SILICON TIMES REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE "STReport; The Original * Independent * OnLine Magazine!" STR Electronic Publishing Inc. A subsidiary of STR Worldwide CompNews Inc. August 11, 1995 No. 1132 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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WEB SITE: HTTP//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!" Into all lives change must come. Sounds profound, its not. Its simply true. STReport is under going change and will continue to do so for some time to come. Rest easy, I am confident that the PDF format where just about everyone can use the Acrobat Reader form Adobe is the way we are going to go. No more extra downloads. Isn't that a relief? The bottom line is the Acrobat is a super reader that can also be sent via the web colors, graphics and text formatting. I've noticed a few folks "trying", unsuccessfully I might add, to ring alarm bells but the truth is we've received less than ten ascii distress calls. Perhaps, for once, the demographics are close to being correct. Most of those still on "orphaned platforms" either have access to or, own a machine on a supported platform. STReport will continue as always with a full ascii release until such time as its no longer warranted. One must never forget their roots. Allow me to thank all of you for putting up with my experimenting. For those of you who have the ability, check out our Web Site with Netscape's browser, NetScape 1.2b4, there's more going in every day. As of this week, there's links to a number of exciting areas. Watch for new, special interest pages in the very near future. If you have any suggestions or ideas about our 'new look'... tell us about it. The standardized filenames (easy version recognition) for STReport will be in this format: STAxxxx = ASCII VERSION STExxxx = ENHANCED PDF VERSION Please, NO variations.. I've noticed some subtle changes being made. That has to stop. Thank you for your cooperation. Ralph... 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STR INDUSTRY REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS Computer Products Update - CPU Report Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Issue #32 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. General Computer News Compaq Takes Monitor Lead Compaq Computer Corp., which has led the PC market in shipments for the past six quarters, has also taken the lead in the PC monitor market, finds an industry study. According to a Dataquest survey of the 1994 worldwide monitor market, Compaq increased its monitor shipments 55.4% from 1993 and captured the number one spot among the top 10 monitor vendors. Surpassing IBM Corp., NEC Corp. and Apple Computer Inc., Compaq led with a 15% unit share of the top 10 monitor brands. Pinnacle Sets CD-R Price Break Pinnacle Micro Inc. says it has become the first company to offer a recordable CD (CD-R) system for under $1,300. Pinnacle's RCD-1000 will retail for $1,295, down from $1,695, for the internal PC version; and $1,495, down from $1,695, for the Macintosh model. Street prices are estimated to be between $1,100 to $1,200. System prices include both mastering software and a backup utility, as well as two blank compact discs. Each blank CD holds 650MB of data or 74 minutes of audio. A multimedia CD with over 100 startup and motivation videos will also be provided with the system. Claris to Ship Graphics Program Claris Corp. reports that ClarisImpact 2.0, its charting and diagramming program for Windows and Macintosh computers, will begin shipping later this month. The software is designed to help users create a variety of business graphics, including connected diagrams such as organizational charts, flow charts, computer diagrams, brainstorm charts and total quality management charts. The program also permits the creation of project time lines, calendars, data charts and free-form graphics. Claris, the software subsidiary of Apple Computer Inc., notes that ClarisImpact 2.0 is both a native Power Macintosh application and a 32- bit application ready for Windows 95. ClarisImpact 2.0 is scheduled to ship by the end of August for $129. ClarisImpact 1.0 users will be able to upgrade for $59. A trade-up from a competing graphics product, such as FileMaker Pro or ClarisWorks, will cost $69. Feds Won't Block Win95 Release Antitrust regulators with the U.S. Justice Department say they won't take action on the Microsoft Network or Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows 95 software before the new products' release in two weeks. Justice Department officials this week released a two-sentence statement saying a probe of the Microsoft Network "and other issues associated with possible anti-competitive practices relating to Windows 95 is ongoing, (but that) the department does not expect to complete its investigation or reach a decision on possible enforcement action" before the Aug. 24 release. Microsoft Network Sets Limit Microsoft Corp. says it will limit initial membership to its new Microsoft Network online service to 500,000 subscribers, because it is concerned too many people could sign on before the network and billing structure are ready to handle a heavy load. "Microsoft doesn't want to alienate those first visitors to its service," said editor Dwight Davis of the Windows Watcher newsletter. The 500,000 charter members will be charged $39.95 per year for three hours of use per month, with each additional hour billed at $2.50. (Various other membership plans range in price from $4.95 per month for three hours of online time, plus $2.50 for additional hours, to $19.95 a month for 20 hours.) MSN is to debut with the company's Aug. 24 release of its new operating system, Windows 95. MCI, Delphi to Marry Online Rumors say that MCI Communications Corp. is set to merge its online business with News Corp.'s Delphi system. Reports quote executives familiar with the negotiations as saying British Telecommunications Plc is holding talks to buy a stake in the joint venture. The joint venture will include 250 employees of MCI and 450 from Delphi Internet Services Co. and its online game unit Kesmai Corp. and combine the more than 200,000 MCIMail customers with the 100,000 Delphi subscribers. NEC Unveils Big LCD NEC Electronics has introduced a 11.3-inch color SVGA LCD, the largest flat panel display that can fit into a notebook computer. NEC notes that the new active-matrix thin film transistor (TFT) panel offers a 6-bit per color (18-bit) display with a palette of 262,000 colors. Samples of the 11.3-inch display are expected to become available this month, with production shipping estimated to begin in this fall. Pricing is slated to start at $2,200 each in single-unit quantities. "Most desktop computers have 14- or 15-inch color monitors, which have a display area that is only two or three inches larger than the 11.3-inch TFT LCDs," says Omid Milani, senior marketing manager at NEC Electronics. "NEC's 11.3-inch LCD displays applications at nearly the same size as people are used to seeing on their desktop system." Games for Her Changes Name American Laser Games' nine- month-old Games for Her division, which creates interactive software products for girls and women, has switched its name to Her Interactive. The unit provides CD-ROM games for girls; Her On-Line, an on-line service for girls that's slated for a fall launch; and informational and educational CD-ROM products. Other projects under development include book properties and retail showcase CD-ROMs. "When we started this new division in November, 1994, the name Games For Her was a logical extension of American Laser Games' entertainment orientation," explains Robert Grebe, president of American Laser Games, which is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Her Interactive' reflects the growing scope of projects under development, including interactive products other than games." Apple Drops Power Mac Prices Seen as an attempt to close the gap with its IBM-compatible rivals, Apple Computer Inc. is cutting prices of its flagship Power Macintosh PCs, offering reconfigured machines with different components and microprocessor speeds in three lines. Reporting in The Wall Street Journal this week, writer Jim Carlton says new low-end Power Macs and medium-priced models are roughly 35% to 40% cheaper than slightly faster predecessor models. The high-end models have been reduced in price by about 25%. "The low-end models, which compete in the most price-sensitive segment of the market, are now comparable in price to those of most competitors using Intel Corp.'s microprocessors and Microsoft's operating systems, the so-called Wintel standard," Carlton said. He added, "The cuts trail by 17 months Apple's introduction of its Power Mac line, when the company promised that its computers would be consistently priced below those of rivals. Instead, Apple kept its prices high in an attempt to maximize profits, and because a lack of components restricted production. As a result, its share of the world-wide market dwindled last year to 8% from 15% or more in the late 1980s." All this leads some to say the price cuts are too little, too late, noting only two of the three lines are priced close to the competition, the Journal says. "A Dataquest analysis forecasts that Apple's market share will drop to about 5% over the next five years, under an assault from Windows 95," the paper adds, "and Apple concedes it is still struggling with component shortages that will constrain production for at least the next two months." Still, some industry experts think that if Apple can eventually deliver enough machines, the new Power Macs "are enticing enough to give the company a chance of at least holding on to its existing share of the global PC market," Carlton comments. Also, "Apple can now brag that it has high-speed computers in the low range that are less expensive than most of the competition," the paper reported. "The low-end Power Mac 7200 model, equipped with a 75-megahertz PowerPC chip and multimedia gear, is priced at $1,699, about $100 to $300 below comparably configured computers from International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. It is just slightly more expensive than models offered by the most aggressive price cutters, such as Packard Bell Electronics Inc. and AST Research Inc., when comparisons are adjusted to include a color monitor and bigger hard drives." Toshiba Combines Modem, Camera A digital still camera equipped with a modem and communications software for sending recorded images via standard phone lines is to be introduced on the Japanese market next month by Toshiba Corp. Toshiba officials in Tokyo say the new Proshot is the world's first still camera with built-in communications functions. It incorporates a 16-megabit NAND flash memory and 2MB of data storage and has a microphone that will allow users to record audio signals. The camera, which is 15.2 cm wide and 3.55 cm high, also features fully automated focusing and a built-in automatic flash. It can be connected with equipment such as liquid crystal displays, printers and television monitors, allowing instant monitoring and production of images. The Proshot's memory capacity of 40 digital images can be enhanced more than tenfold by inserting an optional computer memory card in the camera's built-in slot." Toshiba officials said the firm expects to sell 12,000 units per year in Japan and will market similar models overseas in future. Sharp Offers New Flat-Screen TVs Japan's Sharp Corp., world biggest maker of liquid crystal displays, is building on its LCD technology by bringing out four flat, panel-display televisions to the Japanese market next month. Reports from Tokyo say Sharp will launch 43-inch and 36-inch rear projection TV sets that use a four-inch panel of thin film transistor LCD to project images on the screen, and are about half the weight of conventional models. Sharp also will introduce smaller 10.4-inch and 8.4-inch TVs. Major Japanese electronics companies are focusing on development of large-screen flat TV sets before the start of full-scale broadcasting of high-definition television programs, expected about 1997 in Japan. Meanwhile, NEC Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. are developing flat-panel displays based on plasma display panel technology, while Sony Corp. is developing flat displays based on plasma addressed liquid crystal technology, a mixture of PDP and LCD technologies. Dataquest Says Compaq Is Top Vendor Compaq Computer Corp. remained in first place among PC vendors during the second quarter this year, where it has been since the first quarter of 1994. That is the finding of Dataquest Inc. analysts who also say IBM ranked second, followed sequentially by Apple Computer Inc., NEC Corp., Packard Bell and Hewlett-Packard Co. Dataquest found Compaq out-paced all rivals by nearly 400,000 shipments in the second quarter "and is well positioned to lead the market at year-end for the second consecutive year." Findings included: -:- Compaq shipped 1.45 million units in the second quarter, up 25% from the previous second quarter. -:- IBM shipped 1.06 million units, up 24.7%, and Apple shipped 1.01 million units, up 19.5%. -:- NEC shipped 645,000 units, up 38.7%. -:- Packard Bell shipped 585,000 units, up 31.5%. -:- Hewlett-Packard shipped 520,000 units, up 55.2%. Fujitsu Targets 3-D Market Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc. plans to aggressively develop products that will bring high- quality 3-D graphics to the mainstream PC market. The company says it will develop several 3-D product lines for PC systems. The firm will target all segments of the 3-D marketplace from CAD engineers and multimedia developers to players of 3-D- based games such as Doom and Myst. Fujitsu believes that as performance, price and memory barriers are overcome, demand for powerful and affordable tools to support 3-D-intensive applications and game software will increase dramatically. "Continued growth in 3-D acceleration for the PC will be driven by the entertainment and games markets," says Mark Kirstein, senior analyst at the industry research firm In-Stat. "Performance improvements provided by hardware acceleration solutions will drive the state-of-the-art in visualization, high-quality imaging and interaction." "In this emerging market, users will be looking for 3-D graphics performance at the right price," adds Jim Evert, vice president of Fujitsu's graphics unit. "The release of Windows 95 and further support for the Plug and Play standards will attract more of the mainstream market to 3-D graphics applications." Sybex to Publish New Game Books Interactive Magic, the multimedia simulation and strategy game company, has reached a publishing agreement with Sybex Computer Books. Sybex, a leading publisher of computer strategy guides, will publish companion books for a number of Interactive Magic's upcoming titles. The first Strategies & Secrets book published under the agreement will be a guide to Apache, Interactive Magic's new helicopter simulation. Sybex will later publish guides for Interactive Magic's Capitalism and Star Rangers titles, as well as additional releases in 1996. Sybex works with leading computer game companies and has produced guides for such titles as Doom and Myst. The Strategies & Secrets guides will feature a "Walkaround" format, allowing readers to gain an understanding of the game without giving away vital secrets. Robotics Unit Ships PC Card The new CruiseCard PC Card modems specifically designed for Power-Books made by Apple Computer Inc. has been introduced by Megahertz Corp., a subsidiary of U.S. Robotics Corp. Reports quote Megahertz officials as saying two versions of the CruiseCard PC Card modem will be available the week of Aug. 28. The 14.4Kbps CruiseCard has a suggested retail price of $249 and the 28.8Kbps CruiseCard has a suggested retail price of $399. Frankie's Corner STR Feature Is Christmas Around the Corner? The Kids' Computing Corner by Frank Sereno Sitting here in Illinois with the temperatures above the 90-degree mark again, my thoughts turn to Christmas. It's never too early to plan ahead for your holiday gift-giving and the kind folks at Sanctuary Woods have provided a list of tips for Christmas software purchases. Santa's CD-ROM Software Buying Tips 1) Look for products that are easy to install. Most software products are purchased by computer novices. Santa always recommends CD-ROM based software and research shows that CD-ROM software is the easiest to install and run. Check the software system requirements and make sure the product is compatible with your computer. 2) Purchase sequels of popular disk-based products. The installed base of computer-based CD-ROMs has more than double, from 5.4 million in 1993 to 10.5 million in 1994 and projections for 1995 have the installed base reaching over 15.0 million. (Source: The Market Intelligence Report, April 1995) CD-ROM's offer enhanced graphics and sound. Many popular disk-based products have been upgraded to the CD-ROM format, including Oregon Trail II and Kid Pix Studio. 3) Find out what's new. Ask your child's teacher to recommend both educational and entertainment software appropriate for your child. Find out what software they are using in the classroom, both educational and reference, and ask for recommendations. If school is out holiday recess, ask family members and neighbors for their favorite software. (Frank's note: Or continue to read this column!) 