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Silicon Times Report Issue 1314
Silicon Times Report
"The Original Independent OnLine Magazine"
(Since 1987)
April 04, 1997 No.1314
Silicon Times Report International OnLine Magazine
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Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155
R.F. Mariano, Editor
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04/04/97 STR 1314 Celebrating Our Tenth Anniversary 1987-97!
- CPU Industry Report - Corel NEWS Updates - Shareware Listings
- IntraNet Use SOARS - Squandered Computer - Intel, Cyrix Settle
- Lucent NETPhone - 600Mhz CPU, Digital - Apple Merger DeJaVu
- The Haunting Overview - People Talking - Classics & Gaming
Saudi Prince Bites Into Apple
Amelio Dismisses Ellison Talks
CompuServe FOR SALE
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From the Editor's Desk...
Spring's offerings are beginning to hit with vigor. Micrografx has
released ABC Graphics Suite 2 and I might add, its lovely. Look for an in
depth review in the next few weeks. It's the perfect companion to any
Office Suite. Small business or large. There is a definite need for the
this fine Graphical Suite.
Look for more interesting information relative to Quick Books Pro and
Peachtree Complete Accounting in the coming weeks. Tax-time seems to be a
perfect time to be doing reviews about accounting software. Especially
after the special reports last night on the 6 o'clock news about errors in
the calculations of both taxes due and refunds due that are occurring on
other software packages.
Internet Explorer from Microsoft has to be the only Browser in the
world that's either embraced or shunned with exuberance. STReport has
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Ralph F. Mariano, Publisher - Publisher, Editor
Dana P. Jacobson, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
PC Section Mac Section Shareware Listings
R.F. Mariano Help Wanted Lloyd E. Pulley
Classics & Gaming Kid's Computing Corner
Dana P. Jacobson Frank Sereno
STReport Staff Editors
Michael R. Burkley Joseph Mirando Victor Mariano
Allen Harkleroad Vincent P. O'Hara Glenwood Drake
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STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Block Confirms Merger Talks
H&R Block Inc. has acknowledged it is discussing a "business combination"
involving CompuServe, the Columbus, Ohio, online service that is 80
percent-owned by the tax-preparation company. Officials in H&R Block's
Kansas City, Missouri, offices did not say with whom they were negotiating,
but reporter Jared Sandberg notes in The Wall Street Journal this morning
that the confirmation of talks comes in the wake of reports that America
Online Inc. was weighing a possible bid.
CompuServe stock rose sharply again yesterday, closing at $12.625, up
$1.625, or 15 percent, in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, after having risen
another 12 percent on Tuesday. CompuServe declined to comment on any
possibilities, and its parent company refused to elaborate on the brief
statement issued yesterday.
Amelio Dismisses Ellison Talks
Apple Computer Inc. Chairman Gil Amelio dismisses as "nonsense" software
tycoon Larry Ellison's talk about a possible takeover of the struggling
computer maker. Of course, Amelio would lose his job if the Oracle Corp.
chief gained control of Apple. Speaking with the San Jose Mercury News,
Amelio said he thinks a change of Apple leadership would be a mistake now
as the company undergoing a sweeping reorganization.
He added, "If as a consequence of some suitor coming along, if that were to
catapult us in new directions, that would be very bad at this point in
time. Because I think we do have it figured out." As reported earlier,
Ellison is forming an investor group and will decide within a couple of
weeks whether to make an offer. The effort would be independent of Oracle,
the second-largest software company behind Microsoft Corp.
Ellison admitted this is a trial balloon to gauge interest in the idea and
has even set up an electronic mailbox -- savappleus@oracle.com -- and
invited Apple employees, customers, stockholders and the computer industry
to respond to his idea. The Associated Press quotes Ellison as saying if
he makes a bid, it would give current shareholders 60 percent in cash and
40 percent stock in Apple, provided they agree to sell at the stock's
current price.
Meanwhile, says AP, "Industry analysts didn't think much of the idea,
pointing out that shareholders could do as well simply by selling 60
percent of their stock. Some also said the problems that have caused
Apple's bottom line, market share and stock price to plummet are too
ingrained to be solved simply by replacing its management."
Adds AP, "Ellison, after booting Amelio, other top managers and current
directors, wouldn't run the company himself. He said he probably would sit
on Apple's board of directors but not hold a top management position.
Ellison saw a similar role for his pal Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder. Jobs
was ousted from the company in a power struggle in 1985, but returned to
the company in December as an adviser when Apple bought his Next Software
Inc." Meanwhile, Jobs says he has no desire to move beyond his current
advisory role and isn't involved in Ellison's -- or anyone else's --
possible bid for Apple.
Scientists Leaving Apple
An accelerated exodus of its top scientists and a dramatic reduction in
research projects are the latest effects of Apple Computer Inc.'s budget
cutting. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Lee
Gomes says three of the five Apple "fellows" -- senior researchers who are
given free rein in their laboratory pursuits -- have left the company, two
of them just last week. The three -- Don Norman, Gursharan Sidhu and Alan
Kay -- all are among the best-known computer scientists in their respective
fields, Gomes adds.
Also, Apple has shut down "a list of promising but long-term projects, such
as one involving the convergence of television sets and personal
computers," the Journal reports, adding, "By one Apple insider's estimate,
Apple's annual budget for long-term research has been whacked to $12
million from $50 million, and the number of researchers slashed to 80 from
250."
The newspaper calls this "another chapter in Apple's decline, as the
company concedes it can no longer afford the pioneering research that was
once one of its defining characteristics." In addition, Gomes comments,
"cutting research spending so sharply makes the kind of innovation that
could lead to a turnaround at Apple even more difficult."
Saudi Prince Bites Into Apple
About 5 percent of troubled Apple Computer Inc. has been acquired by a
billionaire Saudi Arabian prince, who has been buying up shares in recent
weeks. From Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, The Associated Press reports Prince
Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, nephew of Saudi King Fahd,
announced his $115 million investment in Apple late yesterday. The prince
also holds significant stakes in Citicorp and Disneyland Paris and
announced two weeks ago that he had accumulated a 5 percent stake in the
struggling carrier Trans World Airlines.
As reported, Apple has lost $936 million over the past five financial
quarters, and recently announced that 4,100 employees, or 30 percent of its
work force, will be laid off as part of its efforts to return to
profitability. In a statement, Alwaleed said, "I have been following the
technology industry closely for some time, and Apple in particular for a
number of months. I believe there is serious potential for Apple to provide
large returns to its stockholders once again, as it did in the past." AP
says Alwaleed has noted reports last week that Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry
Ellison may try to acquire control of Apple, adding he "will monitor events
closely."
Apple Seeking Buyer, Times Says
Once again, word is out that Apple Computer Inc. actively is looking for a
friendly merger partner. The New York Times this morning quoted one
executive who does business with Apple as saying Apple employees told him
the company was again in talks with Sun Microsystems. As reported
yesterday, Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
says he now owns more than 5 percent of the computer maker's stock,
recently buying shares on the open market for a total of $115 million.
Also, Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison has confirmed he has formed an
independent investor group to gauge interest in taking over Apple.
Japanese Accused of Dumping
In a preliminary ruling, the U.S. Commerce Department accuses a Japanese
computer maker of trying to sell four supercomputers to the U.S. government
for less than the cost of one, a violation of international anti-dumping
agreements. If upheld, the ruling could lead to penalty duties against
Japanese supercomputer imports ranging from 27 percent to 454 percent, says
Associated Press writer David Briscoe.
Cray Research Inc., the U.S. manufacturer claiming damage, hails the
decision as vindication after losing its first federal supercomputer
contract to Japan. Meanwhile, a spokesman for NEC Corp., the Japanese
company most severely affected, characterized the ruling as "poppycock,"
saying it is "beyond imagination."
The Commerce Department's preliminary judgment accepted the figures of
Cray, which estimated NEC was providing 454 percent more than the value of
the contract in its winning bid for government weather forecasting
computers at Boulder, Colorado. AP says a final ruling is expected in late
August. A case before the Court of International Trade goes to trial April
7 to decide NEC claims that the Commerce Department is biased in favor of
Cray and shouldn't be deciding the case, which was filed in July 1996.
Freenet Founder Admits Porn
The founder of the Freenet computer bulletin board network and a former
Cleveland, Ohio, university professor has pleaded guilty to child
pornography charges. And in New York City, a kindergarten teacher has been
charged with sending child porn over the Internet and with attempted sexual
assault on a juvenile. In the Ohio case, United Press International quotes
authorities in Akron as saying former Case Western Reserve University
professor Thomas Grundner has pleaded guilty to possessing child
pornography. The 51-year-old founder of the nation's first Freenet
computer system faces a June 9 sentencing, where he could receive up to 5
years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
He was arrested last month and charged with possessing three or more books,
magazines, periodicals, films, videotapes and other items that showed
minors engaged in sexual conduct. It was back in 1984, while still an
assistant professor in the family medical department at Case Reserve, that
Grundner set up his computer bulletin board system, offering free e-mail,
Internet access and local data. Two years later, that system became the
Cleveland Freenet, the nation's first and largest public computer network.
Similar freenets grew from that concept and now are available in numerous
communities worldwide. Grundner left Cleveland Freenet and Case Reserve in
1992.
Meanwhile, in the separate New York case, UPI quotes NYC police as saying
teacher Lawrence Cohen was arrested yesterday after going to a New Jersey
hotel carrying a Toys "R" Us bag filled with teddy bears, a dog leash and
leather restraints, hoping to meet an 11-year-old boy. Instead, says the
wire service, the 31-year-old teacher had a rendezvous with a federal
agent. Authorities allege Cohen, who teaches kindergarten and computers in
a Brooklyn elementary school, used the Internet to send child pornography
to a federal informant calling himself "Arizona Boy Lover."
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in New Jersey says Cohen met the federal
informant in an Internet chat room in mid-February. The next day, Cohen
allegedly transmitted Arizona Boy Lover child pornography and an e-mail
message asking to have sex with the informant's stepson. The two made
contact by phone, and arranged to meet in New Jersey over the weekend, UPI
says.
Cyrix, Intel Settle MMX Case
A settlement has been reached between Cyrix Corp. and Intel Corp. over the
use of the MMX trademark, the label for Intel's new multimedia technology
for Pentium chips. Reporting from Richardson, Texas, the Dow Jones news
service quotes Cyrix as saying the settlement enables it to use the MMX
mark with appropriate attribution.
Cyrix said the settlement agreement also extends to its customers, giving
them the freedom to promote Cyrix processors compatible with MMX technology
without the fear of litigation. In a statement, Cyrix said, "The two
parties agreed that Intel has certain MMX rights and Cyrix will give
appropriate trademark attribution."
Filter Software Maker Gets Calls
Solid Oak Software Inc. says people are calling the company to ask if its
CYBERsitter Internet filtering software can keep their children from having
easy access to Net-based information posted by religious cults. "We have
received numerous phone calls from concerned parents at our office
requesting information about CYBERsitter and its ability to block
potentially dangerous information," says Marc Kanter, vice president of
Solid Oak Software. According to Kanter, CYBERsitter can be used to both
filter and monitor objectionable Web sites, newsgroups, chat lines, FTP
sites, incoming and outgoing e-mail and file downloads.
"In the United States, much of the responsibility for overseeing the
Internet will ultimately fall into the hands of the private sector, since
government censorship would be nearly impossible to enforce worldwide,"
notes Kanter. More information is available at Solid Oaks' Web site:
www.solidoak.com.
Lucent Unveils Net Phone Platform
Lucent Technologies has introduced a new Internet solution for
communication service providers that will allow consumers and businesses
make calls over the Internet using ordinary phones or fax machines. The
Murray Hill, New Jersey, company's new Lucent Internet Telephony Server SP
can work in any public switched network to route telephone calls over data
networks, such as the Internet. Lucent says the technology will allow
service providers, including telephone companies, Internet service
providers and cable companies, to offer a cost-effective alternative to
traditional long-distance calling. "Today we are enabling service
providers to tap an entirely new market in what could be a billion dollar
arena," says Gerald Butters, Lucent's president of North American network
systems. "With today's dramatic and rapid improvements in technology, we
now are able to make high-quality Internet telephony a reality."
MCI Communications Corp. and France Telecom say they each plan to trial
Lucent's new platform, while GTE Telephone Operations says it plans to
conduct a laboratory evaluation of Lucent's new platform beginning this
May. "Lucent's Internet Telephony Server SP raises the stakes
substantially in the Internet telephony/fax gateway market," says Hilary
Mine, senior vice president of market researcher Probe Research. "With its
non-proprietary architecture, Lucent has addressed the critical barriers to
deployment, saving service providers from being locked into one particular
vendor, and moving Internet telephony into the mainstream."
Digital Has 600MHz Alpha CPU
Digital Equipment Corp. has added a 600MHz model to its Alpha processor
family. The Maynard, Massachusetts-based computer maker says its new Alpha
21164-600MHz, with a peak execution rate of 2.4 billion instructions per
second, delivers estimated 18.0 SPECint95 and 27.0 SPECfp95 ratings, the
industry's top figures for both RISC and CISC processors.
"Reaching 600MHz demonstrates the performance leadership that was built
into the Alpha architecture," says Tim Miller, strategic marketing manager
for Alpha products for Digital's semiconductor unit. "Digital offers the
industry's top-performing microprocessor -- the Alpha 21164-600MHz -- for
servers and workstations." Alpha 21164-600MHz samples are available now.
Digital expects to announce personal workstations based on the Alpha
21164-600MHz microprocessor in the near future.
Disney Launches Online Service
A subscription-based Web service for children and families called Disney's
Daily Blast is being launched next week Walt Disney Co. The service will
cost $4.95 a month. To access it, users will need an Internet account.
