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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 08 Issue 15
Volume 8, Issue 15 Atari Online News, Etc. April 14, 2006
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2006
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 #0815 04/14/06
~ CCAG 2006 Show Nears! ~ People Are Talking! ~ PS2 Price Cut Nears?
~ New Spyware Doctor! ~ Big Brother On the Job ~ Studio Son beta!
~ Weighing .tel Domain! ~ AOL Blocking E-mails? ~ Students Face Off!
-* MySpace.com Moves To Safety! *-
-* MySpace Hires Online Security Chief *-
-* WordPerfect Office Offers More for Less! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I was brought up to understand and believe that we all have choices in life,
and the ability to make them. After last week, I realized that I had to
make choice regarding my current career, and I made it. I made a good
decision. How do I know? Because since I made the decision to leave, after
almost 30 years, a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. You would
not believe how many people have approached me, and told me how much more
relaxed, and "normal" I appear these days! I feel good, and I'm looking
forward to my pending temporary retirement! I have a number of "irons in
the fire, so I'm not worried about my future. With all of the years of
experience, as well as the number of people that I've worked with in and out
of the workplace, I should be all set. I've already talked to a number of
them, and the gears are in motion. In the meantime, I'm planning a number
of projects that we've been putting off for awhile due to the lack of time.
And, I have the golf clubs all ready to go - and the weather continues to be
more Spring-like. If I had to plan a time to take some time off, this is
probably the best time to do so!
A number of readers dropped me a line after last week's issue, when I made
the announcement that I was "retiring." I appreciate the support, and only
one reader expressed concern that perhaps I was making the wrong move. The
way I look at it, the move was right for a number of reasons. But most
importantly, it was one that had to be made to achieve some peace of mind
and body. Whatever consequences arise in the future, I feel comfortable
dealing with them. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
So, here I am preparing for some much needed rest, and planning all of those
"Honey-Do" projects. I'll stock up on the beer this weekend, dust off the
yard and garden tools, pick up some paint, flooring supplies, and whatever
other supplies needed to get to work!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
Studio Son 2.09 beta
One year of very hard work to release a new version of the audio editor
Studio Son. I have spent a big part of this year to improve the features
of this program. Mainly the optimization of the filtering process and
the addition of the resampling function.
Up to date, this version is only in French.
You can find 68030 and 68030+68882 versions in the archive:
http://doyeuxyvan.free.fr/studioson/std209b/STD209B.ZIP
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE User Group Notes! - Meetings, Shows, and Info!
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Classic Computing and Gaming Show 2006!
It's a new year which means a new CCAG Show!
Buy, sell, trade, play, and see classic video games, computers,
peripherals, memorabilia, and more at the Classic Computing and Gaming
Show (CCAG) on May 27, 2006 (and again in October, 2006) at the National
Guard Armory, 3520 Grove Ave. Lorain, Ohio from 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Vendors,
clubs, and collectors will be displaying and selling their retrogaming and
retrocomputing goods, from Pong and Atari to Nintendo, Apple and IBM to
Commodore and everything in between with many set up for you to play with
and explore. We have 5000+ square feet of space. Help us fill it all up!
For more information please go to http://www.ccagshow.com/
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. You might have noticed that I didn't
have a column in last week's issue. That was mainly because there
weren't a lot of messages last week. This week's column is going
to be a short one again.
There are very few messages again this week, unless you include the
peanut gallery complaining about there not being enough Atari news
in the magazine.
So I've got a bit of a challenge. If any of you pinheads are
actually reading this instead of simply... excuse the language...
pissing and moaning... then why not write something and submit it
to us. If you can duplicate the volume of verbiage that you have in
the NewsGroup, we'd double the size of the magazine! Yeah, I
thought so... dead silence. Typical.
There. I've said it. Now on with our regularly scheduled
programming.
Remember me mentioning that I had gotten a rather nasty stomach bug
that made me basically want to crawl away somewhere and wait it
out?
Well, I THOUGHT I'd beaten it... or at least that it had gotten
tired of torturing me and had moved on to someone else... but I
was wrong. In the words of that little blond girl in a certain
scary movie... It's baaaack.
This has made me think about back in the bad old days when they
didn't even have sulfa drugs and there was no recourse but to wait
until the wee beastie either got run over by your own natural
defenses or your body gave in to problems that it caused.
It's popular wisdom that we are healthier today than back then, but
is that really the case? I mean, think about it. It's true that
the mortality rate is much lower today than it was back then, and
modern (and slightly less than modern) medicine has turned some
age-old monsters like the plague and smallpox into bad memories
and morality plays, but we're also now facing things like
antibiotic-resistant strains of pests that are becoming more and
more aggressive and persistent. And thanks to the fact that these
wonder drugs are, if not cheap, at least available to many of us,
the little bugs are learning to grab what they can, duck and run,
and come back another day to play.
Now, I'm not advocating a return to the middle ages, and I wouldn't
give up my Z-Pacs to get rid of bronchitis or sinus infection for
anything in the world, but there's got to be a happy medium
somewhere.
Who knows, maybe global warming will kill off some of the beasties
that modern science has helped to strengthen.