4) Search for interactive products. Many educational and reference software comes bundled with almanacs or read-along books that reinforce what kids learn on the computer while off the computer. Seek out products that foster creativity with options that let children print out and color their own stories, compose and record their own music, or read a book about a character in the game. 5) Evaluate products by their teaching methods. Concept-based learning is a very popular teaching method that uses real-life situations to teach math, science, and English. One product that incorporates this teaching principle along with the popular sports genre is Sanctuary Woods' NFL Math. Kids use their math skills to calculate Troy Aikman's average yards gained per pass or identify the greatest attendance at an NFL game. 6) Look for product incentives and promotions. During the holidays many publishers offer two products for the price of one or dollars off coupons through local retailers. Check out Sanctuary Woods' year-round Buy One, Give One program; where you buy any educational product and give a free copy to the school of your choice. 7) Check out the return policy. Find out the publisher's return policy so you're not stuck with a product your child won't use. Some publishers offer a 30-Day money-back guarantee. This allows you and your child to try the product and determine if the product is appropriate for your child's development. 8) Software based on popular licensed characters. Products based on award-winning books and PBS programs from Scholastic Inc., such as Franklin's Reading World and The Magic School Bus or from Disney movies are sure favorites. 9) Read holiday buying guides. For an idea of the latest products on the market, check out holiday buying guides and round-ups. Most computer magazines review and recommend software for every member of your family in their November and December issues. 10) Look for products the whole family can use. Some products offer different levels of game play that range from novice to expert that the whole family can enjoy. Did you know that... From The Market Intelligence Report, 5/95 The largest growth in the home PC market is attributable to CD-ROM usage, either upgrades of existing machines or replacements of older PCs with new CD-ROM computers. Nearly 4 in 10 PC households today own a CD-ROM- equipped PC. From The New York Times, 5/8/94 65% of households in America with family incomes over $100,000 have a personal computer. From The Role of Technology in American Life, 5/94 Approximately 40% of all households with children have a personal computer. From Anderson, Computers in American Schools 1992: An Overview Over 90% of all children at least occasionally use a computer. Whether that be in their or a friend's home, in a relative's home or in an office. From EIA 9/11/94 33% of U.S. households own at least one PC. 18% have more than one. 10% of all U.S. households plan to buy a PC by the end of 1995. People who purchased computers with the past year... a. 47% upgraded for speed and power b. 33% were first time buyers As Christmas nears, I plan to highlight several of the titles I have reviewed in the past that I feel will be excellent Christmas presents. If you have any recommendations you would like to make for such an article, please send them to fsereno@matrix.uti.com and I'll be glad to include them in this column. Travelrama USA Deluxe available on separate CD-ROMs for Windows and Macintosh for ages 7 & up MRSP $29.95 from Sanctuary Woods 1825 S. Grant St. San Mateo, CA 94402 415-286-6000 Program Requirements IBM Macintosh CPU: 386DX-40 CPU: LC III RAM: 4 megs RAM: 4 megs OS: Windows 3.1 OS: System 7.0 Hdisk: 6 megs Hdisk: 6 megs Video: SVGA, 640 by 480, 256 colors Video: 256 colors, 13" mon. CD-ROM: Double-speed CD-ROM: Double-speed Misc.: Sound card, speakers, mouse Misc.: Mouse Travelrama USA Deluxe is a multimedia gaming experience for your entire family. You and your children will enjoy collecting postcards and learning geography as you drive and fly across the U.S.A. The game has three difficulty levels which allow players of differing abilities to play on relatively equal footing. The object of the game is to collect the five postcards which the program assigns to you. You must locate the city or state which associated with that landmark. For players designated as Student or Learner's Permit Drivers, they can learn the location of the needed postcards by clicking on their list. Licensed Drivers can't peek. In a multiplayer game, each player starts with 500 miles. The player's turn will end when he either takes a postcard or runs out of travel miles. Upon his next turn, he will spin for up to 750 travel miles or airplane tickets. The destinations for the airplane tickets are chosen randomly. At times none of the destinations will be to the player's advantage. In these cases, he can choose no destination but he will lose his ticket. Along the way, the player's travels will bring him to rest areas denoted by yellow triangles. All rest stops have an associated game card. These cards have artwork reminiscent of those found in Monopoly. Most of the cards carry good consequences such as free miles, but some times they call for the loss of all your travel miles or allowing another player to steal one of your postcards. Players can use many strategies to win the game. First, they must use the least mileage between cities and use the most direct route possible. Game cards are not hidden for the other player's views, so each player can plot strategy against his opponents. They can land on the same city as an opponent and force a trade. It's a good idea to carry an unwanted card to trade for a card you do need. You can also force a trade on a player who already has his five postcards but hasn't returned to his point of origin. As you play the game, you will develop new strategies. The game also has a solo mode in which a player is given 5000 miles. He will then be given a score based on postcards collected and leftover miles after he has collected the five postcards. This will allow a player to familiarize himself with the more than 600 different postcards. Travelrama is a bit weak on educational content. Players do get to learn a little bit about each state, but only enough to whet their interest in geography. Some of the postcards are of sites that most people would not be familiar so it is difficult to play as a Licensed Driver. It would have been better if the program included a small encyclopedia-type study of each state complete with topographical maps, state history, famous citizens, points of interest, population data and more. Creating an interest in geography and travel is good, but children will have to use another product to learn more. The program is graphically pleasing. The audio portion is done well. The host has an amiable and pleasant voice making the gaming experience enjoyable. The program features fifty toe-tapping theme songs. The interface is user-friendly and easy. Included is an audible help section and a guided tour of the program. Play value is excellent. The game is different each time it is played as the program automatically rotates the postcards in each state and assigns new postcards to each player. The entire family from the first-grader to great-grandma can enjoy a game of Travelrama. Travelrama USA Deluxe is backed by a 30-Day moneyback guarantee. With its low price and high fun factor, it is an excellent choice for families looking an entertaining and educational diversion. Ratings Graphics 8.0 Sounds 9.0 Interface 8.5 Play Value 9.5 Educational Value 6.5 Bang for the Buck 8.5 Average 8.33 New Magazine Debuts "Family Time Computing" is a new magazine dedicated to assisting parents in choosing the best software for their children. It is published by Family Time Computing, Inc. and is edited by Marsha Lifter. A paid subscription allows readers to ask up to five technical questions per month via e-mail which will be answered by the editor. The first issue is professionally designed. Eight programs are reviewed. The reviews usually include a screenshot or box art graphic along with a very concise but detailed article. At the end of the reviews section is "Software Report Card" which grades the programs on a checklist of important criteria for outstanding children's software. Interspersed among the reviews are quick tips on hardware and software. This issue's final article was an extensive listing of new software releases including target ages, pricing, publisher and telephone number. I am quite impressed with this debut offering. But don't take my word for it! Contact the publisher for your FREE copy by calling 1-309-664-1742 or write to: Family Time Computing, Inc. P.O. Box 1361 Bloomington, IL 61702-1361 Please include your name and address along with a short note requesting the free premiere issue. Paid subscriptions are $14.95 per year for ten issues. Tell them that Frank at Silicon Times Report sent ya! That's all for this week. Once again, I thank you for reading! Gateway News STR InfoFile Gateway 2000 Announces ISO 9002 Certification FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D., August 2, 1995 -- Gateway 2000, Inc. today announced that its desktop and portable computer manufacturing headquarters in North Sioux City, South Dakota has been assessed and certified as meeting the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9002/ANSI/ASQC Q9002. The ISO 9002 certificate insures the company's compliance to standard requirements for quality assurance. Gateway's ISO 9002 certificate was issued by International Certification Services, Inc. (SGS) which is accredited by the ANSI-RAB (American National Standards Institute-Registrations Accreditation Board). The RAB certificate number is US95/0251. ISO 9000 provides a foundation for continuous improvement through consistent procedures, regular internal audits and corrective action plans. said John d'Auguste, vice president of manufacturing. Gateway 2000 implemented the ISO 9002-based manufacturing management system to improve internal manufacturing processes and to insure consistent quality within our entire manufacturing facility. Gateway's ISO 9002 certification applies to its entire manufacturing division in North Sioux City, including its production, quality, shipping, inventory, scheduling, transportation, portables operations, and purchasing departments. We recognized ISO as an opportunity to add more value to Gateway's PCs, said Bill Shea vice president of corporate sales. Many of our corporate customers are required to purchase PCs built under an ISO 9002 certified system, so we are very pleased to announce this certification to meet their needs and to maintain our strong customer satisfaction and loyalty. A recent survey conducted by Computer Intelligence InfoCorp (CII) reinforces this commitment to our customers and their loyalty to us. The study found that among the Intel/Windows PC manufacturers, Gateway 2000 was the clear-cut winner in repeat purchases or brand loyalty ratings during 1994. More than 82 percent of those purchasing Gateway 2000 PCs indicated that they would purchase a Gateway again and strong customer loyalty was evident across all user segments--the home, self-employed, and business environments. About Gateway 2000 Gateway 2000, a Fortune 500 company founded in 1985, currently sells more PC-compatible systems through the direct market channel in the United States than any other PC manufacturer. A recent study by Computer Intelligence/InfoCorp shows that PCs from Gateway 2000 led the PC industry in repeat purchase or brand "loyalty" ratings during 1994. Gateway's rating far out-distanced its nearest competitors. The company's 1994 sales were $2.7 billion. Gateway 2000 is listed on the Nasdaq market as GATE. MICROGRAFX STR Spotlight Micrografx Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End Results Richardson, Texas (August 8, 1995) - Micrografx(R), Inc. (NASDAQ: MGXI), a leading graphics software developer, today reported income of $0.2 million, or $0.03 per share, on revenues of $14.5 million for the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, 1995. For the three months ended June 30, 1994, the company reported revenues of $13.6 million and a net loss of $1.4 million, or $0.15 per share. For the year ended June 30, 1995, the company reported revenues of $60.4 million and net income of $1.8 million, or $0.20 per share. This compares to revenues of $60.7 million and a net loss of $4.8 million, or $0.56 per share, for the year ended June 30, 1994, which included a one-time pre-tax restructuring charge of $3.8 million in December 1993. "Fiscal 1995 was a very good year for Micrografx," said J. Paul Grayson, Micrografx chairman and chief executive officer. "We have improved our financial performance while transitioning to more value-oriented business and consumer product offerings." Revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 1995 included localized versions of new product offerings: ABC FlowCharter(R) 4.0 in French; Micrografx Designer(TM) 4.1 in French, Spanish and Japanese; Picture Publisher(R) 5.0 in Japanese; and Designer Power Pack in French and Japanese. Chief Financial Officer Gregory A. Peters added, "We are pleased with the revenue growth experienced this quarter, particularly given the general softness in overall software sales resulting from the impending release of Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 95. More importantly, we have seen substantial increases in unit shipments following the availability of our two recent suite offerings, Designer Power Pack and ABC FlowCharter 4.0. Unit shipments of the professional graphics products (Designer, Picture Publisher and Designer Power Pack) and the ABC Product Family were up 124% and 27%, respectively, from the same quarter last year." Geographically, for the quarter ended June 30, 1995, the Americas region contributed 41% of consolidated revenue. Europe contributed 38%, and the Pacific Rim represented 21% of total revenues. International revenue growth as a percentage was greatest in Japan, which showed a 39% increase over the quarter ended June 30, 1994. For the year ended June 30, 1995, revenues from the Americas region comprised 42% of total revenues; 43% were from Europe, and 15% from the Pacific Rim. In connection with the company's ongoing common stock repurchase program, which was approved by the company's board of directors in May 1994, the company purchased 40,000 shares of the company's common stock during the quarter ended June 30, 1995. As of June 30, 1995, approximately 235,000 shares have been repurchased under the plan. Subsequent to year-end, the company announced the Micrografx ABC Graphics Suite(TM) designed for the upcoming Windows 95 operating system. The ABC Graphics Suite is an integrated offering of diagramming, flowcharting, clipart management, painting, image editing, and drawing tools, with an interface designed for Microsoft Office for Windows 95. Toolbars, dialog boxes and command lists are all designed to Office 95 specifications, allowing people to "use what they know" with Micrografx ABC Graphics Suite. The Micrografx ABC Graphics Suite is expected to be available 30 to 45 days after the scheduled August 24 release of Windows 95. "The launch of Windows 95 is an excellent vehicle for expanding the use of graphics by the PC business customer," said J. Paul Grayson. "The ABC Graphics Suite is the first Office compatible graphics suite that has been designed to specifically fill the graphics needs of business users. By combining best-of-breed applications and extensive content at an attractive price, we believe there is no better value in the graphics market." Micrografx Launches Creativity Software for Every PC User Value-Priced ABC Graphics Suite to Anchor Complete Line of Business and Home Software Richardson, Texas (August 8, 1995) - Micrografx(R), Inc. (NASDAQ: MGXI) today announced its entire line of creativity-enhancing software for PC users worldwide. Micrografx provides a full range of Windows 95 software applications to increase the graphics abilities of everyone from a three year-old experiencing a computer for the first time to a Fortune 100 CFO. Experts Predict Tidal Wave of Windows 95 Opportunities According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft(R) could ship nearly 30 million copies of Windows 95 during its first four months on the market, and by 1998 may be selling an additional 100 million copies every year. In addition, Computerworld's IT Buying Trends newsletter summarized the Windows 95 market opportunity by saying: "According to IDC, the software industry will realize a $2 billion spike in U.S. software sales in 1996 as a direct result of Windows 95." Value-Packed Creativity for the Office The Micrografx ABC Graphics Suite(TM) is the first integrated offering of award-winning diagramming, flowcharting, content management, painting, image editing, and drawing tools, with an interface designed for Microsoft Office for Windows 95. By giving every Windows 95 user instant access to the fullest range of graphics capabilities, Micrografx ABC Graphics Suite provides unlimited creative capabilities to PC users worldwide. The Micrografx ABC Graphics Suite integrates native Windows 95-based versions of Micrografx's best-of-breed graphics applications including: Micrografx Designer(TM) 6.0; ABC FlowCharter(R) 6.0; Picture Publisher(R) 6.0; and ABC Media Manager(TM) 6.0. All components are written to the full Win32 API, and provide performance up to 2 to 3 times faster than 16-bit applications in operations such as file open, graphic importation/creation, and filter application. In addition to leading-edge Windows 95 technology, ABC Graphics Suite is the premier value in the graphics suite market. ABC Graphics Suite's street price will be $299.95 (USD), and will be available on CD-ROM only. The upgrade price will be $149.95 (USD), and will be available to current Micrografx customers, Microsoft Office customers, and customers of competing graphics applications such as CorelDraw and Adobe Photoshop. "The Micrografx ABC Graphics Suite is an ideal addition to Microsoft Office for Windows 95," said Chris Peters, vice president, Microsoft Office Business Unit. "Micrografx's support for Office 95 compatibility will provide Microsoft Office 95 customers with a wide range of leading-edge graphics functionality in a familiar Office look and feel. We are enthusiastic that Micrografx is fully supporting Office 95." Value-Packed Creativity for the Home Also a leader in home creativity