Reporting from Disney's Burbank, California, headquarters, The Associated
Press says the service will feature up to an hour's worth of "programming"
a day and will include games, puzzles, animated comic books, sports, news
updates and a computerized coloring book featuring Disney characters.
In deal with The Microsoft Network, MSN's 2.5 million members will get The
Daily Blast free for the next 10 months, said Richard Wolpert, senior vice
president of technology for Disney Online. Wolpert adds the paid site is
an extension of other Disney products such as its movies, theme parks and
home videos.
Motorola Unveils New Modem
The new 3460 Fast'R modem series with a Windows-based Fast'RVu configurator
has been unveiled by Motorola Inc.'s Network Systems Division. Reporting
from Mansfield, Massachusetts, the Reuter News Service says the products
"allow for the quick configuration, status checking and testing of dozens
of computer modems," adding, "The series is for use by network managers and
systems groups, for example. With Fast'RVu, the set-up time of up to 128
modems can be reduced by a factor of 10." Saying the series is offered as
an external modem or an internal card, Motorola says the suggested price is
$595 for the external modem.
Floppy Drives Alive and Well
Many computers are now equipped with CD-ROMs and Zip drives, but floppy
disk drives aren't going away, reports Dataquest Inc. The San Jose,
California-based market research firm says 89.6 million floppy drive units
were shipped worldwide in 1996, up 10.3 percent over 1995. Average unit
prices declined 9.7 percent. Dataquest notes that Mitsumi Electronics
moved into the No. 1 position with a 19.1 percent market share, while TEAC
Corp. dropped to the No. 2 position with an 18.5 percent market share.
"Prices will continue to erode, even with fewer suppliers offering flexible
disk drive products," says Phil Devin, vice president and chief analyst of
Dataquest's computer storage program. "Vendors will move to the more
complex, high-capacity drives where the profits will support investment for
the future. Quick acceptance of the Zip or LS-120 drives by several of the
top PC makers would swing the pendulum quickly away from 1.44MB drives."
More Dataquest information can be found at www.dataquest.com.
Wireless E-Mail Boom Predicted
A new survey by The Strategis Group, finds that 52 percent of wireless
users and 40 percent of non-users are interested in two-way wireless
e-mail, representing a potential total market of 44.3 million users.
According to the study, the number of wireless e-mail users will grow from
less than half a million today to 15.6 million in 2001. However,
subscribers will grow slowly over the next two years as digital cellular,
broadband PCS, and narrowband PCS networks become fully deployed.
With these networks in operation, and with further development of messaging
devices, growth will explode beyond 1998. "With the sudden emergence of
electronic messaging and the Internet, wireless carriers are facing an
incredible opportunity to extend these capabilities to the mobile
environment," says John Zahurancik, an analyst with the Washington-based
market research firm. "Wireless e-mail is the next logical step in the
trend toward advanced wireless messaging."
Multimedia Wireless System Planned
Ericsson, the Stockholm-based communications equipment maker, has been
selected by NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest cellular service provider, to
jointly develop the first "third generation" wireless communications system
capable of delivering high-speed multimedia services. The system is
expected to provide a whole new range of multimedia wireless communications
functions, including full motion video, video conferencing and Internet
access. The system will use 5MHz W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple
Access) technology to support initial data transfer rates of 384K bps and
will eventually handle up to 2M bps. W-CDMA is an advanced digital wireless
technology, which is fundamentally different from "narrowband" IS95 CDMA
systems now being deployed primarily for voice services.
"NTT DoCoMo is committed to satisfying our growing base of subscribers
seeking advanced wireless services," says a statement issued by NTT DoCoMo.
"Ericsson met all the specifications for building the technologically
sophisticated systems that will deliver these services." The companies
said they intended to install the first experimental systems by late 1997.
Plans call for full commercial deployment at the turn of the century.
Sounds Come to Java on the Net
A deal that will add music and sound to Java animations on the Internet's
World Wide Web has been brokered by British pop star Thomas Dolby. The
singer's firm Headspace Inc. will license its audio engine to Sun
Microsystem's JavaSoft unit. "Suddenly sound in computing is no longer on
the luxury item list. It's on the must-have list," Headspace CEO Thomas
Dolby Robertson told Associated Press writer Martha Irvine.
Robertson's San Mateo-based company supplies music and sound to Internet
products for such Silicon Valley companies as Netscape, Yahoo and Web TV
Networks. Irvine says the firm's products are aimed at bringing
high-quality sound to computers and, especially the Internet, where,
Robertson comments, sound quality has ranged "from mediocre to very, very
poor."
Headspace now has 16 employees who compose and produce music and sound for
CD-ROMs, video games and the Web and its audio engine incorporates small
sound files into what is known as "rich music format," allowing for
uniform, continuous play on any audio-supported computer, AP says.
Hundt Courts Computer Firms
Computer firms should use their influence to help sway FCC commissioners to
vote yes on a bill that would provide Internet access to schools, says FCC
Chairman Reed Hundt. The May 8 vote is on a plan to require Internet
access providers to offer discounts to libraries and schools and would
reimburse them by up to $2.25 billion a year. In Tucson, Arizona,
yesterday, Hundt told a PC Forum conference the FCC already has four
commissioners expected to vote in favor of the plan and, "We need three."
The Reuter News Service reports Hundt also reiterated that he planned to
vote against a bill that would let regional Bell telephone operating
companies charge Internet access providers a fee for using their local
lines. In a speech that focused on the problems of the current education
system in the United States, he said, "I'm not going to vote for access
charges to be put on Internet access providers."
He pointed out currently 65 percent of all public schools have at least one
connection to the Internet but there are no telephone lines in the
classrooms, adding that most teachers cannot even call for help if they
were being held up at gunpoint. Said Hundt, "There are 45 million people
that this communications system does not reach," referring to the number of
students in the United States. He called on the industry to e-mail the FCC
commissioners to support his plan, adding that the industry has enormous
power.
Schools Get Discounted Net Access
Pacific Bell has begun offering 50 percent discounts on high-speed
dedicated Internet access services to more than 9,000 California schools,
community colleges, universities and libraries. Education Exclusives, the
first program of its kind in the nation by a major telecommunications
provider, offers participating schools and libraries Internet access
services at speeds up to 100 times faster than standard analog connections
along with greater reliability, notes the San Francisco-based
telecommunications firm.
The announcement comes on the third anniversary of Pacific Bell's Education
First, a $100 million program designed to help wire public and private
non-profit schools, community colleges and libraries in California. Since
Education First was launched in 1994, Pacific Bell has wired more than
one-third of the K-12 schools, community colleges and libraries in its
service territory with high-speed ISDN lines.
"The continued success of Education First depends on making the latest
high-speed data technology accessible and affordable to educators and
students," says Bob Lee, president of Pacific Bell's business
communications services unit. "Previously available only to large
businesses and corporate users, Education Exclusives now brings the power
and reliability of 'industrial strength' dedicated Internet access from the
boardroom to where it's most needed -- the classroom."
Disabled Web Access Planned
The U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation have
announced their financial support for the World Wide Web Consortium's Web
Accessibility Initiative. The effort is designed to guide the development
of industry-sponsored specifications to make the Internet accessible to all
users. Technologies including descriptive video, video captioning and
alternative input devices will be explored by the project.
"Many Web pages cannot be accessed by people who are blind or have limited
vision," says Education Secretary Richard W. Riley. "America's rush to the
Information Superhighway risks leaving behind a crucial element of our
population -- our nation's 49 million persons with disabilities. The
Internet has fast become one of the great inventions of our lifetimes. Yet
for some citizens, this dazzling medium may offer about as much usefulness
as the Pony Express." The government agencies will contribute up to
$800,000 to the venture.
PCs Now in 40% of U.S. Households
Household PC penetration in the United States rose above 40 percent for the
first time ever in 1996, according to Computer Intelligence. Preliminary
statistics from the La Jolla, California-based market researcher's 1997
Consumer Technology Index study, finds that more than 40 million U.S.
households now own PCs. Also, for the first time ever, more than 50 percent
of households with children have PCs. While penetration increased across
all demographic segments in 1996, PC ownership remains closely linked to
education and income, finds the study.
U.S. households with some college education are much more likely to have
PCs, and they lead less-educated households in PC ownership by more than 15
percentage points. "We expect that the recent introduction of lower
priced, sub-$1,000 PCs and the proliferation of used PCs will continue to
broaden ownership to include more lower-income households," says Mark
Nelson, vice president and general manager for Computer Intelligence's
consumer research group. "However, there is still a considerable gap, as
penetration approaches 60 percent for households with annual incomes
greater than $40,000."
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A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N
Shareware Treasure Chest STR Feature "The Latest & Greatest"
Shareware Treasure Chest
By Lloyd E. Pulley
lepulley@streport.com
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Everything I Own! 1.5a 3/26/97 2.4mb Shareware $24.95
In the event of theft or disaster, 'Everything I Own! could be the most
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also provided. You can click the mouse and check to see if any warranties
are about to expire, or have already expired. EIO contains simple but
comprehesive printouts that can be filtered in several ways, prints single
records or the entire database. And it's all very easy to learn and use.
EIO was designed with the novice user in mind, but has all the power and
features an experienced user has come to expect.
Download Site - http://www.blucollsoft.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Loki Diary 32-bit 1.19.04 beta 3/29/97 3.40mb Freeware
Loki Diary is a Visual Basic 4.0 program for keeping a diary or journal
with a little something for everyone. Designed to be easy to use, it
features a calendar for quick navigation, a rich text editor, options to
print any range of dates, with the ability to search the entire diary for
keywords, and security functions that support an Access95 compatible
database.
Download Site - http://hudson.idt.net/~lokidog/index2.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Critec Accounting 1.01 3/27/97 2,204kb Freeware
Includes Debtors, Creditors, General Ledger, Cashbook, Reports, Fixed
Assets, Inventory, etc. Join the Beta program to get regular updates, and
many more advantages.
Download Site - http://www.critec.co.nz/accounting/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
WinHacker 32-bit 2.0 Official Release 3/28/97 1.00mb Shareware
WinHacker 95 is the best utility that you can use to configure the hidden
Windows 95 (and Windows NT) settings. Many of the settings that change the
way Windows 95 works and feels are hidden in the overwhelming registry, or
in configuration files. WinHacker 95 give you a easy way to configure those
settings through the GUI (graphical user interface)
Download Site - http://www.wojo.com/wedge/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
NetToob Stream 32-bit 3.2 3/28/97 1.20mb Shareware $19.95
Provides the ultimate software-only solution for playing all current
digital standards on a Windows based PC including MPEG-1, Video for Windows
(AVI) and QuickTime for Windows (MOV) as downloaded media, and varied frame-
rate MPEG-1 on-demand media without server software. With Net Toob, users
now have the choice of playing media on-demand, simply by clicking on it,
or by downloading the entire file and then playing it.
Download Site - http://www.duplexx.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
VuePrint Pro 32-bit 5.1 4/01/97 .42mb Shareware $40
One of the better image viewers, displays every file type you can think
of, even uuencoded images (from newsgroups).
Download Site - http://www.hamrick.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Graphics Workshop 32-bit 1.1x patch 1 Release 3/28/97 1.80mb Shareware
$40
It's a powerful Windows-based graphics viewing, manipulation and
management package. The latest release has new features including TWAIN
support, a slide show, password-protected images, Windows 95 long file name
support, move and copy, PNG support, MPEG viewing, QuickTime viewing,
direct uudecoding, multiple image and interlaced GIFs, conversion to CDR,
improved colour reduction and much more.
Download Site - http://www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/gww.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Real Player 32-bit 4.0 beta 1b 3/28/97 1.00mb Free
From the makers of Real Audio comes Real Video, the only player you need
to get all the great RealAudio and the new RealVideo content on the web --
all without download delays. - Stereo audio at 28.8, near-CD quality at
higher bitrates, AM-quality audio at 14.4 - - Newscast-quality video at
28.8 and full-motion at higher bitrates -
Download Site - http://www.real.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
WinTune97 32-bit Release Candidate 3/28/97 991kb Freeware
A neat little utility from the publishers of Windows Magazine. It's a
testing/tune-up app that allows you to get all the nitty gritty details of
your computers set up. Test the speed of various components and more.
Download Site - http://www.winmag.com/software/wt97.htm
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
HotJava for Win95/NT 1.0 3/29/97 6.6mb Freeware
The HotJava Browser is a modular, FCS-applet aware, extensible, World
Wide Web browser written in the Java programming language." The HotJava
Browser conforms to Web standards and standard practice. It is designed to
be highly scalable and customizable, enabling end-users, service providers
and intranet providers to easily tailor it to meet their specific
requirements. Like Web pages themselves, the user interface of the HotJava
Browser is implemented by HTML and applets, whose behavior can be modified
by an ASCII-based properties file. Extensible Unlike other browsers,
HotJava can download and execute applets even behind corporate firewalls.
You can extend the browser's capability dynamically, without increasing its
base memory footprint, by installing new content and protocol handlers for
it to use for new media types or protocols. This makes the HotJava Browser
an ideal, scalable solution for the new class of network devices, such as
Network Computers. It does however lack many features that other browsers
support.
Download Site - http://www.javasoft.com/products/HotJava/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
McAfee Scan for Windows 95 3.0.1 3/28/97 3.9mb Shareware
The most popular shareware virus scanner! Comes complete with ViruShield.
Download Site - http://www.mcafee.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
ZipCat Pro 2.0 3/27/97 3,775kb Shareware $25.00
Catalog any type of removable media. ZipCat remembers your volumes
(disks) so that you can recatalog them with only one button! Browse and
search your disks offline, in a graphical drive tree format (just like
Windows 95 Explorer!) Resizable window, startup and operation options,
advanced searching, printing, online HELP and more make using ZipCat 95
simple.
