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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 04 Issue 42
Volume 4, Issue 42 Atari Online News, Etc. October 18, 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
To subscribe to A-ONE, change e-mail addresses, or unsubscribe,
log on to our website at: www.atarinews.org
and click on "Subscriptions".
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To unsubscribe from A-ONE, send the following: Unsubscribe A-ONE
Please make sure that you include the same address that you used to
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To download A-ONE, set your browser bookmarks to one of the
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Now available:
http://www.atarinews.org
Visit the Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi!
http://forums.delphiforums.com/atari/
=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0442 10/18/02
~ MSN, AOL Launch Duel! ~ People Are Talking! ~ NetBSD Update News!
~ New EtherNEC Hardware! ~ 'Dot-usa' Fee Refunds! ~ New Form of Spam!
~ XXX-Rated Game Shunned ~ Atari Coldfire Project ~ Microsoft Pulls Ad!
~ Pentium 4 Successor? ~ AOL To Stop Pop-Up Ads ~ Acclaim Cries Foul!
-* ARAnyM: Fastest TOS Clone! *-
-* Cybercrime Experts See Need For Laws *-
-* MacWorld Leaving Big Apple? Apple Won't Go! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The weather around here has been abominable this past week or so. Wet and
cold has been the norm. But, it may be improving as we saw the sun today,
for the first time in many days. Maybe I'll get an opportunity to get the
lawn mowed before it reaches "meadow" classification! We had a minor frost
the other night, but most of my vegetables survived. However, it won't be
long now before a hearty frost finishes them off. I may get another batch
of ripe tomatoes yet!
It's been one of those weeks again. Maybe it was amplified by the weather
but the mood at work has been strained. Everyone appears to be more and
more stressed out lately. Not good for a major hospital! Probably the
typical over-worked and under-paid syndrome, but that's the norm these days.
It's unfortunate that the general workforce is faced with that situation,
but there's not a lot one can do about it unless willing to change careers
and hope it's a better one. I just thought - it sounds like the last days
of Atari and the decision many of us Atari users had to make - stick with
Atari computers or move on and hope for the best. Ironic, but many of us
stayed with Atari but added another platform in the hopes of having the best
of both worlds! It seemed to have worked for the moment!
We have an interesting issue this week with a number of ironic articles for
your reading pleasure. A major decision with regard to future MacWorld
shows; Microsoft blows it, again!; a soft-porn video game gets shunned; and
a lot more! I hope you enjoy reading.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
ARAnyM Is The Fastest TOS Clone Now
ARAnyM 0.6.6 has just been released. This new version offers the JIT
(just-in-time) compiler for our CPU that converts the m68k instructions
to i386 instructions on-the-fly (similarly to what JAVA VM does). This
causes up to 10x faster execution of m68k code on i386 host platform.
Visit the ARAnyM web pages for more information, download or the
screenshots section that clearly shows the immense power of GEM
applications running on the right TOS machine.
http://aranym.sf.net/
New ARAnyM WWW Pages
Completely reworked WWW pages, now based on CSS2, offer new and
up-to-date information about ARAnyM, its current status and progress.
Especially enjoy the new screenshots...
http://aranym.sf.net
Behind the Scenes of the Atari Coldfire Project
There is an article about the work of the Atari Coldfire Project available
at the website: http://acp.atari.org
It covers the progress of the project and features insights of the work of
ACP. Additionally, there is a discussion about the 'Wilhelm'-board, that
was mentioned some time ago.
Have fun while reading!
NetBSD 1.6 Released
NetBSD 1.6 has been released. It contains support for large variety of
hardware platforms, including Atari (and Atari clones)
http://www.netbsd.org
EtherNEC Hardware
Lyndon Amsdon has announced:
I have more stock of EtherNEC after the recent delays over summer.
EtherNEC is an adaptor to connect an ISA network card to the ROM port
(cartridge port) of every 16/32 Atari (ST, TT, Falcon). On accelerated
Falcons speeds of up to 400kbytes/sec have been reported. Please see:
http://hardware.atari.org
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. It's been yet another hectic week here in
the rat's maze, and the weekend is looking pretty good right about now. I
don't know about you, but I find myself looking forward to weekends more
and more these days.
It's not like I do anything special on the weekends, but it's MY time.
Y'know what I mean? It gives me time to catch up on the things that I
have to put off during the week and, over and above that, gives me time
to just "veg" out.
I'm one of those people who just likes to take some time to think about a
bunch of miscellaneous things for no reason in particular. You know... a
lay-about. <grin>
Last weekend, I read an article on the internet about how the line between
the "have's" and the "have-not's" is changing. The story itself was dry
and fairly uninteresting to anyone who has actually LOOKED at the way
things are out there, but it got me to thinking about the line between
computer users and non-computer users.
In my "day job", I teach employees to use computers for database entry,
shipping and receiving, inventory control, and several other things. I've
found that there are only two types of people... those who are willing to
learn to use the computer, and those who aren't.
I've been fascinated by computers ever since I saw my first episode of
STAR TREK (the one with the original Enterprise: NCC-1701. No bloody A,
no bloody B, no bloody C, no bloody D).
