Silicon Times Report The Original Independent OnLine Magazine" (Since 1987) May 03, 1996 No. 1218 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: 1-904-292-9222 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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Markkula Sells 14% of Apple Continental Cable Phone Service 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 International 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 @ 1-904-268-4116. 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 input relative to content from paid advertisers, 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 Publisher, Staff & Editors Florida Lotto - LottoMan v1.35 Results: 4/13/96: 3 of 6 numbers with 0 matches From the Editor's Desk... First, a look at these wonderful times. talk about a concerted effort to ruin thousands of American's summer vacation plans. Three Cheers to the GOUGING OIL Companies and Gasoline prices which are soaring out of sight due to an "Oil Shortage" . Bread, Flour and all associated products are going up in cost due to shortages. Corn and corn by-products are going up due to a shortage .Beef and its by-products. you guessed it. are going up in price too!! These shortages seem to be hitting at just about the right time to clobber an election. Somehow or other I can't quiet the nagging voice in the back of my ear that keeps saying . HEY! What we really have here is a "shortage of the truth"!! These so-called shortages .especially the "Oil Shortage" is a bunch of hooey!! The prices are being driven up to hurt the re-election of Clinton and shoe-in the Republican. Mr. Antique himself Rob't Dole. Remember please.. A vote for Dole is a vote for his yet to be announced Vice President. Dole is 74 . Odds are he will not survive his first term. Besides, he's one of those who supported isolationism and boasted about taking out a "contract" on the USA. In other words a disaster looking for a place in time to happen. I know, it sounds far fetched.. but in times when Vince Foster (President Clinton's Legal Counsel) is found dead in a US Park Service Park (Park Service Police Jurisdiction) and incredibly, called a suicide when the blood (what little there was) flowed uphill from a massive gunshot wound to the head. And oddly enough, there was no "bullet exit splatter" to be found anywhere near where the body was found.. additionally, the body was lying neatly on the ground, arms to the sides and legs together!! Now.. A Top Government Retired Executive who was in an extremely sensitive position, head of the CIA, ex-Director Colby mysteriously disappears. Accident? Shades of Hoffa! Just like Oswald was Kennedy's Murderer! Can you believe Colby (now a senior citizen) "sneaked away" from his Body Guards to go to his Virginia summer cottage?? Further, can you believe Colby was going river canoeing alone on a dark, cold and rainy spring weeknight and then conveniently oops.. accidentally falls overboard??? Hard to believe!! The best part of all ..with this hot air is; We heard about his disappearance for a day or so and now. nothing. Not a peep. No follow- up at all. In these times, the grotesque thought about there being an acute shortage of truth emanating from Washington DC is very, very believable. Is it any wonder those in DC, from the President on down, feel an air of distrust of the Federal Government on the part of the people. Its well earned. One can only wonder about when the Federal WACO Syndrome is going to manifest itself in the Great Northwest. Another "Janet Reno Fiasco" is in the making folks. Watch and see the "Freemen", their wives and children pay the price of Justice.. "Reno Style". Just like those other horrific recent incidents. And then watch and be entertained by all the neat productions regarding all the different reasons why Reno & Co. did what "they had to do". Oregon and WACO left an indelible mark of the beast on the soul of "Justice and Freedom for All" in this country. Will the "Powers that Be" in DC ever try to undo the horror and mistrust of the US Government they've fostered? Time will tell. Want to see and hear the rest of the horror coming out of WACO?? Get yourselves a copy of the transcripts of the Federal Trials going on in Texas as a result of WACO. The Feds have blamed _everyone_ but themselves and have locked up most of the survivors on one charge or another. The Federal Judge presiding over the proceedings (Reno is his boss) made quite "the spectacle" of the word justice. Read the Trial Manuscripts and especially the good Judge's "highly informed and impartial" rulings. Talk about a SCARY plot for a good social ills horror movie.. Then again. I could be wrong, I don't think so. let's hear from you.. 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. 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 Daniel Stidham David H. Mann 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 It's a Girl! Bill Gates Is a Dad Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is a new father. Melinda French Gates gave birth Friday night to an 8-pound, 6-ounce girl at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington. The baby's name is Jennifer Katharine, and mother and daughter were reported doing well. "They're home," company spokesman Dean Katz told The Associated Press this morning. "Everybody's fine." Jennifer is the first child for the couple, who married in a private ceremony on New Year's Day 1994 on the Hawaiian island of Lanai. The couple met at a Microsoft dinner in New York and dated on and off for five years before becoming engaged in 1993. Professor Sues Over Data Block A University of Oklahoma journalism law professor has brought a federal suit against the university for blocking student access to Internet sites that it deems sexually obscene. In Oklahoma City, professor Bill Loving told the Reuter News Service he believes the university's decision to restrict students' access to the Internet is unconstitutional and violates First Amendment protection of free speech. Said Loving, "The whole issue of the First Amendment is that it is the protection for unpopular or even offensive speech." Reuters says sites on the Internet news groups titled "alt.sex" were blocked from the university's computers on April 1 after a religious group and a state legislator complained that students could view indecent material there. The wire service says university access to some of the sites later was re-established, but those discussing bestiality, pedophilia and some other sexual subjects remain blocked. "If the university administration is aware of obscenity," said Loving, "then let the administration follow constitutionally required steps to deal with it. Child porn is the fruit of a crime. Let OU help prosecute those people sexually abusing children." Meanwhile, OU President David Boren, a former U.S. senator, says he welcomes the court case, even though the professor's complaint calls for the sites to be unblocked and for a permanent injunction to be imposed against similar actions in the future. Boren says, "This is an issue that needs to be tested and I respect Bill Loving for what he's doing. This is an issue that needs guidance from the courts." McAfee Drops Cheyenne Takeover McAfee Associates Inc. says it dropped its $1 billion offer to buy Cheyenne Software Inc., which strongly resisted the anti-virus and network management software publisher's takeover bids. "We have carefully considered whether pursuing an acquisition of Cheyenne on an unsolicited basis is in the best interests of McAfee's stockholders and we have concluded it is not," says Bill Larson, McAfee's president, CEO and chairman. "The Cheyenne board's continuing refusal to discuss our proposal has made the combination impossible to effect on a friendly basis." Larson say he is still interested in discussing a merger on a friendly basis. Cheyenne, which publishes data storage management software, resisted McAfee's takeover attempt by filing a lawsuit against McAfee and Larson, claiming the company was spreading lies about the proposal and Cheyenne's response. The merger would have created the world's fifth largest software publisher, with combined revenues of approximately $340 million. Hayes Selects New President-CEO Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc. has named ex-IBM executive Joseph Formichelli as its new president and CEO. Formichelli immediately assumes responsibility for directing Hayes' daily operations as the modem maker continues to implement its bankruptcy recovery plans. Formichelli also will join Hayes' seven-member board of directors. Formichelli most recently served as vice president of worldwide operations for the IBM PC Co. He previously served as general manager of mobile computing for the IBM PC Co. "I am personally delighted to have Joe join the team at Hayes," says Dennis C. Hayes, Hayes' chairman. "Joe's extensive operations experience and his proven track record as a results-driven executive rounds out the management team that will prepare Hayes for an IPO." "I look forward to joining Hayes, the premier standard- setting company in the computer communications industry," says Formichelli. "With the top brand in the industry, superior products, outstanding service, and a rebuilt management team, Hayes is positioned and ready to grow rapidly in revenue and income." Ex-Delphi CEO Seeks to Buy Firm The former chief of Delphi Internet Services says he is leading a team of online executives in a bid to buy back the Boston area information service from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. "I'm thrilled to be back with Delphi," ex- CEO Dan Bruns says in a statement from Cambridge, Massachusetts. "In the two years since I parted with the company, I've talked online and in person with many Delphi members, and their enthusiasm and loyalty for the service remains high. I'm committed to ensuring that Delphi continues to offer a friendly and exciting online experience." Brun says Delphi is profitable "and I intend to keep it that way. The top management team includes a number of online industry veterans, and I will be announcing their appointments shortly." Delphi started 15 years ago as an online encyclopedia. In 1992 Delphi, it acquired BIX, the online service for technical professionals, from McGraw-Hill, and became the first major online service to offer Internet access. Media czar Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. entered the picture in October 1993, buying Delphi and announcing highly publicized plans to revamp the service and infuse it with News Corp. "content," such as guest appearances by characters from shows on News Corp.'s Fox television network. However, those plans never materialized. Last August, MCI Communications Corp. announced it was merging its online business with Delphi and appointed as the CEO of the combined venture Scott Kurnit, who recently left the IBM/Sears Prodigy system to join MCI. At the time, The Wall Street Journal reported the joint venture would include 250 employees of MCI and 450 from Delphi and its online game unit Kesmai Corp. and would combine the more than 200,000 MCIMail customers with the 100,000 Delphi subscribers. Also, Delphi CEO Alan Baratz then stepped aside to become president of News Technology Ventures. Since then, Baratz has left for Sun Microsystems Inc. to head a new division to handle Java, the evolving programming language it developed for the Internet. Zoom Builds Modems for Panasonic Zoom Telephonics says it has started building V.34 28.8K bps data/fax modems for Matsushita Electronic Instruments Corp.'s Panasonic unit. Designed by Panasonic, the modems will be sold in Japan under the Panasonic brand. "Zoom is pleased to have been selected as an OEM supplier by Matsushita," says Frank Manning, Zoom's president. "Matsushita demands quality manufacturing and the ability to deliver high volumes reliably." Compaq Sales Surpass Packard Bell Unseating Packard Bell Electronics Inc., Compaq Computer Corp. led the personal computer industry in U.S. sales during the first quarter. According to its preliminary estimates, International Data Corp. also says the PC market in the U.S. grew 14 percent in the first three months of the year, below year-ago growth levels but, says The Associated Press, "not indicative of the major slowdown many observers feared had seized the industry." IDC told reporters it will hold to its previous forecast of 15.3 percent annual growth for the PC industry. In 1995, U.S. PC sales growth was 23 percent. The researchers identified these market leaders: ú Compaq shipped 740,000 units, up from 530,000 a year ago. ú Packard Bell shipped from 620,000, up from 591,000 in the first quarter of 1995. ú With the biggest growth, Hewlett-Packard Co. jumped from eighth-place last year to third. IDC estimates the company shipped 401,000 units, compared to 173,000 a year ago. ú In 4th place was Apple Computer Inc. with 370,000 units, down from 472,000 a year ago. ú No. 5 was Gateway 2000 Inc., which shipped 341,000 units, up from 271,000 in the first quarter a year ago. HP Unplugs Its Mainframes In a demonstration that it can run its global businesses more effectively without them, Hewlett-Packard Co. is switching off the last of its mainframe computers within the next few weeks. "In mid-May we will be unplugging the last mission- critical mainframe that runs the Hewlett-Packard Co. worldwide," an HP spokesman told Samuel Perry of the Reuter News Service. "This is also practicing what Hewlett-Packard preaches," he added, saying the Palo Alto, California, computer maker has been working towards this capability for more than five years. Perry calls the cutting out of mainframes a bold move for the firm, a "statement of its commitment to a vision of the strength of a distributed model where computers are interconnected across vast networks." HP does not produce mainframes, but the spokesman says, "What we're deploying easily matches all of the former mainframes that we'd had installed and in most cases would exceed all of the performance levels. Plus, of course, HP systems are not systems that need to be water cooled, that require huge amounts of real estate within an IT (information technology) organization. For the most part these are refrigerator-size servers." Reuters also characterizes the move as an important step for the company's own marketing efforts, "in which it has embraced the use of client server computing in which individual workstations or personal computers are linked by speedy computers called servers." HP Rolling Out New Printers Hewlett-Packard Co. is set to replace its best-selling commercial printer with a new family that for the first time includes its PCL6 printer control language. At HP's Palo Alto, California, headquarters, company executives told the Reuter News Service the new series will be available in three models: the low-cost LaserJet 5, the network-ready 5N for Ethernet 10Base-T networks and the LaserJet 5M, designed for use on any network. Reuters notes the models replace HP's best-selling commercial printer, accounting for 3.6 million units in 1995, or more than one quarter of Hewlett-Packard's total production sold last year. The previous models were the LaserJet 4 and LaserJet 4M. HP says the new printers offer faster graphics printing and usability for a workgroup's shared printing needs, printing at 12 pages per minute (ppm) and 600-dots-per-inch resolution. The LaserJet 5 has an average expected retail price of $1,299, while the LaserJet 5N is expected to be priced at $1,549 and the average price for LaserJet 5M printers is expected to be $1,799. "The emphasis on networked models reflects market trends," Reuters observes, quotes officials with International Data Corp. as estimating 87 percent of all laser printers in the U.S. will be connected to networks in 1999, up from 47 percent in 1994. Ex-Apple Exec to Head Fujitsu PC Fujitsu Ltd. has named former Apple executive George W. Everhart to head the recently formed Fujitsu PC Corp. As president, Everhart will play the lead role in setting the strategic and tactical direction for the Fujitsu subsidiary as it works toward its goal of becoming a top five PC maker by 1998. Everhart, 49, served as vice president of business and government sales at Apple. Everhart's previous positions at Apple included vice president of U.S. sales, vice president and general manager of the personal computer business division and vice president and general manager of the business markets division. "Mr. Everhart brings outstanding leadership and a thorough understanding of customer needs and channel requirements to the entire FPC team," says Akio Hanada, chairman of Fujitsu PC Corp. "Fujitsu PC Corp. has a tremendous opportunity to become a leading vendor in the highly competitive U.S. PC notebook market," says Everhart. "By leveraging Fujitsu's leadership in innovative computer technologies, its worldwide reputation for manufacturing quality products and world-class service and support, FPC has the global resources and experience necessary to create innovative solutions for business professionals on the road or in the office." Markkula Sells 14 Percent of Apple Apple Computer Inc. Vice Chairman A.C. "Mike" Markkula Jr. has sold 14 percent of his shares in the computer maker just as a new Apple chief executive prepares to unveil a turnaround plan for the company. The Wall Street Journal this morning quotes a federal filing as saying the reclusive Markkula sold 500,000 Apple shares on April 26, when the stockclosed at $24.75. With 3.1 million shares, Markkula remains Apple's largest individual shareholder. Still, notes the Journal, "the timing of the sell-off troubled some analysts," since CEO Gilbert F. Amelio is set on May 13 to outline his strategy to restore the money-losing company to profitability. Markkula "remains a powerful figure in the company, having helped sack three prior CEOs and elevate Dr. Amelio to the helm," the paper observed. Analyst David Wu at Chicago Corp. in New York commented, "It is not going to look good to the investing public." An Apple spokeswoman told the paper insider shareholders such as Markkula have narrow windows of time in which they can trade stock and that this move reflects "a personal decision" on which she couldn't elaborate. Gateway Launches Web Shopping Gateway 2000 Inc. says it has become the first major PC manufacturer to offer customers the ability to custom configure, order and pay for a PC via the World Wide Web. The company's Web site (http://www.gw2k.com) allows customers to design the system they want. Buyers receive a price quote for their configuration and are able to complete the entire transaction while online. Encryption methods built into the system are designed to address concerns about credit card security, says Gateway. The company notes that customers can also check the status of their orders online, as well as get tech tips and leave messages for Gateway sales personnel. Gateway says response to the online order system has been positive since it was made available on April 10. "With thousands of new consumers going online every week, the Internet is becoming the world's great new shopping mall," says Gateway Chairman and CEO Ted Waitt. "Only the most flexible direct manufacturers will be able to provide the levels of service demanded by these sophisticated PC buyers. Gateway is proud to pioneer this level of service." Yahoo Launches TV Ads Yahoo Inc. is jumping from the computer screen to the TV screen with a first- ever ad campaign. The decision by the Sunnyvale, California, company that produces a popular search engine on the Internet's World Wide Web to advertise on TV "stems from its need to make a big impression that will improve its chance of surviving a consolidation of such services," observes business writer Evan Ramstad of The Associated Press. AP says the company's TV commercials -- with a tagline of "Do You Yahoo?" -- will appear on news shows and programs that appeal to a