Download Site - http://www3.blackboard.com/m2s/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Keno Casino 32 Bit 2.0 3/24/97 1,977kb Shareware $19.95
Play any of your favorite Las Vegas style Keno tickets. Play - Regular,
Bet Against, Catch All, Quick Pick, Super Special, Top Or Bottom, Twenty
Spot, and of course Way tickets. Play Multi Race and figure your odds of
winning a ticket. Save and Load Tickets. View last 1000 games. Print
tickets. Graphics, great sounds, tallies your winnings, packed with on-line
help,and more.
Download Site - http://members.aol.com/dcastilllo/kenocent.htm
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
DietWatch Diary 1.01 3/7/97 1,873kb Freeware
Diet Watch Diary is the world's first Internet diet software that
integrates the power of web information with an easy to use yet powerful
personal diet diary. With DietWatch Diary you can easily keep a log of your
diet and weight within your browser, compare your nutritional profile to
norms and receive up-to date reports on your diet, chart your personal data
and progress, explore and reveal dependencies, get the latest diet news,
share diets and nutritional information, and surf to other popular diet
sites.
Download Site - http://www.softwatch.com/dietwatch/welcome/welcome.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
V-Scheduler 1.2 3/21/97 3.9mb Shareware $25.00
V-SCHEDULER is a 32-bit scheduler application for Win 95. It is designed
with total flexibility in mind, and consists of a highly intuitive user-
interface. Visually, it sits in the top right corner of the screen and
shows number of programmed items together with the current date and time.
Clicking the right mouse button over the window activates the Pop Up Menu,
from which you can select the various actions. Context-sensitive help is
available where appropriate.
Download Site - http://www.virdi.demon.co.uk/Scheduler/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Private Music Collection 1.01 3/27/97 847kb Shareware
Private Music Collection is a database to handle your CD's Records, tapes
etc. It can handle up to 8500 records. You can search on all fields and
print and export lists. Beside these normal features you can make a genre
list to choose from, show an image of the CD-cover and play the CD in your
CD-ROM player.
Download Site - http://www.tomb.demon.nl/us/index.htm
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Idyle Phone Book PRO 97 2.00 3/26/97 1,269kb Shareware $25.00
Trying to find a contact manager? Try this one out. You can keep record
of all your business or personal addresses, phones and internet
information. The user interface is quite intuitive, and the options are
many. Dialing, leaving e-mail and browsing the web are a mouse click away.
Keep printed copies of your phone book with you so you can have all this
information whenever you need it. PB97 can print it in several ways: pocket
booklet, franklin type, or full page.
Download Site - http://pages.infinit.net/idyle/idyle-soft/pb97/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
TextPad 3.0 Beta 2 3/26/97 1,087kb Shareware $27.00
TextPad is the most powerful and flexible text editor on the market.
Clean and uncluttered, the interface does not get in the way. Yet hiding
just a few mouse clicks away are powerful search and replace, macro
commands, and a highly customizable interface. When you need more than
notepad can offer, TextPad is the obvious next step.
Download Site - http://www.textpad.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
GatherTalk 32-bit 1.01 3/30/97 1.10mb Freeware
GatherTalk is a phone for the Internet. It allows interactive voice
conversations around the world. GatherTalk does even more than a phone. It
allows teleconferencing on Internet, even with modem connections. It can
support 3 people conferencing using 14.4kbps modems and 5 people
conferencing using 28.8kbps modems. No special chat servers are required,
all connections are direct. This shortens the transmission and processing
delays, and also allows the most valuable feature, private conferencing.
i.e. You can make your own conferencing groups as you wish. This version
started a concept of GatherTalk PlugIn. TextTalk and WhiteBoard are two new
Plug-ins for the first distribution.
Download Site - http://www.cixt.cuhk.edu.hk/gtalk/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Fund Manager 2.3 3/25/97 592kb Shareware $29.00
Fund Manager is a portfolio management application for the individual
investor. Fund Manager is designed to help investors monitor and analyze
their stocks, mutual funds, and other investments with a wide variety of
easy to use graphs and reports.
Download Site - http://members.aol.com/Beiley/fundman.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Polyview 32-bit 2.90 beta 1 3/31/97 1.40mb Shareware $20
PolyView is a BMP, GIF, JPEG, photo-cd, PNG, and TIFF graphics viewer,
file conversion, and printing utility for Windows NT and Windows 95.
PolyView features fast image rendering, panning, and zooming that is
optimized for Windows 95 and Windows NT. PolyView is a 32 bit application
that uses multithreading to enhance usability and allow time consuming
operations, such as image file reading and writing, to be performed in
parallel with user interface operations. PolyView's multithreaded nature
also allows the reading and writing of multiple image files at the same
time. With its image appearance manipulation, copy and paste facilities,
and DDE execution capabilities, PolyView is an excellent companion to your
favorite Web browser.
Download Site - http://www.netins.net/showcase/polybytes/
BackWeb 32-bit 2.0 beta 3/31/97 2.20mb Freeware
Download BackWeb today and you'll be on your way to getting personalized
information, entertainment, and software delivered automatically to your
desktop. BackWeb makes this possible by sending data to you in the
background, taking advantage of your Internet connection's idle time while
you're connected to the net. This means you no longer have to wait for long
downloads or go out and search for information. You subscribe to the
Channels you're interested in once and from then on information is
automatically delivered to your desktop.
Download Site - http://www.backweb.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
MyExplorer 8.0 Beta 3/27/97 287kb Demo
Offers you the ability to map any drive to your MyExplorer Menu, add
shortcuts to programs, files and directories at the click of a button and
also by simply dragging its icon over the MyExplorer Setup Window. Place
any document as a shortcut and MyExplorer will find its associated
executable and launch the file shortcut!
Download Site - http://www.dlsystems.com/myexplorer/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Background Scroller 1.01 3/27/97 134kb Freeware
An application to change your Wallpaper frequently. Unzip the file and
place it in a directory you like. Place your favorite Wallpapers in a
directory, start Backgroundscroller and point it to the directory of the
Wallpapers. Now the Wallpapers will be shown in order or random if you
like.
Download Site - http://www.tomb.demon.nl/us/index.htm
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Irfan View32 32-bit 2.25 4/01/97 .24mb Freeware
IrfanView32 is a very fast 32-Bit image viewer for Windows95 and Windows
NT. It supports most formats you can think of.
Download Site - http://stud1.tuwien.ac.at/~e9227474/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Multimedia Xplorer 32-bit 1.2 beta 2b 4/01/97 .75mb Shareware
$20
Multimedia Xplorer is a new, powerful 32-bit application (Windows 95/NT
4.0) for handling most types of multimedia files including images, sounds,
videos and icons. Main idea is to provide ONE application that handles all
these different media types easily, so no need to mess with different
applications. It is designed to be powerful for powerusers and at the same
time it is as simple as possible, so novice users can view and manage files
easily. Multimedia Xplorer has some unique ergonomy features that make it
very handy to use.
Download Site - http://www.estpak.ee/~ahto/moon/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Mellosoftron 32-bit 2.0 4/01/97 1.60mb Shareware $10
Mellosoftron 2.0 - * LOW-LATENCY *, fully programmable virtual sampler.
Full GM support. Can be played with MIDI controller, computer keyboard or
mouse. Runs with sequencer. Uses extended WAVmaker/MIDInight Express
patches. Sound engine available for developers. Windows 95/NT and
DirectSound 3 required. Pentium recommended.
Download Site - http://www.abc.se/~m9303/ml.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
PowWow 32-bit 3.1 4/01/97 2.50mb Freeware
PowWow allows up to seven (7) people to chat, transfer files, and cruise
the Web together as a group. It also has voice chat at 14.4 capabilities
and a conference mode. This new version Version 3.0 has Text-to-Speech
capabilities
Download Site - http://www.tribal.com/powwow/download/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Search 4 32-bit 2.0 beta 4/01/97 .14mb Freeware
Search 4 runs in your System Tray, It serves as a "quick-launch" to four
of the most powerful Search Engines on the web (Alta Vista, Lycos,
WebCrawler, or Yahoo!) in the form of a pop-up menu.In addition to simply
linking you to powerful seach engines, Search4 also allows you to specify a
word, group of words, or phrase to search for - before your browser is even
running. Simply click "Search" and it queries all four search engines and
returns the results from those queries together, in the form of four framed
windows in your browser (Supports Netscape and Internet Explorer)
Download Site - http://www.intermania.com/search4/index.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Milano's Alarm 97 1.5 4/1/97 1,8mb Shareware
This is a nice alarm program: You have a current time display, alert
sounds and images (for full version), 5 types of reminding styles and shut
down windows.
Download Site - http://www.unitel.net/milano/FStuff.html
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
ThumbsPlus 3.0-f2 3/24/97 2,700kb Shareware $65.00
ThumbsPlus is a graphic file viewer, locator and organizer which simplifies
the process of finding and maintaining graphics, clip-art files, fonts and
animations. It displays a small image (thumbnail) of each file. You can use
ThumbsPlus to browse, view, edit, crop, launch external editors, and copy
images to the clipboard. This update has many bug fixes.
Download Site - http://www.cerious.com/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Keynote Music Drills 1.73 3/31/97 776kb Shareware $20.00
Designed to help music students learn to identify the notes of the bass
clef, treble clef, and grand staff, and to locate their positions on the
keyboard or guitar and bass guitar fingerboard. There are additional drills
for the alto and tenor clefs, and bass guitar.
Download Site - http://www.aloha.net/~khigaki/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
Mp3 PlayList Maker 3.20 3/26/97 2,300kb Shareware $15.00
A program for creating playlists for the Mpeg3 player. Advanced creating
features; moving items in the list; create a randomized list; recursive
directory search for mp3's; viewing file_id.diz for each mp3; saving and
loading playlists; tooltips; creating a list with all file_id.diz from the
songs in a playlist; adding/editing URL's in the playlist, drag & drop both
in the application and from the Explorer, calculating the exact time of a
song/playlist, Id3 tagging support, creating configurable infolists &
saving a database with all needed info about a playlist for very quick
access plus much more.
Download Site - http://arla.rsn.hk-r.se/~coq/mp3/
Name/Version Release Date Size Price
LaserUp! Simple Calendar V2.0 4/1/97 298kb Shareware $12.50
This is a Windows 95 replacement for the Windows 3.1 Calendar program.
It allows you more versatile printing and some other nifty features.
Additions made with this version are a reporting function which will print
reports of hours, milage, income, expenses, and other logged items.
Download Site - http://www.santhony.com/laserup/
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
Edupage
Contents
Embedded Chips Suffer From Year 2000 Problem, Too
Intranet Use Soars
IBM Takes Its Cue From Dell
Changing Role Of The CIO
Bond Seller Eyes Silicon Valley
Peering Into Future, Oracle Sips Apple Juice
PC Theater Gets A Boost
Prison Computer Used For Child Pornography
Does Net Play Role In Cult Activities?
Court Says Cable Must Carry Local Broadcast TV
Password Security Flaw Found In Windows NT
NSF Picks Two Supercomputer Centers
New Chip-Making Process Developed At Cornell
U.S. Finds NEC Guilty Of Supercomputer "Dumping"
Olivetti Aims High
Compaq Switches To Build-On-Demand Model
Gerstner On Gerstner
Software Glitches Don't Bug Netscape's Andreessen
Disney Web Site To Charge For Visits
Apple Merger Talks: Deja Vu All Over Again
CompuServe Wants To Serve A New Owner
U. Of Minnesota Tightens Up On "Excessive" Internet Use
AMD's Kryptonite Challenges Intel's Superman
"The Squandered Computer"
Microsoft Launches Local Arts & Entertainment Guide
Predicting Music Sales Via Computer Modeling
Disney To Buy Stake In Starwave
Sun Solicits Java Chips
EMBEDDED CHIPS SUFFER FROM YEAR 2000 PROBLEM, TOO
It's not just aging mainframe computers that will go haywire when the clock
strikes midnight on Dec. 31, 1999 -- the electronic devices we encounter in
everyday life could have problems, too, according a letter drafted by
three U.S. lawmakers responsible for overseeing public and private sector
responses to the Year 2000 problem. "Critical systems that depend on
automated devices include security systems for badge readers, surveillance
and home security systems, parking lot gates, and vaults. Other products
that rely on embedded computer microchips include telephone systems, video
recorders, bar code readers, automatic teller machines, medical devices,
factory machinery, civilian and military avionics, process control and
monitoring equipment, sprinkler systems, and air-conditioning systems."
(BNA Daily Report for Executives 25 Mar 97)
INTRANET USE SOARS
Corporate use of intranets is skyrocketing, according to a Creative
Networks, Inc survey of 52 large companies. The mean number of intranet
users at the companies was 5,905 in late 1996, but that number is expected
to more than double this year, to 12,408. Companies are using the
intranets primarily to share information among employees and collaborate
on projects. (Wall Street Journal 28 Mar 97)
IBM TAKES ITS CUE FROM DELL
Unable to compete directly with mail-order computer companies such as Dell
and Gateway 2000, IBM plans to allow some of its most trusted distributors
to produce up to 60% of its commercial PC line, using IBM parts. One of
the distributors, Inacom Corp., was so enthusiastic about the proposition
that it built a $20- million final assembly plant in California on spec.
