Silicon Times Report The Original Independent OnLine Magazine" (Since 1987) January 26, 1996 No. 1204 Silicon Times Report International OnLine Magazine Post Office Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155 STR Electronic Publishing Inc. A subsidiary of STR Worldwide CompNews Inc. R.F. Mariano, Editor Featured in ITCNet's ITC_STREPORT Echo Voice: 1-904-268-3815 10am-4pm EST STReport WebSite http://www.streport.com STR Publishing Support BBS THE BOUNTY INTERNATIONAL BBS Featuring: * 5.0GB * of File Libraries Mustang Software's WILDCAT! 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WEB SITE: http//www.streport.com CIS ~ PRODIGY ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ ITC ~ NEST ~ EURONET ~ CIX ~ USENET USPOLNET CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ PROWL ~ FNET ~ AOL Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35 Results: 1/20/96: 4 of 6 numbers with 3 matches in 2 plays From the Editor's Desk... The editorial this week will be, thankfully, short. Mainly because the news in the computing community this week is mostly about Telecommunications and specifically the Internet, WEB and all things ISDN. The communications industry is going through some very interesting evolutionary changes. Ma Bell is finally being forced to "expose some of the secrets" and allow the world's telecommunications users to see another side of her. The ISDN for example is being touted by some as "NEW". God bless sale specialists. Truth is, ISDN has been around for well over ten years. Sad fact is. not many, Ma Bell's people included, knew what to do with ISDN. Now, because of the Internet and in particular, the Web.. ISDN is the "in thing". Why/ One word SPEED! How does 128bps sound to you? Without the use of fibre optics! Many so-called facts about telcom are now being exposed as myths. Or, at least half truths. We have postponed out Changing Platforms Easily series for at least two weeks. We are going to actually "live the experience with as you read about it. Stay Tuned it is going to be very interesting. Especially to those contemplating making the move themselves. A number of years ago, I attended a Computer Show in Pittsburgh Pa. I was there to do a seminar about this magazine and the platform we were covering.. "way back then". I make mention of this because the people there bent over backwards to make the "majority of us" very welcome. Thus the mention and our rooting for the Steelers this Sunday. To all the folks in Pittsburgh we wish you a great victory over Dallas. Besides Jones and Co. is in need a good dose of humility. Ralph.. Of Special Note: http//www.streport.com STReport is now ready to offer much more in the way of serving the Networks, Online Services and Internet's vast, fast growing site list and userbase. We now have our very own WEB/NewsGroup/FTP Site and although its in its early stages of construction, do stop by and have a look see. Since We've received numerous requests to receive STReport from a wide variety of Internet addressees, we were compelled to put together an Internet distribution/mailing list for those who wished to receive STReport on a regular basis, the file is ZIPPED, then UUENCODED. Unfortunately, we've also received a number of opinions that the UUENCODING was a real pain to deal with. So, as of October 01,1995, you'll be able to download STReport directly from our very own SERVER & WEB Site. While there, be sure to join our STR list. In any case, our current Internet mailing list will continue to be used for at least the next eight weeks. 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Fontana Norman Boucher Clemens Chin Eric Jerue Angelo Marasco Donna Lines Ed Westhusing Glenwood Drake Vernon W.Smith Bruno Puglia Paul Haris Kevin Miller Craig Harris Allen Chang Tim Holt Patrick Hudlow Leonard Worzala Tom Sherwin Please submit ALL letters, rebuttals, articles, reviews, etc... via E-Mail to: CompuServe 70007,4454 Prodigy CZGJ44A Delphi RMARIANO GEnie ST.REPORT BIX RMARIANO FIDONET 1:112/35 ITC NET 85:881/253 AOL STReport Internet rmariano@streport.com Internet CZGJ44A@prodigy.com Internet RMARIANO@delphi.com Internet 70007.4454.compuserve.com Internet STReport@AOL.Com WORLD WIDE WEB http://www.streport.com IMPORTANT NOTICE STReport, with its policy of not accepting any PAID advertising, has over the years developed the reputation of "saying it like it really is". When it comes to our editorials, product evaluations, reviews and over-views, we shall always keep our readers interests first and foremost. 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Send your subscription to: BBS Press Services, Inc. 8125 S.W. 21st Street Topeka, KS 66615 Or, to order by phone, Please Call: 1-913-478-3157 (Voice) 1-913-478-9239 (Data) 1-913-478-1189 (FAX) Checks, Mastercard, Amex, Discover & Visa ok, Please include Full Name, Address, home Number, Card type, number & expiration date when ordering. If by mail, please _sign_ your personal order. STReport Headline News LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson Apple to Lay Off 8% of Workers Apple Computer Inc. says it will lay off 1,300 workers -- about 8 percent of its labor force -- over the next 12 months as part of a plan to return to profitability. The cuts are to occur mainly in sales, marketing, and administration. The computer maker disclosed the plan late yesterday, after the stock market closed, as part of a report that shows a loss of $69 million in its first quarter ended Dec. 29. Apple added it will cut additional jobs this year, but did not specify a number. Reporting from San Francisco, Therese Poletti of the Reuter News Service says some analysts were disappointed with Apple's initial restructuring, because, she says, "the plan lacked specifics on how it will return to profits without losing more PC market share." Apple also "surprised analysts," Poletti comments, "with a forecast for a second quarter operating loss and a fuzzy plan for its future." She adds, "The company said it plans to 'simplify' its product portfolio, but it gave no specifics." Analysts say Apple plans to jettison certain of its lower margin Macintosh products, but that Apple executives said they were not exiting the low-end business, such as the home market, and that it would be premature to give any details of its plans. Analysts were cross this morning; ú David Wu of Chicago Corp.: "They were wishy-washy about everything." ú Roxane Googin of Gruntal & Co.: "It sounds very much like they are leaving some of the low-end and relying on low-cost overseas manufacturers. Their strategy is to license more aggressively than they have been in the past, which was about seven years too late" (referring to Apple's tardy decision to license the Macintosh operating system). ú President Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies: "I believe they are getting out of the entry level markets with profit margins less than 20 (percent of revenues). It's a risk. ... It's a step in the right direction. Now they have to execute." However, Reuters observes, analysts say that Apple's "vaguely defined strategy," which seems to be to focus on higher margin products, "will deplete Apple of the higher volume sales which helped it become one of the top vendors in the PC market." Says Googin, "At the end of the day in technology, market share is everything. It sounds like a strategy of a retreat into niche markets." Meanwhile, analyst Walter Winnitzki of Dillon Read told the wire service he thinks the reason Apple is not yet announcing what lower margin businesses it plans to exit is because the company wants to wait until it has licensees to take their place. Says Winnitzki, "Their strategy is somewhat confusing. It's fair to say that given the magnitude of the problems, I don't think they have all the answers. The full benefit will not be realized for three to four quarters. There is no quick fix here." And apparently Apple CEO Michael Spindler, predicted by many analysts to be on his way out, may have been given some time by his board to lead this new restructuring. Apple Suitors Apparently Rare While there has been much talk over the past two years about a possible buyout of Apple Computer Inc., it now appears suitors aren't numerous. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Jim Carlton says sources tell him that as recently as two weeks ago Apple was in discussions for a buyout by Sun Microsystems Inc., but "the talks broke off in an apparent dispute over price." "Moreover," Carlton adds, "people familiar with the situation said Apple also recently solicited a bid from Hewlett- Packard Co., among others." And, the newspaper says, in October, Apple CEO Michael Spindler expressed interest in rekindling talks with IBM (which in 1994 had offered to buy Apple) "but was rebuffed," adding, "None of the overtures sparked any interest, people familiar with them said." Of course, Apple isn't commenting. "In recent months," Carlton writes, "it has repeatedly said that it intended to remain independent, and played down all talk of possible acquisitions. Apple itself appears to have concluded that its situation is increasingly dire and that it will have difficulty surviving on its own." As reported, Apple has announced an initial wave of layoffs -- 8 percent of the work force -- amid losses of $69 million, or 56 cents a share, in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 29. Also, Apple disclosed yesterday that its inventory of unsold, finished product rose to $990 million in the period from $640 million in the prior quarter, the Journal says. "Most of those problems stemmed from Apple grossly overestimating demand during the crucial Christmas selling season," the paper comments. "The company also was squeezed by fierce price discounting by rivals." Carlton cites industry executives close to the company in saying Apple has discussed an acquisition with as many as 10 companies over the past two years, including Motorola Inc., Toshiba Corp., and Sony Corp. IBM offered about $40 a share for Apple in 1994, but the bid was withdrawn after Spindler insisted on more money. Sun Resumes Apple Buyout Talks Talks aimed at buying Apple Computer Inc. have been resumed by Sun Microsystems Inc. and those familiar with the negotiations say a deal is "imminent." In fact, a Sun acquisition of Apple could be announced within days, they say. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Jim Carlton says he has learned Sun CEO Scott McNealy has been meeting "around the clock" with his own staff the past few days putting finishing touches on an offer for Apple. McNealy reportedly even called an emergency meeting of his executives last Sunday. "Although the situation remains fluid and any deal could yet fall apart," Carlton says, "one individual familiar with the situation said 'there will be an offer on the table (from Sun) soon'" and people close to Apple say the Cupertino, Calif., computer maker is set to accept it. Specifics about the structure of the deal or how much Sun will offer are not known, but one person told the Journal it could amount to a stock swap valued at about $4 billion, or roughly $33 an Apple share (which would represent a slight premium over Apple's price yesterday of $30.50, up 62.5 cents, in Nasdaq Stock Market trading). As noted earlier, Sun reportedly started discussing such a takeover of Apple last September, but talks broke off two weeks ago, allegedly because of a dispute over price. "However," says Carlton, "people familiar with the talks now say the negotiations were merely suspended while Sun waited for Apple's stock to go down in anticipation of Apple's announcement last week that it lost $69 million, or 56 cents a share, during the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 29." Since divulging details on its loss last Wednesday, Apple's stock has fallen 10 percent. The Journal's sources say Apple had previously wanted to hold out for a better price from Sun, but now wants to close a deal as soon as possible in case its shares fall further. Carlton comments, "Sun is believed to be primarily interested in Apple's Macintosh operating system and related software, and might sell off Apple's less-profitable hardware operations, analysts have said. For Apple, Sun would provide deep pockets, more focused management and access to the corporate office markets that Apple hasn't been able to crack." Apple Says It's Not for Sale In the face of wide-spread rumors that a buyout by Sun Microsystems Inc. is imminent, Apple Computer Inc. executives said yesterday the firm is not for sale and that CEO Michael Spindler has the full confidence of his board of directors. As reported, The Wall Street Journal reports extensive speculation that Apple has agreed to a $4 billion buyout by Sun and there are reports Spindler will step down. However, following what United Press International characterizes as "a rancorous meeting" of Apple shareholders at the company headquarters in Cupertino, California, long-time Apple Chairman A.C. "Mike" Markkula Jr. said the company was not for sale and continued to strongly support Spindler. (Markkula fired Apple's two previous CEOs, Steven Jobs and John Sculley.) Spindler told the wire service he is well aware of the serious problems faced by Apple, the nation's second-largest personal computer producer after Compaq Computer, adding, "I take responsibility. How can I not?" Sun had no comment on the buyout speculation. "Executives with Apple have said repeatedly in recent months it plans to remain independent," UPI comments. "But analysts believe leaders at Apple, which has been the subject of takeover talk for the last two years, may have concluded that the company is in such a dire situation that it can no longer survive on its own." IDT Associate to Buy GE's GEnie GEnie, General Electric Co.'s struggling "also-ran" in the online consumer service industry, is being sold to privately held Yovelle Renaissance Corp., which says it will move the service onto the Internet's World Wide Web. Terms of the transaction weren't disclosed, but reporter Thomas E. Weber writes in The Wall Street Journal this morning that GE has been trying to sell GEnie since late last year. Yovelle is a New York investment vehicle formed for the GEnie acquisition and is linked to IDT Corp., an Internet access provider based in Hackensack, New Jersey. The Journal notes IDT filed a registration statement this month for an initial public offering, with expected proceeds to the company of $41.9 million. In a statement, Yovelle says it plans to enter "a consultancy and service agreement with a leading Internet service provider ... enabling a large portion of GEnie's offerings to be accessible over the World Wide Web." IDT attorney Phyllis G. Korff says Yovelle isn't owned by IDT, "but it is true that the first person they'll be speaking to is IDT." Launched in 1985, GEnie currently has fewer than 100,000 members, the paper says. Oracle Readies