ST Report: 28-Nov-97 #1347
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 12/11/97-09:36:07 AM Z
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From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson) Subject: ST Report: 28-Nov-97 #1347 Date: Thu Dec 11 09:36:07 1997 Silicon Times Report "The Original Independent Online Magazine" (Since 1987) November 28, 1997 No.1347 Silicon Times Report International Magazine Post Office Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155 R.F. Mariano, Editor STR Publishing, Inc. Voice: 1-904-292-9222 10am-5pm EST FAX: 904-268-2237 24hrs STReport WebSite http://www.streport.com STR Publishing's FTP Support Server 10gb - Back Issues - Patches - Support Files (Continually Updated) ftp.streport.com Anonymous Login ok - Use your Email Address as a Password Check out STReport's NEWS SERVER NEWS.STREPORT.COM Have you tried Microsoft's Powerful and Easy to Use Internet Explorer 4.0? Internet Explorer 4.0 is STReport's Official Internet Web Browser. STReport is prepared and published Using MS Office 97, Corel Office Perfect 8 & Adobe Acrobat Pro 3 Featuring a Full Service Web Site http://www.streport.com Voted TOP TEN Ultimate WebSite Join STReport's Subscriber List receive STReport Via Email on The Internet Toad Hall BBS 1-978-670-5896 11/28/97 STR 1347 Celebrating Our Tenth Anniversary 1987-97! - CPU Industry Report - RSI "EYED" - UltraEdit Story - WinZip Update NEWS - IBM Chief ReUps - Plymouth Shame - Wireless War Looms - Amicus Lawyer - New Hyundai Monitors - Parappa the Rapper - People Talking - Classics & Gaming New Site to Fight Net Hate Forbes Says Hack Cost $100K Justice Discloses Microsoft File STReport International Magazine Featured Weekly "Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information" Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports Adobe Acrobat Pro 3.0 Please obtain the latest issue from our Auto Subscription, Web Site or FTP Site. Enjoy the wonder and excitement of exchanging all types of useful information relative to all computer types, worldwide, through the use of the Internet. All computer enthusiasts, hobbyist or commercial, on all platforms and BBS systems are invited to participate. IMPORTANT NOTICE STReport, with its policy of not accepting any input relative to content from paid advertisers, has over the years developed the reputation of "saying it like it really is". When it comes to our editorials, product evaluations, reviews and over-views, we shall always keep our readers interests first and foremost. With the user in mind, STReport further pledges to maintain the reader confidence that has been developed over the years and to continue "living up to such". All we ask is that our readers make certain the manufacturers, publishers etc., know exactly where the information about their products appeared. In closing, we shall arduously endeavor to meet and further develop the high standards of straight forwardness our readers have come to expect in each and every issue. The Publisher, Staff & Editors Celebrating Our Tenth Year! 1987-1997 Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35 Results: 11/22/97: two of six numbers with no matches >From the Editor's Desk... Editorials are used for many things. But mostly for sounding off about various issues, good or bad, that the author feels a need to address. In the past few weeks we've pointed out the rise of Neo-Nazis. I must admit I become very intense when I encounter such trash. They have no place on the face of the earth. Not now, not ever. With that said, its now time to move on. With Thanksgiving only yesterday, I still feel the Holiday Spirit. Although after having read about the actions of The City of Plymouth Mass against a group of American Indians protesting the treatment of the Indian, I darn near lost the feeling. Will the "Control Freaks" of this world ever calm down? I doubt it. What really needs to be done is for the level headed thinkers (my, my but there is a dying breed) to actively run and gain the political positions these "Freaks" now hold. Whatever became of the basic belief of; "Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself?" Nowadays, it appears its "Do unto others first!" Shame on you Plymouth! Shame! Christmas and Chanukah are fast approaching. I wonder if everyone who's looking forward to these wonderful Holidays will embrace the true spirit of the Holidays. that being to care for one another and especially look after the less fortunate. When one considers that there are people in this country who have the means and will go out and drop eighteen million or more for a private yacht while less than say, three hundred yards away under a bridge abutment there may live three or four homeless souls. Sure the person "earned" the bux. well maybe. But one thing is clear in this country, the person can rest easy that their fortune will remain theirs. Still. its disturbing to see such opposites. The point is. that if each of us were to drop off at, say the Salvation Army, a coupla cans of food each week between now and the close of the holidays.. I cannot begin to imagine how many hapless souls, men, women and children would be saved from going hungry. Give it a try! It'll make you feel good and those in need feel good too! Of Special Note: http://www.streport.com ftp.streport.com news.streport.com STReport is now ready to offer much more in the way of serving the Networks, Online Services and Internet's vast, fast growing site list and userbase. We now have our very own WEB, FTP and NewsGroup Sites, do stop by and have a look see. Since We've received numerous requests to receive STReport from a wide variety of Internet addressees, we were compelled to put together an Internet distribution/mailing list for those who wished to receive STReport on a regular basis, the file is ZIPPED, then UUENCODED. Unfortunately, we've also received a number of opinions that the UUENCODING was a real pain to deal with. You'll be pleased to know you are able to download STReport directly from our very own FTP SERVER or WEB Site. While there, be sure to join our STR AutoMailer list which allows a choice of either ASCII or Acrobat PDF. STReport's managing editors DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU! Ralph F. Mariano, Publisher - Publisher, Editor Dana P. Jacobson, Editor, Current Affairs Section Editors PC Section Mac Section Shareware Listings R.F. Mariano Randy Noak Lloyd E. Pulley Classics & Gaming Kid's Computing Corner Dana P. Jacobson Frank Sereno STReport Staff Editors Michael R. Burkley Joseph Mirando Victor Mariano Vincent P. O'Hara Glenwood Drake Contributing Correspondent Staff Jason Sereno Jeremy Sereno Daniel Stidham David H. Mann Angelo Marasco Donna Lines Brian Boucher Leonard Worzala Please submit ALL letters, rebuttals, articles, reviews, etc., via E-Mail w/attachment to: Internet rmariano@streport.com STR FTP ftp.streport.com WebSite http://www.streport.com STReport Headline News LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson Machado Jury Saw Counseling Need Jurors who deadlocked in the first federal hate crimes case to involve the Internet have told reporters they felt the 20-year-old California defendant needed mental health counseling rather than jail time. As reported, the case against Richard Machado, accused of sending threatening electronic mail messages via the Internet to Asian students at a southern California university, ended in a mistrial because the jury could need agree on a verdict. Machado was prosecuted under a 1960s-era law that makes it illegal to use race as a basis for interfering with an individual's attendance at a public university, which is a federally protected activity. United Press International reports the jurors in the U.S. District Court of Appeals trial appear to have been deadlocked 9-3 in favor of acquittal, after saying they could not agree on whether Machado had a criminal intent in mind when he sent the messages. Adds the wire service, "Most jurors said later they believed Machado's claim that he had been disturbed by the recent murder of his brother and his own expulsion from the university when he sent the threatening messages. He called the incident 'a prank.'" Meanwhile, Juror Jack Butler told The Orange County Register, "There was a lot of feeling that this was something that should have been settled at the university level." Even two of the jurors who voted to convict Machado said they hope the government does not prosecute him again because he seemed to need "love and care." Look for the U.S. Attorney's Office to announce by Dec. 1 whether to try the case again. UPI notes Machado's federal defender asked the judge to send his client to the federal detention facility in Los Angeles so he could receive psychological counseling. Machado is on medication for his problems, UPI adds. Net Hate Case Ends in Mistrial The federal case against Richard Machado, accused of sending threatening electronic mail messages via the Internet to Asian students at a southern California university, has ended in a mistrial. U.S. District Court Judge Alicemarie Stotler took the action late yesterday in Santa Ana, south of Los Angeles, after the jury said it was deadlocked. the Reuter News Service says it is not known if Machado will be re-tried. The 19-year-old Machado, a naturalized U.S. citizen from El Salvador, was charged with 10 counts of violating a federal law that makes it a crime to use race, ethnicity or nationality to interfere with a federally-protected activity -- in this case, attending school. Reuters says in this -- the first such case brought under the federal hate crimes legislation -- Machado was alleged to have sent threatening e-mail messages last year to Asian students at the University of California, Irvine. The former student allegedly blamed Asians for campus crime and threatened to "hunt down and kill" them. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mavis Lee said during the trial that Machado threatened to kill 59 people "solely because of their race, the color of their skin and their nationality." She called his e-mail message "hateful, repugnant, degrading and terrifying." Machado's court-appointed defense attorney contended the suspect had been bored and sent the message to provoke a response, but had no intention of carrying out his threat. E-Mail Threat to Hillary Alleged Charges have been brought against two 13-year-old Cordova, Tennessee, boys alleged to have sent a threatening e-mail message over the Internet to First Lady Hillary Clinton. The Associated Press says contents of the electronic mail to the first lady haven't been released, but U.S. Secret Service agents are expected to outline them during a hearing this week in Juvenile Court. The unidentified youths, charged with threatening and harassing Mrs. Clinton, could face a fine, counseling, community service or detention. Officials told the wire service it is unlikely that the president's wife read the message, which was sent last month. Net Porn Conviction Upheld The pornography conviction of a Los Angeles man has been upheld by a federal court of appeals which ruled computer image files count under the federal child pornography statute. Reporting from San Francisco, United Press International says the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled graphic .GIF image files qualify as 'visual depictions' under the statute, along with undeveloped film and videotape. Mark Stuart Hockings was found guilty of pornography charges prior to 1996, "when the definition of the statute was expanded to include data stored on computer disk or by electronic means," UPI notes. He was convicted of possessing eight computer files containing visual depictions of child pornography and transporting 16 depictions in interstate commerce. "On appeal," says UPI, "he claimed the computer GIF files from which pornographic images could be retrieved are not 'visual depictions.'" However, Judge Donald Molloy wrote in yesterday's ruling, "It leads to an absurdity to find that Congress intended to outlaw the transportation of pornographic visual depictions of children by computer, yet conclude that Congress did not intend to include GIF files within the definition of visual depiction." In a 1986 case, United States v. Smith, the court rejected claims that "unprocessed, undeveloped film does not constitute a 'visual depiction'" within the statute, UPI adds. New Site to Fight Net Hate Teaming with a regional Bell telephone company, the nation's largest civil rights coalition is responding to President Clinton's call to fight hate crime by creating a site on the Internet's World Wide Web to challenge Net hate speech. The site (http://www.civilrights.org) was created by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and will be maintained for two years with a $100,000 contribution from Bell Atlantic, says Associated Press writer John D. McClain. LCCR Director Wade Henderson told the wire service the idea to create a Web site was triggered by a proliferation of Internet hate speech by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and White Aryan Resistance. And, calling the new site "an antidote for poison," Bell Atlantic Chairman Ray Smith cited a study by the Anti-Defamation League showing the number of hate sites on the Internet has doubled to 250 in the past year, adding the idea is to "counter the frightening espousal of hatred and violence against Americans because of their race, gender, religious or sexual orientation." Henderson said there also is concern for the First Amendment protection of free speech, adding, "This Web site will respond to hate with information and competing ideas without seeking to restrict Internet speech." Says McClain, "In addition to providing information on hate crimes around the country, the site will explain various strategies to address those crimes and offer materials for young people, parents and teachers to encourage diversity." Clinton Urged to Veto Net Bill President Clinton is being urged by a group of leading U.S. scientists to veto a bill that would impose criminal penalties on copyright violators who do not profit from their actions. Passed earlier this month by both houses of Congress, the bill would inadvertently criminalize many scientific publications available over the Internet, says the Association for Computing's U.S. Public Policy Committee in a letter to Clinton. Group chair Barbara Simons says in the letter, "This legislation was hurried through Congress, was poorly drafted, and is likely to have many unintended consequences." The Reuter News Service notes that under current law, copyright violators cannot be charged with criminal misconduct unless they profited from the violations. "If the 'No Electronic Theft Act' became law," says the wire service, "a person who 'willfully' infringed on copyrighted material worth at least $1,000 could be subject to criminal prosecution even if they made no profit." Reuters adds that software publishers and the entertainment industry pushed for the legislation as a means of curbing what they described as rampant pirating of computer programs, musical recordings and other materials on the Internet. However, the science group says scientists who have research published in a journal could run afoul of the proposed law if they posted the same materials on the Internet for peer review. Says the letter, "It is likely that many institutions will mandate that all copyrighted documents be removed from the net to avoid having to defend copyright infringement prosecutions." Microsoft Launches Web News Site A computer-focused Web site -- with news from CNET Inc. and Ziff-Davis and a database of more than 14,000 resellers around the world -- has been launched by Microsoft Corp. Computing Central (http://www.computingcentral.msn .com) "represents the latest effort by the software giant's Microsoft Network online service to create major 'portal' Web sites free to anyone with Internet access instead of requiring paid MSN membership," comments reporter Martin Wolk of the Reuter News Service. Wolk notes the site currently is available in "preview" mode while more content is added and any glitches are smoothed out over the next several months. Some 27 forums on computing are featured, "most of which formerly were reserved for MSN's more than 2.3 million paying subscribers," Wolk says. Microsoft itself is backing away from original reporting of computer news, choosing instead to focus its resources on the forums and other features that build community, senior producer Liz Longsworth said. The database, provided by TechnologyNet Inc., allows users in 83 countries to find the computer dealer or reseller nearest to them based on area or postal code. Another partner is Quarterdeck Corp., which provides an online computer tune-up service. Justice Discloses Microsoft File Turning up the heat in its antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp., the U.S. Justice Department has disclosed an internal company document that it says bolsters its case that Microsoft uses its Windows monopoly to push its Internet software. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter John R. Wilke says the document -- a Dec. 20 electronic mail from James Allchin, a Microsoft senior vice president -- discusses the company's strategy for overtaking Netscape Communications Inc.'s Internet software, saying, "The current path is simply to copy everything Netscape does. ... My conclusion is we must leverage Windows more." Allchin wrote that treating it as a separate product "is losing our biggest advantage, Windows market share" and that "we should think first about an integrated solution." Wilke comments the email "goes to the heart of the Justice Department's case," which alleges Microsoft illegally requires computer makers that buy its Windows operating software to take its Explorer Internet software as well. As reported, Microsoft argues Windows and Explorer are integrated into one product. However, says the Journal, "the document shows that less than a year ago, executives were still talking about combining the two products. ... The email makes clear the real reason Microsoft requires computer makers to install Explorer with Windows, the Justice Department said." In court papers filed yesterday, the Justice Department contends the Redmond, Washington, software giant's action have "nothing to do with updating Microsoft's operating system" or integrating new functions. "Rather, it is intended to allow Microsoft to use the leverage of Windows to "increase distribution of Explorer" and win the Internet browser war. The filing submitted in U.S. District Court last night was the government's formal response to Microsoft's brief two weeks ago urging the court to throw out the Justice Department's complaint. As noted, the department charged last month that Microsoft had violated a 1995 order that settled earlier antitrust charges; part of the settlement barred Microsoft from tying sales of Windows to other products. Meanwhile, Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray told the paper the 1995 consent decree "specifically allows Microsoft to develop integrated products, and Internet Explorer has been apart of Windows 95 since the very first version was shipped to computer manufacturers in July 1995." Saying this is "very clearcut" and the Justice Department knows it, Murray added, "Integrating Internet technologies into the operating system is good for consumers and for independent software developers building applications." He said the government is misreading Mr. Allchin's e-mail and "the fact that one person at Microsoft believes integration should have been done in a different way does not mean it wasn't already integrated." Forbes Says Hack Cost $100K A temporary-worker computer technician has been charged with invading and crashing the computer system of Forbes Inc., the publisher of Forbes magazine, in an incident the company says cost it more than $100,000. A criminal complaint filed in federal court in New York and unsealed today alleges George Mario Parente of Howard Beach Queens NY, whom Forbes had fired, erased data from Forbes' internal network, causing five of the company's eight file servers to crash. Writing for the Dow Jones news service, reporter Michael Rapoport says, "The sabotage left hundreds of Forbes employees unable to use server-related applications for a full day and caused many employees to lose a day's worth of data, according to the complaint." A Forbes spokeswoman confirmed "an act of technological sabotage" occurred at the company shortly after Parente was fired. Forbes contacted the FBI, whose investigation led to Parente's arrest, she added, but referred further questions to the U.S. Attorney's office in New York. The complaint says Forbes hired Parente through a Boston consulting