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Silicon Times Report Issue 1243
Silicon Times Report
The Original Independent OnLine Magazine"
(Since 1987)
October 25, 1996 No.1243
Silicon Times Report International OnLine Magazine
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10/25/96 STR 1243 The Original Independent OnLine Magazine!
- CPU Industry Report - PhotoShop 4.0 - Lexmark Retail!
- Corel Buys Paradox - Hayes 33.6 - Software Modems?
- Kid's Corner - New PowerBook - Killing Cookies
- USR to fix Modems - People Talking - Dana's Tidbits
COURT BLOCKS JUNK E-MAILER!
CDs THAT CAN READ, WRITE AND 'RASE
WIRED TRIES AGAIN!
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Editors
Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35
Results: 10/19/96: 2 of 6 numbers, no matches
From the Editor's Desk...
Comdex Fall'96 is right around the corner. Adobe has its lineup ready
to go and believe me, their new Pagemaker 6.5 and Photoshop 4.0 are
extremely powerful and extremely user friendly. Printing and Artwork are
going to be the big thing in the coming months. Users are growing weary of
the dot matrix type of output and of course the runny ink of certain "bubble
up-jet" type printers. Of course the idea behind the highly solvent ink had
to be all about non clogging. Well so much for that! The first time a
raindrop hits an envelope addressed with one of these jewels.. Smear city.
Non smear. Colorfast bubble printers please. They are a reality now. The
big news is Color Laser Printers. they are fast becoming affordable. Over
the course of the next few months we shall be covering printers of many
different flavors. One for every budget and purpose.
In the online world, the Internet continues to dominate the scene.. Of
course, among the major online services, CompuServe still offers the very
best value despite AOL's constant and I might add, goofy claims. I simply
have to say this; "In my opinion, of all the services out there, AOL may be
the biggest but for certain AOL is the saddest." Its overloaded, slow, and
by far, too highly governed and controlled. Perhaps that's because the
larger percentage of AOL's users are among the younger of the young
generation needing "guided entertainment." Besides, its fairly obvious that
even with all their boring promotions involving a constant flow of free
disks, cds and other trash. they have yet to realize their highly structured
setup is ultimately going to be the only monkey on their or, should I say
..Steve Case's back.
CompuServe Proper. not WOW (an AOL-like clone). is indeed "The Place
to be" when it comes to Online Services. The variety of solid information
and product support is virtually unbeatable and only surpassed in volume by
the Internet itself. But then, the `Net is easily accessed from within
CompuServe. In our humble opinion. CIS is "the name of the game" when it
comes to Online Services.
Of Special Note:
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Ralph F. Mariano, Publisher - Editor
Dana P. Jacobson, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
PC Section Mac Section Beginner's Section
R.F. Mariano J. Deegan Lloyd E. Pulley
Gaming & Entertainment Kid's Computing Corner
Dana P. Jacobson Frank Sereno
STReport Staff Editors
Michael Arthur John Deegan Brad Martin
John Szczepanik Paul Guillot Joseph Mirando
Doyle Helms John Duckworth Jeff Coe
Steve Keipe Victor Mariano Melanie Bell
Jay Levy Jeff Kovach Marty Mankins
Carl Prehn Paul Charchian Vincent P. O'Hara
Contributing Correspondents
Dominick J. Fontana Norman Boucher Daniel Stidham
David H. Mann Angelo Marasco Donna Lines
Ed Westhusing Glenwood Drake Vernon W.Smith
Bruno Puglia Paul Haris Kevin Miller
Craig Harris Allen Chang Tim Holt
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STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Security Woes Plague Big Business
A lack of confidence in information security, widespread Internet access and
increased malicious attacks by insiders have caused significant information
security losses at major U.S. companies, according to a survey conducted by
Ernst & Young and InformationWeek Magazine. More than half (54 percent) of
the survey's 1,320 participants experienced losses due to information
security and disaster recovery within the last two years. Adding computer
viruses to the mix, the number rose to 78 percent. Significant losses were
caused by malicious acts by company insiders (32 percent), malicious acts by
outsiders (18 percent), natural disasters (25 percent) and industrial
espionage (six percent).
Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of the executives surveyed expressed a
lack of confidence in the security of their computer networks, from both
internal and external attack. "The threats can come from an unsecured
Internet connection, a malicious attack by a disgruntled employee, the loss
of a laptop with critical information, industrial espionage or just plain
carelessness," says Scott D. Ramsey, national director of information
security for Ernst & Young. "While companies spend more money on
sophisticated computer hardware, they often fail to devote attention to
safeguarding information systems, equipment and the people who use it."
The survey also uncovered that while most companies are using the Internet
or Intranet for vital business functions, many feel that the information
security measures for both are ineffective. While nearly 40 percent
expressed dissatisfaction with the overall security level of their
companies' Internet connection, less than one-third (31 percent) of the
respondents said they could detect vulnerability to hackers who can dial-in
through external Internet connections. In fact, 25 percent said someone had
used the Internet to attempt to break into their system during the last
year. To make matters worse, nearly three quarters (74 percent) lack a
formal incident response team.
"As increased use of outside vendors and contract employees heightens
exposure, organizations must start monitoring the connections between
themselves and their service providers," notes Ramsey. "Companies don't
realize that the moment they give computer access to a contractor, they are
handing the keys to the kingdom to a short-term employee."
Lawmakers Pan Encryption Plan
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has panned the White House's recently
unveiled data encryption initiative, saying it "shortchanges" U.S. business.
More than 20 House and Senate lawmakers who have pledged to take up the
issue when Congress returns to work next spring say in a letter to Commerce
Secretary Mickey Kantor that the new Clinton proposal is "flawed," adding it
will not only hurt U.S. companies, but will leave law enforcement officials
"behind the cryptography-curve."
The Dow Jones news service quotes the letter as saying, "We fear these
defects will continue to leave U.S. companies at a disadvantage in the world
market, leave users of U.S. encryption uncertain about the security of their
information and leave U.S. law enforcement and national security agencies
behind the cryptography curve." Among the signers are Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman
Larry Pressler, R-South Dakota. The letter was circulated by Sen. Ron
Wyden, D-Oregon. As noted earlier, the Clinton administration has announced
a plan to loosen export restrictions on data-scrambling technology under an
initiative in which:
ú Companies would be allowed to export strong encryption in return for a
pledge to develop a "key recovery" system that would allow law
enforcement officials to unscramble messages with a court's
approval.
ú Oversight of encryption exports would be transferred from the State
Department to the Commerce Department.
Existing policy treats strong encryption technology as a "munition" that
generally can't be exported. As reported, software makers argue the
restrictions hurt their ability to compete in global markets, costing
billions of dollars and countless jobs. Despite criticism, the Clinton
administration continued to push its initiative. For instance, Attorney
General Janet Reno told a meeting of communications lawyers yesterday the
administration is seeking to balance privacy and commerce interests with the
interests of law enforcement and national security.
Said Reno, "I want to make it clear that we believe that strong cryptography
is critical if the global information infrastructure is to fulfill its
incredible promise, but our ability to protect life and property is
threatened by the prospect of unbreakable cryptography. I dread the day when
law enforcement agents seeking to use legal, court approved wiretaps to
prevent terrorist acts hear nothing but the hiss of encrypted communications
they cannot decipher." As reported, measures were introduced in both the
House and the Senate this year to liberalize the export rules without
mandating a key recovery mechanism. "Lawmakers said they plan to continue
to work on those efforts, which won praise from much of the computer
industry," Dow Jones reports.
Court Blocks Junk E-Mailer
CompuServe Inc. says it has been granted a temporary restraining order to
prohibit Cyber Promotions Inc. from falsely identifying their electronic
mail as coming from CompuServe. Under the order, granted in U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Cyber Promotions Inc. is required
to stop using CompuServe's accounts, equipment or support services to send
or receive electronic mail; stop inserting any false reference to a
CompuServe account or CompuServe equipment in any electronic message; and
stop causing their electronic mail to indicate it was sent from CompuServe
or a CompuServe account.
"CompuServe's number one job is providing our users with the best online
experience available. This is just one step in working to manage the problem
of unsolicited or junk e-mail for our users," says Denny Matteucci,
CompuServe's president of interactive services. "Our users have told us they
don't want junk mail clogging their mailboxes and, frankly, neither do I.
Junk mail is as unwelcome in cyberspace as it is through the postal
service." The full text of the restraining order is available on
CompuServe's web page at www.compuserve.com or on CompuServe at (GO
CISCENTER) in the News area.
Household Net Access Doubles
Twice as many U.S. households now have access to the Internet as this time
last year -- the current number is put at 14.7 million -- and a new survey
figures growth at Internet-access providers has outstripped commercial
online services. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter
Jared Sandberg says Find/SVP, the market-research firm that conducted the
survey with Jupiter Communications, determined that as of last month:
ú Roughly 9 million adult Americans logged onto the Internet's World Wide
Web daily, while nearly 20 million people signed onto the Web weekly.
A year ago, 2.3 million logged onto the Internet each day, while 5.3
million users went online each week.
ú Last year, 6.2 million households had access to the Internet, compared
to 14.7 million now.
ú Today some 38.7 million Americans over the age of 18 have tapped into
cyberspace at least once.
"What's really dramatic," says Find/SVP Vice President Thomas E. Miller, "is
the acceptance of the Internet from home. Consumers are ready for
information access from the Internet." The study, projectable to U.S. homes
owning telephones, was conducted by randomly dialing 3,255 U.S. households
and interviewing adults at least 18 years of age. Of those households, 1,018
were found to own PCs and these homes were asked extensively about their
computer usage.
"Increasingly," says Sandberg, "those users are bypassing commercial online
services for direct Internet-access providers. ... Though more than half of
the Internet usage from home is provided by commercial online services, the
number of users gaining access to the global computer network from Internet-
access providers has more than tripled to 4.4 million households from 1.4
million last year." By contrast, says the researchers, commercial online
services have grown only 28 percent, providing access to 8.9 million
households, compared with 6.9 million last year.
Net Society Delays Address Issue
The Internet Society has backed away from a proposal to dramatically expand
the number of addresses available on the global computer network. Instead,
the group, which helps develop and coordinate Internet standards, will form
a nine-member committee to study the issue, reports Aaron Pressman of the
Reuter News Service. The group's original proposal was an attempt to quell
the growing number of disputes over desirable address names, but society
President Don Heath told the wire service, "There just seems to be no
consensus at all."
Pressman says various objections and questions have been raised about the
August proposal, from technical networking issues to concerns about
protection for trademarks and intellectual property. Said Heath, "We
thought we should try to pull it all together and have a good cross-section
of people to discuss it and see if we can't reach a consensus." He added the
new committee ought to finish its work by early next year and new names
could be doled out four to six months later.
The committee could decide not to go forward with any address expansion, but
Heath said that was an unlikely outcome, adding, "The facts of life are that
people want descriptive names and vanity plates." In August, Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority said it would oversee the creation of up to 150
new top level domains, easing the squeeze, especially for names in the
private sector category. The authority, operating under charter from the
society and the Federal Network Council, is the central coordinator of
Internet addresses and other standards.
"The society's board of trustees voted in June to accept a preliminary
version of the numbers authority proposal, with the proviso that the
business aspects of proposal be fleshed out," Pressman notes. "But with
the ensuing controversy, the society decided a committee was needed to re-
examine the proposal, Heath said. The committee will meet confer mostly by
telephone and online, though an open forum is planned for mid-December in
California." Look for the new committee to include two members appointed by
the society, two by the numbers authority and two by the Internet
Architecure Board. The International Telecommunication Union, the World
Intellectual Property Organization and the International Trademark
Association will each appoint one member.
240 MHz Processor Debuts
IBM Corp. and Motorola Inc. have unveiled enhanced versions of their PowerPC
603e microprocessor, including a 240MHz version that is the highest speed
volume microprocessor for portable and desktop computers. The first
adopters of the 240MHz processor are UMAX Computer Corp. and Power Computing
Corp., which have each based Macintosh-compatible computers on the chip.
Apple Computer Inc. has also expressed its support for the device. The
240MHz PowerPC 603e offers almost four times the performance of the original
PowerPC 603 processor and exceeds by 20 percent IBM and Motorola's target of
reaching 20OMHz by end of year 1996.
533 MHz Processor Developed
A microprocessor that runs at a speed of 533 megahertz -- more than twice
the speed of current PC chips -- has been developed by a 3-year-old startup
firm called Exponential Technology. ET officials in San Jose, California,
told United Press International the Exponential X will move into volume
production in the 1997 second quarter at a price of $1,000 each for large
volume orders. It also will be available in 500- and 466- megahertz version.
Exponential -- which is backed by Apple Computer, Intochu, Venrock
Associates and Woodside Fund -- said the device has been designed for
desktop publishing, Web page creation, digital animation and high-end
graphics and multimedia. UPI says the chip is designed to operate on
machines running on Apple Computer and PowerPC systems. PowerPC is the
partnership between Apple, IBM Corp. and Motorola Inc. to produce high-
performance processors.
Apple Vice President Satjiv Chahil said, "Today's announcement will cause
the industry to stand up and take notice. We think the Exponential X has the
potential to redefine PC multimedia computing." Chahil added, "This
innovation should be especially attractive to power Macintosh users who
demand uncompromised performance for their high-end graphics and multimedia
applications."
Sun Micro Readies Net Computer
Watch for workstation giant Sun Microsystems Inc. to be a serious player in
the new market for stripped-down "network computers." In fact, Sun CEO Scott
McNealy is already demonstrating a working prototype. Writing in The Wall
Street Journal this morning, reporters Joan Indiana Rigdon and Don Clark
says that McNealy, appearing at Agenda, an industry conference in
Scottsdale, Arizona, indicated Sun plans to ship the machines this year,
though he wouldn't disclose prices. "Privately," they added, "Sun
executives have said the machines would probably cost more than $500.
Many in the industry say the machines will cost $700 to $1,000." Network
computers have become one of the most controversial new technologies since
Sun and Oracle Corp. began talking about them more than a year ago.
"Proponents say the machines, which are far cheaper to maintain than PCs,
could one day stamp out the multibillion-dollar market for PCs," the Journal
observes. "They also see network computers as a possible way to slow the
Microsoft Corp.-Intel Corp. juggernaut. Those companies' technologies run
more than 80 percent of the world's PCs." Nonetheless, critics say the NCs
may not be able to maintain a cost advantage over PCs, which continue to
come down in price, adding the units are a throwback to decades past when
companies equipped their employees with "dumb terminals" that relied on
overtaxed mainframe computers to do all their computing tasks.
NC guru Larry Ellison, Oracle's CEO, got so hot on the topic yesterday that
he got in a shouting match with someone in the Agenda audience over the
viability of the market. The Journal says Sun is trying to sell NCs on
"cost of ownership." Says the paper, "While NCs won't necessarily be
cheaper to purchase than PCs, Sun and others say they cut the cost of
maintenance by more than half. Since they don't store any software or data
of their own, they never have to be updated, unlike PCs. Instead, they will
use Sun's new Java network-computing language to download data and
applications as the user needs them, Sun says."
Rewritable CD-ROMs Due in '97
Lower-cost rewritable compact discs are expected to hit the market early
next year following agreement on technical specifications for the reusable
CDs. Reporting from San Francisco, United Press International notes
Hewlett-Packard, Philips Electronics, Sony, Mitsubishi and Ricoh made the
announcement, adding that Philips said its version of the disk drive and
software will be priced under $1,000. Of course, hardware for rewritable
CDs already is available but at prices in the range of several thousand
dollars. John Boose, general manager of Colorado Memory Systems, a division
of HP, told the wire service, "Users have been clamoring for the combination
of worldwide interchangeability with media rewritability in a high capacity
storage device.