Net Prototype A design prototype of a low-cost computer dedicated to providing Internet access is being shown off by Oracle Corp., which says the first models should be available this fall. According to the Associated Press, Oracle Chairman Lawrence Ellison is set to show the prototype at a customer meeting in Tokyo this afternoon. The machine is shaped like a three- dimensional inverted "T," says AP, and button controls are mounted on top of the base portion of the device. As noted earlier, for several months now Oracle has promoted the concept of a device that costs less than a PC in hopes it will spur broader usage of data networks, for which it creates software. Zach Nelson, Oracle's vice president of marketing, told the wire service a design could be based on a microprocessor by British-based Advanced Risk Machines that costs $20 and provides 8MB of main memory for about $200, an Ethernet connection for $20, credit card-sized accessory slot for $30, keyboard and mouse for $35, and molding and other construction costs of $50. "With marketing and retail mark-up, the device would likely sell for around $500," AP says. "The component costs are based on high-volume purchases." The wire service says Oracle relied on Frog Design, a Silicon Valley industrial design firm, to create the prototype that Ellison took to Japan. Oracle to Unveil Net Unit in Sept. Look for the world-market launch of Oracle Corp.'s simplified personal computer dedicated to Internet use to come sometime around September. That's the word from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison who was in Japan yesterday to demonstrate a prototype of the unit. Reporting from Tokyo, the Reuter News Service says Oracle will set a retail price of $495 for its desktop "Oracle Network Computer," and a price of $595 for a portable model. Speaking at a business seminar held near Tokyo, Ellison also said he is predicting that demand for Internet PCs with simplified functions will outpace demand for conventional PCs by the end of the century. As reported, Oracle relied on Frog Design, a Silicon Valley industrial design firm, to create the prototype that Ellison took to Japan. Reuters says Oracle will not manufacture Internet PCs but is seeking a licensing agreement with about 20 computer manufacturers worldwide, including several Japanese makers. Ellison did not identify possible licensees but was quoted as saying Oracle would release their names in March. Ellison said PCs now on sale have too many functions and Oracle has developed an operating system that will simplify operations to the basic computing required for the Internet. Manzi Joins Internet Company Industry.Net, a Pittsburgh-based company that runs a business-to- business online marketplace on the Internet, has named former Lotus Development Corp. chief Jim Manzi its president and CEO. Industry.Net also reports that Manzi has made a significant equity investment in the firm and is now a major shareholder in the privately held company. Donald H. Jones, the entrepreneur who founded Industry.Net in 1990, will become the firm's chairman. Manzi, who built Lotus into a billion-dollar company over his nine-year tenure as president, CEO and chairman, is credited with turning groupware and workgroup computing from technology buzzwords into critical business applications. Manzi left Lotus last year, shortly after IBM Corp. acquired the company. "Many companies are trying to climb aboard the Internet phenomenon, but in Industry.Net, Don Jones has created the definitive example of how to actually build a market and make money from Internet commerce," says Manzi. "Industry.Net is a leader in business-to-business commerce on the Internet because it has made it fast and easy for buyers and sellers to conduct their day-to-day business electronically. It enables companies to promote their offerings to a huge audience of prospective customers and allows those customers to find the products and services they need instantly." Industry.Net says it will expand its Boston office to share headquarters duties with Pittsburgh. Micron Chief Steps Down For unspecified personal reasons, Steve Appleton has resigned as chairman/CEO/president of Boise, Idaho, chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. Tyler Lowrey, presently serving as vice chairman and chief technical officer, was named chairman/CEO. According to United Press International, Appleton, who also resigned from the board, will continue to serve in a consulting capacity for about nine months. UPI notes Micron has become one of the world's most profitable companies in recent years because of soaring demand for memory chips. (Its margin of 28 percent is well above that of Intel Corp. or Microsoft Corp.) However, the wire service adds, prices for memory chips have been falling in recent weeks as major Far Eastern manufacturers add capacity. Judge Finds Copyright Violation A federal judge has ruled that copyright laws were violated by a man who posted on the Internet secret text he got from the Church of Scientology. The case, closely watched by online computerists because of its potential legal ramifications for cyberspace, centers on the church's suit against Arnaldo Lerma for placing the documents on the Net as part of his long- running criticism of church practices that he says are abusive. Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia, Associated Press writer Anne Gearan says U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema put aside questions of whether the church harassed the critic or abused a search warrant she granted and, instead, arrowed the complex case to a few issues of copyright law. The judge said she will take up the question of damages and attorney's fees later, telling the church not to expect much money. Lerma lawyer Thomas Kelley contended the case parallels a related lawsuit the church filed against The Washington Post, a suit Brinkema dismissed, saying the church had no grounds to block the newspaper from publishing excerpts from secret religious texts. However, Judge Brinkema said that, while the Post's use of a few selected quotes from the document was justifiable, Lerma's wholesale copying was not. The church argued that trade secrecy and copyright laws prohibit unauthorized dissemination of secret church texts, adding the texts are confidential instructional materials for advanced members. (Scientology, founded 41 years ago by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, requires initiates to undergo teaching and counseling that can cost thousands of dollars, AP notes.) Lerma has said he joined the church in 1963 and was forced out in 1978 after pursuing a romance with one of Hubbard's daughters. Last September, he began placing documents describing alleged wrongdoing by the group online. Says AP, "The documents Lerma distributed include hair-raising descriptions of abuse by former Scientology officials, claims that Scientology brainwashes and defrauds members and exacts reprisals against critics, and details of how people can achieve the theological growth that Scientologists say transforms people into near-gods." IBM Agrees to Encryption Demands Under reportedly intense government pressure, IBM has agreed to include a special key that will help investigators tap into data messages in return for permission to export a more-secure version of its Lotus Notes software. As reported earlier, the U.S. has prevented software publishers from exporting major encryption technology for fear that terrorists and other criminals could gain access to an unbreakable communications system. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Thomas E. Weber observes, "Industry observers said IBM's move marked the first time a supplier agreed to give the government special access to its software's security code." Other companies, though, also are negotiating with the government to find ways around export restrictions, he notes. For instance, Microsoft Corp. has been seeking industry support for a new scheme that separates encryption technology from application programs so that those products don't need export licenses. While IBM is defending the move as a stopgap compromise until a broader agreement on data security can be reached, Notes creator Ray Ozzie indicated to the Journal he found the controversial plan somewhat distasteful. "We were desperate enough to try to negotiate a short-term, pragmatic solution, but we do not believe this is the right long-term solution," he says. Mike Godwin, staff counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, agrees, telling the paper, "The irreducible fact is that foreign customers are reluctant to rely on security products that have been compromised in some way" by federal intelligence agencies. All this calls to mind the federal government's proposal several years ago for the "Clipper" chip that was programmed to let investigators tap into phone calls and data messages transmitted digitally. "While that plan died after privacy advocates accused the government of trying to spy on users," says the Journal, "the idea of leaving a back door open for government agents has remained alive. Under the Lotus plan, government investigators would still need to employ sophisticated code breaking to read messages sent via Notes software, which lets users at different computers collaborate." The Journal notes security software encrypts information by using a unique key of software code, the length of which is measured in bits (the longer the better). "Until now," writes Weber, "to obtain an export license for Notes, Lotus has been restricted to an encryption system of 40 bits in its international version. Domestic users have been permitted to use a higher- level, more-secure 64-bit system. The new overseas version of Notes, tagged Release 4, will give foreign users 64-bit security. But to get permission to export the software, Lotus agreed to give the government access to 24 of those bits by using a special 24-bit key supplied by the National Security Agency." Does Java Violate Prodigy Patents? Sun Microsystems Inc. may have to pay millions in licensing fees if its much-heralded Java Internet programming tool is found to infringe upon a Prodigy Services Co. patent, reports Interactive Daily. If Prodigy's claim holds, it may "mean that anyone who attempts to make, use or sell Java runs afoul of (Prodigy's) patent," Robert Kost, a former counsel at Prodigy and the current vice president of U.S. Interactive, told the trade publication. The news also could substantially boost Prodigy's asking price, two former Prodigy officials told Interactive Daily. Rumors are ripe that IBM and Sears are considering selling the online service. "Prodigy is sitting on a golden egg," added Kost. "The real issue is who was the first inventor," Tom Smedinghoff, a partner at McBride, Baker & Coles and author of "The Software Publishers Association Legal Guide to Multimedia," told Interactive Daily. "If Prodigy invented the patent first, and if the Java program incorporates parts of the patent that are licensed to Prodigy, then Prodigy has a claim." Representatives for Prodigy and Sun Microsystems declined to comment. Interactive Daily is published by Phillips Business Information Inc. of Potomac, Maryland. Companies Unite to Promote ISDN AT&T Network Systems, 3Com Corp., Ascend Communications Inc. and U.S. Robotics Inc. have established the ISDN Forum, an industry-wide group that aims to make ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) technology more accessible to small businesses and consumers. The ISDN Forum will work to enhance interoperability between ISDN end-user equipment and the public network, as well as promote the market's use of ISDN for applications such as Internet access, telecommuting and videoconferencing. The forum's first effort will be to make ISDN installations more transparent to users. The forum's organizers say they will exchange technical information regarding ISDN; address ISDN user needs; and promote interoperability that allows faster and easier digital transmission of voice, images and data across copper telephone lines. The forum's backers plan wide range of communications-oriented companies. "Small businesses and consumers are hungry for ISDN as a quick, cost- effective way to gain faster access to the Internet, telecommuting and videoconferencing," says David Helfrich, vice president of Marketing-3Com Corp. "Improved use and deployment of ISDN can make that happen, and we see the ISDN Forum playing an important role in that development and promotion." Study Sees Ads Driving the Internet Advertising, rather than subscriptions, will be the main source of revenue for companies offering entertainment and information on the Internet, according to a new report by Jupiter Communications. The report estimates that online ad revenue totaled nearly $55 million in 1995. Due to the explosive growth expected in the number of consumers online, that figure is projected to rise to $4.6 billion by the year 2000 -- still well below ad revenues for television and print, but surpassing that of radio. The report finds that online advertising has emerged as a critical issue. Companies such as Time Warner and Conde Nast have been giving much of their content away free online and they're wondering whether advertisers will come through, as they have in other media, to subsidize the cost of producing top-quality content. The report notes that advertisers, while they've been cautious for a number of reasons, have been eyeing the Internet for its attractive demographics, cutting-edge image and potential for targeting and persuasion. "Web sites are just starting to generate substantial ad revenue," says Adam Schoenfeld, vice president of Jupiter Communications. "But as the number of online consumers grows, audience measurement improves and marketers start to see the payoff in drawing customers to their Web sites, an increasingly higher percentage of ad budgets are going to be allocated to the Internet." Jupiter sees some chaos in the Web ad arena. Ad rates, for example, vary greatly. Jupiter finds the cost-per-thousand (CPM) ad exposures on leading Web sites and online services to range from around $10 to $450. The current trend, according to Jupiter, is toward more accountability in Web ad rates. Some of the major Web sites and online services have begun guaranteeing a number of exposures, thereby giving advertisers a better sense of what they're buying. In this way, a cost-per-thousand model is evolving. But while a CPM pricing model is an improvement, according to Jupiter's Schoenfeld, it's applying old thinking to the new medium. "Guaranteeing exposures brings some accountability," he says. "But simply counting eyeballs is going to prove to be a primitive way to measure marketing effectiveness online. On TV, radio, in print, the best you can do is buy a lot of eyeballs in the places your customers like to frequent, then sit