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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 04 Issue 19
Volume 4, Issue 19 Atari Online News, Etc. May 10, 2002
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2002
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Kevin Savetz
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0419 05/10/02
~ Judge Wants "Modular"! ~ People Are Talking! ~ EU To Levy Taxes!
~ Russian Case Is A Go! ~ Judge Bruises Microsoft ~ States Screw Up!
~ No ID, No Video Game?! ~ iChat To Work With AOL ~ Red Hat 7.3 Out!
~ Privacy Bill Unveiled! ~ States Cancel Win Demo! ~ MS Case Nears End?
-* New Playstation In The Works *-
-* Two Classic Atari Books On The Web! *-
-* Rejected "Virtual" Child Porn Law Revisited *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
This was definitely the week from hell! It wasn't all bad, but enough to
rank up there near the top. The good news was that we closed the deal to
re-finance our house, at a lower rate and a good sum of cash to make some
improvements. The check was supposed to arrive yesterday, but since we
missed being here when FedEx arrived, we'll have to wait. Hopefully we'll
have the check today. We also finally had our porch roof replaced! One of
my neighbors did the work, for an outrageously great price. It turned out
to be a bigger job than we had figured (more layers of old shingles than we
thought) and we had to strip the roof bare before we could begin. But, the
work is done and the clean-up is all that remains.
I got my plants in last weekend, so that was a good thing. I just have to
cut down some bushes in order to plant a few I picked up a couple of weeks
ago. That's not a big issue.
Life at work has been a nightmare recently. No, it's not the work or those
types of pressures. I often feel like I'm more of an adult babysitter than
a manager! Never have I seen adults behave like children! I've had people
not bother to call in and don't show (they're now all gone!). I've had
people who just can't work with other people. And I have at least one
person who just can't seem to get acclimated to the department, and reacts
in a fashion that is totally inappropriate. I'm hoping that at least one
person will be outta there soon - not by choice, either! It's been a taxing
couple of weeks! I think it's time for another "mental health" vacation
already - the last one just didn't do the trick!
It's looking like it might be a nice weekend coming up, so perhaps I can get
the lawn cut and fertilized. Maybe dig up those bushes, or pick up some
more plants to fill some gaps in the gardens. We'll see. I'm looking
forward to a relaxing weekend mixed with a little yard work. A few cold
beers should help the process!
Make sure you don't forget your mother this weekend. Be grateful if you're
fortunate to have one still around! At the least, give her a call or drop
by to say hello - she'll appreciate it.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
Two Classic Atari Books On the Web
The team at atariarchives.org is proud to announce that two more classic
Atari books are now available at http://www.atariarchives.org -- bringing
the number of books at the site to seven.
The two books are:
Atari Basic - A Self-Teaching Guide, by Bob Albrecht, LeRoy Finkel, and
Jerald R. Brow, published 1979. This 330-plus page book is an
introduction to Atari BASIC.
http://www.atariarchives.org/basic/
...and...
Computer Animation Primer, by David Fox and Mitchell Waite, published
1979. This 500-plus page book is a great general introduction to
computer animation, and includes downloadable BASIC and machine language
programs for doing animation on Atari 8-bit computers.
http://www.atariarchives.org/cap/
Highlights include a section on The Making of TRON
http://www.atariarchives.org/cap/showpage.php?page=125) and a 16-page
section featuring color animation stills.
http://www.atariarchives.org/cap/thumbs.php?page=color1)
Thanks to the authors for allowing us to share their work.
--Kevin Savetz
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. You won't find much that's spiritually
or emotionally uplifting in my comments this week, I'm afraid.
I'm in the middle of a really bad migraine at the moment and, for those
of you who have never had a migraine I can tell you that it's not
something to look forward to.
I've never had any luck in trying to explain to anyone exactly what a
migraine feels like until about a week ago. I didn't notice what it was
selling, but there's a commercial on television that finally shows a
little bit of what a migraine is like. I still can't really describe
it, and it doesn't convey the full feeling of a migraine, but it's
close enough to give you and idea of why it's so much more unpleasant
than a 'regular' headache. In a landmark move, I had to leave work
early today. When I take sick time, they KNOW that it's necessary.
One of my primary responsibilities is spectral analysis of alloys. It's
not a hard job, but it requires a decent amount of math. Normally this
isn't a problem, but when I have a migraine the numbers just seem to
swim before my eyes and I can't make sense of any of it. It feels
almost like everyone in the world talking to you at the same time and
expecting your undivided attention while there's a really annoying
sound in the background and a really bright strobe light in your face.
Sounds like fun, don't it? Well, enough of that. Let's get to the news,
hints, tips, and info from the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Jean-Luc Ceccoli posts this about replacing the clock battery in a TT
or MegaSTE:
"For all those wondering what to replace TT's and MegaSTe's battery :
just open the battery's case and replace the battery in it with a
3.6 V lithium one. Just two wires to solder, works great."
Kenneth Medin tells Jean-Luc:
"My problem is that I have got a TT of the new type (I think), but with
the battery missing. So I can't simply replace it.
The obvious solution is of course to first try with three AA cells and
if that does not work use four.
The TT clock seems to draw a higher current compared to Mega ST's. My
1987 Mega2 still has the two original (non alkaline) AA cells in and at
least a year ago it still kept the time!"
Grzegorz Pawlik adds:
"Maybe this is crazy, but I have the battery case completely removed,
and four *standard AA-size* batteries connected externally at the
back of my TT.... And it works! ;-) That gives 6 V, however..."
Jo Even Skarstein tells Grzegorz:
"I also use four AA-batteries, but I have them inside the case. It
works fine, and has done so for two years."
Jim Logan jumps in and adds:
"Could I issue my usual caution that early TTs used a different battery
voltage - I regret to say that it is so long since I changed mine that I
forget what the voltage was."
Jean-Luc tells Jim:
"Well, you first could try using 3x 1.2V CdNi elements : it these
keep the clock saved, just use a 3.6V Li, as I previously described.
If the 3x1.2V cells are too weak, just find a 6V Li battery.
It would, of course, be possible to use ordinary 1.5V alkaline
batteries, but you then would have to replace them more frequently
(every 2 years, I think) than a Li battery (5 years, at least).
One last thing : a 6V Li battery is about 6 euros, 4x1.5V alk. are
about 4.5 euros."
Hallvard Tangeraas asks about one of the more familiar word processors
for the ST:
"I'm working on a file-archive and links to mentioned software in my TOS
2.06 user-guide, but I'm a little confused when it comes to the "1st
word" and "1st word plus" word processors.
I know that "1st Word plus" was a commercial application, but the
confusion revolves around the original "1st word".
As far as I remember Atari released this freely in the beginning, but
later decided to take it back. I don't know what happened after that.
Did it turn into commercial software? Did they just remove it completely
from the market?
What's the *current* status of this program? Would I be breaking any
laws if I was to make it freely available from one of my web sites?"
Steve Stupple tells Hallvard:
"As far as I know the original 'First Word' was released in the public
domain, 'First Word Plus' was released on a ST review cover disk but
NOT the latest version though."
Simon Osborne adds:
"I'm pretty sure most UK PD Libraries stocked 1st Word, so I guess it's
PD. I'm pretty sure LAPD did."
Steve tells Simon:
"Yup the former LAPD did have it when i took the library over, and that
was after the Atari funny bizness (when they listed their non pd stuff,
'the neochrome affair' etc).
I've still got it listed in my pd library. It's one of those programs
that if you liked, you were more likely in buying the latest version
with all the trimmings (dictionary etc.)."
Dave Wade asks about Networking:
"I am looking at either buying, or possibly building as there seems some
delay with supply, the Ethernet Interface described at
hardware.atari.org (or at least it is when the site is up it appears to
be down today).
This is said to work with STinG, Mintnet or MagicNet, and as I am a
novice in this area I was wondering which might be the best to try as a
novice user. My main aim is to allow quicker transfer of files between
the ST and my PC's. A second aim is to spend as little cash as possible.
