ST Report: 8-Mar-96 #1210
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 03/31/96-06:00:00 PM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 8-Mar-96 #1210
Date: Sun Mar 31 18:00:00 1996
Silicon Times Report
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March 08, 1996 No. 1210
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- CPU Industry Report - ISDN Series #3 - Caldera News
- Key Finder - D. W. Boles' Book! - ProCom+ 3 Ships
- PC Price War Rages - Kid's Computing - Gemulator 4.15
- Bushnell "Tried" - People Talking - Atari Moved!
Apple KILLS eWorld!
Intel Admits New Pentium Flaw!!
Michelangelo Virus Fizzles!
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>From the Editor's Desk...
Looks like Old Man Winter wanted to make certain we all knew it was
March. Here, in the South, (Florida) it dropped to about 40f for a few
hours and then climbed to 55f. Its expected to be seasonably cool for a day
or two and then. back to the 80's. I was getting nervous, after all, all my
flowers are in bloom. The Banana Plants are already showing new shoots and
the Elephant Leafs are opening. Glad it didn't hit another frost or freeze.
I know, who cares!! Well, for those of you who can do so there is nothing
like the north Florida climate. Eden-like year round.
In this week's issue we have another installment of the ISDN series.
more preliminary info getting everyone ready for the specific hardware
installs and usage. Also another of our very special Book Review Series
begins. Don't miss this one its going to get interesting. Besides, the book
itself is excellent. Every Win95/Plus user NEEDS this book.
Talk about changing times. Take Canon's performance RE: 32 bit Windows
95/NT Scanner Twain drivers. There was a time when the mere mention of the
Name Canon precipitated nods of approval from every direction. Lately
though, they're trotting very thin market ice. If ever a support scene was
bungled. the act of such was perfected by Canon with their lack of producing
a 32bit driver on time for their very popular IX-40XX Color Scanner lines.
Its not, as everyone says, that Microsoft kept the pending release of
Windows 95 a secret. The entire World and more than likely, a few ETs knew
well in advance about the pending release of Windows 95 being August 24 1995.
That is.. apparently, all but CANON! They're still stumbling,
stuttering, fumbling and offering nothing but stale flatulence in regard to
the delivery date of the 32 bit Twain for these scanners. Support for
Windows 95 is superb from the very largest of companies to the smallest of
mom & pop operations. Canon, on the other hand, seems more comfortable
offering excuses and promises that they are going to (incredibly) CHARGE
shipping for the update!!
The individual that's running the show in this area must have something
on the Chairman of the Board at Canon. Otherwise common sense dictates a
personnel change is very much in order. In plain English, whomever at Canon
who is responsible for "DRIVERGATE" should .simply put; BE FIRED!
Ralph.
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STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Apple Closing eWorld
Apple Computer Inc. is declining comment on reports it will begin next week
dismantling its troubled eWorld online service, saying instead that the
company still plans its transition to Internet services. From the Cupertino,
California, headquarters, an Apple spokeswoman told the Reuter News Service,
"We said last fall and have been saying that we are going to get out of the
commercial online business. It is how and when to transition eWorld that's
under review. ... Our plans are still under review."
She noted Apple already has begun to move content to the Internet, such as a
recent webcast of the Grammy Awards. The San Jose (California) Mercury
reported yesterday Apple executives had confirmed the service could begin
turning away new subscribers on Monday and be shut down on April 1. While
the spokeswoman said a final decision had not been reached, the newspaper
cited sources inside Apple as confirming the company is seeking agreements
with one or more online providers to take over eWorld's 147,000 subscribers.
America Online provided software on which eWorld was initially built, but an
AOL spokeswoman had no comment on whether the companies had been in
discussions over its future. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones News Service reports
Apple has distributed a memo to firms that provide information, such as
sports scores, saying that eWorld will cease operation on March 31.
An Apple spokeswoman told Dow Jones she was unaware of the memo, adding the
company plans to a public announcement about the service next week. As
reported, Apple last fall said eWorld, which launched in 1994, would not
continue as a traditional online service, leading many customers and analysts
to think it would be altered to work closely with the Internet's World Wide
Web.
However, Dow Jones reports the memo to its partners said, "Apple has made the
decision not to move eWorld to an Internet-based service, but rather to
discontinue the eWorld on-line service and greatly expand Apple's presence on
the Web."
Fears of Online 'Pearl Harbor'
Fearing prospects of an "electronic Pearl Harbor," U.S. defense and
intelligence officials reportedly are drafting plans to defend against enemy
attacks that arrive via computer. Military and private security analysts
tell the French Agence France-Press International News Service the U.S.
Defense Department and Central Intelligence Agency are drafting an
"information warfare" strategy that is becoming an integral element to
national security.
The news service notes Robert Ayers, information security project director
for the Pentagon's Defense Information Systems Agency, last year commented
the U.S. was "not prepared for an electronic version of Pearl Harbor." He
made the remark after a 1994 experiment using digital intruders took control
of 88 percent of military computers, most without being noticed. Others
dispute the claim. The Defense Department says over the course of several
years only four percent of 26,000 computers have been identified as
vulnerable, and that a"robust" security program had resulted in "a much more
secure infrastructure."
A senior White House official told AFP, "The idea that we're not prepared for
an electronic Pearl Harbor is completely exaggerated and inaccurate. We
obviously recognize the threat to our information systems. That is why we're
working very hard on a policy." Assistant Defense Secretary Emmett Paige
acknowledged recently that security of networks including the Internet have
suffered from "15 to 20 years of neglect."
He noted that because civilian and military communications networks are
interlinked, the system has become an "attractive and high payoff target for
attack by virtually anyone with a computer and modem." As reported, the
federally funded Computer Emergency Response Team says the number of security
incidents reported rose from 250 in 1990 to more than 2,400 last year.
Meanwhile, a Defense Science Board report comments, "Even though the effect
of information warfare is nonlethal, such 'spoofing' of adversary information
systems can render their weapons and platforms harmless ... and can even
provide lethal effects" such as loss of aircraft control. It added that more
than 50 nations may have the ability or desire to use information warfare as
"an inexpensive (and even surgical) means of damaging an adversary's national
interests."!
Report Says Hate Growing on Net
A new report from the Anti-Defamation League says hate groups more than ever
are using the Internet to bring their messages into millions of American
homes. The report, called "The Web of Hate: Extremists Exploit the
Internet," concludes that dropping costs of technology and rising use of the
Internet's World Wide Web have made the computer an inexpensive organizing
and recruiting tool for far-right extremists.
ADL National Director Abraham Foxman told reporter Michael McAuliff of United
Press International, "Extremists are peddling their hate down a new road, the
information superhighway, and the millions traveling that same road are
unwittingly finding signs that lead them to sites filled with racist and anti-
Semitic propaganda." Foxman added, "Peddling hate is not new, but being
confronted with it as you sit in your home or office brings it to a new
level.
This is hate up close and personal; it is technology perverted." Says
McAuliff, "Among those listed in the 60-page report as having home Web pages
are the Ku Klux Klan, whose site recounts such things as a supposed speech by
Benjamin Franklin calling Jews vampires who feed on Christians." The report
details numerous other racial separatists and extremists, including Tom
Metzger's White Aryan Resistance, the National Alliance, "Pastor" Pete
Powers, Ernst Zundel and Bradley Smith -- who deny the Holocaust -- and
Resistance Records, which distributes skinhead-produced music.
Particularly troubling to the ADL was the appeal many of these groups have to
the young. Said Foxman, "Newcomers to the propagation of prejudice and
hatred, initially independent of an organization, are college students who
have unlimited access to the Internet through school facilities established
to encourage the exchange of knowledge." The ADL, in an effort to counter
the surge in extremist computer activity, plans to launch its own Web site to
provide opposing views.
SurfWatch Blocks White House Page
Did you hear the one about the obscenity-screening program that blocked
access to the White House's Word Wide Web site on the Internet? Actually,
it's not a joke. SurfWatch, designed to prevent children from seeing indecent
text and pictures on the Net, recently blocked access to the White House's
page because it contained a dirty word: "couples."
The Associated Press reports, "The program searches for words commonly found
on sexually explicit Web sites, and 'couples' is one of them. But on the
White House kids page, the word referred to Bill and Hillary Clinton and Al
and Tipper Gore." Susan Larson, director of technical support for SurfWatch
Software Inc., acknowledged the word "has many different connotations on the
Internet," adding her Los Altos, California, company fixed the problem soon
after a White House computer systems operator got electronic mail from a
youngster who couldn't see the kids page because her parents put the
SurfWatch program on their computer.
Notes the wire service, "Similar mistaken blocks have been reported because
words and phrases often have both salacious and innocent meanings. But the
company's customers, who can turn off blocks through a password, prefer to
play it safe."
Computerist Threatens Newspaper
Reportedly enraged over stories about his alleged harassment of a
Massachusetts Internet provider, an online computerist known only as "u4ea"
is threatening a Boston newspaper. United Press International quotes a
report in today's Boston Herald as saying u4ea also is threatening
"electronic terrorism" to cripple computer networks around Boston.
UPI quotes the paper as saying the computerist "vows that the FBI will have
more luck finding Elvis than finding him."
Michelangelo's March Madness
Chances are your computer hasn't been infected by the Michelangelo virus.
Remember the scare of 1992? Nothing happened to most people, despite all the
media hype. Still, Michelangelo does pose a threat to IBM and compatible
systems. It is a destructive virus that hides on your hard drive all year,
then wreaks havoc on March 6, the artist's birthday. Worried? Computer
columnist Hiawatha Bray of The Boston Globe notes there's a fast, easy way to
do a self test. Do this:
z Start your computer and bring up MS-DOS.
z Enter CHKDSK. Your computer will give you a handy guide to the current
state of your hard drive.
z Look near the bottom and you should see a line that reads, "655,360
total bytes memory." That's the amount of memory your computer is supposed to
reserve for running old-fashioned DOS programs. "If you see exactly this
number, you can face next Wednesday with a smile," says Bray, "but if the
number is different, it's time to get slightly nervous."
Notes Bray, "Because Michelangelo always alters the amount of memory that can
be seen by the CHKDSK program, the little trick I described above is a simple
way to see if your machine is infected. If the number doesn't match, your
machine still may not be infected; there are some other legitimate programs
that can cause a different reading. But you should play it safe and install a
good antivirus program." Bray also notes that Michelangelo first popped up
in 1992, and these days, every good antivirus program can detect and
eliminate it.
As reported, Symantec Corp. is making a copy of its Norton AntiVirus scanner
for DOS/Windows, Windows 95 and Windows NT available free online (GO
SYMANTEC). And to learn more about viruses, including the Michelangelo
virus, and other related issues, visit the NCSA InfoSecurity Forum (GO
NCSAFORUM), the McAfee Virus Forum (GO VIRUSFORUM) and the Intel
Communications and Networking Forum (GO INTELFORUM).
Bray warns not to ignore a suspect disk. "If you boot an infected computer
on March 6, Michelangelo erases a
sizable chunk of the hard drive, including the file allocation table," the
columnist comments. "And once the table is gone, your machine can no longer
find any of the other files on your disk. The data can be recovered only by
expert technicians at a cost of hundreds of dollars."
Michelangelo Virus Fizzles
The Michelangelo computer virus has failed to live up to its apocalyptic hype
-- again. The anti-virus researchers at software publisher S&S Software
International Inc. have been able confirm just one attack by the virus, which
triggers each year on March 6, the birthday of the master sculptor and
painter. In the one incident, Michelangelo triggered on eight of 110
computers at a company in London.
S&S says this year's statistics corroborate similar totals for 1995, when the
company confirmed three Michelangelo infections -- less than four percent of
150 calls made that day to S&S. Confirmed Michelangelo attacks reported by
S&S peaked at 26 in 1992, the year that warnings of catastrophe by other
vendors of anti-virus software first generated front-page coverage,
widespread panic and a spike in sales of anti-virus software.
"The dire warnings are hype," says Alan Solomon, the company's founder. "The
best anti-virus software ... already protects users from Michelangelo. Users
do not need to be frightened into purchasing or downloading a special
Michelangelo killer.
The Michelangelo code destroys data by overwriting part of a hard disk. An
attack starts when a PC is booted from a Michelangelo-infected floppy. The
virus becomes memory resident and infects the partition sector of the hard
disk. The virus then becomes active each time the system is booted from the
hard drive. It also infects any new floppy disk as it is inserted in a drive
and accessed.
Bill to Attack Abortion Data Ban
Look for a bill to be introduced in Congress this week to repeal a provision
of the new telecommunications law that could make it a crime to put
information about abortion on the Internet. Reporting from Washington, the
Reuter News Service says the U.S. Senate bill will be introduced by Sens.
John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, and Olympia
Snowe, R-Maine. A similar House of Representatives bill will be offered by
Rep. Patricia Schroeder, D-Colorado, Reuters says. As noted, the abortion
provision was little noticed until President Clinton signed the
telecommunications bill into law last month.
Added to the sweeping telecommunications act at the last minute by Rep. Henry
Hyde, R-Illinois, the provision extends a rarely enforced law -- the 1873
Comstock Act -- to users of interactive computer services. That act makes it
illegal to send material on abortion across state lines or through the mail.
The Hyde move prompted abortion-rights groups such as the National Abortion
and Reproductive Rights Action League and other groups to join civil
libertarians, computer users groups and publishing organizations in federal
suits challenging the telecommunication law's controversial provisions on
"obscenity" in cyberspace.
At issue is the act's defining indecency as "any comment, request,
suggestion, proposal, image or other communication that ... describes, in
terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards,
sexual or excretory activities or organs." Reuters notes the Clinton
administration has said it will not enforce the abortion provision in the new
law.
Intel Admits New Pentium Flaw!!
Some of Intel Corp.'s new high-end Pentium Pro microprocessor chipsets have a
problem that does not affect the accuracy of the data being processed, but
does severely slow the chip's computing speed for some high-end software.
"In a worst case scenario," Intel spokesman Howard High acknowledged, "it was
probably operating at about 10 to 20 percent of what people would expect."
Associated Press writer Richard Cole, reporting from San Francisco, quotes
industry analysts as estimating Intel has sold about 100,000 of the Pentium
Pro chip sets to manufacturers. High says 1,000 or 2,000 of those may contain
the flaw. The Pentium Pro is the successor to the Pentium, and computers
containing it usually sell for $8,000 to $10,000. Most buyers are engineers
or companies that are evaluating it for bigger purchases later. High says the
slowdown is more likely to show up in high intensity uses, such as when the
computer functions as a server for many users. Actually, he adds, the flaw is
not in the Pentium Pro microprocessor itself but in the chip set that
surrounds it.
AP says the company has included the problem in a list of "errata" --
performance glitches -- that it routinely sends to manufacturers who use its
chips. Intel also recommends ways to fix the trouble. "But Intel cannot
guarantee that manufacturers will fix there errors, and in some cases,
smaller companies don't have the expertise or money for further engineering,"
Cole adds. Intel said people who believe their computer may suffer from the
bug should call the manufacturer. If that doesn't work, Intel customer
service representatives can be contacted at 1-800-628-8686.
Gates Sees Net as Biggest Breakthru
Microsoft Corp. chief Bill Gates says the Internet is "the greatest
phenomenon that I have ever seen since the original PC." Speaking this week
to a computer conference in Mexico City, Gates said, "There's no doubt that
the biggest thing is this Internet," adding that faster communications are
likely in the future to allow Net users to view "any movie, anytime" or to
send family photos around the globe instantly to friends and relatives. But,
reporting for the Reuter News Service, writer Michael Stott says the
Microsoft founder/chairman also observed that for the Net to achieve its full
potential as a video medium, communications need to be 60 times faster than
those now available through the telephone lines used by computer users across
the world to view its pages.
Said Gates, "Making it very, very fast is crucial so that it's the most
competitive way of getting different types of information. It won't be
possible to go much faster using the phone line." And when the new
technology does arrive, it will pose a major challenge to traditional
broadcast media like television and cable channels because of the tremendous
choice it offered. "It's very important," said Gates, "to distinguish
between broadcast technology -- where many, many, many people are seeing the
same thing -- and the interactive technologies like the Internet, where each
user is receiving only what they are interested in which might not be the
same as anyone else on the network."
In addition, Gates warned his audience that despite the opportunities offered
by the Internet, converting what started as a university learning tool into a
profit center won't be easy, that "it'll be a long time before a lot of
people make money on this. It will require patience and some people will not
figure out how to establish a business around the Internet." Gates sees a
high level of investment in the Internet and fierce competition before any
winners emerged. The gold is there, he says, but probably not in the most
obvious places.
WOW!, Lycos Announce Agreement
CompuServe Inc. reports that WOW! from CompuServe, its new family-focused
online service, has become the first service to license the Lycos a2z
cyberguide. The agreement also includes WOW!'s integration of Lycos World
Wide Web search technology and Point Communications Web site ratings system
into its Internet access capabilities.
CompuServe notes that the integration of Lycos' search tools will allow WOW!
members to benefit from Internet access throughout the service. For example,
members visiting a WOW! community, such as food or education, will be able to
instantly create a Point Communication "Top 5%" description list of popular,
relevant Web sites. By using the a2z directory, WOW! users will be able to do
category searches for Web sites and get comprehensive site content
descriptions. WOW! users will also have the power to conduct broad Internet
searches using a Lycos software tool customized for WOW!
"Incorporating features from Lycos and Point helps our members quickly find
high-quality information on the topics they choose regardless of where the
information resides -- on the Internet or WOW!" says Scott Kauffman,
CompuServe's vice president of consumer markets and general manager of WOW!.
The new online service will debut later this month. Windows 95 users can
reserve their copy of WOW! by calling 1-800-9GETWOW (1-800-943-8969).
WOW!, Tandy Ink Deal
WOW! from CompuServe, CompuServe Inc.'s new home-oriented online service,
says it has signed an agreement with Tandy Corp. that gives exclusive retail
launch rights to the company's 99 Computer City and 17 Incredible Universe
stores. According to WOW!, Incredible Universe and Computer City customers
purchasing Windows 95 or a multimedia PC system will receive a free WOW! CD-
ROM. Individuals signing up with WOW! before June 30 will become charter
members of the service. WOW! says it will announce details of its charter
membership program at a New York press preview on March 13.
"Incredible Universe and Computer City are key strategic distribution
channels for WOW!," says Scott Kauffman, CompuServe's vice president of
consumer markets and general manager of WOW! "At WOW!, our goal is to deliver
more value to our members, not only through a high performance service that
puts users in control, but also by developing dynamic retail promotions that
give something back to the consumer."
"Today's consumers purchasing new multimedia PCs have come to expect high-
performance systems that add utility to their daily lives," says Henry
Chiarelli, vice president and general manager of Incredible Universe.
"Coupling WOW! with these systems will let users maximize the enjoyment of
their PC with an online service created just for them." Windows95 users can
reserve their copy of WOW! from CompuServe now by calling I-800-9GETWOW (1-
800-943-6989).
New Procomm Plus Ships
Datastorm Technologies Inc. has begun shipping the latest release of its
Procomm Plus for Windows communications program. The Columbia, Missouri,
firm states that Procomm Plus 3.0 is the first PC communications software to
seamlessly integrate Internet, fax and data communications. The program
offers a Connection Directory with a new "tabbed" design to give users
control of their communications tasks. According to Datastorm, the feature
eliminates need for users to maintain separate dialing directories or learn
different programs to access the Internet, send or receive a fax or transfer
a data file.
The package also offers a new Web Zeppelin browser that incorporates a
enhanced version of Spyglass's Mosaic software. "A major advantage of
Procomm Plus 3.0 is the underlying architecture and powerful ASPECT script
language, which allows Datastorm to completely integrate faxing, data and
Internet tools into one easy to use product," says Robert Elliott,
Datastorm's director of marketing communications.
Corel Unveils WordPerfect Products
Corel Corp. has unveiled its first line of WordPerfect products since
acquiring the software series from Novell Inc. earlier this year. The new
titles include the Corel WordPerfect Suite, Corel Office Professional, Corel
Quattro Pro and Corel Presentations. All of the Windows 3.1-compatible
products are scheduled to ship in April. Versions for Windows 95 are
scheduled to become available in May and June.
"We expect an enthusiastic response to our new WordPerfect offerings," says
Michael Cowpland, Corel's president and CEO. "The new Corel WordPerfect Suite
gives our customers a value-packed collection of business applications for
the price of a word processor while Corel Office Professional adds the
strength of Paradox, GroupWise and InfoCentral to meet all of their database
and information management needs."
Corel WordPerfect Suite, which includes WordPerfect 6.1, Corel Quattro Pro
6.0, Envoy, Netscape Navigator, Corel Presentations 3.0, CorelFLOW 2 and
Starfish Software's Sidekick and Dashboard, will sell for $395 on CD-ROM and
$449 on floppy disk CD-ROM).
Corel Office Professional includes Corel WordPerfect 6.1, Corel Quattro Pro
6.0, Corel Presentations 3.0, Envoy, Netscape Navigator, InfoCentral,
Paradox, GroupWise, CorelFLOW 2 and Sidekick and Dashboard. It will be priced
at $695 on CD-ROM. Corel Quattro Pro 6.0 and Corel Presentations 6.0 will be
available on CD-ROM only for $99 each.
Corel also says it plans to incorporate "new features, functionality and
added value" into an upcoming Macintosh version of WordPerfect. Additionally,
versions of Corel WordPerfect for UNIX will be available on five major UNIX
platforms including Sun Solaris and SunOS, HP/UX, SCO UNIX and IBM AIX. Also,
Corel WordPerfect for DOS will be supported with regular fixes and driver
updates.
Caldera NewsWire STR Infofile
CALDERA TO PORT SUNSOFT'S WABI
TO CALDERA'S LINUX PLATFORM
Wabi and the Caldera Network Desktop provide solid, low-cost solution for
running the most popular Microsoft Windows applications on UNIX workstations
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. March 5, 1996 Caldera, Inc. and SunSoft, Inc., the
Internet company, today announced a strategic technology alliance in which
Caldera has licensed Wabi , SunSoft's Microsoft Windows API translation
solution, to enhance the Caldera Network Desktop. Wabi ported to Caldera's
Linux will allow customers to run the most popular Microsoft Windows
applications on the Caldera Network Desktop.
Wabi will allow customers to continue using familiar productivity
applications while benefiting from the robust, low-cost client and server
Internet and networking protocols provided by the Caldera Network Desktop.
Because the Caldera Network Desktop runs on Intel-based 386 or higher
machines and does not require a dedicated system, most Linux customers will
be able to use existing computers to author, navigate and publish to the
Internet; run Microsoft Windows and UNIX applications; and interact with
networks and private Intranets.
"UNIX is the Internet. Windows is the desktop," said Bryan Sparks, President
of Caldera, Inc. "By combining Caldera and Sun technologies, customers can
create a low-cost information system that includes the best Internet and
networking products and services based on UNIX and the most popular desktop
applications based on Windows. This low-cost solution is perfect for
individuals running a small business from home or who want a high-speed
connection to their office applications and files from the road or home."
Paula Sager, Vice President of SunSoft Desktop Technologies, added, "UNIX
customers have had the ability to run Windows applications on their
workstations since Wabi was introduced. By licensing Wabi, Caldera now gives
those same capabilities to Caldera's customers."
Bill Willis, Associate Provost for Academic Computing at North Carolina State
University, was one of many customers that asked Caldera to port Wabi.
Willis said, "NCSU plans to use the Caldera Network Desktop as an operating
system and desktop for students and faculty. Wabi, ported to Caldera's
platform, will allow the use of Windows applications required by our users
simultaneous with complete, secure access to the distributed file systems and
user services offered on campus. With Caldera, this is all possible at a
price point that both the University and the students can afford."
More than one million copies of Wabi have been shipped by a host of industry
vendors that have licensed the product, including Hewlett-Packard, IBM and
SCO. Caldera now joins these companies in an effort to provide Microsoft
Windows computing on UNIX workstations.
"We have been working closely with SunSoft over the past several months to
define and implement an industry standard that will benefit all vendors
working with Microsoft Windows products," said Ray Noorda, NFT Management,
Inc. "Wabi is a complementary product that enhances the Caldera Network
Desktop with access to applications that are not native on Linux."
The Caldera Solutions CD
Wabi will ship on the Caldera Solutions CD, which will be included with every
shipment of the Caldera Network Desktop. The CD-ROM contains mainstream
applications, including WordPerfect, CorelDRAW and Delrina Forms Flow
Filler, ported to Caldera's Linux platform by both Caldera and its
Independent Vendor Partners. Customers can easily purchase and unlock these
products, including Wabi, directly from the CD-ROM using GLOBEtrotter's
FLEXlm license manager software. By placing their products on the Caldera
Solutions CD, Caldera's third-party development partners can offer products
on the industry's first commodity-priced UNIX-based platform. These
applications will ship on a single CD-ROM, from which System Integrators,
VARs and consultants can purchase and install from the CD-ROM the
combination of software that meets the unique needs of each customer.
