Silicon Times Report The Original Independent OnLine Magazine" (Since 1987) March 15, 1996 No. 1211 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! Client/Server BBS Version 5 95/NT Fully Networked within the following Nets: ITCNet 85:881/250 JAX HUB FIDO Net 1:112/35 ~ Prowl ~ USPOLNet ~ FNET 350 ~ Nest 90:301/3 Delivered via Subscriber List through Internet MULTI-NODE Operation 24hrs-7 days Analog & ISDN BRI Access 904-268-4116 2400-128000 bps V. 120-32-34 v.42 bis ISDN V.34 USRobotics I-MODEM NT-1 FAX: 904-292-9222 24hrs The Bounty STReport Support Central 1-904-268-2237 FNET. 620 : Leif's World 1-904-573-0734 FNET. 690 : PASTE BBS 1-206-284-8493 FNET. 489 : Steal Your Face BBS 1-908-920-7981 MNET - Toad Hall BBS 1-617-567-8642 03/15/96 STR 1211 The Original Independent OnLine Magazine! - CPU Report - ProComm Plus 3.0 - Travan TBU - Blue Ribbon News - SoftRam95 News - 10x CDRom - Hayes Healthy Now - MS & AOL! - CIS & Netscape - MAC 7.5 Ready - Phone Hijacking - MS & HP offer PC's MICROSOFT A BOOST FOR ISDN Microsoft, Intel Form Alliance Wildcat 5 in Production! STReport International OnLine Magazine Featuring Weekly "Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information" Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports STReport's BBS - The Bounty BBS, invites all BBS systems, worldwide, to participate in the ITC, Fido, Internet, PROWL, USENET, USPOLNet, NEST, F-Net, Mail Networks. You may also call The Bounty BBS direct @ 1-904-786-4176. Enjoy the wonder and excitement of exchanging all types of useful information relative to all computer types, worldwide, through the use of excellent International Networking Systems. SysOps and users alike worldwide, are welcome to join STReport's International Conferences. ITC Node is 85:881/250, The Fido Node is 1:112/35, Crossnet Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is #620. All computer enthusiasts, hobbyist or commercial, on all platforms and BBS systems are invited to participate. WEB SITE: http//www.streport.com CIS ~ PRODIGY ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ ITC ~ NEST ~ EURONET ~ CIX ~ USENET USPOLNET CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ PROWL ~ FNET ~ AOL IMPORTANT NOTICE STReport, with its policy of not accepting any PAID advertising, has over the years developed the reputation of "saying it like it really is". When it comes to our editorials, product evaluations, reviews and over-views, we shall always keep our readers interests first and foremost. With the user in mind, STReport further pledges to maintain the reader confidence that has been developed over the years and to continue "living up to such". All we ask is that our readers make certain the manufacturers, publishers etc., know exactly where the information about their products appeared. In closing, we shall arduously endeavor to meet and further develop the high standards of straight forwardness our readers have come to expect in each and every issue. The Staff & Editors SYSOP NEWS & CYBERWORLD REPORT "The Leading Hard Copy News Source in the BBS & Online Telecommunications World" Your own personal copy mailed to your home every month; STReport's special offer! Annual Subscription Rate of $15.00!! (normally 20.00). Please, Include the STR offer number (STR-21) for your discount. 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: 3/9/96: 1 of 6 numbers with 0 matches in 0 plays From the Editor's Desk... Here's a thought.. its eighty one degrees outside and the house is wide open allowing the fresh air to flow through freely. While not meant to "rub it in".. I do mean to hit a nerve and perhaps give a few folks who have had enough of the ice and snow an urge to think about relocating. Many of us have the opportunity and really do not see it. The gentle climates are known to add years to a person's lifetime. Last week, we carried a short piece about David Boles' new book, "Windows 95 Communication and Online Secrets" . I'm STILL reading through this veritable treasury of information relative to Win95 and its "ins and outs". With every page I am more impressed with the effort Boles put into his research. This book is bound to become the "Bible of Win95" for windows users worldwide. This coming week, I'll have more in-depth information about this book. In the meantime, go out and get this book. This is one purchase for your computer library you'll never regret. I can't stand it! Talk about Spring Fever. I've been baby sitting the gardens, the lawns and the pool. I redid the pool's entire filter system, pressure washed the cool decking, cleaned and scoured the outdoor cook/smoke system, etc. I might add all the while, hungrily looking at the crystal clear water. Its only sixty degrees at this time. When it hits seventy or higher, you know where I'll be. Of course, if you happen to be in the neighborhood give us a holler! Stop by and take a dip. Tape backups and their myriad of configurations are beginning to resemble a cross section of nature's own creative variety. Its time the tape mechanism manufacturers brought the configurations down to earth and reality. Sure, its cool for each to have their own format etc. but the end user is the ultimate loser with this nonsense. A little compatibility and many more users will jump on the tape backup bandwagon. Dat Drives are as fast as the wind itself but are cost prohibitive. Travan packages are superb and indeed present a genuine value to the end users. Read about the Travan packages in this week's issue. If you are considering a tape backup, and are on a budget, jump on the Travan bandwagon. it'll be a great ride. 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 CompuServe, Netscape Team Up Netscape Communications Corp. has entered a distribution agreement under which CompuServe members or users of its separate Internet access provider, Sprynet, will be able to use the Netscape Navigator at no charge beginning this spring. The pact also calls for CompuServe and Sprynet to be added to the menu of Internet service providers that appears on versions of Navigator sold in stores, says business writer Paul Souhrada of the Associated Press. "It also gives Netscape access to CompuServe customers in 146 foreign countries and calls for future joint marketing efforts," Souhrada adds. Netscape marketing director Mike Homer told the wire service he expects exposure to CompuServe's 4.5 million subscribers will help his firm sell other products, such as secured transaction software for online shopping. CompuServe's Robert Mainor, vice president of product marketing, told AP, "The thrust behind this is to remain browser neutral. When somebody logs onto CompuServe, unlike America Online, they won't be forced to choose a proprietary browser." CompuServe, Netscape Set Pact CompuServe Inc. has announced a major software distribution, networking services and marketing relationship with Netscape Communications Corp. CompuServe says the relationship will allow it to distribute Netscape Navigator software for the Internet to members of the CompuServe Information Service and SPRYNET Internet access service users at no extra charge. The deal also provides worldwide Internet access for Netscape customers via the CompuServe network. Additional marketing and strategic opportunities will be announced separately, says CompuServe. "With the addition of Netscape's Navigator to our software access set, we have executed a strategy that we articulated months ago," says Bob Massey, president and CEO of CompuServe. "Our continuing goal is bring the best Internet browsers to our growing online community, and let our members select the browser they prefer. We are very pleased to add Netscape's Navigator to our browser suite." Jim Barksdale, president and CEO of Netscape, says the relationship creates a number of exciting opportunities for both firms. "Netscape can easily reach a huge new audience, and CompuServe can offer its users our highly popular client software." Users will be able to download Netscape Navigator from the CompuServe Information Service and the CompuServe Web home page (http://www.compuserve.com), as well as through an Internet pointer on the SPRYNET home page (http://www.sprynet.com). SPRYNET is CompuServe's new Internet access service that offers unlimited usage for $19.95 per month. Microsoft, Intel Form Alliance Chipmaker Intel Corp. and software publisher Microsoft Corp. have teamed up to develop a standard for video, voice and data communications over the Internet. In The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporters Don Clark and Mark Robichaux quote officials with the two firms as saying they will promote a series of technical standards to make it easier to use the Internet as a medium for making phone calls and for video conferencing. "The two industry giants said they would integrate the communications technologies into future Microsoft operating systems and specifications for PCs that use Intel chips, starting late this year," the Journal said. The teaming comes just as Microsoft also announced alliances with several regional and long-distance phone companies, the intent of which is to increase the use of superfast communications lines to speed data transmission. Also the Redmond, Washington, publisher has struck a deal with DirecTV Inc., a unit of General Motors Corp.'s Hughes Electronics Corp. subsidiary, to work on a system to allow PCs to receive video programming now available to people with home TV-satellite dishes, and to receive a new category of multimedia services that the companies expect to emerge. "The moves," say Clark and Robichaux, "reflect an accelerating race to remake the PC as a communications device, driven largely by the extraordinary popularity of the Internet." Until recently, the paper notes, video-conferencing accessories for PCs required a direct phone connection to be placed between two people who wanted to communicate. "But the Internet has several advantages," says the Journal. "There are no long-distance charges for sending video or audio among the interconnected computers on the Internet, potentially lowering the cost of communicating among states or among different countries. In addition, video or audio signals can be inexpensively 'broadcast' to many people by simply addressing the signals to multiple individuals, rather than setting up individual connections for each recipient." But the developments won't come without challenges. For instance, as reported last week, a trade association of long distance phone service carriers has asked the Federal Communications Commission to halt companies from selling software and hardware products that enable use of the Internet for long distance voice services, calling it unfair competition. Execs Promote a Safer Cyberspace Top executives of leading online services and Internet companies have unveiled Project OPEN (Online Public Education Network), a program that aims to promote the safe and responsible use of cyberspace. At a New York news conference, executives of CompuServe, America Online, AT&T Online Services and several other firms introduced the first industry- wide national consumer education program, including a consumer brochure, a toll-free information number and a national public service announcement campaign. "Six key companies who are fierce competitors have put aside their competition to promote understanding and responsible use of online and Internet services," says Robert L. Smith Jr., executive director of the Interactive Services Association. "I applaud this effort and know that it will be central to shaping the future direction of the online and Internet industry." The program's first consumer brochure, How to Get the Most Out of Going Online, is now available to the public free of charge. The brochure provides basic background for people unfamiliar with the world of online and Internet services, and describes the variety of parental control tools available to users. Project OPEN has also initiated a toll-free informational number (800-466-OPEN) to help distribute the brochure and answer questions related to online safety. In addition to its parental empowerment campaign, Project OPEN plans to introduce additional program elements later this year, including an effort directed at intellectual property rights. Clinton, Gore Launch California Net Bill Clinton and Al Gore were among 20,000 volunteers who spent yesterday connecting classrooms in 3,000 schools across the state of California as part of NetDay96, the inspiration of Sun Micro Systems President/CEO John Gage. Reporting from Concord, California, Associated Press writer Lawrence L. Knutson says Clinton first told students gathered in an outdoor courtyard at Ygnacio Valley High School that computers and access to the information superhighway are their keys to a successful future in the 21st century. "Then he and Gore put their words into action," Knutson said. "The president stood on a ladder feeding cable into a ceiling crawl space hand over hand. Then, inside a nearby classroom, the vice president stepped off a ladder onto a stone-topped sink to pull the three strands of cable into the room. He and Clinton watched as a volunteer electrician made the final connections. Down the hall, in the already wired school library, students made the work come to life -- or at least to cyberspace." At one point, the Washingtonians watched the computer display the names, phone numbers and skills of all the volunteers helping to wire the school. "What's our e-mail address, Al?" Clinton asked. "It's www dot whitehouse -- one word -- don't capitalize it -- dot -- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue." "That's right, that's where I am," Clinton said as the connection to the White House site on the World Wide Web. Clinton said his goal is to connect every American school to the Internet by 2000, mostly with private sector help and government encouragement, but acknowledged his own involvement with high technology came rather late. "I had to get elected president and have a daughter and a (technically inclined) vice president before I could master it," he said. reporter Paul Basken of United Press International says the California facilities connected yesterday represent about 20 percent of all public schools in the state. "We are putting the future at the fingertips of your children, and we are doing it together in the best American tradition," Clinton told some 6,500 parents, children and others. Clinton called it "an old-fashioned barn raising." Many companies provided free Internet access to the schools and Pacific Bell is providing more than 1,000 wiring kits and other companies have sponsored individual schools. In addition, one company is providing all California schools with software necessary to block material unsuitable for children. Also, Greg Simon, chief domestic policy adviser to Vice President Gore said Clinton also is planning within several weeks to sign an executive order allowing schools to take possession of computer equipment that federal agencies declare surplus. Sun chief Gage told Basken California actually needed to catch up to several other states that already have worked to connect their schools to the Internet. Said Gage, "California is far behind in the schools, but far ahead in (the numbers of professionals trained in the Internet's workings) in