ST Report: 3-Oct-97 #1339
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 10/15/97-09:40:21 PM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 3-Oct-97 #1339
Date: Wed Oct 15 21:40:21 1997
Silicon Times Report
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October 03, 1997 No.1339
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- CPU Industry Report - Prodigy 9% Layoff - Spammer is BACK
- Apple Updates - 8gb Laptop HD - 50m on the `Net
- SPAM Wars - SERF'S UP - $99.00 3D CARD!
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AOL Sued Over CompuServe Deal
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1987-1997
Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35
Results: 09/27/97: three of six numbers with no matches
>From the Editor's Desk...
Halloween isn't far off and the temperature here, in Florida, is still
in the low 90's to the high eighties. In fact, we'll be on the ocean this
weekend going after the big Blues and Whites. Marlin and other game
fish...that is. Hopefully we'll bag a few Grouper too. I know the weather
is turning "cooler" where I was born and grew up and so, I find myself at
times looking back as saying to myself "why in heaven's name do those folks
put up with the misery? The thought of Icy Slush creeping into my shoes as
I try to cross a street or when I stepped out of the car at the curb still
gives me a bone deep chill.
I often wonder just how much the consumer is going to take from slick
thinking companies trying to "run one" by the consumer. For example, a
Canadian video card manufacturer who literally refuses to comply with the
"rules of compliance" for the Windows 9x specification. Instead these cool
headed "dukes" insist upon applying their own rules. You guessed it.
Their extremely expensive "graphics accelerator" super whiz-bang chokes
consistently with every update or enhancement to Win9x. Why are they doing
this? Because they're inept at the top, cheap and refuse to install and
engineer in Seattle to facilitate accurate programming of their latest
drivers., Our "Super Snoop" is keeping a very close eye on these
developments and will keep you informed. All that can be said now is that
it is not ATI we are talking about.
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LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
WorldCom Targets MCI in Mega Deal
In a deal valued at about $30 billion, WorldCom Inc., the nation's fourth
largest telecommunications company, has announced plans to acquire all of
the outstanding stock of MCI Communications Corp., the nation's second
largest telecommunications company. If successful, the acquisition would
create an international telecommunications giant and break up British
Telecom's pending deal to buy MCI. WorldCom says it will pay MCI
shareholders $41.50 a share, or about $9 billion more than the current
offer from British Telecom.
"While MCI and British Telecom are both great companies, the fit between
them just doesn't work without sufficient local network assets in place,"
says Bernard J. Ebbers, WorldCom's president and CEO. "Because WorldCom
has those assets in place, far greater synergies are possible. It is
clearly a superior fit and, as a result, a superior offer." Earlier this
month, WorldCom agreed to acquire CompuServe Corp. in a three-way deal with
America Online valued at $1.2 billion. WorldCom would keep CompuServe's
1,200 corporate network customers while AOL would get CompuServe's online
consumer business.
Four Lead Apple CEO Pack
Apple Computer Inc. apparently has narrowed to four the number of
candidates in its search for a new CEO. The Wall Street Journal reports
this morning, quoting people familiar with the situation, that the leading
candidates to succeed Gilbert Ameilo, whom Apple ousted as CEO, are:
z Samuel Palmisano, PC chief at IBM.
z Ed Zander, president of a major unit at Sun Microsystems.
z David Dorfman, an executive vice president at SBC Communications.
z Joe Costello, president/CEO of Cadence Design Systems Inc.
Journal reporters Jim Carlton and Joann S. Lublin also say Apple may ask
interim CEO Steve Jobs to serve as the company's non-executive chairman
after a CEO is named. Jobs declined comment. Adds the paper, "Apple faces
a tough task in recruiting top-flight talent to run the company, in view of
its many problems and the fact that ... Jobs is likely to retain such
influence over Apple's directions. Indeed, a knowledgeable person said the
board may ask Mr. Jobs to serve as Apple's non-executive chairman for a
period after the new CEO is named. Some people close to the recruiting
process say Mr. Jobs is having second thoughts about the type of executive
the company needs." As reported earlier, Amelio says he now suspected Jobs
played a role in his demise at the computer maker.
AOL Sued Over CompuServe Deal
Claiming "flagrant" antitrust violations, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News
Corp. media conglomerate has sued America Online Inc. seeking to block
acquisition of CompuServe's member base. Online games are at the center of
the dispute, says reporter Jared Sandberg of The Wall Street Journal, who
notes the plaintiff -- News Corp.'s Kesmai Corp. unit -- offers games on
AOL, CompuServe and Prodigy Inc.
The complaint in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
alleges AOL violated unfair competition laws and seeking to "enjoin AOL
from abusing its monopoly power." "The antitrust allegations, which are
typically difficult to prove, come at an awkward time for AOL," Sandberg
comments. "The lawsuit will also try to block AOL -- which plans to acquire
CompuServe's base of more than 2 million users and add them to the 9
million AOL members -- from consummating what the suit calls an 'illegal
merger.' The suit also claims that AOL 'engaged in a course of conduct
designed to defraud and destroy Kesmai' when the online service launched
its own multiplayer gaming service dubbed WorldPlay."
>From its Dulles, Virginia, headquarters, AOL told the paper the suit stems
from a contractual dispute. Saying the suit has "no merit," an AOL
spokeswoman added, "News Corp. is suing in an effort to get through
litigation what they could not achieve through negotiations. They're
seeking to improve their position on our service without paying for it."
The Journal notes WorldPlay is an umbrella area of the AOL service that
bunches together various gaming options, including AOL's own and those from
Kesmai. The Charlottesville, Virginia, Kesmai contends this arrangement
means its game service now is controlled by a competitor and given far less
promotion. The suit says usage of Kesmai's games has plummeted by as much
as 92 percent and the "damage is severe and irreparable."
As reported, the suit comes as the U.S. Justice Department is investigating
AOL's planned acquisition of CompuServe's membership. "At issue is how
investigators will define the online marketplace," notes Sandberg. "If they
include Internet service providers, it could be difficult to assert that
AOL is a monopoly since roughly 4,000 providers conceivably compete with
AOL. But if investigators single out online services, which create
information in addition to providing access, AOL may well be seen to
dominate the market."
Iomega Sues Disk Maker
Iomega Corp. has filed a complaint in a Paris court charging Nomai S.A.,
with unfair competition, "parasitism" and violations of its copyrights,
disk design patent and trademarks. The suit is in response to Nomai's sale
in France of its XHD 100MB Super Floppy disk, which Nomai claims is
compatible with Iomega's popular Zip drives. Iomega says the court has
granted a hearing for Nov. 28, at which time Iomega's charges will be heard
by a three judge panel.
A separate complaint filed by Iomega charges that Nomai is infringing on
several Iomega patent applications pending in Europe. The separate
complaint will allow Iomega to seek preliminary injunctive relief once its
pending patents have been issued. No hearing date has been set on the
patent claims. Iomega claims that Nomai's XHD disk falls below quality
standards for authorized Zip disks and could cause data loss and Zip drive
damage. Iomega's Web site is located at http://www.iomega.com.
Super Spammer Back on the Net
A federal judge has ordered that Internet spammer Cyber Promotions Inc. be
allowed back online, at least until Oct. 16. Reporter Bill Pietrucha of
the Newsbytes computer news service says Judge Anita Brody of Philadelphia
granted Cyber Promotions Inc. a temporary preliminary injunction, forcing
Apex Global Internet Services Inc. to reconnect the bulk e-mail provider to
their service. AGIS CEO Phillip Lawlor told a press conference late
yesterday, "We are obviously not pleased with the court's ruling. We are
not happy with the court's decision, but we must abide by it."
He pleaded with the Net's anti-spammers not to flood AGIS with their own
retaliatory spam over the next 16 days while Cyber Promotions is
reconnected to the AGIS network. Saying he regretted ever taking Cyber
Promotions on as a client, Lawlor said Cyber Promotions told the court it
is looking for other Internet service providers to handle his account. And
Lawlor said AGIS "is looking at all options" regarding Oct. 17, the date
AGIS can again disconnect Cyber Promotions, adding, "We'll decide between
now and that time what is the best course of action to take."
Meanwhile, AGIS counsel Philip Katauskas told reporters, "Our actions to
date say we don't want them on our network." Cyber Promotions daily sends
out tens of millions of unsolicited commercial e-mail messages, called
"spam" in Net speak. As reported earlier, the Dearborn, Michigan-based
AGIS, the nation's fourth largest carrier of Internet traffic, last week
disconnected several unsolicited, bulk e-mailers, including Cyber
Promotions Inc., "for security reasons."
Reacting, Cyber Promotions filed federal suit against AGIS for allegedly
breaking its distribution contract. Cyber Promotions President Sanford
Wallace said AGIS terminated his account and those of several other bulk
e-mail companies on Sept. 17. Wallace said he had backup providers, but
they also canceled his service during the weekend.
State Can Regulate Net Gambling
In a widely watched case involving a Las Vegas company's gambling site on
the World Wide Web, Minnesota's state Court of Appeals has ruled the state
has the right to regulate Internet activity. Reporting from St. Paul,
Minnesota, Associated Press writer Rochelle Olson says the site's operator
-- Las Vegas-based Granite Gate Resorts Inc. -- plans to appeal. Says
Granite Gate president Kerry Rogers, "For Minnesota to have jurisdiction
over a site that has never taken a bet, that requires someone from
Minnesota to go look at it, is ludicrous." AP notes the case stems from a
push by Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III to block Rogers' gambling
operation from using the Internet to solicit business from Minnesota
residents.
The court has ruled Granite Gate demonstrated a clear intent to solicit
business with Minnesota residents, including one successful solicitation,
saying in the written opinion, "They purposefully availed themselves of the
privilege of doing business in Minnesota." Rogers contends there is a lack
of jurisdiction because he had not mailed anything or advertised in
Minnesota, adding, "We've never taken a single bet in the history of the
deal. It was an idea. I'm being sued for an idea." Olsen says the decision
upholds a district judge's refusal to dismiss the case filed in 1995. The
attorney general's office accused Rogers of false advertising, deceptive
trade practices and consumer fraud. The lawsuit accused the company of
operating an Internet site that advertises illegal sports betting and
information services.
Attorney General Humphrey says he now will seek a court order to stop the
advertising and seek civil penalties of at least $25,000. Law professor
Eugene Volokh of the University of California, a specialist in
constitutional, copyright and computer technology cases, told the wire
service the decision is "a barrier to interstate commerce, and that "this
is a very significant case because when you put up a web site in Nevada,
you are essentially doing business in every one of the 50 states."
Prodigy Lays Off 9 Percent of Staff
In a restructuring program, the Prodigy online service has eliminated 70
positions worldwide, or about 9 percent of its employees. Writing for the
Newsbytes computer news service, reporter Patrick McKenna quotes Prodigy
spokesman Mike Darcy as saying, "The layoffs are primarily related to
content production. In some cases certain positions were duplicated as a
result of the restructuring. In other cases, we have been moving to more of
an Internet model and away from a creating a large amount of our own
content."
He said Prodigy has reduced employees from more than 1,000 a few years ago
to 680 people after the current round of layoffs. About 45 positions were
cut from an operations center in Westchester, New York and the remaining 30
reductions were spread across other areas. The company has divided itself
into three divisions: Prodigy Internet, Prodigy Solutions and Prodigy
International, with each set up as if it is a separate company, Darcy said.
Meanwhile, Prodigy's network operations were recently acquired by Split
Rock, as Texas-based start-up. As part of the agreement, approximately 50
Prodigy employees became Split Rock employees.
Sun Micro to Retain Java
Vigorously rejecting a suggestion by Microsoft Corp. and others, Sun
Microsystems Inc. says it has no intention of giving up ownership of its
Java computer language to have it officially certified as an international
standard. Microsoft was among companies recently suggesting Sun give up
ownership of Java, the language used throughout the Internet for online
programming applications.
The Reuter News Service says Alan Baratz, president of Sun's Javasoft
division, told reporters during a conference call Microsoft was attempting
to cripple Java because it viewed Java as a threat to the popularity of
Microsoft's Windows software. Baratz accused Microsoft of trying to
protect its "monopoly." While Sun owns Java, it freely licenses it to
other companies, including
Microsoft.
Europe Said Not Probing Intel
Word from Brussels is that the European Commission is not probing the
practices of U.S. chip giant Intel Corp., which is the target of an
antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Sources told the
Reuter News Service today the commission was not carrying out a separate
investigation and that there did not appear to have been any complaints
against the company which is based in Santa Clara, California.
