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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 15 Issue 04
Volume 15, Issue 04 Atari Online News, Etc. January 25, 2013
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2013
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:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1504 01/25/13
~ Atari Files Chapter 11 ~ People Are Talking! ~ Sex Offender Ban?
~ Sony Fined for PSN Hack ~ Atari in Trouble Again! ~ Antigua Fights Back!
~ Sony: Let MS Go First! ~ ~ Apple China Dilemma!
-* Three Charged Over Gozi Virus *-
-* Should Twitter Reveal Racist Users? *-
-* Terrorists Kicked Off Twitter After Threats *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It appears that history is repeating itself! What was once the primary
focus for this magazine many years ago, and the iconic symbol for our
early computing pasttime - Ayari - has filed for bankruptcy.
While the action is reportedly to have happened in an effort for Atari
to break away from its parent company, Atari SA, it might result in the
final chapter for the company.
Atari has been there before. And how many times has it been bought and
"changed" over the years? Too many. Its initial roots as a game
company might not save it this time around. Think about it, how many
times and versions of their vast library of "retro" games can be
released?
Yes, the Atari brand is iconic, an incredible piece of history. But,
sooner or later, icons tend to fade away. Time will tell whether or
not Atari will suffer a similar fate.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Atari Files for Bankruptcy!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Atari Is in Trouble Again!
Sony EU Fined PSN Hack!
And more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Atari Files for Bankruptcy
Had you forgotten that Atari exists? Well, it sounds like it may sadly
not exist for much longer.
The LA Times reports that the cherished retro brand and three of its
affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York last night.
Apparently the motivation was for the company to break free from French
parent company Atari SA.
2012 was a torrid year for Atari, with a spate of retro re-releases unable
to prevent revenue falling 34 per cent and profit reaching just $11m. Its
share price currently stands at under 1.
If successful, it could see the company emerge free from the debts that
have been holding it back. It is also looking for a clean break from its
London-based finance partner BlueBay, an entity on which Atari is
currently almost completely reliant upon and that currently lacks the
clout to allow the publishing of any of the companys in-development
titles.
Atari Is in Trouble Again
Atari is declaring bankruptcy twice. Both the U.S. video game company
and its French parent have done so, the latest twist for the company
which largely invented the video game industry and remains synonymous
with it, despite having seen its glory days end by the mid-1980s.
But wait. Even though the Atari name celebrated its fortieth anniversary
last year, its a mistake to talk about Atari as if its a corporate
entity which has been around for four decades. (The Los Angeles Times
Ben Fritz, for instance, refers to it as an iconic but long-troubled
video game maker.) Instead, its a famous name which has drifted from
owner to owner. It keeps being applied to different businesses, and yes,
for all its fame, it does seem to be a bit of a jinx.
Heres a quick rundown of what Atari has meant at different times
(thanks, Wikipedia, for refreshing my memory):
1972-1976: Its an up-and-coming, innovative startup cofounded by Nolan
Bushnell and Ted Dabney.
1976-1984: Its part of Warner Communications (which, years later, merged
with Time Inc. to form Time Warner, overlord of this website). Its a
massively successful maker of video games and consoles, but then it
crashes, along with the rest of the industry.
1984-1996: Atari morphs into a semi-successful maker of PCs when its
acquired by Tramel Technology, a company started by Jack Tramiel, the
ousted founder of Commodore.
1996-1998: Tramiel runs Atari into the ground. After merging with
hard-disk maker JTS, the company and brand are largely dormant.
1998-2000: Atari resurfaces under the ownership of toy kingpin Hasbro as
a line of games published under the Atari Interactive name.
2000-present: It becomes a corporate entity controlled by French game
publisher Infogrames, which increasingly emphasizes the Atari moniker over
its own and takes over completely in 2008. In recent years, its focused
on digital downloads, mobile games and licensing of its familiar brand and
logo.
The above chronology doesnt account for Ataris original business:
arcade games. As far as I can tell, the arcade arm was owned at different
times by Warner Communications/Time Warner (twice!), Pac-Man purveyor
Namco and arcade icon Midway, among other companies. But use of the Atari
brand on arcade hardware petered out in 2001.