service for a six-month period, but fired him April 18 after only two months for alleged unprofessional behavior. The break-in occurred three days later. "Parente denied any involvement in the incident, and his own account on the Forbes system had been disabled when he was fired," Rapoport writes, "but he may have used the account name and password of another employee to get into the system, according to the complaint." The complaint alleges that when authorities searched Parente's residence, "they found sensitive Forbes business information, including the 1997 budget for Forbes' information technology department and a series of memos from a senior manager to a Forbes vice president about network problems and personnel problems," the wire service adds. Juno Sues Alleged Spamsters Internet e-mail provider Juno Online Services is suing five companies it claims forged its e-mail addresses onto unsolicited commercial e-mail messages that were actually sent through a different e-mail provider. The lawsuit charges the five defendants with sending tens of thousands of pieces of unsolicited "spam" messages bearing forged return addresses that falsely identified Juno e-mail accounts as the source of the spam. "The practice of spamming is universally reviled," says Charles Ardai, president of Juno, which is based in New York. "Spammers insert fake return addresses in their bulk e-mail solicitations in order to disguise their identity and to deflect the thousands of angry complaints a single piece of spam can provoke onto an innocent third party." Juno's suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks $1 million in punitive damages against Strippers, Inc. of Beverly Hills, California; IMS of Knoxville, Tennessee; Phoenix Interactive of Hermosa Beach, California; Global Information Services of Clearwater, Florida; and Scott Allen Export Sales of Somerset, New Jersey. In its complaint, Juno says it is seeking financial compensation from the defendants for damage to its reputation, fraud and trademark infringement. The suit also asks the court for preliminary and permanent injunctions against the firms. Microsoft Settles Piracy Lawsuit Microsoft Corp. has settled a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit filed against Able Computer Systems Inc., a computer system builder and reseller of computer software based in Kirkland, Washington. The settlement follows the filing last July of a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington and is the result of an investigation launched by Microsoft following customer complaints received on its anti-piracy hot line. In the lawsuit Microsoft alleged that Able distributed counterfeit copies of Microsoft software products, including Windows 95 and Office 97 Professional Edition, and various Microsoft hardware products. In the settlement, Able agreed to pay Microsoft $50,000. The deal also requires Able to notify customers that they may have received counterfeit product and should contact Able or the Microsoft anti-piracy hot line for possible replacement. This is the first time a Washington-based company has agreed to replace counterfeit products as part of a settlement agreement, notes Microsoft. The case is similar to several other civil cases Microsoft has brought recently against North American resellers for unauthorized distribution of Microsoft software. In September, the company filed lawsuits against eight Los Angeles-area computer resellers, charging copyright and trademark infringement and alleged distribution of counterfeit Microsoft products. "We launched this nationwide campaign specifically to confront resellers who distribute counterfeit software products," says Brian McEachron, a Microsoft corporate attorney. "This case illustrates that counterfeit software is a huge problem, even in Microsoft's own back yard." Repetitive Stress Injuries Eyed Repetitive stress injuries are unique and they must be treated specially under the law, New York's highest state court ruled today. In a unanimous decision that carved out a new category of injury, the state Court of Appeals also said people who blame hand, arm and neck problems on use of computer keyboard have a right to more time for filing lawsuits. Associated Press writer Joel Stashenko, reporting from Albany, N.Y., quotes the ruling as saying people with RSI-related problems deserve either three years to sue computer equipment manufacturers from the time their symptoms appear or from the last time they used an allegedly injury-causing keyboard, whichever is earlier. Stashenko says the ruling overturns a narrower lower court determination that said such lawsuits had to be filed within three years of the first time a person used the allegedly offending keyboard, no matter when the symptoms appear. Judge Richard Wesley wrote for the Court of Appeals that the narrower standard was unrealistic, adding, "It would be absurd to argue that a person who simply touches a keyboard sustains the type of trauma that will eventually lead to RSI." However, rejected in today's ruling was the argument that the state's "toxic torts" law -- which opens up special windows in the state's three-year statute of limitations for people to sue for long-ago exposure to toxic substances such as asbestos -- also should apply to people otherwise barred from filing for keyboard injuries. Wesley found, "A keyboard is obviously not an inherently toxic or dangerous substance, and exposure to a keyboard is not a `wrongful invasion' in the same sense as is exposure to a toxic substance." Therefore, a new category had to be established to fit the special nature of keyboard injuries, he wrote. More than 90 people brought the suit against some of the nation's leading computer equipment makers, including IBM, Apple, Unisys, Honeywell, Digital, Compaq, Dell and KeyTronic. AP says today's ruling sends the cases back to the Supreme Court level for trial. GTE and IriScan Bring Iris Recognition to E-Commerce With New Iris Certificate Security Standard Risk-Free Transactions Possible with IrisCode(TM)-bearing Digital Certificates IriScan, Inc. -- the exclusive owner and developer of iris recognition technology for automated biometric identification -- and GTE are beginning a collaborative process to bring iris recognition technology into the world of cyberspace. This unprecedented partnership will introduce the potential for fraudproof electronic commerce by combining GTE's proprietary digital biometric certificates with IriScan technology to create the electronic commerce equivalent of legal tender. In essence, transactions will be biometrically secured, protected, and guaranteed from end-to-end -- both sender and receiver will be verified and confirmed by their IrisCodes(TM) before the transaction will be completed. The process combines digital certificates and biometrics to dramatically reduce fraud, cut costs, and increase confidence in doing business electronically. The new opportunity is called Iris Certificate Security (ICS); GTE and IriScan plan to prototype the Iris Certificate Security in the first quarter of 1998. "One of the obstacles to the growth of electronic commerce -- especially on the Internet -- is confidence: A legitimate concern by business and consumers alike is that transactions are not completely private and that buying over a network can be risky because of hackers," said Clyde Musgrave, of GTE's Strategic Development Staff. "We are answering this concern with unique personal identification of buyer and seller through the iris, coupling it tightly with public keys and encryption of digital certificates." When the iris recognition process is "bound" to the digital certificate, the entire value of the transaction may be fully insured by underwriters. These "biometric certificates" have the potential to dramatically change the way we do business electronically -- whether making a credit card purchase over the Internet, trading stocks and bonds, sending proprietary information through e-mail, or executing a wire transfer of money or other assets -- and also significantly decrease the millions of dollars that are lost through fraud from impostors and hackers. GTE and IriScan anticipate global introduction of the combined technology in cooperation with strategic partners in the information and telecommunications industries in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Asia. Recent independent testing of IriScan technology by British Telecommunications (BT) in the U.K. and NTT Data in Japan -- along with a product co-development agreement with LG Electronics of Korea -- are expected to accelerate this process. Earlier IriScan technology licenses to Sensar, Inc. and OKI Electric Industries of Japan that focus on the banking industry are also an important aspect of the global use of iris recognition. IriScan anticipates that the Iris Certificate Security program will be open and flexible, allowing additional players in the electronic commerce arena to participate. The adoption of iris recognition technology into the world of cyberspace and electronic commerce will evolve into related areas as well. "The Internet is the key," remarked John E. Siedlarz, President & CEO of IriScan, Inc. "With the insecurity of PINs, codes, and passwords becoming more evident, the marketplace is ready for the most capable biometric -- specifically iris recognition -- to confirm the authenticity of the person (or persons) participating in an exchange. These exchanges include credit card transactions, ATMs, computer banking, telecommunication services, database security, social services benefits, and healthcare and medical records." GTE's Musgrave also emphasized the individual privacy protection offered by the new certification process: Access to private data -- which is protected by an IrisCode(TM) -- must include the voluntary participation of the enrolled and rightful owner of that information. Terms of the deal with privately held IriScan were not disclosed, but the monetary and resource commitment planned by GTE was said to be "very significant." Wireless Turf Battles Seen Turf battles among cellular, Personal Communication Services (PCS) and Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio (ESMR) operators have driven per-minute wireless user charges down by more than a third in some areas of the country, according to a study issued by Paul Kagan Associates Inc., a market research firm based in Carmel, California. Many wireless carriers in metropolitan areas where multiple cellular and PCS carriers have faced off for at least nine months have drastically cut rates, notes the study. In 29 fully competitive PCS-cellular markets surveyed in December 1996 and again in September 1997, the average cost-per-minute for low-, moderate- and heavy-usage mobile wireless service fell 6 percent. According to the study, one Milwaukee operator sliced per-minute charges by 43 percent. In New York, another cropped rates by 33 percent and in Jacksonville, Florida, two rivals cut their low-usage plans by 28 percent and 35 percent, respectively. "PCS operators, as well as Nextel with its ESMR web, are pushing the edge of the envelope, and cellular carriers must counter PCS moves or risk unacceptably high churn," says Sharon Armbrust, a senior analyst at Paul Kagan Associates. "The good news is aggressive ad campaigns and heated price competition are growing the pie for all." Microsoft Ending Santa Cruz Feud To end a dispute before the European Commission, Microsoft Corp. is dropping provisions of a contract that rival software publisher Santa Cruz Operation Inc. said hurt its ability to compete. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Don Clark says Microsoft will release SCO from provisions of a 1987 contract that required SCO to include Microsoft code in future versions of its Unix operating system and pay royalties whether or not it used that code. "SCO privately complained about the provisions to EC regulators in January," Clark reports. "The commission in May issued objections to the contract terms on grounds that they violated European laws governing competition. The EC is expected to announce Microsoft's action today, closing a proceeding that hadn't been disclosed before." The Journal says Microsoft's concessions won't have much financial impact, "but the affair illustrates how U.S. companies can use Europe's regulatory apparatus to gain leverage against other American competitors." Clark says SCO also complained about the contract to the Justice Department, which is studying several aspects of Microsoft's business practices, however the EC regulatory division called Directorate-General IV offered the prospect of quicker action. The concessions will allow SCO to create a new version of Unix without adding Microsoft technology that SCO contends serves no useful function. SCO now is obligated to pay Microsoft about $15 per copy on current Unix products, and royalty payments totaled about $4 million, or eight cents a share, in SCO's fiscal year ended Sept. 30. Microsoft contends SCO was trying to evade an obligation to pay royalties for Microsoft code embedded in the Unix software, but Microsoft attorney Bradford Smith said his client agreed to waive the disputed contract provisions after it devised a way to do so while preserving rights to that intellectual property. Hyundai Adds New Monitors Hyundai Electronics America has added new 15- and 17-inch color monitors to its DeluxScan line. The $250 DeluxScan 5870 is a 15-inch Windows 95 plug-and-play-compatible multiscanning monitor that provides a 1,280- by 1,024-pixel maximum resolution and a .28 dot pitch. The $599 DeluxScan 17S offers a 1,600- by 1,280-pixel maximum resolution, a .26mm dot pitch and 82kHz operation. Both models feature digital on-screen controls that allow users to customize their monitor by adjusting color intensity, display image saturation and image geometrics to personal preferences. Users can also select from 5 different languages (English, French, German, Italian or Spanish). "We are constantly upgrading the features of our DeluxScan monitors to offer users the latest technological improvements," says Charles Root, vice president of sales and marketing for Hyundai Electronics America's monitor division, which is based in San Jose, California. Hyundai says the new displays meet or exceed worldwide regulations for safety, EMI and design, and are manufactured under ISO9000 certification. Hyundai offers a 30-day money back guarantee; a 3-year warranty on parts, labor and CRT; and free unlimited technical support. Additional details are available on the Web at www.hyundai-monitors.com/. Toshiba Drops Infinia Line Toshiba America will discontinue selling the year-old Infinia consumer-desktop personal computer when it sells its remaining inventory. In explaining the move, trade publication CMP's Computer Retail Week says officials of the company, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp., cited a "dramatically changed" market, especially with the predominance of PCs priced below $1,000. Also, says the Reuter News Service, "Several critical miscalculations and a disturbing drop in market share for Toshiba's core notebook-computer products made Infinia's demise inevitable." CMP says the firm intends to remain in the desktop market, but only on the commercial enterprise side. Toshiba Vice President Ron Crocco told the publication, "We found that basically the market has changed dramatically over the last year. Sales of sub-$1,000 PC sales grew by leaps and bounds and caused us to look at what we are going to do in this space." Stanford Gets Apple Memorabilia Thousands of pieces of memorabilia and artifacts that chronicle the unique 21-year history of Apple Computer Inc. have been acquired by Stanford University. Reporting from Palo Alto, California, the Reuter News Service quotes Henry Lowood, library curator for the history of science and technology collection at Stanford, as saying Apple made a gift to the university of its museum and historical collections, which filled about 2,000 boxes. The documents, hardware, software and other items illustrate the culture and history of the iconoclastic company that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started in a garage in 1976, Reuters. Although Lowood has looked at only about one percent of the collection, "the nature of the items ranged from rare to quirky to cheeky," says Reuters. Lowood said an Apple I computer and prototypes for several other computers that never made it to the production line were among the more uncommon items. Adds Lowood, "It's really a longitudinal picture of Apple from its lifetime. From what I've learned through my contacts at Apple, they were very interested in doing something with this collection because it just seemed like the stuff was in danger from sitting around in storage." He said he and his colleagues will spend the next 12 months sifting through the collection and drawing up a detailed inventory to facilitate future research. 'Wizards and Their Wonders: Portraits In Computing' Offers Intimate Portraits and Profiles of Computer Visionaries New Book Complements the 'Wizards and Their Wonders' Exhibit Now on View at The Computer Museum "Wizards and Their Wonders: Portraits In Computing," by Christopher Morgan, offers a rare view inside the Information Revolution. The new book, featuring nearly 200 intimate color portraits taken by Louis Fabian Bachrach III, contains informative profiles of the engineers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, communicators, and politicians responsible for the course of the computer industry. The book is co-published by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and The Computer Museum and was designed by Gill Fishman Associates of Cambridge, Massachusetts. "Wizards and Their Wonders, Portraits In Computing" complements the exhibit of the same name now showing at The Computer Museum in Boston, Massachusetts through May 31, 1998. The Wizards project (book plus exhibit) is the first-ever attempt to chronicle this extraordinary group of innovators at the prime of the technology revolution. The book is priced at $49.95 (ISBN 0-89791-960-2) and is available from the ACM (800-342-6626; http://www.acm.org/catalog; e-mail: orders@acm.org) or The Computer Museum Store (617-426-2800, ext. 307; http://www.tcm.org/store; e-mail: store@tcm.org). Further information is available at http://www.tcm.org/info/exhibits/wizards.html. "Wizards and Their Wonders: Portraits In Computing" features specially commissioned color portraits taken by noted photographer Louis Fabian Bachrach III and an introduction by author and television personality James Burke. The book and exhibit focus on the human side of computing, offering an "insider's look" at the people driving the Information Revolution. A panel of National Medal of Technology recipients, as well as other industry award winners selected the wizards. These are the people who sparked and drove the explosive growth of an entire industry. Yet, while people know who invented the telephone, rarely do they know who invented the microprocessor. In presenting many wizards' portraits with their inventions, the book and exhibit provide a rare educational opportunity for the public to learn about visionaries and inventors, while many are still innovating," said Alfred R. Berkeley III, president, The Nasdaq Stock Market, the first electronic-based and fastest growing market ever created. "The contributions of the nearly 200 wizards in the book and the exhibit are indisputable, from the mouse and the microprocessor, to applications software and the Internet," said Charles House, president of the ACM. "Their vision has influenced today's commerce, culture and community." Many of the people depicted are familiar; others may surprise even 'insiders.' Names like Bill Gates -- known the world over -- are juxtaposed with other important names more familiar to 'insiders' and aficionados. Nine of the 'wizards' have received the ACM's coveted Turing Award. "Both the book and exhibit capture a revolution in progress," said Gwen Bell, founding president, The Computer Museum. "With the unprecedented pace of innovation, many of the key figures are still alive and setting the industry's course. We seized this opportunity to stop time and create a legacy for the future -- a core part of the Museum's mission." 