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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 02 Issue 15
Volume 2, Issue 15 Atari Online News, Etc. March 14, 2000
Published and Copyright (c) 2000
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:
Kevin Savetz
Bengy Collins
Mario Becroft
Carl Forhan
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http://forums.delphi.com/m/main.asp?sigdir=atari
=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0215 04/14/00
~ Gates Does PR Spots! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Milan II News!
~ New Sleek HP Notebooks ~ The MIDI-3 Released! ~ New Web Security!
~ Lord of the Rings! ~ Jaguar Hyper Force Out ~ Web Tracking Fight
~ E-tailers Demise Soon! ~ IE 5.5 Browser Blasted ~ Soc. Sec. Benefits
-* WindowsMe Includes IE Browser *-
-* Gnutella Creates New Piracy Bonanza *-
-* Microsoft May Be Stripped of Browser Rights *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Unfortunately, there are no cures for allergies. They're still bothering me
although some medication has reduced some of my symptoms. However, I've
felt better! Weatherwise, it's been a "good" week because of the rain and
wind - it's held my allergies down somewhat. Still, I'm looking forward to
the warm weather so I can work in the yard. Allergies be damned, I'm not
going to allow them to ruin an enjoyable pastime!
Not much else happening. It will be another month before we learn the fate
of Microsoft. It's anybody's guess as to what type of "punishment" will be
meted out.
It's almost like an everyday occurrence these days in which we learn of a
new business taking to the internet. Is it a current fad, or is the web the
marketplace of the future? I don't know. I see advantages to having a
presence on the web, but I just don't see retail on the internet as
replacing physical stores, as a rule.
While buying something online is a terrific convenience, as a consumer, I
want to be able to see, touch, and try a product I'm considering purchasing
in many cases. Have I been an online consumer? Yes. But for things I
might not readily find in a store, or in one that is convenient for me.
I've purchased pet products for my dogs. I've purchased software for my PC
(getting an online discount). But other than those, I've done little buying
from internet sources. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
Milan II Announcement
Yesterday Milan released quite a bit of information regarding the upcoming
Milan II. Ali Goukassian explains the new concept, distribution plans, the
new release date, appearance of the machine and hmm, some more smaller
details.
You can read the English version on MagiC Online:
http://bengy.atari-computer.de
Take care,
Bengy
--
Kevin Savetz <savetz@northcoast.com>
Moderator of news:comp.sys.atari.announce -- Atari computer news
Announcing the MIDI-3
ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF MIDI-3
MIDI-3 is a 3 MIDI output expander which attaches to the serial (modem)
port of an Atari ST computer. When used in conjunction with MIDI sequencer
programs such as Notator and Cubase, MIDI-3 provides 3 extra independently
addressable MIDI outputs in addition to the Atari ST's standard MIDI output.
MIDI-3 is fully compatible with the original C-LAB EXPORT expander (no
longer available), and works with any software that supports EXPORT.
SUMMARY OF FEATURES
* Provides 3 extra MIDI outputs on Atari ST or comparable computers.
* Attaches to the serial (or modem) port.
* Fully compatible with EXPORT.
* "Plug and play" installation.
* No external power supplies or other connections are required.
* Available in cased (external) and uncased (internal) configurations.
* Very compact dimensions.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
MIDI-3 is available immediately in cased and uncased configurations. The
cased configuration is suitable for external connection to a computer,
while the uncased configuration would be useful for mounting inside a
recased Atari ST.
Pricing for the MIDI-3 in New Zealand Dollars is as follows:
MIDI-3 cased: 110 NZD (40 GBP, 60 USD)
MIDI-3 uncased: 100 NZD (35 GBP, 50 USD)
Figures in Great Britain Pounds and United States Dollars are approximate
and for reference only.
Quantity discounts are available in quantities starting at 5 units.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information, contact:
Mario Becroft
PO Box 332
Kumeu
Auckland 1250
NEW ZEALAND
Telephone: +64 9 412 9700
Email: mb@gem.win.co.nz .
For further information on MIDI-3, photographs and details on worldwide
resellers please consult the following WWW page:
http://gem.win.co.nz/mario/hardware/midi3.html
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@portone.com
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Another week has come and gone and I find
myself sitting here in front of another blank page. They say that the
hardest part of writing is putting those first few words down on paper.
And I thought that I had solved that problem by eliminating the paper.
<grin>
At any rate, before we get to the "nuts and bolts" part of the column
(which is going to be a little on the short side this week), I'd like to
give you a little update on the TEAM ATARI SETI@home search group. As of
now, there are 37 members. I had hoped for more than that by now, but
hey, I'm not complaining. Each of us does what we can.
Oh, before I forget, I should probably explain what SETI@home is for
anyone who's not familiar with it...
In a nutshell, SETI@home is what is known as a "distributed computing"
project. Computer users like me allow their computers to obtain data
from a central source and perform calculations on it during spare CPU
time. When the calculations are complete the data is returned and a new
packet of data is taken for another round of processing.
In this case, the data being processed is from the Arecibo radio
telescope and it's being checked for possible signals from an
intelligence outside of our solar system.... That's right, we're looking
for ET's phone number. <grin>
As I was saying before, there are 37 members of TEAM ATARI, and we have
contributed more than 15 years of CPU time to the task. That's not a lot
of time compared to the whole (which is over 250,000 years of CPU time).