Basically, Atari has never been one well-defined thing for more than
twelve years, max, at a time. That the name has survived at all is a
testament to its power and appeal. And even though the current Atari has
fallen on hard times, Ill bet that the brand survives for at least a few
more decades, in one form or another. Several forms, probably.
PS4: Sony Will Let Microsoft Make First Move
You may have noticed that there are lots of rumours flying about regarding
next-gen consoles. No one knows definitely when Microsoft and Sony will
unveil their successors to the current Xbox and PlayStation, but Sony CEO
Kazuo Hirai has said that it will let Microsoft make the first move.
In the Business section of The Times today, Hirai said, "Why go first,
when your competitors can look at your specifications and come up with
something better?"
With Nintendo already out the next-gen blocks with the Wii U, can Sony
hold its bottle until the Microsoft announces? Surely his comments are
slightly disingenuous, since there would be relatively little scope for
changing the specs of the PlayStation this late in its development cycle.
It's more likely that the additional time would be use to adjust the
messaging surrounding the announcement.
Last week was a speculation rich week for the PlayStation 4, with reports
that Sony will retire the DualShock controller.
Sony EU Fined £250k for 2011 PSN Hack
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has been fined £250,000 for 2011's
PlayStation Network breach by the UK Information Commissioners Office.
ICO is an independent authority tasked with looking after the information
rights of the public. David Smith, deputy commisioner and director of
Data Protection at ICO said that Sony "let everybody down", and that it
was "the most serious breach we have had reported to us." ICO's report
"found that the attack could have been prevented if the software had been
up-to-date, while technical developments also meant passwords were not
secure."
The PSN hack occurred sometime between 17-19 April, with Sony forced to
shut down the service on April 20. The outage lasted for 24 days in
total, with personal information being taken from the 77 million
accounts.
Speaking with MCV (the trade magazine for the UK games trade), Sony said
that it "strongly disagrees" with the verdict and plans to appeal. SCEE
rightly points out that, despite technical weaknesses, Sony was itself
the victim of an attack. It has also been quick to point out that there
is no evidence that encrypted payment card details were accessed, and
that personal data is unlikely to have been used for fraudulent
purposes.
Sony went on to say:
"Criminal attacks on electronic networks are a real and growing aspect of
21st century life and Sony continually works to strengthen our systems,
building in multiple layers of defence and working to make our networks
safe, secure and resilient.
"The reliability of our network services and the security of our
consumers information are of the utmost importance to us, and we are
appreciative that our network services are used by even more people around
the world today than at the time of the criminal attack."
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
U.S. Authorities Charge Three Over "Gozi" Computer Virus
Three foreign nationals have been charged with creating and distributing a
computer virus that infected more than a million computers around the
world, including some operated by the U.S. space agency, U.S. prosecutors
said on Wednesday.
The defendants were charged with running a cybercrime ring that released
the so-called Gozi virus, which prosecutors said was one of the most
financially destructive computer viruses in history.
The virus infected at least 40,000 computers in the United States,
authorities said. It was used to access personal bank account information
from computer users and steal millions of dollars from customer accounts
globally, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
The defendants - Deniss Calovskis, 27, a Latvian; Nikita Kuzmin, 25, a
Russian; and Mihai Ionut Paunescu, 28, a Romanian - were charged with a
variety of counts, including conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and
conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
They ran a "modern-day bank robbery ring that required neither a gun nor
a mask," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said at a news conference.
Kuzmin, who helped create the virus, pleaded guilty in May 2011 and has
been cooperating with the investigation, said George Venizelos, assistant
director-in-charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York
office.
The investigation is still "very much ongoing," Venizelos told the news
conference.
Investigators have collected 51 computer servers and other equipment with
some 250 million megabytes of information as part of the probe, he said,
adding that law enforcement officials in several countries were helping
with the investigation.
Kuzmin was arrested in the United States in November 2010. Paunescu was
arrested this past November in Romania while Calovskis was arrested in
December in Latvia, Venizelos said. He said Paunescu and Calovskis were
awaiting extradition.