Okay, enough of that. Let's get to the news, hints, tips and info
available from the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
'Phantomm' asks about the MegaST's modem port speeds:
"What is the max Factory Baud Rate of the Mega ST's Modem Port?
And is there any software that will increase the Baud Rate when
using Net/Telecommunications software?"
Ronald Hall tells Phantomm:
"Hey. As far as I know, the maximum speed on a stock Mega ST is
still that of the standard serial port on any ST model. In other
words, 19.2k...
It can be sped up with -hardware-, like the RSVE mod.
HSMODEM software corrects bugs 'n uses faster routines, but doesn't
actually speed up the stock serial port (unless you count not being
slower because of re-transmission errors n' such)."
Joakim Högberg posts this about the latest XaAES snapshot:
"A new set of XaAES binaries are yet again available, and this time
the appearance is in focus!
*The object renderer can now draw textured backgrounds in =>256
colour modes. Textures can be applied to window widgets,
menus/popup menus and 3d-objects.
*XaAES can now also draw nice gradients to provide some eye-candy
to eg. window title backgrounds and the likes.
*The way XaAES handles/arranges iconified windows has been improved
a lot and can also be configured in great detail
*As usual, a lot of fixes and adjustments where you\'ll for example
might notice that the taskmanager now can be accessed even when
wind_update() has been locked
+Loads or smaller fixes and adjustments. Have fun!
The Unofficial XaAES Page: http://xaaes.atariforge.net "
Edward Baiz asks about getting a look at 'Ghost' files:
"Is there a good program that will display ghost files so I can
delete them?"
Alexander Beuscher asks Edward:
"What kind of files do you regard as "ghost" files?
- hidden or system files?
-> most desktops can be configured to show them
- damaged directory entries?
- "files" allocating space (in the FAT) but having no directory
entries?
-> here I'd propose tools like Diskus or simple disc monitors."
Ronald Hall tells Alexander:
"I'm wondering if he means zombie processes...?"
Lonny Pursell adds:
"Bash is pretty good at displaying all the files on the HD. Even
ones with extremely long names that the desktop won't."
Mark Bedingfield asks what he calls a 'dumb XaAES question':
"I decided to have another whack at Xaaes. So far so good. I used
Easymint/Xaaes 963 and then installed the latest version of
Teradesk. That works fine. Now I am up to installing Xaaes' latest
build. So that should be a challenge. Last time I tried it, was a
disaster. So far so good tho.
A few questions tho, resolution changes under Xaaes is there any
easy way to get 800x600@256 colours or 640x480@65536 colours? I am
using a towered Falcon/CT2/NVDI5. I have the flags set for
640x480@256 colours atm.
Desktop piccys and other eye candy? Is everyone using Thing? Can
Teradesk do it?
I keep getting a Wdialog error from Cops when firing it up as well
using Xaaes/Teradesk. Any ideas there? For now I have reverted
back to Xcontrol.
What/where is the definitive forum for such things? Is there an end
to world hunger? Is there intelligent life in outer space?
Any answers to the simple ones would be appreciated!"
Odd Skancke asks Mark:
" 0.963? That is the old program version of the AES, right?
(xaaes.prg or so?)
Oh? What happened the last time? Did you attempt installing the
XaAES kernel module then?
XaAES can only use the resolutions available via the VDI, which
means you need to know how to configure your screen-enhancer. If
you let us know what you use we may be able to help.
I use Thing most of the time. But since I started work on real
themes, the AES object renderer part, I found that Thing uses
progdef's (a special AES object type that makes the AES call
user-functions) to draw own AES objects. Effectively killing the
idea of themes. I'll try to contact Thomas Binder regarding this.
I think Teradesk is clean in this respect, but I haven't don't
extensive tests.
What errors do you get? And the correct forum for XaAES discussions
is the forum on xaaes.atari.org."
Mark replies:
"0.963. Yup thats it. The one used with the easymint installer. I
decided to get it working before upgrading the kernal etc.
Yes (I tried installing the XaAES kernel) the last time. I did it
last year. I can't recall exactly what happened but it failed and I
hadn't backed up my boot drive. I have now;-) I suspect it was me
being in a hurry again, and not spending enough time RTFM.
I'm using Centscreen, by the way.
As far as errors go, Wdailog needs to be run... or something along
those lines. I suspect it is because I am starting it from the
Auto folder rather than mint.cnf?"
Odd replies:
"There is absolutely no connection anymore between the kernel
module and the old program version of XaAES.
Never EVER use Wdialog.prg under XaAES! wdialog is a hacked hack
which will render a FreeMiNT/XaAES system unstable. XaAES have own
implementation of most wdialog functions."
Andrew Floyd (I wonder if he's related to Haywood Floyd!?!) asks a
question about an external drive for a buddy of his:
"A friend of mine has a 1040STf with a problem regarding the
internal floppy. I don't know what he did to it, but almost 2
years ago when we had to move and the ST went to his apartment
(long story how it was his, but I had it at my house), and when I
set it up, it worked fine. Then he moved it to another room some
time after that.
Now when he turns it on, the drive makes a noise, it does indeed
spin the disk, but as I observed, the drive moves the head(s) back
and forth, then at some point the desktop gives up and displays 2
drive icons and the Trash icon.
