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Silicon Times Report Issue 1319
Silicon Times Report
"The Original Independent OnLine Magazine"
(Since 1987)
May 09, 1997 No.1319
Silicon Times Report International OnLine Magazine
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- CPU Industry Report - SamSung 20x CDReader - Corel NEWS
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From the Editor's Desk...
Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers out there!
Have any of you been paying attention to BIG Tobacco and the Tobacco
Trial in Jacksonville, FL..?? Can you believe R. J. Reynolds actually won
that trial? I believe the majority of folks throughout the Nation were
stunned by the verdict. Almost as stunned as the OJ Criminal Trail
verdict. It makes one think about the Judicial System in this country and
its real goals. If not what's become of it altogether.
For example.
I began smoking when I was thirteen years old. Lucky Strike brand,
(American Tobacco Co.), to be exact. mostly because I saw the ads at Ebbets
Field. ("LSMFT") There were NO warnings in those days. So naturally,
there were none when my Father and Mother began smoking. (Chesterfield and
L&M) Both died young (late fifties) from a combination of Emphysema and
Heart Failure. They were never warned either. I really cannot say it was
strictly due to the ads that instigated me to begin smoking. I think it
was a combination of my parents and relatives all smoking, peer pressure
and the glamorous ads. Not to mention all the postwar billboards, picture
and articles portraying Military personnel of all Ranks smoking. Even in
National Geographic Magazine! Which my family had a subscription to which I
leafed through looking at the pictures as a youngster and read as a
schoolchild.
Once I was habitually smoking. Big Tobacco had it clutches in me too.
That is. until I was forty six years old. During my smoking years and
while I was working on various assignments in the Caribbean and South
America, I soon noticed the cigarettes I bought outside the USA tasted much
better and packed more of a wallop than the same brand I bought at home in
the USA. I would stock up overseas and bring them home. That's how much
more enjoyable the exported US cigarettes were. It never meant a thing to
me until I read about the use of Deer Weed and Nicotine Dosage Enhancements
that have recently been revealed.
Then in the early 80's I decided to quit. When I quit, I was in front
of a large group of people giving a talk about computing when I
unconsciously reached into my shirt pocket and began pulling out a smoke.
At that point I removed the pack of Pall Mall reds (was smoking three packs
of those a day) from the crushproof box and crushed the pack in front of
everyone. . I was at last done with cigarettes. Ten years later, at age
fifty six, I am still totally tobacco free.
Back to the trial. Here are a few questions for every sober mind to
ponder;
A) Why did the judge refuse to allow a number of highly incriminating
documents against R. J. Reynolds to be shown to the jury.
B) Why was certain testimony of witness' struck from the record when it
was fairly obvious they were speaking from heartfelt experience.
C) Why is it the Judiciary of this country seemingly refuses to
acknowledge the fact that tobacco use will and does KILL, damage unborn
babies and give rise to the birth of nicotine addicted babies just like
hard drugs who must then go through the agonies of withdrawal?
My take, editorially speaking, on this matter is quite simple and
straight forward. "MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!! Money talks the talk and walks
the walk. Seemingly, the Judge (reportedly one of Jacksonville's best) was
very busy diluting the case against BIG Tobacco. Does anyone really KNOW
just HOW BIG R.J. Reynolds is? You ask; "why would a Judge risk a good
reputation and career?" I have no idea other than what I perceived by
reading accounts of the trial and post trial commentary by members of the
jury.
How about these opinions for openers;
1) What if a Judge or, a superior of his or a relative has a fortune tied
up in BIG Tobacco stocks and/or bonds.
2) FACT: The State of Florida, like most Southern States and possibly,
Duval County have the best part of pension funds invested in BIG Tobacco.
3) FACT: The State of Florida and possibly most other states have or have
had the inmates in their prison systems manufacture cigarettes for
distribution and sale within those prison systems.
4) FACT: Most all States are proven to have benefited heavily from the
proceeds of taxation on cigarette sales. What would the resulting
liabilities be if any?
5) FACT: The economies and structure of a large number of Southeastern
States rely heavily on the support of BIG Tobacco. A shutdown of BIG
Tobacco would put tens of thousands out of work overnight. Studies
indicate a possible National Economic Depression could result.
6) The Plaintiff's Case being a singular cause and action was far too
heavily directed toward punitive damages against R. J. Reynolds and not
enough toward the culpability of ALL of BIG Tobacco.
As a result of the financially influenced items outlined above, the
Plaintiffs in the Jacksonville Case seem to have had a slim to no chance of
winning. Nor will any other similar type actions, regardless of the City
or State the trial is held in. Unless of course, the whole truth and all
the facts and background documentation is allowed to be presented to the
jury. While there may be some who will ask only for verified facts in this
matter. there is one FACT that cannot be denied.. The Nation's Cemeteries
are full silent witnesses to the lethal effects of BIG Tobacco.
Additionally,
Since when is it an accepted policy to place the tobacco consumer at
lethal risk and then insisted upon that such a deadly risk is an "assumed
liability" of the consumer? Can you say Ford Pinto? Is the Double
Standard Alive and Well?
Why is it we see all these fancy financial negotiations going on to
allow Big Tobacco to continue in business?? To continue; Sowing misery,
physical harm and death? Could it be because the Federal Government's many
branches have their various employee pension funds invested in BIG Tobacco.
If Tobacco gets nailed, how many Government employee's Pension Funds,
Federal, State, County and City will go belly up? Who's to rescue these
funds? The Federal Government? I doubt it. It cannot seem to protect
Social Security or help Midwest flood victims.
Here's the best and most expensive part;
ú Who is going to re-train all of the Tobacco Industry related employees
from the plantations to the retail outlets? The Federal Government? No
chance at this time.
ú Who is going to put all the extra Law Enforcement personnel and
facilities together to stop the smuggling of tobacco and tobacco products
back into the USA? The Federal Government? Not a chance!!
The Federal Government, with all its might, cannot stop illicit drugs! Can
you say Prohibition? That exercise in futility was a joke. .and you
wonder why BIG Tobacco is, literally, getting away with wholesale murder!
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Classics & Gaming Kid's Computing Corner
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STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
MIT Helps China Students Online
An effort by students from Boston's Massachusetts Institute of Technology
has been approved to link up Chinese secondary schools to the Internet and
teach students how to run their own websites. Reporting from Shanghai,
Graham Earnshaw of the Reuter News Service writes, "The 13 technology
evangelists ... will come to China during their summer break in July and
August to hook up five of China's top high schools."
MIT computer science student Ron Cao told the wire service, "At MIT, we're
blessed with this opportunity to learn a lot about technology, and we felt
we had something we could share with other students." Reuters says the
students will put online two high schools in Shanghai, two in Beijing, and
one in the western China city of Xi'an. This follows a 1996 project in
which Cao and another student spent six weeks in Shanghai helping students
at the Number Two High School to set up their own Internet server, making
it the first Chinese high school to be linked to the Internet, he said.
Roger Hu, another of the students involved in the project, adds, "The focus
will be on getting equipment up and running and teaching the students how
to operate the equipment, connecting them to the Internet, and teaching
Java and other high level languages. Another project is setting up a Java
chat page so that students from different high schools can meet on the
same page and talk to each other." As reported, access to the global
computer network is still limited in China. Reuters notes there are
estimated to be up to 100,000 Internet access accounts in China, and the
Chinese systems ban access to many parts of the Internet, including all
news groups and other sites that are considered politically or socially
unacceptable.
Schools' Net Discounts Approved
Discount rates for schools and libraries that want to be linked to the
Internet have been unanimously approved by the Federal Communications
Commission. According to United Press International, more than $2 billion
in discounts, known as the "E-Rate," now will be available each year for
schools and libraries, with most seeing the cost of telephone and Internet
access cut in half. Under the ruling, UPI adds, online access for the
poorest schools will be almost free. Vice President Al Gore characterized
the decision as "historic," adding, "Because of the E-Rate, our children
will not be stranded in the high-rent districts of cyberspace."
Intel to Launch Pentium II
Intel Corp. is set to introduce the Pentium II, running at speeds of up to
300 megahertz and sporting a unique cartridge design. Observers says this
is Intel's latest attempt to extend its most advanced technology into the
mainstream. Business writer Catalina Ortiz of The Associated Press says
the sixth-generation Pentium II will be unveiled in New York later this
week. It is based on Intel's Pentium Pro, a powerful chip used in personal
computers for business, but also incorporates the multimedia-enhancing MMX
technology Intel recently added to its fifth-generation Pentium chips, used
primarily in consumer PCs.
"The processor at first is intended for business users," Ortiz says. "It
will greatly improve programs rich in sound, video and three-dimensional
images, such as videoconferencing and development for the Internet's World
Wide Web." However, she says, it eventually will wind up in home PCs. "It
won't make word processing or balancing checkbooks a thrilling experience,
but its higher performance will make entertainment programs and Internet
adventuring more fun," says AP.
Look for Pentium II ultimately to replace both Pentium and Pentium Pro on
the desktop, just as Intel's 486 chip supplanted the 386 and the Pentium
replaced the 486. Intel wouldn't project when that might occur, but
analysts said it could happen next year, Ortiz adds.
New Pentium Hit With Flaw Rumors
Intel Corp.'s new Pentium II microprocessor hasn't even been released yet
and already reports are being published of a floating point glitch that
could cause computational errors. A similar problem bedeviled the original
Pentium chip in 1994. In Santa Clara, California, Intel officials told
reporter Kourosh Karimkhany of the Reuter News Service they are looking
into the reports. A spokesman told the wire service the problem appears to
crop up when a computer performs an obscure calculation, adding engineers
are running tests on the chips to determine the extent of the problem but
at this time Intel has no plans to recall them.
"The problem appeared to affect only the Pentium II and Intel's
top-of-the-line Pentium Pro chips," Reuters adds. "It was not immediately
clear how many chips may be affected by the problem." News of the problem
was posted yesterday on a Web site called "Intel Secrets"
(http://www.x86.org) and reported by CMP Media's EE Times Online
(http://techweb.cmp.com/eet/823). Word of the flaw comes just as Intel
prepares to launch the Pentium II later this week. "It does not strike me
right now as big a problem as a couple years ago," Dataquest analyst Nathan
Brookwood told Karimkhany, adding the problem would crop up in poorly
written computer programs that store decimal numbers in a certain way.
Samsung Offers 20X CD-ROM Drive
A 20-speed CD-ROM drive, the SCR-2030, said to provide faster transfer
rates and better image downloading and data searches, has been unveiled by
Samsung Electronics America. Reporting from Ridgefield Park, New Jersey,
United Press International quotes marketing manager James Kovac as saying
the SCR-2030 features full CAV technology, 8X-20X, and a fast data transfer
rate at 3000 KB/sec. Kovac said the system provides users with quick
access to standard CD-ROMs and audio compact discs, and also enables users
to enjoy computer games in addition to basic system functions such as
software loads and on-line data access. Adds UPI, "The new drive
incorporates Samsung-designed components including the spindle motor, the
pick-up and deck mechanism."
Apple Unveils Smallest PowerBook
Apple Computer Inc. has introduced its smallest and lightest Macintosh
PowerBook system to date. Targeted at mobile professionals, the PowerBook
2400c notebook computer weighs just 4.4 pounds, yet offers a powerful
180MHz PowerPC processor and a full range of built-in ports for network
connectivity. Other features include a lithium-ion battery, a 10.4-inch
active-matrix display and two PC Card slots. The unit also provides a 1.3GB
hard drive and 16MB of RAM. Originally created for the Japanese market,
the PowerBook 2400c was designed by Apple with collaboration from IBM
Japan.
The notebook is manufactured for Apple by IBM Japan's Yamato Lab. "We
expect the new PowerBook 2400c will be the computer of choice for highly
mobile customers who require high- performance in a lightweight design,"
says Barbara Cardillo, Apple's vice president of mobile and imaging systems
product marketing. "The 2400c satisfies the needs of customers who require
raw power, but are willing to make certain trade-offs to achieve size and
weight objectives." The notebook is scheduled to become available in Japan
by the end of May, with availability in the U.S. expected by the end of
July. The estimated U.S. retail price for the PowerBook 2400c will be
approximately $3,500.
Kodak Aims to Bridge Worlds
Eastman Kodak Co. CEO George M.C. Fisher says his firm is committed to
bridging the worlds of traditional photography and digital imaging. In a
recent meeting with Wall Street analysts and journalists, Fisher stated,
"The key to our success is to help customers and consumers apply the right
technology -- traditional, digital, or hybrid -- to take their own pictures
further." Fisher noted that a key plank in Kodak's strategy is
digitization, the ability to take an existing image -- usually one captured
on traditional, silver-halide film -- and transfer it into a digital mode.
This strategy puts traditional photographic companies in a privileged
position compared with others, observed Fisher, because some 75 billion
consumer photographs are developed each year, virtually all passing through
the hands of traditional photographic suppliers. "At the heart of our
digitization strategy at retail is the effort to create innovative ways for
consumers to use and communicate with pictures," Fisher noted. He added
that Kodak is working with photographic retailers to create user-friendly
environments to let consumers enhance their photographs with both digital
and traditional technologies. So far, more than 10,000 Kodak Image Magic
digital print stations, the first in a family of planned digitization
products, have been placed in retailer outlets worldwide.
Java NCs Headed Into Business
Java-enabled network computers will become as familiar on the corporate IT
landscape as PCs, minis, workstations and mainframe terminals, according to
new research from Datapro Information Services Group.
The Delran, New Jersey, market research firm finds that Java NCs will be
used to help preserve and extend the legacy applications in which
corporations have made a considerable investment. Datapro notes that NCs
are likely to replace PCs wherever a PC provides more firepower and
complexity than an employee needs to do a job, such as in order entry
systems and customer service call centers.
The firm also finds that the complexity of Microsoft Windows and the
growing numbers of versions of Microsoft applications will focus more
attention on the total cost of ownership and management of PC-based
networks, presenting more opportunity for Java technology and NCs.
Ultimately, notes Datapro, mainframes, PCs and NCs will find a peaceful
co-existence in tomorrow's corporate enterprise.
GTE Buys Internet Pioneer
BBN Corp., a Cambridge, Massachusetts, firm that helped build the modern
Internet, has been purchased by GTE Corp. which is continuing its expansion
beyond its local-phone business. The Associated Press says it isn't clear
how much GTE plans to pay for BBN, but notes one industry executive told
The Wall Street Journal between $500 million and $1 billion might be paid.
AP notes the purchase "could deal a major blow to AT&T Corp. and other
phone companies seeking to build Internet businesses," pointing out that
BBN has been under contract to AT&T since June 1995 to provide most of the
networking facilities for the company's Internet service. BBN's Internet
clients include the Los Angeles Times, Sun Microsystems and America Online.
Ziff Readies ZDTV Channel
Ziff-Davis Inc. has announced plans to launch ZDTV: Your Computer Channel,
a 24-hour television network dedicated to providing information and
entertainment about computers and the Internet. According to the New
York-based company, the ZDTV will debut in the first quarter of 1998 and
will incorporate an integrated Web site that will allow viewers to interact
with the channel's hosts, guests and other viewers in real time. A web site
companion will debut in the fourth quarter of 1997, as programming content
is being built for the television channel. A sister unit, ZD Television
Productions, will continue to co-produce programming for other channels,
including The Site, a one-hour nightly prime-time show on computing, which
airs on the MSNBC cable network.
Compaq, DEC Talked Merger, But ...
Word is that in both 1995 and 1996 Compaq Computer Corp. held high-level
talks about a possible takeover Digital Equipment Corp., but discussions
broke down last summer. That's the report in The Wall Street Journal's
electronic edition, which quotes people familiar with the events as saying
the two firms reached a general agreement on a purchase price for Digital
of between $9 billion and $10 billion but Digital moved back from the deal.
The Journal said talks broke down over management and structural issues.
The paper says Compaq renewed talks in mid-1996 but both sides decided a
transaction did not make sense by September. The talks are dead, sources
tell the Journal, adding Digital's $6 billion services organization was one
reason behind Compaq's interest.
Borland Sues Microsoft
Borland International Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft Corp.,
charging the software giant with unfair competition. The lawsuit, filed in
California Superior Court in Santa Clara County, claims that Microsoft is
recruiting and hiring Borland employees for the specific purpose of
damaging Borland's ability to compete with Microsoft in the development
tools market and to slow the company's financial turnaround. Borland court
papers state that within the past 30 months, Microsoft has hired at least
34 of Borland's top software architects, engineers and marketing managers.
These actions have been undertaken "for wrongful purposes: to acquire
Borland confidential information and to inhibit Borland's competitive
position," the filing states. "Borland is in the middle of major
turnaround that will return our company to financial health and rapid
business growth," says Borland CEO Delbert W. Yocam. "We must protect
ourselves from what we believe is a systematic and unfair effort to impair
our company's ability to compete and continue to deliver leading
development tools that support open industry standards."
CompuServe Completes Upgrade
CompuServe Inc. reports it has completed the upgrade of its worldwide
network -- all 502 points of presence (POPs) - - to support 33.6Kbps
dial-up access on an international scale. The company, based in Columbus,
Ohio, notes that CSi and SPRYNET members can now access CompuServe content
and the Internet at modem connection speeds greater than 28.8Kbps, in most
cases for the cost of a local call. CompuServe says it has also begun
conducting high-speed 56Kbps modem tests. The company notes that it has
tested the US Robotics proprietary technology, and that it began offering
service based on the technology in the U.S. via a surcharged 800 modem pool
in mid March. The company is also evaluating the K56Flex protocol,
developed by Rockwell International Corp. and Lucent Technologies Inc.
"We are an active supporter of the development of an industry standard
technology similar to the v.34 standard available for the 33.6Kbps analog
modem technology currently deployed," says Peter Van Camp, executive vice
president of CompuServe Network Services. "We believe the new 56K modem
technology is an important technology for the future. We will be launching
this technology in selected cities, and as demand increases and standards
are set, we will roll it out throughout our entire 91-country global
network."
CompuServe Seeks E-Mail Accord
CompuServe has reached an out-of-court settlement with Cyber Promotions
Inc., the Philadelphia firm accused of deluging the system with junk
e-mail, and now jointly they seek a court order banning Cyber Promotions
from sending unsolicited messages to subscribers. A statement from
Columbus, Ohio, says Cyber Promotions will pay CompuServe's $65,000 legal
fees incurred in obtaining the order and also will be liable for
pre-determined damages if it violates the order.
The Dow Jones news service that under the order, Cyber Promotions violators
will be disclosed and could have their accounts with Cyber Promotions
canceled and face possible legal action by CompuServe. CompuServe also
said Cyber Promotions will be permitted to purchase advertising describing
its commercial message service to CompuServe subscribers, and that such
purchases may be used to partially offset Cyber Promotions payment of
CompuServe's legal fees. As reported earlier, CompuServe last October won
a temporary restraining order against Cyber Promotions to prevent it from
configuring its unsolicited e-mail messages to appear as though they were
being sent from a CompuServe computer.
Group to Change Net Address Plan
Following criticism from leading online service providers and government
officials in the U.S. and Europe, a major Internet group says it will
modify its plan to increase the available addresses in cyberspace. As
reported here earlier, despite endorsement of the original naming plan by
some 80 companies and groups at a meeting in Geneva last week, both the
U.S. and the European Union have complained they weren't adequately
consulted on the idea.
The plan would add seven new top-level domains, the last few letters at the
end of every electronic mail or Web site address on the Internet, and
establish a new network of firms to register addresses. Opponent have
withheld support of the plan, saying they fear it would fragment or
destabilize the Internet naming system. The Reuter News Service notes
that currently most names are registered with Herndon, Va.-based Network
Solutions Inc. under an exclusive contract with the National Science
Foundation, but the agency has said it will not renew the contract when it
expires next year.