But that's from a pool of almost two million participants, so we're not
doing too bad.
The only downer is that you can't participate with an Atari computer.
But if you've got a PC or a Mac... or maybe a spare Cray SuperComputer
laying around idle, please check out SETI@home in general
(http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu) and feel free to join TEAM ATARI.
(http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/cgi?cmd=team_lookup&name=team+atari).
Well, let's get on with the internet stuff.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Martin Graiter asks about two of my favorite subjects (the Milan II and
Linux) in one question:
"Does anyone know what happened with the SuSE Linux port to the
Milan II? And what's up with the Milan II itself? Is it
available yet?"
Dr. Uwe Seimet tells Martin:
"No, it isn't [available yet]. And regarding a Linux port I never heard
of SuSE planning anything like this."
'Dan' tells Uwe:
"It was announced twice in the German mag STComputer. Once in an
Editorial (I think of STC November 99) and once in an article.
Suse would have bought 4 Hades 060 computer to port Suse Linux to the
Milan 060 (which wasn't yet available at that time)."
If you've ever browsed EBay with CAB, you'll be interested in this post
from Dan Ackerman:
"I thought I'd pass this on before the storm came.
Ebay has changed their bidding system. I've gotten a report that
it doesn't work with my CAB.OVL. However I did a test and just
make certain you don't have an Ebay cookie and that you have cookies
turned off. I was able to bid with no problems with this
configuration.
I might be jumping the gun, but I thought I would pass this
information on to everyone."
If you've tried the browser known as Draconis, you'll appreciate this
post from Al Ferrier:
"I saw someone's posting on here the other day and thought I'd have
a bash at this here Draconis net suite thing. After several hours
of wrestling with the configuration - despite the wizard with it -
I enlisted some help from the postee and also from the developers.
I did as I was bidden and deleted it all to re-install on my boot
drive (C:/). The developer then said that I had to disable STing
completely (i.e in the Auto folder as well as in the CPX) and so
I tried this. The ongoing problem I've found, despite this, is
that Draconis's dialer handles the connection to my ISP ok and logs
on, there seems to be very little going on after that in the
way of data transmitted or received. I tried to check my mail
with Marathon Mail with no joy and then tried to surf with The Light
of Adamas (pretentious name) the web browser but sod all happens.
The modem lights flash a bit initially but then, like Craven Cottage
after the Super Bees have stuck a fifth goal on them, 'it's all
gone quiet over there...'.
So, if there's any Atarian who preferably speaks English as a first
language - these things can lose something in translation! - I'd
like to hear from them for some ideas, especially if they've got
there Draconis setup running ok. Also a word to Draconis's
developers: why in God's name didn't you make your package STinG
compatible? It is inconvenient to have to disable a *working*
connection in order to use your clients!
I'm all for encouraging new net clients for our platform but when
they're up against such stiff competition as POPwatch, NEWSie
and CAB, it would be a good idea to have them actually working!"
Jorgen Nyberg tells Al:
"English isn't my first language but I'll answer anyway. I installed the
latest demo on my Milan (the milan version), and to my surprise it
worked directly, didn't disable Sting, worked regardless. But one
thing I did was that I didn't install the dialer accessory, used the
prg instead. As I said it worked straight away but was slow and it
still is missing a lot of HTML tags..."
Roger Ryan posts:
"Be gentle, I am a newcomer....
Is there a FAQ I should be looking for before I start asking stupid
questions?"
Edward Baiz tells Roger:
"Not really. Just ask away. No question is too stupid. I have asked a lot
here and have been helped."
Nicholas Bales, The Keeper of the FAQ, tells Roger:
"Yep, the Atari ST Quick FAQ: http://bales.online.fr/atari
There is no such thing as a stupid question!"
Walter Cole asks for help with his ZIP drive:
"I have been using a ZIP 250 at the end of a SCSI chain of two
SyQuest EasyFlyer 230s quite happily for many months. However, I had
to leave the ZIP unterminated, in spite of the Iomega manual, or the
drive didn't show up at bootup time.
My setup up is 1040STe>ICDLINK>terminator>SyQuest230>SyQuest230>
ZIP250 (unterminated.
Quite recently the ZIP has developed a strange and annoying
characteristic: it keeps ejecting the disk, no matter when I try to
insert it. The drive shows up under ICDBOOT.PRG but no partitions, of
course. I've tried inserting the disk at several times during the
bootup process and after, without success. I tried switching in the
ZIP's own termination, or adding an external terminator, and all that
happened is that the ZIP didn't even show up on bootup.
Under the circumstances, the ZIP drive is pretty useless. I wouldn't
be able to use later versions of HDDRIVER (which I don't have) to
modify the drive's parameters (like changing the 'sleep' period), if
there are no partitions available--or could I? I do have ver. 6.1 of
HDDRIVER, but I haven't tried it out to see if it would work.
Anyone, perhaps Uwe Seimat, have any suggestions?"
Derryck Croker tells Walter:
"Have you tried other disks? I wouldn't mind betting that the drive is
rejecting the disk because of some fault, imagined or not.
Does the disk still eject if you load it into the drive with the computer
switched off? If so, then you know what the problem is."
Well folks, I told you that it'd be a short column this time around.
