SILICON TIMES REPORT ==================== INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ============================= from STR Electronic Publishing Inc. A subsidiary of STR Worldwide CompNews Inc. July 28, 1995 No. 1130 ====================================================================== Silicon Times Report International OnLine Magazine Post Office Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155 R.F. Mariano, Editor Featured in ITCNet's ITC_STREPORT Echo ----------------------------------------- Voice: 1-904-783-3319 10am-4pm EST STR Publishing Support BBS * THE BOUNTY INTERNATIONAL BBS * Featuring: * 4.5GB * of Download Files Operating with * Mustang Software's WILDCAT! 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""""""""""""""""" - CPU INDUSTRY REPORT - Taiwanese CPUs - Adobe & WEB - Intel Pentiums - CDRom News Updates - Dvorak's NEW OUI - ST Linux Emulator - USR 33.6 Muscle Modem - Canadian Sentenced - Don's CatNips - People Talking - Jaguar NewsBits -* CompUSA Launches Win95 Campaign *- -* APPLE, NEW PERFORMAS *- -* PRODIGY FIGHTS ON *- ========================================================================== STReport International OnLine Magazine The Original * Independent * OnLine Magazine -* FEATURING WEEKLY *- "Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information" Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports ========================================================================== STReport's BBS - The Bounty BBS, invites all BBS systems, worldwide, to participate in the ITC/Fido/Internet/PROWL/USENET/USPOLNet/NEST/F-Net Mail Networks. You may also call The Bounty BBS direct @ 1-904-786-4176. 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All computer enthusiasts, hobbyist or commercial on all platforms and BBS systems are invited to participate. ========================================================================== HTTP//WWW.ICBA.COM/STREPORT CIS ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ ITC ~ NEST ~ EURONET ~ CIX ~ USENET ~ USPOLNET CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ PROWL ~ FNET ~ AOL ========================================================================== Florida Lotto ------------------------------------------------------------ LottoMan v1.35 Results: 07/22/95: 2 matches in 6 plays ------------------------------------------------------------ > From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" """""""""""""""""""""" This is a big issue, so I'll not bore you with a long editorial this week. There is one thing though, now that Windows 95 is well on its way to your favorite retailer, please don't rub it in on your "warped" friends or your poor, overspent, "macaroon" loving buddies. They are all well aware of Win'95's speed, good looks and even temperament. So much so that they're quite "sensitive" about any discussion relative to the topic. You'll soon find they tend to divert the topic to something more personal, like your intelligence level, the manner in which you offer facts instead of fantasy or, the tired old story of "my dog's bigger and better than your dog". So please, in the interests of maintaining harmony among our less fortunate fellow computer enthusiasts, leave them in deep silent thought about more of the "things to come" like Nashville, Cairo etc. They really do have more than enough on their soggy paper plates. Windows 95 is excellent. Microsoft Plus!, A companion to Windows 95, is like adding the delicate icing to an already fine, light and moist four tier layer cake. Ralph... 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At that time, however, it will be discontinued. Each of our readers will have by then, received their information packet about how they may upgrade their personal STR News Services. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU! """""""""""""""" Publisher - Editor """""""""""""""""" Ralph F. Mariano Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor, Current Affairs Section Editors """"""""""""""" PC SECTION AMIGA SECTION MAC SECTION ATARI SECTION ---------- ------------- ----------- ------------- R.D. Stevens R. Niles J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson STReport Staff Editors: """"""""""""""""""""""" Michael Arthur John Deegan Brad Martin John Szczepanik Paul Guillot Joseph Mirando Doyle Helms Frank Sereno John Duckworth Jeff Coe Steve Keipe Guillaume Brasseur Melanie Bell Jay Levy Jeff Kovach Marty Mankins Carl Prehn Paul Charchian Contributing Correspondents: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" Dominick J. 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In closing, we shall arduously endeavor to meet and further develop the high standards of straight forwardness our readers have come to expect in each and every issue. The Staff & Editors """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" SYSOP NEWS & CYBERWORLD REPORT ============================== The Leading Hard Copy News Source in the BBS & Online Telecommunications World Your own personal copy mailed to your home every month; STReport's special offer! Annual Subscription Rate of $15.95!! (normally 20.95). Include the STR offer number (STR-21) for your discount. You can send your subscription in to: ------------------------------------- BBS Press Services, Inc. 8125 S.W. 21st Street Topeka, KS 66615 Or, to order by phone, Please Call: 1-913-478-3157.....(Voice) 1-913-478-9239......(Data) 1-913-478-1189.......(FAX) Note: Checks, MasterCard & Visa ok, Please include Full Name, Address, ===== Phone Number, Card type, number & expiration date when ordering. If by mail, please _sign_ your personal order. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > STR INDUSTRY REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS """"""""""""""""""" Computer Products Update - CPU Report ------------------------ ---------- Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Issue #30 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. ******* General Computer News ******* >> Apple to Bundle MegaPhone << Apple Computer Inc. has agreed to bundle a version of Cypress Research Corp.'s MegaPhone screen-based telephone software with certain Macintosh Performa desktop computers. Cypress Research is quoted as saying Apple is pre-installing the MegaPhone for Performa software with Global Village Communications Inc.'s voice-capable Teleport Gold IIv internal telecommunications card. >> Canon Debuts Desktop Camera << Canon U.S.A. Inc. has unveiled the RE-150, a new color desktop video camera. The company notes that the RE-150 can function as a presentation device, image capture peripheral, document camera and portrait camera. The product features a 450-line horizontal resolution. Potential applications include visual presentations, video conferences, distance learning classes and telemedicine. The RE-150 includes an articulated three-axis arm and a camera head that can rotate more than 180 degrees. The RE-150 is scheduled to ship in October for $1,500. >> Intel Making Toshiba Computers << U.S. chip giant Intel Corp. has begun assembling desktop PCs to be sold in Japan under the Toshiba Corp. name. A Toshiba spokesman is quoted as saying the decision to buy PCs from Intel was based on making the best use of Toshiba's facilities. Toshiba said it hopes to expand its desktop share by selling about 120,000 Intel-made desktop PCs under its own brand name this fiscal year. >> Epson Offers PCMCIA Guarantee << Epson America Inc. says it will back its PCMCIA expansion cards with a gurarantee that offers customers 100 percent system compatibility or their money back. The guarantee covers all Epson PCMCIA cards offered through retail channels. Customers can identify the covered cards by an Epson "Compatibility Guarantee" logo that's displayed on the products' packaging. "Epson is committed to enlarging the market for PC cards by offering this guarantee of compatibility with all desktop notebook systems," says Bob Porooshani, manager of technical marketing for Epson America's OEM division. "This is in response to our research which indicated that the number one issue for PC Card users and potential users is compatibility." >> HP Offers New Low-End Printers << A line of low-cost home printers has been introduced by Hewlett- Packard Co. to replace the current HP DeskJet 540 and DeskWriter 540 printers. The new products, to sell for less than $300, are the HP DeskJet 600 and 600C for IBM-compatible machines and the HP DeskWriter 600 for Macintosh computers. The 600C, expected to sell for $299, off a $369 U.S. list price, will include an HP Color Kit. The two 600s are color-capable monochrome printers expected to sell for $279. They can be upgraded to color with a $49-list Color Kit. HP says resolution has been increased to 600-by-600 dots per inch for black and up to 600-by- 300 dots per inch for color. Print speed has increased to four pages per minute for black and one page per minute for color. >> HP Expands PC Distribution << Hewlett-Packard Co. is expanding its multimedia PC distribution to several additional national retail chains, including Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Computer City, Incredible Universe, Micro Center, Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples. Since April, HP has been selling its initial line of multimedia PCs through the Circuit City chain. A new line of consumer PCs is expected to become available in stores starting in late August. >> IBM Targets Viruses << IBM Corp. has announced the availability of an integrated suite of anti-virus products and services, including software that protects PCs by detecting and removing more than 6,000 strains of computer viruses. IBM AntiVirus scans memory, hard disks, floppy drives and network servers for the thousands of viruses, including polymorphic viruses that change to avoid detection, and viruses previously considered impossible to detect. For defending against previously unknown viruses, IBM has developed heuristics that attempt to detect viruses by watching for appearances or behavior that are characteristic of viruses. IBM AntiVirus customers will be able to take advantage of a broad range of optional services, including technical support with rapid technical assistance, virus signature updates and bulletin board support, quarterly software upgrades, electronic updates and guidance from an anti-virus Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT). IBM's CERT has more than seven years of experience in virus emergency response and incident management. Designed for home and small businesses, the $50 IBM AntiVirus Desktop Edition runs on OS/2, including OS/2 Warp, DOS and Windows. Support for Windows NT and Windows 95 is planned to arrive later this year. An Enterprise Edition, designed for larger businesses and client/server network environments, includes IBM AntiVirus for OS/2, DOS, Windows and Novell NetWare. It also offers complementary products to distribute and update anti-virus software and administer anti-virus policy across a business. Pricing depends on the number of users covered. >> Prodigy Fights Online Libel << Prodigy says it is taking the offensive in the Stratton-Oakmont libel case, in which an investment firm is attempting to hold the online service responsible for third-party comments made on a public electronic bulletin board. The White Plains, New York-based company says it is beginning discovery proceedings of Stratton-Oakmont which, according to news reports, last year agreed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay a penalty of $500,000, plus $2 million in compensation to investors who lost money because of the investment firm's conduct. Stratton-Oakmont, while denying any charges of wrongdoing, agreed to the settlement, notes Prodigy. Through documents and deposition testimony that Prodigy will seek from Stratton-Oakmont, its present and former officers and directors, the SEC and NASD, Prodigy says it anticipates developing all the facts surrounding Stratton-Oakmont's claims, the specific actions referred to in the bulletin board posts in question and the facts surrounding Stratton-Oakmont and the SEC. Prodigy's legal counsel says they also will consider taking statements from investors who offered to speak on Prodigy's behalf after seeing stories about the suit in the media. Prodigy also says that the New York State Supreme Court has agreed to consider Prodigy's motion for re-argument of the court's decision that it is a publisher with regard to third-party comments posted on its MoneyTalk bulletin board. Handling the motion will be noted First Amendment lawyer Martin Garbus of Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz, a firm specializing in publishing and new media. Prodigy says it is furnishing additional evidence to the court, and a decision could come by the end of October. "Deciding to consider Prodigy's motion was the right thing to do," says Mike Godwin, staff counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a public-interest civil-liberties group. "In its previous decision, which mis-characterized Prodigy as a traditional publisher, the court reached legal conclusions that impose great risks on providers who try to shape the character and content of their forums." Several industry groups, including The Authors Guild and The Interactive Services Association (which represents over 300 companies, including America Online and CompuServe) have come forward to argue that they be permitted to file amicus briefs in support of Prodigy's position in the argument. >> NEC Plans New Synchronous DRAMs << Japan's NEC Corp. says it plans to produce 16-megabit synchronous DRAM chips designed for use in PC main memory applications. The parts will be offered in both monolithic and 168-pin dual in-line memory module (DIMM) versions. The chips are projected to cost up to 10 percent less than standard synchronous DRAMs, making them better suited for use in the high-volume main memory market. "Today, fast-page and hyper- page (also known as EDO) DRAMs are the most commonly used devices for PC main memory," says Cecil Conkle, NEC Electronics' senior product marketing manager for memory. "However, in order to support the new higher-speed processors, DRAMs need to be even faster, without substantially increasing system costs -- the solution is new generation, or synchronous, DRAMs." The new SDRAMs and SDRAM DIMMs are expected to be available in sample quantities September. >> Radio Shack Unlimited Makes Debut << Radio Shack has unveiled Radio Shack Unlimited, a new in-store catalog service that aims to provide customers with convenient access to more than 100,000 unique and hard-to-find personal electronic products and accessories, as well as replacement parts and components from brand- name manufacturers. Under the service, customers will have access to resource catalogs that are contained in a specially designed kiosk. The catalogs are indexed by product category and include such items as phonograph needles, batteries, computers and computer hardware and hundreds of computer and video game software titles. Most items in the catalogs will be delivered within five days, says Radio Shack. >> Survey Tracks Average Web Use << A new survey suggests serious Net surfers spend an average of 45 minutes a day on the Internet's World Wide Web and that most have positive feelings about the new trend toward advertising found on commercial Web sites. Those are among the conclusions reached in research conducted over a two-week period last month for magazine firm CMP Publications Inc.'s Interactive Media unit by independent telemarketing firm Innovative Concepts. The survey polled users of CMP's own TechWeb WWW site (reachable at the Web address of http://techweb.cmp.com/techweb). "Serious users of the World Wide Web see advertising as another op- portunity to gather information about products and services, so it comes as no surprise that our TechWeb audience would respond enthusiastically to cyber-ads," said Mitchell York, managing director of CMP Interactive Media. Other findings: -:- Some 53% of respondents regularly visit Web sites of specific companies at least once a week. The most popular were Microsoft Corp. (which 26% of the respondents said they visit at least once weekly), IBM (visited weekly by 18% of the respondents), Hewlett-Packard Co. (10%), Apple Computer (9%), Novell (8%) and Intel Corp. (7%). -:- Respondents said they spend 59.3% of their time on the Web for work-related purposes. -:- Nearly three quarters of respondents indicated they are interested in receiving electronic newsletters sent directly to their email boxes on relevant subject matters. >> CompUSA Launches Win95 Campaign << Computer superstore chain CompUSA is launching its Windows 95 campaign with a series of promotions, demonstrations and special offers. Beginning Saturday, customers can reserve a copy of Windows 95 with the purchase of a $10 gift certificate that's redeemable on any product or service sold at any of the 85 CompUSA stores nationwide. Additionally, CompUSA customers are eligible to receive an American Airlines savings certificate with the purchase of Windows 95 on or after Aug. 24. For each purchase of Windows 95 through Sept. 30, customers can get up to $95 off American Airlines air travel. Other promotional activities include demonstrations of Windows 95 to be held in all stores each weekend starting July 15. Also, a limited number of Windows 95 CD demo kits will be available for customers. "The introduction of Windows 95 is the most significant launch of any software product this decade. We believe this product will have a tremendously positive impact on the way America uses computers," says Larry Mondry, executive vice president of merchandising at Dallas-based CompUSA. "Because of the huge demand we anticipate, we are pleased to announce an opportunity for our customers to pre-book their copy of Windows 95. This ensures they will have a reserved copy waiting for them on August 24," Mondry says. >> Chip Market to Grow 52 Percent << The worldwide semiconductor production equipment market will grow by 52 percent in 1995 to $16.3 billion due to heavy demand for computer chips, forecast Dataquest, a market research firm that is a unit of Dun & Bradstreet. United Press International reports that Dataquest also predicted the market would grow an additional 22 percent in 1996. It grew 56.4 percent in 1994 and 34.9 percent in 1993. Dataquest credited persistent high prices for DRAM chips for keeping manufacturers profitable, which has spurred strong spending. New semiconductor plants usually cost at least $1 billion each. "We knew a few months ago that the 1995 market would surprise us, and