SILICON TIMES REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE "STReport; The Original * Independent * OnLine Magazine!" STR Electronic Publishing Inc. A subsidiary of STR Worldwide CompNews Inc. August 04, 1995 No. 1131 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: 1-904-786-8805 10am-4pm EST STR Publishing Support BBS * THE BOUNTY INTERNATIONAL BBS * Featuring: * 4.5GB * of Download Files * Mustang Software's WILDCAT! 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You may also call The Bounty BBS direct @ 1-904-786-4176. Enjoy the wonder and excitement of exchanging all types of useful information relative to all computer types, worldwide, through the use of excellent International Networking Systems. SysOps and users alike worldwide, are welcome to join STReport's International Conferences. ITC Node is 85:881/250, The Fido Node is 1:112/35, Crossnet Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is #620. All computer enthusiasts, hobbyist or commercial, on all platforms and BBS systems are invited to participate. WEB SITE: HTTP//WWW.STREPORT.COM CIS ~ PRODIGY ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ ITC ~ NEST ~ EURONET CIX ~ USENET ~ USPOLNET ~ CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ PROWL ~ FNET AOL Florida Lotto LottoMan v1.35 Results: 07/29/95: 2 matches in 3 plays From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" Well its finally happening, STReport is going to yield to the flow of the times. This issue is the first of the "NEW" look. Wait a minute, its time enough. This type of format will work equally as well on the Web and just about everywhere else. All one needs is the FREE Word Viewer from Microsoft. It read all types of Word Document files. The release of Microsoft Word Viewer, a small program that allows users who do not own Microsoft Word for Windows to view and print Word documents exactly as they appear in Word. Word Viewer allows users to view page layout, zoom, outline, headers/footers, footnotes, and annotations. With Word Viewer, people who own any version of Microsoft Word for Windows, or Word for the Macintosh; versions 4.0 and later, can share their documents with users who do not own Microsoft Word. Best part is, its FREEWARE! The news of "things" to come is very exciting these days. The online service scene is bustling with all kinds of activity. Watch for all the services to soon have their on Proprietary Software. By that I mean you must use their software to use the service. Delphi is going completely Graphical very shortly as is Compuserve. It stands to reason, that after the pasting AOL handed all the other services. As every one of the Whigs sat still, sleeping in their overstuffed chairs behind their oversized desks. Well, it appears they finally heard the alarms going off all `round them. When inquiries were made as to why all the ruckus... suddenly, the younger executives in the services lower ranks were given a real mission to complete. They're doing it in record time. The shakeout has already begun. We can expect to see an acceleration of such along with mergers, buyouts and other crafty and amazing deals within the next two to three years. STReport is using Word for Windows 95 Version 7.0, the thirty two bit version. As the expression goes... "this is a test". We want your opinions, suggestions and ideas. Don't be bashful, let us hear from you. 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! Ralph F. Mariano, Publisher - Editor 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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STR INDUSTRY REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS Computer Products Update - CPU Report Weekly Happenings in the ComputerrWorld Issue #31 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. General Computer News >> HP Cuts Desktop 660C Prices << Hewlett-Packard Co. has cut prices on its line of HP DeskJet 660C home printers and HP OfficeJet printer-fax-copiers. With the price reduction, the DeskJet 660C printer forrPCs and HP DeskWriter 660C printer for Macintosh computers will sell foo about $399 each, a decrease of $100. Meanwhile, the OfficeJettand OfficeJet LX printer-fax-copiers will sell for about $599 and $699 respectively, a price drop of around $100 per product. >> Mac Accounting Software Updated << Peachtree Software has announced Peachtree Accounting for Macintosh 2.5, an enhanced version of its Macintosh small business accounting software. The company notes that the update features graphical guides, a setup checklist and online tutorials that are designed to help first-time users to get up to speed quickly and expert users to get their work done faster and with more accuracy. The $99 program includes general ledger accounts receivable, invoicing, accounts payable, check printing, payroll, inventory, checking account reconciliation, job/project tracking and numerous other features. Also provided is a cussommforms desigger that lets users design invoices, quotes, statementss checks and other forms. Registered users of previous editions of Peachtree Accounting for Macintosh can upgrade to the newversion directly from Peachtree for $79. >> Marrel Comics Debuts on CD-ROM << Toy Biz Inc. and Marvel Entertainment Group Inc. have introduced of a series of Marvel Interactive CD-ROM Comics. The companies note that the first four discs feature a mix of out-of-print classic tales featuring the X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Iron Man. The comics have been enhanced through computer coloring, narration, sound effects, music and animation. The CD-ROMs are compatible with both PC and Macintosh systems. The products will be distributed by Toy Biz and Marvel this fall through comic book and software stores, major toy retailers and the toy departments of major mass retailers. Each title will sell for $14.99. "It's a comic book come to life -- on a computer," says Stan Lee, chairman of Marvel Comics. >> Apple Has QuickTake Promotion << Apple Computer Inc. is offering an upgrade promotion for owners of its original QuickTake 100 digital camera. For $199, owners can upgrade to the QuickTake 150 and take advantage of new, more powerful Macintosh or Windows software, a close-up lens and longer-life lithium batteries. The upgraded model also offers twice the storage capacity of the earlier unit (16 high-quality or 32 standard-quality images) and improved overall image quality. The offer runs through Nov. 30. Apple is also offering a special price on software for cross-platform users who purchased a QuickTake 100 Connection Kit for using the camera with both Macintosh and Windows systems. At the time of the upgrade order, such users may obtain upgraded software for an additional $49. >> Sega Narrows PC-Video Game Gap << In a move seen as potentially narrowing the gap between PCs and game machines that attach to TV sets, Sega of America Inc. is announcing plans to make video games for PCs that use a special chip by Nvidia Corp. Reports say that Sega will offer two games to be played exclusively on PCs with Nvidia's multimedia chip. The games were originally produced for Sega's new Saturn CD game machine, which has been on sale since May. Sega Vice President William White Jr. said, "The hardware is a means to the software. We see it as a way to provide our games to a whole other audience we haven't been able to (reach) before Nvidia." Analyst Fred Dunn, vice president of Jon Peddie Associates, says Nvidia is the first maker of PC multimedia components to get the support of a game console company, adding, "This is a real feather in their cap. Sega is one of the leading game suppliers in the world; it's an instantly recognizable name. ... The Sega games will create a pull for boards that use Nvidia chips." The kits containing add-on cards with the Nvidia chip and at least one game will be on the market in time for Christmas at $249 to $399. (Sega Saturn costs $399.) Last May, Nvidia unveiled its NV1 Multimedia Accelerator, which puts sound, full-motion video and three-dimensional graphic capabilities on a single chip. It also has patented technology that improves the realism of graphics. >> NEC Cuts Notebook Prices << NEC Technologies Inc. has cut prices by up to 17% on its Versa V Series of notebook computers. NEC has also extended its Versa V promotion through September 30. The offer provides buyers of any Versa V model with an active-matrix TFT display a free 14.4K bps data/fax modem (a $224 value) or a $100 cash rebate. The Versa V models are available with a 50MHz 486DX2 or 75MHz 486DX4 microprocessor. System prices now start at $1,899 and range up to $2,599. >> MPEG/AVI Board Design Unveiled << AuraVision Corp. and Zoran Corp. have co-developed a new MPEG/AVI playback reference board design. The companies notes that the AuraVision-Zoran reference kit is the first production-ready design to include drivers and source code for Windows 3.1 and Windows '95. The board also offers the ability to simultaneously display MPEG-1 video on a standalone television monitor and in a window on a VGA screen. According to the firms, add-in cards based on the reference design--code-named Antelope-- will enhance PC's multimedia capabilities by allowing full- resolution, full-motion video and CD-quality stereo sound. "As the MPEG market has matured, we have been getting demands for more advanced reference functionality that will include Windows '95 and video output support," says Wayne Ricciardi, vice president of sales and marketing of AuraVision, which is based in Fremont, California. "The Antelope offers a ready-to-market solution for add-in board manufacturers and desktop computer OEMs." OEM design kits will include the board, schematics and support files, along with a suite of software drivers and source code. >> Internet to Protect Trademarks << A new policy to protect business trademarks has been announced by Network Solutions Inc., the firm that registers commercial addresses on the Internet on behalf of the National Science Foundation. Grant Clark, an attorney with Network Solutions, is quoted as saying, "that over the past year, several companies have discovered others are using their names as addresses on the network." "For example, the name ronald@mcdonald.com as well as the mcdonald.com 'domain name' does not belong to McDonald's Corp." Says Clark, "We may not be able to give the name back to the 'rightful owner,' but we can certainly stop misleading use and piracy," adding that NSI's new policy could block what many large businesses see as blatant trademark theft. While NSI still gives out the domain names on a first-come, first-served basis, if there is a fight between businesses, NSI will ask both parties for proof of trademark. The loser can choose to give up the address, taking 90 days to make a transition to a new domain name. If the two cannot resolve the dispute, NSI will freeze the domain name, not allowing anyone to use it, and let the courts decide. >> Anti-Virus Chip Developed << A unit of Quantum Leap Innovations Inc. says it has developed a breakthrough computer anti-virus device for real-time data networks. A new anti-virus chip, which is broadly protected by international patents, "identifies the presence of any virus within a data stream, either entering or exiting a computer, or traveling along a network in real-time." Company officials says the technology is a low-cost integrated circuit that in its first version is compatible with all DOS-based systems, adding Quantum will develop products for other operating systems, as demand develops. Anthony Warren, president of Quantum principal Technology Management & Funding, said Quantum's hardware-based product is fundamentally different from purely software-based anti-virus protection programs. He said the chip transparently protects against any program that behaves like a virus, whether it can identify the specific virus type or not. By contrast, he said, software-based anti-virus programs operate by consulting software libraries of known viruses that must be periodically updated, allowing for new and unknown viruses to potentially escape detection. The Quantum Leap chip sits between a receiving computer node and an incoming data stream, completely blocking the passage of virus contaminated data streams. The chip can also be embedded in PC's modems, network servers and interface cards." >> NEC Makes Re-Writable Optical Disk << A re-writable optical disc that can store some 4 gigabytes of data with a 12-centimeter compact disc size reportedly has been developed by Japan's NEC Corp. >> PCMCIA Modem Gets Status Lights << U.S. Robotics says it has added a DataView connector to its Sportster 28.8 PCMCIA modem. The DataView connector allows PCMCIA modem users to view the status of their data and fax connections using the same kind of status indicators available on external desktop modems. The DataView unit incorporates four LEDs that allow the constant monitoring of power, send, receive and online functions during a fax or data transfer. "The DataView connector greatly increases the ability to verify the progress of fax and data transfers in the portable computing environment," says Michael Seedman, vice president and general manager of U.S. Robotics' personal communications division. "DataView eliminates the uncertainty previously associated with remote modem connections. The ability to monitor the status of a connection helps insure remote users of the success of their fax and data transfers." The Sportster 28.8 PCMCIA with DataView is priced at $399. >> Justice Eyes Microsoft Web Plans << The U.S. Justice Department's antitrust investigation of Microsoft Corp. now reportedly has been extended to look into the software giant's plan to bundle software for navigating the Internet's World Wide Web. The federal agency for months has been investigating the publisher's plan to bundle access to its new Microsoft Network online service with its new Windows 95 operating system to be released Aug. 24. (Online competitors contend the tactic gives Microsoft an unfair advantage.) And, write G. Christian Hill and Jared Sandberg in The Wall Street Journal this week, "according to people familiar with the investigation, the agency is now concerned about a new development, a plan by Microsoft to bundle software with Windows 95 to access and browse the Web, a fast-growing network that may become the main forum for electronic commerce." Some suggest a Microsoft web browser could hurt the many start-up companies providing Internet access, the paper says. As noted, Microsoft announced 10 days ago it plans to bundle its Internet Explorer with a version of Windows 95 that will be installed by computer makers on new machines. "It won't be bundled, at least initially, with the standard Windows 95 version to be sold in stores directly to consumers," says the Journal, "but will be offered at retail in a version called Windows 95 Plus. Windows 95 will run other Internet browsers, but if it is already installed in new machines and is optimized to run on the new operating system, other Internet access providers will be at a significant competitive disadvantage." Reporters Hill and Sandberg comment, "Bundling the Web browser could provide a sort of imperfect end-run around any successful attempt by Justice to force Microsoft to unbundle access to MSN. All of the so-called 'content' slated for MSN might be best displayed using Microsoft's Web browser, providing consumers with an incentive to ignore other on-line providers and Internet access providers." A Microsoft spokeswoman told the paper her employer's online and operating-system competitors all are including free Web browsers in their products, and that Microsoft has the right to also offer a browser. But, says the Journal, "people familiar with the investigation indicated they may feel the browser issue provides the agency with more and new ammunition," adding, "The move shows that the issue of bundling products with Microsoft's dominant operating systems won't go away, and has to be dealt with one way or another." The paper, still citing people familiar with the investigation, said Justice Department lawyers spent part of last week "intently investigating" the potential impact of bundling the Internet access software. Frankie's Corner STR Feature Louis Cat Orze separate CD-ROM versions for Windows and Macintosh for ages 10 to adult approximate retail $30 IVI Publishing 7500 Flying Cloud Drive Minneapolis, MN 55344-3739 1-800-432-1332 Program Requirements IBM Macintosh CPU: 386-25 OS: Windows 3.1 Not available at "press time" RAM: 8 megs Hdisk: 1 meg Video: 640 by 480, 256 colors CD-ROM: Double-speed Misc: Mouse, sound card, speakers The Kids' Computing Corner by Frank Sereno "Louis Cat Orze" is probably the most unique educational title I have reviewed to date. The program is a historical mystery adventure based upon the disappearance of the Queen's Necklace from the Versailles palace of King Louis XIV. The player's mission is to find the missing jewelry and to arrest the thief. To solve the mystery, he must learn about the peoples and customs of the Sun King's court. The year is 1697 and the player only has six days to solve the crime. Each day, he may visit several locations to gather clues and to learn about late Seventeenth Century France. The King's cat, Louis Cat Orze, will serve as a guide and provide clues about palace intrigue. Even in the Seventeenth Century, visiting a royal palace is very expensive. The player must spend money to gain access to the various clues. He will be given a small stake to begin his quest but he must replenish his cash resources. The program provides three methods of earning money. First, the player can play the Palace Games. The Games are multiple-choice questions of three difficulty levels. The values of the correct answers are twenty-five, fifty and one hundred lives. Players do not lose money for incorrect answers. Another way to earn money is by correctly answering the Palace Challenge which is hidden within each scene. These multiple choice questions are based upon information which can be found in each scene. A player can choose to search the room to find clues rather than answer the question immediately. The final method for earning money is through good investigating. Each scene has a hidden hot spot which provides an instant cash reward when discovered. Be careful when clicking though, for some hot spots can land the player in the Bastille. The only escape is to answer four of five questions correctly. Failure leads to life in prison without parole and the end of the game. Each scene is filled with hot spots which link to a book of interesting facts and biographies of the royal family and many important courtiers. All the information must be carefully reviewed for clues to the crime of the missing necklace and for answers to later trivia questions. I found many facts to be quite interesting. I never knew that Versailles had no bathrooms! The game uses only five icons for gameplay. A question mark represents the Help feature of the game. The game is explained here. A volume slider allows the player to control the sound levels. The Save feature is available from within the Help section also. The G icon is the player's key to the Gallery, which includes the Palace Games, the Library, the Hall of Portraits and the Map Room. The last three choices offer the player many opportunities to learn about the history and culture of late Seventeenth Century Europe. The Fleur-De-Lis icon is used to exit a scene, or to end a conversation or text display. A portmanteau is a traveling bag. Clicking on this icon reveals the player's cash reserves. It also includes a notebook containing links to information about subjects from conversations which the player has overheard. The Q icon is for quitting the game. Players can choose to save their place in the game when exiting. As you can see, the interface is very simple, yet it has many excellent features. The program comes with a concise user manual which includes game hints and a troubleshooting guide. Technical assistance is available toll free. The graphics are simply beautiful. The scenes are like fine color illustrations from the finest children's books. All characters are shown in proper historical dress. The sound portion of "Louis Cat Orze" is excellent also. The voice characterizations are well-acted. The only voice with a French accent is that of the cat! Classical music of the period is used throughout the program and it is quite enchanting. Play value is difficult to rate on this program. If your child enjoys learning, he should enjoy "Louis Cat Orze." The program does include some humor, but most are in the form of puns or word games. This is a very cerebral piece of software. Educational value is very good. The program covers many details of life in Seventeenth Century France and presents these facts in a very entertaining way. The only problem is that this program will have limited appeal. Those who are interested in history or France will enjoy "Louis Cat Orze" very much. Bang for the Buck is very conditional. Before purchasing this program, one must be familiar with the tastes of the intended user. If the person does not enjoy mysteries or history, then the program may get little use. If the person can be persuaded to try it, he may find himself enjoying the game despite his prejudices against the subject matter because the presentation is excellent. Ratings Graphics ............ 