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 - 'Bust-A-Move 4'! Songbird News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Jaguar Hyper Force!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Acclaim Entertainment Spreads Puzzle-Fever
To Sega Dreamcast With Bust-A-Move 4
Club Acclaim, a division of Acclaim Entertainment, Thursday announced the
upcoming June 1st release of Bust-A-Move 4 for Sega Dreamcast.
Bust-A-Move 4 marks the premier appearance of the well-established
Bust-A-Move franchise on Sega Dreamcast and will be priced to sell at a
suggested retail price of under $30.
The addictive gameplay of the Bust-A-Move series has been a big hit on the
Nintendo 64, PlayStation and Game Boy platforms,`` said Douglas Yellin,
Brand Director of Club Acclaim. ''Now, Sega Dreamcast fans can enjoy this
immensely popular puzzle game.``
In Bust-A-Move 4, players must free twelve characters trapped in Bubble
World by a mysterious spell cast on them by the magical master Dunk. The
only way to break Dunk's spell is by battling brain-busting boards of
colorful bubbles.
Bust-A-Move 4 features thousands of all-new puzzles with new bubbles and
obstructive blocks, using high-resolution graphics that showcase the Sega
Dreamcast system. Players will experience hours of competitive multi-player
gameplay from exciting game modes including: Challenge; CPU; Head-to-Head;
and Win Contest, which offers over 1,000 classic puzzles from the
Bust-A-Move series. Bust-A-Move 4's Edit Mode allows players to create
their own mind-popping puzzles and save them to a memory card.
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
Songbird Update 4/8/00
HYPER FORCE SHIPS TO EAGER JAGUAR FANS
The remaining Hyper Force pre-orders and regular orders will ship this
week. Thanks to all the fans who are patiently awaiting fulfillment of
their orders! Hyper Force is a fantastic action/platformer game that has
received very positive feedback from early ship customers. Order your
copy today!
THE WAIT IS ALMOST OVER
Jaguar fans have been anxious to receive a certain game since it was
confirmed for release in 1999, and the wait is almost complete: things
look good for a May 2000 release of Skyhammer. Despite continued high
component prices, Songbird is committed to releasing this game to the
benefit of Jaguar fans everywhere at the announced price point.
Therefore, now is the time to get your pre-order balance in to ensure
the quickest shipment of Skyhammer when it becomes available. If you
pre-ordered by Nov 1st, 1999, you owe $44.95 plus shipping. All other
pre-orders owe $54.95 plus shipping. Finally, regular orders placed now
are $79.95 plus shipping. Shipping is either $5 USA/Canada or $8
international. Please be sure to enquire at songbird@atari.net if you're
not certain what amount you owe.
Sincerely,
Carl Forhan
Songbird Productions
http://songbird.atari.net
Songbird Announces Future Atari Lineup
SONGBIRD ANNOUNCES FUTURE ATARI LINEUP
April 14, 2000
For immediate release:
ROCHESTER, MN -- Songbird's fourth new Jaguar title in six months isn't
even out the door yet as word of more Atari Lynx and Jaguar projects has
surfaced. Carl Forhan, owner of Songbird Productions, remarked, "The
response of fans thus far to new Lynx titles and particularly in recent
the months to the new Jaguar titles has been substantial. I'm thrilled
to have been a part in bringing out some great games that might have
otherwise been lost forever, and equally exciting is the opportunity to
discuss some future projects for the Atari world."
Heading up the list is Cybervirus for the Atari Lynx. This incredible 3D
mission-based action game will be a hit with every Lynx fan, since it's
based on the same game engine that gave Lynx fans BattleWheels. Next on the
list is Championship Racing, a cool super-smooth overhead racing game
featuring multiple tracks, tight control, and multiplayer options! Finally,
Planar Wars 3D (working title) -- a game that puts you in the cockpit of
the last surviving defense starship -- and Ultravore -- an explosive
comlynxable fighting game -- will give Lynx fans even more to look forward
to down the road.
At press time, Songbird hopes to have at least one new Lynx game completed
in time for CGE2K but further details were unavailable.
Lest Jaguar fans lose hope, several future Jaguar projects are also
under consideration. One potential bright spot appeared recently as
Songbird acquired complete rights and source to the Virtual VCS, which
emulates the classic Atari VCS (or 2600) games on the Jaguar platform.
Additionally, Songbird has prototyped and will be producing a Rapid Fire
Controller for the Jaguar. This controller has been a hit with early
testers, and greatly enhances the gameplay in button-mashing games like
Raiden and Zero 5.
New pages have been added for several upcoming releases on the Songbird
web pages. Be sure to check out:
http://songbird.atari.net
for the latest information! And be sure to stop by the Songbird booth in
CGE2K (http://www.cgexpo.com).
Copyright 2000 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article
may be reprinted in its entirety.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Microsoft May Be Stripped of Browser Rights
Microsoft Corp. may be stripped of the rights to its Internet Explorer Web
browser as part of the remedy in the government antitrust case it lost
earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition
on Monday.
The Journal, citing people close to the case, said the government is
considering a proposal that would force Microsoft to grant royalty-free
licenses to Internet Explorer, opening the programming code to customers
and computer makers.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson has ruled that Microsoft broke
U.S. antitrust law by illegally abusing its monopoly power over the
operating system for personal computers. A hearing on remedies in the case
is scheduled for May 24.
