ST Report: 25-Sep-98 #1431
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 10/11/98-08:44:01 AM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 25-Sep-98 #1431
Date: Sun Oct 11 08:44:01 1998
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September 25, 1998 No.1431
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"Often Imitated, Never Surpassed!"
- NT 5.0 Set For Early - Compaq To Use Alpha - Infoseek's Express
Takeoff? Chip Arrives
- EA Ships Madden '99 - Free Internet - Radar/Antenna Tower
Service-U.K.
- Virtual University - Two Best-Selling PCs - Giga-PCs - The
Virtually Empty Millennium
- The Check Is Still In - AMD Chip=Cheaper - BattleSphere in Limbo
The Mail... Laptops
MS - 1.5 Million Win98 Upgrades Sold
Lotus Attacks MS in Mail Market
Hatch Advises FTC To Be Careful
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From the Editor's Desk...
Thank heavens, Georges is away from here. Now on to the crux of the
times... Heard about the new "Wind-Up Doll?? You know, the one where
you wind it up and it bleats; "Don't do what I do do what I say..."
Its name is the GOP Party Doll. Gingrich and all his buddies are
looking absolutely like the fools of the court they are. Gingrich is
trying so hard to be a statesman its almost hilarious. About the only
thing he can really brag about is his weight loss. Other than that, he
is still a slimeball who got caught breaking the rules and was nailed
by Hyde's committee to the tune of censure and a three hundred thousand
dollar fine. Which by the way, was paid for by a loan made to Newt by
his Republican buddy, Bob Dole. So Newt wants to stand there
"mouthing off" about "its too soon to make a deal" and "why should
there be a deal". I agree there should be no deal until after the
elections because of the manner in which the Republicans are acting
now, they'll blow these elections "Big Time". Besides, it'll be
interesting to watch all the dirt come out as the electioneering gets
hot and heavy.
Watch the feathers and fur fly when the gotchas about the Senate and
House pages and the politicos "playtime" starts to leak out. While we
think about all this garbage.... let's think about Monica's keeping a
semen soiled and stained dress for over six months without cleaning the
darn thing and of course about Monica baby's "friend" Linda Tripp.....
Now, there's a number if there ever was one. This lump looks like she
hates the world because of the hand fate dealt her. Its very sad.. but
one thing I'll interject here... Someone ought to tell Kenny Starr you
cannot BREAK the LAW trying to ENFORCE the LAW! Dearies... (or, is
that Drearies <g>) this is very dangerous. REAL dangerous... it
smacks of Himmler and his tactics. I pray that the entire story comes
out about the Monica Lewensky and Linda Tripp "Tijuana Dog and Pony"
Show. Then, by golly, you'll see some heads roll. Guaranteed mostly,
members of the GOP.
ps; is that Monica Lewdensky or just plain Monica "the garden tool"?
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Judge To Consider Microsoft Testimony Request Later
A federal judge told Microsoft that once its landmark antitrust trial
begins on Oct. 15, he will consider the company's request to limit the
breadth of testimony, but not now. With that, District Judge Thomas
Penfield Jackson turned down Microsoft's motion to narrow testimony.
Jackson had previously told the company that he had a broader view of the
case than it does. The Justice Department and 20 states have alleged that
Microsoft's 90 percent share of the market for operating system software
to run personal computers amounts to a monopoly, and that the company
illegally abused the power from that monopoly.
Microsoft lawyers argued that the charges are narrowly focused on
allegations that it abused monopoly power by tying its Internet Explorer
browser to the Windows 98 operating system. Microsoft has sought to block
government lawyers from offering evidence related to companies, including
Apple Computer Inc., Intel Corp., RealNetworks Inc. and Sun Microsystems
Inc. During the hearing, David Boies argued for the government that the
evidence would be offered during the trial to show the "state of mind" of
those in Microsoft. But John Warden, arguing for Microsoft, said that the
judge should use a narrower legal standard so that t he government could
bring in only evidence that demonstrated a "pattern and practice" by the
company in preparation for the specific illegal acts alleged. Jackson
said it was premature to rule either way and he would consider the
relevance of evidence as it is brought up at trial.
U.S. Says Microsoft Depositions Should Be Opened
The Justice Department argued that depositions by Microsoft CEO Bill
Gates and other executives in the government's antitrust case against the
software giant should be made public. A similar brief was filed by a
group of news organizations, including The New York Times, Reuters and
Bloomberg. The Justice Department brought suit against Microsoft in May,
charging it violated antitrust laws by unfairly leveraging a monopoly in
software operating systems for personal computers.
Gates gave testimony on Aug. 27 in preparation for the trial, which is
set for Oct. 15. Several news organizations, including Reuters, asked to
be present at the depositions under a federal law, the Publicity in
Taking Evidence Act. That act requires depositions to be open in
antitrust cases brought by the government. A federal judge ruled that the
law required that the depositions be open, but an appellate court
overturned the judge pending arguments in the case.
The Justice Department argued Tuesday that tapes and transcripts of the
depositions must be opened, except for proprietary materials. Microsoft
has argued that Congress did not include "discovery depositions," which
are to find new evidence , but only meant to require the opening of
depositions held in place of live court testimony. In its brief, the
Justice Department argued that in some instances the depositions will be
used in place of live court testimony and, in any event, the law is
broader than Microsoft contends.
The news organizations argued that Microsoft incorrectly tried to attach
special meaning to the word deposition. "In the 85 years since (the law
was passed) ... all three branches of the federal government have
consistently expressed the understanding that, absent specific
legislation to the contrary, the act applies to all depositions," the
news organizations argued.
Lotus Attacks MS in Mail Market
The battle between Microsoft Corp. and Lotus Development Corp. for
corporate messaging seats is escalating into a price war. In what company
officials are terming as their "most aggressive move to date," Lotus
unveiled Tuesday a promotion offering companies a 30 percent discount if
they dump competing messaging platforms in favor of its Notes and Domino
platforms. The offer, called "Trade Up to Lotus Messaging," clearly is
aimed at Microsoft's Exchange platform, but it also applies to such
products as Banyan Systems Inc.'s Banyan Mail, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s HP
OpenMail, Netscape Communications Corp.'s Netscape Mail and Novell Inc.'s
Groupwise.
The promotion is building upon a similar Lotus deal, in which it offers
its cc:Mail customers an upgrade to the Notes messaging platform. "The
timing seemed right for this move," said Glenn Matsuda, director of
product marketing for Notes. "When we started talking to our customers
about upgrading from cc:Mail to Notes, a lot of them said they were using
multiple e-mail platforms but would like to consolidate on one. We're
jumping on the opportunity." Lotus is the long-running king of the
messaging hill, but it has watched Microsoft quickly erode its lead.
Surveys show that, for the first time, Microsoft gained more new
corporate seats in the first half of 1998 than Lotus.
Analysts expect Lotus will regain the lead once it releases its
next-generation R5 Notes and Domino products, which are being designed
around a Web browser-style interface. At the Lotusphere conference in
Berlin this week, the company restated that the commercial version of R5
will be released before the end of the year.
Hatch Advises FTC To Be Careful On Intel Case
Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch said that the Federal Trade
Commission needs to be "careful" as it pursues Intel Corp. for alleged
violations of antitrust law. Hatch, a Utah Republican, dwelled mostly on
potential violations of antitrust law by Microsoft Corp. in a speech to a
conference sponsored by Summit Magazine. Hatch has been a strong defender
of the Justice Department's pursuit of Microsoft for alleged violations
of antitrust law. But he took a different tack on Intel Corp., the
world's largest producer of microprocessors for personal computers. Most
personal computers use Microsoft's software and Intel's chips. Hatch said
that there is a tension between intellectual property rights and
antitrust law which is "at the heart of the FTC's current Intel case."
On June 8 the FTC alleged that Intel had violated antitrust law by
denying three of its customers -- Digit al Equipment Corp., Intergraph
Corp and Compaq Computer Corp (CPQ - news) -- technical information they
needed to develop computer systems based on Intel microprocessors. The
FTC alleged that when the three tried to enforce their patents, Intel
"retaliated by cutting off the n ecessary technical information and
threatening to cut off the supply of microprocessors." The FTC said Intel
holds a monopoly on microprocessors for PCs, while Intel said it does
not.
Hatch cautioned that the "FTC and antitrust enforcers generally should be
rather certain that any effort t o enforce intellectual property rights
both is intended to and actually will injure competition in a significant
way, before concluding that it represents monopolistic behavior." The
Intel case is set to be heard before an administrative law judge early
next year. An FTC spokeswoman had no comments on Hatch's remarks.
AMD's New Chips May Mean Lower Notebook Prices
As expected, Computer chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has
introduced a new 300-megahertz speed microprocessor for mobile computers
that promises to reduce the price of notebook PCs significantly. The new
AMD K6/300 chip generates less heat and uses less power than a comparable
desktop PC chip. Although it has fewer graphics processing features than
a 300-megahertz Pentium II mobile computer chip made by archrival Intel
Corp., the AMD chip is more price-competitive, a spokesman said. The AMD
chip costs $229 per chip in volume, about one-third less than the Intel
Pentium II 300-megahertz chip. As the AMD chip is adopted by computer
makers, this should translate into lower notebook prices for the
consumer.
Meanwhile, Compaq Computer Corp. is rolling out several new Presario
computers, including two price-competitive "minitowers" and new notebook
models.The company said its minitower personal computers -- the Presario
5150 and 5170 -- are priced below models with less advanced features from
rivals Dell Computer Corp. and Gateway Inc. The new Compaq models come in
minitower format, allowing the central processing unit to be hidden away
under desks. They feature state-of-the-art digital technologies,
one-touch access to the Internet, electronic mail, and secure online
shopping. The Presario 5150 is based on an AMD 350-megahertz
microprocessor and is priced at $1,199.
The 5170 runs Intel Corp.'s Pentium II 350-megahertz chip and is priced
at $1,499. The list prices reflect a $100 rebate that Compaq offers to
customers who accept the company's offer of a 50-hour free trial of its
Compaq Easy Internet Access service. Compaq also said it had redesigned
its Presario 1200 consumer notebook line with new high-performance sound
and graphics. It said its Presario 1250 is the first computer to feature
a new line of high-performance microprocessors optimized for notebooks
built by AMD. The computer features AMD's mobile 300-megahertz K6
processor and is priced at $2,400, including the Internet rebate.
Microsoft Says 1.5 Million Windows 98 Upgrades Sold
Microsoft Corp., the No. 1 software company, said it had sold more than
1.5 million upgrades of its Windows 98 operating system for personal
computers since it was launched on June 25. The company, which has more
than 85 percent of the market for PC operating systems, said demand for
Windows 98 has been stronger than expected in Japan, even though the
country is mired in a recession. In the first two days Windows 98 was on
sale, the Redmond, Washington-based company said more than 250,000 retail
upgrade units of the program had been bought.
Not only is customer demand for Windows 98 better than expected, but the
sale of peripherals and hardware related to Windows 98 has exceeded
forecasts, Microsoft said. "Windows 98 has undoubtedly provided a boost
to the home PC industry in Japan," said Rei Suzuki, senior ex ecutive
vice president, marketing and sales group for Sofmap Co., Ltd. On
Tuesday, Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer Bob Herbold said sales of
the company's Windows 98 remained "slightly ahead" of the unit pace set
by Windows 95, which was launched into a far smaller installed base.
Without providing further specifics, he said the company had shipped more
than 1.5 million copies of the upgrade since its launch on June 25.
Retailers sold more than three million copies of Windows 95 in its first
five weeks on the market. Herbold also said the software company had
licensed more than 150 million copies of all 32-bit operating s ystems,
including Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT. He made the comments at
the NationsBanc Montgomery Securities investment conference in San
Francisco.
Microsoft NT 5.0 Readied For Early Takeoff?
Code name clues and developer promises point to the possibility of a
spring launch for NT 5.0. Office pool participants and top market
researchers may have NT 5.0 pegged for a year 2000 launch, but Microsoft
Corp. has begun telling its development partners that all signals are go
for a Q1 1999 delivery. The shift in Microsoft's NT 5.0 timetable is just
the latest in a series of delivery promises and date misses. Last week at
the Intel Developers Forum in Palm Springs, Calif., Microsoft officials
said NT 5.0 Beta 3 could hit by Thanksgiving, with final code delivery
possible 12 to 15 weeks after that, according to conference attendees.
That would create the possibility of a late Q1 or early Q2 launch.
Most industry watchers have been predicting Beta 3 won't be ready for
testing until mid-1999, with final NT 5.0 delivery slated for late 1999.
GartnerGroup issued a report earlier this summer that predicted NT 5.0
will not launch until sometime in the year 2000. Gartner has been telling
its clients for nearly a yearto hold off on NT deployments until they
have dealt with Year 2000 bugs and Euro currency conversion changes,
suggesting most IT shops would do well to wait until NT 5.0 Service Pack
1 hits before moving to the new operating system.
Publicly, Microsoft officials are continuing to caution developers,
resellers and customers not to expect NT 5.0 to be commercially available
for another year at the earliest. But privately, Microsoft started
telling developers two weeks ago that Beta 3 could make it out by
Thanksgiving, with release candidates for the final product showing up by
next spring. "The information you hear about Microsoft trying to get NT
5.0 out early is true," said one Microsoft development partner, who
requested anonymity. "They've told developers we need to have our final
NT 5.0 products done by March 1."
Microsoft officials refused to comment on any changes in the NT 5.0
timetable. A spokesperson said that Microsoft continued to hold to the
party line that NT 5.0 will ship when it's ready. However, there are
other signs that NT 5.0 could be closer than expected. For one, code
names and promises for post-NT 5.0 technologies have begun leaking en
masse from Microsoft. Some see the early appearance of information on the
next round of Microsoft operating system and BackOffice products as
little more than the usual vaporware creep. But other industry watchers
are interpreting the spread of information on these next-generation
products as a sign that NT 5.0 may be closer than many think.
Microsoft has begun selectively spreading the word to its reseller and
developer partners about NT 5.0 service pack 1, code named Asteroid; NT
6.0, code-named Janus; SNA Server 3.0, code-named Babylon; Proxy Server
3.0, code-named Comet; and a future user-interface prototype technology,
which could be integrated into NT 6.0 Consumer or a later release,
code-named Neptune. According to current timetables, Babylon and Comet
both could go into early beta test before the end of this year, according
to reseller sources.
"Microsoft is about to wire down some of the capabilities of the future
releases," said a source close to the company who requested anonymity.
"That will happen over the next few months. Today, many piece projects
(e.g., forms, storage, graphics, programming model, etc.) are all
underway, but they are not tied to a delivery vehicle yet." Microsoft
last week paved the groundwork for resellers to be able to provide
services and support for NT 5.0 Beta 3 by starting to ship its NT 5.0
Channel Readiness Kit to 25,000 VARs, integrators and other partners.
