ST Report: 11-Sep-98 #1429
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 09/16/98-09:44:44 PM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 11-Sep-98 #1429
Date: Wed Sep 16 21:44:44 1998
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September 11, 1998 No.1429
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"Often Imitated, Never Surpassed!"
- Gates Will Not Testify - Show Me Your EMail - Challenge to Win NT
- Graphitek Decals Perfect - E-Commerce Taxing - Intuit WINS Y2k
Battle
- Biometrics Set to Take Off - SUN vs MS over JAVA - Intelligent Essay
Assessor
- Compaq-HP-IBM face Intel - CARDINAL SYN - Wipeout Returns
APPELLATE COURT DASHES LD HOPES OF BELLS
Judge Tosses Internet Fee Lawsuit
MS DOJ WITNESS LIST
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From the Editor's Desk...
I have no idea how many have actually read the "Prez.htm" editorial we
posted on our Website but this past week I got the "Email of Emails"
(shudder) This person. Send me a two line email with gross
mis-spellings and foul language trying to tell me how wrong I am about
the Republican Party. Yeah Buddy I'm wrong and the tooth fairy is
actually an employee of the Mustang Ranch in Nevada. Next??
Speaking of the Republican Party. The ever so staunch a Republican Ken
Starr has finally taken his so-called "best shot". Now I have but one
question why should we honor this Republican Lackey for having done
exactly what Newt Gingrich and his cronies have but trying to do ever
since Clinton took the Oath of Office? Why is it an investigation into
the failure of a jerkwater bank in Arkansas that went nowhere all of a
sudden became a morals inquisition?? I say because the Republicans have
been trying to "get even" for Nixon's Impeachment from that day
forward. God help us all if we must stand tall for our "extra
curricular" activities. Can you imagine if the members of BOTH the
House and Senate had to "fes Up?" There'd be NO US Government left only
a handful of either liars or wimps! We need another investigation into
the after hours activities of members of Congress and the Senate with
the House and Senate Pages. I'll bet that would be real juicy.
[clint_starr.GIF (4548 bytes)] If ever I held a political party in
contempt and as such, would vow to never
ever again associate with or join such, it is the Republican Party.
They have, in the last six years, flown directly in the face of public
opinion and wishes with a zeal and pleasure fitting a Roman Emperor's
decadence. Clinton hasn't done anything more or less than any other
life loving American or, should I say. "world citizen" would have
done. In all honesty, I cannot imagine an adult human being having gone
through life without having "experienced life to its fullest". After
all, you only live once. I see no reason for having to forgive Clinton.
In my opinion he hasn't done anything wrong except allowing his enemies
to discover his very private life. One can only wonder how many of the
yapping dogs including Starr would behave with a 25 year old man-eater
at their "beck and call." I know where or should I say what I'd be "up"
to..
[clint_starr1.GIF (31795 bytes)] Had the Republican Party kept the best
interests of the Country and its
Citizens at heart they would've stopped the "Ken Starr Inquisition" the
moment it deviated from the Whitewater Matters it was originally
directed to focus upon. But no, vengeance became the cause and key word
and today we see the results. No matter what the Goofy Republicans do
Clinton will always be remembered as the first President (Republican or
Democrat) in decades who was able to balance the Federal Budget and
bring true prosperity and wealth to the little guys of this nation who
are willing to work for it. The Republicans want it all for themselves
and will do anything to keep the little guys DOWN.
As far as this reporter is concerned, the Republican Party has
committed the foot shot of the century.
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LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
America Online Makes eBay Its Online Auctioneer
America Online Inc. (AOL - news) and eBay, an online auction site, said
Wednesday they had agreed on a three-year deal that would make eBay the
preferred provider of auction services on AOL, the leading Internet
service. The pact calls for eBay to make guaranteed payments to AOL
totaling $12 million, the companies said in a statement. The deal
promises to give eBay more prominent positioning on AOL, expanding on a
nonexclusive relationship between the two.
The new alliance will make it easier for AOL members to buy and sell
merchandise from one another online, the companies said. Through the eBay
service, AOL members interested in selling items post the item for sale
in the appropriate category within the eBay area. EBay then assists in
the online auction for that item. Once the auction is complete and the
winning bid identified, the winning bidder and the seller contact each
other via e-mail to complete the transaction.
The companies said AOL members seeking to buy merchandise can find a
selection of more than 600,000 items in one safe and convenient place
online. For a minimum of one year, EBay will be the exclusive
person-to-person auction service in the general merchandise category of
the AOL Classifieds area and in several areas of the hobbies section of
the AOL Interest channel, the partners said. As of June 30, eBay said
that each day, on average, its more than 850,000 members put up for sale
more than 70,000 new items.
Gov't, Microsoft Fight Over Papers
The Justice Department is accusing Microsoft Corp. of refusing to hand
over possibly incriminating documents, while the company says the
government wants inappropriately to broaden its case just weeks before an
antitrust trial. The government asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield
Jackson Wednesday to force Microsoft to turn over within 24 hours
documents that it says show a pattern of illegal behavior by the software
giant toward industry rivals.
But already close to the Sept. 23 trial date, Microsoft asked the same
judge Wednesday to prohibit the government from broadening its case to
include new allegations. If the judge allows the new evidence, Microsoft
said, he should also delay the trial at least six months. ``We believe
the government is clearly trying to delay this case by adding a wide
range of unrelated issues at the last minute,'' Microsoft spokesman Mark
Murray said.
The Justice Department responded: ``It is unfortunate that Microsoft is
seeking to delay the trial to avoid confronting all the evidence that the
United States has amassed to support the claims contained in the
complaint we filed in May.'' The company said the government is
threatening to turn the case into ``an IBM-like 'kitchen-sink'
monstrosity,'' a reference to the Justice Department's lengthy,
unsuccessful battle against IBM.
The Justice Department and 20 states suing Microsoft contend they are not
broadening their lawsuit but are trying to illustrate how Microsoft
operates across the industry, using examples from a number of companies.
The original lawsuit, filed in May, focused on Microsoft's actions toward
rival Netscape and its competing Internet browser. But it also generally
accused Microsoft of ``a series of anticompetitive activities'' to
protect its dominant Windows market.
The government said Wednesday it wants records of the company's meetings
with executives from industry giants Intel and Apple Computer. Microsoft
contends the documents aren't relevant to the pending case. The
government said details of the meetings came up during recent depositions
with executives from Intel and Apple, and during its deposition last week
of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
The dueling motions were filed on the final day of pre-trial questioning
of Gates. He was interviewed for a third time Wednesday at his corporate
headquarters near Seattle by Justice Department lawyers. Microsoft
disclosed Wednesday that the government is looking into a private lawsuit
it's fighting with Bristol Technology of Danbury, Conn., a small company
suing Microsoft for preventing access to programming code of Windows NT,
the software for high-end business computers.
Microsoft said its dispute with Bristol ``has nothing to do with the
claims'' made by the government. Murray said demands for Bristol-related
documents ``just demonstrate how far afield the government is going in
this fishing expedition.'' Bristol President Keith Blackwell confirmed
Wednesday that the Justice Department issued civil subpoenas for copies
of e-mail messages, contracts and other documents related to Bristol's
private lawsuit against Microsoft.
``It's fairly targeted in terms of our relationship with Microsoft,''
said Blackwell. ``Many of these are the same documents we'll be using in
our private litigation.'' Bristol's lawyers, including Anthony Clapes,
briefed the Justice Department about their lawsuit Aug. 26 in Washington.
Justice lawyers asked pointed questions during that meeting, then sent
civil subpoenas days later. The government briefly hinted in court papers
filed earlier this week that it was tracking Microsoft's actions toward
Intel and Apple.
Specific allegations about its behavior toward Apple were kept secret
because of concerns over trade secrets. But the government said it wants
information about Microsoft's efforts to discourage Apple from developing
its QuickTime multimedia software for Windows, which competes directly
with Microsoft's own Netshow product. The government also is interested
in an August 1995 meeting between Gates and Intel's Andrew Grove, when
Microsoft allegedly tried to discourage Intel from developing new
technology incompatible with Microsoft's own Windows 95.
Judge Orders Microsoft To Turn Over Materials
A federal judge has ordered Microsoft Corp. news) to turn over a host of
new materials, including Chairman Bill Gates' communications with Intel
Corp., that government lawyers said could bolster their antitrust case
against the software giant. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield
Jackson rejected Microsoft's argument that the government's information
requests dramatically expanded the landmark antitrust lawsuit less than
three weeks before the case goes to trial.
The Justice Department and 20 states sued Microsoft in May, charging that
the Redmond, Wash., company illegally maintained a monopoly over
operating system software with its Windows program and tried to expand
that dominance to Internet browser software for the World Wide Web. Much
of the complaint focused on Microsoft's attempts to protect its dominance
by thwarting rivals Netscape Communications Corp., maker of a popular Web
browser, and Sun Microsystems Inc., maker of the Java computer language.
At Thursday's hearing, Jackson ordered Microsoft to give government
attorneys communications between its top officials and two other computer
companies, Intel and Apple Computer, over recent years. Microsoft lawyer
John Warden said the new material threatened to overwhelm the case. He
said Microsoft lawyers have prepared only to defend against allegations
concerning Netscape, Java and other narrow issues.
``There has to be an end to what we have to prepare ourselves to defend
against,'' he said. But Judge Jackson disagreed, saying: ``My view of the
case as raised by the complaint is not quite so narrow as yours.'' Warden
said Microsoft would comply with the judge's order but said he would ask
Jackson at a later hearing to exclude the new material from being raised
at the trial. ``We intend to press these points with respect to the scope
of the trial,'' he said.
If Jackson allowed the new material in the trial, Warden said he would
seek a delay in the case for six months. Attorneys for the government
gave tantalizing glimpses of some of their evidence in a successful
effort to show that the additional materials were necessary. Justice
Department special counsel David Boies said that when Apple Computer
complained to Microsoft that Windows was disabling its ``QuickTime''
program -- used to receive audio and video transmissions Gates wrote a
memo saying, effectively, ''I want to use this to get Apple to help us
undermine Sun and Java.''
Boise said that showed Microsoft was using its Windows monopoly to enlist
others to help undermine its competitor. Stephen Houck, an antitrust
lawyer for New York State, quoted an unidentified witness who said
Microsoft would ``fight Netscape with both arms -- the operating system
and the applications arm.'' That showed Microsoft using its operating
system monopoly improperly to help win in the market for Browsers, which
are an application, Houck said. Jackson will conduct a hearing on Sept.
11 on Microsoft's motion to end the case without a trial. The trial is
set to begin Sept. 23.
List of Witnesses in Microsoft Case
People who will testify in the government's upcoming antitrust case
against Microsoft, scheduled to begin later this month:
* Paul Maritz, a Microsoft vice president who the government contends
helped decide to bundle the company's Internet browser within
Windows and who allegedly worked to persuade America Online and
CompuServe to distribute Microsoft's browser but not Netscape's. The
government also contends Maritz was partly behind efforts to
``blunt'' the Java programming language, which Microsoft reportedly
saw as a threat to its Windows software.
* James Allchin, a Microsoft vice president in charge of Windows 98,
who the government said wrote in a potentially incriminating e-mail
that the company should begin ``leveraging Windows from a marketing
perspective.'' Maritz was Allchin's boss.
* Joachim Kempin, a Microsoft vice president in charge of its
contracts with computer makers.
* Brad Chase, another Microsoft vice president. The government said
Chase warned in an internal April 1997 memo that Internet browsers
could ``obsolete Windows.''
* Yusuf Medhi, the company's Windows marketing director.
* Cameron Myhrvold, vice president of Microsoft's Internet Customer
Unit and the brother of the company's chief technology officer,
Nathan Myhrvold. Cameron Myhrvold was in charge of dealing with
Internet Service Providers, which distribute Internet browsers to
their online customers. He told government lawyers in April those
Internet companies and computer makers are ``the two most important
channels'' for distributing browsers.
* William Poole, Microsoft's senior director for Windows Business
Development.
* Daniel Rosen, Microsoft's general manager for new technology.
* John Rose, senior vice president at Compaq Computer.
* Richard Schmalansee, interim dean of the Sloan School of Management
at MIT; one of the nation's top economists; a former member of the
Council of Economic Advisers during the Bush administration. He
worked with Microsoft during the last Justice Department
investigation that ended in a 1995 consent decree.
* Michael Dertouzos, director of MIT's computer lab, an expert in
computer science.
* Michael Devlin, president of Rational Software Corp., a small
California company with a long business relationship with Microsoft.
* James Barksdale, president and chairman of Netscape, which makes the
popular Internet browser that competes directly with Microsoft's.
Former executive with ATT a nationally known economics expert
described as "Justice's star witness." Fisher was IBM's economics
expert during its lengthy fight with the Justice Department decades
ago, when he worked with IBM lawyer David Boies, who is now leading
the government's case. ``Fisher is one of the heaviest heavyweights
you can bring out, one of the leading economists in the world,''
said Robert Litan, an economist with the Brookings Institution.
* Frederick R. Warren-Bolton, another well-known economist. Former
chief economist during the Reagan administration; has worked in the
high-tech area.
* David J. Farber, telecommunications professor at the University of
Pennsylvania.
* Edward Felten, assistant computer professor at Princeton University.
* Glenn Weadock, president of Independent Software Inc.
* David Sibley, economics professor at the University of Texas, who
specializes in public utilities.
Gates Won't Testify for Microsoft
Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft Corp. and a controversial leader of
the computer age, will leave it to others to testify in defense of his
company at its antitrust trial later this month. Eight Microsoft
executives, but not Gates, will appear in federal court to dispute the
government's claim that the company acted illegally toward industry
rivals to preserve the profitable role of its Windows operating system.