Restrictions on Microsoft's Office software products and its Windows 2000
server software are also being considered, the report said.
Microsoft's Gates Takes Message to Television
Bill Gates is stepping up Microsoft Corp.'s public relations effort in the
wake of a ruling that the software giant broke antitrust laws, taking to
national airwaves to defend the company as a friend of consumers.
The 30-second commercial started airing on Thursday evening and will be
seen during prime time television shows and events such as the Masters golf
tournament, Microsoft spokesman Dan Leach said on Friday.
In the spot, Gates does not mention the antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S.
Justice Department, but instead discusses how he thinks his Redmond,
Wash.-based company has helped consumers.
``Twenty-five years ago my friends and I started with nothing but an idea
-- that we could harness the power of the PC to improve people's lives,"
Gates says in the ad.
``Since then it's become a powerful tool that has transformed our economy
and had a profound effect on how we live and how our children learn.
``Now our goal at Microsoft is to create the next generation of software,
to keep innovating and improving what we can do for you. The best is yet to
come," he concludes.
The television campaign follows an open letter that Gates, who co-founded
Microsoft and is its chairman, published in national newspapers on
Wednesday, two days after a federal judge ruled that the company was an
abusive monopoly.
``What we're trying to do with these ads is basically to react to the fact
there's been so much news out there about the industry and about
Microsoft," Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Bob Herbold told Northwest
Cable News.
``We want to basically emphasize with customers and the general public that
we're focused on what we're supposed to be focused on, which is innovation
and building great products."
Microsoft has said it will appeal the ruling, which it can do after the
judge decides a penalty, which could range from a fine to a break-up of the
company.
Microsoft Previews New Consumer Version of Windows
Days after a federal judge declared Microsoft Corp. an abusive monopoly,
the software giant is giving the world a sneak peek at the latest consumer
version of its Windows operating system, which boasts more Internet and
multimedia features.
The latest test version of Windows Millennium Edition, also dubbed Windows
Me, will be shown off to user groups around the country on Saturday, and
shipped to computer makers and sellers next week for testing, Shawn
Sanford, group product manager for the consumer Windows division, said in
an interview.
Windows Me is scheduled to go on sale in the second half of this year,
possibly around the holiday season, Sanford said.
Windows Me is the first significant update to the consumer platform since
Windows 98 debuted two years ago, but is not a radical overhaul of the
operating system that runs more than 80 percent of PCs in the world.
Instead, with an eye on the booming market for digital entertainment,
Microsoft has bundled in new tricks like a fancy media player that can
record, store and play CDs, digital songs downloaded from the Internet, and
video.
``We looked at what do home users need to do, what do they want to do, and
what are the trends?" Sanford asked. ``This is kind of a snapshot of
things that will come down the road. These are really good starting points
to the future."
Such media software takes clear aim at rivals like Seattle-based
RealNetworks Inc., whose RealPlayer and RealJukebox products are widely
used but face increased competition from beefed-up Microsoft offerings.
Observers have said tying such software to the operating system might raise
the same issues that landed Microsoft in hot water with the U.S. Justice
Department after it bundled its Internet browser software with Windows to
try to snatch business away from rival Netscape.
A federal judge ruled on Monday that Microsoft abused its monopoly in PC
operating systems to harm rivals, notably Netscape.
But Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said the company was confident that
its appeal of the ruling would support its right to include new features in
Windows.
``The tying issue will be resolved by the appellate court and we are very
confident that Microsoft's decision to add features and functionalities to
Windows has been great for consumers, developers and our economy,"
Cullinan said.
``We must be free to innovate and improve our products or else we won't be
able to compete. The government and our competitors may want that but
consumers and the marketplace do not," Cullinan said via e-mail.
Other new Windows features include a suite of tools to let users edit video
recordings and put them up on the Web, echoing a move by Apple Computer Co.
to add such software to its popular iMac line of consumer-friendly
computers.
``If you think about why people want to take videos, it's not just to take
videos but to share them." Sanford said. "What we are trying to do with
MovieMaker (software) is truly expose digital video to the masses."
On the utilitarian side, Windows Me will make it easier to set up home
networks and connect gadgets like DVD players, televisions and cameras to
the PC.
Citing a growing number of homes with two or more PCs, Sanford said, ``Home
networking is growing rapidly right now. It's been around a long time but
it's never been easy."
Windows Me will also offer relief for anyone who has wasted hours trying to
fix stubborn bugs on their computer.
The system will take ``snapshots" of the system at regular intervals, so
if the computer gets bogged down with technical gremlins, it will let a
user restore the machine to one of those earlier, healthy states.
Windows Me will be the last consumer platform based on the dated DOS
technology. There was speculation that the next version of Windows would be
built on the more stable NT code that Microsoft's business platform,
Windows 2000, uses.
Sanford said an NT-based consumer platform, code-named "Whistler", was in
the early stages of development as engineers tried to figure out how to
combine the reliability of NT with the compatibility of consumer Windows,
which can support things like games and multimedia better than NT systems.
``Millennium Edition is definitely a step in the process we've always had
in the goal of getting all the operating systems on to a common code
base," Sanford said.
WindowsMe Includes Intergrated Browser
The new consumer version of Windows hits a milestone with Beta 3 next week.
And, yes, Internet Explorer is still part of the product.
