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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 02 Issue 06
Volume 2, Issue 6 Atari Online News, Etc. February 11, 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:
Peter Curry
Carl Forhan
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0206 02/11/00
~ People Are Talking! ~ Piracy Leader Busted! ~ Quebec Drops Suit
~ eBay Antitrust Trouble ~ Microsoft Battles EU! ~ Songbird News!
~ Governors: Slash Taxes ~ Jaguar/Lynx Auction! ~ Codemasters Games
~ Win2000 Piracy Already ~ Free PCs Really Free! ~ Hasbro Files Suit
-* AllAdvantage Files For IPO! *-
-* US Vows To Combat Internet Vandals! *-
-* Yahoo!, Buy.com Knocked Offline By Hackers *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It seems like almost every day we read in the news about a new computer
virus or another web service that gets knocked offline by a lunatic. What
has happened to people that they feel the need or desire to do such things?
Maybe I'm being naive, but I just don't understand this growing phenomena of
cyber "terrorism"! Do these people achieve some sort of cyber high from
such acts of cowardice? Do they do it because they can? Is it a form of
revenge; or are they out for a few kicks at everyone else's expense? I've
read that many companies actually employ "former" hackers as internet
security experts. Is knocking out Yahoo! for a few hours something people
put on their resume? What is wrong with these people??
Sure, force the government and businesses to waste money toward making a web
site or service more secure. Who ends up paying for it in the end? You do,
and I do. Thanks a lot, jerks! Why don't you all do something worthwhile
with your so-called talents? Or if you really want to keep doing malicious
acts, why not try breaking into each other's computer systems? The last
"surviving" hacker gets his/her name placed into some world records book and
be done with it! You folks really need to get a life!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@portone.com
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. I just this minute got back from a night
out to dinner with a couple of old friends. There's really nothing like
getting together with old friends to put things in perspective for you.
They remember the way things were "back then", and they probably even
went through it with you.
I even managed to track down a friend from my college days that I
haven't seen or spoken to for almost 20 years recently. Of course, I had
to wait until he finally got a computer to be able to hunt him down, but
it did finally happen.
Yes, old friends are special. That's probably why I hang on to my Atari
computers. They're kind of like old friends... You know what to expect,
you've got a proven history with them, and you don't need to waste time
on getting comfortable. I've been using Atari computers for... ummm,
more than a few years now, and I was comfortable with them right from
the start. After all this time, I know pretty much what to expect from
them. I know what they can and can't do, the easiest ways to do what I
need to do, and who to talk to if I should come across something
completely unexpected.
Well. let's get on with the news and STuff from the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Randolph Carter asks about getting his 1040 on the net:
"Is there a browser which allows me to go online with my 1040stf in
monochrome ?? Which modem do I need ??"
"Galen" tells Randolph:
"To browse with a 1040, you will need CAB 1.5, STing (both available on the
net) and an external modem (NOT a WINmodem). Since an unmodified 1040 can
only tolerate 19,200 baud, look for used 28.8 or 14.4 modems. USR made a
28.8 "MACinFAX" that runs quite nicely on my Falcon. As for setup details,
it is a lot easier to connect an ST to the net if you have a hard drive.
If not, post your request to "Tony C." at ATARI@CHEBUCTO.NS.CA. Tony has
figured out a floppy only way to run CAB."
Brian Van Tilbord adds:
"I ran Cab from a floppy. You run STing, exit, remove the STing disk, then
load Cab. It's downloading that can be time consuming, and let's just say
with a floppy you needn't have graphics on."
Tony Greenwood adds his experiences to the mix:
"I ran a 1 meg ST with just the one 720k A drive and did everything on
the internet.. including graphic browsing. I used an older version of
CAB and STiK setup. pre v1..summat like 0.89 if I recall ? You didn't
have to setup cache folders like you do now:)
Top three answers for getting a 1 meg ST on the net are
#1 Shell account.. easy peasy
#2 Old software..I mean real old original STiK CAB etc
#3 Upgrade to HD and stuff (But then that's widening the goalposts)"
On the subject of composing web pages, John Garone asks:
"Looking for a program to design web sites on a Falcon. I thought I had
something on it but it looks like it got buried in my hard drive
(somewhere!) if I have it at all!"
Martin "Night Owl" Byttebier tells John:
"There are several possibilities.
1) Qed + olga
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's my favourite. With this combo you'll have to type in all the tags
yourself but with the help of some kind of shortcuts (html3_uc.krz) this is
rather easy. Whenever you save your work in Qed, Cab will reload that
particular page. This way you've an almost real time HTML-editor
AFAIK, this needs a multitasking OS
ftp://chapelie.rma.ac.be/atari/editors/qed-453.lzh This is the German
release. The English docs and rsc are in qed-453en.lzh
ftp://chapelie.rma.ac.be/atari/utilities/olga151.zip
2) Joe
~~~~~~~
A nice HTML-editor which works almost like Qed but offers more
possibilities. I do use it a lot but on my system it reacts sometimes
strange. The main disadvantage is that one can't scroll horizontally. If
one design a new page that's not a problem but it can be a problem when one
edit an existing page. You need olga and a multitasking OS to get the most
out of it.
ftp://chapelie.rma.ac.be/atari/html-edit/joe/joe146uk.zip
I believe jgt_r1e.zip holds some modules to use within Joe
3) Webwizard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's what the docs says about Webwizard
WebPage.Wizard uses a wizard approach (popular on PC and Apple platforms)
to allow users with little or no HTML knowledge and/or experience the
opportunity to create their own Web pages (or even an entire Web site).
http://cadenza.atari.org/
4) HomePage-Penguin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also a wizard.
http://www.atari-computer.de/mjaap/prg/
The latest demo can be found on following ftp-server
ftp://chapelie.rma.ac.be/atari/html-edit/hppeng2d.zip
5) Expresso
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
French WYSIWYG HTML-editor. It's AFAIK only available in French.
http://oxo.systems.online.fr
Demo: ftp://chapelie.rma.ac.be/atari/html-edit/ex100b.lzh"
Shiuming Lai adds:
"Try Cadenza Software's Web.Wizard.
http://www.cadenza.ukf.net"
John Banbury tells us that he needs...
"Help on a 16 mhz Falcon. Is there any benefit to having a 40 mhz fpu
instead of a 20 mhz, and which chip is it? pga or plcc."
