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Silicon Times Report Issue 1221
Silicon Times Report
The Original Independent OnLine Magazine"
(Since 1987)
May 24, 1996 No. 1221
Silicon Times Report International OnLine Magazine
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STR Electronic Publishing Inc.
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R.F. Mariano, Editor
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05/24/96 STR 1221 The Original Independent OnLine Magazine!
- CPU Industry Report - The Internet PC - Caldera Linux News
- AST Ships to Wal-Mart - Voice on the NET - PC Tune-Up
- HotBot Searcher Debuts - McAfee Back-up - Cerf wins Award
- FBI Scolded By Judge - CIS to DUMP HMI - Jagwire News
New Bug In Netscape's Security!
Pippin Due in September?
CHINA CENSORS INTERNET!
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Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35
Results: 5/18/96: 4 of 6 numbers with one 3 number match
From the Editor's Desk...
Ah.. Memorial Day Weekend. the beginning of the summer season and of
course the time we hear "School's Out" is fast approaching. The kids are
already out there on their bicycles in droves so. keep an eye out for them
while driving. Also, this weekend is a race fan's dream weekend both the
Indy circuit and NASCAR are on the top billing for Sunday's Car Racing fun.
Which brings me to talking about my oldest son Ralph. he and his
brothers have begun a Racing Team and have their first NASCAR Sanctioned car.
its going to get interesting. My Dad was a Race Driver at Long Island's
Freeport Speedway many years ago in the midget races. I, as a young man,
Raced in the quarter mile Drags all up and down the east coast in AHRA Gas
and Fuel Classes. My last car was a '65 Vette (327/365hp Fuel Injected and
finally.. 671 Blown, Isky 505 Roller Cam & Lifters). Seeing Ralph and his
brothers go for it feels pretty good to me.. they're (all four of them) very
serious and truly applying themselves as I've never seen before out of any of
them. They already have three motors built up and the major portion of the
paraphernalia needed to carry on a successful racing enterprise. Of course,
at this point its all amateur, but who knows? Maybe ..just maybe they'll be
racing near your hometown in the near future.
Please.. For this long, glorious holiday weekend. don't drink and
drive.. enjoy the Beach, Pool and BBQs but if you're gonna imbibe. don't
drive. Have a Great Holiday Weekend!
Ralph
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Portable Computers & Entertainment Kid's Computing Corner
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STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Internet Pioneer Wins Award
Vinton Cerf, often referred to as the "Father of the Internet," has won the
prestigious MCI Information Technology Leadership Award for Innovation.
Cerf's work will be honored on June 3 at the annual Computerworld
Smithsonian Awards ceremony in Washington. Cerf is currently senior vice
president of data architecture for MCI's data and information services
division. He's responsible for the design and development of the network
architecture to support MCI's future data and information services.
Previously, Cerf was vice president of the Corporation for National Research
Initiatives of Reston, Virginia, where he conducted national research
efforts on information infrastructure technologies. Cerf co-developed the
Internet's TCP/IP computer networking protocol. He also played a major role
in sponsoring the development of Internet-related data packet technologies
during his stint with the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects
Agency from 1976 to 1982.
The MCI Award recognizes individuals who use information technology to
design, implement, manufacture or manage technological innovation. In
receiving the award, Cerf joins an illustrious group of information
technology leaders, including C. Gordon Bell, architect of the world's first
minicomputers; Seymour Cray, founder of Cray Research; Kenneth Olsen,
founder of Digital Equipment; Gordon Moore, chairman of Intel; and Erich
Bloch, former director of the National Science Foundation.
Five Seek Net Computer Standards
Five high-tech giants -- Apple Computer, IBM, Netscape, Oracle and Sun
Microsystems -- are seeking to set a standard for so-called "network
computers," units devoted exclusively to simple, cheap access to the
Internet. The firms say they have agreed on technical details for network
computers, less powerful and versatile than PCs but good enough for
exchanging electronic mail and surfing the Internet.
Business writer Catalina Ortiz of The Associated Press quotes IBM officials
as saying the firm will have several NCs on the market by the end of the
year ranging from around $500 to $1,000, compared with PCs that sell for
$2,000 and up. "It will change the way we communicate ... the way we do
commerce," says Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison, a leading proponent of the
NC.
"It will change our economy. It will change our culture. It will change
everything." Ortiz says that while the executives noted the agreed-on
specifications -- which let different kinds of computers work together --
already are widely used, they and analysts called the announcement a boost
for the latest branch of computing. For instance, President Tim Bajarin of
Creative Strategies Research International in San Jose, California, told AP,
"It is being defined now and referred to as a platform. They are trying to
set in motion a set of standards ... so you can get something with an NC logo
on it that says (it) is being backed by IBM, Apple and the others."
Businesses Show No Browser Loyalty
The most recent Web browser census conducted by Zona Research Inc. reveals
that Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are the most commonly
used Web browsers, but that companies have yet to develop an unshakable
loyalty to any one browser brand. According to Zona, the latest results
indicate that, on average, corporate users have two brands of Web browsers
available to them. Also, the majority of companies have not yet created a
policy regarding the use of a specific brand, nor have they adopted a
corporate standard.
The census finds that Netscape Navigator is the dominant primary browser, in
use as the primary browser by 87 percent of the respondents. Microsoft
Internet Explorer holds second place, mentioned as the primary browser by 4
percent of the respondents. However, when looking at all browsers used as
primary or otherwise, the differences are less dramatic, with Navigator
holding 59 percent of the market and Internet Explorer holding 17 percent.
Within the sample, the average number of browsers available to a user was
1.98.
"Netscape's dominant market position is a reflection of their success at
being the first widely available and promoted Web browser," says Stephen
Auditore, president of the Redwood City, California, market researcher. "We
see Netscape remaining strong, but expect Microsoft to gain ground as Windows
95 with Internet Explorer starts shipping."
First Pippin Due in September
Bandai Digital Entertainment, the first licensee of Apple Computer Inc.'s
Pippin multimedia and Internet information appliance, has announced its plans
for the technology. Bandai Digital Entertainment, the U.S. subsidiary of
Tokyo-based Bandai Co. Ltd. -- a company best known for its Power Rangers
characters - says its @World Pippin-based system will go on sale in September
for $599.
Pippin-based systems will inherit the Macintosh's interface and will be
based on the PowerPC RISC microprocessor. Much of the system software code,
integrated cells and integrated circuits also come from the Macintosh. Apple
expects that the PowerPC will allow Pippin systems to accommodate future
generations of interactive CD-ROM titles and Internet browsing.
Apple notes that Macintosh software can be easily adapted to run in the
Pippin environment. In addition, any Pippin title can play on the Macintosh
platform. "With the Pippin architecture, Apple leads the world in
developing the first low-cost Internet and multimedia information appliance
and enables us to recast the television set as an entry point to the
Information Highway," says Satjiv Chahil, Apple's senior vice president of
corporate marketing.
"Pippin has unleashed a huge market opportunity and Bandai is the first to
take advantage of it. Pippin products are aimed at offering millions of TV
set owners exciting, easy-to-use multimedia and Internet capabilities never
before available."
"We feel that Bandai's @World will be a perfect fit for the U.S. market due
largely to the enthusiasm that U.S. consumers have shown towards the
Internet and the World Wide Web," adds Makoto Yamashina, president and CEO
of Bandai Co. "The @World Pippin-based product offers families access to the
world in their family room."
AST Shipping to Wal-Mart
Trying to raise the stakes in the contest for the low-end home market, AST
Research Inc. has began shipping to Wal-Mart Stores PCs that are priced at
less than $1,000, including monitors. According to the Reuter News Service,
the $997 Advantage computer is AST's effort to compete with network
computers, the stripped-down machines that will give users access to the
Internet. The new AST units have an Intel Corp.-class '486 chip with 66MHz
of speed and features Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 95. Look for Wal-Mart to
begin selling the models later this month.
HP Shuts Down Mainframes
Hewlett-Packard Co. says it has severed its dependency on the mainframe
computer, becoming the largest company in the world to run its mission-
critical applications exclusively on distributed open-systems platforms over
the world's largest intranet. Thirty applications were migrated from a
mainframe in fewer than 28 months during the most recent phase of HP's
transition, including the company's most mission-critical applications, such
as order processing, purchase agreements and payroll.
"The $8 million in yearly maintenance savings generated by this unplugging
alone can be well spent preparing our people and infrastructure for a future
of virtual offices and knowledge networks," says Robert P. Wayman,HP's
executive vice president of finance and administration and chief financial
officer. "The $25 million to $30 million additional annual savings from
implementing our PC common operating environment over our intranet allows us
to invest more for HP's future."
HP's intranet, serving 90,000-plus employees at more than 400 sites, is
believed to be one of the world's largest internal, private networks. HP's
Intranet environment includes the following:
" 84,000 PCs running the same core software applications.
" 23,000 UNIX system desktops.
" 6,000 servers.
" 1,600 Web servers.
" Netscape on 60,000 desktops.
Atari Narrows Its Losses
Citing a gain of $6.3 million from the sale of some of its holdings, 20-year-
old video game veteran Atari Corp. reports its first quarter losses narrowed
to $806,000 from $4.42 million during the same period last year. Reporting
from Sunnyvale, California, United Press International notes Atari sales
plunged 75 percent to $1.27 million from $4.87 million a year ago.
Now Atari says its latest loss included a gain of $6.3 million on the sale of
the remaining balance of the company's holdings in a publicly traded
security. Officials with the video game maker told UPI that sales of the
Jaguar continue to be disappointing and the company made substantial
writedowns of inventory in the first quarter of 1996.
Atari said it is pursuing sales of its inventory of Jaguar product in Europe
and North America. As reported, last February Atari and JTS Corp. announced
plans to merge the two companies. JTS is a manufacturer of personal computer
hard disk drives. Under the terms of the agreement, the new company will
operate under the name of JTS and the officers of JTS will become the
officers of the merged company.
The Atari entertainment business and the JTS disk drive business will operate
as separate divisions of the new merged company.
McAfee Launches Web-Based Backups
McAfee Inc. has launched a low-cost electronic vaulting service that allows
desktop computer users to backup and restore personal data files over the
Internet's World Wide Web. The McAfee Personal Vault service utilizes
McAfee's WebStor client backup software. WebStor simplifies the backup and
recovery process by utilizing the Windows 95 Explorer interface. For
example, to restore from the McAfee Personal Vault, a user simply mouse
clicks on a file to bring it back to its directory of origin. Users can also
configure WebStor to back up selected files to The McAfee Personal Vault at
predetermined times. To restore an item, users simply access The McAfee
Personal Vault and drag the data file back to its original directory
position. WebStor is a true 32-bit application.
"The McAfee Personal Vault and WebStor leverage the high availability of the
Internet to provide near instantaneous backup and retrieval of personal data
files without the hassles associated with traditional tape backup systems,"
says John Staudenraus, product marketing manager at McAfee. "Road warriors
will find that our solution is ideal for protecting laptops and desktop-
based data. With 24 hour access from anywhere in theworld, the vault will be
popular with anyone who uses the Internet."
Wired's HotBot Hits the Web
Nothing wows the Web like a new search engine, so the Net community is lining
up to give HotBot a try as it makes its debut today. HotBot -- created in a
partnership between Inktomi Corpornia of Berkeley, Calif., and Wired
Magazine's HotWired Ventures of San Francisco --"purports to search every
last one of the estimated 50 million or more Web pages currently in
existence," writes Elizabeth Weise of The Associated Press.
