Silicon Times Report The Original Independent OnLine Magazine" (Since 1987) April 05, 1996 No. 1214 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: 1-904-268-2237 10am-5pm EST STReport WebSite http://www.streport.com STR Publishing Support BBS THE BOUNTY INTERNATIONAL BBS Featuring: * 5.0GB * of File Libraries Mustang Software's WILDCAT! 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The Staff & Editors Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35 Results: 3/23/96: 1 of 6 numbers with 1 match in 19 plays From the Editor's Desk... Happy Easter and Best Wishes to all Celebrating the annual High Holy Days of Springtime. The Resurrection of Christ. And Passover. In stark truth, we are also celebrating the unjust accusation, trial and ultimate crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Obviously, mankind as a whole hasn't learned very much about being Just or Righteous. Someday.. maybe but we have a very long way to go. God help us all. Every now and then. something comes along that deserves everyone's attention. In the computing community its usually new software, new hardware, a merger etc.. Lately though, it seems there are more and more "Control Freaks" jumping up trying to force their intentions (right or wrong) upon the computing community en masse. Folks, its up to each and every one of you, who feels you are intelligent and mature enough, to make your own decisions relative to what you read, view and/or believe in to contact your political representatives. Regardless of how you may or may not hold them in contempt. please call or write `em and tell `em how you feel about all this censorship and control that's being tried. There seems to be this tight knit "core group" in government, local and national, who seem to insist the population is not capable of fending for itself. We must, each and every one of us, show them and the entire "herd" of "Control Freaks", from The Hill to the City Council, that we are indeed not only capable but will vote them out if they do not accurately represent us. We see Janet Reno's "posse" in all corners of the media trying to make a "big name" for themselves as hot and heavy investigators and enforcers of what's right and proper. Hmmm IF the Unabomber's brother hadn't blown the whistle on him. these high dollar "feebs" would still be tilting at windmills. Not to mention their continued chasing headlines, pursuing cultists, surrounding farms and "building fantastic sounding cases against these simple country people. Too bad they didn't think of these things when they were recently "partying and barbecuing". Montana's Freemen.. Sounds like Oregon's Anderson's and/or the Waco- Koresh deal all over again. Remember?? When they could not get the public to go for the "insurrection and heavily over-armed" shtick. they came in a few days later with the "child molestation" nonsense. One can only wonder what sort of contrived, constructed or whatever "deal" they'll come up with before they charge into the Freemen and slay the majority. I pray they don't do this sort of thing again.. I hate to regard our government as murderous and lawless. One can only wonder about the act of invading a country, kidnapping their President and then putting that kidnapped leader on trial. Especially when we, as a nation, paid this guy for almost a decade to do what we tried him for! But only after he stopped being a "CI" (Co-operating Individual) for two or more government agencies! What ever became of The U.N., The Monroe Doctrine, The Organization of American States or basically, the rights of and the respecting of fellow mankind? What would this nation have done if another nation had swept into Washington DC and kidnapped Bush or North and then put either of them on trial?? This nation's international lawlessness over the last decade has been setting a very dangerous and highly volatile precedent. God help us if any other nations of the world do unto us as we have done unto others. Did you know that the United States of America has, at this time and in history, the largest percentage of its population under lock and key than any other nation in the world? More than even Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan combined during the 1930's and 1940's?? One last point, many are considering Robert Dole to be "the salvation" of this nation. While Clinton & Co. are no "GEMS". at least we have a pretty good idea of who most of the "players are" and where they're located in the government. Must we hazard another three or more years getting to this point all over again? Personally I say no. Let's not change things at this time. After all, we all know Gore's stand on censorship and especially his wife's. Clinton and Hillary are almost an open book. Its easy to understand them and deal with them as we have all laid down the ground rules. The Commerce Secretary, Ron Brown, was under all kinds of headhunter investigation until the plane crash. Now, his eulogies make him appear almost Saint-like. Yep.. we know what and who is in Washington DC now. must we gamble again? Do we or the nation have the time? Additionally, how many have actually heard. "Yessir I'm voting for Dole!!" I have heard it so many times I now have a natural reflex reaction. I immediately ask; Are you really voting for Dole (74 years old!) or in fact, voting for his yet to be named, Vice President??? Do you really believe Dole can physically last through his first term?? Take a good look at Clinton the next time you're watching the news.. In the short time he's been in office. he's gone completely grey! In all my years of political observing, one point has become abundantly clear. The President's Office is truly a very stressful position for any man to be in. Therefore, one must take this into strong consideration when election time rolls around. The truth is.. in the next election, Bob Dole's Vice President stands a bigger chance of finishing Dole's term than Dole. Better think real hard about who you are actually voting for when you choose Dole. Would you vote for Dole if his running mate were perhaps the likes of a Buccanan, Agnew, Quayle or Ford type?? Yep. better think real hard. I myself would indeed vote for Dole if. his not yet known running mate was younger (much younger) and as strong if not stronger than Dole when it came to Human Rights (primarily at home in the States), Reduction of BIG Government, Balancing the Budget, reinforcement of the Sherman Anti-Trust Laws, being more forthright and truthful with the country's citizens and finally, stopping the hard core drug flow into this county. There is no excuse for the continued flow of coca paste, cocaine and heroin into this country. It can be stopped if the government really wanted to do so. That is, unless of course, IF the billion dollar per year enforcement, incarceration and legal industry devoted to the drug trade is willing to be shut down or, have its resources put to better use. These are my opinions. I could be wrong. I'd also like to hear from you ..let me know what you think.. 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. 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 David H. 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Send your subscription to: BBS Press Services, Inc. 8125 S.W. 21st Street Topeka, KS 66615 Or, to order by phone, Please Call: 1-913-478-3157 (Voice) 1-913-478-9239 (Data) 1-913-478-1189 (FAX) Checks, Mastercard, AMEX, Discover & Visa ok, Please include Full Name, Address, home Number, Card type, number & expiration date when ordering. If by mail, please sign your personal order. STReport Headline News LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson Germans Want to Clarify Net Laws In Bonn, Germany, officials are considering a new law they say will make it clear that companies providing access to the Internet are not expected to police cyberspace on the lookout for pornography or neo-Nazi propaganda. Edzard Schmidt- Jortzig, Germany's justice minister, told Andrew Gray of the Reuter News Service firms that offer Net links would be punished only if they discovered illegal material was available via their service and did nothing about it. He added, "Someone who opens a door cannot know what the people who walk through it are going to be carrying. And if there were body searches for everyone going through your door, people would simply choose to go through another." Reuters says Chancellor Helmut Kohl's government probably will present the draft multimedia law before parliament's summer recess in a bid to banish indecent and illegal material from cyberspace without regulating a booming new industry to death, adding, "The provider could only be punished if he had the ability to take action but did not do so." The wire service says the comments will come as "a big relief" to executives at companies providing a gateway to the Internet, who feared they could be held personally responsible for the content of millions of pages created on the network all across the world. Net regulation has been a recent issue in Germany, where earlier this year child pornography investigators ordered CompuServe to block access to some 200 Internet newsgroups they considered obscene. Since then, CompuServe has restored access to most of the groups. Reuters says German authorities also are investigating several other online services as part of a probe into pornographic and neo-Nazi material found on the Net, "but so far prosecutors have not