Robert Schaffner tells John:
"68882-33 (or what ever..) PLCC
FPU Socket below internal PSU
Do not use screw drives to remove FPU!!
Sockets are a kind of cheap plastic!
It's senseless to replace the original FPU if that Falcon doesn't have
any accelerator board that really needs another (high clocked) FPU.
Save your money."
"Lewis" asks for help with CAB:
"I am using I-Connect and CAB 2.5 on my Falcon030, Magic5. After I get
I-Connect to get me connected I try to launch CAB, but as soon as I do my
Falcon crashes and I get a "system destroyed" message. Any ideas?"
Greg Goodwin tells Lewis:
"I suggest you turn off everything you can and try one thing at a time.
Perhaps try STing as well. I have no idea what your trouble is, but it
is well established that I-Connect, CAB 2.5, and Magic5 will work on a
Falcon, so I suspect either a corrupted file, a conflict, or some other
annoying yet correctable problem."
James Haslam asks:
"Now that it's possible to listen to MPG-3 files (on Falcons) is it
possible to create them?
I'm doing a website for a friend, who is a musician. What I'd like to do
is to convert a track from his CD to an MPG file that could be downloaded
from his website as a demo of his CD, to help sales of it.
Can this be done on a Falcon (or any Atari)?"
Graeme Hinchliffe tells James:
"In theory it should be possible on ANY pooter depending on it's RAM
obviously... and of course it's CPU will affect speed. I don't know of
any Falcon specific encoders, BUT you may be able to compile BaldeENC
for the falcon. I believe the source files are freely available on the
BladeENC website. I can't remember the URL off hand, but if you do a
search for it you should find it easily enough. The source is for Linux
but I'm sure it should be fairly simple to change to work with your
Falcon."
Guillaume Deflache adds:
"Katherie Ellis (kellis@fdn.com)... I hope she won't mind me giving
her address... already compiled bladeenc under MiNT. This may also run
under SingleTOS or MagiC. But prepare to have some coffee, it's deeeaaad
slow... unless you have an Hades or a Milan 060 that is."
Rick Martin asks about RAM Cards for his Atari Portfolio:
"Anyone know where I could pick some of these ram cards up and how much?"
Ken Macdonald tells Rick:
"see http://gem.win.co.nz/mario/pofo/"
Ken Springer asks:
"What is currently available for spreadsheets? I have a copy of LDW
Power, but would like something newer. Did Texel 2 ever get an English
version?"
Derryck Croker tells Ken:
"D&D Translations have English RSC and math files for Texel 2.00 available
for download from the URL below.
http://www.cix.co.uk/~derryck/index.htm"
"B.P." posts:
"I found a 500 meg scsi drive at a trade show for 25 bucks. I also have a
Jazz drive with a crapped out mechanism. I placed the 500 meg scsi in the
Jazz casing and it works great. My concern is that I am not sure if this
needs a fan or not."
Steve Stupple tells B.P.:
"Drives do tend to get a little warm, so a fan would be a safe guard.
Saying that, I did have a Power Computing hard drive and that had no
fan!!!"
Greg Goodwin adds:
"A hot drive is a major disaster for your data. Whether a drive gets hot
depends on how much heat is created and how much air flow exists
(convective cooling can exist even without a fan -- the ST itself is an
example). One simple test is to run the drive for an hour or so and feel
if its warm. If it is, I'd add a fan for security. If it is still cool,
then it is fine. I suspect it'll warm up a bit."
Well folks, that's it for this time around. I know it's kind of thin this
week, but a combination of things are to blame for that. It's a combination
of lack of time and lack of material. But I'm sure that there'll be more
useful stuff the next time around, so 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 - Hasbro Files Copyright Suits!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Songbird News! Quebec Drops Suit!
Jaguar/Lynx Auction! 'Silver'!
Road Rash Jailbreak! And much more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Hasbro Interactive Pursues Copyright Infringement
Suit Against eGames and GT Interactive
Xtreme Games, MVP Software, Webfoot and Varcon
Also Named in Suit
Hasbro Interactive, Inc., and its subsidiary Atari Interactive, Inc., have
filed suit in federal court to enforce the companies' copyrights to some of
the world's most popular computer and video games. The complaint alleges
that eGames, GT Interactive and several others have blatantly copied games
for which Hasbro Interactive owns the exclusive copyrights, including
CENTIPEDE, ASTEROIDS and MISSILE COMMAND, among other well-known
properties. In addition to eGames and GT Interactive, the complaint names
Xtreme Games, MVP Software, Webfoot Technologies and Varcon Systems.
``Hasbro Interactive has the best brands and content in this business and
we will vigorously protect what is rightfully ours," said Hasbro
Interactive President Tom Dusenberry. ``Consumers should be aware that the
companies named in this suit are making games based on properties they
don't own or control."
Among the games in question are such titles as ``TetriMania" and ``Mac-Man" - obvious knock-offs of the well-known games TETRIS and
PAC-MAN, which are both under license to Hasbro Interactive. In 1999,
Hasbro Interactive released a new version of TETRIS called THE NEXT TETRIS,
and Hasbro Interactive plans to release the PAC-MAN game for the PC later
this year.
``Games such as TETRIS, PAC-MAN and the ATARI titles MISSILE COMMAND and
CENTIPEDE are immensely popular because their rightfl uowners and licensees
have invested resources to develop and promote them,"co mmented
Dusenberry.
Hasbro General Counsel Barry Nagler added, ``contet nis Hasbro's core
business and other companies don't have the right to profitfr om the
success of our intellectual properties and our ability to make them
successful. We're committed to protecting our brands and licenses to the
full extent of the law."
Filed this morning at the U.S. District Court in Boston, Massachusetts, the
complaint seeks to require the defendants to cease production and
distribution of, and to recall and destroy, the following games:
``Intergalactic Exterminator," ``3D Astro Blaster," ``TetriMania,"
``TetriMania Master," ``3D Maze Man," ``Tunnel Blaster," ``UnderWorld,"
``XTRIS," ``Patriot Command," ``HemiRoids," ``Bricklayer," ``3D
TetriMadness," ``Mac-Man," ``3D Munch Man," and ``3D Munch Man II."
Hasbro Interactive is also seeking damages.
Consumers questioning the legitimacy of a product should look for the
Hasbro Interactive logo on game packages. A complete list of Hasbro
Interactive games is available at www.hasbrointeractive.com.