back and hope for the best. Online you're going to bring customers in, show them around, establish a lifetime relationship. And you're going to make sales on the spot. Net Interests Drive Market A computer magazine reports its latest reader survey suggests a driving force behind the sales of computers, peripherals, and software is an interest in accessing the Internet. CMP's NetGuide, which focuses on online activities, also says it has learned more than half of its subscribers -- 98 percent of whom are expert, advanced, or intermediate computer users -- say they will spend nearly $8,000 on computer equipment and software this year. "The people who are using the net, the savviest users, are not only driving the online revolution, they're also emerging as the driving force behind the entire PC industry," says NetGuide publisher Beth Haggerty in a statement from Manhasset, New York. The research, conducted by Simmons Research, found 54 percent of NetGuide's subscribers plan to buy a new computer in 1996, spending an average of $3,260 on a new PC, $3,513 on peripherals (such as CD-ROM drives, speakers, monitors, printers, modems, and storage devices) and another $1,109 on software. The poll also found the magazine's average subscriber: ú Has been using computers for an average of 9.6 years at home and 9.7 years at work. ú Owns an average of 2.6 computers at home. ú Spends, each week, on average 17.8 hours online, including 9.4 hours at home and another 8.4 hours at work. ú Also, 10 percent of the readers have their own home pages on the Internet's World Wide Web and 50 percent work at companies that have Web sites running or in planning or development. Online Population Up 79% in 1995 The numbers are staggering: ú Nearly 5 million U.S. households opened new accounts on consumer online services last year. ú By the end of the year, an estimated 11,304,200 customers were online. ú That is a 79 percent increase over the 6,320,650 households that were wired at the end of 1994. ú And for the second consecutive quarter, the base of users grew by 15 percent. Those are the findings by Information & Interactive Services Report in its poll of 22 consumer services. "To illustrate the rate of growth for the industry," says IISR in a statement from Washington, "the number of households who signed on with a service -- 4,983,550 -- exceeds the 4,585,000 households that were online at the end of 1993." In fact, says IISR Editor Rod Kuckro, "nearly 16,000 people a day joined an online service in the fourth quarter." Noting the average daily sign-up rate has risen steadily during the past year, Kuckro added, "If current rates are only maintained, another 6 million households will be online by the end of 1996. But it is more likely that a combination of vigorous marketing of new and existing services, a drive by services to expand overseas, and a further drop in prices will contribute to the doubling of the current base of online customers." The three largest national/global online services (CompuServe, America Online, and Prodigy) reach 10.1 million users, or 89.3 percent of the total audience. New Magazine Focuses on Public Nets McGraw-Hill Co. is preparing to launch tele.com, a monthly magazine focusing on the public network market. A statement issued by McGraw-Hill notes that tele.com (pronounced tele DOT com) will provide news, information, lab testing, and detailed product comparisons of the key leading edge products that telephone companies, cable TV companies and Internet providers are investigating for the rapid deployment of their services. "This market includes not only the traditional carriers such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint and other globally based carriers such as France Telecom and British Telecom, but also the cable TV companies, Internet service providers and wireless cellular companies, inter-exchange carriers, regional Bell operating companies and local business carriers," says Kevin Harold, tele.com's publisher. "tele.com aims to be the 'chronicler' of the new telecommunications industry. The publication fills an enormous void in the industry by focusing on the needs of a new breed of professionals within the new public network market. tele.com, which will premiere with an April 1996 issue, will be the center of a range of new tele.com products, including conferences, custom publishing, newsletters and World Wide Web services. The magazine will launch with a worldwide circulation of 55,000. Compaq Reports Record Year Compaq Computer Corp. has announced record 1995 sales of $14.8 billion, an increase of 36 percent over the $10.9 billion it reported in 1994. The Houston-based computer maker's net income for 1995 was a record $1.0 billion, excluding a one time charge of $241 million associated with Compaq's acquisition of NetWorth Inc. and Thomas-Conrad Corp. Fourth quarter 1995 sales were a record $4.7 billion, an increase of 45 percent over the $3.25 billion reported in 1994. Net income for the fourth quarter increased to $323 million before, the one-time NetWorth/Thomas-Conrad charge of $241 million. "1995 was an outstanding year for Compaq as we reinforced our number one position in the PC industry," says Eckhard Pfeiffer, Compaq's president and CEO. "Record sales of $14.8 billion propelled Compaq past Digital Equipment Corporation and Hitachi in computer sales to become the fifth largest computer company in the world." During the fourth quarter, Compaq increased sales in all of its worldwide geographies including increases of 54 percent in North America, 38 percent in Europe, 32 percent in Asia-Pacific, 28 percent in Japan and 27 percent in Latin America. Silicon Graphics Unveils Units A new set of computers based on speedy new chips made by its Mips Technologies unit are being unveiled today by Silicon Graphics Inc. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Joan E. Rigdon says at the low end, Silicon Graphics plans to ship a $13,500 workstation called the IndyStudio with animation and three-dimensional special-effects software. Rigdon says the system is "a direct response" to new competition from Microsoft Corp., which now says it will enter the special-effects-computing market by bundling its Softimage unit's 3-D software with the Microsoft Windows NT operating system and three different kinds of computer hardware, for about $15,000. Scoffing at Bill Gates' attempt to compete in the graphical-imaging niche, John Dougery Jr., marketing manager for the IndyStudio, told the paper, "Microsoft is bringing a knife to a gunfight." The Journal says that in the mid-range, Silicon Graphics will announce more powerful workstations and server computers to better compete with machines that Sun Microsystems says it will ship this month. "The new line is important," says Rigdon, "because some Silicon Graphics customers had delayed buying last quarter in anticipation of the new line." The paper says we should look for the company also to announce a new Onyx-brand supercomputer that it says can process visual data more than four times (in some instances, as much as 100 times) faster than Silicon Graphics's previous high-end supercomputer. The new chips are versions of the R10000, which Mips announced last Thursday. Poll Favors PCs Over Politicians A lot of people may fear and dislike computers, but a new survey suggests many like PCs at least better than politicians. The poll by Cincinnati-headquartered Northlich Stolley LaWarre advertising agency and Techtel, a San Francisco market research firm, suggests nearly four of every 10 Americans believe 100 PCs could run the nation better than 100 politicians. And more than 25 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed by telephone, and 800 polled by mail, said they would, at certain times, prefer to deal with a computer than with a person. United Press International says NSL and Techtel conducted the poll last summer to determine who, why, and how people are using the "information superhighway." The margin of error in the phone poll was 3.1 percent and 3.4 percent in the mail survey. Some other results: ú 31 percent said they spent more time figuring out how to use their computer, than actually using it. ú 89 percent agreed students must become computer-literate in order to succeed. ú 43 percent would rather spend an hour on their PC than they would watching TV. ú 56 percent of respondents cannot imagine a world without computers. ú 17 percent sometimes believe their computers are out to get them. ú 41 percent believe computer manuals are confusing, and may as well be written in a foreign language. NSL account manager David Brot told The Cincinnati Enquirer, "Ten years ago, people wouldn't have felt this way. They hated politicians, but they probably hated their computers even more." Micrografx NewsWire STR Focus Micrografx Announces Record Second Quarter Results Revenue Growth Leads to 126% Increase in Earnings Richardson, Texas (January 23, 1996) - Micrografx(R), Inc. (NASDAQ: MGXI), a leading graphics software developer, today reported income of $2.0 million, or $.22 per share, for the quarter ended December 31, 1995, a 126% increase over the same quarter a year ago. Revenues for the quarter were $20.3 million, an increase of approximately 20% over last year. For the three months ended December 31, 1994, the company reported revenues of $17.2 million and net income of $0.9 million, or $0.10 per share. For the six months ended December 31, 1995, the company reported revenues of $35.4 million and net income of $2.5 million, or $0.27 per share. This compares to revenues of $31.4 million and net income of $1.0 million or $0.11 per share, for the six months ended December 31, 1994. "This has been a very strong quarter for the company," said J. Paul Grayson, Micrografx chairman and chief executive officer. "The combination of our new product offerings and the success of Windows 95 resulted in this record quarter." In preparation for the December quarter, the company released an entire new product line led by the Micrografx ABC Graphics Suite(TM) designed for the Windows(R) 95 and Windows NT operating systems. Other recently released products include Hallmark Connections(TM) Card Studio(TM), Crayola(TM) Art Studio(TM) 2, and Windows Draw(TM) 4.0. "We had very good success at retail during this past quarter as a result of our value-oriented product offerings," said J. Paul Grayson. "In the past year, the company has seen an increase of approximately 160% in U.S. market share in the Windows graphics market, as reflected in the most recent retail information received from PC Data, a market research firm. This success will become increasingly important as companies begin to migrate to 32-bit platforms during 1996." Geographically for the quarter ended December 31, 1995, the Americas region contributed 49% of consolidated revenue, Europe contributed 37%, and the Pacific Rim represented 14% of total revenues. "We are pleased with the growth in our U.S. business this quarter," added Gregory A. Peters, chief financial officer. "The combination of strong sales of our new ABC Graphics Suite and the success of our consumer products resulted in revenue growth of 47 percent over last year. We hope to translate this success into our international regions as we continue to release localised versions of our recently released products." In December 1995, the company released the ABC Graphics Suite in the German language and simultaneously announced an OEM and expanded distribution arrangement with both Vobis Microcomputer AG(TM) and Escom AG(TM) . These companies represent approximately 25% of the German personal computer market and have more than 1,000 storefronts across Europe. 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 located in San Francisco. International subsidiaries are located in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia and Japan. The Company notes that each of the above forward-looking statements are subject to change based on various important factors including, without limitation, competitive actions in the market place. Further information on potential factors which could affect the company's financial results are included in the company's 1995 Annual Report to Shareholders and its Form 10Q for its fiscal quarter ended September 30, 1995 filed with the SEC. 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. NavCIS 176 STR Spotlight The Best only gets BETTER! N A V C I S 1 . 7 6 B E G I N N E R L E V E L P R I M E R Updated Jan. 1996 This primer assumes that you have already downloaded and installed NavCIS TE from the DVORAK forum (library 1), or that you have already purchased and installed NavCIS PRO. If you read through this primer before downloading and installing NavCIS, that's fine... but you may find that the text assumes that you are looking at the NavCIS software while reading through this short tutorial. What is NavCIS TE? NavCIS TE is our "Timed Edition" of NavCIS Pro. It has all the PRO features including a built-in spell checker, weather, stocks, graphical thread viewing, and much more. However, it is limited to 30 days... meaning it will work for 30 days from the first day you log into CompuServe using it. After 30 days, it will stop working (although it will NOT destroy any messages or other data you have collected). NavCIS TE has been designed to allow you to try NavCIS and make sure it is the right OLR (Off-Line Reader) for you. Installing NavCIS: NavCIS TE can be downloaded from LIB 1. If you have not already done so, and you haven't purchased NavCIS PRO, here's what you will need to do: ú To download NavCIS TE: ú Download the files WPROTE.TXT and WPROTE.EXE from LIB 1 of the DVORAK Forum. Installation Instructions: The complete installation instructions are detailed in the TXT (text) file you just downloaded. Please read through the short text file and you'll have everything you need to successfully install NavCIS to your hard disk. To start the NavCIS TE installation, run the WPROTE.EXE file from Windows' File Manager or Program Manager, or if using Windows 95, run it from the START | RUN option or Explorer. Then follow the instructions in the installation. Setting up NavCIS: Start NavCIS by clicking on the NavCIS TE icon in the group which you installed it into... usually the NavCIS group. When NavCIS starts the very first time, it will ask you to configure it for your modem and your CompuServe account information. Please fill out the Setup Session Settings (formerly Hardware Configuration) and User Settings (formerly Global Settings) dialog boxes. If you get stuck, just click on the prominent Help buttons in each dialog box. Going online for the first time: Once you've configured the Setup Session Settings and User Settings dialog boxes, you are ready to go on-line. To do so is easy: just click on the New button on the left side of the toolbar. NavCIS will go out and check your e-mail for waiting messages, "join" the DVORAK forum, and then disconnect. Note: If you receive an error message, then you may not have configured NavCIS correctly for your modem. One of the most common problems is an incorrectly defined comm port... this will be reported as an "Invalid Port Name: " error, where is the actual comm port that you have NavCIS set up as. If this happens, click on the modem icon in the toolbar (it's the sixth button from the left). This will take you to the Setup Session Settings dialog box. Then change the comm port in the "Connector:" field to whichever comm port your modem is attached. What's "Joining"? This is a term that means NavCIS will join you as a member of a forum (even if you already belong to that forum), and it will retrieve the most current section and library lists for that forum. Also, NavCIS 1.76 will download the headers titles of message conversations) for the newest 100 messages in the forum, if there are that many. OK, Now what? OK, NavCIS checked your e-mail, joined you to the DVORAK forum, and downloaded the headers of the latest 100 messages... now what should you do? If there are some envelopes sticking out of your Mail forum icon, it means you have waiting mail. To read it, just double-click on the Mail icon (if you single click on it, you'll turn the Mail icon off). After double- clicking on Mail, the Actions dialog box will appear. The top-most button, labeled "New:", will have a number to the right, such as "New: 4". This means you have 4 new messages to read... To view these new messages, just click on the "New:" button. This concept of double-clicking on a forum icon is standard to NavCIS... Now, let's go configure your DVORAK forum icon... Configuring the DVORAK forum: 1. Double-click on the DVORAK forum icon. 2. When the Actions dialog box appears, click on the Settings button. The DVORAK Settings dialog box will appear. 