Bill is a visionary for this company and the overall leader, but these
people on our witness list were there handling the day-to-day
operations,'' company spokesman Jim Cullinan said Friday. The presiding
judge also will weigh testimony by executives from some of the nation's
leading high-tech companies, who will appear on behalf of the Justice
Department and 20 states suing Microsoft. The case is widely viewed as
among the most important antitrust actions this century.
The government and the company on Friday each identified their dozen
witnesses allowed for the trial, a list that offers an important glimpse
into possible legal strategies. The roster of companies willing to align
themselves against Microsoft - including Intel Corp., IBM Corp. and
America Online - also suggests the level of fear and resentment directed
at the influential software company, even among some of the industry's
most powerful players.
Also testifying for Microsoft will be John Rose, a vice president for the
world's largest computer maker, Compaq Computer Corp. Compaq, a long-time
ally of Microsoft, is expected to dispute arguments that Microsoft sought
to pressure computer makers to carry its own Internet browser over one
made by rival Netscape Communications Corp. The government contends that
Microsoft feared that, as the Internet grew in popularity and in its
ability to serve as a platform to run software programs, Netscape's
Internet browser posed a threat to its Windows dominance.
The witness names offered few surprises, except for one person listed for
the government: Scott Vesey, an executive of The Boeing Co. who
reportedly works at the company's computer offices in Bellevue, Wash.,
close to Microsoft's headquarters in nearby Redmond. Neither Vesey nor
Boeing have previously surfaced in the case.
Boeing is a customer of ours,'' Cullinan said. ``I don't know what the
exact issue is, but they're a customer.'' The Justice Department declined
to comment further on its list.
Robert Litan, a former senior Justice Department official who has been
following the case, said Microsoft's decision not to use Gates surprised
him as much as the government's mysterious decision regarding Boeing. The
government recently took a deposition from Gates over three days at his
corporate offices, but it complained in court documents that he
``displayed a particular failure of recollection at his deposition.''
Several times in its lawsuit, the government quoted excerpts of e-mail
from Gates to try to illustrate that he had acted illegally toward
rivals, especially Netscape, whose popular browser competes directly with
Microsoft's.
Netscape's chairman, James Barksdale, leads the government's witness
list. In one e-mail, Gates is quoted as saying he was ``quite frank''
with Intuit founder Scott Cook ``that if he had a favor we could do for
him that would cost us something like $1 (million), to do that in return
for switching browsers in the next few months.''
Intuit makes the popular Quicken personal finance software and had been a
supporter of Netscape until a business agreement with Microsoft. The
government listed its chairman, William Harris, as one of its witnesses.
Microsoft has accused the government of mischaracterizing e-mails from
employees as policies approved by its highest executives.
``Their defense to the bad e-mails (was) that this was office chatter and
wasn't approved by the guy at the top,'' said Litan, now an economist at
the Brookings Institution. ``One would have assumed they would offer the
guy at the top.'' U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson decided in
June to limit the number of witnesses who can testify, in an attempt to
keep the trial from bogging down. It's already expected to last weeks.
The judge limited each side to six to 12 witnesses, but he agreed to
allow additional people, ``if good cause is shown.''
Judge Tosses Internet Fee Lawsuit
A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit opposing part of the $100 fee
people paid to register Internet addresses. Lawyer William Bode,
representing a group of people who paid the fees, said he will appeal the
ruling and seek an emergency freeze of roughly $62 million already
collected by the government's contractor. At stake are millions of
dollars in potential refunds for Internet address holders.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan's ruling to dismiss Bode's lawsuit frees
the money, kept in the National Science Foundation's Intellectual
Infrastructure Fund, to be spent on Internet development and research.
The judge initially sided with Bode, ruling in April that the disputed
$30 fee was actually an illegal tax and imposing a freeze on the money.
But the judge decided last week that a law passed by Congress just weeks
after his original ruling makes Bode's lawsuit moot, because the new law
retroactively authorizes the government's contractor, Network Solutions
Inc., to collect a $30 tax for each Internet address registered.
``The tax is now legally imposed,'' the judge said.
Between September 1995 and March 1998, Network Solutions collected the
$30 fee from customers who registered Internet addresses with the
suffixes "com", "net" and "org".
Neither Network Solutions nor the government collects the fee any more.
The $30 of the $100 cost for a two-year registration went to the science
foundation's infrastructure fund, and the contractor kept the remaining
$70.
About a third of the roughly $62 million has been earmarked for spending
to develop the next generation of the Internet, but none of the money has
been spent. Bode believes it should cost no more than $10 to register an
Internet address. He argued that the new law that derailed his case was
added to an emergency spending bill late in April without the appropriate
notice to lawmakers, but the judge dismissed that claim as ``baseless.''
``There is no evidence that Congress as a whole was mistaken in its
assumptions, or that either the House or the Senate lacked reasonable
grounds to vote for the statute,'' the judge said. Citing the new law,
the judge dismissed Bode's lawsuit last week, but the decision was
revealed only Wednesday, even to Bode and the science foundation, the two
central parties in the case.
Net Use May Boost Depression
Spending just a few hours a week online appears to leave people feeling
more socially isolated, lonely and depressed, according to a 2-year study
of nearly 100 families with Internet access. Although the effect is
slight, the more time people spend online, the more isolated, lonely and
depressed they appear to become.
The study is the first to take an in-depth look at the social and
psychological effects the Internet has on the people who use it.
According to marketing and other reports, more than 50 million Americans
have Internet access, and that number is increasing rapidly. ``We were
surprised to find that what is a social technology has such antisocial
consequences,'' the lead author, Dr. Robert Kraut, of Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said in a statement to the press.
Over the course of the HomeNet study, Kraut and colleagues monitored the
families' Internet use. The researchers interviewed family members both
before and after they obtained Internet access, and gave them a range of
tests to measure their social and psychological well-being. The
researchers report their findings in the current issue of The American
Psychologist.
The results were particularly surprising since most of 169 family members
the researchers studied used the Internet moderately -- between 2 to 3
hours per week. Moreover, those in the study used the Internet primarily
for interpersonal communication, spending more time exchanging e-mail,
for instance, than surfing the web. The research team found that the more
time spent on the Internet, the higher the study subjects scored in
measures of loneliness and depression.
Interviews with those in the study suggested that many were spending time
on-line that they previously spent with family and close friends, the
researchers report. Among other things, family members reported spending
less time talking with one another, and keeping up with friends and
acquaintances. And the researchers report that teens appeared to be the
most vulnerable to the negative effects of using the Internet.
``Perhaps, by using the Internet, people are substituting poorer quality
social relationships for better relationships, that is, substituting weak
ties for strong ones,'' Kraut and colleagues write. The findings suggest
that ``development and deployment of services that support pre-existing
communities and strong relationships should be encouraged,'' the
researchers conclude. Rather than encourage students to use the Internet
solely for research, for instance, teachers might give pupils online
group homework assignments to complete with classmates. Local groups
might build websites that allow neighbors to discuss local affairs and
community projects.
``Until the technology evolves to be more beneficial, people should
moderate how much they use the Internet and monitor the uses to which
they put it,'' Kraut and colleagues advise. To limit and monitor their
children's use, and encourage family interaction, parents might consider
putting the computer in the living room, rather than the basement or a
child's room, they suggest.
A T T E N T I O N ** A T T E N T I O N ** A T T E N T I O N
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A T T E N T I O N ** A T T E N T I O N ** A T T E N T I O N
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
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Edupage
Contents
Compaq-HP-IBM Challenge Intel On Analysts Foresee "Portal Melee"
Bus Design
Cadence To Acquire Chip-Design Appellate Court Dashes
Software Maker Ambit Long-Distance Hopes Of Bells
The Intelligent Essay Assessor Feds Revise Estimate For Fixing
Year 2000 Problem
Gates Won't Testify Internet Outranks Beer-Drinking In
What's Cool On Campus
E-Commerce's Taxing Issue DOD Fears Dependence On Foreign
Technology
Intuit Wins A Year 2000 Fight TriStrata Security Unveils New
Security Software
Net Depression Study Criticized Show Me Your E-Mail
Chemical Group Warns Against Net Via TV Airwaves Is Slow To Get
Putting EPA Plan On The Internet Off The Ground
Biometric Technology Set To Take Sun And Microsoft In Court Over
Off Java Dispute
Challenge To Windows NT Financial Firms Web Strategies
Still In A Tangle
Gemstar Positions Itself As IBM'S Powerful Yet Tiny Disk Drive
Universal Portal For Consumer Devices
Berkeley Cracker Steals Thousands Xerox Technology Teams Up With
Of Passwords Lotus Notes
COMPAQ, HP, IBM CHALLENGE INTEL ON BUS DESIGN
Compaq Computer, Hewlett-Packard and IBM have developed a new design for
a computer bus -- the circuitry hat routes data and instructions between
a computer's microprocessor and peripherals such as the hard drive or a
networking device. The companies are trying to persuade Intel to adopt
their technology rather than pursue its own proprietary next-generation
bus. The computer makers fear that if Intel's newest technology is widely
adopted, they will be forced to make royalty payments for its use. Since
1991, many computer makers have used a technology called Peripheral
Component Interconnect, or PCI, which is now governed by an industry
committee. "Control of PCI bus is a very important issue because it is a
technology that is used widely throughout the industry, not just in Intel
computers," says a Dataquest analyst. (Wall Street Journal 4 Sep 98)
ANALYSTS FORESEE "PORTAL MELEE"
With companies scrambling to take on Yahoo! as the top "portal" -- the
site that Web users use as a "home base" for their Internet activities --
analysts are predicting a major shakeout in the portal industry. "This is
the first time since Yahoo started that it will be vulnerable," says
rival CNET CEO Halsey Minor. "In the next nine months, things will be
vastly different." Most experts are placing their bets on America Online,
whose 12.5 million subscribers comprise 36% of the Web traffic that comes
from households, but Microsoft's new msn.com site launched late last
month is also expected to garner a healthy share of Web surfers. The
stakes are big -- by 2003, portals are expected to grab 20% of all Web
traffic and $3.2 billion in Web advertising dollars. (Business Week 7 Sep
98)
CADENCE TO ACQUIRE CHIP-DESIGN SOFTWARE MAKER AMBIT
Cadence Design Systems is acquiring competitor Ambit Design Systems for
$260 million, its second purchase in a week of a semiconductor-design
company. Last week Cadence announced it was buying a chip-design unit of
Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs division for $90 million. The
consolidation will give Cadence an extensive set of software tools for
designing systems-on-a-chip. (Wall Street Journal 4 Sep 98)
APPELLATE COURT DASHES LONG-DISTANCE HOPES OF BELLS
Overturning a lower court ruling, the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of
Appeals has upheld provisions of the 1996 Telecommunications Act that
restrict the regional Bell telephone companies from offering
long-distance service until they have opened their own local phone
service markets to meaningful competition. The ruling is likely to extend
the status quo. The Bells have so far been unable to prove to the FCC
that they have opened up their markets, and the FCC has already rejected
four separate requests to let them offer long-distance service. (New York
Times 5 Sep 98)
THE INTELLIGENT ESSAY ASSESSOR
A psychology professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder is
spearheading the creation of an Intelligent Essay Assessor, a
computerized tool to assist professors in grading students' written
essays. Thomas Landauer says that to use the program, a professor must
first teach it to recognize both good and bad essay writing by feeding it
examples of both, which have been manually graded. The program can also
be trained using what he calls a "gold standard" -- passages from
textbooks or other materials written by experts on the same subject as
the essay to be graded. While earlier digital essay graders work by
analyzing essays mechanically -- looking at sentence structures and
counting commas, periods and word lengths -- Landauer says his program
can actually "understand" the student's writing using sophisticated
artificial intelligence technology called "latent semantic analysis." It
does so by comparing the patterns of word usage in student essays with
the usage patterns it has learned from the initial samples, enabling the
computer "to a good approximation, to understand the meanings of words
and passages of text." If an essay appears to convey the same knowledge
as those used in the examples, the computer gives it a high score. The
Intelligent Essay Assessor is not meant to be used to grade essays in
English-composition or creative-writing assignments, where a student is
being graded more on writing skill than subject knowledge. (Chronicle of
Higher Education 4 Sep 98)
FEDS REVISE ESTIMATE FOR FIXING YEAR 2000 PROBLEM
The federal government's Year 2000 Conversion Panel now says it will cost
the government at least $5.4 billion to reprogram its computers to solve
the Year 2000 problem caused by old programs using two-digit year codes
that leave a computer not knowing what century's it's in. This new
estimate is about $400 million higher than the last one. (New York Times
6 Sep 98)
GATES WON'T TESTIFY
Microsoft chief executive Bill Gates will leave it to eight other senior
company executives to testify in Microsoft's defense in the antitrust
suit brought against it by the U.S. Justice Department. A Microsoft
spokesman says, "Bill is a visionary for this company and the overall
leader, but these people on our witness list were there handling the
day-to-day operations." (AP 5 Sep 98)
INTERNET OUTRANKS BEER-DRINKING IN WHAT'S COOL ON CAMPUS
A survey of 1,200 students at 100 colleges and universities nationwide,
conducted by research firm Student Monitor LLC, shows that when asked
what was "in" on campus, 72.5% of the respondents answered "the
Internet," whereas only 70.8% named "drinking beer." Up until now,
beer-drinking has held the top spot since the biannual surveys began in
1988. (Information Week 31 Aug 98)
E-COMMERCE'S TAXING ISSUE
While the federal government is leaning toward a two-year moratorium on
electronic commerce, and six states have already passed laws to that
effect, a number of states are lining up on the other side of the issue.
Nine states already tax Internet services, as do some local governments.