Now Internet Society, which helps develop standards on the global network,
says it has received "consistent and universal criticism" of the new
address registration system. "The initial plan specified that up to 28
firms dispersed around the world would be selected by lottery to register
names in the seven new domains," writes Reuters reporter Aaron Pressman.
"The plan also established a Policy Oversight Committee to manage the new
registration system. Internet Society said the policy committee will modify
the plan by removing the limit on the number and geographical location of
registration firms."
The modified approach, still being finalized, would allow anyone satisfying
certain technical and financial qualifications could become a registration
firm. "The plan would still add seven new domains for addresses, including
'.firm,' '.arts' and '.web,' to the existing domains such as '.com' and
'.gov.' Some in Europe complained that the new domain endings were all
derived from English words and ignored other languages."
IBM Develops New Encryption
A new encryption system that could protect Internet transactions with a
security code said to be nearly impossible to break has been developed by
IBM researchers. IBM officials told The Associated Press the system will
not be ready for commercial use for at least several months. "Once it is
available," says AP, "it could encourage customers who are now reluctant to
use the Internet for credit-card transactions, catalog orders or banking."
Developed in the company's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California,
the new system is based on public key cryptography, the favored method of
Internet security. "Using extremely complicated mathematics," says AP, "a
computer scrambles an outgoing electronic communication. The recipient
decodes the message using a private key. Under the present system, some
keys are easier for a computer hacker to figure out than others. IBM's
system makes each key equally difficult, a step IBM says makes it virtually
impossible to decipher." IBM says the system is based on a mathematical
problem that has puzzled researchers for 150 years.
Calif. Net Gambling Bill Stalls
A California bill aimed at outlawing gambling on the Internet in that state
has stalled in a Senate policy committee. Reporting from Sacramento,
United Press International reports the Public Safety Committee has decided
to reconsider the measure next year. It would have put California
off-limits to Internet transactions with illegal offshore gambling
operations. Republican Sen. Tim Leslie, the bill's author, acknowledges
the difficulty of preventing Internet users from gambling, but said the
bill is needed "to make sure the message gets across." Committee Chairman
John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, told the wire service the Internet has
stretched the concept of sovereignty considerably, but suggested that at
least the bill might block collection of money by out- of-state gambling
interests. UPI reports the measure received a 3-3 vote, two short of the
majority required to clear the committee.
Study Finds Rising Software Piracy
A new study finds that of the 523 million new business software
applications used worldwide during 1996, 225 million units -- nearly one in
two -- were pirated. The Software Publishers Association and the Business
Software Alliance say the finding represents a 20 percent increase in the
number of units pirated over the 1995 estimate of 187 million units. The
study notes that revenue losses attributable to piracy were estimated at
$11.2 billion in 1996, a 16 percent decrease over the estimated losses of
$13.3 billion in 1995. However, the decline is generally attributed to
lower software prices rather than a decrease in piracy. According to the
study, Eastern Europe continues to have the highest overall piracy rates,
with an average of 80 percent. The lowest regional piracy rate is seen in
North America with an average 28 percent rate -- an increase of 1 percent
over 1995. On the other hand, North America has the highest dollar losses
to software piracy in the world, estimated at $2.7 billion in 1996.
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Optra C is worth ten thousand words! Send for the free sample now. (For a
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amazed at the superb quality. (Please.. allow at least a two week turn-
around).
If you would like a sample printout that's suitable for framing. Yes
that's right! Suitable for Framing. Order this package. It'll be on
special stock and be of superb quality. We obtained a mint copy of a 1927
COLOR ENGRAVER'S YEAR BOOK. Our Scanner is doing "double duty"! The
results will absolutely blow you away. If you want this high quality
sample package please include a check or money order in the amount of $6.95
(Costs only) Please, make checks or money orders payable to; Ralph Mariano.
Be sure to include your full return address and telephone number . The
sample will be sent to you protected, not folded in a 9x12 envelope. Don't
hesitate.. you will not be disappointed. This "stuff" is gorgeous!
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
Shareware Treasure Chest STR Feature "The Latest & Greatest"
Shareware Treasure Chest
By Lloyd E. Pulley
lepulley@streport.com
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Netscape Communicator Pro 32-bit 4.0 beta 4 5/07/97 14.56mb Commercial
Demo
This is Netscape Communicator with some new features inclusive of a
calendar applet and a 3270 emulator written enitrely in HTML & JavaScript.
Home Page Site - http://www.netscape.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Netscape Communicator 32-bit 4.0 beta 4 5/07/97 13.40mb Freeware
The newest version of Netscape navigator. It features: Enhanced visual
appearance and user interface, Taskbar that enables easy access to
Communicator components, HTML Editing, Collabra Conferencing and a lot
more. There is a full version available with all features at 12.1Mb and a
reduced version at 7.4Mb.
Home Page Site - http://www.netscape.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Eudora Pro 32-bit 3.0.2 beta 2 5/07/97 4.80mb Shareware
Free upgrade if you already use Eudora
3.0
One of the best email clients around. It features:
*Enhanced message filtering
*Multiple e-mail accounts
*Plug-ins
*Stylized text
*"Drag and Drop" support and almost everything else you can think off.
Home Page Site - http://www.eudora.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
ClipMate 32-bit 4.26 5/03/97 .62mb Shareware $25
Say Goodbye To Your Old, One-At-A-Time Clipboard. ClipMate makes it easy
to save hundreds of pages of clipboard data, and has powerful tools for
combining, editing, and pasting into other applications. ClipMate
automatically captures all items that you copy to the clipboard, and stores
them for later pasting into applications. No more copy, switch
applications, paste, repeat. Now you can copy all of your data, knowing
that ClipMate is keeping it all for you. Simply select an item from within
ClipMate, and it is immediately back on the clipboard, ready for pasting.
Use ClipMate's Glue feature to combine multiple text items into one large
item, for a single paste. Or, use the PowerPasteT feature to enable you to
paste a series of items into an application, in a "rapid-fire" mode.
PowerPaste supports "first in first out", and "first in last out" modes of
operation. ClipMate's efficient memory management allows you to easily
store hundreds of text and graphic items, with temporary and permanent
storage options. Use the permanent "safe" storage for frequently-used
sections of boilerplate text, phone numbers, graphics, and even a digitized
signature.
Home Page Site - http://www.thornsoft.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Spam Attack Pro 32-bit 2.0 5/03/97 .90mb Shareware
Put an end to SPAM Email with SPAM Attack. SPAM Attack is a program that
was specifically designed to filter your incoming email and get rid of all
unwanted mail! Just think about the ability to automatically delete all
email that contains SPAM. This program can even filter out all the emails
that contain the character $ or the phrase Make Money Fast. You can use
this program to automatically delete mail from a list server that you can
not get yourself off of.
The possibilities are endless. The program comes with a list of over 215
known spammers and will block out all mail that comes from them.
Home Page Site - http://www.softwiz.com/html/software.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
ImgViewer/32 1.6 5/01/97 2,232kb Shareware $29.95
Win95/NT Viewer/Printer for JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIF, TGA and PCX.
Powerful features while stressing ease of use. Fast 32-bit JPG decoding.
One of the quickest zoom features around, with left click zoom in, Alt+left
click zoom out, drag zoom an area, and right-click return to 1:1. Precise
cropping at zoomed levels. Brightness/Contrast/Gamma/Color tuning. Sharpen
and blur. One-degree rotation. Convert between any of the supported
formats. Very limited nagging.
Home Page Site - http://www.arcatapet.com/imgv32.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Pod 1.0 5/01/97 11.0mb Shareware
You must race to get off the planet before the green fungus destroys all.
Race against your friends through the incredible scenery over the Internet
or network. Check out the great screenshots for this upcoming extravaganza!
Home Page Site - http://www.ubisoft.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Password Tracker 32-bit 2.17 5/03/97 .71mb Shareware $5
It stores usernames and/or passwords so you don't have to remember them!
Once you've set up "P-Tracks" in your "Tracking Lists", Password Tracker is
always available when minimized in your tool tray. When you visit a web
site or open a program that is password protected, right-click on the
Password Tracker icon, select the "description" from the quick-access menu,
and Password Tracker automatically inserts the required entries into their
fields. If you want, Password Tracker will even "select" the enter key for
you! That's all there is to it!
Home Page Site - http://www.xnet.com/~robertc/PassTrak.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
HyperSnap-DX 32-bit 3.02 5/03/97 .44mb Shareware $20
HyperSnap brings professional quality, convenient Windows 95 and NT
screen captures to your fingertips. It was designed for ease of use, with
powerful and useful features to aid the professional as well as support the
needs of the occasional user. Now features DirectX game screen capture
technology.
Home Page Site - http://www.hyperionics.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
ERS32 1.4 5/01/97 1,410kb Shareware $15.00
A Win95 program that backs up Windows 95 system files and restores them
including the Registry. Excellent and reliable backup and restore program.
Home Page Site - http://www.mslm.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
QuikLink Explorer Gold 32-bit 3.0 beta 5 build 164 5/03/97 4.68mb
Shareware $20
QuikLink Explorer is a replacement system for your Netscape Bookmark,
Mosaic Hotlist, and Internet Explorer Favorites files. Working with the
more popular web browsers, QuikLink Explorer takes you where you want to go
with the click of a button. No longer do you need to maintain seperate
lists of your favorite sites for each browser you use. You can also use
QuikLink Explorer to convert your lists between browser formats or turn
them into web pages. The easy to use interface, similar to the Windows95
Explorer, makes web surfing fast and efficient, saving you time and money
Home Page Site - http://www.quiklinks.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
InterCasino 2.10 5/02/97 7.8mb Freeware
Experience the thrill of Las Vegas and the adrenalin pumping excitement
of gambling with real money on your home PC! Connect on-line from anywhere
around the world via the Internet for REAL money, or play off-line for fun.
Enhanced 3D rendered graphics and animation, plus digital sound and voice.
Includes Blackjack, Caribbean Poker, Roulette, 4 Slot machines with up to
95% payouts and up to $10,000 jackpots, and 4 Video Poker machines
including Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, Joker Poker and All American. Also
includes full sports book. Try your luck today!
Home Page Site - http://www.intercasino.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
MusiFind Pro 1.5 5/01/97 770kb Shareware $6.00
The ultimate database for your music collection, whether its on vinyl,
cassette, compact disc, or other media! It will help you get organized and
find your music fast! Now with several easy-to-use wizards, and label
creation for CDs (jewel cases) and cassettes (J-labels). Written by a DJ
with over 15 years experience - both in the booth, and in software
creation.
Home Page Site - http://www.dlcwest.com/~sorev/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Stay On the NET! 1.0 5/02/97 570kb Shareware $12.95
So you have unlimited access to the internet, but while reading web page
you decide to grab a cup of coffee and find that your ISP has disconnected
you? Stay On the NET was designed to keep your PPP or Slip active enough
that you won't be disconnected untill YOU disconect from the server. No
more waiting to reconnect to your ISP!
Home Page Site - http://rclabs.simplenet.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Account Pro 6.01 5/04/97 2,530kb Shareware $103.00
ACCOUNT PRO is a versatile and user-friendly accounting and finance
planning program, equally suitable for small to medium businesses,
institutions, and private users,who want to manage their own money or the
finances of an association or club.
Home Page Site -
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/accsoft_ch/homepeng.htm
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
AutoWinNet 95 32-bit 2.0 5/03/97 2.20mb Shareware $29.95
Automated Internet for Windows95/NT. Allows scheduling common tasks for
unattended operation. Upgrades himself automatically, plus supports 30
steps, including FTP: retries busy sites, wildcard download and upload,
make/remove remote files and directories, plus customized logins. Email:
Sends mail with an advanced, feature packed editor, unlimited multiple
mailboxes, mailing lists, checks mail, or cleanup your mailbox. Auto-
Responder: Checks and responds to email, allowing custom variables and
attachments. WWW: Grab Html/binary files, local forecast, fetch 21 weather
maps, then view them with our internal graphics viewer. News: Binary usenet
posting with wildcards.
Home Page Site - http://www.webcom.com/autownet/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
May '97 definition update for Norton AntiVirus 5/03/97 1.20mb Free
This file is a complete replacement for any previous definitions set for
all of the Norton AntiVirus products. The product list includes Norton
AntiVirus 3.0 (DOS/Win 3.1), Norton AntiVirus for Windows 95, Norton
AntiVirus Scanner for Windows NT, and Norton AntiVirus for NetWare 1.0 and
2.0.
Home Page Site - http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/index.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Pegasus E-Mail 32-bit 2.54 Preview 5/04/97 .60mb Freeware
A really good E-mail program that's free. It has a lot of nice features
like a spelling checker, mailing list support, and much more.
Home Page Site - http://www.pegasus.usa.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Debt Analyzer 2.0 5/02/97 1.5mb Shareware $10.00
Designed to help people get out of debt through the most efficient means
possible. It calculates three different payoff scenarios: highest rate,
smallest balance, and smallest (balance to monthly ratio). The user can
apply all three and see which one provides the best way of getting out of
debt while paying the least amount of interest in the shortest possible
time. You must enter the name, balance, interest rate, and minimum monthly
payment for all your outstanding debts. You also have the ability to put in
a delayed start time for those debts you are not currently making payments
on such as those "no payments till 98" deals on new cars. You also enter
any extra money you have to apply towards paying off your debts. It then
calculates how you should apply your payments so you can get out of debt
through the quickest means possible.
Home Page Site - http://www.magicnet.net/~seren/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
TABby97 32-bit 1.21 5/04/97 .98mb Shareware $5
TABby 97 is a compact address book that has fields that relate to modern
telecommunications. It features an easy to use interface which makes
looking up numbers a simple and quick task. The program Features these
fields and more: alternative name (ie. alias, wife, husband), e-mail
address, and 5 different phone numbers per record. The program runs fast
and loads fast but also uses very few resources so it can be left running
in the background.
Home Page Site - http://user.icx.net/~cdwilder/tabby/tabby.htm
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
CD Wizard 32-bit 4.20 5/05/97 .31mb Shareware
CD Wizzard CD Audio Player for Windows has all the functions of a home CD
player plus many, many more! It saves the disc and tracks names in its
database. CD Wizzard has a full 3D look that is totally customizable. In
icon mode, the icon is updated with the disc and track time. There is a
full help file that describes all features of CD Wizzard.
Home Page Site - http://www.bfmsoft.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Live Image 32-bit 1.26 5/05/97 1.90mb Shareware $29.95
LiveImage is a very user-friendly, "don't know anything about all this
image mapping stuff" program. LiveImage includes several new and powerful
features that are not available in other image mapping applications.
LiveImage supports GIFs, JPGs, Progressive JPGs, and the new PNG graphic
files. You may also optionally install additional graphic "filters" to
allow LiveImage to read other file formats
Home Page Site - http://www.mediatec.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Book Librarian 95 3.10 5/04/97 1,681kb Shareware $32.00
A multi-featured book cataloging database that allows you to organize and
manage your books and other publications. There are storage fields for
title, author, co-author, subject(3), edition, catalog number, book number,
borrower, due date, a 64k memo field and more. Other features include a
robust reporting system with a query wizard, and print preview. Also
includes backup/restore, dBase and ASCII import/export. Conversion programs
included to convert data from prior DOS and Windows versions.
Home Page Site - http://www.turbosystems.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
CompuPic 32-bit 1.61 build 195 5/06/97 .75mb Shareware $39.95
CompuPic's sophisticated features, unparalleled image display quality and
speed offer the power to satisfy the experienced graphics enthusiast, while
its intuitive Windows-based user interface makes it easy to use for the
beginner. While the program has many options, you don't need to learn any
commands to view - just double click on a displayed file name / thumbnail
to view - no more awkward "file open" commands! Features include:
*Viewing with zoom and pan
*Plays video and sound files
*Thumbnailing
*Cataloging
*Multimedia file management - graphics, video & sound
*Supports all popular formats - 24+, including uudecoding of internet
files
*Converts between file formats
*Slide Show creation
*Screen Saver creation
*Wallpaper creation
Home Page Site - http://www.photodex.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
WebSnake 32-bit 1.0 beta 2 5/06/97 1.70mb Shareware
Anawave WebSnake is a new off-line browser designed exclusively for
Windows 95/NT. In addition to off-line browsing, WebSnake is unique in that
it uses proprietary "intelligent pull" technology to search and retrieve
files from the World Wide Web. For example, WebSnake supports website
mirroring (including directory structure), retrieval of e-mail addresses,
site maps and advanced file search.
Home Page Site - http://www.anawave.com/websnake/index.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
DynamIP 3.0 RC 2 for Win95 5/06/97 3.20mb Freeware
DynamIP is a free Internet Utility (32bit, multi-threaded) for Windows
95/NT with the following features: - Dynamic IP address poster (updates
your web pages with your current dynamic IP address; up to 5 connections) -
POP mail checker (up to 5 e-mail accounts) - PC clock synchronizer (works
with any NTP server) - IPchat (chat with other DynamIP users and establish
a point-to-point connection with MS NetMeeting) - HTTPscan (scans arbitrary
sequences of IP addresses and searches for web servers). DynamIP now
includes a timer controlled RAS dialer and event driven program launcher!
Home Page Site - http://crubelier.stanford.edu/~cmu/DynamIP/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Firehand Ember 2.0 5/04/97 419kb Shareware $19.95
The image file manager for Microsoft Windows! Forget about image file
names. Ember allows you to manage your image files visually -- as you've
always wanted to. While you're at it, forget about manually opening and
viewing your image files singly -- at last you can view whole directories
at once containing any number of JPEG, GIF, and BMP files. Choose from five
different preview sizes on the fly -- and then double-click selected
previews to view the images at full size. Best of all, with Ember your
directory view always remains up-to-date -- automatically -- even as images
are added to the directory, deleted, renamed, or their content is altered.
This makes Ember the perfect companion when using your favorite internet
browser or newsreader to download images from the Net! With Ember, culling
through and organizing your image files is a snap. Create, rename, and
delete directories within Ember to create your own customized image filing
! system. Then, simply drag Ember's image previews into the desired
folders. It doesn't get much easier than that. Ember even automatically
detects and resolves name conflicts when images are moved into new folders!
And with Ember, deleting unwanted images only requires a single key-stroke.
Ember's powerful drag/drop interface makes it so simple to use and
distribute your image files. Images can be shared by dragging their
previews onto Email messages, or dropping them into Microsoft NetMeeting,
or onto a USENET news reader posting. Images can be embedded in documents
by dragging and dropping them or with a copy/paste operation. With Ember,
printing your images is only a click away too!
Home Page Site - http://www.firehand.com/Ember/index.htm
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
AtomTime95 32-bit 1.4b 5/06/97 .10mb Freeware
AtomTime95 is a 32-bit Win95 Internet (Winsock) application which will
connect to the Atomic Clock time server in Boulder, CO and fetch the
current atomic clock time value. It then compares this value to your PC
time and displays the difference. You then have the option of updating your
PC clock to match the atomic clock value. There are also advanced settings
that allow the application run in a much more automated nature.
Home Page Site - http://www.winternet.com/~adelsman/Software/
DigiDay is a FREE program that gets your day off to a rousing start. Ever
see those little desktop calendars in bookstores, like Quote of the Day or
Joke of the Day? Well, that's what DigiDay is ... for Windows. Some of the
various diaries that are available....
Amazon Reviews
BibleBits
Bill Gates Diary
Classic QuotesCONK!
How to Avoid Work
Cartoons @ Work
Off-the-WallPaperSite of the Day
StarDate
Windows 95 Tips
What's So Funny?