3. Now, click on the Sections button. This will bring up the Section Settings dialog box. A list of the sections will appear in the upper-left, while a list of the libraries will appear in the lower-left corner of this dialog box. Before we actually configure the DVORAK forum, we need to understand what Sections and Libraries are. What is a Section? A section is where "conversations" take place on a forum. Each forum has anywhere from 1 to 24 sections. Typically, a forum will have somewhere between 5 and 20 sections. OK, then what's a "conversation"? Imagine I post a message to "ALL" in section number 0 of the DVORAK forum... and the subject is, "Message spell checking?" OK, someone on the forum reads the message (since its addressed to "ALL", everyone can read it) and replies to it... here's an example of the "thread" so far: Message spell checking? | --- Reply from Bob Now, here comes someone else, let's say Tim. Tim reads Bob's reply and he decides to reply to Bob's message. Now the thread looks like this: Message spell checking? | --- Reply from Bob | --- Reply from Tim And someone else, Sara, comes along and replies to the original message that was posted... now the conversational thread looks like this: Message spell checking? | --- Reply from Bob | | | --- Reply from Tim | --- Reply from Sara In essence, a conversation is nothing but an original message (often called a "parent" message) with lots of replies (often called a "child" or "children" messages). The neat thing is, replies can be to the original author of the message (like the one from Bob and Sara), or they can be to a replier (like Tim's reply to Bob). NavCIS can retrieve these conversations, so you can read them from the parent onwards... Then what's a Library? A library is a part of the forum that holds files... each CompuServe forum has libraries (like sections, they vary in number), and each library holds files... sometimes just a few, sometimes hundreds. OK, back to configuring the DVORAK forum: Back in the Sections Settings dialog box, if a section looks interesting, you should make it "active" by placing a check mark in the LEFT-hand checkbox. Do NOT click on the right-hand checkbox... this is an advanced feature and should be ignored for now. For instance, as a NavCIS beginner, you might find Section 0 "NavCIS Beginners" interesting, along with section 2 "NavCIS TE". So, you'd place a check mark to the left of sections 0 and 2. Please do so. Now, let's configure the Libraries... place a check mark next to the libraries that interest you... since most libraries are partnered with a section, we'll simply check the left-hand check boxes for libs 0 and 2... wait! Lib 1 looks interesting too... so let's put a check mark to the left of that one also. Intelligent header scanning: A very useful feature that NavCIS offers is it's ability to look for keywords in the conversation thread titles (called headers). If it spots a keyword that you've entered, it will highlight that thread by placing a pair of eyeglasses to the left of the header title. For instance, if we define the word "spell" as a keyword, then all headers with the word "spell" would be highlighted with a pair of eyeglasses next to it. Defining keywords: The top-left field is called "Msg Header Keys:" and this is where you can define the keywords you'd like to watch for. You can enter up to 10 words, and each should be separated with a space... Here is an example: dvorak navcis modem OS/2 95 wincim Next, select the check diamond labeled "Highlight Keyed Hdrs". This tells NavCIS to turn on the feature and actually check for the keywords defined in the Msg Header Keys field. Rules: Each word MUST be separated by 1 space. Both upper-and lower-case characters may be entered. Searches are somewhat "fuzzy". This means that "95" would find headers with "Windows 95", as well as "1995" in them, but not a header with "189579". The reason... "95" appears as either a separate "chunk" as in Windows "95", or as a discrete prepend or append as in 19"95". Finished configuring the DVORAK forum... time to go on-line! Now that you've done the basic configuration for the DVORAK forum, press "OK" until you are back at the main NavCIS screen. Make sure that both the Mail and DVORAK forum icons are active, that is, that they do not say "off". (If an icon says "off", that means it will be ignored during an on-line session - - just click on it once to turn it back "on".) Next, press the NEW button on the left side of the toolbar. NavCIS will go on-line and check the DVORAK forum for messages and will scan for conversational thread titles (headers) in the sections that you marked with a check mark. If any new e-mail has come in, it will pick that up for you also, as well as post any replies you may have written to previous e-mail. Once NavCIS is finished scanning the DVORAK forum, and has disconnected from CompuServe, you can review the information easily... just double-click on the DVORAK forum icon to call up the Actions dialog box. Headers galore! Underneath the "New:" button is the "Headers:" button. This button will display a number, such as "100"... this means there are 100 new headers (conversation titles) for you to look at. To see these titles, just click on the "Headers:" button once. How to retrieve a thread conversation: The headers (thread conversation titles) have this format: 193709 [8] What is CD-ROM forum? 0/NavCIS Beginners The number on the left is the CompuServe message number of the parent message. CompuServe assigns message numbers to all messages. The "[8]" is the number of replies currently in the thread... so, if you downloaded this thread, you would receive a total of 9 messages: the original parent plus 8 replies. The next part is the title of the conversation, commonly referred to as a header title. It is the title of the original message posted by the first author who started the conversation. Finally, the section number and name is given, in this case, section 0 and its name, "NavCIS Beginners". To mark the header for retrieval, just click on it. You can click on as many headers as you desire. If you change your mind and decide you do not want to download a header that you've marked, just click on it again; it will be unmarked. Downloading the marked headers: Once you've marked the headers you want to retrieve, press OK and return to the main NavCIS screen. Then press the ACTION button on the toolbar (it's the second from the left) and NavCIS will go on-line and retrieve (download) the messages in the headers you've marked. Reading the messages: Once NavCIS disconnects from CompuServe, the messages that it retrieved can be accessed by double-clicking on the DVORAK forum's icon and then pressing the "New:" button. Replying to a message: OK, you're reading the messages that you just downloaded and now you want to post a reply to one of them. To do this, just click on the Reply button on the toolbar (it is the 5th button from the right) while you are reading the message. Go ahead and type your reply into the text area. If you want to cite some of the text from the original message in your reply, please see "Quoting original text" below. After you have finished writing your reply, click on the Send button. Your reply will be posted to the forum the next time you go online with either the NEW or ACTIONS buttons. Quoting original text: Using your mouse, click on the original message window to make it active. Highlight the text you want to quote by clicking and dragging... use the same method you would as in a Windows word processor such as Write or Word. Next, click on the Reply button. The highlighted text will be copied into your reply window and will even have ">>" and "<<" brackets added to each end to indicate that it is a quote from the original message. You can do this as many time as you want. You can also use the keystrokes, Alt+O, M to return to the original message when the Reply window is active. This will make the original message active. How to set up a new forum: Now that you know how to set up a forum that was already on your NavCIS desktop, let's see how to add a new forum to your desktop and then set it up. Use the "New Forum" drag 'n drop icon on the right side of the main NavCIS desktop. Pick it up and drop it onto the gray workspace area of the main NavCIS desktop. The Add a Forum dialog box will appear. Click on the Browse button in the upper-right corner of the dialog box. This will bring up a list of CompuServe forums. Search through the list and choose a forum that looks interesting to you. Click on one that you wish to add to your desktop and click on the OK button. The name of that forum and its long description will automatically be inserted into the proper fields in the Add a Forum dialog box. Then, press the OK button. The new forum now appears on the main NavCIS work area. You must now join the forum by going online with a NEW or ACTION session, and repeat the steps outlined in the "Configuring the DVORAK forum" section towards the beginning of this text file. Composing a new message: Composing a new message is similar to replying to a message in that you type in your message and then Send it. But first, we must bring up the Compose a New Message dialog window. (For this example, we will once again use the DVORAK forum.) To do this, click on the Compose drag 'n drop icon (it is on the right-hand side of the main NavCIS desktop), drag it onto the DVORAK forum's icon, and drop it. The first item you will need to enter is the person's CompuServe ID to whom you want to send this new message. If you are sending the new message to Technical Support (if you have a question, for example), you should address the message to "ALL". No matter who you are sending this message to, you will need to enter either their ID or "ALL" into the "To:" field. Next, you will need to enter the subject of your message into the "Subj:" field. The subject is very critical! First, it is limited... CompuServe limits subjects to only 24 characters (this includes the spaces!). So, be sure to choose your words carefully. Next, it's important to create a subject that others will find intriguing... titles like "need help" or "Arrrgh!" are not very meaningful to most people, and likely will be ignored by other users (although Dvorak Tech Support personnel will read them, since they read all messages posted to the forum). Subjects such as "How to keep modem quiet?" and "Help with downloading" are much more indicative... and far more likely to be read by other forum visitors. Since you dragged the Compose icon onto the DVORAK forum's icon to open this Compose a New Message window, the forum's name will already appear in the "Forum:" field. In the "Sec:" field, you will probably need to change the message section to where you want the message to be posted. For this example, choose section 2 if you are using NavCIS TE, or section 4 if you are using NavCIS PRO. Now comes the fun part... typing in your message! Do this in the big blank text area; click once inside the area and then type away! When you have finished typing in your message, click on the Send button. Your message will be placed in the Outgoing Actions queue, and will be posted to CompuServe the next time you do a NEW or ACTION online session. Note: Do NOT press at the end of each line when composing your message... NavCIS will automatically "wrap" the text on the line for you. The only time you should press the key is when you wish to start a new paragraph. Learning more about NavCIS: There is much more to learn about. For a good primer on catalogs, file uploading and downloading, and file types, please take a look at PRIMER2.TXT here in Library 1 of the DVORAK forum. For information not covered in either of these primer text files, use NavCIS' context-sensitive, built-in help, and read conversation threads on the DVORAK forum. You will find many of your questions answered in either of these two places. Further Help: If you need help regarding NavCIS, and can't find it in NavCIS' extensive built-in help, please post a message to the DVORAK forum. It is considered customary to address your request for tech support to "ALL"... in other words, type the word "ALL" into the "To:" field in NavCIS. This way, it is a public message and can be read by anyone. Often, you'll find your question answered by another helpful NavCIS user who has recently experienced the same problem you are now having. But don't worry, even if your message is not answered by another user, it will be answered by Dvorak Development Tech Support personnel. More about version 1.76: NavCIS 1.76 now supports the Host Micro Interface (HMI) protocol on CompuServe. HMI is a much more robust and intelligent protocol than the older ASCII protocol (which previous versions of NavCIS used). One of the advantages of the HMI protocol is that it will allow you to use the new NISA forums. NISA (New information Server Architecture) forums use 32-bit Windows NT-based host computers that will allow CompuServe to be able to handle larger amounts of traffic than is currently possible with their older host computers. Between