CD-ReWritable fills that void and builds on the existing benefits of CD-ROM
and CD-Recordable technologies." The standards include modifications to
make the new machines work with drives for the widespread CD-ROM technology
and the new digital video disc, or DVD, format. There currently are more
than 100 million CD-ROM drives installed worldwide. General Manager
Tadatoshi Sakamaki of the disc media & system products division of Ricoh
noted, "CD-ReWritable media offers 450 times the capacity of a 3.5-inch
diskette, much lower cost per megabyte, greater durability and a longer
shelf life."
Apple Offers Photo Printer Option
Apple Computer Inc. is shipping the Apple Color StyleWriter 2500 Color
PhotoGrade Print Kit, an option package that gives Color StyleWriter 2500
printer users the ability to print photorealistic color documents.
The $64 kit consists of a special ink cartridge, paper, printer upgrade
software and an ink cartridge storage case. The kit also includes
PhotoEnhancer Plus, a photo manipulation program. "As personal images,
photo CDs and pictures on the Internet become more readily available,
photorealistic printer output is becoming increasingly important to
consumers," says Maury Austin, Apple's imaging vice president. "Our research
shows that aside from Macintosh compatibility, color print quality is a
feature our customers value in the Color StyleWriter 2500."
Canon Offers $99 Adobe PostScript
Canon Computer Systems Inc. is offering $99 Adobe PostScript software for
its entire line of 200, 400 and 600 series color Bubble Jet ink-jet
printers. "This exclusive offer to Canon users means that our customers can
access all of the benefits of true Adobe PostScript for approximately one-
third the cost they can get it from the competition," says Peter Bergman,
vice president of marketing and customer care for CCSI. "Graphic artists and
engineers ... can take advantage of the software to create accurate proofs
prior to printing."
Canon customers can call Canon's Special Order Hotline at 800-385-2155 to
obtain the specially priced version of Birmy's PowerRIP PostScript software.
PowerRIP eliminates the uneven edges that occur when printing images on non-
PostScript devices. Canon notes that the software reduces the cost of adding
PostScript to a printer because it doesn't require the printer's on-board
controller to have a second computer chip and additional RAM in order to run
PostScript.
Motorola Plans Software Modems
Software modems -- that is, modems that are simply software that runs on a
computer's microprocessor -- are being touted by Motorola Inc. and may spell
the end for chip-based modems. Computergram International reports this
morning the company's first products will be launched later this year and
will be host-based software running on Windows95 PCs. Mike Tramontano, the
company's product manager for information systems, told the newsletter the
technology currently is being demonstrated to a number of personal computer
manufacturers.
Also, he said, Motorola is expecting it to be incorporated in devices such
as Personal Digital Assistants and television set-top boxes. "Although
there is a hardware component in the form of a transceiver to interface
with the phone line," says CI, "the company says its software modems will
work out cheaper and lighter than current versions, as well as being more
readily upgradable." Tramontano contends the devices won't be any less
advanced than their hardware counterparts, adding, "We fully intend to have
our software communications products keep pace with the features and
function set of hardware-based modems." He says that in the long run,
software modems will make traditional modems redundant.
Robotics to Fix Flawed Modems
U.S. Robotics says it will fix or replace versions of its 33.6 Kbps
Sportster modems affected by a flaw that causes some of them to pause while
exchanging data. As The Wall Street Journal noted this morning, the
company found the flaw in a data-compression algorithm and fixed it several
months ago, but "an unspecified number of models sold earlier this year may
be affected by it." Six of the affected modems are for Windows- based
personal computers and two are for Macintosh computers. In some cases, a
remedy can be downloaded from the company's Web site or other online
services and bulletin boards.
Apple Boosts Product Line
Filling gaps in its consumer product lines, Apple Computer Inc. says it will
sell two new models of Macintosh computers and will cut prices on some of
its existing models by as much as 21 percent. Coming on the heels of news
that it was posting unexpectedly upbeat fourth fiscal quarter financial
results (GO OLT-236), Apple officials in Cupertino, California, told the
Reuter News Service the company will begin selling the entry-level
Macintosh Performa 6360 next week for $1,499, a price comparable to entry-
level personal computers based on Intel Corp. microprocessors and running
Microsoft Corp. software. Reuters notes the Performa 6360 features one of
the Apple's fastest microprocessors, a CD-ROM drive and a modem. Also,
Apple plans to sell a new model with software that will let customers edit
their home videos. The Macintosh Performa 6400/200, priced at $2,699,
features a built-in video-editing program from Avid Technology Inc., Reuters
said. As reported, Apple discontinued some of its Performa models this
summer to cut marketing costs, and the company now says it will cut prices
on its high-end Performa 6400 to $2,199 from $2,799, and a model with a
slower microprocessor to $1,899 from $2,399.
Apple Offers New PowerBook
A new family of portable PowerBook computers is being unveiled by Apple
Computer Inc. to fill a critical gap in its product line. Reporting from
Apple's Cupertino, California, headquarters, Kourosh Karimkhany of the
Reuter News Service says the new PowerBook 1400 family is to be sold in mid-
November with prices starting at $2,500 and will feature a built-in CD-ROM
drive and a bigger screen. Karimkhany says the models are designed to appeal
to small office users and students, adding, "Until now, the lack of a CD-ROM
drive in its portables has held back Apple in competing with offerings from
(IBM), Compaq Computer Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. Analyst Bruce Steven
of International Data Corp. told the wire service the new family "isn't
going to put them in the leadership role, but it's going to get them back in
the game." Reuters says Apple also plans to introduce another new series of
PowerBooks in the first half of the 1997 with more advanced multimedia and
communication capabilities. The company did not release any more
specifications.
Apple Unveils School Power Macs
Apple Computer Inc. has announced three new Power Macintosh computers
designed for use by teachers and students. The $1,899 Power Macintosh
6400/200 is Apple's first tower system for education. The computer, aimed at
high school and college students, is designed to handle sophisticated
applications, realistic simulations and presentations. The Power Macintosh
5260/120 and 5400/180, two of Apple's most popular all-in-one models for
grades K-8, provide 20 to 33 percent performance gains at prices $200 to
$300 less than their predecessors. The systems are priced at $1,499 and
$1,999, respectively. "For more than 20 years Apple has provided educators
and students with powerful, easy-to-use tools for teaching and learning,"
says Mike Lorion, the computer maker's vice president of K-12 education.
"Today's new line of PowerPC systems continues that tradition by giving
educators the performance and features they need to meet their technology
challenges. Our aggressive pricing on these systems also allows Apple to
maintain its price/performance leadership in providing desktop systems to
our education customers."
French Move to New Phone Numbers
France's national phone company, wanting to aid transition to modems and
cell phones, is enlarging the country's telephone numbers from eight digits
to 10, effectively adding the potential for 410 million new numbers.
Reporting from Paris, The Associated Press quotes a recent Finance Ministry
report as saying the nation lags behind other Western countries in use of
personal computers and cellular phones, and it placed some of the blame on
the limited phone combinations.
The state-owned monopoly France Telecom had announced the change last year,
saying it was running out of dialing combinations. Starting today, local
French callers add two numbers at the beginning of the current eight. Paris
numbers will start with "01," numbers in the northwest "02," northeast "03,"
southeast and Corsica "04," and southwest "05." Note: To call a French
number from outside of France, omit the zero. Thus, dialing the Paris area
from abroad, which previously required a 33-1 prefix, will not change. AP
says the 10-digit numbers will boost France's capacity to 470 million phone
numbers from the current 60 million and fill demand through 2050.
E-Mail Threat Brings Suspension
A Stamford, Connecticut, high school student received a visit from the
Secret Service and a month's suspension from school after he sent a prank
death threat by e-mail to President Clinton. Sent over the Internet Oct.
9, the message read: "To Pres. Clinton: You are Dead." Officials with
Trinity Catholic High School told The Associated Press the message was sent
by a 17-year-old senior. No criminal charges were filed, but Monsignor
Frank C. Wissell, president of diocesan secondary schools, said the youth
was suspended, adding the message was "a very immature, inappropriate joke
that was not funny." AP says Secret Service agents spoke to the
unidentified youngster, his parents and school officials. The agency would
not comment on the investigation.
America Online Announces The AOL Mmembers' Choice Program;
Honors Excellence in Programming on America Online and the Web
DULLES, Va., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, America Online (AOL), the
world's most popular Internet online service, announced its AOL Members'
choice program. This new initiative honors excellence in content programming
and recognizes the most popular areas on AOL and the World Wide Web as
determined by America Online's more than 6.2 million members worldwide.
"The Members' Choice areas and sites are the most popular content areas on
the AOL service and the Internet," said Ted Leonsis, President, AOL Services
Company. "From NetGuide and Excite on the Web to the New York Times and The
Motley Fool on AOL, AOL Members' Choice areas and web sites represent
content that has the broadest appeal and is of the highest quality."
Online winners are chosen using a formula that measures factors including
how often AOL members access their areas. AOL Members' Choice areas on
America Online are identified by the AOL Members' Choice Seal, a distinctive
stamp of approval, that signifies to AOL members that the recipient is one
of the top 50 AOL sites on the service. From exclusive content to national
brands like American Express and ABC, AOL Members' Choice Award winners are
the leaders in original and entertainment programming for consumers.
AOL Members' Choice on the Web showcases web sites recognized by America
Online's members and are identified by the AOL Members' Choice logo on their
home page. All online users can locate the sites of the AOL Members' Choice
on the Web recipients by visiting America Online's web site at www.aol.com.
AOL Members' Choice recipients will be honored at a black tie awards
ceremony at America Online's Partners Conference on December 4, in Phoenix,
Arizona.
Additional honors will be awarded at that event, in a number of categories,
including "Best New Area/Site of 1996" and "Best Overall Area/Site." AOL
members will be voting for their favorites in these categories over the
coming weeks.
AMERICA ONLINE'S MEMBERS' CHOICE PROGRAM
AOL Members' Choice Award Recipients:
LoveAOL Romance Keyword: Love
MTV Musicspace Keyword: MTV
Motley Food Personal Finance Keyword: Fool
Preview Travel Reservations Travel Keyword: Travel
GLCF Life, Styles and Interests Keyword: GLCF
Nickelodeon Online Kids Only Keyword: Nick
Better Health & Medicine Health Keyword: HRS
Net Girl Internet Connection Keyword: NetGirl
Games Forum Usage Games Keyword: Games
GemStone III Games Keyword: GemStone
NTN Sports/Games Sports/Games Keyword: NTN
Kids Only Chat Kids Only Keyword: Kids
Chicago Online Digital City Keyword:Chicago
WWF Sports Keyword: WWF
Genealogy Life, Styles and Interests Keyword:
Genealogy
Christianity Online Life, Styles and Interests Keyword:
Christianity
Express Net Travel Keyword: AMEX
Grandstand Sports Keyword:
Grandstand
STATS Sports Keyword: STATS
Astronet Life, Styles and Interests Keyword:
Astronet
Extreme Fans Sports Keyword: Fans
Hecklers Online Entertainment Keyword:
Hecklers
Federation Games Keyword:
Federation
Career Center Learning and Culture Keyword:
Career
ABC Entertainment Keyword: ABC
Classifieds Marketplace Keyword:
Classifieds
Warner Bros. Online Entertainment Keyword:
Warner
Seventeen Kids Only Keyword: Seventeen
New York Times News Keyword: Times
ABC Kidzine Kids Only Keyword: Kidzine
Sporting News Sports Keyword: Sporting
News
Kesmai Corp. (Air Warrior) Games Keyword: Air
Warrior
Nintendo Power Games Keyword: Nintendo
Orlando Sentinel Digital City Keyword: Orlando
Sentinel
Family Computing Computing Keyword: Computing
Pro CD Reference Keyword: Pro CD
Consumer Reports Personal Finance Keyword:
Consumer Reports
Military City Online Life, Styles and Interests
Keyword: Military City
Mac Games Forum Games Keyword: Mac
Games
GamePro Magazine Games Keyword: GamePro
Music Message Center MusicSpace Keyword:
MusicSpace
Hoover Reference Keyword: Hoover
Pet Care Club Life, Styles and Interests Keyword:
Pets
Compton's Reference Reference Keyword: Compton's
Soap Opera Digest Entertainment Keyword: SOD
Destination Florida Travel Keyword: Florida
AnswerMan Internet Connection Keyword: AnswerMan
Cartoon Network Entertainment Keyword: Cartoon
PCFN Personal Finance Keyword: PCFN
Nick at Nite Kids Only Keyword: Nick
AOL Members' Choice on the Web:
WebCrawler http://www.webcrawler.com
Excite http://www.excite.com
GNN http://www.gnn.com
ZDNet http://www.zdnet.com
Deja News http://www.dejanews.com
Magellan Internet Guide http://www.magellan.com
Switchboard http://www.switchboard.com
MTV Online http://www.mtv.com
Riddler http://www.riddler.com
Sportsline USA http://www.sportsline.com
The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com
Warner Brothers Online http://www.warnerbros.com
Mapquest http://www.mapquest.com
Jumbo http://www.jumbo.com
Gamespot http://www.gamespot.com
Liszt http://www.liszt.com
NetGuide http://www.netguide.com
iGuide http://www.iguide.com
Tripod: Tools for Life http://www.tripod.com
HomeArts http://www.homearts.com
Windows Internet Magazine http://www.windowsmag.com
NetGuide Live http://www.netguidelive.com
Epicurious http://www.epicurious.com
Extra http://www.extratv.com
Salon http://www.salon.com
City.Net http://www.city.net
TechWeb http://www.techweb.com
DC Comics http://www.dccomics.com
Zippo's Usenet News Service http:/www./zippo.com
The Electronic Newsstand http://www.enews.com
Firefly http://www.firefly.com
Urban Desires http://www.urbandesires.com
Motley Fool http://www.motleyfool.com
SOURCE: America Online, Inc.
A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N
LEXMARK OPTRA C
COLOR
LASER PRINTER
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P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155
Folks, the LEXMARK Optra C has to be the best yet. It is far superior to
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If you would like a sample 8«x11 printout that's suitable for framing. Yes
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A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N
Adobe Systems Introduces Adobe Photoshop 4.0
New Version of Industry-Leading Image-Editing Tool
Dramatically Increases User Productivity and Creative Control; Unprecedented
Integration Among Adobe Graphics Applications; Enhances Image Production for
the World Wide Web
Adobe Systems Incorporated is soon to ship Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) 4.0 for
Windows(R) and Macintosh(R), a new version of the world-standard photo-
design and production tool. Available in 18 languages, Adobe Photoshop is
the product of choice for graphic designers, photographers, Webmasters and
multimedia authors for the creation of high-quality print, multimedia and
Web graphics. This new version provides features that dramatically increase
user productivity and creative control, allow users to work more efficiently
with all Adobe's market-leading graphics prod "With more than two million
users worldwide, Photoshop is the de facto standard for graphic design,
digital photography and prepress production," said Bryan Lamkin, director
for Adobe graphics products. "In addition, Photoshop has emerged as the
leading tool for Web page production. With Version 4.0, we focused on
delivering a robust product that gives our users increased functionality in
areas that matter to them the most: productivity, creative control, ease-of-
use, and image preparation for the World Wide Web."
Photoshop 4.0 Enhances User Productivity
The Actions feature in Photoshop Version 4.0 dramatically increases user
productivity with the ability to automate editing functions, streamlining
tasks such as image retouching and downsampling, file conversion, filter
operations, and even batch processing of multiple images. A groundbreaking
new feature for image editing, Actions allow users to process one image, or
multiple images quickly and easily by recording functions as an "action
list." Additionally, multiple images can be acquired from a digital camera
and processed in batches, so users can be more efficient. To provide
consistency within a production environment, Actions can be saved and shared
with others. Users will also benefit from pre-saved Actions in Version 4.0
for tasks such as downsampling images to 72 dpi for Web posting, saving GIF
and JPEG files with optimal Web settings, and adding drop shadows to text.