And thirdly whilst I can order a train ticket or hotel room in German
anything remotely technical is beyond me so it should have good English
documentation and support."
Lyndon Amsdon tells Dave:
"Yes, this is true, my website is down, I'm trying really hard to
get it back up. At the moment, use
http://www.madasafish.com/~bindon/index.htm...
Damn, that URL isn't working either. I'll have to try and
set something up with another provider."
Derryck Croker tells Dave:
"Check you can get all the hardware needed for this before going
further, if this uses the Genius pocket adaptor they're not easy to
find it seems!
I like Magxnet because it's still being developed, transferring files
is quite straightforward using Vassilis' port of the Samba client, but
in return you will have to do some mysterious tinkering with config
files (which you will also have to do with MiNT).
Slated for the future is integrating Samba with Bnet, which will
present PC drives and printer on the Atari's desktop for true
drag'n'drop integration, but at the moment file transfer is from a ttp
(not too difficult), or if working from the PC end via an FTP client
(or from your browser) with an FTP server installed on the Atari.
STinG also works, and if you've already got this installed as your
dial-up might be worth considering. You'd have to use FTP to transfer
files, so I assume an FTP server running on each machine in the network
would be needed."
Hallvard now asks about making a boot floppy:
"It's been a while, so I might have forgotten something fairly obvious
here...
I want to make a boot floppy disk to use in emergency situations, or
situations where I need a very basic setup for software that's very
particular about things.
I've created a floppy disk with AHDI.PRG in the /AUTO/ folder. The idea
is to have this driver mount the hard disk drive of my Mega STe instead
of using the hard disk's own driver (which is HDdriver).
(I'm doing some work with a "Discovery" cartridge and I've been
recommended to use AHDI as newer hard disk drivers can prove to cause
problems with it).
Now, here comes the problem...
For some reason, when the ACSI ID shows up during the boot sequence and
after the ACCessories/Auto programs from the floppy disk have finished
loading, stuff from the Mega STe hard disk is loaded!
When it's done I can see that the desktop, icons and even CPX modules
have been loaded. Why?
I don't want anything loading from the hard disk, and I really can't
understand why this is happening.
I've done this sort of thing before, and remember when saving the
desktop, it was saved to the *floppy*. What gives?
Oh... just to avoid any further confusion I re-installed AHDI on the
hard disk as well, but this didn't change anything."
Edward Baiz tells Hallvard:
"I assume you want just to access your hard drive if something happens
to your auto folder or any other programs on your boot partition. Try
this. Boot up the computer with the hard drive turned off. Then turn on
your hard drive and then run AHDI.PRG.
I really would get HDDriver."
Hallvard tells Edward:
"I can't do that with my Mega STe as the drive is built into the
machine, so there's no separate power switch available.
I do have HDdriver! But I'm working on backing up some protected
software, using a "Discovery" cartridge, and was recommended to boot
with a minimal setup which included a simpler hard disk driver such as
AHDI to avoid any complications. This is why I'm making this boot disk."
Edward tells Hallvard:
"ON my Hades I can boot off of the floppy if I hold down the "A"
button. Maybe that would work. Also, I try holding down the ctrl-shift
buttons or the ctrl-shift-alt buttons. That may do it."
Hallvard replies:
"Yup, this is what I use when using a boot-disk that has HDdriver on it
(inside its AUTO folder). This makes makes the computer boot from drive
A (floppy disk drive) instead of the usual drive C (hard disk).
If the boot-floppy has AHDI however I need to press and hold down <ALT>
while booting.
Tried all of this, but data from the hard disk is still read into the
machine as soon as the hard disk driver has been loaded. I find this
very strange. There must be a way I can bypass this and *only* read
whatever is on the floppy disk.
For some unknown reason, whenever the hard disk driver is loaded from the
boot floppy, the hard disk takes over, loading the desktop (NEWDESK.INF)
file and ACcessories (but apparently not the AUTO programs)."
Lonny Pursell tells Hallvard:
"You have to bypass the driver on the HD.
Right when you see the nice Atari logo appear, hold down the Alt key
down. Keep the alt key down until you see the floppy led, then let go.
The floppy should take off and everything on the HD should be ignored."
Well folks, that's it for this week. Hopefully I'll be in better shape
next week's column. 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 - Playstation 2 Hits 30 Million!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Next Generation Playstation Planned!
Xbox Co-creators Form New Venture!
And much more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sony Working on New PlayStation
Sony Corp. has begun developing the next generation of its PlayStation
video game for sale by 2005, when it plans to roll out a console that would
allow gamers to play opponents over high-speed Internet networks, a news
report said Sunday.
The new game console will run on a computer chip expected to be around 200
times faster than those currently installed in personal computers and game
units, Kyodo News agency said. It quoted Sony sources it did not identify.
Developing the chip will cost the Japanese electronics and entertainment
giant about $400 million, Kyodo said.
Sony has set its sights on online gaming as the new frontier and is trying
to take control of the market before rivals Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo
Co. come up with their own versions. Microsoft makes
the Xbox, and Nintendo has GameCube.
Microsoft and Sony both have said they will sell adapters and software for
games that can be played over the Internet later this year.
The new PlayStation would work over super-fast fiber-optics connections
and would be Sony's first console to run games without a digital video
disc, Kyodo said.
Sony also is considering offering the new chip to other companies for use
in televisions and electronics equipment, Kyodo said.
Worldwide, Sony has shipped more than 28 million PlayStation2 machines.
Nintendo says 2.7 million GameCube consoles have been shipped worldwide,
about half of those in Japan. Microsoft expects to ship 3.5 million to
4 million Xbox consoles worldwide by the end of June.
Game Console Price Cuts Likely in May
Price cuts for two video game consoles, the Xbox and the PlayStation 2, are
likely to kick in as soon as this month, due to slowing retail sales ahead
of the summer months, an analyst said on Monday.
In a research note, Gerard Klauer Mattison analyst Edward Williams said he
believes price cuts will be announced at the industry's annual Electronic
Entertainment Expo (E3) because a drop in sales has retailers worried
ahead of the summer, usually the industry's weakest season.
Williams said he believes Microsoft Corp., fighting to gain a share in the
competitive game machine market, will kick off the cuts, bringing the Xbox
down to $199 from $299 at a news conference scheduled for May 20.
Sony Corp., the market leader, will likely follow, also cutting the PS2
price to $199 from $299, he said.
The PS2 was launched in November 2000. The Xbox came out in November 2001.
"Given a need to increase its installed base and a lack of exclusive key
titles to help do so, we expect Microsoft could use this opportunity to
pre-empt Sony and take a leadership position in dropping the price of
Xbox," he said.
The Xbox, after selling nearly 1.5 million units in the last six weeks of
2001, sold between 300,000 and 400,000 units in the first quarter of this
year, according to various analysts' estimates, and a consensus has
developed in recent weeks that the price of the Xbox will be cut this
year.
Rumors have repeatedly cropped up since last summer that a PS2 price cut
was imminent, and analysts are still generally divided as to whether Sony
might cut the price at E3, or in September, at the start of the strong
fall and winter season.
"However, the recent slowdown in hardware unit momentum, coupled with the
competitive threat of Xbox at a lower price, makes a price cut on the PS2
more likely, in our view," Williams said.
Even so, a price cut was not entirely necessary for Sony, he said.
"Given this enormous market share -- and apparent demand for the product
-- the company does not necessarily need to cut the price of the hardware,
especially when you consider that the company has experienced weakness in
some of its other businesses -- making the profit derived from PlayStation
that much more important," he said.
Williams also said he expects the price of Sony's older PlayStation One
console to be cut to $79 from $99.
As for Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s GameCube, which came out three days after the
Xbox at a price of $199, Williams said a price cut at E3 was unlikely,
though a cut to $149 is possible this fall as Nintendo releases a number of
anticipated game titles.