The idea of a machine that was capable of figuring things out and actually
telling you about it amazed me. When affordable computers actually became
available, I jumped in and bought one. Sure, it wasn't capable of talking
or even doing anything really complex, but it was a start. And I was more
impressed by what it COULD do than I was disappointed by what it couldn't.
So I simply can't understand the mindset of someone who doesn't want to
learn about computers. I'm not talking about people who are afraid of
them. Those people can lose their fears... usually within a few minutes,
if given a chance and some encouragement. Rather, I'm talking about those
who just don't want to deal with computers at all. It occurred to me that
this very division is what is becoming the next cultural divide.
I can remember back when I was in junior high school and one of the nuns
(yes, I went to a catholic school) constantly referred to eastern
europeans, south americans, africans... heck, everyone who wasn't north
american... as "backward people".
I always chalked that up to either arrogance or ignorance, but more and
more these days, I think it's the same division that people have seen
since time began. The have's and the have-not's.
This time, the dividing line isn't on a map, it's not one of those neatly
colored boundaries, and it's got nothing to do with religion or
ethnicity. It might even warrant a change in the name... It may come to
be known as the divide between the users and the non-users. I find it
somewhat troubling that a piece of technology that has such great
potential to bring people together will help to keep them apart.
Well, let's get to the news, hints, tips, and info from the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
==============================
'Mark' asks about a particular hard drive:
"I got a Seagate Barracuda 4.3 HD on ebay and I can't get HD Driver
to "see" it on my system. It is a fast and wide SCSI HD which I
believe is also called SCSI 3? Anyway I got an adapter to make it
connect to a 50 pin cable and put the HD in my SCSI external case,
which is connected by another cable that is SCSI 1 on one end and
SCSI 2 on the other. Could it be a problem with all these different
SCSI standards, or does HD driver support SCSI 3? I'm using HD driver
7.6. "
Dr. Uwe Seimet, author of HD Driver, tells Mark:
"Yes, HDDRIVER supports SCSI-3. Have you already tried the current demo
version 8.1 of HDDRIVER. There were numerous changes wrt to SCSI since
version 7.6.
Ensure that your adapter *actively* terminates the unused upper 8 data
lines of your cable."
Derryck Croker tells Mark:
"I went through this (on a Mac as it happens). I thought that it was the
adaptor's responsibility to configure the drive (in this case a 68 pin
job) to the right configuration for an 8 bit data bus, single-ended but
had to grab the manufacturer's data sheet and a few jumpers and do it
myself.
There's no reason to suspect the various standards you/we have."
Rod Smith adds:
"You might need to do a low-level format on the drive and set various
parameters (particularly the sector size) correctly. I got a ~4GB SCSI
disk off of eBay a few months ago, and it had been used in a UNIX system
that set a peculiar sector size. It wouldn't work in my TT until I
forced a low-level format with a reset of the sector size to the
standard 512 bytes. I don't recall what I used to do this, but I think
it was an old DOS utility (I used an x86 box to do the reformat)."
Uwe tells Rod:
"If a drive is not "seen" it has definitely nothing to do with the sector
size. The physical sector size is only relevant when trying to read/write
data. If a drive is not recognized it's a hardware-related problem,
usually wrong termination or bad cables. You are not able to format a
drive that is not "seen", by the way. "
Brian Roland adds:
"I'm waiting on an adaptor to try one of these drives on my Falcon.
ST34572W. It should work....
1. What computer are you trying to connect it with? Falcon?
2. Check the jumper settings carefully...be sure you've a non conflicting
address jumper set.
3. Check the Termination Power and Termination jumper settings. Some
atari scsi hosts do not supply termination power properly, or at all. In
such cases you'll want to have one SCSI device on the bus supply term
power to itself, and to the rest of the bus. You only want the last
device in the SCSI chain terminated.
4. Open HDDriver Utility and scan for drive ID, if it is showing up there,
but not on the list when you boot, then you've simply forgotten a setting
in HDDriver. Find the dialog where you tell HDDriver what SCSI ID's to
scan and make sure the drive ID is active.
5. If still no luck...try to find another computer somewhere to test the
drive. If nothing can recognize it...maybe it's a bad drive. Given the
age of that model of hard drive...there is a VERY GOOD chance it is still
under Seagate Warranty (free repair if it's bad).
Do let us know if you get it working...I'm hoping to get one of these to
work on my Falcon."
Brian then gets all the pieces together and posts this:
"Just today I installed one of these Barracuda Wide SCSI drives on my
Atari Falcon...
I did have some troubles getting it recognized...
I also have a Barracuda ST32550N 2.1gig (NOT Wide) drive on the bus..
I finally got the Ultra Wide ST34572W to be recognized like so:
I have a Falcon with the mini SCSI II cable going to a SCSI I type chassis
just like you described.
1. I had the other drive [ST32550N] provide TERM POWER to the BUS, AND to
the drive and made sure this first drive in my chain is NOT terminated.
2. I then set the Wide SCSI drive (with adaptor) to get its term power
from the SCSI bus.
3. I put a termination block on the end of the SCSI chain. If you don't
have an external termination block...make sure the last SCSI device in
the chain is terminated.
In essence...it seems like the Wide drive does not like something about
the Falcon's termination power (if it provides it at all?).
Having another device on the SCSI bus provide this seems to have fixed it.