"Adobe Photoshop 4.0 is a big jump forward, providing users with enormous
creativity and productivity gains," said Jeff Schewe, professional
photographer and photo-imaging artist in Chicago, Illinois. "The ability to
automate routine tasks using Actions provides a huge time-saving benefit."
The Guides and Grids feature in Version 4.0 makes it easy to build Web
pages, or composites, providing greater accuracy in placing and aligning
images. Users will be more productive with precise zooming and panning
capabilities using the new Navigator palette. Also, when working with large
images, Photoshop users will immediately notice significant improvements in
responsiveness with Version 4.0 when scrolling, zooming, moving selections,
and compositing layers, allowing them to work more efficiently.
Adobe Photoshop continues to lead the imaging market with support for the
latest hardware and operating system advances, offering users increased
functionality and performance. Photoshop users will benefit from dramatic
speed improvements when using machines with multiple processors on either
the Macintosh and Windows NT(R) platforms, due to Version 4.0's extensive
symmetric multiprocessing capabilities. Photoshop 4.0 for Window users will
also realize performance gains up to 6x throughout the application when
running on the new Intel(R) MMX chipset, which is expected to be available
in Q1 1997. In addition, Adobe Photoshop 4.0, which runs 32-bit native in
Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT platforms, fully leverages the desktop
improvements of these operating systems, including the soon-to-be-released
version 4.0 of Windows NT.
Powerful Creative Control
Adobe Photoshop 4.0 provides unparalleled creative control with features
such as Adjustment Layers, the Free Transform tool and Custom Gradients.
With Adjustment Layers, Photoshop users now have the ability to perform
image color adjustments without affecting the original image data. This
allows for unlimited experimentation with adjustments such as hue and
saturation, brightness and contrast and overall color balance, and provides
the option to "undo," or refine the adjustments at a later time.
"Adjustment Layers are outstanding and will totally change the way color
correction and adjustments are done," continued Schewe. "With enhancements
such as Actions, Guides and Grids and Adjustment Layers, Photoshop continues
to be the most comprehensive, full-featured image editing program
available."
The Custom Gradients palette lets users achieve new levels of creativity
with the ability to customize multi-color gradients, with varying opacity,
that can be saved and shared. The Free Transform tool preserves image
fidelity with the ability to perform multiple transformations, such as skew,
rotate, and scale, in a single step. In addition, Photoshop 4.0 doubles the
number of artistic filters offered in the program by adding forty-eight new
creative effects.
Adobe Photoshop 4.0 offers breakthrough technology for the protection of
intellectual property with the addition of digital watermark capabilities.
An industry first in an image-editing application, this feature allows users
to embed an imperceptible digital watermark containing artist and copyright
information in an image. When a watermarked file is opened, Adobe Photoshop
4.0 will automatically indicate that copyright information is present.
Adding a watermark to images can also be automated with the Actions feature,
allowing users to add a digital watermark to multiple images in a batch
process.
Strong Integration Across Adobe Graphics Applications
User interface enhancements and improved interoperability available in
Photoshop 4.0 will enable users to work seamlessly between Adobe graphics
applications. Version 4.0 features an updated look-and-feel that will also
be found in future versions of other Adobe graphics applications, such as
Adobe Illustrator(R) and Adobe PageMaker(R). Common terminology, shortcut
keys, menu structure, and Tab palette design that will be shared among Adobe
products will give users a familiar interface and enable them to quickly
become more productive with Photoshop and other Adobe software.
"Adobe's continual improvements to the interoperability between Photoshop
and its other products such as Adobe Illustrator allows us to work much more
effectively," said Josh Feldman, creative director for Prophet
Communications, a Web design and content creation firm based in San
Francisco, California.
Enhanced Image Production and Integration for the World Wide Web
Already an indispensable tool for print graphics, Photoshop bridges the gap
between traditional print and Web publishing, providing the most robust
features for the creation of high-quality graphics for both environments.
The Actions feature in Photoshop 4.0 not only streamlines graphic artists'
design process, but allows users involved in Web image processing to easily
perform batch file conversions and downsampling, saving valuable time.
"Adobe Photoshop is the ideal tool for our graphics production and Web
preparation needs. Features in Adobe Photoshop 4.0 such as Actions make the
program even more indispensable to us," continued Feldman. "The Actions
palette streamlines the process of working with different file formats while
preparing graphics for the Web - a process that is very time-consuming. The
ability within Photoshop to automate tasks through Actions such as
converting files to different formats will save a tremendous amount of time
and effort."
New file format support in Version 4.0 provides users with a broad range of
useful Web file formats, including Portable Network Graphics (PNG),
progressive JPEG and the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Additionally,
users will save time and money by having direct access to Photoshop product
and technical information, updates and plug-ins, on the Adobe home page via
a Web link within Photoshop 4.0. Adobe is the first company to provide
dynamic access to product information from within a software application,
and will extend this functionality to other Adobe products as new versions
are released. (A more comprehensive list of new features follows in the
attached Addendum.)
New Features Addendum
Adobe Photoshop Version 4.0 for Windows and Macintosh
Improved Productivity
Actions - The Actions palette enables users to record a sequence of editing
steps as an Action that can then be applied to another selection in the same
image, to another image file, or even to hundreds of files in a batch
operation. Users can play an action with selected steps disabled or display
selected dialog boxes during playback in order to interactively adjust the
filter settings. The order in which tasks are executed can easily be edited
by simple dragging-and-dropping functions. Multiple actions can be displayed
simultaneously in the Actions palette, and sets of actions can be saved and
loaded separately. A special feature of Actions is the ability to batch-
acquire images from a digital camera, allowing for an entire set of images
to be acquired, retouched, and saved to files automatically.
Version 4.0 of Photoshop provides basic support for OLE automation on the
Windows platform and for AppleScript(TM) on the MacOS. Through these two
scripting mechanisms, an external program can launch Adobe Photoshop, open
image files, and run any named actions lists on those files.
The Navigator - The Navigator palette provides an easy way to move quickly
to any location in a magnified image, by clicking the desired view area
within a resizable thumbnail of the image. Users can adjust zoom levels on-
the-fly with a convenient slider control, or specify zoom levels with
greater accuracy in a numeric entry field. Users can enter preset zoom
levels (1:1, 2:1, 4:1, and so on), or any continuous zoom level between
0.13% and 1600%.
Guides and Grids - Guides and Grids provide a means for accurate alignment
of objects within an image file. Guides and Grids help users to align
objects such as buttons on a Web page, and layer elements in image
compositing. Guides can be pulled from the rulers to provide precise
horizontal or vertical lines to which tool operations can be snapped.
Similarly, the Grids feature creates a regular pattern of snap points across
an entire image. Both Guides and Grids are fully user-definable. Guide
settings are also recordable actions, making it easy for one person to
define a specific guide setup to be shared with other users or applied to
more than one document.
Powerful Creative Control
Adjustment Layers - Adjustment Layers in Version 4.0 allow for color
correction via a mask through which an image adjustment is applied. An
adjustment layer does not make permanent changes to the underlying image
pixels, and therefore can be modified any number of times without any
degradation in image quality. The standard image adjustments can be applied
with an adjustment layer: Levels, Curves, Color Balance,
Brightness/Contrast, Hue/Saturation, Selective Color, Invert, Threshold, and
Posterize.
Any number of adjustment layers can be stacked in the Layers palette, each
adjustment layer modifying the layers that lie below. Adjustment Layers can
be hidden or discarded at any time, or moved up and down in the Layers
palette to affect different image layers. They can also be applied with the
same opacity and blending mode controls offered for image layers. Color and
tonal adjustments can be interactively "painted" on to the image simply by
using any Photoshop painting tools on the adjustment layer.
Free Transform - The Free Transform command allows users to scale, rotate,
skew, add perspective to, or otherwise distort a selected image area in a
single step, making complex manipulations of images easier. This also
results in greater image fidelity, because the image does not need to be
recalculated multiple times.
Custom, Multicolor Gradients - The enhanced Gradient tool in Adobe Photoshop
4.0 now supports linear and radial gradients with multiple colors and
varying levels of transparency. Actual colors can be defined for the
gradient designs, or the current foreground and background colors can be
inserted automatically whenever a custom gradient is applied. Users can save
their own custom gradient styles and share them with other users on either
Macintosh or Windows platforms.
48 New Effects Filters - Photoshop 4.0 now includes more than 90 filters,
including 48 new filters that offer a wide range of artistic effects, such
as colored pencil, crosshatch, film grain, and much more. Formerly offered
as a stand-alone product, Adobe Gallery Effects,(R) these plug-in filters
feature the updated, more compact Photoshop 4.0 interface, with dynamic
previews. Each filter is 32-bit native, enabling greater processing speed.
Digital Watermarking
The digital watermarking feature in Adobe Photoshop 4.0 introduces an
effective method for creative professionals to protect the copyright of
their images. Using PictureMarc(TM) software developed by Digimarc
Corporation, Adobe Photoshop embeds an imperceptible, digital watermark in
any image. While not apparent to the human eye, this watermark is still
readable even after an image has been edited, or printed and re-scanned.
When a watermarked file is opened, Adobe Photoshop will automatically
indicate that copyright information is present. A link in Adobe Photoshop
accesses the Digimarc Web site, from which users can obtain copyright and
artist information for registered images.
New Web File Support
Adobe Photoshop 3.0 provided support for transparent, interlaced GIF files
with the GIF 89a plug-in. Version 4.0 expands the application's support for
new Web file formats, including Portable Network Graphics (PNG), a lossless,
portable, well-compressed RGB file format that can include mask-channel
information; and, progressive JPEG, a compact file format supported by
Netscape(TM) Navigator(TM) for displaying images with increasing detail as
they are downloaded, reducing user wait time for viewing image-rich Web
pages. Photoshop 4.0 also adds greater user control over JPEG compression
settings, and enhanced support for transparent, interlaced GIF files.
Additionally, Version 4.0 now supports Portable Document Format (PDF), the
Adobe Acrobat(R) format common on the Web, and can write PDF files directly
from the program.
Strong Integration Among Adobe Graphics Applications
Adobe Photoshop 4.0 features an updated look-and-feel that will also be
found in future versions of other Adobe graphics applications. The new
refined interface found in Version 4.0 not only provides a cleaner work
environment, but will also makes it easier for users to work with multiple
Adobe applications. Common terminology, shortcut keys, menu structure, and
Tab palette design that will be shared among Adobe products will give users
a familiar interface and enable them to quickly be more productive with
Photoshop, as well as with other Adobe software.
Pricing and Availability
Adobe Photoshop Version 4.0 will support Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows
NT, Macintosh and Power Macintosh, and will be available in 18 languages
worldwide. The new version is expected to ship in Q4 1996 for the suggested
retail price of $895 and will be available from Adobe Authorized Resellers
or directly from Adobe. The program will ship on CD-ROM (floppy disks
available upon request for a nominal charge), and will include an
interactive tutorial CD-ROM, stock photography, sample plug-ins, a digital
gallery and Adobe tryout software. Registered owners of any previous full
version may purchase the Version 4.0 upgrade for $149. Upgrades from
Photoshop LE to the full Version 4.0 are $249. Users purchasing Version 3.0
on, or after, September 9, 1996, will receive a free upgrade to Version 4.0.
For more information, customers may call 800-833-6687.
System Requirements
Macintosh - 68030, 68040, or PowerPC -based Macintosh running Apple System
Software version 7.1 or later (7.1.2 or later on 603- and 604-based
Macintoshes); 16 MB application RAM (32 MB recommended); 256-color or
greater display adapter; 20 MB available hard-disk space for installation;
20 MB available hard-disk space for operation; and, a CD-ROM drive.
Windows - 386 or faster processor running Windows 3.1, Windows 95, or
Windows NT; DOS 5.0 or greater required for Windows 3.1; 16 MB of RAM (32 MB
recommended); 20 MB available hard-disk space for installation; 20 MB
available hard-disk space for operation; 256-color or greater display
adapter; and, a CD-ROM drive.
Adobe, Acrobat,
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Gallery Effects, PageMaker, and
Photoshop are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Apple, Macintosh,
and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks and AppleScript is a trademark
of Apple Computer, Inc. Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
PictureMarc is a trademark of Digimarc Corporation. Intel is a registered
trademark of Intel Corporation. Netscape and Netscape Navigator are
trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. PowerPC is a trademark of
International Business Machines Corporation. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
Copyright c 1996 Adobe Systems Incorporated.
All rights reserved.
Legal notices and trademark attributions.
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
Vulnerability Found In "Smart Card" Security
The Rest Of The Story On Computer Costs
BBN Gets AOL Contract
Thwarting Cookies
PC Buyers Influenced Strongly By Salespeople
Complementarity Is Key To It Productivity
Should The Net Grow Up?
Billing Schedule Wiped Off Slate
Wired Tries Again To Woo The Stock Market
What Ted And God Think About Rupert
Internet-From-The-Home Doubles During Past Year
Agencies, Schools Compete For Internet II Funding
E-Rate Proposed By Clinton Administration
PICA Pushes For Cryptography Standards
European Commission Eyes Internet Regulations
Coming Soon: CDs That Can Read, Write And 'Rase
Customized Searching Goes Beyond The Net
Frontier And Quest To Build New Voice/Data Network
Andreessen Is Our Kind Of Guy
The Keyboard From Hell?
AT&T Picks Printing Executive As Its Heir Apparent
Agreement Reached On Fair Use Of Electronic Multimedia
New Sun Chip Provides A Java Jolt
Ergonomic Keyboards May Not Reduce Injuries
Now Microsoft Wants To Play Games
Corel Challenges Microsoft With Paradox Deal
Andy Grove Welcomes Japan's Inroads In PC Market
Child Pornography Hoax
Net Link To Neo-Nazis
Custom Campaign Buttons
VULNERABILITY FOUND IN "SMART CARD" SECURITY
Israeli computer scientists Adi Shamir and Eli Biham say that "smart cards"
used by banks and credit card companies can be counterfeited by damaging a
card by heat or radiation to cause the card's computer chip to generate an
error that can be used to determine the code key and copy the card. (New
York Times 19 Oct 96 p20)
THE REST OF THE STORY ON COMPUTER COSTS
The Gartner Group recently made headlines over its estimate that the typical
networked PC costs $13,000 a year to maintain. The breakdown on that
estimate is as follows: 21%, or $2,730, is the amortized cost of the
computer hardware and software -- the estimate was based on a Windows-
equipped PC, standard office software, and the wires, hubs, routers and
servers that make up a local area network; 27%, or $3,510, is the cost of
providing technical support; 9%, or $1,170, is the cost of administering the
system; and 43%, or $5,590, is the cost of the time the user spends
"futzing" with the machine -- organizing the hard drive, installing
software, waiting for the printer, playing Solitaire, and unproductively
surfing the Net. (Forbes 21 Oct 96 p280)
BBN GETS AOL CONTRACT
BBN Corp. has signed a four-year, $340-million contract to expand America
Online's network. The new agreement extends a five-year, $55-million deal
inked last year by the two companies. Under the new arrangement, BBN will
add a minimum of 70,000 modems to AOL's network each year, allowing the
online service to accommodate that many more simultaneous users. AOL says
its network already has 170,000 modems. (Wall Street Journal 18 Oct 96
A13A)
THWARTING COOKIES
For computer users who dislike the idea that Web site operators can track
their repeat visits through "cookie" technology, there are several ways to
block the software from collecting or relaying that information. PrivNet's
Internet Fast Forward < http://www.privnet.com/ > prevents the browser from
sending cookies. The program can also block those annoying little ad
banners, eliminating the time it takes to download them. Anonymizer <
http://www.anonymizer.com/ > functions more as a proxy service - the
information is not given out unless the user grants permission. "Surfing
feels anonymous, like reading a newspaper," says Anonymizer's creator, "but
it's not. What Netscape needs is a feature saying, `Look, I never want to
see another cookie again.'" (Scientific American Oct 96 p50)
PC BUYERS INFLUENCED STRONGLY BY SALESPEOPLE
A new study by Dallas-based Channel Marketing Corp. indicates that only 18%
of PC buyers really know what they're looking for when they enter a
computer store, leaving the rest very vulnerable to the persuasive patter
of sales clerks. More than 55% of computer store customers who made a
purchase relied almost entirely on the sales clerk's recommendation, and
84% were influenced in some way by the store. "Customers are increasingly
looking to salespeople to tell them which products to purchase," says
Channel Marketing's president. (Investor's Business Daily 21 Oct 96 A6)
COMPLEMENTARITY IS KEY TO IT PRODUCTIVITY
Researchers at Columbia, Carnegie Mellon and MIT have come up with a new
explanation for the apparent disengagement between increased investments in
computer technology and productivity gains. The key to discerning
productivity increases attributable to use of information technology is
"complementarity" -- a theory that postulates that productivity gains from
expanded use of technology cannot occur in the absence of a number of
corresponding developments, such as the introduction of more flexible
workplace structures, more delegation of responsibility to lower-level
workers, increased skills training for workers and managers, and the
installation of new infrastructure, such as Internet connections and "smart"
buildings. New research shows that when these complementary factors are
taken into consideration, investments in information technology do
stimulate productivity and growth. (Technology Review Oct 96 p65)
SHOULD THE NET GROW UP?
