Silicon Times Report The Original Independent OnLine Magazine" (Since 1987) May 10, 1996 No. 1219 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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This year's Spring edition is certain to offer many new goodies for all. Corel is going full speed ahead on their newest addition, Word Perfect. Alas the 16 bit version is the only incarnation that's readily available. That little factoid should give the 32bit competitor (Word 7) a decided market edge. Adaptec has a bevy of new products available. We shall begin our coverage of the SCSI world next week. As that time we'll focus on Adaptec the world's recognized authority when it comes to things called scsi. 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. 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Jacobson Murdoch Sells Delphi Service Analysts are saying Rupert Murdoch's decision to quietly sell Delphi Internet Services just three years after buying the Cambridge, Massachusetts, old- timer indicates the media czar still is uncertain how to jump into the online world. As reported, former Delphi CEO Dan Bruns says he is leading a team of online executives in buying back the Boston area information service from Murdoch's News Corp. Writing in The New York Daily News, reporter George Mannes says Murdoch's decision to sell (for undisclosed terms) "is a continued sign that Murdoch is struggling to define his Internet-related businesses." Mannes notes that in February, News Corp. dropped its plans to launch an Internet-based online service after partner MCI allied itself with Microsoft. "That service was intended to offer proprietary content and provide its members access to the World Wide Web and other parts of the Internet," Mannes observes. "Instead, the company launched a re-configured service called iGuide. It is a general-interest site on the web that includes numerous reviews of other web sites." As reported, Murdoch bought Delphi in 1993, saying it would be the base for the company's online operations, and would even lead to an electronic version of News Corp.-owned TV Guide. Mannes says the buyers led by Bruns, are buying the Delphi name, a computer operations center in Cambridge and a subscriber base of 50,000, which Bruns described as "very loyal and very active." Prodigy Buyout Said to Be Near Word is a deal is imminent for the management team seeking to buy Prodigy Services Co. from parents IBM and Sears Roebuck & Co. "The price could not be learned," says reporter Therese Poletti of the Reuter News Service, "but some analysts speculated that the deal could be as low as $100 million." Vice President Adam Schoenfeld of Jupiter Communications, a market research firm in New York, told Poletti, "I have heard no denials coming from very, very high placed Prodigy executives ... that a deal could be done as early as Friday." Reuters also quoted an executive close to the situation as saying some issues still are to be worked out, that "a deal is not finalized yet, it's still up in the air." However, the executive added a deal could be reached within a week or so. Poletti says price and some other terms and conditions are believed to be the current sticking points. As reported earlier, a management team led by Prodigy CEO Ed Bennett originally was preparing to launch a bid in the range of $250 million a month ago. The team has been working with investment bankers Wasserstein Perella Securities, based in New York. Says Poletti, "Bennett, who wants to move the online service to New York City from White Plains, New York, also is working with other Prodigy top executives that he has recruited since his arrival there in April 1995, after turning around the VH1 cable channel into a competitor of MTV." Currently, president Gary Arlen of Arlen Communications in Bethesda, Maryland, estimates Prodigy's subscribers are under 1 million. "That would place them at No. 4," Arlen told the wire service, just trailing Microsoft Network and far behind industry leaders CompuServe and America Online. Analyst Emily Green of Forrester Research told Reuters, "I think the biggest problem they have had is getting IBM and Sears to perceive that the value (of the company) has dropped." The two firm invested at least $1 billion in developing the service and possibly as much as $2 billion, analysts have said. Early last month, shortly after news of Bennett's move to buy the company from its owners, Prodigy laid off 150 employees, aimed at getting the Service in shape for the management-led buyout. IBM Licenses Mac OS The IBM unit that supplies components and technologies to other companies has agreed to sub-license the Apple Macintosh operating system to other Computer makers. However, IBM officials in Armonk, New York, said the company is not committed to shipping an IBM product using the Macintosh operating-systems at this time. The Dow Jones News Service quotes analyst Eugene Glazer of Dean Witter Reynold Inc. as saying, "It's not IBM's PC unit coming out" with a computer using the Macintosh system. "That would be very different." The wire service says IBM is expected to sub-license the Mac operating system to any manufacturer building a computer based on the IBM PowerPC chip. "It is similar to an agreement reached in February between Motorola Inc. and Apple," Dow Jones adds, "but The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Motorola plans to make its own Macintosh clones in China for sale in that country and abroad." Apple Vice President George Scalise says that from Apple's point of view, the new deal "broadly expands the reach of