Microsoft also is putting the finishing touches on new NT 5.0 training
curriculum materials due to ship later this month. The NT 5.0 Channel
Readiness Kit includes information on NT 4.0-to-5.0 migration planning
and training options, as well as NT 5.0 beta 2 software; deployment aids
and relevant white papers.
While Microsoft has declined consistently to provide any timing details
for Beta 3, officials have promised it will go to far more than the
nearly 300,000 customers and partners who received Beta 2 in August. In
fact, anyone willing to pay for CD shipping and handling will be able to
get NT 5.0 Beta 3, officials have said.
Clinton Backs Y2K Information Exchange Bill
President Bill Clinton has asked Congress to waste no time in passing
legislation unveiled this week that would allow companies to share
information about fixing computers unable to handle dates beginning with
year 2000. "I urge Congress to act quickly to approve this critical
legislation before the end of the session so I can sign it into law,"
Clinton said in a statement. "If it is not enacted this session, we will
miss an important opportunity to help our nation prepare its computer
systems for the new millennium." The legislation, backed by a bipartisan
group of senators, is intended to help break the silence by businesses
and others and encourage greater disclosure of plans to wipe out the
dreaded "millennium bug." The bill would not provide liability protection
for failures that may arise from so-called Year 2000 problems related
to older systems programmed to read only the last two digits of years --
nor does the measure remove liability for selling products or services
that fail to work. "This bill's protections are limited to those that are
necessary to encourage greater information sharing," Clinton said. The
bill was also warmly received by a number of influential groups, such as
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers
and the National Governors' Association.
Infoseek's Express Arrives
Infoseek Corp. Tuesday launched Express -- a desktop-based search tool
that draws results from several search engines, including such
competitors as Excite Inc. and HotBot. Express pulls into the station
during Infoseek's transition to a new business model. As part of joint
venture Go Network, with Walt Disney Co., Infoseek will back away from
its plans to build its brand as an all-around Internet hub and focus on
search and directory services. "Infoseek's core competency is search, and
we're concentrating on that," said Bill Rose, general manager of desktop
products for Infoseek. "Having a desktop product is part of that."
Express will be downloadable from Infoseek's site, as well as from any of
150 distribution partners, including Broderbund Software, USA Today and
TV Guide. Each partner-distributed version will be stamped with the
partner's brand and will include links to the partner's content. Once
installed, Express alters the appearance of the Web browser to include a
button in the interface. Users hit the button to go to Express, which
operates just like a Web page. But since the machinery of the tool runs
on the user's desktop, it is faster and has more features than would be
possible on a Web site.
Infoseek will run ads on Express to pay for the service. When users click
on results from another search engine they will see the ads from that
search engine, as a trade-off for Infoseek's use of the results. "We have
a standard for our own search, that if people use our results, we demand
they show our ads," Rose said. "We're just keeping that policy with this
product." Infoseek cites research that states 75 percent of users
generally use more than one search engine to find the information they
want, while 25 percent use multiple search engines for the same query.
Virtual University Virtually Empty
Just 10 students have enrolled in the Western Governors University since
the Internet-based school spanning 17 states opened its virtual doors
this month. The school is still processing 75 applications. WGU spokesman
Jeff Xouris said enrollment has been snarled by problems - computer
problems. Officials had set an enrollment goal of 1,000 by the end of
this term. "It would have been great to have a massive enrollment when we
first (opened), but we're finding students want to know more ... they
want to find out about the university, how it works," said Jeff Edwards,
WGU's director of marketing. "It's a real new idea."
The idea for a virtual university came out of a Western Governors
Association meeting three years ago as a way of serving sparsely
populated areas at a low cost. WGU has a staff of about 20 working in
Denver and Salt Lake City and has raised $9.5 million in public and
private funds so far. It does not offer any of its own classes, but acts
as a broker for Internet and television classes provided by existing
schools, who charge whatever they want.
The university has not received accreditation and currently offers only
two-year associate of arts degrees. In addition to the Internet classes,
WGU offers competency-based degrees which will be awarded to students who
pass WGU's tests. There are no requirements that any classes be taken.
That is one of the reasons for the slow enrollment, Edwards said.
Students want to talk to WGU advisers to learn more about how to get a
degree, not just take a few courses.
Hackers Become Security Consultants
The hacker calling himself Mudge pushed his long hair back, scratched his
beard and stared at the computer screen. He knew there was something
wrong with the data traffic he was watching, but what was it? A week
earlier, Mudge and his fellow hackers in their hangout known as the L0pht
- pronounced "loft" - had acquired some software that was supposed to let
computers talk to each other in code. But as Mudge watched the data he
realized someone else was doing the same and maybe even decoding it,
which shouldn't happen.
"So you are saying that you're using DES to communicate between the
computers?" Mudge recalled asking representatives of the software maker.
Yes, they said, they were using DES, a standard encryption method that
for years was considered virtually uncrackable. But this wasn't DES,
thought Mudge. It's almost as if... whoa. He blinked and felt the
adrenaline kick in. This wasn't secure at all. In fact, the encoding was
only slightly more complex than the simple cyphers kids did in grade
school - where "A" is set to 1, "B" is set to 2, and so on.
The company was selling this software as a secure product, charging
customers up to $10,000. And yet, it had a security hole big enough to
waltz through. Instead of exploiting this knowledge, Mudge confronted the
company. "You realize there isn't any secure or 'strong' encoding being
used in your communications between the computers, don't you?" he asked.
"Well..." "And that you claimed you were using DES to encrypt the data,"
he stressed. "That will go in the next revision."
Mudge is a "real" hacker - one who used to snoop around the nation's
electronic infrastructure for the sheer love of knowing how it worked.
His kind today are sighted about as often as the timberwolf, and society
has attached to them the same level of legend. Like the wolf, they were
once considered a scourge. Law enforcement and telecommunication
companies investigated and arrested many of them during the late 1980s
and early '90s.
Today, many elite hackers of the pas are making a go at legitimate work,
getting paid big bucks by Fortune 500 companies to explore computer
networks and find the weak spots. And none too soon. The void left by the
old hackers has been filled by a new, more destructive generation. So
today, Mudge - who uses a pseudonym like others in the hacker community,
a world where anonymity keeps you out of trouble - wears a white hat. As
part of L0pht, the hacker think tank, he and six comrades hole up in a
South End loft space in Boston and spend their evenings peeling open
software and computer networks to see how they work.
When they find vulnerabilities in supposedly secure systems, they publish
their findings on the World Wide Web in hopes of embarrassing the
companies into fixing the problems. A recent example: They posted notice
via the Internet of a problem that makes Lotus Notes vulnerable to
malicious hackers. A Lotus spokesman said the company was aware of the
flaw but it was extremely technical and unlikely to affect anyone.
The hackers at L0pht have made enemies among industry people, but they
command respect. They were even called to testify before the U.S. Senate
Committee on Governmental Affairs in May. Why do they publish what they
find? "If that information doesn't get out," Mudge replies, "then only
the bad guys will have it." The "bad guys" are the hacker cliche:
secretive teen-age boys lurking online, stealing credit card numbers,
breaking into Pentagon systems, and generally causing trouble. One of
L0pht's members, Kingpin, was just such a cad when he was younger,
extending his online shenanigans to real-world breaking and entering.
Today, L0pht keeps him out of mischief, he said. "We're like midnight
basketball for hackers," said Weld Pond, another member.
Malicious hacking seems to be on the rise.
Nearly two out of three companies reported unauthorized use of their
computer systems in the past year, according to a study by the Computer
Security Institute and the FBI. Another study, from Software AG Americas,
said 7 percent of companies reported a "very serious" security breach,
and an additional 16 percent reported "worrisome" breaches. However, 72
percent said the intrusions were relatively minor with no damage.
American companies spent almost $6.3 billion on computer security last
year, according to research firm DataQuest. The market is expected to
grow to $13 billion by 2000. Government computers are vulnerable, too.
The Defense Department suffered almost 250,000 hacks in 1995, the General
Accounting Office reported. Most were detected only long after the
attack. This is why business booms for good-guy hackers.
Jeff Moss, a security expert with Secure Computing Inc., runs a
$995-a-ticket professional conference for network administrators, where
hackers-cum-consultants mingle with military brass and CEOs. "I don't
feel like a sellout," said Moss, who wouldn't elaborate on his hacking
background. "People used to do this because they were really into it. Now
you can be into it and be paid."
News reports show why such services are needed:
* Earlier this month, hackers struck the Web site of The New York
Times, forcing the company to shutter it for hours. Spokeswoman
Nancy Nielsen said the break-in was being treated as a crime, not a
prank. The FBI's computer crime unit was investigating.
* This spring, two California teen-agers were arrested for trying to
hack the Pentagon's computers. Israeli teen Ehud Tenebaum, a k a
"The Analyzer," said he mentored the two on how to do it. The two
Cloverdale, Calif., youths pleaded guilty in late July and were
placed on probation.
* Kevin Mitnick, the only hacker to make the FBI's Ten Most Wanted
list, was arrested in 1995, accused of stealing 20,000 credit card
numbers. He remains in prison. A film called "TakeDown," about the
electronic sleuthing that led to Mitnick's capture, is in the works.
Comments protesting Mitnick's prosecution were left during the hack
of the New York Times Web site.
* In 1994, Vladimir Levin, a graduate of St. Petersburg
Tekhnologichesky University, allegedly masterminded a Russian hacker
gang and stole $10 million from Citibank computers. A year later, he
was arrested by Interpol at Heathrow airport in London.
* "Lemme tell ya," growled Mark Abene one night over Japanese steak
skewers. "Kids these days, they got no respect for their elders."
Abene, known among fellow hackers as Phiber Optik, should know. He
was one of those no-account kids in the 1980s when he discovered
telephones and computers. For almost 10 years, he wandered freely
through the nation's telephone computer systems and, oh, the things
he did and saw.
* Celebrities' credit reports were his for the taking. Unlimited free
phone calls from pilfered long-distance calling card numbers.
Private phone lines for his buddies, not listed anywhere. And the
arcane knowledge of trunk lines, switches, the entire glory of the
network that connected New York City to the rest of the world.
But Abene's ticket to ride was canceled in January 1994, when, at age 22,
he entered Pennsylvania's Schuylkill Prison to begin serving a
year-and-a-day sentence for computer trespassing. The FBI and the Secret
Service described him as a menace. The sentencing judge said Abene, as a
spokesman for the hacking community, would be made an example.
And yet, to many in the digital community, Abene's offenses amounted to
unbridled curiosity. He was just a kid poking around, doing what teen-age
boys do, going to places they're told to avoid. "Phree Phiber Optik" pins
appeared. Many felt Abene embodied the hacker ethic espoused by his
friend and fellow hacker, Paul Stira: "Thou Shalt Not Destroy."
With black hair parted in the middle and falling to the center of his
back, a thin beard ringing his mouth, the 26-year-old Abene still looks
like a mischievous kid. Hacking, he said, is hardwired in boys. When they
play with toys when they're young, they break them, then try to figure
out how the parts fit back together. He added, "For some of us, it just
never goes away."
Still, the hackers of the 1980s and early '90s have grown up. Some got
busted, others simply graduated from college and fell out of the scene.
Today, many want to be seen as mainstream, said Jeremy Rauch, a network
security expert for Secure Computing Inc. When it's time to talk
consulting contracts with major corporations, the hair gets neatly
combed, the suit replaces the combat boots and black T-shirt, and the
counterculture rhetoric gets toned down. A hacker in San Francisco who
edits the online publication Phrack and goes by the pseudonym Route talks
about his job at a security firm as a sign of maturity. Contentedly, he
notes he can work from home, write as much code as he can and never punch
a clock.
"Are there still hackers out there?" asked Mike Godwin, counsel for the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, a cyber-rights group. In the early 1990s,
he pushed hard for the EFF to champion Abene and other members of the
cyber gang Masters of Deception. By 1993, he said, hysteria surrounding
hackers began to sputter, to be replaced by a fear of pornography. "There
never were very many hackers," he said, not major ones, anyway. Mainly,
they were and are "this tiny minority of 13- to 18-year-olds who learned
how to make toll-calls for free." Today's younger hackers pull programs
off the Web that sniff for passwords and unlock backdoors automatically.
It's the equivalent of rattling every door on a street and finally
getting lucky, chancing upon one that's unlocked.
As for the true hackers of the first generation, Godwin said: "These guys
are genuinely smart and genuinely have a fascination with the technology.
And they're mostly harmless." What do younger hackers say to all this?
Not much, if you judge by interviews at DefCon6.0, the sixth annual
hacker forum and party held in Las Vegas at the end of July. Some said
they hack to learn. Others took a counter-culture stance: hacking as
civil disobedience. They wouldn't give names or talk specifically about
any criminal activities. It was as if they wanted to present themselves
as blank slates, upon which the fears of their on-wired elders could be
inscribed. At DefCon, they set off stink bombs at one point, and pulled
other juvenile pranks.
"Paging Mr. Mtinick," the intercom droned through the hotel-casino's
meeting rooms. The unwitting hotel staff member repeated the call for the
jailed hacker. "Paging Mr. Kevin Mitnick." Pony-tailed guys dressed in
black smirked. Gotcha. As hard house and techno music provided a sound
track, they drooled over new software and pawed through piles of stuff
for sale: computer equipment, of course, but also more books on
conspiracy, privacy protection, and police methods than any paranoid
could want.
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
[Image]
Edupage
Contents
Hatch Warns FTC To Handle Intel Case Judge Rejects Microsoft Request
With Care To Limit Testimony
WebTV May Fade Out In Two Years-Says Universities Push Professors To
Dataquest Retain Copyrights
Computer Companies Back Digital
Display Technology Compaq To Use Alpha Chip
Scandal Debates Stall Technology Broadcom Packs Cable-Modem
Bills Circuitry On A Chip
New AMD Chip Means Lower-Priced
Laptops The Check Is Still In The Mail...
Ticketmaster Offers Site With A View Chrysler Goes With Wintel
Workstations
A Search Engine's Search Engine Web Offers Kinder-Gentler Market
Research
Net Surfing Vs. Channel Surfing Gigamachines By The Millennium
Invisible Worlds Wants To Map The Call-Block Service Designed To
Internet Defeat Telemarketers
Two Best-Selling Personal Computers Jetson-Like Communications
Aircraft
Start-Up Juniper Networks Challenges
Cisco On Routers Free Internet Service In The U.K.