Inacom predicts that once the plant gears up, turnaround time on a
customized IBM PC order, from initial placement to arrival on the loading
dock, will be four hours at the most. "When our model begins to hit on
all eight cylinders, we are going to be much more competitive against
Dell," says Inacom's CEO. (24 Mar 97)
CHANGING ROLE OF THE CIO
As information technology increasingly becomes an integral part of most
business functions, from human resources to logistical management, the role
of the chief information officer is evolving as well. The CIO of Shell
Oil Co. predicts that "the combination of information and communications
technology will have an impact on the way business is run and structured,
giving the organization the ability to bring together knowledge and skills
from any part of the planet." After spending time during the '80s solving
business problems one-by-one in a piecemeal manner, he realized that his
"philosophy had to change to delivering perceived value, as opposed to
that of a technology company that delivers technology for the sake of
technology." A Gartner Group analyst predicts that in the future, the CIO
"will be the key liaison to top management, and will be well-positioned to
exploit technologies and innovations that go beyond the day-to- day
operations. The CIO will understand the strategic vision of the company
and link the mahogany-paneled offices with the data centers and the end-
user help desks." (Information Week 24 Mar 97)
BOND SELLER EYES SILICON VALLEY
The New York investment banker who helped rock star David Bowie turn his
intellectual property into $55 million worth of bonds says he'd like to do
the same thing for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. "What was groundbreaking
for us was using intellectual property as opposed to hard financial assets
to back the deal, like mortgages," says the senior associate with
Fahnestock & Co. The assets backing the Bowie bonds, which were snapped
up by Prudential Insurance Co., are the royalties and licensing fees from
future sales. Software companies have similar assets: "Any software
component that generates a licensing revenue or royalties would be an easy
candidate." (Tampa Tribune 29 Mar 97)
PEERING INTO FUTURE, ORACLE SIPS APPLE JUICE
Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison said in an interview with the San Jose
Mercury News that he is still thinking about buying Apple in order to
"save" it, and has invited anyone with an opinion to send a message to
savapple@us.oracle.com. Many industry analysts doubt Ellison's sincerity,
however, and say that if he were serious about buying Apple he wouldn't be
talking about it publicly. Apple CEO Gilbert F. Amelio calls Ellison's
idea "nonsense." (New York times 28 Mar 97)
PC THEATER GETS A BOOST
Intel, Compaq, Hitachi, NEC, Toshiba, Philips Electronics, Thomson Consumer
Electronics and Mitsubishi Electric are joining forces to produce
standards for a living-room personal computer, dubbed the PC theater. The
PC theater, which would hook up to a large-screen TV and videogame player,
would act as a server for remote controls, digital-disk players, speakers
and TV sets. (Wall Street Journal 28 Mar 97)
PRISON COMPUTER USED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
A federal grand jury in Minneapolis has indicted a prison inmate and
convicted pedophile with using a computer purchased for a prison-run
computer programming and telemarketing business to obtain and distribute
child pornography over the Internet, using an anonymous remailer in Europe.
The computer used by the inmate contained a list with thousands of
children's names along with a cache of child
pornography. U.S. Attorney
David Lillehaug said, "The idea that a prisoner had this kind of access to
the Internet, and was able to collect explicit child pornography and
communicate with others on how to hide it is almost unbelievable." (New
York Times 28 Mar 97)
DOES NET PLAY ROLE IN CULT ACTIVITIES?
Although many Internet enthusiasts argue that the Internet isn't creating
cults like Heaven's Gate, the group that committed mass suicide this past
week in Southern California, others see a dark side to the Net.
University of Oregon psychologist Ray Hayman says: "Much of the stuff you
find is nonsense, but because it comes off the computer it has the mark of
being credible." Paul Saffo of the Institute for the Future says: "The
Web is a compelling new mediumbeing put to all kinds of uses, by everyone
from banks to Cub Scouts to flying saucer cults. That said, it can also
be a powerful amplifier." (New York Times 28 Mar 97) But the Internet
has large numbers of defenders, one of whom says: "I hate to watch news
people talk about the Net. . . . One `expert' on CNN mentioned that cults
often recruit on the Net because -- and I quote -- `technical people are
often more gullible and more trusting.' ... We get portrayed in a crappy
light.. . . This time it's a cult. Usually, it's that we're all child
pornographers." (Washington Post 29 Mar 97)
COURT SAYS CABLE MUST CARRY LOCAL BROADCAST TV
In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Kennedy, the U.S. Supreme Court has
ruled that cable systems must continue to live with federal "must carry"
regulations requiring them to carry the signals of local broadcast
television stations. The cable industry had argued unsuccessfully that
forcing operators to carry certain channels violated their First Amendment
right to free speech. The majority of the Court, however, was persuaded
that "must carry" regulations promoted healthy competition, and feared that
if cable operators were allowed to stop carrying local broadcasts,
broadcasters would not be able to reach most of their potential audience
or earn sufficient advertising revenue. Justice Kennedy wrote: "Congress
has an independent interest in preserving a multiplicity of broadcasters
to ensure that all households have access to information and entertainment
on an equal footing with those who subscribe to cable." (Washington Post 1
Apr 97)
PASSWORD SECURITY FLAW FOUND IN WINDOWS NT
A major security flaw has been discovered in Windows NT that could allow a
remote user to decode encrypted information, such as passwords, and
display them as plain text. The vulnerability is in a utility tool for NT
systems administrators. "It's a double-edged sword," says the principal
author of the hacker's code that revealed the flaw. "This is a useful
utility for migrating users to Unix systems from Windows NT, but it can
also enable people to see all the actual passwords, which until now wasn't
possible. If you are inside an NT system, this could be used for hacker
purposes." (TechWire 31 Mar 97)
NSF PICKS TWO SUPERCOMPUTER CENTERS
Reducing the number of supercomputer centers it supports from four to two,
the National Science Foundation has given new awards to the National
Center for Supercomputer Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign and the San Diego Supercomputer Center at the
University of California at San Diego. Educom VP Mike Roberts says:
"There has never been a federal technological program that has come close
to showing the social and economic benefit of the National Science
Foundation supercomputer center funding program." Total spending for each
of the two centers over a five-year period will be $170 million. (New York
Times 31 Mar 97)
NEW CHIP-MAKING PROCESS DEVELOPED AT CORNELL
Researchers at Cornell University have developed a new process for making
semiconductors that could result in lower manufacturing costs and new
classes of chips. "It's going to potentially revolutionize the
microelectronics and optoelectronics industries," says the scientist who
heads up the project. The key to the new process is the creation of a
universal substrate, or base, on which many different types of
semiconductors can be built. With a universal substrate, "there isn't any
compatibility issue between the film you want to deposit and the supporting
substrate." The result will be faster, more powerful chips that can be
used for everything from PCs to fiber-optic telecommunications. (InfoWorld
Electric 28 Mar 97)
U.S. FINDS NEC GUILTY OF SUPERCOMPUTER "DUMPING"
The U.S. Department of Commerce has found NEC Corp. of Japan guilty of
selling its weather-forecasting supercomputer for 454% below "fair value"
to the National Science Foundation. The company had been accused of
"dumping" in its bid against Cray Research for the government contract. If
the ruling holds, and Cray is found to have been materially harmed, NEC
will be liable for a fine worth 4-1/2 times the value of the contract.
Industry observers say, however, that it will be difficult for Cray to
prove material harm. The NSF contract marked the first time that the U.S.
government had purchased a supercomputer from a Japanese company. (Wall
Street Journal 1 Apr 97)
OLIVETTI AIMS HIGH
Olivetti Personal Computers, which was spun off from the Olivetti group as
part of a leveraged buyout, hopes to show profitability within 12 months
by focusing on the higher margin professional market for corporate servers
and notebooks PCs. The company will sell between 700,000 and 800,000
machines this year. (Financial Times 1 Apr 97)
COMPAQ SWITCHES TO BUILD-ON-DEMAND MODEL
Compaq Computer says it will follow the lead of Dell Computer and Gateway
2000, building business computers as they're ordered, rather than basing
production on market forecasting. The move could result in as much as a
10% price cut, forcing Compaq's rivals to respond in kind. "They can cause
a temblor that causes change in other manufacturers as well," says the
president of CompuCom Systems. Compaq is betting the new process will
boost sales to $40 billion in 2000, up from $18.1 billion last year. The
company plans to shift over to production-on-demand next month. (Wall
Street Journal 31 Mar 97)
GERSTNER ON GERSTNER
Reflecting on himself in an interview with Peter Petre of Fortune magazine,
IBM chief executive Lou Gerstner considers the issue of whether people are
right who regard him as arrogant: "I'm tough-minded. I'm tough in
business situations. I'm really focused and have little time. I guess I'm
also relatively blunt. So if you want to know if I'm intense,
competitive, focused, blunt, and tough, yes. That's fair. I'm guilty.
Quite frankly, I am not very comfortable in chit-chat. When I go to [IBM]
board meetings, I arrive two minutes before, and I leave when it's over.
I don't stay for lunch or go early and have coffee. But if arrogance
means pride, wanting to take credit for everything, not seeking others'
advice, I don't think those are fair characterizations." (Fortune 14 Apr 97)
SOFTWARE GLITCHES DON'T BUG NETSCAPE'S ANDREESSEN
Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen is already thinking about the company's
system-after-next, and he's not afraid of being in a hurry: "One of the
advantages of moving quickly is if you do something wrong you can change
it. What technologies tend to do is they tend to make a lot of mistakes...
but then we go back and aggressively attach those mistakes -- and fix
them. And you usually recover pretty quickly." Andreessen sees
Netscape's new strength deriving from the burgeoning market for corporate
intranet software, which is estimated at about $10-billion between now and
2000: "We're just going to be, you know, very upfront in terms of saying
these are the products that are now tested... and there's going to be new
products coming out after that that are going to be a lot more aggressively
oriented. We need to work hands- on with customers to help them understand
that." (St. Petersburg Times 31 Mar 97)
DISNEY WEB SITE TO CHARGE FOR VISITS
The Walt Disney Company will charge families $4.95 a month for children to
play on its "Daily Blast" Web site, which will feature games, puzzles, and
stories about Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters. The site will
begin accepting visitors on April 9th. (New York Times 31 Mar 97)
APPLE MERGER TALKS: DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
Apple is said once again to be looking for friendly merger candidates, and
Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia -- a well-known international
investor and possible silent partner for such a deal -- has during the last
few weeks paid $115 million to acquire slightly more than 5% of Apple. One
source close to the company says that Apple is in talks again with Sun,
and Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison has recently expressed interested
in buying Apple. Some industry analysts are speculating that Ellison wants
to sell Apple's hardware business to one of the Macintosh clone makers
that have been eroding Apple's market share, and creating a new software-
only Apple company. (New York Times 3 Apr 97)
COMPUSERVE WANTS TO SERVE A NEW OWNER
CompuServe, now owned mainly by tax preparation company H&R Block, is in
talks to be acquired. Industry analysts are speculating that the most
likely suitor is America Online, though AT&T and Microsoft are other
possible candidates. CompuServe currently has 2.9 million subscribers and
AOL has 8 million. (Los Angeles Times 3 Apr 97)
U. OF MINNESOTA TIGHTENS UP ON "EXCESSIVE" INTERNET USE
The University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus has begun charging
students and faculty who spend more than 30 hours a month online a $4-fee
for each additional 30-hour block. The change was motivated by users who
"camped out" on the university network so they could have access when they
wanted it. According to the senior VP for academic affairs, the top 3% of
modem users were occupying about 15% of the modem pool's resources. Some
students and faculty have objected to the new policy, but University CIO
Don Riley says it's been a success: "We're seeing the same resources being
stretched a lot further." Educom VP Mike Roberts agrees: "Universities
have an obligation to see that their resources are used well." (Chronicle
of Higher Education 4 Apr 97)
AMD'S KRYPTONITE CHALLENGES INTEL'S SUPERMAN
Advanced Micro Devices has introduced its K6 chip (the "K" stands for
Kryptonite), which it touts as nearly as fast as Intel's new Pentium II
chip and about 25% cheaper. Some analysts estimate that the new chip
could earn AMD up to 15% of the chip market next year, possibly doubling
AMD's revenues from 1996 levels. The K6 chip is smaller than the Pentium
II (making it less expensive to manufacture), but derives its power
through its design, which stacks more layers of detail vertically, creating
a denser processor. (Wall Street Journal 2 Apr 97)
"THE SQUANDERED COMPUTER"
Paul Strassmann, in his new book, "The Squandered Computer," compares
corporate computer spending to Department of Defense arms spending: "The
current corporate and public sector practice is not to budget computers
according to defined results, but according to the perceived needs of
proponent." In an interview with Investor's Business Daily, he says, "The
bottom line of my book is that management has largely abdicated the
technology acquisition decision to experts and consultants. They, of
course, have a vested interest to jump into buying more and better and
sooner. Consequently, the general tendency is to buy, and then when it
doesn't work you just scrap it and go buy the next round. The build-and-
scrap approach has been endemic for the last 40 years... Management has to
start treating information and databases and software as capital
investments that have a long life." Strassmann predicts that the enormous
cost of fixing the Year 2000 problem will trigger a backlash against
information technology spending: "Some people are already saying: 'We
will not increase your money for Year 2000 so you have to give us savings.
It has to come out of your hide... because we are not going to give you
money to fix something that shouldn't have happened to begin with.'"
