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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 01 Issue 08
Volume 1, Issue 8 Atari Online News, Etc. April 23, 1999
Published and Copyright (c) 1999
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- CC: Classic Chips
With Contributions by:
Stephen Barszczak
Bengy Collins
Randy Looney
Jeppe Brdnnmark
Brian Gudzevich
To subscribe to A-ONE, send a message to: dpj@delphi.com
and your address will be added to the distribution list.
To unsubscribe from A-ONE, send the following: Unsubscribe A-ONE
Please make sure that you include the same address that you used to
subscribed from.
To download A-ONE, set your browser bookmarks to one of the
following sites (more to be added soon):
http://people.delphi.com/dpj/a-one.htm
http://www.icwhen.com
http://a1mag.atari.org
http://homestead.dejanews.com/ssag
Visit the Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi!
http://forums.delphi.com/m/main.asp?sigdir=atari
=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0107 04/16/99
~ People Are Talking! ~ Crichton To Do Games! ~ Compaq Shake-Up!
~ STiNG 1.20 Released! ~ SEC Files Suit in Hoax ~ Lycos Tops Yahoo!
~ CIH Virus Due April 26 ~ Sega & Iomega Team Up ~ AOL Gadgets?
~ Moment w/ Randy Looney ~ Best Buy Dumps iMacs ~ Web Registry Set
-* Intel Settlement Questioned *-
-* FTC Proposes Child Privacy Web Rules *-
-* "trenchcoatmafia" Domain Names Registered *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I promised some time ago that I wasn't going to use A-ONE as a soapbox to
write about political subjects. And I still feel that that's a good thing.
But, this time it's relevant to a degree. I'm probably preaching to the
choir since the bulk of our readership is made up of computer users and
console gamers.
I'm referring to this week's massacre in Colorado. Already people are
speculating that the reasons behind these killings were cultivated from the
internet, video game violence, and other "fantasy" factors. Sorry, that's a
copout, in my humble opinion. My guess is that it's primarily the fault of
one of the never-ending societal problems of today: status. Call it what
you may - cliques, intelligence, race, color, wealth, etc. We're always
tagging people with labels. It appears that these "kids" had an agenda and
sought the athletes and "uppity in-crowd". Yes, I'm using labels myself.
These killers didn't "fit in" with the rest. Yes, they played video games,
browsed the internet, and had other "fantasy" interests. They also studied
Hitler. They obviously resented their "standing" in the school. What a
horrific combination.
It sounds like they were seeking revenge before they graduated in just a few
short weeks. Or were supposed to graduate. We'll never know the reasons;
they died with the kids. Can we learn from this tragedy? Apparently not.
These events continue to occur. But we continue to use video games, etc. as
a scapegoat. Society is good at scapegoating also.
Want my advice? Although I'm not a parent and can't relate like one, I'd
recommend that parents get to know their children. Be part of their life
and understand what they're going through growing up. Each generation
brings with it a similar, but different set of rules for our youth. Learn
about them.
And regardless of their protests, give 'em a hug often, and tell them that
you love them. It can never hurt.
And now let's get on with the real focus of this week's issue: computing and
video games - for work and entertainment.
Until next time...
New STiNG
From: "Bengy Collins" <collins@bulli.com>
In case everyone doesn't know, an updated STiNG was recently released by
Ulf Ronald Andersson and can be downloaded from MagiC Online in the
Networking section, as well as the temp. STiNG page:
http://www.ettnet.se/~dlanor/sting/html/index.htm
Bengy Collins
Next White Rose Atari Group Meeting
From: Stephen Barszczak <stephen@wrag.freeserve.co.uk>
The next meeting of the White Rose Atari Group will be held at:
4 Langdale Street
Elland
Nr Halifax
On the 9th of May 1999
Anyone wanting directions or other information about the group can,
Telephone myself on 01274 412192
Or write to.......
W.R.A.G.
3 Scholemoor Lane
Lideget Green
BD7 2RN
Or
Telephone Adrian on 01484 721694.....
Leave a message on the answer machine if out, or you can write to......
W.R.A.G.
c/o Adrian Haigh
1 Vale Street
Brighouse
HD6 1TR
Or by Netmail on:
FidoNet 2:250/303.0 2:250/303.1
Nest 90:107/206.0 90:107/207.0
Fan 95:110/202.0 95:110/203.0
Or By Email
wrag@thedruid.demon.co.uk
stephen@wrag.freeserve.co.uk
WRAG@blackflag.zetnet.co.uk
Bfn Steve
Exposure Software Controls Light Dimmers
From: jesper.brannmark@swipnet.se (Jeppe Brdnnmark)
RELEASE OF NEW SOFTWARE
Exposure is a new software to control light with a Atari ST.
The software is being released at NAS in Gvteborg/Sweden.
CHEAP ALTERNATIVE OF CONTROLLING LIGHT
Exposure:
A new software is being released for the TOS-based Atari ST computer
to control light dimmers.
The name of the software is Exposureand is released in its final
version v1.00 at NAS (Nordic Atari Show) in Gvteborg/Sweden 11-13
June.
120 channels for $29.95
Exposure is delivered with 120 channels control as a standard. The
number of channels can be patch to maximum 520 channels.
Exposure uses the PMX protocol (Pulsar) through RS232/9600bps.
At the low price it's a good alternative for smaller and medium/large
theatres to ordinary light tables of a much higher price.
With an Atari ST with one megabyte of ram you may use up to 6000
submasters, with up to 6 at a time.
Showcontrol
It's planned to be a release in August for an add-on component to use
MSC 1.00/MIDI Showcontrol protocol.
This means that one single Atari ST can control a medium/large show,
including fire, smoke, CD-players, intelligent light such as
color/gobo and motorized components.
AtariNews: On The Prowl
04/22/99
LATEST HEADLINES:
SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS FORMED TO SUSTAIN ATARI CONSOLES
Carl Forhan, currently developing games for Atari systems, including
Protector for the Jaguar, and Ponx and SFX for the Lynx, has formed
Songbird Productions to bring Atari systems into the new millennium.
Songbird Productions also plans to make resources available to other
Atari developers for all Atari platforms as far back as the 2600.
The first product launched by Songbird Productions is SFX for the Atari
Lynx. SFX is an exciting, new audio tool, perfect for the hobbyist developer
or curious tinkerer. Retail price is $34.95, ordering information may be
found on the Songbird Productions web page. More products for the Lynx are
planned for 1999.
http://songbird.atari.org
NEW INFORMATION ABOUT JAGFEST '99
This years JagFest is slowly approaching, and the newly formed Songbird
Productions is the official sponsor. This years theme is "Celebrate
Atari", and the event has been expanded to cover all Atari platforms. The
event will take place on June 18, 1999, at the Holiday Inn South in
Rochester, MN. The ticket price is $10 in advance or $12 at the door.
In addition, Songbird Productions has announced that anyone who attends
JagFest '99 can get a free game. Every paid adult ticket includes a coupon
worth up to $3 off any single game at the Songbird Productions table.
Many new 2600 and 7800 games will be available for less than $3, and as
such, are free with the coupon.
http://jagfest.atari.org
BACK IN TIME RADIO WEBCAST INTERVIEWS DANA HENRY OF HASBRO INTERACTIVE
Back in Time, an all Atari Internet talk radio shows, recently featured
guest is Dana Henry, Public Relations Director of Hasbro Interactive. The
show's host, Mike Stulir, interviewed Henry about Hasbro's current plans
dealing with Atari. Highlights include Hasbro's position on the Jaguar,
Lynx, and emulators. Also mentions new products, including a revamped Pong
product and Centipede for the PSX. You can hear this, and all the past
episodes at the Back in Time homepage.
http://www.emuclassics.com/backintime
CLASSIC GAMING EXPO COMES TO LAS VEGAS THIS AUGUST WITH A SPECIAL GUEST
The Classic Gaming Expo '99, known last year as The World of Atari,
arrives this year with some big name guests. The list of names includes
Steve Cartwright, Ralph Baer, Jay Smith, and many more. But more
importantly, the keynote speaker is none other than Nolan Bushnell himself.
