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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 01 Issue 06
Volume 1, Issue 6 Atari Online News, Etc. April 9, 1999
Published and Copyright (c) 1999
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- CC: Classic Chips
With Contributions by:
Carl Forhan
Don Thomas
Joe Connor
To subscribe to A-ONE, send a message to: dpj@delphi.com
and your address will be added to the distribution list.
To unsubscribe from A-ONE, send the following: Unsubscribe A-ONE
Please make sure that you include the same address that you used to
subscribed from.
To download A-ONE, set your browser bookmarks to one of the
following sites (more to be added soon):
http://people.delphi.com/dpj/a-one.htm
http://www.icwhen.com
http://a1mag.atari.org
http://homestead.dejanews.com/ssag
Visit the Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi!
http://forums.delphi.com/m/main.asp?sigdir=atari
=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0106 04/09/99
~ People Are Talking! ~ Songbird Releases SFX! ~ SAMS '99 Show!
~ Populous:The Beginning ~ Recycle PCs for Roads? ~ Baseball Games!
~ Melissa Hacker Busted! ~ MS Takes on Privacy ~ Intel Cuts Prices
~ New Consumer MS OS! ~ Salon Acquires The WELL~ Phoenix Sues Critics
-* April Fools Prank Revealed! *-
-* April Fools Feedback - Perspective *-
-* U.S. Appeals Internet Pornography Ruling *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It won't be long before Spring is in full gear! It's a great time of year;
I'm looking forward to getting out of my winter doldrums. Time to get
outside do some planting, get the yard in order, and just bask in the nice
New England weather! A little barbecue, a swim in the pool, a few drinks on
the patio late into the evening....
My editorializing for this week has moved from this primary location to the
Gaming section. I'll be back here next week with a progress report of
what's happening here at A-ONE, along with some new goodies!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
SAMS '99 (Spring All Micro Show)
From: "Joe Connor" <joe@inactive.cix.co.uk>
Sharward Promotions is proud to celebrate its 10th anniversary organising
this popular Computer and Electronics Show in association with Computer
Shopper and Atari Computing magazines.
This twice annual Computer Fair attracts thousands of visitors and dozens
of traders covering all aspects of computing. You'll find stands dedicated
to Computers, Accessories, Multimedia, Satellite, TV, Amateur Radio,
Electronics, Bring and Buy with Atari and Sinclair villages.
Date: Sunday April 18th
Opening Times: 10am to 4pm
Venue: Bingley Hall, Staffordshire Showground, Stafford
Entrance Prices:
Adult: #3
Children under 14: 50p
Concessions (OAPs, RSGB members, Student Card, UB40): #2
Advance ticket sales: #2 plus SAE
Directions:
Stafford County Showground, Weston Road, Stafford
Off A518, Stafford - Uttoxeter Road, signposted from Junction 14 on M6
Bus Shuttle from Stafford Rail Station (this costs #1 each way)
User Groups welcome with discount stand prices available
For more information, or to book a stand:
Tel: 01473 212113
Fax: 01473 212114
http://www.sharward.co.uk/sproms.html
Email: services@sharward.co.uk
Sharward Promotions (SAMS '99)
Westerfield Business Centre, Main Road, Westerfield, Ipswich, IP6 9AB
Apart from the dozens of general computer and electronic stands there will
be plenty of dedicated Atari vendors. Here's a partial and provisional line
up so far:
* SysSols
* Titan (TBC)
* Electronic Cow
* ASP
* 16/32
* Portfolio Club
* CyberSTrider
* Falke Verlag (ST Computer)
* Console Centre
* Web.Wizard Matthew Bacon
* HBASIC boy wonder Paul Jones
* Maggie Team
* Atari Computing
* User groups
--
Regards
Joe
http://www.cix.co.uk/~inactive/
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@portone.com
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Well, it seems that our April Fools
press release fooled one or two of you. Some of you took it harder than
others, even to the point of thinking that we were making fun of
someone's bad situation. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I
thought that this particular prank could help call attention to what's
going on (or what's NOT going on, actually) at Hasbro.
Hasbro, as you know, bought the rights to just about everything that was
Atari and set to work on developing the classic games that we've all
come to know and love for PCs. The rest of their holdings, they forgot
about. Or perhaps they were simply unsure of how to proceed. At any
rate, they don't seem to have plans to do anything with either the
computer technology or the game machine know-how they've inherited.
As a result, there are folks out there who have spent a large portion of
their time developing games for the Jaguar and now have no way to
produce them. You see, in order to make the final product that you could
pop into your Jaguar the coding needs to be encrypted. It can only be
encrypted with the permission of the holder of the rights. And right now
that's Hasbro.
When we decided to plant an April Fools story and settled on our buying
the rights to Jaguar encryption, I suggested calling attention to the
problem by mentioning a game called "WarBall" produced by a company
called "After-Glo" (The company name was my idea, but not the name of
the game).
We decided to stay with the premise, but to use different names since
WarBall was too reminiscent of BattleSphere, and After-Glo was quite
suggestive of 4Play. While we wanted to fool people, we didn't want to
take a swipe at anyone for simply having the bad luck to try supporting
us.
The queries and responses we received ranged from mild interest to wild
jubilation to fierce anger. Most of those who had been fooled were good
natured about it. Some were slightly embarrassed. Some were downright
nasty and abusive. All I can say is that we'll take what comes from our
little jest as we had hoped that others would take it... in stride.
Actually, I like the "After-Glo" name. Now where could I possibly use
it??
Oh, before I forget, by the time you read this, you should be able to
visit our fledgling web site at http://a1mag.atari.org
There really isn't much there at the moment, but we hope to constantly
add and improve upon it. Let us know what you think.
Well, let's get on with the reason for this column: the news, hints,
tips, and info available on the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Odd Skancke asks for help with his new Hades computer:
" Hi, all. I've just purchased a Hades 060 :-)) But, as I can't seem to
use the resolutions that is provided with the Machine (bad monitor), I
need a program that I can use to create my own resolutions. If anyone
know if there exist a program that will let me design resolutions for the
ET6000 gfx card on the Hades, please let me know!"
Jim Logan tells Odd:
"On your utility disc you should have a program called VMG_xxx.PRG where
xxx stand s for your particular card/bus. When you run it you can then
try different resolutions tailored to your particular monitor."
Martin "Nightowl" Byttebier tells Jim:
"Nope, there isn't one provided on the system disk. Only one for the ET4000
but not for the ET6000.
The driver for the ET6000 was made by Fredi Ashwanden and not by
Computerinsel.
I've asked Fredi several times if he could send me the appropiate VMG
but he never answered my mails."
"Doctor Clu" posts:
"We've seen the occasional message "Are there any other users..."
This tells me that we still long for user groups, and since I am having
such a blast (and since Atari is such a cool platform) I would like to
fill in the blanks here in the Americas!
In the United States, I find it ironic that all the fandom tends towards
the edges of the country. You have two user groups (AUNT, HACE) in
Texas, the Pacesetter in Florida, Old Hackers in New York (?) and then
the next nearest thing are the clubs in Canada.
What? I didn't list your group? Well, let's fix that!
I want to blanket the United States with Atari fandom. I know the users
are out there. Thousands of Atari users, many not connected to the
internet.. but they're out there.
So, the thing to do is start a list. From this list we can find people
who live near us, and start clubs and user groups.
In 1999? Can you think of a better time?
And from this list we can make a map and show all the locations of user
groups across the United States.
TO HELP WITH THIS.. ALL WE NEED IS:
YOUR NAME
LOCATION (City, State)
E-MAIL ADDRESS
COMPUTER TYPE (optional)
As soon as I get 20 names, I will post the URL for the MEGA USER LISTING,
so send your info today help get this started. Who knows, someone else
might be waiting to start a group up near you!"
Rene de Bie tells the Doctor:
"I like the Idea but I think you should make a list of all active users
in the world.
The people just have to subscribe to get on or off the list."
Greg Evans asks:
"Am I the only who uses Telnet regularly and would like to be able to
upload and download while connected? I do it all the time with CommNet
on my PC, but I have yet to find an Atari equivalent. I believe Peter has
refused to update Telstar with this capability. I hate having disconnect
from my Falcon, reconnect with my PC just to download a file while
using Telnet."
Derryck Croker tells Greg:
"I believe that Teli (an IConnect client, needs MagiC and the IConnect
stack) has this capability - http://www.camelot.de/~zulu"
Krzysztof Maj tells Greg to...
"Try ftp. You can do it with NEWSie - it's the simplest way. The another
solution is GAPFTP.TTP by Gary Priest. It features very powerful
scripting capabilities, that allow totally automated
uploading/downloading of files."
Louis Holleman posts:
"I've used this rainy second Easter day to do some maintenance again on
my system. Took the TT completely apart, removed heaps of dust etc and
while doing so I noticed several items that ask for explanation.
So this one's for the TT (technical) experts:
1. Just in front of the printer port, there are 3 connectors on the
mainboard, a 4-pin J602, a 10-pin J606 (?) and another 10-pin J902. I
gather J606 and 902 are the serial port connectors. Mine have been
removed. In fact I do need them operational again because of future
expansions. Are there connectors ready available? What is the J602
for?