Transpac Network Will Link U.S. And
Asian-Pacific Universities
HATCH WARNS FTC TO HANDLE INTEL CASE WITH CARE
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch says that the Federal
Trade Commission needs to be "careful" in its pursuit of Intel Corp. for
alleged antitrust violations. In contrast to the case the Justice
Department is pursuing against Microsoft Corp., the senator noted there
is a tension between intellectual property rights and antitrust law,
which is "at the heart of the FTC's current Intel case." The FTC's case
alleges that Intel violated antitrust law when it denied three of its
customers -- Digital Equipment, Intergraph Corp. and Compaq Computer --
technical information they needed to develop computer systems based on
Intel chips. Hatch says, "FTC and antitrust enforcers generally should be
rather certain that any effort to enforce intellectual property rights
both is intended to and actually will injure competition in a in a
significant way, before concluding that it represents monopolistic
behavior." (Reuters 18 Sep 98)
JUDGE REJECTS MICROSOFT REQUEST TO LIMIT TESTIMONY
The federal judge presiding over the government's antitrust suit against
Microsoft, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, has ruled against
a request by Microsoft to prevent the Justice Department and 20 state
attorney from introducing into the proceedings details of meetings
between Microsoft executives and executives at Intel, Apple, Sun, and
RealNetworks. Government lawyers assert that the meetings show a pattern
of abusive power by Microsoft to force other companies to abandon
projects competitive to its own interests. (Washington Post 18 Sep 98)
WEBTV MAY FADE OUT IN TWO YEARS, SAYS DATAQUEST
A consumer applications analyst at Dataquest says the future of WebTV and
the use of set-top boxes to access the Internet will be short-lived. "The
set-top box on its own really has no future," says Dataquest's Paul
O'Donovan. "The stand-alone set-top box will just disappear. They will
probably disappear in the next 18 months to two years as digital
television arrives... But in the long term, the functionality will appear
within the TV or through digital set-top boxes." With regard to WebTV,
O'Donovan says, "Microsoft has a history of announcing bold technology
strategies and being perfectly prepared to drop them if they don't work.
They may take the technology of WebTV and put it in other devices."
(TechWeb 18 Sep 98)
UNIVERSITIES PUSH PROFESSORS TO RETAIN COPYRIGHTS
There's a growing movement among academicians and their institutions to
retain the copyright on articles published in scholarly journals, rather
than turning those rights over to the publisher as is usual. The
California Institute of Technology will be hosting a three-month-long
discussion of the subject on an electronic network, beginning Oct. 1. "It
became clear to me," says Caltech provost Steven Koonin, "that copyright
is the linchpin. If you're going to change that system, copyright is the
nexus that you have to go after." Other universities now considering
turning the tables on publishers include Yale University and the
University of Kansas. Koonin says he'd like to see Caltech and its
faculty members jointly own the copyrights to journal articles and
license those rights to publishers on a limited basis. "The publishers
have basically been getting a free good up to this point -- which is the
copyright." Meanwhile, publishers are not enthusiastic about the
movement, and an Elsevier Science VP says she has "serious reservations"
about a university policy that would require its professors to retain
their copyrights. (Chronicle of Higher Education 18 Sep 98)
COMPUTER COMPANIES BACK DIGITAL DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
A group of high-tech companies, including Intel, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard,
IBM, Microsoft and Dell, say they will work together to promote a display
technology developed by closely held Silicon Image. The cooperative
effort is aimed at accelerating the adoption of flat-panel displays that
will slim down the look of PCs, improve the image quality, and take
perhaps $100 off the price of each display. (Wall Street Journal 18 Sep
98)
COMPAQ TO USE ALPHA CHIP
Compaq's Tandem division will use the Alpha chip, which it acquired as
part of its purchase last year of the Digital Equipment Corporation, in
its high-end Himalaya computers starting in 2000, replacing the MIPS
System processor that Tandem has used since 1988. (San Jose Mercury News
18 Sep 98)
SCANDAL DEBATES STALL TECHNOLOGY BILLS
Among the bills put on the back burner because of current Washington
distractions are: Internet taxes, visas for technology workers,
encryption rules, copyright protections for digital material, digital
materials, and tax credits for research. Whichever bills failed to pass
before the 105th Congress adjourns will die, and will need to be
reintroduced into the 106th Congress next January. (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution 19 Sep 98)
BROADCOM PACKS CABLE-MODEM CIRCUITRY ON A CHIP
Broadcom Corp. has developed a single chip that combines functions
normally found on a three-chip set, promising lower prices for the modem
boxes that provide cable Internet service. The chips are expected to sell
for $50 each in relatively small lots, and economies of scale could bring
the price much lower. That's good news for cable operators who hope to
capitalize on their larger "pipeline" into the home. So far, operators
have been buying the necessary boxes for about $500 apiece and renting
them to customers. But cheaper chips could bring the cost of the boxes
down below $200 -- a price point that would transform the boxes into a
standard retail product, much like today's telephone line modems. "That's
where the business must go to work," says a senior semiconductor analyst
with International Data Corp. (Wall Street Journal 21 Sep 98)
NEW AMD CHIP MEANS LOWER-PRICED LAPTOPS
Advanced Micro Devices has developed a new 300 megahertz microprocessor
that it plans to sell for $229 -- less than half of the $637 that Intel
sells its comparable Pentium II chip for. AMD says customers for the new
K6-300 product include No. 1 PC maker Compaq Computer. The disparity in
price between Intel's 300 megahertz chip and AMD's will mean that
computer makers could shave prices on laptop computers from $3,000 to
somewhere between $2,000 and $2,500. "There is no question that notebook
prices are coming down," says an analyst with ARS Inc., a market research
firm. "I think you'll see more impact next year and a reaction from Intel
to speed the introduction of new technology." A spokesman from Intel
responds, "We welcome competition." (Wall Street Journal 22 Sep 98)
THE CHECK IS STILL IN THE MAIL...
More than 47.4 billion business and personal checks were printed last
year, up 1.4% from 1996. "Checks are a U.S., Canada and U.K. phenomenon,"
says a Citibank VP. "In the U.S., having more than 12,000 banks and
savings and loans makes it hard to agree on electronic standards, which
encourages checks." Not only that, but banks benefit from selling all
those checks, to the tune of $1.7 billion last year -- that doesn't
include the additional $1 billion they made charging for bounced checks.
And issuing paper checks enables the banks to keep closer tabs on their
customers. When people move, one of the first things they do is order new
checks. But all this may be changing -- a new standard called IFX is due
out in February, which will enable consumers to receive bills online from
any vendor, and analysts say people are much more likely to pay an
electronic invoice electronically (and, conversely, a paper bill with a
paper check). "When checkless transactions do catch on, the adoption rate
will be tremendous," predicts a Deutsche Bank analyst. (Investor's
Business Daily 22 Sep 98)
TICKETMASTER OFFERS SITE WITH A VIEW
Beginning in early October, Ticketmaster's Web site will include an image
of the view a customer would have from the seat he or she is selecting.
Eighty venues across the country -- including the Great Western Forum,
Madison Square Garden, and the United Center of Chicago -- will be
included in the initial rollout. Smaller theaters will use still photos
to convey the user's perspective, but the larger concert halls and
stadiums have been mapped using three-dimensional computerized modeling
software. (Los Angeles Times 21 Sep 98)
CHRYSLER GOES WITH WINTEL WORKSTATIONS
Chrysler Corp. says that over the next few years, it will be replacing
its Unix workstations with machines based on Intel Pentium II Xeon chips
running Microsoft's Windows NT software. The company currently owns some
4,000 IBM RS/6000 and Silicon Graphics Octane workstations. (Wall Street
Journal 22 Sep 98)
A SEARCH ENGINE'S SEARCH ENGINE
Direct Hit Technologies Inc. offers a HotBot search engine aid that trims
the number of links produced by an inquiry to just the top 10 sites,
based on which sites are clicked on when a similar request has been made
in the past. Each time a link is selected, it moves a little bit higher
on the list. Another ranking system, called Google, does essentially the
same thing, but in this case the Web sites are rated by the number of
other sites linked to them. The higher the number of links, the higher
ranking the site is accorded. (Business Week 28 Sep 98)
WEB OFFERS KINDER, GENTLER MARKET RESEARCH
When market researchers choose to use the Net to reach you, they may be
sparing you some phone calls during the dinner hour. John Gilbert, the
marketing research manager at United Parcel Service says, "When you do an
e-mail or Web-based survey, you're less intrusive with a respondent. On
the Internet, they can respond at their own leisure. They can do it after
hours if necessary. They can give it much more thought." Gilbert worries
that market research may be confused with spamming. "A lot of people are
getting spammed. It's certainly undermining more legitimate marketing."
(Reuters/San Jose Mercury News 18 Sep 98)
NET SURFING VS. CHANNEL SURFING
As people become active surfer on the Internet, do they watch less
television? A study commissioned by Discovery Networks has concluded
that, as households begin to use the Internet, television use by
teenagers tends to drop but use by everyone else tends to increase. (New
York Times 21 Sep 98)
GIGAMACHINES BY THE MILLENNIUM
Tomorrow's computer users will escalate their search for ever more
computing power, as they begin to take advantage of technologies such as
speech software and voice e-mail. "You will want a gigahertz machine for
multimedia, three-dimensional graphics, continuous speech input,
visualization, video conferencing and so on," says the VP and general
manager of business platforms at Intel. "We will also introduce 'constant
computing' to utilize the unused idle power." Meanwhile, a researcher at
IBM predicts, "By the millennium, 50 million people will be using speech
software to control their computers. You will be able to ask your browser
to find you things on penguins in Antarctica or dictate your e-mails,
which will be multimedia, so instead of dictating the text you could
record your voice and it would automatically arrive at either the
recipient's PC or telephone. People will realize that voice is more
valuable than the same words recorded as text." (Financial Times 23 Sep
98)
INVISIBLE WORLDS WANTS TO MAP THE INTERNET
Internet software developers Carl Malamud and Marshall Rose have founded
Invisible Worlds, Inc. with the goal of creating a way to navigate the
Internet using maps that portray the relationships between computers and
information as three-dimensional space. "We think you should be able to
take your mouse or joystick and drive around the Internet," says Malamud.
"One of the reasons the Web seems so chaotic is there is no way to see it
visually." The navigational tools, which will be available some time next
year, will be known as the Blocks protocol. Initially, users will view
the interactive maps using their Web browsers, but Malamud hopes to
someday offer map-viewing software with more powerful visualization
features. Malamud traces his inspiration to the work of such writers as
Thomas Pynchon, whose "Mason & Dixon" novel celebrates the role that the
cartographer can play in defining uncharted territory. (New York Times 23
Sep 98)
CALL-BLOCK SERVICE DESIGNED TO DEFEAT TELEMARKETERS
Ameritech has developed a service called Privacy Manager that intercepts
calls that can not be traced with Called ID and then has an automated
voice ask who is calling. If the caller fails to respond to that
question, the system hangs up; it the caller replies, the system dials
the customer who can then still choose to accept or reject the call. (USA
Today 23 Sep 98)
TWO BEST-SELLING PERSONAL COMPUTERS
The PC Data market research firm says the two best-selling personal
computer systems for the month of August were Hewlett-Packard's Pavilion
6330 (Windows-based) and Apple's iMac system. The HP 6330 represented 8.6
percent of all systems sold, while the iMac rang in with 7.1 percent of
sales. The iMac was only available for sale 17 days in August. (C/Net
News.Com 23 Sep 98)
JETSON-LIKE COMMUNICATIONS AIRCRAFT
A new aircraft called High Altitude Long Operation-Proteus is designed to
circle for hours some 50,000 feet high over major cities, functioning
like a communications relay satellite does in space and carrying
broadband wireless services, including high-speed Internet access and
video-teleconferencing. A region might receive 24-hour service from a
fleet of three planes, each flown by two-man crews on eight-hour shifts,
with each aircraft flying fixed patterns providing coverage to an area 75
miles in diameter. Industry analyst Jeffrey Kagan says, "I knew it
wouldn't be too long before the Jetsons became reality. In the next
several years, you will see truckloads of methods for delivering high
speed methods of data to homes and offices." (San Jose Mercury News 23
Sep 98)
START-UP JUNIPER NETWORKS CHALLENGES CISCO ON ROUTERS
Start-up Juniper Networks Inc. is taking on Cisco Systems with what it
claims is the first router designed especially for the Internet. The
Juniper M40 processes more data at a time than Cisco's high-end
GSR-12000, says an analyst at RHK, a telecom research firm: "These guys
have the most realistic threat to Cisco on the high end." The M40 router
is enhanced by IBM's Internet Processor chip, which, combined with
Juniper's Junos routing software allows users not only to retrieve Web
pages and send e-mail, but also do more advanced things like send audio
and video across networks. (Investor's Business Daily 23 Sep 98)
FREE INTERNET SERVICE IN THE U.K.
British consumer electronics retailer Dixons Group and telecommunications
firm Energis are teaming up to provide a free Internet service to
citizens in the U.K. Users will not be required to pay any registration
or usage fees, but will be charged $1.68 a minute for technical support.
The move is expected to force other Internet service providers in that
country to reevaluate their pricing structures. (Wall Street Journal 23
Sep 98)
TRANSPAC NETWORK WILL LINK U.S. AND ASIAN-PACIFIC UNIVERSITIES
Indiana University has won a five-year $10 million grant from the
National Science Foundation to create (jointly with the Asia Pacific
Advanced Network consortium) a computer network that will give American
universities access to a great number of research and educational
institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. The network will be called
Transpac. (AP 23 Sep 98)
NEW!
[BITSBYTES.GIF (64527 bytes)]
by R. F. Mariano
Whew!!! Good old Georges is getting close. Now if only he loses his
gusto in the Gulf. I might add that I suspect a right turn by him up
around Punta Gorda or so and a back door entry to Jacksonville, back out
into the Atlantic and up the coast. Once he hit the NY Bight, it'll
signal the end of Bluefishing up that way and send the lunkers down here.
This is one mean storm. Its responsible for over 200 deaths and the
count is climbing. God help anyone it touches.
Bits & Bytes, the boat we've been working on is nearing completion. The
antenna farm is done and wired in. Notice the two small ball shaped
antennas on either side of the Radome, those are the two GPS antennae for
the NorthStar and Garmin GPS units. The Differential antenna mounts on
the port bulkhead as a matching opposite to the VHF antenna on the
starboard bulkhead.
[antennas.GIF (112539 bytes)]
The Ground Plate is also installed. Nothing spared here... the sucker is
solid Bronze! (see below) It mounts under the hull with a thru hull
electrical connection. It is about eighteen inches long and is
[ground block.GIF (65073 bytes)]
there to provide an adequate earth ground for the boat's electronics
systems. Additionally, it'll provide a marvelous "ground plane" for the
various communications devices. From the CB to the VHF and Cellfone. As
you can see from the pictures we have been seeing a great deal of cloud
cover and rain. What with the Tropical Storms in the Gulf and the
Hurricanes in the Tropical Atlantic.