David Gordon, a lawyer representing Kuzmin, did not immediately return a
call seeking comment. Attorney information for the other defendants was
not immediately available.
The virus infected more than 160 NASA computers, resulting in more than
$40,000 in damage, prosecutors said in the court documents.
It was unclear if the virus affected NASA's operations, and a spokeswoman
from the agency had no immediate comment.
Kuzmin conceived of the virus in or around 2005 and recruited Calovskis to
help write its code, prosecutors said.
According to the government's charges, the men sold the virus online in
what Bharara called an "Internet bazaar" for as much as $50,000.
Paunescu is accused of operating a Web hosting service from computers in
Romania, the United States and elsewhere that helped people who bought the
virus avoid detection by authorities, according to court papers.
"Instead of 'this gun's for hire,' Kuzmin's operation was 'this virus for
hire,'" Venizelos said. The virus was often updated and improved for
customers in what Venizelos said was their own version of tech support.
In one scenario, the defendants created fake welcome pages for banks that
asked for customer PIN numbers and other sensitive information, Bharara
said.
Terrorists Knocked Off Twitter After Threats
The Twitter account belonging to a self-identified spokesperson for an
al Qaeda-allied terrorist organization has been suspended.
The account, which began in late 2011 and is believed to belong to a
representative of al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terrorist organization, is
currently out of service, days after it threatened the lives of Kenyan
hostages, according to a report by The Associated Press.
Representatives for Twitter declined to comment on exactly when or why
al-Shabaab's account was suspended, due to "privacy and security reasons,"
but under "Twitter Rules," the company writes on its website that "you may
not publish or post direct, specific threats of violence against others."
In addition to the reported threats against the Kenyans, earlier this
month the same account posted a long missive about France's failed attempt
to rescue a French intelligence agent codenamed Denis Allex and posted
images of another man it said was a French special operations soldier who
was killed in the doomed raid. The statement said the group had reached a
"verdict" on what to do about Allex and, a few days later, al-Shabaab
said they planned to execute the spy. Then, using Twitter, they announced
Allex was dead.
The account, along with those of other terrorist organizations, for years
has provided a window, tinted by propaganda, into the group, its
ambitions and inner troubles - a resource for journalists and,
presumably, interested intelligence agencies.
For instance, in March 2012, Twitter was the forum al-Shabaab used to deny
it had arrested or was trying to kill its most high-profile member, Omar
Hammami, a rapping American jihadist who goes by the nom de guerre Abu
Mansoor al-Amriki. Hammami had taken to the internet to describe, in
detail, a fissure within the terror group. He may himself be operating
another Twitter account with which he engages in long exchanges about the
state of jihadism in Somalia.
In September 2011, ABC News reported on a curious public spat that emerged
between NATO forces and the Taliban - all over Twitter. Lebanon-based
Hezbollah, considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government,
also has a media arm that Tweets frequently.
Should Twitter Be Forced To Reveal Racist Users?
A cursory Twitter search for any number of hate-filled phrases too vulgar
to print here reveals a deep well of nastiness and ugly racism. In the
United States, users are protected under the First Amendment. But what
happens when a user's hate-speech violates the law in other countries?
A French judge ruled Thursday that Twitter would have to reveal the
details of users who post racist or offensive tweets. The social network
has not decided if it will comply, and insists that it is only subject to
laws in the United States, where it maintains offices and stores
information.
It all started with a case brought by The Association of Jewish Students
(UEJF), which claimed that pseudonymous users behind the hashtag
#unbonjuif (#agoodjew) had violated French laws that prohibits racist and
inflammatory speech. Twitter agreed to remove the offending tweets, which
has long been its policy when laws in foreign countries are broken. On
Thursday, however, the high court in Paris ordered Twitter to hand over
the account information of offenders to authorities. Furthermore, the
social network must also "roll out as part of its French platform" a new
notice system that is "easily accessible and visible" to flag
questionable content. Failure to comply within two weeks will result in
a 1,000 fine per day.