If you don't have another SCSI device to do this with...try experimenting
with the various termination jumper settings on the hard drive.
If that doesn't help, ask on the news groups...there's a way to pull
termination power from an external power source (such as the joystick
port) if needed...people used to do this with the old ICD adaptors for ST
machines and zip drives that do not provide their own termination power."
Jim DeClercq asks about printing to his SLM printer:
"I am missing something simple.
I use TeX for several things, and DVISLM.TTP does nothing but
print a blank page. The DVI file is fine, and there is a work-around. I
print to file as a lj file, and use MagicSLM to go from there to
my SLM804.
I am using the CS_TEX_4.0 distribution, and whatever is in it I have.
Does anyone have a working copy of DVISLM, or a working setup that will
print to an SLM804?
Or, what simple thing am I missing?"
Adam Klobukowski tells Jim:
"You can try converting DVI file to PS of PDF and then use
GemGhostscript."
Bill Kendrick asks for info about the 1040:
"Well, apparently there was an Atari 1040STf lying around the office I
just moved into, and since it wasn't claimed before the last tenants
moved out, and obviously wasn't used by them for work, my bosses here
said to themselves "hey, Bill's into Atari's - we can give it to him!"
So, I'm now the proud owner of an Atari 1040STf (minus the up-arrow
and keypad-zero keycaps, and E and D keys which don't stay on very well).
I have no idea if it works - I found a spare power cord (looks to use the
standard type used in today's monitors & PCs), and it appeared to power
up.
But, I have no monitor here at work that it could talk to (and no cable),
and looking at the DIN plug on the back, I seriously doubt the cable I'm
using on my Atari 800XL (with Commodore 1902 monitor) will fit the bill.
My first question is:
What's the best/cheapest place to get a monitor cable, and what kind of
monitors can it connect to? (e.g., can I use that Commodore 1902
monitor?)
What's the best way to get files to/from this puppy? I've got a Linux
box at home and at work, and I seem to recall the ST line using "MSDOS"
style floppy disks, so I suppose I can just use 3.5" disks...
Is there any kind of ethernet adapter for it, or something?"
David Wade tells Bill:
"The Atari produces analogue RGB at "normal" TV style frequencies. So
depending on the original country this will either be at 50Hz or 60hz,.
depending on the dominant standard. You can switch between the two with a
boot floppy but most suitable monitors will sync to either. Some models
(STFM and STE) had a built in TV modulator and these have composite video
in addition to RGB. You can tell these models as they have an additional
RCA jack on the back for feeding the TV aerial socket. As its an STf I
assume it has no TV modulator, and so no composite, so it won't work with
the 1902, which from the web appears to need TTL or Composite.
If its real old it probably has a single sided drive in it, so it won't
read PC format drives. If it has a double sided drive it will read and
write "standard" 720k (i.e. none high density). The OS is usually in ROM
so once you have a display you will get a "GEM" desktop and you should be
able to format disks. If it will format a double sided it will read 720k
PC disks.
As it has no hard drive ethernet is not much use. If you get a hard drive
the hardware.atari.org has one solution which I also use, but the ISA
Realtech NE2000 clone cards it needs are getting harder to find at junk
sales.
Brian Roland adds:
"It's possible to hook it to a VGA for the monochrome mode.
Ask around..I'm sure some of the Atari shops will build you a cable.
To get files to the ST...get a box of Double Density disks...or if you
can't find any, tape the hole of some HD ones. Format them on your
PeeCee. If the ST turns out to have a single sided drive...then use
MSDOS to format it single sided on your PC. You should be able to move
the disk(s) to and fro then. You might also check popular Atari
Emulation sites...as there are quite a few utilities for moving "disk
images" about.
Yes...there are at least 3 ethernet solutions, though you'll need a
multitasking OS (and enough memory to run it). One of the ethernet
solutions requires a relatively modern SCSI host adaptor. In any
case...a hard disk would be nice..."
Sam Smith asks about the status of an Atari 'clone':
"Just a quick question - What happened to the Milan? What is (or rather
was) the 'Ultimate' Atari ST?"
Lonny Pursell tells Sam:
"If you refer to obtainable, I'd say the Hades060, but since
I have one. I'm biased.
The Milan is a fine machine though, the 040 version can be upgraded
to an 060. I won't bother to speak of unreleased things, only time
will tell."
Martin Tarenskeen posts this about HighWire:
"This day I was browsing the net accidently(!) using Highwire ONLINE. I
didn't even know it was already possible to use it online ! It's not quite
ready yet completely for serious online use, but it was a nice surprise
for me anyway."
Mark Duckworth tells Martin:
"Though I haven't been following the highwire list, the online
functionality simply isn't done quite properly yet last time I checked.
Probably someone accidentally left the initial online functionality
turned on in the build.
Oops... I could be wrong and it could be completed though I am not sure.
I think that there's an internal prioritization system for image rendering
and downloading that needs to be finished. As with anything related to
highwire, the developers do not want to release anything that isn't good."
Well folks, that's it for this time around. 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 - Xbox To Be Bundled With Two Games!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Retailers Shun "BMX XXX" Game!
