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Silicon Times Report Issue 1216
Silicon Times Report
The Original Independent OnLine Magazine"
(Since 1987)
April 19, 1996 No. 1216
Silicon Times Report International OnLine Magazine
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STR Electronic Publishing Inc.
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R.F. Mariano, Editor
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04/19/96 STR 1216 The Original Independent OnLine Magazine!
- CPU Industry Report - Amiga Sold Again - WD EIDE 2.5gb
- Prodigy Lays Off 115 - CDA Trial Notes - Thumbs + Review
- Kid's Corner - Teen Nails Cracker - WinZip News
- ZOOP Review - People Talking - Primal Rage Review
Apple loses $740 million
Hayes out of Chapter 11
McAfee wants Cheyenne
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Editors
Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35
Results: 4/13/96: 3 of 6 numbers with 3 matches in 2 plays
From the Editor's Desk...
Gotta make it short this week.. Big doing's in Jacksonville this
weekend. A close friend of the family is getting married. I can practically
call him a "son" too. He was at our house more than his own for what seems
like forever. In any case, "another one bites the dust". <g>
Comdex is coming up fast. The NEW EIDE SUPER Drives (2.5gb) are
starting to hit the marketplace. (They are fast and present a serious threat
to the low to mid-sized scsi hard drive marketplace. When one considers the
cost of a 3-10gb scsi hard disk and a fast host adapter, the 2.5gb eide
drives look great. Especially with the newer, PCI motherboards with high
speed, built-in, eide pci controllers that'll handle four hard drives with
ease. Imagine 10 gigabytes of high speed storage for around one thousand
dollars. That is a definite bargain. Western Digital leads the way with the
new high quality moderately priced Caviar performers. We have a tear sheet
in this week's issue telling you about them and a very special rebate too.
This Spring's Comdex is going to be featuring software updates (as
always) and a number of innovative hardware creations. Stay tuned as we try.
to bring you the very latest info about the new hardware. Look for some
very special "motherboards" in the PnP family that do the job. Ram prices
are dropping as are Pentiums. The newer, high performance Pentium Pro's are
still up there price wise. Then again, so is the performance offered by
them.
Ralph...
Of Special Note:
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Ralph F. Mariano, Publisher - Editor
Dana P. Jacobson, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
PC Section Mac Section Atari Section
R.F. Mariano J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson
Portable Computers & Entertainment Kid's Computing Corner
Marty Mankins Frank Sereno
STReport Staff Editors
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Doyle Helms John Duckworth Jeff Coe
Steve Keipe Guillaume Brasseur Melanie Bell
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Ed Westhusing Glenwood Drake Vernon W.Smith
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STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Witness Describes Net Smut
A government witness has told a federal court that despite special software
designed to block it, some adult-oriented sites on the Internet still are
accessible to children. However, computer researchers testified the software
to prevent children from finding cybersmut was getting better all the time.
Covering the second round of testimony in the federal appeals court hearing
in Philadelphia on suits challenging the constitutionality of the new
Communications Decency Act, reporter George Lerner of the Reuter News Service
heard "sharp divisions over how to shield children" from Net smut.
Albert Vezza, associate director of the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science,
told the judges a standardized rating system soon will be in place to enable
parents to gauge whether their children should have access to certain types
of materials. He said the system, modeled on the ratings applied by the
motion picture industry, also could be applied to international Internet
sites, which are not affected by the CDA, adding, "With a rating system, the
United States could rate foreign cites according to U.S. values and foreign
countries could rate U.S. cites according to their own values."
However, Howard Schmidt, supervisory special agent at the Air Force Office of
Special Investigations, said minors with even a beginner's knowledge of the
Internet could light upon sexually explicit sites, sometimes through
innocuous searches and that blocking software "could stand some
improvement." As reported earlier, critics say government restrictions on
the Internet poses serious first amendment concerns and could preclude the
more effective private initiatives.
Lerner reports the three-judge panel "seemed responsive" to the two
challenges brought separately by the American Civil Liberties Union and the
American Library Association. For instance, he quoted Judge Stuart Dalzell as
saying Vezza, "There are enormously powerful market forces that are driving
this (rating process), aren't there?" Testimony continues Monday with a
decision expected by June. As noted, however the judges rule, the case was
likely to eventually be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Clinton Worries About Internet
President Clinton acknowledges he worries the Internet could aid
international terrorism if it makes it too easy for sinister forces to learn
how to make bombs or produce nerve gas. Responding to a question today at a
news conference in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto,
Clinton said, "Are people learning, for example, from the Internet how to
make the same sort of trouble in the United States that was made in Japan
with sarin gas? Isn't it a concern that anybody, anywhere in the world, can
pull down off the Internet the information about how to build a bomb like the
bomb
that blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City?"
Reporting for the Reuter News Service, writer Olivier Fabre quotes Clinton as
saying Japan and the United States, both victims of home-grown terrorism
last year, should learn from each other about how to deal with the issue.
Clinton added in the next 20 years "every great nation will have to face"
the question of terrorist access to the Internet. Fabre also notes the
Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that campaigns for civil rights, said in
a recent report that in the U.S. anti-government groups are linked "like no
rebel force has ever been" by the Internet and fax.
Meanwhile, says Reuters, a recent magazine report says the Japanese doomsday
cult Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth Sect) was able to download from the
Internet a formula for synthesizing green-mamba snake venom. Cult leader
Shoko Asahara goes on trial next week charged with the murder of 25 people,
including 11 who died in a sarin nerve gas attack
on the Tokyo subway on March 20, 1995.
Teen Tracks Washington Cracker
An Evanston, Illinois, teen-ager is being credited with tracking down a
computer intruder blamed for costing the Seattle, Washington, library some
$250,000 when he twice shut down the institution's network. Nineteen-year-
old Tom Ptacek was called in on the case by his uncle, King County,
Washington, library director Bill Ptacek, after the sabotage of the Seattle
library's computer system in January and February. It was a natural
assignment for the young man, since he helped develop the system two years
earlier.
According to The Associated Press, Ptacek, working from a computer in
Chicago, retraced the intruder's movement into the library system. Says AP,
"He tracked the hacker's steps into the library system and discerned that the
culprit gained access through the Internet connection open to all users. Tom
then scanned the system's computer files until he found the hacker's
computer nickname. He said he found the teen's handle on an Internet 'chat'
system and deciphered the boy's Internet address about 10 minutes later.
Police took over the case from there. During the computer network's outages,
the staff of the library boasting the country's second largest collection had
to scour shelves for books and check them out by hand. Hundreds of patrons
were unable to dial into the library's system from their home computers to
gain Internet access.
The wire service says the 17-year-old alleged intruder is expected to be
charged with malicious mischief and computer trespassing, said Dan Donohoe
of the King County prosecutor's office. Ptacek, who works for a Chicago
company that sells Internet access to corporations, says the alleged vandal
had established his own file in the system to store the library software he
was reportedly pirating and posting onto electronic bulletin boards.
He added, "I know a lot of people who break into computers for the technical
challenge but don't remove any files. This kid is different because he has
no computer ethics. He took the system down on purpose and he cost the
library a lot of time and money." Says AP, "Ptacek is not getting any
reward for his role in tracking down the hacker because, he said, he did it
for his family. Instead, he's counting the experience as a milestone in his
effort to learn everything there is to learn about computers."
Judge Weighs Code as Free Speech
Declining to dismiss a challenge to the government's ban on exporting
formulas that turn computer language into secret codes, a federal judge has
ruled computer codes are protected under laws guarding freedom of speech. As
reported, the federal government generally argues encryption technology is
so sensitive that it is on the U.S. Munitions List and cannot be sent abroad
-- even via the worldwide Internet -- without a State Department arms export
license.
However, in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel has ruled
mathematician Daniel Bernstein can try to prove the ban is too broad and
that it violates his right to communicate with other scientists and
computerists. According to Associated Press writer Bob Egelko, Patel ruled
the coded language in which computers and their users communicate is
protected by freedom of expression, just like use of a foreign language,
mathematical equations or music.
Judge Patel says the government's export regulations for cryptography "appear
to relate to the suppression of free expression and may reach farther than
is justifiable." Bernstein, who now is at the University of Chicago,
developed his encryption program, called Snuffle, and a decryption program
(Unsnuffle) while a graduate student at the University of California at
Berkeley. Snuffle converts a readable message into a code that can be read
only by using Unsnuffle.
As reported, in another celebrated recent case a federal prosecutor decided
in January not to prosecute Philip Zimmermann, the author of the encryption
program PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), which is widely used on the Internet. And
in the only other reported federal ruling on the subject, a federal judge in
Washington, D.C., recently upheld the export ban.
Lawyer David Banisar with the Electronic Privacy Information Center in
Washington told Egelko, "It's important to recognize that computerized
information has the same kind of legal protection that printed information
has." Cindy Cohn, Bernstein's lawyer, adds free-speech protections require
the government to detail and justify its regulations and make them subject
to court challenges.
On the other hand, Justice Department lawyer Anthony Coppolino, in arguments
before Patel last October, said a code whose sole function was to create
secrecy was not entitled to constitutional protection, adding, "We just don't
think that a functioning commodity that can maintain confidentiality is
speech."
The case started in 1993, when the State Department decided Bernstein's
programs and an academic paper he wrote were military articles that required
licenses to communicate abroad. AP notes Bernstein sued after the department
withdrew that designation for the academic paper in 1995 but left it in
place for the programs.
Apple loses $740 million
CUPERTINO, Calif., April 17 (UPI) -- Struggling personal computer producer
Apple Computer Inc. reported Wednesday it lost $740 million in its second
quarter ended March 29, compared with earnings of $73 million in the
1995period and far wider than its previous forecast of a $700 million loss.
Apple, which released the results after the stock market closed, reported
sales fell 18 percent to $2.19 billion and that it plans to eliminate 2,800
jobs over the next 12 months in addition to the 1,300 it has already cut.
In another sign of the PC giant's deteriorating condition, Apple disclosed
that its cash on hand has fallen by more than a third during the past six
months. It announced Wednesday it will refinance some of its loans, simplify
its product line and sell non-core assets. The revenue decline and layoffs
had been widely expected with industry trackers waiting for Apple to
disclose specifics as part of the earnings report.
Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., ousted Michael Spindler two months ago as chief
executive officer and replaced him with Gilbert Amelio, who had headed
National Semiconductor. Amelio disclosed two weeks ago Apple would lose $700
million, with most of the loss used to cover inventory writedowns and the
costs of job cuts. The report confirms speculation by analysts that Apple's
problems are far worse than previously thought. The decline in revenues
represents a significant erosion in demand for Macintosh products.
Apple said Wednesday the inventory write-downs amounted to $388 million after
tax and the restructuring charges for job cuts were $130 million after tax.
Apple also disclosed cash at the end of the quarter totaled $592 million, a
decline of $360 million since Sept. 30. Accounts receivable shrank to $1.37
billion from $1.93 billion during the same period. The company, which was
the focus of takeover rumors before Spindler was ousted, said it will move to
strengthen its cash position by renewing some short-term loans and by
pursuing additional financing alternatives.
It did not disclose the specifics of those alternatives but the announcement
is certain to spark rumors that Apple will seek a buyout or investment by a
another player in the industry. Workstation leader Sun Microsystems was
viewed as the most likely suitor earlier this year with widely reported
talks falling apart over the price of such a deal. Amelio, who is Apple's
chairman and chief executive officer, said, "In my first two months at Apple,
I've focused on understanding the income and balance sheet dynamics of the
company as well as the strategic actions we must take to return quickly to
sustainable profitability."
"With regard to ongoing financial results, it is clear that we need to reduce
fixed costs, simplify our product lines and streamline our business
systems," he said. "Over the next 12 months, Apple will implement actions in
these areas including increased outsourcing of various operational
functions, liquidation of certain assets, and reductions in total headcount
of around 2,800 over the next 12 months." Amelio said Apple's strategic
direction will be designed to focus on the ongoing convergence of computers
and communications.
"We will focus the energies of the company on migrating to an Internet-based
computing architecture while retaining the characteristic ease-of-use for
which the company is so well known," he said. "Despite the obvious
disappointment in the company's current financial performance, I want to
reaffirm my strong belief that the foundations of our business are sound,"
he said, citing strong market positions in Internet software, its flagship
Macintosh line, its Newton hand-held computers and its loyal customer base.
Apple Posts $740 Million Loss
Apple Computer Inc. is more than doubling the size of previously indicated
layoffs as it posts a record $740 million loss in the fiscal second quarter.
"In the face of a worsening cash situation," writes reporter Jim Carlton in
The Wall Street Journal this morning, Apple's loss for the period ended
March 29 was $40 million wider than officials had predicted in a warning to
analysts last month.
The Journal says:
ú The $5.99-a-share loss compares with year-earlier profit of $73 million,
or 59 cents a share.
ú Revenue fell 18 percent to $2.19 billion from $2.65 billion a year ago.
ú Gross profit margins dropped to 9 percent from 15 percent in the quarter
ended in December. The computer maker's profit margins had hovered at 50
percent about five years ago.
Nonetheless, the Journal found analysts unalarmed by the wider-than-expected
loss because they had expected new CEO Gilbert F. Amelio "to essentially
write off this quarter in anticipation of improvements." The paper says more
than half of the quarterly loss -- $388 million -- went toward write-down of
inventory. Under former CEO Michael Spindler, who was ousted by the board in
February, "the company grossly overstocked low-end Macintosh Performas during
the Christmas season," Carlton commented. "With consumers then wanting higher-
range computers, the Performas languished on store shelves."
The Journal notes another $130 million of the loss was for a previously
announced restructuring, "which the company said now is being widened to
layoffs of 2,800 people, or 20 percent of the work force, from an initial
round of 1,300, or 9 percent announced in January." The staff reductions are
to take place over the next year, "while the company undertakes other
expense-trimming actions such as outsourcing various operational functions to
other manufacturers and liquidating certain assets," Carlton reports.
Spindler Accepts Apple Blame
Former Apple Computer Inc. CEO Michael Spindler says he accepts full
responsibility for troubles that prompted the board of directors to fire
him. Speaking with The San Francisco Chronicle, Spindler said the board "did
what it had to do" in removing him last February and that he's not dwelling
on what occurred. "I'm more interested in looking at the big picture than
coming off as some whiner."
The 54-year-old Spindler, named Apple CEO in 1993, is credited for guiding
the company's transformation of its entire product line. However, as The
Associated Press notes, "he also has been given - and accepts -- the blame
for the problems that sank Apple's market share, profits and stock price.
Apple, under Spindler, didn't forecast demand accurately and failed to sign
up more than a few small companies to 'clone' the Macintosh."