The Economist magazine says that, faced with "pile-ups and pollution on the
prototype information superhighway," there seems no alternative to
government regulation and the acceptance of pricing formulas that bill
users based on how much data they send and receive. (The Economist 19 Oct
96)
BILLING SCHEDULE WIPED OFF SLATE
Problems with the billing system developed for Slate, the online magazine on
politics and culture edited by Michael Kinsley for Microsoft Network, mean
that the magazine will continue to be free for at least a few weeks. MSN
had planned to begin charging for the weekly publication in November. When
the billing problems are resolved, Slate will cost subscribers $19.95 a
year. (Washington Post 19 October 1996)
WIRED TRIES AGAIN TO WOO THE STOCK MARKET
Wired Ventures, Inc., which owns the print magazine Wired, the Web-based
publications HotWired and Suck, and the Internet search engine HotBot, is
trying again to issue an initial public offering; it has valued itself at
$293 million, or about 12 times annual revenues (a valuation that is
significantly lower, without explanation, than the one it offered last
June, when the company declared itself worth $447 million, or about 17 times
annual revenues). Market analysts continue to be skeptical of the offering.
A partner at Sequoia Capital, a venture-capital firm, says that the Wired
prospectus "reads like an issue of Mad magazine. A public company should
be able to convince investors that it can grow in a sound fashion. On
paper, Wired Ventures can't." (U.S. News & World Report 21 Oct 96 p68)
WHAT TED AND GOD THINK ABOUT RUPERT
In a deposition for a lawsuit filed by Time Warner to block New York City
from using one of its channels on the Time Warner cable system to transmit
Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel, Time Warner vice chair (and CNN founder)
Ted Turner calls Murdoch a "slimy" and "very dangerous" person who "bought
the government of New York City" by employing the mayor's wife, giving him
large political contributions, endorsing him, and "God knows what else."
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution 19 Oct 96 E4)
INTERNET-FROM-THE-HOME DOUBLES DURING PAST YEAR
The number of U.S. households linked to the Internet doubled during the past
year to 14.7 million, according to Find/SVP, which conducted its most
recent survey with Jupiter Communications. And while commercial online
services provide access for 8.9 million of those households (up 28% from
last year), plain-vanilla Internet service providers are increasing their
presence, providing access to 4.4 million households (up from 1.4 million
last year). "What's really dramatic is the acceptance of the Internet from
home," says Find/SVP's VP. "Consumers are ready for information access
from the Internet." (Wall Street Journal 21 Oct 96 B11)
AGENCIES, SCHOOLS COMPETE FOR INTERNET II FUNDING
Federal agencies are vying for their share of the Clinton administration's
proposed $100 million Internet II funding, with the National Science
Foundation, the Department of Energy, NASA, the Defense Department's
Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the National Institutes of Health all
slated for a piece of the pie. These same agencies were involved in the
High Performance Computing and Communications program initiated at the end
of the Bush administration. At the same time, eight more colleges and
universities have signed on as charter members of the project, and
coalition members are beginning to jockey for position. Ira Fuchs,
president of the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking, says
it's important to remember the needs of smaller schools, too: "Right now,
it is an elite group. We want to make sure it's not an elitist group."
(Chronicle of Higher Education 25 Oct 96 A29)
E-RATE PROPOSED BY CLINTON ADMINISTRATION
The Clinton administration has presented a framework for a discounted "E-
rate" for telecommunications services to educational institutions. Under
the two-tiered pricing proposal presented to the Federal-State Joint Board
on Universal Service last week, schools and libraries would receive first-
tier services at no charge. This would include "basic connectivity and
Internet access, at adequate transmission speeds." The second tier of
services would be discounted. Further discounts would be available for
schools and libraries in "high-cost or low-income areas." (Education Week
on the Web 16 Oct 96)
PICA PUSHES FOR CRYPTOGRAPHY STANDARDS
The Platform Independent Cryptography Application Programming Interface
Alliance (PICA) has endorsed a set of cryptography standards to assist
developers in creating security features for new software. PICA members
include Apple, IBM, JavaSoft, Motorola, Netscape, Nortel, Novell, RSA Data
Security Inc. and Silicon Graphics. Notably missing is Microsoft, which
recently released its own cryptography standard, available for free to
developers. "Ultimately, they all have to play together," says an analyst
at Zona Research Inc. "Unless you include the Microsoft world there is no
choice." (Interactive Age Digital 18 Oct 96)
EUROPEAN COMMISSION EYES INTERNET REGULATIONS
The European Commission has recommended a voluntary code of conduct on the
Internet, and suggests that increased use of software labeling and
filtering systems could be used to stop the spread of offensive electronic
material. "The problem right now is that the labeling and filtering systems
are not compatible," says a Commission spokesman, who notes that the new
Platform or Internet Content Selection (PICS) is the best candidate for
becoming a universal filtering standard. In addition, a Commission report
says that "a common European framework to clarify the administrative rules
and regulations which apply to access providers and most providers should
be assessed... In order to ensure that users have access to rating systems
suitable to their needs and in order to avoid a situation whereby they have
to rely on rating systems developed for the U.S. where there may be a
different approach on what is suitable content for minors, encouragement
should be given to setting up European rating system." (BNA Daily Report
for Executives 17 Oct 96 A4)
COMING SOON: CDs THAT CAN READ, WRITE AND 'RASE
Philips Electronics N.V., Hewlett-Packard and others have unveiled an
erasable CD-ROM, called CD-RW, or CD-ReWritable. Backers of the new
technology say that erasable CDs will become a flexible new storage
solution, holding 450 times more data than a typical floppy. Critics fear
that "Consumers will be confused," says an industry analyst, who points out
that CD-RWs can't be played on most of the currently installed CD- ROM
drives. CD-RW drives will appear in the first quarter of 1997, and
eventually will replace today's CD- ROM drives. HP hopes to market a
temporary solution called "MultiRead" to enable all new CD-ROM drives to
handle CD-RW discs. CD-RW technology differs from CD-Recordable (CD-R)
technology, which can be recorded on only once. If a mistake is made, the
disc is worthless. Meanwhile, the new DVD (digital video disc) drives
that will be coming out next year will be able to handle CD-RW discs.
(Investor's Business Daily 22 Oct 96 A8)
CUSTOMIZED SEARCHING GOES BEYOND THE NET
Gerd Meissner, who helped customize the German edition of Edupage, has
developed a search service called BOB, The Human Search Engine, which
combines searches of the Net with searches beyond the Net, to help you when
you're looking for such things as: a special German saying? A bookstore in
Bavaria? Or an old pal's address in Paderborn? From the requests made by
private users, schools and non-profit organizations, the service chooses at
least one every week to research and answer via e-mail -- for free. U.S.
customers are welcome. The address is info@adline.de or <
http://www.adline.de >.
FRONTIER AND QUEST TO BUILD NEW VOICE/DATA NETWORK
Rochester, N.Y.-based Frontier Corporation, the nation's fifth-largest long-
distance phone service provider, is joining with Quest Communications,
which is in the network construction business, to build a $2-billion
national voice/data network that will connect almost 100 cities and provide
Frontier a 25-year lease for up to a third of the network's carrying
capacity. (New York times 22 Oct 96 C4)
ANDREESSEN IS OUR KIND OF GUY
Netscape co-founder and programming whiz Marc Andreessen admitted on the
Charlie Rose TV show that his home PC crashes regularly; that he hasn't
been able to get his printer or CD-ROM drive to work; and that he has not
yet figured out how to program his VCR. We feel his pain. (Computerworld
21 Oct 96 p138)
THE KEYBOARD FROM HELL?
The QWERTY keyboard, replete with arcane keys such as "Print Screen,"
"Scroll Lock" and "Pause," is a source of frustration to hardware makers,
who say the keyboard will be the last part of the PC to be redesigned,
because what's available now works for most people. Donald Norman, an Apple
fellow, has another opinion, however: "The keyboard is the most bizarre,
ridiculous, nondesigned monstrosity foisted on the American public. We've
put huge amounts of effort into the design of the things you see on the
screen, but the keyboard seems handed down by God -- and it's an evil
god... Everybody will agree it should be fixed. So we'll put it on the
list. But this list is long, and when it comes to ordering it in
importance, the keyboard is just never quite important enough to get our
attention." A New York-based designer and editor concurs: "The keyboard
is the most humiliating and despicable object we have to work with in our
daily lives." (Wall Street Journal 22 Oct 96 B1)
AT&T PICKS PRINTING EXECUTIVE AS ITS HEIR APPARENT
AT&T has chosen John R. Walter, chairman of the R.H. Donnelley & Sons
printing company, as its new president and designated successor to current
AT&T chief executive and chairman Robert Allen. The selection has
disappointed many industry analysts, who were surprised by the company's
decision to hire someone without experience in the telecommunications
industry. But Walter was able to recast Donnelley from a traditional
printing company into an information provider, using digital printing and CD-
ROMs. (New York Times 24 Oct 96 A1)
AGREEMENT REACHED ON FAIR
USE OF ELECTRONIC MULTIMEDIA
A committee of educators and publishers, sponsored by the Consortium of
College & University Media Centers, has developed a set of "fair use"
guidelines for professors and students who want to use copyrighted material
in CD-ROMs and multimedia projects. The new guidelines set limits on the
amount of a copyrighted work that "reasonably" may be used -- for example,
10 percent or 30 seconds, whichever is less, of an individual musical work.
Limits are also set on the number of copies that professors or students can
make of their newly created CD-ROMs or videos. Schools that want to use
such works in distance learning programs must restrict access to students
enrolled in the class through use of passwords or other technologies. More
than a dozen academic and industry groups have endorsed the guidelines, and
further support is being sought. (Chronicle of Higher Education 25 Oct 96
A28)
NEW SUN CHIP PROVIDES A JAVA JOLT
As Sun Microsystems prepares to roll out its first network computer, it's
also debuting picoJava -- the core of the microprocessors that Sun plans to
market to makers of future Java-based devices. Chips with the picoJava core
have the Java instruction set embedded in them, making them faster, cheaper,
and platform-independent. the chips will be used to power NCs,
peripherals, cell phones and pagers. "We do not expect our chip to go into
PCs," says a Sun manager. "It has no ability to run compiled code for
binary applications. What we are trying to do with this chip is to extend
the Java paradigm to other devices that can live on the network, yet the
code can be kept somewhere else." (Information Week 14 Oct 96 p32)
ERGONOMIC KEYBOARDS MAY NOT REDUCE INJURIES
A new study by researchers at CTDNews, a newsletter devoted to coverage of
repetitive stress injuries in the workplace, reports that there is no
evidence that ergonomic keyboards reduce injuries or increase performance.
A number of models were tested, including Microsoft's Natural Keyboard and
Apple's Extended Keyboard. In some cases, researchers found that the
ergonomic keyboards actually created problems, particularly among hunt-and-
peck typists who were confused by the altered configuration. CTDNews
suggests that instead of purchasing new keyboards, companies should pay
more attention to the proper arrangement of desks, chairs, monitors and
keyboards for a repetitive-stress-injury-free work environment. (Investor's
Business Daily 23 Oct 96 A6)
NOW MICROSOFT WANTS TO PLAY GAMES
Microsoft is setting its sights on the PC game market, readying titles such
as "Monster Truck Madness," "NBA Full Court Press," and "Deadly Tide" for
Christmas shoppers. "Our whole marketing strategy is to create hits," says
Microsoft's games marketing manager. "It only takes two or three hit titles
to establish a company as a leader." At the same time, the company has
hired Alexey Pajitnov, the Russian-born creator of the best-selling game
Tetris, to develop puzzle and mind-teaser games for next year. These kinds
of games are aimed at women and girls, who enjoy straining their brains
more than action-oriented males. "The action titles are a little bit more
attractive, but they don't have so long a life as puzzle games," says
Pajitnov, who admits his sons prefer the action scene. "Most of the action
games, you play it and throw it away. Puzzle games people play for a
longer time." (Wall Street Journal 24 Oct 96 B4)
COREL CHALLENGES MICROSOFT WITH PARADOX DEAL
Corel has bought the rights to the Paradox database software from Borland,
in a licensing arrangement that gives Corel effective ownership of Paradox
and makes Corel responsible for developing, marketing, sales and support
for the Paradox line of products. The deal gives Corel access to the
installed base of 1.5 million Paradox users and the company plans to cross-
market some of its own software to these users. Borland VP Bill Jordan
said the company wants to focus on its software development business.
Coverage noted it would also be more difficult for Borland to sell Paradox
as a stand-alone product now that Corel has bundled it into its Office
suite -- which costs about the same as what Paradox charges for its own.
(Toronto Financial Post 23 Oct 96 p14)
ANDY GROVE WELCOMES JAPAN'S INROADS IN PC MARKET
Intel CEO Andy Grove sees salvation in the advances of Japanese PC makers
into the U.S. market: "I view myself as being in a heroic battle against
the TV as the center of the entertainment world, and this is a colossal
step in the progress we're making." The editor of an industry newsletter
concurs: "Traditional PC makers have probably pushed the consumer market
as far as they can. It will take outsiders with consumer electronics
experience like Toshiba and Sony to break into a larger consumer market."
(Fortune 28 Oct 96 p140)
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY HOAX
The FBI is saying that a recent widely distributed e-mail message inviting
recipients to buy child pornography is a hoax; the message was apparently
sent from New York City. (Ottawa Citizen 23 Oct 96 A4)
NET LINK TO NEO-NAZIS
The neo-Nazi Heritage Front has outraged Canada's Reform party by suggesting
on the Internet that they are allies. The Los Angeles-based Simon
Wiesenthal Center discovered the Heritage Front-Reform link while
scrutinizing the racist organization's World Wide Web site. The site
details what the movement stands for -- such as an end to high immigration
levels -- and then invites users to link to five other sympathetic groups,
including racist groups and Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel. (Toronto Star 22
Oct 96 A10).
