Silicon Times Report The Original Independent OnLine Magazine" (Since 1987) February 23, 1996 No. 1208 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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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. Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35 Results: 2/17/96: 2 of 6 numbers with 1 match in 1 play From the Editor's Desk... Its Friday again. (TGIF) All this week.. the weather has been simply grand. Warm, sunny and balmy. It gets quite difficult to spend a full day at the keyboard. Oh well, just a little rub for all the frostbitten snowbirds out there. Chin up folks, Spring is right around the corner. Ask anyone preparing for Spring Comdex '96. The big shtick this season is going to be telecommunications. ISDN, ultra high speed connections T1s, WANs and LANs all wanting to talk to each other at the speed of light. Then comes the Video Conferencing. Imagine, the Video Phone shown a decade ago is not only a reality, it can be done for a fraction of the cost often spoken about. Your computer is capable of so much these days its mind boggling. Spring Comdex is going herald the beginning of the Computer Communications Revolution. Most all the rules you are familiar with relative to telecommunications are, or have already changed. This couldn't be a better time to make the migration from a stagnant disappointing platform to the vibrant, very much alive, platform all this is happening in. The PC. For anyone wanting advice, about the hardware, software etc., drop us a line in email. We'll be glad to help in any way we can. Don't miss this opportunity, the next decade of computing is going to be, to say the least, thrilling. Stay tuned as we begin the presentation of things to come. March will begin the highlights of what to expect at Spring Comdex. 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. Each of our readers will have by then, received their information packet about how they may upgrade their personal STR News Services. STReport's managing editors DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU! Ralph F. Mariano, Publisher - Editor Dana P. Jacobson, Editor, Current Affairs Section Editors PC Section Mac Section Atari Section R.F. Mariano J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson Portable Computers & Entertainment Kid's Computing Corner Marty Mankins Frank Sereno STReport Staff Editors Michael Arthur John Deegan Brad Martin John Szczepanik Paul Guillot Joseph Mirando Doyle Helms John Duckworth Jeff Coe Steve Keipe Guillaume Brasseur Melanie Bell Jay Levy Jeff Kovach Marty Mankins Carl Prehn Paul Charchian Vincent P. O'Hara Contributing Correspondents Dominick J. 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 STReport Headline News LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson Ruling May Affect Cyberporn A federal appeals court has ruled that every individual community can judge for itself the obscenity of material downloaded from computer bulletin board systems -- no matter where that board is based. "That opinion, unless overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, could have far-reaching effects on computer bulletin boards with sexually explicit pictures and words," reports Associated Press writer Woody Baird this morning. "Suddenly, bulletin board material which might have been at the far edge of acceptable in California or New York could be judged by the perhaps more conservative standards if downloaded in Tennessee or Iowa," says Baird. Officials with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a public interest group for computer users, are concerned. Says EFF spokesman Mike Godwin, "What happens is, the most conservative jurisdictions in the country can now dictate standards for the rest of the country." The issue centers on the case of Robert and Carleen Thomas, who were convicted in Memphis in 1994 because of explicit images of bestiality, sadomasochism and other fetishes on their Amateur Action Bulletin Board Service of Milpitas, California. In a ruling in Cincinnati, the 6th Circuit judges upheld the convictions. Notes Baird, "The couple was tried in Memphis because that's where an undercover postal inspector downloaded the explicit material." The 1973 Supreme Court ruling called Miller vs. California allowed for the regulation of obscenity based on the notion of "community standards," but, Baird observes, "until the Memphis trial, that rule had not been applied specifically to material on a computer bulletin board in the city it was received, rather than where it originated." The Thomases have argued unsuccessfully that computer technology has wiped out traditional ideas of "community," that a community of computer users should decide what is acceptable in cyberspace. Defense attorney Thomas Nolan told the wire service he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Memphis case and reconsider its community standards rule, adding that in a world where millions of people communicate via computer networks, that rule gives local prosecutors too much power over what everyone else can look at or read. Says Nolan, "It may well be that they bring these cases because the community wants them to or it could be they bring these cases because they have a personal belief in the impropriety of these materials." U.S. Judge Blocks Cyberporn Law A temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge in Philadelphia effectively has put on ice that controversial new law prohibiting transmission of "indecent" material to minors over the Internet and other computer networks. U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter has restricted the government from enforcing that portion of the nation's newest telecommunications law until the court has heard arguments on a lawsuit filed last week by the American Civil Liberties Union and 19 other groups to block the new law. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporters John J. Keller and Jared Sandberg said the government, empowered by the new Communications Decency Act, "was poised to begin taking action against alleged violators" when Buckwalter's order came down late yesterday. After President Clinton signed the new telecommunications bill into law Feb. 8, the Justice Department said it would wait a week before prosecuting violators of the new decency act, "but," say Keller and Sandberg, "the agency seemed to be ready to begin gathering evidence." As reported, the Justice Department had just filed its written response to the civil liberties suit, saying criminal prosecutions are needed to stop a huge increase in the availability of pornography. The Journal notes the new law defines indecency as "any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs." In his ruling yesterday, Buckwalter: ú Struck down one provision relating to minors that made it illegal to make "indecent" material available to minors over computer networks. (Conviction carried a fine of as much as $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations and a prison term of as long as two years.) ú Let stand the second provision, which bars the transmission of "patently offensive" material to minors. The judge wrote in his opinion, "The undefined word `indecent' standing alone would leave reasonable people perplexed in evaluating what is or is not prohibited by the statute." On the significance of this, Associated Press writer Wayne Woolley commented this morning, "The federal government must explain what material it considers indecent before it can enforce (the) new law." He adds that Judge Buckwalter ruled the definition of "indecency" is so vague that people wouldn't know they were breaking the law until they were arrested. However, says Woolley, "the judge left the government free to prosecute those who make available to minors any online communication that 'in context, depicts or describes in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs.'" AP quotes the judge as saying, "While I do not believe the patently offensive provision quoted above is unconstitutionally vague, I do not see how that applies to the undefined use of the word `indecent.'" Woolley says that lawyers for both sides seemed confused by the court's action. David Sobel, a lawyer for Electronic Privacy Information Center, one of the plaintiffs, told the wire service, "The decision is very difficult to get a handle on. There is probably going to be a lot of disagreement about what this means in practical terms." In the Journal, Keller and Sandberg say that despite the court's unusual step of issuing a temporary restraining order against a congressional statute, civil libertarians were cautious in claiming victory. Ann Beeson, a co-counsel for the ACLU, told the paper, "It's a partial victory because the judge clearly respected and protected the First Amendment rights of online users by declaring the indecency provisions unconstitutional. However, he didn't go far enough." There are still restrictions, for example, on the online dissemination of abortion information, she said. Meanwhile, in Washington a group of lawmakers and business leaders have denounced the Net smut law. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, told United Press International, "Americans should be taking the high ground to protect the future of our home-grown Internet, and to fight these censorship efforts that are springing up around the globe. We all want to protect our children from offensive or indecent online materials, but we must be careful that the means we use to protect our children does not do more harm than good." As noted previously, Leahy and others are backing legislation that would strip the indecency clauses from the telecommunications bill. And industry leaders said already existing software is the best alternative to government regulations. Marketing director Susan Getgood of Microsystems Software notes her company's Cyber Patrol software has been licensed by CompuServe. The software, similar to parental controls implemented by other services such as America Online, allows parents to block out certain materials with preference controls. Says Getgood, "We developed Cyber Patrol on the belief that responsibility for content lies with the individual user, and that parents need to be actively involved in shaping the online experience for their children." Parental control programs block access to certain Web sites, either by descriptive content or by title. Parents have the option, for example, of blocking access to a web site run by an adult magazine. And Director Robert L. Smith of the Interactive Services Association in Silver Spring, Maryland, told the wire service the online industry prefers applying a standard of what is "harmful to children" when determining what material should be prohibited, as opposed to a vague "indecent" definition. Says Smith, "We certainly would support repealing the law, to substitute the standard of indecency to a standard of harmful to minors," adding the "indecency" standard is likely to be found unconstitutional. The government should be able to go after individuals who break the law by posting items such as child pornography, he said. "The laws need to punish those who are directly responsible for the objectionable content." Justice Dept. Answers ACLU Suit In its written response to a civil liberties lawsuit seeking to block the new computer "indecency" law, the U.S. Justice Department says criminal prosecutions are needed to stop a huge increase in the availability of pornography. Justice Department officials urge U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter not to grant the request from the American Civil Liberties Union and 19 other groups for a temporary restraining order against provisions that would make it a crime to send "indecent" and sexually explicit material to minors over the Internet and other computer networks. The brief is quoted by the Associated Press as saying, "Individuals undoubtedly have an important interest in being free of purposeful and direct intrusions on First Amendment freedoms, but the governmental interests at stake here in controlling access by minors in indecent sexually explicit materials is compelling." As reported earlier, the ACLU and others sought the temporary ban Feb. 8, the same day President Clinton signed into law the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that contains the controversial Communications Decency Act of 1996. Judge Buckwalter said then that he wanted to see a written response from prosecutors before issuing a ruling. Says AP, "A temporary restraining order should only be granted in extraordinary circumstances and if there are no other legal remedies available to plaintiffs. Meanwhile, the situation is dire, the government said." The government brief comments, "In the end, plaintiffs cannot dispute that a large and growing amount of pornography is presently available online and easily accessible to children in the home, far exceeding anything available prior to the advent of online computer services." ACLU Reaches Tentative Porn Pact Civil liberties attorneys have reached a tentative deal with government lawyers that could give online computerists at least a temporary reprieve from a new clampdown on racy Net transmissions mandated through the new federal telecommunications law. Attorney Stefan Presser of the American Civil Liberties Union told Associated Press writer Christopher McDougall that if the deal is approved by top U.S. Justice Department officials, no one would be prosecuted under terms of the new Communications Decency Act before the ACLU's challenge of the law goes to trial. As reported, the law signed by President Clinton Feb. 8 bans the transmission of "indecent" and sexually explicit material to minors over computer networks, such as the Internet. The ACLU and 19 other groups have challenged the law, contending it violates privacy rights and strangles free speech. The ACLU suit contends the cyberporn portions of the new telecommunications law authorize the government to prosecute people even for the private messages they send about AIDS, abortion, politics and science -- any subject involving sex. At issue is the act's defining indecency as "any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image or other communication that ... describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs." As reported, a last-minute addition by Repinois Henry Hyde, R-Ill., also prohibits providing information over the computer about how to obtain an abortion. Last week, U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter in Philadelphia temporarily blocked the law's definition of "indecency," but left open the possibility of prosecution under its "patently offensive" category. Now, says AP, Justice Department lawyers have agreed to forgo prosecutions until the suit is settled in exchange for the ACLU's agreement to postpone a trial on the lawsuit until April. Says Presser, "As it stands now, if someone decides what you wrote is patently offensive, you go to jail. This agreement would halt those proceedings until the court has decided this suit." Justice Department attorneys haven't commented, but department spokesman Carl