At the same time, Apple was squeezed between high development costs and the
need to slash prices to compete with personal computers based on Intel Corp.
chips and Microsoft Corp. software, the wire service comments. The Chronicle
says Spindler was neither enthusiastic nor critical when asked about Amelio,
saying only, "Will he do a good job? I don't know." But he was confident
that Apple will endure. He pointed to past financial crises, times when
critics also questioned the company's future. "It will survive. It always
has," Spindler said.
Prodigy Lays Off 115 Employees
Some 115 of Prodigy Services Co.'s 680 employees have been laid off as, says
a spokesman, the firm changes its online service to be more directly
associated with the Internet. The Associated Press quotes spokesman Barry
Kluger as saying the employees were notified of the dismissals last week.
Kluger added, "These jobs were eliminated because some were duplicative.
Some of the skills really became unnecessary with the direction Prodigy seems
to be moving from simply a proprietary online service to an Internet
service."
As reported earlier, Prodigy managers have hired an investment banking firm
to try to launch a management buyout and possibly take the company public.
Prodigy is a joint venture of Sears and IBM, but Sears announced in February
it wants to sell its stake.
Hayes Emerges From Chapter 11
Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc. says it has emerged from Chapter 11, having
paid all creditors in full plus interest. To fund its court-approved
reorganization plan, the modem maker says it has closed several equity
investment transactions totaling $35 million for a 49 percent stake in the
firm. The company also has finalized a $70 million line of credit with the
CIT Group/Credit Finance, on which it will initially draw $14 million.
"This is a great day for our company, our customers, our suppliers, and our
employees. We kept our word and did what we had to do to pay our creditors
in full," says Dennis C. Hayes, the firm's chairman. "We have closed the book
on Chapter 11 and have our sights focused straight ahead. Our plan is to
launch an initial public offering within two years." Hayes has rebuilt its
core management team in recent months with the addition of a new chief
financial officer, James A. Jones, a new chief technical officer, Alan
Clark, and a new vice president of sales, Raymond Malcoun.
Hayes says it's continuing its efforts to recruit a new vice president of
marketing. Hayes also says it will soon announce the appointment of its new
president and CEO, who is expected to join the company on May 1. Dennis
Hayes, Hayes' founder, will continue to serve as chairman. Hayes
originally filed for Chapter 11 protection on Nov. 15, 1994.
Apple Exec to Head AT&T Labs
AT&T Corp. has tapped Apple Computer Inc. executive David C. Nagel to become
the first president of AT&T Labs. Nagel, 50, was most recently a senior vice
president at Apple, leading the computer maker's worldwide research and
development group. He was also a member of Apple's six-member executive
management team. Nagel will be responsible for AT&T's worldwide research,
applications development, as well as technical collaboration with other
companies and institutions. He will join the firm's global operations
council and advise Chairman Robert E. Allen and the company's executive
policy committee.
AT&T Labs was formed around a core of Bell Laboratories scientists and
engineers who performed research and development for the company's
communications services businesses prior to AT&T's restructuring announced
last September. Nagel holds undergraduate and graduate engineering degrees
from UCLA and a Ph.D. in perception and mathematical psychology, also from
UCLA. Prior to joining Apple in 1988, he was chief of human factors research
at NASA's Ames Research Center.
AT&T Labs currently has 1,900 staff members in New Jersey, California,
Washington and Massachusetts. Its expertise spans a wide range of
technologies, including mathematics, computer science, software development,
wireless services, and network design and management. "Dr. Nagel is a world-
class talent in the development of easy to use, 'people- centered'
technologies," says Allen. "By training and experience, he is the ideal
leader for the people of AT&T Labs, who we're counting on for innovations
that will give our customers easy access to the people and information they
want to reach -- anytime, anywhere."
"Bob Allen has given me a unique opportunity," says Nagel. "He asked me to
help create a new future for AT&T customers, and he gave me the resources
and the team to do it. I'm delighted to be joining AT&T at this point in its
history."
CompuServe, SoftKey Set Deal
CompuServe Inc. says it has entered into an exclusive marketing agreement
with consumer software publisher SoftKey International Inc. to integrate
CompuServe software products into SoftKey's Windows-based CDs. The deal
calls for SoftKey to supply interface software for the CompuServe
Information Service, the new WOW! home-oriented online service, the World's
Away animated virtual community and the SPRYNET Internet service.
CompuServe says SoftKey will integrate the software into at least 15 million
CD products each year for the next two years. The CompuServe products will
be installed on the desktop (the first screen a user sees) when the CD is
loaded, allowing users to initialize and launch a CompuServe product by
clicking on an icon that's permanently located on
the desktop.
"CompuServe is pleased to be associated with SoftKey and its extensive list
of quality consumer software," says Bob Massey, CompuServe's president and
CEO. "This is an excellent way to introduce potential members to our wide
variety of services and show them the choices that are available through
CompuServe, whether they are interested in Internet- only capabilities or
want a family-oriented online environment."
Kevin O'Leary, SoftKey's president, adds, "SoftKey is one of the largest
publishers of CD-ROM units in the industry, so its new online partnership
with CompuServe is a tremendous opportunity to exploit a significant new
distribution channel. SoftKey has always pioneered new marketing efforts in
consumer software and this agreement is a logical and complimentary
extension to its distribution strategy."
Ziff-Davis Targets TV
Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. says it has created ZDTV, a new independent unit
that will produce television and Internet video programs. ZDTV's first
project will be a daily, hour-long TV program devoted to covering the digital
revolution. The new show is being developed and co-produced by MSNBC, the
joint cable venture between Microsoft Corp. and NBC that's set to make its
debut later this year.
ZDTV will be based in San Francisco and will report to Jeff Ballowe, Ziff-
Davis' president of interactive media and development. Ziff says the
program will cover topics ranging from the latest technology news to consumer
advice. The program will be featured on a dedicated area on MSNBC's World
Wide Web site. Viewers will be able to go to the site for more information
on show topics and to comment on what they have seen. There will also be
behind-the-scenes information, scripts, transcripts andadditional video.
"The information revolution is entering its second stage," says Eric Hippeau,
chairman and CEO of Ziff-Davis "The first stage was to get a computer on
every desk, and into every home. The second stage is to connect those
computers, and the people that use them, together. The technology that is
uniting the world is the Internet and, as more and more people join the net,
a new medium is being created."
Time Warner Plans Cable Modems
Look for Time Warner Inc. this summer to begin commercial roll-out of online
connections via cable modems, perhaps testing first in Ohio. A senior Time
Warner executive, who spoke on a promise of anonymity, told the Reuter News
Service the company likely will charge $25 to $40 a month and will supply
customers with a modem capable of delivering over cable lines Internet
graphics, sounds and text.
Reuters says Time Warner probably will first offer the service to its
customers in the Akron-Canton, Ohio, area and in San Diego, California,
later this year. The wire service notes Time Warner has for about six months
offered an experimental cable modem service in Elmira, New York.
Mac CD-Recordable Kit Offered
CMS Enhancements Inc. is offering a combination hardware-software package
that allows Macintosh users to create their own CD-ROMs. The $1,095 CDMAker
package includes an external CD- Recordable drive, software, a cable, a blank
disc and an installation guide. The system can be used for copying files,
folders, images and backing up hard disks,
says the Anaheim, California-based firm.
"CDMAker for Macintosh is perfect for a range of applications, most notably
graphic design and desktop publishing or any time you need to digitize
images," says Ken Burke, CMS's senior vice president and general manager.
CDMAker features a 300K per second data transfer rate and a 2X recording
speed. The system is capable of recording and playing audio CDs and is
compatible with Red, Yellow, Green and Orange Book standards. CDMAker also
supports single- session, multi-session and track-at-once writing methods,
allowing users to record an entire CD at once, in severalrecording sessions
or on a track-by-track basis.
Matsushita Offers Memory Card
A new personal computer memory card with maximum storage capacity of 40MB has
been unveiled by Japan's Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Reporting from
Osaka, the Jiji Japanese press services says the card is compatible with the
current standard memory card for digital cameras. Company officials told the
wire service the firm has completed a prototype and plans to put the new
product on the market by the end of the year.
"The company's patented technology for stacking four large-scale integrated
circuits realized the big capacity," says JiJi, "which compares with the 2-
megabyte solid state floppy disk card developed by Toshiba Corp. and the 4-
megabyte miniature card of a 13-company consortium led by Fujitsu Ltd. and
Intel Corp. of the United States."
Toshiba Offers Smallest Notebook
Toshiba Corp. has launched in Japan what it says is the world's lightest,
smallest mini-notebook PC running Microsoft Corp.'s software Windows 95.
Reporting from Tokyo, the Reuter News Service says the Libretto 20 measures
210 mm in length and 115 mm in width and weighs 850 grams. The unit is pre-
installed with business application software such as Microsoft Works and
Lotus Organizer R.1J and hit the Japanese market yesterday. The sales
schedule in overseas markets has not been decided.
Reuters says the system has a 6.1-inch thin-film-transistor color liquid
crystal display, a lithium-ion secondary battery and 2.5-inch hard disk
drive with a 270MB capacity that will last at least two hours from a single
charge. Toshiba says it aims for 150,000 Libretto 20 sales in the year to
end March 1997.
McAfee Plans Cheyenne Takeover
Anti-virus software specialist McAfee says it plans a hostile takeover of
storage management software publisher Cheyenne Software in a stock swap deal
valued at approximately $1 billion. McAfee says the merger would create the
world's fifth largest software publisher, with combined revenues of
approximately $340 million. Under the terms of McAfee's proposed
acquisition, Cheyenne shareholders would receive McAfee common stock worth
approximately $27.50 for each share of Cheyenne stock.
McAfee says it has been conducting conversations since November with Cheyenne
management regarding its interest in acquiring the Roslyn Heights, New York-
based firm. "This combination is in the best interest of both companies'
shareholders and customers," says Bill Larson, McAfee's chairman, president
and CEO. "We are surprised by Cheyenne management's sudden turnabout and
public rejection of our previously friendly merger discussions. We are
especiallydisappointed with Cheyenne management's public disclosure of our
private conversations." A statement issued by McAfee notes that both
companies sell to a common target base of Fortune 1000 network administrators
and both are leaders in their respective markets.
Cyber Classroom Hits the Road
CyberEd, a cyberspace classroom on 18 wheels, has hit the road. Financed
with $1 million in contributions from MCI Communications Corp., the Milken
Family Foundation, Microsoft Corp., Corning Inc., DSC Communications Corp.
and the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, CyberEd aims to provide hands-on
Internet and online communications training to local educators and community
leaders across the country.
CyberEd and other White House-sponsored programs will provide free hardware,
connectivity, training and Internet access to more than 400 schools in 15
designated Empowerment Zones, communities with a demonstrated need for
economic revitalization efforts. Tech Corps, a non-profit organization that
takes volunteers into schools to introduce new technologies, will help train
principals, teachers and parents.
"CyberEd was created to support the White House initiative to foster
meaningful partnerships between private sector businesses and their
communities," says Tech Corps Executive Director Karen Smith. "We hope the
CyberEd program will mobilize community members to seek out new ways to
improve their educational resources." The truck is equipped with PCs,
Internet connectivity, CD-ROMs, presentation facilities, printing, faxing and
videoconferencing.
Following its dedication at the White House yesterday, CyberEd departed
Washington and headed for the first stop, Detroit on April 24. During the
next five months, CyberEd also will travel to Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston,
Cleveland, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, the Kentucky Highlands, Los
Angeles, the Mid-Delta region of Mississippi, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia-
Camden and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
Western Digital 2.1 & 2.5 gb STR Spotlight
Caviar 2.1 and 2.5 GB
EIDE Hard Drives
The Quality and Capacity Choice from the Company that Makes the World's Most
Recommended Hard Drives
Just when a gigabyte seemed like a lot of storage, Western Digital breaks the
2 GB barrier for storage capacity with the introduction of the AC32100 (2.1
GB) and AC32500 (2.5 GB). The exploding need for mass storage and retrieval
is insatiable. To meet the ever-increasing demand for data storage, drive
capacity needs to be measured in gigabytes rather than megabytes.
BENEFITS
ú High Capacity and Superior Performance
The AC32100 and AC32500 break the 2 GB barrier and deliver the performance
and reliability you've come to expect. These drives offer a high data
transfer rate, low seek times, a 5200 RPM spindle speed and cache buffering.
They are the perfect solution for today's storage-intensive applications -
from operating system applications such as Windows 95, Windows NT and OS/2
Warp to consumer and business applications. Increased storage capacity is
also essential for multimedia, gaming, and information retrieval from on-line
sources such as the Internet, America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy, and
Microsoft Network.
ú Exceptional Quality and Reliability
Western Digital offers a 3-year warranty and a Mean Time Between Failures
(MTBF) of 300,000 hours of trouble-free operation.
ú 100% Guaranteed Compatibility
The AC32100 and AC32500 have been thoroughly tested in Western Digital's
exclusive Functional Integrity Testing Lab (FIT Lab). The FIT Lab's extensive
test base of computer systems, operating systems and storage devices ensures
the highest standards of reliability, quality and compatibility. Choose the
hard drive that's guaranteed.
ú Comprehensive Customer Support
Our technical support staff is available 6 days a week to answer questions
and assist in making buying decisions. User guides, support utilities, and
drivers for many of our products are available through our electronic
bulletin board. An automated fax line will send requested literature any
time, day or night. On- line services (Internet, America Online, and
Microsoft Network) provide general product and contact information, down-
loadable drivers, and answers to frequently asked questions.
ú Target Applications
Pentium 150 and 166 MHz-based systems
ú High-performance desktop PCs
ú PC network servers
ú VESA and PCI local buses
ú Capacity-intensive consumer and business applications, multimedia and
gaming
Caviar 2.1 and 2.5 GB Hard Drive Specifications
Model AC32100 AC32500
Form Factor 3.5-inch 3.5-inch
Interface AT-EIDE AT-EIDE
Formatted Capacity 2.1 GB 2.5 GB
Average Seek Time Sub 12 ms Sub 12 ms
Data Transfer Rate 16.6 MB/s PIO Mode 4 16.6 MB/s PIO Mode 4
16.6 MB/s DMA Mode 2 16.6 MB/s DMA Mode 2
Spindle Speed 5200 RPM 5200 RPM
Buffer 128 KB 128 KB
MTBF 300,000 hours 300,000 hours
Warranty 3 years 3 years
* Western Digital defines a gigabyte (GB) as 1,000,000,000 bytes.
Customer-focused
We've built a reputation as a customer-oriented company. Western Digital is
the first U.S.-headquartered, multinational company to have been awarded
company-wide ISO 9001 registration, linking all Western Digital organizations
with a consistent global standard for quality processes and customer
satisfaction.
Our hard drives have received so many awards that it's difficult to mention
them all. PC World has awarded our hard drives with their World Class Award
for three years in a row. And Computer Reseller News has declared Western
Digital drives their Channel Champions for three consecutive years also.
Everyone from editors of computer magazines to PC manufacturers to retail
customers have recognized the excellence of our drive products. We think
you'll agree.