been able to bring any charges, partly because legal experts are unsure where new companies stand under laws drafted long before they existed." The international nature of the Net poses problems for regulators. For instance, neo-Nazi propaganda, which is protected under free speech laws in the U.S., often is illegal in Germany. "Although the bill may be presented before mid-year," adds the news service, "it could be a long time before it becomes law. Germany's powerful regional states have indicated they may challenge on constitutional grounds Bonn's right to legislate on the issue." CEO Seeking to Buy Prodigy? The New York Times reports this morning that Prodigy CEO Edward Bennett is seeking financing to help him buy the online service outright. Prodigy is jointly owned by IBM and Sears, Roebuck and Co., though as reported in February, Sears has said it is seeking a buyer for its half of the service. The Reuter News Service notes neither company has commented on the Times article. Prodigy Buyout Effort Planned Investment banker Wasserstein Perella Securities Inc. reportedly has been retained by Prodigy's management team in its effort to buy out the ailing online service and possibly take it public. Quoting executives familiar with the talks, reporter Jared Sandberg of The Wall Street Journal writes this morning the Prodigy management hopes to buy the service from its parents -- IBM and Sears, Roebuck & Co. -- for about $250 million, "a number far smaller than the $500 million Sears was reportedly seeking for only its 50 percent stake this February." Adds Sandberg, "It's unclear whether Sears and IBM, which also is looking at dumping its stake, would accept such an offer after investing more than $1 billion in Prodigy. Moreover, some observers wonder how successful Wasserstein will be at finding investors to buy into a service that's losing ground to competitors." The paper quotes industry executives as saying Sears hasn't had any serious suitors for its stake, which it wanted to unload by the end of the first quarter. One unidentified Prodigy executive told the Journal, "The window opened once the owners realized that no one's going to come along and buy a 50 percent share. All of a sudden, the kids want to take over their parents' business." Sony Promises 'Different' PC Sony Corp. says that its first home PC, which it will launch by next March, will differ significantly from today's boxy desktop machines. Reporting from Tokyo, The Wall Street Journal says this morning, "Sony isn't saying exactly what its machine will look like, but Kunitake Ando, head of Sony's information-technology unit, said it will be more at home in users' living rooms than their offices." Ando told the paper the machine will emphasize connectivity to the Internet and will be more entertainment oriented. He said it will be his employer's first major attempt to create a new kind of computer by fusing its expertise in consumer electronics with the fast-paced world of PCs. The Journal says Sony's plans aren't limited to PC hardware, that the company also "has high hopes for its recently released 'Apertos' operating system, a so-called microkernel program that would run appliances such as enhanced televisions." Micropolis Sells Drive Business Micropolis Corp. has closed a $55 million deal to sell its disk drive business to Singapore Technologies and will change its name to StreamLogic Corp. Reporting from Los Angeles, United Press International says the new company will specialize in software and subsystems designed for the movement, storage and management of video and data. (It has applied for a new stock ticker symbol, STLC, and expects to start trading under that symbol shortly.) StreamLogic will remain headquartered in the Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth. It has received $29.7 million from Singapore Technologies and is entitled to two additional payments. UPI says the disk drive assets will be renamed Micropolis Pte Ltd. The new Micropolis said it is expanding its manufacturing capability by moving into a new 400,000 square foot factory in Singapore and debuting three new drives, including an Aries 2 for desktop workstations. It will keep its research and development center in Chatsworth and continue operating plants in Singapore and Thailand. Seagate Acquires Software Publisher Seagate Technology Inc. has paid $13 million to acquire OnDemand Software, publisher of the WinINSTALL network software distribution utility. Seagate notes that OnDemand will add network management technology to Seagate's enterprise management software group. WinINSTALL automates the installation, upgrading and uninstallation of network applications throughout an organization. "The integration of WinINSTALL continues to fulfill our commitment to deliver the best point and suite network management solutions to the market," says Tom Yerkes, president of Seagate's enterprise management software group. "WinINSTALL's ability to provide integration and support for all major network management systems further illustrates our overall strategy to support our industry colleagues and their platforms." "We share a common vision and are proud to join the Seagate Software team," adds Neal Ater, president of OnDemand Software. "This will enable us to achieve levels of integration previously unobtainable." OnDemand has a sales, marketing and support organization located in Naples, Florida and a development team located in Takoma Park, Maryland. In the new organization, Ater will serve as chief operating officer of the Naples operation; the Takoma Park site will report to Yerkes. Epson Ships Zip Drive Epson America reports that it has begun shipping its Epson Zip Drive to distributors throughout the U.S. and Canada. Based on storage technology developed by Iomega Corp., the $199 Epson Zip Drive works like a floppy drive but has the speed of a hard disk. The unit is designed for backups and storing large files, such as graphics and video. The Epson Zip Drive uses Iomega-compatible 100MB and 25MB capacity Zip disks. The Epson Zip Drive is available in both SCSI and parallel versions, and is compatible with Macintosh and DOS/Windows computers. The drive weighs one pound and can sit vertically or horizontally. It has a seek time of 29 milliseconds with a sustained transfer rate of up to 1.25MB per second. The PC model has a throughput of up to 20MB per minute with a parallel interface that connects directly between a PC and printer. The Mac/PC SCSI model has a throughput of up to 50MB per minute. Microsoft to Make Over Computing Word is Microsoft Corp. is set to unveil plans for a new device that combines the ability to gain access to the Internet with the functions of a PC and other household appliances. The New York Times reports this morning the product -- to be called the Simply Interactive Personal Computer, or SIPC -- will include the functions of a stereo, videocassette recorder and television and also will feature data transmission speeds much faster than most current PCs. This appears to run counter to the current trend toward simple, inexpensive machines that will offer only Internet access, such as the $500 Network Computer being developed by Oracle Corp. In The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Don Clark says Microsoft chief Bill Gates will lay out his plans for "a broad makeover of the personal computer" in a speech Monday at the company's annual hardware engineering conference in San Francisco. "The initiative will take at least two years and require support from numerous hardware companies," Clark says. Sony Corp. is expected to play a major role, along with other partners, such as electronics giant Toshiba Corp., Compaq Computer Corp. and Intel Corp. Says Clark, "Microsoft is facing strong pressure to act. Recent studies suggest that affluent U.S. households, the most ready market for new home technology, are approaching saturation of conventional PCs. Meanwhile, competitors such as Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Ellison are promoting the idea of new, $500 network computers that would weaken the need for Microsoft's flagship operating software." Insiders tell the Journal Microsoft will unveil a set of hardware specifications and other technology that, says Clark, "is designed to help migrate Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system and other PC programs to the living room, rather than replace them with an entirely new computing platform." The Journal says SIPC also could lead to new types of networks for handling home automation functions, "such as playing a video image of a person at the front door on a big-screen television set." The paper adds the SIPC specifications will include a proposed standard cable connection that could send data among components at 400 million bits per second, more than 30 times faster than typical PC connections today. "Another key concept, dubbed On Now, would bring computers to life in three to five seconds, rather than the boot time that can delay PC usage by several minutes," says the paper. Clark reports a computer designed to the SIPC specs might fit on a shelf with other electronic components, playing audio through an external stereo system or displaying video from he coming generation of video disk players. It also might serve as a telephone answering machine or a videophone system. Apple to Focus on Reliability? Word is the strategy of the new chieftain at Apple Computer Inc. is to make