However, Reuters reporter Amelia Torres added the sources could not comment
on whether the commission, the EU's competition authority, would co-operate
with the United States on assessing Intel's business practices. "The
European Electronic Component Manufacturers Association also said it had
not heard of any European probe or complaints about Intel," Reuters
reports.
As reported yesterday, the FTC, launching a broad inquiry into Intel's
dominance in the PC industry, is sending formal demands for information to
key computer and chipmakers. Reuters notes the commission has worked
closely in the past with the antitrust authorities on the other side of the
Atlantic under a 1991 co-operation agreement on competition affairs. For
instance, three years ago the two sides combined efforts to force Microsoft
to change its licensing practices, a move hailed at the time as setting
the path for future co-operation to deal with giant multinational
companies.
Compaq Unveils Four New PCs
Four new business-oriented personal computers that add new features and
complete the overhaul of its corporate desktop line are being unveiled by
Compaq Computer Corp. Reporter Richard Melville of the Reuter News Service
says the roll-out puts Compaq's entire line of Deskpro business computers
on the build-to-order method it adopted just three months ago in an effort
to better compete against direct marketers such as Dell Computer Corp.
"Under build-to-order," notes Melville, "companies assemble and price
systems based on components and specifications selected by customers."
Compaq isn't saying how the new approach affected pricing for the new
models, but last week the company cited the new strategy as part of the
reason for its price cuts of up to 15 percent on older Deskpro models.
The new PCs draw their enhanced performance from processors in Intel
Corp.'s Pentium II family and a new advanced graphics chipset. The systems
also include features Compaq calls Enhanced Intelligent Manageability that
it says extend the command and control of corporate networks over
individual systems. "The controls can be used for various purposes," says
Reuters, "from switching one or many individual systems off at the start of
a weekend to disabling floppy drives on selected computers to protect
against the potential introduction of a virus."
The new models include Deskpro 2000, 4000 and 6000 desktops with Pentium II
processors at 233 MHz, 266 MHz and 300 MHz. They come pre-installed with
Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT Workstation 4.0 operating system and are
priced starting at $1,739 for the 2000 line, $1,849 for the 4000 line and
$2,399 for the fullest-featured 6000 line. A fourth new offering, the
Deskpro 4000S, is aimed at the so-called NetPC sector, and starts at
$1,099. The systems include enhanced features but use Pentium I processors
with Intel's MMX multimedia technology and are built into the smaller
shells Compaq uses to build its network computer line.
Toshiba Offers Portable DVD
What is being called the world's first compact personal digital video disc
player is being launched Nov. 16 in Japan by Tokyo-based electronics giant
Toshiba Corp. According to the Reuter News Service, the new DVD player is
as small as a sub-notebook personal computer and weighs only 1.2 kg.
Toshiba also said it would launch a slightly larger compact DVD player at
the same time weighing 3.2 kg. Toshiba spokesman told the wire service
the company had set sales targets of 10,000 units a month for the smaller
compact DVD player and 3,000 units a month and for the larger one.
Japanese electronics makers such as Toshiba and Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co, started selling DVD players in Japan in November last year,
"but a lack of attractive software titles has held back sales," Reuters
commented. "More DVD software titles are now becoming available, however,
and a Japanese electronics industry group recently predicted that the
global market for DVD players would jump to 2.8 million units in 1998 and
5.4 million in 1999 from an estimated 1.2 million in 1997."
Netscape Makes Publishers' Pact
Distribution agreements with about 20 software publishers are being entered
by Netscape Communications Corp. in its bid to expand availability of its
Netscape Navigator software. Reporting from Mountain View, Calif., the Dow
Jones news service quotes Netscape as saying publishers in the U.S.,
Europe, India, Latin America and Japan who are planning to distribute
Netscape client software include:
Addison Wesley Longman, Ascii Corp., Barclays Law Publishers, Betanel
Group/Editorial Quark do Brasil, Charles Scribner's Sons Reference,
Classroom Connect Inc., Gakken Co. Ltd., Grupo Televisa Mexico, IDG Books
Worldwide Inc., IDG Dummies Press, Imagine Publishing Inc., impress corp.,
International Thomson Publishing, Jane's Information Group, Kaplan
Education Centers, Macmillan Publishing USA, Mainichi Communications Inc.,
.Net, Nikkei Business Publications Inc., Peterson's, SHoeisha Co.,
Sostfbank Corp, South-Western College & South-Western Education, S.R.
Computer Concepts Private Ltd., Sybex Inc., Twayne & G.K. Hall Library
Reference and ZDNet's ZDUniversity.
Look for Netscape software CDs also to be bundled with publications such as
CD ROM Today, India ComputerUser Magazine, PC Computing, PC Multimedia, PC
Magazine, Windows News and Window Magazine.
Microsoft Releases Windows CE 2.0
Microsoft Corp. has released an enhanced version of Windows CE, its
operating system for handheld computers, smart phones, TV set-top boxes and
other information appliances. Windows CE 2.0 offers improvements in memory
management, graphics support, task scheduling, Web browsing, fonts and
several other areas. "The market has embraced Windows CE with great
enthusiasm," says Craig Mundie, senior vice president of Microsoft's
consumer platforms group. "In less than a year, there is now a large
community of tool providers, systems integrators, ISVs and OEMs supporting
the Windows CE platform. With the release of Windows CE 2.0, we expect the
deployment of Windows CE-based devices and applications to accelerate even
more." For more info about Windows CE, visit
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/developer/.
Microsoft Explorer 4.0 Released
Stepping up the contest with Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Corp. has
officially released its Internet Explorer 4.0 web browser, software said to
blur the line between personal computers and the Internet. By working
closely with Microsoft's Windows 95 operating software, IE4.0 "lets people
easily point and click between desktop files and Web sites," business
writer Catalina Ortiz of The Associated Press notes, adding, "The icons for
both PC files and far-flung Web pages are similar in prominence."
Also built in to the browser is the highly touted "push" technology that
sends tailored Web information directly to your desktop so that you don't
have to search for what you need. As reported earlier, the latest Netscape
Navigator browser, released four months ago, already has such a feature.
Ortiz observes, "Analysts said Microsoft's browser advances will help it
gain even more ground on Netscape -- and perhaps draw increased attention
from antitrust regulators."
Web watcher Gary Arlen, president of Arlen Communications Inc. in
Bethesda, Maryland, told the wire service, "This is a monumental step for
Microsoft ... and a tremendous challenge for Netscape. This is the kind of
thing that calls (Microsoft) to the attention of the Justice Department."
According to various estimates, Microsoft's share of the browser market has
jumped to as much as 36 percent from about 10 percent a year ago.
Microsoft has said it hopes to capture half the market with Internet
Explorer 4.0. Meanwhile, AP reports Netscape already is working on
technology, code-named Aurora, that it says does a better job than the new
Internet Explorer at integrating PC programs with the Internet. Aurora is
due out next year.
Also note, Navigator works on computers running different operating systems
-- Macintosh, Unix and older versions of Windows -- while IE4.0 is released
first for Windows 95 and Windows NT and will not be available right away
for Windows 3.1 or non-Microsoft operating systems.
Broderbund Ships E-Mail Tool
Broderbund Software Inc. is now shipping The Print Shop LiveMail, a program
that allows users to create interactive e-mail messages that can be
customized with animation, special effects, motion and sound. The Novato,
California, company says the $29.95 software works with all conventional
e-mail programs and requires no plug-ins or special player software, only a
Java-compatible browser for message viewing. The program offers a
selection of 1,400 images, 550 animated graphics and 200 sounds and 200
templates. Users can string together multiple scenes and add interactive
hot spots to graphics and text to messages. When clicked, the hot spots
give the e-mail recipient a new graphic, animation, sound, a text message
or a link to another Web site.
"The Print Shop LiveMail is a natural extension of the The Print Shop
family of products," says Harry Wilker, senior vice president of
Broderbund. "For 13 years, The Print Shop has given our customers the
ability to creatively communicate their ideas in a variety of formats
including newsletters, greetings cards, signs and banners. The Print Shop
LiveMail uses a new vehicle, the Internet, to achieve the same goal." A
free, "lite" version of The Print Shop LiveMail is available at
http://www.pslivemail.com.
IBM Sets 8GB Laptop Hard Drives
IBM's storage systems division plans to offer 8GB hard drives for its
ThinkPad laptop PCs, a 40 percent increase from the highest-capacity mobile
hard disks currently available. InfoWorld, a computer industry journal,
says IBM plans to announce the immediate availability of the drives at
November's Comdex trade show. InfoWorld notes that IBM will offer the
drives as an option only on high-end ThinkPads using the UltraBay device
port. But a source told the publication that sometime in early 1998 the
current ThinkPad 770 will get the 8GB drive as standard equipment.
InfoWorld observes that combined with the ThinkPad's current high-end
capacity of 5GB, a second drive in the UltraBay port will give users 13GB
of available storage. Up to 16GB of storage will be available to users when
the 8GB drives are included as standard features in the ThinkPad line.
IBM to Use 17,000 Pounds of Copper
Look for IBM's new semiconductor chip to account for use of only about
17,000 pounds of copper a year in the U.S., according to the Copper
Development Association. That is not exactly a major blip on the copper
counter. In fact, says the Reuter News Service, for those keeping score,
that's 0.0002236 percent growth. As reported earlier, IBM this week
announced discovery of a way to wire semiconductors with copper instead of
aluminum, a development that could cheapen the cost of computers and speed
up calculations. Despite being a small portion of the annual consumption,
the CDA says it doesn't diminish the importance of the development. Said a
copper association spokesman, "Copper may be one of the oldest metals known
to civilization, but it remains on the cutting edge of technological
advances."
Smile for Your Computer's Sake
Miros Announces Face Recognition Security for Windows 95 PCs
Miros, Inc. announced TrueFace CyberWatch Logon95, a revolutionary software
product that allows parents, students, office workers, small business
owners and other authorized Windows 95 users to access a PC by simply
smiling for the camera. CyberWatch uses face recognition, a biometric
technology which compares a previously-stored face to a live video image of
the user logging on. For the first time CyberWatch allows your PC to know
who you are by seeing you with a camera. CyberWatch is, in fact, the next
generation of a more human computer interface.
Dr. Michael Kuperstein, President of Miros, said, "TrueFace CyberWatch
Logon95 is the most reliable, cost effective PC security product using face
recognition technology. For parents wishing to keep their children from
logging on, for the college student eager to protect his work from
plagiarism, and for the home-office user anxious to protect confidential
business information, CyberWatch is the fastest, least intrusive
authentication method in the world today."
TrueFace CyberWatch Logon95 uses Miros' patented software and a small video
camera on top of, or built into, the monitor to verify that the correct
user is logging on. Within seconds, Logon95 allows or denies access to the
PC. The user's picture is captured and compared to the image previously
enrolled by a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI and the software
will also secure the PC while it's in screen-saver mode with any
screen-saver you choose.
TrueFace CyberWatch Logon95 can be downloaded from the web for $59.95
starting August 18, 1997. You can find the Miros Marketplace at
www.miros.com . Orders will also be accepted by phone at 617-235-0330 ext.
36 for $99.95. Cameras are available at additional cost.
Miros Teams Up with ChatVideo!
Security Software to be Bundled with Mobile Phone Kit
In conjunction with the Logon95 product release, Miros has announced a
multi-year $1.9 million agreement with ChatVideo! Corporation of Orem,
Utah to bundle the Logon95 software with ChatVideo's Mobile Phone Kit. The
ChatVideo! Phone Kit comes complete with mobile camera, microphone/speaker
headset, and software allowing users to see, hear and talk using the
Internet as their phone company.
"We are excited about our strategic relationship with the world leader in
facial recognition. By offering our customers the highly valued Logon95
product in our ChatVideo! Phone Kit, we're providing both multimedia
flexibility and the security that the market demands," said Douglas O.
Matthews, President of ChatVideo! Corporation. The ChatVideo Kit is
available to customers at the Miros Marketplace at www.miros.com as well as
at www.chatvideo.com
Texas Considers Providing Laptops
Some Texas state officials are working on proposals to give laptop
computers to every student in the state in a few years. The head of the
Texas Board of Education is quoted by Associated Press writer Peggy Fikac
as saying that with the state facing a possible $1.8 billion bill over the
next six years for school textbooks, it might be cheaper and more
innovative to buy the kids laptop computers and CD-ROMs.