The web page lists all the guests as well as schedules, exhibitors, and
hotel and car information.
http://www.cgexpo.com
ST+ FANZINE CONTINUES TO SUPPORT ATARI USERS
ST+ Fanzine is a European-based 36-page newsletter that ships on the 7th
of every month. Guaranteed. It primarily covers the TOS-based Atari
computers (ST, Falcon, etc.), with occasional coverage of the Lynx and
Jaguar as appropriate. This is a fanzine written by fans, for fans. Check
out their distributor contacts in numerous areas around the globe, and
sign up for your issue of ST+ Fanzine today.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/10s_Spot/stp
Send any comments or submissions for "AtariNews: On The Prowl" to:
Brian Gudzevich (Editor) at: Atarian@netzero.net
Sponsoring web sites:
-The Atarian Atmosphere: http://atmosphere.atari.org
-The Jaguar's Domain: http://jagdomain.atari.org
=~=~=~=
->From the Other Editor's Desk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joe Mirando, Managing Editor
jmirando@portone.com
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@portone.com
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. It's been another tough week here in
la-la land. I know that you're probably sick of hearing about me being
busy while you're so busy yourself, but let's face it, venting is a good
way to release some of the tension we all feel these days.
If you're like me, you get home from work and relax a bit, then play
around online or with whatever your favorite program is, be it a game or
desktop publisher. It's really a great way to let the pressures of the
day drain away.
To tell you the truth, I'm kind of surprised that I haven't gotten tired
of my online forays. I've been doing it for so many years now that, if
it were any other kind of activity I'd have become bored and moved on to
something else. But message bases and online chats have the virtue of
being in constant flux. It's not like playing a game that is always the
same.... move left, then up, shoot, move right. There are new things to
talk about, new friends to make, new stuff to learn. And it doesn't look
like there will be a lack of things to do in the near future.
Well, let's take a look at what's helping me keep my sanity this week.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
On the subject of Atari related IRC chats Chris Swinson pleads:
"pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee
tell me where they all are !!"
Steve Stupple tells Chris:
"On IRC, #atari #atariscne are two of them."
Chris replies:
"Great. Wanna share what servers they are on?"
'Atari Mad tells Chris that they can be found at:
"ircnet.demon.co.uk
#atari, #atariscne, and others starting #atari and ending with a
country. #atariswe #atarige etc. etc."
Rob Mahlert jumps in and adds:
" If you have access to a computer that can handle Java, Every Tuesday
night at 9pm Eastern (USA) try out Delphi's Atari Advantage.
www.delphi.com/atari The Guy's From A-ONE are usually around (And ME!!).
On Sat. I believe www.atariusers.com has a chat around 8pm Eastern time.
(Dr.???) On my site, www.atari-users.net/chat I really haven't set-up a
chat time. I would like to set-up a North American time and a European
time... Anyone have a suggestion on either???
I know of one other.. but I can't recall the the url or name.. I know
it's on the beseen.com site."
'Dr. Clu' tells us all:
"Yeah, if you're looking for a chatroom to join in, you can E-mail some
people and meet at www.atariusers.com/chat at any time... or join us each
Saturday from 8-10pm Central Standard Time and we usually have a general
chat session going. *
Once a month we bring in someone in the Atari scene. So far we've had
Kent Kordes of Systems for Tomorrow, Jim Collins of Chromagic, and Roger
Burroughs maker of ExtenDOS. We're working on more guests ranging from
developers, vendors, and so forth.
We would *LOVE* to get a EUROPEAN CHAT SESSION going, and though Titan
expressed interest, the word is the same... a two hour chat session would
cost MONEY for the time for being on-line. Bear in mind that people
overseas do not get the free local calls like we do here. (Hooray for
good ole competition of local phone companies!) Nevertheless, if YOU
know of a European vendor or developer that would like to advertise
through a question answer section and spend time with the Atari community
ON-LINE... send me a letter! I will personally stay up and help host the
chat session comparable to European time.
The good news about our chat site is that it does not use JAVA, and the
no-frames version works most of the time with CAB drivers. (That is to
say, it will work with Atari browsers).
Come join us!"
Daniel Rojo asks Rob Mahlert:
"Not to be too picky about this, but is there any way to by-pass the
java thing? That way the chat is restricted to those who have access
to other computers. It is perfectly possible to set up a chat
without java, like the AUNT chat that can be used with CAB."
Rob tells Daniel:
"On the Delphi chat... I believe they do have a non-java version, But I
think you need CAB 2.7 at least, because the site uses "cookies" and 2.7
is the only version that supports it. Let me find out a little more info
and I'll post it here."
Since I've tried the HTML chat software on Delphi, I tell Daniel and Rob:
"[You're right Rob,] It's not JAVA that's required, but cookies. While
there is a JAVA applet that you can use to chat on Delphi, there is also
a HTML version that sort of works with CAB 2.7. Cookies are an absolute
must though.
I used CAB and the HTML chat software this past Tuesday evening to chat
for a while, but it drove me absolutely nuts. I prefer chats the way God
intended... in ASCII. <grin>
I frequent the Delphi chats, but haven't made it around to any others on
the web...
All a user needs to do is use CAB 2.7 or other cookie-aware browser (we
don't _require_ the use of an Atari for this, but we might razz you a bit
for using anything else <g>) to access Delphi (http://www.delphi.com) and
find the Atari Advantage Forum. There is a complete address for the
forum, which I'll post after I find it, but there is no "Chat Link" yet
on the AA page. I assume that Dana, the Forum Manager, is working on
having that oversight fixed, but as Delphi is in the midst of software
changes, it might not happen for a little while. Perhaps Dana will drop
by here and provide the proper address. (Dana? Is you 'round here?)
Of course, you need to sign up as a Delphi member, but there is
absolutely no charge for the service, and it allows you up to five MEG of
space for a web page, email forwarding, and a public and/or private
forum. While other services were simply talking about allowing free
access, Delphi was forging ahead and making it happen. It's a far cry
from when I first started telecomputing on "The Largest Online Service in
the Universe", when prime-time charges were $36.00/hr. and the fastest
you could go was 2400 baud.
Oh, by the way, the established Atari Advantage chat is Tuesday evening
at 9:00 pm EST (GMT -5:00), but I've known people to just drop in any old
time to see if anyone wanted to chat...
As a matter of fact, I just looked in on the Atari Advantage forum,
and the new software/HTML is taking shape rather nicely. It seems
like it's still being assembled to some degree, but the chat and
message base links are there already. Just going to
http://forums.delphi.com/atari will get you there so that you can
check out what's available.
For what it's worth, I think the new setup is going to be really
great.
How 'bout checking it out for yourself and letting the Forum Manager
know what you think? By the way, I'm not a member of the AA forum
team, just a long-time member."
Dana Jacobson, Forum Manager of the Atari Advantage Forum and The Big
Kahuna here at A-ONE, tells us:
"You can access the Atari Advantage chat area from the web. There's a
link to all available areas there, including Chat. I've even seen it in
the new format, just rolled out. Here's the full url for the Atari
Advantage area:
http://forums.delphi.com/m/main.asp?sigdir=atari"
Bengy Collins, keeper of the best MagiC page (bengy.atari.org) around,
posts:
"In case everyone doesn't know, an updated STiNG was recently released by
Ulf Ronald Andersson and can be downloaded from MagiC Online in the
Networking section, as well as the temporary STiNG page:
http://www.ettnet.se/~dlanor/sting/html/index.htm"
Roger Cain asks:
"Why is Ulf releasing this? Has a disaster befallen Peter and/or the
STiNG home page? As far as I remember Ulf was in charge of the RESOLVE
module."
Steve Sweet tells Bengy:
"I didn't know, thanks for telling me, already downloaded from your site
last night and installed this day.
I finally got to see your site, lots of effort obviously, well done, and
thanks."
I'll second the thought about Bengy's page. If you use MagiC, you MUST
go to his site. I've also installed the new version of STinG and, while
I don't see a huge improvement, I must say that it seems to be rock
solid on my system.
On another subject, Andrew Wright asks for help in finding an Atari
emulator:
"As someone who was an ardent Atari supporter for many years, I recently
fell out of touch with the Atari scene, and am desperate to make up for
lost time. Can anyone tell me what is the best ST emulator to run on a
P200 PC, and where I can get it from. I have hundreds of disks, and I'm
unable to use any of them at the moment."
Rob Mahlert tells Andrew:
"It depends..
For Games.. the best is PaCifiST. the url is..
http://www.pacifist.fatal-design.com/
[The] latest version is from 16th June 98, 0.49beta (Giftware)
Then my favorite.. TOSbox.. for running mostly utilities
that url is... http://www.emuclassics.com/tosbox/
[The] latest version is 1.08, release date March 27, 1999. (Shareware)
and last..
GEMulator best for "all around" performance, but this is a commercial
program.
the web site is http://www.emulators.com/"
Well folks, that's it for this week. Tune in again next week, same time,
same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
A Moment With Randy Looney
==========================
Hi there people. I'm Randy Looney. I promised to provide columns for A-
ONE on occasion, and the editors have both been on my back about
delivering on my promise. Have you ever noticed how picky people get when
you offer to do something for them free of charge? I hate that. Sometimes
I think it would be better to charge a nominal fee for the occasional
column. That way people would be afraid that I'd want more money if they
made a fuss.
