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Silicon Times Report Issue 1145
1
The Original Independent OnLine Magazine"
(Since 1987)
November 10, 1995 No.
1145
Silicon Times Report International OnLine Magazine
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From the Editor's Desk...
Not too much to carry on about this week other than COMDEX!! The new
products, the updates and the full upgrades are flowing like crazy. Windows
95, much to the disappointment of those who wish it would go away, has become
the standard of most everyone using the PC. And I might add, with good
reason. The speed, ease of use and sheer pleasure of using it makes the
slight effort of becoming accustomed to Win95 hardly noticeable. If you are
considering making the change and are slightly hesitant due to the ranting
and raving of the DOS Babies and "OU2" zealots. hesitate no longer. Make a
real change for the positive in your computing productivity and fun. Get
started with Win95.
The coming mode of communications is ISDN, in this issue, we begin the
second phase of our ISDN coverage. Much of what we have is courtesy if the
Compuserve ISDN Forum. Talk about having the "latest skinny" on what's
happening with ISDN worldwide this forum has it. We have been working on an
interview with one of Bell South's Head Engineers. So far, what he's had to
offer in the way of the very near future, as far as Ma Bell is concerned,
makes the Star Wars Initiative antique!
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LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
STReport Headline News
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
AT&T, Novell Enter Pact
An agreement has been reached by AT&T to integrate its dial-up Internet
service with Novell Inc.'s PerfectOffice suite of desktop software.
Reporting from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, the Reuter News Service saysthe
deal means Novell users will be able to access the Internet from their PCs at
the touch of a button, once AT&T's WorldNet service is commercially available
early next year. WorldNet is currently in beta testing, Reuters adds.
Daniel Eilers Leaves Apple
The latest victim in the current management shakeup at Apple Computer
Inc. is Daniel Eilers. Considered one of Apple's most powerful executives and
a key strategist of late, Eilers has resigned after reported differences with
CEO Michael Spindler. The 40-year-old Eilers' departure comes just weeks
after chief financial officer Joseph A. Graziano resigned when he failed to
persuade Apple's board to sell or merge the company. Writing in the Wall
Street Journal this morning, reporter Jim Carlton quotes industry executives
close to the company as saying Eilers sided with Graziano, alienating him
from Spindler who, along with the board, rejected such a move.
"The executives say that Mr. Eilers, head of Apple's world-wide
marketing, was forced to resign after Mr. Spindler shifted the responsibility
for marketing from Mr. Eilers to Apple's various regions around the world,"
Carlton writes. "Another executive said Mr. Eilers supported the marketing
breakup, but resigned when he found it left him without his job." Carlton
says the loss of Eilers "could prove acute for Apple," noting that like
Graziano, Eilers "was highly respected in the organization, having worked in
the executive ranks for about 12 years." Earlier this year, following
another shakeup when Vice President Ian W. Diery was forced out of his job by
Spindler, Eilers was promoted from his stewardship of Apple's Claris software
unit to coordinate all of the company's marketing efforts.
"The move," says the Journal, "put him in a position of power second
only to Mr. Spindler, along with Mr. Graziano and David Nagel, a software
chief who then was elevated to run engineering. Mr. Eilers' name, in fact,
had surfaced recently in industry circles as one who might be named to
succeed Mr. Spindler, should the chief executive ever be replaced."
Ian Diery Tapped to Lead AST
Former Apple Computer Inc. executive Ian W. Diery has been named the new
president/CEO of struggling computer maker AST Research Inc. In this
morning's Wall Street Journal, reporter Jim Carlton says AST also now
indicates it may let its biggest shareholder, South Korea's Samsung
Electronics Co., take control of the company. Carlton characterizes these
"surprise moves" by AST as "a bold admission it needs outside help to
survive."
Late yesterday the Irvine, California, company also reported a larger-
than-expected loss of $96.4 million for the fiscal first period ended Sept.
30. The Journal notes that the loss of $2.36 a share compares with a loss of
$39.4 million, or $1.22 a share, for the same period a year earlier. Revenue
fell 19 percent to $403.4 million from $495.4 million. "The results," says
the paper, "bring to six the number of consecutive quarters in which AST has
lost money amid a cascade of problems that have included new product delays,
component shortages and its inability to digest a $175 million acquisition of
Tandy Corp.'s personal computer business about two years ago."
Carlton says in bringing in Diery to run AST, Safi Qureshey's influence
over the company he co-founded "is greatly diminished," adding the 44-year-
old Qureshey will remain as chairman, "but relinquishes most control of the
company to Mr. Diery." On Diery's performance at Apple, Carlton notes that
the charismatic Australian, who was forced out of Apple last April in a
restructuring by Apple CEO Michael Spindler, "proved a fiery, combative
general who earned praise from some analysts for his operational ability but
criticism from others for short-sightedness in areas such as Apple's need to
license its Macintosh operating system."
However, observers think Diery could be just the person to turn AST
around. Consultant Tim Bajarin told the paper, "Diery comes in with a very
strong vision of the personal-computer industry. This means that Safi's
method of guiding the company has not worked and they have to have someone of
Diery's caliber to get them out of the hole."
Eilers Says He Wasn't Forced Out
Daniel Eilers says he is not being forced out of his top-level executive
post at Apple Computer Inc., that his resignation was his idea. As reported
yesterday, Eilers, considered one of Apple's most powerful executives and a
key strategist of late, has resigned after reported differences with CEO
Michael Spindler. Some observers think tension between Eilers and Spindler
could have surfaced as Eilers apparently sided with Joseph Graziano, Apple's
chief financial officer who quit last month after failing to persuade Apple's
board to sell or merge Apple in order to boost market share.
However, Eilers has told Susan Moran of the Reuter News Service, "Some
people think there's this Byzantine plot related to Graziano. Exactly what
Joe's mission was I can't tell you ... but no, I've not been advocating
selling. In a way, I've worked myself out of a job, but it's the right thing
for the company."
He adds that he firmly advocated Apple's decision, also announced
earlier, to restructure its marketing and sales operations in order to boost
efficiency and become more customer based. Eilers, who was promoted last
April to head the worldwide marketing and customer solutions organization,
says, "We've asked ourselves over the last six months what's the most
effective way to get sales and marketing activities done at Apple. The
conclusion was we needed to hardwire sales and marketing together and become
closer to customers in particular geographies."
That means decentralizing, which leaves Eilers jobless, he says. Eilers
said Spindler asked him to stay on but in a lesser role, "not because they
were demoting me but because there wasn't anything. Frankly, I appreciated
it, but I've become accustomed to the responsibilities I've had. And the
pyramid gets narrower at the top." He told Reuters that Apple's board, which
met last month, discussed the issue and that the reorganization and his
departure were decided "over the last couple weeks." He says he will stay
through the transition, possibly until sometime in December. Meanwhile, he
only said he has been fielding calls from headhunters," Reuters says.
Apple Licenses Newton Technology
Apple Computer Inc., looking to further expand its personal digital
assistant (PDA) technology into specialized markets, is licensing its Newton
platform to a pair of firms. Schlumberger Electronic Transactions of
Montrouge, France, and Digital Ocean of Lenexa, Kansas, will separately offer
products based on Newton technology. The agreements' terms weren't revealed.
Schlumberger Electronic Transactions, a division of Schlumberger Ltd.,
plans to use the Newton technology in integrated "smart card" systems, which
are designed to automate medical transactions. Digital Ocean Inc., which
specializes in wireless connectivity products, will combine the Newton
platform and Global Positioning System (GPS) and wireless communications
technologies into products for the manufacturing, transportation, health care
and services industries. "The support of our licensees is critical to the
proliferation of the Newton platform as the standard for PDAs," says Sandy
Benett, acting vice president of Apple's Newton Systems Group. "With the
addition of Digital
Ocean and Schlumberger as Newton licensees, we expect to see an
expansion in the range of innovative new solutions based on the Newton
platform."
HP, Apple Linked in Rumors
There's no official comment, of course, but Wall Street is thinking
again that Apple Computer Inc. is a takeover candidate. This time, Hewlett-
Packard Co. is being cast as the suitor. From Los Angeles, the Reuter News
Service says Apple isn't talking. "I can't speculate or comment on any
rumors about mergers, acquisitions or takeovers," a spokeswoman told the wire
service. Earlier yesterday, a Hewlett-Packard spokeswoman also declined to
comment on the rumors. As reported earlier, insiders have said IBM was close
to buying Apple last summer. Also analysts have cited other companies over
the past several months as potential bidders for Apple, including AT&T,
Oracle Corp., and Japan's Canon Inc.
Maxtor Accepts Hyundai Buyout
Disk drive maker Maxtor Corp. has agreed to a $223 million buyout from
Hyundai Electronics Industries for the 63 percent of the company that the
South Korean firm does not already own. As reported, Maxtor agreed earlier
this year to sell 37 percent of itself to Hyundai for $150 million. This
time, Hyundai has agreed to pay $6.70 a share for the 33.3 million shares of
Maxtor it does not own, according to United Press International in a report
from San Jose, California.
The wire service notes that Hyundai twice has sweetened its buyout
offer. Earlier this week, it offered $6.15 a share, or $204 million, after
Maxtor spurned a bid of $5.15 a share, or $171 million. UPI says a special
committee of its board, composed entirely of non-management directors not
affiliated with Hyundai, decided to agree to Hyundai's latest offer on a
unanimous vote. Maxtor, UPI comments, "has been scrambling to account for
older products that have lost value in recent years amid brutal price cutting
and a rush to release higher-capacity drives."
Last week the company announced a loss of $44.5 million for its second
quarter ended Sept. 30, narrower than a loss of $54.7 million in the year-ago
period. Revenues were off 10.9 percent to $281.4 million from $315.9 million
in the year-ago quarter.
Radius Inc. Cuts 150 Jobs
Macintosh clone maker Radius Inc. says it will lay off nearly one-third
of its staff -- some 150 workers -- and post an operating loss of $25 million
to $30 million in its fourth fiscal quarter, which ended in September.
Reporting from Sunnyvale, California, the Reuter News Service quotes company
officials as saying the firm will incur restructuring charges "at least
equal" to that amount in the quarter.
The latest staff cuts come just a week after Radius gave pink slips to
90 employees. Reuters says the cutbacks are geared to focus the company's
business on the graphics, digital video, and other markets. Radius says it
will discontinue selling mass market displays and other low value-added
products. A spokeswoman told the wire service the firm will have about 170
staff members after the layoffs. Radius says it will focus on "next
generation" digital video tools, 3-D graphics cards, and rendering
acceleration.
"Among the changes," says Reuters, "it will sell high-resolution
monitors rather than general purpose ones, and will not sell CPU's as
aggressively." Radius official Dee Cravens blames the company's travails on
Mac maker Apple Computer Inc., which has had its own problems recently with
executive defections, supply constraints, and margin pressure due to
competitive price cuts.
Says Cravens, "This should be a clear signal to Apple that this is not
healthy for both of us," adding Apple did not understand the licensing
process and was too intent on making money from the hefty licensing fees that
it charges Radius. Cravens says Apple should focus on getting more market
share for Apple-related products by charging a nominal fee, pointing to the
dearth of other companies making Macintosh clones.
NexGen Hit With Shareholders Suit
Chip maker NexGen Inc. says a suit has been filed against it and its
directors by two shareholders. The complaint alleges that NexGen's directors
breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders in approving a merger with
Advanced Micro Devices. The two shareholders purport to represent a class of
all NexGen shareholders. The complaint seeks to prevent the consummation of
the merger or damages in an unstated amount.
NexGen says the complaint is without merit and that it intends
vigorously to defend itself against the claims. "The board of directors
approved the transaction with AMD and believes it is in the best interest of
NexGen's shareholders," notes a statement issued by NexGen. NexGen,
headquartered in Milpitas, California, develops and markets x86-class PC
microprocessors.
Dell, FTC Reach Settlement
Dell Computer Corp. has agreed to drop patent claims affecting millions
of PCs using the industry standard VL- bus, says the Federal Trade
Commission. The Reuter news service notes that the agency alleged that Dell
had restricted competition in the PC industry and undermined the standard-
setting process by threatening to exercise undisclosed patent rights against
computer companies adopting the VL-bus standard.
To settle the FTC charges, Dell has agreed not to enforce its patent
rights against computer manufacturers using the VL-bus, a mechanism to
transfer instructions between the computer's central processing unit and its
peripherals. In agreeing to the consent decree, Dell did not admit to any
wrongdoing, nor did the FTC find that Dell had violated any law or
regulation. In addition, the agency did not impose any fines or sanctions
against the computer maker.
Reuter notes Dell was a member of the Video Electronics Standards
Association (VESA), a non-profit standards-setting organization, when the
association began setting a design standard for a computer bus design to
respond to the demand for faster graphics performance. VESA members voted to
approve the new VL-bus standard in 1992. As part of that approval, a Dell
representative allegedly certified that he knew of no patent, trademark or
copyright that the bus design would violate.
After the VESA VL-bus design standard became successful and computer
makers sold more than 1.4 million PC using the VL-bus, Dell contacted some
VESA members and asserted that it obtained a patent in 1991 that they were
violating by using the VL-bus standard, the FTC says. FTC says this is the
first time U.S. law enforcement authorities have taken action against a
company for acting through a standard-setting association to unilaterally
seek to impose costs on its rivals through abuse of the standard-setting
process.
CompuServe Settles Music Suit
CompuServe officials say the firm has agreed to pay $568,000 to settle a
pending class action suit alleging copyright infringement through music files
downloaded by subscribers of the online service. The plaintiff, Frank Music
Corp., originally sought $17 million. The Reuter News Service says the
settlement cost is covered by CompuServe's insurance.
Reuters notes the U.S. District Court suit, filed in November 1993,
"alleged the copyrights in the song 'Unchained Melody' and more than 900
additional songs owned by other music publisher-principals of HFA were
infringed. ... The claims were based upon the copying of songs in the
uploading and downloading of sound recordings to and from CompuServe's
databases."
The settlement agreement now will be submitted for court approval to
U.S. District Judge John Keenan. As part of the overall settlement,
CompuServe, which did not admit liability, will make a payment to Harry Fox
Agency Inc., a mechanical rights licensing agency for music publishers. The
payment will be divided among the music publishers whose songs were involved
in the case. "CompuServe said it will work with HFA to make it possible for
the managers of a number of interest areas and forums on CIS to take licenses
from HFA that permit the future uploading and downloading of recordings of
the publishers' songs," Reuters adds.
Toshiba Has Speedy CD-ROM Drives
Toshiba America Information Systems Inc.'s disk products division has
launched the XM-3701 series of 6.7-speed CD-ROM drives. The drives support a
1,000K per second data transfer rate and a 120ms random seek time. Jerry
Higgins, a Toshiba vice president, notes that the drives offer "the
performance necessary to support smooth full-motion video and complex high-
end graphics transfers from CD-ROMs."