9.5 Sound ............... 9.5 Interface ........... 9.0 Play Value .......... 8.0 Educational Value ... 9.0 Bang for the Buck ... 9.0 Average ............. 9.0 Muppet Reading & Phonics II dual format CD-ROM for Mac and Windows for ages 3 to 7 approximate retail $30 from American Education Publishing 150 E. Wilson Bridge Road Suite 145 Columbus, OH 43085 1-800-542-7833 Program Requirements: IBM Macintosh CPU: 386 CPU: Color Mac OS: Windows 3.1 OS: System 7 RAM: 4 megs RAM: 4 megs Video: 256-color VGA Video: 256 colors Hdisk: 1 meg Hdisk: 1 meg CD-ROM: Single speed CD-ROM: Single speed MISC: Mouse, sound card (optiinal) MISC: Mouse Kermit, Piggy, Rowlf and the rest of the Muppet gang are back once again to entertain and educate your child. This assortment of programs provides important lessons using tried-and-true teaching methods. Muppet Reading & Phonics II consists of three programs on a single CD-ROM. These are Sound Patterns, Sorting and Ordering, and Thinking Skills. Each program uses the same user-friendly interface and features many of our Muppet friends. The interface has five control buttons along the bottom of the screen. The Previous and Next buttons allows the child to move back and forth among the twenty exercises included with each program. The Contents button shows the list of contents. Clicking on the name of any exercise will start it immediately. The Show Answer button is self-explanatory. The Exit button will end the program. Each exercise is presented with an explanation written in a text box at the top of the screen. This text is read at the start of the exercise and will be repeated if it is clicked on. The problem to be solved is in a large window and the child must click on the answer or drag it to the proper location. Sound Patterns features the sounds of -at, -et, -ot, -ig, -up, -an and -en. Many exercises involve identifying an object and then clicking on the correct first letter or word. Sorting and Ordering presents twenty exercises involving the sorting of items by various criteria, recognizing patterns, ordering steps in a procedure, and ordering numerically and alphabetically. Thinking Skills teaches sorting items by group, associating certain places with certain items or activities, deductive reasoning and word association. Phonics II has good graphics. The Muppet characters are very appealing. The graphics seem better in some exercises than others. I am assuming that several artists were involved in each program. The animation's are much better than in earlier American Education Publishing programs. The sound portion of the program is disappointing. The vocals have excellent clarity, but music isn't used at all. Another disappointment is that none of the Muppet characters speak. This doesn't hurt the program's educational value, but it does diminish the fun of the program. The interface is very simple and elegant. It doesn't have a lot of the flourishes provided by other programs such as on-line parent guides or troubleshooting tips. The manual is only two pages long. These extras just don't seem necessary for Phonics II. Free technical assistance is available via a toll call. The programs could benefit from better positive encouragement to the user. The musical ditties used to signify correct responses are extremely understated and staid. These programs are fun. Jim Henson's Muppets seem to have a magical quality only rivaled by Mickey Mouse. Kids simply love these characters. The exercises are enjoyable and varied enough that they do not become boring. Unfortunately, some exercises are static in that the problems and answers are always the same and will not be challenging enough for more experienced children. Replay value will suffer over time. Educationally, this program set covers many concepts. The Sound Pattern program could benefit by featuring more sounds. The many thinking skills exercises are excellent. Also remember that American Education Publishing makes a fine line of Brighter Child workbooks that can be used to complement the computer programs. With a street price of $30, Muppet Reading and Phonics II is a very good buy. Flashier programs abound, but they won't be more effective as learning tools than Phonics II. Ratings Graphics ........... 8.0 Sounds ............. 6.5 Interface .......... 8.5 Play Value ......... 8.0 Educational Value .. 8.5 Bang for the Buck .. 8.5 Average ............ 8.0 ### Sanctuary Woods and NFL Team Up for Educational Software On July 24, Sanctuary Woods Multimedia, NFL Properties, Inc., and NFL Players Incorporated announced an agreement which will allow Sanctuary Woods to use NFL logos and player photos in educational software titles. The first title, NFL Math, is expected to ship this fall. Since sports produce so many statistics, it is natural to develop a math education program based on football. And since so many fathers love football, an NFL Math game will help develop their interest in their children's educational software. Parental involvement is one of the most important aspects for children's educational development. ### ACTIVISION'S MECHWARRIOR 2 WORLD WIDE WEB SITE DRAWS MORE THAN 37,000 VISITORS One of the First Web Sites Ever Launched to Promote a CD-ROM Game One of the first World Wide Web sites launched exclusively to promote the release of a CD-ROM game, Activision's MechWarrior 2 home page has had over 37,000 visitors and more than 700,000 hits since it premiered just one month ago. By logging onto http://www.activision.com, visitors can obtain the latest information about the highly anticipated 3-D action simulation game, which will explode onto retail shelves on July 24. More than 500,000 Mb of MechWarrior 2 screen shots and video clips have already been downloaded. Additionally, over 7000 people have entered an exclusive online contest to win an all-expense-paid trip to Las Vegas for four. Once a week, since June 19, two names have been randomly drawn from the entries received. The selected names are then eligible to compete in the final drawing which will be held on July 28. This innovative web promotion is part of Activision's $1.5 million marketing campaign to support the launch of MechWarrior 2. ### Paparazzi! Tales of Tinseltown Activision has released a new, fast-moving satirical comedy, "Paparazzi!" on two CD-ROMs. It is available for both IBM compatible and Macintosh computers. This program was developed by Museworthy, Inc., a privately held company in Addison, Texas and it is being distributed by Activision. "Paparazzi!" is a tongue-in-cheek simulation of the life of the Hollywood scandal-sheet photographer. Keen wits, a quick eye and a steady shutter finger are necessary to win at this game. Hazards abound in the form of angry celebrities, false tips and more. So if you have thought of clicking pics of the stars, here's your chance to see if you have the hustle and savvy to be a true paparazzi. As always, I thank you for reading! >Delrina Updates! STR FOCUS! """"""""""""""""""""""""""" Delrina Unveils: Vision for PC Communications At Your CommandT Jack Snell, president of TinyTot Toys in Toronto, runs his business from his home - but you'd never know it. Right now he's sitting by his home computer, waiting for an important fax to come in from Hal, his sales guy in New York. Hal thinks he can get a columnist at the New York Times to run a review of TinyTot's latest product. Jack's anxious. He's working on a marketing report, but he's told his PC to let him know when Hal's call comes through. Meanwhile, a light on his screen is flashing. He clicks on the flashing icon and a list of his voice and e-mail messages comes onto the screen. Shoot. Seems like everyone but Hal is trying to get a hold of him today. He's set up his PC to answer the calls. When people call in, they hear the message: "Welcome to TinyTot Toys. If you'd like to leave a message for Jack Snell, press 'one' now. If you'd like to leave a message for our sales force, press 'two.' If you'd like more information about our products, press 'three,' and our automated attendant will take your fax number." Now the phone rings again and Jack sees a message on the screen. It's Brad calling from San Diego. Drat it. Brad's been bugging Jack to e-mail him an article from the Wall Street Journal that Jack told him about. "Doesn't he have anything better to do?" But it's a no-brainer for Jack, he simply clicks on his news feed to pick up the article and drops it into e-mail to send it off to Brad. Meanwhile, no word from Hal, and Jack decides to go for a short run to calm his nerves. Fifteen minutes later, he's heading back to his apartment and his pager goes off. The PC has just sent the notification that a fax from Hal has arrived. Jack runs back to the PC and sees the indicator light flashing again. Hal's message is music to Jack's ears: "All systems go! The New York Times loves us." Jack hunkers down to finish that marketing report so he can shoot it off to Hal. Welcome to the new age of personal computing. No matter who you are, where you are, or whatever you need to get done -- send a fax or an e-mail, program your phone to take messages, tour the Internet, talk to someone else's computer -- it's all possible from your PC. And the best part is, it's all so easy, even Brad in San Diego can do it. This bright new world comes to us courtesy of Delrina Corporation, which has designed a suite of software products -- called CommSuite 95 -- that pull all the popular elements of communications together in one place and get them working as a team. CommSuite 95 is built on a firm philosophy: "give people everything they want in communications, and bring it together in one package that's simple, easy to use, and lets people save money, too." "We're aiming at the person who's continually frustrated by current communications capabilities," says Delrina President Mark Skapinker. "The person who's continually asking, 'how do I get there?' 'why do other people find it so much easier than I do?" Overview People want to use their computers to communicate, but up until now, it's been so difficult. Imagine what our lives would be like if, in order to chat to another person over the phone, we had to know how to install our own phone lines, and then how to configure our local connections to talk properly to the hundreds of computerized exchanges across the city, and the hundreds of thousands around the world. Well, until just recently, that's pretty much what PC communication was like. If you walked into a computer store and said you wanted to get your computer to talk to another computer, or to a fax machine or a telephone, often the salesperson would sell you a few pieces of software and then courteously point you toward the book section. There you'd find a library full of thick, mind-numbingly technical tomes revealing the secrets of jumpers and switch settings and ports and addresses. Sure. Technically, you could get your PC talking, but the whole exercise was equivalent to studying to become an electrical engineer. It wasn't fast, it wasn't efficient, and it sure as heck wasn't easy. But the world is changing and Delrina is leading that change. Microsoft Corporation has designed a much-anticipated new operating system, Windows 95, that promises to create another explosion in the mass consumer market for PCs by making computers more friendly and accessible. "Now Delrina can do what it's been wanting to do for a long time," explains Mark Skapinker, "That is, provide people with software that makes communications simple to do." Delrina has designed programs that work in complement with Windows 95 and maximize all its best features. An operating system is literally the guts of a computer. It's the software base that works with all the other programs you use on your machine, plus all the peripheral devices you plug in -- like modems and CD-ROM drives. Microsoft has put new technology called "Plug-and-Play" into the Windows 95 operating system that promises to erase the traditional problems of getting all the pieces of hardware to talk to one another. Buy the program, plug it in, and you're up and running. Delrina, meanwhile, has incorporated that same plug-and-play technology into its CommSuite 95 product. But that's just the beginning. Once you're up and running, and you've got your PC talking to your modem and your modem talking to the wide world, there's one other big question: Now what? That's where Delrina really adds value. In designing all the CommSuite 95 products, Mark Skapinker says Delrina's people kept one thought in mind, "How can we improve on what Microsoft is doing? It's not a question of throwing more software at the marketplace, but helping people find out what to do with the stuff once they've got it." Delrina's Vision: "PC Communications at Your Command" According to Skapinker, the concepts of messaging and communications are often thought of as the same today, but those two terms are really very different. Skapinker says messaging is an important part of communications but communications as a whole means much more than just messaging. "PC communications is made up of two major components which include messaging and on-line/interactive," added Skapinker. "Delrina's vision is to deliver powerful yet simple PC communications, in essence, PC communications at your command," says Skapinker. "Delrina will achieve this vision by delivering high-quality solutions encompassing the four key elements of communications -- types, functionality, integration and intelligence." Skapinker explains, "Delrina will focus on all communication types including messaging types such as fax, e-mail, voice/telephony and paging as well as on-line/interactive such as the Internet and terminal applications like bulletin board systems." In terms of functionality, Skapinker sees people using each of these communication types in different ways. Yet each type has its own unique requirements in terms of functionality. "Delrina's strength is to leverage its expertise in application development and end-user simplicity - to establish a balance between 'sophistication' such as an application's features, capabilities and power, and 'simplicity' like usability and ease-of-learning," says Skapinker. "To achieve powerful PC communications, we must address the last two elements: integration and intelligence," adds Skapinker. "For integration, Delrina will provide users the ability to share and access common elements between the different messaging types like fax, e-mail, voice, and paging. And finally, Delrina will deliver capabilities for people to automate certain tasks using the computer rather than having to do each task themselves -- this is the intelligence element," says Skapinker. When you bring these key elements together -- types, functionality, integration, and intelligence -- all in one package, all from one vendor, you have the formula for very powerful yet simple PC communications, according to Skapinker. At ten million copies sold, and with 70 per cent of the fax communications software market in the U.S., WinFax is the best-selling communications package of all time. Now Delrina has a new version, WinFax PRO 7.0, which not only lets you send out messages, it lets you send e-mail, or lets your PC send a message to your pager when a fax has arrived You can also use WinFax PRO 7.0 to get your telephone talking to your PC. Functionality People haven't always had this freedom of choice, and Delrina recognizes that. "There's a whole area of communications that hasn't been addressed because of this issue of whether one message-type, fax or e-mail, is going to take precedence over another," says Mark Skapinker. "We don't think any one message type is going to dominate over the others. So, Delrina's focusing on bringing all the types together and getting them working in a seamless fashion." Integration Marc Camm, General Manager of Desktop Communications at Delrina, says Delrina's integrated approach makes PC communications mirror what people actually do in their everyday lives. "What do people do when they come back from lunch? They check their voice messages, they check their e-mail, and then they may go on-line to see if they missed anything on the news wires," says Camm. "That's real world, today." It's cumbersome and time-consuming having to go to separate machines to do all these things. But CommSuite means it all becomes much simpler. Now when you want to send a message, you can send it out to one person as an e-mail, another person as a fax, and third person as message to his beeper, all your PC. Intelligence Picture this. You're working at home, and you're expecting a call from your boss, but you've got to skip out for a last-minute client call. No problem. Your PC answers your calls with the message that you've gone off to visit a client. And meanwhile, you've given the PC caller-I.D. functions, so, your boss hears a message that you've left specifically for him: "I've gone out to see Mr. Mercer. Please call me in his office." Nifty, isn't it? Back at your computer, if you want to know right away when your boss calls, you type in his caller I.D. so the PC will tell you when he calls. The phone rings, and a message comes up on the screen telling you it's Mr. Smith calling. If you have a voice modem, in future versions of WinFax you'll actually hear a voice saying, "Bob, pick up the phone, it's Mr. Smith calling." Or, picture this. You're running your own desktop publishing business from your home. You're writing up a brochure for a client and you've got a tight deadline to meet, so you don't want to be disturbed by the phone. You've set up your PC to take the calls. When the phone rings, an automated attendant comes on, saying "Welcome to Perle Publishing. If you'd like to leave a message for Winnie Perle, press 'one' now. If you'd like a free catalogue of our services, press 'two' and we'll take your fax number." The PC takes the message and an indicator flashes on your screen, letting you know there's a message waiting. Meanwhile, the automated attendant has taken the customer's fax number and your PC is now faxing out that catalogue - that's called fax on demand, and the new features built into WinFax make it all possible. WinFax PRO 7.0 comes with other new features, including compression technology. Compression squeezes a file into smaller bits, so it travels faster over the phone line. The benefit to you? It takes less time to send your fax out, and when you're sending faxes long-distance, costs matter. Delrina is working with the telephone companies to let WinFax users do broadcast faxing. Let's say you've got a fax that has to go to 500 different people. Just send the fax normally, once, to an assigned number, along with the numbers of all the people you need the fax to go to. The rest is taken care of. You'll get confirmation that the faxes have been sent, and you'll save money, too, because the faxes will be sent in parallel, instead of one at a time. WinFax PRO 7.0 features an intelligent scanner that lets you scan in those loose pieces of paper. "It's even smarter than a fax machine," says Albert Behr, Senior Director of Marketing Desktop Communications at Delrina. "I take a piece of paper, and I literally drop it in. The scanner turns itself on, it scans automatically, and it asks me what I want to do with the image: fax it, store it, edit it." WinFax is simple to do because Delrina takes maximum advantage of the Windows 95 features, things like Object Linking and Embedding (OLE 2.0) -- a tool that allows in-place activation. Here's one way in-place activation is applied: Let's say you're working in WinFax and you receive a file in Microsoft Word. You only have to click on that file and you can read it and work with it in Word without leaving WinFax. Tools like plug-and-play and drag-and-drop make the software easy to use from the outset. Get the software, plug it in, and you're up and running. Using the software is as simple as dragging icons from one area of the screen and dropping them onto another. That's good news, because it means that with Delrina CommSuite, you can cruise Cyberspace without being a rocket scientist. Cyberjack, Delrina's own program, built from scratch, hooks you onto the Internet as easily as plugging in a phone jack. Cyberjack gives you everything you need to take advantage of all there is to offer on the Internet - without having to study a library full of books to get there. No more Internet for Dummies. There's a reason why Internet for Dummies is so popular, says Mike Brookbank, Delrina's Internet Product Manager. "One of the principal problems with people using the Internet is that when they finally get there, it's like, 'Okay, I'm on. But what do I do?" Hooking onto the Net is like walking into the world's largest library and finding no card catalogue, no index, no order. "It's a library where the books aren't even on shelves," he says. "They're just tossed around in piles that are scattered around at a million different sites." In short, it's a mess, borne of the fact that no one person or group is building the Internet. More data gets added to it every day, and it's all just more stuff thrown onto the pile. On-line and Interactive So, Delrina has designed the Guidebook, a quick and easy travel guide to Cyberspace. You can change your Guidebook as often as you like by downloading another