[northstar1.gif (8273 bytes)]
[nstar_951.GIF (48085 bytes)]
I was never good at keeping secrets... Next week, I'll let you in on a
POWERHOUSE of a matrix device that is designed to make the interfacing
between the above goodies a "cakewalk to set up and use. Don't miss this
because for each and everyone of you that is contemplating setting up an
electronics array similar to that on the B&B this is a need to know item.
[Casts.GIF (10988 bytes)]
Got a question relative to something....
* We have covered or reviewed?
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[email14.gif (38893 bytes)]
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The Linux Advocate
#20 September 25th, 1998
by Scott Dowdle
dowdle@icstech.com
ICQ UIN: 15509440
LOGIN:
Two weeks sure did role by fast. I'd like to take this opportunity to mention how great
I think three Linux sites are. This isn't the first time I've mentioned them nor will it
be the last. Computer Industry News and Rumors - Slashdot - The BEST source of Linux
News - Linux Weekly News - Unix Software News - Freshmeat - All three sites have had so
much traffic over the past couple of weeks, that at peak times they aren't able to serve
it all, so bare that in mind.
NEWS:
Item #1: Intel looks to Linux community for help with UDI - In yet another show of
respect towards Linux, Intel announced that they really need the help of the Linux
community on a project they have decided to support, the Uniform Driver Interface (UDI)
project. The following URL even mentions that the Intel people even spoke directly to
Linus Torvalds on this issue. Information on the UDI project may be found in the
following URL:
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/1998/37/ns-5501.htm
Linux Weekly News http://lwn.net also carries the UDI story as the lead item in this
week's issue.
Item #2: People hated OS/2 and network computers; why don't they hate Linux? - Yet
another article by Nicholas Petreley... who mentions that he is "soon to be editorial
director of a Webzine called LinuxWorld". This one explains why there doesn't seem to be
a negative feeling in the press about Linux.
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayNew.pl?/petrel/980921np.htm
Item #3: VAR Resuscitates NT Server: Microserver Solution Solves Heart Clinic's Network
Overload - Here's an article that details a Heart Clinic's struggle with Windows NT and
their eventual switch over to an Internet Toaster like device (toaster as in plug it in
and it works) called the Cobalt Qube. Column readers will remember that I did a brief
overview, including a picture, of the Colbalt Qude in edition #13
(http://www.icstech.com/~dowdle/LA/LA-13.html). The Cobalt Qube is a custom designed
device that runs Linux and uses a WWW form based System Administration system.
http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?CRN19980921S0076
Item #4: NASA Tackles Computer Crime Workload In-House - Gee, seems like I've been
ignoring all of the Beowulf press lately so I thought I'd include this one. It's another
story about the security system that NASA has set up. When you go to the following URL,
you'll find the article about two-thirds down in the content... just FIND IN PAGE "NASA"
and you'll jump right to it. Here's a sample from the top of the article, "Analyzing
computer-crime evidence and tracking cybercriminals has gone from taking weeks to mere
minutes, now that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Computer
Crimes Division (CCD) has employed Beowulf."
http://www.govtech.net:80/gtmag/1998/sept/news/news.shtm
Item #5: Now and Zen - In an article in detailing Novell's NetWare 5, the author does a
comparison between Netware, NT, and Linux. Who do you think he picked as best Network
Operating System? Well, considering I'm mentioning it, you can bet it's Linux. Anyway,
there is a decent comparison of networking features so check it out if connectivity
interests you.
http://www.ehsco.com/opinion/19980917.html
Item #6: IBM to announce DB2 for Linux - The San Francisco Chronicle ran a piece by Tom
Abate about competition in the hard drive manufacturing business. Oddly enough, there
was a mention that IBM was expected to announce an upgrade for their DB2 enterprise
database. One of the new features is that they have a Linux version now. While I don't
know much about IBM's DB2, from what I understand, IBM has been primarily marketing it
on their AS400 systems. With DB2 becoming available for Linux, it can now be moved off
the expensive AS400 hardware and onto cheaper, PC hardware... assuming IBM just supports
Intel Linux. I'm sure if the product becomes popular enough on Intel Linux, they'd make
it available for Alpha Linux. I doubt porting between the different platforms of Linux
would difficult at all if they released DB2 in source format but I don't expect that to
ever happen. Usually porting from one platform of Linux to another is only a matter of
recompiling... with little or no modification to the source code. Here's a quote from
the passage --- "tomorrow IBM will announce that it is porting DB2 to the freeware Linux
operating system, something that would have been unthinkable in the company's
button-down days." The URL follows:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1998/09/22/BU52203.DTL
Item #7: Caldera and Sybase, Caldera's Latest Moves - Speaking of database systems,
here's details of yet another database maker moving into the Linux market, but this time
in a more direct way... working out an arrangement with a major Linux distribution
maker. Here's a blurb, "Today, Caldera and Sybase co-announced that the Sybase Adaptive
Server, Enterprise Edition is now available for Linux. The version being shipped is
11.0.3.3, the same version available for other platforms. The Sybase product will be
available on both the Caldera and Sybase web sites. It will also be included with the
Caldera OpenLinux 1.3 product, which will be available on September 28." There's more to
the press release so feel free to find out more at the following URL:
http://www.linuxresources.com/news/calderasybase.html
Item #8: SuSE introduces Office 99 - In what seems a breakthrough in pricing, SuSE
announced that they will be offering the latest version of ApplixWare (v4.4.1) with
their fantastic SuSE Linux 5.3 distribution. The price is slated to be $79.95 which
includes the full version of ApplixWare with ApplixBuilder and ApplixData. Details are
kind of sketchy (their German site seems to differ from the USA site so I'm not sure of
the details). Oddly enough, this happens right after Red Hat Software announced that
they are giving back ApplixWare to the Applix folks to concentrate more on their
distribution. In any event, you can check for the latest developments by checking out
the following URL... more on this next column I'm sure.
http://www.suse.com/Product/Office99/
SPOTLIGHT: Wabi - A Windows Emulator? Not really.
About two months ago, I picked up a copy of Wabi from the LinuxMall folks
http://www.linuxmall.com mainly because the price is so low (less than $50) these days.
I had seen and played with Wabi about a year ago and the product really hasn't changed
in that time... but I did install my newly purchased copy and give it a run through. I
don't really have a need for the product, so I doubt I'll actually use it very often,
but I can also envision that it might come in handy some day.
What is Wabi?
Many people call Wabi, "A Windows Emulator," but it really isn't. While Wabi is
certified to run a certain number of Windows 3.x applications, it really doesn't run
then under an emulator. You see, one has to have a copy of Microsoft Windows 3.x in
order for Wabi to do its thing. In fact, the first time you run Wabi after installing
it, it asks for Windows disks so that you can install Microsoft Windows on your
filesystem. There are two basic strategies for installing Windows in Wabi... a single,
shared copy of Windows, or a copy of Windows for each user who plans on using Wabi. That
might sound crazy... to have a copy of Windows installed for each user that wants to run
Wabi, but it makes sense. You see, Windows wasn't designed for a multiuser environment
and has no method to story individual user preferences... ie, the storage of system
preferences in Windows 3.x is global. By allowing each Wabi user to install their own
copy of Windows (generally to their own home directory area), each Windows user now has
the ability to store their own Windows settings and Windows software, without
interfering with any other Windows user on the system. Each copy of Windows lives in its
own little world and is under totally control of the user who owns it. Hmmm, perhaps I
should give Wabi more credit because it actually runs Windows without DOS... so there
obviously is quite a bit of emulation going on.
Wabi History
Wabi is a product developed by SunSoft, a division of Sun Microsystems. I'm not sure if
SunSoftactually exists anymore because I know Sun reorganized several months back, and
merged several of its divisions. Ah well, that really isn't important. Somewhere along
the way, Caldera Inc. and SunSoft struck a deal to have Wabi ported to Linux... so now
we have a version available for Linux.
Wabi Installation
As with virtually all software these days, Wabi comes on CD-ROM. I'm not going to assume
that every Linux user is the master of his own machine because there are a lot of people
living on networks these days... and having to rely on a System Administrator to install
software for you. Wabi requires the installer to be able to mount a CD-ROM with
execution permissions set for it so that the install script may be run directly from the
CD. There are probably ways around that but I'm not going to discuss them here. Anyway,
once Wabi is installed on the machine, each user may install their own copy of Windows
or the System Administrator may set up a global, shared copy. My use of Wabi was on my
own machine and I'm the only one using it so most of things were non-issues for me. Oh,
by the way, Wabi does not come with a copy of Windows 3.x; You have to provide your own
copy. Finding a new copy of Windows 3.11 might be a daunting task these days but many of
us old timers have multiple copies of Windows 3.x just laying around taking up shelf
space.
Windows installation
After Wabi is installed, it handles the process of installing Windows and it's pretty
darn easy... kind of like the real thing... you just feed it the Windows disks and a
progression scroll bar fills in as you go along. Wabi works with all versions of Windows
3.x included Workgroups for Windows.
Using Windows applications
Wabi is only certified to work on a number of Windows software titles (list included
below) but I've found that most everything I tried worked fine, even if it wasn't
guaranteed to work. Any Windows 3.x stuff that was written for the WS-32 32-bit
libraries will not work as Wabi is only for true 16-bit applications. Who remembers the
hybrid 32-bit support they offered on Windows with that hybrid library? A lot of Windows
3.x software vendors relied on the 32-bit library there near the later stages of Windows
3.x's popularity. Applications Certified to work with Wabi
* Microsoft Excel 5.0 and 4.0
* Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0 and 2.0
* Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0 and 3.0
* Microsoft Access 2.0
* Microsoft Mail Client 3.2
* Microsoft Office 4.3
* Microsoft Project 4.0 and 3.0
* Microsoft Windows 3.1
* Microsoft Windows 3.11
* Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11
* Microsoft Schedule+ 1.0
* Intuit Quicken 4.0 and 3.0
* Intuit Quicken Deluxe 4.0
* Paradox for Windows 5.0 and 4.5
* Quattro Pro for Windows 6.0 and 5.0
* WordPerfect for Windows 6.1 and 6.0a
* CorelDRAW 4.0 and 3.0
* Harvard Graphics 3.0 and 2.0
* Aldus PageMaker 5.0 and 4.0
* ProComm Plus 2.11 and 1.02
* Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows 5.0 and 4.0
* Lotus Amipro 3.1
* Lotus Approach 3.02 and 2.1
* Lotus Notes Client 3.3 and 3.0c
* Lotus Organizer 2.1 and 1.1
* Lotus SmartSuite 4.0 and 3.1
* Lotus WordPro 96
* Lotus cc:Mail Client 2.2 and 2.03
* Lotus Freelance Graphics 2.1 and 2.01
Who would want to use Wabi?
That's a good question. Considering the nature of most Windows software, especially
titles made by Microsoft themselves, the usefulness of running legacy Win 3.x stuff
seems rather moot. Take for example the headaches of data file exchange between
different versions of the same application software. However, if you still work with a
lot of 16-bit Windows 3.x stuff, I'm sure Wabi would come in very handy.
How does Wabi Perform?
It seemed to run full speed, although we aren't talking about running video games here,
rather applications. This is actually surprising considering that Wabi runs Windows just
like any other program on your X Window System desktop. To Linux, Windows is just
another program.
Limitations of Wabi
Wabi only runs in 8-bit color mode so if one typically runs the X Window System in 16,
or 24-bit color, you'll have to restart in 8-bit color. This also means that Windows
applications are run in 8-bit color as well. I have found a way around this though. It's
not that friendly of a work around but it works just fine if you have a decent amount of
RAM (32MB or more). Remember gold old VNC (Virtual Network Computing) from LA #18? Well,
if one starts up a second copy of the X Windows System in 8-bit color, and then connects
to it by running the vncviewer in the X Windows System at 16-bit color... you can run
Wabi in VNC just fine. Of course, it's slower that way but it works just fine.
DOS Emulation
If you want to run DOS programs from the Program Manager (or whatever method you are
used to using in Windows), you'll have to have a DOS emulator installed. I tried using
the version of dosemu that comes with Red Hat 5.1 and I believe it comes setup with
FreeDOS (no copy of MS-DOS needed). While I didn't give it much testing, from a cursory
view, it seems to work fine.
Where are the screenshots?
I hope to include some screenshots of Wabi in action next column. I was running behind
when I wrote this, and although I realize it is a big oversite on my part NOT to have
any pictures this edition, that is just the way it has got to be.
LOGOUT:
As always, thanks for reading and feedback is welcome. Sorry I didn't get to proof read
this edition too closely so enjoy the mistakes. :)
Scott Dowdle
[Image154.gif (8177 bytes)]
STR Editor's Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard"
Editor's MailBag
Messages * NOT EDITED * for content or spelling
From: Erich and Tink Erdmann [erdmanns@gte.net]
Sent: Monday, September 21, 1998 1:33 AM
To: rmariano@streport.com
Subject: clinton
He is a liar....he deserves what he gets!!!
So then I ask sure... sure... But you.... have NEVER Lied??
From: Erich and Tink Erdmann [erdmanns@gte.net]
Sent: Monday, September 21, 1998 10:49 AM
To: rmariano@streport.com
Subject: Re: Clinton
Yeah I have lied but NOT in court. President Idiot is suppose to be a
leader and set an example for our children. He is unfit to lead and under
the new terms set in 1974 with Hillary as one of the framers, he should
be impeached. Clinton in addition to the Lewinsky mess has abused his
power against common people like Billy Dale and invaded the privacy of
numerous Republicans in filegate. Clinton may as well be a gestapo chief.
Bill Clinton is a nazi tyrant. He deserves everything that is comming to
him....I will watch with pleasure as his power is taken from him; )
From: greg_evans (GREG_EVANS)
To: Ralph Mariano (STREPORT)
DateTime: 9/17/98 8:56 PM
Ralph,
Thanks for the reply. I'm not going to comment on items which are
personal preferences, just the couple of items which seemed to have been
left as factual differemces.
1. The budget would not be in balance if the Treasury did not take excess
Social Secirty receipts and replace them with I.O.Us which must be repaid
by future tax revenues. I got my information from A. Jaeworth Robertson,
the former Chief Actuary at the Social Security Administration. Oops,
that's Haeworth. There is no Social Security trust fund, it's simply a
bunch of I.O.U.'s in the form of Treasury bonds. Because of the changes
to SS taxes in the early 80's the taxes collected today far exceed, by
10's of billions the amount being used by current beneficiaries. The
excess is spent, not put away. I write software for employer retirement
plans, this is my area of expertise.
But at the same time it still sounds like the Republican rhetoric...
slobbering all over themselves trying to drown Clinton. They just don't
get it do they... they're going to destroy themselves.