Why a Higher Capacity Hard Drive is Important:
The chart below illustrates how much hard drive space an average computer
user would require over a three-year period (over 2 GB). A Western Digital
high-capacity, high-performance hard drive lets users efficiently run more of
today's software - and tomorrow's.
APPLICATIONS AND STORAGE
OPERATING SYSTEMS REQUIRED
Windows 95, Windows NT, OS/2 50-150 MB
Business, graphics and 150-500 MB
utility software
Games/education 100-400 MB
USER DATA: 3-YEAR LIFE
Graphics, presentations, 300-600 MB
spreadsheets, etc.
Image scanning 100-300 MB
MULTIMEDIA AND INTERNET
Sound - 30-40 min high fidelity 225-450 MB
Video - 30-40 min. compressed 270-540 MB
On-line services, Internet: 100-500 MB
downloaded files
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH AN EXTRA $100?
FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY
You can receive a $100 rebate if you trade in your old hard drive for a 2.1
or 2.5 GB capacity Western Digital-packaged hard drive kit.
To receive this $100 trade-in rebate, customers must enclose:
ú The proof of purchase label from their Western Digital Hard Drive Kit
box.
ú The original purchase receipt.
ú Your old hard drive (any model) after backing up and removing all
valuable data.
ú The original trade-in coupon available at
ú Postmark by May 31, 1996 to the return address listed on the coupon.
This offer is valid only through
This mail-in offer is valid only on 2.1 GB and 2.5 GB retail packaged drives
purchased during the promotion period of March 25, 1996 to May 5, 1996. This
offer may not be combined with any other promotion. There is a limit of one
request per name/family/address. Offer good only in USA. Western Digital
accepts no responsibility or liability for any data on old drives submitted
in connection with this promotion.
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
MSN CONTENT PROVIDERS MIFFED
Content providers who signed up early for the Microsoft Network are upset
over Microsoft's restructuring of the service to focus on the Web, rather
than proprietary forums. Some independent content providers, operating on
the original MSN model, spent up to $250,000 to stake their claim on MSN.
"That's life on the Internet," says Microsoft's director of marketing. A
Dataquest analyst agrees that the content providers "have to realize that
they are in a market that is evolving, and they got in at the wrong time."
(Wall Street Journal 12 Apr 96 A3)
WEB-SURFING WORKER WORRIES
A Find/SVP survey reveals that workers who use the Internet from work tend to
make a habit of it -- spending an average of 7.7 hours a week -- almost a
full workday -- online. The average time online for all users is about 6.6
hours a week. The tendency to spend lots of time online while "taking care
of business" has executives concerned over lost productivity and potential
legal troubles. "We are still trying to figure out to what extent we are
getting the benefit, as opposed to the downside of the Internet," says a
national sales manager for 3Com, which has put all 800 of its salespeople on
the Net. To alleviate bosses' worries, Sequel will introduce a Net Access
Manager product that allows companies to control worker access to online
services, and Optimal Networks' Optimal Internet Monitor will have a similar
features. Both products will be available in the next couple of months.
(Investor's Business Daily 15 Apr 96 A8)
DIGITAL COPYING CONSTRAINTS PROPOSED
The Motion Picture Association of America and the Consumer Electronics
Manufacturers Association are crafting proposed legislation that would
prevent consumers from making more than one copy of a digital broadcast or a
digital cable signal. They would require distributors of information to
transmit encoded "copy control" information that would allow viewers to make
a single copy of a broadcast or basic cable signal. Copyright holders of pay-
per-view and video- on-demand program could block any recording of their
material. In addition, a new technical standard would prevent consumers
from making copies of rented videos. (Broadcasting & Cable 8 Apr 96 p18)
REAL AUDIO FOR INTRANETS
Progressive Networks Inc. is licensing a new application for its RealAudio
software that allows corporate intranets to broadcast sound, such as company
announcements and training presentations, to workers' desktops. Already
signed up are AT&T's Wireless division and the Kennedy Space Center.
(Information Week 8 Apr 96 p32)
REFEREEING VOICE ON THE NET
An increasing number of software makers are offering products that make it
possible for individuals to communicate by voice over the Internet rather
than be restricted to using the services of a long-distance telephone
company. Issue: Whether the Federal Communications Commission should ban
Internet telephony. ACTA (the America's Carriers Telecommunications
Association), argues that software makers are competing unfairly because
they're not subject to the same FCC regulations that govern long-distance
carriers, but VON (Voice on the Net), a coalition of high-tech groups,
argues that it's in the public interest to leave voice telephony on the
Internet unregulated. An attorney for the FCC says that "one thing is for
sure. The commission is not interested in refereeing between technologies."
(US News & World Report 15 Apr 96 p53) In Canada, TheLinc, a small Ontario
phone company, plans to offer 15 hours per month of long- distance telephone
service for $20 to anywhere in North America via the Internet. (Toronto Globe
& Mail 11 Apr 96 A1)
INTELLIGENT AGENT OR VECTOR MATCH?
Apple Computer VP Donald Norman says "agent" technology is already in
widespread use on the Net: "If you describe it as this wonderful thing to
which you tell your preferences and it goes off and gives you a suggestion,
now that's an agent. But if I simply say, It's just a vector match, it
computes the vector on your preferences and puts it into the multi-
dimensional vector space of all preferences of all people and finds the ones
that are closest -- that sounds mechanistic, right? So where's the agent?
And it turns out both phrases are describing the same thing." (Internet World
May 96 p60)
DIGITAL WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY APPROVED
Motorola Canada says federal regulators have approved a new digital wireless
technology, giving the world's largest cellular phone maker a new market for
what it calls "next-generation technology." Industry Canada cleared code-
division multiple access (CDMA) for use in cellular phone and data networks
operating in the 800 Mhz band of the spectrum. CDMA is one of several
technology options from which wireless carriers may choose that uses codes
instead of separate requencies and channels to keep cell phone conversations
secure. (Ottawa Citizen 12 Apr 96 B12)
COMMUNITY ACCESS SAFETY NET
Community-based programs in Charlotte, NC, Newark, NJ and Salem, Ore. Are
providing access to technology for low-income people who otherwise would
never be able to get their hands on a PC. For example, East Harlem's Playing
to Win program provides six months of computer access in its facility for
$35. "We're an economic safety net for those who can't afford more," says
the director of Charlotte, NC's Charlotte's Web. Many of these are funded
through the Commerce Department's NTIA and other government programs, but
some feel that "corporate welfare" has gone on long enough and the big
commercial providers should start doing their share. Others feel the
government support is justified: "Business people here pay property taxes.
Why shouldn't they benefit from low-cost Internet access?" says the director
of Salem, Oregon's public library. (Business Week 15 Apr 96 p108)
AMIGA BOUGHT BY VISCORP
Visual Information Services Corporation is buying Germany's Escom AG's Amiga
business for $40 million, along with the Amiga brand name and intellectual
property rights. Visual Information already licenses Amiga technology for
use in set-top boxes it's developing for interactive TV. (Wall Street
Journal 12 Apr 96 B3)
NEC TO STOP MAKING DESKTOP MACHINES IN U.S.
As a cost-cutting move, Japanese computer manufacturer NEC will stop making
desktop PCs in the U.S. (and will instead outsource the manufacture of
machines it designs and develops for the U.S. market). Japanese notebook
computers have done well in the U.S., but desktop machines have not.
(Financial Times 11 Apr 96 p13)
SECURITY DYNAMICS BUYS RSA DATA
Security Dynamics Technologies Inc. is buying closely held RSA Data
Security, the dominant supplier of electronic encryption software, for a
reported stock purchase of $200 million. The deal will give Security
Dynamics control over RSA's patents, which could play a significant role in
transaction security for electronic commerce. Both companies are involved
in producing devices that limit access to computer networks to authorized
users. (Wall Street Journal 16 Apr 96 B1)
PENTIUM POWER GOOD FOR ANOTHER YEAR
The Pentium microprocessor accounts for 91% of processor shipments this year,
and will continue as Intel's cash cow for at least another year, says
MicroDesign Resources Inc., a Calif.-based research firm. MicroDesign
predicts a major migration from the Pentium to the P6 chips in the first
quarter of 1998. (Investor's Business Daily 15 Apr 96 A8)
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT SOFTWARE
Software developed by professors at Northwestern and Tufts Universities is
demonstrating the importance of at least looking earnest in the courtroom.
"Crime and Punishment" runs on CD-ROM and depicts video footage of a criminal
trial, changing the appearance, race and/or sex of the defendant for each
user. The software then tracks decisions made by different users,
generating data on how personal attributes affect criminal justice in the
U.S. "This has applications in sociology, psychology, law, and political
science in the classroom," says Northwestern University professor Jerry
Goldman, one of the software's developers, "and our hope is that it will be
useful for things like training new judges -- to sensitize them to the kinds
of extra-legal factors that might influence them." "Crime and Punishment"
was developed with a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education's Fund for the
Improvement of Postsecondary Education. (Chronicle of Higher Education 19
Apr 96 A28)
DEMISE OF THE WEB PREDICTED
Mark Stahlman, president of New Media Associates, predicts the death of the
Web this year: "Advertisers will dump the Web, and businesses that depend
on ad support will become uneconomic. But the cause won't be the poor
performance caused by `clogged pipes';... it's more fundamental. The Web
is a terrible place to manipulate people's unconscious fears, which is the
aim of consumer advertising... Advertising on the Web has to be information,
not manipulation. This is because the medium doesn't permit the
psychological games that `impact' a modern audience.... unless the Web
becomes television, as @Home and others hope. If the Web could readily
deliver video-server-based moving images, then the manipulative techniques
of TV ads could also be Web-delivered. But the bandwidth just isn't
available, and probably won't be for as long as 10 years... But there's
still a chance something quite new could happen. The Web is a medium for
information and education -- not unconscious mental manipulation. What if
the Web's real capability is taken seriously and it becomes the world's
largest adult education system?" (Information Week 8 Apr 96 p100)
BOEING LIKES ORACLE'S NC COMPUTERS
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison says that the Boeing Aircraft Company has expressed
an interest in buying 100,000 network computers, which Oracle has designed
but which actually be built by some manufacturing companies to be announced
next month. The network computer, or NC, will download both a small
operating system and applications programs over a network used to access
remote "server" systems holding data and programs. (Financial Times 16 Apr
96 p20) In other news, Oracle plans to let developers use its Designer
2000 and Developer 2000 tool sets to build applications in Java. Microsoft
and Powersoft are planning similar features for their development tools
(Visual Basic and PowerBuilder, respectively). Users would have only a Web
browser on their workstations, and would leave their application code on a
remote server. (Computerworld 15 Apr 15 p1)
NBC TESTING NEW MCI SYSTEM
NBC is testing MCI's new HyperMedia system, designed for video-on-demand,
image storage and retrieval, corporate training and telemedicine. The
HyperMedia system allows several affiliates simultaneously to access news
reports and video from satellites at their convenience, rather than at pre-
specified times, as is now the case. (Investor's Business Daily 16 Apr 96
A5)
TV'S FUTURE IS DIGITAL, SAY NETWORK EXECS
The heads of the Fox, NBC, and CBS television networks told a convention of
broadcasters that broadcast TV needs to shift to digital technology into
order to remain competitive, and Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch said: "We cannot
allow free television to become a second-class medium." Digital TV is
already available by direct broadcast satellite through services offered by
DirecTV and USSB, but the cost for Fox to convert to digital television would
be greater than $100 million. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 16 Apr 96 E3)
PC-TV MAY NOT BE FOR EVERYONE
The all-in-one PC-TV announced recently by Gateway 2000 may not turn out to
be the family entertainment center that many electronics manufacturers
envision: "They didn't call it a personal computer for nothing," says a
general partner at Digital Video Investments, a New York investment research
firm. "It's not called a family computer. Try experiencing the World Wide
Web by looking over the shoulder of someone at a PC holding the mouse. For
both people, it's as aggravating as back-seat driving. Now imagine the
entire family doing this, when they can't even agree on something as simple
as selecting from among a few dozen channels." (Investor's Business Daily 16
Apr 96 A10)
WEB CALLED "ULTIMATE ACT OF INTELLECTUAL COLONIALISM"
Anatoly Voronov, the director of Glasnet, an Internet service provider in
Russia, says: "It is just incredible when I hear people talking about how
open the Web is. It is the ultimate act of intellectual colonialism. The
product comes from America so we either must adapt to English or stop using
it. That is the right of any business. But if you re talking about
technology that is supposed to open the world to hundreds of millions of
people you are joking. This just makes the world into new sorts of haves
and have nots." (New York Times 14 Apr 96 Sec.4 p1) Note: Edupage is
translated from English into Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian,
Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish. Not Russian, as yet.
MORE MICROSOFT VIRUSES
First there was the Word virus -- now there's a Word Prank Macro Virus,
located in a document on ActiveVRML, Microsoft's software tool for
developing 3-D Web sites. But what's worse, is that Microsoft had to inform
the rogrammers who attended its Professional Developers Conference last
month that one of the CD-ROMs it distributed was infected. A cure is posted
on Microsoft's Web site < http://www.microsoft.com/ > (Investor's Business
Daily 15 Apr 96 A8)
MURDOCH THINKS THAT CNN LEANS LEFT
Right-leaning Rupert Murdoch, whose Fox television network is planning to
create an 24-hour all-news cable channel to compete with CNN, thinks that
Ted Turner's CNN leans too far to the left. "I challenge Ted: I'll let him
sit in the control room of Fox's news channel and edit if he'll let me do
the same at CNN." Murdoch says the Fox news channel will offer unbiased
coverage of events. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 16 Apr 96 E3)
WHY ARE YOU STARING AT THIS?
At the Second Luddite Congress held in Barnesville, Ohio, attended by 350
people who respect the technology-hating Ned Ludd who fought the Industrial
Revolution, author and computer security expert Clifford Stoll, attacked
"Internet hucksters" and derided the notion that people without computer
skills will be unemployable in the future: "Jobs, as they always have, will
go to people who can get along with others. Now, how do you avoid developing
those skills? By standing at a keyboard and staring off into cyberspace for
hours." (New York Times 15 Apr 96 A8)
BELL ATLANTIC, NYNEX REVIVE MERGER POSSIBILITIES
Bell Atlantic and Nynex are at it again -- they're back at the bargaining
table, negotiating a possible $22 billion-plus merger that would create a
telco entity second only to AT&T
in size. The combined companies would serve
more than 36 million residential customers in 12 states and the District of
Columbia, and would have more than $27 billion in annual revenue. The
companies have agreed that Bell Atlantic chairman and CEO Ray Smith could
head the new entity for a few years, and then hand it off to Nynex's
chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg. (Wall Street Journal 17 Apr 96 A3)
ZENITH, MICROSOFT COURT STUDENTS ON CAMPUS
Zenith Data Systems and Microsoft have formed a new partnership aimed at
increasing postsecondary student ownership of PCs. The Campus Z-Station
program is initially targeting 150 universities with plans to offer a
combination of software and Internet access at prices low enough to entice
the student population. The companies hope to expand the program nationwide
as quickly as possible. (The Heller Report Apr 96)
MICROSOFT TARGETS PRINT AND TELEVISION MARKETS
Microsoft and NBC are working together to develop a nightly hour-long show
focused on new media personalities and the digital revolution. The program
will be the first product to air on MSNBC, a 24-hour cable news network
linked to an online service. (Wall Street Journal 17 Apr 96 B9) Meanwhile,
Microsoft is working on a series of local online entertainment publications
targeting the same readership bases as online newspapers. The project, code-
named Cityscape, is hiring editorial staff to work in some of the cities
that Microsoft's planning to cater to. "Local content is the endgame for
online services," says an analyst with Jupiter Communications. "In terms of
local content and ad dollars, all newspapers have seen that as their domain.