Anyway, those of you who don't know me will soon find that I'm one heck
of a nice guy, with a quick wit and gentle manner. Those of you who DO
know me know better than to take issue with that last statement.
I've been an Atari user for more years than I care to count. I started
out with a brand-spanking new Atari 400 with a state of the art tape
drive. Not a tape backup drive, mind you, but a tape drive. It's what we
used instead of a floppy disk. Back then, only the government and big
companies had floppy drives.
Of course that 400 lasted me for quite a while. I used it for everything
I did that involved computing. Reports and columns and even my income tax.
I hate when you buy something for fun and entertainment and end up using
it to help the government take more of your money. Oh well, I guess I did
enough fun stuff with it that I can chalk up the tax figuring as a
necessary evil.
I also used that computer to escape from my wife on the occasions when
she wasn't visiting her mother or shopping for things that would take me
an entire weekend to put together and then another weekend to take apart
when she decided that she didn't really like it after all.
When she got after me to do something around the house, I'd tell her that
I would do it shortly, but that I had to do some work upstairs first. I'd
go upstairs to the den where the computer was and play Star Raiders for a
while. I loved that game. When I went back downstairs, usually more than
a half an hour later, I'd look so frazzled that my wife wouldn't even
mention whatever it was that she had wanted me to do. Sometimes
technology can work for you.
Then I moved up to a 1040 ST. What a great machine that was. At the time,
my office had PCs. They were nasty things to have to use. I spent most of
my day looking through what Microsoft laughingly called a manual back then,
trying to figure out how to do even the most simple things. Not at all like
my good old 1040. I had everything I needed on less than ten floppies,
and with a full meg of memory it was more than I'd ever need for my
meager projects. The machines at work were outfitted with 640 kbytes of
memory and dual floppy drives. IBM hadn't endorsed 3.5 inch floppies yet,
so they were the old 5.25 inch jobbers that held a whopping 360 K of
data. My 1040 was faster, had more memory, more storage, and even had
color. The PCs at work were monochrome only and had no graphics
capability. I also had a mouse, which no one at work had ever heard of.
They thought it was something funny and routinely made jokes about it
("Hey Randy, did you feed your mouse today?). Have you ever noticed how
the usual assortment of office riff-raff will usually make fun of
anything they don't understand and never even realize how wrong they are?
And then when it finally dawns on them that they were wrong they jump on
the bandwagon like they'd always been there and had shown everyone else
the way. I hate that.
Of course things never stay the same. Before long those clunky PCs at
work were getting graphics cards and faster processors and Windows
and even their own mice. Or is it mouses? I'm never sure.
The long and short of it is that before I knew it those machines in the
office were faster and more colorful than my now well-worn ST. But they
still weren't easier to use. The ST line never seemed to advance much
after that. Oh there was the Mega ST, the STE, the TT and Falcon, but
they all seemed like variations on a theme to me.
But that doesn't mean that the software and peripherals haven't changed.
I've gotten my ST on the internet and done all kinds of things that none
of us ever imagined back then. Well maybe some people did but I didn't.
That doesn't mean that I'm any kind of computer whiz though. I'm just not
one of those people that can be comfortable with simply putting a floppy
or a CD into a drive and pressing the little graphic that says install.
I'm constantly amazed by those kind of people. I need to know what's
going on at least in a general way before I can be comfortable. I've been
comfortable with my trusty ST for quite a while.
Due to pressures at the office I do have a windows laptop that I use but
it's an older machine, a 486 with Windows. If you just compare the memory
and processor speed the Windows machine is the faster of the two. But if
you actually sit down and use them you'll see just how much 'snappier'
the ST is. I don't have the option of using the ST for my work but I
still use it for all of my other needs.
Now if I can just find a worthy successor to Star Raiders...
'Till next time,
Randy Looney
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Crichton To Do Games! 'World Driver'
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 'WWF Attitude'! Legend of Legaia Contest
'Warpath: Jurassic Park' And much more!
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Acclaim Sports Announces June 3 Street Date for WWF Attitude for PSX
Acclaim Sports, a division of Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. announced that
WWF Attitude will ship at the end of May and be in-store by June 3rd, 1999.
WWF Attitude is the follow-up to the top-selling wrestling title of 1998,
WWF War Zone, and will showcase 40 WWF Superstars, over twice as many as in
War Zone, and a new Pay-Per-View Mode among a host of new features. WWF
Attitude is scheduled to ship in July for the Nintendo 64.
``WWF Attitude is the most anticipated wrestling title of the year," said
Paul Eibeler, vice-president and general manager of Acclaim Entertainment,
North America. ``Retailers expect Attitude to be their best-selling title
this Summer."
The following is the final list of WWF Superstars featured in WWF Attitude:
The Rock Stone Cold Steve Austin The Undertaker Kane
Ken Shamrock The Big Bossman B.A. Billy Gunn The Road Dogg
D'Lo Brown Mark Henry Gangrel Edge
Christian X-Pac Triple-H Mankind
Goldust Val Venis Mosh Thrasher
Taka Michinoku Owen Hart Steve Blackman Droz
Al Snow Brian Christopher Dr. Death Faarooq
Bradshaw Jeff Jarrett
In addition to the thirty WWF Superstars listed above there will also be
ten hidden wrestlers including WWF Women's Champion, Sable.
Developed by Iguana Salt Lake City, creators of WWF War Zone, Acclaim has
captured all of the excitement and high energy entertainment of the World
Wrestling Federation.
One of the most original and creative features in WWF Attitude is the first
ever ``Create-A-Pay-Per-View" mode. This new gameplay mode allows gamers
to select Match-ups, Title vs. Non-Title Bouts, Specialty Matches, and
authentic WWF special events. Essentially, gamers will be able to create
from scratch an actual WWF Pay-Per-View event, from choosing the
participants and the type of matches, down to the name of the event and the
arena where it all takes place. This unprecedented level of control is a
first in videogames and just one of the innovative features that will help
make WWF Attitude the greatest wrestling videogame ever created.
WWF Attitude will also feature new specialty matches including the
LumberJack, King of the Ring, and Survivor Series and all-new Match options
including First Blood, I Quit, 2 out of 3 falls, Iron Man, Tornado, Last
Man Standing, Weapons, and more. Other features include new arena
environments, authentic superstar entrances featuring individual
pyrotechnics and theme music, expanded Create-A-Wrestler with more options,
action in the aisles, photo-realistic wrestlers with real-life faces and
3-D environments, and over 400 moves for each superstar including trademark
finishing moves.
WWF Attitude will be supported by a multi-million dollar national TV, radio,
on-line and in-store marketing campaign.
Acclaim's World Wrestling Federation license will not be renewed after its
expiration on November 15, 1999. The proprietary game engine will be
utilized for a wrestling title in 2000 and additional wrestling games to be
announced.
Jurassic Park Author To Create Video Games
He has written best-selling novels and has created one of the most popular
shows on television -- now author Michael Crichton wants to conquer the
world of video games.
Crichton, author of novels such as ``Jurassic Park" and "Disclosure" and
creator of NBC-TV's ``ER", Friday announced the formation of Timeline
Studios with the goal of creating next-generation computer games.
Timeline Studios games will combine story lines developed by Crichton with
technology from Cary, N.C.-based Virtus Corp., in an attempt to offer an
unprecedented level of realism and interactivity.
Virtus' technology enables games to have dozens of characters and hundreds
of objects with which a player can interact, Crichton said in a statement.
``As a computer gamer for the past 20 years, I've noticed a lot of 3D games
have featured large environments -- big worlds, a few monsters, some
puzzles -- but limited interaction," Crichton said.
Virtus was founded by David Smith, who collaborated with Timeline Studios
co-founder Michael Backes to apply computer visualization techniques to the
James Cameron film ``The Abyss."
Backes was the display graphics supervisor for the "Jurassic Park" movie.
Timeline Studios expects its first releases in early 2000.
Electronic Arts to Release 'Warpath: Jurassic Park' for the PlayStation
Electronic Arts announces the development of ``Warpath: Jurassic Park" for
the PlayStation from DreamWorks Interactive. This dinosaur action fighting
title presents a new twist on the Jurassic Park license by featuring
original head-to-head savage dinosaur fighting based on the deadly
predators from the blockbuster films ``Jurassic Park" and ``The Lost
World." Players will be able to choose from more than ten dinosaurs and
multiple unique 3-D arenas based off actual movie locations. The attention
given to each of the dinosaur's fluid movement, skin textures and visible
physical damage (bruising and scarring) elevates the game's level of
adrenaline.