Weise adds, "With the search service, Wired becomes one of the first media
firms to use something beyond traditional news and feature articles as a
lure for delivering advertising messages on the Web." HotBot Marketing
Directory David Pritchard told the wire service, "There's certainly more
traffic on a search service than on HotWired. We're trying to help
advertisers reach an audience that is in a specific mindset and also, we
hope, make advertising more relevant to individuals."
AP says the new engine (reached at Web address http://www.HotBot.com) is the
first to apply Inktomi's technology for locating information on the
Internet's World Wide Web. "Whereas most current indexes work from a single,
extremely large, fast -- and expensive -- computer," says Weiss, "Inktomi
takes a bunch of smaller computers and networks them together to do the
work."
Company co-founder Eric Brewer told AP, "By using a bunch of little machines
instead of one big machine we get no limits on growth, better cost
performance and better fault tolerance because if one node fails the rest can
cover for them." HotBot is a direct challenge to AltaVista, said to be the
Web's largest search tool to date, created by Digital Equipment Corp. to
show off the power of its AlphaServer 8400 machines. AltaVista index covers
30 million Web pages, a little more than half of those in existence
(everything but pages that specifically say they don't want to be indexed
and corporate sites not meant for public view, backers say.)
Weiss notes HotWired and Inktomi dispute that figure and also say HotBot will
index the entire Web weekly.
China Creates Its Own Network
Censorship Raises its Heavy Hand
Worried about what it considers the subversive dangers of the Internet, China
is creating a nationwide network of its own with only limited links to the
outside world. Reporting from Hong Kong, Craig S. Smith of The Wall Street
Journal says the country's powerful Ministry of Post & Telecommunications is
unveiling the first of a series of regional networks that eventually will
knit together to form an "intranet" closed to the rowdy Internet that has
proven so difficult to control.
Dubbed GNET and covering southern Guandong province, the new net will be
offered free for one month to subscribers in Guangdong and Hong Kong. China
Internet Corp. controlled by state-owned Xinhua News Agency, will form a
joint venture with the ministry to act as a gateway between the network and
the Internet.
CIC Chairman James Chiu told the paper only relevant international business
information will be allowed to pass, adding, "In essence, they're creating a
different Internet for China's use." He said full Internet access will
probably be restricted to foreigners and selected Chinese nationals, while
most people in China will be allowed only to use the closed network. "It
makes it a lot more useable, without worrying about breaking the law," he
said.
As reported, China earlier this year announced restrictions of Internet
access for most Chinese, who now have to register with China's state police
before being allowed to log on, rules that "have quelled the swell of
connectivity that swept the country last year as tens of thousands of Chinese
gained access to the Internet through a half-dozen service providers,
including the ministry's Chinanet, the largest of them all," Smith writes.
Beijing -- concerned computer-disseminated pornography and political dissent
would erode morals and Communist Party support -- now vows to create a
closed system for China that could be more easily monitored and kept free of
undesirable information from abroad. The Guandong network will provide the
province's businesses and individual users with education, entertainment,
shopping, real estate, health and financial information as well as news, the
Journal writes. Selected information from international businesses will be
provided through CIC, which already has established a skeletal closed network
using Xinhua's existing infrastructure.
Editor Note:
------------
Did they call it..Guandong Network or.. "GuanoDung" Network??
How FAR must the RED Chinese Government go in the area of Civil Rights
Suppression before the US Government finally REVOKES "Most Favored" status?
Which, in our opinion, should have been revoked immediately after the Bejing
Massacre!
Where are the STRONG USA Politicians of yesteryear?? Those whose backbones
were strong and laced with all American Blood! Not pasty yellow paste in
gelatin.
The Internet PC
By BILL GATES
Almost everyone agrees that the potential of the Internet to improve personal
computing is inspiring. What is hotly disputed is exactly how using a PC or browsing the Internet will change. Microsoft's aim is to make Internet technology central to the PC experience, but other companies riding the Internet tidal wave have their own strategies and visions.
Some companies promoting server hardware more expensive than PCs suggest that
the Internet will finally do for them what they've dreamed of all along-that
it will kill the movement toward powerful personal machines, and recentralize
computing. They believe that a vaguely defined "Internet terminal," connected
to an expensive central server, will supplant the PC.
Anyone reading this online knows that the Internet is changing the way people
get information and interact. The Internet gives anybody with a computer and
a modem the opportunity to reach a global audience.
As exciting for me is the tremendous potential of the Internet to reduce the
cost and complexity of using a PC or a network of PCs.
There are promising hints already. You can click your mouse to update or
configure software, including the web browser itself. You can browse or
search for answers to technical questions. Soon you'll even be able to use
the Internet to show your screen to remote support personnel, so that they'll
be able to see your problem for themselves. These innovations are just the
beginning.
Inexpensive PCs are coming. It's axiomatic that you're always able to buy
more personal computer for your money than you could a year earlier. But
prices have not fallen as fast as they might have, because surprising growth
in PC sales volumes has kept components in relatively short supply.
With growth rates moderating now and components becoming plentiful, in the
not-too-distant future you'll almost certainly see capable PCs priced well
below $1,000.
Simple PCs are coming, too. I recently announced an initiative, supported by
many leading hardware manufacturers, to create what we call the "Simply
Interactive Personal Computer"-or SIPC. It is a framework of technologies
that will make the PC platform the center of entertainment, communications
and productivity in both home and office.
A SIPC system will be quite easy to use. It will turn on instantly, like most
other consumer appliances. It will interconnect with VCRs, stereos, and TVs.
And every SIPC will run thousands of Windows applications, including web
browsers and software for faxing, voice messaging, conferencing, and
exchanging e-mail.
The Latest Killer App
Our industry is always looking for the next "killer application"-for a
category of software that, by its utility and intelligent design, becomes
indispensable to millions of people. Word processors and spreadsheets were
the killer applications for business PCs starting in 1981.
The latest confirmed "killer app" is the web browser, the kind of software
you're probably using right now to read these words. A browser lets you move
from page to page on the Internet's World Wide Web, or to navigate the
private "Intranets" that corporations are establishing to improve internal
information-sharing.
Today the most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator, which got an early
following because it lead the way with speed and features and used to be
free, and Microsoft Internet Explorer, an offering that will be free forever
on both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
Netscape and Microsoft have overlapping visions of the future of the
Internet. Each company is working as hard as it can, as fast as it can, to
develop software that supports its approach.
One consequence of this feature race is that browsers are evolving from
relatively simple pieces of software into large programs, enhanced with
various extensions, that engage every element of a personal computer.
Browsers must be large, to support web pages that use active controls, Java
programming, Shockwave animations, Acrobat files, compressed graphics, video,
rich fonts and the like. Future web pages will make more use of audio, and
future browsers will let people add annotations to a page or explore such
things as the history of changes to a site.
Even without the new wonders coming up, contemporary browsers have already
reached the point where they're more demanding of a computer's resources than
any other applications-even high-end word processors and spreadsheets.
"I don't know that it's bad to be big," Marc Andreessen, a cofounder of
Netscape, said in a recent interview about his company's browser software.
"If you're adding functionality that people want, you pretty much have to
[create a large browser]."
Netscape's strategy is to make Windows and the Apple Macintosh operating
system all but irrelevant by building the browser into a full-featured
operating system with information browsing. Over time Netscape will add
memory management, file systems, security, scheduling, graphics and
everything else in Windows that applications require.
The company hopes that its browser will become a de facto platform for
software development, ultimately replacing Windows as the mainstream set of
software standards. In Netscape's plan, people will get rid of their existing
PC and Mac applications in favor of new software that will evolve around the
Netscape browser.
Under ordinary circumstances, it would seem unattractive to build an
incompatible operating system on top of an existing operating system. But
because the widespread adoption of the Internet is a sea-change, Netscape's
strategy could conceivably work if Microsoft wasn't bringing fast-paced
innovation to Windows.
But at Microsoft, we're not standing still. On the contrary, the Internet
opportunity and the competition have us as charged up as we've ever been.
Windows to the Future
Microsoft's approach is to make Windows so Internet-friendly that no one
using it will want a separate browser-not even a free browser. In Microsoft's
view, people will use Windows to browse the web, just as they already use it
to "browse" servers on corporate networks or files on local disks.
It makes little sense to have two separate worlds, one for PC applications
running Windows and the other for Internet applications written for a browser
operating system. Our goal is to meld the best of the PC with the best of the
web, creating a single world of great promise.
Windows 95 already allows a folder to contain links to files and other
folders. These links are called shortcuts. In an add-on product to be
released later this year, we'll enhance Windows so that any folder can be a
web page-complete with descriptive text and graphics, as well as the links to
files and folders.
Here's a simple example of how this is already working in pre-release
versions of the add-in product:
A folder can be displayed conventionally, as a list of file names or as a
collection of icons. Double-clicking on a name or icon takes you to the item,
as you would expect. But switch to web view, and the files are represented as
links on a full-fledged web page-complete with graphics and descriptive text
that makes it clear what role each link plays. In web view, a single click
takes you to an item.
Microsoft believes that local and remote data should be treated identically.
We expect browsing to be the dominant metaphor for using a computer.
Microsoft will embrace and extend standards and technologies coming out of
the Internet, and provide great implementations for the PC and Macintosh. The
moniker we've given our cross-platform technologies is ActiveXT-a name that
reflects our belief that the days of static, lifeless web pages are numbered.
We expect to see popular web pages enhanced with video, sound, and
programming. In short, we expect pages to come alive.
An important benefit of Microsoft's strategy is that it preserves the
tremendous investments that people and companies have made in computer
hardware, software, and training. The world has more than 150 million users
of Windows, and there are 5 million people developing Windows software, most
of them with Microsoft Visual Basic. More than 1,000 companies supply
component software that will adapt in pretty straightforward fashion into
ActiveX features. Microsoft's Internet strategy rewards rather than discards
the investments these people and companies have made.
Netscape shares Microsoft's view that users will get the most from the
Internet by using capable personal computers that can store and process
information locally as well as connect to powerful servers.
But not every company shares this enthusiasm for personal computing.
A Terminal Idea
Sun Microsystems and Oracle are the two most vocal proponents of replacing
PCs with special-purpose terminals that draw information from centralized
servers.
These companies, which sell servers and server software, contend that the
combination of powerful database servers, downloadable component software,
and fast communications links will make it unnecessary for people to have
real personal computers connected to the Internet. They extol the virtue of
networked terminals that are, by design, incompatible with today's PCs and
applications.
These so-called "Internet terminals" or "network computers" haven't come to
market yet, and specifics about them are scarce. The price tag is said to be
about $500, for a terminal that lacks certain elements of a real PC, such as
disk or CD-ROM drives.
It's easy to paint a rosy picture when details aren't in focus. To bring the
Internet terminal into focus, we must ask what tradeoffs it embodies: What
else, in addition to disk drives and compatibility with mainstream software,
is being left out in order to make the machine a few hundred dollars less
expensive than a PC?
Until terminals actually hit the market, we really won't know. We can,
however, speculate. Presumably the terminal's browser software will be
stored in read-only memory (ROM), since there won't be a disk drive. This is
a serious tradeoff, because ROM-based software cannot be updated. It all but
guarantees a terminal's early obsolescence, because browser software is
evolving rapidly.
Users of software applications have never been satisfied for long with static
features or functionality. The consumer's appetite for constantly improving
performance is what has made the PC industry so vibrant and innovative-and
what makes it so hard for computer companies to find buyers for last year's
models, even at great prices.