computers so reliable and sturdy that customers will pay a premium price for them. Quoting Apple employees and an internal company memorandum, The New York Times reports this morning that new Apple Chairman Gilber Amelio has told a group of technical staff members the company could not compete on the same level as makers of computers based on Intel Corp. chips and Microsoft Corp. operating systems because of higher research-and-development costs associated with its own hardware and software specifications. Instead, says The Times, Amelio will turn the company toward the creation of premium-priced computers that will be the "Maglite of Computers", (referring to a brand-name, premium-priced flashlight known for its durability). According to the Reuter News Service, the move "would mark a shift from previous strategies of price cuts and direct competition with the rest of the PC industry." Communications Pioneer Honored The Electronic Frontier Foundation has announced the winners of its fifth annual Pioneer Awards. According to the EFF, the Pioneer Awards recognize individuals who have made significant and influential contributions to the development of computer-based communications or to the empowerment of individuals in using computers. Robert Metcalfe, executive correspondent for InfoWorld and vice president of technology for International Data Group, is being honored with a Pioneer Award for his invention of Ethernet, the widely-used local-area network protocol. Peter Neumann, principal scientist at SRI International, is being honored with a Pioneer Award for his extensive involvement with computer communication systems and the social and technological issues caused by computers. He is also being honored for his work in security issues. The EFF is honoring Shabbir Safdar, co-founder of the Voters Telecommunications Watch (VTW), for his policy work regarding Internet censorship and federal interference in telecommunications. VTW, a watchdog group dedicated to monitoring encroachments on civil liberties in telecommunications policy, has fought the FBI's blanket wiretap proposal, federal and New York state attempts to muzzle free speech on the Internet and the Clinton administration's "Son of Clipper Chip" program. Matthew Blaze, a computer scientist for AT&T Research, is being honored for his discoveries and influence in cryptography. He is one of seven experts who wrote the recently released paper "Minimal Key Lengths for Symmetric Ciphers to Provide Adequate Commercial Security," which examined the security problems with U.S. policy limits on key encryption exports. His work, says the EFF, has been instrumental in establishing Internet security standards and in improving both the understanding and effectiveness of cryptographic systems. "With the growing presence of the Internet and the public debate surrounding civil liberties, the contributions of this year's award winners deserve special recognition. In keeping with EFF's mission, they have each contributed to the advancement of electronic communications in a way that also benefits society," says Esther Dyson, the EFF's chairman. The four award recipients will be honored today at the Sixth Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a non- profit organization founded in 1990 to ensure the protection of civil liberties, such as privacy and freedom of expression, as new communications technologies emerge. Government Taps Computer Network The first use of a court-ordered wiretap on a computer network has led to charges against an Argentine man accused of breaking into a Harvard University computer. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston, 21- year-old Julio Cesar Ardita of Buenos Aires used an Internet-linked computer belonging to Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences as a staging point to crack into numerous computer sites, including several belonging to the Department of Defense and NASA. The wiretap, placed during the last two months of 1995, resulted in the filing of a criminal complaint against. An arrest warrant has been issued for Ardita. According to the complaint, Ardita invaded the Harvard computer through the Internet, and once in the system allegedly stole a series of accounts and passwords. Using these accounts as his base, Ardita reportedly gained unauthorized access to computers at various U.S. military sites across the country, including the Navy Research Laboratory, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Ames Research Center, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Naval Command Control and Ocean Surveillance Center. He also tried repeatedly but unsuccessfully to enter the Army Research Laboratory computer system, according to the complaint. Government officials say Ardita was identified by using a specially configured monitoring computer that conducted the complex searches needed to isolate his activities. On December 28, 1995, Ardita's computer files and equipment were seized at his home in Buenos Aires by authorities acting on information supplied by Telecom Argentina which U.S. authorities had contacted for assistance in tracking the intruder. Attorney General Janet Reno and United States Attorney Donald K. Stern of the District of Massachusetts note that a wiretap order, typically employed to monitor telephone conversations of organized crime and drug suspects, was used to trace and identify the illegal intruder while preserving the confidentiality of legitimate communications. Reno notes that Ardita obtained access to computer systems containing important and sensitive information in government research files on satellites, radiation and energy related engineering. Ardita wasn't accused of obtaining classified information related to national security. According to Reno, Ardita was believed to have illegally entered computer systems at additional U.S. universities, including Cal Tech, the University of Massachusetts, and Northeastern University, and sites in other countries such as Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, Chile and Brazil. "This is an example of how the Fourth Amendment and a court order can be used to protect rights while adapting to modern technology," says Reno. "This is doing it the right way." Study Says Ads Target Cyberkids A new report concludes advertisers and marketers are exploiting kids by promoting products online in ways that manipulate children and violate their privacy. The Federal Trade Commission is looking into whether laws have been violated. Issued by the Center for Media Education, the study urged the FTC to develop safeguards for kids, saying marketers peddling children's products are using a variety of techniques on computer online services and the Internet to collect detailed data and compile individual profiles on kids. CME President Kathryn Montgomery told Roger Fillion of the Reuter News Service, "Never before has there been a medium with this kind of power to invade the privacy of children and families." The study finds nearly a million children use the Internet's World Wide Web and that 3.8 million have access to the Web. CME says kids are being offered free gifts such as T- shirts and chances to win prizes in exchange for filling out surveys that detail their e-mail address, home address, sex and other personal information. "Tracking technology," says Reuters, "makes it possible to monitor every interaction between a child and an advertisement, allowing firms to create personalized ads for a child." Penthouse Ranked Top Web Site Adult magazine Penthouse is claiming the title as the most popular publication-based site on the Internet, saying its World Wide Web pages had 54 million hits from Dec. 21 to Jan. 20. Backing up with its claim with data from an independent Nielsen/Internet Profiles survey, officials with the publication told United Press International an average visit to the Penthouse Internet site lasted 12 minutes and 57 seconds, during which 25.35 hits were recorded. Also: ú The most popular time for a visit was shortly after midnight and the least popular about 6 a.m. ú American visitors constitute 68.8 percent of visitors to the site, followed by Australians with 6.7 percent, Canadians with 3.7 percent and Japanese, Germans and South Koreans with just over 2 percent each. ú Universities accounted for 86,500 visits during the month, led by the University of Minnesota with 8,751 visits followed by the University of Wisconsin and the University of Washington, with 7,337 and 7,166 respectively. ú Visits originating from computers linked to the Internet through corporate access systems were led by IBM (4,556), Apple Computer (4,462) and AT&T (3,805). Three Charged With Net Joy Ride Three Alameda County, California, students are charged with stealing their high school's Net access code and going on a cyberspheric joy ride, downloading stolen credit card numbers for an online shopping spree. "These are bright kids," investigating officer Sgt. Casey Nice told United Press International in Castro Valley, California. "They just kind of did something foolish and got in over their heads." The wire service says the youths were charged with computer crimes, a felony charge carrying a minimum prison sentence of 16 months. They were released to their parents, and a date has not yet been set for their arraignment. UPI says the alleged crime spree started when a 15-year-old Castro Valley High School student got the school's America Online user name and