software, Micrografx is preparing new versions of its top-selling Windows Draw(R) and Crayola(TM) Art Studio(TM) applications, and a new application called Hallmark Connections(TM) Card Studio(TM) . Windows Draw alone enjoys considerable success in both U.S. and international markets with an active user base of more than 400,000 people worldwide. Similar to the company's value orientation in office software, Micrografx will offer premier home applications at compelling prices. Windows Draw 4.0 is an integrated graphics software product for the home computer user, and is based extensively on templates oriented to the most common home graphics projects such as newsletters, deck design, banners, maps and flyers. Crayola Art Studio 2.0 is a single CD-ROM integrating both the award-winning Crayola Amazing Adventure (ages 3 to 6) and Crayola Art Studio (ages 6 to 12) for multiple operating systems including Windows 95, Windows 3.1 and Macintosh. Hallmark Connections Card Studio is a CD-ROM offering an easy and enjoyable way to create high quality, uniquely personal greeting cards, announcements, invitations, signs and certificates. Pricing, features and availability for all products will be available during the coming months, with all products scheduled to ship in time for the holiday season. "Micrografx's mission is to enhance the creativity of anyone using a personal computer, regardless of their age or skill level," said J. Paul Grayson, chairman and CEO of Micrografx. "With a balanced mix of leading-edge Windows 95 technology and strong brand names such as Crayola and Hallmark, Micrografx is uniquely positioned to deliver the most comprehensive, strongest value in creativity software to PC users worldwide." Value-Packed Creativity for Windows 3.1 In addition to the leading-edge 32-bit solutions offered by Micrografx, customers can also purchase the company's award-winning, top-selling Designer Power Pack and ABC FlowCharter 4.0. The applications, which have garnered awards and strong sales throughout the world, will continue to be available including current user and competitive upgrades. Designer Power Pack was recently awarded Japan's DOS/V Magazine "Tester's Choice" and "Observer's Choice" awards, while ABC FlowCharter 4.0 is No. 9 on the Computer 2000 German reseller list. Micrografx develops and markets graphics software to meet the creative needs of everyone who uses a personal computer. Founded in 1982, Micrografx has become a leading software publisher by responding quickly to customer and worldwide market needs. The company's U.S. operations are based in Richardson, Texas with a development office in San Francisco. International subsidiaries include Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia and Japan. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Crayola Art Studio is a trademark of Binney & Smith Properties, Inc. Hallmark, Connections and Card Studio are trademarks of Hallmark Licensing, Inc. Additional information can be accessed via the Internet at http://www.micrografx.com. OS/2 WARP STR FOCUS! GETTING TO KNOW OS/2 WARP by Micheal Restivo One of my favorite features that OS/2 Warp offers is it's very flexible interface configuration. Almost everything, from the background picture to the window frame's border width, can be changed to suit your needs. Getting Started A good place to begin is with the appearance of your desktop. If you installed the optional bitmaps, take a quick run through them to see if any of them interest you. (Right-click on the desktop, select Settings, tab or choose the Background page, deselect the "Color Only" option, and then browse the bitmaps.) If you find one that you like, half the work is done already. But you think that those bitmaps are all pretty cheesy, and for the most part, you're right. At this point, you decide that you'd like a solid background color. Simply select the "Color Only" option, click on "Change Color", and then pick whatever color you like. Now that you've changed your background, you notice that the dark blue color you have chosen makes it difficult to read the text below your icons. Not a problem! Choose the first page, View, which gives you a number of options. From this page, you can change the size, color, and font of your icon's text. (To keep this article smaller than Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, I won't go into detail on how to use each option. For the most part, though, OS/2 remains consistent: once you learn how to change the color of something once, the same procedure works for all other options which allows you to change the color.) While you're on the View page, try the options for Icon View Format and Display size. These change the way your icons are positioned and displayed on your desktop. Advanced Features Try the Solid Color Palette (OS/2 System-->System Setup folder), which allows you to change the color of a large number of parts of any OS/2 window. Practice on the Solid Color Palette window! It's easy: Simply drag (hold the right mouse-button) any color to any location within the window. (When you drag a color, the icon changes to a paint bucket.) The obvious parts of the window (the background, title bar, scroll bars) can be colored, as well as other parts. In fact, you can even change the colors of any buttons! Now, if you find a combination that you like, it's simple to change the colors of every window in OS/2, all at once! Simply hold down the Alt key while dragging a color to a part of the window. By doing this, OS/2 will change the color in not only the one window, but the entire system. More Advanced Features The Launchpad lets you start programs with one simple click. In addition to this, there are drawers which can hold program icons as well. (I have to admit, it took me quite a while to figure out that you can put more than one icon in each drawer.) To add any program to the Launchpad, simply drag the icon to the empty space next to an icon already on the Launchpad. When you see a vertical black bar appear on the Launchpad, as well as a thin black line between the icon's previous location and the Launchpad, you're ready to drop the icon (just release the button) and voila! Adding programs to the drawers is a little different, but if you successfully add programs to the Launchpad, it is not a problem. Drag an icon to the small button above a Launchpad icon; you'll know it's "going in the drawer" if you see a the button surrounded by heavy black lines. By dropping the icon there, it enters the drawer. You can also delete programs from the Launchpad. Simply drag any icon (from directly on the Launchpad or in a drawer) to the Shredder. Don't worry, your original program icon will not be deleted; this will just delete the icon from your Launchpad. If you like a clean desktop, it is possible to set up the Launchpad to replace the icons on your desktop. First of all, before you do this, make sure you have all the programs and folders that you need either on the Launchpad or in Launchpad drawers. Once your Launchpad is set up, it's time to clean up the desktop. Open the Settings for your desktop (right-click on an empty part of the desktop; select Settings.) Once you have done this, select the page Include. What this page does is determine what icons are going to be displayed on your desktop. For instance, you could set it so that only icons with the word "OS/2" in the description text will be displayed. Highlight the default criteria, and then select "Change". The only value on this next menu that you have to alter is "Use of Criteria"; change this to Exclude (the bottom option) instead of Include. Then, click on "Change", and there you have it. None of your icons will be displayed on your desktop. To change back, simply click on "Default" and all your original options will be back. Really Advanced Options -- Only Proceed If You Are Very Brave This is one last, more dramatic way to change the way OS/2 works for you. Be careful, though, because this of these don't have a "Default" button, and could dramatically change the way your OS/2 system looks and feels...and it doesn't always work the way you like. Now that I've scared everyone away, here it is: The Scheme Palette (found in the same folder as the Solid Color Palette) will let you change a large number of options all at once. There are a bunch of schemes already set for you (again, try them on the Scheme Palette window before choosing to using them to change all the system defaults.) If you didn't see anything you like, there are a number of schemes which let you configure them the way you like; I won't go through all the details, but these options are very powerful. Selecting a scheme to change the system defaults will wipe out anything you have done previously with the Solid Color Palette and other options, so be careful! There are many other ways to configure OS/2, but hey, I need to save some stuff for next week, don't I? That's it for this issue. As always, please direct any feedback to our editor, Ralph Mariano (whose e-mail addresses can be found near the beginning of Silicon Times Report), or directly to me at mike.restivo@np.newpower.com VISIO NEWS STR InfoFile VISIO DESIGNS 5-FOR-95 PRODUCT BUNDLE TO BENEFIT USE Partnership With Industry Leaders Provides Users With Essential Windows 95-Based Products SEATTLE, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Visio Corp. today announced 5-for- 95(TM), a unique multibrand product bundle including four essential applications for Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 95 users and a highly useful book focusing on critical information about Windows 95. This high-value bundle, containing approximately $450 worth of category-leading products, will be available for an estimated street price of $195. "Visio's reputation as a leading-edge developer for Windows and our ability to deliver Visio 4.0 on the launch day of Windows 95 have enabled us to drive this high-value retail promotion and successfully partner with other industry leaders," said Gary Gigot, vice president of marketing at Visio. "The 5-for-95 bundle is a great win for customers seeking out `must-have' products for Windows 95." The 5-for- 95 products include the following: -- Visio(R) 4.0, from Visio Corp., is the industry-leading business diagramming program, designed to provide users with the ability to easily create, edit and share organizational charts, flowcharts, office layouts, timelines, block diagrams and more. Unrivaled consistency with Windows 95 and other Windows(R)-based applications, such as Microsoft Office for Windows 95, makes Visio 4.0 a highly usable, core desktop application. -- Norton Navigator(TM), from Symantec Corp., is a robust set of 32-bit file-management tools and time-saving desktop enhancements for Windows 95 that make it easier and faster to manage files and get around the new desktop metaphor in Windows 95. Tightly integrated with Windows 95, Norton Navigator is a natural extension of the new operating system, designed for users who demand more speed, functionality and operating convenience. -- Remove-IT(R) 2, from Vertisoft Systems, provides expert online guides and automatic features that help users increase available hard- disk space and enhance system performance by removing unneeded applications, files, drivers, fonts and more. Upgrade Assistant for Windows 95, a unique feature of Remove-IT 2, enables users to prepare their systems for Windows 95, configures applications into Windows 95, and cleans up after the Windows 95 upgrade. -- SimCity 2000(R), from Maxis Inc., takes urban planning into the next century with a new level of realism and sophisticated game play that takes full advantage of today's high-powered computers. Users can work with new features -- such as underground water and transportation systems, elevated landscapes, comprehensive city services, stunning three-dimensional 256-color graphics, and realistic sound -- to design and build cities. -- "Using Windows 95," from Que Corp., the leading computer-book publisher, is written by industry expert Ed Bott to help users get the most out of Windows 95. The book addresses the needs of both casual and experienced users who want fast access to the best way to accomplish tasks with Windows 95. Tips, cautions, notes and troubleshooting Q&As throughout the book help readers take advantage of Windows 95, including managing fonts, using multimedia, accessing the Internet, managing networks and systems, and more. "The 5-for-95 bundle complements Windows 95 with an impressive offering of quality applications that are ideal for users of Windows 95," said Brad Chase, general manager of the personal systems division, at Microsoft Corp. "This bundle is an excellent example of how software companies can partner together to take advantage of the industrywide impact of Windows 95." "We believe the 5-for-95 bundle will have a high customer demand because it contains some of the best-selling products in the industry," said Marc Chouaniere, buyer at Egghead Software. "At the retail level, we're excited about the 5-for-95 offer and anticipate it will help us take advantage of the rush-to-retail phenomenon we expect with Windows 95 by generating incremental sales." Pricing and Availability The 5-for-95 bundle will begin shipping on Aug. 22, 1995 (appearing in retail stores approximately one to two weeks later). This bundle is a limited-time offer that will be available from leading national distributors and retail channels through early 1996. The U.S. estimated street price of 5-for-95 is $195. Each 5-for-95 product includes a complete set of disks and documentation. Customers can contact Visio at 800-24-VISIO1/8248-4746 3/8, ext. 93W, to obtain more information on 5-for-95, the location of a 5-for-95 reseller or information on any Visio product. About Visio Corp. Visio Corp., the leading drawing and diagramming software developer, was founded in October 1990. The Seattle-based company pioneered the drawing the drawing and diagramming market with the release of Visio 1.0 in November 1992. Since then, Visio has released additional Windows- based drawing and diagramming products designed for business, technical and consumer users. The company markets the Visio product line in the United States, North America, Europe and Asia. Visio is a registered trademark and 5-for-95 is a trademark of Visio Corp. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Norton Navigator is a trademark of Symantec Corp. Remove-IT is a registered trademark of Vertisoft Systems. SimCity 2000 is a registered trademark of Maxis Inc. 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) Photoshop Update STR InfoFile UPDATE FOR ADOBE PHOTOSHOP FOR MACINTOSH AND WINDOWS VERSION 3.0.4 Adobe Systems Incorporated announced the immediate availability of an update for Adobe Photoshop for Macintosh and Windows. The Version 3.0.4 update provides both enhancements for Windows 95 and new 604-based Power Macintosh systems. Other enhancements for both platforms include: * Added Scratch Disk Efficiency indicator that lets users know amount of time Adobe Photoshop spends hitting their scratch disk * Added Float Controls feature * Improved import of Adobe Illustrator files * Added support for TWAIN 36/48-bit scanners * Added support for on-line registration Windows Update * Improved performance on Windows 3.1 in regard to Win32s issues * Improved optimization for Windows 95, including: - Right mouse button configuration to Adobe Photoshop Commands palette - Support for long file names (up to 256 characters) - Registry of application and file icons - Support for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) pathnames - Improved support for many 16-bit plug-ins and the HP 16-bit TWAIN scanning module Although the current version of Adobe Photoshop 3.0 for Windows runs on Windows 95 without modification and is a 32-bit application, the update is specifically designed to take fuller advantage of the power and ease-of-use built into Windows 95. In addition, Adobe is developing a version that will meet the Windows 95 logo certification requirements to become available within 90 days of the final release of Windows 95. Macintosh Update * Improved support for the new Power Macintosh computers using the Motorola 604 processor. When Adobe Photoshop 3.0.4 is run on a 604-based Power Macintosh machines, several functions including Skew, Rotate, Gaussian Blur and various Path functions will execute much faster than version 3.0. * Added support to allow moving of Adobe Photoshop preferences files among systems * Inclusion of HSB/HSL plug-in, new fat Kodak PhotoCD plug-in and fat version of ATM * New fat DirectBits plug-in to improve speed of editing paths on Power Macintosh * Added support for Edit Graphic Object (EGO) AppleEvent, allowing users to embed Adobe Photoshop images in compliant word processing documents Availability The Adobe Photoshop Version 3.0.4 update available now is being sent automatically on CD-ROM to registered users of Adobe Photoshop 3.0 for Windows or Macintosh free of charge. The update is also available on floppy disk for $19.95. Unregistered users of Version 3.0 can also receive the update free of charge until October 15, 1995, by sending in their version 3.0 registration card or calling 1-800-87-ADOBE to register. Linux Line STR Feature LINUX LINE by Scott Dowdle Welcome back to the Linux Operating System column here in STR. Due to family medical problems, it's been a little hard for me to get this column written but I hope to keep it going in a timely fashion from now on. :) Errata I need to make a few corrections from my first column. First of all, my email address is dowdle@mcn.net... NOT dowdle@mcn.com. Secondly, I accidentally left out the address for LINUX JOURNAL, as I quoted their definition of Linux with the condition that I include their subscription address. Opps! I subscribe to Linux Journal and it's a great magazine. For those with Internet access check out www.ssc.com for more info. Anyways, without further ado... the address to Linux Journal is: 7723 24th