Hasbro Interactive acquired the rights to many Atari properties for the
home consumer market in 1998. Since then, Hasbro Interactive has released
new 3D interactive versions of CENTIPEDE and MISSILE COMMAND, as well as a
compilation of the original, 2D games, ATARI ARCADE HITS. Atari
Interactive, Inc., is a subsidiary of Hasbro Interactive, Inc.
Quebec Backs Off Suing Sony, Nintendo Over French
The Quebec government on Thursday withdrew its threat to sue video game
makers Nintendo Co. Ltd. and Sony Corp. for not marketing French-language
versions of their products.
Louise Beaudoin, language minister for the Canadian province of 7.4 million
people -- 6.4 million of whom have French as their mother tongue -- told a
news conference that Sony and Nintendo had agreed to offer video game user
guides and product guarantees in French in Quebec.
Because of that, she said, Quebec would withdraw its lawsuit.
``This is the least we can expect. We are looking forward to it," Beaudoin
said. The minister added that the companies' subcontractors would also be
compelled to do the same as of April 1.
Under the agreement, electronics giant Sony, whose Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc. unit makes the PlayStation home video game console, and
Nintendo, creator of the Pokemon characters, will also have to provide
French-language packaging for their video games alon wgith video games in
French.
Beaudoin, who said no deadline had been set tome et those conditions, added
that she would now try to persuade Sega Enterprises Ltd. , the world's
third-largest video game maker, to sell its services and products in French
in Quebec.
And major U.S. studios would be asked to issue Digital Versatile Disk (DVD)
versions of their movies in French in Quebec, she added.
French is Quebec's official language and the province has strict laws
limiting the use of English on commercial signs. It also has regulations
making it mandatory to speak French in the workplace, depending on the size
of the company.
Electronic Arts Busts Out With Road Rash
Jailbreak for the PlayStation
Electronic Arts will begin breaking out Road Rash Jailbreak for the
PlayStation console system this week, the latest in the highly successful
Road Rash series of combat motorcycle racing games and the first to offer a
new story element.
To date, Electronic Arts'rebellious motorcycle racing franchise has sold
more than 3.5 million units worldwide across multiple platforms.
Road Rash Jailbreak introduces a first-ever story element into the Road
Rash series and also for the first time allows players to race as a cop.
The game offers all-new multiplayer modes such as the Sidecar mode that
allows up to four players to bash opponents, and introduces supermoves to
give players even greater fighting prowess. In addition, the game has a
unique music soundtrack featuring bands that are unsigned and/or from
independent labels.
In Jailbreak mode, the player must rescue Spaz, the greatest rasher of all
time, from the men in blue. To accomplish this, players must first join one
of two gangs and rise through the ranks by successfully completing tasks
and challenges to prove they have the guts to save Spaz. Then and only then
can they set out to free Spaz from the multitudes of cops that would like
nothing better than to see you and Spaz rotting in the slammer.
Another new way to vent aggression in Road Rash Jailbreak is the 5-0 mode
that places the player in a police uniform. What was unthinkable in
previous versions of Road Rash has now become reality. In 5-0 mode, players
don the badge and go after ne'r do wells with a vengeance. At the start of
the race, the player is given a certain gang member as their primary
target. Racing against the clock, the gamer has the option of taking down
that gangster or busting several other gang members to complete the level.
For those players interested in tussling with their friends, Road Rash
Jailbreak gives them what they want. In the all-new Sidecar mode, up to
four players on two teams can beat on each other while driving at high
speeds. In this mode one player does the driving while his partner, the
``monkey," fights off all comers from the sidecar. The driver and monkey
both influence steering and the driver can even use his sidecar buddy as a
special projectile weapon to clear out the enemy or launch forward across
the finish line. Of course, the team members can bludgeon each other if
spats arise. Another multiplayer mode in Road Rash Jailbreak is the
split-screen Skull to Skull, where two players square off against each
other for a brawl-filled run for the checkered flag.
As if all these new features were not enough, Road Rash Jailbreak also
serves up a deliciously wicked assortment of combination and supermoves
designed to pancake the opposition. Several of the supermoves are powerful
enough to knock a challenger right off the screen! However, while being
more powerful than a simple nunchuck to the head, the moves take time to
deliver and leave the player vulnerable to attack. So great care must be
taken when meting out the KO punch.
Music has always played an important part of Road Rash history. For Road
Rash Jailbreak, Electronic Arts again pushed the envelope by holding a
first-ever, nationwide music search for unsigned and independent label
bands to supply the game's raw, in-your-face soundtrack. The chosen bands
and songs were selected from hundreds of submissions throughout North
America. These songs best represent the aggressive, combative attitude of
the Road Rash experience.
The game supports Dual Shock analog controllers.
Road Rash Jailbreak for the PlayStation was developed and is being
published by Electronic Arts in North America. The game carries an ESRB
rating of ``T" (Teen) and has a MSRP of $49.95.
The King of Auto Combat Continues its Reign with
the Release of Activision's, Vigilante 8: Second
Offense for the Nintendo 64
The king of auto-combat hits the road again when Activision, Inc. ships
Vigilante 8: Second Offense for the Nintendo 64. Non-stop, high-octane
vehicular warfare will tear across the U.S. and into retail channels the
week of February 7, 2000. The game has been rated ``T" by the ESRB and
will carry a suggested retail price of $49.95.
In Vigilante 8: Second Offense, players must stop the Coyote terrorist gang
that has traveled back through time in an attempt to change the course of
events that will allow evil to dominate the world. In their quest to save
the fate of the world, gamers get behind-the-wheel of supercharged combat
vehicles, each linked to an over-the-top character, as they battle through
a series of death matches spanning eight destructible arenas throughout the
United States.
``Vigilante 8: Second Offense is the must have auto-combat title of the
year," stated Mitch Lasky, executive vice president, Activision Studios.
``The game delivers all the breakthrough elements of Vigilante 8 and ups
the ante by further redefining the auto-combat genre with its morphing
vehicle advancements."
Developed by Luxoflux Corp., Vigilante 8: Second Offense delivers non-stop
intense full-throttle auto-combat complete with 18 new outrageous vehicles,
which can be modified with high-tech enhancements and propulsion power-ups
that morph into place. As players advance through the game, they have the
ability to acquire ``salvage points" each time an enemy is destroyed. By
collecting points, players are able to enhance and upgrade their vehicle
with new attachments including wider tires and spoiler wings. The more
points players collect, the more upgrades they will receive. The ultimate
upgrade is a completely new car chassis. The power-ups, which can be found
throughout each arena, provide gamers with improved driving abilities on
snow and water, as well as the ability to hover above the ground.