According to Toshiba, the 6.7-speed rotation is achieved through the use
of enhanced error correction and a digital signal processor, as well as an
improved optical pick-up head and spindle motor. The drives also support one-
speed and two-speed rotations.
The XM-3701 drives employ the same variable speed playback system used
in other Toshiba CD-ROM drives. The system allows the drive to read data
before the disk reaches a specific rotational speed, allowing enhanced read
times. Toshiba says the variable speed playback also decreases power
consumption to an average 5.9 watts. The XM-3701 drives are compatible with
all major CD-ROM formats. The drives are available in internal and external
models, priced at $415 and $515, respectively.
Toshiba Offers Faster CD-ROM
Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. has unveiled the XM-3701 series
of 6.7-speed CD-ROM disc drives. In a statement from its disc products
division in Irvine, California, Toshiba says the drives support a 1,000-
kilobytes/second data transfer rate, and use the variable speed playback
system used in previous Toshiba CD-ROM drives. The internal drive has a
suggested list price of $415, which the external units list for $515.
McAfee Promises Net Virus Guard
With a new product called WebScan, McAfee Associates Inc. says it has
come up with a way to protect Net surfers from downloading viruses on the
Internet's World Wide Web. McAfee officials told reporter Joan E. Rigdon of
the Wall Street Journal that the WebScan software screens programs before
they're downloaded and if it finds a virus, it warns the user not to
continue.
Scheduled to ship by early next month, WebScan comes bundled with an
email program and a Web browser made by Spyglass Inc., but will work with any
other browser software, McAfee officials say. Rigdon quotes security experts
as saying WebScan is the first software that prevents viruses from
electronically entering a computer by identifying the bug before the download
actually takes place.
"Current antivirus software simply identifies a virus after it has
arrived, giving it an opportunity to do damage," the Journal adds. "The
introduction of WebScan points up some, little-known security holes in
personal computers hooked to the Internet. Most people assume that antivirus
software will alert them to viruses they download from the Internet. It will
-- but only when a user scans for viruses, which most people do only once a
day, when they turn on the computer. Even then, the software simply
identifies the virus."
Rigdon notes that existing antivirus software can be set so it checks
for viruses any time a computer is ordered to do anything, but most people
don't use this setting because it takes up too much memory and slows down the
computer's performance. "Also," she notes, "most people correctly think they
can avoid getting viruses by not downloading anything from the Internet. But
a new technology called 'server push' can lead people to unwittingly download
programs simply by looking at a site on the Internet's graphical World Wide
Web. ... Server push automatically sends tiny programs to a user's personal
computer that allow the user to see fancier special effects." McAfee CEO
Bill Larson told the wire service that so far, no one has figured out how to
plant a virus in a server-push program, but that WebScan would halt such a
virus should it become a reality.
Fastest Mac Clone Introduced
The new Power Computing Corp. has introduced what executives there say
is the world's fastest Apple Macintosh clone computer. From the firm's Palo
Alto, California, headquarters, Susan Moran of the Reuter News Service notes
that the new machines by Power Computing, the first company to begin making
Mac clones, are built around a 150MHz PowerPC chip. Currently, the fastest
PowerPCs operate at 132MHz. As reported, the PowerPC family of chips was co-
developed by Apple, IBM and Motorola Inc.
HP Offers Major New Scanner
A new scanner that may hasten the decline of the office copier has been
unveiled by Hewlett-Packard Co. The HP ScanJet 4Si scanner hooks into a
computer network to scan 15 pages of documents a minute into a fleet of PCs.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Jim Carlton
comments, "The product is considered a breakthrough because it is the first
desktop scanner that operates from a network rather than a single computer.
It's also far faster than current desktop scanners, which transform paper
documents into electronic ones at the rate of about five pages a minute."
The Journal notes that other scanners, just as fast and versatile, cost
as much as $100,000 and are used largely in specialized tasks within
engineering and electronic publishing. By contrast, HP's model is priced at
about $3,000 and will be aimed at the general corporate market. HP General
Manager Carolyn Ticknor told Carlton, "It's going to make people like you and
me either work with paper or electronic data. You get to make the call."
Carlton says the unit "probably won't lead to the elusive paperless
office, because office workers still make voluminous printouts of data
retrieved through their PCs," however "it translates into more bad news for
the world's $27 billion copier market, besieged over the past decade as the
laser printer made possible the same high-quality reproductions from a PC as
from a stand-alone copier."
Novell to Sell WordPerfect
Just 16 months after buying out the word processing giant for $855
million in a bid to wrest a bigger share of that market from Microsoft Corp.,
Novell Inc. now says it will sell most of WordPerfect Corp. along with other
parts of its office applications software business.
Analysts say this is a major change in Novell's marketing plan, turning
away from what has been deemed its losing strategy in the word processing and
spreadsheet businesses. Reporting from Novell's Provo, Utah, offices,
Associated Press writer Kristen Moulton says Novell now plans to concentrate
on its industry-leading products for networking PCs instead of those from its
acquisition of WordPerfect and the $145 million asset purchased from Borland
International Inc.
AP says other software companies are negotiating to buy the WordPerfect
software, QuattroPro spreadsheet and other business applications. "Novell
declined to identify the companies," Moulton says, "but analysts speculated a
leading candidate was Oracle Corp., which specializes in sophisticated
databases for large computer systems. If a prominent buyer does not emerge,
the market for office PC programs may shrink to just Microsoft Corp. and
IBM's Lotus Development Corp." AP says the businesses to be sold represented
$86.1 million of Novell's $538 million in third-quarter revenue.
Novell Chairman/CEO Robert Frankenberg said on a videotape played during
a news conference late yesterday his company made the decision "not because
it's a business without a future, but because for Novell it represents a
distraction from our strategy." Frankenberg said Novell will retain a
WordPerfect product called GroupWise, a fast-growing electronic mail and
database program that competes with Lotus' Notes.
AP notes the decision represents defeat for a strategy Novell founder
Ray Noorda initiated before retiring last year. "unfortunately," Moulton
commented, "it came at a time when Microsoft's sales were racing as the
company led the way in bundling office programs in so-called 'suites.' Such
products now account for just over half of all business productivity program
sales. Analysts estimate Microsoft's Office product represents 85 to 90
percent of suite sales, compared to about 5 to 9 percent for Novell's Perfect
Office and 4 to 6 percent for Lotus' SmartSuite."
Videoconferencing Pact Inked
MCI Communications Corp. and Intel Corp. today announced they will work
together on desktop video and audio conferencing, bringing together MCI's
network MCI and Intel's ProShare technology conferencing services, reports
Reuters. The industry standard T.120 application sharing technology for
documents and still images will be used. "We believe we can offer customers
greater convenience and value by integrating Intel's ProShare technology with
MCI's network MCI," said Scott Ross, president of financial and business
operations at MCI's telecommunications unit.
Reuters notes that ProShare brings video conferencing out of special
rooms and to the desktop personal computer. In a separate announcement, MCI
said it was introducing a conferencing system that would allow more than two
users to share documents over ordinary phone lines. MCI will use a server
provided by VideoServer Inc., which supports the T.120 technology, as well as
existing analog telephones and PCs. Users will be given a choice of software
providers. Commercial availability is expected in December.
Businesses Embrace the Internet
A new survey finds that the Internet is weaving its way into the heart
of U.S. businesses. Market research firm Dataquest reports that nearly 60
percent of IS managers in medium-size to large organizations respondents
indicated that all departments within their companies have access to the
Internet. Over 50 percent of those users have access to the World Wide Web.
More than 70 percent of the respondents revealed that they find the Internet
a useful tool to have at workers' desktops, and more than 80 percent
indicated that it is a reliable source of information. More than 60 percent
of the IS managers surveyed indicated that the Internet is a key part of
their overall information technology strategy, citing greater access to
business information as a key reason.
"In less than a year we have seen the World Wide Web move from a
depository for company billboards to a legitimate business tool that can
increase worker productivity," says Dataquest analyst Rick Spence.
"Traditional information providers from newspaper and magazine publishers to
NEWSWire and market research providers are rethinking their business models
as they move to Internet distribution and sale of their products and
services." The IS managers were also surveyed on their own use of the
Internet to obtain service and support from technology suppliers. More than
70 percent download patches and bug fixes and more than 60 percent obtain new
software products and answers to technical questions via the Internet.
When asked what percentage of service and support inquiries they
believed would be resolved via the Internet in 1997, more than half of the
respondents believe that less than 40 percent of their questions will be
answered through interaction with the Web.
Clinton's E-mail Praises Schools
Students at two Silicon Valley schools received e-mail from President
Clinton yesterday congratulating them on hooking up to the Internet as part
of a new statewide drive toward computer literacy. Clinton's message says,
"The connections made on this occasion will allow you to travel as fast and
as far as your imagination will take you." United Press International quotes
organizers from Sun Microsystems as saying the Internet projects at Arundel
Elementary School in San Carlos and Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose
will serve as prototypes for all schools in California.
In conjunction with a few other Silicon Valley companies, Sun
Microsystems has launched a campaign to recruit volunteers in every
California community to hook up their local schools to the Internet. The
project is called Netday '96 and the firm wants all the state's schools to be
hooked up simultaneously on next March 9. Sun executive Scott McNealy told
the wire service, "The Internet is an invaluable teaching tool that aids the
educators and students and expands learning outside of the classroom," adding
the goal is not just to teach students how to use computers, but to enable
teachers to use computers and the Internet as a teaching tool.
For example, McNealy says, students can communicate with students in
other parts of the nation or the world; visit a museum by taking a virtual
tour; and learn and practice foreign languages among other things. UPI says
more than 50 Sun employees volunteered at the Arundel and Piedmont schools
for this project and that Sun plans to publish a how-to manual on the
Internet's World Wide Web so other companies and volunteers can undertake
similar projects in their communities.
The president praised computer companies for their efforts and urged
other private firms to forge partnerships with schools to make the Internet
available to all students, adding, "We must all work together. Grassroots
initiatives like this will help children to take full advantage of the
information revolution."
The Kids' Computing Corner
Microsoft EasyBall
serial interface input device
for children ages 2 to 6
suggested retail $54.95
by Frank Sereno
Most of today's computer programs have interfaces which require moving a
cursor about the screen to click on icons to start activities. For young
children, manipulating a mouse requires fine motor skills and much dexterity
which they may have not yet developed. This can make computer time into a
frustrating and unpleasant experience instead of fun and educational.
Microsoft has developed a new input device which will make computing easier
and more fun, the EasyBall.
The EasyBall is a large yellow trackball with a single, large blue
button below it on the wide, flanged base. The bottom has rubber pads which
prevent the unit from sliding across a desk or table. The EasyBall is large
but it isn't heavy. It was designed to be used in a child's lap or on the
desktop. The trackball is a smooth plastic which can be easily cleaned. The
base can be disassembled by removing a few screws from the bottom to clean
the rollers.
Microsoft spent much time developing and testing this product. It only
has one button because most children's programs use only the left mouse
button. The button has tactile feedback so children know when they have
activated it. Children can use either hand to move the trackball or press
the button. The button can even be activated by the palm of the hand or an
elbow. The wide flanges on the base allow the child to hold the unit easily.
Because gross motor skills are used to operate the EasyBall, it can easily be
used by people with arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.
The EasyBall has a nine-pin serial plug but it can be used with a 25-pin
adapter. Microsoft sells an optional adapter which allows two input devices
to be hooked to the same serial port. The cost is $14.95 and an order coupon
is included with the EasyBall. The adapter allows young children and
parents to use their own input devices for their sessions with the computer
without the hassle of changing plugs or driver software.
Microsoft is currently offering the EasyBall in a "value package" which
includes Explorapedia The World of Nature and EasyBall Pointerland. The
evaluation unit sent to me did not include this software so I will relate the
information included with the press notes. Explorapedia is a multimedia
nature hike. Colorful images, animation and video, sounds, music,
informative text and interactive games take children on a journey through
nature. Prereaders can enjoy the title because the text is narrated.
Pointerland allows children to choose from several cursors including an
airplane, star and baby chick. A barnyard scene teaches children how to use
the EasyBall by asking the children to find hidden objects and hot spots by
moving the cursor and clicking.
The EasyBall is supported by Windows 95 and it operated well with a
regular mouse driver too. This is a sturdy and well-constructed device which
should stand up to years of use. The EasyBall is backed by a thirty-day
moneyback guarantee. The suggested retail price is $54.95 but it is
available at discounters for around $45. That's equal to the price of a good
serial mouse and it includes a $30 educational program too. If you are
looking for an input device for a young child, the EasyBall is an excellent
choice.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Edmark Announces Destination: Ocean
The Newest Addition to the
Award-Winning Imagination Express Series
Redmond, WA - Edmark Corporation, a leading developer of educational software
for children, announces Destination: Ocean the newest addition to the award-
winning Imagination Express series featuring- new Movie-Making technology
that allows kids to create their own interactive movies as well as stories.
Destination: Ocean enables kids ages 6 to 12 to become writers, animators,
sound producers, art directors and publishers while they develop critical
communication skills. Destination: Ocean joins Destination: Rain Forest,
Destination: Castle and Destination: Neighborhood as the fourth member of
this award-winning series. Destination: Ocean is shipping now on CD-ROM for
both Windows and Macintosh computers.
Destination: Ocean is a rich marine learning environment and powerful
multimedia story and movie-making tool for kids - based on the underwater
world of the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. The
beautifully hand-painted ocean background scenes, animations, music, sound
effects and exciting sea-life stickers provide kids with all the tools they
need to create interactive stories and movies. Using the new Movie-Making
technology in this program, kids record and play back the path of any
sticker, adding an exciting new dimension to their storytelling. For
example, they can make sharks swim through sea kelp while dolphins leap above
the waves. All of the stickers in Destination: Ocean auto-size, shrinking as
kids move them to the background and enlarging as kids move them to the
foreground. "Zoom" background scenes provide close-up views of tiny plants
and animals. The Ocean Fact Book provides an additional learning opportunity
for kids; they can look up fascinating facts about marine life, ocean
preservation, navigation and exploration to weave into their tales.
"Imagination Express is a powerful tool that frees children and lets their
creativity soar," said Sally Narodick, Edmark CEO. "With Destination: Ocean
kids will learn interesting information about how the ocean functions, marine
life, natural history and about how to use sound, motion, graphics and words
to bring a story to life. Amazing pride, joy and learning comes to children
when they role-play, direct and produce interactive stories and movies with
Imagination Express."
New Technology Inspires Creativity
Destination: Ocean brings powerful new technology to the Imagination Express
series. Kids can use the Movie-Making tool to make movies as well as
interactive stories. In addition, moveable text areas now enable kids to
place text anywhere in their scenes, with or without decorative borders.
Both of these powerful new features are automatically added to all the other
Imagination Express destinations when Destination: Ocean is installed.