NW, Seattle, WA 98117, (206)782-7733 voice, (206)782-7191 fax... or send email to subs@ssc.com. This week, I'd like to discuss the Free Software Foundation and their GNU software. Why? Well, as I mentioned in the last column, the GNU tools make up a very substancial portion of most Unix OS implimentations including Linux. As in the past, I'm going to quote direct sources whenever I can find them. :) Origins of the Free Software Foundation Check out this posting from the usenet newsgroup net.unix-wizards,net.usoft from 1983! From: RMS%MIT-OZ@mit-eddie Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards,net.usoft Subject: new UNIX implementation Date: Tue, 27-Sep-83 12:35:59 EST Organization: MIT AI Lab, Cambridge, MA Free Unix! Starting this Thanksgiving, I am going to write a complete Unix-compatible software system called GNU (for Gnu's Not Unix), and give it away free to everyone who can use it. Contributions of time, money, programs and equipment are greatly needed. To begin with, GNU will be a kernel plus all the utilities needed to write and run C programs: editor, shell, C compiler, linker, assembler, and a few other things. After this we will add a text formatter, a YACC, an Empire game, a spreadsheet, and hundreds of other things. We hope to supply, eventually, everything useful that normally comes with a Unix system, and anything else useful, including on-line and hardcopy documentation. GNU will be able to run Unix programs, but will not be identical to Unix. We will make all improvements that are convenient, based on our experience with other operating systems. In particular, we plan to have longer filenames, file version numbers, a crashproof file system, filename completion perhaps, terminal-independent display support, and eventually a Lisp-based window system through which several Lisp programs and ordinary Unix programs can share a screen. Both C and Lisp will be available as system programming languages. We will have network software based on MIT's chaosnet protocol, far superior to UUCP. We may also have something compatible with UUCP. Who Am I? I am Richard Stallman, inventor of the original much-imitated EMACS editor, now at the Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT. I have worked extensively on compilers, editors, debuggers, command interpreters, the Incompatible Timesharing System and the Lisp Machine operating system. I pioneered terminal-independent display support in ITS. In addition I have implemented one crashproof file system and two window systems for Lisp machines. Why I Must Write GNU I consider that the golden rule requires that if I like a program I must share it with other people who like it. I cannot in good conscience sign a nondisclosure agreement or a software license agreement. So that I can continue to use computers without violating my principles, I have decided to put together a sufficient body of free software so that I will be able to get along without any software that is not free. How You Can Contribute I am asking computer manufacturers for donations of machines and money. I'm asking individuals for donations of programs and work. One computer manufacturer has already offered to provide a machine. But we could use more. One consequence you can expect if you donate machines is that GNU will run on them at an early date. The machine had better be able to operate in a residential area, and not require sophisticated cooling or power. Individual programmers can contribute by writing a compatible duplicate of some Unix utility and giving it to me. For most projects, such part-time distributed work would be very hard to coordinate; the independently written parts would not work together. But for the particular task of replacing Unix, this problem is absent. Most interface specifications are fixed by Unix compatibility. If each contribution works with the rest of Unix, it will probably work with the rest of GNU. If I get donations of money, I may be able to hire a few people full or part time. The salary won't be high, but I'm looking for people for whom knowing they are helping humanity is as important as money. I view this as a way of enabling dedicated people to devote their full energies to working on GNU by sparing them the need to make a living in another way. For more information, contact me. Arpanet mail: RMS@MIT-MC.ARPA Usenet: ...!mit-eddie!RMS@OZ ...!mit-vax!RMS@OZ US Snail: Richard Stallman 166 Prospect St Cambridge, MA 02139 Sortly thereafter, the Free Software Foundation was incorporated by Mr. Stallman. Here is an explaination on what the Free Software Foundation is directly from their latest newsletter... What Is the FSF? The Free Software Foundation is dedicated to eliminating restrictions on people's right to use, copy, modify and redistribute computer programs. We do this by promoting the development and use of free software. Specifically, we are putting together a complete, integrated software system named "GNU" (pronounced "guh-new", "GNU's Not Unix") that will be upwardly compatible with Unix. Most parts of this system are already being used and distributed. The word "free" in our name refers to freedom, not price. You may or may not pay money to get GNU software, but either way you have two specific freedoms once you get it: first, the freedom to copy a program and give it away to your friends and co-workers; and second, the freedom to change a program as you wish, by having full access to source code. You can study the source and learn how such programs are written. You may then be able to port it, improve it and share your changes with others. If you redistribute GNU software you may charge a distribution fee or give it away, so long as you include the source code and the GPL; see ``What Is Copyleft'', for details. Other organizations distribute whatever free software happens to be available. By contrast, the Free Software Foundation concentrates on the development of new free software, working towards a GNU system complete enough to eliminate the need to use a proprietary system. Besides developing GNU, the FSF distributes GNU software and manuals for a distribution fee and accepts gifts (tax-deductible in the U.S.) to support GNU development. Most of the FSF's funds come from its distribution service. The Board of the Foundation is: Richard M. Stallman, President; Robert J. Chassell, Secretary/Treasurer; Gerald J. Sussman, Harold Abelson, and Leonard H. Tower Jr., Directors. What Is Copyleft? The simplest way to make a program free is to put it in the public domain, uncopyrighted. But this permits proprietary modified versions, which deny others the freedom to redistribute and modify; such versions undermine the goal of giving freedom to *all* users. To prevent this, "copyleft" uses copyrights in a novel manner. Typically copyrights take away freedoms; copyleft preserves them. It is a legal instrument that requires those who pass on a program to include the rights to use, modify, and redistribute the code; the code and the freedoms become legally inseparable. The copyleft used by the GNU Project is made from the combination of a regular copyright notice and the "GNU General Public License" (GPL). The GPL is a copying license which basically says that you have the aforementioned freedoms. An alternate form, the "GNU Library General Public License" (LGPL), applies to a few GNU libraries. This license permits linking the libraries into proprietary executables under certain conditions. The appropriate license is included in each GNU source code distribution and in many manuals. Printed copies are available upon request. We strongly encourage you to copyleft your programs and documentation, and we have made it as simple as possible for you to do so. The details on how to apply either form of public license appear at the end of each license. *** To date, all of the software offered by the Free Software Foundation has been ported to just about every computer operating system known to man... and the public availability of the source code for all of their tools is what has made this possible. The list of software available from the FSF is a very long one including such things as a multiplayer flight simulator, Optical Character Recognition, a multitude of programming languages including GNU C, C++, and Objective C. About the only thing that the FSF hasn't gotten completely accomplished is their GNU Operating System. Today it's called the HURD, and it is currently in the later stages of development. I'll not bother to go into the status of Hurd but I'll be happy to send more information via email for those that are interested. At the same time they are working on Hurd, the FSF is also working on their official Linux distribution called the Debian Linux Distribution. WIRED magazine had an article about Richard Stallman and his Free Software Foundation which I can't reprint (it can be found on WIRED's WWW page www.wired.com) but it basically said that donations to the Free Software Foundation have declined over the past few years, and that they have had to layoff a few full time employees. The FSF is still going strong today, and once the Hurd OS is released, it can officially fold having accomplished everything it set out to do. Many commercial flavors of Unix have adopted most of the GNU software as part of their system software... and have donated heavily to the FSF... including IBM, Hewlett Packard, and other well known Unix vendors... because the GNU software is better than most everything out there in the commercial market. Weird, huh? The FSF has created copylefted clones of many very popular application programs including a World Wide Web brower module for their GNU Emacs text editor. There is also a clone of Adobe's PostScripting language called GNU Ghostscript. GNU Emacs has to be the FSF's most prolific software title. It is so popular and feature filled that it is jokingly said that there is an Emacs Religion. Emacs has so many extensions or modules that it's almost on the order of a computer operating system in its own right. In closing this discussion of the FSF, I'd like to say that it is obvious that the Linux Operating System wouldn't be a complete system without the aid of all of the GNU tools provided by the Free Software Foundation. Changing gears for the closing of this edition of the Linux column, I'd like to present the list of credits for the Linux Operating System. Why? Well, because most people, upon first hearing that Linux is a freeware Unix clone operating system, they assume that it's written by one person or a small handful of people... and they aren't as impressed by it because it isn't a commercial offering by some big company with some huge group of factory programmers. Take a look at the credits for Linux and change your mind about the number of professionals who have contributed to the birth and continuing development of the Linux OS. Sorry for the length of this list, but what can I say? :) Linux Contributors: The CREDITS File (Available upon request) ATARI/JAG SECTION Dana Jacobson, Editor From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" Y'know, I find it difficult, after having three week's worth of vacations this summer already, that I need another one real bad! It's tough getting back into the swing of things at work after a relaxing week here and there. But, I'm dragging to make it to my next (and last) one this summer. Hey, I deserve it! I'm looking forward to some more R & R. You may have noticed that last week's issue of STReport had a different look to it (unless you "stayed" with the ASCII version like I did). STReport is catching up with the times, finally. I took the "enhanced" version to work this past week to load onto my PC there to see what all of the hullabaloo was all about. It looked nice, and promises to look even better with time. So what happens to us, some of you may be saying, that still want the plain ol' "vanilla wrapping". Well, we haven't forgot you, trust me! We're still working to provide an ASCII version to those of you on the Internet mailing list, as well as those of you (us!) that don't want to, or can't, use a PC or Mac. And, there is, at least, an Atari reader program in the works so that Atari (and hopefully others) can take advantage of the new look. That's still another couple of months away yet, but it will be available, and FREE! I recently installed a CD-ROM in my system, but I'm still waiting for software to arrive so that I can enjoy it. So, since we really haven't seen too much in the way of reviews of CDs on the Atari line, we hope to be able to fill you in on what's available. We'll be working with It's All Relative and others (hopefully) to bring you some information and reviews of existing and future CDROM offerings. So, we hope that you'll stay tuned for that and other news as it happens! Until next time... Delphi's Atari Advantage TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (8/9/95) (1) MEMWATCH 4 (6) DIAMOND EDGE PATCH -> V2.03 (2) EASY MONEY 1.0 (7) CD_LIST UPDATE - JULY 1995 (3) IN-TOUCH 1.52 (8) ATARI COMMUNITY EMAIL LIST (4) MARIANT 1.0 (9) CALENDAR TEMPLATE* (5) HCOPY 1.6S (10) FLASH II 2.23 UPGRADE * = New on list HONORARY TOP 10 The following on-line magazines are always top downloads, frequently out-performing every other file in the databases. STReport (Current issue: STREPORT 11.31 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE (Current issue: AEO: VOLUME 4, ISSUE 5) Look for the above files in the RECENT ARRIVALS database It's All Relative WWW! STR InfoFile! IAR's Correct Web Page URL! From IAR's Greg Kopchak: On our announced Web Page yesterday, we published an incorrect URL: It should be: http://www.charm.net/~toad/iar/iar_home.htm We apologize to all who failed in their connect attempts and invite you back using the correct URL. It's All Relative Lexicor News! STR NewsFile! Lexicor Announces Summer Sale! Medusa Summer Sale The Medusa, a powerful system running on a 68040 at 32Mhz speed (64) advertised by Medusa Systeme in germany) is selling for around 5-7000 U$D around the world (Lexicor USA price used to be 3,600 for a basic system no monitor). Now Lexicor is offering a sale on this powerful system: 68040 8 Megs of FastRAM (expandable to 128) TOS 3.06 Starter's Animation Pack and Drawing Program Medusa Utilities Digital Arts Render Utilities ST Input Output Board It comes in a tower (baby size) and has built in graphics of an ET-4000 Tseng that can go as high as 1024x768 in 256 colors. A 1 Gigabyte hard drive is included ONLY 2,800 U$D Brand new with a 14" Monitor: 3,000 U$D with a 17" Monitor: ONLY 3,200 U$D Lexicor Software offers special deal on high-end Monitors $559 for brand new 17" Monitors $1400 for new 21" monitors $100 dollars off for NOVA Users!! 21", EPA compliant Digital Monitors (up to 1600x1280 24-82Hkz) 3 Year warranty costs now ONLY 1,400 U$D. 17", EPA compliant Digital Monitors (up to 1280x1024 24-82Khz) 3 year warranty costs now ONLY 559 U$D. I forgot to mention that *existing* NOVA Users can get a 100 dollar rebate on the 17" Monitor with one free Raystart as well. This one is a .28" monitor and can do 1280x1024 no problem and is digital. Cheers Yat @ Lexicor STR NewsPlus MCI, Delphi to Marry Online Word on Wall Street is that MCI Communications Corp. is set to merge its online business with News Corp.'s Delphi system in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Reporter Jared Sandberg of The Wall Street Journal this morning quotes executives familiar with the negotiations as saying British Telecommunications Plc is holding talks to buy a stake in the joint venture. The paper says the joint venture will include 250 employees of MCI and 450 from Delphi Internet Services Co. and its online game unit Kesmai Corp. and combine the more than 200,000 MCIMail customers with the 100,000 Delphi subscribers. The Journal also reports Scott Kurnit, who recently left the IBM/Sears Prodigy system to join MCI, becomes CEO of the venture to create online services for businesses and consumers that will exist wholly on the Internet's World Wide Web rather than providing customers with separate access. Sandberg calls this, "The first major outgrowth of MCI's planned $2 billion investment in the media company," adding British Telecommunications is said to be in negotiations to purchase a stake in the yet-unnamed venture. BT, which already owns a 20 percent stake in MCI, "could provide the venture with additional capital as well as access to overseas markets," Sandberg comments. As reported, media czar Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought Delphi in October 1993 with highly publicized plans to revamp the service and infuse it with News Corp. "content," such as guest appearances by characters from shows on News Corp.'s Fox television network, "but," says Sandberg, "the plans haven't turned out as News Corp. expected and Delphi's executive suite was reshuffled as News Corp. looked for a fix. (The) media company appears to be putting Delphi in MCI's hands and letting MCI take the lead." On the management front, the Journal says: -:- Anthea Disney, who recently left as editor of News Corp.'s TV Guide magazine to join Delphi in the new post of editor in chief, now will report to Kurnit. -:- Delphi CEO Alan Baratz is stepping aside to become president of News Technology Ventures, a new post at News Corp., though he also will sit on the board of the new joint venture. Sandberg says the idea in setting up the new service entirely on the Internet is that it may enable it "to hook subscribers who are meandering about the Web, even though they got there via rivals." Diamond Acquiring Supra Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc. is acquiring Supra Corp., the Vancouver, Washington-based modem maker. Supra shareholders will receive a combination of cash and stock with a value of approximately $54 million. Combined sales for both companies topped $255 million in fiscal year 1994, and was over $200 million (unaudited) for the first six months of 1995. In addition to his role as Supra's president, John Wiley will also become