2. Just left of the terminator sockets is another connector, J102. What
is this one for?
3. The speaker is hooked to J803, a 3-pin connector, but only 2 pins are
connected. You can hook it to the upper two pins, or the lower two
ones. Anyone knows details?
4. Below the lower left corner of the ST-RAM board are 3 jumper sockets,
W603 (here set on the lower position), W601 (here set on the lower
position), and W602 (here set on the upper position) You guessed it,
what are these for?
5. Finally, the J203 or dipswitch. I've got nr. 7 "ON", the rest is
"Off". What are the various numbers doing in fact? I gathered one is
for DD/HD floppy drives, but I don't know which one and I forgot about
the others.
BTW: contrary to what I've said before, this one's got a Motorola 68030
inside, not an Intel one (I've got a friend with an Intel-made 68030 in
his TT). Meanwhile the system is up and running again."
Lonny Pursell tells Louis:
"J203 or dipswitch... One of them controls the _SND cookie value. I know
this cause when I first bought my TT all DMA sound software told me I had
no such hardware much to my surprise. The dealer told me to lift the HD
bay and flip a dip switch to correct it which it indeed did. I forget
which one it was, that was several years ago."
Jeff Mitchell posts:
"OKay, I'm flamebait for this one <smile>
What's the most convenient OS to run on an ST? I'm not into music, if
that matters. I was an old time Atari man from way back, with a many-year
hiatus.. I used Mint way back when it began, before it was really useful.
It would appear to be a big contender these days..
What OS choices are there? MagiC? Geneva? MultiTOS? Mint? (Is multitos
just mint?) OS9? (always cool, but nowhere to find it now, for the ST)
Anything others?
Geneva seems not too bad, and reasonably inexpensive. Decent package if
bundles with Neodesk4... but is that too much RAM consumed on a 2mb ST?
What about the others? Opinions? Comparisons? Is there a FAQ?"
John Whalley tells Jeff:
"You do realize you've just opened the gates of hell, don't you? <grin>
Before anyone starts blowing fuses, what follows is all in my humble
opinion...
The most common MIDI apps (Cubase and Notator) really don't get on with
the newer OSs. I think most people would boot plain TOS for those apps
rather than struggling.
MiNT is now very usable, but you need add-on software to make it really
usable for normal Atari apps (see below).
To get the really obscure out of the way, there was a brief thread here a
short while back which mentioned esoteric such as OS9 and SMS2 - do a
search on Dejanews for it to find out more.
I'm assuming that you have a hard drive: if not, I'd say you were better
spending money on that initially as you'll miss most of the benefits of
an OS upgrade without it. That said, if you have TOS 1.0 you will
probably have problems with a hard drive and 1.2 isn't much better by all
accounts unless you have patches installed. In which case upgrading the
OS becomes more urgent.
For general use things boil down to two main divisions:
a) Single tasking
TOS: if you have a reasonable version (ie not 1.0 or 1.2), you could do
worse with limited resources memory-wise. If you have 2 megs, adding in a
replacement desktop would be a good idea - I'd recommend Teradesk, YMMV.
TOS 2.06 and later has a reasonable desktop (Newdesk) anyway.
b) Multitasking
Firstly, I'd hesitate to recommend multitasking in less than 4 megs, not
because it won't work, but because you'll have so little memory left for
apps once the OS is loaded that it isn't worth it. It depends what you
want to do: you might get away with one main app and a couple of
utilities, but anything more ambitious could be a squeeze. It could be
more useful for net access, where some of the apps such as POPwatch and
NEWSwatch are quite small and it's handy to run them in parallel.
As a guide: on my 4 meg STE with MagiC5, NVDI4, STguide and COPS loaded
as accs, I have just over 2 megs left for apps once booted. I'm sure it
could be increased by reducing the size of NVDI's caches etc, but you can
see why I think you might be squeezed in 2 meg.
That said, here are the options:
1. Geneva/TOS
This is an oddity in that it is only co-operative multitasking, but you
can run it over MiNT to get full pre-emptive multitasking. Under
co-operative, a program can hog the processor, stopping background
processes from running. This may be a problem for some people, not for
others. Geneva/TOS is more suited to task switching (ie running more than
one program and switching between them where it doesn't matter if
background processes seize up), though I'm going on hearsay here as I
haven't used it. It certainly has its fans, and has a reputation for
being very compatible.
2. MagiC
I'll declare a bias here: this is my OS of choice, and particularly
suited to STs as it is quite frugal with RAM if you use the supplied
Magxdesk desktop, and it replaces the whole of TOS (TOS effectively just
acts as an OS loader at bootup). It also has the advantage of
accelerating STs (compared to TOS) when running just one program. It
lacks some MiNT features which upsets some people, but generally these
things are rather esoteric and for *most* purposes you won't miss them.
Compatibility isn't bad but there are some programs it won't get on with
and others where it's on the edge. Most recent apps will be fine. I
hasten to add that this is the case with most replacement OSs - older
programs were not designed to be multitasking friendly and are always
going to be problematic.
3. MiNT with replacement AES
MiNT on its own won't multitask more than one GEM application. It doesn't
replace all of TOS, so without a multitasking AES it uses the old TOS GEM
and that's limited to single tasking. It will, however run lots of text
apps and background processes so this kind of setup has its uses.
It also has a Unix mode, where you are effectively running a Unix system
with Atari compatibility: this lets you run all sorts of ported Unix net
stuff, for example. There are various distributions, such as the TAF
package and KGMD (both a bit out of date, I gather), including some
semi-commercial packages such as MiNT98.
To run multiple GEM apps, you need a multitasking AES. Here are the
choices:
i) MultiTOS (AES 4.0). This was commercial from Atari, and is slow and
buggy.
ii) AES 4.1. This was Atari's follow-up to MultiTOS which was never
finished/released. It's faster, but has a whole load of bugs of its own.
Technically this is unreleased commercial software, but you can find it
on the net.
iii) Geneva. Geneva/MiNT isn't supposed to be too stable, but some people
have found it works to their liking.
iv) N.AES. This is the finished commercial AES4.1 (unless I've
misunderstood), and is available from Germany. Comes with the Thing
desktop and has a very good reputation. The one to go for in the MiNT
world, by all accounts.
v) Freeware AESs: oAESis and XaAES. Neither of these is finished or
really usable, and both seem to have died as projects - curiosities,
really.
I don't know how much RAM Geneva/Neodesk would take, so I'd suggest
MagiC if you want to go in this direction and can afford it, though add
in NVDI (which many newer apps will need irrespective of OS) and you'll
be pushed for RAM. You can try out MiNT for free, though I suspect you'll
find you use too much RAM."
Jon Rasmussen asks:
"Can anyone tell me if there is a program that enables more screen space
on my ATARI STe 520."
Nicholas Bales tells Jon:
"There is a program called MonSTEr that allows you to extend resolutions
by scrolling around the normal screen. For example, you can have a
640x400 desktop in 16 colours, but you have to scroll around a 320x200
"window" with the mouse. It can be useful, but headache guaranteed. You
should find it on most FTP sites in the "Ste" directory."
Well folks, that's it for this week. Tune in again next week, same time,
same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Songbird to Release 'SFX'!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" April Fools Feedback/Perspective!
"Populous: The Beginning"
Baseball Games Galore!
And much more!
->From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
This past weekend, Atari Online News, Etc. (A-ONE) included a press
release in our Gaming section, entitled "Newly Formed Publisher Acquires
64-Bit Jaguar Publishing Rights From Hasbro." To-date, the story has
generated a lot of message activity on various online sources, as well as
much e-mail. That was to be expected.
For those of us at A-ONE, and a select few outside of the magazine, the
story has been incredible...and quite imaginary. Yes, it was an April
Fools article. It should have been quite obvious (and I'll provide the
"clues" below) if you read the issue, especially the press release itself.
And, for the most part, the response that we got regarding the article was
along the lines of 'damn you, you almost had me!' Of course, there were
others that cursed us for our alleged cruelty to the Jaguar faithful.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Like you, we are, and have been for many years, Atari enthusiasts. We
were waiting impatiently like everyone else for the Jaguar to be released.
We waited with anticipation for news of each and every new game for our
machines. We waited, and reported, every bit of news pertaining to
developer reports and word of a potentially new game. We celebrated, and
we suffered the letdowns just like everyone else - perhaps longer than
many. And we're still here, covering news of anything related to an
Atari product, including the Jaguar.
EVERYBODY loves a good joke. And April Fools jokes are no different.
It's the day when every prankster in the world comes out of the woodwork.
What people especially enjoy is when the joke is on _someone else_; when
you can stand/sit there and laugh at someone else's expense. The most
common response, along with the chuckles, is "YOU fell for it!" What
many people do not necessarily enjoy is when they're the ones that "got
got"! Many fell for it, some were not sure, and some knew right away.
That's the way it usually works. For most, we gotcha!