Acclaim Cries Foul!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Microsoft to Offer Xbox Bundled with Two Games
Microsoft Corp. on Monday said it would offer its Xbox console bundled with
two games from Japanese publisher Sega Corp., an effective discount aimed
at more price-conscious game buyers.
The package will sell for the same $199 price the console alone currently
sells for, which Microsoft said translates into a savings of about $100.
"Now that everyone's in the second year of their console life -- Sony being
in the third -- you're going after a broader audience," John O'Rourke,
director of Xbox marketing for Microsoft, told Reuters. "What matters more
to a casual gamer, or a gift giver, is value."
Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s GameCube both came out in November
of last year, while Sony Corp.'s market-leading PlayStation 2 came out in
late 2000.
Nintendo is also set to offer a bundle this holiday season, including a
copy of "Super Mario Sunshine" and an extra external memory card with the
GameCube, though that package will sell for $189.95, compared with the
GameCube's regular $149 price.
The two games to be included in the Xbox bundle are skateboarding and
action game "Jet Set Radio Future" and auto racing title "Sega GT 2002."
The bundle will also come with a smaller version of the Xbox's control pad,
which has previously been available separately.
O'Rourke said he expects most retailers will offer only the Xbox bundle and
not stand-alone Xboxes without the extra games and the smaller controller.
Retailers Shun New Acclaim 'XXX' Game
Three of the nation's top retailers, including Wal Mart, on Monday said
they had refused to carry a new video game billed as the first major
release to feature full-action nudity and with prostitutes and pimps as
major characters.
Using the tagline "Keep it Dirty," video game publisher Acclaim
Entertainment Inc. is gearing up for the Nov. 19 launch of "BMX XXX," a
game that also features copulating pink poodles and a variety of racing
bike stunts.
But major retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Toys R Us Inc. and KB Toys all
said they would not carry the game, a potential blow for the game's
exposure.
"We're not going to carry any software with any vulgarity or nudity - we're
just not going to do it," Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams told Reuters.
However, Best Buy Co. Inc. said it intended to sell a censored version of
the game for Sony's PlayStation 2.
Acclaim Chief Executive Gregory Fischbach told Reuters the critics were
being unfair and missing the point of the game, which he said was intended
as a kind of spoof along the lines of movie comedies such as "Austin
Powers" and "Airplane."
A promotional video clip first bills "BMX XXX" as a "game of cultural
sophistication and artistic aspiration" then launches into a hard-rocking
montage of clips, including bike tricks and shots of strippers in action.
The video ends with the admonition: "We're going to hell for this and
you're all coming with us."
"I still believe that we'll get substantially full distribution in the
United States," Fischbach said. "I don't really think it goes much further
than some other video games on the marketplace."
He added, "I think the game stands on its own and I think that ... we have
no intent to change the content of the game."
Glen Cove, New York-based Acclaim wants the title to be a hit and reverse
its sliding fortunes the way that "Grand Theft Auto 3" did for Take-Two
Interactive Software Inc.
"GTA 3," which like "BMX" carries a "Mature" rating from the Entertainment
Software Review Board, featured controversial scenes of violence but went
on to become the top-selling video game of 2001.
While "GTA 3" was exclusive to Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2, Acclaim has a
broader strategy for "BMX," with releases planned for the PS2, Microsoft
Corp.'s Xbox and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s GameCube.
Fischbach said there has been no decision yet on changes to the Sony
version, though he said if Sony asked for changes Acclaim would make them.
He added that any changes would not affect the game's release date.
A Nintendo spokeswoman said the company had not asked for any changes for
the GameCube version. A Microsoft spokeswoman was not immediately available
for comment.
Since Oct. 1, shares in Acclaim have gained nearly 12 percent, the best
performance among the listed U.S. video game publishers. Even so, the
stock, which rose 13-fold in 2001, is off nearly 77 percent this year and
down 41 percent since a Sept. 19 profit warning.
That warning jarred investors at a time when most video game companies
expect to post record profits and sales. Acclaim warned of a fiscal
fourth-quarter loss of up to 13 cents, compared with the 13-cent profit
analysts polled by Thomson First Call had on average had expected. As a
result, many analysts cut their ratings and estimates on the stock.
Besides "BMX," Acclaim had bet its holiday season on the games "Turok:
Evolution," "Aggressive Inline" and "Vexx." But both "Turok" and "Inline"
were major sales disappointments, and Vexx has been postponed into 2003.
"BMX XXX" will also compete with "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," the
follow-on to "GTA 3" and an expected top seller in its own right. The
marketing for "Vice City" has also relied heavily on images of near-naked
women and thuggish men.
"What we're doing here is funny," Fischbach said. "The people that we're
selling to are the people who bought 'Grand Theft Auto."'
Acclaim: Critics Unfair in Blasting 'XXX' Game
Shunned by retailers for a video game featuring prostitutes and pimps,
Acclaim Entertainment Inc. on Thursday said the controversial game was
being unfairly held to a different standard than mainstream media.
"BMX XXX," which will carry a "Mature" rating as assigned by the
Entertainment Software Rating Board, features scantily-clad prostitutes,
pimps in outrageous clothing and copulating dogs, and carries the tagline
"Keep It Dirty."
Glen Cove, New York-based Acclaim is scheduled to release the game on Nov.