The National Governors Association estimates that state governments now
lose $3 billion to $4 billion a year on mail order sales, and states fear
the Internet moratorium will exacerbate the problem. "We think the
Internet has the ability to increase that dramatically," says an NGA
policy analyst. Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt, head of the NGA task force on
Internet development, says, "If the Internet is going to grow, it ought
to be because of the advantages in the way it delivers goods, not in the
way it is taxed." Jupiter Communications predicts that online shopping
revenue, excluding cars and real estate, will exceed $37 billion in the
U.S. by 2002, up from $5.8 billion this year. (Reuters 7 Sep 98)
DOD FEARS DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN TECHNOLOGY
The Department of Defense is once again concerned about over-dependence
on foreign suppliers of technology used in its weapons systems. In
response, DOD is forming a special advisory panel to look into the
problem. The advisory panel on National Security and the Globalization of
Business and Industry will focus on the special concerns surrounding
growing reliance on foreign chip makers and software developers. Previous
DOD efforts to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers by funding domestic
flat-panel display and ceramic packaging industries have produced mixed
results. (EE Times 7 Sep 98)
INTUIT WINS A YEAR 2000 FIGHT
Ruling that no demonstrable damages have been suffered by the plaintiffs,
California judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit alleging that
Intuit was unfairly forcing consumers to pay $20-40 to upgrade older
versions of Quicken software if they wanted to avoid banking problems
associated with the Year 2000 problem. The Attorney who led the case for
the plaintiffs has argued that to force all computers to wait until
damages actually occurred before seeking legal redress would be
"counterproductive" and would add to the overall cost of responding to
the Year 2000 problem. (New York Times 7 Sep 98)
TRISTRATA SECURITY UNVEILS NEW SECURITY SOFTWARE
TriStrata Security Inc. has developed a new approach to encrypting
computer files that it claims is hundreds of times faster than
conventional cryptographic techniques, which rely on mathematical
algorithms and their "keys." The TriStrata approach was inspired by a
concept developed in 1917 by Gilbert Vernam, where each letter of a
message is changed to a code by an addition process determined by
randomly generated numbers. In the old days, spies kept code books
containing pages of random numbers, but today's computers are powerful
enough to generate a set of random numbers so large that the same set can
be used in every server that manages encryption operations. In its
demonstration, TriStrata was able to use its software to encrypt a
standard word-processing file in one-hundredth of a second. Larger files
containing video, for instance, can be scrambled the moment they're sent
over the Web. In its endorsement of the new software, Pricewaterhouse
Coopers says it will use the TriStrata product for its internal
communications, and the accounting firm is setting up a business to help
other companies install and use it. (Wall Street Journal 8 Sep 98)
NET DEPRESSION STUDY CRITICIZED
Various researchers, including Vanderbilt University's Donna L. Hoffman,
are criticizing the recently released Carnegie Mellon University study
that suggested that the Net may be a lonely place, causing depression in
many people who used it extensively for e-mail, chat, and similar
purposes. Noting that the subjects of the study ere not randomly selected
(and not matched with a scientific "control" group of people who didn't
use the Net but were otherwise like the people in the study), Hoffman
says the CMU research is "not ready for prime time. This is not saying
that Internet does not cause depression. Maybe it does -- but this
research does not prove that." She adds that the CMU finding is hard to
believe because it runs "counter to experience, anecdotal evidence,
practice and scholarly research." (Washington Post 7 Sep 98)
SHOW ME YOUR E-MAIL
As part of the effort to find evidence it can use to defend itself
against an antitrust lawsuit brought against it by the U.S. Justice
Department, Microsoft has subpoenaed the archives of two e-mail lists
used by rival Netscape Corporation to encourage employees to make
complaints and offer suggestions. One prominent intellectual property
lawyer urges against allowing unrestricted feedback in an electronic
forum and advises organizations to erase e-mail as a matter of course, so
that they don't find themselves "creating a pool of bad evidence." (New
York Times 7 Sep 98)
CHEMICAL GROUP WARNS AGAINST PUTTING EPA PLAN ON THE INTERNET
A study commissioned by the Chemical Manufacturers Association warns
against a plan to use the Internet to distribute worst-case scenarios for
thousands of industrial facilities, saying making such information public
could raise the risk of terrorist attacks sevenfold. The CMA suggests
instead that the information be disseminated via paper and CD-ROM only.
(Investor's Business Daily 8 Sep 98)
NET VIA TV AIRWAVES IS SLOW TO GET OFF THE GROUND
Video datacasting, which delivers Internet data over television airwaves,
was expected to take off this summer thanks to a version of it called
WaveTop, which is included in every Microsoft Windows 98 operating
system. But computer manufacturers have resisted including the critical
add-on circuit board necessary to use the technology, because it adds
$100 or more to the price of a PC in an extremely price-sensitive market.
The result is lackluster demand for the service, despite its ability to
reduce some of the frustration associated with the limited bandwidth of
conventional modems. "From a consumer perspective, this technology is
pretty damn impressive right now with really limited bandwidth," says the
chief operating officer of National Datacast Inc., the PBS spin-off
that's signed up to transmit the WaveTop service. "And the price is
right: it's free. Our stations have gotten a number of calls from viewers
inquiring about the technology, although I will admit for those not fully
familiar with the concept of a TV tuner card" interest has been slow to
develop. (Los Angeles Times 7 Sep 98)
BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGY SET TO TAKE OFF
"Biometrics will be pervasive within two years," predicts Barry Wendt,
CEO of SAC Technologies. The advent of low-cost, high-power PCs is making
it possible to implement biometric security systems without spending a
lot of extra cash. Compaq is now offering a $99 fingerprint reader as a
peripheral for its Deskpro PC line, and voice recognition and facial
verification technologies are also becoming more affordable. "A little
software, some hardware, 8-bit digitization, a $1.50 microphone, and you
have some pretty discriminating (voice-recognition) technology," says
Wendt. "Facial-verification technology can be implemented for less than
$50." (TechWeb 3 Sep 98)
SUN AND MICROSOFT IN COURT OVER JAVA DISPUTE
A federal court has begun hearing the Sun law suit charging Microsoft
with abusing a licensing agreement for the use of Sun's Java programming
language by illegally modifying the language. Sun maintains that
"Microsoft is drawing on its vastly superior distribution channels for
desktop operating systems and Browsers to inundate the market for desktop
computers with an unlicensed, incompatible version of Sun's Java
environment" -- "a blatant effort to devalue Sun's technology and
establish its own, corrupted version as a de facto industry standard."
Microsoft's contention is that the suit is an attempt by Sun to use the
courts as a backdoor way of competing against Microsoft's Window's
operating system. (New York Times 9 Sep 98)
CHALLENGE TO WINDOWS NT
At the same time it challenges Microsoft in court (see above), Sun is
posing a new challenge to Microsoft's Windows NT operating system by
bringing out a new add-card that will make it for possible for Windows
applications to operate on Sun workstations at high speeds, thereby
offering direct competition to Microsoft's dominance of the operating
system market. (Financial Times 9 Sep 98)
FINANCIAL FIRMS WEB STRATEGIES STILL IN A TANGLE
A survey conducted by consulting firm Ernst & Young LLP shows that
despite considerable spending on Internet ventures, most financial
companies don't have a clear idea of what they're doing or why they're
doing it. Only 1% of the companies listed "selling more products and
services" over the Internet as a top e-commerce goal. Thirty-three
percent listed retaining existing customers and 23% cited reducing
operational costs as driving forces behind their Web strategies.
Meanwhile, 40% hadn't coordinated their Web offerings with their other
distribution channels, and 70% had not come up with a pricing strategy
for their e-commerce efforts. "A lot of people are just patching (the
Internet) on as another stovepipe," says an E&P partner. "There's a lot
of defensive posturing going on." Still, financial companies are
budgeting twice as much money for e-commerce this year as last, and by
2001, they predict they'll spend about 14% of their technology budgets to
Internet commerce. (Wall Street Journal 9 Sep 98)
GEMSTAR POSITIONS ITSELF AS UNIVERSAL PORTAL
Forget the scrambling going on among Web sites to be the No. 1 Internet
portal -- Gemstar International Group Ltd. is aiming to be the exclusive
licenser of an electronic program guide that can sift through everything
-- TV shows, video-on-demand and Internet access. "This technology gives
you both a search engine and a delivery mechanism that can include
broadcast, cable, satellite, and the Internet," says Gary Arlen,
president of Arlen Communications. The company has patented its Guide
Plus technology, and anticipates reaping fat license fees from TV and
set-top-box manufacturers, along with big advertising revenues. Gemstar
president and CEO Henry Yuen is hoping to have Guide Plus installed in 2
million homes by the end of next year, and estimates that users will view
about three pages of the guide four times an hour, or 168 million page
views a day -- "Bigger than Yahoo! And Netscape combined," says Yuen.
"We're launching on a seven-hour-a-day habit, vs. he typical 20-minute
Internet session, and we're the only program guide on the box." (Business
Week 14 Sep 98)
IBM'S POWERFUL YET TINY DISK DRIVE FOR CONSUMER DEVICES
Intended for use in handheld computers and consumer devices such as
digital cameras and digital cell phones, IBM has developed a disk drive
that can store as much as 340 megabytes of information, yet weights only
half as much as a golf ball. The drive (called Microdrive) fits into a
new industry standard called a Flash Type II slot. Industry analyst James
Porter says, "This is an engineering marvel. However, they still have to
create a new market. I think they will probably take some time for these
to develop." The new drives are unlikely to be used in laptop or
subnotebook laptop computers, which uses another type of small disk
drive. (San Jose Mercury News 9 Sep 98)
BERKELEY CRACKER STEALS THOUSANDS OF PASSWORDS
A malicious hacker using a computer in the University of California at
Berkeley's mathematics department this summer has managed to crack 47,642
passwords of computer users around the world, using a software program
called "John the Ripper," according to a report by the CERT Coordination
Center at Carnegie Mellon University. "This is a very large attack," says
Calvin Moore, chairman of Berkeley's mathematics department. "This is
obviously somebody who invested a lot of time." The Federal Bureau of
Investigation is investigating the attack. Some of the affected computers
are located at U.S. universities, including the California Institute of
Technology, Harvard University, and the University of California at Los
Angeles. Officials at Berkeley have now changed the departmental
passwords that had been compromised and notified users. "I'm not aware
that we suffered any damage or had any files stolen," says Moore.
(Chronicle of Higher Education 11 Sep 98)
XEROX TECHNOLOGY TEAMS UP WITH LOTUS NOTES
Xerox is adapting its digital copier and printer technology to use Lotus
Notes and Domino software for anaging and exchanging e-mail and computer
files among users. A document scanned through a Xerox copier would be
converted to an electronic file, which could then be shared across a
network. In a related move, both companies will begin next year making
their products compatible with a technical standard proposed by the
Salutation consortium, a nonprofit group of about 35 technology
companies. The standard is aimed at enabling different fax machines,
copiers, printers, laptops and other devices work with each other across
a network. (Wall Street Journal 10 Sep 98)
NEW!
[BITSBYTES.GIF (64527 bytes)]
by R. F. Mariano
This past week the weather played the villain role. Rain, wind and
especially nasty lightning and thunder almost every day with a number of
days where it rained all day. It rained so much, (how much did it rain?),
...a lake not too far from here that had been, for all intents and
purposes, dry for a number of years was now at the full levels it was
twenty five years ago. We could've gotten a great deal more done had
mother nature been more cooperative.
In any case, we designed an "antenna farm" (as good a name as any.. I
guess) for the boat. It will accommodate the Radar Dome, two GPS
antennas, a differential antenna, an anchor light and three night fishing
lamps. The actual fabrication and installation of the antenna farm will
be done by the folks at Pablo Creek Marina. 1-904-221-4228 Matt Smith,
service manager, is among the best in my opinion. He is also the man in
charge. The boat's outdrives are now rebuilt and the transom, gunnels and
cap were compounded and waxed and the teak swim platform was cleaned,
sanded and given four applications of teak oil. We're getting there.
This coming week is the week we have Shimp Sign and Decal 1-904-241-3957
apply the custom Scotch Print Decals, the Marina's folks install the
antenna farm electronics hardware and finally put Bits & Bytes in the
water and her slip. Let me tell you a little about the Decals. They were
made in Vermont by Graphitek. Folks, these guys are the best in my book.
I designed the Bits & Bytes Logo and sent them an Adobe Photoshop .psd
file to work with. Within a week, the job was done. We had the main Port
and Starboard decals, the Transom name decal and the dodger name decal.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention the two small decals for the truck. The
decals look exactly like the logo for this column. Graphitek did a
wonderful job. If you need anything in the way of Boat Letters, Logo Work
or, just about anything graphical,from design to finished product, give
Graphitek a call...They can be reached at 1-800-423-4371 ask for Tom
Sheppard. http://www.graphitek.com/index.html
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The Linux Advocate
Column #19
September 11th, 1998
by Scott Dowdle
dowdle@icstech.com
ICQ UIN: 15509440
LOGIN:
I've been real busy at the new job... which I'm really loving. Forgive the
briefness of this edition. Hopefully the next edition will be more
substantial in size. I did notice that the screen captures I did for the VNC
spotlight last edition got messed up in the print edition. Just check my
archive page for a correct presentation:
http://www.icstech.com/~dowdle/LA/LA-18.html
NEWS:
Item #1: Intel Plans to Offer Support for Linux on Merced - While it's been
said several times, Intel made it more official via some public statements
from Sunil Saxena, the principal engineer of the Microcomputer Software Labs
at Intel. This support is said to, "run deep within its engineering ranks,
where many staffers use it as their desktop development system." Another
quote I like that you'll find at the following URL is, "Intel engineers
currently test Wired for Management features on actual Linux systems rather
than running them in compatibility mode on
Windows-based hardware." Read the entire article at the following URL:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,4436,350012,00.html
Item #2: Dell Ships PCs, Servers With Linux - Although there are over 40 (I'm
told) PC makers that sell Linux pre-installed on their hardware, Dell
recently announced that they will officially allow their customers to pick
Linux as an alternative OS to come pre-installed on their machines. There are
some limitations to this s o refer to the URL below. Unfortunately, Dell
wants an additional $250 for Linux pre-installed machines. I'm not sure to be
happy about this or outraged but I guess it's a start.
http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/daily/980908c.html
Item #3: Ballmer: Microsoft taking notice of free rivals Linux, Apache - In
what is viewable as evidence supporting my SPOTLIGHT from last edition (What
will Microsoft's strategy be against Linux?), MS President Steve Ballmer made
some public comments about Linux being a threat to
Microsoft. See the following URL:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,3441,2134010,00.html
Item #4: A Fight to the Finnish: Why Linux Quite Appropriately Scares the
Bejesus Out of Microsoft - PBS' Robert X. Cringely recently wrote an
editorial where he talks about met and talked with Linus Torvalds. He
contrasts this with his meeting of Bill Gates and offers a little
contrast between the two. This is a very well written article that goes into
some of the subtler details about this industry we so love. Check it out ASAP
at the following URL:
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit19980910.html
Item #5: Cover story of Software Magazine - It seems as if Linus Torvalds is
making more and move magazine covers and stories. As I mentioned before,
Linux stories in the mainstream press seem to be a dime a dozen these days.