Home Page Site - http://www.visionx.com/ddmain.htm
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Aaron's News Stand 1.0 5/05/97 1,329kb Shareware $19.95
Lightning fast scheduled news group downloads and filtering that can be
read by any news reader off-line. Aaron's News Stand is an Internet
application that automates Newsgroup article downloads from the Internet
for off-line reading or viewing using your favourite news reader. Aaron's
News Stand can be used with all popular news readers like Microsoft,
Netscape, WinVN, Trumpet, Gravity and Free Agent. Aaron's advanced features
will save you time and money through advanced article filters, off-line and
scheduled downloads. You can even use your favourite news reader.
Home Page Site - http://www.ozemail.com/~attemt/Aaron.htm
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
WetSock 32-bit 3.0 beta build 6 5/08/97 .45mb Shareware $12
WetSock shows your current weather conditions and forecasts as an icon on
the tray notification area of the system taskbar.Designed specially for
Windows 95, WetSock will keep you updated about the weather over Internet
without even needing to dial into your Internet Service Provider. If you
periodically dial in for surfing, checking your mail etc., WetSock will
connect to the weather server and get the weather information in the
background, but can also dial in and hang-up by itself. WetSock is a
Winsock compliant weather client for PCs running Windows 95.
Home Page Site - http://www.locutuscodeware.com/wetsock.htm
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
PSA Cards 32-bit 3.3 5/07/97 1.20mb Shareware $25
PSA Cards is a personal information manager that is simple and easy to
use. The user interface is an on-screen card file with tabs for dividers
and cards. To access a divider or a card, just click on it. Double click a
card to edit it. As you add information to a card, it expands to
accommodate the new information. The program has a large number of features
for printing rotary file cards, envelopes, mailing labels, and customized
address books; for dialing phone numbers; for exporting names and addresses
for mail merge; and for object linking and embedding (OLE 2.0). Despite the
large number of features, the user interface remains simple, uncluttered,
and intuitive
Home Page Site - http://www.fortnet.org/~billr/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
EchoSpeech 32-bit 2.1 plug-in 5/07/97 .10mb Freeware
ECHOSPEECH is a very high quality speech coder that compresses speech
18.5 to 1. This means that 16 bit speech sampled at 11025 Hz is compressed
to 9600 bits per second. Even people with 14400 modems can listen in real
time to ECHOSPEECH, and because ECHOSPEECH was designed to code speech
sampled at 11025 Hz rather than 8000 Hz, it sounds better. ECHOSPEECH is
also extremely fast. Real time decoding of 11kHz speech requires only 30%
of a 486SX-33 CPU. You don't need a special server to play echospeech files
on your webpage, just use the embed tag.
Home Page Site - http://www.echospeech.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Personal Stock Moniter 32-bit 2.0.3 5/08/97 1.30mb Shareware
$25
Personal Stock Moniter runs in the background and at user defined
intervals checks the current price on selected stocks. It also has an alarm
feature to notify you if for example a stock reaches a new high, etc.
Home Page Site - http://www.clark.net/pub/aivasyuk/psm/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Esoteria for Win95 5/08/97 11.60mb Commercial Demo
Esoteria is a third person perspective, 3-D, action/adventure game. All
of the environments and structures in Esoteria, which include cities,
forests, deserts, and aquatic areas, are fully modeled 3-D structures.
Unlike many other 3-D games on the market, Esoteria is one huge world just
waiting to be explored instead of a succession of small areas or levels.
This allows for completely non-linear gameplay. A dynamic camera gives
complete control to the user. The second person perspective allows for
unprecedented control over character movements such as dodging and jumping.
This also allows for shooting in one direction while moving in another.
Interactive backgrounds, lots of animated textures, sophisticated enemy AI,
real world physics, and a revolutionary interactive soundtrack add an
element of realism to Esoteria. In addition, Esoteria will be networkable
up to 16 players over either a local area network or the internet.
Note: Requires DirectX 3. Option music and video for the game are also
available
Home Page Site - http://www.mobeus.com/esoteria.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
PhoneFree 32-
bit 1.1L plug-in 5/08/97 .19mb Freeware
PhoneFree is the first Internet Telephony application to cut through the
Tower of Babel and offer compatibility where it counts:
*PhoneFree is an intergrated Netscape and Internet Explorer Plugin Module,
no need to learn a new and confusing interface... just click on
someone's name to call them!
*PhoneFree is compatible with Vocaltec's Internet Phone(TM) and Netscape's
Cool Talk(TM), offering you the ability to place calls to more
people then any other product.
*PhoneFree features integrated Voice Mail to any user with an email
address... and they don't need any special software to retrieve their
messages!
Home Page Site - http://www.phonefree.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
PhoneBook95 2.0 5/07/97 1,421kb Shareware $20.00
A powerful yet easy to use 32-bit Phone/Address Book Management
Application. Organize all your phone #'s, addresses, e-mail addresses etc.
with ease. Includes search and dialing capability. Also comes with an
install wizard for easy installation.
Home Page Site - http://members.aol.com/lwsoftware/index.html
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
AT&T Cuts Residential Rates
Agreement On Internet Registration Isn't Unanimous
Administration Favors Hands-Off Approach Toward Internet
AOL, Compuserve & Prodigy Accept FTC Disclosure Requests
Time Warner Pulls Plug On Interactive TV Project
E-Mail Archives Create Legal Burden
Rematch For Kasparov, IBM's Deep Blue
Executive Jumps From American Sky
"Education Is Actually The Limiting Of Information"
Novell Sues Former Employees For Trade Secret Theft
EC Study Cites Fraud On The Internet
Compaq Says It Thought About Buying DEC
Colleges Say Yahoo! Survey Flawed
Year 2000 "Problem" Saved A Lot Of Money 30 Years Ago
Pentium II & Pentium Pro Bug Report
Telecom Wide Open To Competition In Canada
Laptop Theft Is Rampant
Myhrvold On "Hype And Hoopla"
GTE To Acquire BBN
New Encryption Algorithm
CompuServe, Cyber Promotions Strike Pact On Junk E-Mail
Bacteria-On-A-Chip
Borland Sues Microsoft For Raiding Key Employees
AT&T Could Lose Big To Internet Long-Distance
Microsoft And Reed Elsevier Strike Deal
Fabless Chip Firms Are The Way To Go
What's Next For The Mac?
AT&T CUTS RESIDENTIAL RATES
AT&T has told the Federal Communications Commission that it will lower its
rates by 5% to 15% beginning July 1st for households that do not subscribe
to discount packages for long-distance service (or about half of AT&T's 75
million customers). Sprint and MCI are expected to follow with similar
reductions, as yet undetermined. The FCC this week is likely to create $3-
4 billion "universal service" trust fund for providing basic phone service
to poor, disabled and rural customers and for wiring schools, libraries and
isolated health care centers; to shift long-distance access charges to
flat monthly charges; and to increase the cost of second residential
phone lines from $3.50 to $4.50 a month and raise the cost of multiple
business lines. (New York Times 4 May 1997)
AGREEMENT ON INTERNET REGISTRATION ISN'T UNANIMOUS
Fifty-seven companies and organizations, including Digital Equipment and
MCI, have signed the proposal put forth by the International Ad Hoc
Committee to create seven new top-level Internet domain names and appoint
28 new name registrars. An additional 23 have indicated their willingness
to sign, but a number of other companies, including AT&T, IBM and PSINet,
are either still considering the proposal or have voiced their opposition
to the plan. The U.S. government and the European Commission also have
expressed their reservations. Unless there's unanimous agreement by all
major Internet providers on how the registration should proceed, some e-
mail could be rendered undeliverable and some addresses could be assigned
more than
once. (Wall Street Journal 2 May 97)
ADMINISTRATION FAVORS HANDS-OFF
APPROACH TOWARD INTERNET
The Clinton administration is working on a White Paper outlining its
position on electronic encryption and Internet commerce issues, says Ira
Magaziner, senior advisor to the president for policy development. A
number of principles will be articulated in the White Paper, including:
The Internet should be a tax- and duty- free zone; governments of the
world should agree to avoid regulating electronic payments systems;
private sector consortia, rather than governments, should set technical
standards; a uniform commercial code should be developed; protection of
intellectual property on the Internet is important; voluntary ratings and
filtering systems should be used rather than government-imposed censorship
of indecent material on the Internet; and a market-oriented approach to
privacy is preferable to government regulation. (BNA Daily Report for
Executives 30 Apr 97)
AOL, COMPUSERVE & PRODIGY ACCEPT FTC
DISCLOSURE REQUEST
Accused by the Federal Trade Commission of offering free trial memberships
that resulted in customers receiving unexpected charges, online service
companies America Online, CompuServe, and Prodigy have promised to clearly
and prominently explain the rules of free membership and to provide trial
members an easy way of canceling the service. (New York Times 2 May 97)
TIME WARNER PULLS PLUG ON INTERACTIVE TV PROJECT
Time Warner is shutting down its interactive television experiment Orlando,
Florida, which allowed customers to shop, order movies, and bank using
their TV sets. The company insists that the experiment was just an
exercise to prove technical feasibility rather than a test of market
viability for interactive television. One industry analyst estimates that
the experiment, which served 4,000 families that paid $3.95 a month for the
service, cost Time Warner $700 million. (Washington Post 2 May 97)
E-MAIL ARCHIVES CREATE LEGAL BURDEN
With untold billions of e-mail messages stored on tapes and disk drives in
companies and organizations throughout the country, legal experts now say
that the electronic discovery process in lawsuits is now becoming a mini-
industry, with the threat of having to pay the expense of delving into
mountains of e-mail archives now acting as a catalyst for settling many
commercial cases rather than defending them. "On one hard drive that
takes up 10 square inches, you can store more than you can store on the
whole floor of a building," says the CEO of Electronic Evidence Discovery,
a company that provides computer support to parties in litigation. "Just
the threat of conducting electronic discovery is a very powerful
negotiation tool." Some judges have dealt with the issue by placing the
burden of the search on the plaintiff, but this raises another problem --
most defendants don't want someone who's in the process of suing them
poking around in their computer files. Judge Paul Niemeyer of the U.S.
Court of Appeals in Baltimore is engaged in a national effort to re-examine
the federal rules governing electronic discovery: "I sense that discovery
is being used as a tool of oppression, rather than as a tool of fairness."
(Miami Herald 1 May 97)
REMATCH FOR KASPAROV, IBM'S DEEP BLUE
Garry Kasparov has the first move in Saturday's opening of a six-game
rematch against IBM's chess-playing supercomputer, nicknamed Deep Blue.
The last match, held in February 1996, began with a stunning first-game
victory for Deep Blue, followed by three wins and two draws for Kasparov.
"I had no preparation for the first match," says Kasparov. "I had to
improvise after game one... Obviously, they have a better machine this
time, and they learned a lot from that match. But if I'm able to play
chess and not lose my concentration, it's more in my hands than theirs."
The RS/6000 SP supercomputer has been sequestered for the past year, and
the research team has assembled a database that supplies Deep Blue with
all the opening moves made by grand masters during the past 100 years.
Deep Blue's system is capable of calculating 50 billion to 100 billion
moves in three minutes. (TechWire 2 May 97) The winner of Game 1 was
Kasparov, after Deep Blue resigned following Kasparov's 45th move. The
game lasted just under 4 hours. (New York Times 4 May 1997)
EXECUTIVE JUMPS FROM AMERICAN SKY
The chairman of American Sky Broadcasting, the U.S. satellite business
owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., has resigned his position,
presumably because Murdoch's attempt to buy EchoStar Communications seems
to have failed. EchoStar and News Corp. have been arguing over what kind
encryption technology should be used for scrambling satellite television
systems, but industry analysts say there may be other issues in play --
such as a fight over voting control or a revised estimate of how long it
would take the project to be profitable. (AP 1 May 97)
"EDUCATION IS ACTUALLY THE LIMITING OF INFORMATION"
Author David Shenk ("Data Smog," HarperCollins, 1997) says that wiring the
schools may be the wrong approach toward improving education: "I think we
need to be very, very skeptical for a number of reasons. First of all,
it's important to realize that education is not the same as accessing
information. We don't have a roblem accessing information easily and
cheaply in this country. We've had great libraries and even adequate
school libraries for a long time. Education is actually the limiting of
information. You have a teacher who lets in a little information each day
in each class that fits in with what you already know and puts it in
context. A child adds a building block per class to help formulate
knowledge and wisdom. Then they're able to go out and access information
and learn more themselves. Let's be very skeptical when people like the
president and vice president say this is going to revolutionize education.
I think that is absolute hogwash." (Investor's Business Daily 30 Apr 97)
NOVELL SUES FORMER EMPLOYEES
FOR TRADE SECRET THEFT
Novell Inc. has filed suit in state court in Salt Lake City against three
former software engineers and their start- up company, Wolf Mountain Group,
accusing them of stealing a clustering technology they helped develop while
Novell employees. The technology enables dozens of computers to act
together as one giant machine. Novell also alleged trademark
infringement, as the code name of the technology is Wolf Mountain. The
three denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to change the name of their
business. They have said they plan to market the clustering technology
to companies that use the Windows NT operating system. (Wall Street
Journal 5 May 97)
EC STUDY CITES FRAUD ON THE INTERNET
A study conducted by Deloitte & Touche on behalf of the European Commission
estimates that international fraud has cost the European Union anywhere
from 6 billion to 60 billion European currency units, with much of that
fraud perpetrated over the Internet. "At its simplest, the Internet allows
a fraudster to set out a site on the World Wide Web which claims to be the
site of a reputable company or organization. Victims are then induced to
part with funds via credit card payments, or induced to reveal valuable
information. At least one major international bank is known,
confidentially, to have suffered from this although details of losses are
not available," says the study. And while encryption can help ameliorate
some of the problems, it is a "double- edged sword" says the study, because
it can also shield the nefarious doings of crooks on the Net. The study
calls for international cooperation among governments in apprehending
electronic fraudsters, and says the issue poses "huge" challenges to law
enforcement and civil agencies: "The traditional sources of forensic and
other evidence will become rarer, and a range of new types of evidence
will need to be acceptable to the courts." (BNA Daily Report for
Executives 5 May 97)
COMPAQ SAYS IT THOUGHT ABOUT BUYING DEC
Compaq Computer has admitted it has been discussing a takeover with Digital
Equipment officials for the past couple of years, but says talks broke down
last summer over management and structural issues. Back in 1995, Digital
agreed to a selling price somewhere between $9 billion and $10 billion, but
then backed away from the deal. At the time, Digital's market valuation
was about $6.5 billion. Digital had wanted to maintain its headquarters
in Massachusetts, and also wanted to maintain its identity as part of a new
brand that would incorporate the names of both companies. Also, Digital
officials balked at the proposed chain of command, which would have had
several of Digital's senior managers reporting to Compaq executives. For
its part, Compaq was interested primarily in Digital's $6-billion
services organization, which maintained a strong presence in Europe and
Asia. Talks renewed in 1996, but fizzled in early September, when both
sides finally agreed an acquisition didn't make sense. (Wall Street
Journal 5 May 97)
COLLEGES SAY YAHOO! SURVEY FLAWED
College administrators have attacked the recent Yahoo! Internet Life
ratings of "America's 100 Most Wired Colleges," calling the survey
methodology and data collection flawed. Although many complaints came from
colleges that didn't make the list, even those that ranked fairly high have
expressed their doubts: "The methodology of the survey leaves a great
deal to bedesired," says Martin Ringle of Reed College. "Reed is listed as
having three network connections for every four beds. In fact, the ratio
is one to one." Meanwhile, David Smallen of Hamilton College, which did
not make the top 100, says, "I was blown away. Fifty percent of the data
is totally wrong." The survey's coordinator says she got much of the
information from the school's coordinator of telephone and secretarial
services in the office of information-technology services. In Georgia
Tech's case, they were left off the list because they did not return the
questionnaire in time, even though, following last summer's Olympic Games,
Georgia Tech has some of the most advanced networking among higher
education institutions. (Chronicle of Higher Education 9 May 97)
YEAR 2000 "PROBLEM" SAVED A LOT OF MONEY 30 YEARS AGO
An article in the Journal of Systems Management last year pointed out that
the two-digit date fields that are causing all kinds of computational
conniptions these days, actually were cost-effective over the long run:
"The two-digit format saved the typical organization over $1,000,000 per
gigabyte of total storage in the 30-year period from 1963-1992." If that
money had been wisely invested, these organizations could have reaped $15
million per gigabyte over that same period. Judged by the costs involved
in now fixing the problem, it was a "small price to pay." (Wall Street
Journal 6 May 97)
PENTIUM II & PENTIUM PRO BUG REPORT
An unidentified college professor claims to have found a bug in Intel's
Pentium Pro chip and its new Pentium II chip designed for high-end
computers. Intel is investigating the report, and says it will publish
information about the problem if the report is true. The problem involves
the floating point unit, which determines the accuracy of very precise
numbers. (New York Times 6 May 97)
TELECOM WIDE OPEN TO COMPETITION IN CANADA
The Canadian regulatory agency CRTC issued landmark rulings on Thursday
yesterday that will open the telecommunications sector to competition in
Canada. The federal regulator issued five decisions that end the
monopolies of phone companies and cable companies. The phone companies can
apply beginning June 16th for broadcast licenses to allow them to compete
in the $3-billion-per-year cable industry. Competition in local phone
services is expected to see rates increase by about $3 per month, and it is
expected to have a greater benefit for businesses than for consumers.
(Toronto Star 2 May 97)
LAPTOP THEFT IS RAMPANT
Last year, a record 265,000 laptop computers worth $804.8 million were
stolen in the United States, according to SafeWare, a computer insurance
firm. That number is up 27% from 1995. To combat the theft, companies
are turning to asset management software, which records computer serial
numbers, the employee assigned to the machine and other information, or
theft software such as CompuTrace, made by Absolute. CompuTrace works by
installing a hidden software program that automatically dials Absolute's
headquarters every two weeks. The call is then traced by AT&T Canada and
the phone number is cross-checked with the owner's file. If the number
doesn't match up, the laptop is told to call the center again in five
minutes. By tracing the phone call every five minutes, police can
pinpoint the laptop's location. U.S. officials point out that CompuTrace
couldn't work here, where companies are not allowed to use AT&T's
automatic number identification information to sell services to a
customer. (Investor's Business Daily 5 May 97)
MYHRVOLD ON "HYPE AND HOOPLA"
Microsoft chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold says: "There's a
tumultuous compression of time scales, where the hype and the hoopla - the
general-press and public-interest -- people have been living in the future.
All you get is 'Bell Atlantic and T.C.I. are going to take over the earth!'
And then, 'Oops. No, they're not.' And then, 'The cable companies are
King!' And: 'Oops. No, the cable companies are broke!' ... The noise is
much stronger than the signal. A year ago, people were writing Microsoft
off. Netscape and the Internet were going to kill us. We were dead meat.
That was premature. Some people have said more recently, 'Oh, my God,
they've won! It's all over!' That's premature, too. Striking the right
balance is such a funny thing. You have this high-frequency oscillation.
If you try to take a medium path through it, half the time you're a crazy
Luddite. The other half the time you're a crazy optimist. I'd rather be
both -- and God damn it -- than just change with the wind and say, 'Oops!