There is a precedent for weighing terminals against PCs. Sun and Oracle used
to promote diskless "dumb terminals" for corporate local-area networks. You
can make a case for the practicality of terminals that are connected to
broadband networks. That's because local drives are less important when large
amounts of data can be downloaded rapidly. As it happened, though, the so-
called "X-terminal" didn't end up much cheaper than a PC, and never achieved
even 1 percent market share.
Sun, Oracle, and a variety other companies have higher hopes for Internet
terminals. One of their main arguments is that the networked nature of the
terminals will simplify tasks such as upgrading software.
But these ease-of-use advantages can accrue to any connected computer. People
and companies alike will reap these benefits from the Internet-but not
because their computers no longer have adequate memory or can't run all of
today's applications.
Without a doubt, some people will buy Internet terminals. The machines may
find a place in the corporate marketplace, where Intranets are becoming vital
and broadband networks are fairly common. The terminals would have better
prospects, though, if they were compatible with mainstream corporate
software.
Terminals will find less acceptance in homes, where narrowband and midband
connections to the Internet will be the rule for several years. Midband
connections, provided via the likes of ISDN and cable modems, will be fast
enough to please people who use PCs but not necessarily people who use
terminals. The rich content and applications that will be popular in homes
won't be well suited to weak computers (terminals) tied to weak networks.
From a price standpoint, terminals will be squeezed in the home marketplace
between PCs getting cheaper on the high end, and people hooking TVs up to the
Internet at the low end. The Internet terminal is too close to being a PC,
without really being one. It loses the advantage of being a general-purpose
computer able to run off-the-shelf software, yet offers little in return
other than a somewhat lower price-tag.
The tradeoffs may be more attractive for several other potential devices that
you'll connect to the Internet. These are machines you'll use in addition to,
rather than instead of, a PC.
For example, a telephone handset connected to the Internet involves major
compromise. You give up everything except voice communications. But because a
handset will be dramatically cheaper and more portable than a PC, the
tradeoffs make sense.
New-generation set-top boxes will allow television sets to retrieve content
from the web, but there will be ample compromise. Usually there won't be
keyboards, although remote controls can function as mice. And televisions
screens don't display text well. Furthermore, nobody publishes information on
the Internet for display on TV screens yet, although that will change.
Overall, however, the tradeoffs for the set-top box look pretty good,
especially considering that TVs hooked to the Internet could allow people
from every economic sphere to enjoy the Internet's benefits. Keep in mind,
though, that communications charges will mount up in the long run.
Game machines and consumer-electronics devices, such as some of the
forthcoming Digital Video Disk (DVD) Players, will connect to the Internet,
using a slender cousin of Windows as the operating system. We'll see an
explosion of interest in multi-player games, where the contestants meet only
in cyberspace.
Hardware companies will begin selling handheld personal digital assistants
(PDAs) that rely on another cousin of Windows. These miniature information
appliances will have LCD screens and connect wirelessly to desktop machines
and networks, including two-way pager networks. Because these networks will,
in turn, tie into the Internet, you'll be able to use the PDAs to browse the
web or exchange e-mail.
Over time, PDAs will evolve into what I like to call "wallet PCs"-all-in-one
pocket-sized devices that will serve as personal communicators, maps, guide
books, repositories of digital money and credit information, identification,
tickets, and so forth.
It's clear that a number of information appliances are going to become common
in homes as well as in our pockets, and that these devices can't all be
expensive. Keeping costs down is a priority, but people won't settle for
underpowered tools.
The Internet era is a challenge and an opportunity for every person and for
most companies. It certainly is for Microsoft. We've had a lot of challenges
in the past 20 years, but this one happens to be great fun.
We're optimistic about the outcome because we can see how combining the best
of Windows and the Internet will make personal computing easier and
better-all without asking people and companies to throw away their existing
investments.
I'm betting on the PC, as I always have. I'm betting on Windows, too. I think
most people will, and for good reason.
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
Edupage In Slovak
FBI Scolded By Judge
U.S. Buys Supercomputer From Japan
Silicon Graphics To Sell Cray Assets
PC Tune Up
IBM Networking With 3Com And Bay
Are Cell Phones Hazardous To Health?
Closed-Captioning The Web
CERT Is No Security Blanket For
Corporate Computers
Deep Blue Debriefing
Talent Shortage
Voice On Net
New Bug Found In Netscape's Security
"Oyez, Oyez" On The Web
Technology As A Junk Food
PC Homes Up 16% From Last Year
NC Supporters, Unite
"Security Is No. 1 Problem" For
University Computer Systems
Hang On To Your Laptop!
Reed Explains It All
CompuServe Ditches Proprietary
Software
Banking On Change
Smooth Sailing For Telemedicine In
The Military
New Search Engine
The Net Meaning Of Life
EDUPAGE IN SLOVAK
We are pleased to announce a Slovak-language version of Edupage, prepared by
Vladimir Bibel in Bratislava and included in InfoDigest. Welcome to our
Slovak readers of Edupage! Vitame slovenskych citatelov Edupage! For the
Slovak edition of Edupage, go to < http://www.eunet.sk/idigest/0000v.htm >
and enter username idigest and password idigest. (Besides English, Edupage
is now available in eleven other languages: Chinese, French, German,
Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, and
Spanish.)
FBI SCOLDED BY JUDGE IN COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY CASE
Federal Judge Stewart Dalzell, a member of the three-judge panel in
Philadelphia hearing a case challenging the constitutionality of the
Communications Decency Act, has reprimanded the FBI for conducting a review
of charges that CompuServe was in violation of the act. The "review" (which
the FBI claimed was not an "investigation") violated a court-ordered
stipulation that the Government would pursue no investigations pending the
resolution of the case, which was brought by 47 plaintiffs (including the
American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association and
CompuServe) who argue that the Communications Decency Act is an
unconstitutional violation of free speech. (New York Times 19 May 96 p8)
U.S. BUYS SUPERCOMPUTER FROM JAPAN
The National Science Foundation has chosen a NEC supercomputer for its
Colorado weather research center, the first time the U.S. government has
bought such a machine from a Japanese company. U.S. supercomputer company
Cray Research had lobbied hard against the purchase, saying that NEC was
unfairly offering the machine below cost. (Tampa Tribune 19 May 96 A8)
SILICON GRAPHICS TO SELL CRAY ASSETS TO SUN MICROSYSTEMS
Silicon Graphics, which recently acquired Cray Research Inc., will sell parts
of Cray's assets that are closely tied to Sun Microsystems technology, such
as the Cray CS6400 enterprise server based on Sun's SPARC/Solaris
microprocessor chip and operating system. The deal will allow Silicon
Graphics to reorient the basic architecture of Cray computers so that they
run on Silicon's MIPS microprocessors rather than those made by its rival
Sun. (Investor's Business Daily 20 May A18)
PC TUNE UP
Now there's a PC service center on the Web. TuneUp.com will scan
subscribers' computers for viruses, update their printer drivers, and give
them e-mail access to industry experts for consultations on specific
problems. The service costs $3.95 a month. (Business Week 20 May 96 p61)
IBM NETWORKING WITH 3COM AND BAY
IBM is working with 3Com Corp. and Bay Networks to make some of their
networking products inter-operable with each other. The move will put the
three companies in a better position to compete with networking giant Cisco
Systems. "What they are doing is because of Cisco," says an industry
analyst. "The Cisco/StrataCom deal has everyone freaked out." The
companies hope to market "virtual local area networks" -- where individual
workstations won't have to be recabled to tie into a LAN. (Investor's
Business Daily 20 May 96 A20)
ARE CELL PHONES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH?
A Mayo Clinic study warns that digital cellular phones can cause heart-
regulating pacemakers to slow down, shut off or even speed up the heart
rate. Bell Mobility notes newer models of pacemakers are built with
electronic shields. (Toronto Star 17 May 96 E1)
CLOSED-CAPTIONING THE WEB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting/WGBH National Center for Accessible
Media (NCAM) is developing technology to bring closed-captioning to the
Internet, high-definition television and multimedia. NCAM's director says
the group is trying to "stay ahead of the curve," when it comes to making new
media more accessible, because it's easier to build in the technology from
the start rather than add it on later. "It was clear to us when the World
Wide Web was beginning to take off that this was a new media with innate
barriers to people with disabilities." The Internet project is exploring
how HTML code can be written so that text is picked up by the screenreader
used by visually impaired users, and descriptions substituted for some of the
important graphics and pictures. For a prototype, check out <
http://www.wgbh.org/ >. (Broadcasting & Cable 13 May 96 p64)
CERT IS NO SECURITY BLANKET FOR CORPORATE COMPUTERS
Companies are beginning to realize that they can't depend on outside help
when a computer security breach occurs, and are starting to staff insiders
to do combat with crackers. The Computer Emergency Response Team at
Carnegie Mellon University acknowledges that it can't possibly keep up with
the needs of the business community, and says it supports the development of
internal response teams. Meanwhile, the trend is occurring in big
government, too, where many agencies are setting up their own teams, rather
than relying on the Energy Department's Techwatch service, which has handled
computer security for other government agencies for many years. The
National Institute of Standards and Technology plans to request funding for
an incident-handling group that would provide services to other agencies on
a fee-for-service basis. (Information Week 13 May 96 p14)
DEEP BLUE DEBRIEFING
IBM's Deep Blue computer was programmed to evaluate a total of about 20
billion moves within the three- minute window allotted for each move in a
formal chess match. That capability is enough to consider every possible
move and countermove 12 sequences ahead and selected lines of attack as much
as 30 moves beyond that. The fact that this omniscience was not enough to
beat a mere human is "amazing," says one of Deep Blue's programmers. The
lesson here, says another, is that chess masters such as Kasparov "are doing
some mysterious computation we can't figure out." Still, the IBM team got
what it needed out of the match -- their goal has always been research to
show how parallel processing can be used for solving complex problems such
as airline scheduling or drug design, not to be world chess champions. After
all, this *is* IBM, says an IBM PR person. (Scientific American May 96 p16)
TALENT SHORTAGE
Across Canada, there were 7,000 unfilled software jobs, about 3,000 in the
Ottawa area alone. Technology firms find they must often boost salaries for
software workers by up to 10% each year to keep them. Competition for
talent is pushing up wages: some with graduate degrees and expertise in
multimedia and Internet design are earning close to $100,000 annually.
(Ottawa Citizen 18 May 96 B1)
VOICE ON NET
Although the quality of voice communication over the Net is still far from
perfect, Internet telephony is gaining in popularity and causing the long-
distance phone companies enough concern that they've petitioned the Federal
Communications Commission to regulate the providers of Internet voice-
communications software as if they were telephone companies. Jeff Pulver of
the Voice On Net Coalition, a group formed to coordinate the promotion of
Internet telephony, says that "this stuff really works. No doubt there are
going to be tremendous applications in business." The Coalition's site is <
http://www.von.org >. (New York Times 19 May 96 p8)
NEW BUG FOUND IN NETSCAPE'S SECURITY
Computer science researchers at Princeton University have uncovered a new
flaw in the 3.0 beta version of Netscape Navigator software that supports
Sun's Java programming language. Programmers with malicious intent could
write destructive software "viruses" that could use the security flaw to
invade computers using Netscape to surf the Internet. Netscape acknowledges
the problem and is releasing a fix for the bug. (New York Times 18 May 96
p17)
"OYEZ, OYEZ" ON THE WEB
A Northwestern University professor has developed a Web site that features
oral arguments made before the Supreme Court, accessible with a Web browser
and RealAudio software < http://www.realaudio.com/ >. Fifty hours of
arguments from 60 cases are available, including such cases as the United
States v. Nixon, which denied a sitting president the power to withhold
audiotapes from investigators. Jerry Goldman, the site's creator, hopes one
day to expand the offerings to include recordings from 500 cases: "Someday,
this is going to be the compete Supreme Court reference." <
http://oyez.at.nwu.edu/oyez.html/ >. (Chronicle of Higher Education 17 May
96 A28)
TECHNOLOGY AS A JUNK FOOD
In the next issue of Educom Review, technology visionary Alan Kay says in an
article on "the use and misuse of computers in education" that it makes him
sad to be shown a classroom full of children joyfully using computers: "This
is technology as a junk food -- people love it but there is no nutrition to
speak of." In the July/August issue you will also meet learning technology
entrepreneur Bernie Gifford, Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, and tele-
communications policy expert Eli Noam, and read about "Ethics Online,"
"Should Distance Learning be Rationed," and much more. (Educom Review
Jul/Aug 96; for info: offer@educom.edu).
