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Silicon Times Report Issue 1235
Silicon Times Report
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August 30, 1996 No.1235
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08/30/96 STR 1235 The Original Independent OnLine Magazine!
- CPU Industry Report - Corel News - Bell South an ISP?
- HP NEW Workstation - Modem Chips UP - Sony NET Terminal
- Sony WEB TV - Karpov Dominates - Thumbs Plus 3.0d
- NBA SUES AOL!! - People Talking - Jagwire
Mega Telecom Merger Announced
Reno Says Justice Site Safe
CIS Spin-Off Delayed
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Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35
Results: 8/17/96: 4 of 6 numbers, one 3 number match
From the Editor's Desk...
What a Week! The Hare virus hits a friend of ours and possibly us. One
of our Western Digital 2.5 gb Eide hard disks went out to lunch... strangely
enough it seems it occurred on the 22nd of August... As did our friend's
machine. Oh well, such is life. In any case, after a rather distressed call
to Western Digital, they shipped a brand spanking new drive Fed-Ex
overnight... no questions asked. The next morning a drive was at my door.
That's what I call solid customer support.
This week, a number of new software packages arrived for review. I
expect that I'll be quite busy for the next few weeks getting those reviews
out. Stay tuned....
Ralph..
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STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Microsoft Denies Netscape Charge
Microsoft Corp. labels "without merit" recent antitrust allegations made by
rival Netscape Communications Corp. in letters to the U.S. Justice
Department. The Redmond, Washington, software giant said it "adheres
strictly to all legal requirements" including those contained in a 1994
consent decree settling federal antitrust charges. It was revealed earlier
this week (GO OLT-161) that Netscape has broadened its antitrust charges,
alleging Microsoft offered improper payments and other inducements to
persuade PC makers and Net service providers to use Microsoft's World Wide
Web software.
From Seattle, the Reuter News Service says Microsoft has denied offering a $3
discount on its Windows 95 operating system to computer makers who promise to
hamper access to Netscape's Navigator browser. In an unsigned statement,
Microsoft said, "There is not and has never been any $3 discount for making
competing browsers 'less accessible.'" Reuters says the firm also denied
that any of its agreements with Internet service providers obligate them to
provide Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser exclusively and noted that
customers are free to switch between browsers.
Also the company defended its practice of limiting the number of users
allowed on a single copy of its Windows NT Workstation as "standard practice
in the software industry." Microsoft said Netscape, which has criticized the
new licensing arrangement, uses similar licensing agreements to limit the
number of users allowed to connect to some of its software products. In its
statement, Microsoft also denied that its strategy of giving away the
Internet was "predatory," as Netscape had charged. "Microsoft noted that
Netscape initially obtained its dominant share of the browser market largely
by giving away the product," Reuters added.
Microsoft Pressures Alleged
Microsoft Corp. is being accused by several PC makers of wielding its
operating system dominance in an attempt to push Internet Explorer to the top
of the browser market. The allegations come just as Microsoft is denying
charges filed with the U.S. Justice Department by rival Netscape
Communications Corp. that cited at least five areas where it believes
Microsoft is violating anticompetitive and antitrust laws.
Now PC Week reports that seven original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) it
contacted said Microsoft used various pressure tactics to emphasize Internet
Explorer over Netscape Navigator. "Two said Microsoft has threatened to
re-evaluate Windows 95 licensing fees if competing products, namely
Navigator, are bundled on their systems," Lisa DiCarlo and Michael Moeller
and of PC Week Online report. "In addition, one OEM alleged Microsoft is
also flexing its muscle by withholding participation in marketing programs
with vendors that bundle both Navigator and Internet Explorer, instead of IE
exclusively."
Still, another OEM told the publication Microsoft tried to raise its Windows
95 licensing fee when the vendor requested that Microsoft remove IE 3.0 from
the operating system. "These are central issues in Netscape's claims that
Microsoft, through decreased Windows 95 royalty payments and stepped-up
support of IE, hurts Netscape's ability to compete in the browser market," PC
Week Online commented.
Microsoft Vice President William Neukom, in charge of law and corporate
affairs at the software publisher, vehemently denied Microsoft offered any
financial incentives to PC makers and denied all charges made by Netscape in
the letter to the Justice Department. To this, Vice President Brad Chase of
Microsoft's Internet Platform and Tools Division added, "This is not right.
We busted our butt to get a great product out to market and in the end,
customers are winning. We have not done anything wrong. The allegations are
just not true."
But, says PC Week Online, PC makers it talked to "told a different story,
although all requested anonymity due to fear of reprisal from Microsoft."
The publication quoted an executive at one OEM as saying, "They said there
could be a review of licensing fees if we bundle a competitive product."
Added an executive at another OEM, "We thought our licensing fees would
decrease if they removed IE, but they said they would increase, so we kept it
on."
PCO quotes antitrust attorneys as saying these charges are likely to force
the Justice Department to step up its investigation of Microsoft, but they
question whether the investigation would result in a formal lawsuit. Says
John Briggs, past chairman of the American Bar Association's section on
antitrust, "Even if you put all of Netscape's charges together and take them
as being true, it is not clear if Microsoft violates any antitrust
legislation."
Net Authority Licenses New Names
The fierce competition to register desirable Internet addresses may soon cool
as word comes the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority has decided to give out
several new licenses to firms that will register new "domain" names starting
in 1997. Currently, the Herndon, Virginia, Network Solutions Inc. has the
sole license from the authority to register address names in the most common
top-level categories, most of which end with one of a few three letter
designations, including ".com" for private sites, ".gov" for government sites
and ".edu" for sites run by schools.
"The availability of new names and competing registration services should
help quell disputes over popular or trademarked names," writes reporter
Aaron Pressman of the Reuter News Service. Pressman notes Network Solutions
registers names for sites in those three so-called top-level domains along
with ".org" and ".net," charging $100 for a two-year registration. "That
greatly limits the number of available names," he says, "creating competition
and even bidding wars for prestige monikers like 'television.com' or
'cybercafe.com.'"
Pressman says the numbers authority is in the process of appointing a
committee that will review applications from companies interested in
registering names under the new top level domains, according to authority
head Jon Postel, who added that ultimately "a few" companies will be given
authority over three new top level domains each.
Postel said the committee will begin accepting applications in October and
new names could be in service by the end of January. The registration
companies will be able to set their own prices with a small percentage of the
fees going into a fund to improve the Internet's central infrastructure,
Postel said.
Reno Says Justice Site Safe
Intruders who vandalized the U.S. Justice Department's site on the Internet's
World Wide Web did not get access to criminal files, says U.S. Attorney
General Janet Reno. "My understanding is that there is a clear wall between
the two systems," Reno said a her weekly news briefing yesterday. "The
system designed for public information is separate from that that tracks
criminal investigations."
As reported earlier, last Friday night, intruders altered the Justice
Department's online page (reached at Web address http://www.usdoj.gov),
adding swastikas, obscenities and a picture of Adolf Hitler in an apparent
protest against the controversial Communications Decency Act that prohibits
transmission of "indecent" material on the Net.
The page was shut down for about 48 hours until it could be restored. Reno
says the department's web page was separate from its other computer files.
"In this situation, it is a system that is available for the public because
it is the Web site, designed to provide information to the public. And thus,
it is more difficult to prevent hacking." Reno adds, "What we had done and
what this nation needs to do with respect to all its computer systems is
continue to refine our knowledge and develop greater knowledge of what can be
done to prevent hacking." Reuters notes, "Reno and other officials have
warned that the U.S. computer network is vulnerable to theft and sabotage and
have called for stronger computer security measures."
Frankenberg Said Leaving Novell
Word is Robert Frankenberg is resigning as chief Novell Corp. after two years
at the helm of the networking company. A highly regarded, longtime
Hewlett-Packard Co. manager, Frankenberg was recruited to succeed Ray Noorda,
the company patriarch who built Novell into the dominant company in the field
of computer networking software. "But," notes reporter Lee Gomes in this
morning's The Wall Street Journal, "because of what many industry observers
describe as an obsession with Microsoft Corp.'s Bill Gates, Mr. Noorda began
a series of acquisitions meant to attack Microsoft that were ultimately
disastrous for Novell. The most notable was the 1994 purchase of WordPerfect
Corp., for which Novell paid $1.4 billion in a stock swap. It ended up
selling WordPerfect to Corel Corp. in Janary for stock valued at $132
million."
The Journal remembers that when Frankenberg took over at Novell, there was
much industry discussion about whether he would be able to turn the company
into a rival to Microsoft, "but quickly, Novell's core networking business
began having trouble." The paper says that as Noorda's "ill-fated
acquisitions drained resources," Novell's core networking segment lost ground
to Microsoft's Windows NT operating system, resulting in a string of weak
quarters." Now, comments Gomes, "It isn't clear whether any successor can
pull Novell out of its dive. Microsoft recently released a new, more flexible
version of Windows NT, which is expected to be a blockbuster product that
further erodes Novell's position."
NBA Sues America Online, Stats Inc.
America Online Inc. and Stats Inc. have been sued by the National Basketball
Association, which allege the online services used game scores and data
without permission. The Associated Press notes the NBA seeks unspecified
damages and wants to block AOL from using real-time information on its games
supplied by Stats Inc. Adds AP, "The suit is almost identical to one
against Motorola Inc. that the NBA won last month.
In that ruling, a federal judge said Motorola could not put out scores on a
hand-held pager that simulates action during NBA games because the league
owned the scores. Stats Inc. was also named in the Motorola suit." Three
weeks ago, Vienna, Va., -based AOL asked a Virginia court for a judgment
that it is within its rights to use the NBA scores. AOL chairman Steve Case
said in an statement, "We believe the new online medium should have the same
right to report on real-time events and news as television and radio."
H&R Block Retains CompuServe
Tax preparation company H&R Block has decided not to complete the spin-off of
the rest of its Compuserve Inc. subsidiary, at least for now. H&R Block
interim president Frank Salizzoni told the Reuter News Service
the Kansas City, Mo., company, which owns 80 percent of Compuserve after
spinning off part earlier this year, has decided not to present the proposed
spin-off of the rest to shareholders at its annual meeting scheduled for
Sept. 11. Said Salizzoni, "The board continues to believe that a separation
of Compuserve is in the best interests of H&R Block shareholders and will
continue to consider the matter." H&R Block spun off 20 percent of
Compuserve in April and had planned to distribute the rest to its
shareholders.
Companies Meet on New Net Standard
Representatives of more than 40 companies, including AT&T Corp., Apple
Computer Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Novell Inc. and Sun
Microsystems Inc., are meeting with Microsoft Corp. this week for the first
technical conference on the common Internet file system (CIFS) protocol, a
propsed standard for remote file-sharing over the Internet and corporate
intranets.
A plug-and-play infrastructure for business networking, CIFS will let
computer users collaborate over the Internet without having to install new
networking software, buy new hardware or change the way they work, notes
Microsoft. Because CIFS is based on protocol standards already widely used
in corporate networks, tens of thousands of existing business applications
will be able to operate over the Internet and share data easily with
applications for the World Wide Web, adds the software giant.
"In much the same way that French became the universal language of diplomacy,
and English the common language of business, CIFS is poised to become the
common 'language' for business networking," says Gary Voth, Microsoft's group
product manager responsible for strategic technologies and standards. "CIFS
helps create a world in which companies can mix and match network clients and
servers, regardless of operating system, so users can collaborate easily
across different business projects."