19 for Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox and Nintendo Co.
Ltd.'s GameCube game consoles.
Retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Toys R Us Inc., KB Toys, Best Buy Co. Inc.
and Circuit City Stores Inc. all said this week they would not carry the
game.
The Parents Television Council, a group that usually condemns what it sees
as inappropriate TV programming, issued a statement Thursday praising
retailers for refusing to stock the game.
But Acclaim countered with an unusual statement arguing that its game had
been misunderstood.
"We believe that there is a general, unfair characterization of the
interactive entertainment industry and as a result, our product is being
held to an entirely different standard than other entertainment media with
comparable content, including movies, television and radio," Acclaim Chief
Executive Greg Fischbach said in a statement.
In its statement, Acclaim cited statistics from research firm NPD Group
showing that 60 percent of people who own advanced game consoles are men
over 18, which it said demonstrates the potential audience for the title.
In its statement Acclaim compared the game with edgy but popular TV shows
like "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City" and teen comedy "American Pie."
"While we acknowledge that we are setting new benchmarks with BMX XXX, we
are disappointed that there are groups who fail to see how this humorous
product is truly on par with such widely accepted mainstream entertainment
experiences," Fischbach said.
Earlier this week, Fischbach told Reuters he believed most retailers would
change their position on stocking the game once they had actually seen it.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
AOL, MSN at It Again with Dueling Launches
America Online is putting on its gloves again to defend its title as the
No. 1 Web services provider, entering the ring with its new Internet
service roughly a week before MSN launches its newest challenge.
Maintaining its leadership is one of the many tasks at hand for the
Internet arm of AOL Time Warner Inc., which has been hit by the sharp ad
slump and federal probes into the unit's accounting, analysts said.
The latest version of its service, which is being launched on Tuesday, has
been billed as one of the company's biggest upgrades and as a key step in
reviving the online giant. But its nearest rival, Microsoft Corp.'s MSN,
which is a distant No. 2 to AOL with 9 million subscribers, unveiled an
aggressive $300 million marketing campaign to promote its newest version.
AOL has 35 million subscribers worldwide and 26.5 million in the United
States.
"It's the next stage of the portal wars that were all about which retailer
I can get. Now it's about which consumers I can get," Forrester analyst
Charlene Li said.
Analysts said they received invitations to AOL's and MSN's star-studded
launches within days of each other, fueling the battle between the two
rivals that started in the 1990s.
Rock star Alanis Morissette and comedian Dana Carvey will help company
executives, including Chairman Steve Case and Chief Executive Richard
Parsons, launch AOL 8.0 in New York on Tuesday. AOL plans to spend more
than $100 million on promoting the version, its biggest in several years.
MSN, of course, has its own plans. Rock star Lenny Kravitz will kick off
MSN's launch on Oct. 24 in New York's Central Park. For the first time,
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will be on hand for an MSN launch. They may
also unveil new partners at the event.
"If you think of it as a slug fest, AOL is a defender. MSN is a strong
contender and then we have Yahoo on the side saying, 'We want to get in
there,"' Li said.
Last month, Yahoo Inc. unveiled its new high-speed access service with SBC
Communications, the No. 2 local U.S. telephone carrier. Yahoo is betting it
will benefit from its status as neither a software company nor a media
giant.
AOL executives have acknowledged the world's largest Internet service
provider took its eye off the ball, focusing more on things like ad sales
after its merger rather than the service. AOL 8.0 is seen as key in their
turnaround plan as it tries to get the unit back on track.
Last month, the company said 2002 earnings and revenue at the online unit
would miss expectations, citing the ad slump. Some analysts have wondered
if it will also have to rein in 2003 expectations.
Analysts said the emerging high-speed, or broadband, world offers rivals a
chance to catch up and turn the tables on AOL. Merrill Lynch analyst
Jessica Reif Cohen last week warned that falling subscribers could also
become AOL's next problem and said its move into broadband could be a
costly one.
"It is a very important time for us to get the word out," said Bob Visse,
director of MSN marketing. "When customers on AOL are making this decision
of whether they upgrade to AOL 8.0 or look into another ISP or move to
broadband -- when they make that decision, we want to be there as a clear
alternative."
MSN is spending $300 million to get the word out -- a hefty sum but less
than the $1 billion it spent in 2000 when it offered $400 rebates. While
subscriber growth slowed after it ended the rebate, MSN has gained market
share, analysts said.
"MSN has spent more than $1 billion since 2000 in marketing efforts against
AOL, but AOL has outgrown MSN by 8 million net new subscribers over that
time," AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein said. "We have always focused on
members, not competition. Some of our competitors have been trying to
imitate AOL for years."
GigaMedia analyst Rob Enderle said Microsoft and MSN often outspend their
rivals in launches and this time the spending is likely "several
magnitudes" of what AOL would spend.
"In the face of the huge spin by Microsoft, it's awfully hard to build
momentum," Enderle added. "AOL -- largely as a result of merger and focus
on other things -- has taken its eye off the ball and MSN has taken that
ball and run with it."
Analysts said MSN has better prepared for broadband and has targeted some
of AOL's strengths --such as parental controls.
AOL has fine-tuned its service and unveiled about 100 changes that build
on its strengths, including community and chat and improved junk mail
tools, for example, analysts said.