computer-savvy audience, such as "Late Show with David Letterman," "Saturday Night Live," and "Star Trek" shows. Karen Edwards, director of brand management at Yahoo, told Ramstad, "We're targeting information gatherers and people who are similar to the people we know are on the 'Net. We've done research and looked at the types of shows that have the most Web sites and Internet discussion activity." She adds the company hopes to persuade people who have been considering starting an Internet account to take the plunge and, when they do, to turn to Yahoo's search service first. Like most search services, Yahoo is free to users and supports itself by selling advertising that people see when the click on to its Web page. Yahoo earlier this week reported first-quarter revenue of $1.7 million and profit of $81,000. AP says the company's TV ads have a second purpose, "letting Yahoo's advertisers know that the company is serious about attracting users." Edwards would not say how much the campaign will cost but said it will eventually extend to radio and print advertising too. The wire service notes at least one Yahoo rival -- Infoseek Inc. - has started advertising in general-interest publications, such as The New York Times, that are read by advertising professionals, "but Yahoo's TV campaign is believed to be the first by an Internet search service aimed at a broad audience." Motorola Shipping Cable Modems The first of 1 million cable modems allowing high-speed access to the Internet now are being shipped by Motorola Inc. However, says reporter Mark Robichaux in The Wall Street Journal this morning, "the news comes face-to- face with healthy skepticism over the cable industry's ability to promptly deliver a variety of new services, from cable modems to limitless pay-per- view movie channels." In Los Angeles for a major cable industry trade show, Comcast Corp. President Brian Roberts told Robichaux, "There's clearly a strong desire on the part of investors to see digital boxes and modems and telephones become reality, but I think there's been an overreaction to the negatives and frustration with the positives. Hopefully, they'll see the forest for the trees." The Journal says Motorola already is shipping initial orders to Time Warner Inc., Comcast and TCI, among others, for commercial launches this summer and fall and that more than a dozen other vendors - including LAN City Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. -- are pushing their own versions. For modem speeds hundreds times faster than ordinary phone wires, operators will charge $25 to $40 a month, but critics cite some early problems, says Robichaux, including "electrical 'noise' leaking into the network, lack of standards, limitations of cable's rarely used 'upstream path' from the home, and the potential for overloading the system with too many users." Countering the critics, Motorola Vice President Jim Phillips told the paper, "This stuff works and it's in homes." Phillips said his employer will unveil a computer chip that is designed to manage noise, power and traffic across the cable plant. But, says media analyst Raymond Katz with Bear Stearns, assuming the hardware works as advertised, "the bigger, more critical issue is, can they sell it? This is an industry that hasn't introduced a new product since pay-TV." Netscape Leads Browser Market Dataquest Inc. says its figures show Netscape Communications Inc. as the "clear winner" in the Internet browser market. The market research firm reports that Netscape Navigator has captured 84 percent of the browser market, with Microsoft's browser tool a distant second at a 7 percent market share. But Dataquest also notes that Microsoft is inching ahead. "More than 40 percent of the Netscape Navigator use is Version 2.0, and in fact the biggest shift in browser use has been among Netscape users upgrading from Version 1.1," says Kathryn Hale, a Dataquest principal analyst. Creating a more competitive environment, says Hale, is the great challenge for all browser developers, as well as a number of smaller ones have already lost market share. "New browsers like Hot Java are already hitting the scene, and the Web Crawlers are a growing presence. Web designers should bear all this in mind," she notes. Dataquest says America Online held onto the No. 3 position in the browser market with a 3 percent market share, while NCSA Mosaic is in fourth place with 1 percent of the market. Web Crawler traffic accounts for 2 percent of the market. (Editor Note; Dataquest needs to redo this "study" . by whatever means.. including using the WEB and seeing for themselves what is actually happening. "`Twas a good guess ..but off the mark") MFS, UUnet to Merge MFS Communications Co. and UUnet Technologies Inc. have announced plans to merge in a stock swap deal valued at approximately $2 billion. The merger has been approved by each firm's board of directors and recommended to shareholders. The deal will create the only Internet service provider to own or control fiber optic local loop, intercity and undersea facilities in the U.S., as well as in Britain, France and Germany. The combined company, with an annualized revenue of about $1.02 billion and 4,200 employees, will offer 543 Internet points of presence (288 outside the U.S.), 7,400 buildings, 218 local exchange carrier central offices, 16 local/long-distance switches, 213,000 fiber miles and 7,462 international voice grade equivalent circuits. "This merger is especially compelling because of the unique fit between MFS and UUNet," says James Q. Crowe, chairman and CEO of MFS. "Since over 40 percent of UUnet's network expenses are for local communications services, we expect to derive significant savings from this important cost element." In December 1994, UUnet and Microsoft entered into a strategic relationship for the development, operation and maintenance of a large-scale high speed dial-up and ISDN TCP/IP access network, which is the primary Internet network infrastructure for Microsoft, including the Microsoft Network online service. Microsoft holds a 13 percent stake in UUnet and a Microsoft representative serves on UUnet's board. Netscape Tests Navigator 3.0 Netscape Communications Corp. is releasing a test copy of the next version of its software for browsing the Internet's World Wide Web. Netscape Navigator 3.0 is slated to go on sale in June. "For many people who use the Web, the release of the test version is the main event," says business writer Evan Ramstad of The Associated Press, noting Netscape allows people to download the software for free, "a strategy that got millions of people to use its browser and gave it the dominant role in shaping how information is created and shared on the Web." Netscape "makes money by selling so-called 'server' software that creators and publishers of Web information use to take advantage of the features in the browser," he adds. AP says the new program includes 75 features that were not in the previous one, chiefly in security, document sharing and audio and video. "They range from as simple as having different background colors in tables to running a video frame by frame," Ramstad reports. "There will be a simple way for businesses to share documents while employees are creating them. That raises Navigator's prospective competition with products Lotus Development Corp.'s Notes." Also some features that were accomplished with popular plug-ins - such as using the Web for phone calls or exchanging three-dimensional images -- are being incorporated into Navigator 3.0. Netscape Vice President Bob Lisbonne told the wire service the test version, ready for Windows, Macintosh and UNIX-based computers, will range in size from 3MB to 6MB, while the final version typically is smaller. The commercial version will carry a price tag of $49, although many online services offer it free to subscribers. (Editor Note: The 3.0 Beta (current version) is a grand total of 7mb compressed for D/L one can only imagine how much hard disk this puppy will consume.) Senator Offers Encryption Law Federal legislation aimed at ending government restrictions on software encryption technology -- a measure backers say will give a big boost to online commerce -- has been introduced by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) Reporting for the Dow Jones news service, writer Scott Ritter says the bill already has won support of a broad range of U.S. technologycompanies, including Microsoft Corp. and Pacific Telesis Group. "Proponents," Ritter writes, "say existing laws, which limit exports of data- scrambling technology, could cost the U.S. computer software industry billions of dollars over the next four years." And Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole, R- Kan., a co-sponsor of the measure, told Dow Jones, "This bill is pro-America. We think it's a big step in the right direction." As noted earlier, existing export laws prohibit U.S. software from exporting products with strong encryption technology, even though the technology is widely available over the global Internet. In the past, the White House has opposed the sale of stronger systems, saying terrorists or other criminals could use them to do illegal deeds without beingmonitored. Sponsors of this bill, including Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler, R-S.D., say they hope to work with the Clinton administration and law enforcement authorities to smooth out any concerns. Says Pressler, "The cold war is over. We must recognize that we're in a new era. It's time that we move on." Ritter says the proposed legislation would: 1. Allow unrestricted export of mass-market or public domain encryption systems. 2. Require the Secretary of Commerce to allow the export of encryption technologies if products of similar strength are available elsewhere in the world. 3. Prohibit the government from imposing a mandatory key-escrow system in which the government or another third party would hold a key that could be used to decipher encrypted data. The wire service notes a similar bill, also co-sponsored by Burns, already has been introduced in the Senate and is expected to see action in the Judiciary Committee, while the latest version will be sent to Pressler's Commerce Committee. (The two could end up being merged into a final product when hearings take place early next month.) Conferencing Systems Unveiled Compaq Computer Corp. has unveiled a line of desktop conferencing system targeted at business users. Based on Intel ProShare video technology and various Compaq Deskpro XL and Deskpro PC models, the systems will be available starting in mid-May. The Deskpro-ProShare line represents the first products to be introduced since Compaq and Intel entered into a strategic alliance last year to co-market integrated desktop conferencing products. "Desktop videoconferencing will enable customers in different locations to hear and see each other while working on the same documents at the same time. Individuals can make long distance presentations and exchange ideas and information without leaving their offices, as well as send and receive high resolution snapshots of any camera image," explains John T. Rose, senior vice president and general manager of Compaq's commercial desktop division. "This technology will save companies significant time and money on travel, reduce cycle time associated with creating documents and approval cycles, and enhance the quality of communication by enabling real time visual interaction, regardless of distances between team members." "The Intel ProShare Video System is the price-performance leader in desktop videoconferencing, providing a full suite of data collaboration features, full motion video, and conferencing over ISDN lines," says Jim B. Johnson, vice president and director of marketing of Intel's Internet and communications group. "Because Compaq is the world's largest supplier of personal computers, this announcement signifies that desktop videoconferencing is ready for extended deployment. Both companies understand the requirements of this technology and are committed to delivering the right standards-based solutions for today's business environment." Businesses Resisting Info Highway Despite much hype, big businesses appear reluctant to promote themselves via the information highway, according to an international survey conducted by public relations firm Manning, Selvage & Lee. The survey finds that while many companies have their own web sites and offer employees broad access to the Internet at work, corporate communications pros aren't logging on as much as all the cyberhype would have us believe. The results show that 66 percent of the 500 corporate communicators questioned in the U.S. and Europe have access to the information superhighway at the office. Yet 80 percent of the respondents consider the Internet to be an unimportant communications tool; more than 85 percent rate it as unimportant for their customers, 88 percent rate it as unimportant for their employees and 91 percent as unimportant for their shareholders. "All talk and no action is the way you'd have to characterize corporate use of the Internet thus far," says Monita Buchwald, managing director of M/NET, Manning, Selvage & Lee's interactive public relations service. "Rich opportunities are being missed because companies are not taking advantage of the Internet's many ways to reach and influence their key audiences." Buchwald says she expects that companies will change their tune as more and more people come to understand the benefits of interactive communication. Survey respondents apparently feel the same way, since the study finds that corporate communicators are projecting four-fold or higher increases by the year 2000 in the importance their companies place on the Internet in reaching their respective target audiences. Special Win95 Pricing for Schools Microsoft Corp. says it will offer schools copies of Windows 95 for $19.95 each, plus shipping and handling. The offer applies to any U.S. K-12 school or higher education institution, and is valid from May 1 through Oct. 31. 1996. Schools must order a minimum of five copies of the operating system. Microsoft says the offer will be accompanied by a $1 million donation of Windows 95 software and instructional materials to teacher training programs nationwide. "This special pricing and training donation will help ensure that more students and teachers have access to powerful, leading edge software tools and the knowledge to use them to enhance education," says Jonathan Lazarus, Microsoft's vice president of strategic relations. CD-ROM Jewel Case Guidelines Issued The Software Publishers Association has released new packaging guidelines for CD-ROM jewel cases and alternative cases. The SPA says the guidelines provide for all essential information to be self-contained within the package. The trade organization is recommending the guidelines to software publishers as a consistent form of placement of information on the jewel case, making it easier for consumers and retailers to find important consumer information about the product. The guidelines are especially important for lower-price point products sold without an outer box, notes the SPA. "As product packages get smaller and with few effective preview mechanisms, consistency and placement of information becomes critical," says Mandy Braun Strum, the SPA's consumer market section manager. According to SPA's 1996 Consumer Survey, 47 percent of consumers make their final purchasing decision on-site. Online Service Field Set to Soar The number of U.S. households with connections to consumer online services will grow from 9.6 million in 1995 to 35.2 million by the year 2000, according to figures compiled by Jupiter Communications. Jupiter, which specializes in market research for the online industry, forecasts that 34 percent of all U.S. households will be connected to a consumer online service by the turn on the century. The company notes that online industry revenues, which totaled $2.2 billion in 1995, are expected to reach $14.2 billion by the year 2000. According to Jupiter, revenue growth is the result of the increasing number of paid subscriptions to consumer online services and Web sites, revenues from online advertising and revenues from transactions. While the Internet's World Wide Web has become a major force in the online market, proprietary services such as CompuServe, America Online and the Microsoft Network, remain leading industry players. "Predictions of imminent doom for the proprietary services were obviously premature," says Adam Schoenfeld, vice president of Jupiter Communications. "The definition of what a consumer online service is has changed dramatically and now encompasses Web-based services, the traditional onlines, and the new access options. This change will accelerate, and the Web will continue to be a dominant platform, but the number of online households will continue to grow at a breakneck pace through 2000." Dataquest Sees Growing PC Market The worldwide PC market will have continued success with double-digit growth for the rest of this decade, according to Dataquest Inc. The market researcher says the worldwide PC market will grow 19.1 percent in 1996 while the U.S. market will grow 13.6 percent. Although there have been concerns that excess semiconductor inventory has signaled a stall in the PC market, Dataquest analysts report that the market is still very healthy. "Last year's growth of 25.6 percent may not be sustainable, but we are bullish on the prospects for the PC market where PC makers shipped $125 billion in PCs last year," says Kimball Brown, vice president and chief analyst of Dataquest's computer and peripheral program. A growth rate of 19.1 percent shows continued strong growth and represents far from a difficult year ahead." Compaq Computer Corp. was the market leader for the ninth consecutive quarter with worldwide PC unit shipments reaching 1.59 million units, a 27 percent increase from the first quarter of 1995. Despite losing ground in the U.S. market, IBM Corp. grew 14 percent worldwide. The most active vendor both worldwide and in the U.S. was Hewlett- Packard Co. In the U.S., HP broke into the top five for the first time by shipping 405,000 units to grow 138 percent over the first quarter of last year. Worldwide PC units shipments are expected to reach more than 71.7 million units this year, says Dataquest. With a compound annual growth rate of 17 percent, unit shipments are forecast to reach 131.7 million units by the year 2000. "As the U.S. market moves toward maturity in both the commercial and home segments, growth is shifting to Europe, Japan and the emerging economies of the world," says Bill Schaub, director of Dataquest's Worldwide Tracking programs. "This is a trend we expect to continue for many years to come and will favor PC companies with strong global strategies." The Interactive Adventure Explore the Heart and Soul of the Rock N' Roll Generation And to win Cool Tommy Stuff! Relive all the excitement, adventure and energy of the first - ever rock opera with the commemorative CD-ROM collector's edition of Pete Townshend's Tommy - The Interactive Adventure. Gain musical, cinematic and theatrical insights into the meaning and inspiration behind the music through CD - quality sound clips and voice over commentaries by Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle. Join the star - studded cast including Elton John, Jack Nicholson, Tina Turner, Ann Margret, Eric Clapton and many more as they take part in the events that have made Tommy an enduring musical phenomenon for over 25 years. You'll be enthralled by the sights and sounds of a completely interactive exploration that takes you from the early days of Pete Townshend and The Who before Tommy right up to today's smash Broadway musical. Product Highlights ú Over 1 hour of video and audio featuring band interviews and live clips from concerts, the movie and the Broadway show, including original performances by Elton