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Silicon Times Report Issue 1207
Silicon Times Report
The Original Independent OnLine Magazine"
(Since 1987)
February 16, 1996 No. 1207
Silicon Times Report International OnLine Magazine
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From the Editor's Desk...
Well now. We find Atari's current whigs, the Tramiels, very busy trying
to bury the company's "gold" in another company. A tradition fond or
otherwise is mercifully over. No more disappointments, no more fertilizer
filled "press releases" and no more broken promises. At the same time, in
their usual fashion, the Tramiels are keeping the future of the game console,
Jaguar. in quite dubious state. Why?? Who are they kidding? There has yet
to be a direct commitment by Atari stating the Jaguar will enjoy further
development and support. In this reporter's opinion, its all over but for
the noise of the lights being switched off. Oh well. times changes and so do
the fortunes and futures of some. The coming months are going to be quite
interesting.
On many fronts the by-word is progress. for example just this afternoon,
I was transferring a file from Compuserve to my computer at 57600. Not bad.
it has to do with the relatively new kid on the block or, should I say the
debut or coming out of the, now ready to be introduced, new kid on the block.
ISDN has been around for a while but has been taken advantage of. Some of
the Baby Bells around the country have been caught with their "diapers
drooping" they're basic lines and systems simply cannot handle the demands
ISDN places upon them. With the new communications bill now in effect, they
have got to either get on the stick or, lose the business to the local cable
company or power company. In any case its all to benefit of the consumer.
Before too long, Internet access in the American home will be as common as
electricity. This week we begin a series of articles about ISDN, the
equipment it requires and uses, the various methods of implementation and its
costs.
ISDN is a mystery to many and an unknown to most. We hope that by the
time this series is completed we will contributed heavily to removing the
mystery and unknowns from the computing community as far as ISDN is
concerned. We do ask one thing. if, in any of the articles you have
questions, do not hesitate to send them to us. You can use the "snail mail"
or email. you will get an answer. In many cases we will answer and you will
also get an answer from the companies whose products we use and talk about.
Ralph..
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Portable Computers & Entertainment Kid's Computing Corner
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Jay Levy Jeff Kovach Marty Mankins
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STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Hearing on ACLU Suit Delayed
U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter has delayed a ruling on a suit by the
American Civil Liberties Union seeking an immediate injunction against
Internet-indecency penalties contained in the new federal telecommunications
reform bill. Late yesterday, Judge Buckwalter decided he would give the
government until next Wednesday to file a written brief on its arguments for
upholding the penalties.
Associated Press writer Maria Panaritis says federal prosecutors have pledged
to wait at least a week before going after people who send "indecent" and
sexually explicit material to minors over the Net, but, she adds, "Internet
surfers beware: What you type over the next six days might be used against
you once the legal wrangling is over and the government begins enforcing all
provisions of its new telecommunications law."
Following Judge Buckwalter's decision not to temporarily block the anti-
indecency provision in the law President Clinton signed yesterday, Stefan
Presser, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Pennsylvania, told AP, "Net users need to consider heavily what they want to
say these next few days."
And, added Panaritis, "Thanks to a last-minute addition by Rep. Henry Hyde,
an Illinois Republican, it also extends a rarely enforced law into
cyberspace, making it a violation to use computers to provide information
about how to obtain an abortion."
AP says the Hyde amendment prompted a separate effort to block the law by the
National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League and other groups.
"They dropped their request for a restraining order after failing to show
anyone faced impending harm, but pledged to go ahead with the lawsuit," AP
said.
In court, U.S. Attorney Anthony J. Coppolino, who argued against the
restraining order in the ACLU's lawsuit, said restrictions are necessary
because computers have become increasingly pervasive and bring pornography
right into people's homes. Said Coppolino, "It's not an exaggeration to say
that many of these indecent images are available on a computer by ... a click
of a mouse."
He added that while the contested provisions will not be enforced until at
least Wednesday, AP says he "gave no assurances that people who use the
Internet over the next few days would not be prosecuted in the future for
indecency."
Meanwhile, reporter Richard Melville of the Reuter News Service says the new
law will not prompt Playboy Magazine to shut down its steamy site on the
Internet's World Wide Web site. "Good heavens, no, of course we're not going
to shut it off or change the content," Playboy spokeswoman Martha Lindeman
told the wire service. "It's one of the most popular sites on the Web."
She said the site offers text and photographs that may or may not fall under
the telecommunications law's prohibition on indecent material. "Is a nude
woman necessarily sexual content?" she added. "Then every museum in the
country has sexual content."
The new law makes it a crime punishable by up to $250,000 in fines and two
years in prison to send "indecent" material that could be viewed by a minor
over a computer network. As reported, even as President Clinton was signing
the landmark legislation into law, the ACLU was filing its suit to try to
block those provisions.
Judge Blocks Communications Decency Act
A federal judge in Philadelphia has temporarily blocked the U.S. government
from enforcing a controversial section of the recently enacted
telecommunications law that prohibits making indecent material available to
minors via computer. However, in a move that greatly confused civil liberties
lawyers, U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter said his decision does not
apply to another section of the Communications Decency Act that proscribes
distribution of "patently offensive" materials. Previously, the Federal
Communications Commission has used the two terms interchangeably.
Lawyer Advises Copyright Change
A lawyer representing CompuServe Inc. has told a congressional subcommittee
that lawmakers must change standing copyright laws to apply to computer-based
information, saying that current laws simply do not fit in with the online
medium.
Speaking before the House Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property,
an offshoot of the House Judiciary Committee, Stephen Heaton said, "Congress
should look into whether the existing copyright law would impair
communication and access to information on online services," suggesting
current law could restrict online information dissemination enough to create
a violation of constitutional guarantees to free speech.
United Press International quotes Heaton as telling the committee, "Online
services are growing at a phenomenal pace. No other medium in history has so
empowered individuals in their ability to communicate with one another on
virtually an 'all-to-all' basis. If application of (current) copyright (were
to impair communications access), the constitutional ramifications, chilling
the flow of electronic free speech among Americans, would be substantial."
As reported, the committee, chaired by Rep. Carlos Moorhead, R-California, is
discussing a bipartisan bill that would update the copyright law to cover
material sent over the Internet. It has drawn support from the movie and
music industries, but computer industry officials are urging caution.
Heaton told Moorhead's panel that online services could potentially become
"defacto arbitrators of copyright disputes" if new copyright legislation is
not drafted carefully, adding that such services also should not have to bear
the cost of copyright enforcement actions if one of their users is sued by an
information creator whose material has been downloaded via the service.
He said such trends could scare Internet providers away from allowing their
subscribers free access to worldwide informational databases.
"Clarifications (to existing law) are both necessary and appropriate, not
only to protect copyrighted works, but also to protect the very
infrastructure that will make them available, as well as the interests of
those for whom they have been created," he said.
UPI says the American Association of Publishers, which submitted a statement
for the record but did not send representatives to the hearing, contend it is
"premature" to change current law to protect online services. The AAP
statement said that to ensure publisher and creator rights, Congress should
alter current law to include the word "transmission" in a way that would
grant it the same legal weight as the word "publication." Says the statement,
"AAP supports specific inclusion of the word 'transmission' to confirm that
the right of distribution in the (standing) Copyright Act includes the
transmission of digital works.
Congress should clarify that only transmissions that distribute a work to the
public constitute publication for the purposes of the Copyright Act." UPI
says the publishers called for some waivers to its suggested transmission
rule, specifically to allow libraries and organizations for the blind to
continue to receive and redistribute information free of charge.
Bill Counters Cyberporn Measure
Less than 24 hours after President Clinton signed the massive
telecommunications overhaul law, two senators have introduced a bill that
would repeal controversial provisions that make it a crime to distribute
"indecent" material to minors on the Internet. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-
Wisconsin, told the Reuter News Service he introduced the bill with Sen.
Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, "because Americans shouldn't have to wait for court
action to have their First Amendment rights protected."
As reported earlier, civil libertarians, privacy activists and Internet
supporters have filed suit to challenge the Communications Decency Act, which
metes out criminal fines of up to $250,000 and two years in prison for
violations, saying the law is unconstitutional and amounts to censorship.
Feingold said that, while the new law is "well intentioned," it is
"improperly targeted at so-called 'indecent' speech on the Internet which is
protected by the First Amendment." Instead, he said, lawmakers should have
targeted obscenity or child pornography, the transmission of which is already
a violation of criminal law, adding, "While doing nothing to further protect
children online, the act compromises the right of every American to free
speech."
Feingold and Leahy opposed the provision, which won broad support in the
Senate and was later adopted by House and Senate negotiators crafting the
final telecommunications bill. Meanwhile, Leahy told Associated Press writer
Jeannine Aversa he doesn't know whether his bill could gain enough support to
pass, but he said, "I'm hoping to get the debate started again."
While supporters of the provision -- led by the Christian Coalition -- say it
regulates legal speech to shield children, Leahy and other opponents say the
provision would do much more than that. Writes Aversa, "They say people
could be held liable for everything from writing e-mail messages containing
profane language to electronically posting portions of literature like
'Ulysses.' And, people could be liable even if they don't send indecent
materials to a minor, opponents say. People would be liable, they say, if a
minor comes upon the material on his or her own."
The provision makes it a crime to "display in a manner available to" a minor
any message or material "that in context, depicts or describes in terms
patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards sexual or
excretory activities or organs." Leahy adds the definition covers any of the
more than 13,000 online discussion groups, bulletin boards, chat rooms and
other sites that are accessible to children.
Web Creator Offers Screening
Tim Berners-Lee, the researcher credited with starting the Internet's World
Wide Web, says he will offer a free screening program to people who want to
keep objectionable material from entering their computers from the Net.
Berners-Lee, director of the World Wide Web Consortium at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, told Sunday's Boston Herald he would rather see
parents control what their children access, instead of relying on broad
censorship. He added, "The Web is a universal information medium of great
importance and potential, and it should not be constrained by government
fiat."
As reported, the new telecommunications bill signed into last last Thursday
contains a provision banning "indecent speech" on global computer networks.
Berners-Lee -- who proposed the system developed by CERN, the European
Laboratory for Particle Physics, that became the World Wide Web -- told the
paper his free filtering software, which any computer user could install on a
PC, will be available in three months.
Meanwhile, Heidi Strup, a spokeswoman for the Christian Coalition, told the
Associated Press the program "definitely would be a useful tool for us." AP
notes the Web consortium can be reached on the Web at address
http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/.
Diamond Raises Hayes Offer
Diamond Multimedia has raised its offer for modem maker Hayes Microcomputer
Products Inc. by $12 million to $225 million. The Wall Street Journal
reports this morning the new deal calls for stockholders in Hayes, which now
is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy-law proceedings, to receive $112.7 million in
Diamond stock and $27.3 million in cash under the new offer. That is up from
$103 million in stock and $25 million in cash. The Journal says that under
both the new and old offers, Diamond would pay $85 million in cash to
creditors of Hayes.
Netscape Buys VR Software Maker
Virtual reality software publisher Paper Software Inc. is to be bought by
Netscape Communications Corp., a move seen as part of an effort to integrate
VR software with existing technology for browsing the Internet's World Wide
Web. In conjunction with that, Netscape also announced today it now is
testing "Netscape Live3D," technology that enables industry-standard Virtual
Reality Markup Language (VRML) graphics to be integrated into the Netscape
platform.
Reporting from Mountain View, Calif., the Reuter News Service comments,
"Virtual reality software allows computer users to view life-like,
artificially generated scenes on their computer screens. These scenes have a
three-dimensional quality which allow computer users to point to and
manipulate illusory objects in their view. This technology would effectively
allow Internet users to enter a virtual library or shopping mall and simply
pick up objects such as books or products that they want to use without
requiring them to know complicated computer commands." The wire service
notes Microsoft Corp., CMG Information Services Inc. and others are
developing similar technology.
Packard Bell Launches New PC Lines
Packard Bell Electronics Inc. has unveiled two new PC lines: the Platinum and
Platinum Pro series. The Platinum, a multimedia system for home users, ships
with a 133MHz, 150MHz or 166MHz Pentium microprocessor. The PC also features
a 1.6 GB hard disk, 16MB of RAM, a quad-speed or six-speed CD-ROM drive and a
remote control. The Platinum Pro systems offer a 150MHz or 166MHz Pentium
microprocessor, a 2.0GB hard disk, 24MB of RAM and a six- speed CD-ROM drive.
A 28.8K bps data/fax modem is also included. Both models include VoiceView
Talkshop, an interactive application that allows PC users to talk and
exchange data in a single phone call. Also bundled with the systems are
Microsoft Encarta 96, Microsoft Works 95, Microsoft Design Pack, Microsoft
Money 4.0, Quicken Special Edition and Stick-Ups Lite, a utility program for
launching on-screen notes with customized fonts and colors. System prices
range between approximately $2,000 and $3,000. Packard Bell is based in
Sacramento, California.
Exec Says Apple to Move Beyond PCs
A senior Apple Computer Inc. executive says the personal computer may soon
become a relic, and that his company is preparing for a future in which
computers are integrated into televisions and other household appliances.
"The market for personal computers is a finite market," David Dorman, Apple's
European director of entertainment industry and new media, told a reporter
for the Reuter News Service. "We don't see that as the largest part of our
business revenues in the future," he said.
Dorman noted that Apple is preparing to meet the future with Pippin, a low-
cost Internet access device it is developing with Japanese toy company,
Bandai. "Apple has never really defined itself as a computer company,"
Dorman added. "Our mission in life is to bring technology to individuals."
Leading Edge Sued Over Help Line
It may be the first time anyone has ever ended up in court because of busy
signals, but three PC owners have sued Leading Edge Products Inc. because,
they say, the Westborough, Massachusetts, firm's computer help line wasn't
helpful at all.
According to the Associated Press, the class-action suit, filed yesterday
before the New York Supreme Court, alleges computer users typically got busy
signals or recorded messages when trying to reach the Leading Edge technical
support desk. And attorney Dan Drachler, who represents the three, told The
New York Times that when his clients did reach someone, they were told their
problems were the fault of software and hardware suppliers instead of Leading
Edge's responsibility.
"Many computer buyers are given a warranty and it turns out to be
meaningless," Drachler said, adding that while the problem exists at other
computer companies too, Leading Edge was singled out because it was the
object of a "groundswell" of complaints.
AP says the suit -- brought on behalf of Richard Brummel of Queens, New York;
Martin Leahy of Manhattan, New York; and Carol Byron of Tacoma, Washington --
says the problems with plaintiffs' Leading Edge computers included a crashing
modem and an inability to play CD-ROM software. The defendant hasn't
commented. Says AP, "Calls to Leading Edge were answered by an automated
switchboard, and the company's technical support line was busy."
CompuServe Launches I-Net Service
SPRY, CompuServe Inc.'s Internet division, has launched SPRYNET, an all-in-
one, direct Internet service including access via a $19.95 unlimited hours
pricing plan plus free software. Formerly code-named SPRYTE, the service is
designed to give customers an instant connection to the Internet through a
Web community that features tips for exploration as well as 24-hour, online
technical support.
SPRYNET also offers pricing plans of $4.95 a month for three hours and $9.95
a month for seven hours, with $1.95 for each additional hour. SPRY notes
that SPRYNET provides local dial-up access in more than 93 percent of the
U.S. through CompuServe's global data network. The service will begin its
roll out beyond North America within the next few months.
"SPRYNET is the best-value, all-Internet environment available for consumers
who want to experience the Internet with confidence," says Robert Massey,
president and CEO of CompuServe. "CompuServe can offer customers more
choices, services and affordable pricing options by leveraging the
infrastructure, technologies and content developed in our more than 17 years
as a leader in information services."
CompUSA Plans New Stores
Computer superstore chain CompUSA Inc. says it has completed lease agreements
for new locations in Anchorage and Dallas. The Anchorage store, the
retailer's first outlet in Alaska, is slated to open this summer. The Dallas
store, the sixth CompuUSA location in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is
scheduled to open this spring. The stores' openings will each create
approximately 70 local jobs, says CompUSA.
The Anchorage store will cover 34,200 square feet and will be located in the
CompUSA Center on East Diamond Blvd. The new Dallas outlet will cover 30,300
square feet and will be located in the Northpark area in the HomePlace Square
shopping center.
Both stores will feature six main departments: PC Software; Computers and
Printers; Macintosh; Multimedia; Accessories; and Upgrades. The stores will
also include CompUSA's Software Sampler area, where adults can "test drive"
software titles, and CompKids, a rocket ship-themed section with computer
stations that are sized proportionally for tiny hands.
"CompUSA continues to grow in order to more fully meet the needs of our
customers -- whether they live in our backyard or in our nation's
northernmost state," says Jim Halpin, president and CEO of Dallas-based
CompUSA.
Peripheral-Link Keyboard Unveiled
At the Universal Serial Bus (USB) Developers Conference in Santa Clara,
California, Key Tronic Corp. has displayed the first PC keyboard utilizing a
USB interface. The new keyboard, based on the Intel 82930A controller, is
designed to give users an easy way of linking together a variety of commonly
used PC peripherals. Macintosh users have been able to take advantage of a
similar technology for over a decade.
"By utilizing the new USB interface, keyboards now become a hub for
conveniently attaching mice, trackballs, scanners and any other device
typically located on the desktop," says Craig Gates, senior vice president
and general manager of Key Tronic's new business development unit. "This will
eliminate the need for bulky serial and parallel cables and offer true plug-
and-play convenience to the end-user." Key Tronic, located in Spokane,
Washington, is the world's largest keyboard maker. It sells keyboards to a
wide range of PC manufacturers.
Iomega Ships Improved Ditto Drive
Iomega Corp. says it has begun shipping an enhanced version of its Ditto Easy
tape backup drive. The portable Ditto Easy 3200 is a 3.2GB unit that's
designed to protect users' computer information. The product, priced at
$299.95, plugs into its host PC's printer port. A pass-through capability is
provided for printer support. An internal version of the drive is also
available at the same price.
"As computers become more prevalent in people's lives, the value of the PC is
increasing exponentially," says Michael Joseph, director of Iomega's Ditto
line. "The Ditto Easy 3200 is an affordable means of insuring your valuable
stuff while you work on your computer." Iomega, based in Roy, Utah, will
continue to sell the 800MB Ditto Easy 800 for $149.95. Ditto Easy drives
support all leading QIC tape formats, including Travan, QIC-WIDE and standard
QIC cartridges.
3-D Net Specification Gains Support
Silicon Graphics Inc. reports that more than 50 Internet companies have
agreed to support Moving Worlds as the next-generation implementation of VRML
2.0., the Internet- oriented virtual reality markup language. Moving Worlds
is an open, platform-independent specification for dynamic 3-D environments
on the Internet. Silicon Graphics led the development of Moving Worlds in
cooperation with Sony, WorldMaker and other members of the VRML community.
According to Silicon Graphics, Moving Worlds maintains the previous VRML's
conformance to open standards while using Java and JavaScript to create
behaviors, motion and interactions. The specification also supports third-
party plug-in products. "The Moving Worlds proposal is -- without any doubt -
- the leading candidate to become VRML 2.0," says Mark Pesce, one of the
original pioneers of VRML.
"Silicon Graphics, Netscape and their many partners are to be congratulated
on developing a community-driven consensus process, which led to the current
proposal. It is an endorsement of the open exchange of ideas which is the
core tenet of the VRML community. Moving Worlds accurately reflects the needs
of the VRML community, both as a content delivery vehicle and as a new
platform for development."
