsung and its affiliates,
the latest of which is titled 'Samsung Spamming Lie,'" notes a statement
issued by Samsung. "As much of the Internet community is aware, these
e-mails were neither written nor condoned by Samsung."
Samsung says it is working with Federal authorities to identify the
individual or individuals responsible for the messages and intends to take
legal action against the perpetrator when found. According to Samsung, its
investigation has revealed that an unknown party has sent mass e-mails
through The Microsoft Network and UUNET. Upon receipt of subpoenas, MSN and
UUNET released the identities and accounts of the e-mailer. However, that
information revealed forged names, phone numbers, and addresses, notes
Samsung.
Tokyo ISP Sues U.S. 'Spamster'
Tokyo-based Internet service provider Typhoon Inc. filed a federal lawsuit
yesterday charging a Pasadena, California, company with flooding its
Internet servers with masses of "spam" e-mail advertisements and placing a
false Typhoon return address on those messages. The suit filed in U.S.
District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Paging
America engaged in a massive spam e-mail campaign to advertise its products
and services in March and then again in May of this year.
"The Internet is not a playground for pirates and scam artists," says
Typhoon legal counsel Andrew Mansfield of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. "The
defendants' unlawful conduct nearly crashed Typhoon's system, and
thousands of America Online customers were led to believe the spam
originated with Typhoon." Typhoon is seeking injunctive relief as well as
unspecified consequential and punitive damages. Typhoon's Web page can be
found at http://www.typhoon.co.jp/indexe.html.
New Website Fights Growing Scams
Watchdogs have received nearly 100 scam complaints a month so far this year
-- ranging in size from $10 to $10,000 -- compared with only 389 for all of
1996. "Cybercrooks are in your pocketbooks with a click of the mouse,"
Linda Golodny, president of the National Consumers League, told a news
conference called yesterday to announce the launch of new Web pages
http://www.fraud.org/ifw.htm intended to arm us with alerts to the
10 most-used scams.
The Associated Press quotes Susan Grant, the league's Internet Fraud Watch
director, as saying the most common signs of fraud are:
z Extravagant promises of profits.
z Guarantees of credit regardless of bad credit history.
z Suspiciously low prices.
z Prizes that require up-front payments.
The league says the 10 most frequent fraud reports involve: undelivered
Internet and online services; damaged, defective, misrepresented or
undelivered merchandise; auction sales; pyramids and multilevel marketing;
misrepresented cyberspace business opportunities and franchises;
work-at-home schemes; prizes and sweepstakes; credit card offers; books
and other self-help guides; and magazine subscriptions.
Court Backs Website in Suit
Putting a site on the World Wide Web doesn't in itself subject someone to
being sued anywhere in the country, an influential federal appeals court in
New York has ruled. This affirms an earlier dismissal of a
trademark-infringement suit filed in the U.S. district court in New York by
the operator of New York's famous Blue Note jazz club against a Columbia,
Missouri, music club of the same name.
The Wall Street Journal reports this morning the three-judge panel of the
appeals court ruled that a local operation, like the Missouri club, isn't
vulnerable to being sued in a distant court merely because it creates a Web
site on the Internet. A defendant must have some physical presence in New
York in order to be sued there, the court said. "The ruling was the first
by a federal appeals court to clarify this question," the Journal notes.
"The issue had created some confusion among businesses affected by Internet
activities." The New York club doesn't plan to appeal, said its attorney,
Dorothy Weber of Shukat Arrow Hafer & Weber.
Software Addresses Net Addiction
Solid Oak Software Inc., publisher of the CYBERsitter Internet access
control program, says it has developed software designed to combat
Internet addiction. The Santa Barbara, California, company's CYBERtimer
allows parents to specify a maximum amount of time online a child can
spend on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Additionally, parents can
specify a time period when Internet access will be allowed. "We are seeing
numerous stories appearing in the media about children and adults alike
who are spending way too much time online," says Marc Kanter, a Solid Oak
vice president. CYBERtimer is available for downloading directly from
www.solidoak.com and is free for personal use.
'Net Addict' Handed Probation
A Cincinnati, Ohio, woman described by police as an "Internet addict" has
been placed on two years' probation after pleading guilty to charges she
neglected her three small children while spending as much as 12 hours a day
on her home computer. The 24-year-old woman, whose name ironically is
Sandra Hacker, "kept her three children in deplorably filthy conditions in
a separate room of her apartment, while devoting her time to the
Internet," the Reuter News Service reports.
In Cincinnati Municipal Court yesterday, Judge William Mallory also fined
Hacker $100 and court costs and suspended a 180-day jail sentence on
condition that she take parenting classes under supervision of probation
officials. Defense attorney John Burlew told Reuters the children -- ages
2, 3, and 5 -- have been in the custody of her estranged husband, Alexander
Hacker, since the defendant's was arrested June 14 on the neglect charges.
Permanent custody rights will be determined in a divorce proceeding in
which the couple is now involved, he said.
Capture Leads to $10K Reward
A $10,000 reward has been given to an unidentified Internet user credited
by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for the capture in Mexico of
escaped murderer Jesus Juan Fleitas. Reporting from Tallahassee, Florida,
United Press International quotes state officials as saying the person saw
Fleitas' picture on TV's America's Most Wanted, then used the Internet to
match his photos and notify authorities. The department adds that without
the Floridian's help, Fleitas likely would have posted bail at a Mexican
jail and disappeared once again.
UPI says the agency's Jim Chambliss declined to identify the person or even
specify the sex. Chambliss did say the person was in Mexico when Fleitas'
picture was published in a newspaper following his arrest in a home robbery
attempt and shooting. He said the Floridian remembered Fleitas from a
report on the America's Most Wanted television show. The person then used
a computer in Mexico to call up Fleitas' picture on the FDLE website and
when he saw the match he called U.S. authorities. "To give credit where
it's due," Chambliss says, "it actually was the marriage of two leading
media technologies that did it. This person first saw Fleitas' picture on
television, then they used the Internet to make the identification."
Oops -- 'Scuse the E-Mail
A Michigan state lawmaker is red-faced today after an aide apparently
clicked the wrong mouse button and sent a critical e-mail comment to a
leading pro-gun group. Reporting from Lansing, United Press International
says the aide to state Sen. Leon Stille was trying to electronically tell a
colleague he thinks Brass Roots members are "a bit out in right field" and
"a bunch of wackos."
But -- oh, you guessed it -- the aide sent the e-mail message to the very
target of his critique. "What was intended as an interoffice message on
State Capitol computers," says the wire service, "wound up in the
electronic mailbox of Hazel Park-based Brass Roots, which sponsors annual
rallies on the Capitol steps."
The wire service says aide Robb Kennedy was giving his opinion of Brass
Roots and whether the senator should attend next weekend's "educational
forum" on concealed weapons legislation. UPI notes Brass Roots says
Michigan is one of 19 states that "has yet to reform their laws on
concealed weapons." In an interview with a Detroit Free Press columnist,
the colleague Kennedy was trying to message says the stray e-mail was due
to "an unfortunate click of the mouse."
Clinton Muffs New Net Funding
Missteps by the Clinton administration in seeking adequate funding from
Congress apparently now will delay the Next Generation Internet initiative.
Reporter Aaron Pressman of the Reuter News Service notes the administration
sought $100 million for next year. However, Pressman reports, the House
has approved only $78 million and the Senate just $35 million. A conference
committee will reconcile the two appropriations.
"We won't be able to ramp up as quickly," says Henry Kelly, associate
director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, "but
this is a very flexible community and they're going to be able to
re-adapt." As reported, the Next Generation Internet project aims to send
data at 1,000 times the speed of today's net. Higher speeds and improved
reliability could spur a host of new uses for the network, some with live
sound and video.
"As a result of the lower funding," Pressman reports, "the project will
take longer to meet its goal of connecting 100 universities to the faster
network. ... Some basic research needed to enable faster networking will
also be delayed." As reported, some lawmakers criticize the administration
for failing to provide details about the project, neglecting rural states
and overlapping with a university and private sector initiative called
Internet2.
Says Chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) of the House Science
Committee, "I don't think the administration has learned its lesson and the
consequences of the delay and what to do to repair the damage as best as
possible." Pressman notes that in April, the Science Committee barred
spending on a portion of the project overseen by the National Science
Foundation but reversed course and boosted spending in July after
administration officials provided additional details.
Other committees have rejected or reduced funding requests for parts of the
project in the Departments of Energy and Defense. Sensenbrenner told
administration officials during a hearing yesterday, "I hate to run around
with a button that says 'I told you so,' but I got it on today. From what
you have just said, it does not appear the administration has any game
plan on what to do during this period of time when we're working in
conference."
Meanwhile, Pressman has found another problem lurking in the project: the
possible inclusion of funding for a controversial computer encoding
technology known as key recovery. "The administration is pushing key
recovery as a means of allowing law enforcement agencies to crack computer
coded messages among criminals or terrorists," he writes. "But software
firms, civil libertarians and Internet user groups strongly oppose the
approach as infringing on privacy rights and reducing the security of
electronic communications."
Search Engines Satisfy Users
Most users of Internet search engines and navigational sites are more than
satisfied with their favorite provider, finds a new survey by NPD Online
Research of Port Washington, New York. NPD polled a total of more than
22,000 visitors to the Alta Vista, Excite, Infoseek, Lycos, WebCrawler and
Yahoo! sites in a survey sponsored by the six search engines. Respondent
ratings of very good/excellent ranged from 78 percent to 92 percent among
the six sites; excellent ratings ranged from 30 percent to 48 percent among
the sites.
The survey's respondents were also virtually unanimous on what makes a site
a winner. More than 90 percent of respondents from each search engine said
ease of use, speed of loading and response, reliability and accuracy of
results and organized and up-to-date information are the most important
site features. On the other hand, respondents ranked contests among the
least important features attracting them to a particular search engine;
only 24 percent to 34 percent of respondents felt that it was important or
very important to have contests on a site. Respondents also placed little
importance in the fact that a site looks good (44 percent to 60 percent of
the respondents said it was important or very important) and that the site
be fun to use (43 percent to 68 percent).
Yahoo Signs CD Deal
Search engine giant Yahoo Inc. has signed an agreement to make CDnow the
premier music seller featured on Yahoo. CDnow is an Internet music store
which offers more than 250,000 music-oriented products. Reporting from
Santa Clara, California, the Reuter News Service quotes Yahoo officials as
saying the firm will offer users direct links to related CDnow
(www.cdnow.com) music products from Yahoo music-related search results and
music category pages. Also, CDnow will be integrated into My Yahoo with
special content, Yahoo Yellow Pages, the Yahoo Metro sites, the Visa
Shopping Guide by Yahoo and the Netscape Guide by Yahoo. Look for CDnow to
be the exclusive premier provider for music products to be promoted in
these Yahoo areas. As part of the deal CDnow will receive extensive
promotional exposure throughout Yahoo.
Intel Offers Faster Pentium
A speedy Pentium chip -- designed specifically for laptop computers and
that is smaller, uses less power and generates less heat -- is being
introduced by Intel Corp. this week. Previously code-named "Tillamook,"
the new chip is part of what the Reuter News Service says is Intel's plan
to make more microprocessors geared toward portable computers, the fastest
growing part of the PC market.
The wire service finds about 20 computer makers unveiling laptops - one
only as thick as two legal pads stacked together -- based on the new chip.
The new mobile Pentium features Intel's MMX multimedia-enhancing
technology and comes in two speeds, 200 and 233 megahertz, which are the
same as mid- and high-range desktop PCs. It consumes 3.9 watts of
electricity, about half that of a desktop model running at comparable
speeds. Reuters notes laptop computer sales are expected to grow 15
percent to 20 percent a year for the next few years, faster than the rest
of the PC industry. In 1997 alone, about $13 billion worth of laptops will
be sold worldwide.
Win 3.1 WordPerfect Suite 7 Ships
Corel Corp. has begun shipping Corel WordPerfect Suite 7 for Windows 3.1x.
The suite includes the WordPerfect 7 word processor, Quattro Pro 7
spreadsheet software, Presentations 7 presentation program, Paradox 7
database manager, Time Line project management software and CorelFLOW 2
charting program. Also provided are the Envoy 1.0a electronic publishing
tool, Netscape Navigator Web browser, Sidekick 2.0 personal organizer and
Dashboard 3.0 Windows control panel, as well as 10,000 clip art images and
1,000 fonts.
"Corel recognizes that there is a substantial user base working in the
Windows 3.1x environment," says Michael Cowpland, Corel's president and
CEO. "We are pleased to offer a comprehensive solution to users of the
16-bit environment. The tight integration and ease-of-use of the suite
makes it easy for users to upgrade to the 32-bit program at some stage in
the future." Corel WordPerfect Suite 7 for Windows 3.1x sells for $425.
Upgrades are
priced at $149.
HP Offers New Ink-Jet Printer
Hewlett-Packard Co. has introduced the DeskJet 720C home printer line and
DeskJet 890C professional printer series. The new ink-jet models replace
the current DeskJet 820C and DeskJet 870C printers in the U.S. market.
HP notes that the new printers offer multiple technological breakthroughs,
design improvements, increased duty cycles, network connectivity options
and added versatility. Prices for the DeskJet 720C and DeskJet 890C models
are expected to begin at about $349 and $449, respectively.
Zoom Pledges Free Modem Upgrade
Zoom Telephonics Inc. says it will offer a free software upgrade to the ITU
56K bps standard for all of its internal, external and PC Card K56flex
modems currently shipping. The offer applies to customers in the U.S. and
Canada, and will remain in effect for modems purchased through June 30,
1998. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is expected to set a
definitive 56K bps standard sometime in 1998.
The Boston-based modem maker notes that all currently- shipping Zoom
K56flex modems have software-loadable flash memory, programmable digital
signal processors and programmable controllers that allow the modems to be
software upgraded to the ITU standard. The company says the applicable code
will be placed on its Web site for customers to download free at their
convenience. In the event that a software upgrade to the ITU standard is
not possible, Zoom says it will rework or replace any qualifying modem sent
to it for a maximum charge of $19.
"We believe that Zoom is the first major K56flex modem manufacturer to
announce a definitive, customer-friendly, easy-to-understand 56K upgrade
policy," says Frank Manning, Zoom's president. "Motorola and Diamond say
that a shipping and handling charge may be necessary, but don't state a
maximum charge. Many other modem manufacturers mislead potential customers
into thinking that a software upgrade will definitely work. Because the ITU
standard is still to be determined, it's important to have an upgrade
program that is clear about any potential upgrade cost if a software
upgrade is not possible."
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
LEXMARK OPTRA C
COLOR
LASER PRINTER
For a limited time only; If you wish to have a FREE sample printout sent to
you that demonstrates LEXMARK Optra C SUPERIOR QUALITY 600 dpi Laser Color
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sized envelope please) to:
STReport's LEXMARK Printout Offer
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155
Folks, the LEXMARK Optra C has to be the very best yet in its price range.
It is far superior to anything we've seen or used as of yet. It is said
that ONE Picture is worth a thousand words. The out put from the Lexmark
Optra C is worth ten thousand words! Send for the free sample now. (For a
sample that's suitable for framing, see below) Guaranteed. you will be
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If you would like a sample printout that's suitable for framing. Yes
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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
Microsoftr Windowsr
Market Bulletin Windows Product Team z Summer 1997
Microsoft Windows 98 Overview
The Microsoftr Windowsr 98 operating system makes computing easier, more
reliable, faster, and is fully integrated with the Internet. Building on
Windows 95 innovation as the easiest path to a 32-bit desktop, Windows 98
defines cutting-edge capabilities-such as enabling powerful new hardware
technologies and entertainment platforms-while at the same time maintaining
the best support for older Windows-based applications and technologies.