'Wizards' was the brainchild of Bell and Bachrach. The book features photographs of the actual inventions of some of the pioneers. Artifacts include the Xerox PARC Alto, the first computer with a mouse and windows, and a front panel from an IBM 360 computer, the most popular family of computers ever developed. Other highlights include Federico Faggin's prototype of the Busicom Desktop Calculator using the first microprocessor, Intel's 4004 chip, and a prototype of the Macintosh computer. The exhibit was generously underwritten by the international investment banking and securities firm of Goldman, Sachs & Co. Net Part of Thanksgiving Address Think the Internet's not pervading all of American life? It's now even cropping up in the president's traditional Thanksgiving address. After the usual references to Pilgrims and Native Americans coming together through the rough Massachusetts winter, President Clinton yesterday brought the story up to date, saying, "Our children are growing up free from the shadows of the Cold War and the threat of nuclear holocaust" and "nations once held captive by communism are learning the lessons of liberty and democracy." Then, according to United Press International, Clinton referred to the Internet, saying, "A revolution in technology has brought the world closer together and holds the prospect of greater knowledge and prosperity for people across the globe." MCI to Offer Family Web Workshops MCI Communications Corp. reports it will offer "Smart-Surfing Workshops" to instruct parents and children on how to surf the Internet safely and wisely. The free workshops, which will take place next year in five cities, will "show families who go online how to evade the bad as well as be enriched by the good," says Diane Strahan, executive director of MCI's community relations unit. Strahan notes that the Smart-Surfing Workshops will educate families on the basics of Internet use, how to effectively monitor their kids' usage, how to utilize filtering software and how to encourage the practice of family-friendly Internet navigation. MCI will release a list of the cities and workshop dates early next year. "Our new workshops will convey that more is at stake online than child safety; equally important is child learning," says Strahan. "The Internet offers wonderful new opportunities for enhancing learning at all levels of education. By teaching online safety, we ease the way for online learning -- the more children learn how to navigate the Net safely the more they'll navigate beneficially. That's the real meaning of smart-surfing." IBM Chief Agrees to Stay On IBM Corp. reports that Chairman and CEO Louis V. Gerstner Jr. has agreed to remain at the company for at least another five years, when he will turn 60 years old. The computer maker's board of directors has awarded Gerstner an additional stock option grant of 2 million shares of IBM common stock. Industry analysts have credited Gerstner, who assumed control of IBM's helm in 1993, with reversing the company's downward spiral. Earlier this year, IBM stock surpassed a 10-year high. On Thursday, it closed up $1.69 a share to $104.75 on the New York Stock Exchange. Packard Bell NEC Grows One year after the merger between Packard Bell Electronics and NEC Computer Systems Division, Packard Bell NEC reports it has become the second largest PC manufacturer in the U.S. The company, based in Sacramento, California, also says it has created a global customer-driven organization that is participating in every market segment: consumer, corporate, education and government. "With the Packard Bell brand focused exclusively on the home market, where it is currently the number one seller worldwide, and the NEC brand offering the broadest product depth for commercial users, Packard Bell NEC is positioned be a top-tier player in the PC market," says Beny Alagem, Packard Bell NEC's chairman, CEO and president. "Last year, we seized the opportunity to create a global computer power with the manufacturing infrastructure, logistics expertise, market focus and brand depth to lead the industry. Today, we offer the most innovative technology, highest quality and greatest value in personal computing to people in every field of endeavor, in every corner of the globe." "We pioneered the sale of PCs to the home and now are the world's number one selling home PC," adds Brent Cohen, president of Packard Bell NEC's consumer and international divisions. "Our goal today is to be the consumer's best friend: we provide the easiest computers to use at home and the best service and support to our customers." The company's key priority is to become a major force in the commercial market. Packard Bell NEC has embarked on a new distribution strategy called NEC NOW, which utilizes the company's build-and-configure-to-order capabilities to give commercial customers a full choice in how, when and where they purchase NEC brand products. Telecommuting Web Site Opens Symantec Corp. has opened a Web site devoted to telecommuting. The Telecommuting Resource Center Web Site (http://www.symantec.com/telecommute) provides information and guidelines that aim to help employers implement a telecommuting solution, including telecommuting success stories, a telecommuting how-to guide, links to other telecommuting sites and a guide to Symantec's telecommuting software solutions. "The launch of this Web site caters to both the IS manager as well as the end-user who may be interested in telecommuting, and can offer a wide variety of expertise to help those companies implement the telecommuting solution that is right for them and for their employees," says Matt DiMaria, vice president of Symantec's Americas marketing unit in Cupertino, California. Amicus Attorney Product Suite Now Available on CD-ROM. Toronto, November 26, 1997: Gavel & Gown Software Inc., developers of the award-winning case management software, AMICUSr ATTORNEY, have released a CD-ROM version of their Windows product line. Version 2.6 of Amicus Attorney PRO, Lawyer Office, Assistant Office and Amicus Team, are now available on CD-ROM, providing users with a simplified installation and licensing routine. The CD also offers a multimedia tour and a complete set of on-line documentation. Amicus Attorney will continue to be available on diskette. 'We are pleased to offer Amicus Attorney PRO on CD. Firms can setup multiple Offices with just one CD. This facilitates the installation and licensing process for end-users and for our network of certified consultants, comments Ron Collins, President of Gavel & Gown Software. We know that new users as well as existing users who upgrade to Version 2.6 will find the new packaging and distribution method a plusE. Fulfillment on CD-ROM coincides with the release of version 2.6 of Amicus Attorney PRO. Version 2.6 includes a sophisticated link with TIMESLIPS Deluxe, providing a direct post of time sheets and the ability to share client and file information with Amicus Attorney PRO. Version 2.6 also introduced a link with WORLDOXr, a document management program by World Software Corporation. It also includes an enhanced interface with HotDocsr version 4.1.07 document automation software by Capsoft Development Corporation Inc., which supports the use of HotDocs answer files. Amicus Attorney is jurisdiction-independent legal software designed for private practice and corporate legal departments. It is distributed throughout North America, England, Australia and other parts ofthe world. Founded in 1993, Gavel & Gown Software Inc. is located in Toronto and may be reached at 1-800-472-2289. Gavel & Gown's web site is www.amicus.ca A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N LEXMARK OPTRA C COLOR LASER PRINTER For a limited time only; If you wish to have a FREE sample printout sent to you that demonstrates LEXMARK Optra C SUPERIOR QUALITY 600 dpi Laser Color Output, please send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope [SASE] (business sized envelope please) to: STReport's LEXMARK Printout Offer P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155 Folks, the LEXMARK Optra C has to be the very best yet in its price range. It is far superior to anything we've seen or used as of yet. It is said that ONE Picture is worth a thousand words. The out put from the Lexmark Optra C is worth ten thousand words! Send for the free sample now. (For a sample that's suitable for framing, see below) Guaranteed. you will be amazed at the superb quality. (Please.. allow at least a two week turn- around). If you would like a sample printout that's suitable for framing. Yes that's right! Suitable for Framing. Order this package. It'll be on special stock and be of superb quality. We obtained a mint copy of a 1927 COLOR ENGRAVER'S YEAR BOOK. Our Scanner is doing "double duty"! The results will absolutely blow you away. If you want this high quality sample package please include a check or money order in the amount of $6.95 (Costs only) Please, make checks or money orders payable to; Ralph Mariano. Be sure to include your full return address and telephone number . The sample will be sent to you protected, not folded in a 9x12 envelope. Don't hesitate.. you will not be disappointed. This "stuff" is gorgeous! 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 UltraEdit- The Full Story This is Our Story. To God be the Glory! By Ian D. Mead This is our testimony of God's direction, guidance and provision for us over the last year. The writing of this was inspired by a good Pastor friend who had heard of a little of the story. It seems like no coincidence that this inspiration came just one week before the 1st anniversary of one of the main events. This really starts back in late November of 1993. I was an engineering manager in a well paying job and quite successful in the corporate world. At that time, I was wanting to better my programming skills, to better advise others that worked for me, and to maintain my knowledge. I however was very reluctant however to spend the $200.00 on the software program that I needed to do this, but decided to proceed. Of course, one tends to live according to one's means and so money had to be watched. [I realize this is almost too detailed or technical, but it's surprising how the smallest of details can be a part of God's much bigger plan]. After buying the development software that was a tool used to develop software programs I decided to write a small program that would be useful to me as a learning exercise. This was a simple editor to replace what is known as "NOTEPAD" in the Windows world. I spent the next three to 4 months developing this, and found that it was quite useful. I showed it to friends and colleagues where I worked and they also thought it was useful. After some time, it occurred to me that if others liked it they may be willing to pay a small price for it. There is a concept for software distribution called Shareware - Basically you try the software for a limited time for free and if you like it you send a "registration" fee to the author. So, I decided to consult a friend and colleague about this idea - he was a lot more knowledgeable about this at the time, and more aware of the electronic distribution channels. Well, his advice was not to bother trying. I would get a lot of people wanting changes and sending messages and only a few people would register is what he advised - I did as I often do in a case like this, I thanked him for his advise and decided I was going to continue and pursue it as planned. I won't bore you here with all the details, but I uploaded the software to CompuServe (this was around April 15th 1994), a very large online computer network and started to receive interest almost immediately. I was stunned when after just one month a large company was interested in 60 copies, and after some changes did purchase the 60 copies. It seemed amazing in such a short time that this editor was progressing quite well. I just thanked God, not at this point for the monetary gain, but the satisfaction and encouragement it gave me. My wife and I were surprised and thankful. As time went on I continued to develop this editor based on user requests, putting literally thousands of hours of work into it - God has truly blessed us, but it is not just handed to us on a plate we should be good stewards of our time and work hard. As I developed this, I received more and more interest and recognition as an editor of choice over then next year or so, and it became clear that something had to change. I was working two full time jobs, one of them being the work with the editor. What should we do? In early 1996 we were convinced that a change was necessary, but what? I had a good job, good salary, good benefits and generally I was happy with my job - but I had always wanted to go into business on my own. We prayed about this, and we felt more and more as time progressed that we should make a change - surely God had not blessed our efforts with the editor for us just to say it's too much, but dare we take the step and make it our full time occupation? [It's helpful to understand a little of the Shareware concept here - Basically people would call us, fax us, send mail etc. requesting a registration for the editor (most recently called UltraEdit) allowing them to continue using it and they would in turn pay us $30.00] On March 18th 1996, we had received 11 "registrations'" for UltraEdit. This was a good day, and of course was an encouragement to us - But will it stop - is one product enough? This was tough, I didn't have time to generate more products. As I went to bed that night, I was praying about the situation, and I just felt like saying to God "If you give me 20 registrations tomorrow I will KNOW that I should quit my full time job, that it is your will". As soon as I said this, I was excited, I felt sure it was going to happen. I also prayed for forgiveness if I was wrong to ask - I don't like to try and make deals with God but really wanted his confirmation. The next day came, I didn't mention this to my wife. This was between God and I, I would share it with my wife at the end of the day. Needless to say, I checked my e-mail looking for registrations, and I believe I had three in the morning - a good start. I was really excited that day, I called home a couple of times to see how the registrations were going - it was quiet! I got home later that day and checked the mail - No registrations! I was disappointed. I checked the fax machine, there was an order for 10! I couldn't wait to log on and found additional registrations - a total of 21!!! I am embarrassed to admit, at this point, being a technical person, I mentally noted that 21 was not 20 - I had asked for 20. I shared this with my wife, and we just prayed and gave thanks to God, who really had answered our prayers - we knew now that this was the thing to do. Later that evening, an additional registration came in - that made 22. As soon as I realized this, I remembered the night before - after asking God for 20 registrations, I had said to myself (I dare not say this to God - but he knows our every thought), I should have asked for 22 as it would be twice the number of the day before. Boy - did I know now that that God was in control!!! >From this point we knew that I was going to quit my job. I told a few people almost immediately. I expected non-Christians to think I was crazy, but it's surprising how negative Christians can be also. We started to make the plans, sort out medical and make sure we had everything in place. It took a while to do this, and I actually stayed longer than I probably should. I left the company at the end of May 1996. Many people asked what I was going to do, had comments and opinions. With only the one product several offered a lot of doubt, but we knew the Lord's direction. There were times when I would ask myself, or my wife if this was right - but nothing could then, or today take away that true knowledge of direction we had received. We knew this was God's will, he had given us such a peace and joy about it. I left the company on May 31st 1996 and since then have been fully self employed still working on the editor, improving it and enhancing it. God has opened up so many opportunities with this business, with special versions of the editor for some large companies. His provision has been so much more than we would have dreamed. Today (March 11th 1997) we are swamped with work and orders for the editor. We pray for God's direction for the future, we don't know exactly what it holds. We know that it we trust God, he is faithful to us and will show us his will and direction. I don't deserve God's blessing as he has provided for us. I don't ask God why in case he decides to take it away, but I know that I owe it all to him. In all that he gives us, we try to give back to him. We don't give our tithes (a percentage of weekly income given back to God - biblically 10%) to get more from God, we owe them and more to him, but as we increase our giving, it seems as we are blessed more and more. I could have written a lot more here, but I believe this tells the story of God's direction in our lives, and his provision for us. I truly pray, that if this is read, it gives encouragement and hope to the reader, and most importantly Glory to God. UltraEdit Features: z Disk based text editing - upto 2GB file size, minimum RAM used even for multi-megabyte files. z Column mode editing, Insert columns/delete/cut/add sequential numbers. z 100,000 word spell checker, with foreign languages support (American English, British English, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish). z Syntax highlighting - configurable, pre-configured for C/C++, VB, HTML and Java, FORTRAN and LaTex options. z Configurable Keyboard Mapping in Advanced Configuration (32-Bit only). z Drag and Drop Editing. z File Sort with ascending, descending, remove duplicate, ignore case - (works on selected region or complete file). z ASCII file compare. z Insert string at regular specified intervals in file - ideal for Database users. z IntelliMouse scrolling support. z Replace in files. z Replace in all open files. z Hexadecimal Editor - Allows editing of any binary file, shows binary and ASCII view. z HEX Cut, Copy and Paste support, HEX Insert and Delete of characters. z HEX Find, Replace and Replace All. z Multiple files open and displayed at the same time. z Open multiple files at once from the file open dialog (UltraEdit or UltraEdit-32 on Windows 95). z Insert file into an existing document at cursor position. z Save Selection As file. z Splitter Windows. z Configurable toolbar. z Drag and Drop support from the file manager. z Automatic word wrap at specified column with hard return. z Insert and overstrike modes for editing. z Multi-level undo and redo. z Find and Replace with Regular Expressions - Also allows selection of text between caret and find target when shift key is pressed. z Regular Expressions Support tagged expressions for find/replace. z Word Count in Search Menu (includes line count). z Goto Line Number or Page. z Viewing with line numbers on left side of window (View menu). z Printing of line numbers (Page Setup). z Ruler for column numbers (View menu). z Font Selection for display and printer. (Supports all fonts installed including True Type fonts). z Print support with headers/footers (with alignment commands), margins and page breaks. z Automatic Line Indentation. z Tab Settings. z Word Wrap Support. z Show spaces, tabs and new lines (View menu). z Bookmarks - Unlimited number of Bookmarks. z Multiple Windows of the same file. z Comprehensive macro support, including saving and loading, multiple macros with Hot Keys. z Autoload Macro specified from Macro Menu. z Context Sensitive Help. z Automatic backup file generated with (.BAK) extension in the directory of the original file. z UltraEdit retains its screen position each time it is used. z Line & column number display (line number display may be disabled). z Pop-up menus with right mouse button. z Text conversion to lower or upper case, invert case and capitalization. z UNIX/MAC to DOS conversion. z DOS to UNIX or Mac conversion. z Auto save files as input format option to allow automatic detection, editing and saving of Unix or MAC files. z Convert ANSI to OEM, OEM to ANSI (format menu). z Auto detect UNIX or Binary/Hex files when loaded. z Convert Word Wrap to CR/LF's allowing word wrap to be written to file with hard returns. z Convert CR/LF's to Word Wrap (removes CR/LF's from file). z Trim Trailing Spaces. z EBCDIC file conversions (to/from ASCII). z Template Support (upto 20 User Templates). z Find matching braces. z Spawn a DOS command and capture output - run a compiler. z Start a Windows Program. z Tools configuration, up to 10 user tools in advanced menu. z Support for help files to be referenced automatically from UltraEdit in keyword searches. Great for adding help support for your programming API. z Literal character insertion to insert control codes - CTRL+I. z Read Only default option and edit menu item. z Delete Line. z Insert Date and Time. z Column markers to display vertical line at specified columns (View menu). z Fixed non-scrollable area (columns to the left of the first column marker) option (View menu). z Color selection for background, normal/selected text, bookmarks, line/column numbers (view menu). z Option to automatically reload the last set of open files on startup. z Command line option for line and column positioning, Read only, file lists and more. z Default save directory and backup directory may be specified. z INI file selection using command line - Great for multiple configurations. z DDE Support with full command line options. z ASCII Table (View Menu). z Default Browser button/menu item to show current file in the default WWW browser (Window menu). z TABS to select between open files (View menu enabled) (32-bit only). z Favorite Files List (File Menu). z And lots more... UltraEdit v5.00 Changes: z Option to print two logical pages on one sheet z Macro editing z Macro load appending file to existing macros z Macro delete all z Warning when quitting without saving macros z Sum numbers in selected text or columns (Column menu) z Find whole word only z Find/replace wraps round at end of file (option in configuration) z Line/Column display color options z Custom colors now supported z Status bar indicator for file type (DOS/Unix/Mac) z Status bar indicator for HEX and DECIMAL offset in HEX mode z Delimiter highlighting for syntax highlighting z Scroll line up/down with Ctrl+Cursor UP/Down z Select word hot key - same as double click (Ctrl+J) z Support for up to 5 characters for the block comments z HTML comments now supported as <!