(Investor's Business Daily 3 Apr 97)
MICROSOFT LAUNCHES LOCAL ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE
Microsoft has launched Seattle Sidewalk, the first of 10 local arts and
entertainment guides the company plans to roll out this year. Other
cities targeted by Microsoft include New York, Boston, San Francisco and
Sydney, Australia. The move pits Microsoft directly against a recently
announced partnership between America Online and the Seattle Times: "For
us, this is a death fight. We're sitting on the local information
franchise and lots of people would like to take it away from us. We're not
going to let that happen," says the executive editor of the Times, one of
the few metropolitan daily newspapers that's been willing to partner up
with an online service. (Wall Street Journal 3 Apr 97)
PREDICTING MUSIC SALES VIA COMPUTER MODELING
Coopers & Lybrand is using a computer modeling software program that uses
50,000 "agents" to predict which music CDs will hit the charts and climb
to the top. The 30,000-line program contains information such as age,
income level, domicile, gender and buying habits for each imaginary music
consumer based on Census Bureau and market research data. After plugging
in some parameters for each CD, such as how popular the group is already,
the program spits out the answer -- yes, this one will sell, or no, that
one's a loser. The program attempts to overcome the shortcomings of
straight spreadsheet prognostication, incorporating some of the chaos
inherent in human affairs: "There are junctures that are very difficult to
describe in mathematical equation," says the project leader. "These are
for very low-probability but potentially devastating events -- for
example, the rate of takeoff in fads. This program can write these
complex equations itself." (Forbes 7 Apr 97)
DISNEY TO BUY STAKE IN STARWAVE
Walt Disney Co. has received antitrust clearance to purchase an undisclosed
stake in Starwave Corp., a company owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul
Allen. The two companies, which already work together on ESPNET Sports
Zone, plan to collaborate on a new ABC News Web site, a crucial move for
ABC after it abandoned its plans to start a 24-hour cable news outlet last
year. People familiar with the discussions say Disney had expressed
interest in purchasing a third of the company for about $100 million.
(Wall Street
Journal 3 Apr 97)
SUN SOLICITS JAVA CHIPS
Sun Microsystems has recruited several companies to make microchips that
will run its Java software, including Rockwell International, Toshiba and
LG Semicon. Toshiba plans to use the chips in a new line of portable PCs;
Rockwell plans to put them in "smart" cell phones; and LG Semicon plans to
incorporate them into a line of Internet-ready television sets. (Wall
Street Journal 2 Apr 97)
Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas
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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
A New Software Give-Away
As promised, The Kids' Computing Corner and the Silicon Times Report are
sponsoring another software give-away promotion. Thanks to the fine people
at MECC, I have a copy of Storybook Weaver Deluxe to give a lucky reader.
This excellent program encourages children to develop their writing skills
and to express their creativity with words and pictures. It's recommended
for children ages 6 and up, and the software comes on a hybrid format CD-
ROM for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems.
The rules are very simple. Send an entry by e-mail to fsereno@streport.com
or fsereno@uti.com using the title Storybook. Please include your correct
e-mail address. Entries must be received by 12:01am, Thursday May 8, 1997.
The winner will be announced in the May 9th edition of the magazine.
Winners of any contests held within the last 60 days are ineligible.
Taxes, if any, are the responsibility of the winner. So flood my mailbox,
gang!
IndyCar Racing II
Windows CD-ROM
Suggested Retail:
Suitable for all ages
Papyrus/Sierra
3380 146th Place SE, Suite 300
Bellevue WA 98007
http://www.sierra.com
Program Requirements
OS: DOS 5.0
CPU: 486
HD Space: 30 MB
Memory: 8 MB
Graphics: 640 x 480, 256 colors
CD-ROM: Double-speed
Audio: 8-bit sound card
Optional: joystick or analog steering wheel
review by Jason Sereno (jason.sereno@mules-ear.com)
The rush of adrenaline pulses through your body as you take a turn at over
170 miles per hour. You carefully turn your car to the left as you try to
pass Emerson Fitapaldi on the u-shaped turn at the Toronto Raceway. As you
pass by on the inside corner, you bump his front tire with your the rear
and he is sent flying into the outside wall. As he crashes, you mark
another one up on the dash and laugh to yourself as you cross the finish
line in record time. If you were a pro Indy car driver, then this wouldn't
be too unique of an experience. But, if you do not race high priced Indy
cars at speeds topping over 200 miles an hour, you must be playing IndyCar
Racing II from Papyrus.
That's right, Papyrus, probably the first name that comes to your mind when
you think about racing simulations has brought you IndyCar Racing II, the
sequel to the very successful IndyCar Racing. The program is a fun game to
play, with 15 real Indy tracks and 31 real drivers with replicas of their
cars. If you are not satisfied with the drivers and their cars' paint jobs
however, you can edit both with editors that come along with the game.
IndyCar Racing II also features many options for the graphics, driving,
sound, and interface. The program contains an instant replay option so you
can save the replays and show them to your friends. The game consists of
realistic crashes that make you believe you are really on the raceway too.
Along with all of this, IndyCar Racing II contains multiplayer capability
over a serial link or modem. Despite some nagging bugs and problems I had
with my sound card, I think this is a great game that is fun for race fans
of all ages.
Just as in its predecessor, IndyCar Racing II is set up just like a real
season. You can have a championship season, in which you race at all 15 of
the tracks consecutively. You will be tracked by a point system that will
determine the winner at the end of the season. The only negative thing is
that there is no way to have two championship seasons at once. You can
have a single race, or do some preseason testing, too. All these options
have basically the same set up. For a single race or a race in a season,
you start with a practice session. In this practice session, you will race
along with other drivers to get a feel of the track. After that, you will
qualify to see what position you will start in the actual race. Some
tracks position you depending on your track time and other use your average
speed. After this, you will warm up before the race. When you are
finished with this, it is time for the actual race to begin. Depending on
the settings you choose, you can start with a pace lap or start when all
cars are in position. You will see yellow, green, white, and even black
flags, while in the game. If you do not know what these flags represent,
you will see words describing what you are to do and giving you an
explanation next to the flags.
IndyCar Racing II has 31 real pro IndyCar drivers. The drivers have
individual characteristics and each car has a unique paint job. Each car
is identical to the drivers' actual cars as of the release of the program.
If you are not satisfied or get bored with the same old drivers and cars,
you can edit both. The driver's name and info can be edited within the
game. You can change his name, nickname, hometown, engine type, and even
tire company along with many other things. The car's paint job can be
edited using a program that comes along with the game. The paint kit is
simple to use and is similar to many of the painting programs for BMP and
PCX files (like Paintbrush) that are available today that are. You can
export the picture of the car onto a PCX file so it can be edited in other
programs if you wish. I had fun making many different designs and logos on
my cars and racing as myself instead of a pro driver. Many car sets are
available on web sites and Bulletin Board Systems. A car set is a whole
group of cars that have been edited by a person to fit the current drivers
on the IndyCar circuit or just original artwork that has been done to the
31 cars. The car sets will also have information regarding the drivers.
The program itself is very unique in its many options. You can choose
graphics with high detail and textures, or you can use flat-shaded
polygons. Detailed graphics make the program seem more realistic, but they
do slow the frame rate down. This will cause cars to suddenly appear and
disappear without warning (pop-up). I found myself cruising down a
straightaway and suddenly I would be jerked off the road. When I used the
replay option, it showed that I had hit a car that was stopped even though
I could not see it on the screen while racing. When you change to low
detailed polygon graphics, the problem is less apparent, but it is still a
blow to the gameplay. You will not be able to see the game's detailed
graphics when you are using the polygons. Your customized paint jobs
become useless as well.
Other options that are in the game deal with the driving style and
mechanics of the car. You can enter the garage and change the shifting
times, placement of the rear and front wings, the handling of the car, and
its height off of the ground. These can change the car's feel and is good
for all of the different styles that the people using the game have. You
can change the actual difficulty of the driving also. You may make it so
your car will not spin out, have the computer help brake, use automatic
shifting, turn off all of the damage to your car making you indestructible,
or change your opponents' high speeds. This will change the difficulty
level of the game. One problem is that there is no way to save the
settings when another person wants the car to be different in some way. If
you have two or more people using the program at once, you could find
yourself running into problems when it comes time to switch the diagnostics
every time that you sit down to play the game.
There are also options with the interface. There are three camera angles
available while driving the game. One is from the driver's seat, it is
some times difficult to see all that is around you from this angle.
Another is a trail camera that follows the car and allows you to see more
of the track and your surroundings. The last view is another trail that is
higher away from the car. This lets you see the turns that are ahead of
you in advance, and it makes it easier to time your turns. You can use a
hotkey during the game for the camera angles, if you decide to switch
during the racing.
As I mentioned before, the game has a replay option. The game lets you
view the whole race from start to finish. You may use one of the game's
many camera angles in the replay. You can change the camera angle during
the replay too. After viewing the replay, you can save it for viewing
later. If you do not want the entire race, you can cut the replay down to
a smaller size.
Of course, everyone always says that the only reason people go to the races
is to watch the crashes. Indy Car Racing II has many different crashes to
watch. Although no cars ever lift off of the ground or catch fire, you
will still feel like saying, "Take that!" when you knock a would be passer
into the wall. After the cars have been totaled and are obviously useless,
they are magically removed from the track only to be seen at the next race.
Some cars still operable will idle themselves into the pit and watch the
rest of the race. It is sometimes fun to turn your car around if you are
out of the running for a high ranking, and crash the oncoming cars head on.
If you are tired of playing with computer drones all day long, you can hook
up to another person via modem or serial link. This will add depth to the
game and give you more competition. If you thought that the computer
drones were difficult, wait until there is actually another person driving
against you. This will make you a bit more careful the next time you think
about cutting off a driver in a turn.
IndyCar Racing II is a very good racing simulation. The only things that I
could think of that could improve the game: a patch to fix pop-up and a
simple map editor. With only a limited amount of courses, this would be a
very interesting feature to add. The graphics in the program are very well
done considering the amount of animation that occurs per frame. The sound
and overall gameplay are great. It is perfect for adults and children to
play. If you are a race fan or have the need for speed, IndyCar Racing II
is an excellent game for you.
The Pink Panther's Passport to Peril
Windows CD-ROM
Street Price about $35
Ages 8 - 14
Wanderlust Interactive
P.O. Box 382
New York, New York 10013
212-965-9770
http://www.wanderlust.com
Program Requirements
OS: Windows 3.1
CPU: 486/66
HD Space: 1 MB
Memory: 8 MB
Graphics: 640 x 480, 256 colors
CD-ROM: Double-speed
Audio: 8-bit sound card
Misc.: mouse
review by Frank Sereno (fsereno@streport.com)
Are you ready for adventure? Do you love Pink Panther cartoons? Do you
love to solve riddles and to listen to toe-tapping music too? Wanderlust
Interactive's The Pink Panther'sT Passport to Peril combines all these fun
ingredients into one satisfying edutainment package.
An exclusive children's campground, Camp Chilly-Wa-Wa is the site for this
mystery. Gifted children from around the world have come to the camp to
further world peace. But evildoers lurk about and are trying to destroy
the camp and prevent the children from fulfilling their mission. One by
one, the campers become unhappy and it is up to you and the Pink Panther to
bring smiles back to their faces. Pink will have to travel all over the
world to accomplish this task. Along the way, you'll learn about the
cultures and other facets of many lands using the PDA.
Professor Von Schmarty has created the ultimate Personal Digital Assistant.
It combines the features of a mobile telecommunications device with an in-
depth encyclopedia. This portable reference device is easily manipulated
by pressing a few buttons. The PDA makes learning and solving puzzles fun!
Pink's adventures will take you `round the world from a British pub, to a
Chinese opera, through the Himalayan mountains of Bhutan, to the Ganges
River in India to the Australian Outback. Interacting with the many
characters in these places teaches much about the people of these lands.
You will gain a new respect for their cultures and traditions. Pay close
attention to what they say because their words often contain clues to solve
the puzzles.
Unfortunately, three thugs are out to thwart Pink from accomplishing his
mission. Pug and Louie are very ineffective and easy to outwit, but their
leader, the Dog Father, is a much more formidable foe. You'll need to
carefully gather evidence to stop his evil scheming and save Camp Chilly-Wa-
Wa.
The graphics are truly outstanding. The bright colors and intense detail
are a visual treat. The animations are high quality as well. Oh, and a
note for parents: This program is based on The New Pink Panther Show, so
don't be alarmed when Pink speaks. I have to admit it took a little
getting used to hearing him speak, but the voice characterizations are done
exceedingly well.
The program features an easy-to-use point-and-click interface. Simply
click on a character to speak to him. You can also pick up objects using
the same technique. If Pink has any objects in his pockets, you can use
them by clicking on Pink, then selecting the item you want and then
clicking where you want to use the object. You can give objects to other
characters or use them on other objects. One puzzle was borrowed straight
out of "Hot Shots, Part Deux".
You can access the game menu by moving your cursor to the top of the
screen. The program features extensive online help. You can also access
hints if you need assistance solving puzzles. These little poems are witty
treasures that give the player a gentle push towards the proper solution
rather than overtly giving him the answer. You can also access web pages
via the menu and use your PDA to learn more about the people and places you
are visiting. You can save your game in progress, too. That's a very good
idea because the game takes about 20 hours to complete. This depends on
your puzzle-solving abilities and the amount of time you spend browsing
through the PDA's files.
The Pink Panther'sT Passport to Peril has tremendous educational content.
The PDA has hundreds of images and many pages of textual information.
Players can learn much from the many varied characters in the game. For
example, I never knew that there were no cemeteries for Hindus. This
program should really spark an interest in geography and social studies in
children. The game is full of fun. The musical segments are reminiscent
of the Schoolhouse Rock segments that are broadcast on ABC. These original
songs cover many musical styles and each teaches a lesson about the
cultures of other lands. It's also fun to watch Pink interact with the
many characters. He's so witty and sly that it makes you laugh. Your
child will enjoy watching the pratfalls of Louie and Pug. Oh, the bit with
the sausage in the pub is hilarious, too!
This is the first program from Wanderlust Interactive but it certainly
doesn't seem like one. This is a very polished and award-winning program.
Really, it is a superb game with fun for the entire family. Don't let that
age range fool you because parents will enjoy playing this game too. If
you're looking for more fun with Pink while waiting for their next title,
be sure to visit their online game at the Wanderlust Interactive web site,
http://www.wanderlust.com. If your child loves games and you wish to
increase his interest in world cultures, you can't go wrong with The Pink
Panther'sT Passport to Peril. It's a winner!