version from Delrina's file server. "The Guidebook is a pre-delivered collection of cool and interesting places on the Net, and the user just has to point and click," says Brookbank. So, if you're interested in art, you click on the art section in the Guidebook and you'll see a choice of places to go -- maybe the Louvre in Paris, or the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Popular places like these now have what are called Web Pages -- files of information thrown into what's known as the World Wide Web, the portion of the Internet that's captured the attention of the popular press. But the Guidebook is more than just Web browsing. It's best described in Star Trek terms: You know how, when Captain Kirk says, "Beam me up, Scotty," and suddenly he's no longer out fighting the Klingons, but back in his ship? Well, that same idea has been built into Cyberjack. You click on an icon in the Guidebook, and it might take you to a Web site, but it might also take you off the Web to an FTP site to retrieve a file, or a news group or perform a search by asking you a couple of questions. "It's like morphing," says Brookbank. "You click on an icon and suddenly you're doing something else." That's a hot new innovation. "Ordinarily, when you're on the Web, you can only go to another Web site," Brookbank explains. "If you click on something else, the software would do its best to show you what's there, but it would only be an approximation. In our application , we give all the tools you need, so when you click on a link to an FTP site, it actually takes you there." That's in-place activation, and it's a key benefit of Cyberjack that Brookbank says Delrina has "used to the max." Cyberjack is also integrated with Microsoft's e-mail clieet, Exchange. So, if you're scanning a news file on the Internet, and you want to send a message out at the same time, you can do that right from where you are. You don't have to quit the Internet and open up the e-mail function. "You need that integration," says Brookbank. "It's something that has been very poorly done in the past, and it's something we do very well." Other Internet packages don't offer this level of integration, they don't give people access to everything on the Net, and they don't offer this same ability to cruise around in it live. Nor do other services offer a quick and easy way of transferring files from the Internet onto your desktop. In Cyberjack, transferring files is simple and easy. Let's say you've found the FTP site where Sotheby's keeps its catalogue of upcoming items for auction. You want to keep that catalogue. Simply drag the file name onto your desktop and the file is saved there as an icon. But it's not just a text file, it's a live connection back onto the Net. "The object contains all the information necessary to make the connection," explains Brookbank. "I click on it and it makes the phone calls, it makes the connection to the proper machine, and, there you are." And the best part of Cyberjack is that now you can share the Internet, live, with someone else. "There are some very cool things on the Internet that people are unaware of," says Albert Behr, "and one of them is Internet Relay Chat," or IRC. Delrina incorporates this tool in the Cyberback package, and strips away the complexity of it, so now, with a click of the mouse, you can send messages back and forth to other people on the Internet, live. Soon IRC will include a voice option, so you can get on the Net in New York and link up with your buddy at the Moscow University and actually talk to him (if you both have voice-modems) "and guess what?" says Behr, "You're not paying any long-distance charges." If you want to hook into an on-line bulletin board service or even get your PC talking to another PC, WinComm PRO 7.0 will let you do it simply. WinComm PRO offers a quick and easy way to get to on-line bulletin board services. Plug in the disk, make a few clicks with the mouse, and you're on-line. Imagine this scenario. Jane Smiley is a housewife who works from her home in Toronto as president of the local chapter of an international agency that wants cities to clean up toxic waste. She uses WinComm PRO 7.0 to get to an on-line forum where she can share her experience with other like-minded people. This sort of thing has been possible before, but with one big drawback -- there was no live dimension to it. The files you downloaded were just words on a screen. But with WinComm PRO 7.0, those icons on the screen behave like live objects, not just text. This is another example of that tool called in-place activation. Click on one of the icons and it brings you right back on-line. "It's like a short-cut to get back on-line," says Ashley Desatlik, program manager for WinComm. "Instead of having to go into WinComm, open up the program, open up the session you want and click on that, you just click once and you're in. And WinComm makes it easy for you to share the experience of being on-line, says Desatlik. "You can download a file and send off an e-mail to your friend and say, 'Hey, Fred, check this out'." And WinComm also comes with virus detection that's activated with a simple click of the mouse. With other on-line packages virus detection means quitting your application, opening up another program called PKUNZIP, and going through a bunch of complicated commands that unzip the file, then running another piece of software to check for any viruses WinComm PRO 7.0 not only lets you detect viruses on the fly, but it comes with an Image Manager that lets you download complicated graphics from a bulletin board service and watch the image unfold right on your screen as it's being retrieved. Delrina is operating on a higher level than other PC software developers. "Asking what it is that people really want to do with their PCs, and creating a solid package that people would prefer to pay money for because they know it's going to be reliable, well-integrated, extremely capable and very simple to use. That's what we're focusing on. Nobody else is focusing on that," says Mark Skapinker. Adds Marc Camm, "Windows 95 is an excellent operating system. While Windows 95 has basic fax and Internet hook-up features, Delrina's vision takes these capabilities to a new level -- where they're integrated in a much more significant way. Every application has to be robust and able to stand alone. They have to be fully-functional. It can't be a grab-bag of stuff." "There are many exciting things coming down the line in the very near future," says Rich Goldher director of Delrina's Voice/Telephony Labs. "Right now, the two most important pieces of equipment a person uses are his PC and his phone. These two pieces of equipment are going to be merged into one. So, you'll no longer have a phone on your actual desktop, but the phone will be on your electronic desktop. And the phone will no longer be a dumb instrument, but will have all the functionality of your computer." Imagine this. Your PC is in your office in Toronto. A customer from San Diego calls in with an urgent matter that needs attention. Meanwhile, you're away on business in New York. Your computer calls you in New York to say that Mr. Walters from San Diego is calling, and that he's holding for you on the other line. You accept the call, and the computer patches Mr. Walters through to you. That future isn't so far off as you might think. "In the future, your fax, your phone, even your computer - these will no longer be separate pieces of equipment, but their function will be built right into your PC. So you, the user, will be removed from the burden of having to think about what type of message you're sending or receiving, and by what method, " says Marc Camm. "Our business is creating the best communications software and developing an environment for people to be productive," says Mark Skapinker. "So, however the different pieces of hardware converge, Delrina will be there creating applications to make them work together simply. Our vision is that you'll always be able to walk into a computer store, buy a PC, some additional software, and then buy the latest version of Delrina's CommSuite software for all your communications needs." >WebEdit 1.1 STR Spotlight WebEdit Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) This documented is intended to answer the most frequently asked questions about WebEdit. If you have questions not answered in this document, please send your administrative questions to our feedback department and technical questions to technical support. Technical support is only available to registered users. The following questions are answered in this document: What is WebEdit? What's New in Version 1.1? How Can I Register My Copy? What is the Most Current Version? Where Can I Get WebEdit? What is HTML? What Web Browsers are Available for Windows? What Other HTML Editors are Available for Windows? How Can I Test My HTML Code? Where Can I Learn More About the World Wide Web? What is WebEdit? WebEdit is a Windows-based text editor specifically designed to ease the editing of hypertext markup language (HTML) documents. WebEdit strives to be the best Windows-based HTML editor available. Specifically, we have tried to include support for every feature of every version of the HTML specification, from HTML version 1 through the current draft specification for HTML version 3 (aka HTML+), including optional features and special non-standard extensions supported by browsers such as NetScape. Note: HTML 3 is a moving target. However, as the standard evolves, we will release minor upgrades to WebEdit that support the current syntax. Additionally, you can add any elements you like with WebEdit's User-Defined Tags dialog. Moreover, WebEdit tries to make all of these features available in a consistent, well-organized fashion, with a minimum number of keystrokes, allowing you to create HTML documents as rapidly as possible. The current version of WebEdit offers the following features: MDI - WebEdit's rich, multiple-document interface (MDI) lets you work on up to ten different HTML documents simultaneously. WebEdit uses a very consistent, very "Windows-like" interface, with standard menus, toolbars, tooltips, status bars, etc. HTML Dialogs - WebEdit has specially designed dialog boxes for defining anchors and links, inline images and figures, forms, tables, etc., including a URL Builder for rapid creation of Uniform Resource Locators. Additionally, WebEdit saves every URL you enter, letting you choose from a list rather than retyping the same URLs over and over. Browser Support - Whatever Windows-based browser you use, you can link it into WebEdit to test your HTML documents at the click of a button. Document Structure Elements - Document structure tags such as , , , <BODY>, etc. are all supported, including HTML 3 and Netscape-specific attributes. Block Formatting Elements - WebEdit supports all HTML block formatting tags, such as <ADDRESS>, <BLOCKQUOTE>, and <PRE>, plus HTML 3 extensions such as <NOTE> and NetScape-specific extensions such as <CENTER>. Logical Font Formatting Elements - Every logical formatting tag and attribute from HTLM version 1 through HTLM version 3 is included, from standard tags such as code and citation, to new proposed tags such as person, acronym, etc. Physical Font Formatting Elements - Blinking text, bold, italics, underlining, typewriter text, emphasis, strong emphasis, font sizing, etc. It's all in here. List and Miscellaneous Elements - Select a block of text and choose Numbered List or Un-numbered List, and WebEdit automatically inserts list-item tags on each line. WebEdit also includes all standard insertion tags such as <P>, <HR>, <BR>, etc. Special Characters - WebEdit includes support for the entire ISO Latin character set, allowing you to easily insert extended ANSI characters into your documents. WebEdit also includes support for special characters such as "<", ">", "&", non-breaking spaces, and more. Form Elements - Create web forms quickly and easily with WebEdit's built-in Form support. Table Elements - HTML 3 defines a new syntax for displaying tabular information. NetScape now supports this syntax and even extends it. WebEdit supports both the HTML 3 and extended NetScape syntax. To simplify the creation of HTML tables, WebEdit also includes a WYSIWYG table builder; you simply enter your data in a spreadsheet-style grid, and WebEdit writes the HTML for you. User-Defined Elements - If there are any HTML tags or other text you enter regularly that are not already built-into WebEdit, you can add them to WebEdit's User-Defined Tags dialog box for easy insertion into your documents. You can even add filenames into the dialog box for larger "insertion macros". Selecting a filename in the User-Defined Tags dialog tells WebEdit to insert the contents of the file into the current document. Non-standard tags and attributes - WebEdit includes support for non-standard tags and attributes, such as those recognized by NetScape (font sizing, special image alignment, etc.) and those in the HTML version 3 draft (tables, background images, etc.). These tags and attributes are ignored by most browsers, but are included in WebEdit in case you need them. HTML Removal - WebEdit lets you quickly and easily remove HTML tags from any document or portion of a document. Simply highlight the text from which to remove HTML tags, and click the Remove HTML Tags button. Spell Checker - Correct the spelling of your documents directly within WebEdit using our new built-in spell checker. Shortcut Keys - We have provided shortcut keys (e.g., Ctrl-B for Boldface) for all of the most common tags, allowing you to enter HTML codes in your documents as quickly as possible. Floating Toolbars - If you prefer to use a mouse to enter HTML codes, WebEdit 1.1 provides floating toolbars for every class of HTML elements (e.g., table elements, block formatting elements, etc.), and a special floating toolbar that has buttons for the most commonly used HTML elements. Tooltips - Every field on every dialog has popup tooltips that provide a brief explanation of the purpose or use of the field, reducing the amount of time you will spend looking things up. Right-Click Menu - Right-clicking on any document pops up a menu that allows you to close or save the file, or choose from a list of the ten most common HTML tags to insert in your document. Is WebEdit Free? WebEdit is shareware. This means it is not free. You may download WebEdit and evaluate it freely for up to 30-days. If you continue using WebEdit after the 30-day evaluation period, you are required to register it and pay the registration fee. For commercial and government use, the cost of registration is US$99.95. For educators, students, home users and not-for-profit organizations, we offer a discounted registration fee of US$49.95. By registering your copy of WebEdit, you will receive several benefits. We have worked very hard to bring you what we feel is a world-class HTML editor. Without your support, we cannot continue to enhance WebEdit. Please make sure you register your copy of WebEdit if you plan to continue using it. What's New in Version 1.1? WebEdit version 1.1 has all of the features of WebEdit 1.0, plus: All the rest of HTML 3 WYSIWYG Table Builder Spell checker Floating toolbars Tooltips on all toolbar buttons and dialog box fields New enhanced right-click popup menu Many editing enhancements In addition, WebEdit 1.1 has been rigorously beta tested to ensure that it is completely stable under Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT and Windows 95. How Can I Register My Copy? You can register by telephone, fax or post at the following address: KnowledgeWorks, Inc. 2251 San Diego Avenue, Suite A-141 San Diego, CA 92110 USA Phone: (619) 220-8026 Fax: (619) 220-8324 Do not call KnowledgeWorks for technical support unless you are a registered user. The cost of registration is US$99.95 per license for standard commercial and government users. If you are a student, a school, a home user or a not-for-profit organization, you may register for a discounted fee of $49.95. You may pay your registration fee by check or money order (US funds only please), or by Visa or MasterCard. Please call us for information about site-licensing discounts. What Benefits Does Registration Offer? Registration offers the following benefits: Access to WebEdit's advanced features, including: Spell-checker WYSIWYG table builder Floating toolbars No more nag screen (this screen does not appear until after the 30-day evaluation period) A complete Help file, including HTML tutorial and reference Free online technical support Automatic notification of product upgrades Free minor version upgrades Discounts on major version upgrades Most importantly, your WebEdit registrations are what allow us to continue upgrading the product. Developing this product takes time and money and we cannot do it without your support. What is the Most Current Version? The most current version of WebEdit is 1.1. You can download the current version of WebEdit here. By registering WebEdit, you can help ensure the release of WebEdit version 2.0, which should include the following enhancements: Large Documents - One of the most important features we plan to add to version 2.0 is the ability to edit HTML documents larger than 32K. Long Filenames - Because version 2.0 will be a 32-bit Windows 95/Windows NT program, it will include support for Windows 95 features such as long filenames (e.g., MyVeryOwnHomePage.HTML). Import/Export - Rich Text Format (RTF) import and export, plus a document template for Microsoft Word for Windows will provide an easy way to convert your HTML documents to word processing documents or Help files, or turn your Word documents into HTML pages. Multi-level Undo - Multi-level undo will allow you to correct those accidental insertions and deletions. Document Wizards - WebEdit 2.0 will include Wizards to help you create complex document sections such as forms and tables even faster. Document Templates - Create your own boilerplate documents for a fill-in-the-blanks approach to HTML document creation. Your Suggestions - Are there any features or shortcuts you'd like us to add to WebEdit? Let us know about them so we can continue to make WebEdit the easiest, most powerful HTML editor available. Where Else Can I Get WebEdit? In addition to the web site shown above, you can also get WebEdit by anonymous ftp at ftp://ftp.thegroup.net/ in the directory /WebEdit. If you are in Europe, WebEdit is available by anonymous ftp at ftp.demon.co.uk in the directory /pub/ibmpc/windows/webedit. Other WebEdit locations will be listed here as they become available. What is HTML? HTML, hypertext markup language, is a relatively standardized hypertext page description language, primarily used for creating hypertext pages for the World Wide Web (WWW). Before you begin using WebEdit, you should have an understanding of HTML fundamentals. If you already know the basics, you will find that using WebEdit will help you learn HTML more thoroughly because it does much of the work for you, letting you choose HTML tags from menus and toolbars, and offering the attributes appropriate to each tag in dialog boxes. Here are some useful places to learn more about HTML: Introductory Documents A Beginner's Guide to HTML How to Write HTML Files Introduction to HTML Style Guides Composing Good HTML CERN's style guide for online hypertext Reference Documents The HTML Quick Reference Guide The Official HTML Specification A Description of SGML Mosaic for X 2.0 Fill-Out Form Support NetScape Extensions to HTML What Other HTML Editors are Available for Windows? Our goal is to help you create the best HTML documents as easily as possible. In addition to writing the best possible program we can, that also means making it easy for you to find other HTML editors so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. We invite you to evaluate the other commercial and shareware Windows HTML editors. We think you'll find that WebEdit compares favorably. The following sites offer independent reviews of the various Windows HTML editors: http://www.interaccess.com/users/cdavis/edit_rev.html http://gfecnet.gmi.edu/Software/softhtm.html http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~neuroses/html.html http://www.kosone.com/people/nelsonl/review.htm If you know of an editor that you think is better than WebEdit, we would like to hear about it. Please send us email with the name of the editor, where we can find it, and why you prefer it over WebEdit. How Can I Test My HTML Code? There are several HTML validation services on the Web. These can not only help you spot problems in your documents, but they can also help you learn to write better HTML documents. Here are a few we have seen: WebLint HAL Software Systems HTML Validation Service Where Can I Learn More About the World Wide Web? For those of you who would like to learn more about the Internet and the World Wide Web, including how it works and what resources are available, we strongly recommend the following books: The Internet Complete Reference The Internet Complete Reference is one of the most comprehensive and fun-to-read books ever written about the Internet. This book provides thorough and clear explanations of the Net and its various resources, including Usenet, mail, the world wide web, gopher, telnet, wais, archie, etc. Author: Harley Hahn