Oh, I guess the next thing is x.' Or: 'Push technology.' That was the
big thing last month -- 'The Internet is all going to push.' Oh no, it
isn't!" (New Yorker 12 May 97)
GTE TO ACQUIRE BBN
GTE Corp. will purchase Internet pioneer BBN Corp. for $616 million, giving
GTE control over BBN's high- powered network of routers, servers and
specialized communications lines. The move instantly positions GTE as a
major player in Internet communications, and gives it a broader base of
networking assets from which to launch competitive strikes against AT&T
and the Baby Bells. "This is big," says GTE's chairman. "This is the way
to grow this company. We're getting ready for the 21st century." BBN
currently provides much of the networking for AT&T's Internet services for
businesses, but that contract could be canceled when the ownership
changes. "We've made it clear since the beginning of our relationship with
BBN that we would eventually move our business customers onto our own
Internet backbone facilities," says an AT&T spokeswoman, who added that
both companies are committed to making the transition painless for its
customers. (Wall Street Journal 7 May 97)
NEW ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM
IBM says that Miklos Atjai and Cynthia Dwork, two researchers at the
company's laboratory in San Jose, California, have devised a computer
encryption formula that is virtually impossible to crack and that would
help reduce the vulnerability of "public key" encryption systems requiring
a person receiving an encrypted message to have a number (or "key") known
only to the recipient. The encryption system developed by Atjai and Dwork
confronted a mathematical problem which had defied solution by
mathematicians for 150 years. However, not all computer security experts
regard the new formula as a breakthrough; computer security consultant
Bruce Schneirer says: "Cryptography is a lot more than math," and that the
real challenge is creating computer systems that are not vulnerable to
attack by software vandals. (New York Times 7 May 97)
COMPUSERVE, CYBER PROMOTIONS STRIKE PACT
ON JUNK E-MAIL
CompuServe and Cyber Promotions have reached an agreement that would ban
Cyber Promotions from sending unsolicited e-mail messages to CompuServe
subscribers. Under the terms, which the two companies will ask a U.S.
judge to accept, Cyber Promotions would pay CompuServe $65,000 for lawyers'
fees and be liable for damages if it violates the pact. In return,
CompuServe will give $30,000 in advertising to Cyber Promotions.
(Investor's Business Daily 7 May 97)
BACTERIA-ON-A-CHIP
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using live bacteria, fixed
onto silicon chips, to test for traces of pollution that could linger
following a toxic waste clean-up effort. The engineers used a common
microorganism that had been genetically altered to emit a bluish glow in
the presence of naphthalene -- a component in jet fuels. The microbes are
placed in a porous polymer matrix on the surface of the chip, and when
they start to glow, the chip sounds an alarm. The scientists hope that
eventually these critters-on-a-chip could be deployed by the dozens at any
polluted site. Using a variety of microbes to detect different chemicals,
the chips could send back wireless progress reports for a fraction of the
cost of the optical fiber sensors and bulky electronic equipment used
today. (Business Week 12 May 97)
BORLAND SUES MICROSOFT FOR RAIDING KEY EMPLOYEES
Software firm Borland International has filed a lawsuit charging Microsoft
with hampering Borland's ability to compete by hiring away from Borland at
least 34 of its top software architects, engineerings and marketing
managers during the past two and a half years. The Microsoft response is
that employee defections are common in the software industry, and that
"Microsoft wants to hire smart people working on software problems, and if
those people are at Borland, then the company wants to hire Borland
people." But Borland chief executive Delbert Yocam says that Microsoft
"is hell-bent on seeing the demise of our company... It's like you're in
the desert and Microsoft is stealing your water bottle." (New York Times
8 May 97)
AT&T COULD LOSE BIG TO INTERNET LONG-DISTANCE
A study by Phillips Tarifica Ltd. predicts that AT&T Corp. could lose up to
$350 million in long-distance revenues in the year 2001, as more users
migrate to the Internet for their long-distance calling service. U.S. long-
distance carriers as a whole could see their revenues drop by $620 million
to $925 million, according to the study. "The Internet isn't a big threat
(to AT&T and others) in the immediate future. But in five to 10 years, a
significant migration will take place from traditional telephony to the
Internet medium," says the author of the report. (Wall Street Journal 7
May 97)
MICROSOFT AND REED ELSEVIER STRIKE DEAL
Reed Elsevier, the British and Dutch publishing company that owns the Lexis-
Nexis online information service, have agreed to a $30 million deal that
will allow Reed Elsevier to use Microsoft's commercial Internet-oriented
system applications for future electronic offerings in the scientific,
legal, business and travel information markets. (New York Times 8 May 97)
FABLESS CHIP FIRMS ARE THE WAY TO GO
The chairman of the Fabless Semiconductor Association says chipmakers who
outsource their production (fabless) have distinct advantages over more
traditional design-and-build-it companies: "It used to be you could build
these fabs for $2 million. Now, it's going up to $1.2 billion. Once
you've built this wonderful plant you really want to run a lot of product
through it so you can make some money. Fabless semiconductor companies
get to spend all of their research and development money on new circuit
development. They have the ability to have leadership products. But if
you're a vertically integrated company (both designing and building chips),
half your budget is spent on new circuits and half your budget is spent on
new process development." (Investor's Business Daily 8 May 97)
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE MAC?
Dan Ahlberg, a product manager in Apple's user-experience group, gives a
preview of the Apple's next MacOS: "It will look more like a Mac than it
will look like a Next machine, because there's a large installed Mac base.
Where some of the Next functionality is going to be more apparent is where
there are known to be some problems with the Mac interface, and where
Next's technology is applicable for solving that. We need to make
something that appeals to the novice and doesn't confuse them -- yet
provide for customization that makes advanced users happy." Ahlberg says
the next MacOS might even support a Unix command line for techies: "The
majority of Macintosh users would never know that such a capability even
could exist. But it may be made available. We've heard for a long time
that some Mac users want access to a command-line interface." (Information
Week 28 Apr 97)
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For Immediate Release
Sylvan PrometricT Launches End-User Certification
Testing for Corelr WordPerfectr Suite 7 Applications
Baltimore, MD and Ottawa, ON - April 28, 1997 -- Sylvan Prometric and
Corel Corporation announced today the availability of end-user
certification testing for Corelr WordPerfectr Suite 7 office productivity
applications. The first test for Corelr WordPerfectr 7 is available now,
with testing for Corelr PresentationsT 7 and Corelr Quattror Pro 7 to
follow in the next 60 days.
Corel WordPerfect Suite 7 testing is available at Authorized Prometric
Testing CentersT throughout North America and in selected international
countries. Global availability of the exam will follow shortly.
The Corel WordPerfect Suite Certification Program has three levels of
certification-Resource, Expert and Instructor. The Resource exam covers
the basic features and functions of the application. The Expert exam
combines basic coverage with an examination of more advanced capabilities.
Users can become certified at the Resource or Expert level in Corel
WordPerfect, Corel Quattro Pro, and/or Corel Presentations. To be
certified at the Instructor level, candidates will be required to pass the
Expert level exams in all three applications and meet additional
requirements as determined by Corel.
"We are extremely pleased to have Sylvan Prometric rolling out our new
Corel WordPerfect certification program," said Dr. Michael Cowpland,
president and chief executive officer of Corel Corporation. "Corel has
committed itself to providing an effective means of measuring the skill
sets of end users and instructors alike."
The exam development process is based on rigorous examination of the tasks
that end-users perform. Exam questions were constructed and standardized
by conducting a number of interviews with Corel WordPerfect Suite 7 users
and subject matter experts. Psychometricians, experienced in creating
technology certification tests, ensured that bias and ambiguity were
removed. The result is exams that are credible and reflect the knowledge
requirements that end-users must demonstrate in order to perform on the
job.
Certification candidates who successfully pass an exam will receive a
certificate acknowledging their accomplishment as well as eligibility to
purchase Corel's academic products. Corelr Certified Instructors will
receive authorization to use Corel program logos, access to a special Corel
web site for instructors and Corel Authorized Training Centers, free
technical support on a toll line and a monthly newsletter from Corel's
Education Division. More details about Corel's Certification Program can
be found on Corel's Web site at http://www.corel.com/education.
Pricing for the Certified Resource exam and Certified Expert exam is $55
U.S. and $80 U.S. respectively in both Canada and the U.S. For a limited
time, the Certified Expert Exam will be offered at $55 U.S. in North
America.
Outside North America, pricing for the Certified Resource exam and the
Certified Expert exam is $75 U.S. and $90 U.S. respectively (exam prices
are higher in Japan and may be in local currency depending upon the country
in which the exam is delivered). Prices are subject to change without
notice.
Interested candidates may register to take an exam by calling Corel's
registration and scheduling number at Sylvan Prometric in the US at 1-800-
662-6735. Internationally, candidates can contact one of the Sylvan
Prometric International Regional Service Centers located around the world.
The service centers will help the candidate locate the APTC closest to them
and will schedule the exam on receipt of payment. Payments can be made by
credit card or cheque, with special arrangements available for companies
and other organizations wishing to pay for their employees' or members'
exams.
From the reaction to the March preliminary announcement of the program, it
appears that there is significant demand, including interest from
corporations and corporate training departments. Temporary help companies
seeking to provide prospective clients with an independent standard to
evaluate the quality of their personnel, have also expressed an interest in
Corel's certification program. For the first time, organizations who
provide their own training for Corel WordPerfect Suite 7 applications, or
use independent trainers, will be better equipped to certify the
proficiency of their personnel.
Sylvan Prometric
Sylvan Prometric is the computer-based testing division of Sylvan Learning
Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLVN), the world's leading provider of supplemental
educational services to families, schools and industry. The global leader
in the delivery of technology-based assessment services for academic
assessment and professional licensure and certification, Sylvan Prometric
also delivers certification testing for other IT industry leaders including
Novellr, Microsoftr, IBMr and AutoDeskr.
Corel Corporation
Incorporated in 1985, Corel Corporation is recognized internationally as an
award-winning developer and marketer of productivity applications, graphics
and Internet software. Corel's product line includes CorelDRAWT, Corelr
WordPerfectr Suite, Corelr Office Professional, Corelr WebMaster Suite,
CorelVIDEOT and CorelCADT. Corel's products run on most operating systems,
including: Windowsr, Macintoshr, UNIX, MS-DOS, and OpenVMS 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.
Corel, WordPerfect, Presentations, CorelDRAW, CorelVIDEO and CorelCAD are
registered trademarks or trademarks of Corel Corporation or Corel
Corporation Limited. Sylvan and Sylvan Learning Systems Centers are
registered trademarks and Authorized Prometric Testing Centers and Sylvan
Prometric are trademarks of Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc., in the U.S. and
Canada. All product and company names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
STR Editor's Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard"
Editor's MailBag
Messages * NOT EDITED * for content
Date: Sat, 03 May 1997 03:18:22 +0200From:
Olaf_Maschmeyer@p46.f6.n2437.z2.fido.sub.de (Olaf Maschmeyer)Subject: Your
Control Freak Article
Message-ID: <MSGID_2=3A2437=2F6.46_46531d83@fidonet.org>
To: rmariano@streport.com
Ralph, Stuart
<more than slightly annoyed, in one hand a dictionary>
I wonder how anybody can be so ignorant like the both of you. With a
history like Your country's, built on wiping out the Native American's
society and economic layers, even at a time when there were no more excuses
like France, England or Spain, and the killing of almost 90 percent of
their population (which of course doesn't make up with the happenings of
WWII) I would not claim wisdom like You do. There's only one small but
decisive difference. The American Indians didn't win. People calling for
responsibility were never taken serious, rather laughed at. Where is Your
responsibility ? Based on "adjusting" or should I better say "breaking"
contracts whenever economy (!) required it be done the US have become the
super nation. Whatever could not be bought was destroyed. I'm not saying
I'd rather liked a different outcome of WWII, I'm asking for accepting that
there are different ways of doing, all of which could be right, as neither
might. With a higher population rate per squarefoot no country can afford
absolute freedom; there need to be regulations, maybe the higher the more.
Japanese people have "embracing traditions" based on religion, Singapore
has something like "economic traditions", an adaption of traditional and
economic ideas in such a manner that even Japan could be called amateurish
when it comes to economics. Hong Kong is purely economics with a trace of
traditions (where applicable), leaving nothing much of personal freedom
like we know and take for granted. Not much later in the list of pop/sqft
there is something like Germany and even China comes after (!), long before
the USA.
You said "The point I tried to make was that the German Nation, after
all these years hasn't learned a thing. They're trying to act like they
must lead everyone's lives for them." The German Nation at its rate of
pop/sqft cannot afford such luxury as letting anybody do whatever they
feel to. One reason is the responsibility to never let something like 3rd
Reich happen again and that is hard to achieve with Nazi-ideas being spread
from *sites in the USA and Canada*, some even claiming the holocaust
didn't happen and some going so far as talking of a "collective suicide"
in the concentration camps. That's learning from history ? Wow. Others are
environmental reasons, for example. We need to protect whatever is left of
"pure environment" since we have not that much spare left and if it takes
to let go of various things we now think of to be existencial. What we also
can't do is protect the citizens from the(ir) politicians and that's bad
enough. There are still people who believe that Germany should try become
something like a "Baby US" with all the information available first hand,
what differences there are (esp. those worse). That reminds me of somebody
of great promiscuity seeing aids and other sexual diseases spread and
deliberately choosing never to use condoms, because they want complete
freedom. Some regulations are a bit over the top, of course, while others
are far from good, but all in all it's good; I'd go so far as saying
probably a lot better than in the States. There is less but enough freedom
for most people and more (almost enough) protection for the others.
What's frightening me is how people dare come up with accusations of
Germany being like before WWII. My nation has learnt our lesson but somehow
whenever there are financial or economic reasons or absolutely no reasons
at all people from other countries tend to be blind-eyed. Your country let
McCarthy happen, not mine. McCarthy is past, now it's Scientology.
Everybody who has eyes to see *knows* the accusations made by CoS of
Germany suppressing them or even more (comparing their situation with the
holocaust) is nothing but pure fiction but nobody dares speak up for fear
of being banned. Of course there is the right of free speech but you must
never say the truth when the one it is about is more powerful than You are.
Maybe that's the land of the free but then again where have the brave gone?
I hope we will never again allow such things to happen in Germany - we
are still labouring on the remainder of the GDR-Stasi files. And as a
means to achieve that there must be regulations - even those regulations
that you claim must be erased.
Olaf
Olaf,
I read and re-read your post and honestly, I find no other way to
answer you than to say. you've debated yourself in this post. You've
actually countered just about every argument you present. You left nothing
for me to say but to congratulate you on knowing what Liberty and Freedom
are. and yet I must mourn for you not having achieved these very basic and
wonderful qualities of life. Also don't allow yourself the luxury of
wearing horse blinders. you see. no matter what's said or implied about
this country, the USA, you still must admit our freedoms . far out weigh
any other and are the envy of every nation on this planet Earth. The good
old USA is still the land of "The Land of the Free and the Home of the
Brave". Just ask Sadam Hussein or better yet, ask any Kuwaiti Citizen.
The USA may have its WARTS.. But they're prettiest doggoned WARTS you'll
ever see! <g>
Ralph.
Kids Computing Corner
Frank Sereno, Editor
fsereno@streport.com
The Kids' Computing Corner
Computer news and software reviews
from a parent's point of view
In the News
Storybook Weaver Deluxe Contest
We have a winner in the software giveaway that was jointly promoted by
MECC, The Learning Company and The Kids' Computing Corner. Yisroel
Leichtman of Chicago is the lucky recipient of a copy of MECC's Storybook
Weaver Deluxe for both Windows and Macintosh computers. It will be mailed
off to him ASAP.
Garage Band
A Learning Cube
Windows CD-ROM
Street Price: $29.95
For all struggling musicians
L3 Interactive
3000 W. Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, California 90404
310-264-4188 (telephone)
310-264-4191 (fax)
http://www.learningcube.com
Program Requirements
OS: Windows 3.1
CPU: 486/50
HD Space: N/A
Memory: 8 MB
Graphics: 640 x 480, 256 colors
CD-ROM: Double-speed
Audio: 8-bit sound card
Optional: mouse, printer
review by Jason Sereno (jason.sereno@mules-ear.com)
There are countless musicians in the U.S.A and all over the world who
haven't caught their big break yet and probably never will. Being a
musician and being a successful musician are two different things. Many
kids play in their garages and hope for some big name producer to hear them
and sign them for a major record deal. These bands are all over the place,
probably in your town too. They are willing to play birthday parties or
special events while hoping someone in the business will see them. If they
had some useful information that they could use to their advantage, they
might not need a big break to succeed and could actually do it themselves.
This is where L3 Interactive comes in. L3 Interactive's Garage Band is
another fun and very informative use of their Learning Cube interface.
Garage Band uses interviews with people in the business and also talks to
four so called "garage bands" about their lives and struggles to get
noticed. It uses QuickTime movies and the award-winning Learning Cube
interface to easily pinpoint information for you. The program is
essentially like an informative music video that will help would-be rock
legends to become overnight sensations.
The Learning Cube interface is a method to find information easily and
quickly without searching through numerous paragraphs and steps. The
interface is a cube that has three sections and each section has three
chapters that you can select from the main cube screen. Each chapter then
has three more divisions, or segments, that really pinpoint the information
you seek. You can choose to read the information or watch a video. The
only problem with the interface is that it suffers from lengthy animation
sequences between user input. Each time you advance or go back a step, the
program will say what you are doing out load and then magically whisk part
of the cube back or forward from the previous screen. This sequence is
somewhat entertaining at first, but after time the animated sequences
become boring and waste time. I love the simplicity, but time on the
computer, just like in a recording studio, is money.
Garage Band interviews the members of four distinct bands: Third Grade
Teacher, Hairball, Pink Floyd and the Barber, and The Mutts. (Nice names,
huh?) Garage Band interviews the members, gives their backgrounds, and
displays a video from each band. Their music is unique. Because the word
"Alternative" is so overused and has really lost all meaning, "Alternative"
is now considered mainstream. I guess you can call these bands all
"Alternative" in the more traditional sense of the word. There are some
reasons why these bands lack recognition. One song refers to naked
children and the other songs didn't really appeal to me. I consider myself
to be of the age group that the bands are trying to reach to sell albums,
but the music just wasn't that catchy and it didn't have a real edge in my
opinion. There was one song that had a sort of jazz sound to it. Now the
word for new age jazz music is SKA. You can learn this and many other
slang terms in the video.
I did, however, enjoy the producer's segment about recordings and having
good studio sessions. He knew much about harmonics and seemed to be a good
source of advice. The program has an option where you can actually be a
producer, too. You can mix the bass, guitar, drum, and vocals in a song.
You can also add reverb and chorus to add depth to the song that is
playing. There is only one song though, and you can only play the sound
levels you have selected after you have stopped the music. You cannot
change the mix or volume when the song is playing. There is no middle
setting either. The sound will be either on or off, and the guitar and
vocals cannot be switched at all. This feature needs improvement.
The program uses QuickTime movies to show the interviews with people. The
sound seems to be of low quality, but it may improve with better sound
cards. There was static when people made "S" sounds when the program was
played on my computer. The message still comes across clear though, and
the audio is pretty much in synch with the QuickTime video.
Garage Bands is a useful for musicians who wish to make it to the "Big
Time." There is a lot of useful information from both people who are
trying to make it in the Music World and the people you will meet once you
get there. The Learning Cube interface lets you get around from subject to
subject with ease. This is a great tool for young people in the music
scene who hope to make it in the glamour world of Rock n Roll.
Creative Labs NewsWire STR Infofile
Creative's $99.99 Sound Blaster AWE64 Value
To Take Industry By Storm
New 64-Voice Advanced Wave-Table Sound Card Aims
At
Upgrading 40 Million Sound Blaster Users
MILPITAS, CA - May 8, 1997 - In its commitment to provide PC users with the
high-quality audio experience popularized by the Sound Blasterr AWE
series, Creative Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREAF) today announced the addition
of the Sound Blaster AWE64 Value to its award-winning family of audio
solutions. Targeted at over 70 million existing PC users, the Sound
Blaster AWE64 Value delivers a sensational 64-voice audio experience with
the latest in Creative's Advanced WavEffectsT technologies. The unrivaled
low price of US$99.99, makes it a "must buy" for all users who have yet to
experience advanced wave-table audio.
With its patented audio technology, the Sound Blaster AWE64 Value delivers
a crisp, expressive and realistic audio experience that is customizable to
suit individual preferences. With its cutting-edge advanced audio
technology, the AWE 64 Value represents the first solution of this caliber
to be made available at what had been an entry-level, 16-bit audio price-
point.