a vice president of Diamond Multimedia, heading the firm's new communications division, and will join Diamond's board of directors. The Supra product line will continue to be sold under the Supra brand name. "Supra's strength in delivering state-of-the-art, high-speed fax modem technology positions Diamond to take advantage to the expanding personal computer connectivity market, which is growing due to users' desire to access the Internet and other online electronic services," says William Schroeder, president and CEO of Diamond Multimedia. The company, headquartered in San Jose, California, is a multimedia products developer. IBM Considered Apple Buyout An unidentified IBM executive says his employer was close to buying Apple Computer Inc. last summer, but dropped the idea after "we decided we already have a Number 2 operating system so why buy another Number 2 system." Writer Susan Moran of the Reuter News Service, reporting from Palo Alto, California, also quotes an unidentified industry analyst familiar with Apple's operations as confirming the discussions. "Yes, that's true, they did hold talks," he told her, "and the pattern of activity in Apple's stock recently once again suggests somebody knows something" about a possible business combination. Moran notes IBM's OS/2 and Apple's Macintosh operating systems face stiffening competition from Microsoft Corp., whose operating systems together run about 80 percent of PCs sold worldwide. And of course, Microsoft is expected to tighten its grip on the market with release of its Windows 95 operating system upgrade Aug. 24. "IBM has spent up to $2 billion to develop OS/2 but it has never made the huge market penetration once hoped for," Moran comments. "And while Apple's Macintosh software is still widely revered as the best in the industry, it has failed to help Apple gain market share in a PC world that is increasingly centered around Microsoft's software and Intel Corp.'s microprocessors." As reported, rumors circulated last October that IBM and Apple had held merger talks, though both companies have refused to comment on speculation at the time. Rumors persist that IBM, as well as other companies, might be pursuing Apple have been circulating for months. Other companies analysts have cited over the past several months as potential bidders for Apple include AT&T Corp., Oracle Corp. and Japan's Canon Inc. Meanwhile, Moran notes that in a rare interview with a few reporters recently, Apple CEO Michael Spindler said Apple never held talks with Oracle executives. Asked if Apple had even considered a merger with IBM, Spindler said, "I don't want to talk about acquisitions... I want to say this company is not for sale. But can anything be sold? You just have to look at the movie 'Indecent Proposal.'" (In that film, a wealthy older man pays $1 million to sleep with another man's beautiful young wife, played by Demi Moore.) House Accepts Cox-Wyden Plan The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a rewrite of U.S. telecommunications laws that includes an amendment to shield online computer system operators from liability should they take steps to limit objectionable content on the Internet. House acceptance of the proposal by Rep. Chris Cox, R-California, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon -- which also prohibits the FCC from setting decency guidelines for cyberspace, leaving the computer industry and parents to deal with the problem as they saw fit -- immediately drew praise from online executives. "The online community is just coming into its own as a vast resource for people around the world," said CompuServe President/CEO Robert J. Massey. "By taking steps to empower parents and to encourage the marketplace to address issues such as child safety online, Reps. Christopher Cox and Ron Wyden, along with the U.S. House of Representatives, have taken a leadership role in addressing challenging Issues associated with this emerging technology." Massey added the Cox-Wyden amendment "helps enable us to expand the quality and character of our service. And, it allows us to continue to deploy technologies that will empower parents -- without compromising the rights of our members or being forced into the impossible task of controlling or censoring content." The House package also includes wording requiring TV manufacturers to install a computer chip that screens out objectionable programs. The bill, which Ian Christopher McCaleb of United Press International describes as "the most sweeping revision of U.S. communications law since enactment of the Communications Act of 1934," passed the House by a final vote of 305-117, more than enough to override a threatened presidential veto. The measure is similar to a version the Senate passed in June, except that the Senate proposal calls for regulation of content on the Internet. McCaleb notes a bipartisan group of lawmakers rode "an openly emotional legislative roller coaster" yesterday afternoon in their attempts to have the violence chip or "V-chip" language inserted into the bill. The initial amendment, sponsored by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, would have required TV makers who sell sets in the U.S. to install a V-chip into every new set as soon as the bill is signed into law. (The chip is designed to allow parents the ability to block out programming they deem objectionable, making it inaccessible to children who do not know how to override the chip's programming.) However, House Republican Leader Dick Armey, speaking against the amendment, said, "Kids are kids. They will figure out how to override that chip, and they will probably use it to hack into the Pentagon's computers by the time their parents come home." At one point, the measure was replaced by a softer amendment that only recommended the use of blocking devices, and called on the FCC to conduct studies into their effectiveness. "But," reports UPI, "Markey and his co-sponsors, using a bit of parliamentary trickery, managed to insert their language by 'recommitting the bill with instructions,' effectively using a legislative back-door to include the chip proposal in the bill." The bill, officially known as the Communications Act of 1995, aims to deregulate local telephone and cable television service, while repealing certain broadcast ownership restrictions. Some Urge No Halt to Windows 95 Executives of three software firms -- Symantec Corp., Egghead Software Inc. and Corel Corp. -- are urging the U.S. Justice Department not to block the scheduled release of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 95 operating system later this month. The Associated Press says that in letters to Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne K. Bingaman last week concerning her department's antitrust investigation of Windows 95, the three said they have millions of dollars at stake in the program's timely release. As reported, Bingaman is investigating whether Microsoft has violated federal antitrust laws by combining software for its proposed online service, Microsoft Network, with the new version of Windows. AP reports the executives say they anticipate the Aug. 24 release of the program will serve as a major boost to software programs they've developed. Symantec President/CEO Gordon E. Eubanks Jr. warned Bingaman of "the extraordinary market disruption that would follow a delay in the commercial release of Windows 95 and the products designed to run on it." Noting his firm has developed new versions of its popular Norton Utilities software to run under Windows 95, Eubanks added, "The expense and effort will be largely wasted if Windows 95 is not available on August 24th, and the competitive effort we put in, to be timely in our own product release, will be squandered." Egghead Software, the large software retail outlet, said it has "incurred millions of dollars in front-end costs," including building up inventories, preparing for release of Windows 95. Feds Won't Block Win95 Release Antitrust regulators with the U.S. Justice Department say they won't take action on the Microsoft Network or Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows 95 software before the new products' release in two weeks. Justice Department officials late yesterday released a two-sentence statement saying a probe of the Microsoft Network "and other issues associated with possible anti-competitive practices relating to Windows 95 is ongoing, (but that) the department does not expect to complete its investigation or reach a decision on possible enforcement action" before the Aug. 24 release. Business writer Rob Wells of The Associated Press said the Justice Department "gave few hints when the large-scale investigation will conclude." Microsoft spokesman Greg Shaw told Wells, "We are pleased the Justice Department decided not to challenge the August 24 launch" and the company is proceeding "full speed ahead." As noted, the federal regulators are examining whether combining Microsoft Network access software with Windows 95 will give the company an unfair advantage over other online services. Says Wells, "There's been abundant speculation within the computer industry that the department would have to decide before the Aug. 24 launch of Windows 95 whether to bring a case against Microsoft. Industry experts say it would be easier and less expensive for Microsoft to rewrite the software code and separate the online service from Windows 95 prior to the program's public release. However, Microsoft went into final production of Windows 95 last month, making such a rewrite less likely." CompuServe attorney Steve Heaton told AP the Justice Department statement is evidence the government has decided to prepare a "thoughtful and well-prepared case." Heaton, who is providing material to Justice investigators, said he has received no indication the government is backing off its investigation, adding, "The activity we have had with the Department of Justice investigators has expanded into activities concerning Internet access, the role of Windows 95 and how it affects other Internet providers." In the Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Don Clark notes the Justice Department doesn't ordinarily provide guidance on the status of a pending antitrust investigation, "but an agency spokeswoman explained that after being bombarded by inquiries from the computer industry, the press and the public, department officials felt it would be appropriate to clarify that the Aug. 24 date wasn't a critical deadline for the decision on what action the government bill take, if any." Said Clark, "The move underscores the complexity of the agency's investigation," which has included subpoenas to PC makers, software publishers and competing online services. As reported, the department also recently asked competitors about Microsoft's plans to include software for navigating a portion of the Internet called the World Wide Web. Analyst David Readerman of Montgomery Securities in San Francisco told the paper, "Had they chosen to delay Windows 95, it would have created disruption through the entire PC industry food chain, not to mention the carnage that would have taken place in the tech stock sector." He predicts Microsoft's cost to recall Windows 95 before Aug. 24 at up to $315 million, and says a delay until October could have cost $900 million. Meanwhile, CompuServe spokesman Pierce Reid is quoted in this morning's Journal as saying the company is confidence the investigators still will take action after further investigation. "It would seem to indicate that they want to make sure they have all their ducks in a row before they file suit," Reid said. "This doesn't change our position that we consider Microsoft's practices anti-competitive." BBS Users Challenge Government In what is believed the first courtroom challenge to government seizure of computer hardware and software, seven bulletin board system subscribers have filed a class action suit in federal court in Cincinnati. The suit, filed yesterday, was brought against Sheriff Simon Leis on behalf of several thousand subscribers to the Cincinnati Computer Connection BBS, according to United Press International. As reported earlier, the county Computer Crimes Task Force -- formed by Leis -- raided CCC's offices on June 16 and seized the entire computer system, including private electronic mail belonging to subscribers. UPI says, "A search warrant justifying the raid gave the task force investigators permission to search hundreds of thousands of public and private electronic messages to locate 45 allegedly obscene computer images." However, plaintiffs' attorney Scott Greenwood told the wire service, "Whether the sheriff and the computer 'net police' like it or not, the Bill of Rights is not optional just because they don't like it or understand it. Shutting down a computer system and seizing people's private communications makes a mockery of the First Amendment." The suit, which seeks actual statutory and punitive damages, contends Leis and the task force violated the free speech provision of the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, several provisions of the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 and Ohio common privacy rights. Says the suit, "The faces of the CCC subscribers were the faces of Greater Cincinnati -- working men and women, retirees, mothers, fathers, grandparents and children, Republicans, Democrats and independents." Greenwood characterized the task force's actions as a move to "shut down a constitutionally protected forum for speech and association." Editor's Note... Although I never considered myself a "Dead Head", I have a number of fond memories of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. The concerts, the albums (yes - albums!), Dead concert tour shirts, and other memorabilia. The Grateful Dead influenced an age of more gentleness, a kind of inner peace. The world is a little smaller with his passing. Even cyberspace users mourn his passing: Cyberspace Mourns Jerry Garcia Plugged-in America is mourning the loss of rock legend Jerry Garcia, founder of the Grateful Dead who passed away this week of a heart attack at 53. The Dead always has been hugely popular on the Net, where fans have used computers to find tickets, discuss songs, line up places to sleep while following the band on the road. Now they are using the same data links for electronic memorials. A message at the electronic front door of The Well, the hometown system in Garcia homebase San Francisco, said the system was experiencing a slowdown because of an influx of users to discuss the passing. "It's a very busy day on The Well," spokeswoman Melissa Walia told entertainment editor Valerie Kuklenski of United Press International yesterday morning. "It peaked midmorning as the news got out and people learned that it was not just a rumor." On CompuServe, a special page of features (GO GARCIA) was established by yesterday afternoon, linking to news and commentary around the system, including Rolling Stone Online, People Online, Rock Online, RockNet and the Fan Club Forum. Meanwhile, Associated Press writer Elizabeth Weise quotes one message on the Well with this tribute: "There's a helluva jam goin' on right now! Janis, Pigpen, Brent, Zappa, Jerry, Hendrix ... Dancin' in the streets, jammin' at the Pearly Gates! I hear Bach and Garcia are gonna blow the roof off tonight." Weiss also notes RockWeb Interactive set up a Jerry Garcia Tribute page with text, graphics, songs and photos on the World Wide Web within hours of getting the news. It included artwork by Stanley Mouse, who designed the original skull and roses icon that appeared on many Grateful Dead album covers and has become a symbol for Deadheads everywhere. The Web address is http://www.shore.net/~aiko. Jerry Garcia Remembered Members of the RockNet Forum's Message Section 7, "The Dead," are remembering the life and music of Grateful Dead co-founder and lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, who died Wednesday at 53. Shortly after word of Garcia's death was reported by the news media, members gathered in the forum to share their memories, provide support and look toward the future. Member Susan York stated that she's been a fan since the early 1970s. "Thanks to Jerry for the music and the memories," she wrote. "I'm going to miss new music evolving, but I'm going to enjoy the legacy he's left us." Member Kirsten M. Beck said Garcia's death taught her a lesson. "I realized upon learning this that I have so many regrets -- never took my son to see a show, didn't get to see the last show with my very best deadhead friend because she had other -- not so important -- plans. We just kept saying there will always be next time. Another lesson in life: "sometimes there is no next time." Member Eric Thompson stated that writing about Garcia's death brought tears to his eyes. "It was in '78 that I was introduced to the band in Syracuse -- while attending school at SUNY/Cortland -- by my roommate. We saw the band at the Palace in Michigan last year and now, I am beginning to realize, for the last time -- that we will never be able to experience it in the same way again." Thompson added, "It was my friend that told me (about Garcia's death), and now he has introduced me, once again, to a new set of feelings." Member Bill Savage recalled his days working with the Dead. "Having worked for Bill Graham from 1986 up until his death, I was caught without a net into the Dead lifestyle," he remembered. "Those days of Dead at Henry J. Kaiser, Oakland Coliseum, The Shoreline and others will live with me forever. I shall cherish my passes that I have kept through the years." "I'll miss Jerry and the boys very much," commented member Robert Armstrong. "The band may keep on playing, but the music won't be the same. Jerry, we'll see you on the other side." "Thus passes another great soul," stated member Dennis M. Williams. "The light that was his will never be matched. The memory lives on. Let the light shine on me!" To participate in the discussion in the RockNet Forum, GO ROCKNET. Jerry, even up there at the pearly gates....Keep on Truckin'! Jaguar Section CATnips - Squared! Flashback! Rayman Hits Production! Feedback! Tips and Cheats! And much more! From the Editor's Controller Playin' it like it is! Rayman, the long-awaited and touted platform game from UbiSoft, has landed in production. Scheduled release is for September 9th. White Men Can't Jump and Super Burnout are still getting a lot of activity online! I'm looking forward to getting my bike out on the tracks next week and test out SBO! And, I want to hear some trash talkin' and play some hoops with WMCJ! I can tell that there's going to be a lot of gaming this next week I'm in the mood! We have another winner!! Yes folks, we held another drawing from all of our STReport Internet mailing list subscribers. The prize is a copy of the newly published "The Jaguar Gamers Guide", published by Sandwich Island Publishing. The winner....drum roll please...... brupert@mci.net [We'll have that "translated" for you into english in next week's issue! ] Let's get to the news and information for this week. It appears that we're in a "semi-calm before the storm" this week. And remember, JaguarCD arrives in two weeks! 