``We were delighted when DreamWorks approached us about this game," says
Frank Gibeau, vice president of marketing at Electronic Arts. ``We loved
the dinosaur versus dinosaur concept that makes "Warpath: Jurassic Park``
such a fresh approach to a fighting game. We think gamers will enjoy
discovering how a T-Rex would fare up against a Raptor."
Warpath: Jurassic Park focuses on extremely ferocious dinosaur combat among
a variety of wild, diverse and well known predators from the Jurassic Park
world, including the ever-popular Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops.
Helping to bring another level of excitement and interest to the game,
players will also be able to choose from an array of newly discovered
dinosaurs such as the Mega Raptor and Gigantosaurus. The game's fighting
arsenal will include moves such as bites, snaps, claw rakes, grabs, combos,
reversals and slams. Battles will be supercharged with real-time wounding
effects, shadows and lighting, rising dust, blood and environmental effects
such as lightening. Players can also take advantage of destructible objects
such as electrified fences, exploding oil drums and scaffolding to damage
their opponents.
``Ever since 'Jurassic Park' was released in 1993, interest in dinosaurs
has exploded -- everyone likes to be the T-Rex," says Glenn Entis, head of
DreamWorks Interactive. ``We believe 'Warpath: Jurassic Park' is a fresh
approach to delivering the dinosaurs from both blockbuster films in a way
that is fun and entertaining."
``Warpath: Jurassic Park" will bring players a distinct game experience
through technologies such as Hierarchical Modeling Data (HMD). This HMD
technology allows for hierarchical jointed models, which result in more
fluid life-like movements. Additionally, HMD technology will allow for
single skin textures, which will enhance real-time lighting and shadowing
on each dinosaur as they move and fight throughout the environment.
Key gameplay features to include:
* Head-to-head feral dinosaur combat via human opponent and/or
Artificial Intelligence (AI).
* Ten dinosaurs to initially choose from (with more dinosaurs to be
unlocked), each exhibiting unique moves such as flesh ripping
attacks, neck-breaking grabs and powerful throw abilities.
* Fourteen arenas that are modeled after recognizable locations from the
movies including the Visitor's Center, Helicopter Pad, Embryo Lab and
T-Rex Paddock.
* Devour human and animal "edibles" for power-ups to increase a
dinosaur's health.
* Challenging one and two-player modes provide plenty of game variety
for competitive players.
* Unique "Blood Rage" mode that award players with secret attack moves.
* Interactive Dinosaur Institute allows players to learn the history
and valuable gameplay for each dinosaur.
* Bone crunching sound, primal tribal music and original orchestral
score all help to escalate the degree of mayhem and damage going on in
the game.
Fun And Games For Kids
Today's topics: talking fish, imperfect pinball, and a PlayStation game
that tries to teach kids something.
Searching for a thrilling, state-of-the-art pinball game for your PC?
``Sci-Fi Pinball" may be state-of-the-art, but it's as thrilling as a
``Buffy the Vampire Slayer" rerun. It's not because the developers at Fox
Interactive didn't try hard. There's something about PC pinball games that
make them a pale imitation of the real thing.
In the days before silicon became a required ingredient for building games
and show business careers, pinball machines were mechanical marvels, a
sensory kaleidoscope of flashing lights, moving targets, and sounds you
only heard in exploding junkyards. Players never had a chance to tire of
the novelty because they usually ran out of quarters first.
PC pinball games, like most computer simulations, simply mimic the
experience. And without the need to keep feeding precious change to the
machine, it's easy to tire of seeing the same ball hitting the same targets
and producing the same sound effects.
``Sci-Fi Pinball" is designed to appeal to fans of "Buffy," ``Aliens,"
``Predator" and ``The Fly." It tries to get around the boredom problem
using ancillary diversions such as video clips and side games that play on
the right hand side of the screen while the pinball table is on the left.
But it's just not the same as a real table.
Youngsters who have never been challenged by a real pinball machine and PC
pinball wizards (and you know who you are) may find ``Sci-Fi Pinball"
worth the $30. For the rest of us, it's a lot of money to spend for
something that will become tedious after half an hour.
CATCH THIS FISH
If you've been waiting for the latest installment in the Freddi Fish series
with a worm on your tongue (baited breath), or you're simply a parent who
appreciates these cleverly designed games from Humongous Entertainment, you
won't be disappointed by ``Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers
of Briny Gulch."
This game for ages 3 to 8 is filled with a whole new assortment of
underwater characters ranging from a hapless puffer fish whose allergies
make him swell up at the wrong times, to a couple of colorful hogfish
rustlers that Freddi and his pal, Luther, have to corral in their quest to
find cousin Calisto Catfish's prize-winning hogfish.
As always, the animation is first rate, the game doesn't require reading
skills, it comes with a 24-page activity book, and the puzzles differ a bit
each time you play, which means children can go back to Freddi Fish 4 over
and over without getting tired of it.
It's a great way for kids to develop the skills for logical thinking. The
quality is so good, parents won't mind playing with their kids.
``Freddi Fish 4" is quite a catch.
'ELMO' NOT LETTER PERFECT
The words ``PlayStation" and ``educational" don't usually appear in the
same sentence because you'd be hard-pressed to find PlayStation games -- or
products for Nintendo 64 or Game Boy, for that matter -- that have any type
of educational value. NewKidCo is trying to change that.
The company has released two Sesame Street titles for the PlayStation,
``Elmo's Letter Adventure" and ``Elmo's Number Journey," both for ages 3
to 6. ``Elmo's Adventures in Grouchland," involving colors and shapes, is
scheduled for release in the fall, as are versions of these games for Game
Boy and Nintendo.
NewKidCo is trying to take advantage of the tendency of children to favor
game systems over PCs, and the fact that toddlers often want to mimic the
game-playing tastes of their older brothers and sisters. ``Elmo's Letter
Adventure" lets them be like the older kids with a game that's at their
level.
``Elmo's" is exceptionally easy to play. For example, when you're flying
through space, you can only go forward, backward and select a letter.
Several buttons serve the same function. When it's time to move in and out
of a game, flashing lights show the child which buttons they can push.
There are three levels of difficulty, depending on whether you want the
child to learn upper or lower-case letters.
One thing I didn't like: certain letters were restricted to certain
activities. As you're swimming underwater, for example, the only letters to
appear are E, K, I, O, V and Z. I was surprised that the game doesn't
randomly mix them up. And if you want to get to common letters like B, C,
D, S or T, the youngster has to make it to a bonus world and select the
letter that corresponds to the first letter of a word.
For the hefty $40 price tag, it's surprisingly limited.
DATABANK
``Sci-Fi Pinball" ($30) from Fox Interactive works on computers with 16
megabytes of RAM and a 4x CD-ROM drive. The PC version requires a
Pentium-166 chip and Windows 95. The Macintosh version requires a Power
Macintosh or an iMac with System 8.
``Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch" ($30)
from Humongous Entertainment (800-499-8386, http://www.humongous.com)
requires 16 megabytes of RAM. The PC version requires a Pentium-90 and
Windows 95. The Macintosh version needs an 80 megahertz PowerPC and System
5.7.3.
``Elmo's Letter Adventure" ($40) from KewKidCo is for PlayStation.
Midway and Boss Game Studios Announce Development
of World Driver: Championship
Midway Home Entertainment Inc. announced this past week that it has teamed
with developer Boss Game Studios to bring racing fans the breathtaking,
ultra-detailed racing game World Driver: Championship. Developed by the
creators of gaming titles such as Top Gear Rally and Twisted Edge
Extreme Snowboarding, World Driver: Championship is expected to peel out
of the development pit this June.
"Midway is very excited to again partner with Boss to bring this amazing
racing game to our Nintendo 64 audience," said Paula Cook, director of
marketing for Midway Home Entertainment. "World Driver: Championship is
backed by an extensive marketing campaign, which includes TV buys, broad
scale print advertising and in-store promotions including a pack-on
T-shirt, sunglasses or car shade with purchase at various retailers and
tremendous in-store signage."
World Driver: Championship has already received rave previews from the
gaming and consumer press, with IGN64.com stating, "Gran Turismo? Where
you're going you won't need Gran Turismo...This game is going to rock!"
Sports Gaming Network states, "Realistic physics, killer music, 30 cars
and 10 different locations around the world make this the most ambitious
N64 racing title to date."
World Driver: Championship is a high-speed, realistic racer that will
challenge both hardcore racing fans and novice racers alike. In World
Driver: Championship, players are given the most realistic, up-close and
personal view of the real world of race car driving ever offered for the
Nintendo 64. World Driver: Championship's stunning graphic effects boast
real-time lighting and reflection mapping and the game features over 30
exotic cars to choose from and 10 dazzling tracks all over the world.