Publisher: Osborne McGraw-Hill ISBN #: 0-07-881980-6 Price: US$29.95 The Internet Yellow Pages If there is a "roadmap" for the Internet, this is it. The Internet Yellow Pages, Second Edition is indispensable when it comes to finding and accessing what's on the Net. This book contains well over 5,000 entries. We strongly encourage everyone who uses the Internet, from beginner to advanced user, to pick up a copy of this book. Authors: Harley Hahn and Rick Stout Publisher: Osborne McGraw-Hill ISBN #: 0-07-882098-7 Price: US$29.95 Most recent revision: July 27, 1995 Copyright c 1995, Nesbitt Software All Rights Reserved Kenn Nesbitt's WebEdit 1.1 HTML Editor for Windows Nesbitt Software introduces a powerful new upgrade to the most complete Windows-based editor for World Wide Web hypertext documents. Nesbitt Software announces the availability of Kenn Nesbitt's WebEdit 1.1, a Microsoft Windows-based hypertext markup language (HTML) editor designed for rapid creation and easy maintenance of World Wide Web (WWW) documents. Created by internationally recognized Windows and Internet expert Kenn Nesbitt, WebEdit 1.0 was widely acclaimed as the best HTML editor available for the Windows platform. According to Harley Hahn, co-author of the number one best-selling computer book The Internet Yellow Pages and author of The Internet Complete Reference, "WebEdit is the program against which all other hypertext editors should be measured. I love WebEdit. Like all great tools, it helps me do what I want without getting in my way." WebEdit's clean, well-organized interface makes it the perfect tool for HTML beginners. And unlike other HTML editors, WebEdit does not skimp on power or flexibility. Designed for use by HTML experts, WebEdit 1.1 provides support for every feature of HTML, including HTML levels 1, 2 and 3, and even special language extensions such as those recognized by the Netscape Web browser. WebEdit 1.1 provides complete support the draft specification for HTML 3. According to Rick Stout, co-author of The Internet Yellow Pages and author of the forthcoming World Wide Web Complete Reference, "WebEdit is an exciting new editor that allows you to work in an organized, uncluttered environment. Of the many Web authoring tools I have looked at, WebEdit is the most compliant with the HTML 3 specification." Among it's many new features are support for HTML 3 inline figures, mathematical formulae, tabs, banners, admonishments, and more. WebEdit's powerful URL builder helps you construct uniform resource locators for hypertext links to Internet resources, and a new WYSIWYG table builder creates HTML 3 tables for you; simply enter your data into a spreadsheet-style grid, and let WebEdit write the HTML code. Using WebEdit's Custom Tags dialog, you can define your own tags to quickly enter often-repeated sections of text. Floating toolbars provide single-click support for every tag in HTML. With new "Easy Links" and "Easy Images" windows, you can drag-and-drop inline images and hypertext links right into your documents. And WebEdit's new built-in spelling checker helps you make your pages letter perfect. WebEdit 1.1 is published by KnowledgeWorks, Inc. as shareware and can be downloaded from http://wwwnt.thegroup.net/webedit/webedit.htm for a free 30 day evaluation. The registration fee is US$99.95 for business use, and US$49.95 for educational users, home users, and not-for-profit organizations. WebEdit is a trademark of Nesbitt Software. CONTACT: KnowledgeWorks, Inc. 2251 San Diego Ave., Suite A-141 San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 220-8026 (619) 220-8324 Fax Internet: webedit@thegroup.net CompuServe: 76100,57 >OS/2 WARP STR FOCUS! NEW! WARP COVERAGE!! By Mike Restivo Hello, and welcome to the beginning of IBM's OS/2 Warp coverage right here in Silicon Times Report. This column will not only contain news and reviews of OS/2 applications, but also hints and tips on how to get the most out of your OS/2 system. Since some people either think that OS/2 has no future or it's technically inferior to other operating systems, I'll try to stay away from those arguments and let the facts speak for themselves. If you're not familiar with OS/2 Warp, take the next few minutes to read over these few questions to learn a little more about it. Ok, let's begin! What is OS/2 Warp? OS/2 Warp is IBM's award winning operating system aimed at a large variety of computer systems, including desktop PC's and client/server systems. OS/2 Warp is the third major release of OS/2. It is a powerful, 32-bit operating system which delivers what you need: Compatibility, performance, value, reliability, and ease-of-use. What do I get when I buy OS/2 Warp? Currently, there are two types of OS/2 available: OS/2 Warp and OS/2 Warp Connect. OS/2 Warp Connect is OS/2 Warp plus a complete connectivity solution, all in one box. OS/2 Warp Fullpack and Warp Connect Fullpack, versions with a Blue-spine box, include Win-OS/2 code, which provides compatibility with Windows programs; a Red-spine version does not include Win-OS/2 code, so it relies on existing Windows software to provide compatibility with Windows applications. All versions of OS/2 come with DOS compatibility. In addition to this, every copy of OS/2 Warp and Warp Connect comes with a BonusPak. This collection of software includes: Communication software: Internet Connection (a.k.a. Internet Access Kit or IAK), Compuserve Information Manager, and HyperAccess Lite Multimedia: Person 2 Person, Multimedia Viewer, and Video In IBM Works: Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Charting, Database, Report Writer, Personal Information Manager (PIM) FaxWorks System Information Tool As if this was not enough, OS/2 Warp Connect comes with TCP/IP for OS/2 and IBM's WebExplorer, plus additional software for your network. Of course, with every version of OS/2 Warp, you have the best support and customer service in the industry, courtesy of IBM. What kind of system do I need to run OS/2 Warp? IBM says OS/2 Warp will run on a 386-SX or higher computer with 4 Megabytes of RAM. While this is true, OS/2 runs a lot better with 8 MB of RAM. In addition, you need at least 55 MB of free hard disk space for OS/2 Warp (Red-spine, no Win-OS/2 code); closer to 75 MB for Warp Fullpack with Win-OS/2 code (Blue-spine); and at least 100 MB for Warp Connect. OS/2 Warp installs off either an almost countless number of floppy disks (3.5") or a CD. Other system requirements include VGA or better graphics support, an IBM-compatible mouse, and Multimedia-ready system for sound support. To use the communications software provided, make sure you have a 9600 baud or faster modem, and lots of extra hard disk space. (While the hard disk space is not required, you'll soon find yourself up at 3 a.m. downloading megabytes of files while reading Usenet newsgroups.) Ok, cut to the chase: Is OS/2 for me? OS/2 Warp will let you run virtually all your DOS and Windows programs, but that's only half the fun. OS/2 Warp also will run any of the thousands of native OS/2 programs. While they may not be as easy to find as your generic DOS/Windows application, when you find a good one, the advantages of OS/2 are clear. Microsoft, and a large number of developers for Windows, are moving away from Windows 3.x programs and toward the Win32 platform. (Both Windows 95 and Windows NT run Win32 applications.) The problem is that there are few Win32 programs out there, but lots on the horizon. While you can compare the technical aspects of operating systems until the cows come home, the choice really boils down to software. Is there any immediate need to upgrade all your programs to their next versions? Do you want to continue to use the same programs you have, but updated for a new operating system? If so, Windows 95 will probably be your best choice. If you're not so sure about upgrading your software, but you do want to take advantage of the cutting-edge features in current operating systems, take a good long look at OS/2. More and more companies are starting simultaneous development of Win32 and OS/2 versions of their software; combine this with OS/2's already large selection of software, and when you finally decide to upgrade your programs, chances are there will be an OS/2 program that will fit the bill. A Round of Applause... ...as OS/2 Warp wins yet another award. OS/2 WARP NUMBER ONE IN USER SATISFACTION The July 1995 special issue of PC Magazine names OS/2 Warp as the number one operating system for user satisfaction in their annual Reader Support and Satisfaction Survey. OS/2 Tip Of The Week If you are familiar with OS/2's Drag 'n' Drop mouse/keyboard combinations, add the line SET MENUSTYLE = SHORT to your config.sys file. When you right-click on any object, the list of menu choices does not include the Copy, Create Another, Create Shadow, Move, Delete, and other options. Conversely, if you are a novice to OS/2, or are not comfortable with using the mouse/keyboard combinations to work with objects, add SET MENUSTYLE = LONG to your config.sys file. (This is the default.) In the end, it's all a matter of personal preference, and OS/2 lets you configure the Workplace Shell to work for you. A first look at... OS/2 Essentials by Stardock Systems As the name implies, OS/2 Essentials contains a number of programs which no OS/2 user should be without. You get DirMaster, an advanced file manager; Screen Saver 2.0; Roids, an arcade game; Filebar, a Launchpad replacement; and File Graph/PM. All this for only around $24.95. Contact Stardock Systems at (313) 453-0328; fax: (313) 453-1480; email: wardell@ibm.com; or WWW: http://oeonline.com/~stardock That's all for now. There will be lots more to come in the future, including in-depth reviews and previews of OS/2 software. Please direct any feedback to either our editor or, directly to me at the email address mike.restivo@streport.com 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 John Deegan, Editor (Temp) >USR NEWS! STR FOCUS! US Robotics ISDN MODEM NewsLines The I-Team is a subset of USR's Customer Support department that is dedicated to providing you assistance with all aspects of getting your I-modem up and running. The I-Team provides the following services: Determining the availability of ISDN service to your location. Determining installation and monthly service charges. Determining lead time for installation. Offering contact information for ISDN service providers. Making the above information publicly available. Coordinating with your ISDN service provider to make sure the line is set up correctly. Informing you of the correct I-modem settings for your ISDN line. Whom Should I Contact? For pre- and post-sales ISDN line ordering information, and technical support for a purchased I-modem, call the I-Team at (800) 550 7800 between 8 am and 6 pm Central Time or send Internet e-mail to support@usr.com. For I-modem literature, pricing, and availability information, call the USR sales department at (800) USR CORP. How Do I Get Detailed Information? The information presented in this document is publicly available by the following means: USR Fax-on-Demand 800 762-6163 USR BBS 708 982-5092 World-Wide Web http://www.usr.com ISDN Ordering Information for the I-modem. ISDN Service Provider Information Ameritech Bell Atlantic Cincinnati Bell GTE NYNEX Pacific Bell Rochester Tel Southern Bell Southern New England Telephone (SNET) Southwestern Bell Stentor (Canada) US West I-modem Requirements USR I-Team This document is intended to help you order your ISDN lines appropriately for the I-modem. This document lists all the requirements for the I-modem that your ISDN service provider should observe when setting up your ISDN line. Physical Interface ISDN Direct BRI service 2B1Q line coding with the D channel used only for signaling Support for V.120/I.463 rate adaptation at 64kbps/56kbps or V.110/I.462 rate adaptation Line and Channel Configuration Line and channel configuration for the I-modem with Integrated NT-1 and analog device jack: Minimum - 2 B channels: 1 that supports circuit switched voice and data (CSV/D) call types and 1 that supports circuit switched voice (CSV) call types. (NIIG Line set 12.) Recommended - 2 B channels, both supporting circuit switched voice and data (CSV/D) call types. (NIIG Line set 17.) Line and channel configuration for I-modems without an analog device jack: Minimum - 1 B channel that supports circuit switched voice and data (CSV/D) call types. (NIIG Line set 4.) Recommended - 2 B channels, both supporting circuit switched voice and data (CSV/D) call types. (NIIG Line set 17.) General Requirements Multipoint Attachment / Data line option (MP) Automatic/Dynamic TEI assignments No EKTS or CACH EKTS services No B or D channel packetized (X.25) data An RJ45/RJ61X or RJ11 connector Terminal Type A No additional / multiple call appearances No flexible calling features or buttons for voice such as Automatic callback, Call forwarding / hold / conferencing / pickup, CNI / Caller ID, or Multiline hunt groups. Provide This Information to Your ISDN Service Provider Name, address, and current telephone number Billing address (if different than above) Installation address (if different than above) Major intersection near the installation site Indicate whether it's a business or residential ISDN installation Preferred long distance carrier Whether you'd like listed or unlisted ISDN Directory numbers Whether any inside wiring is required ISDN physical information, line configuration, and general requirements (from the top of this page). Get This Information from Your ISDN Service Provider 1 Directory number (DN) per B channel 1 Service profile identifier (SPID) per B channel CO switch type and call control protocol, either National ISDN-1: AT&T 5ESS Standard, Northern Telecom DMS-100 "Standard" (PVC 2), Siemens EWDS Standard, or other NI-1 OR Custom: AT&T 5ESS "Custom" or Northern Telecom DMS-100 "Custom" PVC 0) OR National ISDN-2 Cost for installation which would include initial service order, connection charge, and/or premise visit charge, wiring charge etc. Monthly cost for local and long distance usage (tariff) and Installation date and circuit number. ATARI/JAG SECTION Dana Jacobson, Editor > From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" """""""""""""""""""""""""""" We have a lot of news and information for you this week. It's seems, lately, that I've either been at a loss for words (really unusual!), or running out of time late in the week to really fulfill my editorial responsibilities to put forth my opinions in this space. Well, another week has swept past and I find myself in another similar situation! It's been hectic here again - it seems like time is something that's not always something any of us has a surplus these days. Let me just say that interesting news is included this week. Missionware Software had a successful launch of its latest version of Flash II - Version 3.00. Check out the information about this new upgrade. You're going to want to upgrade, or buy the program outright! Some interesting tidbits from the Internet, as well. So, let's move forward and see what's happening this week. I promise I'll try and force myself to put some time aside and put some thoughts together to get you thinking. Until next time... Delphi's Atari Advantage!! TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (8/2/95) (1) MEMWATCH 4 *(6) CD_LIST UPDATE - JULY 1995 (2) EASY MONEY 1.0 (7) DIAMOND EDGE PATCH -> V2.03 (3) IN-TOUCH 1.52 (8) FLASH II 2.23 UPGRADE (4) MARIANT 1.0 *(9) ATARI COMMUNITY EMAIL LIST (5) HCOPY 1.6S *(10) OCR V.1.4 (MAY, 1995) * = 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 11.30 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE (Current issue: AEO: VOLUME 4, ISSUE 5) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Look for the above files in the RECENT ARRIVALS database. >Flash II, Version 3.00! STR InfoFile! - Version 3.00 Now Shipping! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" =========================== FLASH II ============================ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Now shipping version 3.00! <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< """""""""""""""""""""""""" FROM: MISSIONWARE SOFTWARE 354 N. Winston Drive Palatine, Illinois 60067-4132 United States of America phone 708-359-9565 Missionware Software is pleased to announce the release of version 3.00 of Flash II. This is our seventh update and is our all-new multitasking version! Flash II originally went up for sale in April of 1992. Version 3.00 adds a number of new features, as highlighted below. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Flash II is the update to the most popular Atari ST telecommunications program ever! It's available exclusively from Missionware Software and at an affordable price! Flash II is completely rewritten by Paul Nicholls of Clayfield, Australia. It's easy and fast to use for the telecommunications beginner or pro! What's so new and good about Flash II version 3.0? The following list highlights a few of the many changes that will make your on line time even better: * Flash II is now fully multitasking capable. The program easily multitasks under such operating systems as MultiTOS¿ (trademark of Atari Corporation) and Geneva¿ (trademark of Gribnif Software). * All elements of the program are now contained within GEM windows including both editors and the terminal. That means that Flash II can, by itself, do all file transfers in the background. * A new Auto Learn DO function is included that makes making logon and other navigation scripts easy and automatic. * A new menu structure is used in version 3.00 that confirms more rigidly to the official Atari standard. * Version 3.0 includes 2 editors! One editor is specifically designed to be used as a capture buffer (just like the old editor) while the other is designed to be used as a type ahead window or command window (or both). While these editor functions are dedicated to a specific use while online, you can use them as separate editors while off line for any text editing purpose you desire. * The Atari standard clipboard is now supported in 3.0 meaning that you can easily cut and paste text between both windows or between Flash II and other applications. * A new Edit menu replaces the old Block menu and includes all standard editing functions, such as Cut, Copy and Paste. * A new Window menu permits easy control over access to the windows. * Default transfer paths can now be saved! * Automatic saving of capture after logoff is now included. * A mini-BBS function is now included! * There are many more new features to Flash II version 3.0 too. Other features of Flash II include: * Fully Falcon030 compatible! * Enhanced DEC VT Terminal emulations including the ability to swap the functions of the Delete and Backspace keys for conformance to standard DEC terminals. * Enhanced ANSI terminal and graphics. Blinking characters are now supported in version 3.00. * Full support for all Atari serial ports on TT030 and MegaSTe as well as baud rates up to 153600. * Terminal mode now displays either the real time clock or a timer. * DO script files compatible with older versions of Flash! * All macros use the familiar Flash DO script format! * Easily setup the parameters for each BBS you call...this includes everything from ASCII upload/download options to baud rate! * You can program up to 20 individual and separate macros for each BBS plus an additional 10 global macros ! * Displays RLE & GIF pictures either on or off line! You can also save or load these pictures for later review! * Supports the following terminal types: TTY, VIDTEX, VT52, ANSI, VT100, VT101, VT102, VT200, VT300 & PRESTEL. * Includes full support for RTS/CTS. This mode can now be turned on and off by the user. * Includes Automatic Answer mode! * Includes Auto Boards mode - Preselect the board(s) you wish to dial and when Flash II is launched either manually from the desktop by you, or automatically by some other program launcher, Flash II will wakeup and dial the board(s) you've got selected. It will also wait for the proper time to dial these boards. * Supports the ST, IBM and DEC character sets, including IBM/ANSI graphics characters! * Supports the following upload/download protocols: ASCII, Xmodem, Ymodem, Ymodem-G, Zmodem, Modem7, WXmodem, CIS B, Kermit and SEAlink! And all of these protocols are built into the program...no external modules required!!! * Zmodem supports the selection of AutoStart and Streaming options. If you prefer to use an external Zmodem protocol with Flash II, you can now force Flash II's Zmodem autostart mode to off. For BBS' that don't support "streaming", this too can now be turned off. * Logs all on line time and calculates your approximate costs for you! * New version written in assembler! Fast! * Runs on all ST, STe, TT030 and Falcon computers! * Supports "Install Application". You can create a DO script that can be used to launch Flash II from the desktop and force it to dial up and go online for you, all automatically! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Missionware Software's upgrade policy remains the same for the new Version 3.00! We will continue to upgrade any old version of Flash! (copyright Antic Software) for just $35 US, plus $4 shipping and handling (US and Canada), $8 worldwide. Or, you can purchase Flash II, version 3.00 outright, for only $59.95 US plus the shipping and handling charges applicable to your area. You can also upgrade any old version of Flash II to our new version 3.00. We're offering an "Easy Budget" upgrade which includes a new program disk and a short 40+ page manual. This manual describes the new features found in 3.00. (Your old Flash II manual suffices for all other program information.) The cost of this upgrade is $15 plus $3 shipping and handling ($6 worldwide). For those of you that want or need our all-new, fully updated, 3.00 manual, you can purchase our "Full Upgrade" which includes the new 250 page manual and program disk. The cost of this upgrade is $30 plus $4 shipping and handling ($8 worldwide). To order, or for more information, contact: Missionware Software 354 N. Winston Drive Palatine, IL 60067-4132 United States of America phone 708-359-9565 ===================================================================== >The Recipe Box! STR InfoFile! - The Leader in Recipe Storage Systems! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" The Recipe Box 5.0 In May of 1992, Mountain Software introduced The Recipe Box to the Atari ST community. Since that time, the program has been through numerous revisions, and has been ported to the Commodore Amiga and Apple Macintosh. Now, more than a year since the last revision, we are happy to announce the arrival of The Recipe Box 5.0 for the Atari ST! Rather than trying to build on old technology, we completely rewrote version 5.0 from the ground up. The result being a more compact, more reliable, and more flexible application. One of our primary goals in version 5.0 was to make the program even easier to use, and the new button bar was the first step towards that goal. You can now jump effortlessly between all sections of the program instead of quitting back to the main menu for every task. In addition, we cleaned up most menus in the program by switching to context sensitive mouse response. Now right clicking an object will bring up the appropriate editor for that object. By eliminating unneeded buttons in the index menu, we were able to increase chapter titles to 24 characters, and record titles to 50 characters. This means that you will now have more room for those recipes with long titles! In addition, we added a new "information" record type. This new record type lets you store up to 5 pages of 80 column text in each record. The possibilities this new record type opens up are enormous. These include simple uses such as storing nutritional information or cooking tips, up to entirely new uses for The Recipe Box such as personal information managers, diaries, address books, song/poetry books, family histories, inventories, etc. New database structures allowed us to increase storage capacity to over 65000 chapters with 2000 records in each chapter. And, new loading routines mean nearly instantaneous chapter loading. The internal text editors have been greatly improved to be faster, more feature filled, and easier to use than previous versions. The recipe import formats have been enhanced, and we've added additional formats, including "Mastercook II" and the "Usenet Cookbook". Recipes that do not adhere to recognized formats may be imported easily using the manual import feature. And, any text file may be imported as an information record for easy management within The Recipe Box. As with earlier versions, recipe records may be exported directly in the latest "Meal-Master" format for easy recipe exchange with other users. And information records are easily exported for use with other software. The accuracy of the print routines has been greatly improved, and now supports multiple print formats including various notebook sizes, 3x5 cards, and 4x6 cards. The new grocery menu has undergone many improvements to improve the speed of the database, and to make preparing grocery lists even easier. A new "Locate" feature allows you to quickly find the item you are looking for even when there are many items with similar descriptions. The grocery item editor now includes a "Staple" field for automatically inserting those items you buy on a frequent basis. In addition, any changes made to an item in the item list are reflected in both the item and grocery lists. The shopping list created by the grocery manager has been improved to be more readable, and more compact than previous versions. The old Meal Manager of previous versions has been replaced with a new Calendar Menu. This new menu features a full graphic calendar and an easy to understand event list. Any record in the database can be attached to any date on the calendar, or simply drag a record to the calendar to attach it to the current date. Personal notes may be entered on any date in the calendar as well. There is no limit on the number of events you may store in the calendar, and you may place as many events on a single day as you wish. In addition, events will be retained for as long as you wish, though outdated events are easily removed when you desire it. Or, simply drag the event to a new date on the calendar. The batch menu allows you to select any of your desired records for printing or exporting. The new "Find" menu allows you to search the entire database for records matching your search string. The complete text or the titles only of each record may be searched depending on your needs. The results of each search are maintained so that you can quickly view multiple records that match your searches. The new graphical user interface is now much more configurable, and includes the ability to use up to 16 colors if your system supports it. Virtually every aspect of the interface is user selectable, and a number of presets are available to get you started. A new help system is built-in providing instant access to the program documentation, from any point in the program. The help system features a hypertext style document allowing quick access to any part of the text. A new statistics display makes it easy to determine the program version, the registered owner, the number of records stored in the database, the free memory available, etc. The Recipe Box runs on all Atari ST, TT, and Falcon commuters with 1 Meg or more of RAM. A hard drive is highly recommended. GDOS/SpeedoGDOS is required for all printing functions. The program runs in color or monochrome in any resolution of 640x200 or greater (ST Medium, ST High, or greater). The Recipe Box lists for $45.00 and is available through better Atari dealers. Or, you may order directly from Mountain Software at: Mountain Software 6911 NE Livingston Road Camas, Washington 98607 USA Check or Money order in US Funds only! Shipping is free in the US and Canada, $5.00 elsewhere. Residents of Washington State, please add 7.6% sales tax. Registered users of any previous version may upgrade to version 5.0 for only $20, by sending a copy of your receipt, or a photocopy of your master disk. Users who have purchased older versions on or after June 1, 1995 may receive a FREE update by sending a copy of your sales receipt showing the purchase date. Questions regarding The Recipe Box may be directed to the following E-mail addresses, and a demo version should be available at most of these sites soon. GEnie: A.WATSON6 Internet: awatson@pacifier.com Internet: a.watson6@genie.geis.com WWW: http://www.pacifier.com/~awatson FTP: ftp.pacifier.com/pub/users/awatson Bear Cavern BBS: (360) 573-2054 (E-mail to Anthony Watson) Postal Service: Mountain Software 6911 NE Livingston Road Camas, Washington 98607 USA ___ Mountain Reader II - #AUTHOR 1 >Pysgham! STR InfoFile! - "Virtual Drives" On the ST! """""""""""""""""""""" Announcement: Pysgham v1.50 S T e c t r e presents P y s g h a m Virtual drives have been rather common in the ST range of computers. Pysgham will also add sort of virtual drives to your machine but unlike RAM disks the new drives will correspond to folders in other real drives. If you for example have a much used folder on drive D such as: D:\WP\TEXT\LETTER\ then with Pysgham you can install a new drive (for ex H:) corresponding to D:\WP\TEXT\LETTER\. When installed by Pysgham you can access drive H: as any other normal drive ,but the files/folder displayed in H: will be the one in D:\WP\TEXT\LETTER\. As an example H:\*.* will equal D:\WP\TEXT\LETTER\*.* ,and H:\TEST\*.* will equal D:\WP\TEXT\LETTER\TEST\*.* You will now no longer need to select the direccory D:\WP\TEXT\LETTER\ but only need to click on drive H. And still data can be saved/loaded, program ran, file copying etc all can be performed just as normal! Up to eight different drives of this kind might be installed at once by Pysgham. As drives installed by Pysgham will (normally) correspond to real drives therefore data saved on them will naturally not be lost when the machine is switched off. Pysgham will also enable you to turn Write Verify On or Off for EACH drive. You can for example have Write Verify Off for RAM disks ,and certain hard drive partitions while keep Write Verify On on other partitions/floppies. As well as that you can make certain drives Write Protected by using Pysgham. Pysgham is controlled by using an easy to used GEM window program. Pysgham will soon be available from the most popular Atari ftp sites. Or email us to get back a uuecoded version. pysghm15.zip Please note that Pysgham is POSTCARDWARE. >Mnilu! STR InfoFile! - GFA Basic 2 Compiler! """""""""""""""""""" The GfA BASIC 2 Compiler. Compile GfA BASIC files into stand-alone GEMDOS executable relocatable files. - extremely fast compilation speed - create .TOS or .PRG program files - minimum file length of output file only 28K - easy to use GEM user interface - fully compatible with 95% of GfA v2 written source code Latest version (May ,1994) is 1.61. Mnilu Tranquil - the 'second' version of this great 'Compiler' is coming out SOON! MUCH improved and will also compile -!>GFA BASIC v3.5E<!- files Fully compatible with most GFA BASIC 2 AND 3.5E programs! > out (hopefully) in early August 95 > something worth waiting for If you've used the original version then you won't even recognize the new Mnilu Tranquil! Now EVERYONE will be able to turn their .BAS/.GFA files into stand-alone GEMDOS executable .PRG files Another GREAT program coming soon from STectre. >MIST Show mini-report! - The Show Must Go On! """""""""""""""""""""" From Missionware's John Trautschold: Well, we're back from MIST. We had a good time. Apparently they had around 200 folks attend - not bad considering! :-) They were purchasing products too. I made a good profit. Yes, we released 3.00 at the show. Folks seemed quite interested in it and were anxiously awaiting the chance to get their hands on a copy. Some of these folks had attended the TAF show in Toronto and had been given a sneak preview there. All told, it was a good show! Back to work now... John T. There's been some discussion about ZIP drives for the ST; and whether or not the latest ICD hard drive utilities would support it. From the U.K. comes this report: STR Mail Call "...a place for our readers to be heard" STReport's MAILBAG Messages * NOT EDITED * for content I have bought a Iomega for my Falcon. It works great! It doesn't require any new driver. Just the ICD Pro SCSI 6.5.5 works. And it works like floppy, I mean like removable media, the system recognized the change. And it is fast also, just half the speed of my Quantum LPS 540S. Thought, without new driver, I can't get functions like: password write protect. I think you can include this email with your next issue. Malcolm (1668) 30 Jul 95 00:38:52 By: Troy H. Cheek, Inner Circle (1:362/708.4) To: Streport, The Bounty BBS (1:112/35) Re: ATTN: D. P. Jacobson, Atari Section Editor St: Pvt Kill --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @FMPT 4 @MSGID: 1:362/708.4 301ac692 (In the event that this message goes astray, I am attempting to reach the offices of ST Report, particularly D.P. Jacobson of the Atari section.) > Jaguar Easter Eggs/Cheats/Hints STR InfoFile - Solving Those Riddles! > We've been promising game tips and cheats for what seems like an > eternity. I apologize for not getting these put together as rapidly as > I would have liked, but our compilation of game tips, cheats, etc. is > just about complete. In this week's issue, we're providing you with > just some of the game cheat codes for Hover Strike. We'll have more > for this enjoyable game, next week. We also have an "invincibility" > cheat, but we'll only send this to you if you request it, unless > there's an overwhelming demand from our readers! Consider this a request for the "invincibility" cheat. In fact, I'd be interested in your entire compilation. If it's too big to send through Fidonet, would a blank floppy and a SASE do the trick? Troy H. Cheek Internet: Defunct Rt. #1, Box 409 Fidonet: 1:362/708.4 Benton, TN 37307 FAX line: by request only >Steel Talons! STReport NewsFile! - New Game for Falcon030 Released! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Lexicor Software Corporation is the US distributor for 16/32 Systems Atari Falcon adaptation of Tengen's coin-op STEEL TALONS. The game was favorably reviewed by such magazines as ST FORMAT. Llamazap and Pinball Dreams is also available for the Falcon. The game is a fast and colourful 3-D helicopter action simulation; full use of the Falcon's hardware results in an impressive polygon landscape and great speed and scrolling. Anyone who has played the original Tengen coin-op will not be disappointed with STEEL TALONS for the Falcon. There are a number of missions to complete, enemies to harry, and numerous attacks to avoid. STEEL TALONS is available from Lexicor Software, retailing at U$D 49.00. To order a copy, write to: Lexicor Software Corporation 108 Peterborough Street, 3rd floor, suite H Boston, MA 02215 or call (617) 437 0414 or fax (617) 437-9413 email: games@lexicor.com Other games available are: Llamazap and Pinball Dreams. Currently all games, Steel Talons included, are going for a holiday special of only 35 U$D! ------- PC Xformer 3.2 Atari 130XE Emulator for MS-DOS ============================================== July 28, 1995 Price: $34.95 U.S. ($29.95 until August 31) Available: immediately Requires: any MS-DOS compatible 486 or Pentium based PC For additional product information contact Darek Mihocka at: Branch Always Software 14150 N.E. 20th Street, Suite 302 Bellevue, WA 98007, U.S.A. Phone: 206-236-0540 Fax: 206-236-0257 America Online: BRASOFT Compuserve: 73657,2714 GEnie: BRASOFT MSN: BRASOFT Internet: brasoft@halcyon.com World Wide Web: http://www.halcyon.com/brasoft/ Introducing PC Xformer 3.2, the newest and fastest Atari 130XE which allows any 486 or Pentium based PC to run Atari 800, Atari 800XL, and Atari 130XE software as fast or faster than a real 130XE. PC Xformer 3.2 is fully backward compatible with earlier versions of PC Xformer and ST Xformer and supports disk files created by the SIO2PC cable, ST Xformer, and PC Xformer. The three biggest features in version 3.2 are SPEED, SPEED, SPEED! Unlike earlier versions of PC Xformer which were optimized for use on 386 based computers, PC Xformer 3.2 has been optimized for the 486 and Pentium and runs an average of about 40% faster than the earlier versions. What this means for users is that PC Xformer 3.2 now runs about 9 times faster than a 130XE (equivalent to a 16 MHz 6502) on a 90 Mhz Pentium, and about 5 times faster on a 486/66. Even the slowest 486SX based PC now runs PC Xformer faster than a real 130XE giving faster smoother graphics in games and faster Atari BASIC programs, without having to upgrade your PC. For compatibility with programs that run best at the normal 1.8 MHz speed of the Atari, PC Xformer 3.2 has two speeds of operation: NORMAL (1.8 MHz mode) and TURBO (as fast as possible mode). All of the options, such as selecting normal or turbo speed, whether to run with Atari BASIC, whether to run in Atari 800 or XL/XE mode, etc. can all be set from the MS-DOS command line. By popular demand PC Xformer now has a built-in 6502 debugger which allows you to examine and modify the Atari memory, disassemble 6502 code, and even single step 6502 code. For die hard hackers PC Xformer 3.2 also supports the ability to customize the Atari OS and BASIC. PC Xformer 3.2 has full support for emulating Player Missile Graphics with collision detection, GTIA graphics modes, ANTIC display lists and DLIs, 256 color support, joystick support (as well as joystick emulation via the cursor keys on the keyboard), sound, printer, modem, and more. Atari BASIC as well as the Atari 800 and XL/XE operating systems are built-in. PC Xformer 3.2 can also be run from the MS-DOS prompt in Windows 3.1, Windows 95, OS/2 2.1, and OS/2 Warp. Run it directly from MS-DOS for fastest speed. PC Xformer 3.2 also includes a 40 manual, a copy of the shareware SIO2PC software, and about a megabyte of sample Atari 8-bit software. How to order ------------ Brand new users can purchase PC Xformer 3.2 by contacting Branch Always Software directly. To order by VISA or MasterCard, call us at 206-236-0540 and have your card ready, or send your order in by mail. During the month of August we are offering PC Xformer 3.2 at an introductory price of only $29.95. After August 31 the price is $34.95. Registered users of PC Xformer can upgrade for only $15. All prices include shipping to anywhere in the world. PC Xformer 3.2 will also be available by September 1 from major Atari dealers including American Technavisions, B & C Computervisions, and Toad Computers. Call your local Atari dealer for pricing and availability. Add-on products --------------- There are several products and services available from other Atari developers which are of benefit to PC Xformer users. The SIO2PC cable is a cable which connects your PC to your Atari 8-bit computer and allows you to transfer over entire disks of Atari 8-bit software to your PC. SIO2PC works on any MS-DOS based PC and creates "disk image" files which PC Xformer uses. SIO2PC can also be used to transfer files from the PC back to your Atari 8-bit computer. SIO2PC is available fully assembled or in kit form from: Nick Kennedy 300 South Vancouver Street Russellville, AR 72801 Users who do not have access to an Atari 8-bit computer or an SIO2PC cable can have their disks transferred from Atari 8-bit 5.25" floppy disks to IBM PC 3.5"floppy disks for a small fee by contacting Rob Satonica at: Creative Software Systems 7775 Scottdale Rd. Berrien Springs, MI 49103 phone: (616) 473-3904 Also available from Creative Software Systems is the Atari Emulator Manager, an inexpensive MS-DOS utility which allows you to manage your Atari 8-bit files, configure your PC Xformer settings, and run PC Xformer, all by using your mouse to click on the various options and files on the screen. A must have for any PC Xformer user who juggles a lot of different Atari files! For example, you can have one configuration that runs your Atari BASIC software in turbo speed Atari 130XE mode. You could then have another configuration that runs your games disks in normal speed Atari 800 mode. Do all this by just pointing and clicking with the mouse. To order or to find out more about the Atari Emulator Manager, contact Rob Satonica at Create Software Systems. Atari shows ----------- Once again we are hitting the road to demonstrate our products at Atari shows around North America. If you missed us at the Toronto and Sacramento shows in April, you can drop by our booths at the Indianapolis Atarifest on July 29th and the Dallas Atari show on October 7. At both shows we will be demonstrating and selling the PC Xformer 3.2 emulator as well as our new Gemulator 4.0 Atari STE emulator for Windows 95. If you cannot attend the shows, send us your name and address to receive future product announcements, show dates, our authorized Atari dealer list, product order forms, and more. If you are on the Internet, drop by our Web page. Benchmarks --------------- Ok, just how fast is PC Xformer? We believe it to be the fastest 6502 emulator available for your 486 or Pentium. We put a real 130XE computer side-by-side with a 486/66 computer and a Pentium P5-90 computer then ran some benchmarks in Atari BASIC. We found the 486/66 runs at least 4 times faster than the 130XE, while the 90 MHz Pentium runs at least 8 times faster, and sometimes faster! Benchmark #1 is a simple FOR NEXT loop: 10 FOR X = 1 TO 10000:NEXT X Atari 130XE: 22.5 seconds 66 Mhz 486: 4.6 seconds (5 times faster) Pentium/90: 2.4 seconds (9 times faster) Benchmark #2 is a screen scrolling benchmark: 10 FOR X = 1 TO 10000 20 ?X; 30 NEXT X Atari 130XE: 109 seconds 66 Mhz 486: 29 seconds (4 times faster) Pentium/90: 14 seconds (8 times faster) And finally, Benchmark #3 is a graphical line sweep: 10 GRAPHICS 8 20 COLOR 1 30 FOR X = 0 TO 319 40 PLOT X,0 50 DRAWTO 159,159 60 NEXT X Atari 130XE: 32 seconds 66 Mhz 486: 8 seconds (4 times faster) Pentium/90: 4 seconds (8 times faster) Now you can understand why for games we needed to supply a normal speed option! -/- CompuServe Launches Upgrade -/- CompuServe Inc. has announced a $125 million overhaul, a new low-cost service for novices and a price change. It also says it is beginning an extensive marketing push and will nearly double its support staff. "We are moving from being a sleeping giant to really revitalizing the organization," CEO Robert Massey told reporter Jared Sandberg in this morning's Wall Street