"This is the biggest single release from that perspective; there are a
broad range of changes that upgrade the whole experience," said David
Gang, head of AOL product development.
Despite the improvements in both services, Jupiter Research analyst David
Card said neither was going to revolutionize the market.
"The only way to juice up the subscription business is to take a major
pricing action, either cutting prices or bundling so much in, or to jump
on the broadband bandwagon," Card said. "But I don't think there is enough
to jump-start the market or take significant market share from each
other."
Macworld Leaving Big Apple; Apple Bitter
Can Macworld exist without the help of big Apple?
That was the question on Macintosh users' minds on Thursday after a bitter
Apple Computer Corp. said it would not participate in the huge trade show
when it comes to Boston in 2004.
Macworld organizer IDG World Expo announced earlier in the day what had
been rumored for weeks: that it had struck a deal with Boston authorities
to bring the trade show back to Massachusetts in July 2004.
But within two hours of IDG's announcement, Apple said in a terse statement
that it was not pleased with the move.
"Apple disagrees with this decision, and will not be participating in
Macworld Boston," Apple said, declining to comment on the reason for its
disagreement.
The Cupertino, California-based computer company also said it would rethink
its participation in next year's New York Macworld.
"Since IDG is no longer investing in New York, we now need to re-evaluate
our participation in Macworld New York 2003. Apple will continue to
participate in Macworld San Francisco in January," Apple said.
IDG said it had kept Apple informed of the plan to move Macworld to Boston
and that it could "only speculate" about the company's objections.
Macworld takes place twice a year, with one show in San Francisco. The
shows typically feature an appearance by Apple founder and Chief Executive
Steve Jobs, who enthralls Mac users with a display of the latest products.
Macworld left Boston for New York in 1998 after outgrowing the city's
available convention space. IDG said the trade show's return to
Massachusetts was expected to bring at least $40 million to Boston.
IDG: Macworld Expo Will Go On As Planned
Ending weeks of speculation, IDG World Expo announced on Thursday that they
would move the East Coast Macworld from New York to Boston in 2004. Despite
a statement given to MacCentral earlier from Apple saying they didn't agree
with the move and would not attend the show, IDG said the shows in New York
and Boston would go on as planned.
"We are going to produce Macworld New York in July 2003 and we are going to
produce Macworld Boston in July 2004," Charlie Greco, IDG World Expo
president and CEO, told MacCentral in an interview from Boston. "We would
love to have Apple participate in those events as they have for 18 straight
years, but if for reasons unknown to us they decide not to come, we will go
with 250 exhibitors instead of 251 exhibitors."
Greco said he did speak with officials from Apple today about the company's
statement and their plans for future shows, but said nothing has been
resolved yet. The two companies plan to meet again next week to continue
discussing Apple's participation in future shows -- Greco said he was
hopeful the situation could be resolved, but IDG was not going to change
their plans.
"We don't plan to lower a single room block or cut any of the commitments
we've made to the city of Boston," said Greco. "We're moving forward; we
believe we have a hit on our hands in the city of Boston."
Since Apple's statement saying they wouldn't attend a Macworld in Boston,
Greco said he has received a lot of support from other developers that like
the move to Boston. The message developers are giving him is that they will
go to Boston whether Apple goes or not, according to Greco.
"We have an obligation to the Mac community on the East Coast to give the
people that have been very loyal to the Mac platform a place to go so they
can network, look at products and services, and see the other 250
exhibitors," Greco said.
Apple's statement earlier today indicated that the company was also
re-evaluating the New York Expo next summer, but reaffirmed its commitment
to the San Francisco show in January.
Contacted earlier today, an IDG representative was surprised by Apple's
position and said the two companies had been in close contact throughout
the negotiation process to bring the show to Boston.
Intel Remains Mum on Pentium 4 Successor
A senior Intel executive confirmed Tuesday that the company is working on a
project code-named Nehalem but would not comment on details of the project
or whether the code name refers to a successor for the company's Pentium 4
processor.
Nehalem was first mentioned in an interview with Intel engineer Doug
Carmean posted on--and later removed from--Intel's Web site. In that
interview, Carmean said that Nehalem was a chip based on a new architecture
that is different from the Pentium 4 and would likely begin shipping in
2004. That has led to speculation among some observers that Nehalem could
be a successor to the Pentium 4.
"Nehalem is a fine word that people have tried to associate things to, but
we won't comment on it," said Louis Burns, vice president and co-general
manager of Intel's Desktop Platforms Group, speaking to the press at the
Intel Developer Forum here. "It's out in the future; we'll just leave it
at that."
Whatever Nehalem may be, Intel sees plenty of performance headroom left in
the Pentium 4 architecture and plans to develop additional chips based on
that design.
In 2003, the company plans to release an updated version of the Pentium 4,
code-named Prescott, which will be produced using a 90-nanometer process
and incorporate several improvements over existing Pentium 4 models, Burns
said.
Prescott will not be the last Pentium 4 chip, Burns said.
"We will continue to enhance and improve the [Pentium 4] architecture and,
like I said, there's certainly nothing to say about Nehalem," he said.