Movie-Making
Kids can create "movies" by clicking on a sticker and dragging it to record
its motion. Kids can select theme music for their movies, record their own
narratives or sound effects and turn on sticker animations in every scene.
When kids play their movies, eels slither through kelp while electric rays
skim across the ocean floor to the sound of the waves above.
Text Tools
Kids can add text to every scene and choose a font, color and size. They can
then drag the moveable text areas anywhere they want in the scene, with or
without a decorative border background.
"Genius" Stickers
Genius stickers animate as kids drag them through the scenery. For example,
as a dolphin swims underwater his tail flips up and down.
Additional Special Features
Auto-Sizing
Stickers grow when kids move them to the front of a scene and they shrink
when moved into the background. Kids create scenes with real-life
perspective.
"Smart" Stickers
All stickers go where kids drag them - through the kelp forest or inside the
underwater cave - making every scene feel three-dimensional.
Sticker Tools
The Sticker Picker contains hundreds of stickers arranged by categories like
Fish, Divers and Birds. Kids can drag and drop stickers from the Sticker
Picker into each scene. The Sticker Editor allows kids to change each
sticker's size, rotate stickers, turn animations on and off with the click of
a button and attach sound effects to each sticker.
Sound Tools
With the sound tools kids can record narrations in which their characters
sing, laugh, speak or squeal, and they can choose theme music to accompany
each page.
Story Ideas
Story Ideas are creatively presented by kids for kids. They encourage kids
to use their own imaginations, by offering ideas for stories, i.e., "Pretend
that you're a seal, and tell a story about the people you see on a fishing
boat," and they suggest different ways to write.
Useful Tools for the Whole Family
View Mode
In View Mode children can see and hear each page of their story or movie
unfold on-screen.
Dear Parents Section
In this section, Edmark's Donna Stanger, award-winning software designer and
teacher for 20 years shares her ideas on "The Writing Process" to help and
encourage parents to become active participants in their children's learning.
The Ocean Fact Book
This talking book provides kids with fascinating facts about the ocean
environment and inhabitants, ocean preservation, navigation and exploration.
It is a rich source of information kids can weave into their stories.
The Ocean Resource List
This list provides kids with the names of organizations they can contact by
phone, mail or online to receive responses to specific questions about
oceans, and to learn more about the environmental concerns that face our
oceans. A few of the organizations include EarthForce, SeaWorld Education
Department and the Marine Science Society.
Adult Options
Adults can use a three-key combination to enter the Adult Options section,
where they can customize the program for every child. Adults can specify
whether kids can edit stickers, add text to pages, and select or record
sounds for their pages.
Educational Benefits
Destination: Ocean provides a wide variety of opportunities for theme-focused
learning.
Children can:
ú Strengthen communication skills.
ú Design beautiful scenes, discover new writing techniques, and exercise
their creativity.
ú Create fictional and non-fictional stories about life in the ocean.
ú Learn about marine life and the natural history of California's Channel
Islands.
ú Discover how the ocean functions and learn how to protect it.
Recognized by Experts
The Imagination Express series has been honored with several prestigious
industry awards; a few of the highlights include:
ú 1995 Technology & Learning Award of Excellence in both the Home and
School Categories
ú 1995 Newsweek Editors' Choice Award
ú 1995 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
Product Availability and Pricing
Imagination Express Destination: Ocean will be available after October 30, at
major software retailers and through software catalogs for approximately $35.
School Versions of the product will be available at a later date. For more
information, customers may call Edmark's Customer Service department at (206)
556-8484.
System Requirements
Macintosh: Color Macintosh (256 colors required); 8 MB RAM; CD-ROM drive
(double-speed or faster recommended); System 7 or higher; 13" or larger
monitor; Hard disk with 4 MB free. Recommended: Microphone; printer.
Windows: Windows 3.1 (enhanced mode) or later; 8 MB RAM; CD-ROM drive
(double-speed or faster recommended); 25 MHz 386 or better; 256 color
SuperVGA; Hard disk with 4 MB free; Mouse; Sound-output device. Recommended:
Microphone; printer.
Edmark Corporation, located in Redmond, Washington, is a leading developer
and publisher of educational software and materials, with 25 years of
experience applying proven educational concepts to the development of
educational products for children. The company develops products for both
the consumer and education markets, including its award-winning line of
software for Windows and Macintosh platforms: KidDesk Family Edition,
Millie's Math House, Bailey's Book House, Sammy's Science House, Trudy's Time
and Place House, Thinkin' Things Collection 1, Thinkin' Things Collection 2,
Thinkin' Things Collection 3 and Imagination Express.
Final Ramblings
Most all computer experts preach the importance of tape backups. I
mentioned this in my article last week and the publisher/editor of this
magazine has written articles about this topic in the last two issues as
well. It had been a while since I had backed up my system. Here's what
happened to me over the weekend...
Since I have Windows 95, I could not use my old, reliable backup
program. That shouldn't be a problem since Win95 includes a backup program.
But it doesn't support the Travan media that I prefer to use in my tape
drive. So I start to back it up using some 2120XL tapes. Win95 Backup runs
right along until the last tape and starts getting media errors. Meanwhile,
I find a magazine article which gives information about free upgrade software
for Win95 for my tape drive. So I download the software and back the system
up again on a new Travan media cartridge. A FULL backup including the all
important Registry file for Win95. The program appears to run flawlessly and
generates no errors after comparing all files.
I decided to repartition my hard drive and then use my tape to restore
all the files. It shouldn't be too hard since I have a "perfect" backup
tape. The first small problem is that the restore program will run only
under Win95. So now I get to do the thirteen disk floppy shuffle
reinstalling Win95. That's forty-five minutes down the tubes. Then I
reinstall the tape software. Finally I get to restore my tape. All seems to
be going well until the tape gets to the Registry file. BURP! The program
tells me to restore the Windows directory again but then I get a ton errors
because certain files are in use by the operating system. I figure they were
okay the first time around so I quit the tape program and start using my
system.
Some more problems...Norton Utilities is missing files. So I reinstall
that program. My desktop wallpaper and sound files weren't restored. They
were on the drive, but Win95 no longer used them. I'm not sure how many
little files may be missing. The biggest problem with Windows in general,
and Win95 in particular, is that it has hundreds of tiny files that seem to
have no importance until you run an application which needs them.
I'm hoping that somebody comes out with a program that will restore a
tape backup without having to reload Win95 first. And I'm hoping that it
works a lot better than my current software. Maybe I need to buy a SCSI unit
instead of the affordable tape drives which run off the floppy controller.
Here's hoping that somebody gets it right.
Your comments and suggestions are welcome. If you have any questions, I
will gladly try to provide answers. Send e-mail to fsereno@matrix.uti.com.
As always, I thank you for reading!
Matrox Millenia STR InfoFile Matrox sets record straight!
Matrox's Response
to errors in
PC Magazine article
The recent PC Magazine First Look of the MGA Millennium (MGA Millennium
Speeds Up Graphics with WRAM, PC Magazine, October 10, 1995) was a gross
misrepresentation of the product's capabilities and presented a false and
unfair comparison of the board's speed vs. a competitor's.
Technical Errors
Apart from printing the wrong price for the 4MB version of the board (SRP
$549), PC Magazine made the false statement that "3D acceleration is only
supported at 640 x 480 resolution with 16.7 million colors, and at 800 x 600
with 65,536 colors." The MGA Millennium, with 4MB of WRAM, is also capable of
supporting 3D Gouraud-shaded, double-buffered and z-buffered resolutions of
up to 1152 x 882 in 256 colors . In addition, the MGA Millennium supports 3D
wireframe resolutions as high as 1600 x 1200 x 16-bit.
Incorrect Performance Comparison
The most serious mistake made by PC Magazine in this article is the benchmark
comparisons against the Diamond Stealth 64 Video VRAM accelerator. The
article states that "...[the MGA Millennium's] Winstone score [is] of 106.0
in 1024 x 768 resolution with 16.7 million colors on the same Pentium/90 test-
bed that was used for our June 27, 1995 graphics round up (...) this score
was bested only by the Diamond Stealth 64 Video VRAM card." This statement is
false, PC Magazine has admitted that the system used to test the MGA
Millennium in the First Look was not exactly the same as the one used for the
graphics round-up.
In addition, the Stealth was tested in "small fonts" mode in the round-up,
while the MGA Millennium was tested in "large fonts" mode for the First Look.
These two errors in testing methodology constitute gross negligence on the
part of PC Magazine. They caused the false conclusion that the Diamond
Stealth is faster than the Matrox Millennium. After Matrox demanded that
the tests be redone correctly, PC Magazine found the following scores:
Font Issue 12 test system First look test system
Size
Diamond Matrox Diamond Matrox
large Not tested 110 99 106*
small 107* 113 104 109
* Numbers in italics shows scores that were used to make the erroneous speed
comparison in the First Look article.
Based on these results, PC Magazine has now admitted that the MGA Millennium
is consistently and significantly faster than the Diamond Stealth 64 Video
VRAM, and that PC Magazine's article is false and unfair.
Devbits
In addition, PC Magazine improperly reports that "Devbits" has no performance
benefit on real world applications. The use of Device Bitmaps or bitmap
caching in a graphics driver improves graphics performance in the same way
the system cache helps system performance. Just as no system today should
ship without a cache, no graphics card should ship without some form of
device bitmap caching enabled. In fact, Device Bitmaps are a technology
endorsed by Microsoft and utilized in the drivers of many other graphic
vendors tested by PC Magazine - including the Diamond Stealth 64 Video card
used in the comparison. In contrast to what was reported, device bitmap
caching has a large impact on application based tests. In fact, using
WinStone 95, the Millennium achieves a 7% boost in scores by efficiently
implementing Device Bitmaps.
Conclusion
This is the second time in a row that PC Magazine has commited gross errors
in testing methodology and analysis. PC Magazine printed a major retraction
of its June Issue 12 graphics card roundup in the September 12th issue. They
will print another retraction of the October article. These repeated errors
have caused Matrox to conclude that any future article from PC Magazine
comparing graphics accelerators should be examined carefully for accuracy.
Micrographics Updates STR Infofile
Micrografx Steps Up Channel Activity in the Education Market
The Douglas Stewart Company Signs on as Micrografx's Newest Distributor
Richardson, Texas (November 6, 1995) - Micrografx (R), Inc. (NASDAQ: MGXI), a
leading graphics software developer, and The Douglas Stewart Company, the
premier value-add distributor of computer software for the education market,
today announced an agreement that significantly expands the number of
Micrografx products available to the K-12 and higher education markets. The
agreement enables The Douglas Stewart Company to distribute Micrografx's
award-winning graphics software via its extensive channel of college
bookstores and educational resellers which will greatly increase Micrografx's
presence in the growing education software market.
"The Douglas Stewart Company offers an opportunity for Micrografx to broaden
its reach in the education market with the most complete graphics product
line available," said Brad Lundberg, director of channel sales and marketing
for Micrografx. "We anticipate long-term success selling into the education
market based on the suitability of Micrografx products for both students and
faculty. From elementary to graduate schools, Micrografx applications enable
customers to expand their creativity, and enhance assignments, reports and
classroom presentations."
Bringing Graphics Applications to the Classroom
Under the agreement, The Douglas Stewart Company will make it easy for
students and faculty to purchase Mi
crografx's value-packed graphics software,
including ABC Graphic Suite (TM) for Windows(R) 95, Crayola(TM) Art
Studio(TM) 2, Hallmark Connections(TM) Card Studio(TM) and Windows Draw(R)
4.0.
ABC Graphics Suite combines Micrografx's award-winning ABC FlowCharter(R)
4.0, Micrografx Designer(TM), Picture Publisher(R), ABC Media Manager(TM),
and Instant 3D(TM) into a tightly integrated 32-bit graphics package. With
ABC Graphics Suite, students and faculty can bring term papers and reports to
life by adding diagrams, flowcharts, clipart, illustrations, photo-images,
drawings and 3D images.
For educational customers using 16-bit computers running Windows 3.x, The
Douglas Stewart Company will offer Micrografx's Designer Power Pack and ABC
FlowCharter 4.0, the essential tools needed to graphically enhance any
curriculum content and course assignments. The Designer PowerPack combines
technical illustration, image editing and powerful graphic effects tools,
while ABC FlowCharter allows users to create simple to complex diagrams
within a straightforward point-and-click interface.
"Initial response among the retail outlets we've targeted is very positive,"
said Jack Bahlman, division manager of The Douglas Stewart Company.
"Retailers recognize the outstanding quality and value of Micrografx products
and their appeal to both students and faculty looking for tools to help them
get ahead."
Brand Name Creative Products and Volume Pricing for K-12
Educational Resources, one of The Douglas Stewart Company's largest
educational resellers, will target the K-12 market with a new volume
licensing program that offers economical pricing and easy software
administration for both large and small educational institutions. Through
Educational Resources, schools can purchase volume license and shrink-wrap
versions of ABC Graphics Suite, Crayola Art Studio 2, Hallmark Connections
Card Studio and Windows Draw 4.0.
Among the software titles from Micrografx, Crayola Art Studio 2, Hallmark
Connections Card Studio, and Windows Draw 4.0 are ideal for K-12 educational
institutions. Crayola Art Studio 2 is a multimedia CD-ROM with two age-
appropriate play areas. Educational and developmental benefits are woven
into games and activities to promote letter recognition, spelling, pre-math,
observation, evaluation and comparison skills. The two play areas for kids
three-to-six and six-to-12 years of age are equipped with draw, color and
paint tools that help children explore creativity. Crayola Art Studio 2
offers a Macintosh, Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 version on one CD-ROM. Now,
whether a school is using Windows-based or Macintosh personal computers, it
can purchase one software package to extend Crayola creativity to the
computer.
Hallmark Connections Card Studio offers students and faculty an easy and
enjoyable way to create high-quality, uniquely personal greeting cards,
announcements, invitations, signs and certificates. And for educational
institutions looking for a fast, fun, and friendly drawing program, Windows
Draw 4.0 represents a strong value. Windows Draw 4.0 includes drawing,
diagramming, photo editing, painting, and a clipart manager, plus more than
15,000 clipart and photo images and 250 fonts.
An Introductory Offer
To promote the entire Micrografx product line in the education market, The
Douglas Stewart Company is planning several in-store promotions, direct mail
campaigns, and discount programs for 16-bit applications through qualified
resellers. To assist buyers with locating Micrografx products at educational
resellers throughout the country, customers can visit The Douglas Stewart
Company's recently unveiled World Wide Web site, http://campusmall.com.
The Douglas Stewart Company is a national distributor and marketer of
computer software and hardware, electronics and school supplies for
educational resellers serving the K- 12 and college markets. Headquartered
in Madison, Wisconsin, the company provides marketing and distribution
services to major manufacturers and educational resellers across the U.S. and
Canada.