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 T McFur/Cresc 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 $49.99 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 TBD UBI Soft Power Drive Rally TBD TWI Jaguar CD-ROM $149.99 Atari Hardware and Peripherals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAT # TITLE MSRP MANUFACTURER J8001 Jaguar (complete) $189.99 Atari Corp. J8001 Jaguar (no cart) $159.99 Atari Corp. J8904 Composite Cable $ 19.95 J8901 Controller/Joypad $ 24.95 Atari Corp. J8905 S-Video Cable $ 19.95 CatBox $ 69.95 ICD Jaguar Developers STR InfoFile Current Developer Lists & Titles Game Title Date Game Type MSRP Publisher Air Cars TBA Racing/Combat $59.99MidNite Ent. Alien vs Predator NOW Role Play/Adventure $69.99Atari Alien vs Predator CD 2/96 Role Play/Adventure TBD Atari Arena Football 10/95 Sports TBD V Reel Assault 2Q/95 Action/Combat $59.99MidNite Ent. Atari Kart 11/95 TBD TBD Atari Att. of Mut. Penguins 10/95 Arcade TBD Atari Baldies (CD) 09/95 Action/Simulation TBD Atari Batman Forever (CD) 04/96 Action/Adventure TBD Atari Battlemorph (CD) 09/95 Flying/Action $59.99Atari Battlesphere 09/95 Space/Combat TBD 4-Play Battlestar 11/95 Space/Combat TBD ? Battle Wheels 2Q/95 Racing/Combat TBD Beyond Games Black ICE/White Noise 12/95 Action/Adventure TBD Atari Blue Lightning (CD) 08/95 Flying/Action $59.99Atari Braindead 13 (CD) 10/95 Action/Adventure TBD ReadySoft Breakout 2000 11/95 Puzzle TBD Atari Brett Hull Hockey (CD) 11/95 Sports TBD Atari Brutal Sports Football NOW Sports/Combat $69.99Telegames Bubsy NOW Action/Adventure $49.99Atari Cannon Fodder NOW Action/Adventure $49.99Virgin Chas Barkley Basketball 09/95 Sports TBD Atari Checkered Flag NOW Racing $69.99Atari Club Drive NOW Racing $59.99Atari Commando (CD) 11/95 Action (3D) TBD Atari Commander Blood (CD) 11/95 RPG TBD Atari Creature Shock (CD) 08/95 Adventure/Sci-Fi TBD Atari/Virgin Cybermorph NOW Flying/Action $59.99 Atari Dactyl Joust 11/95 Action TBD Atari Dante (CD) 06/96 Action TBD Atari Deathwatch 11/95 Arcade TBD Atari Defender 2000 10/95 Arcade TBD Atari Demolition Man (CD) 09/95 Action/Combat $59.99 Atari Doom NOW Action/Combat $69.99 Atari Double Dragon V NOW Action/Adventure $59.99 Williams Dragon:Bruce Lee Story NOW Combat $59.99 Atari Dragon's Lair (CD) 08/95 Adventure TBD Ready Soft Dragon's Lair 2 (CD) 10/95 Adventure TBD ReadySoft Dreadnought (CD) 2Q/95 Adventure TBD Atari Dune Racer (CD) 01/96 Racing TBD Atari Dungeon Depths 2Q/95 Action/Adventure $59.99MidNite Ent. Evolution: Dino Dudes NOW Puzzle/Adventure $49.99 Atari Fight For Life TBA Combat TBD Atari Flashback NOW Action/Adventure $59.99 US Gold Flip-Out 08/95 Puzzle TBD Atari Formula Racing (CD) 12/95 Racing TBD Atari Frank Thomas Baseball 04/96 Sports TBD Atari Gotcha! 01/95 Challenge TBD Unknown Hardball Baseball 2Q/95 Sports TBD Atari Highlander I (CD) 11/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari Highlander II (CD) 02/96 Action/Adventure TBD Atari Highlander III (CD) 04/96 Action/Adventure TBD Atari Horrorscope 2Q/95 Combat TBD V Reel Hover Strike NOW Action/Combat $59.99 Atari Hover Strike CD 09/95 Action/Combat TBD Atari Hyper Force TBA Unknown TBD Comp. West Ironman/XO-Manowar 04/96 Action TBD Atari Iron Soldier NOW Action/Strategy $59.99 Atari Iron Soldier II (CD) 01/96 Action/Strategy TBD Atari Jack Nicklaus Golf(CD) 2Q/95 Sports TBD Atari Kasumi Ninja NOW Combat $69.99 Atari Magic Carpet (CD) 12/95 Action/RPG TBD Atari Max Force 09/95 Action TBD Atari Mindripper (CD) 02/96 Adventure TBD Atari Mortal Kombat 3 04/96 Fighting TBD Atari Myst (CD) 08/95 Interactive Novel TBD Atari NBA Jam T.E. 12/95 Sports TBD Atari Phase Zero 10/95 Action/Arcade TBD Atari Pinball Fantasies NOW Arcade $59.95Comp. West Pitfall 09/95 Arcade TBD Activision Power Drive Rally 08/95 Driving TBD TWI Primal Rage (CD) 12/95 Fighting TBD TWI Rage Rally 2Q/95 Racing TBD Atari Raiden NOW Action/Adventure $49.99 Atari Rayman 09/95 Action/Adventure TBD UBI Soft Redemption (CD) 11/95 Action/Adventure TBD Atari Rise of the Robots (CD) 11/95 Action/Arcade TBD TWI Robinson's Requiem (CD 09/95 Adventure TBD Atari Rocky Horror Inter.(CD) 04/96 Adventure TBD Atari Ruiner Pinball 09/95 Arcade TBD Atari Sensible Soccer NOW Sports TBD Telegames Sky Hammer (CD) 12/95 Flying/Action TBD Atari Soccer Kid 2Q/95 Sports TBD Ocean Soul Star (CD) 09/95 Action/Sci-Fi TBD Atari Space Ace (CD) 09/95 Space/Combat TBD ReadySoft Space War 09/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari Starlight BowlaRama CD 10/95 Simulation/Sports TBD Atari Star Raiders 2Q/95 Space Simulation TBD Atari Sudden Impact 12/95 Action TBD Atari Super Burnout NOW Racing $59.99Atari Supercross 3D 09/95 Sports TBD Atari Syndicate NOW Simulation $69.99 Ocean Tempest 2000 NOW Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari Thea Relm Fighters (CD) 10/95 Action/Fighting TBD Atari Theme Park NOW Simulation $69.99 Ocean Tiny Toon Adventures 2Q/95 Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari Towers II 12/95 RPG TBD JV Enter. Trevor McFur NOW Action/Adventure $49.99 Atari Troy Aikman NFL Ftball NOW Sports $69.99 Williams Ultimate Brain Games 2Q/95 Puzzle TBD Telegames Ultra Vortek 09/95 Action/Adventure $69.99Beyond Games Val D'Isere Skiing.. NOW Sports $59.99 Atari Varuna's Forces (CD) 11/95 Action/Adventure TBD Atari VidGrid (CD) 08/95 Puzzle/Music Video TBD Atari Wayne Gretzky NHL (CD) 12/95 Sports TBD TWI White Men Can't Jump NOW Sports (w/Team Tap) $69.99 TriMark Wolfenstein 3D NOW Combat/Action $59.99 Atari Zero 5 01/96 Unknown TBD Unknown Zool2 NOW Action/Adventure $59.99 Atari Titles, scheduled release dates, and prices are verified from Atari - all are subject to change Jaguar Easter Eggs/Cheats & Hints STR InfoFile Solving Those Riddles! From CompuServe's Atari Gaming Forum, Doug M. Atkins provides us with the level codes to Flashback: Just finished Flashback for the Jag. Here are the level codes if anyone is interested. L1: Rising L2: Ordo L3: Profit L4: Prize L5: Shaeps L6: Hitter L7: Twin We've seen a number of messages, public and private, asking for some help with the special Super Dunks. Well, there are a number of them, but we're not going to give them all away. After all, the game is still new!! Since we're all gentlemen here, let's talk about the female players of WMCJ and how they do their Super Dunks! All of the female characters possess the same Super Dunks. They are described here, along with the proper button presses to activate them. Remember that the button presses must be done quickly, and while the "B" action button is held down. When the "B" action button is released, the player will perform the Super Dunk. Timing is critical to getting off the more complex Super Dunks. The following Super Dunks are for all female characters. A. To perform the OVERHAND slam, press the D-PAD RIGHT. B. To perform the TWISTER-SPIN slam, press the D-PAD LEFT TWICE. C. To perform the BEHIND-THE-BACK slam, press the D-PAD LEFT, THEN RIGHT. D. To perform the FLIP slam, press the D-PAD DOWN, THEN UP. E. To perform the SPASTIC-SPIN slam, press the D-PAD DOWN, THEN RIGHT, THEN UP. We had some e-mail published in last week's issue looking for the invincibility code for Hover Strike. Well, here it is: The Hover Strike development team does not recommend using this cheat. They feel being invincible does not allow you to enjoy the full spectrum of game situations, or its many challenges. However, enter this code at the mission select screen for unlimited missile weapons, unlimited energy, and unlimited shields. Press 3+4+6+7+DOWN simultaneously. Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr! CATnips... Jaguar Tidbits from Don Thomas (95.08.03) I thought you might all like this story. As Director of Customer Service, my staff may sometimes refer me to specific callers which have unusual viewpoints, exceptional praise or simply wish to register a comment (so to speak). I take such calls as frequently as possible and I enjoy absorbing what a lot of people have to say. One such call came in this afternoon. I shouldn't tell you the caller's name, but I'll share that it was a "he" and that his initials were J.B. (no relationship to lunch hour in the department ). J.B. told me that he was in our mailing list because he had purchased a Jaguar a long while back and also owned quite a few Jaguar games. Understandably, J.B. has gaming in his blood and he loved our system, but ultimately decided to trade it in for another system to see what they had to offer. Over the past two weeks, J.B. has received post cards from Atari and he has heard from friends how "cool" the new games coming out for the Jaguar really are. Consequently, J.B. felt compelled to register a complaint that we (Atari) were forcing him to buy a Jaguar all over again. The postcards were just too much for him to handle. Of course I empathized with J.B. and reminded him where in New Jersey he could buy a new system. I hate it when we disappoint a customer. I know I miss these predictions frequently, but Travis has promised me a new issue of Atari Explorer Online this coming weekend (probably Monday). Look for an exclusive Ted Hoff interview as well as an early look at VLM on the Jaguar CD-ROM. In case you've been in a cave , "White Men Can't Jump" *IS* in stores! Here's a comment from Prodigy... Service: PRODIGY Board: VIDEO GAMES BB Topic: ATARI JAGUAR Subject: GAME DEVELOPMENT Time: 07/28 9:41 PM To: CHRIS ALLEN (QDAP95B) From: RICHARD CATTERALL (DCPX77A) White Men Can't Jump is now shipping, here is a comment. >We have just had a look at White Men Can't Jump. I think >Atari has another winner. The game has the look, feel and >AI of a 64 bit title. There is no way this game could have >been done on any of the 16-bit platforms. > >Dave Bits of Fun Richard Remember, for a limited time, "White Men Can't Jump" is pre-packaged with a FREE Team Tap peripheral. A special mailing of the new Jaguar Strategy Guide has shipped today to Atari's internal list of Rep Firms and Distributors. I spoke to the publisher, Sandwich Islands Publishing, and they tell me that the chains are already submitting sizable reorders. Ask your retailer to show you a copy. It is very well done. CATnips... Jaguar tidbits from Don Thomas (95.08.07) "White Men Can't Jump" seems to be the talk of the town and well it should be. It's the first "trash-talkin" game of two on two basketball of it's kind and, for a limited time, comes with a FREE Team Tap(tm) peripheral exclusively for the Atari Jaguar 64. So you say what is that I'm talkin' 'bout? We'll let's see what Frans Keylard says off the Internet. Frans is a regular Atari Explorer Online contributor and has sent this review to me to supplement another review running in the next issue of AEO. Title: White Men Can't Jump Publisher: Atari 1995 Programmers: High Voltage Players: 1 to 4 Introduction WMCJ is loosely based on the movie with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, neither of which appear in this adaptation. Of course it's Rosie Perez that I really miss! Just about everyone has seen multiple copies of the mailing announcements for both Super Burnout and WMCJ. These mailings are tied to your mailed-in warranty cards, and since I diligently filled out those, I received about nine pairs of cards. This is okay, since it gives me the chance to hand out the excess at my next Atari club meeting. I do think that the buffoon who wrote the excruciatingly annoying "trash-talking" wannabe text on the WMCJ flyer and in the manual, should be exposed to it in a Clockwork Orangesque fashion. Let the punishment fit the crime! I guess it just doesn't work when it's watered down. I wish there were a parental lockout feature on the cart so actual phrases from the movie could be used. Trash-talking only works effectively when it's not cleaned up for the "Barney the Dinosaur" audience. As it stands, there are quite a few phrases being bantered about during gameplay. Like a good boy I read the manual first before playing the game, it just happens to be that my nearest Jaguar dealer is 30 miles away and someone else was driving! As it turns out, this gave me a tremendous advantage over some not so thorough and vociferous internet peers. It sure helps to turn on the arrow above your own players so you can keep track of them more easily. The court is three dimensional and the camera has a swooping and zooming viewpoint. This initially is quite bewildering, but after a while it becomes predictable. The characters all have humorous names, backgrounds and motivations for winning the $5000. There are fourteen pairs to choose from, twenty of which are black players, but the rest seriously need to lay off the embalming fluids! They are a curious shade of death-gray which makes it kind of hard to call them white. Nevertheless, they could be purple and it would probably also be politically correct - who am I to judge? There are four courts to choose from in VS. Mode, and Tournament mode cycles through these until you reach the Slam City Tournament. The object is to earn the tournament entry fee of five thousand dollars by hustling other teams. You borrowed the initial money from your friendly local financiers, Tangle and Cash, aka the Breakleg Brothers. These gentlemen want their money back as soon as possible with an absurd interest rate. They, in turn, want to start their own credit card business. If you threaten to deter them from this lofty entrepreneurial goal, they will personally demonstrate their knowledge of anatomy. Okay, so I made the credit card bit up, the fact remains that it's "game over" when you lose their cash. The game moves at 15 to 18 fps and is adequate enough, but the background crowds (when applicable) are stationary cardboard figures. Perhaps this is a trade-off, but I probably would not have noticed this were it not for the spectators with their arms stuck up in the air. That would get very tiring after a while. Overall the graphics are very good, there are lots of in between game digitizations and renderings. Pros TEAM TAP!!! The ability to hook up four joypads and play against three other friends is what gives this game it's "keeper" status. The device has four joypad slots and connects to the player two plug-in. The first three plug-in will be used by WMCJ along with the player one joypad. The fifth plug-in is not supported by this particular game since WMCJ is two-on-two, and everybody knows that adds to three. If you hook up two team taps, one to each joypad plug-in, you can hook up eight joypads in total, which should be more than enough for any forthcoming game. The Team Tap is a freebie, a "WMCJ special promo." The package retails for $69.95 or less. I have always been a fan of multiplayer games, because as fun as solo games might be, they do not improve your social life, or give you a chance to beat up on your friends. When these meat-for-the-slaughter friends come over, WMCJ is now THE game to play. Hey, I want to show my Jag off, and what better way then by being able to show something that allows multiplayer mayhem? Alien vs. Predator only goes so far. There are plenty of options to choose from. The speech, music, and effects can be independently controlled. The graphics are somewhat oddly colored, but very good nevertheless. Cons The moving camera is a technical show-off, but the option to have a fixed camera angle at about 45-60 degrees behind the top of the key would definitely have been welcome. I guess I still love the old game One-on-One, featuring Dr. J. and Larry Bird. However, if that were allowed, people wouldn't turn on the roving camera and there goes the show-off factor. Dilemma's galore! The odd zombie-like colors of the non-black players (I don't know what else to call them!) could have been better. The super-dunk sequence is not very easy to execute, and it being player specific is worse. It just figures that you also have to have adequate energy to perform a super-dunk. However, I have a feeling that this game has not surrendered its secrets yet, not by a long shot! The Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fair, but easy to beat, even without super-dunks. I say fair, because in NBA Jam, the computer cheats like crazy when it's behind. WMCJ does not do such things, and comes out the moral victor in the process. At any rate, the multiplayer aspect is what this game is all about. However, this game is not about the computer as an opponent. The computer is an excellent team-mate because it always marks your opponent. Tips Playing against the computer is easy if you dribble the ball up to the top left or right hand side and shoot from three-point range. Wait for your team mate to get close to the basket for rebound purposes. Conclusion WMCJ is obviously the first game to offer more than two player simultaneous play and in that respect it ushers in a new era for the Jaguar. It is a total