Was this a cruel mean-spirited joke? No. There was no animosity or
ill-intended feeling behind it. Nor were there any personal attacks, as
one humorless individual reacted. It was an April Fools article which
came about fairly quickly.
I've been writing April Fools articles, either singularly, or with help
since my days with my usergroup newsletter in the late 80's. I don't
do one every year because the jokes would be expected and fail. When Joe
and I started A-ONE in March, I mentioned that we might want to consider
doing an April Fools issue, but we never mentioned it again until the
beginning of last week, in the weekly chat-conference regularly held in
the Atari Advantage Forum at Delphi. We mentioned a bunch of possible
scenarios, some bizarre and some plausible. Before I left, I mentioned
to those in attendance that I'd work on something for that week's issue.
By the next day (Wednesday), I had a couple of potential ideas.
Since we're an Atari-oriented magazine, it had to relate to something we
would normally cover. This meant something that was a current topic or
issue. It would also have to be something Atari-related. I've been
aware of the "situation" with regard to Hasbro's apparent disinterest in
getting involved with encrypting Jaguar software. Naturally,
Battlesphere is the subject of the day since it's ready to go.
We've all wondered what we would do if we owned Atari when it was
floundering. The same imagination was felt during the JTS debacle. And
now we're faced with Hasbro's inaction. We had our April Fools article.
We made our imagination come true for a couple of days! As individuals,
I felt we couldn't pull off "buying the rights" to the Jaguar. But as
A-ONE, it added credibility. So now, we buy the rights to produce Jaguar
games; we have the ability to encrypt other's games. We can now get
"Warniverse" out on the market and into the hands of the anxiously
new game-deprived public. Perfect.
Why did this April Fools article work so well? Because people were
caught up in the possibilities rather that what the article said. And
the "news" spread in bits and pieces rather in its total state. You
made the conclusions before you finished the article. Don't get me
wrong; you reacted as most of us would - myself included!
Once in awhile, there's an innocent bystander to a joke. Unintentional,
but a "victim" nonetheless. Prop a bucket of water on a door that's ajar
will sometimes splash onto more than the intended victim. Yes, it's
usually funny, but you usually feel badly about the one who happened to
be standing too close. Our "bucket of water" did the same thing.
I wanted to publicly apologize to Carl Forhan, of Songbird Productions.
Carl sent me a few messages and e-mail inquiring to the veracity of the
article. Carl was one of those who was "on the fence" as to what to
believe. I didn't respond to any _direct_ question with regard to the
article, to anyone. To any indirect question, I played with words and
"helped" their confusion along, letting them make their own conclusions
without my denying or admitting the story's veracity. We intended to
let the story continue through the weekend. But, back to Carl. Carl is
currently developing for the Jaguar. Carl's success likely depends on
the choices that Hasbro makes. Our article obviously provided Carl with
the hope he was looking for and he would obviously be let down once
learning the article was an April Fools joke. For that letdown, we at
A-ONE apologize. I had fully intended the same sentiments to the members
of 4Play until someone forwarded me Doug Engel's comments on the Jaguar
Interactive web site, and I verified them. Some things just never
change. Stephanie and Scott, if you care, I apologize. Doug, get your
facts straight and stop living in the past.
So, how did you miss the clues? Here they are, straight from the issue
and release:
The most obvious was the date of the issue. Sure, we were the day after
April 1st, but that was a minor detail. <g>
The headlines teasers:
>Hasbro Minus Jaguar = A-ONE!
That "equation" makes no sense; it states just the opposite of what we
were saying. "Jaguar Minus Hasbro = A-ONE" would have been "correct".
>Among the initial titles planned for release by A-ONE Publishers is a
>relatively unknown game developed by Task Masters, Ltd., a modestly staffed
>creative team in Ireland.
Relatively unknown??
>"'Warniverse... The graphics are outstanding and up to 84 players can
>link for head-to-head-to-head action."
I almost edited that to far fewer links, but I let Joe dangle with that
one. 84 players?!?!
>"We are pleased to work with A-ONE Publishers and help create a situation
>where faithful Atari owners can continue to enjoy new content for their
>Atari Jaguar video game system, "remarks Mr. Michael Goodrow, Marketing
>Manager of Hasbro. We truly hope this effort inspires those gamers to look
>at other Hasbro products we offer now and in the future."
For Hasbro, highly unlikely. They'd do it themselves. And, "Michael
Goodrow" is actually Michael Goodreau. Okay, a very weak clue!
The dead giveaway, in the last words of the article:
>this April Fool's season.
I wonder how many people got this far!
I guess it's too early to start thinking about next year's April Fools...
Dana Jacobson
Publisher
Atari Online News, Etc.
April 6, 1999
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Songbird Productions Announces SFX for the Atari Lynx
April 2, 1999
For Immediate Release:
ROCHESTER, MN -- Songbird Productions is pleased to announce the
availability of SFX for the Atari Lynx. SFX is an exciting, new audio tool
for the Lynx. Perfect for the hobbyist developer or curious tinkerer, SFX
allows the user almost full control over the four audio channels available
on the Lynx.
"I am very grateful for the Lynx fans who stuck with me on their
pre-orders for SFX last fall," commented Carl Forhan, owner of Songbird
Productions and the developer of SFX. "I had no idea that the project
would initially be plagued by so many delays, but it's all finally coming
together. And now that the kinks are worked out on producing new
cartridges, Lynx fans can expect at least two more releases in 1999 from
Songbird Productions."
The target ship date for SFX is April 16, 1999, and the retail price is
$34.95. If you are interested in ordering SFX, please visit the Songbird
Productions web page at http://songbird.atari.org. Dealer inquiries
welcome.
To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure
to visit the company web site at http://songbird.atari.org, or send an
email to songbird@atari.org.
Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This
article may be reprinted in its entirety.
Electronic Arts Ships Populous: The Beginning for the PlayStation
Electronic Arts, the world's largest interactive entertainment software
company, today announced the release of Populous: The Beginning for the
PlayStationr. Similar to the critically acclaimed PC version released in
November, this real-time strategy game casts the player as The Shaman, a
mystical priestess who must use her divine powers to protect and lead her
tribe of followers and ultimately become a god.
``Populous finally gives PlayStation gamers the chance to wield the awesome
powers of nature," said the game's producer Simon Harris. ``We've
completely recreated the incredible 3-D worlds as seen in the PC version of
Populous and all of the spells have been redesigned to make best use of
PlayStation hardware. However, the gameplay on the PlayStation version is
decidedly faster and more action oriented."
Populous lets players feel what it's like to have god-like control over a
world -- enabling them to shape the land, build mythical cities, command
armies, convert followers and wield a host of powerful spells. Players can
inflict untold damage on unbelievers by calling lightning from the sky,
raising lava-spewing volcanoes, conjuring up plagues of insects, bringing
forth village-swallowing earthquakes and more.
Developed by UK-based Bullfrog Productions, Populous features a wholly
unique 3-D engine that allows players to smoothly scroll and rotate over a
true globe, not a flat map as in other strategy games. The powerful engine
permits the player to view the action from almost any angle and zoom
back-and-forth from a ground level view to a cosmic view of the world as a
whole. The revolutionary 3-D technology also brings earth-shattering spells
to life with real-time terrain morphing effects. Players will see their
volcanoes grow out of the ground, mountains shrink to the size of molehills
and entire villages erode into the seas.
Populous is available for the PlayStation at a MSRP of US$39.99. Consumers
may purchase the game directly from Electronic Arts by dialing
800-245-4525.
Interplay Sports Baseball 2000 Hits Store Shelves in Time for Opening Day
Interplay Sports, the sports division of Interplay Entertainment Corp.,today
announced the shipping of Interplay Sports Baseball 2000 for the Sony
PlayStation and Interplay Sports Baseball Edition 2000 for Windows 95/98.
These third generation baseball titles have undergone a plethora of
improvements from last year and are expected to be among 1999's elite
baseball games.
Complete with play-by-play commentary, dynamic crowds and animated umpires,
Interplay Sports Baseball 2000 and Interplay Sports Baseball Edition 2000
bring home the complete baseball experience. Showcasing all 30 major
league teams, these titles also feature over 750 major league players, as
well as 31 major league stadiums, including Seattle's new Safeco Field
which will be utilized later this season. Interplay Sports Baseball
Edition 2000 also incorporates the patented Messiah technology
(exclusively licensed from Shiny Entertainment) for greater detailed
animations and graphics.
Interplay Sports worked with many professional athletes, including Anaheim
Angels' outfielder, Darin Erstad, during the creation of Interplay Sports
Baseball 2000 and Interplay Sports Baseball Edition 2000 to make them as
accurate as they are entertaining. Signature batting and pitching motions
were incorporated along with some of the smartest artificial intelligence
in the world of sports. The result is life-like players that ``round"
bases, hit the proper cutoff men and shift strategically during crucial
situations.
``They're exciting games," stated Erstad. ``From a gamer's perspective
they're action packed and challenging. And from an athlete's perspective
they're incredibly realistic. This is serious baseball."
As a side note, a series of preseason simulations were recently run using
Interplay Sports Baseball 2000 to predict the 1999 baseball season.