For corporations, Windows 98 provides new manageability features that help
reduce total cost of ownership (TCO). Windows 98 will also be the fastest
platform for running the new Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Windows 98-previously code-named "Memphis"-builds on the innovations of
Windows 95. In addition to countless refinements and improvements,
including many user-requested features, all users will benefit from
interface enhancements that make Windows 98-based PCs easier to use. New
wizards, utilities, and resources proactively keep systems running more
smoothly. Performance is faster for many common tasks such as application
loading, system startup, and shut down. Finally, full integration with the
Web makes Windows 98-based systems easier to use, more powerful, and more
entertaining.
Windows 98 provides compelling new features for every type of computer
user:
z Home System Upgrades. Home users who are upgrading existing systems
will especially appreciate the increased reliability and Web integration
enabled by Windows 98. For example, user interface enhancements make
navigation easier, such as single-click opening, icon highlighting,
forward/backward buttons, and an easy to customize Start Menu. New wizards
and utilities, such as System File Checker, keep PCs running faster and
more smoothly. Windows 98 makes computers more entertaining and easier to
use by putting Web resources directly on the desktop. Integration with
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 provides a new e-mail client and desktop
information manager, OutlookT Express, and supports Internet conferencing
capabilities with Microsoft NetMeeting software.
z Corporate System Upgrades. Corporations will especially appreciate
increased manageability of Windows 98-based systems. For example, Windows
98 supports the policy-based, central management guidelines and features
outlined in Microsoft's Zero Administration Initiative for Windows. New
utilities such as Dr. Watson and System Information Utility makes it easier
for product support staff to diagnose and correct problems. Windows 98
provides an easy Upgrade Wizard from Windows 95 and Windows 3.x-based
systems.
z New Hardware Purchasers. Support for the newest generation of
hardware-including cutting-edge media platforms-makes new Windows 98-based
systems significantly easier to use, more entertaining, and more like
everyday "appliances." For example, OnNow instantly starts a new PC,
making it more like turning on a stereo or TV. Support for the Universal
Serial Bus enables the next generation of Plug and Play hardware. Support
for the industry standard IEEE 1394 Bus allows users to control VCRs,
stereos, and other consumer electronics from their PCs. In many ways,
Windows 98 redefines the PC's role as an entertainment center by combining
previously separate components, such as television, DVD and the Internet,
and integrating them with the powerful processing and communications
capabilities of the PC. This integration, such as combining television and
HTML, results in an experience that is more rich and more convenient. For
example, you can review and search for your favorite TV programs with the
built-in Program Guide, then instantly view any show on your PC, or set
reminders to watch shows at a later time. Producers can also deliver
Enhanced Television programming, which will add sports statistics or
cooking recipes alongside traditional television shows.
KEY WINDOWS 98 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
New Windows 98 features and benefits fall into six key areas. A more
complete feature highlights list can be found at Windows 98 is
currently in beta testing and is expected to ship in the first quarter
of 1998.
z Easier to Use
- User interface enhancements make navigation easier, such as single-
click launching, icon highlighting, forward/backward buttons, and an
easy to customize Start Menu.
- Support for hardware innovations such as Universal Serial Bus (USB)
enable more powerful device detection and the next generation of Plug
and Play hardware.
- On-line Help provides comprehensive, continually updated support
information for Microsoft products.
- Multi-monitor Support for up to eight monitors that can run at
different resolutions gives users more "real estate" for running
applications, including more exciting game play.
- Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) supports easier
device management on new PCs and enhanced battery performance on new
mobile PCs.
z More Reliable
- Countless refinements and improvements keep systems running smoothly.
- Windows Update, a new Web-based resource site, allows registered users
of Windows 98 to keep their PCs up-to-date by continually providing
the latest drivers and operating system files on an on-going basis.
- Windows 98 can regularly test your hard disk, system files, and
configuration information to increase the system reliability, and in
many cases automatically fix problems.
- Enhanced backup and restore functionality supports more tape drives
and the latest hardware.
- Date-dependent components within Windows 98 are Year 2000 ready.
z Faster
- Application loading, system startup, and shut down time are faster,
based on early performance testing with beta software.
- OnNow technology provides "instant on" capability, rather than
requiring users to boot up every time.
- The Windows 98 Tune-Up Wizard helps get faster system performance.
- Enhanced FAT32 File System stores files more efficiently and frees up
hard drive space.
z Web Integration
- Windows 98 will be the fastest platform to run the new Microsoft
Internet Explorer 4.0.
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 includes the Outlook Express, a new e-
mail client and collaboration tool; NetMeeting for Internet
conferencing and whiteboarding; NetShowT networked multimedia software
for on-demand audio and video capabilities; FrontPad personal Web-page
editing tool; and Personal Web Server which makes any Windows 98-based
system into a personal Web server.
- The Active Desktop interface puts Internet and intranet pages directly
on a user's desktop.
- With Channels, users can subscribe to Web sites, including many
leading content providers like Disney and Time-Warner.
- An enhanced Windows 98 Explorer integrates local, intranet, and
Internet resources into a single, logical view. For example, URLs can
now be accessed directly from the Windows 98 Explorer.
- New Internet access is easy with a new Internet Connection Wizard that
"talks" to your Internet provider for the correct configuration
information.
- Enhancements to Dial-Up Networking include the ability to link and
synchronize multiple modems and an ISDN Connection Wizard makes it
easier to configure hardware.
- Support for video and broadcast provides super-fast bandwidth for
accessing the Internet.
z More Entertaining
- Support for DVD and digital audio delivers high-quality digital movies
and audio direct to your TV or PC monitor.
- Support for IEEE 1394 bus provides an industry-standard interface to
control VCRs, stereos, and other consumer electronic devices from a
Windows 98-based PC.
- DirectX APIs provides graphics and video performance that exceeds
console game systems, and support for forced-feedback joysticks to
enhance the gaming experience.
- Watch TV on your PC and review and search for your favorite TV
programs with the built in Program Guide.
- Support for Enhanced Television, which combines television and HTML
content, delivers new entertainment possibilities.
z More Manageable for Corporations
- Support for the Zero Administration Initiative for Windows helps
reduce total cost of ownership.
- Dr. Watson and System Information Utility makes it easier for product
support staff to diagnose and correct problems.
- Upgrade Wizard provides smooth migration paths from Windows 95 and
Windows 3.x-based systems.
OTHER INNOVATIONS
Windows Update
Windows Update is a new Web-based resource site that allows registered
users of Windows 98 to get more out of their PC. Designed to help users
improve their computing experience, Windows Update keeps users systems up-
to-date by providing access to the latest drivers and operating system
files on an on-going basis. Windows Update also makes computing easier and
more enjoyable by providing product assistance that is constantly updated,
while allowing users to easily find the answers they need.
Note: Some capabilities, such as ACPI, DVD, multimonitor support, OnNow,
and television, require appropriate hardware support.
The information contained in this document represents the current view of
Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of
publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions,
it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft,
and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented
after the date of publication. This document is for informational purposes
only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.
O 1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Active
Desktop, DirectX, NetMeeting, NetShow, Outlook, Windows, and Windows NT are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other
products and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their
respective owners. 07/97
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
Government Will Appeal Encryption Bell Canada, Netscape Team Up On
Case Electronic Commerce
Telecom Manufacturers, Networkers
Unite To Speed Up Internet
Computer Companies Step Up
Political Donations
Apple Clone Owners To Pay Full
Price For OS Upgrade
Deutsche Telekom Chooses VocalTec
For Internet Telephony
Dell Pioneers Individual Leasing
Option
Massachusetts Repeals Internet
Sales Tax
Drudge's Apology Doesn't Stop
Blumenthal's Libel Suit
Apple, Power Computing Huddle Over
Licensing Deal
Massachusetts To Refund Internet
Taxes
Five Different Bills Include
Funding For Next-Generation
Internet
"Deep Blue" Gets Deeper
PC Fixx Seeks To Franchise PC
Repair
Next Generation Of Software Will Be
Nonproprietary, Says Ellison
Clinton Administration Flip-Flops
On Encryption Issue
America Online To Operate
CompuServe
IBM Nixes Net PCs
Power Computing Gets Rights To Mac
OS 8
Motorola And IBM Rethink Purpose Of
PowerPC Chips
Dell Changes Production System For
OptiPlex Line
Disposable DVDs
Gelernter On The Beauty Of Software
"Amazing Grace" Showcases
Technology
The Internet Goes To Television
Airfare Web Sites Want Buyers, Not
Lookers
Microsoft Buys Stake In Translation
Software Company
Integrated Circuits And Musical
Birthday Cards
Software Piracy
Lower-Priced PCs Hit The "Sweet
Spot"
Security Issues Are Risk-Management
Issues
High-Level Cracking In Canada
Electronic Monographs Are "Great
Advertising"
Defending The Right To Hyperlink
Digital To Offer Internet Shopping
Systems
GOVERNMENT WILL APPEAL ENCRYPTION CASE
The U.S. government announced its intention to appeal a recent U.S.
District Court ruling that treating an electronic version of encryption
software code differently from a printed version was "irrational,"
"baffling," and "makes little or no sense and is untenable." The case was
part of a long-running dispute between a University of Illinois professor
and the Clinton administration over government restrictions on the export
of encryption programs. The professor was denied an export license for
the electronic copy of the source code for an encryption program he
developed as a graduate student, but was later granted approval to export a
printed version. In response to the government's appeal, the judge has
issued a stay of the injunction, limited to the particular source code
cited in the case. "Because the legal questions at issue are novel, complex
and of public importance, the injunctive relief should be as narrow as
possible pending appeal," she says. (MSNBC 29 Aug 97)
TELECOM MANUFACTURERS, NETWORKERS
UNITE TO SPEED UP INTERNET
Telefon AB LM Ericsson, Northern Telecom, Siemens AG, 3Com, and UUNet are
investing $40 million in Silicon start-up Juniper Networks in the hope of
jump-starting efforts to speed up Internet networking technology. Juniper
plans to combine advanced chip technology with a new type of switch router
to achieve top networking speeds of 2.4 gigabits per second and throughput
rates of 60 gigabits per second or more. Meanwhile, Cisco Systems is
already running field trials of its Gigabit Switch Router, which offers
speeds up to 622 megabits per second, and plans for next year call for
boosting speeds up to 2.5 gigabits per second. "We're very interested in
what Juniper is doing, as well as several other start-ups and some
established companies such as Cisco and 3Com," says MCI senior VP Vinton
Cerf, who notes that to keep up with traffic, "we are going to require
speeds of 2.4 gigabits between our nodes by next year." (Wall Street
Journal 29 Aug 97)
COMPUTER COMPANIES STEP UP POLITICAL DONATIONS
"The Digital Age has finally arrived in Washington," says the author of a
recent report on computer industry campaign donations and lobbying
activities. Published by the Center for Responsive Politics, the report
notes, "In the 1995-1996 election cycle, the computer industry donated
$7.3 million in [political action committee] money, soft money, and
individual contributions to federal candidates and parties. This is 52%
more than was spent in the 1991-1992 election cycle...The industry has also
learned to use sophisticated techniques such as bundling, in which a
particular organization or interest group gives a cluster of contributions
to a particular candidate over a specific period of time... Not only is
the computer industry growing rapidly, but there are almost a dozen bills
in the House and Senate that could affect the industry's bottom line."
Priority issues for computer execs include the regulation of shareholder
lawsuits, taxes, encryption and the World Intellectual Property
Organization treaty negotiations and related legislation. (TechWire Aug 29
97)
APPLE CLONE OWNERS TO PAY FULL PRICE FOR OS UPGRADE
Buyers of Apple Macintosh clones will have to purchase their upgrade to the
new Mac OS 8 operating system through computer stores or mail order, for
the full price of $69.95, rather than the $9.95 version available to
authentic Mac owners. The one exception is buyers who purchased their
machines between June 22 and August 1, and who ordered the software from
Apple before August 1 -- they will be eligible for the $9.95 Up-To-Date
option. Apple made its decision to penalize clone owners after it became
embroiled in a spat over licensing the new system to clone makers: "We
thought it was reasonable to include the clone systems in the Up-To-Date
upgrade program when we expected to come to a quick agreement on the new
licensing deals," says an Apple spokesman. "Obviously that's not going to
happen now." (San Jose Mercury News 30 Aug 97)
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM CHOOSES VOCALTEC
FOR INTERNET TELEPHONY
Deutsche Telekom says it will invest in VocalTec Communications and use its
products and services to offer customers Internet telephony services. The
two companies are already working together on the T-NetCall service, which
Deutsche Telekom has been testing over the past month, and the new
arrangement will give Deutsche Telekom a 21% stake in U.S.-based VocalTec.
Analysts predict that shortly after the turn of the century, 50% of the
world's communications will be carried over the Internet. (InfoWorld
Electric 29 Aug 97)
DELL PIONEERS INDIVIDUAL LEASING OPTION
Dell Computer has started a leasing option for individual customers, the
first such program to be offered by a major computer maker, say analysts.
Leasing a computer rather than purchasing appeals to people worried about
the rapid obsolescence of PCs and to those unable to come up with the full
amount of up-front cash. The move also ties consumers to Dell machines
over a period of years: "It's much cheaper to sell to a customer you
already have than it is to win over a customer you don't have," says an
industry analyst. About 18% of the corporate PCs ordered this year will
be paid for through a leasing arrangement, up from 5% three years ago.
(Wall Street Journal 29 Aug 97)
MASSACHUSETTS REPEALS INTERNET SALES TAX
Acting Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci says he will sign a budget
measure repealing the state sales tax on Internet transactions. (Computer
Reseller News 28 Aug 97)
DRUDGE'S APOLOGY DOESN'T STOP BLUMENTHAL'S LIBEL SUIT
A White House spokesman has acknowledged that President Clinton and Vice
President Gore approved of Presidential aide Sidney Blumenthal's decision
to file a $30 million libel suit against online gossip columnist Matt
Drudge. Drudge had reported that Blumenthal "has a spousal abuse past that
has been effectively covered up," but when Blumenthal vehemently denied
the allegation, Drudge quickly issued a retraction. But Blumenthal wasn't
mollified, and proceeded with his lawsuit. In his August 29th "Drudge
Report," Drudge says he is "disappointed that this lawsuit was filed even
after I retracted my original report and publicly apologized for it. The
fact that Mr. Blumenthal's 137-page complaint seeks to recover $30 million
from me has no relation to anything that I have done -- unless the White
House views me as a reporter who should not be in business. The
extraordinary admission at the August 28 White House press briefing that
both the President and Vice President told Mr. Blumenthal they would
support him in this action suggests this White House simply lacks respect
for basic principles of free speech and the First Amendment guarantee of a
free press. What the White House is doing in supporting this lawsuit
should arouse grave concern among all those who cherish our Constitution."
Drudge has been widely criticized by mainstream journalists, who have
accused him of practicing shoddy journalism. (Edupage 17 Aug 97, Reuter
28 Aug 97, Drudge Report 29 Aug 97)
APPLE, POWER COMPUTING HUDDLE OVER LICENSING DEAL
Apple Computer and Power Computing Corp. are negotiating a deal, the
details of which have not been disclosed, to resolve their ongoing dispute
over licensing terms for Apple's new Mac OS8 operating system. People
close to the negotiations say the new arrangement likely will entail Power
paying Apple higher licensing fees on more powerful Macs. (Wall Street
Journal 2 Sep 97) Meanwhile, InfoWorld Electric reports that the
negotiations are more likely to result in Power Computing renouncing its
Apple license and turning its full-time attention to manufacturing Wintel
machines. (InfoWorld Electric 2 Sep 97)
MASSACHUSETTS TO REFUND INTERNET TAXES
The Massachusetts law signed Friday repealing state taxes on Internet
services has been made retroactive to 1990. "Prior to the moratorium,
Internet service providers in Massachusetts were required to collect and
remit sales tax on their services, since they were classified as
telecommunications services," says the chief taxation officer for a tax
software provider. "The new legislation now excludes Internet access,
electronic mail, electronic bulletin board, and Web hosting services from
the definition of telecommunications services... By passing this
legislation, Massachusetts is attempting to stem the tide of computer users
who may have selected out-of-state Internet service providers." The U.S.