blast to play with multiple players. Its pros far outweigh the cons, and I like this game, I like it a lot! Some people will love this game like I do, and others won't. This game certainly draws its strength from the ability to invite a bunch of friends over to play. Noteworthy is that the lead programmer, Adisak Pochanayon, will probably never want to hear the word "basketball" again after he gets done with his next project; NBA Jam, Tournament Edition. Graphics **** Sound **** Control *** Fun Factor ***** Overall **** (a very solid 4 stars!) Explanation: ***** Excellent! **** Very Good *** Good ** Sub par * Forget It! Let's see what our friends on Delphi say about "White Men Can't Jump"... To: 75300.1267@compuserve.com From: XMILLAR@delphi.com Date: Fri, 4 Aug 95 23:22 PDT Subject: WMCJ Well, I finally managed to get back to Babbages and ... after several hours of play, here is my preliminary review: Graphics All four areas of play are very pleasing to the eye. Be it the burned out, graffiti strewn court of Compton to the NBA style of the Inglewood Forum, the ground, backboard, and courtside textures are all very well done. The several layers of scrolling, raytraced, bitmap backgrounds are also very nice, albeit an interesting stylistic change from the real look of the rest of the court. All of the players are nicely digitized, but have a washed out look to them, most likely due to heavy compression. The number of frames per move is adequate and the frame rate is roughly 15fps, akin to JagDoom. Definitely one of the prettiest games for the Jag in recent memory. Music Great music, IMO. The theme tune absolutely _sucks_, but the in-game music is really, really cool. Obviously not of Tempest quality (although I like the style better) but superior to Val D'Isere and Iron Soldier. The style fits very well with the game. Control Controls seem very responsive, although I have had some trouble pulling off the "SuperDunks"...it just doesn't seem to be an intuitive movement to me and I can only seem to perform one in every 5 tries or so. This is probably due to my own cluelessness, however. :) Also, I don't know if it is just my copy or not, but it seems that whenever I get into a punch-fest, randomly throwing my dukes out in a vain attempt to level my opponents, the pause feature gets activated. I _know_ I am not inadvertently hitting pause, and as the pause feature shows off a nice transparency effect and keeps the music going, it isn't the big of a deal, but mildly irritating, nonetheless. Gameplay In my opinion, WMCJ is a blast to play! Lots of frantic action and subtle strategy in this game. The problem is that the computer just isn't very tough. After only two hours of play, I've already won the "Slam City Tournament" and beaten half the other teams in versus mode on the highest skill level. Obviously, this game will shine as a multiplayer game. Having up to four friends together will _make_ this game. Misc I feel that the onscreen text is best left turned off - thank god for this feature. It distracts from what is going on on-court, and I often found myself just reading the text instead of paying attention to what was going on on the court. :) The in-game chatter is very humorous, and although it does get somewhat repetitive, spices the game up. Granted, there are only two voices and a limited number of phrases, but cart space is at a premium, so anyone who freaks out over this needs to RELAX. And you can zero the volume on the chatter if it bothers you that much. I think the chatter will be especially nice in multiplayer games, as it seems like it will elicit all sorts of accompanying commentary from the crowd. :) Although this will sound lame, I hope there is a hidden profanity code..."Get off me bitch!" just would seem more appropriate than "Get off me chump!" Maybe it's just me. :) Finally, it would have been nice if the backgrounds were animated with people running around, jumping up and down, etc. But it doesn't matter that much...I'm always too damn busy trying to drain a three or knock "Egghead" on his ass to pay much attention to the backgrounds. :) As far as the Team Tap goes, this is one quality peripheral. It's a very sturdy construction and looks like they chopped a slice out of the Jag casing, added the ventilation grill things onto the back and strung a controller extension out the back. :) And, it works _great_ as a controller extension. To sum things up, WMCJ is an excellent new title for the Jaguar. Buy it, chumps! - Chris Millar To: 75300.1267@compuserve.com From: Sal Manfredonia Subject: White Men Can't Jump first impressions Date: Fri,4 Au g 95 18:45 PDT I bought WMCJ a few hours ago, and I've been playing it almost non-stop ever since. The game is really fun to play. The graphics are great, with large, detailed players and beautifully rendered courts. The camera views are sensible and do a nice job of following the action. Besides the scaling of the court, there is also a bit of rotation. The only real complaints are that the animation is somewhat choppy, and some of the skin tones seem to have a grayish, washed-out look, but it's not really that bad and IMHO the other graphical flairs more than make up for these few deficiencies. One of the coolest features is the inclusion of "trash talking." The characters comment on baskets being made or missed, stolen balls, blocked shots, and the like. The voice samples are not only crystal clear, but also very numerous. Someone guessed that there were about ten samples, but he couldn't be more wrong. I think I heard more than ten samples in my first MINUTE on the court. The phrases are also very cool, and coordinate nicely with the action. The gameplay is great. It's kind of like a 3-D half court NBA Jam on the streets. The controls are similar to NBA Jam, and the buttons can be reconfigured. A double-tap on the "turbo" button allows you to switch to your computer-controlled teammate at any time. This is cool, because if you're not good at passing (and the computer WILL get in your face...OFTEN), you can switch control of the man with the ball to the computer, and let him pass to you. Another nice feature is the inclusion of "super dunks," which are performed by holding down the "shoot" button and doing motions similar to fighting games like Primal Rage. Each character has one super dunk listed in the manual, but can have additional super dunks for players to discover. It's a great way to show off! Oh yeah, in case you haven't heard, the game also includes the Team Tap, which looks like it was designed well and seems to have a cord of good length (though I haven't taken off the twist-tie yet). I would certainly recommend WMCJ. It's a fun game, and one which appears to have long-term playability as well. "Rockin'!" --Sal Manfredonia (hysteria@gti.net) "It's hard work being this good!" -- White Men Can't Jump for Atari Jaguar Even CATscan members love "White Men Can't Jump"... Message: = Open Discussion = #204 of 204 [8 Lines] Sent On: August 6, 1995 at 7:01pm Sent By: Brian Mccleary - Loyal Jaguarian Sent To: All Replies: None Subject: Flashback and White Men Can't Jump Well, Flashback is cool, it's a good game on any system. I've noticed a few differences with items etc. than the Sega or Snes version. Speed of the controls is definitely better on my kitty. White Men can't jump the super slams have really got me stumped, I think practice will help. The "Urban Angels" are my favorite. Does anybody have a "secret bike" code for Super Burnout? Let me know and keep playing Jaguar, it's coming on strong! Here's three WMCJ comments from the dudes on GEnie. SVC: GEnie Category 40, Topic 21, Message 13 DATE: Thu Aug 03, 1995 FROM: S.SLUK at 05:03 PDT Just got WMCJ and after playing it with a friend for 5 hours I found it to be a lot of fun. The rotation takes some time to get used to but after a small learning curve, the game becomes really fun. As a matter of fact, it is one of the most addicting games that are available for the Jaguar. I recommend the game to anyone that has been waiting for a basketball game that is truly unique.... the team tap is just a bonus... SVC: GEnie Category 40, Topic 21, Message 16 DATE: Fri Aug 04, 1995 FROM: P.FLETCHER4 [STumped] at 11:16 EDT I also bought WMCJ and the game is really fun. It has a very unusual floating camera view that is a bit weird to get used to, but it is a real neat effect once you get used to it. I still have a problem pulling off the Jams when I want to. It requires quite a bit of timing. The game also has hidden Jams that your players can learn, but I'm having too much trouble with the one assigned to the players to worry about finding new ones at this time. Four player play is a real blast. If Atari can continue to produce quality games like this you won't hear me complaining very often. I'm sure the magazines will hate it and thus I've stopped even looking at the damn things. Atari....good job. Pete SVC: GEnie Category 40, Topic 21, Message 24 DATE: Sun Aug 06, 1995 FROM: R.JONES82 [Bob Jones] at 23:37 CDT Purchased WMCJ today. This is a really fun game, I agree with others that it takes 30 minutes or so to get the hang of the controls. Once past the initial learning curve the game starts to rock. I like all the digitized voices of the players, some pretty funny comments are made. As for the frame rate, it is on par with AVP, its easy to look beyond it. I don't agree that it makes the game unplayable, a few frames more and this game would be perfect, but its great as is. Bob J. Hey, our buddies on Prodigy say... SVC: PRODIGY(R) interactive personal service Date: 08/08 Time: 0:44 AM Board: VIDEO GAMES BB Topic: ATARI JAGUAR Subject: WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP To: RYAN BULLOCK (PBCR91B) From: JERY DRANZIG (PSFT55A) Time: 08/05 1:24 PM WMCJ rocks; player and camera moves are very realistic. It does take a little getting used to view and controls, but you get the hang of both with a little practice. This game looks like it would be a blast playing against up to three friends with Team Tap adapter included. Check it out! Here's the buzz on CompuServe... SVC: CompuServe FRM: Craig Harris 73733,231 DAT: Tuesday, August 01, 1995 Since I received so much positive feedback on my feedback to Super Burnout, I've decided to do the same thing for White Men Can't Jump. This is my first impression based on about an hour of play and about 2 mm of sweat scooped off of the controller. I just want to say, this is probably one of the first "polished" Jaguar games I've played since Tempest. A decent menuing system, tight controls, tons of speech samples and animation frames, and nice, gritty music. The game itself is a cross between NBA Jam, Barkley: Shut up and Jam, and Jammit. (get the connection?) But instead of the side-scrolling view most video streetball players are used to, you get a free-floating, halfcourt camera view from behind the midcourt line. The constant zooming out, in, around, and through is more gimmicky than helpful; but it does put to rest the debate whether or not the Jaguar can do realtime texture mapping at a decent, playable clip...almost. Because the graphic detail is so high, with multiple background layers, 4 hi-res players, and a 3-dimensional rim on a backboard, the Jaguar flinches a bit, trying to keep everything moving smoothly. I was afraid that the slightly low frame-rate was going to hinder the gameplay... initially, it does, but only until you get your eyes adjusted to the speed of play. I'd say give it about 10 minutes of hard play before you throw your controller away in frustration. Now, about the gameplay: Basically, you just punch and maul and shove your way to two or three-point baskets. Oh, as a secondary option you can pass the ball, too. So *that's* what that other player's for... You can also perform Super Dunks (tm) by pushing a Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat-ish motion on the pad while shooting the ball. These aren't easy to do, but they *are* possible...and kind of cool to watch, because the camera zooms in as tight as possible to display your ego-ness. Each player has one (or two, or three...) and the manual assist in helping you perform one for each team. My only gripe about the gameplay itself is the fact that you absolutely CANNOT perform a standard, under-the-basket dunk or lay-up. All non-Super Dunk baskets must be jumpshots, which can get annoying when the two opponents trap you under the basket. One thing I *absolutely* had to do was eighty-six the annoying text that pops up every half-second during the game. Luckily, I wasn't the only one that found it distracting, so the programmers offer the ability to disable them in the OPTIONS menu. Yes, you heard correctly...an options menu in a Jaguar game. Who would've thunk it? But...all-in-all, this is a great street-ball game. And the best part? They give you the multi-player Team Tap for free. (But if it's a 4 player game, why does it state on the box "1 or 2 player game"? hmmm...) Oh, and Manual error alert! In the graphic representation of the Team Tap hooked up to the Jaguar, the 2nd player controller is labeled "3" and the 3rd player is labeled "2." Whoops... Great game, great indication of greatness from High Voltage. And aren't they doing a TON of Jaguar releases? Better fill up your wallet, boys and girls... -Craig- SVC: CompuServe FRM: Edward Mazmanian 102211,2662 DAT: Wednesday, August 02, 1995 Well Well Well...It's about time. Ever since Iron Soldier I've been waiting for a solid Jag title. Sure Val D'Isere and Super Burnout are fun, but they are also pretty much straight forward. It's only weakness seems to be that you want to move the players faster but you can't, unless of course you are always pressing the speed button. However, WMCJ makes up for this totally with great Voice Overs, Excellent Graphics (The players move so realistically, you just have to watch them and you won't believe it), and exciting gameplay. The Zooming feature which you might think would be annoying is anything but. It adds to the gameplay and keeps you glued to the screen. My favorite part is playing for money and trying to work your way up to the big contest, otherwise you are dead meat. Anyway, I'm really enjoying it. I've played it for about 3 hours straight getting the hang of the dunks and getting used to the 3rd perspective, which takes a while, as well as getting used to the speed at which the players move. Overall I'd give it a B-. I'd recommend this to anyone who is looking for a Basketball game that isn't an NBA Jam Clone. I'm really looking forward to Thea Realm Fighters and Dactyl Joust now. Go High Voltage. For a first game I'll give you guys an A. Here is another WMCJ impression from AOL SVC: America OnLine Subject: WMCJ, we have a winner From: thom21@aol.com (Thom21) Date: 2 Aug 1995 12:07:31 -0400 Message-ID: <3vo7s3$ckk@newsbf02.news.aol.com> Here are my impressions after 2 hours of playing WMCJ. This game is one of the few but growing list of titles for Jaguar in which one does not ask the question, could my SNES of Genesis do this just as easy (a la Double Dragon V, Flashback, etc, etc). WMCJ is a visual feast. The graphics are extremely detailed and the game zooms in and out very smoothly. I have not been able to play with others, but the Jag AI is a very worth opponent. I recommend that you go to the options screen and set turn on the option that constantly marks your player with a blue arrow. It makes it easy to follow your players around the court. This game is a must have for Jaguar owners thirsting for quality sports action. Graphics 9 Playability 7 Sound/music 8 Overall 8 (A very worthy effort !!) From the Internet, concerning Rayman: Well According to the Folks at UBI soft...Sept 9th, ON STORE SHELVES. Sweet :> I can hardly wait (good thing this is LESS THAN 1 MONTH!) here's the message Hi Scott, Rayman just got approved by Atari last week. So production is in full steam and we expect it on store shelves on 9 September. Thanks for checking out the site. - James ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'! PEOPLE... ARE TALKING On CompuServe compiled by Joe Mirando CIS ID: 73637,2262 Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Jeez, do I feel dumb! For the last two weeks, I've been venting steam about online services that require you to use a special terminal program to access their service. If you've been paying attention, you know that I'm against it. I've been hearing rumblings that my three favorite services were considering changing their format to remove ASCII support for generic terminal programs (including support for ANSI, TTY (ASCII), and the whole "VT" family). It was my hope that, by voicing my opinions, I would force some of these folks to at least take another look at we "non-mainstream" users. Little did I know then that our publisher was considering using a format that would give us the ability to apply all the bells and whistles to our humble offering. As you probably know by now, our primary format is MicroSoft Word. Or should I say "our Editor's" primary format is MS Word. You see, I don't have a DOS machine. That's by choice. My trusty Atari ST serves me in good stead. Because I don't have a DOS machine (or a Mac), I have no way to generate "Word" code. Neither do I have any way to read it. I was as surprised as you were last week when I downloaded STReport and found all those nasty little control codes in the file. But no, STReport will not leave our loyal Atari users out in the cold. I can't say too much about this yet (perhaps one of the other editors can), but suffice it to say that before too long, we Atari users will be able to view STReport (and anything else in Word format) without having to bug a friend or relative to use their DOS machine. It's still WAY too early to mention anything about this viewer such as who's coding it (although it is someone well known in the Atari world), what it will be able to do, whether it will have font support, how much memory it will require, as these things all remain uncertain. The one thing that is fairly certain