In World Driver: Championship, players enter the game as an independent
racer and begin their "career paths" immediately as several racing teams
scout them. Throughout the game, players have the option to test-drive for
teams before making career decisions and switch racing teams along the way.
Players enter several racing circuits in an attempt to win trophies and
expand their racing career.
Racers can play in either a high-resolution letterbox or standard screen
format, race in reverse or in mirrored mode to create hundreds of different
racing experiences. World Driver: Championship also features a split screen
two-player option, "save your replay" mode as well as "time attack" mode,
which allows gamers to race against recorded replays of semi-transparent
ghost cars.
Criterion and ATI Bring 3D Games to the Set-Top-Wonder II
Criterion Software Ltd. and ATI Technologies Inc. recently announced
Redline Racer for the Set-top-Wonder II.
Redline Racer, a thrilling 3D motorbike racing game from Criterion Software
- a world-wide success on PC and due to be released in Japan on SEGA's
Dreamcast console on April 26th 1999 - is now available on ATI's
Set-top-Wonder II, a complete high-performance set-top box reference
design providing the world's most powerful set-top graphics subsystem.
Redline Racer, an advanced interactive 3D game built using RenderWare 3 -
conceived and designed specifically for high-performance PCs, videogame
consoles and digital television set-top boxes - demonstrates the highly
advanced state of convergence of these platforms.
"ATI's Set-top-Wonder II provides the advanced 3D features needed by game
developers producing today's leading edge 3D games," said Alfonse Licata,
Group Product Manager ATI. "We're excited to see Criterion taking advantage
of these state-of-the-art 3D features. Redline Racer running on the
Set-top-Wonder II demonstrates to cable and satellite MSOs the viability of
home set-top boxes as high-performance interactive gaming platforms."
"ATI's Set-top-Wonder II is the first design we've come across that truly
provides the graphics performance necessary for content developers to
deliver cutting-edge games on a set-top box," said Mike King, EVP of
Marketing at Criterion Software. "For the past 3 years Criterion has been
rearchitecting its RenderWare 3D graphics software technology, from the
ground up, specifically for future convergence platforms - and today,
combining Criterion's software technology, and game design & development
experience with ATI's graphics hardware and set-top box design
capabilities, we're providing a glimpse of future mainstream set-top box
content".
Redline Racer is a stunning super-bike racing game that for the first time
brings true arcade quality racing to the PC, videogame console and set-top
box. By combining great gameplay with heart-stopping speed, arcade quality
3D graphics and real bike physics simulation, it provides the player with
an enhanced feeling of realism.
For example, fully animated riders are throwing themselves all over the
bike as they take corners at high speed, or are launched off their bikes
during very realistic crash sequences. Redline Racer pits the player
against the fierce competition of up to 7 other players on a LAN, across
the Internet, or via cable, satellite or 'phone back channels.
PlayStation Invites Consumers to Enter 'Envision Your Own Site'
Legend of Legaia Contest
Consumers Compete For Cash and Prizes in Online Homepage Design Contest
To celebrate the recent release of Legend of Legaia, a unique role-playing
game (RPG) available exclusively for the PlayStation game console, Sony
Computer Entertainment America announced today the launch of the nationwide
``Envision Your Own Site" Legend of Legaia Contest.
Consumers over the age of 12 are invited to envision the best and most
unique Legend of Legaia fan Web site, then use their creativity to design
their own homepage. Contestants should build their homepage and submit a
snapshot of it, or send an image file that represents what their homepage
would have looked like. Participants will have the opportunity to download
artwork and information about the game, accessible via the Legend of Legaia
page at the official PlayStation Web site located at
http://www.playstation.com. Judging criteria will be equally based on
creativity, design and content, with final winners chosen by the team at
Jamison/Gold, a leading Web design firm and the developers of the
playstation.com game site.
One Grand Prize winner will receive $1000 in cash; one first prize winner
will receive a copy of Legend of Legaia, a Dual Shock analog controller
and three colored memory cards; and five second prize winners will each
receive three colored memory cards.
Entries will be accepted in the form of one image file (GIF, JPEG or BMP).
Contestants should email the entries as attachments to
legaia@jamisongold.com. Entries will be accepted now through June 7, 1999,
and should include the entrant's name, age, address and phone number. No
links or addresses will be accepted.
``With the 'Envision Your Own Site' Legend of Legaia Contest we are giving
artistic, technically-savvy consumers and RPG enthusiasts a unique
opportunity to express their creativity and show their excitement for the
game," said Ami Blaire, director, product marketing, Sony Computer
Entertainment America. ``We are offering a wide array of stunning
downloadable artwork for Web page builders to work with, and are looking
forward to receiving some spectacular contest entries."
Legend of Legaia is currently available at retailers nationwide and
features a new, innovative combat system called the ``Tactical Arts
System," based on the battle systems traditionally found in fighting
games. The simple command system allows players to experience the thrill of
a fighting game with battle features never-before-seen in previous RPGs.
Legend of Legaia also offers complete 3D polygonal graphics with 3D towns
and dungeons, unique traps, screens that scroll in all directions and
various structures, providing an action-packed adventure for each player.
Legend of Legaia joins a distinguished list of top RPG titles available for
the PlayStation game console, including Final Fantasyr VII, Final Fantasy
Tactics, and SaGa Frontier from Square Soft; Wild Arms from Sony Computer
Entertainment America; Alundra from Working Designs; Suikoden from Konami
of America; and Tecmo's Deception from TECMO, Inc., among others. With such
a wide selection of popular RPG games, PlayStation is truly the platform of
choice for RPG gamers.
Iomega and Sega Collaborate On Breakthrough Gaming Product
Iomega Corporation announced thsis week that Iomega and Sega have signed a
non-binding letter of intent to include Iomega's popular Zip(R) 100MB drive
in a new collaborative product that will be designed to attach to Sega's
Dreamcast system.
The new product will also be designed to dramatically increase the
capabilities of not only game playing, but Web-based activities such as
content saving of e-mail and Web searches. In addition, Sega intends to
sell private label Dreamcast Zip 100MB disks, offering both the device and
disks in game-oriented channels.
The collaborative product is expected to be offered as an option to Sega
Dreamcast customers in the third quarter of 1999. Dreamcast began shipping
November 27, 1998 in Japan and is expected to begin shipping in the U.S.
and in Europe during the third quarter of 1999.
Dreamcast is one of the most powerful game systems on the market today.
Through a 128-bit architecture, offering high-speed processing capability,
26MB of RAM, 64 channels of sound, breakthrough graphics, superb 3D
rendering, a 1 Gigabyte GD-ROM, and a modem for Internet gaming, Web
access, and e-mail, Dreamcast has distinguished itself as a benchmark
gaming system.
Via Zip(R) Built-In(TM), this new product will be designed to make
Dreamcast the first gaming system versatile enough to bring world-class
game playing, Web browsing and e-mail together in an integrated system. It
will also be designed to allow users to download game updates from the Web
to Zip(R) disks. The system will be designed to work independently or in
conjunction with Dreamcast games.
"We are seeing a major revolution in consumer electronics from analog to
digital," said Sean Kaldor, vice president, Emerging Market & Technology
Research, International Data Corporation. "As consumers demand lower cost
and easier-to-use solutions, digital technologies will open the door to a
much wider range of new functions. One of the fastest developing areas is
gaming consoles, in which interchangeable storage has a pivotal role."
"Iomega is changing the home game system market with this new device,"
said Mike Lynch, director of Beyond PC, Iomega Corporation. "The broad
familiarity of Zip drives with consumers, and our large installed base
make Zip drives the perfect removable solution for beyond-PC products,
such as Sega's Dreamcast game console."
"Dreamcast represents a whole new way of thinking at Sega," said Corporate
Senior Vice President of Sega Enterprises, Ltd., Hideki Sato. "We will be
able to enhance the potential of Dreamcast further due to the architectural
partnership between Iomega and Sega."
As part of Iomega's Beyond-PC initiative, Zip(R) drive integration or
compatibility is now being offered by OEMs in printers, scanners, set-top
boxes, medical equipment and music and audio devices. These OEMs include
360 Systems, Lexmark, Microtek, Roland Corporation, Stryker and WebSurfer.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Compaq's Shake-up Provides E-Commerce Warning
The ouster of Compaq Corp.'s hard-driving chief executive Eckhard Pfeiffer
gives one of the clearest signs yet that the Internet has transformed the
business landscape and the corporate boardroom.
Compaq, the No. 2 computer company, has seen its profits squeezed in recent
years as upstart competitor Dell Computer Corp. dramatically outperformed
its bigger competitor by adopting more quickly to e-commerce.