now, with the year half over, 1995 is turning out to be 1994 all over again," said Clark Fuhs, senior analyst in Dataquest's semiconductor equipment, manufacturing and materials worldwide. The largest gains will come from the Asia-Pacific region with an anticipated rise of 78.8 percent to $4.58 billion. Spending in the area is also expected to increase next year by 44.4 percent to $6.62 billion. Europe is the second fastest-growing region with projections of a 69 percent gain to $2.34 billion. Meanwhile, North American spending will grow 40.4 percent in 1995 to $4.41 billion, and Japanese spending will rise 36.5 percent to $5 billion. >> Supra Plans Faster Modems << Modem maker Supra Corp. says it plans to offer products that adhere to the forthcoming 33.6K bps standard. The company notes that availability of the new modems hinges on the finalization of a 33.6K standard by the ITU Standards Committee. Supra expects the guidelines to become available in early 1996. Pricing and availability information on the modems will be announced at a later date, says Supra, which is based in Vancouver, Washington. "It is in the best interest of modern users that we wait for the ITU standard to be established, thus avoiding potential communication conflicts between 33.6K modems," says James Cutburth, vice president of marketing for Supra. >> Robotics Unveils 33.6Kbps Modem << US Robotics Corp. says it is the first to unveil software that supports the souped-up version of the V.34 modem standard that runs at 33.6Kbps. From Robotics' Skokie, Ill., Computergram International says the software is for use on the company's Courier desktop modems and Total control systems products. "As well as the 33.6Kbps speed, the software also supports a proprietary 31.2Kbps standard," says CI. "While the International Telecommunications Union has yet to agree the standard, the V.34 working group has now agreed on the enhancements needed to boost the speed, and the firm said its software 'closely tracks' this work." Robotics Vice President Dale Walsh told CI, "If there are any changes to the standard, we'll be able to implement those via software download." The company is being "coy on specifics," the newsletter says, but notes it "also claims to have boosted the overall efficiency of its software, so that it 'consistently' runs at speeds from 2,400bps to 4,800bps faster than with the previous version." Look for the software to be available at no cost for owners of the company's Courier V.Everything and V.Fast Class modems and will ship as standard in all new Courier modems, CI says. "It will also be implemented on the company's remote access servers, modem pools and high-end wide area network systems," CI says. "No pricing or availability but the company did say that the 33.6Kbps software will be available on all its systems products by the year-end." >> Apple Unveils New Performas << Apple Computer Inc. has introduced two new PowerPC-based Macintosh Performa multimedia computer lines designed for first-time and home office buyers--the Macintosh Performa 5200CD series and the Macintosh Performa 6200CD series. Apple has also introduced the Macintosh Performa 631CD, Macintosh Performa 640CD DOS Compatible, Macintosh Performa 6116CD and the MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) Media System. The Macintosh Performa computers are packaged as a complete solution in one box, including hardware optimized for multimedia application, Macintosh System 7.5, pre-installed productivity applications and a variety of education and entertainment software and CD-ROM titles. The Macintosh Performa 5200CD and 6200CD series both feature an internal 14.4K bps modem, which provides a full-duplex speakerphone, answering machine and a fax send and receive capability. Prices start at $1,999. The Macintosh Performa 631CD is based on the 66/33MHz 68LC040 microprocessor and comes with 8MB of RAM, a 500MB hard drive, a 14-inch display, an internal double-speed CD-ROM drive and an external 14.4K bps data/fax send/receive modem. The Macintosh Performa 6116CD, based on the 60MHz PowerPC 601 microprocessor, comes with 8MB of memory, a 700MB hard disk, a double speed CD-ROM drive, a 14-inch display and an external 14.4K bps data/fax send/receive modem. The Macintosh Performa 640CD DOS Compatible is powered by two microprocessors: a 66/33MHz 68LC040 and 66MHz 486DX2. The system comes with 12MB of RAM (8MB dedicated to the Mac OS, 4MB dedicated to DOS/Windows), a 500MB hard disk, a 15-inch display, a double speed CD-ROM drive and an internal 14.4K bps data/fax send/receive modem. The Apple MPEG Media System, a plug-in card, provides full-motion, full-screen video. The card works with the Macintosh Performa 630, 5200 and 6200 systems. The Macintosh Performa 6230CD comes with the MPEG Media System pre-installed. >> Report: Taiwan Plans Own CPUs << Electronic Engineering Times reports that the Taiwanese government is planning to develop its own CPUs by 1997, putting the devices in direct competition with Intel Corp.'s Pentium chips. The Manhasset, N.Y.-based trade publication says Intel's dominance in processors, chip sets and motherboards sparked the move. "Fear is the best way to characterize the mood in Taiwan," says Daniel Heyler, semiconductor analyst for Dataquest in Asia and a longtime resident of Taiwan. "You have a whole IT industry in Taiwan based around the motherboard." >> Teens Turn Japan's No-PC Image << Computer-hunger teenagers apparently are turning around Japan's image as a country that makes PCs but doesn't use them, launching a boom that seems to be taking the industry by surprise. "It's hard to pinpoint exactly what is starting the current boom in PC sales," David Benda, electronics analyst at BZW Securities in Tokyo told Velisarios Kattoulas of the Reuter News Service, "but school children are definitely playing an important role." Reporting from Osaka, Kattoulas reports large discounts on powerful new software and hardware also have boosted PC sales, according to a report from the Yamaichi Research Institute, the research arm of Yamaichi Securities. The Yamaichi Research report said that due to interest among school children and heavy discounts on powerful and easy-to-use new software and hardware, Japan's top four makers -- NEC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. -- are likely to increase PC production sharply over the next two years. Reuters says the research institute estimated an 8 percent rise in shipments to 5.3 million units in the year to March 1996 and a 23 percent jump to 6.5 million in the year after that. And Benda said officials at one of the four makers were expecting deliveries to rise even more quickly than that. Quoting senior officials, he said one maker expected production to top 5.5 million units this business year and approach 7 million units next year. "Still, the value of computers delivered will not grow as fast because of price-slashing sparked by aggressive competition from foreign computer giants like Compaq, which are making inroads into the Japanese market," Reuters said. Yamaichi Research estimates the value of deliveries will rise to 2 trillion yen in the year to March 1997, up from an estimated 1.75 trillion yen the previous year. >> Canadian Sentenced in Porn Case << In what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Canada, an Ontario man convicted of transmitting child pornography by computer has sentenced to 150 hours of community service. Reporting from Toronto, The Associated Press says 20-year-old Joseph Pecciarich of Mississauga also was put on probation for two years and ordered to receive psychiatric treatment. The wire service says Pecciarich was charged in 1993 after police started looking for sources of pornography available on computer bulletin board systems. Investigators alleged he "would copy pictures of children from books and catalogues onto a computer, alter the images to remove clothing and arrange them into sexual positions. He then loaded them into a bulletin board. The scenes involved adults, children and animals, police said." The judge said Pecciarich shouldn't go to jail because he had no criminal record and there was no proof he ever acted out sexual fantasies. AP said he is believed to be the first person in Canada convicted of using a computer to distribute child pornography. >> UK Cops Bust Net Child Porn Ring << An international child pornography ring operating on the Internet has been discovered by British police who have arrested nine people in the UK in connection with the operation. Reporting from London, the Reuter News Service today said the police investigation also targeted suspects in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, South Africa and Germany. The nine arrested later were released on bail pending further inquiries. Police also seized a large quantity of computer equipment, Reuters says. Code-named "Operation Starburst," the effort was launched in Birmingham in central England, after police identified several people they suspected of distributing pornography on the Internet. David Davis, head of the local vice squad, told the wire service, "This type of operation shows that police working together can effectively combat the distribution of child pornography across the Internet, no matter how, or from where, it is sent." >> Schwartz Convicted of Cracking << Programmer/author Randal Schwartz could be sentenced to as much as five years in prison and $100,000 in fines on each of three counts of computer crimes after his conviction of invading an Intel Corp. network in what he claimed was an effort to point out security flaws. However, the Reuter News Service says that under Oregon state guidelines, the 33-year-old Schwartz -- convicted Tuesday after a 2 1/2-week jury trial in Washington County, Oregon, Superior Court -- he is likely to be treated more leniently when sentenced Sept. 11 because he has no previous criminal record. Reporting from Portland, Reuters says Prosecutor Thomas Tintera also ask Circuit Judge Alan Bonebrake to order restitution of $60,000 to Intel. Schwartz, described by Reuters as a "computer prodigy and software authority," was convicted of stealing passwords and making unauthorized software changes in Intel's computer network while he was working at the company as a $45-an-hour consultant. Reuters adds, "Schwartz, who went to work at 16 after graduating from high school, is the author of two books on Perl, a programming language, but has described himself as a loner with few social skills." _______________________________________ > OUI by DVORAK STR InfoFile More great GOODIES from Dvorak! """""""""""""""""""""""""" OUI (tm) Off-line Usenet Interface for Windows (updated July 26, 1995) Many NavCIS users have been asking us for an advanced off-line navigator that makes Usenet newsgroups as easy to use as CompuServe forums. We've taken our NavCIS experience and applied it, listened to our users, studied and tinkered, and soon we'll be releasing our Windows version of OUI (pronounced "whee"). Expected target realease: by the end of August. Using off-line technology developed and used by thousands of NavCIS users, OUI makes using Usenet's myriad newsgroups easy and affordable. OUI uses CompuServe's Dialer program (available free via GO NETLAUNCHER) to access the Internet's Usenet newsgroups. OUI can also use other popular dialers such as Trumpet and the Windows 95 dialer. OUI works with PPP, SLP and TCP/IP type connections. This product will pay for itself in a month or two if you've been a moderate USENET user. And it's perfect if you've been wanting to learn about the USENET but have been put off by the cost (its billed as an extended forum) or complexity. Features: --------- * Windows MDI interface, makes Usenet easy to learn, easy to use. * Built in e-mail support for both SMTP and POP-3 mail servers. * Powerful search and index options allow you to quickly find Newsgroups, subjects, and messages that interest you. * Powerful threading features let you find conversations that interest you... you can see threads BEFORE you download messages, as well as track, ignore, and store threads according to your tastes. * Twit filters allow you to ignore input from selected users or subjects. * Watch filters allow you to automatically spot messages that interest you. * Read and reply easily using split windows. * User definable auto-quote characteristics. * Built in multi-lingual spell checker. * Built in automatic UUencoding and UUdecoding. * Automatic message part locator for multi-part messages. * Extensive dual-window help with Index and Glossary. * Supports NavCIS font technology. System Requirements: -------------------- You must be using some sort of Winsock compliant dialer such as the CompuServe Dialer, Trumpet or the Windows 95 dialer. OUI also works with SLP and TCP/IP connections. Requires Windows 3.1 running in enhanced mode. 386/40 or faster with 4mb RAM minimum. Mouse, modem and 5mb hard disk space. Compatible with Windows 95 and Windows NT. Anticipated Release: -------------------- By the end of August, 1995. Currently in Beta 2. How is OUI packaged? -------------------- OUI is a disk based product and does not include a written manual. Rather, it features powerful on-line help that is concise, well written and easy to use. Can I order it now? ------------------- Sorry, no. We do not want to take your money and deliver something that doesn't live up to your expectations. We'd rather you download and try the TE (15 day demoware Timed Edition) before you decide to purchase OUI. The TE version will be located in LIB 1 of the DVORAK forum once the product is released. IF I own NavCIS Pro, do I get a discount? ----------------------------------------- Yes, if you own NavCIS Pro, you can get OUI for just $22.00 ($19 plus $3 for shipping) on diskette (slighly more if you are overseas). What does it cost? ------------------ $39 plus $3 for shipping (shipping is slightly more for our overseas cutomers). We accept MsasterCard, VISA, American Express and Discover. Will OUI be available on the Internet? -------------------------------------- Yes, Dvorak Development is putting in place a direct connection to the internet and will sooon have full time servers from where it can be downloaded. Additionally we'll have a Web server supporting our Web pages. Can I beta test OUI? -------------------- Sorry, the call for OUI beta testers has already gone out and we have a full compliment of hard working testers. We are no longer accepting applications. --Dvorak Development _____________________________________________ > Frankie's Corner STR Feature """""""""""""""""""""""""""" Imagination Express Destination: Rain Forest ============================================ Dual format CD-ROM for Windows and Macintosh ages 6 to 12 approximate retail $40 by Edmark Corporation P.O. Box 97021 Redmond, WA 98073-9721 (206) 556-8484 IBM Requirements Macintosh Requirements CPU: 386DX-25 CPU: Color Mac RAM: 8 megs RAM: 8 megs Video: 256 color SVGA monitor Video: 256 color, 13" monitor HDISK: 2 megs HDISK: 2 megs CD-ROM: Double-speed recommended CD-ROM: Double-speed recommended OS: Windows 3.1 OS: System 7 Misc.: Sound card, mouse The Kids' Computing Corner -------------------------- by Frank Sereno Destination: Rain Forest is the newest addition to Edmark's enchanting Imagination Express package. The program encourages children to explore their creative writing skills by allowing them to mix words, graphics and sound to publish multimedia stories. The setting is the rain forest of Panama. The program includes a Fact Book filled with interesting information about the land, people, animals and plants of the region. This information will also spark children's imaginations when they create their stories. Also featured is a Story Ideas section which provides thematic suggestions. A parent's section gives information on the program's educational features and contains suggestions for enhancing your child's enjoyment of writing. The most important feature is the story editor. Children can choose from many backgrounds for each page. Then any number of "stickers" may be added. Destination: Rain Forest includes dozens of stickers of people, plants and animals. Some stickers are animated and some even include sound effects. Stickers change in size as they are moved fore and aft in the scene to maintain proper perspective. They can also be placed behind objects in the background rather than simply being layered on top of it. Some characters can be rotated in three dimensions. The creative possibilities are endless. Destination: Rain Forest offers children the option of recording dialog and sounds for the stickers in each page. They can also record a narration for the page. Simple editing tools can be used to write the text for the story. Several fonts and sizes are available. The program also provides music of the local people which can be used to introduce each page. Children have an infinite array storytelling opportunities with these many options. With outstanding graphics and excellent audio, Destination: Rain Forest is a delight to both the eye and ear. One small flaw is that the program can only be run in 256-color mode. The authentic music is quite different and interesting. Voices and sound effects were digitized very well. The interface is a rather complex point-and-click device. Audible help is not provided so it is best for adults to aid younger children. The manual explains the many interface features and it becomes second nature after a short time. The manual also offers excellent technical tips. Some of these tips keep the program moving at a good pace on older computers. Destination: Rain Forest has great play value. Children will enjoy manipulating the many animals and bugs which are native to the rain forest. They will spend many hours discovering the features of each sticker and then writing stories. The educational value is excellent. Products which can ignite creative thought are still rare in the educational software market. Destination: Rain Forest and Imagination Express inspire creativity by giving children the tools and information to create original multimedia electronic books based on unfamiliar scenarios. Most children will never visit a rain forest. By using the fact book and their imaginations, they can go to this important ecosystem in their minds. Destination: Rain Forest provides a rich learning experience at a reasonable price. It is an excellent value. Ratings Graphics ........... 9.5 Sound .............. 9.5 Interface .......... 9.0 Play Value ......... 9.5 Educational Value ..10.0 Bang for the Buck .. 9.5 Average ............ 