A spokesperson for Twitter said Thursday that the company is reviewing
its legal options. "It is a big deal because it shows the conflict between
laws in France and laws in the U.S., and how difficult it can be for
companies doing business around the world," Françoise Gilbert, a French
lawyer who represents Silicon Valley companies on both sides of the
Atlantic, tells The New York Times. On the plus side for Twitter, the
company (unlike Facebook and Google) doesn't maintain offices in France
and, according to the Times, "does not face the prosecution of its
employees" there.
This isn't Twitter's first free-speech controversy. The company made
headlines in October when it complied with the German government's request
to block account access for a neo-Nazi group accused of anti-Semitism.
Just as controversially, it blocked a Financial Times journalist for
lashing out at NBC for its Olympic coverage last summer, and posted the
email of one of the network's executives. In 2011, the company agreed to
help British authorities unmask a California man who used an anonymous
account to defame members of a British town council.
It's a disturbing trend for free speech advocates, wrote Mathew Ingram at
GigaOm late last year. "More than anything, these kind of cases reinforce
how much private entities like Twitter and Google now have over what
information we receive (or are able to distribute), and the
responsibility that this power imposes on them."
But even when corporate Twitter hangs back, the Twitter community has its
own methods for self-policing in the United States. In November, Jezebel
controversially published a slideshow outing users who used the n-word to
express their distaste for a newly re-elected President Obama. (The blog
even alerted a few of the offenders' schools, leading to suspensions.)
And other accounts, like @YesYoureRacist, are similarly dedicated to
shaming users that post racist tweets.
Either through peer pressure or legal suits, we're seeing a pushback to
racist material on Twitter, particularly against users who hide behind
anonymous account names. And some say that's a positive development.
"The internet is real," wrote Matt Buchanan at Buzzfeed, in a post
titled "Why social media shaming is okay."
When you say things on the Internet now, they carry real weight and
meaning. That evolution is a good thing, mostly. But reality has a price,
and it is consequence. If you didn't know that already, you should now.
Apple's China Dilemma: Market Share or Cachet?
Apple Inc's third straight disappointing quarter signals an urgent need
for the global technology leader to drum up new revenue - and China may
provide the answer.
Now more than ever, analysts say, Apple needs to get it right in the
world's most populous country, where it ranks only sixth in annual
smartphone sales and Samsung Electronics remains the runaway leader.
Apple's best plan of attack remains securing a deal with the country's top
mobile carrier by far, China Mobile Ltd. It also needs to push the
development of more localized apps and extend installment financing to
bring its pricey smartphones within the reach of an urban populace with an
average annual income of just $3,500.
But it should resist the temptation to just put out a cheaper iPhone, some
analysts say. Introducing a long-rumored lower-cost version of the gadget
could backfire by diluting Apple's premium brand - one of its most
valuable assets.
"If you think of Apple, it's like a bright star in the galaxy, shining so
brightly and everyone is looking at it. But it might have dimmed a bit as
other stars such as Samsung have popped up," said TZ Wong, an analyst at
research firm IDC.
"I don't think it's in Apple's interest to further dim its star power by
stepping into the low-end segment."
With Apple's product pipeline guarded with the same zeal accorded state
secrets, some analysts are focusing instead on what the world's largest
technology company needs to do to finally become a major player in the
world's No. 2 economy.
While iPhone sales leapt 60 percent last quarter, investors worry that, in
the longer term, the company may be pricing itself out of a golden
opportunity while Samsung and local rivals from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
to ZTE blanket the market with cheaper phones that rival the iPhone in
quality and usability.
A deal with China Mobile, the world's largest mobile phone carrier with
more than 700 million users, will prove instrumental but analysts say that
may not happen until the issuance of 4G wireless licenses, which could
take place later this year or even in 2014.
"The competitive landscape has definitely cranked up a few notches from a
year ago. So there is more urgency for Apple to explore its ways to grow,"
IDC's Wong said.
CEO Tim Cook has made it no secret that China is an area of intense focus
for the iPad and iPhone maker, especially given the still-low penetration
across the country of smartphones and tablets. Apple has said it will
continue to expand its retail network there, and in January, Cook flew to
Beijing for at least the second time in a year, to meet with pivotal
carrier China Mobile.