"Moving Worlds is extremely exciting because it extends Netscape Navigator
into a whole new dimension," says Marc Andreessen, vice president of
technology and co-founder of Internet software publisher Netscape Corp.
"Moving Worlds enables developers to build 3-D applications and content that
leverage all the technologies supported by the Netscape software platform."
Florida Businesses Fight Net Tax
Florida businesses are objecting to a proposed tax on Internet services. The
tax sends an anti-business message, says Blake A. Wilson, executive vice
president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. "High-tech companies that want
to grow and expand in Florida will turn their backs on the Sunshine State ...
as a place that is living in the Dark Ages when it comes to business climate
if this tax prevails."
The proposed gross receipts tax and sales tax, along with local taxes could
add as much as 17.5 percent to telecommunications bills, according to the
chamber. "We've been communicating with our members about this issue
electronically for the last two weeks. Now we've stepped up the pace.
The chamber's goal is to make certain that the Revenue Department hears, loud
and clear, that small business and all business is opposed to this kind of
regressive tax ... and we are going to do what is necessary to protect the
Internet from this kind of tax assault," Wilson said. "We must ban this net
tax." More details are available on the chamber's home page
(http://www.flchamb.com).
Email Probed in Murder Case
In what is believed to be the first time online messages have been used to
find clues in a homicide case, police in the small New Jersey town of East
Windsor have seized electronic mail to investigate a murder suspect.
George Hemenway was arrested early last month and charged with the murder of
another man police say he had met through the America Online service, where
they reportedly conversed by email and in a group chat room for gay men.
Police Lt. John Funda told the Reuter News Service, "We are interviewing
people who met on online services and bulletin boards and we are reviewing
records." Hemenway is charged with the murder of Jesse Unger, whose body was
found Jan. 4 wrapped in a tarp and covered with lime in the basement of
Hemenway's house.
Two other people -- Timothy Brown and Michelle Benson -- are charged with
tampering with evidence. Funda says Benson told police she and Brown tried to
help Hemenway remove the body. Police say a 15-year-old boy who also was
involved in the online chat group was in the house during the murder and
police were investigating his allegation that Hemenway shot Unger because he
had sexually molested the boy.
Meanwhile, an official at the Electronic Privacy Information Center of
Washington, D.C., told Reuters he had never heard of such a case. "To the
best of our knowledge, it's the first time this has happened in a murder
investigation," said David Banisar, whose organization has monitored
adherence to the legal process and is concerned with advocating better
privacy laws.
Added Banisar, "We've seen other cases when the crimes are computer-related
such as mail fraud and exchanging of dirty pictures. But the more people who
use electronic mail, the greater slice of life we'll see online, including
murder."
Reuters says America Online keeps records of email messages for five days
after they are read and keeps unread messages for 25 days. An AOL official
said this is the first time the company has been asked for electronic records
in a murder case.
Net Love Affair Prompts Divorce
A Bridgewater, New Jersey, man has filed for divorce, claiming in court
papers he caught his wife having an affair on the Internet. John Goydan
contends his wife, Diane, was exchanging electronic love letters for months
with a married man in North Carolina whose email name was "Weasel." Goydan
alleges the two had planned to consummate their affair in New Hampshire
today.
Writing from Somerville, New Jersey, Glenn MacDonald of United Press
International quotes plaintiff attorney Richard Hurley as saying Goydan came
home from work early last October and caught his wife sending what the wire
service describes as "an X-rated message" on the couple's home computer.
"Confronted with the evidence, Diane Goydan promised to break off the
relationship, Hurley said," MacDonald reports. "But according to Goydan, the
relationship did not end, and his wife continued to correspond with her
Internet lover, apparently unaware that her email could be retrieved."
However, Goydan said he recovered three-months' worth of amorous messages and
love poems that were posted via America Online and saved them on disk.
"Goydan said he did not let his wife know he was on to her," writes UPI, "but
when she arranged a secret rendezvous with Weasel at a bed and breakfast in
New Hampshire on Feb. 2, Goydan decided he'd had enough."
Goydan filed for divorce in Somerset County Superior Court and asked for
custody of the couple's two children, ages 3 and 7. The Associated Press
adds the North Carolina man is identified in court papers only as "Ray" and
that this is believed to be the first divorce suit to involve email.
Woman Sues in 'Net Affair' Case
A New Jersey woman is alleging defamation and invasion of privacy in a suit
against her estranged husband who last week accused her of adultery by
writing steamy electronic mail messages to a man in North Carolina. Diane
Goydan also claims extreme cruelty in the couple's deteriorating 8-year
marriage, and says John Goydan, who has already filed for divorce, violated
state wiretap laws by retrieving her e-mail.
Her lawyer, Thomas M. McCormack, told Associated Press writer Jeffrey Gold
her exchanges with a North Carolina man whose online name was "The Weasel"
were "romantic" and "daydreams," adding that his client did not commit
adultery because she never had sex with her electronic correspondent.
"It is ludicrous to characterize this dialogue ... as adulterous," McCormack
told reporters at a news conference. "My client is devastated by the
allegation of adultery, that I believe is without basis in law or fact." As
reported [earlier], John Goydan's Jan. 23 divorce lawsuit describes dozens of
the exchanges, some sexually explicit. AP says Goydan also accuses his wife
of extreme cruelty, and seeks custody of their 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-
old son.
Court papers suggest Goydan learned about the alleged cyber-romance by
reading his wife's electronic mail. McCormack said his client never shared
her password with anyone and said the messages could not be retrieved without
the password. Furthermore, the online account is in her name, he said. Added
McCormack, the marriage failed, because "he became distant and removed from
her, which may have led to her going online." AP says this is believed to be
the first divorce suit to involve email.
The Toy Talks Trash
An Illinois toy maker is red- faced today over the language used by one of
its products. In Vernon Hills, Illinois, officials with Tiger Electronics
Inc. told the Associated Press a spell-checking dictionary that hadn't been
edited for children was installed in its Tiger Power Pack PC toy. The small
computer, which costs under $100, includes math, spelling, trivia and reading
games. Tiger spokesman Marc Rosenberg told the wire service, "It was a
mistake. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we want to rectify the
situation as soon as we can."
Martinsburg, West Virginia, couple Pat and June Gillian discovered the
problem when their 9-year daughter was spelling a word that began with the
letter "f" and the spell-checker suggested an expletive. Then when they
attempted to type in the river Niger, the computer displayed a racial slur.
Said Mrs. Gillian, "You fight those words with your kids, then you go and buy
a toy that says go ahead and use them."
Rosenberg said her employer has been aware of the problem since a few weeks
before Christmas, but the product was nearly sold out by then and a decision
was made not to recall it. She added customers can exchange the computer for
a revamped version next month. She declined to discuss how much correcting
the problem will cost the company.
The Blue Ribbon STR Focus
A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace
Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I
come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask
you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no
sovereignty where we gather.
We have no elected government, nor are we likely to have one, so I address
you with no greater authority than that with which liberty itself always
speaks. I declare the global social space we are building to be naturally
independent of the tyrannies you seek to impose on us. You have no moral
right to rule us nor do you possess any methods of enforcement we have true
reason to fear.
Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. You
have neither solicited nor received ours. We did not invite you. You do not
know us, nor do you know our world. Cyberspace does not lie within your
borders. Do not think that you can build it, as though it were a public
construction project. You cannot. It is an act of nature and it grows itself
through our collective actions.
You have not engaged in our great and gathering conversation, nor did you
create the wealth of our marketplaces. You do not know our culture, our
ethics, or the unwritten codes that already provide our society more order
than could be obtained by any of your impositions.
You claim there are problems among us that you need to solve. You use this
claim as an excuse to invade our precincts. Many of these problems don't
exist. Where there are real conflicts, where there are wrongs, we will
identify them and address them by our means. We are forming our own Social
Contract . This governance will arise according to the conditions of our
world, not yours. Our world is different.
Cyberspace consists of transactions, relationships, and thought itself,
arrayed like a standing wave in the web of our communications. Ours is a
world that is both everywhere and nowhere, but it is not where bodies live.
We are creating a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice
accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth.
We are creating a world where anyone, anywhere may express his or her
beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence
or conformity.
Your legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context
do not apply to us. They are based on matter, There is no matter here.
Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by
physical coercion. We believe that from ethics, enlightened self-interest,
and the commonweal, our governance will emerge . Our identities may be
distributed across many of your jurisdictions. The only law that all our
constituent cultures would generally recognize is the Golden Rule. We hope
we will be able to build our particular solutions on that basis. But we
cannot accept the solutions you are attempting to impose.
In the United States, you have today created a law, the Telecommunications
Reform Act, which repudiates your own Constitution and insults the dreams of
Jefferson, Washington, Mill, Madison, DeToqueville, and Brandeis. These
dreams must now be born anew in us.
You are terrified of your own children, since they are natives in a world
where you will always be immigrants. Because you fear them, you entrust your
bureaucracies with the parental responsibilities you are too cowardly to
confront yourselves. In our world, all the sentiments and expressions of
humanity, from the debasing to the angelic, are parts of a seamless whole,
the global conversation of bits. We cannot separate the air that chokes from
the air upon which wings beat.
In China, Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, Italy and the United States,
you are trying to ward off the virus of liberty by erecting guard posts at
the frontiers of Cyberspace. These may keep out the contagion for a small
time, but they will not work in a world that will soon be blanketed in bit-
bearing media.
Your increasingly obsolete information industries would perpetuate themselves
by proposing laws, in America and elsewhere, that claim to own speech itself
throughout the world. These laws would declare ideas to be another industrial
product, no more noble than pig iron. In our world, whatever the human mind
may create can be reproduced and distributed infinitely at no cost. The
global conveyance of thought no longer requires your factories to accomplish.
These increasingly hostile and colonial measures place us in the same
position as those previous lovers of freedom and self-determination who had
to reject the authorities of distant, uninformed powers. We must declare our
virtual selves immune to your sovereignty, even as we continue to consent to
your rule over our bodies. We will spread ourselves across the Planet so
that no one can arrest our thoughts.
We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more
humane and fair than the world your governments have made before.
Davos, Switzerland
February 8, 1996
****************************************************************
John Perry Barlow, Cognitive Dissident
Co-Founder, Electronic Frontier Foundation
*****************************************************************
Caldera 1.0 STR Infofile
CALDERA NETWORK DESKTOP 1.0 SHIPS
Company's Internet/Intranet server provides more technologies and protocols
than all competitive products, including SCO UNIX and BSDI, and ships at one-
tenth the cost
OREM, Utah Feb. 5, 1996 Caldera Inc., today began shipping the Caldera
Network Desktop 1.0, a complete Internet/Intranet networked desktop and
server environment built on the now-popular Linux technology the industry's
fastest growing World Wide Web server operating system. The Caldera Network
Desktop offers a fully graphical environment capable of authoring,
navigating and publishing information to the Internet and Intranets. The
Caldera Network Desktop is also a NetWare Client and provides client and
server access to Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT and Windows
95, and all existing UNIX network systems. In addition, Caldera, a Ray Noorda
company, has licensed Netscape Navigator , the widely popular client
software for enterprise networks and the Internet.
"Everyone is telling corporate IS managers that they need to get their
companies interacting with the Internet. But until we shipped this product,
no vendor was offering a complete Internet/Intranet authoring and serving
platform that was both reliable and affordable," said Bryan Sparks,
President of Caldera. "Not only does the Caldera Network Desktop easily
automate creation and distribution of information across the network and
across the Internet, it allows users to continue to work in their current
environments. This is a big benefit to IS managers."
Doug Bateman, Campus IS coordinator & Webmaster for the University of North
Texas, concurs. "The Caldera Network Desktop provides the best Internet
server and NetWare management solution available in the industry," said
Bateman. "Using the CND NetWare Client, I am able to remotely manage all of
the functions of the campuswide information network. The people utilizing
the campus networks connected to the Caldera Network Desktop don't even know
its helping them publish their documents to the Web."
Complete Internet Protocols and Services
The Caldera Network Desktop's complete set of protocols and technologies
allows customers to interact with all of the Internet's services, including
the World Wide Web (WWW), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Wide Area Information
Server (WAIS) and Gopher services. The product's features include a multi-
domain Web server / Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP) server, Simple Mail
Transport Protocol (SMTP) E-mail, Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP)
Usenet News, Network File System (NFS), and dial-in server access via Point-
to-Point Protocol (PPP) / Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP).
In addition to providing enhanced browsing capabilities, the Netscape
Navigator World Wide Web browser included in the product allows customers to
read Usenet news and e-mail. In the Caldera Network Desktop environment, the
Netscape Navigator is also used for viewing on-line help and documentation
and for previewing HTML documents before they are publicly served on the
Web.
"Netscape has partnered with Caldera in order to provide its navigating
technologies to the rapidly-growing market of IS professionals who want to
include Linux technologies in commercial computing environments," said Marc
Matoza, Western Sales Channel Manager for Netscape. "Caldera shares our
philosophy of providing well-designed, commodity- priced Internet products
that parallel the industry migration away from high-cost, proprietary
systems."
Network Management
The Caldera Network Desktop is a NetWare Client with full NetWare Directory
Services (NDS) support and provides drag and drop administration, client
interaction, support for NetWare printing and more. The product is also both
a client and server for Windows for Workgroups and all back-end UNIX
networking systems.
"Southwest Airlines uses the Caldera Network Desktop to bridge the gap
between our NetWare servers and our UNIX machines," said Kerry Schwab, UNIX
Systems Administrator for Southwest Airlines. "Southwest also plans to use
additional NetWare and Internet functionality currently under development at
Caldera."
Multi-user, Multi-tasking
The Caldera Network Desktop is stocked with the industry's most-demanded
features and technologies. Caldera's integration with Windows, DOS and UNIX
networking environments allows customers using the Caldera Network Desktop
to work in environments they are already familiar with, while using the
additional features and services offered by the product.
Caldera has broad peripheral support including CD-ROM drives, network cards,
PCMCIA drivers and support, IDE and SCSI controllers, video cards, ISDN and
other communication cards, and much more. In addition, to provide X Window
System graphical capabilities with high performance and minimal
configuration, Caldera has licensed and included Accelerated-X from X
Inside, Inc.
"UNIX. Affordable. These two words have never been used in the same sentence
before," said Gary Anderson, President of X Inside. "The Caldera Network
Desktop is an affordable, robust, reliable desktop with commercial
applications ported and working! I've only been waiting 15 years for this to
happen."
The product's graphical desktop interface includes drag and drop, extensible
file typing, graphical file browsing, program groups, preferences and many
more graphical features that simplify organization and use of the desktop and
files.
Graphical Installation
The shipping product's installation process is greatly improved over the
process that shipped with the Caldera Network Desktop Previews. The new
graphical installation ships on a floppy disk and a CD-ROM and takes around
30 minutes for complete installation of the Linux operating system and the
Caldera Network Desktop. The help-enabled installation includes scripting
that prompts the customer, asks minimal questions, interrogates the system
hardware, automatically configures the operating system and loads
appropriate drivers and modules as needed.
Channel Partners and Third-Party Developers
In December 1995, CMP Publications released survey results stating that 43
percent of Value Added Resellers (VARs) polled planned to adopt Internet
technologies in 1996. Additionally, Forrester Research, Inc., recently
released survey results showing that 50 percent of U.S. companies are
evaluating or have current plans to install an Intranet.
To accommodate this growing market demand, Caldera is introducing two partner
programs focused on this rapidly growing Information Server market: the
Caldera Channel Partner program and the Caldera Independent Vendor Partner
program. These programs represent Caldera's initial efforts to build the
industry's first Linux VAR channel and the first Internet/Intranet ISV
channel. (Request a separate "Caldera Partners" news release.)
Technical Support
Caldera's technical support philosophy focuses on providing installation
support to end users and long-term engineering support to Caldera's channel
and third-party developer partners. Caldera's technical support objective is
to develop a solid network of channel partners who serve as the primary
front-line for technical support on Caldera products. Caldera provides its
customers with up to 5 incidents of free installation support for 30 days
after the customer's initial support inquiry and encourages customers to
utilize the free, service-rich technical support environment served from the
company's World Wide Web site. Caldera also offers fee-based direct support
options beyond the complimentary installation and Internet services at $80
per-incident or $3,000 for an annual contract.
The Linux Operating System
Caldera's mission includes creating the products, alliances, VAR channel, ISV
channel, technical support programs and corporate accountability necessary
for an emerging technology to obtain widespread implementation in the
business environment. Using Linux, Caldera has a solid start. Mirai, a
Chicago-based consulting company, polled Webmasters worldwide in 1995 and
found that nine percent of World Wide Web servers were running on the Linux
operating system (http://www.mirai.com/survey). This places Linux second
only to Sun as a UNIX Web server platform, while Linux holds twice the
market share of Windows NT's 4.5 percent market share.
Caldera has created a solid foundation on which third-parties can
successfully design, develop, distribute or employ services that meet the
needs of the expanding market with low product costs for consumers.
Introductory Promotions and Commodity Pricing
The Caldera Network Desktop retails for $99, a fraction of the cost for
competitive products. Promotion #1: During the initial 60 days of shipment,
anyone who purchases the Caldera Network Desktop may purchase a bundle
including WordPerfect ported to Caldera's platform and Metrolink's Executive
Motif Libraries for $125 additional copies for $99. Promotion #2: During the
initial 60 days of shipment, anyone who purchases the Caldera Network Desktop
may purchase the Caldera Internet Office suite for $250 additional copies
for $199. Following the promotions, the WordPerfect/Motif bundle will retail
for $250; the Caldera Internet Office suite will retail for $329.
The Caldera Internet Office Suite's native applications include: WordPerfect
ported to Caldera's platform, NCD Software's Z-mail e-mail package, XESS
Software's NExS Spreadsheet, and Metrolink's Executive Motif Libraries. One
example of how Caldera has added additional value to these products is the
addition of Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) authoring capabilities to
WordPerfect ported to Caldera's platform, allowing end users to author and
publish information to the Internet and Intranets from Caldera's single
platform.
Caldera, Inc., a privately held company established in 1994, empowers the
Internet community, developers, OEMs, channel partners, ISVs, industry
partners, consultants and end-users to collaborate, innovate, build and
deliver meaningful computing alternatives to the business community.
Caldera is a registered trademark and Network Desktop is a trademark of
Caldera, Inc., in the United States. UNIX is a registered trademark of
X/Open. NetWare is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc. in the United
States and other countries. Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks
of Microsoft Corp. Netscape Communications, the Netscape Communications
logo, Netscape, and Netscape Navigator are trademarks of Netscape
Communications Corporation.
ISDN Series STR Focus "Fully Understanding ISDN"
Article one
Base Graphic by 102714,3461
ctsy CompuServe's Computer Graphics Forum
ISDN Single Line Service In A Home Office Environment
What Is ISDN?
ISDN, or Integrated Services Digital Network, is a new way of transmitting
telephone traffic. Your telephone company "converts" a central office switch
to ISDN by installing new equipment and programming.
This document attempts to explain ISDN and its benefits for the typical
homeowner, apartment dweller or small business. After reading it, you should
understand how ISDN can meet your communication needs and understand some
basic ISDN terms. This introduction also describes the decisions and
arrangements you must make before ordering ISDN services, and how to start up
ISDN sets after you've plugged them in.