2. My point on the 1994 election was in response to your statement about
the Party resisting the will of the American people or some such.
OK
3. Check the OIC law about Congress's ability to unfund the OIC. I'll see
what I can find.
I did and they're able to do so at the point the OIC is seeking further
funding.
4. The 500 billion dollar deficit was an estimate. It's not that hard to
figure out though, if we take the sum of insurnace premiums and claims.
I gave the facts about the Balanced budget.
Finally, thanks again for answering the "Letter". Thanks for
understanding it in the spirit it was delivered also. I was concerned you
might take it personally.
Greg
From: Jim [noyfb@nofb.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 1998 2:06 PM
To: rmariano@streport.com
Subject: REPUBLICANS vs BILL CLINTON
If your comments are not ment as a joke....Your nuts! Thank god we don't
have socailzed medicine.
I didn't inhale, I didn't have sex..... The guy is a public discrace and
a piss poor roll model for our kids.
Don't try to justify his actions with past actions of others.
Thanks... I needed a good laugh!!
From: Greg Evans [gevans@sysnet.net]
Sent: Sunday, September 20, 1998 12:15 PM
To: rmariano@streport.com
Subject: This weeks editorial...
Hi Ralph,
Just read your editorial and wanted to remind you that Richard Nixon
never testified before a grand jury.
"...Nixon and countless other BAD guys have had all the Grand Jury
Investigative testimony KEPT SECRET. But not Bill Clinton."
Ronald Reagan did, however and Lawrence Walsh released his 8 hours of
videotaped testimony to the public the SAME DAY he testified. He
certainly did so without Congress's permission. In the current case, Ken
Starr received judicial permission to release the grand jury information.
Congress then voted overwhelmingly (only 63 voted "NO") to release ALL
materials by Sept.. 28. The majority of Democrats joined Republicans in
that vote. Remember, the GOP only has 11 seats more than the Democrats.
True, but Ronnie baby's testimony was a rehearsed, Republican
Orchestrated, bag of noise put together for Him by George Bush and his
CIA cronies.
On the matter of last week's editorial...
I am curious about why you chose to print my original letter and your
reply but not my subsequent letter. Maybe Dana didn't forward it to you.
In any case, the facts are that excess Social Security taxes are spent
every year and that amount must later be repaid by future taxes. This is
from the former Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration. The
budget would be far from balanced if those excess SS taxes did not mask
it.
Why then are the Republicans so eager to dispose of the surplus in the
form of tax cuts??
The 1994 election was not an incumbent election. If it had been, the GOP
could not have gained the majority in the House or Senate. Many, many
Democrats lost and no Republican governor, representative or senator did.
The fact that the Congress followed the Bush administration means
nothing. The President doesn't appoint members of Congress. Your original
argument was that the GOP has tried to thwart the people. You then
changed that to thwarting the will of Bill Clinton. Those are not the
same things.
Ah, but the FACT that Congress DID follow the Bush administration meant
EVERYTHING. We are "enjoying" the benefits of that debacle today.
People used to feel the same way about law enforcement as you feel about
this President. "Hey, at least the crime rate's low, who cares if the
sheriff is a crook himself." In this case, it's the economy instead of
crime that's the overriding factor. If you like President Clinton, that's
fine. If you think he's done a good job, great. If those opinions are
supported by facts why pretend that the facts don't matter when it comes
to the law. I'd like to hear you tell Kathleen Willey, Paula Jones, etc.
that you think it's okay for the President to expose himself, touch their
bodies, kiss them, etc. because the economy is good. Think about the
women you care about and imagine yourself saying the same things.
My daddy once told me something about these "kiss tell" women... no
matter how much they protest, you have to remember... You simply cannot
thread a needle unless its held still".
I missed the reference to George Bush being behind this investiagtion
when I read your reply online. What??? Where did you get that from? Give
me facts, here Ralph.
Come now, do you really think I'm going to reveal sources and instances
that can point to my sources of info?? George Bush is perhaps one of the
most powerful men alive today.
I'm sure Bill Clinton sees his redemption in a Jimmy Carter post-
Presidency like rahabilitation. President Carter is an honest man and
what he's done after leaving office, both very good and not so good
(North Korea was not so good) are a continuation of the man he was while
in office. He may be seen more favorably now and there is some
satisfaction inseeing an honest man be successful. No, I'm sorry but Bill
Clinton will not be Jimmy Carter. I'm afraid, given his proclivities,
he'll be more like PeeWee Herman. Some day he'll either get arrested or
get himself beat up by some woman's husband or father.
If someone does.... they'll be justifiably arrested and incarcerated for
the commission of a felony. What's your point?? Please, you've been a
pleasure to debate this with.... don't go getting emotional on me now.
<g>
From: Mitchell, John [jmitchel@temmc.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 1998 6:55 PM
To: 'rmariano@streport.com'
Subject: Your Stance On Clinton
What you need to know about me:
1. I voted for Clinton.
2. I have been involved in a lawsuit and the deposition process.
3. I don't care what he did with Monica Lewinsky.
President Clinton lied under oath in the Paula Jones deposition. His
lie(s) led to that lawsuit being dismissed SO SHE DIDN'T GET HER DAY IN
COURT!
I can't continue to support Clinton because if I do, it is saying to
everyone, "It's OK to lie in a deposition if you want to. The truth
doesn't have to be told even when you promise TO GOD that you will tell
the truth."
Don't you understand that? What Clinton did during the deposition process
is an affront to every American who relies on the court system for
"justice". If the President gets away with this, why should any American
feel compelled to tell the truth in the future? The thinking will be,
"Well, the President lied, so why shouldn't I?"
Let's get personal about this: you sue your neighbor over something and
the neighbor lies in their deposition and coaches their friends on how to
give false depositions that will strengthen their defense. The judge
throws out your lawsuit because of the lies that are entered into
evidence. HOW DO YOU NOW FEEL???
THAT is the question. Clinton has caused a Constitutional crisis because
he lied under oath. I don't care how "fine" he thinks he split the legal
hairs in his deposition, he LIED and we all know it. Then he LIED to the
American people in his remarks on January 17 and, as he said during the
Nixon impeachment investigation, "If a President lies to the American
people, he should resign." I agree with what Clinton said back then: HE
SHOULD RESIGN!
I can't trust him as my President any more.
John Mitchell.... now there's a familiar name. Of course you make a
valid point however dull.... but then who would trust what Paula Jones
has to say??
[Image]
Special Notice!! STR Infofile File format for Articles
File Format for STReport
All articles submitted to STReport for publication must be sent in the
following format. Please use the format requested. Any files received that
do not conform will not be used. The article must be in an importable word
processor format for Word 6.0 and/or Word Perfect 7. The margins are .05"
left and 1.0" Monospaced fonts are not to be used. Please use proportional
fonting only and at Twelve (12) points.
* No Indenting on any paragraphs!!
* No Indenting of any lines or "special gimmicks"
* No underlining!
* Columns shall be achieved through the use of tabs only. Or, columns
in Word or Word Perfect format. Do NOT, under any circumstances, use
the space bar. MS Word is Preferred.
* Most of all. PLEASE! No ASCII "ART"!!
* There is no limits as to size, articles may be split into two if
lengthy
* Actual Artwork should be in GIF, PCX, JPG, TIF, BMP, WMF file formats
* Artwork (pictures, graphs, charts, etc.)should be sent along with the
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If there are any questions please use either E-Mail or call.
Many grateful thanks in advance for your enthusiastic co-operation and
input.
Ralph F. Mariano, Editor
rmariano@streport.com
STReport International Online Magazine
[image87.gif (45316 bytes)]
Classics & Gaming Section
Editor Dana P. Jacobson
dpj@streport.com
From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
What a country live in! Imagine...the most rich, and the most powerful
are being legally taken to task. The Republicans, they've got a big set
of "scrotes"! Clinton's biggest problem was that he didn't pay enough
attention to Monica for too long; she felt scorned; and she got even. You
can't tell me that she didn't set up poor Billy-boy! Sure, she just
happened to keep a dirty dress hanging around! He got caught - his only
blunder. He was stupid and got caught with his pants around his ankles.
Big deal. Like the rest of them are so squeaky clean... This entire event
is so foolish yet look at the attention it's drawing. A media circus....a
government lynch mob.....a public lack of interest or caring. The saddest
part of all: it cost the American taxpayers $40 million to see Hillary
and Chelsea as public victims of a family crisis. We should feel really
proud to be Americans....
Until next time...
"The Atari A to Z" book shareware release files
From: "Mark Baines" <msbaines@cix.compulink.co.uk>
"The Atari A to Z" Book Shareware ASCII Text Release
Jargon, terminology and acronyms are the staple diet of any professional,
technologist and hobbyist. The world of computing is no exception and to
the uninitiated home or small business user, magazines, manuals and books
can be very daunting. Written by someone who understands these
frustrations and needs, "The Atari A to Z" isn't just a convenient
encyclopaedia of modern computer terminology but a specific reference
source of material pertaining to Atari computers for the ST, TT and
Falcon enthusiast.
Whether you play games on an ST, run your business on a TT, or write
music on a Falcon, this book is aimed at helping you get to grips with
those magazine articles that are more perplexing than enlightening. In
here, you will find many explanations, mini-articles and a plethora of
other miscellaneous bits and pieces to help you gain a better
understanding of your Atari computer.
The material in this book was written with all Atari users in mind. There
are simple definitions for the uninitiated and technical data for the
experienced. You take what you want, when you want it. "The Atari A to Z"
is a valuable addition to any Atari user's library. These book files are
direct ASCII conversions of the Protext files used for the fifth
printing. Some typographical changes have been made to keep within the
bounds of the Atari character set. Tabs were replaced with spaces. A
carriage return and line feed terminates each line.
There have been some minor textual changes and some updates and
revisions, especially in the Appendices. There are 2,239 entries, 101
tables and 128,000 words here. "The Atari A to Z" book text files package
is shareware and costs a minimum of 5 UK Pounds. Details are in the
accompanying files. These files and all my other software including
PROFILE 2 - *THE* System Analyser are available on my web site:
http://www.stsd.demon.co.uk/linnhe.html
Mark
Mark S Baines - Inver, Scotland
Linnhe Computing - Quality Atari Software
http://www.stsd.demon.co.uk/linnhe.html
CoMa Voice/Pro 4.7.0 (Communication Manager)
From: Siegfried Hartmann Hartmann@ThePentagon.com
Programme-Name: CoMa for Atari Voice/Pro 4.7.0 (COmmunication-MAnager)
Purpose:
* fax & voice-mail-system
* send & receive fax
* answering machine
* mailbox
* terminal with internal z-modem
* Programme-Type: Shareware / Crippleware
* Author: Siegfried Hartmann
* Requirement: Computer with MagiC[Mac|PC] or TOS
* CoMa has the following common functions and attributes in all levels
* english documentation
* fax-class 2 & 2.0
* polling (send poll-request-tone only with class 2.0 and some class
* 2-modems)
* network-capable fax-job-management (3 jobs in 24 hours)
* Serial fax
* Display of the calling-number with ISDN-modems
* Display of call units with ISDN-Modems
* internal editor
* incoming pages are displayed during fax-reception !!
* text can be mixed with graphic-logos and signatures
* fax-voice-data-number management, including groups
* management for incoming fax/messages/mails
* administration of 8 telephone companys
* zone- & and time-dependent selection of telephone-company
* mailbox with internal send & receive-z-modem
* terminal mit internal z-modem
* CoMa Voice (additional)
* Answering machine for ZyXEL, Creatix, Elsa/TriStar,
* Sportster VI/Voice/Flash and Smarty/Cybermod, kik & Lasat-Modems
* Day & time programmable answering messages
* Multiple outgoing messages for several ISDN-MSN
* Time dependent redicrection of incoming calls
* Remote control / recall of new received faxes
* Recall of 7 special messages by DTMF-code
* Real time decoding of sound for Mac/Atari-Soundsystem of ZxXEL
* ADPCM3/ADPCM4, Smarty/Cybermod u-Law- & Rockwell ADPCM4-Sounds
* Wave-Sound conversion in ZyXEL- & Cybermod- & Rockwell-format
* CoMa Professional Version
* fax- and voice-on-demand-system
* any amount of messages via DTMF tone recall is possible
* each category can contain up to 100 messages and/or 100 fax-pages.
* statistic of category recalls
* first-level- and second-levelmessages can be put together from
multiple voice-files.
* for the mini-mailbox you can assign personal passwords and
download-folders to as many users as you want personal message for
each caller, who has an entry in the numbers-list (with ZyXEL Elite
& MicroLink ISDN, if caller MSN is displayed)
* unlimited fax-jobs
* Faxtransmission via polling request (DTMF-PIN not needed - only for
Class 2.0 modems)
* permanent poll-sender possible (caller gets fax pages even without
sending a poll-request)
* time-dependent messages for 10 MSNs for ISDN
* connect-mode can differ for each MSN
New in CoMa 4.7.0
* New preferences-dialog for zone- & and time-dependent telephone
companies
* Remind date for every Calls-Entry
* new modem Blatzheim BM-33k6/ISDN
* If "Never" is weekday the timeslot will be ignored
* Mailbox output in German or English
* various bugfixes
* e-mail: <mailto://Hartmann@i.am> <http://i.am/Softbaer>
* Mailbox: 030/62709-572 ISDN X.75 (64000 bps) & V.34 (28800 bps)
* Voice: 030/62709-466 Fax: -459
* Voice & Fax-On-Demand-Test-System: -573
Gaming Section
* "Devil Dice"!
* NE Patriots & PSX!
* "Moto 2"!
* "Red Jack"!
* "Off Road 2"!
* Hasbro Interactive!
* And more!
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
New England Patriots Take a "Time Out" With the PlayStation Game Console
The PlayStation(R) game console, America's best-selling video game
system, is heading to Foxboro Stadium for an afternoon with the New
England Patriots. Patriots players will receive a welcome break from the
rigors of practice with a PlayStation videogame tournament and a
demonstration of great new games. Sony Computer Entertainment America
will be visiting several teams during the season to fulfill the requests
of NFL players and teams who have become PlayStation game console
fanatics. PlayStation game consoles can be found in the locker rooms of
28 of the NFL's 30 teams and in one out of every 10 U.S. households.
When: Thursday, September 24 4:30 p.m. (after practice)
Where: Patriots Club Foxboro Stadium
Visuals:
* A behind-the-scenes look at New England Patriots players enjoying a
break from the rigors of practice as they compete against each other
in a PlayStation videogame tournament.
* New England Patriots players playing top PlayStation sports games
including Gran Turismo(TM), North America's top-selling videogame
title.
* Interviews with many New England Patriots players who are videogame
fans.