Says Chairman Jack Christie, "We're talking big numbers there, and the
price of this technology ... is coming to where it approaches that level.
Why wait for the rest of the nation?" Reporting from Austin, AP quotes
Christie as saying computer companies likely would give the state discounts
and donate services for the chance to serve 4 million school children. Once
the investment is made, computer software could be easily and cheaply
updated.
He added, "Why wait for six, seven, eight years to update history
(textbooks)? They (students) need it today." Fikac reports Christie's
comments came as the board prepares to vote in November on funding for
textbooks for the years 2000-2001. "In that budget period," she notes,
"state budget officials say textbooks will cost the state $602 million in
subjects including English, U.S. history, science, health and math. In the
current two-year period, textbooks cost about $361 million."
Apple Revamps Resellers
Watch for Apple Computer Inc. to 100 additional sales and support employees
in a bid to improve its strained relationship with distributors and
computer stores. Reporting from Apple's Cupertino, California,
headquarters, The Associated Press says the company hopes the changes
announced yesterday will get more of its Macintoshes in the public eye,
make retailers better advocates for Apple products and reduce inventories.
"Apple and resellers hope the changes will help them operate more
efficiently, which has become increasingly important given the fierce
competition and cost cutting in the personal computer business," the wire
service added. Seeing its sales and market share decline, Apple is
adopting some of the practices of such big PC makers as Compaq and Dell,
which try to reduce inventories and hasten the flow through the "channel,"
the path products take from the manufacturer to consumer, AP adds.
Besides hiring 100 employees to improve communications with resellers and
make sure their sales people are knowledgeable about Apple products, Apple
says it will:
1. Lower the sales volume resellers must have before they can buy
Macintoshes directly.
2. Offer its entire line, with the exception of education products, to
all resellers.
3. Urge retailers to make its products more prominent in their stores.
4. Launch a new "Think Different" ad campaign starting tomorrow with two
60-second television commercials to air on ABC during the first network
showing of "Toy Story." The commercials were produced by TBWA Chiat-Day,
which Apple recently rehired. The company produced the "1984" commercial
that launched the Macintosh.
FCC Aids Wireless Companies
Relief has been approved by the FCC for wireless telecommunications
companies that say they can't afford to pay the billions of dollars they
owe the government for licenses. United Press International says the
Federal Communications Commission has offered four choices of payment terms
for the companies which won an auction for the licenses, but are now crying
poverty. Adds the wire service, "The commission acted on fears that the
companies might file for bankruptcy protection, delaying wireless
services while the licenses were tied up in court." As reported earlier,
successful bidders promised to pay more than $10 billion in the FCC's
so-called "C-block" auction of wireless licenses last year. However, now,
says UPI, "the winning bidders say they can't pay because the value of
their stock has dropped and capital markets are making it more difficult to
raise money to finance the networks they promised to build." Allowing
bidders to stop payments March 31, the FCC offered the companies choices
to:
z Resume payments next year.
z Return half their licenses in exchange for a reduction in what they
owe.
z Pay back all their licenses with no penalty, and the licenses would be
auctioned off again.
z Immediately pay for as many licenses as they can afford and turn in
the others to be re-auctioned.
UPI says backers of the fourth plan, including some influential members of
Congress, called it a "full buyout." Critics call it a "bailout." The wire
service notes congress could pass legislation allowing the government to
repossess unpaid licenses from any company that files for bankruptcy, but
it has so far refused to do that.
Gates Boosts Speech Over Text
Bill Gates is putting his money on speech recognition technology. The
Microsoft Corp. chairman yesterday appeared in San Diego, California, to
demonstrate some of the firm's speech-to-text software and the latest in
computer vision technology to some 6,500 software developers from around
the country, saying, "We're looking for a more intelligent computer system,
one that can be interacted with easily."
The Reuter News Service notes that while computer vision -- technology that
brings video images to the computer screen in real time on voice commands
-- still is in the early stages, "a demonstration of Microsoft's latest
still wowed the audience." Gates said speech-to-text software has improved
dramatically, though the machine will err in recognizing conversational
speech 35 percent of the time, "so we have more work to do."
Still, Microsoft is integrating the basic technology into its Windows NT,
its high-end operating system designed more for corporate markets and, says
Gates, "Every PC will have linguistic and speech recognition built into
it." Microsoft announced it has released the first major Beta test version
of the NT software product this week. Says Gates, "It's fair to say
Microsoft is betting the future on NT version five," referring to the final
version scheduled to be launched sometime next year.
Gates Foresees 'Web Lifestyle'
"It's my prediction that Americans will live a Web lifestyle" within a
decade, says Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates, foreseeing the Internet's
World Wide Web becoming the centerpiece of people's lives. Consumers, he
said in a speech yesterday in San Francisco, "will simply have incorporated
the Web into everything they do," not only relying on the global network to
get their work done at the office, but to buy pizza and groceries,
communicate with others and have fun.
Before 5,000 computer executives and journalists gathered for the official
release of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0, Gates reiterated his firm's
role will be to make the software to make it easier to connect to the
Internet. As the power of personal computers increase and as the software
improves, people also will get their entertainment through the browser,
Gates said, adding, "The boundary between what is a TV and what is a PC
will be completely blurred. Even the set-top box will have a more powerful
processor than we have in a PC today."
Business writer Catalina Ortiz of The Associated Press adds Gates currently
uses the Internet much as the rest of us do, to read the news online before
it arrives on paper, to look up film reviews before going to the movies. In
fact, she says, Gates says computer users are starting to live the "Web
lifestyle." Someday, he added, the Net will be so ubiquitous and simple to
use that we will take it for granted. "Ten years from now if I give a
speech, 'Living the Web Lifestyle,' people will laugh -- just as they'd
laugh if I said the 'phone lifestyle' today. They'd say, `What kind of
visionary is this guy?'"
Speaking with AP in an interview before yesterday's launch, Gates noted
that only about half the PCs in the United States are on the Internet.
However, he predicted that in about a decade, the majority of adults will
turn to the Web several times a day for information, entertainment and
communication. However, he said, further advances are needed before that
happens:
z PCs themselves must improve, offering better sound, video and screen
technology. They must continue to become less costly.
z Software, including Microsoft's, also must become simpler to use.
z Companies staking their future on the Internet need to do a better job
of spreading the word how computers and the Web can help families, schools
and businesses.
Said Gates, "We need to be a little more evangelistic. We need to tell the
story of how a school did well ... or how a little company worked with its
customers better." In 10 years, he says, people will e-mail their doctor,
car mechanic, pizza parlor and children's school the way they now use the
phone. People on the road will be able to phone their computers, getting
"voice" updates of mail and information from the Internet. Small, digital
wireless devices also will link to the Web. Most people will be living Web
lifestyles, even if they aren't aware they're doing so, he said, adding,
"The key question is when does it become so central that you almost take it
for granted? When it fits into how you do everyday things."
CompuServe Opens Cyberstation
CompuServe has opened an Internet-based cyberstore offering more than
50,000 software and hardware products to Internet users worldwide. Through
an alliance with electronic commerce specialist NetSales, the CompuServe
Computing Shop aims to offer one of the most comprehensive, secure and
user-friendly cyberstores on the Internet.
"CompuServe is well positioned to be a leader in sales of computing
products on the Internet and to deliver quality services that exceed
current industry standards," says Beth Sibbring, CompuServe's vice
president of commerce and communications. "Online shopping is increasing
among Internet users, and computer hardware and software are the leading
categories for online purchases. With the Computing Shop, we can offer one
of the widest selections of computer products available anywhere online
with the additional benefit of special prices for CSi members."
The Computing Shop offers hardware and software products with flexible
ordering and delivery options including electronic downloading, product
shipments worldwide, or a combination of both. Special categories and
search capabilities help shoppers quickly find specific product selections.
Ordering is secured by Netscape SSL 2.0 hard encryption. Payment can also
be made by phone, fax or mail. A customer support system, available 16
hours per day, seven days a week, provides technical support tips and
information on orders and shipments. The CompuServe Computing Shop can be
accessed on the Internet at http://www.computingshop.com or through CSi at
GO CSICSHOP.
Net Reaches 50M User Milestone
The number of users accessing the Internet surpassed 50 million in
September, according to research released by International Data Corp. The
Framingham, Massachusetts, market research firm notes that by the end of
September there were 53.2 million users of the Internet worldwide, 44.2
million of whom also used the World Wide Web. The difference is mainly a
result of the use of the Internet for e-mail in businesses that don't
routinely offer workers Web access. By year-end, IDC expects the number of
Internet users to hit 60 million and the number of Web users to hit 50
million. This represents a jump of 26 million Internet users and 22.4
million Web users in 1997. Almost 30 percent of the worldwide installed
base of personal and network computers will be attached to the Internet by
the end of the year.
"We are especially impressed by growth of Internet usage outside the U.S.,"
says IDC Senior Vice President John Gantz. "Despite the fact most content
on the Internet is written in English, over 23 million of those 53 million
current Internet users are from outside the U.S. While this year's primary
research is not all in from all our country operations, we already know
that a surprising number of non-U.S. users are both shopping and conducting
business-to-business transactions on the Web. Users in regions like Asia
Pacific and Latin America are overcoming some significant infrastructure
and regulatory barriers to get online."
2000 Bug Reaches Past Computers
Experts note the so-called "millennium bug" reaches beyond computers to
countless other systems which are controlled by computer chips. In London,
the Institution of Electrical Engineers has released a statement saying,
"Most people now know that things may well go wrong with their computers
because of date changes and the Millennium. Far fewer people are aware that
for every 'ordinary' computer, there are up to 100 intelligent devices
embedded in a vast range of equipment."
The Reuter News Service quotes the IEE as saying these devices include
telephone systems, copiers, heating and ventilation systems, security,
water and sewerage systems, manufacturing and process control. The wire
service notes the group made the statement in conjunction with the
publication of a report, "Embedded Systems and the Year 2000 Problem,"
which it hopes will bring the problem to the public's attention and offer
advice on how to solve problems with chips.
Sting Targets Global Cyberporn
More than 1,500 suspects have been identified as allegedly using the
Internet to transmit child pornography around the world, say the
organizers of a "cybersting" conducted by New York state and federal
officials. New York State Attorney General Dennis Vacco told United Press
International "Operation Rip Cord" one of the most successful
investigations of its kind in the United States, adding that more than 120
alleged kiddie porn traffickers have been referred for prosecution in the
United States and abroad.
Since Operation Rip Cord began 18 months ago, investigators collected an
estimated 200,000 sexually explicit images of children and seized
approximately $137,000 in home computer equipment, authorities say. "The
Buffalo-based probe, which identified suspects as far as way as Great
Britain and Germany, has racked in 31 convictions in this country,
including several in New York," UPI reports. "Posing as potential picture
trading partners, the undercover team often trawled through chat rooms."
Among those caught in New York were an Albany college student training to
be a kindergarten teacher and a Bronx television network manager who used
the screen name "Diaperluv." "This investigation revealed not only the
relative ease with which investigators can obtain child pornography," New
York State Police Superintendent James McMahon said, "but also how far and
wide the problem of internet child porn distribution really is."
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
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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
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
Internet Needs More, Not Less
Security Says Barksdale
FBI Says Privacy "Extremists" Are
"Elitist"
Ringing In A New Web Strategy
Apple Streamlines Sales Procedures
Invisible Home Network
Forget Windows -- Think Hyperbolic
Tree
Spam Wars
Serf's Up!
News Corp. Sues AOL Over CompuServe
Deal
Netscape, Microsoft Debut New
Browsers
New York Vs. International Child
Cyberporn
The Internet Audience Measurement
Business
U.S. Imposes Anti-Dumping Duties On
Japanese Supercomputers
United Airlines Calls On Speech
Technology For Flight Booking
Xerox Challenges HP In Mopier
Market
Qwest And Cisco Form Alliance
Are There Enough Programmers To
Cope With Millennium Bomb?
WorldCom Bids To Acquire MCI
IBM, Motorola Unite To Boost
PowerPC
Chief Knowledge Officer Is Latest
Tech Ally
Info Fatigue Syndrome Is Hazardous
To Your Health
AAP Introduces Electronic Tagging
System For Internet
Keyboards With A Special Touch
Spam Wars: The Return Of Cyber
Promotions
Domain Registration Should Remain
In U.S.