American League division winners included Texas, Cleveland and the New York
Yankees, with the wild card going to Baltimore. The National League
winners consisted of Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta with the New York
Mets securing the wild card. In the 1999 World Series the Atlanta Braves
prevailed over the Cleveland Indians four games to two.
Swing Into the Gameplay With Bottom Of The 9th
Konami of America, Inc., leading developer of electronic entertainment for
the home video game and PC game markets, is now shipping its newest
addition to the Konami Sports Series, the first-ever Bottom Of The 9TH for
the Nintendo 64.
Bottom Of The 9TH features improved 3D texture-mapped figures with
signature moves of star players and a Bottom of the 9TH's famous
arcade-style batter/pitcher interface. It offers faster gameplay, nine
polygon body types, four difficulty levels, 30 beautifully rendered
stadiums, multiple camera angles and a real-time "play-by-play" announcer.
In addition, the game includes the 1999 preseason roster, incorporating
interleague play, and many off-season trades and free agent signings.
"Konami has taken the best features of the 1998 PlayStation release and
dramatically improved the overall graphics, speed and sound, taking N64
gameplay to another level with Bottom Of The 9TH '99," states Tim Dunley,
Konami's Vice President of Marketing. "With the addition this year of
texture-mapped players, new motion-captured animations, the exciting
play-by-play announcer and the new scenario mode, this title will attract
a new set of N64 fans."
The six modes, which include Practice, Exhibition, Season, Scenario,
Playoffs and All-star modes, provide a wide variety of game play options.
For instance, in the Scenario mode, the user can step into any of 20 famous
pressure situations, including the McGwire/Sosa home run record race. The
Practice mode allows gamers to hone pitching, fielding, batting and
base-running skills. With more than 750 Major League Baseball Players
Association players' career statistics and photos, gamers have the option
to test their skills as general manager making their own trades and putting
together a dream team that will take them to the Fall Classic.
Konami has signed 1998 AL MVP, Juan Gonzalez, to star on the game packaging
and in product advertisements. Juan is an outfielder for the Texas Rangers
and a two-time MVP. Gonzalez hit 0.318 with 45 homers, and had the most
RBIs in the AL in 49 years. Gonzalez drove in 101 runs by the All-Star
break, becoming only the second player to top the century mark going into
the All-Star game.
Acclaim Sports' All-Star Baseball 2000 Ships
Acclaim Sports, a division of Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., a leading
worldwide interactive entertainment company, today announced that All-Star
Baseball 2000 for the Nintendo 64 has shipped to retailers across the
US. Developed by Acclaim Studios' Iguana Entertainment, All-Star
Baseball 2000 is licensed by Major League Baseballr and the Major League
Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) and will also be released for Nintendo
Color Game Boy in May 1999.
All-Star Baseball 2000 is supported by a multi-million dollar television,
print, radio, on-line, and in-store marketing campaign. The television
commercial features All-Star shortstop Derek Jeter, along with the New York
Yankees' interim manager, Don Zimmer, and is running in rotation with three
different endings. The television campaign launched on ESPN on March 28
during the historic exhibition game between the Baltimore Orioles and the
Cuban National Team.
All-Star Baseball 2000 features second-generation Hi-Rez graphics and
realistic player animations unmatched in any baseball title. New features
include a special 3-D batting cursor that gives players unprecedented
control, variable weather, instant replays, intelligent trading and fantasy
draft options, and more than twice as many frames of animation as the
game's predecessor, All-Star Baseball `99. All-Star Baseball 2000 features
the voices of John Sterling and Michael Kay, play-by-play and color
commentators for the New York Yankees.
Other key features of All-Star Baseball 2000 include:
- All 30 Major League teams and over 700 players from the MLBPA
- All 30 Major League stadiums 3-D rendered down to the cut of the grass
- Scouting reports by New York Yankees All-Star shortstop Derek Jeter
- Individual player models feature true-to-life sizes, faces, and team
uniforms
- Over 400 new motions include over-the-shoulder catches, breaking up
double plays, hook slides, swipe tags, and fist pumping player
celebrations
- All-new player graphics include sunglasses, high socks, and alternate
team jerseys, plus rain delays and airborne dust
- Over 100 unique batting stances, from the open stance of Andres
Gallaraga to Jeff Bagwell's crowding home plate
- Authentic home run swings from the games' top sluggers
- Advanced artificial intelligence simulates actual player performance
in various game conditions: day vs. night, grass vs. turf, and home
vs. away.
- Individual player streaks, slumps, and errors based on real life
tendencies
- 1,500 play-by-play and color calls by New York Yankees broadcasters
John Sterling and Michael Kay
- Authentic Major League game sounds for home and away games
- On-screen matchup history for every pitcher and batter confrontation
- Customized hot & cold strike zones for each Major League Baseball
player
- Future Throw Technology to turn lightning-quick double-plays
- Roster management includes: Multi-player trades; creating, signing
and releasing players; and calling up minor league prospects
- Option to play the 1999 Major League Baseball schedule or a special
162-game non inter-league season
- Ability to track season-long player and team stats in over 300
categories by STATS, Inc.
- Four game modes: Exhibition, Season, Playoff, and Home Run Derby
Konami of America Skates Into Big League: NHL Blades of Steel '99
Konami of America, Inc., leading developer of electronic entertainment for
the home video game and PC game markets, announces NHL Blades of Steel '99,
the newest and hardest-hitting addition to the Konami Sports Series for the
Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color. This NHL/NHLPA licensed title brings
teeth-smashing realism to hockey fans through motion-captured animations,
texture mapped facial features of real players and depictions of signature
moves.
Players in NHL Blades of Steel '99 play on authentic, fully detailed arenas
with actual ice conditions, surrounded by true game sound effects,
including the voice talents of NHL television announcer and voice of the
San Jose Sharks, Randy Hahn. An additional feature, exclusive to N64
players, is the ability to play as the referee.
"Ever since the original Blades of Steel, gamers have been at us to create
a Konami hockey game and we're glad to give them this newest version for
1999," said Tim Dunley, Konami's Vice President of Marketing. "It's every
bit as good as the original Konami hockey and offers even more in the way
of great features for today's hardest-hitting fans." NHL Blades of Steel
'99 gives gamers the ability to choose a player from an up-to-date '98-'99
roster, trade players, sign free agents or create a new player of their
own. Other key features include full season stat tracking and adjustable
team strategies.
Jaromir Jagr, captain and left wing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, will be
joining the Konami team this year by lending his endorsement to NHL Blades
of Steel '99. Jagr will be featured on all NHL Blades of Steel marketing
materials, including product packaging and print advertisements. Jagr is a
four-time NHL All-Star and a two-time league leader in scoring with over
300 goals and 750 points in his eight year career. He is a winner of the
Art Ross Trophy and led the Czech Republic to the 1998 Olympic Gold Medal
in Nagano.
Actua Ice Hockey 2 Set to be Published
Ice hockey is one of the most popular and passionately followed sports in
the world and the action packed high-speed experience has been given the
Actua treatment in Actua Ice Hockey 2. Finally a software house does
justice to the greatest show on ice.
Using a brand new 3D engine that was co-developed for Actua Soccer 3. The
Actua Sports team has created the best ice hockey game available. Sporting
motion-captured polygonal characters, every player has been individually
texture-mapped to create a work of astonishing realism and depth.
All the motion-capture in the game will be provided by players from
Sheffield's own local hockey team, The Sheffield Steelers, past champions
in both the B&H cup and the Premier League. The 'Steelers' have also been
on hand to assist with the development of the game's cutting-edge
Artificial Intelligence. Some of the club's top players have provided their
insightful knowledge to help fine tune the defensive and attacking tactics
to perfection.
Modes of play will include practice matches, friendlies and cup tournaments
as well as the monster Championship which requires a will of iron to
succeed. You'll need to punch and play your way through 31 teams made up of
over 770 players before any silverware is forthcoming.
Actua Ice Hockey 2 incorporates the fraught, tense and exciting atmosphere
that is synonymous with big time hockey. Players will be able to go
one-on-one with their opponents in a 'gloves off' fighting sequence that
sends the crowds wild. Enjoy hardcore slapshot action with aggressive
player contact and bone-crunching board smashing. The aforementioned
ultra-violence will be broadcast in a full US TV-style presentation
incorporating Ambient RealismTM, the new interactive crowd and commentary
system. Combining a studio 'link man' with an in-game replay mode that will
analyse each goal-scoring sequence with incredible accuracy, it will be as
realistic as watching television.
Mogwai, the current darlings of the Glaswegian underground scene, will be
providing the brutal, cutting edge sounds that lend a poetic backdrop to
the choice realism on show in Actua Ice Hockey 2.
NBA In The Zone '99 Scores Slam Dunk
Konami of America, Inc., the leading developer of electronic entertainment
for the home video game and PC game markets, today announced its next
Konami Sports Series title, NBA In The Zone '99, for the Nintendo 64, Sony
PlayStation game console and Game Boy Color.