-- ... --> z Right click menu on file tabs (32-Bit Only) z Regular expression support '+' to find one or more of the previous character. z File insert detects UNIX/MAC files when inserted z Print output of file compare (Basic support) z Minor bug fixes and more... EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage Contents Justice Disputes Microsoft's Claims ITU Says Teledesic Must Share Frequencies Can Journalistic Ethics Coexist With New Media? New IBM Computer Sees And Hears Multiplayer Gaming Market Set To Explode Net To Kill, Create Jobs By Millions Is Microsoft Really Smart Or Really Stupid? Gerstner Re-Ups Will Andy Be Replaced By An Indian? Government May Tighten Encryption Rules Microsoft, Intel Rethink NC Dow Jones To Charge For Online Quotes Netscape To Buy Kiva Learning How We Learn Cyber Hate-Speech Case Ends In Mistrial Microsoft Releases Rival Firm From Unix Royalties Not So Helpful At The Help Desk JUSTICE DISPUTES MICROSOFT'S CLAIMS The U.S. Department of Justice disputes Microsoft's claim that investigators had known for years about its plans to integrate its Internet Explorer into the Windows operating system. "Internet Explorer was not designed or 'developed' to be an integrated product with Windows 95," says a document prepared by Justice's antitrust division. The Justice Department, which is seeking a $1-million-a-day fine unless the software developer changes its aggressive marketing practices, accused Microsoft of attempting "to rewrite history" with this latest explanation. (InfoWorld Electric 21 Nov 97) ITU SAYS TELEDESIC MUST SHARE FREQUENCIES The International Telecommunication Union has granted guaranteed Ka-band radio frequency access to several proposed multimedia satellite systems, including Alcatel's Skybridge and Motorola's Celestri. The decision, urged by European members, reverses a 1995 ITU decision which effectively gave Teledesic, the "Internet-in-the-Sky" project proposed by Bill Gates and Craig McCaw, a de facto monopoly. "It has adopted a treaty which will allow systems to continue to develop and be deployed," says an ITU spokeswoman. "Competition is assured." The new arrangement means that for the first time, geostationary, or fixed-orbit, satellite systems will have to share bandwidth with nongeostationary systems, enabling competing systems to re-use each others' frequencies. (Reuters 21 Nov 97) CAN JOURNALISTIC ETHICS COEXIST WITH NEW MEDIA? Former Wired VP David Weir says: "There's potential conflict brewing in branding new media: how to create a successful business and maintain journalistic values such as honesty, truth, and integrity under the enormous pressure to reach profitability quickly... In traditional media, everyone tends to know the ground rules (such as being interrupted on a semi-regular basis by commercials). But for the Internet, there are no ground rules: It's a Wild West; it has to be invented. All of the Web sites are challenged to create a great interface but are limited really in what they can establish on that interface design to fit on a laptop or small screen... You have to load on as much marketing and banners -- all in that small space -- as you can, which is the problem. And there's no agreed-upon way to solve that problem such as the commercial which interrupts the news. That certainly was true at Wired," which, he says, is still trying to figure out its branding strategy. (Tech Investor 21 Nov 97) NEW IBM COMPUTER SEES AND HEARS A new IBM computer uses a combination of speech recognition and a small camera to track the movements of users, enabling the computer to respond to a combination of voice commands and hand gestures -- for instance, "Take this paragraph and move it down here," or "Make this logo about this big." The company anticipates commercial applications in two years. (Investor's Business Daily 21 Nov 97) MULTIPLAYER GAMING MARKET SET TO EXPLODE DFC Intelligence, an interactive entertainment research company, predicts that the market for online games will expand at an annual growth rate of 66% over the next five years, to $1.26 billion by 2001. The company says that PC-based games will make up $709 million, with set-top devices and game consoles comprising the remaining $555 million. The biggest obstacles to the success of online gaming will be technical difficulties, particularly infrastructure and bandwidth issues, and developing a successful business model. (TechWeb 21 Nov 97) NET TO KILL, CREATE JOBS BY MILLIONS Clinton Administration special advisor Ira Magaziner told an OECD conference that millions of jobs will be destroyed around the world as business computerizes and moves onto the Internet, but that the new technology will eventually create even more jobs; Magaziner went on to say that governments need to allow markets to break down barriers to Internet commerce, even though employment could often be thrown into turmoil as the information society causes the same kind of upheaval as experienced during the industrial revolution. Donald Johnston, director general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said it would do all in its power to break down constraints on Internet ways of doing business. Johnston noted there are suggestions from some governments that new taxes levied on business generated across the worldwide network of computers known as the Internet would be resisted. (Toronto Star 20 Nov 97) IS MICROSOFT REALLY SMART OR REALLY STUPID? While the most of the computer industry has been retrenching on basic research, Microsoft has been expanding aggressively. Asked to explain why Microsoft is so at odds with the rest of the industry in this regard, Microsoft chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold says: "It means we're either really smart or really stupid. Whenever you're greatly at odds with the rest of the world, one of those two things is true." (Fortune 8 Dec 98) GERSTNER RE-UPS IBM chief Lou Gerstner agreed to extend his contract as top executive of IBM at least until his 60th birthday in 2002. Though IBM stock has increased 500% since Gerstner joined the company in 1993, he considers his turnaround job only half-way finished, saying that the first half of the turnaround "was to get from survival to strength" and that "now we need to go from strength to leadership. I think that is going to take another five years." (Wall Street Journal 21 Nov 97) WILL ANDY BE REPLACED BY AN INDIAN? Intel chief executive Andy Grove says: "If you can telecommute from Boise, somebody else can do it from India. This can cut every which way. Medical advice can go from Memorial Sloan-Kettering back to India. That's a fascinating aspect. A lot of work can be imported and exported. It won't matter where people work. Trade concepts and pricing will apply to nonphysical work." (Forbes ASAP 1 Dec 97) GOVERNMENT MAY TIGHTEN ENCRYPTION RULES The Clinton Administration is considering a policy that would put new restrictions on the ability of financial institutions to use the strongest available encryption technologies to protect electronic transactions. In favor of such restrictions: Law enforcement agencies worried about strong encryption being used by terrorists and criminals, and traditional banks, which want a narrow definition of what a financial institution is. Opposed: Software companies, securities firms and Internet startups offering financial services that were formerly provided only by banks. (New York Times 24 Nov 97) MICROSOFT, INTEL RETHINK NC After spurning the Network Computer concept, and coming out with a slimmed-down NetPC instead, Microsoft and Intel now are exploring the possibility of manufacturing a diskless version that would download modified Windows NT 5.0 software from a server. The new effort is being billed as a "logical extension" of the NetPC, which some industry insiders say has not been selling up to expectations. One analyst for Goldman Sachs & Co. notes that the new machine could give the Java NCs from Sun Microsystems stiff competition: "There is a lot of interest in a thin client that could still have a Windows desktop. This would co-opt NCs by providing Windows compatibility." Meanwhile, Novell CEO Eric Schmidt says: "What Microsoft and Intel did is they took the NC and they refined it into an NC plus all the applications you already use, a very clever marketing strategy. The thing missing in their strategy was... that the real problem with the NC and the personal computer as they exist today is in the back end, not the front end." (Computer Reseller News 22 Nov 97) DOW JONES TO CHARGE FOR ONLINE QUOTES Dow Jones says it will renegotiate contracts with more than 50 outside companies that use its online and electronic services to distribute industrial average quotes to customers. A company spokesman says the change is intended to offset expenses it will incur as it moves to become the sole provider of industrial average calculations. Critics of the new scheme say they can access other indicators for tracking the stock market for free, such as Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, but meanwhile, S&P says they're keeping "a keen eye" on the Dow Jones situation. (Wall Street Journal 25 Nov 97) NETSCAPE TO BUY KIVA Netscape Communications will acquire Kiva Software for $180 million in stock, a move that will give the Web browser company a leg up in the enterprise network market. Kiva makes software that enables companies to link partners, distributors, suppliers and customers and use large-scale applications over networks based on Internet standards. "If you want to deploy mission-critical applications with very high throughput, then you need something like Kiva. They don't have a parallel in the marketplace today," says a VP at the Internet Shopping Network. (InfoWorld Electric 25 Nov 97) LEARNING HOW WE LEARN The National Science Foundation's new Learning and Intelligent Systems initiative is aimed at determining how learning takes place and how technology can help that process along. Grants worth more than $22.5 million have been awarded to 28 institutions for research on how animals and babies learn from the environment around them, and how older humans learn theoretical concepts that have not been directly experienced and then transfer those concepts to situations outside the original learning context. The unifying theme of the Learning and Intelligent Systems project, says a UCLA researcher, "is the interaction between the structure of the brain's learning mechanisms and the structure of the data that support that learning." One NSF organizer says some research will also be directed at developing new technologies that will better measure prior knowledge, thereby providing a shortcut in retraining people for a changing workplace. (Los Angeles Times 24 Nov 97) CYBER HATE-SPEECH CASE ENDS IN MISTRIAL The jury trial of a 20-year-old Latino man who, after flunking out of the University of California at Irvine, sent mail to 59 Asian university students telling them that they were responsible for all crime on the campus and vowing to "kill everyone of you personally," deadlocked with a vote of 9 to 3 jurors in favor of acquittal. The prosecution charged: "He thinks Asians get better grades, and blames them for his failure. He needed a scapegoat." The defense argued: "He sent it because he was bored. He wanted someone to talk to. He wanted someone to talk to him... [He] is not a member of the KKK. He is not a member of any hate group. He has no guns or arsenal at homes. There is evidence to show that he was bored." (New York Times 25 Nov 97) MICROSOFT RELEASES RIVAL FIRM FROM UNIX ROYALTIES Microsoft has said that competing software company Santa Cruz Operation won't have to pay the royalties stipulated in a 1987 contract that required it to include Microsoft code in future versions of its Unix operating system, and to pay the royalties whether or not it used the code. Santa Cruz had brought the matter before the European Commission, which determined the contract violated European laws governing competition. Santa Cruz, one of the few remaining independent operating system software makers, says the new arrangement will enable it create a new version of Unix without including Microsoft technology, which it says serves no purpose in the new product. Under the terms of the 1987 contract, it would have had to pay Microsoft about $15 a copy on all Unix products. (Wall Street Journal 24 Nov 97) For Immediate Release WinZipr 6.3 sr1 Now Shipping Subject: WinZipr 6.3 Now Shipping Award-Winning Zip Utility Now Features Built-in Disk Spanning and More Contact: Nico Mak, President, Nico Mak Computing, Inc. Internet: support@winzip.com P.O. Box 540, Mansfield, CT 06268 USA Media Inquiries: 860-429-3539 (voice) MANSFIELD, CT -- September 23, 1997 -- WinZipr 6.3, the leading Windows Zip utility, now includes automatic built-in disk spanning support for multi- disk Zip files. Other enhancements include better Windows 95/NT shell integration, so it is easier than ever to zip and unzip directly from the Explorer, and improvements to the built-in WinZip Self-Extractor Personal Edition. "Files keep getting bigger and bigger but most people are still using 1.4 meg floppies", said developer Nico Mak. "WinZip's new support for multi- disk Zip files helps solve this problem by letting users compress large files that won't fit on one diskette." Also new in WinZip 6.3 is an interface to the free Internet Browser Support Add-on, which lets users download and open Zip files from the Internet with one click via Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. There is no need to "Save to disk" and then switch to WinZip or to the Windows Explorer or File Manager to open the downloaded file. In addition, all files that have been downloaded are automatically copied from the Internet browser's temporary folder to a folder of the user's choice. This ensures that a permanent copy of the download is saved on the user's system, even if the downloaded file is automatically deleted by the browser. Key product features include: z Built-in PKZIP-compatible ZIP and UNZIP, including support for multi- disk Zip files. (PKZIP and PKUNZIP are not required for any zipping or unzipping operations.) z Internet file format support, including UUencode, BinHex, MIME, TAR, gzip, and Unix compress. z Windows 95 and NT 4.0 features, including long filename support and tight integration with the shell (all other features, including the new built-in disk spanning, are supported in the Windows 3.1 version). z An optional Wizard interface that steps the user through the process of unzipping and/or installing software distributed in Zip files. z Support for self-extracting files, which are ideal for sending Zip files to users who may not have an unzip utility. About WinZip: Best known for providing a familiar Windows interface for Zip files, WinZip allows users to manipulate Zip files and other popular archival/compression formats without a complex command line interface. The first Windows 3.x version was released in 1991, the first 32-bit Windows NT version was released in 1994, and the first Windows 95 version was released in August 1995. Recent WinZip awards include: 1997-8 STReport Editor's Choice Award 1997 Shareware Industry Convention "People's Choice" Awards 1997 Home Office Computing "Editor's Pick" Award 1997 Home PC Magazine "Editor's Choice" Award 1996 PC Week Labs "Analyst Choice" Award (December 9) 1996 PC Magazine "Best Utility" Shareware Award 1996 PC Computing "Best of the Internet" Award for compression In previous years WinZip was a finalist for the PC Computing 1995 "MVP" Award, was voted "Best Utility" at the 1994 annual Shareware Industry Awards, and won the Windows Magazine "Win100" Award in 1993. Requirements The 32-bit version of WinZip requires Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0; the 16- bit version requires Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups. The Internet Browser Support Add-On has been successfully tested with the latest browsers from Microsoft and Netscape as of September, 1997. WinZip has built-in support for all operations involving Zip files. No other programs are required to process Zip files. WinZip also has built-in support for extracting the contents from gzip, tar, and Unix compress files, for UUencoding Zip files, and for decoding any file encoded using the UUencode, XXencode, BinHex, and Base64 (including MIME) encoding methods. Some optional features (virus scanning, for example) require one or more external programs. Details are included in WinZip's online help. Pricing and Availability WinZip 6.3 is now shipping. Individual copies are priced at $29, including postage and handling. Both the Windows 95/NT and Windows 3.1 versions are shipped on the same disk and are covered by the same license agreement. Immediate online delivery is available for copies purchased on the Internet. For credit card orders, visit the WinZip web site (www.winzip.com) or call the Public Software Library at 800-242-4775. Quantity discounts and site licensing are available. Fully functional evaluation copies can be downloaded from the WinZip web site (www.winzip.com). For further information about WinZip, contact: Nico Mak Computing, Inc. P.O. Box 540, Mansfield, CT 06268 Or, send Internet mail to; support@winzip.com, or visit the WinZip web site: www.winzip.com . WinZip is a registered trademark of Nico Mak Computing, Inc. Other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. STReport's "Partners in Progress" Advertising Program The facts are in... STReport International Magazine reaches more users per week than any other weekly resource available today. Take full advantage of this spectacular reach. Explore the superb possibilities of advertising in STReport! Its very economical and smart business. 