Micrografx develops and markets graphics software to meet the creative needs
of everyone who uses a personal computer. Founded in 1982, Micrografx has
become a leading software publisher by responding quickly to customer and
worldwide market needs. The company's U.S. operations are based in
Richardson, Texas, with a development office located in San Francisco.
International subsidiaries are located in Canada, the United Kingdom, France,
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, and Japan.
Additional information on Micrografx is available on the Internet at
http://www.micrografx.com.
Windows and Windows 95 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the
United States and/or other countries.
Crayola Art Studio is a trademark of Binney & Smith Properties, Inc.
Hallmark Connections and Card Studio are trademarks of Hallmark Licensing,
Inc.
Pagemaker 6.0 Win95 STR Focus
Adobe Systems Ships PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95
Major Upgrade Adds Features for Professional Publishing and On-line Delivery
Mountain View, Calif. (November 6, 1995) (Nasdaq:ADBE)-Adobe Systems
Incorporated today announced the availability of Adobe PageMaker 6.0 for
Microsoft Windows 95, a major upgrade to the world's leading professional
page composition software. In addition to offering more than 50 new features,
Adobe PageMaker 6.0 is the first professional page layout program designed
specifically for Windows 95, upholding Adobe Systems' commitment to deliver a
Windows 95 logo compliant version of PageMaker within 90 days of the release
of the new operating system. Adobe PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95 is available
immediately from Adobe Authorized Resellers at a suggested retail price of
$895.
New Professional Publishing Features
Adobe PageMaker 6.0 software offers a wide range of new color publishing
features including support for the Kodak Precision Color Management System
and high-fidelity color as well as complete Photo CD support. Page layout
enhancements include multiple master pages, grouping and ungrouping, position
locking and unlocking of objects, object masking and a new table application.
Integrated automatic trapping, reader's spreads and a print fit view are
among the new printing and prepress features.
On-line Publishing Capabilities
PageMaker 6.0's new Create Adobe PDF feature allows users to save
publications in the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) which can be viewed,
shared and printed across Windows, Macintosh, DOS and UNIX platforms. In
addition, PageMaker 6.0 can convert publications into Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML) format for distribution on the World Wide Web.
The new PageMaker program also emphasizes integration with other Adobe
products. PageMaker 6.0 features hot links to Adobe Photoshop and Adobe
Illustrator, and users can run Photoshop special effects plug-ins directly
within PageMaker. PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95 also comes with a Deluxe CD-
ROM that contains free software including the Adobe Acrobat Distiller
Personal Edition, the Acrobat Reader and Photoshop LE for Windows. In
addition, users can unlock 220 free typefaces on the Adobe Type On Call 4.0
CD included with PageMaker 6.0.
"For professional page composition in Windows 95, nothing comes close to
Adobe PageMaker 6.0. Its performance is awesome--like working in real time--
and the color processing is excellent," said Lee Wojnar, founder of
Philadelphia-based Wojnar Photography, Inc. "The biggest benefit of all is
that PageMaker 6.0 works so well with Adobe's other applications, providing
all the tools for digital publishing."
New Windows 95 Features
A true 32-bit application, Adobe PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95 boosts
performance in key areas such as the Graphics Device Interface, which
accelerates printing, drawing operations and rasterization of fonts. In
addition, 32-bit I/O and device drivers enhance performance in networking and
file transfer, which benefits PageMaker users who share large files in
workgroup settings. PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95 also takes advantage of the
new Windows 95 user interface enhancements, such as common dialog boxes. An
OLE 2.0 client, PageMaker 6.0 allows users to drag objects directly into the
PageMaker program from OLE 2.0 server applications such as Microsoft Word and
Excel.
As a Windows 95 logo-compliant release, PageMaker 6.0 also meets Microsoft's
requirements for use of long filenames, support for universal naming
conventions pathnames, simple mail enable (MAPI) capabilities and Windows NT
compatibility. To ensure compatibility for users of Windows 3.1, PageMaker
6.0 includes Win 32s dynamic linking libraries, which enable users of 16-bit
Windows to use version 6.0.
Price and Availability
Adobe PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95 is available at Adobe Authorized Resellers
for a suggested retail price of $895 U.S.). Registered users of any version
of PageMaker for Windows can upgrade to version 6.0 for $149. Customers who
purchased retail copies of PageMaker 5.0 after June 17, 1995 in the United
States and Canada are eligible to receive a free upgrade to version 6.0. For
more information, customers in the United States and Canada may call Adobe at
1-800-42-ADOBE (800-422-3623). Localized language versions and support and
upgrade policies for other countries will be forthcoming.
System Requirements
Windows 95 System Requirements: An Intel486 processor, 8 MB of RAM, Microsoft
Windows 95, default virtual memory settings, 24 MB of free hard drive space
for installation (plus extra space for virtual memory), a VGA display card,
high-density disk drive and a mouse or other pointing device. Windows 3.1
System Requirements: An Intel486 processor, 10 MB of RAM, Microsoft Windows
3.1 running in enhanced mode, DOS 5.0 or later, default virtual memory
settings, 24 MB of free hard drive space for installation (plus extra space
for virtual memory), a VGA display card, high-density disk drive and a mouse
or other pointing device.
Adobe Systems Incorporated, founded in 1982, is headquartered in Mountain
View, California. Adobe develops, markets and supports computer software
products and technologies that enable users to create, display, print and
communicate electronic documents. The company licenses its technology to
major computer, printing and publishing suppliers and markets a line of
applications software and type products for authoring visually rich
documents. Additionally, the company markets a line of powerful, easy to use
products for home and small business users. Adobe has subsidiaries in Europe
and the Pacific Rim serving a worldwide network of dealers and distributors.
Adobe's 1994 revenue was approximately $598 million.
TECH... No Babble STReport Makes Technology Easy!
Pretty Good Privacy
by Joe Mirando
73637.2262@compuserve.com
Welcome back to all you technophiles, technophobes, technojunkies, and
technowannabes.
Before we start with this installment of TECH... No Babble, I'd like to
thank the few people who took the time to drop me a line or two to let me
know what kinds of things interest (or frighten) them. I know that there are
lots of folks that simply won't write to me either because they are afraid to
let on that they don't know about a particular subject, or because they don't
have the time to sit down and write a long explanation about what they'd like
to see in this column.
Not to worry folks. I decided to make this installment about PGP after
I got a note that said simply "What is this PGP I keep hearing people talk
about?" Ten little words. That's all it took. Because this person, whom I
have never met or corresponded with before, dropped me a line, we're all
going to learn a little bit about it and about Public-Key encryption in
general.
So let me know what interests you about today's technology, what
frightens you about it, or whatever it is that you saw recently that you
thought was "cool". Okay, let the TECH... No Babble begin!
At a glance, PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) by Philip Zimmerman is a military
grade encryption program available for DOS, Unix, Atari 680xx, Amiga, Apple
Macintosh, and VAX. Remember those little "secret code" wheels you used to
get in boxes of cereal or by sending in a bunch of product wrappers to the
manufacturer? They had all the letters of the alphabet and a corresponding
number next to it. By turning the two parts of the wheel, you could change
the numbers that corresponded to the letters. You could then "code" a secret
message and give it to you best friend along with the number that told your
pal where to set the two halves of the wheel and he could then decode the
message. This is cryptography.
As always, the best place to begin is at the beginning. Cryptography
has been used, in one form or another, since man decided that he needed to
hide information from some and make it accessible to others. Since this
column is about modern data encryption, we'll skip over the ancient and
medieval things that people did to encrypt or encypher data and start off
with World War II. The United States used several methods of encryption,
most of which involved using code names and phrases to obscure the meaning of
messages. If a company of soldiers got a message to "pat Frank on the back
and help him into the kettle", it could mean that the troops were to assist
the French resistance fighters with which they had already communicated by
engaging the enemy to allow the resistance time to do whatever they had it in
their minds to do. Of course this is an "off-the-top-of-my-head, no-factual-
information-whatsoever" example, but it does give you a bit of a taste of
what some cyphering was like back then. Of course, we also used single-key
encryption which substituted letters and numbers in any manner of ways, but
these are less interesting to me than what comes next:
Surprisingly (or perhaps not), the most effective form of encryption
used by the United States during the war was something called "Code-Talking".
This was the only U.S. code used during the war that wasn't broken by the
enemy. The code worked so well that it was kept secret for almost 25 years.
The process involved 400 Navajo Indians (all of them United States Marines, I
believe) who would recite a message in a coded version of their native
language which was written down phonetically. Since there is no written
version of Navajo there was no reference for the enemy to refer to. This is
the reason that the code was never broken. See that? And all you X-Files
watchers thought that it was just a storyline.
Of course the Nazis had their now famous "Enigma" machine which used a
system of "dials" which changed the characters in a message to such a degree,
and with such seeming randomness, that it was all but impossible to decypher
not only the message, but the method of encryption. Luckily, the Allies did
crack the code. The method of encryption used in the Enigma is still used
today in electronic form on some computer systems. It provides security
against casual "snooping", but is quite inadequate against the high power
computers in use today by most governments and corporations.
With the advent of affordable mini- and micro-computers, cryptography
has fallen from the hands of the aforementioned powers and is now shared by
the computing public in general. For years, data compression programs such as
ARC, LZH, TAR, and ZIP have provided options to encrypt a file while
compressing it. While this type of encryption has the advantage of
compressing the data at the same time, it is remarkably easy for someone with
the knowhow to unencrypt.
Again, it is adequate protection against casual interest, but not
against a concerted effort to ascertain the contents of the encrypted file.
In 1977, RSA Public Key encryption was born and provided computer users
with a way to encrypt files easily using what are known as Public Keys.
Public Keys enable you to compose, in one way or another, a unique encryption
key that not only encrypts a data file so that it cannot be read without your
specific key, but also positively identifies you as the owner of that file by
virtue of your key.
This removes the biggest problem with encryption using a "key". Since
ancient times, to be effective, a key had to be distributed to those people
that you want to be able to read the encrypted file. This meant that you
would have to distribute the key to those people by a secure means to insure
not only that the key did indeed reach them, but that it reached no one who
should not have it.
For obvious reasons, this can be difficult. The "Enigma Code" was
broken during World War II by the Allies but that information was kept secret
to the point of allowing several German attacks to take place even though
information on these attacks had been intercepted and decrypted using the
broken Enigma code. Most encryption systems up to and including the
encryption system currently used by the U.S. Government, the US Federal Data
Encryption System, still use what is called a "single key" system. This
single key must be given out by a secure means. If you have a channel secure
enough to transmit the key, why not just use that channel to transmit the
data unencrypted?
The answer to problem of transmitting a code key is a bit like the old
adage that the best place it hide is in plain sight. PGP (Pretty Good
Privacy) adds to RSA the ability to add a digital "signature" to your key.
While anyone can use your Public Key to encrypt a file, only you can decrypt
it. To do this, you use the other portion of PGP, your "Secret Key" which is
created at the same time you created your public key. This way, anyone who
wants to send you a secure message may do so easily simply by using your
public key. Since this key is public, there is no need to hide it. Your
secret key is another matter. Your secret key can be used to "sign" a
message which you then encrypt with the public key of the person you wish to
receive it. Okay this is getting a bit confusing, isn't it? Let's use all
of this in an example:
Harry and George are pals who both have computers and both use PGP.
Harry wants to send George a message of a sensitive nature. He writes
the message and "signs" it using his own secret key and the password or
passphrase he used when he created his pair of keys (this signs it without
encrypting it) and then encrypts the message using George's puublic key.
When George receives the message his software first decrypts it using his own
secret key and his password or passphrase, then verifies the "signature" that
is supposed to be Harry's using Harry's public key. Harry's public key can
determine with a high degree of certainty whether or not the message actually
came from Harry. This is taking for granted, of course, that both Harry and
George are the only ones who know the correct password or passphrase for
their respective secret keys.
Okay, so now we know that it works, how hard is it to break this miracle
of math and logic?
It's incredibly hard as it turns out. Even the lowest grade of RSA/PGP
encryption (there are three grades available) uses a 512 bit key. Although
this seems like a small key (think of it as 64 characters long), the possible
combinations of zeros and ones add up to many billions of separate keys. It
has been announced that a 384 bit key has indeed been broken. However, it
took three months and approximately fifty workstations. While this proves
that no encryption system is impossible to break, it is incredibly time
consuming, even using some very powerful computers. The highest level of PGP
encryption uses a 1024 bit key. Without going into detail about the
mathematics involved, suffice it to say that there are many, many more than
twice as many keys possible with 1024 bits as there are with 512 bits.
Now, if this encryption is so great, why isn't it freely available on
all the online services?
This is where the PGP story gets interesting. PGP is very difficult to
break. Even the United States government would not be able to decode a file
encrypted with it. This, says the government, puts them at a distinct
disadvantage when dealing with criminals and other enemies. A better
alternative, they say, is "Clipper". Clipper is an encryption system
conceived by the National Security Agency. Clipper can theoretically be used
in everything from the encryption of files to scrambling and therefore
securing cellular phone communications. The problem, or at least the
perceived problem, with clipper is that the government would hold a master
code that would enable it to decode any message, phone call, or any other
form of communication that might be encrypted. According to the theory, this
master code would be held in escrow and only used when deemed necessary by
the courts. Can you say "J. Edgar Hoover"? I knew that you could. So, who
would use "Clipper" with something like PGP available? You would. That is,
you would if you couldn't get a copy of PGP. The government has classified
PGP and related Public Key encryption programs as they have munitions. This
means that it is illegal to distribute such a program outside of the United
States (and Canada, I believe). For this reason, you cannot simply log onto
an online service and download the file. Because of the "munitions
classification" most online services that allow the software at all require
proof that you live in the U.S. and will not allow access to these files
unless such proof is provided. For this reason, the program is not widely
available and remains fairly obscure.
The usual knee-jerk reaction is that this is a government conspiracy to
make eaves-dropping on citizens easier. There are fears that the government
could outlaw all forms of encryption except for clipper. Borrowing from the
NRA, many hold that "If PGP is outlawed, only outlaws will have PGP". The
ramifications of this thought are the same as those for firearms. If the
government does decide to outlaw certain types of encryption (and I don't
think that this will ever be the case), the question becomes "will they ban
all types of encryption except for Clipper?" Pig-Latin, anyone?
Political implications aside, PGP provides a remarkable measure of
"military grade" privacy for anyone with a personal computer and when used
properly ensures almost absolute privacy. This will become more and more
important to computer users as the Internet becomes more popular. Picture a
scenario in which someone posts a message using someone else's name. The
post causes trouble, perhaps of a legal nature, and whether or not the
message was actually posted by who he says he is. The "signature" portion of
PGP could go a long way toward proving or disproving the authenticity of the
post. As online shopping and banking become more popular, the need for
security will become more keenly felt and PGP, or something very like it,
would help out nicely.
Well folks, that's it for this week. I highly recommend PGP for anyone
who wants or requires encryption and suggest that most of us at least look it
over.