Congress is considering a similar nationwide moratorium on Internet taxes.
(TechInvestor 1 Sep 97)
FIVE DIFFERENT BILLS INCLUDE FUNDING FOR NEXT-GENERATION INTERNET
Five of the 13 bills spending bills still to be dealt with by Congress when
it returns to work this week include provisions for funding various
federal agencies efforts to participate in building the Next-Generation
Internet. Government efforts will parallel the university-sponsored
Internet 2 activities. The agencies will work directly with the Internet
2 project to help tie its high-performance campus backbones into the larger
national infrastructure. Under President Clinton's proposed spending plan,
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency would receive $40 million;
the Energy Department $35 million; the National Science Foundation and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration $10 million each; and the
National Institute of Standards and Technology $5 million. The National
Library of Medicine has said it will also try to commit $5 million to the
project. (Chronicle of Higher Education 5 Sep 97)
"DEEP BLUE" GETS DEEPER
The IBM RS/6000 SP computer "Deep Blue" -- widely known for its chess
victory over world chess champion Garry Kasparov -- has received hardware
and software enhancements expected to make that product line 58% faster.
Much of the speed increase is due to the latest version of IBM's 604e Power
PC microprocessor. (New York Times 1 Sep 97)
PC FIXX SEEKS TO FRANCHISE PC REPAIR
A small Seattle firm called PC Fixx is hoping to franchise the computer
repair business, offering Nordstrom-style service with McDonald's-style
convenience. The company, which is currently seeking investors, plans to
acquire computer repair businesses around the country and convert them to
PC Fixx franchises. Using a network of repair depots and service vans
linked to a telecommunications center, PC Fixx could offer repairs in a
matter of hours rather than days. A study by Dataquest estimates that the
U.S. PC repair market will grow at 21% a year to nearly $1.9 billion in
2001. (Tampa Tribune 1 Sep 97)
NEXT GENERATION OF SOFTWARE WILL BE
NONPROPRIETARY, SAYS ELLISON
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison says the age of domination by one software
company's technical standards is over: "The next generation of software
will not, cannot, be based on proprietary technology that belongs to one
company. We're living in the dawn of the information age, not the dawn of
the Microsoft Age or the dawn of the Age of Redmond. The next generation
of computing, network computing, will not be dominated by any one company
or any one person. The age in which we live can't be controlled by a
single human being. Nation-states resent it, individuals resent it."
(Upside Sep 97)
CLINTON ADMINISTRATION FLIP-FLOPS ON ENCRYPTION ISSUE
Reversing its previous assurances that it was opposed to domestic
encryption controls and determined not to regulate the development of
Internet commerce, the Clinton Administration has drafted legislation that
would require all encryption technology to include a "trap door" feature
allowing immediate decoding of any message by law enforcement officials
armed with a court order. The plan, which is opposed both by civil
libertarians and by the technology industry, would also require telephone
companies and Internet service providers to use the same feature in any
encryption systems they offer. (New York Times 7 Sep 97)
AMERICA ONLINE TO OPERATE COMPUSERVE
America Online has negotiated a complex deal with WorldCom that will result
in AOL acquiring and operating CompuServe. AOL intends to keep
CompuServe's content focused on business and technology issues: "AOL is
going to use its scale and its resources to make it more focused and
efficient in servicing the business and professional market," says a
source close to the negotiation. The arrangement calls for WorldCom to
purchase CompuServe as part of a $1.2 billion stock swap, then to turn it
over to America Online, along with $175 million in cash, in exchange for
AOL's ANS network service. The deal will give AOL some much needed cash,
and a boost of about 30% in subscribership. WorldCom will get to keep
CompuServe's global data network, which, in combination with the ANS
network, will beef up WorldCom's data networking capabilities. (Miami
Herald 8 Sep 97)
IBM NIXES NET PCs
Three months after demonstrating a prototype, IBM now says it won't pursue
the NetPC market after all. The NetPC is a stripped down version of a
desktop computer, priced at around $1,000 and based on Intel
microprocessors and Microsoft operating software. "There was a herd
mentality about NetPCs and now we see some of the breakup of the herd,"
says the president of a Washington, D.C.-based computer consulting firm.
IBM says its customers have indicated they'd prefer to spend a little more
money and get the network and software management features found on full-
fledged PCs. With hardware prices continuing to fall, "nobody can give a
compelling reason why a NetPC makes sense," says one PC vendor. (Wall
Street Journal 8 Sep 97)
POWER COMPUTING GETS RIGHTS TO MAC OS 8
After cutting a deal last week wherein Apple Computer will acquire Power
Computing's Macintosh assets for $100 million, Apple has said as part of
the arrangement, Power Computing now has the rights to bundle Mac OS 8
with its clones until Dec. 31, when the assets transfer is complete. Power
Computing has cut prices on its Macintosh compatibles, and sources say
it's sold more than $1.4 million worth of its PowerTower Pro systems since
its deal with Apple was announced. Meanwhile, Taiwan-based UMAX Computer
has reached an agreement to include the Mac OS 8 system on computers sold
in Asia; the arrangement for North American sales is still being worked
out. (Computer Reseller News 7 Sep 97)
MOTOROLA AND IBM RETHINK PURPOSE OF POWERPC CHIPS
Though the original purpose of the PowerPC chip (co-developed by Apple, IBM
and Motorola) was to compete against Intel's domination of the market for
microprocessors used by PCs, Motorola and IBM have now decided to refocus
that family of chips for use in noncomputer consumer electronics devices
(e.g., cellular phones) and industrial applications (e.g., factory
robots). Current speculation is that Apple leader Steve Jobs may use Intel
processors rather than PowerPCs for the Rhapsody operating system it is
developing for its next-generation Macintoshes, thereby reducing the
already weak demand for PowerPC chips. (New York Times 9 Sep 97)
DELL CHANGES PRODUCTION SYSTEM FOR OPTIPLEX LINE
Dell Computer is squeezing more productivity out of its production line by
moving to cell manufacturing, using one or two workers to build an entire
machine from start to finish. Beginning with its OptiPlex line of PCs
geared toward the corporate market, Dell's director of production says the
new system cuts the time it takes to make a PC to eight hours from 10:
"We have reduced or eliminated wait time for the product as it moves
hrough the process. We've reduced the length of time it takes to assemble
the product. We've reduced the number of touches (number of people
handling individual parts) and just overall improved the flow."
(Investor's Business Daily 8 Sep 97)
DISPOSABLE DVDs
Digital Video Express, a company backed by Circuit City Stores and a Los
Angeles entertainment-law firm, is developing a disposable digital video
disk aimed at consumers who would prefer to rent a movie for an evening,
rather than spend the money to purchase the film in DVD format. The new
Divx design is not compatible with existing DVD players; new Divx players
will cost about $100 more than the current models being sold. Viewers
could pay a rental-like fee of under $5 per disk, have access to the movie
for 48 hours after they first start watching it, and then throw the disk
away when they were finished. If, instead, they felt like seeing it again,
they could conduct an electronic transaction via modem to reactivate the
disk. Consumers would also have the choice of making a higher one-time
payment (likely to be below $20) for limitless viewing. The disposable
option undercuts the basic business model favored by current DVD
proponents who envision consumers building permanent libraries of movies
at premium prices. "We think this product ought to be put into the market
to let the consumer decide what they want," says the chairman and CEO of
Circuit City Stores, who holds the same titles in Digital Video Express.
Walt Disney Co., DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures
have all agreed to provide titles for Divx release. (Wall Street Journal 9
Sep 97)
GELERNTER ON THE BEAUTY OF SOFTWARE
"Most computer technologists don't like to discuss it, but the importance
of beauty is a consistent (if sometimes inconspicuous) thread in the
software literature. Beauty is more important in computing than anywhere
else in technology... Beauty is important in engineering terms because
software is so complicated... Beauty is our most reliable guide to
achieving software's ultimate goal: to break free of the computer, to
break free conceptually. Software is stuff unlike any other...
Software's goal is to escape this gravity field, and every key step in
software history has been a step away from the computer, toward forgetting
about the machine and its physical structure and limitations -- forgetting
that it can hold only so many bytes, that its memory is made of fixed size
cells, that you refer to each cell by a numerical address. Software
needn't accept those rules and limitations. But as we throw off the
limits, what guides us? How do we know where to head? Beauty is the best
guide we have." (Adapted from "Machine Beauty: Elegance and the Heart of
Computing," by David Gelernter, Discover Sep 97)
"AMAZING GRACE" SHOWCASES TECHNOLOGY
The USS Hopper, the Navy's second-ever ship to be named after a woman, is a
part of a new class of "stealth ships," demonstrating the latest in marine
design and computer technology. Named after Rear Adm. Grace Murray
Hopper, a computer pioneer credited with coining the term "bug" when she
found a moth in a switching contact, the ship is affectionately nicknamed
"Amazing Grace." During her 40 years in the Navy, Hopper specialized in
computer programming and developed a programming language based on a series
of commands rather than elaborate mathematical codes, a breakthrough that
cleared the way for modern computing. The 500- foot long destroyer's
control panel has a helm that looks more like a car's steering wheel,
giving it a video game aura. The ship's hull and superstructure have
slanted sides to deflect radar, and the Navy calls it "one of the most
capable warships ever built." (San Jose Mercury News 6 Sep 97)
THE INTERNET GOES TO TELEVISION
A group of companies in the cable industry is ready to begin offering low-
cost, high-speed Internet access to standard television sets with an
ordinary set-top cable converter box, without the need for a PC or any
additional equipment. For a fee of no more than $12 a month, the service
will at first be available only to subscribers in Philadelphia and St.
Louis, with other cities added next year. The coalition of companies
includes Worldgate Communications of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, along with
backers such as Citicorp, Motorola, and a number of cable system operators
and major advertising agencies. Consultant Richard Doherty says:
"Worldgate is Web TV and Microsoft's worst nightmare. They have the
cheapest cost of infrastructure, and they can switch the Internet on for
more Americans than anyone in the country." (New York Times 11 Sep 97)
AIRFARE WEB SITES WANT BUYERS, NOT LOOKERS
Expedia (owned by Microsoft), Travelocity (owned by American Airlines'
parent company), and other Web sites that provide travel services are
trying to make sure that visitors don't spend too much time looking at
price quotes without eventually buying an airline ticket. A travel Web
site must pay a fee every time it accesses an airline computer reservation
system to obtain a price quote, so the site has a definite incentive to
discourage pure window-shopping. Expedia says that "if a lot of people
use the site without buying, it saps the system resources and can make it
slower." (USA Today 10 Sep 97)
MICROSOFT BUYS STAKE IN TRANSLATION SOFTWARE COMPANY
Microsoft is buying 20% of Trados GmbH, a German-based maker of translation
software, to increase its ability to make local versions of Microsoft
software products which typically are shipped in more than 30 languages.
Trados software does not perform machine translation but instead stores
phrases and sentences after they have been translated, so that when
similar or identical phases recur the software automatically provides the
translation. (San Jose Mercury News 10 Sep 97)
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AND MUSICAL BIRTHDAY CARDS
Now 73 years old, Jack Kilby, who invented the integrated circuit at a
Texas Instruments laboratory in 1958, marvels at how much impact his
invention has had on the world. "I am continuously being surprised by some
of the products coming onto the market. Some of them are fascinating...
Musical Christmas and birthday cards, neckties that play tunes. I
certainly couldn't have foreseen those." Looking back on the microchip
revolution, Kilby says: "It didn't happen overnight. It has been the
result of 40 years of hard work by tens of thousands of people." (Reuter 9
Sep 97)
SOFTWARE PIRACY
Vice President Al Gore told the Software Publishers Association that U.S.
government departments and agencies have been ordered to crack down on
pirated software within their offices. While piracy is a hot issue for
software makers, the SPA doubts much pirated software is being used in
government departments. (Toronto Globe & Mail 10 Sep 97 B12)
LOWER-PRICED PCs HIT THE "SWEET SPOT"
The new crop of bargain-basement PCs, priced at $1,000 or lower is
germinating a new market of buyers that could change the computer
industry's economic model. Packard Bell says its two top-selling models
both fall into this category, and that the lower-priced PCs now account
for 30% of its retail sales, a figure that's representative of the
industry as a whole. The rush to buy the new machines has boosted home-PC
sales growth, and is predicted to push PC penetration of U.S. homes to 53%
by 2001, according to estimates by Forrester Research. "That sweet spot
of $999 was something I couldn't resist," says one typical consumer. (Wall
Street Journal 10 Sep 97)
SECURITY ISSUES ARE RISK-MANAGEMENT ISSUES
Consultant Ira Machefsky of Giga Information Group's Santa Clara office
says that the issue of computer security is like the issue of automobile
safety. "If I told you 100 years ago you'd ride around in a little steel
box that could go 90 miles an hour, you'd have said that's crazy because
it's dangerous. That's similar to the Internet. You accept the risks
because the potential benefits carry the day. But it's all about risk
management."
(Information Week 8 Sep 97)
HIGH-LEVEL CRACKING IN CANADA
Computer Security Canada has opened an online library of computer security
breaches that have occurred on the World Wide Web. The site contains
examples of some of the most embarrassing Web security breaches that have
occurred in government, the military, academia and industry.
http://www.csci.ca/ (Toronto Globe & Mail 10 Sep 97)
ELECTRONIC MONOGRAPHS ARE "GREAT ADVERTISING"
As university publishers struggle to find the right business model for
offering scholarly documents online, some early innovators are finding
that making a monograph available electronically can boost sales of hard
copies. The National Academy Press has already put 1,700 of its books
online, and is finding that the electronic versions of some books have
boosted sales of the hard copy monographs -- often by two to three times
the previous level. It's "great advertising," says the Press's director.
The MIT Press is experiencing similar results: "For each of our
electronic books, we've approximately doubled our sales. The plain fact is
that no one is going to sit there and read a whole book online. And it
costs money and time to download it." Meanwhile, the Association of
American Publishers has set up a Web site to showcase its new Digital
Object Identifier System, which identifies copyrighted material and links
the user to the copyright owners. http://www.doi.org/overview.html
(Chronicle of Higher Education 12 Sep 97)
DEFENDING THE RIGHT TO HYPERLINK
World Wide Web founder Tim Berners-Lee says he's disturbed by the recent
lawsuit between Microsoft and Ticketmaster regarding Microsoft's
unauthorized hyperlink to Ticketmaster's Web site. "The question, 'May I
have permission to link to your site?' has got me really upset,'' he says.
The freedom to like from one site to another should be a given: "You and
I have a right to discuss something,'' he says, regardless of whether that
something wants to be discussed. "You don't have to ask someone's
permission to talk about them.'' (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 10 Sep 97)
DIGITAL TO OFFER INTERNET SHOPPING SYSTEMS
Digital Equipment Corporation, in collaboration with Wells Fargo Bank,
Microsoft, and VeriFone, will offer computers, software and services to
retailers wanting to establish a store on the Internet. The system will
make use of a Digital server running Microsoft's Storefront software, with
Wells Fargo providing Internet credit card clearing services using
software from VeriFone, a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard. (Financial Times
10 Sep 97)
BELL CANADA, NETSCAPE TEAM UP ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Bell Canada and Netscape Communications have formed a strategic partnership
to provide Internet services to businesses, including secure electronic
data interchange for financial transactions and sales information analysis.