According to Microsoft, CIFS defines a common access protocol for sharing
files and business information of all types over the Internet and corporate
intranets, not just Web pages. CIFS is an enhanced version of Microsoft's
open, cross-platform server message block (SMB) protocol, the native
file-sharing protocol in the Windows 95, Windows NT and OS/2 operating
systems, and also widely available for Unix, VMS and other platforms.
With support from other industry leaders, Microsoft submitted the CIFS
specification to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a draft
document in June 1996. For more details about CIFS, visit
http://www.microsoft.com/intdev/cifs/.
Groves Sees Net Eliminating Jobs
Jobs that thousands of people now perform are threatened as use of the
Internet grows, says Intel Corp. President/CEO Andrew Groves, adding, "The
Internet is eliminating the person in the middle of many common
transactions." Speaking recently with Newsweek Magazine, the leader of the
world's largest semiconductor supplier said, "Instead of using an 800
(toll-free) number, the consumer is going to tap into a database, get
information, place orders, do various things -- whether we are talking banks
or travel reservations, or ordering books, cars, TVs, health care, whatever."
Said Groves, "If I were in one of those industries, or I were an individual
earning my living that way, I would view the Internet as a tidal wave that's
going to wipe me out. I would be running as far as my feet go, redoing all my
reservations systems, order systems, customer databases, so that masses of
people would be able to reach them from their computer."
Groves also told Newsweek "strategic inflection points" -- periods of
dramatic change that hit an industry -- also hit individuals and that people
should prepare for that change. "There are lots of people who have spent
decades honing a skill, " said the Intel chief. "Major change in the world is
creeping up on them, and they're not taking advantage. Your career is your
business, and you have to manage it like a businessman."
Phone Industry Feeling Net Strain
Phone industry experts say phenomenal growth in use of the Internet is
becoming such a strain on today's phone networks that more and more people
dialing plain old phone calls won't get through. Writing in The Chicago
Tribune, reporter Jon Van says Internet popularity is challenging "the
engineering assumptions that underpin the public phone network." This comes,
experts say, "just at a time when most phone executives have focused their
attention on deregulation and competition rather than maintaining their
networks' nearly flawless performance."
In a nutshell, the problem is:
ú Computers can tie up phone lines for hours or days at a time, which can
overwhelm a network designed on the assumption that most phone calls last
only three to five minutes.
ú Phone networks are designed with the notion that only 10 percent of
residential and 20 percent of business customers are talking at any given
time, so the lines and switches can be shared by lots of people because
ú most aren't using them.
Phone networks can crash when hordes of customers dial up at the same time,
as sometimes happens during radio-station promotions and call-ins for popular
concert tickets, Van notes, and, according to a new study by Bellcore, a
telecommunications consulting and engineering company based in Morristown,
New Jersey, thousands of computer modems dialing into the Internet are having
a similar effect. The Bellcore study estimates that at the very least, each
of the nation's seven phone regions would have to spend an average of $35
million a year for several years to adress the Internet problem, or perhaps
$1 billion or more altogether.
"While voice calls tie up a line for three minutes or so, Bellcore found the
average time for an Internet call is 20 minutes," Van writes. "These
increases multiply through the system so that up to 10 times the expected
load can be seen at switches serving Internet providers. A Bellcore model
suggested that if just 4 percent of a network's lines are tied up with
Internet calls, it could increase blockage of calls by sixtyfold."
Sex Offender Database Backed
Pledging support of a law that would follow every move of every child
molester, President Clinton says a temporary computer system to track sex
offenders throughout the country will be in place within six months.
Speaking in his weekly radio address yesterday, Clinton said the national
database will be compiled from information supplied by each state, while a
new computer network will allow police to determine quickly and efficiently
whether an individual was a registered sex offender anywhere in the United
States.
The Reuter News Service says Clinton's announcement is an interim step in the
establishment of a permanent National Sex Offender Registry due to be
completed by mid-1999 that is to include state-of-the-art identification
techniques such as DNA, fingerprint matching and mugshots. Explaining how
the system would work, Clinton said every time a sex offender was released,
his state would force them to register. The FBI then would compile these
state lists into a national database.
"Within six months, a new computer network will give states information from
every other state for the very first time ... Then they will share that
information with the families and communities that have a right to know," he
said. The wire service notes groups such as the American Civil Liberties
Union have voiced fears that the national registry would infringe on
Constitutional protections.
Java Development Fund Set Up
A $100 million fund to invest in start-up firms developing businesses bsed on
the hot new Java technology for the Internet's World Wide Web has been
created. Investors in the new fund, set up by high-tech venture capital
powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, include 10 major technology
companies, among them IBM, Compaq Computer Corp. and Netscape Communications
Corp.
The Java Fund now is closed to any new investment, says Samuel Perry of the
Reuter News Service. In Menlo Park, California, fund manager Kevin Compton
told the wire service the fund aims to improve small firms' access to
corporate investors at a time when new product development has been shortened
considerably by the frenzy over the Web, adding, "These companies have to
live in Web weeks now, and instead of spending a year, or who knows how long,
it takes to get corporate partners, they've got them on day one."
In Java developer Sun Microsystems Inc. -- itself launched with support from
Kleiner Perkins and now the largest investor in the fund after Kleiner
Perkins' institutional investors as a group -- chief technology officer Eric
Schmidt, at Sun Microsystems said, "We could have just let the market take
care of this because there's a lot of money in the market right now."
However, he noted, the fund aims to build on the broad enthusiasm over Java,
which has been licensed by a wide range of software developers ranging from
Redmond, Washington-based software giant Microsoft Corp. to the Taiwanese
government. In addition to IBM, Compaq and Netscape, other corporate
investors in the fund include Cisco Systems Inc., the cable TV companies
Comcast Corp. and Tele-Communications Inc., Japan's Itochu Corp., Oracle
Corp. and US West Media Group.
Iomega Upgrades Customer Support
Iomega Corp. has announced a new customer support service that it promises
will decrease customer service wait times across its product lines and
improve the overall quality of its technical support. Under the new
structure, customers have the option of utilizing free upgraded automated
support tools or a new fee-based technical hotline.
"As a result of our growth, we recognize the immediate need to improve our
technical support service, and we have implemented innovative programs to
address those needs," says Scott Thomas, director of customer support at Roy,
Utah-based Iomega. "Iomega is committed to providing the best technical
support in the industry at an affordable cost, and thus we've chosen programs
that will ultimately save our customers time, frustration and money."
The fee-based hotline will be available at $14.99 per incident for Iomega's
Zip and Ditto drives and $19.99 per incident for its Jaz drives. The new
no-cost support services include a Web site;
(http://www.iomega.com),
featuring expanded search and retrieval capabilities, a faxback service, a
compute bulletin board system and an interactive voice response system.
CA Creates Internet Division
A new Internet division promising to save businesses from the headaches of
seeking numerous vendors now needed to set up and manage a Web site is being
set up by Computer Associates International Inc. CA, which manages Web sites
for large corporate customers, also plans to sign up hundreds of thousands of
small businesses to use the service whether they own computers or not, writer
Eric Auchard of the Reuter News Service reports.
Adds Auchard, "In this 'community' Internet service, neighborhood businesses
such as pizza parlors would contract with Computer Associates to establish an
Internet presence, allowing customers to call up a shop's Web site to place
an order. Currently, a company wishing to establish itself on the Internet is
confronted with a maze of separate vendors from which they must buy the
necessary hardware, software and (consulting) services to put together the
disparate elements."
The wire service says the aim of CA's one-stop Internet service is to
shoulder "all the messy technical responsibilities for customers," allowing
them to focus on their own business. While not so well known as Microsoft
Corp. and other brand name PC software makers, Computer Associates is the
world's top mainframe software supplier and the second largest independent
software firm overall after Microsoft.
CA itself isn't discussing its new unit, but sources familiar with the plans
confirmed for Reuters that the new Internet unit has been formed to help
customers create dynamic Web sites tied to internal corporate database
systems. "A special focus would be to make customer information stored on
legacy mainframe systems available via the Web," Reuters says. "Web-based
electronic commerce tools would tie the system directly to a company's
back-office accounting department."
HP to Offer New Workstation
Word is Hewlett-Packard Co. is set to introduce workstations that use chips
from Intel Corp. and an operating system from Microsoft Corp. and three new
models of personal computers for the home market. Last spring, HP brought
out an ambitious new product family of relatively low-cost "Wintel" based
servers, or high-end computers. "The products showed the extent to which HP
was embracing Windows and Intel technology for its entire product line, as
opposed to just PCs," says reporter Lee Gomes of The Wall Street Journal.
"Until then, most H-P servers were higher-priced systems using all in-house
H-P technology, and as a result, were a major profit source for the company."
With the HP Vectra XW workstations being unveiled today, HP is extending its
Wintel line from servers down to lower-cost desktop workstations. The Journal
says the new machines run between $8,200 and $10,800 for bare-bones models,
far below the price for in-house Unix systems sold by HP and others. The
paper notes analysts are saying that in moving toward Wintel systems,
"companies like HP are experiencing considerable internal tension, since they
are now selling popular, low-cost Wintel machines to technical and business
customers while also marketing traditional higher-profit Unix computers."
HP, on the Unix front, is up against its own Unix division, as well as such
all-Unix companies as Sun Microsystems Inc. and Silicon Graphics Inc. On the
Wintel side, HP will be battling such PC-industry giants as Compaq Computer
Corp., which earlier this month announced its own line of Intel-based
workstations. The company's three new "Pavilion" PCs run between $2,599 for
a system using Intel's 166MHz Pentium processor to $3,199 for one with a
200MHz Pentium.
Diery Leaves AST After 9 Months
After only nine months on the job, Ian Diery has resigned as AST Research
Inc.'s high-profile CEO. Young-Soo Kim, a Samsung Electronics Co. executive
and AST director, was named to succeed him. In The Wall Street Journal this
morning, reporter Dean Takahashi characterized the 46- year-old Diery's
departure as "another blow to the struggling personal-computer maker," adding
it is likely to lead to more control of the company by Samsung, the South
Korean giant that already owns 46 percent of the firm and has so far poured
$678 million into the company.
Kim told the paper AST likely will need more money from Samsung to continue
its turnaround effort. "In effect," adds the Journal, "Samsung seems likely
to eventually take over AST." Once one of the world's biggest PC makers, AST
has been losing ground to Compaq Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., as
well as low-cost mail-order vendors such as Dell Computer Corp., dropping off
the list of the top 10 U.S. PC makers in terms of revenue and units.
The Journal says Diery, a hard-charging Australian rugby player and former op
Apple Computer Inc. executive, was brought in to staunch the slide, and
"though he got good marks from some analysts for improving AST's poor service
operations and cutting costs, AST's financial condition hasn't improved
markedly." Meanwhile, the 62-year-old Kim said Diery's leaving was amicable,
"mutually agreed upon by all parties."
Modem Chip Market to Soar
International Data Corp. is forecasting that revenues from modem
semiconductors will grow 31.5 percent per year, compounded annually, through
the year 2000. The Framingham, Massachusetts, market researcher notes that
the trend toward telecommuting, an increased need for remote access by mobile
workers and the swelling ranks of consumers using online services and surfing
the Internet are all drivers behind the tremendous growth projected for the
modem market and, in turn, semiconductors within them.
IDC says the share of modem semiconductor revenues from high-speed V.34
modems will increase to 57 percent, while revenues from more basic V.22 and
the slower V.32 modems will shrink to 19.3 percent of total revenues in 2000.
"The increasingly graphical content of World Wide Web pages as well as high
bandwidth applications like videoconferencing are propelling the demand for
modems with faster transmission speeds," says Kelly Henry, an IDC analyst.
"Because telephone lines are technologically limited, modems have to assume
more functionality."