Stern noted the agency still is collecting indecency complaints. Most Newsgroup Access Reinstated CompuServe Inc. today reinstated access to all but five Internet newsgroups that were suspended six weeks ago under an investigation of online pornography by German authorities. The company also said it will offer a parental control program to all subscribers at home and abroad to restrict access to questionable newsgroups. As reported earlier, access was cut in December to 200 of the some 15,000 Net newsgroups after state prosecutors in Bavaria, Germany, notified CompuServe they were investigating distributors of sexually explicit material on the Internet. CompuServe said that since it did not have the technology to block access in a specific geographic location, access was suspended for all 4.7 million users worldwide. Of the new developments today, CompuServe President/CEO Bob Massey said in a statement, "Combining parental controls with lifting the newsgroup suspension reaffirms our commitment to online safety for families and our position that responsibility for Internet content lies with those who create it or put it on the Internet, not with the access provider." CompuServe spokesman Jeff Shafer told the Associated Press the five newsgroups that will remain inaccessible contain explicit child pornography material, adding he did not know how long the suspension would remain in effect. Noting the German government has been notified of CompuServe's decision, Shafer said, "We let them know what our position was going to be and we believe it will be received favorably by the prosecutor's office. In our discussions with them, they were very enthusiastic about the offer we were making." Meanwhile, Gerhard Zierl, spokesman for the Bavarian Justice Ministry in Munich, told the wire service the investigation is still open and prosecutors are waiting for a report from the state police before deciding whether to file charges. Shafer said the new Parental Controls Center, to be available without charge to all CompuServe members, is part of an alliance with Microsystems Software Inc., a content review company that developed the Cyber Patrol Internet filtering software. The center will allow users to restrict access to Internet services accessible through CompuServe, whose subscribers will have access to a frequently updated list of questionable Internet sites identified by Cyber Patrol, Shafer said. Germans Seek More Net Regulations Saying they are eager to rid the Internet of child pornography, German legislators are seeking clear international rules on regulators' powers to check what computer users do online. In Bonn, President Rita Suessmuth of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, told the Express newspaper, "The information superhighway must not be allowed to become a forum for those who defile children. Freedom of expression reaches its limit when human dignity is violated and violence is promoted." According to the Reuter News Service, Suessmuth welcomed a catalog of proposals put forward by a Bundestag commission on Monday calling for international curbs on information now available on the global network that was considered harmful to children. She added, "The main thing is the need to develop international criminal norms. It seems just as important to me that online providers commit themselves to voluntary controls." Johannes Singhammer, head of the Bundestag's commission on children, said free speech could not be taken to extremes, noting that users can call up discussion groups and sites on the World Wide Web that has photographs such as people having sex with animals and children. Reuters comments, "Defenders of free speech in cyberspace note that other discussion groups offer a place on the Internet for gays and lesbians to talk privately for discussion of medical issues such as AIDS." And Andy Mueller- Maghun of Germany's Chaos Computer Club told German TV it is a waste of time to try to control the flow of information on the Internet, likening this to trying to control telephone conversations. Reuters says German parliamentarians are proposing "harmonizing national laws" on fighting child pornography "so that pornography peddlers could not operate from states with lenient legislation." "They also want online providers to give regulators and law enforcement agencies free access to the network to aid surveillance of activity considered illegal in Germany," the wire service says. Reuters says the panel proposed forming clear legal guidelines for what authorities are allowed to do and spelling out whether companies that link users with the Internet should be required to store records of how their customers interact with the system. This is the second time in a month that a European government has called for international laws on Net data. Late last month, Francois Fillon, France's minister for information technology, said his country is set to urge its European partners to start drafting international rules for global computer networks, saying that online data goes across borders in a legal vacuum. The French initiative is prompted in part by last month's Net posting of "Le Grand Secret" (The Big Secret), a banned book about Francois Mitterrand's battle with cancer, written by Claude Gubler, the late president's personal doctor. Novell Sues 17, Alleging Piracy Network software publisher Novell Inc. today filed federal suits against 17 California-based companies, alleging they were fraudulently obtaining Novell upgrades and/or counterfeiting NetWare boxes to give the appearance of new product. A statement from the company's Orem, Utah, headquarters says the complaints name Softcom Computers, Software Distribution Center, Patio Computer Sales, Allnet Computers, Advanced Digital Corp., Advanced Interlink Corp., Grand Software Corp., SAB Engineering, Digital Soft, Digital Soft Technologies Inc., Digidrive, Digidrive Inc., Softsel, Vandy Micro Corp., Accord Systems Inc., Jaco Electronics Inc., all of the Los Angeles/Orange County area, as well as Micro Supply Inc. in the Silicon Valley. Novell's statement says the suits followed the firm's "discovery that the altered upgrade product was being sold worldwide," adding, "Novell investigators have obtained the product from several different areas including Indonesia, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, as well as the United States." Manager Ed Morin of Novell's anti-piracy program said in the statement, "Novell maintains a sophisticated product tracking system which has allowed us to trace this product and prove that the defendants have defrauded Novell intentionally." Intruders Crack Los Alamos Lab Los Alamos National Laboratory is upgrading its security today following news that digital intruders, armed with free "robot" software downloaded from the Internet, cracked the lab's computer system last week. In The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Joan E. Rigdon writes the invaders didn't steal or destroy any sensitive documents, which are kept on a stand-alone network, but they "did breeze past the lab's 'firewall' software," designed to keep online intruders out. The Journal notes companies doing business on the Internet rely in similar firewall software to protect information such as customer lists, billing and payroll records. Lab physicist Brosl Hasslacher told the paper the invaders "walked through our firewalls like they weren't there," adding Los Alamos still is trying to figure out how they did it. Once over the firewall, the invaders stole a password that gave them access to several computers at the New Mexico lab, best known for helping develop the atomic bomb. The Journal says that since the attack, the lab has changed its system to use constantly changing passwords and encryption to stave off similar attacks in the future. But the invaders "were able to use the Los Alamos system as a launching pad to attack the San Diego Supercomputer Center, where they destroyed some electronic mail and other unessential files," the Journal says. "They also tried unsuccessfully to break into the computer of security expert Tsutomu Shimomura." The intruders identified themselves as "The Kevin Mitnick Liberation Front," indicating they want to free the famed computerist convicted last year of stealing 20,000 credit card numbers over the Internet. (Shimomura was a key figure in tracking down Mitnick, and Hasslacher was quoted in Shimomura's book on the case.) In an Internet report on the break-in, Shimomura wrote off the invaders as unskilled "ankle-biters," but that they were armed with a sophisticated "robot" program that is available for free on the Net. Says Hasslacher, "The sophistication of the stuff out there is truly awesome." Rigdon writes that among other things, the intruders' robot exploited a known security hole in a UNIX e-mail program. "Most people program their firewalls to accept e-mail from the outside, which would allow such an attack. One way to prevent that is to set up another firewall that screens mail sent from the server computer to individuals' desktops." She says companies also can use encryption, or scrambling of sensitive information, to protect themselves, "but companies say that the government has tied their hands in this area, because it restricts the use of super- powerful encryption technologies, fearing that spies or others will use the technology to plot crimes." Sears Bailing Out of Prodigy Confirming long-standing rumors of a coming split, retail giant Sears, Roebuck and Co. says it will sell its 50 percent stake in Prodigy, the online service it launched in the mid-1980s with IBM. During a New York meeting yesterday with analysts, Sears Chairman Arthur Martinez confirmed the company has decided to divest its stake in order to focus on retailing and expansion, plowing proceeds of the sale into building market share through acquisitions and store openings. Reporter Melissa George of the Reuter News Service quotes Martinez as saying, "We have concluded this investment does not represent an asset that should be part of our portfolio long term." However, Martinez says the company will keep Advantis, a networking technology company it also owns jointly with IBM. George says industry sources believe Sears has offered its stake in Prodigy to IBM, but the computer company apparently turned the offer down. Sears declined to comment on potential bidders, saying only that IBM still could be a buyer. Says Martinez, "A sale of our interest certainly is possible either to our partner or third parties. And there are other ways to generate value." Reuters says IBM officials "are mulling options for their half of Prodigy," adding, "Analysts have said IBM could be considering a sale, but company spokeswoman Tara Sexton said IBM's ownership position has not changed." Analyst Peter Krasilovsky of Arlen Communications told the wire service, "I think (Sears) has approached everyone conceivable who might be interested in a share of Prodigy" but failed to get a deal. Meanwhile, business writer Evan Ramstad of the Associated Press notes this morning that Prodigy adapted to the Internet faster than competitors. For instance, a year ago this month, it became the first to provide subscribers with Web "browsing" software. It later changed its main connection software to work just like the Web does. Nonetheless, says Maureen Fleming, president of Digital Information Group, "Despite the success with their browser and innovations, they haven't gotten a bump in subscribers. Prodigy is stuck with a non-glamorous reputation going into a tight market." Product Merges Real, Virtual Worlds Corel Corp. is joining forces with a new media company to launch a hybrid World Wide Web/CD-ROM product that aims to blend reality and virtual reality. Club Mode, which Corel is developing with Animatics Multimedia Corp., marries a physical meeting place in the Ottawa-based Globe Bistro and Wine Bar with a virtual meeting place in cyberspace. The interactive social drama will feature a Web site offering users the opportunity to participate in soap-opera-like adventures with up to ten characters per week, download audio files, chat with stars, purchase Club Mode paraphernalia and enter contests. Corel will deliver Club Mode from its own server and Animatics will provide the interactive content. "This dual product launch represents a totally new form of consumer recreation," says Michael Cowpland, Corel's president and CEO. "Club Mode will bring the interactive drama form on the Internet from infancy to adolescence." "The impetus for Club Mode came from our realization that Internet users were looking for new, interactive experiences on the Web," adds Alfredo Coppola, president of Animatics. Club Mode is set to make its debut in May. Corel and Animatics are both based in Ottawa. Compaq Readies 120MB Floppy Drive Word from Texas is Compaq Computer Corp. is set next month to roll out the new 120MB 3.5-inch floppy disk drive it commissioned last year. PC Week reports Compaq will add 150MHz and 166MHz Pentium-based ProLinea and Deskpro systems with the new floppy disk unit, and also a keyboard with a built-in scanner and an erasable optical drive that also reads CD-ROM disks. Computergram International reports this morning the drive is expected to cost $200. Compaq commissioned 3M Co. to do the disks and Quantum Corp.'s manufacturing partner Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries Ltd. to do drives, which read current 1.44MB disks. CI adds, "The erasable phase-dual compact disk drive takes both standard CD-ROMs and 650MB erasable optical platters for archiving, using the same heads to read both types of disk. It is expected to go for $600 as an add-on." IDG Launching Java 'Webzine' Magazine publisher International Data Group says it will launch JavaWorld Magazine on the World Wide Web on February 15. The "webzine" will be linked from the Java home page (http://java.sun.com) and will also be accessible directly at http://www.javaworld.com. Java is an object-oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems Inc., with features especially suitable for cross-platform, distributed computing via the World Wide Web. Java is widely considered one of the hottest new products in the exploding Web development market. Microsoft, among others, have licensed Java as part of its emerging Internet strategy. Boston-based IDG says JavaWorld will feature hands-on tutorials for both novice and advanced Java programmers, profiles of businesses that use Java for key applications, and coverage of Java-related news and events. JavaWorld also will focus on the business-related information needs of the Java community. "Since we're a Web-based magazine, we'll be able to include in JavaWorld plenty of code samples and demo applets to clearly illustrate programming tips and techniques," says Editor Michael O'Connell. "For example, in our first issue, noted Java guru Arthur van Hoff will demonstrate how to do animation with Java, using live Java code that allows the reader to see, in real time, how changes in code affect the movement of the animated characters." This is IDG's second Web-only periodical: SunWorld Online was launched last July. GM Launches