the technology sector. Now Texas wants to do this, as do 20 other states." Hayes Emerges From Bankruptcy Famed modem pioneer Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc. has emerged from its 16- month bankruptcy, having won the approval by a federal bankruptcy court for its reorganization plan. The deal calls for Canada's Northern Telecom and ACMA Limited to buy a 49 percent interest in the company, while founder Dennis Hayes and the employees will own the majority of the stock. In Atlanta, Hayes, who also is chairman/CEO of the firm, told United Press International, "Our stated intent and primary objective from the very start of this case was to put forth a reorganization plan that would pay all creditors in full and that would permit Hayes to emerge from Chapter 11 as a strong independent company making superior products backed by superior service." Hayes entered bankruptcy protection in November 1994. UPI says the reorganization plan calls for payment of all creditors' claims in full plus interest. Proceeds from a combined equity investment of $35 million by ACMA Limited and Northern Telecom, a $70 million debt facility with the CIT Group/Credit Finance and the sale of surplus land owned by the company will be used to cover the company's debts. In approving the Hayes plan, the bankruptcy court rejected a competing plan of reorganization proposed by the creditors' committee and Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc. Mac System 7.5 Update Ready Apple Computer Inc. has announced the availability of System 7.5 Update 2.0, a Mac OS system software update. The computer maker says the update is designed to enhance overall system stability while delivering some performance improvements for Apple Macintosh and Mac OS-compatible computers. System 7.5 Update 2.0 also updates major system features and technologies for network communications and multimedia. "With the delivery of System 7.5 Update 2.0, Apple has improved stability and performance while maintaining the seamless software integration consistently recognized as a distinguishing attribute of the Macintosh operating system," says Jim Gable, Apple's senior director of system software product marketing. Apple notes that System 7.5 Update 2.0 includes more PowerPC-native components, such as the Resource Manager, SCSI Manager and Serial DMA; the elimination of some causes of Type 11 errors on Power Macintosh systems; the retention of comments in the "Get Info" window after rebuilding the desktop; and detailed documentation on the contents of the System Folder, Control Panels folder and Extensions folder. On CompuServe, System 7.5 Update 2.0 is available in the Apple Support Forum (GO APLSUP). It is also available on the following Apple Internet sites: ftp.support.apple.com, ftp.info.apple.com, http://www.support.apple.com and http://www.info.apple.com. Pioneer Develops 10-Speed CD-ROM Say you're still using that 4x-speed CD-ROM drive? The technology has just lapped you. In Tokyo, Pioneer Electronic Corp. says it has developed a new [drive] or CD-ROMs that has a data transfer speed averaging 10 times the standardrate, faster than any now available. Four times the standard is the most common drive speed. According to the Reuter News Service, Pioneer will start marketing the new drive in July and supply it to computer makers under its own name and also on an original equipment manufacturer basis worldwide. Look for Pioneer to produce 300,000 units per month. Online Subscribers at 15 Million The number of subscribers to online services increased 64.4 percent last year to nearly 15 million, up from about 9 million in 1994. That is the finding of the Electronic Information Report's Year-End Online Subscriber Survey, which reports consumer services jumped 86.8 percent to 11.4 million subscribers at the end of 1995, driven by the popularity of the World Wide Web and the increasing number of personal computer users venturing online for the first time. In a statement from Wilton, Connecticut, Paulette Donnelly, Electronic Information Report editor predicted, "The World Wide Web's momentum will cause subscriber growth rates to spike throughout 1996, especially as online companies continue to migrate their proprietary online services to the Web." Electronic Information Report is published by SIMBA Information Inc.'s online group. More Households Browsing the Web A survey conducted last January finds that some 6.4 million U.S. households have members who claim they have used the World Wide Web at home -- four times as many as made that claim six months earlier. The data, says market researcher NPD Group Inc. of Port Washington, New York, indicates that consumer interest in the World Wide Web, online services and network communications is exploding. The study also finds that membership in online services is up 68 percent over last January, to 7.5 million households. More than half of home PCs now have modems, enabling network communications, as compared to 44.4 percent a year ago. Since last October, the World Wide Web has proven to be the most popular destination of modem-equipped home PC users, finds the survey. Over 6 million households used the Web within 30 days prior to the survey. Banned Mag Lives Again on Net The Internet has given new life to a magazine that was banned in Indonesia two years ago by the country's information minister. In Jakarta, Information Minister Harmoko told the Reuter News Service the online version of the magazine he banned in June 1994 was allowed because no laws governed the Internet. Reuters says the former Tempo magazine staff earlier this month launched an Internet version of the publication, along with another magazine Editor and a weekly tabloid DeTik, after its reporting was said to have threatened national stability. Harmoko told a parliamentary hearing today, "They may enter the Internet. Everyone may." He was quoted as adding there is no need for the issue to be considered further, as the Internet to date is not subject for regulation. Says Reuters, "An administrative court action by former Tempo staff to have the ban overturned, twice supported by lower courts, is now before the Supreme Court after the government appealed against the latest decision in favor of the magazine's journalists." Tempo Interatif, published in Indonesian, can be found on the Internet's World Wide Web at http:/www.idola.net.id/tempo/. Microsoft Wins $8 Million Judgement Microsoft Corp. says a federal court has awarded it an $8 million judgment against Unitron Inc., a Taiwanese computer manufacturer and former Microsoft licensee. Microsoft had charged the company with manufacturing and distributing tens of thousands of unauthorized copies of MS-DOS and Windows. The U.S. District Court in Los Angeles also awarded Microsoft $1.78 million in additional damages against Unitron CEO Cheng Hsuing Chen and its U.S. subsidiary, Unitron Computer USA Inc., based in Industry, California. Microsoft filed its copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit against Unitron in 1993. In a raid that same year, U.S. Marshals, acting in concert with Microsoft investigators, seized more than 125,000 copies of the counterfeit software with a street value of approximately $7 million. "This ruling closes the book on one of the largest software piracy cases we have pursued," says Microsoft attorney Jim Lowe. "We will continue to pursue legal action aggressively against companies that defraud consumers by counterfeiting our software." Wildcat 5 UPDATES STR Focus Its at The Duplicator's!! Press Release Wildcat! 5 released to manufacturing; Software to Reach Distributors in 2 - 3 Weeks. Wildcat! 5 Combines Internet Web Server Technology with Interactive Bulletin Board System functionality. Bakersfield, California - March 12, 1996 Mustang Software (Nasdaq: MSTG) announced it has released to manufacturing its long-awaited Wildcat! 5 BBS/Web Server for Windows 95/NT. Shipment of Wildcat! 5 to distributors will commence in approximately 2 to 3 weeks. Wildcat! 5 will be distributed by Ingram Micro, Merisel and DistribuPro. Resellers will include CompUSA, Egghead, Computer City, Software Etc., Babbages, Best Buy, Micro Center, Media Play, Fry's Electronics and Office Max. The Wildcat! product line is a leader with an active install base of more than 50,000 sites. "Gauging from the initial positive response from our retailers, the acceptance of Wildcat! 5 as a technological breakthrough in online communications is strong," stated Jim Harrer, President /CEO of Mustang Software. "Wildcat! 5 combines the unique features of a Web server with the superior interactivity of a computer bulletin board system and online services such as America Onliner. Wildcat's multimedia 32-bit platform offers Internet access in addition to interactive communications features such as e-mail, public and private conferencing, threaded messaging, individual/group chat, file library access and more." "The launch of Wildcat! 5 represents the first time that the power to create ones' very own graphical multimedia online service will be as accessible and easy as a trip to the local software store. Equally important, Wildcat! 5 is a strong solution for the corporate market, where we expect to see dramatic growth as the demand for online communications expands," said Harrer. Todd Cochrane, of Maryland-based Hafa Adai Exchange, said "The introduction of a new Web hybrid that carries the Wildcat! 5 name has totally blown away our customer and user base. It has revitalized our system and allowed us to compete on the Internet. With Wildcat! 5 there is no need for multi-thousand dollar software, or for a support staff to keep it running, or the need to learn the arcane terms of Unix. We have been able to transform overnight a 25- node system and launch it onto the Internet's World Wide Web. The unique Wildcat! 5 system offers superior connectivity allowing users to log on with any communication program or terminal emulator through direct dial, telnet, or LAN," said Cochrane. Users can also connect using the new and freely distributable Wildcat! Navigator. Wildcat! Navigator is a graphical Windows front-end that offers the ease of use of the most popular Web browsers and a complete suite of clients that allow easy "point and click" access to the other e-mail and threaded messaging areas, public and private chat conference areas, file libraries, instant paging, and more. The system also allows easy linking to Web sites, and the ability to seamlessly add Web features on demand. Harrer noted that with HTML graphics, multimedia interactivity, and seamless Internet compatibility, Wildcat! 5 is the next step in the continuing evolution of BBSs into interactive Web Servers. "Our 10 years of experience building online platforms has allowed us to create a very powerful BBS/Web server hybrid that is designed to build upon new technology as it is introduced," said Harrer. Phil Heller, creator of Pennsylvania-based Cosmos service, said, "To compete with larger systems, you have to supply up-to-the-minute and meaningful information, whether it is news, weather, or any of the myriad newsgroups on the Net. With Wildcat! 5's client/server architecture, I can add and subtract external Web sites as my subscribers dictate. Users now expect easy-to-use graphical navigation features with top Web locations. With Wildcat! 5 I have limitless flexibility to deliver the features I need as I need them." Said Heller. Wildcat! 5 add-ons include the Internet Connectivity Package, (ICP), which turns Wildcat! 5 into a Web server, supports inbound and outbound telnet, FTP and UUCP and allows full integration of the system with the Internet. ICP will retail for $249. MSRP for the two- line version of Wildcat! 5 will be $149. Sixteen- and 32-line systems will retail for $349 and 699, respectively. Also available will be 8 and 32-line upgrade packs. Available soon will be wcExchange for mail integration from Wildcat!'s messaging system to Microsoft's Exchange platform allowing LAN users to seamlessly access their BBS mail right from the Exchange in-box. For the game lover, Wildcat! will offer wcCasino for interactive multiplayer gaming. Wildcat!'s wcCode is a Custom Online Development Engine for easy application development, wcReports enables the exporting of data and usage statistics, and the Wildcat! Custom Connector allows customization and personalization of the Navigator with company or organization logos and graphics. Wildcat! Navigator can be downloaded from http://www.mustang.com, by telnetting to bbs.mustang.com, or via modem at 805-873-2400. Founded in September 1986, Mustang designs, develops, markets and supports online and communications software including the Wildcat! And QmodemPro product lines. Mustang Software's address is 6200 Lake Ming Road, Bakersfield, California 93306. The company can be reached by telephone at (805) 873-2500; toll free at (800) 999-9619; FAX (805) 873-2599; BBS (805) 873-2400; WEB http://www.mustang.com; or telnet://bbs.mustang.com. Media Relations: Jim Hughes Phone: 805 / 873 2500 x 6012 Mustang Software, Inc. Fax: 805 / 873-2427 6200 Lake Ming Road E-mail: jim.hughes@mustang.com Bakersfield, CA 93306 WWW: http://www.mustang.com Investor Relations: Ina McGuinness/Craig Parsons Phone: 310 / 207-9300 Pondel Parsons & Wilkinson Fax: 310 / 207-5444 12100 Wilshire Bl., Ste 400 E-mail: investor@mustang.com Los Angeles, CA 90025 DATASTORM PROCOMM PLUS 3.0 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: PROCOMM PLUS. takes a giant "leap" forward to provide users with everything they need to communicate via their PCs. Contact: Matthew J. Basta 573.443.3282, ext. 2227 (Columbia, Missouri) - DATASTORM, the publisher and developer of the world's #1 best-selling PC communications software, announced the release of the new PROCOMM PLUS version 3.0 for Windows on February 29, 1996. PROCOMM PLUS 3.0 is the first PC c ommunications software to seamlessly integrate Internet, fax and data communications, setting a new standard for communications software. At the center of PROCOMM PLUS 3.0 is the Connection Directory with a new intuitive touch design to provide users control of all their communications tasks. No longer will users need to maintain separate dialing directories or learn different software programs to access the Internet, send or receive a fax, or transfer a data file. The new streamlined design interface allows users to move from one communications task to another effortlessly, since all of their communications tools are displayed in a "tabbed" format for easy point-and-click access. "We want to improve the way people everywhere communicate with each other via their PCs," said Robert Elliott, Director of Marketing Communications. "A major advantage of PROCOMM PLUS 3.0 is the underlying architecture and powerful ASPECT script language, which allows DATASTORM to completely integrate faxing, data and Internet tools into one easy-to-use product." "PROCOMM PLUS takes communications to a higher level with the launch of its Internet tools and a new Web browser called, Web Zeppelin," said Elliott. "For example, only with Web Zeppelin can you save Web site pages in their rich graphical formats, and because of our integration, fax them or attach them to an email, and send them to a friend who is not yet connected to the Internet." The new Web Zeppelin