AOL to Stop Most Web Pop-Up Ads
In a bid to make its customers happy, America Online Inc. is eliminating
those annoying pop-up ads - for the most part.
"This new policy will contribute to our most important goal - a better
member experience," said Jon Miller, America Online's chairman and chief
executive. "By ending third-party pop-ups and merchandise sales we are
giving our members what they want."
The announcement Tuesday to no longer accept pop-up advertising coincided
with the launch of the latest version of AOL software.
The new policy will take effect as the company works through the inventory
of ads and merchandise promotions it is already committed to run.
However, AOL said it will continue to use pop-ups to notify members about
key features of its service, and on a limited basis, to advertise special
offers from parent company AOL Time Warner Inc.
America Online introduced version 8.0 of its Internet software, which
offers new services, including improved junk e-mail blockers and exclusive
content.
New Pop-Up Ads Bypass the Internet
As if junk e-mail and pop-up ads weren't annoying enough on their own, now
there's a combination.
A developer of bulk-mail software has figured out how to blast computers
with pop-up spam over the Internet through a messaging function on many
Windows operating systems. The function was designed for use by computer
network technicians to, for instance, warn people on their systems of a
planned shutdown.
The pop-up messages appear on recipients' computers in separate windows,
similar to pop-up ads that appear when a user goes to a Web site.
But there's a difference: Anyone can send the messages, and there's no need
for the user to have an Internet browser open.
Gary Flynn, a security engineer at James Madison University, where several
messages were received, calls the technique worse than e-mail spam.
"This pops up on the screen," he said. "It's almost like somebody barging
in your office and interrupting you."
Zoltan Kovacs, founder of the company that makes the new software,
officially condemns spamming but acknowledges that some customers buy it
for that.
"If some people use it for bad things, they should take their own
responsibility, but it's their own problem," Kovacs said.
He said his tool can help system administrators send alert notices to
network users more efficiently.
However, his Web site touts the software's advertising and marketing
potential. He said he has sold more than 200 copies since his $699.99
product was released two months ago.
The new spam technique, first reported by Wired.com, represents the latest
attempt to bypass the increasingly sophisticated e-mail spam filters
employed by leading Internet service providers and individual users.
It also circumvents state and other laws designed to curb junk e-mail,
Kovacs said.
Kovacs said his company is based in Romania. A demo copy of the software
contains a Plantation, Fla., address, but he said that was old. Kovacs
refused to discuss his location, other than saying he is in the United
States.
In recent weeks, Internet users have reported receiving pop-up messages
such as one touting university degrees without classes or books.
Security firm myNetWatchman.com, which monitors some 1,400 computer
networks worldwide, also detected unsolicited connection attempts of the
pattern used by Kovacs' software, DirectAdvertiser.
Unlike e-mail, recipients can only receive messages if their computers are
on while the messages are being sent. And the software can only send text
- not images or clickable links as are found in pop-up ads and e-mail.
The software itself does not hack into computers. Rather, it uses the
Messenger service that comes turned on by default with many Windows
systems, including 2000 and XP, said Philip Sloss, an independent security
consultant in San Diego.
Messenger, not to be confused with the MSN Messenger instant-messaging
program, is meant for system administrators to broadcast service notices.
But if a system administrator can use Messenger, so can someone connecting
through the Internet from the outside, said Lawrence Baldwin, president of
myNetWatchman.com.
Flynn worries that hackers might one day use the technique to persuade
users to change their passwords or otherwise compromise security.
The DirectAdvertiser software finds Messenger-enabled computers by running
through ranges of numeric Internet Protocol addresses used to identify
computers on the Internet.
The software, however, may not work if a computer is behind a security
firewall or if multiple computers share the same numeric address using a
traffic router.
The pop-up messages it sends are much more difficult to trace - and thus
block - than e-mail spam, Baldwin said. The software's Web site says the
messages are "completely anonymous and virtually untraceable," a claim
Baldwin confirms.
Users can disable Messenger through their operating system's control
panel, although doing so could interfere with some anti-virus and other
applications that send such messages. Kovacs even provides instructions on
his Web site.
Kovacs claims his software can send more than 10,000 messages an hour
through high-speed cable modems and DSL connections. Using a more expensive
T1 line increases the capacity threefold.
Kovacs, who refused to disclose his customers, said he has heard from
people wishing to buy the software and well as those wishing to turn off
the Messenger functions. Every few days, Kovacs said, an irate caller
addresses him "using bad words."
"We just hang up the phone," he said.
Microsoft Pulls Ad After Internet Faux Pas
Microsoft removed a testimonial ad from its Web site Monday after it was
discovered that the testimonial took some liberties with the truth.
The anonymous, first-person-style testimonial was written by a "freelance
writer" who switched from Apple Computer's AppleWorks mobile operating
system to Windows XP. Accompanying the published testimonial is the image
of an earnest-looking brunette holding a coffee cup. Posters at
Slashdot.org, a technology news and discussion site, noticed that the photo
is a Getty Images Inc. stock image.
Microsoft acknowledges that the image isn't of its customer, but says the
ad wasn't meant to be misleading. "The story is from a commissioned person
who is writing about her real experience. The picture is taken from Getty
Images," a Microsoft spokeswoman says. "Any company uses photo images of
people in those types of marketing formats."