CUSTOM CAMPAIGN BUTTONS
In a promotional demonstration set up near voting sites in six cities across
the U.S., Microsoft, Eastman Kodak and Hewlett-Packard technologies are
being used to allow voters to create their own campaign buttons, sporting
their mug next to the presidential candidate of choice. The booths showcase
Microsoft's Picture It! software, which will go on sale next month. The
company is tracking which candidate is most popular in the button category
and will announce their "winner" prior to election day. (Investor's
Business Daily 24 Oct 96 A6)
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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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE
The CAUSE organization's annual conference on information technology in
higher education is scheduled for the end of this month in New Orleans. The
conference will bring together administrators, academicians and other
managers of information resources. For full conference information check
out <http://cause-www.colorado.edu > or send e-mail to
conf@cause.colorado.edu.
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Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology
CS30 STR Overview
CompuServe's New Software is SUPERB!
by R. F. Mariano
Sure you have learn a few new things but for goodness' sake. this
software is worth the effort. Especially when one views the obvious
improvements over the previous version of what was available. The software
is free which is amazing to begin with. You see, it embarrasses anything
available form the other Online Services and most certainly the software
package from AOL pales heavily when compared to this neat software package.
At first, the color scheme seems to appear a bit heavy.. (if that's a
good descriptor) but after a few minutes of use you soon realize there is a
method to the madness. The color scheme is definitely easier on the eyes
than anything I've seen yet. (no, my eyes are not that bad) In all
fairness to previous versions of issued CIS software. this new package has
put the enjoyment and adventure back into using CompuServe.
CompuServe 3.0.1(FREE)
REDESIGNED MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE
ú Multimedia capabilities provide a sensory rich, enhanced experience.
ú Extensively user-tested interface helps customers find content and
features more quickly and easily.
ú Text and file viewer enables viewing a variety of file types including
Word, Excel, and others even if you don't have the software.
ú Multimedia components such as high-performance graphics rendering, and
a sound and movie player are provided or integrated into the software.
ú "Learn About" area provides tips and information on how to use the
software.
CHOICE OF WEB BROWSER
ú CompuServe 3.0.1 for Windows offers a new integrated Web browser from
Microsoft, Internet Explorer version 3.0.1.
ú CompuServe 3.0.1 for Macintosh offers a new external Web browser from
Microsoft, Internet Explorer version 2.0.
ú Or, you may easily use any Windows or Macintosh external browser of
your choice.
MULTI-TASKING SAVES TIME
ú CompuServe 3.0.1 saves you time and money. You don't have to wait for
a task to complete before moving onto another. For example, you can
chat and retrieve a file at the same time.
ú A "To Do" list enables you to queue up and set off multiple tasks in a
background session, making it more efficient than ever to retrieve
files online.
PERSONALIZED AND CUSTOMIZED
ú CompuServe 3.0.1 features information management tools that can help
you get the most out of CompuServe.
ú Organize and personalize the customizable features of CompuServe 3.0.1,
like the new "Recent Places" pop-up menu that tracks services you
visited, or your list of "Favorite Places," which is sortable by
location, date and priority.
ú Additional features that let you get your information "your way"
include:
1. a customizable Toolbar
2. a connect Clock that's easy to reset
3. a more efficient Address Book
4. a new Mail Indicator
5. a new and improved searchable Filing Cabinet and easy-to-use
help documentation.
ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE ON CD
ú In addition to receiving CompuServe 3.0.1, the CD will also have the
following software:
1. Adobe Acrobat for Windows and Macintosh
2. Microsystem's CyberPatrol for Windows and Macintosh
3. WorldsAway for Windows and Macintosh
4. Air Warrior II for Windows
5. WinZip for Windows
6. Internet Phone for Windows
7. Surefind for Windows
8. Much More!
How to make a new Dial-up Networking connectoid for CompuServe 3.0.1
1. Double-click on the "My Computer" then double-click the "Dial-up
Networking" icon.
2. Double-click on "Make new connection"
3. Enter a name for the connection(i.e., Compuserve) then click Next.
4. Enter in the local CompuServe access phone number you call and then
click Next.
5. Click Finish.
6. Right mouse click on the new connectoid you just made(i.e., Compuserve)
and choose Properties.
7. Uncheck "Use country code and area code" if necessary.
8. Click on the "Server Type" button.
9. In the "Type of Dial-up Server" dropdown choose "CISPPP:PPP connection
for CompuServe networks".
10. Cclick OK, then OK again and then close the Dial-up Networking window.
11. Open CompuServe 3.0 and from the menu choose Access then Preferences.
12. The "Winsock:" should be "Dial-up Networking".
13. Change the "Connect using:" to the new connectoid you just made(i.e.,
Compuserve).
14. Then click OK.
Setting up Windows NT 4.0 RAS for connecting to CompuServe
Unless otherwise noted all settings or selections not specifically mentioned
should be left at their default entries.
1. Go to Start|Settings|Control Panel and double-click on the Network
icon. Then Choose the Services tab and if Remote Access Service is not
on the list, add it by choosing the Add button.
2. Go to Start|Programs|Accessories|Dial-up Networking and choose the New
button.
3. On the New Phonebook Entry Wizard window enter CompuServe for the name
and choose Next.
4. On the Server window put checks in all three boxes and choose Next.
5. On the Phone Number window enter you local CompuServe Access phone
number and choose Next. Enter any Alternate numbers by choosing
Alternate.
6. On the Serial Line Protocol window select Point-to-Point Protocol and
then choose Next.
7. On the Login Script window Select Automate with this script, then
select CIS.SCP in the drop-down list and then choose Next.
8. On the IP Address window leave all zeros and choose Next.
9. On the Name Server Addresses window enter 149.174.211.5 in the DNS
serve field, leave the WINS server blank and choose Next.
10. On the New Phonebook Entry Wizard choose Finish.
11. On the Dial-up Networking window choose More, then select Edit entry
and modem properties. You can also choose Create shortcut to entry on
this menu to place a shortcut icon on your desktop.
12. On the Edit Phonebook entry window select the Server tab and choose
TCP/IP Settings.
13. On the PPP TCP/IP Settings window enter 149.174.213.5 in the Secondary
DNS field and choose OK. Then choose OK again.
14. Choose Dial on the Dial-up Networking window. On the Connect to
CompuServe window enter your CompuServe User ID number(with the comma)
in the User Name field and your password in the Password field.
Leave the Domain field empty and check Save password if you want to
save the password.
15. Click on OK to dial. Do not disturb the Terminal window but watch and
if you get "?? LOGINE - Invalid entry - try again" that means your
password is incorrect.
16. On the Taskbar there will be the Dial-up Network icon in the Systray.
If you right click on this icon you can hangup the connection or
select Open Dial-up Monitor to get information about your
connection, including the DCE connection speed(baud rate) and your IP
address(Details button).
Apple/Mac Section
John Deegan, Editor
Lexmark in your Future? STR Infofile
Lexmark Launches New Advertising Campaign
to Support Consumer Printer Sales
Campaign uses humor to build Lexmark brand awareness
Lexington, Ky, October 7, 1996... Lexmark International, Inc., one of the
world's fastest growing printing solution companies, today unveiled a new
advertising campaign executed by San Francisco-based Goldberg Moser O'Neill
(GMO) to promote its line of color inkjet printers in the United States. The
campaign is the latest wave of the multi-million dollar global brand
building campaign which was launched with GMO and Grey Advertising in July
1996.
The campaign candidly addresses Lexmark's recent entry into the retail
market by providing humorous advice to help consumers weed through market
misperceptions and hype. The advertisements educate consumers by
anticipating obstacles they will encounter when deciding to buy Lexmark
printers ("How To Sell Yourself A Lexmark"), and then rewarding them for
making the correct choice (a $5 coupon good on a print cartridge as a
"commission"). The ads will appear in newspapers and business and consumer
magazines in the nation's top ten markets, radio in five of those markets,
computer enthusiast magazines and online.
"While we have good awareness and an excellent reputation among our business
users, we've had only a short time to build brand awareness with consumers.
We decided to take a very direct approach that acknowledges our awareness
shortcomings and positions us as a friendly company. It also articulates why
consumers should buy Lexmark," said Susan Gauff, vice president of corporate
communications at Lexmark. "This campaign suggests that bigger doesn't
always mean better and seeks to provide some practical tips for comparing
the many color printer choices in the market today."
"With so much noise in the high-tech marketplace today, consumers are
looking for some straight talk on products," added Fred Goldberg, Chairman
and CEO of GMO. "This campaign cuts through the fluff and provides good,
solid reasons for choosing a Lexmark printer. Consumers will find the
advertisements refreshingly candid and entertaining." This new campaign
does not affect Lexmark's ongoing international brand advertising efforts
with Grey Advertising.
Recognized as an industry leader in network laser printers, Lexmark
introduced its first color inkjet printer geared primarily to the home and
small office/home office (SOHO) markets in 1994. The company has experienced
strong sales growth worldwide, particularly in retail channels. Lexmark
offers five award-winning inkjet printers through 12,000 retail outlets in
the U.S.. Lexmark's products continue to be recognized in the industry for
their superior performance and value. Lexmark, which spun off from IBM in
1991 and went public in November 1995, has helped redefine the $45 billion
printing industry by setting the direction for technology, innovation and
pricing that the industry is following. It is the world's only significant
integrated company specializing in printing solutions. Lexmark
International, Inc., is a global developer, manufacturer and supplier of
printing solutions and products, including laser, inkjet and dot-matrix
printers and associated consumable supplies for the office and home markets.
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lexmark International Group,
Inc. (NYSE: LXK). Lexmark, which had sales of $2.2 billion in 1995, has
executive offices in Greenwich, Conn., and manufacturing centers in
Lexington, KY.; Boulder, Colo.; Rosyth, Scotland; Orleans, France and
Sydney, Australia. An additional facility will open in Juarez, Mexico, later
this year. Information about Lexmark can be found on the company's home
page at www.lexmark.com on the Internet.
Hayes at 33.6 STR InfoFile
HAYES FINISHES 33.6 K MIGRATION
OF POPULAR
ACCURA TOTAL SOLUTIONS MODEM BUNDLES
Award-Winning Total Internet, Total Gaming and Office
Communications Hardware/Software Bundles Available at Local
Retail Stores
Atlanta, GA, 8 October 1996 -- Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. has
concluded its comprehensive move to deliver 33.6 K throughput speeds in all
of its popular award-winning consumer modem products - Hayes Office
Communications Manager, Hayes Total Internet Solution, and Hayes Total
Gaming Solution. In September Hayes announced plans to deliver 33.6 K
throughput speeds in all of its modem products. Hayes will demonstrate
33.6 K and other high-speed technology at Fall COMDEX in the North Hall of
the Las Vegas Convention Center -- Booth L- 4530.
"Whether they're downloading information on the Internet or connecting to
their corporate LAN, communications users want the fastest speeds possible
to save them time and money," said Joseph Formichelli, CEO, Hayes
Microcomputer Products, Inc. "Hayes is moving to a much faster drumbeat
than before and that's evidenced by how quickly our people have mobilized
to deliver faster communications products without compromising Hayes
reputation for quality."
Hayes Office Communications Manager quickly and easily lets users connect to
the corporate office and automate all of the major communications
functions such as incoming and outgoing fax, voice mail with up to 1,000
mailboxes, and e-mail. Full voice mail and fax-back systems can be set up
in minutes. Retailing at US$189, this modem/software bundle comes with a
full retail version of Hayes Smartcom Message Center.
Users can get more out of their voice/data/fax modems using Hayes Smartcom
Message Center features such as support for voice record and playback,
messaging, fax-on-demand, fax broadcast, and paging functions.
Communications can be completely customized using Smartcom Message Center.
The program has a wide range of applications and automated features for
home, mobile and corporate branch office users such as call management,
voice mail, visual scripting, caller I.D., and paging. Smartcom Message
Center is also great for sending and retrieving e-mail or data files,
broadcasting faxes to multiple locations, and establishing and managing an
office voice mail system.
Hayes Total Gaming Solution provides users with interactive, head-to-head
gaming for the low estimated street price of $209. This Total Gaming
Solution bundle increases the speed and the fun of gaming by enabling
gamers to play interactive computer games and simultaneously talk to a human
opponent instead of playing the game alone on a computer. Hayes Total
Gaming Solution includes a Hayes ACCURA 288 V.34 DSVD Fax Modem with Voice
and the full retail version of NASCAR Racing CD-ROM from Papyrus, one of the
top-rated PC games in 1995.
NASCAR Racing, based on the 1994 racing season, is a revolutionary new
racing simulation production. It uses a model that is based on the physics
of a real stock car and is designed to accurately reproduce the complete
NASCAR Racing experience by providing the most realistic visual effects and
car handling available for the personal computer.
Hayes Total Internet Solution provides complete Internet access including
software to place free long distance phone calls over the Internet. Hayes
Total Internet Solution includes a Hayes ACCURA 288 Fax Modem undled with
full retail versions of Quarterdeck's InternetSuite 2 and WebTalk at a value
suggested street price of US$179. The modem/software bundle provides users
with a complete, one-stop solution for getting on-line, with InternetSuite
2 Connect and Play feature to create an account with a variety of major
Internet service providers in minutes.
Hayes Office Communications Manager and Hayes Total Gaming Solution also
come with full versions of Quarterdeck's InternetSuite 2 and WebTalk. All
three products come complete with CYBERsitter and Hayes Bonus Bundle which
includes on-line software and free temporary access from major on-line
service providers.
InternetSuite 2 is a complete suite of utilities for navigating the Internet
through a simple point-and-click interface. It comes with Quarterdeck
Mosaic for browsing the Web, Quarterdeck Message Center, a news and mail
reader, QFTP for file transfers, QTERM for remote log-in, and Global Chat,
an Internet Relay chat client multi-user text chat. It also delivers
advanced multi-media access to the Internet with built- in Adobe Acrobat,
Real Audio and QuickTime Movie utilities. WebTalk is a full duplex, real-
time voice chat utility, allowing two Internet users to talk to each other
over the Internet and save on long distance telephone charges.
These modem/software bundles also come with CYBERsitter, a Microsoft
Windows program that will give the user the capability to block access to
common types of graphics files, as well as specific files and programs.
CYBERsitter is great for parents who have children who have access to and
regularly use the home computer.
Shop, travel and bank in a whole new way with VoiceView , an exciting
application from Radish Communications Systems that's included in Hayes
Office Communications Manager and Hayes Total Gaming Solution. VoiceView
lets users connect directly to companies including American Airlines,
Blockbuster Music, Delta Air Lines, Virtual Wall Street, Wells Fargo Bank
and 1-800- Flowers. Users can pick up the phone and talk directly to a
customer service representative while they send and receive information and
graphic images over a single, secure phone line - - or, send files and play
games with other VoiceView users.
Based in Norcross, Georgia, Hayes markets its ACCURA, OPTIMA, and Practical
Peripherals brands of modems, CENTURY remote connectivity system products,
and Smartcom communications software orldwide. Hayes introduced the PC
modem in 1981. Today, with distributors in more than 45 countries, it is one
of the largest manufacturers of modems in the world.
Hayes, the Hayes logo, ACCURA, Smartcom, Office Communications Manager,
Total Gaming Solution, Total Internet Solution, OPTIMA, Practical
Peripherals, CENTURY and Bonus Bundle are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. VoiceView is a trademark of
Radish Communications Systems, Inc. NASCAR Racing is officially licensed by
NASCAR. InternetSuite 2 and WebTalk are trademarks of Quarterdeck
Corporation. Other trademarks are trademarks of their respective companies.