That is not something they are going to want to see slip to
AOL or Microsoft." (Houston Chronicle 18 Apr 96 C1)
THE TAX MAN COMETH
A recent decision by the Florida Dept. of Revenue to levy a tax on Internet
access services has resulted in howls of protest, but the move is
inevitable, says the executive director of the Washington, DC-based
Multistate Tax Commission. Already, at least seven states and the District
of Columbia tax computer services, and many more are considering it. (Tampa
Tribune 12 Apr 96 B&F5)
INTERNET PHONE CONTROVERSY CONTINUES
Initial attempts to rein in the Internet and regulate voice transmissions via
the computer network have met with a barrage of opposition, including a
statement from Educom, which calls the America's Carriers Telecommunication
Association's request for FCC regulation "an attempt by a coalition of
resellers of conventional circuit switched interexchange voice services to
obtain favored treatment from the Commission. There is no longer a need to
preserve a one-size-fits-all approach to voice services." (BNA Daily Report
for Executives 15 Apr 96 A5)
DATA WAREHOUSING EARNS BIG PAYBACK
International Data Corp. reports that companies that have invested in data
warehousing, which pulls data from various large databases into smaller ones
to analyze trends and possible business opportunities have realized a 400%
return on their investments over three-years. The study was based on 62
organizations that spent an average of $2.2 million each on their data
warehouse operations. (Investor's Business Daily 18 Apr 96 A8)
DIGITAL AND ORACLE OFFER CLUSTERING OPTION
Digital Equipment and Oracle are jointly offering "Unix TruCluster Solutions"
-- a combination of hardware and software designed so that users can string
together servers into a cluster of machines that share memory, data and
applications, significantly speeding up operations and reliability. A
cluster of four Digital Alpha servers running Oracle's Parallel Server
software can process more than 30,000 transactions a minute -- at least three
times faster than rival products and less expensive per transaction, say
analysts. (Wall Street Journal 17 Apr 96 B8)
FIGHTING ANTI-RACISM ON THE NET
The Canadian Jewish Congress, the World Anti-Fascist League, and the Ligues
des Droits et Libertes have joined forces to create an anti-racist Web site.
The site will be funded for three years by the Quebec government and will be
up within a few months. It will be used to define racism and anti-Semitism
for the public, to disseminate information on the groups spreading hate on
the Net, and to teach students about tolerance. (Montreal Gazette 17 Apr 96
A4)
IBM PROFIT UP, STOCK DOWN
IBM posted better-than-average earnings but its stock fell 9 points because
of Wall Street worries about its declining profit margins and the prospect
of declining earnings from overseas markets. (New York Times 18 Apr 96 C1)
APPLE LOSS AND LAYOFFS SEEN AS PATH TO PROFITABILITY
Apple posted a $740
million loss for the second quarter and said that it will eliminate 1500 jobs
in the next 12 months (in addition to 1300 job cuts previously announced).
Apple CEO Gil Amelio explained that the company was acting to reduce fixed
costs, simplify its product lines, and streamline its business systems.
(New York Times 18 Apr 96 C2)
NADER URGES U.S. CONTROL OF TELESAT SIGNALS
The Consumer Project on Technology (CPT), a consumer group led by Ralph
Nader, is asking the Federal Communications Commission to take control of
some Canadian satellite frequencies to prevent American direct-to-home
satellite companies using foreign satellites to dominate the U.S. market.
(Toronto Financial Post 18 Apr 96 p1)
INTERNET USERS JUST BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
Estimates of the number of Internet users worldwide go up and down as
arguments rage over statistical methods. The latest count from Nielsen
Media Research, based on an August 1995 survey, says there are 19.4 million
people who have accessed the Internet "in the last three months." Professors
Donna Hoffman and Thomas Novak of Vanderbilt University say the correct
number is closer to 16.4 million. Mark Resch of Xerox shrugs off the
controversy: "Yeah, we're in a hurricane, and they are arguing about
whether wind is blowing 150 miles an hour or 120 miles an hour. The argument
is intellectually interesting, and it totally misses the point. Activity on
our Web site is up 10% a month, steadily." (New York Times 17 Apr 96 C1)
Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas
(douglas@educom.edu).
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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE
The CAUSE organization's annual conference on information technology in
higher education is scheduled for the end of this month in New Orleans. The
conference will bring together administrators, academicians and other
managers of information resources. For full conference information check out
<http://cause-www.colorado.edu > or send e-mail to conf@cause.colorado.edu.
ARCHIVES & TRANSLATIONS. For archive copies of Edupage or Update, ftp or
gopher to educom.edu or see URL: < http://www.educom.edu/>. For the French
edition of Edupage, send mail to edupage-fr@ijs.com with the subject
"subscribe"; or see < http://www.ijs.com >. For the Hebrew edition, send
mail to listserv@kinetica.co.il containing : SUBSCRIBE Leketnet-Word6 <name>
or see < http://www.kinetica.co.il/ newsletters/leketnet/ >. For
the Hungarian edition, send mail to: send mail to subs.edupage@hungary.com.
An Italian edition is available on Agora' Telematica; connection and/or free
subscription via BT-Tymnet and Sprint (login: <agora) or via telnet
<agora.stm.it; mail: <b.parrella@agora.stm.it for info. For the Portuguese
edition, contact edunews@nc-rj.rnp.br with the message SUB EDUPAGE-P Seu
Primeiro Nome Seu Sobrenome. For the Spanish edition, send mail edunews@nc-
rj.rnp.br with the message SUB EDUPAGE-E Su Primer Nombre, Su Apellido.
Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology
THUMBS PLUS V3 STR Review
THUMBS PLUS V3 - 32bit
by Glenwood Drake
ThumbsPlus Version 3.0, is a 32-bit application by Cerious Software,
Inc., for Windows 95, NT and 3.1/3.11. Actually, ThumbsPlus is a graphic
file viewer and the product of a company that proves it is possible to write
a program that performs well when running in the Windows 95 environment.
Included in this package are functions and options all of us expect from
other software companies, but seldom get. This package from Cerious
Software, Inc. is much more than just another ordinary everyday file viewer.
You can use drag-and-drop to organize graphics files by moving them to
appropriate directories. It's ability to catalog, view, convert, edit, and
crop some of the most popular graphic file formats, serve to set it ahead of
the most popular programs in this category.
This version will use the Windows 95 recycle bin for deleting files, if
you select that option. Long file names are now supported. One nice feature
included in the program, when executed, performs a search on every drive in
your system and probes deep within all folders looking for graphics, clip-
arts, fonts, and animation files. Then it displays a small thumbnail of each
file. It's ability to print individual graphic files, or the thumbnails as a
catalog is another excellent feature. ThumbsPlus can be used to create your
own personal slide show using the graphics you select. Bitmap files can be
installed as Windows wallpaper. You can also perform image editing in batch
mode. ThumbsPlus will also convert metafile graphics to bitmaps (rasterize).
Simply put, it comes loaded with features and the options within appear to be
endless.
How often have you opened a new program and yelled; "where's the
manual?" Nowadays many software companies have done away with manuals and
incorporated them within their program in the form of a help file. We at
STReport were pleased to see a User's Guide included with this program from
Cerious Software. This User's Guide is well written and packed with
information that is easy to use and understand.
However, as with any program that is installed on your system,
occasionally you will encounter slight problems. The one that bothered this
writer occurred within the install and remove fonts option. After creating
thumbnails of all the fonts in my font folder on Win95, I decided to remove a
few fonts from Windows. I soon discovered the program's ability to remove
the fonts from windows with an undesirable side effect of deleting the TTF
files from my disk. This unacceptable "added attraction" in the program is
more than likely due to the "sad method" Win95 handles the removal of fonts.
Win95 will also delete your fonts from this hidden font folder but you get a
prompt, "are you sure you want to delete these files!" This warning is
important because you now have a choice. You can move the fonts in question
or lose them to the recycle bin. This gives you further security because you
can restore them from Win95's recycle bin before it is emptied. These
options were not available with ThumbsPlus, even though we configured it to
use the Windows recycle bin.
While we don't consider ThumbsPlus as Pavarotti singing at the
Metropolitan. Neither do we consider it an alley cat doing Hendrix. One
thing is certain though, we at STReport use it and highly recommend this
program to anyone that has the need for a top notch 32-bit graphic
application written for Windows.
CDA Trial Update STR Spotlight
Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition Trial Updates
http://www.cdt.org/ciec/
ciec-info@cdt.org
CIEC UPDATES intended for members of the Citizens Internet
Empowerment Coalition. CIEC Updates are written and edited by the
Center for Democracy and Technology (http://www.cdt.org). This
document may be reposted as long as it remains in total.
40,000 Netizens Vs. U.S. Department of Justice
The Fight To Save Free Speech Online
Contents:
o Government Argues CDA is Necessary and Not Overly Restrictive
* Government Witness Proposes Content Labeling Standard
* SurfWatch Blocks Government Expert
o How To Unsubscribe from this list
More Information on CIEC and the Center for Democracy and Technology
o Testimony Concludes in CDA Legal Challenge
* Government Only Calls Two Witnesses
* Closing Arguments Set for May 10
o How To Unsubscribe from this list
o More Information on CIEC and the Center for Democracy and Technology
Quote of the Day: "Come on line with us, and your kids won't see
what is in [DOJ lead attorney] Mr. Coppalino's book"
of sexually explicit images found online.
-- Judge Stewart Dalzell, suggesting how service providers might market PICS
compatible Internet services
(1) GOVERNMENT ARGUES CDA IS NECESSARY AND NOT OVERLY RESTRICTIVE
The second phase of the legal challenge to the Communications Decency Act
began on Friday as the Department of Justice presented its defense of the
new law before the three judge panel in Philadelphia. Although basic outline
of the government's defense has been known for some time, Friday marked the
first time that the Government has presented witnesses in defense of the
CDA.
Based on Friday's testimony, the basis of the government's defense appears to
be that sexually explicit material is easily available to minors on the
Internet, and that the CDA, combined with a system for labeling sexually
explicit material, is necessary to prevent minors from accessing sexually
explicit material online.
Three witnesses testified at the Friday hearing:
ú Howard Schmidt, Special Agent, Director of the Air Force Office of
Special Investigations, Computer Crime Investigations
ú Dan Olsen, Chair of the Brigham Young University Computer Science
Department
ú Albert Vezza, of MIT and the World Wide Web Consortium. (Vezza was
called by the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition).
DOJ EXPERT CLAIMS THAT SPEAKER-BASED LABELING IS AN EFFECTIVE SOLUTION
The government also called Dan Olsen, form Brigham Young University, who
testified that a content labeling system he has developed can effectively
prevent minors from accessing sexually explicit material online. Olsen
proposed that content providers who offer sexually explicit material should
include a "-L18" (for under 18) tag on their sites, and that World Wide Web
browsers should be programmed to recognize this tag and prevent minors from
accessing tagged sites.
Despite Olsen's academic affiliation and research credentials, his standing
as an expert on Internet standards setting is questionable at best. Olsen
does not sit on the Internet Engineering Task Force or any other body charged
with developing protocols for the Internet, nor does he have any other
direct experience with the Internet standards process. This fact was
challenged by CIEC attorney's, who initially objected to Olsen's testimony.
The court overruled the objection, stating that they would hear Olsen's
testimony "for what it's worth".
Olsen, who admitted he came up with the idea for a -L18 tag only since the
government asked him to testify in this case, suggested that the burden of
preventing minors from accessing objectionable material online should fall
primarily on content providers, rather than the recipients of the material.
During cross examination by CIEC attorney Bruce Ennis and ACLU attorney Chris
Hansen, Olsen admitted that his proposal contains several critical
shortcomings. Among these:
ú The standard for what material should receive a -L18 tag is difficult to
determine.
ú Relying on speakers to label their material requires that listeners
trust the judgment of the speaker, and limits the ability of listeners to
make decisions based on their own personal or family values.
ú The -L18 proposal contains no flexibility - it is either on or off.
ú It is basically impossible for a content provider to determine who is an
adult and to ensure that only adults have access to adult-oriented
materials.
Ennis argued that, as a result, the only effective method to prevent minors
from accessing inappropriate material online is to rely on end users and
parents to control what material comes into their homes using parental
control technologies such as SurfWatch, CyberPatrol, AOL's Parental Control
features, PICS, etc.
Interestingly, although Olsen's proposal is conceptually similar to KidCode,
a content labeling standards proposed by Nathaniel Borenstein last summer.
Olsen stated he didn't know what KidCode was nor had he ever heard of it.
Finally, Olsen testified that, because the government was involved in the
initial development of the Internet, he believes that the government has a
role in determining appropriate technical standards for content labeling.
This testimony was particularly striking because it in many ways represents
the worst nightmare of CDA opponents -- that the law will permit Government
will dictate technical protocols and standards for content on the Internet.
Although this remains a significant concern, CIEC and ACLU attorneys
effectively demonstrated that Olsen's proposed solution is poorly conceived
and impractical.
SURFWATCH FOILS GOVERNMENT EXPERT
Howard Schmidt conducted a live demonstration of the Internet, taking the
court on a tour of world wide web sites devoted to legal issues, a site
promoting the City of Philadelphia, and several search engines. He then
showed the court several usenet newsgroups and decoded pictures of ducks
from the alt.binaries.pictures.animals newsgroup. Schmidt then showed the
court sites containing sexually explicit images, although no he did not
actually display any sexually explicit materials.
Schmidt's demonstration was intended to show how easily a child can access
sexually explicit materials online. Throughout the course of the court
proceedings, the government has sought to show that minors can inadvertently
stumble upon "indecent" or "patently offensive" material in the normal course
of using the Internet, particularly through search engines, and that
parental control software such as SurfWatch and Cyberpatrol are not effective
at preventing minors from accessing such material.