9.5 Frank Sereno STReport Magazine P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, FL 32221-6155 Thank you for reading! ____________________________________________ > INTEL PENTIUM STR FOCUS! Good Stuff! No matter how you look at it! """""""""""""""""""""""" INTEL PENTIUM(TM) PROCESSOR SYSTEMS =================================== INTRODUCTION ------------ Today's compute-intensive applications require vast amounts of data to be processed and moved faster than ever before. To meet these needs, Intel has made dramatic advances in processor architecture, design, and manufacturing technology, resulting in the Pentium(TM) processor, the fastest microprocessor Intel has ever made. Not only has the Pentium processor become more powerful and efficient, but system designs have also moved forward. The high-performance systems available today both leverage the strengths of the processor and integrate other advanced features to provide the best performance from the total system. This technical overview focuses on the key components and specifications of a high-performance desktop personal computer -- a system that is not only well-designed, but also affordable to home and business computer users. After these elements are described, other PC features such as multimedia capabilities and ease-of-use are discussed. Finally, the performance gains provided by various key system components are summarized. FEATURES OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE DESKTOP PERSONAL COMPUTERS ------------------------------------------------------- Today's best PCs are well-balanced systems with each component optimized to take full advantage of the processor's capabilities, highly tuned and working together to give you the best possible results. 1. PENTIUM PROCESSOR. The Pentium processor's advanced superscalar architecture enables it to execute up to 166 million instructions per second (MIPS). 2. MEMORY SUBSYSTEM. Key components of a memory subsystem are: large fast RAM, second-level write-back cache, and wide processor-to-memory bus. 8 to 32 Mbytes of RAM will enable the processor to efficiently run large applications and advanced operating systems. A 256 to 512 Kbyte write-back cache increases memory performance by helping coordinate the speed of the Pentium processor with the slower RAM. And a 64-bit bus increases the flow of data between the processor and the system's RAM and memory cache. 3. HARD DISK. High-performance hard drives have at least 340 MBytes of capacity, provide an average seek time of 12 milliseconds, have a 128 to 256 KByte hard disk buffer cache with both write-caching and read-caching capabilities, and spin about 4,500 rotations per minute. 4. PCI AND VIDEO GRAPHICS CARD. The PCI local bus greatly improves I/O performance, especially graphics. The PCI bus can transfer data between the processor and the peripherals at up to 132 MB/second, far faster than the ISA bus rate of 5 MB/second. A full-featured PCI-compliant VGA card, with at least 1 to 2 MB of video RAM, will further accelerate graphics performance. THE PENTIUM PROCESSOR --------------------- The highest-performing PC designs today incorporate the Pentium processor. Intel's Pentium processor combines the performance traditionally reserved for high-end workstations with the flexibility and compatibility required for desktop systems. In addition, it maintains complete compatibility with the large installed base of software currently running on Intel microprocessors. The Pentium processor family includes the fastest processors in Intel's line--Pentium processor 510\60MHz, Pentium processor 567\66MHz, Pentium processor 735\90MHz, and Pentium processor 815\100MHz. These processors achieve exceptional performance levels by incorporating new features and improvements made possible by advances in semiconductor technology. For example, the Pentium processor has a superscalar architecture ("superscalar" refers to a microprocessor architecture that contains more than one execution unit) which enables it to execute more than one instruction per clock cycle. In addition, the Pentium processor incorporates separate 8 Kbyte on-chip code and data caches, an enhanced floating point unit, and a high-performance 64-bit data bus. The Pentium processor family was designed using an advanced process technology and has features that are less than a micron (one-millionth of a meter) in size. The Pentium processor (510\60, 567\66) was developed utilizing 5V, 0.8 micron technology, while the Pentium processor (735\90, 815\100) was designed using 3.3V, 0.6 micron technology. As a result of these design, architecture, and process innovations, the Pentium processor (815\100) has over two and a half times the performance of the Intel486TM DX2-66 microprocessor. This performance allows the Pentium processor to meet the rigorous computing demands of areas such as advanced operating systems, compute-intensive graphics applications, large-scale financial programs, high-throughput client/server software, and real-time video applications. WELL-DESIGNED MEMORY SYSTEM --------------------------- The Pentium processor can handle data faster than many memory subsystems can supply it. When that happens, the processor sits idle and the overall efficiency of the system is greatly reduced. That's why it's critical to have a memory system that can keep up with the data processing capabilities of the Pentium processor. Well-designed memory systems increase system performance primarily using three techniques: wide processor-to-memory buses, second-level cache systems, and large fast random access memory (RAM) subsystems. Wide Processor-to-Memory Data Bus --------------------------------- The data bus is the highway that carries information between the processor and the memory subsystem, so a wider bus simply increases the flow. While some of the early systems introduced with the Pentium processor in mid-1993 did not fully utilize the processor's 64-bit data bus, today's PC designs are better. The Pentium processor-based PCs available now have 64-bit processor-to-memory data buses, enabling extremely fast data flow between the processor, second-level cache, and RAM subsystem. Second-level Cache ------------------ Second-level caches are blocks of high-speed memory that are placed between the processor and system memory. This memory acts as a temporary storage place for commonly-used instructions and data, replacing the need to always go to the system's slower main memory to fetch information. The size of the second-level cache in high-performance systems is at least 256 Kbytes to 512 Kbytes. Larger cache sizes improve performance, because more memory is available to store the needed data. More advanced caches are also write-back designs rather than write-through implementations (1). The write-back approach reduces bus utilization and prevents needless bottlenecks in the system by caching data both written to and read from main memory (system memory is only updated when the cached data is replaced). In contrast, write-through cache implementations transfer data to the external memory each time the processor writes data to the cache (i.e., write-through designs do not cache data written to memory). Large Fast RAM system --------------------- Memory systems, which are generally constructed from dynamic RAM (DRAM) modules, can easily become a system bottleneck. For example, if the PC does not have enough DRAM, then the processor has to frequently retrieve information from the much-slower hard disk. High-performance ---------------- PCs have large memory subsystems (larger RAM systems increase software performance, because more of the program currently executing can reside in RAM rather than on the hard disk). With 8 to 32 Mbytes of RAM, the PC can minimize hard disk accesses and efficiently execute large applications and advanced operating systems such as Windows*, OS/2* and UNIX*. In addition, advanced RAM systems use interleaving to reach peak performance levels. Interleaving reduces memory access time by segmenting the memory system into two coordinated banks. During a particular request, one bank will supply information to the processor while the other prepares data for the next cycle; during the next access, they switch roles. HIGH-PERFORMANCE HARD DISK -------------------------- During a data read from the hard disk, the processor spends most of its time waiting for the disk to retrieve the requested information. As a result, hard disk performance can have a significant impact on system performance. Hard disk drives are categorized and ranked based on various metrics. Four common selection criteria are average seek time, on-board disk cache, disk caching features, and platter rotation speed. Average Seek Time ----------------- The average seek time, the most readily available specification and arguably the most important criterion, is the amount of time that the drive heads require to move from one sector to another. Seek times for fast hard disks generally range from 10 to 15 milliseconds. Hard Disk Buffer/Cache ---------------------- A hard disk cache stores commonly used data, so that the disk's tracks and sectors do not have to be accessed each time the processor requests data. And like second-level caches, more disk cache memory improves performance -- the larger the cache, the more likely it holds the desired data. Intelligent Caching Features ---------------------------- Many disk drives have features that off-load work from the processor, freeing it to perform other functions. One such function is read-caching, or pre-fetching, where the disk drive fetches data before the processor requests it. This technique "reads ahead" by assuming that the sector following the one most recently accessed will be next requested by the system. Another advanced disk feature is write-caching, where the cache accepts data before the drive is ready to write it. Write-caching can improve hard disk performance significantly. Platter Rotation Speed ---------------------- As with seek times, faster platter rotation speeds yield higher disk performance. Rotation speeds for today's PC drives typically range from 3,600 to 7,200 rotations per minute (RPMs). While there is some inherent correlation between platter speed and average seek time, faster rotation speed does not guarantee shorter seek times. For example, some drives have platter speeds of 4,300 RPMs with average seek times of 16 ms, while other drive platters rotate at 3,600 RPMs but have average seek times of 13 ms. A high-performance hard disk drive provides an average seek time of 12 milliseconds, has a 128 to 256 Kbyte cache with both read-caching and write-caching capabilities, and spins about 4,500 rotations per minute. In addition, it has a minimum of 340 Mbytes in capacity to meet the storage needs of today's applications and operating systems. PCI LOCAL BUS ------------- The industry-standard 16-bit/8-MHz ISA expansion bus, the decade-old bus currently found in most computers, cannot adequately transport the large amounts of data generated by today's compute-intensive applications. High-performance processors, operating at speeds of 100 MHz and beyond, are forced to wait as hard disks, video boards and other peripherals send and receive data along a path that is not only narrow and slow, but inefficient as well. As a result, serious bottlenecks occur as large files vie for the limited bandwidth offered by the ISA system bus. Enhanced bus standards, such as EISA and Micro Channel*, have been introduced to alleviate these concerns, but none has provided an adequate cost-effective, long-term solution. To solve this problem, the PC industry developed a local bus specification based on the Intel486(TM) processor bus and a standard local bus connector. Known as VESA's VL local bus, it allows high-performance peripherals to bypass the I/O bottlenecks of traditional system buses and take a shortcut to the system processor. While the specification is a good intermediate solution and has resolved some of the I/O issues, it has a number of limitations. Its most significant disadvantage is incompatibility; because the VL bus design is tied to the processor's speed, not every VL bus card is compatible with every VL bus-based system. To eliminate incompatibilities and provide a more robust solution for Pentium processor-based systems, the Intel Architecture Lab along with its industry partners developed the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) local bus specification. PCI is an advanced high-performance local bus design that supports multiple peripheral devices. It is optimized to take advantage of today's microprocessor and personal computer technology and provides a total system solution. PCI provides increased performance for network adapters, hard disk drives, full-motion video, graphics and the wide range of today's high-speed peripherals, while maintaining compatibility with today's existing ISA/EISA/Micro Channel expansion buses. Running at a clock speed of 33 MHz, the PCI local bus employs a 32-bit data bus that supports multiple peripheral components and add-in cards at a peak bandwidth of 132 Mbytes/second, a substantial improvement over the 5 Mbyte/second peak transfer rate of the standard ISA bus. This increased bandwidth allows the PCI local bus to provide more than four times the graphics performance of the ISA bus. The PCI local bus achieved a WinMark* test score of 84.1 million WinMarks compared to the 20 million WinMarks attained with the ISA bus (3). The PCI local bus, however, offers much more than high bandwidth. It allows peripherals to take full advantage of available processing power without being dependent on processor speed or architecture. It also supports auto-configuration of Plug and Play-enabled add-in cards and offers system designers a standardized design path. Finally, PCI provides built-in upgradability to accommodate future technical advances. FULL-FEATURED VIDEO GRAPHICS ADAPTER ------------------------------------ Today's advanced graphically-intensive operating systems and applications have fueled the need for high-performance video graphics adapter (VGA) cards. In yesterday's text-based DOS operating environments, the processor could effectively perform both displaying and number-crunching tasks. Today windows and images are frequently created and moved on PC monitors, requiring the manipulation of tens to hundreds of thousands of pixels. Without an advanced video graphics adapter, this would be an incredibly processor-consuming task. Video graphics adapters are designed to enable high-speed data communication between the processor and the VGA, and between the VGA and the display monitor. Advanced VGAs also have intelligent functions, such as drawing, zooming, pixel manipulation, and pattern replication, which relieve the processor of some of its workload. Using these features, the processor can send a simple command to the VGA and then perform some other task while the VGA updates the monitor. The result is increased system performance. In addition to having "smart" functions, a high-performance VGA enables high-resolution displays (at least 800-by-600 with 256 colors) and has a minimum of 1 to 2 MB of on-board RAM to store the information that needs to be displayed on the monitor. In addition, the VGA is PCI-compliant so it can take advantage of PCI local bus designs. ADDITIONAL SYSTEM CONSIDERATIONS -------------------------------- The processor, hard disk, memory design, and I/O and graphics systems are not the only factors that influence performance and usability. Other elements, such as CD-ROMs for multimedia and Plug and Play technology for easy installation, also come into play. CD-ROMs ------- Fast, affordable, and fueled by an increasing number of available software titles, CD-ROM drives are becoming a standard part of personal computers. Although CD-ROMs are read-only and transfer data at a considerably slower rate than hard disk drives, they can store up to 680 Mbytes of information. Because of this immense capacity, CD-ROMs are being used for everything from multimedia games and reference materials to operating systems and software applications. When selecting a CD-ROM drive, the most important specification is speed, or data transfer rate. The faster the transfer rate, the smoother video and graphics playback will be on multimedia applications. Although CD-ROM data rates range from 150 to 600 Kbytes/second, the transfer rate should be at least 300 Kbyte/second (i.e., double-speed) to obtain good multimedia performance. PLUG AND PLAY TECHNOLOGY ------------------------ Installing an add-in card can be a challenging process. Sometimes cards need to be configured manually, which means selecting a variety of system resources -- interrupt requests, I/O and memory addresses, and direct memory access channels -- for each card. Every PC has a limited number of these resources available, and each card is designed to use a small group of them. And since there are no standards stating which cards can use which resources, conflicts can arise between cards. Plug and Play technology consists of hardware and software components that add-in card, PC, and operating system manufacturers incorporate into their products to eliminate the need for manual configuration. With this technology, an expansion card can identify itself and the resources it requires, and the system software can automatically set up a suitable configuration for the card. As a result, add-in cards can be easily inserted into the PC. Although Plug and Play technology is still maturing, Plug and Play-enabled Pentium processor systems are readily available. SYSTEM PERFORMANCE -- THE NUMBERS --------------------------------- System performance can be optimized by ensuring that, in addition to the Pentium processor, the PC has top-performing subsystems. This can be seen by examining the numbers. SUBSYSTEMS ---------- A PC's subsystems can provide considerable performance improvements. For example, by making sure that the PC has a 256 KB write-back second-level cache, the performance of the system can be improved by 26% to 31%. In addition, including a high-performance hard disk rather than merely an average hard disk can provide an 11% performance boost. These and other typical performance gains are summarized in Table 1. PENTIUM PROCESSOR-BASED SYSTEMS ------------------------------- While subsystems can significantly affect the PC's speed, the processor is the component that most influences system performance, and the Pentium processor provides considerably higher performance than other PC-compatible microprocessors. This is clearly shown by the SYSmark93 for Windows benchmark. SYSmark93 is a system-level benchmark suite that tests a processor's