The disk in question used to boot up with a boot sector and virus
detector thingy, then load a mouse accelerator, then load the
desktop inf file, then go.
I tried another drive but the drive was dead, so I'm going to try
one more drive that I can think of before I have to give up and
tell him to buy a replacement. When I tried the apparently dead
drive, the desktop wouldn't even come up with any drive icons at
all."
The 1040STf is stock with absolutely no modifications. I hope
there's no problem with the section of the power supply for the
drive. I wonder if he dropped it or something while moving things
and just won't admit it.
At any rate, I figure it'll cost him about $50 or so for a new
internal drive. It's got an external drive that for all I know
works.
If the drive has a speed control thingy that I know is in the
drives for the Atari 8-bits, I don't know where it is. I don't
understand how this thing went out of spec just sitting around. I
don't recall the internal drive making a noise before, so he's
done something that FUBARed it.
Any help on what could be wrong, good info on relatively cheap(er)
priced replacements... replies here are probably what will happen,
or you can email me directly (sorta preferred).
I managed to replace the internal drive on my 1040STf that yet
another friend has with another 720K mech, but I don't count on
finding those anymore at HAMfests for $5."
'Charles' asks:
"should this guy do more diagnostics?
why doesn't he use sys-info take parameters into account ,then save
the tos img with tos.ram, then load into emulator and compare tos
from his computer to tos from emulator ... at this point my Ataris
do that ,make little sound before realizing that there's no boot
disk but analysing more could direct to further trouble...
suggesting an internal circuit defect or something."
'Chris' adds something a bit more down-to-earth:
"Any normal 1.44 PC drive will work if you change the ID select.
No desktop icons is normally a deeper problem with the drive,
plugging the cable in the wrong way can do that. oh and of course
1.44 drive actually need the cable plugging in backwards so you
may have to do some plastic snapping to get it to fit.... Not all
720k drives will be set to the correct ID....
looking at the other posts here... Didn't Alison do a document
about drives and mods?"
Derryck Croker adds his own thoughts:
"You did of course make sure that the ribbon cable was plugged into
the replacement drive the right way round? Ataris are odd that
way!
Also you need to reconfigure PC floppy drives to be ID0, they're
normally set to be 1."
Everyone's favorite techie, Alison, adds her thoughts:
"Maybe try formatting a blank disk after the ST has crawled it to
the desktop. This may identify a dead drive. The other (less
than conventional) solution would be to give the ST the 1inch drop
but if you have it open already just push all of the chips in one
by one."
Well folks, that's it for this week. Tune in again next week, same
time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying
when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Price Cut For PS2 Imminent?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Lara Croft Guinness Record?
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Price Cut Imminent for the PS2?
While much of the gaming world is focused on the PlayStation 3, Sony may
divert attention back to the current generation of gaming by the end of the
month.
An analyst's note, issued Wednesday, predicts the company will cut
PlayStation 2 prices from $149 to $129 by the end of April.
Many analysts expected Sony (Research) to announce a PS2 price cut at E3,
the annual trade show of the video game industry. But Colin Sebastian,
senior research analyst for Lazard Capital Markets, said a move this month,
coupled with last month's quiet price drop for the PSP handheld device
(from $249 to $199), will allow the company to go into E3 with momentum and
allow the focus to be solely on the PS3.
"In our opinion, hardware price cuts are necessary not only to drive demand
at the end of a console cycle, but also to bring the current-generation
consoles within reach of more value-oriented customers," wrote Sebastian.
A Sony spokesperson declined to comment, saying the company does not
address "rumors and speculation".
A Sony price cut would likely be matched immediately by Microsoft
(Research), which would lower the price of the original Xbox. However,
since that company's focus is laser focused on its next generation machine
- the Xbox 360 - it could result in some interesting moves.
Traditionally, price cuts are matched. So, when Sony goes to $129,
Microsoft follows (or vice versa). Microsoft, however, has greatly
de-emphasized the original Xbox since the 360's launch - and, by some
reports, is no longer manufacturing the original machine. If so, it
doesn't have much to lose and may try to one-up Sony, in an attempt to
gain its own momentum going into E3. That could, conceivably, mean a new
Xbox price of $99.
"Microsoft could do something like that just to make it a little more
interesting, but I have no read on what Microsoft is going to do,"
Sebastian told me.
Whatever Microsoft's reaction, it might be a bit harder for consumers to
capitalize on it. Supplies of the Xbox have declined considerably and a
drastic price cut could make it a hard-to-find item.
A PS2 price cut could be a welcome shot in the arm for the gaming industry,
which has seen revenues decline steadily in the recent months. (February
software sales were down 13 percent compared to the 2005 numbers. Analysts
expect the March numbers to show an even bigger gap.)
Increased hardware sales tend to boost software sales - and Sony recently
cut the price on some of its biggest PS2 games, including "God of War" and
"Gran Turismo 4" to $19.99. Third party publishers, though, might find
additional pressure to lower the price of their current generation games.