Anyway, check out the following URL if you want to see yet another intro
story on Linux.
http://209.101.48.92/Sept98/sm098cv.htm
Item #6: Linux/etc, the other free Unixes, part 1 of 2 - Linux certainly
isn't the only free flavor of Unix out there... in fact, there are several.
The following URL does a good job of providing an overview of the various
flavors that are available:
http://www.computerbits.com/archive/19980900/lnx9809.htm
Item #7: The Saint of Free Software - Maverick Richard Stallman Keeps the
Faith and gives Bill Gates the Finger. This is my personal favorite of all of
the stories I ran into since the last LA edition. I respect Mr. Stallman a
whole lot and feel that without his voice, our computer communities would be
greatly lacking. While I don't agree with him on some issues (I'll not get
into which ones), he offers a counter-balance in our culture that is greatly
needed. Anyway, read the article for yourself:
http://www.salonmagazine.com/21st/feature/1998/08/cov_31feature.html
Item #8: The Elements Of Style: UNIX As Literature - Here's another good
online article that helps identify the Unix sub-culture. Check it out and see
if you fit the pattern:
http://www.performancecomputing.com/features/9809of1.shtml
Item #9: Forbes names top ten "Heros of the Internet" -- Guess who won. Let's
just say that Bill Gates came in 7th. I especially love the quote, "A free
operating system 10,000 times better than anything Microsoft has ever made.
Need I say more? ... The ripples from his pebble toss will be felt for
decades to come. ... He ha s made computing fun again. A Microsoft operating
system can be learned in its entirety in a week, and then one has nowhere to
go, except for crashes and instability. With Linux, a week gets you basic
proficiency, then the only limit you have is set by your ambition and
creativity." Anyway, see who picked up the other 8 of the top 10 list:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/98/0907/6205216a.htm
Item #10: Infighting in the Linux community? - It appears that some of the
mainstream press has picked up on the conflict that exists between the KDE
and the GNOME folks. While the conflict has gotten much better over the last
week or two... you can stil l read about it in the following article:
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayNew.pl?/petrel/980824np.htm
Item #11: SCO adding Linux binary compatibility to UnixWare. - Ever heard of
SCO aka Santa Cruz Operation? Well, they make a popular commercial flavor of
Unix for the PC. In fact, they have two Unix products: the original Sco Unix
and the REAL Unix (Unix Ware) that they bought from Novell had gotten it from
AT&T. SCO announced that they are adding Linux binary compatibility to
UnixWare... which to me means that the real, brand name UNIX is being adapted
to be more like Linux. Weird huh? Anyway, the press release I read can be
found at the following URL:
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?980821.whsco.htm
Item #12: Dissension in the Closed Source Software Community - An editorial
on Open vs. Closed source software with user feedback... from the author of
the Linux Community piece mentioned last column. It's about time someone took
a more objective view ab out the whole commercial software vs. open source
software thing. The author of the following URL does a good job of stating
that open software was here long before proprietary, closed systems and that
open software isn't some freak in today's market.
http://www.techsightings.com/cgi-bin/ts_review.pl?74
SPOTLIGHT: IP Masquerading
What is IP Masquerading?
Since I'm rushed to make a deadline, I'm not going to cover installation and
setup (I bet your are glad anyway) of IP Masquerading with Linux. I'm just
going to touch on what it's all about and offer some comparisons to a recent
experience with proxy server software on Windows.
The following is taken from the Linux IP Masquerade mini HOW TO by Ambrose
Au ambrose@writeme.com
(begin quote here)
If a Linux host is connected to the Internet with IP Masquerade enabled, then
computers connecting to it (either on the same LAN or connected with modems)
can reach the Internet as well, even though they have no official assigned IP
addresses. This allows a set of machines to invisibly access the Internet
hidden behind a gateway system, which appears to be the only system using the
Internet. Breaking the security of a well set-up masquerading system should
be considerably more difficult than breaking a good packet filter based
firewall (assuming there are no bugs in either).
(end quote here)
What can you do with IP Masquerading?
A very simple example: Here's how I use it at home... I have a homebrewed
P200 desktop machine as well as a modest Toshiba laptop networked together
with 10BaseT Ethernet cards. I went the cheap route and didn't buy a hub
since with only two machines, a 10BaseT cable with the send and receive lines
crossed works fine (sort of a null modem cable for networking) for connecting
two network cards directly. If and when I get more machines on my network,
I'll have to get a HUB. I only have one phone line but my wife and I often
discover that we both want to use the Internet at the same time... but how do
you do that over a single phone line and a single modem? Easy, have my Linux
laptop handle the PPP connection and then, using IP Masquerading, use the
Linux machine as a gateway for the Windows desktop machine.
I originally read about the extreme things that can be done with IP
Masquerading in a print article in Linux Journal. I was fascinated with it
ever since. The article I read has since been made available online. Just
check out the much more complex example of some of the things you can do with
IP Masquerading can be found at the following URL:
http://www.ssc.com/lj/issue41/2210.html
What services are provided with IP Masquerading and how does it differ from a
Proxy server like WinProxy on Windows?
IP Masquerading supports everything I've tried with it. Some TCP/IP based
services have to be loaded dynamically via included modules (done
automatically) because some protocols were specific enough they had to be
specifically implemented. These include IRC and RealAudio for example. Every
Internet service I've tried (including a friend who added a Linux box to his
home network just to play multi-player Ultima Online over a single phone
line) has worked without a hitch. This even includes VNC (Virtual Network
Computing) that I talked about last column.
The great thing about using IP Masquerading is that none of the software on
your client machines have to be reconfigured at all. All you have to do to
configure your client machines is to go the properties for TCP/IP protocol
for your network card and tell them to use your Linux machine as the gateway.
At home I left the dial up networking option the default so even when my wife
tries to open up a WWW document in Netscape for the first time, Windows will
bring up it's dialup networking dialog box and re quest to dial up our ISP. A
simple click on the cancel button tells Windows to go through the Gateway
rather than using dialup networking. While this might seem like an annoyance,
it's actually how I want it to be done so when I'm not home, my wife can
still use her machine to connect to the Internet... without needing mine. She
simply switches the switch on our Serial A/B box so that the modem is
connected to the desktop and away she goes.
On Labor Day weekend I sat down with my father-in-law and tried to setup the
same arrangement on his home network... which consists of two desktop
machines and a laptop. Since my f-i-l is running Windows 95 and Windows 98 on
those things we had to pursue what software was available... and the only
thing I could find was a slew of Proxy servers... all commercial software
packages ranging from $50 to about $300. We opted to test drive one of the
more professional looking packages named WinProxy. While my discussion of
WinProxy isn't intended to be a review of the product, it'll give you some
idea of what setting up this sort of services on a small Windows based
network is like. WinProxy is a nice piece of software I must add. We got his
network working relatively well but we had to go through and reconfigure the
network settings on every piece Internet client software he ran. This might
not sound like much at first but it is a major pain. Ok, granted you only
have to change the settings on any application once and it'll work through a
proxy BUT remember the problem we were trying to solve... when more than one
person wants Internet access, allow for that, but when only one person wants
Internet access, using traditional dialup networking so all of the machines
don't have to be on just so one of them can access the Internet. My point
here is that using a PROXY based solution creates more headaches and isn't as
flexible. My f-i-l has two solutions to allowing the machines to be flexible
and choose between dialup networking and PROXY services. He can reconfigure
each and every piece of client software (mail, browser, icq, messenger,
telnet, ftp, etc) every time he wants to switch OR he can install two copies
of every piece of client software (ass uming that's possible) and maintain
different configurations for everything that way... as well as manage which
copy to run when.
I hope it is obvious just how flexible and handy Linux' IP Masquerading even
when compared to all of the PROXY server software that exists on the market
today.
LOGOUT:
Next time I hope to have a spotlight on Caldera's WABI package that allows
for running Windows 3.x software in the X Window System environment. Feedback
is desired so email me with any comments or questions.
Remember this Guy??? AND his Antics of Havoc and Mayhem?
Gingrich, Cell Phones, and Privacy
[Image]
Newt "The Beaut" Gingrich
Early January it was hard to imagine how things could get any worse for
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, considering his formal reprimand by the House
of Representatives (the first time ever in U.S. history a speaker has been
disciplined) and the $300,000 fine that was levied against him. Yet things
did get worse: in mid-January a recording of a phone conversation was made
public in which the speaker seemed to be breaking his promise not to
orchestrate a counterattack against the ethics committee that reprimanded
him.
Editor Note: (That $300,000.00 fine, by the way, was paid for by
Republican Robert Dole in the form of a personal loan to Newt)
However, the fact that the phone conversation had been illegally taped by
a Florida couple diverted some of the attention from Gingrich to the
questionable actions of the Democrats. Their release of the tape was
illegal, creating an opportunity for the Republicans to deflect attention
from Gingrich.
In the midst of this odd melodrama, President Clinton was inaugurated, and
in his speech he appealed for an end to the bickering and called for
greater bipartisanship.
* "Don't believe the talk about bipartisanship," says John Pitney,
professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. "There may be
lulls in war, but a lull in war is not the same as peace."
* The melodrama will continue: among the next acts will be further
investigation by the IRS of Gingrich, as well as an investigation
ordered by FBI director Louis Freeh into the illegal taping.
* Where did it all start? The underlying answer seems to be that it's
the nature of our current political system the posturing, sniping,
attacking, and counterattacking. But the immediate answer is that
Gingrich may have used a tax-exempt foundation to promote partisan
political views.
* Organizations that apply for tax-exempt status claim that they exist
not for profit but for public good. They can better serve the public
by not paying taxes on money that they earn or raise. The government
says, fine, you don't have to pay taxes. Just make sure that the
money you raise isn't used to promote a particular candidate or
political agenda. In a sense, by not requiring these organizations to
pay taxes, the government is subsidizing them with taxpayers' money.
So it's not fair to use taxpayer money to promote a partisan agenda.
* Which is what many claim that Gingrich did. He used his tax-exempt
foundation to finance a college course that he taught. And critics
claim that the course promoted his political agenda. And this is what
the IRS will be investigating.
* The ethics committee did not formally find him guilty of this
offense. The reprimand was because, first, he failed to take proper
legal advice about the implications of having his foundation fund his
college course, and second, he made misleading statements to the
ethics committee as part of the inquiry. In January he admitted this
before Congress and formally apologized. Because of Gingrich's
slippery statements, the committee will need to investigate further,
at an estimated cost of $300,000which is how the committee arrived at
the figure that Gingrich was fined.
* The forthcoming investigation will not be easy because of the
complexity of the tax code, says Dr. Louis Gasper, director of the
Center for Business Ethics at the University of Dallas. He says there
is a deliberate gray area in the tax laws. It is legal for a partisan
political organization and a tax-exempt organization to share the
same personnel and facilities. How do you decide where bipartisan
activities end and partisan politics begin? A secretary sitting at a
desk can legally be working on nonpartisan matters in the morning and
promoting a political agenda in the afternoon.
* Dr. Gasper points out that if this gray area were ended, and strict
separation required, a range of organizations, from Planned
Parenthood to the National Rifle Association, would have to be closed
down. Further, he says, some 40 percent of House members and 51
senators have similar tax-exempt organizations that partly do
research and partly promote a political agenda.
A Partisan Course?
This is not to claim that Gingrich isn't guilty. Rather, he was operating
in a gray area that, as speaker, he may have been wise to avoid. Also,
some who have looked at his Renewing American Civilization course say that
it is not especially partisan.
One who makes that claim is Christina Jeffrey, an associate professor of
political science at Kennesaw State University, one of the two Georgia
colleges where the course was taught. She participated in a conference
which reviewed the course. She says that while the course was not
particularly partisan, biased, or radical, it could have been richer, with
a wider variety of sources.
The claim that the course wasn't overtly partisan is echoed by Professor
Pitney. He invites people to look themselves at the full text of the
lectures on the Internet at http://www.cpac.org/pff/renew
So the bottom line is this: Gingrich isn't out of hot water yet, and the
complexities of the gray area in tax laws and in the evaluation of whether
his course materials were partisan make it probable that the situation
won't be resolved soon.
And Gingrich, by his very personality, seems to invite scrutiny. Dr. Sandy
Maisel, chair of the government department at Colby College and author of
books on political parties and elections, points out that it was Gingrich
himself who led an ethics crusade against an earlier speaker, Jim Wright.