ability to handle everyday desktop computing operations such as word processing, spreadsheets, desktop graphics, desktop publishing, database management, and software development. It is a reliable benchmark to judge a system's performance for everyday use. The SYSmark93 for Windows rating for a high-performance system based on the Pentium processor 815\100 MHz is 384.2. This is approximately twice the performance of a system based on the 66MHz Intel486 DX2 processor. SUMMARY ------- The highest-performing PCs available today are based on Intel's Pentium processor. Incorporating state-of-the-art design principles, the Pentium processor meets the performance needs of today and tomorrow's applications. In addition, it maintains complete compatibility with the large installed base of software currently running on members of the Intel family. The best PCs have not only fast processors but also high-performance subsystems. A well-designed memory subsystem, high-performance hard disk, PCI local bus, and full-featured PCI-compliant VGA card can greatly improve a personal computer's performance by allowing the PC to operate at maximum efficiency. This means that the Pentium processor will too. And the cumulative effect is a more powerful computer all the way around. _____________________________________ > A PEEK at Prodigy STR FOCUS! """""""""""""""""""""""""""" A QUICK LOOK AT PRODIGY ======================= (More to follow) For Tech Eyes Only: Gateways, LANs, T1s. --------------------------------------- Description of Prodigy's Network -------------------------------- In contrast to our competitors, Prodigy was one of the first and still remains the largest distributed client server network. (See the glossary below.) Currently AOL and CompuServe use a host-centric technology. Prodigy's powerful and extensive configuration allows us to distribute the network with greater flexibility in the recovery of disturbances such as those caused by outages or by natural disasters. What this means to our members is faster overall connect time with fewer session interrupts. The top section of a box diagram focuses on mainframe activity. All Prodigy data, including applications and content, is transmitted to the mainframe server, and then distributed over the T1/T3 network. These applications and content are created on producer workstations, both remote and in-house. The Prodigy mainframe processes a multitude of tasks, for example, it: handles basic systems management. handles membership service communications, such as Chat. runs new applications, such as the Web Browser. accepts incoming wire feeds, such as API and Reuters. maintains Prodigy gateways for transaction applications, such as EAASY SABRE (sm) for airline reservations and PC Financial Network (sm) for banking. Maintains our newest gateway for access to the Internet's World Wide Web. The lower half of the box diagram focuses on distribution activity. All Prodigy data is streamed through the T1/T3 network and then distributed to Prodigy local sites, or PLSs. They, in turn, distribute the data to users through a variety of channels, such as LANs, POTS, local and national VANs, cable and ISDN (see Glossary below). This results in a constant, interactive dialogue between the service and the users which is continually transmitted throughout the network. Glossary -------- Cable - (TV). Antennas, receivers, and associated distribution equipment that receive weak signals from a distant city and relay them to subscribers via television coaxial cable. Datakit - An example of a local VAN (Value Added Network). ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network. A network architecture that enables end-to-end digital connections. Also described as a set of communications standards allowing a single wire or optical fiber to carry voice, digital network services and video. ISDN is intended to eventually replace the plain old telephone service. ISDN uses mostly existing Public Switched Telephone Network switches and wiring, upgraded so that the basic "call" is a 64 kilobits per second, all-digital end-to-end channel. IP - Internet protocol. A protocol that provides for transmitting blocks of data between hosts identified by fixed-length addresses. Because IP has no mechanisms to augment end-to-end data reliability, flow control, sequencing, or other services, these routines are provided by other protocols. LAN - local area network. A private network offering high-speed digital communications channels for the connection of computers and related equipment in a limited geographic area. LANs use fiber optic, coaxial, or twisted-pair cables or radio tansceivers to transmit signals. MCI TymNet - An example of a national VAN (Value Added Network). POTS - plain old telephone service. Basic telephone service without any enhanced features. It is the common term for residential telephone service. T1 - An AT&T term for a digital carrier facility used to transmit a DS-1 formatted digital signal at 1.544 megabits per second. T3 - A digital carrier facility used to transmit a DS-3 formatted digital signal at 44.746 megabits per second. TCP/IP -Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol. A set of protocols developed by the U.S. Department of Defense that facilitate the interconnection of dissimilar computer systems across networks. UGAP - Universal Gateway Attached Program. A program providing protocol conversion and enhanced network management. VAN - Value Added Network. A data network, usually packet-switched, that provides products or services beyond the basic transport of information. Often, the services are offered by a private vendor over facilities leased from a common carrier. Value-added services include network management, error control, and protocol conversion. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N FARGO PRIMERA PRO COLOR PRINTERS - 600DPI For a limited time only; If you wish to have a FREE sample printout sent to you that demonstrates FARGO Primera & Primera Pro SUPERIOR QUALITY 600dpi 24 bit Photo Realistic Color Output, please send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope [SASE] (business sized envelope please) to: STReport's Fargo Printout Offer P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155 Folks, the FARGO Primera Pro has GOT to be the best yet. Its far superior to the newest of Color Laser Printers selling for more than three times as much. Its said that ONE Picture is worth a thousand words. Send for this sample now. Guaranteed you will be amazed at the superb quality. (please, allow at least a one week turn-around) A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N -- A T T E N T I O N """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ___ ___ _____ _______ /___| /___| /_____| /_______/ /____|/____| /__/|__| /__/ /_____|_____|/__/_|__|/__/ /__/|____/|__|________|__/ /__/ |___/ |__|_/ |__|_/_____ /__/ |__/ |__|/ |__|______/ ________________________________________ /_______________________________________/ MAC/APPLE SECTION (II) ====================== John Deegan, Editor (Temp) > Adobe & the WEB STR InfoFile """""""""""""""""""""""""""" Integrated Solution for Publishing to the World Wide Web Adobe Systems and Frame Technology Announce An Integrated Solution for Publishing to the World Wide Web Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and FrameMaker offered together for authoring on Sun Netra and Workstation Platforms Mountain View, Calif., (July 24, 1995) Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and Frame Technology Corporation (Nasdaq:FRAM) today announced an integrated solution for authoring documents to be printed or published on the Internet's World Wide Web. The Frame & Adobe Internet Publishing Solution, which combines Adobe Illustratort, Adobe Photoshopt and FrameMakerr software with a Cookbook showing users how to author documents for Web and print using all three products, is expected to be available in early August for Netrat and other Sun systems. Published estimates are that the number of Web sites exploded from 30,000 to 60,000 between April and June of this year. Much of that growth is from organizations using the Web to share information that they also need to print. The Frame & Adobe Internet Publishing Solution integrates the key components required for authoring color publications for print and electronic distribution - illustrations, images, text and hypertext links - on the leading Internet platform. According to a 1994 survey conducted by the Internet Society, the Sun platform is used for 56 percent of all servers on the Internet. "The synergy between Framer and Adobet products unifies the authoring environment for Web and print publishing, offering businesses the richest solution available today," said Doug Kaewert, Director of Market Development at Sun Microsystems, Inc. "It gives Sun Netra customers a powerful environment for creating and publishing original content." The Frame & Adobe Internet Publishing Solution ---------------------------------------------- The Frame & Adobe Internet Publishing Solution consists of three applications that are the standards for high-end desktop publishing: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and FrameMaker. Each application excels in a different area to contribute to the final document, but cooperate smoothly with the others for easy authoring. Together, they provide unprecedented ability to quickly produce high-quality, color documents for publication in print and for viewing on the World-Wide Web using browser software such as Netscape Navigatort or Mosaict. "At most sites, Web publishing is a laborious process in which engineers program page layout and convert images to make documents accessible," said Bill Sawyer, president of Digital Publishing Specialists, a publishing consultancy based in Sausalito, California. "The Frame & Adobe Internet Publishing Solution offers our clients brand-name products from leading software companies that automatically create documents which can easily be printed and published on the Web." The Frame & Adobe Internet Publishing Solution's Cookbook walks users through the fundamentals of using the three products together to prepare information for the Internet and for print. Adobe Illustrator excels at creating logos, illustrations, diagrams, titles and icons used for Web push-buttons. Authors can combine illustrations with Adobe Photoshop images to create composite artwork and special effects that can be saved in the GIF format required by the Web as well as in standard printing formats. Finished artwork is brought into new or existing FrameMaker documents. FrameMaker's long document handling features such as automatic table of contents and index generation; hypertext linking and HTML; Adobe PostScriptt and software support for the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) output make authoring easy for printing and for the Web. The combined products offer high precision printing and display, with easy-to-use font handling capabilities and the ability to share Adobe's industry-standard Type 1 fonts across applications. They also take advantage of the strengths of Sun's Solarisr operating system, such as multi-tasking, high computation throughput, easy Internet access, and ease of workgroup collaboration across networks. Completely compatible versions of all products are also sold separately for Sun Solaris, Microsoftr Windowsr, and Apple's Mac OS. The Frame & Adobe Internet Publishing Solution will be available from Adobe and Frame authorized UNIXr resellers in North America. Resellers may obtain product from Sun Netra partners Access Graphics and Merisel. The suggested retail price is $3,995, compared to $5,485 for the products purchased separately. For product information or the name of a local reseller, call 1-800-843-7263. The Companies ------------- Adobe Systems, founded in 1982, is headquartered in Mountain View, California. Adobe develops, markets and supports computer software products and technologies that enable users to create, display, print and communicate electronic documents. The company licenses its technology to major computer, printing and publishing suppliers, and markets a line of applications software and type products for authoring visually rich documents. Additionally, the company markets a line of powerful, but easy to use, products for home and small business users. Adobe has subsidiaries in Europe and the Pacific Rim serving a worldwide network of dealers and distributors. Adobe's 1994 revenue was approximately $598 million. Frame Technology, founded in 1986, provides award-winning document creation, management and distribution software for individuals and workgroups. Frame's products are widely recognized for their PC, Macintoshr and UNIX cross-platform compatibility, enabling individuals, companies, government agencies and academic institutions to increase productivity by leveraging their valuable business and research data. The company is located in San Jose, California. On June 22, 1995, Adobe announced a definitive agreement to acquire Frame through an exchange of common stock of the two companies. The transaction is subject to approval by Frame shareholders, and to other conditions. ____________________________________ > MS DOS STILL ON TOP STR FOCUS! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Windows/MPC Is a Player, But Not the Winner in CDROM Titles Platforms Prelude.. CD-ROMs ------- Fast, affordable, and fueled by an increasing number of available software titles, CD-ROM drives are becoming a standard part of personal computers. Although CD-ROMs are read-only and transfer data at a considerably slower rate than hard disk drives, they can store up to 680 Mbytes of information. Because of this immense capacity, CD-ROMs are being used for everything from multimedia games and reference materials to operating systems and software applications. When selecting a CD-ROM drive, the most important specification is speed, or data transfer rate. The faster the transfer rate, the smoother video and graphics playback will be on multimedia applications. Although CD-ROM data rates range from 150 to 600 Kbytes/second, the transfer rate should be at least 300 Kbyte/second (i.e., double-speed) to obtain good multimedia performance. PRESS RELEASE ------------- Windows/MPC Is a Player, But Not the Winner in CDROM Titles Platforms Columbus OH, July 27, 1995 ---- The latest edition of a comprehensive directory to CDROM titles shows that the Windows-based MPC platform is certainly a player, but hardly the clear winner as the platform of choice for CDROM developers. In fact, the most popular platform remains MSDOS with nearly 65% of titles currently for sale, according to Richard A. Bowers, editor of the database, and executive director of the Optical Publishing Association (OPA). Both the MPC platform and the Macintosh have seen continually growing support from publishers, and remain virtually neck-and-neck in the title-support count. The MPC platform is supported by 38.3% of current titles, the Macintosh platform is supported by 37.3%. If recent statistics about respective market shares of Windows-based computers and Macintosh are accurate, then MPC titles are greatly underrepresented, and Macintosh titles are over-achieving. The real surprise - aside from the continued strength of MSDOS - is in the number of CDROM titles that support multiple platforms. In1994, the titles that supported both MPC and Macintosh platforms represented only 3.5% of the database. One year later Mac and MPC compatible products constitute 22.5% of the database. The CDROM Pocket Guide is a database partnership of Pemberton Press and Richard A. Bowers. It has been available in print, and will soon be available as a basic service, searchable database on CompuServe. The current edition of the database contains records for over 9200 titles. "Publishers apparently believe the impact of the Macintosh is much greater than its purported market share," said Bowers. "MPC/Windows has obviously gained strength with new products and new versions released over the last year. But Macintosh remains critical as well." Bowers suggested that reasons for the persistence of MSDOS as a platform leader lay at two ends of the consumer spectrum. "Schools, libraries and many business environments do not yet use multimedia or require a '486 or Pentium to do the research work with bibliographic and full text databases they require. And, on the consumer side, few high-powered, graphical games utilize Windows because of the substantial resources Windows requires, conflicting with the needs of the game. Many heavy games consumers may have a high-end machine, with Windows installed, but they run in MSDOS to access their favorite games." The growth in MPC and Macintosh cross-compatibility may result from both market reality and coincidence. "Many publishers - and as they perceive their customers - see the Macintosh as an easier-to-assemble and easier- to-use computer than MPC/Windows machines. There have been troubling rumors of substantial returns, following 1994's record Christmas computers season. And, coincidentally, many publishers use Macintosh machines to produce titles for MPC/Windows, so the Macintosh version is nearly ready when the Windows product is ready to ship, so they get two versions at very little extra cost," explained Bowers. The platform issue is of utmost significance to CDROM publishers, said Bowers, because the machine is a point of access to the customer. And the most complicated part of the consumer's CDROM experience. "Publishers and consumers understand something computer companies have not yet taken to heart. CDROM titles are publications. The computer component of their nature is not a feature, but rather an obstacle for both the publisher and his customer to overcome," said Bowers. "In the overall process of production, marketing and distribution, the computer's complexity remains the weakest link in the relationship between the publisher and the customer." "We approach the introduction of Windows 95 from Microsoft with some trepidation. Given the current mix of CDROM title platform targets, Windows '95 cannot be seen as anything but a major complication - it represents yet another platform that must be installed and configured by the customer adding another barrier to access. And this is assuming that MPC titles will all work properly under Windows '95, something no one really expects. Windows '95 will greatly increase the technical support burden for publishers." Platforms supported by CDROM Publishers for over 9200 Titles in the CDROM Pocket Guide Database Summer 1994 vs 1995 (Percentages of total titles in database per each