Mega Telecom Merger Announced
In a deal worth approximately $14 billion, WorldCom Inc. and MFS
Communications Co. Inc. have announced plans to merge. The combined company,
to be known as MFS WorldCom, will be one of the world's largest business
communications companies, providing a single source for a full range of
local, long distance, Internet and international service over an advanced
fiber optic network.
The merger is the fifth largest in U.S. history. The new company will have
annualized revenue of approximately $5.4 billion, with over 500,000 business
customers throughout North America, Europe and Asia. At the heart of the
venture will be an end-to-end fiber network with 25,000 miles of fiber in
service or under construction connecting all major metropolitan areas in the
U.S. The deal includes Internet access provider UUNet Technologies, which
MFS recently purchased for $2 billion.
"Rarely in business do you have the opportunity to bring together the premier
growth companies from key segments of an industry," says Bernard J. Ebbers,
president and CEO of WorldCom Inc. "We are creating the first company since
the breakup of AT&T to bundle together local and long distance services
carried over an international end-to-end fiber network owned or controlled
by a single company." The parties hope to complete the merger within four to
eight months.
Dataquest: Users to Embrace xDSL
Internet users are demanding more speed to access their data, and xDSL
(Digital Subscriber Line) will become one of the key high-bandwidth
solutions, according to Dataquest. The San Jose, California, market research
firm notes that xDSL "is a promising new technology" that allows the existing
twisted-pair telephone infrastructure to support multimegabit data rates.
Dataquest analysts believe that xDSL will be primarily targeted at the
residential and SOHO (small office, home office) markets.
Dataquest forecasts that xDSL worldwide equipment revenue will reach $2.5
billion by 2000. "xDSL will provide the high-speed 'last-mile' pipe to the
home that will be used for Internet access, online services, telecommuting,
videoconferencing, video phones, interactive gaming, and distance learning
applications," says Lisa Pelgrim, industry analyst in Dataquest's
telecommunications group. "Homes and many small businesses are currently
limited to slower technologies at analog and ISDN speeds. Users are craving
more speed as their data demands increase, making them more than ready for
low-cost, high-speed services."
Sony Readies to Ship Net Terminal
Sony is set to offer its low-cost WebTV Internet terminal next month at
consumer electronics stores nationwide. The $349 plug-and-play unit, which
connects to a TV and phone line, is designed to bring the World Wide Web and
other Net resources to non-PC users. Sony claims that prospective Web surfers
can be "seeing the sites" within 15 minutes of opening the box.
Net access for WebTV is provided by WebTV Networks Inc. of Palo Alto,
California. The subscription provides access to the Internet, as well as
personalized e-mail addresses and profiles for up to five users per
household. Subscription prices haven't yet been announced. WebTV will ship
with remote control that works with all major television brands, as well as a
25-foot phone line cord and phone line splitter. Other bundled accessories
include an A/V connection cable and an S-Video cable.
"Our WebTV terminal provides a great opportunity for millions of families
without a PC at home to get in on the action of Web browsing, e-mailing
friends and relatives, planning vacations together, checking out movie
reviews -- all on the Net, in front of their TV sets," says John Briesch,
president of Sony's consumer audio-video group.
Sony to Launch Web TV Unit
Watch for Sony Electronics next month to join the hunt in the emerging market
for television connections to the Internet's World Wide Web. Reporting from
Park Ridge, New Jersey, Bob Woods of the Newsbytes computer news service says
Sony's efforts to combine Web browsing capability with a TV signal will be a
bit different from those of competitors such as Philips Consumer Electronics
Co., Zenith Electronics and Gateway 2000, because Sony's set-top box will
work with any TV.
Sony spokesman Rick Clancy told Woods the new unit, called the Sony WebTV
Internet Terminal model INT-W100, is a low-profile device that is designed to
be unobtrusive on the TV, and to co-exist with cable TV boxes and even
satellite systems. "The unit's 33.6 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) modem lets
TV-Web surfers connect at the highest speed possible with an analog modem,"
Newsbytes writes.
It also is especially designed to work with TVs that have Picture-In-Picture
capability, "so that if a Web address pops up during a program or commercial,
a viewer can access the site at about the same time as the Web site is
mentioned," the wire service adds. WebTV's monthly charges have not yet been
determined, because the company is waiting to see how other companies will
determine their pricing. However, Clancy said charges are expected to be
under $20 a month with no additional hourly charges.
Apple Gets Netscape Support
Apple Computer Inc.'s efforts to make the Internet part of its turnaround
strategy has been boosted by Netscape Communications Corp., which has agreed
to develop a new version of its Navigator browser that supports Apple's
Cyberdog Internet search software. The new Netscape version also will
support OpenDoc, software backed by Apple for manipulating documents, reports
Samuel Perry of the Reuter News Service.
Reporting from Mountain View, California, Perry says Apple will distribute
Netscape Navigator for Cyberdog with its Mac operating system and plans to
incorporate the browser in future versions of its Mac system for Apple
computers. "Cyberdog allows Internet surfers to navigate by clicking on
icons, for example, while Opendoc allows people to mix and match software
combining text, graphics and video from different systems," Perry observes.
Analysts told the wire service the move underscores Apple's commitment to
developing Internet technologies and extends the relationship between the two
companies at a time when they are both facing extreme competitive pressure.
As reported, Apple has been sinking from weak sales and a major restructuring
that forced it to take substantial charges and post a record $740 million
loss in its second fiscal quarter.
Reuters quotes Larry Tesler, an Apple veteran who was named to head the
AppleNet division earlier this year, as saying the company now is focused on
the Internet and his group was working to cut development times dramatically.
Netscape Promises OS/2 Version
A version of Netscape Communications Corp.'s popular Navigator Web browser
for IBM's new OS/2 Warp 4 operating system software is to be developed. In
Mountain View, Calif., the Reuter News Service quotes officials with Netscape
and IBM as saying the version of Navigator, which will recognize speech,
should be available for testing next month and for end users in 1996's fourth
quarter.
Reuters says IBM plans to launch OS/2 Warp 4, the latest version of its
personal computer operating system, in September. "IBM and Netscape are
natural partners, given both of our commitments to open standards like Java
and HTML," said Bob Lisbonne, vice president of client product marketing at
Netscape. IBM officials told the wire service the deal confirms the
company's commitment to OS/2, which has long been an underdog of operating
systems with a small share of the PC market, versus Microsoft's.
Agents Simplify Net Searches
Autonomy Inc. says it has developed a new technology that has th potential to
change the way people use the World Wide Web and other online resources. The
Palo Alto, California-based company says its intelligent agents can learn
about a user's interest in a particular topic and then scour the Internet
unattended, looking for relevant documents to bring back to the user.
The Autonomy Web Researcher and the Autonomy Press Agent are available now as
a free beta download from www.agentware.com. The final software is scheduled
for an October release. Both applications run under Microsoft Windows or
Windows 95 and can use direct or dial-up Internet access. Autonomy says its
intelligent agents are made up of components: "legs" to move through
resources such as Web sites, e-mail or corporate intranets, and a "brain"
that can make intelligent decisions on the user's behalf. The company notes
that the "brain," based on neural network research from Cambridge University,
can figure out whether a document is relevant by looking at its key concepts
and overall context and comparing them to the user's interests.
"Finding answers on the Web is like trying to pinpoint a life raft on the
Pacific," says Drew Harman, Autonomy's CEO. "A typical search engine uncovers
thousands of Web sites, leaving users with the frustrating chore of sifting
through pages of extraneous material in hopes of uncovering what they're
looking for. Autonomy's intelligent agents eliminate this time-consuming
task by doing all of this work for you." Autonomy, Inc., is the U.S.
subsidiary of Autonomy Corporation PLC of Cambridge, England.
FTC Ends Camelot Probe
Camelot Corp. says the Federal Trade Commission has closed its investigation
of the company and the marketing of DigiPhone, its Internet long-distance
telephone software. According to the Dallas-based firm, the FTC has
determined that no further action is warranted. In May, Camelot received a
letter from the FTC saying that the agency wanted to confirm that the
DigiPhone software could communicate over the Internet in full duplex.
"We are pleased to have this investigation brought to closure with no action
taken on behalf of the FTC," says Danny Wettreich, chairman and CEO of
Camelot. Camelot also notes that Camelot Music Inc., which recently filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is not related to it in any way.
School Hires Computer Intruder
In New Jersey, Palisades Park's high school recently hired a 16-year-old
computer whiz to intentionally break into the school's computers. Officials
with the school system said students needed their transcripts to send off to
colleges, but they were in the computer and no one who knew the password
could be reached. So the school hired Matthew Fielder to break in. He charged
them $25 an hour for the service. "They found this student who apparently
was a whiz and apparently was able to go in and unlock the password, and then
they got the transcripts out," School Board attorney Joseph R. Mariniello
told The Associated Press.
AP says a red-faced superintendent George Fasciano earlier this week was
forced to explain to the school board the $875 bill for Fielder's services.
The wire service says Fielder was recommended by Palisades Park's computer
coordinator but does not attend the district's schools. School officials
declined to release any further information about him. "The trouble started
last month when some students needed transcripts," AP says. "The principal
was on vacation and unreachable. The former vice principal also couldn't be
reached. Another school employee with the codes had been incapacitated by a
stroke, and members of the guidance department were either on vacation or not
working over the summer because of a financial crunch."
Karpov Trounces Chess World
Russian world champion Anatoly Karpov has demonstrated that chess is not
exactly a team sport, easily defeating hundreds of online chess players in
his first open chess game on the Internet. Yesterday's online match went 65
moves and took 4 1/2 hours, with Karpov playing black and the online
consensus playing white. As Associated Press writer Matti Huuhtanen notes,
White moves came from suggestions sent in over the Internet, with the most
frequently proposed move chosen by a computer.
Says AP, "Internet users, who had seven minutes to propose an opening, chose
the king's pawn (e2-e4). Karpov countered in two seconds with the Caro-Kann
(c7-c6). As many as 300 players submitted suggestions to the worldwide
computer network for the moves. The game ended when white would have had to
sacrifice its queen to avoid an immediate checkmate threat."
Following the digital meet, Karpov commented, "It was a good game. They are
serious players." Huuhtanen report from Helsinki, Finland, where Karpov
played his side of the game in a dimly lit hall at the Hotel
Intercontinental. The game was reproduced on a large white screen, computer
monitors and boards arranged on tables for chess buffs who paid $6.60 to sit
in the same room as Karpov. The Internet address for the Karpov game is
http://www.tele.fi/karpov on World Wide Web.
For Immediate Release
Corel Announces OEM Bundling Agreement with Compaq
OTTAWA, Canada - August 28, 1996 - Corel Corporation, an award-winning
developer and marketer of productivity applications, graphics and multimedia
software, has announced a bundling agreement with Compaq Computer that will
see the computer giant ship CorelDRAWT 5 on new Compaq Presario Home PCs
worldwide.
"We are extremely pleased to join Compaq in offering this value-packed bundle
to the consumer," said Dr. Michael Cowpland, president and chief executive
officer of Corel Corporation. "The inclusion of CorelDRAW 5 in Compaq's
popular Presario Home PCs will provide increased power and productivity to
the end user, while increasing mindshare for our graphics and productivity
packages."
Compaq launched its newest Presario family - which combines the latest
technological advances with intuitive designs, arcade quality graphics, high-
fidelity stereo sound, and the fastest Pentium processors - in mid-July.
Shipping immediately, the special build includes the CorelDRAW 5 program in
nine languages - US English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch,
Swedish, Japanese and Chinese - 100 clipart images and 10 fonts all on one
CD.