Channel Partners
Channel Partners who currently focus on either Microsoft Windows or UNIX
systems can now create complementary, low-cost computing environments that
maximize the best components and technologies of both Microsoft Windows and
UNIX products and services, providing Channel Partners with additional
revenue opportunities. The Caldera Network Desktop also allows Channel
Partners to remotely manage and support a combined Microsoft Windows and UNIX
environment.
Availability and Pricing
Caldera plans to ship Wabi on the Caldera Solutions CD during the next
quarter. Wabi on the Caldera Solutions CD will sell for less than $200.
This commodity pricing and availability meets growing customer demand in the
small office/home office/telecommuting environment, where customers want to
use popular desktop applications and interact from home or on the road with
the Internet and with private networks and Intranets, while reducing out-of-
pocket costs. This pricing also meets the needs of organizations of all
sizes that want to begin interacting with the Internet or private Intranets
without the need to purchase additional hardware and software or have
dedicated routers, servers and gateways.
The Caldera Network Desktop
The Caldera Network Desktop's complete set of protocols and technologies
allows customers to interact with all of the Internet's services, including
the World Wide Web (WWW), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Wide Area Information
Server (WAIS) and Gopher services. The product's features include a multi-
domain Web server / Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP) server, Simple Mail
Transport Protocol (SMTP) E-mail, Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP)
Usenet News, Network File System (NFS ), and dial-in server access via Point-
to-Point Protocol (PPP) / Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP). The Caldera
Network Desktop also supports full TCP/IP and IPX routing.
In addition, Caldera has licensed and included Netscape Navigator , the
widely popular client software for enterprise networks and the Internet,
providing customers enhanced World Wide Web browsing capabilities and the
ability to read Usenet news and E-mail, and run Java applets. In the Caldera
Network Desktop environment, the Netscape Navigator is also used for viewing
on-line help and documentation and for previewing HTML documents before they
are publicly served on the Web.
Caldera, Inc., a privately held company established in 1994, empowers the
Internet community, developers, OEMs, channel partners, ISVs, industry
partners, consultants and end-users to collaborate, innovate, build and
deliver meaningful computing alternatives to the business community. For
additional information, contact Caldera on the World Wide Web at
http://www.caldera.com or for orders and information call (800) 850-7779.
SunSoft, Inc. is the leading provider of Internet management, access,
application development and platform software. SunSoft's products, designed
for information technology professionals, systems integrators, value added
resellers, and computer manufacturers, are used to deliver Internet,
network, and desktop computing systems that improve a company's internal and
customer communications, and lets them quickly adapt to business change. The
products are licensed and distributed through computer manufacturers and
resellers worldwide. SunSoft is a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems, Inc. For
more information, contact SunSoft on the World Wide Web at
http://www.sun.com/sunsoft/.
Caldera is a registered trademark and Network Desktop is a trademark of
Caldera, Inc., in the United States and other countries. Netscape
Communications, the Netscape Communications logo, Netscape, and Netscape
Navigator are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. NetWare is
a registered trademark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other
countries. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, SunSoft, the SunSoft logo,
Connectathon, NFS, NC+, Solaris, Wabi, and PC-NFS are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and
other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of X/Open. Windows and
Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. All other trademarks
are trademarks of their respective companies.
Secrets? STR Book Review You bet there's SECRETS in THIS Book!
Windows 95
Communication
and Online
SECRETS
Author: David W. Boles
Publisher: IDG Books
ISBN 1-56884-837-4
CD included
by Ralph F. Mariano
Who is this guy. "David W. Boles" and what's this "gang" thing all
about? Better listen up kiddies. this guy has the knack. the chutzpah and
just enough shtick to deliver the kind. I have only one question for David.
WHO in heaven's name plastered that awful "moniker" on this book?? It
should've been something a lot shorter and more to the point. And..
Communication??? Communications is more like it. The book's content is hot,
the title on the other hand, is somewhat misleading. There's a great deal
more to this book than the title "alludes" to.
During the past week, while cautiously eyeballing this huge, six
hundred and fifty pages of book. I kept telling myself "the right thing to
do was to read it cover to cover, ..all the while ..taking notes."
Unfortunately, for me.. It wasn't to be as easy and relaxed as that.
Yesterday, I was dragged by miserable circumstance screaming and kicking
in frenzied resistance to first looking inside the book. Then, after
slowly realizing this book has a great deal to offer with its "to the point
answers" (without the usual "talk down to you" fluff often found in computer
related "how to" books) I began reading.
Screaming and kicking? You bet! ..compelled by my frantic need to get
my main system back up and running in tip top shape on time for this week's
issue. No, it wasn't Michael "what's his face" virus! It was, simply put;
Ralph's sheer "boneheadedness". Honestly, I cannot tell you which is more
formidable. Maybe, my affliction is a type of virus. To make a long story
short. Nah.. let's go the whole route.
As every week comes to a close, things tend to get pretty hectic around
here. This past week a number of major distractions evidenced themselves and
the work on this issue was put off for a few days. By the time I began I had
little time left to get the job done. I truly enjoy watching the X-Files and
its on in this neck of the woods on Friday evening 9pm. So, I simply must be
done before 9pm on Friday night. I began on this week's issue Wednesday
morning.
Everything was going great until the UPS man arrived. I should've
realized I was in for it when I saw it was a substitute driver and his last
name was MURPHY! At this point.. I will not divulge the name of the software
package he delivered and I subsequently installed. but I will say the
installation was very easy and the new goodies seemed to run rather well.
That is until I re-booted and got the DREADED .Registry File Error notice.
(reboot and take it on the snoot) I hate it when that happens!
Sitting back for a moment, I quietly told myself, "nothing to worry
about.. you have a tape backup of drive C". I tried to do a backup while
booted normally. Hmmm nice try but no cigar. I then took out my trusty
emergency recovery disk the Tape Backup Software thoughtfully generated for
me and slipped it in drive A. Ahhh, here we go . the system booted and
brought me to the recovery routine. As it was booting. you guessed it. The
disk had gone south. Only one option left. MAGIC! That's where David W.
Bole's Secrets Book came into play.
Chapter Eleven to the RESCUE! From pages 214 to 217, was just what I
needed. If your Registry Bombs, Bring it Back Alive. That's the ticket!
All I'll say is; "number two worked like a charm." In a matter of minutes I
was back up and running just fine. Kinda ..too easy?? You bet! But here I
am grinning like a Cheshire Cat ..still stormin' along just like Norman.
"Normal Norman" that is..
Now, that I am clearly out of harm's way, I have devised a plan. I'm
going to read this highly informative book cover to cover and offer a series
of reports over the next few weeks. You really NEED to have this book in
your library. This one works for me and will for you. Surprisingly, its
been entertaining to read, relate to and I might add, very easy to
understand. The kicker is. Boles has proven he's got a solid grip on the
"ins and outs" of Windows 95. "The operating system that put the fun back
into computing."
Take it from this old duffer, "hit the hip" and buy this book. This one
is indeed a worthwhile investment. I am confident that, by the time you're
finished with your excursion through Boles-Land, you'll have as firm a grip
as David and every other reader has. Be sure to stay with us as we explore
Windows 95 Communication and Online Secrets by David W. Boles. How else are
you going to find out what the "The Gang" is all about! We'll have a few
"secrets" of our own to ultimately share with you.
ISDN Series STR Focus "Fully Understanding ISDN"
Article III
Base Graphic by 102714,3461
ctsy CompuServe's Computer Graphics Forum
A Basic Introduction to ISDN
ctsy MSN
Introduction
This document is designed for new users of ISDN. It explains the basic terms
and concepts of ISDN. At the end of this document there are two important
sections: a glossary and a Question and Answers section. If you want more
information about ISDN, read the ISDN FAQ in the Easy ISDN Access Forum.
ISDN, which stands for Integrated Services Digital Network, is a new digital
network using existing phone lines. ISDN is purely digital, which means that
the signal is always represented as zeros and ones and never translated into
tones. This makes ISDN much more reliable than previous types of phone
lines, allows much higher bandwidth, and greatly reduces susceptibility to
noise.
Analog vs. Digital Phone Service
Digital allows more numbers per line
A regular phone line has only one phone number attached to it and never can
be shared at the same time by two different applications (such as two
different telephone calls) ISDN lines are different. A single ISDN line can
use many different applications at the same time, such as a phone, computer,
fax, and other applications.
To keep track of all these different applications, ISDN uses an SPID (Service
Profile Identifier) to identify each application. One or more SPIDs is
assigned to each application on the ISDN line.
Therefore, a major difference between an ISDN line and a "plain old telephone
service line" (POTS) is that a POTS line has only one directory number, but
an ISDN line may have many.
No modulation means faster, but not always available
Another difference between POTS and ISDN is that ISDN is purely digital. It
transmits all its information in zeros and ones. No translation (modulation)
between the computer and phone line occurs.
This means that an ISDN line can transmit data more quickly, but that the
phone company's switches must also be digital. Most phone switches are now
digital, but there are a few that still cannot interpret purely digital
signals. This explains why ISDN service is not available in some areas.
End User Equipment
Required Equipment
End-user ISDN equipment includes the NT1 and any number of terminal adapters.
NT1: The Line Terminator
The NT1 is the ISDN line terminator. Its function is to act as the bridge
between the phone company wiring and the end user wiring. A single NT1 can
support multiple terminal adapters.
Terminal Adapter
A terminal adapter is the final piece of equipment that is used as the
application. A good example of a terminal adapter is an ISDN phone, a fax
machine, and an ISDN modem.
A terminal adapter refers to any device that is used to generate traffic on
an ISDN line. An ISDN modem is a terminal adapter. Some experts would
argue that an ISDN modem is a misnomer because that device does not MOdulate
or DEModulate signals. For our purposes, the term ISDN modem is a good
description of terminal adapters that are external and include modem
commands.
Understanding the Parts of an ISDN Line: The ISDN Reference Model
To make life easier, the phone companies devised a lettering reference model
to refer to the different points of an ISDN line. The U interface is the
interface that comes into your house and extends out of the wall outlet.
This U interface is terminated at an NT1 which converts it to a T interface.
This T interface is used by most terminal adapters (including some ISDN
modems).
ISDN modems specify if they use a U interface (which means they have built in
NT1) or if use a T interface. More and more ISDN modems are incorporating
NT1's and now connect directly to the U interface. The disadvantage of this
is that you can only then use the ISDN modem and cannot chain more terminal
adapters off a single ISDN line.
How an ISDN Line is Structured
Part of the reason that multiple devices may share the same ISDN lines is
because of how an ISDN line is structured. A single ISDN line actually
consists of three channels. There is a single D (data) channel which handles
all of the out -of-band signaling. This out-of-band signaling negotiates how
the ISDN calls connect and what resources they use.
Also in an ISDN line are two B (bearer) channels. Each B channel can
transport either 56Kbps or 64Kbps (depends on your telephone company). These
are the channels that actually send out the data.
The Phone Companies Role
Setting up the ISDN Network
The phone company developed this service during their push to upgrade to all
digital switches.
Reasons for Limited Availability
At this moment ISDN support is not available everywhere, since special setup,
sometimes including bringing ISDN wires to users' houses and businesses, is
required. And the phone company must install repeaters to boost the ISDN
signal when IDSN wiring exceeds 18,000 feet from a telephone company central
office.
Switch Types
When you make an ISDN call or a POTS call, you connect to a telephone company
switch. This switch is basically a powerful computer specifically designed
to route calls.
There are many different switch types in use with ISDN. The two most popular
switch types are the NT and AT&T 5ESS switch. These switches are very
similar in functionality, but the AT&T has a few more features.
Unfortunately some of these switches are incompatible with each other. To
resolve this problem, a national standard was created. NI1 stands for
National ISDN 1 which allows different switch types to communicate with each
other.
Pricing and Availability
Pricing and availability depend on your carrier vendor.
Ordering ISDN
Order codes
Since ordering ISDN lines is a very tricky thing to do, ordering codes were
developed. These codes bundled a certain set of parameters under code
names. The most important of these is "Intel Blue" which is the code most
commonly used in ordering ISDN for computer use.
Order times
Ordering times vary widely on carrier. In worst case scenarios it may take
up to 6 weeks to get a line installed. However, this may also take as
little as 3 weeks.
Provisioning the lines
To successfully order an ISDN line, the customer must know what types of
traffic they want to transverse the ISDN line. The customer must also know
if they want multipoint connections and what types of switches they are
connected to. When the customer knows all this information they are said to
provision the line.
Telecommuting & Other Applications
Remote LAN Access
The main use of ISDN today is remote access. Studies have shown that users
believe that they are "on" the network when the bandwidth is as little as
200Kbps. Since ISDN is 128Kbps it comes very close to achieving this. This
fast bandwidth allows users to connect to remote LANs from home and to
actually start working from home. This is a trend which is still growing
rapidly.
Video Conferencing
Another application of ISDN is in the use of video conferencing. This allows
people to remotely see people. Currently the bandwidth of ISDN doesn't allow
for th proper implementation of video conferencing, but look for this
application in the near future.
Future Developments of ISDN
Windows support
Windows and Microsoft have committed to ISDN support now and in the future.
This support includes ISDN access to MSN and also support for ISDN adapters
that act as network adapters.
Question and Answers:
When will Windows 95 have internal ISDN adapter support?
Now
Will it support multiple channels? compression?
Not at that time, but soon afterward.
Where can I find out about the ISDN support in Windows?
Check out the Easy ISDN Access Folder on MSN.
Can I run video over ISDN?
Yes, but the quality is very poor over ISDN BRI.
Glossary
AT5ESS
A very common switch used to route ISDN calls in the Phone companies CO.
B channel
The Bearer channel of an ISDN line. The B channel transports the data at
either 56 or 64kbps.
Bonding
The method of combining both B channels together to increase bandwidth
capacity. Usually the
BRI
Basic Rate Interface. This is a standard ISDN line mostly used for
residential or single user configurations. BRI contains 2 B channels and
one D channel and is sometimes called 2B +D.
D channel
The signalling channel. This is the channel that negotiates the call.
LEC
Local Exchange carrier. Usually the same as the local phone company.
Loopback Qualification
This is the first step of installation of an ISDN line. The LEC checks
the physical ines to make sure they will work with ISDN.
MP, MPPP, MulitiLink PPP
This is a protocol for PPP that allows multiple ISDN channels to be
combined into one large pipe.
NI-1
Short for National ISDN 1. Its a national standard for ISDN
interoperability between switches.
NT-1
A terminator for an ISDN line. It coverts traffic between a U interface
and a T interface.
Ordering Code
Short hand notation for provisioning an ISDN line with all the correct
settings. A good example is "Intel Blue" which is usually used for
setting up desktop systems
POTS
Plain old telephone Service. Its the standard telephone service which is
administer by the baby bells.
PPP
Point to Point IP protocol. Basically this protocol allows for IP to be
run over a phone or ISDN line.
PRI
A multi-user line which holds 23 B channels and 2 D channels.
RBOC
Regional Bell Operating Company. Your "Baby Bell" that provides local
phone service.
SPID
Service Profile IDentifier. This SPID uniquely identifies the device on
the ISDN line so that traffic may be routed to it and also so that that
capabilities of the ISDN device may be identified..
T Interface
This is the part of the ISDN line that comes out of the NT1 headed for the
computer.
Telco
See RBOCH.
U interface
The interface that comes out of the wall in most ISDN installations. This
interface usually needs an NT1 before you may attach ISDN devices to it.
However, many ISDN Modem makers are designing their ISDN devices with
built in NT1 so that they may hook directly to a U interface.
comp.dcom.isdn Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
These questions and answers have (almost entirely) been extracted from
comp.dcom.isdn. Please post any comments or new material that you have, or
email them to the current FAQ editor, cherkus@unimaster.com. In particular,
the vendor equipment chart is incomplete. If you want to share vendor
equipment info, just cut and paste the headers from the chart below and
create a new entry for the new information, and send it to me.
This FAQ consists almost entirely of information posted to this group. There
are a fair number of holes and there may be some outdated information in it.
There is no claim of completeness or guarantee of accuracy of any kind, or no
warranties for merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. If you
have some useful information that you would like to share, email it to me.
My goal is to have the FAQ mirror the information provided to the newsgroup
itself. The next-to-last section of this FAQ gives references that provide
much more information than this FAQ does.
2.01) What is ISDN?
ISDN stands for "Integrated Services Digital Networks", and it's a ITU-T
(formerly CCITT) term for a relatively new telecommunications service
package. ISDN is basically the telephone network turned all-digital end to
end, using existing switches and wiring (for the most part) upgraded so that
the basic "call" is a 64 kbps end-to-end channel, with bit-diddling as needed
(but not when not needed!). Packet and maybe frame modes are thrown in for
good measure, too, in some places. It's offered by local telephone
companies, but most readily in Australia, Western Europe, Japan, Singapore,
and portions of the USA, and with other portions of USA asomewhat more
behind. In France, ISDN is known as "RNIS".
------------------------------
2.02) What does an ISDN network connection look like?
A Basic Rate Interface (BRI) is two 64K bearer ("B") channels and a single
delta ("D") channel. The B channels are used for voice or data, and the D
channel is used for signaling and/or X.25 packet networking. This is the
variety most likely to be found in residential service.
Equipment known as a Terminal Adapter (TA) can be used to adapt these
channels to existing terminal equipment standards such as RS-232 and V.35.
This equipment is typically packaged in a similar fashion to modems, either
as standalone units or as interface cards that plug into a computer or
various kinds of commmunications equipment (such as routers or PBXs). TAs do
not interoperate with the modem; they replace the modem.
There may be cases where there is no need to interface to existing terminal
equipment or to emulate exisiting terminal equipment, or there may equipment
with synchronous interfaces present. In these cases, standalone units or
computer interfaces can provide high speed synchronous connections to the B
channels without converting to an asynchronous standard.
Another common type of equipment can be used to implement a bridge between
local area networks using the ISDN channel to transport the data. These
devices typically provide features such as demand dialing and/or data
compression.
Of course, more traditional devices such as telephones and fax machines can
be attached to the BRI, assuming they have the proper interface hardware and
software.
Another flavor of ISDN is Primary Rate Interface (PRI). Inside North America
and Japan, this consists of 24 channels, usually divided into 23 B channels
and 1 D channel, and runs over the same physical interface as T1. Outside of
these areas the PRI has 31 user channels, usually divided into 30 B channels
and 1 D channel and is based on the E1 interface. It is typically used for
connections such as one between a PBX (private branch exchange, a telephone
echange operated by the customer of a telephone company) and a CO (central
office, of the telephone company) or IXC (inter exchange carrier, a long
distance telephone company).
------------------------------
2.03) What will Basic Rate (2B+D) ISDN look like in my house/office?
An ISDN BRI U-Loop is 2 conductors from the CO (telephone company central
office) to the customer premises. Its maximum length may be 5.5 km (18000
ft). The equipment on both sides of the U loop has to be carefully designed
to deal with the long length of the U loop and the noisy environment it
operates in.
At the customer premises the U-loop is terminated by an NT1 (network
termination 1) device. The NT1 drives an S/T-bus which is usually 4 wires,
but in some cases it may be 6 or 8 wires. In these optional cases, the extra
wires are used provide power to operate telephones when normal power fails.
Alternately, 'phantom' power may be derived from the standard four wires.
Outside of North America emergency mode operation provides power for basic
voice service only in the case of loss of local power. In emergency mode
operation the NT1 receives up to 1.2W from the central office. In North
America there is no provision for emergency mode operation.
The name of the S/T bus comes from the letters used in the ISDN
specifications used to refer to two reference points, S and T. Point T
refers to the connection between the NT1 device and customer supplied
equipment. Terminals can connect directly to NT1 at point T, or there may be
a PBX (private branch exchange, i.e. a customer-owned telephone exchange).
When a PBX is present, point S refers to the connection between the PBX and
the terminal. Note that in ISDN terminology, "terminal" can mean any sort of
end-user ISDN device, such as data terminals, telephones, FAX machines, etc.
This picture shows what a residential ISDN connection looks like.
Point T Point U |
+--------+ 4-8 wires +-------+ 2-4 wires |
|Terminal|-----+-----| NT1 |-------------[| wall (to telco CO)
+--------+ | +-------+ |
+--------+ | |
|Terminal|-----+
+--------+ |
:
+--------+ |
|Terminal|-----+
+--------+
The T bus is a multipoint bus in this configuration. It is sometimes called
the passive bus because there are no repeaters on the line between the NT1
and the devices. It can be implemented using the same cable and connectors
as is 10 base T Ethernet. There may be up to 8 devices on the S/T bus. The
bus may be formed with splitters and T connectors - it is a bus, not a star.
The D channel is used to control the attachment of the one to eight devices
to the two B channels. No two devices attach to the same B channel at the
same time.
In this configuration, the major function of the NT is to allow more than one
device to have access to the 2 B channels provided by the ISDN BRI. For
instance, you may have an ISDN telephone, an ISDN fax and an ISDN computer
interface attached to the BRI. Each device can listen for calls and only
connect to a B channel when it identifies a message requesting a service it
can provide.
The NT1 only implements part of the channel sharing scheme; the other devices
participate as well, and the communication protocol used by the NT1 and the
other devices is an integral part of the scheme. The NT1 also performs other
functions; it translates the bit encoding scheme used on the lines between it
and the telephone company (the U loop) to the encoding used between it and
the devices. These schemes are different because the device to NT encoding
was designed to enable channel sharing whereas the NT to telco encoding was
designed to allow transmission across long distances.
In the United States, the customer pays for the NT device, so don't forget to
include the cost of this unit in your cost estimates, or if you don't need
the multiple device attachment feature, try to find a device that does not
require the NT device (i.e. it attaches directly to the U loop). If you are
not in the United States the telephone company provides the NT device, but
remember there is no such thing as a free lunch - you are probably paying for
it through increased rates, or increased taxes, etc. (flames to sci.economics
or alt.talk.politics).
Unfortunately, the NT1 is not an inexpensive device. It has to convert
between the signalling used on the U loop (which is operates over long
distances (5.5 km, 18000 ft) in a noisy environment and does not have to deal
with contention between devices) and the signalling of the S/T bus (which
operates over shorter distances in a quieter environment but it does have to
deal with contention between devices and other protocol functions). It also
provides diagnostic functions such as loopback mode, and it may have to
provide power, as descibed above.
This picture shows what an ISDN connection looks like when a PBX is present.
Point S Point T Point U |
+--------+ 4-8 wires +-------+ 4-8 wires +-------+ 2-4 wires |
|Terminal|-----------| NT2 |-----------| NT1 |-----------[| wall
+--------+ | (PBX) | +-------+ |
Point S +---+---+ |
+--------+ _________/ |
|Terminal|/ | Point S
+--------+ |
+---+----+
|Terminal|
+--------+
In this configuration, the wires at points S and T are point-to-point links.
Electrically, the S and T points are the same, which is why the name S/T bus
is almost always used. This makes sense; the terminal should see the same
physical interface whether it is hooked up with or without a PBX. But,
logically they are different. The telephone company needs to know that there
is a PBX between itself and the user so that it can coordinate its efforts
with the PBX. So, in cases where the difference is important, the
specifications use the S and T terminology.
When there is no PBX in the configuration, the NT1 device is usually a
standalone device that is packaged a lot like a modem: in a small box when
there are only a few, and in a rackmount when you need a lot of them. In the
United States, the customer buys the NT1 but in most of the rest of the world
the telephone company provides the NT1. When there is a PBX the rackmounted
NT1s are quite common. Also, when there is a PBX the use of PRI lines
instead of BRI lines is common.
------------------------------
2.04) What is a NT1? Who sells them?
[ Ed Note: Some may feel that there's a bit of overlap between the
preceding sections and this one, but the preceding sections are hard to
write without integrating NT1 information and this one is so informative
and well-written that it can stand on its own so I think I should leave it
as is. Comments? ]
Reply: What's an NT1, why do I need one, and where do I get one?
An NT1 (network terminator 1) is a device which provides an interface between
the two-wire twisted pairs used by telephone companies in their ISDN Basic
Rate (BRI) network and an end-user's four-wire terminal equipment. The NT1
also provides power for the terminal equipment if necessary (most ISDN phones
need power from the NT1, but most data terminal adapters--TAs--don't).
Most ISDN central office equipment (including AT&T 5ESS and Northern Telecom
DMS-100 switches) sends data to your home or office via what's known in ITU-T
lingo as a U interface on a single twisted pair. The NT1 hooks up to this
twisted pair, and converts the signals from the U interface to the four-wire
S/T interface. Most terminal equipment (for example, the IBM Wave Runner add-
in-card TA and most telephones) offers the S/T interface.
In North America, you have to buy and maintain your own NT1 device. The
telephone company offers end-users a U interface. In Europe and Japan, the
telephone company provides the NT1, owns it, and offers end-users a S/T
interface directly. In North America, some ISDN equipment vendors offer
devices which connect directly to the U interface (for example, the Combinet
CB160). If you have one of these devices, you don't need to buy a separate
NT1. The U interface can't be built in to the device when it's offered for
sale in Europe or Japan. (This is unfortunate for vendors, who must build
and test separate products for the relatively small North American market if
they want to offer the convenience of a U-interface.)
Many types of NT1s require an external power supply, although some include a
built-in supply. There are typically two classes of external power supplies.