989 Sports' Videogame MLB '99 Predicts Sammy Sosa Will be Home Run Leader
MLB(tm) '99, the popular baseball videogame for the PlayStation(R) by 989
Sports, was played to predict Sammy Sosa finishing the 1998 season with
66 home runs, one ahead of Mark McGwire. MLB '99 is built with all the
real teams and players and includes a Home Run Derby(tm) gameplay mode.
Players are rated and designed to play to their actual ability, making
989 Sports' predictions worth paying attention to. MLB '99's
state-of-the-art 3D game engine provides new polygonal graphics and
real-time rendering, which translates into the realism of the gameplay.
MLB '99 also features more than 300 new personalized moves and stances
from the game's biggest stars, like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
Electronic Arts Ships Moto Racer 2 for the PlayStation
Sequel to Popular Motorcycle Racing Title Features Easy-to-Use 3-D Track
Creator, 16 High-speed Motorcycles, 32 Challenging Tracks, Two Gameplay
Modes and Enhanced Graphics
SAN MATEO, Calif.- (BUSINESS WIRE) - Sept. 17, 1998 - Electronic
Arts(TM), the world's largest interactive entertainment software company,
announces the release of Moto Racer(TM) 2 for the PlayStation(R), the
follow-up to last year's popular high-speed, arcade-style motorcycle
racing title of the same name.
The game delivers an intuitive, easy-to-use 3-D Track Creator to design
custom courses, 32 pre-existing tracks, 16 motorcycle types, two
different race modes, as well as enhanced graphics and weather effects.
"Moto Racer 2 offers something different for every type of racing game
fan. Players will find that this version delivers an impressive array of
cool features and enhancements, while keeping true to the fun and
addicting gameplay of the original Moto Racer," said Dave Davis, producer
of the game.
A key feature to Moto Racer 2 is the new 3-D Track Creator. The Track
Creator -- which offers a simple, yet intuitive interface -- allows
racers to create original tracks or customize existing ones quickly and
easily by dragging the different "control points" with the controller.
Players can race street or dirt bikes on customized or pre-set tracks set
in five different realistic locales such as the Sahara Desert, the Amazon
Rain Forest and the European countryside, to name a few. Additionally,
racers can also save up to 120 tracks on a standard memory card, as well
as create championship circuits that can be traded with other game
players.
Building upon the success of its predecessor, Moto Racer 2 delivers
improved graphics including varying weather conditions such as rain and
snow that directly affect the gaming experience. For instance, roads will
become slippery when raining thus making it more difficult to maintain
control of the bike, especially on turns. In addition, new real-time
lighting effects, i.e. shading and highlighting, help create richer, more
intense racing environments. Players now on sunlit courses can see
'moving' shadows of their bikes and their competitors bikes on the
ground. The game can also be raced in both day and night times (with head
and brake lights).
Moto Racer 2 caters to racing enthusiasts of all types. Players can race
in either arcade or simulation mode, depending on their preference.
Arcade mode, which is similar to the original Moto Racer, offers
motorcycles that are easy to handle, allowing for extremely fast racing
action. Simulation mode features motorcycles that respond in a manner
reflective of their real-life counterparts. For instance, if brakes are
not used when required, such as speeding around a corner, the bike will
slide out and crash.
The game features intense ska/punk rock music from two up-and-coming West
Coast bands, BottomDawg and The Have-Nots. Moto Racer 2 for the
PlayStation can be raced two player via split screen and supports the
Sony Dual Shock(TM) controller. Developed by Delphine Software
International(TM), Moto Racer 2 for the PlayStation carries a suggested
retail price of $49.95 and has an "E" ESRB rating. The PC version of the
title will be available in early November.
THQ Solves PlayStation Puzzle Void With New Game, "Devil Dice"
CALABASAS, CALIF. (Sept. 23) ENTERTAINMENT WIRE - Sept. 23, 1998 - THQ
Inc. is rolling its lucky number with the launch of "Devil Dice," a 3-D
multiplayer puzzle game for the PlayStation game console. Developed by
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., "Devil Dice" is now available in North
America for a Suggested Retail Price of $39.95.
This addicting puzzler challenges players to beat the clock or square off
against each other in a frantic, high-speed circus of tumbling dice.
Players can choose from four different game modes, ranging from
mind-bending brainteasers to dizzying multiplayer wars. 'Devil Dice' is
the ultimate puzzle game for every member of the family," said Michael
Haller, senior vice president, THQ. "This irresistible entertainer
combines all of the crucial elements that make up a great puzzle game --
once you start playing, you won't be able to stop. It has unlimited
re-playability and its unusual brain-twisting puzzles are continuously
challenging."
The object in "Devil Dice" is to make as many dice disappear as possible
by matching similar numbers of dice. To do this, players can choose from
four different modes: Trial (1 player), Battle (1-2 players), War (1-5
players with a multi-tap) and Puzzle (1 player). In Trial mode, gamers
control feisty devils that race across the tops of giant dice, feverishly
turning them over in an attempt to group similar numbers. As the dice are
lined up and cleared, new ones appear to keep the game moving.
In Battle mode, players take on a friend or the computer, competing to be
the first to line up three, four or five dice patterns. But be careful:
opponents can steal patterns already lined up. The War mode is a 5-player
simultaneous survival game. Each person (or computer opponent) has a life
meter. As others line up dice, the number of dice they make disappear
will be subtracted from everyone else's score. The object of Puzzle mode
is to line up all the dice and make them vanish in a certain number of
steps. If the challenger cannot line up the dice properly in the allotted
number of steps, they must try again. Players will encounter five
different types of dice as they progress through the game, adding to the
difficulty of each puzzle.
For example: Normal dice slide one square in any direction; Wood dice
roll; Ice dice keep moving untilthey hit another block or the edge of the
playing field; Stone dice can only be moved from the floor; and Iron dice
won't move at all!
THQ Sets Sail With Swashbuckling Pirate Adventure
Game publisher THQ Inc. has raised the anchor on the new PC/Mac
action-adventure game "RedJack: Revenge of the Brethren," shipping to
retailers worldwide. "RedJack: Revenge of the Brethren" by CyberFlix,
developer of the top-selling "Titanic: Adventure Out of Time," is
available for a suggested retail price of $39.95.
"With its immersive story, thrilling action sequences and rich, cinematic
3-D graphics, 'RedJack: Revenge of the Brethren' is a new kind of PC
adventure game," said Brian J. Farrell, president and CEO, THQ.
"Adventure fans will be enthralled by the intricate story and
mind-boggling puzzles, not to mention the oddball cast of characters.
Hardcore gamers will dive right into the real-time fight sequences.
'RedJack' has something for everybody."
"We're very proud of 'RedJack,' and what we've been able to produce with
the latest version of our DreamFactory technology," said Erik Quist, vice
president and general manager, CyberFlix. "Since the release of
'Titanic,' our authoring technology has advanced considerably, and we
think that the differences will be evident the first time people see
'RedJack' -- particularly with respect to the title's cinematic qualities
and our new capabilities in creating animated characters."
Quist continued: "What this title offers is feature film-styled animation
and a full-fledged adventure epic delivered onto computer screens. Our
aim has always been to broaden the scope of what adventure games can do,
and 'RedJack' is one more step along that path." Featuring an epic
storyline that combines a sweeping pirate legend, a mystery-riddled race
for lost treasure and villainous danger at every turn, "RedJack: Revenge
of the Brethren" establishes a new standard in adventure gaming. Gamers
play as the hero, Nicholas Dove, a 17-year-old boy on tiny Lizard Point
Island, who joins the crew of the renegade pirate ship Marauder to follow
his destiny -- which may just hold a fortune in gold and treasure that
has been hidden for 17 years by the infamous pirate legend RedJack.
To claim the lost treasure, gamers must journey to exotic ports-of-call
in the lawless West Indies and go blade to blade with cutthroats,
assassins and ghosts. Gamers are aided along the way by Shoeless Lyle, a
pirate from the Marauder, who teaches players how to defend themselves,
sword fight, and fire pistols and cannons accurately -- all of the skills
gamers will need to survive the many challenges that lie between them and
their destinies.
More than 40 challenging puzzles, fights and adventures will dog gamers
throughout theirs travels through "RedJack: Revenge of the Brethren."
Players may have to spring traps or find hidden passages before they can
proceed. Items discovered earlier may be useful in solving these
stumpers. When gamers reach a dead end, talk to friends; they may know or
have something that will help solve the conundrum. Each of the characters
gamers meet and interact with along the way is well developed and highly
expressive -- the Magistrate's raised eyebrow or Elizabeth's shoulder
shrug communicate as loudly as Bone's classic swashbuckling dialogue and
Erzulies' voodoo incantations. Whether friends or enemies, "RedJack:
Revenge of the Brethren's" colorful cast are as likely to make gamers
laugh as they are to send a chill down one's spine.
"RedJack: Revenge of the Brethren" boasts more than 20 interactive, 3-D
characters in six stunning locales -- all in spectacular 32-bit color, as
well as a haunting, atmospheric soundtrack with dynamic ambient effects.
CyberFlix's patented DreamFactory technology provides players with the
ability to move fluidly throughout the game's lush 3-D environments. Dark
forests, mysterious villages and ruined temples are just a mouse click
away.
Accolade's Test Drive Off-Road 2 To Feature 20 Licensed Vehicles
SAN JOSE, CALIF. (Sept. 22) BUSINESS WIRE - Sept 22, 1998 - Accolade, a
leading software publisher and developer of video games, announced today
that its Test Drive Off-Road 2 racing game will include 20 licensed
vehicles and four licensed songs from three bands. The game will be
available for the PlayStation(R) game console and personal computer in
November of this year. "Test Drive Off-Road 2 will put gamers right in
the middle of fast paced off-road racing with access to incredible
vehicles," said Monte Singman, senior producer of Test Drive Off-Road 2.
"The heart-pounding soundtrack from Test Drive Off-Road 2 and licensed
off-road vehicles make for an intense gaming experience."
The Test Drive Off-Road 2 soundtrack will feature the songs Falling and
Drown from TVT Records' gold-selling alternative band Gravity Kills, as
well as hard rock band Sevendust's hit single Black. Sevendust's
self-titled debut album spent 12 uninterrupted weeks at the number one
spot on the "heavy rock/metal" charts. Roadrunner Records futuristic rock
artist Fear Factory will contribute the song Shock. Tommy Tallarico
Studios will be providing additional music and sounds for the game. The
game will feature an exclusive license with Hummer(R) AM General and 19
additional licensed off-road vehicles including: Land Rover Defender 90,
Land Rover Range Rover, Dodge(R) Ram V12, Dodge(R) T-Rex, Ford Explorer,
Ford F150, Saleen Explorer, Chenowth Fast Attack Vehicle, Jeep(R)
Wrangler and Jeep(R) Grand Cherokee. Access is given to eight cars at the
beginning of the game; as players win races and advance, 12 additional
cars will become "unlocked."
Players choose from 12 tracks in six real-world locations and drive over
mountains, through deserts and across grass lands and beaches. Users have
the capability to drive their vehicle in thick mud pits and splash
through flowing rivers. Locations include a volcano track in Hawaii, the
muddy trails of the Santa Cruz Mountains in California, the chilly
mountains of Switzerland, deserts in Mojave and Morocco, and the green
countryside of Wales.
Test Drive: Off-Road 2 features multiple racing modes including: single
race competition and multiple-race world tour modes. The PlayStation
version supports the Sony Dual Shock(R) Analog Controller which allows
gamers to feel every bump in the road. The PC version includes
multiplayer capabilities for up to eight players via the Internet, LAN or
modem.
Fox Interactive's "CROC: Legend Of The Gobbos"
Fox Interactive's first original property and strongest seller, "CROC:
Legend of the Gobbos," will now join the other stellar titles in
PlayStation's Greatest Hits line-up. The critically-acclaimed title will
continue to rock this September with a new low price of $29.95 (SRP). The
PC version of "CROC: Legend Of The Gobbos" is also available at the same
low price. Released in December 1997, "CROC: Legend of the Gobbos" has
already sold more than 1.5 million units worldwide and continues to win
over fans everywhere and garner international acclaim. "With this new low
price, we expect Croc will have strong appeal with newer, younger PSX
owners," said Jon Richmond, president, Fox Interactive. "This is an
excellent chance for a whole new generation of gamers to have a great
game at a great price."
Electronic Arts Ships Madden NFL 99 for the Nintendo 64
SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BW SportsWire)-- Sept. 24, 1998 - Electronic
Arts(tm), the world's largest interactive entertainment software company,
today announced that it has shipped Madden NFL(tm) 99 for the Nintendo(R)
64 with a revolutionary One-Button Mode(tm). This simple optional setting
enables novice users to quickly develop the skill and strategy needed to
play the game, allowing moms and dads to play on equal footing as their
game-savvy kids. Madden's legendary gameplay is better than ever with
enhanced Madden designed Artificial Intelligence, all new offensive moves
and bone-jarring wrap tackles. Madden NFL 99 for the PlayStation(R)
shipped in August.
EA SPORTS'(tm) John Madden Football(tm) series has sold more than 11
million units over the lifetime of the franchise. According to market
research firm The NPD Group, it was the world's best-selling football
computer and video game in 1997. "Madden NFL 99 delivers on fun and
depth," said John Madden, Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and former Super
Bowl(tm)-winning coach. "I'm very excited about the One-Button Mode we've
put into the game this year. When I diagram a play on TV, I try and
explain it in such a way that anybody watching at home can understand
what I'm talking about. After all, football doesn't have to be brain
surgery so there is no reason to make it more complicated than it really
is. Madden NFL 99 allows a rookie to simply pick up the game controller
and start hitting somebody!"
EA SPORTS also enlisted the help of All-Pro running back Barry Sanders to
design player moves. "I've always loved Madden football, but the one
element that was missing for me was a killer 'juke' move," said Sanders.
"I wanted that one awesome move that leaves a defender grasping nothing
but air when he tries to tackle me. I worked with the team at EA SPORTS
to implement the new juke move in Madden NFL 99 so now I play as good on
the video field as I do on the real field. You need that juke move in
your arsenal to get around those big linebackers."
Perhaps the biggest feature in the history of the franchise is the new
One-Button Mode that opens the game up to a whole new group of people.
The One-Button Mode enables beginners to concentrate on enjoying Madden
NFL 99 without any frustration due to a lack of game playing experience
or in-depth football knowledge. Thanks to One-Button Mode the user can
now hike the ball, hand off to a running back, throw the ball to the open
receiver, make a big tackle, spin the ball carrier, throw a stiff-arm or
hurdle to avoid a tackle by simply hitting the "X" or "action" button.