PlayStation 2 Hits 30 Million Units Globally
The video game arm of Japanese media and electronics giant Sony Corp. said
on Thursday that its PlayStation 2 video game console has reached a global
installed base of 30 million units.
The majority of those units -- 11.3 million in total -- are in North
America, followed by 9.9 million units in Japan and the rest of Asia and
8.8 million units in Europe.
The company said that total base includes 4 million units sold since
February. Industry executives expect the U.S. base alone to reach as many
as 15 million units by year's-end.
The PS2 competes in all three markets against the Xbox from Microsoft Corp.
and the GameCube from Nintendo Co. Ltd. . Both consoles came out late last
year, while the PS2 made its debut in the fall of 2000.
Microsoft has targeted total worldwide shipments of 3.5 million to
4 million units by the end of its fiscal year in June. Nintendo shipped
about 4 million units worldwide by the end of its fiscal year in March.
The company also said it would announce "some new business developments"
for hardware, software and online gaming at the game industry's Electronic
Entertainment Expo, which starts on May 20 in Los Angeles.
Industry analysts widely expect that Sony may cut the U.S. price of the
PS2 to $199 from $299 at the show, particularly if Microsoft makes a
similar price cut.
Sony has also said it will release an adapter in August for PS2 to enable
both dial-up and high-speed Internet access and online gaming through the
console.
'Spidey' Soars in New Activision Game
"Spider-Man" the movie is already a blockbuster, and "Spider-Man" the
action-adventure game from Activision, offers more than enough fun to
snare players in its web.
What other game enables you to crawl along a wall or across the ceiling
and drop down on a web to spy on your enemies? Few other games allow the
hero to fly across a room so rapidly, as Spider-Man zips from one end to
the other, driving the bad guys nuts.
Suddenly, games that require players to do simple old-fashioned walking
or running seem quaint by comparison.
"Spider-Man" the game includes some of the movie's plot elements, but it
is also very different in that the origin of "Spider-Man" is glossed over.
Players pick up the tale as Peter Parker, in a crude Spidey costume, is
trying to find the man who killed his beloved Uncle Ben.
Instead of the movie's night-time car chase, players must swing from
building to building in broad daylight and, eventually, enter a warehouse
where there are several thugs to be dispatched. Only then do you get a shot
at the killer.
The Green Goblin, Spidey's film nemesis, is here (Willem Dafoe and Tobey
Maguire provide the voices for the Goblin and Spider-Man). So is the
night-time adventure climax at the bridge with the kidnapped Mary Jane
(although without the tram car full of kids). But the game features other
enemies -- Shocker, Vulture and Scorpion -- in a variety of settings.
The tutorial is a delight, thanks to the irreverent narration of Bruce
Campbell, (the bookstore manager on the TV sitcom "Ellen") who munches on a
ham sandwich (with too much mustard) as he offers advice on web-swinging,
using the height meter to find your objectives, and performing various
acrobatic fighting moves.
"Careful there, Captain Jumpy," he quips if you swing too low. It's the
perfect tone for a comic book franchise that features a
sometimes-hapless superhero and resonates with teenage angst.
Unfortunately, some moments in "Spider-Man" will have players scratching
their heads in bewilderment.
First: When you're swinging through the city, don't try to drop to street
level -- you'll simply die. No reason is given.
Second: Players will note that when Spidey is web-swinging between tall
buildings, there are many times his web never really latches onto anything.
(Fortunately, the film shows the physics of web-swinging a bit more
realistically.)
Third: A lot of the dialogue, especially among the thugs, becomes tiresome
very quickly. I really don't want to hear "Circus in town?" or "Looks like
the freak wants to play" more than twice.
Finally, the game wasn't able to recognize that I had already visited the
tutorial.
"You'd know this if you played the basic tutorial," Campbell scolded me
when I started the game. "But I guess you're just COOLER than the rest of
us."
The game itself, however, is so cool that most players will be happy to
overlook any flaws, inconsistencies or gaps in logic. I only know that,
once I got started, I just wanted to keep on swinging.
"Spider-Man" is available on several platforms, including Windows ($30),
GameBoy Advance ($40), and GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox ($50). The Xbox
version has two extra levels.
BradyGames also has a $15 strategy guide to "Spider-Man" that is
beautifully designed, but one of the least-helpful guidebooks I've ever
seen. The maps are nearly unreadable, making them all but useless, and
all the cheat codes are missing. The cheat codes, at least, can be found
at http://www.gamewinners.com.
Take A Swing At Knockout Kings 2002
Boxing. The sweet science. Ali. Smokin' Joe. Sugar Ray.
And now, "Knockout Kings 2002."
Thanks to developer Black Ops, EA Sports is providing a solid boxing title
to add to your Xbox sports collection.
Solid, but not spectacular. The game isn't a true sim; there are just too
many things missing. But while it won't be wearing the heavyweight crown,
it's certainly the middleweight champ of boxing titles.
KK2002 has a lot to like. The fighters are fast, the punches pack a wallop
and slow-mo replays of knockouts are beautifully choreographed, with the
boxers spinning in midair before landing with a thud. They rise a bit on
the woozy side, and if you're the canvasback, there's a neat little
muddled appearance to the screen as you regain your scrambled senses.
Speed is the watchword of KK2002. Punches rain down on you and your
opponent, with sound effects suitable for leveling elephants. There are no
clinches. There's a button dedicated to low blows, but their effect is
limited and passes quickly.
The left stick is used both to move the fighter around and for defensive
motions, so you need to develop a delicate touch. Slight movements of the
stick have your fighter bobbing and weaving like a daisy in a gale, while
jamming the stick over puts your pug in motion.
Defense is not a skill these boxers have mastered, and most fights don't
go more than a round or two. There is skill in learning your opponent's
style, waiting for him to throw the punch that leaves him vulnerable and
then countering with just the right punch to send him flying.
There's no health meter or other method of gauging your boxer's level of
exhaustion, so just keep whomping away. I liked those meters in previous
boxing titles, and I missed it here.
There are several ways to play, with Career being the best, for my money.
You fight a pyramid of palookas before finally reaching the top to take on
real fighters like Ali or Foreman. You can also fight as those legends, or
a nice selection of others, 21 in all.
Unfortunately, your promoter doesn't look a bit like Don King. A serious
omission.
The game is really at its best if you can get a friend to sit down and
fight it out with you. The two-player mode is excellent, and it really
doesn't matter who the fighters are. It's your skill and speed, not the
fighter's name, that appears to determine the outcome.
Graphics get a B. You'll enjoy watching the great looking fighters move,
bob and weave like the real thing. You'll see nice renditions of 10 noted
venues, including Caesar's Palace and Wembley Arena.
Give sound a B. Effects are excellent, with explosive impacts marred by
repetitive commentary.
Control gets a B. Getting the hang of defensive movement will take you a
while, but once you can combine it with the easy punching controls, you'll
be on your way to the title in no time.
"Knockout Kings 2002" gets a solid B. It's not a real boxing simulator,
but if you enjoy the fight game, you'll be happy with this one, too.
"Knockout Kings 2002" is rated T, for ages 13 and up.
Disney, Konami Partner for 'Mickey' Sports Games
The game is tied 95-95, there are three seconds left -- and Mickey Mouse is
at the foul line.
The video game arm of The Walt Disney Co. and Japanese game publisher
Konami Co. Ltd. said on Friday they will develop and sell a series of
games, tentatively called "Disney All-Star Sports," featuring Disney's
beloved mouse and some of its other familiar characters.
The two companies said they will produce football, basketball, soccer,
snowboarding, skateboarding and motocross games for Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s
GameCube console and Game Boy Advance handheld, with the first titles
available this fall.
Besides Mickey, other characters expected to appear include his paramour
Minnie Mouse, the irascible Donald Duck, and floppy-eared Goofy.
The announcement is the latest in a series of moves by Disney into
sports-themed video games. On Thursday, the company's ESPN sports network
said it has signed a deal with game publisher Sega Corp. to contribute
logos, graphics and on-air talent to Sega's line of "2k" sports games.