Journal. And Richard Brown, new CEO of CompuServe parent H&R Block, told the paper, "New competition and new challenges demand that we reinvent our products and services." (Sandberg points out the CompuServe announcements come three weeks before the launch of Microsoft Corp.'s Microsoft Network.) The paper notes CompuServe's plans include: -:- An appeal to modemming newcomers with the launch next spring of a service code-named Wow! It is designed to be easy to use and to let users customize it to their liking. -:- Introduction of a new look within 45 days. -:- Simplifying pricing structure by eliminating multiple tiers. It will charge a monthly fee of $9.95 for the first five hours and $2.95, down from $4.80, for each additional hour. Eliminated are surcharges for extended services, such as participating in forums, in a move to straight hourly fees. -:- Beefing up the CompuServe network by doubling the number of local dial-up points to 105,000 from 50,000. -:- Adding some 400 people to the support staff and tripling the marketing spending to $115 million in the current fiscal year ending next April, including a tripled advertising budget of $35 million. "This announcement represents a significant shift in focus," Massey told business writer Evan Ramstad of The Associated Press. -/- Internet to Protect Trademarks -/- A new policy to protect business trademarks has been announced by Network Solutions Inc., the firm that registers commercial addresses on the Internet on behalf of the National Science Foundation. Grant Clark, an attorney with Network Solutions, told Anne Bilodeau of United Press International that over the past year, several companies have discovered others are using their names as addresses on the network. "For example," says UPI in a report from Herndon, Va., "the name ronald@mcdonald.com as well as the mcdonald.com 'domain name' does not belong to McDonald's Corp." Says Clark, "We may not be able to give the name back to the 'rightful owner,' but we can certainly stop misleading use and piracy," adding that NSI's new policy could block what many large businesses see as blatant trademark theft. UPI observes, "As with telephone numbers, each address is unique, and can't be issued twice. Since the Internet has no 'area code,' each name can literally only occur once on the entire Internet. Businesses often need to use their company name in their domain, because such use makes it much easier for casual users to find that piece of Internet real estate." While NSI still gives out the domain names on a first-come, first-served basis, if there is a fight between businesses, NSI will ask both parties for proof of trademark. "The loser can choose to give up the address, taking 90 days to make a transition to a new domain name," says the wire service. "If the two cannot resolve the dispute, NSI will freeze the domain name, not allowing anyone to use it, and let the courts decide." -/- Justice Eyes Microsoft Web Plans -/- The U.S. Justice Department's antitrust investigation of Microsoft Corp. now reportedly has been extended to look into the software giant's plan to bundle software for navigating the Internet's World Wide Web. As reported, the federal agency for months has been investigating the publisher's plan to bundle access to its new Microsoft Network online service with its new Windows 95 operating system to be released Aug. 24. (Online competitors contend the tactic gives Microsoft an unfair advantage.) And, write G. Christian Hill and Jared Sandberg in The Wall Street Journal this morning, "according to people familiar with the investigation, the agency is now concerned about a new development, a plan by Microsoft to bundle software with Windows 95 to access and browse the Web, a fast-growing network that may become the main forum for electronic commerce." Some suggest a Microsoft web browser could hurt the many start-up companies providing Internet access, the paper says. As noted, Microsoft announced 10 days ago it plans to bundle its Internet Explorer with a version of Windows 95 that will be installed by computer makers on new machines. "It won't be bundled, at least initially, with the standard Windows 95 version to be sold in stores directly to consumers," says the Journal, "but will be offered at retail in a version called Windows 95 Plus. Windows 95 will run other Internet browsers, but if it is already installed in new machines and is optimized to run on the new operating system, other Internet access providers will be at a significant competitive disadvantage." Reporters Hill and Sandberg comment, "Bundling the Web browser could provide a sort of imperfect end-run around any successful attempt by Justice to force Microsoft to unbundle access to MSN. All of the so-called 'content' slated for MSN might be best displayed using Microsoft's Web browser, providing consumers with an incentive to ignore other on-line providers and Internet access providers." A Microsoft spokeswoman told the paper her employer's online and operating-system competitors all are including free Web browsers in their products, and that Microsoft has the right to also offer a browser. But, says the Journal, "people familiar with the investigation indicated they may feel the browser issue provides the agency with more and new ammunition," adding, "The move shows that the issue of bundling products with Microsoft's dominant operating systems won't go away, and has to be dealt with one way or another." The paper, still citing people familiar with the investigation, said Justice Department lawyers spent part of last week "intently investigating" the potential impact of bundling the Internet access software. -/- Ad Industry Discourages Net Regs -/- A U.S. Commerce Department task force has been urged by advertising industry executives not to restrict marketing campaigns on the Internet. The execs say advertising dollars are the best way to fund the growth of the global network. United Press International reports Norman Lehoullier, co-director of Grey Interactive, told a meeting of the Telecommunications Policy Committee of Information Infrastructure Task Force, "Regulating new media advertising will not only retard its growth and technical potential, it will retard new media's ability to increase this country's competitiveness." UPI says the executives pointed out advertising dollars played a crucial role in the development of broadcast TV and that today annual spending on TV advertising is an estimated $35 billion per year. John Sarsen Jr., president of the National Association of Advertisers, says agencies hope to play a similar role in the development of the global data infrastructure, but will not be able to if regulators impose broadcast-style rules on electronic commerce. "Advertisers consider the Internet and online services a lucrative market which attract affluent, well-educated consumers," says UPI, noting that a recent Commerce Department study found that 58.1 percent of urban households earning $75,000 per year or more own a computer. Among urban computer owners, 50.7 percent have attended four years of college or more. While online advertising still is in its infancy, the ad executives say they expect the medium to grow exponentially. Roughly 9 percent to 11 percent of online consumers age 25-54 already peruse online classified ads. The wire service noted the Clinton administration currently has not proposed to regulate advertising online. -/- Anti-Virus Chip Developed -/- A unit of Quantum Leap Innovations Inc. says it has developed a breakthrough computer anti-virus device for real-time data networks. Reporting from Princeton, N.J., the Reuter News Service says a new anti-virus chip, which is broadly protected by international patents, "identifies the presence of any virus within a data stream, either entering or exiting a computer, or traveling along a network in real-time." Company officials says the technology is a low-cost integrated circuit that in its first version is compatible with all DOS-based systems, adding Quantum will develop products for other operating systems, as demand develops. Anthony Warren, president of Quantum principal Technology Management & Funding, told the wire service Quantum's hardware-based product is fundamentally different from purely software-based anti-virus protection programs. He said the chip transparently protects against any program that behaves like a virus, whether it can identify the specific virus type or not. By contrast, he said, software-based anti-virus programs operate by consulting software libraries of known viruses that must be periodically updated, allowing for new and unknown viruses to potentially escape detection. "The Quantum Leap chip sits between a receiving computer node and an incoming data stream, completely blocking the passage of virus contaminated data streams," Reuters says. "The chip can also be embedded in PC's modems, network servers and interface cards." Warren said Quantum now is in talks with a number of these providers on plans to incorporate the Quantum chip into their products.! -/- Chip Markets to Double by 2000 -/- Texas Instruments' chief economist predicts that if present trends continue, the worldwide semiconductor market may more than double in size in the next five years to more than $300 billion. Speaking at the annual Robertson Stephens & Co. Semiconductor Conference in San Jose, California, Vladi Catto said the semiconductor market is experiencing unprecedented growth for the 10th year in a row and the outlook is for growth to continue through the decade. According to the Reuter News Service, Catto said, "For the past 15 years, the worldwide market has grown an average of 15 percent per year. If that growth rate continues, the market will reach about $275 billion over the next five years. If the market grows at 20 percent annually, the industry could exceed $300 billion." He said that influencing the industry's unprecedented growth are four major factors: -:- The increasing use of semiconductors in electronics. -:- Emerging market growth. -:- Computerization of the workplace. -:- The growth of cellular phones. Reuters reports the economist predicted the geographic diversification of the semiconductors market will act as a buffer to a slowdown in any particular region and that the world economic outlook remains positive, lessening the possibility of recession. Catto also said that over the next five years, the semiconductor industry will require more than twice as much capital spending as it has invested since 1990 to keep up with demand. -/- NEC Makes Rewritable Optical Disk -/- A rewritable optical disc that can store some 4 gigabytes of data with a 12-centimeter compact disc size reportedly has been developed by Japan's NEC Corp. In Tokyo today, sources told the Jiji Japanese press service NEC improved the phase change optical disc, a new rewritable computer storage device that is gaining popularity due to its capacity of some 650 megabytes. "The company succeeded in shortening the length of pits or tiny indentations on the disc that record information to 0.33 micron from the current 0.9 micron," Jiji reports. "The technology allowed the 4GB capacity, which can store about two hours of video recording with better resolution than high-quality videocassette recorders." Jiji adds the overwriting function, or simultaneous erasing and recording of information, allows users to edit and process video clips and data. "For next-generation rewritable discs, Toshiba Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. ... have announced the SD-RAM format... an enhancement of their super density-format digital videodiscs, but its capacity is limited to 2.6GB." -/- Marvel Comics Debuts on CD-ROM -/- Toy Biz Inc. and Marvel Entertainment Group Inc. have introduced of a series of Marvel Interactive CD-ROM Comics. The companies, both based in New York, note that the first four discs feature a mix of out-of-print classic tales featuring the X-Men, Spider- Man, Fantastic Four and Iron Man. The comics have been enhanced through computer coloring, narration, sound effects, music and animation. The CD-ROMs are compatible with both PC and Macintosh systems. The products will be distributed by Toy Biz and Marvel this fall through comic book and software stores, major toy retailers and the toy departments of major mass retailers. Each title will sell for $14.99. "It's a comic book come to life -- on a computer," says Stan Lee, chairman of Marvel Comics. -/- LCD Developer Dead at 68 -/- The scientist who invented the liquid crystal display technology has died of diabetes complications at 68. Morris Braunstein, during a 20-year career at Hughes Research Laboratory, where he worked on the "Star Wars" defense system, also patented four other inventions involving laser and optical technology. The Associated Press notes he helped create hypo-allergenic cosmetics when he worked for Almay Cosmetics in the 1950s. -/- Feds Say Computer Counterfeited -/- Some $259,700 in counterfeit money has been seized from a Lubbock, Texas, home where federal agents allege a Texas Tech student apparently used his home computer to print the bills. Secret Service Agent R. David Freriks told United Press International the student, who has not yet been arrested, apparently used his PC to print the money which was found in several cities across west Texas and New Mexico. In addition to a suitcase stuffed with fake $50 bills, investigators seized a home computer, a printer and a scanner from the student's home. "The bills look convincing from a distance but a closer look reveals slightly blurred designs and faulty coloration," UPI said. "The paper is also slick, unlike real currency, and lacks a watermark strip." Two more suspects, including the ringleader, still are being sought, said Freriks who added the student and five other suspects already identified will probably be indicted by a grand jury next week. Freriks said he had no fear the 20-year-old student will flee, because "at this point, he's more afraid of his dad than anything." -/- Tobacco Docs Hit on the Web -/- Secret documents from the tobacco industry, leaked to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, by a disgruntled Brown & Williamson Co. employee, have become a hot item on the Internet. UCSF officials told United Press International in San Francisco that since the documents were first osted online nearly six months ago, an average of 4,670 queries have beer logged daily, many from as far away as Australia, Japan, Germany andtGreat Britain. The documents -- which include a letter from actor Sylvester Stallone agreeing to smoke tobacco products in his movies for $500,000 -- were opened to the public by a recent court decision. UPI notes Brown and Williamson is appealing those decisions, but their efforts to block public access during the appeal process has been denied by the California Supreme Court. UCSF officials told the wire service the high number of requests prompted the decision to release the material on the Net. Said UCSF professor Stanton Glantz, an authority on the politics of the tobacco industry, "The demand was so great, the staff in our archive room could not get any other work done, so it was merely a matter of efficiency. In hindsight, it looks like a brilliant decision." UPI adds, "The documents contain several files detailing scientific research that revealed decades ago a link between smoking and cancer. Those research files have been called invaluable by attorneys around the country involved in damage litigation against tobacco companies." Law professor Richard Daynard at Northwestern University said the release of the documents "may well be seen as a landmark in the information revolution as well as in tobacco control." Officials said while lawyers are among the more than 65,000 computer users who have accessed the files, the majority are ordinary citizens. Among the items they are accessing is Stallone's letter, Glantz said, adding, "A lot of the documents are very technical, but everyone can understand the Stallone letter. It's one of those fun items." That letter, bearing Stallone's signature, says in part: "As discussed, I guarantee that I will use Brown and Williamson tobacco products in no less than five feature films. It is my understanding that Brown & Williamson will pay a fee of $500,000." (Stallone publicist Vicki Warren told UPI her client "did not make a penny on this issue.") World Wide Web surfers can read the letter for themselves by accessing Web address http://www.library.edu/tobacco. CompuServe members now have access to the Internet's Web through the NetLauncher software. Enter GO NETLAUNCHER for details. >In This Week's Jaguar Section - Super Burnout Review! CATnips! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" Jaguar Edge Update! WMCJ Comments! Contest #3 Winner! Contest #4! Towers II! And much more! >From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is! """""""""""""""""""""""""""" White Men Can't Jump and Flashback have hit the streets this week. WMCJ seems to be the game that's seen more online reaction so far; and those reactions are extremely favorable so far. We hope to have reviews of both shortly. We have a winner for last week's contest (see below); and we're providing you a second opportunity to win a copy of The Jaguar Gamers Guide. See contest info at the end of this section. As I mentioned earlier in this column, this is a bad week for editorial comments due to time constraints. I do have a few topics that I'm in the middle of putting together. I'm hoping that these upcoming editorials will generate some discussion and promote some ideas for Atari, and its userbase. Expect to see these ideas in the weeks to come. Meanwhile, let's get to the Jaguar gaming news and information this week! 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 White Men Can't Jump $69.99 Atari Flashback $59.99 U.S. Gold Available Soon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER Ultra Vortek $69.99 Atari Flip-Out TBD Atari Rayman $69.99 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 >Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CONTACT: Dorf & Stanton Communications Jessica Nagel/Jennifer Hansen 310/479-4997 or 800/444-6663 For Immediate Release WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP --- BUT CAN THEY PLAY BALL? Atari Corporation launches "hoops" game with Team Tap peripheral SUNNYVALE, CA (Aug. 1, 1995) --- Today Atari Corporation launched two exciting additions to the Jaguar 64 product line. The quickly expanding Atari arsenal now includes "White Men Can't Jump"(tm), a fast-paced, trash-talkin' game of street ball based on the major motion picture from Twentieth Century Fox, and "Team Tap"(tm), a peripheral for the Jaguar 64 system that allows up to four players to participate at once. Now, four players can compete in this no-holds-barred hoops tourney where teams try to hustle and shove their way into the street ball hall of fame. "White Men Can't Jump" players must attempt to make it into the Slam City Tournament, the ultimate in street ball play. It costs $5,000 to enter, however, and players start out with only $500 loaned to them from the BREAKLEG BROS, two unforgiving loan sharks. Hoopsters must hit the court and win games to hustle the remaining cash. Players custom design their teams as well as control the scoring, timing and possession rules. The one thing they can't control is the shovin' and trash talkin'. Players must be tough and ready to throw elbows because street ball rules apply --- traveling and goaltending are the only fouls called. Atari also launched "Team Tap", a peripheral for the Jaguar 64 system bundled with "White Men Can't Jump". "Team Tap" enables four players to get in on the jammin' hoops action all at once. A $29.95 value, "Team Tap" is included free with "White Men Can't Jump". With select future titles, players can employ two Team Taps for eight-competitor game play. Two play modes are available for "White Men Can't Jump": Tournament and Versus. Tournament mode lets one or two players compete as a team in a street ball game. With "Team Tap" and Versus mode, three or four players split into two pairs and play against each other. "'White Men Can't Jump' launches our fall line-up of sports and action games for the Jaguar," said Ted Hoff, President of Atari's North American Operations. "This game showcases the power of the Jaguar 64 and 'Team Tap', which provides the capability for four players to enjoy on-screen action in this two-on-two basketball game." "White Men Can't Jump" is rated KA, appropriate for kids through adults, and has a suggested retail price of $69.99. Atari communicated with tens of thousands of Jaguar 64 users highlighting the new title introduction and peripheral offer through the company's new Jaguar First Alert consumer postcard program. Other Atari summer releases include "Ultra Vortek," "FlipOut!," and "Rayman." The library of games for Atari Jaguar 64 will approach 75 titles by the end of 1995. For over twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers with high-quality, value-priced entertainment. Located in Sunnyvale, California, Atari Corporation markets Jaguar, the only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system. --===-- Team Tap(tm) all rights reserved. Team Tap(tm), Atari logo and Jaguar are all trademarks of Atari Corporation. "White Men Can't Jump"(tm) (c)1995 