The Madden NFL 99 artificial intelligence (AI) is so sophisticated that
it automatically reads what is happening in the game and will make the
appropriate choice for the user when he presses the action button. Then,
as beginner game players hone their skills, they will be able to graduate
to higher levels of gameplay. "EA SPORTS recognized the opportunity for
interactive football games to have an easier point of entry for novice
game players," said Scott Orr, vice president and executive producer of
the John Madden Football series at Electronic Arts.
"The idea that dads can finally be on equal footing with their kids is a
tremendous opportunity and opens sports video games to a whole new
audience. Just as EA SPORTS previously saw that users wanted advanced AI,
touchdown dances, a TV-style presentation, and the ability to draft,
release and trade players, we are again ahead of the innovation curve and
are the first in the industry to give people the hottest and most popular
features." For those gamers who want total control over everything that
happens on the field, the traditional mode of play is still available and
better than ever. New features in Madden NFL 99 include multiple "wrap"
tackles and bone-jarring hits that bring in-your-face realism to the
game. Also new are improved spin moves and stiff arms that deliver a new
level of control to the user.
Madden NFL 99 for the Nintendo 64 is the latest installment of the
award-winning franchise that leads the industry in quality and
innovation. Visually stunning graphics, top-notch gameplay and
groundbreaking features have defined this franchise since its inception.
Madden NFL 99 continues this tradition by being the first NFL game to
implement a play editor so that die-hard gamers can design their own
running plays, blocking schemes and pass routes. Madden NFL 99 is the
first game to create a Franchise Mode so that simulation fans can play
the role of general manager over multiple seasons.
Madden NFL 99 offers well over 100 past and present NFL teams. All 30
current NFL teams, 85 All-Time and Super Bowl teams, plus numerous secret
teams provide a multitude of match-ups for historical football fans and
those interested in this year's teams. Every stadium in the NFL is fully
rendered in a vivid 3-D environment. Madden NFL 99 has high-resolution
polygon graphics and the NFL license across all platforms. The game can
be run in a simulation mode that stays true to real life conditions for
athletes, or an arcade mode in which player moves and skills are
exaggerated. Madden NFL 99 for the Nintendo 64 supports the Rumble
Pak(tm) controller so that big hits are felt right through the users
finger tips in the form of vibrations, and the Nintendo Analog joystick
that allows player movements to be accelerated with quick joystick
control.
Hasbro Interactive To Stabilize Into Christmas, 1999
Sep. 17, 1998 (MULTIMEDIA WIRE, Vol. 5, No. 180 via COMTEX) -- Having
brought MicroProse into the fold, Hasbro Interactive is looking for
stability going into the holiday season, but will re-emerge in
acquisition mode in 1999, President Tom Dusenberry tells MMWire. The
acquisition of MicroProse is "only the beginning" of Hasbro's plans, he
says.
The company yesterday confirmed that MicroProse's former MD of
Europe/Asia Pacific, Tim Christian, had been appointed MD, International
for Hasbro Interactive and will take care of day-to-day business.
Hasbro's current international MD, Barry Jafrato, has been promoted to
Senior Vice President of Global Business Development and will "lead the
cause in product acquisitions" and relations with inventors and
developers. MicroProse chairman Gilman Louie has been offered a position
with the company and an announcement will be made this week.
MicroProse CEO Steve Race will leave the company (MMW, Aug. 13 and Sept.
16), Dusenberry confirms, but no timetable has been set for his
departure. "We think the world of Steve. He's a world-class
guy."Dusenberry plans to work with Race to integrate MicroProse into
Hasbro. usenberry also reiterates that R&D and studios will be kept 100%
intact. The inevitable consolidation will occur at the operations level.
Hasbro Interactive has established an integration plan, Dusenberry says,
and is dealing with employees affected by the deal before making
announcements.
Hasbro needs to digest the acquisitions of the Atari properties from JTS
Corp (MMW, Mar. 17), board game maker Avalon Hill (MMW, Aug. 14) and
MicroProse, "so we will probably go through a semi-quiet period here.
It's a major maneuver for Hasbro Interactive because we haven't had R&D
studios before, so we want to make sure there is stability and
continuity...We're very focused on making the 1998 business happen, but
will re-emerge in 1999 as a pursuer of acquisition opportunities."
Square Soft Strategy Guides to be Published by BradyGAMES
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- BradyGAMES, the video game
industry's leading strategy guide publisher, today announced an agreement
with Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. to publish the official strategy
guides for Square's upcoming titles Parasite Eve(TM), Xenogears(TM), and
Brave Fencer(TM) Musashi(TM). Expectations are high with this
ground-breaking news. Under the terms of the agreement, Brady will
publish the only official strategy guides for Parasite Eve, Xenogears and
Brave Fencer Musashi. This arrangement follows the stellar success of
collaboration on four previous titles, most notably Final Fantasy(TM)VII
for PlayStation, BradyGAMES' biggest selling title of all time. Square
Soft(R) and BradyGAMES are once again prepared to launch revolutionary
new titles across several gaming genres.
"This agreement between Square Soft and BradyGAMES promises to be one of
the most important arrangements ever entered into between a game company
and a strategy guide publisher," said Lynn Zingraf, publisher BradyGAMES
Strategy Guides. "Final Fantasy VII has sold more retail copies since its
publication than any other strategy guide to date, and we haven't stood
still since then. We've already followed that success up with three
exciting, new RPG game guides." The official strategy guides for the
newest Square Soft games (Parasite Eve, Xenogears, and Brave Fencer
Musashi) are scheduled for late 1998 release. Parasite Eve is a
captivating adventure with state-of-the-art elements of science fiction,
bone-chilling horror, and action-packed exploration. The Parasite Eve
Official Strategy Guide includes full-color maps for Parasite Eve
exploration, with a complete list of items, weapons, and enemies. The
thrill-seeking game player can discover the secrets of how to combine
weapons and armor in special, revealing guide chapters. The Official
Xenogears Strategy Guide breaks out maps for every mission in this
intricate tale for the growing, serious RPG audience. Fans will uncover
detailed battle strategies and weapon lists, character bios, and a window
into the world of Xenogear robots. And the final game guide of this
cutting-edge trilogy is The Official Guide to Brave Fencer Musashi.
Musashi takes game-playing fun to the max and the strategy guide uncovers
secrets of the fast-paced game, with bonus items throughout for those
puzzle-solving, hard-core gamers.
Square Soft intends to remain at the forefront of the gaming world's
attention, and with these new titles continues to broaden technology
horizons. "Our agreement with BradyGAMES on the production of the Square
Soft game strategy guides will bring top quality, cutting-edge technology
tips to today's RPG-savvy game player," said Jun Iwasaki, president of
Square Electronics Arts L.L.C. "We are committed to a progressive and
successful relationship with the industry's leading game strategy guide
publisher, and a supercharged future of providing the best technology and
information to game players."
Gaming Online STR InfoFile - Online Users Growl & Purr!
Battlesphere Answers by T-Bird - Crosspost from JI2
From: <sidg@sidg.net>
Heya Guys...
Here's a post by T-Bird on Jaguar Interactive II that most of you will
find answers to your questions about Battlesphere(tm) from. Hasbro REALLY
pisses me off.
Gary
---- Begin Crosspost ----
Here are some bullet points regarding the Hasbro Situation. I get the
feeling the things are getting lost because people seem to think there is
something 4Play can do about the situation, or something THEY can do is
going to help. I reserve the right to verbally trounce anyone who ignores
these points:
* BattleSphere is FINISHED. (The final cut was played by hundreds at
WoA. Proof is on Mark Santora's Video)
* 4Play does NOT need a "Publisher". We have plenty of avenues to have
the cartridges built.
* BattleSphere CANNOT be released to the public without encryption. It
will not run on a consumer Jaguar unless it is encrypted.
* Telegames does NOT do encryption. They bought pre-encrypted game
binaries and published them.
* Hasbro OWNS the ONLY KNOWN COPY of the Encryption Key. Even if a
person owned the Encryption Program, the KEY is what makes it
secure.
* Hasbro's employees are too busy to search the Atari pile (Literally,
all that is left of Atari exists as a pile of boxes in a closet).
For a disk with the key on it.
The name of the KEY file is not known to 4Play or Hasbro. Having the
filename of the key -could- make finding it easier. Only a few higher-ups
at Atari had access to the key file.
The encryption is crackable, but it would take a considerable effort and
is not something 4Play is prepared to do unless we get Hasbro's
PERMISSION to release the game without the standard KEY.
4Play WANTS to release BattleSphere(tm), but we are mired in the Hasbro
Red-Tape and they apparently want nothing to do with helping us.
If you think YOU are frustrated because you can't play BattleSphere,
imagine how WE must feel after spending 4 years coding it and having this
happen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thunderbird
4Play
---- End Crosspost ----
Re: Battlesphere Answers by T-Bird - Crosspost from JI2
From: Kyle Jones kyle_jones@wonderworks.com
sidg@sidg.net wrote:
> Here's a post by T-Bird on Jaguar Interactive II that most of
> you will find answers to your questions about Battlesphere(tm)
> from. Hasbro REALLY pisses me off.
What should really piss you off is that any of this is even necessary. I
remember a time when people who made computer hardware were glad when
other people developed software to run on their machines. Now they want
to pinch a dollar from everyone who even looks at their hardware. The
encryption guarantees that everyone must beg at the door of hardware
manufacturer and now you see the result.
If a computer as rock-stupid by today's standards as an Apple II can be
used to load, play and develop games, there's no good reason why today's
fancy consoles require so much rigmarole. Look at the barriers to simply
experimenting with the hardware. Exotic media. Encryption. Expensive
proprietary "development" hardware. If these barriers were not in place,
you could be playing new Jaguar games TODAY, because people who love to
hack on computers for hacking's sake would be doing it now and would have
been doing it years ago.
Re: Battlesphere Answers by T-Bird - Crosspost from JI2
From: Brian Matchick matchick@enteract.com
sidg@sidg.net wrote:
: Heya Guys...
: Here's a post by T-Bird on Jaguar Interactive II that most of you will
: find answers to your questions about Battlesphere(tm) from. Hasbro
: REALLY pisses me off.
: Gary
Would it help if we ALL start talking to Hasbro. I mean nicely at first.
Just send some letters and leave a few voice mails to the right people.
Anyone go names and numbers?
I do remember hearing of laws regarding 'dead' computer systems.
Commodore was sued at one time and some company got all the rights to one
of their old CBM boxes because Commdore wouldn't support it anymore. I
don't know if Hasbro has the right (in the long run) to sit on the Jag
and refuse people the right to produce softeare for it. 4-Play may have
the right to just release BS if Hasbro won't give them the key. But I see
why 4-play doesn't wnat to end up in court.
This sucks.
Brian
matchick@enteract.com
Re: Battlesphere Answers by T-Bird - Crosspost from JI2
From: richardhutnik@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 20:56:03 GMT (Page 1 of 3)
Responding to: 6trbr7$npk@crystal.WonderWorks.COM
In article 6trbr7$npk@crystal.WonderWorks.COM,
kyle_jones@wonderworks.com (Kyle Jones) wrote:
> sidg@sidg.net wrote:
> > Here's a post by T-Bird on Jaguar Interactive II that most of you
will find answers to your questions about Battlesphere(tm) from. Hasbro
REALLY pisses me off.
Since the release of the NES, the encryption thing has become standard
practice amongst video game companies and their systems. Nintendo did it
to control the cart market on their machine, for both good and bad
reasons. Other companies followed suit. Of course, when you hit a
situation like the case of the Jaguar, developers would end up getting
screwed, as 4Play (I don't think 4Play should come after getting
screwed, but I digress :-P. Someone shoot me please :-P) did in regards
to Hasbro. I am sure they will eventually come up with the encryption
thing, but it may take awhile.
- Richard Hutnik
Re: Battlesphere Answers by T-Bird - Crosspost from JI2
From: Mark Rathwell av999@FreeNet.Carleton.CA
Date: 18 Sep 1998 12:54:52 GMT (Page 1 of 2)
Responding to: <6trt12$qel$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>
Since the release of the NES, the encryption thing has become standard
practice amongst video game companies and their systems. Nintendo did it
to control the cart market on their machine, for both good and bad
reasons.
Not to nitpick but Atari actually had encryption on the 7800 before
Nintendo had it on the NES. They didn't want "Custer's Revenge" popping
up with 7800 graphics.
Nintendo's encryption tactics were to monopolize the market. The NES
certainly had a dearth of low quality games and Nintendo didn't do
anything to stop them from coming to life. It was simply a money making
tactic for them (Nintendo got 2/3 of the money from the sale of ANY NES
cart).
Mark
Re: Battlesphere Answers by T-Bird - Crosspost from JI2
From: BELJAN E lvpy67c@ix.netcom.co
Date: 18 Sep 1998 20:32:05 GMT (Page 1 of 1)
Responding to: 6ttl6s$5h@freenet-news.carleton.ca
In <6ttl6s$5h@freenet-news.carleton.ca> av999@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Mark
Rathwell) writes:
>(Nintendo got 2/3 of the money from the sale of ANY NES cart).
>Thats the real reason they still use carts today.
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
Compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@streport.com
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. I guess that since summer has officially
ended, Mother Nature has decided to drive the point home here in the
northeast. It was a chilly 48 degrees when I awoke this morning. While
some may dislike the sudden change, I find it exhilarating. There's
nothing like a blast of cold air in the morning to wake you up and
reassure you that you are alive. No, I'm not going to turn this into a
"that's why I use an Atari" piece. I just found it a welcomed change.
On the news front, John Rojewski has just released NEWSie v0.92. I have
downloaded it, but haven't had a chance to look at it yet. If it is
anything at all like its predecessors, it's well worth having if you want
to 'do' UseNet browsing and/or email on the internet. It also has some
web browsing capabilities and fully functional ftp support. As a matter
of fact, I use NEWSie to gather all of the UseNet posts I include in this
column. It hasn't let me down yet, and I seriously doubt it will. I think
the nicest thing about the last several releases of NEWSie is that it is
available in six languages. On John's web site
http://www.primenet.com/~rojewski/newsie.html), there are two archives
available: The english-only version (about 235 Kbytes ZIPped), and the
six-language version (about 486 Kbytes ZIPped). The languages available
are: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish. The author
has also added a handy little utility to automatically select which
language files to install. This, in my opinion, is a great idea and
should be applauded by everyone who uses the program.
I've been downloading, using, and sending contributions for shareware for
about ten years now, and it still amazes me that there is such wonderful
software out there for the asking. Some authors, like John, don't even
ask for monetary contributions (NEWSie is released as FreeWare). For the
amount of work that a programmer puts into a program like this, I find
that simply incredible. If you use a program other than NEWSie, that's
okay too. Personal preference counts for a lot too. I've used other
programs for email, ftp, and UseNet access, but I still like NEWSie the
best. If you like one of the others and it works well for you, by all
means stay with it!