browser incorporates Spyglass's Mosaic open technology, but is greatly enhanced with many new user-friendly features. The ease of use in PROCOMM PLUS is further demonstrated with its new Internet configuration tools that help users create a new Internet account automatically through our national Internet service provider. Or if users already have an Internet account, they can continue using their existing connection. The complete set of PROCOMM PLUS's Internet tools include the Web Zeppelin browser, Internet email, News Reader, FTP, Telnet, Gopher, WINSOCK compliant TCP/IP stack, and a national Internet service provider. People can send Internet email with text, sound or graphics to anyone in the world with an email address, including users of America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy or to any Internet address. The News Reader easily navigates newsgroups by automating the process of retrieving news articles and files, including binary files like GIFs, BMPs, WAVs, JPEGs and MPEGs. "People are discovering that a PC is more than a self-contained set of productivity tools or just a word processor," said Elliott. "There is a new generation of fax users who are discovering that their PCs can send and receive faxes." People will discover many enhancements to PROCOMM PLUS's faxing capabilities. An all-new Fax Manager shows the user what faxes have been sent or received, or the status of any pending faxes, and displays a thumbnail sketch of any fax page prior to transmitting. Users will be able to view and manipulate their faxes with the enhanced Fax Viewer. PROCOMM PLUS 3.0 comes with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and spell checker. OCR allows users to convert their fax images directly into character-based data and eliminates the task of re-entering data from a fax. With PROCOMM PLUS's built-in Fax Annotation tools, users can insert text or graphics into a fax with ease. Other productivity tools are the Fax Scrubber and Fax Deskew. If users receive a fax with those annoying speck marks or a crooked fax from a conventional fax machine, PROCOMM PLUS can "scrub" the fax clean and "deskew" or straighten the fax. Another major fax enhancement is multiple fax modem support to broadcast send faxes using multiple modems which greatly decreases faxing time. PROCOMM PLUS's unique integration allows the user to merge faxes with all of today's most popular word processing applications to broadcast or group-send documents which saves time and money when faxing out meeting changes or the monthly newsletter. PROCOMM PLUS now supports RIPscrip 1.54 bringing the power and simplicity of a graphical user interface to bulletin board systems. In addition, PROCOMM PLUS continues to automatically detect over 1,200 modems, more than any other communications software, for easy installation. PROCOMM PLUS also supports Caller ID and Adaptive Answer. PROCOMM PLUS and PROCOMM PLUS for Windows consistently rank in the top ten best-selling software products. The company's world headquarters are located in Columbia, Missouri U.S.A., with a European office outside of London, England U.K. DATASTORM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. and DATASTORM TECHNOLOGIES, LTD. are privately held corporations employing over 300 people internationally. DATASTORM markets their PROCOMM brand of communications software products worldwide. To order your copy of PROCOMM PLUS 3.0, please call 1-800-474-1592. Explore the Internet and World Wide Web PROCOMM PLUS 3.0 includes a complete World Wide Web browser. The Browser window connects you to the most advanced hypertext information systems on the planet with the classic intuitive interface and reliability of PROCOMM PLUS. You can access the World Wide Web, Telnet, FTP, Gopher and Usenet News systems, all from the same program! You can even automate your Internet explorations with the ASPECT script language. To further enhance your Internet connectivity, PROCOMM PLUS includes a dial- up TCP/IP package which interfaces seamlessly with the Internet capabilities of PROCOMM PLUS 3.0. If you don't already have a dial-up account, PROCOMM PLUS will establish a new account for you. Complete Internet connectivity is only moments away! Send and receive fax documents With PROCOMM PLUS's integrated fax technology, you can send or receive virtually any Windows document, like a Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or CorelDRAW file as fax, without leaving PROCOMM PLUS. You can also annotate faxes you receive, or convert them to document files with built-in optical character recognition (OCR) technology! We've also provided Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, and AmiPro script files that make faxing from these applications even easier! Use your computer as a terminal PROCOMM PLUS emulates 36 video-display terminals, allowing you to link your computer with mini and mainframe systems, bulletin boards (BBS), and information networks like CompuServe. For version 3.0, we've added two emulations: WYSE 60 and RIPscrip 1.54. The complete list of supported terminal emulations: ú ú ADDS 60 ú ADDS 90 ú ADM 31 ú ADM 3a ú ADM 5 ú ANSI BBS X3.64 ú AT&T 4410 ú AT&T 605 ú Data General D100 ú Data General D200 ú Data General D210 ú Esprit 3 ú Heath 19 ú IBM 3101 ú IBM 3161 ú IBM 3270 ú IBM PC ú TVI 910 ú TVI 912 ú TVI 920 ú TVI 922 ú TVI 925 ú TVI 950 ú TVI 955 ú TTY ú VideoTex ú DEC VT-52 ú DEC VT-100 ú DEC VT-102 ú DEC VT-220 ú DEC VT-320 ú WYSE 50 ú WYSE 60 ú WYSE 75 ú WYSE 100 ú RIPscrip 1.54 Transfer files You can use any of 11 popular file transfer protocols to send and receive programs and data between your computer and another system. PROCOMM PLUS makes it easy to transfer files in the background while you use other Windows applications. PROCOMM PLUS can even display CompuServe GIF pictures while you download them. The complete list of supported file transfer protocols: ú ú ZModem ú Kermit ú XModem ú 1K XModem ú 1K XModem-g ú CIS B+ ú YModem ú YModem-g ú ASCII ú Raw ASCII ú IND$FILE Run ASPECT scripts PROCOMM PLUS's ASPECT programming language is both powerful and easy to use! You can write scripts to automate your on-line sessions or file transfers, or to perform almost any other task in PROCOMM PLUS. You can even create applications of your own since ASPECT includes commands that can create and manipulate Windows interface elements such as dialogs and menus. Integrate all of your communications PROCOMM PLUS would be the finest program in the world with the above features alone. To make it even better, we've included the Connection Directory, where you can store information about all the connections you may choose to use. From the Connection Directory, you'll have two-click access from anywhere in the program to all your data, fax, voice, WWW, telnet, ftp, email, and news connections! Exchange data with other Windows programs PROCOMM PLUS supports the standard Windows "cut and paste" methods, as well as a full implementation of the Microsoft Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) standard for client and server exchanges. You can cut a message or news item from your terminal screen and paste it into your word processor, or you can "link" PROCOMM PLUS to a spreadsheet to download stock quotes directly into a spreadsheet file. Interact with MCI Mail MCIMgr can simplify your access to MCI Mail. You can prepare your messages off-line, then have MCIMgr send them automatically. MCIMgr can also retrieve your messages and let you read and respond to them off-line Access the CompuServe Information System PROCOMM PLUS's CompuServe Manager (CISMgr) script is an off-line utility that allows you to send and retrieve CompuServe E-Mail automatically. It also handles messages from most CompuServe forums, and generates catalog listings of forum libraries from which you can "tag" files for automatic downloading at a later time! Run your own single-line bulletin board system PROCOMM PLUS's Host script allows remote callers to connect to your computer and transfer files or exchange electronic mail, all with password security. It also includes a fax-back feature, which allows remote callers to select documents to be faxed to them. In version 3.0, the Host script has been enhanced to take advantage of the RIPscrip emulation. It also allows you to specify the graphical elements displayed to a logged-on caller. Communicate over your local area network Designed to work with several sets of network hardware and software, PROCOMM PLUS 3.0 allows you to access network resources on your LAN. Supported network transports include: NCSI/NASI Supports the Network Communications Services Interface (NCSI) from Network Products Corporation and the NetWare Asynchronous Services Interface (NASI) from Novell. Both NCSI and NASI allow you to access a shared pool of modems and communications devices as if they were attached to your local PC. External hardware and sofware (such as Novell's NetWare Connect) are required. NetBIOS Supports networks with NetBIOS capability or NetBIOS emulators. With a PROCOMM PLUS NetBIOS connection, you can access another PC acting as a NetBIOS server anywhere on your LAN as if it were attached to your local PC. Int14h Supports Int14h resident redirection programs. EBIOS Support Enhanced BIOS resident redirection programs. Telnet Supports any Microsoft Windows Sockets 1.1 API (WINSOCK.DLL) using the Terminal Emulation Link Network specification for TCP/IP networks, including the Internet. To order your copy of PROCOMM PLUS 3.0, please call 1-800-474-1592. Copyright c1996 DATASTORM All rights reserved. 3M NewsLines STR Focus Tape Technology that truly Delivers 200-Plus Percent More Capacity! THE TRAVAN TECHNOLOGY FAMILY OF PRODLICTS Since 3M announced its TR-1 minicartridge - the first in a series of new high- capacity tape products that will incorporate the company's patented Travan technology, Travan usage has soared. The TR-1 minicartridge provides users with 400 MB of native storage capacity, more than doubling the capacity of the industry's top selling QIC-80 minicartridge. The suggested list price of 3M's TR-1 minicartridge is $47.50. Introduction of the minicartridge and recent announcements by leading quarter- inch cartridge companies -- 3M, Hewlett-Packard's Colorado Memory Systems Division, Conner Peripherals, lomega, Sony, Rexon, AIWA and Exabyte - indicate wide-spread support for manufacturing tape products based on the Travan technology platform. 3M Introduces TR-1 Minicartridge 2-2-2 The platform features a unique drive/minicartridge interface that is included in a patent application filed by 3M. The TR-1 contains 750 feet of .315 inch high-coercivety 550 oersted (0e) gamma ferric oxide media and has a data density of 14,700 flux transitions per inch (ftpi). The minicartridge subsystem utilizes a floppy interface and has a transfer rate of 500 Kb/s. 3M's new product requires no changes in media formulation, and will use existing drive electronics and available head technology. Changes Relationship With Hard Disk "Travan technology eliminates the imbalance that has developed between tape and hard disk capacities," said Michael Stevens, director of business development, 3M Data Storage Tape Technology Division. "3M believes that the capacity multiplier provided by the TR-1 minicartridge will be particularly beneficial to the millions of home and small office PC users who want to download large data files and storage-intensive images from commercial onlines services without sacrificing all of their free hard disk space in the process. "With Travan technology, users have access to a cost-effective storage management solution with the same capacity as their hard disk. Future generation Travan minicartridges are expected to support applications well into the client/server network markets." 3M Introduces TR-1 Minicartridge In addition to keeping pace with hard disk capacities, Travan technology will enable the industry to better support emerging software applications like Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) on the desktop and Windows95 software, Stevens added. "It's not everyday that an industry takes a significant leap forward, while maintaining backward compatibility," said Bill Frank, President of Augurs Vision, a market research firm in Los Altos, Calif. 'Travan technology should be welcome news to millions of PC users." According to Dataquest, a market research firm based in San Jose, Calif., home PC sales accounted for 31.7 percent of the 5.6 million PCs shipped in the U.S. during 1994 - up 28.6 percent on 1993. A recent study by Odyssey Home-Front, Inc., showed that PC penetration of U.S. homes had increased from 27 percent in July 1994, to 31 percent in January 1995. The growth in on- line usage over the past year has been equally brisk. According to PC Magazine, the number of subscribers using America Online the country's largest commercial on-line service - increased by 500,000 to 1.25 million in the past year alone. Future Development Efforts 3M, Hewlett-Packard's Colorado Memory Systems Division, Conner Peripherals, lomega, Rexon and Sony plan to continue working on future development of the Travan drive and recording formats to assure further expansion of the market for tape-based applications. 3M Introduces TR-1 Minicartridge The companies developing drives based on 3M's Travan platform are working with the Quarter-inch Cartridge (QIC) organization to develop a migration path that incorporates the Travan cartridge and drive formats. In addition to the modified QIC-80 format represented by 3M's TR-1 cartridge, the migration path will include a modified 301 0 drive/cartridge with a native capacity expected to be 800 MB (now 340 MB). The capacity of the modified 3020 drive/cartridge is expected to be 1.6 GB (now 670 MB). There also are plans to introduce another minicartridge in 1995 with a capacity of 4 GB. Most drives will offer 2:1 data compression that doubles the native capacities listed above. Each point on the Travan migration path is expected to represent at least a two-fold increase with all previous capacity points. Backward compatibility with the installed base of 200 million QIC-compatible minicartridges -- a critical need for users wanting to capitalize on their investments in QIC technology -will also be assured at each convergence point, added 3M's Stevens. The Travan platform optimizes available space in a 3.5-inch drive form factor housing. Mechanical changes will enable the drive to accept current QICminicartridges, QIC-Wide and Travan cartridges. Data cartridge technology, invented and patented by 3M, is the world's most popular desktop tape backup technology and boasts an installed base of more than 1 1 million drives, with three million drives shipped in 1994 alone, demonstrating the rapid market growth of QIC technology. 3M Introduces TR-1 Minicartridge 3M SHIPPING TR-2 AND TR-3 MINICARTRIDGES TAKING TRAVAN TECHNOLOGY INTO GIGABYTE TERRITORY 3M has begun shipping its new TR-2 and TR-3 minicartridges -- the second and third members of a family of new high capacity tape products that incorporates the company's Travan technology. The TR-2 minicartridge provides users with 800 MB of uncompressed storage capacity (1.6 GB compressed). The TR-3 minicartridge, the third step on the Travan migration path, provides 1.6 GB of capacity (3.2 GB compressed). The suggested list prices for TR-2 and TR-3 minicartridges are $42.15 and $43.75 respectively. The products are now available through 3M's worldwide network of distributors and resellers. 