A senior VP at Bell Canada says his company hopes to become a major player
in the Automotive Network Exchange, the automobile industry's initiative
to automate transactions between car makers and suppliers on the Internet,
scheduled to be fully operation next year. (Wall Street Journal 10 Sep 97)
AOL acquires CSi STR Focus Compuserve to be owned by AOL
CompuServe (Csi) to become part of AOL
>From Steve Case, CEO AOL..
September 8, 1997
Dear Members,
I'm pleased to be able to share some exciting news about a major business
transaction which we believe will help us serve you better, and also bring
the benefits of interactive services to a global audience faster.
This morning, we announced the acquisition of CompuServe's worldwide online
services. Simultaneously, we announced that we are selling our network
services division, ANS Communications, and entering into a long-term
agreement with the acquirer, WorldCom, to provide you with expanded network
capacity.
With these transactions, we now will be able to devote even more focus and
resources to our core interactive services and content businesses.
Importantly, it will mean a significant increase in AOLnet modem capacity -
- which will mean fewer busy signals for you. We said we would make
improving connectivity our top priority, and this deal is another example
of us delivering on that promise. Moreover, the deal with WorldCom better
positions us to bring you additional connectivity solutions -- permitting
higher speed access -- in the future.
Once the deal closes, which will take a few months, we'll continue to
operate AOL and CompuServe as separate services. That means, for example,
that CompuServe customers will continue to access their system on the
CompuServe network. There may be some synergies that make sense -- for
example, we will look at the possibility of making some of CompuServe's
business and professional content available to AOL members, and making some
of AOL's unique technologies available to CompuServe customers -- but we'll
be in a "walk before we run" mode to ensure maximum customer satisfaction.
The acquisition of CompuServe also helps expand our international reach,
providing you with an ever larger, more diverse and global community with
which to communicate. With the addition of CompuServe's over 850,000
customers to AOL Europe's nearly 700,000 members, AOL, in partnership with
Bertelsmann, will become the leading pan-European Internet online service
provider, with more than 1.5 million members less than two years after we
launched.
The past year marked the transformation of Internet online services into a
mass market medium. For millions around the world - whether they used it to
communicate with friends and business colleagues, find information, shop,
keep up with the news and latest sports scores, or just have some fun - our
interactive medium has become a vital and fulfilling part of their daily
lives. AOL has played a central role in making this happen. But we haven't
been alone. CompuServe has been an industry pioneer for nearly two decades,
and we're pleased to be bringing their expertise together with ours.
Working together, we're confident we can meet your needs even more
effectively than ever.
JUNK E-MAIL
Now let's switch gears a bit and discuss a problem that's facing our
community. If you're like most members, you are concerned about the
increase in junk e-mail. This was a minor annoyance a year ago, when
unsolicited mail occasionally appeared in your inbox. But for a growing
number of members, it has now become a source of considerable frustration.
In previous letters, I've told you about some of the steps we've taken the
try to combat this problem. Unfortunately, our efforts to date have had
limited success, and the problem is worsening. So this Fall, we'll be
stepping up our efforts, including deploying new technological solutions,
and adopting a far more aggressive legal posture. I'll update you next
month on some of the steps we're taking, but I did want to assure you that
we are aware of the problem, we realize it is getting worse, and we are
totally committed to addressing it.
BACK TO SCHOOL
September is here and that means it is "back to school" time for many of
you. Whether you are a parent or are attending school yourself, AOL has a
number of resources to get you back in the swing of things. We've placed
them in a new Back to School area (Keyword: Back to School), which includes
areas such as Getting Ready, Continuing Education, Homework Central, and
Afterschool Activities. The Homework Central area includes one particularly
helpful resource called The Paper Trail that can guide you through the
daunting task of writing a research paper from start to finish. Back to
School also offers kids or their parents a chance to win computers and AOL
accounts for their schools, sponsored by AOL, with the help of ABC Kidzine,
Plug In, and Moms Online. Just tell us -- in 250 words -- how you or your
kids use AOL to learn and you could win! (Enter by September 18.)
AOL also has an extensive Reference channel that can help with everything
from choosing a research paper topic to finding out what's wrong with your
pet. Try one of the many tours -- for business, home, fun, younger and
older students -- offered on the Reference channel to get you acquainted
with some of the useful features like The Road to College, Barron's Book
Notes, and Grolier's Encyclopedia. Or visit the Q&A area and ask a
veterinarian, pediatrician, mechanic or a host of other experts about a
range of subjects.
One of the most valuable tools on the Reference channel is the Searchable
Periodicals area (Keyword: RefPeriodicals). You can search or read a
particular publication and AOL gives you more than 100 to choose from. Here
is just a sampling:
z Major daily papers: Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer,
Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and many more.
z Sports magazines: Sports Illustrated, Bicycling Magazine, Field &
Stream, Golf, Runners World, SKI, Sporting News, and others.
z Entertainment and Fashion Magazines: Seventeen, Woman's Day,
Entertainment Weekly, People, Rolling Stone and Playbill.
z Other types of publications available: travel, computer, religious,
major news weeklies, science, medical, international, and armed forces.
Finally, don't forget about our popular Homework Help area (Keyword: KO HH)
in the Kids Only channel where students can visit a tutoring room or ask a
teacher about math, science, English and reading, or social studies. There
are teachers available to help you or your child 24 hours a day!
AOL POLICIES
Last month I promised you a better system of communicating to our members
any changes in our policies which might affect your AOL experience. As part
of this effort, we are currently reworking our policies in our Terms of
Service to make them as clear as possible to all of our members. We will
continue to keep you informed of our progress on this and related issues
and we thank you for your patience.
BRANDON TARTIKOFF
In closing this month's letter, I'd like to pay tribute to a very special
person. With the recent passing of Brandon Tartikoff, AOL lost a friend,
and the entertainment industry lost a creative visionary. Brandon enriched
America's television viewing experience for many years while serving as
president of NBC Entertainment. Last year, he joined AOL Studios'
Greenhouse Networks division to lend his expertise and enthusiasm to the
development of a new entertainment service we'll be launching soon called
Entertainment Asylum. Brandon's understanding of both traditional and new
media, his vision, and, most of all, the humility and sense of humor he
displayed while battling personal tragedies, touched us all. We mourn his
passing, and our sympathy and prayers are with his wife and family. We
will greatly miss him.
Warm Regards,
Steve Case
>From Frank Salizzoni Acting CEO CompuServe.
AOL Acquires CSi: Letter to Members from Frank Salizzoni
Dear CompuServe Customers:
CompuServe took a major step forward today, which will benefit you as
customers by preserving what you like best about the CompuServe online
experience, while providing the resources and passion that can move
CompuServe forward. As you may have heard, the CompuServe online service is
being acquired by America Online, Inc. Once the transaction closes, which
we expect will occur within the next 6 months, CompuServe will operate as
a separate business unit of AOL Inc., and AOL will continue to manage
CompuServe as a separate brand. That means you will still have access to
the existing services, using the existing software, and connecting through
the existing network. Indeed, AOL has made it clear that they recognize and
respect that you have chosen to be CompuServe customers for specific
reasons, and they intend to do everything they can to continue to serve
your needs.
AOL has had great success in reaching a mass consumer audience, and that
will continue to be the focus of the AOL brand. CompuServe, on the other
hand, has emerged as the leading brand for business and professional
customers, and under AOL's ownership, CompuServe will continue to retain
that focus. But this isn't just about preserving the status quo. AOL is
committed to also launching a new version of CompuServe, building on the
technology CompuServe already has under development. This new version of
CompuServe will be available as an option to you--which means if you
prefer using the existing service, as is, you can. But the new version is
expected to have wide appeal, as it will be more Web-centric and easier to
use.
AOL and CompuServe each played critical roles in shaping this dynamic new
medium. Millions now look to interactive services to communicate with
business colleagues and friends, find information, and stay informed. By
working together, AOL and CompuServe can take the promise of this new
medium to an even wider audience, not just in this country, but around the
world.
Sincerely,
Frank Salizzoni
Chairman & Acting CEO, CompuServe
Painter 5 STR Review
Painter 5
for Macintosh & Windows 95
Suggested Retail Price $449
Upgrade $99
Fractal Design/MetaCreations
http://www.metacreations.com
Sales: 800-846-0111
Review by Donna Lines (dlines@uti.com)
Painter 5 is a computer illustrator's dream. No other paint/illustration
program imitates natural media as well as Painter 5. If you can imagine
it, this program can do it.
This program was designed for the professional graphic artist. Painter 5
has a steep learning curve. Also, the program has many numerous palettes
with menus and sub-menus. This can create a lot of screen clutter and be
somewhat intimidating to the casual user. A feature new with Painter 5 is
the ability to tear off tools and create custom palettes so you can access
the tools you use most frequently and regain screen space.
This program, although it works with a mouse, really benefits from a
pressure-sensitive graphics tablet. Many brushes (depending on the variant
selected) respond to pressure. Lighter pressure produces thinner, lighter
strokes while heavier pressure creates thicker, darker strokes. You can
compensate for the mouse by using the slider controls in the Brush Controls
dialog box. This doesn't lend itself to the natural feel of simply
pressing harder or lighter on the stylus.
Packaged in an attractive paint can, the program (version 5.0.1 and up)
includes both the Macintosh and PC versions of the software, the User
Guide, Tutorial guide, and Quick Reference Card. The guides are written
for both the Macintosh and PC versions of the program. The manual
alternates between the Mac and PC examples of screen shots. This can be
confusing to the new user. Jon Bass, Product Manager, stated MetaCreations
(formerly Fractal Design) went to the dual platform approach so if a
customer changed from one platform to another, their investment in the
product was protected.
Painter provides an abundance of natural media brushes including Pen, Felt
Tip Pen, Pencil, Charcoal, Chalk, Airbrush, Crayons, Water Colors, Eraser,
Liquid, etc. Each of the brushes has several variants that vary the look
of the brush. For example, the Pen brush has ten variants including Fine
Point, Calligraphy, and even Leaky Pen.
The Image Hose (similar to Corel Photo-Paint 7'sT Image Sprayer) paints
images (called nozzles) in a random pattern on the canvas. Painter 5
includes several default nozzles (poppies, English ivy, stones, cumulous
clouds, etc.). You can even create your own nozzles. There are many add-
ons available from various software vendors and MetaCreations provides some
free nozzles on the web site under "Goodies". I even found some free
nozzles on other web sites (not supported or controlled by MetaCreations).
MetaCreations has included new brushes with Painter 5. These include Gooey
(for stretching, twisting, pinching, and bulging - try adding these effects
to a photograph of someone you know!), Super F/X (to paint with fire or
glow), Photo (easily re-touch photographs with scratch remover, add grain,
sharpen, blur, etc.), Hue to re-color or tint your photographs, New Paint
(to simulate fresh paint or an artist's palette knife), and the Super-
Cloners (to paint on a transparent layer above the image without altering
the image below).
Painter 5 also includes several plug-in floaters that allow to you to paint
on a floater (layer) without altering the image beneath. My favorite is
the Liquid Metal floater that enables you to paint with liquid metal. This
allows you to create a melting metal effect. Other plug-in floaters
include Burn, Tear, Glass Distortion and more.
New to Painter 5 is the ability to read and write Adobe r PhotoshopT 3.0
and 4.0 files, preserving layers (as floaters) and paths (convert to
shapes). Painter 5 and Photoshop treat layers, paths, and blending
differently. Refer to the User Guide for more information.
Painter 5 supports several industry standard file formats including RIF,
TIF, PSD, BMP, PCX, TGA, GIF, JPG, PCT, and AVI. You can save your files
in the above mentioned formats, including EPS, but Painter cannot read EPS
files. The program supports Adobe Illustrator for export.
Another great feature of Painter 5 is the ability to create Web pages. In
just minutes, you can create a web page complete with links to other pages
or web sites.
Painter 5 gives you the ability to edit and create videos and animations.
Onion skinning allows you to preview the previous and future frames while
you work on the current frame. Rotoscoping lets you apply effects and
paint on existing movies. Standard movie formats are supported -- AVI,
Microsoft Video for Windows (VFF) and Quick Time (Mac).
You can record scripts to increase your productivity. Scripts are
especially useful when you want to add special effects to multiple frames
in a movie. Just record your script, play the script, then sit back and
watch Painter do all the work.
Unfortunately, sometimes a product ships with "bugs". Versions 5.0 through
5.0.2 have some coding problems and errors. All these issues have been
addressed with the 5.0.3 update that is available for download on the
MetaCreations Web site (it was not posted on the Fractal Design Web site at
the time of this writing). Additionally, the Tutorial guide contains some
errors. MetaCreations is addressing this as well, and expects to have a
corrected Tutorial guide in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format available from the
web site in early September. The Tutorial guide has been corrected and is
now shipping. For those customers who purchased the earlier version of the
product and manuals, watch the MetaCreations web site for the update.
Service and Support:
Unlimited support is available through MetaCreations toll number Monday
through Friday, or via the Web site at http://www.fractal.com or at
http://www.metacreations.com. From within Painter, you can click on Help,
Online Support to automatically launch your Web browser.
MetaCreations is currently offering the Wild Bundle add-on FREE with any
Painter 5 purchase (online store price $29/SRP $89) when you order directly
through MetaCreations On Line Store. The Wild Bundle includes three great
collections in one excellent bundle: the Grains & Weaves and Patterns &
Nature texture libraries, and the Trees & Leaves brush looks libraries. You
get the natural look of canvas and felt, the richness of fabrics and
wicker, and natural elements such as water, rock, and cracked earth.
There are many vendors supplying add-ons for Painter 5. MetaCreations will
be adding new brushes and add-ons that you can download directly from the
web site. What makes this program so exciting are the limitless
possibilities. Try Painter 5 and set your imagination free.
System Requirements:
Windows:
486DX, Pentium, or Pentium Pro Compatible PC
Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0
16 MB System RAM (32 for NT)
SVGA Video (24 bit recommended)
CD ROM drive
Macintosh
Power Macintosh
System 7.5 or higher
12 MB of application RAM (20+ recommended)
Color display (24 bit recommended)
CD ROM drive
UltraEdit / UltraEdit-32 - v4.40b STR Infofile
UltraEdit / UltraEdit-32
The editor for all your editing needs.
UltraEdit is an excellent replacement for NOTEPAD and a lot more,with
support for unlimited file sizes, 100,000 word spelling checker, full HEX
editing capabilities, configurable syntax highlighting for programmers,
column editing. UltraEdit has all the features you will need. UltraEdit
handles multiple files at once, even if they are multi-megabyte files. It
is Disk based and only requires a small amount of memory, even for very
large files. UltraEdit-32 is designed for Windows NT and Windows 95, and
UltraEdit is designed for for Windows 3.1. One fee allows use of both
products.
Standard Features:
- Disk based text editing
- No limit on file size, minimum RAM used even for multi-megabyte files
- Multiple files open and displayed at the same time
- Column mode editing!!!, Insert columns/ delete/ cut/ add sequential
- numbers
- Drag and Drop Editing
- File sort (with remove duplicates, ignore case, ascending, descending)
- 100,000 word spell checker
- Syntax highlighting - configurable, pre configured for C/C++, VB, HTML
- and Java
- Automatic word wrap at specified column with hard return
- Insert file into an existing document at cursor position
- Drag and Drop support from the file manager
- Configurable toolbar
- Splitter windows
- Insert and overstrike modes for editing
- Multi-level undo and redo
- UltraEdit is Windows 3.x CUA compliant
- Find and Replace - Also allows selection of text between caret and
- find target when shift key is pressed, Replace all in select area
- Find in Files, Replace In Files
- Goto Line Number/Page Break
- Font Selection for display and printer. (Supports all fonts installed
- including TRUE-TYPE fonts)
- Print support with headers, footers, margins and page breaks.