Additionally, the game features multiple modes of play -- single player
quest, arcade and survival modes, two-player versus, cooperative and quest
modes and three to four player brawl, team and smear modes. The game also
offers multiple play perspectives, inside the car, behind the car and a
split-screen option for multi-player action.
Infogrames North America, Inc. Brings Sorcery
and Magic to Sega Dreamcast With Silver
If you look really hard through the dense, dark, misty forest you can see a
light, the shining light of Silver for Sega Dreamcast.
Infogrames North America, Inc.'s anticipated adventure game will reach most
major retail outlets this summer.
Silver, a corrupt and sinister sorcerer, rules the land of Jarrah with an
iron fist. He and his henchmen have abducted the village women as part of a
pact with the almighty god, Apocalypse. The player, as David, a promising
young knight whose wife languishes among the captured, is the only hope for
stopping Silver and his minions.
To complete his quest, David must obtain and master eight magical orbs that
will allow him to summon the forces of fire, ice, life, lightning, earth,
acid, time, and light. These orbs will grant him the power to battle
Silver's dark sorcery.
``Silver truly takes adventure/role playing games to the next level by
offering state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, beautifully rendered
interactive worlds and interesting characters," said David Riley, director
of marketing for Infogrames North America, Inc.'s action/adventure label.
``The game's intuitive interface and design is a perfect fit for the
advanced technology of the Dreamcast system."
Players never experience the same situation twice as they roam freely
around Jarrah in a non-linear pattern. They explore a variety of areas that
include the tranquil island of Haven, the blasted ice plains of Winter and
the underground rivers of blood at Metalon. As the player wanders
throughout the mystical land, he encounters more than 50 unique,
fascinating characters, some of which may be recruited as allies to assist
in his quest against the evil sorcerer.
Characters range from harmless imps to frightening bosses that include an
evil ice dragon and a giant rat god. With an advanced artificial
intelligence system in place, these enemies react intuitively and
unpredictably to changing conditions.
Developed by Spiral House, gamers can expect to see Silver for Sega
Dreamcast in most retail stores this summer. Silver is currently available
for the PC at most major retail outlets.
THQ Ships 'Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2' for PlayStation
THQ Inc. Thursday announced the release of "Brunswick Circuit Pro
Bowling"2 for the PlayStation game console.
Developed by Adrenalin Entertainment, ``Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2"
is the most complete PlayStation bowling game to date, combining the
refinements of the original with new and improved features, including
updated Brunswick Pro Staff, new tournaments, expanded multiplayer and
brand new modes of play. ``Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2" is now
available in retail outlets nationwide for the suggested retail price of
$39.99.
``Brunswick is the leading brand in bowling, 'Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling
2' is well positioned to be the best bowling game on the market with
improvements designed to appeal to hardcore and casual bowlers alike,"
said Peter Dille, vice president of marketing, THQ. ``Bowling is the No. 1
participation sport in the country and we are pleased to be working with
the most respected name in bowling."
From amateur to professional, ``Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2" offers
enthusiasts realistic bowling in the comfort of their own homes.
``Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2" boasts true-to-life elements including
authentic Brunswick lane environments, clothing, equipment and statistics,
real tournaments from the PBA tour and accurate bowling-ball and pin
physics.
Up to eight family members and friends can choose to play as one of the
current Brunswick Pro Staff, both males and females, or even create a
bowler in their own image. With nine modes of play including new Team Play
and Skills Challenge, enhanced Cosmic Bowling(TM) mode, and a Pro Shot
display tutorial, Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2 offers something for
everyone.
Seven Games Roar Into 2000 From Codemasters; Games
to Launch on PlayStation, PC and GameBoy Color
Codemasters announced its highly anticipated and diverse line-up of game
releases for early 2000, including action, racing, sports and general
entertainment titles on three platforms. The releases include: Colin McRae
Rally (PC); Micro Maniacs (PSX); MTV Music Generator (PC); Pro Pool (GBC);
Mike Tyson Boxing (PSX); WTC, World Racing Championship (PSX) and Insane
(Internet-PC).
THE GAMES LINE-UP
Colin McRae Rally races onto American PC's in April, 2000, carrying an SRP
of $29.99. Bearing the name and the signature pedal-to-the-metal style of
one of the greatest rally-racers in history, the game features 12 of the
world's greatest rally cars and supports up to eight simultaneous players
via LAN.
Micro Maniacs for the PlayStation will hit store shelves like a pint-sized
tornado on April, 2000 with an SRP of $39.99. This offbeat racing game from
the makers of the successful Micro Machines series allows for up to eight
players to control miniature maniacs in simultaneous, fast paced and
decidedly odd racing action.
MTV Music Generator on the PC is set for an April, 2000 playdate on store
shelves, with an SRP of $29.99. This easy to use music creation product
allows even the novice to create professional-quality music in a broad
range of styles, including rock, rap, electronica, funk, metal and dance.
Pro Pool takes big time pool playing to the diminutive GameBoy Color in
May, 2000, with an SRP of $19.99. Tested rigorously by Codemasters' staff
on long, trans-Atlantic Flights, Pro Pool is the first true pool sim for
the GameBoy Color, with multiple pool games and 64 AI-controlled opponents.
Mike Tyson Boxing for the PlayStation will mix-it-up with definitive
boxing-sim action in May, 2000. Carrying an SRP of $39.99, Mike Tyson
Boxing offers multiple play-modes and a unique physics engine to create the
heavy weight champ of realistic console boxing action.
WTC, World Racing Championship brings international auto racing to the
PlayStation in June, 2000, with an SRP of $39.99. With 23 tracks on five
continents, players will speed down some of the most famous courses in the
world, including Laguna Seca, Hockenheim and Bathurst.
Insane for PC will take off-road racing onto the Internet in mid-2000 with
an SRP of $29.99. Insane features more than 20 vehicles for racers with
more than 30 off-road competitions all across the globe, from Africa to
Yosemite and beyond.
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
Big Auction all New Jaguar and Lynx Stuff!