Electronic Arts (Research), the leading independent publisher, was forced
to reduce the price of several games, including seminal favorite "Madden"
in January. Take Two Interactive Software (Research) also recently cut the
price of its hit title "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas".
Lara Croft Nabs Guinness World Record
Cyber hottie adventurer Lara Croft has garnered a Guinness World Record as
the most successful human video-game heroine of all time, according to
Eidos Interactive, publisher of the "Tomb Raider" franchise.
The record-keeping organization awarded the recognition because Croft has
transcended the boundaries of video games, Guinness noted.
The award comes at the same time that Eidos is shipping a new Croft game,
"Tomb Raider: Legend." The game is already the top seller in the UK, and
is expected to do robust business worldwide.
Since first arriving on the scene ten years ago, Lady Lara Croft has sold
more than 28 million games globally. But she has also made the leap into
other arenas, expanding her profile even among those who do not game. She
"appeared" onstage with U2 and has had magazine spreads featuring her
image.
In addition to being the focus of multiple comic books, she reached the
mass market mainly through two film versions of "Tomb Raider," in which
she was played by the alluring, yet intimidating Angelina Jolie.
Croft has even warranted a novel about one of her adventures - The Man in
Bronze, published in 2005 - in which the femme fatale killed a man while
kissing him.
With a world record under her gun-laden, machete-sporting belt, Lara Croft
might be able to get even more notoriety than she already has.
But in other ways, she does not need the extra press to stay dominant in
the game world, according to Louis Olson, an eBay manager for home
electronics and video games.
"Lara Croft will linger because of the popularity of her franchise," he
said. "Game heroes that endure do so because of the success of their
franchise."
If Croft had appeared only in one game, it is unlikely that she would have
made such an impression on the culture, or later made the leap to the
silver screen.
By building a franchise that expanded the character's adventures, Eidos
not only secured revenue, but actually nabbed a place in history for Lady
Croft.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
MySpace.com to Post Ads Promoting Safety
Popular online social networking hub MySpace.com said Monday it will begin
displaying public service ads aimed at educating its users, many of them
teens, about the dangers posed by sexual predators on the Internet.
MySpace, a division of News Corp., enables computer users to meet any of
more than 60 million members. Users put up profiles that are searchable
and can include photos of themselves and such details as where they live
and what music they like.
But MySpace's features and popularity with teens has raised concerns with
authorities across the nation. There have been scattered accounts of sexual
predators targeting minors they met through the site.
The ads were slated to begin running Monday on MySpace and through a host
of News Corp. outlets, including other Fox Interactive Media Web sites,
the 28 Fox Networks Group broadcast networks, Fox All Access radio and the
New York Post.
The spots, which computer users will be able to see on MySpace in the form
of banner ads, are part of a campaign launched two years ago by the Ad
Council and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
The campaign warns parents and teens that sexual predators are
increasingly using the veil of anonymity provided by online chat rooms,
forums and social networking sites to target minors.
"One of the things we're trying to persuade kids to do is not to give out
personal details online, don't advertise where they are and who they are,"
said Ernie Allen, president of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children. "The person with whom they may be
interacting may not be who they say they are."
According to MySpace, some 22 percent of users are registered as under 18.
MySpace forbids minors 13 and under from joining and provides special
protections for those 14 and 15 - only those on their friends' list can
view their profiles.
The company uses a computer program that analyzes user profiles and flags
members likely to be under 14. Hundreds of thousands of flagged profiles
have been deleted, the company has said.
Still, children regularly lie about their age to get around those
restrictions.
Last month, two men were arrested in what prosecutors said were the first
federal sex charges involving MySpace. Two Connecticut girls involved in
that case were 11 and 14, the FBI said.
MySpace.com Hires Online Safety Chief
MySpace.com said Tuesday it has tapped a former federal prosecutor and
Microsoft Corp. executive to be its online safety chief, the latest move
by the social networking site to shore up security.
The announcement comes one day after MySpace began running public service
ads warning its users about the dangers posed by sexual predators on the
Internet.
Hemanshu Nigam currently serves as a director responsible for driving
Microsoft's consumer security outreach and child-safe computing strategies.
During his stint as a trial attorney at the Department of Justice, he
specialized in child exploitation cases.
Nigam's job at MySpace will be to oversee safety, education, privacy and
law enforcement affairs. He'll also handle online safety for other Fox
Interactive Media sites.
His appointment is effective May 1.
The job is a new position at MySpace, although many of the responsibilities
have been handled thus far by several employees, the company said.
A division of News Corp., MySpace enables computer users to meet any of
more than 60 million members. Users post searchable profiles that can
include photos of themselves and such details as where they live and what
music they like.
But the Web site's features and popularity with teens have raised concerns
with authorities nationwide. There have been scattered accounts of sexual
predators targeting minors they met through the site.
Spyware Doctor 3.5 for Windows
PC Tools has updated its antispyware software with Spyware Doctor 3.5. The
latest version combines strong protection against keyloggers, adware, and
spyware with new tools to remove rootkits and other hard-to-rid malware.
The program downloads and installs easily. The clean and intuitive
interface makes it a breeze to use. After the initial setup, the software
will run unobtrusively in the background with just a lone icon in your
system tray.