We'll be back in two weeks with another techno-topic so remember...
High tech is just like low tech, only faster.
Corel Updates STR Spotlight
Corel NewsLetter
Dear Strategic Partner:
Greetings from Corel in Ottawa, Canada! This month we are launching a
literal flood of new products, announcing joint ventures and scheduling both
tradeshow and roadshow participation.
In November Corel will ship German, French, Spanish, and language
versions of CorelDRAW 6. CorelVIDEO, CorelXARA, CorelFLOW 3, Photo-Paint 6,
Corel Print House, CD Creator 2, CorelSCSI 2.5 and the ArtShow 6 coffee table
book and CD-ROM will be available. In addition, we are releasing new CD HOME
titles including the Interactive Alphabet, The Complete Herman Collection,
World's Greatest Classic Books, Corel Chess, and Internet Mania.
This impressive line-up of new Photo CD-ROMs will ship - Airshows,
Spain, American Wilderness, New Guinea & South Pacific Islands, Lighthouses,
Costa Rica, Grafitti, Monument Valley, African Wildlife, Exotic Tropical
Flowers, Australia's East Coast, Alligators, Crocodiles, & Reptiles, Textures
By Frank Scott, Contemporary Fabric, Abstracts & Patterns, Intimate
Landscapes, Cards, Agates, Plant Microscopy, Success, Roads & Highways,
Traditional World Dress, Forests & Trees, Color Backgrounds, Ontario,
Mammals, Coastal Landscapes, Contemporary Buildings, Fashion Show, Industry,
Fields & Streams, Merchant Marine, Great Works of Art: Dutch Masters, Parades
of the World, The Mystique of Women, Carrier Aviation, Stamps, Great Works of
Art: Portraits, The United Nations: A 50th Anniversary Collection.
Corel launched its new LAN-based desktop videoconferencing system at the
Telecon XV trade show in Anaheim, California in October. CorelVIDEO(
provides full motion picture quality video within a local campus environment
and a high quality connection to the LAN, home or satellite office. The
product uses a single pair of existing unused category 5 UTP wires to
transport audio and video signals without impacting network traffic.
Key product features include:
ú Directories: Multiple directories can be created by dragging and
dropping user's pictures into the appropriate directory. Simply double-click
on the picture of the person you want to call and CorelVIDEO places the call
for you. These directories can be viewed pictorially or textually and can
also hold additional information such as e-mail addresses.
ú Calling Features: CorelVIDEO supports traditional features such as do
not disturb, call forward, call waiting and on hold. Users can create their
own speed dials by dragging the pictures of frequently called people to their
monitor desktop.
ú Data Sharing: Documents can be modified by multiple users, even if only
one participant has the software loaded. CorelVIDEO utilizes Future Labs'
TALKShow( for its data conferencing solution.
ú Freeze-Frame User Snapshots: Pictures are taken at predetermined
intervals so co-workers will quickly be able to determine if the person they
wish to talk to is on the phone, having a meeting or away from his or her
office. Users can personally manage the accessibility of these snapshots.
ú Broadcast Capabilities: CorelVIDEO users can make or tune into live or
pre-recorded programs such as product demos or training sessions.
Shipping later this month, CorelVIDEO carries a suggested list price of
$499 US per video desktop. CorelCAM, an ergonomically designed camera, may
be purchased at an additional price of $499 US. Corel's distribution plans
for CorelVIDEO are currently focused on the certification of value-added
resellers, systems integrators and specialized videoconferencing dealers. For
more information please contact Ian McLean, Business Development Manager at
Corel. His internet address is ianmac@corel.ca.
Corel Corporation has signed an exclusive licensing deal with England's
Xara Ltd. for a product called XARA Studio. This 32-bit vector drawing
package runs under Windows 3.1, Windows NT or Windows 95. Xara Limited will
continue to develop the product in cooperation with Corel. The name of the
new product is CorelXARA. It is a vector and bitmap illustration tool with
full anti-aliasing features and powerful special effects. Its well crafted ,
easy to use interface and low system requirements make it an ideal standalone
product for new users who do not require color separations or for those who
are looking for a slim, snappy multipurpose graphics tool to pair with their
publishing and presentation package. Pricing for CorelXARA has been set at
$289 US.
CorelFLOW 3 is Corel's business diagramming software for Windows 95. It
is ideal for business, consumer and technical users who wish to create
professional looking organizational charts, family trees, diagrams,
schematics or layouts. The package contains 6,400 preset symbols that reflect
ANSI and ISO standards, plus thousands of clipart images, photos and
templates and 150 TrueType & Type 1 fonts. Key features include Mutliple
Document Interface (MDI), typographical control, a customizable user
interface, smart symbols, OLE Automation and improved layers control.
CorelFLOW 3 has a suggested list price of $199 US and registered users can
upgrade for $79 US from version 2. Corel will sell both version 2 supporting
Windows 3.1 and version 3 supporting Windows 95 concurrently in the coming
months.
Corel PHOTO-PAINT 6 is shipping at the end of November as a standalone
product. It includes easy-to-use selection tools, movie file editing, natural
media brush styles, 77 different filter effects, and fully editable text
features. Designed exclusively for Windows 95, Corel PHOTO-PAINT 6 features a
Multiple Document Interface and provides all the tools for photo and bitmap
file manipulation. This standalone version has a suggested list price of $289
US and users can upgrade from either Photo-Paint 5 Plus or the bundled
version that ships with Hewlett Packard scanners for $79 US. The upgrade is
available exclusively through Corel service and support centers.
Corel Print House is a new graphics product destined for the 'home user'
market. It includes tools to create greeting cards, stationery, banners,
invitations, business cards, signs, calendars, menus, fax report covers,
certificates and labels. The product features an easy to learn, Windows 95
interface with wizards and cue cards to guide users through project creation.
Corel Print House includes over 5000 pieces of clipart, 100 fonts, 1000 ready-
to-use phrases, 1000 photos, over 900 pre-designed samples and more. Although
the product has a suggested list price of $99 US, Corel is launching this new
product in November with a special introductory price of $29.99 US while
supplies last.
Corel CD Creator 2 is a 32 bit application for Windows 95 and Windows
NT. The primary audience for this product includes multimedia authors,
VideoCD producers, audio enthusiasts, digital photographers, musicians,
archivists, data distributors, system integrators and software developers.
Version 2 includes extensive OLE 2 support, disc wizard, system tests,
comprehensive recorder support, CD Plus Disc format features, a PhotoCD
creator application, audio (.WAV) editing software, a VideoCD creator
application and the product comes bundled with Corel PRESENTS.
Pricing has been set at $495 US and the product will ship at the end of
November. Users who purchased version 1 can upgrade for $249 US through Corel
Customer Service centers.
Corel CD Creator for Macintosh lets you record CD-ROM, HFS, Hybrid, CD
Audio, CD Plus and mixed mode discs. The Disc Wizard guides you through the
CD creation process or simply design your disc layout by dragging files or
tracks from the finder and record! You can also create your own customized
jewel case artwork. Additionally, Corel CD Creator for Macintosh is
accelerated for the Power Macintosh! This first version of Corel CD Creator
for Macintosh has a suggested list price of $249 US.
Corel has teamed up with the market leader in recordable CD systems,
Pinnacle Micro to introduce a new Recordable CD system priced below $1000.
Pinnacle's new RCD 5020 is a 2X recorder/player with a 1 MB cache buffer.
Corel is bundling a custom version of Corel's CD Creator 2 application
software which allows for Windows 3.1, Windows '95 and NT compatibility. The
hardware/software bundle includes an additional Corel CD-ROM with 1000 pieces
of clipart and 100 professional photos. The bundle is slated for full
production mid November and is expected to appeal to the long awaiting
consumer market.
Selected from more than 7,800 entries for the Corel $2,000,000 World
Design Contest, the 3,000 stunning images in the Corel ArtShow 6 coffee-table
book, 2,600 images on CD-ROM, reveal the beauty and genius of computer-
generated art and design from around the world. The Corel ArtShow 6 coffee-
table book and accompanying CD-ROM has a suggested list price of $49.95 US.
An Artshow 6 CD-ROM only product will be available for $24.95 US.
Internet Mania will increase user productivity and make gathering
information from the Internet fast and easy. A Home Page Author lets users
create professional-looking World Wide Web pages and powerful FTP utilities
make downloading information easy. With a handy Internet directory, personal
stock ticker and scanning features that automatically notify users of updates
to favorite web sites, this product is sure to be on every 'surfers'
Christmas wish list. Internet Mania has a suggested list price of $24.95 US.
Jim Unger's classic Herman cartoon series is now available as a complete
collection on CD-ROM. This encyclopedia-style multimedia title features over
5000 cartoons, extensive search and retrieval capabilities, bookmarks, a
screensaver, and a wallpaper utility. The Complete Herman Collection from
Corel is available in November at a suggested list price at $24.95 US.
Based on the popular children's book by Alan Rogers, Green Bear is a fun-
filled interactive storybook on CD-ROM featuring colorful pages and dozens of
activities. Perfect for preschoolers, ages 3 to 6, this enchanting CD-ROM
story follows Green Bear through the year as he paints his house to match the
colors of each season. This title has a suggested list price of $24.95 US.
World's Greatest Classic Books includes over 3500 literary works from
the greatest writers of all time. Ideal for book reports, research projects,
reference or just personal enjoyment, the Classic Books CD-ROM is a must have
product. It includes a full text search and retrieval engine, illustrations,
full motion video, the American Heritage Dictionary, detailed author
profiles, and comprehensive printing controls. With a suggested list price of
$24.95 this product is destined to be a winner.
Corel Chess is a full 3D action chess game for Windows 3.1 and Windows
95. It includes a rotating table, 3D modeled piece sets and elaborately
rendered game settings. Users can replay over 4000 renowned chess matches or
play another person or the computer through 5 levels of difficulty. Corel
Chess has a suggested list price of $24.95 US.
Welcome to the magical world of the Interactive Alphabet where the
humor and excitement of animation will help your child learn the Alphabet. A
host of zany cartoon characters act out the story as it is read aloud by a
charming narrator. As children explore they learn letters and more than 500
vocabulary words all within a world of sights and sounds. This educational CD-
ROM is jam-packed full of delightful animations, music and sound effects to
offer any child hours of engaging play-and-learn fun. The suggested list
price for this title is $24.95 US.
CorelSCSI 2.5 includes extensive support for SCSI peripherals, faster CD-
ROM and optical drive performance provided by Helix cloaking, and advanced
printer support. New features include updated utilities, a device driver for
Panasonic's PD drive - the first combination optical/CD-ROM drive on the
market, and AutoStart, which simulates autoplay capability found in Windows
95. Additional enhancements include advanced diagnostic tools including CD
Plus diagnostics and support, updated scanner drivers with an easier to use
interface, and Windows 95 support making it the complete SCSI solution at an
unbeatable value. The suggested list price for this product is $129 US and
the upgrade for both OEM and retail versions will be sold direct from Corel
for $49.95 US.
Corel Drivers for Enhanced CD-ROMs allow traditional audio CDs to
include multimedia content such as artist biographies, interviews, photos,
song lyrics, video clips and more. However, not all existing consumer
hardware can recognize these new disc formats. Corel Drivers for Enhanced CD
enables many multi-session CD-ROM drives to recognize CD Plus and hidden
track music formats in a Windows 3.1 and Macintosh 7.x environment. Watch for
this technology to be bundled with upcoming music releases from Sony Music,
Columbia Records, Epic Records, A&M Records, EMI Records Group North America
and other major labels.
In addition to these new products, Corel is updating CorelDRAW 5 to run
seamlessly under Windows 95. A single CD-ROM with updates that fix problems
encountered using Windows 95 is available free to CorelDRAW 5 customers. To
order, customers can call 1-800-772-6735 in North America or 011 353 1 706
3912 in Ireland. A maintenance release for CorelDRAW 6 is currently in
development and scheduled to ship in early December. The maintenance CD-ROM
corrects outstanding problems found in revision 6.00.118 and adds enhanced
functionality to several of the modules in our flagship product. This update
is also free of charge and available directly from Corel and its service and
support providers worldwide.
With the ever-growing product line, Corel is planning many public
demonstrations for these new products. In November Corel invites Comdex goers
in Las Vegas, Nevada to participate in a Product Showcase event on Tuesday,
November 14th at the Flamingo Hilton. The 9 am event features a keynote
address by President & CEO, Mike Cowpland and demonstrations of CorelXARA,
Print House, and CorelFLOW 3.
A free New Technology Seminar Tour that includes demonstrations of the
above new products plus CD Creator 2 and tips and tricks for CorelDRAW 6 is
planned for the last 2 weeks of November. To get a complete list of cities in
Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia please call our fax
back service at 613-728-0826 extension 3080.
We're pleased to announce this month that CorelDRAW scored the highest
in satisfaction out of all software packages surveyed in a recent Home Office
Marketing Essentials Study conducted by the California-based InTech Group.
Since its inception in 1991, CorelDRAW has won over 215 industry awards for
product innovation, satisfaction, excellence and value.
If you would like to discuss details in this newsletter or review Corel
product strategy and plans for 1996 don't hesitate to contact me at this
internet address: arlenb@corel.ca.
Best regards,
Arlen Bartsch
Director, Sales & Marketing
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
FARGO PRIMERA PRO COLOR PRINTERS - 600DPI
For a limited time only; If you wish to have a FREE sample printout sent to
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bit Photo Realistic Color Output, please send a Self Addressed Stamped
Envelope [SASE] (business sized envelope please) to:
STReport's Fargo Printout Offer
P.O. Box 6672
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Folks, the FARGO Primera Pro has GOT to be the best yet. Its far superior to
the newest of Color Laser Printers selling for more than three times as much.
Its said that ONE Picture is worth a thousand words. Send for this sample
now. Guaranteed you will be amazed at the superb quality. (please, allow at
least a one week turn-around)
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
Apple/Mac Section
John Deegan, Editor
ISDN Prelims.. STR Focus
ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network
Ctsy ISDN Forum, CompuServe
by Dan Mertz, 72470,1676
ISDN, four big letters holding little insight to meaning or potential.
Created in the 1980's, ISDN is actually a standard for digitizing all
telephone company services.
Since the days of Alexander Graham Bell, voice communications have been
carried in analog form. In the 1950's telephone companies realized the
benefits of digital signals and began the process of converting their cross-
country lines. The last piece in the conversion process is the local loop.
After much hype following introduction of the ISDN standards in the mid-
1980's, potential users suggested that ISDN stood for "Innovations
Subscribers Don't Need." Early in the 1990's users still found little use
for the new standards, mockingly changing the implied meaning of ISDN to "It
Still Does Nothing."