Compaq could be just the first of many companies to face reshuffling if
they fail to adopt quickly enough, analysts said Monday. It could portend a
new era in which those who fail to heed the warnings will fall.
``It's critical for all chief executive officers to have Internet
strategies on top of their radar screens," said Erik Brynjolfsson, MIT's
director of E-Commerce and Marketing Research Project. ``Unquestionably
it's going to grow in economic impact."
So far, the Internet has sometimes been viewed as having interesting
possibilities for companies to build new revenues, a kind of outsider art
for the corporate world. The Compaq case begins to illustrate, however,
that there are penalties for those who fail to integrate the Internet into
their overall strategy.
Previously, computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. and book seller Borders
Inc. -- both criticized for laggard Internet strategies -- had opened up
their top positions and cited the need for a stronger e-commerce focus. In
both cases, the chairmen gave up the chief executive positions but sought
their own replacements for the top jobs. But Compaq's is the first case
involving an outright ouster.
Compaq announced the departure of Pfeiffer, who had been president and CEO
since 1991, Sunday and also said Earl Mason, chief financial officer since
1996, was leaving as well.
The stock market's ebullient rally of the past two years has already placed
Internet stock valuations at such a high level it will take years for
earnings to match expectations.
But while unrealistically high stock values are easy to dismiss, losing a
competitive advantage to a well-placed Web upstart is much harder to
explain to the board.
The biggest challenge faces those who have built sales forces that will be
made redundant by the Internet.
``Companies like Compaq who have a substantial investment in their
(distribution) channels are going to have a hard time," said industry
analyst Jim Balderston of Zona Research. ``They're on the horns of a
dilemma."
Before Internet-based business began to take off, it was easy to ignore, or
push to the side, any concerns. But increasingly the issue is taking center
stage.
``I wouldn't be surprised if we saw billions of dollars in write-downs as
assets that are no longer as valuable as people thought because the
Internet created a new channel," said MIT's Brynjolfsson.
Dell closed its latest quarter with a 50 percent profit gain, and Compaq
managed to gain just 13 percent. More recently, Compaq's deposed management
struggled to convince Wall Street that the problems it faces are
industry-wide. But many believed Compaq itself was stumbling, and its
Internet strategy could take the blame.
``We think that Compaq's hybrid model of part-direct and part-indirect is
not working well," said Merrill Lynch's Steven Milunovich in a report.
Chairman Benjamin Rosen conceded in an interview with The New York Times
after the reshuffling that ``some of our competitors have done a better job
of positioning themselves in exploring that opportunity."
Even before there was a World Wide Web, Dell was growing quickly as a
``made-to-order" company, building machines only when it had orders for
them. Giving Dell the Internet just put their strategy on steroids. It
built a $3 billion-a-year Internet ordering business before competitors
like Compaq even responded.
Compaq faced a far more delicate situation than Dell, having a big, active
network of distributors who made them the world's largest personal computer
seller. ``It's a challenge for companies to figure out how they migrate to
the new environment without alienating people," said Balderston.
But similar problems face many companies, said Balderston. "In industries
where there are opportunities for cost savings or opportunities -- and the
top executives miss the boat, they are going to pay the consequences."
A likely target is the brokerage industry, where some top executives could
face growing questions about why their Internet competitors have created 7
million new trading accounts in the past two years. While all of Wall
Street has been lifted by the bull market rally, a market pullback could
begin to boost pressures on executives at the biggest companies.
``Any industry that's not going through their Internet strategy, inside and
out, is suspect," said an analyst at a top Wall Street house who asked not
to be named. ``Wall Street's been telling everybody else to do it -- but we
haven't done it ourselves."
U.S. Government Proposes Child Privacy Web Rules
Seeking to protect the privacy of children, the U.S. government unveiled a
proposal that would require commercial Web sites to get parental consent
before collecting data from youngsters.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 4-0 Tuesday for the proposed rule
that leaves many questions unanswered.
``Protecting kids who surf the Internet has been a top priority of the
commission's online privacy initiative," FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky
said.
Pitofsky said the proposal, stemming from the Children's Online Privacy
Protection Act of 1998, would ``put parents in control of personal
information that is collected from their children on the Web."
Deirdre Mulligan, staff counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology,
which specializes in privacy issues on the Web, said that the FTC has ``no
simple task."
``This is the first time a federal agency has been asked to take high-level
privacy principles and craft rules about how to implement them on the
Internet," she said.
The proposed rule sets out no requirements for parental consent but
suggests several approaches. For example, parents might sign and return a
consent form by fax or mail, use a credit card, dial a toll-free number or
e-mail their consent accompanied by a valid digital signature.
The commission left the door open to other ``e-mail based mechanisms" that
might work.
That language raised concerns from a child protection group, The Center for
Media Education.
``We know industry is pushing to have parental consent through e-mail,"
said the center's Katherina Kopp. ``We are taking the position that e-mail
is not verifiable."
She said that such a policy would compromise the will of Congress and the
privacy rights of families.
``The industry, after all, is making a lot of money by collecting this
information," she said. ``The industry should come up with mechanisms that
verify parental consent."
Lee Peeler of the commission's consumer protection bureau said that the FTC
wants to collect and study ``a full set of public comments" before it
speaks.
The proposal is designed to give parents control over whether their child's
information can be disclosed to third parties and to prevent further use or
future collection of personal information from their child, the commission
said.
A site could collect a child's e-mail address without parental consent to
seek the parent's consent, or to respond to a specific request by the
children, the commission said.
FTC Member Questions Intel Deal
The only member of the Federal Trade Commission to oppose last summer's
antitrust lawsuit against Intel Corp. expressed doubt Thursday the
government would have won had it not settled with the company in March.
FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle, the dissenter in the 3-1 vote, also said
he believes the government will have a difficult time enforcing its
proposed "sin no more" settlement with the microchip giant.
In its lawsuit, the commission accused Intel of holding a monopoly in the
market for microprocessors, the "brains" of computers. The suit charged
Intel illegally used its monopoly power to withhold key technical
information about its future chips from three companies: Digital Equipment
Corp., Intergraph Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp.
SEC Sues Alleged Internet Scammer
Federal regulators are suing Gary Dale Hoke, who is already facing criminal
charges for allegedly posting a fabricated news story on the Internet,
boosting the stock of his employer.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday a civil suit
against Hoke in federal court in Los Angeles, charging stock manipulation
and seeking an unspecified fine.
Hoke, a 25-year-old employee of PairGain Technologies, was arrested at his
home in Raleigh, N.C., last Thursday after FBI agents tracked him down
despite an alleged attempt to conceal his identity with pseudonyms and fake
e-mail addresses. He was traced through Internet protocol addresses that
uniquely identify any computer on the Internet, according to prosecutors.
The April 7 hoax, which featured a copy of a Web page from Bloomberg News
Service and a phony story about a corporate takeover, sparked a 31 percent
jump in the stock price of PairGain, a Tustin, Calif.-based maker of
telecommunications equipment.
The bogus news report said PairGain would be acquired by ECI Telecom, an
Israeli company, for $1.35 billion, or about twice its market value at the
time.
Later in the day, after PairGain, Bloomberg and ECI issued press releases
denying the statements in the phony news story, PairGain's stock dropped
precipitously, the SEC noted.
Hoke knew or should have known ``that the posting of the false information
concerning the acquisition of PairGain by ECI Telecom would result in an
increase in both the price and the volume of trading in PairGain
securities," the SEC said in its complaint.
Hoke's attorney, Sam Currin, didn't immediately return a telephone call
seeking comment on the SEC's action.
Richard Sauer, assistant director of enforcement at the SEC, said the
action shows that the agency ``has the capability to jump on people like
this (who) use the Internet to manipulate the price of a stock.
``We intend to go after this kind of stuff vigorously," Sauer said.
In the criminal suit, Hoke faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $1
million fine if convicted in what is believed to be the first stock
manipulation scheme using a fraudulent news service Web site.
Federal prosecutors have described Hoke as a mid-level engineer in
electronics development at PairGain. He was arraigned in North Carolina and
released on $50,000 bond with orders to report to a federal court in Los
Angeles at an unspecified date.
Prosecutors said there was no allegation that any executives at PairGain
were involved in the hoax and that the company was cooperating in the
investigation.
Charles McBrayer, PairGain's senior vice president and chief financial
officer, has said the company was disappointed and upset that the evidence
appeared to point to one of its employees.
McBrayer said that Hoke, an employee since January 1997, allegedly accessed
the
Internet through a computer at PairGain's facility in Raleigh. PairGain
has about 70 workers there who make equipment that enables telephone
companies to carry multiple calls over existing copper wiring.