DON'T MISS OUT
We are having another great ebay auction of over 120 new Jaguar and Lynx
items. Everything is new in the manufactures original packaging. All
items starting at $9.99 or less, no reserve. Many items not usually
found at auction. Examples for the Jaguar Soccer Kid (just released),
Protector, Worms, Atari Karts and many more. For the Lynx items like
Lexis and Ponx, Warbirds, Lemmings and many more. Come join the fun
all of the auctions will be closing every 5 minutes on Sunday after
noon Feb. 13, 2000 To see what is available click on the URL below.
http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewListedItems&userid=goatari
Wishing you happy bidding,
Peter Curry
Go Atari
pcurry@goatari.com
Atari Update From Songbird
~ Songbird Productions Update ~
~ 02/08/00 ~
SOCCER KID IS SHIPPING
Soccer Kid is now shipping to all customers. If you have pre-ordered this
product but not paid your balance, you need to mail it in to Songbird or
directly authorize Songbird to charge your credit card on file. The balance
due for those who pre-ordered is $49.95 for USA/Canada customers, and
$52.95 for international customers. Thanks for completing your orders, and
enjoy this great first new Jaguar game of 2000!
PRE-ORDER PRICE CORRECTION
In the previous notice, the balance due on Hyper Force pre-orders was
listed as $49.95 in the USA/Canada and $52.95 international. These
amounts are correct only if you placed your pre-orders by Nov 1, 1999,
with Songbird.
All later pre-orders owe an additional $5 on top of the appropriate
amount from above. Please email if you have any questions about your
balance due.
HYPER FORCE IS ON DECK
It's now time to pay the balance on Hyper Force orders as well. Hyper Force is
expected to ship in late March / early April, so it's important to get your
payments in now to speed up the manufacturing process. If desired, you may
pay for both Soccer Kid and Hyper Force together.
NEW LYNX GAMES ARE COMING
Songbird is committed to new products for the Atari Lynx as well. Crystal
Mines 2: Buried Treasure, Cybervirus, and another secret project are all
committed for a year 2000 release. Stay tuned!
TIME IS RUNNING OUT ON $10 COUPONS
If you have received one or two of the $10 Songbird coupons, you need to
place your order by 3/1/00 to take advantage of them. Visit the Songbird
web page at http://songbird.atari.net to view the great list of
hard-to-find products carried by Songbird. Remember, the coupons may only
be used on selected items* in stock with a retail price of $14.95 or more.
One coupon per item, please.
Sincerely,
Carl Forhan
Songbird Productions
http://songbird.atari.net
* - The Lynx/PC cable and all the new Songbird Jaguar games are not
eligible.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Yahoo! Suffers Breakdown
Yahoo! Inc., which runs the most popular site on the Internet, suffered
technical problems Monday and its flagship Web directory was inaccessible
for much of the day.
The company issued only a short statement acknowledging the outage and
promising, ``We're working as quickly as possible to identify and correct
the situation." Company officials were forced to deliver the admission
by phone since their Web site was unavailable.
Yahoo said the problems began Monday about 1:45 p.m. EST. The problem
also apparently prevented all the company's customers from accessing free
e-mail accounts through the Web site, but it didn't affect customers'
home pages on Geocities, owned by Yahoo.
Media Metrix, which tracks visitors to Web sites, said www.yahoo.com was
the most popular Internet site for the month of December, the latest
figures available, when it recorded 36 million visitors.
The failure didn't affect the company's stock Monday.
Attack Knocks Out Buy.com
Buy.com said it was inaccessible for about three hours today after a
"denial of service" attack, the same type of assault that shut down Yahoo
yesterday.
Mitch Hill, Buy.com's chief financial officer, told CNET News.com that the
e-tail site was virtually paralyzed about 10:50 a.m. PST as a result of a
"coordinated denial of service attack."
Hill said the attack was directed at Exodus Communications, the
infrastructure company that hosts Buy.com's Web site.
Exodus technicians also confirmed that the company was the target of an
assault. "It does appear there was a coordinated outside attack on
Buy.com," an Exodus spokeswoman said.
The shutdown, less than one day after the Yahoo attack, raised troubling
questions about the possibility of copycat incidents or a renegade group
determined to wreak havoc throughout the Web. The FBI said it was meeting
with Yahoo executives today to decide whether an investigation is
warranted.
"We had over 800 megabits of data hitting our site per second, which is
eight times normal capacity," Hill said. "On average our site runs at
about 30 percent of capacity. Multiply that whole thing out, and it's like
24 times the normal flow of data through the site."
As of 2 p.m. PST, the site appeared to be back online.
Yesterday, Yahoo executives blamed a denial-of-service attack for knocking
out the leading Net destination for nearly three hours. In Yahoo's case,
the attackers targeted its Web hosting company, GlobalCenter.
A denial-of-service outage occurs when attackers bombard a Web site's
servers with fake packets of requests for information. When the server
responds, the attackers' system steps up the barrage by sending more
requests. The affected Web site struggles to keep up with the mounting
number of requests, slowing performance for users or ultimately crashing
the system.
Keynote Systems, which measures the performance of Web sites, said
activity on Buy.com began slowing to a trickle at about 11 a.m. PST.
Daniel Todd, Keynote's director of public services, said the site was
responding only to about 4.5 percent of all requests. During yesterday's
Yahoo outage, fewer than 1 percent of requests for pages were filled.
"We are not seeing a complete blackout, although obviously the site is not
keeping up with the traffic," he said.
The potential for such attacks is well-known to security experts. The
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Carnegie-Mellon's Computer
Emergency Response Team Center and the FBI all have issued alerts on the
subject during the past few months.
The attack comes on the same day the e-tailer launched a successful
initial public offering.
The company, which sells a wide variety of products on the Internet, had a
market capitalization of $3.5 billion after the offering, which raised
$182 million.
Buy.com has adopted an expensive Web business strategy of luring customers
by offering deep discounts on many of its products. The company plans to
use the money raised to offset its losses as it expands.
U.S. Vows to Combat Internet Vandals
Attorney General Janet Reno announced a criminal investigation on Wednesday
into the latest wave of hacker attacks on major Internet sites, as law
enforcement officials conceded they had scant idea of who or what they were
up against.
One or more computer vandals disrupted several popular Web sites for a
third straight day on Wednesday. The latest targets were the online
brokerage E-Trade Group Inc., and a technology news site ZDNet Inc.
``We are committed in every way possible to tracking down those who are
responsible, to bringing them to justice, and to seeing that the law is
enforced," Reno told a news conference at FBI headquarters.