the Macintosh operating systems. Analysts told Dow Jones that IBM probably views the new agreement as a way to increase demand for the PowerPC chip, which was a joint product between IBM, Apple and Motorola. The wire service notes Apple and IBM also are working on a sub-notebook product, but they declined to provide more details. Tandem, Microsoft Team Up In a move seen as opening potentially huge new markets for both companies, Microsoft Corp. and Tandem Computers Inc. have agreed to marry their server technologies. Reporting from Tandem's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, The Wall Street Journal reports terms call for Tandem to make its networking and "fault-tolerant" software compatible with Microsoft's hot-selling Windows NT, over the next year. Both companies will sell the software. "That would give Windows NT, now used mostly for small and medium-sized applications, a crack at the $8.5 billion market for massive computer systems favored by stock exchanges, banks, and other companies that risk being paralyzed by a single computer snafu," the Journal comments. The deal means Tandem gets to try for a foothold in the exploding market for low-end servers, which Tandem Chief Executive Roel Pieper predicts could add "more than $1 billion" to Tandem's annual sales. "But the move is extremely risky for Tandem, too," the paper notes. "Until now, Tandem has used its software as the key selling point for high-end computer systems that can cost millions of dollars. By selling the software alone, Tandem may cannibalize at least some of its $1.5 billion high-end computer business." Ziff Names Editors, Publishers Computer magazine giant Ziff-Davis has named new executives at PC Magazine, MacWeek and ZD Net. ú Nancy Newman has been promoted from national associate publisher to publisher of PC Magazine, replacing Dan Rosensweig, who is being promoted to executive vice president of the Internet Publishing Group. ú Peter Longo is being promoted from associate publisher of Computer Shopper to nationalassociate publisher of PC Magazine. ú Rick LePage is being promoted from editor of MacWeek to the publication's editor-in-chief. He replaces Mark Hall, who will remain with MacWeek as the editorial page editor while he works on a book project concerning the Internet. Hall will also continue to write his online column, "Off the Record," carried by ZD Net. ú Dan Farber has named vice president and editor-in-chief of ZD Net. He will continue to hold his post as editor-in-chief of PC Week. Wired Mum on IPO Rumors Owners of Wired magazine aren't talking about the rumors that it may be planning to offer public stock in the three-year- old publishing venture. "At this point we are not making any announcements and Wired is a privately- held company," Taara Hoffman, director of publicity and promotions at Wired, told the Reuter News Service in San Francisco. This follows a report in the San Francisco Examiner that Wired publisher Louis Rossetto had retained the investment banking firm of Goldman Sachs & Co. to investigate a public offering at $10 to $12 a share. Reuters notes the report didn't say how many shares might be issued or what portion of the company Wired would be willing to sell, but it did say Rossetto had held a staff meeting early last week in which he informed employees of the prospect. (Rossetto is CEO of the magazine's parent, Wired Ventures Inc.) The San Francisco publishing effort -- founded in 1993 by Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe and backed in part by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab guru Nicholas Negroponte and publisher S.I. Newhouse - achieved an initial readership of some 53,793. Circulation is now estimated to top 300,000 and Wired has formed two other units: its online service HotWired, added in October 1994, and a book publishing division, HardWired. "But," says Reuters, "one industry source said heavy investment by Wired in its new businesses had been a drain on the company, and could be forcing it to consider fresh sources of finance. Industry sources have estimated that Wired racked up around $10 million in losses last year, largely due to fresh investments, on revenues of around $30 million." Adobe Seeks New Look for Web A series of technologies that will allow Internet publishers to use magazine- style graphics and typefaces is being unveiled today by software publisher Adobe Systems Inc., with a boost from Sun Microsystems Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Noting critics complain current Internet graphics are lifeless and boring, reporter Don Clark of The Wall Street Journal this morning characterizes Mountain View, Calif., firm's project, code-named Bravo, an effort to change the look of the World Wide Web. "Adobe, which makes publishing software used by newspapers and magazines, has persuaded Sun to support a new technical format that will spice up Internet graphics," Clark writes, adding that computer maker Sun has agreed to include the new technology with Sun's hit Java programming language. Adobe President Chuck Geschke told the paper widespread use of Bravo will mean that programmers' Web graphics will appear the same on any personal computer, regardless of its microchip technology or software operating system. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Adobe have said they will combine their technologies for creating type fonts in order to develop a single standard for PCs and the Internet, Clark reports, noting the two have competed over type font technology for more than five years. "Now, peace appears to have broken out," the Journal observes, quoting Chuck Bigelow, a typography expert who heads Bigelow & Holmes Inc. in Maui, Hawaii, as saying the two sides wanted to avoid a standards war of the sort that consumers saw with video-recording, that "nobody wants to be a Betamax." Clark says the announcements "reflect a quickening race to make the Internet more useful for vendors and consumers," noting, "While today's Web pages are generally static documents, numerous companies are promoting new standards to make animation and three-dimensional effects commonplace." The Journal says Adobe's Bravo technology solves a separate problem by providing a standard way to display two-dimensional objects and type on PC screens and printing devices. "Using Bravo with Sun's Java programming language could help create programs that reside on server computers and are downloaded over networks to any type of PC," writes Clark. "That technique could reduce the influence of Microsoft in defining the technical ground rules that other software companies must follow." Intuit Offers Free QuickBooks Trial Intuit Inc. says it will allow small businesses to try its QuickBooks 4.0 and QuickBooks Pro 4.0 accounting software on a free trial basis. PC users can obtain the software by dialing 800-781-6999, extension 702656. Beginning May 12, users will also be able to obtain the software by filling out an electronic form on QuickBooks Small Business Online (http://www.intuit.com/quickbooks/), a part of Intuit's World Wide Web site. Customers can use the free Windows trial version 25 times before the program automatically inactivates. Macintosh users can try a full version of QuickBooks 4.0 or QuickBooks Pro 4.0 for 30 days on a delayed billing program. "Our research shows that many small business owners are frustrated because they've spent a lot of time and money evaluating other accounting packages that end up not meeting their particular needs," says Scott D. Cook, co-founder and chairman of Intuit. "We want to solve that problem by allowing all customers to easily evaluate the market leader for free." Survey Finds High DVD Awareness A new survey on digital videodisc (DVD) technology -- the consumer electronics industry's most hyped breakthrough since the compact disc -- shows that the product has already achieved a high level of visibility in the marketplace, even though DVD won't reach stores until late fall or next spring. Results from a Video Business/Chilton EXPRESS poll reveal that 45 percent of the 1,008 consumers surveyed have heard of DVD technology -- a high percentage for a yet-to- be- released product. The survey also showed that the respondents with the highest DVD awareness levels tend to be the traditional "early adopters" -- younger males with higher income and education levels. Some industry analysts believe that DVD will change the way people watch movies outside of the movie theater because of the technology's superior resolution and audio quality compared to VHS tapes. The new discs look like 5- inch CDs and hold full-length movies (in eight different language soundtracks). DVD equipment will also play CDs and can act as computer or video game peripherals. "The survey results support what analysts in the consumer electronics industry have predicted: American gadget-lovers are ready for yet another product that improves the way they view, communicate and play," notes a statement issued by Chilton Research Services Inc. of Radnor, Pennsylvania. "This survey, coupled with the fact that a large number of the 93,000 visitors at the annual Consumer Electronics Show lined up to see the digital videodisc exhibition earlier this year, indicates that DVD hardware and software manufacturers may have an open-arms market for this product." Intel Plans No Boards for Laptops Chipmaker Intel Corp. says that while it has begun developing more laptop computer technology related to microprocessors, it does not intend to make motherboards for portables as it does for desktop computers. Visiting officials in Tokyo, Intel CEO Andrew Grove told reporters that developing laptop technology is becoming more difficult because of demands for high performance, low power and miniaturization, and Intel has been undertaking designs to benefit laptop makers, who are important customers. The Reuter News Service quotes Grove also as saying that at the end of 1995, Intel ended up with more DRAM memory chips than anticipated because of changing demands from customers. Grove said that when there was a shortage of memory chips earlier in 1995, customers had asked Intel to supply DRAMs with the motherboards they ordered, but when the shortage disappeared they began purchasing DRAMs elsewhere. In other developments, Grove also predicted future PCs will be networked multimedia computers that delivered voice, video, 3D and animation data to each other over the Internet. PC Camera Lets Users Monitor Sites Marshall Electronics Inc. is offering a color camera that sends images via telephone lines to any PC. The company says its SECURECam I is designed for remote monitoring applications and is the first in a series of digital color cameras that plug directly into standard telephone lines for the remote viewing and storing of video pictures on any PC. The $599 SECURECam I allows users to dial up a remote site on their PC and view live images at a rate of 2 frames per second in a 2-inch window. Users can also snap high- resolution 640- by 480-dot 24 bit color images. The camera can work up to 250 feet from the phone line. Five or more cameras can be integrated through adapters using the same phone line. Marshall