password. He joined with two friends, a 15-year-old San Lorenzo High School student and a 14- year-old student from Alameda's St. Barnabas School. "The trio logged on to the Internet using the school code and one of their home computers, downloaded stolen credit card numbers and started shopping," UPI says. "Police were tipped off to the fraud in mid-February when packages started showing up at a vacant home up for sale near one of the boys' houses." Adds UPI, "The owner of the home called authorities to report mysterious shipments of CD-ROM games, compact disks, a 'Beavis and Butt-head' CD-ROM, computer equipment and other merchandise showing up at his home addressed to people he didn't know." Officials figure the youths stole at least $5,000 worth of merchandise, but it may be more because items they ordered still are arriving, Nice said. Net Enables Father-Son Reunion A three-minute search on a new World Wide Web site on the Internet called "The Switchboard" has enabled a 48-year- old toolmaker Roseville, Michigan, to find the man he believes is his long-lost father. Michael Spangler told Associated Press writer Kelly Kurt that his mother always refused to talk about the sailor she met in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1947 and married a couple of weeks later. The two lost contact after Dallas Spangler shipped out a few days later and the marriage was annulled. Reared by his grandparents who told him what they knew about his father, Michael Spangler went twice to Oklahoma City where he believed Dallas Spangler lived. He had no luck, however, until a friend told him two weeks ago about The Switchboard, a Net site that contains some 93 million phone numbers for residences and 11 million for businesses. A quick search turned up two Dallas Spanglers, one in Tulsa. Michael Spangler telephoned. The 68- year-old man on the other end of the line didn't quite know what to think. "I had no idea I had a son," he told AP. "It was kind of shocking." The Switchboard site can be reached at Web address http://www.switchboard.com/.! Gates Gets Ansel Adams Rights Bill Gates has scored electronic rights to the works of late nature photographer Ansel Adams, some 2,500 images of the American wilderness. The Associated Press -- which notes about 9 million books, posters and calendars based on the stark and moving photos have been sold - says the Corbis Corp., the Bellevue, Wash., company owned by Microsoft Corp. chief Gates, is in the process of putting together an enormous digital library. As reported earlier, Corbis last fall purchased the Bettman Archive and its collection of millions of historical photos. The wire service says specific terms of the Adams deal were not disclosed, but The New York Times reports today Corbis will have exclusive rights to distribute Adams' photos electronically for 20 years. The paper also says Corbis' initial payment to the family of Adams, who died in 1984 at age 82, will be small, but Gates hopes to eventually sell digital images on computer discs or over computer networks. Corbis President Doug Rowan told the paper his company already has made "many millions of dollars" selling copies of its digital images to media companies. ISDN Series STR Focus "Fully Understanding ISDN" A Guide to Setting Up MSN to Work with ISDN Contents Introduction ISDN Modems that Work with MSN Installing your ISDN Modem to work with MSN Signing up for MSN using ISDN How MSN Supports ISDN Frequently Asked Questions Introduction MSN is now offering ISDN support, which provides access to MSN and the Internet at twice the speed of a 28.8 modem. ISDN modems also provide more reliable connections than do standard modems. To use an ISDN connection, you must have an ISDN modem (see list below), and be in a location where MSN provides a phone number that supports ISDN access. There is no extra charge for ISDN connections from MSN, although your local phone company will charge for ISDN service. ISDN Modems that work with MSN Currently MSN will support any ISDN modem because they behave exactly like modems. We have tested the following: ú Motorola BitSURFR ú Motorola BitSURFR PRO ú 3com Impact ú USR Courier I-Modem V.34 ú Digi Datafire (Win95) ú Digi PCIMAC (Win95) ú Diehl Diva (Win95) Installing your ISDN Modem to work with MSN There are instructions for setting up the above ISDN modems in the Easy ISDN Access Forum. To get to the forum, on the Edit menu, point to Go To, and then click Other Location. Type the GO Word EasyISDN. To get the instructions from the forum, double-click the vendor's folder (i.e. Motorola ISDN Products), and then double-click the Software BBS. (i.e. Motorola Software). In that BBS you will find messages that contain the setup instructions. New! Windows 95 ISDN Accelerator Pack. A new set of drivers has been released by the Windows 95 team which allows a whole new class of ISDN adapters to be used with Windows 95. Check out the Win95 folder in the forum for more details on these drivers or follow this web link. The adapters listed above with (Win95) require the Windows 95 ISDN Accelerator Pack to work with MSN. Signing Up for MSN using ISDN If you are already a member You do not need to sign up again. Continue to use your existing MSN account. To get ISDN service you need to call an "Internet and The Microsoft Network" phone number. To set the phone number, on the Tools menu, click Connection Settings, and then click Access Numbers. Select the Internet and The Microsoft Network service type, and select the closest phone number. If you are not an MSN member and you have an analog modem in addition to your ISDN modem. Setup up your analog modem as your default device. Double click the MSN icon and follow the normal setup procedures. During setup make sure to select MSN and full Internet Access, then select "ISDN access to the Internet and MSN". If you do not have the option "ISDN access to the Internet and MSN" choose "Internet and the Microsoft Network". A full list of ISDN phone number will be posted i If you only have an ISDN modem You must use an analog modem to set up MSN. Once MSN setup is complete, you can use your ISDN modem to connect to MSN. Microsoft is aware that this is a problem and will be fixing this. How MSN Supports ISDN An ISDN line has three channels, 2 B (bearer) channels and one D (data). The D channel is used for connection negotiation and out-of-band signaling, while the B channels transport the data. The D channel is rated at 16Kbps and each B channel can transport at either 56Kbps or 64Kbps depending on your phone company. These B channels can either be used separately or combined together to make a single 128Kbps connection. Currently MSN supports ISDN with only 1 B channel. This means that the connection speeds will be either 56Kbps or 64Kbps. Dual channel ISDN access (using 2 B channels) is not currently supported, but will be Q2 '96. Frequently Asked Questions: What is ISDN? ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is an international standard which brings high speed data transmission to the desktop. How can I find the ISDN phone number nearest me? Check the ISDN phone Number Icon which is the current list of ISDN phone numbers. How do I change the phone number I use to connect to MSN to one that supports ISDN? On the Tools menu, click Connection Settings, click Access Numbers, and then select the Internet and the Microsoft Network service type. What is the phone number I should call for various Telephone Companies? US WEST: 1-800-898-9675 GTE: 1-800-GTE-4WCN Ameritech: 1-800-419-5400. (Home Professional & ISDN service) PAC BELL : 1-800-4PB-ISDN. NYNEX: 1-800-588-9648 Bell Atlantic: 1-800-204-7332 Bell South: 1-800-204-7332 South Western Bell: 1-800-SWB-ISDN How much does ISDN phone service typically cost? Currently the rates vary widely depending on your telephone company. The rates for basic ISDN service range from $20 - $45 a month for basic service, with additional per minute charges of $.00 to $.10. How can I get compression to work? We currently do not support compression. How fast is an ISDN modem? An ISDN modem speeds range from 56Kbps to 144Kbps. Currently MSN supports only 56kbps and 64Kbps connection. We do not support faster connections to MSN because we only support a single channel. Can I use 2 or more channels? Currently MSN does not support dual channels. We plan on supporting 2 channel access in Q2 1996. Can I connect to MSN with dual B channels using MP? Not at this time. MSN will be supporting this feature in 1996. When will the USR 128k Sportster be supported? The USR 128k Sportster is not currently supported because USR has not provided any drivers to the Win95 team for inclusion in the ISDN Accelerator Pack for Win95. The USR driver should be released within a few weeks as far as we can tell. How much throughput should I expect? In our tests we have found anywhere between approximately 40,000 bps and 65,000 bps. Can I use ISDN to get on the Internet or just MSN? You can use an ISDN modem with the Internet and ISDN. Where can I get ISDN driver software? Support? The ISDN Software Files BBS holds all the drivers for all the different ISDN boards we have received. You could also look in the specific vendor's folder if you do not find what you need. Internet Phone Numbers Updated: 3/29/96 We are working hard to make high speed Internet access widely available, first in North America, then worldwide. For technical reasons, we need to build an entirely new network in