Bill Nye the Science Guy's
Stop the Rock!
Windows and Mac Hybrid
Street price $35
Ages 9 and up
Pacific Interactive
PO Box 2442
Seattle, WA 98111
http://www.pacint.com
Program Requirements
IBM Macintosh
OS: Windows 3.1, Windows 95 OS: System 7.0.1
CPU: 486/66 CPU: 68030/25
HD Space: 1.5 MB HD Space: 1.5 MB
Memory: 8 MB Memory: 8 MB
Graphics: 640 by 480 with 256 colors Graphics: 256
colors, 13" monitor
CD-ROM: Double-speed CD-ROM: Double-speed
Audio: 8-bit Windows compatible sound card
Other: mouse
review by Jason Sereno (jason.sereno@mules-ear.com)
Bill Nye's new interactive game, Stop the Rock teaches your child many new
things about the world they live in. It uses Bill Nye as a guide through
out the game along with his colleagues in the QuickTime movie format. It
is a fun game with much information that your kids can really use. Stop
the Rock contains many interesting experiments and with the help of Bill
and his fellow scientists, you may just be able to stop the rock and save
the planet while still sitting at your computer.
You may be wondering what the title, Stop the Rock, means. The plot is
that a meteoroid is heading for earth that will impact five days. The
world's greatest scientists have designed a way to destroy the meteoroid
with a super-powerful rocket and the help of a very special satellite
computer named MAXX. The only problem is that MAXX goes haywire while in
orbit and refuses to destroy the meteoroid unless you can prove the world
is worth saving. You do this by answering seven riddles that all have to
do with different aspects and time periods of the world. Can you answer
Maxx's riddles and save the world from its destruction?
Bill Nye and the Nyecom, which is a hand-held computer that you use to
assist you in your quest, are both very useful. The Nyecom has many
options on it that include direct links with Maxx and a place to store the
clues that you gather on your journey through Nye Labs. The Nyecom doubles
as a communications device to the other scientists who are working to save
the world. You will speak to them through voice mail, QuickTime movie
clips, and text written documents that will all be on the screen of the
Nyecom. Bill will be popping up around you while you do your experiments
to explain principles and explanations to you and give you cool facts about
things like air pressure, hurricanes, volcanoes, and even plate tectonics.
While trying to solve the riddles, you will stay in Nye labs the entire
time. This may seem like it could get boring, but there are many things to
do in the many rooms in Nye Labs. There are seventeen devices that you can
use to find the clues and twenty learning objectives to master which are
all adapted from the National Science Education Standards Manual. Bill and
his friends will pop up during the game to give hints to put you on the
right track. They appear in QuickTime movies throughout the game.
When you are not using a device or watching Bill and his colleagues on the
Nyecom, you will be viewing Nye Labs in a 3D interface. You control your
movement through the mouse, and you use the mouse to also open, shut, and
pickup certain items. The screen is usually crowded but the Nyecom takes
up a large portion of it when it is turned on. If you turn if off it will
take up a smaller part of the screen, but you will not be able to see the
new info Bill and the other scientists have for you.
The video and the sound are both spectacular in this program. When I used
Stop the Rock, I received no problem with my sound card, video card, or the
QuickTime movies. They all ran smoothly. Visually the program is candy
for the eyes. It has many spectacular graphics and never gets boring or
tiresome. The sound is great and the program features some hip music that
will keep your kids entertained.
If your children watch Bill Nye on TV, than this is a perfect program for
them. The program takes all of the excitement, fun, from the TV show and
adds a lot of new information to make Stop the Rock. Bill Nye's humor can
appeal to kids and grownups alike. This program is for ages nine and up.
It may be too hard for children to understand some of the science
experiments or manipulate the complex devices. I even found myself looking
towards the manual occasionally to determine how to solve an experiment.
If your child does find some problems, you can get on the Pacific
Interactive web page at http://www.pacint.com. The site lists hints and
solutions to the problems you face. This superb program is fun for the
entire family. It teaches you a lot about the world and every day things
that you probably did not understand. You should pick up a copy of Bill
Nye the Science Guy: Stop the Rock today!
MICROGRAFX PICTURE PUBLISHER 7 OVERVIEW
Picture Publisher 7 is the leading Windows image editor offering powerful
photo retouching, objects and layers, natural media brushes, 50+ image
effects, GIF and JPG support for the Web plus Wizards for the most common
image editing tasks.
Picture Publisher allows full-time power users to get photographic results.
And Picture Publisher doesn't require massive amounts of RAM or hard drive
space to work on large files. Speed is a big advantage when using Picture
Publisher 7. People can work on just a portion of a high-resolution image
or can work on a low-resolution version of the entire image and then apply
the process to the high-res version in the background.
No other image editor of this caliber is as easy to use for projects as
simple as scanning in a photo or as complex as creating a corporate
advertisement.
PROFESSIONAL POWER
Our third generation Command Center tracks everything done to an image
which can be reordered, disable, deleted or edited at anytime and the image
will recalculate based on the new string of commands. New features include
the ability to Group commands for easy organization and create Branches to
easily view various scenarios created from the same image. Commands can be
previewed one at a time for quick locating.
Object Manager shows everything in the image and has the ability to lock,
hide, and reorder objects. Objects now have independent Alpha Channels for
easier creation of compound images.
Internet functions are robust -- like Seamless Tile Maker with live
preview, Nozzles which paint with images for great special effects and a
Color Averaging Wizard to create a single, small palette for compound
images heading for the Internet. Files can be exported as interleaved or
transparent GIF or interlaced JPG in addition to the 50+ import and export
filters.
OFFICE SIMPLICITY
The Acquire Wizard can be accessed from the welcome dialogue for quick
scanning of images or downloading from digital cameras and simple image
correction.
Knowledge Wizards are online tutorials that step-through common projects
and complex processes so people can learn while doing.
Wizards for 13 task specific projects and 15 pre-recorded macros for
complex image effects are available through the Wizard Browser. Quickly
step-through complex tasks like red-eye removal, creating borders, Web page
separators and buttons, contact sheets, dramatic text effects, batch file
conversion and many more.
Copyright c1997 Micrografx, Inc.
Special Notice!! STR Infofile File format for Articles
File Format for STReport
All articles submitted to STReport for publication must be sent in the
following format. Please use the format requested. Any files received
that do not conform will not be used. The article must be in an importable
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Monospaced fonts are not to be used. Please use proportional fonting only
and at eleven points.
ú No Indenting on any paragraphs!!
ú No Indenting of any lines or "special gimmickery"
ú No underlining!
ú Columns shall be achieved through the use of tabs only. Or, columns
in Word format. Do NOT use the space bar.
ú No ASCII "ART"!!
ú There is no limits as to size, articles may be split into two if
lengthy
ú Actual Artwork should be in GIF, PCX, JPG, TIF, BMP, WMF file formats
ú Artwork (pictures, graphs, charts, etc.)should be sent along with the
article separately
ú Please use a single font only in an article. TTF CG Times 12pt. is
preferred. (VERY Strong Hint)
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
amount of reader mail expressing a preference for our Adobe PDF enhanced
issue is running approximately 15 to 1 over the ASCII edition. Besides,
STReport will not be caught in the old, worn out "downward compatibility
dodge" we must move forward.
However, if the ASCII readership remains as high, rest assured. ASCII
will stay. Right now, since STReport is offered on a number of closed
major corporate Intranets as "required" Monday Morning reading.. Our ascii
readers have nothing to worry themselves about. It looks like it is here
to stay.
Many grateful thanks in advance for your enthusiastic co-operation and
input.
Ralph F. Mariano, Editor
rmariano@streport.com
STReport International Online Magazine
Gaming Hotwire STR Feature - The World of Contemporary Gaming
REALMS OF THE HAUNTING
Cross-Genre Blend Of Adventure And 3-D Action Sets New Trend In Adventure
GamingIrvine, California - Interplay Productions announced today the
release of Realms Of The Haunting, a unique game experience which combines
a spine-chilling adventure with first-person 3-D action. Developed by
Gremlin Interactive, Realms Of The Haunting utilizes the innovative
combination of first-person 3-D playing environments and third-person
cinematic sequences to create a new standard in adventure games. Realms Of
The Haunting will be available at software retail outlets on March 25th.
"Playing Realms Of The Haunting was some of the most fun I've had gaming in
the last year. It's one of the few games that can truly get you scared
enough to jump out of your seat," said Brian Fargo, CEO of Interplay. He
added, "I recommend turning down the lights while playing to really get the
full experience."
Realms Of The Haunting, a disturbing perception of the future based on
visions of the Apocalypse, uses an advanced 3-D engine to create an
intricate, detailed and frighteningly photo-realistic playing environment.
Over 90 minutes of seamlessly integrated full-motion video pulls the player
into a mystery that unfolds as the forces of good and evil confront one
another in a world that is not quite what it seems. Realms of the
Haunting's engrossing storyline, in-depth character development and
intriguing puzzles will challenge gamers of all levels.
The player is a young Adam Randall whose father's untimely death leads him
to the remote Cornish country village of Hellston, an actual town in
England. It is here that the player is pulled into the beautifully rendered
3-D Realms of Sheol (Hell), Hellud (Earth), Raquia (Spirit) and Arqua
(Divine). Within these Realms are hundreds of locations filled with a host
of characters and 3-D objects that provide a unique level of gaming
interaction. The player's goal, to ward off the impending doom with wits
alone and unite the broken Shrive with the Soulstone so that good may reign
the Earth. Available on 4 CD-ROMs, Realms Of The Haunting will run on any
486DX2/66 or faster with DOS 5.0 or later and at least 16Mb RAM and 20MB
hard disk space. A double-speed CD-ROM drive, a Microsoft compatible mouse
and a Sound Blaster compliant sound card are required.
Classics & Gaming Section
Editor Dana P. Jacobson
dpj@streport.com
From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
Gulp! That was the sound of foot being inserted in mouth and
swallowing hard! <g> Last week I promised the next article in the series
of the article I started a few weeks ago regarding writing your own web
pages. I hate breaking promises, I really do!
How was I to know? Last weekend was beautiful outside and it just
didn't seem right to sit and type. I did do some minor work on my personal
and BBS systems (did a back-up and installed, finally, the "new" large hard
drive for the BBS); but, other than that, it was a nice weekend to kick
back and relax. I do most of my serious writing early in the week anyway,
but not this week!
Most of you know that I live in New England - the northeast part of
the U.S. (for our non-American readers who may not know). Well, we got hit
with a terrific April Fool's Day blizzard - 25-plus inches of snow! It was
the third largest single-day snowfall in Boston's history! Wouldn't you
know I've lived here through two of them! Snow doesn't usually bother me
much as I grew up in Maine where snow is a way of life. But, in
Massachusetts, a couple of inches of the white stuff will stop the city
cold - no pun intended. And two feet?
Didn't phase me too much, though. My wife and I got up early on
Tuesday morning (after watching it start to pile up the night before) and
spent an hour shoveling out the car. We have to park on the street (no
driveway!) and since it's a main drag, it gets plowed just enough to bury
your car (up to the roof as a result of this storm!). Drove to work, 25
miles away, and very few cars out on the road. Showed up at work and only
20 of my 70 employees made it in throughout the day. I work in a hospital
but we're a support department. Still, we need to be there.
Anyway, worked my full shift and stuck around long enough to make sure
that my second and third shift staffs were going to be in, and went home.
Naturally my parking "space" was plowed in again. Shoveled it out again,
and went inside. I've had a bad back for years and this didn't help it
much. Sit down at a computer and type at-length? Forget it, the back
won't allow it! But, I still need to get online and do some research and
stuff, but that was the extent of it other than reply to some mail (the
mail must get through!).
So, here it is late Thursday evening. The back is okay but the clock
is telling me that I still don't have the required time to finish the next
segment of the article. Sigh...
The best part is that it's been warm all week after the storm. The
snow is rapidly melting although still not enough for the snow mountains to
have melted to allow me better access to my parking "cubicle". <g> Maybe
by the weekend. I'll finish up on the article this weekend and we'll
continue to work on the additional segments for future weeks.
So, that's been my week! First weather report of the season, I think! I'm
ready for some golfing!
Until next time...
HP-Penguin, The Atari HTML-Editor by Matthias Jaap, will with the next
release support CAB directly via OLGA (Object Linking for GEM
Applications). Under a multitasking session, this will be the ultimate
web-editing combination for Atari and Compatibles so far. You will always
find HP-Penguin and other web editing tools at:
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille/english/jaapan.html
I've now implemented web pages with frames at my homepage, You will enter
the frame pages by choice. In the near future I will only update these
pages and later remove the old ones, when CAB 2.0 Demo is widespread and
ASH starts to sell the full package.
http://www5.tripnet.se/~mille
Best Regards
Mille Babic
Thanks to Albert Dayes for the following:
I am passing this message from the Computer Law Observer for any who maybe
interested:
The Computer Law Observer is a free monthly e-mail newsletter that
discusses legal issues relating to computers, the Internet and technology.
Topics include encryption, privacy, unauthorized e-mail, copyrights,
trademarks, multi-media rights and more. The Observer is written by William
Galkin, an attorney specializing in this area of law, who is also the
adjunct professor of computer law at the University of Maryland School of
Law.
To subscribe, simply send an e-mail message to
lawobserver-request@charm.net with the word "subscribe" (without the quote
marks) typed into the message area.
I will greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide in promoting the
list - and thanks in advance!
William Galkin, Editor
Gaming Section
Doom64 for N64!
DarkLight! MDX!
VR Baseball!
N64 Sales Double!
And More...!