John, Tina Turner, Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Patti Labelle, Jack Nicholson, and many more. ú The complete lyrics from the original recording of Tommy with commentary by Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle. ú Rare photos, notes, drawings memorabilia from Pete Townshend's personal archives. ú Special bonus CD of the original soundtrack recording of Tommy plus a one-of-a-kind colector's book of Tommy's history with photos. ú Developed by Kardana Productions, Inc. Broadway Coming in April 96'! System Requirements: 486SX25MHz CPU, 8MB RAM, double-speed CD-ROM, 16-bit sound card, SVGA (256-colors or better), Windows 3.1 or later - minimum requirements conform to an MPC2 system. EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage JAPANESE CHIP PRODUCTION FULL SPEED AHEAD While U.S. companies are pulling back on new chip factory construction, three of Japan's largest semiconductor manufacturers are going forward with big expansion plans. Hitachi will spend $1.12 billion on a next-generation, 64- megabit memory chip plant, scheduled to open in the first half of 1998. Mitsubishi Electric is upgrading its factory in Saijo, Japan, to produce 64- megabit chips by October 1997, and NEC is pouring about $1.85 billion over the next decade into a research facility to develop even more advanced one- gigabit memory chips, starting in late 1997. "This is how they will survive in this market," says an analyst with Morgan Stanley Japan Ltd. "Without this type of more stable investment policy, I think they can't survive as a first-tier group." (Wall Street Journal 26 Apr 96 A8) CHIP DEMAND ON THE RISE IN ASIA Dan Klesken, an industry analyst with Robertson, Stephens & Co., is bullish on the long-term chip market: "If you look at the U.S. over the next 20 years, we're going to generate about 25 million new jobs. But if you look at Asia, including China, that region is going to generate about 250 million new jobs. Those new wage earners will be buying PCs, digital TVs, digital cellular phones, etc. The industry today will consume about 250 acres of silicon. But, by my calculations, it's going to be up around 1, 600 acres in about 10 years' time." (Investor's Business Daily 29 Apr 96 A6) NETWORK PC OR INFORMATION APPLIANCE? Farzad Dibachi, a former Oracle senior VP leading the push for the $500 network PC, has started his own company and thinks he has a better idea. Dibachi's new firm, Diba, plans to develop technology that will allow consumer electronics companies to manufacture a variety of inexpensive, single-purpose appliances. "I think it's a brilliant idea," says the president of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. "They have started from ground zero and built a new thing that isn't a computer, it's an information appliance." Oracle Executive VP David Roux isn't so sanguine: "He's got the right train on the wrong track." (Wall Street Journal 26 Apr 96 B3) BIPED ANIMATION SOFTWARE A new software program from Autodesk's newly formed Kinetix unit takes the drudgery out of computer animation. Biped, a plug-in module for Autodesk's 3D Studio Max, supplies the animation sequence for how a stick figure would move between any programmer-specified point A and point B, filling in details such as how arms would swing and the head would nod as the character moves along. Another module, Physique, supplies even more detail for 3-D figures, such as how the bicep would bulge when the arm was bent, etc. The whole thing's "pretty amazing," according to a Dataquest analyst. (Business Week 29 Apr 96 p93) CONTINENTAL TO OFFER PHONE, INTERNET SERVICE Continental Cablevision isn't wasting any time in taking advantage of the new telecommunications deregulation act. It will begin offering subscribers in California and Florida telephone and cable modem service later this year, with plans to rapidly expand into Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York. By the end of the year, Continental expects to have upgraded its systems in New England, and will have the ability to offer 1.1 million subscribers cable modem service. (Broadcasting & Cable 22 Apr 96 p61) INTERNET LONG-DISTANCE TO FIGHT PHONE FEES New Internet long-distance provider ShadowTel vowed to fight a Canadian regulatory commission decision that it must pay contribution fees to phone companies to help keep local rates low. The company's position is that rules for long- distance resellers should not apply to it because it uses Internet technology from beginning to end. (Ottawa Citizen 27 Apr 96 E4) FLAT PRICING ON GTE AIRFONE GTE Airfone is changing its strategy on phone call pricing, ditching its per- minute charges for a flat $15 fee. The new arrangement will present significant savings for callers who chat five minutes or more. The new rates will kick in on May 1. (Investor's Business Daily 29 Apr 96 A6) NEW LCD DISPLAYS Researchers at Kent State University's Liquid Crystal Institute are working on a cheaper liquid-crystal display technology that produces clearer images using less energy. The new displays use a cholesteric liquid-crystal material that reacts differently to light than the material used in conventional displays. Rather than twisting the light so it can pass through a filter, one ray is reflected, and the other is transmitted -- electrifying the chemical turns it clear. Because the cholesteric LCDs reflect light without the need for polarizing filters, they can be bright and legible without being backlit, thus saving energy. The panels will be able to run about 10 times longer on batteries than is possible with conventional displays. (Scientific American May 96 p32) MEMPHIS, CAIRO LINKS Microsoft plans to release major upgrades of both Windows 95 and Windows NT in late 1997 or early 1998, with the code-named Memphis and Cairo software versions being the first step toward a standardized Windows for corporate users. The two programs will share the same basic, 32-bit kernel "around 1998." But some analysts are skeptical about Microsoft's ability to bring products out on time, while others point out that by 1998, the company will need to begin launching a 64-bit version of its NT Server to work with planned 64-bit Unix systems planned for that timeframe. "The fact is there will always be two versions of the kernel," says a Forrester Research analyst. (Information Week 22 Apr 96 p22) APPLE DELAYS COPLAND Rumors from sources within Apple say that the introduction of Copland, Apple's next-generation operating system, will be delayed until mid-1997. (Computer Industry Daily 29 Apr 96) HEY, BIG SPENDER In a debate at a meeting of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, technology pundit George Gilder (author of "Microcosm") remarked that "the consumer will definitely pay for information on the Internet," but was challenged by skeptic Clifford Stoll (author of "Silicon Snake Oil"), who argued that "the dirty little secret of Internet is that it's a neighborhood of cheapskates" for "as soon as you charge people pennies to click onto icons, they stop." (New York Times 26 Apr 96 C17) NETSCAPE UNVEILS NAVIGATOR 3.0 Trying to stay one step ahead of Microsoft, Netscape announced a new version of its Navigator Web browser, just three months after the last one. Navigator 3.0 includes features such as software for making phone calls over the Internet, a "shared whiteboard," enabling users in different locations to collaborate on a document, and 3D graphics. The new browser will also link to the VeriSign service to provide security for electronic commerce. (Wall Street Journal 29 Apr 96 B7) MERGER CREATES 3RD-LARGEST COMPUTER SERVICES GROUP Computer Sciences Corporation will acquire the Continuum Company for $1.4 billion in stock to become the third-largest provider of computer services, with IBM and EDS in the top two slots and Andersen Consulting coming in 4th. (New York Times 30 Apr 96 C1) INTEL VIDEOCONFERENCING SYSTEM FOR MULTIPLE SITES Intel's new ProShare desktop videoconferencing system allows up to 24 sites to connect on a single phone call, making the process much less expensive for people who need to connect to multiple sites. Currently, a user must install a special circuit board in their PC to use the ProShare system, but a software-only version is due out later this year. The system will make it much easier to run desktop videoconferencing over corporate networks. "We've been waiting all these years for a picture phone, and we just might get it. But it won't be a phone, it will be a computer," says an industry observer. (Wall Street Journal 30 Apr 96 B7) NEWS SERVICES GO TO WEB The Wall Street Journal has announced an interactive version of its news service on the Web at < http://www.wsj.com/ >, which is currently free; later this spring the cost will be $49 a year for individuals who don't subscribe to the print version of the Journal, and $29 a year for those who do. (Wall Street Journal 29 Apr 96 B1) Microsoft, on the other hand, is planning to turn its MSN News and other news Microsoft Network news products into a free Web-based service. Microsoft will also offer its non-news MSN content over the Web beginning in mid-May, for a fee . DELL'S GREEN MACHINES Dell Computer, in response to customer concerns about the safe disposal of obsolete computers, is coming out with a computer chassis made of materials that are fully recyclable. The OptiFrame chassis will be used in Dell's OptiPlex business-oriented computers, beginning this summer. "Our industry adds more than 60-million PCs to the market every year. The question, then, is what do you do with them when they become obsolete," says the senior VP of Dell's product group. "We have added the environmental advantages of this chassis without adding to the cost." The Gartner Group predicts that nearly 25-million obsolete computers will end up in landfills in 1996. (St. Petersburg Times 29 Apr 96 p9) U.S. PC SHIPMENTS UP 14% TO 15% Dataquest and International Data Corp. both released estimates of 14% to 15% growth in U.S. personal computer shipments during the first quarter of 1996, indicating a worldwide increase of about 18%. The top five companies in terms of units sold were Compaq (for the second year in a row), Packard Bell, Hewlett-Packard (up from No. 7 last year), Apple and Gateway 2000. (Wall Street Journal 29 Apr 96 A3) BELL ATLANTIC-NYNEX MERGER PUTS VIDEO ON HOLD The first order of business once telco giants Bell Atlantic and Nynex merge, will be an aggressive launch into long-distance markets, with wireless cable less of a priority initially. "The video stuff is clearly back-burnered," says Howard Anderson of the Yankee Group, who predicts Internet-related services will come second. "The revenue potential is greater in long distance, and it also helps solidify their positions in the local business," says a consultant with Furman Selz. "It's also an area they know. It's not as far afield as video, so the learning curve is much shorter." (Broadcasting & Cable 29 Apr 96 p92) CYBER-CHECKS Internet shoppers who'd rather write a check than use plastic can use a new payment option offered by Azteq Direct Internet Superstore < http://www.azteq.com/ > -- Azteq I-Check. Customers provide checking account data on an encrypted order screen or by phone, or can fax a copy of a check. The payments are processed by PhoneChex Systems, which prints out a physical demand draft for deposit to Azteq's account. "Fraud is going to be there no matter what we do," says PhoneChex's president. "But the fraud of credit cards over the phone is much larger than taking checks over the phone or online." (Investor's Business Daily 30 Apr 96 A8) HAS ISDN'S TIME COME AND GONE? "ISDN was a sort of a `Field of Dreams' technology," says the chief technologist for Citicorp. "The thought was, `Build it, and they will come.'" But it's been slow going, and with cable modems and ADSL (asynchronous digital subscriber lines) technology on the horizon, some are predicting ISDN's time is already past. "If they were serious about marketing ISDN, I would expect to see billboards and placards on buses," says a Forrester Research analyst. "They'd offer free installation, discount coupons in hardware packages, and bundled Internet access service." Instead, ISDN installation is expensive, and its speed still unimpressive for activities such as Web browsing, where cable modems' and ADSL's much greater downstream capacity is a big advantage. (Information Week 22 Apr 96 p65) MOTOROLA'S MILLION CABLE MODEMS Motorola is shipping the first of a million cable modems ordered by cable companies such as Time Warner, TCI and Comcast, among others. Cable operators plan to charge between $25 and $40 a month for online access at speeds hundreds of times faster than ordinary phone lines. Critics have cited problems with cable modem technology, including electrical "noise," limitations on two-way transmissions, and potential user overload, but a Motorola VP says, "Bullfeathers, this stuff works and it's in homes." (Wall Street Journal 29 Apr 96 B7) OS/2 WITH EARS IBM says the next version of its OS/2 operating system, code-named Merlin, will include voice-recognition capabilities. "A keyboard and a mouse are very foreign to most human beings," says IBM's VP for personal software products. "Speech is a much more natural way of interacting with your computer." Merlin is expected to hit the market during the second half of this year, priced below $100. (St. Petersburg Times 29 Apr 96 p9) MCI ONE SERVICE MCI's new MCI One service will provide one-stop shopping for everything from long-distance phone service to Internet access to a Westinghouse home- security system that alerts a parent when his or her child enters or leaves the house. (Wall Street Journal 30 Apr 96 B7) GORE WANTS CABLE EVERYWHERE Vice President Al Gore told a convention of cable TV industry executives that they should wire every U.S. home, school and library by the year 2000, saying: "I challenge you to pursue your own commitment to the public interest with ferocity." Gore compared the effort to President Kennedy's call in the 1960s for the space industry to place a man on the moon by the end of that decade. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 30 Apr 96 B1) VOCABULARY TEST Peter Lyman, the Librarian of the University of California-Berkeley notes a linguistic paradox: "We always talk about new technology using old vocabulary. 'Electronic publishing', 'digital library', 'information highway': to our grandchildren these terms will probably sound as peculiar as 'horseless carriage'." (New York Times 29 Aprx 96 B1) MFS TO BUY UUNET, STOCK OPTIONS SCRUTINIZED MFS Communications will purchase UUNet Technologies for about $2 billion in stock, giving MFS the ability to offer its corporate customers one-stop shopping for local, long-distance and Internet access services. (Wall Street Journal 1 May 96 A3) The Chicago Board Options Exchange is looking into unusually heavy trading of UUNet stock options just prior to the disclosure of its deal with MFS. Trading volume in certain UUNet options contracts more than tripled on Monday. The CBOE will turn its findings over the Securities and Exchange Commission. An investor with inside knowledge could have bought 100 UUNet options for $30,000 on Monday and sold them Tuesday for $65,000. (Wall Street Journal 2 May 96 B6) NBC LOOKS TO MCI TO REPLACE SATELLITE DISTRIBUTION NBC will begin testing MCI's high-speed HyperMedia service to distribute video to its affiliate stations around the country. The service allows affiliates to use video workstations to connect to the server via 1.544-Mbps to 12-Mbps switched multimegabit data services, or 45-Mbps asynchronous transfer mode technology. Other possible HyperMedia customers include companies who want to do video training over the network and hospitals and research centers providing telemedical services. "This is part of the trend of moving applications onto the network," says MCI's chief engineering officer. (Information Week 22 Apr 96 p28) COMPANIES GET JAVATIZED Apple Computer has licensed Sun Microsystems' Java software for use in Apple's Macintosh, Newton and Pippin operating systems. (Wall Street Journal 1 May 96 B7) Sun Microsystems also announced licensing agreements with Microsoft, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and others, giving Sun the potential for turning Java into an operating system for the Internet. "Java accomplishes what has been considered by many to be the Holy Grail of computing, to enable software to run across all operating systems," says the president of Sun's JavaSoft subsidiary. (Investor's Business Daily 2 May 96 A9) GEORGIA LAW COULD PROHIBIT WEB LINKS Legislation recently signed into law by Georgia Governor Zell Miller is aimed at preventing fraud in cyberspace, but critics say it could force developers of World Wide Web pages to remove links to other pages. The law makes it a crime to "falsely identify" oneself on the Net, or to direct people to someone else's computer without the other person's explicit permission. "The law is written so poorly, and it criminalizes things that are a very basic way of operating on the Internet, that we're not sure how it would be enforced," says the legal counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (Chronicle of Higher Education 3 May 96 A29) COOKIE-CUTTER MICROCHIPS While other researchers are experimenting with X-ray lithography for etching minute lines onto silicon wafers, a professor at the University of Minnesota has developed a way to stamp ultrathin lines on microchips "almost like they were cookies." Stephen Chou's research team recently was able to imprint wafers with lines just 0.025 microns wide, and Chou's "quite confident" that they can get down to 0.01-micron lines -- "maybe even smaller." (Business Week 6 May 96 p95) PENTIUM PRICES PLUNGE, DELL PASSES SAVINGS ON Intel has cut the price of its Pentium and Pentium Pro chips by 10% to 30%, bringing the cost of a $428 150 Mhz Pentium down to $364, for instance. In response, Dell Computer has lowered prices on its OptiPlex computer line by 21%, and some of its Latitude laptops by 8%. "When the cost of components such as memory chips or processors drops rapidly, a company that maintains about 30 days of inventory is able to quickly pass along those savings in the form of lower prices by the end of the month," says CEO Michael Dell. (Investor's Business Daily 2 May 96 A9) GREENER CHIPS A study financed by the Semiconductor Research Corp., the National Science Foundation and Sematech will look for ways to improve the environmental, health and safety aspects of semiconductor manufacturing. The University of Arizona will work on reducing the amount of highly purified water needed to rinse and clean silicon wafers, and will try to reduce energy needs in the process. (Investor's Business Daily 1 May 96 A6) MCAFEE ABANDONS MERGER TRY WITH CHEYENNE Deciding not to continue a merger attempt that would have turned into a hostile takeover, McAfee Associates (maker of software for detecting computer viruses) has withdrawn its $1 billion offer to take over Cheyenne Software (maker of software for managing personal computer networks). (New York Times 2 May 96 C6) WTO GLOBAL TELECOM DEAL World Trade Organization talks aimed at liberalizing telecommunications regulations have been put on hold until after the U.S. presidential election is over and American negotiators are free to make the sort of compromises they dare not make in the lead-up to the election for fear of offending industry groups and voters. (Toronto Globe & Mail 30 Apr 96 B8 & 1 May 96 B7) DIGITAL TV CONVERTER BOXES The General Instrument Corporation will begin shipping the first generation of digital converter boxes to cable companies Tele-Communications Inc., Cox Communications, and Comcast, allowing viewers to receive up to 320 channels with superb picture and sound. General Instrument has also contracted with small companies such as Wink and ACTV to develop software to allow customized versions of programs -- e.g., giving a viewer the ability to push a remote control to see an "instant replay" on demand. (New York Times 1 May C18) GERSTNER SAYS IBM'S NO LONGER AN ENDANGERED SPECIES IBM CEO Louis V. Gerstner Jr. told the annual shareholder's meeting that when he took over the company "IBM was on the endangered species list," but that dramatic cost cutting and market changes have shifted demand to IBM: "IBM has an opportunity to lead the shift to network computing. That's where the action is again, and that's where it hasn't been for many years." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 1 May 96 D1) AMERICAN GIANTS TAKE AIM AT TELESAT Telesat Canada's ambitious $1.6-billion satellite program has run into fierce opposition from American broadcasters who want to stop competitors from using Canadian satellites to beam into the lucrative U.S. market. At least five major direct-to-home companies (including AT&T, MCI, DirecTV, Echostar Satellite and United States Satellite Broadcasting) want the Federal Communications Commission to block rivals Tele-Communications Inc. and Telquest Communications from using Telesat Canada satellites since neither company can find space on American satellites. Although the FCC has no jurisdiction over Canadian satellites, the two companies still need FCC "landing rights" licences. (Toronto Financial Post 30 Apr 96 p1) ONLINE ADVERTISING Proctor & Gamble has raised the ire of online services by limiting payment for some of its ads on the World Wide Web to the number of people who actually seek additional information rather than everyone who sees the ads. Advertising Age magazine reports Web directory service Yahoo! has agreed to accept ads from P&G, one of the United States' major advertisers, on a "click-through" rather than an "eyeball" basis. (Ottawa Citizen 29 Apr 96 A10) ... And in the United Kingdom, an interactive TV commercial is being piloted with 100,000 London-area homes; viewers watching the Frosted Flakes cereal commercial will be able to send commands through a set-top box to control some of the actions of Tony the Tiger and other cartoon characters. (Financial Times 1 May 96 p1) BELL COMPANIES: NO KNIFE, NO KETTLE, NO BOILING WATER Rejecting suggestions that the proposed Bell Atlantic merger with Nynex will slash into jobs and restore the Bell companies to their original monopoly status, Bell Atlantic CEO Raymond W. Smith says: "There are folks who just can't help ruminating about the Bell System jumping up one more time - like Glenn Close in 'Fatal Attraction' -- to murder competition and boil it in a kettle." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 1 May 96 D3) 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: immediately after switching the system on, or II. by pressing the key or by simultaneously pressing , , and keys when the following message appears briefly at the bottom of the screen during the POST (Power On Self Test). TO ENTER SETUP BEFORE BOOT PRESS CTRL-ALT-ESC OR DEL KEY If the message disappears before you respond and you still wish to enter Setup, restart the system to try again by turning it OFF then ON or pressing the "RESET" button on the system case. You may also restart by simultaneously pressing , , and keys. If you do not press the keys at the correct time and the system does not boot, an error message will be displayed and you will again be asked to... PRESS F1 TO CONTINUE, CTRL-ALT-ESC OR DEL TO ENTER SETUP Using Setup In general, you use the arrow keys to highlight items, press to select, use the PageUp and PageDown keys to change entries, press for help and press to quit. The following table provides more detail about how to navigate in the Setup program using the keyboard. Up arrow Move to previous item Down arrow Move to next item Left arrow Move to the item in the left hand Right arrow Move to the item in the right hand Esc key Main Menu -- Quit and not save changes into CMOS Status Page Setup Menu and Option Page Setup Menu -- Exit current page and return to Main Menu PgUp key Increase the numeric value or make changes PgDn key Decrease the numeric value or make changes + key Increase the numberic value or make changes - key Decrease the numberic value or make changes F1 key General help, only for Status Page Setup Menu and Option Page Setup Menu (Shift)F2 Change color from total 16 colors. F2 to select key color forward, (Shift) F2 to select color backward F3 key Calendar, only for Status Page Setup Menu F4 key Reserved F5 key Restore the previous CMOS value from CMOS, only for Option Page Setup Menu F6 key Load the default CMOS value from BIOS default table, only for Option Page Setup Menu F7 key Load the default F8 key Reserved F9 key Reserved F10 key Save all the CMOS changes, only for Main Menu Getting Help Press F1 to pop up a small help window that describes the appropriate keys to use and the possible selections for the highlighted item. To exit the Help Window press or the F1 key again. In Case of Problems If, after making and saving system changes with Setup, you discover that your computer no longer is able to boot, the Award BIOS supports an override to the CMOS settings which resets your system to its defaults. You can invoke this override by immediately pressing when you restart your computer. You can restart by either using the ON/OFF switch, the RESET button or by pressing , and at the same time. The best advice is to only alter settings which you thoroughly understand. To this end, we strongly recommend that you avoid making any changes to the chipset defaults. These defaults have been carefully chosen by both Award and your systems manufacturer to provide the absolute maximum performance and reliability. Even a seemingly small change to the chipset setup has the potential for causing you to use the override. A Final Note About Setup Not all systems have the same Setup. While the basic look and function of the Setup program remains the same for all systems, individual motherboard and chipset combinations require custom configurations. For example, you may find that your Setup main menu has a different number of entries from the main menu displayed in this manual. These are simply features not supported (or not user configurable) on your system. The final appearance of the Setup program also depends on the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) who built your system. If your OEM has decided that certain items should only be available to their technicians, those items may very well be removed from the Setup program. Section 1 Main Menu Once you enter the Award BIOS CMOS Setup Utility, the Main Menu will appear on the screen. The Main Menu allows you to select from several setup functions and two exit choices. Use the arrow keys to select among the items and press to accept and enter the sub-menu. Note that a brief description of each highlighted selection appears at the bottom of the screen. Setup Items The main menu includes the following main setup categories. Recall that some systems may not include all entries. Standard CMOS Setup This setup page includes all the items in a standard, AT-compatible BIOS. See Section 2 for details. BIOS Features Setup This setup page includes all the items of Award special enhanced features. See Section 3 for details. Password Setting Change, set, or disable password. It allows you to limit access to the system and Setup, or just to Setup. See Section 4. Chipset Features Setup This setup page includes all the items of chipset special features. See Section 5 for details. Power Management Setup This entry only appears if your system supports Power Management, "Green PC", standards. See Section 6 for setup details. PCI Configuration Setup This entry only appears if your system supports PCI. See Section 8, if your system supports Power Management, otherwise see Section 7. Load BIOS Defaults The BIOS defaults have been set by the manufacturer and represent settings which provide the minimum requirements for your system to operate. Load Setup Defaults The chipset defaults are settings which provide for maximum system performance. While Award has designed the custom BIOS to maximize performance, the manufacturer has the right to change these defaults to meet their needs. IDE HDD Auto Detection Automatically detect and configure hard disk parameters. The Award BIOS includes this ability in the event you are uncertain of your hard disk's paramenters. See also Section 2, "Standard CMOS Setup". HDD Low Level Format If supported by your system, this provides a hard disk low level format utility. See Appendix D for details. Save & Exit Setup Save CMOS value changes to CMOS and exit setup. Exit Without Save Abandon all CMOS value changes and exit setup. Section 2 Standard CMOS Setup The items in Standard CMOS Setup Menu are divided into 10 categories. Each category includes no, one or more than one setup items. Use the arrow keys to highlight the item and then use the or keys to select the value you want in each item. Date The date format is , . Press to show the calendar. day The day, from Sun to Sat, determined by the BIOS and is display-only date The date, from 1 to 31 (or the maximum allowed in the month) month The month, Jan through Dec year The year, from 1900 through 2099 Time The time format is . The time is calculated based on the 24-hour military-time clock. For example, 1 p.m. is 13:00:00. Daylight saving The category adds one hour to the clock when daylight-saving time begins. It also subtracts one hour when standard time returns. Enabled Enable daylight-saving Disabled Disable daylight-saving Drive C Type/Drive D Type The categories identify the types of hard disk drive C or drive D that have been installed in the computer. There are 46 predefined types and a user definable type. Type 1 to Type 46 are predefined. Type "User" is user- definable. Press PgUp or PgDn to select a numbered hard disk type or type the number and press . Note that the specifications of your drive must match with the drive table. The hard disk will not work properly if you enter improper information for this category. If your hard disk drive type is not matched or listed, you can use Type "User" to define your own drive type manually. If you select Type "User", you will need to know the information listed below. Enter the information directly from the keyboard and press . This information should be included in the documentation from your hard disk vendor or the system manufacturer. CYLS. number of cylinders HEADS number of heads PRECOMP write precom LANDZONE landing zone SECTORS number of sectors If a hard disk has not been installed select NONE and press . Drive A Type / Drive B Type The category identifies the types of floppy disk drive A or drive B that have been installed in the computer. None No floppy drive installed 360K, 5.25 in 5-1/4 inch PC-type standard drive; 360 kilobyte capacity 1.2M, 5.25 in 5-1/4 inch AT-type high-density drive; 1.2 megabyte capacity 720K, 3.5 in 3-1/2 inch double-sided drive; 720 kilobyte capacity 1.44M, 3.5 in 3-1/2 inch double-sided drive; 1.44 megabyte capacity 2.88M, 3.5 in 3-1/2 inch double-sided drive; 2.88 megabyte capacity Video The category selects the type of video adapter used for the primary system monitor. Although secondary monitors are supported, you do not have to select the type in Setup. EGA/VGA Enhanced Graphics Adapter/Video Graphics Array. For EGA, VGA, SEGA, SVGA or PGA monitor adapters. CGA 40 Color Graphics Adapter, power up in 40 column mode CGA 80 Color Graphics Adapter, power up in 80 column mode MONO Monochrome adapter, includes high resolution monochrome adapters Error Halt The category determines whether the computer will stop if an error is detected during power up. No errors Whenever the BIOS detects a non-fatal error the system will be stopped and you will be prompted. All errors The system boot will not be stopped for any error that may be detected. All, The system boot will not stop for a keyboard But Keyboard error; it will stop for all other errors. All, But The system boot will not stop for a disk error; Diskette it will stop for all other errors. All, But The system boot will not stop for a keyboard or Disk/Key disk error; it will stop for all other errors. Memory The category is display-only which is determined by POST (Power On Self Test) of the BIOS. Base Memory The POST will determine the amount of base (or conventional) memory installed in the system. The value of the base memory is typically 512K for systems with 512K memory installed on the motherboard, or 640K for systems with 640K or more memory installed on the motherboard. Extended Memory The BIOS determines how much extended memory is present during the POST. This is the amount of memory located above 1MB in the CPU's memory address map. Expanded Memory Expanded Memory is memory defined by the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft (LIM) standard as EMS. While most standard DOS applications cannot access memory above 640K, the Expanded Memory Specification (EMS) provides an interface allowing access to all system memory. While still in use by some DOS applications, EMS is rapidly declining in importance since new processors and operating systems prefer extended memory. A special, expanded memory device driver is required to use memory as Expanded Memory. Other Memory This refers to the memory located in the 640K to 1024K address space. This is memory that can be used for different applications. DOS uses this area to load device drivers in an effort to keep as much base memory free for application programs. The BIOS is the most frequent user of this RAM area since this is where it shadows RAM. BIOS Features Setup This section allows you to configure your system for basic operation. You have the opportunity to select the system's default speed, boot-up sequence, keyboard operation, shadowing and security. Virus Warning When this item is enabled, the Award BIOS will monitor the boot sector and partition table of the hard disk drive for any attempt at modification. If an attempt is made, the BIOS will halt the system and the following error message will appear. Afterwards, if necessary, you will be able to run an anti-virus program to locate and remove the problem before any damage is done. ! WARNING ! Disk boot sector is to be modified Type "Y" to accept write or "N" to abort write Award Software, Inc. Enabled Activates automatically when the system boots up causing a warning message to appear when anything attempts to access the boot sector or hard disk partition table. Disabled No warning message will appear when anything attempts to access the boot sector or hard disk partition table. NOTE: Many disk diagnostic programs which attempt to access the boot sector table can cause the above warning message. If you will be running such a program, we recommend that you first disable Virus Protection beforehand. CPU Internal Cache/External Cache These two categories speed up memory access. However, it depends on CPU/chipset design. The default value is disable. Enabled Enable cache Disabled Disable cache Quick Power On Self Test This category speeds up Power On Self Test (POST) after you power up the computer. If it is set to Enable, BIOS will shorten or skip some check items during POST. Enabled Enable quick POST Disabled Normal POST Boot Sequence This category determines which drive to search first for the disk operating system (i.e., DOS). Default value is A,C. C,A System will first search for hard disk drive then floppy disk drive. A,C System will first search for floppy disk drive then hard disk drive. Boot Up Floppy Seek During POST, BIOS will determine if the floppy disk drive installed is 40 or 80 tracks. 360K type is 40 tracks while 760K, 1.2M and 1.44M are all 80 tracks. Enabled BIOS searches for floppy disk drive to determine if it is 40 or 80 tracks. Note that BIOS can not tell from 720K, 1.2M or 1.44M drive type as they are all 80 tracks. Disabled BIOS will not search for the type of floppy disk drive by track number. Note that there will not be any warning message if the drive installed is 360K. Boot Up NumLock Status This allows you to determine the default state of the numeric keypad. By default, the system boots up with NumLock on. On Keypad is number keys Off Keypad is arrow keys Boot Up System Speed Selects the default system speed -- the normal operating speed at power up. High Set the speed to high Low Set the speed to low IDE HDD Block Mode By enabling block mode for your IDE hard disk drive (HDD), you allow your system to read and write to the drive using large blocks of data instead of individual bytes. Enabled Enable IDE HDD Block Mode Disabled Disable IDE HDD Block Mode Gate A20 Option This entry allows you to select how the gate A20 is handled. The gate A20 is a device used to address memory above 1 Mbyte. Initially, the gate A20 was handled via a pin on the keyboard. Today, while keyboards still provide this support, it is more common, and much faster, for the system chipset to provide support for gate A20. Normal keyboard Fast chipset Memory Parity Check Parity is a measure of the consistency of your system's RAM, memory chips. Plus, there is both parity and non-parity memory. At boot, the Award BIOS both sizes and tests all memory. Normally, when a parity error is detected, the BIOS will display a message describing the problem as well as the problem's location, if possible. The boot process will then terminate and you will not be able to continue until the bad chip or SIMM is located and replaced. Disabling the Memory Parity Check allows the system to by-pass the test and allow your system to boot. You then have a choice of continuing to operate your system or attempting the remedying the problem. Enabled Normal memory parity check Disabled Ignore memory parity check Typematic Rate Setting This determines if the typematic rate is to be used. When disabled, continually holding down a key on your keyboard will generate only one instance. In other words, the BIOS will only report that the key is down. When the typematic rate is enabled, the BIOS will report as before, but it will then wait a moment, and, if the key is still down, it will begin the report that the key has been depressed repeatedly. For example, you would use such a feature to accelerate cursor movements with the arrow keys. Enabled Enable typematic rate Disabled Disable typematic rate Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec) When the typematic rate is enabled, this selection allows you select the rate at which the keys are accelerated. 6 6 characters per second 8 8 characters per second 10 10 characters per second 12 12 characters per second 15 15 characters per second 20 20 characters per second 24 24 characters per second 30 30 characters per second Typematic Delay (Msec) When the typematic rate is enabled, this selection allows you to select the delay between when the key was first depressed and when the acceleration begins. 