Background
ISDN's digital technology allows the provision of three communication paths,
called channels, over the same copper wire arrangement that provides
traditional telephone service. ISDN Individual Line is provided through the
ISDN Basic Rate Interface, also known as 2B+D. This arrangement provides two
"B", or bearer, channels and one "D", or delta, channel. Each of the "B"
channels can carry voice, circuit switched data at up to 64 kilobits per
second, or packet switched data at up to 64 kilobits per second. The "D"
channel carries signaling information between the central office and the
subscriber's ISDN equipment and may also be used to carry packet switched
data at up to 16 kilobits per second. For comparison, today's most commonly
used modems operate at speeds of 2.4, 4.8 and 9.6 kilobits per second.
ISDN was designed to work smoothly with traditional telephone service, so
that customers who subscribe to ISDN services can make voice-calls to, and
receive voice-calls from, customers who subscribe to traditional telephone
service.
Some major benefits of ISDN include its ability to provide:
up to 2 simultaneous voice conversations over one physical line voice,
circuit-switched data and packet data services
flexibility in arrangements between services, telephone numbers and telephone
sets new applications to the home and office noise-free operation over
existing lines
Basic ISDN Terminology
Channel: A channel is a communication path that can carry a voice or data
conversation. ISDN Individual Line has multiple channels [a maximum of two
(2) "B"s and one (1) "D".]
B Channel: This is an ISDN communication channel that bears or carries voice,
circuit or packet conversations
D Channel: This is an ISDN communication channel used for sending information
between the ISDN equipment and the ISDN central office switch. This channel
can also carry "user" packet data at rates up to 9.6 Kilo-bits.
Call type: ISDN supports three types of calls: circuit switched voice,
circuit switched data and packet switched data.
Circuit Switched Data: A conversation between two devices (usually computers)
where the devices have total use of the channel connecting them.
B or D Packet mode data: In this type of conversation between two devices
(usually computers), each device's "dialogue" is broken into small chunks
called packets before being sent to the receiver. Unlike voice and circuit
switched data calls, one communication channel can carry several packet
conversations at the same time.
SPID: The ISDN switch needs to have a unique identification number for each
ISDN set to which it sends calls and signals. This ID is called a Service
Profile Identifier or SPID.
NT1: The NT1 (network termination 1) is a device (installed with your ISDN
wiring) that marks the border between your phone line from the telephone
company and the ISDN wiring insi
de your home. Your ISDN service will not work
if the NT1's plug is not connected to a working electrical outlet.
What is unique about ISDN?
Wiring
ISDN usually requires new wiring and new phone sets in the home or small
business.
Signaling
Your central office knows that you wish to make, take or interrupt a call
when it receives special signals that result from picking up a handset,
dialing, or depressing buttons on your set. Before ISDN, you frequently had
to interrupt or terminate your conversation to signal the switch. ISDN lets
you to talk and signal at the same time.
Multiple Simultaneous Conversations
The Pre-ISDN network only permits one telephone call over your line at one
time. Basic Rate ISDN's 2B + D architecture, allows at least 3 simultaneous
"conversations" over a standard phone line. ISDN has two B channels for
voice, circuit or packet conversations, and one D channel to carry signals
between your set and your central office. In addition to carrying signal
data, the D channel can also carry low-speed (i.e., up to 9.6 kbps) packet
data calls.
Data Capacity
Before ISDN, normal phone lines could reliably carry only 2.4 kilobits per
second (bps), or one third of the text in a single-spaced one page document.
ISDN carries 144 kbps of information over the same line, enough to transmit a
22 page document every second. Each B channel carries 64 kbps, for a subtotal
of 128 kbps. The D channel carries another 16 kbps, bringing the total to
144.
Analog vs. Digital Transmission
When you call a friend, pre-ISDN telephone sets convert the sound waves of
your voice to analog electrical waves (analog transmission); ISDN sets
convert your voice into voltages representing a string of 0's and 1's
(digital transmission), like those on a compact disc recording. In both
cases, these converted electrical signals are sent over the telephone network
to your friend's set, where the earpiece converts them back into the sound of
your voice. However, as an analog transmission travels through the telephone
network, it can pick up analog noise from power lines, moisture in telephone
cables, lightning, or crosstalk from other lines. These analog noise sources
cannot usually contaminate ISDN transmission, which makes ISDN sound quality
and transmission reliability far better than traditional voice service.
User-Friendly Feature Use
Depending on the individual ISDN set you purchase and local service
availability, ISDN permits you to activate features (e.g., call forwarding)
by pressing a button or by dialing the traditional two-digit access codes.
For each ISDN set you have, if you have ordered optional features, your
telephone company will provide a template showing which set button controls
the features you've ordered.
Flexible Set/Number Arrangements
The pre-ISDN telephone network had many limitations in the arrangements of
service, sets, and telephone numbers. For example, each line could have only
one telephone number and calls could not be directed to individual sets in
the home. ISDN removes these and other limitations. When you add these
features to ISDN's multiple-call capabilities and data capabilities, many new
applications are possible.
Power Requirements
Traditional telephone sets receive electrical power over the copper wires
that link your home to the local central office. When there's a power failure
in your neighborhood, traditional telephone service is not interrupted
because backup generators in the central office send power to your set over
your phone line. ISDN phones require more power than your phone line can
carry, so ISDN sets must be powered from electrical outlets in your home.
When there's a power failure in your neighborhood, ISDN sets must obtain
power from internal backup batteries or some other source in order to
function.
What can I do with ISDN?
ISDN's technical features can be combined to create hundreds of applications
that can't be performed over a single phone line today. This section
describes just a few of them. The ability of ISDN to carry multiple voice or
data conversations at the same time over one line makes these applications
possible.
Point of Sale
ISDN allows the small business to rapidly authorize credit card purchases
while answering calls from other customers. A typical point- of-sale
arrangement connects the merchant's ISDN voice set and "card- swipe" machine
to a single ISDN line. When the "card-swipe" machine reads a credit card
number and the purchase amount, ISDN accesses the packet data network
containing the computer that stores credit card balances. This computer
verifies that the buyer has sufficient credit for the purchase, and sends an
"OK" back through the packet network to the merchant's card swipe (ISDN)
terminal. With ISDN, the entire verification usually takes 5-6 seconds,
compared to about 20 seconds over an analog phone line.
Two Simultaneous Calls on 1 Line
In many homes and small businesses, one person can make/take so many calls
that others in the home or office have long waits to use the phone.
Consequently, families who want to avoid missing calls when a talkative
teenager is on the phone must buy an additional "teenage" phone line to meet
that need. ISDN's multi-channel structure allows flexibility of additional
telephone numbers and appearances, all over a single ISDN line.
Video Phone
This application takes advantage of the data capacity of ISDN and the
technology in video phone sets to let you see, and be seen by, the person
you're talking to. Special ISDN sets are required for this service.
Distance Learning
This application is fairly similar to video phone. A course instructor buys
ISDN equipment that will broadcast a classroom image on one channel and
his/her voice on the other. Students in the course just need equipment that
will display classroom pictures on one channel and the instructor's voice on
the other.
Screen Sharing
Business associates in two distant locations often need to look at the same
object while discussing it. The "object" is anything that can be displayed on
a computer screen - a business letter, a product diagram, or a spreadsheet.
Some vendors offer screen-sharing applications that allow people to both see
and edit the information on each other's computer screen.
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing allows two or more people to hold a business meeting in
which all parties can speak with each other, view each other and share the
contents of their computer screens. Each meeting participant needs a single
ISDN line and videoconferencing equipment. Videoconferencing can be
considered a combination of video phone and screen sharing in which more than
two parties participate.
Work-at-Home
In some areas, new anti-pollution laws require large companies to reduce the
number of days workers must drive to the office. Many companies either supply
or plan to supply employees with PCs that enable them to work at home. Before
ISDN, an employee who was working at home had to buy a second line to send
data between their PC and the company's main computer. ISDN eliminates the
need for that second line. Employees can use one channel for normal calls and
a second channel to connect their PC to the company computer. (ISDN-
compatible access will need to be provided by the Employer) The manufacturers
for most of the ISDN central office equipment used in the United States
deliver new ISDN features every year. In many cases, they will deliver most
features in the same time frame. However, one manufacturer may deliver a few
features ahead of the others. Just as with pre-ISDN services, availability of
ISDN services may vary somewhat from one Central Office area to another.
Arranging Your ISDN Service
There are a number of decisions you need to answer before ordering ISDN
service from your local telephone company. The following briefly discusses
those decisions - in the order that you should make them - to simplify your
ordering process. Is ISDN available at my location? Your local telephone
company can tell you whether ISDN is offered in your neighborhood and what
the monthly charge will be . Prior to the purchase of any ISDN equipment you
should verify with your local ISDN representative that ISDN can be provided
to your location -- and investigate the cost for the service. If your local
central office is not scheduled to have ISDN for a while, it may be possible
to obtain ISDN service from a nearby switch, called foreign central office
(FCO) or foreign exchange (FX) in the meantime. If you are considering ISDN
via FCO or FX, there is an additional charge for this service. In some cases,
the nearest ISDN service may be in an FX office that is outside your local
calling area. Before subscribing to FX ISDN access, please make sure your
service provider advises you whether or not your local versus long-distance
calling area will be affected by the foreign exchange ISDN line.
A Few Simple Questions and Answers
What Do I Want ISDN To Do For Me? Deciding which ISDN application you want
will simplify your other decisions. Even if all you want now is just the
ability to have two (2) simultaneous calls over one (1) line, and investigate
other applications later, that decision will simplify the others you need to
make.
What will my ISDN service cost? Your local telephone company can tell you
what ISDN service will cost in your area.
Will ISDN Be My Only Phone Line? An ISDN line can serve as the only phone
line to your home and business - if you have a backup power supply (e.g.,
batteries in the set) to power your set and the NT1 in the event of a power
failure. As mentioned earlier, standard phone sets receive power from central
office generators over your phone line - and that's why they work during
local power failures. ISDN sets won't work in power failures unless you have
some type of backup power source. Based on what ISDN terminal equipment you
select, you may want to keep your existing analog line and add ISDN for
specific purposes that cannot be accommodated by your present line (e.g.,
higher data speeds, etc.) What Set Should I Buy? If you plan to use ISDN for
a specialized application like point-of- sale, videoconferencing or work-at-
home, you will need an ISDN set designed for that application. Your local
sales representative for your telephone company can provide you a list of
vendors of ISDN terminal equipment that have identified themselves to-date.
After you have talked with several vendors and manufactures concerning the
choices available to support your application, compare your options like you
compare regular or cellular phones - on price, convenience, durability and
features.
The Most Critical Technical Question There is one critical technical question
you should ask your ISDN terminal vendor/manufacturer when evaluating a
particular set: "Will this set work properly with all ISDN switches?" If the
answer is "no," this set may only work with the central office switch that
serves your area. If you move, or later give the phone to a relative when you
upgrade, the phone may not work in its new area.
Standard Voice Sets or other 'analog' equipment Since ISDN access is not
available in all areas at present, if you are not keeping an analog line, you
may want to investigate ISDN terminal equipment that allow you to continue to
use your existing (analog) equipment (e.g., standard voice sets, modems,
etc.). This will insure that you will still have access to all data-
destinations that you currently call today even if they are not able to
access an ISDN data- call. Analog devices require an ISDN terminal adapter to
convert the analog signaling commands the device makes into the signaling
commands your ISDN switch understands. You will need to ask your ISDN
terminal vendor what equipment they have that can support your existing
(analog) equipment.
PC Terminal Adapters If you plan to use your ISDN to connect your PC to a
large computer, a local area network (LAN), or an on-line database service
like Prodigy, you can connect your line to an ISDN card installed in the PC,
an ISDN terminal adapter built into the PC (if available) AN EXTERNAL ISDN
TERMINAL ADAPTER CONNECTED TO YOUR PC
Will I Need To Wire My Home/Shop for ISDN? Just as you had to wire your home
to get cable TV or wire your car to get cellular phone service, you may have
to change, or add to, the wiring inside your home for ISDN.
Completing the Order for ISDN From Your Phone Company Once you've decided on
your application, your set and your wiring, you can complete your order for
ISDN service from your local phone company.
Obtaining SPIDs ISDN central offices require each ISDN set to have a unique
identification number, called a Service Profile Identifier (SPID), before the
switch will let you make or take calls from that set. When you order your
service, the telephone company will give you a SPID for each ISDN set you
plan to connect. The instruction manual provided by the manufacturer of your
set should describe how to enter the SPID. You should carefully file or store
your SPID number where you can refer to it in cases of an ISDN trouble. The
SPID will be helpful to telephone repair personnel on those infrequent
occasions when you have an ISDN service problem.
Initializing ISDN Sets
The Basic Steps After your local telephone company puts your line in service,
you'll need to plug in your ISDN equipment and initialize it. All ISDN sets,
PCs, fax machines, etc., must have unique SPIDs and must be initialized.
Consult the instruction manual for your equipment on how to enter SPIDs and
then initialize the equipment. If this information is not in the manual, call
the technical support number provided by the manufacturer of your ISDN
device.
A Final Word
Like the personal computer, ISDN gives you new and improved capabilities at
an attractive price. And like personal computers, it requires a little
thought and research before you buy the set and order the services that will
meet your needs. However, if you consider the issues raised in this pamphlet,
your first experience with ISDN can be a more pleasant and productive one.
ISDN Single Line Service Support
Data Customer Support Center
1950 West Exchange Place
Suite 500
Tucker, GA 30084
To place an order: 800-858-9413 or
770-496-2925
For technical support: 800-256-6923 or
770-496-2901
BELL ATLANTIC, MICOSOFT TO PROMOTE ISDN
SOLUTIONS TO WINDOWS CUSTOMERS
Microsoft, Bell Atlantic Collaboration to Supercharge
ISDN Demand, Acquisition
Arlington, VA - Bell Atlantic and Microsoft Corp. announced today they
will work together to accelerate and simplify the acquisition of ISDN
(integrated services digital network) telephone service by users of the
Microsoft* Windows* operating system.
The two companies will collaborate in a marketing effort to enhance
awareness of ISDN and streamline the ordering, provisioning and
configuration process for users of Windows 95* and Windows NT* operating
systems. ISDN integrates voice, data and video signals on a single high-
speed, digital phone line.
"Windows 95 and Windows NT support for ISDN will make it convenient and
easy for PC users to get connected with ISDN," said Curt Koeppen, Bell
Atlantic vice president for ISDN. "We believe Windows will give a tremendous
boost to the use of ISDN by computer users, whether they are telecommuting
or surfing the Web. ISDN makes browsing graphics and rich multimedia content
on the World Wide Web faster, smoother and much more pleasurable."
Software facilitating ISDN use with Windows 95 will be available later
this quarter, with support for a variety of ISDN hardware adapters, including
the Bell Atlantic/U.S. Robotics Sportster** ISDN 128K.
Current users of Windows 95 will be able to download the software
through Microsoft sites on the World Wide Web, MSN* (The Microsoft Network)
and other Microsoft online sites at no charge. Bell Atlantic also may
provide this software to customers. The current version of Windows NT
already supports ISDN.
"ISDN is the most broadly available, higher bandwidth solution for
access to the Internet and commercial on-line services, such as The Microsoft
Network, as well as for remote access to corporate LANs used by
telecommuters," said Cameron Myhrvold, vice president of public networks at
Microsoft. "With Windows 95 support for ISDN, Bell Atlantic customers can
supercharge their access to the Internet or a corporate LAN."
ISDN lines transmit data up to nine times faster than most personal
computers can communicate over an analog modem, allowing customers to get
high-speed access to the Internet as well as remote access to information to
improve their use of resources.
Bell Atlantic already is the ISDN market leader with more than 145,000
ISDN lines installed in its mid-Atlantic service area. Bell Atlantic is
adding about 6,000 ISDN lines per month and is forecasting that it will
install more than one million ISDN lines by the year 2000.
The Bell Atlantic InfoSpeed(r) Center serves Bell Atlantic's residential
customers, providing them with a single point of contact for their ISDN
needs. The center handles customer orders for ISDN and makes optional
installation and equipment arrangements for inside wiring and ISDN adapters.
"We are providing one-stop shopping for ISDN service. When we leave the
premises, the customer is ready to work from home or go into cyberspace,"
said Koeppen.
Bell Atlantic's ISDN pricing is among the lowest offered by a regional
Bell operating company, he said. Later this year, the company plans to
introduce a variety of attractive optional pricing packages to residential
customers, similar to current usage plans available from on-line service and
Internet providers, he said.
Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new
communications, entertainment and information industry. In the mid-Atlantic
region, the company is the premier provider of local telecommunications and
advanced services. Globally, it is one of the largest investors in the high-
growth wireless communication marketplace. Bell Atlantic also owns a
substantial interest in Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively
developing high-growth national and international business opportunities in
all phases of the industry.
Canon's 4025 STR InfoFile
Questions and Answers for the IX-4025 Scanner 2/14/96
Q: What is shipped with the IX-4025?
A: IX-4025 Scanner, Adaptec "Plug and Play" SCSI Interface Board, SCSI
interface cable, Power cord, IX-4025 User's Manual, IX-4025 Quick Start
Guide, Ofoto Manual, OmniPage Foldout, TWAIN Driver Disk, Host Adapter
Configuration Utility Disk, Ofoto Software, OmniPage Limited Edition
Software, and Image-In Copier Software.
Q: What accessories can you currently purchase?
A: Automatic Document Feeder.
Q. What type of scanner is the IX-4025?
A. Color flatbed scanner.
Q. What is the resolution which you can scan?
A. The Optical Resolution is 300 dpi x 600 dpi and Enhanced Resolution is
1200 dpi.
Q. What is Optical Resolution?
A. Optical Resolution is the actual scanning unit resolution.
Q. What is Enhanced Resolution?
A. Enhanced resolution is the resolution in which can be generated from
various software programs.
Q. What is the scanning speed* of the scanner?
A. Color: 20 seconds (US Letter/ A4 size @ 300 dpi)
Monochrome: 10 seconds (US Letter/ A4 size @ 300 dpi
*Raw scanning speed. Actual scanning performance depends on CPU and
software used
Q. What are the operation modes?
A. Color: 27-bit (256 levels)
Gray Scale: 8-bit (256 levels) or 4-bit (16 levels)
Q. What is the scanning mode?
A. Single Pass
Q. Can you use the IX-4025 with a Macintosh?
A. No, the IX-4025 is for PC's only.
Q. Where is the terminator for the SCSI interface cable?
A. The IX-4025 has a built in terminator.
Q. Can you chain other devices to the IX-4025?
A. Yes, the SCSI ID number would need to be adjusted accordingly. If the
scanner is the only device or at the end of the chain, use the red set of
numbers (by default the scanner is set to red (ON) 2). If the scanner is in
the middle of the chain, use the white set of number.
Q. What other ASPI-Compliant SCSI cards can be used with the IX-4025?
A. Any ASPI-Compliant SCSI card can be used. The Adaptec 1510, Adaptec
1542, and Adaptec 1640 have been tested and found to work with the IX-4025.
IX-3010 IX-4015 IX-4025
Product: Scanners
Subject: Windows 95 32-bit support
Canon Computer Systems, Inc. is committed to providing our customers with
quick, easy solutions to product upgrades. Our goal is to keep our customers
updated throughout the process so that the final result is complete and meets
with their satisfaction. Following is an update on our progress to upgrade
our TWAIN driver so that our scanner customers with a Canon IX-4015, IX-4025
or IX-3010 have full 32-bit support under their new Windows 95 software.
Although the driver is in final stages of testing, we would like to explain
our plans for this upgrade. We're doing this for two reasons. One, we want
to make sure you know we are committed to providing this solution to you.
And secondly, we want you to understand how this upgrade will provide 32-bit
support in Windows 95 for your particular scanner, whether it's a Canon IX-
4025, IX-4015 or IX-3010.