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STReport is published and released weekly on Fridays Evenings. All sizes based on a full color, eight and a half by eleven inch page. Trade-outs and Special Arrangements are available. Email us at or, for quick action call us at: VOICE: 904-292-9222 10am/5pm est FAX: 904-268-2237 24hrs Or, write us at: STR Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32205 15% Holiday Discount for Month of November. Kids Computing Corner Frank Sereno, Editor fsereno@streport.com The Kids' Computing Corner Computer news and software reviews from a parent's point of view Animaniacs Game Pack Mac/Win CD-ROM $20 all ages Funnybone Interactive P.O. Box 2961 Torrance, CA 90509 800-545-7677 http://www.funnybone.dvd.com Program Requirements IBM Macintosh OS: Windows 95 OS: System 7.1 CPU: 486DX2/66 CPU: PowerPC HD Space: n/a HD Space: N/A Memory: 16 MB Memory: 16 MB Graphics: 640 by 480 with 256 colors Graphics: 256 colors, 13" monitor CD-ROM: Double-speed CD-ROM: Double-speed Audio: Windows compatible sound card Other: mouse review by Frank Sereno (fsereno@streport.com) The Warners, brothers Yakko and Wakko along with their sister Dot, have been delighting audiences for more than four years with their zany television show, Animaniacs. Can their energy and humor be translated to a set of five computer games? The answer is definitely YES! If you're looking for a holiday game treat for young and old, Animaniacs Game Pack is hard to beat. This collection of games features great graphics, wonderful animations, snappy tunes and the talented voice characterizations of the actors from the television series. When the Warners find themselves inside your computer, they burst into a new version of their theme song that is complete with hilarious computer references (but without the balogna in their pants). Each game has a mini-cartoon introduction that is full of jokes along with hints on the game to come. The most familiar game is Tee Off, a challenging mini-golf layout that features several familiar characters from the Animaniacs series. You control Dot as she hits the links in the search for the perfect round. You control the direction and strength of the swings with the mouse. Timing your shots can be tricky because Dot doesn't begin her swing until after you have finished clicking for the strength of her stroke. Most holes have moving objects to obstruct the ball's progress toward the hole. One feature I would like to see added, especially since this is a game for young children, would be a stroke limit on the holes. It isn't fun to be stuck behind an obstruction for 10 or 20 shots. Prop Shop Drop is a race against time. You guide Yakko throw a vertically scrolling playfield. He starts off riding a bicycle over a course filled with obstacles. You must weave around or jump over these objects while running over the designated prop. Powerups are available as faster vehicles, a motorcycle and a race car. Controls are very simple and only require the left and right cursor keys while the spacebar makes Yakko's vehicle jump. You never know what hilarious objects you might see (and run over) on this path to glory. Dot's having nightmares! In Smoocher, she has to blow kisses at the bad guys to freeze them, then buss them on the lips to vanquish them in this platform game. Different villains require more kisses as you move up into the progressively more difficult levels. Unfortunately, you only start the game with ten kisses, but you can get powerups on the screen. The left and right cursor keys control horizontal movement while the up cursor is for jumping. The spacebar fires kisses at those dastardly perpetrators of evil. Belchinator Too reminds me of classic overhead exploration and survival games such as Gauntlet and Robotron. The Brain has cooked up another scheme for world domination, but the robots are running amok in the Acme Laboratories. Only Wakko can stop them with his gastrointestinal disturbances. You must save Brain by destroying the robots. Along the way you can consume various fuels (pop, chili and more) that will create more powerful belches. Guiding Wakko requires the cursor keys while other keys fire belches, toggle the map or rotate your weapons. The fifth game is Baloney's Balloon Drop. While the game packaging claims "non-violent game play," one can hardly consider dropping anvils on the villain to be an exercise in good will. That doesn't mean the game isn't fun! It will be especially enjoyable for bashers of a certain purple dinosaur. Baloney is the dinosaur host of a children's television show and his sugary actions drive the Warners crazy. To get revenge, they drop anvils on his head. In this Breakout variation, you use the mouse to move Dot and Wakko under Yakko as they hold a trampoline to propel him up into the balloons overhead. You will find anvils and various powerups among the balloons. Drop the anvils on Baloney to gain points. Don't miss Yakko or Baloney will squeeze a life out of him with a big, smothering hug. Animaniacs Game Pack has something for everyone. Each member of your family is sure to find a game (or five) that he will enjoy. All will marvel at the splendid animation and laugh at the side-splitting antics of the Warners. Be sure to watch for the special guest appearances by Pinky and The Brain. As an added bonus, the package includes an Animaniacs desktop wallpaper, cursors and sound bites. Funnybone Interactive backs the program with a 30-day moneyback guarantee. If you love the arcade games of days gone by or are a big fan of the Warners, you'll be sure to love the Animaniacs Game Pack. It's supery-dupery splendiferous! In the News KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURE SHIPS JUMPSTART SPANISH PROVIDES KIDS AN EARLY START TO LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE Press Release: In today's increasingly multicultural, global society, knowledge of a second language has become a valuable skill. As more and more parents search out effective ways to teach their children a foreign language, Knowledge Adventure recently began shipping JumpStart Spanish, new multimedia software designed to provide kids ages 3 - 6 a solid foundation for a bilingual future. JumpStart Spanish exposes kids to Spanish at a time in life when they are most receptive to learning and retaining a new language. Says Faye Schwartz, executive producer of JumpStart Spanish, "The latest research on brain development indicates that the optimal 'learning window' for acquiring a second language is between birth and age 10. Researchers know that auditory maps in the cortex are largely wired for learning language skills by age one. The more words a child hears during the first few years of life, the larger and faster the vocabulary will grow." Schwartz adds, "We designed JumpStart Spanish to provide children a solid foundation for mastering a second language during these critical formative years. The benefits for acquiring a second language at an early age are tremendous. It's another exercise for the brain to think more clearly and boost mental development. It also helps a child better understand his or her native language." Student-Tested, Teacher-Approved Throughout the development process of JumpStart Spanish, Knowledge Adventure consulted with a local immersion public school, where English- speaking students learn all of their curriculum in Spanish. "We had a unique opportunity to work closely with the teachers and principal at a local immersion school on content for JumpStart Spanish," says Schwartz. "They provided valuable feedback and we incorporated many of their suggestions into the program." JumpStart Spanish Overview In JumpStart Spanish, children join Mr. Hopsalot from JumpStart Kindergarten on a special visit to his clubhouse, set high in a tree. When kids arrive in the treehouse, they notice Mr. Hopsalot's affinity for the Spanish language. As they explore the many colorful items in his hangout, kids are exposed to Spanish and English translations of over 200 common vocabulary words. After exploring, children can test their retention of the Spanish language to earn gold stars, which can be traded for colorful tropical fish for the clubhouse's aquarium. A unique feature of JumpStart Spanish is a toggle, which enables Spanish- speaking children to learn English. In addition, the software offers the ability to listen to the activity directions in four different instruction languages: English, Spanish, French and German - enabling native French and German-speaking children to use JumpStart Spanish to learn Spanish and/or English. Mr. Hopsalot's Clubhouse In Mr. Hopsalot's clubhouse, children can explore 10 activities that introduce them to over 200 useful words and conversational phrases for subjects such as: Numbers Children learn Spanish/English translations for the numbers 1 - 10 as they perform fun magic tricks. Colors By identifying various colors in Spanish, kids can use their creativity to color and print over 15 different pictures. Articles of Clothing As kids dress their bear friends, they will have loads of fun learning the Spanish names for different articles of clothing. Months and Days of the Week Kids will enjoy singing along with a catchy tune about the days of the week, and clicking around calendar pages to learn dates as they discover hidden surprises. Common Household Items In the doll house, children explore the kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom, where they learn the names of common household items and food. Conversational Phrases Entertaining puppet videos show conversations about weather, food, feelings, introductions and time of day - helping kids learn common conversational phrases and build listening comprehension skills. Neighborhood Kids learn common vocabulary words by driving around town and picking up their cuddly friends on the way to a fiesta. Parts of the Body Kids click on Frank, the friendly green monster, to learn the Spanish translations of the parts of the body and make him perform funny tricks. Music Kids will get a taste of Spanish culture by listening to traditional folk songs - such as De Colores and Tengo un Mueca - on the boom box. Common Vocabulary Words By matching pictures in this fun game, children learn lots of Spanish vocabulary words as they uncover typical scenes from Spanish-speaking cultures. Key Features and Benefits JumpStart Spanish offers many unique benefits and features such as: Introduces children to a second during their critical formative years. Teaches over 200 basic vocabulary words and useful conversational phrases, and exposes children to Spanish-speaking cultures. A toggle which allows native English-speaking children to learn Spanish, and native Spanish-speaking kids to learn English. The ability to listen to the activity directions in four different instruction languages: English, Spanish, French and German. The options to display word tags and hear instant translations of the vocabulary words. Knowledge Adventure's exclusive Adaptive Learning TechnologyT, which automatically adjusts skill levels to match advancing abilities. A Progress Report which allows parents to track their child's exposure to the words presented in the program. New JumpStart Learning Tools Expanding on the breadth and depth of Knowledge Adventure's grade-based series, JumpStart Spanish is the second CD-ROM in the company's new line of "Learning Tools." This series offers the same integrated approach found in other JumpStart products to complement a child's education in supplemental skill areas such as Spanish and typing. Also new in the "Learning Tools" series is JumpStart Typing, an Olympic-style keyboarding competition designed to prepare kids ages 7 - 10 for success in today's computer- dominated world. Availability, Pricing and System Requirements JumpStart Spanish is immediately available at most major computer stores and mass-merchant chains nationwide. The Windows 95/Windows 3.1/Macintosh CD-ROM is expected to be priced at approximately $30. Customers can call (800) 542-4240 for sales and ordering information. System requirements for JumpStart Spanish are as follows: Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 CD-ROM 486DX 66 MHz or faster; double-speed CD-ROM drive; Windows 3.1 or Windows 95; 8 MB of RAM; SVGA 640x480 at 256 colors; MPC-compatible sound card. Macintosh CD-ROM 68040 or Power Mac; double-speed CD-ROM drive; System 7.1 or higher; 8 MB of RAM; 13" or larger color monitor. Knowledge Adventure, Inc. is a leading educational software publisher best known for pioneering grade-based software with the best-selling, award- winning JumpStart Learning System. The company is also known for its Adventure series and new Activity Center line. Founded in 1991, Knowledge Adventure is a subsidiary of CUC Software Services, Inc., a subsidiary of CUC International Inc. (NYSE: CU). # # # KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURE SHIPS NEW VERSION OF THE BEST-SELLING JUMPSTART KINDERGARTEN An all-new version of Knowledge Adventure's original JumpStart classic features Kid's Tutor Technology, new phonics activities, updated graphics and animation, a printable activity workbook and motivational rewards Press Release: The world's most popular kindergarten multimedia software program just got better! Knowledge Adventure recently began shipping JumpStart Kindergarten, an all-new version of the company's best-selling title which originally shipped in 1994. Covering a full year of kindergarten curriculum, this exciting new version features innovative tutor technology, new phonics skill-building activities, a contemporary look with updated art and animation, a new motivational reward structure and a printable activity workbook for off-line fun. JumpStart Kindergarten is the first full-grade JumpStart product to feature Knowledge Adventure's exclusive Kid's Tutor Technology. This special tutor appears to help teach skills and reinforce educational concepts in activities where the child is having difficulty. Kid's Tutor Technology is also featured in Knowledge Adventure's new subject-based products: JumpStart 1st Grade Reading, JumpStart 1st Grade Math and JumpStart 2nd Grade Math. JumpStart Kindergarten also features Knowledge Adventure's exclusive Adaptive Learning TechnologyT, which automatically adjusts to the student's skill levels to match advancing abilities. Knowledge Adventure pioneered the Adaptive Learning Technology in 1995, and this innovative technology has since been a unique feature in all JumpStart products. JumpStart Kindergarten also features an extensive Parent's Progress Report to help parents monitor their child's progress in all subject areas. Says Bernadette Gonzalez, executive producer at Knowledge Adventure, Inc., "JumpStart Kindergarten helps parents and teachers ensure that kids build a strong, well-rounded foundation by providing fun-filled activities focusing on key skills taught in kindergarten curriculum. Customer feedback from the original JumpStart Kindergarten led to improved game play, educational content, graphics and animation. "Also an important feature of JumpStart Kindergarten is our new Kid's Tutor Technology, which provides special instruction on common mistakes a child may make. For instance, in our ordering and sequencing activity, children are instructed to arrange a series of dolls in relation to size. If the child incorrectly arranges them from biggest to smallest - rather than smallest to biggest, the Kid's Tutor Technology will pop up and provide an illustrated explanation of the concept." A Complete Kindergarten Readiness Program In JumpStart Kindergarten, children ages 4 - 6 join Mr. Hopsalot the Rabbit to explore an interactive kindergarten classroom, where fun, music and games are the rewards for curiosity. Based on nationally recommended curricula and teacher lesson plans, JumpStart Kindergarten covers pre- reading, alphabet, letter combinations, counting, quantities, similarities and differences, ordering, sequecing, problem-solving, shapes, colors and time concepts. Kids earn gold stars for playing and learning, then trade them in for a fun-filled trip to the petting zoo. As children explore Mr. Hopsalot's classroom, playground and garden, they'll encounter 18 skill-building activites and eight catchy songs such as: Phonics The new JumpStart Kindergarten includes two additional activities that specifically target phonics. Kids can climb the jungle gym by matching each word with its corresponding phonetic pronunciation. If they get enough answers right, they get to ride down the tube slide! Kids can also participate in a tricycle race by steering through the letters, pictures or numbers that match phonetic clues. Alphabet, Numbers and Sequencing Using building blocks, kids help Jack and Roquefort rearrange the alphabet and number blocks in the correct order. Sentence Building At the chalkboard, kids use picture clues to construct silly sentences and build their listening comprehension skills. Size A set of dolls are going on a train ride; but before the train can leave, kids must arrange them in the correct order, from biggest to smallest or smallest to biggest. Patterns In the garden, kids help Hopsalot water the plants in the correct order by recognizing what plant comes next in the pattern. Shapes and Colors In this fast-action game, kids can help Brie, a friendly mouse, get some cheese by matching shapes and colors of falling blocks with the correct pattern on a grid. Rhyming, Opposites and Pairs Kids can help put picture puzzle pieces together by matching numbers, letters, rhymes, opposites, pairs, shapes, colors, sizes and words to reveal a picture. Telling Time Kids can practice telling time and associating events with the times of day by clicking a time on the clock and seeing what Bonnie Bunny is doing that hour. Listening Bebop, one very cool hamster, loves to play hide and seek. As kids listen to the clues about where he's hiding, they'll building important listening comprehension skills and practice following directions. Creativity Kids can develop their creativity in the painting center, which features over 20 printable coloring book pages of outer space, undersea life, dinosaurs and more. Sing and Learn Songs Kids will have fun singing along with eight catchy tunes that introduce important concepts such as sharing, months of the year and primary colors. New Motivational Rewards JumpStart Kindergarten features a new motivational reward structure. Kids earn gold stars for successful attempts; when four stars are earned, the child is rewarded a field trip to the petting zoo. Kids can take pictures of the animals and look back on their trips to the zoo in a special photo album inside the classroom. The JumpStart Learning System Offering the most comprehensive solution to help kids succeed in school, the JumpStart Learning System includes nearly 20 titles for children ages 18 months to 11 years. The best-selling, award-winning series includes full-grade, subject-specific and learning tool products: JumpStart Full Grades take a comprehensive, methodical approach to teaching an entire school year. These products cover all the major subjects taught in that particular grade, assuring an integrated approach to learning that mirrors the classroom curriculum. JumpStart Subjects complement the cross-curricular approach of the JumpStart full- grade products by offering dedicated grade-specific learning in critical subject areas like reading and math. JumpStart Learning Tools complement a child's education in supplemental skill areas such as Spanish and typing. Availability, Pricing and System Requirements JumpStart Kindergarten is immediately available at most major computer stores and mass-merchant chains nationwide. The Windows 95/Windows 3.1/Macintosh CD-ROM is expected to be priced at approximately $30. Customers can call (800) 542-4240 for sales and ordering information. System requirements are as follows: Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 CD-ROM 486DX33 PC or higher; double speed CD-ROM drive; 8 MB RAM; 6 MB available on hard drive, SVGA 256-color graphics adapter; and MPC-compatible sound card. Macintosh CD-ROM 68040 processor or better or Power PC processor; 256-color graphics; 13" or larger monitor; double speed CD-ROM drive; 8 MB RAM; 3 MB available on hard drive and System 7.1 or higher. Knowledge Adventure, Inc. is a leading educational software publisher best known for pioneering grade-based software with the best-selling, award- winning JumpStart Learning System. The company is also known for its Adventure series and new Activity Center line. Founded in 1991, Knowledge Adventure is a division of CUC Software Services, Inc., a subsidiary of CUC International Inc. (NYSE: CU). # # # Jason's Jive Jason Sereno, STR Staff jsereno@streport.com Postal Windows 95 and MAC CD-ROM Street Price: $49.95 For ages 17 and over (animated blood, gore, and violence) Ripcord Games 4701 Patrick Henry Drive Suite 1101 Santa Clara, CA 95054 www.ripcordgames.com Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Carmageddon, and any other "violent game" for that matter, are nothing compared to Postal. This game is by far the most brutal and ruthless game on the market today. Seventeen beautiful levels of mayhem are packed into this shooter/strategy. It is enough to turn the stomach of any seasoned gamer. Behind the blood and gore lies a somewhat intriguing storyline that keeps you guessing until the very end. Of course, this game has wonderful multiplayer capabilities so you can go "Postal" on all of your friends. Postal is a surprisingly interesting story. You live in a small town in Arizona. You start to notice a growing number of people that are out to get you. You realize that you don't have time to think only to time to stop this conspiracy to kill you. That's when you to fight back against your hostile neighbors. You notice that there are even more plotting against you than you first thought. Your only hope is to reach the Air Force base outside of town so you can napalm the entire city before this "disease" spreads. The basic idea of the game is to discover if you are the target of an assignation attempt or if you have just lost your mind. At your disposal is a wide variety of weapons to take care of the conspirators. You use everything from fire bombs, grenades, and flame- throwers as weapons. Even strategically placed time bombs and heat-seeking missles are at your fingertips in this game. Postal is chalked full of