While Schmidt claimed that minors can "inadvertently" stumble upon sexually
explicit material on the Internet, the Judges appeared unconvinced and asked
several pointed questions. Judge Sloviter repeatedly asked "Can one
inadvertently come across this material?".
Schmidt's claim that minors can inadvertently access sexually explicit
material on the Internet highlights a critical issue in this case. If the
government can demonstrate that minors can easily and inadvertently receive
indecent or patently offensive material on the Internet, the gvt. can argue
that the Internet is a "pervasive medium" similar to television and radio,
and that broad content regulations like the CDA are the only way to protect
minors.
In his testimony, Schmidt cited examples of sexually explicit web sites which
were not blocked by SurfWatch. Schmidt testified that he had found these
sites by searching for terms such as "sex" and "xxx" on popular Internet
search engines. During cross examination by CIEC attorney Ann Kappler
however, Schmidt revealed that he had run his initial searches WITHOUT
SurfWatch running. Kappler noted that SurfWatch prevents searches for terms
like "sex" or "xxx", and that had Schmidt been running the program when he
conducted his initial search, he would have been unable to access any of the
sites he claimed SurfWatch didn't block.
In response to relentless questioning by Kappler, Schmidt reluctantly
admitted that "SurfWatch would not have allowed the [initial] search".
PICS - AN EXAMPLE OF A LESS-RESTRICTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO THE CDA
In addition to the two government witnesses, the CIEC called Albert Vezza of
MIT and the World Wide Web Consortium to explain the Platform For Internet
Content Selection (PICS) to the court.
PICS is a set of protocols which will permit voluntary multiple, independent
third party rating systems to operate on the Internet and commercial online
services, as well as permit content providers to rate their own material.
The PICS standards are being developed at MIT through the World Wide Web
Consortium with the support of most of the online industry, including
America Online, Prodigy, Netscape, Microsoft, Apple, and others.
Vezza explained to the court that PICS, unlike Dan Olsen's "-L18" tag, will
allow for tremendous flexibility in rating content, and that many ratings
systems are possible. And, because PICS would be controlled at the user
level, parents and other users would have tremendous control over what
material they access.
Vezza also testified that PICS is far less restrictive and far more effective
at preventing children from accessing inappropriate material than the
Communications Decency Act. Vezza testified that because a substantial amount
of sexually explicit material is available on sites outside the United
states, and because PICS allows parents to utilize trusted third-party
rating systems, it is inherently more powerful and flexible than the broad
restrictions imposed by the CDA.
Vezza also pointed out that the PICS standards will allow parents to block
access to all unrated sites if they choose. As a result, Vezza said,
"children could be protected without mandating any one rating system, from
foreign sites, and from sites with indecent or patently offensive material
that has not been rated".
The Judges appeared extremely interested in Vezza's testimony, and asked
numerous questions. Judge Stewart Dalzell, who has taken a keen interest in
the case, stated for the second time since the trial began that the world
wide web has developed almost entirely because the government has stayed out
of the way. At one point, Dalzell stated "There must be powerful market
forces driving this process". Dalzell then stated rhetorically that he could
imagine a marketing advantage for implementing PICS standards and that
providers would sell their services by saying, "come on line with us and your
kids won't see what is in Mr. Coppalino's book", referring to the book of
evidence containing sexually explicit images found online.
TESTIMONY TO RESUME MONDAY APRIL 15
Testimony will resume on Monday April 15 with Government witness Dan Olsen.
The trial is proceeding more quickly than initially expected, and it is
possible that all testimony from both sides will be concluded on Monday. It
is possible that the hearing originally scheduled for April 26 will be
canceled, and that the closing arguments, scheduled for June 6, will be
moved to up to mid-May. CDT will post an update as more information becomes
available.
(1) TESTIMONY ENDS IN COURT BATTLE TO OVERTURN THE CDA
CLOSING ARGUMENTS SET FOR MAY 10
Hearings ended today in the constitutional challenge to the Communications
Decency Act with the cross-examination of government witness Dan Olsen. The
court also announced today that closing arguments in this landmark case will
be heard on May 10 (the hearing had originally been scheduled for June 3).
Dan Olsen, Chair of the Department of Computer Science Brigham Young
University, testified on Friday April 12 about a scheme he developed two
weeks ago for rating sexually-explicit content on the Internet. Olsen's
proposal would require content providers to label their sites with an "-L18"
tag if the site contains sexually oriented material. During cross
examination on Friday and again today, CIEC and ACLU lawyers criticized
Olsen's proposal as inflexible and extremely difficult to implement.
All three judges presiding over the case -- Dolores Sloviter, chief judge of
the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Judges
Stewart Dalzell and Ronald Buckwalter -- questioned Olsen for almost 45
minutes about his proposal, and seemed unconvinced by his presentation.
At one point, Judge Sloviter asked, "I am wondering if whether in essence
your scheme requires some material to be blocked in advance, and if you can
think of any time in our history when we have blocked material in advance in
an organized fashion?"
Olsen replied that he believed newspaper editors did this routinely. In
response to another question from Judge Sloviter, Olsen admitted his plan
would "make it easier for the government to censor material" on the Internet
if it one day chose to do so directly.
GOVERNMENT RESTS ITS CASE AFTER CALLING ONLY TWO WITNESSES
The government rested its case today after calling only two witnesses in
defense of the Communications Decency Act. The CIEC and ACLU cases called a
total of 13 witnesses. Interestingly, over two days of hearings, neither
witness offered testimony explicitly defending the CDA as written. Instead,
the testimony appeared designed to convince the court that the CDA is
narrowly drawn and therefore satisfies the "least restrictive means" test.
In short, the government witnesses testified:
ú That sexually explicit material is available to minors on the Internet
(a claim that neither the CIEC nor the ACLU challenges dispute).
ú Requiring content providers to label content will prevent minors from
accessing sexually explicit material on the Internet.
CIEC and ACLU attorneys argue that the content labeling scheme proposed by
Olsen is would not be a "good faith defense" under the CDA, and is therefore
irrelevant, and that the Government has not proven that the Communications
Decency Act is the "least restrictive means" of protecting children from
inappropriate material on the Internet.
Speaking to reporters at the end of today's hearing, CIEC lead attorney Bruce
Ennis summarized the last two days of testimony by saying, " ... in the
final analysis parents have the ability and the technology to control what
kids see ... without reducing all content on the Internet to the level
appropriate for an eight-year-old." Ennis added, "This law is
unconstitutional."
CLOSING ARGUMENTS SET FOR MAY 10
On May 10, the plaintiffs and the government will each present two hours of
closing arguments. A decision is expected from the three judge panel in mid-
June. Any appeal of the ruling will be made directly to the Supreme Court
under expedited review provisions of the Telecommunications Reform Act.
For more information, including the text of the transcripts from the first 3
days of testimony (remaining tow days will be posted soon), the text of the
complaint, and information on how you can join this historic legal battle,
visit the CIEC World Wide Web page at:
http://www.cdt.org/ciec/
(2) Subscription Information
As CIEC members, you have been invited to join this list in order to receive
news updates and other information relevant to the CIEC challenge to the
Communications Decency Act. To subscribe, visit http://www.cdt.org/ciec and
join the Coalition.
If you ever want to remove yourself from this list, send email to
ciec-members-request@cdt.org
with 'unsubscribe ciec-members' in the SUBJECT LINE (w/o the 'quotes').
Leave the body of your message blank.
(3) For More Information
For more information on the CIEC challenge, including the text of the
complaint and other relevant materials:
ú World Wide Web http://www.cdt.org/ciec/
ú General Information about CIEC ciec-info@cdt.org
ú Copy of the Complaint ciec-
docs@cdt.org
ú Specific Questions Regarding the Coalition, incuding Press Inquiries
ciec@cdt.org
ú General information about the Center for Democracy and Technology
info@cdt.org
end ciec-update.10
4/15/96
Kids Computing Corner
Frank Sereno, Editor
The Kids' Computing Corner
Computer news and software reviews
from a parent's point of view
COMPUTER CURRICULUM CORPORATION LAUNCHES NEW CURRICULUM PROJECT ON ITS
EDUCATIONAL WORLD WIDE WEB SITE
Award-Winning Internet Site Adds "Shapes Around the World," an Innovative
Mathematics & Cultural Project that Tracks Student Progress
SUNNYVALE, CA -- Computer Curriculum Corporation (CCC), a leading publisher
of educational software for the K-12 market, today announced its second major
Internet education project, Shapes Around the World, a collaborative
curriculum-based lesson that explores geometric shapes and patterns. Shapes
Around the World, which is based on national education standards, is part of
CCCnet (http://www.cccnet.com), the first World Wide Web site to provide
interactive online curriculum to schools nationwide. Shapes Around the World
is the first online educational project to track student progress.
Shapes Around the World is interdisciplinary, combining a focus on geometric
shapes with an awareness of how they relate to real-world objects in culture
and geography. The geometry project, which is designed for middle school
students grades six through nine, uses upbeat graphics to engage and keep the
attention of media-savvy students.
In the two and a half months since CCCnet's unveiling, more than 600
educators already have become members. In addition, industry magazine, The
Net, awarded CCCnet Site of the Month, describing CCCnet as "one of the most
innovative Web accomplishments" to date.
"Shapes Around the World utilizes the Internet the way so many people have
envisioned it's collaborative, multimedia-rich, and it allows students to
learn about places around the world," said Lori McBride, CCC vice president
of New Media Markets. "Receiving the Site of the Month honor by a publication
closely tracking thousands of web sites is rewarding and recognizes CCCnet as
an innovative and valuable resource."
"Teachers nationwide have told us that it's not enough to get hooked up to
the Internet. They need a structure to use the Internet's resources and they
want real educational solutions," McBride added. "With CCCnet and Shapes
Around the World, we're doing something that has never been done before, and
the initial feedback we're getting from educators is phenomenal."
Consistent with its approach and philosophy for K-12 comprehensive
courseware, CCC has included an assessment component in Shapes Around the
World. As students participate in the geometry project, CCC tracks their work
with user identifications and database technology, enabling students to view
their own progress at any given time.
Collaborating to Discover Geometry
When teachers enroll their classes in the Shapes Around the World project,
they are teamed up with other participating classes. The students go on a
"Geometry Adventure" and at the end they discover their hidden "GeoShape."
Their GeoShape is then combined with the GeoShapes of the four other classes
in their group to form "The Big Picture," which is then displayed in CCCnet's
"Hall of Shapes." Each of these Big Pictures is culturally-based, including
images from Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa.
Other areas of Shapes Around the World include "Talk Shapes!," where students
participate in an online dialogue to facilitate the completion of their
projects, and the "Geometry Challenge," where students test their knowledge
of the shapes they've been studying. Essential to the completion of the
project, is the gathering of information from other web sites and
collaborating with other students nationwide.
CCCnet Lesson Structure and Future Projects
As with all of CCCnet's online projects, a detailed lesson plan is included.
These lesson plans, which can be read online or printed out, summarize
objectives, time required, national education standards met by the project,
teacher preparation, and recommended additional activities and related
resources. In the preparation section, the lesson plan addresses options for
using the curriculum based on various computer set-ups: for example, how to
implement the Shapes Around the World project in a computer lab environment
vs. the classroom.
CCC will continually publish new curriculum-based projects every two to three
months on CCCnet. Shapes Around the World is scheduled to begin running April
15. The curriculum project area of CCCnet is currently free, but will be
subscription-based later this year. CCCnet is designed for school and home
use. CCCnet's first project, Energy Flow in Amazonia, will continue to be
available, in addition to the new project.
The Company
Computer Curriculum Corporation, one of the fastest growing units of Simon &
Schuster, is a leading publisher of educational software for the K-12 market.
By combining its comprehensive courseware with a powerful management system,
CCC enables teachers to not only create an engaging learning environment, but
establish individualized learning paths, assess progress and measure results
against appropriate standards. CCC's software is installed in more than 8,000
schools and is used by more than 1.5 million students worldwide. CCC is
committed to providing community-wide learning environments and has recently
begun delivering educational content over the World Wide Web and creating a
school-to-home link. CCC can be found on the Internet at
http://www.cccnet.com.
Simon & Schuster, the world's largest educational publisher, is the
publishing operation of Viacom Inc. Viacom is one of the world's largest
entertainment and publishing companies and a leading force in nearly every
segment of the international media marketplace.
Computer Curriculum Corporation, the Computer Curriculum Corporation logo and
SuccessMaker are registered trademarks of Computer Curriculum Corporation.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
DISNEY INTERACTIVE'S NEW ANIMATED STORYBOOK, TOY STORY WEB SITE INCLUDES
SPECTACULAR CONTEST TO SUPPORT HIGHLY ANTICIPATED CD-ROM
"The Hunt for the Lost Toy" Contest Is One Of Several Exciting Features For
Those Visiting New Web Site
Burbank, CA -- To coincide with the release of its Animated Storybook, Toy
Story, on Wednesday, April 24, Disney Interactive invites fans of all ages to
visit their new family-oriented Internet site dedicated to the CD-ROM
(http://www.toystorybook.com). The fun-filled web site, designed to support
the release of Disney's Animated StoryBook, Toy Story on CD-ROM, features a
22-day contest which gives "net surfers" the opportunity to win one of more
than 10,000 free copies of the new CD-ROM and enter the grand prize drawing
for a trip for four to Walt Disney World, to see the "Toy Story Parade" live
at the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.
The official web site for Disney's Animated StoryBook, Toy Story is part of
the Disney.com web site (http://www.disney.com) and features three main areas
for families to explore: "The Hunt For The Lost Toy" contest, including
puzzles, rules, and results; Product Information, including product previews,
system requirements and a rebate offer, and The Toy Box, featuring children's
activities. The web site features fun activities, downloadable artwork and
sound and product details. Pixar Animation Studios created new art
exclusively for the web site, including a "splash page" for the online
contest.
"The development of the web site for Disney's Animated StoryBook, Toy Story
is much more than an extension of the CD-ROM," said Carolyn O'Keefe, vice
president, marketing, Edutainment & Multimedia for Disney Interactive. "It is
truly an interactive web site that offers our guests a wide range of
experiences, information and fun."
On-Line Contest
"The Hunt for the Lost Toy" propels players into a fun-filled contest for the
entire family as they search for the missing toy, hoping to find it before
evil Sid gets his hands on it. The challenging contest invites players to
join in the hunt and help unfold the mystery by reading along with the story.
Contestants use key word clues and hints from the popular "Toy Story"
characters to solve a puzzle as to where the lost toy is located. For 22-
consecutive days, a new puzzle will be posted every day at 8:00 p.m. (EDT)
where it will remain until 7:30 p.m. (EDT) the following day. The first 455
contestants who submit the correct answer to the puzzle each day will win a
free copy of Disney's Animated StoryBook, Toy Story. Daily contest winners
will be announced in the Contest Results area on the web site the following
day. All contestants who answer correctly are automatically entered in the
grand prize drawing for a trip for four to Walt Disney World. The grand prize
winner will be announced at the end of the 22-day contest period.