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. "White Men Can't Jump" and associated characters are trademarks of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Licensed to Atari Corporation for distribution. Atari, the Atari logo and Jaguar are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Corporation. All Rights Reserved. This software is authorized by Atari for use with the Jaguar 64-Bit Interactive Multimedia System. TOWERS II - PLIGHT OF THE STARGAZER COMING SOON TO A JAGUAR NEAR YOU JV Enterprises proudly presents Towers II for the Jaguar system. Towers II is: -> An RPG set in the mystical land of Lamini -> Full screen, smooth scrolling -> Over 600 Items to utilize -> Over 350 creatures to interact and battle with -> Two save game features --One to memory and one to cartridge. These are full saves-- complete statistics, auto map, open and closed doors, all creature activity, and all item positions. Towers II will be on cartridge format and expected release date by Christmas (Constant updates for release dates will published) If anyone would like to have questions answered, or current screen shots of Towers II sent to them via e-mail, please let me know by writing to Jag Jaeger, gagnon@nevada.edu. The screen shots are in TGA format and zipped into a 189k file. Because of current work load, please allow a little time for a response. Towers II can be seen at http://www.mcc.ac.uk/~dlms/Consoles/Tower2/Jag_Towers2.html This location is also linked with a cu rent review of Towers II for the Falcon 030. Or you can download the screenshots from ftp.cnam.fr /pub/Atari/Jaguar/ TowersII-Jaguar-sceenshots.zip _________________________________________________________ -/- Sega Narrows PC-Video Game Gap -/- In a move seen as potentially narrowing the gap between PCs and game machines that attach to TV sets, Sega of America Inc. is announcing plans to make video games for PCs that use a special chip by Nvidia Corp. Business writer Catalina Ortiz of The Associated Press reports from Sunnyvale, California, that Sega will offer two games to be played exclusively on PCs with Nvidia's multimedia chip. The games were originally produced for Sega's new Saturn CD game machine, which has been on sale since May. Sega Vice President William White Jr. told her, "The hardware is a means to the software. We see it as a way to provide our games to a whole other audience we haven't been able to (reach) before Nvidia." Analyst Fred Dunn, vice president of Jon Peddie Associates of Tiburon, California, says Nvidia is the first maker of PC multimedia components to get the support of a game console company, adding, "This is a real feather in their cap. Sega is one of the leading game suppliers in the world; it's an instantly recognizable name.... The Sega games will create a pull for boards that use Nvidia chips." AP says kits containing add-on cards with the Nvidia chip and at least one game will be on the market in time for Christmas at $249 to $399. (Sega Saturn costs $399.) Last May, Nvidia unveiled its NV1 Multimedia Accelerator, which puts sound, full-motion video and three-dimensional graphic capabilities on a single chip. It also has patented technology that improves the realism of graphics. "Traditionally," the wire service observes, "objects are drawn with many small 'polygons,' requiring the computer to constantly carry out thousands of calculations to manipulate the images. That leads to jerky movement. Nvidia draws objects differently, with a smaller number of 'curved surface polygons,' larger and fewer segments that give more realistic contours. Manipulating them requires less processing and memory from the PC." -/- Accolade Names New CEO -/- Entertainment software publisher Accolade Inc. has named company president Jim Barnett its new CEO. During his tenure at Accolade, Barnett, 37, has supervised the firm's product development marketing, sales and finance operations. He previously served as chief operating officer of Storybrook Heirlooms, president of The Spectrum Group Inc. and has held various positions at Universal Pictures. He holds an MBA and JD from Stanford University. Barnett succeeds Chairman Peter Harris as CEO. "The appointment is the final step in an aggressive turnaround plan focused on bringing together top industry talent, strategic partners and financial resources," says Harris. "Jim Barnett has been performing the CEO functions for several months." In June, Accolade completed a $30 million financing package that includes investments by Warner Music Group and Prudential Equity Investors. Accolade says it is using the investment proceeds to continue its development of sports and action games for PC, Macintosh, Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn platforms. >Jaguar Super Burnout! STR Review! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -/- Super Burnout -/- Developed by: Virtual Xperience Published by: Atari Price: $59.99 Available Now! By Craig Harris Let's face it: For racing fans, the Jaguar system was *not* the way to go. Note the key word "was." Yes, there is just no excuse for the sub-standard productions of Club Drive and Checkered Flag. But behind the name Shen is salvation for the Jaguar auto race genre. For it is they who have developed a solid motorcycle racing game for Atari called Super Burnout, and almost redeems the Jaguar name for race-fans everywhere. Note the key word "almost." Super Burnout, in its basic form, is a motorcycle racing game that pits one player against up to 6 computer opponents, or two players against each other on 8 different tracks. Each player has his choice of 6 different cycles, each with its own handling abilities. In single player modes, the player can choose whether to race on one track (his choice), race the entire circuit in the championship mode, fine-tune his abilities in a training mode, or race against the clock in Record Mode. Controlling the racer takes place in a pseudo-first person perspective: you view all the action behind the your racer. While riding your bike over an extremely smooth-scrolling road, you must maneuverer it left and right through slight-to-tight curves, around computer drones, and away from roadside obstacles. Do all this while maintaining a high speed, and you've mastered it. Crashing your bike into obstacles and computer opponents (which happens a lot) will result in a high speed dismount across the pavement, as well as a loss of valuable time. Each of the eight tracks has their own look. Australia takes place at night (with a big-ol' moon looming in the sky), where as in the U. S. A. it's twilight-time, and you race while the sun sets. If there's not enough natural light, your headlights automatically pop on. It doesn't help much, but adds to the overall effect of night-racing. All tracks have smoothly scaling roadside obstacles, ranging from trees to tires to advertisements of possible future Jaguar games. All of the tracks have their own construction; some are made for speed, some are technical (lots of U-turns,) and a couple fall in-between. Pick the best bike for the track...unfortunately, you cannot change your cycle in the middle of a championship. If you've picked a bike that works best on speed tracks, you're going to have a heck of a time keeping it on the pavement on technical tracks. Okay, combining the above adds up to one fantastic racer, right? Not quite. This game's a "no-frills" design. The game offers a two-player split-screen mode, but doesn't let those two players race against the computer. In championship mode, the game doesn't allow the player to get to "know" his computer opponents, by name or number, losing the "vengeful" factor included in most racing games. The computer doesn't display the player's championship race progress until the entire circuit ends. And those looking for an agressive race between the player and the computer isn't going to get it here...the computer opponents leave no trace of their existence once out of the starting gate. Graphics: 9.0 Sound FX: 7.0 Control 9.5 Manual: 8.0 Entertainment: 6.0 Reviewer's Overall: 7.0 So, as a straight-forward racer, Super Burnout is right up the alley. However, a polished cartridge it's not. If you're looking for a good Jaguar racing game, this is it...but don't expect the gameplay to suck you in. Once or twice around and you've seen it all. >Jaguar Easter Eggs, Cheats, & Hints STR InfoFile - Solving Those Riddles! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Looking for tips and "special moves"? In next week's issue, we'll have some "super dunk" moves for White Men Can't Jump (actually, they can!). Since the game has only been out a few days, we want to give you the thrill of finding out these moves for yourself; but we know there are a few of you who might get inpatient or frustrated trying to figure them out! Hold tight, don't throw the ball (or the game) away just yet! >Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr! """""""""""""""""""""""""" Status Of The Jaguar's Edge From: John Marcotte <jmarcott@step.mother.com> I want to apologize for not getting online recently. I've been very busy with the magazine. As many of you have surmised, The Jaguar's Edie will not be coming out this month. I tried as hard as I possibly could to make it happen, but it just wasn't in the cards. You may have noticed that I have not cashed any of the subscription checks yet. I didn't think it would be fair to until I had a solid release date. Here is the scoop on what has happened so far and what will be happening soon: I initially pitched the idea of the magazine to Steve Kipker of STeve's Atari Sales and David Troy of Toad Computers a the Sacramento Atari Computer Expo. My plan was to see if they would distribute a few thousand for me for free, and I would pay for the magazine completely with advertising. Instead of agreeing to distribute a few thousand, they agreed to distribute 10,000 apiece. So the mag had grown from a small fanzine, to a much larger scale. The only catch was, I had to pay for the shipping. This didn't seem to be much of a problem at the time. After meeting with David and Steve, I called several printing presses and got bids on printing 20-30,000 of the magazine. To this figure I added the shipping costs I was going to incur as a result of the free mailing. This increased my costs by nearly two-thirds. But, I set my ad rates based on those costs and I went to E3 to see how the idea would fly. I received a tremendous amount of support from the Atari community at E3. I sold several large ads and made lots of valuable contacts. On the basis of this strong showing, I put out my first ads for subscriptions on the internet. The response from the internet community was also positive and quite strong. I can't thank the subscribers enough. It was due to you that Atari itself first began to notice us. As I have said previously, the support from the Atari community was incredible. The problem is that the Atari community is rather small. I was only able to book about one-third of the advertising I needed from inside the Atari community. When I went outside the Atari community I discovered my advertising rates were not competitive with other gaming mags. We simply couldn't compete with the larger magazines. Not because of the printing, but mainly due to the large shipping costs that came with the free mailing. I experimented with various numbers trying to reduce the costs, but as I lowered the number shipped, the printing costs (per issue) rose and negated any savings that might have been made. In order for the magazine to be a success, we need to set up a normal distribution route. We need to get into bookstores and Babbages and as many other venues as possible. This will allow us to keep a high circulation while bringing in revenues at the same time. Unfortunately, very few magazine distributors are willing to buy a magazine they have never seen before. Which brings us to the present. I have secured a loan that will make it possible to print a "sample" of The Jaguar's Edge. This will be a smaller version of the full magazine that will allow distributors as well as advertisers to see what the magazine will look like. The layouts are nearly complete on this abridged edition and we should go to press in the next week or so. All current subscribers will get a copy of this "special" issue, but it will not count as one of the 6 issues in their subscription. If anyone wants a refund I understand completely. Let me know and your check will be returned uncashed. But I really believe that the magazine is going to do well. My preference, of course, is that you stick around and check out the first issue. I think you'll be impressed. I welcome any feedback that you care to give. I apologize for the delays, but they were unavoidable. Thanks for reading. John Marcotte Editor The Jaguar's Edge /----------------------------------------------------------------------\ | The world's first and only | Send check or money order to: | | magazine devoted to the Atari | The Jaguar's Edge | | Jaguar. Subscriptions are $15 U.S | P.O. Box 660291 | | for 6 issues. | Sacramento, CA 95866-0291 | \----------------------------------------------------------------------/ Sb: White Men Can't Jump Fm: Larry Tipton 74127,601 To: All First Impression 08.01.1995 White Men Can't Jump I just received WMCJ today with the four player team-tap. I've only been playing around with the game for about and 2 hours now. DO NOT do what I did and try to start playing the game immediately! First, read the manual. Otherwise you are going to be saying "what the..." a lot. Highlights: 15 teams to choose from 4 court styles Z Various game options 25 Super dunks - you pull off then off like they are Street Fighter moves 1-4 Players The zooming in and out (a nice effect) takes a bit getting used to. I had to get at least five feet away from my 20inch TV to get the right feel. Further away on my large TV. The courts appear to be texture mapped. The players are digitized. Everything scales in and out nicely. The metal and wooden fences look cool. For some reason, the game colors appear to be on the dark/muddy side. I had to adjust the brightness and color on my TV to get it right. The game looks better on my TV with SVideo than with the AV cables. There is a lot of "trash' talk in the game. No cursing like in the movie though. The voices are clear! You can turn it down/up or off. Likewise the in-game music and sound effects can be adjusted. The AI seems pretty tough. My players keep getting knocked on their keesters. It also easy to miss a pass or have one picked off. The is a player vs mode (you can set the difficulty) and a tournament mode (you cannot set the difficulty) in the game. You can save your tournament game in progress. ***IMPORTANT*** in order to take control your computer controlled character you have to double tap on the speed burst button. I also recommend leaving the player control flag on! At first I thought the game was slow, the players moved like they had been playing all day...or like it was a casual game between buds. Ah, but when you press the speed burst, they move right along! This game will take a bit to get used to and master. Unfortunately, like AvsP, some people are going to judge this game harshly because they did not spend a bit of time with it...it does not play like NBA JAM, blah, blah blah. Overall all, I like this game. It is not perfect. It takes some getting used to, like Alien Vs Predator and Hover Strike, but once you get used to the controls, the zooming and scaling it is quite fun. ========================================================================== Now to the Team Tap - Multi Player Adaptor! This is a high quality product. It connects into one port on the Jaguar. Apparently, the Jaguar can support two of these things! It is compatible with both the 3-button and 6-button controller. ========================================================================== That's all for now! -Larry Tipton Sb: #86941-WMCJ First Impressions Fm: Craig Harris 73733,2316 To: Craig Harris 73733,2316 (X) Just wanted to add a bit to my last message: After another hour of play (less sweat this time), I beat the tournament mode. Again, another title falls into the "Atari Lame Ending category. I won't give anything away, but after a humorous little sequence... there's nothing. Nothing at all. Just boots you back to the title screen. Not only that, I got to the final stage in 5 rounds, didn't lose a single match. My secret? 3-point shots at the top of the key are a CINCH! Even if you miss, your computer teammate is under the basket waiting for the rebound. Just grab the ball, take it to the top, fire the ball at the peak of the jump. I'm rather disappointed with the AI... but then again, this is a multi-player game. Most sports games get old-hat fast one-player. I won't hold too much against it in that aspect. I did inspect the construction of the Team Tap, even though I don't have extra pads hanging around. I noticed that the plugs on my pad fit much tighter in the Team Tap than they do in my Jaguar. To give you an example, if you blow on the plug while it's in the system, it falls out. No lie. At least Atari's paying attention. Again, I want to state that WMCJ is a *good* game...just waaaaay too easy one-player. I wish my friend was over here so I could whup his butt. -Craig- Sb: WMCJ Programmer Writes.. Fm: Larry Tipton 74127,601 To: All WMCJ Programmer Responds!!! Read on! ======================================================== Subject: Re: WMCJ impressions From: adisak@thymaster.interaccess.com (Adisak L. Pochanayon) Date: 2 Aug 1995 03:37:54 GMT In article <3vmftg$rco@newsbf02.news.aol.com>,JSMcKay <jsmckay@aol.com> wrote: >>----------------------------- >>playing. BZZZT! Wrong answer. Remember how, due to the bad >>animation in TAF, you'd lose your running back in a crowd, and had >>difficulty telling who was who? Well, there is that quality here >>as well. It's not as bad as TAF, probably due to the larger (and >>fewer) characters on-screen, but >it still makes the game more >>confusing and a pain in the *** to play. It also, IMHO, severely >>affects your control. I think the "losing" a character in the crowd has more to do with getting used to playing in the perspective than with choppy animations. This happened a lot during testing so I added an option to make it easier to get used to the game. You can select from the options screen an option to permanently turn on the arrows above the players. This makes it nearly impossible to lose track of your players. I think once you stop "losing" players and getting used to the game's perspective, you will enjoy it much more. >>Second, is frame rate and overall game speed. Frame rate seems >>pretty low (I couldn't venture a guess, though) The frame rate is between 12 and 18 fps. It averages around 15. The overall game runs at about the same speed as JagDoom with the exception that WMCJ has more than twice the resolution (320x220 vs 160x180). The framerate for the backgrounds and cameras is the same as the framerate for the game. I find it hard to believe that you find the camera view and backgrounds smooth while the game is choppy??? >>sound FX. The most important parts of the game - the basketball >>game itself (control, framerate, etc.) - is where WMCJ seems to >>fail, IMHO. The bitmapped players and such are a great attempt, and >>although WMCJ wasn't an "airball", for me it just "rimmed out". There is a lot of features in the control of WMCJ that take getting used to. You can pick up the basic features of the game immediately but getting good takes a little while. For example, timing your shots makes them more accurate, using your energy to boost speed but maintaining enough to pull off dunks, and switching control of players can be fairly complicated. Add to that the control changes in passing, blocking, pulling off plays, using the computer AI controlled teammate to pass to you, etc. and you have a lot to learn in two hours ;) >>etc.). I'll just hold out for NBA Jam when it's out next year...... To be honest, WMCJ has more actual play depth than NBAJ. You have more control over the game and features like the AI in WMCJ are considerably stronger (in NBAJ-TE, the AI simply boosts computer stats and cheats when the computer gets behind). WMCJ has a much more complicated 3-D texture mapped game-field and overall is a better game IMHO. NBAJ does feature 60 fps play but only has parallax scrolling and no rendered 3-D. The biggest appeals of NBAJ are actual NBA teams and lots of hidden features... plus the simplicity of having automatic dunks (rather than special moves for dunks like WMCJ). Either way, they are both good games. You might note that NBAJ will use the Team Tap which comes with WMCJ. As far as I'm concerned you should buy both ;) adisak pochanayon -- Jaguar Programmer for WMCJ,- current project NBAJ-TE ================================= -/-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 m 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-/- We have a winner for last week's contest. Joaquin Ferrero, who has been a longtime STReport Internet subscriber, answered our contest question: "When is the JaguarCD scheduled for release?" correctly. The answer, in case you somehow missed it in the issue, is August 24. Joaquin's prize will be going out to him next week! Below, you'll be able to read what he's won; and also what you can win right now! 