"Creative did a great service to their customers by offering much of the
high-end technology of their AWE64 Gold card on a card for the general
consumer," said Rob Enderle, senior analyst at Giga Information Group, a
Santa Clara, Calif.-based research firm. "The Sound Blaster AWE64 Value
provides consumers with a wonderful upgrade card at a great price."
Sound Blaster AWE64 Value
Developed in response to Creative's customers' demands, the Sound Blaster
AWE64 Value provides value- conscious customers with an audio solution that
delivers sophisticated audio playback that includes an impressive bundle
of applications. Included with the sound card is a wide variety of software
that takes advantage of the AWE64 Value's capabilities, such as Creative
Multimedia Deck, Microsoftr Internet Explorer and NetMeeting , Vienna
SoundFontr Studio, Progressive Network's RealAudio Player and Creative
Video WebPhone . The AWE64 value provides a complete solution combining
the Advanced WavEffects engine with Creative WaveSynth/WGT to deliver a
powerful audio experience.
"Last year, we set out to make Advanced WavEffects audio the minimum
standard for the high-end PC market. With the introduction of the Sound
Blaster AWE64 Value we're making high-quality audio solutions available
for everyone," said Craig McHugh, vice president and general manager of
Creative Labs, Inc. "Our Advanced WavEffects solutions enable users to
experience immersive game audio, Internet communications, explore
interactive multimedia titles and improve their overall enjoyment of the
PC."
Advanced WavEffects Technology and Creative WaveSynth/WG
The Advanced WavEffects technology combined with Creative WaveSynth/WGT
available in the AWE 64 Value include: 64-note polyphony, E-mu-based
professional-quality wave-table audio, Sondiusr WaveGuide technology,
SoundFontr technology and E-mu 3D Positional AudioT. The Advanced
WavEffects engine employs a unique process for the sampling and playback
of audio with a patented multi-point smoothing algorithm. The AWE engine's
multi-point interpolation algorithm produces a richer audio experience and
also provides the ability to replace and customize sounds and effects with
SoundFont sample sets. In addition, the AWE64 Value has 512K of random
access memory (RAM) that is fully upgradeable to 28MB for customization
with SoundFont technology.
Creative Technology Ltd. is the world's leading provider of advanced
multimedia solutions for personal computers, including sound, graphics,
communications and video conferencing products. The company's Sound
Blaster technology has been accepted as the worldwide standard sound
platform for PCs, with more than 40 million installed, and the company's
global distribution network is among the most extensive in the multimedia
industry. Creative is focused on enhancing the overall user experience by
providing powerful, enabling, high- value technology for the mass market.
This announcement relates to products whose launch are in the United States
of America. The product names, contents, prices and availability may
differ elsewhere in the world according to local factors and requirements.
Sound Blaster and Blaster are registered trademarks and Creative
WaveSynth/WG and E-mu 3D Positional Audio are trademarks of Creative
Technology Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. SoundFont is a
registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc. Microsoft is either a registered
trademark or a trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or
other countries. All other products mentioned herein are trademarks of
their respective owners and are hereby recognized as such. Sondius (R)
Sound Synthesis made under license from the Board of Trustees of the Leland
Stanford Junior University. Sondius (R) and the Sondius (R) symbol are
trademarks of the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior
University. This product contains one or more programs under international
and U.S. copyright Laws as unpublished works. They are confidential and
proprietary to the Board of trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior
University. There reproduction or disclosure, in whole or in part, or the
production of derivative works therefrom without the express written
permission of the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior
University is prohibited. Copyright 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 by the
Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All right
reserved.
Special Notice!! STR Infofile File format for Articles
File Format for STReport
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ú No Indenting on any paragraphs!!
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If there are any questions please use either E-Mail or call. On
another note. the ASCII version of STReport is fast approaching the "end of
the line" As the major Online Services move away from ASCII.. So shall
STReport. All in the name of progress and improved readability. The
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issue is running approximately 15 to 1 over the ASCII edition. I might add
however, the requests for our issues to be done in HTML far outnumber both
PDF and ascii. HTML is now under consideration. We'll keep you posted.
Besides, STReport will not be caught in the old, worn out "downward
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However, if the ASCII readership remains as high, rest assured. ASCII
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Many grateful thanks in advance for your enthusiastic co-operation and
input.
Ralph F. Mariano, Editor
rmariano@streport.com
STReport International Online Magazine
STReport Confidential
News, Tips, Rumors, Exposs1, Predictions
San Jose, Ca Western Digital has a Problem
Super Snoop sez that after visiting the Western Digital site
http://www.wdc.com/quality/quality.html he found the problem drive is the
Caviar AC31600, which Western Digital says "has been out of production
since August 1996 and, to the best of our knowledge, is no longer
available anywhere". Western Digital has a diagnostic utility (WDDIAG)
that can be downloaded from that web site so that affected users can
analyze and monitor the performance of their AC31600. The WDDIAG program
may instruct the user to contact Western Digital Technical Support at (800)
568-9272 for drive replacement, if necessary. The PC Hardware Forum
thread reports that for at least one user, the replacement drive was a
Caviar AC21600, which has 2 platters instead of the 3 of the AC31600.
Classics & Gaming Section
Editor Dana P. Jacobson
dpj@streport.com
From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
And another week rolls by.... Where does the time go, anyway? As usual,
it's been busy around here lately/still. The house search continues, but
slowly. It's usually the house is right but the price is wrong; or the
price is good and the house is bad! And naturally, when the two match,
someone signed an agreement an hour before you arrived to look at it!
Sound familiar?
Toad Hall (the BBS) has finally been upgraded with hardware - the new hard
drive and CD drive. Still trying to get the CD drive configured correctly
so the CDROMs don't keep auto-ejecting, though. We're in the process
adding message and file areas, and filling them up with material that we've
been sitting on for quite some time. And then, we'll be moving files from
the "old" system (still currently online as well) and eventually phasing it
out. It's nice to be able to have some hard drive space again to see some
growth. It will also help us to add more features to the system such as
databases and networking in the near future. And who knows what else will
pique our imaginations and interest!
Michael Burkley, that atariophile of atariophiles -
unabashedly speaking,
has graced our pages again this week. Michael is really getting into a
groove lately and he has another terrific column for you jam-packed with
public domain software descriptions.
WebSpace, an up-and-coming new Atari web browser has changed its name:
WenSuite. The latest version is now available, see below.
So let's get to the rest of this week's issue - we've got quite a bit of
everything for you this week!
Until next time...
New Atari HTML WEB browser: WebSpace/WenSuite 1.70
From: OXO <oxo@imaginet.fr>
Date: Tue, 06 May 1997
The new release of WebSpace is now available.
Its name is now: WenSuite.
The online demo version 1.70,
available since 5/5/97 includes:
-PPP dialup, full DNS access,
-HTTP access to HTML pages.
Limitations:
-No pictures in online mode
-No e-mail, no news.
>Downloadable versions:
-WEB access:
http://www.oxo.ch/web_fr.htm (french)
http://www.oxo.ch/web_gb.htm (english)
http://www.imaginet.fr/~oxo/bin/ws170fr.tos (french)
http://www.imaginet.fr/~oxo/bin/ws170gb.tos (english)
-BBS access (The BBS, france):
(33) 01 42 51 11 35
ws170fr.tos (french)
ws170gb.tos (english)
-FTP access:
in progress.
-USENET access:
on demand by e-mail.
>More info by e-mail: oxo@imaginet.fr
Usenet feedback regarding WenSuite, nee WebSpace
Re: WebSpace Updated
>A ppp unit is implemented, but I could not get it to work, the
>program bombed away after connection.
Today I have had a ppp contact with my provider via the built in ppp
layer. However I was not able to fetch webpages. Message: DNS failed or
something alike. And I only succeeded once. The other tries ended up in
disconnections.
: Yes, I downloaded it too. It's a self-extracting archive serving
: nothing but plain white on my little screen. (anybody knows why
: it didn't unpack?)
Well, I unpacked it last night and the self-extracting archive worked
properly for me.
: The new name of the program is WENSUITE (web, email and news suite?)
: You can now actually select and view the mail and news windows.
Yes, they changed the name of the package. I guess to reflect the
increased functionality of it. I like the new news and mail windows.
: A ppp unit is implemented, but I could not get it to work, the
: program bombed away after connection.
Hm, I didn't even get this far. The set-up of PPP was very straight
forward and easy, but in my case the simplification went too far. I need
to be able to toggle the return key three times upon connection before I
get the first prompt from my ISP. The early addition to STiK of the
ability to wait a fixed amount of time, as well as the ability to send a
carriage return and/or line feed, were done, in part, because of a request
by me. Unless WenSpace implements a similar feature, I will not be able to
test it on-line all. Steve Adams said that I was not the only person to
request such a feature, so it is probably worth the effort for the
developers of WenSpace to similarly enrich their login language. Also, I
don't know what I need to do at the end of the script to make sure WenSpace
finds my IP number. The instructions with STiK are much more clear about
this. Do I use the last "wait for" field to wait for the text the ISP
sends just before the IP number, and the leave the "reply with" field
blank?
: This program is very fast, but it still is not able to show forms and :
tables the way it should be. Also no animated GIF's nor frame support.
: You still cannot reach the available fonts.
I had no problem changing the default fonts. Tables looked OK, but I did
not test this feature very carefully. Forms seemed to work, but looked a
little scrambled. I have had some serious trouble getting forms to work
from within CAB. Often clicking on the "submit" button within CAB will do
nothing! And CAB often "forgets" some of the data I have entered in to a
form if I move the window around. Also, I have to type very slowly for CAB
to read all of my keypresses when entering data into forms, whereas
WenSpace was flawless in this regard. So this is an area both browsers need
to work on.
WenSpace does not currently support either frames or animated gifs. But if
the added speed is gained at the expense of these, I almost think it is
worth not having them. The readme file says that frame support and
animated gifs will be supported in a future version. We'll have to see how
that works.
: I would say if they sell this program commercial the demo should be
: perfect. At the moment I don't see a reason to buy this program as it
: doesn't perform as promised.
Well, I'm not going to spend money on it if I can't get on line with it,
that's for sure. On the other hand, I am very happy to see progress
continue on this project, and I don't expect the demo, or even the program,
to be perfect. What program is? Certainly WenSpace is not ready for
commercial release yet, but it seems to be getting very close. Even now,
WenSpace has some considerable advantages over the current CAB, as well as
many real disadvantages. I think it is very healthy to give the Atari
users the opportunity to decide which package best meets their needs.
: Well here the PPP link layer worked fine.
: The demo version only can connect to their site. That was the address
: that worked. and no bomb at all.
The PPP layer worked for me as well, although I noted that you can grab
any site, it just won't show it.
: >This program is very fast, but it still is not able to show forms and
: >tables the way it should be. Also no animated GIF's nor frame support.
: >You still cannot reach the available fonts.
: hmmm before saying that you might want to test it a little more.
: The fonts are available/reachable. The tables are displayed correctly
: like they should. I don't see your problem. Animated Gif is not
: implemented AFAIK.
Yep, fonts worked great, although I do have one reservation about it vs.
CAB - with CAB, you could make a font italicized or bolded, whereas with
WenSpace, you needed an italicized font or bolded font for italics or
bold.
Newsbytes NewsReel - 12 Years Ago This Week
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1997 MAY 7 (Newsbytes) -- By Nick Gorki.
Twelve years ago these Newsbytes stories were filed: Microsoft Office;
Black Sheep Of The Family; and Overseas News. These stories were taken from
the extensive archives at the Newsbytes Website at
http://www.newsbytes.com.
Microsoft Office
The Macintosh may get a needed kick in the pants by September if Microsoft
holds true on its promise to deliver "Excel," a powerful spreadsheet
program for a 512K Mac which will retail for $395. At a news conference in
New York, Microsoft's Bill Gates and Apple's Steve Jobs called Excel the
"world's best spreadsheet." Excel offers simple graphics interfaces and
powerful number-crunching capabilities. One of the program's nicest
features is its ability to create automatic macros; the computer records
repetitive tasks and writes its own macros, no programming is required by
the user. Observers say the program is impressive but are guarded about
Microsoft's announcement that the product's release is a good four months
away. Meanwhile, Jobs publicly disclosed that a 20 megabyte hard disk will
be available this fall from Apple, as well as a Mac with more than 512K.
He's referring, of course, to the 2 megabyte Mac which is already in the
hands of selected developers.
Black Sheep Of The Family
Apple has kicked the Mac XL out of the house, convinced its recent
incarnation is a dud. Apple will halt production of the XL (formerly the
Lisa) "this summer," marking the second major failure in a year (first it
was the Apple III). Only 60,000 Macintosh XLs were sold in the product's
two year history, according to InfoCorp. Compare that to the investment of
$70 million developing the machine. Sad, but true. Savvy buyers quickly
noticed the high price, slow speed, and lack of software as the Lisa's
biggest drawbacks. Meanwhile, Apple has also revealed that "a period of
slower sales" is ahead. Advertising budgets are being cut, as are workers.
Japan / MITI's National Project
Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) will start a
new computer endeavor, called the Sigma Project. The aim of this project is
to closely interconnect universities, research laboratories, and industries
with Unix-based networking throughout Japan. Thus, it will increase
software productivity, which is one of the weak points of the Japanese
computer industry. The host computer will provide various programs and
databases with technical information. The operating system, nicknamed as
Sigma OS is based on Unix System V with the features of Berkeley's version,
Japanese language and image processing.
BritBytes / Computer Holidays a Go-Go
Club Mediterranee, the Paris-based leisure organization, is to extensively
revamp the style in which it offers computer-based holidays in its 23
"holiday villages" around the world. When Club Med launched the first of
these workshops at Kamarina, Sicily, four years ago, it soon decided to
give Atari all its business. Atari now has 500 machines operating at the
club. "Other manufacturers have stopped knocking at our door," said Pierre
Shelma, Club Med's director of purchasing, who looks after the computer
side of business. "We are, after all, not married to Atari. All firms like
the idea of putting their products on show with us at our villages." Most
European manufacturers are slowly coming awake to the fact that, while
orders from the Club Med organization are relatively small, they generate a
lot of business when the holiday-makers get back to their local computer
store and think, "What machine did I use?" That is, if they bothered to
glance at the logo through the mists of several "computer cocktails!"
The Unabashed Atariophile
by Michael R. Burkley
May 7, 1997
Last time typed out an Unabashed Atariophile article was two weeks ago. It
was two months before that when I picked out an article. I guess that
means I'm getting better at sending out my work ontime. Maybe I'll start
writing something each week (but don't hold your breath! I don't see how
Ralph, Dana, and everyone else at STR does it week after week!)
I'm slowing down a bit in describing the files. This issue only tells you
about 15.6 meg (ZIP compressed) of files. Sorry about that <g>. You'll
just have to wait until next time for more. I do have more, for sure.
Probably about another Gig of files not yet cataloged. For the past week
I've spent a lot of my time weeding though a myriad of folder checking
documentation of programs. Those programs that have English docs get put
in one area and those with docs in any other language get filed in another
(one of much lower priority). It's too bad that more of us (me in
particular) aren't multi-lingual. It would be great to be able to speak
German and French, especially seeing that there is so much excellent
software available in those languages and not in English. Oh well!
On with the descriptions...
This first set of files is from Delphi, my favorite of online homes:
IC401B1 is a patch to update Imagecopy v.4.0 CD to v.4.01b. Imagecopy is a
multi-purpose image utility sold by FaST Club. This is a "beta" release of
their upcoming v.4.01. It includes a few new features and some bug fixes.
You must have the original, unmodified Imagecopy 4 CD for this patch to
work.
IMAGELAB is ImageLab v.2.1 by Rainer Frdrich and Oliver Hansen (dated
April, 1993). ImageLab is a freeware mono photo processor from Germany.
With this utility you can take your scanned photos and do _all_ sorts of
things with them (cut and paste, blur, sharpen edges, re-size with no loss
of quality, and more!). All the aditus you need to convert your pictures
to and fro from the programs B&W format are included (except that I
recommend that you get and register GEM View as well). The docs are in
German, except for a README.TXT file by "Papa" Michael Hebert who has
written a small helpful file, and more importantly, translated the .RSC
file into English. Thanks Papa! This is one excellent program! Mono only
(ST or TT High), though it works with Sebra133, a mono emulator for ST
color monitors (and Sebra is included as well).
PHOTO_TT is the Photoline v.2.2 Demo for the TT and Falcon. (There is an ST
version available as well--see PHOTOEST, I think). This is an awesome
program that does just about everything with your bit-mapped and vector
graphics. It allows you to create, re-touch, save (though not in the
demo), transform bit-mapped to vector and vector to bitmapped. It's been
said to be a "Photoshop killer," and it certainly looks like one. The
interface seems to be based on the same scheme as Photoshop. It works in
all ST color or mono but won't show colors onscreen in res less than
640x480x256 colors. No docs are included, but you can figure this out. I
was impressed with its ability to convert bit-maps to vector graphics, the
ways you can tweak your pictures, and all the formats you can save in.
PHRAQTAL is Phraqtal by Christian Erskine of Scotland. This is a very nice
Mandelbrot/Julia set Fractal generator that is very fast fast (it
generates a Mandelbrot Set in about 6-10 seconds and a Julia set in
10-19 seconds!). I like it! The author has endowed it with a scrolling
text at the bottom of the screen that gives the history of his development
of this program (and tells of his backup woes!). Included in this program
is a Fractal Landscape generator. Docs are within the program. Mouse and
keyboard controlled. Not TT compatible.
POVSHL14 is POV Shell v.1.4 by Dirk Klemmt (dated July 20, 1995). This
Shareware demo allows you to use the POV Raytracing software in a GEM
environment. POV is the Power of Vision Raytracer, a multi-platform
raytrace creator. It's all commandline based though, so it's not
Atari-user friendly. But with POV Shell it is! This demo version is
limited in that it tells you it is the demo version every time you run it
and in that the picture size you can work with is limited to 160x100
pixels. That's enough for you to see if you like the program or not.
Keyboard and/or mouse controlled. Registration information included. Docs
and program in both English and German. ST-TT and Geneva/Magic compatible.
POV required. Note: I think this has been upgraded to v.1.5, but I
haven't gotten around to reviewing that yet!
SCAPE12 is Scape v.1.2 for the ST-Falcon in 256 color mode. This program
will automatically render a random planetary space scene, which can be
saved to PCX and GIF format. This archive contains two versions for 68000
machines (ST and STE), one which uses direct video memory access which is
slow, and another which doesn't (to provide compatibility with Graphic
cards) and which is slower than snails, and a version for 68020 or better
machines with a math co-proc. One nice feature is that a bell rings to let
you know when your picture is finished (it takes some time!) so you can
save it or view it. You have to be quick though, as it will return to
automatically generating another scene in about 45 seconds after the bell.
The original work for this program was by Scott Anderson, and it was ported
to the ST by Robert W. Stiles.
SPOFLT38 is the Speed of Light graphics viewer v.3.8 by Suart Denman. SOL
is an awesome graphics viewer for the ST-Falcon. If you have any GIF,
JPG, PI?, PC?, PNT, and IMG files to look at you you would certainly do
well to check out this program. Once you look at them you can save them in
the following formats as well: Degas, Prism Paint, and GEM (X)Image files.
The program also has support for Brainstorm's DSP JPEG decoder for the
Falcon and so you can quickly view any JPEG (.JPG) pictures. Not only can
you view pictures, SOL also includes may image processing features, and
many other impressive tools, including the most extensive color map editing
capabilities available on Atari systems (or so says the author). This
version includes the author's Filtered Image Scaling (FIS). FIS is a
technique is used to smooth out images that have been enlarged or reduced.