On Wednesday, Apple missed revenue forecasts for the third straight
quarter after iPhone sales came in below expectations, fanning fears that
its dominance of consumer electronics is slipping.
Apple's revenue in China, including neighboring Hong Kong and Taiwan,
totaled $7.3 billion in the December quarter, up 60 percent from a year
earlier.
But there are signs that Apple's vaunted cachet in the world's most
populous nation is waning.
Recent product launches for the mini-iPad and the iPhone 5 have drawn a
relatively subdued response from Chinese consumers, in stark contrast to
the fist-fights and egg-hurling at its Beijing store a year ago when
sales of the iPhone 4S were delayed.
Since the iPhone 5 went on sale in mid-December, transactions have fallen
by half, according to the Taobao Index, the consumer research data website
of Internet giant Alibaba Group.
The iPhone is also losing out as consumers opt for bigger screens to watch
Chinese soap operas while travelling on trains, or affordable smartphones
in the sub-1,000 yuan ($160) category made by local vendors.
"When I started using a bigger screen, there was no turning back for me.
Small screens don't work anymore," said a business executive surnamed Wen,
as he swiped the screen on his Samsung Galaxy Note during lunch in
Beijing.
Around half of the more than 60 million smartphones shipped in China in
the third quarter last year had screens that were bigger than 4 inches,
based on IDC's latest figures. The iPhone 5 comes with a 4-inch screen,
while the Galaxy Note II's screen is 5.5 inches.
Also, local vendors such as Coolpad smartphone maker Yulong Computer
Telecommunication Scientific (Shenzhen) Co Ltd, which offers cheaper
alternatives, and Meizu Technology Co Ltd, known for its minimalist
designs, have seen its legion of fans grow.
Price is a key factor, especially in the Chinese market where around 80
percent of the more than one billion mobile phone users are still on 2G
networks.
On the online Taobao website, Coolpads and low-end models made by Huawei
Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp are selling at below 1,000 yuan, a sweet
spot for many consumers switching from basic phones to smartphones.
Apple has moved to address that, partnering with China Merchants Bank to
offer financing and installment options so that buyers can pay with the
bank's credit card when they shop online, media reports said.
Finally, expanding the number of applications customized for China will
help grow Apple's market share but that might need tighter collaboration
with Chinese companies, such as Baidu Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
"Consumers will definitely welcome closer cooperation between Apple and
Chinese tech firms to customize the iPhone for the use of apps such as
Tencent's WeChat," said Frederick Wong, executive director of Avant
Capital Management (Hong Kong) Ltd, a fund that invests in Apple-related
options.
Court: Sex Offender Facebook Ban Unconstitutional
An Indiana law that bans registered sex offenders from using Facebook and
other social networking sites that can be accessed by children is
unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The 7th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Chicago overturned a federal judge's
decision upholding the law, saying the state was justified in trying to
protect children but that the "blanket ban" went too far by restricting
free speech.
The 2008 law "broadly prohibits substantial protected speech rather than
specifically targeting the evil of improper communications to minors," the
judges wrote.
"The goal of deterrence does not license the state to restrict far more
speech than necessary to target the prospective harm," they said in a
20-page decision.
The judges noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has also struck down laws
that restricted the constitutional right to freedom of expression, such
as one that sought to ban leafleting on the premise that it would prevent
the dropping of litter.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled in June that the state has a
strong interest in protecting children and found that social networking
had created a "virtual playground for sexual predators to lurk." She noted
that everything else on the Internet remained open to those who have been
convicted of sex offenses.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the class-action suit
on behalf of a man who served three years for child exploitation and other
sex offenders who are restricted by the ban even though they are no longer
on probation.
Courts have long allowed states to place restrictions on convicted sex
offenders who have completed their sentences, controlling where many live
and work and requiring them to register with police. But the ACLU
contended that even though the Indiana law is only intended to protect
children from online sexual predators, social media websites are
virtually indispensable. The group said the ban prevents sex offenders
from using the websites for legitimate political, business and religious
purposes.
The ACLU applauded the decision.