PC Tools offers a free trial version that will supply real-time protection,
but to remove spyware, you must register for the full version, which costs
$29.95.
Given the terrible foothold spyware has on thousands of computers, I would
rather see a trial version that removes the infections and protects the PC
for a short time, giving me the option of buying after the service is
disabled. I am always hesitant to pay for a product before I see it perform
its full functions.
Spyware Doctor boasts a myriad of defense schemes including real-time
protection, keylogger detection and removal, and a pop-up blocker. The
OnGuard module offers an impressive array of real-time monitoring and
prevention components that block attempted changes to Windows control
files including the startup, network, and browser settings.
Keylogger Guard prevents malicious programs from recording keystrokes and
phoning home with sequences of bank account numbers and passwords. The
Immunizer filters out codes that surreptitiously download from unfriendly
Web sites and install from innocent-looking file attachments.
Spyware Doctor 3.5 features two new protection technologies. One is an
innovative Kernel Delete feature that gives the antispyware detection
module new ways to remove rootkits and other complex malware that fights
to stay hidden or resurrects itself on reboot. The other technology is a
detection engine that highlights hidden, running processes that built-in
tools like Windows Task Manager cannot find.
Using the Quick Scan option for the first time won't break any speed
records, but for subsequent checks, it takes a fraction of the original
time. Another option is to set conditions for a custom scan.
To test for system degradation, I viewed the scan progress in one window
while running a Web browser and word processor alternately in separate
windows. No noticeable system slowdown occurred during the spyware scan.
This latest version of Spyware Doctor found most but not all of the planted
keyloggers and adware programs slipped onto the test computer before
installation. This is a huge improvement over previous versions of Spyware
Doctor. However, the pop-up blocker is a disappointment because it does not
work with Firefox, the default browser on our test desktop. It only
activates in Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Another potential annoyance: frequent, essential updates to the program do
not download automatically to your PC - you must give your OK before
downloading and then click to install the updates yourself.
Overall, Spyware Doctor 3.5 keeps a tight rein on its signature database
to control false positives. This factor alone puts it a big step ahead of
similar products.
Spyware Doctor 3.5 is a solid choice to protect your PC from unwanted
malware. It provides very good real-time monitoring for new intrusions and
relatively good detection and removal results. If rootkits and other super
baddies worry you, Spyware Doctor 3.5 will take those cares away.
Minimum requirements: Windows XP, Me, 98, and 2000; Internet Explorer.
Pros: Simple and intuitive interface; few false positives; very good
detection and removal results.
Cons: No spyware removal feature in trial version; pop-up blocker only
works in Explorer; updates aren't fully automatic.
Verdict: A very good choice for consumers who want set-it-and-forget-it
protection.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Price: $29.95 for full version.
www.pctools.com
WordPerfect Office Offers More for Less
If you're tired of waiting for Microsoft's delayed Office 2007, consider
this: Feature for feature and dollar for dollar, Corel's $300 WordPerfect
Office X3 Standard tops the $400 Office 2003 Standard in every category.
All five principal apps - WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, Presentations, Mail,
and Presentations Graphics - are first rate. Leading the pack is the
WordPerfect word processor. For many WordPerfect users, one feature puts
the program head-and-shoulders above Word and every other word processor:
Reveal Codes. This View menu option opens a pane at the base of the screen
showing the document's formatting codes. For fine-grain control over a
file's look and content, nothing beats it.
You needn't worry about Office users' not being able to open and edit the
files you create with WordPerfect Office. In WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, and
Presentations, you're given the option of working in the mode of the
program's Office equivalents (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, respectively).
In testing a shipping copy of the software, I was plagued by a few minor
formatting issues as I used Office file formats in the various WordPerfect
Office apps, especially WordPerfect itself. I had better luck working with
files in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF), which the suite has
supported for years. This latest version adds the ability to import and
edit PDF files in WordPerfect and Quattro Pro.
WordPerfect's new Mail program, formerly the Bloomba mail client from
Stata Labs, features a search function that neither Outlook nor any other
e-mail program can top. The new app indexes your messages and lets you
search for mail via drop-down menus by a combination of date, sender,
content, and other attributes. During testing, the mail program's data
store became corrupted, but I was able to restore it in just minutes via
Windows' command prompt, as outlined in these instructions from Corel.
Another new addition to the suite is the Presentations Graphics program.
This image editor won't make people forget about Photoshop anytime soon,
but considering that Office has no graphics program, it's a nice addition.
The app has all of the standard tools for creating layouts and working
with shapes, colors, textures, and shading.
Though I enjoyed using WordPerfect Office X3, it has some annoying traits.
For example, the app will rather surreptitiously add Yahoo Toolbar to your
browser during setup if you don't pay attention, and the pesky
InstallShield Update Manager puts itself in Windows' startup list and
resides in the system tray, even when no WordPerfect Office apps are open.
Such irritations aside, I think people who use their PC for business - and
who are looking for a real productivity-suite upgrade - might very well
find what they need in WordPerfect Office X3.