Twain Driver, version 2.3
Canon Computer Systems will provide full 32-bit support for Windows 95 with
the release of this new Twain driver.
IX-4025 Scanners
Customers who have purchased the IX-4025 and use the Canon provided ASPI
compliant interface card (AVA-1502P) will be able to install the new Twain
driver and immediately support 32-bit applications when scanning.
IX-4015 and IX-3010 Scanners
Customers who have purchased either of these scanners, and use Canon's
provided SI-50 interface card, will be offered an upgrade that includes both
the Twain 2.3 driver and the ASPI compliant interface card (AVA-1502P).
Since the SI-50 interface card is not ASPI compliant, we will provide IX-
4015 and IX-3010 customers both the driver and the newer card.
Twain driver upgrade availability
We will provide the Twain 2.3 upgrade free of charge to any IX-4025 customer.
It will be available for downloading from our electronic services. For
customers who do not have access to our electronic services, we will provide
a disk upgrade through our customer care center.
Twain Driver and Interface card upgrade
Registered IX-4015 and IX-3010 scanner customers will be able to order the
Twain 2.3 driver and interface card for a nominal charge, covering shipping
and handling. Our plan is to ship this kit first and ask that customers
return their SI-50 card in the same package.
We will publish final details on this program, as soon as they become
available. We hope this preliminary information on the scanner upgrade
program is helpful, and we believe that it will provide you with a very
satisfactory experience using our scanners with 32-bit Windows 95
applications.
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
you that demonstrates FARGO Primera & Primera Pro SUPERIOR QUALITY 600dpi 24
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
Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155
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
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
Apple Turnover
Phone Companies Get Ready To Compete
Judge Rules Against Employee In E-
Mail Snooping Case
M &A Frenzy In Information
Technology
Open University On The Internet
Murdoch Sells Educational Publishing
Group
Media Consolidation In The United
Kingdom
Approval For Disney Merger With
Capital Cities/ABC
Anniversary Of ENIAC
CD Match Takes The Guesswork Out Of
CD-ROM Shopping
Librarians, Unite -- For Buying
Power
News-Flash Screen Savers
MCI And AT&T Talking Of An Alliance
Netscape, Silicon Graphics Team Up
For 3-D
Apple Inks Deals With Adobe, Disney
Advertisers Debate Web Privacy
Issues
CompuServe Launches Internet-Only
Service
Judge Greene Worries Telecom Bill
Isn't Tough Enough
Virtual University Slated For 1997
Licensing On The Web
Virus Does Windows 95
No Help At The Help Desk
PC Sales In Europe
Motorola Smart Card Contracts
New Process Yields Sturdier, Faster
Chips
Visa And Microsoft To Develop Home
Banking System
Entrepreneur's Resource On The Net
Time Bomb Still Ticking For Year
2000
Compuserve Offers Software Filter
For Indecent Material
Tariff Talks On Technology Products
Papers Move Online
Internet Users Don't Want To Share
Their Cookies
Three Ways To Make Money On The
Internet
Spreading The Word
APPLE TURNOVER
A new calm appears to have cover over Apple headquarters, in spite of the
fact that its operating loss in the second fiscal quarter will surpass its
first quarter deficit. The company say it has discontinued all merger talks
with other companies (including Sun), and now plans to go it alone, under
the new leadership of Gil Amelio, the new chairman and CEO who replaced
ousted Michael Spindler. Amelio has been credited with turning around
National Semiconductor, which he left in order to take his current position
with Apple. Apple's announcement departs from its usual practice of refusing
comment on merger talks, and was made because it thinks rumors and
speculation have been hurting sales. Vice Chairman A.C. "Mike" Markkula
says: "I have completely lost faith in the press to report anything even
near the truth." (Wall Street Journal 9 Feb 96 B1)
PHONE COMPANIES GET READY TO COMPETE
With the new telecommunications legislation now passed and signed, the
providers of long-distance and local phone services are rapidly moving ahead
with plans to compete against each other in offering a full range of
communications services. AT&T CEO Robert Allen says his company will offer
local, long-distance and TV services, and will be leasing local telephone
capacity from the Bells and other local service providers, as well as
developing local (and possibly wireless) communication networks of its own.
Two regional service providers, Bell Atlantic (in the mid-Atlantic states)
and Nynex (in New England and New York), may counter AT&T's moves by merging
or forming some sort of alliance. Bell Atlantic's president says: "We've
got to figure out how we can offer long-distance and local service in
competition with the likes of AT&T. In between where we are today and
something that falls short of a full merger, there are things that make
sense." (New York Times 9 Feb 96 A1)
JUDGE RULES AGAINST EMPLOYEE IN E-MAIL SNOOPING CASE
A federal judge in Philadelphia has ruled against a former employee of the
Pillsbury Co. who filed a suit claiming invasion of privacy after his e-mail
messages threatening to "kill the backstabbing bastards" and referring to an
upcoming party as the "Jim Jones Koolaid affair" were deemed to be
inappropriate, unprofessional and offensive, leading to his firing in
October 1994. The company had repeatedly assured its employees that all e-
mail communications would be kept confidential, but the court found that,
"Once plaintiff communicated the alleged unprofessional comments to a second
person (his supervisor) over an e-mail system which was apparently utilized
by the entire company, any reasonable expectation of privacy was lost." (BNA
Daily Labor Report 6 Feb 96 AA1)
M &A FRENZY IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The number of mergers and acquisitions in the information technology industry
peaked in 1995 with 1,563 North American deals, up from 879 in 1994. The
total value of the transactions was $82.8 billion, up from $69.2 billion a
year earlier. And the party's not over yet -- 64% of companies surveyed by
Broadview Associations LLP said they viewed more mergers and acquisitions as
"very likely" in 1996. (Information Week 29 Jan 96 p28)
OPEN UNIVERSITY ON THE INTERNET
The British Open University, whose pioneering work in distance learning has
served as a model for institutions around the globe, now is making some of
it courses available over the Internet to English-speaking students
internationally. < http://cszx.open.ac.uk/zx/ > or send e-mail to
Internet-Course-Info@open.ac.uk. (WICHE Communique Jan 96 p13)
MURDOCH SELLS EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING GROUP
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is selling HarperCollins Publishing to the
U.K.-based media conglomerate Pearson PLC. A Smith Barney analyst says that
"Educational publishing doesn't fit News Corp.'s image as a global
distributor of information. Rupert has a lot of different objectives, and
this is not one of them." Pearson PLC will now rank fourth in educational
book publishing, behind McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Harcourt-Brace. (New York
Times 10 Feb 95 p19)
MEDIA CONSOLIDATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
London media analyst Lorna Tilbian explains: "The whole global media
industry is converging. This is the beginning of the U.K. side of that."
The latest development: United News & Media PLC is merging with MAI PLC, to
create a $4.5 billion media conglomerate. (Wall Street Journal 9 Feb 96 B13)
APPROVAL FOR DISNEY MERGER WITH CAPITAL CITIES/ABC
The Federal Communications Commission has voted 5-0 to approve the transfer
of broadcast licenses from Capital Cities/ABC to Disney. Commissioner Chong
says: "This is a merger that makes a lot of sense. Disney will marry its
wealth of content with the vast ABC distribution network." (New York Times 9
Feb 96 C2)
ANNIVERSARY OF ENIAC
To mark the 50th anniversary of the ENIAC computer and in conjunction with
ACM Computing Week '96, Vice President Gore will give a speech "The
Technology Challenge" at the University of Pennnsylvania on Wednesday of this
week. The speech and other celebrations will be carried on the MBONE.
Info: < http://homepage.seas.upenn.edu/~museum/ >.
CD MATCH TAKES THE GUESSWORK OUT OF CD-ROM SHOPPING
The Interactive Multimedia Association is promoting its CD Match program,
designed to help consumer match CD-ROM purchases to their PC configurations.
The software creates a printout of a computer system's capabilities, which
consumers can then take to retail outlets for comparison to the IMA-
recommended uniform label to determine if their computer will support a
particular title's system requirements. Free CD Match software will be
distributed to consumers via IMA's Web site, < http://www.ima.org >. (Heller
Report Feb 96)
LIBRARIANS, UNITE -- FOR BUYING POWER
College librarians are banding together to purchase electronic resources for
their institutions. "We've found that this sort of group purchasing power
has really enabled us to leverage the dollars that we have and to get
resources we couldn't have otherwise," says an associate librarian at the
University of Texas at Austin, which buys publications through the TexShare
consortium. The group buying arrangement is also advantageous for
publishers, who don't need to spend as much on marketing: "As a group,
we'll pay the vendor more money than they can realistically get by slogging
it out school by school," says the executive director of OhioLINK, which
includes more than 40 colleges and universities. The president of
Britannica Online figures that more than half of the 293 institutions using
his product are doing so under consortium-based licenses. (Chronicle of
Higher Education 9 Feb 96 A21)
NEWS-FLASH SCREEN SAVERS
Software from Cupertino, California-based Pointcast, Inc., will be used by
Netscape Communications in a joint venture with news organizations Reuters,
ESPN, Boston Globe, and Los Angeles Times to offer financial and sports news
over "screen savers" of PCs attached to the Internet. Supported by
advertising, the news service will be made available this spring both as a
commercial software product and as an extension of Netscape's Navigator WWW
browser software. (New York Times 13 Feb 96 C6)
MCI AND AT&T TALKING OF AN ALLIANCE
An MCI spokesman confirmed as "essentially correct" a Wall Street Journal
story saying that long-distance phone service rivals MCI and AT&T were
trying to reach an agreement to share the cost of building phone networks in
certain markets and swap their facilities to bypass Bell companies and other
local phone service carriers. (Atlanta Journal Constitution 13 Feb 96 F1)
NETSCAPE, SILICON GRAPHICS TEAM UP FOR 3-D
Netscape Communications and Silicon Graphics have endorsed the Moving Worlds
standard for 3-D images on the Web, using Sun Microsystems' Java networking
language to animate objects. The move is significant in its opposition to
Microsoft's proposed Active VRML language, which would work with Java, but
not with most other existing software. Netscape reports it has more than 50
companies signed on to support Moving Worlds, and Microsoft plans to publish
a list of its endorsers next month. (Wall Street Journal 13 Feb 96 pB5)
APPLE INKS DEALS WITH ADOBE, DISNEY
Apple computer has signed agreements to develop multimedia partnerships with
Adobe Systems Inc. and Walt Disney Co. "This is our way of showing that
life goes on, that our fundamentals are good and that we are where the market
is headed," says the president of Apple Europe. The Adobe deal allows Apple
to bundle the company's multimedia publishing software into PowerMac
computers. Disney has pledged to create new interactive CD-ROMs for Apple's
Performa PCs. A separate agreement with U.K.-based Digital Village will
result in more Apple products for the Internet, for CD-ROMs, and for
broadcast television. "We want to show that the Mac can be a hi-fi, a TV,
and above all, a good communicator," says Apple Europe's president.
(Investor's Business Daily 12 Feb 96 A7)
ADVERTISERS DEBATE WEB PRIVACY ISSUES
With the World Wide Web emerging as the new advertising nirvana, the
Coalition for Advertising Supported Information and Entertainment has
developed a set of privacy goals to serve as guidelines for how personal
information can be bought, sold and used. They recommend that marketers
always disclose their identity; that they make only "appropriate" use of
personal information; that consumers have options to limit what information
they reveal about themselves; and that they have access to their personal
electronic records. However, a spokesman for the Association of Accredited
advertising Agencies warns against regulating too much, too soon: "Let's not
create new rules for a new medium before the medium develops. If you write
them first they almost always have unintended consequences." (Wall Street
Journal 12 Feb 96 B3)
COMPUSERVE LAUNCHES INTERNET-ONLY SERVICE
CompuServe has started a new Internet-only service called Sprynet, offering
unlimited access for a flat fee of $19.95 a month. At the same time, the
company announced it initially would block Sprynet customers from access to
more than 200 online forums where sex-related issues are discussed, becoming
the first big Internet service provider to restrict that kind of
information. Meanwhile, AOL's chairman announced America Online's Internet-
only GNN business has attracted more than 100,000 customers in the past 90
days. (St. Petersburg Times 12 Feb 96 p9)
JUDGE GREENE WORRIES TELECOM BILL ISN'T TOUGH ENOUGH
Referred to by some as the Judge Greene Retirement Act, the
telecommunications reform bill recently signed into law by President Clinton
removes Judge Harold Greene from his position as the most powerful authority
over U.S. telecommunications regulation for the past 12 years. But Greene
warns that the new competitive rules may not turn out to be the best
prescription for the industry: "I'm a little concerned whether there are
sufficient safeguards against the kinds of mergers and acquisitions that
might give some small group of companies or individuals a stranglehold" over
U.S. telecom markets. "I'd hate to see the AT&T monopoly be reconstituted in
some form. It would be like I'd wasted the past 18 years." (Wall Street
Journal 12 Feb 96 B1)
VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY SLATED FOR 1997
The Western Governors' Association, led by Gov. Roy Rohmer of Colorado and
Gov. Mike Leavitt of Utah, are rapidly pulling together plans for a western
virtual university and now say they expect to begin admitting students by the
summer of 1997. The Education Management Group, a subsidiary of Simon &
Schuster, has donated $150,000 to the planning effort. (Chronicle of Higher
Education 16 Feb 96 A21)
VIRUS DOES WINDOWS 95
A new virus detected by British researchers targets PCs running Windows 95,
disabling programs before spreading to other machines, says an analyst for
U.K. antivirus software firm Sophos. The virus is named Boza, after a
Bulgarian liquor "so powerful that just looking at it will give you a
headache." So far, Boza is concentrating its efforts mainly among companies
that make antivirus software. (St. Petersburg Times 12 Feb 96 p8)
LICENSING ON THE WEB
Oracle and Microsoft will announce new strategies for licensing their
database products for use on the Internet, and IBM and Infomix are also
discussing ways to charge for Web use, where the number of potential "users"
could be thousands. "Traditional client-server database pricing is based on
the number of users, and that just doesn't work in the Web environment," says
a senior VP at Computer Associates, which has already established CPU-based
pricing as its model. "There is no way that we want to do per-user
licensing," says a technology chief at Carnegie Mellon University. "Server-
based pricing will be much more cost-effective." (Information Week 5 Feb 96
p18)
NO HELP AT THE HELP DESK
Three frustrated PC owners have filed a lawsuit in the New York Supreme
Court, charging that the technical support system at Leading Edge Products
was virtually worthless. Callers allegedly got a busy signal or recorded
message when trying to reach the help desk, and on the rare occasions they
did make contact with a human, they were told the problem was the fault of
the software and hardware suppliers, not Leading Edge. "Many computer buyers
are given a warranty and it turns out to be meaningless," says an attorney
representing the plaintiffs. (St. Petersburg Times 12 Feb 96 p9)
PC SALES IN EUROPE
The Dataquest market research group says that Germany is Europe's biggest PC
market, with 1.04 million machines sold in the final quarter of 1995,
followed by the U.K. and France. The fastest-growing markets, with growth
rates above 30%, are Belgium, Finland, Italy and the U.K. Germany's growth
rate is 7%. (Financial Times 12 Feb 96 p22)
MOTOROLA SMART CARD CONTRACTS
Motorola has signed two new European contracts for its smart card technology.
Its deal with Spain is the first nationwide contract of its kind, says
Motorola, and its arrangement with the Czech Republic will result in the
distribution of "10,000 chips for a pilot health insurance smart card
project in the Litomerice region. A countrywide health card project for 10
million people is intended for introduction during 1997-98," according to a
Motorola statement. Motorola anticipates that the smart card market will
increase from the current $100 million a year to more than $1 billion by the
end of the decade. (Investor's Business Daily 13 Feb 96 A9)
NEW PROCESS YIELDS STURDIER, FASTER CHIPS
Engineers at the University of Illinois have discovered that a simple
substitution in the computer chip manufacturing process could increase
chips' lifespan by 10 to 50 times, or alternatively, allow them to operate at
faster speeds. By treating a chip with deuterium instead of hydrogen in the
final stage of the manufacturing process, the resulting product is better
able to weather the battering it takes from the electrons that store and
transmit messages. "The tantalizing thing w will be to use the trade-off
between lifespan and performance to make the chip work even faster," says one
researcher, who estimates the substitution process would add only about
$1.50 to the cost of a wafer of chips. (Investor's Business Daily 15 Feb 96
A9)
VISA AND MICROSOFT TO DEVELOP HOME BANKING SYSTEM
Visa and Microsoft will jointly develop a complete system for home banking
and bill-paying services, based on Microsoft's Money software and Visa's
financial processing systems. Their system will provide formidable
competition for Intuit, which markets the Quicken software and offers a back-
end financial transaction system through the Intuit Services Corporation.
However, Intuit and Microsoft will continue their separate agreement to
provide home banking services to a number of banks, such as Chase Manhattan.
(New York Times 15 Feb 96 C8)
ENTREPRENEUR'S RESOURCE ON THE NET
The U.S. Business Advisor offers small businesses online access to guides and
government forms needed to comply with regulations or apply for government-
backed loans or other federal assistance. The new service, unveiled Tuesday
by Vice President Gore, supplies "one-stop access to federal agencies that
regulate and assist business," says Gore. It's expected to be the first in a
family of electronic products aimed at "customer groups" such as veterans,
travelers, the research community, and state and local governments. <
http://www.business.gov >(Wall Street Journal 14 Feb 96 B2)
TIME BOMB STILL TICKING FOR YEAR 2000
The Gartner Group predicts that half of all companies affected by the year
2000 date field problem will still be unprepared when the fateful day
arrives. "A lot of companies are like deer frozen in the headlights of a big
truck coming right at them," says a Gartner analyst. Some industry experts
estimate the cost of fixing the problem at $40 million per large
corporation, with the global price tag pegged at $400 billion to $600
billion. Many corporations are wondering if their old systems are worth all
the trouble: "Do we just fix the millennium bug, or should we take this as
an opportunity to put in some new systems?" asks one CIO. (Information Week
5 Feb 96 p30)
COMPUSERVE OFFERS SOFTWARE FILTER
FOR INDECENT MATERIAL
CompuServe has begun offering Cyber Patrol Internet software made by
Microsystems Software Inc. that automatically restricts access to
newsgroups, bulletin board systems and files containing "indecent" material.
The move effectively ends an eight-week ban the online service had imposed
on more than 200 sites following an inquiry by a Bavarian district attorney.
CompuServe will continue to block access to five sites containing child
pornography that are under ivestigation. The Cyber Patrol software is
currently available in English and German, and French and Spanish versions
will be available soon. (Investor's Business Daily 14 Feb 96 A9)
TARIFF TALKS ON TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS
The U.S. Trade Office plans to talk to European Union counterparts about
removing the tariffs now levied on information technology products. The
move would cut the cost of U.S. computers and related products significantly,
making them much more attractive to foreign buyers. (Computer Reseller News
29 Jan 96 p12)
PAPERS MOVE ONLINE
The number of North American papers available through online services nearly
tripled last year to about 175, and is expected to double again this year.
About 600 other newspapers published outside North American are also
available online, according to the Newspaper Association of America.
(Toronto Sun 14 Feb 96 p35)
INTERNET USERS DON'T WANT TO SHARE THEIR COOKIES
In response to complaints from consumers, Netscape Communications says it
will alter a feature in its browser software that allows merchants to track
what customers do in their online storefonts and how much time they spend
there. The feature, called Cookies, stores that information on the
customer's own hard drive, a design that Net surfers say ties up the
resources on their computers. Future versions of Netscape will allow
customers the choice of refusing merchants the capability of tracking their
movements over long periods of time rather than a single Internet session.