She vowed to take steps to make sure that cyberspace remains ``a secure
place to do business" so the Internet may continue ``to bring the world
together rather than split it apart."
Federal officials described the attacks as a ``distributed denial of
service" attack on U.S. businesses. Such an assault swamps a Web site with
so many requests that legitimate users get the equivalent of a cyber busy
signal.
David Jarrell, director of the Federal Computer Incident Response
Capability, said in a Reuters interview that ``at least hundreds" of
computers in the United States and abroad appeared to have been enlisted in
the latest attacks unbeknown to their operators.
``Determining the controlling computer is virtually impossible," he said,
referring to the way in which the attack bounces across networks. He said
it was ``entirely possible" that a lone ``hacker" had launched the
attack.
President Clinton, asked if there was anything Washington could do to stem
the attacks, said: ``I don't know the answer to that. But I have asked the
people who know more about it than I do if there is anything we can do."
The FBI-led National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), an
inter-agency group that acts as the nation's top cyber-cop, said it had not
received any claims of responsibility and could not yet discern a motive.
``At this point in the investigation, anything is possible," including the
involvement of a foreign government or group, Ron Dick, NIPC chief of
computer investigations, told the news briefing.
``Basically, they can hide their identity," he said, citing the
hypothetical scenario where hackers might create a false trail leading back
to the FBI itself because the hackers were able to tie a false address to
information provided to the victim site.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah,
said he planned to hold hearings soon into what he termed this threat to
the U.S. economy.
``In our new, knowledge-based economy, where the Internet and e-commerce
dominate, public confidence in the security and integrity of the system is
paramount," he said in a statement.
Commerce Secretary William Daley said there was no "sure-fire defense" to
such hacker attacks.
``I think this is a wake up call," he said in a conference call with
reporters. ``We're requesting additional funds from the Congress to do more
research on this with the private sector."
The attacks began Monday against Yahoo Inc., the largest independent Web
site, then spread Tuesday to leading retailers Buy.com Inc., eBay Inc.,
Amazon.com Inc., and Time Warner Inc.'s CNN.com news site.
The sabotage at the Web sites highlighted the growing importance of
e-commerce in the nation's economic expansion, and the initial targets were
some of the most successful business operations on the Web.
``If you really know what's going to fix this, it's someone going to jail
for about 10 to 20 years," said Frank Dzubeck, an industry consultant with
Communication Network Architects Inc in Washington, D.C. said of the hacker
attacks.
Justice Probes eBay for Antitrust
The Justice Department is investigating whether eBay Inc., the world's
largest online auction site, violated federal antitrust laws in its actions
toward smaller Internet rivals.
The probe, which has been underway since December but still is in its
early stages, is focused on eBay's attempts - including a federal lawsuit
against one competitor and threats to sue another - to prevent smaller
Web companies from listing on their own sites items being auctioned by
eBay's customers.
One of eBay's top lawyers, Jay Monahan, said in a statement Friday that
company officials ``have had some discussions with staff at the Justice
Department regarding eBay and the online trading business generally.
``We welcomed that opportunity to talk about our business and to express
our serious concerns regarding the practices of some of the
aggregators," Monahan said.
These other companies don't auction items themselves, but they offer
search tools that scan the inventories of eBay and other Internet sites.
As they attract customers of their own, they can cut into eBay's own Web
traffic and associated advertising revenues.
Monahan suggested that eBay's ``contact with DOJ may have been prompted
by" its competitors, although the rivals said Justice initiated the
interviews.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
News of the investigation didn't appear to affect eBay's stock price,
which opened Friday at $160. It increased more than $11 as high as
$171.25 by midday in heavy trading before settling at $164.50 late in the
afternoon.
During one meeting, lawyers from Justice's antitrust division wanted to
know about ``eBay and their business practices within the industry,"
said James Carney, chief executive officer of rival Bidder's Edge, which
was sued by eBay in December in federal court in California.
Carney met for two hours in early January with antitrust lawyers in
Washington, after Justice contacted his company in late December
requesting an interview.
``They were asking us any number of questions ... about how the market
works, about specific things in detail regarding practices by eBay toward
Bidder's Edge," Carney said.
The Justice Department has not submitted to eBay or its rivals civil
investigative demands, which are formal requests for documents that could
be used as evidence to support an antitrust claim.
The department also interviewed the chief executive at AuctionWatch.Com,
another Web site that searches Internet auction sites - including eBay's
- and lists items available for bid.
AuctionWatch CEO Rodrigo Sales confirmed that his ``conversation centered
around the dispute with eBay," but declined to be more specific.
The company, with about 60 employees, spent ``hundreds of thousands" to
develop a technical workaround after eBay threatened a lawsuit and began
blocking the company's computers from searching eBay's listings.
``Dealing with the issue with eBay has taken up a considerable amount of
management bandwidth," Sales said.
Microsoft Faces New Legal Battle With EU Probe
Microsoft Corp., already grappling with a U.S. government antitrust
lawsuit, faced more legal woes on Wednesday after the European Union
launched a probe of the software giant's new $1 billion operating system.
The investigation will look at whether Windows 2000 breaks EU competition
law by allowing Microsoft to unfairly extend its dominance in personal
computers to servers -- the workhorse machines that are the foundation of
the Internet and business networks.
EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said in Brussels that the
complaints allege Microsoft bundled the operating system with other
software in such a way that only its own products are fully interoperable,
and that puts rivals at a disadvantage.
The complaint, brought by end-users, small computer businesses and
Microsoft rivals, alleges that by controlling the server computers that
run networks, Microsoft could ultimately have a powerful grip over
electronic commerce and the Internet economy.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft defended the system, saying it was
confident the EU would find it had complied with competition law, and
said the case would not hold up the roll-out of Windows 2000.
``We have no reason to think that this will have any impact on the launch
of Windows 2000, or any impact at all eventually," Microsoft spokeswoman
Erin Brewer said by telephone from company headquarters in Redmond, Wash.
Microsoft general counsel for international sales and support Brad Smith
said Windows 2000 was interoperable with other server operating systems.
``We have shared a wide array of technical information about Windows 2000
broadly with software developers, customers and competitors long before
the product was ever released," Smith said in a statement.
If the allegations were proven, the EU's executive commission said it
could force Microsoft to make changes to Windows 2000 or face fines of up
to 10 percent of global revenues if it failed to do so.