order to give you the performance and functionality we believe you'll want. As soon as we get the network built in your area, you will be able to access both the Internet and MSN, at speeds up to 28.8kb/s, for the same price that you pay for MSN alone. We are also in the process of enabling ISDN access for those customers who have ISDN lines and ISDN terminal adapters. To see if ISDN support is available in your area, please refer to the ISDN Support column below. Also, please note that ISDN support is only available to those customers who are beta testing our next upgrade to MSN. If the comment under ISDN Support indicates "verifying", we are in the final stages of confirming local ISDN access for those phone numbers. These "verifying" numbers may only be accessible from in the local area and we are working with our beta partners to confirm successful connections. If you have any questions regarding ISDN issues, please see the ISDN Forum. Please be patient as we configure and test this new network--we expect to add new cities regularly for the next several months. We have two sets of phone numbers: released numbers that are available to you when you change phone numbers online, and a second set of numbers that we are currently testing. If there is no released phone number in your area, you may be able to use a phone number from the beta phone number list below. How to Update Your Phonebook This is a list of currently released Internet access numbers. To get the latest phone numbers, while online go to the Tools menu, click Connection Settings, click Access Numbers, and then click Change. (Note that the "phonebook" and this list are not necessarily posted simultaneously to MSN - there may be differences between the two during the period of time when updates are happening.) ISDN Support City Phone Number 56k 64k United States Alaska Anchorage Coming Soon! Alabama Auburn/Opelika +1 (334) 5028036 Yes No Birmingham +1 (205) 3220856 Yes Yes Decatur +1 (205) 3535029 No No Gadsden +1 (205) 5430504 No Yes Huntsville +1 (205) 5330409 Yes Yes Mobile +1 (334) 4316706 Yes Yes Montgomery +1 (334) 2230902 Yes Yes Arizona Phoenix +1 (602) 6403907 Yes Yes Tucson +1 (520) 6200872 Yes Yes Arkansas Fayettville +1 (501) 4425203 Verifying Ft. Smith +1 (501) 7825043 Yes No Little Rock +1 (501) 3751590 No No Pine Bluff +1 (501) 5342288 No Yes California Anaheim +1 (714) 8710966 Yes Yes Carlsbad +1 (619) 9298643 Yes Yes Chico Coming Soon! Concord +1 (510) 6096318 Yes Yes Englewood +1 (310) 3389007 Yes Yes Fremont +1 (510) 7420207 Yes Yes Fresno +1 (209) 4951007 Yes Yes Huntington Beach +1 (714) 3770278 Yes Yes Livermore +1 (510) 4490339 Yes Yes Long Beach +1 (310) 6249090 Yes Yes Los Angeles +1 (213) 6208910 Yes Yes Modesto +1 (209) 5740196 Yes Yes Oakland +1 (510) 7048599 Yes Yes Ontario +1 (909) 4601214 Yes Yes Palm Springs +1 (619) 3202378 Yes No Palo Alto +1 (415) 3220489 Yes Yes Pasadena +1 (818) 5850100 Yes Yes NEW! Rancho Cucamonga +1 (909) 4819468 Yes Yes Redding +1 (916) 2258634 Yes Yes NEW! Rialto +1 (909) 8752490 Yes Yes Sacramento +1 (916) 4473613 Yes Yes Salinas +1 (408) 7510530 Yes No San Bernadino Coming Soon! San Diego +1 (619) 3380612 Yes Yes San Francisco +1 (415) 3579923 Yes Yes San Jose +1 (408) 2680582 Yes Yes San Luis Obispo Coming Soon! San Mateo +1 (415) 3128208 Yes Yes San Rafael +1 (415) 4720761 Yes Yes San Ramon +1 (510) 8671220 Yes Yes Santa Ana +1 (714) 7269031 Yes Yes Santa Barbara +1 (805) 8922163 Yes No Santa Clara +1 (408) 4921481 Yes Yes Santa Monica +1 (310) 4511209 Yes Yes Santa Rosa +1 (707) 5221314 Yes Yes Sherman Oaks +1 (818) 3402888 Yes Yes Stockton +1 (209) 4630351 Yes Yes Vacaville +1 (707) 4485608 Yes Yes Visalia +1 (209) 6350181 Yes Yes Colorado Colorado Springs +1 (719) 3861680 Yes Yes Denver +1 (303) 5756188 Yes Yes Ft. Collins +1 (970) 2822080 Yes Yes Connecticut Hartford +1 (203) 7240636 No No Stamford +1 (203) 3577638 No No Delaware Wilmington +1 (302) 5760357 Yes Yes District of Columbia Washington +1 (202) 2221021 Yes Yes Florida Bradenton Coming Soon! Daytona Beach +1 (904) 2550389 Yes Yes Feathersound +1 (813) 5730863 No No Ft. Lauderdale +1 (305) 4867918 Yes Yes Gainesville +1 (904) 3711332 Yes Yes Jacksonville +1 (904) 3532059 Yes Yes Lakeland Coming Soon! Melbourne +1 (407) 7231064 Yes Yes Miami +1 (305) 3586951 Yes Yes Orlando +1 (407) 6482090 Yes Yes Panama City Coming Soon! Sarasota Coming Soon! Tampa +1 (813) 2477863 Yes Yes West Palm Beach +1 (407) 6819506 Yes Yes Georgia Albany +1 (912) 4300136 Yes Yes Athens +1 (706) 2080448 Yes Yes Atlanta +1 (404) 8178166 Yes Yes Augusta +1 (706) 8210025 Yes Yes Columbus +1 (706) 6419942 Yes Yes Macon Coming Soon! Savannah +1 (912) 6519899 Yes Yes Smyrna +1 (770) 4324637 Yes Yes Hawaii Honolulu Coming Soon! Idaho Boise +1 (208) 3816880 Yes Yes Illinois Bloomington +1 (309) 4346030 Yes Yes Champaign +1 (217) 3983250 Yes Yes Chicago +1 (312) 9862476 Yes Yes DeKalb +1 (815) 7483932 Yes Yes Elk Grove +1 (708) 2287840 Yes Yes Franklin +1 (312) 9841580 Yes Yes Hinsdale +1 (708) 2415600 Yes Yes Irving +1 (312) 5092301 Yes Yes Naperville +1 (708) 5058070 Yes Yes Northbrook +1 (708) 4803110 Yes Yes Springfield +1 (217) 5273440 Yes Yes Stewart +1 (312) 8730070 Yes Yes Indiana Bloomington +1 (812) 3234330 Yes Yes Evansville +1 (812) 4333080 Yes No Indianapolis +1 (317) 9771010 Yes Yes Lafayette +1 (317) 7723000 Yes Yes South Bend +1 (219) 2392090 Yes Yes Terre Haute +1 (812) 2385600 No No Valparaiso +1 (219) 5314152 Yes Yes Iowa Cedar Rapids +1 (319) 3681500 No No Davenport +1 (319) 3332000 No No Des Moines +1 (515) 3237000 Yes Yes Iowa City +1 (319) 3413020 Yes Yes Kansas Topeka +1 (913) 3689804 Yes Yes Wichita +1 (316) 3830018 Yes Yes Kentucky Lexington +1 (606) 2525628 Yes Yes Louisville +1 (502) 5834400 Yes Yes Louisiana Baton Rouge +1 (504) 3836126 Yes Yes Monroe +1 (318) 3222121 Yes Yes New Orleans +1 (504) 5253564 Yes Yes Shreveport +1 (318) 6760748 Yes Yes Maine Portland +1 (207) 8421300 Yes Yes Maryland Baltimore +1 (410) 7270315 Yes Yes Frederick +1 (301) 6638403 Yes No Annapolis +1 (410) 2633325 Yes Yes Massachusetts Boston +1 (617) 9274200 Yes Yes Braintree +1 (617) 3803400 Yes Yes Burlington +1 (617) 2210500 Yes Yes Cambridge +1 (617) 6790500 Yes Yes Danvers +1 (508) 7395000 Yes Yes Framingham +1 (508) 6284600 Yes Yes Springfield +1 (413) 8464500 Yes Yes Waltham +1 (617) 6727400 Yes Yes Michigan Ann Arbor +1 (313) 2132220 Yes Yes Belleville +1 (313) 9571268 Yes Yes Detroit +1 (313) 2254994 Yes Yes Farmington +1 (810) 4420016 Yes Yes Grand Rapids +1 (616) 4593620 Yes Yes Lansing Coming Soon! Southfield +1 (810) 2623138 No Yes Warren +1 (810) 5759931 Yes Yes Minnesota Minneapolis +1 (612) 3217960 Yes Yes Mississippi Biloxi/Gulfport +1 (601) 8633593 Yes Yes Jackson +1 (601) 3554521 Yes Yes Missouri Columbia +1 (314) 8868621 No No Harvester +1 (314) 9403200 Yes Yes Kansas City +1 (816) 2830607 Yes Yes Springfield +1 (417) 8756902 Yes Yes St. Louis +1 (314) 2137700 Yes Yes Montana Butte Coming Soon! Nebraska Omaha +1 (402) 2337768 Yes Yes Nevada Las Vegas +1 (702) 3828340 Yes Yes New Hampshire Nashua +1 (603) 5946600 Yes Yes New Jersey Cherry Hill +1 (609) 3211995 Yes Yes Hackensack +1 (201) 2870315 Verifying Holmdel +1 (908) 3321001 Yes NEW! Long Branch +1 (908) 9331114 Yes Yes Mercerville +1 (609) 5867747 Yes Yes Morristown +1 (201) 9842407 Yes Yes New Brunswick +1 (908) 4632172 Yes Yes Newark +1 (201) 6221592 Yes Yes Paterson +1 (201) 2791225 Yes Yes Pleasantville +1 (609) 5697800 No No Rahway +1 (908) 3820026 Yes Yes Trenton +1 (609) 7775551 Yes Yes New Mexico Albuquerque Coming Soon! New York Albany +1 (518) 4266070 Yes Yes Binghamton +1 (607) 7621280 No No Brentwood +1 (516) 2312680 Yes Yes Buffalo +1 (716) 8433000 Yes Yes Garden City +1 (516) 2281980 Yes Yes New York +1 (212) 2384220 Yes Yes Port Chester +1 (914) 9332820 Yes Yes Poughkeepsie +1 (914) 4514240 Yes Yes Rochester +1 (716) 3277189 No No Rome/Utica +1 (315) 3386900 Yes NEW! Syracuse +1 (315) 4421220 No No White Plains +1 (914) 6813900 Yes Yes North Carolina Ashville Coming Soon! Charlotte +1 (704) 3422422 Yes Yes Durham +1 (919) 3619127 Yes Yes Fayetteville +1 (910) 3233915 No No Goldsboro +1 (919) 7368100 No No Greensboro +1 (910) 5742663 Yes Yes Raleigh +1 (919) 8726557 Yes Yes Rocky Mount +1 (919) 9720919 No No North Dakota Fargo Coming Soon! Ohio Akron +1 (216) 2539990 Yes Yes Cincinnati +1 (513) 6212600 Yes Yes Cleveland +1 (216) 5792593 Yes Yes Columbus +1 (614) 2220025 Yes Yes Dayton +1 (513) 6408391 Yes Yes Toledo +1 (419) 2462010 Yes Yes Oklahoma Oklahoma City +1 (405) 2700346 Yes Yes Tulsa +1 (918) 5820535 Yes Yes Oregon Beaverton +1 (503) 6772210 Yes Yes Eugene +1 (541) 3020140 Yes Yes Portland +1 (503) 2945600 Yes No Salem +1 (503) 3162070 Yes Yes Pennsylvania Allentown +1 (610) 7972140 Yes Yes Altoona +1 (814) 9411280 Yes Yes Conshohoken +1 (610) 9419491 Yes Yes Erie Coming Soon! Greensburg +1 (412) 8539601 Yes Yes Harrisburg +1 (717) 7200671 Yes Yes Hershey +1 (717) 5334574 Yes No Paoli +1 (610) 7259325 Yes Yes Philadelphia +1 (215) 4480370 Yes Yes Pittsburgh +1 (412) 3942280 Yes Yes Wilkes-Barre +1 (717) 8252150 Yes Yes Rhode Island Providence +1 (401) 2767700 Yes Yes South Carolina Charleston Coming Soon! Columbia +1 (803) 7998828 Yes Yes Greenville Coming Soon! Florence +1 (803) 6730446 Yes Yes South Dakota Sioux Falls +1 (605) 3673553 Yes Yes Tennessee Chattanooga +1 (423) 7563630 Yes Yes Jackson +1 (901) 4224222 Yes Yes Knoxville +1 (615) 5245333 Yes Yes Memphis +1 (901) 7613312 Yes Yes