INTERNET NEEDS MORE, NOT LESS SECURITY SAYS BARKSDALE
Netscape CEO James Barksdale says encryption legislation proposed by FBI
Director Louis Freeh could trigger the downfall of U.S. dominance in the
software industry. The FBI-backed Oxley-Manton amendment would "require
makers of encryption software to provide the government with immediate
access to the information in a computer or network without the knowledge
of the owner or user of the computer." Barksdale says that rather than
reducing crime by giving law enforcement officials to digital
transmissions, the legislation likely would result in more crime: "By
taking away encryption as we know it today, the FBI proposal would expose
computer users to assault by hackers intent on economic espionage,
blackmail and public humiliation. At a recent congressional hearing, one
witness testified that with the $1 billion and 20 people using existing
technology, he could effectively shut down the nation's information
infrastructure, including all computer, phone and banking networks... The
FBI cannot catch every hacker. But there will be fewer and fewer of them
trying to penetrate sensitive networks if those networks are adequately
protected and communications secured through the use of strong encryption."
(Wall Street Journal 26 Sep 97)
FBI SAYS PRIVACY "EXTREMISTS" ARE "ELITIST"
Alan McDonald, a senior executive with the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
says that "extremist" positions on electronic encryption are a threat to
normal law enforcement and are elitist and nondemocratic. Insisting that
the United States had remained true to the Constitution and to a system of
ordered liberties, McDonald says: "When people don't know much about
electronic surveillance, they are fearful of it. But when they know
Congress passed laws and the Supreme Court reviewed them and that there
are numerous constraints and procedures, then it makes sense to them. It
seems rational and balanced." (TechWire 25 Sep 97)
Editor Note:
TALK ABOUT ELITIST!! Listen to the kettle calling the pot names!!
<rotflmol> The FEEBS strike again!
RINGING IN A NEW WEB STRATEGY
Businesses are beginning to use Web rings -- clusters of Web sites united
by a theme or topic -- to increase visibility for their individual Internet
endeavors. "I would call Web rings a gimmick," says a member of the Horse
Products Web Ring, "but it gives possible customers another way to find and
view Web sites." The trend is rapidly gaining momentum -- in January,
webring.com, a directory for Web rings, listed about 1,000 rings. By
September, it listed 18,000, encompassing some 200,000 Web sites.
Webring.com estimates that its number of "hits" is going up at a rate of
22% per quarter. (Investor's Business Daily 26 Sep 97)
APPLE STREAMLINES SALES PROCEDURES
Apple Computer won't be selling its computers directly any time soon, but
the company does plan to simplify how it sells its computers to dealers.
Apple will add 100 people who will coordinate sales with dealers in an
effort to reduce unsold inventory and to limit how much of that inventory
can be returned to the company. It also will allow more dealers to
purchase directly from the company, lowering the sales volume threshold
from $20 million to $2 million for dealers, and $5 million for retailers.
(New York Times 27 Sep 97)
INVISIBLE HOME NETWORK
Scientists at IBM's Watson Research Center have developed a radio frequency
wireless transmission system that can send and receive data without errors
at speeds up to 10 megabits per second -- a performance comparable to many
wired Ethernet networks used in corporate offices. The new technology,
which is considerably faster than the 2-Mbps capabilities of most wireless
networking systems today, is key to the development of future home networks
that could run a host of "smart" appliances. The key to IBM's
breakthrough is new algorithms and codes that eliminate the multipath, or
signal, reflection problems that have plagued indoor RF systems in the
past. (Popular Science Oct 97)
FORGET WINDOWS -- THINK HYPERBOLIC TREE
Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) director John Seely Brown says
windows-based interfaces are no longer appropriate for today's complex
software programs: "It's like walking around with two toilet-paper tubes
on your eyes. There's no sense of things moving smoothly from the
periphery into your center of vision." In response, a PARC spinoff called
InXight has designed a new user interface called Hyperbolic Tree. Rather
than using pull-down menus and a series of windows for organization, the
Hyperbolic Tree approach works much like dragging a magnifying glass over
a circular organizational structure, with parts of the structure expanding
or shrinking depending on where the mouse pointer alights. "It was
designed with a deep understanding of human perception and cognition," says
Brown. (Business Week 29 Sep 97)
SPAM WARS
A Texas county district judge has entered a temporary injunction against a
California man who sent large quantities of unsolicited commercial e-mail
from a misappropriated domain name belonging to a business in Austin,
Texas. The judgment was the result of a lawsuit initiated by Tracy LaQuey
Parker and her partners, who say the spammer had illegally used their
domain name (flowers.com) "as his personal trash bin." (NewsBytes 24 Sep
97)
SERF'S UP!
"Serf" (an acronym for server-side educational records facilitator), a new
Web-based teaching and learning environment developed to provide
world-wide distance education, can now be accessed at <
http://www.udel.edu/serf >.
NEWS CORP. SUES AOL OVER COMPUSERVE DEAL
News Corp.'s Kesmai unit, which offers games on America Online, CompuServe
and Prodigy, has filed a complaint in U.S. District Court, claiming
"flagrant" antitrust violations and seeking to "enjoin AOL from abusing its
monopoly power." The lawsuit also attempts to block what it calls an
"illegal merger" with CompuServe and claims that AOL "engaged in a course
of conduct designed to defraud and destroy Kesmai" when it launched its
own WorldPlay multiplayer gaming service. WorldPlay offers various gaming
options, including games from AOL and Kesmai. Kesmai's CEO says that
while Kesmai has agreements for game distribution through AOL competitors,
"the vast majority of revenue -- over 90% -- comes from AOL." Since the
inception of the WorldPlay service, Kesmai has seen its revenue drop by as
much as 92%, a situation it attributes to AOL's marketing scheme, which
gives its own services much more aggressive promotion. "Our business is
virtually ruined," says Kesmai's CEO. (Wall Street Journal 30 Sep 97)
NETSCAPE, MICROSOFT DEBUT NEW BROWSERS
Netscape introduced Aurora, its next-generation Communicator user
interface, one day before Microsoft was scheduled to announce the next
generation of its Internet Explorer Web browser. Aurora will be closely
integrated with several operating systems, including Windows 3.1 and
Windows 95, with future versions targeting a variety of Unix platforms and
Mac OS. Netscape CEO James Barksdale calls the new Internet Explorer 4.0
"cumbersome and confusing," and warns that its integration with Windows 98
could result in feature overkill: "I have a house and I have a boat, but
that doesn't mean I want a houseboat," says Barksdale. (InfoWorld Electric
29 Sep 97)
NEW YORK VS. INTERNATIONAL CHILD CYBERPORN
The New York state attorney general's office says it has identified more
than 1500 persons around the world suspected of trafficking in child
pornography over the Internet, in an 18-month investigation that led to the
arrest of 34 people in New York and to the referral of 90 other suspects
in other states and in Germany and Britain. An executive of the National
Law Center for Children and Families says: "This is the first major
effort by a state attorney general's office to supplement the efforts
underway by the federal government. It shows that local law enforcement
has a role to play even in international issues." (New York Times 30 Sep
97)
THE INTERNET AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT BUSINESS
Nielsen Media Research Inc., the company that watches the watchers (of TV),
will focus some of its attention on the Net, and start studying the
surfers using statistical services to help marketers gauge online viewing
patterns and choose the best sites for advertising their products. To
provide those services, the company is developing a system that would
track PC usage both online and off-line. Existing competition for
Nielsen's new business includes Media Metrix. Inc./The PC Meter Co.;
RelevantKnowledge Inc.; and Web21 Inc. (Inter@ctive Week Online 29 Sep
97)
U.S. IMPOSES ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES
ON JAPANESE SUPERCOMPUTERS
In response to a complaint filed by Cray Research in July 1996, the U.S.
International Trade Commission has ruled that "dumping" by Japanese
supercomputer makers -- specifically NEC and Fujitsu -- has injured or
threatened to injure the U.S. vector supercomputer marketplace. The
decision means that Japanese vector supercomputers will be subject to
anti-dumping duties, which will make them less competitive on price
against U.S. models. HNSX Supercomputers, NEC's U.S. subsidiary,
describes the ruling as "highly regrettable," and adds that "the dumping
charge is a blatant fabrication, based on grossly inflated research...
This dumping case is the latest in a series of barriers erected by the
U.S. government to bar Japanese supercomputers from the U.S. market." NEC
and Cray reportedly are discussing a settlement in which NEC would swap an
undisclosed technology in return for Cray dropping the charges.
(Electronics Buyers News 29 Sep 97)
UNITED AIRLINES CALLS ON SPEECH TECHNOLOGY
FOR FLIGHT BOOKING
In the next couple of weeks, United Airlines will debut a new
speech-recognition system for its 80,000 employees that will enable them to
book flights simply by stating the origination and destination cities and
desired day and time of departure. The system uses technology developed
by Applied Language Technologies, and if it's successful, the airline is
considering making it available to customers as well. (Investor's
Business Daily 30 Sep 97)
XEROX CHALLENGES HP IN COPIER MARKET
Xerox Corp. is introducing a new line of powerful digital network laserp
rinters -- so-called "mopiers" because they're designed to make multiple
copies of computer-created documents at prices comparable to regular
copiers. The mopier market is expanding as small and mid-size businesses
increasingly use printers rather than copy machines for producing
documents. In a challenge to printer giant Hewlett-Packard, Xerox is
pricing its machines $500 lower than the comparable HP model and says its
toner cartridges produce 53% more copies than HP's. "We have to compete
ferociously," says Xerox President Rick Thoman. (Wall Street Journal 30
Sep 97)
QWEST AND CISCO FORM ALLIANCE
Qwest, the telecom company, is forming a partnership with computer
networking company Cisco Systems to provide voice, video, data and fax
services over the Internet. By offering a multimedia communications model
centered around the Internet, the Qwest/Cisco alliance takes an alternative
approach to traditional telecommunications design. Some industry analysts
are predicting that Internet-based networks could replace traditional
phone networks within five or ten years. (San Jose Mercury News 29 Sep 97)
ARE THERE ENOUGH PROGRAMMERS
TO COPE WITH MILLENNIUM BOMB?
A survey of large international organizations conducted in England by the
Manpower employment agency found that fewer than one out three such
companies are now prepared to cope with the "Millennium Bomb" (when
computers that were programmed with two-digit fields to represent years
will miscalculate dates unless they are reprogrammed). The result? A
predicted shortage of programmers. More than 40% of the companies expect
a serious shortage of application programmers. (Financial Times 29 Sep 97)
WORLDCOM BIDS TO ACQUIRE MCI
Mississippi-based WorldCom, the nation's fourth-largest long-distance phone
company, is making a $30-billion unsolicited bid to take over MCI
Communications, which is now the second-largest such company. The move is
expected to de-rail plans that MCI had previously developed for a merger
with British Telecommunications. WorldCom's goal is to create the
industry's first one-stop shop offering business customers a seamless
communications package, including Internet access as well as local and
long-distance phone services. In addition to the bid for MCI, WorldCom
also announced that it is buying Brooks Fiber Properties, which will
substantially extend WorldCom's existing presence in the by-pass services
market in which business customers are given an alternative to their local
phone companies. (New York Times 2 Oct 97)
IBM, MOTOROLA UNITE TO BOOST POWERPC
IBM and Motorola, which along with Apple developed the PowerPC chip, have
formed an alliance to share technology and work together on joint
development programs aimed at putting the PowerPC into non-computer devices
such as automobiles, wireless phones and network data-storage servers.
Some analysts believe the move is intended to offset a decline in the
microprocessor's market share as a result of declining Macintosh sales, but
a Motorola pokesman says, "A long time ago, we felt we had a lot of
potential in moving PowerPC beyond the desktop market." (Wall Street
Journal 1 Oct 97)
CHIEF KNOWLEDGE OFFICER IS LATEST TECH ALLY
The newest job title sprouting up in information technology circles is
chief knowledge officer. The job description generally focuses on
bringing together and leveraging pockets of business and technical
knowledge to advance the company's competitive position, and involves not
only locating, but also organizing, manipulating, filtering and presenting
information so that employees on the front lines can comprehend and use
it. Hal Varian, dean of the University of California at Berkeley's School
of Information Management and Systems, says, "There are a lot of
information resources a company has that need to be structured to be
useful." Providing that structure and working with the technical side of
the corporation to make the information resources available and useful to
employees will be an increasingly key activity at most businesses in coming
years. (Information Week 29 Sep 97)
INFO FATIGUE SYNDROME IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH
Getting physically sick as a result of the stress caused by information
overload now has an official name -- Information Fatigue Syndrome -- and
according to a 1996 Reuters Business Information report, almost half of
all senior managers and a third of all managers suffer from the syndrome.