Nearly a quarter of Microsoft's second quarter revenue of $6.1 billion
came from Europe, up 14 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The probe cast a shadow over the long-awaited launch of Windows 2000,
which Microsoft touts as a more stable and secure platform for business
and network computers, and which is set to be unveiled on Feb. 17 by
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
It is also the latest legal headache for Microsoft, which is defending
itself from a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit alleging it abused monopoly
power in operating systems for to crush rivals and stifle competition.
Analysts said it was too early in the probe to tell what the impact might
be on the company, but noted that with its bulging war chest, Microsoft
would have little trouble fighting a second legal front.
``When you've got $20 billion in cash, you can pay a lot of lawyers to
handle things for you and not distract your top executives from what
they're doing," said Michael Schroeder, an analyst with Wasmer, Schroder
& Co., an investment research firm in Naples, Fla.
The EU's Monti said a formal request had been made to Microsoft to supply
the commission with information by the beginning of March.
Microsoft said it looked forward to doing so.
Microsoft also lashed out at rival Sun Microsystems Inc., which Microsoft
said had filed a complaint with the commission last year against Windows
2000.
``Instead of competing in the marketplace, Sun continues to call for
governments around the world to regulate more heavily the software
development process," Smith said. ``We do not believe (such regulation)
would serve well the fast-paced technological innovation that is today
the driving force of the world economy."
Schroeder said such complaints might become more common in Europe, where
the way of doing business often clashes with the turbocharged brand of
capitalism found in the United States.
``This is the kind of thing that we should not be surprised to see going
forward," Schroeder said.
``The EU has been exhibiting a variety of different traits that
collectively are not friendly toward American business interests," he
said, pointing to recent woes U.S. businesses like banana seller Chiquita
and soft drink maker Coca-Cola have suffered in Europe.
U.S. Agents Attack Software Pirate Ring
One of the suspected leaders of an international ring of software pirates
operating on the Internet has been arrested and charged with conspiring to
violate the copyrights on thousands of computer programs, federal officials
announced on Friday.
Robin Rothberg, 32, who was arrested on Thursday in Boston, is suspected of
being a ``council member" of a group called "Pirates with Attitude," an
organization that disseminates bootleg copies of software, including some
not commercially available, said U.S. Attorney Scott Lasser.
The FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago said Rothberg, of North
Chelmsford, Massachusetts, was charged with conspiracy to infringe the
copyright of thousands of software programs. If convicted, he faces a
maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Rothberg used an Illinois-based Internet Service Provider while conspiring
to bootleg the software, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Pirates with Attitude runs a Web site called Sentinel accessible only to
those who enter by a secure Internet Protocol address.
To use the site, the indictment naming Rothberg said, users must upload
software files. In exchange they may then download files from a directory
listing thousands of programs.
One computer that supported the operation, located at the University of
Sherbrooke in Quebec, was seized by Canadian authorities and the FBI last
month, the announcement said.
But it said the operation -- described as one of the longest-standing and
most sophisticated of its kind -- is believed to have members and other
distribution sites worldwide.
The FBI said investigators found that thousands of commercially marketed
software products from nearly every publisher had been uploaded to the
Sherbrooke computer.
Rothberg, who was released on $25,000 bond following his arrest in Boston,
had connected to the Canadian site through Zenith Data Systems of Buffalo
Grove, Illinois, the Internet service provider for his former employer, NEC
Technologies, the complaint said.
Microsoft Already Battling Windows 2000 Piracy
Windows 2000 hasn't even been officially released, but that hasn't stopped
software pirates from ripping off Microsoft Corp.'s newest operating
system.
The world's leading software company said on Thursday it has been busily
stamping out Web sites offering illicit copies of the program, which took
$1 billion and three years for Microsoft to develop.
To combat the piracy problem, made easier by the Internet, Microsoft has
assembled an arsenal of new weapons, including a virtual bloodhound to
sniff out illegal copies lurking on the Web, holographic CD-ROMs and
authenticity certificates that are harder to counterfeit than a $100
dollar bill.
``What we are trying to do is use technology even more to combat software
piracy," Anne Murphy, an anti-piracy attorney for the Redmond,
Wash.-based company.
With illegal versions of software making up one in four programs installed
on U.S. computers, and with organized crime bankrolling sophisticated
counterfeiting operations, Microsoft is determined to protect its latest
treasure.
Windows 2000, the next-generation business operating system that will run
servers and corporate systems, is to be formally unveiled by Microsoft
co-founder and chairman, Bill Gates, next Thursday at a gala event in San
Francisco.
But copies of Windows 2000 were sent to computer makers for installation
on new computers last December, and machines carrying it have quietly
shipped for several weeks.
Beta, or test versions, were also released to hundreds of thousands of
customers months ago.
Using a new program that works full-time at ferreting out illegal copies
of Windows 2000 on the Web, Microsoft in January alone uncovered more
than 100 Web sites posting the program for download, Murphy said.
``It searches out those downloads and the following day our people review
the results of the search, and if it looks like there's a serious problem,
then we notify in rapid time the Internet service provider," Murphy said.
It was unclear how many copies of Windows 2000 had been downloaded
illegally or how much money Microsoft had lost from such activity.
``We really haven't quantified that," Murphy said of losses from Windows
2000 piracy. The software's price tag ranges from $149 for a desktop
upgrade to $3,999 for the Advanced Server version.
But Murphy likened Internet piracy to bacteria breeding in ideal
conditions, saying, ``In terms of what happens when it's downloaded, it's
kind of like a petri dish -- it just multiplies even more."
To help prevent copying of physical CD-ROMs -- a lucrative business for
professional pirates who can stamp disks and print high-quality
shrink-wrapped boxes -- Microsoft has two tricks up its sleeve.
One is a complex ``edge-to-edge" hologram that is etched across the
entire face of a CD and features the Windows logo, the name of the
software version, and how the disk was sold.
Also, Windows 2000 will ship with verification badges using a copper
holographic thread, unique identification numbers, and a company logo
that shimmers gold and silver in the light.
``It has more security features than any currency in the world," Murphy
said.
Calling the hologram a ``quantum leap" in anti-piracy technology, Murphy
said Microsoft is confident the technique is sophisticated enough to foil
even the most determined pirates, for a while anyway.
``This throws a major roadblock in front of them," Murphy said. ``I'm
sure they'll come up with their best shot, but I'm sure that the quality
of this hologram will be something that the consumer can see."