Microsoft testers can expect the next milestone next week of WindowsMe,
Microsoft's Windows for the home release due later this year.
The third and supposedly final beta version, Beta 3, will be available for
testers to download from Microsoft's private tester site some time next
week, Microsoft officials said.
On Saturday, Microsoft will demonstrate to attendees of its eXtreme product
showcase event in theatres across the U.S., a nearly final version of
Beta 3, officials said.
Microsoft has tweaked the feature set a bit since it issued Beta 2 in
November. As reported by ZDNet News, the latest betas include a beta
version of Microsoft's newly released Windows Media Player 7. Beta 3 also
will include Microsoft Movie Maker, technology that users can employ to
organize, edit and distribute their video clips.
Microsoft officials declined to specify when the company expects to ship
WindowsMe, other than to say the company still believes it will deliver
the upgrade to Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition in the latter half
of this year.
Microsoft is moving full steam ahead with plans to deliver Internet
Explorer 5.5, the next version of the company's browser, as a completely
integrated feature of the product, officials reiterated.
Earlier this week, District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson threw into
question whether Internet Explorer and Windows should allowed to be
"tied," when he issued his conclusions of law in the ongoing Department of
Justice vs. Microsoft antitrust case. Microsoft has said it plans to
appeal the judge's findings.
WindowsMe is Microsoft's first purely consumer-focused version of Windows.
It's the final Win9X-kernel-based Windows release, according to Microsoft.
All versions of Windows post-WindowsMe will be built on the NT kernel.
WindowsMe is not slated to be a major upgrade to Windows 98. It will
include enhancements in the areas of Internet connectivity, home
networking, PC health and digital media management, Microsoft has said.
Microsoft Browser Blasted
Microsoft Corp.'s latest Web browser, due out later this year, does not
adequately support the software standards on which the World Wide Web was
built, the head of a nonprofit Web developer group said Tuesday.
Jeffrey Zeldman, head of the Web Standards Project, said Internet Explorer
5.5 will introduce a number of new, proprietary technologies, but has yet
to properly implement new standards - the codes that are used to build Web
pages.
IE 5.5 will be bundled with Microsoft's newest operating system for home
computers Windows Millennium Edition.
``If Microsoft does not fully implement these standards, their users will
not be able to properly use some sites on the Web," Zeldman said.
In addition, Zeldman said, because Microsoft is the current market leader
in Web browsers, the omission could force Web developers to make an
uncomfortable choice as to which browser's version of the Internet they
should support.
The criticism by the Web Standards Project comes one week after a federal
judge ruled that Microsoft violated antitrust law through its Internet
Explorer Web browser and other software and business practices.
Shawn Sanford, group project manager for Windows Millennium, said it simply
wasn't feasible to include every standard and insisted Internet users will
be able to access any page on the Web through Internet Explorer.
``Users will have a great Internet experience," Sanford said. ``We don't
have 100 percent compliance with standards, but neither does any other
browser. I would say that we're one of the most compliant browsers out
there."
Zeldman said the latest version of Netscape's browser, Navigator 6.0,
released last week, is designed to uphold all Internet standards, though he
said it still has bugs to be worked out. Also, Microsoft's browser for
Apple Computer's Macintosh platform, Zeldman said, had complete and
well-implemented standards.
``The difference there is in implementation, not intent," he noted. ``We
look at the blueprints, and we don't see these standards in Microsoft's
blueprints for IE for Windows, which is odd since they did a great job for
the Mac."
The Internet standards in question are HTML 4.0, the newest version of the
programming language used to write Web pages, and CSS 1, which governs the
appearance of multiple pages on any given Web site so that they are
uniform.
Congress Plans Vote on Net Taxes
Congress will vote this year on repealing the 102-year-old telephone tax,
extending a moratorium on new Internet taxes beyond 2001 and permanently
banning taxes on charges for Internet access, House Speaker Dennis Hastert
says.
In a draft speech to be delivered Monday in Chicago, the Illinois
Republican said the votes will underscore the GOP as prime supporters of
tax relief and electronic commerce. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt,
D-Mo., recently spoke in favor of a similar approach as both parties jockey
for support in the high-tech industry.
``No one can seriously believe that House Democrats, who have fought us at
every turn when it comes to reducing the burden of taxes, ... will now turn
around in an election year and promote tax relief and a stable framework
for the new economy," Hastert said in the speech.
``Taxes are an impediment to economic growth," he said. ``Instead of
retarding growth, we must encourage it."
The speaker's remarks were circulated on Capitol Hill Friday shortly after
some of the nation's biggest retailers, joined by state and local
government officials and sympathetic members of Congress, said lawmakers
should reject a federal e-commerce commission report they say gives tax
breaks to business and could lead to a permanent sales tax exemption for
the Internet.
Executives from Target, Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, J.C. Penney and Circuit City
appeared on Capitol Hill with government officials to criticize the
Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce majority report as unfair to
traditional retailers. They described it as a potential threat to billions
of dollars in state and local sales tax collections that pay for schools,
roads, police and fire protection.
``There should be a level playing field where all retail sales are treated
equally," said James Hale, executive vice president at Target. ``No tax
policy should encourage retailers to avoid contributing to their local
community."