Disney's other major television sports franchise, ABC's "Monday Night
Football," will be a part of Electronic Arts Inc.'s next "Madden NFL"
game. Madden recently joined the Monday Night Football broadcast team.
Xbox Creators Start Video Game Development Company
Two of the creators of Microsoft's Xbox have joined a pair of video-game
industry veterans to launch a venture with a familiar Hollywood feel: find
raw talent, create edgy entertainment, and then sign with a major publisher
to sell it to the world.
But the product for Capital Entertainment Group is not movies, but video
games, and the startup is in the process of raising $50 million in venture
backing for just that purpose.
The executive team includes former Xbox chief technology officer Seamus
Blackley and Kevin Bachus, who handled relations with game developers for
Microsoft, the company said.
Former Sierra Online senior vice president J. Mark Hood and Dotted Line
Entertainment founder Eugene Mauro are also behind the start-up, which
plans to find video game developers with ideas that established publishers
would normally shun.
CEG will back the development with money and production resources and find
game publishers to market and distribute the resulting games, very much
like an independent movie studio.
The game startup plans to make its money by taking a cut of net game
sales. The company believes its investors can break-even on a game after
sales of 250,000 copies. Developers will get a royalty, assuming a
"breakpoint" is achieved within the first 12 months of sales, equal to
anywhere between 5 percent and 15 percent of net sales.
The new venture comes at a time when the video game industry is in the
first year what most expect to be a cycle of unprecedented growth. The top
three U.S. game publishers recorded sales of $714.3 million in the first
quarter of this year, up 45 percent from a year earlier.
Investors, analysts and even major media companies have started to pay
closer attention to big-name game publishers, as they produce stock gains
and quarterly returns far better than those coming from other technology
or media companies.
"I've found over the last year that it was becoming increasingly difficult
to get innovative, original titles funded," Mauro told Reuters. "I put
together a model that was a little bit VC (venture capital), a lot of bit
of production."
Mauro serves as chief executive of the new venture and will work from his
home base in Connecticut. Blackley, vice president of development, Bachus,
vice president of publishing, and Hood, vice president of production, will
work from Seattle. A third office will eventually be opened in Los
Angeles.
Bachus left Microsoft months ago, but Blackley did not resign from the
software giant until April 22, only days after it cut its Xbox sales
forecast for fiscal 2002 by as much as 40 percent after poor international
sales.
Blackley denied a correlation between the two events and said he was
leaving simply because he wanted to get back to developing games.
While the company does not plan to have any titles available at retail
until the 2003 holiday season, it already has a deal in place with Sega
Corp. for its first two games, with what Mauro described as "extraordinary
latitude" in what the games will be and for which platform they will be
developed.
Bachus told Reuters that while the CEG team has a natural affinity for
Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox, it will also back the development of games for the
PC, Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s GameCube.
For reasons of logistics and time commitment, he said they will largely
stay away from working with developers on games for handheld platforms and
mobile phones, as well as massively-multiplayer online games.
"For Seamus and me ... it was really borne out of our desire to increase
the level of innovation in the industry," he said. "CEG is the industry's
first independent production company."
A background sheet on CEG reads much like those for independent Hollywood
producers, discussing fine details like negotiable net sales splits and
completion bonding for titles in development -- essentially a form of
collateral to ensure that game projects are finished.
While the group intends to work with a number of different publishers,
Bachus said they agreed to the initial production deal with Sega because
"Sega entertaining this opportunity is very flattering."
No ID, No Video Game?
A bill introduced in Congress last week would make it a federal crime to
sell or rent violent video games to minors.
The Protect Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act of 2002,
introduced by Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., would apply to games that feature
decapitation, amputation, killing of humans with lethal weapons or through
hand-to-hand combat, rape, car-jackings, aggravated assault and other
violent felonies. Twenty-one other representatives co-sponsored the bill,
which was referred to the House Judiciary Committee (news - web sites).
That list would place a slew of popular titles out of the reach of
teenagers, some of the biggest consumers of the games. The top-selling
video game in 2001, according to research firm NPD Group, was "Grand Theft
Auto 3," in which players steal and wreck cars, commit contract killings
and carry out other crimes. It has been banned in Australia.
"When kids play video games, they assume the identity of the characters in
the game, and some of these characters are murderers, thieves, rapists,
drug addicts and prostitutes," Baca said in a press release. "Do you
really want your kids assuming the role of a mass murderer or a car-jacker
while you are away at work?"
Violators of the act would be subject to fines of up to $1,000 for a first
offense and up to $5,000, plus 90 days in jail, for multiple offenses.
Other branches of the government are looking into the issue of minors and
video games. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is expected to release a
report in June about sales and advertising to minors of games that have
mature themes.
The issue hasn't gone unnoticed by video game creators. At a recent
developers' conference, attendees agreed that the industry needs to do a
better job of informing parents about the violent or mature content of
games, although the issue of rating systems is still controversial. The
Entertainment Software Rating Board assigns ratings for software titles,
Web sites and online games, but participation by both game makers and
stores is voluntary. An FTC study released in December found that 78
percent of stores allowed unaccompanied minors to purchase games that were
rated for mature audiences only.
And state lawmakers in Georgia recently introduced legislation that makes
it a crime to sell games depicting graphic violence to minors.
Courts have had mixed opinions about such laws. Baca's bill was introduced
just days after a U.S. District Court in Missouri refused to invalidate a
St. Louis ordinance that required parental consent to sell violent or
sexually explicit games to minors. The St. Louis law was challenged by the
Interactive Digital Software Association. A similar ordinance passed in
Indianapolis was later overturned by a federal appeals court.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
EU to Levy Taxes on U.S., Non-European E-Commerce
The European Union approved on Tuesday rules that will require U.S. and
other non-EU firms to levy value-added tax (VAT) on products such as
computer games and software they sell on the Internet to private customers
in the 15-nation bloc.
The new rules, which come into force in July 2003, may irk the United
States and add to its ongoing trade row with the EU over U.S. steel imports.
The European Commission said the new regulations were designed to address
what the bloc saw as a competitive disadvantage against the United States.
"I welcome the decision of the Council (of ministers) to adopt these rules
on applying VAT to digital products," European Commissioner Frits
Bolkestein said in a statement.
"They will remove the serious competitive handicap which EU firms currently
face in comparison with non-EU suppliers of digital services both when
exporting to world markets and when selling to European consumers."
Under U.S. rules designed to boost e-commerce, business is not taxed for
selling digitally delivered products -- items such as children's games,
music or other services that are sent electronically to a consumer's home
computer.
U.S.-based companies make up a large chunk of firms selling such goods via
the Internet to private customers. Thanks to the international nature of
the Internet, which is not impeded by geographic boundaries, they gain easy
access to the EU market.
But from July next year, U.S. and other non-EU companies will have to be
registered with a tax authority in one of the 15 member states and be
required to levy that country's VAT rate on all applicable Internet
transactions. The member country will then distribute the taxes collected
to other countries, based on where the actual sales are made.
The VAT liability will also cover electronic services that are downloaded
or consumed online, as well as subscription-based and pay-per-view radio
and TV broadcasting.
EU companies, which already charge VAT on such Internet transactions
conducted with the bloc's private citizens, will, however, be exempted from
VAT for services they provide to non-EU residents.
The U.S., which threatened in February to take the case to the World Trade
Organization (WTO), believes the rules are discriminatory and will put
additional administrative pressure on U.S. companies.
"We continue to be concerned about the potential for discrimination against
non-EU companies in terms of the tax rates required to be charged and the
administrative and compliance burden," Tara Bradshaw, a spokeswoman for the
U.S. Treasury, told Reuters from Washington on Monday.
Industry sources said the EU rules discriminate against digitally
delivered products and will create a tax discrepancy in the EU itself.