For Immediate Release
COREL LICENSES PARADOX DATABASE FROM BORLAND
Corel Assumes Paradox Business To Advance Leadership
Position in Desktop Suites; Borland to Continue Development of Paradox's
Borland Database Engine and Participate in Paradox Revenue Streams
Ottawa, Canada - October 21, 1996 - After strong sales of Corelr Office
Professional and gaining a larger share than Microsoft in the US retail
channel, Corel will boost marketing and support for the suite's Borland
Paradox database product line through a new license agreement between the
two companies. Effective today, Corel is licensing the Paradox source code
from Borland and will assume responsibility for development, marketing,
sales and support for the Paradox family of products worldwide. Under the
terms of the license agreement, Borland will continue development of the
Borland Database Engine, a key technology found in Paradox and other Borland
products, and will continue to sell stand-alone versions of Paradox through
October 21, 1997, as a customer service to Borland corporate customers.
Paradox is the award-winning Windows database from Borland that has
been included in Corel Office Professional through a previous alliance
between the companies. As part of Corel's future plans for Paradox, a
forthcoming release of Paradox will include web development capabilities and
increased support for popular application development tools, such as
Borland's Delphi.
"Since acquiring the PerfectOffice Suite from Novell in March of 1996,
Corel has made huge gains in market share," said Dr. Michael Cowpland,
president and chief executive officer of Corel Corporation. "This license
agreement will help Corel further its leadership position in the suite
business, improve integration and extend customers investment in Paradox
through Corel s increased support for the product."
"With the overwhelming success of Corel Office Professional, it's clear
that suites hold the future for end-user databases," said Michael Greenbaum,
vice president of worldwide marketing for Borland. "Borland will be working
closely with Corel over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition for
customers and channel partners worldwide. Corel's leadership in the suite
business and its new focus on Paradox will enable a long, successful future
for Paradox."
"This licensing agreement will enable Corel's marketing and development
teams to move forward with this award-winning database program and further
integrate it into their office suite," said Joan-Carol Brigham, industry
analyst with International Data Corporation. "It's definitely a win-win
situation for both companies."
Effective immediately, customer service, future product development for
Paradox, and sales and marketing will be supported by Corel. Borland will
provide technical support for Paradox through November 21. After that date,
customers calling Borland will be directed to Corel. Borland Japan will
continue its current marketing, sales and support for another year during
the transition period, while Corel will also bundle Paradox in their
Japanese suite starting October 21. Following the 12 month transition
period, Borland Japan will transition all Paradox related business including
such functions as product development, sales, marketing, and distribution to
Corel. Borland employees supporting Paradox will remain with Borland and
will be re-deployed to its client/server and Internet/intranet product
areas.
"Borland and Corel have worked closely together for the past several
months, added Cowpland. "We look forward to working with Borland, our
Paradox customers and channel partners to ensure the product's ongoing
success."
About Corel Office Professional
This 32-bit office suite includes Corelr WordPerfectr, Corelr Quattror Pro
and Corelr PresentationsT for Windowsr 95, plus a host of additional
features which offer ease-of-use, OLE functionality, open network
integration and Internet connectivity. Corel's new BaristaT technology,
included in all three core applications, makes this software package the
only one that enables users to publish documents directly to the JavaT
Language. Corel Office Professional 7 carries a suggested list price of
$695 U.S. for the CD-ROM version with upgrades available for a suggested
list price of $249 U.S.
Questions & Answers
1. What are the terms of the Paradox license agreement between Borland and
Corel?
Corel will license Paradox from Borland beginning October 21, 1996. This is
a perpetual license with exclusive distribution rights for the standalone
version of Paradox. The license includes all versions of Paradox, 16-bit and
32-bit, DOS and all source code. Under the terms of the license agreement,
Borland will be paid a percentage for each sale of Paradox by Corel, both
from the standalone packages and from the suite. Corel will assume
responsibility for development, sales, marketing and support for Paradox
worldwide. Borland will continue to sell stand-alone versions of Paradox
another 12 months after October 21, 1996 as a customer service to Borland's
corporate customers.
2. When is the license effective?
This perpetual license agreement is effective October 21, 1996.
3. What does this deal mean for Paradox customers?
This license agreement with Corel is great news for Paradox customers as
Corel is fully committed to supporting the product and providing a future
for your investment in Paradox. With their dramatic success in establishing
market share with the Corel Office Professional, Corel has demonstrated its
ability to extend and build market leadership for existing products, such as
WordPerfect and Quattro Pro. Corel will continue development of Paradox and
provide future versions.
4. Will Borland remain involved with Paradox?
Borland will continue to work with Corel to provide the technology for
Paradox's Borland Database Engine, file formats for databases, and tight
integration between Paradox and Delphi. Borland will continue to sell stand-
alone versions of Paradox for another 12 months after October 21, 1996 as a
customer service to our corporate customers.
5. How much money will Borland get from Corel for licensing Paradox?
We cannot comment on the specifics of the agreement. Revenue from Corel will
be comprised of license fees and royalties.
6. Will Borland employees go to Corel?
All Borland Paradox employees will remain at Borland.
7. Which Paradox versions are to be licensed by Corel?
All current Paradox versions will be licensed to Corel.
8. Paradox contains components that are shared by other Borland products
like BDE. Did Corel license updates to this type of component?
Yes. Corel will receive updates to the Borland Database Engine from Borland.
9. Will Corel provide support for previous versions of Paradox?
Corel will support all versions of Paradox.
10. Will Corel or Borland develop upgrades for Paradox?
Borland is providing Corel with the code for what will later be a major
upgrade to Paradox. This future version of Paradox will provide web
capabilities and support for Borland's popular Delphi development tool. All
new versions will be included in Corel Office Professional.
11. When will Corel release the next version of Paradox?
The companies have been working together for some time to further integrate
Paradox into the Perfect Office Suite and to extend Paradox's functionality
for the Internet. Corel will provide information on upcoming Paradox
versions at a later date.
12. What's the future for Paradox developer customers?
Corel plans to provide the same level of functionality for Paradox
developers as provided by Borland, and will allow for increased integration
between Paradox and Delphi. For Paradox developers wanting to learn about
Borland's other products, Borland provides training materials and programs
for developers who wish to use other Borland development tools.
13. How will existing customers receive technical support?
To ensure customer convenience and service continuity, the transition of
Paradox technical support will be handled in two phases. In Phase I, October
22 through November 21, Borland will continue to provide full support for
Paradox. During this phase, Corel will put the systems and processes in
place for Phase II. In Phase II, beginning November 22, Corel will assume
full support responsibility for technical support.
14. What about existing contract obligations with Paradox customers?
Borland will continue to work with existing maintenance customers under the
terms of existing agreements. Borland and Corel will also work together to
identify new customers wishing to purchase maintenance agreements and will
work to ensure that these customers are properly serviced in the months to
come.
15. My Borland Assist contract covers more products than just Paradox. How
will that be handled?
Customers with Borland Assist contracts that include support for Paradox and
other Borland products will receive support from both Corel and Borland.
Corel will handle Paradox support and Borland will continue to provide
support for the other products.
16. Will Paradox still be supported through the on-line and automated
services?
Yes. Borland will continue on-line and automated support until November 22.
At that time, Corel will assume responsibilities for all technical support
services. As a transition service, Borland will maintain existing Paradox
technical content on the web site.
17. Who will provide order status for Paradox orders?
Borland will provide status on all orders placed directly with Borland
through October 21, 1997. Corel will handle status on all orders placed
directly with them on and after October 22, 1996.
18. Who will provide replacement disks, manuals etc.?
Corel will begin to take orders for Paradox products on October 22, 1996.
Borland will take replacement disks and manual orders for customers who
purchased products prior to October 22, 1997, in accordance with Borland's
90-day warranty.
19. If a customer is dissatisfied with Paradox, who will process returns?
For how long?
Customers who purchased the product from Borland, will have the opportunity
to return that product to Borland. Product purchased from Corel, can be
returned to Corel. Borland and Corel will both uphold the 90-day return
policy for customers. Customers who purchased through retail are recommended
to return their product to the place of purchase.
20. How will Borland's international customers be handled?
All international markets except Japan will be handled the same as in the
U.S. Borland Japan will continue its current marketing, sales and support
for another year during the transition period. Following the 12 month
transition period, Borland Japan will transition all Paradox related
business including such functions as product development, sales, marketing,
and distribution to Corel.
21. How will International customers place orders for Paradox?
Effective October 22, Corel will handle customer support calls and orders
through its Corel's international customer centers. Paradox customers
contacting Borland to place orders on or after October 21, 1997 will be
directed to Corel.
22. Will Borland still support Paradox Connection members?
Paradox Connection members may transfer their memberships to other product
Connection programs at Borland, such as Delphi Connections, Borland C++
Connections, etc. If Paradox Connections members are already participating
in other Connections programs at Borland, they may use their Paradox
membership to extend their participation in the other programs. Borland
will also provide all Paradox Connections members with a free copy of the
next version of Paradox. If Paradox Connections members do not want to
transfer their membership to another Borland Connection program, they may
receive a full refund on their membership fee.
Corel Corporation: Redefining the Suite Market
Incorporated in 1985, Corel Corporation is recognized internationally as an
award-winning developer and marketer of productivity applications, graphics
and multimedia software. Corel's product line includes CorelDRAWT, the
Corelr WordPerfectr Suite, 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.
Borland: Making Development Easier
Borland International Inc. (NASDAQ:BORL) is a leading provider of products
and services targeted to software developers. Borland is distinguished for
its high-quality software development tools, which include Borland C++,
Delphi, Delphi Client/Server, IntraBuilder, InterBase, Paradox and Visual
dBASE. Borland's award-winning products are supported through comprehensive
programs for small- and large-sized software developers, corporate
developers, value added resellers and systems integrators. Founded in 1983,
Borland is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California.
Kids Computing Corner
Frank Sereno, Editor
The Kids' Computing Corner
Computer news and software reviews
from a parent's point of view
BodyWorks 5.0 for Windows by SoftKey
reviewed by Donna Lines
BodyWorks is an easy to use and informative program containing beautiful
illustrations of the human body. (There are no illustrations that would be
offensive or inappropriate for users of any age.)
BodyWorks installs Apple's QuickTime 2.03 for Windows for viewing the 50
live action videos and NetCom's NetCruiser software for accessing BodyWorks'
on-line information through the Internet. (NetCom is an Internet service
provider and bills monthly for this service. If you prefer not to load
NetCruiser you can exit the setup program when it starts to install
NetCruiser.)
There is a wealth of information in BodyWorks. The program opens to the 3D
model module. The 25 3D models can be rotated 360 degrees and enlarged for
optimum viewing. On the right hand side of the screen there is an outline
of the body highlighted by colored circles from which you can select a
specific area to be viewed in greater detail. In the lower left hand corner
of the screen you can select the Database for more detailed information on
related body structures.
The Database provides information on the body and even pronounces the body
structure/organ when you click on the name. In the illustration window, a
movie camera icon links you to a short video on the topic. The 3D icon
takes you back to the 3D model and the caduceus icon links you to Dr.
BodyWorks -- a multimedia presentation. Open a topic marked with a square
marker and the topic with illustration will be displayed. Select (or double-
click) the same topic again and BodyWorks provides an illustration with even
more detail. You can continue to delve deeper and deeper into these topics
and illustrations to microscopic degrees.
Dr. BodyWorks is a multimedia presentation on the 10 major body
systems/structures. You definitely don't want to miss these elegant and
informative lectures. Dr. BodyWorks can be accessed through the Database
(by selecting the caduceus medical symbol in the illustration window) or by
selecting Dr. BodyWorks from the Tools menu.
BodyWorks also provides two interactive ways to build your knowledge about
the human body: BodyWorks Lessons provide you with a self-study of various
body structures/systems. The information is very detailed and interesting.
But don't worry, there's no test! Body Basics is styled after a TV game
show with up to two players who can buzz in and answer questions. You can
access both options through the Tools menu.
BodyWorks 5.0 would make a wonderful addition to any family's medical
reference library.
BodyWorks 5.0 by SoftKey
for Windows 95 (works with Win 3.1)
Approximate Retail Price: $39.95
System Requirements:
386/25 or higher/Windows 3.1 or Windows 95
4MB RAM (8MB recommended)/8MB free disk space
SVGA w/ 256 colors/2X Speed CD-ROM drive (4X recommended)
Mouse/Sound card
Di$connect
3.5" floppy
Windows 3.1, 95
$29.95
Dagar Software Corporation
Bethany, CT 06524
1-800-687-1966
http://www.dagar.com
reviewed by Frank Sereno
Have you ever made the mistake of forgetting to disconnect from a commercial
online service? With so many of us using internal modems, it would be very
easy to think we ended our connection but we were really still online. It
could be a very costly error, especially if your connection is not a local
phone call. This is a very easy mistake for an adult to make, but imagine
how easily a child could forget to terminate an online connection.
Di$connect is an excellent program to prevent outrageous charges from
forgotten connections.
Di$connect is a very simple program to the eye. It installs from a single
3.5-inch diskette into its own folder on your hard drive. When you run the
program for the first time, you must place the distribution disk in the
drive with it write enabled to set up Di$connect. The program does not
automate the setting up for you by locating any terminal programs, browsers
or other telecommunications programs. You have to type in the name of the
program exactly as it will appear in the title bar of the program window
when that application is running. Then you can edit the parameters for
Di$connect for each program so that the idle times before warnings and shut
down are different for each.
When you run one of the installed programs, Di$connect will automatically
recognize it and monitor it. If you checked the sound card option in the
setup menu, you will hea
r a pleasant female voice warning you when your
connection has exceeded your preferred idle time. You can even use your own
wave files if you replace Di$connect's by using the same filenames.
The program's packaging states that it will work with modems up to 28.8k,
but I found it to work flawlessly with my 33.6k modem also. Since it
monitors your serial ports rather than the modem, I believe it will work
with the new 56k modems too. It will not work with ISDN devices since these
do not use serial ports.
This program should pay for itself very quickly. It will be very convenient
for those of us who download large files and then need to leave our
computers. Just set the termination timer to a short period and then you
don't have to worry about monitoring the file transfer. To ensure that the
program is always on the job for you, I would suggest installing it in the
StartUp folder so it loads when your computer boots up. Otherwise, you have
to remember to run Di$connect before or during your telecommunications
session.
I would like to see this program become more polished. For example, the
user manual is very brief. It is adequate for experienced users but it
might be difficult for new users to understand. Another strike against the
program for use by inexperienced computer users is that technical support
costs $2.00 per minute with no period of free tech support. Most companies
provide at least a few weeks free support before they start charging for
assistance. I'd like to see the setup program ask during installation if it
should be placed in the StartUp folder. I also think it should have a
utility to search for basic telecom programs such as Netscape, Internet
Explorer, Prodigy, NetCruiser, etc.
Despite its Spartan nature, Di$connect is a very useful and effective
program. If you spend a great deal of time online, you should consider
purchasing Di$connect. If your younger children are using the Web, then
this program deserves serious consideration. Visit Dagar's Web site for a
demonstration version of the program to check it out for yourself. I think
this is a program that can easily pay for itself many times over.
STReport's "Partners in Progress" Advertising Program
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STReport International Online Magazine
Gaming & Entertainment Section
with Atari User Support
Editor Dana P. Jacobson
From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
For those of you who can make it, AtariFest '96 is happening this weekend at
Toad Computers. While a far cry from its roots at WAACE, the plans for the
gathering portend a fun time. I wish that I lived a little closer so it
would be worthwhile driving down; 500ªplus miles is just a "tad" too far for
me for a single day event. The area, Washington and Baltimore, has a lot to
see, but I've been there enough times that the "attraction" to stay an extra
day or so just doesn't appeal to me enough to venture down. At least with
WAACE, when you got tired of the show, you could "schmooze" with your fellow
Atarians. Still, for those within driving range, it should be an
interesting time. Have fun!