The same words of praise go for all the other wonderful programmers who
write all of this great software just because they can, and then let us
use it as shareware, freeware, or even "postcardware". Peter
Rottengatter's STinG is probably one of the three best pieces of software
on my TT right now, and it is free. Peter has done a great job with
implementing a PPP enabled communications package for Atari computers...
something that several knowledgable people told me couldn't be done.
There are others that deserve the same praise as Peter, but I'll leave
that to another time (you'll see why in a moment).
Well, let's get on with all the news, hints, tips, and info available
this week on the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
"JonK" posts:
"OK this is what I don't understand, why would someone make a TCP/IP
stack and then abandon it. There hs not been an update for about six
months I believe. I personally wrote Peter 2 emails explaining that I
could not dcc send with the older tcp module and could with the newer one
but my connection to the rest of the net was super slow. I know I am not
the only one having this problem because I have talked to other people
with the same problem. So am I out of line?"
Denesh (Danny) Bhabuta tells JonK:
"Maybe the same reason many other programmers 'abandon' their projects -
they get bored. or it could be they have hit a brick wall and do not know
how to better the software or where to start bettering the program. or it
may be - lack of time!"
Michael Grove adds:
"Peter dedicated a lot of effort into the project, and still supports
echnical issues on a regular basis here. I don't think I would entertain
the idea that he abandoned his efforts, he is much more serious than
that. I know that I was pleasantly surprised when I realized this guy was
going to go the distance with his package. It's a team effort here, and
maybe it's just time for another player to take the ball (round or oval:)
for a while. I'm sure that his efforts have not ended and that he is even
now advising another on what is to be accomplished next. I am constantly
amazed at the quality software that is developed for our simple
platforms. E ticket software for the price of a 10 cent ice cream, and
every bit as good."
Terry May tells JonK:
"You are so far out of line, you're on another planet. STinG is
*FREEWARE*. You paid *NOTHING* for it, so you have no right to be [mad].
We are lucky that Peter has done as much as he has..."
Hallvard Tangeraas adds:
"Peter... has put a LOT of work and time into his work, and in addition
aken the time off to answer questions via email and news and even taken
the time to test out network connections people have said they couldn't
work out. And all of this without asking for anything (well, only for a
postcard if I recall correctly which I gladly sent him)."
Roger Cain adds his own thoughts:
"STiNG works PERFECTLY for me. I see no reason why it needs any more work
doing on it. Developers do not HAVE to continue tinkering with a product
if it does what it promises in fact I think it is a good thing that they
reach a comfortable state of stability. Who would you trust more .. a
young teenager who is forever trying to find out 'who he is' or a grandad
sitting by the fire with pipe and carpet-slippers? I think STiNG is
nicely into carpet-slippers now.<smile>"
Don Schoergarth asks:
"Any one know anything about the Atari Sparrow? What is it worth? I know
it was before the Falcon but, what are the major differences?"
Nicholas Bales tells Don:
"No Atari Sparrow was ever released by Atari. I think there was a
prototype at one point called the Sparrow. It might have been the
Falcon040 proto or a Falcon-based console, maybe even something else. If
you've seen one for sale, it's either a valuable collector's item, or
complete bull..."
Tony Cianfaglione takes the conversation back to STinG when he asks for
help:
"When I attempt to start STinG, it says 'cannot find default.cfg' and
then shuts off. I've looked through everything that came in the StinG zip
but can't find the default.cfg. Where would I find this file?"
Terry May tells Tony:
"It should have came with your STinG package. As for where it should be,
you should have a file in your AUTO folder called STING.INF, with a line
containing the path to your DEFAULT.CFG, e.g.: D:\STING\"
Chris Crosskey asks about a problem with using his CDROM:
"I've just tried to read a CDR that I burned at work, it's mostly text
and graphics files from my hobby designing and building analog
synths....problem is some of the folders have names all in lower case and
I can't open them. They open OK in WIN95 so I guess I could transfer them
all onto a PC again and reburn the whole thing, but a generic fix would
be to get a Falcon, TOS4.04, NVDI, Metados to read them."
Jo Even Skarstein tells Chris:
"Use SPIN! by Julian Reschke. It can read just about anything, very nice
driver. I can't remember JR's URL right now, but you can find it on
Hallvard's Atari Hyperlink Launchpad (www-atari.nvg.ntnu.no/launchpad/)."
David Moore tells us that he...
"Just got a Falcon the other day. It has 14 megs memory and am using the
VGA adaptor. The problem seems to be that certain programs that worked
fine before no longer work at all or do really strange things.
Do these programs work with the Falcon?
1) UIS III
2) PageStream 2.2
Programs which no longer at right is ones like CAB it tends to lock up
alot during information transfer. The dialer no longer will connect at
19200 (connects at 9600) though the modem.cpx is set for 19200. This all
worked fine before switching to the falcon. Also when using MaciC 4 and
using the dialer for CAB it gives me some error about not being to
transfer something or another to CAB I really thought the Falcon was
suppose to be a much better machine that the older ST's? Anybody have an
idea what is going on here????"
Michael Grove tells David:
"First, I would recommend getting Selectric. I don't know that much about
UIS, but Selectric is very stable and has much the same options. The
PageStream problem is with the fonts. Again I don't know why, but if you
reduce the number of fonts, you will notice that it will start up much
faster. It's funny as it does boot much faster on an ST. Maybe someone
can give more detail. Start PageStream again and give it about
fiveminutes and play around. It should come up."
Paul Nurminen asks for help with POPWatch:
"I'm having a bit of a problem with POPwatch (2.73). If I receive an
e-mail with a large file attachment (example: today a friend sent me an
MPEG that was about 4.5 megs), POPwatch _will not_ even tell me that I
have e-mail. It connects, and then just sits there until I get a "user
timeout expired" message. For some reason large e-mails (or many small
e-mails) are a problem for POPwatch; it can't seem to pull in the header
information. And I see no way to change the length of time before a
timeout occurs. I've e-mailed Gary but haven't heard from him either.
Also, when this happens, often NEWSie will do the same thing. If I do a
"check mail" in NEWSie, it sits for several minutes - basically locks up.
I have to hit ESC, at which point NEWSie informs me I have "0 mail"
(which isn't true). And after this happened today with the single MPEG
e-mail, I also tried MyMail. It basically did the same thing - sitting
for a while then coming up with a message saying there was an error or I
possibly had a bad password (not true).
The only way I am able to get e-mail when this happens is to log onto my
ISP with a term program (they also have a "shell account" for this
purpose) and then I can get it and download it without problems. But, I'm
thinking of switching to another ISP soon, and they don't offer this term
program / shell account access. So if I get a large e-mail, or too many,
I'll never be able to see them. And it would conceivably prevent me from
ever getting any e- mails once there were too many!"
Katherine Ellis tells Paul:
"I don't think it is the size of the file, but the way the header of this
email is. Have you tried with POPGEM 2.1? btw starting a project like
popgem and smtpgem is not for fun only. But Just that no emailer prog so
far on atari work efficiently. They make me mad. MyMail seems to be the
most promising."
Ronald Hall tells us:
"I have a SyQuest EZ-135 that I had formatted with ICD's Pro v6.5.5 to 1
partition (134.x megs), that I wanted to use to exchange large files with
a PC owning friend. I took the EZ and 1 cart to him, and Windoze refused
to find it. He reformatted it under Windows '95 (rev 1), and this worked,
so he copied over 100+ megs of fractals, MPEG's, etc,... When I got home
though, I could not get either my Falcon (TOS 4.04) or my Mega ST (TOS
1.4) to recognize the cart.
Can anyone tell me what I have to do, to be able to have an EZ cart that
will be accepted by both TOS and Win '95? (I'm sure this info. has been
posted here before, but I didn't have a need then to read it)"
Steve Stupple tells Ronald:
"HD Driver v7.5 allows you to format drives so that they can be read and
written by Atari and PC's."
Steve Hammond adds:
"The easiest way is to partition the EZ 135 cart on the PC and then use
BIGDOS under TOS to allow you to access the cart. OTOH you could use
HDriver (I think you would need version 7.XX to be able to do this)."
Ronald tells Steve:
"Thanks for the reply. Is BIGDOS easy to use? I'm assuming I can find it
at most of the popular ftp sites?"
Ken Springer asks about NEWSie:
"Do any of the Atari emailer programs support the blind carbon copy
function, such as you find in Netscape, Internet Explorer, Eudora, and
Lotus CC:Mail? I have need of such a function. Charles Stanley wrote that
he was having no problems with Newsie .90. Wish that were true here. It's
deleting messages here from the hard drive before I even read them. The
messages are listed in newsgroup window, but are missing from the hard
drive. I do all my reading offline. And it's screwing around with the
subject lines, too. The subject as listed in the newsgroup window many
times does not match the subject line in the message itself. It's so bad
that I don't trust it here to be able to read the subject list in the
group listing window and decide on whether to read the message or not."
Louis Holleman tells Ken:
"Who was that, shouting "don't get hysterical about Newsie" again? Bug's
still there... Well, I moved on. If you don't wanna go into the quite
time-consuming set up for Okami/Newswatch/Popwatch, I could recommend
FireNews... it's an OFFline reader only, but works decently. Works with
StinG too. The URL for it is http://www.alfaskop.net/~faltrion/FireSTorm/
Need to register if you wanna hook up more than 5 groups, but that's just
a matter of an e-mail to Christian. If you need help setting it up, gimme
a yell."
The author of NEWSie, John Rojewski, tells Ken:
"Its never been requested, so its not been written. The Nicknames will
generate a "blind" copy, since there is no header generated when
Nicknames are used. This might suffice for you. There was a problem in
0.90 that would delete the news file (at the users request), but not
remove the line from the overview window. This is only noticiable in
offline reading, and is fixed in 0.92, to the best of my knowledge."
Charles Silver adds his thoughts and experiences:
"Well, I've tried as hard as I can to duplicate those having problems
with NEWSie v0.90. But, I can't. I'm using a 14meg Nemesis/Falcon with a
810meg Fujitsu IDE/SCSI 135meg EZ Drive using TOS4.04/or MultiTOS/MiNT.
My HD's are formatted/partitioned using AHDI. I use the "Optimizer" to
keep my HD's defragmented. It seems those having the most problems are
using TT's with other OS's. Can't help there. All I can say is that there
is absolutely *NO* HD problems or corruption of any files using NEWSie.
So, what's up here? No e-mailer is perfect for everything, but I've
downloaded binaries over 3megs, sent messages everywhere, downloaded ng's
and ftp's all with no problems. This doesn't help those with major
problems, but it doesn't happen to me. If it did, I wouldn't use NEWSie.
For me, it's an excellent prg/the best. So, take a second look at your
setup. Dimes to donuts, it ain't like mine..."
Louis replies:
"OK, here come my experiences with the versions 0.80, 0.82, 0.86, 0.88
and 0.90 for the last 6 months. Some of you might recall me having those
problems with corrupted Route.tab and cache.dns files at the start (using
0.80/0.82/0.84). Solved by leaving out cache.dns, whereafter a new one
was generated and the problem was over. I recall at least 4-5 other
people been having similar problems with corrupted files. Only problem
turning up every now and then was articles missing in the offline
folders. I *know* I never deleted them, but Newsie must have deleted them
anyhow. They were still mentioned in the overview, but "pressing the
article line" to bring it to a window gave me an empty one. Checked the
offline folder and they were just gone. Not happening everyday, but on
occasions. I can't recall having lost e-mail. The only other problem I
had with an earlier version was using UUE attachments: only able to do
one per program start. It's OK with 0.90 but I switched to MIME in the
meantime.
So all in all: I can live with that. What Charles Stanley described,
every now and then on somany bytes or a multiple is happening here too
occasionally, but the articles DO show up. I set the time-out to
something like 5-6 secs to prevent long waiting times between those
articles. Works good enough for me. What it also doesn't do right is
handling the article numbers upon transfer completion. Everytime I have
to edit the Default.grp to prevent it from fetching articles for the
second time. I gather it has something to do with the time-outs for this
above mentioned problem.
What I don't like however, is the ability of Newsie working behind the
back of Gemdos... thus it IS possible it starts screwing around with
files on literally any partition, and it just could as well be the FAT's.
To my knowledge it hasn't happened and I do hope it never happens, but
don't blame me when it happens to YOU. Go ask Peter if you'd like. I'm
running Okami now for about a week (plus FireNews for evaluation since a
day or 4) and I haven't seen trouble with these at all. Okami will be the
major replacement, but ever since I started with those programs I had to
say "Newsie was fine, easy handling, lotsa features, if only I could get
a guarantee my files won't get screwed...!"
Newsie's still on my disk, I use it only for ONLINE work now and that's
another thing it does very well. I won't get hysterical about Newsie, I
appreciate several options highly if only its ability to screw files
would be suppressed... And the suggestions made by this other guy (forgot
his name): would be nice ones!"
Well folks, that's about it for this week. Believe it or not, I hadn't
seen the large number of posts about NEWSie when I started the column. I
guess that things just work out that way sometimes. Be sure to tune in
again next week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what
they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
A BILL to Regulate the Hunting and Harvesting of Attorneys
PC 370.00
370.01 Any person with a valid California State Rodent or Snake hunting
license may also hunt and harvest attorneys for recreational and sport
(non-commercial) purposes.
370.01 Taking of attorneys with traps or deadfalls is permitted. The use
of United States currency as bait, however, is prohibited.
370.01 The willful killing of attorneys with a motor vehicle is
prohibited, unless such vehicle is an ambulance being driven in reverse.
If an attorney is accidentally struck by a motor vehicle, the dead
attorney should be removed to the roadside, and the vehicle should proceed
to the
nearest car wash.
370.01 It is unlawful to chase, herd or harvest attorneys from a power
boat, helicopter or aircraft.
370.01 It is unlawful to shout, "WHIPLASH," "AMBULANCE," OR "FREE SCOTCH"
for the purpose of trapping attorneys.
370.01 It is unlawful to hunt attorneys within 100 yards of BMW, Mercedes
or Porsche dealerships, exept on Wednesday afternoons.
370.01 It is unlawful to hunt attorneys within 200 yards of courtrooms,
law libraries, health clubs, country clubs, hospitals, or brothels.
370.01 If an attorney gains elective office, it is not necessary to have a
license to hunt, trap or possess the same.
370.01 It is unlawful for a hunter to wear a disguise as a reporter,
accident victim, physician, chiropractor or tax accountant for the purpose
of hunting attorneys.
370.01 Bag Limits per day:
* yellow-bellied sidewinders 2
* two-faced tortfeasors 1
* back-stabbing divorce litigators 3
* horn-rimmed cut-throats 2
* horn-rimmed cut-throats turned politician 35
* minutiae-advocating chickenshits 4
* honest attorneys -- protected (endangered species)
Best experienced with
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