"We want to give the user as much control as possible," says a Netscape
product manager. (Wall Street Journal 14 Feb 96 B2)
THREE WAYS TO MAKE MONEY ON THE INTERNET
Digital communications guru Nicholas Negroponte predicts business on the
Internet will be conducted at low prices and high volumes, but says a new
system for payments will have be developed before business can take off. He
also predicts that the Internet will be an excellent advertising medium.
(Toronto Financial Post 14 Feb 96 p7) Negroponte also thinks censorship of
the Internet is almost impossible, as is trying to protect cultural identity.
(Ottawa Citizen 14 Feb 96 F2)
SPREADING THE WORD
The Washington Post has reported that a Maryland family received a number of
threatening calls after a University of Maryland student used the Internet
to circulate a hearsay allegation that a daughter in the family was being
mistreated by her mother. Posting his message on Internet news groups
concerned with child welfare, psychology, left-wing politics, and civil
liberties, the student urged people to call the mother "at home and tell her
you are disgusted and you demand that she stops." The student claims: "You
should be able to write what you want on the Internet, whether it's true or
not." (Houston Chronicle 14 Feb 96 2A)
Bits & Baud STR InfoFile
BITS, SYMBOL RATE, BPS, AND BAUD
by Dr. David Rife,
Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc.
1. INTRODUCTION
This note is intended to explain terms such as bit rate, symbol rate, bps,
and baud.
2. DEFINITIONS
BIT
Bit has two meanings: an amount of information or a binary digit. Binary
digit, 0 or 1, is the meaning used here.
BPS
The rate at which bits are transmitted or received is described in units of
bits per second (bps).
SYMBOLS
Symbols, pulses of specified shape and duration, are used in many modems to
convey bits. The rate at which symbols are transmitted or received is
expressed in units of symbols per second (symbols/s).
BAUD
Baud is a unit of signaling speed equal to the reciprocal of the duration (in
seconds) of the shortest binary signaling element. For example, if one is
using Morse code with dots (which are the shortest signaling elements) that
last 10 ms, the signaling speed is 100 baud. Since each dot must be
followed by a space, 50 dots per second can be sent at this speed. Baud is
a convenient measure of signaling speed for systems that use (binary)
signaling pulses of varying duration. The bandwidth required to transmit
binary signals is generally proportional to the signaling speed.
CHARACTERS
The bits sent and received by computer asynchronous serial ports are
organized into groups called characters. A character consists of a start
bit, several information bits, possibly a parity bit, and a stop bit. The
number of information bits may be 5, 6, 7, or 8. The duration of a stop bit
may be 1, 1.5, or 2 times the duration of the other bits, which all have the
same duration. The speeds at which characters may be sent by a serial port
are (usually) the speeds given by 115200/N bps, where N is an integer
between 1 and 65535. For example, a speed of 19200 baud is selected by using
N equals 6.
CPS
Characters per second (CPS) is often used as the unit of character rate.
3. USE OF BAUD
The speed of a serial port is properly expressed in baud. That is, when the
speed is set to, say, 19200 bps, the speed is actually 19200 baud. In fact,
if the character format is 8n2 (8 information bits, no parity, and 2-element
stop bits), then the speed is only 10*19200/11 bps (17454.55 bps), but is
still 19200 baud.
The word baud should be used in the same way as hertz. One never says "hertz
rate" instead of frequency; one should never say "baud rate" instead of
signaling speed.
Baud should not be used to express symbol rate. The ITU uses symbols/s
(symbols per second) as the unit of symbol rate.
4. PSK and QAM
The symbols of a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modem are pulses of
carrier with different amplitude and phase.
The symbols of a QAM modem, such as a V.22 bis modem, are usually described
in terms of the carrier phase and amplitude of each symbol, which is
equivalent to the amplitudes of the cos() and sin() parts of each symbol.
The collection of valid symbols is called the constellation. One may see
the constellation plotted as dots on a graph, with the vertical positions
representing the amplitudes of the sin() part and the horizontal positions
representing the amplitudes of the cos() part. The constellation of a V.22
bis modem consists of 16 points as shown below. The amplitudes of the sin()
and cos() parts are proportional to -3, -1, 1, and 3.
3
* * 3 * *
3
* * 3 * *
* * 3 * *
3
* * 3 * *
3
Four-phase modulation is QAM with a four-point constellation. The
constellation of a V.22 modem is indicated below.
3
*
3
3
**
3
3
*
3
It takes log(M)/log(2) (log of M to the base 2) bits to identify one of M
items. Thus, each symbol of a 16-point constellation conveys 4 bits. That
is, each of the M=16 symbols is associated with a unique 4-bit sequence.
5. BIT RATE VERSUS SYMBOL RATE
Since one symbol may convey several bits, the bit rate is more than the
symbol rate. For example, the V.22 modem uses four-phase modulation and
each symbol conveys 2 bits. Since the modem provides a speed of 1200 bps,
the symbol rate is 600 symbols/s.
V.22 bis modems operating at 2400 bps use the same symbol rate and carrier
frequencies as V.22. However, each symbol conveys 4 bits.
5. BANDWIDTH
The bandwidth required by a QAM modem's signal is a little more than the
symbol rate (if the symbols are properly shaped). Thus the bandwidth of the
signal from a V.22 modem is just over 600 Hz. The modem sends in one band and
receives in another band. The two carrier frequencies are 1200 Hz and 2400
Hz. Normally the answer modem sends in the high band.
Adobe Acrobat Amber
Frequently Asked Questions
Basics
What is the "Amber" version of Adobe Acrobat software?
"Amber" is the codename for an update to Acrobat Reader with several new
features:
ú Integration withWeb browsers like Netscape Navigator 2.0 to allow PDF
files to be viewed seamlessly within the same window as the browser page.
ú A new way to optimize PDF files for delivery on the Internet or on-line
services. Instead of waiting for the whole PDF file to be downloaded, you
view the document a page at a time.
ú Navigation among PDF, HTML, and other web content transparently by
integrating with Netscape's navigation functions -- Go Back, etc.
ú PDF embedded in HTML pages.
ú Progressive display of the PDF file, so you see the text first, then
images, then embedded fonts.
ú Font blitting -- when viewed over the web, embedded fonts display first
as substitution fonts while the embedded outline is retrieved then "blitted"
onscreen for absolute fidelity.
ú Dockable Toolbar within the Netscape window.
ú New views -- continuous scrolling and 2-up pages.
ú Antialiased text for crisper onscreen viewing.
Why is Acrobat software important for the Web?
The Adobe Acrobat suite of universal electronic publishing products is being
used by a growing number of Web publishers to bring visually rich, compelling
content to the web. The freely available Acrobat Reader is the universal way
to view, navigate and print electronic documents created in the Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF).
What is a PDF file?
The Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) is the unique cross-platform
PostScript-based file format developed by Adobe. A PDF file can describe
documents containing any combination of text, graphics, and images in a
device and resolution independent format. These documents can be one page or
thousands of pages, very simple or extremely complex, and make rich use of
fonts, graphics, color, and images. The format encompasses not only the
visual appearance of a document, but additional information only possible
with an electronic representation.
What benefits do PDF documents offer to the Internet?
PDF documents offer significant benefits to the Internet community by
offering design control, print-ready documents, and an endless array of
authoring applications. Because PDF files are extremely compact, platform
independent, visually rich -- and can be created from virtually any authoring
application -- they are a perfect vehicle for sharing information among the
diverse computing environments that make up the net.
PDF will help accelerate the move from sharing the lowest common denominator
(ASCII) to sharing documents as rich as any that we see printed today. PDF,
like the Adobe PostScript language, will define new boundaries for
expressiveness and versatility in digital communications.
Already, Acrobat Exchange users can add World Wide Web links (URLs) to PDF
documents that enable "live", two-way links on the Web. Acrobat "Amber"
Reader integrates PDF viewing directly into web browsers and delivers speedy,
page-at-a-time display over the net.
Publishers like the Center for Disease Control or Intel, with large amounts
of tabular or scientific data, or Time Magazine, with a distinctive "look"
find that PDF documents integrated into the infrastructure of the Web offer a
powerful new publishing proposition.
PDF documents offer compelling benefits that complement HTML:
ú Design control and integrated graphics
ú Print-ready documents
ú Document-level security features
ú Cross-document search capability
ú Compressed, cross-platform files
ú Ease of authoring, especially for legacy documents
For communicators who want to use the internet infrastructure to reach the
widest audience most efficiently, PDF documents provide a smooth transition
from the desktop to cyberspace.
Is PDF "competing" with HTML?
No. Acrobat software's open architecture and flexible file format allow us to
extend the integration that current World Wide Web clients offer (Helper
Applications for non- HTML files) at both the application and file level, so
that PDF documents can take advantage of the benefits of the World Wide Web's
hypertext infrastructure. PDF and HTML offer complementary benefits to
electronic publishers.
Viewing PDF Page-at-a-Time Over the Web
What do I need to do to serve PDF files a page-at-a-time? What do I need to
take advantage of the Amber Reader?
There are four components to the Acrobat on the Internet picture:
ú The Amber Reader for integrated viewing over the web.
ú Web servers that can "byteserve" PDF files a page at a time to the Amber
Reader.
ú Optimized PDF files for progressive display and maximum file
compression.
ú Weblinks to connect your PDF files to other content on the web.
Any nonoptimized PDF file can be viewed in the Netscape window (without page-
at-a-time display) with the Amber Reader and Netscape Navigator 2.0 version
B3 or better.
Page-at-a-time display requires a web server with byteserver capability,
either built-in (as with the Netscape and Open Market server products) or as
a CGI script. Adobe plans to freely distribute the CGI script when it is
finalized.
Best viewing performance (page-at-a-time display and progressive rendering)
for PDF documents over the web comes from optimized PDF files and a server
with the ability to byteserve the files. The optimized PDF format and
byteserver protocol are not yet final, so we have provided a set of
demonstration files on Adobe's server to allow you to test the page-at-a-time
performance for yourself. See for yourself how Cool PDFs Get Even Cooler.
Integration with other browsers and servers is under development.
How do documents get into the optimized PDF format?
It's simple to optimize PDF files for on-line viewing. Just "Save" any PDF
document with the Amber version of Acrobat Amber Exchange. Beta versions of
Amber Exchange are expected to be available on Adobe's web site early in
1996.
For now, you can experiment with some early versions of optimized files to
see how Cool PDFs Get Even Cooler.
What is the Weblink plug-in? How do I get it?
The Weblink plug-in extends the link tool in Acrobat Exchange 2.0, Reader
2.1, and the Amber Reader to allow you to create and follow links containing
Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) in PDF documents. It is included in the 2.1
release of Acrobat Reader and Exchange, available without cost from several
on-line services, from the Adobe World Wide Web Server
(http://www.adobe.com/) for use with Exchange 2.0. It will also be bundled
with Web clients and on other Web servers as we reach agreements with the
vendors.
Platforms
What platforms does Adobe Acrobat software currently support?
Amber is currently available only for Windows 95 and WindowsNT.
What platforms does Adobe expect to support in the future?
Adobe expects to deliver versions of Amber for all the platforms we currently
support. Features supported on individual platforms may vary. For example,
web browser vendors may not support the APIs necessary for Acrobat
integration on all platforms (Netscape 2.0 currently doesn't have an API
available for UNIX products) so viewing PDF files in the browser window would
be disabled.
Windows: Acrobat Amber Reader D1
Macintosh: Not Available. Expected 1Q, 1996.
UNIX: Not Available; schedule depends on Web browser APIs.
No DOS version of the Amber Reader is planned.
Can I run the Windows version of Acrobat software on my UNIX workstation
using WABI?
Adobe has not tested Amber under WABI. It is unlikely to be a solution, since
most Windows emulators emulate Windows 286, which Acrobat does not support.
Requirements
What type of computer and system software do I need to use the Amber Reader?
Release D1 of the Amber Reader supports only Windows 95 and Windows NT in the
following configurations:
ú 386 or 486-based or better personal computer (486 recommended)
ú Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT
ú 4 MB application RAM
ú 3 MB hard disk space, plus 2 MB TEMP space available
ú Netscape Navigator 2.0 B3 for web integration
ú Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 (use "open" command in dialog box)
When will the Amber Reader be available for other platforms?
Adobe expects to deliver versions of Amber for all the platforms we currently
support. Features supported on individual platforms may vary. For example,
web browser vendors may not support the APIs necessary for Acrobat
integration on all platforms (Netscape 2.0 currently doesn't have an API
available for UNIX products) so viewing PDF documents in the browser window
would be disabled.
Macintosh: Not Available. Expected 1Q, 1996.
Windows: Acrobat Amber Reader D1
UNIX: Not Available; schedule depends on Web browser APIs.
No DOS version of the Amber Reader is planned.
Distribution
How do I get Acrobat Amber Reader?
Download the Amber Reader from Adobe's Web site.
Is the Acrobat Amber Reader freely distributable?
You may make unlimited copies of the Acrobat Amber Reader software and give
copies to other persons or entities for evaluation and trial use purposes
only as long as the copies contain the Electronic End User License Agreement
and the same copyright and other proprietary notices that appear on or in the
software. Your License expires upon receipt of a later unreleased version or
a publicly released commercial version of the software. See the Electronic
End User License Agreement for details.
Keep in mind that the Amber Reader is a pre release version, does not
represent final product from Adobe, and may contain bugs, errors and other
problems that could cause system failures.
What rules should I follow when distributing PDF files?
If you are creating PDF files for distribution over the Internet or via an
electronic mail system, note these conventions:
Because many network and e-mail programs truncate long filenames, the safest
way to name the PDF files you plan to distribu
te is to use the MS-DOS
filenaming convention. This convention requires an eight-character filename
followed by a three-character extension. For example, the PDF filename "Q1
Profit and Loss.pdf" could be named "Q1PNL.PDF." Using the MS-DOS file-naming
convention ensures that PDF files retain the .pdf extension as they are
transferred among computers.
Adobe recommends that you add the extension .pdf to distinguish PDF filenames
for the following reasons. The .pdf filename extension must be preserved for
a PDF file to be recognized by Windows versions of Acrobat programs. (This is
not true for UNIX, although files without the .pdf extension may not display
in the Open dialog box if your filter pattern is [Directory]/*.pdf.)
In addition, many e-mail and network programs can be set up to recognize any
file with the .pdf extension as a PDF document, enabling Macintosh users to
open files with the .pdf extension by double-clicking.
For CD-ROM publishing, observe the ISO 9660 Interchange Level 1 conventions,
which are a subset of the MS-DOS filenaming convention. To name files
consistent with ISO standards, use only the letters A through Z, the digits 0
through 9, plus the underscore and period characters.
Language Support
What languages are supported by the Acrobat Amber Reader?
The pre-release version of the Amber Reader is currently available only in
English. Final versions Amber products for Macintosh and Windows will be
available in International English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Swedish,
and Italian. UNIX localizations are yet to be determined.
Does Amber have the same MIME type as the other Acrobat products?
Yes. application/pdf.
Installation
How do I install the Amber Reader?
Download the Amber Reader from Adobe's Web site.
ú To install Acrobat Amber Reader on your hard drive, from the Windows
Program Manager, double click on My Computer to open the My Computer window.
ú Locate the temporary location that you specified to download the Amber
archive AMBER32D1.EXE (eg. \TEMP)
ú Double-click: [drive]:\TEMP\AMBER32D1.EXE
ú The installation files will expand into the temporary directory
ú Locate and double-click: [drive]:\TEMP\setup.exe
ú Follow the instructions on your screen
ú Installation requires approximately 3 MB of free hard disk space.
The Amber Reader won't display in the Netscape window. What's wrong?
If you saw the installer message "Warning! Setup couldn't install Netscape
Plugin (NPPDF32.DLL). Failed to locate Netscape Plugins directory." the Amber
installer was unable to install the plugin necessary for Acrobat to
communicate with Netscape.
ú Make sure Netscape Navigator 2.0 B3 or greater is installed on your
system.
ú Locate the Netscape plugin NPPDF32.DLL in the [drive]:\Acroweb
directory.
ú Copy [drive]:\Acroweb\NPPDF32.DLL to \[Netscape
directory]\Program\plugins
Reporting Bugs
How do I report bugs in the Amber reader?
You may report problems to Adobe with the Bug Report form on Adobe's web
site. Check the Known Problems section to see whether your problem has
already been reported. Please provide as much detail as possible about the
problem you encounter. Detailed instructions are included with the Bug Report
form.
Due to the volume of reports we receive, Adobe cannot respond directly to
individual bug reports. We do screen each report, and make every effort to
keep the Known Problems list up to date. We appreciate your assistance in
making the Acrobat Amber Reader a top quality product.
Developer Information (Customization and Integration)
I'm interested in integrating Amber in my application. Where can I find
information on the APIs?
An overview of Acrobat "Amber" integration issues is posted as Developing
with Amber .
General Developer and SDK information is available on
http://www.adobe.com/Support/ADA.html and ftp.adobe.com.
For a complete Acrobat Developer Information Kit or other details on any of
the resources offered by the Adobe Developers Association, contact the ADA.
In the USA, Canada & countries
outside Europe:
Adobe Developers Association
Adobe Systems Incorporated
1585 Charleston Road
P.O. Box 7900
Mountain View, CA 94039-7900
USA ADA Hotline: 415-961-4111
Fax: 415-967-9231
Fax Request Line: 408-986-6587
E-Mail: devsup-
person@mv.us.adobe.com
In Europe:
Adobe Developers Association
Adobe Systems Europe B.V.
Europlaza, Hoogoorddreef 54A 1101 BE
Amsterdam Z.O.
The Netherlands
ADA Hotline: +31-20-6511-355
Fax: +31-20-6511-313
E-Mail: eurosupport@adobe.com
Support
How do I receive Technical Support?
Adobe does not provide direct end user technical support for unreleased
products. You can view the latest Release Notes and Known Problems or Report
Bugs on Adobe's Web site.
Is there an internet address for Tech Support?
Adobe does not currently support application products via email. You can view
the latest Release Notes and Known Problems or Report Bugs on Adobe's Web
site.
Version
What is the latest version of the Acrobat Amber Reader?
Windows 95 and Windows NT: Acrobat Amber Reader D1
Macintosh: Not Available. Expected 1Q, 1996.
UNIX: Not Available; schedule depends on Web browser APIs.
No DOS version of the Amber Reader is planned.
Are there any plans to update the1.0 Readers for DOS so that it can read PDF
files that use the 2.0 security features?
Based on lack of commercial demand for the product, Adobe has no current
plans to update the 1.0 DOS Reader.
Copyright c 1995 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Certain
names, logos, designs, titles, words or phrases on this page may constitute
trade marks, service marks, or tradenames of Adobe Systems Incorporated or
other entities which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Please
activate this link to view a list of trademarks, servicemarks, and
attributions.
Kids Computing Corner
Frank Sereno, Editor
The Kids' Computing Corner
Slopestyle
Windows CD-ROM
MRSP $34.95
for ages 10 and up
L3 Interactive
3000 W. Olympic Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-264-4188
Program Requirements
CPU: 486SX/33
RAM: 8 MB
OS: Windows 3.1
Video: 640 x 480, 256 colors
HDISK: 10k
CD-ROM: Double-speed
Misc.: Sound card, mouse, printer
optional
Snowboarding is one of America's fastest-growing participant sports. But is
it the sport for you or your loved ones? Slopestyle's interactive multimedia
CD-ROM provides important information about the sport's equipment, techniques
and pratfalls so you can decide.