The commission, created by Congress to recommend future e-commerce tax
policy, failed to reach the necessary two-thirds vote for formal
recommendations on most key points. But its six business members, joined by
anti-tax members, won majority approval of proposals to extend a moratorium
on new Internet taxes for an additional five years after it expires next
year.
It is this last point that opponents say includes special tax provisions
that would benefit business members of the panel such as AT&T, MCI Worldcom
and America Online while costing states $30 billion a year in lost revenue.
They also contend it could lead to a permanent barrier against states
extending to Internet commerce their existing sales taxes, which provide
about 48 percent of the states' revenue.
``The argument shouldn't be how to favor one form of commerce over
another," said Henry Chiarelli, president of RadioShack.com.
Gov. Mike Leavitt, R-Utah, chairman of the National Governors Association
and a dissenting member of the e-commerce panel, said if Congress extends
the moratorium on new taxes it should also permit states to simplify their
sales-tax systems and develop interstate compacts that allow them to
collect the money on remote Internet sales. Leavitt proposed that Congress
pass a law allowing compacts to be created by Dec. 31, 2003.
Republican leaders on Capitol Hill already are moving legislation that
mirrors many of the commission's majority proposals. Senate Commerce
Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., plans votes next week on his bill
to extend the moratorium on new taxes through 2006, and support is building
for repealing the 3 percent telephone tax and for a permanent ban on taxes
on Internet access.
But Sens. George Voinovich, R-Ohio; Bob Graham, D-Fla.; and Byron Dorgan,
D-N.D., appeared with Leavitt and the retailers to signal their intention
to fight any legislation that might bar states from collecting sales taxes
on e-commerce.
E-Tailers Seen Going Out of Business in Droves
The combination of weak financial structure, mounting competitive pressures
and investor flight will drive most Web retailers out of business by 2001,
a leading Internet research firm said in a report.
Even so, cocksure Web retailers are brushing off predictions of their
impending doom, insisting that it is only a matter of time before the tide
that has already washed out a handful of them starts to turn in their favor
again, said the report issued by Forrester Research Inc.
After interviewing 50 electronic-commerce players, Internet analyst Joe
Sawyer and his colleagues at the Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester,
concluded a drastic shakeout is coming soon.
The latest evidence that dot-com retailers are struggling to stay afloat
came earlier this month when auditors for Web grocer Peapod Inc., online
health firm drkoop.com Inc. and Web music retailer CDNow Inc. questioned
each company's ability to continue as a going concern.
``Online retail's honeymoon is over," Sawyer said. ``In the past three
months, familiar names like Beyond.com and CyberShop closed their doors to
consumers, Amazon.com and Boo.com laid off employees and Wall Street
hammered the stock prices of dot-com leaders."
``This isn't temporary turbulence," he said.
He said Internet retailers are being squeezed as their profit margins on
sales fall and their expenses rise.
Competition will also intensify, as traditional retailers such as Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. and Toys R Us Inc. get their second wind and pursue major
Internet initiatives, while financial support will flounder as investors
and venture capitalists lose interest, he predicted.
``Online merchants that smugly insist their brands and site design
translate into financial assets will only fan the flames of investor scorn
when profits don't materialize," he said.
In addition, Forrester predicted consolidation among product categories in
three stages: the ``critical" stage, which includes books, music and
software; the ``intensive care" stage, which includes pets, toys and
consumer electronics; and the ``stable" stage, which harbors apparel
furniture and shoes.
``Retail has endured consolidation before," Sawyer said. "These battles
produced no more than three dominant victors -- enough players to keep
their industries competitive yet still profitable."
Still, few of the retailers interviewed said they were concerned with
profitability, as less than 40 percent said they expected to be out of the
red before 2002. Many of them are convinced that to focus on profitability
would cloud their ability to establish leadership in the market.
So where exactly do these companies expect to get the funds to keep their
businesses afloat? Sawyer said money from independent and institutional
investors is thinning out, as are funds from venture capitalists.
``Dot-com entrepreneurs tapped eager investors for millions, planted flags
in new categories from pets to perfume, and blew their budgets on marketing
chatter," Sawyer said. ``Wall Street loved it...But the tide is turning
against dot-coms."
And more than one-third of the companies interviewed did not know where
they were going to get additional funding.
Internet Users Fight Web Tracking
Internet users concerned about privacy are looking to technology, education
and government to ease their fears about Web sites that can track their
every click.
What people want, say professors, government leaders and business
executives who gathered here for a Computers, Freedom and Privacy
conference, is the same anonymity they get when they stroll through stores
in a mall. "People should be able to control information about themselves,"
said James Rule, a sociology professor at the State University of New
York's Stony Brook campus. "If someone makes money from information about
myself, I think I should have a say."
Rule joined about 400 Internet users at the conference here last week to
exchange ideas for ensuring privacy in a medium where Web sites can easily
monitor how visitors spend their time online.
Service Allows Benefit Estimation
The Social Security Administration is offering a new Internet service for
Americans who want to get an online estimate of future retirement benefits.
Three increasingly detailed levels of estimates are available, each
requiring the user to type in more information about themselves. The
simplest, ``quick calculator," asks only for a person's age and
current-year earnings. The most sophisticated requires the user to download
software onto their home computer and allows him or her to try out various
retirement scenarios.
``Our new Internet service ... will accomplish step one of retirement
planning, helping workers to understand the amount of Social Security
benefits they can expect in retirement," said Social Security
Administrator Kenneth S. Apfel.