HMI and NISA, CompuServe's reliability, speed, and overall level of successful connections should increase dramatically. Also in version 1.76, keeping with previous releases, we have "snuck" in quite a few features and fixes to make sure that NavCIS remains your favorite off-line reader. Please see "What's New in 1.76" in NavCIS' built- in help for more information on what's new in NavCIS 1.76. P R I M E R 2: F I L E S & C A T A L O G S Updated Jan. 1996 This primer assumes that you have read the first primer, called PRIMER.TXT (available in LIB 1 of DVORAK). OK, I've heard there are lots of files on CompuServe, free for the taking. Is this true? Yes, it is. There are literally hundreds of thousands of files available for "downloading". Downloading is the term that means "fetching" a file from CompuServe and putting it on your hard disk. What sort of files are available? Graphics files: In other words, pictures. GIF, JPG, BMP files. Icons. Multimedia files: AVI, MPEG, and QuickTime files. Sounds files: WAV and MID files. Software: Games, utilities, applications. You name it. FAQ files: Frequently Asked Questions. Text files: Files that describe, instruct, relate, report, etc. Patch files: Do you have Word 6.0 and want to update it to Word 6.0 sub-version c? Driver files: Have you bought a printer but don't have the correct drivers for it? Or, maybe it's a CD-ROM,or a monitor or, a..you get the idea. .....and much, much more. Great! I'm excited. How do I find out what files are available in my favorite forum? NavCIS makes this very easy. First, pick up the Lib Search drag 'n drop icon from the right side of the main NavCIS screen. It's the 3rd one from the top with the colored floppies on it. (To pick it up and drag it, click on it with the left mouse button and keep holding the button down. When you release the button, the Lib Search cursor will "drop".) Now drag the Lib Search cursor over to the forum you wish to search and drop it onto it. If you do not drop it on top of a forum icon, nothing will happen. Making a file catalog for the DVORAK forum: As an example, let's create a file list (called a "catalog") for the DVORAK forum. Pick up the Lib Search drag 'n drop icon and drop it onto the DVORAK forum. The Create Catalog dialog window will appear. (If it did not appear, then you probably did not "drop" the Lib Search icon onto the DVORAK forum's icon. Please try again.) Notice the top field, "File Mask:", has "*.*" in it. This means it will create a catalog of all files (all files with any extension). If you only want a catalog of EXE (executable) files, you would type "*.EXE". For your first catalog, we recommend you leave the "File Mask:" field as "*.*" (called "star-dot-star" by tech support folks). The next two fields, "Keywords:" and "Max Days Old:", can be skipped. These are advanced features that are covered in NavCIS' extensive built-in help. Now it's time for you to make a decision... Should you check the Long Description check box or not? If you do, here's what NavCIS will get for each file: (what we call a "long" catalog listing) ú The file name (up to 12 characters) ú The file title (up to 49 characters long) ú The file count (the number of times the file has been downloaded by other CompuServe users) ú The file size (in bytes) ú The file uploader's ID (the CompuServe ID of the person who uploaded the file to CompuServe) ú The file upload date (the date the file was uploaded) ú The file keywords (the keyword list for the file) ú The long description (a detailed description of the file; it can be up to 549 characters long) If you do not check the Long Description check box, here's what you'll get for each file: (what we call a "short" catalog listing) ú The file name (up to 12 characters) ú The file title (up to 49 characters) ú The file size (in bytes) ú The upload date (the date the file was uploaded) Obviously, there is a lot more information downloaded if Long Description is checked. This means more on-line time... but the added information can be very helpful. For the DVORAK forum, it's OK to check Long Description... since we only have about 250 files in our forum. However, some forums, such as COOKS, have thousands of files... and a Long Description for each would take a very long time. Either check Long Description or not, and we'll proceed onto the next step.... Choosing which Library sections to search in the DVORAK forum: In the lower-left part of the Create Catalog dialog window is the "Library Section" list. This list will contain all the library sections in the forum that are available to you. (If no library names appear in this window, it means you have not yet "joined" the forum. Refer back to PRIMER.TXT for a complete discussion about joining.) In the lower-right part of this window is the "Sections to Search" list. If you followed the examples in the "Configuring the DVORAK forum" section of PRIMER.TXT, you should have a couple library sections displayed in this list. (Library names will be "pre-inserted" by NavCIS *if* you checked the left- hand check box next to a library name in that forum's Section Settings dialog box.). If you want to add more sections to this search list, simply double-click on a section name in the "Library Section" list. Doing this will add that section to the "Sections to Search" list. If you accidentally include a library section name that you do not want to search, just double-click on it in the "Sections to Search" list; it will disappear. For this example, please make sure the following library names are in the "Sections to Search" window: ú 1 Free Software ú 2 Windows TE/SE Files ú 6 Node/Logon Scripts ú 7 Modems & Hardware ú 10 Ten Forward Files ú 13 3rd Party Files You are now ready to retrieve a Catalog! To create the actual catalog of files, click on the OK button to close the Create Catalog window, and then press the ACTION button on the main toolbar. (The ACTION button is the second from the left.) NavCIS will go on-line with CompuServe and get the file catalog information. It will also post other actions you defined (if any). Once it's done, NavCIS will disconnect. Now, just look for the... The GREEN double-arrow... and what it means: Notice the green double-arrow in the upper-left corner of the DVORAK forum icon. This means that there is some sort of file action to review or pending. Since you just created a file catalog for the DVORAK forum, this is the pending action. To view the newly created file catalog: Double-click on the DVORAK forum icon and then click on the Catalog button. The freshly created catalog list will appear. This is the "short" catalog listing. The NEW and LONG flags... and what they mean: If this is the very first time you created a file catalog for the forum, all entries will have a yellow "NEW" flag on the left. The new flag will stay there until the next time you get a catalog listing, or until NavCIS' automatic catalog scanning kicks in and refreshes the catalog. You will have a blue "LONG" flag on the left-hand side if you requested Long Descriptions. To view a Long Description: To see the long description, just double-click on a single file entry in the catalog list. A separate dialog window will open up and display all the information associated with that file. Downloading a file: To download a file, just click on the entry once so that it is highlighted if you are using the short catalog list view. If you are looking at a long description, just check the "Download" checkbox in the upper-left. You can highlight as many files as you want for downloading. Once you have highlighted some files for downloading, press OK and close the catalog list. Return to the main NavCIS screen. Notice the DVORAK forum icon now has... The green double-arrow indicator again: Notice the green double-arrow indicator in the upper-left? (If you did not choose any files for downloading, it won't be there.) This indicates that you have a file action: either download a file, upload a file, or view a new catalog or refreshed catalog. If you are following the steps in this primer, you have one or more files to download... Going online and downloading the file(s): To download the file(s) that you have just highlighted, click on the ACTION button in the main toolbar. NavCIS will connect to CompuServe and download the file(s). Once the files are downloaded from CompuServe to your hard disk, they can be found... Where are the downloaded files stored? NavCIS will place the incoming files, by default, into the DL directory (DL stands for DownLoad). This directory is located under your main NavCIS directory... in most cases it will be \NAVHMI\DL. NavCIS reminds you automatically: When NavCIS downloads a file, it will create a message that will show up in that forum's "New:" message queue. The message will display the filename (as it was saved on your hard disk), the size of the file, and the average CPS (Characters Per Second) rate at which the file downloaded from CompuServe. This is a great reminder that will jog your memory that you downloaded a file and should do something with it. NavCIS will also update the file catalog listing for that forum and place a red "READ" flag next to the entry to remind you that you have already downloaded the file. Please see the "File Associations and the Launch button in NavCIS" section at the end of this text file to learn how to easily view the files that you have downloaded. OK, I've downloaded the file. I know where it is... now what do I do with it? This is a very common question. And this is where the answer gets complicated. In a nut shell, what you do with the file you downloaded depends on what kind of file it is. We'll provide a few examples to get you going, but you'll have to use the organic computer between your ears to recognize what a file is and know how to use it. ZIP files: A very common type of file found on CompuServe is the "ZIP" file. Zip files are compressed files. They are compressed for two reasons... to make them smaller so they can be downloaded for less cost, and to allow a bunch of related files to be packed together into one easy to download file. To "unzip" a zipped file, you'll need to have a utility called PKZip and PKUnzip. PKZip allows you to create your own compressed files, and PKUnzip allows you to uncompress a zipped file back into its original files. Now, where can you find the PKZip and PKUnzip utility? Glad you asked... this brings us to another form of file commonly found on CompuServe... Self-extracting EXE files: A self-extracting EXE file is a compressed file much like a zip file. However, it has an executable "shell" around it which will automatically run and extract the files inside itself when run. A very good example of a self-extracting EXE file is PK204G.EXE in Library 1 of the DVORAK forum. It contains the PKZip and PKUnzip utility we discussed in the previous paragraph. This is an excellent file to download, so if you don't already have it, we strongly urge you to get it. Once you've downloaded it, copy it from the DL directory into your DOS or Windows directory. To force it to self-xtract into it's component files, just double-click on it from File Manager... making sure that you have already copied it into the DOS or Windows directory... Note: PKZip and PKUnzip are really two DOS programs... and as such are often easier to run from within a DOS window. We're not going to cover all the ways to use PKZip and Unzip, but will share a few quick tips to get you going... Unzipping a Zipped file: OK, now that you've got PKUnzip, you can uncompress a zipped file. If you don't have one, please download a file with the ZIP suffix from CompuServe. Then, move that file from the DL directory into a new directory... we often put newly down-loaded files into a directory called \TEMP so that we can unzip and experiment with them. Assuming that you have moved a ZIP file into \TEMP, and that you are now in a DOS window (just double-click on the MS-DOS icon in the Main group in Windows to open a DOS window), type this: C>PKUNZIP filename.ZIP Where "filename" is the name of the file to be unzipped. Example: C>PKUNZIP DVORAK.ZIP The zip file will be uncompressed and broken into its component files. The next step after unzipping a file is (usually) to look for a file called README.TXT or README.1ST or READ.ME or maybe the name of the program with a TXT suffix. An example: DOOM.TXT The text file will have instructions on how to run the software you just downloaded and unzipped. For more information on PKZip, read it's associated text file, and also use the "help switch" to see a quick help summary. Example: C>PKZIP /? GIF Files: Another very common type of file on CompuServe is the GIF file. If a file has the GIF suffix, it is a picture of some kind. NavCIS TE and Pro come with the freeware software, NavImage. NavImage is a program that displays many common graphic file types, including GIF. The easiest way to use NavImage is to go to the File menu on the main NavCIS screen. Pull down the menu, and you'll see "Image Viewer". Select it. NavImage will now start. Click on the OPEN button on the left side of the toolbar in NavImage, then select the file you wish to view. Notice at the bottom you can easily change the file type from GIF to BMP, PCX, TIF, TGA, JPG, or ALL formats. NavImage has very good built-in help, so be sure to use it. TXT Files: Files that end with the TXT suffix are "text" files. These files can be easily viewed using Notepad, Wordpad, or even by using the DOS EDIT program... just open a DOS window, then go to the directory that has the text file and open it. Example: C> CD \NAVCIS\DL C> EDIT EXAMPLE.TXT Windows self-extracting, self-installing EXE Files: A new type of file making a big splash on CompuServe is the Windows compatible self-extracting, self-installing EXE. An example of this is WPROTE.EXE in LIB 1. To run this type of file is very easy; just use the File | Run command built into either Program Manager or File Manager. How to tell the difference between a DOS and Windows self-extracting EXE File: Since both DOS and Windows self extracting EXE files end with an EXE suffix, the best way to tell is to read the long description of the file before you download it. Usually, the uploader will tell you in the long description whether the file is a DOS or Windows self-extracting EXE file. File discussion summary: There are many more types of files on CompuServe than what we have described here. This has been provided simply to give you an overview of some of the most common file types found on CompuServe and what to do with them once you have downloaded them. If you get stuck, the first thing to do is to look for some kind of documentation file that came with the file... like a README.TXT file. If you need further help, you can always post an e-mail to the person who uploaded the file. In many cases, this will be the author of a shareware program, and, who better than the author to get help from? Uploading files with NavCIS: We've covered creating file catalogs and downloading files in some depth. Now it's time to look at the other side of the coin, uploading files to CompuServe. There are two major reasons for uploading files. The first is... Uploading files to a friend or colleague: If you want to transfer a file from your computer to someone you know, you will upload the file through Mail. To do this, follow these simple steps: 1. Prepare the file... if it's a big file, you should zip it up so it's smaller. Use PKZip to do this. (Remember the bigger the file, the more it will cost you to upload it... yes, CompuServe will charge you for the time it takes to upload the file...so you want it to be as small as possible.) 