The criminal charges filed last week against Hoke alleged that investors
who paid the inflated price for PairGain stock were defrauded. According to
the charges, one victim of the hoax was an investor in Santa Ana, Calif.,
who bought 1,500 shares of PairGain after learning of the report.
Prosecutors did not specifically allege that Hoke traded in PairGain stock
on April 7, but an affidavit said Hoke has a history of using online
trading companies to buy and sell securities, and that he traded PairGain
stock as recently as January.
Bloomberg LP, parent company of the news service, recently filed a related
lawsuit in federal court in New York City, seeking unspecified damages.
5 Picked To Register Web Addresses
The organization that will manage much of the Internet selected five
companies Wednesday, including America Online, to help consumers register
Web addresses.
The decision by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
represents an important 60-day experiment aimed at opening the worldwide
computer network to capitalist competition.
Consumers who want to register addresses now must pay at least $35 each
year to Virginia-based Network Solutions Inc., which has enjoyed a
lucrative exclusive agreement with the government since 1993.
Under plans announced Wednesday, people can instead pay AOL or four other
companies or continue doing business with Network Solutions, which also
will continue to administer a master list of more than 4 million Web
addresses ending in ``com," ``net" or ``org."
AOL Senior Vice President George Vradenburg called it ``an important step
in the Internet's evolution."
Robert Seidman, who distributes an e-mail newsletter about AOL to 50,000
subscribers, predicted that the world's largest Internet provider will
encourage its more than 17 million members to register vanity Web
addresses.
``It's pretty easy to see that they'll try to get to the space of personal
vanity Web site hosting," Seidman said. ``They have a huge infrastructure
from a promotional point of view to support that. The opportunity for them
is going to be huge. There, they'll have an advantage over anyone."
In exchange for Network Solutions administering the master list of
addresses, the five companies agreed to pay it a one-time fee of $100,000,
plus $9 per year for each address they register.
That helped propel Network Solutions stock 53 percent higher Wednesday; it
rose $32 to close at $92.
AOL hasn't decided what price it will ultimately charge consumers,
spokesman Jim Whitney said, adding that ``questions of marketing, pricing,
are all for down the road."
Network Solutions said it will continue charging $70 for the first two
years, then $35 annually afterward. Another plan offered by the company
costs $119 but includes other services.
The U.S. government announced last year it plans to largely end its
management of the Internet and turn over control of most functions to the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a California-based
nonprofit group.
The government would still be responsible for assigning Internet addresses
with the ``gov" and ``mil" suffixes for federal agencies and military
institutions, respectively.
The other four companies selected were the Internet Council of Registrars,
France Telecom, Melbourne IT and Register.Com.
Lycos to Launch New Way to Index the Web
Internet media network Lycos Inc. will unveil a new practice Monday to
provide a more comprehensive index of the World Wide Web.
The company said it has entered an agreement to feature the Netscape Open
Directory on its two leading Internet gateways, Lycos.com and HotBot.com,
making it available to the 28.5 million people who visit Lycos sites each
month.
The directory is compiled by volunteer experts, editors and assorted
computer hobbyists who host category pages in their areas of interest and
expertise.
Lycos Beats Yahoo! In Number of Users Over Month
More than half of all Internet users visited a Lycos Inc. property last
month, helping the online service surpass Yahoo! Inc.'s long-standing lead,
according to a survey being released Wednesday.
The new Media Metrix survey, which is closely watched by Internet
advertisers and investors, shows that Lycos attracted 31.9 million users
in March, compared with Yahoo's 31.3 million. It was the first time Lycos'
reach has surpassed that of Yahoo!, which has typically ranked first among
the Internet Portals.
Trenchcoatmafia Domains Registered
Two different individuals have registered the .com, .org and .net domains
for trenchcoatmafia, both with the stated intent of preventing the names
from being used for commercial purposes.
The domains were registered Wednesday, according to registrar Network
Solutions Inc. "Trenchcoatmafia.com" was registered by Redhorn Inc. in
Hampton, N.H., while the .org and .net versions were registered by Jose
Troche, an individual in Norton, Mass.
Redhorn, an Internet service provider, could not be reached, but a
statement on the trenchcoatmafia.com site began by saying "I registered it
to beat anyone who would want to make a profit at it. What happened in
Colorado was a very sick and twisted thing and I am very saddened by it."
The statement offered to post information on emergency numbers or help
lines that would aid people affected by the killings.
Troche said his sentiments were similar, and that he hadn't registered
.com as well only because it was already registered.
"My motive behind (registering) it is so some other sick organization
doesn't capitalize on it," he told ZDNN. "I have children, too, and I don't
want them going on the Internet and finding sick things like Satanism and
how to make pipe bombs and 'I hate blacks' and 'I hate Hispanics' and
that."
Troche, who would not give his occupation, but said that what he does for
a living does not involve computers, plans to build a virtual memorial to
the victims of the tragedy at Trenchcoatmafia.org and Trenchcoatmafia.net.
Troche's registration form indicates that the domain name is for sale, but
he said that was not the case. He explained that the first domain name he
registered, troche.com, was for sale, and when he registers new sites, it
continues to contain that tagline.
Perhaps because of the tagline, he said he's already received 55 hate
mails from Netizens, and two offers to buy the domain names -- one for
$20,000.
"I'm taking time on my day off and e-mailing every one of them, even the
hate-mailers, and explaining why I'm doing it. Somebody has to stand up for
this," Troche said.
Sun Exec to Testify in MS Antitrust Trial
Although the Microsoft antitrust trial is still in recess, interested
parties are steeling themselves for the next round.
Sun Microsystems Inc. on Wednesday said Mike Popov, vice president and
chief operating officer of staff operations will take the stand on April 30
in San Francisco Federal Court to give a deposition in the case, which is
not expected to reconvene until sometime in May. A Sun spokeswoman
characterized Popov as a key member of the negotiating team involved in the
complicated deal that led to last year's purchase of Netscape
Communications Corp. by America Online Inc.
On Monday, Microsoft and the DOJ will exchange lists of rebuttal witnesses.
That hearing was originally scheduled for Friday, but NATO anniversary
festivities have delayed it one business day, according to sources.
Both sides are expected to name three rebuttal witnesses - one on each
side will be an economist. Many expect the DOJ to name AOL CEO Steve Case
as one of the government's rebuttal witnesses. At least one published
report has said the government also is looking to call Gateway Inc. CEO Ted
Waitt, as well, but Gateway officials have not confirmed this information.
Microsoft continually has declined to comment on whom it plans to name as
rebuttal witnesses.
Before the rebuttal witnesses begin to take the stand, Microsoft attorneys
will depose four executives in connection with the AOL-Netscape merger and
Sun participation in the deal - two from AOL and one each from Sun and
Netscape. The depositions are open to the press and public, and are likely
to be conducted on the deponents' home turf, rather than in Washington,
D.C., or Redmond, Wash., Microsoft's headquarters location.
The only deponent named publicly before Wednesday was AOL's Case. An AOL
spokesman contacted for additional information on the name of the other
deponents, as well as for dates and locations of the depositions, did not
return a call by press time. Netscape is deferring all related calls to
AOL. While the court has allocated six hours for the Popov deposition, a
good portion of his deposition could be closed to the press and public
because of a possible confidential designation, according to a Sun
spokeswoman.
Microsoft subpoenaed Sun at the end of March, requesting it make available
the most knowledgeable executive who could testify about the
AOL-Netscape-Sun deal. The deposition was originally slated for the week of
April 12. Microsoft's subpoenaing of Sun followed by a day Microsoft's
filing of an emergency motion to compel the release of all of the e-mail
messages relating to the three-way deal.
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson granted Microsoft's request at the end of
last year to seek information relating to the AOL-Netscape-Sun deal, as it
could have a bearing on the antitrust trial. The judge issued a court order
in January requiring the DOJ's antitrust division to provide Microsoft with
a number of documents pertinent to the then-pending AOL-Netscape merger.
Following the AOL-Netscape-Sun depositions and the testimony of the six
rebuttal witnesses, Jackson has scheduled a one-month break before
representatives from Microsoft and the DOJ make their closing arguments.
The judge is unlikely to rule on the case before fall if it continues at
its current pace, trial watchers said.
Computer Experts Warn Of New Virus
A virus that can wipe out all the data on a personal computer's hard drive
and even make it impossible to start programs up is set to hit next Monday,
security experts warned.
The virus is a malicious piece of software code that has been turning up in
PCs for months, but the version that will strike Monday is the most-feared
variation.