President Clinton planned to unveil the new Internet service at the White
House on Friday. At the same time, he is scheduled to sign legislation
repealing a Depression-era law that reduces the Social Security benefits of
older Americans who work past age 65.
The new online retirement calculators will not tap into private records
that Social Security keeps about individuals' work and earnings histories.
They rely solely on information provided by online users.
The Social Security Administration met with privacy concerns raised by
Congress and in 1997 dismantled a service giving people the opportunity to
check their Social Security records online.
Starting this year, the agency is providing that information - including
official earnings records and benefit estimates based on them - to all
Americans over age 25 the old-fashioned way: in annual mailings, via the
post office.
On the Net: Social Security's new retirement benefit calculators:
http://www.ssa.gov/retire
New Web Security System Unveiled
A leading cybercrime expert plans to launch a new type of Internet burglar
alarm system Monday that analysts say may raise the bar in the burgeoning
and vital field of computer security.
Unlike most e-commerce security systems consisting of in-house staffers,
security consultant and author Bruce Schneier's new Counterpane Internet
Security, Inc.'s system uses teams of analysts working around the clock in
Mountain View, Calif., and Chantilly, Va., to scrutinize activity logs from
customers' Internet sites.
If the Counterpane analysts notice something fishy at a site - a potential
hacking attempt, for example - they call the customer, alert them to the
intrusion and help them plug up the security breach.
HP Set To Release New Sleek Notebook Line
Hewlett-Packard later this month will release a new line of business
notebooks equipped with 700-MHz Intel chips, blue cases and 15-inch
screens, aimed at bolstering its position in the corporate notebook
market.
Next week, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based PC maker will also unveil two new
consumer Pavilion models, including one model that will contain a K6-2+
processor that will sell for $999 with rebate, according to people
familiar the company's plans.
Notebooks have been a particularly sore spot for HP, long ranked as a top
seller of desktops and servers. Over the past three years, however, the
company has revamped its notebook organization, slimmed down its product
line and focused on keeping prices low. As a result, market share has
steadily climbed.
"HP has gotten pretty aggressive on the notebook line," said Matt Sargent,
mobile computing analyst with market research firm ARS. "They've kind of
been the guy following behind the four big guys, meaning Dell, Compaq, IBM
and Toshiba. They've kind of fit into that distant fifth position in the
corporate market. But now they're trying to get a new line of products
that really challenges that position and gets them more into the realm of
a true notebook player."
HP's portable push will kick off Monday with the release of the Pavilion
3215 and 3295 for consumers. The 3215 will come with a K6-2+ processor,
Advanced Micro Devices' new notebook chip, and sell for $1,099. For an
initial period, HP will offer a $100 rebate. The 3295 will come with a
600-MHz Pentium III and sell for around $2,500.
The following week, the company will come out with the OmniBook 6000, a
new line of corporate notebooks to replace the Omnibook 4150, said sources
close to the PC maker. The 6000s will add a number of new features and
shave off nearly a pound of weight.
"The big story with HP is their quality and their brand," said Terry
Nozick, an analyst with Mobile Insights. "They had some mishaps with their
early notebooks, but they've made major strides."
The OmniBook 6000 also will be one of the first notebooks shipping with
the 700-MHz Pentium III processor, Sargent said. "That kind of breaks a
new barrier for HP."
The new model, which will come with a stylized "titanium blue" cover made
of magnesium and rubber, is 1.2 inches thick and weighs 5 pounds with a
14.1-inch screen or 5.2 pounds with a 15.1-inch display. Dealers have
already started receiving new consumer and corporate models, according to
sources.
HP has taken a usual one-size-fits-all approach with the new notebooks.
The 14.1- and 15.1-inch display models are nearly identical, Sargent
pointed out. Most competitors, such as Dell and IBM, offer either smaller,
lighter models with 13.3-inch displays or more feature-laden and heavier
models with 15-inch screens.
The approach of a standard size "makes it a lot easier for a user to pick
a system," Sargent said. "These are designed to be feature-rich systems,
not ultra-portables by any means."
HP will offer Windows 95 or Windows 2000 with the majority of OmniBook
6000 configurations, as few corporate customers want Windows 98, said a
source close to HP. The company also will provide an image creation CD for
easily migrating data from the OmniBook 4150 to the 6000.
HP is catching up with Compaq, IBM and others by abandoning PC card modems
and network cards in favor of miniPCI.
The OmniBook 6000 will also be one of the few corporate notebooks
available with a DVD drive and Windows 2000. DVD driver problems have
prevented many manufacturers from widely offering Windows 2000 on DVD
models.
Low-end models will come with 500-MHz Celeron processors, with the
entry-level portable featuring 64MB of RAM, a 5-GB hard drive, 14.1-inch
display, 24X CD ROM drive, 56-kbs modem and Windows 95 for $2,299.
The high-end model comes with a 700-MHz Pentium processor, 128MB of
memory, 18-GB hard drive, 15.1-inch display, 6X DVD and Windows 95 or
Windows 2000 and sell for less than $4,999.
HP still has a long road to travel, Sargent said. "HP has traditionally
had good engineering but they haven't been as strong in the marketing
area, where Compaq and Dell have exceeded them."