This is a powerful feature of this version and is only enabled in the
registered version (though some sample pictures are included so you can see
how it works). Low Rez color on ST/STe, TT medium, and all Falcon
resolutions, too. Also included in this file are color and mono icons for
use with the TOS 4.01 or higher desktop and a neat little graphics and
sound demo the author had lying about. Docs included. SHAREWARE. Support
shareware authors!
LHARC312 is LHARC "junior" v. 3.12 by Christian Grunenberg (dated July 25,
1996). This is another one of those "must have" utilities. Termed "The
Faster Than Light" this compression/uncompression utility is LZH compatible
(lh-0 to lh-5) and compatible with Quester's LZH201L (and A LOT faster,
too) and uses the same commands as Quester's, but with additional switches
and the more extensive UNIX wildcards (in both English and German
versions). One very nice update is the program's handling of those longer
filenames that are popping up everywhere. Previous versions just truncated
the name after the first eight characters. Unfortunately, this often led
to duplicate filenames. This new version deals with that by truncating
characters from the middle of the filename, which is much less likely to
lead to errors. This archive contains just the English and German .TTP
files, so I recommend that you also download LHA310, which includes an
excellent GEM shell for these .TTP files (it makes things MUCH easier!).
Request Shell v.1.09 may also be used. This archive also includes the
general English docs (THE EXPLORER'S GUIDE TO LHarc by Alan Kennedy) as
well as the German docs. It also includes Thomas Quester's shareware
program, MAKE_SFX.TTP, which will make an LZH file into a self-extracting
file. Color or mono. ST-Falcon, Geneva, Multi-TOS, MagiC (I expect)
compatible. Shareware (which I have not registered YET! Yikes!).
This next set of files is from the HENSA Internet site:
FINDER18 is Route Finder, v.1.8 by Brian Henderson. Route Finder is an
electronic map which can be used, along with the supplied maps of Scotland,
England, Wales and Britain to find the shortest or quickest
routes between two places avoiding specified roads and places en route. It
will even tell you an estimated time of trip! To calculate the quickest
route average driving speeds on various different types of roads, eg.
motorways, A class roads etc, can be entered. Maps can be created and
edited from within the program, therefore any new roads can be easily
incorporated. So even if you live somewhere else, with a bit of work you
can make up your own maps. ST-Falcon compatible in color or mono. Print
out your routes with a dot matrix printer. Docs included. If you check
around (on UMICH?) I think you can find a version that has maps for parts
of the US in it. I have it somewhere on my hard drive...
HTML2KRZ is .KRZ abbreviation file by Nils Ekholm designed to help you
speed the creation of HTML 2.0 documents when using Everest or Edith
Professional (dated June 24, 1995). A Kurtzel (I think that's the correct
spelling) file is a text document that contains abbreviations and their
corresponding full text originals. When loaded into a program that uses
them (the two above or any other) you can type the abbreviation and have
the program automatically expand it (and place your cursor in the correct
location to add any needed data). This is a great tool! Docs included.
JROFF34E is the JUNIOR Office v.3.04e Shareware FAX program by TKR Software
Gmbh & Co. This software (.PRG/.ACC)is a complete modular Fax management
package for your Atari computer. It is completely multitasking and GEM
friendly and should run on any Atari computer. with a Class 1 or 2 Fax
modem connected. With Jr. Office you can expect to do the following:
Compose Faxes from Text files and Image files (either imported or
created "within" the program by specifying editors for Jr.
Off. to call when needed)
Send Faxes
Receive Faxes
View incoming and outgoing faxes
Print incoming and outgoing faxes (with GDOS and a printer driver)
Auto-Receive Faxes
Ring 'Fax-U-Back' services
File incoming and outgoing faxes
Maintain an address and telephone and Fax number directory
Requires some sort of GDOS (any of the commercial or freeware versions
about will do-- see AMCGDOS or FONTGDOS for the free versions). Detailed
docs (translated by Steve Taylor) included. Shareware.
KBEXT414 is the Keyboard Extender v.4.14 by Roland Waldi (dated Jan. 1990).
KBEXT may be started from the AUTO folder or the desktop and will establish
a memory resident extension to the keyboard interrupt handler, which allows
in addition to the NORMAL, SHIFT and CAPS-LOCK keyboard tables also ALT and
ALT-SHIFT keyboard tables to be used, thus allowing more than 128
additional characters to be entered directly from the keyboard by pressing
the ALT key (descriptions of all character assignments are included).
KBEXT includes a screensave which disables the screen 10 minutes after the
last mouse/keyboard/midi event. Docs included. ST-TT compatible (at
least).
LSTFNT21 is Listfont v.2.1 by Matthew Carey (dated 1995). This program
will look through your font files and present you with a list of font names
and file names within a selected path. No other utility (such as any of
the incarnations of GDOS) are needed to run this program as it just looks
at the font files themselves. The following font types are supported:
TrueType, Calamus; Postscript Type 1 and Type 3; GDOS GEM Bitmap; Bitstream
Speedo (Both encrypted and unencrypted); Ghostscript GSF; PageStream;
Caligrapher, and Compugraphic. The file output is to an ASCII file or a
comma delimited format for easy inclusion in database/spreadsheet programs.
Docs included. ST-TT and Geneva compatible (at least). C Source code
included.
SPELL32 is Spell/ST v.3.2 by Murray Langton and David Tilley (dated April,
1991). This ST-TT and Geneva compatible program is an excellent speling
checker. It has some knowledge of plurals, sufixes and prefixes. Spell/ST
ignores some text-formatting commands and works on 1st. Word Plus '.DOC'
files. It also detects consecutive duplicate words and most common split
infinatives (this is very nice feature!). Designed to run from a floppy
drive (slow) or from a hard drive (much better) Spell/ST will take any text
file you give it (using the item selector) and run it through its list of
recognized words. The unrecognized words (and suggested correct
spellings!) can be output to the screen or to a disk file in alphabetical
order or in order of occurrance in the document (line numbers are given as
well, so you can easily find the mispelled word). There are many other
features to this fine, free, program. I recommend it to you. This archive
includes a main dictionary (of 54,939 words) and two secondary dictionaries
of computerese (of 2,471 words) and names and places (5,220 words), all
combined into one file. A seperate utility for creating new dictionaries
(or adding to old ones) using lists of pre-corrected words (lots of those
around if you check) may be found in MAKEDICT. Docs are included. Color
or mono. Hmmm...after reviewing my description, perhaps I should have run
it through Spell/ST <grin>!
MAKEDICT is Make Dictionary, the Dictionary creator and maintainer utility
of the Spell/ST Spelling dictionary by Murray Langton and David Tilley
(dated April, 1991). This utility will take lists of corrected words and
form them into a dictionary that Spell/ST v.3.2 (see SPELL32) is able then
to use in spell checking your documents. I am very impressed with Spell/ST
and with Make Dictionary. Check it out! ST-TT and Geneva compatible.
Color or mono. Docs included.
SPELL28 is Spell v.2.8 by Eric Bergman-Terrell (dated July 17, 1988). This
is a program that allows you to detect and correct spelling mistakes in
your word processor files (previously saved on disk). You can add to the
dictionary (one included). Eventually you will have all your commonly used
words in the dictionary and you will only be prompted for new or unusual
ones. This program allows you to use your mouse in selecting multiple text
files. Color or mono. Docs included. Easily used and useful. For a more
advanced Spell Checker check out (pun intended) SPELL32 (Spell/ST v.3.2).
ST-TT and Geneva compatible.
MAZEBIN is a fun maze game by Bruce Szablak (dated July 8, 1990). You begin
by finding yourself in a large 3D maze. and you learn to find your way
about. I'm not sure if there is a way out, but keep on going through those
doors (some are invisible) and down those corridors, and if there is one,
you'll find it! You can set the degree of animation in your walking (from
jumps to smooth movement) by the arguments you place on the command line
(try 2 2 3 3 as a start). Your movement is controlled by the keyboard.
Docs included. ST-TT and Geneva compatible (at least). C Source code
included.
MURKS_LC is MurKs v.1.05 and Line Cut by Chritian (Christian?) Lehmann
(dated Sept. 8-10, 1993). These utilities are designed to make your
UUEuncoding easier. When you get a UUEncoded file by e-mail, you have
to remove the headers and sigs from the mail to UUDecode the file. This
means that you can now save any series of UUEencoded files into one file
and use MurKs to pull out the extraneous data that would mess up the
unencoding. You don't need an editor and the worry of getting it right
anymore. LineCut is the same as MurKs but in a TTP format. The docs are in
German, but the author has provided a simplified English guide for you to
use. ST-TT and Geneva compatible (at least).
NOLOCK is NoLock by David Brooks of the Open Software Foundation (dated
1989). Have you ever caught your Caps Lock key with the edge of your hand
and only found out about it several lines later? That is a pain! NoLock is
a resident program that disables your Caps Lock key. Normally it would be
run from the AUTO folder, but it can be run any time. Source code (.ASM)
included. ST-TT and Geneva compatible.
OCRE_14D is OCR v.1.4d by Alexander Clauss (the creator of CAB, the Atari
Graphical Web Browser and numerous other programs). Dated Feb. 1996. This
is an Optical Character Recognition program which will take
your scanned documents (in .IMG or .PCX formats) and turn them into ASCII
text for importation into your word processor. A scanner is nice, but not
necessary if you can get the scanned text images from someone else. This
program is not only smart at first, but it learns to recognize difficult
letters in the text you are converting. You can create font dictionaries
for each of the fonts you regularly experience and save them for future
use. That way you don't need to "train" the software each time. If the
.IMG file you are working with is "dirty" you may clean it up right within
OCR!. A text editor is included so that you can correct your text output
right within the program. You can now save the ASCII output in Atari/DOS,
Mac, or Unix formats. Any GDOS or SpeedoGDOS font may be used for text
display in the program windows. ST-Falcon compatible, color or mono, and
requiring at least 500K free RAM. On-line help is available using either
1st-Guide or ST-Guide. German, English, French, Spanish and Dutch RSC
files. English docs.
PIXKROME is Pixikrome, the 24-bit Image Processing Utility from Obnokshus
Software Limited (dated Dec. 1994). Don't you just love that company name?
Anyway, Pixikrome is a program for the digital manipulation of 320*200
pixel images in 24-bit color. It loads and saves in the QRT raytracer .RAW
format and is also compatible with Spectrum 512 images, Neochrome Master
rasters and most ST 16-colour screen formats. Pixikrome also directly
supports the use of the Vidi ST video digitiser ( old version with separate
colour splitter ). The program runs on any ST/E with 1 meg or more of
memory and should work on Mega STE's. Piles of features for merging,
lightening, darkening, bluring, splitting, etc. the images you are working
with. The main limitation of this utility is the inability of the ST to
display 24-bit images. Images can be previewed within Pixikrome by
splitting them into their component red, green and blue parts or by using
the quarter-screen 512-colour preview option. Because Pixikrome is an
image processor rather than a paint program, it can't generate pictures on
its own and needs to be used alongside another graphics utility. It is most
useful for users of QRT, Vidichrome and Spectrum 512. Mouse driven. Docs
included. This looks like one awesome
program. According to the uploader (on Hensa) this program works on the
ST-Falcon, and though I ran into some problems on my TT, it worked well
enough that I think the problems were more to do with not having thoroughly
read the directions than to do with the hardware. Color only.
PROF2_08 is Profile v.2.08 by Mark S. Baines of Linnhe Computing (dated
Dec. 18, 1994). Atari, in its wisdom, has created a situation where there
are many different types of STs, TTs and Falcons around the world. What
have we got? There are at least 15 different TOS versions, many different
versions of GEMDOS and the AES, different versions of GDOS (GDOS, FONTGDOS,
FSMGDOS, SpeedoGDOS, NVDI), 17 different nationalities of ROM, BLiTTER
chips, different resolutions and many different amounts of RAM memory from
256K to 4Mb on an ST and beyond on TTs and Falcons. That's a lot of
different computers out there! Profile 2 will tell you all about your
system, from the AUTO folder program (and their vectors), through the
cookies installed, to the status of your XControl panel (I can't think of
anything else shown that comes after X in the alphabet, but it there is I'm
sure Profile 2 shows it!) Shareware (limited until you register in that
you cannot use any of the Save to Disk, Save to Clipboard and Print
functions and you cannot Load or Save the PROFILE2.INF Options file).
ST-Falcon, Multi-TOS, Geneva, MagiC compatible. If you want to know about
your system, this program will tell you about it! Online ST-Guide help
files as well as detailed docs included with the program.
PTPLAY03 is the PT-PLAYER, a Protracker Module-Player for the Atari ST,
v.1.03 by Petri Kuittinen using a play routine by Martin Griffiths (date
Dec. 7, 1994). This GEM-based program will play Noise- and ProTracker
module files via Yamaha-2149 sound chip. The sound output is 17.1 Khz mono
PCM sound with 12-bit dynamics. This program works on all resolutions and
on all screen refresh rates. It works on all Atari ST/STE models (with only
0.5 Mb RAM you might have trouble playing large mods). According to the
docs it doesn't work on the TT and Falcon, but when I tried it on my TT it
appears to work (I say appears because my TT internal speaker died and I
don't have any internal speaker hooked up!). I have been told that with the
TT you must turn off the TT's internal cache. Let me know if it works for
you! Docs included. This is a very nice MOD player, that takes full
advantage of your ST/E's adopted ability to play MOD files (MOD files were
originally developed on the Amiga). Color or mono.
SHBUF1_3 is SHBUF v,1.3 by Martin Osieka (dated June 4, 1993). This is an
excellent program for all of you folks out there that have TOS 2.0x through
TOS 4.xx. A known problem with these TOS versions is that your newdesk.inf
file becomes corrupted, if you have too much info in it. With this patch,
you may make your NEWDESK.INF as large as you want. Smile when your desktop
comes up as you wanted it. Long gone are those frustrating days, when you
had to build up your newdesk.inf from scratch. Simply place in your Auto
folder, after GEMRAM, ROMRAM, VRAM, or ROMSPEED (programs which loads your
ROM into RAM). German docs included. Of course, if you already have an
alternate desktop like NeoDesk 4, then you don't need this.
SHELP is SHelp v.0.1 by Th. Morus Walter (dated Dec. 31, 1994). This TTP
program generates a ST-Guide Hypertext source, for inclusion in programs.
German docs, C source code and binary is included. I'm not really too sure
of what this does, but if you need it you could probably figure it out!
The next set of files came off of the hard drive of an extra system I
recently purchased from a STer. I don't know where all of them came from,
but I think that some of them may have come from Genie as well as other
places online. If you like the descriptions, hunt for the files!
24_PIN is a set of GDOS fonts for a 24 pin printer. It contains a 10, 12,
18, and 24 point size for a Swiss and Dutch typeface and a 10 point size
for a Typewriter typeface. These are printer fonts. You will need the
corresponding screen fonts to use these (but most GDOS applications have
those screenfonts already, so you're OK there).
ADDRSS13 is the Address v.1.3b demo by Tim Finch. Address is a quick and
effective address and telephone number system for Atari ST. GEM-Based,
Address is not a high powered relational database, but it doesn't intend to
be! However, if you are looking for a neat, effective way to keep an
up-to-date computerised address book, this is the system for you. This
comes in both a program and accessory form (with slightly different
functions). You may sort your addresses by two criteria (last name and zip
code, for instance). Print out addresses on envelopes, print out telephone
lists, etc. Keyboard and or mouse controlled. The accessory allows you to
time your telephone calls so you can find out how much you spend. There
are lots of other features as well. This demo is limited in some ways,
primarily in that you can't store more than 20 addresses. EXTENSIVE manual
included. ST-TT compatible in ST medium or high res.
ADDUP is AddUp v.1.0 by Dave Henry. This is a game that presents you with
blocks falling down from the top of the screen in groups of three. Each
block contains a number or a blank. The object is to make 3 consecutive
blocks add to 15 in either a horzontal, vertical, or diagonal row. You can
switch the order of the numbered block (say, from 1,9,3, to 3,1,9 or 9,3,1,
or whatever the numbers might be) to get to an advantageous situation.
When you get a sum of 15 the blocks dissolve and any remaining blocks above
fall downward. The second objective is to avoid 3 consecutive blocks that
add to 14. When this occurs the blocks are marked with X and cannot be
elimated from the game. You maneuver the block group by the right, left
and down arrow keys, or you can use the J, K, L keys. The fall rate of the
blocks is slow at first so that you may have time to look for combinations
that add to 15. But don't count on that! As you improve the speed they
drop increases! Created with GFA Basic 3.5. ST Low res only. ST-TT
compatible.
ARP is a basic to advanced textbook on "Atari ST Machine Specific
Programming In Assembly" by Robert C. Arp, Jr. If you have ever thought
about programming in Assembly then this text is for you! Combining ASCII
text and .IMG pictures, this textbook-on-a-disk will guide you step by step
through the process of Assembly programming. The book contains eleven
chapters and numerous example programs, accessories, and other files (over
one meg uncompressed). As the author has said, "I've been programming for
many years, but I've never forgotten what it's like to be a beginner."
With that attitude this book will be great for those both starting out and
those well advanced!
ASSIGN_E is Assign v.0.9 by Dirk Sabiwalsky and Kurt Schumacher (dated Jan.
1993). Assign is program which will allow you to easily edit your
ASSIGN.SYS file (used with GDOS, SpeedoGDOS, and NVDI). Since the
ASSIGN.SYS file is actually a simple ASCII text, why is it necessary to
have a program like this--why not just edit the file with any text editor?
Well, though the ASSIGN.SYS file is plain ASCII, it is not very simple to
edit--correctly! With ASSIGN you can edit the devise drivers, fonts, paths
used, etc. and then save all of this information into a new ASSIGN.SYS
file. Assign deals with getting all of the "P's and Q's" correct, all you
need to do is select the information you want included. This archive
includes an English version of the program and docs, as well as the
original German versions. The English version was translated by Ken Van
Dellen and Frank Lawrence using a registered version of
RufTrade 2.
AW_PPRVW is the AtariWorks Page Preview by Michael 'Papa' Hebert (dated
1995). AtariWorks doesn't provide you with a page preview feature...or
does it? By the creative efforts of Papa Hebert it now does. He shows you
in the AtariWorks document file how to quickly and easily access a page
preview mode in AW. Now you can see what you will be printing out, check
out the balance of your pages, etc. How does this guy do all of this with
AW? He works hard to make a good program even better!
BBSUTIL is a set of four utilities for your BBS by Bryan Hall. There are
two utilities to hang up your modem, one to keep it offline while you're
running .BAT files, or to put it online and ready to use. If you have a
BBS then you will probably find a use for these. Docs included.
CALTIM31 is Bob's CallTime v.3.1 by Bob Areddy and modified, with
permission, by myeck waters (dated Jan. 15, 1994). This program is for all
of you modem users out there who want to get the EXACT time. This program
will call the Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. to set your ST to the
correct time. They have a computer set up just spitting out the time in
military format and the date in Julian format. Source code (.S) and doc
file included. This version fixes a bug in the previous version that
messed up the date when run in 1994 or after.
CONCERTO is the Concerto demo by John Gymer of Microdeal Limited. Concerto
is a MIDI sequencing package for the ST-TT. It allows you to compose music
and store it in the computer or on disk. There are numerous methods of
entering music and editing it, for instance there is a Score Editor, Drum
Machine, Grid Editor, Step-Time Editor, Event Editor and you can also
record in real-time as you play the notes on your MIDI keyboard. Concerto
provides a whole host of options which make handling the song easier. There
are many editing options such as Transpose, Search/Replace, ReMap, Block
Operations, Fill, Force and many more. This demo is limited to ST medium
res and no save (with a few other options missing, too). The full version
runs in color or mono and has other utilities included. Docs and samples
included.