PC HOMES UP 16% FROM LAST YEAR
The number of households that own personal computers grew by 16% last year,
according to a new survey by Computer Intelligence Infocorp., which
interviewed 11,500 PC users. That puts the total percentage at 38.5% of
U.S. homes that have one or more PCs. "We were surprised to see penetration
levels jump five percentage points," says a Computer Intelligence analyst.
"That is a very healthy increase." Recent buyers tended to be older and
less-affluent Americans. The growth in PC ownership among households making
$10,000 to $30,000 is up nearly 25%, to a range between 10% and 30% of the
total, and about 20% of households headed by people over 60 now contain a
PC. (Wall Street Journal 21 May 96 B10)
NC SUPPORTERS, UNITE
Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Netscape and IBM have developed a set of software
standards to operate the Network Computer, and Sun, IBM, Mitsubishi,
Olivetti Group and several other manufacturers have pledged to begin making
the devices this fall. The machines won't all meet Oracle CEO's benchmark
price of $500 -- some may cost twice that -- but they all promise ease of
use and a focus on the Internet for work and entertainment. Predicts
Ellison: "There will be more NCs sold by the turn of the century than PCs."
(Business Week 27 May 96 p38)
"SECURITY IS NO. 1 PROBLEM"
FOR UNIVERSITY COMPUTER SYSTEMS
University computer systems administrators are spending more and more time
and resources on tracking computer vandals and cleaning up the messes they
leave. "Security is the No. 1 problem I worry about," says a Clemson
University systems programmer. "Universities face a particularly daunting
challenge, because we require openness," says a University of Maryland
computing administrator. "As of this moment, the hackers are actually
winning the battle." The problem could lead to more universities installing
corporate-like firewalls to foil crackers, such as the one recently added to
Cornell University's computer science department. Cornell's computer
security policy is left up to individual departments -- there is no
university-wide firewall. "It's politically impossible," says a Tufts
University professor. "It's difficult to justify security measures, even if
they're obviously needed, because of the potential cost, and in particular
the cost of supporting such a measure." (Chronicle of Higher Education 24
May 96 A19)
HANG ON TO YOUR LAPTOP!
Laptop theft rose 39% last year from the year before, with the hardware alone
valued at $640 million. But the software -- specifically critical
competitive business information -- is what really hurts, say many corporate
executives. Vendors are responding to the problem in several ways: Panasonic
Personal Computer Co. next month will release its CF-62 notebook, which will
include a removable PD optical disk drive, allowing users to store data
separately from the machine, and NEC Technologies has incorporated an audio
alarm into its docking station that goes off if someone tries to pull the
computer out without unlocking it first. (Information Week 13 May 96 p16)
REED EXPLAINS IT ALL
FCC Chairman Reed Hundt uses a sports analogy to explain the new rules of
competition for telecommunications companies: "Suppose the competitor of
the local phone company were the Washington Redskins and the incumbent phone
company was the Dallas Cowboys. Congress has said that the Redskins have
the right to borrow Emmit Smith for any number of plays. That is called
unbundling an element of the incumbent's network. And the Redskins can use
the entire Cowboy team at a discount off what Jerry Jones has paid them.
That's called resale. Also the Redskins can hand off the ball to Smith if
their own runners aren't doing so well. That's called interconnection. If
Smith helps the Redskins get a touchdown, that's called termination, for
which some think the Cowboys should be paid nothing but the Skins should get
the points." (Investor's Business Daily 20 May 96 A6)
COMPUSERVE DITCHES PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE
CompuServe is phasing out its proprietary software in favor of a more "open"
Web environment. The move underscores the power of the Internet, which has
been embraced by other commercial providers such as Microsoft, Prodigy and
AT&T. CompuServe subscribers will retain access to its online content, which
will be inaccessible by nonsubscribers. "The pain of a proprietary online
service isn't going to be worth the effort," says one analyst. "The future
is going to be on the Web." Right now, it's uncertain how CompuServe's new
strategy will affect its Internet-only Sprynet unit, and its WOW! service
targeted toward families and children. (Wall Street Journal 21 May 96B10)
BANKING ON CHANGE
A report from Ernst & Young and the American Bankers Association analyzing
U.S. and Canadian banking practices says that home banking, telebanking,
automated teller machines and other nontraditional banking channels
accounted for 45% of all banking transactions in 1995 -- with that percentage
expected to grow to 60% by 1998. (Computerworld 20 May 96 p73)
SMOOTH SAILING FOR TELEMEDICINE IN THE MILITARY
Whereas telemedicine has hit several bureaucratic barriers in the civilian
world, it's been smooth sailing in the military, where issues such as
interstate medical licensing don't matter. The aircraft carrier George
Washington, stationed in the Adriatic, is equipped with a radiography unit
made by Fuji Medical Systems USA that can transmit X-ray images to Navy
hospitals in the U.S. for diagnosis and consultation, and a mobile Army unit
in Bosnia is now has the same capability, sending its images to U.S. military
hospitals in Europe. (Investor's Business Daily 21 May 96 A8)
NEW SEARCH ENGINE
A new search engine called Hotbot uses "hive computing" that links several
workstations into a network so that each machine can work on part a separate
part of a search of the approximately 50 million pages now on the World Wide
Web. A public beta version is at < http://www.hotbot.com > (New York Times
21 May 96 C5)
THE NET MEANING OF LIFE
Venture capitalist John Doerr says that the value of "the big new Net
applications" is not that they lower an organization's costs but that they
expand its opportunities: "They amplify the 'top line' of an organization's
mission, whether for profit, education or government. So the compelling new
Net applications help us sell, entertain, inform, educate, inspire,
communicate, govern, chat, collaborate and even make meaning out of life."
(U.S. News & World Report 27 May 96 p62)
Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas
(douglas@educom.edu).
Voice: 404-371-1853, Fax: 404-371-8057.
Technical support is provided by the Office of Information Technology,
University of North Carolina.
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Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology
Caldera Newswire STR Focus
CALDERA OPEN LINUX PRODUCT
TO OBTAIN POSIX AND FIPS CERTIFICATIONS
AND
THE X/OPEN BRAND FOR UNIX 95 AND XPG4 BASE 95
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and localization added to
Caldera's product line
LINUX KONGRESS, BERLIN, Germany May 23, 1996 -- Caldera, Inc. today announced
that it has acquired additional key Linux technologies and engineers,
enabling the company to achieve the X/Open bra
nd for UNIX 95 and other
certifications for its next version of the Linux operating system, Caldera
Open Linux, upon which Caldera will base its product line beginning this
Fall. Caldera believes the X/Open brand and other certifications are the
next steps forward in providing the corporate and government markets with
proven Linux technologies and products, which have gained substantial market
share among the Internet and development communities during the past several
years. Caldera also today announced plans to add LDAP technologies
to Caldera's product line.
"By developing and publishing source code over the Internet, Caldera and the
Linux community are changing the way that an X/Open branded UNIX 95
operating system is developed and distributed," said Bryan Sparks, President
and CEO of Caldera, Inc. "Linux technologies developed by the Internet
community have secured market share and application development that rivals
the best of established computer industry vendors. Caldera development and
infrastructure efforts will now take Linux technologies and products into
companies, governments and other organizations that demand that software
undergo rigid standards testing and certifications."
Caldera has acquired additional Linux technologies from Lasermoon of Wickham,
England. Lasermoon pioneered Linux's migration towards X/Open standards and
other certifications, and held the necessary test suites and membership in
The Open Group, the leading consortium for the advancement of open systems.
Ian Nandhra, one of Lasermoon's co-founders, is now Caldera's Director of
Product Certification.
Caldera has also retained the UNIX systems and Linux expertise of engineers
from Linux Support Team (LST) of Erlangen, Germany, who will spend the next
few months integrating technologies from Lasermoon, Caldera's existing
operating system, additional Single UNIX Specification APIs and Internet
technologies, and LST's Linux 2.2 operating system, based on Linux 2.0
source code from the Internet. The resulting version of the Linux OS will be
called Caldera Open Linux. It will be POSIX.1 (FIPS 151-2) certified,
localized and fully compatible with Caldera's existing products.
Caldera Open Linux, scheduled for release in Q3 1996, will be published
freely with full source code via the Internet to individuals and
organizations seeking stable, UNIX systems solutions. Caldera plans to
achieve: POSIX.1 (FIPS 151-2) in Q3 1996; XPG4 Base 95 (POSIX.2, FIPS 186)
by Q4 1996; and X/Open brand for UNIX 95 based on the Single UNIX
Specification (formerly known as SPEC 1170) during 1997.
"The Open Group is very pleased that Caldera has chosen to obtain the X/Open
brand for UNIX 95 for its version of the Linux operating system," said
Graham Bird, Director of Branding for the Open Group. "Once Caldera Open
Linux achieves the X/Open brand, it will be qualified to bid business in the
open systems market the value of which exceeds $16 billion in procurement of
X/Open branded products alone."
Ransom Love, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Caldera, added,"Our
customers are pleased with the capabilities of Caldera's first product, the
Caldera Network Desktop, and are now asking us to provide the X/Open brand,
localization, and additional technologies. Caldera Open Linux will provide
this additional functionality and certification capabilities that no
existing Linux OS version can provide."
Caldera made this announcement from Linux Kongress in Berlin, Germany, where
the core of Linux developers and vendors worldwide meet each year to discuss
accomplishments and future plans for Linux technologies. At Linux Kongress,
Caldera planned to meet with key Linux developers and vendors to discuss how
Caldera can best meet the needs of the Internet community, Linux developers
and enthusiasts, and the commercial computer industry market all of which
are seeking to lower computing costs while increasing the functionality and
availability of customizable software systems.
Caldera will collaborate with developers in the Internet and Linux
communities to develop and refine technologies that add specific
functionality that Caldera's customers are requesting. In addition to
publishing the source code for Caldera Open Linux, Caldera will provide a
significant percentage of net revenues from the product back to the Internet
and Linux communities through funding for future technology development.
Caldera is also collaborating with mainstream industry software vendors
(ISVs) who are porting their products to Caldera's platform. Caldera and its
partners are delivering products that provide Internet and UNIX systems
capabilities at commodity pricing.
LDAP
Caldera also today announced plans to release Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol (LDAP) services and incorporate LDAP into Caldera's product line
this Fall. LDAP creates a standard way for Internet clients, Web servers and
applications to access directory listings of thousands of Internet users.
"Caldera supports LDAP as a proposed open standard for directory services on
the Internet," said Sparks. "LDAP will enable Caldera's customers to access
online directory services via the TCP/IP network protocol."