'Lord of the Rings' Movie Snippets on the Internet
Short sections of film from the fantasy movie trilogy ``Lord of The Rings"
are to be released on a U.S. Web site on Friday.
A two minute promotional reel will be released including around 30 seconds
of film footage, publicist for the production Claire Raskind told Reuters.
The video is to be released just after midnight on Friday in Los Angeles
on the film's official Web site (www.lordoftherings.net).
``They are quick cuts but there are some action scenes and you get a good
look at all the different characters," she said.
J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy tale ``Lord of the Rings," voted in one
poll as the book of the 20th century, is the story of Frodo the Hobbit in a
magical land called Middle Earth.
The books of the trilogy are being produced as separate films, with filming
of all three to be completed in New Zealand this year.
The first movie, ``The Fellowship of the Ring," is expected to be released
late next year with sequels ``The Two Towers" and ``The Return of the
King" following later.
Producer New Line Cinema, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. said in 1998 it
was committing $130 million to the project.
Software Creates Pirating Bonanza
To makers of music, movies and software, it's like a cancer metastasizing
out of control across the Web, an infectious method of thwarting copyright
law and undermining big business.
But users and proponents of a subversive little program called Gnutella
say it's making the Internet what it was designed to be all along: an
easy-to-use and open environment to share information.
Whether or not that information is copyrighted hasn't stopped thousands of
Gnutella users from peering directly at each other's hard drives to
download whatever's being offered.
``It is like a disease. It's a good one. It's going to help the evolution
of humans,'' said Gene Kan, a Redwood City software developer who believes
Gnutella will revolutionize Internet use.
Gnutella - which anyone can get free from the Internet and install in
minutes - is much more pernicious than a similar program called Napster,
which is causing headaches for computer systems administrators at college
campuses nationwide.
Napster, which is also free, allows online users to search each others'
computers for music stored in the popular MP3 format - a method of copying
songs from CDs to hard drives and storing them as easily manageable files.
The Recording Industry Association of America is suing in federal court to
shut down Napster, the name of which was derived from a childhood nickname
of one of its creators. Meanwhile, several universities have blocked the
popular software because its many users downloading sizable audio files
have slowed computer systems to a crawl.
``No one is trying to stop technology - all the RIAA and its members are
trying to do is to put a stop to a new high-tech type of theft,'' the
industry group said in a statement.
But preventing Gnutella's great Internet giveaway may prove more
difficult.
As with Napster, once a Gnutella user buys a CD, DVD or software and
transfers it to a designated hard drive folder where it can be shared, any
other Gnutella user can obtain it and make a perfect copy.
The main difference between the two programs is how searches are
conducted. Napster searches go through a central server computer, while
Gnutella links the individual users directly, so there are no Internet
addresses to which the universities or recording companies can block
access.
Gnutella is the sum of its parts: a vast and ever-changing network of
people. Like its namesake, the chocolate-and-hazelnut spread Nutella, it
spreads fast and easy. Once a search request encounters another online
Gnutella user, the application automatically tries to contact every
Gnutella user the first one has ever reached, making potentially thousands
of direct simultaneous connections to personal computers.
Gnutella was developed by rogue programmers at Nullsoft Inc., a subsidiary
of America Online Inc. who briefly posted the program on its Web site on
March 14. Nullsoft makes Winamp, an application that plays MP3-format music
files.
It was yanked off the site within hours, but by then numerous copies had
already popped up on other Web sites. More permutations of Gnutella now
appear daily.
In one test lasting less than a minute, Gnutella spread its tentacles to
1795 other users offering 260,390 files totaling 1.1 terabytes of
information, including songs, images, pirated music videos and illegally
decoded DVD movies.
A two-minute search for guitarist Carlos Santana offered 768 songs from
1,935 other computer users offering free downloads of every track from his
$13.99 Grammy-winning CD, ``Supernatural.'' Adobe Photoshop, a
professional image-editing software that retails for $609, was available
on the hard-drives of a half-dozen Gnutella users with high-speed Internet
connections.
``How users make use of it, I hate to say it's not our problem, but it
really isn't,'' said Kan, who runs a Web site promoting one of the many
versions of Gnutella now freely available.
How do you track down an infinite, ever-changing, proliferating network of
participants in this illegal bazaar, much less sue them?
``The battleground is really between technology and the law,'' said Greg
Blatnik, an analyst with Zona Research. ``Technology will be the
enforcement before the laws ever catch up to it.''
Some analysts believe the best recourse for entertainment companies may be
to flood the Internet with inexpensive versions of their creative content.
BMG Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment plan to offer online
versions of some of its artists' work in the coming months, though these
songs will have technical safeguards preventing copying.
But that can't protect creative content that's already available. ``The
digital cows are out of the barn,'' Blatnik said.
Meanwhile, Gnutella hurts everyone who depends on royalties from their
creations, said Jeremy Schwartz, an analyst with Forrester Research.
These ethical quandaries didn't stop 12-year-old Philip Woodworth from
downloading songs using Napster while home sick from school last week. The
Morgan Hill, Calif., resident had only learned about the program a few
days earlier from a friend at school, but said it was easy to get songs by
the pop-punk band Blink 182.
``I wanted their CD, but I didn't have enough money,'' Woodworth said. ``I
told my parents that would never buy another CD again.''
=~=~=~=
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