Corel To Bundle Netscape NavigatorT In Upcoming Products
Popular Software To Ship With Corel's Office Solutions
OTTAWA, Canada - August 27, 1996 - Corel Corporation today announced an
agreement that will see Netscape NavigatorT Internet client software bundled
into upcoming Corel products. Netscape Navigator will ship with English,
German, Spanish and French versions of Corelr Office Professional 7, as well
as future versions of CorelVIDEOT Remote. Other products and localizations
will be determined at a later date.
"Our goal at Corel is to provide customers with the best graphics and
productivity applications on the market and we think the inclusion of the
world's top-rated client software will help to do just that," said Dr.
Michael Cowpland, president and chief executive officer of Corel Corporation.
"With Netscape's leading-edge technology included in some of our major
software packages, we will continue to offer our customers the superior tools
with which to enhance their overall efficiency."
"Netscape Navigator software offers excellent performance over a modem and
offers complete Internet access including Web browsing, email, news groups
and file transfer capabilities," said David Rothschild, director of marketing
client applications at Netscape. "We are pleased to continue our commitment
to provide the best of breed Internet solutions with inclusion in Corel's
product offerings."
Netscape Communications Corporation
Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open software
for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet.
The company offers a full line of clients, servers, development tools and
commercial applications to create a complete platform for next-generation,
live online applications. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape
Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California. Additional
information on Netscape Communications Corporation is available on the
Internet at http://home.netscape.com, by sending email to info@netscape.com
or by calling 415-937-2555 (corporate customers) or 415-937-3777
(individuals).
Corel Corporation
Incorporated in 1985, Corel Corporation is recognized internationally as an
award-winning developer and marketer of productivity applications, graphics
and multimedia software. Corel's product line includes CorelDRAWT, the
Corelr WordPerfectr Suite, Corelr Office Professional, CorelVIDEOT and over
30 multimedia software titles. Corel's products run on most operating
systems, including: Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, MS-DOS and OS/2 and are
consistently rated among the strongest in the industry. The company ships
its products in over 17 languages through a network of more than 160
distributors in 70 countries worldwide. Corel is traded on the Toronto Stock
Exchange (symbol: COS) and the NASDAQ - National Market System (symbol:
COSFF). For more information visit Corel's home page on the Internet at
http://www.corel.com.
For more information on Corel's Corporate Licensing Programs, please contact
Corel Customer Service at 1-800-772-6735 or 613-728-3733. Corel and
WordPerfect are registered trademarks and CorelDRAW and CorelVIDEO are
trademarks of Corel Corporation or Corel Corporation Limited. Netscape,
Netscape Communications, the Netscape Communications Corporate logo, Netscape
Navigator and Netscape Navigator Personal Edition are trademarks of Netscape
Communications Corporation. All product and company names are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Thumbs Plus 3.0d STR Infofile
Announcing....
Thumbs+Plus(tm) version 3.0d!
Cerious Software, Inc. is pleased to announce the availability of ThumbsPlus
version 3.0d.
Already in use by professionals worldwide, ThumbsPlus is fast becoming the
preferred product for organizing, viewing and editing graphic files.
Supporting over 35 (and counting) file formats internally, with many more
formats that can be configured or accessed via OLE, ThumbsPlus is the product
of choice in its class by people who need quick, intuitive access to their
graphics. Demanding people, like those at Intel, Microsoft, HP, Rockwell
International, ATI Technologies, the Army, Air Force and Navy, sing high
praises for Thumbs+Plus. You can even find it at NASA, where ThumbsPlus
accompanies the astronauts on every Space Shuttle flight!
This new, improved ThumbsPlus is a full 32-bit application for Windows 95,
Windows NT and Windows 3.1. Microsoft Win32s version 1.3 is required for
operation on Windows/WfWg 3.1/3.11.
Here is a partial list of the new features added in version 3:
ú ThumbsPlus version 3.0 is a 32-bit application for Windows 95, NT and
3.1/3.11 (using Win32s).
ú Several new file types are supported:
ú PNG: CompuServe PiNG format (read)
ú UUE: uuencoded files (read and decode)
ú FIF: Fractal images (Iterated Systems)
ú KIZ: Kodak Postcard
ú STX, ST5, ST6, ST7, ST8: Santa Barbara Instruments Group (SBIG)
ú Improvements handling several file types:
ú GIF: transparency is supported (read and write)
ú GIF: animated GIFs can be displayed
ú JPEG: progressive mode is supported (read and write).
ú PSD: Photoshop version 3 files are supported.
ú TIFF: JPEG and ZIP compression are supported
ú TIFF: Multi-page TIFF file support
ú RAS: Bi-level SUN Raster files may now be read.
ú AVI: Now supported in the shareware version.
ú MOV: Now supported in the shareware version.
ú This version incorporates a new database format, with:
ú Keyword assignment and searching.
ú Automatic keyword assignment based on file type, file name, and file
color characteristics.
ú Long file name support (except on Windows 3.1/3.11).
ú Selection of thumbnail size and color depth (32 gray levels, 236-color
palette, or 15-bit high color).
ú Improved disk volume recognition (especially for network and CDROM
drives), and assignment of volume aliases.
ú File annotations (comments in the database).
ú ThumbsPlus can now read image files larger than 16Mb (except on Windows
3.1/3.11).
ú Improved display speed and memory usage for large files. For some file
types, ThumbsPlus will also view while loading a file.
ú Contact sheets (showing parts or all of a thumbnail catalog in a graphic
file) with many configuration options.
ú Color selection for directory list folders and various other user
interface elements.
ú Toolbar improvements:
ú Customizable main window toolbar
ú View window toolbar (also customizable)
ú Tool tips for buttons on toolbars
ú View window status line.
ú Addition of right-button menus (context menus).
ú Use of property sheets (tabbed dialog boxes) to simplify adaptation of
the program to your needs.
ú Improved algorithms and 32-bit code result in faster image manipulation
and conversion.
ú You may now delete directories and entire directory trees.
ú ThumbsPlus can use the Windows 95 Recycle Bin.
When you register, you'll receive version 3.0-R, which also has:
ú PFB: Adobe Type 1 fonts
ú DXF: AutoCAD Exchange format
ú MPG: MPEG-1 video (if you have appropriate MCI drivers)
ú 32-bit TWAIN scanner support.
ú Shows ZIP files as directories, which can be browsed, and the files in
the archive may be treated as regular files.
Also, network licensees get:
ú Network user program defaults can be set up in a THUMBS.DEF file in the
network directory with ThumbsPlus.
ú ThumbsPlus may be installed on and run from a network drive, and the
database may be shared on a network. (Single-user licenses will not operate
on a network).
ú Network database defaults can be set up in a THUMBS.TDD file in the
directory with the database.
For more information, please contact:
Cerious Software, Inc. http://www.cerious.com
1515 Mockingbird Ln. Suite 910 ftp://ftp.cerious.com
Charlotte, NC 28209 USA CompuServe: 76352,142
Voice: 704-529-0200 sales@cerious.com
Fax: 704-529-0497 support@cerious.com
AOL: Cerious2
To download ThumbsPlus version 3.0d-S:
World wide web: http://www.cerious.com
Internet ftp: ftp://ftp.cerious.com/pub/cerious
CompuServe: GO GRAPHSUP, Library 3/Graphic Viewers
GO WINSHARE, Windows Shareware
GO WINUSER, Windows User Group
AOL: PC Graphic Arts forum (keyword PCG)
STReport's "Partners in Progress" Advertising Program
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EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
NSF Cuts Funding For Private Sector Internetworking
Silicon Alley Gets Attention From Investors
Netscape Targets Consumer Devices
News Flash - You've Got E-Mail Waiting
See You In September, Merlin
Flaw Detected In Explorer 3.0
The Ayes Have It On Net Balloting
Gov't Tab For Century Date Change Could Reach $30 Billion
Computer Interface Contributes To Plane Crash
Intel Targets New Technology Development
New Plan Proposed For Global Domain Registries
Educators Want More Learning, Less Fun From Ed Software
HP Adopts Wintel Standard For Workstations
Browser Battles, Cont.
MCI And Nextwave To Provide Wireless Services
At&T Wants To Reach Out And Touch You On The Web
Moonlighting On The Net
WorldCom Buys MFS
Blind Affected By Software Flaws
Scientists Told To Avoid Tech-Talk
NC Vs. PC
Karpov Wins Online Chess March
CompuServe Spinoff Delayed
Apple Bundles Microsoft Suite For Europe, Considers Be Buyout
Navigator Sets Sail On OS/2
NBA Sues AOL
Computer System Boosts Ford Productivity
IBM To Sell Its Network Chips
Sony Delays DVD Rollout
The One Search
BellSouth To Offer Internet Access
NSF CUTS FUNDING FOR PRIVATE SECTOR INTERNETWORKING
The National Science Foundation, which has been managing the NSFNET Internet
backbone since 1985, says it will no longer support the Internet networking
and routing services that the private sector provides for the nation's
research and education community. The move will allow NSF to concentrate on
building the next generation of the Internet: "The NSF-funded operations of
NAPs (network access points) and RAs (routing arbiters) can now shift to the
commercial marketplace as their researchers focus on connections and routing
for advanced networking," says Mark Luker, NSFNET program director. "Both
actions help NSF to move to the next stage, a stronger focus on the high-
performance Internet of the future needed to support today's advanced
research." (BNA Daily Report for Executives 20 Aug 96 A7)
SILICON ALLEY GETS ATTENTION FROM INVESTORS
"Silicon Alley" -- the New York-area companies focused on the Internet and
new media -- has the attention of a new investment fund called Flatiron
Partners, in which the Softbank Corporation of Japan and the venture capital
arm of Chase Manhattan Bank each will invest $25 million. Silicon Alley is
centered around the Manhattan's Soho and Flatiron districts. (New York
Times 23 Aug 96 C1)
NETSCAPE TARGETS CONSUMER DEVICES
Netscape Communications will announce on Monday its plans to incorporate its
Navigator technology into a wide range of consumer products, including
pagers, video games, cell phones and cable TV set-top boxes. "The strategy
is to have Navigator running everywhere," says co-founder Marc Andreessen.
The company has already formed a top-secret subsidiary, staffed with 30 to
50 people, to develop operating systems for those devices. (Interactive Age
Digital 23 Aug 96)
NEWS FLASH - YOU'VE GOT E-MAIL WAITING
Office workers using local area networks usually hear a tone or see a little
moving icon, signaling they've received new e-mail in their in-box, but
people who work out of their home aren't so lucky. They generally have to
go through the process of logging onto their Internet service to check if any
new mail has arrived. Ex Machina has a better idea -- next month it will
debut its AirMedia Live service, which will broadcast news alerts to small
receivers plugged into your PC, causing an icon to pop up on your screen.
The company plans to give away basic services, and will charge about $150
per receiver plus an extra $5 a month for a second tier of features.
(Business Week 26 Aug 96 p53)
SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER, MERLIN
IBM is moving aggressively to shorten future product development cycles to
three months or less, and is planning to release OS/2 Version 4.0, code-
named Merlin, by the end of September, says the general manager of IBM's
personal software products unit. In addition to Merlin, the company has set
the same deadline for shipping the symmetric multiprocessing extensions for
OS/2 Warp Server. IBM will then update the system incrementally, adding
features such as Internet firewall support and development tools for Java,
and configuring OS/2 to work with Lotus's upcoming Internet release of
Notes, code-named Domino. (Information Week 12 Aug 96 p30)
FLAW DETECTED IN EXPLORER 3.0
Computer scientists at Princeton University identified a flaw in Microsoft's
Internet Explorer 3.0 that could allow someone to send a destructive command
to a Windows-based computer connected to a Web page. A Microsoft vice
president describes the flaw as "not a big deal" but says a software patch is
being developed quickly to rectify the problem. (New York Times 23 Aug 96
C16) Editor Note: As of this printing, the patch is available on a
widespread basis.