Nashville +1 (615) 7488011 Yes Yes Texas Abilene +1 (915) 6271900 Verifying Amarillo +1 (806) 3547500 Yes No Austin +1 (512) 4331957 Yes Yes Baytown +1 (713) 4272418 No No Beaumont +1 (409) 8338627 No No College Station +1 (409) 8466549 Yes Yes Corpus Christi +1 (512) 8884226 No No NEW! Dallas +1 (214) 7411839 Yes Yes El Paso +1 (915) 5445156 No No Ft. Worth +1 (817) 8509253 Yes Yes Harlingen +1 (210) 4287010 No No Houston +1 (713) 5670439 Yes Yes Irving +1 (214) 4386536 No No Longview +1 (903) 2342700 No No Lubbock +1 (806) 4721003 Yes No Midland +1 (915) 4982003 Yes Yes Odessa +1 (915) 4982004 Yes Yes Richardson +1 (214) 2353493 Yes Yes San Antonio +1 (210) 3529934 No No Temple +1 (817) 7781025 No No Waco +1 (817) 7557212 No No Westheimer +1 (713) 6259900 Yes Yes Utah Ogden +1 (801) 3991119 Yes Yes Provo +1 (801) 3432720 Yes No Salt Lake City +1 (801) 3214980 Yes No Vermont Burlington Coming Soon! Virginia Fredricksburg +1 (540) 3723058 Yes Yes Lynchburg +1 (804) 9479090 Yes Yes Manassas +1 (703) 3315982 Yes No Norfolk +1 (804) 5335140 Yes Yes Princess Anne +1 (804) 5639922 Yes Yes Richmond +1 (804) 6749183 Yes Yes Roanoke +1 (540) 8570700 Yes Yes Washington Everett +1 (206) 2611320 Yes Yes Kennewick +1 (509) 7340697 Yes Yes Olympia +1 (360) 3571091 Yes Yes Redmond +1 (206) 7390181 Yes Yes Seattle +1 (206) 4412632 Yes Yes Tacoma +1 (206) 5978996 Yes Yes West Virginia Charleston +1 (304) 3440141 Yes Yes Clarksburg +1 (304) 6244023 No No Huntington +1 (304) 5220301 Yes Yes Morgantown Coming Soon! Wheeling +1 (304) 2340229 No No Wisconsin Green Bay +1 (414) 5929060 Yes Yes Madison +1 (608) 2526580 Yes Yes Milwaukee +1 (414) 2271301 Yes Yes Wyoming Laramie Coming Soon! Canada Alberta Calgary +1 (403) 7815200 Yes Yes Edmonton +1 (403) 4235600 Yes Yes Quebec Montreal +1 (514) 8667181 Yes Yes Ontario Ottawa +1 (613) 5949044 Yes Yes Toronto +1 (416) 3639625 Yes Yes British Columbia Vancouver +1 (604) 6021506 Yes Yes Manitoba Winnipeg +1 (204) 9561440 Yes Yes Australia NSW Sydney +61 (2) 2965000 Yes Yes Victoria Melbourne +61 (3) 92900000 Yes Yes Queensland Brisbane +61 (7) 33614000 Yes Yes NEW! Canberra Canberra +61 (6) 2170700 Yes Yes NEW! Beta Phone Number List This is the list of cities undergoing testing. You are welcome to use these numbers during the testing period, but you should realize that they may not be available for extended periods, as we reconfigure the network and run our own tests. If you encounter any problems with these numbers please report them via the normal support channels located in Member Assistance.Member Support. Enjoy! Phone Number ISDN Support United States California Bakersfield +1 (805) 8610826 Yes Florida Fort Pierce +1 (407) 4620510 Yes NEW! New York Ithaca +1 (607) 2664300 Yes NEW! Virginia Harrisonburg +1 (540) 5742554 Yes NEW! Washington Pullman +1 (509) 3325402 Yes NEW! Australia Western Australia Perth +61 (9) 2625000 Yes NEW! Courier I-modem for PC and Macintosh Access Both High-Speed ISDN Networks and Analog Modems or Fax Devices Courier I-modem brings ISDN connectivity and analog compatibility together in a single device. It is the ideal desktop solution for high-speed corporate LAN connections, graphic intensive Internet access, data intensive file transfers, and access to online services. The Courier I-modem features an integral analog device port that provides the flexibility to send or receive a fax, talk on the phone, or log an answering machine message at the same time as a data transfer. Desktop and ISA card versions available. ú High-Speed File/Imaging Transfer ú Telecommuting ú Internet Access ú Universal Connect ú Software Downloads via Flash ROM ú Integrated V.34 Fax/Modem ú Robotics V.Everything Technology ú Integrated Analog Device Port ú Integrated NT-1 ú Asynchronous/Synchronous PPP ú Windows95 Enhancements ú Multi-Vendor Interoperability ú User Configurable Dial Security ú Microsoft Plug 'n Play Support ú Five-year limited warranty; factory repair or replacement. EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage MICROSOFT PITCHES NEW PC CONCEPT In a counter to Oracle's promotion of a new $500 Internet device, Microsoft has plans to develop a Simply Interactive PC, or SIPC, designed to move from the home office to the living room to perform functions such as controlling the stereo, video disk player, household security system, etc. while enabling family members to surf the Net or play interactive games. "I think what Gates is doing is preemptively striking past where Ellison is at," says one analyst. "By comparison, the network computer is so limited." Microsoft has been working on the SIPC idea since last summer and specifications include a proposed standard cable connection that could send data among the various components at speeds 30 times faster than today's typical PC connections, and a boot-up sequence that would take only three to five seconds. (Wall Street Journal 29 Mar 96 B7) CHARGES AGAINST ARGENTINEAN FOLLOW FIRST COMPUTER WIRETAP An Argentine resident of the U.S. has been charged by federal investigators with using a Harvard University computer as a staging point to illegally enter numerous other Internet sites, including ones at Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Massachusetts, and Northeastern University, along with other sites in Mexico, Taiwan, Chile, Brazil, and South Korea. An investigator said that with a court-authorized wiretap "we intercepted only those communications which fit the pattern [of illegal entries]... We limited our initial examination ... around the telltale sign to protect the privacy of innocent communications." (Los Angeles Times 30 Mar 96 A10) ATLANTIC MONTHLY SETTLES ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING SUIT Atlantic Monthly has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a Rutgers University professor, who charged that the magazine violated his commercial rights when it placed excerpts of his book in the Lexis-Nexis database, which sells its contents to customers. The magazine admitted to no wrongdoing, but says in the future, it will negotiate with freelancers specific rights to post and distribute works via CD-ROM, online networks, databases, and in other electronic formats. "In terms of the correct view of copyright law, there are no implications at all," concludes Time Inc.'s general counsel. (Wall Street Journal 29 Mar 96 B5) IRS COMPUTER PROJECT CALLED A FOUR-BILLION-DOLLAR FIASCO Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin has admitted to a congressional committee that his department doesn't have an overall master plan or blueprint for the multibillion modernization effort intended to replace the Sixties-era mainframes now in operation at the Internal Revenue Service and to link IRS offices across the nation. Congressman Jim Lightfoot characterized the project as "a $4-billion- fiasco that is floundering because of inadequate planning." Secretary Rubin says the only plan that exists (and which he has not read) is a highly technical 6,000-page document that "is not what we need." (Los Angeles Times 29 Mar 96 D1) WIRELESS AUCTION NO-GO Go Communications of Alexandria, Virginia, is dropping out of the Federal Communications Commission's auction of wireless communications licenses, saying it couldn't match the "exorbitant" bids of companies such as Netwave Personal Communications, which has bid $3.7 billion for licenses that would allow them to serve markets containing 81 million people. Go's president says that "the FCC is, in essence, providing subsidized government financing to large Korean conglomerates that have provided the majority of Netwave's funds." (New York Times 30 Mar 96 p23) CLINTON ADMINISTRATION BACKS UNIVERSAL ACCESS The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has asked the FCC to pass rules that would make subsidized telephone service more readily available to disadvantaged and rural citizens. NTIA noted that a telephone not only connects "an individual to neighbors and loved ones but with the addition of a computer and a modem, it furnishes a pathway to the Information Age, offering enhanced employment and educational opportunities." Although the administration was careful not to specifically include Internet access in its proposal, the director of telecommunications and technology studies at the Cato Institute worries that might come next: "When they first talked about universal service as a system of subsidies for rural service, I could live with that. But what concerns me now is that they seem to want to extend the universal service doctrine to Internet access, cable TV access... It's always been the case that rich people buy things before poor people do. Natural penetration rates are different for different products. You can't second-guess the market." (Los Angeles Times 30 Mar 96 D1) GATES ISN'T CRYING OVER PC SALES SLOWDOWN Microsoft's Bill Gates has a sarcastic response to worries over slowing PC sales: "Name an industry that's going to grow faster than the PC industry. Now, don't start crying. It's very sad; this is sad news. This is going to be tough for you: We might only grow at 18 percent! Now that's on top of 60 million units a year. This has got to be rough, very rough." (Upside Apr 96 p38) BRITISH TELECOM IN MERGER TALKS WITH CABLE & WIRELESS British Telecommunications PLC and Cable & Wireless PLC are holding exploratory discussions about the possibility of merging to create a $50 billion telecom conglomerate. British Telecom has a partnership