Huge New Web Site General Motors Corp., the world's largest auto maker, is launching a huge new site on the Internet's World Wide Web, with more than 16,000 pages and 98,000 links that take browsers from one place to another. The Wall Street Journal reported this morning GM's goal "is to become the automotive leader in reaching customers online, in part by challenging them technologically ... to take advantage of the audio, video and 'virtual reality' features." The home page (which can be reached at Web address http://www.gm.com) links to pages of GM divisions that are developing different features that eventually will be in place for all of them. "Buick's site allows customers to configure and price a new car," says the Journal. "Cadillac's links to the sites of local dealers. Chevrolet's Web site is the pilot point for calculating loan and lease payments with General Motors Acceptance Corp., GM's finance company. Saturn's Internet site soon will allow shoppers to electronically browse the used-car inventory at local dealerships." Grolier Changing Names Multimedia content developer Grolier Electronic Publishing Inc. says it is changing its name to Grolier Interactive Inc. The Danbury, Connecticut, company says the move is designed to reflect an increased global presence through its merger with European sister company, Matra Hachette Multimedia. "With this name change, Grolier formally acknowledges its expansion from solely publishing reference material to publishing high-quality game and entertainment titles on CD- ROM," says David Arganbright, president of Grolier Interactive. "Grolier has been a publisher of CD-ROM reference products for over ten years and will continue to develop innovative and comprehensive reference titles across a broad spectrum of topics." Arganbright notes that the name change, and a corresponding new logo, also updates the company's image to reflect Grolier Interactive's offerings online. Available online since 1982, The Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia offers a gateway with more than 12,000 direct links between Grolier and CompuServe. Sysop Makes 3,500-Mile Rescue A minister from Scotland says sysop Dick Eastman and others in CompuServe's Genealogy Forum may have saved his life this week, effecting a rescue from 3,500 miles away. It all started when the "Roots" forum regulars were settling into their weekly real-time conference Tuesday night and Eastman noticed one of the chatters, the Rev. Kenneth J. Walker of Arbroath, Scotland, was having trouble typing. "He said he wasn't feeling well," Eastman later told Associated Press writer Jose Martinez, "and that he thought he was having a stroke." One member turned out to be a nurse from New York who asked the suddenly incoherent Walker through the computer if he was losing feeling in his hands, or if he could see out both eyes. Walker didn't type a response. Someone else online mentioned that Walker -- known only as "Ken" to the group -- lived alone and had been sick lately. Eastman asked Walker for his telephone number. "It took a while, but he typed it out," Eastman says. "I have two phone lines so I called him. The phone was busy, which made sense since he was online." The sysop then contacted an overseas operator, who gave him Walker's address in the seaside town of Arbroath, between Aberdeen and Dundee on the North Sea. She also connected Eastman to the town's police. "The police and an ambulance were in his house about two minutes later," Eastman says. The 38- year-old Walker spent several hours in the hospital before being released. Doctors weren't sure what happened, but the minister told Martinez he occasionally has "episodes" that can be life threatening. "All I remember," says Walker, "is I thought my keyboard was melting. I thought I was going to die." AP says Walker apparently did not have a stroke, but he may have had an epileptic seizure. The minister, who is on leave from his Church of Scotland parish, says he does not even remember going online, just how the computer became his lifeline. "I thought as long I just stayed on the system ... I was OK," he told the wire service. He sent Eastman e-mail when he got home from the hospital, thanking him and others in the forum. He called Eastman a hero. Says Walker, "The communication highway gets a lot of bad press, but this is one case that proves the people online are a community -- a cyber community." The Genealogy Forum (GO ROOTS) hosts real-time conferences every Tuesday night at 10 p.m. Eastern Time, hosted by Eastman, who manages the forum from his Billerica, Massachusetts, home north of Boston. Secure Credit Card Standard Offered MasterCard International and Visa International have joined together to announce a technical standard for safeguarding credit card purchases made over the Internet. Previously, Visa and MasterCard were pursuing separate specifications. The new specification, called Secure Electronic Transactions (SET), is designed to allow consumers and merchants to conduct credit card transactions in cyberspace as securely and easily as they do in retail stores today. MasterCard and Visa expect to publish SET on their World Wide Web sites in mid-February. Following a comment period, the joint specification is scheduled to be ready for testing this spring. Visa and MasterCard expect that banks will be able to offer secure credit card services via the Internet to their cardholders by the end of the year. "This is the first step in making cyberspace an attractive venture for banks and merchants. A single standard limits unnecessary costs and builds the business case for doing business on the Internet," says Edmund Jensen, president and CEO of Visa International. "MasterCard has viewed one standard for secure card purchases on the Internet as a critical catalyst for electronic commerce because it bolsters consumer confidence in the security of the electronic marketplace," adds H. Eugene Lockhart, MasterCard's CEO. "A single standard has always been our objective because it is in the best interests of not only consumers, but also merchants and financial institutions worldwide." Online Newspapers Triple in 1995 The number of newspapers available online tripled last year, reports the Newspaper Association of America, which predicts that the current number will double by the end of 1996. According to the Reston, Virginia-based trade group, approximately 175 daily newspapers in North America are currently available on the World Wide Web, via commercial online services or through local bulletin board services. Worldwide, the number of print publications with online services is about 775. "Newspapers' move into cyberspace eclipses that of other mainstream media and is dramatic evidence that the industry recognizes the need to provide news, information and advertising to readers in a new form," says John F. Sturm, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America. "The result is that newspapers have carved a unique electronic niche that allows them to supplement their core, print product and better serve their readers and advertisers." Online newspapers include national journals such as The New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal; and smaller market papers such the Winona (Minnesota) Daily News and the Los Alamos (New Mexico) Monitor. Readers may also access NAA's Web page at http://www.infi.net/naa to hyperlink to the majority of all electronic U.S. newspapers on the Web, as well as international newspapers and media organizations. H&R Block to Spin Off CompuServe H&R Block Inc.'s board of directors has unanimously approved a plan that will spin off CompuServe Inc. into an independent, publicly-traded company. The plan entails an initial public offering this April of less than 20 percent of CompuServe. H&R Block intends to complete the separation of the companies through a tax-free spin-off or split-off within approximately 12 months. The distribution will be subject to receiving a favorable ruling from the Internal Revenue Service or an opinion of counsel regarding the tax-free nature of the transaction, certain other conditions and the absence of any change in market conditions or circumstances that causes the board to conclude that the distribution is not in the best interest of H&R Block shareholders. "This decision reflects our commitment to maximize shareholder value," says Richard H. Brown, president and CEO of H&R Block. "The separation of CompuServe will unlock the value we have created through both of these strong franchises and will better position each entity to aggressively pursue the significant growth opportunities in their respective markets." A registration statement for the initial public offering has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Goldman, Sachs & Co. has been selected to lead the offering, with Merrill Lynch & Co. and George K. Baum & Company acting as co-managers. "This is a bold step for H&R Block and the result of extensive study by the Board of Directors and the management team," notes Brown. "We are convinced this move will foster better market appreciation of the value of each business and will contribute to the continued long-term success of both companies." Brown adds, "CompuServe will benefit from enhanced access to equity capital to support its rapid growth and increased opportunities for forging strategic alliances, and will be better able to provide incentives to attract and retain critical management talent. H&R Block will benefit from greater management focus and additional resources to capitalize upon its extraordinary tax franchise and growing financial services business unit." Telecom Bill Could Spark Ad War The recently passed telecommunications bill will not only open the floodgates to new services, but to a deluge of advertising as well, claims an industry newsletter. Companies such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint and the seven regional Bell operating companies could increase their advertising budgets in response to the new legislation, says Telecom Advertising Report. "Heightened competition among local telephone service providers, long distance carriers and cable TV companies could provoke advertising battles to rival the national wars of established long distance giants AT&T, MCI and Sprint," notes the publication. "The frenzy surrounding the passage of the bill has already sparked full-page ads from AT&T and MCI in major daily newspapers," says senior managing editor Linda Kopp. "Every one of the seven Baby Bells has announced plans to enter the long distance market, and those moves will be undoubtedly followed by massive promotional campaigns." Advertising and promotion spending by telecom companies is forecast to increase roughly 12 percent to $5.35 billion in 1996, notes the publication. "Ad spending grew more than 60 percent from 1991 to 1995, and the largest increases are yet to come," adds Telecom Advertising Report Editor Peter Breen. "Creating a national brand awareness will be among the top priorities of most large telecom companies now that the market's been opened up to competition." Micrografx Newsline STR Infofile Micrografx and American Greetings Sign Agreement to Deliver Interactive Greeting Card Products Leading Graphics Technology Publisher and Innovative Greeting Card Company Advance Social Expression In the Information Age Richardson, Texas (February 13, 1996) - MicrografxO, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGXI), a leading graphics software developer, today announced it has signed a long- term agreement with American GreetingsO Corp. (NASDAQ: AGREA), the renowned greeting-card company recognized for its technology innovation, to develop social expression products and services utilizing PC and Internet technologies. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will leverage their distinctive strengths to develop and market a full range of social expression products for the information age, including home print software and electronic greetings. Aimed primarily for personal use, the products will offer new ways to create and send sentiments electronically. "We're extremely pleased to be working with American Greetings, the pioneer of electronic greeting cards who recognized the importance of technology in the greeting card industry," said J. Paul Grayson, Micrografx chairman and CEO. "As partners, Micrografx and American Greetings are ideally suited. American Greetings brings extensive creative content and enthusiasm for new mediums, a perfect complement to Micrografx's innovative technology and keen understanding of people who use home PCs and the Internet." "The synergy we found with Micrografx is uncommon and exciting," said Morry Weiss, American Greetings chairman and CEO. "We first recognized technology as an exciting enabler for human expression with our CreataCard kiosks and online products. We expect to grow and expand this new interactive expression method working with Micrografx. The technical expertise Micrografx brings to the table is only surpassed by their understanding and commitment to empowering creative expression with desktop and online innovations." The companies plan to unveil their first jointly developed products and services in the second half of 1996. American Greetings, who operates thousands of CreataCard kiosks that let customers create their own personalized greeting cards, understands the dynamics of electronic publishing. The company's wealth of original electronic content will be leveraged during product development with Micrografx. Micrografx, which began developing home creativity software in the early '90s, publishes the No. 1 greeting card software with more than one million copies sold. Both companies are retail distribution experts. American Greetings is the greeting card leader in mass retail chain distribution, and Micrografx recently announced a record-setting 6,000 outlets - from Media Play to CompUSA - carry its software. The combined retail expertise of American Greetings and Micrografx ensures wide distribution of its products. Founded in 1906, American Greetings is the world's largest publicly owned creator, manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and social expression products, with operations and subsidiaries in more than 75 countries. Micrografx is the global leader in developing and marketing graphics software which enhances visual communication and empowers creative expression. 