(Investor's Business Daily 1 Oct 96)
AAP INTRODUCES ELECTRONIC TAGGING SYSTEM FOR INTERNET
The Association of American Publishers, in cooperation with the Corporation
for National Research Initiatives, has developed a "digital object
identifier" system that would make it easier for would-be users of
electronic information to find out about the origin and ownership of the
online material, and about copyright restrictions on its use. The
voluntary system would enable users to "recognize intellectual property
even on the fastest of highways," says a consultant who helped develop the
system. The system is designed around a numeric tag that would be embedded
in books, articles and even chapters. When users clicked on an icon, they
would be transported to the information owner's home page, which would
contain information for obtaining permission to use the work. The system
would be maintained by a new, nonprofit D.O.I. Foundation, supported by
fees from publishers. (Chronicle of Higher Education 3 Oct 97)
KEYBOARDS WITH A SPECIAL TOUCH
The cost of fingerprint biometric units -- scanners and software for
matching a user's fingerprints to a database -- is now around $300 or
less, compared with about $1,200 just a year ago. Industry experts
predict that by early 1998, computer keyboards and mice will incorporate
fingerprint ID technology, eliminating the need for passwords to access
corporate computer networks. (Investor's Business Daily 1 Oct 97)
SPAM WARS: THE RETURN OF CYBER PROMOTIONS
A federal court in Philadelphia awarded a temporary restraining order
forcing AGIS, an Internet service provider, to restore service to Cyber
Promotions, Inc., a company widely known for spamming the Internet with
unsolicited commercial messages. AGIS had pulled the plug on the junk
mailer when it found out that Cyber Promotions was ignoring requests from
people who wished to be removed from the company's mailing lists.
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution 1 Oct 97)
DOMAIN REGISTRATION SHOULD REMAIN IN U.S.
Representative Charles W. (Chip) Pickering, the Mississippi Republican who
chairs the House Science Committee hearings on the Internet domain-name
registration process, says that the process should remain in the
U.S.:"American taxpayers have helped build the Internet as well as many
U.S. companies and private sector investors. To now go into a transition
plan that moves that to another country offshore -- whether it's
Switzerland or any other country -- I think would raise questions among
American taxpayers, the American public." (New York Times 1 Oct 97)
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Apple/Mac Section
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Kids Computing Corner
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Jason's Jive
Jason Sereno, STR Staff
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FPS Baseball PRO `98
Windows 95 CD-ROM
Street Price: $29.95
for all ages
Sierra
3380 146th Place SE, Suite 300
Bellevue, WA 98007
(206) 641-7617
www.sierra.com
Program Requirements
Pentium (120 recommended)
Sound card with Win 95 drivers
8-bit (256 colors) video drivers
Double Speed CD ROM
16 MB RAM
Hello all you baseball fans! The pennant races have started and soon the
playoffs will begin. If you are like me, your team may not be headed for
the World Series just yet. Maybe it is time to take matters into your own
hands as I did. FPS Baseball PRO '98 from Sierra delivers a true MLB
experience for you desperate fans that don't want to "wait till next
season."
If your team is not doing so well this year, Baseball PRO '98 gives you the
chance to start over the 1997 season. You have total control to manage,
coach, and play as any 28 major league teams and their 50 men rosters. The
game gives you the ability to trade players, sign free agents, and bring up
lower level standouts. The reality aspect in the game is evident with the
real-world physics and 2000 separate categories of stats. PRO '98 has
hotkey switching between cameras, motion captured player movements, and a
new redesigned interface. It comes along with all of the great features
from its predecessor too. All of this makes Front Page Sports: Baseball
Pro '98 a definite home run.
This game is very advanced on and off the field. You can sign free agents,
trade players, and basically do everything a general manager would in
career mode. When it is time to play the actual games you may see
improvement in your players from the hard work you assigned them in spring
training. It may also show in their 2000 useable statistics from STATS,
Inc. You play in exhibition, arcade, batting practice, and other modes
too. This game lets you play a full season or in 1/3 of the time if you
wish. There is always a different and exciting way to play.
On the playing field the game has a lot upgrades from the 1996 version.
PRO '98 uses advanced artificial intelligence and a new innovative fielding
style. Computer players think and act as their major league counterpart
would with the improved intelligence. The fielding is the same for fly
balls but has been improved for grounders. When fielding ground balls, two
arrows are visible. One represents where the ball is located and the other
is for what direction the fielder is moving. The goal when fielding a ball
is to have the two arrows overlap each other. When this happens the player
will be moving in the direction the ball is.
The most noticeable upgrade is the look of the game. From the very start
you can see differences from the '96 version. Instead of a startup screen,
FPS baseball '98 displays a short movie clip, reminiscent of those famous
baseball movies: "Johnson steps up to mound. the batter checks his sign.
here is the pitch. the ball is hit very hard to deep center field, that
ball is. caught by the center fielder. The game is over!!! Mariners
win!!!" The game has many photos from the MLB game. There are a lot of
images within the game and little repeating. They are fun to look at while
your game loads. The actual playing screen is setup the same as the '96
version and the look and feel is still great.
PRO '98 is perfectly accurate in respect to physics. The ball will act
just as it would at a real diamond. The wind, temperature, and other
variables have effects on it. Batters that may have troubles hitting may
see an improvement if they play a game at Coors Stadium. You can see all
of this action on preset camera angles. You can program your cameras and
set hotkeys for them. It is fun to toggle in live action or in instant
replay mode. When playing or watching a replay, you will notice the
amazingly fluid action the players have. This is due to motion capturing.
The players look and move as they should. They turn and twist very life
like.
Baseball PRO '98 is a must buy for baseball sim fans. The extensive stats,
rosters, and options make this game fun to play all year round. If you
were a fan of the '96 version, then you will definitely enjoy the '98.
Tons of options and user definable variables make the game exciting and new
every time you play. Just because the season is coming to a close doesn't
mean that there still isn't a chance to catch Baseball PRO '98 from Sierra.
Legends Football '98
Windows CD-ROM
Street Price: $49.95
for all ages
Accolade
5300 Stevens Creek Blvd.
San Jose, CA 95129
1-800-245-7744
www.accolade.com
Program Requirements
Pentium 90+
sound card with Win 95 Drivers,
8-bit (256 colors) video drivers,
2X CD-ROM,
hard drive, 8 MB RAM
Now we will turn to football, a sport which is just getting into its sixth
week of play. All year people look forward to tailgate parties, Sunday
barbecues, and Monday nights in front of the television because of one
sport: Football. Everyone knows that there is no better place for
football than the NFL. People sit back and watch their favorite team and a
question seems to always arise: Could guys like Namath, Butkis, and Sayers
play in the NFL now? With the high-priced work out facilities, new styles,
and techniques some people believe that they would not stand a chance.
Now, at least on the PC, we will discover the truth.
Legends Football '98 from Accolade is a football simulation like no other.
It gives you the opportunity to match up the best players of today against
the players from yesteryear. Teams from 1932, 1950, 1968, and the 1997-98
season can bang heads in fantasy match ups. Players can play an entire
season in any era and play as over 1500 NFL stars! There are also over
2000 plays and a play creator to make your team separate from all the
others. You may trade players, sign, or release free agents too. The
camera angles in the game are flexible and the graphics very well done.
Legends `98 is a terrific concept and great game for fans of football sims.
Legends `98 answers any doubts fans might have about their favorite players
going against greats from other eras. Each team and player is accurate.
They act and react as they did in their prime. You can put to bed your
doubts as Dick Butkis knocks over the Cowboys' tight end in the flats or
Jerry Rice catches a 45 yard touch down run against the 1968 Broncos. What
this game really shows is that even though the game has changed, there have
always been great football players.
The game has changed a great deal too. You can tell this if you play a
season in another era. The 1932, rules were much different from the
current ones. Teams had only twenty men on their roster and the ball was a
great deal larger than it is now. In 1950, the rosters grew by ten, goal
posts were placed at the front of the end zone, and forward progress rules
were used. This means that even if the runner was rolling on the ground,
if he was still moving forward the play would continue. In 1968, ten more
players were added to the rosters and receivers could actually be
interfered with until the ball was thrown. In 1997, the modern rules are
all in effect with larger rosters and more extensive plays. When you play
a season in an earlier era, you must follow the rules of that era. This
makes the game play unique each time and more exciting while you learn new
rules and techniques to win.
Accolade's new release has over 2000 offensive and defensive plays to
choose from. The plays are a wide variety of passes, fakes, dives, and
traps on offense. In defense you can choose to blitz, fall back into zone,
shoot gaps, and many other options. If you become tired of the 2000
included plays, you can always make your own. Legends '98 comes with a
play editor for all of the would-be offensive coordinators out there. You
can let your imagination run wild as you make new plays and formations.
This is a great tool and something that I found very fun to use.
Of course no game would be complete without a way to manage your teams'
roster. Legends '98 let's you have total control of you team as a GM
would. You can trade, pick up, release, or buy and sell teams. The
trading is not balance so you can trade your rookie sensation running back
for a third string place kicker. It still is fun to be able to trade
players and not have to worry about the money involved.
The graphics and control are terrifically done in this game. The players
make motions and appear to be moving as if they were really blocking or
tackling someone. The graphics are seen through a number of camera angles.
You can toggle the camera among three levels of height and nine spots
located around the outside the perimeter of the field. That is a total of
twenty-seven different camera angles in all! The control is very easy to
use. There are three all purpose buttons or keys in the game. They are:
burst of speed, dive, or spin. The quarterback passes by using three too.
He has three receivers he may pass to. Each one has a color located below
them. When the appropriate button color or keyboard key in pressed, the
ball is thrown. If he needs to, he can also throw the ball away if nothing
is available. Once the quarterback passes the line of scrimmage he can run
just as another player would.
If you are looking for a type of football game that has not only the best
players of this year but of previous years too, look no farther. This game
has a large amount of plays, players, and everything else that makes sport
games great. If you love football or maybe even history, then pick up a
copy of Legends Football '98. You could almost think of it as an
interactive sports documentary!
Formula 1 `97
Windows 95 3D CD-ROM
Street Price: $54.95
for all ages
Psygnosis
919 East Hillsdale Blvd.
Foster City, CA 94404
(415) 655-8031
www.psygnosis.com
Program Requirements
Windows 95 and Direct X 3.0a,
Pentium 120 for Direct 3D,
Double Speed CD ROM drive,
16Mb RAM minimum,
50Mb Hard Disk space,
Sound Blaster or 100% compatible
Psygnosis has released a new 3D accelerated game that takes you to the
heart of Formula 1 driving. The game, Formula 1 '97, features seventeen
real tracks along with the top Formula 1 teams and drivers. The arcade
action and incredible detail really bring you the feel of each Grand Prix.
Formula 1 '97 is a fast action edge of your seat ride that suggests that
you put the pedal to the metal if you want to win.
Formula 1 '97 contains seventeen of the world's most renowned tracks,
thirty-five actual drivers, and thirteen teams. The tracks as well as
their surroundings are all designed to perfectly match the real life
raceways. Each track is unique bringing a new feel each time you play.
The world's best thirty-five racers and their cars are all included in the
game too. Each car has its own feel and each driver reacts differently
when you compete against them. This is due to individual behavior models
made for each driver. Each of the thirteen major teams are also in the
game. Sometimes you find yourself racing your teammate for the checkered
flag.
The game's fast flying action is terrific. Passing and turns are always a
great rush. The straight-aways let you reach very high speeds letting you
catch up to the competition. Either time in the game is a great for
passing, it is up to the driver when to do it.
The action in the game is helped by the announcer's enthusiastic voice. He
says many fun things during the race. His play by play is always great to
listen to. He always stress that "Anything can happen in Formula 1 Racing
and it usually does." Other sounds in the game are surprisingly realistic.
The engine and race sound effects are taken from real F1 cars!
Formula 1 racing is a very good sport. Formula 1 '97 is a great game as
well. If you are a fan of Formula 1 racing or any other type of racing you
should take a look at this racing sim for sure. Even if you are not
familiar with the drivers' names you will enjoy the enthusiasm and
expertise required for the sport and the game. If you are looking for a
fast moving and exciting wild, check out Formula 1 '97 from Psygnosis.