250 250 msec 500 500 msec 750 750 msec 1000 1000 msec Security Option This category allows you to limit access to the system and Setup, or just to Setup. System The system will not boot and access to Setup will be denied if the correct password is not entered at the prompt. Setup The system will boot, but access to Setup will be denied if the correct password is not entered at the prompt. Note: To disable security, select PASSWORD SETTING at Main Menu and then you will be asked to enter password. Do not type anything and just press , it will disable security. Once the security is disabled, the system will boot and you can enter Setup freely. System BIOS Shadow It determines whether the system BIOS will be copied to RAM, for faster access. However, it is optional depending on chipset design. System Shadow will improve system performance. Enabled System shadow is enabled Disabled System shadow is disabled Video BIOS Shadow Determines whether video BIOS will be copied to RAM. However, it is optional depending on chipset design. Video Shadow will increase the video speed. Enabled Video shadow is enabled Disabled Video shadow is disabled C8000 - CFFFF Shadow/E8000 - EFFFF Shadow These categories determine whether option ROMs will be copied to RAM. An example of such option ROM would be support of on-board SCSI. Enabled Optional shadow is enabled Disabled Optional shadow is disabled Section 4 Password Setting When you select this function, the following message will appear at the center of the screen to assist you in creating a password. ENTER PASSWORD: Type the password, up to eight characters in length, and press . The password typed now will clear any previously entered password from CMOS memory. You will be asked to confirm the password. Type the password again and press . You may also press to abort the selection and not enter a password. To disable a password, just press when you are prompted to enter the password. A message will confirm the password will be disabled. Once the password is disabled, the system will boot and you can enter Setup freely. PASSWORD DISABLED. When a password has been enabled, you will be prompted to enter it every time you try to enter Setup. This prevents an unauthorized person from changing any part of your system configuration. Additionally, when a password is enabled, you can also require the BIOS to request a password every time your system is rebooted. This would prevent unauthorized use of your computer. You determine when the password is required within the BIOS Features Setup Menu and its Security option (see Section 4). If the Security option is set to "System", the password will be required both at boot and at entry to Setup. If set to "Setup", prompting only occurs when trying to enter Setup. Section 5 Chipset Features Setup/Power Management Setup/PCI Configuration Setup These three sections, if applicable, are specific to individual systems and are not included with this document. Appendix A POST Messages During the Power On Self Test (POST), if the BIOS detects an error requiring you to do something to fix, it will either sound a beep code or display a message. If a message is displayed, it will be accompanied by: PRESS F1 TO CONTINUE, CTRL-ALT-ESC OR DEL TO ENTER SETUP POST Beep Currently there is only one beep code in BIOS. This code indicates that a video error has occurred and the BIOS cannot initialize the video screen to display any additional information. This beep code consists of a single long beep followed by two short beeps. Error Messages One or more of the following messages may be displayed if the BIOS detects an error during the POST. This list includes messages for both the ISA and the EISA BIOS. CMOS BATTERY HAS FAILED CMOS battery is no longer functional. It should be replaced. CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR Checksum of CMOS is incorrect. This can indicate that CMOS has become corrupt. This error may have been caused by a weak battery. Check the battery and replace if necessary. DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER No boot device was found. This could mean that either a boot drive was not detected or the drive does not contain proper system boot files. Insert a system disk into Drive A: and press . If you assumed the system would boot from the hard drive, make sure the controller is inserted correctly and all cables are properly attached. Also be sure the disk is formatted as a boot device. Then reboot the system. DISKETTE DRIVES OR TYPES MISMATCH ERROR - RUN SETUP Type of diskette drive installed in the system is different from the CMOS definition. Run Setup to reconfigure the drive type correctly. DISPLAY SWITCH IS SET INCORRECTLY Display switch on the motherboard can be set to either monochrome or color. This indicates the switch is set to a different setting than indicated in Setup. Determine which setting is correct,and then either turn off the system and change the jumper, or enter Setup and change the VIDEO selection. DISPLAY TYPE HAS CHANGED SINCE LAST BOOT Since last powering off the system, the display adapter has been changed. You must configure the system for the new display type. EISA Configuration Checksum Error PLEASE RUN EISA CONFIGURATION UTILITY The EISA non-volatile RAM checksum is incorrect or cannot correctly read the EISA slot. This can indicate either the EISA non-volatile memory has become corrupt or the slot has been configured incorrectly. Also be sure the card is installed firmly in the slot. EISA Configuration Is Not Complete PLEASE RUN EISA CONFIGURATION UTILITY The slot configuration information stored in the EISA non-volatile memory is incomplete. Note: When either of these errors appear, the system will boot in ISA mode, which allows you to run the EISA Configuration Utility. ERROR ENCOUNTERED INITIALIZING HARD DRIVE Hard drive cannot be initialized. Be sure the adapter is installed correctly and all cables are correctly and firmly attached. Also be sure the correct hard drive type is selected in Setup. ERROR INITIALIZING HARD DISK CONTROLLER Cannot initialize controller. Make sure the cord is correctly and firmly installed in the bus. Be sure the correct hard drive type is selected in Setup. Also check to see if any jumper needs to be set correctly on the hard drive. FLOPPY DISK CNTRLR ERROR OR NO CNTRLR PRESENT Cannot find or initialize the floppy drive controller. make sure the controller is installed correctly and firmly. If there are no floppy drives installed, be sure the Diskette Drive selection in Setup is set to NONE. Invalid EISA Configuration PLEASE RUN EISA CONFIGURATION UTILITY The non-volatile memory containing EISA configuration information was programmed incorrectly or has become corrupt. Re-run EISA configuration utility to correctly program the memory. NOTE: When this error appears, the system will boot in ISA mode, which allows you to run the EISA Configuration Utility. KEYBOARD ERROR OR NO KEYBOARD PRESENT Cannot initialize the keyboard. Make sure the keyboard is attached correctly and no keys are being pressed during the boot. If you are purposely configurating the system without a keyboard, set the error halt condition in Setup to HALT ON ALL, BUT KEYBOARD. This will cause the BIOS to ignore the missing keyboard and continue the boot. Memory Address Error at ... Indicates a memory address error at a specific location. You can use this location along with the memory map for your system to find and replace the bad memory chips. Memory parity Error at ... Indicates a memory parity error at a specific location. You can use this location along with the memory map for your system to find and replace the bad memory chips. MEMORY SIZE HAS CHANGED SINCE LAST BOOT Memory has been added or removed since the last boot. In EISA mode use Configuration Utility to reconfigure the memory configuration. In ISA mode enter Setup and enter the new memory size in the memory fields. Memory Verify Error at ... Indicates an error verifying a value already written to memory. Use the location along with your system's memory map to locate the bad chip. OFFENDING ADDRESS NOT FOUND This message is used in conjunction with the I/O CHANNEL CHECK and RAM PARITY ERROR messages when the segment that has caused the problem cannot be isolated. OFFENDING SEGMENT: This message is used in conjunction with the I/O CHANNEL CHECK and RAM PARITY ERROR messages when the segment that has caused the problem has been isolated. PRESS A KEY TO REBOOT This will be displayed at the bottom screen when an error occurs that requires you to reboot. Press any key and the system will reboot. PRESS F1 TO DISABLE NMI, F2 TO REBOOT When BIOS detects a Non-maskable Interrupt condition during boot, this will allow you to disable the NMI and continue to boot, or you can reboot the system with the NMI enabled. RAM PARITY ERROR - CHECKING FOR SEGMENT ... Indicates a parity error in Random Access Memory. Should Be Empty But EISA Board Found PLEASE RUN EISA CONFIGURATION UTILITY A valid board ID was found in a slot that was configurated as having no board ID. NOTE; When this error appears, the system will boot in ISA mode, which allows you to run the EISA Configuration Utility. Should Have EISA Board But Not Found PLEASE RUN EISA CONFIGURATION UTILITY The board installed is not responding to the ID request, or no board ID has been found in the indicated slot. NOTE: When this error appears, the system will boot in ISA mode, which allows you to run the EISA Configuration Utility. Slot Not Empty Indicates that a slot designated as empty by the EISA Configuration Utility actually contains a board. NOTE: When this error appears, the system will boot in ISA mode, which allows you to run the EISA Configuration Utility. SYSTEM HALTED, (CTRL-ALT-DEL) TO REBOOT ... Indicates the present boot attempt has been aborted and the system must be rebooted. Press and hold down the CTRL and ALT keys and press DEL. Wrong Board In Slot PLEASE RUN EISA CONFIGURATION UTILITY The board ID does not match the ID stored in the EISA non-volatile memory. NOTE: When this error appears, the system will boot in ISA mode, which allows you to run the EISA Configuration Utility. Appendix B POST Codes NOTE: EISA POST codes are typically output to port address 300h. ISA POST codes are output to port address 80h. POST Name Description (hex) C0 Turn Off Chipset OEM Specific-Cache control Cache 1 Processor Test 1 Processor Status (1FLAGS) Verification. Tests the following processor status flags carry, zero, sign, overflow, The BIOS will set each of these flags, verify they are set, then turn each flag off and verify it is off. 2 Processor Test 2 Read/Write/Verify all CPU registers except SS, SP, and BP with data pattern FF and 00. 3 Initialize Chips Disable NMI, PIE, AIE, UEI, SQWV Disable video, parity checking, DMA Reset math coprocessor Clear all page registers, CMOS shutdown byte Initialize timer 0, 1, and 2, including set EISA timer to a known state Initialize DMA controllers 0 and 1 Initialize interrupt controllers 0 and 1 Initialize EISA extended registers. 4 Test Memory RAM must be periodically refreshed Refresh Toggle inorder to keep the memory from decaying. This function assures that the memory refresh function is working properly. 5 Blank video, Keyboard controller initialization. Initialize keyboard 6 Reserved 7 Test CMOS Verifies CMOS is working correctly, Interface and detects bad battery. Battery Status BE Chipset Default Program chipset registers with power Initialization on BIOS defaults. C1 Memory presence OEM Specific-Test to size on-board test memory C5 Early Shadow OEM Specific-Early Shadow enable for fast boot. C6 Cache presence External cache size detection test 8 Setup low memory Early chip set initialization Memory presence test OEM chip set routines Clear low 64K of memory Test first 64K memory. 9 Early Cache Cyrix CPU initialization Initialization Cache initialization A Setup Interrupt Initialize first 120 interrupt Vector Table vectors with SPURIOUS_INT_HDLR and initialize INT 00h-1Fh according to INT_TBL B Test CMOS RAM Test CMOS RAM Checksum, if bad, or Checksum insert key pressed, load defaults. C Initialize Detect type of keyboard controller keyboard (optional) Set NUM_LOCK status. D Initialize Video Detect CPU clock. Interface Read CMOS location 14h to find out type of video in use. Detect and Initialize Video Adapter. E Test Video Test video memory, write sign-on Memory message to screen. Setup shadow RAM - Enable shadow according to Setup. F Test DMA BIOS checksum test. Controller 0 Keyboard detect and initialization 10 Test DMA Controller 1 11 Test DMA Page Test DMA Page Registers. Registers 12-13 Reserved 14 Test Timer Test 8254 Timer 0 Counter 2. Counter 2 15 Test 8259-1 Mask Verify 8259 Channel 1 masked Bits interrupts by alternately turning off and on the interrupt lines. 16 Test 8259-2 Mask Verify 8259 Channel 2 masked Bits interrupts by alternately turning off and on the interrupt lines. 17 Test Stuck Turn off interrupts then verify no 8259's Interrupt interrupt mask register is on. Bits 18 Test 8259 Force an interrupt and verify the Interrupt interrupt occurred. Functionality 19 Test Stuck NMI Verify NMI can be cleared. Bits (Parity/IO Check) 1A Display CPU clock 1B-1E Reserved 1F Set EISA Mode If EISA non-volatile memory checksum is good, execute EISA initialization. If not, execute ISA tests an clear EISA mode flag. Test EISA Configuration Memory Integrity (checksum & communication interface). 20 Enable Slot 0 Initialize slot 0 (System Board). 21-2F Enable Slts 1-15 Initialize slots 1 through 15. 30 Size Base and Size base memory from 256K to 640K Extended Memory and extended memory above 1MB. 31 Test Base and Test base memory from 256K to 640K Extended Memory and extended memory above 1MB using various patterns. NOTE: This will be skipped in EISA mode and can be "skipped" with ESC key in ISA mode. 32 Test EISA If EISA Mode flag is set then test Extended Memory EISA memory found in slots initialization. NOTE: This will be skipped in ISA mode and can be "skipped" with ESC key in EISA mode. 33-3B Reserved 3C Setup Enabled 3D Initialize & Detect if mouse is present, Install Mouse initialize mouse, install interrupt vectors. 3E Setup Cache Initialize cache controller. Controller 3F Reserved BF Chipset Program chipset registers with Setup Initialization values 40 Display virus protect disable or enable 41 Initialize Initialize floppy disk drive Floppy Drive & controller and any drives. Controller 42 Initialize Hard initialize hard drive controller and Drive & any drives. Controller 43 Detect & Initialize any serial and parallel Initialize ports (also game port). Serial/Parallel Ports 44 Reserved 45 Detect & Initialize math coprocessor. Initialize Math Coprocessor 46 Reserved 47 Reserved 48-4D Reserved 4E Manufacturing Reboot if Manufacturing POST Loop pin POST Loop or is set. Otherwise display any Display Messages messages (i.e., any non-fatal errors that were detected during POST) and enter Setup. 4F Security Check Ask password security (optional). 50 Write CMOS Write all CMOS values back to RAM and clear screen. 51 Pre-boot Enable Enable parity checker Enable NMI, Enable cache before boot. 52 Initialize Initialize any option ROMs present Option ROMs from C8000h to EFFFFh. NOTE: When FSCAN option is enabled, will initialize from C8000h to F7FFFh. 53 Initialize Time Initialize time value in 40h: BIOS Value area. 60 Setup Virus Setup virus protect according to Protect Setup 61 Set Boot Speed Set system speed for boot 62 Setup NumLock Setup NumLock status according to Setup 63 Boot Attempt Set low stack Boot via INT 19h. B0 Spurious If interrupt occurs in protected mode. B1 Unclaimed NMI If unmasked NMI occurs, display Press F1 to disable NMI, F2 reboot. E1-EF Setup Pages E1- Page 1, E2 - Page 2, etc. FF Boot Appendix D Low-Level Format Utility This Award Low-Level-Format Utility is designed as a tool to save your time formatting your hard disk. The Utility automatically looks for the necessary information of the drive you selected. The Utility also searches for bad tracks and lists them for your reference. Shown below is the Main Menu after you enter into the Award Low-Level-Format Utility. Control Keys Use the Up and Down arrow keys to move around the selections displayed on the upper screen. Press [Enter] to accept the selection. Press Esc to abort the selection or exit the Utility. SELECT DRIVE Select from installed hard disk drive C or D. Listed at the bottom of the screen is the drive automatically detected by the utility. BAD TRACK LIST Auto Scan Bad Track The utility will automatically scan bad tracks and list the bad tracks in the window at the right side of the screen. Add Bad Track Directly type in any information about known bad tracks in the window at the right side of the screen. Modify Bad Track Modify information about the added bad tracks in the window at the right side of the screen. Delete Bad Track Delete the added bad tracks in the window at the right side of the screen. Clear Bad Track Table Clear the whole bad track list in the window at the right side of the screen. PREFORMAT Interleave Select the interleave number of the hard disk drive you wish to perform low level format. You may select from 1 to 8. Check the documentation that came with the drive for the correct interleave number, or select 0 for utility automatic detection. Auto Scan Bad Track This allows the utility to scan for bad sectors first then format by each track. Start Press to start low level format. Linux NewsWire STR FOCUS! From Scott Dowdle. Pretty good information on that site including other mklinux ports. The Mach 3 microkernel was developed by Carnagie Melon (sp?) University and is available for many different computer platforms. Porting Linux to the Mach 3 microkernel is very significant in the computer world... and the Apple / OSF port of Linux to the Power Macinstosh is just the first in a long string of ports coming. It makes Linux more platform independant. :) Well, here's the press release... Apple and Open Software Foundation Announce Linux for Power Macintosh Leading User-Supported Version of UNIX to be Available to Power Mac Users CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts- Apple Computer, Inc. announced today that it is supporting a proect with the Open Software Foundation (OSF) to port Linux, a freely distributed version of UNIX, to a variety of Power Macintosh products. This version of Linux operates on the OSF Mach microkernel which will be running natively on the PowerPC microprocessor. The announcement was made at the Conference on Freely Redistributable Software held in Cambridge. A demo of an early prototype was shown as part of the announcement. "This is part of Apple's overall effort to embrace more open industry standards, particularly those popular in the Internet community," said Ike Nassi, vice president of Apple system software technologies. "This software will be particularly popular with Mac users in higher education as well as the scientific research communities who have asked for our support of Linux." "We are pleased to be working with Apple on this important new port of the Mach microkernel, now hosting the popular Linux environment," said Ira Goldstein, executive vice president and chief scientist of the Open Software Foundation. "We have a strong working relationship with Apple and this is an important result of our cooperation." Linux is a broadly used version of UNIX supported by a wide community of programmers. Linux provides UNIX features such as true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, TCP/IP networking and many other advanced features. Versions of Linux are being ported to a wide variety of platforms, including other PowerPC-based computers. This effort marks the first time that Linux will be hosted on the Mach microkernel. Linux on Power Macintosh will be especially significant in several of Apple's key markets, particularly the higher education and scientific communities. With Linux a student will have an extremely low-cost, yet high-performance PowerPC-based UNIX system for personal use. Advanced research that requires UNIX applications will now be possible on an engineer's personal Macintosh. "As a long time Linux user, I am absolutely delighted about the announcement of Linux on Power Macintosh," said Professor George Blumenthal, chair of the astronomy & astrophysics department at Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz. "Now Macs will have a dual personality, in the best sense of the word; on the one hand they will allow users to exploit the ever popular and easy to use Macintosh software, while on the other hand, they now provide a platform that appears virtually identical to the UNIX machines that many of us use daily in our work." Linux for Power Macintosh adds a new UNIX alternative for PowerPC systems to existing products such as AIX from IBM and MachTen from Tenon Intersystems. This gives Macintosh users a range of options from a free, user supported UNIX implementation up to commercial, mission critical solutions for large enterprises. In