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. UltraEdit/UltraEdit32 STR InfoFile "It Doesn't get any Better than this!" STReport Editor's Choice! UltraEdit-32 v3.10 The editor for all your editing needs. (Designed for Windows NT and Windows 95. Do not use with Windows 3.1 /Win 32s - Use UltraEdit). UltraEdit-32 is an excellent replacement for NOTEPAD and a lot more, with support for unlimited file sizes, 100,000 word spelling checker, full HEX editing capabilities, configurable syntax highlighting for programmers, column editing. UltraEdit has all the features you will need. UltraEdit handles multiple files at once, even if they are multi-megabyte files. It is Disk based and only requires a small amount of memory, even for very large files. UltraEdit also available for Windows .3x with no additional fee. Standard Features: ú - Disk based text editing ú - No limit on file size, minimum RAM used even for multi-megabyte files ú - Multiple files open and displayed at the same time ú - Column mode editing!!!, Insert columns/ delete/ cut/ add sequential numbers ú - 100,000 word spell checker ú - Syntax highlighting - configurable, pre configured for C/C++ and VB ú - Automatic word wrap at specified column with hard return ú - Insert file into an existing document at cursor position ú - Drag and Drop support from the file manager ú - Insert and overstrike modes for editing ú - Multi-level undo and redo ú - UltraEdit-32 is Windows 3.x CUA compliant ú - Find and Replace - Also allows selection of text between caret and find target when shift key is pressed ú - Goto Line Number/Page Break ú - Font Selection for display and printer. (Supports all fonts installed including TRUE-TYPE fonts) ú - Print support with headers, footers, margins and page breaks. ú - Automatic Line Indentation ú - Tab Settings ú - Word Wrap Support ú - Hexadecimal Editor - Allows editing of any binary file - HEX Cut, copy and paste support ú - HEX Insert and Delete of characters ú - HEX Find, Replace and Replace All ú - Bookmarks - Unlimited number of Bookmarks ú - Multiple Windows of the same file ú - Comprehensive macro support, including saving and loading ú - Context Sensitive Help ú - Automatic backup file generated with (.BAK) extension in the directory of the original file ú - UltraEdit-32 retains its screen position each time it is used ú - Line & column number display (line number display may be disabled) ú - Pop-up menus with right mouse button. ú - Text conversion to lower or upper case and capitalization. ú - Unix/Mac to DOS Conversion ú - DOS to Unix conversion ú - Auto detect UNIX/Mac files ú - Convert Word Wrap to CR/LF's allowing word wrap to be written to file with hard returns ú - Convert CR/LF's to Word Wrap (removes CR/LF's from file) ú - Template Support ú - More ... Also: - UltraEdit accepts a command line input and so can be used to replace NOTEPAD or other editors that are called up from a file manager by clicking on a file. Registration You are limited to 45 Days of use for an unregistered version. UltraEdit-32 is a shareware program. If you find it useful and continue to use it you are obligated to register it with the author by sending $30.00 (Ohio Residents add $1.65 Sales Tax) to: Ian D. Mead 8209 Chestnut Hill Ct. West Chester, OH 45069 USA VISA/MASTERCARD Accepted For VISA/MasterCard orders, include: 1) Name of card holder 2) Address of card holder 3) Name and address of user if different from card holder 4) Expiration date of card 5) Card #. Credit card orders may be faxed or telephoned to (513) 779 8549, or sent to my E-Mail address (see below). Compuserve Registration UltraEdit-32 may also be registered online on CompuServe by typing GO SWREG and following instructions for registering using ID 4017. This will entitle you to an authorization code, the latest registered version, and technical support. For CompuServe registrations, a newer version is not sent out if the latest version is available on CompuServe. E-Mail Address Internet: IDM@iglou.com CompuServe: 71613,2654 Return Policy No refunds are issued after an authorization code has been issued. Exchanges are allowed if appropriate. This program may be freely distributed provided it is unmodified, no charge is made for the software, and all of the following files are included: 1) UEDIT32I.EXE or UEDIT32.ZIP - Self extracting file Latest Version The latest version of UltraEdit/UltraEdit-32 may be found in several places: In the WINUSER Forum on CompuServe, an official distribution and support online resource for future updates. Search for ULTRAEDIT.ZIP, and UEDIT32.ZIP. The Windows Users Group Network (WUGNET), operators of the oldest and largest independent support resource forum (WINUSER) for Windows Users on CIS with nearly 1,000,000 active members is recognized in the press, user groups, developers, and Microsoft as the foremost resource for shareware publishers on CompuServe and the Internet. On the Internet on several sites, including CICA and other sites. Additionally, on the WWW on the following page: http://members.aol.com:/idmcompsrv/index.htm (This WWW page may be replaced. If you do not find it, send E-Mail to idm@iglou.com and you will be provided with a new WWW page address). History // History - Purged changes prior to v2.00 v2.00 ú - Add Column editing!! Enhance selection features in HEX mode, add "^s", "^c" syntax for macro find/replace of selected text and clipboard contents. Switch to/from hex mode and cursor position is maintained. Macros now support next/previous window. Other minor enhancements and fixes. v2.01 ú - Added column insert/delete/cut. Added sequentail number insertion for each row. Added multi-level undo. v2.01a ú - Fixed word wrap problem where a single space between words may appear on the beginning of the line after the wrap. v2.01b ú - Added "Tool Tips" for the toolbar. v2.10 ú - Added "Find In Files", Select Line, Select All, Configurable file types, other configurable options, and bug fixes. v2.11 ú - Added Goto page break, DOS to UNIX conversion, (UNIX/MAC to DOS already existed as "Fixup CR/LF" but is renamed). Fixes for right mouse button menu. Added option to reload an already open file. Now, authorization codes for 32-Bit and 16-Bit are compatible. Improved handling of "wide" files. v3.00 ú - Added - Configurable Syntax Highlighting, pre-configured for C/C++ and VB (see option menu) ú - 100,000 Word Spelling checker ú - Automatic word wrap at column number, with hard returns (see option menu) ú - Window updates with vertical scroll bar ú - Other minor enhancements v3.01 ú - Added - Template support ú - Enhancements for column wrap ú - Reformat Paragraph ú - File Editing without temp file option ú - Macro load/execute command line support ú - Minor fixes v3.10 ú - Enhanced macro support for file loading, saving closing, HEX editing and mode switching ú - see help for full set of features. ú - Allow multiple macros, with configurable HOT KEYs ú - Allow nested macros ú - Added support for upto 6 languages for syntax highlighting ú - Allow configurable block comments with syntax highlighting ú - Spawn a DOS command and capture output - run a compiler ú - Start a Windows Program ú - Auto detect UNIX or Binary/Hex files when loaded ú - Added regular expression support ú - Added literal character insertion to insert control codes - CTRL+I ú - Added find matching brace ú - Other minor changes and fixes Windows is a registered Trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Win95 Update STR Focus WIN95 SERVICE PACK No. One CHANGES OLE32 Update The Windows 95 OLE 32 update addresses file-management behavior in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPointr for Windows 95. Because of the way these applications use OLE for file storage, files created by these applications might contain extraneous data from previously deleted files. This data is not visible while you use the applications. However, when such a document file is viewed by using Windows Notepad (for example), it might be possible to see pieces of information from the previously deleted files. This could pose information security or privacy concerns if you distribute electronic versions of files created using these applications. The OLE 32 update addresses this problem. Although the problem is known to occur only in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint for Windows 95, the OLE 32 update is designed to prevent any application from potentially causing the same problem. Notes 1. If you use Microsoft Office with Windows NTT, this problem does not affect you, because the operating system initializes (clears) any disk space used by deleted files. 2. If you use Microsoft Word 6.0, Microsoft Excel 5.0, or Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0 with Windows version 3.1 or on an Appler Macintoshr computer, contact Microsoft Customer Services to obtain the "C" maintenance releases of these products. Early releases of these versions are known to have a similar extraneous-data problem, which is fixed in the "C" releases. If you use Microsoft Word 6.0, Microsoft Excel 5.0, or Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0 with Windows 95, you should also obtain the "C" releases of these products. 2.Microsoft Windows 95 Shell Update This update to Shell32.dll makes it possible to browse NetWarer Directory Service printers from the Add Printer wizard. The Add Printer Wizard is found in the Printers folder. This change is applicable to you if you have installed Service for NetWare Directory Services. This update to the Windows 95 Shell32.dll file also fixes a problem in which files copied onto themselves can be truncated to a zero-byte file size. This occurs only in the following circumstances: ú When you copy a file onto itself using two different views of the same network resource (these can be different mapped drive letters or UNC connections to a network resource). ú When you copy a file onto itself using a drive that was created by the SUBST command. 3.Windows 95 Common Dialog Update for Windows 3.1 Legacy Printer Drivers In Windows 95, when 32-bit applications print using Windows 3.1 monolithic drivers or the Windows 3.1 Pscript.drv / Unidrv.dll driver, the applications sometimes fail. This update addresses that problem. 4.Vserver Update: File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks This update is for a problem with File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks and a certain UNIXr network client (Samba's SMBCLIENT). The update corrects a problem with share-level security documented in the Microsoft Knowledge Base on October 9, 1995. The update also includes a correction for a similar problem with user-level security that Microsoft recently discovered as part of its internal testing of the new driver. Note The phrase "Microsoft Networks" refers to Microsoft's networking software, not MSNT (The Microsoft Network online service). Windows 95 enables users of the Samba SMBCLIENT to gain unauthorized access to the drive on which sharing is enabled by accepting certain specific networking commands. The Samba client is the only known SMB client that sends such networking commands. SMBCLIENT users do not automatically have access to the Windows 95 drive, and must know the exact steps to send these commands. The updated driver prevents Windows 95 from accepting these commands, preventing SMBCLIENT users from accessing the drive on which sharing is enabled. With the updated driver, an SMBCLIENT user will have access only to those shared folders that a Windows 95 user has designated. 5.NWServer Update: File and Printer Sharing for NetWare Networks This update is for a problem with File and Printer Sharing for NetWare Networks which might affect data security for corporate users. If your computer is configured for file and printer sharing and Remote Administration is enabled, another user on the network might gain read-only access to your computer after the administrator has logged off the computer and before you have restarted your computer. To correct this problem, Microsoft has issued an updated driver for File and Printer Sharing for NetWare Networks. The updated driver ensures that only valid administrators have access to the computer's drive. 6.Vredir Update The Vredir Update fixes a problem that affects only Windows 95 users who use Samba UNIX servers. The problem arises from the basic Windows 95 and UNIX filename formats. UNIX allows filenames that include the backslash (\) and asterisk (*) characters, but in Windows 95, these are wildcard characters. Suppose that a Samba server contains a file named \\server\share\*.*, a legal UNIX filename. If a Windows 95 user connects to that server and tries to delete the *.* file by using Windows Explorer, all the files on \\server\share are deleted instead. This updated version of Vredir prevents this from happening by rejecting filenames that contain the \ or * characters. 7.Windows 95 Password List Update The Windows 95 Password List Update protects your password file against potential security violations. When you connect to a password-protected resource, such as a network drive, you can choose to save that password. Windows then stores the password in an encrypted file on your hard disk. An algorithm was posted on the Internet for decrypting this file. If someone has access to your password file and knows the decryption algorithm, they may be able to decrypt it and the passwords it contains-and then gain access to the password-protected resources. The Password List Update provides vastly improved encryption that is 2^96 (2 to the 96th power) harder to decrypt than the previous encryption method. 8.Microsoft Plus! Update (System Agent Update) The Microsoft Plus! Update provides an updated version of Sage.dll to fix a minor problem with System Agent: When version 1.0 System Agent is running, programs that perform floating-point calculations might be slightly off in precision. This problem does not occur if System Agent is turned off. Note If you do not have Microsoft Plus! installed on your computer, this update will have no effect on your system. If you install Microsoft Plus! at a later date (after the Microsoft Plus! Update has been installed), Microsoft Plus! Setup will leave the updated version of Sage.dll file on your system. 