Speaking of "nostalgic" happenings, I've recently heard from a familiar name
within the online community and we should be adding his well known writings
to our pages here. I'll keep the name a "secret" for the moment, but look
forward to seeing a "boost" to these sparse Atari computing pages soon. I'm
looking forward to it myself!
As Joe Mirando mentioned in his column last week, we'll have the "Emulator
Wars" article shortly. I was hoping to have it re-edited for this week, but
time just didn't allow it to happen this week. Joe will likely have some
other comments about this article in his column this week, also.
Until next time...
Atarifest '96! STR ShowNews
ATARIFEST '96 APPROACHES FAST
BE THERE ON OCTOBER 26th!
Preparations for Atarifest '96 are in full swing, and it looks like it will
be another exciting event! Things to look forward to include:
ú Great deals on ST/Falcon/TT Software & Hardware
ú Fantastic prices on Jaguar Hardware & Games
ú Amazing deals on Lynx Hardware & Games
ú CLEARANCE, OVERSTOCK and other UNBELIEVABLY PRICED ITEMS!
ú FREE GIVEAWAYS & REFRESHMENTS!
ú Complete ROOM full of Atari 8-Bit Items!
ú Great selection of Portfolio Accessories!
ú LOTS, LOTS MORE!
Also, several Atari developers & friends will be in attendance including:
ú Tom Harker, ICD (Link, BattleSphere, and a NEW PC Video product!)
ú Darek Mihocka (Demonstrating Gemulator '96)
ú It's All Relative (Greg Kopchak -- the greatest Atari CD's!)
ú Matt Norcross (Floating Fish Studios, creators of BIRD OF PREY CD)
ú Tim Hebel (A.K.A. Spud Boy)
ú Others to be announced!!
We'll have demos of fun/current Atari programs & products, like always, plus
any other cool things we can come up with. We're working hard to be sure
this is the definitive Atari event!! Also, we'll be featuring the following
hot software products:
ú MagiC 5
ú HD Driver 6
ú Gemulator 96
And of course, we have a fantastic deal on a Pentium 166MHz PC with
Gemulator 96 for just $1299! AND ADMISSION TO ATARIFEST '96 IS COMPLETELY
FREE! No matter where you are, you're not too far away to come (well, maybe
Papua New Guinea is a _little_ far, but you really should consider it!)
It's a fact that Atari products are becoming harder and harder to find; this
may be your last chance to pick up some of the most interesting stuff. Our
collection of used/demo equipment is way cool. You'll have to see it to
believe it.
We're looking forward to seeing you at the show. If you have questions about
the show, about where to stay, or what else to do in the area, please
contact us at 'info@toad.net' or call (410) 544-6943. You can get directions
to our store at http://www.toad.net/direxns.html.
Thanks again! We're looking forward to seeing you!
Dave Troy
Toad Computers, Inc.
Entertainment Section
4 New Jag Games!
PlayStation News!
N64 News!
Tetris Guru to Microsoft! And more...
From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
The good news is that there are still four games coming out for the Jaguar.
The bad news is that they all will not be available within the next couple
of months. A couple are scheduled this year and the other two will appear
in early 1997. If the dates are accurate, this won't be a bad thing unless
the numbers of Jaguar owners decreases even more drastically. At least Jag
owners will have something definitive to look ahead to playing. Telegames
is likely being cautious, among other things. Speaking of Telegames and
their four upcoming games, I have talked with the folks there and we hope
to be seeing review copies of these games very shortly. In the meantime, we
have a short synopsis of each new game, courtesy of Dave Davis at Bits of
Fun, in this week's issue.
The rest of the issue is jamªpacked with gaming news, of all sorts. I keep
hearing these news items, of new games and peripherals, and can only sigh of
what might have been had Atari been able to market the Jaguar effectively.
It is good to see how "the other half" lives, however. We also hope to be
able to provide you a handsªon view of much of the news that we're only
hearing about at the present time. Time will tell...
Until next time...
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
'Nintendo 64' U.S. Sales at 460,000
REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Nintendo of America reported Thursday it
has sold 460,000 of its Nintendo 64 advanced video-game systems since they
went on sale Sept. 29 with a $200 price tag.
Nintendo, battling Sony's PlayStation and Sega's Saturn for supremacy in the
lucrative market of high-end players, said U.S. shipments will reach more
than 1.2 million units by Christmas. That is up sharply from the initial
500,000 originally slated for the U.S. market but will not be enough to meet
demand, according to Nintendo.
"It's clear from our retailers that they think they could sell between 1.5
and 2 million units this calendar year," said Peter Main, Nintendo of
America executive vice president, sales and marketing. "This new figure will
go a long way to meet demand, but shortages may continue in some areas of
the country." Nintendo said first weeks of sales of the machine, marketed
as N64, are more than four times the initial sales rates reported for last
year's launch of the Playstation and approximately 10 times that of the
Saturn. Nintendo's system is powered by a 64-bit chip while Sony's and
Sega's have 32-bit processors.
"The sales and demand for the N64 has been a big boost to the health of the
video game industry," said Sean McGowan, senior industry analyst with Gerard
Klauer Mattison. "The N64 seems to be on the 'must have' gift-giving
shopping lists this year." The third game for the new machine, Wave Race
64, will be available
Nov. 4, joining Super Mario 64 and PilotWings 64. Five other games will be
available by Christmas. Nintendo began selling the player in Japan in July.
BMG Interactive Signs Licensing Agreements
With MLS Superstars
SAN FRANCISCO (Oct. 18) BUSINESS WIRE -Oct. 18, 1996--BMG Interactive, a
global publisher of entertainment software, today announced that it has
signed exclusive licensing agreements with Major League Soccer (MLS)
superstars Alexi Lalas of the New England Revolution and Eric Wynalda of the
San Jose Clash.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lalas and Wynalda will assist in the
development and marketing of BMG Interactive's break-through soccer title
that will feature official MLS teams, logos and players. Set for worldwide
release in 1997 for PlayStation, Saturn and PC-CD, the game will provide
incredibly realistic action and incorporate expert offensive and defensive
strategies straight from two of the world's greatest players. "We are a
global publisher and soccer is the world's most popular sport," noted Jay
Moses, president of BMG Interactive. "The signing of Lalas and Wynalda is a
complement to our overall strategy and we are pleased to join forces with
such talented athletes."
"Alexi and Eric are legitimate soccer superstars and we look forward to
incorporating their skills and strategies into the game," added Don Traeger,
vice president of worldwide product development and A&R. "Their insight and
expertise in offensive and defensive play will be integrated directly into
our MLS title, giving it the utmost in authenticity." The title is being
created by BMG Interactive's premiere development partner Z-AXIS. The Z-
AXIS team is comprised of noted sports game experts whose credits include
major contributions to several titles in the acclaimed John Madden Football
series, among others. Working closely with BMG Interactive, Z-AXIS will
leverage its proprietary technology to create highly-realistic game play
that is expected to set a new standard in the category.
"We're thrilled to working side-by-side with two of the world's best soccer
players," remarked David Luntz, president of Z-AXIS. "Our combined abilities
and true passion for the sport will result in the kind of realistic soccer
title that gamers have been waiting to play." Alexi Lalas is an
internationally-renowned player and one of the biggest names in professional
soccer today. Eric Wynalda is among the most talented offensive players in
U.S. soccer history, respected the world over for his ability to score
spectacular goals, including the first goal ever scored in a MLS game. Both
players are starters on the U.S. National Team and starred in World Cup
1994. Each left lucrative playing careers in Europe to make soccer a
success in the U.S. as top players with MLS.
"I'm pleased to be a part of a project that captures the true excitement of
professional soccer," stated Lalas. "My defensive moves will crush Eric
every time and I look forward to challenging him on both the real
and virtual soccer fields next year." "BMG Interactive and Z-AXIS share my
vision of soccer and together we will create a title that pushes the
boundaries of sports games," added Wynalda. "I'm excited to join forces with
this talented group and I can't wait to kick Alexi's butt in MLS next
season."
Working with some of the most sought-after, independent game developers
around the world, BMG Interactive boasts an impressive roster of third-party
talent, including BLAM!, Boss Game Studios, Delphine Software International,
DMA Design, Interactive Studios, New Level Software, NMS Software, Pixel
Multimedia, Z-AXIS, and Zombie. BMG Interactive is the global
entertainment software publishing arm of BMG Entertainment, the $5.3 billion
division of Bertelsmann AG, a $13.7 billion operation and third largest
media company in the world. Established in 1994, BMG Interactive markets and
distributes next generation titles for PlayStation, Saturn, Nintendo 64, and
PC CD-ROM. The company is based in San Francisco and has offices in New York
and London.
Alps Interactive Introduces a PS Gamepad for the PSX
SAN JOSE, CALIF. (Oct. 21) BUSINESS WIRE -Oct. 21, 1996--Alps Interactive, a
new product line of Alps Electric (USA) Inc. that focuses on the development
of interactive technology and gaming input devices, today introduced the
Alps Interactive Gamepad for the PlayStation game console. Alps Interactive
worked with top game designers, producers and testers within the gaming
industry to design a new shape and feel for maximum comfort and ease of use.
The Alps Interactive Gamepad features the familiar 14-button layout, while
offering a unique curved shape that's naturally comfortable, fitting gamers'
hands better than any other controller on the market. An ultra-smooth
direction pad features non-abrasive buttons and enhanced response. It's the
first PS gamepad with a rubber grip, which offers a secure hold -- giving
players the control required to compete in today's gaming environments.
The larger, curved design and enhanced feel offer players greater freedom
and movement of fingers, and is well suited for hands of all sizes. It
includes an extra-long eight-foot extension cord so players can sit a
comfortable distance from the TV screen. The PS gamepad comes in a blue
metallic flake color. "We designed the Alps Interactive Gamepad so players
can concentrate on the game instead of the gamepad," said Ken Kajikawa,
product manager for Alps Interactive. "Gamers can now enjoy longer, harder
playing while playing with the best, instead of traditionally awkward and
uncomfortable gamepads." Pricing And Availability
The Alps Interactive Gamepad will be available this month through national
retailers and distributors. The suggested list price is $44.95 and the
estimated street price is $39.95. For more information contact Alps at
800/825-2577. The Company Alps Interactive, a new product line of Alps
Electric (USA) Inc., manufactures and markets innovative gaming solutions
for the interactive multimedia industry. For more information, contact Alps
Interactive at 800/825-2577, or see the home page at
www.interactive.alps.com. Alps Electric (USA) Inc., located in San Jose,
manufactures and markets peripherals and other electronic components for the
computer market through reseller, government, OEM and direct channels. Alps
Electric (USA) Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alps Electric Co. Ltd.,
a $4 billion Fortune International 500 company, which is headquartered in
Tokyo.
CONTACT: Sony Computer Entertainment America
P. Kevin Horn, 415/655-5513 or
Fleishman-Hillard, Inc. Luis Gonzalez, 213/489-8233
NHL Face Off '97 Set to Put a Bodycheck ...
FOSTER CITY, CALIF. (Oct. 22) BUSINESS WIRE -Oct. 22, 1996--Sony Computer
Entertainment America today shipped NHL(r) Face Off '97(tm), available
exclusively on the PlayStation(tm) game console. The original NHL Face
Off(tm) was 1995's top selling hockey title for the PlayStation game
console. NHL Face Off '97 introduces a revolutionary new passing system.
Icon Passing(tm) allows the gameplayer to bring up symbols -- a circle,
square or triangle, which corresponds to the controller buttons -- under the
hockey players. By selecting one of these buttons the puck is passed to
that hockey player. Using a combination of these buttons, videogame players
can literally pass the puck between hockey players with lightening speed.
And if the gameplayer presses the shoot buttons immediately after passing
the puck, the last hockey player to receive the puck will shoot on goal.
"When we brought Icon Passing to NFL GameDay, everyone said it had forever
changed the face of video game football," said Peter Dille, senior director,
product marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "So it was a
natural to bring it to our hockey game, and without question it brings more
playability and excitement than ever. But we didn't stop there. Where NHL
Face Off '97 really beats the competition is from the standpoint of its
strategy elements; there is no equal."
Avid hockey fans will be pleased to find new team strategies, allowing them
to take control and change both the offensive and defensive style of play
for their team. Players will be able to stifle opponents with a trapping or
checking defense, overwhelm them with an all out attack on the net, or drop
back and fiercely defend the goal. Players even have the opportunity to
focus their offense around either of their wings or the center, depending on
the individual strength of the hockey player chosen.
Realism is key to any sports video game and NHL Face Off '97 has every
imaginable element: real stats and player attributes on all 650 NHL
players; the home and away uniforms for all 26 teams, including the
relocated Phoenix Coyotes; and each team's respective arenas recreated in
amazing 3D detail. Beyond inclusion of all of these hockey mainstays, the
game developers at Sony Interactive Studios America have added hockey
elements such as drop passes, fake shots, give and go's, backward skating,
flips, celebrations and injuries.
Gamers will also have the opportunity to put themselves in the action by
creating their own player and assigning their own attributes, in 11
different categories, to that player. They can also release players, sign
free agents or trade players to create their own ultimate dream team. "NHL
Face Off '97 is one of those few games that can entertain both the novice
sports gamer and the die-hard hockey buff who expects nothing short of
perfection," said Dille. "The improved graphics, fluid handling and
explosive action will insure that NHL Face Off '97 is the No. 1 hockey game
two years in a row."
CONTACT: Viacom New Media
Laura Siegel, 212/258-6619
e-mail: siegellvim8.viacom.com or: Betsy Vorce, 212/258-6594
e-mail: vorcebvim8.viacom.com or
Access Communications
Betsy Sagges, 212/725-4301 e-mail: bsaggesaccesspr.com
or: Mark Smotroff, 415/904-7070 e-mail: msmotroffaccesspr.com
Viacom New Media's SLAMSCAPE, A Twisted New 'Slam-and-Jam'
NEW YORK (Oct. 23) ENTERTAINMENT WIRE -Oct. 23, 1996- Players fight, shoot,
drive and slam to an interactive soundtrack by "God Lives Underwater," the
hot alternative band featured on MTV. Viacom New Media's SLAMSCAPE, a high-
speed, high-stakes action game for Sony PlayStation and Windows 95 CD-ROM,
is now available in stores. SLAMSCAPE utilizes a unique new play mechanic
that incorporates elements of driving, shooting and slamming with an
innovative interactive soundtrack by the hot alternative band featured on
MTV, God Lives Underwater. The cybernetic slam-and-jam is an MTV and Viacom
New Media production.
Viacom New Media and MTV are units of Viacom Inc. In the game, players,
along with a group of captives, are victims of a freakish experiment, hooked
up to the SlamScape Remulator. Previous attempts at bug-testing the thought-
powered, virtual simulator have only succeeded in imprisoning the Ids of the
16 "volunteers" in a virtual nightmare, leaving their psyches melded
together. Now with the help of a little hard-wiring, hackers are sending
the player into SLAMSCAPE's 20 nightmarish regions to rescue their human
guinea pigs. Only by using true gamer's expertise to defeat a plague of
subconscious childhood terrors such as vicious Shreddy Bears and frightmare-
clowns on stilts can players hope to free themselves.