One class provides ten to twelve watts--enough power for both the NT1 and for
the terminal equipment. The other class provides about two watts--enough
power for the NT1 alone. Many good power supplies offer at least a few
seconds of battery backup, to cover for glitches in line power.
Physically, the NT1 is a little plastic box with LEDs on it which can be
screwed to a wall. The external power supply (if one is included) is a
typical plug-wart. If you're using a lot of BRI lines, you can buy a rack
holding a dozen or so NT1s with a built in power supply.
It's a good idea to install your NT1 in a permanent fashion. If you unplug
the ISDN line (the U interface twisted pair) from the NT1, it shows up as a
sign of line trouble in the central office. Some telephone companies respond
to this so-called "trouble" by disabling your ISDN line at the central
office, and require you to place a service call on your analog telephone to
get your ISDN service restored.
All the vendors shown here accept credit card orders and ship promptly. All
the vendors have well-organized telesales operations with friendly and
reasonably knowledgeable sales people. Prices are in US dollars, as of
10/26/94, for single-unit purchases. Pricing is becoming volatile;
competition seems to be heating up.
AT&T, Northern Telecom, and Tone Commander NT1s can be ordered from:
Bell Atlantic Teleproducts
West Building, Suite 150
50 E. Swedesford Rd
Frazer Pa, 19355
tel +1-215-695-2300 or 800-221-0845
Maker Description Part No. Price
----- ----------- -------- ------
Northern Telecom NT1 standalone IN51000 108.00
Northern Telecom 10w power supply IN61000 72.00
Northern Telecom 2w power supply IN61005 36.00
AT&T NT1U-220 IA51007 276.00
AT&T NT1U-230 IA51009 165.00
AT&T 10w power supply IA61000 105.00
Tone Commander manufactures a variety of standalone and rack-mount NT1s and
racks. The NT1U-100 series is intended for locally powered terminal adapters
- no power is provided through the NT1. The NT1U-200 series provides PS1 and
PS2 power for voice terminals and also has additional status indicators.
Specific features, pictures, and more detailed information is available at
the Tone Commander home page: http://www.halcyon.comm/tcs/
Tone Commander Systems
11609 49th Place West
Mukilteo, WA 98275
voice: (800)524-0024 or (206)349-1000
fax: (206)349-1010
Prices listed below are Dealer List Prices. Additional 5% discounts are
provided for VISA/MC sales; 8% discounts for COD sales. Tone Commander
products are also available through various distributors.
Maker Description Part No. Price
-------------- -------------------------------- ------------- ------
Tone Commander Standalone NT1 with power supply NT1U-100TC 169.00
Tone Commander Rack-mount NT1 circuit card NT1U-110TC 159.00
Tone Commander 16 card rack for NT1U-110TCs NT1U-100 Rack 399.00
Tone Commander Standalone or rack-mount NT1 NT1U-220TC 195.00
Tone Commander Power supply for NT1U-220TC 901034 30.00
Tone Commander 12 unit rack for NT1U-220TCs NT1-220 Rack 595.00
Tone Commander UPS for NT1-220 Rack NT1-200 Backup 450.00
Tone Commander Add-on battery for NT1-200 Backup NT1-200 Add-on 385.00
Adtran offers their own NT1 products for sale.
Adtran, Inc.
901 Explorer Blvd Huntsville, AL 35806-2807 USA
+1 205 971 8000
fax +1 205 971 8030
Maker Description Part No. Price
----- ----------- -------- ------
Adtran NT1 NT1 ACE 395.00
Adtran Power Supply PS2 150.00
Adtran Power Kit 74.00
Adtran Standalone NT1 NT1/T400 575.00
(incl 7W supply)
Adtran Rackmount NT1 NT1/T400 395.00
IBM sells the RoadRunner, an NT1 device with added value: it can operate
either as a standard NT1 or in extended mode. In extended mode it provides an
intergrated voice terminal adapter and a connection to which POTS telephone
devices (including modems, FAXs, and answering machines) can be attached.
This allow a home POTS line to be replaced with an ISDN line.
When operating with a DMS-100 switch, one B channel is devoted to the analog
phones and one B channel is devoted to the data terminal adapter. When
attached to a 5ESS switch, the B channels may be allocated dynamically. The
analog phones may use either B channel that is available, and the data
terminal device may use either or both B channels.
The device includes a built in power supply and a back up battery, providing
up to 18 hours of on-hook, or 6 hours of off-hook operation during a local
power failure.
IBM
800-426-2255
+1-404-238-2157
Maker Description Part No. Price
----- ----------- -------- ------
IBM 7845 Network 82G6060 350.00
Terminator
Extended
Motorola UDS offers the NT100 Network Termination Unit. This is an NT1 with
added value: a series of diagnostic tests can be chosen via a front-panel
rotary switch.
Motorola UDS
5000 Bradford Drive
Huntsville AL 35805-1993
+1 205 430 8000
800 451 2369
fax +1 205 830 5657
Maker Description Part No. Price
----- ----------- -------- ------
Motorola UDS Net. Term. Unit NT100
------------------------------
2.05) Can the existing local loop lines be reused for ISDN?
The ISDN pairs are the same wires as used for regular telephone service. If
you became an ISDN user at home, the same wire pair that now provides your
telephone service would be used to provide ISDN (assuming you no longer have
the regular line).
Most of the lines do not require any special conditioning. Yes, if a line
has load coils on it they must be removed, BUT load coils are usually only
found on existing lines that are 15,000 feet or longer. As to lines with
bridge taps, the 2B1Q line transmission scheme (not to be confused with 2B +
D channelization) is tolerant of a certain amount of bridge taps and,
therefore it is only a minimal subset of existing lines (lines with bridge
taps whose total length is greater than 3000 feet for the bridge taps) that
would require special "de-conditioning."
With those things as the criteria, (in North America) we find than generally
around 90% or so of existing telephone lines need no "de-conditioning" in
order to be used for ISDN BRI service.
------------------------------
2.06) How does this compare to regular phone lines?
The ISDN line may act like two independent phone lines with two numbers.
Depending on the CO equipment, conferencing features etc. may be available
(conferencing in the telephone switch). BRI ISDN phones can support key-set
features such as you would expect to get on an office PBX like:
z - multiple directory numers per line.
z - multiple lines per directory number.
z - conferencing features.
z - forwarding features.
z - voice mail features.
z - speed call.
z - call park.
z - call pickup.
z - ring again.
z - textual status displays.
------------------------------
2.07) Is caller ID available on ISDN?
Caller ID (name or number display) may be supported (depending on the CO
setup). The availability of caller ID for residential phones would depend on
the capabilities of the local phone network and legislation allowing or
disallowing caller ID. The availability of Caller ID relies on the
underlying switching protocol used by the switches that make up the telephone
system (e.g. SS7).
------------------------------
2.08) What do I get above and beyond plain old telephone service?
Plain old telephone service is transmitted between the central office to your
home or office telephone set (or modem, or fax) in analog form. At the
central office, the analog signal is converted to a series of digital samples
at a rate of 8000 samples per second. Each sample is seven or eight bits in
length. As the signals for a telephone call move around the central office,
or between central offices, they are transmitted in digital form. Thus, a
telephone call consumes a transmission bandwidth of either 56 or 64 kilobits
per second. The theoretical (Nyquist) limit for the frequency response of a
signal sampled 8000 times per second is 4kHz. However, due to various losses
in the telephone system, the frequency response of an ordinary telephone call
is usually quoted as 3.1kHz. Ordinary modem-based data transmission uses
schemes for encoding data in an analog signal so it fits in this 3.1kHz
bandwidth. 14.4kbps is a commonly available transmission rate at the high
end of the scale. With this transmission rate, over three-quarters of the
bitrate handled by the central office is wasted.
Notice that in telephony, 64kpbs means 64000 bits per second, whereas in
computer engineering 64k bytes typically means 65536 bytes.
ISDN brings the digital signal all the way to your home or desktop. With
ISDN, you can place a data call which uses all 56kbps or 64kbps, because
there is no need to convert the signal to analog in your modem and back to
digital at the central office. The availability of the full bandwidth
presents some interesting technological opportunities:
z -- transmission of high-fidelity compressed audio
z -- transmission of encrypted audio
z -- transmission of lots of data
z -- transmission of other compressed signals, such as video
Basic-rate ISDN (BRI) offers two channels of this service. In BRI, the
connection between your site and the central office offers 64kbps
bidirectionally on each channel. Each of these channels may be used for a
voice call, for circuit-switched data, or for X.25 packet switched data.
Thus, the existing POTS circuit [POTS: Plain Old Telephone Service, i.e.
traditional analog telephony] can be conditioned to carry two calls at the
same time. (Your mileage may vary; you have to specifically order and pay
for the various services from your telephone company, just as you have to
order and pay for Call Waiting for an ordinary phone line. Also, not all
services are available everywhere; X.25 connectivity between COs is a notable
problem in the Greater Boston area as of 9/93, for example.)
Incidentally, ISDN brings another interesting service to your home or
desktop: a highly reliable 8000Hz clock signal. In most cases, the central
office switches, long-distance carriers, and ISDN terminal equipment all
operate with exactly the same clock frequency. In a real-time communications
environment (like a voice phone call) this means that there's no need to
compensate for differences between the sampling rates at each end of the
call.
One of the other features is that instead of the CO sending an AC ring signal
to activate your bell, it sends a digital packet that tells WHO is calling
(if available), WHAT TYPE of call (speech, datacomm?), the NUMBER DIALED
(maybe one of your aliases) and some other stuff. Your equipment can then
analyze this stuff and make an "intelligent" decision what to do with it.
For example, a phone (with speech-only capacity) would completely ignore a
datacomm call while a Terminal Adapter (ISDN "modem") or a phone with built-
in datacom functions would respond to it. If you have several "aliases" tied
to your line, you can program certain phones to answer calls for certain
numbers only. Datacomm calls contain baud rate and protocol information
within the setup signal so that the connection is virtually instantaneous
(no messing around with trying different carriers until both ends match).
------------------------------
2.09) What do ISDN phones cost?
The ISDN sets can cost between $180 for an AT&T 8503T ISDN phone from Pacific
Bell up to $1900 depending on what/how many features are needed.
A recent report states that the price is $536.90 for an AT&T 7506 with the RS-
232 port on the back and $102.70 to get the 507A adaptor to hook analog
devices to my 7506.
Recent quotes were "$200" for a Coretelco 1800 and "$600" for a Fujitsu SRS
1050.
------------------------------
2.10) Can you use existing telephone equipment with the voice portion?
Terminal Adapters (TA's) are available that will interface non ISDN terminal
equipment (TE), called TE2, to the S/T interface. At least one RBOC provides
a modem pool to allow for interchange of data with POTS subscribers.
Bellcore may approve a standard to allow a analog pair to interface to POTS
sets from a NT1. Also w/o a NT2 only one set can be connected to a B
channel at a time. This prevents 2 sets from participating in the same voice
call.
------------------------------
2.11) What is National ISDN?
Because of the breadth of the international ISDN standards, there are a
number of implementation choices that vendors of ISDN equipment can make.
Given the number of choices vendors can make, different vendors equipment may
not interoperate. In the United States, Bellcore has released a series of
specifications to try to avoid these interoperability problems. These are
the National ISDN specifications. Contact the Bellcore ISDN hot line listed
below for more information.
------------------------------
2.12) What is the NIUF?
North American ISDN Users Forum (NIUF) is an org. of ISDN-interested parties,
coordinated by NIST (National Institute of Stds. and Tech.) Contact:
NIUF Secretariat
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Building 223, Room B364
Gaithersberg, MD 20899
(301) 975-2937 voice
(301) 926-9675 fax
(301) 869-7281 BBS 8N1 2400 bps
Bellcore has made the PostScript files for "A Catalog of National ISDN
Solutions for Selected NIUF Applications, Second Edition" accessable via
anonymous ftp from the machine info.bellcore.com. This document has a
tremendous amount of information about ISDN products and vendors, among many
other things. See the item below for details.
The currently approved documents for the Application Software Interface (ASI)
from the North American ISDN User's Forum (NIUF) are available via anonymous
FTP from dsys.ncsl.nist.gov. The documents are in Postscript and found in
uncompressed ASCII (foo.ps), compressed (foo.Z) and zipped (foo.zip) files.
These documents describe the Implementation Agreements made by the NIUF for
an API to ISDN services.
The file sizes are approximate and intended to help determine space
requirements for transfer.
Part 1: Overview and Protocols - Approved: 10/4/91, Updated: 10/30/92
~ftp/asi/docs/part1.ps - 347853 bytes
~ftp/asi/docs/part1.Z - 119655 bytes
~ftp/asi/docs/part1.zip - 89545 bytes
Part 2: MS-DOS Access Method - Approved: 6/5/92
~ftp/asi/docs/part2.ps - 146474 bytes
~ftp/asi/docs/part2.Z - 44450 bytes
~ftp/asi/docs/part2.zip - 31599 bytes
Part 3: Enhanced DOS/Protected Mode Shell Access Method -
Approved: June 5, 1992, Updated: 10/30/92
~ftp/asi/docs/part3.ps - 285344 bytes
~ftp/asi/docs/part3.Z - 91273 bytes
~ftp/asi/docs/part3.zip - 68331 bytes
Part 4: UNIX Access Method - Approved: 10/30/92
~ftp/asi/docs/part4.ps - 151809 bytes
~ftp/asi/docs/part4.Z - 47765 bytes
~ftp/asi/docs/part4.zip - 33465 bytes
For further information regarding these documents please contact Robert
Toense (rtoense@nist.gov) (phone: +1 301 975 2930).
2.16) Data Encapsulation for IP over ISDN
A decision was made at the Amsterdam IETF to state that all systems wishing
to guarantee IP interoperability should implement PPP. Such systems may also
implement the Frame Relay or X.25 encapsulations, and an RFC will be
published delineating how, when it is known that the encapsulations are
limited to that set of three, they may be distinguished by examination of the
first correctly checksummed and HDLC bit-stuffed packet.
Many implementations are using PPP so that they can negotiate compression
and/or multilink operation.
There is an Internet Draft from the Point-to-Point Protocol Working Group of
the Internet Engineering Task Force that describes the use of PPP over ISDN.
This draft is named draft-ietf-pppext-isdn-NN.txt in the internet-drafts
Shadow Directories on nic.ddn.mil, nnsc.nsf.net, nic.nordu.net,
ftp.nisc.sri.com, munnari.oz.au, Germany.EU.net and on many, many other
mirror archives. This is also discussed in RFC 1356 by Malis, et. al.
A common practice in most European countries is raw IP packets delimited by
HDLC flags. Another common practice is an encapsulation using simple HDLC in
layer 1, X.75 (LAPB, usually I-frames) in layer 2 and, sometimes, T.70 in
layer 3. PPP is used instead of HDLC/X.75/T.70 when the network doesn't
provide the callers telephone number eg. when emulating a modem or the
callers number is lost on telephone company borders. In this case, caller
authentication is done via PAP/CHAP instead.
------------------------------
2.17) Full Motion Video over ISDN
In ISDN, video isn't a "service being offered" - at least not for
low/midrange quality. You buy the proper equipment for both subscribers, plug
it in, and place the call. Just like speaking French on ISDN isn't something
being offered - it is something you just do, yourself.
Video telephony over narrowband ISDN is governed by a suite of ITU-T
(formerly CCITT) interoperability standards. The overall video telephony
suite is known informally as p * 64 (and pronounced 'p star 64'), and
formally as standard H.320. H.320 is an "umbrella" standard; it specifies
H.261 for video compression, H.221, H.230, and H.242 for communications,
control, and indication, G.711, G.722, and G.728 for audio signals, and
several others for specialized purposes. A common misconception, exploited by
some equipment manufacturers, is that compliance with H.261 (the video
compression standard) is enough to guarantee interoperability.
Bandwidth can be divided up among video, voice, and data in a bewildering
variety of ways. Typically, 56kbps might be allocated to voice, with 1.6kbps
to signalling (control and indication signals) and the balance allocated to
video.
An H.320-compatible terminal can support audio and video in one B channel
using G.728 audio at 16 kb/s. For a 64 kb/s channel, this leaves 46.4 kb/s
for video (after subtracting 1.6 kb/s for H.221 framing).
The resolution of a H.261 video image is either 352x288 (known as CIF) or
176x144 (known as quarter-CIF or QCIF). The frame rate can be anything from
30 frames/second and down. Configurations typically use a 2B (BRI) or a 6B
(switched-384 or 3xBRI with an inverse multiplexer) service, depending on the
desired cost and video quality. In a 384kbps call, a video conferencing
system can achieve 30 frames/second at CIF, and looks comparable to a VHS
videotape picture. In a 2B BRI call, a standard video phone can achieve 15
frames/second at CIF.
Those who have seen the 1B video call in operation generally agree that the
quality is not sufficient for anything useful like computer based training -
only for the social aspect of being able to *see* Grandma as well as hear her
(sort of like the snapshot pictures you make with that $5 camera with no
controls).
A 2B picture, on the other hand, is for all practical purposes sufficient for
remote education, presentations etc. Rapidly changing scenes are still not
very well handled, but as soon as the picture calms down, the sharpness and
color quality are impressive (considering that only two plain phone channels
are being used). With 2B+D being the standard BRI, this kind of picturephone
will be usable "everywhere" (including private homes).
However, it should still be noted that 6xB or H0 does allow for dramatic
improvement in picture quality compared to 2xB. In particular, H.320
video/audio applications will often allocate 56kbps for audio, leaving only
68.8kbps for video when using 2xB. On the other hand, using H0 would get you
326.4kbps for video with 56kbps for audio. Alternative audio algorithms can
improve picture quality over 2xB by not stealing as many bits. Note that 6B
is not identical to H0; the latter is a single channel which will give you
80kbps above that of six separate B channels. Inverse multiplexors can be
used to combine B channels.
------------------------------
2.18) What is a SPID? How come my ISDN device won't work without one?
SPIDs are Service Profiles IDs. SPIDs are used to identify what sort of
services and features the switch provides to the ISDN device. Currently they
are used only for circuit-switched service (as opposed to packet-switched).
Annex A to ITU recommendation Q.932 specifies the (optional) procedures for
SPIDs. They are most commonly implemented by ISDN equipment used in North
America.
When a new subscriber is added, the telco personnel allocate a SPID just as
they allocate a directory number. In many cases, the SPID number is
identical to the (full ten digit) directory number. In other cases it may be
the directory number concatinated with various other strings of digits, such
as digits 0100 or 0010, 1 or 2 (indicating the first or second B channel on
a non-centrex line), or 100 or 200 (same idea but on a centrex line) or some
other, seemingly arbitrary string. Some people report SPIDs of the form
01nnnnnnn0 for AT&T custom and 01nnnnnnn011 for NI-1, where n is the seven
digit directory number. It is all quite implementation dependent.
The subscriber needs to configure the SPID into their terminal (i.e. computer
or telephone, etc., not their NT-1 or NT-2) before they will be able to
connect to the central office switch.
When the subscriber plugs in a properly configured device to the line, Layer
2 initialization takes place, establishing the basic transport mechanism.
However if the subscriber has not configured the given SPID into their ISDN
device, the device will not perform layer 3 initialization and the subscriber
will not be able to make calls. This is, unfortunately, how many subscribers
discover they need a SPID.
Once the SPID is configured, the terminals go through an
initialization/identification state which has the terminal send the SPID to
the network in a Layer 3 INFOrmation message whereby the network responds
with an INFO message with the EID information element (ie). Thereafter the
SPID is not sent again to the switch. The switch may send the EID or the
Called Party Number (CdPN) in the SETUP message to the terminal for the
purpose of terminal selection.
SPIDs should not be confused with TEIs (terminal endpoint identifiers).
TEIs identify the terminal at Layer 2 for a particular interface (line).
TEIs will be unique on an interface, whereas SPIDs will be unique on the
whole switch and tend to be derived from the primary directory number of the
subscriber. Although they are used at different layers, they have a 1-to-1
correspondence so mixing them up isn't too dangerous. TEIs are dynamic
(different each time the terminal is plugged into the switch) but SPIDS are
not. Following the initialization sequence mentioned above the 1-to-1
correspondence is established. TEIs are usually not visible to the ISDN user
so they are not as well known as SPIDs.
The "address" of the layer 3 message is usually considered to be the Call
Reference Value (also dynamic but this time on a per call basis) as opposed
to the SPID, so the management entity in the ISDN device's software must
associate EID/CdPN on a particular TEI and Call Reference Number to a SPID.
There are some standards that call for a default Service Profile, where a
terminal doesn't need to provide a SPID to become active. Without the SPID
however, the switch has no way of knowing which terminal is which on the
interface so for multiple terminals an incoming call would be offered to the
first terminal that responded, rather than to a specific terminal.
------------------------------
2.19) Will ISDN terminal equipment that works in one country work properly
when it is installed in another country?
There are four major problem areas.
The first has to do with voice encoding, and is only a problem if the
equipment is a telephone. Equipment designed for use in North America and
Japan uses mu-law encoding when converting from analog to digital, whereas
the rest of the world uses A-law. If the equipment has a switch for
selecting one or the other of these encoding types, then there will not be a
problem with the voice encoding.
The second has to do with the way the equipment communicates with the
telephone exchange. There are interoperability problems because
z there are so many different services (and related parameters) that them
user can request and
z each country can decide whether or not to allow the telephone exchange
to offer a given service and
z the specifications that describe the services are open to
interpretation in many different ways.
So, as with other interoperability problems, you must work with the vendors
to determine if the equipment will interoperate. This is a basic problem; it
impacts all ISDN equipment, not just voice equipment.
The third has to do with homologation, or regulatory approval. In most
countries in the world the manufacturer of telephone equipment must obtain
approvals before the equipment may be connected to the network. So, even if
the equipment works with the network in a particular country, it isn't OK to
hook it up until the manufacturer has jumped through the various hoops to
demonstrate safety and compliance. It is typically more expensive to obtain
world-wide homologation approvals for a newly-developed piece of ISDN
equipment than it is to develop it and tool up to manufacture it.
A fourth issue is in the US the TA and NT1 are both provided by the customer,
while in Europe the NT1 is provided by telephone company. Stated differently,
if you walk into a store in the US and buy something to plug into an ISDN
line it may be designed as a one-piece unit that connects to point U. In
Europe you would get something that plugs into point T. Thus you might take
a piece of US-originated equipment to Europe and find that it won't work
because the jack in Europe is a T interface and the plug on your US equipment
is a U interface.
There are attempts to remedy this situation, particularly for BRI ISDN. In
North America, the National ISDN User's Forum is coming up with standards
that increase the uniformity of ISDN services. In Europe, a new standard
called NET3 is being developed.
------------------------------
2.20) Will ISDN terminal equipment that works with one vendor's ISDN switch
work properly when used with another vendor's switch?
[Ed. Note: The title is edited from the previous faq to try to fit in with
the preceding question] [Also, this seems to imply that there are only two
implementations to worry about and it is very US-centric. This section
needs to be reworked]
When the National ISDN-1 standard is implemented, there will be a single
standard for how TE communicates with the CO (the call setup dialogue). Until
that time, you may encounter two different varieties of CO equipment, each
with its own call setup dialogue:
* ATT 5ESS
* Northern Telecom DMS100
Some ISDN TE equipment can be configured to communicate with either;
some works with only one variety.
------------------------------
2.21) Do different manufacturers' Terminal Adaptors interoperate when used
asynchronously?
There is a standard up to 19.2k (V.110) but above that there is no real
standard implemented. However, in practice there is a fair degree of
interoperability (even when the TA's manual tells you otherwise) because many
TAs use the same chip set (supplied by Siemens) which happily goes up to
38.4. TAs from different suppliers that are using the Siemens chips have a
fair chance of interoperating at up to 38.4k.
------------------------------
2.22) Why do I get only about 19.2k throughput from my TA?
The problems in using TA's are the same as those in using fast modems. You
only get the throughput that your serial port can handle. The serial ports of
many machines struggle to receive at 19.2k. Sending is easier to implement
efficiently. Many machines will happily send data to a TA at 38.4, but choke
down to around 19.2k or lower when receiving (with lots of retries on ZMODEM
file transfer).
------------------------------
2.23) How long should call setup take when using a TA?
The "less than a second" call setup sometimes claimed seems to be rare. TAs
have a negotiation phase and it typically takes around 4 seconds to get
through to the remote site.
--------------------------------
3.01) How do I find out about getting ISDN in my area?