Taking the award-winning gameplay of the best-selling original, NBA In The
Zone '99 takes NBA action to the next level. The game features all 29
official NBA teams with more than 300 actual players, and incredible
player realism due to motion capture technology with 3D-mapped, polygon
graphics. NBA In The Zone '99 includes signature moves of the players and
advanced play calling techniques allowing for a true simulation, including:
behind-the-back dribbling, no-look passing, pivoting, fake shots, stealing,
blocking and many more. It also is the only game with the 1999 start of
season rosters, full-season play and the ability to trade and substitute
players.
"Konami is proud to be continuing its winning tradition of creating the
best gaming titles. We've taken the best elements of the original NBA In
The Zone and added even more features to this awesome new game for
PlayStation and N64 fans," said Tim Dunley, Konami's Vice President of
Marketing. "Hard core fans and new gamers alike will love the great
gameplay, enhanced graphics, more dunks, no limits on trading and the
intuitive crowd noise."
Users assume the identity of real NBA players as they engage in a
competitive full-season schedule, including the NBA Playoffs and NBA
Finals. Enhanced graphics give these virtual players the moves and motions
that mimic personalities and personal performance traits of their real-life
counterparts. NBA In The Zone '99 gives maximum control to gamers, allowing
pin point passing, unlimited trades from all 29 NBA teams and the ability
to custom-create their own player. Gamers can also track their own stats
throughout a season of play. Authentic NBA stadium sounds are featured,
including the voice talents of NBA arena announcer, Ray Clay. Gamers can
play a full game or can enter the Three Point Shoot Out and the Slam Dunk
Contest, a feature never before seen on the Sony PlayStation game console.
"NBA In The Zone '99 is the latest and most impressive game in the Konami
Sports Series line," adds Dunley. "The player realism, the simulation
elements, the multiple perspectives from different camera angles,
everything has been enhanced to make this a truly realistic gaming
experience for basketball fans."
Glen Rice, forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, endorsed last year's NBA In
the Zone '98 and will once again be a part of the Konami Sports Series
family in 1999. Rice will be featured in all print advertisements, on the
package, as well as promotional tie-ins for all platforms.
One Tough Tiger Is Unleashed Onto the PlayStation Game Console as
Activision Launches T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger
Kung-Fu action will kick its way into North American retail stores when
Activision, Inc. launches T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger on the PlayStation
game console the week of April 5, 1999. Created and developed by
DreamWorks Interactive, T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger is a 3D character-based
fighting adventure which places players in the role of T'ai, a Kung-Fu
fighting tiger. Players are challenged to complete a quest though ancient
China in which they must master an arsenal of Kung-Fu moves. The game will
be available at over 10,000 North American retail outlets and will carry a
suggested retail price of $49.95.
Long ago in ancient China, the animal clans were all but destroyed in a
head-to-head battle with the power-hungry Dragon Master and his clan. Once
again, the Dragon Master has seized power and it is up to T'ai, the lone
survivor of the Tiger clan, to defeat the evil dragon and restore peace and
balance to the world.
``T'ai Fu adds new depth to the 3D character-based fighting genre with its
rich storyline, charismatic hero, and intense gameplay," states Mitch
Lasky, senior vice president of Activision Studios. ``By introducing new
fighting moves throughout the game, players are continually rewarded and
challenged."
Melding intense fighting with free roaming 3D action-adventure gameplay,
T'ai Fu dares players to fight their way through 20 beautifully animated
and exotic environments including, sweeping rivers and dense bamboo
forests, in a crusade to bring down the Dragon Master. Players take-on a
variety of powerful enemies with super-human abilities, including
muscle-bound snakes, ferocious boars and lethal leopards, that push their
fighting skills to the limit. As they progress through the game, players
improve their offensive and defensive martial arts skills and ultimately
can use more than 100 killer moves against their opponents including, the
Leopard Pounce and Monkey Roll. The game's fully interactive environments
can be strategically used to the players' advantage -- throw objects to
inflict damage upon enemies or hurl them into fires and chasms. Multiple
difficulty settings ensure that gamers of all skill levels will be
challenged.
Additionally, T'ai Fu boasts DreamWorks' innovative Morph-X technology
which produces real-time lighting and particle effects as well as real-time
character and environmental deformation. Cinematic camera angles,
recognizable voice talent -- including the voice of Bender in Futurama,
John DiMaggio, as T'ai -- and an original soundtrack further enhance the
overall gaming experience.
Sony's Next-Gen Console Sways Consumers
Sony's PlayStation 2 announcement this month has convinced fence-sitting
console fans to close ranks, according to new data from Fairfield Research.
According to a March telephone survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers, only
one-quarter of respondents who plan to purchase a next-generation console
said they haven't decided which brand they'll buy, compared with more than
half in December. Increasingly, these game-players are opting for
PlayStation 2.
Lincoln, Neb.-based Fairfield Research said 35 percent households with
teenagers said they would likely buy a forthcoming console system from
Sony, Nintendo of America, or Sega, which last year announced its
Dreamcast system.
Of those respondents, 45 percent said they intend to purchase a PlayStation
2, 22 percent favored Nintendo's next system, and 7 percent said they
would buy a Dreamcast system. Twenty-six percent were undecided, compared
with 54 percent in December.
"It's not cast in stone, but it becomes more and more difficult to break
the consumer mold the further along in their decision-making process they
are," said Gary Gabelhouse, CEO of Fairfield Research. Even more "amazing"
is how quickly word of mouth about Sony's new product has spread.
According to the March survey, designed to represent all U.S. households
and adults, 44 percent of all consumers had heard of PlayStation 2. By
contrast, awareness of Dreamcast was 10 percent.
"Forty-four percent consumer awareness for what's basically a
consumer-electronics product is incredible," Gabelhouse said. Most
consumer-electronics products generate awareness levels in the teens at
launch. And more people had heard of PlayStation 2 than are typically
aware of many new cars, he said.
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
April's Fool Hardy Fools
By Donald A. Thomas. Jr.
It was recently announced that A-ONE publications has acquired the rights
to encrypt and publish new Atari Jaguar video game software. The
announcement was presented in the form of a press release within their
latest issue of their online weekly. It introduced intentions to premiere
a game called "Warniverse" by a previously unknown developer troupe based
in Ireland.
The Jaguar was once touted by Atari as being the first 64-bit video game
system ever released and indeed, it was. The architecture introduced a
unique circuit board neighborhood of popular and new RISC processors to
accomplish parallel tasks. Just the same, there were multiple 64-bit chips
connected to a 64-bit highway. By definition, that fulfilled the minimum
requirements of being a truly 64-bit technology. However, the technology
only impresses a relatively small faction of dedicated brand loyalists who
are predisposed to be impressed. The mass market wants something a bit more.
They want game selection, accessibility, excellent customer service or
recognized licensed game titles. It can be compared to an automobile
purchase. Regardless of how great the engine is, the consumer may prioritize
other features such as comfort and ergonomics.
Jaguar ran circles around the competition from a horsepower point of view,
but the software and marketing was never enough. Atari had only a small
number of well-known titles. Many of those titles took a long time to
publish. Some of them were not dramatically enhanced over the versions on
less expensive systems. In the area of marketing, Atari invested millions,
but the dollars dissolved in a sea of competitive promotions and
advertising.
Of some note, one talented group of Jaguar developers called themselves
4Play. Somewhat inspired by Atari's Star Raiders from years gone by, they
shared a vision to create an entire navigational universe. In this universe,
multiple pilots can link together and engage in inner-galactic dogfights.
The perfect venue for this development, in their view, was the Jaguar game
system.
Why on the Jaguar? Probably without total regard for the Jaguar's impressive
specifications, the individual members of the development team were well
connected to a sizable membership of Atari users. These users were
accessible to forums and roundtables on popular on-line services such as
Genie, Delphi and CompuServe. Like Atari, but on a much smaller scale, 4Play
had the talent and were willing to invest the time, but generating a
meaningful sum of marketing dollars was not plausible for brilliant software
engineers. By networking interest in their product while they were
developing it, 4Play managed to build a relatively large fan club. When
their game, BattleSphere, was complete, they would have an instant customer
base that might impress a publisher or validate whatever small loan they may
need to fill the orders and get the game produced.
In 1996 Atari essentially disbanded and turned over all assets to JTS
Corporation of San Jose, California. Officially, Atari was still producing
the Jaguar and publishing new games, but JTS was a disk drive company and
very disinterested in fueling the video game market. In early 1998, after
JTS had absorbed all of the financial benefits from Atari that they could,
JTS sold Atari's intellectual property and patent rights to Hasbro
Interactive for a modest $5,000,000. Hasbro had success updating older video
games to newer systems and the Atari library gave them quite a few new
opportunities to exploit.
By early 1999, 4Play determined that they finished BattleSphere, but the
universe that they attempted to recreate has changed since they started the
project in the mid-nineties. JTS is in bankruptcy proceedings, the only
sales of Jaguar are on auction Web Sites and by mail order through very
specialized retailers. The number of people who originally placed their bid
to buy BattleSphere when it became available has dwindled. 4Play promised
their following that they would finish what they had started, but Hasbro
sees no mass market value in BattleSphere. They are not inspired to license
or endorse a relatively dead platform when they have no intentions to
support it.