He says that because Gingrich went after Wright so vigorously, he has in a
sense brought this on himself. "Do you set one standard for one speaker
and another standard for another speaker, particular when it was Gingrich
himself who led the attack?" asks Dr. Maisel.
Is Gingrich's position so weakened that he'll eventually have to step
down? Probably not, says Pitney. "He will probably hold on unless there
are damaging new revelations." Is his position as speaker weakened? Yes,
says Maisel, who feels that Gingrich had been the most powerful speaker
since the turn of the century. Maisel says that Gingrich must now
re-establish himself and that "he hasn't gone very far toward doing it."
He points out that not long after the reprimand Gingrich was back to
attacking and blaming what he terms the "liberal" press rather than being
contrite.
Also, the illegally taped telephone conversation has put Gingrich in a
poor light, giving the impression that his word cannot be trusted. Though
now that the tape itself is becoming an issue, this seems to be drawing
attention away from Gingrich a real gift to the Republican cause.
Danger to Privacy
The tape has had the effect of bringing attention to a danger to privacy
that has been largely overlooked by many Americans. The controversial tape
relates to an agreement Gingrich made with the ethics committee. He
promised that he wouldn't oversee a counterattack against the committee's
judgment. However, a Florida couple, John and Alice Martin, were in their
car when their scanner picked up a conference call involving Gingrich.
Among the participants was Representative John Boehner, who was using a
cellular telephone. When the Martins realized that the call involved
Gingrich, they taped it. On the tape Gingrich, Boehner, and others are
heard discussing how to deal with the media in regard to Gingrich's
admission of guilt. Two weeks later, the Martins illegally turned the tape
over to Representative Jim McDermott, the ranking Democrat on the ethics
committee investigating Speaker Gingrich. Not long after, the tape was
leaked to The New York Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which
published excerpts. Now the Republicans are pointing their fingers, saying
that the Democrats are so eager to get Gingrich that they'll resort to
illegal acts.
[Image]
Rep. Jim McDermott
Not a Felony
As it turns out, legal experts say that while the listening and taping
were illegal, they probably weren't a felony offense. Clifford Fishman,
professor of law at The Catholic University of America, says that only if
you record a "hardwire phone" is it a felony offense. Congress, he says,
has simply acknowledged the ubiquity of scanners and the ease of using
them for eavesdropping and hasn't made it a serious offense, especially
since even a radio or TV can sometimes pick up a signal.
Professor Fishman jokingly says, "We're all on a party line now,"
referring to the days when consumers shared lines and could listen in on
each others' conversations. His advice: don't ever say anything
confidential on the telephone even if you're using a hardwired phone,
because the other person may be using a cordless or cellular phone. "The
popular culture has basically portrayed these [wireless phones] as
hardwired phones," he says, and people have ignored the danger. He goes so
far as to say that anyone whose profession involves hearing things in
confidence lawyers, doctors, priests, ministers, and rabbis should never
use a cordless or cellular phone.
Professor Lawrence Young at the University of Cincinnati Center for
Information Technology and the Law goes even further. He says that if you
have an obligation to keep something confidential and you use a cellular
phone, you yourself could become liable. Both a lawyer and a computer
engineer, he says that the danger in our society is not Big Brother, an
all-knowing government as envisioned by George Orwell. The greater
exposure is coming from below, from Little Brothers and Cousins. The
Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association is having none of this.
According to spokesman Tim Ayers, they will testify before Congress that
it's time for the government to crack down on the sales and modification
of scanners. "It's simply immoral to listen in to others' conversations,"
he says. People have a right to privacy. He feels that anyone using a
cordless phone should receive the same privacy as those using hardwire
phones.
Digital Communications
With the development of new digital communications, the point may become
moot. PrimeCo Personal Communications is one of many companies now
offering digital technology, which they say can prevent eavesdropping. New
in 1996 and poised to take over wireless communications in the next two
years, this technology may be the solution. Yet even then, we may not be
safe. According to Bill Brown, an expert on workplace privacy at Babson
College in Wellesley, Mass., "People have lost the ability to control the
ring of privacy that used to surround them. These were things that only
you, or people close to you, knew. That's ended." He says that there are
hundreds of publicly-accessible databases that contain megabytes of
information about every individual. The answer? Well, if you're Newt
Gingrich, maybe you just want to behave yourself in the first place. If
you're someone who has a secret, keep it to yourself.
Commentary:
Here we are now..... as Clinton rides the Republican Skewer....
Newt is busy acting like a Senior Statesman, worthy of an OSCAR any day.
Gingrich is STILL a cornpone, tobacco road politico from Georgia no matter
how much of an act attempting to exhibit polish, poise and decorum he puts
on!
Republican Members of the House and Senate are carrying on like they are
all cloistered members of a Religious Abbey practicing a vow of celibacy.
You gotta admit this is the best show in town right now. What with the
Demos abandoning Clinton like RATS from a sinking ship to the "ever so
PIOUS" Republicans ripping shards of flesh from Clinton at every turn.
One must, at all times, ask why are so concerned about Clinton's private
life? Its really none of our business! Besides, I'd like to remind each
and everyone of you as I do myself..... these most incisive words:
"LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE!"
The CWSApps Weekly Newsletter
Shareware & Apps Updates
Volume 3.20 - September 10, 1998
Contents
1. Introduction
2. New Additions
3. Updated Apps for the Week
4. Top 25 Downloads for the Week
5. Cool App of the Week
1. Introduction
Welcome to the CWSApps Weekly Newsletter. Each week we will be delivering
a message to your mailbox that is designed to help keep you up to date
with the Internet software scene. The newsletter will offer a summary of
the latest and greatest Net software updates as well as breaking software
news and revisions made to the CWSApps Web site.
2. New Additions
* HoTMetaL Pro 4.0 - a HTML Editor
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32html.html#hotmetal
Download: http://www.sq.com/products/hotmetal/hm4ev.exe (20 MB)
Rating: 4 Stars
* CyberSpyder - a Web Analysis Tool
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32agents.html#cybersp
Download: ftp://cyberspyder.com/cyberspyder21.zip (4.9 MB)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
* Internet Explorer 4.0 Cross Frame Navigation Security Fix
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32www.html#ie
Download:
http://www.microsoft.com/ie/security/?/ie/security/xframe.htm (1.8
MB)
Rating: Not Reviewed
-- Servers --
* Wildcat! Interactive Net Server - a Web Server
Location: http://serverwatch.internet.com/webserver-wildcat.html
Download: ftp://www.mustang.com/wcpersnl.exe (23.6 MB)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
* Avenida Web Server - a Web Server
Location: http://serverwatch.internet.com/webserver-avenida.html
Download: http://www.avenida.co.uk/cgi-bin/download (941 KB)
Rating: 4 Stars
* Internet MailBridge - a Mail Server
Location:
http://serverwatch.internet.com/mailservers3.html#mailbridge
Download: ftp://ftp.virtualmotion.com/updateuser/imb20.exe (4.5
MB)
Rating: 4 Stars
3. Updated Apps for the Week
Note: The '*' icon identifies apps that have shown significant
improvement since their last updates. These apps typically exhibit
important new features that make them 'must-have' updates.
* Allaire HomeSite v4.0 Beta 5 - a HTML Editor
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32html.html#homesite
Download: http://www.mn.allaire.com/beta/hs40b5.exe (5.8 MB)
Rating: 5 Stars
* TweakDUN v2.21 - a Winsock Utility
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32crit.html#tweakdun
Download: http://www.pattersondesigns.com/tweakdun/tdweb/td_22s.exe
(0.4 MB)
Rating: 5 Stars
* VirusScan v3.2.0 - a Virus Scanner
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32virus.html#scan
Download: ftp://ftpweb.mcafee.com/pub/antivirus/win95/v95i320e.zip
(4.4 MB)
Rating: 5 Stars
* WinAmp v2.0 - a MP3 Audio Player
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32audio.html#winamp
Download: http://winamp.com/download/locations.html (0.6 MB)
Rating: 5 Stars
* WinZip v7.0 Beta 4 - a Compression Utility
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32comp.html#winzip
Download: http://http1.winzip.com/wzbeta32.exe (0.9 MB)
Rating: 5 Stars
* SocketWatch v3.0 - a Time Sync Tool
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32win.html#swatch
Download: http://www.locutuscodeware.com/sswatch.exe (0.4 MB)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
* AbsoluteFTP v1.5 Beta 3 - a FTP Client
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32ftp.html#absolftp
Download: ftp://ftp.vandyke.com/pub/AbsoluteFTP/aftp15b3.exe (1.1
MB)
Rating: 4 Stars
* HyperCam v1.34 - a Screen Capture Client
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32image.html#hypercam
Download: http://members.aol.com/snap32/HyperCam.zip (0.3 MB)
Rating: 4 Stars
* Interactive Koan Music Control v5.0 - a Plug-in Module
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32plugin.html#koan
Download: http://www.sseyo.com/images/ikmcsd50.exe (0.7 MB)
Rating: 4 Stars
* QuickTime v3.0.2 - a Multimedia Viewer
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32video.html#qtw
Download: ftp://ftp.info.apple.com/QuickTime/qt30.exe (7.0 MB)
Rating: 4 Stars
* Trumpet Winsock v4.0 Revision C - a Winsock Package
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32crit.html#tcpman
Download: ftp://ftp.trumpet.com/winsock/twsk40c.exe (1.3 MB)
Rating: 4 Stars
* WebEdit Pro v3.1 - a HTML Editor
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32html.html#webedit
Download: http://armitage.luckman.com/webeditpro31/WebEditS3p.exe
(10 MB)
Rating: 4 Stars
* Web Media Publisher Pro v2.36 - a HTML Editor
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32html.html#publish
Download: ftp://ftp2.pwi.net/wmp/pubpro236.exe (4.6 MB)
Rating: 4 Stars
* Netscape 5.0 Source Code 9/4/98 Release
For Developer Use Only
Location: http://cws.internet.com/32auxx.html#netscom
Download: http://www.mozilla.org/download-mozilla.html (19 MB)
Rating: Not Reviewed
It's back. The Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center in New York City is
ready to welcome Fall Internet World 98, the world's largest event for
e-business and Internet technology from Monday, October 5 - Friday,
October 9, 1998. From Intranets...to security issues...to knowledge
management, the Enterprise Internet Forum covers high performance
Internet, intranet and extranet applications, including 3 tier IT
networking strategies, legacy systems integration, on-line purchasing,
HR, ERP, supply chain automation, knowledge management and enterprise
security systems. Visit www. internet.com for complete details.
-- Servers --
* DNEWS News Server v4.7b Beta Release - a News Server
Location: http://serverwatch.internet.com/newsservers.html#dnews
Download: http://netwinsite.com/dnews/download.htm (2.8 MB)
Rating: 5 Stars
* Netscape Messaging Server for Windows v3.6 - a Mail Server
Location:
http://serverwatch.internet.com/mailservers2.html#nsmessage
Download:
http://home.netscape.com/download/selectplatform_100_18.html (16.5
MB)
Rating: 5 Stars
* Lyris v3.0 Beta 3 - a List Server
Location: http://serverwatch.internet.com/listservers.html#lyris
Download: http://www.lyris.com/down/beta (3.1 MB)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
* ATRLS for Windows NT v2.5 - a Telnet Server
Location: http://serverwatch.internet.com/telservers.html#atrls
Download: http://www.ataman.com/atrls/atrls_cv.zip (0.6 MB)
Rating: 4 Stars
* DMail Email Server for Linux v2.3d - a Mail/List Server
Location: http://serverwatch.internet.com/mailservers4.html#dmail
Download: http://www.netwinsite.com/dmail/download.htm (1.6 MB)
Rating: 3 Stars
4. Top 25 Downloads - Movers and Shakers
The Sep. 7th update for the Top 25 Downloads on CWSApps is now available.
Here are the apps that have moved up (the 'movers') or have fallen (the
'shakers') eight or more places during the past week. For the complete
Top 25 results for the past week, check out:
http://cws.internet.com/top25weekly.html
You can also check out the results for the entire month at:
http://cws.internet.com/top25monthly.html
--The Movers--
* PGPfreeware - an Encryption App
http://cws.internet.com/32auxx.html#pgp
Debuts this week at #3!
* WS-FTP Pro - a FTP Client
http://cws.internet.com/32ftp.html#ws-ftp
Returns to the list at #24
* Norton AntiVirus - a Virus Scanner
http://cws.internet.com/32virus.html#nav
Debuts this week at #25
--The Shakers--
* HyperTerminal Private Edition - a Telnet Client
http://cws.internet.com/32term.html#htpe
Exits the list (#30) from #21
* McAfee VirusScan Virus Definition Update
http://cws.internet.com/32virus.html#virus
Exits the list (#29) from #23
* NetTerm - a Telnet App
http://cws.internet.com/32term.html#netterm
Exits the list (#27) from #24
[Image]
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.
* No Indenting on any paragraphs!!
* No Indenting of any lines or "special gimmicks"
* No underlining!
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in Word or Word Perfect format. Do NOT, under any circumstances, use
the space bar. MS Word is Preferred.
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lengthy
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* Artwork (pictures, graphs, charts, etc.)should be sent along with the
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If there are any questions please use either E-Mail or call.
Many grateful thanks in advance for your enthusiastic co-operation and
input.
Ralph F. Mariano, Editor
rmariano@streport.com
STReport International Online Magazine
[image87.gif (45316 bytes)]
Classics & Gaming Section
Editor Dana P. Jacobson
dpj@streport.com
From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
It's been a short (and quick) week!! I hope that you all had a terrific
"last hurrah" for the summer. Here we had the last "official" summer
barbecue with my sister-in-law and her husband - quiet and enjoyable. So
now it's time to pack up the "truly-summer" things and prepare for the
fall. We'll be closing up the pool soon even though we get some hot days
in September. The water's been really cold; and with all the trees around
us, the pool can get really dirty quickly. As soon as we purchase a new
cover, the pool is done for this season.