Caldera Europe
Currently, Caldera's European business is handled by LunetIX based in Berlin,
Germany. This Fall, Caldera will create Caldera Europe, comprised of
employees from both LunetIX and LST. European customers and resellers
seeking additional information about Caldera should contact LunetIX in Berlin
at telephone number +49-30-623-5787 or contact Caldera's Provo, Utah-based
headquarters.
The Caldera Linux Operating System
Caldera's mission includes creating the products, alliances, VAR channel, ISV
channel, technical support programs and corporate accountability necessary
for an emerging technology to obtain widespread implementation in the
business environment. Using Linux technologies, Caldera has a solid start.
Mirai, a Chicago-based consulting company, polled Webmasters worldwide in
1995 and found that nine percent of World Wide Web servers were running on
the Linux operating system (http://www.mirai.com/survey). This places Linux
second only to Sun technologies as a UNIX systems Web server platform.
Caldera has created a solid foundation on which third party developers can
successfully design, develop, distribute or employ services that meet the
needs of the expanding market with low product costs for consumers.
Caldera, Inc., a privately held company established in 1994, empowers the
Internet community, developers, OEMs, channel partners, ISVs, industry
partners, consultants and end- users to collaborate, innovate, build and
deliver meaningful computing alternatives based on Linux to the business
community. Caldera is at http://www.caldera.com/ or (801) 229-1675. For
orders and information call (800) 850-7779 in the United States or (801) 269-
7012 Internationally.
Caldera is a registered trademark; and Network Desktop, Caldera Internet
Office Suite, Caldera Solutions CD, and Caldera Open Linux are trademarks of
Caldera, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark, in the United States and other
countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Limited. X/Open is a
registered trademark of X/Open Company Limited.
Caldera Press Contact:
Lyle Ball, Senior Manager, Public Relations
email: lyle.ball@caldera.com
tel: (801) 229-1675 x305
STR Editor's Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard"
Editor's MailBag
Messages * NOT EDITED * for content
A call for HELP!
Subject: Help Needed
From: Fred G. Heath 100077,750
To: Ralph @ STReport 70007,4454
Date: 23-May-96 14:47
Hi,
I have an old Compaq LTE286 - I wish to upgrade for my son by putting in a
bigger hard drive - My configuration diskettes are up the creek - can you
advise me how I can obtain this on Compuserve or alternatively is their a way
to get into configuration.
Unfortunately I am currently located in South Africa and trying to get this
here are impossible.
Thanks
Fred Heath
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Kids Computing Corner
Frank Sereno, Editor
The Kids' Computing Corner
Imagination Express: Destination Ocean
Dual-format CD-ROM for Windows and Macintosh
for ages 6 to 12
price $29.95
from Edmark Corporation
P.O. Box 97021
Redmond, WA 98073-9721
206-556-8484
Program Requirements
IBM Macintosh
OS: Windows 3.1, Windows 95 OS: System 7
CPU: 386 or better CPU: Color Macintosh
HD Space:2 MB HD Space: N/A
Memory: 8 MB Memory: 8 MB
Graphics:640 by 480 with 256 colors Graphics:256 colors, 13" monitor
CD-ROM: Double-speed recommended CD-ROM:Double-speed recommended
Audio: 8-bit Windows compatible sound card
Other: printer, microphone, mouse Other: printer, microphone
reviewed by Angelo Marasco
If you're a baby boomer then I'm sure that you remember Color Forms stickers.
Kids used to spend hours putting together imaginary scenes with those things.
I myself once spent several hours with one of my brothers putting together an
imaginary scene with some scratch and peel stickers on a paper background.
What great fun it was!
Now, Edmark has taken the concept several steps further with the Imagination
Express Series. The boss gave me a chance to review "Destination: Pyramids"
from the series and I'm really glad he did. This was an opportunity to
experience some of what I think home computing really ought to be.
Destination: Pyramids is a time travel machine of sorts that takes you back
about 4500 years to ancient Egypt. Using a multimedia "fact book" and
backgrounds with your choices in stickers you can experience a time when the
Egyptians were building the great pyramids and were the rulers of the known
world. What is really great is that you experience and learn about many
different aspects of ancient Egyptian life. Destination: Pyramids as a whole
is something like going to Mexico City and walking the side streets. The
city you experience there is much different from the city that you experience
on the main streets.
Destination: Pyramids is a great idea that is well executed. These aren't
ordinary backgrounds with ordinary stickers to paste on them. These
backgrounds have sounds that can be associated with them. These stickers
come to life. You put these stickers and backgrounds together with text and
recorded sounds to make electronic books. This program went well beyond my
expectations.
The program installed a control panel that comes up when you double-click the
Imagination Express icon in the Edmark program group. From this control
panel you choose which Imagination Express theme pack you wish to enter.
After choosing the Destination: Pyramids theme pack you may choose to view a
sample electronic book, story ideas or the "fact book."
I spent about twenty minutes viewing story ideas presented by several
children and the program never ran out of new ideas. This is a great way to
get ideas after you have become familiar with the controls and how to set up
an electronic book.
The fact book is loaded with facts about ancient Egypt. Some facts are
presented in text form with pictures and others are presented in a multimedia
format with videos or slide presentations. You can also choose to have the
fact book page read to you by a very pleasant narrator. The fact book is
like a small encyclopedia on ancient Egypt. While I'm sure that not
everything about ancient Egypt is included in the fact book, it does seem
fairly complete and is very satisfying to this fact-hungry computer user.
The real treat comes when you begin to put together your electronic book.
First you are given a selection of backgrounds ranging from outdoor scenes to
indoor scenes, villages to royal grounds, farms to temples. Some of the
scenes allow you to select nighttime or daytime.
After selecting your background you can begin pasting the stickers on.
Selecting the "sticker picker" from the menu bar gives you a wide variety of
stickers to choose from. The stickers are grouped in categories. These
categories include royalty, commoners, statues of Egyptian gods, animals and
so on.
Clicking on a sticker in the sticker picker and dragging it onto the
background brings many of the stickers to life with animation and sounds.
After pasting the sticker you can bring up the "sticker editor" from the menu
bar to make changes. With the sticker editor you can change the size of the
sticker, change its orientation, turn on its animation if available or add
sounds. Some of these options won't be important until you animate the page.
Animating pages is fairly simple once you get used to the controls. Simply
click on the animation icon in the menu bar and the pointer arrow changes
shape, telling you that the program is ready for you to move the sticker on
the course you have chosen for the animation. If the sticker has sounds
associated with it, you will hear the sounds during the playback of the
animation. It was really fascinating to watch the scenes that I put together
come to life.
This is one amazing piece of software. I spent every available minute for
four weeks playing around with it and trying out features. Every time I ran
the program, I came across some new feature. Even as I write this review,
having just run the program again, I came across another feature that I
wasn't aware of before. I really think that Destination: Pyramids has the
potential to keep your children busy for months without getting bored.
Graphics gets a perfect score in the ratings. The backgrounds are crisp,
clear, colorful and very realistic. I wish that I could give more than a 10
in the ratings scale. This program deserves it. Why? I have several
reasons. First, the animation of the stickers is so very realistic and plain
fascinating. Second, the stickers can be placed behind objects in the
background scenes. For instance, if you move a sticker to the place where a
tree is standing in the background scene, the program will place the sticker
in front of the tree or behind it, alternating as you move the sticker
around. Third, the directional orientation of the stickers changes as you
move them around. Last, the stickers increase and decrease in size
automatically as you move them from foreground to background. This is high
quality, detailed programming that deserves a great rating.
Sound also gets a perfect score. The sounds generated by the stickers are
realistic. The music and sounds for the backgrounds are high quality and
realistic. Once again Edmark's attention to detail earns high marks.
Interface took a slight hit because the buttons on the menu bars were just a
little confusing to me. As I have mentioned in previous reviews, I don't
like to look at manuals and instruction booklets because I know that your
children and mine probably aren't going to take the time to do so. I want to
know what it's like to learn how to operate the program from experience. In
this case I had a little trouble understanding the meanings behind some of
the controls. All of the control buttons use pictures rather than words on
their faces. I have never been a picture person. The pictures on the
controls in my van still confuse me after four months. Although the problem
may be with me, I still felt that interface didn't deserve a perfect score.
It would be a big improvement if an explanation of the button or control
popped up somewhere whenever the cursor arrow passes over a control, or even
when the control or button is pressed.
Play value also gets a well deserved perfect rating. I spent hours just
playing around with this software. It just doesn't get boring. Destination:
Pyramids is always full of surprises. The fact that you are creating your
own different stories gives the program a little different character every
time you turn it on.
I don't think that anyone can question the educational value of Destination:
Pyramids. I learned things I never knew about ancient Egypt. I experienced,
first hand, things I already knew about ancient Egypt. By the time I wrote
this review I had to really work to remember that this civilization no longer
exists. It was as if it were alive before my eyes. The fact book is just
icing on the cake.
Bang for the buck deserves better than the 10 that I can give it. This is an
extremely high quality piece of software. No, this is an amazing piece of
software. At a limited-time price of $29.95 it falls within my comfort zone
for educational software. To tell you the truth, I would be willing to pay
much more for this kind of quality.
Destination: Pyramids is well worth adding to your software library. The
only thing that can make it better is to make it part of a collection of
Imagination Express titles in your library. I not only recommend adding it,
I urge you to get your hands on a copy today!
Editor's note: This title is available directly from Edmark through June 30
at a special price of $29.95. This is a special school version which
includes toll-free technical support and reproducible activity sheets. Call
1-800-362-2890 to order or obtain more information. I heartily agree with
Angelo's recommendation of the Imagination Express series.
Ratings
Graphics 10.0
Sound 10.0
Interface 9.5
Play Value 10.0
Educational Value 10.0
Bang for the Buck 10.0
Average 9.92
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For Immediate Release
Corel Announces Agreement with iMPath Networks Inc.
to Extend CorelVIDEOT
Ottawa, Canada - May 16, 1996 - Corel Corporation today announced a new
agreement with Ottawa-based iMPath Networks Inc. to extend CorelVIDEOT.
iMPath's world class communications products, including fully integrated
video, voice and data multiplexers and network management systems, will give
Corel the ability to send high-quality, full motion video and high speed data
over fibre optic lines. Under the agreement, iMPath will develop a new video
trunk card for Corel for use in iMPath's multiplexer. This new card will
significantly reduce the per channel cost of the system and Corel will
purchase the system for resale to its customers.
Corel's current desktop video communications product, CorelVIDEO, is a
hardware and software solution that provides television quality video and
audio, along with extensive communications features such as broadcast, multi-
party conferencing, data sharing, and telephony. Within the local
environment, CorelVIDEO uses a single pair of existing unused category 5 UTP
wires to transport audio and video signals without impacting network traffic.
The addition of iMPath's technology will enable Corel to extend the range of
communication of CorelVIDEO to a distance of up to 40 km, which is especially
appropriate for larger customers and campus environments. iMPath is
currently the only supplier that can provide a cost-effective, fully
integrated solution for video, voice and data on a single fibre optic pair.
"We are extremely pleased to enter into this agreement with iMPath," said Dr.
Michael Cowpland, president and chief executive officer of Corel Corporation.
"Their fibre optic expertise will increase by leaps and bounds our ability to
communicate effectively in the video conferencing arena."