2. Drag and drop the File Upload drag 'n drop icon onto the Mail icon. 3. Fill out the dialog box as appropriate. 4. On the subject line, it's a good idea to give the filename... if the recipient is also using NavCIS, he or she will receive the file with its original filename IF you do this. Example: To: Bob Smith 77777,0000 Subject: EXAMPLE.ZIP program patch from me File: C:\PROG\EXAMPLE.ZIP Use the Browse button to easily find and choose the file. If you want a receipt when the file was "picked up" by the intended recipient, check the "Receipt" check box. If you check the "ASCII" checkbox, the file MUST be a text file, and the recipient will receive it as a text message. This should only be used if you understand what it is and why you need it. For now, just ignore it. Uploading a file to a forum: The first big difference... uploading files to a forum is FREE. That's right, CompuServe does not charge you any special fees, and even suspends the normal time charge. Follow the same steps as defined above: pick up the File Upload drag 'n drop cursor and drop it onto the forum you wish to upload the file to. The Upload a File to XXXXX dialog box will appear. "XXXXX" will be the name of the forum, such as DVORAK. Then fill in the fields... Example: File to Send: COOLPROG.EXE CIS Filename: QWKLOOK.EXE LIB: 1 File Uploads CIS Title: Windows software to look up US zipcodes Keywords: zipcode zip mail postal postnet Long Description: This Windows self-extracting/self-installing EXE contains my Quick Look Zipcode Finder v1.5. A Windows program, it works with Windows 95 and NT too. It will create & print mailing labels and even supply postnet bar encoding. Shareware $15.00 File to Send... use the Browse button to easily locate the file. (If you use the CC: button you can upload the same file to another forum without having to repeat all the drudgery -- see Help for more information on CC'ing files.) CIS Filename... the name of the file as you want it to appear on CompuServe itself. Format: 8.3 (like DOS file names). LIB... choose the library you want to place the file in. Many forums restrict uploads to one library, usually called File Uploads or something similar. If this is the case, you'll need to send the SYSOP of the forum a message asking them to move the file to LIB x after they have scanned the file for viruses. A quick note about viruses: All files are scanned for viruses by the forum sysops before being released to the public. As an uploader, you should be careful not to let any viruses get into your uploaded files. Two reasons: first, you could contaminate many other users, and second, if your uploads are found to have a virus, you may be denied file uploading privileges on CompuServe. Back to the forum file upload: CIS Title... titles can be up to 49 characters long. Try to be succinct and descriptive. Keywords... keywords are supplied by you to help others when they are searching for a specific type or kind of file. At least one keyword must be supplied. Separate each key word with a space. Long Description... this can be up to 549 characters long. Use this space to "sell" your file, as well as to instruct the potential downloader on what sort of file it is. See the previous example. File Associations and the Launch button in NavCIS: If you have an application associated with the file type of the file you just downloaded, you can click on the Launch button to view the file. For example, if you download a file called READTHIS.TXT, and you have the TXT file type associated with Windows Notepad, clicking on the Launch button will open the READTHIS.TXT file inside Notepad. To create a file association in Windows 3.x: 1. Go into File Manager and select File | Associate from the main menu. 2. Enter the file type (e.g. TXT) into the box next to "Files with Extension:". 3. Then, in the "Associate With:" field, enter the path (disk drive and directory) of the application that you want to associate with the file type extension. If you don't know where the application is, click on the Browse button to search for it. To create a file association in Windows 95: ú 1. Double-click on the My Computer icon. ú 2. In the View menu, click Options, and then click the File Types tab. ú 3. Click the New Type button. ú 4. Specify a description (e.g. TXT File) for the file type and the filename extension (e.g. TXT) associated with this type of file. ú 5. Click the New button to define an action for this file type. ú 6. In the "Action:" box, enter the word Open. In the "Application used to perform action:" box, enter the path (disk drive and directory) of the application that should run when you want to open files that have the file type specified in step #4 above. Use the Browse button if you aren't sure where the application is. Well, that wraps it up! There is a lot more we could discuss about files... but since this is a primer, it's job is to introduce you to files and how to get at them. Now it's up to you to use NavCIS' extensive, built-in help to learn about all the other cool things you can do with files... Enjoy file up- and downloading! Legal stuff (C)Copyright 1995-96 by Dvorak Development. All rights reserved. NavCIS is a registered trademark of Dvorak Development. CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc. WinSocks and NavCIS 1.76 "What is a WinSock?" "How do I use it?" "Do I need to use it?" These are questions that we have been hearing ever since the release of NavCIS 1.76. This file will explain WinSocks as they relate to NavCIS 1.76. What is a WinSock? A WinSock is a file that acts as a translator between the Internet's TCP/IP protocol and Windows. The WinSock works in conjunction with a dialer program to provide a PPP connection to the Internet. This allows a Windows application (such as NavCIS 1.76) to communicate with the Internet. Do I need to use it in NavCIS 1.76? No. Actually, most users will not want to use a WinSock with NavCIS. If you want (or need) to connect to CompuServe by going through the Internet, a WinSock is required. If you don't want (or need) to go through the Internet, then you will probably not want to use a WinSock in NavCIS. (Please see the "Disadvantages of WinSocks" section below.) Why would anybody want (or need) to go through the Internet for a CompuServe connection? Many users don't have a local CompuServe access number, so they have to pay long distance charges to connect to CompuServe. Purchasing an account with an Internet Access Provider (IAP) can help alleviate this problem. Accounts with an IAP usually cost around $20 dollars each month, and many of them allow unlimited connect time. Since most IAPs don't charge by the minute (as do long distance calls), one can save significant amounts of money. In fact, if you have an account with an IAP for any reason, you can use it to connect to CompuServe. Advantages of WinSocks There are two main advantages of using a WinSock connection in NavCIS. First, as noted above, if you already have access to the Internet, you can save on long distance charges if you don't have a local CompuServe access number. Second, WinSocks allow one or more applications to communicate on the Internet at the same time. For example, you can send a file to CompuServe with NavCIS while using a Web browser to surf the World Wide Web. Disconnecting NavCIS from CompuServe won't disconnect the Web browser connection. In other words, two or more applications can use the same telephone line at the same time. Disadvantages of WinSocks There is one major disadvantage of using a WinSock with NavCIS. Speed. Because a WinSock connection has to travel through the Internet before reaching CompuServe, slowdowns will occur. Slowdowns of 20 - 30% aren't uncommon. Therefore, we recommend that you use a regular direct-dial connection (as opposed to a WinSock connection) to access CompuServe, unless a WinSock connection is absolutely necessary. How do I set up NavCIS to use a WinSock? If you decide that you want to use a WinSock with NavCIS 1.76, you will need to acquire a winsock.dll and its respective dialer, and configure them properly so that they work correctly. Two popular WinSock/dialer pairs are the CompuServe Internet Dialer and Trumpet. The CompuServe Internet Dialer can be obtained by GOing WINCIM and downloading the WCINST.EXE file. If you have trouble with a WinSock/dialer pair, please consult their developer for assistance. Once you have them working correctly, copy the winsock.dll file to the \NavHMI directory. Next, start NavCIS 1.76 and select Configuration | Session Settings from the main menu. Next, in the "Connector:" field, choose the WINSOCK selection. When you make this selection, the LAN button will become enabled. Click on this button and make sure that the "Host Name:" field says gateway.compuserve.com and the "Connect Timeout:" value is set at around 30 seconds (if you have problems connecting, you may want to increase this value). That's all there is to it! The next time you logon with NavCIS 1.76, you will connect to CompuServe using a WinSock. Speed Issues in NavCIS 1.76 NavCIS was created several years ago for one main reason: gather data quickly to decrease the amount of time online. NavCIS allows the user to connect to CompuServe, gather enormous amounts of useable data, then jump off- line, all in a matter of only seconds or minutes. Through the years, NavCIS has been just as fast or faster. So, why the slowdown in a couple online functions in NavCIS 1.76? Well, there are a few reasons. Downloads Downloading files has been slowed due to the fact that the communications engine now being used in NavCIS only allows smaller packets of data (508 bytes) to be received from CompuServe. In the past, NavCIS was able to receive packet sizes of up to 2048 bytes. Using larger packet sizes will increase the speed of the download. So, why is NavCIS using this communications engine if it isn't as fast as the communications engine used in the past? CompuServe will soon be switching completely to a Host Micro Interface (HMI) protocol. In order for NavCIS to be able to interact with this new protocol, we are forced to use CompuServe's proprietary communications engine, called the "CCT". Uploads Uploading files to CompuServe has never been fast for NavCIS (or any other product). This is due to what is known as "choke control". Choke control is the manner in which files are received by CompuServe. When you upload a file, it must be written to the hard drive on one of the server computers at CompuServe. At the same time, other users may be uploading files. This creates a "traffic jam". The choke control mechanism on CompuServe allows part of one file upload to be written to the server. Then it allows part of another file upload to be written. This continues back and forth, each file upload is given a turn to be written to the server until each file has been completely written. For this reason, as the number of uploads at any one time increases, the slower your upload will be. NISA forums NISA is an acronym for New Information Services Architecture. When NavCIS is in a NISA forum, it can be very slow. This is caused by problems in the CompuServe hardware and software used specifically in these new forums. As soon as these problems have been eliminated by CompuServe, NISA forums will be very quick and will be able to accomodate even more users than the previous type of forums. Switching between forums When NavCIS exits one forum and enters another, slowdowns can occur due to the fact that one forum will be physically located on a different server than the other forum. This slowdown will be compounded if one of these forums is of the NISA type. Switching from regular forums to the NISA forums has been timed at up to 3 minutes! This perceived "hanging" time will decrease as the transition from regular forums to NISA is improved by CompuServe. WinSock connections Finally, there will be a slowdown if you are connecting to CompuServe through a WinSock connection. Using a WinSock connection in NavCIS can be 20 - 30% slower than a regular direct-dial connection due to the fact that all data will have to travel through the Internet. In other words, data will travel from NavCIS to your Internet Access Provider, and then to CompuServe. This is very time consuming. Therefore, one should use a WinSock connection to CompuServe only if necessary. Please see WINSOCK.WRI here in this library for more information regarding WinSock usage and NavCIS. 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 ISDN WHEN? STRFOCUS Baby Bells Rediscover Fast ISDN Service, But Critics Say It May Soon Be Obsolete By LESLIE CAULEY Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal CTSY CIS ISDN Forum To hear the Baby Bells tell it, ordering an advanced telephone line that can simultaneously juggle voice, data and video is as easy as picking up the phone. "We're Not Just Talk Anymore!" screams a Nynex Corp. print ad for so- called ISDN services, "Integrated Services Digital Network." It offers a toll- free 800 number for speedy installation. Pacific Telesis Group boasts that California customers can order its "Way-Fast Phone Lines" and get them installed, well, way fast. In another ad, a deli owner gushes on about how "simple" Bell Atlantic Corp.'s ISDN lines are to use. Despite the consumer pitch, getting an ISDN line requires customers to clear a thicket of technical hurdles, wait weeks for delivery -- and pay premium prices for the privilege. "ISDN is as easy to operate as a nuclear power plant, and as convenient as an iron lung," says Michael Finneran, president of dBrn Associates Inc., a Hewlett, N.Y.