- Automatic Line Indentation
- Tab Settings
- Word Wrap Support
- Hexadecimal Editor - Allows editing of any binary file - HEX Cut,
- copy and paste support
- HEX Insert and Delete of characters
- HEX Find, Replace and Replace All
- Bookmarks - Unlimited number of Bookmarks
- Multiple Windows of the same file
- Comprehensive macro support, including saving and loading
- Context Sensitive Help
- Automatic backup file generated with (.BAK) extension in the directory
of
- the original file
- UltraEdit retains its screen position each time it is used
- Line & column number display (line number display may be disabled)
- Pop-up menus with right mouse button.
- Text conversion to lower or upper case and capitalization.
- Unix/Mac to DOS Conversion
- DOS to Unix conversion
- Auto detect UNIX/Mac files
- Convert Word Wrap to CR/LF's allowing word wrap to be written to file
- with hard returns
- Convert CR/LF's to Word Wrap (removes CR/LF's from file)
- Template Support
- More ...
Also: - UltraEdit accepts a command line input and so can be used to
replace NOTEPAD or other editors that are called up from a file manager by
clicking on a file.
-------- Registration ------------------------------------
You are limited to 45 Days of use for an unregistered version.
UltraEdit is a shareware program. If you find it useful and continue to use
it you are obligated to register it with the author by sending $30.00 (Ohio
Residents add $1.65 Sales Tax) to:
Ian D. Mead
8209 Chestnut Hill Ct.
West Chester, OH 45069
USA
Free upgrades for at least 1 year.
Upgrade fee is $15.00 (Ohio residents add $0.83 Sales Tax) for previous
registered users.
-------- VISA/MASTERCARD/American Express Accepted ---------
For VISA/MasterCard/American Express orders, include:
1) Name of card holder
2) Address of card holder
3) Name and address of user if different from card holder
4) Expiration date of card
5) Card #.
Credit card orders may be faxed or telephoned to (513) 779 8549, or sent to
my E-Mail address (see below).
-------- Compuserve Registration -------------------------
UltraEdit may also be registered online on compuserve by typing GO SWREG
and following instructions for registering using ID 2662 dor UltraEdit and
ID 4017 for UltraEdit-32.
This will entitle you to an authorization code, the latest registered
version, and technical support.
For CompuServe registrations, a newer version is not sent out if the latest
version is available on CompuServe.
-------- E-Mail Address ----------------------------------
Internet: idm@idmcomp.com (backup idm@ultraedit.com, idm@iglou.com)
CompuServe: 71613,2654
WWW http://www.idmcomp.com or http://www.ultraedit.com
-------- Return Policy ----------------------------------
No refunds are issued after an authorization code has been issued.
Exchanges are allowed if appropriate.
This program may be freely distributed provided it is unmodified, no charge
is made for the software, and all of the following files are included:
1) READ.ME - This File
2) UltraEdt.EXE - Executable File
3) UltraEdt.HLP - UltraEdit help file
-------- Latest Version ----------------------------------
The latest version of UltraEdit/UltraEdit-32 may be found in several
places:
The following www page:
http://www.idmcomp.com and http://www.ultraedit.com
In the WINUSER Forum on CompuServe, an official distribution and support
online resource for future updates. Search for ULTRAEDIT.ZIP, and
UEDIT32.ZIP.
The Windows Users Group Network (WUGNET), operators of the oldest and
largest independent support resource forum (WINUSER) for Windows Users on
CIS with nearly 1,000,000 active members is recognized in the press, user
groups, developers, and Microsoft as the foremost resource for shareware
publishers on CompuServe and the Internet.
On the Internet on several sites, including STReport's FTP Site
(ftp.streport.com), CICA and other sites.
Windows is a registered Trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
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Kids Computing Corner
Frank Sereno, Editor
fsereno@streport.com
The Kids' Computing Corner
Computer news and software reviews
from a parent's point of view
In the News
CyberSound StudioT Makes Music Simple
Invision Interactive, Inc., introduces CyberSound Studio, an integrated and
easy-to-install program that transforms any PowerPC Mac into an incredible
musical instrument and composing tool. It provides the ease-of-use that
will make beginners sound great on their very first tries while providing
the necessary power for the accomplished musician.
CyberSound Studio is a complete desktop music solution. It includes a MIDI
keyboard, a MIDI interface, cables and professional-level software in a
$99.95 bundle. The software features an intuitive interface that
automatically corrects the playing of notes to the proper timing and key.
Beginners can't make a mistake! The program features several one-finger
chord options that make playing and recording very simple to master.
The program includes a wide variety of sampled instruments, songs, intros
and rhythm tracks to speed the composing process. The Software Synthesizer
negates the need for external hardware or additional instruments. It can
do wavetable, analog modeling, FM and physical modeling synthesis that
enables the software to play realistic sounds.
CyberSound Studio requires a Power Mac with System 7.1 or greater, 16MB of
RAM, 18MB of hard disk space, a CD-ROM drive and SoundManager 3.2.1
(included). This music package is now available on the West Coast. It
will also soon be available for IBM-compatible computers. For more
information, contact Invision Interactive by calling 800-468-5530, fax at
415-812-7386 or on the Web at http://www.cybersound.com .
Jason's Jive
Jason Sereno, STR Staff
jsereno@streport.com
Obsidian
Windows CD-ROM
Street Price: $39.95
for all ages
(mild animated violence)
Segasoft
150 Shorewood Drive
Redwood City, CA 94065
1.888.segasoft
www.segasoft.com
Program Requirements
Windows 95 IBM PC or compatible with Pentium 90MHz processor
4X CD ROM drive, 16 MB of RAM, 16 Bit video, 2MB VRAM
strongly recommended, Soundblaster 16 (Soundblaster AWE32
strongly recommended)
Also available on Macintosh computers
Required is a Power Mac 7100 or higher with System 7.0,
16 MB of RAM, and a 4X CD-ROM
Obsidian, from Segasoft, is terrifically spellbinding and a must-buy for
puzzle-loving gamers. It is superior to current Myst clones because of an
intriguing storyline told on five CD-ROMS. Obsidian also contains five
distinctive but equally beautiful realms. They graphics displayed are that
to put to shame most other first-person graphic adventures. The Quicktime
Video and beautiful melodies of Thomas Dolby are wonderful additions to
this already spectacular game.
Obsidian is driven mostly by its in depth story and characters. The game
takes place in an ecological disaster of a future and you play the game as
Lilah, an environmental scientist. Lilah, with her partner and love
interest named Max, have created something called the "Ceres Project." The
Ceres project is a weather control satellite that uses nanotechnology:
Robots smaller than the human cell, to find and repair the worst parts of
the earth's atmosphere. Everything seems to be working perfectly within
the Ceres Project so Lilah and Max decide to run tests on the atmosphere
from a campsite in the wilderness.
Suddenly, Max disappears. To search for him you are drawn inside of the,
"Obsidian." The Obsidian is a giant black rock formation that propels into
a you total of five dream realms. The rules of physics and almost all
practicality do not apply in these five beautiful and challenging worlds.
Each of the worlds contain many interesting and surprisingly different
puzzles inside them. To solve the puzzles you must use your mind and
intuition. The entire game is basically just a puzzle that has many twists
and turns you must follow in your adventure filled storyline. In the end
the fate of the world is in your hands as you must choose to live in a
world that humans have destroyed or Ceres's "paradise" she plans to make.
Segasoft's new release takes you from point A to point B through Quicktime
Movies. The transitions are smooth and display beautiful filmed and
artificial landscapes. The game also uses combinations of the two making
you wonder if you are looking at real landscapes or an artist's work while
you are playing. This is proof that the graphics are almost uncanny in
flawlessness and truly add dimension to the game.
Something else that no other Myst clones will have is a full soundtrack by
the brilliant Thomas Dolby. His music is present through the entire game
and when I played it clearly added dimension and atmosphere to Obsidian.
His music is remarkably diverse throughout and is something to look forward
to in the game. Since Obsidian runs about five hours in gameplay, you'd
better believe that you will be thankful of the ever-changing music and
sounds.
The bottom line is that Obsidian will impress you from the start up screen.
The entire game is chalked full of story, puzzles, and breathtaking
graphics and sounds. I have nothing but praise for the people at Rocket
Science, the makers of this game and Segasoft, the publishers. By the time
that Myst II comes to the market it will no doubt be held to the new
standard set by Obsidian. Until then, I hope that all of you have happy
gaming.
Jason
Things to look forward to in the coming weeks from Jason's Jive:
I will take a look at two sport sims: Sierra's FPS baseball 98' and
Legends football 98' from Accolade. Later this month I will also showcase
two 3D-accelerated games from Psygnosis and an amazing yet surprisingly
affordable 3D card from Intergraph.
Special Notice!! STR Infofile File format for Articles
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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
PDF and ascii. HTML is now under consideration. We'll keep you posted.
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
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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!"
Well, it's been awhile since I last spoke with you. What a couple of weeks
it's been!! Mercifully, the move into our new house is over; the
nightmares are re-occurring less frequently! Picture this, if you can...
I rented a 24- ft truck, and FILLED it twice! Can you imagine the STUFF
that you can pack into a truck that size...twice? Unbelievable. By the
time we got halfway through loading the second trip, we were exhausted.
And it was worse when we had to unload it; that's when the most damage
occurred. Nicks and dings, a few broken items, and more. We're finally
starting to get settled-in a little more but we still have a lot of work to
do. It took me over a week before I got a chance to unpack my two Falcons
and get myself and the BBS back online.
But I have to admit - it was all worth the aggravation. Owning your own
house is wonderful. And getting out of the city makes it even more
enjoyable! The smell of freshly-mowed grass, the trees, the birds, the
quiet... So, what's been happening on the Atari front while I was "away"?
Quite a bit. The timing was poor, as I wanted to comment about the pending
close of the Atari Forums on CompuServe. What a shock and disappointment!
I know the rationale behind this historical event, but I can't say that I
fully understand it. But I can say it's been a real pleasure associating
with the support staff there, from Ron Luks down through his list of SysOps
such as Bob Retelle, Jim Ness, Bill Aycock, Mike Schoenbach, and all of the
rest - what a class act all the way.
The Atari Forums will be sorely missed; and this is coming from someone who
essentially is [now] in "competition" with them with my newly-assumed
duties as Forum Manager on Delphi. While there are quite a few members of
the CompuServe Atari Forum "jumping" over to Delphi, I can only hope that
another Forum "takes over" the Atari support areas and adopts them into an
existing Forum. From what I have heard, this possibility is close to
happening. Whether or not the databases of downloads accompanies this
possibility remains to be seen. My best guess is that the databases are
too large and that a new one will be started from scratch. What a
potential loss of Atari history! Fortunately, there are a quite a few
people that I'm aware of that spent a great deal of time online to attempt
to download as much of the libraries as possible. Let's hope that these
files will be saved.
And to top all of that off, it appears that AOL now owns (or will own)
CompuServe!! It's well-known that H & R Block has been trying to sell off
CompuServe for quite some time. But to AOL?!? I have plenty more to say,
but it's getting really late and I need to finish up this issue. It's good
to be "back" and we have plenty of news and info for you this week, and for
the following weeks. Stay tuned.
Until next time...
Newsbytes NewsReel -- 12 Years Ago This Week
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1997 SEP 3 (Newsbytes) -- By Nick Gorski.
Twelve years ago these Newsbytes stories were filed: Atari ST Selling Well;
New Improved Mac; and Counterfeiting Conviction. These stories were taken
from the extensive archives at the Newsbytes Website at
http://www.newsbytes.com.
ATARI ST Selling Well
According to a good Newsbytes source, the Atari ST has sold better than the
Macintosh in its first 6 weeks. The informed source close to Atari says
50,000 machines have been sold through approximately 1,000 retail outlets.
In contrast, the Macintosh sold 70,000 units in 10 weeks. Comments from
retailers range from, "We just got some more in" to "We just sold the last
one." One dealer, who normally sells 10-15 computers per month, says he
sold 50 STs in the last month. Atari will only say, "It's selling a lot
better than we expected," and will not release exact sales figures.
New, Improved Mac Due
Either in January or February, Apple Computer will introduce the "Macintosh
Plus." Sources say the new machine will contain the new 800k double-sided
drive and the new 128k ROM set that will implement a
"hierarchical file system," or tree structure, similar to the IBM PC. The
serial connectors on the rear of the machine are said to be small, round,
8-pin connectors (not DIN connectors), which appear to be designed for
add-ons by third-party developers. A rumor making the circuits is that the
new Mac will be able to run PC-DOS and Unix, possibly through third-party
add-ons. Nobody is going on the record concerning when a color Mac will
make its appearance, but given the Amiga's impending debut and the ST's
initial success, Apple must be thinking about it.
Counterfeiting Conviction
Teh Yi "Denny" Huang is the first person on the West Coast to be convicted
of smuggling phony Apple IIs and illegal software into the US. Prosecutors
say he imported 80 fake Apples from the Far East and sold one of them to an
undercover agent. For his crimes, he faces up to 14 years in prison and a
$75,000 fine when sentenced in October. The only previous similar
conviction happened in Philadelphia last year. Federal agents and Apple
call the conviction a victory. Says Assistant US Attorney General Eric
Fischer, "The fact is that a computer program embedded in ROM is the proper
subject of copyright. Now nobody will be able to argue that they didn't
understand copyright laws."
Hi!
There's some new updates and applications for Atari and compatible
computers with Internet access:
The Homepage Penguin version 1.7 is now released as Shareware for the
public, the particular version was in Atari Computing Magazine only this
summer.
You will find a downloadable link at my new HP Penguin support page:
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille/penguin/
The code for HP Penguin is now (not yet available v2.0) completely
rewritten, to better be prepared for new functions, just as CAB was
rewritten not long ago.
Manfred Ssykor (the man behind Atari Infopages, AIP) have made a ftp-client
for CAB, called CABftp.
Peter Rottengatter from Germany have these days released new updates of the
STinG packages. You will find a link to the apps from:
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille/english/sting.html
The complete package have this URL-address:
http://www.stud.uni-hannover.de/~perot/STinG/STING.LZH
The John Rojewski's News/E-mail/Ftp-client NEWSie will be more multilingual
in a near future, Swedish too. Add my english support page to your links:
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille/english/newsie.html
Best Regards
Mille Babic
----------------------------------------------
Mille Babic
eMail: mille@tripnet.se
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille
2:203/221.4 (FidoNet)
Atari Falcon 40 MHz, 540MB+1GB HD, 12MB RAM
----------------------------------------------
(Swedish) http://hem1.passagen.se/atari/
(English) http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/1235/
Hi!
*** HomePage Penguin
HP Penguin is now completely rewritten and optimized for forthcoming
functions. The web editor in now called HomePage Penguin Pro 2.0 and a lot
of work has been made to cope with all supported protocols and bilingual
versions. The editor now doesn't need OLGA to preview the results in a CAB
window. The latest version is still 1.7 and so will it be until the end of
September. It's nice to hear that Matthias worked so hard with his
application and produced a high quality Atari web-editing application.
The new version will be released at The ATARI TOS Show '97 in
Neuss/Dusseldorf okt 4-5.