keeping with the spirit of the Linux community, Apple and OSF will make the source code for this Linux port freely available. This includes source code to the Mach microkernel and the required Macintosh platform driver support. Linux is distributed throughout the world over the Internet and other means, generally through the GNU General Public License, which allows people to use it and change it so long as no further restrictions are imposed and that the source code is made available. Apple and OSF expect that the first port of Linux for Power Macintosh will be available this summer. The system will initially support the first generation of Power Macintosh computers based on NuBus expansion, and will later be extended to PCI-based Power Macs as well as the upcoming PowerPC Platform (formerly CHRP.) Information regarding this version of Linux is available on the Linux on Power Macintosh web site. Apple expects to make the software available at this location as well. This project is an outcome of Apple's ongoing relationship with OSF, which includes consulting work for Copland, the next major release of the Mac OS. The Linux port provides Apple an open environment for OS research work, as well as enabling an exciting new opportunity for Power Macintosh users. This port delivers both the Mach 3.0 microkernel (developed by the OSF Research Institute) and Linux as an OS "personality" on Mach. The OSF microkernel was originally developed at Carnegie Mellon as Mach and subsequently enhanced extensively by the OSF Research Institute. CALDERA INTERNET OFFICE SUITE 1.0 SHIPS INTERNET WORLD, SAN JOSE, Calif. Apr. 29, 1996 Caldera, Inc., today began shipping the Caldera Internet Office Suite, a set of mainstream business applications with added Internet-aware functionality. The suite's native Linux applications include Corel's WordPerfect 6.0 for UNIX, NCD Software's Z-mail e-mail package, XESS Software's NExS Spreadsheet, and Metrolink's Executive Motif Libraries, each ported natively to Caldera's Linux operating system. "Caldera is introducing proven, commercial technologies ported to the Linux operating system that create a low-cost, secure information environment that takes advantage of the richness of UNIX, the full communication sharing protocols and services of competitive Internet and Intranet technologies, and the simplicity of mainstream business applications," said Bryan Sparks, President of Caldera. Caldera is providing Linux-based products for commercial usage and establishing the missing Linux VAR channel and essential business alliances between the industry's major software vendors. Caldera's Channel Partners and Independent Vendor Partners are now leveraging Linux technologies that have been developed and tested for years by the Internet community. "During the next two months, dozens of mainstream software vendors will be releasing newly ported versions of their products based on Caldera's Linux," said Ransom Love, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Caldera. "These companies' products will ship along with Caldera's products on the Caldera Solutions CD, scheduled to ship in less than 8 weeks." Products ship on the Caldera Solutions CD as encrypted code that can be unlocked and installed with encoded "keys" purchased through Caldera. Customers and Channel Partners can begin with the Caldera Network Desktop, which includes a comprehensive graphical interface, a complete Linux operating system with source code, Intranet and network management tools, and a native Linux version of Netscape Navigator 2.0, the widely popular client software for enterprise networks and the Internet, with Java and news reader capabilities. Customers and Channel Partners can then purchase and unlock from the Caldera Solutions CD those applications needed for their unique information system. Products on the Caldera Solutions CD include secure web servers, firewall software, databases, spreadsheets, word processors, IP/IPX gateways for NetWare networks (See related joint news release from Caldera, Inc. and JSB Corp. to be distributed 4/30/96), and many other software solutions. By placing their products on the Caldera Solutions CD, Caldera's partners can offer products on the industry's first commodity-priced, UNIX-based platform. The Caldera Solutions CD will ship inside every box of the Caldera Network Desktop sold worldwide. The Caldera Internet Office Suite, the only UNIX business application suite on the market, will sell for $329, considerably less than the combined standalone costs of competitive UNIX-based business applications. Caldera is also shipping WordPerfect and Motif Executive Libraries as a bundle separate from the Internet Office Suite. The price for the WordPerfect/Motif bundle is $250. Technical Support The Caldera Internet Office Suite products will be technically supported for a fee via both email and telephone inquiries. Questions submitted via email will be billed at $10.00 per incident, or as part of a pre-paid contract. For information about customized service contract, customers should call (800) 847-7472. Customers should use the following e-mail addresses for each individual product: WordPerfect: wp.support@caldera.com NExS Spreadsheet: nexs.support@caldera.com ZMail: zmail.support@caldera.com Technical support via telephone is available through per-minute, per-incident and pre-paid options. Per-minute support is available at (900) 737-3328 for $1.95/minute. Per-incident support is available at (800) 847-7472 or (801) 225-3388 for $20.00/incident. For information about customized pre-paid monthly and annual contracts, customers should call (800) 847-7472. Caldera's products ship with online technical support documentation and help files that can be easily accessed through Netscape's HTML browser, included in the product. Technical information is also available via the WWW at http://www/caldera.com/. Customers will receive technical support for third- party products directly from the vendor who placed the product on the Caldera Solutions CD. Internet-Enabled Features of the Caldera Internet Office Suite The Caldera versions of WordPerfect and NExS assist users in authoring HTML documents that can be published directly to the Internet from the Caldera Network Desktop, sold separately. By using an integrated menu within WordPerfect, users can easily create HTML documents with embedded URL hypertext links, allowing users to author complete Web pages that can be immediately published from the Caldera Network Desktop to the Internet or private Intranets. In addition to a full-featured GUI, the NExS Spreadsheet allows users to update cells remotely from another workstation in a workgroup or from any workstation around the world via the Internet. Users can also import and export Lotus 1-2-3 files. The ability to update information on-the-fly allows organizations to have instantaneous access to data. NExS also enables users to export tables in HTML so they can be immediately accessed via the Internet or within a private Intranet. Z-mail provides full SMTP and MIME type support for Internet and Intranet distributed e-mail, allowing users to easily interact with the Internet as if it were simply an extension of a local network. All of the applications in the Caldera Internet Office Suite are dynamically linked to the included Motif libraries, resulting in improved performance and usability. Caldera suggests that customers run the Caldera Internet Office Suite using 16 MB of RAM. The full suite uses 90 MB of hard disk space. The Caldera Linux Operating System Caldera's mission includes creating the products, alliances, VAR channel, ISV channel, technical support programs and corporate accountability necessary for an emerging technology to obtain widespread implementation in the business environment. Using Linux, Caldera has a solid start. Mirai, a Chicago-based consulting company, polled Webmasters worldwide in 1995 and found that nine percent of World Wide Web servers were running on the Linux operating system (http://www.mirai.com/survey). This places Linux second only to Sun technologies as a UNIX Web server platform. Caldera has created a solid foundation on which third party developers can successfully design, develop, distribute or employ services that meet the needs of the expanding market with low product costs for consumers. Caldera, Inc., a privately held company established in 1994, empowers the Internet community, developers, OEMs, channel partners, ISVs, industry partners, consultants and end-users to collaborate, innovate, build and deliver meaningful computing alternatives based on Linux to the business community. Caldera is at http://www.caldera.com/ or (801) 229-1675. For orders and information call (800) 850-7779. Caldera is a registered trademark; and Network Desktop, Caldera Internet Office Suite, and Caldera Solutions CD are trademarks of Caldera, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of X/Open. Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Netscape Communications, the Netscape Communications logo, Netscape, and Netscape Navigator are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. Caldera Press Contact: Lyle Ball, Senior Manager, Public Relations lyle.ball@caldera.com, tel: (801) 229-1675 x305 Kids Computing Corner Frank Sereno, Editor Crayola Art STR Focus http://crayola.com Crayolar Washable Finger Paint Crayolar washable finger paint is especially appropriate for children's early art experiences. The bright color and tactile nature encourage children to explore and learn through the senses, building fine- and gross-motor skills from paint manipulation. Cleanup is worry-free, as Crayola finger paints' special washable technology allows color to be laundered from most fabrics, and color is truly washable from skin and most surfaces. More experienced users can also enjoy finger paint, using more sophisticated techniques. Techniques: BEGINNING FINGER PAINTERS: Try traditional finger painting on the glazed side of finger paint paper. Use a sponge to dampen both sides of the paper. Smooth out wrinkles before painting. Spread a tablespoon of paint outward from the paper's center to cover the entire paper. ú Make strokes, waves, wiggles, finger and thumb prints and other marks with different parts of the hand and arm. ú Blend colors on top of or next to each other. Dampen fingers or add water squeezed from a sponge if paint begins to dry. ú Use combs, stiff paint brushes, sponges, straight-edged cardboard pieces and cotton swabs on the finger painted surface. Make a monoprint. On a clean, smooth non-porous surface (cookie sheet, formica tabletop), outline the boundaries of your printing paper with masking tape. Dampen the non-porous surface and finger paint within those boundaries. (For no-mess processes, smooth plastic wrap over the damp, nonporous surface, dampen the plastic wrap surface, and paint on it.) Press printing paper onto the wet painting, rub the back, and lift off the print. Create monoprint backgrounds. Prepare as for monoprints. Use very small amounts of finger paint, applied thinly to the dampened surface. Print as for regular monoprints, and let the paint dry. Finish by adding foreground figures on top of the monoprint, using markers, crayons, colored pencils or collaged shapes cut from painted paper. ADVANCED FINGER PAINTERS: Make mixed-media monoprint designs. Use bright markers, watercolors, crayons or colored pencils to cover an entire white paper or paperboard surface. Make a finger paint design -- leaving some open, unpainted areas -- on a tabletop surface prepared for monoprinting (see above). Press the colored paper surface onto the finger paint design, rub the back, then remove it. Experiment with chalk and finger paint for stunning effects. Completely cover a white paper with bright chalk colors. Brush a dark-colored finger paint layer over all the chalk. Use the straight edge or tip of a small cardboard scrap to draw back into and pull off the finger paint in selected areas. If desired, place a clean paper over the completed painting, press the papers together, then pull them apart to produce an interesting second print. Try Crayola glitter finger paint for this process. Explore screen printing processes. Make a simple screen: cut the center out of a paper plate (keeping rim intact); place pre-washed organdy fabric over the bottom side of the cut-away circular area; and glue or tape the edges of the fabric to the paper plate rim. Allow the glue to dry, then: 1. Use white Crayola craft glue to draw a design or figure on the center of the organdy circle. Let the glue dry. 2. Place the plate (right side up) on a paper surface. Put finger paint colors on the plate edge and draw it over the organdy surface with a straight- edged cardboard strip. 3. Remove the plate to reveal designs created by the dried glue lines. Repeat as desired. Wash the screen carefully to save it for reuse. Possible Applications Both traditional finger painting and chalk effects work well for creating visual texture, shapes for collage and paper mosaics, strips for paper weaving, paper for Chinese paper-cutting, and lettering designs. Use the monoprint techniques described above for child-made book illustrations and for landscapes, seascapes, underwater scenes, and skies. Chalk and finger paints, used together as indicated, create a unique effect for florals, insects, landscapes, Medieval stained glass windows, and calligraphy designs. Combine techniques and experiment with finger paints to create patterns, logos, and designs related to Israeli screen prints and other cultures' traditional art forms. Portable Computers Section Marty Mankins, Editor MERIDIAN DATA SHIPS OPEN-ARCHITECTURE CD NETWORKING SOFTWARE FOR MIXED-NETWORK ENTERPRISES New Cross-Platform Software Provides Universal Client Interface for Easy Management and Access of CD ROM Applications SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (April 11, 1996) -- Meridian Data, Inc. (NASDAQ/NMS: MDCD) announced today that it has begun shipping powerful client/server applications that manage CD ROMs over heterogeneous network environments. Incorporating an industry-unique open architecture for Microsoft Windows NT and Novell NetWare networks, CD Net" Software unifies CD management and access for network administrators and users, providing a common suite of Windows-native tools for sharing thousands of discs throughout the enterprise. "Meridian's seamless, multi-platform management tools allow organizations to uniformly control and share CD collections located anywhere on the network," said Gianluca Rattazzi, president and chief executive officer of Meridian Data. "For business operations, this translates into improved CD ROM asset control and higher user productivity, enterprise-wide." Advanced CD Networking Applications CD Net Software includes a new suite of universal client productivity applications that provide a single control point-across multiple Windows NT and NetWare servers-for managing CD ROM resources. The advanced tools allow an administrator to comply with CD license requirements (metering) and grant/deny access (security) on a user-by-user basis. By eliminating server and drive letter barriers, the software also permits an unlimited number of CDs to be easily mapped to user desktops-an unprecedented feature. These applications include CD Manager for the network administrator and CD User for network users. Pricing and Availability The CD Net for Windows NT and CD Net for NetWare software products are shipping and available immediately. CD Net for Windows NT server software, configured with unlimited-user license, has a suggested list price (U.S.) of $995. Client software pricing starts at $795 for a 25-concurrent-user license, with optional 50-user and 100-user licenses priced at $1,295 and $1,995, respectively. The product is compatible with Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51 and Windows NT Workstation 3.51, or higher. CD Net for NetWare is licensed on a per-server basis and has a suggested list price of $795 for a 25-concurrent-user license, with optional 50-user and unlimited-user licenses priced at $995 and $1,495, respectively. The product is Novell-certified and compatible with Novell NetWare 3.12 and NetWare 4.1, or higher. To facilitate easy integration into Windows NT and NetWare servers, Meridian also offers CD NetROM SCSI CD ROM subsystems. The storage modules include 4, 7 or 14 high-performance 4x- or 6x-speed CD ROM drives per subsystem, complete with ISA or EISA host adapter card, power supply, cabling and cabinetry. About Meridian Data Founded in 1986, Meridian Data is a leading provider of CD ROM networking software and systems. Its high-productivity CD solutions are widely employed throughout Fortune 500 and government businesses. Meridian is headquartered in Scotts Valley, Calif., and maintains offices in Lawrenceville, N.J., Herndon, Va., Atlanta, Ga., Naperville, Ill., and London, England. The company's products are available through leading distributors and value-added resellers. For more information, visit http://www.meridian-data.com on the World Wide Web. Contact: Richard Krueger Contact: Jeannie Barbieri-Low Meridian Data, Inc. The Hoffman Agency 408/438-3100 408/286-2611 The Meridian logo and CD NetROM are trademarks and CD Net is a registered trademark of Meridian Data, Inc. All other product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. c1996 Meridian Data, Inc. Atari Interactive - software/Jaguar/Computer Section Dana Jacobson, Editor From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" Usually I'm complaining about how long the past week has been; this week seemed to have flown by for some strange reason. Spring is finally in the air. In fact, I'm almost ready to perform one of my annual Spring "rites" of passage, and shave the winter beard. Another sure sign of Spring is the obvious decline in message activity online people tend to get out more and shake off those winter doldrums and enjoy the nice weather. It happens every year. I'm hoping that we can "buck" the quiet trend and generate some activity in the Atari section. With some pending time off, I hope to spend some time contacting a number of our staff and generating some informative articles and news items. There just seems to be little time to do so during a normal work week and keep up with everything else going on in a "real" life. And weekends just seem to be tied up with getting everything done that couldn't be done during the week. Ugh! So, in the meantime, sit down and relax and enjoy this week's offering. Until next time... From Delphi's World of Video Games, Forum manager Andy Eddy: This comes from DAN, former CEO of Delphi. The message that follows is a press release about Delphi. A E Dear DELPHI Member: I'm very pleased to announce that a team of colleagues and I have purchased the Delphi and Bix services back from News Corporation. I was a part of the Delphi team from 1983 through 1994, and served as CEO of Delphi from 1987 through 1994. You'll be familiar with the other members of the Delphi team as I announce them shortly. We are committed to reviving Delphi's reputation as a thriving collection of welcoming, friendly electronic communities -- places you can call your on- line home. More than anything, we want your suggestions, participation and encouragement as we make YOUR Delphi the service that YOU want it to be. Let us know what you think. Thanks for your support. It's great to be back! Dan Bruns DELPHI Mail: DAN For immediate release: Delphi Internet Services Former CEO Reacquires Service From News Corporation Cambridge, MA April 30, 1996. Dan Bruns, former Chief Executive Officer of Delphi Internet Services, today led a team of on-line executives in the purchase of the pioneering on-line service back from the News Corporation. "I'm thrilled to be back with Delphi," says Bruns. "In the two years since I parted with the company, I've talked on-line and in person with many Delphi members, and their enthusiasm