Electronics is based in Culver City, California. Corel Ships WordPerfect Programs Corel Corp. says the 16-bit version of Corel WordPerfect Suite for Windows 3.1x is now shipping. The new line of WordPerfect products, which includes Corel Office Professional, Corel Quattro Pro 6.0 and Corel Presentations 6.0, was created from the WordPerfect software line Corel recently acquired from Novell Inc. Corel Office Professional, Corel Quattro Pro 6.0 and Corel Presentations 6.0 for Windows 3.1x are scheduled to begin shipping in mid-May, while Corel WordPerfect Suite 7 for Windows 95 is scheduled for release in late May and Corel Office Professional 7 for Windows 95 is slated to begin shipping in mid-July. "We expect a very enthusiastic response to the unbeatable value of our new WordPerfect offerings," says Michael Cowpland, Corel's president and CEO. "The new Corel WordPerfect Suite gives our customers a value-packed collection of business applications for the price of a word processor, while Corel Office Professional adds the strength of Paradox, Group Wise Client License and InfoCentral to meet all of their database, groupware and information management needs." FCC Ponders Internet Phone Calls The Federal Communications Commission is wondering if it should begin regulating telephone calls placed via the Internet. Although the FCC hasn't yet announced whether it will launch formal investigatory proceedings, the agency will hear comments from interested parties through May 8. Several software publishers, including VocalTec Inc. now offer programs that allow computer users to place phone calls through the Internet. While the low-cost connections can be somewhat tenuous and noisy, the specter of increased competition has many established phone companies worried. The America's Carriers Telecommunication Association, an organization comprised of 160 small-to medium-sized long- distance companies, is one of the telecommunications industry trade groups supporting government action. The ACTA recently asked the FCC to create rules governing Internet telephone service, arguing that such service is identical to the services provided by ACTA's members, who are regulated. The ACTA also claims that the anticipated high volume of unregulated calls to be funnelled over the Internet will overload the Net. Additionally, the ACTA states that unregulated Internet phone companies don't contribute to congressionally mandated funding of phone service to low income and rural areas or to the maintenance of the nation's telecommunications infrastructure. Feds Call for Copyright Reform U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch and Patrick Leahy are calling for an amendment to the U.S. copyright law to protect intellectual property rights in cyberspace. Hatch says a change in the law is needed, because of technological advances that have given users all over the world the ability to make "instant and perfect copies" of copyrighted works, such as software, books, movies and musical performances. United Press International notes his remarks came as artists, publishers, computer services and users squared off on the issue yesterday at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is considering a bill to extend copyright protections to digital transmissions over the Internet. Testifying at the hearing, director Kenneth R. Kay of the Creative Incentive Coalition, whose members include most of the bigger media companies in America, said piracy already costs U.S. copyright owners $18 billion to $20 billion a year. The group strongly endorsed the Hatch-Leahy bill, which UPI says is consistent with the recommendations of a Clinton Administration study. The administration also is proposing a similar approach to international organizations as a model for international law. The measure would prohibit the manufacture and sale of devices designed to circumvent copyright protection systems, which could put an electronic tracer on legitimate copies that could pinpoint the source of the piracy. UPI notes online services object to parts of the Hatch-Leahy bill that would seem to make them liable for the copyright violations committed over their networks. William W. Burrington of the Interactive Services Association testified the services cannot monitor everything that is sent over their networks. And Robert L. Oakley, law professor at Georgetown University, said a new copyright law should make it clear that users have the right to make temporary copies of copyrighted works and have the right to give away, lend or sell copies they have legitimately obtained. Survey Finds Poor Computer Security Many U.S. businesses, government agencies and universities are reporting in a new survey that their computer systems have been broken into but that they were poorly prepared to deal with the problem. Reporting from San Francisco, the Reuter News Service says the Computer Security Institute of computer security experts did the survey using questions supplied by the FBI's International Computer Crime Squad in San Francisco. Says CSI Director Patrice Rapalus, "The survey results serve as a warning. There has to be a greater commitment of resources to information systems security and increased cooperation between the private sector and law enforcement. "The information age has already arrived," he added, "but most organizations are woefully unprepared." He said technology has made it easier for offenders to steal, spy or sabotage without being noticed. The 428 organisations responding to the survey -- including corporations, financial institutions, government agencies