EURIE contact data:
Country Company name tel / fax
=========== ================ ====================== ===================
Austria PTT Austria Mr Michael Schneider +43 1 317 30 39
+43 1 31 3.13.66.63
Belgium BELGACOM Mr Egied Dekoster +32 2/213.46.49
+32 2/921.02.13
Denmark Tele Danmark Mr Soren Christensen +45 3399 6940
+45 3314 5625
Finland Telecom Finland Mr Terho Salo +358 31 243 22 67
+358 31 243 23 83
Finland The ATC Finland Mr Matti Tammisalo +358 0 606 35 08
+358 0 606 33 22
France France Telecom Mr Pascal Meriaux +331 44 44 53 59
+331 44 44 75 50
Germany DBP Telekom Mr Volker Fink +49 6151 83 30 67
+49 6151 83 50 68
Greece OTE Mrs Vas. Danelli +30 1 611 89 96
+30 1 805 20 64
Ireland Telecom Eireann Mr John Lawler +353 1 790 10 00
+353 1 677 49 41
Italy Iritel Mr Rocco Gentile +39 65 494 52 56
+39 65 94 20 54
Italy Itacable Mr Rolando Bottoni +39 65 734 45 23
+39 65 7 34 48 05
Italy SIP Mr Bernardino de Rito +39 6 36 88 40 38
+39 6 36 44 88
Luxembourg EPTL Mr Hubert Schumacher +352 49 91 56 56
+352 49 12 21
Netherlands PTT Telecom Ms Corinne der Kinderen +31 70 34 32 473
+31 70 34 39 747
Norway Norwegian Telecom Mr Odd Egil Asen +47 22 77 71 22
+47 22 2 0 78 00
Portugal TLP Mr Antero Aguilar +351 1 147 797
+351 1 544 796
Portugal Telecom Portugal Mr Jose Brito +351 1 35 04 710
+351 1 35 04 197
Spain Telefonica Espana Mr Fernando Moratinos +34 1 584 96 81
+341 584 95 58
Sweden Telia Mr Peter Ostergren +46 8 713 17 99
+46 8 713 73 62
Switzerland PTT Telecom Mr Jean-Yves Guillet +41 31 62 72 27
+41 31 6 2 85 26
UK British Telecom Mr JM Pickard +44 171 356 8952
+44 171 796 9120
UK Mercury Mr Clive Curt is +44 171 528 2635
+44 171 528 2066
Australia:
Telecom: 008 077 222 (voice), (07) 220 0080 (fax)
Belgium:
As from 01/01/94 ISDN is available in belgium on demand. All major
switching nodes of the national telecom company BELGACOM are digital and
a very fast increasing number of sub-nodes are converted to digital
connections. BRA (Basic Rate Access) can be connected in less than a week
in over 75% of the country. PRA may take longer depending on geographical
location. Caller ID is available on ISDN in Belgium (using EURO-ISDN =
ISDN fase 2 in Belgium) but only between ISDN devices although it may be
hidden by the caller.
BELGACOM: departement van de communicatie, ISDN-cel
paleizenstraat 42 - 4de verdieping
1210 Brussel
tel: 078/11.66.77 (free of charge)
Canada:
Stentor
1-800-578-4736 (fax back service)
Germany:
Deutsche Bundespost Telekom
IfN - Ingenierubuero fuer Nachrichtentechnik
Haidelmoosweg 52
D - 78467 Konstanz
Tel: +49 7531 97000-0
FAX: +49 7531 74998
United Kingdom:
British Telecom ISDN Helpdesk
0800 181514 from within the UK,
+44 117 921 7764 from outside.
Mercury Data Communication
0500 424194 from within the UK,
+44 181 914 2335 from outside.
North America:
North American ISDN Users Forum (NIUF): see item above
United States:
I suggest that you call the local telephone service center office and
ask for the name and number of the Marketing Product Manager for ISDN
services. If the service rep cannot make heads or tails of your
question, ask to speak to the local service center manager for complex
business services. This person should be able to direct you to the right
place. For the Bell companies, this position is normally part of the
telephone company's core marketing staff at their headquarters location.
Ameritech: 800-832-6328
Bellcore national ISDN information clearing house hotline:
800 992-4736
Bellcore's "ISDN Deployment Data", Special Report (SR) 2102.
Bellcore document ordering: US: 1-800-521-2673, other: 1-908-699-5800
Bell Atlantic: 1-800-570-ISDN (pricing, availablilty, tariffs,
applications
or ordering)
1-301-236-8163 (access to above for international callers)
BellSouth 1-800-858-9413
Cincinatti Bell 513-566-DATA
Pacific Bell:
800-995-0346 - ISDN Availability Hotline (automated audio response)
800-662-0735 - ISDN Telemarketing (ordering information)
800-4PB-ISDN - ISDN service center
Also, try the gopher servers at gopher.pacbell.com or gw.pacbell.com.
GTE: Menu-driven information service at [800] 4GTE-SW5.
Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky: 1-800-483-5200
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Penn. 1-800-483-5600
Oregon and Washington 1-800-483-5100
California 1-800-483-5000
Hawaii 1-800-643-4411
Texas 1-800-483-5400
Nevada Bell 702-688-7124 (contact Lyle Walters)
NYNEX: 1-800-438-4736, 800-GET-ISDN, 800-698-0817 or 212-626-7297.
Rochester Tele. 716-777-1234
Southwestern Bell (Texas)
Austin 512-870-4064
Dallas 214-268-1405
Houston 713-567-4300
San Antonio 512-351-8050
Southwestern Bell (Missouri)
St. Louis 800-SWB-ISDN (800-792-4736)
US West 303-896-8370 (contact Julia Evans)
Combinet "BBS":
By popular demand, the Combinet "BBS" providing information on ISDN
availability in many areas of the US is now available via the Internet.
The information is supplied by Bell Communications Research and various
Operating Companies and is updated periodically as new information
becomes available.
To access the service, you may use the World Wide Web interface:
http://www.combinet.com/deploy.html
or you may telnet to bbs.combinet.com and login as isdn
(no password is required). After entering an area code and
three-digit prefix, the service displays the availability of
ISDN. Also displayed is information about carrier installation
prices and monthly charges.
For those without direct Internet access, the service continues to be
available on a dialup basis using a 2400 bit/sec modem at (408) 733-4312.
Intel:
If you want to know if you can get basic rate ISDN in YOUR LOCAL AREA
(anywhere in the U.S>), call the helpful folks at Intel on
1-800-538-3373, and ask for extension 208. They have lots of good FREE
info on ISDN availability, pricing, etc.
------------------------------
4.01) Where can I find what all of these acronyms mean?
An archive of telecommunication related files are maintained on lcs.mit.edu
in the telecom-archives sub directory. There is a glossary of general
telecom acronyms, as well as an ISDN specific list.
------------------------------
4.02) What are the relevant standards?
There are numerous ITU-T (formerly CCITT) standards on ISDN. References in
the book bibliography (especially Stallings and appendix B of Kessler)
contain more details.
Q.921
(aka I.441) "ISDN User-Network Interface Data Link Layer Specifications",
1988
The D channel protocol. Found in Blue book Fascicle VI.10
Q.931
(aka I.451) "ISDN User-Network Interface Layer 3 Specification for Call
control"
1988. The messages that are sent over the D channel to set up
calls, disconnect calls etc. Found in Blue book Fascicle VI.11
Q.930: General Overview
Q.931: Basic ISDN call control
Q.932: Generic procedures for the control of ISDN supplementary services
Q.933: Frame Mode Call Control
Q.2931 (ex-Q.93B): B-ISDN Call control
G.711: Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) of Voice Frequencies
G.722: 7-kHz Audio Coding Within 64 kbit/s
G.728: Coding of Speech at 16 kbit/s Using Low-Delay Code Excited
Linear Prediction (LD-CELP)
H.320: Narrow-band Visual Telephone Systems and Terminal Equipment
H.221: Frame Structure for a 64 to 1920 kbit/s Channel in Audiovisual
Teleservices
H.230: Frame Synchronous Control and Indication Signals for Audiovisual
Systems
H.242: System for Establishing Communications Between Audiovisual Terminals
Using Digital Channels up to 2 Mbit/s
H.261: Video Codec for Audiovisual Services at p x 64 kbits/s
H.243: Basic MCU Procedures for Establishing Communications Between Three or
More Audiovisual Terminals Using Digital Channels Up to 2 Mbit/s
I.2xy "ISDN Frame Mode Bearer Services", 1990
I.310 ISDN - Network Functional Principles
I.320 ISDN protocol reference model
I.324 ISDN Network Architecture
I.325 Reference configs for ISDN connection types
I.326
I.330 ISDN numbering and addressing principles
I.331 Numbering plan for ISDN (and several more in I.33x relating
to numbering and addressing and routing)
I.340 ISDN connection types
I.350/351/352 refer to performance objectives
I.410-412 refer to user-network interfaces
as do I.420 and 421
I.430/430 Layer 1 specs
I.440/441 Layer 2 specs (Q.921)
I.450-452 Layer 3 specs (Q.931)
I.450: General Overview
I.451: Basic ISDN call control
I.452: Extensions
I.460-465 Multiplexing and rate adaption
I.470 Relationship of terminal functions to ISDN
V.110
(aka I.463) "Support of DTE's with V Series Type Interfaces by an ISDN"
Terminal rate adaption by bit stuffing. C.f. V120.
V.120
(aka I465) "Support by an ISDN of Data Terminal Equipment with V series
Type Interfaces with Provision for Statistical Multiplexing" 1990
(This has been amended since the blue book). An alternative to
V.110
V.25bis calling mechanism under synchronous.
ITU-T (formerly CCITT) standards can be obtained via:
World Wide Web: http://info.itu.ch/ (main page)
http://info.itu.ch/itudoc/3500/3734.html (standards)
Gopher: info.itu.ch
E-Mail: Mail to: teledoc@itu.arcom.ch
Mail body:
HELP
LIST /itu
LIST /itu/rec
Hard Copy:
International Telecommunication Union
Information Services Department
Place des Nations
1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
TEL: +41 22 730 5554
FAX: +41 22 730 5337
Internet email: helpdesk@itu.ch
X.400 email: S=helpdesk;A=arcom;P=itu;C=ch
------------------------------
4.03) Where can I read more?
"ISDN In Perspective"
Fred R. Goldstein
Addison-Wesley
ISBN 0-201-50016-7
[Ed. Note: the second edition is new...]
"ISDN: Concepts, Facilities, and Services, Second Edition"
Gary Kessler
McGraw-Hill, 1993 (2/e).
ISBN 0-07-034247-4
"Integrated Services Digital Networks: Architectures / Protocols / Standards"
Hermann J. Helgert
Addison Wesley
ISBN 0-201-52501-1
The Basic book of ISDN (second edition)
Motorola University Press
Addison-Wesley Publisching company inc.
ISBN 0-201-56374-6
A 48 pages booklet covering all basic questions on ISDN and some case
studies on the possible installation. Can be obtained freely from
Motorola sometimes.
"Sensible ISDN Data Applications"
Jeffrey Fritz
jfritz@wvnvm.wvnet.edu
West Virginia University Press
ISBN 0-937058-31-9
"The ISDN Literacy Book"
Gerald L. Hopkins
Addison-Wesley 1995
ISBN 0-201-62979-8
384 pages, softcover
"ISDN and Broadband ISDN with Frame Relay and ATM, 3rd edition"
William Stallings
Prentice-Hall, 1995
ISBN 0-02-415513-6
"Networking Standards: A Guide to OSI, ISDN, LAN and MAN Standards"
William Stallings
Addison-Wesley
"A Catalog of National ISDN Solutions for Selected NIUF Applications"
North American ISDN User's Forum
(use NIUF information above or order via Bellcore, document GP-1, $43)
and/or see info on anonymous ftp to info.bellcore.com above)
The 1990 ISDN Directory and Sourcebook
Phillips Publishing Inc.
7811 Montrose Road
Potomac, MD 20854
(301) 340-2100
ISDN Sourcebook
Information Gatekeepers Inc.
214 Harvard Ave,
Boston, MA 02134
(617) 232-3111
1 800 323-1088
Bellcore National ISDN Specifications
SR-NWT-001953
SR-NWT-002361
SR-NWT-002120 (National ISDN-2)
US: 1-800-521-2673, other: 1-908-699-5800
Bellcore ISDN Availability Report
WR-NWT-2102 ($103)
US: 1-800-521-2673, other: 1-908-699-5800
Bellcore ISDN Deployment Data
Special Report (SR) 2102
US: 1-800-521-2673, other: 1-908-699-5800
AT&T Technical Journal special issue on ISDN
(Volume 65, Issue 1) January/February 1986
EFFector. Issue 2.01, Issue 2.06, Issue 2.08
ftp.eff.org:pub/EFF
AT&T Documents
--------------
"AT&T 5ESS (tm) Primary Rate Interface for Generic Program 5E9"
235-900-342
"AT&T 5ESS (tm) Customer ISDN Basic Rate Interface Specifications
5E8 & 5E9 Generic Programs"
235-900-343
"5ESS(rg.tm) Switch National ISDN Basic Rate Interface
Specification - 5E8 Software Release"
AT&T document number 235-900-341
"5ESS(rg.tm) Switch ISDN Basic Rate Interface
Specification - 5E7 Software Release" {Custom BRI}
AT&T document number 235-900-331
"5ESS(rg.tm) Switch ISDN Primary Rate Interface
Specification - 5E7 Software Release"
AT&T document number 235-900-332
"5ESS(rg.tm) Switch Interface Specification to a
Packet Switched Public Data (X.75) Network -
5E8 Software Release" [as in CCITT X.75]
AT&T document number 235-900-317
"5ESS(rg.tm) Switch X.75' Intranetwork Interface
Specification - 5E8 Software Release"
[as in Bellcore's TR-000310]
AT&T document number 235-900-325
"5ESS(rg.tm) Switch Documentation Description
and Ordering Guide"
[list/description of 5ESS documents]
AT&T document number 235-001-001
AT&T documents ordering:
1-800-432-6600 USA
1-800-225-1242 Canada
+1 317 352-8557 elsewhere
AT&T Customer Information Center
Order Entry
2855 N. Franklin road
Indianapolis, IN 46219
(317) 352-8484 (fax)
Northern Telecom Documents
--------------------------
Northern Telecom DMS-100 (tm)
Primary Rate Access User Interface Specification
(Issue 5 = BCS35, Issue 6 = BCS36)
NIS A211-1
Northern Telecom DMS-100 (tm)
Basic Rate User Network Interface Specifications
NIS S208-6
NTI ordering info:
Northern Telecom
Merchandising
PO Box 13010, Dept. 6611
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
1-800-347-4850
------------------------------
4.04) Can I get on-line National ISDN information from Bellcore?
Information about National ISDN is now available by anonymous FTP (File
Transfer Protocol) over the Internet at host "info.bellcore.com". FTP allows
the retrieval of formatted documents and software.
The rest of this document assumes that you have access to a machine connected
to the Internet that supports FTP, and that you have a system that can print
both ASCII formatted documents and PostScript formatted documents.
The files are available in PostScript through anonymous FTP from
"info.bellcore.com" in the /pub/ISDN sub directory.
I M P O R T A N T: Many of the files are large, it is essential that you
first get the README (the upper case is important) file for detailed
information on retrieving various files associated with documents.
The following text describes a typical anonymous FTP session:
system: ftp info.bellcore.com <enter>
Connected to info.bellcore.com.
220 info FTP server (SunOS 4.1) ready.
Name: anonymous <enter>
331 Guest login ok, send ident as password.
Password: <enter your internet login -- example: student@university.edu>
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
ftp> cd /pub/ISDN <enter>
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> mget README <enter>
mget README? yes <enter>
200 PORT command successful.
150 ASCII data connection for README (8758 bytes).
226 ASCII Transfer complete.
local: README remote: README
8943 bytes received in 0.19 seconds (46 Kbytes/s)
ftp> quit <enter>
221 Goodbye.
<enter> represents pressing the "enter" or "return" key on your
computer keyboard.
The README file is in ASCII format and may be read with most word processors.
The other files in the directory are in PostScript format and may be
downloaded as needed by using the "mget" command while in the FTP.
You should determine your local procedure for printing PostScript documents.
For example, on many UNIX systems, PostScript files may be printed on a
PostScript printer by using the "lpr" command. A typical Post Script print
command may look like:
lpr -P<printer> -h -v <filename.ps>
where:
<printer> represents printer name accessable to your system, and
<filename.ps> represents a PostScript file.
notes:
'-h' corresponds to the option of suppressing the printing of
burst page while '-v' corresponds to the option of printing
raster image, i.e., PostScript. Please note that the printer
must support PostScript imaging model in order to print these
files.
Some systems are configured to detect PostScript formatted files
automatically, so a command to print the documents on that kind of system is:
lpr -P<printer> <filename.ps>
If you have problems or you'd like to comment on the information stored at
this site or wish to make recommendations for future enhancements, you can
send email to:
isdn@cc.bellcore.com
Or, call the Bellcore's National ISDN Hotline: 1-800-992-ISDN
A recent visit to the system revealed the following directories:
CATALOG: NIUF (National ISDN User's Forum) catalog:
"A Catalog of National ISDN Solutions for Selected NIUF Applications, Second
Edition." [Ed: lots of big files, but some great info - chapter 4 is
hundreds of pages of ISDN product/vendor information]
CONTACTS: List of ISDN contacts at various Regional Bell Operating Companies
DEPLOYMENT: Currently empty but being worked on
EVENTS: Info about the "ISDN Solutions '94" event
NATIONAL_ISDN: Bellcore document SR-NWT-2006, "National ISDN" [Ed: Requires
Apple's Laser Prep; e.g., //pip.shsu.edu/tex-
archive/dviware/psprint/vms/laserprep70.ps, in many cases when a non-Apple
printer is being used]
README: The Read Me File
TARIFF: Currently empty but being worked on
------------------------------
5.01) Who is shipping what?
ISDN Products by Vendor:
+------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| | Product Type |
| Vendor +----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| | IF | TA | BR | RO | TE | IC | TS | VC | CC |
+------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| ACC | | | x | x | | | | | |
| AccessWorks | | x | | | | | | | |
| Adtran, Inc. | | x | | | | | | | |
| AMD | | | | | | x | | | |
| ANDO | | | | | | | x | | |
| Ascend | | | | x | | | | | |
| AT&T | x | x | | | x | x | x | | |
| AT&T Microelect. | | | | | | x | | | |
| BinTec | x | | | x | | | | | |
| Cisco Systems | | | | x | | | | | |
| Combinet | | | x | | | | | | |
| Conware GmbH | | | x | x | | | | | |
| CPV-Stollmann | x | x | x | x | | | | | |
| CSI | x | | x | x | | | | | |
| diehl isdn | x | | x | x | | | | | x |
| DigiBoard | | | x | | | | | | |
| Digital Eq. | x | | | x | | | | | |
| DGM&S | | | | | | | | | x |
| EICON Technology | x | | | | | | | | |
| EuRoNIS | x | | | | | | | | |
| Fujitsu | | x | | | x | | | | |
| Gandalf | x | x | x | | | | | | |
| Hayes | x | x | | | | | | | |
| Hermstedt | x | x | | | | | | | |
| Hewlett-Packard | x | | | | | | | | |
| IBM | x | | | | | | | | |
| INS | | | | x | | | | | |
| Intel | x | | | | | | | x | |
| ISDN Systems | x | | | | | | | | |
| MERGE | | | | | | | x | | |
| Mitel | | | | | | | x | | |
| Motorola UDS | | x | | | | | | | |
| Motorola Semi | | | | | | | x | | |
| MS Telematica | x | | | | x | | | | |
| netCS | x | | | x | | | | | |
| Network Express | | | x | x | | | | | |
| Network Svc Grp | | | x | x | | | | x | |
| Paxdata | | x | x | | | | | | |
| SCii | x | | | | | | | | |
| Siemens | | | | | | x | | | |
| Silicon Graphics | | x | | | | | | | x |
| Spider Systems | | | | x | | | | | |
| Sun Microsystems | x | | | | | | | | |
| Telenetworks | | | | | | | | | x |
| Teleos | | | | | | | x | x | |
| Telesoft | | | | | | | x | | x |
| Telrad Telecomm. | | x | | | | | | | |
| TPI | | | | | | | x | | |
| Trend | | | | | | | x | | |
| Trillium | | | | | | | | | x |
| Zydacron | | | | | | | | x | |
+------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Key:
IF: Interface Card
TA: Terminal Adapter (Standalone)
BR: Bridge
RO: Router
TE: Telephones
IC: Integrated Circuit
TS: Test Equipment
VC: Video Teleconferencing Equipment
CC: Call Control Software
Vendor Info:
ACC (Advanced Computer Communications)
10261 Bubb Road
Cupertino, CA 95014
Tel: 800 444 7854
Tel: 408 399 9600
Fax: 408 446 5234
Internet: info@acc.com
WWW URL: http://www.acc.com
AccessWorks Communications Inc
670 North Beers Street
Holmdel, NJ 07733
Tel: 800 248 8204
Tel: 908 721 1337
Fax: 908 888 4456
Internet: info@accessworks.com
Adtran, Inc.
901 Explorer Blvd
Huntsville, AL 35806-2807 USA
+1 205 971 8000
fax +1 205 971 8030
Advanced Micro Devices
901 Thomson place
Mailstop 126
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(408) 732 2400 (voice)
ANDO:
7617 Standish Place
Rockville, MD 20855
voice: (301) 294-3365
fax: (301) 294-3359
email: mgriffin@access.digex.net
Ascend Communications, Inc.
1275 Harbor Bay Pkwy
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 769-6001
info@ascend.com
AT&T
1-800-222-PART: Quick access to small quantity orders of ISDN products.
Personal Desktop Video or TeleMedia Connection System:
Visual Communications Products
8100 East Maplewood Avenue 1st Floor
Englewood, CO 80111
(800)843-3646 (800)VIDEO-GO Prompt 3
AT&T Microelectronics
Allentown, PA
(800) 372-2447
Distributer: CoSystems at 408.748.2190
mktg: Steve Martinez at 408.748.2194 (steve@cosystems.com)
tech: Gary Martin at 408.748.2195 (gary@cosystems.com)
BinTec Computersysteme GmbH
Willstaetter Str. 30
D-90449 Nuernberg
Germany
Phone: +49.911.9673-0
Fax: +49.911.6880725
email: vertrieb@bintec.de
Cisco Systems
San Jose CA
1-800-553-6387
or 1-800-888-8187 ext. 6849 (salesman scott smith)
Combinet
333 West El Camino Real, Suite 240
Sunnyvale, California 94087
(408) 522 9020 (voice)
(408) 732 5479 (fax)
(800) 967-6651 for product lit
(408) 522-9020 for pre-sales support
Conware Computer Consulting GmbH
Killisfeldstr. 64
D-76227 Karlsruhe
Germany
Phone: +49.721.9495-0
Fax: +49.721.9495-130
email: vertrieb@conware.de
CPV-Stollmann Vertriebs GmbH
Gasstrasse 18 P.O. Box 50 14 03
D-22761 Hamburg D-22714 Hamburg
Germany Germany
Phone: +49-40-890 88-0
Fax: +49-40-890 88-444
Electronic Mail:
Info@Stollmann.DE (general inquiries)
Helge.Oldach@Stollmann.DE (IPX router technical contact)
Michael.Gruen@Stollmann.DE (IP router technical contact)
CSI (Connective Strategies, Inc.)
Clyde Heintzelman, V. P. Marketing
4500 Southgate Pl., Suite 100
Chantilly, VA 22021
Voice: (703) 802-0023
FAX: (703) 802-0026
Internet: info@csisdn.com
diehl isdn GmbH
Bahnhofstrasse 63
D-7250 Leonberg
Germany
Tel. 49/7152/93 29 0
Fax. 49/7152/93 29 99
email: bode@diehl.de
DigiBoard
6400 Flying Cloud Drive
Eden Prarie, MN 55344
(612) 943 9020 (voice)
(612) 643 5398 (fax)
(800)-344-4273
info@digibd.com (email)
Digital Equipment Co
REO2 G/H2
DEC Park
Worton Grange
Reading
Berkshire
England
DGM&S
609.866.1212
EICON Technology
Montreal, Quebec
EiconCard ISDN/PC ISA PC card.
Supports 2B + D "multiplexed" over single RJ45 connector.
They provide s/w for Windows, OS/2, SCO UNIX, UNIX SVR4, Netware.
List price $1395
EuRoNIS
Manufacturer of the Macintosh Planet-ISDN NuBus Card.
166 rue Montmartre
75002 Paris, France
Tel: +33 (1) 44 82 70 00
Fax: + 33(1) 42 33 40 98
euronis@applelink.apple.com
Fujitsu Network Switching
4403 Bland Road
Raleigh, NC 27609
800-228-ISDN
email rlp@fns.com (Rick Pitz)
Gandalf Technologies
130 Colonnade Road South
Nepean Ontario Canada K2E 7M4
(800) GANDALF (voice)
Hayes ISDN Technologies
501 Second St., Suite 300
San Francisco CA 94107
(415) 974-5544 (voice)
(415) 543-5810 (fax)
Hermstedt GmbH
Kaefertaler Strasse 164
D-68167 Mannheim
Germany
Phone: +49 (621) 3 38 16-0
Fax: +49 (621) 3 38 16-12
Hewlett-Packard
Nearest HP Representative, or
Pierre Vidalenc (Product Manager)
Pierre_Vidalenc@hp6300.desk.hp.com
Hewlett Packard
38053 Grenoble Cedex 09
France
Tel (+33) 76 62 14 49
Fax (+33) 76 62 12 78
International Business Machines
(800) 426-2255
INS - Inter Networking Systems
P.O. Box 101312
D-44543 Castrop-Rauxel
Germany
+49 2305 356505 (voice)
+49 2305 24511 (fax)
e-mail: info@ins.de
Intel Corporation
Intel Products Group
5200 N.E. Elam Young Parkway
Hillsboro, Oregon, 97124-6497
FaxBack 1-800-525-3019
Product Info:
+1-800-538-3373, in the US and Canada
+44-1793-431155, in Europe
+1-503-264-7354, worldwide
Intel BBS 1-503-264-7999 (modem settings 8-N-1, up to 14.4Kbps)
Tech. support (503) 629-7000
ISDN Systems Corp.