However, recent developments bring new meaning to ISDN. In the ISDN
Forum on Compuserve, a user hawking value added re-seller services for ISDN
suggest a new definition -- "I Smell Dollars Nearby." And, the May 8, 1995
issue of Multichannel News, suggests this more recent meaning for the
acronym: It Starts Delivering Now This paper will briefly discuss the
technical specifications for ISDN, its history, and some of the
implementation issues. Somewhat more in-depth coverage of current
implementation issues and current uses of ISDN will be provided.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
ISDN contains the standards for digitizing switched communications
(data, video, and other types in addition to voice) from the local telephone
company switching hub into user (premises) equipment.
One advantage the standard supplies is the ability to transmit over the
already installed twisted-pair copper wire now used for voice(and other
analog) communications. Each channel can carry 64Kbps per second. The data,
or bearer channel is called the B-channel. Also, another channel, called the
D channel (D=delta)is used for signaling.
There are two types of ISDN service. They are basic rate interface
(BRI)and primary rate interface (PRI). The BRI service provides two 64 Kbps
bearer channels and one D channel. BRI is also referred to as 2B + D.
The primary rate interface, PRI, provides 23 bearer channels and one D
channel, and is also known as 23B + D. At the user premises, proceeding from
the wall outlet to the device (computer, phone, fax, etc), the service is
connected to what's known as an NT-1. From the NT-1 the digitized signal
travels through the ISDN Terminal Adapter. In early implementation's, these
two devices were separate pieces of hardware that had be purchased from
different sources. Even today, one must be an informed buyer.
However, as the technology blossoms, manufacturers are beginning to
build the NT-1 and the ISDN Terminal Adapter into one package. In computer
applications, like with most add-ons, the package can be implemented as an
external device connected to the computer through a serial port. An RJ-11
phone jack is built into the external device for connection to the incoming
ISDN line. The hardware can be also be added internally, as a card placed in
an available expansion slot.
The NT-1, Network Terminating Device, serves as the interface between
the premises equipment and the local phone company network. The terminal
adapter is where the two (or more) channels are integrated into one data
stream. It is here that the two 64Kbps bearer channels are combined to
create a total thru-put of 128Kbps.
There is no special software required to implement ISDN. The standard,
commercial communications packages like Crosstalk, Procom, and PC Anywhere
work straight from the box. The special applications like video conferencing
come with software required to operate the application.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Since the beginning days, telephone service has been referred to as POTS
-- Plain Old Telephone Service. Voice communication was analog. But, by the
1950's national providers were beginning to understand and deploy digital
service.
By the 1970's inter-exchange carriers recognized the full benefit of
digital transmission. Digital transmission provided the ability to
regenerate the signal without increasing noise levels at repeater sites. By
the end of the 1970's an all digital backbone had been deployed on key routes
across the United States. In the United States, by the early 1980's the
entire telephone infrastructure, except for the local loop and the telephone
itself, had been digitized. A global goal being fostered (both then and now)
by the United Nations is total digitization of all telephone systems, world-
wide. Such an infrastructure will allow international data exchange.
The International Telephone & Telegraph Consultation Committee (CCITT)
was the United Nations Committee responsible for establishing and publishing
the standards for digital data communications -- ISDN, Integrated Services
Digital Networks. The standards were published and presented in 1984. From
there, as Communications Week Executive Editor Chris Roeckl puts it, "In the
1980's ISDN was long on hype and short on implementation." However, recent
developments have placed ISDN at the cutting edge. Roeckl continues, "But
now organizations are flocking to ISDN to improve communications with branch
locations and telecommuters."
Presently, the baby Bell's are providing about 300,000 ISDN lines.
That's four times as many as there were in 1993. Dataquest, a consultancy,
expect the number of ISDN lines in america to triple by 1998. Bellcore
expects 13 million ISDN lines to be in service by the year 2000.
IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
The literature explores many reasons for ISDN's early failures, but
there were two seemed to be two main problems that spawmed many others. The
first issue revolved around the manufacture of switching equipment. While
standards were in place, the interpretations and implementation of those
standards differed. The two main switch makers, AT&T and Northern Telecom
developed equipment that would not inter-operate.
As a result, the local service providers were hesitant to launch ISDN.
In a letter to the editor (Communications Week, June 19, 1995) Tom Bader, an
ISDN planner at Ameritech explains. He says that Ameritech didn't seriously
consider offering ISDN because of a lack of standard switching. Their view
was that the big demand for ISDN would occur through different switches, but
the switching equipment was proprietary. He finishes by noting that vendors
are now supplying switches manufactured to common standards, making full
scale deployment of the service possible. The standardization process was
led by Bellcore in 1991. The result was NISDN-1.
Three key elements were:
ú Standardization of equipment and services
ú Standardization of telephone company procedures for operations
ú Standardization of procedures for communications between central offices
The second early issue concerned the Federal Communications Commission's
ruling on how local telephone companies must charge for the service. When
the Baby Bell's began operation in the mid 1980's, the FCC said charges must
be sufficient to recover the cost of the local loop's operation. The
procedure was to mandate a per channel charge.
In effect, a residential subscriber had one channel of communication in
the sense that only one phone call could be handle at a time. ISDN is a
multi channel service. As was described above, basic rate interface (BRI)
offers two channels, allowing for data transfer one one channel and voice
communications on the other.
As a result, the FCC ruled that the user of BRI must be two subscriber
line charges, effectively doubling the cost of the service. Earlier this
year, Bell Atlantic's "Emergency Petition for Waiver" (2/10/95) asked for
relief from the double charge situation.
Relief was granted, and the FCC published "Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking" (FCC Document 95-212). The process is one of requesting comment
on how to charge for ISDN service. The initial section of the document notes
that when subscriber line charges (SLC's) were implemented in the mid-1980's
ISDN was not even considered. In the request the FCC suggest five general
alternatives with a total of 14 options (for determining ISDN charges)
offered. The cut off date for comments was July 14, 1995. Given the move
for a deregulated environment, it appears that the FCC will rule favorably
for moderate charges, allowing both residential and business users affordable
connection rates.
TODAY'S IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
To be sure, ISDN is in the early stage of adoption, and many
implementation issues remain to be solved. It is not yet as simple as plug
and play. In a recent survey of network managers using ISDN, 43.2% said the
biggest disadvantage of the service is availability. At the local phone
company level, availability of ISDN to customers ranges from a low of 18% for
GTE customers to a high of 90% for Bell Atlantic subscribers.
At the end of Bell Atlantic's recently ended second quarter (6/30/95)
the local telephone company's number of ISDN lines totaled 120,000 up 75%
from year earlier levels. Southwest Bell will be spending $300 million over
the next five years to make ISDN service universally available in its service
area. The company notes increasing demand as the force driving the
conversion-spending.
While demand is on the rise, some feel that usage will not sweep the
nation until implementation gets easier. The issue of standards was
discussed previously. But, there are still issues of interpretation that
apparently need to be addressed. For example, video conferencing needs a lot
of speed and bandwidth. ISDN is ideal for the purpose. However, it is
difficult to connect unlike equipment (i.e.- from different manufacturers).
The standard exists. For video conferencing the standards are found in
H.320. But, early in the implementation phase, the interpretations and
implementations of the standards vary.
Communications Week recently offered these ISDN implementation procedures:
ú Take control of the process from the beginning. Don't assume vendors
are all-knowledgeable.
ú Study and understand ISDN the ISDN technology.
ú Make sure the vendors understand ISDN technology (even the local phone
company representatives)
ú Choose applications & equipment before ordering ISDN service.
ú Don't let inexperienced installers install your ISDN service.
ISDN lines do need to be configured and conditioned before using.
Finally, cost still appears to be an issue although its relevance is fading.
In the recent past West Virginia University installed 1,700 Basic Rate
Interface (BRI) circuits, but as of 6/5/95 had not deployed them because of
cost. As was noted earlier, the Federal Communications Commission is now
determining how Subscriber Line Charges (SLC's) should be determined for ISDN
users. Presumably, the ruling will favor users with lower charges.
Also, the local telephone companies are realizing elasticity of demand.
Price reductions do lead to increased usage that generates greater revenues
for the local telecos. Early in June (1995) Bell Atlantic announced a 60%
drop in ISDN charges. For Basic Rate Interface Service, the per-minute, per-
channel charge for business use dropped from five cents a minute to two cents
a minute. A Bell Atlantic directors explained the drop by saying, "One of
the most significant barriers to widespread acceptance of this technology was
price."
UBS securities analyst Linda Metzler, responding to Bell Atlantic's 1995
second quarter results said she was struck by the (financial) contribution of
Bell Atlantic 's integrated services digital network and other enhanced
vertical services. Analysts expected second quarter earnings per share to be
$1.00. The actual result was $1.02 compared to 95-cents in the second
quarter of 1994.
CURRENT AND FUTURE USES
What ISDN provides is an economical means for creating an the WAN
portion of an enterprise network. Prior to ISDN, interconnection could be
achieved through rental of expensive, dedicated T1 lines, or, by using the
existing analog telephone service via a comparatively slow modem.
Increasingly, there is demand for transmission of graphics, motion, and
sound in addition to text and data. Bandwidth is essential for all of these
purposes. For example, Schindler Elevator Corp. maintains a centralized
image database. Service people equipped with portable PC's can access this
"multimedia" information to obtain pictures of known equipment problems and
suggestions for elevator service, complete with a supervisor walking them
through simple and complicated repairs. ISDN is the medium over which these
images (voice, video, and data) are transmitted.
ISDN is also providing locally administered, cash strapped, schools with
the ability to interconnect for the first time. In Cincinnati, ISDN has been
deployed for the purpose of implementing a supporting administrative network.
ISDN will be used this fall to connect 83 schools (PC's, mini's, and
servers). Local administration explains that ISDN was selected because it
provide the most bandwidth at the best price.
The implementation will replace a manual system for tracking enrollment,
daily attendance, student records, and accounting & purchasing information.
Also, in-classroom applications, distance learning, videoconferencing, and
any client/server architecture will be supported by the new ISDN-based
service.
In San Diego, the Technical Museum of Innovation will be connected to
San Diego State University via ISDN service. This test will provided needed
experience for the museum to offer connection to other schools, allowing
students access to the museums resources without the need for costly time
away from the local school.
AT&T and MCI recently announced an ISDN based multi-media service that
allows customers to place interactive voice and data calls. the service can
be used for remote LAN access, videoconferencing, and customer support.
Also, both companies envision that the service will allow buyers to browse on-
line catalogs. Also, it will enhance interactive support and desktop
collaborations.
The on-line service Lexis-Nexis is testing the AT&T WorldWork 800
service. The provider is training new users in use of its on-line service
through interactive, multi-media means. Previously, new users went to one of
50 training centers, or, a trainer went to the customer's site.
The laundry list of uses of ISDN includes:
ú Videoconferencing
ú LAN to LAN Connections
ú LAN to Host Connections
ú Telecommuting
ú Internet Hook-Up
ú Remote Backup
ú Fast fax
ú Commercial On-Line Services
ú Remote Systems Management
Compuserve and Prodigy are playing with it. Recently, Compuserve
announced that it would roll-out ISDN connection by means of a 1-800 number.
The service expects local ISDN service to be available in 10 cities by the
end of August (1995). ISDN almost seems essential for collecting visual
images from the World Wide Web. Pacific Bell is pushing ISDN as an efficient
means for Internet access.
Our local newspaper, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, is using ISDN to
receive ads directly from advertisers on a system supplied by ImageNet,
Bernardsville, New Jersey. At the moment the ISDN service is fragmented. A
potential user is saddled with the responsibility of selecting the
applications, securing the necessary premises hardware, and selecting the
correct ISDN service from the local provider. Pacific Bell is working hard
to simplify the process by providing turnkey solutions. Currently, PacBell
is cooperating with Microsoft and CompUSA to provide a package solution for
Windows 95 and Microsoft NT.
But, the full capabilities and the applications that use those
capabilities probably remain uncovered. As the service is adopted,
creativity and ingenuity will spawn new and more productive uses. One
telecommunications recently summed-up the possibilities by saying, "People
are putting in ISDN lines for one thing and now they're finding other uses
for it. That's the sign of a mature technology."
Let the bits fly!
Atari Jaguar/Computer Section
Dana Jacobson, Editor
Jaguar Section
Atari Layoffs! Mathieson Resigns!
Ruiner Pinball Out! CATnips!
Mall Store Jaguar Only!
Myst & Mutant Penguins in Production!
And Much more...
From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
Just when it appeared that things were looking up with Atari and the
Jaguar.....BOOM!! Games are coming out, and fairly rapidly at the moment.
It's something that Jaguar users have been hoping for some time now. And
then, late last week, Atari had a layoff, fired a few employees, and so far,
one has resigned. It's not been a pretty sight; and the online community is
reacting with a furor that I haven't seen in a long time.
It's not uncommon, especially these days in a business such as Atari is
in. But, it appears that this is really hitting close to home and people are
wondering what is to become of Atari. Atari's Ted Hoff told us last week
that the Jaguar hasn't been abandoned; and I believe him. But, for how long?
Much of the development team is gone. VP Bill Rehbock is gone. Jaguar
designer John Mathieson has resigned. And, it's still business as usual.
Will there be any more in house development of Jaguar software now?
It's certainly reduced with these layoffs. The "logical" move would be to go
outside Atari and "outsource" Jaguar projects. But, and this sounds to me to
be a big one, are there development names out there willing to take on the
task? We'll learn the answer to these questions soon enough, I'm sure.
I've had a number of interesting phone calls this past week. I got a
call from Atari's PR firm, Dorf & Stanton asking how everything was going and
what they could do for us here at STReport (and I told them!). We had an
interesting conversation and things sounded positive from their perspective.
I talked with various sources at Atari and things seem to be business as
usual there after the initial commotion. I was talking with Don Thomas and
joking around with him when Leonard Tramiel grabbed the phone away from Don
and told me that the sounds emanating from thebackground were really not the
sounds of Leonard beating on Don! Both Don and Leonard were unwinding after
a long day (I usually call near the end of the day) and both started horsing
around when Leonard entered the room.
Anyway, I asked Don point blank whether or not Atari would be sticking
it out with the Jaguar. He told me that Atari was committed to continuing
support for the Jaguar. He was very firm in his reply. When asked about
John Mathieson's resignation, I was told that it had nothing to do with the
recent layoffs, but a personal move. Unfortunately, according to Don, the
timing was poor.
As I've mentioned online and during numerous phone conversations with
various people, these layoffs probably sound more ominous than they really
are, except for those personally affected. How it affects the company and
the Jaguar, and the userbase, is still unclear. Will "out ourcing" be the
answer? Hard to tell c I see good points and bad. All I have at the moment
is speculation, so I'll wait until I have more information about what will be
occurring in this regard. As to the rumors that Atari will be focusing more
attention to the PC side of entertainment software, I don't see any real
focus in this direction at the moment.