There's a lot of irony in the evolution of this story. A story that appears
that will never end. The creators of BattleSphere are resilient individuals.
Meanwhile, Hasbro is a behemoth in the industry. A monster of a company that
is not moved by whimpering cries from a miniscule niche market that shows up
on business analysis graphs as non-existent. In the minds of the 4Play
developers, the act of publishing BattleSphere was real. It was a project
that absorbed their minds and souls for a very long time. It was a dream
that they actually tried to bring to life. For the rest of us who knows
BattleSphere, we think it represents the many things that went awry with
Jaguar and Atari. It is another tragically missed opportunity.
One might take a satirical approach to the topic and, for a brief moment,
imagine what they would do if they had Hasbro's power to breath life back
into a system that quite a few people learned to enjoy. One thing someone
might do is somehow and in someway negotiate the rights to publish Jaguar
software. And if that person did, they might finally reward the patience and
hard work of the individuals that call themselves 4Play and publish a game
about a War in the Universe: a "Warniverse": BattleSphere.
It was recently announced that A-ONE publications has acquired the rights to
encrypt and publish new Atari Jaguar video game software. To believe the
story with all of its own clues to the contrary might be foolhardy, but to
want to believe is no April's Fool.
A-ONE's April Fools Story - Feedback
The following is a sampling of feedback we found online or received in
e-mail. We've removed all names to protect the gullible, those on the
fence, and the flamers. <g>
You son*******! I just finished reading A-ONE this
week. You almost had me there, but no way! Your last
paragraph confirmed it. Nice try.
---
You guys bought the Jaguar stuff? Is this for real?
---
Okay, this has to be a joke, right. Is it?
---
Awesome guys!!!! Will BattleSphere be the first game released?
I've been waiting for BS like forever.
---
Excuse me, but April 1st was yesterday.
---
I read this week's issue of AONE and couldn't believe
that you made a deal with Hasbro. Great news! When
do you think you'll have games coming out? Are you
going to re-release the Jaguar? Any chance for the
Jaguar 2 coming out? Thanks
---
From the Jaguar Interactive web site:
Re: Hasbro - Jaguar = A-ONE?!? Huh?!?
That might be joke
look at the date of the newsletter
4/2/99 a day after aprils fool day
---
And don't forget this little tidbit from A-ONE...
Yowsa!
---
A guess this is good news. Good Luck with your Jaguar game.
---
I realize that, but if it's a joke, it's in extremely
poor taste given the long-running fiasco on encryption.
I'm inclined to think it's not a joke.
---
I just got word for dana on the delphi message board
that it's not a joke. so there might be hope for us jaguar players yet.
[Editor's note: I never denied nor admitted anything at that time! I did,
however, mince my words as to confuse!]
---
I'm stunned. I'm just stunned.
Any idea what this will actually mean for us little people?
Will this make it easier for 4Play to finish Battlesphere and finally have
the pleasure of knowing that gamers everywhere are enjoying their work?
Will it mean other games will get finished, or even created? Could Jaguar
games return to the stores??? Is it just games, or the system itself?
Can't wait to see what this results in... also can't wait to get my Lynx!!!
---
Guys, it's a couple of days late, but don't be fooled..Here's another
article [the press release] in the same issue - note the cheap shots at
BattleSphere and most importantly, the last paragraph: ....
We're still in that same old boat with Hasbro - so don't stop peskering the
magazines and Hasbro themselves with Email and 'Snail Mail'...
---
Is it true or not?
ok for those who have doubts about this whole thing
here is dana's reply to me on the dephi message board:
>>Second, I'm taking that press release as a Joke about
>>Hasbro and Atari encryption(for one thing, it's the first
>>time I heard of it,second, since this issue was made the day
>>after april first and finally that there was no date mentioned
>>in the PR (most of the PR's I've seen have a date the press release was
>>offical).made
Apparently, we managed to keep the lid on our dealings with Hasbro. It
was not something we wanted public until finalized. And Hasbro had no
interest to publicize it as the arrangements weren't all that newsworthy
as far as they were concerned. The day after April 1st? News happens
every day. Should it matter? And, as a journalist and public relations
person by education, dates on a press release is not critical. The
_official_ press release, with more detail, will be forthcoming in the
next couple of weeks. The press release we issued in A-ONE was one to
make a quick announcement and head off potential rumors (and likely to
start others, knowing the Jaguar community!).
>>If it's not a joke than I appologize for my remarks.
>>otherwise it was another good issue.
Y'mean it was a "bad" issue because of the press release?
A joke? Hmmmm..... You may want to read the issue again to be sure
of what you're suggesting.
-Dana
well what do you think
is it a joke or not.
---
Well, if it was supposed to be an April Fool's joke, then THEY SHOULD HAVE
DONE IT ON APRIL FOOLS DAY! Trying to pull an April Fools joke any other
day of the year, even April 2, is just lame. If they were gonna pull our
legs, they should've done it on the ONE DAY OF THE YEAR it would've
mattered. (Speaking of which, anyone hear if that Playstation Supra thing
was a joke or not???)
I am a journalist. Most if not all professional press releases, and even a
lot of the unprofessional ones, have dates on them. Timeliness is one of
the bedrocks of news, meaning a date IS important. Many just say for
immediate release. Others are embargoed until a certain time on a certain
day.
And issuing false press releases is a good way to make sure no one will
take you seriously. Or even give you a second, or even a first look.
---
If it is true, Wouldn't Warniverse just be a different name for
BattleSphere?
Or, in direct competition with BattleSphere?
I would like to see 84 JAGS linked up though.Fascinating!
---
World's Stupidest April Fools Day Stunts
Boy was that ever a lame joke.
It looks like even after 5 years, those boobs at ST-Report are still trying
to slam 4Play and it's members. This is just like the previous times when
things calmed down and nobody said anything about anyone and from out of
the blue come these attacks from these guys against us.
Don't they have anything better to do???
P.S. This time I'm sure they offended whatever fanbase they had as well,
with that ill-timed bad joke... but I guess that is the kind of joke you
have to expect from people born without senses of humor.
---
I'll believe it when I'm holding Battle Sphere carts in my
hands. Not a
second before...
Sorry to sound negative, but why in the hell would Hasbro give the Jaguar
rights over to an online user group/newsletter thant from what I can tell
is geared towards Atari ST users?
To be honest, it sounds like more of a SLAM ridiculing the situation than
anything else ('WARNIVERSE...?'). I think A-ONE is on their way to my SH*T
LIST...
---
I read the news, and read the reactions. I don't know how many people
want to buy new Atari Jaguar games, but if there was a
new title available, I'm sure that everyone would listen.
Personally, I would love new titles for the Jaguar.
But, is there something new available, anywhere?
Thanks.
---
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
New Jersey Man Arrested In Internet Virus Case
A 30-year-old computer programmer has been arrested on charges of creating
the ``Melissa" computer virus, which forced some companies to shut down
their electronic mail systems this week, authorities said Friday.
New Jersey Attorney General Peter Verniero told a news conference that
David Smith of Aberdeen, New Jersey, would be charged with interfering with
public communication.
Smith was arrested late Thursday at his brother's home in Eatontown. He
allegedly started the virus from his apartment in nearby Aberdeen.
If convicted, Smith could imprisonment and be fined, authorities said. He
was released on $100,000 bail and arraignment was set for Monday.
Several federal and state agencies helped trace the virus to Smith with
help from lawyers and technicians for America Online (AOL), Verniero said.
He said Smith allegedly used a stolen AOL account to plant the virus, which
causes infected computers to send e-mails automatically to the first 50
addresses in the recipients' computer address books.
The Melissa virus greeted large numbers of workers as they signed on to
their e-mail systems at the start of the work week.
It was often disguised as a message from a friend or colleague and
frequently read: ``Important message from ... `` When users opened the
message, it sent a flood of new e-mails to addresses in the reader's own
computer address book.
The virus disrupted and crashed some e-mail and computer networks for
thousands of companies, as well as government agencies by overloading their
systems.
The virus used a ``macro," a high-powered automation technology built into
most personal computers, to spread itself.
Virus Underground Split By Arrest
The close-knit underground of computer virus creators split into two camps
at the news that one of their own may have been arrested for releasing
malicious Melissa.
``The whole community has really been shaken up by this," said B.K.
Delong, who follows the virus scene. ``The first group is one that wants a
better reputation. Then there's the community that wants to retaliate and
come up with even more destructive viruses."
Virus creators gather at the Virus Exchange Underground, a computer chat
area where they swap ideas and gossip. Most are programmers interested in
viruses and computer bugs. They often write viruses and swap them among
themselves, Delong said.
They refer to themselves as ``Black Hats," interested in doing damage, and
``White Hats," often crack programmers looking for possible security
hazards. The Black Hats sometimes release viruses through e-mail or Usenet
newsgroups.
In a statement released on behalf of the VX Underground, as it's often
called, the group warned the media and investigators not to quickly condemn
the author of Melissa.