Wipeout XL
Windows 95 3D CD-ROM
Street Price: $54.95
for all ages
Psygnosis
919 East Hillsdale Blvd.
Foster City, CA 94404
(415) 655-8031
www.psygnosis.com
Program Requirements
Win 95 only utilizing Direct 3D,
Pentium 133 with 3D accelerator card,
Double Speed CD ROM drive,
16Mb RAM minimum,
Sound Blaster or 100% compatible
Wipeout XL takes place in the year is 2097 where anti-gravity racing has
evolved into a kill or be killed sport. Racers battle in aerodynamically
shaped killing machines with eleven different means of destruction. Races
take place on tracks that bend, twist, and turn sometimes causing more
damage to your automobile than your competitors will. While racing you
must compete against the clock too. If the checkpoints are not met in the
required time the vehicles simply self destruct ending your race
indefinitely. Wipeout XL features graphics that are remarkably detailed
and colorful with a hip soundtrack containing some very upbeat techno
songs. Besides having a limited amount of courses and a fast race length,
Wipeout XL is unique and one wild 3D ride.
In the year 2097 anti-gravity racing has changed, dramatically. Racers now
violently race for the checkered flag and find many inventive ways of
stopping others from doing it. Each time another racer or yourself is hit,
they lose power and slow down very quickly. If you are hit too often, your
craft will explode from the amount of stress put on it. There are eleven
weapons in all that the player has at their disposal. From relentlessly
seeking missles to earth shattering detonations, you will have tremendous
fun passing the competition in unconventional methods.
You may not want to worry about your competition though. You will have
enough problems trying to steer through the ever-changing courses. The
turns are tight at times and you will find yourself slamming unto a wall
now and again. Many times the bursts of speed power-ups, which are
scattered along the tracks may not always be useful for slow reacting
drivers. The speed you travel after hitting one of those power-ups may
send you dangerously fast unto a sharp turn. You will have to plan your
course and you will become comfortable with all of their hazards.
Time is another factor you must consider while racing. If you are hit
several times by other racers, you don't only stand the chance of exploding
from shield failure. Your craft may not make it in time for a checkpoint
either. If this happens you will blow up as well. The checkpoints are
placed along the circuit and there are around four per course. If you
would rather have your only opponent be time, you may choose to race in
time trials. You can use it to plan out your course of action when the
competition is raced against as well.
Wipeout XL is a game that requires a 3D accelerator. This is because of
the fast moving and beautiful graphics displayed in the game. There are a
wide abundance of colors and textures seen while racing. For example, one
course resembles a torn apart city with bright lights and tunnels once used
for cars. Another course is a forest setting that displays different types
of trees and an assortment of wood. It is a shame that the graphics fly by
so quickly because they look so magnificent.
To match the fast paced graphics on the screen, Psygnosis entrusted the
techno musician, Cold Storage to make the music. There are a total of nine
songs total within the races. They all have their own sound and
distinctive qualities. The music is a kind that not all people will
appreciate but it is not so diverse that you will despise it. The tempo is
one that blends in with the graphics creating a great balance of the two.
Since Wipeout XL is equipped with Dolby Surround Sound you can really
appreciate the quality of the music and sound effects.
Wipeout XL is a great game but it does lack some key elements. There are
only six tracks in the game. Although I see very clearly on the box that
there is eight, I only found six. Each skill level (again I found three
where there were supposed to be four) has two race tracks making a total of
six. This means that if you are not very good at the game you have only
two tracks that you will have a chance to win on, if you are mediocre you
will have four, and if you are very good you will have all six. Another
thing that seemed different about the races themselves were the length.
The races last around two minutes each in the beginning level. This isn't
bad for people that don't like holding on to first for the last ten laps
like in other racing games. It does make things difficult however because
when you start in the back of the pack (which is always the case) you will
have to surpass twelve competitors in the short time. That is means that
on the average race you will pass one competitor every ten seconds to win!
The laps do raise to four in the hardest class but the competition is much
more crafty as well as the courses.
This is still a very good game despite the two minor complaints I thought
gamers might have. It does lack the abundance of courses that other racing
games contain but it can't be compared to other racing games either.
Wipeout XL is one of a kind. It has graphics like no other current racing
simulation and a very unique soundtrack to accompany it. The violence
depicted in the game is very limited and displays no blood or gore making
it suitable for kids too. If you are looking for the future of racing and
you have a 3D card, jump into the drivers seat of Wipeout XL, in stores
now!
Intense 3D 100
4 MB 3D accelerator
List Price: 99.00!
Intergraph
Huntsville, AL 35894
www.intergraph.com
info@intergraph.com
Computer Requirements
Pentium Processor
8MB or more of system memory
CD ROM drive
The Windows 95 operating system
An open PCI expansion slot
3D cards are more and more becoming a necessity to PC gamers. The want and
need for 3D accelerators are being fed by the new rise of games requiring
3D accelerators and games that benefit from them. There are now said to be
over one-hundred Direct 3D game titles in development and a lot more titles
that will run slow or choppy without a 3D card of some sort. If you are
looking for an innovative yet inexpensive 3D accelerator, you can look no
further. Intergraph has released the Intense 3D 100 board at the low price
of $99.00!
Before now, one of the most common reasons that people did not invest into
a 3D board was the price. If someone wanted to buy a 3D accelerator, it
would cost them a pretty penny. This made things difficult if an average
gamer wanted to by a board. After they would buy the 3D board,
installation would be another problem. Computers in homes are very common
but the amount of people that actually understand their computer is
limited. Most people that own computers have probably never seen the
inside of them. These are the two main reasons why people have had an
excuse not to buy a 3D board, until now.
Intergraph's new Intense 3D 100, is very low priced and easy to install.
$99.00 is the list price of this new Rendition Ready board. This will
appeal to the money conscious gamers. The board is very easy to install
too. It simply fits into an open PCI expansion slot on your motherboard.
After it has been placed in the slot, you simply follow the installation
instructions from the diskette provided. Then you take your monitor cable
and place it into the back of the Intense 3D 100 board. It cannot get much
easier than that.
Do not let the low price fool you. Intergraph's new board is not weak at
all. It has a RISC programmable processor that uses 50% less CPU cycles
and 80% less PCI bandwidth. This 4MB board contains all of the features
that other 3D accelerators do too. It features gouraud shading, which
provides photo realistic shading effects. It smoothes out textures with
bilinear and trilinear filtering. Games will lose their blockiness because
of Intense 3D 100's anti-aliasing. Other features such as perspective
correction, sub-pixel accuracy, and complete 2D acceleration make this
board hold it's own against many of the top 3D accelerators.
Coming along with this board is a collection of 3D games. Included is the
shareware version of Quake. The board adds quickness where sometimes the
game slows down are starts to chop. The trial versions of Microsoft's
Hellbender and Monster Truck Madness are also included. The real bonus in
the game pack is the full registered version of Sierra's Indy Car Racing
II. Intergraph has dramatically upgraded the game and added some new
courses to the already numerous amount.
If you are looking for a great 3D accelerator at a very reasonable price, I
would suggest this new board from Intergraph. The price will definitely
grab you right off the bat and the amount of features will attract you as
well. The games are a very nice addition especially the full version of
Indy Car Racing II. Installation could not be easier and I am sure you
will love the results. Intense 3D 100 is available now and I would suggest
taking a look at one if you do not own a 3D board already.
See ya next week,
Jason
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another note. the ASCII version of STReport is fast approaching the "end of
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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!"
Lots of STuff happenin' online these days! The Dallas show is next
weekend - be sure to check it out if you're in the area! There's a lot of
debate going on regarding Atari emulation, including PacifiST and others.
It's not the fact that Atari computers can be emulated, it's the downside
caused by illegal TOS images and pirated software.
We've come across numerous web sites containing pirated software; and
we will be doing an article on them (as mentioned a couple of weeks ago).
The latest rationalization for piracy is preservation of game software that
is no longer available for purchase. Without piracy (hacking the games and
possibly putting them out on CD), these games will disappear forever
because the "old" disks are slowly being corrupted and cannot be replaced.
A new twist to an old and ongoing problem - it's still wrong. I really
don't understand these people. Why make excuses? Does doing so make it
right in their minds? Probably, unfortunately.
If Atari emulation has revitalized your interest in running some Atari
game software, buy a used ST! They're certainly cheap enough these days
and readily available through numerous sources.
Before I really get on a roll, let's move on to the rest of this
week's issue. I, and likely others, will have additional comments on this
subject when the article is finished.
Until next time...
Atari show in Dallas
Update
Here we go! I finally have a list of vendors committed to attending the
show. Chromagic, Crawly Crypt, Systems for Tomorrow, Emulators Inc
(formerly Branch Always Software) and More Than Games. These names should
all be familiar to you ST computer fans out there. For the Atari gamers,
Systems for Tomorrow also sells 2600, 7800, Lynx, and Jaguar games -
contact them if you would like them to bring along a specific title for
you. Sorry XL/XE fans, as far as I know none of these guys carry products
for the older Atari computers. Hey, believe me, I e-mailed both Best
Computers and B&C Computervisions to try to get them to attend the show,
but neither could. (Come to think of it, I don't remember if Best even
replied... I wonder if the address I used was any good?) But come on by
anyway, meet some fellow Atarians and maybe strike a few trade deals. (And
yes, fellow gamers, I will have some trade fodder along if you wanna wheel
& deal!) The show is on Saturday, October 11th, at the Infomart in downtown
Dallas Texas. For directions or other info, contact:
Dan Mazurowski smedley@gte.net
Gaming Section
"Iron Soldier 2" Cart! "EA Golf"
"Formula 1"! Capcom/Marvel Comics!
"Code Warrior"! No Marv Albert!
And much more!
>From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
In an unprecedented move, Telegames is going to release Iron Soldier 2
in cart-based format. Apparently, the game is so popular that Telegames is
going to make it possible for non-JaguarCD owners to have an opportunity to
play the game also. After all, there aren't a plethora of CD owners out
there. It's a good move on Telegames' part, in my opinion. Check out the
blurb below.
Plenty of new things appearing for the PlayStation; and a few for the
N64 these days. We have a number of articles pertaining to these new
games, as well as other developments in the gaming industry.
Hey, be sure to read the article regarding Marv Albert. Okay, so he
has an odd sex life! But taking out his voice from a console game?!? Who
the heck is going to recognize the voice as his? I mean, c'mon, most video-
gamers have no idea who he is! Talk about political correctness going
awry! And I don't even like the [former] sportscaster!
Let's move on - we have a lot of ground to cover this week!
Until next time...
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
No!! Guilty plea May See Albert Canned From Game
ZDNet News (September 26, 1997) - Marv Albert's guilty plea may cost him
his place as the voice of Quarterback Club '98. The Nintendo 64 game from
Acclaim, due out later this year, is supposed to feature the popular
sportscaster's color commentary. However, Acclaim's marketing and legal
departments said in the wake of Albert's guilty plea to charges of assault
and battery that they may reconsider.
An Acclaim spokesperson told GameSpot news that the company had already set
into motion "backup plans" should the game publisher be forced to seek
another "voice" for the upcoming title. According to Acclaim, a morals
clause in Albert's contract would trigger an option to dissolve the
Albert-Acclaim relationship if he were to be convicted of a crime.
Thursday afternoon, an Acclaim spokesperson told GameSpot News, "We are
evaluating the situation and are not prepared to make a statement." She
said a statement would be forthcoming next Monday. Acclaim did not
specify who was being considered as a replacement for Albert, nor did it
say how implementing a "backup plan" - if it chose to - would affect the
game's scheduled fall release date.
Electronic Arts Ships Golf Program
SAN MATEO, Calif., Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Electronic Arts, a leading global
interactive entertainment software company, has announced the shipment of
PGA TOUR 98 for the PlayStation. The software features five championship
courses including the exclusively-licensed Pebble Beach Golf Links, as
well as The Bay Hill Club, TPC of Scottsdale, Colonial Country Club and TPC
at Sawgrass.
The software game offers championship courses and exclusive PGA
professional golfers. The compnay says the game's courses have been
designed by using actual blueprints of the real courses delivering
realistic graphics. Every hole features the exact characteristics and
surroundings of the real hole, including tree-lined fairways, sloping
hills, huge sand traps and tricky greens.
For the Golf enthusiast the game contains eight different play modes -
three of which are all new and allow head-to-head competition for up to
four players and carries a suggested retail price of $49.95.