I'd like to mention a few things in reference to Joe Mirando's comments
last week (and again this week) regarding CompuServe's continuing move to
an HMI graphical format for its Forums. I understand the need to move
forward. I also understand that the internet is the current "fad" of this
part of the decade and likely the future. As an Atari user, and one who
has been affected by this decision, I find it disturbing that "orphaned"
computer users are being "forced" to go "mainstream" or be left out in
the proverbial cold. Most of these soon-to-be more-orphaned users were
the building-blocks for CompuServe and the other online services. They
deserve better. "We" helped put these services on the map. In return, we
get "Sorry, but we have to move forward" to stay competitive. No problem
with that, in my opinion. After all, it's their business. However,
provide the resources so all users can take advantage of your services.
As Joe mentioned, attempts were made to obtain tools for the orphans (at
least some) to write software in an effort to continue to access
CompuServe. Nada.
How is a Forum such as the Computer Club (aka the orphans' forum) expect
to have many users? Buy a Mac or PC in order to dial up to keep abreast
of the news pertaining to my other computer? I'm sure some who use
multiple platforms will do just that, but doesn't the premise sound
ridiculous?
I'll be leaving CompuServe also but I haven't determined when yet. The
Club was my last Forum being accessed. However, I still access other
areas for news articles for STReport. Once I've established other solid
sources, I'm outta there. After all, I still have Delphi as an excellent
online choice in which I can use via text or the web. I've also been
providing Delphi sign-up info to those users on CompuServe who want it.
It'll be CompuServe's loss, and the orphan's gain. Delphi will obviously
also gain.
It's a real shame. I've been a longtime user on CompuServe and I'll miss
the service. But, once the Atari Forums closed down a year ago, it just
hasn't been the same atmosphere. At least I still had Delphi to call
home.
Until next time...
[Editor's note: If you're currently a CompuServe user and will either be
affected by its move to HMI or just want info regarding Delphi, drop me a
line at dpj@streport.com or dpj@delphi.com or
71051.3327@compuserve.com - I'd be happy to provide you Delphi sign-up
information.]
Gaming Section
* 'Xtreme 3D'!!
* 'Cardinal Syn'!!
* 'NCAA Final 4'!!
* 'Sentinel' Returns!
* 'WipeOut' Returns!
* And much more!
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
989 Studios Rolls Out Xtreme 3D On Bikes, Boards & Skates
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Aug. 21) ENTERTAINMENT WIRE - Aug. 21, 1998 -
Studios, creators of the top-selling Xtreme games series, announced today
that the first-ever 3D polygonal extreme sports game, Xtreme 3D, will be
available in March 1999 for the PlayStation(R) game console.
Xtreme 3D builds upon its predecessors' success by adding high-resolution
3D graphics, more players, and challenging new maneuvers, courses, and
obstacles. Xtreme 3D is an intense combat racing game where one to two
players compete in highly detailed and realistic environments. Each
polygonal player is unique, enabling each character to have distinct
looks and attributes. Gameplayers can choose to race on skateboards,
in-line skates and BMX bikes.
There are 22 different 3D tracks stretched across five challenging
locations, such as islands, coastlines, subway stations, city parks and
the Los Angeles River. Each track features the ability for players to
take shortcuts. "Extreme-style sports continue to grow in popularity and
we have truly captured the feeling of each unique sport in Xtreme 3D,"
said Jeffrey Fox, vice president, marketing, 989 Studios. "Xtreme 3D
builds upon the success of its two predecessors and has added dozens of
new moves and tricks that will leave the gamer craving one more run."
Hidden throughout each course are a variety of "power-ups" that provide
the player with speed bursts, improved jumping ability, health points and
strength, which players can use to gain advantages during competition.
Players will also be able to find special keys that unlock secret
passages, open paths to short cuts or provide the player with control
over traffic signals and other interactive elements. Gameplayers can use
special moves to grab power-ups or avoid obstacles. Each bike, skateboard
and in-line skate has its own unique move, and players performing awesome
tricks will be rewarded with cash to upgrade their equipment. Gamers can
pull off radical maneuvers to become the Extreme Champion, like backside
tail grabs on the skateboard, tabletop air on the BMX(TM) bike or rail
slides on the in-line skates.
Xtreme 3D Key Features
* First-ever 3D polygonal extreme sports game with high-resolution
player models
* Race on skateboards, in-line skates and BMX(TM) bikes
* Choose from 12 individual polygonal racers -- each with their own
distinct attributes and looks
* Five unique locations: Island, Coastal, Subway, Park and Los Angeles
River
* Twelve different tracks in season mode, 5 different freestyle
tracks, 5 different time trial tracks
* Twenty-two track variations
* Choose one or two player split-screen
* Five modes to choose from: Season, Freestyle, Time Trial,
Head-to-Head and Exhibition
* Perform awesome tricks with your character to earn money
* Unlock new courses, hidden characters and secret short cuts
* Upgrade your equipment as you earn more money
NCAA Final Four: Bring Home the Madness
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Aug. 21) ENTERTAINMENT WIRE - Aug. 21, 1998 -
Sports, creators of the top-selling PlayStation(R) basketball videogame,
NBA ShootOut(TM) '98, announced today that their first college basketball
videogame, NCAA(R) Final Four(TM), will be released this January. NCAA
Final Four, which includes all of the NCAA Division I teams and players,
will set the standard for college basketball videogames by being the most
competitive and realistic.
NCAA Final Four features 3D player and stadium models that generate
incredible polygonal graphics and gameplay. TV-style presentation brings
basketball fans dramatic camera angles, and authentic audio play-by-play
by announcer Quinn Buckner, the voice of college basketball. "We are
proud to add college basketball to our 989 Sports videogame line-up,"
said Jeffrey Fox, vice president, marketing, 989 Studios. "NCAA Final
Four includes the subtle details of college basketball like animated
crowds, fight songs and arena chants, which truly captures the excitement
and emotion of the college game."
NCAA Final Four players are scaled to their real height and weight, and
designed to play to their actual abilities. To further increase the
realism of the game, motion capture animation was used to incorporate the
movements of real college basketball stars, including All-American and
Stanford grad Brevin Knight, University of Houston grad Charles "Bo"
Outlaw, University of Alabama grad Robert Horry and University of
California star Jason Kidd.
NCAA Final Four is the only college basketball videogame with a Shot
Meter(TM), which gives the gameplayer ultimate control of his shooting.
Other unique features include Icon Switching(TM) (defense and offense),
Icon Passing and Icon Cutting(TM), which allow the gamer to respond to
different game situations by picking any player to cut to the basket or
receive a pass.
NCAA Final Four Key Features
* All NCAA Division I teams and players
* New polygonal players scaled to actual height and weight
* TV-style presentation -- camera cuts and stat panels
* Play-by-play done by college basketball announcer Quinn Buckner
* Motion capture animation by several former college standouts (and
now NBA pros) Brevin Knight from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charles
"Bo" Outlaw from the Orlando Magic, Jason Kidd from the Phoenix Suns
and Robert Horry from the Los Angeles Lakers.
* Real college atmosphere with animated crowds, chants and fight songs
* New Shot Meter gives the gameplayer control over his players'
shooting abilities
* All new Icon Passing and Icon Cutting gives the gamer complete
control over which player cuts to the basket
* Icon Switching for both defense and offense allows the gamer to
toggle between players during gameplay for complete control
* 3 game modes: Tournament, Exhibition, and Season (including Final
Four and Sweet 16)
* Individual and team stats
* Full season and game statistics
* Awards -- 1st and 2nd team All Americans, National Player of the
Year and Conference Player of the Year
* 4 gameplay settings -- Freshman through Senior
* Up to eight players can play with Multi-tap adapter
NBA ShootOut '99 Brings the Gamer Closer to the Real Thing
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Aug. 21) ENTERTAINMENT WIRE - Aug. 21, 1998 - Sports
announced today that NBA ShootOut(tm)'99, which features all the NBA
teams, more than 350 players and an all-new NBA playbook, will be
available for the PlayStation(R) game console in November. All-new
features added to this year's game include: high resolution 3D player
models, a new TV-style presentation, play-by-play commentary from New
Jersey Net's Broadcaster Ian Eagle, Authentic Basketball
Intelligence(tm), Total Control Shooting(tm) and the Team Momentum
Bar(tm).
"NBA ShootOut '99 incorporates the latest technology as well as all of
the great 989 Sports exclusive features that have made the NBA ShootOut
series so popular," said Jeffrey Fox, vice president, marketing, 989
Studios. "We have received rave reviews from NBA players who have tested
and consulted on this year's game. No other PlayStation basketball
videogame has the moves, look, feel and features of NBA ShootOut '99."
Exclusive to NBA ShootOut '99 is the all-new Total Control Shooting, Team
Momentum Bar and Authentic Basketball Intelligence. Total Control
Shooting lets the gameplayer control the loft and accuracy of his
shot.The Team Momentum Bar meters the flow of the game by capturing and
enhancing shooting streaks by a team. Authentic Basketball Intelligence
makes teams and players think and react just like their real life NBA
counterparts.
Every subtle and personalized move of the NBA, including more than 35
signature dunks, has been motion captured to amazing detail with the help
of real NBA stars such as Brevin Knight from the Cleveland Cavaliers,
Charles "Bo" Outlaw from the Orlando Magic, Jason Kidd from the Phoenix
Suns and Robert Horry from the Los Angeles Lakers.
The gameplay control features -- Icon Cutting(tm), Total Control
Dunking(tm) and Icon Passing(tm) -- have been updated in NBA ShootOut '99
to give the gamer ultimate control and an authentic NBA feel. Gamers can
call plays on the fly from specific team playbooks, or call for cutters,
screens and double teams with the press of a button. NBA ShootOut '99
also includes complete roster management, a new salary cap option, full
season and game statistics and a variety of different gameplay modes,
from exhibition to the NBA Finals.
NBA ShootOut '99 features NBA All-Star Jason Kidd of the Phoenix Suns on
the package.
NBA Shoot Out '99 Key Features
* All 29 NBA teams and the most complete player rosters (more than 350
NBA players)
* New Total Control Shooting lets the gameplayer control the loft and
accuracy of his shot, while the new Team Momentum Bar captures the
flow of a real NBA game
* Updated Total Control Dunking, Icon Cutting and Icon Passing
* New TV-style presentation with dramatic new camera perspectives and
play-by-play commentary from New Jersey Nets' broadcaster Ian Eagle
* Authentic Basketball Intelligence make teams and players think and
react just like their real life NBA counterparts
* All-new arenas, each with specific architecture and animated crowds
* New Motion Capture animations from real NBA players, including
Brevin Knight from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charles "Bo" Outlaw from
the Orlando Magic, Jason Kidd from the Phoenix Suns and Robert Horry
from the Los Angeles Lakers
* All-new large 3D polygonal players designed with the motion blending
and "skinning" technique translates into eye-popping realism
* Realistic player performances and sizes
* Complete roster management: create, trade, release, sign, draft
players and even control salary cap
* Gameplay modes: Exhibition, Tournament, NBA All-Star game, Playoffs
and the NBA Finals
* Full season and game statistics
* Real NBA awards: MVP, scoring, rebounding, defensive player of the
year and Rookie of the Year
* Up to eight players can play with Multi-tap adapter
Cardinal Syn Provides Ultimate 3D Fighting
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Aug. 25) ENTERTAINMENT WIRE - Aug. 25, 1998 - 98
Studios announced today that Cardinal Syn(TM), the ultimate real-time 3D
fighting videogame, is now available at retailers nationwide. Exclusively
for the PlayStation(R) game console, Cardinal Syn is a departure from
traditional fighting games, with its added dimension of interactivity for
players.
"In the videogame industry, where the fighting game genre makes up about
20 percent of total sales, Cardinal Syn will do extremely well because it
not only delivers the fundamental elements of a true fighter but goes
beyond that to deliver an entirely new dimension in fighting," said
Jeffrey Fox, vice president, marketing, 989 Studios. "Cardinal Syn
replaces the typical battle arena found in most fighting games with
impressive interactive environments, all within an evolving 3D world."
Unique to Cardinal Syn are non-traditional, 3D arenas that challenge the
player with interactive elements, allowing players to trap, corner or
dispose of their opponents. The interactive elements include lava
streams, spike-lined walls and sizzling acid pools. Gameplayers can gain
the upper hand by maneuvering around the environmental hazards or using
them against their enemies.
Treasure chests containing health-replenishing tonics and weapon
power-ups add a challenging risk-reward element unlike any other fighting
game. The unique risk-reward element forces players to be completely
aware of the game environment and provides incentive to explore.
Cardinal Syn pits medieval warriors against each other using weapons
such as battle-axes, swords and maces -- magical powers and hand-to-hand
combat. Through motion-captured animation, the game has 18 original
characters, which includes two secret warriors. Players will be able to
execute hundreds of complex precision moves, multi-hit aerial combos,
juggles, dismemberment and gruesome finishing moves.
The fighting action evolves around a dark and intriguing plot riddled
with clans of evil warriors, dangerous weapons and devastating fatalities
as intense as they are gory. Cardinal Syn is a 989 Studios production,
developed by Kronos Digital Entertainment Inc.