Governors Tell States to Simplify, Slash Telecom Taxes
States and localities must radically simplify the high taxes they charge
telecommunications firms or derail the digital economy, the nation's
governors warned on Tuesday.
In the first of a set of reports to members on how to survive an electronic
commerce-driven economy, the National Governors' Association (NGA) urged
governors to cut high taxes that are suffocating providers of traditional
and cell phone services, Internet, pagers and other digital-age technology.
Thousands of states, cities, counties and parishes also should arduously
prune the thicket of taxes telecom firms' accountants must negotiate,
rewrite tax policies that favor one technology over another and pay
attention to the infrastructure needed by e-firms, NGA said.
``It's very clear to me that the telecommunications industry is over
taxed," NGA Chairman Michael Leavitt, Utah's governor, told a telephone
press briefing to release the 26-page report.
``It is time for states to thoroughly review their telecommunications tax
policies."
Before the 1984 breakup of the old Ma Bell system and the lightening
growth of technology in the late 1990s, consumers typically had only one
telecommunications provider to choose from in their region.
Now, however, households pick among a bounty of firms for access to
Internet, telephones, cellphones, pagers and other technology that use an
alphabet soup of media like copper and "fiber-optic" cable, ``analog"
and ``digital" cellular, satellites and, soon, electric power lines.
But while private industry has exploded with innovation, many states and
localities still greet the e-millenium with prehistoric tax laws that
discourage progress, Leavitt said.
Not only are tax rates too high, but they are ``stacked" on top of each
other -- federal on top of state on top of local, Leavitt said.
He signaled that a 19-member panel appointed last year to study the
future of e-taxes could, among its recommendations, call for a repeal of
the century-old 3 percent excise tax on telecommunications services.
States and localities should follow suit by cutting and paring back their
own decades-old telecommunications taxes, he said.
It would have to be done carefully, Leavitt warned. For instance, tax
reform bills must be chiseled so as not to push e-commerce development in
savvy suburbs at the expense of rural areas, he said.
And lawmakers must deal with growing conflict between state regulators
and local governments clamoring to raise revenue via new taxes,
franchises and rights of way, he said.
Leavitt said one issue facing states is how to tax telecommunications
services that are often ``bundled" together into one bill going to
customers.
``In our state, we have an arrangement with AT&T Corp. where they offer
packaged services -- cable TV, telephone and Internet use -- all in the
same bill," Leavitt said.
``The question is what portion of that should be taxed -- since telephone
service would be taxed, cable might be handled a different way and
Internet would not be taxed," under current rules, he said.
Utah is working with a vendor to do a ``best estimate" of a customer's
taxes, rather than having to do a separate, time consuming ``breakout"
of each service, he said.
When Is 'Free' Internet Really Free?
It's the ultimate going-out-of-business sale -- free computers for
everyone.
As a result of its merger with low cost PC-maker eMachines, Free-PC Inc.
has notified its customers that it is switching its focus and will no
longer offer free Internet access.
All of Free-PC's customers will be allowed to keep the free computer they
were given-- no strings attached.
About 25,000 customers were notified via e-mail on Wednesday of the
company's decision.
The e-mail promises that ownership titles for the computers would be turned
over to customers. It also promises that all credit card information
gathered by the company would be destroyed, and it provided a list of
alternative free Internet service providers such as AltaVista and
Bluelight.com.
"I thought it was Christmas and winning the lottery rolled together," said
Free-PC customer Joseph Donath when he received the e-mail telling him he
could keep his computer.
Donath has only been a Free-PC customer since October, and is now the
permanent owner of a Compaq computer featuring 64MB of RAM, a 350MHz
processor, 15-inch monitor and a CD-ROM drive.
When he first heard about the merger with eMachines, Donath had anticipated
the company would want him to send the machine back or pay for it himself.
He called Free-PC's decision "extremely generous."
Free-PC's business model of providing both a free computer and free
Internet access was rather unique in an industry that generally provides
either one or the other free of charge, but not both. Their revenue came
primarily from advertising.
Steve Chadima, vice president of marketing for eMachines says the decision
to give away the computers cost "in the millions," but that the time had
come for Free-PC to come to an end.
The resources needed to provide both technical and customer service support
for both free computers and free Net access was just too much. eMachines
says it will now focus its efforts on developing software for its low-cost
PCs.
"We felt as though, like any other company, we had limited resources in
terms of development and, with the millions of people buying eMachines,
we wanted to devote our resources to those folks and not to worry about
the 25,000 who had free PC's," explained Chadima.
Free-PC's Internet service will be inactive as of Feb. 14.
At that point, customers will have the choice of paying for service or
turning to other free providers.
Donath says he'll probably use MSN, but in talking with other Free-PC
customers, he believes they'll likely use a combination of several free
providers.
According to officials at other companies providing either free access or
a free computer, Free-PC's downfall was trying to offer too much, too
soon.
"I think that model at some point makes sense," said Bill Keenan,
AltaVista's director of free access, when asked about Free-PC's approach.
"It struck us as a lot more difficult to pull off. But it does seem like
the model of the future."
That's an attitude Chadima agrees with. He believes Free-PC ultimately
would have made sense but more headway needed to be made on lowering the
cost of PCs and increasing the number of Internet appliances before the
company could have become viable.
AllAdvantage.com Files for IPO
AllAdvantage.com Inc., which connects businesses and consumers using a
proprietary Web interface and a database of member profiles, filed on
Monday to raise as much as $150 million in an initial public offering.
Its members are able to receive personalized instant messages from sponsors
as they surf the Internet while maintaining their privacy and anonymity, as
well as receive rebates from retailers.
The company, based in Hayward, Calif., did not reveal how many shares
it
planned to offer or for how much in the preliminary prospectus filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
AllAdvantage.com said it would use the proceeds from the IPO for general
corporate purposes including working capital, capital spending and
possible acquisitions.
More than 5.3 million people have registered to receive its service,
which was launched in July 1999 and contains direct links to more than
400 Internet sites.
From March 24 to Dec. 31, the company had $5.2 million in revenue and
$36.6 million in net losses, the filing showed.
James Jorgensen, 51, helped found AllAdvantage.com and has been its chief
executive officer since March 1999.
The $150 million figure in the IPO filing was merely a basis for
calculating the SEC registration fee, the company said. It has applied to
trade its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol "AADV" once it goes public.
=~=~=~=
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