``Instead they should be more interested in the person who released the bug
which caused the spread of the virus," said the statement, which was
e-mailed to The Associated Press.
Melissa was originally posted on two sex discussion groups a week ago
Friday, according to an online search. The VX Underground said it was
highly unlikely those two posts out of thousands could have led to
Melissa's vicious cascade.
``However, once released others posted the Melissa source code to
additional newsgroups, Web sites and listservs (mailing lists), which meant
anyone could turn it into the virus and continue to spread it," the
statement continued.
David L. Smith, 30, of Aberdeen, N.J., was arrested Friday and charged with
originating the destructive Melissa, which infected hundreds of thousands
of computers and swamped hundreds of companies' e-mail systems.
Computer experts used unique identification numbers embedded in Microsoft
Word documents to trace Melissa back to a well-known virus writer who calls
himself VicodinES.
Rita Malley, spokeswoman for the New Jersey state attorney general's office
said Smith was ``definitely not" the person known by that handle. Instead,
Smith took two viruses, one of which came from VicodinES, and combined them
with another virus to create Melissa, she said.
``They (the Black Hat programmers) are looking for someone to blame," said
Delong. They resent the treatment VicodinES supposedly received at the
hands of the media, and they're rallying around their own. They said he is
a really nice guy."
'Melissa' Virus Charges Questioned
The lawyer for the man accused of creating the Melissa computer virus said
Tuesday he questions whether the spread of the bug was really a crime.
``The Melissa virus does not corrupt any file, does not erase any files,
does not delete any files," Edward F. Borden Jr. said Tuesday. ``All it
does is forward a relatively innocuous message to 50 other people.
``I'm concerned about whether the charges are even valid ones. At this
point, it remains unclear as to what, if any, damage occurred and what
caused it."
Borden wouldn't say whether his client, David Smith, was responsible for
creating the virus. Smith's previous lawyer, Steven D. Altman, said over
the weekend that Smith never intended to do anything wrong.
Smith, 30, was arrested last week and charged with originating the virus,
which came disguised as an e-mail marked ``important message" from a
friend or colleague. It caused affected computers to fire off 50 more
infected messages and slowed some systems to a crawl.
Smith, who is scheduled to appear in court for the first time on Thursday,
is charged with interruption of public communications, conspiracy and theft
of computer service. He could face up to 40 years in prison.
He is free on $100,000 bail.
Government Suspends Computer Use at Labs
Security concerns and fear of espionage have forced the Energy Department
to suspend use of classified computers at three of the nation's top
research labs.
The shutdown affects the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National
Laboratories in Albuquerque and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
in California, DOE spokesman Chris Kielich said in Washington, D.C.
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson ordered the shutdown as part of ``an
overall initiative to improve cybersecurity," Kielich said Monday.
Security checks have escalated at Los Alamos since reports surfaced last
year that a lab employee might have committed espionage in the 1980s.
Wen Ho Lee, who was fired from the lab March 8, became the target of an FBI
investigation in 1996. Lee, a Tawainese-born American citizen, has not been
charged with any crime.
He reportedly was put in charge of updating computer software for nuclear
weapons in the spring of 1997, less than a year after the FBI began
investigating whether China obtained U.S. secrets during the 1980s that
gave it the technology to create miniaturized warheads.
China has denied that it engaged in nuclear espionage.
Last week, the Energy Department said that three of the government's 12
nuclear weapons facilities, including the weapons lab at Los Alamos,
received a less than satisfactory security rating for last year.
Los Alamos lab spokesman Jim Danneskiold said the security shutdown could
affect 2,000 employees. Lab director John Browne said he will review worker
``self-assessments" and decide if the computers can come back on.
Microsoft To Offer Privacy Tools
Hoping to jump-start a promising new privacy technology, Microsoft and a
prominent Internet group will offer a free digital tool kit that one day
will allow consumers to restrict what personal information Web sites
collect about them.
These new tools, to be announced today, initially will help Internet
companies write electronic privacy promises that can automatically be
evaluated by a Web browser or other software using a nascent technology
called the platform for privacy preferences, or P3P.
Consumers today must manually find a company's privacy statement online, if
one exists, and read through legalese to determine what information a Web
site might be harvesting, such as their name, e-mail address or even
favorite authors or clothing sizes.
Using the new technology, a customer's Internet browser could
electronically interpret a company's promises, issuing a warning only if it
can't find a statement or if the Web site wants more information than a
consumer is willing to disclose.
Despite support from the world's largest software company, hurdles remain
and widespread adoption is months, if not years, away.
The technology is mired in a patent dispute and also almost certainly will
require tens of millions of people on the Internet to install new browser
software.
Microsoft's new tools, for example, are based partly on a relatively new
computer code called extensible markup language, or XML, that even the most
current versions of some browsers don't yet fully support.
Microsoft and the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation
planned to make their announcement today at the opening of an important
privacy conference in Washington. They will propose changes in a key
specification controlled by the World Wide Web Consortium, an Internet
standards group, which would allow online merchants to use their new
digital tools.
``The technology they're announcing probably isn't the final answer, but
it's a real positive step," said Rick White, former co-chairman of the
Congressional Internet Caucus who now practices technology law in
Washington state. ``I'm not certain that technology will solve all the
problems - there are some gaps you might have to fix in a legislative
way."
Both Congress and the Clinton administration have threatened the industry
with tough new privacy laws unless companies adequately regulate themselves
over ways they collect customer information across the Internet.
The European Union already has passed laws that prohibit the transfer of
personal information about its citizens without their consent to any
outside country. The White House is negotiating to see how those laws might
affect U.S. businesses on the Internet, where international borders are
blurred.
``This is going to get a lot of the system up to speed quickly," predicted
Tara Lemmey, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The announcement is the industry's answer to what it describes as a
frustrating chicken-and-egg problem - how to encourage Internet consumers
to use the new privacy technology until Web sites begin to offer electronic
promises that can be understood by the technology.
``What we're trying to do here is build a foundation," said Saul Klein, a
group program manager at Microsoft. ``We're not saying that we think this
is the answer to self-regulation."
One serious problem for the technology is a legal battle with Seattle-based
Intermind Corp., which earlier this year won a patent important to P3P. The
company has said it is willing to license the technology for a reasonable
price.
``Good software patents are expensive, and we were way ahead of the
curve," said Drummond Reed, the company's chief technology officer.
The Web consortium said the group is ``looking seriously ... at the
validity and applicability of this patent."
Microsoft Plans New Consumer Version Of Windows
BMicrosoft Corp. plans to release a new consumer version of Windows next
year based on the Windows 95/98 platform, postponing indefinitely a merger
of its two desktop operating systems, executives said Wednesday.
The new consumer version of Windows would be available sometime in 2000 and
would have improvements including a faster boot-up sequence and better
ability to handle digital images, Microsoft President Steve Ballmer said in
a speech to developers at a company-sponsored conference in Los Angeles.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and other executives had said previously that
future consumer versions of Windows would be based on its NT technology, a
more stable system favored by businesses and other large enterprises.
But Microsoft has struggled to bring out the next generation of the complex
NT system, a critical product now known as Windows 2000 and scheduled for
release late this year, more than a year behind schedule.
And Microsoft executives at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference
said it was proving more difficult than expected to unify the two platforms
in a way that satisfies consumers.
``The broad assumption had been that consumers had a very high interest in
the increased reliability of an NT-based product," said Warren Wilson, an
analyst for Summit Strategies. But in fact Microsoft polling showed most
consumers cared more about maintaining compatibility with older
applications which do not always run as well on NT, he said.
Microsoft executives did not identify any specific features planned for
inclusion in the as-yet unnamed new version of Windows but said it would be
an incremental improvement along the lines of last year's Windows 98 rather
than a breakthrough product like Windows 95, now more than three years old.
Microsoft also plans a minor revision of Windows 98 dubbed Windows 98
Second Edition in the fall which will include the latest version of the
Internet Explorer browser as well as support for the latest hardware
devices.
Kim Akers, a Microsoft product manager, said the software giant is focusing
on making Windows a better platform for games and entertainment and
preparing it for home networking as well as improving the online experience
and making computers "instantly available" like home appliances.
She said Microsoft's ultimate goal is still to produce a consumer version
of Windows based on the NT code base but gave no timetable for
accomplishing that.
``When you actually go out and talk to customers they aren't necessarily
concerned with what the kernel is but are more concerned with whether it
works," Akers said.
Rob Enderle, an analyst with Giga Information Group, said Microsoft was
stuck with the Windows 95/98 platform indefinitely because game developers
rely on access to hardware devices, which is limited in the more secure NT
system.
``Until they can fix that problem Windows 9x lives," he said. ``They were
way too premature in trying to put the two platforms together and I think
they're beginning to realize that."
Salon Acquires The WELL Community
Cutting-edge online publisher Salon.com and pioneering online community The
WELL LLC say their merger Wednesday is that rare business deal that is also
a meeting of the minds.
Salon purchased The WELL (Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link) from Rosewood Stone
Group, a Marin County venture capital firm. Terms of the acquisition were
not disclosed.