and universities -- "confirmed that their information systems are under siege," CSI said. Results were: ú Forty-one percent had experienced some form of intrusion or other unauthorised use of their computer systems in the last year. ú More than half of those who suffered intrusions, or attempted probes of their internal systems, traced the intrusions to current employees. Unauthorised probes of computer systems were also prevalent from remote dial- in sources and Internet connections. ú Twenty-two organizations said they had suffered 10 or more "attacks" on their system in the past year. Reuters quotes CSI as saying unauthorized alterations of data - known as "data diddling" -- were the most frequent form of attack reported against medical and financial institutions. "Large majorities of those surveyed considered independent 'hackers' and disgruntled employees likely sources for eavesdropping, system penetration and spoofing -- attacks in which intruders forge a return address to gain access to a computer system," Reuters reports. Also, though, more than half cited U.S.-owned corporate competitors as a likely source of attacks ranging from eavesdropping to system penetration, "and," says the wire service, "many said that information sought in recent attacks on their computer systems would be of use to American corporate competitors." Internet Users Keep on Searching A new survey sponsored by Lycos Inc. finds that American Internet users spend more time searching for information than reading the material they find. While 80 percent of online users say they believe the information on the Internet is useful, 54 percent report they spend most of their time searching for information. "Surfers, it seems, are finding it's messy out there in cyberspace," says Robert Davis, president and CEO of Lycos, which runs an Internet search site (http://www.lycos.com). "More importantly, they seem to be crying out for the Internet to be useful, and not just fun." Of all survey respondents, 63 percent say the Internet does not complicate their life (87 percent of those online and 57 percent of those not online). In fact, 58 percent of all respondents feel the Internet can simplify their lives. Additionally, 66 percent of all respondents report that the prospect of being online is not isolating (87 percent of those online and 62 percent of those not online). Study: Cable Industry Must Adapt The cable television industry can realize new revenue in the range of $3.5 billion to $5 billion by the year 2000 through a combination of new services including cable modems, delivery of personal communications services (PCS) and near video on demand, according to SIMBA Information Inc. The market research firm notes that cable television, like most of the telecommunications industry, is entering a time of intense redefinition. The core business of delivering television services over a wire to homes will not sustain traditional cable concerns in an era of competition and regulatory changes. While SIMBA states that cable will continue to be the predominant subscription television service through the year 2000, its customer base will begin to erode as competitive services boost their subscriber numbers. One of the first ways cable operators will fortify themselves in a newly competitive market is through a continuing wave of acquisitions, trades and mergers. "Cable operators need to shore up their two most valuable resources which are their networks and access to the consumer," says SIMBA researcher Rob Agee. "By 2005, there will be fewer than five primary cable operators controlling more than 90 percent of all subscribers." Agee notes that cable operators will also begin to bundle video, data and personal communications services to compete with satellite, wireless and telephone company video networks. "Data services delivered via cable enable operators to leverage their robust and dynamic coaxial fiber networks to revolutionize a proven and lucrative business almost immediately," says Agee. But in order to succeed, cable operators have to act quickly and aggressively. "Failure to deliver high speed cable modem access is not an option cable operators can afford," says Agee. Gates Foresees Net as Easy as TV Dusting off his crystal ball, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates is predicting that within 10 years, hooking up to the Internet will be as much a part of everyday life as talking on the telephone or watching television. For now, though, he notes, traffic jams are becoming increasingly frequent as more people use the vast global computer network and as more audio and video are passed along. Covering an education conference in Bellevue, Washington, The Associated Press says Gates told educators that as technology develops - including the advanced types of telephone and cable lines needed to quickly deliver information -- those traffic jams will cease. "Gates envisions the Internet," says AP, "as the place where people will eventually go for information on absolutely everything." In his keynote address, Gates said, "Imagine everything being totally available. In the next couple years, we're going to get pretty close to that ideal." Noting the conference is intended to train workers for crucial jobs that don't yet exist, Gates commented that two years ago nobody would have picked "webmaster" as a hot job in 1996. Now, webmasters, along with developers, systems integrators, graphic artists and other jobs related to the World Wide Web portion of the Internet are in high demand. CompuServe Denies FBI Probe CompuServe Inc. officials today denied a