Cardinal Syn Key Features
* Fully interactive 3D environments
* Medieval, non-traditional arenas
* 18 compelling characters, including two hidden warriors
* Power-ups on every level
* Secret areas Survival, training and tournament modes
* Immersive 3D graphics
* More than 100 moves, including special attacks, projectiles and
elaborate combos
* Dismemberment-based finishing moves
Award-Winning Sentinel Returns From Psygnosis
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Sept. 8) BUSINESS WIRE - Sept. 8, 1998 - Sequel To
Classic Strategy Game Features Same Addictive, Chilling Gameplay with
Musical Score by John Carpenter and Advanced Graphic Redesign.
Sentinel(tm), a 1980s strategy game by Geoff Crammond became an instant
classic, with an elegantly simple design, sparse yet chilling landscape,
and the slow tension of a psychological thriller.
The sequel to this first true virtual reality game, Sentinel Returns(tm)
combines the same intensely compelling gameplay with 3D graphics and
digital sound enhancements -- including a chilling score by John
Carpenter, director and writer of the soundtrack for horror movie,
Halloween. Sentinel Returns is now available for both PC and
PlayStation(R) game console in August, for an estimated retail price of
$49.95.
Winner of Unified Gamers Online prestigious Best of E3 1998 Award in the
Puzzle category, Sentinel Returns is produced by No Name Games, and
developed by Hookstone, a UK production studio. The game takes advantage
of over ten years of technical improvements to produce a graphic theme
that is both distinctive and haunting. The stunning 3D graphic redesign
uses advanced texturing, animation and lighting techniques to create four
eerie and themed play environments; Earth, Air, Fire and Water -- as well
as a final, most terrifying level called the Void.
Johnny Wilson, editor in chief of Computer Gaming World, comments on the
game: "A fascinating action/puzzle game with an eery, surreal ambiance,
Sentinel Returns has an addictive quality due to its steadily increasing
puzzle complexity and an adrenalin-accelerating capacity due to the
ability to destroy "sentinels," the techno-guards at the top of each
mountain summit, or be destroyed by them. The music by John Carpenter of
horror film fame adds to the unsettling feeling of the game. Sentinel
Returns is a worthy remake of a famous classic."
As in the original title, the gameplay in Sentinel Returns is unnervingly
abstract. Rather than being an object in the game universe, the player is
a presence that moves through the landscapes by transferring to different
bodies. Alternately absorbing and expending energy, the player seeks to
gain control of each level by rising to its highest point in an effort to
reach to the final, ultimate battle against the nightmare that is the
Sentinel. At each level, the player must also avoid the invisible yet
deadly, energy-draining beams of the opposition.
Sentinel Returns also features a unique sense of claustrophobia and
panic, which comes from the unearthly, atmospheric environment, the
music, and the players limited ability to survey the landscape. Scrolling
is slow and deliberate, engendering a sense of sweating paranoia as
players, feeling their energy being drained, struggle to look around in
order to escape the deadly beams.
Other refinements that enhance Sentinel Returns include a more gradual
learning curve that lures in the gamer, then becomes progressively more
addictive and challenging. Sentinel Returns also features more than 650
crafted levels, all of which must be sequentially attained and conquered.
Another major enhancements is a PC network play option, which adds an
entirely new dimension to the game by allowing multiple players on a
single playfield -- racing against each other to finish each level.
Midway Secures Worldwide Publishing Rights to Psygnosis, N64
CORSICANA, TEXAS/LIVERPOOL, UK (Sept. 3) BUSINESS WIRE - Sept. 3, 1998 -
Midway to publish popular Psygnosis(tm) Franchise for Nintendo(R) 64 in
Mid-November. Midway Home Entertainment and Psygnosis today announced an
agreement which will give Midway worldwide publishing rights to the
Nintendo 64 version of Wipeout. The futuristic racing game is the latest
release for this celebrated franchise built by Psygnosis, which includes
Wipeout and Wipeout 2097, (Wipeout XL in the US), already available for
the PlayStation(R) game console and PC CD ROM machines. Midway's release
of Wipeout 64 in mid-November marks the first time this franchise will be
available on the Nintendo(R) 64.
"Wipeout is a great racing franchise, as proven by its success across a
variety of platforms to date," said Byron Cook, president of Midway Home
Entertainment. "Psygnosis' leadership of the racing genre together with
an excellent pre-launch build up for the game will combine with Midway's
strength in retail penetration and marketing to make a terrific formula
for success for Wipeout 64." Gary Johnson, managing director of
Psygnosis, commented, "We're pleased to find a distribution partner who
will build on the work done to date and one who is well positioned to
fulfill the game's retail potential. We will be continuing our efforts to
grow the Wipeout brand across a variety of platforms and to a broad
audience."
Retaining the post-apocalyptic look and feel prevalent in the previous
multi-format versions, Wipeout 64 also boasts mind-numbing speed,
eye-popping graphics, outstanding sound effects, a high-quality techno
soundtrack and extremely precise analogue control. The soundtrack
includes two tracks from Fluke, Absurd and Goodnight Lover and one from
the Propellerheads, Bang On! (all three are exclusive mixes). The
Nintendo 64 game also offers split-screen races, allowing up to four
players to compete at the same time for the first time in any Wipeout
game. Fans of the original can also expect to find all of the depth that
has made the Wipeout series such a favorite among gamers.
Securing rights to Wipeout 64 follows on the heels of another significant
Midway announcement. Recently Midway reported that its highly anticipated
NFL(R) Blitz(tm) football video game for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64
will be available September 12, weeks before its scheduled release date.
NFL Blitz will be available on the PC in early October and Nintendo's
Game Boy(R) Color by Thanksgiving. In addition to NFL Blitz and Wipeout
64, Midway's fall release schedule includes Rush(tm) 2: Extreme Racing
for Nintendo 64 and PC; the sci-fi action/RPG game Body Harvest(tm) for
Nintendo 64; Micro Machines(R) V3 for Nintendo 64 and PC, and other
exciting titles for various platforms.
Konami Kicks Off Hit Soccer Game for N64, PSX, and Game Boy SEP 1, 1998,
M2 Communications - Konami of America, Inc., leading developer of
electronic entertainment for the home video game and PC game markets,
announces the shipping of three new Konami Sports Series titles, the
next-generation versions of its worldwide hit, International Superstar
Soccer. The original hit game, which sold over a million units worldwide,
was created exclusively for the Nintendo 64 and recently won an Academy
Award for Best Console Sports Game of 1997. The game was enhanced for
1998 and is being released in three different versions: International
Superstar Soccer '98 for the N64, International Superstar Soccer Pro '98
for the Sony PlayStation and International Superstar Soccer for the Game
Boy.
The Nintendo 64 version features "head tracking" elements, allowing the
player's eyes and head to follow the actual ball movement on screen. It
also features precise player movement with variable speed due to 3D
analog joystick control. Other new features to both console versions that
bring more realistic play include multiple camera angles; extensive
motion-capture technology providing more than 17,000 player animations;
and play-by-play with Tony Gubba, BBC soccer announcer.
"We're thrilled to ship these multiple versions of International
Superstar Soccer," said Jon Sloan, Konami's director of Marketing. "This
truly is the best soccer game ever released and it's a pleasure to bring
the game to so many users." An excess of 500 different words and phrases,
including commentary and crowd reactions, add to the stunning realism of
this game. Depending on the platform used, International Superstar Soccer
allows the gamer to choose from up to 54 international teams and eight
international stadiums. Additionally, players can enjoy the realistic
game settings based on actual soccer strategies, including all-member
offense, counter attack, zone press, center offense and more. Basic
movements, such as pass and kick, are made by simple button settings.
Once players feel comfortable at the basic levels, they can change to
more complicated button settings to enjoy advanced game techniques.
"International Superstar Soccer takes the Konami Sports Series to another
level. Plain and simple, it is just amazing," adds Sloan. "This game
offers everything a gamer can ask for in a sports gamerealistic player
movements for great gameplay and tons of options. All this makes the most
incredible soccer game to date--one you have to play to truly believe."
Network Games Seen as Next Battlefield in Japan
TOKYO, Sep 08, 1998 (Asia Pulse via COMTEX) -- Makers of video game
machines are gearing up for a new round of competition. This time, their
focus is on network games, which enable players to compete with each
other through computer networks such as the Internet. With a
network-ready video game machine and network game services expected to
hit the market shortly, some analysts believe network video games will be
among the hottest items during the year-end sales season.
Sega Enterprises Ltd. is planning to make a comeback in the home video
game market with the release of its DreamCast machine in November. The
unit is the first to offer a modem as standard equipment, a feature that
will result in a higher price tag. Network video games are becoming
popular, especially in the U.S., because they allow players to compete
against other people, including those from overseas. Shoichiro Irimajiri,
president of Sega, believes Japanese consumers will also embrace network
video games in the near future because, as Sega Chairman Isao Ohkawa puts
it, "communication is the best entertainment for people."
The Sony group, which has become the leader in home-use video game
machines with the success of PlayStation, is also expanding into network
games. Sony Music Communications Inc. started operating a pay network
game service in the summer, offering the local version of popular
U.S.battle-tank network game, Tanarus. The company hopes to attract
around 25,000 subscribers by the end of this year. Makers of game
software are also showing great interest in network games. Irimajiri
expects Japanese-made network video games to start hitting store shelves
the next spring.
According to statistics released by an industry group, 71.9% of Japanese
households owned a video game machine but sales fell 7.9% year on year to
174.9 billion yen in 1997. The industry is hoping the popularity of
network games will unleash new demand.
ECTS 98: Sony/Nintendo to Outline Christmas '98 Plans
AUG 11, 1998, M2 Communications - London -- As the interactive
entertainment industry begins to outstrip both film and music in terms of
global revenues, ECTS 98 kicks off on Sunday 6th September at London's
Olympia, bringing together the companies, products and people driving the
market at Europe's biggest trade expo dedicated to the market. The rival
companies at the very forefront of the boom, Sony and Nintendo, will be
two main exhibitors at ECTS. Both are expected to unveil key new products
as well as outline spectacular Christmas marketing strategies.
Elsewhere, the biggest independent software publishers from Europe, the
US and the Far East will be spotlighting a new generation of titles for
the PC, PlayStation and N64 as the market heads for worldwide sales of
over 15 billion dollars. Over 1,000 new games and consumer software
products are expected to be unveiled during the three day event. As well
as the many exhibitors, ECTS 98 also boasts a diverse line-up of features
and affiliated events offering an overview of the business that will be
invaluable for newcomers and revealing for veterans.
For the third year in a row, specialist research firm Datamonitor will be
using the event as a launchpad for a major new report into the market.
Entitled 'The European Games Industry', the research will focus on three
key areas. It will look closely at the electronic games markets in
Europe, it will take a probing look at the development of online games
markets in Europe and deliver new findings and predictions for games
CD-ROM publishing markets. A wealth of fresh data and statistical
analysis will put the burgeoning European marketplace in sharp focus.
Through dozens of monitors positioned throughout Olympia during the
event, ECTS TV, sponsored by MicroProse, will provide visitors with
updates on news from around the show floor plus a series of one-on-one
interviews with leading industry figures, debates on the hottest topic
of the day as well as many product launches and promotions. The ninth
annual ECTS Interactive Entertainment Awards(a) ceremony, sponsored by
chip giant Intel, takes place on the first evening of the event (Sunday
6th September) at Chelsea Football Club, with comedian Jack Dee as host
Amongst the most hotly contested titles will be Game of the Year (Console
and PC), Developer of the Year and Publisher of the Year.
The heart and soul of the event however, remains the thousands of new
products being unveiled. by the exhibitors and their affiliated
organisations. Eidos (Stand G500) has confirmed that ECTS will mark the
European debut of Tomb Raider II Daikatana, the new game from ION Storm;
Omikron will also be unveiled as will Championship Manager 3. Expect some
of the Premiership's leading footballers to make appearances. Mad Frankie
Frazer (of the Kray's gang) will be attending ECTS 98 on the afternoons
of Sunday 6th and Monday 7th September to promote Eidos' Gangsters game
and Lara Croft (Nell) will also be at ECTS and will attend the ECTS
Interactive Entertainment Awards 1998 on the evening of Sunday 6th
September.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (Stand G700) will have its big
Christmas 98 titles, including Crash Bandicoot 3, Spyro the Dragon,
Tekken 3 and Medieval, the first title from its Cambridge development
studio. Disney title Bug's Life is expected to be at ECTS alongside
Popcorn, the first title from the former Rare developers, Eighth Wonder.
Around 150 new titles are promised for the PlayStation before the end of
1998. Nintendo (Stand G410) has confirmed the European debut of colour
Gameboy and development gum Shigeru Miyamoto will be attending ECTS 98 to
promote his; latest game 'Zelda 64'. The genius behind 'Mario' is a rare
visitor to these shores and his presence at ECTS is guaranteed to
generate enormous press attention.
Hasbro Interactive (Stand HS160) will have its first original title Hedz
(developed by Viz) for the PC on HS160. A new version of Cluedo is
expected as are Axis and Allies and Stratego, two games based on popular
board games. Chip giant Intel. (Stand N360) has a significant presence.
It will be focussing on 3D graphics software run through its Pentium II
chips. There will be a press conference on Monday 7th September, at 11am
in the Pillar Hall where for the first time you will be able to see the
fastest ever Pentium II processor in action.
3Dfx Interactive (Stand HS110/120) will be showing its Voodoo Banshee
chip for the first time at ECTS 98. Voodoo Banshee combines an entirely
new 2D engine with the core of its most powerful 3D-only chipset, Voodoo
2. 3Dfx will also be unveiling unreleased games running on 3Dfx hardware
and new demos from some of the European development groups. Interplay
(Stand G450) has confirmed One of its biggest ever new product line ups
for ECTS. Messiah on PC and Wild 9 on PlayStation both developed by Shiny
Entertainment will be backed up by Earthworm Jim 31) on PlayStation and
N64. Other titles include Star Trek: Colonials, Kingpin on PC, Descent 3
and RC Stunt Copter.