Additional Web Site Features
Product Preview, Information and Rebate: Toy Story fans can preview eight
full-color screen shots from the CD-ROM as well as view detailed product
features and information such as minimum system requirements and suggested
age use for Disney's Animated StoryBook, Toy Story in this colorful area. A
coupon to receive a five-dollar rebate with the purchase of the new Animated
StoryBook and Dial for Kids products can also be printed out from this
product area. The rebate requires proof-of-purchase of Disney's Animated
StoryBook, Toy Story and two Dial for Kids products.
The Toy Box: Children can print out mazes, connect-the-dots and coloring
pages to play with off-line, as well as download "Toy Story" sound bites. The
Toy Box also includes a hotlink to the "Toy Story" feature film web site
(http://www.toystorybook.com), where families can download a concentration/
matching game.
The Product
Disney's Animated StoryBook, Toy Story, jointly created by Disney Interactive
and Pixar Animation Studios, is the fourth in Disney Interactive's best-
selling Animated StoryBook series, and captures the spirit of the blockbuster
buddy film. The program makes reading fun for children by bringing the
humorous plot line to life through 15 engaging story screens, hundreds of
colorful "clickables" and five skill-building games/activities.
The web site for Disney's Animated StoryBook, Toy Story is located within the
Disney.com web site (http://www.disney.com), which is Disney's engaging
family entertainment web site on the Internet. Disney.com is the one place
where fans of all ages can experience the full breadth of Disney's offerings
from software and movies to publishing, music, retail stores, and of course,
Disney's theme parks.
Pixar, founded in 1986, is an Academy Award-winning computer animation studio
that is creating a new generation of animated feature films, CD-ROM titles,
television commercials and other animated products. Pixar animation combines
the creativity of some of the world's leading animators and story writers
with state-of-the-art technology. The result is classic stories and
characters with an entirely new, three-dimensional animated look. Pixar's
first movie, Toy Story, was released in November 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures
in collaboration with Walt Disney Feature Animation, and is the world's first
fully computer-animated feature film. The company's studios are located in
Point Richmond, Calif. and employ approximately 175 people.
Disney Interactive, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, develops,
publishes and markets a broad range of interactive, family-oriented
entertainment and educational materials including CD-ROM's, video games and
online products.
COMPUTER CURRICULUM CORPORATION PARTNERS WITH KAPLAN EDUCATIONAL CENTERS IN
NEW "SCORE@KAPLAN" K-12 ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Exclusive Agreement Brings CCC's Educational Software to Centers Nationwide
SUNNYVALE, CA -- Computer Curriculum Corporation (CCC), a leading publisher
of educational software for the K-12 market, today announced that it is
partnering with Kaplan Educational Centers, one of the nation's premier
educational companies, to deliver its curriculum-based software to thousands
of students nationwide.
Under an exclusive agreement, CCC has licensed its SuccessMaker software to
Kaplan for use in "Score@Kaplan," a new academic enrichment program to be
offered at centers around the country. Kaplan operated four K-12 pilot
centers in Boston last year, and will now open centers nationwide. Kaplan is
also expanding its centers though its acquisition of Score! Learning Corp.
(announced separately today).
With its new Score@Kaplan program, Kaplan will offer K-12 instruction with
SuccessMaker's comprehensive courseware. Kaplan chose CCC's SuccessMaker
software because of its engaging multimedia content and its ability to adapt
to individual student's learning styles. In addition, Score! founder, Alan
Tripp attributes much of Score's success to the use of CCC's software
programs. Score!, which was founded in 1992, currently serves more than 3,500
students in 14 locations in northern and southern California.
"As a premier education provider, Kaplan's selection of CCC software is a
rewarding endorsement of SuccessMaker as an effective tool for improving
student learning and delivering measurable results," said Dr. Ronald Fortune,
CCC president and CEO. "Through our partnership with Kaplan, we are building
on CCC's community-wide learning initiative to make 'classrooms without
walls' a reality."
SuccessMaker is a family of comprehensive courseware for grades kindergarten
through 12. SuccessMaker incorporates video, sound and interactive animation
into more than 3,000 hours of content in reading, language arts, math,
science, life skills and ESL/bilingual courses. SuccessMaker is based on
national education standards and incorporates foundational courses as well as
exploratory-based curriculum. Through SuccessMaker's built-in management
system, the software adapts to each student's individual learning style,
moving them through the curriculum at a pace that's right for them. The
management system also allows educators to track student performance and
generate reports.
The Company
Computer Curriculum Corporation, one of the fastest growing units of Simon &
Schuster, is a leading publisher of educational software for the K-12 market.
By combining its comprehensive courseware with a powerful management system,
CCC enables teachers to not only create an engaging learning environment, but
establish individualized learning paths, assess progress and measure results
against appropriate standards. CCC's software is installed in more than 8,000
schools and is used by more than 1.5 million students worldwide. CCC is
committed to providing community-wide learning environments and has recently
begun delivering educational content over the World Wide Web and creating a
school-to-home link. CCC can be found on the Internet at
http://www.cccnet.com.
Simon & Schuster, the world's largest educational publisher, is the
publishing operation of Viacom Inc. Viacom is one of the world's largest
entertainment and publishing companies and a leading force in nearly every
segment of the international media marketplace.
Computer Curriculum Corporation, the Computer Curriculum Corporation logo and
SuccessMaker are registered trademarks of Computer Curriculum Corporation.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
Family Pets CD-ROM
FamilyWare
540-C N.E. Northgate Way
Suite 542
Seattle, WA 98125-6107
1-800-313-7333
Published by Essex Interactive
Retail Price -- $10.00
Program Requirements
OS: Windows 3.1
CPU: 386SX
HD Space: ? MB
Memory: 4 MB
Graphics: 640 x 480, 256 colors
CD-ROM: single-speed
Audio: 16-bit sound card
Other: mouse, printer optional
reviewed by Donna Lines
This program offers a convenient and easy to use database to track important
information regarding your family pets. You can enter information such as
the pet's name, species, date the pet joined the family, height and weight,
identifying marks, tag i.d. numbers, veterinarian information, pertinent
health information such as vaccinations, existing medical conditions and
medications, etc.
You can add photos of your pets, provided they are already scanned and saved
as bitmap files. I was able to successfully load a 79k bitmap of my dog, but
attempts at anything higher, even as small as 550k, were unsuccessful. The
Help File within the program did not specify a limit to the file size. The
limit to the file size could be affected by other factors outside of the
program, such as the amount of virtual memory available or the size of the
clipboard file.
The program also offers general tips on choosing and caring for a variety of
species such as guinea pigs, snakes, canaries, and other common household
pets. You can review this information to see the average life expectancy,
the level of care needed, and other factors that will help you determine if a
certain type of animal is right for your family.
A summary of each pet's information can be printed at the click of a mouse
button. In case you should lose your furry or not-so-furry friend, there is
even a feature that steps you through the process of making and printing a
"Missing Pet" poster that will incorporate your pet's photo.
The program was well laid out and easy to use. This program would be well
suited for children that have a special 4-H or Scouts project or anyone that
wants a handy reference tool to track their pet's information.
Window Art Kit
Hybrid-format CD-ROM for Windows and Macintosh
less than $20
for ages 4 and up
PrintPaks Inc.
513 NW 13th Avenue
Suite 202
Portland, OR 97209
503-295-6564
http://www.printpaks.com
Program Requirements
IBM Macintosh
OS: Windows 3.1, Windows 95 OS: System 7.1
CPU: 386 CPU: 68020
HD Space: 10 MB HD Space: 10 MB
Memory: 8 MB Memory: 8 MB
Graphics: 640 by 480 with 256 colors Graphics:
256 colors, 13" monitor
CD-ROM: Double-speed recommended CD-ROM: Double-speed
recommended
Audio: 8-bit Windows compatible sound card
Other: inkjet printer, mouse Other:
inkjet printer, mouse
reviewed by Frank Sereno
If you have been looking for some fun art projects for your family, PrintPaks
Inc. has several new reasonably priced products that will fill the bill.
They have separate kits for making customized magnets, pinwheels, pop-up
greeting cards and window art. Each program features Max the Dog, the
friendly online host who gives audible instruction when you click on his
nose! He's cute as a button and very helpful.
The Window Art Kit includes all materials necessary to make six transparency
pictures with frames and hangers. The program includes a selection of
colorful artwork, plus you can import images in Photo CD, TIFF and BMP
formats. You can also place text at the bottom of your graphic.
Creating your window art is very easy. The most complex part of the process
is that you must create two designs rather than a single one. This is due to
the size of the transparency paper. Max will walk you through all the steps
to create and print your design. Kids will have a blast creating their own
room decorations. One fact to keep in mind, the refill kits cost $10 each so
it is wise not to make too many window art decorations. I would also advise
that parents should supervise children under 10 to be sure that no raw
materials are wasted in the process. Setting up the printer and loading the
transparency paper may be too complicated for some younger children.
The results you get will be depend on the capabilities of your printer. My
output on a HP DeskJet 550c was very pleasing to the eye. Newer printers
will no doubt have much better results. Be sure to have clean hands when
handling the transparency paper because it will attract any oils on your skin
and create fingerprints on your artwork.
All in all, this is a well-designed program that should be tons of fun for
the entire family. Let PrintPaks Window Art Kit bring out the creative
artist in you!
WINZIP NEWS
BOTH THE 16-BIT AND 32-BIT VERSIONS NOW SUPPORT
THE OPTIONAL BUILT-IN DISK SPANNING ADD-ON
Detailed list in the WinZip 6.1 beta versions follow
Note: most of these changes all involve issues related to the introduction
of new features in earlier WinZip 6.1 beta test versions, and not affect
WinZip 6.0 and 6.0a users.
Changes between WinZip 6.1 release candidate 1 and 4a:
ú Treeview Extract dialog box now works under NT 4.0 beta 1.
ú Under Windows 95 you can specify QuikView in the Program Locations
dialog box Default Associations field without specifying the full path
(assuming QuikView is installed).
ú 16-bit Wizard "Select Different Folder" dialog in the unzip panel lets
you click OK even if the folder does not exist.
ú Wizard Search Disk option now issues an error message if you try to
search a floppy or CD ROM drive with no disk.
Changes between WinZip 6.1 beta 4a and 3b:
ú Added revised Search dialog to Wizard "Select Zip File" panel, so you
can search floppies and CD-ROM drives.
ú Added Create Shortcut to the File Menu (inspired by the Microsoft
Internet Explorer, it creates a desktop short cut for
ú the open archive).
ú Abort dialog box has correct parent window while running Wizard.
ú Include "Desktop" in Windows 95 Extract and Select Folder dialog boxes.
ú Added text "you can uninstall this program by selecting Add/Remove
Programs in the Control Panel" to the end of the
ú Wizard install panels if appropriate.
ú Put "Reuse WinZip Windows" back on the Options menu to make it easier to
drag and drop files between WinZip windows.
ú Fixed drag and drop from WinZip to printer and archive.
ú Fixed problems involving filenames with foreign characters.
ú Logic to look for readme files skips readme.exe and .com.
ú The new Windows 95 style Extract dialog box now issues an error message
if you click once on a drive that is not ready.
ú Originally selected file stays selected after changing sort order in the
Wizard Select Zip File Panel.
ú After creating a new folder in the Windows 95 style Extract and select
folder dialog boxes, the correct folder is always shown
ú Changed title on Caution dialog box to "Caution".
ú Fixed internal error when dropping files onto "Select Zip File" panel
after Search Hard Disk.
ú "Uninstall WinZip" procedure now deletes the new files wztutor.hlp and
example.zip.
ú Implemented keyboard interface in 16-bit Select Zip File panel.
ú Search for Zip files ignores zero length .zip files (e.g. files left in
Internet Explorer cache directory).
ú F1 now works in the Windows 95 style Extract dialog box.
ú Got rid of "?" button in title bar of 32-bit Wizard Options dialog box.
Changes since WinZip 6.1 beta 2a:
ú Beta 3b makes the Explorer context menus and some of the Explorer drag
and drop features work on systems that do not
ú have msvcrt40.dll installed.
ú Beta 3a fixes an internal error message when switching from the Wizard
to the Classic and back to the Wizard interface.
ú Several people reported that the Explorer context menus simply did not
show up in WinZip 6.1 beta 2a. This issue should be resolved, but if you
encounter missing Explorer context menus, please send mail to
beta@winzip.com.
ú The first version of beta 2a added a zero to any EXE file if you right
clicked on the EXE file in the Explorer. This was
ú resolved in the version posted on March 4 and in this version.
ú Only one "Extract To" item is displayed in the Explorer context menus
for Zip files.
ú "Add To Zip" no longer shows up in Explorer context menus for .zip
files, it is only used for non-zip files.
ú Explorer "Add to Zip" menu entry now works even when the Winzip Wizard
windows is active.
ú Help improvements, including an updated Brief Tutorial and Step by Step
instructions for Windows 95 users.
ú No more "help topic not found" messages while running the Wizard.
ú Switch Interface dialog is no longer displayed when closing WinZip after
the Explorer Extract-To option is used.
ú "Next Time Start with Wizard Interface" Configuration option is no
longer ignored if "Save Settings On Exit" is unchecked.
ú Option to convert long filenames to DOS format filenames is once again
working consistently.
ú Zip files opened by the Wizard are added to the File menu history list.
ú Clicking Close in the Wizard Install panel while preparing to delete
files now works.
ú Using Wizard on empty zip no longer causes internal error.
ú "Next" button is always enabled after a successful manual search in the
Wizard "Select Zip File" panel.
ú Double clicking on a zip with "Reuse WinZip Windows" in effect opens a
new WinZip window if the Wizard is in the middle of an unzip or install
operation.
ú Resolved internal error in Wizard (wizutil line 160).
ú Palette handling improved in 8-bit color mode (less flicker).
ú File/Move once again lets you you move files to a root directory.
ú Options/File Manager Extension dialog again works correctly.
ú Resolved memory leak when closing Wizard while "Select Zip File" panel
was active.
ú Wizard's "View Zip Documentation" logic now finds readme files with
folder information (e.g. disk1/readme.txt).
ú Wizard "I Know Where It Is" dialog box "Find Files Of Type" combo box
works correctly if a folder does not contain .ZIP files.
ú Wizard Select Zip Files dialog box no longer includes names with
extensions like ".zipppp" (e.g. if a file has a long name, the long name must
end with .zip or the file is not listed).
ú Window containing the wizard bitmap is resized to exactly fit the bitmap
if the bitmap doesn't fit exactly (e.g. if using large fonts).