Vienna VA USA
703-883-0933
MERGE Technologies Group, Inc.
211 Gateway Road West, Ste. 201
Napa, CA 94558
800.824.7763 (Voice)
707.252.6687 (FAX)
Mitel's Communicating Objects
360 Legget Drive
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
K2K 1X3
Danny LaPalme or Colin Caton
Phone: (613) 592-2122
Fax: (613) 591-2300
E-mail: objects@mitel.com
Motorola UDS
5000 Bradford Drive
Huntsville, AL 35805
(205) 430 8000 (voice)
Motorola Semiconductor
(800) 521 6274
or local Motorola Sales office
Ms Telematica
via S. Marcellina 8
20125 Milano
Italy
Phone: +39.2.66102315
Fax: +39.2.66102708
email: mstelema@icil64.cilea.it
netCS Informationstechnik GmbH
Feuerbachstr. 47-49
12163 Berlin 41
Germany
Tele: +49.30/856 999-0
FAX: +49.30/855 52 18
E-Mail: sales@netcs.com / support@netcs.com
Network Express, Incorporated (info@nei.com)
World Headquarters Western Regional Office
4251 Plymouth Road 2694 Bishop Drive, Suite 103
Ann Arbor, MI 48105 San Ramon, CA 94583
tel (313) 761-5005 tel (510) 244-2080
fax (313) 995-1114 fax (510) 244-2083
Network Services Group
3421 Commission Ct. , Suite 202
Woodbridge VA, 22192-1753
Tel: 800-537-9804
Fax: 703-491-9682
Contact: Neville Walker (NEVatNSG@aol.com)
Paxdata Networks Limited
Communications House
Frogmore Road
Hemel Hempstead
HERTS HP3 9RW
UK
0442 236336 (voice)
0442 236343 (fax)
mktg: Jim Fitzpatrick (jim@paxdata.demon.co.uk)
tech: Giles Heron (giles@paxdata.demon.co.uk)
SCii Datavoice SO ISDN NuBus card
+49 (0) 89-54-67-57-0 (Munich, Germany)
Siemens Components Inc.
Integrated Circuit Division
2191 Laurelwood Road
Santa Clara, CA 95054-1514
(408) 980-4500
Spider Systems
UK France Germany
Spider Systems Limited Spider Systems SA Spider Systems Limited
Spider House Les Algorithmes Schadowstrasse 52
Peach Street Saint Aubin 91194 D-4000 Dusseldorf
1
Wokingham Gif-sur-Yvette Germany
England Paris Cedex
RG11 1XH France
0734 771055 (voice) (1) 69 41 11 36 (voice) (0211) 93 50 120
(voice)
0734 771214 (fax) (1) 69 41 12 27 (voice) (0211) 93 50 150 (fax)
Silicon Graphics
http://www.sgi.com/tech/indy_isdn.marketting_spec.html
http://www.sgi.com/products/Indy/Indy_top.html
http:/www.sgi.com
Sun Microsystems Computer Company (SMCC)
Mountain View, CA
(800) USA-4SUN
Telenetworks
US Europe
Lauren May / Bob Gefvert Ian Walsh (DIVA)
625 Second St., Suite 100 Kingswood House, 12 Shute End
Petaluma CA 94952 Wokingham, RG11 1BJ, England UK
phone 707-778-8737 phone +44.734.891719
fax 707-778-7476 fax +44.734.891721
emal info@tn.com
Teleos Communications, Inc.
2 Meridian Road
Eatontown, NJ 07724 USA
US voice: +1 (908) 389 5700
US fax: +1 908-544-9890
email: info@teleoscom.com
web: http://www.teleoscom.com/
Teleos Europe: Teunis deVries: (v) +32 2 725 5211
Teleos Asia: Terence Tan: (v) +65 321 8920
Telesoft
Chris Cox
512.282.6701
Telrad Telecommunications, Inc.
135 Crossways Park Drive
Woodbury, New York 11797
(516) 921-8300
1 800 645-1350
TelradPAC: 0B+D PAD NI-1 & Euro-ISDN
IDS: V&D phone NI-1
MTA: V.110 TA Euro-ISDN
TPI
Tele-Path Industries, Inc.
221 South Yorkshire Street
Salem, VA 24153
+1 703 375 0500
Trend Communications Ltd.
Knaves Beech Estate
Loudwater
High Wycombe
Bucks, HP12 9QX
Tel. +44-1628-524977
Fax. +44-1628-810094
email: info@trend.demon.co.uk
Trillium
310.479.0500
Zydacron, Inc.
670 Commercial Street
Manchester, NH 03101
Tel: (603) 647-1000
Fax: (603) 647-9470
A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N
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A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
NTT Break-Up, AT&T-Style
Justice Files To Lift AT&T Consent
Decree
Industry Support For Ratings Systems
AT&T Internet Service Is Not-Ready-
For-Prime-Time
Private & Public Life On The Net
PC Price War, Continued
BellSouth Debuts Online Atlanta
Yellow Pages
Intel Works On Pentium Pro Problem
Rogers & Yahoo!
DirecTV Scuttles Pirates
Chip Thieves Arrested In California
Police Sting
Flaw Found In Kerberos Security
System
Compromise Bills On Data Encryption
Apple Pulls The Plug On eWorld
3-M Floppy Is A Hog For Data
Standards Are No Object For This
Software
Post Mortem On Computer Chess Match
Open Market Offers Safe Messaging
Netscape Trims Prices In Competition
With Microsoft
Translating The Web
E-Commerce With A Human Face
Instructional Technology Gets Boost
Down Under
Commerce Solicits Applications For
TIIAP Grants
New Netscape Navigator Bugs
Discovered
Microsoft Wooing AOL
AT&T Wooing, Too
Singapore Cracks Down On Internet
Seagate In Overdrive
Universities Debate CD-ROM
Dissertations
WWW Use Doubled In '95
FCC Proposal Would Help Wireless
Telephony
Public Internet Kiosk
PCWorld Likes Mac/Os
FSN Commissions More Games For
Interactive System
Newbridge Teams With Siemens
IBM Will Increase Disk Drive
Production
Nextel To Create National Wireless
Phone Service
Corel's Wordperfect
Bye-Bye, Bob
Schools, Computers, And Kids
NTT BREAK-UP, AT&T-STYLE
The Japanese government has released a plan for breaking up Nippon Telegraph
& Telephone, much in the same way that AT&T was dismembered in the '80s.
Under the plan, NTT would be split into three entities: two local phone
companies -- NTT East and NTT West -- and a long distance company closely
resembling today's AT&T. The restructuring is scheduled for completion by
March 31, 1999. The plan differs from the U.S. model in one important aspect
-- rather than limiting the two local entities, NTT East and NTT West will
have the freedom to compete, offering phone and cable service in each
other's territory, and will be allowed to establish long-distance,
international and cable-TV services in their own markets, once competition
is judged to be viable. Meanwhile NTT Long Distance will also be able to
offer local-telephone and cable service within Japan. The plan has met with
opposition from NTT and Japan's Social Democratic Party. (Wall Street
Journal 1 Mar 96 A10)
JUSTICE FILES TO LIFT AT&T CONSENT DECREE
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a motion with Judge Harold Greene to
terminate the 1982 AT&T consent decree, noting that the enactment of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides new direction for telecommunications
regulatory matters. "Lifting the AT&T consent decree will clear the way for
the new law to take center stage in moving the telecommunications industry
into a new era of robust competition and innovation," says antitrust chief
Anne Bingaman. (BNA Daily Report for Executives 29 Feb 96 A41)
INDUSTRY SUPPORT FOR RATINGS SYSTEMS
Entertainment industry leaders summoned by President Clinton to the White
House pledged to develop a voluntary rating system that would let parents
filter out programs containing violent or sexual material. (New York Times 1
Mar 96 A1) The pledge took the heat off Canadian federal regulator, the
CRTC, which had promised to take unilateral action to rate American
programming unless the U.S. took action quickly. (Toronto Star 1 Mar 96 A2)
Microsoft is supporting a rating system called RSAC-I designed to allow
parents and teachers to block out access to WWW sites containing violence,
sexual themes, nudity or offensive language; the filtering system will be
included in the next version of Microsoft's Explorer software for browsing
the Web. (New York Times 1 Mar 96 C1)
AT&T INTERNET SERVICE IS NOT-READY-FOR-PRIMETIME
After announcing with great fanfare its intention to offer Internet service
to the masses, AT&T now is saying its technical system still needs some
work. The long-distance giant still needs local computer nodes to collect
data traffic and is lacking Internet software for Mac and Windows 95
operating systems. The service now probably won't be available until mid-
April or May, putting AT&T at a disadvantage with regard to competitors MCI
and Sprint, which are proceeding with their own Internet marketing plans.
Even when it gets its technical systems operation, AT&T will still have a
long way to go in developing expertise in technical customer support, says
an industry editor, who notes it's a lot harder to answer a computer inquiry
than it is to service a phone bill complaint. (Wall Street Journal 1 Mar 96
B2)
PRIVATE & PUBLIC LIFE ON THE NET
A New York Times op/ed piece by David S. Bennahum argues that the problem
with the Communications Decency Act is not that it is intended to curb
sexually explicit material in public spaces, but that it fails to make a
proper distinction between what is public and what is private. "The problem
is not that the Government has no place in cyberspace. it is that the law
fails to recognize that the Internet is not a monolith -- that it has public
and private areas... The more private a forum, the greater the rights of
the individual. Yet, according to the act, material considered indecent on
Yahoo! would be banned from a newsletter and e-mail." (New York Times 2 Mar
96 p19)
PC PRICE WAR, CONTINUED
Compaq Computer announced it will slash prices on selected PC models and
boost promotions in yet another round of the PC price wars. The strategy
will hurt Compaq's short-term performance, but it's taking satisfaction in
the knowledge that its competitors will bleed with it. "This provides us
with the opportunity to be the leader in setting price and setting position,"
says Compaq's CFO. "To the extent that hurts our competition, well that's
what it's designed to do." "It's really a mutual suffering...The end result
is you have fewer credible companies left in the business by the end of the
year," says an industry analyst. (St. Petersburg Times 2 Mar 96 E1)
BELLSOUTH DEBUTS ONLINE ATLANTA YELLOW PAGES
BellSouth has unveiled its online enhanced-metro-Atlanta Yellow Pages,
predicting that similar Web sites may follow in other BellSouth metropolitan
areas, if the financial incentive is there. In addition to the usual
information in each listing, the online version provides "geo-coding" of
most businesses so they can be located in relation to local landmarks.
< http://yellowpages.bellsouth.com > (Broadcasting & Cable 26 Feb 96 p53)
INTEL WORKS ON PENTIUM PRO PROBLEM
Intel Corp. says it will work with computer manufacturers to correct a
problem in the Pentium Pro chip set that causes some Pentium Pro-equipped
computers to operate much slower than they should. The company says it
doesn't know how many computers are affected, but estimates it's a very
small number. "We're working with computer makers to be sure any user who
has a concern about this situation gets their problem resolved," says a
company spokesman. (Investor's Business Daily 1 Mar 96 A4)
ROGERS & YAHOO!
Canadian cable giant Rogers Communications reached an agreement with Yahoo!
Inc to create a Canadian version of the popular Internet directory. Rogers
is also launching a Web site called the Canadian On-line Explorer, which will
offer access to Maclean's magazine, the Financial Post, newspapers from the
Sun publishing chain, and an all-news radio station. < http://www.canoe.ca/
> (Toronto Globe & Mail 1 Mar 96 B4)
DIRECTV SCUTTLES PIRATES
DirecTV shut down thousands of pirate computer cards in Canada that sell on
the black market for up to $1,000, used to steal programming from
satellites. DirecTV began beaming Electronic Counter Measure signals
(compared to changing the combination on a very complicated electronic lock)
that rendered the illegal cards useless. (Toronto Star 1 Mar 96 C8)
CHIP THIEVES ARRESTED IN CALIFORNIA POLICE STING
More than 45 arrests were made in Silicon Valley this week as the result of a
sting operation to catch thieves who, according to the U.S. Attorney's
Office in San Jose, have been plaguing high-tech companies with "very
sophisticated, armed takeover robberies where people go in with handguns,
long guns, and semi-automatic weapons in a sort of paramilitary style, armed
with duct tape and Flexicuffs, and in a very short time steal chips." (New
York Times 1 Mar 96 A8)
FLAW FOUND IN KERBEROS SECURITY SYSTEM
Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a flaw in the popular
Kerberos computer-security system that affects the way Version 4 of the
software creates the secret keys for encryption. The problem does not affect
Version 5, unless it is run in a way that emulates Version 4. The software
is supposed to select its keys randomly from among billions of numbers, but
the problem occurs in the random-number generator, which is selecting from a
much smaller pool of perhaps a million or so, making it much easier for an
intruder to crack the key. "Basically, we can forge any key in a matter of
seconds," says Purdue professor Eugene Spafford. The CERT Coordination
Center at Carnegie Mellon University has issued an advisory on the problem -
- CA-96.03 -- and recommends using "patches" to fix the flaw.
< http://www.sei.cmu.edu/technology/cert.cc.html > (Chronicle of Higher
Education 1 Mar 96 A29)
COMPROMISE BILLS ON DATA ENCRYPTION
Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate to permit the
export of data encryption hardware and software if similar technology is
available from foreign suppliers. The bills affirm the right of U.S.
citizens to use any type of encryption equipment domestically, and prohibit
the mandatory use of special keys that would allow law enforcement officials
access to encrypted messages. In addition, the legislation would make it a
crime to use encryption technology in the commission of a crime. (New York
Times 4 Mar 96 C6)
APPLE PULLS THE PLUG ON eWORLD
Apple Computer has announced that its eWorld online service will "cease
operations" March 31. The move is CEO Gilbert Amelio's first high-
visibility step toward restructuring Apple operations since he took over last
month. Officials close to Apple say the computer maker now is contemplating
offering a portfolio of different Web sites and services narrowly targeted at
specific industries, such as education, where Apple is still strong. (Wall
Street Journal 4 Mar 96 B3)
3-M FLOPPY IS A HOG FOR DATA
3-M's LS-120 floppy computer disk, with more than 80 times the storage
capacity of conventional floppies, will hit the shelves April 2. The
company hopes its new disk and drive, developed in cooperation with Compaq
Computer, Matsushita Kotobuki Electronics Industries and O.R. Technology,
will become the new industry standard. Key to that strategy is the ability
of the LS-120 drive to read conventional 1.44 megabyte diskettes. "Backward
compatibility is a major advantage of LS-120 technology," says the head of
an industry analysis firm. The new disks have a suggested retail price of
$19.99, and the drives will be available as an option on Compaq computers for
an additional $210. (Investor's Business Daily 5 Mar 96 A9)
STANDARDS ARE NO OBJECT FOR THIS SOFTWARE
Neuron Data Inc.'s version 2.0 of its Elements Environment rapid application
development platform software accommodates virtually any object standard,
including OLE, OpenDoc, and Corba components, as well as World Wide Web, C++
and other objects via advanced object servers. "Basically, we are bringing
out the industry's first `open assembly environment' for bringing in
different kinds of objects to a single application," says Neuron's product
development manager. "They've got a universal widget here. You can plug it
into anything," notes a senior analyst at the Meta Group. The initial
release is available for Windows platforms, with versions for MacOS, OS/2, HP-
UX and Solaris out by year's end. (Information Week 26 Feb 96 p20)
POST MORTEM ON COMPUTER CHESS MATCH
Garry Kasparov, winner of a six-game chess match against IBM's Deep Blue
computer, says, "I did not expect that it would be that tough." After
losing his first game, Kasparov adjusted his playing style, deliberately
creating crowded conditions that gave the computer few options. A human
player might have reacted to the situation by gambling on a strategy to
trick the opponent into making a mistake, but Deep Blue was programmed to
assume its opponent would play perfectly. The IBM team was not able to re-
adjust Deep Blue's program during the match. "I think the main distinction
between us and computers is that we can learn," says Kasparov. "I learned a
lot from game 1 and game 2." (Science News 24 Feb 96 p119)
OPEN MARKET OFFERS SAFE MESSAGING
Open Market Inc. has developed a new class of Web software designed with
built-in message-checking to ensure the integrity of messages and make the
network safe for financial transactions. OM-Transact doesn't come cheap --
it's priced at $250,000 per license. Another new product, OM-Axcess, allows
companies to monitor and control access to the Internet by both employees
and customers. It costs $35,000 a copy. (Investor's Business Daily 5 Mar 96
A8)
NETSCAPE TRIMS PRICES IN COMPETITION WITH MICROSOFT
Netscape Communications has slashed the price of its low-end Internet server
software by 40%, and made drastic cuts in prices of other versions in an
effort to combat Microsoft's recent giveaway of a rival program as part of
its Windows NT operating system. Netscapes FastTrack Server, targeted at
small businesses and nontechnical users, now costs $295, down from $495.
(Wall Street Journal 5 Mar 96 B4)
TRANSLATING THE WEB
Accent Software's suite of programs provide multilingual tools for creating
and viewing Web pages. The Internet with an Accent suite includes
multilingual publishing, browsing, messaging and page-viewing tools for more
than 30 languages. The software works with Win3.1 or Win95 software and can
be downloaded from < http://www.accentsoft.com >. (Popular Science Mar 96
p39)
E-COMMERCE WITH A HUMAN FACE
NTT Software is pilot-testing an electronic commerce system that uses avatars
-- electronic representations of users -- to move through virtual stores,
banks or other electronic environments, simulating activities such as
shopping, banking or even hiking through the mountains. Tower Recors is
testing the Interspace technology to create virtual stores, where avatars can
shop, interact with sales clerks, and preview CDs and videos. Levi Strauss
is using the system for a virtual reality game that's part of its ad
campaign. Users must have a PC equipped with a video camera, and some report
difficulty in navigating the virtual environments (although avid video game
players are said to have an edge in maneuvering their characters). (New
York Times 4 Mar 96 C3)
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY GETS BOOST DOWN UNDER
The Australian government's economic development agenda places a strong
emphasis on making greater use of instructional technology use from
kindergarten through higher education. The government hopes that wiring more
classrooms will help move the country from dependence on agriculture and
manufacturing to high value-added economic activity. Australia has the
highest per-pupil installed base of instructional technology of any country
in the world and has become a promising market for educational software.
(Heller Report Mar 96)
COMMERCE SOLICITS APPLICATIONS FOR TIIAP GRANTS
The U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information
Administration is now accepting applications for the 1996 round of
Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program. The
deadline for returning applications is April 4. Priorities for funding
include demonstration projects that can be replicated in other communities,
improving access to information and communication technologies for
disadvantaged communities, and supporting innovative planning efforts. Send
e-mail to tiiap@ntia.doc.gov or < http://www.ntia.doc.gov >. (BNA Daily
Report for Executives 1 Mar 96 A18)
NEW NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR BUGS DISCOVERED
Two researchers at the Open Software Foundation have discovered a couple of
flaws in Netscape's latest version of its popular Navigator Web-browsing
software, and have received $1,000 each from Netscape for their trouble. One
flaw takes advantage of various loopholes in Netscape's JavaScript control
language, that could allow a Web site to peruse the hard disk drive of a
user browsing the site. Operators of the Web site could discover the names
of files, but not read the contents. The other bug allows a Web site to
force a user's machine to send an e-mail message to another computer,
violating the privacy of users who wish to keep their e-mail addresses to
themselves. Netscape will issue a new version, Navigator 2.01, next week.
(San Jose Mercury News 5 Mar 96)
MICROSOFT WOOING AOL
Microsoft is working hard to derail licensing negotiations between America
Online and Netscape Communications that would give AOL subscribers access to
Netscape's Navigator Web-browsing software. Microsoft would like AOL to
switch to its Internet Explorer browser. Meanwhile, people familiar with the
discussions say Netscape is retaliating by trying to talk CompuServe into
using Navigator, instead of the Internet software it recently licensed from
Microsoft. (Wall Street Journal 7 Mar 96 A3)
AT&T WOOING, TOO
AT&T is talking with America Online, Prodigy and CompuServe about the
possibility of letting their customers use AT&T new WorldNet Internet access
service to link up their content offerings. Since WorldNet will offer 5 free
hours of Internet access a month to AT&T's 80 million customers, alliances
with AT&T look very attractive to online providers who want to make it easy
for people to get to them simply by clicking on an icon on WorldNet.
(Washington Post 6 Mar 96 D1 & 7 Mar 96 D11)
SINGAPORE CRACKS DOWN ON INTERNET
The Singapore government has informed Internet content and access providers
that it will hold them responsible for voluntarily restricting pornographic
and politically objectionable material in transmissions to the country's
100,000 Internet accounts. The Singapore Broadcasting Authority is charged
with enforcing the ban on materials that could "undermine public morals,
political stability or religious harmony." Most content providers will be
deemed "licensed" unless they violate the restrictions, but political and
religious groups must register their online intentions with the SBA.
Punishments for transgressions have not yet been determined. (Wall Street
Journal 6 Mar 96 B6)
UNIVERSITIES DEBATE CD-ROM DISSERTATIONS
Universities across the country are debating the issues involved in allowing
doctoral candidates the option of producing their dissertation in electronic
format, on CD-ROM. For many subject areas, such as the behavioral sciences,
scholars don't dispute that a CD-ROM can convey research data much more
accurately and succinctly than a type-written paper. The problem arises 20
or 30 years from now, when those CD-ROMs will be forever inaccessible because
the technology to display them will be obsolete. "When the Dead Sea scrolls
were discovered, they were 2,000 years old and we could read them," points
out a University of Texas professor. At the opposite end of the spectrum,
the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University requires all theses
and dissertations to be submitted electronically, beginning next January.
(Chronicle of Higher Education 8 Mar 96 A19)
WWW USE DOUBLED IN '95
Home use of the World Wide Web doubled in the last six months of 1995,
according research firm Odyssey. The company's study estimates Web
penetration at about 7.5 million households, or 8% of the U.S. total. (Wall
Street Journal 7 Mar 96 B6)
FCC PROPOSAL WOULD HELP WIRELESS TELEPHONY
In a proposal nicknamed "bill and keep," the Federal Communications
Commission is planning to let the phone company that initiated the call
(including a wireless call) to keep all the revenues from the call. The move
would make it easier for wireless companies to compete against the Bell
regional companies, which oppose the plan. Bell Atlantic's general counsel
says: "What the wireless carriers propose is that for every 85 calls we
complete for them, they complete 15 calls for us. How is that fair?"
(Washington Times 6 Mar 96 B6)
PUBLIC INTERNET KIOSK
Can't stay off the Net? San Diego-based Atcom Inc. has developed an ATM-like
Internet kiosk for surfers on the run. For a minimum payment of $6 for 15
minutes, users can check e-mail or cruise the Web; $20 buys an hour of kiosk
time. The machines will debut at the San Diego Convention Center and Atcom
hopes to place more kiosks in airports and hotels later this year.
(Investor's Business Daily 7 Mar 96 A8)
PCWORLD LIKES MAC/OS
Though PCWorld magazine's main focus is on IBM-compatible computers running
Microsoft Windows software, it has rated the Mac OS as the best 32-bit
operating system--over Windows 95, Windows NT, and IBM OS/2 Warp, after
conducting tests that asked eight "typical users" to do a variety of common
tasks. (PCWorld Feb 96 p145)
FSN COMMISSIONS MORE GAMES FOR INTERACTIVE SYSTEM
Upping its entertainment value, Time Warner's Full Service Network, the only
fully interactive television trial currently underway, has deals with seven
developers to revamp or create new 16 interactive network games.
(Broadcasting & Cable 4 Mar 96 p47)
NEWBRIDGE TEAMS WITH SIEMENS
Canada's Newbridge Networks has formed a technology alliance with German
Telcom equipment giant Siemens AG to combine each other's technologies into
a new line of higher-speed broadband communications gear. (Toronto Globe &
Mail 5 Mar 96 B3)
IBM WILL INCREASE DISK DRIVE PRODUCTION
IBM says it will spend $500 million over the next two years to increase its
production of disk drives for personal computers and also for larger systems.