9.Printer Port (Lpt.vxd) Update This Lpt.vxd Update adds support for ECP (Enhanced Communication Parallel) port bi-directional communications used with certain printers (such as the Hewlett-Packardr LaserJet Series 4 and 5 printers, some Lexmark LaserPrinters, and possibly others). It may prevent timeout errors when printing. Note The Lpt.vxd Update was also included in the Drivers\Printer\LPT folder on the Windows 95 CD-ROM; however, it was not installed by default during setup. ISDN Series STR Focus "Fully Understanding ISDN" Article Two Base Graphic by 102714,3461 ctsy CompuServe's Computer Graphics Forum by R. F. Mariano ISDN, is the coming thing.. This week we carry the second preliminary article about ISDN. You can be certain that this magazine was uploaded to the Internet at 128000 bps and CompuServe at 64000 bps V 1.20 via ISDN. It is fast. In fact, the average around the world is 128000 bps. ISDN has been "in the wings" so to speak, for quite some time. AT&T, the Baby Bells and the FCC have been so busy having a good "go at each other" that this mode of telecommunications was virtually lost in the shuffle. Even at this time, the confusion and bad information coming from the Baby Bells themselves is unbelievable. Hopefully, over the next few months, we shall be able to clear things up a great deal and at the same time, make your decision to move to ISDN in your Home/Business an easy decision to make. There are quite a few hardware configurations available to you. We will look at them all. And.. explain them in everyday language. Most of the "gurus" have a tendency to talk to you in the language of techno-noise and acronyms. What with SPIDS, NT1s, 5ESS and on and on ad infinatum, one can only stop them cold and have them talk in clear, concise language we all grew up understanding. Unless of course, they don't want us to really understand?? Nah. that would never be the case. Keep the faith. by the time this series is done, you'll be quite able to keep up with the best of them when "speaking acronyms" or, ISDN lingo. Last week and this week, we presented an average picture of what to expect when first wanting to know "about" ISDN. Please read last weeks article and this week's then. if you have any questions. send them to me via Email to rmariano@streport.com or, the US Snail. All our addresses are in every issue. Beginning next week, we shall begin "looking" at the various hardware options available to the consumer from the casual home user all the way to the corporate giant. Once we are done "looking" then the fun begins. By the way, we will be happy to act a "go between" for you if you find yourself between a rock and a hard place with your local ISDN Bell Group. Some are called Special Services other are called .. Well, you get the picture. Many old, familiar names are getting involved in the hardware end. Don't be surprised if you recognize a number of brand names. BELL ATLANTIC CONNECTS SMALL BUSINESSES TO INFORMATION AGE WITH NEW ISDN WORLD WIDE WEB PAGE Arlington, VA -- Bell Atlantic has unveiled a new World Wide Web page to help small businesses "connect to the information age" with ISDN -- Integrated Services Digital Network. The Bell Atlantic Small Business ISDN Home Page provides useful information about a service that will help small businesses become more efficient. It can be accessed at http://www.bell-atl.com/isdn/sbs. ISDN is a high-speed, all digital network that combines voice, data and video signals on a single standard phone line. The network supports applications, such as high-speed Internet access, teleworking, desktop video conferencing, collaborative computing and remote local area network (LAN) access and interconnection. "There's no more appropriate place to let small businesses know how ISDN can help them than on the World Wide Web," said Mark Kutner, president of Bell Atlantic Small Business Services. "ISDN brings the power of the Internet and high-speed communications within the reach of any small or home-based business. We want to help small businesses take advantage of this power to become more productive and more competitive." Bell Atlantic's Small Business ISDN Home Page is dedicated to small business concerns, applications and case studies that explain how many small businesses are using the technology today. It also provides a technological overview and includes detailed pricing and deployment information so users can determine whether or not ISDN is available to them and at what cost. The main benefit of ISDN is speed. ISDN transmits voice, data and video signals at speeds up to 128 kilobits per second (kbps) or as high as 500 kbps with compression techniques available in some ISDN-capable equipment that allows computers to receive and transmit data at higher speeds than with currently available analog modems. "ISDN leaves today's analog modems in the dust," said Diane Brown, ISDN product manager for Bell Atlantic Small Business Services. "When compared to a standard modem at 14.4 kilobits per second, the increase in speed can be almost ten fold with ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI)." As a special feature, the ISDN Home Page gives small business customers the opportunity to download an interactive multimedia presentation which demonstrates how ISDN can increase productivity for small businesses. The interactive presentation provides an example of ISDN's speed and ease of use. With a standard 14.4 kilobits per second modem, downloading the presentation would take approximately 13 minutes. With ISDN-BRI at 128 kilobits per second, the download takes 93 seconds -- almost 10 times faster. "The speed and capacity of ISDN can help small businesses increase productivity and reduce costs by cutting the time it takes to send or receive information over the telephone line," added Brown. "It provides small businesses with the same speed and ease of transmission that large businesses have benefited from for years, and does so at affordable rates." The Bell Atlantic ISDN Home Page provides links to other ISDN resources and information where Bell Atlantic will be showcasing ISDN technology in the coming months. Small businesses also may send a formal inquiry over the Internet to get a price quote for the service. Bell Atlantic is the largest supplier of local ISDN access lines in the US with about 145,000 installed ISDN lines in its operating region, and it is adding about 6,000 ISDN lines per month. The Bell Atlantic ISDN Sales and Technology Center provides small businesses with one-stop shopping for ISDN from the initial service order through installation. Customers who order ISDN service will need ISDN-capable equipment that allows their computers to receive data at higher speeds. Bell Atlantic TeleProducts, a fully owned subsidiary of Bell Atlantic Corp., provides ISDN equipment from today's leading manufacturers. ISDN terminal adapters, bridges, routers, telephones and NT1's are examples of ISDN equipment that can be purchased at competitive prices from Teleproducts. Customers can call Bell Atlantic TeleProducts at 1-800-221-0845 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. In addition, Bell Atlantic can install certain types of ISDN equipment in parts of the Bell Atlantic service area. To get more information about Bell Atlantic's business ISDN service or to place an order, customers can call the Bell Atlantic ISDN Sales and Technology Center at 1-800-570-ISDN (4736) Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Customers also can send an e-mail message to business.isdn@bell- atl.com. Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new communications, entertainment and information industry. In the mid-Atlantic region, the company is the premier provider of local telecommunications and advanced services. Globally, it is one of the largest investors in the high- growth wireless communication marketplace. Bell Atlantic also owns a substantial interest in Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively developing high-growth national and international business opportunities in all phases of the industry. BELL ATLANTIC AND DSC COMMUNICATIONS CHARGE AT&T WITH MONOPOLIZING TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT MARKET Nation's Largest Telecommunications Equipment Manufacturer Defendant in Federal Antitrust Suit Texarkana, TX -- Charging that AT&T designs its telecommunications switches specifically to prevent the interconnection of other manufacturer's equipment, Bell Atlantic and DSC Communications filed a lawsuit to recover nearly $3.5 billion in damages from the telecommunications giant. AT&T has monopolized the market for both equipment and software, as well as the market for Caller ID services, according to an antitrust suit filed yesterday by the two companies. "AT&T has Bell Atlantic over a barrel. Though we own a lot of AT&T equipment, we cannot use it in the way that lets us provide the best services to our customers. We just don't have a true choice," said James R. Young, Bell Atlantic vice president and general counsel. "DSC Communications provides aftermarket equipment and software with superior features and functionality. If our customers use AT&T central office equipment, they are unable to take full advantage of our equipment's capabilities because of AT&T's monopolistic practices," said George Brunt, DSC Communications' vice president and general counsel. According to papers filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas, "AT&T is purposely delaying and preventing the utilization of interconnecting plugs needed by vendors like DSC." This practice by AT&T is the continuation of a "long history of resisting other vendors' attempts to plug their equipment into AT&T's," the suit says. The suit gives specific instances of AT&T keeping others out of the market in this way. For example, in 1986, the telecommunications industry agreed on an interface standard to connect other manufacturers' equipment to telephone switches. Though the standard was adopted by other switch makers, AT&T delayed and sabotaged the idea for years and still today has not fully incorporated this standard. The lack of this standard has delayed services like ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) which could have been provided more cost-effectively had AT&T embraced this standard in 1986. The lawsuit also charges AT&T has crippled the "Caller ID" service that shows subscribers the number -- or name -- of the person who is calling. Because AT&T sells a competing service, the suit claims, AT&T intentionally blocked Caller ID information on most long distance calls for years. The Federal Communications Commission last year reviewed this issue and ordered AT&T to stop blocking Caller ID information. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for the period when AT&T was engaged in this illegal practice. Under the provisions of the antitrust laws, AT&T is liable for damages and injunctive relief to compensate Bell Atlantic and DSC Communications for lost profits and increased operating costs. DSC Communications Corporation is a leading designer, developer, manufacturer and marketer of digital switching, transmission, access and private network system products for the worldwide telecommunications marketplace. Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new communications, entertainment and information industry. In the mid-Atlantic region, the company is the premier provider of local telecommunications and advanced services. Globally, it is one of the largest investors in the high- growth wireless communication marketplace. Bell Atlantic also owns a substantial interest in Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively developing high-growth national and international business opportunities in all phases of the industry. ISDN Individual Line Residential Service Pricing BellSouth Tariff Summary For ISDN Capability Packages The following ISDN pricing information is illustrative and provided for planning purposes only. To order ISDN Individual Line Service please call one of the following phone numbers: 1-(800)-858-9413 Introduction The National ISDN Users Forum (NIUF), to simplify ISDN ordering and provisioning, has established a set of capability packages for ISDN individual line service. A brief outline of the NIUF packages and pricing for each package is included below. For each Capability Package the NIUF specified: The number of Directory Numbers (DNs) assigned The number of terminal-controlled DN appearances assigned The number of switch-controlled Call Appearances (for CACH EKTS) assigned The number of Terminal Endpoint Identifiers assigned The feature identifier values assigned to the features in the Capability Package Capability Package ú Capability Package N (2B+D)-----includes alternate voice/circuit- switched data on one B-channel, circuit-switched data on the other B-channel and basic D-channel packet. This package provides non-EKTS voice features, including Flexible Calling, Additional Call Offering and Calling Number Identification. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package O (2B+D)-----is equivalent to Capability Package N with the change that CACH-EKTS service is used for the voice service. Please note that Additional Call Offering functionality is incorporated in the EKTS service. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package P (2B+D)-----includes alternate voice/circuit- switched data on two B-channels and basic D-channel packet. This package provides non-EKTS voice features including Flexible Calling, Additional Call Offering and Calling Number Identification. Data capabiliites include Calling Number Identification. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package Q (2B+D)-----is equivalent to Capability Package P with the change that CACH-EKTS service is used for the voice service. Please note that Additional Call Offering functionality is incorporated in the EKTS service. ISDN Rates for all states NOTES: ú In BellSouth, ALL ISDN Individual Line Residence Service is provided fully configured as 2B + D, therefore only Capability Packages N, O, P and Q are shown as packages. Other Capability Packages, features and options may actually be ordered (turned on) even though service is based on a 2B + D configuration. ú Charges shown are flat rate for B-channel Circuit Switched Voice (CSV) and/or Circuit Switched Data (CSD) and also flat rate D-channel Packet Switched Data (PSD). ú Charges shown below include ALL features, End User Common Line Charge (EUCL), Subscriber Line Charge (SLC), and ALL service order, line connection and other associated installation charges except where a special jack/wiring installation is requested. Before firm rates for specific service can be quoted, a loop qualification must be processed to ensure that service to a specific site can be provided without additional charges. ISDN Individual Line Rates for Capability Package N STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 221.75 $ 72.35 Florida $ 211.00 $ 60.65 Georgia $ 202.50 $ 66.90 Kentucky $ 254.10 $ 64.55 Louisiana $ 267.10 $ 75.00 Mississippi $ 238.75 $ 70.01 N Carolina $ 241.75 $ 79.51 S. Carolina $ 230.50 $ 66.90 Tennessee $ 24.40 $ 33.00 ISDN Individual Line Rates for Capability Package O STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 223.75 $ 74.10 Florida $ 213.00 $ 62.40 Georgia $ 204.50 $ 68.65 Kentucky $ 256.10 $ 66.30 Louisiana $ 269.11 $ 76.75 Mississippi $ 240.75 $ 71.76 N Carolina $ 243.75 $ 81.26 S. Carolina $ 232.50 $ 68.65 Tennessee $ 26.40 $ 34.75 ISDN Individual Line Rates for Capability Package P STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 224.75 $ 75.85 Florida $ 214.00 $ 64.15 Georgia $ 205.50 $ 70.40 Kentucky $ 257.10 $ 68.05 Louisiana $ 270.11 $ 78.50 Mississippi $ 241.75 $ 73.51 N Carolina $ 244.75 $ 83.01 S. Carolina $ 233.50 $ 70.40 Tennessee $ 27.40 $ 36.50 ISDN Individual Line Rates for Capability Package Q STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 228.75 $ 79.35 Florida $ 218.00 $ 67.65 Georgia $ 209.50 $ 73.90 Kentucky $ 261.10 $ 71.55 Louisiana $ 274.11 $ 82.00 Mississippi $ 245.75 $ 77.01 N Carolina $ 248.75 $ 86.51 S. Carolina $ 237.50 $ 73.90 Tennessee $ 31.40 $ 40.00 ISDN Individual Line Business Service Pricing BellSouth Tariff Summary For ISDN Capability Packages The following ISDN pricing information is illustrative and provided for planning purposes only. To order ISDN Individual Line Service please call one of the following phone numbers: 1-(800)-858-9413 Introduction The National ISDN Users Forum (NIUF), to simplify ISDN ordering and provisioning, has established a set of capability packages for ISDN individual line service. A brief outline of the NIUF packages and pricing for each package is included below. For each Capability Package the NIUF specified: The number of Directory Numbers (DNs) assigned The number of terminal-controlled DN appearances assigned The number of switch-controlled Call Appearances (for CACH EKTS) assigned The number of Terminal Endpoint Identifiers assigned The feature identifier values assigned to the features in the Capability Package Capability Packages ú Capability Package A (0B+D)-----includes basic D-channel packet. No voice capabilities are provided. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package B (1B)-----includes circuit switched data on one B- channel. Data capabilities include Calling Number Identification. No voice capabilities are provided. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package C (1B)-----includes alternate voice/circuit-swicthed data on one B-channel. Data and voice capabilities include Calling Number Identification. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package D (1B+D)-----Includes voice on one B-channel and basic D-channel packet. Only basic voice capabilities are provided, with no features. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package E (1B+D)-----Includes voice on one B-channel and basic D-channel. This package provides non-electronic key telephone set (EKTS) voice features, including Flexible Calling, Additional Call Offering, and Calling Number identification. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package F (1B+D)-----is equivalent to Capability Package E with the change that Call Appearance Handling (CACH) EKTS is used for the voice service. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package G (2B)-----includes voice on one B-channel and circuit-switched data on the other B-channel. This packgae provides non-EKTS voice features including Flexible Calling, Additional Call Offering, and Calling Number Identification. Data capabilities include Calling Number Identification. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package H (2B)----is equivalent to Capability Package G, with the change that CACH EKTS is used for the voice services. Please note that Additional Call Offering is included in EKTS service. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package I (2B)-----includes circuit-switched data on two B- channels. Data capabilities include Calling Number Identification. No voice capabilities are provided. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package J (2B)----includes alternate voice/circuit-switched data on one B-channel and circuit switched data on the other B-channel. Only basic voice capabilities are provided, with no features except Calling Number Identification. Data capabilities include Calling Number Identification. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package K (2B)-----includes alternate voice/circuit-switched data on one B-channel and circuit switched data on the other B-channel. This package also provides non-EKTS voice features including Flexible Calling, Additional Call Offering, and Calling Number Identification. Data capabilities include Calling Number Identification. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package L (2B)-----is equivalent to Capability Package K, with the change that CACH EKTS service is used for the voice service. Please note that Additional Call Offering functionality is incorporated in the EKTS service. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package M (2B)-----includes alternate voice/circuit-switched data on two B-channels. Data and voice capabilities include Calling Number Identification. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package N (2B+D)-----includes alternate voice/circuit- switched data on one B-channel, circuit-switched data on the other B-channel and basic D-channel packet. This package provides non-EKTS voice features, including Flexible Calling, Additional Call Offering and Calling Number Identification. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package O (2B+D)-----is equivalent to Capability Package N with the change that CACH-EKTS service is used for the voice service. Please note that Additional Call Offering functionality is incorporated in the EKTS service. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package P (2B+D)-----includes alternate voice/circuit- switched data on two B-channels and basic D-channel packet. This package provides non-EKTS voice features including Flexible Calling, Additional Call Offering and Calling Number Identification. Data capabilities include Calling Number Identification. ISDN Rates for all states ú Capability Package Q (2B+D)-----is equivalent to Capability Package P with the change that CACH-EKTS service is used for the voice service. Please note that Additional Call Offering functionality is incorporated in the EKTS service. ISDN Rates for all states NOTES: ú Charges shown are flat rate for B-channel Circuit Switched Voice (CSV) and/or Circuit Switched Data (CWD) and flat rate for D-channel Switched Packet Data (PSD) ú Charges shown in the following sections include ALL feature, End User Common Line Charges (EUCL), Subscriber Line Charges(SLC) and ALL service order, line connection and other associated installation charges except where special jack/wiring installation is requested. (This assumes only one business line per premises.) ú Charges DO NOT INCLUDE the customer provided ISDN terminal equipment. ú Calling Line Identification (CLID) is provided at no additional charge on ALL ISDN individual Line Business lines in BellSouth. ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package A STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 214.00 $ 73.50 Florida $ 201.00 $ 68.50 Georgia $ 203.25 $ 68.50 Kentucky $ 218.00 $ 68.50 Louisiana $ 230.00 $ 68.50 Mississippi $ 212.00 $ 68.50 N Carolina $ 207.50 $ 67.50 S. Carolina $ 227.50 $ 68.50 Tennessee $ 58.50 $ 68.50 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package B STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 209.00 $ 77.25 Florida $ 196.00 $ 74.75 Georgia $ 198.25 $ 74.75 Kentucky $ 213.00 $ 74.75 Louisiana $ 225.00 $ 75.75 Mississippi $ 207.00 $ 75.75 N Carolina $ 202.50 $ 74.75 S. Carolina $ 222.50 $ 74.75 Tennessee $ 58.50 $ 74.75 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package C STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 209.00 $ 77.25 Florida $ 196.00 $ 74.75 Georgia $ 198.25 $ 74.75 Kentucky $ 213.00 $ 74.75 Louisiana $ 225.00 $ 75.75 Mississippi $ 207.00 $ 75.75 N Carolina $ 202.50 $ 74.75 S. Carolina $ 222.50 $ 74.75 Tennessee $ 58.50 $ 74.75 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package D STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 224.00 $ 90.75 Florida $ 211.00 $ 88.25 Georgia $ 213.25 $ 88.25 Kentucky $ 228.00 $ 88.25 Louisiana $ 240.00 $ 89.25 Mississippi $ 222.00 $ 89.25 N Carolina $ 217.50 $ 86.75 S. Carolina $ 237.50 $ 88.25 Tennessee $ 58.50 $ 88.25 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package E STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 230.00 $ 97.75 Florida $ 217.00 $ 95.25 Georgia $ 219.25 $ 95.25 Kentucky $ 234.00 $ 95.25 Louisiana $ 246.00 $ 96.25 Mississippi $ 228.00 $ 96.25 N Carolina $ 223.50 $ 93.75 S. Carolina $ 243.50 $ 95.25 Tennessee $ 64.50 $ 95.25 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package F STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 234.00 $ 101.25 Florida $ 221.00 $ 98.75 Georgia $ 223.25 $ 98.75 Kentucky $ 238.00 $ 98.75 Louisiana $ 250.00 $ 99.75 Mississippi $ 232.00 $ 99.75 N Carolina $ 227.50 $ 97.25 S. Carolina $ 247.50 $ 98.75 Tennessee $ 68.50 $ 98.75 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package G STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 223.00 $ 95.00 Florida $ 210.00 $ 95.00 Georgia $ 212.25 $ 95.00 Kentucky $ 227.00 $ 95.00 Louisiana $ 239.00 $ 96.00 Mississippi $ 221.00 $ 96.00 N Carolina $ 216.50 $ 95.00 S. Carolina $ 236.50 $ 95.00 Tennessee $ 62.50 $ 95.00 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package H STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 227.00 $ 98.50 Florida $ 214.00 $ 98.50 Georgia $ 216.25 $ 98.50 Kentucky $ 231.00 $ 98.50 Louisiana $ 243.00 $ 99.50 Mississippi $ 225.00 $ 99.50 N Carolina $ 220.50 $ 98.50 S. Carolina $ 240.50 $ 98.50 Tennessee $ 66.50 $ 98.50 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package I STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 219.00 $ 91.00 Florida $ 206.00 $ 91.00 Georgia $ 208.25 $ 91.00 Kentucky $ 223.00 $ 91.00 Louisiana $ 235.00 $ 92.00 Mississippi $ 217.00 $ 92.00 N Carolina $ 212.50 $ 91.00 S. Carolina $ 232.50 $ 91.00 Tennessee $ 58.50 $ 91.00 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package J STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 219.00 $ 91.00 Florida $ 206.00 $ 91.00 Georgia $ 208.25 $ 91.00 Kentucky $ 223.00 $ 91.00 Louisiana $ 235.00 $ 92.00 Mississippi $ 217.00 $ 92.00 N Carolina $ 212.50 $ 91.00 S. Carolina $ 232.50 $ 91.00 Tennessee $ 58.50 ! $ 91.00 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package K STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 225.00 $ 98.00 Florida $ 212.00 $ 98.00 Georgia $ 214.25 $ 98.00 Kentucky $ 229.00 $ 98.00 Louisiana $ 241.00 $ 99.00 Mississippi $ 223.00 $ 99.00 N Carolina $ 218.50 $ 98.00 S. Carolina $ 238.50 $ 98.00 Tennessee $ 64.50 $ 98.00 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package L STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 231.00 $ 104.50 Florida $ 218.00 $ 104.50 Georgia $ 220.25 $ 104.50 Kentucky $ 235.00 $ 104.50 Louisiana $ 247.00 $ 105.50 Mississippi $ 229.00 $ 105.50 N Carolina $ 224.50 $ 104.50 S. Carolina $ 244.50 $ 104.50 Tennessee $ 70.50 $ 104.50 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package M STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 219.00 $ 91.00 Florida $ 206.00 $ 91.00 Georgia $ 208.25 $ 91.00 Kentucky $ 223.00 $ 91.00 Louisiana $ 235.00 $ 92.00 Mississippi $ 217.00 $ 92.00 N Carolina $ 212.50 $ 91.00 S. Carolina $ 232.50 $ 91.00 Tennessee $ 58.50 $ 91.00 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package N STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 240.00 $ 111.50 Florida $ 227.00 $ 111.50 Georgia $ 229.25 $ 111.50 Kentucky $ 244.00 $ 111.50 Louisiana $ 256.00 $ 112.50 Mississippi $ 238.00 $ 112.50 N Carolina $ 233.50 $ 110.00 S. Carolina $ 253.50 $ 111.50 Tennessee $ 64.50 $ 111.50 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package O STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 244.00 $ 115.00 Florida $ 231.00 $ 115.00 Georgia $ 233.25 $ 115.00 Kentucky $ 248.00 $ 115.00 Louisiana $ 260.00 $ 116.00 Mississippi $ 242.00 $ 116.00 N Carolina $ 237.50 $ 113.50 S. Carolina $ 257.50 $ 115.00 Tennessee $ 68.50 $ 115.00 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package P STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 246.00 $ 118.50 Florida $ 233.00 $ 118.50 Georgia $ 235.25 $ 118.50 Kentucky $ 250.00 $ 118.50 Louisiana $ 262.00 $ 119.50 Mississippi $ 244.00 $ 119.50 N Carolina $ 239.50 $ 117.00 S. Carolina $ 259.50 $ 118.50 Tennessee $ 70.50 $ 118.50 ISDN Individual Business Line Rates for Capability Package Q STATE Installation Charge Recurring Monthly Charge Alabama $ 254.00 $ 125.50 Florida $ 241.00 $ 125.50 Georgia $ 243.25 $ 125.50 Kentucky $ 258.00 $ 125.50 Louisiana $ 270.00 $ 126.50 Mississippi $ 252.00 $ 126.50 N Carolina $ 247.50 $ 124.00 S. Carolina $ 267.50 $ 125.50 Tennessee $ 78.50 $ 125.50 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 Special Notice!! STR Infofile File format Requirements for Articles File Format for STReport All articles submitted to STReport for publication must be sent in the following format. Please use the format requested. Any files received that do not conform will not be used. The article must be in an importable word processor format for Word 7.0.. The margins are .05" left and 1.0" Monospaced fonts are not to be used. Please use proportional fonting only and at eleven points. ú No Indenting on any paragraphs!! ú No underlining! ú Column Format shall be achieved through the use of tabs only. Do NOT use the space bar. ú No ASCII "ART"!! ú There is no limits as to size, articles may be split into two if lengthy ú Actual Artwork should be in GIF, PCX, JPG, TIF, BMP, WMF file formats ú Artwork (pictures, graphs, charts, etc.)should be sent along with the article separately ú Please use a single font only in an article. TTF CG Times 11pt. is preferred. (VERY Strong Hint) If there are any questions please use either E-Mail or call. On another note. the ASCII version of STReport is fast approaching the "end of the line" As the major Online Services move away from ASCII.. So shall STReport. All in the name of progress and improved readability. The amount of reader mail expressing a preference for our Adobe PDF enhanced issue is running approximately 15 to 1 over the ASCII edition. Besides, STReport will not be caught in the old, worn out "downward compatibility dodge" we must move forward. Many grateful thanks in advance for your enthusiastic co-operation. Ralph F. Mariano, Editor STReport International Online Magazine Server Benchmarks STR InfoFile H A Y N E S & C O M P A N Y SHILOH CONSULTING Performance Benchmark Tests of Microsoft and NetScape Web Servers Responding to HTML, API, and CGI Requests and Running on Windows NT February 1996 Version 1.0 This document summarizes tests conducted by Shiloh Consulting and Haynes & Company to measure the throughput, connections per second, response time, and error rate of two Web servers processing client requests for HTML, proprietary APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and standard CGI (Common Gateway Interface). The tests were run at Shiloh Consulting between January 24 and February 5, 1996 Executive Summary This testing demonstrates that the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) overwhelmingly outperforms the Windows NT version of the NetScape NetSite server when both are running straight HTML. The Internet Information Server substantially outperforms the NetScape server when each server is running its respective proprietary API. (See Figures 1 and 2 below for comparisons of throughput and connections per second.) The Microsoft performance advantage increases consistently as the number of clients making requests increases. As should be expected, server performance is virtually equal when 100% of requests are for standard CGI. In the case of 100% CGI, both servers are spending the majority of their time running the identical CGI code. The Internet Information Server proprietary API (ISAPI) is roughly five times as fast as CGI while the NetSite API (NSAPI) is roughly twice as fast as CGI. Figure 1 Figure 2 Even when the Internet Information Server is handling many more requests than NetSite, the Average Response Time for IIS to handle each request is approximately one quarter that of NetSite for straight HTML and one third as great for 100% API requests. Figure 3 The error rates for both servers were zero in all straight HTML and proprietary API tests. NetScape had errors in some CGI tests while Microsoft had no errors. The network did not constrain performance in any of the tests. The tests were run over a 100 megabit network and the NT Performance Monitor reported that network utilization never exceeded 