THE AYES HAVE IT ON NET BALLOTING
A recent AT&T poll of 1,000 people found more than 65% of respondents were
interested in using the Internet to research where candidates stand on
certain issues. Also, nearly half indicated they'd rather vote
electronically than in person. About 25% of those polled said they have
access to the Internet and of those, 20% plan to follow the 1996
presidential election on the Net. (Investor's Business Daily 26 Aug 96 A6)
GOV'T TAB FOR CENTURY DATE CHANGE
COULD REACH $30 BILLION
The Year 2000 Interagency Committee is developing a database to help federal
agencies locate hardware and software to fix the "year 2000 problem," spread
throughout many different government computer systems. Each agency will be
responsible for identifying, documenting and prioritizing the lines of
computer code that will need to be changed, with estimates of such changes
running anywhere from $1 to $8 per line of code. The Year 2000 Home Page
<http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov > includes information on best practices with
regard to code inventory and pilot projects. A best practices conference is
planned for next March. (BNA Daily Report for Executives 22 Aug 96 A8)
COMPUTER INTERFACE CONTRIBUTES TO PLANE CRASH
The crash of a Cali-bound American Airlines jet last December in Colombia,
S.A., occurred because the plane's captain entered an incomplete command
into the onboard computer -- and the default action taken by the software
pointed the plane in the wrong direction. The beacons at the Cali and Bogota
airports both begin with the letter R, which is the only character the pilot
typed; instead of proceeding toward Cali, the plane turned in the opposite
direction (toward Bogata) and crashed into a mountain. (New York Times 24 Aug
96 p7)
INTEL TARGETS NEW TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
Intel Corp., which has spent years improving on its basic chip design, has
decided that approach just won't cut it anymore. "Now we're at the head of
the class, and there's nothing left to copy," says the company's chief
operating officer. In response, Intel is shifting its focus, assembling a
team of top-notch scientists and engineers to do long-term, original
research on computer chip design. The group, called Microcomputer Labs, will
delve into projects ranging from 3-D graphics to advanced software
applications, working with researchers at top universities, including
Stanford, MIT, the University of California at Berkeley and the University
of North Carolina. "Our mission is to keep the technology treadmill going,"
says the engineer heading up the new effort, whose specialty is compiler
technology. "We'll have to look at the future applications for computers
and how to create computer architectures that can run them." (Wall Street
Journal 26 Aug 96 B4)
NEW PLAN PROPOSED FOR GLOBAL DOMAIN REGISTRIES
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), the organization charged with
assigning and coordinating Internet protocol parameters, is calling for the
creation of new registries located around the world to administer up to 150
new international top-level domains. Currently, Network Solutions Inc.,
under contract to the National Science Foundation, administers domain names
in the .com, .org, .edu, .net and .gov top-level domains. The IANA's new
plan will open the domain registry business up to competition, says the
plan's author. Up to 50 new registries could be in service by the end of
January 1997. (BNA Daily Report for Executives 26 Aug 96 A9)
EDUCATORS WANT MORE LEARNING,
LESS FUN FROM ED SOFTWARE
Educational software is useful in the classroom, but "the business of
education is not entertainment, and teachers are keenly aware of this," says
a research analyst at Simba Information Inc. "In schools - where educators
take their job descriptions extremely seriously - the novelty of bells-and-
whistles multimedia is wearing off rapidly." Educational software sales,
much of it purchased by parents for their children's use at home, are
booming, with numbers up 56% from last year, says the Software Publishers
Association. And much of the rise is attributable to already established
products such as Davidson & Associate's Math Blaster, which has enjoyed 12
years of popularity. "You would never be able to find an entertainment title
like that," says a Davidson VP, noting that educational products enjoy a
longevity unheard of in the video game industry. Entertainment software
sales grew by only 6% last year, according to the SPA. (Investor's Business
Daily 27 August 96 A8)
HP ADOPTS WINTEL STANDARD FOR WORKSTATIONS
Hewlett-Packard's new line of workstation computers will support the Wintel
standard made popular by PCs running Microsoft Windows software on Intel
chips. This latest move means that HP will be marketing two separate lines
of workstations - one based on Wintel, and one supporting the traditional
Unix standard. Last May, HP introduced a family of relatively low-cost
servers based on the Wintel standard, a move away from its earlier higher-
priced systems that used in-house HP technology. (Wall Street Journal 26 Aug
96 B6)
BROWSER BATTLES, CONT.
Microsoft has responded to Netscape's allegations that it engages in unfair,
anticompetitive business practices in promoting use of its Internet Explorer
browser software. In a statement issued Aug. 22, Microsoft refuted
Netscape's contentions, point by point, summing up its arguments by saying
that Netscape's "suggestion that Microsoft is somehow violating the
antitrust laws" by incorporating "new features and functionality (such as
Internet Explorer and Internet Information Server) ... is preposterous."
Instead, it maintains that "Microsoft's progress is the result of hard work,
product improvement, mutually beneficial partnerships and creative
marketing." (BNA Daily Report for Executives 26 Aug 96 A9)
MCI AND NEXTWAVE TO PROVIDE WIRELESS SERVICES
MCI Communications and Nextwave Telecom have joined forces to provide
wireless services in most of the nation's largest cities by mid-1997. MCI
might also resell Nextwave's personal communications services (PCS) as an
alternative to regular telephone services. (New York Times 27 Aug 96 C3)
AT&T WANTS TO REACH OUT AND TOUCH YOU ON THE WEB
AT&T's "instant Answers" technology enables World Wide Web users to request
that the company sponsoring the Web site they're browsing give them a call,
by clicking on an icon labeled "Call me now." The move, which is tied to an
AT&T effort to boost its 800-number business, will allow a sales agent on the
Web to "push" any additional information requested directly over the Web to
the customer. Meanwhile, AT&T WorldNet subscribers now can link up to
America Online at a 20% discount off regular AOL rates. (Wall Street
Journal 27 Aug 96 A6)
MOONLIGHTING ON THE NET
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have concluded that idle PCs could be
leased out by their owners to remote users who might have occasional need
for a computer, but not want to buy one. "It seems silly to invest lots of
money to buy more computing power when all you have to do is utilize what's
already out there," says one researcher, who cites the example of an
accountant who has a one-time need to use some graphics design capability.
Technology already can support remote control of PCs over the Internet, and
the researchers say all that's needed is some sort of system for leasing the
machines and their software, while keeping the computer owner's files
private and secure. (Investor's Business Daily 26 Aug 96 A6)
WORLDCOM BUYS MFS
WorldCom, the nation's fourth-largest long distance phone service provider,
is buying MFS Communications, the leading provider of alternative local
phone services to business customers; the move will create the country's
first fully integrated local and long-distance telephone company since the
Bell System was broken up in 1984. (New York Times 27 Aug 96 C1)
BLIND AFFECTED BY SOFTWARE FLAWS
At the World Blind Union international assembly, lawyer and activist David
Lepofsky charged that developers fail to make software accessible to those
with vision impairments and said that point-and-click technology is useless
to those with vision impairments. (Toronto Globe & Mail 27 Aug 96 A6)
SCIENTISTS TOLD TO AVOID TECH-TALK
A directive from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council,
Canada's largest funding agency, tells scientists to explain their projects
in everyday language rather than technical jargon. The directive responds
to a member of Parliament's attacks on "frivolous research," including the
paternity of squirrels, the energetics of hummingbirds, "information
processing among pigeons," and "cubitus interruptus locus in Drosophilia."
(Toronto Globe & Mail 27 Aug 96 A1)
NC VS. PC
Farzad Dibachi, whose company, Diba Inc. specializes in developing
inexpensive information appliances, says that network computers will provide
everything you need to access information, making PCs unnecessary for many
day-to-day tasks: "PCs won't go away. There will be a differentiation
between devices for creating and massaging data, and ones for accessing
information. If you don't need to create or massage information, you don't
need a PC." (Information Week 19 Aug 96 p12)
KARPOV WINS ONLINE CHESS MARCH
In an open chess game on the Internet, Russian grandmaster Anatoly Karpov
defeated several hundred opponents in a game that lasted 65 moves and four
and a half hours. For each move, contestants had seven minutes to indicate
their response, and a computer calculated the most frequently suggested
response.
< http://www.tele.fi/karpov/gameworl.htm > (New York Times 27 Aug 96 B9)
COMPUSERVE SPINOFF DELAYED
H&R Block is delaying the spinoff of its remaining 80% stake in CompuServe
after reviewing the commercial access provider's weakened state following
recent quarterly losses and an accelerating defection of subscribers to
America Online or the Internet. Analysts say CompuServe would be more
attractive to investors if it were restructured to separate its online
services business from its other business, which is focused on providing data
networking services to corporate and other larger customers. (New York Times
29 Aug 96 C2)
APPLE BUNDLES MICROSOFT SUITE FOR EUROPE, CONSIDERS BE BUYOUT
Apple Computer and Microsoft Corp. have formed a partnership to market
Apple's Power Macintosh 7600 and 8200 machines equipped with Microsoft's
Office suite software. "We have to grow together in an industry which is
maturing," says Apple Europe's VP of sales. (Investor's Business Daily 29
Aug 96 A5) Meanwhile, Apple is negotiating the possible purchase of Be
Inc., an innovative desktop computer manufacturer headed by former Apple
research director Jean-Louis Gassee. The Be system is considered by experts
to be a "boutique" item -- a cutting-edge but robust and reliable system
built to handle advanced multimedia and graphics functions. (Wall Street
Journal 29 Aug 96 B3)
NAVIGATOR SETS SAIL ON OS/2
A new version of Netscape's Navigator software for browsing the World Wide
Web will run on IBM's OS/2 operating system, which now has built-in speech-
recognition capabilities that will allow users to call up sites on the
Internet with voice commands. (New York Times 29 Aug 96 C6)
NBA SUES AOL
The National Basketball Association has sued America Online over its use of
game scores and statistics from NBA games in progress. The lawsuit, which
also names Stats Inc. as a co-defendant, contends that AOL supplied real-
time, play-by-play information without the league's permission. The legal
issue at stake is whether game information constitutes intellectual property
owned by the sports league involved. Broadcast rights to that information
are sold for hundreds of millions of dollars, but online providers maintain
such information constitutes news, which is free to disseminate. (Wall
Street Journal 29 Aug 96 B3)
COMPUTER SYSTEM BOOSTS FORD PRODUCTIVITY
Ford Motor Co. says it's got enough computer processing power that if it
combined all its systems, it could calculate the tax returns of every U.S.
citizen within 30 minutes. "That's something no other commercial company in
the world can say," says Ford's manager for advanced computer-aided
engineering. The company's computer systems have enabled it to cut the cost
of its steering columns by $7 per vehicle, and has reduced the time it takes
to design and build them from 14 months to two months. Microprocessing power
is cutting down on the overall design time, and has lowered crash tests
costs by lowering the time it takes to calculate results. (Investor's
Business Daily 29 Aug 96 A6)
IBM TO SELL ITS NETWORK CHIPS
IBM has begun marketing to outside customers the chips it developed for
distributing sound, data, and video over networks and for supporting both
asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and token ring technologies. (New York
Times 29 Aug 96 C16)
SONY DELAYS DVD ROLLOUT
Sony Corp. will not introduce its digital video disc players until next
spring, citing a lack of software for the new machines. DVDs, which
eventually will replace CDs and videotape, are capable of storing seven to 14
times as much information as those media. Disputes over copyright protection
have been blamed for the software delays. "I always doubted whether
bringing it out before Christmas was that crucial," says an analyst at
Goldman Sachs. "It's going to take five years for it to grow into a major
product." (Investor's Business Daily 29 Aug 96 A5)
THE ONE SEARCH
Inference Find's parallel search engine simultaneously searches all the major
search engines, including Yahoo!, Lycos and InfoSeek, and eliminates the
duplicate findings, clustering the information into content type and
organizing it according to user preferences. Check out
<http://www.inference.com/ > and click on InFind." (Information Week 19 Aug
96 p12)
BELLSOUTH TO OFFER INTERNET ACCESS
BellSouth will join several of its RBOC siblings in offering Internet access
to business and residential customers in its service region. The new
BellSouth.net service is immediately available in Atlanta and New Orleans,
and will be expanded to eight other regions in October. The company will
charge $19.95 a month for unlimited usage, or $9.95 for 10 hours with each
additional hour costing $1. (Wall Street Journal 28 Aug 96 B3)
Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas
(douglas@educom.edu).