The company plans to be one of the two dominant suppliers of data storage
components, along with Seagate technology. (New York Times 7 Mar 96 D8)
NEXTEL TO CREATE NATIONAL WIRELESS PHONE SERVICE
Nextel plans to become a national competitor in the wireless phone service
market by using digital technology to rebuild its dispatch-type radio
systems (covering 85%) of the U.S. population by late 1996. (USA Today 7 Mar
96 1D)
COREL'S WordPerfect
Ottawa-based Corel Corp. plans to take Microsoft Office head-on with the
April launch of its newly acquired WordPerfect. Renamed Corel Office, the
company expects the new package to generate $100-million in sales the first
year. (Ottawa Citizen 6 Mar 96 C7)
BYE-BYE, BOB
Microsoft's personal info manager, Bob, is being deeply discounted, showing
up in the bargain bin at Egghead Software stores across the country for less
than $10 a copy. (Information Week 26 Feb 96 p10)
SCHOOLS, COMPUTERS, AND KIDS
Two of the many well-known individuals vocal in the debate about the
effectiveness of computers in education are John Gage, chief scientist at
Sun, and Neil Koblitz, University of Washington mathematics professor. Gage:
"The old model of the teacher absorbing physics, biology, and the physical
sciences and then pouring into kids' brains is gone. It is the kids that do
the exploration; the kids are in control." Koblitz: "Kids have to be free
to exercise their imaginations. To be inundated with visual stimulation and
a machine that does it for you is not the best way to learn. It is not
science simply because they are punching a keyboard on a computer." (New
York Times 7 Mar 96 B1)
Apple/Mac Section
John Deegan, Editor
Key Finder STR Infofile
Keywords: Keyboard Shortcuts, Cheat Sheets, PhotoShop, Illustrator,
PageMaker, QuarkXPress, Windows, System 7, Macintosh, Finder, Guides
Keyboard Shortcuts (Cheat Sheets) Now Available From Key Finder
Key Finder's quick reference Keyboard Shortcut Guides for popular graphics
software have shipped! The arts/designer series available in both Macintosh
and Windows versions, includes Guides for Adobe's Photoshop, Illustrator and
PageMaker applications. A QuarkXPress Reference Guide for shortcuts, as well
as both the Windows and Macintosh operating systems are being readied for
immediate release, as is Macromedia's FreeHand Guides.
The first group of Key Finder's quick reference Keyboard Shortcut
Guides were introduced at MacWorld Expo 1996 in San Francisco. This graphic
arts/designer series includes Key Finder's new Shortcut Guides for Adobe's
Photoshop, Illustrator and PageMaker applications, as well as for QuarkXPress
and Macromedia's FreeHand. All new Key Finder "cheat sheets" for keyboard
shortcuts, available in both Macintosh and Windows versions, are in the form
of a lift-top mousepad and Reference Guide Card Insert combination. A number
of Guide Cards can fit handily under the mousepad's transparent top, insuring
that the information is always where you are working, as well as visible
through the pad's clear top.
Keyboard shortcuts are a sequence of keystrokes built into software
which offer the user a faster and more efficient method than the mouse to
execute specific commands or tasks. Key Finder's Shortcut Guides are designed
in a logically organized layout using colored icons to represent the
keystrokes. More than 120 of an application's shortcut keystrokes and
corresponding commands are shown on the two sides of each removable insert
Guide Card. For quick and easy access to a particular Guide in the mousepad,
a unique color coding located in the Guide's lower right corner is used for
each software title. Other software series for; word processing, video
editing, utilities for the Internet, etc., are in various stages of
development and will be released in 1996.
"Many computer users are surprised to learn that these shortcuts are
built into the software as an alternative to the mouse," said Marcia
Schechter, the developer of Key Finder and principal of DeskTop Publishing
Studios, a design and service bureau in St. Louis, MO. "Now, Key Finder makes
it faster and easier to use these time-savers, plus does double-duty as a top
quality computer accessory," she continued.
Barbara Sampley of Emerson Electric, now a Key Finder user said, "I have
and need to use a lot of different software applications, each with its own
shortcuts. This requires too many keystrokes to remember, and stopping what
I'm doing to look in the manuals or other sources to find which keys to press
really wastes my time. It was so frustrating to use the shortcuts, that I
didn't! Now with Key Finder Reference Guides, I just glance down at my
mousepad and see the info I need." Ms. Schechter said, "We knew there had to
be a better way."
Continuing development of new Key Finder products occurs as a direct
result of feedback from users. Therefore, Reference Guides for shortcuts for
both the Windows and Macintosh operating systems are being readied for
immediate release. Other Key Finder Reference Guides are for symbols built
into character sets in text fonts for Macintosh and Windows, and in graphic
fonts such as ITC Zapf Dingbats, Symbol, Monotype Sorts and Microsoft's
Wingdings. These graphic symbols include typographic marks, math symbols, and
multinational letters, arrows, check marks, and icons ranging from pointing
hands to communication devices. Also in the product line are Key Finder's
standard style mousepads, wrist rests, and keyboard templates for ITC Zapf
Dingbats for Macintosh and Wingdings for Windows.
Key Finder products, priced from $6 to $18, are manufactured in the USA
and feature a wipeclean, hard surface lexan top. The lift-top mousepad (9-
1/2" x 7-1/2") can be customized with a company's logo for internal or
promotional distribution. Reference Guide insert cards are 9-1/2" x 6" and
cut with rounded corners to fit the shape of the mousepad. Special pricing
programs are available for Computer User Groups. For more Key Finder
information or orders contact Marcia Schechter at (800) 290-4584 or (314) 997-
3667, e-mail to 74561.3246@compuserve.com or visit Key Finder's World Wide
Web site (http://www.keyfinder.com).
For further information, please contact:
Marcia Schechter, President
e-mail 74561.3246@compuserve.com
Internet: http://www.keyfinder.com
Phone (800-290-4584)
Phone (314) 997-3667
Fax (314) 997-3962
Key Finder is a registered trademark of DeskTop Publishing Studios. Adobe,
PageMaker, Illustrator, and Photoshop are trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows and Wingdings are trademarks
of Microsoft Corporation. QuarkXPress is a trademark of Quark, Inc. FreeHand
is a trademark and Macromedia is a registered trademark of Macromedia Inc.
ITC Zapf Dingbats is a registered trademark of International Typeface
Corporation and is produced by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Lexan is a
registered trademark of General Electric Company.
Kids Computing Corner
Frank Sereno, Editor
The Kids' Computing Corner
Ms. Winkle's Class
Windows CD-ROM
for ages 6 to 10
MSRP $9.95
from Essex Interactive and Abudoe Software
Program Requirements
OS: Windows 3.1
CPU: 486SX-25
HD Space: 1 MB
Memory: 4 MB
Graphics: 640 x 480, 256 colors
CD-ROM: Double-speed
Audio: 8-bit sound card
Other: mouse
Reviewed by Frank Sereno
Do you remember having a kindly, gray-haired female teacher during your
grammar school years? Ms. Winkle represents the idealized grandmotherly
educator in the entertaining CD-ROM, Ms. Winkle's Class. Enjoy the
imaginative adventures of three students and learn a bit about medieval
Europe, witches and oceanography.
Ms. Winkle's Class is similar to Living Books. Both feature animated stories
filled with humorous touches and interactive hotspots. The interface is very
simple and easy to use. You can click on a picture of one of the three
featured students to see his story. Before starting the story, Ms. Winkle
will give a short lesson on the subject of the student's fantasy. Clicking
on students or objects activate animations. If you click on Ms. Winkle, she
will quiz you on the current topic. An excellent multimedia help sequence is
provided and the program's operation is explained at startup.
The program uses Video for Windows to display its animation files. If you
don't have Video for Windows installed on your computer, you must run a setup
program from the CD. The installation program for Ms. Winkle's Class does
not automatically install VfW for you. If you have VfW previously installed,
you may need to change settings to display the animations correctly. For
Windows 95, I could not get the program to operate correctly by using the RUN
command, but it did work flawlessly after I created a shortcut on the
desktop.
The animations do use bright and interesting colors but the frame rate is
very low. Characters and objects do not move smoothly on the screen and
mouths are not synched with speech. These flaws probably will not bother
most children. The voice characterizations are performed well. During the
fantasy sequences, the acting is a bit "over the top," similar to that done
on Saturday morning cartoons. This will keep children's attention and help
them enjoy the program more.
The biggest drawback in Ms. Winkle's Class is the limited amount of content.
The three stories total fifteen pages. While these pages are full of
entertaining hotspots, it won't take too many plays for children to discover
all of them and lose interest in the program. Also, the program could use
more educational content. More information could have been provided and the
quizzes should have had more questions. Another shortcoming is that each
speaker's sentences are shown as text on the screen, but the individual words
are not highlighted as they are spoken. Such an addition would help pre-
readers in their quest to learn words.
On the other hand, you have to consider the low cost of Ms. Winkle's Class.
It isn't fair to compare it against programs that cost four times as much.
In this light, the program does measure favorably for entertainment and
educational value. I believe most children will enjoy and learn from this
program, and it won't take a big bite out of your wallet.
# # #
Free $tuff for Science Buffs
$19.99
Coriolis Group Books
7339 E. Arizona Drive, Suite 7
Scottsdale, AZ 82560
602-483-0192
Reviewed by Frank Sereno
If you have an Internet account and have a child ages 10 or older, Free $tuff
for Science Buffs can be a wonderful resource to promote his educational uses
of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Written in a humorous and casual
style, Free $tuff contains many interesting science facts and theories (the
creation of the universe, how telescopes work, why the sky is blue and even
explores time travel), then it provides sources for further information from
the Internet.
The book is written by Barry Young, a radio talk show host who has an alter
ego of The Amazing Mr. Science. He has been on radio and television fielding
science questions from audiences and hosts his own area on America Online.
Noting that Americans tend to shun science, he has undertaken the mission to
enlighten the nation to the adventure and fun of science.
Barry's writing style is friendly and enthusiastic. His prose is very easy
to read because he explains complex facts and theories in common English, but
he never writes down to people. He fervently believes if people are given
the proper indoctrination to science that they will find it as interesting as
he does. This is the most entertaining book about science that I have read
in many years.
The feature that makes the book even more valuable is the listing of many
Internet and Web sites where science related materials can be found and
downloaded. Visiting the many sites turns the book into a science adventure
of discovery. You'll be amazed at the breadth of information available on
the Internet. It won't replace science texts in school, but it will help
your child to round out his knowledge.
But even if you don't have access to the Internet, Free $tuff of Science
Buffs is a wonderful addition to your home library. It will make science and
learning more appealing to not only children but to adults also. This is a
book that you and your child can read together to find common interests in
science. You may not build an atom bomb together (an explanation of the
bomb's workings is included), but perhaps you could build your own amateur
astronomy center. If you read this book, I think you will agree with The
Amazing Mr. Science that science is FUN! A love of learning is a fantastic
gift to give to anyone.
# # #
Super Solvers Out Numbered!
Hybrid CD for Windows and Mac
Ages 7-10
Estimated retail price: $45.00
The Learning Company
6493 Kaiser Drive
Fremont, California 94555
(800) 852-2255
Program Requirements
IBM Macintosh
OS: Windows 3.1 OS: System 7.0.1
CPU: 386DX33 CPU: 68030
HD Space: 4 MB HD Space: ?
Memory: 4 MB Memory: 4 MB
Graphics: 640 by 480 with 256 colors Graphics: 256 colors, 13" monitor
CD-ROM: Double-speed recommended CD-ROM: Double-speed recommended
Audio: 8-bit Windows compatible sound card
Other: mouse Other: mouse, sound card
By Angelo Marasco
Super Solvers OutNumbered! CD-ROM is an updated version of an older
educational program by The Learning Company. The Learning Company promises
that it will run on a minimum of a 386DX33. There is a lot of flashy
software out there now for beefier computers than that. I wondered whether
The Learning Company could possibly turn out something that can run on older
machines like my 486SX33 that would interest me. After all, I've seen a lot
of that bright and flashy new stuff while doing my reviews. This would be an
interesting challenge.
You know something? The Learning Company didn't do half badly with Super
Solvers OutNumbered! It is an attractive piece of software. It's not as
great as some of the other packages I've reviewed, but it's still worth
considering if you're in the market for math software for your little ones.
The Shady Glen Television Station has been taken over by Morty, the Master of
Mischief. As the Super Solver, it is your job to save the station from him.
Morty hides in one of the rooms in the station and you must solve math
problems in order to find him.
The program opens with a cute animated scene in which Morty tells his trusty
sidekick, Telly, just what his plan is. Telly is a walking, robot-like
television set. Morty gives Telly the clues to which room he is hiding in.
Unfortunately for Morty, Telly has a very hard time keeping secrets.
After signing in, you take control of the Super Solver. I have to admit that
I thought that the Super Solver was a cute little character. The way that he
walks is hilarious. The Super Solver is short, wears oversized sneakers, a
coat with the collar pulled up, shorts and a cap. You never get to see his
face. He carries a remote control that he uses to zap Telly and another bad
guy, Live Wire.
The game is very straightforward. You direct the Super Solver into the five
rooms in the station where he is presented with different types of math
challenges. The room you are in determines the type of challenge. The five
rooms are the cartoon room, equipment room, sound room, game room and news
room. Except for the equipment room, each room is named for the type of
television programs produced there.
The challenges, which are math word problems, involve things related to that
room. For each round, each room provides one challenge. A calculator is
provided to help figure out the answers. It can be turned off through the
control menu. Using the calculator gives children a chance to practice
putting together formulas. Correctly answer the challenge question and you
will be given the code to that particular room. You will use that code later
in the decoder to find Morty. Watch out for Live Wire! He is a snakelike
electrical wire dancing across the floor. He pops up unexpectedly. If he
touches you before you can zap him he will take away power from your zapper.
While you are in the hallway between rooms, Telly pops up. He can be very
persistent. Zap Telly and he will present you with math drill questions on
his television screen. As you move up in levels, the questions get harder
and more numerous. If you zap Telly while his screen is dark he will simply
shrink and disappear. The problems Telly presents are excellent skill
builders for timed math tests like my children take at their schools. They
are much like flash card quizzes.
If you answer most of Telly's drill questions correctly, he is forced to
reveal a clue to the room that the Master of Mischief is hiding in. When you
have gathered four clues you can turn on the decoder and match the assembled
clues to the codes for each of the five rooms. Matching the clues to the
code reveals Morty's hiding place. The Super Solver then enters that room
and calls Morty out of hiding.
After he grouses about Telly not being able to keep a secret, Morty adds up
your score. You get points for the power left in your remote control zapper.
Unfortunately, if you manage to get hit by one of Telly's weapons during the
course of the game you lose power. Also, you must find Morty before the
clock reaches midnight. Running directly into Telly costs you time. Running
around looking for clues also takes up time. You receive points for any time
left before midnight if you find Morty. You are also awarded points for
finding Morty and finishing the round. Collect enough points and you move up
to the next level.
The graphics in this program are quite good. There are lots of bright colors
which will make the program attractive to younger children. The detail is
very crisp. Because the game runs in a framed box, the action is quick with
no visible hesitation. There were some long pauses as the program loaded and
played out the opening screens. However, that wasn't a serious problem.
Sounds received a good score because of the different sound effects and the
background music. The program opens up with a song on a cheesy organ but it
gets better from there. The sounds made by the zapper the Super Solver
carries, Telly, the math challenges and live wire were exciting and
believable, for the most part.
The interface took hits on a couple of things. First, the game is controlled
via the keyboard cursor control keys. The opportunity to control the game
with the mouse, which I think is much more natural for computer users these
days, is not offered. That is a minor inconvenience. The real hit came from
the problems I encountered whenever I minimized the game in order to use my
computer for something else. If I did not immediately return to the game, it
locked up my computer in a way that would not allow me to maximize any icon.
However, when I used Control-Alternate-Delete to try to shut down Super
Solvers OutNumbered!, my computer would tell me that it could not find any
programs which were not responding and that all I could do was reset my
computer. This was a major inconvenience and rated a sizeable hit on the
interface rating.
Play value of the game is very good. The time factor and Telly's persistence
keep you on edge and add excitement. I was disappointed that there weren't
more rooms. The game also began to get on my nerves after a while because I
felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again. I expected things
to change as I moved up a few levels but they never did. I didn't let this
affect the play value rating too much because the program is meant for
children ages 7 to 10. My 8-year-old never ran into this problem because he
was challenged enough that he couldn't run through the program as quickly as
I did.
I don't think that the educational value of Super Solvers OutNumbered! can be
questioned. I was challenged by the drill questions that Telly threw at me.
This program can teach children how to solve math word problems and how to
put together math formulas to solve word problems. As I stated earlier, the
flash card type drill questions Telly uses can help children to learn math
facts and recall them quickly. Super Solvers OutNumbered! deserves its high
score for educational value.
Despite the quality of Super Solvers OutNumbered!, I could not give it a very
high bang for the buck rating. I still think that $45 is an awful lot to pay
for educational software, especially for families with young children. This
program just doesn't have what it takes to justify the price. If the price
was somewhere around $30 to $35 then I would have felt much more comfortable
with a high bang for the buck rating. However, even at $45 this is a good
program.
Ratings
Graphics . . . . . . . . . 9.5
Sound . . . . . . . . . . . 9.5
Interface . . . . . . . . . 8.0
Play Value . . . . . . . . 9.5
Educational Value . . . 10
Bang for the Buck . . . 8.0
Average . . . . . . . . . . 9.08
# # #
Press Release
MINDSCAPE LAUNCHES "ANGEL DEVOID DOUBLE PLAY" CONTEST
Marketing Blitz for Milestone Game that "Changes the Face of Multimedia"
Novato, CA - Mindscape a leading developer and publisher of consumer
software, has launched a major marketing campaign to kick-off its biggest
title to date . . . Angel Devoid: Face of the Enemy. The recently shipped
interactive epic is also being supported with an "Angel Devoid Double Play"
contest that is being promoted on-line, beginning Wednesday, February 28,
1996, and then in the retail channel. The Angel Devoid promotion includes a
national radio blitz; a national, two-page spread print campaign in major
gaming publications and product give-aways. The on-line effort occurs in an
exclusive section on the Mindscape Online web site http://www.mindscape.com
"We believe Angel Devoid is a significant milestone in computer gaming." said
Bob Goldberg, president of Mindscape. "We think the game deserves a
comprehensive marketing campaign that mirrors the innovative nature of the
game itself."
On-line Contest
Prizes being awarded during the fourteen day "Angel Devoid Double Play" on-
line contest include: over 300 posters signed by the Angel Devoid production
team, actors, producer and director, with one being awarded every hour; a
custom-made Angel Devoid leather jacket to be awarded daily; and a $1,000
cash Grand Prize to be awarded and announced on the web site when the on-line
contest closes on Wednesday, March 13, at 9 a.m. PST.
The Angel Devoid Sub-Site
The Mindscape Online web site, published and developed by Mindscape Online
Publishing, has been enhanced with the addition of over ten pages devoted
exclusively to Angel Devoid. The pages are linked directly from a banner
located on top the Mindscape home page to the Angel Devoid sub-site.
Highlights from Angel Devoid pages include:
z Contest description, rules, entry forms, prize information - entering
the contest is made easy with instant registration right from the Mindscape
Online site;
z Product reviews - lets visitors see what the press is saying about Angel
Devoid by reading the latest republished previews and reviews from leading
gaming publications such as Computer Game Review and PC Gamer Magazine;
z Screenshots - enables users to check out several screen shots from the
game;
z Storyline - gives a one paragraph overview of the richly detailed,
sophisticated storyline, including product features and system requirements;
z Downloadable features - lets visitors download audio and video clips to
check out the state-of-the-art graphics that blend filmmaking techniques with
3D modeling and special effects that were used to make Angel Devoid. Users
can also download an audio clip of the radio spot that began airing on
Saturday, February 17, 1996 in five key markets, including: New York, Los
Angeles, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Francisco;
z Character bios - gives screen shot portraits and descriptions of each of
the 23 characters (shot with professional actors and actresses) Angel Devoid
encounters throughout the game;
z Developer bios -introduces each of the developers involved in the Angel
Devoid product as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the game;
z Free stuff - offers visitors three ways to enter and win the contest,
free demos of the Angel Devoid game, and manufacturers' rebates;
z Where to buy - provides a list of retail outlets and/or an 800 number
for Angel Devoid retail locations.
The Game
What if you awake with someone else's identity? What if that person is the
most notorious criminal ever known, and he is already trying to hunt you
down? You have been on the trail of Angel Devoid, but now a bizarre accident
leaves you with the face of the very man you have been pursuing. No longer
the hunter, your only choice is to infiltrate Neo-City, a dark world where
death strikes from every shadow.
Distributed throughout the U.S. exclusively by Ingram Micro, Angel Devoid:
Face of the Enemy immerses PC and Macintosh gamers in an ultra-realistic 3D
virtual world filled with incredibly lifelike environments and extensive live
action video. Featuring a cast of 23 professional actors and a richly
detailed, sophisticated storyline that includes multiple endings and a non-
linear design, Angel Devoid will absorb players for many long evenings as
they uncover, "Who is Angel Devoid?"
Mindscape Online Publishing is the online interactive publishing division of
Mindscape, Inc. devoted to introducing exciting new online content,
integrating online components into new and existing Mindscape products, and
working with independent content providers to create state-of-the-art online
sites.
Mindscape, Inc. is a leading developer and publisher of consumer software for
personal computers and video console systems. An industry pioneer with over
fifteen years of experience, Mindscape provides award-winning software for
the entertainment, education, and reference markets.
Mindscape is headquartered in Novato, CA, with offices in North America,
Europe, and Australia. The company's development subsidiaries include
Strategic Simulation, Inc. (SSI) of Sunnyvale, CA and MicroLogic of
Emeryville, CA. Mindscape is part of Pearson, plc, the international media
group based in London which focuses on the information, education, and
entertainment markets.
Mindscape is a registered trademark of Mindscape, Inc. All other trademarks
and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
# # #
"BRODERBUND NEWS"
Press Release
Broderbund's "Logical Journey of the ZoombinisT" Leads
Children on a Puzzle-filled Adventure that
Builds Advanced Math Thinking Skills
The Newest Addition to the Active Mind SeriesT
Teaches Math and Logic to Kids Ages 8-12
NOVATO, CA (February 26, 1996) - The big bad Bloats have taken over the
Zoombinis' island home! Rescue them from impending disaster and lead them on
an adventurous journey to a new homeland. But wait - easier said than done.
Children ages 8 to 12 must help the Zoombinis through this puzzle-filled CD-
ROM adventure that builds advanced math thinking and logic skills. Logical
Journey of the Zoombinis is Broderbund Software's (NASDAQ:BROD) fourth
addition to the newly designed Active Mind Series.
Logical Journey of the Zoombinis helps children ages 8 to 12 develop critical
math skills including data analysis and sorting, hypothesis formation,
graphing, logical reasoning, statistical thinking, pattern recognition, set
theory and more. The program was designed by TERC, an education research and
development center, in Cambridge, Massachusetts and with input from educators
throughout the United States. Before the Zoombinis reach Zoombiniville,
children must solve 12 challenging puzzles, safely leading the Zoombinis
through The Deep Dark Forest Trail, Who's Bayou Path, The Big, The Bad and
The Hungry Road, and The Mountains of Despair. Richly designed graphics,
coupled with smooth animation and delightful characters and sound, make
Logical Journey of the Zoombinis a wonderful math adventure for kids.
Choosing between the different Zoombini attributes of hair style, nose color,
eyes, and mobility, children begin by creating their band of Zoombinis. Once
children help the first group of Zoombinis escape from the island, their
adventure begins. As they travel through the 12 puzzles, players must
determine which combination of pizza toppings will satisfy the Pizza Eating
Tree Trolls, use the Zoombinis' features as coordinates X and Y to place each
Zoombini in the proper room at Hotel Dimensia, sharpen set recognition and
logical grouping skills by determining which Zoombinis can cross the bridges
that lead over the Allergic Cliffs and much more.
"The puzzles in Logical Journey of the Zoombinis are structured to support
math standards set by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, but
delivered to children in an environment that is very rich in design, color
and entertainment," explains Laurie Strand, Publisher of the Education Studio
at Broderbund Software. "This approach to building math skills helps
children develop data organization and thinking skills vital for
understanding advanced math concepts such as algebra, set theory, graphing,
data analysis and more," Strand adds.
Zoombiniville
With each puzzle the children solve, they are one step closer to helping the
Zoombinis find the correct path to Zoombiniville. Zoombiniville is a safe
haven and newly discovered land where the weary Zoombinis will grow and
prosper as groups of new inhabitants complete their journey. Multiple levels
of play range from "not so easy" to "very, very hard". Puzzle difficulty
automatically adjusts to the child's skill level as they continue to rescue
the stranded Zoombinis from their island prison and safely guide them to
their new home.
Teacher's Edition
School Editions of Logical Journey of the Zoombinis are designed to support
the use of the program in upper elementary classroom settings. The Teacher's
Guide includes lessons that correspond with specific puzzles in the product,
that coordinate with math curriculum and that are designed for cooperative
groups. Also included are reproducible materials, technical tips for using
the features of this program in a classroom, and an annotated bibliography of
related resources.
Active Mind Series
The Active Mind Series is an innovative line of software that motivates
children to develop essential learning skills. Each product is developed in
conjunction with educational specialists to provide an enriching educational
experience. Logical Journey of the Zoombinis is the fourth title in this
series. Other titles in the series include the recently released James
Discovers Math, The Playroom and Math Workshop.