End of changes since WinZip 6.1 beta 2a
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Atari Interactive - software/Jaguar/Computer Section
Dana Jacobson, Editor
From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
It's been a _really_ rough week. The good news was that we had no snow in
New England!! We've all experienced bad days or weeks at our places of
employment c I had the week from Hades! It was just one of those weeks that
nothing went right. And, to top it all off, one of my two coveted black with
gold leaf lettering Atari mugs was smashed to smithereens at work. My fault,
but nevertheless....
Not much happening in the world of Atari this week. The major news stories
are the massive losses at Apple, and the reselling of the Amiga line of
computers.
Toad Hall, my personal BBS, is still growing little by little. We're still
waiting for the additional hardware to arrive (red tape, naturally).
Meanwhile, we're running the new RATSoft system alongside the "original"
system which is still going strong under the MichTron BBS software. Once we
get the new storage hardware, the MichTron system will be phased out
altogether. It will be difficult to see it go. If you're interested in
checking out the largest and longest running Atari support BBS in the
Northeast, give us a buzz. The numbers are 617 567-8642 and 617-569-2489.
And of course, you can find the latest issues of STReport there. In the
near future, we'll have over a gigabyte of hard drive space and 7- CDROMs jam
packed with your favorite PD and freeware software not to mention the many
ongoing message discussions of varying topics. Drop by today!
Other than that, I've heard that the recent Atari warehouse inventory sale
has been extremely successful. Atari's Don Thomas is looking for ways to
repeat this event with other odds and ends that he might find that will be of
comparable interest to Atari enthusiasts worldwide. Stay tuned here for the
information as soon as it happens!
Until next time...
Jaguar Section
Zoop Review! Primal Rage Review!
Nintendo's "Atlantis"! Towers II!?
Fight For Life, Now! Worms?!
And More...
From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
The week started off slowly with regard to Jaguar news, but got better near
the end of the week. Spring Fever must have died down as our staff has been
busy with reviews look for reviews of Zoop and Primal Rage in this issue.
Fight For Life has finally arrived after a number of delays, a brief period
of cancellation, and much reconsideration. Now we have the opportunity see
what all of the hubbub was all about. It's on its way to us and we'll see
for ourselves,
shortly. This title may be aptly named.
JV Enterprises' Towers II has been finished for a few months now, but hasn't
yet been released. A brief item from the Internet "explains" why, or at
least their side of the story. We've included that item, along with a few
editorial comments.
4-Play's BS is still ongoing and we may have some update reports from one of
the 4-Play staff. Still no word on its release date. The word regarding
that is similar to an old wine commercial: "...released before its time."
However wine held too long .soon becomes vinegar.
Well, we have a lot of news and information for you this week, so let's get
on to it!
Until next time...
Publisher Note: From what we can deduce from 4Play's latest flurry of update
posts, they seem to have made it quite clear they have given exclusive
coverage of their efforts to another magazine. Therefore I strongly
recommend that it be found and viewed to find out anything about 4-Play's BS.
RFM
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
Sierra Buys Out Headgate Inc.
For undisclosed terms, Headgate Inc., a small developer of golf simulation
software located in Salt Lake City, has been acquired by Bellevue,
Washington, multimedia software developer Sierra On-Line Inc. Founded in
1992, Headgate employs six people, all of whom are involved in research and
development of developing golf simulation products for
the personal computer entertainment market.
Headgate President Vance Cook told United Press International his firm has
been developing a Windows 95 golf title that will raise the standard by
which PC golf games are measured. Sierra Chairman Ken Williams added, "Golf
is one of the leading categories in entertainment software publishing. The
market is actually larger than flight simulations."
And Sierra President Michael Brochu called the acquisition an integral part
of his firm's strategy to expand in sports products, adding it "represents a
move to further build the brand awareness of our popular sports line, which
includes Front Page Sports Football and Baseball, NASCAR Racing, Indy Car
Racing and Trophy Bass Fishing."
Microsoft Buys Game Control Unit
For undisclosed terms, Exos Inc., developers of what is called "the force
feedback technology" for game control devices, has been acquired by
Microsoft Corp. Reporting from Microsoft's Redmond, Washington,
headquarters, United Press International says the acquisition "underscores
the computer software giant's interest in improving the quality of personal
computer game play," noting that force feedback technology enables users to
feel gaming effects such as race-car crashes, turbulent flight simulations,
and gun recoils.
UPI says Microsoft has established an input device group that designs and
markets personal computer input devices, including the SideWinder 3D Pro
joystick, which uses digital optical technology to increase responsiveness
and precision. Rick Thompson, general manager of the input device group,
told the wire service, "We are excited to bring added realism, provided by
the force feedback technology, to our consumers' gaming experience. Soon,
players will feel every bump, every brake and crash, every jab and every
shot."
The 8-year-old Boston-based Exos, with its 12 employees, makes and sells
controllers for interactive entertainment for arcades, home video systems
and personal computers.
From CIS, comes this tidbit about a rumored new handheld machine from
Nintendo, coming late this year:
>>Larry, what's the scoop on this new handheld I hear the big N is
developing? Or maybe I just heard another rumor.<<
Here's some information regarding the handheld that our very own Joe B./Ass't
Sysop posted earlier today in the Nintendo section:
This is taken from Next Gen's web page concerning the possibility of a NEW 32
bit portable color gaming system from Nintendo.
Nintendo's Project Atlantis Secret
Next Generation Online has obtained exclusive details of Nintendo's
forthcoming color handheld game machine. We understand from sources close
to Nintendo that the company has slated the machine's release in at least one
territory before the end of this year. The machine is being developed by a
research and development outfit in Cambridge, England. The codename for the
machine is PROJECT ATLANTIS.
Project Atlantis features a low capacity chip which will run the three by two
inch colour screen based machine for up to 30 hours. The machine will not be
compatible with any other hardware currently available on the market although
it will be based on 32-bit technology. Development tools have been sent out
to selected companies all of which are under strict Non-Disclosure
Agreements.
Re-posted by Joe Balsamo/Ass't Sysop
Jaguar Game Title STR Review - "Zoop"
Available Now
Developed by: Viacom
Published by: Atari Corp.
Price: $49.99
by Joe Mirando
IS IT REALLY "ZOOPER"?
In a world of graphics intensive, stereo sound enhanced, role-playing, three
dimensional video games, is there a place for an old fashioned, two
dimensional, shoot-em-up?
On the surface, Zoop seems a fairly innocuous game. A simple four by four
grid in which you (an innocent looking colored triangle) can move around,
surrounded on each side by four columns of colored shapes which you must
eliminate by "shooting" at them before they reach the center square. Does it
sound like this game lacks the panache and sophistication that you've come to
expect in a game meant for a 64 bit system? Not to worry, there is much more
involved in this game than a first glance will show. Let's take a look at
some of the particulars of the game.
Upon inserting the ZOOP cartridge and turning on the Jaguar, you are greeted
by a series of title screens and a sample of music, a light jazz which seems
to fit the game quite well. These scenes soon disappear and are replaced by
a series of demo screens which give the novice user a taste of what can be
expected. Hitting a fire button (A, B, or C) brings you to the main menu
which allows you to set the few available options.
The main menu consists of three options: continual, level, and options.
Continual and level control how each level is started. Using the continual
option, any shapes left on a completed level will be transferred to the next
level. Using the level option clears the board when moving to the next
level except for the higher levels. Clicking on either continualor level
will begin the game. The third option, imaginatively called "options"
consists only of on/off switches for sound effects and music and an exit
button to bring you to the main menu. While simplicity is often desirable,
the ability tocontrol volume would have been nice.
After setting the sound options, if desired, selecting either continual or
level will bring you to the STAGE and DIFFICULTY screen. The STAGE options
range from one to nine. The stages are equivalent to levels with shapes
moving faster as the level number increases. The DIFFICULTY option controls
how many shapes appear at the beginning of a level.
Once these options have been set, play can begin. As mentioned earlier, in
order to eliminate a shape or line of shapes (more on this in a bit), your
piece must be the same color as the shape. To achieve this, you may either
choose to eliminate a piece that is the same color as your piece or you may
"shoot" a shape of a different color in order to "exchange" colors.
When you eliminate an advancing shape, your piece turns to the color of the
piece behind it. If there is no piece behind the eliminated one, your color
remains the same. If there are several pieces of the same color as your
piece behind one another, you will eliminate all of those pieces. This can
come in handy, as the shapes are advancing toward you and, if they enter the
center square (where you are), the game will end. This is also a good way to
increase your score since you get only a hundred points for a single
elimination but three hundred for eliminating two at once, six hundred for
three, one thousand for four, 15 hundred for five, 21 hundred for six, 28
hundred for seven, and 36 hundred for eliminating eight shapes (the maximum
possible).
Aside from eliminating shapes bye color-matching, there are also "powerups"
that give you special advantages. Powerups are distinctive shapes that
There are three powerups.
The first powerup is called a proximity bomb. The proximity bomb will
eliminate all shapes that are touching the first shape you eliminate.
Second is the line bomb. The line bomb will take out an entire line of
shapes no matter what color they are.
Last is the color bomb. This one all shapes in the same "quadrant" (side)
that are the same color as the first shape you eliminate.
All of the powerups are one-shot deals. They appear in among the other
shapes and are accessed by "shooting them. When you shoot a powerup you
take on its form and are given its "power" for one shot only. After your
first shot as a powerup you go back to being a colored triangle.
As stated earlier, the music in Zoop fits the game quite well: A throwback
to an earlier day of video gaming when the scenes were two dimensional and
you had to put a quarter in a slot to play. But all this talk of the
technologically aged does not mean that sound is lacking. The music is
melodious and carefree, making it known beyond any doubt that this is not a
life and death struggle, and the fate of the universe does not hang in the
balance. It's just a game.
The sound effects on the other hand are slightly disappointing. While the
key-press typewriter soundbyte is amusing during the option screens, the
choice of the "Q-bert"-type (remember that game?) sound effect, which is
heard each time a fire button is pressed (you can use the A, B, or C button)
is less than impressive. As you may have figured out by now, there is more
involved in playing this game than meets the eye. Zoop is one of the few
video games available for the Jaguar that requires as much strategy as
reflex. Even though the graphics may be plain by state-of-the-art standards
(there are no bitmapped, textured, 3-D graphics here), there is enough fast-
paced action to more than compensate for that.
The playing field and background are brightly colored, at times in neon
tones. This can provide a sense of disorientation that increases the sense
of urgency. Playing field and background colors change periodically, often
in garish combinations. As one of Robin Williams' on-air personas in 'Good
Morning, Vietnam' said: "Make a fashion statement. If you're going to
fight... clash!"
The real charm of Zoop is that it is easy to play. You don't need the
reflexes of a nine year old after three Jolt colas and a double espresso
(although it doesn't hurt), or an arcane knowledge of whatever the subject of
a game may happen to be. While the play is definitely fast-paced, it
doesn't depend solely on reflexes. The highest scores are obtained not by
shooting as fast as you can, but by making the best use of each shot...
"taking out" as many multiple shapes as possible at once and thereby
maximizing your score. As my grandfather used to tell me, "it's better to
work smart than to work hard".
The manual is, of course, the standard Atari "issue", in English, French, and
German. The manual stands out not because it is any more well-written than
any of the others, but because it covers all that you need to know in a
simple manner. The secret here is that the premise of the game is simple and
therefore so is the manual (although not any more so than Jaguar manuals for
other games). The manual tells you all you need to know without making you
search through the game for "Easter Eggs" (although there may be some to be
found).
Overall, I've got to say that Zoop has really grown on me. I was at first
disappointed by the graphics. But if anything, the simple graphics add to
the game, not detract from it. The emphasis is definitely on playability
here. The controls are responsive, movement is smooth, and at its most
basic level, you only have to worry about two things: Direction (you really
don't have to aim), and pushing a fire button. Zoop is an excellent light
game that won't disappoint. It may not be "ZOOPer", but it doesn't "Zuck".
Graphics: 7.5
Sound FX/Music: 7.5
Control: 8.0
Manual: 8.0
Entertainment: 8.0
Reviewer's Overall: 7.8
Jaguar Game Title STR Review - "Primal Rage"
-= Available Now =-
By Thomas Sherwin
Developed by: Time Warner Interactive
Published by: Time Warner Interactive Price: $49.99
* Author's Note: I know this is an arcade translation, but I don't spend time
in the arcades. The first time I put the PR CD into the Jag was the first
time I EVER played PR. Try to keep that in mind when you read the review. I
played the actual arcade game a couple of times not too long ago, but didn't
spend a lot of time with it. If you're an avid arcade fan, you may have a
VERY different perspective. But on to the show...
I'm going to skip the background story... no matter how you slice it, a
fighting game is still a fighting game. In Primal Rage, you get to assume
the forms of seven dinosaurs, ranging from a smaller (yet ferocious) ape to
the massive T. Rex. In addition to "standard" moves,each dino has their own
special moves and fatalities. You can also string together a set of moves
and get special "combo" bonuses.
I'm not the most experienced gamer, but one touch I liked was the flexibility
of the gaming. Virtually everything is configurable:
* Control layout
* Length of match
* # of kills to win match
* Difficulty levels (for one player, a standard "rating"; for two
players, a "handicap" system)
For one player, it's basically a choice between training and full match play.
Like most fighting games, you really need a second human to play against for
maximum fun. With two players, you can go standard head-to-head where you
just try to beat your opponent up ASAP. In a "tug of war", a single status
bar measures the dinos' life. When you hit your opponent, he is one tick
closer to dying. But if he hits you back, your attack is effectively
negated. Yes, it can get quite long. You can also play the endurance match
where you each get four dinos. When one dies, another comes along to take
it's place... effectively putting you in four continuous matches. Better
start doing those finger exercises.
Graphics: If you're looking for arcade perfect, you'll probably be
disappointed. But if you're just looking for a GOOD translation, The Jag
version fits the bill. The colours aren't quite as crisp and the dinos
aren't as big as the arcade version. And given the EXTREME memory
requirements of the stop motion action, the number of animated frames for
each character has dropped. The action and scrolling are still pretty
smooth. These nitpicks are inevitable as everyone will compare it to
thearcade machine. But I still found the Jag version high-quality and worthy
of the "next generation" gaming category.
One interesting note: When two of the same dino are on the screen
simultaneously, more animation frames are loaded making their movement
smoother.
Until it's pointed out to you, it doesn't seem to make a big difference. But
once you notice it, the difference will be night and day.
FWIW, I did have occasion to SEE (and only SEE) the PSX version. The Jag
holds its own quite well.
Sound FX/Music: About as close to the arcade as I can figure. I'm sure
someone will have some nitpicks, but it all sounded 99% there to me. So if
you like the arcade version, you'll like this. If the arcade really bugged
you, this one is no remedy.
Control: Response time could be a little faster (I'm used to Ultra Vortek in
Turbo mode), but it is perfectly playable.