"Corel's leadership in marketing and desktop video conferencing, coupled with
iMPath's strength in developing integrated fibre optic networks, represents
an exciting partnership providing a highly competitive, fully featured
product to our customers," said Greg Boyle, iMPath's president and chief
executive officer.
iMPath Networks Inc.
iMPath is a leading provider of world class communication networks
integrating video, voice and data on optical fibre. The TelePath family of
multiplexers addresses a broad range of customer applications through a
flexible system architecture and a comprehensive, PC-based TeleVue network
manager, allowing customers to manage and control their information networks.
iMPath supports network applications in the transportation, defense,
industrial and utility markets worldwide. iMPath's expanding product
portfolio addresses multimedia applications such as video conferencing,
distance learning and international airport surveillance. iMPath's product
plans target the hybrid fibre coax market with emphasis on telecommuting
applications. For more information, visit iMPath's home page on the Internet
at http://www.impathnetworks.com.
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 CorelDRAW, the Corel
WordPerfect Suite, Corel Office Professional, CorelVIDEO 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.
Atari: Jaguar/Computer Section
Dana Jacobson, Editor
From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
Ugh... The first really nice week of weather and I get sick just as it
unfolds. The drastic winter has resulted in many problems this spring; one
of them, allergies, has apparently done me in. I thought that I was having
another bout with pneumonia . something I never want to suffer again.
I'm finally starting to feel better again, but it's been a bad week for
"working" on this week's issue.. my heart just wasn't in it (or any other
body part!). Fortunately, a long weekend coming up should do wonders for the
recovery process! In the meantime, I'll be short this week and let you get
into the rest of the issue. Have a safe and enjoyable long holiday weekend;
if you drink, don't drive.
Until next time...
PORTFOLIO CLUB (U.K)
Hello my name is Paul Finch, I thought you might be interested in the news
that I have started up a club for owners of the wonderful Atari Portfolio
pocket PC computer, my records show that you deal with Atari computers, so
you can be one of the first people to be told about this new club, and
membership is FREE. There are approximately 300 Portfolio users in Europe
alone. This club is, therefore, part of a much larger
group.
Do you know of any other person/company that deals in Portfolio hardware or
software? If you do please let me know, so I can tell all the members of my
club. I have contacts in U.S.A, Canada, Germany, and Czech Republic with
supplies of new items for the Portfolio, i.e. memory cards, interfaces,
1.44MB floppy drive, Portwalk and Portlink kits!
Did you know it is also possible to backup your data on to a standard tape
recorder, and upgrade your existing Portfolio to work faster or have a
larger internal memory! The internal battery backup can also be increased
from 10 minutes up to 24 hours! It is possible to work your Portfolio as a
fax machine or have a individual copy of your Portfolio working program on
your desktop P.C. There is even a way to transfer data between an Atari S.T
computer and your Portfolio. This is all possible with software from me.
You will be able to read in my club disk, under CLUBNEWS about the range of
magazines, newsletters, old and NEW, with a mint of useful information. Yes
there is even currently a newsletter being produced in the Czech Republic
which is written in English. There is also a copy of my club's HISTORY on
disk. Anyway I look forward to hearing from you at sometime and if I can
help anyone please give them my name, address, telephone number and/or E-
mail me. Why not pass this letter on to a friend who might be interested ?
We must keep the Atari computers ALIVE!.
Mr Paul H Finch.16 Cedars Road, MORDEN, Surrey. SM4 5AB. England. UK.
Telephone:- Home:(+44)0181-542-8350, Work:(+44)0171-219-4768
E-mail:finchp@parliament.uk
Yours faithfully,
Paul INVITE3, Updated:- May 1996
P.S. If anyone would like to join this club, just ask them to send a S.A.E.
to my address above.
Jaguar Section
Jaguar What?
From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
As I mentioned in my opening remarks, it's not been a good week for me.
Apparently, it hasn't been much of a week for the Jaguar, either. Lots of
speculation has been teeming about the future of Atari, and the Jaguar. And,
top it all off, you just have to wonder when AEO's Travis Guy drops a note
online claiming "it's officially over" for Atari. Officially?!
Granted, things haven't looked good for the Jaguar in months. And, I don't
see any real reason for any improvements of this status. Wouldn't it be
ironic if Fight for Life was the last Atari game to appear on theJaguar?
It's my personal opinion that it's going to be an uphill struggle seeing any
games released by Atari, especially before the final merger with JTS
Corporation. I believe that all of Atari's focus is on the merger, and
little else of real consequence for the userbase. Breakout 2000 was slated
for a late May, early June release and there hasn't been a word about it
entering production. A number of games are rumored to havereached completion
and they're all in a holding pattern, if not dead.
It's a shame, but at least I have an excuse or two for my maudlin mood
lately. Anyway, we have some interesting news for you this week even if it's
not all Jaguar-related. It's a long holiday weekend, so what theheck. Enjoy
it.
Until next time...
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
CD-ROM Game Headed to TV
Berkeley Systems Inc. and Jellyvision say they have reached a deal with
Telepictures Productions to create a TV game show version of their "You Don't
Know Jack" CD-ROM game. According to the companies, the program will be
syndicated by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution and will debut
in fall 1997. "You Don't Know Jack" is a pop-culture quiz show game that
gives players the sensation of being contestants on a challenging and
irreverent television game show, complete with studio sound effects and a
sarcastic host.
"You Don't Know Jack"is the perfect CD-ROM game to make the leap from
computer screens to television screens," says Harry Gottlieb, president of
Chicago-based Jellyvision, which developed the game for Berkeley. "We
designed the CD- ROM as a loving spoof of TV game shows, so it's very cool to
get a chance to turn it into a real show."
"We are excited that Telepictures Productions wants to turn our top selling
game, 'You Don't Know Jack', into an actual television game show," says
Julie Wainwright, president and chief operating officer of Berkeley Systems.
"'You Don't Know Jack' may be on the forefront of a new trend in the
entertainment industry, in which computer games drive television
programming."
COMPUSERVE PARTNERSHIPS
TO
EXPAND ONLINE GAMES OFFERINGS
Online Service Bolsters Games Offerings With Numerous Leading-Edge Additions
COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 20, 1996 -- As part of its renewed commitment to creating
an online service that offers fun, exciting entertainment options for its
members, CompuServe (NASDAQ: CSRV) today announced a relationship with
Kesmai Corp. to offer numerous leading edge games to users of the
CompuServe(R) Information Service. Highlighting the deal is the major
online service debut of the new Windows version of Air Warrior, available
now on CompuServe. This relationship comes on the heals of several other
partnerships with online games leaders, including NTN Communications,
Yoyodyne, Boxer Jam and GIC Software. These developments are part of an
aggressive new strategy to expand the highest quality online interactive
games selection in the world.
"As part of this announcement, CompuServe will launch New Game City, a new
online area zoned for fun that will be the cool place to play the best
games," said Srini Vasan, director of Games, CB (Chat) and conferencing.
"As the online market continues its explosive growth among consumers and new
computer owners, there is a huge opportunity for CompuServe's New Game City
to truly become the best place for people around the world to meet,
interact, and play games."
Vasan added that developing strong relationships with industry leaders is
key. "Online technology is ideally suited for interactive gaming because it
allows people to communicate and have fun no matter where theyare," Vasan
said. "We want to use CompuServe's existing global leadership position to
take command of the games, chat and conferencing segments of the online
market."
The relationship with Kesmai will bring the first commercial release on an
online service of the new Windows version of Air Warrior, the highly popular
air combat simulation game. Additionally from Kesmai, CompuServe will offer
Casino Games, Classic Card Games, Classic board games (chess, bingo),
Multiplayer Battle Tech, Stellar Emperor, Legends of Kesmai, Harpoon,
Barbarossa, Destiny Online and Star Rangers to CompuServe users worldwide.
Previously, CompuServe and NTN Communications, Inc. (AMEX: NTN) announced a
worldwide licensing agreement. NTN will provide CompuServe with a minimum
of 24 games during a two-year period including its trivia game shows and
sports applications. NTN's Countdown(R), a popular trivia show, and QB1(R),
the NFL licensed play-a-long football game, will headline NTN's product menu
for CompuServe.
Additional new games will include Boxer Jam's Game show, GIC Software's Word
Games and Yoyodyne's Email Trivia contest.
Sega Unveils Modem Device
A $200 modem attachment will be offered this fall for Sega's Saturn video
game that will connect to the Internet and allow users to browse online.
United Press International says the modem plugs into the cartridge slot on
the $250 Sega Saturn, providing an online connection to the Internet. Sega
officials told the wire service that since the Saturn carries three 32-bit
processors, it already is more powerful than over half of the PCs used for
Internet access currently.
The company says the move is a way to maintain loyalty among its base of
video game players at a time when new PCs offer increasingly complex game
opportunities. "The Sega Saturn Net Link brings the burgeoning cyber-world
into the family room, where Internet-based interactive content will add an
entirely new dimension to mainstream entertainment," said President/CEO Tom
Kalinske of Sega of America.
Atari posts loss
SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 20 (UPI) -- Atari Corp., citing a gain of $6.3 million
from the sale of some of its holdings, Monday reported its first quarter
losses narrowed to $806,000 from $4.42 million during the same period last
year. Sales plunged 75 percent to $1.27 million from $4.87 million a year
ago. Atari noted its latest loss included a gain of $6.3 million on the
sale of the remaining balance of the company's holdings in a publicly
traded security. The video game maker said sales of the Jaguar continue to be
disappointing and the company made substantial writedowns of inventory in
the first quarter of 1996.
Atari said it is pursuing sales of its inventory of Jaguar product in Europe
and North America. On February 13 Atari and JTS Corp. announced plans to
merge the two companies. JTS is a manufacturer of personal computer hard
disk drives. Under the terms of the agreement, the new company will operate
under the name of JTS and the officers of JTS will become the officers of
the merged company.
The Atari entertainment business and the JTS disk drive business will operate
as separate divisions of the new merged company. In connection with the
merger Atari has extended a bridge loan to JTS in the amount of $25 million.
In the event that the merger is not consummated, the bridge loan may be
convertible into shares of JTS Series A preferred stock at the option of
Atari or JTS and subject to certain conditions.
As a result of the transaction, Atari stockholders will hold approximately 60
percent of the outstanding shares of the new company following the merger.
The transaction is structured to qualify as a tax-free reorganization and
will be accounted for as a purchase. The boards of directors of Atari and
JTS have approved the definitive merger agreement.
The merger is subject to certain shareholder and regulatory approvals and
other conditions to closing. It is anticipated that the transaction will
close toward the end of the second calendar quarter of 1996. Atari has been
in the video game business for over twenty years.
ATARI CORPORATION ANNOUNCES
FIRST QUARTER 1996 RESULTS
SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 20 /PR Newswire/ -- Atari Corporation (AMEX: ATC)
today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31,
1996. Net sales for the first quarter of 1996 were $1.3 million as
compared to $4.9 million for the first quarter of 1995. As previously
reported, the Company sold the remaining balance of its holdings in a
publicly traded security during the first quarter of 1996 and realized a
gain of $6.3 million. Sales of the Jaguar continue to be disappointing and
the Company made substantial writedowns of inventory in the first quarter of
1996. The Net Loss for the first quarter of 1996 was $.8 million compared
to a net loss of $4.4 million for the first quarter of 1995. The Company is
pursuing sales of its inventory of Jaguar product in Europe and North
America.
ATARI CORPORATION AND JTS CORPORATION TO MERGE
On February 13, 1996, Atari Corporation and JTS Corporation announced plans
to merge the two companies. JTS is a manufacturer of personal computer hard
disk drives. Under the terms of the agreement, the new corporation will
operate under the name of JTS Corporation and the officers of JTS will
become the officers of the merged company. The Atari entertainment business
and the JTS disk drive business will operate as separate divisions of the
new merged company.