edition) Titles playable/accessible on these platforms: 1994 1995 MSDOS 68.7% 64.5% Macintosh 29.3% 37.3% MPC/Windows 12.0% 38.3% Cross-compatible products Mac & MPC 3.5% 22.5% Mac & MSDOS 14.9% 17.2% Mac, MSDOS, MPC 1.7% 10.2% More details about this topic and others important to new media publishers are available in the upcoming Summer 1995 Edition of the "OPA Executive Summary" available at no cost to OPA members. OPA is a not-for-profit trade and professional association for the CDROM and digital publishing industries. Founded in 1988 and comprised of some 400 members, OPA provides information and business assistance through its semi-annual reports and online forums on CompuServe. For more information contact: ----------------------------- Richard A. Bowers 614/442-8805 614/442-8815 (fax) 71333,1114 (CompuServe) Optical Publishing Association PO Box 21268 Columbus OH 43221 USA Online contact: --------------- 71333,1114 (CompuServe) or rbowers@meta-media.com (Internet) ____________________________________ > STR Unix/Linux Hanging in there! """""""""""""" THE ATARI ST EMULATOR FOR UNIX/X ================================ compiled by Scott Dowdle Description ----------- My Atari ST Emulator is currently in Alpha Testing stage. It works fine on a SPARC IPC under SunOS 4.1, but is still a bit slow. I will try to make it easily portable across different flavours of Unix. At the moment it will require a fairly standard Unix System and an X Server which supports 1-bit StaticGray or 8-bit PseudoColor visuals. Here is a 1152x900 screen shot (34KB) of a slow SPARC (SPECint92 13.8) running STonX with the VDI driver and with GEMBench being run. Note that the GEMBench results have to be divided by 2, since the 200Hz system timer was emulated at 100Hz. Also, the results for the VDI functions are likely to change once the implementation is complete. The system components currently emulated are: * MC68000 CPU * 4 or 14MB RAM, ROM starting at $E00000 * Color or Monochrome Atari ST graphics modes * IKBD (partly) * BIOS-level disk routines are available * MFP (partly) * Mega ST(E) clock chip (buggy) TOS 2.06 runs under the emulator without modification. TOS 1.0, 1.2 and 1.04 should work too, but haven't been tested (and aren't supported at the moment). A VDI driver for X Windows is also available, which will speed up the graphics output of GEM applications by a factor of 20-70 (roughly). System Requirements ------------------- You will need a fairly "standard" Unix and the X Window system to run the emulator. A lot of (physical) memory is also recommended (at least 20MB for the 14MB emulation, for the 4MB emulation 9MB will suffice), and a SPECint rating of 30 or more is a good idea too. Speed ----- At the moment, speed is quite disappointing. On a SPARC with a SPECint rating of 13.8, the emulator runs at 25-200% of the speed of an 8 MHz Atari ST, depending on the operation (on average 45-50%). This is mainly due to the many cache misses during the emulation (the main loop is much larger than the 64KB the cache can hold). Performance should be much better on machines with large L2 caches. However, compared to other portable emulators this isn't bad at all! Latest News ----------- Thu Mar 30 21:18:46 MET DST 1995 Managed to run the Emulator on an SGI in Germany (!), while the output was directed to the screen of my X-Terminal here in Austria over a very slow (1-3KB/s) link. Amazing. :-) Fri Mar 31 14:16:10 MET DST 1995 The Emulator runs on SGIs now - on a machine with MIPS R4600 at 133MHz, the speed is apparently somewhere between 2.5 and 25 times that of an 8 MHz ST! Fri Mar 31 16:53:53 MET DST 1995 Compiled & ran the Emulator on a little-endian DECstation, and it seems to work! However, it still doesn't work with X displays that use LSB bit/byte format for bitmaps. Fri Mar 31 20:31:23 MET DST 1995 I just sucessfully compiled the Emulator on a DEC 3000 (Alpha-based), and it runs smoothly with 200Hz system timer and 20Hz VBL, even though the bitmap format is different on the Alpha, and it needs to reverse all bytes (the bits in them) for 20 frames per second! In monochrome mode it runs at 115% ST speed. While it still flickers a bit in monochrome mode (because the drawing takes much longer), in color mode there is no flicker at all, and the emulation is also much faster (171%). Unfortunately, the byte ordering is still wrong in color mode for 8 bit displays, since my conversion routine was written for big-endian machines. One lesson I've learned is, that the emulation will always be much faster on big-endian machines... Fri Mar 31 21:11:34 MET DST 1995 Fixed the problems with LSB bitmaps - all graphics modes work correctly now, on both MSB and LSB displays! On a DEC 3000 I can run the emulator with true 50Hz VBLs(!!!) and 200Hz system timer, and it's still faster than the original! Sat Apr 1 16:05:06 MET DST 1995 Made a few modifications, to provide for easier distribution of binaries. A binary for the Sun SPARC series of computers with SunOS 4.1 will be made available shortly (when tested thoroughly). Thu Apr 13 17:32:17 MET DST 1995 A first "package" has been made, including a `configure' script. Some basic VDI functions have also been implemented as native Xlib calls (monochrome only), and the speedup (which may become less in the future) is appoximately 75 x compared to that of the emulated TOS routines, and around 25 x the speed of an 8 MHz ST. It is possible to switch between emulated and native VDI support at runtime, by moving the mouse pointer into the corresponding window. A compile-time option to make a less memory-intensive version of the emulator, which provides 4MB ST memory and requires approx. 9MB is also supplied now. Sat Apr 15 13:29:47 MET DST 1995 The VDI driver looks very good already, programs have been written to convert the system fonts to the BDF format, so they can be used by the X Server directly. A bug has been fixed which prevented large diskfiles from working; I have a 10MB diskfile (a copy of one of the partitions of my ST harddisk) on the Unix disk now. A public version should be out in less than two weeks (I hope), once the serial/parallel port drivers are finished. Wed May 17 19:43:55 MET DST 1995 Sorry for the long break, I was (and still am) quite busy. I've started writing an emulator-generator which will probably help increase STonX's speed by a factor of 1.5 (I hope), while at the same time the current code is being optimized by Griff's eager hands (yes, the Griff of DSP coding fame). The Future ---------- I am or will soon start working on * Better portability (esp. support for little-endian architectures) * Support for arbitrarily sized screens (X windows) * GEMDOS-level filesystem routines to allow access to the Unix FS * Speed optimizations * MC68020 emulation (maybe) * A VDI driver for an "X window" device, which will allow the emulated system to use the full graphics capabilities of your X terminal (currently being worked on - will take a while) Copyright status: ----------------- It will most probably be released under the GNU Lincense. More information: ----------------- ... will be available soon. ********************************************************************** ATARI/JAG SECTION (III) ======================= Dana Jacobson, Editor > From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" """""""""""""""""""""""""""" Well, I was all set to try and get out of these summer doldrums, find some cool spot to relax, and get this week's editorial put together. Well, the best laid plans... This week's vacation has been like living in a blast furnace - this heat and humidity has been brutal! And, to top it all off, a trip to the dentist for a root canal! Hey, can it get any better than this?! Yes, it can - fortunately. The MIST Atari show is this weekend. If you're in the Indianapolis area, check it out. If all goes well, expect to see the upgrade to Flash II, version 3.0. I've been beta- testing this program for awhile and you're going to enjoy it. I can't go into any details (NDA, you know) - just take my word for it! Look for a lot of other great products available at the show. As usual, Atari shows are the best - the people make it all worthwhile. Well, I know what awaits you with the rest of this issue, so while you're enjoy this week's issue I'm going to grab a couple more aspirin and an iced-cold drink. We'll see you back next week! Until next time... ________________________________________ Delphi's Atari Advantage! TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (7/26/95) (1) PICTURE FILE BROWSER 1.0A (6) HCOPY 1.6S (2) MEMWATCH 4 *(7) DIAMOND EDGE PATCH -> V2.03 (3) EASY MONEY 1.0 *(8) FLASH II 2.23 UPGRADE (4) MARIANT 1.0 *(9) STOOP 1.04 (5) IN-TOUCH 1.52 *(10) CALENDAR TEMPLATE * = New on list HONORARY TOP 10 The following on-line magazines are always top downloads, frequently out-performing every other file in the databases. ST REPORT (Current issue: STREPORT 11.29 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE (Current issue: AEO: VOLUME 4, ISSUE 5) Look for the above files in the RECENT ARRIVALS database. _________________________________________________ > It's All Relative/MIST Show! STR InfoFile! - CD Selection At MIST! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" It's All Relative's Greg Kopchak announces CD selection to be available at this weekend's MIST show: We have a great selection of Atari specific CD's coming to MIST: GEMini Crawly Crypt 1 Crawly Crypt 2 Skyline CD Service - Volume 1 CD Service - Volume 2 CD Service - Volume 3 Atari Software Treasury (2 disc set) That's right, 9 CD's to select from! ================================================================ We have a super selection of Atari readers too: Image Library Viewer for MPC Research True Color Military Series Atari CD Master with support for 4 CD's SARA 5 pack with support for 12 CD's SARA for Groliers and a SUPER SHOW SPECIAL on the set SARA Movie Guide Photo Show with support for over 500 CD's Photo Show Pro with support for over 500 CD's Photo Show STe with support for over 500 CD's Photokina Virtual BookMaker support disc Shareware M.O.S.T. with support for 19 CD's ====================================================================== We have some great news on disc utilities too: ExtenDOS Pro - Version 2.1 CD Recorder Version 1.0 (YES YOU CAN WRITE AS WELL AS READ A CD) Advance orders will be accepted. CD-Recorder Version 1.0 is now shipping! ====================================================================== We also have the entire Walnut Creek Line of CD ROM discs 52 CD's including the new "Best of Walnut Creek" and the just released Amazing Animations with a 3-D full motion CD case! A large group of CD's for use with SARA, Atari CD Master, and Photo Show Pro, or Photo Show STe. If your the least bit interested in CD ROM, stop at the It's All Relative booth at M.I.S.T. this weekend and see the largest group of CD-related items for your Atari computer ever gathered together at one place. While your there, pick up a special deal on "Art for Kids" for the family. The world's LOUDEST paint program. ________________________________________ > STR News TidBits """""""""""""""" -/- Leahy Warns of Fed Rules Online -/- U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy says "government regulation will stifle" the new industry of online services. In a recent floor speech, the Vermont Democrat added, "Heavy handed attempts to protect children could unduly chill speech on the Internet and infringe upon the First Amendment. What are we doing as a legislative body if we discourage the Project Gutenberg from placing online the works of Geoffrey Chaucer or D.H. Lawrence for fear of prosecution because someone, somewhere on the Internet might find the works indecent?" Communications Daily notes the Senate Judiciary Committee, on which Leahy serves, holds hearing today on the cyberporn issues. Witnesses include Jerry Berman, executive director of the Center for Democracy & Technology; Dee Jepsen, executive director of Enough Is Enough, a group fighting pornography, and parents and representatives of the online industry. Also today, Interactive Working Group, a private sector group, is to release report describing the availability of software and technology to help parents supervise children's use of Internet and online services. The report "also will show how existing federal laws in (the) criminal code already prohibit sale or distribution of obscene material over computer networks, provide criminal liability for transmitting threatening messages and have other means to handle problems created by online pornography," CD writes. -/- Cops Downplay Internet 'Smut' -/- A U.S. House of Representatives panel has been told by law enforcement authorities that, while pornography and pedophiles do exist on the Internet, the problem has been exaggerated by the attention the issue has gotten lately. Mike Geraghty, a New Jersey State Police trooper who uses networks in law enforcement, told lawmakers yesterday, "You can't find pornography unless you go looking for it. If you want to find pedophiles, you have to look for them. Those instances are few and far between." Also, Kevin Manson of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center said Congress and the public should avoid "demonizing the Internet" because of the actions of a tiny minority. United Press International says Manson, testifying before the House Science Basic Research subcommittee, asserted that a small fraction of the communications on the Net are of an obscene nature. He pointed out it was a recent study frequently cited by Internet-censorship advocates that concluded most objectionable postings can only be found in private sites not linked to the network. Said Manson, "We need to be a little more level headed." Lee Hollander, a state prosecutor from Naples, Florida, told the panel authorities still face problems prosecuting the crimes because they lack basic knowledge of computers. Subcommittee Chairman Steve Schiff, R-New Mexico, agreed, counting himself and other lawmakers among a vast group struggling to understand computers, adding, "We're very intimidated by the whole thing. We've got a bunch of frightened parents. This is a mystery to people my age and older." Meanwhile, a family advocacy group has urged Congress to reject arguments that software alone is the answer to shielding children from the dissemination of pornography on the Net. According to the Reuter News Service, Cathy Cleaver, director of legal studies at Family Research Council, said, "There are serious flaws to the approach of relying solely on software to screen out the offensive material. It is wrong to shift the entire cost ... to the parents." Reuters says the group says software and regulation "are complementary approaches to this problem." -/- Packard Bell Settles Charges -/- Packard Bell Electronics Inc. has reportedly agreed to spend up to $1 million and change its warranty policy in order to settle allegations it deceptively sold new computers with substandard used parts. The Wall Street Journal says Packard Bell admitted no wrongdoing in the proposed settlement. The paper reports that the settlement received preliminary approval on June 29 from the California Superior Court in Los Angeles. If approved, the settlement would reportedly end nine California class-action suits that have been consolidated, although it would not resolve lawsuits pending in other states on the same subject. Among those suits is one filed in federal court in Delaware by Compaq Computer Corp. of Houston, which has accused Packard Bell of using substandard parts from returned computers in machines that are sold as new. Meanwhile, another computer maker is facing charges similar to the ones reportedly resolved by Packard Bell. Pan American Commerce Corp., a San Francisco-based export company, says it has filed a $10 million lawsuit alleging fraud against Dell Computer Corp. John C. Kaufman, Pan American's president, says Dell fraudulently sold his firm a computer system it billed as new, but in fact contained spare parts, including a used motherboard. Pan American said the used equipment resulted in lost business because of repeated instances of motherboard and hard disk failures. Kaufman says that Dell-designated technicians who visited his firm to repair the system replaced the faulty motherboards with still more used parts which, several weeks later also failed. "It's outrageous and it's cheap. It falls into the same category as rolling back odometers on used cars," Kaufman says. -/- Microsoft to Settle School Suit -/- To settle a suit accusing it of "untrue and misleading advertisements" -- but without admitting any wrongdoing -- Microsoft Corp. has agreed to give California schools $6 million of software. Reporting from San Rafael, Calif., The Wall Street Journal quotes Deputy District Attorney Robert Nichols as saying Microsoft will equip one classroom in each of California's 1,058 districts with a full software package. "Under terms of the settlement, reached after two years of negotiations, Microsoft also agreed to a $175,000 civil penalty," the Journal reports this morning. "In addition, it will pay Marin County $90,000 for legal fees and investigative costs." The California suit was prompted by a complaint from a consumer that the Microsoft Office software package came in a box showing four software programs, yet contained only three. (The box showed a drawing of Word for word processing, Excel for spreadsheets, PowerPoint for graphics and Mail for email, implying all four were contained inside. Yet it only contained a license to copy and use electronic mail, not the program itself.) Microsoft spokeswoman Erin Carney told the paper her employer settled only to avoid a technical dispute and to end the case, adding, "We feel we caused no actual injury to consumers." ________________________________________ Jaguar Section ============== Ted Hoff Speaks Out, FFL Delayed! Onliners React to News! CATnips! STR/Jag Contest! More Vintage Minter! And more! > From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is! """""""""""""""""""""""""""" Look for 'White Men Can't Jump' and 'Flashback' to appear in the next few days. These should be a couple of games to take people's minds off of the recent announcement that 'Fight For Life' is being sent back to be re-worked. I've seen video clips and an assortment of screen shots of both these games - they look great. I think these two games are going to be a lot of fun to play. We're standing by for Atari to send review copies so we can provide you with an in-depth review of both these games soon. Also on tap, hopefully what appears to be a great end of summer push, will be the