3M's TR-3 minicartridge can be used with Iomega's Ditto 3200 tape drive and Conner Peripheral's TapeStor 3200 tape drive. Tape drives compatible with the TR-2 minicartridge are expected to be available by year end 1995. According to a recent report by Dataquest, a market research firm in San Jose, Calif., "tape drives based on Travan technology will have a significant impact on the tape market for PCs and workstations and that drives based on this technology will dominate this market segment during the second half of 1995 and over the next several years." Effective Solution to Storage Limitations "The information explosion - epitomized by the growth in online services and multimedia - has created an insatiable demand for greater storage capacity and performance," said Doug Olson, business operations manager, 3M Data Storage Tape Technology Division. "With the introduction of the TR-2 and TR- 3 products, users now have access to the next generation storage platform, to more than keep pace with soaring hard disk capacities," Olson said. In addition to keeping up with hard disk capacities, Travan technology will better support emerging software applications like Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) on the desktop and Windows 95 applications, he added. The increasing need for storage capacity was highlighted by a recent 3M survey of online usage in small, medium and large enterprises. The survey found that business users online are now downloading multimedia and database files at a brisk pace, and that most expect to greatly increase their reliance on the Internet as an information resource in the months ahead. The telephone survey of 300 business computer online users found that nearly 70 percent of business users online now download files of up to five megabytes on a daily or a weekly basis. In addition, 65 percent expect the size of the files they download to increase in the coming months. The survey also found that one of every five business users online has at one time exhausted available hard disk space while attempting to download a file - even with hard disk capacities that now average 760 megabytes. "For business users seeking to become more productive through the Internet, the good news is that online content is both superb and abundant,' Olson said. "The proliferation of multimedia files, databases, application programs, and even e-mail is, in a real sense, redefining computing. But in doing so, the online world is putting tremendous strain on the ability of existing systems to store and manage all of this information." Optimal Storage Capacity The Travan platform features a unique drive/minicartridge interface that is included in a patent application filed by 3M. The Travan platform optimizes available space in a 3.5-inch form factor housing. Minor mechanical changes built into Travan drives allow them to accept current QIC and Travan minicartridges - a critical need for users, given the installed base of more than 200 million QIC-compatible minicartridges worldwide. The TR-2 and TR-3 minicartridges contain 750 feet of .315 inch high-coercivity 900 oersted (0e) gamma ferric oxide media. The TR-2 -has a data density of 22,125 flux transitions per inch (ftpi), while TR-3 stands at 44,250 ftpi. The TR-2 and TR-3 minicartridge subsystems use a floppy interface with respective transfer rates of 1 megabits/second for the TR-2 and 2 megabits/second for the TR-3. Like the TR-1 minicartridge, 3M's new TR-2 and TR-3 products require no changes in media formulation, and will use existing drive electronics and head technology. The TR-1 minicartridge was commercialized in May and provides users with 400 MB of uncompressed storage capacity, more than double the capacity of the industry's leading QIC-80 minicartridge. "Travan technology should be welcome news to millions of PC users," said Bill Frank, president of Augur Visions, a market research firm in Los Altos, Calif. "The Travan minicartridge provides the next leap forward for 3.5-inch QIC drives, doubling capacities while preserving backward compatibility," said Raymond Freeman Jr., president of Freeman Associates, Inc., a market research firm in Santa Barbara, Calif. Future Development Efforts Storage industry leaders like 3M, Hewlett Packard's Colorado Memory Systems Division, Conner Peripherals, Exabyte, lomega, Tandberg Data, AIWA, Pertec Memories, TEAC, Rexon and Sony will continue to support future development of Travan drive and recording formats to assure further expansion of the market for tapebased applications. Most Travan drives offer 2:1 data compression, which doubles native capacity. Each point along the Travan migration path represents about a two-fold increase above all previous Travan capacity points. The Travan platform is fully backward compatible with the installed base of QIC minicartridges. 3M plans to introduce a Travan TR-4 minicartridge with a capacity of 4 GB (uncompressed) beginning at the end of 1995. Data cartridge technology, invented and patented by 3M, is the world's most popular desktop tape backup technology and boasts an installed base of more than 14 million drives, with three million drives shipped in 1995 alone, demonstrating the rapid market growth of minicartridge technology. 3M is the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of branded minicartridges. For more information on minicartridge technology, contact 3M at (800) 888-1889, ext. 33. THE TAPE SOFTWARE REVOLUTION: MOVING BEYOND BACKUP AND RESTORE APPLICATIONS Encouraged by strong industry endorsement, 3M expects tape software currently in development to expand the functionality of minicartridge technology well beyond backup/restore applications. According to Micheal Stevens, business development director, 3M Data Storage Tape Technology Division, 3M's strategic relationships with Chili Pepper Software (Atlanta, Georgia) and PGSoft Inc. (Pacific Grove, Calif.) will help redefine the way that tape is used. Due for release later this year, the two software products will be compatible with tape drives and media based on both the Quarter-inch Cartridge (QIC) standard and the new Travan standard. Developed by 3M and licensed to eight of the world's leading manufacturers of tape drives and media, Travan technology offers users a 200+ percent capacity increase over the existing QIC standard, while maintaining backward compatibility with the installed base of 12 million QIC drives and over 200 million QIC minicartridges. "The software initiatives will provide users with easy access to a wide range of new applications, including hierarchial storage management (HSM), nearline storage, large file transport and direct recording and playback of computer data, audio, video and multimedia files," Stevens said. "These applications will make tape an even more expansive, useful and dynamic storage medium," New Applications for Tape According to Richard Onyon, president, Chili Pepper Software, the alliance with 3M will result in development of HSM software that will enable desktop tape drives to provide near-line storage as well as backup. HSM software automatically tracks file activity on the hard drive, and, based on user defined thresholds, compresses and/or archives inactive files to intermediate storage, and automatically retrieves them when needed. Chili Pepper Software currently markets Infinite Disk - a file management package based on HSM that is available for DOS and Windows. It relies on diskettes as the intermediate storage medium. Using Infinite Disk, files that are not accessed within 30 days may be compressed to half their normal size. Files not accessed within 90 days can be automatically archived off the hard drive to a standard diskette. Although archived, the file still appears on the hard drive as a 0 byte file to act as a placeholder for the user. The new software being developed by 3M and Chili Pepper will enable the file to be archived to high-capacity Travan minicartridges, added Onyon. If a file that has been compressed or archived is needed, retrieval is fast, easy and completely automatic. When a file that has been compressed is accessed, it is automatically de-compressed. When a file that has been archived is accessed, the user is prompted to insert the specific volume that is needed, and the restoration is completed instantly. "Infinite Disk technology supersedes all of the old disk compression approaches," said Michael Peterson, an analyst at Strategic Research Corporation, Santa Barbara, Calif. 'Today's PC users will appreciate a storage solution that combines such complementary products to manage their growing data storage needs." An Expansive File Transport Medium 3M's is working PGSoft, a spin-off of Digital Research, to develop a range of software products that will help turn tape into a general purpose storage medium. The new software will allow tape to serve as an expansive file transport medium, in place of standard diskettes, and support the direct recording and playback of computer data, audio, video, and other multimedia files without the file having to consume additional hard disk space, according to Tom Rolander, president and chief executive officer, PGSoft. With tape as a file transport medium, users will be able to quickly identify and transfer up to multi-gigabyte size files between systems using high- capacity, relatively inexpensive minicartridges as though the cartridges were diskettes. According to Rolander, the first product developed by the two companies will enable tape to become an extension to DOS and Windows devices, thereby sharing read/write privileges similar to hard disks. From a user's perspective, tape will become the 'T" drive, making it easily accessible with standard Windows applications including Windows File Manager. The products being developed by 3M and PGSoft will work with tape drives from multiple vendors, finally making tape an easy-to-use, interchangeable solution for the desktop, 3M's Stevens added. A prototype of the software was demonstrated during a QIC standards meeting at Rancho Bernardo, Calif., on March 13. 3M and PG@ plan to introduce the new product by the end of 1995. Stevens added that the new software also will eliminate the leaming curve associated with using tape for backup/restore applications. This will save users both productivity time and dollars -- a key ingredient in attracting the millions of new PC users to tape technology. Both companies expect the alliance to fuel significant growth in the "aftach rate' of tape drives to PCs. The installed base of minicartridge tape drives currently exceeds 12 million units, according to several market research organizations. "This inventive software approach evolves tape from a passive to an active role in desktop storage,' said Ray Freeman, president, Freeman Associates, Inc., a Santa Barbara-based market research firm. "it plugs the gap between the too-low capacity of diskettes and the higher-cost, non4ransportable nature of hard disks." "Minicartridge tape has never really been used for file transfer," Stevens said. "With the demand for cost-effective storage solutions increasing by the hour, tape is the only viable technology platform to meet this need. "As digital multimedia and on-line access continue their exponential growth, storage options must keep pace," Rolander said. uwith this development, the readily accessible tape drive now becomes an excellent mechanism to store and play multimedia files." Chip Off The CD-ROM Block The 3M/PGSaft solution will take advantage of both the popular ISO 9660 file format now used for CD-ROM drives and the corresponding operating system extension, MSCDEX. Microsoft currently bundles the MSCDEX extension with DOS and Windows software. In doing so, the 3M/PGSoft technology will eliminate the need for new device drivers as tape drives are introduced. By standardizing on ISO 9660 as a tape file format, 3M/PGSoft products will be compatible with all leading operating systems, including DOS, Windows 3.lx, Windows95 and Windows NT. This compatibility will eliminate the need for application developers to build tape device drivers with each application. According to Stevens, elimination of this technical obstacle will provide OEMs with added incentive to incorporate tape drives into their systems, 3M's Stevens said. Users now rely on various alternatives to store and manage capacity intensive files such as video, audio and still color images, said PGSoft's Rolander, noting that tape is the most cost-effective way to store these files. Travan is a trademark of 3M. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. 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 EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage Contents Net Day Netscape & Compuserve make Deal, Microsoft Miffed HP, Microsoft Team Up To Market PCs Voice Mail Privacy Case Settles Out Of Court MCI, News Corp. Place Satellite Orders NTT Breakup Opens The Gates For Foreign Investors? Potential Roadblocks To Internet Success Bugs Bounty Local Multipoint Communications Systems Piracy Protection Playboy Sights And Sounds To Continue On Cable TV AOL, AT&T, And Netscape Strike Deals E-Postings Tracer Gets Mixed Reviews Microsoft, DirecTV To Offer Interactive Services Open University Trains 25% Of MBA Students In U.K. New System For Linking PCs To Phones New Display Technology From Xerox The Sounds Of The Web Microsoft Boost For ISDN PCS Has Hearing Aid Wearers Abuzz People Want To Be Friends With Their Computers Holiday Inn Plans Internet PC Test Former IBM Exec Nets Six Years Hayes Emerges From Bankruptcy Protection Opening The Net To "Cybernautes" Phone Hijacking Computer Games For Girls Another Online Service! AOL Turns To Microsoft For Browser Software Information Infrastructure Report Home-Grown Software Still Tops Internet Live On TV Europe Forecast As No. 1 Growth Market Pippin Atmark Wildfire's Electronic Assistant Learns New Tricks Digital Slashes Laptop Prices Compaq's Risky Business ACM Programming Contest Safe Surfing NET DAY President Clinton and Vice President Gore participated in ceremonies to celebrate Net Day, an effort to wire 20% of California's public schools to the Internet by the end of this school year. About 200 private companies, coordinated by Sun Microsystems, participated in the event, and more than 3,000 Net Day kits were mailed to California schools, each worth about $500 and each including 2,000 feet of cable. (New York Times 10 Mar 96 p13) NETSCAPE NAILS DOWN CompuServe DEAL, MICROSOFT MIFFED Netscape Communications has cut a deal with CompuServe to license its Navigator browsing software, allowing CompuServe's 4 million subscribers to use Navigator to surf the Web. Key to the CompuServe deal is access to Netscape's Mac version of Navigator. The nonexclusive pact undermines Microsoft's much narrower arrangement with the online provider for its Internet Explorer browser. CompuServe says it plans to offer subscribers a choice: "Our strategy is to be browser-neutral so that people can use whatever browser they want," says a CompuServe official. (Wall Street Journal 8 Mar 96 B3) HP, MICROSOFT TEAM UP TO MARKET PCs Hewlett Packard and Microsoft have formed