By mastering SLAMSCAPE's unique new play mechanic and controlling the game's
lightning-fast Slamjet, a hyper-responsive hovercraft, players can
successfully maneuver through five bizarre mindscapes including
Carnivalhalla, Uraniumania, Repsychler and Endless Bummer, conquer the
games diabolically difficult bosses and free each and every Id. But players
must be vigilant with both eyes and ears. With 360 degrees of incredibly
high-res danger bearing down, players must listen for audio clues.
Each enemy has a signature track that gets louder as they near... "is that
the sound of a NodeSnagger ripping up the turf behind you..." Every location
has its own theme, so players can quickly re-orient themselves in this speed
junkies's paradise. The player's every action will kick up the sound from a
multiplicity of edgy music tracks and musical effects all laid down by the
hip, alternative band "God Lives Underwater." As power winds down so does
the sound...so pump it up!
Slam it up! Make some noise! "God Lives Underwater" has emerged as one of
the most innovative and admired bands in the last year, thanks to their deft
blending of rock and techno influences. Formed by David Reilly and Jeff
Turzo in 1993, the band released a self-titled debut "God Lives Underwater"
in February of 1995, and is currently touring in support of their American
Recordings debut album, "Empty". SLAMSCAPE was developed by Viacom New
Media/Chicago, the company's in-house development unit, based
in Buffalo Grove, IL.
Also now on store shelves from the development unit are the first titles in
the MTV's "Cheap Clicks" line of impulse-priced, mass market, high-quality
products: MTV'S BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD IN LITTLE THINGIES, WIENER TAKES ALL
and CALLING ALL DORKS.
Other upcoming titles include a line of originals for consumers of all ages
and JOE'S APARTMENT, based on the MTV short and Geffen Pictures release
distributed by Warner Bros. Viacom New Media's current and upcoming titles
are a diverse group published across a number of platforms. In addition to
SLAMSCAPE and the "Cheap Clicks" titles, they include the episodic adventure
game STAR TREK: VOYAGER (PC CD-ROM); the action/adventure games MTV'S AEON
FLUX (PSX and PC CD-ROM) and THE DIVIDE:
ENEMIES WITHIN (PSX and PC CD-ROM); the pure action game DEATHDROME (PC CD-
ROM); the children's creativity title D-LAB DELUXE (PC CD-ROM); and the
online action/RPG game, ARCHMAGE: WAR OF THE WIZARDS. The adventure game
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE -- HARBINGER (PC and Mac CD-ROM) was released
earlier this year. Viacom New Media, DeathDrome, The Divide: Enemies
Within, ArchMage, SlamScape, MTV: Music Television, Aeon Flux, Beavis and
Butt-Head, Cheap Clicks, D-Lab Deluxe, Nickelodeon and all related titles,
logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE -- HARBINGER, STAR TREK: VOYAGER and all related
titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Paramount Pictures. Joe's
Apartment is a trademark of Geffen Pictures. Viacom New Media's World Wide
Web address is: http://www.viacomnewmedia.com The site was developed by
Viacom Interactive Services. Viacom New Media, a unit of Viacom Interactive
Media, is a publisher of interactive entertainment software for Viacom.
CONTACT: Capcom Entertainment Inc., Sunnyvale
Chris Kramer or Melinda Mongelluzzo,
408/774-0500
Capcom's Street Fighter Alpha 2 TV Commercial ...
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. (Oct. 24) BUSINESS WIRE -Oct. 24, 1996--Capcom's Street
Fighter Alpha 2 TV commercial may raise more than a few eyebrows when it
begins airing November 11. Entitled "Going Blind", the commercial features
an anxious teenager deeply engrossed in playing Street Fighter Alpha 2, who
hardly notices his mother's concerned voice outside his closed bedroom door.
It's only after Mom hears the "commotion" coming from her son that she
utters, "Oh my gosh Jeffery, you're going to go blind." "The commercial is
designed to grab the viewers attention, with a little light-hearted fun and
really stick in the minds of the audience," said Todd Thorson, Capcom's
product marketing manager.
"Creating impact is one of the goals of any advertisement and is necessary
in order to break through the television clutter. The ad tested extremely
well at a recent focus group where it was shown to a group of young men
between the ages of 17 and 24, who thought it was hilarious. The placement
for this commercial is targeted to a young male demographic. We arent
looking for resistance from the TV stations, but we are prepared for it --
this is the kind of attention getting spot that sparks conversation." The
commercial will air in the top 81 markets for a two week flight. It will air
during syndicated shows in a prime time or later broadcast buy and within
daytime sports programming.
Street Fighter Alpha 2 is the latest in the world's premier line of fighting
games. This newest title features a Custom Combo system and 18 on-screen
selectable characters, the most in any single Street Fighter game. It will
be available at retail stores nationwide on November 1, 1996 for the Sony
PlayStation and Sega Saturn carrying a suggested retail price of $65.95.
Capcom Entertainment, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom Co., Ltd.,
is a leading force in the multi-billion dollar interactive entertainment
industry. The company develops, markets, and distributes, home video games
for the Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation and Super Nintendo. Capcom
Entertainment is based in Sunnyvale, California.
Tetris Creator Joins Microsoft
Alexey Pajitnov, creator of the popular Tetris computer game, has joined
Microsoft's games group. Reporting from Microsoft's Redmond, Washington,
headquarters, The Associated Press notes Pajitnov, who conceived Tetris
while living in the former Soviet Union in the 1980s, now lives in
Washington state. Pajitnov is a co-owner of The Tetris Co. and will
continue that work, Microsoft said, while working for Microsoft to develop a
new series of computer mind-teasers and puzzles.
Ed Fries, general manager of the Microsoft games group, told AP, "Alexey's
is one of the most original minds in the business," said "We're delighted to
have him contribute his unmatched knowledge and experience to help us create
exciting new games."
The wire service adds Tetris, in which players try to neatly stack a
perpetual cascade of cubes, has sold more than 40 million copies. Pajitnov
also created the games Welltris, Hatris, Faces, Knight Move, Elfish, and
Fire and Ice.
Electronic Arts Earnings Up 97 Percent
SAN MATEO, Calif., Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Electronic Arts reported earnings
Wednesday of $5.9 million, or 11 cents a share, for its second quarter ended
Sept. 30, up 97 percent over the 1995 period and 4 cents ahead of Wall
Street's average estimate. Sales for the video-game producer were up 37
percent to $129.3 million from $94 million in the 1995 quarter. Electronic
Arts released the results after the stock market closed.
International revenues increased 39 percent and represented 33 percent of
total revenues. Revenues in North America increased 37 percent, reflecting a
strong launch of the company's new products for the Sony PlayStation and
continued growth in the personal computer-CD market. European revenues
increased 69 percent and gained 27 percent in Southeast Asia, but sales in
Japan decreased 45 percent primarily due to delays in introducing new
localized products in that market.
The company noted that for the first time, it is shipping major sports
franchise products at the start of hockey and football seasons. "We believe
that EA is well positioned for the holiday season with a strong line-up of
products across all major platforms, including the PlayStation, Saturn, 16-
bit systems and the PC, supported by television advertising throughout the
fall," said Larry Probst, chairman and chief executive officer.
Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr!
As announced by Dave Davis, Bits of Fun
NEWS FLASH OCTOBER 18, 1996
FOUR NEW JAGUAR TITLES ANNOUNCED TODAY!
Breakout 2000 (Early December 1996) $59.95
Towers II (Early December 1996) $59.95
Worms (January 1997) $59.95
Zero Five (February 1997) $59.95
THE 4 NEW JAGUAR TITLES
BREAKOUT 2000 - SMASH! POW! CRUNCH!
Is your hand/eye coordination up to demolishing field after field of bricks?
Breakout 2000 brings back the nostalgia of early gaming days but adds 90's
challenges, such as a three dimensional field and bricks that resist
breaking, as well as many powerups and hazards. You can also test your
skill against a buddy. Break through your own wall and start working on his.
You'll gain bonus points, and he'll go nuts! Who ever said life was fair
never played Breakout 2000. MSRP $59.99 (Due Early December 1996)
TOWERS II - Finally, a genuine RPG for Jaguar.
Become one of four different characters as you are immersed within the
strange happenings in the mystical land of Lamini. You must uncover the
secrets as you explore Daggan's tower. Many before you have tried, but none
have returned. First person perspective,full screen smooth scrolling, talk
to others, refer to maps, collect 100's of items, encounter 100's of
creatures, experience challenges in combat and spell casting. Hours and
hours of entertainment with appropriate save features. MSRP 59.99 (Due
early December 1966)
WORMS is the hit product that is available on most other next-gen systems.
Designed for one to four players, this game combines the best elements from
the very best games ever created. The game requires great thought,
strategy, and elements of sheer outrageous fortune within an almost infinite
range of playing possibilities. Teams take it in turn to bombard the enemy
with whatever weapon they feel is likely to reap the most reward. Each
battle has a time period and once this is over a period of extra time may be
played where all remaining worms are reduced to 1 unit of energy and the
slightest hit will render them out of the game. The last team remaining
wins the game. MSRP $59.95 Available January 1997.
ZERO 5 is a futuristic space shooter set in a 3-D, 360 degree playfield.
The year is 2044 and the battle for Earth has begun. On the far reaches of
the galaxy, a massive invasion force is assembling. Scanners at Defcon have
alerted you to the alien threat. The Earth's best pilots are dispatched in
their BamBam cruisers to engage the enemy. Multiple weapons, driving
soundtrack, non-stop combat, multiple power-ups, and 15 extended missions
contribute to a shooters game with real depth. MSRP $59.95 Available
February 1997.
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
On CompuServe
Joe Mirando
73637,2262
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Another week has come and gone and it's time
once again to take a look at what has occupied the minds of Atari users all
over the world for the past week. I'll tell you, it's getting tough to find
enough information to keep me happy for a full week. It seems that more and
more folks are leaving their tried and true STs behind and moving on to
other platforms. It's to be expected I guess, but I'm still not happy about
it.
Also, Alejandro Aguilar's "Emulator Wars" review isn't in this in this
issue, so don't bother looking for it! <grin> Actually, it _could_ have
made it into this week's issue, but we wanted to make sure that everything
hangs together well. I give you my promise that "Emulator Wars" will be in
next week's issue.
Well, let's get on with the reason for this column in the first place... all
the news, hints, tips, and info available every week right here on
CompuServe.
From the Atari Computing Forums
Brian Gockley posts this about TOS 2.06:
"...Major highlights of 2.06:
At any time hitting the ALT + any ASCII code from the numeric keypad will
generate that ACSII code in the keyboard buffer (for example ALT + 225 =
beta) Support for 1.44MB Floppy by the OS. You still need the 'kit' of
the Ajax chip, the drive, and a PAL. Media change for floppies is Empty
floppies are detected faster. There is no long delay if you boot with no
floppy at boot time (the best way to prevent viruses). One FAT floppies are
supported. These are usually disks from PCs. Fuji logo, memory test, and an
80 sec. HD boot countdown at bootup."
One of our old friends from Atari, Mike Fulton, posts:
"I'm a "Senior Developer Support Engineer" at Sony Computer Entertainment
America. Basically that means I'm the guy that gets most of the phone
calls from PlayStation developers when they are trying to figure out
something. Basically, I'm doing the same thing I was at Atari, except the
machine is the Sony PlayStation instead of the Jaguar or one of the Atari
computer line. Or at least, I'm doing the same thing as my job description
at Atari... the actual work at Atari had a lot of other stuff mixed in with
it, but at Sony I get to pretty much concentrate on developer support stuff
and leave the other stuff to other people. That results in a lot less
stress.
There are a lot of familiar faces, too. My boss is Bill Rehbock, same as at
Atari. He's the VP of our department, Research & Development. In our group
alone, we have several former Atari people. There's Greg Labrec, who was
the creative services director at Atari. Diana Anderson worked for Greg
over at Atari, and she was here too until about two weeks ago. Don Thomas
started about a month ago. And Pradip Fatehpuria, the Atari Works guy,
just started a few days back. And in our 3rd Party department, there's
another 6 or 8 recent Atari alumni (i.e. from the last 2 years or so).
It's a nice building, the pay and benefits are a lot better than at Atari,
and of course Sony has the resources to make sure we can get the job done.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the situation."
Sysop Jim Ness tells Mike:
"Congratulations! It's a bit weird that you have so many ex-Atari people
there, but I'm glad you all landed on your feet."
In the Atari Gaming forum, Mike White asks:
"Does anyone know of an emulator on the PC which allows Atari 400/800
programs to be run on the PC. I know there was one developed for the Atari
ST."
Albert Dayes tells Mike:
"I believe there is one called PC or X-tranformer or something similar to
that. I think it was produced by the same company that made Gemulator
(Atari ST emulator for the PC)." Actually, the product is called "PC
Xformer" (it's pronounced Pee Cee Transformer), and it is indeed from Branch
Always Software. In its simplest form, it is software only (you can add a
special floppy drive for it if you wish), and from what I hear it works
quite well. The Atari ST version is called "ST Xformer". Don't worry, what
Darek lacks in imagination, he more than makes up for in programming
ability! <grin>
Mike also asks:
"I didn't know you could get a card that allows you to run Atari programs on
the PC. Do you know anything about it and where it can be bought?"
Mitch Brown tells Mike:
"It is called the Gemulator. I have thought of picking one up many times
for myself. It is marketed and manufactured by a company called Branch
Always Software. They are on the net, but I don't know their address. Just
use Yahoo."
Kevin Tekel posts this little bit of chopped, re-formed, reconstituted pork
product:
"From inside back cover of October 1996 Nintendo Power magazine (published
by Nintendo):
"64 reasons to play the Nintendo 64 instant win game: ..."
"reason 8: It's the world's first 64-bit video game system."
HAH! LIAR! Obviously Nintendo of America, Inc. has never heard of the ATARI
JAGUAR. A fully 64-bit video game system designed in 1993!!
(Let's not forget the Atari Lynx... a 16-bit color hand-held video game
system introduced in 1989, while intendo is still selling 8-bit lack &
white hand-held systems!!)"
Raymond Rodgers posts...
"...Some news taken from
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/4106/newgames.html, an obviously
Jaguar oriented website, but it's info none the less.
New game information
Here are some new games that are coming out soon! Check them out and see
which ones are for you.
Towers II
BattleSphere
Worms
Breakout 2000
Zero-5
NEW!
I've spoken with Telegames and GO ATARI.....They state that the following
games will be entering production later this week (8th oct.):
Towers II by JV Games
Breakout 2000 by Atari
Zero Five by Atari
Worms by Team 17....published by Telegames..
That's them....a KILLER line-up if ya ask me! I've been dying to play NEW
Jaguar games! Long Live the Jaguar! Towers II is said to be available in
the 2nd or 3rd week of November....can't wait!
4-Play went in and added a whole new mode of gameplay to BattleSphere! They
expect a few more weeks of cding, then it should take around a month to put
it through production. There is talk of a new Jaguar developer....He states
that he's working on 4 new Jag titles which sounded great, at the same
time.....how he's going to get these published is a mystery. That's all the
news for now..."
Tom Harker of ICD and 4-PLAY tells Raymond:
"I think everyone left in a publishing position will be closely watching the
success or failures of this new batch of games published by Telegames and
of BattleSere by 4Play. If there is enough support left in the userbase so
we don't lose money, then I am sure that someone will be interested in
publishing completed titles."
Well folks, I know that this week's column is short, but that's most of the
worthwhile stuff this week. Tune in again next week, same time, same
station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
A Brightly Shining Republican Light!
April 11, 1991.
Vice President Dan Quayle hails America's Gulf triumph as.
"a stirring victory for the forces of aggression."
DUH!
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STR OnLine! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" October 25, 1996
Since 1987 Copyrightc1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1243