explosions, screams, and blood. Postal is of more than just a shoot to kill game. You will need to use strategy to make it out alive. You use the appropriate weapons at opportune times. If you just start blasting away at people you will soon find yourself dead. Certain strategies work better than others too. The strafe keys come in handy with this game and junk cars along with sides of buildings make great shields if you are under heavy fire. Something that really separates Postal from other kill' em all shooters is the graphics. Beautiful hand-painted backgrounds almost seem like something out of a cartoon because of their color and detail. Their shading is great and there are a lot of different textures and objects too. You may use objects to your advantage, such as barrels of gasoline and gas pumps. The characters are in real time 3D and have a large assortment of actions. This combinations really sets Postal apart from others. Each level is seen from above unlike most of today's shooting games. Postal is comparable the classic, Cannon Fodder, in this respect. In fact, there are many similarities between the two games. Except in Postal you are a one man killing machine as opposed to that classic. Every stage you fight in contains an amount of hostiles and civilians. To finish each level you must kill a certain percentage of the hostiles. They carry bombs, guns, dynamite, and the occasional missile-launcher. However, you are not penalized for killing civilians. Civilians include a number of men, women, and even a marching band in one scenario. You can choose to avoid these innocents or watch as the brass flies in a symphony of death. Every character in the game may beg for their life from time to time. It is your duty to put them out of their misery. This game is terrific in multiplayer. You can battle on Heat, over modem, or LAN with over 16 players at once. Now you can destroy your best friends, or worst enemies on a special multiplayer level or one of the seventeen levels in the game. There is a level editor you can use as well. You have the power to add hostiles, civilians, and every other object in the game. You can also alter the personalities and weapon of each person. One fun idea is enclosing a homicidal maniac with a flame-thrower in a circle of gasoline barrels. All you have to do is watch the light show! You may use one of your custom levels in multiplayer too. Postal is not a game for weak stomachs. It is a game that a lot of people have been waiting for though. There are no mutants, monsters, or aliens just good old fashion carnage. The abundance of weapons, adversaries, and levels make this game a real winner. It is ideally made for multiplayer games and the powerful level editor lets you add your own sense of havoc. If you love nonstop action, then you will love Postal! WIN 95 Requirements Windows 95 or NT 4.0, Pentium 90MHz processor, 2X CD-ROM Drive, 16 MB of RAM, 256-color SVGA (640x480), sound blaster or 100% compatible 8-bit sound card MAC Requirements System 7.1 or higher, 68040 Processor, 2X CD-ROM Drive, 16 MB RAM (With virtual memory on) Men In Black The Game Windows 95 CD-ROM Street Price: $39.95 For ages 13 and over (animated blood and violence) Southpeak Interactive One Research Drive Cary, NC 27513 www.southpeak.com Just in time for the release of Men In Black on video, Southpeak Interactive has released Men In Black: The Game for Windows 95 users. This game brings all of the action of MIB The Movie onto your computer screen. You can choose to play as Agent K (played by Tommy Lee Jones), Agent J (played by Will Smith), or Agent L (played by Linda Fiorentino) in three top secret missions. Your huge arsenal of weapons will prove useful against the slew of aliens you will encounter. However, your wits will be tested by the large abundance of puzzles in the game. This is a very entertaining venture and a great buy for fans of the movie. In the first portion of the game, you play as James Edwards (Will Smith). It is reminiscent of the beginning of the MIB movie. You shoot up bad guys and a small amount of aliens in New York before you meet up with Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones). He takes you to MIB headquarters and that is where the real fun starts. >From then on you can play as any of the three agents. They do talk and move uniquely but none of them really have any predominant strengths or weaknesses. It is just fun to play as the different characters. All three really resemble their real life counterparts. They even give those great one-liners from the movie. There are three missions after the New York initiation. You first travel to the Arctic MIB Listening Station to see why there haven't been any signals for the past month or so. Of course there are aliens that have taken over and it is your job to take care of them in the second part of the mission. Next, you travel to the Amazon and try and find information about an idol that Agent J found in New York. This also takes two parts to complete. Finally, you journey to Frales Island to defeat a fellow by the name Skip Frales and complete the game. If it sounds easy then you are mistaken. While trying to conquer MIB: The Game you have to destroy a huge amount of aliens in over two hundred extraterrestrial and polygon filled settings. To help you in this task, MIB headquarters has equipped you with a large variety of weapons. You may choose to carry a standard MIB gun because of its large amount of ammo or use a noisy cricket which can really pack a punch. To help take full advantage of your weapons, MIB headquarters offers a virtual firing range to make you a sure shot. If all else fails you may resort to hand to tentacle combat. But either way, the key to beating this game is to save, save, save! I must recommend this game to fans of the movie. It is very entertaining and full of one-liners from all of the cast. Battling aliens has never been so fun. The variety of levels and settings add dimension to this game. The hostile aliens and thugs pose a threat that is really fun to take care of. So put on your Raybans and get ready for some action with MIB: The Game! Program Requirements PC CD-ROM, Pentium 100MHz, Windows 95, 16 MB RAM (32 Recommended), Quad Speed CD-ROM, 2 MB Video Memory, 10 MB free disk space, Soundblaster 16 or compatible. Test Drive 4 Windows 95 CD-ROM (also available on Playstation) Street Price: $49.95 For all ages Accolade 5300 Stevens Creek Blvd. Suite 500 San Jose, CA 95129 www.accolade.com Jim Barnett, the president and CEO of Accolade Incorporated said, "Test Drive 4 will be our top selling title this season." And why shouldn't it be? Test Drive 4 was said to be "the clear choice for Best Racing Game of 1997" at the E3 Best of Show Awards. It is the fourth title in the Test Drive series and combines the power of the past with today's greatest supercars on six truly accurate city raceways. You will find many different ways to race and have fun with Test Drive 4 from Accolade. The Test Drive series has longed captivated the gaming world with high- priced automobiles cruising at even higher speeds. It seems now that Test Drive 4 is ready to amaze a new breed of racing fans on the PC and Playstation. This new addition gives a total of ten cars on six exotic tracks. The cars are divided into two categories: Today's modern supercars and the muscle cars of the past. The modern cars include the high speed Jaguar XJ 220, the hugely popular Dodge Viper GTS, the always pleasing Chevrolet Corvette, the sleek TVR Cerbera, and the sporty Nissan 300ZX. These cars can all handle their own against each other but can they stand up against the power of the past? The muscle cars include the '69 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, the open top Shelby Cobra 427, the intimidating '71 Hemi Cuda, Chevrolet's '70 Chevelle SS 454, and the immortal '69 Chevrolet Corvette 427. These cars were every young man's dream in their prime but can they perform with today's cream of the crop? One question that will not have to be answered with this game is if the cars race as they do in real racing situations. The answer is in the gameplay. Pitbull Syndicate when developing Test Drive 4 included an accurate recreation of each vehicle's unique performance characteristics. The driving is very real. At high speeds the turns are harder to make and the crashes usually produce more airborne vehicles. The courses are real recreations of six cities. In San Francisco you move through highway traffic until you reach a series of huge hills that prove very difficult to maneuver through. One hit from crossing traffic and you are in for a tumble. Keswick, England gives you the chance to race on England's trickiest country roads. In Bern, Switzerland uphill climbs result in an adrenaline filled downhill race. In Munich, Germany you can push maximum speeds on the Autobahn. The population density shows in the number of cars on the streets of Kyoto, Japan. The last course is in Washington D.C. where national monuments would make great scenery if you were not traveling at 200 mph! When you race you are one of six competitors. However those are not the only automobiles you have to worry about. Oncoming traffic and the occasional police cars will cause you problems too. If a police officer stops you your car will have to slow down until it reaches a complete stop. You may then continue on your way. Test Drive 4 has many different ways to play. You can run a single race, world circuit, challenge cup, or use multiplayer capabilities for up to 8 players on LAN. TD4 has a drag race feature too. You compete on a , mile racing strip. Racing by yourself is fine but when you add other players and modes it really makes racing fun. Test Drive 4 is no doubt the best of the Test Drive series. The realism is something that no other racing sim has. I recommend this game to racing fans or people looking for their very first racing simulation. There's no better place to start than the top. Since Christmas is coming soon, maybe you should start your shopping now. Look for Test Drive 4 from Accolade. It should be at the top of everyone's list. Program Requirements IBM and 100% compatible, Windows 95, Pentium 90, 16 MB RAM, 2X CD-ROM, all major sound cards supported, supports: Thrustmaster T2 Driving Controller, Mad Catz Analog Driving Wheel, Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad, Gravis Gamepad, all major joysticks and keyboards. Special Notice!! STR Infofile File format for Articles File Format for STReport All articles submitted to STReport for publication must be sent in the following format. Please use the format requested. Any files received that do not conform will not be used. The article must be in an importable word processor format for Word 6.0 and/or Word Perfect 7.. The margins are .05" left and 1.0" Monospaced fonts are not to be used. Please use proportional fonting only and at Twelve (12) points. z No Indenting on any paragraphs!! z No Indenting of any lines or "special gimmickery" z No underlining! z Columns shall be achieved through the use of tabs only. Or, columns in Word or Word Perfect format. Do NOT, under any circumstances, use the space bar. z Most of all.. PLEASE! No ASCII "ART"!! z There is no limits as to size, articles may be split into two if lengthy z Actual Artwork should be in GIF, PCX, JPG, TIF, BMP, WMF file formats z Artwork (pictures, graphs, charts, etc.)should be sent along with the article separately z Please use a single font only in an article. TTF New Times Roman 12pt. is preferred. (VERY Strong Hint) If there are any questions please use either E-Mail or call. On another note. the ASCII version of STReport is fast approaching the "end of the line" As the major Online Services move away from ASCII.. So shall STReport. All in the name of progress and improved readability. The amount of reader mail expressing a preference for our Adobe PDF enhanced issue is running approximately 15 to 1 over the ASCII edition. I might add however, the requests for our issues to be done in HTML far outnumber both PDF and ascii. HTML is now under consideration. We'll keep you posted. Besides, STReport will not be caught in the old, worn out "downward compatibility dodge" we must move forward. However, if the ASCII readership remains as high, rest assured. ASCII will stay. Right now, since STReport is offered on a number of closed major corporate Intranets as "required" Monday Morning reading.. Our ascii readers have nothing to worry themselves about. It looks like it is here to stay. Many grateful thanks in advance for your enthusiastic co-operation and input. Ralph F. Mariano, Editor rmariano@streport.com STReport International Online Magazine Gaming Hotwire STR Feature - The World of Contemporary Gaming The Future is With PCs & 3D Accelerators With a financial universe built on Donkey Kong and Bandicoot, Sony and Nintendo are the mech warriors of gaming. Some of its competitive moves have made the Microsofties look_ well, like softies by comparison. But Nintendo and other console companies may be heading for a fall. For years, Nintendo seemed to ignore economies of scale. Its prices never seemed to go down. A while back, the U.S. government was smart enough to catch Nintendo leaning on retailers to keep the price pumped up, but stupid enough to give the game maker a penalty that was more like a reward. Nintendo had to give consumers rebates if they bought even more Nintendo products. Meanwhile, personal computer-based games had more depth, but their appeal was limited by high computer prices and low graphics quality. Stand- alone game consoles enjoyed a graphics edge, always keeping a step ahead. This trend was just reinforced by Intel's MMX, a powerful technology that greatly enhances many of the Multi-media functions. The gaming platform is improving for PC gamers. New 3D accelerators mean you don't have to spend heavy money to get a system that can deliver. 3D graphics accelerators plug into your existing computer along with your existing VGA card. They can make the 3D graphics in your games look great. For instance, with a graphics accelerator the chunky, pixilated view of Quake is replaced by smooth surfaces. Install a graphics accelerator and then compare what you see to console games, or even arcade games. You'll like what you see_ especially for the price. Earlier cards cost more than standalone game consoles, but now you'll find some great products at $100. Maybe less if you're a good shopper. Not all your games will look better. You'll still have to deal with a mish-mash of competing formats -- GLQuake, OpenGL and DirectX Direct3D DirectDraw. Some cards have special versions of games bundled with them, so you can be sure they'll run properly. Or "patches" that modify existing games to run with that card. There a number of value favorites right now. For the budget conscious, it's the Matrox m3D, SRP $99. It includes OpenGL patches for Tomb Raider, Quake and others, along with Hexen II Blackmarsh, and a great-looking racing game called Ultim@te Race. With a stree Less Expensive computers and the Internet mean more households will be buying computers. One good way to save money? Forget buying a game console. With computer games designed for graphics accelerators, Nintendo, Sony and the rest of the game console makers have, no doubt, met their match. Like it or not, the mighty mech warriors are getting rusty. very rusty and will soon fall by the wayside. What IS MMX? Multi-Media Extensions MMX is a group of additions to the processor instruction set for enhanced multimedia functions. It takes commands that would have required several instructions and combines them into a single instruction to reduce processing times. Classics & Gaming Section Editor Dana P. Jacobson dpj@streport.com >From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" BURP!! 'Scuse me, but I had to get that out of my system! Here I sit, plopped into my comfortable chair a couple of extra belt notches opened up to compensate for all of that turkey and fixings we had a few hours ago. Our first Thanksgiving in the new house. It was quiet - just the two of us with the puppy whining because we wouldn't let him in the dining area; and the two parrots banging away in their cages - their way of saying they wanted some of the food also! Of course, guilty as all three of them made us, we relented and brought them all something. We have a lot to be thankful for this year. First of all, we were healthy. We have the new house even if it's still not the way we want it yet. It will take time, but at least it feels more like home than it did a couple of months ago. We adopted a puppy a few weeks ago, saving it from a shelter; but more importantly, brought in a new member to our family. He's like the child that we can't have (sometimes worse according to other puppy owners we've talked with!). We're both working, although we're not always happy with the jobs! And we're together as a family something to really be thankful for these days. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. We all, in some way or another, have something to be thankful for this holiday season. It's a great time of year; and most of the time we take for granted those things which make us what we are. It sometimes takes a holiday like Thanksgiving to give us some time to reflect on the really important things in life. I hope you all had a terrific and safe holiday. And now it's time to sit back and relax; I still don't have room for any leftovers yet... <g> Until next time... Oregon Research Liquidation Sale From: Oregon Research <orres@user1.teleport.com> Date: 26 Nov 1997 Oregon Research Atari Equipment and Inventory Liquidation After 10 years of developing and supporting the Atari platform with the highest quality software and hardware available, we are forced to permanently close Atari operations. This is done with a sad heart and only because we can no longer make a living selling Atari software and have been forced to take other jobs. As part of the shut down we are liquidating our entire inventory of Oregon Research and HiSoft software at cost. We are also selling all of our Atari hardware to the highest bidder. In addition, we will be offering for sale the source code to Diamond Back 3 and Diamond Edge 2. Bids, orders, and inquiries can be e-mailed to atarisale@orres.com Gaming Section Nintendo News! New GameBoy! "NCAA '98"! Interact! "Postal"! And much more! >From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is! Well, it's just about that time of the year when the gaming industry goes all out to promote the latest and greatest for this year's holiday season. The ads have already started; it appears that console owners are going to have a terrific opportunity this Christmas season! And akin to the television ads, game companies are going full tilt with their print campaigns as well. In this week's issue you'll find just the beginning of what I see as a really big holiday news season. There's lots of stuff coming your way - enjoy! Until next time... Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News! NCAA GameBreaker '98 "Breaks" the Mold FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Nov. 20) BUSINESS WIRE - Nov. 20, 1997 - Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. today announced that NCAA(R) GameBreaker(TM) '98 is now available exclusively for the PlayStation(TM) game console -- with all division 1-A college teams, 40 all-time great teams, 130 college stadiums, life-like 3D real-time rendered animations and the fastest most intense gameplay of any college football videogame on the market. NCAA(R) GameBreaker '98 is credited as being the first and only fully polygonal college football videogame with all-new motion captured animations, which make it possible to incorporate real player movements into the gameplay. Additionally, NCAA(R) GameBreaker '98 is also the only college football videogame with Total Control Passing(TM), which allows gamers to lead or underthrow receivers in any direction. Real player attributes and sizes have also been included to enhance gameplay realism. In fact, Warrick Dunn, the former Florida State University and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers star running back (pictured on this year's box art) consulted on NCAA(R) GameBreaker '98 to ensure the game's playbook was totally comprehensive and true to each team. "We used the name 'GameBreaker' because it refers to players who possess physical abilities far beyond the typical football player," said Peter Dille, senior director, product marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Just like those college football standouts who have the ability to 'break' the game wide open or 'break' a big play any time they touch the ball, NCAA(R) GameBreaker '98 'breaks' the mold of the traditional college football videogame." The speed of the gameplay in NCAA(R) GameBreaker '98 separates this title from all other college football videogames. The level of intensity is heightened with no waiting in between plays and real-time rendering, which are all accompanied by beautiful graphics. Most importantly, the gameplay in NCAA(R) GameBreaker '98 captures the pure fun that makes college football so popular. NCAA(R) GameBreaker '98 -- Key Features z All Division 1-A teams, plus 40 all-time great teams including USC '72 and Notre Dame '88 with a number of authentic fight songs and chants z 1997 team rosters z 130 college football stadiums as well as more than 19 Bowl Games z Specific team playbooks so each team coaches and plays like its real life counterpart z More than 2,000 new updates offensive and defensive plays z Comprehensive team and player stat tracking in 50 categories z The most realistic 3D polygonal player animations deliver unparalleled detail z Realistic player attributes and sizes represented z All new motion captured animations include: belly run and pitch, fake pitches, stutter steps, jukes, high and low tackles, and quarterbacks heads moving as he calls signals z Total Control Passing(TM) -- lead or underthrow receivers in any direction z Analog Camera System(TM) -- the user can mimic a player's line of sight with the Analog controller z Atmospheric effects -- wind, snow, rain, altitude and playing surface all affect gameplay z End of season awards - The Heisman Trophy(R), Jim Thorpe, Bronko Nagurski, Top 25 and the Football Writer Associations' "College All-American Team" Monster Gameboy Comes to U.S. A version of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s popular Pocket Monster Gameboy software will be launched in the United States next year, officials with the Japanese game software maker say. Reporting from Tokyo, the Reuter News Service notes the Pocket Monster, which can be played on the company's Gameboy computer, has been hugely successful in Japan since its release in February 1996. "The game allows players to search for monsters in a field and to capture and train them," Reuters adds. "It has generated a multi-million dollar spin-off business that includes trading cards, toy figures and even food products." PlayStation Demonstrates its Creative Freedom FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Nov. 24) BUSINESS WIRE - Nov. 24, 1997 - Expanding the boundaries of videogame development, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced today the release of Parappa the Rapper, a first-of-its-kind, music videogame, exclusively for the PlayStation game console. Parappa the Rapper has already garnered attention from the music and entertainment industry, as well as by PlayStation gamers around the world, who are turning the game into a cult hit. Available in stores nationwide, the game is selling at a "power price" of $39.95 MSRP. "The PlayStation is the only videogame platform conducive to creative expression and freedom, allowing us to open the door to whole new arenas of gaming," said Andrew House, vice president, marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Parappa the Rapper is unlike any other videogame on the market, perhaps defining a new genre; music games. It offers a quirky twist to gameplay by blending humor, music, player rhythm and fun. We believe in supporting and encouraging a variety of game choices and Parappa the Rapper is definitely a title we feel has the capability to generate a wide following." Parappa the Rapper, which features "Simon Says" style gameplay, requires players to press the game controller buttons in time with Parappa's rapping and game music, or by improvising their own rhythms. The game's unique look, variety of fun, animated characters and six musical stages of original gameplay first captivated audiences in Japan who have bought more than 850,000 units of Parappa the Rapper, creating cult-like status for the original PlayStation title. The entire original music score for Parappa the Rapper is produced by a leader in the multimedia music industry, Masaya Matsuura, who is the developer of the game concept and design, as well as responsible for composing all the lyrics and dialog featured throughout the game. All of the 2D visuals and characters, including its star, Parappa, were designed by the pioneer in the computer graphics industry, Rodney Alan Greenblat. "Parappa the Rapper is indicative of an emerging trend that we're seeing within the entertainment industry, whereby some of today's most popular entertainment and music artists are turning to the multimedia industry as a place to present their creative expression," said House. "Entertainment artists are gaining greater recognition and popularity because of their entry into videogames. The Parappa the Rapper music soundtrack, which is being sold separately in Japan, has become an incredibly hot commodity. The game's music has become a popular dance mix being played in underground rave clubs throughout Europe and most recently, in certain areas around the U.S. This is a trend we're sure to see more of in the next few years," added House. Parappa the Rapper, a light-hearted and funny music game with an addictive plot is set in an animated three-dimensional gaming world with two-dimensional flat "paper-like" animated characters ("parappa" means "flat" or "paper-thin" in Japanese). The title features the well-intentioned and passionate Parappa, who longs for the affections of Sunny Funny. Parappa, who can't seem to get enough of Sunny (and rapping) travels through his peaceful hometown of Rodneytown, continually getting himself into trouble as he bumps into various "teachers" in an attempt to win Sunny's heart. In a valiant effort to become a grown man and impress his one love, Parappa's many adventures take him to such places as the karate dojou, flea market and various other places. Various levels are set for all ages to enjoy, offering challenging and addicting gameplay as players try to rap with the host of "Master" rappers. "AeroFighters Assault" Puts Turkey Day In Its Flight Schedule CYPRESS, CALIF. (Nov. 24) BUSINESS WIRE - Nov. 24, 1997 - It's time to take to the unfriendly skies as Video System, USA, launches the first flight sim shooter for the Nintendo 64 platform -- "AeroFighters Assault," which lands, as scheduled, over the Thanksgiving weekend at major retailers nationwide. Working in tandem with simulation specialists Paradigm Entertainment, Video System, USA has delivered an aerial adrenaline-rush fusing the best of the sim and arcade genres. Gamers who have waited for an opportunity to fly high utilizing the N64's dynamic analog controller -- while simultaneously taking-on enemy targets -- will not be disappointed. Incorporating development software created specifically for the N64 platform, co-developers Video System, USA and Paradigm Entertainment have rendered a hyper-real environment where flying skills and sensibilities are put to the ultimate test. Based on the "Sonic Wings/Aero Fighters" series, "AeroFighters Assault" represents the inaugural stateside N64 title for Video System, USA, which also served as publisher and producer of the title. "We wanted to bring something to the N64 platform that had not been done before," said Video System, USA President Mitsuo Kimura. "'AeroFighters Assault' represents an aggressive, exciting use of the technology that should keep players returning for more as they discover and enjoy the detailed environment we have created for them." Key Features of "AeroFighters Assault" include: z Single and two player modes z Four pilot characters plus two hidden characters z Multiple aircraft choices with distinct characteristics including: F-14; A-10; FSX; SU-35 and two bonus aircraft z Three wingmen to add to strategic gameplay z Seven primary missions and four bonus missions z Six enemy aircraft including: Rafael; SU-25; MIG-31; F-22A; Eurofighter 2000 and Kafir z Other enemies include: Submarines, frigates and helicopters z Seven bosses, including: Heavy Armored Walker, Flying Fortress and Stealth Submarine z Several levels of AI challenge different skill levels The backstory of "AeroFighters Assault" has players piloting aircraft that are part of "Operation: Project Blue," a United Nations peace-keeping force fighting a mysterious military organization known as Phutta Morgana. Already flooding major world cities by exploding a bomb at the Antarctic Ice Cap, the evil force is throwing the world deeper into chaos through new military operations. As the world's ground units are immobilized, "AeroFighters Assault" player/pilots are mankind's last hope! Heavy Gear Launches Retail Offensive SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 26 (UPI) - Activision Inc., a publisher of interactive entertainment software, begins a retail offensive the Thanksgiving weekend as its "Heavy Gear" game is offered in 10,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, and 48 other countries. The company says Heavy Gear is the most sophisticated and advanced combat simulation title to date. The marketing campaign will include broad-based advertising, as well as online and retail-based promotions. The game has a suggested retail price of $49.95. The game immerses players in a brutal civil war on Terra Nova in the 62nd century. Piloting a sophisticated, agile battle chassis known as a Gear, gamers must progress through the infantry ranks of the Confederated Northern City-States or the Allied Southern Territories to gain honor, and earn more powerful Gears. Postal Game Pulled from Shelves Postal, a computer game that continues to generate controversy over its violence, has been pulled from the shelves at CompUSA Inc., one of the nation's largest software retailers. Reporting from the Dallas headquarters of the superstore chain, The Wall Street Journal quotes President/CEO Jim Halpin as saying, "This one just didn't pass our own company's sniff test. There's lots of software and games to carry, and this is one we felt we could just live without." Halpin said the game was selling "fairly well" before it was removed from shelves about a week ago. The paper notes Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also refuses to sell Postal, which features a gun-toting character who goes berserk and kills innocent bystanders. Adds the Journal, "The game draws its title from the colloquialism, 'going postal,' which refers to a series of shootings by postal workers. No postal employees are in the game." Comdex - Space Age Controllers For Space Age Games LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1997 NOV 21 (Newsbytes) -- By Craig Menefee, Newsbytes. InterAct Accessories is one of those young, enthusiastic companies filled with young, enthusiastic staffers so far on top of their field they design gear to standards that haven't even been dreamed up yet. InterAct's field is gaming and multimedia accessories, and a short visit brings it solidly home that gaming is where the action is for PC graphics and sound. But getting to the graphics and sound takes control, and that's the niche where InterAct has carved itself a solid position. This year, the InterAct staffers are excited about two new controllers and some very innovative speakers. The controllers show where the sloppy joysticks of mid-1980's shoot-em-ups have evolved. The speakers use new patented techniques to pack 5.1 channels of three-dimensional (3-D) sound into two elegant wedges of solid and innovative engineering. The field of gaming stopped being "just games" a long time ago. Many firms make big money in that field and analysts speculated that you won't find more careful engineering anywhere in the industry. That said, it's also a very youthful realm and it was clear during a visit by Newsbytes that the InterAct staff was having a great time at Comdex. InterAct was founded in 1991 by a 24-year-old named Todd Hays but started to take off in 1995, after it was picked up by Florida-based Recoton Corp. At about that time, it launched a line of gaming accessories that have since become a kind of standard for gamers. With Recoton's resources and the new affiliation with other Recoton subsidiaries like Advent, the old AR speaker company, InterAct was able to really show what it could do. It turned out to be a smart acquisition for Recoton. The new InterAct controller devices would seem equally at home in an end-of-millennium jet fighter or a George Lucas special-effects action saga. The Vortex 3D controller is actually a form of upside-down joystick designed for flying and action games, said Michael Rothman, the firm's vice president of marketing. It has a column mounted platform on top that gives full pitch and roll control in flying games, can double as a steering wheel and, when detached, can serve as a game pad. The UltraRacer PC looks more portable, a hand-held steering device for racing games. It is based on the RC (radio control) remotes used with the self-propelled model cars and planes that can be seen buzzing around urban parks. The firm also makes a full-sized desktop steering wheel for racing games, complete with foot pedals, but sometimes a desktop gets crowded, explained Rothman. A lot of racing gamers are more familiar with RC remotes than with real steering wheels, said the company. There is an art to these devices. They combine the strange but somehow comfortable-seeming curves of careful ergonomic design with an unmistakable sci-fi look of black plastic, red buttons, and rubber thumb wheels. InterAct makes controllers, memory cards, CD caddies, blaster "guns," and other accessories for Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, and Sega Saturn platforms, as well as for PCs. The firm has a Web site at http://www.interact-acc.com . INTERACT: Ban road rage -- With the V3 Racing Wheel NOV 21, 1997, M2 Communications - Already a huge hit with Nintendo 64 garners, the V3 Racing Wheel is now available for the PC. This ergonomically designed and robust steering wheel incorporates all of the enhanced features serious games players have come to expect from InterAct products, plus many more never before seen. The V3 Racing Wheel is an analogue steering wheel with 3000 of rotation and a circular digital direction pad. The wheel attaches to a table top or secures under the driver's legs for added control. With an auto-centering wheel, adjustable wheel tilt angle and height, steering sensitivity control and a separate analogue foot pedal unit, the V3 Racing Wheel will accelerate users through any game. In addition, InterAct's expertise in programmable controllers has led to the introduction of the unique button relocation function. This new feature allows the user to program any button to perform the function of any other button, permitting complete customisable buttons and peddle configurations. To top it off, the V3's internal memory saves these settings even when the computer's power is off or the controller is unplugged. "The V3 Racing Wheel is nothing less than the best from a company that has pioneered some of the premier accessories on the market today," said Andrew Shephard, Managing Director of InterAct UK. "The V3 Racing Wheel outperforms the competition in every category, and it works great with top PC hits like International Rally Championship, Screamer Rally and F1 Racing Simulation". The V3 Racing Wheel is available now for the PC and 100% compatibles at a suggested retail price of GBP 69.99. Versions for the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64 are also available. Reality Quest "Grabs" a Hold of Video-Game With "The Glove" LONGMONT, COLO. (Nov. 24) BUSINESS WIRE - Nov. 24, 1997 - National retail outlets are getting their hands on The Glove by Reality Quest this week, putting the revolutionary new video-game controller on the shelves just in time for the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping season. Fitting snugly over a user's right hand, the leading-edge peripheral makes executing cool moves on the hottest video games easy. Developed and licensed for the PlayStation game console, The Glove lets users move objects up, down, right, left or diagonally on the game screen with just a bend of the wrist, without the need to aim. Arcade-style buttons are located at the finger tips, allowing consumers easy access and one-handed control, unlike conventional controllers requiring the use of both thumbs and hands. The result is that any user, from the grizzled game buff to the first-time novice, can now execute difficult moves, quickly whipping their opponents in no time at all. "The Glove is going to be one of the hottest gifts under the tree this holiday season," said Adam Ullman, co-founder, Reality Quest. "The lucky owners will be the toughest video-game competitors on the block." All actions previously requiring two thumbs on a traditional keypad can be executed with one hand using The Glove, allowing the player to make faster, more accurate movements. A durable, built-in ABS plastic casing cradles a user's fingers and houses arcade-style buttons, activated with a simple tap of a finger. Reality Quest's controller is fully compatible with the entire PlayStation game library. The PlayStation game console recognizes The Glove as a standard controller, ensuring compatibility with all of the hottest games this fall. The glove-like design also accommodates most hand sizes, ages 12 and up. Reality Quest is offering the new controller at major retail outlets nationwide, including Babbages, Best Buy, Electronics Boutique, Fred Meyers, Meijers, Sony Stores and Toys R Us, at an estimated retail price of $89.95. Additional information on ordering The Glove is available at www.theglove.com or by calling 888/96-GLOVE. "Duuuude! That's da' Bomb!"; Survey Reveals Most-Wanted X-mas Gifts REDMOND, WASH. (Nov. 24) BUSINESS WIRE - Nov. 24, 1997 - Of all the hassles of the holidays, among the most vexing is deciding what gifts will score with kids. But now there's help. A brand new survey(a) of more than 750 kids in shopping malls and other high traffic areas across the country indicates that the names Nintendo, Star Wars and The Simpsons are the surest bets to bring smiles on Christmas morning. Scoring at the top of the list for most-wanted presents were the video game Diddy Kong Racing for Nintendo 64 and music CD's from the hit group Hanson. When respondents between the ages of 6 and 18 were asked what they would most like to do with an hour of free time, they chose playing video games number one, followed by watching TV, listening to music, surfing the Internet, talking on the phone with a friend, and playing sports. Asked to select their favorite brand name in specific categories of recreation and entertainment, their top choices were: Clothing or shoe brand: Nike Movie: Star Wars Trilogy Singer/group: Hanson (followed closely by Puff Daddy) Sport: Basketball (slightly ahead of football,baseball and soccer) TV Show: The Simpsons Video Game: Diddy Kong Racing Video game system: Nintendo 64 Within the lead category of video game play, significantly more respondents chose dedicated consoles over the personal computer as their technology of choice; and three times as many respondents chose group competition over single-person games as their favorite method of game play. Asked to rank a list of leading names connected to youth entertainment, respondents named the following choices in order of preference: 1. Nintendo 2. The Simpsons 3. Star Wars 4. Sony 5. Jurassic Park 6. Toy Story 7. Spy vs. Spy 8. M & M Characters 9. Little Penny Hardaway Although the surveys demonstrated that every kid has a slightly different definition of what's cool, certain marquee names hold the best bet for generating lots of smiles this holiday season. Note: (a) Surveys were distributed to all interested party on selected dates between Nov. 8 and Nov. 22 in consumer venues in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and San Francisco. Results reflected in this release represent nearly 800 valid surveys filled out by respondents aged 18 or under. No prize or other consideration was offered to respondents. No product purchase was required. Buy a Great Game, Not a Turkey! New GameSpot and VideoGameSpot Sites SAN FRANCISCO (Nov. 26) BUSINESS WIRE - Nov. 26, 1997 - With over 1,000 PC and video games to choose from this holiday shopping season, picking the best games and accessories can be challenging for hard-core gamers, let alone for those trying to shop for a gamer friend. And trying to pick between a Sony, Nintendo, Sega or PC gaming system is even tougher. To help busy holiday shoppers get the best in interactive entertainment, leading web sites GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com) and VideoGameSpot (http://www.videogamespot.com) today released their holiday game buyer's guides for 1997. These buyer's guides, which