and loyalty for the service remains high. I'm committed to ensuring that Delphi continues to offer a friendly and exciting on-line experience." "The company is profitable, and I intend to keep it that way," remarks Bruns. "The top management team includes a number of on-line industry veterans, and I will be announcing their appointments shortly." The entrepreneurial Bruns is a leader in the on-line industry as a Board Member of the Interactive Services Association and as a co-founder and CEO of Knowledge Factory Partners. Knowledge Factory's service, Business Factory (http://www.businessfactory.com) is a World Wide Web site delivering localized and personalized business news to executives at smaller and midsized companies. The Delphi service began fifteen years ago as the world's first on-line encyclopedia. In ensuing years, Delphi evolved into a meeting-place of hundreds of on-line communities where people of like interests meet and interact. In 1992 Delphi acquired BIX, the on-line service for technical professionals, from McGraw-Hill. In the same year Delphi became the first major on-line service to offer full Internet access. News Corporation purchased the company in 1993. Delphi has prospered through its cultivation of on-line forums serving a wide diversity of topics and interests. Delphi is unique in offering its members the ability to create their own "custom forums," where members can host a discussion about any topic. Popular custom forum topics include the hit Fox show X-Files, the legendary singer/songwriter/author Jimmy Buffett, and the world of trivia. Delphi also provides its own forums about popular topics, including the Internet Special Interest Group, where members can learn about navigating through the Internet with Walt Howe, an Internet expert and author of Internet Basics, a pioneering book about the hows and whys of the Internet. "There's a great deal of enthusiasm among the membership about the return of Bruns and his team to Delphi," says Howe. "There are plenty of Delphi members hoping they never have to try another service, and so this is terrific news for them. The service will continue operating from its current Cambridge, Massachusetts offices, and can be reached at (800) 695-4005 for information about subscribing. Information is also available at Delphi's Web site: http://www.delphi.com. Press contacts: Dan Bruns (617) 621-9326 or David Parker (617) 621-9331. UK ATARI SHOWS 96 The UK Atari Shows for 1996 have now been confirmed. Organized by Goodman International SPONSORED BY ST FORMAT MAGAZINE Sat September 28th ----- Motor Cycle Museum Birmingham Sun September 29th ---- Osterley Four Pillars Hotel, London Companies that have made a provisional booking are: Goodman's, ST Format, System Solutions, Upgrade Shop, FaST Club, Best Electronics, Titan Designs, 16/32, Owl Associates, Calamus User Group, Merlin, Top Byte. All the exhibitors I have spoken to so far intend to make these the best shows to date, with new product launches, demonstrations etc., but we do need your support. You've plenty of notice this time, and they are not as close to Christmas as last years. Admissions prices have been set at 3UKP for adults, 1UKP for children More detailed news will be posted over the coming months. Regards to all. Mike Goodman Reader Feedback! Hi! I just read the latest STReport and I noticed that Ralph is saying that the ASCII version of STReport is approaching the "end of the line". The Adobe PDF version completely fails to excite me as I can not read it on any of my six different Atari computers. My Jaguar, Amiga 500, Commodore 64 and Texas Instruments TI-30 III calculator probably will not like it either. Is there any chance of the Jag and ST sections of STReport becoming a separate entity? BTW, I have enjoyed reading STReport for many years and I would like to continue to read it as long as there is some Jag/ST stuff in it. I have one suggestion with respect to the ST section... It seems to be getting harder and harder to find sources of commercial software and hardware so I was wondering if a list could be done of some of the mail order places in North America that still support the ST. I think most people know about Toad but what about other places such as Computer Dungeon? I haven't ordered anything from CD but I did get a look at a recent catalogue. They have lots of used software available at attractively low prices. I am sure other ST owners who don't want to buy "I Burn Money" (I.B.M.) machines would also be interested in knowing about places such as Computer Dungeon. Bye For Now... Ted Skrecky. [Editor's note: I've replied to Ted's e-mail privately, but also thought it would be interesting to reply here as well as I know that others have expressed similar concerns in the past. It's also nice to occasionally print one of our feedback "letters" and keep you, the readers, abreast of what we're hearing. To answer Ted's concern about the ASCII version of STReport there's been no definitive date, if any, for the cessation of an all text version of STReport. In Ralph's defense, it is difficult for him to have to put out TWO versions of STReport on a weekly basis. However, it has become easier in recent months as the various section editors have been able to puttogether their individual sections in a format which allows Ralph to complete the text version much quicker. Like Ted, I personally have no use for a non-text version of STReport. If it weren't straight text, I couldn't read it either. Nor could many of our readers. I wouldn't want to write my section for STReport if I couldn't read it! And, for the present and likely future, I believe that Ralph has accepted that philosophy and will maintain both versions. Wouldthere be a possibility that a separate entity evolved in the future? If the ASCII version of STReport were discontinued AND there was sufficient interest in reading an Atari-Specific online magazine, the answer is that I would probably do something along those lines. However, in all honesty, I'd prefer to remain a part of STReport and maintain an Atari section within its pages. As to your suggestion for a listing of Atari dealers and mail order sources consider it as already in progress. That's an excellent suggestion. I sometimes forget that not everyone is aware of the various sources for Atari software and hardware and there's a need to keep everyone aware of such sources. Look for that listing soon, and we'llperiodically update it. Thanks for the letter and suggestions!! Keep those cards and letters coming folks they are appreciated.] Special Notice!! STR Infofile File format Requirements for Articles File Format for STReport All articles submitted to STReport for publication must be sent in the following format. Please use the format requested. Any files received that do not conform will not be used. The article must be in an importable word processor format for Word 7.0.. The margins are .05" left and 1.0" Monospaced fonts are not to be used. Please use proportional fonting only and at eleven points. ú No Indenting on any paragraphs!! ú No underlining! ú Column Format shall be achieved through the use of tabs only. Do NOT use the space bar. ú No ASCII "ART"!! ú There is no limits as to size, articles may be split into two if lengthy ú Actual Artwork should be in GIF, PCX, JPG, TIF, BMP, WMF file formats ú Artwork (pictures, graphs, charts, etc.)should be sent along with the article separately ú Please use a single font only in an article. TTF CG Times 11pt. is preferred. (VERY Strong Hint) If there are any questions please use either E-Mail or call. On another note. the ASCII version of STReport is fast approaching the "end of the line" As the major Online Services move away from ASCII.. So shall STReport. All in the name of progress and improved readability. The amount of reader mail expressing a preference for our Adobe PDF enhanced issue is running approximately 15 to 1 over the ASCII edition. Besides, STReport will not be caught in the old, worn out "downward compatibility dodge" we must move forward. However, if the ASCII readership remains as high, rest assured. ASCII will stay. Right now, since STReport is offered on a number of closed major corporate networks as "required" Monday Morning reading.. Our ascii readers have nothing to worry themselves about. Many grateful thanks in advance for your enthusiastic co-operation and input. Ralph F. Mariano, Editor STReport International Online Magazine Jaguar Section JV Enterprises/Towers II Update! CatNips! Fight for Life! And more... From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is! I've been busy for most of the week corresponding via email with Jag Jaeger of JV Enterprises, developers of Towers II. It seems that Jag and Vince are avid readers of STReport and noticed my comments regarding the online concerns about whether or not Towers II was going to be released, in an issue a couple of weeks ago. Jag dropped me a line and brought me up to date on the progress of getting Towers II released, and a few other items; some that I have passed along in his message (there are other items that I have to hold off reporting for the moment, per Jag's request). Anyway, the correspondence has been enjoyable and enlightening. We hope to receive a review copy of the game should one become available. In the meantime, Jag has sent me the Falcon computer version of the game (if I can get it "un - MIMED!) to look at to give me an idea of what to expect even though the Jaguar version will be somewhat different in a number of ways (I can't relate those differences at the moment). I've included Jag's letter(s), with some details omitted as requested. At the moment, it sounds promising that Towers II will see the light of day. I also want to thank the many readers who have responded to my inquiry a couple of weeks ago about the potential for buying Towers II if it were to be released. The feedback has been quite good, so keep those letters coming to let us know how you feel about the game being released. If you're like me, you can't wait to see a role-playing game for the Jaguar. BTW, I did receive some screen shots of Towers II and will be posting them on Delphi and CompuServe over the weekend. I'll also post them on Toad Hall and Don Thomas' CatNips BBS. Fight for Life has been getting a lot of positive feedback lately, and finally. It looks, so far, that Atari has another winner on its hands. It's nice to see Atari and Francois Bertrand get some good feedback on this game as it wasn't that long ago that it appeared that the game was undeserving of being over-hyped, and almost cancelled. We'll be receivinga copy to see for ourselves shortly. I talked with Atari's Don Thomas a number of times this past week. One of the things that he did mention that I wanted to pass along to you is that Atari's Web page has been updated finally. Some changes have been made to the site itself, but most important is the fact that the information available is now current. If you haven't checked it out before, or it's been awhile, drop by for a visit c the address is: http://www.atari.com. And speaking of Don Thomas, we've included Don's latest CatNips for your reading pleasure. There's a lot of FFL feedback included, and we hope that you enjoy it also. In the meantime, I'm going to sit back and relax myself. It should be a nice weekend and maybe I'll get a chance to get outside, sit down with my feet up, and enjoy a couple of cold beers. I might even get in a few games on the Jaguar, _before_ my wife gets at it! Until next time... Jaguar Online STR InfoFile Online Users Growl & Purr! CATnips... Jaguar tidbits from Don Thomas (96.04.27) Hey there. Hi there. Ho there. For those who are kindly pestering me for a new CATnips update... here you go. Although this is a slow time of the year anyway, there are still things going on of course. I've been spending a lot of time updating my personal project; the chronology of computers and video games. This past week, I have sent letters to CEOs of the most prominent computer, peripheral and game companies to see if they have anything they want to add. So far my book is already well over 300 pages, but there are some historic gaps I know I need to fill in before I can feel it is complete. If you are associated with a computer/video game business or users' group, please feel free to submit any data that you have that I can include. I'm looking for dated events such as when an organization was founded, when significant products are released, when prominent people in the industry were hired, fired, promoted or indicted . If you have any data like this, please send it to me at my Email address of "75300.1267@compuserve.com". Atari is moving our warehouse this weekend to a location that makes more sense for our new office location. As many of you know, I was able to find a bundle of cool things to sell at great prices and many of you have asked me if there are any additional items we found during the move. The answer is YES. Please stay tuned to STReport, CATscan, the Compuserve, GEnie, Prodigy and Delphi Atari support areas as well as popular Internet Newsgroup locations for an update soon. A new Atari Fanzine has been published called The Atari Times. It is published by Mr. Greg George with help from his colleagues such as Mr. Rafi Guroian, Mr. Edward Castle and Mr. Andrew Robertson. The first issue, dated May '96, is 7 pages (8th page is blank). It contains a fairly complete list of Jaguar games, reviews, classified ads, scanned images and some good articles. The Atari Times is a free publication. Write: Greg George, 1531 Stevens Loop Rd., Babson Park, FL 33827 or Email Greg at "ggeorge@mail.polk.cc.fl.us". FIGHT for LIFE To me, it seems like a decade since the Fight for Life project began. For a long time, Mr. Francois Yves Bertrand, it's creator, worked in a cubicle next to mine at 1196 on Borregas Avenue. Every once in a while, Francois would invite to peer over the wall at his latest revisions and little by little I saw Fight for Life come together as if I were watching time lapse photography. Francois is an extremely talented individual. He initiated the project virtually on a single handed basis. As he developed the project, he solicited the talents of other wizards to help with some of the bit maps, texture maps and sound effects used in the game. By the time Francois was finished and submitted the final copy, the Fight for Life team was numerous, exhausted and proud... and they should be proud. Atari Corporation has always prioritized the famous "fun factor" over almost any other element in a game. The reason for this is because eye candy is only appealing in the store or when you show off a game to a friend for the first time. If the game isn't fun, then consumers look for ways to return or sell it as soon as they decided it is boring to play. Bill Rehbock, the executive producer, and J Patton, the producer of Fight for Life believed very much in the "fun factor" formula and asked Francois to work on those parts of the game engine first. As he did, news began to leak out that Atari was working on a polygonal fighter and before long, Atari was pressed into providing work-in-progress demos to the gaming press. Unfortunately, the gaming magazines decided to evaluate the game by terms other than how it was being developed. While Francois was spending relatively little time making it look good and a lot of time at making it play well, the magazines insisted on evaluations based on how well the screen shots appeared in their glossy magazine pages. By the end of the third quarter of 1995, Atari felt compelled to announce that Fight for Life was "indefinitely postponed" while, behind the scenes, Francois and his team accelerated final development with a focus on the graphic elements of the game. Friday, April 19, 1996, Atari released Fight for Life to the Jaguar community. As you will see below by unsolicited Internet feedback, the game is being touted as an excellent new addition to the Jaguar library. I finally got a chance to look at it this morning. Please let me say first, that I am not pretending to be a polygonal fighter expert. I've seen the Virtual Fighter clones, but I have not played them any more than maybe a quarter's worth each. That being established, Fight for Life definitely has the fun factor elements I'd expect from an Atari product. Not only does the game look GREAT!, but the mechanism to "earn" new moves as I win bouts is a challenging motivation. I also like the fact that each bout feels like a real time fight. Even in instances where I found a particular one move that seems to defeat my opponent, I have to work hard using it to win. I'll let the comments that follow speak for themselves, but overall, I'd say Fight for Life kicks BUTTered buns! Dana Jacobson of STReport found this one for me... Subject: FFL: first impressions Date: Wed, 24 Apr 96 04:57:00 GMT From: blizzard@xmission.com (Curtis J. Hepworth) Hi all, Just got Fight for Life today...(thanks Dave at Bits of Fun!) =) I didn't really know what to expect after the latest round of FFL bashing that went through this newsgroup... horror stories of bad control, sluggish movement and sheer boredom, etc. But I must say that I'm very pleasantly surprised with FFL! Is it the greatest 3-D fighting game ever? No. But is it as dire as recent reports indicated? Not by a long shot! The word was that it had lousy control, yet I found the control to be very nearly spot on and the special moves are among the easiest to pull off of any fighting game I've played. True, the fights are slower paced than most fighting games as well, so if you only like the lightning fast fighters this one may not be for you- but I found that the more deliberate pace of FFL was helpful to me in that I actually had time to think about my strategy and what moves I wanted to try, rather than just blindly pounding on buttons as two blurs whiz around the screen. If some of you are skilled enough to effectively play and enjoy that type of game- Great! More power to you! I am not at that level however, and neither am I too proud to admit it. Sluggish? In speed perhaps, but in control- no. (In fact I found the control response to be considerably quicker than Virtua Fighter for example.) I use VF as a comparison because it is the only 3-D fighter I've played extensively enough to make such a statement. As for the alleged excessive length of the rounds- well, once I started using a lot of specials the rounds didn't seem to last very long at all. Again this is all a matter of what you want- if your desire is to kick your opponents butt in 10 seconds flat, then again FFL may not be for you. If however you are more like my brother and I who always turned our hit strength in SF2 down to the absolute minimum so that our fights WOULDN'T be all over in 10 seconds, then this may be right up your alley. Strong points: Very good graphics- somewhat akin to VF Remix on Saturn...I like FFL's a bit better because of the nice look the g-shading gives to the tmaps. Nice music- again better than I was expecting based on preliminary info. Responsive control Ease of using specials Many of the specials are quite exciting (though not spectacular) and fun to watch! Full 3-D movement (ability to sidestep and also roll away) The "avoid" button is a very refreshing twist from the block routine! Pretty good voice and SFX Stealing moves from a defeated opponent in order to customize and "save" (by password) your character is a nice idea and great fun! Beautiful backgrounds! Nice replays- controllable from any angle, distance, etc. Gives you some great looks at the characters in action up close. Seems to have decent AI- not exceptional here though. Difficulty level is pretty good- seems to easy at first but gets a lot more challenging by the 3rd or 4th fight. Seems to be a nice steady increase all along. (No I haven't beaten the game yet!) ;) Easy to use but somewhat limited combo system. (Again a matter of personal taste- I don't have any problem with it, but