-based consultant on ISDN services. The seven Baby Bells have had these superfast phone lines for a decade, but have signed up fewer than half a million business customers in all that time. Now the Bells have rediscovered ISDN. They hope to turn the snazzy phone lines from a business luxury into a consumer product that cashes in on the booming Internet. The global computer network relies on antiquated phone lines to deliver data to millions of computer users. But if history winds up repeating itself, ISDN could turn out to be the best technology that never happened. Some say the Bells frittered away a decade- long technological lead, stumbling over marketing miscues, incompatible designs and a lack of focus. And even though demand for the faster phone lines has started to boom, the Bells risk getting one-upped by far faster lines and "cable modems" planned by cable-TV systems. The cable modem and other technologies on the way threaten to render ISDN obsolete. "I think it's time to write the obituary on ISDN," says Ken McGee of Gartner Group. The Bells themselves could render the service useless as they install new fiber-optic networks. While it's commendable that the Bells have finally awakened to the promise of ISDN, he says, it's simply too late. "Nice landing, wrong airport. It's time to turn the page and move on," Mr. McGee says. Bell executives concede they didn't do a very good job in past years at marketing ISDN, but say they are pushing hard to move the technology to the forefront. "We were slow to meet demand, slow to realize this tremendous opportunity," says James Moore, a marketing vice president at Nynex. "We're now playing catch-up." Most of the technical snags have now been solved, and the cost of setting up an ISDN line has dropped from $1,500 a few years ago to as little as $300 currently. That decline and demand from people who "telecommute" and surf the Internet have pushed ISDN orders off the charts. Most Bells expect a four- to five-fold increase in ISDN installations in 1996. Mr. Finneran, the ISDN consultant, forecasts total installations of seven million by the end of the decade, from the current 450,000 lines. Never known as savvy marketers, the Bells have continued to price the services beyond the reach of most consumers. And some Bell companies are now trying to increase their rates, undercutting their aspirations of making ISDN a mass-market product. Most Bells charge monthly fees for ISDN of $25 to $70, plus usage charges of as much as a dime a minute. Because ISDN uses two "channels" or data paths, those per-minute charges can double. Cable companies are expected to offer their digital service in a year or two at a more affordable flat rate of about $30 a month and unlimited usage. Some Bell companies are moving to flat-rate pricing with unlimited usage, but the fees tend to be higher, at $60 or more a month. So unless the Bells reverse course and cut pricing, consumers will have a clear choice between $30 a month for cable modems and twice that or more for ISDN. "It's a no- brainer," says Carter Burden III, president of Digital Telemedia Inc., a New York Internet access provider that offers ISDN service. No matter how they price ISDN, the Bells still have a long way to go to make it consumer-ready. Arthur Bushkin, a former Bell Atlantic division president who wanted an ISDN line for his office in Washington, had to spend hours on the phone with Bell Atlantic's customer-service staff. "They were friendly, but there's no question that ISDN isn't ready as an easy-to-use consumer product," he says. Ivan Seidenberg had to wait three months for Nynex to install a line in his home in 1993 -- and he was vice chairman of the company at the time. Currently, only about 2,500 of Nynex's 10,000 installers are ISDN-trained. "The good news is that there's enormous demand" for ISDN services, says Mr. Seidenberg, now Nynex's chairman and chief executive officer. "The bad news is that we're not as ready as fast we should be" to respond. ISDN Defined STR InfoFile ISDN EXPLAINED By Ron Higgin [OS/2 Advisor] CTSY CIS ISDN Forum ISDN stands for "Integrated Services Digital Network". It similar to your the phone service you're familiar with in that it is a switched network; that is, your ISDN line gets assigned at least one telephone number and the line can be used to either place (dial) or receive "calls". However, that's where the similarity ends. Your regular telephone lines are analog. However, your computer "speaks" digital. Your existing modem (MOdulator/DEModulator) converts digital signals produced by your computer into analog signals that can be sent across normal analog telephone lines. The bandwidth of standard telephone lines is limited, and this signal conversion process is quite error prone one the analog signals hit the telephone company's equipment. This is the reason why the higher the line speed your modem connects at, the higher the probability of transmission problems. Indeed, the latest 28,800 baud (V.34) modems seldom (sometimes NEVER) connect at a line speed of 28.8Kbits because, simply put, the quality of normal analog telephone lines isn't good enough to sustain that speed. For these modems, a connect speed of 24Kbits or 21Kbits is more often than not the best you can do. Enter ISDN. Actually ISDN has been around for a decade or more. However it's only recently that the telephone companies have been actively promoting the service; most likely because they weren't prepared for mass deployment of ISDN until recently. This is certainly, in part, due to the fact that the telephone companies have to upgrade/replace their Central Office, or CO, switching equipment in order to support ISDN lines and connections. ISDN is a totally digital service. While it is, with special equipment (installed in YOUR home), capable of supporting ordinary voice calls and FAX, the service is primarily intended for (and provides the real benefit) when applied to digital communications equipment, such as your computer. Since your computer already "speaks" digital, a modem is NOT needed. However, a special ISDN-to-computer terminal adapter (called a "TA") is required. A network terminating device (NT1) is also required, although these days the NT1 is most often integrated into the TA hardware. The NT1 serves as the interface between the telephone company's ISDN network and the TA. Simply stated, the ISDN telephone cable plugs into the NT1 (or TA, if the NT1 is integrated therein) in an identical manner to the way you plug an ordinary analog telephone line into the back of your existing modem. The TA serves as the interface between, for example, your computer and the NT1, or for a TA with an integrated NT1, your computer and the ISDN network. There are many different types of TAs, each designed to handle the attachment of a specific class of non-ISDN capable equipment. While your computer does "speak" digital, it doesn't "speak" ISDN. Consequently you need a TA that adapts the digital language of your computer to that understood by the ISDN network. Other types of TAs are available to, for example, permit attachment of analog based telephone equipment (non-ISDN telephones, FAX machines, etc.) to an ISDN line. Just as there are many different classes of TAs, there are multiple TA implementations within class. Specifically, there are multiple types of TAs that will allow your computer to use an ISDN line. The Motorola BitSurfr (and similar serially attached TAs) is one type of TA. This is an external modem-like device that goes between one of your computer's serial (COM) ports and the ISDN line (the BitSurfr, and like devices, have a built- in NT1). These devices are unique in that they respond to many of the common modem commands; that is, they conform to the standard Hayes "AT" command set. This allows them to be used with ordinary modem based communications software. In addition to providing a TA to adapt the computer's serial port to the ISDN line, the BitSurfr type devices most often (but NOT always) provide one or more POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) ports (RJ-11 jacks) to which you can attach any old telephone or FAX machine. These are in effect, additional (integrated) TAs designed to allow analog telephone equipment to be attached to the ISDN line. In absence of POTS ports, you'd have to purchase (expensive) digital telephones and/or FAX machine in order to connect them to an ISDN line. The Motorola "BitSurfr" in fact provides one POTS port to which you can attach your existing analog modem, or any other analog device (telephone, FAX machine, etc.). The basic device sells for about $250 (street price), with a more sophisticated one (that supports multipoint protocol channel "bonding"), called the "BitSurfer Pro" runs about $100 more. The basic difference between the two is that the "Pro" model will run (with "BONDing" ... more about this later) at speeds up to 128Mbits. However, at that speed most non- intelligent serial devices (COM ports) will not be able to keep up. Generally an intelligent (co-processed) serial card is required to achieve such speeds over a serially connected TA. To use ISDN you have to order an ISDN line from your telephone company. Note that ISDN lines are NOT available in every locale. Indeed, the telephone company usually requires that your house be located no more than 2 miles from the CO providing your service, and of course the CO must have ISDN capable switches installed. Since ISDN has (at least the so called "Basic Rate Interface", or BRI, does) the SAME wiring requirements as your existing POTS equipment, your telephone company will often offer to one of your existing analog lines to an ISDN line, although you MAY have to change your telephone number in order to do this. In some locales the telephone company does NOT even charge an installation fee when converting an existing line. Each (BRI) ISDN line consists of two 56Kbit or 64Kbit "Bearer" ("B") channels PLUS a 16Kbit Digital ("D") signaling channel forming the so called "2B+D" service offering. The CO switch capabilities determine whether the "B" channels are 56Kbit or 64Kbit. The "D" channel is used for signaling operations such as activating the ringer on an attached telephone. Your computer, with an appropriate TA installed, communicates over one or both of the "B" channels. If your TA supports it, you can be simultaneously connected to two different ISDN locations (for example, an Internet service provider and the LAN at your place of employment) .. OR .. with BONDing (Bandwidth ON Demand") capability, to the SAME ISDN location; the latter providing you with a 112Kbit or 128Kbit connection. All this is great BUT your ISDN TA can only "talk to" another COMPATIBLE ISDN TA. You may remember the old HST line protocol supported by US Robotics modems; the modem could only "talk" HST if it was connected to another USR modem with HST capability. Well, this is the same thing EXCEPT that it is NOT optional. In other words the box on the other end of the line (whose telephone number you cause your TA to dial) MUST be an ISDN TA (NOT a modem) AND it MUST be compatible with your TA. Unfortunately "standards" in the ISDN world have been slow coming, so it is important to check with the locations (supporting the ISDN connections you want to connect to) to insure they can support the TA you are planning to purchase. Realistically, ISDN is most useful for connecting to the Internet, through an Internet service provider that supports ISDN connections. This will allow you to "surf the net" at a speed equal to at least 56Kbits (57,600 baud), AND the connection will be 100% reliable since you'll be on a fully digital network (no signal conversion is required) ... so you'll really get a 56Kbit (or better) connection. If you do decide to go with ISDN you won't want to throw away your modem just yet since you'll continue to need it to connect to non-ISDN capable sites such as BBS systems. Note that your existing modem CAN be connected to a POTS port of the ISDN TA, if it has one. While Compuserve does provide some direct ISDN ports (telephone numbers), its probably easier to (if you have an Internet service provider that supports ISDN) simply connect to Compuserve via their Internet node, "compuserve.com". The bottom line here is that to use ISDN (assuming its available in your locale) you need to: ú Order an ISDN line from your telephone company. Note that you shouldn't do this until you have selected your TA as the telephone company has to "provision" the line for the specific TA you select. ú Shop for a TA, insuring the locations you want to connect to support the TA you have selected. ú Install the TA. For "BitSurfer" class TAs this is no more difficult than installing a modem. ú Assuming you want Internet access, select an Internet service provider (ISP) that supports your TA. There's a good list of ISPs on the Internet itself, at Web Site "TheList.com". The list is maintained by telephone area code making it very easy to locate an ISP in your area that supports ISDN connections. Well, that's about the long and the short of it. I hope I haven't bored you (or anyone else) with this rather long winded dissertation on the subject of your post. EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage APPLE FOR SALE Apple Computer is for sale, but no buyers have materialized yet. Reportedly, Sun Microsystems was in discussions over a buyout as recently as two weeks ago, but backed off over Apple's price tag. Others with whom Apple CEO Michael Spindler has broached the subject include Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Toshiba, Sony and IBM, but so far, no company has been willing to meet Spindler's price. (Wall Street Journal 19 Jan 96 B2) SCIENTOLOGISTS WIN INTERNET COPYRIGHT CASE A federal judge has ruled in favor of the Church of Scientology in a case in which the church sued a person who posted onto the Internet some ''secret" documents on which it holds a copyright. The defendant had tried unsuccessfully to argue that the Church of Scientology had lost its rights to the documents when they were included in publicly available materials published in connection with another court case. (New York Times 20 Jan 96 p19) SONY AIMS FOR 20% OF PC MARKET Sony Corp., which is poised to enter the U.S. PC market in a big way, isn't thinking small -- "I think we can earn at least half the share of Packard Bell," says an optimistic Sony senior managing director. Packard Bell dominated approximately 40% of the home PC market last year. Sony's plans include two or three PC models launched in the U.S. this year, with subsequent ventures planned for Japan and Europe. (St. Petersburg Times 19 Jan 96 E6) COMPAQ REJOINS "INTEL INSIDE" CAMPAIGN After yanking the "Intel Inside" logo off its computers two years ago, Compaq Computer is rejoining the highly successful chip marketing program. Compaq's plan to replace Intel microprocessors with those from Cyrix and Advanced Micro Devices was not successful, and Intel's lock on the Pentium market drove Compaq back into its arms. "If you can't beat them, join them, or rejoin them," says an analyst for Smith Barney. At the time they pulled out, Compaq resented Intel's attempts to shift attention from the computer maker to the component maker, but in the past two years, its lead in market share has made those concerns less important. (Wall Street Journal 19 Jan 96 B2) MOTOROLA PULLS OUT OF NATIONWIDE VENTURE Motorola's Cellular Infrastructure Group has been "unable to reach acceptable financial and commercial contract terms" with