Konami's (Stand G170) much talked about Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill
on PlayStation. will both make their European debuts at ECTS. Both titles
are xpected in 1999. A worldwide debut for G-Police 2 from Psygnosis
(Stand GL430) is being lined up along with around 12 other titles
including European debuts for Drakan for the PC, WipeOut 64 and F1 98.
LEGO Media International (Stand G560) -- a new subsidiary of the LEGO
Group -- is extending the LEGO Group's traditional concept and values
into media products for children aged between two and sixteen. LEGO
Media's initial focus will be PC and console software with the first
three titles being launched this November: LEGO Creator; LEGO Chess; and
LEGO Loco. There will also be a preview of three forthcoming 1999 titles:
LEGOLAND; LEGO Racers; (also available on Nintendo 64 and Sony
Playstation and LEGO Friends. LEGO Media plans to be a major force in
children's software -- setting new standards in the software industry by
providing high quality titles that captivate and benefit children. LEGO
MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System, which allows you to program LEGO
robots from your PC, will also be featured.
Rage Software (Stand HS330) will debut Ruud Gullit's Striker, Expendable
and Hostile Waters The company is looking at a worldwide first showing of
Midnight GT. SCI's (Stand G550) eagerly anticipated follow up to
Carmageddon will have its European debt Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now
on PC, PlayStation and N64 will be accompanied by a new action puzzle
game Wired. Several key titles are promised from THQ (Stand HS140),
including a first European showing the eagerly awaited PlayStation game
Rugrats. Other titles will include G-Darius and Penny Racers on N64. Wild
Things (Stand G625) will make its debut at ECTS with a force feedback
steering wheel for N64, PlayStation and PC alongside a new Dual Shock
game pad. Product exclusives at ECTS from Labtec (Stand N110) include the
first European demonstration of the APX-4620 speaker system. Other
products on show will be the LCS 1030 computer speaker LCS 1040 USB
speaker; the 'Voice Access' range of products for PC speech recognition
and PC telephony.
Ubi Soft (G360) will be revealing Football World Manager and Playmobil
for the first time at ECTS and will also be promoting Rayman 2, Buck
Bumble, Tonic Trouble and Scars. Leda Media Products (N320) will premier
the latest in mass-market PC control technology at ECTS with the launch
of the all-new Destiny PC accessory range of steering wheels, joypads and
joysticks. The NxN Media Station 3.0 will be launched by NxN Digital
Entertainment (N242) at ECTS. It the only integrated development
environment for game production. It incorporates new feature. requested
by game and high-end multimedia developers. There will be a press
demonstration every day at 2 pm on their stand.
Grand Prix driver Johnny Herbert will be on the Midas Interactive
Entertainment stand (G525) on Sunday 6th September between 1pm and 3pm,
promoting Johnny Herbert's Grand Prix Championship 1998. Want a new look?
Then visit the Roderick Manhattan Group (Stand N210) to experiment with
the Cosmopolitan VirtualMakeover. One click and you're a blonde, a
redhead or a brunette. You can even reshape your lips or eyebrows and
change the colour of your eyes!
ECTS 98 also plays host to hundreds of other new products including
'Akuki the Heartless', and 'Gex3' from Crystal Dynamics (Gallery 2); 'A
bug's Life and a title based on 'Simba's Pride' from Disney Interactive
(Stand G300); the first showing of real-time tactical military, sim,
'Shadow Company', from Interactive Magic (Stand HS100); 'Pizza Syndicate'
and 'Swing' will be promote on the Software 2000 stand (Stand HS320); and
the launch of 'Wargasm', 'Tweety & Sylvester' an 'Asterix' amongst
others, from Infogrames (Stand G420).
ECTS is organised by Miller Freeman. It also runs a series. of other
events for the European interactive entertainment industry, including
Develop!, Online Games and the ECTS Interactive Entertainment Awards.
ECTS is sponsored by Europe's leading trade newspaper CTW and ELSPA, the
European Leisure Software Publisher's Association. ECTS 1998 took place
between Sunday 6th and Tuesday 8th September 1998.
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
Compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@streport.com
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. You may not believe it, but I actually
enjoy being back on the regular publishing schedule. I've been submitting
articles and reviews or this column for so long now that it's just become
a part of who I am. Of course, I DID find ways to occupy my free time
over the past few months, but it's always nice to get back to familiar
territory. So here we are again, ready to dive into the current batch of
questions and answers, and who knows, you might even find the answer to a
question that you've had but never got around to asking.
But before we get to that, I'm going to go off on a Dennis Miller style
rant or two (you just knew that was going to happen, didn't you?). This
whole Kenneth Starr thing is getting to me again. The word I hear is that
his report will be submitted to Congress in the next day or two (I'm
writing this on Tuesday) and it's going to be 'all encompassing'.
For the almost fifty million dollars it's cost us, it had damned well
better be. While many question the reason for the high price tag, I've
got a pretty good idea of one of the reasons for it. Did you ever notice
what good old Kenny Starr is holding in his hand in almost every picture
or clip of footage you see him in? A large Starbucks Coffee. Those babies
aren't cheap! Hey, Kenny! As Shakespeare might have said, "Get thee to a
Dunkin' Donuts!" The philosophy of austerity that his political party
keeps trying to steer the masses toward might be a bit more palatable if
we saw some action from the top instead of lip service.
I will be hugely satisfied when, after the report is submitted to
Congress and everything is out in the open, someone stops to think about
Mr. Starr's conduct... Everything from mismanagement of funds (yes, he
does have to submit reports, but I've seen examples of them, and they are
typical examples of the government's bureaucratic paper chase) to
badgering of potential witnesses to breaches of both conduct and
protocol. It's true that every dog has his day... even a hound dog.
Okay, one more rant. It's this CompuServe thing that I talked about last
week. The fact that CompuServe is forcing a Forum dedicated to and
serving users of orphan computers to use a graphical interface that will,
by virtue of CompuServe's refusal to release the code necessary to write
a program capable of accessing that graphical interface, will effectively
prevent those who use any of these orphan computers from accessing the
Forum. In short, it's CompuServe's way of saying, "Sorry, you can't
access the information about orphan computers because you use an orphan
computer". Does that sound silly to anyone other than myself?
If pressed, I'd have to admit that I'd love to blame this on AOL's
acquisition of CompuServe. But the plain and simple truth is that this
has been in the wind for quite a bit more than a year now. Member web
pages on CompuServe can only be constructed using a program that is only
available for PC or Mac. The newer Sysop tools are available only for
Microsoft's Windows or for the Mac. After this past Christmas, it took an
act of God for an ASCII user to sign up for CompuServe. Do you see a
trend starting here? Now, I'm not going to say that this is all a plot to
squash all but the two major platforms, but the effect will be the same
in the end, so I don't see that the motives or justifications make all
that much difference.
As a marketing tool the president of CompuServe, Mayo Stuntz, sent out an
email to all members telling us about all the wonderful things that
CompuServe has in mind for the future. At the end of the email, he
mentioned that thoughts and comments were always welcomed. So I sent a
reply to him telling him that I was happy that CompuServe had such high
hopes for the future, but that I was going to cancel my membership as
soon as The Computer Club Forum went to HMI-only format, and also
outlined my reasons and disappointments with their decisions. I also
mentioned that, since I have been a member of CompuServe for so many
years, I felt it only right that I give an explanation even though it's
probable that no one would care. I had hoped to receive some sort of
reply, be it "Tough luck, go elsewhere", or "We're sorry that you can no
longer take advantage of all that CompuServe has to offer, please
consider us when you have purchased a more up-to-date computer", but as
of this writing, there has been no reply. At least they have not taken
the liberty of un-subscribing for me... yet.
I had attempted to email a copy of the letter I sent to one of my other
email addresses so that I could share it with you but, as if by some
cosmic act of foreshadowing, CompuServe's mail system hiccuped and the
email never went through. I will, of course keep you informed of any
reply I do receive.
Well, let's get on with the reason for this column... all the great news,
hints, tips, and information that's floating around out there.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
Geert Poels posts:
"Atari Software for Download...Some great software was released in the
80's. I bought most of it and don't want it to disappear."
Nick Bales asks Geert:
"Do you mean you bought the rights to distribute the software freely on
the net, or are you just another lamer trying to destroy what's left of
the Atari community. Anyway, you've hardly bought "most of" the games
produced in the 80. A tiny portion maybe, but not "most"."
Geert asks Nick:
"What's lame about trying to prevent certain software to disappear ? Most
of those companies don't exist anymore or don't have the originals. So if
certain games cannot be bought anymore (new or secondhand) then you
rather see the originals to be left to disappear somewhere ? Tell me then
where to buy those games."
Nick replies:
"Ok, here we go again. This has been discussed hundreds of times before.
1) True, these games are no longer sold as new, but most of them are
around on the second hand market. So what if I have some of these games
for sale, and you come around saying "oh, people, don't buy them, you can
get them for free on my homepage". You would be ruining the value of my
property. I certainly wouldn't appreciate.
2) Some companies actually try to earn a living by selling new and second
hand stuff, including games. Take a look at Best Electronics or B&C, or
Bravo Sierra. This time you are actually harming them. These companies
already struggle to support our community. When they disappear, there
will be no more dealer support for the Atari, which means no more outlets
for new products in the "offline" Atari community.
3) It's just damn plain illegal. Ok, so nobody cares. But in our society
we have rules and laws. Just because "you won't get caught" doesn't make
them irrelevant. When you're driving and you come to a red light, and
there are no cops around, you know that "you won't get caught", but do
you go through anyway?"
Tony Greenwood adds:
"4) Existing ATARI Games programmers do not want to compete with a flood
of free commercial quality software, When a web surfer is offered the
choice to download free commercial software OR Freeware/Shareware to
try.. there's a good chance they will pick the former and that harms the
developing side of the ATARI Community. <frown>"
I'll just add my two cents worth by saying that it WAS wrong to pirate,
it IS wrong to pirate, and it WILL BE wrong to pirate. There are no
victimless crimes. If you want to pirate software or make it easy for
others to do so, at least have the testicular fortitude to call it what
it is. You can call it software preservation if you wish, but it's still
piracy, and it's still wrong.
Kenneth Medin asks about his sick laser printer:
"My SLM605 prints a diffuse horizontal line across the paper at 1/3 from
top. I have tried to clean it with no positive effect. The drum looks OK.
Has anyone been able to fix this? Someone else did ask the same question
some time ago with no response."
Jo Vandeweghe tells Kenneth:
"It's the drum, I have the same printer and the same problem ... it seems
to be the drum where it is in contact with some other mechanical piece
... the toner stay on the drum at this place because the photosensitive
coating went away from the drum surface ... Change the drum or clean it
with a special liquid ... I can't remember where I have read about that,
but some people were able to clean the drum and set it to a new life ..."
Derryck Croker tells Kenneth:
"Unlikely to be the drum? I'm thinking that the drum would "start" at a
different place each time you print IYSWIM. Tricky one. Anyhow, the
manual for my laser says that a line across the printout can be caused by
a dirty glass in front of the laser scanner so have a go at cleaning
that? Otherwise your best bet might be to try a laser printer repair
shop, the printer is a Mannesmann Tally MT900 series so shouldn't be
unfamiliar - but you'll need to take your Atari along with you to demo of
course!"
Paul Nurminen asks:
"I've seen others ask this, but have not yet seen any responses. Is there
any work being done on CAB so it can understand JAVA? I seem to be
finding more and more web sites that use JAVA, and obviously with CAB,
I'm out of luck. If not CAB, then is there another browser for the Atari
that _does_ support JAVA?"
Nick Bales tells Paul:
"Java is just so huge, bloated, and power consuming, that I doubt it will
ever be a viable option on our platform. It is just the opposite of what
TOS is all about: a small OS in ROM, making things fast because of the
lack of bloatware. Webmasters who make their sites Java-only don't
deserve to be webmasters. The Net is all about connecting all kinds of
computers, using all kinds of clients, to share information. A site on
which form counts more that content is so interesting in my opinion."
Nick Bales asks:
"Does anyone know exactly how CAB identifies itself to HTTP servers ? I'm
using the webcounter CGI from www.fxweb.com for my Quick FAQ pages, and
it gives you stats on Browsers and OS that visit. Apparently they don't
seem to identify Atari or TOS as an OS."
Erik Hall tells Nick:
"It depends on the CAB.OVL and the settings. When I am using CAB I have
it to fake Mozilla cause some servers do not accept other Browsers than
IE and Netscape. In this mode CAB is identifies as Mozilla compatible
browser and the server thinks it is Netscape."
Nick replies:
"I see, and what OS does it pretend to be running on? And which version
of Netscape does it pretend to be ?"
Mark Bedingfield posts:
"G'day, could someone PLEEEEESSSSSSEEEEE write a utility to limit the
Memory on the Falcon? I have 14 meg and some of my ST software (which
worked fine under 4meg) is not functioning properly. What I would like to
see is a Falcon version of Ram limiter for the ST. It was an auto folder
Prog. that allowed you to set the limits on the amount of memory your
machine has, 512k, 1meg, 2meg etc. I hate having to use backward every
time I want to use the spell checker in wordwriter (yes I know its old)."
Pascal Ricard tells Mark:
"I've just found a cpx to do what you want and more: cpx_030.cpx,
available on http://wwwperso.hol.fr/~sbrmv/download.htm Look for Falcon
Tools (archive name: falcontl.zip, 17 kb)."
Well folks, that's it for this week. Drop me a line and let me know what
you're thinking. I always read your thoughts and questions with interest.
And you might even be immortalized right here in this column... how's
THAT for cool? <grin>
'Till next time, be sure to listen to what they're saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
What do you call a Lawyer who passed the BAR with the lowest possibles
scores??
A.... JUDGE!!
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