major fans of KI very well might!) Very smooth character movement (most of the time!) as well as very nice scaling and rotation, etc. Drawbacks: Pace can be rather plodding (though the generous use of specials can offset this to some extent.) Just a bit tricky to get your character turned around to face an opponent from time to time. (After a overhead jump for example) Some of the characters look better than others-a few still look like they could have used a bit orem work. Control can be a bit touchy at first- you'll notice this when you accidently jump over someone when you just meant to move toward them =) (After a few minutes though, you'll adjust and it'll hardly ever happen anymore.) Some moves are better (read smoother) animated than others The game never really quite achieves that "adrenaline rush" some may be looking for in a fighter- again because of it's deliberate pace. All in all though a very worthy purchase in my opinion! Seems solid throughout- some very nice features and no real glaring weaknesses as I see it. Definitely a game that showcases what the Jaguar is really capable of- congrats to Francois Yves Bertrand and his team (artists, composers, etc) I think this game pushes the hardware more than most any other Jag game yet. Some people may find the pace a bit slow, but at least we won't have to endure whiney "16- bit" comparisons on this one! Well done! Lastly I'd just like to say that this game DOES have that certain intangible that makes it very addicting! It really seems to grow on you- I can't wait to finish this post and get back to playing it... that should say something anyway! I hope that this post might help make it easier for someone out there to decide if they want to purchase FFL or not- if so, glad to be of help! Now back to the game! Curtis J. PS- Merci Francois! Je trouve que votre jeu est tres chouette!!! Frans Keylard located this one for us... To: jaguar@redsun.net From: mor@well.com (Greg Troutman) Subject: Re: fight for life? Sender: owner-jaguar@colossus.net >>>>Has anyone played this d@mn game yet? I was holding out >>>>purchase of this game until I saw some of the opinions >>>>of list-members. I tend to agree with the overall voice >>>>of the list, but I am starting to think that everyone >>>>feels the same and *noone* bought the game! I bought it. I haven't had much time to play it yet, but it seems pretty fun to me! There's a couple of things still bugging me about the controls, but other than that it seems like great fun. The graphics are great, the sound is good. My kids have been playing it more than me, and they seem pretty impressed (VF arcade fans.) Frans also found this one... From: jvmatthe@unity.ncsu.edu Subject: FFL initial reactions and bug To: jaguar@redsun.net Date: Fri, 26 pr A1996 08:19:41 -0400 (EDT) Sender: owner-jaguar@colossus.net Hi all, I got my FFL on Tuesday and have played a good bit since then. I like the graphics, which are, for the most part colorful and detailed. The textures mapped onto the fighters help mask the polygons well. For example, (and while I am saying this, I want you to know that I hope that this next statement is not too offensive to some of you) on the female characters, the textures on the breasts give a sense of roundness even though they are more rectangular if you pan the camera around. So it looks like some attention to details was paid. The controls seem fairly responsive, but I think that the control is slightly different from what I expect when I read the book. For example, when I read Reverse-Up-B for a move, I expected to be able to slide my finger along the D-pad from Reverse to the Up position and then hit B. However, I feel that it works like it should only if I tap Reverse then tap Up and then tap B, i.e. no sliding. Anyway, this is a minor complaint, and I think that I am adjusting. The combos are fun to watch, and the A (Avoid) button is a really nice touch which sometimes results in really beautiful movements like the somersault to get out of the way of an oncoming attack. Some combos are a little choppy, especially on a couple of the "pick up your opponent and smack 'em on the head" type moves. When one of these is executed, if you are at the farthest distance that the move can be successfully made, the victim simply moves in one frame from the far away position to the nearer "in place to be mangled" position. I don't know a whole lot about how the game works internally, but seems like this could have been smoother. I wish that the taunting at the end of the fight were a little more varied, but maybe that is something that can be done with special combinations of button-presses after you complete your last move... I don't know. I did find one way to make my game crash. Go into two player mode, and back the opponents up until they are on opposite ends of the playing field. Then pause the game and pan around until the two players are lined up directly with each other (i.e. you can't see one because the other is in the way) and then zoom in until the camera passes "through" the nearer of the two players. This causes my screen to go black and the audio to freeze. The "*-#" reset doesn't work. Shutting of the Jag and turning it back on is the only way to fix it, and that just means restarting the whole game. You can tell that something fishy is going on, because the shadows of the players as they back across the ring will not line up underfoot like they should, and it even looks like some polygons get out of place. Anyway, I enjoy it, and my friend Ruffin is coming over tonight so we can work at it some more. He is really good with one person, and I am working on learning a group of combos from several different characters but I am no where near as good as he yet. Hope this is informative for you. If you have questions, feel free to ask. --Matt Jaguar Developer Feedback! Jag Jaeger JV Enterprises Hello Mr. Jacobson, I just read last weeks latest ST Report (I'm about a week behind) and was surprised to see a mention about us. In Short, Telegames is currently looking at Towers II. There are several reasons we haven't released many review copies. The first being, we were waiting for a definite response on that it would be picked up. The second reason being, we don't have a burned rom version. Most reviewers have the development kit, but not with the Alpine board. I'm not sure of your situation. If you do have an Alpine board we would be more then happy to immediately send you a review copy. On Genie in the Atari development sig, A copy has been posted there for some time now. I assure you that Vince and I are doing everything in our power to get Towers II to the Jaguar. Oh, by the way, please keep us posted on how many copies you sell :). About Towers II- In Towers II, There are twenty different characters, about 400 creatures abound. Over 100 different types of objects, 13 different types of weapons, 13 different types of armor, 14 magical spells. These are a mix of magical and non magical, for a combined total of 400 items. Towers II is the most elaborate, first person perspective game ever designed for any console system. It features 12 levels with 750,000 square feel of dungeon space. It adheres to true role playing set in a magical medieval environment. With over 400 creatures to battle and interact with, and many intricate puzzles to challenge anyone form novice to expert. Outside of my gloating, I personally think that so much of the game will be lost if we or someone else can't convince Telegames to do it on an 8K version. We just started working on the 128 byte version, and who knows, maybe we'll be able to pull another trick out of our empty bag. I really do hope that you have the Alpine board, I would love to get an honest review and comment from you. If there is any more information that I could help you with, please don't hesitate to write. Thank you for your time... Jag@JV Enterprises 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. Before we get started, I'd like to correct a slight misunderstanding that arose from last week's column. I happened to mention to someone that STik (Part of the WWW package) could not be used to connect to the Internet via CompuServe because CompuServe only provides a PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) and STik can use only a SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol... I think) connection. Therefore, you cannot use STik on CompuServe. Someone has written a file to be used with CAB (another portion of the WWW package) that allows the browser to be used with a PPP connection. The problem is that, in order to use this wonder-file, you must use MINIX (a UNIX clone for the Atari). This brings on problems of its own, such as the loss of the familiar TOS/GEM desktop, and the loss of a hard drive partition (MINIX requires a partition that cannot be accessed by TOS). Okay, now for the problem part (mine of course)... A few people got the impression that it was STik that requires MiNT/MINIX. It doesn't. STik runs under TOS. It is the overlay file for CAB (the one that lets you use a PPP connection) that requires MINIX. I'm really impressed with STik and CAB. I understand that PPP support is almost half way there for STik, but there are other things that the author is putting his efforts into that are more important so I don't know when we'll see PPP support. At any rate, remember that STik is used with TOS, CABMINT.OVL is used under MiNT/MINIX. That's all I have to say about that. Now, let's get on to the reason for this column is the first place... all the great news, hints, and tips available every week right here on CompuServe. From the Atari Computing Forums Sven Bauer asks for help with some of the more esoteric CompuServe commands: "Every now and then when I'm visiting a fourrum such as this one, I get a message from some one trying to talk to me. What command do I enter to reply? I'm using Flash II, if that makes a difference." Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Sven: "You can type the send command. It is similar to this ... send " Sysop Don Lebow adds: "That's a "SEND" command. Here's a clip from the online CIS help: SEND Enter the SEND command at any Forum command prompt to send a short, private, one-line message to any user who is currently in the Forum. The message can be a maximum of 73 characters. In order to SEND to another member, you need to know the member's user number, which is separate from the member's CompuServe User ID. You can obtain their user number by entering the USTATUS command at any Forum "!" command prompt. The format of the SEND command is: SEND XXX Hello where XXX indicates the user number that is to receive the message and Hello is the message. The recipient of the message will receive something similar to the following: ;;[1] John Doe - Hello, where [1] is the user number of the sender, "John Doe" is the name of the sender, and "Hello" is the message that was sent. Hope that helps." Joe Lensbower asks: "Is it possible to go to the LIBRARIES and BROWSE ALL NEW files? Or must one enter each and every library, then browse backwards for new files, then exit, then choose another library, then do it all over again? (I am using an Atari, of course, so none of that fancy Navigator software usage)." Sysop Jim Ness tells Joe: "Use this command line, while in any library: BRO LIB:ALL If you want to do a capture, turn your buffer on and use this: SCA DES LIB:ALL" Joe tells Sysop Jim: "I'll try it. But will BRO LIB:ALL give me only NEW files, or all of them? (I guess I'll find out in a moment...)" Jim tells Joe (and the rest of us): "As you probably already know, the BRO command shows you files in reverse chronological order. Newest files show up first." Sysop Ron Luks adds: "BRO LIB:ALL will give you all files, but in LAST UPLOADED, FIRST DISPLAYED order. In other words, newest files shown first, going backwards. Just abort the scan when you go back far enough." Jon Hartman asks: "My hard drive is crashing...how can I make or receive start up disks for a new hard drive? Or....what if it's the HD controller...how can I tell?" Richard Rives tells Jon: "Hmmmmm (thinking), is it the IDE drive on a Falcon? or ST or TT? How old is the drive? You could boot up with a floppy (hold down the left Alt key I think) and then run your hard disk driver from a floppy to try to retrieve any data. Another important point is to check all your connections and make sure the SCSI chain is not too long (if you are using multiple drives) Maybe someone else has some better answers." Ryan Ridgely posts: "I've been downloading several ST programs lately on to my IBM clone, and when unLZHing them I'm getting 'bad CRC errors'. Does anyone know what's wrong?" Our own Atari section editor, mild-mannered Dana Jacobson, tells Ryan: "This usually means that the Quester version of LZH was used to archive the file. Or, it really is a bad file." Ryan tells Dana: "It actually said, bad LZH header...It was picswitch v1.0. What does this mean and what can I do about it? I need to convert Spectrum images to GIF's..." Dana tells Ryan: "One of the SysOps will need to check the file out and see if it has become corrupted with old age! See what they say." Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Ryan: "You need a newer version of LZH. There is LHARC v3.0x in the library which should handle the archives on the ST without any problem. I am sure there is a similar program on the PC side too." Bob Sakayama asks: "How does one access ftp and WWW using Atari STs? I'm using Flash II." Mark Kelling tells Bob: "Using your CompuServe account is the best way to access ftp sites with your Atari ST. Just GO INTERNET and select FTP from the menu. Simple as that. (You will of course have to know the ftp address for whoever you want to access.) You can also Telnet login to systems which accept it. WWW is another thing all together! There is a WWW browser in the libraries here (Search with keyword WWW.) but it requires a SLIP connection which CompuServe does not have. If you know of a local Internet provider with SLIP access, you can try it there. The set up is very difficult, and reports are that success is limited." Bob tells Mark: "[I] Tried your suggestion, Go INTERNET. Chose 5 -File Downloads (ftp), but get "Access to the ftp service requires CIM software..." I only see Mac and Windows stuff there. What am I doing wrong?" Sysop Bob Retelle tells the other Bob: "Unfortunately the FTP access from CompuServer requires the use of an "HMI" communications program, and at this time the only ones available are for the PC and Mac. There's been some talk in the forum here about a "group programming project" to come up with something similar for the ST, but it may be a while before that gets going. Using Flash from CompuServe you can use telnet to connect to remote host systems, and you can get to UseNet newsgroups.. just GO TELNET or GO USENET." Dennis Bishop posts: "I see that the date for the graphics change over for CIS is getting closer, got their windoz/mck flyer in the mail today, so what's going on with the Atari people, going to die away?" Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Dennis: "I do not think so. The sysops have said that this forum will remain on the current hardware for quite a while yet." Sysop Bob Retelle tells Dennis: "Some Forums here on CompuServe have already switched over to the "CIM-only" style of software, but many are still on the old software. Some, like the Atari Forums will stay with the ASCII setup for the foreseeable future." Hildbrand Hermann tells us: "I've got a performa 6200 PMac. Not wanting to miss Atari prgs I bought MagicMac and NVDI 4.0. I could install MagicMac on my hard disk all right. NVDI, however, refuses to get installed. I keep getting the same message on the screen: Fault at loading (Fehler beim Installieren). Whatever I tried failed. NVDI 4.0 simply wouldn't run. My dealer gave me a fresh copy, but, with the same result. I've sent a message to the authors and hope to get an answer soon. In the meantime I thought I could as well try to get some help via Atari Computing Forum. I do hope there's someone out there who knows to teach NVDI to run on PMac." Albert Dayes tells Hermann: "I thought there was a special version of NVDI created specifically for the MagiCMAC program?" Bill Anderson adds: "It must be NVDI for MagicMac." David R. Schmudde, the Editor of Classic Atari Online Magazine, posts: "Okay, I need some help... bad. Now I have had my TT030 for about 1 month, and have downloaded several shareware games off the internet and off CompuServe and I can only get about 25% of my programs to work. Even several of my commerical programs won't work. TT-Artist- (Compuserve), a screen saver for GEM. I put the main file in the AUTO foldre and it won't ever load up. Captin Blood (Commercial) - I get 4 bombs. Llamatron (Compuserve) - loads but the screen only turns red and then the computer locks up. Gem Chess (Compuserve) - "psudo-loads" in the background of GEM and then goes back to chess. Ozone (internet) - Game runs, joystick won't work. I use a standard 7800 ProSystem JoyStick for the TT030, they are both nine pins. Is this "legal"?" Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells David: "It might be because the games were written before the TT was around for some of the games. Have you booted your machine clean (that is with no desk accessories and the bare minimum of auto folder programs) and see if that helps? I did not think the 7800 joystick should make that much of a difference." Sysop Bob Retelle tells David: "I'm not really familiar with the TT, but I think I recall reading that some 16bit programs have problems on the 32bit CPU in the TT. I vaguely remember that there was a patch program which allowed some older programs to run on a TT... (unless I'm confusing it with something else). I'm not certain about using the 7800 joystick... I do know that the old standard Atari 2600 style stick works, but I don't know if the 7800 stick is compatible. Hopefully someone else may remember if there was such a patch program, and what the name was..." Carl Barron adds: "There is a program somewhere called 24bit.prg. It sets the TT's mmu to map addresses from a 32 bit to 24 bit address space. Is that what you had in mind? There are other differences like stack frames from traps and exception vectors, between the 68000 and 68030. Who knows what 'cheats' are employed in a game program? The tt has a real mmu. If you address memory you don't own in this mode you get an bus error [2 bombs] if I recall. This mode is not normally used for compatibility reasons. You'd be surprised how many programs assume they own the machine." Sysop Bob adds: "I think that 24BIT.PRG was the one I was thinking of... as I recall, some programs made illegal use of the upper 8 bits or something like that, but when run on the 32bit CPU in the TT those programs crashed pretty solidly. You're right about the "cheats" in game programs too..!" David tells Sysop Bob: "You mean there is no "protected mode" like in Intel processors for 16 bit apps? (or 8-bits for and Intel-DOS based). I thought Motorola would figure that that would be a good idea. Honestly, I didn't think that a 7800 joystick would make a difference, but I wanted to make sure." Albert jumps back in and tells David: "Motorola 68K series always had linear memory addressing 1-16 megs of ram and for 68020 and above large amounts. Just think if IBM has picked the Motorola chip over the Intel chip way back when." Well folks, that's about it for this week. Tune in again next week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying then... PEOPLE ARE TALKING EDITORIAL QUICKIES "A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad..." "The press must be free; if someone finds themselves annoyed by it, let them examine their own conduct and they will find the cause..." 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" May 03, 1996 Since 1987 Copyrightc1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1218