the Sprint Telecommunications Venture. The partnership, which includes Sprint, Tele-Communications Inc., Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications, is scheduled to construct a $3-billion nationwide wireless network over the next two years to be used for personal communications services. A Motorola VP says the dispute arose out of "unusual terms related to damages and financing" required by Sprint. (Wall Street Journal 19 Jan 96 B2) COOPERATION ON TV VIOLENCE The chair of the Canadian radio and TV regulatory commission says he's now confident that Canada's threat to block some American programming because of violence or nudity is no longer necessary. The office of U,S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor pledged to urge American border stations to adhere to future Canadian action against such programs. Two Fox affiliates already are participating in Canadian testing of V-chip technology for children's programming. (Toronto Globe & Mail 20 Jan 96 B2) IBM FACES BRIBE INVESTIGATIONS IN ARGENTINA IBM is the subject of investigations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI over allegations that the IBM Argentine subsidiary paid bribes to win a quarter of a million contract with the state-owned Banco Nacion. (Financial Times 18 Jan 96 p6) INTERNET CHILD PORNOGRAPHY The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Newfoundland set a national precedent when they charged a man with possession of child pornography downloaded from the Internet. Police say they aren't about to start randomly breaking into people's computers and will not act without a complaint. (Ottawa Citizen 19 Jan 96 A3) FLEXIBLE MONITORS Now there are computer monitors that can be flipped around for a "portrait"- shaped screen, ideal for viewing vertically oriented Web pages. The MicroScan 17x by ADI Systems and the Pivot 1700 from Portrait Display Labs can be used either as a conventional monitor, or as a display that's about 13 inches high by about 9 1/2 inches wide. Flexibility doesn't come cheap, however -- each one costs more than double a conventional model -- about $925. (Business Week 22 Jan 96 p22) AT&T TO ACQUIRE STAKE IN SATELLITE TV COMPANY AT&T is investing $137.5 million in Hughes DirecTV, giving it a 2.5% stake in the direct broadcasting service. The arrangement will allow AT&T to offer customers TV as well as long-distance telephone services, and charge for both in a single bill. The move is one more step in AT&T's plan to provide one- stop-shopping for all communications services. (New York Times 23 Jan 96 C1) MCI GETS TOUGH ON SPAMMING MCI has announced a new policy aimed at discouraging "spamming" - the distribution of unwanted junk e-mail. The policy covers MCI's e-mail, Internet access, and World Wide Web services. "We reserve the right to automatically disconnect and deny access to any MCI customer who violates this spamming policy, and we will take swift and corrective action," says the marketing director for MCI's Business Enterprises. (Investor's Business Daily 25 Jan 96 A8) NETSCAPE CUTS DEALS WITH VERIFONE, AOL VeriFone Inc., whose electronic payment systems are used in 75% of U.S. credit card transactions, will work with Netscape Communications to develop software for processing financial transactions on the Internet. The software will be able to handle a variety of credit cards and will be designed to work with merchants', customers', and banks' computers using existing processing structures. (Investor's Business Daily 23 Jan 96 A9) In separate news, Netscape and America Online are in talks over using Netscape's Navigator software on America Online. "They're the only two companies that seem to have a viable shot a balancing the Microsoft hegemony," says an industry watcher. (Wall Street Journal 22 Jan 96 A3) SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE INDUSTRY Cygnus Support has grown into a $10-million-a-year company by making "free software affordable" -- while it charges nothing for its source code, companies pay it to modify the software, adapt it to new hardware, and answer their technical questions. Cygnus's software-for-free, service-for-fee strategy may be a forerunner of the future model for the highly competitive software industry. By making the software available for free, it "provides a straightforward mechanism for a group to innovate rapidly and yet remain united by a common core of technology." (Scientific American Jan 96 p35) ISDN VS. CABLE MODEMS After years of neglecting ISDN, Baby Bells are finally beginning to use a consumer-oriented approach to the marketing of ISDN services - but industry observers say it's probably too little, too late. "I think it's time to write the obituary on ISDN," says a Gartner Group analyst. "Nice launching, wrong airport. It's time to turn the page and move on," he notes, referring to the cable companies' plans to offer high-speed, high-capacity access for a fraction of ISDN's costs. (Wall Street Journal 23 Jan 96 B7) RUSSIAN CHIPS Russian chip factories increased their output by 10% in 1995, and sales are expected to rise 7% this year, according to British consulting firm Future Horizons. And chip exports are taking off -- from $316,000 in 1993 to $19.4 million for the first 10 months of 1995. "The industry has definitely turned around," says Future Horizons' chairman, and while their chips tend to be outdated by U.S. standards, Russian firms are doing a brisk business with countries such as China and some of the southeast Asian nations. (Business Week 22 Jan 96 p92) INTERNET TRANSLATION SERVICE Globalink offers a Translate Direct service that does a quick turnaround job translating Web pages and other Internet documents to and from English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The company has human translators available 24 hours a day. The URL is < http://www.globalink.com > and is only accessible using the Netscape Navigator browser. The company can be reached by phone at 800-255-5660. (Internet World Feb 96 p16) NEW YORK TIMES WEB SITE The New York Times Web site < http://www.nytimes.com > offers news and feature articles from the printed newspaper, classified ads, and various other features. Subscribers will be able to copy articles to their own computers for $1.95 each. (New York Times 22 Jan 96 C7) EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING ON CABLE TV Comcast, the third-largest cable operator, is preempting three hours a week of programming by cable networks such as MTV and USA Network in order to run educational programs that it will produce itself or buy from other sources. A Comcast executive says, "The networks will hate it, but at the end of the day someone has to step forward and do something." (USA Today 23 Jan 96 1B) FIBEROPTIC LINK AROUND THE GLOBE A consortium led by AT&T Submarine Systems in the U.S. and NDD Submarine Cable Systems in Japan has begun a $1.5 billion project ("Flag," or Fiberoptic Link Around the Globe) to lay undersea fiberoptic cables from England to Japan, with landing points in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, in order to provide 120,000 64kbps circuits. About 50 telecommunication companies from around the world have agreed to purchase capacity on the cable. (Financial Times 19 Jan 96 p4) CLINTON PROPOSES COMPUTERS IN ALL CLASSROOMS In his State of the Union speech this week President Clinton said: "Every classroom in America must be connected to the information superhighway, with computers, good software and well-trained teachers. We are working with the telecommunications industry, educators and parents to connect 20% of the classrooms in California by this spring, and every classroom and library in America by the year 2000." The Department of Education's preliminary cost estimate for the proposal is about $10 billion; a McKinsey & Co. consulting study completed last summer for the National information Infrastructure Advisory Council estimated the cost for the kind of system proposed by the President (i.e., a computer for every four or five students) to be about $47 billion. (New York Times 25 Jan 96 A9) IBM DECREE-LIFTING IS AN INCOMPLETE SUCCESS A federal judge has terminated much of the 1956 consent decree against IBM, intended at the time to level the playing field between Big Blue and its competitors, but two critical parts of the decree remain in force. Those cover IBM's mainframe computer and AS/400 midrange computer lines, a caveat that left IBM officials less than ecstatic over the ruling: "Even as amended by the judge's order, the decree represents an unwarranted limitation on legitimate business conducted by IBM," says a company statement. On the positive side, the ruling lifts restrictions on IBM's services operations, currently the fastest growing portion of its business. (Wall Street Journal 24 Jan 96 B7) SOFTWARE MAKERS SHOULD LOOK TO PATENT LAW FOR PROTECTION Patent attorney Peter Trzyna says copyright law increasingly is unsuitable for protecting computer software: "The law is changing all the time, especially computer law. It's moving against copyright protection for software. The doctrine of look and feel (the idea that the basic appearance of a program can be protected) has been pared way back. It used to be viewed that computer programs as a whole could be protected by a copyright. But not anymore." He recommends using the patent process for protection: "Essentially every judge on the court of appeals has said software is a patentable subject matter. It's got to be new and not obvious, and those are the same principles that have guided patent law for years in other fields." (Investor's Business Daily 24 Jan 96 A6) NEW WAVE OF INTERNET IPOs ON THE HORIZON Still flush from the rush experienced during Netscape's initial public offering, Wall Street is bracing for another onslaught of fledgling Net companies. Waiting in the wings are IDT Corp., an Internet services provider and discount telephone company; CyberCash Inc., which provides security for online transactions; Raptor Systems, which makes anti- hacker/cracker software; VocalTec, an Israeli company involved in Internet telephony; and many others. Still, the drop in Net stocks has traders a little jittery: "If you get too many of these Internet IPOs, you could saturate the industry," says one mutual fund portfolio manager. (Business Week 29 Jan 96 p60) FINANCIER PROMISES $5 MILLION FOR INTERNET ACCESS International financier George Soros is planning a new $5-million foundation dedicated to the development of Internet access for hospitals, museums and libraries in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, as well as South Africa and Haiti. A spokesman for Soros's Open Society Institute says expanded Internet access can play an important role in nurturing democracy in these countries. (Chronicle of Higher Education 26 Jan 96 A17) GENIE SOLD TO YOVELLE RENAISSANCE General Electric's online GEnie service will be sold to privately held Yovelle Renaissance, which plans to transform GEnie into a World Wide Web service. Yovelle, which was formed for the acquisition, is linked to IDT Corp., a New Jersey-based Internet access provider. (Wall Street Journal 24 Jan 96 B7) SUITE DEALS FOR LOTUS Lotus Development Corp. has signed deals with AST Research, Epson America Inc. and IBM to bundle Lotus's SmartSuite software with selected PCs. Lotus says the new arrangements will make its software available to 5.5 million PC users this year. (Investor's Business Daily 25 Jan 96 A8) INTEL LINES UP SUPPORT FOR NEW DATA CARD Intel has attracted backing from Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq Computer, Philips NV, Fujitsu, Sharp and Advanced Micro Devices for its Miniature Card, a new generation of tiny storage devices expected to be used in everything from cellular phones to digital cameras. Intel's design is rivaled by Compact Flash, a competing standard backed by SanDisk, along with supporters such as Motorola, Apple Computer, Eastman Kodak and NEC Corp. SanDisk already is shipping some of its cards, and Intel expects to begin shipping in the spring. (Wall Street Journal 24 Jan 96 B7) CISCO WILL ACQUIRE TGV SOFTWARE In its ever-expanding strategy of linking Internet capabilities to its networking products, Cisco has agreed to buy TGV software Inc. for about $100 million in stock. In recent months, Cisco has acquired Network Translation Inc. and Terayon Corp., and has made investments in several small computer network equipment and software companies. (Investor's Business Daily 25 Jan 96 A9) CRUISING THE NET IN THE FRIENDLY SKIES The Network Connection of Atlanta is developing InterView, an extension of the AirView in-flight entertainment system. InterView will add Net surfing to AirView's menu of movie-viewing, computer games, music videos, and faxing functions from monitors installed in passengers' seatbacks. Both systems are slated for delivery next June. (Information Week 8 Jan 96 p10) INSECURITY FEARS A North American study on Internet security by Ernst & Young says that companies fear doing business via the Internet. Companies with a direct Internet connection are concerned that outsiders can gain access to their systems and data bases, and companies that transmit sensitive financial information worry about the security of these transactions. (Toronto Globe & Mail 25 Jan 96 B5) TV DECODER AGREEMENT IN GERMANY Two major rival German media organizations, Bertelsmann and Kirch, have agreed to collaborate on development of a pay-per-view standard decoding box for digital TV. By working together rather than pursuing competing standards, the groups will realize considerable savings on a system that will cost several billion Deutschmarks in startup costs. (Financial Times 22 Jan 96 p15) PRIVACY OF PERSONAL DATA Canada's largest retail brokerage, Midland Walwyn, is urging the government to takes steps to ensure that the country's major banks do not "abuse" the massive amounts of personal data on customers contained in their computers. The brokerage is worried about the enormous potential for invasions of privacy and conflict of interest as banking conglomerates consolidate their customer data. (Toronto Star 25 Jan 96 A1) TELECOM "GIVEAWAY" CONTROVERSY MAY BE DEFERRED Senate Commerce Committee chair Larry Pressler (R., SD) is suggesting that a controversial provision of the telecommunications legislation be removed from that legislation and addressed in a separate bill. The provision has been attacked by Senator Bob Dole and other Republicans as a "giveaway" of valuable airwave spectrum to TV broadcasters for uses such as high-definition television. (New York Times 25 Jan 96 C6) Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas (douglas@educom.edu). Voice: 404-371-1853, Fax: 404-371-8057. Technical support is provided by the Office of Information Technology, University of North Carolina. EDUPAGE is what you've just finished reading. 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