Slopestyle includes more than forty minutes of action video backed by a wide
selection of very interesting alternative and grunge rock music. This
program really exudes the atmosphere and attitude of snowboarding. Some
videos were dark or grainy, but most of the footage was excellent and the
action was very exciting.
L3 Interactive products feature The Learning CubeT interface. It is very
easy to use. It is a cube that is three by three by three. The face of the
cube has nine squares which represent subjects. Each of these subjects
consists of a row of three topic cubes for a total of twenty-seven lessons.
Subjects and topics can be accessed in any order the user chooses. Once a
topic is chosen, the user can view the narrated video presentation or he can
read the Transportext. The Transportext often expands on the information
from the video narration. The text can be sent to the printer for hard
copy. The text also has highlighted links to a glossary which defines the
many specific snowboarding terms. Snowboarding has its own lingo just as
skateboarding and surfing do. The glossary will help you to know your
heelside from your toeside.
The lessons run the gamut from selecting equipment to riding the chair lift
through beginning maneuvers to difficult stunts such as riding rails to the
proper technique on falling (bailing). The videos will give you a good idea
on how to do each maneuver. However, it also advises that expert instruction
is necessary for stunts and that professional fitting is best for obtaining
proper equipment. The information on basic snowboarding is very detailed and
helpful. On the more difficult stunts, the instruction is more vague but the
photography is more inspiring.
This program has a narrow range of appeal. It is an excellent resource and
tutorial for those who are interested or who have just begun snowboarding.
The great music and excellent photography make it extremely entertaining.
And for concerned parents, the videos of bails may help convince your
youngster to not take up snowboarding. OUCH! But I have to say this is a
mondo cool title if you like snowboarding.
# # #
MATTEL, INC. LAUNCHES MULTIMEDIA COMPANY
MATTEL, INC. LAUNCHES MULTIMEDIA COMPANY... MATTEL MEDIA, INC.
Leading Worldwide Kids' Brands -- BARBIE, FISHER-PRICE, HOT WHEELS, SEE 'N
SAY, POLLY POCKET and CABBAGE PATCH KIDS -- To Be Extended To Multimedia
New Unit To Release More Than 15 Children's Consumer Software And Coin-
Operated Products In 1996Largely Untapped Girls' Software Market To Be Key
Focus
EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Positioned to aggressively extend some of the most powerful
toy brands in the world to multimedia software and coin-operated products,
Mattel, Inc. has established Mattel Media, Inc., it was announced today by
Jill Barad, president and chief operating officer of Mattel, Inc.
Spearheaded by multimedia industry veteran Doug Glen as its president, Mattel
Media is teaming up with key developers to create a variety of exciting, new
children's products that target girls, boys and pre-schoolers. The new
company has identified the largely untapped girls' software market as a
primary focus. Optimizing its parent company's well-established distribution
channels and global marketing expertise, Mattel Media's initial products will
be available worldwide this fall.
"We are taking the characters and play patterns children love and giving them
exciting new dimensions via multimedia and coin-operated products," said
Barad. "This is a product extension strategy that leverages the time-tested
appeal of our established brands."
"Most of the competition in the entertainment multimedia marketplace is
crowded into the action game area, with the majority of it designed for
adolescent-to-adult males," said Glen. "At Mattel Media, we believe that a
real mass market will emerge for family-oriented software driven by trusted
brands and built on interactive fun which is accessible to younger children,
girls and adults alike."
Mattel Media's Mission
The mission of Mattel Media is to become a worldwide leader in children-
oriented multimedia entertainment, inside and outside the home, by extending
Mattel's toy brands and characters into interactive play.
Mattel Media is taking full advantage of its parent company's global
strengths in marketing and distribution. Mattel Media products will be cross-
promoted with the corresponding toy lines, and they will be merchandised side-
by-side on retail shelves. Brand advertising will be expanded to cover the
full range of products, from traditional toys to computer software.
Extending World-Class Brands To Interactive Multimedia
The BARBIE, FISHER-PRICE, HOT WHEELS, SEE 'N SAY, POLLY POCKET and CABBAGE
PATCH KIDS toy brands currently account for the majority of Mattel's
revenues. Mattel Media is relying heavily on the brand equity of these
properties as it releases a diverse line of consumer software titles for
Macintosh and PC platforms, as well as coin-operated machines, beginning in
fourth quarter 1996.
BARBIE - The world's most famous doll, BARBIE, celebrates her 37th
anniversary this year. The popularity of BARBIE dolls with girls is
unmatched by any other brand, with nearly 99 percent of American girls
between the ages of three and ten owning at least one BARBIE doll. In fact,
the typical American girl between those ages owns an average of eight BARBIE
dolls. BARBIE dolls are currently sold in more than 140 countries around the
world.
FISHER-PRICE - Founded in 1930, FISHER-PRICE is ranked as one of the top
quality brands in the world. The name has become synonymous with knowledge
and expertise of infant and pre-school children. Currently, 98 percent of
parents positively respond to and recognize the FISHER-PRICE name. FISHER-
PRICE and Compaq Computer Corporation recently unveiled the Wonder Tools line
of multimedia products for home PCs.
HOT WHEELS - Since its launch in 1968, the HOT WHEELS brand has produced more
than one billion miniature cars, which is more than Detroit's Big Three auto
makers combined. With nearly 100 percent awareness among boys ages five
through ten, HOT WHEELS is one of the most dominant brands in the boys' toy
market.
SEE 'N SAY - From infants to pre-schoolers, SEE 'N SAY has kept children
"listenin', laughin' and learnin'" for more than 30 years. In 1963, SEE 'N
SAY introduced the original "talking toy" for pre-schoolers, which has become
the best-selling pre-school toy line year after year. Today, with more than
50 million units sold since its introduction, the brand offers an entire line
of toys, providing fun learning with many interactive sight and sound
features.
CABBAGE PATCH KIDS - New to the Mattel family in 1995, the CABBAGE PATCH KIDS
stormed the toy industry more than 13 years ago with what many trend-watchers
say was the biggest craze ever to hit the children's market. Since 1983,
more than 80 million of these lovable "kids" have been embraced by children
worldwide, making it one of the ten best-selling toy brands of all time.
POLLY POCKET - Introduced in 1990, the POLLY POCKET line of small dolls and
miniature play environments is the number two girls' toy brand worldwide --
second only to BARBIE. Approximately 90 percent of girls ages four through
eight currently own four POLLY POCKET items.
Product Development Alliances
Mattel Media's product line is a collaboration of Mattel's world-class toy
designers, marketing researchers, software producers and outside developers.
The company has established alliances with Digital Domain, R/GA Digital
Studios and Media Station, among others, to develop the company's initial
slate of products. Mattel Media will continue to strategically align itself
with other top outside publishers and developers for additional programming.
With BARBIE FASHION DESIGNER as their debut CD-ROM program, Mattel Media and
Digital Domain are teaming up to create a new generation of multimedia
software for girls. Digital Domain, a full-service digital production
studio, has been hailed for its innovative visual effects on such feature
films as "Apollo 13," "Interview With The Vampire" and "True Lies."
Mattel Media and Academy Award-winning special effects wizards R/GA Digital
Studios will introduce BARBIE MAKEOVER MAGIC as their initial CD-ROM product.
R/GA Digital Studios has made cars come to life for Shell Oil, paired Paula
Abdul with Gene Kelly for Diet Coke and brought the 3-D Scorpion and Reptile
to life for "Mortal Kombat: The Movie."
International Distribution
Mattel Media has allied with the leading European entertainment software
republisher/distributor, The Funsoft Group, to bring its line of children's
multimedia software to market in Western Europe. Through its pan-European
network of software developers, publishers, and distributors, Funsoft will
handle translation, localization, consumer support and trade sales for Mattel
Media's diverse software line-up.
Consumer Software Highlights
The following outlines some of the innovative computer products currently in
development by Mattel Media and its allied companies, which target girls,
boys and pre-school markets:
BARBIE FASHION DESIGNER blurs the boundary between toys and software. This
unique multimedia software lets girls use their computers to design and make
imaginative fashions, from trendy sportswear to career clothes to wedding
gowns, for their BARBIE dolls. Once designed, the patterns are printed onto
printer-compatible fabrics, which are included with the CD-ROM along with
everything else needed to color, decorate and assemble the patterns; no
sewing is required. Girls ages five and older will find it easy and fun to
assemble the patterns into outfits which their BARBIE dolls can really wear.
HOT WHEELS CRASH & SMASH OFF-ROAD RACING is an exciting around-the-world
racing and fighting game that pits players against extreme terrain, weather
and other obstacles. The HOT WHEELS F/X RACING MOUSE is a fully functional
computer mouse with working lights and horn and a revving, vibrating "motor"
plus realistic acceleration and braking when used with HOT WHEELS CRASH &
SMASH software.
SEE 'N SAY JUNGLE FRIENDS ABC's, as part of the pre-school software early
learning series, builds letter recognition and vocabulary skills. It allows
parents to record words of encouragement in their actual voices and have them
automatically played back as a child progresses through the skill-building
activities and games.
Based in El Segundo, California, Mattel Media, Inc. was established in early
1995 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. and will release its
initial slate of products in the fall of 1996. The Mattel Media product line
consists of family-oriented home software and coin-operated entertainment,
all based on Mattel's brands, characters and play patterns. The consumer
software division of Mattel Media is headquartered in El Segundo and the coin-
operated division is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
# # #
New Labeling System for CD-ROM's
The Interactive Media Association, a consortium of multimedia producers, has
launched a new campaign to label CD-ROM software to ensure fewer
compatibility problems. A major reason for software returns is because a
purchaser's computer did not meet the system requirements of the software.
The key to this mission is a freeware program which will benchmark your
system's hardware and then provide a printout similar to the new CD-ROM
labeling system for comparison. The program is named CD Match.
The software is available for both Windows and Macintosh computers. It can
be downloaded from Horizons Technology's home page at
http://www.horizons.com/cdmatch. The webmaster advises bookmarking the site
as the software will be updated frequently.
Among the companies who will be using the new labeling format or providing
the CD Match software on new computer installations are Apple Computer,
Corel, Electronic Arts, IBM, Intel and Philips Media. More manufacturers and
software companies will be brought into the system in the future. Product
with the new labeling will be available this spring.
I will be bringing my system requirement listings into compliance with this
new standard as well. And that is the end of the column for another week. I
thank you for reading.
Portable Computers Section
Marty Mankins, Editor
WinSocks and NavCIS 1.76
"What is a WinSock?" "How do I use it?" "Do I need to use it?" These are
questions that we have been hearing ever since the release of NavCIS 1.76.
This file will explain WinSocks as they relate to NavCIS 1.76.
What is a WinSock?
A WinSock is a file that acts as a translator between the Internet's TCP/IP
protocol and Windows. The WinSock works in conjunction with a dialer program
to provide a PPP connection to the Internet. This allows a Windows
application (such as NavCIS 1.76) to communicate with the Internet.
Do I need to use it in NavCIS 1.76?
No. Actually, most users will not want to use a WinSock with NavCIS. If
you want (or need) to connect to CompuServe by going through the Internet, a
WinSock is required. If you don't want (or need) to go through the Internet,
then you will probably not want to use a WinSock in NavCIS. (Please see the
"Disadvantages of WinSocks" section below.)
Why would anybody want (or need) to go through the Internet for a CompuServe
connection? Many users don't have a local CompuServe access number, so they
have to pay long distance charges to connect to CompuServe. Purchasing an
account with an Internet Access Provider (IAP) can help alleviate this
problem. Accounts with an IAP usually cost around $20 dollars each month,
and many of them allow unlimited connect time. Since most IAPs don't charge
by the minute (as do long distance calls), one can save significant amounts
of money. In fact, if you have an account with an IAP for any reason, you
can use it to connect to CompuServe.
Advantages of WinSocks
There are two main advantages of using a WinSock connection in NavCIS.
First, as noted above, if you already have access to the Internet, you can
save on long distance charges if you don't have a local CompuServe access
number.
Second, WinSocks allow one or more applications to communicate on the
Internet at the same time. For example, you can send a file to CompuServe
with NavCIS while using a Web browser to surf the World Wide Web.
Disconnecting NavCIS from CompuServe won't disconnect the Web browser
connection. In other words, two or more applications can use the same
telephone line at the same time.
Disadvantages of WinSocks
There is one major disadvantage of using a WinSock with NavCIS. Speed.
Because a WinSock connection has to travel through the Internet before
reaching CompuServe, slowdowns will occur. Slowdowns of 20 - 30% aren't
uncommon. Therefore, we recommend that you use a regular direct-dial
connection (as opposed to a WinSock connection) to access CompuServe, unless
a WinSock connection is absolutely necessary.
How do I set up NavCIS to use a WinSock?
If you decide that you want to use a WinSock with NavCIS 1.76, you will need
to acquire a winsock.dll and its respective dialer, and configure them
properly so that they work correctly. Two popular WinSock/dialer pairs are
the CompuServe Internet Dialer and Trumpet. The CompuServe Internet Dialer
can be obtained by GOing WINCIM and downloading the WCINST.EXE file. If you
have trouble with a WinSock/dialer pair, please consult their developer for
assistance.
Once you have them working correctly, copy the winsock.dll file to the
\NavHMI directory. Then, start NavCIS 1.76 and select Configuration |
Session Settings from the main menu and make the following changes:
1. In the "Connector:" drop-down list, select WINSOCK. When you make this
selection, the LAN button will become enabled.
2. Click on the LAN button and make sure that the "Host Name:" field says
compuserve.com and the "Connect Timeout:" value is set at 30 seconds or more
(if you have problems connecting, you may want to increase this value - up to
255 seconds). Then, click on the OK button.
3. In the "Network:" drop-down list, select Internet.
4. In the "Dial Type:" drop-down list, select Direct.
5. Clear the phone number from the "Access Phone:" field so that it is
blank. (When using a WINSOCK connection, this phone number won't be used.)
That's all there is to it! The next time you logon with NavCIS 1.76, you
will connect to CompuServe using a WinSock.
Note: If you have problems after following the steps above, please try
gateway.compuserve.com instead of compuserve.com in step #2 above.
Atari Interactive - software/Jaguar/Computer Section
Dana Jacobson, Editor
From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
There are normally two sections in this spot within STReport: Atari
Computing and the Atari Jaguar. This week, there's only one. Why? Because
the headlines this week pertaining to the recent merger of Atari Corporation
with JTS, to JTS Corporation, is the dominant theme that would likely
overshadow any computing articles we were to include.
In my heart, it would be unfair for me not to focus on this latest saga
in Atari's history. The news is what will happen to Atari.. what we knew
was focusing on a game console. All that has changed. Next week, we will
resume with both sections, including some original articles from our friends
in the U.K.
Until next time...
Jaguar Section
Atari, Back To Its Roots?
The End of An Era, OR A New Beginning..
Supercross-3D Review!
Minter Speaks! Rocket Science Games!
From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
If you haven't heard by now, or skipped my very brief remarks above,
Atari Corporation has entered into a new beginning, and expected to mark the
end of an era. There are a number of news articles included in this week's
issue pertaining to Atari's recent merger with JTS, makers of hard drives for
notebook computers. Although Atari sources state that the Jaguar will
continue to be supported; and that Atari Interactive will also continue to
port games over to the PC experience, history, and the facts point to the
conclusion that the Jaguar is being phased out. It will not happen
overnight.
Atari still has approximately 75,000 Jaguars in stock. Look for the
games that are close to completion to appear over the next months, at a
trickle. There are at least two completed games, Fight For Life and Attack
of the Mutant Penguins, that have entered and gone through final production,
sitting in the warehouse. There may be others.
When has Atari ever held a game up when it was completed? Speculation,
maybe. Yes, Atari released Defender 2000 on time and didn't hold back on it.
They had to get that game out.. people were clamoring for it and it's likely
the single-most anticipated title to appear for the Jaguar. With a potential
drop-off of new Jaguar sales as well as current owners ready to abandon their
machines after this merger news, Atari had to get Defender out now. My
opinion. But, Atari hasn't released the others. FFL is slated for April; no
date set yet on Penguins.
I can't say that I'm surprised at this latest move by Atari; it's been
coming for quite some time. I've been a huge fan of their products over the
years. Other than the gap between the 2600 and the ST, I have been a
supporter of all of their products. I've had my battles with the company
line over the years, but I could rarely argue over their products. To me,
this is truly the end of an era.
All that will be left, at least until Atari makes another "move" in the
future, is reminiscing over what was and what could have been. There's not
much news involved with hard drives other than a new model coming out every
six months or so. How many stories do you see about hard drives? <g> Atari,
as we knew it, loved it, hated it, and endured it has moved on.
I really have a lot to say about these recent events, but in order for
me to get my thoughts, facts, and other pertinent information together will
take more time than I have for this week. The "presses" can't wait for me -
deadlines are deadlines and this news just happened; it never happens at a
convenient time for editors to make deadlines!
So, while I want to try and hasten my article to make this week's issue,
I'm going to refrain doing so in order to "do it up right". Meanwhile, we've
included as many of the news articles that have crossed our desk over the
past few days pertaining to the merger. It's interesting, it's sad, it's
true.
We know that many of you have little interest in the story, so we're
also including some of our other usual Jaguar section features. Gaming news
is hot this week.. see the Rocket Science Games articles (and recognize some
very familiar names!). Jeff Minter has been online and "speaks" for the
first time since leaving Atari. Reviews? We've been promising them and we
have Supercross 3D for you this week.
And, there's a little more. We have not included the current or
"upcoming" game lists this week.. it didn't seem appropriate for some reason.
These and other features will be returning in the coming weeks. So, let's
get on with the news and features, it has been a busy week! I also urge you
to grab next week's issue as I'm sure that there will be other opinions of
the JTS merger included other than my own; and how this decision will affect
us all.
Until next time...
Industry News STR NewsFile The Latest Gaming News!
Atari, JTS to MERGE
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Struggling video-game producer Atari
Corp. and privately held disk drive maker JTS Corp. announced Tuesday they
have agreed to merge in a stock-swap deal worth $80 million. The combined
company will be named JTS with Atari shareholders owning 60 percent. Stock
of Atari was up 19 cents to $2.06 a share in active trading on the American
Stock Exchange.
Atari, of Sunnyvale, Calif., helped get the video-game business off the
ground in the early 1980s with such arcade games as Pac Man and Asteroids,
but eventually lost the market to Nintendo Co. and Sega Enterprises Ltd. It
has been focused in recent years on its advanced Jaguar game player against
rival players from Nintendo, Sega, Sony Corp. and 3DO Co. and has sold about
200,000 Jaguars since the machine was launched in 1993.
"This merger puts us in a great position to capitalize on a very experienced
management team and a rapidly growing disk drive market," said Jack Tramiel,
chairman of Atari. JTS said the partnership with Atari would give it the
ability to expand and pursue new opportunities. Tom Mitchell, president and
chief executive officer of JTS, said, "Dataquest has predicted that 115
million disk drive units will be shipped worldwide in 1996, and it is a great
time for us to be participating in this market."
Under the terms of the agreement, the new corporation will operate under the
name of JTS Corp. and the officers of JTS will become the officers of the
merged company. The Atari entertainment business and the JTS disk drive
business will operate as separate divisions of the new merged company.
The board of directors of Atari and JTS have approved a definitive agreement.
The companies said the deal will close in the second quarter. Atari said it
has extended a $25 million loan to JTS that can be converted into JTS
preferred stock if the deal does not go through.