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Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology
Memory Lane
Last Week's picture was of John Townsend of Taligent. He worked on the old
Atari TOS for the Motorola 68000 CPU; 16 bit Atari Platform and now is with
Taligent working on the OS for the Power PC.
He was correctly identified by Elizabeth Wilder of Virginia.
ú Each week, we'll present a different new photo for our readers to
identify.
ú Tell us who or what is in the photo.. then send us your answer to;
photo@streport.com
ú The first correct entry will be published in the following week's issue
along with the new photo to be identified.
Computer Gaming Section
STReport Feature
EDITOR'S NOTES - August 29, 1996
IT'S FINALLY OVER....
Well, I've been talking about this for some time now and it's finally over.
My life as a network IS consultant is now done. My main focus now is my
writing (like this column for STReport) and my internet publishing. My final
thoughts of my consulting work is in an article that appears next week. It
goes into a lot of detail, some of which will sound like a scene from a
Dilbert cartoon only in real life. Trust me on this one, because it's very
interesting what I saw in different work places.
NINTENDO 64 PRE-ORDERS
For the last 3 weeks, our local Toys R Us and Babbage's have been allocated
pre-paid order forms for the new Nintendo 64 game system. The system will go
on sale September 30th to those who are on the waiting list. A pre-paid form
requires some money down to "hold your place in line." Then when the units
go on sale, you'll need to come up with the rest of the money to pay for the
system in full. Will it work? Who knows, but I think the demand vs. the
available number of shipping units this year (I've heard it's around 600,000
for the entire US) is going to leave a lot of people "Nintendo-less" this
year.
I think the coverage that all of the major game magazines have given to the
Nintendo 64 will hurt Nintendo's reputation at the beginning. While there
will be a good amount of people that will get Nintendo 64 game systems before
the holiday season, the demand will simply be more than what's available.
Nintendo has hinted they were caught off guard on this one. They claim that
sometime during the first half of 1997, they will make sure supply and demand
are equal. Only time will tell this story. Sony had some small distribution
problems, and there was a lot of hype. And retailers made people put their
names on a waiting list to get the first PlayStations. You can be sure that
I'll do what I can to cover this story. In fact, I am hoping to interview
some people that bought Nintendo 64s to get their reaction just a day or two
after they've brought the system home and had just a small bit of time with
the system, compared to how much time they read, lost sleep and waiting for
the system to become available.
GAME REVIEWS
I've got at least 5 game reviews that I am putting the final bits and pieces
on as I write this. I wanted to get them all in this issue, but that was not
possible. All of the game reviews are PlayStation games that I've received
over the last 3 months. I can tell you that Assault Rigs and Wipeout are
included. Stay tuned.
As always, if there are any questions or comments or suggestions, feel free
to e-mail me at 75300.1770@compuserve.com.
Marty
[Personal Info on Marty: owner of Perfection Applied, offering publishing and
freelancing services. Our web site is currently under development, as is our
new World Wide Web publication, Megafone Expressus. Stay tuned for web site
updates. Also co-owner of InfoStream, publishers of printed and on-line
periodicals. Check us out at http://www.info-stream.com ]
Atari User Support
Jaguar/Computer Section
Dana Jacobson, Editor
From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
I hate the first week back to work after an enjoyable and restful vacation!
I've said it before and I'll likely say it again: There ought to be a law...!
What a hectic week trying to get back into the swing of things. And to make
it worse, Labor Day is just around the corner!
Well, we must try to move ahead anyway. Articles are starting to come in
from various people who have offered to relate their knowledge and
experiences; I expect more to follow in the weeks to come. The response has
been heartening, but not unexpected from an Atari userbase made up of a very
unique group of people. The first article that appears is a hands-on
experience with the Syquest EZ135 removable drive, from Mike Harvey.
In the meantime, we're starting to get back into the swing of things with
fewer distractions (like nice summer weather!). The ongoing plans that we've
been working on, but have been delayed for various reasons, have been
resumed. We're looking forward to the weeks to come.
Until next time...
CURRENT NOTES MAGAZINE Volume 16 #4 is out and about! Subscribers;
check your mailboxes!!
In This Issue:
MiNT/MultiTOS series
HARD DISK SENTRY review - Steve Burris
Art/Drawing program series
Photoline review - David Barkin
PIMs series (InTouch)
FTP, TELECOMM - Eric March
FREEDOM review
alt.info.everything - Dan D.
PAGESTREAM review - Dave Lee
RAINBOW II review - Lianne Reitter
iPRN review - Jeff Wisniewski
RAM & S.N.O.T. - Lorant (MIDI) Oswald
CRAWLY CRYPT ARCHIVE CD review
Dan's Best Essential Web Sites
Hints, Tips, and Great Support
Howard Carson, Managing Editor
Robert Boardman, Publisher
VISIT OUR WEB PAGES AT:
E-mail: hcarson@io.org
http://www.io.org/~hcarson/cnpage.htm
GREAT INFO,
GREAT LINKS!
or; redfrog@io.org
CURRENT NOTES is in its 16th great year. It's available by subscription or
from your dealer! Europe and the UK e-mail Danny Bhabuta at:
dbhabuta@cix.compulink.co.uk
Syquest 135 STR Review
Syquest EZ-135 Review
by Mike Harvey
This is a review of my recently purchased Syquest EZ-135 removable hard drive
which recently had a price reduction from about $200 to about $120-$130
depending upon the distributer.
This small and extremely quiet drive is one which I choose to purchase to
replace one of my previously purchased but destroyed 44 Meg Syquest drives.
The 44 meg drive was destroyed by a defective cartridge that I had purchased
used from a Macintosh user. Rather than spend the additional bucks to
purchase a replacement drive, which at about $25.00 for just the drive mech
isn't that bad. Putting that money toward the Syquest EZ-135 drive was a
much better choice, I felt. The media cost is much less than that of the 44
meg cartridges and gets 3 times the storage space on a single cartridge.
Drive Model Syquest 44 Syquest EZ135
Drive Capacity 44 Megs 135 Megs
Cartridge Cost $39 to $44.00 $19 to $22.95
Cost per Meg .88 to $1.00 .14 to .17 Cents
While the EZ-135 drive has much competition from the IO-Mega ZIP drives, I
prefer the much faster EZ-135 even if it does get discontinued later this
year. Cartridges will continue to be made as long as a demand for them
remains in the market; just like they still make the 44 meg cartridges even
though the drive itself has long since been replaced by newer, faster and
high capacity ones.
The drive I purchased was from a special offer I received on the Internet
from Toad Computers. A company which over the years I've placed many orders
with. I've always had good dealings with David and Jennifer Troy, and the
growing gang at Toad.
I got the EZ-135 SCSI drive, a SCSI cable, power supply, SCSI terminator
Block, One 135 meg cartridge, a coupon for a second cartridge (the coupon for
a second cartridge expires 31Jul96 but required being sent in with $5.00 S&H
and the warranty card and proof of purchase) shipped for only $129.95 on m
credit card.
While this may sound expensive to some, I've been using Atari computers since
back in the days of the Atari 800XL and at that time, a single sided floppy
drive cost substantially more than this drive and had about 1/100th of the
storage capacity and much slower speed of course. The drive is small, and so
extremely quiet, I can vouch for it and actually say it's quieter than any of
my other hard drives in any of my Systems.
1) I have a Don Thomas Internet Special TT-030 machine, 245 meg drive
2) Mega4 ST I've owned for many years now with a 540 meg drive
3) 486DX4/100 machine currently equipped with just a Future Domain 8 bit
SCSI card for SCSI drives and internal 420 meg IDE drive.
I purchased this drive as a good backup media and extra storage capacity for
my PC clone, and which can also be used for the same thing easily on either
the TT or Mega ST. This drive works so easily on any of the above machines.
I did have to purchase ICD Pro Utilities when I replaced the internal 50 meg
drive on the TT anyhow, but it works great for the Syquest also.
Data Transfer rate on the Atari's ran around 1500 @ 22 ms access. While
advertised access time is at 13.5 MS, Rate HD rates it slower. But, believe
me, it's plenty fast enough. If it wasn't for the vast amount of
PD/Shareware that I've collected for the ST in addition to a number of years
of on-line magazines like STReport, Genie On-Line and others, I would even
recommend this drive to a new Atari user as their single HD. Simply make up
a cartridge for your various needs and then you don't have to move from this
partition to that partition, just swap out cartridges.
I.E Place your clip art and DTP stuff (Pagestream or Calamus) on one
cartridge. Another for modem stuff, I still enjoy using the original Flash
even though I've purchased many other packages over the years. The Original
Flash with it's DO file capabilities and XYZ.TTP utility works great still on
my Mega ST4. If you keep other programs like LDW Power and GDOS based prgs.
Place them all on the same cartridge and then when it boots, you get GDOS or
Speedo GDOS whichever you use.
Overall, for less than $200.00, I now have extra storage space which is
usable on a number of different computers, and to add more, simply purchase
another $19-22 cartridge, so it's cheap enough media. Safer than having a
single large hard drive just in case your FAT tables get corrupted or you
simply have a drive die. (I once lost 215 megs when a previous hard drive
failed to ever boot again.) While there are companies that would for a large
sum of $, recoverthe data, I just accepted the lost and got reminded about
the importance of backing up. With a 540 meg drive, it's just too many 720 K
floppies to really mess with. So, as you can see, a EZ-135 fits right in
perfectly. Since much of the lost data was from BBS's that have long since
been taken down, I can't just download it again either. In addition to the
idea that much of it was downloaded back in the 2400 baud days calling long
distance to these BBS's.
Eventually, I continue to hope to getting around to getting a CD-ROM made of
all my valuable programs for super safe file storage and setting up BBS
Express or Ratsoft BBS program and running a Atari Specific DTP and other
files BBS. I already have about 4 Atari specific CD-ROM's now, which has
helped me reduce the number of files I must maintain on the Mega hard drive.
Seems I keep getting about to the point of about to get an extra phone line
and then, get a new set of orders where I serve with the U.S. Navy. This
last weekend, I ran into a officer whom I worked for some year ago and we
discussed a future job, just he had a immediate opening and asked me to take
it. It's for setting up a new joint service command to do all scheduling of
all the services airlift service to better utilize the available aircraft &
crews and save tax dollars. Sure will miss this great San Diego, CA weather
where I'm currently stationed, but the new job would look great for
advancement possibilities in the future in addition to allowing both wife and
myself to live closer to our families.