16%. Where Web site managers running Windows NT wish to minimize hardware costs, allow a comfortable margin for peak loads, and provide the maximum room for growth, they will find the Microsoft Internet Information Server superior to the NetScape NetSite server in achieving these goals. Test Philosophy and Methodology The benchmark tests used the WebStone release version 1.1 server benchmark to measure the differences in Web server software performance across workloads that exercised HTML, CGI, and API scripts on the servers. The tests used WebStone to measure throughput, connections per second, error rate, and response time (also referred to as latency). CPU utilization and network utilization were simultaneously measured for the same test runs using the Windows NT Performance Monitor. WebStone is widely recognized to be the current industry standard for measuring Web server performance. It runs exclusively on clients, makes all measurements from the point of view of the clients, and is independent of the server software. Thus WebStone is suitable for testing the performance of any and all Web servers, regardless of architecture, and for testing all combinations of Web server, operating system, network operating system, and hardware. It was developed by Silicon Graphics and is freely available to anyone on the SGI Web server. The WebStone software, controlled by a program called WebMASTER, runs on one of the client workstations but uses no test network or server resources while the test is running and places only a minimal burden on each client. Each WebStone client is able to launch a number of children (called "Webchildren"), depending on how the system load is configured. Each of the Webchildren simulates a Web client and requests information from the server based on a configured file load. The tests conducted for this report used four workstations to run the client software. Each workstation simulated the same number of clients with an identical set of requests coming from each workstation. The tests for straight HTML performance were all run using the same request load (100% identical requests for a small HTML file) and using eight different client loads (16, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 112, and 128 clients). The requests were generated from the filelist.ss file which is incorporated within WebStone. The API and CGI tests were run at three request loads (light, medium, and heavy) for each of the eight client configurations. The load points mixed the proportion of client requests between dynamic HTML requests (requiring a call to a CGI or API routine) and static requests for a HTML document as shown in the table that is shown below: Proportion of Client Requests HTML CGI or NSAPI Light 75% 25% Medium 58% 42% Heavy 0% 100% The files which generate these proportions of static and dynamic requests are incorporated into the WebStone release 1.1 software under the following names: filelist.dynamic-light filelist dynamic-medium filelist.dynamic-heavy In some cases it was necessary to make minor modifications to the files to accommodate the proprietary nature of the APIs but the contents of the files (the requests themselves) were the same for all servers. WebStone was set up to run all tests for a given server at a given load point back-to-back, without human intervention. WebStone stepped the number of clients through the eight pre-set levels, running the test at each level for five minutes and reporting the results of each test to a file at the end of the test run. Selected tests run with heavy request loads and 128 clients were run three times to assure the reproducibility of the results. Results of these repeated tests varied by no more than a few percent. Log files were cleared and the Web server that was under test at that time was restarted after each test as each request load level was completed. Test Configuration The Web servers tested were the Microsoft Internet Information Server Version 3.51 release candidate and the NetScape NetSite Communications Server 1.12. All Web servers tested were run on the same identically configured: Hewlett-Packard NetServer LS servers: ú Intel Pentium CPU running at 133 MHz ú 1 megabyte L2 Cache ú 32 megabytes of RAM ú Two 1 gigabyte Hard disk drives ú Digital Tulip 100 megabit Ethernet Card ú Windows NT Server, version 3.51, with Service Pack 3 installed At Microsoft's direction, the Listen Backlog parameter in Windows NT was changed to 150 from the default of 16 when run in conjunction with the Internet Information Server. We understand that this parameter has no relevance to NetSite. Based on earlier discussions with NetScape the minimum number of processes in Windows NT was changed from 16 to 32 and the maximum was changed from 32 to 64 to optimize performance. Since all Web servers accessed the same test files and the files were cached in memory, possible fragmentation of the files on the server disk was not a factor in the results. WebStone clients ran on four Silicon Graphics (SGI) Indy workstations with 32 megabytes of RAM running SGI IRIX Release 5.3. The workstations ran on a MIPS R4600 processor at 100 MHz. Each workstation was connected to a WaveSwitch 100 Fast Ethernet switch using the workstation's internal 10Base-T adapter. The server was connected to the switch using a DEC PCI Fast Ethernet adapter running at 100 megabits per second. (See Figure 4.) Figure 4 Test LAN WebMASTER communicated over the same test network but carried no traffic during the test runs. A Domain Name Service (DNS) was installed on Web client #1 and was accessed once at the beginning of each test run. Test Results Each of the following tables presents the results of testing HTML, CGI, or API requests at a specific load point (light, medium, or heavy) and shows how the measurement varied with the number of clients. Table 1A Average Throughput (Megabits/Sec) for HTML and CGI Request 100% HTML Light CGI Medium Heavy Load CGI CGI Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 11.6 1.90 4.0 2.07 2.3 1.83 1.0 1.0 8 8 3 7 32 13.0 3.35 3.9 2.08 2.2 1.70 0.9 1.0 1 3 0 6 6 48 13.2 3.26 3.9 2.10 2.2 1.72 0.9 1.0 9 7 0 8 7 64 13.4 3.25 3.8 2.17 2.3 1.78 0.9 1.1 8 1 0 9 0 80 13.3 3.11 4.0 2.13 2.3 1.63 0.9 1.0 8 7 0 8 8 96 13.6 3.22 3.9 2.19 2.3 1.65 1.0 1.0 5 7 1 1 2 112 13.5 3.09 3.9 2.16 2.3 1.64 0.9 1.0 2 8 6 7 4 128 13.6 3.28 3.9 2.16 2.4 1.77 1.0 1.0 0 0 6 1 6 Table 1B Average Throughput (Megabits/Sec) for Proprietary APIs Request Light Medium Heavy API Load API API Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 10. 1.9 8.1 2.00 4.96 1.9 10 7 5 9 32 10. 3.1 8.5 2.26 4.95 2.1 80 1 3 6 48 10. 2.7 8.5 1.73 4.89 1.7 83 2 2 0 64 10. 2.5 8.5 1.50 4.95 1.5 80 0 2 4 80 10. 2.3 8.3 1.43 4.91 2.0 92 7 3 5 96 10. 2.1 8.2 1.46 4.93 1.7 85 8 8 8 112 10. 2.2 8.4 1.37 4.95 1.6 84 7 1 4 128 11. 2.1 8.3 1.40 5.04 1.5 00 1 9 8 (The content of the following tables will be added before the final draft of the report.) Table 2A & 2B Connections per Second Table 2A Average Connections per Second for HTML and CGI Request 100% HTML Light CGI Medium Heavy Load CGI CGI Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 216 36 77 38 45 33 22 21 32 244 64 74 42 44 32 21 20 48 249 62 74 40 44 33 21 20 64 253 59 75 40 44 32 21 20 80 253 59 76 40 45 31 21 21 96 255 59 76 40 46 31 21 20 112 254 58 75 41 46 32 21 20 128 255 59 74 40 47 33 21 19 Table 2B Connections per Second for Proprietary APIs Request Light Medium Heavy API Load API API Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 187 36 154 36 95 36 32 202 58 159 42 93 40 48 203 50 159 32 95 34 64 203 47 159 30 94 31 80 203 45 159 28 95 38 96 203 43 158 28 94 34 112 203 41 158 27 94 31 128 203 41 157 27 91 29 Table 3A & 3B Errors per Second Table 3A Average Response Time for HTML and CGI (Seconds) Request 100% HTML Light CGI Medium Heavy Load CGI CGI Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 .07 .45 .21 .42 .35 .48 .73 .77 32 .13 .50 .43 .77 .72 1.01 1.5 1.5 1 8 48 .19 .77 .65 1.19 1.0 1.45 2.3 2.3 8 0 7 64 .25 1.08 .85 1.59 1.4 2.00 3.0 3.1 4 3 1 80 .31 1.36 1.0 1.98 1.7 2.56 3.7 3.8 6 8 5 6 96 .38 1.62 1.2 2.38 2.1 3.08 4.5 4.8 7 2 7 6 112 .44 1.90 1.5 2.75 2.4 3.50 5.2 5.5 0 3 0 5 128 .50 2.16 1.7 3.16 2.7 3.80 6.0 6.5 3 2 4 2 Table 3B Average Response Time for Proprietary APIs (Seconds) Request Light Medium Heavy API Load API API Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 .09 .44 .10 .44 .17 .44 32 .16 .55 .20 .76 .34 .79 48 .24 .97 .30 1.50 .50 1.4 3 64 .31 1.3 .40 2.14 .68 2.0 6 9 80 .39 1.7 .50 2.83 .84 2.0 8 8 96 .47 2.2 .61 3.42 1.02 2.8 2 0 112 .55 2.7 .71 4.10 1.19 3.5 0 8 128 .63 3.1 .81 4.77 1.40 4.5 2 1 Table 4 Response Time Table 4 Error Rate for CGI (Errors per Second) Request Light CGI Medium Heavy Load CGI CGI Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 .00 .000 .00 .003 .00 .00 0 0 0 7 32 .00 .003 .00 .000 .00 .00 0 0 0 7 48 .00 .000 .00 .017 .00 .00 0 0 0 0 64 .00 .000 .00 .003 .00 .00 0 0 0 0 80 .00 .000 .00 .003 .00 .00 0 0 0 0 96 .00 .000 .00 .000 .00 .00 0 0 0 0 112 .00 .000 .00 .007 .00 .00 0 0 0 0 128 .00 .000 .00 .007 .00 .00 0 0 0 0 (No errors were reported for either server while running HTML or proprietary APIs.) Table 5A & 5B CPU Utilization Table 5A CPU Utilization for HTML and CGI (Percent) Request 100% HTML Light CGI Medium Heavy Load CGI CGI Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 80 30 100 68 100 91 100 100 32 92 86 100 100 100 100 100 100 48 95 98 100 100 100 100 100 100 64 96 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 80 96 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 96 96 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 112 98 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 128 98 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Table 5B CPU Utilization for Proprietary APIs (Percent) Request Light Medium Heavy API Load API API Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 93 37 100 66 100 65 32 97 90 100 95 100 99 48 100 100 100 98 100 100 64 100 100 100 97 100 100 80 100 100 100 95 100 100 96 100 100 100 94 100 100 112 100 100 100 96 100 100 128 100 100 100 95 100 100 Table 6A & 6B Network Utilization Table 6A Network Utilization for HTML and CGI (Percent) Request 100% HTML Light CGI Medium Heavy Load CGI CGI Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 14 2 5 2 2 2 1 1 32 15 4 5 3 2 2 1 1 48 15 4 5 3 2 2 1 1 64 16 4 5 3 3 2 1 1 80 16 4 5 3 3 2 1 1 96 16 4 5 3 3 2 1 1 112 16 4 5 3 3 2 1 1 128 16 4 5 3 3 2 1 1 Table 6B Network Utilization for Proprietary APIs (Percent) Request Light Medium Heavy API Load API API Clients IIS NS IIS NS IIS NS 16 12 3 10 2 6 2 32 12 3 10 3 6 3 48 13 3 10 2 6 2 64 13 3 10 2 6 2 80 13 3 10 2 6 3 96 13 3 10 2 6 2 112 13 3 10 2 6 2 128 13 3 10 2 6 2 Testing and Report Certification This report is written by Shiloh Consulting and Haynes & Company based upon testing which they conducted between January 24 and February 6, 1996 at the offices of Shiloh Consulting. The testers believe that the relative performance of the tested Web servers is projectable to real world environments-where the specific client requests made, the demand on the server and the network, and the number of clients vary over time. Shiloh Consulting is an independent network consulting company. Shiloh is led by Robert Buchanan who has over twenty years experience in product development and testing for ROLM Corporation and 3Com Corporation. From 1990 to 1994, Mr. Buchanan ran the testing and operations of LANQuest, a leading network product testing laboratory. Recently he completed a new book, The Art- of-Testing Network Systems, which will be published by John Wiley & Sons in April, 1996. Haynes & Company (http://www.haynes.com) provides business planning and program management for high tech companies. Past clients include Oracle, Qualcomm, 3Com, Interlink Computer Sciences, Artisoft, and NetScape. Ted Haynes of Haynes & Company was a contemporary of Bob Buchanan at both ROLM and 3Com. He is the author of The Electronic Commerce Dictionary and has spoken on commerce over the Internet at the RSA Data Security Conference. Every effort has been made to insure that the results described are fair and accurate. This report may be reproduced and distributed, as long as no part of this report is omitted or altered. All trademarks in this report are the property of their respective companies. EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage DEEP BLUE FALLS TO KASPAROV World chess champion Garry Kasparov has won the six-game match against the IBM supercomputer called Deep Blue. Counting tie games as a half point each, the final score was Kasparov 4, Deep Blue 2. Kasparov will receive $400,000 for winning the match; the IBM team representing Deep Blue says it will put its $100,000 loser's award into more research. (Atlanta Journal- Constitution 18 Feb 96 A1) CLINTON CHAMPIONS COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM President Clinton has proposed a $2 billion federal matching-grant program to help local communities put computers in their classrooms. The "challenge grants" would hinge on communities' ability to enlist the support of local businesses in the venture. Meanwhile, Microsoft and MCI Communications have said they would work together to help K-12 schools set up Web sites and advertise them in conjunction with Microsoft's Global Schoolhouse. (Wall Street Journal 16 Feb 96 B2) INJUNCTION BLOCKING INTERNET "INDECENCY" LAW Federal Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter has temporarily blocked enforcement of the new Communications Decency Act, which makes it a felony to use computer networks accessible by minors to transmit "indecent" material. His ruling stated that the term "indecent" was unconstitutionally vague and would "leave reasonable people perplexed in evaluating what is or what is not prohibited in this statute." A three-judge federal panel will now review the constitutionality of the Act, and any subsequent appeals will be placed on a fast track to the U.S. Supreme Court. (New York Times 16 Feb 96 A1) For the text of the decision see: www.epic.org/free_speech/censorship/lawsuit/ HIGHER ED GROUPS EYE ELECTRONIC COPYRIGHT BILL Representatives from higher education associations testified last week before a House subcommittee, urging lawmakers not to pass new electronic copyright rules before their impact on colleges and universities can be assessed. At issue is a revised definition of "fair use" of copyrighted digital materials that threatens to eliminate or severely restrict online interlibrary loans, and would also prevent professors from using such materials as part of their courses. (Chronicle of Higher Education 16 Feb 96 A26) SEGA WILL ADD BROWSER TO GAMING EQUIPMENT Sega Enterprises plans to add equipment to its Saturn video game console that will enable consumers to browse the Internet on their TV set. The entire package would cost between $100 and $150 more than the current $299 Saturn price tag. (Investor's Business Daily 16 Feb 96 A30) INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT CONFERENCE Under the auspices of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization, a conference will be held next December to initial an agreement