JTS was formed in 1994 by Jugi Tandon, who will remain chairman of the merged
company and is credited with development of storage products. Mitchell was a
cofounder of current disk drive leader Seagate Technology and president and
chief operations officer of both Seagate and Conner Peripherals. JTS is
headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with manufacturing facilities in Madras,
India. JTS employs 1,300 people worldwide.
An unconfirmed report emerged Tuesday that Atari was actively in negotiations
to license its video game assets including hardware, software and various
patents to another company or entities. Some analysts believe Atari's exit of
the video game business is still a possibility should no licensees surface.
Atari's video game assets include the Jaguar console game machine as well as
video game titles as Defender and Tempest and several patents.
CONTACT:
Atari Corporation
Jack Tramiel, 408/745-8830
August Liguori, 408/745-2069
or
JTS Corporation
Tom Mitchell/Virginia Walker, 408/468-1800
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 13, 1996 Atari Corporation (AMEX: ATC) and JTS
Corporation today agreed to merge the two companies. Atari is the pioneer in
multimedia video entertainment and JTS is a manufacturer of computer disk
drives.
"This merger puts us in a great position to capitalize on a very experienced
management team and a rapidly growing disk drive market. JTS is using
innovative technology, particularly in the 3" disk drive market, and we are
excited about its prospects," said Jack Tramiel, chairman of Atari.
"Our partnership gives us the ability to expand our capabilities and pursue
new opportunities," said Tom Mitchell, president and chief executive officer
of JTS. "Dataquest has predicted that 115 million disk drive units will be
shipped worldwide in 1996, and it is a great time for us to be participating
in this market," said Mitchell.
Terms of the Agreement
Under the terms of the agreement, the new corporation will operate under the
name of JTS Corporation and the officers of JTS will become the officers of
the merged company. The Atari entertainment business and the JTS disk drive
business will operate as separate divisions of the new merged company. Atari
has extended a bridge loan to JTS in the amount of $25,000,000.
In the event that the merger is not consummated, the bridge loan will be
convertible into shares of JTS Series A Preferred Stock at the option of
Atari or JTS and subject to certain conditions. As a result of the
transaction, Atari stockholders will hold approximately 60% of the
outstanding shares of the new company following the merger. The transaction
is structured to qualify as a tax-free reorganization and will be accounted
for as a purchase.
The board of directors of Atari and JTS have approved the definitive
agreement. The merger is subject to certain shareholder and regulatory
approvals and other conditions to closing. The parties anticipate the
transaction will close toward the end of the second calendar quarter of 1996.
JTS Management Team
JTS was formed in 1994 by Jugi Tandon, the company's current chairman of the
board. Tandon is well-known in the computer storage industry for his ability
to develop innovative products for the marketplace. Tandon will remain
chairman of the board of the new company.
Tom Mitchell was a co-founder of Seagate Technology and president and chief
operations officer of both Seagate and Conner Peripherals. Mitchell brings
unparalleled industry and operational experience in the high-volume disk
drive market. He is a pioneer in disk drive manufacturing in Singapore,
Thailand, China and India.
About Atari Corporation
For more than twenty years, Atari has provided consumers with high-quality,
value-priced entertainment. Atari markets Jaguar, the only American-made,
advanced 64-bit entertainment system and licenses and markets software in the
multi-platform, multimedia market. Atari is located in Sunnyvale,
California.
About JTS Corporation
Founded in 1994, JTS Corporation develops and manufactures hard disk drives
for the computer industry. JTS has recently introduced its new 3" Nordic
product for the portable computer market. Headquartered in San Jose,
California, with manufacturing facilities in Madras, India, JTS employe 1,300
people worldwide. The above statements regarding the disk drive industry and
JTS' prospects are forward looking statements and involve a number of risks
and uncertainties. Among the factors that would cause actual results to
differ materially are the following: business conditions and growth in the
portable computer industry and in the general economy; competitive factors,
including pricing pressures; availability of components from third parties;
risks associated with manufacturing of products in India or other overseas
jurisdictions and risks associated with JTS' ability to ramp its
manufacturing operations, including cost and yield issues.
CONTACT:
Multimedia Wire, Bethesda
Chris Sherman, 301/493-9290
multimediawireinterramp.com
Atari merger puts company's video game business 'In Play'
BETHESDA, MD., Feb. 13, 1996, In today's news alert to subscribers,
Multimedia Wire reports that Atari is actively in negotiations to license its
video game assets including hardware, software and various patents to another
company or entities.
As previously reported by Multimedia Wire, the interactive entertainment news
service, Atari Corp. will merge with a computer components manufacturer (JTS
Corp.). Multimedia Wire first broke news of the proposed merger in an
exclusive report on Jan. 18, 1996, suggesting at that time the company would
exit the video game business.
Atari's exit of the video game business is still a possibility -- should no
licensees surface. Licensing discussions have been taking place over the
past several months, Multimedia Wire has learned. Any such licensee would
likely be responsible for further software and/or hardware development,
marketing and distribution.
"The news of the merger could very well hold opportunity for Atari
shareholders," said Chris Sherman, editor of Multimedia Wire, "but it leaves
in question the state of Atari's video game hardware and software business,
particularly the Atari Jaguar."
Multimedia Wire has learned through sources close to Atari that Ted Hoff,
former president of Atari's North American operations, was in discussions
with several major Atari shareholders to take the video game portion of the
business private. Those discussions subsequently fell apart. Atari's video
game assets include its Jaguar console game machine as well as such classic
video game titles as Defender and Tempest. Additionally, Atari owns several
patents. "Regardless of the outcome, the landscape of the video game
industry changed significantly today," said Sherman.
From Multimedia Wire 1-18-95
Atari exiting video game business, liquidating gaming assets
Atari Corp. is throwing in the video game towel. Company sources tell MMWIRE
Atari is liquidating all its video game assets, including the Jaguar, Jaguar
CD and Atari Interactive, the company's recently launched PC software
division.
It would appear that the Tramiel family, the largest Atari shareholders (with
approx. 47%), have decided to apply Atari's $50 mill. cash reserves in a
business other than video games -- or any consumer product for that matter.
The sudden move comes on the heels of the recently launched Atari
Interactive. Just last week Atari told MMWIRE it expected to use a portion
of that $50 mill. to invest in video game software companies.
The closed video game division leaves behind an installed based of 150,000
Jaguar game systems and outstanding title development contracts amounting an
estimated $6 to $8 mill. Approx. 20 employees have been laid off, leaving 30
remaining. These too are expected to depart shortly. Layoffs include the
entire Interactive division including management, accounting and legal
personnel.
The Tramiels intend to exit the video game business, liquidating those
assets. MMWIRE believes the Tramiels intend to merge the resulting company
with a computer components manufacturer. While it is not known who Atari
intends to merge with, the combined companies are expected to trade under the
current Atari stock symbol (amex: ATC).
-0-
Founded in June 1994, Bethesda, Md.-based Multimedia Wire is the leading new
service dedicated to interactive entertainment and new media business. An
archive of Multimedia Wire stories, including stories on Atari and other
interactive entertainment companies, can be found on MMWIRE Online on the
Internet at ttp://www.mmwire.com Atari is in active negotiations to license
its video game assets, including hardware, software and various patents to
one or more companies, as it moves to broaden its market scope, reports
Multimedia Wire, an entertainment news service.
Earlier today, Atari announced that it will merge with disk drive maker JTS
Corp in a stock swap deal valued at about $80 million. For the time being,
Atari says it will continue to support its Jaguar video game system through
1996, despite cutthroat competition from Sony Corp.'s Playstation and Sega
Enterprises Ltd.'s Saturn systems.
The Atari entertainment business and the JTS disk drive business will operate
as separate divisions of the merged company. After the merger, Atari
shareholders will own about 60 percent of the outstanding shares of the new
company, which will operate under the name of JTS Corp. The deal is set to
close in the second quarter.
But Atari's exit of the video game business is a possibility should no
licensees surface, notes Multimedia Wire, which reports that licensing
discussions have been taking place over the past several months. It notes
that any licensee would likely be responsible for further software and/or
hardware development, marketing and distribution.
"The news of the merger could very well hold opportunity for Atari
shareholders, but it leaves in question the state of Atari's video game
hardware and software business, particularly the Atari Jaguar," says Chris
Sherman, editor of Multimedia Wire.
Multimedia Wire says sources close to Atari told it that Ted Hoff, former
president of Atari's North American operations, was in discussions with
several major Atari shareholders to take the video game portion of the
business private. Those discussions subsequently fell apart.
Atari's video game assets include its Jaguar console game machine, several
patents and such classic video game titles as Defender and Tempest.
CONTACT:
Don Thomas
Atari Corporation
408/745-2000
Defender(r) 2000(tm) Hits Store Shelves
with
Explosive Fury
SUNNYVALE, CA (February 14) -- Atari announced today that the long awaited 64-
bit Jaguar title, "Defender 2000", is now shipping to better video game
retailers across the country. The title is the newest addition to Atari's
classic collection of renowned hits from the golden age of video games. As
one of the most popular video games of all time, "Defender", helped set the
standard of video game evolution with fast-paced simultaneous action aided by
smart bombs and an integrated real-time radar.
Developed by Jeff Minter, the ingenious mastermind behind "Tempest(r)
2000(tm)", "Defender 2000" is a complete software package for the "Defender"
aficionado. "Defender 2000" updates the game play and visual thrill with a
nineties flare. "Defender Plus" transports the player through worlds of
cosmic rainbows and mystic clouds. "Classic Defender" takes the player right
back to his favorite arcade of yesteryear with impeccable attention to
detail. All three games sizzle with fun and explode with excitement like no
other game of its kind.
"'Defender 2000'not only exploits the raw 64-bit power of the Jaguar, but it
transcends the new standard of mediocrity that gamers often settle for in
software these days," stated Don Thomas, Marketing Director of Atari
Corporation. "'Defender 2000' is considered a system seller because new
gamers will gladly pay the low $99 console price to play 'Defender 2000' once
they've seen what it can do."
"Defender 2000" features upgradeable weapons, human helpers, AI droids and
spectacular Algo-Vision(tm) effects for one or two players. It also features
an intense CD-quality techno-rave soundtrack by the award-winning team from
"Tempest 2000".
The Atari Jaguar is the worlds first 64-bit multimedia gaming system and the
only game system manufactured in the United States. Over 50 powerful game
titles are already available for the Jaguar including hits like "Alien vs.
Predator", "Doom", "Tempest 2000", "NBA Jam Tournament Edition", "Myst",
"Zoop", "Highlander", "Ruiner Pinball", "Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure!" and
Time Warner Interactives Power "Drive Rally" and "Primal Rage".
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 is a trademarks
of Atari Corporation. All other products are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their owning companies. Defender and Defender 2000 are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Williams Electronics Games, Inc.
Defender 2000 is developed and manufactured by Atari Corporation under
license. Alien and Predator are trademarks and copyrights of Twentieth
Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Used under sublicense from
Activision.
CONTACT:
KillerApp Communications
John Foster, 213/938-7600
johnfkappcomm.com
or
Rocket Science Games Inc.
Tom Crosby, 415/442-5000
tcrosbyrocketsci.com
Rocket Science Games brings in seasoned team to ...
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 13, 1996 Rocket Science Games Inc. has laid the
foundation from which it will spring-board into 1996 with the hiring of a
strong and seasoned corporate team: Jim Wickett, chief operating officer;
Keith Schaefer, executive vice president of marketing and sales; and Richard
Booroojian, chief financial officer, it was announced Tuesday by President,
CEO and Co-Founder Steve Blank.
"It is imperative that Rocket Science has a strong corporate foundation
backing the creative teams who are designing our upcoming titles," said
Blank. "Jim, Keith and Richard bring to the table the operational, marketing
and financial expertise that is vital to the success of a company like ours."
As Chief Operating Officer, Wickett, who reports to Blank, oversees the
operation of the Rocket Science studio. He is also responsible for
negotiating all Hollywood licensing, strategic partnering and joint
technology development agreements for the company. He was recently named to
the board of directors of Rocket Science Games. Before joining the Rocket
Science team, Jim Wickett was chief operating officer at Structural Analysis
Technologies, an analysis and design optimization software company. He was
formerly an executive vice president of business development and a board
member at Scanline Communications/The Editel Group and also vice president of
development and a board member at One Pass Inc. He is a member of the
California Bar Association.
Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales Keith Schaefer, who reports
to Blank, is responsible for overseeing marketing and sales for Rocket
Science, as well as the overall Internet business strategy. Previously,
Schaefer was chairman and CEO of OnLive! Technologies, a California based
company that developed networked audio technology to enable multi-participant
communication over the Internet with real-time voice and 3D graphics.
Before that, he led Paramount's Technology Group, where he developed award-
winning interactive software, interactive television, on-line programming and
a venture fund. Schaefer has also held top executive positions at such
companies as Computer Curriculum Corp., NEC and Atari.
As Chief Financial Officer, Booroojian, who reports to Blank, will use his
extensive industry experience to identify potential investments and projects,
in addition to overseeing finance, operations, facilities and human resources
for the company. Before Rocket Science, Booroojian was chief financial
officer at Accolade, a privately held interactive games company that grew
from $7 million to $40 million. Booroojian led Accolade's finance department
and all financing efforts, which included securing millions of dollars in
outside financing.
Rocket Science Games publishes and markets next-generation gaming and
interactive entertainment software for PCS, the Internet and video game
consoles. Rocket Science products and merchandise can be ordered on-line at
http://www.rocketsci.com or by phone: (800) 98 ROCKET.
CONTACT:
KillerApp Communications
John Foster, 213/938-7600
johnfkappcomm.com
or
Rocket Science Games Inc.
Tom Crosby, 415/442-5000
tcrosbyrocketsci.com
Rocket Science Games on new trajectory with...
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 13, 1996 Rocket Science Games Inc.'s President, CEO and
Co-Founder Steve Blank Tuesday announced a major step in Rocket Science's
studio restructuring campaign with the hiring of a new creative team: Bill
Davis, vice president of product development and Will Harvey, vice president
of engineering.
"Rocket Science Games is moving forward with a simple, clear and vital
philosophy, that great games begin with great game play, first and foremost,
supported by leading edge technology," said Blank. "Bill and Will both have
proven track records in the games business, with a high success quotient. In
a relatively young industry, they have a rare level of experience."
Davis, who reports to COO Jim Wickett, leads game design and production for
the Rocket Science studio and is also Rocket Science's spearhead for pursuing
outside licensing relationships and forging creative partnerships for the
company.
Before joining Rocket Science, Davis was vice president of creative
development at Sierra On-Line. Joining Sierra in 1989 as their first art
director, Davis' art and visual arts experience was critical to the
development of such hit titles as Sierra's first CD-ROM game, "Mixed Up
Mother Goose," and the SPA award-winning "King's Quest V." In 1992, six more
of Davis' Sierra On-Line games were nominated for SPA awards.
Prior to his experience in the interactive entertainment industry, Davis
honed his technical/art skills in television and film. During this period he
designed and directed more than 150 animated television commercials, created
numerous illustrations for a variety of television shows, and won an Emmy
Award for his work on the piece "NBC, The First Fifty Years: A Closer Look."
Harvey, who also reports to Wickett, is responsible for managing the
engineering and programming of games and building the technical teams. Prior
to beginning his tenure at Rocket Science, Harvey headed his own company,
Sandcastle, whose titles include "The Immortal." Rocket Science absorbed
Sandcastle in 1995, with Will joining the Rocket Science team. Harvey's game
developing experience began at the age of 15, when he developed "Music
Construction Set" for Electronic Arts, which went on to sell more than
400,000 units.
Rocket Science Games has hired more than 20 experienced game designers,
producers and engineers this past year, among them James "Purple" Hampton,
game designer and producer on "Alien vs. Predator" for Atari Jaguar; Parker
Davis, award-winning designer for Disney's "Jungle Book" for Super NES,
design developer for "RoboCop vs. The Terminator" and "Ectosphere" for
Virgin; Darren Atherton, Electronic Arts' "Bump in the Night" producer for
PlayStation and associate producer and assistant producer for half a dozen
Learning Company titles; and J. Patton, former director of licensees and
contracts at Atari, who helped bring "Brett Hull NHL Hockey," "Breakout
2000," and the "Interactive Rocky Horror Show" out for Jaguar.
Rocket Science Games publishes and markets next-generation gaming and
interactive entertainment software for PCs, the Internet and video game
consoles. Rocket Science products and merchandise can be ordered on-line at
http://www.rocketsci.com or by phone: (800) 98 ROCKET.
Jaguar Game Title STR Review - "Supercross 3D"
-= Available Now =-
"Supercross 3D"
By Steve Watkins
Developed by: Tiertex
Published by: Atari Corp. Price: $59.99
Number of Players: 1
Rating Code: KA (Kids ages 6+ to Adults)
I sometimes have a problem writing the introductory paragraph for a
video game review. This is because, typically, a reviewer is expected to
fill the first block of a review with flowery, cliche filled, PR fluff to
introduce the game. You know, "The roar of the crowd ... buckle up for gut
splitting excitement ... mud in your eyes ... " type fluff. Consider
yourself spared this time around. Let's get to the game!
Rev it Up
When you fire up Supercross 3-D you are greeted with a tower view of a
supercross stadium that rotates 360 degrees as the camera zooms in and out.
An impressive opening to a much anticipated Jaguar racing game.
Unfortunately, it's a misleading introduction. Supercross 3-D is a mixed bag
of good and bad in every area: graphics, sound, control and overall
gameplay. First, let's cover what you'll find if you purchase Supercross 3-
D.
In The Starting Gate
The Main Menu is the where you'll discover that Supercross 3-D has a lot
of nice play options to help you get your racing fix. The following choices
are presented: Practice, Race, Tournament, Load Game and Options. The first
two are self-explanatory; pick a track, a rider, nationality and racing team
and you're off!
Choosing Tournament enters you in a fourteen stadium supercross tour in
which you compete against a pool of 27 other racers. Each stop on the tour
consists of three main rounds: Qualifying Heat A, Semi-finals and the
Finals. To reach the finals in each tour event you must place among the top
three competitors (out of eight total in each race) in the Qualifying race
and then also the Semi-Final. If you don't finish in the top three in either
round, you will be entered in a "last chance" race. The last chance race
takes the two best riders and moves them to the next round. If you fail
during a last chance race, you miss the Finals and a chance to collect
valuable Tour Points. Miss too many finals and you won't have a prayer of
becoming the next Tour Champion.
Options allowed are: turn in-game music on/off, set the competitor skill
level (Rookie, Rad, Pro, Tuff or Ace), turn crash replays on/off, and
customize the control buttons. Having *5* skill level settings was a
pleasant surprise. The manual says very little about ANYTHING in the game,
so I'll give you a general guideline for a few of the skill levels. During a
ROOKIE race, you may crash as many as half-a-dozen times or more and still
win. A PRO setting will allow you a couple of crashes with a chance to still
beat out the other bikers. ACE will definitely push your abilities - and
your sometimes your patience - to the edge.
Moving Pictures: Graphics
The entire game is played from a view that is slightly behind and above
your racer. It is in 3-D, but the lack of true first person perspective,
like a cockpit view in a formula-one racing game, takes away from that 3-D
feel. I was hoping for such a view, in which mud might splatter across your
"face" and obscure your view (with maybe a "wipe goggles" button to clear
it), but no dice. Be that as it may, the view works well and you shouldn't
have any trouble following the action.