In connection with the merger Atari has extended a bridge loan to JTS in the
amount of $25 million. In the event that the merger is not consummated, the
bridge loan may be convertible into shares of JTS Series A Preferred Stock at
the option of Atari or JTS and subject to certain conditions.
As a result of the transaction, Atari stockholders will hold approximately
60% of the outstanding shares of the new company following the merger. The
transaction is structured to qualify as a tax-free reorganization and
will be accounted for as a purchase. The boards of directors of Atari and
JTS have approved the definitive merger agreement. The merger is subject to
certain shareholder and regulatory approvals and other conditions to
closing. It is anticipated that the transaction will close toward the end of
the second calendar quarter of 1996.
Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years. Today, Atari
markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system
and licenses its intellectual property to third parties. Atari is
headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr!
Reader feedback:
Hi Dana!
After reading the little piece in STR 1219 regarding Atari's lawsuit against
Probe Entertainment LTD and Acclaim, I felt I just had to write to let
people know of the situation behind these two companies facing the lawsuits.
Probe have been a UK games development house for nearly a decade; they have
been responsible for the actual games behind the advertising. Many years
ago, when the ST was starting to get big in the UK, Probe produced a version
of Sega's coin-op game 'Out Run' for the ST, Amiga and other systems such as
the Sinclair Spectrum which was still around at that time.
Before the actual game was released, the hype was tremendous, all the
retailers were saying 'Place your order for Out Run today' together with
trailers on video advertising the game (note, the advertising was ONLY from
the hit coin-op game, which had done relatively well in the arcades of
Britain, specifically in places like Blackpool's amusement arcades and
others around the country.
However, when the game was actually released to dealers, who in turn sold
them on to the punters who'd placed their orders for the game, what a shock!
The game turned out to be a total nightmare. Unplayable, mono-coloured,
slow, fraught with bugs was the actual long-awaited computer version of Out
Run. At least when the ST version came out it had a bit more colour in it,
all the same the actual playability of the game was very hit and miss. Some
of the magazines around at the time contained letters from unhappy buyers of
the game; however nothing was done to get refunds etc, under UK law. Put it
this way, Dana, one hell of a lot of members of the British public got
conned out of fifteen pounds or more (I don't remember exactly how much the
game cost now) but to the target market, which was teenage boys who do not
normally get a wage (unless they happen to have a paper-round or something)
it was a lot of dosh for a piece of rubbish.
Unfortunately, since then, Probe have not improved, producing worse and worse
conversions of game software on all machines. It appeared as though they
got the actual job to convert the games from coin-op but that the actual
finished computer versions were never quite what the average person in the
street would call 'good'. This fact and others were completely ignored by
the UK trade press and this is the case even today; even though there is a
lot of really bad software out there (some by Probe, most not) they don't
seem to be able to recognize that a game has to be playable to be enjoyable.
Acclaim, although more a publisher than a development house, did not do as
badly as Probe but they do, like most other developers in the UK have an
'anti-Atari' bias - which I feel is a great shame. It is the same in
retailers here in England also ..... most sales assistants seem to work along
the lines of if a customer has a problem (say with a printer) things like
'If you don't run Windows push off' is the kind of mentality we get. My
experience of US computer retailers is that they can usually recommend
another dealer in the town or nearby that supports Atari where they don't.
Still, now I've told you the truth about Probe, here's some real Atari-
related news:-
Over at the little village of Hittfeld, near Hamburg, Germany, the Atari
scene together with the Amiga and PC scene joined forces for a 4-day event
over the Easter holiday called 'Symposium 96'. Together with other
colleagues from the Maggie Team, I visited the convention (known in the demo
scene as a party) and got to meet many Atari users there who were members of
demo crews. If any of your readers, or even you, Dana, have seen a Falcon-
only demo called 'Lost Blubb' by a group called Lazer, you will know what I
am talking about. The Falcon and even the ST scene was well represented,
with lots of new PD demos and games being shown off for the first time. It
was also the first chance we got to meet up with the team behind DBA diskmag
for the Falcon; we had been waiting for this opportunity for a long long
time!! It looks like new software is coming through thick and fast in the PD
area; and remember, this is of a very high standard indeed! Much better
than most commercial stuff produced by the likes of Probe!!!
By the way, if no-one in the US knows, or is still wondering where the latest
issue of Atari World magazine is, I'm afraid to have to say that the mag has
closed down. This was hopefully temporary, but it now looks increasingly
permanent after the closure of Compo UK, who also controlled the magazine's
publishing division. There are rumors of the mag's reappearance, whether
this will come to anything, no-one else seems to know at this late stage.
The Falcon Fact File has produced a new HTML-based Atari diskmag called
'AtariPHILE'. Anyone on the Net can view it, it is situated at:
http://walusoft.co.uk/fff. This is a good e-zine with excellent articles -
if you haven't seen it yet, where have you been??? There is a question I
would like to ask you; what has happened to the brilliant Atari mag, Atari
Explorer Online?? We haven't seen a new issue of that since the beginning of
1996. Could you possibly shed any light on what is happening with it?
Even though STR's Atari section does make great reading material (unlike the
British newspapers these days) we here in Europe miss our monthly fix of
AEO!!! I know from reading past issues of STR that Albert Dayes is still
active, maybe he could inform us of what is going on.
Remember that Maggie 19 has been available for a little while now, we should
have Maggie 20 out very soon. We've got some hot news regarding Atari and
other people and places (in the movie scene) so make sure you check it out.
The 'Lost Blubb' demo for the Falcon and other demos can be obtained from
either the University of Michigan archives or ftp.cnam.fr in the directory
pub/Atari/Demos. Note that particularly for use on CNAM capitals have to be
used to select directories!!
I hope to hear from you all soon,
Richard (Felice of Maggie Team)
-Richard Spowart - felice@rushden.demon.co.uk
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
On CompuServe
compiled by
Joe Mirando
73637,2262
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Boy, I'll tell ya, the first two days of
this past week were HOT! We, here in the Northeast (or at least in
Connecticut) broke two high temperature records in a row. I truly hope that
this in not a foreshadowing of things to come. I don't know if I can take a
summer of record-breaking temperatures and humidity. I mean, with an air
conditioner or two going, I might have to (gasp) shut off my computer to
lower my electricity bill to a more acceptable level... NAH! I'd just do
without the air conditioner and find a cool place in the shade, plug in my
Stacy and my modem, and tool on up to CompuServe so that I can complain
about the heat at the speed of light (or, at least at the speed of packet-
switching equipment). <Big Grin>
I'll make a deal with you... Send me email any time you want to with
whatever you want to say, be it about the heat, questions about using the
Internet, or about the status of HMI for the Atari ST series of computers.
Now let's get to the purpose of this column in the first place... all the
great news, hints, tips, and info available every week right here on
CompuServe.
From the Atari Computing Forums
John Boraston asks:
"Does anyone know what has happened to the Atari World Magazine? I received
the March issue but nothing since and have been unable to raise them on the
telephone."
My pal Simon Churchill tells John:
"Atari World and Companion company COMPO UK are currently in receivership,
there will be no more issues unless a new financial deal is arranged,
however the gentleman behind both companies when last heard was winding them
both up."
It seems that things are disappearing all over this week... Robert Aries
asks:
"What happened to the Atari file finder? Unless I've lost a few too many
brain cells, I used to type GO ATARIFF. Now, that command results in
"Atariff is unrecognized"!
I wanted to find a uuencode program to decode a file I got over the internet.
Browsed libs 2, 4 and 5 with keyword "UUE". No files found. Man,
retirement time is coming sooner than I thought for this old computer."
Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Robert:
"I can understand why the Atari File finder is no longer here. There is only
one computer forum. You should be able to find UU(DE/EN)CODE program by
browsing all libraries in this forum. I believe ENCODE or DECODE was one of
the keywords."
Chief Sysop Ron Luks adds:
"The Atari File Finder was needed when there were more than one forum with
Atari files. Since all the Atari Computer forums have been consolidated into
one (this forum) the ATariFF was redundant and was removed from the system."
It's a sign of the times, I'm afraid. The market, resources, and interest is
dwindling.... get use to it. Case-in- point, Phil Warnell posts:
"CompuServe requires CIM to register your new personal address. How to get
around this problem. Help!!!!"
Sysop Keith Joins tells Phil:
"The new personal addresses or aliases will only be available in NEWMAIL
which runs under HMI. Unless an HMI program is developed for the Atari you
won't be able to make use of them."
Michael Robillard asks for help with his modem:
"When I try dialing with my zoom modem it keeps saying that a connection has
been made while it's dialing or just at the start of the dial.This causes me
problems with some software which looks for connect and then proceeds like
I'm online when I'm not."
Albert Dayes asks Michael:
"Have you attempted to change your modem initialization string?"
Michael asks Albert:
"What do you recommend for the following:
1. STORM
2. KAQ9 NOS
3. FREEZEDRIED
4. STIK/CAB
I NOTICED that when I turn the modem on when running Freezedried the program
thinks I'm online and I have to use ALT_H to hangup so I can dial. I
usually use ATZ (as an initialization string).
Albert tells Michael:
"I use FLASH II for my telecommication needs. I assume STORM should also work
okay and is shareware. There is also STALKER v3.x from Gribnif too. Have
you attempted to reinstall the freeze-dried software and see if that helps?"
Michael tries it and reports back to Albert:
"I've reinstalled the original version of Freezedried and everything seems to
be ok right now.I'm experimenting with the following inits AT &C? &D? or AT
&F &C? &D?. The modem seems to be operating ok now so thanks again for your
help!"
John Watson asks:
"Now that Atari World has ceased publication in the U.K., can anyone
recommend another magazine which covers the more serious applications
aspects of the ST?
I notice that Denesh Bhabuta is advertising a Canadian magazine called
Current Notes. Has anyone seen this? Also there must be a German magazine.
Does anyone subscribe? Is it expensive? Is it worthwhile if you
can read a little German?
Any information and comments on your favourite magazine would be welcome, as
there appears to be nothing in the shops here now and it is necessary to
subscribe by post and this can be a fairly large outlay! Any comments most
welcome."
Hans Romer tells John:
"Here in Germany there are still two ATARI-magazines available:
1. ST - COMPUTER / Monthly / DM 8,--
O Maxon Computer GmbH,
O Fax 06196/41137 Compuserve 100070,1744
2. ATARI inside / all two months / 6,80
O Falke Verlag, 24226 Heikendorf, Fax 0431-2736-8
O Sales office: IPV Inland Presse Vertrieb, 20022 Hamburg, Postfach 10 32
46"
Simon Churchill adds:
"In the UK we still have two magazines still running strong,
ST Format is still available, either subscribe or special order through your
newsagent.
And
ST Application's is now in many form's available on subscribtion from the
FaST Club (Correct Letter capitalising for there name Falcon/ST)"
Marc Grun adds:
"If you read a little French there's also a very good french magazine still
available, called ST MAGAZINE. It's a magazine with disk.
You can contact them at:
LA TERRE DU MILIEU
Les Marmottieres
F-74310 LES HOUCHES
Tel:+33 50 54 49 77
They provide very interesting information about everything going on in the
world ATARI. Of all other magazines (I know them all) reported in the other
mails, this french magazine is the best one. It cost 32 FF."
John Watson replies to all who helped him out:
"Many thanks to Hans and Marc for posting details of their magazines. It is
very pleasing to hear that Atari magazines are flourishing in Germany and
France. I would like to subscribe to one of these magazines but there is a
problem which unfortunately the EC has not yet solved. Banks make large
charges for converting currency and this adds greatly to the cost of
subscribing. Has anyone found a way round this problem? Maybe Compuserve can
help. I have read that they have a scheme for payments for shareware
registrations and perhaps they also do the same for magazine subscriptions.