is that it will be freeware. I know that many of you are thinking the same things that I was when I first got this rude awakening: It'll add to the size of the file... It'll make it harder to "cut" articles out... It'll reduce my flexibility... It'll change the course of civilization! All true. Including the last one. Imagine being able to download news from your favorite online service or BBS and being able to see pictures, captions, headlines, graphs, and pie charts all right there... and some of it perhaps only HOURS old. Yes my friends, this IS the future of online publication. But until the viewer is ready, we will continue to provide STReport in the ASCII format that you are used to. There's and old Chinese curse that goes: "May you live in interesting times". Well folks, we've all been cursed! Now let's get on with the reason for this column: All the great news, hints, tips, and information available every week right here on CompuServe. From the Atari Computing Forums CompuServe recently announced price reductions. Peter Joseph asks: "RE: CIS' new pricing. Although it's wonderful news, it kind of scares me. The only reason I can see for CIS to do such a thing is to retain the market, but this seems almost a drastic move. Can you shed some light on this? Is CIS slipping or what? How can they survive with this kind of pricing. Or is it really that they've been ripping us off big time and now they've decided to stop it. " Sysop Jim Ness tells Peter: "Well, they HAVE claimed record profits for the last couple of reporting periods. And, AOL recently went ahead in overall membership numbers, so the sleeping giant has awakened. Stockholder info indicates that several million $$ have been earmarked for "marketing" purposes. The new pricing "just happens" to match that of AOL." Peter tells Jim: "...I never realized AOL was that popular (it's no wonder with them blanketing the nation with free disks; I've gotten three just in the last few months). I don't know what it is but I have never found AOL to be as user friendly as CIS. Maybe I'm just so used to CIS that it seems weird. Our own editor-in-chief, Ralph Mariano tells Peter: "Its not weird.... I feel the same way. AOL is far too structured. Its like you're on a tramway with no _real_ control. Besides IMHO, AOL is the "Teenage Network" and Steve Case seems to promote a self destructive, elitist attitude over there. Spend some time reading the messages there... they have no real content. All noise. I like CIS... At one time I was elsewhere in a big way but that soon ended at the hands of a coupla .... in any case, I am here since. Those two did me and about a dozen others the biggest favor. CIS is where its at, where it will be in the future, and where I will be. The plans for this network in the near and distant future are simply amazing. No... crushing is a better word. Especially to and for the competition. One service cannot seem to get their Front End working right. Its like a "sooner" dog, sooner _crash_ than work correctly. Yet they brazenly continue to tout the trash. Oh well, at the rate they're going.... they'll soon follow NVN." Mark Szamrej posts: "I'm looking for technical information on Atari's TOS operating system. I'm interested in anything I can find on the subject but would be especially interested in: OS Roots - Is TOS based on DOS, CP/M, etc. OS Type - 16 or 32-bit. What about multitasking capability Memory - Maximum memory TOS could support GUI - Gem I know. Did TOS support anything else? Anything would be helpful!!" Albert Dayes tells Mark: "I will give it a try: OS roots ... CP/M-68K ... the filesystem is almost like exactly like MS-DOS GEM is based on DRI (now part of Novell) GEM on the PC. OS - it does support single tasking ... with other 3rd party multi-tasking products available for it. The cpu is based on the Motorola 680x0 family of processors Max memory depends on model (most of the older ones had 4 meg limit) some of the later models could go to 128 megs (using some 3rd party memory expansion boards) There are some other filesystems supported like Minix for example. There is also the ability to run X-windows on the Atari as well. There was an Atari version of Unix System v Release 4 but it was never released to the public." Mark tells Albert: "Looks good to me! I appreciate the response. A friend has a Atari (520?) that he is looking to get rid of. He doesn't know much about it (was left to him) and I was wondering if it would be a good machine for me." Mark asks Albert: "I was reading over your TOS info again and I had a couple of questions: Was TOS a 16-bit or 32-bit OS? Have you ever heard of something called 'msh' (read mesh) (micro-shell)? Is it some kind of Unix-like shell??" Albert tells Mark: "16 or 32-bit OS ... I guess it depends the way you look at it. If looking at it from the cpu one could say it is a 32-bit or 16-bit os. Atari did have multi-tasking version called Multi-TOS (uses a Mint kernal) which provided in general the same type of services that similar 32-bit OSes (on other platforms) provided. Micro C-shell .... is a Unix shell which gives one a standard Unix C shell. There is also a multi-tasking version called MT-C shell. There is one in the library (pd/shareware unix shell) called Gulam. There is also the GNU one called bash. The first two Unix C shells listed above are commercial products while the later are freeware, pd, or shareware type." Mark asks: "You said that the file system is almost identical to DOS. Does this mean that it has the same limitations as DOS in respect to 8.3 filenames and such??" Albert replies: "The filesystem (on floppies) is 99% the same as MSDOS. If you format a 720K disk on the PC one can use it to move files back and forth between both systems (Atari & PC). Quite a few of the GEMDOS calls are very similar to their DOS function calls as well. The filesystem on hard drives is similar in the directory and fat area but the partitioning is different. But one can use a Syquest to move files between both systems provided one has the right software and limits partitions to 32 megabytes. I believe ICD software is the one with this capability. There might be some others that provide similar functionality. The DOS 8.3 filename is a common sight on the Atari also." Ralph Kalatucka asks for help: "I have just purchased an HP 540 Deskjet printer, and I have downloaded a few Compuserve printer drivers, found in Atari File Finder. I used keywords >Deskjet< and >Deskjet,Printer,Driver<. When I went to download the files, some that sounded really good said >File not found<. I double-checked my syntax carefully. (I love writing things down on paper while I look through CIS. Isn't that why I bought a computer in the first place?) Anyway, I could not download 2COLMS.LZH, PAMFLT.LZH, PRHP14.LZH and one other, I forget the name. Do I have these names correct, or should I be in another forum or something? Another question...is there any file to download to drive EZDRAW with G+PLUS? Migraph is on vacation for August and won't answer the phone. And is there a commercially available package to run my Deskjet 540 that is better than the CIS files? It seems absolutely silly for HP to think that ONLY IBM? Compatable computer owners would be using their printers, so they provide IBM driver software with it. When I finally got a human at HP on the phone and asked if they had printer driver info so I could tailor my own drivers, the line goes very quiet until they figure out who I should call next?" Sysop Bob Retelle tells Ralph: "All three of the files you mentioned by name are in Library #4 here. Possibly you had chosen a different library when you tried to find them before... If you select Library 4, then issue a DOWNLOAD command for each of the files you should find them." Ralph tells Sysop Bob: "Do I have to be in each individual library to download the file? Sorry, when I would write down a filename, I didn't write down the library number. I thought I only needed the file name. Oops. PS. BTW, the file named HPDRVR.ARC does NOT work with with my HP 540 and STWRITER Elite or 1stWord. With 1stWord, I just get a couple of "dingbats" then a page eject, and STWRITER Elite doesn't use an XYZZ-data file. And PRTALL.LZH (Print All) does NOT print all; No Monochrome monitor support and no .GEM (Easy Draw) files. ENVELO.ARC won't work with the HP 540, because HP decided that envelopes were too wide, and they want your envelopes rotated 90 degrees for inserting into the printer. Frustrated? No, not me! an hour of searches and downloads with nothing that works. grrr" Greg Kopchak of It's All Relative Software tells Ralph: "We just hooked up a 540 last week too. So far it has worked with everything we tried using our old DeskJet 500 Plus drivers. Haven't attempted color yet. All you need to convert the 540 to a color printer is the color cartridge. So far we have been happy with it." Ralph replies: "So glad that the HP 540 works with HP 500 drivers. I don't have any of those either, so I'm still stuck. I am going to ask Jim Ness a few questions, so perhaps you may be able to offer some further input if he doesn't already answer it." Jim Ness tells Ralph: "As BobR[etelle] indicated, the files are in Library #4 here. We've moved things around a bit, and the File Finder may not have been updated in awhile." Ralph tells Jim: "Thank you for the help. However, I'm still stuck. I have not yet downloaded the files you directed me to library 4 in order to get them, but the ones that I did download don't work, either with my HP 540 or my software. So, what would you recommend, if anything, to drive the HP 540 Deskjet, whether it be a Compuserve-available or commercial program, for the following programs (Yes, they are oldies, but goodies! They work fine so I still use'em!) * ST Writer Elite * 1st Word (I don't think it's a "plus") * EZ Draw (.GEM extenders with G+PLUS) And a screen dump utility. I don't care if there are pull-down or pop-up menus or if its something that I have to configure myself. If the instructions are clear enough, I can usually figure it out, but some software authors think I'm a full time programmer, so they think I know what they're talking about. Or should I chuck it all in and get new software? I am saving to buy a FalconST, but I feel more and more alone in the IBM/MAC universe, and this HP 540 printer makes me feel even more so. But Mr. Ness, you have been around as long as the ST, so I respect your judgement and welcome your help. Thank you for your years of support." Simon Churchill tells Ralph: "I use a HP 520 and have had little problems with drivers, If I remember you can write your own drivers for ST Writer Elite and 1st Word. I had to do this when I owned an 8 Pin (Yes you do see EIGHT written there) printer and got both programs working fine. As for Easy Draw, that uses GDOS if I'm not mistaken, doesnt it? I take it G+PLUS is a replacement? Have you tried a normal GDOS setup instead. Anyway you should find most Deskjet or Laserjet II drivers will work. I have found a good Laserjet driver from within FontGDOS and use it with timeworks, I get TWICE the print speed. What's the screen dump util? If your thinking of new software how about Paparus for a Document editor? It's one of the latest and is very good. Hope this helps, I know your app's quite well (used them myself when money was tight!!)." Ralph tells Simon: "I guess I lost some of the README docs that came with ST WRITER ELITE, when I transferred it to my hard drive when I finally got one. But Version 4.1 uses no XYZZ.DAT file like the earlier versions, which I do recall could configure printers quite easily. I have used the CONFIG.TXT that I have on the same drive as my ST WRITER ELITE, and have changed some of the printer codes, but boy, all I get is that stupid typewriter-looking font called "courier", named after the old typewriter itself. I'll look into the CIS Atari libraries and see if there is a more recent version of ST WRITER in there, that I can configure. And yes, G+PLUS is a faster and more memory efficient replacement to GDOS, and I left a message on Codehead's answering machine, and we'll see if they get back to me someday. And a screen-dump utility is the ALT-HELP function on the Atari ST that whatever is on the CRT Monitor in front of you gets printed to the paper. The HP 540 gets that command and prints a few dingbats then page-ejects, and repeats the process perhaps forever, or at least until I turn off the printer." Meanwhile, Jerry Coppess posts: "Last week at the MIST show I bought a Wizztronics memory board for the Falcon . It says to use: low profile non-composite simms. The local dealer I tried to buy the 16M simm from had never heard of this. The low profile is no problem, it just has to fit in the board. The non-composite(non-carbon fiber?) is another matter. Is this something I am lilely to run into? How do you tell the difference?" Sysop Bob Retelle, who's probably got more experience than any two or three of us put together, tells Jerry: "I've never heard that term (non-composite) either, as applied to SIMMs. As a guess though, I'd say that it probably means you need to get 9chip SIMMs, where each bit is assigned to a separate physical chip, instead of 3chip SIMMs where the bits share one of three physical chips. Occasionally it makes a difference in the PC world, so it may apply in the Atari world too. Probably the best thing would be to try to call Wizztronics directly and check for sure though..." Jerry tells Bob: "I called Wizztronics. I couldn't keep up with his explantion. It does have something to do with the size and number of chips. I think it was 4-4meg chips instead of 16 one meg chips.The main thing being that all of the chips have to be on one side of the SIMM board. Otherwise it will not fit into the expansion board." Ken Goodwin asks for help: "I just installed AdSpeed St in my Mega 4. My St dowsn't want to boot cold. I have to let it run for about 5-10 minutes before it will come on. Anyone had this problem or know of a solution?" Jerry Coppess gives Ken... "...a few ideas. Do you have the shielding back on? The monitor(especially a color monitor) could be reacking havoc with it. Cold solder joints. Where in the boot process is it failing? Is the screen blank or scrambled? Do you get errors? Can you put 8MHZ.PRG in the AUTO folder so it boots up at that speed. I have never had a problem with my Adspeed, but when I put a TEC board under it, it would not boot at 16mhz. It would crash when the A: drive was accessed at 16mhz. Wrapping the TEC bpards ribbon cable with aluminum foil cured this. Interference that wasn't a problem at 8mhz may be at 16. If you have switche(s) for the speed settings set hem for 8mhz, and/or try disconnecting or shielding them. If you have a hard drive try removing power to the A: drive. Ralph Mariano gives Ken another possibility: "[Perhaps] the power supply is "tired".. no joke. Call Best and get one of their "beefed up" supplies for your machine. It fits right in and is almost twice as potent. Of course, this is only my opinion, I could be wrong." Ralph? Wrong?? Nah. Meanwhile, Bob Waxer asks for help: "I have an old 1040ST that I want to connnect to some SCSI periperals I have (sysquest, bernoulli, etc) - I vaguely remember there used to be a way to do this - any help out there?" Simon Churchill tells Bob: "If you have an STFM or E then you will need a DMA cable from the ST to a suitable interface module (Eg The Link II or The Translator etc) A box to put the items in, if there is not a PSU in it then you need one with suitable drive power connect's. A small PC case can be used to house the items and has a PSU built in. A 50 way ribbon cable to connect from the Interface module to each item in a daisy chain fashion with the last item on the cable having termination resistors fitted. NO other item should have these resistor blocks fitted. How they look (Appox): /------------------------------------------------------\ | | | | | | \------------------------------------------------------/ || || || \ \ || || || || || || /---------/ || || || || || || \ PINS \ || || || \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ There are normaly three blocks and they are positioned just behind the 50 way connector on the item (Normaly). There are a number of pins on each resistor block but I have not counted them so don't know how many there are! Each item connect on the chain MUST have it's own ID number, this is normaly set by jumpers on the items PCB. The first should be set to ID 0 and the next ID 1 etc until you reach the last unit which has the termination resistors in it. Phew! Did you get all that? Hope this answers your question..." Well folks, there's lots more stuff that I could add, but space is getting short and you're eyes are probably as red as mine right now, so I'll stop here and promise to continue on next week in true ASCII fashion. Be sure to tune in again next week and be ready to listen to what they are saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON" A "Quotable Quote" A true, "Sign of the Times" "WHEN MONEY TALKS IT USUALLY SAYS "BEND OVER!!" STReport International OnLine Magazine -* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *- HTTP://STREPORT.COM AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE ON OVER 100,000 PRIVATE BBS SYSTEMS STR OnLine! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" August 11, 1995 Since 1987 Copyright 1995 All Rights Reserved No. 1132 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. Reprints must, without exception, include the name of the publication, date, issue number and the author's name. STR, CPU, STReport and/or portions therein may not be edited, used, duplicated or transmitted in any way without prior written permission. STR, CPU, STReport, at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. STR, CPU, STReport, are trademarks of STReport and STR Publishing Inc. STR, CPU, STReport, its staff and contributors are not and cannot be held responsible in any way for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.