an alliance to market a new line of PCs to small businesses. The PCs, to be labeled the Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft Small Business Center, will come equipped with 10 Microsoft programs, including Windows 95 and Microsoft Office. The Vectra Series 500 machines will be supported by an HP customer service center that can connect to customers' PCs directly via modem to remedy problems. (Wall Street Journal 8 Mar 96 B3) VOICE MAIL PRIVACY CASE SETTLES OUT OF COURT The McDonald's employee who was fired when he protested that his privacy had been violated by his supervisor, who played steamy voice-mail messages left by his lover back to his wife, has settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. The case leaves unresolved whether conversations recorded in an electronic voice mail box are granted the same confidentiality protections as live phone calls or postal mail. The plaintiff claimed that voice-mail messages are protected by the 1968 federal wiretap law and the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act. (Tampa Tribune 9 Mar 96 B&F1) MCI, NEWS CORP. PLACE SATELLITE ORDERS MCI and News Corp. have placed their orders with Loral Corp. for two high- powered DBS satellites, with plans to deliver DBS service to homes and businesses by the end of 1997. Customers of the MCI-News Corp. service will use small, 18-inch satellite dishes to receive a range of consumer and business services for computers as well as for TV. (Investor's Business Daily 8 Mar 96 A19) NTT BREAKUP COULD OPEN THE GATES FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS Part of the plan for breaking up the telecommunications monopoly Nippon Telegraph & Telephone calls for abolishing regulations on foreign investment, ownership and acquisition of Japanese communications carriers. Until recently, foreign ownership of NTT shares was prohibited. Past attempts to infiltrate the Japanese communications industry by international media moguls such as Rupert Murdoch and the late Robert Maxwell have been rebuffed. (BNA Daily Report for Executives 5 Mar 96 A1) POTENTIAL ROADBLOCKS TO INTERNET SUCCESS The editor of Telecommunications Policy Review points out three potential impediments to the complete success of online commerce: "First, Internet services today are economical only because phone companies aren't enforcing tariff restrictions on the use of private line facilities to handle public message traffic. How long do you think that'll continue, if voice services continue to proliferate, however? Second, pervasive copyright infringement is allowed. How long will it be, do you think, before that's addressed by the courts? And, third, the FCC allows an `ESP (enhanced service provider) exemption' from its standard access charges regime. But is that going to continue as well?" (Telecommunications Policy Review 3 Mar 96 p4) BUGS BOUNTY In the last Edupage we said that two researchers credited with discovering a couple of flaws in Netscape Navigator (and scheduled to receive $1,000 each from Netscape for their trouble) are employed by the Open Software Foundation. One of the two researchers mentioned in the San Jose Mercury News story says he has not yet received his money and that he is the only one of the two individuals under the employ of OSF. (Edupage 7 Mar 96) LOCAL MULTIPOINT COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS The URL < http://info.ic.gc.ca/ic-data/telecom/dgse/english/bprs.html > has Industry Canada's policy on new broadband wireless communications for LMCS, Local Multipoint Communications Systems. PIRACY PROTECTION The European Commission is considering measures to prevent the distribution of illegal decoders intended for use in pirating pay TV and other services for which there is a charge. Some Europeans countries have already developed regulations to prevent such activities, but since the laws offer different levels of protection they serve as obstacles to cross-border services. (Financial Times 7 Mar 96 p3) PLAYBOY SIGHTS AND SOUNDS TO CONTINUE ON CABLE TV U.S. District Judge Joseph Farnman granted a temporary suspension to a section in the new telecom law that requires blocking the audio and video of sexually explicit material distributed over cable channels "primarily dedicated" to sexually explicit programs. Playboy Enterprises argued that the law is unconstitutional because it is directed only to certain channels rather than applicable to all channels equally. (Atlanta Journal- Constitution 8 Mar 96 A3) AOL, AT&T, AND NETSCAPE STRIKE DEALS America Online will make its content offerings available to customers of AT&T's new WorldNet Internet access service at a discount, and will provide its own customers with the Netscape Navigator software for browsing the Internet. AT&T says that 165,000 of its customers have requested WorldNet access kits. (New York Times 12 Mar 96 C1) E-POSTINGS TRACER GETS MIXED REVIEWS Prodigy recently become the first of the Big Three commercial online providers to incorporate a new tracer device, capable of tracing all information posted on the company's bulletin boards. Subscribers are now able to peruse more than 17 million notes posted during the last year and a half, by subject area or key words, as well as by sender and receiver. Up until now, posts were kept 90 days and then purged. Privacy advocates say such archives and search capabilities allow anyone -- prospective employers, merchants or nosy neighbors -- to use the Net to develop profiles of individuals based on forums they participated in and what they've contributed over a long period of time. (St. Petersburg Times 11 Mar 96 p9) MICROSOFT, DIRECTV TO OFFER INTERACTIVE SERVICES Microsoft and the satellite TV broadcast company DirecTV are forming an alliance to offer digital information and entertainment services that can be displayed on a TV set or a computer screen. Microsoft will produce system software and tools for content developers and will provide a number of applications to get the new service started by early 1997. (New York Times 12 Mar 96 C2) OPEN UNIVERSITY TRAINS 25% OF ALL MBA STUDENTS IN U.K. The Open University in the United Kingdom, which specializes in "distance education," is educating one fourth of all MBA students in the U.K. (1200 in the current academic year), and is one of just a few business schools to have been given an "excellent" rating by the Higher Education Funding Council. Distance learning is the only method of instruction offered by Open University, and one administrator says: "For us it's the only thing we do; we have to get it right." (Financial Times 11 Mar 96 p9) NEW SYSTEM FOR LINKING PCs TO PHONES Dialogic Corp. and Israeli firm VocalTec Inc. have developed a technology that allows voice conversations via the Internet between PCs and ordinary telephones. The Internet Phone Telephony Gateway allows computers to place phone calls anywhere in the world via the public switched phone network. The price of the system, which will be available in the second quarter of this year, has not yet been set. (Investor's Business Daily 11 Mar 96 A7) NEW DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY FROM XEROX Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center has unveiled a new display technology that manages to cram 7 million pixels onto a 13-inch screen using active matrix technology. That's more than three times the number of pixels in today's state-of-the- art displays, and offers 15 to 30 times the resolution available on current laptops. The screens are expensive -- $15,000 apiece, say analysts -- and Xerox has decided to pursue niche marketing, such as commercial aviation and medicine, in an effort to establish a customer base and get the price down. (Wall Street Journal 11 Mar 96 B6) THE SOUNDS OF THE WEB Mountain View, Calif.-based NetPhonic Communications Inc.'s Web-On-Call Voice Browser offers text-to-voice capability that lets Web surfers listen to Web pages over an ordinary telephone. The $1,000 program installs on a company's Web server and "reads" standard .html formatted pages over the phone to customers who don't have access to PCs. (Investor's Business Daily 11 Mar 96 A6) MICROSOFT BOOST FOR ISDN Microsoft is planning to promote acceptance and use of the high-speed digital phone service called Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), by coordinating with most of North America's telephone companies, a number of communications manufacturers, and several Internet access providers so that customers can more easily use ISDN on PCs running the Windows 95 operating system. (New York Times 12 Mar 96 C2) PCS HAS HEARING AID WEARERS ABUZZ Some new digital wireless phones used for personal communications services (PCS) have been found to cause interference with certain types of hearing aids. The Sprint Spectrum phone apparently causes a loud buzzing in the hearing aids not only of users, but of those standing nearby. The phone uses a technology called Global System of Mobile communication, which has for several years been assailed by hearing-aid wearers in Europe, where it was developed. The FCC is urging hearing-aid manufacturers, wireless-phone companies and hearing-impaired groups to work together to solve the problem. The issue is at the center of a dispute in San Diego between Pacific Telesis Group, which wants to erect 12 communications towers around the city for GSM- style phone service, and residents who want more attention paid to ameliorating potential interference problems. (Wall Street Journal 12 Mar 96 B1) PEOPLE REALLY DO WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH THEIR COMPUTERS Two Stanford University professors have delved into the pile of research literature on how people interact with computers, and have concluded that people interact with computers much as they do with other humans. Subjects who were asked to perform a task on a computer and then were asked to rate that computer's performance, gave better evaluations if they were using "their" computer to do it. They insisted they were not trying to be polite to the computer, but the researchers concluded that in fact that's just what they were doing, similar to the way people tend to evaluate a co-worker's performance higher if that person is present. (Chronicle of Higher Education 15 Mar 96 A12) HOLIDAY INN PLANS INTERNET PC TEST Two Atlanta-area Holiday Inn Select hotels will participate in a 100-day pilot program during the Olympics this summer. Fifty rooms in each hotel will be equipped with TVs linked to Pippin Internet PCs from Bandai Digital Entertainment Corp., which has licensed the Pippin hardware design and operating software from Apple. The company also plans to test Oracle's highly touted Internet PC, but it probably won't be ready for this summer's trial. The in-room devices will be linked via 28.8-kbps modem to a "proxy server" in the hotel, which will be linked via ISDN to a local Internet access firm. (Investor's Business Daily 12 Mar 96 A8) FORMER IBM EXEC NETS SIX YEARS A former IBM executive has been sentenced to a six-year prison term for his role in stealing $20 million worth of IBM computer memory cards. His accomplice pled guilty in 1994 and was sentenced to three years in prison. Two other co- conspirators have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing. (Investor's Business Daily 11 Mar 96 A7) HAYES EMERGES FROM BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION Atlanta-based modem-manufacturer Hayes Microcomputer Products has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after agreeing to sell 49% of its shares to Northern Telecom and Acma Ltd. for $35 million and arranging loans of more than $65 million, which will be used to pay off its creditors. Challenges to the court's decision are still possible. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 12 Mar 96 D10) OPENING THE NET TO "CYBERNAUTES" In the unending war to prevent English domination of the French-language, French-speaking Internet promoters, from France's Minister of Culture to cyberspace crusaders in Quebec, are working on the first online French- searching software and a French vocabulary, or Net slang, for the Internet. The goal: to allow francophone "cybernautes" to use the Internet without submitting to English. (Montreal Gazette 11 Mar 96 A1) PHONE HIJACKING The Stentor alliance of phone companies warns travelers that foreign hotels may be using illegal phone services to over- charge for long-distance calls. It says some hotels are using phone companies that "hijack" calls made from their facilities and reroute the calls to unlawful operations. The result: a five-minute call from Britain to Canada, which could cost as little as $10, ends up costing $48. Callers should be concerned if the operator asks for a credit card number before connecting the call. (Toronto Financial Post 12 Mar 96 p2) COMPUTER GAMES FOR GIRLS There are relatively few computer games marketed to girls, although more than 6 million U.S. households that include females between ages 8 and 18 have multimedia computers. A survey by Sex Roles Journal says that 85% of young women think computer games would be fun to play if there were more titles designed with them in mind. One developer of games for girls says, "Most games are violent, and while girls like the action at first, after awhile they get bored." (U.S. News & World Report 18 Mar 96 p69) ANOTHER ONLINE SERVICE! CompuServe will develop a proprietary online service called Wow!, targeted at families and novice computer users, and priced at a flat rate of $17.95 a month; the service will include a Web browser that would allow parents to control which Internet sites their children could visit. CompuServe president Robert J. Massey believes that "the consumer market for online services is about to explode," and industry analyst Nick Donatiello says that "entertainment is the 600-pound gorilla in the home, and information just a little chihuahua." (New York Times 14 Mar 96 C2) AOL TURNS TO MICROSOFT FOR BROWSER SOFTWARE America Online has contradicted earlier reports that it would offer its customers the Netscape Navigator software for browsing the World Wide Web, and will instead offer them Microsoft's Explorer program to accomplish that purpose. In exchange, Microsoft will include access to AOL as a standard option in future versions of the Windows 95 operating system. By summer, Microsoft Internet software will be extended into areas such as 3D graphics and multimedia, and by the end of year Explorer will be extended by add-on software (code-named Nashville) intended to allow a person to use a single program to handle all files, whether they are on the PC or somewhere on the Internet. (New York Times 13 Mar 96 C1, C3) INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE REPORT A new report released by the National Research Council concludes that government will continue to be a major player in information infrastructure development, but notes that its role is still evolving. "The Unpredictable Certainty: Information Infrastructure Through 2000" notes: "Across the rang of issues relating to information infrastructure there is evidence of imperfect performance both in markets and by government. Therefore, the serious debate and commentary center on what imperfect government actions to remedy imperfect markets are justified." Suggestions