Corel WordPerfect Office X3 StandardFor a true upgrade to an office suite,
business users will find much to like in Corel's package.Street: $300 ($160
upgrade)Current prices (if available)
Internet Agency Weighs '.tel' Domain Name
Reaching out and touching someone used to be as simple as dialing a string
of numbers. But now there are home, cell and work phone numbers from which
to choose, and sometimes work extensions to remember.
There are also e-mail addresses - at home and at work - and instant
messaging handles, perhaps separate ones for the various services, some of
which now do voice and video besides text. Some people even have Web pages
- through their employer or Internet service provider, or perhaps a profile
or two on MySpace.
To help people manage all their contact information online, the Internet's
key oversight agency is considering a ".tel" domain name. If approved, the
domain could be available this year.
As proposed, individuals could use a ".tel" Web site to provide the latest
contact information and perhaps even let friends initiate a call or send a
text message directly from the site. Businesses could use a ".tel" site to
determine customers' locations and route them automatically to the correct
call center.
Its proponents also envision ".tel" as a place from which the various
people-finding services on the Internet could pull the latest contact
information as individuals move about. Now, data typically come from
third-party sources like phone listings, which may be old or incomplete,
particularly if an entire household is listed under one name.
And telephony applications and devices yet to be built could one day make
use of such data, especially as wireless and wireline networks converge,
according to London-based Telnic Ltd., which proposed and would run the
domain if it is approved.
There's nothing inherent in ".tel" that would enable these features;
rather, its aim is to create a place to which people would know to go to
find contact information.
Todd Masonis, a co-founder of contact management service Plaxo Inc., is
familiar with the hassles of keeping track of everyone.
His parents have had the same house and phone number for some 30 years,
and "for a long time that was how they are identified," Masonis said. "But
in the last two years, even they have had a couple of cell phones, a couple
of e-mail addresses and Web pages and instant message IDs."
Still, he questions the need for ".tel" when companies like his already
use ".com" to host services that help manage contacts. He worries that a
".tel" name would create yet another identifier for people to remember,
without doing away with the others.
The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers plans
to review the proposal Tuesday, although it may wait until next month or
later to decide.
Telnic officials likened ".tel" to the creation of domain names decades
ago as an easier-to-remember alternative to the series of numbers behind
every Internet-connected computer. Instead of memorizing a friend's phone
numbers, they say, just remember the ".tel" address.
But Telnic was vague on how all this would work, saying it is merely
enabling developers to come up with innovative ways to use ".tel."
Nor did the company say in its application how much a ".tel" name would
cost. A spokesman said Friday that officials were unavailable because of
the Easter holiday.
Telnic was one of two applicants for ".tel" when ICANN sought bids in 2004
for new domain names. John Jeffrey, ICANN's general counsel, said the other
".tel" applicant had failed to correct deficiencies identified by an
independent review panel. But that applicant, Internet telephony pioneer
Jeff Pulver, blamed politics for the rejection.
In recent years, ICANN has approved ".eu" for the European Union, ".jobs"
for human-resources sites, ".travel" for the travel industry, ".mobi"
targeting mobile services and ".cat" for the Catalan language, bringing
the number of domains to 264.
The organization also is in negotiations to create ".xxx" for porn sites,
".asia" for the Asia-Pacific community and ".post" for postal services.
The few who submitted comments to ICANN on ".tel" were skeptical.
Francisco Cabanas, owner of Canadian domain registration company FineE.com,
said an organization like The Associated Press could simply create an
address at "tel.ap.org," rather than require an "ap.tel."
Otherwise, who would get the ".tel" name? The AP? Internet service provider
AccessPort, which uses "ap.net"? Or Audio Precision Inc., at "ap.com"?
"It kind of magnifies the problem," Cabanas said. "If I'm looking for a
phone number or an e-mail address or whatever and I'm getting a totally
different (company), it defeats the purpose."
Also unclear is what the demand would be like, giving the popularity of
".com."
The seven domains approved in 2000 - including ".aero," ".museum," and
".info" - "just never have caught on," said Dan Tobias, a Boca Raton, Fla.,
computer programmer who runs a site on domain names. "Nobody's figured out
how to educate the public enough to seek out a different ... domain."
AOL Accused Of Blocking Critics' Emails
A coalition fighting AOL's upcoming pay-to-send email service claimed
Thursday that the company was blocking delivery of emails that included a
link to the group's Web site.
The DearAOL.com Coalition, which is circulating online petitions to gather
signatures for an open letter to AOL, said emails with the link
www.DearAOL.com were bounced back to the sender with a message saying,
"failed permanently."
AOL, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., denied it was blocking email,
blaming the snafu on a "technical glitch."
"A technical glitch arose on AOL late Wednesday affecting a range of
different Web links in emails," AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said in an
emailed statement. "We discovered the issue early this morning. Our
postmaster and mail operations teams started working to identify this
software glitch at that time, and it has already been fixed."
AOL said messages that included the coalition's link were being delivered
normally on Thursday, as well as all other email. The DearAOL Coalition
confirmed that messages were no longer getting blocked.
The coalition, comprised mostly of nonprofit groups, is against AOL's plans
to launch a guaranteed email service targeted primarily at organizations
that send bulk email. The paid service would ensure that AOL subscribers
would receive the messages and their attachments and links, provided they
had agreed to in advance. AOL partner Goodmail Systems Inc. would run the
certified email service, expected to launch this month.