JaguarCD. Yes folks, it is coming out next month. We're anxiously waiting to get a review unit of the player along with some of the CD-games. Like our staff here at STReport, we're all waiting for this new peripheral to add to our gaming enjoyment. Personally, I can't wait! I've even been practicing with the Lynx version of 'Blue Lightning', which I've always enjoyed - the CD version looks fantastic! I'm also looking forward to checking out Jeff Minter's VLM - shades of the 60's!! Atari's Ted Hoff speaks out about the decision behind the postponement of 'Fight For Life' in an article included in Don Thomas' latest CATnips report. As you'll see from the online reactions included in that article, the decision was a good one. Although it's not the best of news, Atari needs to make these difficult decisions. Better to delay or cancel a game before it hits the streets rather than be forced to listen to its customers complain about a game that just doesn't deserve to be on the shelf. It took a few "lemons" before Atari got the message, but at least they finally listened. Hoff, and Atari, deserve a lot of credit for going public with this announcement. It's contest time again!! We haven't had one in a number of months; the last was before the holidays last winter. Atari's Don Thomas was gracious enough to call the other day and asked if we'd like to "give some stuff away again?" Of course, we alway like giving stuff away! I'm not going to go into details about this, and next week's, contest. You're just going to have to finish reading this issue to get the details. I will suggest to you, however, that you don't skip over too much in the issue - you may miss some important information! So, let's get to the news and information for this week. Stay tuned as we're gearing up for a lot of activity on the Jaguar front. We'll be there every step of the way! Until next time... _________________________________________ > Jaguar Catalog STR InfoFile - What's currently available, what's """"""""""""""""""""""""""" coming out. Current Available Titles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER J9000 Cybermorph $59.99 Atari Corp. J9006 Evolution:Dino Dudes $29.99 Atari Corp. J9005 Raiden $29.99 FABTEK, Inc/Atari Corp. J9001 Trevor McFur/ Crescent Galaxy $29.99 Atari Corp. J9010 Tempest 2000 $59.95 Llamasoft/Atari Corp. J9028 Wolfenstein 3D $69.95 id/Atari Corp. JA100 Brutal Sports FtBall $69.95 Telegames J9008 Alien vs. Predator $69.99 Rebellion/Atari Corp. J9029 Doom $69.99 id/Atari Corp. J9036 Dragon: Bruce Lee $39.99 Atari Corp. J9003 Club Drive $59.99 Atari Corp. J9007 Checkered Flag $39.99 Atari Corp. J9012 Kasumi Ninja $69.99 Atari Corp. J9042 Zool 2 $59.99 Atari Corp J9020 Bubsy $49.99 Atari Corp J9026 Iron Soldier $59.99 Atari Corp J9060 Val D'Isere Skiing $59.99 Atari Corp. Cannon Fodder $69.99 Virgin/C-West Syndicate $69.99 Ocean Troy Aikman Ftball $69.99 Williams Theme Park $69.99 Ocean Sensible Soccer Telegames Double Dragon V $59.99 Williams J9009E Hover Strike $59.99 Atari Corp. J0144E Pinball Fantasies $59.99 C-West J9052E Super Burnout $59.99 Atari Available Soon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER White Men Can't Jump $69.99 Atari Air Cars TBD MidNite Entertainment Flashback $59.99 U.S. Gold Ultra Vortek $69.99 Atari Flip-Out TBD Atari Rayman TBD UBI Soft Power Drive Rally TBD TWI Jaguar CD-ROM $149.99 Atari Hardware and Peripherals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAT # TITLE MSRP MANUFACTURER J8001 Jaguar (complete) $189.99 Atari Corp. J8001 Jaguar (no cart) $159.99 Atari Corp. J8904 Composite Cable $19.95 J8901 Controller/Joypad $24.95 Atari Corp. J8905 S-Video Cable $19.95 CatBox $69.95 ICD > Game Console Segment STR News TidBits """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -/- Toys 'R' Us to Sell Software -/- Toys 'R' Us has announced it will revamp all 618 of its U.S. toy stores to include a special section of family-oriented computer software. United Press International reports that all the products will be supplied by NewMedia Express, a joint venture of Mattel Inc. and Davidson & Associates Inc. Electronic Arts will be a major supplier of the entertainment software. The section, which will boast more than 150 titles, will include entertainment programs and educational items. "There has been an explosion in computer software for children, and we intend to be a major player," said Michael Goldstein, chief executive officer for the retailer. "We know that family-oriented computer software can be a big business for Toys 'R' Us." About half the chain's stores have already begun selling the software. The rest will begin doing so within two weeks. "We have been seeing a lot of customer requests in recent months," the executive said. "One of the problems in setting this up is that there are so many titles for us to choose." Jill Barad, Mattel's president and chief operating officer, said personal computers outsold television sets last year, making multimedia software one of the fastest growing categories. "It's a different kind of product, and mass merchants need special tools to help with inventory management and in-store merchandising." Bob Davidson, chairman and CEO of Davidson & Associates, said channels such as Toys 'R' Us will be key in the expanding multimedia software market. "Family-oriented software has the potential to rival or surpass platform-based video games in market size," Davidson said. "It's just a matter of getting the right selection of titles into more locations where consumers do their everyday shopping." _____________________________________ > Jaguar Developers STR InfoFile - Current Developer Lists & Titles """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Game Title Date Game Type MSRP Publisher ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Air Cars 7/95 Racing/Combat $59.99 MidNite Ent. Alien vs Predator NOW Role Play/Adventure $69.99 Atari Alien vs Predator CD 2/96 Role Play/Adventure TBD Atari Arena Football 10/95 Sports TBD V Reel Assault 2Q/95 Action/Combat $59.99 MidNite Ent. Atari Kart 11/95 TBD TBD Atari Att. of Mut. Penguins 10/95 Arcade TBD Atari Baldies (CD) 9/95 Action/Simulation TBD Atari Batman Forever (CD) 4/96 Action/Adventure TBD Atari Battlemorph (CD) 9/95 Flying/Action $59.99 Atari Battlesphere 9/95 Space/Combat TBD 4-Play Battlestar 11/95 Space/Combat TBD ? Battle Wheels 2Q/95 Racing/Combat TBD Beyond Games Black ICE/White Noise 12/95 Action/Adventure TBD Atari Blue Lightning (CD) 8/95 Flying/Action $59.99 Atari Braindead 13 (CD) 10/95 Action/Adventure TBD ReadySoft Breakout 2000 11/95 Puzzle TBD Atari Brett Hull Hockey (CD) 11/95 Sports TBD Atari Brutal Sports Football NOW Sports/Combat $69.99 Telegames Bubsy NOW Action/Adventure $49.99 Atari Cannon Fodder NOW Action/Adventure $69.99 Virgin Chas Barkley Basketball 9/95 Sports TBD Atari Checkered Flag NOW Racing $69.99 Atari Club Drive NOW Racing $59.99 Atari Commando (CD) 11/95 Action (3D) TBD Atari Commander Blood (CD) 11/95 RPG TBD Atari Creature Shock (CD) 8/95 Adventure/Sci-Fi TBD Atari/Virgin Cybermorph NOW Flying/Action $59.99 Atari Dactyl Joust 11/95 Action TBD Atari Dante (CD) 6/96 Action TBD Atari Deathwatch 11/95 Arcade TBD Atari Defender 2000 10/95 Arcade TBD Atari Demolition Man (CD) 9/95 Action/Combat $59.99 Atari Doom NOW Action/Combat $69.99 Atari Double Dragon V NOW Action/Adventure $59.99 Williams Dragon:Bruce Lee Story NOW Combat $59.99 Atari Dragon's Lair (CD) 8/95 Adventure TBD Ready Soft Dragon's Lair 2 (CD) 10/95 Adventure TBD ReadySoft Dreadnought (CD) 2Q/95 Adventure TBD Atari Dune Racer (CD) 1/96 Racing TBD Atari Dungeon Depths 2Q/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 MidNite Ent. Evolution: Dino Dudes NOW Puzzle/Adventure $49.99 Atari Fight For Life TBA Combat TBD Atari Flashback 7/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 US Gold Flip-Out 8/95 Puzzle TBD Atari Formula Racing (CD) 12/95 Racing TBD Atari Frank Thomas Baseball 4/96 Sports TBD Atari Gotcha! 1/95 ? TBD --- Hardball Baseball 2Q/95 Sports TBD Atari Highlander I (CD) 11/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari Highlander II (CD) 2/96 Action/Adventure TBD Atari Highlander III (CD) 4/96 Action/Adventure TBD Atari Horrorscope 2Q/95 Combat TBD V Reel Hover Strike NOW Action/Combat $59.99 Atari Hover Strike CD 9/95 Action/Combat TBD Atari Hyper Force TBA ? TBD Comp. West Ironman/XO-Manowar 4/96 Action TBD Atari Iron Soldier NOW Action/Strategy $59.99 Atari Iron Soldier II (CD) 1/96 Action/Strategy TBD Atari Jack Nicklaus Golf(CD) 2Q/95 Sports TBD Atari Kasumi Ninja NOW Combat $69.99 Atari Magic Carpet (CD) 12/95 Action/RPG TBD Atari Max Force 9/95 Action TBD Atari Mindripper (CD) 2/96 Adventure TBD Atari Mortal Kombat 3 4/96 Fighting TBD Atari Myst (CD) 8/95 Interactive Novel TBD Atari NBA Jam T.E. 12/95 Sports TBD Atari Phase Zero 10/95 Action/Arcade TBD Atari Pinball Fantasies NOW Arcade $59.95 Comp. West Pitfall 9/95 Arcade TBD Activision Power Drive Rally 8/95 Driving TBD TWI Primal Rage (CD) 12/95 Fighting TBD TWI Rage Rally 2Q/95 Racing TBD Atari Raiden NOW Action/Adventure $49.99 Atari Rayman 8/95 Action/Adventure TBD UBI Soft Redemption (CD) 11/95 Action/Adventure TBD Atari Rise of the Robots (CD)11/95 Action/Arcade TBD TWI Robinson's Requiem (CD) 9/95 Adventure TBD Atari Rocky Horror Inter.(CD) 4/96 Adventure TBD Atari Ruiner Pinball 9/95 Arcade TBD Atari Sensible Soccer NOW Sports Telegames Sky Hammer (CD) 12/95 Flying/Action TBD Atari Soccer Kid 2Q/95 Sports TBD Ocean Soul Star (CD) 9/95 Action/Sci-Fi TBD Atari Space Ace (CD) 9/95 Space/Combat TBD ReadySoft Space War 9/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari Starlight BowlaRama CD 10/95 Simulation/Sports TBD Atari Star Raiders 2Q/95 Space Simulation TBD Atari Sudden Impact 12/95 Action TBD Atari Super Burnout NOW Racing $59.99 Atari Supercross 3D 9/95 Sports TBD Atari Syndicate NOW Simulation $69.99 Ocean Tempest 2000 NOW Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari Thea Relm Fighters (CD)10/95 Action/Fighting TBD Atari Theme Park NOW Simulation $69.99 Ocean Tiny Toon Adventures 2Q/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari Trevor McFur NOW Action/Adventure $49.99 Atari Troy Aikman NFL Ftball NOW Sports $69.99 Williams Ultimate Brain Games 2Q/95 Puzzle TBD Telegames Ultra Vortek 9/95 Action/Adventure $69.99 Beyond Games Val D'Isere Skiing... NOW Sports $59.99 Atari Varuna's Forces (CD) 11/95 Action/Adventure TBD Atari VidGrid (CD) 8/95 Puzzle/Music Video TBD Atari Wayne Gretzky NHL (CD) 12/95 Sports TBD TWI White Men Can't Jump 7/95 Sports (w/Team Tap) $69.99 TriMark Wolfenstein 3D NOW Combat/Action $59.99 Atari Zero 5 1/96 ? TBD --- Zool2 NOW Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari [Editor's note: Titles, scheduled release dates, and prices are verified from Atari - all subject to change] > Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr! """""""""""""""""""""""""" CATnips... Jaguar Tidbits from Don Thomas (95.07.24) """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" On Friday last week (7/21/95), Mr. Ted Hoff, President of Atari's North American Operations, released a statement regarding Atari's formal position on "Fight for Life". The statement was in response to a swell of online rumors regarding the title which was brought to Ted's attention. I usually would not transmit something twice through my distribution channels. In this case, however, since I did not send Ted's statement under a CATnips masthead and the online response has been so overwhelming. I felt I would share that response with everyone. If you have already read Ted's statement, please jump past it for a sampling of the online reaction plus other news. An open message from Mr. Ted Hoff, President of North American operations for Atari Corporation... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Of those of you who follow Atari's progress and 64-bit Jaguar momentum, some have expressed interests (and concerns) with regard to the disposition of the much anticipated Jaguar software title, "Fight for Life." Right away, let me address the rumors/flames by stating that "Fight for Life" is alive and well and a solid Atari development effort continues on that title. Due to the online concerns passed on to me recently, I see there's a need to make Atari's official position clear with regard to its current status. Since the development effort began on "Fight for Life," Francois Bertrand and the "Fight for Life" team have seen significant progress in the development tools and the capabilities of the Jaguar machine. What was underestimated was the development time and effort necessary to take advantage of the machine's capability. In our most recent evaluation of "Fight For Life," we were concerned that the game (in its current stage) did not exploit the capabilities of the Jaguar, nor would it deliver to the gamer the quality or depth of game play expected from the Jaguar 64 system. For this reason, newer development efforts are being explored, including the evaluation of new software engines to enhance the speed, smoothness and graphics handling of the Jaguar 64. I personally wish to assure you that every step will be taken to provide a game that meets your expectations and shows off the strength and capability of the system. Most of all, I insist that each game provides hours and hours of fun and challenging game play. I am demanding these principals to be maintained on all games from Atari; not only on "Fight for Life." If we change schedules, it will be for good reason; namely to meet high standards of graphics appeal and incorporate the "fun factor" for which Atari products are so well known. Francois wants to add... "Due to the acquisition and implementation of new resources, my 'Fight For Life' team has been inspired to enhance 'Fight For Life' in the areas of graphics and animation. We are really excited with the changes we have made so far. The enhancements will well be worth the wait." I know the online community has hung in there with us! Thank you. You are our loyal user base and we are determined not to disappoint you. For those of you interested, Jaguar CD-ROM will ship August 24, 1995 and should be available throughout our retail distribution base by the last week of August and early September; depending on how different stores have set up distribution. If you are not presently a Jaguar gamer and wish to own the power of the 64-bit Jaguar, please call Atari Corporation at 1-800-GO-ATARI and we will help locate a retailer near you. For about $150.00 each (system or CD-ROM), you can't beat it. We will continue to monitor your comments and feedback regarding our products... both positive and negative. I'm hoping that we can continue to be open and constructive. We have a big job ahead of us; your input continues to be important and your loyalty and interest are greatly appreciated. --Ted Hoff (July 21, 1995) ========================================================= Open Letter from to Mr. Ted Hoff and Francois Bertrand: Thank you for your press release. It shows courtesy and respect for your user base and provides encouragement to me that Atari is really trying to be the best it can be. Thanks again, David Fairweather ========================================================= To: 75300.1267@compuserve.com From: Naina Jahangir Subject: 1st sighting of Intelligent Lifeforms at Atari? I don't know about you guys, I was extremely happy after reading Ted Hoff's recent letter to the on-line community reassuring us about the FFL. I think finally, someone with a modicum of clue is at the helm of Atari. His well reasoned decision to completely re-write FFL from scratch makes perfect sense. If this is the kind of hard-nosed business decisions that Atari is going to make from now on, then Atari has a very real chance at success with the Jaguar64. PsiberAktiv ========================================================= Don, Ted is a great addition to the Atari Corporation I see. I like his style, and he also talks English I understand. Does Mr. Hoff have an online mailbox for suggestions (not a bad idea for Atari to do)? If not, tell him; Dear Mr. Ted Hoff I think you're doing a good job. Usually new execs aren't noticed very well, but the online community has recognized you, Mr Hoff, as the person to make the Jaguar a high-quality system. I see Atari is focusing not only on graphics, but on "fun factor" (which I'm sure also means good control). Most newer games on other 16 and 32 bit platforms provide extraordinary graphics, but poor gameplay and a short "life" game. Online (on CompuServe), there were multiple comments on you style of talking in the Activison/Atari press release. They thought, and I do to, that you made it stick to the competitions minds. And, they noticed you saying "Jaguar 64", instead of just "Jaguar". Many online think that this is very good, by actually showing that the Jaguar is a 64 bit system and this is what is happening with it. I'm glad to see that the Jaguar CD is coming on August 24. Although I probably won't pick one up until the holiday season (I'm 15, and my parents get us big-ticket items at Christmas. When it comes to birthdays, tho, they're to cheap!) I am happy to see it (finally) come out. I'm sure this won't be another Sega CD! Warmest Regards, Jeffrey Norwood Publisher/Editor-in-Chief -- The Jaguar Journal ========================================================= Date: Sat, 22 July 1995 09:59:43 -0400 From: aa399@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Len Stys) To: 75300.1267@compuserve.com Subject: Re: FFL UPDATE Hi Don, I have to tell you, I am really impressed by Ted Hoff's message to the online community. I am REALLY impressed. And you know how hard it is to impress me! :) His message is open and honest with Atari's customers. He also addresses the online community as if they are intelligent. He stated truth that the game is being delayed (as everyone knows anyway), but he assured everyone that it is being delayed to make the game better. I have to tell you that a lot of people thought that Atari would just rush the game out to get it out no matter if it was good or not. And we both know that when this happens, there are a lot of unpurchased Checkered Flag games taking up space on retail shelves. Mr. Hoff's message also gives people an indication of what kind of leader he is. He has that common-sense attitude that (as an Atari supporter) you hope to God that he has. He also has the no-nonsense attitude that this is the way it is going to be. And finally, he also appears to have the attitude of there being no compromise when it means hurting the future of Atari Corporation. And the releasing of poor quality games does hurt the future of