that would extend copyright protection under the Berne convention to material transmitted over the Internet and other computer networks. One European negotiator in preliminary discussions on the issues says: "The development of the global information superhighway depends on film companies, directors, authors and performers being willing to put their work into the system. They need sufficient protection and sufficient rights to get a sufficient return, and some guarantees that there aren't great leaks in the pipe." (Financial Times 14 Feb 96 p7) DVD PROPONENTS MEET THE CD-ROM FACTOR While video entertainment companies are hashing out the details of the digital videodisc technology, computer makers are marshaling forces to make their wishes known before it's too late. The two competing video camps agreed in December on a "Digital Versatile Disc" format that incorporates aspects of both the Sony-Philips and the Toshiba-Time Warner designs. A "technical working group" that includes big names such as Apple, IBM, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft now wants to ensure that any future DVD format will also be compatible with a new generation of high- capacity CD-ROM discs and drives. They're proposing a tentative DVD-ROM format that would accommodate the content of multiple CD-ROM discs on one silver platter. (Popular Science Feb 96 p58) FUJITSU SINKS $50 MILLION IN U.S. PC OPERATION Fujitsu Ltd., Japan's biggest computer maker and second in the world behind IBM, has invested $50 million to create a U.S. operation for making and marketing PCs. Based in Milpitas, Calif., Fujitsu PC Corp. will focus initially on high- end laptops with communications features geared toward traveling executives. (Investor's Business Daily 16 Feb 96 A30) APPLE WON'T HAVE HUGE LAYOFFS Reiterating that Apple is no longer in merger talks with other corporations, new CEO Gil Amelio says his company will straighten its business strategy quickly and without having to make the huge layoffs that industry analysts had forecast. (New York Times 17 Feb 96 p23) EDUCATION IS KEY TO HOME PC MARKET An American Learning Household Survey says that over 80% of intended family household PC buyers in its study cited children's education as the primary reason for purchase, relegating work-at-home and home financial applications to a distant 40% level. The survey also found that children's use of the PC is shifting away from games and toward more complex uses of the computer as an information access tool. Info: peter@grunwald.com. (The Red Herring Dec 95) HOW WILL THE COOKIE CRUMBLE? In our issue of 15 Feb 96 we cited a story from Wall Street Journal about a Netscape feature called Cookies, which allows merchants to track what customers do in their online storefronts and how much time they spend there. Financial Times columnist Tim Jackson tells Edupage: "The Journal story is wrong, according to Netscape. They maintain that they have made no firm decision to insert a feature allowing users to disable cookies if they wish; they will only do so, they say, if their customers demand it. But since Netscape have taken no steps to correct the Journal story, and no steps to publicize the issue, it seems that they're happy for the misunderstanding to continue because that will then allow them to make no changes." (Personal Correspondence 18 Feb 96) APPLE SAYS IT HAS A COMPUTER FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD New Apple CEO Gil Amelio says the company is now targeting parts of the world that have not yet entered the computer age: "The battle has just begun. We live in a world where only about half the people alive today have ever used a telephone let alone used a computer. There is an enormous untapped market." As part of the strategy Apple is licensing its Mac/OS operating system to Motorola, which will be allowed to sublicense the system and to market a Mac- based system in China, through a joint venture between a Motorola subsidiary in China and the Panda Electronics Group in that country. (New York Times 20 Feb 96 C2) IBM SERVES UP AN INTERNET STRATEGY IBM has developed new software that will transform its mainframe, minicomputers and computer workstations into Web servers, allowing large companies that have mountains of data stored on corporate mainframes the option of making that information directly accessible to customers on the Web. The move also eliminates the difficulties of bridging incompatible systems, making the Web a common platform for information transfer. "It breaks down all the complex barriers that existed in the computing world," says the president of a computer consulting company. (Wall Street Journal 20 Feb 96 A3) MICROSOFT REORGANIZATION EMPHASIZES INTERACTIVITY Microsoft is reorganizing to create an Interactive Media Division to concentrate both on the Internet market and the market for interactive multimedia products designed for the new digital video disk systems, which will include interactive full-motion video. The division will include Microsoft Network, games, children's products, and Microsoft's information businesses. (New York Times 20 Feb 96 C1) CREDIT CARD SCARE TACTICS Sending your credit card information over the Internet is really no big deal, says Simson Garfinkel, author of a book on Pretty Good Privacy encryption software. "The whole thing about encryption over the Internet is that it's not to protect the customer -- it's to protect the credit-card companies. By law, if there is no signature, the customer is liable for nothing. If there's a signature, they're liable for $50. The reason the credit-card companies want cryptography is to limit their own liability. It has nothing to do with protecting the consumer." And although Netscape Navigator sends a stern message each time a user attempts to send information over the Web, Garfinkel labels the warning just another scare tactic: "Netscape Navigator is printing those messages because they're trying to sell encrypted servers. It's an ad. It doesn't look like an ad, but it is." (Tampa Tribune 19 Feb 96 B&F3) BANYAN SPONSORS E-MAIL SWITCHBOARD Banyan Systems is offering a new service on the Web -- a directory of e-mail addresses and other information for 93 million people and 11 million businesses worldwide. Switchboard includes a feature similar to Caller ID, that alerts a listed person whenever someone asks for that person's address, and allows them to decide whether to allow that information to be given out. The service also features public key certificates for secure communications between users. < http://www.switchboard.com > (Information Week 12 Feb 96 p24) INTERNET APPLIANCE DEBUTS IN U.K. Philips Electronics NV already has a cheap Internet appliance on the shelves in the U.K. Its CD-Online device consists of a disc, cable and modem that work with Philips' CD player to link to the Internet via a Philips online service. Philips plans to roll out the service in the U.S. this year, and Europe sometime thereafter. (Investor's Business Daily 20 Feb 96 A12) JUSTICE ASKED TO LOOK INTO MICROSOFT GIVEAWAY Internet Factory Inc., a small California software company that markets an Internet server program, has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Microsoft's plans to give away its new Internet Information Server software as part of its Windows NT program. Sales apparently "went dead" for Internet Factory after Microsoft announced its bundling strategy. (Wall Street Journal 20 Feb 96 A4) ONLINE SERVICES TO PEAK IN TWO YEARS? A new study by Forrester Research predicts that the popularity of commercial online services such as America Online and CompuServe will peak by 1998, with a total of 16 million subscribers. That number will drop to about 15 million the following year, and will continue to fall as more businesses migrate to the Internet. Companies that pursue the strategy of offering Internet services directly, such as AT&T, MCI and Microsoft, will likely reap the benefits. (Investor's Business Daily 20 Feb 96 A13) EUROPE BACKS V-CHIP The European Parliament has followed the lead of the United States in supporting the use of Canadian-developed V-chip technology that allows parents to screen violent or adult content from their televisions. (Montreal Gazette 20 Feb 96 C7) DEBIT-CARDS AND SMART CARDS The number of debit card transactions in Canada more than doubled in 1995 from 1994, according to electronic banking network Interac. Last year, there were 390-million purchases made with the cards, compared with 185- million a year earlier. (Toronto Financial Post 16 Feb 96 p7) In Atlanta, BellSouth says that prior to this year's Summer Olympics it will install 200 phones that accept "smart cards" that store monetary values from which the cost of telephone calls can be automatically deducted. Someday soon, consumers will be able to use the phones like an automated teller machine -- withdrawing money from a bank or credit card account and storing it on a smart card. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 20 Feb 96 E1) PROGRAMMERS NEEDED The Software Human Resources Council says Canada faces a disturbing shortage of programmers and predicts an overall shortage of 20,000 workers by 1999. (Ottawa Citizen 20 Feb 96 C1) "ESCAPE VELOCITY" OF CYBERCULTURE The New York Times says that Mark Dery's new book "Escape Velocity: Cyberculture at the End of the Century" is written with considerable knowledge and authority about such bizarre subcultures as the avant-garde roboticists, cyberpunk novelists, virtual reality designers, "body art" performance artists, "cyber hippies" and "technopagans." Although the book uses the critical theories of Bataille, Foucault, Baudrillard and McLuhan, the newspaper describes the author's writing style as "happily, sometimes even exuberantly nonpedantic." Dery has appeared several times in the pages of Educom Review. (New York Times 20 Feb 96 B2) COMPAQ PLANS TO PARE DOWN APPLE'S SLICE OF ED MARKET Compaq Computer is going after the education market, targeting an area dominated for years by Apple Computer, and has hired a former Apple manager to help it. Currently, about 7% of schools surveyed by Quality Education Data say they plan to buy Compaqs, while 61% say they intend to buy computers from Apple. Many schools are gearing up to replace older Apple models, and Compaq thinks it has a good chance of garnering some of those sales, building on its strong sales of servers to schools that are networking their computers and buildings. (Wall Street Journal 21 Feb 96 B6) MICROSOFT SHIFTS SOFTWARE FOCUS The management structure of its software operations, which had previously been organized by customer grouping (Business, Consumer, Personal Systems, and Developers), is being reorganized into three industry-specific divisions: Desktop & Business Systems Division; Internet Platform & Tools Division; and Consumer Platforms Division. (New York Times 21 Feb 96 C3) TCI ZEROES IN ON THE INTERNET Tele-Communications Inc. has created TCI Internet Services to better capitalize on online business opportunities. The company is currently testing its @Home high-speed Internet access service using cable modems, and the latest move underscores TCI's interest in online activities by boosting the Internet division to an autonomous unit. "We expect high- speed Internet services delivered over our cable systems to be a very significant new business for TCI," says the company's president/CEO. (Broadcasting & Cable 19 Feb 96 p60) H&R BLOCK AND SEARS END THEIR INTERNET LOVE AFFAIRS H&R Block, the tax-preparation company, is spinning off its online subsidiary, CompuServe as a new public company, saying: "The separation of CompuServe will unlock the value we have created through both of these strong franchises and will better position each entity to growth opportunities in their respective markets." (New York Times 21 Feb 96) ...Meanwhile, Sears Roebuck & Co. will sell its 50% stake in Prodigy, which it owns in partnership with IBM. "We have concluded that this investment does not represent an asset that should be part of our portfolio over the long term," says Sears' CEO. IBM is considering whether to buy Sears' 50% or divest its own share of the venture. (Wall Street Journal 22 Feb 96 A3) CUC ACQUIRING DAVIDSON AND SIERRA ON-LINE CUC International Inc., a technology-based retail and membership services company, is spending $1.7 billion to purchase consumer software makers Davidson & Associates and Sierra On-Line Inc. "Our goal is to be the nation's leader in content across all areas of consumer spending in the electronic marketplace," says CUC's CEO. (Investor's Business Daily 21 Feb 96 A5) ELECTRONIC WALLET FROM ORACLE AND VERIFONE Oracle, which specializes in database software, and Verifone, which specializes in credit card verification systems, have formed an alliance that will allow customers using "electronic wallets" built into Internet browser software to access a full range of financial transaction methods, including credit and debit cards, smart cards and electronic cash. The companies call it an "end-to-end" system for secure electronic commerce on the Internet. (Financial Times 22 Feb 96 p16) FCC PONDERS ENHANCED 911 SERVICE The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and public safety groups are asking the FCC to approve Enhanced 911 service for cell phones that would allow operators to quickly pinpoint the origin of the call and send help. In its initial stages, the system would identify only the caller's cell site, but in five years specific locations would traceable. Two-thirds of cellular users say safety is one of the reasons they bought their phones. (Investor's Business Daily 21 Feb 96 A4) TAX REVOLT ON THE INFO HIGHWAYWhen officials in Spokane, Wash. thought they could wring some extra revenue via a 6% tax on Internet providers, they were inundated with e-mail and phone calls protesting the action. One firm even set up a Web site for users to vent their opposition. The result was the city council decided to delay the tax pending further study, but the Spokane experience is likely to be played out in cities across the country as local governments look for new sources of cash. (Information Week 12 Feb 96 p10) HOT TECHNOLOGIES FOR '96 First Albany-Meta Technology has drawn up its own list of hot technologies for the coming year: data warehousing and online analytical processing software; business process reengineering software, client-server network management software; object-oriented programming tools; frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode, and integrated services digital network technologies; and of course, anything to do with the Internet. (Investor's Business Daily 22 Feb 96 A8) ACORN/APPLE GRAFTING Acorn and Apple are forming a 50-50 joint venture to supply the U.K. education market, and will offer Risc OS and Apple's Mac OS on the same machines, which will be designed to the Common Hardware Reference Platform specification agreed on last year by Apple, IBM and Motorola. Risc OS is used in education, he says, in TV set-top boxes, and in the forthcoming Internet- oriented "network computers" that Acorn is designing for Oracle. 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