include: deregulating telecommunications services and avoiding regulating new technologies; contributing as an "enlightened customer and participant" to NII construction efforts, in particular supporting both basic and applied university research; and sponsoring consensus-seeking activities and finding ways to incorporate objectives in the NII structure. . (BNA Daily Report for Executives 12 Mar 96 A26) HOME-GROWN SOFTWARE STILL TOPS Despite dire predictions that most software programming jobs are moving overseas, U.S. programmers are still cranking out software at a phenomenal rate, with twice as many programmers employed in the U.S. as in Japan, No. 2 on the list. The key to U.S. programmers' success in keeping jobs home lies in exploiting leading-edge technologies. "The Internet and new programming techniques are giving us a new lease on life," says the author of "The Rise and Resurrection of the American Programmer." "Americans are showing an unbelievable burst of creativity," says a Czech computer expert. "By relying on sophisticated tools, Americans have shifted the competitive arena from sweat labor to imaginative design." (Wall Street Journal 13 Mar 96 A3) INTERNET LIVE ON TV The Broadcast Production Group is planning a weekly half-hour TV show called "Internet Live," which will also be available on PCs using CU-SeeMe technology for real-time interaction with viewers. The magazine-style program will feature short items on Internet developments (INews), Internet misuse (ILash), and a humorous Q&A session (Just the FAQs). "It's the next paradigm shift," says the show's executive producer. (Broadcasting & Cable 11 Mar 96 p76) EUROPE FORECAST AS NO. 1 GROWTH MARKET A March 5 report released by the European Information Technology Observatory predicts that Western Europe's information and communications technology market is poised for dramatic growth -- 8.5% this year and 9% in 1997 -- outpacing the U.S. and Japanese markets. Meanwhile, the International Communications Round Table, representing Microsoft, IBM, Lotus Development Corp. and others, has lodged a complaint with the European Commission regarding the haphazard fashion in which technical standards and regulations are emerging in different European countries. "The Internet is the same in Germany as it is in France as it is in Spain. Right now there are jurisdictional battles going on between states and federal governments in all of these countries," says the legal representative for Microsoft Europe. (BNA Daily Report for Executives 8 Mar 96 A13) PIPPIN ATMARK The Pippin Atmark, developed by Apple and Bandai as a combined computer and game machine, is going on sale in Japan for 64,800 yen, or about $620, and will be available in the U.S. by this Fall. Pippin is the name for a kind of apple, and Atmark refers to the @-sign used in e-mail addresses. It could be considered one of the first entries in the category of low-priced "network computers" intended for browsing the Net. Pippin Atmark has a Power PC 603, 6 megabytes of memory, a 14.4 kbps modem, and a CD ROM drive. A keyboard, PC monitor, and floppy disk drive are available at additional cost. (New York Times 14 Mar 96 C4) WILDFIRE'S ELECTRONIC ASSISTANT LEARNS NEW TRICKS Wildfire Communications Inc. is adding some new features to its electronic assistant software. Beginning in April, subscribers will be able to use Wildfire to set up conference calls and interact with corporate voice mail systems. Because the system's designed with the executive-on-the-go in mind, the conference call feature is especially useful, says a senior VP for an investment banking firm: "We're a bunch of mobile knowledge workers, and we're not sure where we're going to be one day to the next. We constantly need to put together conference calls, and we never know when it's going to happen." The system can add up to five callers simply by speaking the person's name into the phone receiver. The Wildfire server then dials out and adds the conferees. (Information Week 4 Mar 96 p78) DIGITAL SLASHES LAPTOP PRICES Digital Equipment has cut prices on its new HiNote laptops by about 20% in an effort to compete effectively with rivals such as Toshiba. "We have targeted the best competitive machines on the market and ours outfeature and outperform them at competitive prices," says PC unit chief Bruce Claflin, who was hired away from IBM last year. The top-of-the- line HiNote weighs less than four pounds and is powered by a Pentium microprocessor. (Wall Street Journal 14 Mar 96 B6) COMPAQ'S RISKY BUSINESS Chopping its PC prices by as much as 21% a couple of weeks ago was hailed as a bold move by industry observers, but Compaq's strategy may be even riskier than it seems. Corporate customers are beginning to replace their business PCs with powerful -- and cheaper -- home PCs, squeezing the margin earned from as much as 38% down to 15%. At the same time, Compaq's dominance in the server market is under attack from HP, IBM and others, who want a piece of the hugely profitable action. "I'm going after that market with a vengeance," says one IBM exec. (Business Week 18 Mar 96 p40) ACM PROGRAMMING CONTEST The winners of the international collegiate programming contest staged by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) were students from University of California-Berkeley (1st place), Harvard (2nd place), and University of Waterloo (3rd place). The ACM contest was sponsored by Microsoft, which is also sponsoring a lab grant program that will award $20 million in software licenses for Microsoft development tools to colleges and universities; for more info: < http: // msdeved.isu.edu/ms >. SAFE SURFING A coalition of tech companies, an online services members group and the National Consumers League has unveiled a new consumer education program, aimed at giving the public the information they need to ensure responsible use of the Net. Project OPEN (Online Public Education Network) provides information on parental empowerment, intellectual property rights, consumer protection for buying and selling goods online, and user privacy. Call 800- 466-OPEN or check it out at < http://www.isa.net/project-open >. (Investor's Business Daily 13 Mar 96 A8) Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas (douglas@educom.edu). Voice: 404-371-1853, Fax: 404-371-8057. Technical support is provided by the Office of Information Technology, University of North Carolina. EDUPAGE is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to Edupage: send a message to: listproc@educom.unc.edu and in the body of the message type: subscribe edupage Marvin Minsky (assuming that your name is Marvin Minsky; if it's not, substitute your own name). ... To cancel, send a message to: listproc@educom.unc.edu and in the body of the message type: unsubscribe edupage... Subscription problems: educom@educom.unc.edu. EDUCOM REVIEW is our bimonthly print magazine on learning, communications, and information technology. Subscriptions are $18 a year in the U.S.; send mail to offer@educom.edu. When you do, we'll ring a little bell, because we'll be so happy! Choice of bell is yours: a small dome with a button, like the one on the counter at the dry cleaners with the sign "Ring bell for service"; or a small hand bell; or a cathedral bell; or a door bell; or a chime; or a glockenspiel. Your choice. But ring it! EDUCOM UPDATE is our twice-a-month electronic summary of organizational news and events. To subscribe to the Update: send a message to: listproc@educom.unc.edu and in the body of the message type: subscribe update John McCarthy (assuming that your name is John McCarthy; if it's not, substitute your own name). INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE The CAUSE organization's annual conference on information technology in higher education is scheduled for the end of this month in New Orleans. The conference will bring together administrators, academicians and other managers of information resources. For full conference information check out or send e-mail to conf@cause.colorado.edu. ARCHIVES & TRANSLATIONS. For archive copies of Edupage or Update, ftp or gopher to educom.edu or see URL: < http://www.educom.edu/>. For the French edition of Edupage, send mail to edupage-fr@ijs.com with the subject "subscribe"; or see < http://www.ijs.com >. For the Hebrew edition, send mail to listserv@kinetica.co.il containing : SUBSCRIBE Leketnet-Word6 or see < http://www.kinetica.co.il/ newsletters/leketnet/ >. For the Hungarian edition, send mail to: send mail to subs.edupage@hungary.com. An Italian edition is available on Agora' Telematica; connection and/or free subscription via BT-Tymnet and Sprint (login: I like the winter, but... As a longtime beta tester of Flash II, it's good to see the latest version of the software recently being released. On the heels of this fine program comes "Edit Boards", an easy to use add on program that makes editing your BBS/online services data a breeze. This new program from Missionware Software should be available shortly look for it! Our U.K. connection, Paul Womar, has completed his article on STiK/CAB and we have it for you this week. We hope that the article will help answer some of the typical questions you might have. We hope to have a subsequent article at a later date. The Sacramento show is next weekend, so if you're in the neighborhood, be sure to drop by. More info on this upcoming show is listed in this issue. The "new" BBS is shaping up nicely, so far. We're still waiting for the new storage hardware. In the meantime, we're still playing around with it, trying to get to know it better. I'm about to get my feet wet and start learning the script language and adding some new routines to the system. Fingers are crossed! Until next time... MissionWare Newslines STR Focus FLASH II Now shipping - Edit Boards FROM: MISSIONWARE SOFTWARE 354 N. Winston Drive Palatine, Illinois 60067-4132 United States of America phone 847-359-9565 Missionware Software is pleased to announce the release of a brand new program called "Edit Boards". "Edit Boards" is a companion program to Flash II, our popular telecommunications program. You've asked us for ways to edit, sort and move your Flash II board slots. We've kept these functions out of Flash II to keep the program as small as possible. But now, with "Edit Boards", you can do all of this and more *outside* of Flash II. And not only that, you can cut and paste board slots or other data from one file to another! With Edit Boards you can edit your Flash II configuration files outside of Flash II itself. (This includes your DEF files, which store your Flash II default options, and your LST files, which store your board lists.) What's the big deal about that? Heck, you can edit them inside of Flash II too - even while you're online. All you can edit inside of Flash II, though, are the two files loaded into Flash II at the time - usually FLASH23.DEF and FLASH23.LST. Edit Boards lets you edit up to three each of those files giving you the capability to cut and paste settings from one file to another, or, in the case of .LST files (your board's lists) moving data from one board slot to another. You can also sort manually or automatically your board slots and cut and paste one slot from one file into another file. With Edit Boards you have the capability to do things to your files you always wished you could do in Flash II itself. And that, in a nutshell, is how Edit Boards works. Edit Boards gives you the flexibility you want in Flash II without overburdening your main telecommunications program. Edit Boards is easy to use and multitasks perfectly on any Atari computer. In order to keep the cost low, "Edit Boards" is being sold without a printed manual. It does come with a complete manual in the form of a text file, though. "Edit Boards" is so simple to use though we doubt you'll need to refer to the manual much, if at all. "Edit Boards" runs on 1 Meg or larger ST(e)s, MegaST(e)s, TT030s and Falcons. It is fully multitasking compatible. If you own Flash II, any version, and wish to fully exploit its powers, then you really need "Edit Boards". Your cost is only $10, post-paid anywhere in the world. Remember, there is no printed manual (to keep costs low). You must be a registered Flash II owner in order to purchase (and use) this program. To order, or for more information, contact: Missionware Software 354 N. Winston Drive Palatine, IL 60067-4132 United States of America phone 847-359-9565 SAC Show STR ShowNews SACramento Atari Expo Update......Sacramento, California. Here is a current list of vendors, developers, and user groups that will be attending SAC Expo on Saturday, March 23rd: ú A&D Software ú ST Informer ú STeve's Computer Tech ú Crawly Crypt ú Branch Always ú chro_MAGIC ú Computer Direct ú Oregon Research ú Shockwave Multi-Media ú B & C Computervisions ú Gribnif Software ú Toad Computers ú Homa Systems House Usergroups: ABACUS, Boise Atari Club, YAC, and of course your host for the show...STAR. chro_MAGIC will be releasing four Falcon only games, Pinball Fantasies, Dino Dudes, LLAMA Zap, and Steel Talons. Also Crawly Crypt and Homa Systems House will have Atari Specific CD Rom Software available. As you can see this is going to be a great show. There will also be a raffle including a Jaguar and Jaguar games and there may even be a few big surprises. We hope you are making plans to attend. The doors open at 10am and close at 6pm, admission is $5 and the money from the ticket sales go to the Towe Ford Museum. How to get there: If you are coming east from the east of Sacramento take Interstate 80 west bound to the Interstate 5 interchange, then head south on 5 to the J street exit, and turn right at the first stoplight. Turn right on O street which dead ends into Front Street. Left on Front and go about a half a mile and the Towe Ford Museum is on the right. If you are coming south on 5 you will also take the J street exit and follow the same directions as above. From West of Sacramento, Daivs, San Francisco, etc. take Interstate 80 to Business 80 then head north on I 5 to the J street exit and follow the directions as listed above. If you have additional questions or need further directions, please leave me mail. Thanks and I hope to see you at the show. Mark Warner STAR Vice President CAB-GEM STR InfoFile CAB-GEM Web Browsing On The Atari Many people use their Atari machines on the 'net to pick up their email, news and to start fop, IRC & telnet sessions, the sad fact is that very few things out there are easy to set up and even fewer make full use of the GEM environment and instead use simple VT52 text or similar. Luckily a while ago Alexander Clauss released a program called HTML Browser upon the public, it was a well received offline web page browser but the one thing missing from it was the ability to actually connect to the web and browse like the web was designed for. Instead users would have to use something like the text based Lynx browser to download them first. At the same time, on the other side of the globe, Steve Adam was busy coding his own TCP/IP stack (the bit that handles the data between your machine and the 'net), which he called STiK , by some miracle the two of them found each other and decided that together they could make this thing work online. Getting the two programs to communicate properly needed the help of Tim