The two companies have a closer bond than most parties in an Internet
merger. Salon, founded in 1990, was created by subscribers to the WELL
community. In fact, the community's new owners planned their business in a
private forum on the WELL.
"We were braced for skeptical questions, but the response [from WELL
members] has been overwhelmingly positive," said WELL executive director
Gail Ann Williams, who will retain her position. "It's a love-fest."
Euphoria aside, both sides say the companies fit together well.
Salon has recently been trying to build up a subscription-only area of its
site, which is otherwise supported by advertising. The relatively modest
subscription offering includes special content and "premium" community
features, such as celebrity chats.
The WELL, for its part, was looking to add appropriate editorial content
and features that would be open to non-members.
"It's just like two pieces of a puzzle," Williams said.
Salon assured skeptics that The WELL will remain completely separate from
the Salon service, which includes its own community area, Table Talk.
"The principle we're working from is that we are not incorporating The WELL
into Salon," said Scott Rosenberg, Salon's vice president of site
development. "The WELL has its own brand name, its own culture, its own
history, and we value those things. If we didn't we wouldn't have made the
acquisition."
The publisher also stressed that the content generated on The WELL by its
users will remain sacrosanct, abiding by The WELL's principle that "your
words are your own."
Financially, The WELL pays for itself and makes a slight profit, based
only on the $10 or $15-a-month subscriptions of about 7000 members.
Founded in April 1985 by Whole Earth Catalog publisher Stewart Brand and
technologist Larry Brilliant, The WELL is one of the most illustrious
online communities, counting scores of elite technological thinkers,
writers and pundits among its members.
As for Salon.com, since its creation in 1995 the publication has built a
reputation for thoughtful, in-depth writing, and has built some of the more
colorful and intellectual discussion groups to be found online.
Salon.com has been expanding in other areas as well.
Earlier this week the publication took on a new name, dropping the
"Magazine" moniker to reflect its interactivity, split its departments into
semi-separate sub-sites, and moved from a daily to a continuous story- and
news-posting schedule.
'Cybersquatters' Face Crackdown
The company that assigns Internet addresses is reportedly cracking down on
``cybersquatters" - people who register catchy domain names they hope to
resell at a profit.
Network Solutions Inc., which has an exclusive government contract to
register Internet addresses, recently purged 18,000 registrations that it
suspected were held by speculators, who typically register thousands of
names at once, The New York Times reported today.
The company told the newspaper it had the legal right to reclaim most names
because the registrants had not paid on time. Network Solutions charges $70
for a two-year registration of a domain name.
``These were well-known speculators that had registered thousands of domain
names," Christopher Clough, a spokesman for Network Solutions in Herndon,
Va., told the newspaper. He said the company regularly purged delinquent
registrations and specifically aimed at domain-name speculators.
In a separate attempt to curb domain-name speculation last month, the
company enacted a policy of restricting access to ``root zone" files,
which can alert speculators about when a domain name will become available.
Network Solutions said it would no longer make the files freely available,
but instead would license them for specific purposes, the Times said. As a
result, many businesses that help secure domain-name addresses found
themselves unable to do business.
Eric Woodward, president of Myinternet.com, a registration services
company, was one of them, the newspaper said. Last month, he discovered
that his company suddenly was unable to get access to the root zone files.
After he threatened to file a lawsuit, his access was restored, the
newspaper said.
Software Maker Sues Online Critics
A software maker is suing seven unidentified people who wrote critical
comments about the company on an Internet message board.
Phoenix International Ltd. claims the rumors on the message board operated
by Yahoo! Inc. defamed the company and caused its stock price to dip.
The lawsuit was filed March 19 in state circuit court at the Seminole
County Courthouse.
Phoenix has issued subpoenas for Yahoo! records, demanding that the company
disclose the names of the chat-room participants. Bahram Yusefzadeh, the
company's chairman and chief executive, said Yahoo! was cooperating fully,
although the individuals haven't yet been identified.
Some of the messages, many of which are critical of Yusefzadeh, appear to
be employees and former employees, the chairman said Tuesday.
Someone using the moniker ``johnboscarelli" posted messages on Feb. 9 and
16 that said, ``not a single ex-manager from the company is on speaking
terms with this Yusefzadeh character" and ``the CEO isn't too sharp
technically, has a huge ego and has a well-earned reputation for dealing
dishonestly with his managers and business partners."
During the past 21/2 months, senior company officials have spent ``enormous
amounts of time" defending the company from negative rumors, Yusefzadeh
said.
``Some people have put this company under siege for some of the garbage put
on this Yahoo! chatboard," he said.
Phoenix makes software for the financial-services industry. Its stock
traded this week for nearly $5, down from a 52-week high of $21.68.
Yusefzadeh owns about 1.4 million shares of the company, meaning his stake
in Phoenix has dropped in value from $31 million to $7 million during the
past year.
Robert V. Bolen, an analyst with J.C. Bradford & Co. in Nashville, Tenn.,
said the negative chat had damaged the company.
The stock lost one-third of its value on Jan. 13, when the company
announced its fourth-quarter earnings would be 9 cents a share, less than
half of the 20-cent projection.
But the stock has continued to slide since then, and there has been no
other reasonable explanation, Bolen said.
The other defendants go under the monikers ``readbetweenthelines,"
``numbersguy-2000," ``PHXX-Loser," ``EmployedThere," ``banker9999" and
``Phoenix-Employee."
Intel Seen Cutting Prices Ahead Of New Chips
Intel Corp. is expected to cut prices from 10 to 20 percent for most of its
products next week, including its newest Pentium III chips, ahead of
launching some faster processors later in the month.
Analysts said Intel is expected to make its regular price cuts on April 11,
as it makes room for new products.
A spokesman for Intel in Santa Clara, Calif. was not immediately available
for comment.
Nathan Brookwood, an analyst at Insight64 in Saratoga, Calif., said the
price cuts range from 10 percent to 20 percent and include a price cut of
the just-launched Pentium III. For example, Intel will cut the price on the
500 megahertz processor to $640 from its launch price of $700.
``The 550 megahertz (Pentium III) will be showing up later in the quarter,
so they have to make room for that," Brookwood said. ``The initial move is
rearranging the furniture."
He added that Intel is expected to launch a 466 megahertz version of its
Celeron chip for low-cost computers and a mobile version of the Celeron
chip running at speeds of 333 megahertz. Currently, the fastest Celeron for
mobile computers is 300 megahertz.
IBM Launches Fastest 64-bit, 4-way Web Server
IBM Corp. Tuesday introduced the world's fastest 64-bit, four-way Web
server, designed to provide e-business customers and Internet service
providers with unparalleled speed, performance and high availability.
The RS/6000 Model H70 addresses the e-business, enterprise resource
planning, supply chain planning and business intelligence applications,
IBM said in a statement.
U.S. Appeals Internet Porn Ruling
The Justice Department today appealed a judge's ruling that blocked
enforcement of a federal law aimed at preventing minors from gaining
access to Internet pornography.
The law, signed into law by President Clinton last year, would require
commercial Web sites to collect a credit card number or an access code as
proof of age before allowing Internet users to view online material deemed
``harmful to minors."
U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed barred its enforcement Feb. 1 after civil
rights activists claimed it violates free speech guarantees and unfairly
prosecutes gays, AIDS activists and others.
``The government is going to have an uphill battle in convincing the court
of appeals that this law complies with the First Amendment," said David
Sobel, general counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
The Justice Department, which appealed to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals,
argued the law would act as a ``brown paper wrapper" protecting children
from pornographic Web sites.
The Child Online Protection Act is the second major effort by Congress to
protect children from Internet pornography after the U.S. Supreme Court
struck down the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which would have
applied to both commercial and noncommercial Web sites.
The new law calls for maximum criminal penalties of six months in jail and
$50,000 in fines, and additional fines for repeat violators.
Computer Recycling Program in Massachusetts
Tired of keeping up on the information superhighway? Not to worry, old
computers may soon be part of the highway - as pothole filler.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has joined forces with the
American Plastics Council to promote the recycling and marketing of
plastics from electronics.
``We want people to take those computers out of the attics, get them out of
the landfills and make use of the good parts," said Rick Lombardi,
spokesman for the department. ``And God knows, we have plenty of potholes
to fill in New England."
A lightweight, asphalt-type mix can be made with the plastic portions of
computers, along with such equipment as printers, paper trays and scanners.
A pothole filler has been developed by Conigliaro Industries Inc. of
Framingham, which processes up to 12.5 tons of computer and other plastic
housings from across the Northeast every day.
Starting Sept. 1, Massachusetts residents will be prohibited from dumping
computers and cathode-ray tubes - which are contained in TVs - in
landfills.
The department estimated Tuesday that more then 1 million computers and
televisions - which account for an increasing amount of the state's waste -
will become obsolete in the next few years.
Discarded electronics account for 75,000 tons per year of solid waste in
Massachusetts, the department said. By 2006, the volume of waste generated
is expected to be 300,000 tons per year.
=~=~=~=
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