By examining other documents at the site, The Associated Press ascertained
that the testimonial writer was a woman named Valerie Mallinson who worked
for public relations firm Rataushk & Associates Inc. The Microsoft
spokeswoman confirmed that the company hired Rataushk to create the ad, but
insists that it's an honest testimonial. The woman considers herself a
freelance writer and did make the switch from AppleWorks to Windows XP, she
says. The claim appears to be backed up by Mallinson, who is quoted by AP
as saying she made the switch.
Microsoft felt compelled to remove the controversial ad. "It wasn't the way
the Windows product group wanted to communicate Windows XP," the
spokeswoman says, adding that the ad was posted by a different group within
Microsoft.
World Cybercrime Experts See Need for Laws, Ties
Top international cyber-crimebusters wrapped up a three-day conference in
the world's most wired country on Wednesday with a call for greater global
cooperation to fight online offences.
Senior cyber-crime police officers from 37 countries agreed at a meeting
in South Korea that worldwide investigations were needed to chase online
criminals who operate with little regard for state frontiers.
"Cyber crimes are global crimes, using global IT networks," said Des
Berwick, an executive officer of the Australasian Center for Policing
Research, on the sidelines of the fifth Interpol conference on computer
crime.
Interpol -- which promotes international police cooperation and does not
deal with crimes involving just one country -- is based in Lyon, France,
and has 179 member countries.
It was the first time Interpol had held its computer crimes conference
outside its headquarters and it was no coincidence South Korea was chosen
as the venue. South Korea has the world's highest number of high-speed
broadband Internet users, and has cyber-crime statistics to match.
Interpol has had a unit, the High Tech Crime Unit, in charge of online
crimes since 2000.
"A large component of this conference in Interpol activity is the
encouragement and establishment of cooperative mechanisms. So you have
communication liaison," said Berwick. "They can investigate simultaneously
around the world."
A lack of laws covering online crimes has hindered international
investigations into the growing number of crimes on the Internet.
About 50-60 countries have their own laws against cyber crimes, but more
than 100 countries have no laws on computer offences, said Marc Goodman, a
representative of Interpol's U.S. operations.
"Having laws on the book is the first step," said Berwick.
In South Korea, cyber offences, including slandering and financial fraud
online, shot up 126 percent to 33,289 cases in 2001 from a year earlier,
and totaled 39,482 cases in the first eight months of this year, according
to the cyber-crime center under the country's National Police Agency.
The number of cases jumped 43 percent in 2000, with computer-savvy
teenagers topping the list of offenders.
Online games added to the number of cyber offences, given recent cases in
which some Internet game buffs paid people real money to "kill" their cyber
enemies.
"Many Korean citizens are online. The more people you have online, the more
cyber crime you are likely to have," said Goodman.
Hacking on computer systems, spreading viruses and cheating online equity
investors were among the most frequent Internet crimes in Asia's
fourth-biggest economy.
"We must have global cooperation...in investigating, addressing and
reducing the risk, and potential for cyber crimes," said Berwick.
Back in 1990, less than 100,000 people were able to log on to the Internet
worldwide. Now around 500 million people are hooked up to surf the net
around the globe, Goodman said.
'Dot-usa' Internet Name Seller to Refund Fees
A British entrepreneur has agreed to give back $350,000 to customers who
bought Internet domain names with a ".usa" suffix that did not work on most
computers, parties to the deal said Thursday.
U.K. resident Thomas Goolnik agreed to the refund as part of a settlement
with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which earlier this year filed a
deceptive-advertising suit that shut down his business.
Goolnik offered domain names such as "www.surfin.usa" though an aggressive
junk e-mail campaign, but failed to disclose that the star-spangled Web
sites and e-mail addresses would not work without special software, the FTC
charged.
After months of negotiations, the two sides reached a settlement on
Tuesday which requires Goolnik to refund his proceeds and agree not to make
further misrepresentations.
"We're more than satisfied with the settlement and the way it protects
consumers," said FTC attorney Steve Wernikoff, who handled the case.
Goolnik did not admit or deny guilt as part of the settlement and insisted
that he had done nothing wrong. A separate U.K. investigation failed to
find any evidence of fraud, he said, and very few customers have asked for
their money back.
"The domains do work and are not bogus or worthless," Goolnik told Reuters.
Unlike .com, .org and other established domains, .usa Web sites and e-mail
addresses have not been approved by the standards-setting Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
Like other "alternative root" domains that operate outside of the
ICANN-sanctioned domain-name system, ".usa" addresses can only be reached
by users who download a special software patch for their browsers.
The .usa domain also bears similarities to the United States' .us domain,
a recognized "country code" managed by Washington-based NeuStar Inc.
Goolnik said he was willing to go to trial to defend his practices, but was
advised by his lawyers to settle the case and move on.
Wernikoff said Goolnik could have backed out of the agreement - initially
proposed in June - if he was unsatisfied.
"There are many ways for him to tell us he wanted out of that deal," he
said.
Goolnik said he has sold roughly 6,000 of the patriotic names at $59 each.
He had also offered other unsanctioned names such as .brit, .scot, .sex
and .god, but said he was unsure if he would get back in the business of
selling alternative domains.
=~=~=~=
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