Using the normal controller, the controls can get pretty difficult for some
of the more advanced moves. The standard gamepad uses the Option button as
the fourth button, and that can make a lot of things VERY tricky. I don't
have the Pro Controller, but Internet scuttlebutt has it what it makes a
world of difference. I guess if you bought the Jag CD just to play PR, your
purchases aren't over quite yet...
Internet rumblings also claim that the special moves/fatalities for the
characters are more or less the same for the Jag version as compared to the
arcade. Not having much experience on the arcade version, I can't verify one
way or the other.
Manual: It's there. It tells you what you need to know. Nothing major.
One curious thing is that it is ONLY in English (or at least MY version).
I'm used to my Jag games having a thick manual in 1000 languages. But don't
think I'm complaining. ;)
Entertainment: The Jag has its share of fighting games, but not nearly as
many as the other consoles (16 or 32 bit). And with Double Dragon V,
Dragon, and Kasumi Ninja being the "competition", Primal Rage is all that
much better. Primal Rage is not only more than most other fighters on the
Jag, it's a good game in its own right. The moves can get a bit tricky, but
any game with the "Fart of Fury" and the "Power Puke" is a fun one in MY
book! ;)
And as I've found with fighting games, it's value goes up dramatically when
you face another human opponent.
Misc. Annoyances: The CD load times = LLOOOONNNNGGG! Yeah, it's annoying.
But I'd hate to see what it would look like if they had to fit it on a 4MB
cart.
Graphics: 8.0
Sound FX/Music: 8.0
Control: 7.0 (normal controller)
Manual: 7.5
Entertainment: 8.5
Reviewer's Overall: 8.5
If you're a die-hard Rage-A-Holic and you won't settle for ANYTHING but an
arcade-perfect translation, you may be disappointed. Then again, you might
be disappointed in ANY home console version. But for the rest of us who want
a good translation or just a fun fighting game, Primal Rage fits the bill.
You might want to invest in a Pro Controller, but it's still fun to play
with the standard set. It's a good addition to the any Jag CD owner's
library.
Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr!
Towers II Status?
From: skip <pmnmjs@pippin.cc.flinders.edu.au>
Date: 15 Apr 1996 01:05:20 GMT
prolly not :( (unless someone will be financial backer...Telegames
perhaps ?)
<forwarded message>
This message is in response to the one you sent me on GEnie. Currently
Towers II is on Hold. The game has been completely finished since about
January, with the E2PROM code, and November without it.
In November Atari sent us an outstanding evaluation for the game. We thought
we had it. Then Atari downsized and several games including ours got pushed
aside. We decided to find a financial backer. We found one, and was
beginning to prepare Towers II for release. We were just waiting for
prices, when Atari merged with JTS. Our backer then backed out. :( I
don't blame him.
We then heard on the Internet that JTS/Atari was 'looking' for new software.
So we sent Don Thomas, the only person we could get a hold of, a letter
reminding them about Towers II. He sent this response back:
"I've been informed by a number of internal gaming experts that Towers II
would not sell very well and, consequently, we do not have plans to publish
it. I will not publicly tell people that we have determined it's not
something we want to publish, but that happens to be the situation."
We were really excited about bringing Towers II to the Jag. We have been
getting letters constantly, about its release. And everyone that has seen
the Jaguar version, with the exception of the gaming experts, enjoyed the
game. Good reviews even came from Atari, as I still have the faxed
evaluation from them, and T-bird and Scott from 4-play gave us
good reviews as well.
We do not have the resources to release such a title on our own, so as it
stands Towers II is on hold.
Sorry,
Vince @ JV Enterprises
<end forwarded message>
[Editor's note: I did talk with Atari's Don Thomas about the above comments
to get Atari's "side" of the story. Essentially, Atari will not be
publishing the game. I was told little else due to non disclosure policies.
My personal speculation, having not seen the game, is that Atari likely
feels the game doesn't merit the expense of publishing itthemselves. Atari
has stated that games will be published on a "case by case" basis. This
philosophy seems to bear truth as no updated game release schedule has been
made public. Other than a game or two advance notice, we have no idea what
will be coming next, or when. Anyway, how many copies of Towers II could JV
Enterprises expect to sell? If the game is as good as they claim (and I
hope that it is as I've been looking forward to this one myself!), can't they
try to get someone else to publish the game for them? Telegames? Computer
West? Readysoft? Since the game is done, why hasn't the press received it
for review (major big hint!!)? What does the public think? If you're
interested in getting Towers II, drop me a line in email at "dpj@delphi.com"
and let me know. Let's see how many copies of the game we can "pre sell"!!
Maybe JV Enterprises will send us a copy to review as well. It can't hurt to
generate some interest in the game, good or bad. Are you listening Vince?]
Also from the UseNet, regarding "Worms":
Worms/Team 17/Ocean
I just checked out Team 17's "Worm Wide Web" and as of March 11th the Jaguar
version of Worms was just "weeks" away from completion. It is apparently
still slated for a May 96 release with Ocean doing the honors. The Jaguar
game is a 2 megabyte cartridge and is virtually identical to the PC version.
Team 17 are calling it "the most playable Jaguar gameever??" Here's hoping
everyone (Team17/Ocean) comes through on this one!
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
On CompuServe
compiled by
Joe Mirando
73637,2262
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Yep, it's that time again. The time when
some of you will skim right past this section because you could care less
about Atari computers or because you don't have one anymore. Well hey, it's
your loss. Every week we talk about lots of things that ave to do with all
facets of computing... everything from how to troubleshoot a Mac, to how to
not wipe out while surfing the Internet. Heck, we're well-rounded folks
who've got more interests, information, questions and answers than you'd
ever dream of but hey, you've got important things to do like check out what
the memory requirement of the month is or how many config.sys files you can
fit on a pinhead.
Nope, no attitude here, huh? Well, let's get on with the reason for this
column... but before we do, I'd like to say that you can feel free to email
me at any time at 73637.2262@compuserve.com and let me know what you're
thinking about whatever. Now let's take a look at what people are talking
about on CompuServe.
From the Atari Computing Forums
On the subject of using the MacNav, the CompuServe navigator for the Apple
Macintosh, "Dak" posts:
"I will try Mac Navigator. I merely have to "Go" somewhere and download it.
There's too much clicking in MacCim though I enjoy exploring - and some
people slam CIS for not integrating the WWW browser but it is my experience
that the separate PPP connection for Macs is speedier than AOL and I can use
Netscape & MS Explorer (yeah, I d'l'ed a Microsloth product). A good fax
program for Power Mac? So far Straight Fax is it for me."
Jon Sanford tells Dak:
"I have Aladin Sitcom for the mac, but for BBSing I use FLASH2 on the
MegaSTE. Also I am beginning to get better results with MagiCMac. See my
posts under MagiCMac subject heading. Atari not only lives it now lives
(conditionally) <B{> on the Mac."
On the future of the Intel processor line Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer
Online Magazine posts:
"Once Intel can dump x86 compatibility... it should be better or at least
that is the claim. I still use my ST regularly and sometimes wish I could
use it for all my software development at work. But unfortunately that will
not be happening anytime soon or at least until I can find an Eiffel
compiler for the Atari."
Dave Hudspeth tells Albert:
"I think Intel is making strides towards that--the Pentium Pro runs 16 bit
code a lot slower than the Pentium. The next generations will depart even
further from the hardware standards, and achieve backwards compatibility thru
some sort of emulator I'd guess. The VLIW chip in development looks
interesting as well..."
While trying to install and run a web browser I post:
"Now I feel _very_ inadequate! I installed the TAF (Toronto Atari
Federation) disks, got MINTNP and set it up, got the CABMINT.GZ file, tried
to uncompress it using GZIP.TTP and found that it uncompressed one large file
which seems to contain a readme file and an executable (the CAB.OVL
file??)...."
Chris Gray tells me:
"You're looking at a tar archive. The real name of CABMINT.GZ is something
like cab-overlay-for-mint.tar.gz (!). Now that you've un-gz'd it you need
to untar it: GNU tar was on the TAF discs too I think? So you need to do
something like:
tar -xvf CABMINT
(you might like to do it with -tvf first, to see what you're going to get and
where).
Out there in the un*x world a tool is expected to do just one job, so gzip
only compresses a single file and tar combines several files into an archive
but does not compress. (Actually you can make tar invoke gzip automagically,
but I won't confuse you any further!"
I tell Chris:
"Thank you very much. I wasn't aware of the limitations of GZIP and TAR. I
never stopped to think that programs could have only one single-minded
function, but I should have known better. I'm fairly (or un-fairly <g>) used
to DOS commands and those commands are for the most part one-function
programs. Thanks for the help... I'm off to get TARed and feathered!
<grin>"
Mark Kelling jumps in and adds:
"You have discovered the wonderful world of UNIX software! Millions of tiny
little programs all doing exactly one simple thing linked together by
hundreds of cryptic commands which are actually batch files which call all of
those tiny little programs so they can each do their part before passing the
result along to another of those tiny little programs finally resulting in
[maybe] what you were after! <grin>"
I reply to Mark:
"Jeez, it DOES sound like DOS! <evil grin> I've just D/L'd the latest
version of CABMINT... 176. Can anyone tell me what I need to do besides
setting the cache path to the minix partition?? Must/can CAB now be run
under MINTNP? When I try, the darned thing just hangs.
I haven't been able to find any docs on this new CAB.OVL, or any of its
CABMINT predecessors. I'll U/L the new file in a bit... It was posted on
brisnet.org.au on April 9. I'll also un-TAR it and re-compress it using good
old wholesome STZIP." Neil Newman was nice enough to post to tell me
exactly how much can be involved in setting something like this up. There
is quite a bit involved so I won't go into it all right now, but rest assured
that I will let you know how to do it... as soon as I figure it out myself.
Chris Gray tells us that he's...
"...got the new verion of CAB (Crystal Atari Browser) and it seems to fall
over its own cache less often (it still happens, though). I've had less
work with searchable indices: If I go to
http://plato.digiweb.com/kiffer/chris_gray/photos.html and try to use my own
search engine, after I fill in the query box CAB fetches about 600 bytes and
then just sits there...
Let's face it though, it's pretty darn good. Just think what Netscape would
have if they advanced this fast: <BANNER>, <UL PLAIN>, <UL SRC=...>, <LINK
REL=...>, maybe even style sheets."
Jondahl Davis asks for help so that he can reach out and touch someone:
"I'm having problems trying to get into a foreign BBS. I can't do the whole
dialing process throgh the modem because AT&T requires me to say "Operator "
or "Calling Card" in the middle of the dialing process. I tried it with an
operator,but he modem won't detect the carrier. After the operator started
the dialing process,I used ATH1 to switch from the handset to the modem. The
carrier was on,but not detected. Do I have to use a dummy ATDT command to get
the modem to listen for the carrier?"
Joe Lensbower tells Jondahl:
"I call Europe all the time with my ST and HST modem and never have a
problem. From what country to what country are you calling? Are you sure
you are using enough numbers? If you need a pause between the country code
and the number you can insert a comma (,) in the string of numbers."
Jondahl asks Joe:
"How are you dialing out with the country code? If I just dial 011 or 1011 it
won't work. The phone book says you have to dial 00,then follow the voice
instructions. I'll never get the timing right on the modem because you have
to enter numbers right after the messages. After 00,you have to wait for the
message,then dial the number,say "Operator" or "calling card",then enter the
card number and PIN after other messages. What long distance service are you
using? I thought AT&T was supposed to make things easier!"
Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine asks Jondahl:
"I have never called a foreign BBS so I would not know what to tell you. If
you dial the number directly including country code, etc why would it be
necessary to have the operator involved in the middle?"
Jondahl tells Albert:
"You have to say "Operator or Calling Card". There's almost no way I can time
it right so as to switch from modem to handset,say the word,then switch back
to modem in time to put in the calling card numbers. The timing is too tight.
The modem won't pick up on the carrier anyway when I do get through. You
can't dial 011 or even 1011 to dial out. Dialing 00,then waiting for the
AT&T message to dial the number,entering the number,saying "Calling Card" or
"Operator",then dialing the calling card number,then the PIN is required.
The phone book indicates this is the only way to do it. Are you using AT&T?
I'm starting to wish I'd stuck with MCI."
And to Joe Lensbower he replies:
"Thanks for the info. I think I tried just the number,starting with 011 and
it gave an error message,but I'll try again. I know it should be possible.
Are you using AT&T? Maybe I should have stuck with MCI (or it could be
BellSouth's fault)."
P.Walding posts:
"I personally think that Geneva / Neodesk 4 on my Mega4STe / Crazy Dots II
graphics card combo gives me one of the best user interfaces I've seen /
used on any machine. I still maintain that productivity on my Mega , etc is
better than doing similar work on a PC / Win95 or Mac / System 7. MagicMac /
Ease certainly feel nicer than System 7 without Aaron."
Michel Vanhamme tells "P":
"I never tried Aaron, it's the utility that gives the Mac a 3D, Copland-like
interface, isn't it? I hear it's rather buggy? But you're right,
MagiCMac/Ease feels snappier. One thing that I've very quickly gotten
accostumed to, though, was long filenames. I wish Ease (and Atari programs
in general) would support them, especially since MagiCMac itself seems to
support them."
Being a well-rounded user, Frank Heller tells Michel:
"I use Aaron 1.3.1 in both my 520c Powerbook and 7500 PPC. If there are bugs
being presented by the utility...it's news to me. The only thing I have ever
perceived as a bug would be how Aaron treats the menu items in a program
called Canvas. But according to the Aaron programmer...it is because Canvas
fails to follow Macintosh programming protocol standards. Hmmm...does that
sound familiar? Aaron does four things of note to the look and feel of a
stock Mac 7.xx
O/S:
It redraws all the windows, buttons and dialog boxes so that they have a
kind of 3D "look" to them. You can read that as a PC look. It adds a special
"window shade" button to menu windows. It also replaces the system font and
finally, it adds this kind of dopey "spinning box" animation whenever a
window is opened or closed. This last part actually slows things down a tad.
There is a utility out there that rewrites part of Aaron's code to stop that
little stunt. I used that on my Powerbook installation of Aaron. The 7500
doesn't seem to be affected all that much. Something to do with the 100mHz
CPU perhaps?
Aaron really does make the Mac look rather spiffy as opposed to the stock
look. You can also disable Aaron during bootup, if you wish."
Michel Vanhamme tells Frank:
"Thanks for the info on Aaron. I read some "Aaron crashes my Mac" stories
about it on the net, and being new to the Mac, decided not to touch it <g>.
Of course, it's always difficult to know what conflicts with what on a Mac...
OK, so maybe I'll try it then..."
Well folks, that's about it for this week. Tune in again next week, same
time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
"A slave has but one master;
the ambitious man has many masters as
there are persons whose aid may contribute to
the advancement of his fortune..."
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STR OnLine! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" April 19, 1996
Since 1987 Copyrightc1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1216