Enhanced Flight Simulator Ships
Microsoft Corp. has released Flight Simulator 98, the latest version of its
venerable PC flight simulation program. The program's new features include
digitally sampled sounds, high-resolution instrument panels, a helicopter
simulation and a ten-fold increase in the number of airports worldwide. The
software also provides force-feedback support through the Microsoft
SideWinder Force Feedback Pro joystick and other force-feedback devices.
Microsoft notes that the release of Flight Simulator 98 marks the 15-year
anniversary of Flight Simulator, the best-selling PC entertainment title of
all time. Flight Simulator 98 has an estimated retail price of $59.95.
Metrowerks to Ship CodeWarrior Development Tools
SAN JOSE, CALIF. (Sept. 30) BUSINESS WIRE - Sept. 29, 1997 - Metrowerks
Inc. announced this week at Embedded Systems Conference West in San Jose
that the company will ship CodeWarrior for PlayStation Release 3 in October
1997. Hosted on Windows(R)95/NT and Mac(R)OS, this is the latest version
of CodeWarrior programming tools for developing games for the Sony
PlayStation game console.
CodeWarrior for PlayStation Release 3 features the latest version of
Metrowerks' award winning CodeWarrior Integrated Development Environment
(IDE). The CodeWarrior IDE is the most complete and easiest-to-use set of
programming tools available in the industry for game console software
development. The CodeWarrior IDE for PlayStation also features an improved
debugger which supports source, assembly and mixed source/assembly
debugging.
CodeWarrior for PlayStation features the Metrowerks C/C++ compiler for MIPS
which supports function-level and in-line assembly. Several new
enhancements include: declaration specifiers that allow a programmer to
specify in which data section of the object code to store variables and
objects; overlay support; and the ASMPSX-compatible assembler that provides
easy migration of assembly files from the PSY Q development systems. "Our
latest release, CodeWarrior for PlayStation, provides unmatched value,
choice, and flexibility to allow developers to rapidly move their game
designs to market," said Jean Belanger, chairman of the board and CEO,
Metrowerks.
Metrowerks will also be shipping CodeWarrior for Net Yaroze in October
1997. CodeWarrior for Net Yaroze allows hobbyist developers to write game
programs to run on the Net Yaroze PlayStation. The Net Yaroze development
kit includes a modified version of the PlayStation game console and a CD
containing software and Net Yaroze-specific libraries that allow users to
write programs on their computers, compile and download those programs via
a serial cable to their Net Yaroze PlayStations.
Pricing and Availability
CodeWarrior for PlayStation Release 3 ships in October 1997, priced at
US$899, and is available from Metrowerks and its distributors, including
Full Moon Software Distributors Limited in Europe, and B.U.G. Inc. in
Japan. All purchases include one free product update and technical support
for a year from Metrowerks. CodeWarrior for Net Yaroze also ships in
October, and is available for US$299.
About Metrowerks Embedded Systems Products
CodeWarrior solutions for the embedded systems market start with the
CodeWarrior Integrated Development Environment, or "IDE," a unified
environment available for both desktop and embedded application
development. The CodeWarrior IDE contains a complete set of tools
including class browsers, debuggers, editors, and a state-of-the-art
project manager which obsoletes "make" files.
CodeWarrior embedded tools all feature the CodeWarrior two-machine
source-level debugger which plugs seamlessly into the CodeWarrior IDE and
communicates with the new MetroTRK (Target Resident Kernel). MetroTRK,
developed by Metrowerks and available in source to Metrowerks' licensees,
is a software debug monitor for use with CodeWarrior source-level
debuggers. MetroTRK is suitable for use as aboard-level software debugger,
or, in its extended form, as an application-level debugger.
CodeWarrior highly optimizing compilers, linkers and assemblers are
available for the 68K, PowerPC, x86 and MIPS families of microprocessors
for C, C++, and Java. Metrowerks has already announced that in 1998, it
will add support for the NEC VR/V8xx, ARM, and Hitachi SuperH families of
microprocessors. CodeWarrior all-in-one programming tools are the
foundation for Metrowerks' entry into the three major embedded markets: the
proprietary OS market; the RTOS/Windows CE market; and the embedded Java
technology market.
Midway Ships Two Nintendo 64 Home Video Game Titles
CHICAGO (Sept. 30) BUSINESS WIRE - Sept. 30, 1997 - Midway Maintains
Leadership as Nintendo 64 Third-Party Licensee Midway Games Inc. (NYSE:
MWY) announced today that its home game subsidiary, Midway Home
Entertainment Inc., shipped to retailers two new Nintendo(R) 64 home video
game software titles, Top Gear(R) Rally and Mace: The Dark Age(TM), for
sale to consumers on Friday, October 3rd. With Top Gear Rally and Mace:
The Dark Age marking the Company's sixth and seventh Nintendo 64 (N64(TM))
offerings, Midway maintains its position as the leading third party
licensee of N64 software titles. According to industry projections, the
installed base of N64 consoles is expected to exceed 7.0 million units by
the end of 1997.
In August, Midway partnered with Kotobuki Systems Co. Ltd. (Kemco) to
co-publish the highly anticipated off-road racing home video game, Top Gear
Rally, exclusively for N64. Developed by Boss Game Studios, Top Gear Rally
features five challenging tracks complete with short cuts and hidden tracks
in the player's choice of four gaming modes for the ultimate on and
off-road racing challenge. Boasting an incredible array of updates and
improvements over its 16-bit predecessors, including a real-time physics
engine, hyper-realistic graphics and 3-D effects, multiple perspective and
camera viewpoints, and one or two player split-screen modes, Top Gear Rally
offers players endless hours of exciting game play.
Based on the popular arcade game of the same name, Mace: The Dark Age has
been heralded as one of the best-looking 3-D fighting games ever. Mace
features ten all-new player-selectable characters - each with its own
gruesome fatality, two spectacular bosses and an additional seven hidden
demonic characters. Many innovative features make their debut in Mace
including complete 3-D character movement; true multi-level playfields with
ledges, steps, and ramps; deadly arena boundaries such as lava, quicksand,
fire, spikes and deep water; and a unique array of interactive and
throwable objects including tents, urns and tables.
Formula 1 Championship Edition Races into Retail
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Sept. 30) BUSINESS WIRE - Sept. 30, 1997 - Psygnosis
today announced the release of the company's newest racing game, Formula 1
Championship Edition for the PlayStation game console. Sequel to the
company's 1.7 million unit selling video game racing title, Formula 1,
Formula 1 Championship Edition will thrill both serious and novice F1
racing fans with its new features and refinements. The game will have an
estimated street price of $49.95.
Staying true to form, development team, Bizarre Creations, has shaped up
this ultimate game for the most realistic racing excitement. Formula 1
Championship Edition combines the authenticity and simulation-quality of
real Formula One racing with the all out adrenaline rush of arcade racing
thrills. Formula 1 Championship Edition's newest features include car
damage and crashes and multi-player options with either vertical and
horizontal split-screen capability. For fans that insist on having it all,
the "arcade" mode is designed for fast and furious racing. The game also
boasts 1997 stats through the Spanish Grand Prix which was held in May
1997.
Taking off where last year's game and racing season left off, Formula 1
Championship Edition features 11 teams and numerous drivers from the new
season; all 18 circuits with the latest track architecture changes;
distinct Arcade and Grand Prix modes; a fantasy driver option, and
commentaries by professional Formula One race veteran, Murray Walker, and
current TV sportscaster, Martin Brundle.
Martin Chudley, founder of Bizzare Creations, noted that, "Formula 1
Championship Edition is the closest thing to Formula One racing ever seen
on a game console system. It runs at 30 frames-per-second and
accelerations and circuit times are very realistic." In creating the
second generation of a tremendously popular title, Chudley commented, "Our
attention to detail has been extraordinary."
Each driver has his own unique behaviour model and the dynamic weather
conditions and car set-up options are extensive. Crash dynamics are
designed from actual Formula One crash footage. "With huge amounts of
reference material and former experience in creating racing games, we think
the circuits are as close to the real thing as you can get," added
Chudley. "Murray Walker has said that our overhead view of Aida was 'just
like being there,' and he's one of the lucky few who are qualified to say
that!"
The legendary attention to detail in the game is seen throughout all
levels. Engine sounds have been recorded from real Formula One cars during
Grand Prix practice heats to capture the realism and variety of the sounds.
Gear shifting has been tuned to the real drivers, vehicles and circuits
prompting drivers to comment on the absolute authenticity of the game. The
circuits themselves are so meticulously rendered that Formula 1 and now
Formula 1 Championship Edition (named Formula 1 '97 in Europe) is used
throughout Europe as a feature on televised race coverage. Psygnosis'
Formula 1 Championship Edition promises to give players their own chance at
being this season's winner.
THQ Brings "Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars"
CALABASAS, CALIF. (Oct. 2) BUSINESS WIRE -Oct. 2, 1997 - THQ Inc.
Thursday announced that it intends to publish and distribute the unique
graphic adventure, "Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars," in the United
States in the first quarter of 1998. "Broken Sword: Shadow of the
Templars" was successfully launched by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
for the PlayStation in Europe in November 1996. The game, which immerses
players in an intriguing international mystery, is being developed by the
award-winning game designer, Revolution Software, for the Sony PlayStation.
The game features more than 60 hours of game play and hand-drawn graphics
with animation from the makers of cult comic "Tank Girl." "Broken Sword:
Shadow of the Templars" takes gamers on a sinister mystery which involves
assassination and conspiracy. The intensely rich thriller features music
written by one of Great Britain's premier composers, Barrington Pheloung.
"We are thrilled to be bringing one of Europe's more successful games to
the United States on the Sony PlayStation," said Brian Farrell, president
and CEO, THQ. "'Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars' has won numerous
awards in Europe and combines beautifully drawn animation, music composed
specifically for the title and a compelling storyline to create a riveting
product that gamers will enjoy."
"We are pleased that a company like THQ, which has proven experience in
successfully launching video games, will be bringing this exhilarating game
to the United States on the Sony PlayStation," said Juan Montes, general
manager of software development, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
"'Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars' combines colorful characters with
an intriguing storyline that keeps gamers on the edge of their seats."
"Revolution Software is delighted to be teaming up with THQ in bringing
this game to the huge installed base of PlayStation owners in the United
States," said Charles Cecil, managing director, Revolution Software.
"Gamers can dive right into this multi-layered mystery, which is set in
modern day Paris and is rich with history. Players will be glued to their
game systems as they search for the elusive key to the great secret of the
Templars."
Capcom Flexes It's Marketing Muscle
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. (Oct. 2) BUSINESS WIRE - Oct. 2, 1997 - Capcom
Entertainment Inc. today announced their aggressive marketing plans behind
the launch of Marvel Super Heroes, the home version of the phenomenally
successful head-to-head fighting arcade game that stars ten classic Marvel
characters, including Spiderman, Wolverine, the Incredible Hulk.
The big push behind the launch of Marvel Super Heroes will include a
national television advertising campaign airing in 25 major markets across
the country, as well as a Marvel Super Heroes 'Scratch & Win' Sweepstakes.
Marvel Super Heroes is now available for the Sony PlayStation and Sega
Saturn at a suggested retail price of $49.99. The Marvel Super Heroes
national television advertising campaign kicks off Oct. 13, 1997. The spot
will air during TV's top-rated syndicated shows including, The Simpson's,
Party of Five, The X-Files, Xena and Baywatch, reaching over 15 million
homes.
Capcom created a hip, fast-paced and vibrant spot to represent the
successful Marvel Super Heroes fighting game. A young, teenage girl is
cast as the spokesperson for the classic head-to-head fighting game,
supporting the growing trend of the heroine in video games. Capcom has
always been known for their portrayal of strong, female characters in
games, having created famous game goddesses, such as Chun Li and Cammy from
the Street Fighter series and Jill Valentine from Resident Evil.
In addition to a strong TV presence, Capcom has developed a Marvel Super
Heroes 'Scratch & Win' Sweepstakes where the grand prize winner takes home
a Marvel Super Heroes arcade unit. Nearly one million 'scratch & win'
sweepstakes cards will be distributed in Marvel comic books and in copies
of the game. Lucky winners can instantly win one of several prizes,
including a Sony PlayStation gaming system, a Marvel T-shirt, an inflatable
Marvel character, or cash rebate off the purchase of Marvel Super Heroes.
Jaguar Online STR InfoFile - Online Users Growl & Purr!