*** channel Atari
My new project is aimed to:
- Atari users a news info line delivered through eMail
- PC users Users with MS Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater can add my
homepage as an Active channel.
Why do people with an IBM or compatible computer need to have an Atari
channel button on their active desktops?
- We show that Atari is on The Net and that it's possible to connect any
Atari with a TCP/IP-connection with PPP or SLIP. They're applications for
all the services a Internet provider can deliver, E-mail, News, WWW,
Telnet, FTP etc.
- In the choose channel database at Microsoft an Atari button will be
visible and that's nice; and if someone chooses to subscribe an Atari icon
will be present on his Win95 IE4 Active desktop.
- The ability to "push" info about Atari in general. They should notice
that we're around.
I have worked quite hard with this IE4 features and it's now possible to
add my homepage as an Active channel. You have to visit my homepage first
and select the picture "channel Atari - Add as active channel". To be a
member I had to implement a MS Explorer download button at my webpage, it's
a criteria - there's no way around it.
The buttons Add Active channel and Add Active desktop doesn't work until
the final version of IE4 will be released, a retrieve web page appear. This
was a criteria to be a Level 1 member. They force you to use their logos if
you want to be in the channel database.
I still need your help to make this newsletter to be something, send me
news, texts or anything Atari Internet-related.
*** Hallvard Tangeraas Homepage
Hallvart has moved his excellent homepage to Geocities. It's located at
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/8745/
His webpages contains several informative FAQ and other documents such as
the TOS error list, virus list and a complete Atari FTP-list. Probably the
largest Atari links page is located there divided into Soft/hardware
dealers and manufactures, hardware projects, software, programming,
software download archives, Internet and communication, operating systems,
ST emulation, MinT, Magazines, users groups etc. A complete list to Atari
UseNet News forums.
The complete list (links) to Atari FTP resources is found at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/8745/atari_ftp.html
The very informative documents is downloadable at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/8745/atari_files.html along with
the most wanted utilities needed to the Atari platform, like STZip,
Selectric, Maccel, 7up, Everest, Edith you name it.
*** NEWSie
The John Rojewski's UseNet News application is without competition the most
updated Atari Internet application ever and there's several new usable
functions implemented in every new update. The version numbering has just
passed the 0.80 and the 0.82 is under development.
NEWSie is capable to cope with reading and sending News articles, full
E-mail POP3/SMTP support with nicknames, mailboxes and an address book,
complete with a strong FTP support with connecting these software servers
on the Net and to send/download files to them.
New in v0.82 is a popup menu for e-mail transfers between mailboxes,
ability to attach files for e-mail and news via UUE and MIME encoding,
non-default port-id for FTP, queue e-mail and articles, transfer rate
logging for received data in cps and some support for Cut, paste and copy.
NEWSie is available in the English, French, Italian and Swedish languages.
*** STinG
As You all have noticed, STinG now supports a serial TCP/IP connection via
PPP. There's lots of articles about this at the moment, especially in the
comp.sys.atari.st newsgroup.
Try out "STinG - The Help page" at
http://www.infomatch.com/~dooley/sting/sting.html
by Johhny Dooley. Here's lots of example scripts to set up STinG.
Best Regards
Mille Babic
mille@tripnet.se
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille
channel Atari: http://hem1.passagen.se/atari/
PH Player (sample player) - New release
Probe House (PH) Player release 4 is now ready for downloading from
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/6880/phsw.html
New in this release:
* New non-modal GUI
* VA-protocol support
* MS ADPCM support
PH Player is a DMA sample player for the STE, MSTE, Falcon & TT range.
Many features of PH Player are
* Famous format supported ( wav, au, voc, snd, avr, aiff, iff ).
* Auto sample speed adjustment.
* Multi tasking aware.
But most important ..... PH Player is FREEWARE
... no conscience of not paying up for shareware, not crippled & no
nagging!
Regards
William
Creative Computers Signs Definitive Agreement
To Acquire ComputAbility
TORRANCE, CALIF. (Aug. 26) BUSINESS WIRE - Aug. 26, 1997 - Acquisition Will
Increase Creative's Reach Into PC/Wintel Market
Creative Computers Inc. (Creative) (NASDAQ:MALL) Tuesday announced that it
has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Milwaukee-based
ComputAbility Inc., a privately held market reseller of PC/Wintel
peripheral and software products, for $8 million, $5.5 million in cash and
the remainder in shares of Creative common stock. The acquisition of
ComputAbility, which recorded 1996 revenues in excess of $50 million, is
targeted to increase Creative's reach into the PC/Wintel market.
The acquisition is expected to close in the next few weeks. ComputAbility,
which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Creative, will retain
its name and management team. "We have stated that our primary goal is to
increase PC/Wintel sales and this acquisition represents a major step
toward that goal," stated Frank Khulusi, Creative's president and chief
executive officer. "The synergies of this acquisition are expected to be
significant.
"We plan to expand our reach into the PC/Wintel market through
ComputAbility's proprietary database, which is believed to have very little
duplication with the names on Creative's proprietary database. We also see
an opportunity to significantly increase ComputAbility's sales by
broadening its product offerings to include hardware products already
authorized for sale by Creative. "ComputAbility is profitable, with strong
operating margins. Creative's balance sheet is expected to remain strong
and the combined company is expected to have minimal debt on the date of
the acquisition," added Khulusi. "Our plan is to support ComputAbility's
growth in the PC/Wintel market, while enhancing shareholder value.
"We expect to work closely with ComputAbility's capable, experienced
management team and warmly welcome ComputAbility's entire staff to the
Creative family," stated Khulusi. "ComputAbility will continue to
operate under its own name to capitalize on its strong identity and
customer base of individuals and businesses it serves." Marcia Rose,
ComputAbility's president, stated, "Creative is a well-respected leader in
our industry and we are pleased to be affiliated with the company. By
joining with Creative, we believe we can better serve our customers' needs
by offering them a full range of hardware products in addition to our
software offerings.
"We also expect to benefit from Creative's management expertise and
substantial financial resources which will assist in increasing our market
position." Founded in 1982 by Marcia Rose and Gary Rose, ComputAbility
specialized in 8-bit computer hardware and software for Atari and
Commodore. ComputAbility refocused as the market changed, moving into the
PC peripheral, software and high-end consumer electronics marketplace,
while continuing to grow its customer base through a strategic marketing
and customer focused implementation.
Creative Computers is a leading direct marketer for users of personal
computers. The company offers more than 45,000 products to its customers.
The company creates demand for its products through its distinctive,
full-color MacMall, PC Mall and DataCom Mall catalogs, outbound
telemarketing, Internet marketing and its Web site, four retail showrooms
and other promotional materials.
Disk Drive Maker JTS Corp. Declares American
to Supercede All Others
ANAHEIM, CALIF. (Sept. 11) BUSINESS WIRE - Sept. 11, 1997 - Concluding one
of the disk drive industry's most closely watched supplier contests of
1997, American Custom Components (OTCBB:RBBS) Thursday announced it has
reached a landmark agreement with leading-edge drive maker JTS Corp.
(AMEX:JTS) to become the sole source supplier of card-edge connectors for
the JTS CHAMPION desktop and NORDIC laptop hard disk drives.
American Custom Components (American) will supersede all current suppliers
of card-edge connectors for the CHAMPION drive, recognized by many for its
superior quality and performance in multimedia applications on desktop
computers. Initial production of America's new proprietary connectors
should approximate 200,000 units per month.
"We are very pleased to be a member of the supplier team for the CHAMPION
drive," commented American chief executive Tony Walk.
"CHAMPION offers more than high-octane performance, it delivers the highest
reliability available in desktop drives. And maximum reliability is our
niche." (American also supplies the U.S. government with critical
components for TOW missiles).
American will also be the sole source supplier of card-edge connectors for
much-anticipated new version of the JTS NORDIC laptop drive due out in
early 1998.
"The NORDIC is an OEM-oriented product," explained JTS marketing director
T.J. Scimone.
"It brings blockbuster performance and capacity to the laptop arena and we
expect to steadily increase our penetration among leading notebook
manufacturers."
The customer list for NORDIC drives already includes industry giant Compaq
Computers.
As with many American products, the connectors supplied to JTS will
encompass state-of-the-art design elements patented by American's
engineering staff.
STR Mailbag!
Hi Dana !!
This message is in response to those that were posted in STR #1335
regarding the transfer of text files from an ST to a PC.
There is an excellent software solution that has become available in Europe
over the last six months or so. The program that people require is called
PacifiST. PacifiST emulates an ST on a PC, and also is able to access the
disks from the standard PC drive and run games, serious software and even
demos !!
If any of the correspondents still have copies of First Word and other top
ST wp progs, they can use this to load and access the files, and transfer
them across to a Win95 directory via PacifiST's new extension, that has
only just been released.
The URL for the program is as follows:-
http://www.pacifist.fatal-design.com
To use PacifiST legally you will need to grab a copy of your ST's TOS,
using a specially supplied program with the entire package. PacifiST is
shareware and is VERY useful. For those readers who subscribe to the
British magazine, Atari Computing, it is intended that a review of PacifiST
should appear in a near forthcoming issue.
I hope this helps.
Point your browsers there now !! :-)
Richard (Maggie Team)
--
Richard
Gaming Section
Activision Purchases Atari Rights!!
Final Fantasy VII!! PSX Sales!!
OddWorld"!! And much more!
>From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
Wow, a lot has occurred since we last saw each other! Look at the PSX
sales so far. Nintendo who?? Sony has really done a terrific job with the
PlayStation. And JTS has finally done something with some of the rights to
Atari-licensed games! It's about time!! Activision, not surprising,
purchased the rights to Asteroids and BattleZone! Two great classics!
Can't wait to see what they do with those two! And there's plenty more
gaming news this week, too. It's obvious that the summer is over.
Until next time...
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
Activision Acquires Rights to Legendary Video Games
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 8/PRNewswire/ -- Utilizing its expertise in
enhancing classic brands, Activision, Inc. announced today that it has
acquired the rights from Atari/JTS Corporation to develop titles based on
the legendary video game properties Asteroids and Battlezone. The
announcement was made today by Bobby Kotick, Chairman and CEO, Activision,
Inc.
"Asteroids and Battlezone are two of the most recognized game franchises
ever," states Kotick. "We have had great success using our proven product
making capabilities with many of our own franchises such as Pitfall and
Zork, and we believe our new designs for Asteroids and Battlezone will
deliver the same level of excitement as the original games did when they
launched the video industry."
The coin-operated version of Asteroids was introduced by Atari in 1979. In
1981, Atari released Asteroids for the Atari 2600 game system and by 1982,
Asteroids was one of the fastest selling home video games in the United
States. The game challenged players to warp into hyperspace and shoot a
path to the stars as they dodged plummeting asteroids and invading flying
saucers.
In 1980, Atari introduced the arcade game Battlezone, the first 3-D video
game ever made. The game created such a sensation that the U.S. army
ordered modified versions of Battlezone to use in training. Featuring
ultra-smooth vector graphics and a revolutionary 3-D engine, the game
challenged players to deflect and destroy enemies within a large valley
surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. Maneuvering from a first-person view
inside of a tank, players thwarted attacks from oncoming supertanks,
missiles and spaceships.
"We are pleased to be working again with another pioneering founder of the
video game industry," stated John Skruch, Director of Licensing, Atari/JTS
Corporation. "Activision's current leadership and ingenuity in the
development field combined with our classic hits should make for a killer
combination."
The agreement with Atari follows Activision's recent acquisition of premier
game developer Raven Software Corporation and underscores the company's
mandate to expand its publishing efforts through the acquisition of proven
game franchises, external product acquisitions, strategic partnerships and
corporate acquisitions. Complementing its substantial studio capabilities,
Activision maintains strong relationships with such renowned third-party
developers as id Software, Ritual Entertainment, Parsoft Interactive,
Titanic Entertainment, Eutechnyx, Ltd. and Kalisto Technologies.
PlayStation's Final Fantasy VII is the Most Successful Per-sale
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Aug. 18) BUSINESS WIRE - Aug. 18, 1997 - With hundreds
of thousands of PlayStation(TM) gamers already having placed their
pre-sale orders for Final Fantasy(R) VII, Sony Computer Entertainment
America is anticipating that Sept. 7 will mark the most successful
videogame launch in the history of the PlayStation(TM) game console.
Since Aug. 1, consumers have been able to pre-purchase their copies of
Final Fantasy VII -- the latest installment in the world's best-selling
role playing game (RPG) series by Square Soft Inc. -- in retail outlets
across North America through a massive pre-sell program. This program was
instituted because of the long waiting lists that were developing six to
nine months in advance of the launch of this PlayStation exclusive game.
Also, the pre-sell program allows consumers to reserve their copy of Final
Fantasy VII and be assured of receiving the game when it arrives in-store
on Sept. 7, 1997.
"Based on Final Fantasy VII's incredible record -- breaking sales success
in Japan, with 2.5 million copies being sold in the first three days, and
the incredible feedback we've already been receiving from North American
retailers, we want to make every attempt to ensure that consumers don't
walk away empty-handed on Sept. 7," said Jack Tretton, vice president,
sales, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "We want to give the customer
every possible opportunity to purchase this ground-breaking title as soon
as it hits the market."
"In addition to receiving a copy of Final Fantasy VII, consumers that
participate in the pre-sell program will receive a limited edition
T-shirt," said Tretton. "To date, we have distributed more than 260,000
T-shirts to retail accounts who are participating in this program."
"Consumers are starved for this game," said Pete Roithmayr,
director/senior buyer, video games, Electronics Boutique. "We have been
pre-selling Final Fantasy VII for more than a month in stores all across
the country. Measuring this product release with others to date, Final
Fantasy VII will be the single largest-selling title in the history of
Electronics Boutique."
In addition to the national pre-sell program, Sony Computer Entertainment
America has launched a multi-million dollar marketing campaign for Final
Fantasy VII which includes: three dedicated television advertising
campaigns (cable, network, spot and syndication), massive print
advertising, major national promotions, comprehensive public relations and
dedicated in-store point-of-purchase displays.
To add to this blockbuster marketing support, Sony Computer Entertainment
America is offering one million new North American PlayStation owners the
opportunity to play and sample Final Fantasy VII. In an unprecedented move
starting in September 1997, each PlayStation hardware package will contain
an interactive demo disc featuring Final Fantasy VII and additional
PlayStation-exclusive games from Square Soft.
With more than 50 hours of seamless gameplay featuring movie-like animation
and incredible 3D graphics, Final Fantasy VII is an epic adventure that
will rewrite the rules of videogames across the world. With hundreds of
computer-generated images, aerial views and vivid battle scenes, the game
contains mesmerizing visuals equating to a cinematic experience
In December 1996, Sony Computer Entertainment America agreed to a
multi-title publishing deal with Square Co. Ltd., allowing the company full
North American publishing and distribution rights to Square's 1997
PlayStation product line. Along with the rights to publish the
revolutionary Final Fantasy(R) VII, Sony Computer Entertainment America has
first rights of refusal on at least three additional PlayStation-exclusive
releases, Bushido Blade(TM), Final Fantasy(R) Tactics and SaGa
Frontier(TM).
PlayStation's Final Fantasy VII Marketing Blitz
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Aug. 27) BUSINESS WIRE - August 27, 1997 - As part of
its marketing program for the most highly anticipated videogame release of
the year -- Final Fantasy VII, only on PlayStation -- Sony Computer
Entertainment America recently launched the first television commercial in
a high profile three-month long ad campaign.