From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
I'll forego a continuation of our weather conditions. Yea! But, it's
been a week of mostly research and putting together this week's issue of
articles and news reports. Not much time for any original work, including
my usual editorial comments. So, let's get to the gaming news this week
and maybe I'll have plenty of time to editorialize next week.
Until next time...
Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
Midway Home Entertainment to Mark Release of Doom 64
CORSICANA, TEXAS (April 1) BUSINESS WIRE
Unprecedented event celebrates release of hot new video game for popular
Nintendo(R) 64 system If you think your heart can take it...on Tuesday,
April 1, 1997, prepare -if you dare - to experience DOOM(TM) 64...as the
ultimate in future-forward technology catapults you over the top...down
through the Gates of Hell...and into the next millennium of video gaming!!!
To celebrate the retail release, on "DOOM'S DAY" April 4, 1997, of the most
eagerly-anticipated video game in history, DOOM 64, Midway Home
Entertainment has scheduled a truly unprecedented,
guaranteed-to-blow-your-mind, pre-release cyber celebration extravaganza
for Tuesday, April 1, 1997.
At six Cyber Cafes, in six geographically-diverse markets including New
York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Palo Alto, and Los Angeles, video gamers
will get their first, wicked taste of the state-of-the-art technology that
is DOOM 64. Each venue will feature Nintendo 64 DOOM 64 game play areas
stationed throughout, offering the high-voltage, heart-pounding video game
play experience for which the public has anxiously been awaiting.
All six locations will be linked via a DOOM 64 auditorium on America
Online, presented by HUGE ELECTRONIC BRAIN (keyword: HUB), allowing the
extravaganza's guests and cyber-surfers across the globe to meet and
celebrate impending "DOOM." Not only an area to "chat" with other gamers
about the revolutionary, cutting edge graphics and mind-boggling game play
experience that is DOOM 64, the auditorium will also provide gamers the
rare opportunity to interact with Midway's DOOM 64's lead developers, Aaron
Seeler and Sukru Gilman, and download compelling DOOM 64 video and photo
files.
A truly high-tech, interactive extravaganza, the launch celebration will
also feature digital photography documenta
tion. Photos shot digitally at
each site will be posted online and available for immediate download,
offering celebrants at each location a look, up-close and personal, of the
madness and mayhem occurring at each DOOM 64 cyber cafe. In addition,
guests will have the opportunity to participate in "c-u/c-me" video
conferencing from venue to venue and beyond. Plus...bountiful food all
night, prizes and much, much more! The DOOM 64 Pre-Launch Extravaganza will
be happening at: alt.coffee, New York City, at 8-10 pm Cybersmith, Boston,
8-10 pm I-NETCAFE, Chicago, 7-9 pm Rick's American Cyber Grill Dallas, 7-9
pm Cybersmith, Palo Alto, 5-7 pm Cyber Java, Los Angeles,
5-7 pm
Based on id software's best-selling computer game series, Midway's DOOM 64
employs state-of-the-art graphics and technology to create all the
heart-stopping excitement and intense game play that gamers have come to
expect from the DOOM name. DOOM 64 explodes on the Nintendo 64 with over
30 totally new levels of play, designed by Midway Home Entertainment, for
fierce, pulse-racing play scenarios. In addition, DOOM's menacing monsters
and hard-core weapons arsenal have been completely redesigned exclusively
for the Nintendo 64, giving gamers a game playing experience like no other.
DOOM 64 is also jam-packed with screaming fast real-time non-stop action,
bizarre ambient lighting effects, wild new textures in full 64-bit color,
earth shattering sound effects and maniacal music blasting in full, CD
quality stereo sound. To top it all off, DOOM 64 is "totally stacked" with
tons of new passwords and secret cheat codes to aid gamers in this insane
64-bit survival of the fittest.
Originally developed by id Software as low cost shareware in 1993, DOOM
quickly became one of the most popular shareware titles of all-time and one
of the best selling games of the year. USA Today called DOOM "the most
gripping computer game to date." Electronic Games magazine heralded DOOM as
"stunningly realistic," and Computer Gaming World honored it with its
"World Premiere Award: Game of the Year." Midway's 1996 Final DOOM and
1995 DOOM home video game releases were met with great critical acclaim and
phenomenal retail sales success.
Nintendo 64 Sales Double
REDMOND, Wash., April 3 (UPI) -- Nintendo of America Inc. said Thursday
sales of its Nintendo 64 video game system have more than doubled since
retailers began selling the game at a new lower suggested retail price.
Nintendo cut the retail price for the game by $50 to $149.95 on March 17.
"Lowering our suggested retail price by $50 has apparently broadened the
market for our machine substantially. Actual weekly sales totals from our
key retailers have increased between 100 percent and 150 percent," said
Peter Main, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of
America.
"And that doesn't begin to consider what we could have sold had we been
able to deliver enough machines to all of our retailers to meet demand.
There's little question in our minds that the new, more affordable price,
coupled with the parade of top-quality games scheduled for release this
year means Nintendo 64 will remain a hot commodity again all the way
through the holidays," Main added.
Nintendo 64, featuring 64-bit video game technology, was launched on Sept.
29.In the five months on the market, consumers have purchased almost 2.5
million units making it the fastest selling video game system in
Nintendo's history. Nintendo noted that while the strong sales results
have been supply constrained since launch, worldwide production capacity
for the machine, which had been averaging about 500,000 a month, will grow
to an average of 1 million a month during the fiscal year which began April
1.
Say It Ain't So! The Fat Lady Sings! VR Baseball '97
Company Vows to Buy Los Angeles Dodgers
IRVINE, Calif., April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- VR Sports announced today the
release of its first in-house production, VR Baseball '97(TM). This
baseball simulation game has the complete license from both Major League
Baseball and Major League Baseball Players Association and delivers all the
fun, excitement and realism of professional baseball. In addition, VR
Sports' parent company, Interplay Productions, renewed its plans to buy the
Los Angeles Dodgers.
"We have been in contact with the Dodgers organization, but I cannot go
beyond that at this point," said Interplay CEO Brian Fargo. "Keep in mind
that in order for us to afford to buy the Dodgers we need 10 million fans
to each buy a copy of VR Baseball '97 for the Sony PlayStation(TM) or for
their home computer. But we are much more confident now based on the early
reviews of VR Baseball '97." The fully licensed VR Baseball '97 is
available now for Sony PlayStation and will be available soon for
Windows(R) '95 and IBM and 100% compatible computers. The game features:
ú Updated rosters for 1997 and 1996 statistics
ú Virtual FieldVision(TM); an unlimited, real-time, 360 degrees, 3D
world
ú All polygon players
ú Four uniform options: home away, alternate & practice with player
names on back. Updated styles and logos for 1997
ú Menu-less batting & pitching interface with instant access to pitch
selection, speed and control. Select from over 80 plate locations without
tipping your hand to your opponent Real-time, in-stadium scoreboard tracks
scores and statistics while the big screen TV broadcasts live
ú Ball physics: State of the art physics model creates true flight,
bounce & roll for-all surfaces such as Astroturf, grass, bats and outfield
fences
ú Realistic ball rotation: Accurate hitting & pitching simulation. You
can actually see how the ball breaks and view the ball's seam rotation
ú Motion capture: Polygon players are the best way to produce quick,
smooth, movements for all baseball moves
ú 3-D Stadiums: Play night or day games with different lighting models
in all 28 Major League Baseball stadiums, including 3 new ballparks:
Atlanta, Anaheim and Oakland
ú Season simulation: super fast general manager with top 1O or full
statistics. Plus mid-season All-Star voting & game
ú Four play options: Quick-Play, Season, Batting Practice and Home Run
Derby
ú Three difficulty settings: All-Star, Veteran, Rookie Endurance meter:
pitchers lose accuracy, speed & strength
VR Sports, the sports division of Interplay Productions, is a developer and
publisher of State-of-the-art, real-time, 360 degrees, 3D sports software.
VR Sports releases sports software for Sega Saturn(TM), Sony
PlayStation(TM), Macintosh, Windows(R) 95 and IBM and 100% compatible
computers. More comprehensive information on VR Sports and its products is
available through the company's worldwide web site at
http://www.vrsports.com.
EA Ships Darklight Conflict
SAN MATEO, Calif., March 28 (UPI) -- Electronic Arts, a global interactive
entertainment software company, Friday announced the shipment of Darklight
Conflict, a 3D space combat game for Windows(R) 95 and MS-DOS. The company
also said that the PlayStation and Sega Saturn versions are scheduled for
shipment in ship in May. Electronic Arts said Darklight Conflict combines
a fast, visually-stunning 3D game play with network multiplayer capacity,
and a fictional background to create a game that appeals to every taste
among outer-space fighter jockeys. "Darklight Conflict marks the future of
space combat games," said Vice President of Marketing Alex Carloss. "You
can find 50 single player missions with a choice of 15 weapons."
Darklight Conflict was developed in the United Kingdom by Rage Software
Limited.
No hiding from "MDK" -- Playmates Interactive
COSTA MESA, CALIF. (April 1) BUSINESS WIRE
Genre-busting title will dominate retail outlets from coast to coast Are
your trigger fingers ready? The wait is almost over for the year's biggest
mega-hit-in-the-making! Playmates Interactive Entertainment Inc.'s
exclusive North American version of the much-anticipated, action/strategy
game, "MDK," will ship to all major retail outlets throughout the United
States on May 6.
Since February, gamers have stormed the Internet looking for just a peek of
"MDK." Interactive demos of the title have been downloaded more than
110,000 times from the Web's top games sites, including Happy Puppy,
Gamespot, C/Net's GameCenter, as well as two mirror sites on the Playmates
Interactive (www.playmatestoys.com) and developer Shiny Entertainment's
(www.shiny.com) Web sites.
The unstoppable response to the demo confirms that "MDK" is unquestionably
one of the most anticipated games of the year. Featuring astonishing
graphics and gameplay that is garnering rave pre-release reviews from the
gaming media, "MDK" is the first PC CD-ROM title to be developed by Shiny
Entertainment, the developers responsible for the console platform smash
hit "Earthworm Jim." A Sony PlayStation version of "MDK" developed by
Neversoft is scheduled for release in July.
"Retailers are lining up to get 'MDK' into their stores because of the
remarkable response from the gaming press, the Internet and, ultimately,
consumers -- who are all floored by the look and gameplay found on
'MDK,'"said David Localio, Playmates Interactive's vice president of sales
& marketing. "We are thoroughly confident that this title is going to fly
off the shelves come May 6 and be one of the biggest hits of the year."
When alien invaders have conspired to turn the Earth into one giant
stripmine, the player must assume the identity of Kurt Hectic, who must
destroy the leaders of the mobile mining cities to save the planet. To
effect a successful mission, the crew at Shiny has given Kurt some awesome
and creative firepower.
Possibly the coolest -- and deadliest -- hardware available to Kurt is a
helmet-mounted sniper rifle and vision goggles that can train on an enemy
up to two miles away. Some of the additional deadly equalizers players can
preview on the demo include "Thumper" (a giant hammer) and the "World's
Smallest Nuclear Bomb."
KONAMI OF AMERICA INC: Konami Kicks Off Its First N64 Game
APR 1, 1997, M2 Communications - Konami of America, Inc., the leading
developer of electronic entertainment for the home video game and coin-op
markets, announces the release of its first game for Nintendo 64 with
International Superstar Soccer 64. "We're thrilled to announce
International Superstar Soccer 64 as our first N64 system title," said
Andrew Donchak, consumer division president. "This truly is the best soccer
game ever released and as one of the first game developers to release an
N64 game, Konami of America, Inc. is excited to be leading the way with
such an impressive title. With the successes we've had with other gaming
platforms, we know that we're up for the challenge of creating exciting
games for the N64."
International Superstar Soccer 64 will be based on Konami of Japan's
breakthrough hit J League Perfect Striker. The original game has been
praised by Nintendo Power as "(having) more life-like animation" than its
competitors. Game Fan states, "you get non-stop commentary that is not only
intelligent as it should be, but timely-a wonderful and effective
combination If this is not the best soccer game out there, I'm not sure
what is."
Over 17,000 character movement animations, motion capture tracing
technologies and full polygon graphics provide International Superstar
Soccer 64 with the most realistic animations of any soccer came available.
An excess of 500 different words and phrases including commentary and crowd
reactions add to the stunning realism of this game.
International Superstar Soccer 64 allows the gamer to choose from 36 teams,
plus six all-star teams. Additionally, players can enjoy the realistic game
settings that have been created based on real soccer strategies. There are
four offensive strategies including Full Offense, Middle Attack, Sideline
Attack and Counter Attack and four defensive strategies including Full
Defense, Pressure Up, Zone Press and Offsides
Trap. Basic movement such as pass and shoot are made by simple button
settings. Once a player feels comfortable at the basic levels, they can
change to more complicated button settings to enjoy advanced game
techniques.
"International Superstar Soccer 64 takes the Konami Sports Series to
another level. Plain and simple, it is just an amazing game for the N64
platform," adds Randy Severin, senior product manager. "This game offers
everything a gamer can ask for in a sports game-realistic player movements
and is feature-intensive in character animations and sounds. All this makes
the most incredible soccer game to-date-one you have to play to truly
believe."
THQ Gets Ready to Rumble With Stars From WCW!
CALABASAS, CALIF. (April 3) ENTERTAINMENT WIRE
Game features six organizations, signature moves from wrestlers including
Sting, Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger
THQ Inc. (NASDAQ NMS: THQI) is tag-teaming with World Championship
Wrestling to provide the most realistic, body-slamming experience for the
Sony PlayStation with "WCW vs. the World," available now.