Telegames is pleased to announce its plans for a limited edition cartridge
version of IRON SOLDIER 2. This product will only be available directly
through Telegames. The cartridge version will be identical to the CD
version except that the FMV and red book soundtracks have been removed due
to memory considerations. Everything else is the same ---same missions,
same adversaries, same weapons, same outstanding graphics and gameplay!
Each product will be packaged in a full color box just like the CD versions
and contain a cartridge with color label and an instruction manual. Due to
the significant cost to produce the cartridges, we will accept orders
through October 31, 1997, for shipping no later than December 15, 1997.
Each order must be prepaid with credit card, money order, or personal
check. We will only build enough cartridges to satisfy these
pre-manufacturing orders.
Sb: #Jaguar - So Much Happens!
Fm: Mr. R.J. Turner. 100771,2457
To: ALL
Hi folks.
Why's this forum so quiet? Did everyone leave and someone forget to turn
off the light? Weird.
We have Zero 5 out, almost.
We have Worms Directors-Cut next month.
We have Battlesphere 5 days coding away, out Xmas.
We have a mystery CD from Telegames, out Xmas.
We have a new Jaguar joystick released from DKG.
We have new Jaguar overlays available from others.
We have NETWORK Aircars just a couple of months ago.
We had World Tour Racing CD just a couple of months ago.
We had Iron Soldier II CD, not long enough ago to beat it.
We have lots of "Underground" development activity.
(Jagtris, Painter, Jagmania, Jag Marble Madness, Gorf 2000, etc..)
We have TWO underground development kits available right now.
We have Atari development kits appearing on the market now.
We have Atari/JTS making HELPFUL statements to developers!
We have living Jaguars, not a totally dead platform!!!
We have DOZENS of active Jaguar web-sites...
We have support-
Atari Preservation Society
Krunch's Jaguar Support Petition
European Jaguar Support Campaign
The Underground Developers
We have reading matter:-
Atari Times
Jaguar Explorer Online
Classic Atari Gamer Online
Jaguar Mailing List
Jaguar Underground Mailing List
[Editor's note: STReport!!]
Get real, Atari is dead, your Jaguar is not.. Maybe Jaguar is alive
everywhere except CIS? Even a flame would show this forum's got life!!!
Richard.
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
Compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@streport.com
Folks, I have no idea why last week's column was a repeat. Well,
actually, that's not true. I had some trouble uploading last week's file
and I think things got screwed up. My apologies.
(Editors Note: It only proves we are all human.. <g>)
Here's what you would have read last week:
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. I've been thinking a lot recently about
the directions the computer world is taking. It seems that in order to be
accepted, you need the very latest in equipment and software... and it
needs to be on the correct platform. Remember your days in early high
school? When the "cool" guys all had a particular haircut or a specific
brand of sneakers, and the "in" girls just had to have the right pocketbook
or shade of eye shadow (which, ideally, matched the pocketbook)? That's
just about what we're seeing in the computer world today. Many sites are
not only "best experienced" with either Netscape or Microsoft products,
but "not experienceable" without them. I'm not talking about sites that
employ JAVA scripts, now. Most of them offer alternative ways of viewing.
I've come to expect this sort of short-sighted programming from small
personal web pages, who's creators wish to showcase some particular feature
or other. But for a large, well established, supposedly easily accessible
site from a major entertainment company this is, in my opinion, shameful.
And for an online service such as CompuServe to consider barring all ASCII
access is even more so. AOL is a different story, since they never actually
had plain ASCII access. But CompuServe built their service on ASCII and,
while I'm not saying that there is anything illegal or immoral about
stopping ASCII access, it just doesn't seem right to me. Of course, there
are lots of things about today's CompuServe that don't seem right to me,
but that's a story for another time.
This situation is unique in my experience. Do you see signs saying
that you can only use a particular highway if you happen to have a Sport
Utility vehicle? Or that you cannot shop in a particular type of store
unless you have a certain credit card? Not that you cannot use any other
card to pay for your purchases, but that you can't even go in? Or how about
a movie theater that will not allow you to watch a movie unless you have
20/20 eyesight? Unfortunately (or not), there will soon be many more
people joining us. As Intel's Pentium II becomes more and more of a
standard, people who own PC compatibles will also be finding themselves
excluded fromfrom the internet, game and productivity software, and
peripherals. Most of these folks will probably take it in stride and go out
and purchase a brand-spanking-new computer.... and find out 13 months later
that they again have trouble keeping up with the "in" crowd.
As Atari users, we are already so far behind the crowd that a few more
advances isn't going to matter to us. While I confess that I long for a
browser that supports 'cookies' and JAVA scripts, I can get along without
them for the time being. Will today's Pentium 1 users be able to do the
same?
(Editor Note: pssst.. They already do Joe.) I have the three main flavors
of Pentium in use here at the office and they are compatible.) [Pentium,
Pentium MMX, Pentium Pro.]
Well, last week we peeked around on Delphi, so this week we'll listen
to what's happening on the UseNet.
From the COMP.SYS.ATARI.ST NewsGroup
Claes Holmerup posts this about powering up or down peripherals:
"In my over 10 years of experience as a computer technician,
I've repaired several computers (that is: probably hundreds)
because people turned on/off external equipment with the
computer switched on, so there is ABSOLUTELY a risk of damage!
Both the SCSI-port, as well as the Parallel and Serial ports
have a risk of getting damaged by this kind of operations.
Because of the risk of damage, I recommend everybody to turn on
their externals before the computer and turn the computer off
first. This simple rule of mine has helped several people after
they've had the same problems time after time, just a couple of
months apart - their problems have disappeared after they
started following this recommendation... Be careful out there!"
Peter West asks for help with the Selectric Item Selector:
"I had some problems with CixRead re-writing some messages
(after partial deletions in a topic) in the wrong folders, which
I /think/ I traced back to using Selectric which sometimes
'hangs' in an old path. (At least, I don't seem to get the
problems when using the system file selector, though I need to
make some more tests.) However, I originally turned off
Selectric just in CixRead by using the SLCTCONF.CPX. This
switched it off OK and I got the system file selector as
expected, *but* when I use this then whenever I open Everest
V3.8 and click on a filename to load into it, /it tries to open
all 10 available windows!/ Actually only 7 open (as that is the
max. under TOS 2.06) and I get the 'No more windows available'
alert 3 times. Has anyone come across this or anything like it
before? And what is the solution, if any? I now switch off
Selectric with Xboot and this removes the problem, but it means
I have to reboot to get Selectric back (and I do like its
features, specially the easy path-changes and autolocator)."
Steve Sweet tells Peter:
"I get this sometimes with Freedom and Everest, I think its an
Everest prob. It occured when i tried to open a file created
under VFAT i.e. had a long filename and everest didnt support
longfilenames. I guessed that it is trying to open a .LST. What
did you get displayed in the title bars. BTW, where did you get
EVEREST 3.8, is it english, where's my copy?"
Frank Lockwood tells us:
" POPwatch is a POP3 mailbox tool for use with STiK and Oasis1,
Oasis2, and NEWSie.
And what a great program it is too. Thanks Gary, for writing
such a straightforward, easy to set up program that just does
what it is supposed to, with no fuss. I've yet to use the new
"reject" feature, but I am eagerly looking forward to it, as the
Calgary Freenet seems to be an email spam magnet. Thanks very
much. I'm glad so many people seem to like POPwatch :) I use the
'reject' feature an awful lo2t now. I just seem to be getting
stacks of junk email lately. So far I haven't had a repeat of
email from any that I've 'rejected'. Maybe it works, maybe it's
just coincidence. Either way, it makes me feel better being able
to 'bounce' their junk :) I've saved my Kill File log from 2.22,
will the new version see that and send failed DNS messages when
I next receive something from one of these sources? No problem.
If you've set POPwatch to automatically 'reject' killed email,
that should work fine. Also, I've seen a couple of posts where
you have been testing something called News Hound. Am I right
in surmising that you are developing a Mail/News reader? Can't
wait."
Gary Priest, the author of POPwatch, tells Frank:
"News Hound has now been renamed NEWSwatch and is still in beta
at the moment. It's not a full email/news client. It does a
similar thing to POPwatch in that it sends and receives news
articles via STiK, using Oasis1.3x/Snews or Oasis2 as the
editor/viewer. I am planning on writing a full email/news
client, but it's difficult to find the time at the moment.
I've ordered CAB2.5 inc. PPP Connect from System Solutions and
should hopefully get it in a couple of weeks. I might be
interested in modifying POPwatch to use PPP Connect (as well as
STiK etc.). To do this I obviously need programming docs for
PPP Connect. Does anyone know if these are publicly available?
If so, where I can get them? I guess they'll be in German which
is going to be a pain."
Michael Pieper tells Gary:
"I was told that the BLIP-Docs are the same as the Docs to
PPP-Connect. You need the documentation (the commands are the
same as used in unix: sock_init(), socket(), bind(), listen()).
The only differences are: sread(), swrite(), sfcntl(), sclose()
which have all an "s" in front of the command. But you had to
use a Library, in which these commands are defined. With this
information, I tried to write a program, but I always got an
error message from "socket()". So the compiled program doesn't
run. The programmer of PPP-Connect (Sven.Kopacz@LB.maus.de) is
now studying for his university exam's, so he has now had to
think about another problems. Should I send you the
BLIP-Archive icluding the Programming documentation... it's in
German!"
Steven Barrett asks:
"Is it possible to use a tos image from one Atari (v2.06) on
another Atari. I know that the early St's used a disk based tos
and I was wondering if it is possible to load the new tos vesion
on top of the old from disk. I have tried using an auto folder
(some chance) without success."
Dave Hollis tells Steven:
"It is possible to load newer TOS images over the old ROMS,
Magic and Geneva do this however, if you mean specifically
something like loading in TOS 1.62 [on disk] over hardware TOS
1.00 then I guess you can....but it'd be VERY unstable, TOS
1.62 was developed for the STe and allowed access to the
BLITTER chip via the menu bar....seeing as a TOS 1.00 STFM
doesn't have one I'd not like to see what happens. My advice is
to obtain new hardware ROMS and replace the one's you have."
Matt Wilimzig asks:
"Does anyone know where I can get an English version of CAB
2.5, if it isn't out yet, any news when it will be. What is the
best set up for it? I'm using CAB 2.0 and having trouble with
it. I am a novice computer user and I love my Falcon. Anyone
know how well 2.5 work. I'm using a Falcon030 with 4 megs and a
hard drive. I have it very stripped down with only the bare
essentials on it. Should I run a multitask application when
using CAB?"
Pascal Ricard tells Matt:
"Multitasking is recommended but not obligatory. I dont know
about the English version cause I'm using the German one with
French resource files."
Michael Grove posts:
"I stumbled across a version of STiK I hadn't seen before on an
FTP site. It's the modular version (or it was called that
anyway) which loads in the auto folder and no STiK.ACC is used.
There is a dialer from Peter (STiNG) which runs as an acc
(V.85). The dialer version is the same as the one released with
the latest STiNG, but the latter would not work with STiK ("do
not use this dialer with STiK")."
Nicholas Flintham tells Michael:
"STiK 1.13 was a beta.. and wasn't really meant to be released
anywhere. There is a problem with it running under magic but
unless your running under magic and run more than one stik
program at once then you wont b2ump into this bug. Which FTP
site is this on by the way?
The difference between 1.12 and 1.13 from the outside is that
as you mentioned it does not require a stik.acc to be loaded at
all times there is a version of Peters dialer which was written
for this version of stik before sting was completed and that is
the one you have. There was also a quick version of the
original dialer that could be ran as a program or an accessory."
Michael tells Nicholas:
"Thanks for the tip. That never occured to me. I am using a
Unix server's domain to send mail as Newsie is having problems
with Send mail on the NT server. I still have to telenet in and
see what is ca2using the problem. Lazy. Now, using the same
server as the nameserver, Newsie and other apps have no
problem."
Well folks, that's about it for this week. Tune in again next week,
same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying
when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM A DOG
z Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
z Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure
ecstasy.
z When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
z When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.
z Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
z Take naps and stretch before rising.
z Run, romp and play daily.
z Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
z Be loyal.
z Never pretend to be something you're not.
z If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
z When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle
them gently.
z Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
z Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
z On hot days, drink lots of water and lay under a shady tree.
z When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
z No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and
pout...run right back and make friends.
z Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
STReport International Magazine
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All Items quoted, in whole or in part, are done so under the provisions of
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editors/staff of STReport International OnLine Magazine. Permission to
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or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained
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STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" October 03, 1997
Since 1987 Copyrightc1997 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1339
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