The Competitors
The PR sheet that was included with the review cart had a few
interesting points. Among them I noticed, "Choose from five SGI-rendered
riders created with Advanced Kinematics and Wavefront modeling." Sounds
impressive, right? Well if they did employ SGI technology, they must've used
a limited shareware version! (Sarcasm, folks.) Donkey Kong Country (TM
Nintendo) puts these riders to shame. They are a poor excuse for SGI-
rendering technology. First, the "five SGI-rendered riders" and bikes are
IDENTICAL, except for their solid colors. Next, the riders are plain, a bit
goofy looking (those arms!) and totally devoid of personality and character.
There are no racing numbers, team logos, sponsorship patches one the bikes or
riders. You can't even guess whom you're racing against, nor do you know
where they are in the race! Maybe most players don't care about knowing
which racer is which and where they are during a race, but I do.
Tracks
While there are fourteen different tracks to race on, the stadiums are
one in the same. The crowd is the standard, blocky, "mushed together" look
you'll find in most sports games (with crowds) and there are a few signs
along the walls. The best graphic touch in the game is part of the stadium.
Twin giant screen televisions display your racer as s/he cruises around the
track. They add atmosphere to the surroundings, which is sorely needed in
this game, but I think it was best left on the cutting room floor if it
would've helped the frame rate or allowed for more important graphic and
sound additions. Plus, you see a screen for only a brief snip of time and
they only show YOUR RACER. Heck, I know what I'm doing!
The tracks are a mixture of texture maps and polygons. The texture maps
are the same for every track and only the color changes to show a difference
in track surface. They are not seamless and they have no interesting
features, like ruts, holes, puddles, etc.
The red and white outer walls that line each course are your best friend
in this game. They are extremely forgiving. They keep you going in the
right direction, whether you want to or not. It basically takes a head-on
smash to crash over a wall. Jumps do not have guard walls, so be careful of
your angle when you jump or you'll wipe out.
I had a problem with the lack of interior guard walls. Basically all
you see is an empty background color. I expected more red & white walls or
hay bales, but instead there's just NOTHING there. I call this
characteristic of the track a "magic dirt barrier." It looks harmless, but
it isn't. If you catch a corner of a "magic dirt barrier" you will crash.
My guess is the designers intended for inside wall graphics, but this idea
was scrapped to improve an already poor frame rate.
Winning
I will only write this about the graphics you see when you win a race or
a Tournament; they are small, extremely brief (3.5 seconds) and worse looking
than Sega Genesis static pictures. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the
"tricks" your rider can perform during a race. This is another, "Why did
they bother with this?" feature. The "tricks" are very simple and serve no
purpose at all (except perhaps to help you crash more often). I counted
three total! I won't spoil the fun by giving them ALL away. Overall, the
graphics are completely average. The racers and tracks both lack character.
Some tracks are more fun to race than others, but they are still bland and
repetitive.
Smile, You're On Candid Camera: Replay Feature
Replay is another feature which begs the question: Why? It replays
each and every crash and they all look exactly the same. A replay lasts a
whopping 3.5 seconds (I timed dozens of them) and a full second is the delay
between the end of the replay and where the race action picks up again. I
don't understand why they implemented this feature.
It's Still Rock 'N Roll To Me: Music & Sound FX
Musically this game will not break any barriers, like the Madden and
Hockey music did for EA Sports games, but it isn't bad either. It's your
average video game rock 'n roll and it's quickly repetitive. The dilemma you
will have is this: Do you turn the repetitive in-game music off or do you
leave it on to help soothe your nerves from the ultra simplistic sound
effects?
To write about the sound effects, I dug out my combination
dictionary/thesaurus to locate a word meaning "less than minimal." I didn't
find one satisfactory, so the descriptive phrase will suffice. I counted
about a half-a-dozen separate sound effects and that included the two
different race start countdown beeps. The stadiums are always full, yet
there's zero crowd noise - cheering, muttering or booing. There's no
announcer. No wind. There's barely any sound during a race, except the
repetitive motor effects. The worst part is that the engines of the other
racers are constant and they are BACKGROUND noises that are not directly
related to any particular racer. Sit still during a practice race, in which
no other bikes are present, and you'll see what I'm talking about. The
serious lack of sound effects was a big drawback for me. Again, character
and "game feel" is completely lacking. And I wanted to turn off the effects
that were included.
I Can't Drive 55: Controls
Steering is, at best, an imperfect science in Supercross 3-D. The racer
responds well to your controller input, but the bad frame rate makes
controlling the rider an exercise in patience. You will have to fight your
way through a learning curve on this one. Don't fret - it's not nearly as
horrible as the steering in Checkered Flag.
During any given
race (before you "master the control") the sluggish
frame rate will cause you to over-steer, miscalculate turns and misjudge
opponents. Be patient. The toughest part of the control involves
successfully maneuvering through a pack of riders. It's very difficult
because you bounce off other riders like a superball in a geometric
nightmare. Almost all of my crashes occur when I'm pushed off a jump at a
nasty angle because another rider bumped me off in a wild direction and I
couldn't come close to recovering in time. I found the Houston track the
toughest in the game, strictly because of the way other racers bounce you
around. That's not "challenge" that's poor design. Since the manual is so
poor, I will give you a little info about steering. Push down on the control
pad to make your rider stand (gain lift off jumps and "do wheelies"). Push
up to force your bike down quicker.
Learn (quickly) to use these basic moves together to take off and land on
jumps smoother and faster.
Basic rule of thumb: Get out front right away and you will have little
trouble maneuvering the courses.
By The Book: Manual
Jaguar owners will know precisely what I mean when I say it's a typical
Atari manual. For those of you who haven't read one before, I'll tell you
what that means. It's poor. It takes the word "basic" life-and-death
seriously. The two "hints" that were included are either wrong or
meaningless. An example, "Get out in front early so you don't get tripped up
in other riders' [punctuation theirs] falls." I've *never* bene tripped up
by other riders crashes. I race right through the middle of them. Control
of the supercross bike is not covered at all, except for the mention that the
buttons control the brakes, throttle and tricks.
Other than a couple of pages of fluffy text to draw you into the game
and quick descriptions of the bike components and the save feature, there's
not much else. There are four different racing teams and eight different
nationalities in S 3-D, but they are not mentioned in the manual and I have
no idea what purpose they serve, other than to add a bit of character to your
racer.
I wasn't sure where to bring up the point that the track record time
save feature is screwy. I'll do it here, because it's mentioned
(incorrectly) in the manual. The manual says, "Your rider's name ... as well
as your best times ... are retained in the cartridge ..." This is correct,
but not the way you would expect. Here's how the record time save feature
really works:
ú Break a lap record during *practice* and the new record time is saved
along with the OLD RECORD HOLDERS NAME. So you beat the record, but the
previous record holder gets the credit. Neat.
ú Break the lap record during a *race* and the new time is recorded
correctly, but instead of using your name, the program lists your RACING TEAM
name as the new record holder. What the heck good is that?!
There is a bug in the code that places your rider back on the track
after a crash that might very well give or cost you a win, but it happened
only once (so far) to me, so I don't consider it bad. Unless, of course, you
lose the points championship because of it. <G> I describe the Bug and also
talk about some amusing design flaws (I consider them flaws) in the HELP
SHEET if you'd care to read more about the finer points of this game.
A Ticket To Ride: Entertainment
Despite the lack of any above average effort in ANY area of Supercross 3-
D, I can't consider this a bad Jaguar game. To me it is the definition of a
fair to good video game effort. I spent many hours playing and picking
through all the nuances and features (I played the Tournament through twice
on PRO - 206 and 251 pts out of 280 possible, respectively) and played every
track with every possible bike set-up at least once. During this time I did
find I enjoyed racing a few of the tracks with different bike configurations.
However, it wasn't nearly enough to make up for the sluggish play and
completely average (or worse) presentation.
My conclusion is that Supercross 3-D will leave the majority of players
saying, "What if ... the frame rate had been improved ... I had felt any
illusion of high speed ... there weren't ANY extra graphic touches like
weather, different views, track conditions (pot holes, ruts, water puddles)
... numbers or graphic differences to identify opponents ... it would have
been a much improved game."
Plus, this is another ONE PLAYER ONLY game from Atari, the company that
once upon a time hyped a Link Cable capability and VoiceModem technology.
Jaguar gamers are drooling for two player and multi-player games. Heck, even
alternating turns, to compete for best track time, would have been nice.
My gut tells me that Atari and Tiertex rushed this puppy out the door,
possibly in anticipation of the rounds of layoffs that came in the last
couple of months. It was a disjointed production; nice features that were
not well implemented, mixed with sparse sound effects & music, poor to
average graphics, and not enough *basic* gameplay elements to satisfy many
Jaguar owners. It's a real shame. This game could have been so much more,
with not a lot of extra effort. And the bigger shame is that this could very
well be the last new racing release for the Jaguar, unless the Formula-1
racing game does actually make it into and out of production.
Ratings
Scores are from 1 to 10 - 1 being the worst and 10 the best.
Graphics: 5.0
Sound FX/Music: 2/5
Control: 4/6
Manual: 3.0
Entertainment Value: At $60.00 even diehard dirt bike fans would be
better off passing.
GOOD gameplay value, but *try before you buy.*
Reviewer's Overall: 4.5
Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr!
More NEXT GENERATION ONLINE reports.
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Jaguar, Atari Extinct. It's official -- not from Atari
themselves, but from a high placed former employee -- Atari is out of the
game business. As we reported late last week, Atari laid off nearly all its
remaining employees on "Black Friday." Today the company consists of one
receptionist, three customer service representatives, and a single product
developer (who, it is rumored, was only retained because he's been with the
company so long that it simply cheaper to keep him on staff under salary than
pay any severance package). Allegedly, the small team left (including a part
time tester) will attempt to complete and ship some nearly completed titles,
including Defender 2000. And, of course, the Tramiels remain for now. It is
rumored that family is planning to sell off the rights to all Atari's current
products and intellectual properties and begin a new venture designing and
manufacturing some form of removable media drive. So, the company that
started the videogame industry under Nolan Bushnell, and which had, in the
end, only one truly successful consumer product, the 2600, now fades into
videogame history. RIP.
[Editor: "World Exclusive"??]
From CompuServe's Atari Gaming Forum:
Sb: #JTS Drives
m: Laury Scott [ATARI] 75300,2631
To: All
There has been a lot of speculation in here over what sort of drives JTS
makes. Just to clear it up for everyone JTS make normal IDE Hard Disk Drives
(the kind that go into your PC!). They are currently making 3 1/2 inch
drives and will start production shortly with their 3" drive (good for
laptops as it is very thin).
-Laury
The following is an update from Minters web page:
>> Here Is The Gnus (I will get around to locating an appropriately beastly
image RSN)
The Llatest From Llamaland
10 Feb '96
Not much here right this instant, I am just getting a comfortable HTML
editing set-up together on my new P-166. My old 486 died the death the other
day and I haven't extracted his hard drive yet, and all my old tools, and
indeed my local copy of the Zoo, was on there.. I have just had to download
the lot into this here PC. And honest, I will try and keep it a bit more
updated than it has been of late... anyway, basically the Gnus is as follows
- I shall elaborate on each subject when I next upload.
YaK is no longer with Atari..
YaK is working for somebody else..
Defender 2000 is completed...
T2K/PC is completed...
YaK saw Flossie at Christmas!
I shall turn these topics into links tomorrow (maybe later tonight,
depends on whether I get ensnared in online chat or not when I go up for an
ftp session in a minute). More information *is* coming... Back to the top
layer of my Zoo!
YaK is no longer with Atari
This is, lamentably, true. Recent events caused me to have a long, hard
think while I was on holiday after completing D2K, and I decided that the
time had come to move on to other things. That wasn't an easy decision to
make; although I have only been an Atari employee for a year, I have worked
off-and-on with Ataris UK and US for the last five or six years, and indeed
all of Llamasoft's business was built on one or another of the Tramiel
machines.. hell, I cut my teeth on a Commodore Pet.
Anyway, I duly resigned from Atari as soon as I got back from the UK - I
could never do that in the middle of a project, you understand; I reluctantly
gave back the Pentium they had given me (ohh, I was sad to see it go.. until
I got my P166, that is) and left the Bunker for the last time with a somewhat
heavy heart..
My parting with Atari was entirely amicable; and indeed there is still a
chance that I might do some work for them as a game design consultant on some
of the Interactive titles. I am sorry to be giving up the Jaguar after
having spent the last few years getting to know it pretty well..
YaK is working for somebody else
Yes, this is true; however, things are at such an early stage at my new
abode that I am going to keep totally stumm about what we're working on until
such time as we're ready to make it public. Suffice to say that the work is
extremely interesting to an inveterate lover of strange and powerful silicon
like me; I am having a lot of fun and there are a few familiar faces around
when I go in to the orifice. 'Nuff said for now. You will be hearing much
more about this at the proper time. You're gonna like it.
Defender 2000 is completed
Indeed it is. D2K passed final test on the 6 December 1995 - less than
24 hours before I was off to Hawaii for a break. The game should be getting
out there round about now (11 Feb) and I hope you like it. The game's quite
different from T2K; if I had to rate each game I would place T2K still a
weensy bit higher than D2K, but nonetheless the game delivers the goods. The
emphasis in 2K mode is on intensity of gameplay and extremely violent
weaponry - wait until you get your first Lightning Laser activation on a
crowded screen, with your shields on and five Humanoids dangling.. bits of
alien everywhere and you're almost invincible. Very satisfying indeed.
I shall be putting up a D2K information page Real Soon Now - I have to
grab some of the graphics off my archive ZIP disk, as the bulk of my D2K
stuff is either on my 486 (may its poor departed soul rest in peace) or on
the Atari Pentium, which is back at the Bunker.. For now, I shall tell you:
there are three easter eggs in the game, and whilst one is quite
conventional, the other two are *cool*.
T2K/PC is completed
Finally this game is completed (shipped is another matter, but here's
hoping). The game has already had some excellent press in the UK computer
rags, and I hope that it will introduce the joys of Tempest to a new
audience.. there are some changes from the Jaguar version - slight changes on
the poly shading, other effects substituted for the Melt-o-Vision, and some
differences in the Bonus Rounds.. but then again, the music is a lot better
(as it's coming right off the CD), you have the option of full-screen head-to-
head gameplay via PC link-up, and if you have a good PC then the main
gameplay actually runs a bit smoother than on a Jaguar. Naturally I still
prefer the Jag version - of course I do, I bloody wrote it - but this is a
pretty damn good game nonetheless.
YaK saw Flossie at Christmas!
I did, I saw the Prettiest Sheep in the World again for the first time
for *months* when I returned to the UK over the holiday period.. I went up to
Wales in order to be present at my old local boozer, the Fox and Hounds in
Cwmcych, for New Year... stayed around the area for a couple of days, hanging
out with my old mates, drinking, going to Newcastle Emlyn fish and chip shop,
drinking, catching up on all the local gossip, drinking, going to various
pubs and, of course, drinking. I also took the opportunity, being in the UK,
to go out for a succession of most excellent, piping-hot, glowing, nuclear
chicken Vindaloos.
And there, like a lustrous, ovine eye in the middle of this storm of
beer and curry, was Flossie; looking rotund and appealing as ever, bleating
melodiously and waggling her fluffy little tail. Oh, how my heart ached to
see her graceful form, her dainty little hooves, and the lovable angle at
which she inclines her left ear sometimes. Oh, how I longed to dig my fingers
deep into her thick wool and scratch her in the place that I know she liked
best.. *sigh*.. I do miss my Flossie. However, she seems to have settled down
in her new abode, with Alastair the goat; she has plenty of room to mosey
around on and is well looked-after, so she'll be fine... but one day I shall
return at last to Wales, and then I'll bring her home, where she belongs,
with me. *sigh*...
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
On CompuServe
compiled by
Joe Mirando
73637,2262
Hi! Neighbors. If you haven't heard the news about Atari yet that means
that you jumped right to this column without reading the various assorted
editorials and articles from the masthead to this point. To reward you for
your diligence I'll fill you in...
Atari announced this week that they are merging with JTS, a manufacturer
of hard drives. The current plan is to manufacture hard drives, keep trying
to get Atari Interactive off the ground, and lease or sell the Jaguar portion
of the business. My info says that, aside from the obvious merger benefits,
this is another way for particular folks to try to dodge the S.E.C. bullet
that's been homing in on them for a while now. Keep an eye peeled for
further developments. And remember that we mentioned it first.
But for right now, let's take a look at what's going on with the folks
on CompuServe.
From the Atari Computing Forums
Jody Golick asks:
"Is Atari fax software compatible with Atari SLM 804 laser printer? Can a
fax be sent directly to the Atari without resorting to a phone line? That
is, from a PC with a fax modem directly to the ST?"
My pal, Brian Gockley, tells Jody:
"Yes, the software I use, STraight FAX!, prints to the printer, or can save
to a disk file. I'm not sure what you mean... All faxs use a phone line?"
Jody explains:
"I mean putting 2 computers next to each other and sending a fax directly
from one to the other. Why, you ask? It looks like the only way to use the
SLM 804 to print from a PC."
Brian replies:
"Wow, I don't know! You would lose the laser quality though, faxs are
160DPI."
Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Jody:
"Yes, STraight FAX 2.5x is compatible with SLM 804 laser printer. I am sure
it can be done with right hardware. I believe there is Telephone hardware
that can simulate phone lines ... I believe the author of Straight Fax used
it as some of the Atari shows."
Rob Krul asks for help:
"I've tried to send a picture file (.pi1) to a friend a mine but every time
he retreaves it from the net it won't work any more. The thing it does is
just write him a mail and attach a file (.pi1) to it, but it won't work.
What I'm I doing wrong ? Or can it be done ? How can it be done ?"
Sysop Jim Ness tells Rob:
"PIC files are "binary" files, which cannot be sent over the internet without
first being converted to pseudo text files (internet is a 7-bit text
environment). There are several converters available. I believe we have one
or two in our Telecom library here. Your friend will need to decode the
file back to binary on the other side."
Alfredo Alvarado asks:
"Is it possible to get a SC1224 monitor to go into hi res mode? I was reading
some specs on videomodes and there in they mention the SC1224 capable of
going into hi res mode. I have a program that need the hi res mode for proper
display."
My friend Myles Cohen, as ready to help a fellow Atarian as ever, tells
Alfredo:
"Is it possible to get a SC1224 monitor to go into hi res mode???
Absolutely...
There are several mono-emulator programs out there...the very best of which
is SEBRA 1.33..."
Sysop Jim Ness adds some technical stuff:
"You can't actually get the color monitor to display at high rez, but as
Myles says, you can run software that emulates mono mode on your color
monitor. It shows up as mono, with every other vertical scan line missing
(mono mode is 640x400 lines, and color is 640x200). Net result is a screen
that's not as sharp as the mono, but which is still very
legible."
Beth Jane Freeman posts:
"Have you heard that Atari is merging with a manufacturer of disks drives?
Yes, that's right! If you want to read about it, there's an article in the
February 14th, 1996 edition of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. It's a fairly short
and straight forward article. It's not from the wire services, so I doubt
you'll see the same information in other large Newspapers (except possibly
ones that cover the San Francisco Bay Area (where Atari Corp is located)."
(Hi!! Beth Jane!! .. Ralph)
Well folks, there's lots more information, but with all the talk about this
merger thing, I'll leave room for all the info coming from "official"
channels. So tune in again next week, same time, same station, and be ready
to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
"We learned our lessons well..
And we shall not make the same mistakes again."
Sam Tramiel at . at BCS, The Atari Falcon Debut.
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