Nauseam who wrote the Overlay file that passes the data between the programs and then the WWW package was born. HTML browser was re-named the Cool Atari Browser & bundled with STiK in the WWW package, the more recent releases (WWW116) have seen CAB re-named again to the Crystal Atari Browser. But what exactly does it do and how? STiK comes as a desktop accessory and as long as you have a provider that can offer you the older style SLIP protocol and a bit of information about your provider you should be able to get up and running fairly soon. You need to manually edit the config files with things like your IP address, email address, your login sequence & passwords. Once you have your configuration all present and correct you can call up the ACC and click on connect and off it goes and dials your provider, after the dial is complete you are presented back with the desktop. Now all you need to do is run CAB as you normally would and enter the address of the site you wish to visit and the info' should start pouring down your line and there you are, browsing the web like any other person. Once you have entered the web address it takes a few seconds to connect to the site and depending on how near the site is you should get the data coming in at a fair rate. I normally achieve about 1k a second on a USR 14.4 with HSMODEM 6 installed on a 4meg STe. Once your page is up and loaded you can use either the button bars or menus to jump forward and back pages, select a page from your hotlist, load up another page, add this page to your hotlist and various configuration options. You just click on the parts of the page that are underlined or imply that you should click them and then off it goes again and gets more data. It is all very easy to use but it's lack of speed on sites that are anything but very near is not too good but this could be due to my own provider. Web browsing on a normal ST isn't too impressive, the information obviously gets to you OK but the smaller color palette does not help matters as far as pictures are concerned and you really need a good font engine like NVDI 3 or Speedo GDOS to get the best text possible. I have not had the chance to use it on a Falcon but I understand the results to be more impressive. One other problem is that some pages cause runtime errors for it and it currently isn't too stable, the HTML standards have been messed about by new Netscape "standards" and so problems are generally not CAB's own fault but due to errors with the page that other browsers are more tolerant of. The package is available from most ftp sites and should be called "WWW116.Zip" or similar depending on the version currently available. The program has many configuration options for calling external viewers, turning off graphics, setting up the cache and a whole host of other features. This set of programs really is a very impressive effort and once some of the bugs are removed this will be a fantastic product, it is currently freeware and is very much worth getting as the whole bundle can be up and running very quickly and the results are quite good. The ST will never have a browser that can beat a top program like Netscape but this is surely a very good attempt and as far as pushing your machine then this one is certainly getting it's money's worth. But how do I get started? You'll just need the WWW116.ZIP file (or later) this contains the TCP/IP stack (the bit that handles the communications) and the CAB Web Browser itself. It should be available from all major FTP sites and online providers file areas. Once you have downloaded it you must extract it using the ST Zip package and copy the "STIK_CFG" folder and the Stik.Acc to the root directory of your C: drive (or for floppy users A:) NOTE: In future versions you will also need to copy Stik_tsr.Prg into the Auto folder too but this currently applies to the beta versions. You will need a fair amount of information from the people that provide your SLIP connection if your provider is not one of the ones that does not have a script in the package. Most of the information like IP addresses and names of the servers should be fairly easy to find in your existing 'net software package. All you need to do is edit the Dialing and parameter scripts with a text editor and you can be away, the amount of editing needed is only a few minutes work and with the well annotated scripts provided you should have little trouble. Now all you need to do is reboot and once you are at the desktop you can select STiK from the Desk menu on the desktop and it will dial away and connect to your provider and the dialog should clear and you'll be back at your normal desktop. What next? Load up CAB. Just load it up as any normal program and you're ready to connect to any site you choose, enter the Web address and you're ready to get downloading the web pages to your machine. It sounds very simple but there are quite a few problems that many users (alright-ME!) have experienced and here are a few of them: Q: Why won't CAB resolve any sites? When I try it just does nothing! A: For some reason STiK doesn't like to be told your IP address even if (like mine) it is always the same so use the GET_IP$ command in the dial script and get STiK to get it when you log on. Q: Every time I try to connect to a page I get a cache read error for a file "0000001". How do I fix it? A: For some reason the 1st time you use it, it will look for some files in the cache when there are none Here are some solutions to try, some may work on their own but otherwise just do the lot: 1. Check the Cache settings so that the "Keep Free" is smaller that the amount of free space on the drive, this is the amount of space that CAB will leave on your drive so if you have only 5 meg left and this is set to 10 meg then it won't write a thing. 2. Make sure that the cache path exists. 3. Create the file that CAB says it can't find using a text editor or something, leave it empty and then select "Empty/Free Cache". 4. Delete the contents of the Cache file and tell CAB to clear it as above. Q: CAB crashes on me what can I do to stop it? A: CAB really is still a very new and complicated product and it has to interact with programs written by different authors so this can cause problems but there are things to try: 1. Switch images off before trying to connect, get to the page that you want and then turn them back on if you really want them. 2. Clear the Cache. 3. Disable as many Auto folder programs and Desktop Accessories as you can. 4. Use your WWW-Proxy server if your provider has one, this server holds copies of often accessed sites and can often give you better times and stops CAB waiting around, 5. Likewise sometimes the Proxy may not be very good and so if it crashes with it enabled the disable it! That's about all the questions that I can think of, I'm just a user myself so if you have any problems about any of the programs then try to contact the authors instead as they know far more than me. Have fun with it and don't be afraid to play about with it, it's worth the hassle. Jaguar Section Interview With Don Thomas! Myst and Defender 2000 Easter Eggs! Prowler ezine! Nintendo 64 Delay! And more! From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is! If I can forget about the latest rash of snowstorms in the northeast for a change! The news hasn't been all bad this past week. Attack of the Mutant Penguins has reportedly started shipping as of today, finally! My wife will enjoy this one as she's a "penguin collector" and demanded that get the game! The release of Braindead 13 is imminent, according to various sources. Fight For Life should be arriving next month, followed by Brett Hull hockey, Breakout 2000, and World Tour Racing in no specific order. There still has not been an updated release schedule, and no word as to when one might be available. Currently ongoing is a two week special Jaguar promotion going at Electronic Boutique. The Jaguar is specially priced 49.99!! Places like Babbages, etc. have opted to match EB's price. Word from Atari is that this is an Electronic Boutique promotional sale in an effort to attract new users; this is not an effort by Atari to dump their Jaguar inventory. I've been told by Atari's Don Thomas that we have a "care package" of review games on the way to us, finally. With all of the recent upheavals at Atari, the normal routine for getting review copies of games out had been overshadowed. That has been rectified. So, we should be getting these games out to our reviewers shortly and get back to you with reviewsin the coming weeks finally! If the electronic postman is on duty, we should have two reviews for you in this week's issue: Missile Command 3D and Atari Karts. It's getting close to our deadline and the mail hasn't arrived yet. We're hoping... On the "bad news, but officially 'unofficial' at this moment" front, we've heard that The Jaguar's Edge magazine is NOT going to happen. The last news that crossed our monitors was that John Marcotte was seeking some assistance by a users group and/or help from Europe. Apparently, this didn't come about and he decided that the project wasn't feasible. I would expect that an announcement will be made shortly. In the meantime, I would suggest to those of you who sent in subscription payments get in touch with John for a refund. On a similar note speculation, rumor, silence, inactivity, perceived apathy, etc. leads us to believe that 1995 may have been the last appearance of Atari Explorer Online magazine. As I mentioned, this is all unofficial, but many factors point to this conclusion, as well as a few "off the record" comments by a number of reliable sources. It's too bad, but totally not unexpected under the circumstances. Having many of the same problems as I'm sure that Travis Guy is experiencing, I can certainly sympathize with his predicament. If AEO is being discontinued, I know that the magazine will be missed. Travis put in a lot of work into his magazine and it was always a highly anticipated file to be downloaded. We'll keep you posted if we learn anything more definite. I understand from Don Thomas that a new CatNips will be arriving shortly. If so, and it arrives in time, we'll have it elsewhere in this issue. Don didn't give me a hint as to what he'd be writing about this time around,so we'll all be surprised! In the meantime, we'll be anticipating the current recent "batch" of games to arrive, as well as the titles on the way, for review. We're also going to be anxiously awaiting some nice weather and an end to all of this lousy white stuff! Enough IS enough! Until next time... Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News! Nintendo Delays 64-Bit Unit Another setback has hampered the launch of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s much- anticipated next-generation 64-bit game console. The company blames a shortage of central processing units for the decision. Reporting from Tokyo, the French Agence France-Press International News Service quotes Nintendo officials as saying it has canceled the April 21 launch and now will release Nintendo-64 locally June 23. The unit's 64-bit CPU is made by California-based Silicon Graphics Inc. AFP says Nintendo, Japan's top maker of home video game machines and software, was targeting initial year sales of 500,000 of the Nintendo 64 consoles "but could not be assured of sufficient CPUs to proceed with the launch in the original time frame." In 1993, Nintendo said it planned to market Nintendo-64 by the end of 1995. Its release did not meet the plan due to delays in software development. As reported, Nintendo said in November it planned to launch the new game in both the United States and Europe around April. The launch already had been delayed in May last year by the yen's record shattering advance against the dollar. However, last month Nintendo said it had to postpone the U.S. launch by about six months because of a shortage of semiconductors. AFP comments, "Nintendo's 16-bit Super Family Computer made its debut in 1990, creating a boom in video game machines, but rival 32-bit machines, such as Sega Saturn by Sega Enterprises Ltd. and PlayStation by Sony Corp., have steadily eroded its position." Jaguar Cheats, & Hints STR InfoFile - Solving Those Riddles! Myst Easter Egg! When you're in the planetarium, enter: May 22nd, 1970 6:30AM (include spaces) into the dimensional imager. Then, go to the front of the library. The "code" is the programmer's birthdate and time. Defender 2000 Easter Eggs! Once you get a high score, type NOLAN. "Plasma Pong" will be a game revealed to you. If you type OVINE in the high score table and then hold down on the 'A' button while starting a Defender Plus game, the result will be to play "Flossie's Revenge". Jaguar Online Interview II with Don Thomas of Atari Corp, by Mike Harvey This is the second in a series of interviews with Don Thomas conducted thru the internet. Don Thomas is the Director of Marketing. >>Don, there is alot of concern about the future of the Jaguar and Atari itself after the last two series of layoff's or resignations of major figures at Atari like Ted Hoff. Can you tell us about how many people have left and how many remain? I don't know how many have left Atari. There about 25-30 of us now if you consider just Atari U.S.'s main office. >>There's rumors that Atari is vacating the offices in Sunnyvale CA and moving into smaller offices. Is this true. We've already moved. This is our first week in the new offices. (Editor Note. You read about the move in STReport first.) >>Is this just a cost saving measure since with less people, Atari doesn't' need all the office space? Sort of. Our lease was up and we've been considering more efficient offices for several years. This year the landlord and Atari couldn't agree on a price. >>With Ted Hoff's resignation, I've heard that Jack T. is back in charge of Atari's operations and has lowered prices on some games again? Ted changed a few things that may have affected prices before he left. I don't know of any other price changes since that time. >>Did Babbages just hold off on placing orders for these games?? I cannot pass that on out of respect of our relationship with our customers. I can tell you in overall terms that Atari fulfills all with all our customers as promptly as possible. >>Can you comment on upcoming games? It's been rumored that the Yak, Jeff Minter will not be back developing for the Jaguar. Can you tell us anything on this? I'm not sure what more can be said. Jeff finished Defender 2000 and decided to go elsewhere to work. >>I know in messages back and forth on Catscan BBS (which Don is the Sysop of) that Wal*Mart has been playing alot of orders to restock Jaguar sales in there stores. Do they really seem to be happy with the amount of sales on the Jaguar? A retailer is always happy with sell-through and profit margin. :) >>Is it the prior Jaguar owners purchasing games... Yes. >>Or are the Jaguar units themselves flying off shelves and into new homes. Yes. >>Can you comment on whom is the largest retail sales leader for the Jaguar. I can tell you the Jaguar sells well through Electronics Boutique, Software Etc., Babbages, Wal*Mart, select Montgomery Ward locations and the culmination of a lot of ma and pa shops nationwide. >>When will Atari be releasing info on Christmas season sales figures and if