Digitally delivered products, such as e-books or a digital magazine, will
be taxed at full VAT. This is not always the case for the equivalent
non-electronic good.
The EU's new tax rules come at a time when the bloc is locked in a trade
battle with the U.S. over steel duties it has imposed on European and some
other foreign companies.
EU trade officials are meeting on Tuesday in Brussels to give further
consideration to plans drawn up by the European Commission to hit back at
the U.S. steel duties with sanctions.
Under the Commission's plans, a first set of sanctions will come into
force from June 18, hitting a range of goods including U.S. citrus fruit
and some steel products, with duties of 100 percent in a move worth more
than $300 million.
Congressman Set to Introduce Web Privacy Bill
A U.S. lawmaker said on Monday that he would introduce this week a
long-awaited consumer privacy bill covering Internet commerce.
Florida Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns said he would introduce the measure
on Wednesday, nearly nine months after releasing an outline of what the
bill would contain.
"Congress needs to address the American people's concern with the online
and offline collection and use of personal information," Stearns said in
a statement.
Stearns' House Energy and Commerce consumer-protection subcommittee held
hearings on the issue last year, and the congressman said he had lined up
19 co-sponsors for his bill.
The measure would allow consumers to remove their names, addresses and
other personal information from commercial customer lists that are commonly
sold or rented to other companies, a Stearns staffer said.
Conflicting state privacy laws that set a higher standard would be struck
down, he said, and consumers would have no right to sue if their privacy
were violated. The Federal Trade Commission would be responsible for
enforcement.
Companies submitting to a self-regulatory scheme such as TRUSTe or
BBBOnline would enjoy protection from FTC actions, the staffer said.
Chris Hoofnagle, legislative counsel with the Electronic Privacy
Information Center, said the bill would significantly erode existing
privacy protections by overriding hundreds of state laws.
For example, a New York state law prohibiting utilities and credit-card
firms from selling customer data would be struck down, he said. Companies
could also easily evade the "opt out" requirement because of the bill's
broad language.
"The bill's a bit preposterous," Hoofnagle said.
The "opt out" standard set by Stearns' bill would likely place less of a
burden on U.S. businesses than the approach favored by South Carolina
Democratic Sen. Ernest Hollings.
Hollings' bill would require businesses to get specific, "opt in"
permission from customers before collecting sensitive information like
religious or political beliefs.
A lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said he was nevertheless not
enthusiastic about the Stearns bill.
"This is better than Hollings, but I don't know that it makes it something
we can support," said Joe Rubin, the group's top congressional lobbyist.
Long-Awaited U.S. House Privacy Bill Unveiled
Several U.S. lawmakers introduced a long-awaited privacy bill Wednesday
that would allow U.S. businesses to share information about customers who
have not explicitly forbidden them to do so.
More than a year in the making, the privacy bill unveiled in the House of
Representatives differs from a competing bill making its way through the
Senate that would require businesses to get consumers' explicit permission
before sharing sensitive information such as income level, religious
affiliation or political interests.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns' bill would instead leave companies free to share
customer profiles unless customers specifically forbade them.
The bill would cover transactions both on the Internet and in the "offline"
world, and would override state laws that place more restrictions on
commercial use of personal information. Sponsors said the bill would
establish basic privacy protections for consumers while minimizing the
impact on business.
Stearns, a Florida Republican whose consumer-protection subcommittee held
six hearings on privacy last year, said the free flow of consumer data has
been a cornerstone of the modern information-based economy.
"The underlying principle that anchors this bill is, 'do no harm,' " he
said.
Consumers would have no right to sue if their privacy was violated.
Enforcement would be left in the hands of the Federal Trade Commission,
which usually does not impose fines on a first offense.
Companies submitting to a self-regulatory privacy regime such as TRUSTe
or BBBonline would enjoy protection from FTC actions.
While lawmakers have introduced dozens of privacy bills in the House since
the beginning of last year, none has attracted as much support as Stearns'
measure. The bill has lined up 22 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle,
among them Rep. Billy Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the House
Energy and Commerce Committee.
Rep. Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat, said businesses would be free to
set more restrictive privacy practices on their own as a way to market
themselves.
"I'll predict a much greater level of Internet usage with these privacy
policies in place," Boucher said.
Initial reaction to the bill was mixed.
A group of business leaders from high-tech firms said the bill struck the
right balance between consumers and businesses, while the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce said it was not needed because businesses could handle privacy
concerns on their own.
Privacy advocates said the bill was a step backward, especially by not
providing extra protection for sensitive information.
"Americans care about sensitive information. This bill does not address
those issues," said Ari Schwartz, a senior policy analyst at the Center
for Democracy and Technology.
Rejected 'Virtual' Child-Porn Law Finds New Life
A recently rejected ban on "virtual" child pornography found new life on
Thursday when a House of Representatives subcommittee approved a rewritten
version that supporters claim would not infringe free-speech rights.
Drafted by the Justice Department, the bill would tighten the definition of
child pornography to avoid constitutional questions raised by a previous
law that the Supreme Court struck down last month because it was too
broadly written.
The House Judiciary subcommittee on crime also approved a bill that would
make it easier to prosecute "sex tourists" who travel abroad to have sex
with children.
The child-pornography bill, sponsored by Texas Republican Lamar Smith,
would not criminalize simulated sex acts between adults or older teens,
such as those depicted in movies like "American Beauty," or created with
image-manipulating software.
But defendants in child-pornography cases would be required to prove that
the images in question were entirely computer-generated and not a depiction
of actual events. Pornography involving prepubescent children would be
outlawed entirely, whether it was "virtual" or not.
The subcommittee removed a provision that would have created a database of
child pornography, after Georgia Republican Rep. Bob Barr said it would
violate the privacy of victims.
The bill has been given priority status by House Republican leaders, who
hope to pass it out of the House by the end of the month.
Smith said the Supreme Court's decision makes child-porn prosecutions
difficult because defendants can argue that evidence is entirely
computer-generated.
"This decision will have a devastating effect on the prosecution of child
pornographers who are often child molesters," Smith said.
But Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott said the rewritten bill would put
an unfair burden on defendants by requiring them to prove they were not
guilty, unlike most cases which place the burden of proof on the prosecutor.
"If you don't know whether the image before you is of a real child or not,
you haven't proved your case beyond a reasonable doubt," Scott said.
Scott also objected to a bill that takes aim at "sex tourists" who travel
abroad to have sex with children. The bill, which passed on a voice vote,
is written so broadly that it could criminalize U.S. citizens who travel
from one state to another to gamble, he said.
House leaders have made the child-pornography bill a priority and hope to
bring it to a floor vote on the week of May 20, said an aide to House
Majority Leader Dick Armey.
"We want to move sooner rather than later to respond to the April 16 court
decision," said Richard Diamond, an Armey aide.
The full Judiciary Committee plans to take up the bill next week, a
committee spokesman said.
Apple Instant Messenger to Work With AOL
Apple Computer Inc. on Monday previewed a bundle of free programs tied to
an upgrade of its operating system, including an instant messaging
application-- iChat -- that will work with America Online's popular
Internet communication program.
The iChat program will link with the AOL instant messaging platform and
feature a new technology called Rendezvous designed to let computers on a
home network find each other and share files, such as photographs, Apple
said.
Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said the program set a milestone for
cooperation between AOL, which holds the market-leading position in
instant-messaging, and an outside company. "It is the first time that AOL
let anybody in under the tent," Jobs said.
Under the iChat program, one computer could, for example, play music files
on another after the second automatically appeared as an icon on the
first, the company said.
The computer maker, which was showing off new software at its annual
developers conference, also introduced a new version of its QuickTime
media player, and mail and address-book software that it plans to release
with an upgrade to its OS X operating system due late this summer.
Apple has struggled to broaden its appeal beyond the hard core of
approximately 5 percent of U.S. personal computer buyers who own
Macintoshes with its new operating system and free applications.