So, what positive news do we have for you? Good question! Ruiner
Pinball is out and the reaction so far has been extremely favorable. Expect
a review of this new game in these pages soon. I had hoped to have the
review of Hover Strike: Unconquered Lands, but the news from Sunnyvale took
most of my time this past week and the final touches for the review had to
take a back seat. We also had a few other things planned, but we're putting
them off until later.
Anyway, back to the positive news and information. Would you believe a
Jaguar only store? You bet! Longtime Atari computer dealer, Run PC, has
recently opened a store in a mall. It sounded like it was one of your
typical "kiosks" that just contains a small sampling of stock, but I'm told
that it's much more than that. The store is situated in the middle of the
mall, with four walls (not your pre-conceived idea of a kiosk) and has demo
machines allowing people to get a hands-on feel for the Jaguar.
Plenty of games and other accessories for people to check out. It
sounds like this store is not a permanent fixture and likely to only be
around until after the holidays; but it's a terrific idea that could catch
on. It might also be a terrific permanent idea if business continues to be
successful as it has been so far. We'll keep you posted on any new
developments. Great idea, Run-PC! I'm sure that we're going to be learning
more about Atari's plans and effects of their new "re-structuring" as time
passes. It's certainly going to be an interesting next few months. Stay
tuned!
Until next time...
Jaguar Catalog STR InfoFile - What's currently available, what's coming
out.
Current Available Titles
CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER
J9000 Cybermorph $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9006 Evolution:Dino Dudes $29.99 Atari Corp.
J9005 Raiden $29.99 FABTEK, Inc/Atari
Corp.
J9001 Trevor McFur/
Crescent Galaxy $29.99 Atari Corp.
J9010 Tempest 2000 $59.95 Llamasoft/Atari Corp.
J9028 Wolfenstein 3D $69.95 id/Atari Corp.
JA100 Brutal Sports FootBall $69.95 Telegames
J9008 Alien vs. Predator $69.99 Rebellion/Atari Corp.
J9029 Doom $69.99 id/Atari Corp.
J9036 Dragon: Bruce Lee $39.99 Atari Corp.
J9003 Club Drive $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9007 Checkered Flag $39.99 Atari Corp.
J9012 Kasumi Ni
nja $69.99 Atari Corp.
J9042 Zool 2 $59.99 Atari Corp
J9020 Bubsy $49.99 Atari Corp
J9026 Iron Soldier $59.99 Atari Corp
J9060 Val D'Isere Skiing $59.99 Atari Corp.
Cannon Fodder $49.99 Virgin/C-West
Syndicate $69.99 Ocean
Troy Aikman Football $69.99 Williams
Theme Park $69.99 Ocean
Sensible Soccer Telegames
Double Dragon V $59.99 Williams
J9009E Hover Strike $59.99 Atari Corp.
J0144E Pinball Fantasies $59.99 C-West
J9052E Super Burnout $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9070 White Men Can't Jump $69.99 Atari Corp.
Flashback $59.99 U.S. Gold
J9078E VidGrid (CD) Atari Corp
J9016E Blue Lightning (CD) $59.99 Atari Corp
J9040 Flip-Out $49.99 Atari Corp
J9082 Ultra Vortek $69.99 Atari Corp
C3669Trayman $69.99 Ubi Soft
Power Drive Rally $69.99 TWI
J9101 Pitfall $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9086E Hover Strike CD $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9031E Highlander I (CD) $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9061 Ruiner Pinball $59.99 Atari Corp.
Available Soon
CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER
Dragon's Lair TBD Readysoft
Demolition Man $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9069 Myst (CD) $59.99 Atari Corp.
...Mutant Penguins $59.99 Atari Corp.
Atari Kart TBA Atari Corp.
Battlemorph $59.99 Atari Corp.
Breakout 2000 $49.99 Atari Corp.
Supercross 3D $59.99 Atari Corp.
Fever Pitch TBA Atari Corp.
Missile Command 3D TBA Atari Corp.
Hardware and Peripherals
CAT # TITLE MSRP MANUFACTURER
J8001 Jaguar (no cart) $149.99 Atari Corp.
J8904 Composite Cable $19.95
J8901 Controller/Joypad $24.95 Atari Corp.
J8905 S-Video Cable $19.95
CatBox $69.95 ICD
J8800 Jaguar CD-ROM $149.99 Atari Corp.
J8908 JagLink Interface $29.95 Atari Corp.
J8910 Team Tap
4-Player Adapter) $29.95 Atari Corp.
J8907 Jaguar ProController $29.95 Atari Corp.
J8911 Memory Track $29.95 Atari Corp.
J8909 Tempest 2000:
The Soundtrack $12.99 Atari Corp.
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
CONTACT: Patricia Kerr or Jennifer Hansen
Shandwick USA
800/444-6663 or 310/479-4997
Atari Corporation and Run PC Open Jaguar Mall Store
Spectacular Grand Opening Sells Out of Hot System Titles
LONGMONT, CO (November 7) -- Run PC, a regional retail leader in computers
and next generation game systems has opened the first Jaguar Mall Store. The
store is located inside the 550,000 square foot Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont,
Colorado and is anchored by JCPenny, Sears and Joslins Department Stores. The
prototype store exclusively demonstrates and sells the Atari 64-bit Jaguar
home entertainment system and the Lynx handheld color gaming system. Atari
Corporation has provided high-end interactive merchandising materials
including arcade style "hands-on" displays,banners and signage.
"We are proud to have worked with Run PC and to have opened the first ever
Jaguar-only Mall location," stated Ted Hoff, Atari's President of North
American Operations. "We support the concept of selling product in locations
where customers can see and play the Jaguar system themselves."
In the first two days since opening on Saturday, November 4, Run PC has sold
out of the most popular Jaguar related products. "Everyone who purchased a
Jaguar had to have a copy of Alien Vs. Predator," stated Jon J. Willig,
President of Run PC. "It's clear that I have to re-examine my staffing and
inventory to prepare for greater sales throughout the Holiday Season," Willig
added, "As a retailer we strongly believe in the Jaguar system. For less than
$150, we are finding that the system literally flies off the shelves,
outselling competing systems sold in other mall stores many times over. Atari
has always been responsive to our needs and requests. It's a pleasure to
serve our customers with their support."
The Jaguar-only store is open during mall hours and is located in the Twin
Peaks Mall on South Hover Road in Longmont, Colorado. It is the largest
shopping mall in Central Boulder County with a trade area population of well
over 310,000.
The Atari Jaguar is the world's first 64-bit multimedia gaming system and the
only game system manufactured in the United States. About 40 powerful game
titles are already available for the Jaguar including award-winning hits like
Doom and Tempest 2000 as well as new releases such as Highlander, Ruiner
Pinball, Pitfall! and Time Warner Interactive's Power Drive Rally. Soon to be
released titles include NBA Jam Tournament Edition, Myst, Primal Rage and
Zoop.
For more than twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers with
high quality, value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets Jaguar
the only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system and is located
in Sunnyvale, California.
Atari is a registered trademark of Atari Corporation. Jaguar and Lynx are
trademarks of Atari Corporation. All other products are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their owning companies. Alien and Predator are
trademarks and copyrights of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All
rights reserved. Used under sublicense from Activision.
Sega Games Come to PC CD-ROM
Sega PC, Sega of America's new computer games division, has begin
shipping enhanced PC CD-ROM versions of many of the company's video game
titles this month. Comix Zone and Tomcat Alley are set to ship this week.
Ecco the Dolphin is scheduled to ship prior to Thanksgiving.
Sega PC also says its Virtual Fighter Remix game is now available in a
bundle with a multimedia accelerator from Diamond Multimedia. Sega's PC
games are compatible with Pentium PCs running Windows 95. "These games are
optimized for the PC with faster frame rates, added colors, higher resolution
graphics, more difficulty levels, added control options and Plug-and-Play
ease of use," says Curtis Broome, Sega PC's marketing manager.
Sega PC titles will be sold through Sega's traditional distribution
channels, and in such PC retail locations as CompUSA, Computer City and
Electronics Boutique.
Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr!
CATnips... Jaguar tidbits from Don Thomas (95.11.05)
I think my son, Kyle, is into sports as much as the Pope is into
religion. Maybe more, but it is hard to imagine any less. <g> Every chance
he gets he is rollerblading, shooting hoops, swinging a bat or challenging
some kids to a game of street hockey. As goalie on his soccer team, he has
enjoyed an undefeated season and he aspires to travel with an international
soccer team one day. (Keep in mind he is only twelve. However, anyone that
wears a size thirteen shoe gets my full attention no matter how old they are.
<g>)
So the moral of the story is anything that keeps my son away from a
sunny California day must be awesome. I think Ruiner Pinball can be thrown in
that category along with a few other Jaguar titles too (like Brutal Sports
Football and International Sensible Soccer. What else? <g>).
In a world where multimedia entertainment is exploited everywhere, it's
got to be tough for software engineers to discover new ways to apply their
talents. In Ruiner Pinball, High Voltage Software has accomplished that task
very well. Ruiner Pinball is a perfect blend of pinball arcade action and the
interactive benefits of a high-performance, next-generation video game
system.
Ruiner Pinball will captivate you with new twists to the look and feel
of traditional arcade-style pinball action. In Ruiner, the action takes place
on two integrated pinball game machines side-by-side. The manual offers a
storyline, but the fun is indescribable. The features I like are multi-ball
play, high-response flippers (and lots of them), an easy to see ball against
the background, constant scoring updates AND full screen pinball play areas.
I also like the fact that gamers can bypass the ceremony to award bonus
points.
In Tower Pinball, included on your Ruiner Pinball cartridge, there are
three highly detailed playfields connected end-to-end. The theme is spooky
and sinister rather than militant, but the fun marches on. For hours during
my first night, I played alternately between Ruiner Pinball and Tower
Pinball. Now both games have DONALD as the top four high scores. <g>
It will be tempting for some people to compare Ruiner Pinball to Pinball
Fantasies by C-West. To me, the games are entirely different and as someone
who loves to play pinball, I'm glad I have both cartridges. Pinball
Fantasies offers as close to the feel of actual arcade as you can come.
Ruiner Pinball adds the element of high-end video blasting to the excitement.
There are mobilized tanks, flocks of flying fiends, missile launchers, cross
platform ramps, pulsating skulls and a variety of other unorthodox pinball
features.
Ruiner Pinball has shipped and, since it is cartridge based, it is
compatible with ALL 64-bit Jaguar gaming systems. Ask your retailer for it by
name and tell him Don from Atari sent you. <g>
Atari Corporation Presents Pinball Like You've Never Seen It Before
Ruiner Pinball for Jaguar 64 hits retail shelves
SUNNYVALE (November 6) -- With its third software release in as many weeks,
Atari Corporation continues to provide the home entertainment system market
with new titles for both their Jaguar 64 system and CD peripheral. Ruiner
Pinball, a high speed interactive pinball game for the Jaguar 64 system, hits
retail shelves today.
Ruiner Pinball offers two games within the single title: 'Ruiner' and
'Tower.' Both feature fast pinball action with all the bells, bings, clunks
and pings from an arcade pinball game---except with Ruiner Pinball, gamers
can keep their quarters at home!
The 'Ruiner' selection features a double-wide table with intense gameplay and
real arcade response as gamers must protect their country from a foreign
attack. 'Tower' transports gamers to an eerie castle in a strange land where
they must fight an evil Sorceress. If the triple-length table in 'Tower'
doesn't provide enough of a challenge, gamers must also cast three spells in
order to defeat the Sorceress and demolish the castle.
In addition to the several dimensions of gameplay, Ruiner Pinball boasts 3-D
animated enemies and targets as well as arcade table sound effects and a
"Tiny Cam," which offers a picture-within-a-picture.
"Atari Corporation has elevated pinball into Next Generation-caliber
entertainment," said Ted Hoff, Atari Corporation's President of North
American Operations. "Ruiner Pinball is just one of fifteen exciting titles
Atari will release this holiday season for the Jaguar 64 system and CD
player."
Ruiner Pinball is rated K-A (appropriate for kids through adults), is
available in stores nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $59.99.
For more than twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers with
high quality, value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets Jaguar
the only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system and is located
in Sunnyvale, California.
More TV Advertising...
Atari has just confirmed a beefed up advertising schedule with its
agency for the Holiday Season. Look for enhanced schedules during the weeks
November 6 and November 20. Shows include the Comedy Channel on cable, ESPN
(Big 10 Football), the SciFi Channel's presentation of the Star Wars Trilogy
and select USA movies like Revenge of the Nerds, Uncle Buck and Stop Or My
Mom Will Shoot.
Get your video tape now while they last...
Atari's Dealer/Demo tape is selling fast. A lot of people have asked what
demos are on it, so here's a list:
CARTRIDGE SOFTWARE CD SOFTWARE
Super Burnout Blue Lightning
White Men Can't Jump Dragon's Lair
Ultra Vortek Hover Strike
FlipOut! Highlander
Atari Karts Baldies
Pitfall Myst
Rayman Commander Blood
Ruiner Pinball Iron Soldier II
Charles Barkley Basketball Battlemorph
Zoop Max Force
Phase Zero Primal Rage
Defender 2000 Brett Hull Hockey
Attack of the Mutant Penguins Missile Command
3D
Super Cross 3D Breakout 2000
I-War
ADVERTISING
DEMOS OF THE ADS . LIGHTBULBS AND PC INTRO.
The tape is just $8.95 plus $4.95 shipping and handling. The tape is
professionally produced, labeled and boxed. It makes a great gift or it is a
great way to determine a gift by previewing the software featured on the
tape. Available to North American destinations only. California residents,
add .69 sales tax. MasterCard or Visa accepted. Call 1/800/GO-ATARI during
business hours Monday Through Friday or send your order via E-Mail to
75300.1267@compuserve.com or fax your order to 408/745-2088.
From the Internet (thanks Frans) ...
In rec.games.video.atari, drichard@cis.ohio-state.edu
(daniel l richards) wrote:
I picked up Highlander CD today and here is what I think. This is a very
well done game. The backgrounds are some
of the *best* I have seen in a video game and the storyline is quite cool.
Animated sequences are put in just right to enhance gameplay, not make up for
it. If you enjoyed the Alone In The Dark games for the PC (i did) you will
most likely love this game. The control takes a little while to get used to
but once you do - gotta love those leaping over- head chops! Sure, I died a
few times and was chased around for awhile but once *I* had a sword...heh
heh:) Oh well, I really think this is a great game - BTW, anyone figured out
how to get into that chest yet?
-- Dan Richards drichard@cis.ohio-state.edu
In rec.games.video.atari, theexodus@aol.com (TheExodus) wrote:
WHAT IN THE HELL HAS ATARI GONE AND DONE!? I purchased the cartridge version
of "Hoverstrike" when it hit shelves, and was enjoying the hell out of it
until yesterday... when the CD version arrived from Atari
Corp., and as unbelievable as this may sound: it is EXCELLENT!!