the $99 price drop really spurred on sales of the jaguar. I do not know. >>What about games still in the pipeline of development. I've heard that after those in the pipeline, we might not see any more. I've tried contacting a number of developers and none have heard anything from Atari on future development for the Jaguar. One told me they would be forced to develop the game for PC release under Atari Interactive and then if game sales were good, it would be ported over to the Jaguar. If this is true, won't that hurt Jaguar sales. Ever since Ted came to Atari, we've taken a hard look at our development strategies and there have been changes. It's no secret that Atari had a lot of plans and had some problems making them all happen on time. Those problems may have been due, in part, to how Atari managed the projects, but that would be only one of the places to point fingers. Having said all that, we have made changes to correct internal faults to manage projects. It may be possible that some developers do not like those changes, but Atari will not discuss our relationships with developers publicly. >>We've spoken in private message on Catscan about the possibility of AVP2... All that should be said and all that we should have discussed is that Atari's interest to develop games around the Alien and Predator characters is a licensed right. If and when such rights are considered a profitable interest by all parties, then I imagine we will announce any agreements that are subsequently made. I know of no currently announced plans to develop sequels to AvP. >>If Atari is having financial troubles with low sales of the Jaguar overall when compared to the massive initial sales of the Sony PCX, When a company loses money, it is a financial "trouble" they need to deal with. Competition is just one of the factors. >>John Mathieson, the developer of the Jaguars RISC chipset has moved on to other jobs. Have you heard from him and how's he's doing? No. I wish him well, but I haven't heard from him. >>How about Bob Brodie, the former Director of User Groups for Atari. Has anyone heard from him lately? He shows up from time to time on the Internet. Great Guy. I understand he is doing very well. >>What do you personally feel about the future of the Jaguar & Atari. The Jaguar is a tremendous value. I hope more and more people show an interest to support a company that's doing everything possible to offer top technology at affordable prices. The secret lies with how well the consumer wants an affordable high-tech alternative. >>.3 years later, where does Atari sit? Who knows what will happen in 3 years? If you ask Sega, Nintendo, Sony, Atari. they'll all have biased visions of where the industry will be in 3 years, but the truth is, the consumer decides that more than the corporations do. --Don Thomas Atari Interactive Plug in the JAGWIRE(tm) on-line network. [http://www.atari.com] For Immediate Release: "PROWLER" ISSUE ONE (THE STORY SO FAR...) Prowler International Magazine For Atari Console Enthusiasts Featuring Monthly.. The latest news, game reviews, previews cheats, letters, buy/sell, hardware mods Prowler is distributed in HTML World Wide Web format so get those browsers ready! Issue One: PROWL_1.ZIP: Available Now At: ftp: ftp.funet.fi (In Magazine Directory) BBS: All BBS's On FAN Network including... The Dog House +44-1763-230043 The Tavern +44-181-445-6514 Standard ProBBS +44-1394-271-550 And Selected PD Outlets. Thanks... Alastair Shortland. email: ashort@mettav.demon.co.uk Fido: 2:254/108.22 NeST: 90:102/150 The Tavern BBS Gateway 300-32600 V42Bis 44-(0)181-445-6514 24 Hrs CATnips... Jaguar tidbits from Don Thomas (96.03.14) I think the best experience I had during the move of our corporate offices over the past couple weeks is the physical activity. After a few years of driving 3 to 4 hours a day, sitting in a chair to answer phones, implement programs and shuffle papers, the weight seems to amass in ones mid-section pretty quick. Now that I've been off tobacco a couple years hasn't helped with weight loss either. So moving a few boxes, climbing a few stairs and pushing a few desks has been therapeutic. I won't go so far as to say I've lost any weight, but my back isn't as sore as it was and I can keep my feet up off the ground long enough to put on my socks again (although I still can't do both at the same time. ). The bottom line is that we are now moved. Everyone feels like we've been through a little change, but there are new offices, new carpeting, fresh paint and a new beginning. The new offices are physically only a few miles from the older ones. A couple of us may feel homesick from time to time and have to drive by the older establishment, so it's good that it is not all that far away. Personally, I had the good fortune of locating an aerial photo of 1196 Borregas and I now have it hanging in my new office. Of course we're still here and moving forward so all the rumor mongers, while wrong with their wildest exaggerations so far, will continue to have plenty of time to start new ones. In the meantime, Atari will begin shipping Attack of the Mutant Penguins on Friday (3/15/96), ReadySoft is a week away from shipping Braindead 13, and Fight for Life is a couple/few weeks away in April. Those who have had their Jaguar for a while may remember how slow the early months in a year can be to get software out and here we are with several already including Defender 2000. ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'! PEOPLE... ARE TALKING On CompuServe compiled by Joe Mirando 73637,2262 Hidi ho friends and neighbors. I just finished watching a re-run of "FRIENDS" and got to thinking about _my_ version of friends. I should first explain that, in the real world, I got only a few very close friends. In the online world however, I've got hundreds of good friends that I interact with on a regular basis. Heck, one of the people I have the most respect for (CompuServe Sysop Bob Retelle) had at one time written several adventure programs that were ported over to that breakthrough machine, the Timex/Sinclair ZX81. Being the proud owner of one of these machines, I purchased a few of them and loved the heck out of 'em. Fast forward several years and two computer brands. One day on CompuServe I happened to notice a post from a Sysop with the same name as this software author that I had idolized for his ability to drive me hand- wringing, head-banging, tree-biting mad with the twists and turns in his adventure games' plots. We corresponded a few times about those old programs and he got quite a kick out of my consternation over one situation.... As I phrased it, "I'd get all but one of the things I needed, leave them in the spaceship and go to get the last item, and the little [insert a euphemism for a male person of dubious parentage here] would come in and take all the other stuff". At any rate, it's things like that that make all of these FRIENDS so dear to me. Coffeeshop?? We don't need no stinkin' coffeeshop! We've got CompuServe! So let's take a look... From the Atari Computing Forums Gregg Anderson talks about MagicMac, the Atari ST emulator for the Macintosh: "MagicMac sounds pretty impressive, Gemulator for the MAC. Does it run on the native MAC 68030/40 series or the newer PowerPC line? I ask this as I'm having to face the fact that my TT won't last forever, though I'm going to try and streach it out as long as I can (currently looking for a 16 Meg TT RAM upgrade). How does MagicMac on the PwrPC compare to a standard TT system? I know you have to go with a fairly powerful Pentium to match a standard TT with the Gemulator." Bill Anderson tells Gregg: "The original MagicMac was for MC 680n0, but the newest version is supposed to run on the PPC as well. I'm using it on a Power Book with a 68040. I started out with the original version and up-graded the the newest version for PPC and it works just as well. It is A WHOLE LOT FASTER than a TT030! There is the small nuisance of re-mapping the keyboard from whatever foreign character set it came with, but once that's done, you never have to worry about it again." Gordon Meyer asks: "Hmmm, unless I've missed something, anything running under MaciCmac is just an Atari program that's being emulated. Right? So how in the world can your program have a GUI that is better than the MacOS when it's based on GEM? GEM is okay, but it's certainly no match for Mac..." Mark Kelling tells Gordon: "You are correct in the statement that MagicMac is a ST emulator. But it is also a total rewrite of the TOS GEM VDI etc. and it incorporates several very Mac like features not found on a standard TOS ST. Such as true multi tasking with drag and drop and an overall look and feel and functionality that is more Mac like than Windows95. (Just had to throw that last in there.;-) I guess a better description of MagicMac is a Mac program that just happens to let you run ST programs which follow very strict programming conventions. Now how Richard's program will improve on that is not known. One thing with the _real_ TOS is the fact that you can redirect and rewrite any piece of it you care to. Take Warp 9 as an example, it replaces a whole chunk of native TOS with its own routines and runs great! If you try that in the MagicMac environment all you get is a dialog saying "Something SERIOUS has happend in MagicMAC. Quit Program!" Kevin Hawthorne tells us that he... "Just installed TAF's Unix Emulator on my 4 meg 1040. Got the emulator itself (the X-Windows) up and running beautifully. My Internet account is PPP utilizing PAP (packet authorization protocol). I haven't the foggiest clue which file to edit (chatfile? secrets? eh? say what?) or what to edit to allow completion of a the login process. I've changed everything I can find to my userID, my password, changed the domain suffixprefixserverprotocols stuff until my eyes are blurry. I've read almost every word of documentation that's available on UNIX & the Internet. Even gone to bookstores and bought six or seven books at a time on the subject. But no PRACTICAL info on how to structure this beast so it will communicate with my server initially. Seems as though all the docs & books on UNIX are written by Computer Science majors for the benefit of other Computer Science majors! Anybody out there know???" Patrick Wong asks Kevin: "Mind if I ask about your UNIX emulator? Does it allow for networking? How fast does it run on a 1040? I hope you don't mind my asking :-)." No answer from Kevin yet, but when he replies I let you know what he says. Meanwhile "Wayne" asks: "Does anybody know how well the ST emulator that runs on a PC works? I have been thinking about getting one, but I would like an experienced person's impressions of speed and compatability with games, etc." Mark Kelling tells Wayne: "I had the good luck to see Gemulator demonstrated at the Houston TX Atari show a few weeks ago by the creator. It ran everything thrown at it flawlessly and very quickly! Sad to say there weren't many games tried. Although the MagicMac program is speedier overall, the Gemulator is the most compatible since it uses actual Atari ROM TOS chips (your choice of version all the way from 1.0 to 2.06!). Gemulator also lets you have several _diffenent_ TOS sets on board and you can switch between them so you can pick the OS which works best with your programs. Since you can use programs like Warp 9 screen accelerator (which hacks deep into the system to do its tricks) there is no reason why games shouldn't run well too. Just make sure the games don't require stuff like copy protected disks. Those give problems to _any_ emulator and even some real STs!" Julian Church tells us: "I bought a 1040 STE from a friend, and it doesn't appear to be working. On power up, the power light comes on, the screen goes white (like a normal boot) but the screen just stays 100% white, and the disc drive doesn't spin or light up. I tried reseating the simms and the TOS roms, but still nothing happened. Does anyone have any ideas - the simms look a bit battered to me, so I suspect them, but my friend tells me that he's never opened the case (it still had a "Warranty void if broken" sticker over one of the screw holes). I'm starting to wonder if someone originally ripped him off. Oh yeah, he says it used to work for him but hasn't tried it for a while. Does anyone have any ideas? Not a complete dud I hope?" Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine asks Julian: "Have you tried reseating the DMA, MMU and GLUE chips?" Julian tells Albert: "I didn't get all the shielding off (it was getting late) but I *think* they're all surface mounted. I'll have a closer look tonight. I'll try exchanging simms with another machine too(one that works). The simms in the new one looked really tatty which puzzles me, as the case had apparently never been opened - there were 3 of one brand and one of another which I thought was bad simms practice - I believed they were supposed to be in matching pairs. It's really frustrating! I thought I'd got a bargain. Oh well... ...I did find a couple of socket mounted chips - the board layout looked different somehow so I had to dig really deep under the shielding. Anyway wiggling the two big square socket mounted ones got the thing going. Thanks for the advice. I was anticipating a VERY fine soldering job, which I didn't fancy at all. I'm not bad at soldering but some of the surface mounted chips in STE's are very finely spaced." Bill Anderson tells Julian: "If you have a volt meter, CAREFULLY check for 12 volts (blue wire) and 5 volts (red wire) comming out of the power supply. Be careful not to short circuit anything, and more importantly, don't shock yourself. The heat sink will bite you, if you're not careful!" I can vouch for that! I walked around with an "electron afro" for about a week after I crossed two leads on a power supply. It's not something I recommend. Well, that's it for this week. Tune in again next week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING EDITORIAL QUICKIES "There is no conversation more boring than one where.. everybody agrees!!" ..Michel De Montaigne STReport International OnLine Magazine [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport HTTP://WWW.STREPORT.COM AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE ON OVER 100,000 PRIVATE BBS SYSTEMS All Items quoted, in whole or in part, are done so under the provisions of The Fair Use Law of The Copyright Laws of the U.S.A. Views, Opinions and Editorial Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors/staff of STReport International OnLine Magazine. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Reprints must, without exception, include the name of the publication, date, issue number and the author's name. STR, CPU, STReport and/or portions therein may not be edited, used, duplicated or transmitted in any way without prior written permission. STR, CPU, STReport, at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. STR, CPU, STReport, are trademarks of STReport and STR Publishing Inc. STR, CPU, STReport, its staff and contributors are not and cannot be held responsible in any way for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. STR OnLine! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" March 15, 1996 Since 1987 Copyrightc1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1211