AOL is offering a similar service for nonprofits, but the coalition says
the free offering doesn't go far enough to match the paid service, which is
meant to separate legitimate commercial email from spam.
The group on Thursday said the bounced-back messages proved their point in
objecting to the paid service, which they claim would give Internet service
providers too much control over the delivery of email on the public Web.
"Left to their own devices, AOL will always put its own self interest ahead
of the public interest in a free and open Internet, Timothy Karr, campaign
director of Free Press, said in a statement, which also accused AOL of
trying to censor its critics.
Free Press, a national group working on Internet policy issues, is a
member of the coalition, along with political action committee MoveOn.org,
Gun Owners of America, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Association
of Cancer Online Resources, the Humane Society, and the AFL-CIO.
Wes Boyd, co-founder of MoveOn.org, was one of the people who reported
having messages bounced back.
I tried to email my brother-in-law about DearAOL.com and AOL sent me a
response as if he had disappeared, Boyd said in the coalition statement.
But when I sent him an email without the DearAOL.com link, it went right
through.
Members of the DearAOL.com Coalition claim to represent about 15 million
people. The group, according to organizers, has grown since last month to
600 member organizations from the original 50. More than 350,000 Internet
users have signed letters to AOL opposing its pay-to-send plans, the group
says.
Monitoring Employee Communications in the Enterprise
As the number of workers using the Internet for pleasure as well as
business grows, so does anxiety among corporate higher-ups worried about
productivity and exposure to security risks.
Many executives and managers have turned to computer surveillance. Low-cost
technology is making it easier than ever for businesses of all sizes to
monitor computer misuse among employees.
The market for this so-called secure content-management software - which
includes applications that monitor Web surfing, e-mail, instant messaging,
and even keystrokes - is expected to grow to $6.4 billion by 2007, more
than double what it was just three years ago, according to the research
firm IDC.
"The use of corporate management of employee use of the Internet is
widespread today," said Mike Newman, vice president and general counsel at
Websense, a company that makes Internet and desktop security software.
"More than half of the Fortune 500 firms alone use our Web-filtering
products."
The Internet can be tempting to workers who would rather check out eBay
than check in with their clients. But by giving employees unmonitored
reign over instant messaging, personal e-mail, file downloading, and
virtual window shopping, I.T. managers and CIOs risk getting more than
they bargained for.
In addition to lost productivity and wasted bandwidth resources, companies
can be held liable for a broad range of misconduct that includes sexual
harassment and the use of unlicensed software.
The proliferation of spam is also a huge concern, as it not only consumes
valuable I.T. resources, but can also expose a company to legal liability
if people find the unwanted messages offensive. Workers also risk
introducing viruses into the corporate network by downloading unauthorized
files.
The possibility of sensitive corporate data being lost or stolen outright
is also feeding the upswing in workplace surveillance. Technology such as
USB drives and digital-camera storage media make it easier than ever for
workers to find, store, and swap information.
Corporate America is paying attention. A 2005 report by Proofpoint, an
e-mail security company, found that 63 percent of companies with 1,000 or
more employees either use or plan to employ staff to look at outbound
e-mail. A similar study by the American Management Association found those
numbers to be 52 percent in 2003 compared to 24 percent in 2001.
While the percentage of employees with Internet access at work has
remained largely unchanged, more employees are using the Net on the job
even if their activities are not work-related.
Websense, which interviewed 350 I.T. managers and 500 employees for a May
2005 survey, found a blurry line between work and play. Half of the
respondents said their Web surfing on the job was a mix of work and
personal use, and of those employees who admitted to personal use, 52
percent stated that they would rather give up their morning coffee than go
without Internet access.
In fact, 93 percent of employees surveyed said they spent at least some
time accessing the Internet at work, up from 86 percent in 2004. The most
popular Web-site categories unrelated to work were news (81 percent),
personal e-mail (61 percent), online banking (58 percent), travel (55
percent), and shopping (52 percent).
The rationale behind monitoring employees, according to Newman, is that a
computer at work is a corporate tool for enhancing the employee's
productivity. Because some people abuse that privilege by sending personal
e-mail and viewing movies during working hours, employers feel they have
little choice but to monitor what their workers are doing.
"Most companies are very clear with the Internet-use policies. The company
owns the computer system and the network. Clearly, there is no expectation
of privacy on the part of the workers," Newman said.
Precedent-setting litigation would seem to back up that claim.
Traditionally, courts have sided with employers in privacy suits filed by
workers.
In 1993's Bourke v. Nissan, plaintiffs Bonita Bourke and Rhonda Hall
alleged that Nissan wrongfully fired them after their bosses accessed,
printed, and read their e-mails at work. A trial court upheld the auto
maker's contention that the plaintiffs had no reasonable expectation of
privacy in their e-mails.
In 1996, Michael A. Smyth sued Pillsbury after he was fired for
transmitting "inappropriate and unprofessional" comments to his supervisor
over the company's e-mail system. Smyth said the company's actions invaded
his privacy, but the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania ruled in favor of Pillsbury.