Till Later. Keep on Using your Atari and remember it's only obsolete when it
can no longer work and meet your needs. Sure, the clone is nice for my
INTERNET access, but even the 12 megs of memory it has runs out all to quick
under Windows 3.11 I still enjoy my Atari Mega and all it can do it in ONLY
4 Megs and the TT I just got this spring for it's speed at doing things.
If you have any questions. My current INTERNET E-mail address is:
m.harvey@ix.netcom.com
Mike Harvey
Nostalgia Time STR Feature
Newsbytes NewsReel - 12 Years Ago This Week
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1996 AUG 28 (Newsbytes) -- By Nick Gorski.
Twelve years ago this week these Newsbytes stories were filed: Atari Assaults
Amiga; Home Sweet Home; Coleco On Campus; along with This & That. These
stories were taken from the extensive archives at the Newsbytes Website at
http://www.newsbytes.com
Atari Assaults Amiga
"He's going to have a fit." That's what one Commodore source said last week
regarding Jack Tramiel's expected reaction to Commodore's purchase of Amiga.
That fit took the form of a $100 million lawsuit last week, not against
Commodore, but against Amiga Corp. Tramiel's Atari charges that Amiga broke a
contract with Atari to develop three new semiconductors, chips which
"represent a significant technological advance for use in computers,"
according to court papers filed in Santa Clara, California. Atari supposedly
paid half a million to Amiga in March to develop the chips. Amiga refunded
the money to Atari just days before Amiga was sold to Commodore. The three
chips in question are believed to be the heart of the new Amiga computer, a
machine with excellent graphics capabilities. The suit will probably throw a
monkeywrench into Commodore's plan to market the Amiga. Tramiel's reaction to
that may very well be, "How about that!"
Home Sweet Home
InfoCorp, the market research firm, says two-thirds of the computers
purchased during the first quarter of 1984 went not to businesses, but to
homes. As of April, nearly 12 percent of American homes had computers in
them, or a household member using a computer at work. The fourth quarter is
considered the goldmine stretch. That's when more than 60 percent of all
computers are sold (Christmas, of course.) InfoCorp says the most frequently
purchased home computer is a Commodore. The best-selling business computer is
still IBM's PC. Overall, Commodore racked up 23% of all computer sales,
followed by IBM's 18 percent, and Apple's 16 percent.
Coleco On Campus
A unique sales pitch is designed to get a few more reluctant souls to buy an
Adam computer. Coleco is offering a $500 scholarship with three conditions.
You have to buy an Adam to begin with, you have to be younger than 18 on
September 1, 1985, and be enrolled in a college or university four-year
degree program by the age of 19. The scholarship idea comes in light of a
major advertising campaign for Adam's rebirth. The complete Adam package: a
computer, disk drive, and printer, sells for $700.
This and That
Obit: George Tate, co-founder of Ashton-Tate is dead at the age of 40. His
apparent heart attack on August 10 has left industry folks in shock. He had
no prior history of heart ailments. Tate was found slumped over his desk at
his Culver City office.
Shopping Spree: Has McGraw-Hill maxed out its credit cards yet? In just one
week, two more acquisitions were recorded. CYMA Corp. of Mesa, Arizona, maker
of vertical application software for health, construction, and financial
companies, was purchased. Monchik-Weber, which supplies
information-management services for financial service companies, was also
purchased. Selling price was $55.3 million. A spokesman for McGraw-Hill says
look for another imminent purchase of a computer hardware company.
Virtual Knuckle Sandwich: Mr.T of "A-Team" television fame has been slapped
with a $500,000 lawsuit by Data Age Inc. of Campbell, Ca. The software
company says the TV star reneged on an agreement to pose in a TV ad for a new
video game. Data Age says it paid Mr.T $25,000 as an advance.
Jaguar Section
Sinister Development? FuncoLand!
Nolan Bushnell's New Project!
Computer West! And more...
From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
There are all kinds of rumors flying around these days. What _is_ going on
in the Atari division of JTS Corporation thee days? What's Jack Tramiel up
to these days? And what's Peter Curry at Computer West up to these days?
He's looking for e-mail addresses of Jaguar dealers and plans some big
announcement soon. Could C-West be contemplating publishing some of the
Jaguar software that's been completed but held up at Atari? We hope we'll
learn some of those answers shortly.
Last week we mentioned that Sinister Developments was working on a game that
seemed likely to appear. Further checking with Sinister Developments as to
the progress of that game finds that the game is not close to completion.
After ten months of work, there are still problems with the game. It's also
become a financial burden and development is currently on hold. What will
become of the game is not known, but it doesn't appear hopeful.
It'll be interesting to learn more of what will develop with publishers such
as C-West and Telegames. Will they take the plunge and try to put out a
number of titles that Atari and some of the third party developers have held
up? We hope to have those answers soon.
Until next time...
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
Nolan Bushnell Has Net Plans
Nolan Bushnell, the 52-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur who founded Atari
Corp., now thinks he has the formula to sell billions of dollars of
coin-operated video games and music using the Internet. Reporting from
Woodside, California, writer Samuel Perry of the Reuter News Service quotes
Bushnell as saying he and Aristo International have invested more than $10
million to develop a line of products that can deliver the Internet,
fast-action team games and a jukebox with thousands of titles by accessing
the Internet.
"At a drop of a coin, or the slide of a credit card for big spenders," says
Perry, "individuals will be able to call up the latest electronic games,
order a hot new compact disk or access their electronic mail using the
systems." Reuters reports Aristo International will roll out three machines
- MusicNet Plus, TouchNet and TeamNet -- to the worldwide market early next
month. The firm has gathered some 75 of the 100 or so distributors of
pay-per-play vendor machines this week to unveil the machines and generate
orders.
The company expects its devices to be used in sports bars as well as in
hotels, restaurants, airports and other public places. For instance, the
TeamNet machine is the size of a small billiard table and lets two teams of
up to eight players each compete against each other or against teams in other
venues through an Internet connection.
TouchNet lets individuals use a compact, coin-operated, countertop,
touchscreen computer to play games, send messages or even chat by telephone
via the Internet. The third product, MusicNet Plus, provides high quality
digital music and enables customers to purchase recordings and merchandise
from bans, or to buy tickets to events. Aristo CEO Mouli Cohen told Reuters
the company has so far invested $15million in cash and stock worth $10
million.
Sega Reduces Violence, Sex
Word from Tokyo is that Japanese video game giant Sega Enterprises has
decided to remove sex and violence from its computer games. Starting in
October, says Martyn Williams of the Newsbytes computer news service, "the
company will discontinue its adult-category games and impose stricter
restrictions on games aimed at those above and under 18 years of age."
Adds Williams, "The new rules stipulate that photographs and animated images
of naked women will not appear in any games. Women in swimsuits or underwear
will be permitted, but only in games labelled for those over 18 years of
age." Meanwhile, Sony Corp.'s Sony Computer Entertainment and Nintendo Co.
already have banned nudity from games for their new systems and some games
carry warning labels advising of graphically violent scenes.
New Netscape Company To Create Internet Devices
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1996 AUG 27 (Newsbytes) -- By Patrick
McKenna. Netscape Communications Corp. 1/8NASDAQ:NSCP3/8 plans to extend its
Internet software empire into games, phones, and pagers through a new company
called Navio Communications Inc. Netscape holds a majority interest in Navio
while another unnamed seven investors remain in the background.
The Internet explosion continues as cellular phones, plug-in phones, arcade
games, hand-held game devices and pagers all begin to deliver some form of
Internet access and content. Last week, Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari's
Pong game, and Aristo International announced a plan to deliver arcade-like
games and communications Internet machines to airports, malls, hotels, sports
bars, and other public gathering places. Earlier, a number of major phone
companies announced Internet access and display through cellular phones.
Plug-in phones with computer notebook screens and keyboards are now being
touted as Internet devices. Netscape says these devices, with far less
storage capacit than a standard desktop computer, require special browser
software. An independent Navio Communications already has 50 employees and
is reportedly working with Sony, IBM, Sega, Nintendo, NEC and Oracle. Dr. Wei
Yen, previously a senior vice president at SGI, is heading the company as
president, chief executive officer and a member of the board. Netscape's
co-founder, Jim Clark, serves as Navio's chairman.
Along with developing customized browsers for various portable communications
devices, Navio will work to "enhance existing Internet content by making it
readily viewable" for a wide collection of devices.
In a press statement, Clark said the new company addresses a market which has
a potential base of 500 million devices over the next five years. Navio
software or firmware will be based on Netscape's Internet technologies and
standards. The announcement comes when Netscape and Microsoft are using the
media,
the marketplace, and the US Department of Justice to establish browser
dominance. Currently, Netscape holds more than an 83 percent market share,
while Microsoft holds less than 3 percent of the browser market.
Navio is seen by a number of observers as one more step in the battle to
establish browser and standards dominance. Netscape spokesperson Donna
Sokolsky told Newsbytes, "Navio is just one more way of opening the Internet
to everyone. Third world countries may not be able to afford a broad use of
computers, but these smaller devices open the Internet in an affordable way
to many people."
Newsbytes was also told Navio's seven other investors and the size of their
investments would remain anonymous at this time. More information regarding
Navio Communications is available at
http://www.navio.com . Press Contact: Donna Sokolsky, Netscape, 415-254-1900)
FUNCOLAND TO GIVE COLLEGE HOPEFULS THE CHANCE OF A ...
Culminating in the Sunday, August 25th championship, 13 participants from
across the U.S. qualified for this final round of competition by winning a
series of regional tournaments. Each of the finalists has already won a
PlayStation game console, a $100 FuncoLand gift certificate, a
mail-in-certificate for a copy of the soon-to-be-released PlayStation
exclusive title, Crash Bandicoot(TM), and a trip for two (city champion and
one parent or legal guardian) to Minneapolis for a weekend of festivities
climaxing with the tournament.
FINALISTS: The 13 finalists that will compete against each other include:
Kevin Baskerville, Jr. (14), Washington D.C.;
William Billich (14), Calumet City, IL;
Jonathan Boado (14), Daly City, CA;
Dominic Carvajal (16), Dallas, TX;
Mike Flaherty (18), Riverside, NJ;
Mylon Jennings (15), Kansas City, MO;
Sovichet Ly (15), East Windsor, CT;
Jimmy Nguyen (17), Houston, TX;
Winer Raymond (16), Brockton, MA;
Ben Rothwell (18), Union Grove, WI;
Alvin Singh (16), Spring Lake Park, MN;
Tom Strickland (18), Grosse Ile, MI;
Mike Tang (14), Sunnyvale, CA.
WHEN: Sunday, August 25, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Mall of America, Rotunda East Mall Area, East Parking Lot 60 E.
Broadway Bloomington, MN 55425
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
On CompuServe
compiled by
Joe Mirando
CIS ID: 73637,2262
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. I'm sorry for having missed you last week but
I was 'unavoidably detained'. This week's column is going to be a fairly
short one again. While I know that one or two of you will no doubt applaud
that little announcement, there are others who will feel a bit cheated. I'm
sorry about that, but I'm simply exhausted. I'm still working those
damnable 65 hour weeks. It gets really tough to concentrate on putting a
column together when you've been sweating like a pig for sixty five hours.
One thing I'm not too tired for however is to tell you about is the first
time a ever spoke to Don Thomas, the up-'till-a-few-weeks-ago Atari employee
who is _still_ receiving wide acclaim, gratitude, and good wishes from the
entire Atari community.