Availability, Pricing and System Requirements
Logical Journey of the Zoombinis is currently shipping to stores for
approximately $40. The hybrid CD-ROM will require at least Windows 3.1 or
Windows 95, 33MHz 486SX, 8MB RAM, double speed CD-ROM drive, 2MB hard disk
space, SVGA (640 x 480, 256 colors), and Windows compatible sound device.
Macintosh users will need a minimum system of 25MHz 68030 processor, System
7.0.1 or higher, 8MB RAM, 1MB hard disk space, 8-bit video support (256
colors), 13-inch color monitor (640 x 480) and double speed CD-ROM drive.
About Broderbund Software
Broderbund Software, Inc. is a diversified consumer software company that
offers a broad selection of fun, award-winning products for use in homes,
schools and small businesses. Founded in 1980, the company is committed to
creating imaginative personal computer software of lasting value for every
member of the family.
Broderbund and The Playroom are registered trademarks of Broderbund Software
Inc. Logical Journey of the Zoombinis, James Discovers Math, Math Workshop
and Active Mind Series are trademarks of Broderbund Software, Inc. All
other marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies. Copyright c 1996 Broderbund Software, Inc.
# # #
For Immediate Release
SPLASH STUDIOS SHIPS PIPER, THE FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND VIDEOACTIVE CD
Interactive Television -Style Show on CD-ROM Stars Jason David
Frank, White Ranger of The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
INTERMEDIA, SAN FRANCISCO -- Splash Studios Inc., innovative developer and
publisher of interactive products for CD-ROM, online services and interactive
television, has begun shipping PiperT, the first VideoActiveT musical
adventure for CD-ROM and interactive television. With a budget in excess of
$1.5 million, Piper is clearly the most ambitious CD-ROM product produced for
children. It is being distributed through Broderbund Software's affiliated
label program. The title retails for $39.95 and recently began shipping for
the Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 platforms.
"When we conducted our initial competitive analysis to decide on our product
strategy," noted Patrick Ford, president and CEO of Splash Studios, "we
quickly came to the conclusion that not one CD-ROM product provided the same
level of compelling entertainment value that we got from even the most
mediocre television programming. If CD-ROM-based entertainment is to succeed
and transition into interactive television distribution, then it needs to
provide an experience that is as compelling as watching a TV show, popping in
a video or sitting on the couch reading a magazine. That was our design goal
for Piper."
Piper, starring Jason David Frank of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, is an
interactive video adventure for children of all ages and was adapted into an
original screenplay from the classic tale of The Pied Piper of Hamelin. The
product's packaging, designed in the style of a video box, contains four,
half-hour episodes that can be viewed one at a time or all together for a two-
hour movie. The title has been designed for delivery via broadband
interactive cable, either to PCs via the Internet or to television sets via
future TV systems. The CD-ROM version will be available in MPEG and Macintosh
formats this summer. Splash Studios will also be producing a home video
release of Piper.
The product contains a bonus audio CD-ROM featuring the entire six-song Piper
soundtrack and The Making of Piper movie. Piper has already received a Kid's
Choice Award at the Children's MultimediaExpo for its all-original soundtrack
and was selected as a finalist for best interactive entertainment in the
upcoming 37th Annual International CINDY competition.
Three levels of play assure age-appropriate challenges and games throughout
the story. Piper features three types of interactivity: Discovery, Challenge
and Action. Discovery allows the user to find the hundreds of jokes and
hidden click-points throughout the show. Challenge has users racing the clock
to solve eight puzzle-like games. Action pits the user head-to-head against
the rats of Midas Valley in four gaming sequences. At the end of each
episode, users receive a score corresponding to the events in the three
categories: number of rats found in Discovery, time saved in the Challenges
and number of rats whacked in Action.
The entire town of Midas Valley was created using 3D computer graphics. It
consists of 31 buildings above ground and the full mine works running below
the town. The entire live action production of Piper was done on blue screen
and was seamlessly integrated with the 3D backgrounds. This 3D world will
serve as the setting for an upcoming online adventure game called Midas
Valley Gold Rush that will be available on the critically acclaimed Splash
Kids Online Magazine at http://www.splash.com" target and on the Microsoft
Network (MSN).
At intermediaWORLD, Splash Studios will be previewing its new CD-ROM title,
Piper, in Booth #1453. Piper will also be showcased at a special premiere
event for the press.
Splash Studios develops and publishes interactive products for CD-ROM, online
services and interactive television. All titles are based on original screen
plays and include original music compositions. Splash Studios is located at
8573 154th Ave. NE, Redmond, WA 98052. Voice (206) 882-0300. Fax: (206) 882-
1516.
Portable Computers Section
Marty Mankins, Editor
Brad Silverberg STR Focus "They don't come any better!"
Microsoft Assigns a Windows Pro to Internet Software Division
By Michele Matassa Flores, The Seattle Times
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Mar. 4--Over the past six years, nearly every time Microsoft has taken a leap
to get ahead of its competition, Brad Silverberg has led the jump. His
first work on Windows helped close the company's gap with Apple. He built
features into DOS 6.0 that wiped out entire sources of revenue for some
companies. And last year, he led the release of Windows 95, now the best-
selling piece of software ever.
It's no wonder, then, that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates chose Silverberg,
41, to head up what some say is the biggest challenge Microsoft has ever
faced: coming from behind in the race to commercialize the Internet. Two
weeks ago, Silverberg was named to head Microsoft's new Internet Platform
and Tools Division, a 2,000-strong group charged with writing software to
make the global computer network a better place to do things like shop, bank,
watch video and search newspaper archives.
Silverberg is described as a ``consummate product guy,'' a man who loves to
test software, find bugs, fiddle with taking programs easy to use -- and
pull all-nighters with his staff to get a job done on time. People who have
worked with him say he's well-suited to his new job -- not really a
visionary, but a master at carrying out ideas.
In his new job, he will be just two steps below Gates, reporting to Paul
Maritz, a member of the five-person Office of the President. He and Gates
meet often about work, exchange e-mail and socialize occasionally; Silverberg
attended Gates' wedding two years ago and his 40th birthday party last year.
Silverberg's new job won't be easy. Microsoft has fallen behind competitors
Netscape Communications and Sun Microsystems and doesn't have the built-in
advantage it has making traditional desktop software, which almost always
relies on Microsoft's Windows operating system.
But Silverberg, whose idea of relaxing is to ride a mountain bike down the
side of the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii, is not known to shun competition.
He is said to relish an in-house rivalry with Jim Allchin, whose division
handles Microsoft's high-end Windows NT operating system, which competed
internally with Silverberg's Windows 95 team for money and people.
During his off hours, Silverberg is just as competitive; a Cleveland native
and fan of the Cleveland Indians baseball team, he mercilessly teased his
Seattle friends last fall when the Indians beat the Mariners to advance to
the World Series (although he says he's also an M's fan).
Rob Glaser, a former Microsoft vice president who now runs his own Internet
start-up company called Progressive Networks, said Silverberg has what the
fast-moving, highly competitive Internet market demands: an attitude. "I
don't want to say (it's a) street-fighter mentality, because that sounds too
negative. But...his energy level is extremely well- suited for the Internet
environment," Glaser said.
Silverberg, who guards his privacy but agreed to answer some questions
through e-mail, is considered one of Microsoft's rising stars and was named
last year's Person of the Year by PC Magazine. His six years with the company
have made him a millionaire; he, his wife and two children live in a 3,000-
square-foot home on a hill overlooking Lake Washington.
"I'm not a complacent guy; I don't sit on my laurels," Silverberg said. As a
manager, he expects the same from his employees. "People who do good work
and are capable of rising to the challenge, I think they're very excited
about going to work for him" in the new division, said Phil Barrett, who
worked for Silverberg on Windows 3.1 from 1990 to 1992. "People who want to
slide...they might have a sense of trepidation."
Co-workers say Silverberg also has a good sense of humor. During the
development of Windows 95, he and co-worker Dennis Adler relaxed by whizzing
fastballs at each other in the hallway with Nerf footballs or tennis balls,
Adler said.
Silverberg, the son of a doctor, was demanding even back in college, when the
only demands he was placing were on himself. He received his bachelor's
degree in computer science at Brown University in 1976 and his master's
degree in 1977 at the University of Toronto, the alma mater of both his
parents. He completed his master's degree in just 1 1/2 years, said Rick
Hehner, a UT professor who supervised Silverberg's thesis, which suggested
new ways programmers could structure their programs.
"He came knowing what he wanted to do, he knew how to do it, and he just did
it,'' Hehner said. ``Supervision was just superfluous in his case." Hehner
wanted Silverberg to stay for his doctorate. But he remembers Silverberg
saying, "I think I hear California calling," meaning Silicon Valley, not
sandy beaches and palm trees.
In Silicon Valley, Silverberg's success came fast. He started Analytica, a
company that made one of the earliest databases to use graphical features
such as pull-down menus, and sold it to software company Borland
International. While at Borland, Silverberg had his team's fancy new
computers retrofitted to run like the slower, older ones sold in computer
stores.
That way, Silverberg figured, his developers wouldn't lose sight of how well
their software actually worked in the real world, said David Intersimone,
who worked for Silverberg and now leads Borland's relationships with outside
developers.
Silverberg was vice president of research and development at Borland when
Gates hired him away in 1990 to work on Windows. Gates had spotted him while
he still ran the start-up, but Borland got him before Gates could.
Silverberg helped build Borland into one of the largest software companies
in the country. He raves about the people there and remembers spending lunch
hours riding his bike "on some of the beautiful country roads and hills of
Scotts Valley."
"It was a very difficult, emotional decision for me to leave Borland,"
Silverberg said, because he joined the company when it was only 3 years old
and worked closely with Chairman Philippe Kahn, who is roughly Silverberg's
age. But Silverberg had used an early test version of Windows 3.0 and "saw
the possibilities for something big."
"I was also very impressed with Microsoft as a well-run, focused, forward-
thinking company. Bill and I had known each other through the years as
competitors...and had a healthy mutual respect for each other, as good
competitors often do." At the time, Silverberg said, moving to Microsoft was
the most difficult decision he had ever made in his business life. In
retrospect, though, it has "worked out extremely well."
Atari Interactive - software/Jaguar/Computer Section
Dana Jacobson, Editor
>From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
Like many, I usually wait until close to deadline before I put the finishing
touches on my work. In this case, my final submission for this week's issue.
Unfortunately, this week's "last-minute" final check is overshadowed by New
England's latest major snowstorm. I'm really starting to hate this stuff!
The new BBS is taking shape nicely, albeit slowly. It's really a lot of fun
working with a new system; I didn't think it would be as I was so used to the
old software. But, I'm really getting into it at the moment. Once we get
the new hardware, things should really get interesting!
Branch Always Software has released yet another version of its terrific
Gemulator. We've included BraSoft's latest news, as well as other product
announcements.
The Sacramento show is just a couple of weeks away * check out the
announcement/details a little later on in this issue.
Time to go check on the weather and see how much [more] shovelling I have to
do in the wee hours so I can get to work!
Until next time...
NEW ATARI EMULATION PRODUCTS
FOR
MS-DOS AND WINDOWS
March 1, 1996.
For immediate release.
For more information contact Darek Mihocka at:
BRANCH ALWAYS SOFTWARE
14150 N.E. 20th Street
Suite 302
Bellevue, WA 98007
U.S.A.
Voice: 206-236-0540
Fax: 206-236-0257
Orders: 206-369-5513
Email: brasoft@halcyon.com
GEnie: brasoft
MSN: brasoft
WWW: http://www.halcyon.com/brasoft/
Branch Always Software is proud to announce the release of four new Atari
emulation products during the month of March:
1. Gemulator 4.15 for Windows 95 and Windows NT
2. PC Xformer 3.50 for MS-DOS and Windows
3. PC Xformer 8-bit Peripheral Cable (it's back!)
4. Gemulator Gold CD-ROM: The Ultimate Emulator CD
Gemulator 4.15
Gemulator 4.15 is the latest release of our famous Atari ST and STE emulator
for Windows and replaces the 4.0 and 4.1 versions released last year.
Optimized for 486 and Pentium processors, Gemulator 4.15 is compatible with
Windows 3.1, Windows For Workgroups, Windows 95, Windows NT 3.51, and Windows
NT 4.0 beta.
Gemulator consists of a plug-in card that fits inside your PC and software
that runs on the Windows desktop. Unlike other emulators which "take over"
your computer, Gemulator multitasks Atari ST and STE software with Windows,
so that MS-DOS, Windows, and Atari software all run simultaneously on the
same desktop.
Emulation speed varies depending on the speed of the PC, but in general 486
computers run at speeds similar to a 1040ST or Mega STE, while Pentium
computers run at Falcon or TT speeds. For example, a 90 MHz Pentium emulates
the equivalent speed of a 32 MHz TT030.
Also unlike other emulators, Gemulator 4.15 fully supports all PC hard disks,
including FAT, NTFS, Stacker, and DoubleSpace partitions, as well as CD-ROMs.
Atari software can directly access all the files on your PC, without the need
to set up Atari-only disk partitions or use any special drivers.
In fact, once you boot up the familiar GEM desktop, you can use it as your
main desktop for Windows. Run Neodesk 4, Magic, or any other Atari desktop
replacement and use it to create folders, copy files, delete files, and even
launch DOS and Windows programs from the GEM desktop.
Gemulator 4.15 supports the 3 Atari ST screen resolutions (320x200, 640x200,
and 640x400) as well as SuperVGA modes (640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, right up
to 1600x1200 in monochrome and in 16 colors. Your monitor must be capable of
displaying these graphics modes of course.
The Gemulator card accepts up to 4 different sets of TOS ROMs, allowing it to
emulate both ST and STE computers depending on which version of TOS is
running. TOS 2.06 is included standard with the Gemulator and is the
recommended version of TOS to use with Gemulator for best results. Gemulator
4.15 has been tested with many Atari programs and is fully compatible with
almost all popular Atari ST software, including:
desktop publishing:
Calamus SL, Pagestream 2.2
replacement desktops:
Neodesk 4, Geneva, Magic
drawing programs:
Degas Elite, Prism Paint
word processors:
First Word Plus, Word Writer, Multi Writer, Atari Works
miscellaneous:
Data Manager ST, Phasar, SpeedoGDOS, NVDI, Warp 9, GFA Basic
Gemulator does not support copy protected disks, however most games that run
from the hard disk will run fine since they are not copy protected.
Gemulator 4.15 is available immediately at an introductory price of $199.95
U.S. complete, which includes the Gemulator card, the TOS 2.06 ROMs pre-
installed, and the Windows 95 and Windows NT compatible emulation software.
Users have the choice of purchasing the floppy disk version of Gemulator
4.15, or the Gemulator Gold CD, which contains Gemulator for DOS and Windows
3.1, PC Xformer 3.50, and other free bonuses.
PC Xformer 3.50
PC Xformer 3.50 is our latest Atari 8-bit emulator for MS-DOS and Windows,
and is also (as far as we can tell) the world's fastest 6502 emulator for the
PC! While other 8-bit emulators barely run at full speed, PC Xformer runs
almost 10 times faster than a real Atari 130XE on a typical Pentium. A
"normal speed" mode slows the emulator down to the regular speed of a 130XE
for use with those programs that are best played at true 130XE speed.
PC Xformer 3.50 emulates all three types of Atari 8-bit computers (400/800,
800XL, and 130XE) and emulates all of the customer hardware: ANTIC, GTIA,
POKEY, Player Missile Graphics, Display List Interrupts, and joysticks.
The version 3.50 is optimized for use on 486 and Pentium processors and now
supports the PC Xformer 8-bit Peripheral Cable.
PC Xformer 3.50 is now available at an introductory price of $39.95 U.S.
PC Xformer 8-bit Peripheral Cable
It's ba-a-ack! First released in 1988 to allow Atari ST users to read Atari 8-
bit disks on their computers, the cable is now being re-released for use on
the PC. Fully compatible with the original cable, the peripheral cable allows
any SIO serial device (such as the 810 and 1050 disk drives, color plotters,
dot matrix printers, etc.) to plug directly in to your PC for use by the PC
Xformer 3.50 emulator.
The cable can be used to directly boot Atari 8-bit disks with the emulator,
or it can be used to transfer disks to or from the PC. Unlike similar cables,
the Xformer cable does not require a real Atari 8-bit computer to be present,
only a disk drive. The cable can read single density and double density Atari
disks, as well as boot disks and some, but not all, copy protected disks.
The Xformer cable is now available at an introductory price of $25 U.S. to
registered users of either ST Xformer or PC Xformer. A special bundle price
of $59.95 gets you both PC Xformer 3.50 and the Xformer cable, a $5 saving.
Gemulator Gold CD-ROM:
The Ultimate Emulator CD
Over the last 10 years we have released many different versions of the Atari
8-bit and ST emulators. With the help of Toad Computers we are putting five
of our emulators (and a ton of Atari software) on one convenient CD-ROM that
includes:
z Gemulator 4.15 for Windows 95 and NT with online documentation
z Gemulator 4.15 for Windows 3.1 and Windows For Workgroups
z Gemulator 3.02 for MS-DOS and OS/2
z Win32s 1.25 (for use with Windows 3.1)
z Gemulator device driver for Windows NT
z PC Xformer 3.5 with complete online documentation
z ST Xformer 3.0 (for use on the Atari ST)
z PC and Atari ST file transfer utilities for the Xformer cable public
domain and freeware Atari 8-bit and ST software
Note: the Gemulator software requires a Gemulator card with TOS ROMs.
The CD contains not only English, but also French, German, and Dutch versions
of the Gemulator 4.15 emulator, as well as a special Windows 3.1 compatible
version. The older MS-DOS based Gemulator is also included for use on
machines not running Windows or with limited memory.
Users interested in Atari 8-bit emulation can use either the PC Xformer 3.5
emulator for PCs or the ST Xformer 3.0 emulator for Atari ST computers.
Either one can be used with the optional Xformer cable to read Atari 8-bit
disks directly. The CD will be released on March 23rd for $49.95. Existing
owners of PC Xformer 3.x or Gemulator 4.x can upgrade to the CD for only
$29.95.
Hardware Requirements
Gemulator and PC Xformer run on 386 based PCs and faster, including Intel 486
and Pentium PCs. We do not recommend using "Pentium clone" chips because we
have found some to be incompatible with the real Intel chips. When running PC
Xformer or Gemulator from DOS, only MS-DOS and a VGA card are required.
When running with any version of Windows, at least 8 meg is required. We
recommend 16 meg of RAM when running multiple Gemulator windows or when
emulating more than 4 megabytes of Atari ST memory. Gemulator also requires
one 8-bit or 16-bit ISA slot for the ROM card.
In general, 386 machines may be a bit too slow to run the emulators on but
are usable for slow apps. A 486/33 is quite adequate for running PC Xformer
or for running Gemulator at 1040ST speeds. A 486/66 or faster is recommended
for use with Windows. A Pentium is pretty much overkill, but hey, you can
never get enough speed.
A complete benchmark summary of both PC Xformer and Gemulator running on
various 386, 486, and Pentium chips can be found on our web page at:
http://www.halcyon.com/brasoft/
Product Demonstrations
If you missed our Gemulator 4.15 and PC Xformer 3.50 product demonstrations
at last weekend's Houston Atari Safari, don't worry. We'll be at the
Sacramento Atari show on March 23rd (with CDs!) and again at the Indianapolis
show on July 13th. Also visit your local Atari user groups for a demo near
you since we do visit many user groups every year. Contact us if you would
like a demonstration at your user group.
Product Availability
Gemulator 4.15 is available immediately from Toad Computers, ATY Computer,
Fast Club in England, Xanth Computers, and Branch Always Software. It is
currently being shipped to other Atari dealers throughout the U.S., Canada,
and Europe.
PC Xformer 3.50 is available immediately from Branch Always Software and will
be widely available from most Atari dealers by mid-March.
The PC Xformer peripheral cable is currently available only from Branch
Always Software because supplies are limited. We expect to have them widely
available by the end of March.
The Gemulator Gold CD-ROM will be released at the Sacramento show on March
23rd and will be available from Toad Computers and Branch Always Software. It
will be available from other Gemulator dealers in North America and Europe by
early April.
How to place an order
The following is a pricing summary of the products described above. Prices
are in effect as of March 1, 1996 and are valid in the Unites States only.
z GEMULATOR GOLD (includes Gemulator 4.15 and PC Xformer 3.50 on one CD):
z $199.95 CD with Gemulator card and TOS 2.06 pre-installed
z $69.95 CD with Xformer 8-bit peripheral cable
z $49.95 for just the CD
z *$29.95 upgrade from Gemulator 4.00 or later, or PC Xformer 3.0 or
later GEMULATOR 4.15 Atari ST emulator for Windows 95 and NT (floppy disk
version):
z $199.95 complete with TOS 2.06 pre-installed
z $139.95 without ROMs (TOS ROM must then be installed by the user)
z *$49.95 upgrade from Gemulator 3.02 or earlier
z *$15.00 upgrade from Gemulator 4.00 or later
z PC XFORMER 3.50 Atari 8-bit emulator for DOS and Windows (floppy disk
version):
z $39.95 PC Xformer 3.50 with 8-bit reference manual
z *$15.00 upgrade from PC Xformer 3.0 or later
z PC XFORMER 8-bit peripheral cable with PC Xformer 3.50:
z $59.95 PC Xformer 3.50 with the Xformer cable
z *$25.00 upgrade from PC Xformer 3.0 or later
Note: Items marked with (*) are upgrade prices for existing users only.
To place an order directly with Branch Always Software, send a check or money
order to Branch Always Software at the address above. Or call our order line
at 206-369-5513 to place a credit card order. Or fax in your order. Shipping
is free within the U.S. 10$ per order elsewhere.
If placing an upgrade order with us, make sure that we have your product
registration card. If you did not mail your registration card directly to
Branch Always Software, include a copy of your original sales invoice as
proof of ownership.
To place an order with your favorite Atari dealer, please contact any one of
the following dealers about exact pricing and shipping costs. The products
that each dealer carries are listed to the right:
In North America:
ATY Computer (Gemulator 4.15)
B & C Computervisions (Gemulator 4.15, PC Xformer 3.5, Gemulator
Gold)
Falcon Systems (Gemulator 4.15)
Toad Computers (Gemulator 4.15, PC Xformer 3.5, Gemulator
Gold)
Xanth Computers (Gemulator 4.15, PC Xformer 3.5)
In Europe:
ACN (Holland) (Gemulator 4.15, Gemulator Gold)
Compo Software (Germany) (Gemulator 4.15)
FaST Club (England) (Gemulator 4.15)
Micro Discount (England) (PC Xformer 3.5)
Team Computer (Germany) (Gemulator 4.15)
A more complete list of Atari dealers (with addresses and phone numbers) can
be found on our Internet web page at http://www.halcyon.com/brasoft/ as well
as in our most recent product catalog. To order the free catalog, simply send
us your name and mailing address.
SAC Expo 96
If you have not already heard, coming up March 23rd is the fourth annual SAC
Expo. SAC Expo (Sacramento Atari Computer Expo) is being held at the Towe
Ford Museum again this year and admission is just $5 with all ticket proceeds
going to the museum. We should have a great show. The following vendors are
scheduled to be at the show:
STeve's Computer Tech, Oregon Research, Toad Computers, Gribnif Software, B&C
Computer, Branch Always, Computer Direct, A&D Software, Crawley Crypt and
more. User Groups that will be there are: STAR (the shows host), ABACUS,
YAC, and ABUG.
This is going to be a great show with plenty of Atari products available to
see and buy. This is the only Atari show in California and I believe on the
West Coast. I hope to see you there.
SAC Expo is held in Sacramento, California
Time 10-6
Admission : $5
Directions will be posted at a later date.
For more info call the Mind Keep BBS at 916-723-1657, or leave me mail at my
Compuserve address.
Mark Warner
STAR Founder
Jaguar Section
Williams Buys Atari Games!
Phase Zero Update!
Atari Moves!
>From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
Well, another gaming landmark is gone, or about to be. Atari Games,
currently known as Time Warner Interactive, is being sold to Williams. Pretty
soon, all that will be attributed to the name Atari will be memories.
It's been reported that Nolan Bushnell was interested in buying Atari Games,
but the deal fell through and Williams was successful. Ironic that Bushnell
would want his old company back, but it would have been interesting to see
what the future might have held with that deal! It will be interesting to
learn what plans Williams has.
Atari has made its move to its new location. We've tried to check in with
various sources at Atari to learn more about the new digs and how things are
progressing, but was unsuccessful. We'll keep trying, but no promises of new
information in time to make this week's issue.
There hasn't been any news coming out of Sunnyvale for a few weeks, but the
recent move may account for some of this. We do know that "Attack of the
Mutant Penguins" is slated for release this month, and "Fight For Life" in
April. We also learned from Beyond Games that development for "Phase Zero"
has been indefinitely suspended pending word from Atari as to its plans.
Versions for other platforms are ongoing, so the Jaguar version may be
dropped. We're all waiting to hear the outcome on this title.