According to Richard Corenthal, a partner in the New York law firm of
Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C., federal law clearly establishes
employers' rights to monitor e-mail.
"Once that is in place and the policy is provided to the employees, they
effectively have no recourse," Corenthal explained. "Nor is there any
expectation of privacy in the workplace."
The advocacy group Privacy Rights Clearinghouse counsels visitors to its
Web site that if an e-mail system is used at a company, the employer owns
it and can review its contents: "Messages sent within the company as well
as those that are sent from your terminal to another company or from
another company to you can be subject to monitoring by your employer."
According to the privacy rights organization, the employer can also monitor
Web-based e-mail accounts such as Yahoo and Hotmail, as well as instant
messages.
But employers would do well to exercise some restraint, lest they create
problems by improperly monitoring workers' e-mail accounts.
"There are some interesting twists to the question," Corenthal said. "For
example, policies must be evenly enforced or otherwise the employer might
be the subject of a discrimination claim.-
One approach gaining favor in some corporate circles is to set aside time
for workers to surf the Web or take care of other business online,
reducing the likelihood that they will shirk their responsibilities on the
job.
"A company can give its employees quota time to look at various Web sites,"
Websense's Newman said. "Then there is no need to monitor their activities
since the amount of time is regulated. A company can also grant unlimited
access to workers during certain times of the shift when bandwidth issues
are less of a concern."
Christine Liebert, a senior analyst at the consulting firm Yankee Group,
agreed that such shared-use strategies could become a viable solution to
any unpleasantness generated by spying. Even if workers did not agree to
such self-imposed limitations, I.T. departments could routinely put
bandwidth-shaping and application-shaping software in place to manage
these limits, she said.
And software could continue to maintain controls that protect the company
from security risks. Websense, for example, has a pop-up feature notifying
a worker that the requested Web site is not work-related. It then asks the
employee if he or she wishes to use some of the allotted quota time.
"Employees are aware of the limitations placed on them," Newman said. "We
use this same software internally at Websense. I don't mind it."
Students Face Off in Programming Contest
Brainy students worked in teams of three Wednesday to cram an entire
semester of work into five hours by solving such computing puzzles as how
to connect gears of a clock when given a specific shaft speed.
Russia's Saratov State University took an early lead among the 82 teams,
having correctly solved five questions in eight attempts. The only U.S.
school in the top 10 was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
placing seventh in the early results.
If the real world can be a pretty unfair place, this problem-solving
competition could be considered downright cruel. In the finals of the
Association for Computing Machinery's International Collegiate Programming
Contest, teams are given just five hours to solve 10 problems that would
take ordinary people months to complete.
"When was the last time you heard someone say 'I need a piece of software
in 10 minutes?" said Bill Poucher, the contest's executive director and a
computer science professor at Baylor University, the contest's
administrative headquarters.
In a circular assembly hall that included spectator seating and even
walkways covered in artificial turf, two overhead projection screens
showed real-time scores.
Competitors huddled around glowing computer screens, chatted with
teammates and shuffled stacks of paper as they worked against the looming
deadline.
Adding to the hushed tension: As each team solved a problem, a colored
balloon rose above their table to let rivals and spectators know where
they stand.
For many, it's like any sporting event - just with lines of computer code
instead of balls and nets.
"It's an intellectual competition, and any competition is a sport," said
Andrew Lopatin, 25, a two-time past winner from St. Petersburg State
University in Russia and now a coach for that school's team.
"It is a very nervous situation," the quantum computing doctorate student
said as he paced the spectator floor wearing black sweat pants and sandals.
The questions for this year's contest, the 30th annual, were dizzyingly
complex.
Among the puzzlers, greatly simplified here:
Write a program that computes how the gears of a clock can be connected
with an hour and a minute hand, based on a provided input shaft speed with
a maximum of three gears per shaft.
Create a program that can find the maximum numbers of degrees of
separation for a network of people.
Develop a system to interconnect different nodes of a corporate network
in the cheapest possible way.
The competitors must solve each conundrum using programming languages like
C++ and Java, but the best teams often have someone versed in physics and
mathematics as well.
"Computer programming is to what they do as typing is to what a novelist
does," Poucher said.
Winners are determined based on how many correct answers they submit
within the time limit. In the event of a tie, the schools are ranked based
on how many attempts they needed to submit the right answer.
In the early results, Saratov State was followed by Altai State Technical
Universty in Russia; the University of Twente in the Netherlands; China's
Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Poland's Warsaw University; and St.
Petersburg.
Moscow State University was eighth, behind MIT and ahead of Ontario,
Canada-based University of Waterloo and Jagiellonian University in Krakow,
Poland.
The first-place team members each get a $10,000 scholarship as well as
computer gear from IBM Corp., the event's main sponsor.
But it's the recognition that's considered the biggest reward, said Doug
Heintzman, director of IBM's Lotus division.
"They get bragging rights and they have on their resumes that they were
here," said Heintzman, who added that IBM has hired 80 contest winners
over the years. "Inside the head of one of those kids is a cure for cancer
or AIDS. It's sitting out there."
=~=~=~=
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