CONVERT4 is the Super Card and B.Base 2 File Convert v.4.3 program. This
program allows you to convert between different Data Formats (B.Base 2,
Super Card 1 and 2, Damaged Super Card Files, ASCII, 1st Word and 1st Word
Plus) and save them in the above formats (well, not the Damaged Super Card
file!) along with the 1st Word Mail Merge format. This program is free to
all registered users of B.Base 2 or Super Card. If you need this and
haven't registered, then do so! Docs included.
DISKSPC is DISKSPC v.1.07 by Mark Brinkworth (dated 1992). This program or
accessory is designed to graphically show on screen disk usage. The program
will shows the size of the hard or floppy drive(s) and the amount of space
in use by the use of bar graphs. The graphs are overlaid in such a way to
allow you to see the percentage of free space available on the drive.
Clicking on the graph will bring up all sorts of information about the
logical structure of the partition layout. It's FAST! Docs included.
ST-TT and Geneva compatible.
DISK_KIT is the Disk_Kit accessory by Clive Parker (dated 1992). This
utility is consists of four sub- routines accessed from the Desk Menu from
within any GEM program or from the Desktop. The four routines are: Format
Disk, Call File Selector, Rename File, and Create Folder. Docs included.
DM_ED is the Dungeon Master / Chaos Strikes Back editor v.1.0 by Simon Oke.
With this program you can alter a saved Dungeon Master/Chaos game file and
files from the CSB Prison, and the DUNGEON.DAT and MINI.DAT files to create
short cuts, new passages, open doors without keys, remove secret doors,
change character attributes, ect. ST Low res only. Docs included.
Keyboard controlled.
EYES is EYES!, a multi-tasking desktop accessory by Jason Dobbs (dated Jan.
15, 1992). The purpose of this .ACC is to raise a smile, and it does this
by drawing a pair of eyes that keep looking at where the mouse points,
regardless of whatever else you might be doing. It works on all ST-TT
computers, including Geneva users, too, and in all res. You may open more
than one set of eyes if you wish, and close them with a mouseclick. Docs
included.
FISHES is a small program by Marcus Behrens that draws a school of fish on
your screen. This works on my TT in TT High, but I cannot access all of
the configuration options (things like adjusting the number of fish on-
screen, the length of their tails, the speed of their swimming, etc.). I
assume that you may do all of those other things on other machines or other
res. Multi-tasking capable and keyboard controlled.
REC_FREE is RecFree from J.G. Systems (dated 1995). RecFree is a Falcon
only FREEWARE digital audio recorder. It is very simple to use. It supports
stereo AVR, AIF, TKE and raw files, S/PDIF in/out and remote control
facillities. There are no editing facilities, but J.G. Systems can provide
you with equipment and software to do just that. RecFree is designed to
show you how well they can program for the Falcon, and to get you
interested in their other programs. Docs included.
This next set of files is from Toad Hall, Dana Jacobson's BBS operated out
of his home (and a very nice BBS at that!). He has piles of files
available, and some very nice conversations going on there on a daily
basis. I only wish it wasn't a long distance call! Call 617-569-2489 or
617-567-8642 to get online there.
1STSHOW is the 1st Word text file displayer v.2.0 by Kevin Engler of Bells
and Whistles Software (dated 1988). This program will allow you to display
a First Word document (.DOC) with all of its special text styles (bold,
italic, etc.). This is great when you come across a 1st Word .DOC file as
the documentation for a program, and you no longer have 1st Word. Scroll
through the document line by line or page by page. Includes the GFA Basic
.BAS and .LST files. Color or mono. ST and perhaps STE, but not TT
compatible.
1WPDCIFR is a very useful program the Riverside Software Institute (dated
Sept. 1992). It will take a First Word Plus .CFG printer file and
transform it back into its original .HEX (ASCII Text) format. This is
especially useful if you have a .CFG file that is close but not perfect for
your printer. ST-TT compatible in color or mono. Sample .CFG files
included. Shareware.
ALPHA is the Alpha Brain Wave Inducer by John Logajan (dated March 1989).
This program supposedly stimulates Alpha waves in your brain. It should not
be used by persons susceptible to epileptic seizures as the screen flashing
might trigger a seizure. You are allowed to choose between four different
setting designed to encourage awakedness, meditation, problem solving, or
sleep. Docs within program. This archive contains the GFA .LST and .BAS
source code and the GFA 3.6 compiled program. ST-TT compatible in color or
mono.
DOILIES is a graphics demo by N. Harris. Run this program and see lovely
kaleidoscopic "Doilies" pop up on your screen. It should work in any
resolution, but it is only ST (STE?) compatible. It doesn't work on my TT.
ST Low res. is best. GFA Basic 3 .LST, .GFA, and .BAS source code included.
ECLRDRAC is the Color English language version of DRACHEN by Dirk Woitha
(v.2.0). Drachen is derived from an old game from China (otherwise known
as Mah Jongh or Shanghai). 144 tiles are built up on 5 levels on the
playing surface. The goal is to remove all the tiles. To that end, one
may remove any two matching tiles, as long as each of them is free to move
either to its left or to its right [that is, there is no other tile "in the
way" of the movement of each matching tile]. This game challenges your
mind. Docs included. This version has now been COMPLETELY translated into
English by Steve Johnson. This is a real "Thinker." Not TT Compatible.
Finally, here is a set of programs from the UNI-KL Internet site:
AGATE12 is the Anonymous GIF Animation Tool - 'AGATe' - v.1.2 by that very
famous fellow, Anonymous. This little .TTP tool is designed to allow
users of Apex Animator (Apex Media) to generate animated GIF files from 256
colour FLIC animations. The process is automated to a very high degree,
and the tool will attempt to save only the animated portion of the file,
even if the FLC is 640x480 pixels in size. There are all sorts of options,
and the docs detail them for you.
COOKIE_M is The Cookie Monster by Cajun (dated Jan. 15, 1996). Atari
introduced the Cookie Jar so that the system and developers could indicate
capabilities of the machine. The Cookie Monster reads the Cookie Jar and
interprets the information contained in it. Other programs do this but the
The Cookie Monster interprets the contents of the Cookie Jar before
displaying them. It recognises 373 cookies. Simple ASCII docs and more
detailed ones in ST Guide format. The program will then print the report
to screen or disk.
EXTRA326 is Extra 3.26 by Martin Cubitt (dated April 7, 1996). This
archive contains the Extra STOS extension. Using this will give you even
more power when using STOS because it includes some very powerful commands.
How many new commands? Sixty new commands, that's how many. This
shareware extension includes the updated extension and manual. I contacted
the author and this formerly shareware extension has now been released as
freeware. Thanks to him! GRAF_GFX is a series of 19 Degas (.PI1) format
pictures by Graf/LuZak Team of Poland. According to the uploader these are
from the best Polish graphics man on the Atari.
GUITSCAL is a set of two .GIF files (by Ray Johnson) of all the keys of the
major and minor quitar scales (more below), the Watch It picture viewer by
Stefan Bock (which will allow you to view those GIF files from within
another program), and a copy of DC Reserve by Keith Gerdes and Michael
Vederman. The GIF pictures show the frets of the guitar and show spots on
each spot that when you play will provide an on key note. So all you need
to do is to look at these pictures (the correct key and scale for your
improvisational song) and play away, using only those indicated notes. You
can't go wrong! Great for improvising from within your favorite sequencer,
etc. Detailed docs are included. The author has even volunteered to
produce GIFs of other scales, if only you ask him. Immediately below you
will find descriptions of Watch_It and DCRESRVE:
DCRESRVE is DC Reserve v1.0 by Double Click Software. DC Reserve runs as
either an auto program or as an .ACC and will reserve a predefined amount
of memory when you execute a program. For instance, if you run C-Lab's
Creator it uses all available memory for itself. With DC Reserve installed
and set to reserve 750K, when you execute Creator you will have 750K free
RAM in the program for use for other things (like Watch_It). Color or
mono. Docs included. ST/STe/TT/Falcon<?> compatible. A "Program of the
Week."
WATCH_IT is Watch-It, the GIF .PRG/.ACC Picture Viewer for Atari
ST/STE/TT/Falcon Computers, v.1.0a by Stefan Bock. This viewer was
originally planned as a Falcon only True Color/256 Color viewer, but the
author expanded his idea and made it workable for all ST-Falcon computers
(even 512K models, though they won't have enough RAM for big pictures). At
them moment only GIF pictures (of any format) are viewable, though the
author hopes to expand to other formats). Use the item selector to pick a
picture which is then displayed in a movable and scrollable window
(scrollable by using the scrollbars, keyboard, or just by moving the mouse
about). The picture is displayed without dithering in True Color or 256
color displays, or dithered in 16 color or mono. The mono display is quite
nice. Simple online help is included, and detailed text docs are in this
archive. Geneva and Multi-TOS compatible. On Delphi, too.
HARD is the Atari Hardware Description v.1.2 compiled by Joerg
Hohwiller/Beweise of DNS. Most of the information for this document comes
from ST Intern<als>, the Hardware-Text is by Dan Hollis and the Falcon
Documentation if by Chis/Aura. But by getting this list you find all of
this information in one list. It's not a full documentation (in other
words, you have to know what you're doing), but it's all here!
IT by Shadows is a Falcon only demo released at the Easter, 1997
Siliconvention held in Bremen. Code is by Yonek, gfx by Lightman and
Insert, and sfx by Cedyn. This demo doesn't use the DSP, and, according to
the programmers, is lame. Hmmm...an interesting observation about your own
work!
JVENT is the Joint Venture demo for the Falcon. It's called the Joint
Venture demo because it was created by the joint efforts of a whole load of
demo crews. Released at InterCon '96 (Nov. 1, 1996). According to the
authors there is no fancy design or hyper-routines here, and the DSP is not
used except for the player. Whay you will find here is an online river,
fogs, faders, plasma and snake tunnels, planets, and lots more stuff. Run
from your hard drive and start it from one of the following resolutions for
best results: 320x200x2, 320x200x4, 320x200x16, 640x200x2, 640x200x4 or
640x200x16.
LADMDS2 is a demo by Atrocity named "A L'aube Du Matin Du Soir 2" dated
March 1, 1995. This demo is ST-TT (and probably Falcon, since they mention
they have one in the demo). This demo was modified with an intro and
finish by the Senior Dads group. The SD found this and enjoyed it so much
that they are passing it on (with appropriate credit, of course). This
demo can be run from floppy or hard drive. It has sound and some very nice
graphics, though with a name like "Atrocity" you might expect that some of
the graphics are of the eyeball hanging out variety (and you'd be right).
I enjoyed the interesting rotating fades between pictures (digitized
pictures of the Atrocity team are included), and the cute screen shown
while another portion of the demo is loaded. Coded by Sgt. Slayer and Dr.
Skull in assembler and GFA Basic, with SoundTracker routines by Wizzcat
(interesting names here, and in most of the demo groups I've found!).
MAGGIE_PC is the EEZI-PC Maggie (dated Feb. 20, 1997). In spite of the
name of this issue of Maggie, this special edition will happily run on any
ST based hardware. It won't run that well on any Intel based computer,
nor is it meant to, unless some damn good ST'ish emulation comes along (I
haven't checked it out on my GEMulator though!) I enjoyed reading through
this Maggie, as it was a good reminder to me of how much nicer all my Atari
hardware is than my PC (like I *need* a reminder with my PC nightmare!).
Read this to find all sorts of nice information about config.sys files,
MS-DOS, Letters to the Editor of PC Mags, Exception and hardware errors,
and much more, all done with a Mad Magazine style of parodying life in the
DOS/Windoz fastlane. Eezi-PC Maggie is a one-off special issue kind of
thing, made with the dedicated PC-hater in mind. Inside, you will get a
mixture of back-issue material slagging off the dreaded klone box, going
right back to issue ten, along with a little bit of internet material, and
some new and specially written spoof material
for this issue (I especially enjoyed the Intel Trek reports). Remember:
Eezi-PC Maggie, a little peek through the blast doors into Computer Hell!!
Well, it's not really all that bad...but it's fun to do a little poking now
and then!
MAGAMA1A is MM2, a Modula-2 development system for the Atari ST computer
line. The MM2 package was developed in 1984 to 1992 by Jrgen Mller,
Manuel Chakravarty and Thomas Tempelmann. It had been distributed by
Application Systems Heidelberg. Thomas Tempelmann is the holder of the
copyright of the whole package. The MM2 package is now released as Freeware
by Thomas Templemann (dated Feb. 8, 1997). This archive contains the
documentation in Signum!2 formatted .SDO files. Also included is a short
text file (in both English and German) telling about the package.
Unfortunately for me, the main documentation is all in German. Check out
MAGAMA1B for the main set of code, programs, and help files (again, all in
German). That archive also includes docs in ASCII format.
MAGAMA1B is MM2, a Modula-2 development system for the Atari ST computer
line, now released by Thomas Templemann as Freeware (dated Feb. 8, 1997).
This archive contains the main set of code, programs, and help files
(again, all in German). This archive also includes docs in ASCII format.
This is a HUGE file, being 3.3 meg ZIP compressed and over 9.2 meg
uncompressed (with about 1,000 separate files!). Check out MAGAMA1A for
the docs in Signum!2 format. I found this (and MAGAMA1A) on the UNI-KL
Internet site. There it had a long filename, which I've truncated to
conform to the 8.3 Atari format for my own convenience. Unfortunately,
I've forgotten what the original name was (not that it matters all that
much, since I'm sure you will be able to find it anyway).
MPATCH10 is a patch by Daniel Hedberg of New Beat Development that will
allow all of you Falcon and MagiC v4.02 users to force MagiC to skip the
check for internal IDE drives. This check is very annoying on a system with
only SCSI devices, as it takes MagiC forever to discover there are no IDE
drives present. v.1.0 dated March 24, 1996. Docs included.
PBUG_SRC is the sources for the PeaceBug low level debugger/disassembler by
Emanuel Moecklin, now released as freeware (dated March 11, 1996). Written
in Pure Assembler, this archive contains all of the source code and tools
associated with PeaceBug. In reading through the docs I find that they are
of the type that tell you what you need to know if you already know it. I
don't know why the author didn't include the program itself, but if you
know how to use this you probably know how to compile it to get it! Docs
in English (sparce) and German (full).
PING2K_D is an update of the working demo of PING 2000, a Holland Game
Design gaem for the Falcon030 (date Feb. 1995). Written by the same people
who brought you UFO_WAR, this game will run on any Atari Falcon030 with 4MB
or more Ram with RGB monitors, TV or VGA (multi-sync) monitors. Ping 2000
should now work on all VGA monitors up to 72 Hz Non-Interlaced. The games
requires about 3MB diskspace and is about 6MB big. PING 2000 can be played
by one or two players with joysticks or Atari joypads. This is a vastly
improved PONG clone (improved in both graphics and sound). The game runs
either at 50 or 60 frames per second. PING 2000 will take you on a journey
through time and show you Ping has been a basic element of existence from
the distant past to the far future! There is even a "Classic" ping game
included (but that's disabled in this demo). The docs and descriptions of
this game sound so good it makes me wish I had a Falcon (but then again,
almost anything I read or see about the Falcon makes me want to get one!).
Ordering information included. This demo will run off of a 1.4 meg floppy,
but the full version requires a hard drive. Detailed docs included.
REGISTER is a text file listing the MC68030 User and Supervisor Registers.
I would think that this is a must have for all of you TT and Falcon
programmers out there. There is no information as to the source of this
information, or of its compiler.
SBM_08 is the Falcon-only Super Bomberman v.0.8 by Marc BOURLON of France
(dated March 12, 1995). This game is for two to six players (two on
Joysticks, two on the keyboard, and two on the Jaguar Joypad). The aim of
the game is to stay alive longer than the other players. The idea is to
move around the playing field destroying the walls that surround you, and,
at the same time destroying the friends with whom you are playing (gee,
sounds like a quick way to make enemies! <G>). Find the extra Bomb bonuses,
and the speed and kick bonuses, too. Watch out for those bombs that your
friends are placing, too. There might be a chain reaction! Freeware (sort
of). The author would love for you to send him some money for all of his
hard work! Detailed English docs included. This has been greatly improved
over the previous version. I'm glad to see that the author is still
supporting his work. The question is, are we supporting him (and other
shareware programmers)? Note, this game uncompresses to 508K, which is
pretty amazing considering the ZIP file is only 75K in size!
SILICNCR is the Falcon only Sili Con Carne Demo by NO/Escape. This demo
was released at the Siliconvention held in Bremen over Easter, 1997. As
the demo docs say, "RGB/TV monitor needed. Falcon 030 needed. Nerves
needed."
SILICON is a series of Falcon/ST demoes from the Siliconvention Party held
in Bremen over Easter, 1997. This archive contains the 96Ktro "6-Sievert"
demo, the 4Ktros Bugbeast (BumpMapping, ST 4ktro which runs on the Falcon
also by Llama/tSCc); the TSX demo (Wolfenstein 4ktro, Falcon 4ktro by
???/TNB), and the 30L_COKE demo (Plasma-Fractal, Falcon 4ktro by
Dynacore/sTCc and Sage/Disaster Area). Also included is the .MOD file
XDREAM by Scy/TSCC and a .GIF picture GIVE-YB by Flash/TNB (the picture
shows two cute stuffed bears hugging each other with one of them puffing on
a dangling cigarette--yuck). I guess I'll let you figure out what these
are!
SIRUS is the Flight Over Sirius dentro by T.S.C.C.- The Sirius Cybernetics
Corp (dated March 6, 1995). It has some realliy nice effects! The upload
description said that it is a Falcon only demo, but the docs within the
archive say that it will run on the STF/E and Falcon. So...I expect that
the docs on the inside are correct (though it doesn't work on my TT).
STFLRMAT is the ST Floormat Demo by the Senior Dads. This demo will run on
the ST-Falcon computer with a color monitor. It seems that this group had
a bit of an argument with the ST Floormat magazine. Apparently the magazine
back in 1984(?, but that's what the docs say) took their demo and used it
without giving them credit. Now that ST Floormat is no more, they are
releasing it for themselves. Now, it really isn't all that wild a demo
(perhaps though for being so old it is). It shows some screens of text and
a scolling text moving over the top of the screen.
SYM96INV is the Falcon only demo invitation to the Symposium '96, a demo
scene party involving all the platforms which are important in the guild of
the demomakers, namely Amiga, PC, C-64, Archimedes and the Atari
ST/Falcon. I don't know what this demo shows, but according to the upload
it will run on either an RGB or a VGA monitor. The text file describing
the Symposium 96 Party is very interesting. The details of what is and is
not allowed in the demoes is amazing! It looks like quite a project to put
this on. I wonder how it turned out.
TETRIS is a Falcon only version of Tetris. This program is from Poland and
is listed in the upload as v.0.4. It requires an RGB monitor. Here's my
pet peeve! Why don't people put docs with their programs? People write
demos and then don't tell anything about them (how to run them, what
monitors required, etc.) Yikes!
Take care, and drop me a line to say hello. I'm always glad to get mail!
May God Bless,
--Michael R. Burkley
The Unabashed Atariophile
p.s.: You may contact me at MRBURKLEY@DELPHI.COM,
MICHAEL-R-BURKLEY@WORLDNET.ATT.NET, or at
M.BURKLEY1 on Genie
Michael is a former Polyurethane
Research Chemist, the co-owner of
Suzy B's Software, and currently
the Pastor of the Niagara
Presbyterian Church
Gaming Section
Iron Soldier 2 Review! U2!
Berkeley Systems! Thrustmaster!
Game Sales! And more!
From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
It seems a rarity these days for this section of the magazine to have "new"
material regarding the Jaguar. But, we've been waiting some time to hear
of the next new game to arrive for the console; this one is Iron Soldier 2.
We haven't received a review copy of the game as yet, but some Jaguar
users have it and we've seen some feedback on the Usenet. There also been
a review, by Robert Jung, that we've reproduced here for your enjoyment.