Defender 2000 continues to receive a lot of positive feedback. Unfortunately,
I haven't been able to find a copy of this game locally yet. I guess I'll
have to resort to mail order like most people seem to be doing these days.
It's been a discouraging past few weeks here. It feels like we're scraping
empty barrels looking for scraps of information and news to keep you all
informed as to the latest happenings with Atari and the Jaguar, and finding
very little. Developers are disheartened and the users are discouraged.
Many are leaving for greener pastures. It's been tough for everyone,
including us here at STReport. It's not affected just us, either. Jeff
Norwood's 'Jaguar Gaming Journal' has given up this past week; and little has
been heard from AEO in months. The "passing" of Atari is certainly taking
its toll.
We plan to stick around these parts, for better or worse, until there's
little to nothing to report. We're hoping that some news will be forthcoming
once Atari gets set up in their new offices, but there's certainly no
guarantees that there will be anything to report. We're going to stick it
out and see.
In the meantime, I'm going to check out this latest nor'easter hitting us
with yet another major snowstorm (we're setting a new snowfall record for
Boston!) and see how much digging out I need to do...again. Did someone say
Spring is just a couple of weeks away? Not from where I'm sitting!
Until next time...
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
March 1, 1996 San Jose Mercury News:
A NEW RUN AT ATARI BID FAILS,
BUT BUSHNELL STILL WANTS
VIDEO-GAME MAKER BACK
By MIKE LANGBERG Mercury News Staff Writer
Nolan Bushnell-- an unstoppable force of entrepreneurial nature who created
the world's first successful video game and helped define Silicon Valley in
the process -- almost succeeded last week in buying back a piece of Atari,
the company he created 24 years ago and now is only a shell of its former
operations. On Thursday, Bushnell said he had lined up a bid for Time Warner
Interactive of Milpitas, a direct descendant of Atari's original business of
making coin-operated video arcade games. But media giant Time Warner Inc. has
apparently decided to instead sell the division to WMS Industries Inc. of
Chicago, which makes video arcade games and pinball machines under the
Williams, Bally and Midway names.
Bushnell, 52, never stopped pursuing new ideas after soldering together the
first ''Pong'' game in his daughter's bedroom.
After leaving Atari in 1978, he went on to launch the Chuck E. Cheese chain
of children's entertainment centers, helped start digital map maker Etak Inc.
of Menlo Park and backed numerous other ventures ranging from electronic toys
to home robots to computer networking. Now, Bushnell is hard at work on a
new venture called E2000, based in San Jose, that he calls ''Chuck E. Cheese
on steroids -- an entertainment environment more directed at adults than
children.'' E2000 has leased its first site in Burbank, near Los Angeles,
with an opening planned for late summer, and hopes to open a second site in
San Jose or Sunnyvale by the end of the year. The E2000 centers will offer
networked video games pitting players against each other and an ''interactive
dining room'' with a control pad at each seat so patrons can play quiz games
as they eat. ''It's a meal and a night's entertainment for less than the cost
of a movie,'' Bushnell said.
Bushnell, who lives in Woodside, was also eager to revive Atari, a name that
has been gradually fading from the video-game landscape for more than a
decade. "I had a whole program of new products'' he said, that would have
emphasized on-line competition through telephone lines. Now, Bushnell worries
WMS may shut down the Milpitas office and manufacturing plant, which has 300
employees, and consolidate operations in Chicago, as WMS has done with some
of its previous acquisitions." Starting a company is an awful lot like having
a kid,'' he said. ''No matter what happens, you are watching, and it hurts
you'' when bad things happen.
Spokesmen at Time Warner headquarters in New York and at WMS declined
comment, saying neither company has made any official announcement on the
subject. However, sources close to Time Warner Interactive say employees were
gathered for a meeting Monday at which they were told a sale is imminent.
Bushnell said he didn't know why Time Warner rejected his offer and left the
door open for the company to change its mind.''We would be very, very happy
to step up if it were appropriate,'' he stated.
Atari is the ultimate boom-and-bust Silicon Valley legend. Bushnell quit his
job as an engineer at Ampex in 1971 to try turning computer games -then a
diversion for graduate students and computer programmers -- into a commercial
product. He came up with ''Pong.'' The simple game, in which two players
control electronic ''paddles'' to bounce a ball back and forth, stopped
working on the second day of its September 1972 introduction at Andy Capp's
bar in Sunnyvale. The machine had jammed as eager players jammed quarters
into its coin slot. Atari Corp., Bushnell's infant company, quickly soared
into the stratosphere with millions of dollars in sales.
The 40th employee hired by Atari was a college dropout named Steve Jobs, who
soon persuaded the company to hire his friend Steve Wozniak. The pair spent
evenings and weekends tinkering in Jobs' family garage, where they created
the Apple I computer and went on to found Apple Computer Inc.
Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications, a predecessor of Time Warner,
in 1976 for $28 million just as Atari was expanding into home video-game
systems and personal computers. Uncomfortable with big-company bureaucracy,
Bushnell left Atari two years later. Atari continued to grow, however,
reaching 7,000 employees shortly before the video-game business tanked in
1982 as consumers rejected an outpouring of shoddy, overpriced games. Warner
subsequently split Atari in two. Atari Corp., the home video-game and
personal computer side of the business, was sold to entrepreneur Jack Tramiel
in 1984 and remained at the original company's site in Sunnyvale. The coin-
operated arcade games division was retained by Warner and moved to Milpitas.
Atari Corp. continued to flounder under Tramiel, exiting the PC market and
recently all but giving up attempts to sell its Jaguar home video-game
system. On Feb. 13, Tramiel announced he would invest Atari's remaining cash
in JTS Corp., a San Jose manufacturer of computer hard disks, and would
operate the merged business under the JTS name. Bushnell said Thursday he
never wanted to go back to the video-game business after leaving Atari the
first time but changed his mind two years ago when he turned 50. Re-examining
his life, Bushnell said he realized he missed the business and wanted to try
it again.
CONTACT: Harold H. Bach, Jr. Will Tanous
WMS Industries Inc. Warner Music Group
312/961-1111 212/484-8067
or
Joseph N. Jaffoni
Jaffoni & Collins Incorporated
212/505-3015
WMS Industries to Acquire Atari Games Corporation
CHICAGO (March 5) BUSINESS WIRE -March 5, 1996--WMS Industries Inc.
(NYSE:WMS) announced today that one of its affiliates has entered into an
agreement to acquire Atari Games Corporation, an indirect, wholly-owned
subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. The purchase price was not disclosed.
Headquartered in Milpitas, California, Atari Games (which currently does
business under the name Time Warner Interactive) is a developer,
manufacturer, marketer, licensor and publisher of coin operated video arcade
games under the Atari(R) name and interactive electronic and game
entertainment products for use with home video games currently marketed under
the Time Warner Interactive name. Atari Games/Time Warner Interactive is a
licensee and publisher for Nintendo, SEGA, Sony, Jaguar and 3DO and personal
computer CD-ROM platforms. Atari Games/Time Warner Interactive distributes
products worldwide to all major outlets including mass-merchants, computer,
toy and video specialty retailers and mail-order catalogs. No rights to the
names Time Warner or Time Warner Interactive will be included in the
transaction.
Atari Games is not related to Atari Corporation, the manufacturer of the
Jaguar home game systems. The acquisition is scheduled to close within the
next two months. WMS Industries Inc. is engaged in the design, manufacture
and sale of coin-operated amusement games, home video games, video lottery
terminals and gaming devices, and the ownership and operation of hotels and
casinos. Time Warner Inc. will continue to develop, manufacture, distribute
and publish consumer interactive game entertainment products for use with the
computer and console platforms through subsidiaries and affiliates of its
Warner Bros. and Warner Music Divisions.
Davidson Acquires Game Firm
Educational software publisher Davidson & Associates Inc. has signed a
definitive merger agreement with Condor Inc., a developer of entertainment
titles for home computers and game consoles. Condor is best known for titles
such as Justice League and NFL Quarterback Club, which it developed for
Acclaim Entertainment and other software publishers. The deal's terms weren't
disclosed.
Davidson says Condor will continue to operate independently under the new
name of Blizzard North, retaining its current staff. The company is working
with Blizzard Entertainment, Davidson's games division, to develop Diablo, a
new role-playing game that's due out this spring. Condor will also release
additional titles under the Blizzard Entertainment label.
"Our acquisition in 1994 of Blizzard Entertainment, one of the most popular
publishers in the industry, has proven that high-quality entertainment
software is an exciting and successful aspect of Davidson's studio strategy,"
says Bob Davidson's chairman and CEO. "We're delighted that Condor, one of
the most well-respected game developers in the
industry, has joined our family of companies. This team of talented
developers will strengthen our leadership position in the gaming industry
while broadening our R & D capabilities."
Davidson & Associates, Inc. is a publisher and distributor of multimedia
educational and entertainment software for the home and school markets.
Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr!
The following is from the Hyperimage website. It confirms the news from
STREPORT about the suspension of Phase Zero :(
"As many of you may know, Atari Corporation has recently undergone some major
changes. Like everyone else, we at Hyper Image have been trying to figure
out what this means for the Jaguar, and titles that are currently in
development. We are no longer actively developing Phase Zero for the Atari
Jaguar system. Our attempts to determine the status of project have been
unsuccessful, so for now we must move on. As soon as we have more information
from Atari concerning their plans for Phase Zero and the Jaguar, we will post
an update on this web page. Shortly we will be announcing our current
development efforts for the Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn, and Windows 95/NT
DirectX platforms. Thank you for your support through the development of this
project."
Jeremy Gordon
President&CEO
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
On CompuServe
compiled by
Joe Mirando
73637,2262
Well folks, here we are... ten weeks into 1996. About one fifth of the way
through the year already. My, how time flies. I have no idea of what made
me think of this, but it might have something to do with the fact that I've
got absolutely nothing informational or uplifting, or even clever to talk
about. Atari has pretty much closed the doors, if not on business itself,
then certainly to its long-time supporters and it has become more and more
difficult (for me, at any rate) to say that it doesn't matter.
It is true that no matter what Atari the corporation moves on to I'll have my
trusty STe, but it still leaves a small, aching hole in the pit of my
stomach sometimes.
Of course these episodes don't happen when I'm online with my pals or reading
and replying to forum posts. Hmmmm... I guess I'll just have to spend more
time here on CompuServe! You see? I told you that I didn't have anything
witty to say. So let's get on with the reason for this column: All the
great news, hints, and tips available every week right here on CompuServe...
>From the Atari Computing Forum
Richard Brown posts:
"While I find the lack of activiity in the Atari RT a bit dismaying, perhaps
the forum needs to be expanded: I might suggest "MagiCMac/Atari RT" as
everything interesting in the Atari world (that which is continuing despite
the so-called "death" of this computing line) is now happening
simultaneously on the Mac (running as an Atari using MagiCMac) as well as the
backwards compatible Atari line.)
My company, DynaStar, is coding motion picture business related software that
runs in MagiCMac that is more eye- popping than anything ever seen on the
Mac.
MagiCMac, in fact, allows our program, running on an old 68040 Performa to
VASTLY outperform ANYTHING that runs on our PowerMac 9500.
Furthermore, with the Mac slowly dying out, MagiCMac brings a badly needed
boost to the Mac - that is to say - SPEED - that propels the image of Mac
computing into the 21st century - instead of languishing in 1988, as, despite
all rumours - this is where the Mac lies today.
The shocking thing is that any software running in MagiCMac is also
representative of the "new age" of Atari computing. Not only is Atari NOT
dead, but it has found its greatest moment as the future of the Mac.
This is not to say that the Mac has turned non-viable. There really is a use
for PhotoShop and a handful of other Mac programs, but why would anyone use
antiquated, molasses-in-winter-slow word processors of limited overall
utility when more powerful, vastly FASTER solutions await them, more cost
effectively, on the MagiCMac side of the Mac?
Where bona fide Mac programming constricts the software developer to slow and
tired elements of MacOS, MagiCMac allows creative freedom to push the
envelope of what's possible in personal computing.
It's important to realize just how much MagiCMac improves upon what Atari
started ten years ago: A PowerBook 145B, with a slow 25Mhz 68030 processor,
when running the MagiCMac (Atar OS), is at least 200% the speed of an Atari
TT030 running the 68030 at 33Mhz.
The Mac, after stripping away the emasculating System and Finder, turns out,
lo and behold, to be a FAST computer! I look forward to testing the "feel"
of my software running on that "slow" Performa against the Daystar Genesis
MP, running 4@ 150Mhz 604 PPC Chips. Based on the speed comparisons between
the Performa and the 9500, it should be, very likely, still no contest. I
expect to, proverbially, "wipe the floor" with the Genesis MP.
In fact, I already know that I do. My interface is _light years_ ahead of the
Mac's (no MacOS-imposed constraints) so we took the liberty in "pushing the
envelope" regarding 3D windowed interfaces. Like the $6 Million Dollar Man,
we are Better. Stronger. Faster."
This software, of course, will ship for MagiCMac as well as all versions of
GEM/TOS back to 1.4."
Sysop Ron Luks tells Richard:
"I'd be very interested to entertain the idea of a MagiCMac section and
library in this forum. Would you be interested in helping out as an
assistant staff member for this section? I confess to having no expertise to
oversee it. The very positive sounding comments you have made would make
you an ideal candidate for the role."
Mark Kelling tells Richard:
"I agree with your comments about the MagicMac software making the Mac FLY!
I have a 6220 Mac running a 75MHz PPC CPU and I sit and wait (sometimes even
having time to brew coffee ;-) while my word processor loads up a simple
etter on the Mac side. By contrast, under MagicMac sometimes programs load
so fast I attempt to re load them because I miss the signs that something
happened! If I could get a decent telecom program to function in MagicMac
without getting those nasty memory address exceptions, I probably would just
boot straight into MM and forget I even had a Mac!
Looking forward to a demo (or at least progress reports) on that program you
are developing, sounds mighty interesting!"
Richard Brown adds a few thoughts:
"Let us not forget: though the Tramiels "sold out" Atari users in the U.S.
years ago by never intending to compete with Mac/DOS, now that Atari has
become a hard drive company, this is hardly the end of Atari computing. I run
Atari PRGS on a Mac PPC 9500 via MagiCMac, the Atari OS of the future, and
will tell you flat out, that Atari computing is not only NOT dead, but
MagiCMac additionally outperforms my 9500 by 400-500%, in some cases 10-20x
faster, which is to say, this "Mactari" thing, hands down, ALWAYS
outperforms the Mac. I have another, longish post on this in the "Atari
forum shrinking" topic. Read it!
MagiCMac is so vastly superior that we chose it as our OS for a new piece of
software my company is producing for the movie business. We will not only do
a "test drive" vs. Macintosh and Windows 95 or NT (including the DEC Alpha
versions like the Raptor) and ANY competing product, but due to
nonrestrictive coding, my software will, feature by feature, embarass and
outperform them - easily.
Atari, as a company, is a moot point. Who cares? It's simply fortunate that
the Tramiels were unable to kill the OS, given all they've tried.
Of course, on the Mac, MagiCMac is further a saving grace. Finally, some room
to breath in a backwards, closed system."
Patrick Wong tells Richard:
"I just read your very interesting post. May I ask what is it that your
software does so well on MagicMac and what does the program do for motion
pictures or the industry? Also does that mean your software will also run on
the STs?"
There hasn't been any reply from Richard as of yet, but when there is, I'll
let you know what he has to say. I know that many of us are interested in
the particulars. On the subject of Falcon030 upgrades from C-LAB, "Ben" from
TOC Oz posts:
"Mark X, and Mark X upgrades will be shipping in about 4 weeks. The Mark X
(for eXpandable) is a significant milestone in the history of the Falcon.
The Mark X sets the standard for the Falcon to be the machine we always
wanted it to be ! ,and the Mark X upgrade paths, give Falcon owners the
chance to bring their Falcon up to a standard ! The Mark X is basically a
Falcon MK I/MK II in a desktop style case, with a AT/XT style keyboard. The
case is designed with front panel blanks to house a floppy, and a SCSI
device, such as a removable, or C.D. ROM. The case also has enough internal
space to house 3 1/2" SCSI drives up to 2Gb, PLUS there is enough space to
internally mount expansions, and peripherals, such as S/PDIF interface, Adat
interface, 8 out , BlowUp hardware etc. All the expansions' connectors are
available on the back panel, making interfacing a breeze ! Upgrade path :
Atari Falcon 030; depending on the age, and condition of the machine :-
(serial no's before 432xx... may be too expensive to update.)
Basic bug fixes, and audio mods. -> C-LAB Falcon MK I
Falcon MK I + internal SCSI mod. -> C-LAB Falcon MK II
Falcon MK II + case & expansions -> C-LAB Falcon MK X
This is a simplified view there are also other engineering mods, such as the
power supply, and the new European standards for computers. (similar to the
FCC rules.) etc. Also doing a TOS update, CODEC update, RAM upgrade etc.
will be cheaper if all done at once in the upgrade.
O.K. new hardware from 3rd party : SoundPool :- Adat interface, 8 tracks
to/from adat in digital. Can also be used as a digital mix to 2 tracks for
adat.
Sunrise Electronics :- 8 in / 8 out analogue, broadcast quality interface,
balanced TRS connectors. status LED's etc.
Titan Designs :- New accelerator to complement their release of Apex V3.
In the music dept. the above devices are going to set the Falcon in front of
the digital music workstation pack. Except for the U.S.(where Macs are
cheep.) no other system will be able to match features for price ;-)
For anyone who can get there, the Frankfurt Music show is on from the 17th of
March. C-LAB, and SoundPool will have their own stands, and Sunrise will be
showing with C-LAB. They would love your support ! BTW good luck Mark Warner
with the SAC expo!"
Clay Moore asks:
"Can any one who owns a falcon tell me if it can use a 28.8k baud modem? If
so can anyone who is using one, tell me what brand and what software they
use? also...can someone let me copy a falcon manual?"
Marc Grun tells Clay:
"There should be no problem using a 28.8k baud modem on your Falcon. I have a
Trust AE2814(but normally every brand would do nice) hooked up to mine and
it works perfectly.
To get maximum compatibility you should use a little patch program thats
called HSMODEM (version 4 or 6). This is a non commercial programm. I use a
german shareware connection programm that's called CONNECT (version 2.46).
With this configuration I never had any problem to get online.
Hope I could help you."
George Landress asks:
"Can anyone tell me how I can direct access the internet with my atari ste?"
Mark Kelling tells George:
"There is a program in the telecom Lib here called STiK/CAB (File is
WWW116.zip last time I looked, you can search with WWW to find it.) which is
a full fledged Web browser package. You do need an Internet provider with
SLIP connection capabilities. Unfortunately, CIS only allows PPP web
connections. People have had various levels of success getting the thing to
work, but when it does it is great!"
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Rob Huggins about an amazing little shareware
program called Pinhead:
"Pinhead is an excellent utility that can save you a lot of time waiting for
programs to load on your ST, depending on how much memory you have.
The original TOS routines ALWAYS clear ALL memory when loading a program,
including any small Auto Folder programs. That means, if you have a maxxed-
out 4 Meg ST, that every time the system loads a 1K file, the operating
system clears all 4 Megs of RAM. When you're loading a series of small files
in succession, as when booting up your computer, this can add up to quite a
lot of wasted time waiting for the computer to uselessly clear memory it's
already cleared several times.
Pinhead, the work of the CodeHead wizards, changes all that so the system
only clears enough memory to load the program you're working with.
It can make quite a difference in the amount of time it takes to reboot your
ST.
I really doubt Pinhead would have anything to do with the problem you're
having, but temporarially renaming it to PINHEAD.PR would disable its
loading, and help determine what's happening."
Simon Churchill tells Rob:
"Well, you have the maximum 6 accessorie slot's filled, all seems normal.
Double click TOS 1.4 button fixer, Atari standard control panel, Dctopper?
Hmm, pass, sound's harmless, Ram disk (I think - rattrap, I'm guessing here
from memory so point's out of ten), Stmiro? Game? Pass, Software
Accelerator to finish the bunch.
The only other thought I had and it seemed dam stupid was, Has a special boot
sector been placed on the drive forceing a medium resolution? This should
be quite obviouse as the mode should change before the AUTO Program's even
start to run. Ie there install messages apear.
Otherwise, it's rename all Acc to Acx and all Auto Prg to Prx and starting
the system and slowly adding each file one at a time so it boot's and see
what happen's when you reboot. However, if everything is disabled and the
medium boot's continue (Even when you try to change to low) then it's not
the booting software.
Another quick try, rename desktop.inf to desktop.inx and reboot, if you got
medium res disable everything then reboot again and see what happen's, if
you got low res then your part way there.
Hope this add's to your tried and failed list."
Chuck Bridgeland posts:
"I have a small SCSI hard drive here--a 40MB Conner CP3040 that had been
running fine attached to my (now ailing and retired) Atari ST using an ICD
AdACSI Plus ST host adaptor. I got a wild idea the other day: to hook the
drive up to an IBM compatable and if I could read it to back up the files to
tape and free the drive up for other uses.
I first attached it to the SCSI interface (SCSI 1 but Mediavision says it
will support SCSI 2 devices) on my "Proaudio" sound card (an NEC card OEMed
by Mediavision). I knew this wouldn't work under MSDOS (third part driver
software needed), but I figured there was half a chance the OS/2 SCSI
software could handle it. What OS/2's FDISK saw was 7 40MB drives, none
with partitions.
Next I took the drive in to work and connected it to a Seagate ST01SCSI host
adaptor (old 8 bit SCSI 1, max of 2 hard drives). This card returns "2 SCSI
drives found" and I still can't find any existing partitions.
Next I tried connecting it to a more current card, an Adaptec 1510,and
loading the ASPI driver. The Adaptec software reported seeing 8 (!) Conner
CP3040 drives.
The drive is properly terminated, the cable is known to be good and the drive
worked the last time I tried it on the Atari. I did try changing the SCSI
ID of the drive.
I realize I may I'm likly not ever be able to see the ST data with the drive
attached to a clone. What I'm wondering is why the host adaptors I've tried
this with are seeing more than one drive.
Anyone got any idea what's happening here?"
Andreas Rosenberg tells Chuck:
"I'm no SCSI expert, but I'm using SCSI drives with Ataris and PC clones for
some time and I know that you need to disable parity checking for drives
that are connected to Ataris. But most SCSI controllers for clones have
parity checking enabled. Another problem might be the cable. On power on the
SCSI host adaptor looks for available devices by sending a special signal
through each data wire. If a device is connected at the corresponding id, it
answers by pulling the wire to ground (if I remember right). So if the cable
is bad (or badly connected), the controller might see the same device 7
times. Another problem could be Logical Units: Your old SCSI drive might not
be 100% SCSI conform and says it consists of 7 or 8 logical units. You could
try to disable logical unit support at the PC host adaptor.
Even if you manage to eliminate the mentioned problems, your data is not
available. Atari uses a different format for the partition table than PC
clones. So your Atari partition(s) will not be recognized by any PC based
operating system."
Tom Harker at ICD (Incredibly Cool Devices) tells Chuck:
"The early Conner 20 and 40MB drives were very flakey. We had loads of
problems with them when they came out on the Stacy. We took a big effort to
make them work properly with our products. Perhaps Adaptec and Mediavision
didn't care enough about these drives and told Conner to get their act
together if they wanted to work with their host adapters. (Just an educated
guess.)
PS You won't be able to read the ST data on a PC any way without first
formatting the drive on a PC and keeping the part size under 32MB."
While Tom is "on the line" Beth Jane Freeman tells him:
"I think my ICD Host Adapter has bit the dust. I would like to send it back
to you for repair or replacement (whichever you think is best). I sent you
some "snail mail" about it, but I haven't received a reply. Maybe you're
snowed under with mail. We've been snowed under with SNOW! <GRIN> (in New
York).
Please let me know when and how to ship my Host Adapter back to you at your
earliest convenience."
Tom tells Beth:
"Sorry but we are behind on snail mail. It normally is slow in turning
around by its nature but we were also closed for 2 weeks during Feburary
while soaking up sun in Florida. (mmmm)
If it is an STHA or 90107 (older classic) it is not worth fixing. We have a
box of these that were reconditioned that we sell for $50 each.
If it is a newer AdSCSI model host adapter we repair them for $50 plus $8
S&H. Same for the Link 2 host adapter.
Just send it in... you don't need an RMA. The address has not changed for 11
years."
Beth tells Tom:
"Thanks so much for your prompt reply. You lucky ducks soaking up the sun in
Florida. I hope you didn't get too much (i.e. a sunburn).
I will send you my AdSCSI host adapter via UPS as soon as I can. I'll be
enclosing a check for $58 to cover the costs of shipping and repair. It's
so easy to get used to having a hard drive, the capacity, speed, and
reliability. It's so frustrating not to be able to access the information
I've stored there."
Well folks, that's about all for this week. 'Till we meet again next time
remember to keep your chin up (especially helpful when you're eating soup),
and always remember to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
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THE REST OF THE SCANNING WORLD
WHEN IT COMES TO RELEASING WINDOWS95
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STR OnLine! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" March 08, 1996
Since 1987 Copyrightc1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1210
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