Aiming to make the Mac the "hub of a digital lifestyle" that can manage
digital music, video and photos, the company has rolled out a slew of free
applications, such as iTunes jukebox and iPhoto digital photo software
that run on OS X.
Jobs, known for his skills as a corporate showman, ceremonially laid the
previous version of Apple's operating system, OS 9, to rest in a casket
that rose up out of the stage as billows of smoke emerged, prompting hoots
of laughter from the audience of programmers.
The next series of free programs from Apple will only work with the new
version of OS X, code-named Jaguar.
"It helps customers to move up to the latest and greatest operating
system," Philip Schiller, Apple's worldwide product manager, said in an
interview at the conference.
Apple also showed off a new Address book and said it would launch a
powerful new server, in an industrial rack-mounting configuration, on
May 14.
Red Hat Releases Version 7.3
Red Hat released a new version of its Linux operating system Monday that is
aimed at educators and small businesses.
Red Hat Linux version 7.3 adds to the company's current open-source
operating system offerings with new features that include personal
firewall configuration, and installation and video-conferencing software.
The new version also includes Web and telephone access to experts and the
Red Hat Network--an automated Internet service for managing Red Hat Linux
systems.
The company, which sells services and support for the ever-evolving Linux
OS, said its new software also includes Mozilla, an open-source Web
browser technology that competes with Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and
an Apache 1.3 Web server.
Red Hat has been homing in on the server market and targeting larger
businesses with Apache. GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment)
video-conferencing software, MrProjects project management software and
PostgreSQL database management are some of the version's other features.
The new software will be available on May 15, and orders are being taken
as of Monday. A version for nonbusiness consumers will retail for $59.95,
which includes 30 days of Red Hat Network service and Web-based support. A
professional version for small business will sell for of $199.95, which
adds a systems administrator's CD, 90 days of Red Hat Network service, and
60-days of Web-based and telephone support.
Red Hat will also upgrade customers by offering a $20 discount on Red Hat
Linux 7.3 Professional, and $10 off Red Hat Linux 7.3 Personal.
States' Slipup Gives Microsoft Leverage
Microsoft's decision to withdraw Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and other
witnesses from testifying in the ongoing antitrust trial may be a move to
exploit a potentially costly mistake made by the litigating states'
attorneys.
The software giant appears to be using the error--a failure to get certain
pretrial depositions entered into the trial record--to limit the amount of
new evidence the states can introduce in the nearly 4-year-old case, legal
experts say.
On Friday, Microsoft whisked Ballmer off its witness list, along with OEM
(original equipment manufacturer) account manager Gayle Brock. Earlier in
the week, Microsoft chopped another eight people from its list.
The states could have used the testimony of at least three witnesses -
Ballmer, Brock and Richard Fade, the Microsoft executive in charge of
relations with OEMs--to, among other things, attack the legitimacy of a
separate settlement the company made with the Justice Department and nine
of 18 states.
Nine states and the District of Columbia are pursuing stiffer sanctions
against Microsoft than those contained in the November settlement deal,
which U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has yet to approve.
One option before the judge is to seek a single solution, either approving
the Justice Department settlement and dismissing the states' claims, or
rejecting the settlement and imposing a court-ordered remedy. She also can
approve the settlement and impose a separate remedy, either the one
proposed by the litigating states or another that she drafts. In December,
Microsoft submitted the Justice Department settlement as its proposed
remedy. Kollar-Kotelly's unusual number of choices is one reason why the
blocking of new evidence could be so important.
The main trial concluded in September 1999, with U.S. District Judge
Thomas Penfield Jackson later ruling Microsoft violated two sections of
the Sherman Antitrust Act. He initially ordered Microsoft to be broken
into separate operating systems and software applications companies. But
in its unanimous ruling that upheld about a dozen separate antitrust
violations against Microsoft, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia Circuit threw out the remedy for technical reasons. The
proceeding now under way before Kollar-Kotelly is to determine a new
remedy to Microsoft's antitrust violations.
Typically, the remedy proceeding would not be the place to introduce much
new evidence. The proceeding, which enters its eighth week Monday, follows
the conclusion of the trial by about two and a half years, and Jackson's
ruling by more than two years.
Throughout its presentation of witnesses and cross-examination of
Microsoft, the litigating states have attempted to show that the company
continues to pursue business and technical tactics in new so-called
middleware markets similar to those that led to two adverse court rulings.
Because the remedy proceeding is not a trial, new evidence ordinarily can
be introduced only while cross-examining a witness, and it must be
pertinent to direct testimony.
In a critical legal faux pas, the litigating states missed the deadline
for requesting that certain Microsoft pretrial depositions be introduced
into evidence, and now have little recourse in that regard. In early
April, Kollar-Kotelly refused to admit the requested depositions.
"Typically you would want to get the depositions into the record, because
that's the best way to make sure the witnesses show up in court," said
Rich Gray, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based lawyer closely following the trial.
"This opened the door for Microsoft."
If a witness doesn't testify, portions of taped depositions could have
been shown in court and some new documents potentially introduced with
them, although the states would not have had the advantage of directly
cross-examining the witness.
"Microsoft has effectively closed the door on the states," Gray said.
"Because these witnesses can't be subpoenaed, there really is no other way
to get the testimony to be heard in court."
Last Tuesday, the states' attorneys made an impassioned plea to introduce
14 documents--later knocked down to 12--that would have been used during
the cross-examination of Fade. Some of them supposedly further bolstered
state claims that Microsoft is using a provision of the Justice Department
settlement to force new, prohibitive licensing agreements on PC makers.
Had Brock testified, the states might have been able to use anywhere from
four to eight of the documents then.
"The judge is more likely to get overturned on appeal for keeping evidence
out than for letting it in," said Andy Gavil, an antitrust lawyer with
Howard University's School of Law. But that doesn't mean Kollar-Kotelly
will ultimately admit the documents, he added.
Fade's pretrial deposition did not go well for Microsoft, so the company
may have good reason to keep him off the witness stand. Among other
things, the executive conceded that the new uniform licensing provision of
the settlement would raise PC makers' cost for Windows by about $4 per
copy. Depending on volume and lucrative marketing development discounts,
PC makers pay anywhere from $65 to $90 per copy of Windows, computer
manufacturer sources said. According to court records, Hewlett-Packard
(news - web sites) and Sony complained about new, onerous licensing
agreements. Later, a Gateway executive testified on behalf of the states.
The issue of how Microsoft treats its customers is perhaps central to the
case and any eventual remedy, Gavil said.
The trial was really "about channels of distribution," he said. "OEMs are
the best way to get software to the customer. If you can convince OEMs to
alter their packaging, the implications are self-evident." Microsoft's
"chokehold is over OEMs. They're the customers."
Ballmer's testimony could have raised other problems for Microsoft. The
software titan may have pulled Ballmer over concerns the states would use
his testimony to introduce e-mail or other evidence that would either call
the company's conduct into question or expose the Justice Department
settlement to further scrutiny, legal experts say. Ballmer had been
expected to testify about how the company would follow the Justice
Department settlement.
"There's nothing more the states would like than to get (a Microsoft
executive) to compare and contrast the proposed settlement with the
states' remedy," Gray said. The cross-examination by states' attorneys
could have put Ballmer in the position of defending the settlement versus
the states' proposed remedy.
The states had tried for this when Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates spent
three days on the witness stand two weeks ago. But Gates' written testimony
did not touch upon the Justice Department settlement, leaving little room
to explore the matter during cross-examination. Microsoft's chairman
aggressively attacked the states' proposal, which he called ambiguous and
"impossible" to follow. Gates also fiercely criticized the states'
definition of so-called middleware as overly broad.
Stuart Madnick, an information technology professor at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, made a similar claim in testimony last week, but
backpedaled during cross-examination.
When asked if the middleware definitions put forth in Microsoft's remedy
proposal--the same as the Justice Department settlement--are ambiguous, he
agreed that they are.