Does anyone know about this or where you enquire to find out?"
Mark tells John:
"As I wrote in my message the french ST Magazine, which is run by a company
called Terre du Milieu, supports also some sort of Atari Club (which is
called "Club ST", you get special prices on software an hardware if you're a
member of this club). I contacted them to get member of that club and asked
them how I should do for the payment of the registration. I myself wanted to
do it by Eurocheque, and they told me that this would get to expensive (80
FF of charges for the cheque), so they told me to send them the money via the
post by a method that's called MANDAT POSTAL (i don't know the english word
of it) to LA TERRE DU MILIEU, etc. So I suppose that you could subscribe to
this magazine by the same way as you would do to register to their club."
Tom Sheets posts:
"...[In the near future] I will have to go IBM or Gateway. I am sad to do
this, but I fear that I have no other options at this time."
Dave Hudspeth tells Tom:
"Right--just don't buy a Mac, is all <g>. Unless you wanna buy *another*
orphan computer..."
P.Walding tells Dave:
"I guess it depends how far into the future you look for a life span of
computers , as to whether the Mac is an orphan. Also what you want from the
computer. I have had involvement with most 8-bit and 16-bit systems over
the last 14 (?) years. The long lasting love of my life is the Atari ,
currently manifesting itself in my Mega4STe (CD II graphics card / Geneva /
Neodesk 4). As a productivity output grading , it runs rings around the 486
SX 25 I use for Crystall Report Writer , etc. When Atari hardware upgrading
became necessary , I baulked at buying a TOS clone due to the logistics of
getting service support if something went wrong with the hardware in our
neck of the woods. I suspect that support would have been 1/2 a world away.
I ended up buying a Mac and MagicMac and it has truely given me the best of
both worlds. I can pick the eyes out of Mac and Atari software. Soon I
will have to add a 486 or pentium and then I can pick the eyes out of
Windoze software also. This is only because printer drivers for what I am
buying are only available for software under the Windows platform.
I knew when I bought the Mac that I was acquiring another minority computer.
However in the near (3 year) time frame it wasn't a problem and past that I
suspect at the rate that hardware is evolving at. Anything I buy now will
have become substantially dated."
Dave tells "P":
"I'd say you've gotten your money's worth out of it, since you've been using
it that long. My post was merely a warning to potential Atari converts
thinking the Mac would be their best choice, that they might wanna wait a
bit and see how Apple fares in the near future. If they suffer another near-
billion dollar loss quarter or two, I'd think they would be in huge trouble.
If you follow the ISV gossip, most of them are seriously considering
abandoning Apple. With little new or innovative software, the Mac's days
would be numbered. At any rate, I predict Apple is going to be acquired in
a buyout by IBM or Motorola this winter, if they have another really bad
quarter..."
Tom Sheets adds:
"Yeah, I know. I don't want a Mac. I want one that has all the features and
all the hardware and all the goodies that are built in the computer. I want
a 150Mhz or faster and all that. I want a super fast modem and all the
gadgets. Know what I mean? But I know that I will be paying alot of money
for a computer of that nature. oh well. Maybe someday."
Hey, don't we all want "bigger, faster, newer, easier"? Somehow, I don't
think "easier" than the ST will come along for quite a while. Anyway, Dave
asks Tom:
"Have you considered building one yourself? I just bought an Ocean Info
Systems "Rhino-9" (don't ask me what the name means <g>) motherboard, that
uses the Triton-II (430HX) chipset from Intel, a Pentium-150, and 32 megs of
EDO memory for under $1K. Currently, memory goes for around $10 a meg--about
a quarter of the price it was 18 months ago.
You can get an older Triton-I mobo with a Pentium-75 for under $300
mailorder. That with 16 megs EDO, a 3.5" floppy and a case with power supply
would cost about $500. I would get the newer mobo, however (they usually
support CPU speeds of up to 200 MHz), and later upgrade the CPU.
The new mobos have all the serial & parallel and enhanced IDE and floppy
ports built into the mobo-all you need are ribbon cables to attach the
components. A Western Digital 1.2 gig HD goes for $199 (Drive Outlet
Center's ad in the current Computer Shopper), a 6X IDE CDROM drive for $99,
the Diamond 3D Stealth 2000 (a true 3D video card, with z-buffering, gouraud
shading, 2 megs of 40 ns EDO memory onboard, etc) from Computability is
$175, and a generic 16-bit sound card for way under $100.
A Microsoft compatible mouse is $6. The biggest single-expense item would
be a decent 17" monitor, and for my tastes, the Iiyama 9017E goes for under
$900. I just recently upgraded my Pentium-90 on an old Plato (Neptune
chipset) mobo, to the Rhino-9 and a Pentium 150 (which I plan to overclock
to 166 MHz), and am now planning to upgrade the rest of the hardware as
well, one piece at a time. When I'm done, my kid will have the Pentium-90
system <g>."
"Thomas" tells Dave:
"Hmm, That sounds really nice all for under $1k? That is a good price. But,
how long does it take to put together? I really would like to build my own
PC, but I think it would take up alot of time, but in the end, it would be
how I wanted it. I mean, none of this direct solder in the motherboard
stuff, I would use chip sockets and stuff of that nature. I would do it
right so I don't have to do it a second time or send it in for repairs. I
don't have the $ right now to get one. I will have to look in to it. My
Atari Mega ST 4 is suiting my purposes for the moment. Computers are real
expensive and hard to keep up with. I mean, with all the new technology out
there, these big time company's are coming out with smaller, faster, more
powerful machinces with better graphics, better sound and better all around.
I guess I have been out of the computer biz too long to remember what the
heck I was even doing. Well, I'll be a shopping and looking around for a good
deal."
Dave tells Thomas:
"It doesn't usually take more than a day--all the components are pretty
standard. Try visiting the PC Hardware forum (go PCHW) and read the posts
from novices to systems builders who make their living doing this stuff.
There's no soldering, etc. involved--you merely install the mobo into the
case, connect the power supply plugs, install the CPU (most mobos have a ZIF
socket--makes it really simple to insert or remove the CPU) and memory
SIMMs, configure the jumpers on the mobo for the CPU speed according to the
manual, then start installing all the daughterboards & peripherals. Once
you're done
with the hardware, you have to install the software.
Depending on what OS you decide to use, this can be easy or a pain in the
neck <g>. The later, auto-detecting OSes such as OS/2 Warp, Win95 and NT
can determine with a pretty good degree of accuracy what hardware you've
installed, and set up the appropriate drivers. If you decide to stick with
Windows 3.1 and/or DOS, then you'll have to set things up without help from
the OS. Most BIOSes and many peripherals now are "Plug & Play", and
generally you don't have to do any configuring of interrupts, addresses
and/or DMA channels if you use Win95. Not as simple as the Mac, but then
usually cheaper..."
Thomas tells Dave:
"Sounds like it will be easy to install. I don't know when or where I'll get
it, but as soon as I have a bunch of bills paid off and all that good stuff,
I will look into it and see if I will get one or not. Anyway, it sounds like
it's not so complicated."
Well folks, that's about it for this week. Tune in again next week, same
time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
STReport Confidential
News, Tips, Rumors, Exposs1, Predictions
ú Columbus, Ohio CompuServe to make Sweeping Changes
"Super Snoop" has been very busy this past week. Last week we broke
the story of CompuServe having a secret project underway. A project designed
to make CIS "THE" Internet Service Provider. We did not however have the ID
of this "Secret Project" last week. We do now . Its called "Red-Dog".
Further developments:
Its come to Snoop's attention. CIS staged an 800 conference call
"experience" this past week in an attempt to "inform the press" of its true
intentions. Seems though, that when the question of whether or not its
current software was being abandoned. the line went silent and no forthright
answer was offered. Apparently, Wincim and its relatives may see another
"patch-like" version. Then HMI will literally "bite the dust" in favor of
HTML. Its a well known fact, in the industry, that CIS' new servers are all
WinNT (NISA) and.. HMI is choking and choking hard. Of course, Lex Crosett,
the person responsible for affecting a smooth transition of HMI to the NT
environment has seemingly failed miserably. Other industry observers have
offered the opinion He and a few others at or, near the top apparently either
lack the ability or, the interest in meeting the challenges of today's online
community and are likely to experience some "profound changes".
In the world of Digital Communications, CompuServe was "looked to" as
the Service that could and would lead the way . so much for "fairy tales"..
Unfortunately, its fairly obvious CIS has literally "dropped the ball" as far
as ISDN is concerned. The backbone is slow. they're using an aged,
inadequate protocol (v.120) and then; incredibly . at 57.6kbd. The rest of
the world is using bundled 64kbd yielding 128kbd! On top of which, the
number of ISDN nodes in the States can be counted in less than three seconds.
Whereas other nets have high speed ISDN nodes operable in most every major US
City. One of many typical voices offering opinions relative to the "poor
state of CIS' ISDN service".
"Whether CIS needs to move to ISDN or to cable modems, they're going to need
the infrastructure to support very high speed connections to the desktop.
The current limit of 57.6 at the asynch centers just will not cut it as
customers begin to demand the 128Kbps from ISDN or the multiple MBps coming
from ASDL and cable modems. What we, as CIS subscribers DON'T want to see
is another situation where CompuServe is lagging far behind the consumer in
installing these high speed access devices.
Saying "Believe in CIS" to a user who waited a year to get 28.8 access is
like saying "Believe in IBM" to an OS/2 user :^) It just doesn't cut it.
CIS needs to be at the forefront in implementing this technology. ISDN isn't
new; it's been available for over ten years now. It shouldn't have taken a
rocket scientist to see that the demand for bandwidth at the desktop was
going to grow and to have solutions ready to be dropped in place as soon as
the consumers clamor for them.
Additionally, CIS must realize consumers won't clamor for the services until
they know they're available and usable. How many people do you think were
told that yes, ISDN was available, but they couldn't use it with CompuServe,
so they just didn't bother pursuing it any farther? I think CIS has a great
chance to make its own marketplace here!"
WOW the "new offering" from CIS is apparently falling far short of
expectations . seems close to or over forty million dollars was spent in
advertisng and promoting this venture and so far. its only garnered fifty one
some odd thousand subscribers. Further, it was noted that WOW at 17.95 per
month was two dollars cheaper than its CIS owned and operated cousin, Sprynet
at 19.95. Experienced industry observers chanted alike; "at this time
CompuServe resembles a Rudderless Ship in every aspect of its activities."
The once "Proud and Mighty CIS" is making all the "creaking and screeching"
noises of an old, wooden Ferry Boat that's "missed the Slip" and hit the
pilings of indecision and lack of direction.
Many of CIS' Information Providers (Forum Contract Holders) are
extremely upset with management and some are reportedly "pulling out" lock
stock and barrel, ala Microsoft. Among the many reasons cited as cause for
such drastic actions are:
" a lack of serious communications with the "brass"
" excessive interference in the operation of forums
" implied if not direct influence on the editorial content of forums
" inability of top brass to "work with" the Ips.
" lack of faith in the leadership of CIS on the part of the Ips.
"
Of those IP's snoop spoke to.. They were unanimous in their
dissatisfaction and were all ready to leave CIS. A few of those were
extremely upset.. "things, in general, do not bode well for CIS if the Brass
doesn't get with the times and darn fast".. was a often heard remark.
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
"ENJOY A SAFE AND FUN FILLED WEEKEND!"
STReport International OnLine Magazine
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STR OnLine! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" May 24, 1996
Since 1987 Copyrightc1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1221