Atari. After reading his message, I left with the feeling that I'm glad this guy is in there. I hope to see good things result because of it. Len ========================================================= FR: Larry Tipton 74127,601 TO: Don Thomas 75300,1267 DA: July 22, 1995 SV: CompuServe Don, Please let Mr. Hoff know that I am pleased that he came forward to clear up the "FFL" matter once and for all. No smoke and mirrors! Ted seems to be a tell-it-like-it-is kind of guy. I like that. -lt ========================================================= FR: Dana Jacobson 71051,3327 TO: Don Thomas 75300,1267 DA: July 22, 1995 SV: CompuServe Don, I'm glad that Ted came out with an official statement in this regard, as well. I also applaud the decision to avoid the risk of releasing a game that just might not be up to snuff with regard to "fun factor" and other things that might cause undue negative reactions. Dana @ STReport International Online Magazine ========================================================= FR: Bob Retelle 76702,1466 TO: Don Thomas 75300,1267 DA: July 22, 1995 SV: CompuServe Don, Please pass on our thanks to Ted too, for the official statement about FFL.. That's probably the best way to make sure the real story gets out, and keeps all the wild rumors from spreading. BobR ========================================================= To: 75300.1267@compuserve.com From: MRSALOANE@delphi.com Subject: Re:Ted Hoff...Whoaaa, now someone is listening. I too felt really good about this Ted Hoff guy's post. At least now we know that someone is at least listening. Before, it was like Atari had the Heavy Duty AC/DC Ear Plugs stuffed into its ears. Actually I think that Atari should have kept their ear to ground all along. Having someone check on the Jaguar List, while not really a scientific sampling of demographics etc., at least gives them some kind of real first person feedback on how their games are and what the public opinion is. Sure maybe they have there focus groups and they have their sales reports, but it is listening to the real gameowners, players, and buyers' opinions comments, and suggestions that will really get Atari moving and the internet with its email and newsgroups, is a very convenient and rapid form of communication for those who have the access. Sales figures only tell you whether something is wrong or good, not why it is such; which is the only way to either solve the problem or continue to please the consumers. I appreciate that Atari is listening in on the Jaguar mailing list. I also appreciate that Ted Hoff thought it important enough to take the time to respond to our concerns. If this is what we can expect from the new Atari management, I say thank God. Sincerely, Daniel Marsalone ========================================================= To: 75300.1267@compuserve.com From: Frans Keylard Subject: More positive Ted Hoff stuff Everywhere I look there's very positive reactions to Ted Hoff's statement. Heck, even the stocks went up! :) Ok, ok, so there might be no connection... Here's another: Wow! This new guy actually cares enough about us 'netters to keep us informed. I'm very impressed so far. Of all companies that make systems, none have been too obliging in letting the 'net' know information before the magazines have already published the info. This is one very nice exception. Seeya, Davey """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Here's another great comment regarding Super Burnout! Date: Sat, 22 July 1995 21:09:40 -0400 From: BradyT1534@aol.com Message-Id: <950722210938_120777117@aol.com> To: Atari@genie.geis.com Subject: Super Burnout Wow! Just got the game today and I must say I enjoy it more than Tempest 2000 and I generally don't like racing games! It actually feels real. The trees pass you by so fast and the frame rate is so good! This is one of the better games I have played. Great job on Super Burnout! Could there possibly be a sequel? """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Here are some new images just placed into the libraries of CompuServe, GEnie and CATscan [209/239-1552]. By the way, these and other images are also being placed in to numerous other sources as well such as Delphi, where you'll find Andy Eddy and a great bunch of Jaguar gamers. STRAMIEL.JPG --+-- JPEG file of Mr. Sam Tramiel """""""""""" JPEG of Mr. Sam Tramiel, Chief Executive Officer, of Atari Corporation. Scanned from a recent publicity photo taken in front of Atari headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA. Atari is the U.S. manufacturer of the 64-bit Jaguar gaming system which sells for about $150. Image may be re-posted in areas public access areas complimentary to Atari. (c)1995 Atari Corporation. Image scanned and uploaded by Don Thomas. ALIGUORI.JPG --+-- JPEG file of Mr. August Liguori JPEG of Mr. August (Augie) Liguori, Vice President Finance and Chief Finance Officer, of Atari Corporation. BELTRAMO.JPG --+-- JPEG file of Mr. Ron Beltramo JPEG of Mr. Ron Beltramo, Vice President Marketing, of Atari Corporation. JCORRELL.JPG --+-- JPEG file of Mr. Jon Correll JPEG of Mr. Jon Correll, Vice President Software Product Development, of Atari Corporation. WMCJPLYR.JPG --+-- JPEG file cartoon for WMCJ "White Men Can't Jump" is an exciting new basketball game coming to the Atari Jaguar. Here's a cool looking player I found on the sell sheet for the game. The actual players in the game look like real people; not cartoons, but this can serve as a great image for Web Pages! Image may be re-posted in areas public access areas complimentary to Atari. (c)1995 Atari Corporation. Image scanned and uploaded by Don Thomas. I have just received clearance to grab five (5) "Ultra Vortek" screen shots and box copy. Look for these files within the next few days on CATscan, GEnie, CompuServe, Delphi and, well, all over! Ultra Vortek will be in stores by mid-September and sell for $69.99. ULTRA VORTEK - box copy product shipping to stores in Sept. '95... $69.99 MSRP ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Prepare Yourself for the Final Test Mankind must prove that it is worthy of the powers of the Ultra Vortek--the eternal energy source for all life on Earth. Failure to meet this challenge will result in the Earth's destruction. Seven of the planet's mightiest warriors have been chosen to pit strength and cunning against the Guardian for complete control of the Ultra Vortek. Who will prevail? The fate of mankind is in your hands... ULTRACOV.JPG - JPEG image of Ultra Vortek screen shot """""""""""" Prepare Yourself for the Final Test! (25,059 JPG file) Mankind must prove that it is worthy of the powers of the Ultra Vortek--the eternal energy source for all life on Earth. Failure to meet this challenge will result in the Earth's destruction. Image (c)1995 Atari Corporation. May be re-posted in other areas complimentary to Atari. Ultra Vortek is coming September 1995. $69.99 MSRP. File uploaded by Don Thomas. ULTRA_V1.JPG - JPEG image of Ultra Vortek screen shot Prepare Yourself for the Final Test! (22,435 JPG file) ULTRA_V2.JPG - JPEG image of Ultra Vortek screen shot Prepare Yourself for the Final Test! (22,377 JPG file) ULTRA_V3.JPG - JPEG image of Ultra Vortek screen shot Prepare Yourself for the Final Test! (18,833 JPG file) """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport and Atari Explorer Online (AEO) will be featuring ways to win a signed copy of the new Jaguar Strategy Guide published by Sandwich Islands Publishing. Look in upcoming issues for details. Travis promises an exclusive look at the Virtual Light Machine (VLM) in his next AEO issue. CATnips... Jaguar Tidbits from Don Thomas (95.07.27) """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Hi there, ho there, hey there... Here's some great events coming up... (fast!) These people have put a lot of work into their events. PLEASE help get onliners involved! Spread the word! -+-------------------------------------------------------+- Jaguar Giveaway! Win at the Mid-Indiana MIST AtariFest Indianapolis, Saturday, July 29 10 am Indiana & Illinois Time (11am EDT) MIST's No. 1 Door Prize: -- Jaguar Donated by Atari Corp. (with Cybermorph) Valued at $200! CatBox Bonanza -- See ICD's "Jaguar Jet-scape" and three or more Jags in demo play! Plus FIVE (* 5 *!) More Jag Games for a Silent Auction: Atari-Donated: Doom, Alien v. Predator, Tempest 2000, Iron Soldier, and Hover Strike. Retail as high as $70! Admission Tickets Still $3 Best Western Waterfront Plaza Hotel ----------------------------------- on U.S. 136 (Interstate 465 at Speedway Exit) Double the space is available and we expect To fill both hotel ballrooms. Table space is all but sold out, Phone NOW if you want space! Charlie Sears at 317.535.4829 Stu Huffman at 812.988.7558 VENDORS: Toad Computers, Gribnif (Geneva/NeoDesk), ICD (CatBox), It's All Relative (CD-ROMs and more), Branch Always (GEMulator), Clear Thinking (EditPlus) chroMAGIC, Crawly Crypt, Missionware (Flash II and more), MTS Creations, SKWare One (Seurat), Mars Merchandising, Systems for Tomorrow, Bare Bones, Computer Dungeon and Homa Systems of Canada. (And yes, Dorothy Brumleve will be there to schmooze and browse but leave kid.prg sales to Toad.) USER GROUPS: LCACE. T.H.E., CUSTUG, SCAT, WACO, EAUG and ACORN as well as the hosts -- BL.A.ST of Bloomington, ASCII of Indianapolis, and PAUG of Purdue/Lafayette. -+-------------------------------------------------------+- ----------------------------------------------------------- prodigy mail: Personal Message 07/26/1995 ----------------------------------------------------------- From: LARRY MAHLER (USNR41D) Subject: SUPER BURNOUT Sent On: 07/27 12:19 AM PM ET Don, Just a brief note to tell you that I appreciate your updates on the Jag and game releases. In spite of what I have read from others you seem to be up front and on target when asked a question. I just picked up Super Burnout yesterday and really enjoy it. Graphics/controls/and overall game layout is great. Picked up pinball fantasies a few weeks ago and can't stop playing it. My friends think it's a great game as well. I've had my Jag from the initial release and although I am also frustrated with the rate of new game release I still have faith in Atari and the Jag. Thanks for the updates! Larry Mahler _______________________________________________ > Yak's Zoo - Update! STR InfoFile! - Jeff Minter and D2K Update! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Thanks to CompuServe member Chris Russo for the Internet re-post! Here is the latest from Yak's WWW page on the Internet. July 23rd update, Yak writes: "Well, it's been an interesting few weeks. Yak has been hosed with data on a variety of different fronts. The brain hurts from the grokking of it all. The new graphic artists are not only in place but churning out excellent bitmaps at a high rate. There is now a complete background level with all parallax layers running, and the Jag is handling a full game happening over the top without shredding the OLP - this is a Good Thing. Much more structural stuff has been overlaid on 2K mode - we now have waves that have a beginning and an ending, player ship collision and explosions, enemy shots, and all kinds of good stuff which makes it more of a game and less of a demo of 2K graphic elements.. I'm getting more graphics from the new guys than I know what to do with, never mind where to put in my ROM image.. but that's normal at this stage, don't worry. We should have audio happening in the next few days too. Last couple of days, between the artists and the musicians, Yak has been hosed all over again. I am awash in data and running out of hard disk space.. but there's a Pentium with a bottomless hard disk on the horizon, so it's not gonna stop me. I've also implemented a couple of bonus/Easter Egg games - working titles 'Pong On Acid' and 'Gridrunner 4 July Mix' - which are kinda fun.. re-did all the game select/intro screens to my exacting standards of digital pulchritude.. hoping to have the first 5-10 levels more or less running within the next week. Once they're in I should be into tweaking of the gameplay to make it excellent - it's pretty good so far, but acceleration is not quite correctly balanced at the moment. Then, once the gameplay is balanced, it should be a simple case of jamming on new graphics, levels and weapons until I run out of ROM... More as it happens. Now I have my web page at a better site I hope to be able to update it more frequently.. \ (:-) - Mama do you think they'll like this song... / Fm: Darryl (Atari Europe) 75162,2024 To: Dominick J. Fontana 74766,2154 To prove we have a sense of humour, I thought you guys might like to have some fun with this at my expense. Darryl Still and his wife have announced that their first child has officially entered production. It is believed that the development will produce only one unit, but the Still's are not aware whether the product will be released before Christmas or even this year! Regards Darryl _____________________________________ > NEW Contest!! STR FOCUS! """""""""""""""""""""""" -/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/ * * J The STReport "Win A Signed Copy of: J A The official Jaguar Gamer's Guide" Contest!! A G Published by Sandwich Islands Publishing G * * J ____ ____ ___ ____ ___ __ / J A / / / / ` / / / / / / / ` / A G / /---/ / __ /___/ / / / /__ / / G * \ / / / / / / \\\ / / / / / / * J \/ / / /___/ / \\\ /___/ /___ /___ \__/ * J A \\\ A G \\\ G * * -/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/-STR-/ In case you're unaware of it, the official Jaguar Gamer's Guide published by Sandwich Islands Publishing and written by the popular authors: Zach Meston and J. Douglas Arnold is shipping now! Preorders should already be fulfilled and store copies should be arriving wherever popular game books are sold. This book ordinarily retails for $18.95. If you've been putting off getting your copy, here's a chance to win one! The guide includes special features such as gaming tips from Atari's own gaming masters. It has exclusive maps, helpful tips and innovative strategies. If you want in-depth play-by-play action coverage including strategies and tips found no where else on almost 20 of the Jaguar's hottest games, you must have this book. As an avid STReport and Jaguar fan, we're sure that you've been keeping abreast of the Jaguar news and information as it happens. You _have_ been reading, right? Well, we want to find out just how attentive you are; and we're willing to reward you for your concentration! What do you have to do? That's easy! All that you have to do is read this week's issue of STReport and answer the simple question that's included in this Contest article. And, to make it even easier, the answer can be found in this very same issue! Once you have the answer, just send it along to STReport via E-mail to any of the following addresses: dpj@delphi.com 71051.3327@compuserve.com d.jacobson2@genie.geis.com OR Dana Jacobson at Toad Hall BBS (617-567-8642) or CATscan BBS (209-239-1552) All entries must be received via E-mail only (you don't want to give the answer away, do you?!) The winner be selected randomly from all correct entries. All entries must be received by midnight, August 2, 1995. THE WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN STREPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE, IN THE ISSUE SCHEDULED TO BE RELEASED ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 1995. 2nd Chance to WIN!! Do you sometimes feel that you never win contests? Well, we're going to give you another opportunity to win! To be eligible to win our second contest for a second book, in _next_ week's contest, just sign up for STReport's Internet mailing service. This mail service means that STReport will be mailed to you each week, automatically. Just check your mailbox (Internet address or online service E-mail) every Friday night and the new week's issue will be waiting for you - no more waiting for STReport to be posted on your favorite BBS or ftp site! Please note: the second contest will _only_ be open to those STReport readers who are current STReport mail subscribers (signed-up as of August 9)! Also, the second contest _starts_ on Saturday, August 5, 1995 and ends at midnight, August 9, 1995. Do _not_ send entries for the second contest until you read the details for it in next week's issue!! The first contest is open to _all_ qualified readers, noting eligibility requirement below. To subscribe to the STReport, drop us a message at any of the above online addresses. -/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- -/- The contest question: What is the scheduled release date for -/- -/- the JaguarCD? Answers must include the month and day. -/- -/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- Employees of Atari Corporation and staff members of STReport or Amiga Report are not eligible to win. This contest is void where prohibited by law. Credits: STReport and its staff would like to thank Sandwich Island Publishing and Atari Corporation for its generous donation of the books. ========== Tradenames herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their owning companies. Permission hereby granted to re-post this contest text, in its entirety, anywhere that you feel it would be appropriate - your favorite BBS, user group newsletter, magazine, etc. Please spread the word! ________________________________________ > ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" PEOPLE... ARE TALKING ===================== On CompuServe ------------- compiled by Joe Mirando CIS ID: 73637,2262 Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Boy, I lucked out this week... Imagine, hotter than average temperatures, and the highest humidity on record and, lucky me, I'm on vacation. While it's just to darned hot to do anything active on my vacation (which kind of takes the fun out of vacation, doesn't it?), I'd probably have gotten heat stroke if I had been at work. True, I'm not _quite_ as bad off as the folks in Chicago, but it's bad enough for me. Smog warnings (in Connecticut??), thunderstorm advisories, power brown-outs, and all manner of nasty things make me quite happy to be on vacation this week. As it is, the most active thing I can manage is to log onto CompuServe to catch up on all the "cool" stuff that's going on. Y'know, I have to laugh whenever I hear one of these nouveau cyber-jocks bragging about downloading files, e-mailing, and chatting over their computer. Heck, lots of folks have been doing that since CompuServe went into business all those years ago. Since then, lots of others have decided that they'd try to make a buck doing the same thing. Not that there's anything wrong