"I believe so," Madnick testified. "Based upon my reading of it at this
moment. I somehow think there is something missing, but I can't spot it
right at this moment."
States' attorneys could have probed Ballmer on this and other issues had
he testified.
Microsoft made Ballmer's deposition and that of Jim Allchin, the senior
executive overseeing Windows, public in March, after Kollar-Kotelly
granted media access to them. Allchin takes the witness stand this week.
Microsoft may have another reason for pulling back Ballmer and other
witnesses: confidence that the litigating states have not done as well in
court as they could have.
"We made decisions on who would testify in the case based on the reviewed
progress we made with our witnesses, as well as an assessment of the
states' witnesses and what we believe are shortcomings in the states'
case," Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said. "We feel good about the record
we've established and our success raising serious questions about the
states' remedy proposals."
Microsoft Judge Wants to See
'Modular' Windows
The federal judge overseeing the Microsoft Corp. antitrust case said on
Tuesday that she wants to see a version of the Windows operating system
that has removable features.
Over the objections of Microsoft, U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly said she would allow nine states seeking stiff sanctions
against the company to have a computer expert demonstrate a version of
Windows he has developed that can be customized.
Kollar-Kotelly scheduled the presentation for May 15.
A modular version of Windows is a key demand of the nine states who have
rejected a proposed settlement of the four-year-old case as too weak.
The states say a modular version of Windows would level the playing field
for non-Microsoft software trying to compete with Microsoft's continued
practice of attaching features to the operating system like its Web
browser and multimedia player.
But the software giant says it would be technically impossible to offer
multiple versions of Windows and would create havoc for consumers and the
computer industry.
The non-settling states told the judge that Virginia-based computer
testing consultant, James Bach, had built his modular version of Windows
using Microsoft's own technology.
Bach, who has worked as a contractor for Microsoft, had created the new
version using Windows XP Embedded, a commercial version of Windows designed
for specialty devices such as cash registers and automatic teller machines.
Bach will testify that his modular version of Windows was "robust and
reliable," Kollar-Kotelly said, citing the states' submission.
The states named Bach as one of two witnesses they want to call at the end
of the case to rebut some of Microsoft's arguments.
Microsoft attorneys strongly objected, saying the states should have
brought Bach into the case earlier when they were presenting their initial
case.
Kollar-Kotelly agreed in part. She said the states' attorneys hired Bach
in February, but had made a "tactical decision" not to call him earlier in
the case.
But the judge said it was important to hear from someone who had actually
"sat down and tried" to create a version of Windows that could be
customized.
"I'm going to allow Mr. Bach's testimony primarily for the reason that I
think the information should be presented to the court," Kollar-Kotelly
said. "I should have it."
States Get Boost in Microsoft Trial
The federal judge hearing the Microsoft antitrust case gave new hope to
states suing the company when she agreed Tuesday to let them present more
information on their most controversial penalty proposal.
The nine states want Microsoft to release a version of its Windows
operating system that will permit computer manufacturers to replace
Microsoft features with competing products.
Lawyers for the states asked U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to
allow them to call an extra witness to show that the "modular" Windows is
feasible, despite Microsoft's objections.
The states finished their case in April, and Kollar-Kotelly was reluctant
to let the states add on another witness. She called the request an
ill-conceived "tactical decision."
Nevertheless, she decided to let the witness, independent software tester
James Bach of Front Royal, Va.
"I think that the information should be submitted to the court, that I
should have it," Kollar-Kotelly said.
States' lawyer Steven Kuney said Bach will argue that Microsoft's XP
Embedded operating system shows that Microsoft can make a modular version
of Windows. XP Embedded is designed for small, limited function devices
like cash registers and automatic teller machines.
Many Microsoft witnesses, including Chairman Bill Gates, say that Microsoft
is unable to make a modular Windows because the different features - like
the Internet browser and media player - are dependent on each other.
Microsoft earlier specifically targeted the penalty proposal in a motion
that asked the judge to dismiss it. She has not ruled on the request.
Bach's testimony, which includes a video, will come after Microsoft rests
its case next week.
Top Microsoft executive Jim Allchin testified Tuesday that hackers, virus
writers and software pirates could run rampant if Microsoft disclosed
technical information as requested by the states.
Allchin, who oversees Windows, said such disclosures "would make it easier
for hackers to break into computer networks, for malicious individuals or
organizations to spread destructive computer viruses and for unethical
people to pirate" Microsoft's flagship software.
The states want the disclosures so competitors can make their software
work as well with Windows as Microsoft's own products. The overwhelming
market share of Windows gives Microsoft a leg up on other software makers,
they say.
A lawyer for the states, Kevin Hodges, pointed out that many of the most
destructive computer attacks in recent years have targeted Microsoft
products regardless of whether Microsoft disclosed particular technical
data.
"I guess it's a matter of how hard you make it," Allchin replied. "We have
to work on our reputation for security in the marketplace."
The federal antitrust settlement with Microsoft exempts the company from
disclosing information that may compromise security. The states' proposals
have no such exemption.
Critics say Microsoft could use that exemption to keep from having to
disclose a much broader swath of information for competitive gain.
Hodges pointed to an interview with Roger Needham, the head of Microsoft's
research laboratory in England, who said that the exemption is only meant
to protect specific cryptographic keys.
Allchin said he disagrees with Needham. Needham was named as a possible
Microsoft witness, but was removed from the list last week.
Allchin confined his testimony to just a few issues, frustrating lawyers
for the states who could not introduce other matters because of
cross-examination rules. They wanted to raise several internal Microsoft
memos related to Microsoft's alleged wrongdoing.
Allchin is the last Microsoft official scheduled to testify in the
eight-week-old case. Two experts, an economist and a computer scientist
are still remaining in Microsoft's defense.
The original judge in the antitrust case ordered Microsoft broken into two
companies after concluding that it illegally stifled competitors. An
appeals court upheld many of the violations but reversed the breakup order
and appointed Kollar-Kotelly to determine a new punishment.
Judge Bruises Microsoft - Allows XP Embedded Demo
A federal judge has granted the nine non-settling states in the Microsoft
antitrust trial the right to demonstrate a modular version of the Windows
operating system that functions without a Web browser, media player and
other supporting software.
Over Microsoft's protests, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said
Tuesday that she will allow computer testing consultant James Bach to
testify in support of the states' contention that a modular,
consumer-oriented version of Windows is not an impossibility, as Microsoft
claims it is.
Bach will seek to demonstrate that he can build a functioning Windows
operating system using Windows XP Embedded software, commonly used to run
such devices as cash registers and ATM machines.
Judge Kollar-Kotelly noted that this information is important to the court
in its decision-making process, and that the subject is in line with what
reasonably could be expected in rebuttal testimony.
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told the court last month that while Windows
XP Embedded might allow consumers to choose their own Web browser and media
player, it does not function in the same fashion as the home and
professional versions of Windows XP.
But in allowing Bach's testimony, Judge Kollar-Kotelly said Microsoft
representatives had "not testified that they tried what Mr. Bach has done
and whether that was successful or not."
Tam Ormiston, Iowa deputy attorney general, told NewsFactor that the
court's agreement to hear Bach's testimony is "significant."
"We believe that this is an important feature of the remedy, and that it
can be done technologically and from an engineering perspective," said
Ormiston, who coordinates the Microsoft case on behalf of the states.
A version of Windows free of supporting software is a cornerstone of the
remedy proposed by the nine non-settling states and the District of
Columbia, which rejected an earlier U.S. Department of Justice settlement
with the software giant.
Peter Kastner, chief research officer at the Aberdeen Group, told
NewsFactor that XP Embedded was not designed to support new applications
or functionality.
"It's not like you can punch a button and add a word processor or a media
player to an XP Embedded environment, unless you get back to 'regenerating'
the operating system -- a techie term that home users would come to hate.
There's just no point to it," Kastner said.
He explained that XP Embedded technology is intended to compete with Linux
in non-computer consumer electronic devices.