The so-called CIH or ``space filler" virus originated in Asia last summer
and hits on the 26th of each month. The CIH 1.2 that appears only once a
year in April is the ``most prevalent and dangerous" form of the virus,
said Sal Viveros, marketing vice president for Network Associates Inc., the
largest computer security company.
The CIH virus is far more dangerous to individual computers than Melissa,
the much publicized bug that spread relatively benign problems far and wide
on the Internet last month.
The CIH virus can irretrievably destroy data on a user's computer, and even
make the machine inoperable, while Melissa only really caused
embarrassment, by sending a list of porn sites from a target computer's
e-mail address book, and tied up some corporate e-mail systems with
traffic.
The CIH gets the name ``space filler" because it uses a special technique
that secretly fills file space on computers and thwarts many of the
anti-virus softwares in place before its arrival. The virus is also called
the Chernobyl virus because it's timed to go off on the anniversary of the
Russian nuclear accident, one of technology's worst disasters.
The virus is designed to hide from view by inserting itself into empty
coding slots on a computer's software utilities. Viruses are often detected
because they use up extra space on hard drives, but the ``space filler"
helps CIH avoid that traditional method of detection. It can lie dormant
for months before causing damage.
The April version of the virus is particularly damaging because it can also
keep a computer from starting up by infecting the software on which all the
PC's programs depend, the basic input/output system, or BIOS. If the BIOS
is infected, the computer will not start.
Most up-to-date anti-virus software will spot the bug, if it's there, and
many corporate computers have recently upgraded their protection due to the
Melissa scare, said Network Associates' Viveros.
The biggest impact is likely to be on home computers, said Viveros, who
said computer users can download an antivirus program free of charge from
his company's site (http://www.nai.com/avertlabs). The virus can be spread
by e-mail over the Internet or in pirated software. It infects Windows 95
and Windows 98 files.
``People should make sure they have the latest antivirus software run on
their computers," said Bill Pollak, of Carnegie Mellon's Software
Engineering Institute, which runs the Computer Emergency Response Team, or
CERT. The center has already prepared an ``incident" note that it will put
on its site (http://www.cert.org).
AOL To Unveil Net Gadgets
America Online Inc. is reportedly gearing up to release a number of devices
that will allow people to easily get onto the Internet without using
personal computers.
The online giant, with 17 million subscribers worldwide, plans to introduce
some of the devices - including a screen phone - in the next several weeks,
the Wall Street Journal reported.
The devices would help AOL in its plan to increase its impact in a person's
everyday life, by giving people the ability to obtain e-mail and access Web
pages using devices such as a screen phone, the Journal said, citing people
familiar with the company's plans.
Screen phones, which have failed to catch on the United States but are
popular in France, are like regular desktop phones but have a screen and a
small keyboard. While consumers would still use the computer for lengthy
trips onto the Internet, the screen phone could be used to quickly check
e-mail or sports scores. It would also have the advantage of cutting down
on the time it takes to get online, which can often be a lengthy process.
The Journal cited Alcatel SA as a likely partner in AOL's strategy. The
French telecommunications company has said it plans to market its WebTouch
screen phone in the United States but has not identified any partners.
Computer Show Glimpses at Future
The baby has grown up. The spring Comdex show - once viewed as the lesser
sibling of the massive fall showcase of new computer and electronic
products - has come into its own.
Earlier in the week, the show offered participants a glimpse of competing
operating systems that will take computers into the next century. On
Wednesday, the Comdex show took a look at the future of an even broader
topic: the ``Webification" of America.
With the Internet and intranets breaking down the walls that isolate
computers and their users, show exhibitors and industry executives urged
companies to move more quickly to embrace the benefits and judge the risks
of the online world.
``Make no mistake about it - the rules of the last millennium will not
apply to those who attempt to survive in the new millennium," said Rick
Roscitt, president of AT&T Solutions and one of the show's keynote
speakers.
Roscitt said companies that succeed must be able to think beyond the
brick-and-mortar walls of the past to a world where consumers will use the
Internet to seek services far beyond buying books, clothing or music.
``Now, customers are doing things at a distance, 24 hours a day, on a plane
or from home or a hotel, accessing services in real time," he said. ``The
Internet has exploded their expectations."
One critical component of meeting those expectations is ensuring that
business can be conducted safely, reliably and easily as possible. Several
exhibitors suggested that devices that scan body parts - biometrics - will
become more and more important to the business community.
Saflink's SaftyLatch was made for the user who wants to avoid memorizing
dozens of passwords or wants to walk away from a computer without worrying
about prying eyes reading files.
The $60 application, compatible with Windows technology, allows the user's
voice to be compared with a previously recorded speech sample before
certain files can be accessed.
``My voice is my password," company product manager Andrew Halls says in
getting the program to open a file that previously had resisted all
attempts at access.
``It's certainly exciting and futuristic, but it's also very practical,"
Halls said. ``Folks are starting to want protection, but not want to deal
with yet another password.
The Tampa, Fla., company also touted products that recognize users through
fingerprints and facial characteristics identification.
And for those cyberjunkies who might tire of even telling a computer who
you are, IriScan of Marlton, N.J., makes a device that does just what the
company's name implies: It scans the iris of a user's eye and creates a
digital file for continual comparisons.
Kelly Gates, the company's director of marketing, said the device is more
accurate at identifying a person than DNA testing and takes far less time.
During demonstrations at the show, the camera and application system took
just seconds to create a pattern of the iris and place it on file.
The system, selling for about $4,000, has undergone testing at a bank in
the United Kingdom since April and currently is being evaluated by prisons,
businesses and large banks in the United States for use at automated teller
machines, Ms. Gates said. For individual computers, the company later this
year will offer a similar version for less than $1,000.
``Biometrics provides security for the company, security for the customer,"
Ms. Gates said. ``Very soon, there will be a time when you don't have to
remember things and when you don't have to carry all the extra cards and
gadgets around. Your body will be your key."
Apple Unveils New QuickTime Version
Apple Computer Inc., seeking to strengthen its position in the delivery of
audio and video files over the Internet, has introduced a new version of
its QuickTime software.
QuickTime 4 software, unlike its predecessor QuickTime 3, allows for the
``streaming'' of live video and audio events over the Internet. Streaming
is a technology that allows users to begin playing multimedia files as they
are downloaded, rather than waiting for the entire file to be stored on a
computer hard-drive before playback.
Apple's upgrade of QuickTime is seen as a challenge to rivals Microsoft
Corp. and RealNetworks Inc. Microsoft last week announced the release MS
Audio 4.0. RealNetworks, which announced last week a partnership with IBM
Corp. to deliver music over the Internet, holds a commanding lead in the
streaming media arena.
QuickTime 4, available as a free ``public beta'' version, also includes
support for the MP3 digital-music format.
Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., also announced Monday that it was giving
away parts of the underlying source code for its QuickTime server software,
which distributes streamed media over the Internet. Apple will only develop
server software for Macintosh hardware, but will freely license the source
code for other machines and operating systems.
Best Buy Dumps iMac Over Color
Best Buy Inc. has stopped selling Apple Computer Inc.'s iMac while it
hashes out a dispute with the company over color schemes.
The issue involves Apple's practice of shipping pallets that contain a
selection of each of the five colors the company produces.
Demand for the different colors is highly variable, and Best Buy has
complained about getting stuck with inventory that isn't selling.
But while the potential for further problems among retailers --
particularly if other PC makers start experimenting with different colored
machines -- the situation for now seems limited to Apple and Best Buy.
CompUSA Inc., the other leading retailer that carries the iMac, has said
that it doesn't mind stocking all five colors, even if it means that it
runs out of a particular color once and a while.
"We've been fortunate. Grape is the top seller but if it's gone, and they
want an iMac they'll get something else. The computer is the big thing,"
said Susanne Shelton, spokesperson for CompUSA.
And retailers also have the option of buying their systems from
distributors, which charge more, but allow greater flexibility in ordering.
"It would be impossible to have everything [people] want in stock, so we
use a distributor to get an entire order together," said Dave Sweeney,
systems engineer at Cambridge Electronics Inc. in Somerville, Mass. "People
seem fine with getting it in two days instead of taking it home that day."
Apple has become somewhat more flexible on the issue, announcing earlier
this month that it would begin shipping pallets that contained four
blueberry colored systems and one each of strawberry, grape, tangerine and
lime.
"If you want to stock inventory you have to take what they have. It takes
a little longer to sell tangerine than blueberry or grape," said Tony
Violanti, vice president of Computer Town Inc. in Salem, N.H.. "But there's
other things you can do with those. In February, we ran a Valentine's day
special with strawberry, on St. Patrick's day we ran special with the green
one. It works out."
=~=~=~=
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