Featuring three dedicated 30-second spots - highlighting Final Fantasy
VII's movie-like animation and incredible 3D graphics and gameplay --
television viewers and PlayStation fans across the country will receive
their first sneak peek into the epic adventure experience of Final Fantasy
VII. Network television placements include "Saturday Night Live," "Late
Night with Conan O'Brien," "The Simpsons" and "Prime Time Sports." Other
highlights include buys on cable stations MTV, ESPN, Comedy Central, USA
Network, the Sci Fi Channel and E! Entertainment, as well as the syndicated
programs "Hercules," "Baywatch," "World Championship Wrestling" and
"American Gladiators."
Final Fantasy VII is the epic adventure that will rewrite the rules of
videogaming across the world. With hundreds of computer-generated images,
aerial views and vivid battle scenes, the game contains mesmerizing visuals
equating to a cinematic experience.
"Final Fantasy VII represents a milestone in videogame television
advertising with the creation of three separate commercials supporting this
phenomenal title," said Andrew House, vice president, marketing, Sony
Computer Entertainment America. "Consumers can count on us to deliver the
best with PlayStation, and they are definitely getting that with Final
Fantasy VII."
In addition to the extensive television campaign, the Final Fantasy VII
marketing effort also includes a major print campaign in general interest
magazines such as Rolling Stone, Details and Spin, and gaming enthusiast
publications such as Next Generation, as well as several DC and Marvel
comic books. The print campaign, featuring four different ads, will appear
in September, October and November issues.
Further supporting the marketing of Final Fantasy VII will be a major
holiday promotion with Pepsi and significant consumer sampling through the
distribution of one million interactive disks packed in with PlayStation
hardware units.
The overall Final Fantasy VII campaign is just a portion of PlayStation
brand's unprecedented $100 million arketing campaign supporting the
PlayStation brand and a multitude of other key titles. The entire marketing
campaign also includes extensive print advertising, public relations,
national promotions, retail promotion merchandising, direct mail, sampler
discs and Internet support.
PlayStation's "Final Fantasy VII" Breaks Industry Record
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Sept. 9) BUSINESS WIRE - Sept. 9, 1997 - Sony Computer
Entertainment America announced today that Final Fantasy(R) VII, available
only on the PlayStation(TM) game console, has sold more than 330,000 units
in its debut weekend, making it the best-selling videogame of 1997 with
grosses of $16.5 million, more than most Hollywood blockbuster movies on
opening weekends.
"In just three short days, Final Fantasy VII outsold G.I. Jane, the highest
grossing film of Labor Day weekend with box office sales of $11.1 million,
according to The Hollywood Reporter," said Andrew House, vice president,
marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "This weekend's sales will
truly catapult Final Fantasy VII into videogame history -- consumers have
selected Final Fantasy VII and PlayStation as
their choice for entertainment."
Retailers and analysts alike predict the frenzy to continue to escalate as
consumers spread the word about the phenomenal epic adventure which is
played across three immersive CDs with more than 50 hours of seamless
gameplay. Additionally, the game features a full length soundtrack that
will stir players' emotions while simultaneously enhancing the entire
videogame experience.
"Final Fantasy VII is one of the biggest releases for PlayStation, and with
the incredible consumer demand for the game, it will drive new consumers to
purchase the PlayStation game console," said analyst David Cole of DFC
Intelligence. The game weaves together a complex and engrossing storyline
with mesmerizing visuals, that are on par with a big screen experience.
Cutting-edge technology maximizes the use of 3D graphics for gameplay,
animation, vivid battle scenes, aerial views and hundreds of
computer-generated images.
"Final Fantasy VII was created with the intent of delivering a heightened
sense of entertainment that had never been seen before with a videogame,
and this could only be created on the CD-based PlayStation," said Hironobu
Sakaguchi, co-founder of Square Co., Ltd., and chief producer of the Final
Fantasy series. "Only PlayStation possesses the necessary technology for
us to develop such a rich and textured storyline and graphics, so we can
continue to challenge and surprise our millions of fans and attract new
customers."
Final Fantasy VII also brings back many popular characters from previous
games in the heralded Final Fantasy series, such as Cloud, Cid Highwind and
Chocobo, while introducing new characters, specifically Aeris and Barret.
The combination of these characters creates continuity for an epic
adventure that has captured the attention of more than 13 million videogame
fans since the inception of the series in 1987.
And even further demonstrating the worldwide success for Final Fantasy VII,
fans in Japan embraced the game by snatching up an unprecedented 2.5
million copies during the first three days of release. "Based upon
preliminary feedback from retailers about Final Fantasy VII, the incredible
fervor surrounding the pre-buy program, and the record-breaking sales
response in Japan, we definitively expected phenomenal sales," said Andrew
House, vice president, marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America.
"Consumer response, however, surpassed all of our wildest expectations."
Final Fantasy VII will also feature a multi-million dollar advertising and
marketing effort, which includes three dedicated 30-second television spots
with network placements on such shows as "Saturday Night Live," "Late Night
with Conan O'Brien," "The Simpsons" and "Prime Time Sports." Highlights
of the print campaign include placements in general interest magazines such
as Rolling Stone and Details and enthusiast gaming
publications such as Next Generation. And rounding out the campaign will
be a holiday promotion featuring consumer sampling through the distribution
of 1 million interactive disks packed in PlayStation hardware units.
In December 1996, Sony Computer Entertainment America agreed to a
multi-title publishing deal with Square Co. Ltd., allowing the company full
North American publishing and distribution rights to Square's
PlayStation product line. Along with rights to publish the revolutionary
Final Fantasy VII, Sony Computer Entertainment America has first rights of
refusal on three additional PlayStation exclusive releases, Bushido
Blade(TM), Final Fantasy(R) Tactics and SaGa Frontier(TM).
PlayStation Worldwide Shipments Reach 20 Million
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Aug. 25) BUSINESS WIRE - Aug. 25, 1997 - Sony Computer
Entertainment America Inc. announced today that as a result of continued
strong consumer demand, worldwide production and shipment of the
PlayStation game console from the headquarters, Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc. has exceeded 20 million units as of Aug. 20.
Following is a breakdown of the 20 million hardware units manufactured and
shipped worldwide as of Aug. 20, by region:
z JAPAN Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. -- 8.5 million units
z NORTH AMERICA Sony Computer Entertainment America -- 6.4 million
units
z EUROPE Sony Computer Entertainment Europe -- 5.1 million
units
"As we head into the busiest season for the video game industry, I am
delighted to provide detailed data to substantiate the worldwide leadership
position that the PlayStation video game system maintains. I am also happy
to release information on PlayStation's phenomenal growth in North America
since the system's launch in September 1995, including sell-in and
sell-through figures," said Kaz Hirai, chief operating officer, Sony
Computer Entertainment America Inc.
"As of July 31, PlayStation has sold through 4.3 million units in North
America," Hirai continued. "PlayStation is the undisputed leader in the
next generation console category and is widening its gap over the
competition. With a broad line-up of long awaited titles such as Final
Fantasy VII and NFL GameDay '98 coming this fall at affordable prices,
PlayStation is set to dominate the category during 1997 and beyond."
In North America, the only gauge of video game sales has been the TRSTS
Video Game Report produced by the NPD Group. The data reported is obtained
from a representative sample taken from only 19 retailers, which by nature
does not reflect total actual sales of PlayStation game consoles. July
TRSTS results report cumulative PlayStation hardware sales of 2.6 million.
It is estimated that this figure only represents about 60 percent of
PlayStation's actual sales.
"At the current pace of growth running at about 2.5 times of last year,
PlayStation is again at the heart of home entertainment in America. This
holiday season will be the best ever for PlayStation," said Jack Tretton,
vice president, sales, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "In response to
overwhelming demand, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. announced plans to
further increase monthly production to 2 million units in the peak season,
up from the current 1.5 million units per month."
Global demand for PlayStation software has also risen substantially with
worldwide cumulative shipments exceeding 135 million units worldwide as of
Aug. 20. The following is a breakdown by region:
z JAPAN Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. -- 70 million units
z NORTH AMERICA Sony Computer Entertainment America -- 35 million
units
z EUROPE Sony Computer Entertainment Europe -- 30 million units
Sony Hikes PlayStation Output
Sony Corp. is increasing monthly production of its PlayStation game
console to two million units from the current 1.5 million starting next
month. In Tokyo, Sony officials told the Reuter News Service the increase
is needed to cope with increased demand expected in the year-end shopping
season. Accumulated worldwide PlayStation shipments reached 20 million
units by Aug. 20, with:
z 8.5 million units in Japan.
z 6.4 million in North America.
z 5.1 million in Europe.
Sony also says 70 million PlayStation game titles had been shipped in
Japan, 35 million in North America and 30 million in Europe.
Sony Launches Videogames in Mexico to Compete
with Nintendo & Sega
MEXICO CITY, Sep. 9 (Reforma/Infolatina) -- In October, Sony will launch
its PlayStation in Mexico, a videogame console that competes with the
products of Nintendo and Sega. The company will also begin promotion next
month of its Digital Record Reader that can reproduce laser discs. Speaking
at the inauguration of corporate offices and a national center of
distribution, Kotchi Nakamura, president of Sony Electronics Mexico,
affirmed that the company plans to introduce its line of multimedia
computers VIAQ to the Mexican market beginning in 1998.
RuptureFarms Requests a Sit-Down With ABE
RUPTUREFARMS, ODDWORLD (Sept. 2) BUSINESS WIRE - Sept. 2, 1997 - GT
Interactive Continues Countdown to 'Odd Friday,' September 19. A visibly
agitated Molluck the Glukkon, CEO of RuptureFarms, said that he will no
longer tolerate that "scrawny ingrate Abe" spreading absolute un-truths
about his company and pledged an open-and-shut investigation if the
on-the-lam worker returned to RuptureFarms to discuss matters.
"These are some serious, serious charges being leveled here against me and
my company and I won't stand still for it. Someone get me a chair," said
Molluck. "My duty is to the shareholders of this company and I will not
have that compromised by a half-witted imbecile whose annoying habit of
humming is driving everyone -- including my Sligs -- absolutely nuts."
Afterwards, Molluck was seen conferring in private with the head of his
gun-toting Slig management team. Later, the clearly excited Slig was seen
gathering his comrades and leaving the compound loaded for bear in the
direction of The Ancient Temples for what is ostensibly being called "an
off-site corporate meeting." Molluck has previously stated that he will
begin production on a new meat product on "Odd Friday," Sept. 19, and that
"no Meech-hugging recidivist" is likely to stop him.
GT Interactive's new Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee for Sony PlayStation and
Windows 95 will debut nationwide on "Odd Friday," Sept. 19. An all-new
game play experience for Sony PlayStation and Windows 95, Oddworld: Abe's
Oddysee ushers in the new A.L.I.V.E. (Aware Life Forms In Virtual
Environments) genre of gaming which features GameSpeak, real-time
conversation between characters. The title recently garnered "GamePen's
Best of E3 Show Award" for PlayStation by a consortium of industry media.
Accolade Ships Legends Football '98
SAN JOSE, CALIF. (Aug. 27) BUSINESS WIRE - Aug. 27, 1997 - Accolade's most
anticipated football game has released -- Legends Football(R) '98! The
game will arrive on store shelves this weekend, making it the first new
football game of the '98 football season. "This release will launch what
we believe will be the most successful football franchise in the market,"
said Jim Barnett, president and CEO of Accolade, Inc.
Legends Football '98 will include all 30 modern NFL teams and more than
1,500 players. In addition to modern-day play, the game delivers teams
and football action from each of three key legendary eras in NFL history:
1932, 1950 and 1968, for a combined total of 76 teams. Each era has unique
rules, regulations, uniforms, stadiums, and roster sizes and the game
allows you to "time travel" to create fantasy football match-ups.
The game includes an entirely new 3D engine featuring unlimited camera
angles and a lightning-fast frame rate. As made popular by other Accolade
sports games, play construction and play book editors are included,
allowing gamers to create a custom play book. Drafting, trading and
statistical tracking are available in single game, full season and career
modes.
Legends Football '98 is currently available for personal computers running
Windows 95. System requirements include: IBM or compatible computer,
Windows 95, 486-66 Mhz (Pentium 90 and above recommended), 8MB RAM, and 2X
CD-ROM. All major soundcards and gamepads, mouse, keyboard and joystick
are supported. Multiplayer support for up to eight players is available
via Microsoft's SideWinder Game Pad and the Gravis Grip.
Sega, Microsoft to Jointly Develop Game Machine
TOKYO, Sept. 7 (Kyodo) -- Sega Enterprises Ltd. plans to tie up with
Microsoft Corp. of the United States to jointly develop a 128-bit home
video game machine to market as early as in 1999, a business newspaper
reported Sunday. The companies are now negotiating the project and are
expected to officially sign a contract next month, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun
said.
They will use Microsoft's operating system for personal computers (PCs) to
develop game software for the new game machine, the newspaper said.
According to the report, Sega is aiming at a rollback in the game machine
market, while Microsoft is seeking to increase home PC demand through the
expansion of game software. The companies will jointly develop the game
machine on the basis of Microsoft's Windows CE operating system, it said.
They will use a 128-bit chip under development by Hitachi Ltd. for the game
machine's central processing unit, which will have a capacity of more than
10 times the 32-bit Sega Saturn game machine, it said. The new product is
planned to be priced under 30,000 yen, the daily said.
Tokyo Video Game Show Opens With 500 Titles on Display
TOKYO, Sept. 5 (Kyodo) -- A major exhibition of video game software opened
Friday with nearly 500 titles on display at Makuhari Messe, an exhibition
center in Chiba, near Tokyo. The Tokyo Game Show '97 Autumn opens for
industry officials Friday and to the public Saturday and Sunday, organizers
said. They expect a total of some 120,000 visitors for the three-day show.
The show, the third in a series since the fall of last year, features many
software titles for raising virtual animals, following in the wake of the
hugely popular Tamagotchi "virtual pet" game by Bandai Co., they said. By
hardware, more than 200 titles are on display for Sony Corp.'s
PlayStation, while Sega Enterprises Ltd.'s Sega Saturn has drawn more than
100 titles, they said.
About 20 titles are presented for Nintendo Co.'s NINTENDO 64, a more
advanced game console that hit the market more recently than PlayStation
and Sega Saturn. On Saturday and Sunday, the show opens at 10 a.m. and
closes at 7 p.m. The admission fee is 1,000 yen, but entry is free for
those of primary school age or younger.
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
Compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@streport.com
Hidi ho, friends and neighbors. Well, it's been tough getting over
loosing the Atari Computing Forum on CompuServe, but it's made easier by
the fact that many of my online friends have, or are planning to, make the
switch over to Delphi.
I know, I know, you're probably thinking that I'm mentioning that just
because SOMEONE here is a Sysop on Delphi. That's not the case. I've been
a member on Delphi for years and like it a lot. So do a lot of the
CompuServe folks coming in to look around. The fact that Delphi allows
access via the internet is, in the words of one individual, 'way cool'. It
allows you to forget about finding a special access number for Delphi...
you can simply get in through your internet service provider using a
browser that supports 'cookies'.
For those of you who don't know what a cookie is, think of it simply
as a 'symbol' of some sort that the remote computer gives to yours after
checking to see if you really are a member. Internet servers work in a
kind of silly way. Each time you access something like the next page of a
document or another picture, the computer figures that you are just
connecting up for the first time. Even if you've been browsing the exact
same page for yours. Using a 'cookie', the remote computer doesn't have
to re-check your account name and password each time you access something.
It makes it convenient for the remote computer and, if your browser
supports these cookies, there isn't much of an extra load on yours.
Unfortunately, there isn't a browser available for the ST that
supports cookies. In CAB, the overlay file is what needs to support these
token symbols, and I've heard that the author is considering what it would
take to add support for them. It isn't a quick process to be sure, but I'm
confident that it will be available before too much longer.