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, you forgot to enter last week's contest (or didn't win if you did!) - here's a second 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. What do you have to do? That's easy! In fact, we're making it so easy, it should be considered criminal! <g> If you're a subscriber to our Internet mailing list, you're entered in the contest - you don't have to do a thing! If you're not a subscriber, send us e-mail now so you can be entered in the contest. There are no questions, no special feats of strength, no fill in the blanks. Just be a subscriber and leave the rest to us. To subscribe, just send a request to be added to our subscription mailing list, to STReport vca 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) The winner will be randomly selected from all current subscribers. All subscription requests must be received by midnight, August 9, 1995. The winner will be announced in STReport online magazine, in the issue scheduled to be released on Friday, August 11, 1995. 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 Internet: 73637.2262@compuserve.com Hidi ho good neighbors. Yep, it's that time again... Time for some of you to quickly skip to the back of the magazine (in which case, I don't know why I'm even writing this part), and time for others to dig in and either find things to agree with or to disagree with. From the amount of e-mail I received this past week, it seems that about 90 percent of the folks that read this column agreed with my views about dedicated terminal programs. By that I don't mean programs like CompuServe Information Manager (CIM) that give you the _option_ of using an automated program with all the cool bells and whistles like graphics and a sound or two. My complaint was with services that _require_ you to use one of these programs (their own, of course). While most of you agreed with me, a few decided to take issue with my opinion (whether they understood what I was talking about or not). One irate reader told me that programs like these were the wave of the future and that I should stop impeding progress. I'm sorry folks but, to me, progress means _increased_ flexibility, not decreased flexibility. The idea that you must: A) Use the service's software and, B) Use a machine that they have decided is worth them taking your money with, make it very hard for me to agree with the statement that this is progress. Now, an online service that put out a program that would allow you to automate your sessions on _all_ services, provided this program for _all_ platforms, and made it entirely optional, (or any combination of these things) now _that_ would be progress my friends. (Jeez, do I sound like Joe Franklin, or what? <grin>) My last bit of "impeding progress" is to clarify something I said last week. I made mention of the fact that an un-named online service had set up their program to take information from your hard drive and upload it to their system. One of my new "pen pals" told me that "that is impossible"... that the technology did not exist to allow a system to "pull" info from a remote hard drive, and that, "on top of that, there is nothing wrong with doing that anyway". As Mr. Spock would say: "Fascinating". It seems that I have to clarify this as well. Without naming names, a certain online service jointly owned by Sears and IBM constructed their user program (the terminal program you have to run on your DOS machine or Macintosh to access their service) with the ability to grab files from your hard drive and copy them into a cache file which would upload the data to the service when you called up. The service, once it was discovered, said that the information was going to be used to get a better understanding of what types of things their users did with their computers. Unfortunately, this constitutes an invasion of privacy. There were doctors who found that their patient lists had been "cached", and lawyers who found client information "cached", not to mention those "regular" folks who had... well, whatever they had "cached". Someone once said "Information is power", and they were quite correct. But your information should be _your_ power and not that of a couple of multi-million dollar corporations. Hey guys, the next time you want to find out what kinds of things your subscribers use their computers for, why not ASK? Well, let's get on with the reason for this column... all the great news, hints, tips, and (un-cached) information available every week right here on CompuServe. From the Atari Computing Forums Richard Safford asks a very topical question: "does anyone know how to copyright direct on the internet? I need to copyright direct seq gmid format." I have no idea what that last part was about, but Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Richard: "As soon as a work is created it is copyrighted. You do not have to put in a copyright notice but it is good to do so. So someone cannot claim that they did not know it was your work. Copyright (C) 1995 Richard Safford Something like the above is what you would need for a copyright notice." Mike Mortilla jumps in and posts: "...Under the law since 1976, a work is "copyright" at creation. Of course, it's not a bad idea to register your work in the Lib of Congress." Albert adds: "If you need to register your copyright you need to contact the Copyright Office. Copyright Office (202)-479-0700" Chris Roth tries to make us all jealous with this post: "I'm back from my working/vacations journey to the Seychelles. It was like paradise, I am pretty sad now to be here in Vienna again. Diving was quite an experience there, I got some great film material of Whalesharks, what a sensation ;-)! Everybody allright here? Did some news occur on the Internet side? I mean, is there an internet package already available that supports off-line newsgroup reading? Has anybody got Oasis to work right now?" Daniel Osborne tells Chris: "Glad to see you back! I have gotten NOS 0.42 (FTP transfers) and Chimera (FTP and WWW browser) to work just fine on CIS. Go back and read the message threads about "TAF" and "NOS PROBLEMS"." Denies Postal tells Chris: "While you were away I finally got to be able to use chimera. If you can get it running on your machine, or if you have access to any web browser, I recommend you try http://www.dejanews.com/ which has an excellent, search facility for all 10k+ news groups. I use it to find threads that are relevant to me. I'm away on holiday 4th Aug to 6th Sept. Longer than you but a much less exotic location." Good. I thought that I was the only one who turned green with envy at the mention of an exotic vacation location. Meanwhile, Rick Detlefsen asks: "I'm wondering what the expected throughput is when downloading a file using a 14.4kb modem. Is it greater than 20%? Anything special that needs to be done to [get] it [to go] higher?" Daniel Osborne tells Rick: "When using QUICK CIS I get anywhere from 1200 cps to 1650 cps. Which depends on the time of day, and the activity on CIS. I have never gone beyond 1670 cps on CIS. CPS stands for Characters Per Second, which is a standard. You can get higher than this on a standard Atari, if using a 28.8kb baud modem, when connected to CIS at 19.2kb. Mega STE's and TT's can go beyond 19.2k, but not with a 520, 1040 ST's, or Mega ST's (unless modified - hardware modified - risky!! - use MegaTalk board in Atari Mega ST's). Only Mega STE's and TT's can do this, since they use an SCC chip, vs. an MFP serial chip, which is used in the older Atari's." Rick tells Daniel: "Thanks for the reply. What baud modem are you using so that I can put the cps you mentioned into perspective." Daniel tells Rick: "I am currently using a SupraFAX Modem 14.4k V.32 bis. I plan on buying a SupraFAX Modem 28.8k later this year, so I can get true 19.2k connections." On the subject of the Internet browser put out by the Toronto Atari Federation (now known ae the "TAF package"), Chris Arrison posts: "I just got the TAF package, and have some questions. Is there any way to access Chimera etc. without going through X-Windows? Also, once I've copied the Lynx files into the proper directories, how do I access it? And is there any way to speed up Mint when not using X-Windows?" Daniel Osborne tells Chris: "No, you must use Mint, and Mint-Net, and X-Windows to use the Chimera Program. We are working on the Lynx program, please read msg threads as they are posted at this time. To access information about TAF disks (Chimera) please read prior msg threads about "TAF", this is an on going message thread. This subject maybe complicated, so please refer to msg threads for the latest info, until the final version of these programs are released! Please post any problems you are having, or any additional info you might have in this msg base! This msg might sound hard, but we have covered most of this info already within the recent 3 weeks here on the msgs bases!" Don't worry Daniel, I think we all know that feeling of having to repeat the same info over and over. It gets especially tiring when the info is in a database such as it is here. It also provides a unique way to "learn from the mistakes of others. Chris tells Daniel: "Thanks for the info. I've read the threads and gleaned many tips from them. I still am having a couple of problems, though. The docs say to change all references to dev/console in the "syslog.conf" file to dev/null. Yet, when I boot into X-Windows, I get some error messages: Syslogd: unknown priority name "none var/log/syslog" Syslogd: unknown priority name "info /dev/null" " " "none var/adm/messages" " " "debug var/adm/lpd-errs" And then this: pid (syslogd): Bus error: User PC 1866100 (basepage=1f3e00, text=1e34d4) The only thing I've changed is the dev/console to dev/null. Also, when I try to dial up CIS, I get something about a file not being found in a dir like pipe/log. It will, dial but I think my chatfile may be wrong. I have this Connect "" ame: CIS ID:102101,3036/GO:PPPCONNECT ord: my*password What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance.." Daniel explains it to Chris: "I believe they say to do this AFTER you've got the log on sorted out. Otherwise, there is no way of seeing what is happening with the logon script. There is a viable version for CIS in message No:108638 except that there needs to be a colon between GO:CONNNECT. (I see you already have it) Apparently CIS ppp connections are sensitive to *unusual* characters in passwords if you have such, changing it to '/' might help. Message 108639 has the 'etc./resolv.conf' file change for CIS. Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on." Chris tells Daniel: "Yes! I finally got it to connect, though I still get error messages when X-Windows loads. Is it the lack of ram (I've only 4 megs) that makes the ftp program so slow? NOS is quite a bit faster. I tried Chimera, but kept running into the same problem. When I would connect (or try to) to the Toad Computers page, it would dl the file, and then go right back into X-win. Is it choking on the pics, or am I doing something wrong?" Daniel tells Chris: Remove all ACC and AUTO programs that are not required to run Mint, Mint-Net and Chimera, if you only have 4 megs of ram. Also turning off the graphics option in Chimera will help. I will upload a HTML file from the TAF home page on how to do this, on Wednesday." On a slightly different subject, Andreas Graf tells us: "I want to use my ATARI computers for CompuServe connections (I have both STE and Falcon), but I have no idea how to do this. Is there any software like a WinCim or Cans for ATARI computers? If not, which modem and terminal settings are the best?" Sysop Bob Retell tells Andreas: "You can use a normal Atari telecommunications program with your Atari computers to access CompuServe.. we have several choices in the software libraries here, including a very good Shareware program called STorm. There are also some very nice commercial telecommunications programs available from various vendors. Check out FLASH II from Missionware Software in the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN). We don't have anything like CIM for the Atari, but we do have a nice "navigator" style program called QuickCIS. It will do automatic sessions, log in, capture new messages or programs and log off very quickly. It's available here in our software libraries too." Neil Newman posts: "I'm about to get a CD-ROM drive and next year when I can afford it, I would like to get a 2 Gig Hard Drive for HD recording etc. and I am wondering what are the best options. The computer I will be hooking them up to in the Falcon. I would like to have both units in one case with one power supply, to save desk space and power plugs/leads and all that unsightly stuff. One option crossed my mind, get a PC tower case with power supply and mount an internal SCSI CD-ROM and later add the internal SCSI HD. My question is would this work? Apart from a power supply, would I to have any other boards i.e. motherboard and associated cards installed in the towercase to work internal drives or is it a matter of hooking the drives up with SCSI cables etc.?" Sysop Bob Retelle tells Neil: "Your idea of using a PC tower case for your Falcon drives should work just fine... The power supply should be adequate for anything you want to use, and there should be no need for any extra boards. A nice, compact mini-tower case with 200 watt power supply is selling here in the States for about $50 now, which is about the best price you're likely to find for any kind of case and power supply for your SCSI drives." Our own Atari Section Editor, Dana Jacobson, adds his recent experience: "I just installed a number of SCSI devices in a PC tower case so I could hook it up to my newly-purchased Falcon. You don't need any additional boards - just cables (ribbon cables inside - SCSI 2 -> SCSI external). Now I just need to make some space for the tower case! <grin>" Scott Starai asks: "Can anyone recommend a good terminal program? I am new at this and don't know too much about them. I have an Atari ST." That Dana guy tells Scott: "You might want to check out Flash II. There should be a demo of it either in this Forum, or in the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN). In fact, Flash II should see a new upgrade available this weekend at the MIST show, so look for some announcements soon." Look for the upgrade info elsewhere in this issue. Sysop Bob Retelle adds: "As Dana mentioned, a very good commercial terminal program for the ST is "Flash II" from Missionware Software. A good shareware terminal program that we have here in our software library is Storm. If you're online now using an IBM compatible system, you can download Atari files to the PC and then transfer them to your ST if you remember to format the 3.5" floppies ON THE PC FIRST, AS 720K DISKS. Then you can move the files to the Atari by copying them to the disks, and the Atari will read them directly." Well, that's about all the news and info for this week, but before I go, I'd like to share with you a note I got from my old friend, BJ Gleason. BJ has been a Sysop here on CompuServe in the forums devoted to the Atari Portfolio for years, and has written some amazing programs for the 'Folio. He was also a professor at American University. He recently took a teaching job with the University of Maryland (I think) which holds the "contract" with the military for continuing education over-seas. His new job will enable him to see a good deal of Asia and some of Europe. He's decided that he will keep in touch with friends and acquaintances over the internet. His first installment arrived on my CompuServe "doorstep" today. Here's part of what he wrote: "From: <Bjgleas@aol.com> To: 73637.2262@compuserve.com Subject: Report from the Field Hey Gang... and welcome to the list... Please do not use the address(es) that these messages may come from. I am currently an internet vagabond, logging in when and where I can. BJGLEAS@AMERICAN.EDU will always reach me. This is the last time I am going to be using BJGLEAS@AOL.COM until I return to the US... Well, I am currently in Los Angeles, awaiting for the flight to Japan tomorrow (Thurs.) at 12:45pm... It still has not quite sunk in that it will be a while before I am back in the US again. Right now, it just feels like another trip... Spend the last 6 weeks at my sisters, having a great time playing with the kids and putting off getting ready to go over seas. In the final 48 hours, I packed... I am limited to 140 pounds and 2 bags. No problem... ha ha ha! You would be suprised how quickly stuff adds up. For those keeping score at home, it came to about 120 pounds, 40 of which are dissertation materials... I was going to have them shipped, but decided to wait until I found out more about shipping things about. Had two days in LA, doing the sight seeing thing. Santa Monica is VERY nice and highly recommended. Cheap tourist trick, ride the free TIDE buses about to get a layout of the area. Saw them filming BayWatch in Santa Monica. Keep an eye open for a torrid fling between Pamela Anderson and I... Interesting note in the elevator "In the event the doors do not open, there is little chance of running out of air or dropping uncontrollably." If you read between the lines, then, yes Virginia, there is a chance of running out of air and dropping uncontrollably... The Schedule: A week in Japan, orientation sessions, and some sightseeing... In Seoul about the 10th, and classes are scheduled to begin the 21st. They will run for 8 weeks. I am teaching three classes: Intro, C++ programming, and Expert Systems. After that, who knows? Ok gang, I'll wrap this up for now. You might not get another message from me until I hit Seoul... bj bjgleas@american.edu" If you know BJ, or even if you only know him by some of the great programs he's written for the Portfolio, and want to be included on his mailing list, drop him a line. Anyone who's heard or read BJ knows that he's got a sharp wit (like that Pamela Anderson thing) and a great delivery. If you forget to drop him a line, don't worry, I'll be keeping you up to date right here in this column. See ya next week, same time, same channel, so be ready to listen to what they are saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips" Colombus, Ohio CompuServe reportedly "Takes Gloves Off"!! Our "super snoop" has really been busy this past week. First, CIS is lowering prices for the second time this year, beginning next month. CIS also announced that they are forming a new online service for beginner on-liners. No details on content or cost have been released at this time. Don't kid yourselves bunkie, this new service is the "NEW" CIS... Super powerful WinCim Software version 3 (around the Holidays) The days of a drab ascii interface on CIS are almost over. An interim update to WinCim shortly, perhaps around the end of the summer. HMI takes over completely, no more ascii interface. Compuserve is finally waking up to the real world. Snoops sez, "three guesses" as to which competing service CIS has leveled their guns on... This is a "Case" of real business competition CIS is going to win easily. Highlights of the rate changes: 5 free hours of access each month to most all of CompuServe's services. Additional hours billed at only $2.95 each. No more differentiation between basic and extended services. Some premium services still carry surcharges. Electronic mail will be billed based only on connect time, with no additional charges for sending or receiving the message over the Internet. There will be no mail surcharges based on message size or number of recipients. Club pricing will be expanded to lower the costs for heavy users of the service. As an example, a super value plan will provide 20 free hours for $24.95 per month and additional hours at $1.95 each. Snoop also said the above rate changes is only the beginning. CompuServe is "On the March" and out to win the whole enchilada. Watch for some very strange "bed-fellows" in the months ahead. Rockville, MD. GEnie CANCELS Atari Contract! Old Snoop really dug this one out, seems the old expression. "What goes around comes around" is ever so true. The "Episodes" of a few years ago now are on the other foot, so to speak. GEnie canceled the Atari RoundTable contract effective, 08/04/95. Psst... Hey Lee! How About that!! (In our best Mel Allen voice) STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON" A "Quotable Quote" A true, "Sign of the Times" That Telecommunications Bill the Republicans are busy Pushing through the house only proves just how strong the... THE REPUBLICAN CONTRACT ON AMERICA REALLY IS!! STReport International OnLine Magazine -* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *- HTTP://WWW.STREPORT.COM AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE ON OVER 100,000 PRIVATE BBS SYSTEMS STR OnLine! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" August 04, 1995 Since 1987 Copyright 1995 All Rights Reserved No. 1131 All Items quoted, in whole or in part, are done so under the provisions of The Fair Use Law of The Copyright Laws of the U.S.A. Views, Opinions and Editorial Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors/staff of STReport International OnLine Magazine. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. 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