"Indiana already has a law on the books that prohibits inappropriate
sexual contacts with children," including penalties for online
activities, ACLU legal director Ken Falk said. "This law sought to
criminalize completely innocent conduct that has nothing to do with
children."
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said his office would review the
ruling before deciding on the next step.
Federal judges have barred similar laws in Nebraska and Louisiana.
Louisiana legislators passed a new, narrower law last year that requires
sex offenders to identify themselves on Facebook and similar sites. A
federal judge struck down part of Nebraska's law last October.
Antigua Could Hit U.S. with Copyright-free Downloads
The tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda will tell the World Trade
Organization on Monday that it intends to use trade sanctions against the
United States, which it could enforce by allowing movie downloads without
protecting U.S. copyright.
Antigua has the right to do so because it won a WTO legal case, first
launched in 2003, against a U.S. ban on online gambling. The United States
then said it would no longer apply WTO rules to gambling but failed to
offer Antigua comparable access in other services, as it should have.
Antigua won the right to hit back with trade sanctions and - with little
hope of persuading Washington by threatening to block U.S. imports to the
nation of 70,000 - it was given permission to use intellectual property
instead.
"American intellectual property rights holders are fighting piracy across
the globe. They hate the theft of their intellectual property rights and
they spend enormous sums trying to prevent it," Mark Mendel, a lawyer
representing Antigua in the case, told Reuters.
He declined to say exactly how Antigua might act, but said it could
include copyrights, patents or trademarks.
A website that allowed users to download U.S. software or movies without
paying anything to the copyright holders was one possibility, as was
selling Manchester United T-shirts - the soccer club is owned by the
American Glazer family.
"If, when, how it's going to happen, people will just have to wait to find
out."
Although the WTO awarded Antigua the right to impose only $21 million in
annual sanctions, Mendel said the size of the award was not an obstacle.
If Antigua were to begin a state-sponsored website to download Hollywood
movies and U.S.-made computer software, it could still inflict a lot of
damage on U.S. rights holders.
"When you think about it, $21 million could be all accomplished in one go
or in 50 million goes. The dollar figure is not important," he said.
Asked if a site charging one cent per download would be a way to
accomplish Antigua's aims, he said: "That is an intellectual possibility."
The WTO gave Antigua the right to retaliate with sanctions in December
2007 and it announced last month that it had finally given up waiting for
a U.S. compromise proposal. The government hoped the threat of sanctions
would break the logjam, Mendel said.
"We've heard a lot more from them (the U.S. negotiators) over the past two
weeks than over the past 10 years." He added that Antigua's main aim was
still to get the United States to comply.
In an emailed reply to a request for comment, a spokeswoman for the U.S.
Trade Representative said: "The U.S. is in ongoing discussions with
Antigua in an effort to find a mutually satisfactory resolution to this
dispute."
The United States should be worried about other WTO members following
Antigua and using the same tactic to get their way in trade disputes,
Mendel said.
"If they aren't worried enough about Antigua they should be worried about
someone else coming along. If we do something inventive that could pose a
lot of problems for intellectual property holders, if we create that
precedent, the consequences could be enormous," he said.
"With Antigua, it's $21 million. Maybe with China it's going to be $21
billion," said Mendel.
"One of the messages we want to get across is that the WTO was sold to
smaller countries as a level playing field and a way for them to expand
the reach of commerce, subject to a set of rules that apply to everybody.
I think more than anything else this case is about fairness. The WTO is
supposed to be fair."
=~=~=~=
Atari Online News, Etc. is a weekly publication covering the entire
Atari community. Reprint permission is granted, unless otherwise noted
at the beginning of any article, to Atari user groups and not for
profit publications only under the following terms: articles must
remain unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of
each article reprinted. Other reprints granted upon approval of
request. Send requests to: dpj@atarinews.org
No issue of Atari Online News, Etc. may be included on any commercial
media, nor uploaded or transmitted to any commercial online service or
internet site, in whole or in part, by any agent or means, without
the expressed consent or permission from the Publisher or Editor of
Atari Online News, Etc.
Opinions presented herein are those of the individual authors and do
not necessarily reflect those of the staff, or of the publishers. All
material herein is believed to be accurate at the time of publishing.