will be updated weekly through the end of the year, contain all the information you need to know to: z Choose the best gaming system for you z Pick the best games for each system z Know what hardware accessories will make your gaming even more fun z Get the strategies you need to beat the games you buy The VideoGameSpot Video Game Buyer's Guide was developed in conjunction with Electronic Gaming Monthly, the world's leading video game magazine, and features in-depth looks at the top console gaming systems, and the leading software and accessories that run on them. In the next few weeks, the buyer's guide will expand to include a guide to the best bargain games, tips on all major games, and users of the site will be able to vote for the games they think are best. The GameSpot Computer Game Buyer's Guide profiles the top-rated PC games out this fall, and the best graphic boards, sound boards, speakers and controllers that make your PC a better game machine. In the next weeks, the buyer's guide will expand to include a holiday guide to online gaming, a section on new hardware products, and the industry's top editors will pick their personal favorites. While at GameSpot and VideoGameSpot, you can enter the monthly contests, which each month give away tens of thousands of dollars worth of games and hardware to hundreds of winners. Special for the holiday season, GameSpot is giving away a full Micron PC gaming system. GameSpot and VideoGameSpot reach more gamers worldwide than any other game sites or network, according to Media Metrix (formerly PC Meter.) The two sites were named Best Gaming Sites by Entertainment Weekly last month, and GameSpot is the winner of a Gold Invision award for Best Online Magazine. Nintendo Sues Over Game Copier Nintendo of America Inc. today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against two companies that make and sell a Nintendo 64 video game copying device. According to the lawsuit, Bung Enterprises Ltd., a Hong Kong manufacturer, and Carl Industries Inc., a Florida- based U.S. distributor, have participated in "willful, direct and contributory infringement" of Nintendo's copyrights and trademarks by the advertisement, distribution and sale of the "Doctor V64" system. Nintendo, based in Redmond, Washington, is seeking actual damages, treble profits and an immediate injunction to stop the manufacture, distribution, advertisement and offer for sale of the Doctor V64. According to court papers, the Doctor V64 is used for the copying of Nintendo 64 video games from the original cartridge format to a writable CD-ROM or to the hard drive of a personal computer. The Doctor V64 also permits the play of real or illegally copied video games. The suit against Bung and Carl is the latest action in Nintendo's continuing war against video game piracy. In recent years, Nintendo has filed hundreds of lawsuits against video game counterfeiters, winning a number of significant victories worldwide. Most recently, Nintendo settled its case against Games City of Monterey Park, California, a U.S. retailer selling the Doctor V64. The production and sale of counterfeit video game products cost Nintendo, its publishers and developers an estimated $810 million in sales worldwide last year. Nintendo Sues Over Alleged Game Copying Device REDMOND, WASHINGTON, USA., 1997 NOV 21 (Newsbytes) -- By Bob Woods, Newsbytes. Nintendo Co., Ltd. subsidiary Nintendo of America Inc. said it is suing two companies over the alleged illegal copying and selling of Nintendo 64 video games. Both companies are involved in the manufacture and distribution of the "Doctor V64" console. The companies are Bung Enterprises of Hong Kong, which makes the Doctor V64, and Miami-based Carl Industries, distributor of the device. Carl Industries uses phone sales and a World Wide Web site to help sell the Doctor V64, Newsbytes notes. Nintendo's lawsuit states that Bung Enterprises and Carl Industries "have participated in willful, direct and contributory infringement of Nintendo's copyrights and trademarks by the advertisement, distribution and sale of the Doctor V64." Nintendo said it is seeking actual damages, treble profits and an immediate injunction to stop the manufacture, distribution, advertisement and offer for sale of the Doctor V64. The Doctor V64 is used for the unlawful copying of Nintendo 64 video games from the original cartridge format to a writable CD-ROM or to the hard drive of a personal computer, Nintendo maintains. The Doctor V64 also permits play of Nintendo of real or illegally copied video games, company officials said. A Carl Industries spokesperson told Newsbytes that the Doctor V64 unit his company sells does not "do any back-ups" of games, because Carl sells the unit without this ability. He said that if people are using the unit to back-up or copy games, they are doing it without the permission of his company. The spokesperson also said parts of Nintendo's complaint are incorrect, and that Carl Industries has contacted a lawyer to prevent the suit from doing "any damage" to his company. Carl Industries' World Wide Web site said that the company sells the Doctor V64 for $399, and that the unit itself is "the perfect cartridge emulator for use in developing your software for the Nintendo 64!!" "Why pay Nintendo $3000-4000 more for their development kit that does about the same thing? Equip 10 or more programmers/playtesters for the price of one Nintendo SDK (software development kit)," the site also said. "The Doctor V64 is the ultimate accessory for experimentation, homebrew development, or educational purposes involving the powerful Nintendo 64 game console. Probably the last thing on the planet Nintendo wants you to own, much less know about." Before a unit is sold, Carl Industries said it makes all buyers sign a waiver that "indemnifies (Carl) of any and all liabilities related to the use, non-use, possession, sale, importation, shipping, and/or transfer of the Doctor V64 unit . . . The Purchaser also certifies that the Doctor V64 unit has been duly presented and explained to the Purchaser by Carl as a product designed for video game enhancement, experimentation, and educational purposes only." The agreement also states that if bought, the purchaser "understands that the unit is to be used for VideoCD playback, 3D sound enhancement, experimentation/programming ONLY, and NOT for use with licensed Nintendo 64 games without the express permission of Nintendo of America/Nintendo of Japan. Purchaser understands that the unit is to be used only for the purposes above and not for fraudulent, illegal, grey-market, or any such questionable purposes as defined by US and International copyright, patent, and/or intellectual property laws and regulations." "Should Purchaser break this agreement, Purchaser agrees to assume responsibility for all such legal wrongdoing and absolves/indemnifies CARL of all possible legal responsibility connected to such wrongdoing," the agreement says. Newsbytes could not obtain any information on Bung Enterprises via the Web. Newsbytes did find a copyrighted frequently asked questions (FAQ) page at the Games Domain Web site (at http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk), which calls the Doctor V64 a "device manufactured by Bung Enterprises. It's primary purpose is to copy and play games in conjunction with a Nintendo64. The Doctor V64 can also play Video CDs, CDIs and audio CDs." Among other things, the FAQ said the Doctor V64 "uses its internal RAM to store the game data. This data can be loaded into RAM by either the CD-drive, through cartridge or through parallel cable. After the data is loaded, the Nintendo64 can be turned on. The 'game tape adapter' routes the signals of the lockout-chip (included in the original cartridge) to the N64 and by doing so effectively 'tricks' the N64 into thinking it is playing a perfectly normal cartridge. The actual game data is provided through the N64's expansion port." "Through the clever use of an upgradable bios and the 'game tape adaptor' this copier has the ability to adapt to protective measures Nintendo may apply to their games in the future, such as new lockout-chips," the FAQ also reported. Nintendo of America's World Wide Web site is at http://www.nintendo.com. Carl Industries' Web site is at http://www.carlind.com . ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'! PEOPLE... ARE TALKING Compiled by Joe Mirando jmirando@streport.com Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Here I sit, like a beached whale, hoping that all the turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings I gobbled down today will soon stop making themselves felt. I really did overdo it this year, but heck, it IS only once a year. To make this day even more complicated than it has been in years past, my sister decided to have a birthday party for my nephew after the huge feast that she had prepared. Needless to say, everyone turned the most interesting shade of green when the birthday cake was brought out. Everyone except for my nephew Peter, that is. Since it was his birthday party, and since he is only five years old, he decided that TWO pieces of cake was what he wanted. As you may have guessed, his eyes were bigger than his stomach and half of the second piece went uneaten. The adults were content with coffee or tea and a quiet spot in the living room, and an eerie quiet descended upon the household. Now, I don't know if you can picture the unease that comes upon you when you realize that there are 13 youngsters in the house somewhere that, for some unknown reason, are NOT making noise, but believe me it is usually cause for concern. A few of us took to looking around for the children and it was my sister that found them. They were sitting in the basement watching a video that Peter had gotten for his birthday. All of them being perfect little ladies and gentlemen, sitting in relative silence while watching TOY STORY. Thank goodness for home video. Why am I telling you this? I have no idea. It is just a picture that will be etched in my mind for a while and I thought I'd share it. Well, let's take a look at what's going on with UseNet. David Bolt asks: "Are there any problems using GFA basic with Magic or Geneva? If so, what and can they be easily solved? Second, what are the advantages/disadvantages of using Magic and Geneva?" Levien van Zon tells David: "Just get the GFA patches and don't forget to free any memory you don't need at the start of the program (eg. use RESERVE <new amount of mem>). And you'll have to write clean GEM code. (don't use GFA's window routines for instance, although I don't know why...) And don't write into memory that doesn't belong to your program. Advantages: you get, among other features, multitasking and cool GEM extras, and (at least with MagiC) a nice speed increase. Disadvantages: Takes up a bit more memory than plain TOS+GEM, shouldn't be any problem with 4 Mb though..." "Bill" asks about Multi-Tasking on the ST: "I'm a long time user of the ST. I have a 2 meg 520STe with a colour monitor and a 240meg HD and the one piece of software I have been looking for all these years is the multitasking software package GENEVA. I can't seem to find out who sells it,any idea where I could pick it up and how much?" James Haslam tells Bill: "Looking at the latest issue of Atari Computing (published here in the UK), I've found that Titan Designs here sell it in a bundle with Neodesk for 79.95 UK Pounds + carriage. The contact details follow: Postal Address: Titan Designs Limited 6 Wetherford Way Selly Oak Birmingham B29 4AX United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)121 693 6669 Fax: +44 (0)121 414 1630 email: TITANWEB@compuserve.com Website: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/TITANWEB/ For anyone who may be interested, Dan Wilga of Gribnif Software is available on the internet. While orders cannot be placed online, you can send Dan email at gribnif@pair.com and place orders or ask questions. Geneva and NeoDesk are available for $69.95 USD each, or $129.95 USD. I must say that this combination is my setup of choice even though I have now purchased MagiC. The integration of NeoDesk and Geneva is almost seamless, so once it's set up, you don't even have to think about it. Now back to our regularly scheduled program. <grin> Bertil Persson asks about using WENSuite with MagiC: "Wensuite doesn't seem to work with Magic 5.13. I can start the program,but the windows doesn't react to the mouse.It's just the closerbutton that works. With TOS there is no problem. Any suggestions as to why ? My system is Falcon 030/Magic 5.13" Roger Cain tells Bertil: "I have the same problem here, Bertil, under Magic v2 and v4. I think the diagnosis is that Wens does not work with ANY Magic since Wensuite v1.7. I have tried all sorts of re-configurations and have found it is OK with TOS and with MiNT on my TT but any sort of Magic just throws it. My symptoms are similar to yours: You need to click about 8 times on the first hypertext link before it responds. After hypertext links start working a store protection error occurs after just a few links "User memory block destroyed". I have reported this to oxo but have had NO reply. I find it hard to believe that they can produce s/w which is NOT compatible with Magic." Another personal observation... MagiC is not the BEST at compatibility. It is, however, the fastest. To get the speed (and to be able to write MagiC at all, I guess) TOS had to be re-written and optimized. Some software just doesn't like that. While that doesn't make MagiC a bad operating system, it does keep it from being my OS of choice. As a quick explanation of what NVDI is, Emmanuel Curis posts: "NVDI = New VDI, a replacment for VDI & GDOS, often quicker and having the capabilities of SpeedoGDOS. Edited by Application Systems. There's a "special" NVDI-version for ET-4000-boards, which is _not_ available at ASH. Try to get in contact to the "Behne brothers" (2B); the authors of both NVDI versions." Since we're on the subject, someone asks: "How is compatibility with GEM apps? Specifically, I want to run CAB 1.5 or the demo of 2.0 at 800x600 in 256 colors. Currently, using the TOS ET4000 drivers the browser chokes. Is there any reason to believe that the ET4000 version of NVDI might address this?" Theo Hopman tells them: "Yes [NVDI addresses those problems]. I was unable to run CAB reliably under the drivers that came with my Crazy Dots. With NVDI ET4000, however, CAB works perfectly. I actually found that some applications (an older version of Kandinsky, for example) worked better on the graphics card than they did in TT Hi. You should be aware that the version of WDIALOG that comes with NVDI ET4000 4.11 (or my copy anyway) is incompatible with Geneva, so you won't be able to run some of the utilities for NVDI. Get an updated version of WDIALOG (I forget where it's available) and you should be problem-free." Okay, okay. So not EVERYTHING works with Geneva, but most things run just fine. And I was able to easily get the version of WDIALOG that works with my favorite multi-tasking system easily. What WDIALOG does is to give whatever OS you happen to be running the ability to use pop-up windows like MagiC does. An application has to be written to take advantage of this, but if you have such an application, it will only work if you have either MagiC or WDIALOG running. Since I've mentioned MagiC, C.A. Workman asks: "Can anyone tell me if I can get programs with the file extension .APP to run automatically when Magic 4 boots up. I've tried putting such programs (e.g. appline.app or duetmc.app) in the "APPS" and "AUTO" folders on my C: drive but Magic boots as normal and nothing runs. Any help would be greatly apreciated." Thomas Binder tells them: "Well, what did you enter in magx.inf and what is your Apps-path? Remember that the path for autostart applications you find in the default magx.inf after installation changed (in MagiC 4, IIRC) from \auto\apps\ into \gemsys\magic\start\" The problem here is that MagiC needs to do some things in a particular way. It has its own special folder from which it runs MagiC-specific programs (like StartMeUp and APPLine). These are programs that deal specifically with MagiC and, therefore, MagiC needs to run them from within itself. If you run into this problem, do as Thomas suggests and check where MagiC is looking for applications. Jan Harald Hagen asks for information: "I am going to by a new scsi-hd (external) for my flacon. I have heard that there are some types that do not work properly. Does anybody know?" Dr. Uwe Seimet (the author of HDDriver) tells Jan: "Any drive works. There is only one thing to remember with Quantum Fireball drives: You can't boot from these drives. This doesn't matter if you boot from IDE, of course." Mike Freeman posts: "I just ordered a 33.6 modem for my C-Lab Falcon MK-X before realizing that I may only be able to reach 19.2, at least according to the old Atari Falcon Manual they gave me (they didn't have the C-Lab ones written yet). I was wondering if the C-Lab machines have this same serial speed limitation, and if they do, how can I get that upgraded to work with the new modem I am getting soon?" Daniel Rojo tells Mike: "If I recall correctly, the Falcon modem port can reach up to 230Kbps. I use my MK-X with a 28.8K modem under MagiC and have no problems (115K modem-computer communication). For TOS you will need HS modem though." Mike now posts: "I just read that someone's Falcon came with MultiTOS. Was MultiTos supposed to come with my machine, because it apparently didn't. I have a C-Lab Falcon. Does this make a difference? Can I still get MultiTOS from somewhere? Would that solve some of my Mint problems?" Jo Even Skarstein tells Mike: "Go to Katherine Ellis' homepage (www.primenet.com/~kellis/) and download the KEMD-package. It includes the latest (unofficial) GEM.SYS from Atari. Then download a MiNT-kernel (1.12.6 or newer) from any good ftp-site (ftp.funet.fi is a good place to look)... [As far as the MiNT problems go,] What problems exactly? MiNT and singleTOS isn't generally a good idea (for some reason it runs in supervisor-mode a lot and hogs the CPU under MiNT), so running the latest GEM.SYS should improve things." Well folks, the turkey is still letting me know that I've eaten too much, and I just want to go crawl into a cave somewhere and sleep it off. <grin> I hope your Thanksgiving Day was as good as mine was. See you again next week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING EDITORIAL QUICKIES THE OUTRAGEOUS TREATMENT CONTINUES.. IN THIS DAY AND AGE!! Thanksgiving Arrests of American Indian Rights Activists PLYMOUTH, Mass. (Reuters) - An American Indian rights protest at the birthplace of Thanksgiving turned into a melee Thursday, and more than two dozen people were arrested, police said. Indian rights activists have marked Thanksgiving Day for nearly 30 years with protests over the treatment of Indians since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620. On Thursday, police confronted between 150 and 200 protesters when they tried to march down a street that authorities had ruled off-limits to them, officials said. The demonstrators were ordered to disperse and became unruly when officers began to make arrests, Capt. William O'Meara said in a statement. Twenty-five people were arrested on disorderly-conduct and other charges. Local news reports said police used Mace on some protesters and several people were injured. To the City of Plymouth; we graciously extend a heavily sarcastic; Well Duhne!! God forbid we should do the right thing for the American Indians. Who cares that they were here first! STReport International Magazine [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport http://WWW.STREPORT.COM Every Week; OVER 250,000 Readers WORLDWIDE All Items quoted, in whole or in part, are done so under the provisions of The Fair Use Law of The Copyright Laws of the U.S.A. Views, Opinions and Editorial Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors/staff of STReport International OnLine Magazine. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Reprints must, without exception, include the name of the publication, date, issue number and the author's name. STR, CPU, STReport and/or portions therein may not be edited, used, duplicated or transmitted in any way without prior written permission. STR, CPU, STReport, at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. STR, CPU, STReport, are trademarks of STReport and STR Publishing Inc. STR, CPU, STReport, its staff and contributors are not and cannot be held responsible in any way for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" November 28, 1997 Since 1987 Copyrightc1997 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1347
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