It was several years ago that I had picked up an Atari Portfolio and had
quite a few comments and questions about it. That was kind of the beginning
of the end for Atari computing. It was becoming quite clear that the Atari
computer line would not survive forever. But, in a cruel twist of fate,
magazines were just starting to take my articles for publication. I had
just had one published in Atari Interface Magazine called 'The Fuji Zone'.
It was a Twilight Zone rip-off in which we looked at an 'alternate reality'.
While a particular Atari employee had had a good deal to do with Atari's
demise in our reality, he never got the job in that other reality and Atari
had therefore become the predominant force in the computer world.
So, anyway, I called Atari and was directed to Don because he was, as the
woman who answered the phone put it, "the Portfolio guy".
As soon as Don answered the phone, I was struck by his manner. He was
actually a nice guy. This, I decided, was not your average Atari employee.
Once I had asked my questions, which he had answered to my satisfaction, and
listened to my comments, which he had agreed with, he told me that he was
keeping a list of people to inform of announcements and upgrades pertaining
to the Portfolio. "All I need," he said, "is your name and address".
So I gave him my name and, while I was reciting my address, he stopped me and
said "Your name sounds familiar. In an editorial sense, I think. Are you
somebody?"
We both laughed at his turn of phrase and when I told him about 'The Fuji
Zone' he simply said "Oh, yeah. I read that one a couple of times".
He never said whether he liked or appreciated it or not, and I respected him
for that. When I asked for his name so that I would have an 'in' at Atari,
I got a pencil and paper ready because I wanted to keep in contact with this
guy. When he told me who he was, I put the pencil down and chuckled. I knew
the name "Don Thomas" from his software company, Artisan Software, and from
"The Revolution". I wouldn't need a note to remind me who this guy was, he
was _already_ someone I respected.
Good luck at Sony, Don. Thanks for the friendship.
Okay, let's get on with all the news, hints, tips, and info on CompuServe.
From the Atari Computing Forums
Alan Hodes asks for help:
"I'm living in the London Docklands area & have recently tried to d/load the
program called "S3_ST_V2.ZIP" from the lib 5. I mistakingly tried to do this
with a Psion 3a - the only computer I have that has a modem! Is there
anyone that can d/load this for me & send me a copy on a floppy? I assume
that this program is meant for the ATARI side of the link. I'd be more than
happy to pay postage etc."
Mark Kelling tells Alan:
"I'm not familiar at all with the Psion computer, but, if it will read/write
standard IBM PC type 3.5inch 720K diskettes, you should be able to download
using that machine. The ST will read any 720K diskette which has been
formatted and had files copied to it by an IBM PC compatible machine.
If not, hopefully someone living near you in London will be able to help. I
would be happy to, but the last time I tried to send a computer disk to
Europe, the postal fees were extreemely high -- much more than the disk was
worth!"
Alan tells Mark:
"Someone has. Thanks for the concern."
Alan adds:
"I just wanted to say that I've recently started to use this forum as I am an
Atari user, too. I have only recently heard about it through the palmtop
forum as I use my Psion 3a to connect to CIS.
I'd also like to know if anybody here is actually using their Atari to access
CIS & the WWW, what they are using to do this with (hardware & software) &
what differences there are to say, using a PC or Mac for
this.
With each day, new horizons present themselves and I'm loving every minute of
it."
Sysop Bob Retelle greets Alan:
"... Welcome to the Atari Forums..!
Accessing CompuServe with your Atari is easy... although there's no fancy
graphical interface software available, most of the Atari telecom programs
are fast and easy to use here. (Unfortunately there ARE some areas of
CompuServe that can't be accessed any more with a regular ASCII terminal
program, and since we don't have any equivalent graphical programs, we can't
use those areas with our Atari systems for now. CompuServe is going to be
switching to a more "WWW-like" interface in the future though, so it's
possible we'll be able to use more of CIS in the future.)
As for the WWW, the software is still fairly crude by comparison to what you
may have seen on IBM or Mac platforms, but development is still going on
independently, so that may change.
Glad to have you join us..!"
Alex Bond asks for help for an inlaw:
"My wife had an ST that she resently gave to her dad. She used to be able to
boot it into an IBM mode that allowed her to run a word processor that her
dad can use. She doesn't remember how she got it into the IBM mode. We've
tried booting with a dos formatted disk, but it's not working. (also I don't
have access to DOS 3, which is my guess of what is on the ST).
Does anyone have any ideas on what to do? I appreciate any guidance you can
give me."
David James tells Alex:
"The only way to run IBM PC programs on the ST is by using either a hardware
or software emulator. I occasionally use the software emulator PCDITTO but
it is very slow, this emulator seems to prefer DOS 3 rather than DOS 4."
Sysop Bob Retelle adds:
"...there's no "built-in" IBM mode in the Atari ST. The CPU is completely
different (it uses the Motorola 68000 chip like the Apple Macintosh uses).
You need an "emulator", either software or a hardware addon to run IBM
software on an ST.
It's possible that your wife's ST has had a hardware emulator installed since
she used to be able to run an IBM word processor. What you'd have to find
is the disk that came with the emulator (or the disk with the software
emulator on it, if it turns out she used the software emulator called "pc-
ditto").
The disk would have the Atari program on it that runs the emulator, allowing
the ST to run the IBM software."
On the subject of how to transfer Atari word processor files to DOS/Windows,
Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine posts:
"Download Marcel from the library. It will read 1st Word Plus files and you
can export them to RTF files which will keep the word processor formatting
information close to perfect. Then you can format a 720K disk on the PC and
use it to move files between your PC and your Atari. [Assuming that] your
520ST has a double sided drive."
Tom Harker of ICD posts:
"We just received a new EZ 135s drive in from Syquest today. It is one of
the current batch that is selling for about $120 with a cartridge. I put it
in the DMA port of our TT with a Link 2 and compared it with RateHD to our
Quantum LPS 105s internal. The Quantum used to be the standard for speed and
quality. I ran RateHD twice. Both times the LPS 105s was 1129K/s and 21ms.
The EZ 135s read 1333K/s and 21ms the first pass. 1360K/s and 21ms the
second pass. These drives are FAST! I'll hook the ZIP back up for a speed
comparison
if anyone is interested."
Albert Dayes, ever the curious one, tells Tom:
"I would be interested in speed tests between the EZ-135 and ZIP drives."
Tom tells Albert:
"OK, today I connected my EZ 135s and ZIP 100s to the same Link 2 in the ACSI
(DMA) port of the same TT. The Quantum LPS 105s was internal on the SCSI
port. I ran RATEHD three times. Here are the results.
Quantum LP105s
1129K/s 21ms
1111K/s 22ms
1129K/s 22ms
SyQuest EZ135s
1333K/s 21ms
1360K/s 21ms
1333K/s 21ms
Iomega ZIP 100s
854K/s 31ms
840K/s 31ms
840K/s 31ms
Hope this helps."
Richard Jackson asks for help:
"I have a 1040 STF which I want to expand to 2 or 4 Meg, does any one know
how to perform this upgrade using PC 30 pin 1 meg SIMM's."
Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Richard:
"I would assume you would need a 3rd party ram upgrade board. If it was an
STe model it has simm slots to make it upgrading ram very simple."
On a related subject, James Spielman asks:
"Has anyone installed the Xtra RAM upgrade in their ST?
I installed said upgrade in my 1040STFM, and the thing won't boot; all I get
is a bunch of multi-color, vertical lines on my monitor. Actually,
something is going on. The pattern goes through a few little random "pixel-
blinkings" but then settles down to a comatose state.
According to the upgrade manual, I have a "type II" system, fwiw. My MB is a
"rev.B", if that helps. It's a relatively early ST, having TOS 1.0 (as far
as I know).
Supposedly, one cuts a couple resistors per bank, then connects those (4) cut
ends to 5v. That is to disable the resident memory banks. In my case, I
first took 5v from one end of "a large capacitor" as the manual stated, then
hooked that source to the four resistors. No joy. I then tapped 5v directly
from one of the 5v pins feeding the MB, again, no joy.
Of course, I checked the pins on the adapters, and they are all good and
straight, poking into their appointed places. I wiggled them. I pushed
them. I checked the SIMMs (four SIMMS, one meg each). Still, nothing."
Brian Scott tells James:
"About your upgrade, I have a stfm520 upgraded to 4Meg with the Marpet
upgrade which is the same . You say you have tied to four resistors to +5v
but you must also cut this from the main board by lifting the resistor legs,
the one you have tied to +5v which should also be nearest the MMU. I hope
this helps."
James posts:
"Well, I was going to reply that I "been there, done that", but after
shuffling SIMMs, it works!!! Actually. I first got 2meg working, then did
the shuffle. For some mysterious reason, it decided to function. I am now
runnning the Marpet XtraRAM memory test (where did you leave your car keys?
who was the sixth to the last person you talked to on the phone? are you
sure you put _all_ your socks in the laundry? etc. <g>) Now to install the
Link II, the EZ-135, and MagiC4! BTW, I tested the two 5v leads to the MB,
and my tester read 1.88v on both. Hmmm. Is that within spec?"
John Frick po
sts:
"I recently dusted off my old 520st and after doing some minor repair, was
able to boot up tos. However, none of my disks can be read. I just getbad
disk or data messages. I swapped out the disk controller, but nothing
changed. The system reconizes both my drives and I can hear the motors
turning and the heads seeking, but have not been able to read any data.Anyone
have any suggestions to try. P.s. I don't have any loose chips."
You know what they say about that... Loose chips steal MIPS! <grin>
Anyway, Sysop Bob Retelle asks John:
"Can you format and use a new floppy disk..?
If you can successfully format a disk and write to it, it means your hardware
is working.. but if it can't read your older disks, it may mean the disk
drive mechanism is out of alignment. Have you tried cleaning the heads with
a disk drive cleaner disk? It's possible that they may have accumulated dirt
or oxide during storage.
When you checked for loose chips did you also check to see that the cables to
the drive mechanism are well seated..? Loosening and reseating them might
help if any corrosion has developed... same for the socketed chips on the
motherboard. Lifting the chips very slightly with a fine screwdriver and
pressing them back into the sockets can "wipe" the contacts of any
oxidation. If both drives exhibit the same symptoms, it may be the disks
themselves have developed problems. Is there anyone in your area with a
similar system who could check some of the disks and see if they can be read
on their ST..?"
John tells Bob:
"Both drives are exhibiting the exact same problem. I haven't tried to clean
the heads, but I guess it couldn't hurt. I also changed out the mmu and the
'other' chip that comes lose before I tried to boot up my 520st. Do you know
if they could cause my problem? I hate to pry them up again but I can if
necessary. I also switched drive cables, but still had the same problems. I
am not sure of the data path from the disc after it goes thru the disc
controller. thanks for any advice...."
Sysop Bob tells John:
"I wouldn't try to pry up those two square chips (the ones in the "PLCC"
sockets.. those sockets are awfully fragile and can be a real pain if they
crack and have to be replaced..!) The other chips in sockets though are
candidates for "reseating", especially the set of TOS ROMs (on your
motherboard they're probably a set of six large chips on the lefthand side of
the motherboard).
Flaky connections on those ROMs can cause all kinds of problems, and the fact
that both of your disk drives have the same problem kind of points to
something other than the drives themselves. It's a bit of a long shot, but
reseating those ROMs (gently, gently..!) might help."
Well folks, that's about it for this week. I'm still following any
developments with web browsers for the ST/TT/Falcon. While there is nothing
concrete yet, there are encouraging signs here and there. As soon as I know
of any solid developments, I'll let you know. So be sure to tune in again
next week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are
saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
"Kemp Scrambles with the Ball!!
Who is really carrying WHO?"
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Since 1987 Copyrightc1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1235