It appears that IS2 is everything we'd hoped it would be, and more - a
terrific sequel.
So, while we wait for our copy, let's take a look at what other people are
saying about the game as well as other gaming news around town.
Until next time...
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
New and Significant on the Computer Game Front
UPI Computer Comment
LOS ANGELES, May 5 (UPI) -- You can count on Berkeley Systems to come up
with elegantly small, highly entertaining programs. Some other companies
put a lot of flash and dazzle into their applications, and make them as big
as the moon. But not Berkeley. It made all those flying toasters, and now
it has come up with yet another inexpensive application that is just what a
lot of other applications want to be. In this case, the people at
Berkeley have You Don't Know Jack Movies, a new and highly irreverent party
game.
As in past incarnations of the You Don't Know Jack series, this one
features a wisecracking, insulting host who tries to goad you into
answering questions, background noise that is sometimes the funniest part
of the game and wacky questions in categories such as "SAG: Entertainment
Union or Spy Organization." There are 800 questions on subjects dealing
with the silver screen, covering everything from Fred Astaire to Freddy
Krueger. And best yet, You Don't Know Jack Movies plays on either a Mac or
a Windows-based computer for about $30.
---
The City of Lost Chil
dren is not a film most folks have seen. It's very
definitely art house variety entertainment, and it comes with subtitles.
It's French, surrealist, part Jules Verne and part "Oliver Twist" --
exactly the king of thing that makes an intriguing computer game.
However, the people at Foster City, Calif.-based Psygnosis didn't just take
a move license and slap the thing onto a CD. They added new characters, new
plotlines and provided multiple outcomes -- something a film just cannot
do.
Surrealism seems to be the high art of computer graphic designers, and the
Paris-based crew that came up with the art for The City of Lost Children
outdid themselves. The puzzles the user has to solve are neither too hard
nor, in most cases, are they as easy as those you might find in, for
example, Toy Story. This is a story in pictures, and since Psygnosis is a
subsidiary of Sony, you can imagine that the same game will be arriving
soon for the Playstation.
---
Command & Conquer is breeding. There's a new one now, a son of the strategy
shoot-'em-up that stole the hearts of so many PC gamers, and it's called
Command & Conquer Gold.
There aren't a lot of changes in this new version, but the ones that are
there are significant. It's no longer a game that is designed to go to DOS
before you start playing. It's native to Windows 95 now. And, in addition
to the newlyredesigned SVGA graphics, the new version of Command & Conquer
supports head-to-head play with other C&C players over the Internet.
Command & Conquer Gold is designed to sell for about $50, but you get
$10 rebate if you already own the DOS version.
ThrustMaster Gets Record Order
ThrustMaster Inc. says it has received a record $1.5 million order from
Sam's Club for X-Fighter joysticks.
"This is the largest single order in ThrustMaster's history," says Stephen
Aanderud, CEO of the Portland, Oregon, game peripherals maker. "The
X-Fighter bundle will greet every customer that walks through the front
door of Sam's Club."
The X-Fighter, priced at about $50, will be packaged with two games: Duke
Nukem 3D and Mechwarrior 2 -- Mercenaries. The bundle will be featured in
over 400 Sam's Club stores during the "Dad's and Grad's" selling season,
beginning in early June. Visit Thrustmaster's web site at
www.thrustmaster.com.
Eidos Celebrates a Marketing Coup With U2
MAY 6, 1997, M2 Communications - Billed as "the most expensive rock 'n'
roll tour ever", U2's PopMart tour has been unanimously declared the gig of
the decade by music critics across the globe. The 14 month, GBP
75 million world tour kicked off in Las Vegas on 25 April 1997. But
there's one guest artist on the bill who you won't see giving interviews,
though you might catch a glimpse of her backstage. She's quite possibly the
most stunning woman in the show and was personally invited to take part by
the band themselves. So who is this mystery woman?
She's no other than Lara Croft, the sexy heroine of best selling computer
game, Tomb Raider, published by software giant Eidos. Developers, Core
Design, were commissioned by U2 to produce exclusive footage of Lara in
action to be played on the 7,000 sq. foot video screen (the world's
largest). "We were delighted when U2 asked if Lara would share the stage
with them. It's a great honour for Lara and it establishes her position as
a real cult icon", says Larry Sparks, worldwide marketing director for
Eidos Interactive.
"It's great to know that U2 are Lara fans and just in case they get bored
backstage we've made sure that they'll be playing Tomb Raider by giving
them PlayStations and games to take on their world tour!" PopMart arrives
in Europe in July, with the first UK date on 22 August at London's Wembley
Arena.
Tomb Raider was released in November 1996, reaching No. 1 immediately. It
has remained in the top five of the computer games chart since its release
and has returned to the number one spot on three separate occasions (an
industry first). It has currently sold in excess of 1.8 million units
world-wide. Tomb Raider 2 is due for release in November.
First Quarter Video Game Software and PC
Entertainment Software Sales Up More than 50%
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on the momentum
gained in last year's fourth quarter, sales of interactive entertainment
software posted another substantial increase, up 58% in the first quarter
of 1997 compared to the first quarter of 1996. According to NPD's
Interactive Entertainment Software Service, 13.3 million units of video
game software and 10.4 million units of computer entertainment software
were sold during the first three months of this year. NPD monitors the
interactive entertainment software industry with information provided by a
nationally representative sample of retailers across the U.S.
Leading the sales surge was Nintendo 64, for which software sales continued
to skyrocket. Although only 14 titles were available for the system through
March, Nintendo 64 software occupied seven of the top eight spots on NPD's
Interactive Entertainment Software best seller list for the first quarter.
Nintendo's Mario Kart 64 and Super Mario 64 ranked one and two
respectively, followed by Nintendo's Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and
Acclaim's Turok: Dinosaur Hunter.
Keeping pace with the success of Nintendo 64, sales of PlayStation software
were also strong in the first quarter, up 170% versus the same period last
year. Eight games for the PlayStation were among the top 25 on NPD's
Interactive Entertainment Software best seller list for the first quarter
1997. Saturn software sales also improved, up 135% over quarter one of
1996.
There is no reason to doubt that video games' first quarter success will
continue throughout the remainder of this year, says NPD's Ryan Brock.
"With the recent price drops for both Nintendo 64 and PlayStation hardware,
and a healthy line-up of first rate titles slated for release throughout
the rest of the year, 1997 is shaping up to be a monumental year."
Although computer entertainment software sales did not match the phenomenal
growth of next generation video game software sales, first quarter sales
were up 38% over the same period last year. And Brock believes that the
solid first quarter gives PC entertainment software manufacturers a reason
to be optimistic. "The exceptional first quarter growth shows that
computer gaming is living up to the high expectations resulting from strong
1996 sales," he explains. "With highly anticipated games such as
Broderbund's Riven (the sequel to MYST) scheduled to be released this
summer, the strong sales should continue throughout 1997."
From Robert A. Jung <rjung@netcom.com> ...
Oboy, a new Jag game! And it's on CD, too!
IRON SOLDIER 2
1 Player
CD-ROM
Telegames, for the Atari Jaguar
$59.99
OVERVIEW:
After the evil Iron Fist Corporation was overthrown, the free people of
Earth thought their troubles were over. Little did they know that they
had not slayed the dragon, but unleased a hydra; for with the Iron Fist
destroyed, the rival Penta Corporation has decided to seize their former
enemy's holdings. The only hope the rebels have is to use their Iron
Soldier war robot to drive off this new, more dangerous foe...
Welcome back to the world of IRON SOLDIER 2, a sequel to the Jaguar's
cartridge-based IRON SOLDIER game. Once again, the player must pilot the
42-foot-tall Iron Soldier mech through four groups of five missions
each. Whether it's guarding supply convoys, destroying military targets, or
defending rebel installations, the player battles Penta's leagues of tanks,
helicopters, bombers, gun batteries, and robots. Before each mission, the
Iron Soldier can be equipped with a variety of weapons, and repairs and
ammunition can be found during the fight. If the Iron Soldier takes too
many hits, the game ends, though there is an option to continue. Three
difficulty levels, control options, and the ability to save games to a
Jaguar Memory Track cartridge rounds out this game's list of features.
GAMEPLAY:
What makes for a good video-game sequel? While there is no universal
standard, most players will agree that a sequel should keep the fun and
playability of the original, while adding new, never-before seen twists and
ideas. In this, IRON SOLDIER 2 is only partially successful; it
wonderfully preserves the magic of the first IRON SOLDIER game, but it
doesn't add anything truly innovative to the formula. Sure, there are new
weapons and new enemies, but no new ideas.
That doesn't mean that IRON SOLDIER 2 is bad, of course -- it's simply more
evolutionary than revolutionary. IRON SOLDIER addicts will feel right at
home; the blend of cunning strategy and military action haven't been soured
in the least. The realistic lumbering-yet-versatile feel of steering a
giant robot is happily intact, which adds to the game's depth. Impulsive,
berserker strategies are simply impossible. With variable mission
objectives and hordes of smaller, faster enemies everywhere, smart players
realize that victory lies in well-crafted plans and a dose of restrained
patience.
IRON SOLDIER veterans won't walk over this game, however. The overall
difficulty is noticably higher, and even the Easy difficulty setting will
make experienced players sweat a little. The controls and displays are as
user-friendly as ever, allowing for easy access to weapons and readouts.
The closest criticism one can give is that the game might be a little
short; given the extra storage space of the CD-ROM format, one or two more
mission sets would have been trivial to add. Then again, given the game's
high difficulty, perhaps the developers were showing merciful restraint...
GRAPHICS/SOUND:
The graphics and sound of IRON SOLDIER 2 are a modest step forward from the
original's. Most of the polygons are texture-mapped, with pleasing and
subtle textures that compliment the buildings and vehicles in the game.
New game objects have been added to increase diversity, while existing
objects have been subtly tweaked to add extra details. The screen rate is
still fairly smooth, while pre-mission screens have been reworked with
extra aesthetic frills. Full-motion video is not used very often,
curiously enough, but its absence doesn't hurt the game in the least.
As expected, the biggest improvement in IRON SOLDIER 2's audio is in the
music. Soft-techno audio CD tracks now accompany each mission, adding to
the game without being overly distracting. Sound effects haven't changed
as much; aside from some new sounds for the title's added features, this
title features the same repetoire of explosions and weapons fire as in the
original. They're still appropriate for the game, though a few more warning
klaxons and sounds would have been welcome.
SUMMARY:
Even without any major earth-shaking innovations from the original title,
IRON SOLDIER 2 is a no-brainer -- get it! Players new to the series will
find this a challenging and complex action-strategy game, and fans of the
original will savor more of the original's addictive appeal. With lovely
graphics and agreeable sounds, this is a title that will be spinning in
your Jaguar CD for weeks and months.
GAMEPLAY: 9.5
GRAPHICS: 9.5
SOUND: 8.5
OVERALL: 9.5
Rating values 10 - 8 Great! This game can't get much better.
7 - 5 Good. Average game, could be improved.
4 - 2 Poor. For devotees only.
1 Ick. Shoot it.
--R.J.
B-)
Jaguar Online STR InfoFile - Online Users Growl & Purr!
Iron Soldier 2 Feedback, from the Usenet:
>Anybody played it yet ? Is it any good ? I've bought a bunch of games,
>but it was not very uplifting! White Men was soooo jerky, I liked
>D2000K, Pitfall and Flashback was quite nice! But mostly games are
>very 16-bit! Does Iron Soldier 2 have smooth animation ? Is it as good
>as Iron Soldier with textures, then I wouldn't complain! Thanks for
>your time! Take Atarian care of yourselves ;-)
IS2 finally arrived in my PO Box today. Suprisingly it was packaged in the
same kind of box that is used for cartridge games. This is odd because the
CD Jewel Case didnt' quite fit inside. The sides of the box were kind
deformed because of this. There are 5 screenshots on the box, 4 in back, 1
in front. The pic on the front is the same one that is used twice on the
back for some reason. The jewel case is a generic CDR case. The CD has a
yellow decal that has the title of the game on it.
The opening FMV is easily the best introduction yet in a Jag CD. Full
screen, and lots of FIRE. and EXPLOSIONS. The title and options screens
are fairly similar to the first game. The mission select menu looks
identical to the first game, except now there are 5 missions along each
edge of the screen. This adds up to 20 total missions. Once a level is
selected, you are taken to a briefing that looks like those in IS1.
Instead of a wire-frame model of an enemy unit, there is an fmv clip
showing a spinning overhead view of the city. The weapons select screen is
also similar, with the pictures of weapons replaced with prerendered fmv
screens. This is a little annoying because there is a lag as the cursor
moves between weapons because the CD has to load the right movie.
Gameplay, as far as I can tell, is exactly like IS1. The controls are the
same, and have the same "feel". The frame rate is extremely smooth. All
enemies are very well animated, just like IS1. There is definitely more
texture mapping. The water and the sand in the desert is t-mapped, as are
all buildings and enemies. There seems to be less pop-up as well, although
it is still there. My only complaint is that the resolution seems kind of
low. Anyway, these are some of the best graphics ever seen in a Jag game.
IS2 is really hard. Harder than IS1, even. Of course, I'm not very good
at it yet. But you're fighting an enemy IS unit on the second level! All
in all, I would say that this is the best Jag CD yet. Maybe the best ever.
ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
On CompuServe
Compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@streport.com
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. This is going to be a short column for a
couple of reasons. First, my hard drive crashed in a somewhat suspicious
manner this week (I think it's got more than a little to do with my messing
around with all that MiNTnet stuff for a PPP connection to use with CAB).
And second, there really isn't all that much going on over at CompuServe
this week. This happens every spring when people take time to do some
work on their cars, yards, and all the other things that get neglected
during the winter. Of course, this time I get the feeling that there's
more to it than that. People just aren't joining the Atari platform
anymore... I wonder if the fact that Atari hasn't made a single computer
in over four years has anything to do with it.
<grin>
Well, at any rate, let's take a look at what people ARE saying instead of
what they AREN'T...
From the Atari Computing Forum
Rick Detlefsen asks for...
"Help. I'm using CDroms and find that my MegaST crashes when I look
at a directory with a file larger than 99megs. Probably because
there aren't enough digits. Do I need to go to TOS 2.6? In the
same line, is there a UIS 4? It only shows the first 350 entries
in a directory. I have several CDs that have more. One photo CD
has 2200! So I need a way to set it to "throw away" X number of
entries, page entries, or set a buffer size."
Albert Dayes asks Rick:
"What program are you using to view the directories? I assume you
are using ExtenDOS.
If the normal file selector (ATARI/GEM) is being used I believe
there is a limit of 350 files or directories being displayed. After
that it will probably blow up since it will overwrite memory and
other "nasty" things. As far as I know UIS 3.x was the last one
ever made. The problems sounds more like limits of Atari or 3rd
party item selectors.
Does the Codehead (Little Green Footballs label) item selector
free handle any number of files? Since it was shareware it should
be in the library and you can try it out and see if that works. If
the number of items displayed in the Codehead product relies on
available ram it could blow up anyway depending on how much ram is
in your machine.
The PhotoCD 2200 entries in one directory?"
Rick replies to Albert:
"I'm using the Extendos drivers. I'm using UIS III or GEM to view
the directories. A GEM root dir has a limit of 128 to 200 files,
but the folders have no limit. GEM will read the CD, display the
root dir, as long as I don't show a file>99megs, than let me dbl
clk on the photo folder. After a while, the .TIF pic list shows
up. 2200 entries. Note that this isn't a "KODAK PhotoCD", just a
photo collection. I haven't tried Ltl Grn Footballs, I haven't
used it since I got UIS III."
Joe Villarreal tells Rick:
"You'll probably get the same problem with TOS 2.06. UIS 3.32
only shows the first 400 entries on a CD rom. I tried a demo file
selector called "Boxkite" and it shows all the entries in a
directory, although the demo and text file are completely in
German. I am using a TT with my CD drive but also own a Mega STe
with TOS 2.06."
Michael Pappas asks for info about a hard drive:
"I have a friend who has an old Supra harddrive with 50 megs and
he was wondering if he could remove that drive and replace it with
a larger one. Maybe 240 Megs or something. Would anyone know if
that's possible? Is it a SCSI drive or IDE drive?"
Albert Dayes tells Michael:
"It should be a SCSI drive. I do not know what SCSI host adapter
Supra had in the earlier models. I believe the 85+ megabyte in size
(1989 time frame) had the SCSI/HA v2.x."
Sysop Bob Retelle adds:
"Atari computers only started using IDE drives fairly recently
(recently is a relative term, of course.. but it means your
friend's Supra drive isn't going to be IDE).
I'm not 100% sure, but it's most likely to be an "MFM" style drive
(it could actually be what was referred to as an "RLL" drive, but
they're similar as far as interfacing goes). If that's true, it'll
be hard to locate a good sized replacement drive, as most of the
MFM drives manufactured were in the under 100 Megabyte range.
Also, they haven't been manufactured for a long time, so even
finding an MFM drive in good condition would be a challenge.
Many hard drives for the Atari market used SCSI hard drives, so if
the Supra drive contains this kind your friend may be much better
off. He would need to find an older style "SCSI 1" style drive to
be most sure of a compatible replacement (again, that style is
getting harder to locate).
The way to tell for sure is to pop the cover off the drive case
and look at the cable(s) going to the hard drive mechanism. If
there are two cables (flat grey cables, not counting the
red-yellow-black four wire power connector), then the drive is
MFM/RLL. If there is only one flat grey 50 conductor cable
connected to the drive, then it is a SCSI unit.
MFM hard drive mechanisms might be available at IBM computer swap
shows, and older SCSI units might be found at Apple Macintosh shows
or dealers."
Angelo Vahatoura tells Michael:
"I am in the same situation, the Supra is a SCSI Drive for SURE.
I don't think there should be any problem with replacing it with
another SCSI drive. I am also going to try to replace it with
another SCSI drive."
This seems to be the week for hard drive problems. Dennis Larson posts:
"HELP! I'm having some troubles with drive read/write accesses.
Both the internal (Drive A) and external (Drive B) will
occasionally not read a disk properly (shows as empty). If I bang
on the computer case or raise the keyboard slightly and drop it,
the drives will behave fairly normally. All hard drive access
responds properly with no problems. Disk writes are also erratic -
some files have been trashed, and occasionally the entire disk
(corrupted FAT files).
My system is: 1040STf with TOS 1.04, 4 megs
I suspect a bad connection internally (or a loose chip somewhere)
but don't know where to start looking (I'm not a real computer
techie). I've had the cover off a couple times but don't really
know my way around inside very well. At this point I'm afraid to
backup the hard drive or do anything significant with the
internal/external drives for fear of corrupting existing disks and
files.
Could a <failing> power supply have anything to do with it? On
one occasion recently I noticed a distinctive [hot, burnt] smell
from the power supply. After shutting down and cooling it seemed
to behave normally, and I've not experienced problems since."
Albert Dayes tells Dennis:
"Timing problems usually involve the GLUE, SHIFTER and DMA chips.
These might be loose in their sockets and reseating them might
solve the problem for you.
Another problem might be the western digital floppy controller
chip is going bad. I would check the other chips for reseating
first."
Michael Pappas asks about AtariWorks:
"Recently I purchased AtariWorks and have been pretty satisfied
with the program. Unforunately I encountered a few major bugs with
the word processer and I was wondering if there were any patches
that were released to help solve the problems. Would anyone know?"
Albert dayes tells Michael:
"I believe there was a patch to version v1.2 (check the library).
I believe some of the patches caused the infamous black page
problem with some printers when printing. From what I recall it was
mainly due to not having enough ram when creating the image to be
printed on the printer. I belive anyone without 4 megabytes of ram
had the strong possibility of black page problems."
Well folks, that's it for this time. Tune in again next week, same time,
same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
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Since 1987 Copyrightc1997 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1319
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