"It's a different market -- an operating system that is designed for
another purpose," he noted.
But Ormiston explained that the states' goal in submitting Bach's Windows
version is to demonstrate that the main Windows XP operating system can be
offered in a modular fashion, not that Windows XP Embedded should be used
in such a way.
"This is done over the course of a very short time and with our modest
resources. Certainly we think Microsoft, with its engineering capacity,
can accomplish goals the court sets and that consumers and OEMs desire,"
Ormiston said.
States Cancel Windows Demo in Microsoft Case
Nine states seeking strong antitrust sanctions against Microsoft Corp. on
Thursday abruptly canceled plans to demonstrate the feasibility of one of
their key demands -- a version of the Windows operating system with
removable features.
The states said they had made the decision to avoid prolonging the case
after Microsoft said it needed an indefinite period of time to prepare.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Koteely had also expressed annoyance at
the states' late introduction of voluminous supporting documents.
"Our sense is that she's ready for this to conclude," said Tom Greene, an
assistant attorney general for California.
A modular version of Windows is one of the key demands of the nine states
that have rejected a proposed settlement of the landmark case.
Greene said the states' concluded that the demonstration was unnecessary
because Microsoft's witnesses had never backed up the company's assertion
that it was impossible to create a modular version of the operating
system.
"Our sense is we're in as good a shape as we're going to be," Greene told
reporter outside of court.
The states received an angry rebuke from Kollar-Kotelly earlier on
Thursday for dumping documents on Microsoft at the last minute.
"This is absolutely astounding," she told the states' legal team. "I
cannot tell you I am happy about the way this has been done."
Microsoft attorney Steve Holley had told Kollar-Kotelly it would be "an
extensive enterprise" for the company's lawyers to prepare a response.
"We're not talking about a matter of hours or even a matter of days,"
Holley said.
Earlier this week Kollar-Kotelly had expressed interest in seeing the
version of Windows developed by computer testing expert James Bach, in
what had seemed like a small victory for the states.
The states say a version of Windows in which some features can be removed
would level the competitive playing field for non-Microsoft software.
An appeals court last year upheld trial court findings that Microsoft had
illegally maintained its Windows monopoly by tactics that included
commingling the operating system with its Internet Explorer program to
fend off rival Netscape.
States Attack Microsoft Expert as Case Nears End
A computer expert testifying for Microsoft Corp. conceded on Friday that it
would be possible to remove features from the company's Windows operating
system even if technically difficult.
University of Colorado computer science professor John Bennett had
testified on Thursday that a version of Windows with removable features
was "technically infeasible."
Questioned by an attorney for nine states seeking stiff antitrust
sanctions against the software giant, Bennett said anything was possible
with software.
"It's a question of the degree of difficulty and the amount of work that
would be required," said Bennett, Microsoft's last witness at the
hearings, now in their eighth week.
The states say a modular version of Windows, allowing features like the
Internet browser and media player to be removed, would help level the
competitive playing field for non-Microsoft software.
But Microsoft has insisted that Windows is highly dependent on all its
parts to work properly.
Under a proposed settlement reached with the U.S. Justice Department in
November, Microsoft would let computer makers hide desktop icons for some
Windows features.
Bennett was the last of more than 30 witnesses who have testified before
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly during 32 days of hearings into
the demands of the states.
The judge is also weighing whether to approve the proposed settlement that
the nine dissenting states say is too weak to prevent future antitrust
violations.
The states on Thursday canceled plans to demonstrate a modular version of
Windows after it became clear they had annoyed the judge by introducing
the material so late in the case that it would vastly lengthen the
proceedings.
A federal appeals court last June upheld the original trial court's
finding that Microsoft illegally maintained its Windows monopoly through
acts that included commingling its Internet Explorer code with Windows to
fend off Netscape.
But the appellate judges rejected Jackson's breakup order and sent the
case back to a new judge, Kollar-Kotelly, to consider the most appropriate
remedy.
Bennett had said in written testimony that the states' proposal for a
modular operating system would exponentially increase the cost of testing
and supporting Windows.
States attorney Steve Kuney countered by suggesting Bennett was
exaggerating the impact of the states' proposals.
In particular, Kuney challenged Bennett's claim that the states would
force Microsoft to make almost every piece of Windows removable.
Bennett acknowledged that it would be possible to remove software features
like the Internet Explorer browser from Windows and replace them with
other companies' software.
"From the (computer) user's perspective it's relatively straightforward to
replace the browser," Bennett said. But added that the browser had many
complicated parts "that would have to be replicated."
"Are you testifying it would be technically infeasible?" Kuney asked.
"No, I'm saying it would have to be done," Bennett replied.
Judge Rejects Motion To Dismiss in Digital Copyright Case
A federal judge on Wednesday denied a Russian software vendor's motion to
dismiss criminal charges that allege the company sells a product designed
to break anti-copying technology. Such a practice would represent a
violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Attorneys for ElcomSoft had argued that the law is vague and undermines
legitimate copying that is legally protected under "fair use" tenets. But
U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte was not convinced and found that the DMCA
does not breach the software maker's due process.
The plain meaning of the statute, said Whyte, is to completely ban
circumvention tools, because Congress has assumed that "most uses" of the
tools would be for unlawful infringement rather than fair use.
ElcomSoft's attorneys also argued that the DMCA violates software vendors'
free-speech rights. While Whyte ruled that the computer program qualifies
as speech -- rejecting the government's argument that software is not
speech -- he also found that the First Amendment is satisfied based on the
government's intent to control the software's function rather than
content.
"Congress was concerned with promoting electronic commerce while
protecting the rights of copyright owners, particularly in the digital age
where near-exact copies of protected works can be made at virtually no
cost and distributed instantaneously on a worldwide basis," he wrote in
his 35-page decision.
Whyte's decision is consistent with other court rulings upholding the new
law. It sets the stage for attorneys to try what is believed to be the
first criminal prosecution under the controversial legislation.
The DMCA was enacted in 1998 as a compromise between copyright owners and
telecommunications companies seeking freedom from liability connected to
online piracy. Since then, it has sparked a battle between copyright
holders and those seeking to copy and distribute books, songs and music
over the Internet.
The law deems illegal tools that crack encryption and other anti-copying
controls. Whyte ruled that ElcomSoft's product, which is aimed at breaking
copyright protections built into Adobe's eBook software, falls into that
category.
Lawyers and other free speech proponents said they are "extremely
disappointed" with Whyte's decision. The Electronic Frontier Foundation
said the ruling could weaken consumers' rights to fair use of legally
copyrighted works.
"We had hoped the judge would see the constitutional problems here," EFF
legal director Cindy Cohn told the E-Commerce Times. "Perhaps we are just
a bit ahead of our time. The problems that the DMCA has caused are just
beginning to reach public consciousness."
The EFF filed a court brief on behalf of ElcomSoft and published a white
paper listing a collection of unintended consequences related to the DMCA,
including magazine censorship and fear of a backlash in the scientific
research community.
"This is a bad law," Cohn said. "It's causing a lot of problems and is
going to continue to cause a lot of problems as people begin to see how
their rights have been limited. Consumers are going to get angry."
Mike Godwin, a Center for Democracy & Technology policy fellow, told the
E-Commerce Times that he is most concerned about jurisdictional issues in
the ElcomSoft case.
Godwin pointed to a recent case in which Yahoo, an American company, was
hauled into a French court for posting content related to Nazi memorabilia
on a U.S. Web site targeting English-speaking viewers.
"We've tried to put limits on the extent to which French courts can impose
penalties on American companies that are not, except incidentally,
connected to France," he said. "And here we have the ElcomSoft case, where
our government is prosecuting someone whose connection to the United
States is fairly slim. How do you apply geographic rules in a global
medium like the Internet?"
The U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment on the case. ElcomSoft
attorney Joe Burton could not immediately be reached for comment.
The trial schedule for the case will be determined at a May 20th hearing.
=~=~=~=
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