in making a buck... heck, we're _all_ trying to do that. It's the _way_ that some of these folks have done it that catches my attention. Some decided that they'd make a buck by using their existing computers in their "slow" time, some decided to show "commercials" down at the bottom of the screen to make a buck, and then have their special software "peek" at things on your hard drive to see what interested you (not a malicious attempt at invasion of privacy, but an invasion of privacy none-the-less), and _make_ you use their software to access their service. I have no problem with dedicated programs, but I see no need to require a person to use them... especially since, if you use more than one online service as I do, the necessary programs could add up to many megabytes of storage space. And should you be esthetically opposed to DOS and Intel, and... shall we say, too economically challenged to afford a Mac, you're just plain out of luck with those dedicated programs. If you don't believe me, just place a call to Prodigy or America Online and ask for an Atari ST, Amiga, or any other "orphan" computer version of their software. Just hold the phone away from your ear because these folks tend to laugh pretty loud when they hear that question. Heck, they feel like martyrs because they even offer a Mac version. Well, I've got news for them, I can do the things I need to do, the things I want to do, faster and more efficiently on my own using a "generic" terminal program. And I don't end up paying for their control codes that cause all those pretty little graphics that clutter up the monitor and do absolutely nothing to enhance the posts I read, or the programs I down load. I'm sure that some folks prefer the glitzy screens and option boxes, and for them, sure, they should have these programs available to them. But I don't think that it should be mandatory. Well, let's get on with the reason for this column (and no, it's not simply a place for me to rant and rave... I can do that anywhere ). From the Atari Computing Forums =============================== Rob Rasmussen tells us about capturing video on his Falcon: "I ended up getting VideoMaster for the Falcon. It came with a free copy of True Paint (which I already have!). When I save a still picture, it saves it in True Paint format. I am enjoying using this program. My video camera's hooked to my VCR which is hooked to the VM cartridge. When I aim the camera at something, the action appears on the screen. Details are not well defined though, and a person can look like a cartoon in black and white. It looks kind of surreal, I've seen used in some music videos. It also records sound and I have synced up audio to a video clip to make several little "films." With audio and video, it does eat up a lot of memory, stored in the buffer that you define separately for video & audio. It saves films as .FLM files, and I hope to find out if I can convert this to something that an IBM PC can view. Anyone know how I can do this? It has other things like a sequencer for stringing video clips. I also got ColorMaster add-on board for color stills. I hope to get into that in the next few days." Now THAT sounds like fun, doesn't it? It makes me wish I could afford all that cool stuff. Meanwhile, Mike Myers posts: "I've been browsing the library, and I find what seems to be three or 4 programs to use in the Internet facilities. However, I don't know which is best for a "newbie". Recommendations?" Daniel Osborne tells Mike: "For just browsing around the Internet for files to lownload, NOS ver 0.42 works great. It is command line driven and you can run it from your GEM/TOS desktop. For viewing WWW sites for text and graphics, the TAF(Chimera) works, but requries to install the 7 disks on a Minit XF partition and some working knowledge of Unix commands. While I have been able to get it to work, others are no so successful. It can also do FTP file transfers. The only other one I know of, is DuFTP, which I am working on to try and get functionaly working. It also allows FTP site downloands, but has a GEM window interface, but also requires the installation of Mint-Net on your system. I would suggest to start off with the NOS 0.42 and work from there." Nic Garton asks: "Having retrieved my trusty ST 520 from the attic, and brushed of the cobwebs, I find I need to load a tos program automatically at switch on. I remember something about a startup.inf file, but it's all a bit hazy. Can someone explain to me (in lots of detail) how to get a .tos file to boot automatically?" Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Nic: "You place the file into the AUTO folder and it will boot/run automatically." Nic replies: "Simple as that... Thanks. What was I thinking about with the startup.inf file, or is that complete rubbish?" Michel Vanhamme takes a stab at it: "Maybe you were thinking of a utility like Startgem, which was used on old machines to automatically start a GEM program? That one used a STARTGEM.INF file." It could also be that he was thinking of the DESKTOP.INF file... one garbled DESKTOP.INF file, and you'll have nightmares about them for a while. Simon Churchill tells us about his new monitor: "I just got a multi-frequency monitor today, does all ST modes. Out goes the old B&W TV so been playing for the last few hour's in gloriouse colour and mono, it's bliss on the eye's!!" Jon Sanford tells Simon: "I got a ATARI color monitor with my MegaSte but stubbornly use the SM124. got to get a switch box & bigger desk so i have room for all this C**P. I am getting back into my old electronic stuff. Transistors, Vacuum Tubes, piles of broken consumer electronics & surplus scrounged. My plan is to find a cheaper hobby. I still like the computer stuff but the upgrade path is getting steep." Martin Weber-Casper posts: "Hello everyone, greetings from Amsterdam! I am using ST for Music/MIDI for years. It's great. Now I am wondering if it's possible to connect an SLM804 to my new PC (386 running Win 3.11)." John Trautschold of MissionWare Software tells Martin: "Sorry..as far as I know it can't be done. Atari laser printers all work off the Atari DMA port. There's no such beast for a PC. Plus the SLM printers depend on memory and computing power in the Atari computer itself. You might consider the SLM a "dumb" printer, which is why the cost, back when they first came out, was much lower than other "standard" laser printers. You'll need to purchase something else for your PC." In the Portfolio section of the Palmtop Forum, Paul Shears poses a question about using Atari's FT program for transfer to a PC: "I am connecting the cable [ which I am 99.9% sure is a 25 pin straight thru cable ] to the port into which my printer goes. I dont seem to have anywhere else to fit it to, The other ports are 2 serial [ 8 pin ] and mouse and joystick. I am using the FT.COM software and am wondering what the procedure is when I have connected the Portfolio to the Pc, Do I press File Transfer on the PC software and File Recieve on the Portfolio or Just on the Pc and not on the Portfolio etc etc. I have only had the Portfolio a few weeks [bought it second hand] and seems to be difficult finding people who know much about it in my neck of the woods [Leeds - England], which is quite a shame really considering the machines qualities, Its easy to see where Psion got their ideas from, and a shame that Atari don't push their products any further than they do." Andrew Hosler tells Paul: "Hopefully I can help with your problem. Hook up the cable to your computer. Select setup on the portfolio, then file transfer, then server. This lets FT.COM do the work . Then you just use Recieve or Transmit to send your files. It's not a bad idea to set up a file on your PC for downloads, uploads etc. I use FT.COM with Portman(in the library). Portman sets up text files for use on the portfolio. Another excellent program is Portbook. This is a windows program for adr. files. Good luck with your portfolio! If you have any questions drop us a line." In the Atari Gaming Forum, Julie Lagan asks: "My son has my old ST and got a hold of a game called Alternate Reality some years ago. At that time sequels were to come out called Arena and Wilderness. Does anyone know if those disks were ever made and if they were does anyone have them for sale???" Sysop Bob Retelle tells Julie: "Unfortunately the Alternate Reality series was never finished. It was more of a "political" thing than any technical problems, but only two of the parts of the game were ever released. The original, which your son probably has is "Alternate Reality - The City". The only other "module" in the game that was finished was "Alternate Reality - The Dungeon". I never did play the second one, although I really enjoyed the first game. Probably the best thing to do is ask here, and on any local BBSs that still have Atari sections, to see if anyone has a copy they'd like to sell." Julie tells Bob: "Thanks... My son will not give up that st machine because of that program..He is now 27 and has been playing that game off and on since it came out. I will do as you suggested and see if I can pick up the other module. BTW are they making any programs for the ST? He actually used that machine through college with the Word Writer program..people kept calling him "cave man" but that didn't seem to deter him." Bob replies: "Unfortunately software development for the ST has become very, very slow... there are still a few excellent products being supported, but it's nothing like the "good old days". Has your son played "Dungeon Master" on his ST..? That was one of the most popular games on the ST, and at one time even hit the #1 spot for ALL computer games..! Every now and then I see one for sale.. it's a classic..!" Julie tells Bob: "I will check with him and see. If he hasn't maybe I can locate one for him. I can't believe this kid is so hooked on Alternate Reality.. The kid seems normal otherwise!!" From the Graphics Support Forum =============================== Remember a while back when Unisys announced that they would begin enforcing their patent on LZW compression, the form of compression used in all GIF picture files? Well, the talk still rages on. Gini Schmitz posts her theory on Unisys: "I think they probably deliberately waited until all the programmers were GIF-dependent, so they could spring their surprise, and force people to pay. Why aren't people YELLING their heads off about the giant software companies' practices? People are always trying to be "nice" which actually makes them sheep. I am so furious about paying $25 per call for technical support for very expensive (and buggy software), but the giants think they have the people by the throats. If only a few people YELL, it won't make much difference. With CompuServe and the Internet, people can YELL all over the world, and soon the giant will get scared. Remember David and Goliath. It can be done." Rollie Jones tells Gini: "I wonder if yelling like that will have much effect on Unisys. Their existance is (or at least was) dependant on government contracts for their mainframes. They have yet to develope more than a clue as to what is going on in the rest of the country. The idea of Shareware and Freeware seemed to baffle them thoroughly when, in fact, the developement community yelled rather vehemently about their original royalty offers. As to the $25 tech support call, the best way we can yell about this is to discontinue buying from companies that do this. Let me guess, it has to do with tech support on a 900 number. I would venture Hold is a popular button in that situation. So, if they charge for tech support and particularly if the support doesn't help or they leave you hanging while the bill racks up, don't buy their product anymore." Ray McVay adds: "Actually, Unisys will realize very little out of the GIF/TIFF debacle. In fact I bet it's costing them money. In a relatively short time everyone will move their GIF and LZW TIFF dependences to PNG and Unisys will be out of the picture. Still it's a good example of the problem with software patents in general." Gini asks about PNG: "PNG is new to me. Is it a royalty-free compression method? Is it unpatented? Are we sure of that? Maybe Unisys was not as "dumb" about shareware as they acted. Maybe they did it because the big companies can pay, and they knew the small shareware companies can't. I think I keep seeing a trend to put all the small guys out of business, so the big ones can have all the pie." Howard Thue tells Gini: "The entire system of Patents and cross licensing is designed to drive innovative small business to the point they are either set up for acquisition or put them out of business. PNG is royalty free and great effort by the developers and Compuserve has been put forth to make sure the GIF/LZW situation shall never raise its ugly head with it." Steve Rimmer adds his own thoughts on Unisys: "I don't think there's any question that Unisys deliberately entrapped developers into using LZW. We did a fair bit of yelling about this... got a patent lawyer involved and all... but Unisys didn't want to listen. We're about to yell to other quarters and see if they catch the echos. I'm of the opinion that we might not be able to talk them out of ripping us off for royalties, but we can cost them more than they cost us. I figure that if I can talk someone out of buying one mid-size Unisys banking terminal system, I can set Unisys back many times more than all the royalties they'll collect from us over the life of their patent. Of course, one of the ironies in yelling about the LZW situation over CompuServe is that CompuServe is almost as responsible for it as Unisys is. It was, after all, CompuServe who initially granted a royalty-free license to GIF to all developers who wanted it, having failed to do a patent search first by the looks of things, and then left all those developers to twist in the wind when Unisys appeared with its patent. I agree with your yell about big software companies. We've had... and actually, are in the midst of having... similar experiences. The problem, of course, is that in order to make the prices of their products look competitive, the big companies cut out all the support costs & added them back in after you buy the stuff. Then, in order to get their stuff to market faster they didn't beta test it very well, making it a near certainty that you'll need support. I really enjoyed your messages about yelling at that company who ripped off your graphics and actually getting somewhere, in a way, it makes up for some of the bad experiences we've had with Microsoft and Borland and IBM... and of course, Unisys... and had them respond with music on hold." Gini asks Steve... "...a few questions. The principle party involved in ripping me off lives in Canada. He comes down here to California for chemotherapy (I don't feel sorry for him, because I am disabled too, and he knew it) and to do business the X company--whom I have not yet publicly named. X company tells me this man in not an employee of the company, and that he told them that he had paid me for the designs. I know there are international copyright laws. How can I get more information about these laws, before I contact an attorney? I want to go for the guy's throat. I was lied to and treated most shabbily, and I want to go for his throat. Also, I think it is time for all of us small guys to unite in a very massive campaign to stop the major companies from taking over the world--literally!! If the present trend continues, we will all be slaves to a few companies. I fear for my children and grandchildren. As far as CompuServe goes, I have had some dealings with them; and I feel they are much better than most. They themselves are now threatened by a giant engulfing them." Steve tells Gini: "I'm not an authority on international copyright law... I just feel like I've paid for enough lawyers of late that I ought to be. I can tell you what I think I know, but it's all very unofficial, and only somewhat likely to be correct. You really need to speak to an attourney for advice you can do something with. Yo, everyone else... feel free to jump in if you know more about this than I do. First off, as I understand it, most of the civilized world is signatory to the Berne copyright convention, which allows that copyright is effectively international. If you copyright something in California, that copyright pertains to someone in Canada... whether or not they need chemotherapy. It's my further understanding that copyright exists on any intellectual property from the first date you can prove it existed. As such, if I publish a book, it's copyrighted the date it was published. It's your responsibility to announce that it is a copyrighted entity by affixing the little (c) symbol, the word "copyright", the date and the party it's copyright by. This last bit is so you can't dull what Unisys pulled, of course... a submarine copyright, by letting people think something isn't a copyrighted entity 'til they're using it. Under copyright law, you have to tell everyone it's copyrighted before it's protected. If it gets to court, of course, you'd have to prove that your copyrighted entity really did exist at the time you say, and so on. All our copyright stuff is handled by our lawyers, and to tell you the truth I have no idea what they do. I love the idea of uniting to stand against the tide of massive corporations... it seems to me that with all this connectivity we should be able to do something about that. I'm not sure I'd know where to begin, mind... I'd agree that CompuServe is better than some... they don't censor e-mail like America OnLine, for example. They went down a few fathoms in my estimation when they ducked and ran over the GIF issue. On the whole, I hope Microsoft doesn't succeed in its Microsoft Network plans for all sorts of reasons -- although if fighting them off costs CompuServe a few hundred thou I'll probably feel better about what we've had to spend to defend ourselves against Unisys." 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 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > A "Quotable Quote" A true "Sign of the Times" """"""""""""""""" In this Day & Age.... Begging RED CHINA to FREE... HARRY WU A true, free spirit and lover of all mankind's freedoms. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport International OnLine Magazine -* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *- HTTP//WWW.ICBA.COM/STREPORT AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE ON OVER 100,000 PRIVATE BBS SYSTEMS """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STR OnLine! 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