with MCI, which is the second-largest long-distance in the U.S. (New York Times 29 Mar 96 C5) SILICON FAMINE Analysts at Dataquest and Rose Associates are predicting a shortage of silicon wafers used to manufacture microprocessing chips that will hamper chipmakers' ability to meet demands for the next few years. According to Dataquest estimates, the silicon drought could last into the next century, at least for the 200-millimeter size wafer. The problem arises from the non- stop demand since 1990 -- historically up until then, demand had slackened every three years or so, giving silicon suppliers a chance to catch up. But with chip output rising to record levels over the past few years, "the whole food chain is stretched right to a thin hair," says the president of Rose Associates. (Business Week 25 Mar 96 p82) CYBERTOT MARKETING IS CRITICIZED The Center for Media Education, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research and lobbying group, says that many of the micromarketing strategies aimed at children engaged in online interactive activities are "manipulative, deceptive, and exploitive." The group's president says: "I believe the online medium will be the dominant medium in children's lives in the 21st century, and I don't think people realize this. Parents see it as an alternative, and computers still have this 'halo effect' as something new and wonderful, something they'd rather have kids do than sit in front of the TV. But it's in no way safe from the kinds of advertising and marketing practices that can harm kids. Most parents can't see the possibilities; they don't even know how to log on." (New York Times 29 Mar 96 A12) SOLVING TRAFFIC JAMS ON THE INTERNET A recently announced National Science Foundation grant program is aimed at funding scientific and engineering projects that require innovative ways of regulating traffic flow on the Internet. "We need to take a deeper look at this, not just try to expand capacity and stay ahead of demand," says Mark Luker, manager of NSF's network connections program. "Some traffic needs better or different service than other traffic." The hope is that new ways of prioritizing data streams according to their needs will result from the funding effort. "There's a vision here of a more effective Internet - one that has different qualities of service for different needs and can guarantee the kind of service you need to what you want to do," says Luker. (Science News 23 Mar 96 p181) MCI REFUNDS $44 MILLION FOR OVERBILLING MCI will refund about $44 million to collect-call customers who might have been overbilled because of a programming bug that caused some customers to be overbilled an average of 18 cents for automated collect calls. (New York Times 30 Mar 96 p9) EDUPAGE IN CHINESE We are pleased to announce a Chinese edition of Edupage, which will be produced and distributed by Alex Chiu and Huey-Ping Chang in Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. Welcome to our Chinese-speaking readers of Edupage! ~wT PUP ~qo\ Edupage SSS TCoI oy'eB ~AouY#R¥ Big-5 XTCoooAPpTG+zP>o> O TSP oAODog'Hup alexchiu@hope.hinet.netoC To receive the Chinese edition (Big5 code) of Edupage, just write to alexchiu@hope.hinet.net. [Besides English, Edupage is now available in Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish editions.] BELLS, BELLS, BELLS: AND THEN THERE WERE SIX The number of Bell companies will shrink from seven to six when Texas-based SBC Communications receives the expected regulatory permission to buy California-based Pacific Telesis for $17 billion, forming this country's second- largest phone company (after AT&T), with more than $21 billion in annual revenues and a service market area of more than 30 million phone lines in seven states: California, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. The new company will increase (by 1000), rather than reduce, the total number of positions now held by the 100,000 employees of the two companies -- and industry analysts say the acquisition is focused not on cost reduction but rather on market expansion. More than 50% of all international calls to Mexico are in states served by the newly combined company, which is headquartered in San Antonio and already owns a 10% equity stake in the Mexican national phone company, Telefonos de Mexico. (New York Times 2 Apr 96 A1) MICROSOFT EXCHANGE CHALLENGES LOTUS NOTES Microsoft rolled out its Exchange Server software this past weekend in a challenge to Lotus Notes' dominant position in the corporate groupware market. Exchange allows users to set up internal BBSs, set up meetings with a group-scheduling feature and send e-mail with links to the Web. Notes' advantages include a feature that automatically synchronizes all changes made to a document in a collaborative editing session. Notes runs on a variety of servers and operating systems while Exchange runs only on Windows NT. "I'm tired of shadowboxing," says Lotus's executive VP. "We are going to have a slugfest, and they are going to get their nose bloodied." (Wall Street Journal 1 Apr 96 B5) JUNK E-MAIL LAWSUIT In what lawyers say is the first of its kind, a small electronic advertising company has sued America Online in federal court for interfering with its attempts to send "junk e-mail" advertisements over the AOL system. Cyber Promotions, which went into business last year as Promo Enterprises, says AOL attempted to put it out of business by sending "e-mail bombs" to Cyber's e-mail accounts, crashing the servers of two out of three of its Internet- service providers. Cyber had signed contracts to send the junk e-mail on behalf of its customers. "In general, mass e-mailing is a violation of America Online's terms of service, and we frequently hear from our members who consider it an annoyance and a disruption of the network," says an AOL spokesman. (St. Petersburg Times 1 Apr 96 p8) FEDERAL FUNDING IS ESSENTIAL TO TECHNOLOGY, SAYS COMMERCE Commerce Under Secretary for Technology Mary L. Good says cuts proposed by congressional Republicans could jeopardize U.S. leadership in developing emerging and enabling technologies. "These cuts would deliver a devastating blow to our nation's current R&D infrastructure, eliminating more than 35,000 scientists and engineers from the U.S. R&D enterprise." Areas affected include environmental, food safety, civilian aviation safety and educational technologies. Good warned that although attention has focused on Europe and Japan as the most likely competitors in the technology field, countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, China, South Korea and Indonesia all are working aggressively to acquire technology and develop indigenous technology resources. (BNA Daily Report for Executives 29 Mar 96 A25) SMALL PHONE COMPANIES WANT INTERNET REGULATION Small telephone companies, faced with new technology that enables phone calls, particularly long-distance ones, to be placed over the Internet, are clamoring for more government regulation of Internet activities. While Internet access is defined as an "enhanced service," free from federal access charges, telephone companies must pay FCC fees when they provide long- distance service. "The Internet completely shatters the model that has been established to keep those subsidies alive," says a Heritage Foundation policy analyst. "The really scary thing is extending FCC price regulations into the computer sector. Just because we have an existing system in place and one group is getting stuck, doesn't mean we have to go stick it to another group." The America's Carriers Telecommunication Association has petitioned the FCC to stop the use of the Internet for long-distance service, and the FCC has extended the comment deadline to May 8. (Investor's Business Daily 2 Apr 96 A4) CABLE VS. TELCO INTERNET PLANS Cable operators aren't worried about the recent announcements by both MCI and AT&T that they will offer low-cost Internet access to their customers. "They can do all the deals they want to, but the physical links into the home still remain the same," says a Comcast VP. While phone companies must accelerate their plans to upgrade their systems, cable companies are confident their existing 10 Mbps modems will outstrip phone companies' offerings. "We have a different service paradigm." (Broadcasting & Cable 25 Mar 96 p72) Meanwhile, researchers at Canada's Northern Telecom are working on a new digital format that is cheaper than telephony's ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) but about as fast, at receive rates of 2 Mbps and send rates of 500 Kbps. While the receive rate is much lower than cable's touted technology, the "upstream" speed may actually be higher in real-world terms than what cable companies ultimately are able to offer. "The telcos are in a stronger position than many would believe," says a Northern Telecom VP. (Business Week 1 Apr 96 p87) And MCI plans to be the first carrier to upgrade its Internet backbone from 45 Mbps to 155 Mbps. "The explosive growth of the Internet has led to rush-hour traffic conditions for many users," says MCI VP Vint Cerf. "We're going to do what we can to eliminate any contribution to that congestion." (Information Week 25 Mar 96 p32) CONSUMERS PRESS FOR 911 CELL-PHONE SERVICE Consumer groups such as the Ad Hoc Alliance for Public Access to 911 want the federal government to require the cellular telephone industry to guarantee that all cell phone owners have 911 access. Currently, only people who subscribe to a cellular service have guaranteed access. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association maintains that requiring cellular companies to complete 911 calls for callers who have not subscribed to a service would aggravate cellular fraud. (St. Petersburg Times 1 Apr 96 p9) RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY Duke University has turned to recycling its old computers, refurbishing them and donating them to a local high school. The result is a 60-computer network connected to the high school's existing server. Meanwhile, Boise State University has shipped more than 1,000 used computers to Idaho schools during the past year. The dean of Boise's College of Education and Instructional Technology calls the program a "win-win deal" for the community. (Chronicle of Higher Education 5 Apr 96 A19) CORBIS WINS RIGHTS TO ANSEL ADAMS PHOTOS Corbis Corp., owned by Bill Gates, has acquired exclusive rights to electronically distribute photographer Ansel Adams's works via CD-ROM or online. The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust has requested a strong commitment from Corbis to ensure the quality of the digital images, and retains veto power over the use of each photograph. The trust will receive about $20,000 up front, plus a relatively large share of future royalty fees. (Wall Street Journal 2 Apr 96 B5) MICROSOFT WANTS TO SURROUND YOU AND START YOU UP Further blurring the lines between TV and PC capabilities, Microsoft is planning to integrate Dolby Laboratories' six- speaker Surround Sound technology into personal computer software. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 2 Apr 96 F3) ... Microsoft also says it will use the OnNow standard to allow PCs to turn on instantly and be immediately (like toasters and other consumer appliances); Microsoft executive Jim Allchin says: "Users are demanding that PCs become more convenient to access and use. They want their PC to be instantly available to answer the phone, display new e-mail, browse the Internet or run an application." (Financial Times 2 Apr 96 p19) AMELIO'S FLASHFLIGHT STRATEGY FOCUSED ON QUALITY Positioning Apple as a maker of higher-quality computers for which customers will be willing to pay more than for competing products, CEO Gil Amelio has illustrated his point by comparing a cheap flashlight with the one he owns himself: a higher quality Maglite flashlight that is more expensive to own. Amelio told the staffers that Apple can not compete directly on cost with PCs based on Intel microprocessors and Microsoft operating systems, because Apple's smaller size relative to those companies means that it has higher per-unit costs attributable to research and development. Amelio's two immediate predecessors went different ways, with John Sculley focusing on making Apple computers different from PCs and Michael Spindler focusing on making them price-competitive. Both left their jobs under pressure. (New York Times 2 Apr 96 C20) WorldNet to offer CompuServe access WorldNet, AT&T's Internet access service, plans to offer its customers access at discounted prices to CompuServe. A similar arrangement is already in place between WorldNet and AOL, and additional alliances of this nature are in the discussion stage. (New York Times 4 Apr 96 C4) PRODIGY MANAGERS ATTEMPT BUYOUT Prodigy Services' management team has hired investment banker Wasserstein Perella Securities Inc. to attempt a management buyout of the commercial online service. The team is hoping to make the purchase for about $250 million, less than a quarter of what Prodigy parents Sears, Roebuck & Co. and IBM have plowed into it. The potential buyout offer takes advantage of Sears' desire to get out of the business in a hurry. "The window opened once the owners realized that no one's going to come along and buy a 50% share," says one executive familiar with the situation. "All of a sudden, the kids want to take over their parents' business." (Wall Street Journal 4 Apr 96 B6) MCI PREMATURELY PULLS THE PLUG ON BIG BLUE When IBM broke the news to MCI that it had decided to switch to AT&T for its $3 billion voice and data transmission services contract, MCI apparently decided to cut off service before IBM's old contract had expired. MCI's unexpectedly abrupt departure left AT&T scrambling to fill the gap, marshaling the services of 1,000 employees over the weekend to ensure continuity. IBM for many years has been MCI's biggest customer, with their relationship dating back to the 1980s. (Wall Street Journal 4 Apr 96 B1) BROAD SOFTWARE PATENT SPARKS MORE LAWSUITS A small New Jersey company is claiming it holds a patent on technology for distributing software, images, type fonts and information via electronic networks, and has filed a lawsuit against 22 companies for patent infringement. E-data Corp., which bought the patent in 1994 from computer scientist Charles Freeny, has sued a total of 43 companies to date, and has convinced IBM to purchase a license to use the technology. VocalTec Ltd. also settled after being sued. A company spokesman says they're in discussions with at least half a dozen other companies regarding settlements. (Investor's Business Daily 4 Apr 96 A8) SUN'S NEW E-MAIL PACKAGE Sun Microsystems isn't resting on its Java -- its latest Internet e-mail system integrates the new IMAP4 (Internet Message Access Protocol) recently devised by the Internet Engineering Task Force. The new standard provides superior support for remote mail users. A beta version of the Solstice Internet Mail Server is available on Sun's Web site < http://www.sun.com/ > (Information Week 25 Mar 96 p16). ACADEMIC SYSTEMS GETS AN A California State University at Northridge reports a higher percentage (70%) of students are passing math classes that incorporate Academic Systems' algebra instruction programs. This rate compares with a less than 50% pass rate without the programs, and several other colleges have made similar findings. The Academic Systems product relies on CD-ROM software that's linked to the instructor's PC, so the teacher can monitor each student's progress and step in for individual assistance when needed. "Before this I've always felt I never met a technology that didn't ultimately just cost me more money," says CSU Northridge's VP for academic affairs. (Wall Street Journal 3 Apr 96 B6) ... See the July/August issue of Educom Review for an interview with Academic Systems chairman Bernard Gifford. IBM'S INTELLIGENT MINER DIGS OUT THE GOOD STUFF IBM plans to offer companies "data mining" software and services, allowing them to make better use of disparate pieces of information stored in their computer systems. The Intelligent Miner software will be available on IBM's RS/6000 servers by the fall, and on other platforms by year end. The company also plans to develop Intelligent Decision Server software for local area network-based information analysis. (Investor's Business Daily 3 Apr 96 A9) CYRIX JOINS PC WARS Microprocessor maker Cyrix Corp. is building a line of PCs based on its 6x86 chip, priced in the $2,400 to $5,200 range. The computers are targeted at power business users, small businesses and home offices, and will come equipped with Windows 95 or NT. The company is using a direct sales strategy, similar to Gateway 2000 and Dell. (Investor's Business Daily 3 Apr 96 A8) AT&T COLLEGE NETWORK AT&T has launched a new Web site aimed at helping college students find a job. The AT&T College Network provides links to other Internet job listing sites, along with tips on job-hunting and career strategies. A recent AT&T poll shows 80% of college students plan to use the Internet as a job search tool. (Investor's Business Daily 4 Apr 96 A4) POLICING THE WEB PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection), a new technology for filtering out objectionable material on the Word Wide Web to prevent its access by children, will be launched this month by the World Wide Web Consortium, a nonprofit association of academics, public interest groups and computer companies. Similar to V-chip technology, PICS will allow parents to provide different levels of access for children of different ages. (Ottawa Citizen 2 Apr 96 A9) TV CHANNELS FOR EUOPEAN PC USERS The National Broadcasting Company hopes to develop -- probably in partnership with Microsoft -- a number of European TV channels that would offer a mix of educational and promotional material of interest to computer users. (Financial Times 3 Apr 96 p16) PERSONAL NEWS NETWORK The Canadian Broadcasting Company, in partnership with Bell Canada, Telesat Canada, Newbridge Networks, Oracle Corp. and Televitesse System, is trying to develop a news service that would scan television and other sources according to user specifications, then save articles for viewing later on a personal computer. The target market for the Personal News Network will be companies and government agencies that want news in selected fields. (Montreal Le Devoir 2 Apr 96 B2) IBM EXECS IN ARGENTINA CHARGED WITH FRAUD Five current and former executives of IBM's subsidiary in Argentina have been charged with offering bribes to win a $249 million contract with that country's national bank. IBM itself has not been charged, and an IBM spokesman says the indicted executives failed to follow "established IBM business procedures." (Financial Times 4 Apr 96 p14) 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). ... 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