On another note, there is the possibility that CompuServe Atari users
will have a new home before long. The Computer Club Forum, composed of
ADAM, Timex/Sinclair, and other 'orphaned' computer users is investigating
the possibility of housing an Atari section. I've spent a bit of time
talking with some of these folks, and they are nice people. They know what
it is like to be on 'the fringe' of technology, and accept it just as we
have. It's funny, but Coleco dropped support for the ADAM so long ago, I
had almost forgotten about it. But some of these folks just got together
and celebrated their 9th annual ADAMcon, and they're in the process of
planning next year's show already. Now THAT'S dedication. But dedication to
what? To the machine, of course, otherwise they'd have moved on to other
computers long ago. But also to their comrades who also use and ADAM. This
is what struck me as so interesting. At first, I had thought of the ADAM as
the little all-in-one computer with the daisy-wheel printer hard wired into
it, running on a Z80 CPU. Surely, not comparable to an ST with a full meg
of memory, a Motorola 68000 chip, and the ability to use many 'off the
shelf' peripherals like printers and modems. But there is a real
similarity here. They help each other out whenever they can and dig and
scratch to make their machine do something it was probably never meant to
do, when a PC compatible user has mearly to pop a CDRom into the machine
and hit the "Start Me Up" button. That sounds a lot like us, doesn't it?
It's sure to be an interesting journey into the new forum, and I can't wait
to see how it all turns out.
Well, we've got some info from the UseNet and from Delphi this week, so
let's take a look.
From the UseNet
For those of us with access to the world wide web, Tony (pronounced
!ynoT) posts:
"The STOSSER Web page has been updated, Its a FRAME FREE
ZONE!....... Hey theres even a Graphical Puzzle game on line to
play, but hurry before it dissapears to make way for the next
one!...... Over 50 STOSSER Titles to download, descriptions and
screen shots available too,News and screenshot of our next title as
well as lots of other tittle tattle to read, over half a meg of
pure text before gfx, Home of the Official STOS FAQ This week will
see the (True) Counter hit TEN THOUSAND (10.000) and that's only
from January 1st this year and does not include the last 2 years
hits...
Please do sign the Guestbook!!!!"
On the subject of accessing the web without a browser, Robert Willis
posts:
"STalker will handle text-based web browsing, and it'll run on 1/2
Meg, SS drive. You might have to have someone set up a single
sided disk for you. It's commercial, from Gribnif (one of the very
few companies still supporting ST's)."
Eric Hays tells Robert:
"This is only true if your Internet Service Provider is providing
you with a telnet shell from which you can run a program such as
Lynx on their machine. If that _is_ the case, you could use any
terminal emulator, including shareware, freeware, etc... A good
one if you have a color monitor is Freeze Dried Term.
If, however, your ISP is not providing this service (and many do
not), you will need to use something like STiK or STing to connect,
and then run a program on top of this like CAB. I remember that
STiK runs in less than 512K, and suspect that STing does as well,
but I have no idea if you will have enough memory after this to run
CAB with images turned off. But give it a try, all the software is
freely distributed (CAB through v 1.5, and all version of STik and
Sting to date)."
Gerhard Hoelscher asks:
"...Notator SL so far doesn't run on 68030 machines. Does anyone
know why? Could it ba patched to run?"
John Gray tells Gerhard that it is...
"Something in the dongle search and timing routines built into the
software. Apparently the PAK30 board has an optional 68000 and the
whole business is switchable, so in theory one could rum Calamus SL
on the 68030 chip with every cache on and the machine screaming,
then later switch back to 8/16 mHz and run Notator SL. But that is
only theory."
My old friend Terry May asks for help with a problem he's having with
STinG, the ST Internet Next Generation software:
"I'm getting a "DNS cache load failed" when STinG loads from the
AUTO folder. Can someone tell me how to fix this?"
Eric Hays tells Terry:
"Yeah, read the directions! (grumble, grumble, grumble ;-) This is
not an error message. Until you successfully connect with Sting it
won't have a chance to create a DNS cache. Sting is just making
note of this fact for you. Peter got complaints about this with
the first release of Sting, even though it was noted in the
documentation, so he made it even more clear in the documentation
this time, and people are still missing that point. I can't figure
it out."
I can, Eric. When most of us see an error message, we assume that there's
been an error, not simply a note of what the program didn't expect to
find. I'm not faulting Peter Rottengatter. I think he's done a fine job so
far with STinG and I hope he continues to improve on an already nice
setup.
Charles Silver adds:
"Yo Terry, my posts must not be coming through to your news server
<grin> Auto folder Conflicts!!! NVDI, blah, blah, blah, then HS7,
and STinG last. The only other obvious problem would be not to have
the STX's in your STinG folder and have the STinG.inf file set
wrong in your Auto folder. I know how you feel as there is a lot of
ways to screw up with STinG as it was developed to work with a very
WIDE range of Atari setups <smile> Most of us don't understand
TCP/IP as well as Peter, and he doesn't under- stand the confusion
that results. He seems to be getting a better handle on the
results, however, do to all the posts to this NG :) Hang in there."
Ronald Hall adds his frustration to the discussion:
"...the logon using STing goes fine. I get to the part where it
says PPP session from (number string) to (number string)
beginning...at this point the last (number string) is shown in
STings IP window, and it tells me that I'm connected and online,
then quits. However, the modem LED flashes once briefly about every
5 seconds (its the odd characters after the word beginning) and
then, about 2-3 mins. later, the ISP logs me off. What are they
looking for from STing, that STing is not sending them? I use Oasis
v1.35e with this ISP with no problems...."
Peter Rottengatter, the author himself, tells Ronald:
"[It] sounds as if you did not tell STinG to use PPP. Have you
clicked the PPP button in the Dialer's Port Parameter and clicked
Accept, or alternatively changed the PROTOCOL variable in the
DIAL.SCR to 1 ? You're sure you use STinG V1.06?"
While Ronald hasn't answered yet, I thought it was important to include
this info because there are probably more than a few folks who will be
helped by Peter's advice.
While in the area, Terry May also posts:
" I'm getting an Iomega ZIP drive. What do I need to get it to
work on my Falcon, including formatter, driver, etc.?"
Kim Andersen tells Terry:
"First of all, you have to make sure it's SCSI, and not parallel.
(But you probably know this. Just have to make sure). Then you
need an HD driver which support removable media. HDdriver,
SCSITOOL, and ICD should all work. I prefer HDdriver."
The author of HDDriver, Dr. Uwe Seimet, tells Terry:
"Any driver software should work. In case you also want to make
use of the read/write protection features of your ZIP you might
want to have a look at the HDDRIVER demo version at:
http://acp5.chemie.uni-kl.de/seimet/hddriver_english.html
ftp: acp5.chemie.uni-kl.de/pub/atari/hddriver70_demo.zip"
Uwe also has a cute 'signature' in his posts that I'd like to share with
you. It says:
"I really hate this damned machine,
wish that they would sell it.
It never does that what I mean
but only what I tell it."
Hey, it's not Zen, but it gets the point across, doesn't it?
On the subject of whether to use HSModem or FaSTSerial, Charles Silver
posts:
"... STinG doesn't work with Fast_Serial. If you load FS, the
STinG.CPX only goes to 19.2k. If you try 150(? what- ever the
115.2K equivalent baud) FS chokes as invalid...
That's because STinG wrongfully requires HS-Modem's cookie to offer
higher speeds, even on M-STE/TT/Falcon."
Peter Rottengatter asks Charles:
"Why do you call it wrongfully ? STinG simply does not support the
F_Serial way of doing higher baud rates. This is mainly because
HSMODEM has become an accepted standard here, and even overseas
people seem to use F_Serial only because it boasts a nice setup
utility, contrary to HSMODEM. The latter is in the past now, with
SERIAL.CPX which comes with STinG or can be fetched separately from
my web page. I can under- stand that HSMODEM has become a de-facto
standard, because it appears to provide much more flexibility,
especially when it comes to adding and supporting non-standard
ports. Note with HSMODEM you can use the serial port on a Macintosh
(with MagiCMac) !! This has been demonstrated with STinG, which
works well on the Mac ! I would probably add F_Serial support too,
if I had more time, but there are so many other things to do ...
Charles also posts:
One way to somehow fool STinG might be to use the RSVX.PRG that
comes with HSMINST, (a MiNT tool to correctly install the HS-Modem
drivers under MiNT) to simply insert a cookie well enough to fool
STinG.
Peter asks:
"Why fool STinG ? What for ? STinG uses the MAPTAB vectors to
access the serial ports. I cannot understand why F_Serial fails
with STinG, after all the vectors are documented features of the
drivers, if F_Serial does not install them, it must be called
improperly and incompletely done."
While I must say that I prefer F_Serial because it is much easier to
install, it is true that HSModem is much more powerful and flexible. If I
ever see an english version of the documentation for HSModem, I'll let
everyone know so that they can benefit too.
From The Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi
Jim Collins of chro MAGIC software posts:
"I have... been spending time trying to get STiNG running. I have
had some success getting the PPP portion of it to work, but it is
S-L-O-W compared to STiK and seems to be "dropping characters" or
"getting out of sync" with my provider as many of the images over
10K take FOREVER to load, then abort part way into the transfer and
once the entire page is drawn, only part of some images are
displayed. Anyone else have this problem? I tested it on a stock
Falcon in both 256 and 16 color VGA video modes with the commercial
CAB 2.0...
By the way, when I say some pages take FOREVER, I mean a 30K file
can take 10 minutes to download at 33.6K - and then sometimes I
only get PART of the file!
I seem to be getting a LOT of "error -315 software caused
connection abort". The error 315 is what appears when I only get
PART of a file. I have also had a couple of "unknown error -3"
messages appear in the menu bar. However, the "unknown error -3"
messages are VERY few and far between. The error 315 occurs
several time per page with graphics."
Later, Jim posts:
"I found a solution to my STiNG/PPP problems... The problem was
that the data was coming over the modem TOO FAST for STiNG to
process - i.e., STiNG was dropping characters and "getting out of
sync" with the sending modem. Dropping my serial port down to
19200 fixed the problem and now I get almost flawless reception of
all files coming over the net. Once in a while I will see the old
"pausing" problem (the "out of sync" problem) but it is not bad
enough to cause aborts or errors - it just takes that particular
file a little longer to download.
I hope the STiNG author optimizes the PPP portion so that it would
work at 33.6K (or faster. However, it does work now, although not
at top speed."
Ken P. asks:
"How can one make a floppy disk image for installation on a hard
drive?"
George Iken of the Houston Atari Computer Enthusiasts Group tells Ken:
"I assume you are talking about a disk image (.st) to run on an ST
emulator such as PacifiST (which runs on a PC).
Use the program STIMAGE (if you are on a PC). The command line for
the program (it is run from the DOS prompt) is:
stimage read (name.st) auto
the (name.st) is the name of the disk you are trying to image. For
instance, if you have the HACE August 97 disk, you would name the
image something like: HACE9708.ST
"auto" means the program will automatically determine the disk
format (so you don't need to enter sectors or track parameters).
STIMAGE can even make an image of a High Density disk (for you
Falcon and TT owners).
Alternatively, you can use MSA on the ST (Magic Shadow Archiver)
to create an .msa image, and then run MSATOST to turn the .msa
image into an .st image. All of that runs on the ST.
Once you have your image, then simply copy it (it is just a file)
to your PC hard drive. I think it can be in any path on the hard
drive (it doesn't have to be in the path of the drive that you have
set up as the PacifiST C: (or D: through F:)). You load the image
by pointing the A: or B: drive at the image on your hard drive. You
can "change" floppies by temporarily exiting PacifiST into the
"monitor" (press the "accent" character key) .. In the "monitor"
press the F12 key to point to a different .st image, then type g
(for go) to return to PacifiST."
During a conversation about the Atari Jaguar game Alien vs. Predator,
Eric Elias posts:
"The mood of Alien Vs. Predator had something to do with the movie.
I noticed in all the Alien films, except for 3(I will refrain from
commenting on 3), the high tension / suspence sequences had no
music running in them.
That's what made AVP really scary. No music to distract you, and
the game became fully immersive.
Not that music is bad, it's just that it's overused. Alien Tril,
on Saturn and PSX have music running throughout all their levels
and thus it's not as scary.
Hmm...the only sounds we heard in the game were the station
sounds.. along with the other Alien stuff...
AVP was programmed well, and I still consider it among the top 5 of
the best of Jaguar(Tempest being 1 of course.)"
I reply to Eric:
"That's right, there was no music in Alien Vs. Predator except for
during the credits. The station/outpost/ship sounds set a nice,
dark, almost oppressive mood. When an alien finally comes around
the corner screeching at you, you can't help but jump!"
Barry Summer posts:
"Please excuse my ignorance here, but while I follow the stream of
Forum messages, I haven't used my computer as much as in the
past.....I also (at least for now) have the luxury of using the PC
at work to search the internet.
I am currently using the Falcon with Cslip thru Delphi to access
the internet and Cab. I have heard PPP mentioned with STing, and
frankly, I don't understand the difference. I have not even d/l
Sting yet, due to the problems other more experienced users were
having. What is the difference, or advantages of PPP???"
Greg Evans tells Barry:
"I think the advantage of PPP is probably for the ISP, not the
user. I suspect with PPP your computer does more of the work but
don' really know. A lot of ISPs only offer PPP these days so I'm
basing it on that.
Hold onto STiK for now. I've heard some people have had success
with STinG, but even those say it's slower than STiK. ORA is
working hard to get their PPP program working and I would expect
their setup will take away much of the guesswork we've had with
STiK and STinG."
I add:
"The major benefit of PPP as compared to SLIP is that all Internet
Service Providers make use of PPP, while more and more of them are
dumping SLIP.
PPP also provides compression and error-checking, which SLIP does
not. So, if you're using SLIP (or CSLIP) through Delphi and having
no problems, hang with it until STinG is bullet-proof, or until
Delphi decides to dump SLIP, or until one of the other PPP setups
for our favorite flavor of computer has made a good name for
itself."
Joe Villarreal posts this great little 'cheat note' with internet jargon:
"PPP stands for "Point to Point Protocol", a protocol for
transmitting network packets over a dial up modem or other serial
connection. PPP's big advantage over SLIP is that it's not
restricted to the TCP/IP protocol suite, and can transmit other
network protocols.
SLIP
Serial Line Internet Protocol, a protocol used to transmit TCP/IP
over dial up and other serial connection.
CSLIP
a compressed SLIP
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, a set of network
protocols that assure the error-free delivery of network messages
sent using IP (Internet Protocol)
SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, a protocol used to forward Email
messages to and between mail servers on the Internet.
POP3
Post Office Protocol version 3, a protocol used to connect to a
"Pop Server" and download Email messages for a specific user.
There is a variation of POP3 that lets users send as well as
receive Email messages.
NNTP
Network News Transport Protocol, the protocol used to read,
respond, and post Usenet news articles.
MSS
Maximum Segment Size
MTU
Maximum Transmission Unit, the largest physical grouping of bytes,
including the information required to format it for transmission,
that can be sent on a physical medium.
RWIN
Receive Window <probably the same as RCV_WND in Stik>
TTL
Time To Live
PING
Packet InterNet Groper, a program that lets you figure out if you
can reach another node on The Net, and how long each message takes
to reach it. Ping sends a message to the node you want to reach,
and that node echos the message back.
MIME
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, a method of transferring
binary files via Email."
Well, with that bunch of info for us to digest, I'll leave you to sit back
in a comfy chair and ponder the wonders of life, the internet, and
everything.
See you next week, same time, same channel, and be ready to listen to what
they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
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