Firing photons is so damn cool... the photon is not just a bitmap scaled into
oblivion as it zooms off into the
distance, it actually casts a glow around itself (this little trick was used
in "The Unnatural Night"
mission of the cartridge version, but now it's everywhere).
Polygons... it's official, tech-specs. are as worthless in determining a game
system's performance, as the length
a man claims his penis to be is in determining whether or not a bride will
enjoy her honeymoon. Texture-mapped
polygon targets abound in "Hoverstrike", and they do not dissolve into a
field of random white pixels when they
explode.
Speaking of "Total Eclipse Turbo"... "Hoverstrike CD" takes Jaguar owners
today, where Crystal Dynamics' "3rd
generation of 32-bit software" promises to take 3D0 and PlayStation owners...
someday.
With the release of "Hoverstrike" and "Highlander" this week, I have the
feeling that not only is Atari holding
out on us, but that the Jaguar is no longer stuck in second gear...
-- XE
Atari's John Mathieson comments on his leaving Atari as well as questions
about his future, on CompuServe's Jaguar Forum:
Fm: John Mathieson (Atari) 74431,1702
To: James Thornhill, Jr. 102172,2761
Thank you for you flattering comments, however:
> 1) Would it be possible for John Mathieson to get control of the Jaguar and
Jaguar 2 from Atari?
Atari owns Jaguar outright. The only way would be to buy it.
> 2) What would Mr. Mathieson have to do to get the necessary financial
backing. Could he approach someone like Acclaim, IBM, Id, Nolan Bushnell or
others and get them to take a shot at owning the Jaguar.
It would take a lot of money to buy the rights, and then continue to operate
the product. Many tens of millions. How would you persuade them?
> 3) Would/will Atari allow him to form a competing company?
I don't think this is the problem, however...
> 4) Would John Mathieson even consider such an idea?
This is all very well, but I am an engineer, not a businessman. I do not have
the track record or experience to put together such a deal, even if I wanted
to, which I don't. But thanks for the suggestion.
I am leaving Atari at the end of this week to join a startup. I can't tell
you anything about it yet, but watch out in a year or so. The company is
called VM Labs.
Its been fun in this forum for the last couple of years. Things people say
here are listened to at Atari. I hope you all continue to enjoy the great
Jaguar games that are out and are still coming.
John
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
On CompuServe
compiled by
Joe Mirando
73637,2262
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. I've got some painful news (well,
painful for me anyway) to tell you and I've always believed in just blurting
bad news right out so here goes...
It may be that People Are Talking's days are numbered. As you know,
this column has always centered around the posts from CompuServe. Well,
CompuServe will soon be dropping support for generic terminal programs. I
don't understand what CompuServe will gain by doing this, but they are
determined that, by the beginning of the year, they will be accessible by
special program only. The coding necessary for this program is proprietary
and CompuServe has shown no interest in making it available to any platform
other than PC or Mac. Therefore, I won't be able to access CompuServe to
gather these little jewels because I don't have a PC or Mac and don't have
the resources to get one. And, truth be told, I don't really see any need
for a Mac or a PC for anything other than CompuServe access. So I guess that
only time will tell.
But, since the day of conformity in online access has not yet come,
let's get on with those little pearls of wisdom and other tidbits available
(for the time being) right here on CompuServe.
From the Atari Productivity Forum
Sysop Ron Luks tells us that...
"CIS is going to be dropping TerminalPrg interface to the service in
the months ahead..."
Frank Heller asks Ron:
"What impact does this have on the Atari using population?"
Ron tells Frank:
"It means that when the old forum software eventually goes away, you
won't be able to log on with an Atari computer. It'll be the same
situation as AOL and the Microsoft network or Prodigy. To access the
service, you'll need to run the services proprietary software (or
licensed 3rd party versions)."
Martin Ruffe mirrors my own thoughts:
"Hey Compuserve - this is very bad news. You can't do this unless you
plan to release AtariCIM. Please reconsider. Many users must come onto
CIS via non PC/MAC terminals/home computers."
Alberto Sanchez adds:
"I call with my Atari, and don't have any plans on buying a PC or Mac
only for having access to RESTRICTIVE systems. I will UNSIGN CIS if I
can't access with my home computer. If this thing finally happens,
we'll see on Internet (by the way, the only non restrictive "space")
Good luck, and continue supporting the VERY BEST user-friendly OS
(even if the Tramiels don't fight for it anymore)."
Our friend Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Alberto:
"I guess it is time to start using feed back and start voicing our
concerns early."
Sysop Ron explains the decision (kind of):
"I'm afraid that there is no chance for an AtariCIM from CompuServe.
Nor for an AmigaCIM. The number of people who log on via other
computers is incredibly small and shrinking daily."
Our own Atari Section editor, Dana Jacobson tells Sysop Ron:
"That's gonna really suck!! What's the sense of having an Atari
Computing Forum when Atari users won't be able to access it?!? Is
there a timetable for this occurring?"
Sysop Jim Ness jumps in and tells Dana:
"Nothing official. But, WinCIM v3.0 is supposed to be designed
specifically for the new software, and 3.0 is said to be due next
spring (according to news releases from CIS). So, that's a clue.
There has been a LOT of objecting in the "sysop underground" about
this, and despite the very high noise level, CIS has avoided any
comment about how forums like this one are going to be handled.
However, from unofficial sources, it appears certain areas like this
one will continue to use the old hosts and software for some period of
time, while the rest of the system will switch over to the new hosts
and software.
I don't have the official numbers, but well over 90% of the CIS
membership have PCs or Macs. The rest is Atari, Commodore, UNIX, and a
slew of older forgotten machines.
For the ST, I guess the only workable solution will be the Gadgets
emulator."
Frank Heller tells Sysop Jim:
"For what it's worth... I've been logging on and D/L'ing Atari files
with my Mac Powerbook 520c. Yes, I know: sacrilege. However...since I
started using the Mac, my CompuServe bills have been reduced
DRAMATICALLY. Yes, it's nice to come into the service and talk about
using Atari's but it is totally stupid to use 'em to run around this
service...and let's not even get started on the ability to go on the
net."
Sysop Ron Luks tells Dana:
"I don't have a time table yet, but I will do my best to keep the old
software available to this forum so that people can still log on with
their Atari's. It will mean that this forum may not have access to all
the new features CIS plans to add to the system, but at least Atari
owners will be able to log on with their systems."
Dan McNamee at Atari tells Ron:
"Personally I think this is a very bad move unless they plan to support
all of the old "dead" platforms. I only have a STacy at home (no PC
or Mac), and at work I use a TT for most of my access since my PCs are
tied up CD mastering applications. If I can't log on to CIS using
QuickCIS or STalker, then I can't log on at all. Even on the few
occasions when I have used WinCIM, I really didn't like it that much
since I never really felt in control like I do in text mode. The
program overall didn't feel intuitive to me, and I had a hard time
making my way around the service even though I knew where I wanted to
go. Also retrieving messages for browsing offline was difficult, and
reading them was a nightmare at best (and I assume that reading works
the same way online and offline). If the future is CIM only, then it
looks very dim to me.
I also know from talking to people online that there are a LOT of
people that only have or use non DOS or MAC systems, and they will no
longer be able to use the service either. I'm sure these users are a
VERY minor part of CISs overall userbase, but losing any customer,
especially in this manner (forcing them out when they don't want to
leave) is very bad.
I hope management reconsiders their position on this for the sake of
all users that don't use the "accepted" standard machines."
Sysop Jim tells Dan:
"CIS is being very (I mean *VERY*) closed mouth about their plans for
members who do not own a Mac or PC or equiv.
The closest whisper we have been able to get indicates that forums
such as this one will continue to exist on the older hosts, so that
existing methods can still be used to access them.
Other forums will migrate to the new hosts, and there will be no
software on those hosts designed to be accessed via a standard terminal
program. This has already happened with some CIS services."
Ron Luks adds:
"Currently over 85% of the access to this system ius done under HMI
(CIM) and by the end of the year, that will probably be closer to 90%.
That non-HMI percentage includes mostly TAPCIS and other auto-navigator
users and those programs are being upgraded for HMI support. Probably
less than 2% and maybe less than 1% of the entire worldwide userbase
uses ASCII-only, non-upgradeable systems (like the Atari)."
Peter Joseph posts:
"As a fellow user of both Atari and PC systems, I felt the same way you
did when I first used WinCIM. In fact, the first time I used WinCIM I
didn't even realize I was online for a minute or so. ;-) But, like the
early days of my ST, I got used to it and soon took the plunge into a
navigator (CSNav). It too was a scary start but with time that too has
become very easy and =very= convenient. I wouldn't go back to terminal
mode if you paid me now. Well, it depends on how much you pay me.
<grin>
It's unfortunate if CIS has decided to essentially drop support for the
older systems, but I guess if they expect to stay competitive and on
the leading edge of technology it won't be by maintaining support for
unsupported systems that are no longer on the technology roller
coaster. Of course, I'm not speaking only of Atari, but all of the
companies who are now not supporting their older systems. CompuServe's
a good service. Give WinCIM and CSNav another try before jumping ship
completely. I will miss the Atari forums if they indeed become
extinct. <frown>"
Michel Vanhamme wonders aloud:
"I wonder if this will only affect Atari/Amiga/Unix(?)... users. I
thought a lot of the PC navigators around actually 'navigate' in
terminal mode, which would make sense, if only for the increase in
speed?
And I do wonder what an imposed graphical interface has to offer for
reading messages? In other words, if they want to put a graphical layer
over it, fine, but why should they remove the older terminal mode
layer?"
Sysop Jim Ness tells Michel:
"The 3rd party PC and Mac navigators are being readied for the change.
They may look the same on screen, but they'll operate using the new
protocols, rather than plain old ASCII."
Sysop Ron Luks adds:
"Thats a common misunderstanding which Windows 3.1 users often make.
In Windows 3.1, you essentially have a DOS system with a GUI "laid on
top" of the basic DOS system.
CompuServe's service is NOT one service with an optional GUI layer on
top for a friendlier (?) reader interface. CompuServe is currently TWO
distinct sets of software programs accessing a common data set in the
forum setting.
If you log on using an ASCII program, you run a set of programs on
CompuServe's mainframes which are a character-based interface to the
common data set.
If you log on under HMI you use a different set of programs to access
the common data set.
(The data set-- in the case of forums-- is the actual message headers,
message text, library files, membership database, etc.)
For the past 6 years, CompuServe has been adding features equally to
both the character based (ASCII) interface and the HMI (graphical)
interface. Its been a big cost and a lot of work to implement changes
in both interfaces to make them appear equal. CIS has hit the
technological wall in that some of the newer features which can be
implemented easily in the graphical interface are very difficult and
system resource intensive to implement in the ASCII interface.
Much of this goes to a very basic computer concept called client-server
computing. This concept is at the core of networked system. It hits
the fundamental nature of the commercial online service business.
You've probably never heard someone explain this in this detail so save
this message. [grin]
Under terminal emulation (ASCII) interface, your system is essentially
a dumb terminal. 99% of the computing work is done by the host end
(the server). under HMI (host-micro interface) software, the
'computing load' can be divvied up between the client PC and the host
server. As the information service drastically increases the
membership base, the number of clients that are served by each host
system increases dramatically. This places a huge burden on the CPU of
each host server for the same amount of computing operations. Under
client/server software, to handle this increased system load, many
operations can be shifted to the client software. Under typical old
mainframe (terminal emulation software) 99% or 100% of the increased
system load must be borne by the mainframes. This architecture results
in the inability to handle increased system capacity in an efficient
manner.
CompuServe, like the other major online services, needs to dramatically
increase the overall size of their customer base to make up for the
drastically reduced hourly connect charges. ($22.80/hour in 1992 vs
$1.95/hr in 1995) Its become a volume (commodity) business and cost
factors are critical to the business model now.) Shifting 5%, 10%, 20%
of the 'computing load' to the client PC can make the difference
between a profitable system and a horribly money losing system...
The PC/MAC only situation is now the only standard at the other 3 main
services (AOL, Prodigy and Microsoft Network). The other smaller
services are going the same route. CIS held out for as long as it
possibly could but ASCII is simply not up to the multimedia task that
the VAST majority of customers want. Complaining about lack of ASCII
is like complaining when people stopped writing new software for your
old 8-bit computers. I sympathize because I use my Atari everyday and
I hate the current WinCIM. Its everybit as bad as you describe.
However, the new 3.0 version is a knockout."
Well folks, there's lots more stuff available on CompuServe this week, but
I'm too heart-sick to continue right now. If you'd like to see what else was
said this past week, log on to CompuServe (while you still can).
Remember to listen to what they're saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
ú Sunnyvale, CA Atari Lay Off includes more than 20 People!
Super Snoop, Hard at Work came up with all the details on the most recent
layoff at Atari from a recent Ex Atari Employee. He reports; "On Thursday,
November 2, 1995.. Atari had a huge layoff. Word is that 20 people were given
their pink slip walking papers.
Notable names include:
Bill Rehbock, Craig Suko, Denis Fung (Craig and Denis wrote FSMGDOS and
worked on the Jaguar game: Hoverstrike and Hoverstrike: Unconquered Lands),
Dave Stagus (of NEOChrome fame and various other Jaguar projects, and Lynx
projects, and the software for the SLM804 laser printer), and many others. I
think Rob Zydbel is gone as well. Mike Fulton and Norman Kowalefski (from
Atari Germany) were let go in the last round of layoffs. They have ONE
developer support person right now: Scott Sanders.
They got rid of almost all of the artists and all of the programmers. They
kept the testing staff for now. Word is that they are planning to become a
software company that just distributes and markets video games for various
machines. I couldn't get a straight answer from people about the Jaguar..
that leads me to believe that it is basically dead once they sell all that
they have left to offer. I think the testing folks are still around to push
the games in the pipeline through the system and out the door. Then I suspect
that they will be laid off as well. Many here feel the software company story
is a scam to keep things running until they can close the doors.
I am sending this report now because there are very few people left there
that I care about. The picture is bleak. The few remaining that I know will
probably leave within the next 30 days. Therefore, I'm not concerned about
what happens there now. Especially since many believe Atari is playing
"Happy Face" so they can suck the remaining loyalists into buying a dead-end
product. Its a typical Tramiel Treatment session. The only thing they're
interesed in is grabbing what money they can before they shut down.
Craig has worked for the Tramiels since the early days of Commodore... back
in the very early 80s. Incredibly, they laid him off like anyone else. That
was the ultimate proof these people don't give a damn about anyone but
themselves. Another example.. they're working the testing guys on 6 day work
weeks and will, more than likely, lay them off as soon as they're finished
testing the games left in the pipeline. It would be nice to hear what Ted
Hoff and Don Thomas have to say after all that "everything is better than
ever!" banter they had recently offered..
Editorial Quickies!
Famous last words...
"Atari Jaguar will have 200 games..."
Guess Who??
STReport International OnLine Magazine
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Issue No. 1145