The 3-D pro wrestling game, which uses texture-mapped polygon graphics,
combines high-impact wrestling action to create more than 550 authentic
wrestling moves for its 60 wrestlers. Featuring Sting, Hulk Hogan, Lex
Luger, Ric Flair, Eddy Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Rick and Scott Steiner,
Chris Benoit, Lord Steven Regal and a few hidden characters from the
top-syndicated World Championship Wrestling program, players can pile drive
their favorite opponent using everything from flying kneedrops to
neck-breakers.
"WCW vs. the World" was the number one selling PlayStation title at
mall-based specialty chains during the game's debut in retail stores in the
United States the weekend of March 28, 1997. "We're thrilled with the
early results on 'WCW vs. the World'," said Brian J. Farrell, president and
CEO, THQ. "The opening numbers at mall-based specialty stores only
reinforces WCW's tremendous following and the huge number of fans who are
looking for the best in-your-face wrestling for their PlayStation systems."
"For the first time, the fast-paced excitement of World Championship
Wrestling is captured in a videogame and players can now participate in
hard-core WCW action at home," said Nicholas Lambros, vice president,
assistant general manager, World Championship Wrestling. "'WCW vs. the
World' gives players the experience of being inside the ring with their
favorite WCW wrestlers."
Gamers can chose from more than 10 arenas decorated with various
organizations' logos to wrestle inside and outside of the ring. An
intelligent 180 degree roving camera gives constantly changing multiple
viewpoints to catch every angle of the brawl. All 60 wrestlers perform
their own signature moves as they pummel their opponents. Select Sting and
see his famous scorpion dealthlock. Choose Hulk Hogan and witness his famed
leg drop which he has performed for fans on the weekly top-syndicated WCW
Monday Nitro program. Each brawler possesses between 30-40 moves.
Players can choose from seven different modes of play with one-player,
two-player or tournament options. Three of the modes, "Best of Seven,"
"Tournament" and "League Match," actually allow players to create an
original belt to compete for and then stake in future matches. In the
remaining modes, "League Challenge," "Exhibition Match," "Elimination
Match" and "Double Title Match," gamers can compete for pre-existing belts.
In "League Challenge" players choose a wrestler and take on the world's
best, league by league. Each consists of five regular wrestlers and a
boss wrestler. By defeating him, gamers add that league's belt to their
collection. In "Best of Seven" each can create their own belt by
challenging seven random opponents. "Exhibition Match" pits the computer
or a friend against the player in a single match. In "Elimination" each
fan can choose a team of five wrestlers. They then must decide between
Tournament, where the winner stays on to fight the next opponent, or Vs.
League, where they must grapple opponents in a pre-determined order. In
this mode, the record of the team as a whole counts, not the individual
wrestlers.
By choosing "Tournament" players can create and compete in a pool of up to
eight wrestlers. In "League Match" an eight-man round robin tournament is
scored by two points for a win, one point for a tie and zero points for a
loss. This system allows even a loser to fight his way back and win the
league. Lastly, "Double Title Match" is an exclusive mode for the
die-hard wrestling gamer. The most intense of all play modes, "Double
Title Match" will build up a wrestler's prestige as quickly as he collects
the belts of his defeated opponents.
A wrestler's "Spirit," or mental state, is crucial to defeating an
opponent. "Spirit" is depicted in the bottom corners of the screen by a
special meter. This can be measured as the meter changes from red to
white. The meter will flicker when a state of maximum "Spirit" has been
reached and the fighter is extremely powerful. As a wrestler's "Spirit"
increases, his moves become more potent, countering action more easily and
recovering from blows more quickly. Appealing to the crowd will also raise
a wrestler's "Spirit." "WCW vs. the World" is available in all major
retail outlets for a suggested retail price of $49.95.
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. Well, another week has come and gone and,
if I've uploaded this file correctly, it's time to check out what's going
on with all our friends who use CompuServe.
Y'know, there was a lot of talk a couple of years ago about how the advent
of cheap internet access would wipe out services like CompuServe, GEnie,
Delphi, and America Online. I wondered at the time about where all these
new internet users would go for help. At least on CompuServe if you've got
a question about how to navigate around, you can ask fairly easily. But
on the internet, if you don't know how to navigate, you _can't_ ask for
help because you need to navigate to do it. The "neighborhood", where
folks looked out for one another could well be replaced by rules and
regulations that, all too often, leave no room for personal choice.
That's why I like using CompuServe. There are lots of folks ready to help
with whatever you might need to know. That's hard to find on the internet
right now. It may get easier but...
As some of you know, I've been messing with CAB and MiNTnet, trying to find
a way to easily and effectively surf the net via CompuServe using my ST.
The problem here is that CompuServe requires the ability to use a PPP
(Point to Point Protocol) connection, which CAB (actually STik, the dialer
used with CAB) cannot do. I've spent a lot of time surfing through not
only the saltpond ripples and pipeline waves of the internet, but also the
technology and structure behind it all. One thing is sure... it's only
going to get more interesting from here. The 'bad guys' are all around,
some of them trying to figure out how to control what we see, and others
trying to figure out how to make an undeserved buck on it all. God help us
if they ever join forces. Luckily, mixed in with all the bad guys is...
us. WE are the force that must decide what is allowable and what is fair.
Of course a lot of the content on the internet is garbage. But the fact is
that it has the right to be garbage. As long as we are not 'forced' to
view any of the various assorted subdivisions of garbage, and are left to
ourselves not only to decide what we want to see, but to take back our
responsibility to decide what is proper for our children to see instead of
handing the decision to someone who may well be one step away from a
congressional probe or senate investigation for improper investment
practices or misuse of campaign funds. Let's leave these people to make
decisions on what they are best suited for (what exactly is that, anyway?)
and let's take up our responsibilities again. Responsibilities are choice.
If you give up responsibility, you give up choice. C'mon folks, flex those
old logic muscles. You know what they say... no pain, no gain!
Wow! Where did all that come from? I have no idea. But I have seen and
heard plenty of people yell for help from inside the waves they've been
trying to surf. As you can tell, I've come to think of services like
CompuServe as huge digital neighborhoods where there is usually someone
around who can lend a hand. The internet, on the other hand, is a
conglomeration of individuals, each going their own way without any real
contact with others doing the same thing. In this regard, the internet is
less like a neighborhood and more like a highway. The term 'Information
SUPER Highway" not only fits the internet, but it deepens that feeling of
others whizzing by on all sides without any real notice of each other.
While I have, do, and will drive down that highway to get where I'm going,
I will continue to hang around the 'old neighborhood' for the memories,
companionship, and help that it has always provided me in the past.
I'd also like to mention that I've gone back to my old format with indented
posts. Lots of folks have mentioned to me that they miss being able to
easily pick out my comments from among the posts, and I agree with them.
The problem is that, when we went to that damned Adobe Acrobat format, the
indentations got all messed up because they were actually spaces and PCs
are not advanced enough to make all characters the same width <grin>, so
what should have been a nice knife-sharp left edge came out looking like a
jagged wound on an otherwise nicely composed page. For those of you who,
like me, avoid the PDF format and view STReport only in ASCII (the way it
was meant to be), the problem is that there is only one version of this
column and two versions of STReport. The column had to be 'middle-of-the-
road'ed so that it would work in both formats. I think I've found a way
to satisfy all the requirements. If this week's column has indented posts
in it, that means that it worked!
Well, let's take a look at what's happening on CompuServe.
From the Atari Computing Forum
Bob Ledbetter asks for help with QuickCIS:
"My Mega ST4 does a strange thing every time I use QuickCIS... it
changes the date by 50 years. For example, from 3-21-97, after
QuickCIS makes the call to CIS the date would be changed to 3-21-47.
This doesn't happen when I run the program, only when a call is made.
This problem also occurs when I run SuperBase Personal 2. These are
the only two programs I experience this problem in.Does anyone have
any
ideas and how to fix the problem?"
Sysop Jim Ness, the author of QuickCIS, tells Bob:
"QuickCIS reads the date provided by CompuServe when you first log in,
and compares it to the ST's system date. If the two don't match, it
goes with the CompuServe date, believing that to be the more reliable.
However, CompuServe changed the way it displays the date, messing up
the whole parsing process. Since QuickCIS is no longer being updated,
it's a problem that will not go away."
Bob tells Jim:
"Thanx for getting back with me re: the date. Sounds like you hit the
nail on the head, except for one thing. When I run Superbase Personal
II, it does the same thing, i.e. subtracts 50 years from the current
date. Any other ideas?"
Jack Hughes tells Bob:
"It's no consolation, I know, but you are not alone. Except my date
change is random in that it goes back 50 years _or_ the date of my TOS
1.04 of April 6, 1989. And so it goes.
If I think of it afterwards, I call up my boot prg and change it back.
Seldom do. Miss it from a cold boot half the time. The major error
occurs in the Data Rescue files. With bad dates they are never
dumped!
I use ST Tools to call the files and "Touch" them back to the right
day."
Bob tells Jack:
"Thanx for getting back with me. Nice (?) to know I'm not alone, ha
ha. For what it's worth... I very seldom run SuperBase Personal 2
this
time of year. (It's not soccer season, and that's what I use
SuperBase
for). However, yesterday, just for grins I ran it and checked it's
date and found that instead of subtracting 50 years from the current
date, it ADDS 50 years. IOW just after booting up SBP.PRG the date in
the Control Panel was 3/24/47, but the date in SuperBase's "date
format" selector was "March 24, 2047". Interesting, huh?"
Jack adds:
"I neglected to point out that sometimes it does _not_ change the
date! It really seems to be completely random. Sometimes minus 50
years, others it's the TOS date and sometimes nothing. The latter
does
not occur very often tho. It did today, which reminded me that it
happenes. Do not use the other prg you mention. The problem only
occurs with QwkCis. Can't say as I hold it against Jim for not
keeping
it up. Probably a lot of effort for little return and maybe even less
cooperation."
On the subject of internet browsers and PPP connections, I mention that
I had heard that a May or June release is likely for TERMite, the PPP
connection and Internet Mail/News reader from Oregon Research
Associates. Jondahl Davis, who talked with ORA about it, tells me:
"May or June is a worst-case scenario; I could hear them arguing over
when it would be out. The much larger Amiga market comes first. I've
also switched to Newsie, and it's working great. I just wish I could
get CAB.OVL to work. Are there any particular versions of the CAB.OVL
file that work best with CAB 1.5? HSModem fixed the E-mail problems,
but CAB still acts like it's connecting but doesn't do anything."
I tell Johdahl:
"I believe the overlay file that works best is version 1.21
I've never had any luck with putting the ovl files in the MODULES
folder. I put them in the same directory as CAB.APP. If the overlay
file is not here in the libraries, let me know and I'll upload it."
On the subject of FAXing from an ST, Dennis Larson asks for...
"Help! I have just purchased _StraightFAX! v2.0_ and am having
difficulties getting it to work. Everything appears to be setup
properly, but when I try to connect to the fax machine at work (an HP
FAX-900) I have problems. I am using a ZOOM faxmodem (1996, external
mdl. 2836, v.34)
Here's what happens:
dialing works fine; the receiving machine answers and sends a tone my
modem sounds like it is sending a tone back no connection is
established the receiving machine *hangs up unexpected*
from the receiving end, the log shows:
calls came in status is either "no data from sending station" or
"enter
receive mode with no data from sending station"
So what's wrong? I've tried changing modem settings, speed, RTS
configuration and everything else but to no avail? What am I doing
wrong? Any suggestions on how to proceed?"
Our old pal Albert Dayes tells Dennis:
"If you are using Class 2 try Class 1 and see if that helps."
Ben @ TOC Oz. adds:
"Turn 'check carrier detect' off. Many dedicated fax machines don't
handle this signal properly."
Joe Villarreal adds his experiences to the discussion:
"I could not connect to one fax machine using STraight Fax, although I
could to others that I tried. Try calling other fax numbers to see if
the problem is the fax machine and not your configuration. The latest
version of Straight Fax is 2.5."
Rick Detlefsen asks for info about using curing a modem problem:
"I've been using a 14400 modem for some time. The only problem I've
encounted is when reading a text file online-after a few screens the
text turns to gibberish. A ^Q resumes the scroll with normal text.
I've just put in the 38400 mod which seems to work, set the rcv buffer
to 16K but still get the gibberish after a few screens. Has anyone
else had this problem? Resolved it? My solution is to drop to 2400
as
the max rate where the gibberish doesn't appear. Thanks for any
hints."
Mark Showalter tells Rick:
"Yes, the same thing happens to me, but I usually ignore it as it is
fine in my capture buffer. It usually only happens with really large
files that go zipping ( no pun intended ) by."
Sysop Ron Luks adds this rather testy and somewhat inaccurate
information:
"It's strictly a matter of the UART on your Atari being unable to keep
up at any speed faster than 9600 bps (and even that is a strain).
Increasing the buffer size and installing patches are only halfway
measures but nothing can completely make up for the inadequate
hardware."
Tisk-tisk on you, Ron. I thought surely you'd know better than that.
Meanwhile, Joe Villarreal tells Rick:
"I've never had "gibberish" on the screen. Freeze Dried Terminal
seems to have a problem in reading large text files at speeds 9600
baud
and above. If I try to do a non-stop (ns) read of let's say all the
forum messages here, it would lock up after 40 to 60k of data. I
would
have to do a warm or cold boot to get the computer back. It has no
problem in capturing a few days worth of messages though.
Stalker 3 doesn't seem to have that problem at 14,400 or 28,800 baud.
Do you use a serial patch program? Tos versions up to 2.05 and Tos
3.05 need the patch at speeds above 9600 baud. You might try changing
the flow control settings to see if that helps. I've got Stalker set
to
RTS/CTS."
Well folks, that's it for this week. Tune in again next time, same time,
same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
EDITORIAL QUICKIES
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