Columbus, Ohio, newpaper report that the online service is being investigated by the FBI over a complaint about adult-oriented data. "We categorically deny that there is an investigation being conducted by either the FBI or the Department of Justice," CompuServe spokesman Russ Robinson told The Associated Press. His statement came after The Columbus Dispatch newspaper reported this morning that the FBI had begun investigating a complaint lodged by a Christian watchdog group called American Family Association over what it characterized as sexually-oriented material. AP notes American Family, headed by conservative media critic Donald Wildmon, is the group that last year forced Calvin Klein to cancel a jeans ad campaign featuring young models in provocative poses. The organization also pressured companies to drop ads for "NYPD Blue" because of the program's adult content. American Family's new complaint centers on CompuServe's Entertainment Drive forums, which provide various information about entertainment, such as movies and television programming, and on the MacGlamour Forum, which contains pictures and movies. AP says the Justice Department has forwarded to the FBI the group's complaint that the CompuServe services violate the new Communications Decency Act. However, Justice Department spokesman John Russell told the wire service this afternoon that does not necessarily mean there is an investigation. The federal law in question, part of the massive telecommunications overhaul signed by President Clinton last February, allows for penalties of up to two years in prison and $250,000 in fines for violations. However, as reported earlier, a three-judge U.S. District Court panel in Philadelphia currently is hearing arguments on whether the decency law is constitutional and Justice Department officials have indicated they would not begin prosecuting violators until the case is decided. As reported here, Judge Ronald Buckwalter issued a temporary restraining order Feb. 15 that blocked part of the act, declaring some terms used in it to be too vague. Meanwhile, CompuServe spokeswoman Daphne Kent noted parents who subscribe to CompuServe already can block access to any area of the system by requiring a password to enter those areas. However, she pointed out, so far only 6,000 of CompuServe's 4.7 million subscribers have initiated parental controls, which Kent said suggests people are not very concerned about the issue on the system. FBI Says No CompuServe Probe Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation have confirmed that CompuServe is not being investigated because of what a Christian watchdog group considers adult-oriented material available online. "As far as I know -- and I should know -- we are not doing an investigation," Theodore Jackson, the agent in charge of the FBI's Cincinnati office, told The Associated Press. "That's news to me." As reported, CompuServe officials also have denied a report in the Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch newspaper that an FBI probe had been launched following a complaint from a Christian watchdog group called American Family Association over what it characterized as sexually-oriented material. CompuServe spokesman Jeff Shafer called the newspaper account "erroneous." And Justice Department spokesman John Russell now has told the Reuter News Service, "They're not under investigation. The FBI has not launched a probe." WinZip 6.1, featuring the WinZip Wizard in Universal Release WinZip 6.1, featuring the WinZip Wizard, is now available for Windows 95, Windows NT, and Windows 3.1. All registered users can download a free upgrade to the English version. Both 32-bit (Windows 95 and Windows NT) and 16-bit (Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups) versions are available. ú WinZip for Windows 95 features improved drag and drop support. ú German language versions of WinZip are now available. ú You can download the latest pre-release add-ons for WinZip from the Beta Test Information Page WinZip Features Include The WinZip Wizard: This optional feature uses the standard and familiar "wizard" interface to simplify the process of unzipping and installing software distributed in Zip files. The WinZip Wizard is not targeted at experienced users, but is ideal for the rapidly growing number of PC users getting started with Zip files. When these users gain confidence or want to use more advanced zipping features, the full WinZip Classic interface is just a click away. The WinZip Wizard is new in WinZip 6.1. Windows 95 Features: WinZip includes long filename support and tight integration with the Windows 95 shell. Drag and drop to or from the Explorer, or ZIP and UNZIP without leaving the Explorer. Drop files on a printer to print. Internet Support: WinZip includes built-in support for popular Internet file formats: TAR, gzip, and Unix compress. Now you can use WinZip to access almost all the files you download from the Internet. WinZip won the Windows Magazine 1996 WIN100 Award, was a finalist for the PC Computing 1995 MVP Awards at Comdex, and was voted "Best Utility" at the 1994 Shareware Industry Awards. Recent magazine quotes include: ú "No Windows 95 desktop should be without a file archiving utility, and Nico Mak Computing's WinZip 6.0 is the one to have." PC Magazine 5/96 ú "WinZip is THE file Utility everyone should have." STReport Magazine 4/96 ú "The best all-purpose file-compression utility for Windows 95 and Windows NT" Windows Sources 3/96 ú "These days everyone needs a good unzipping utility. This is the best." PC Computing, 12/95 ú "The best zipping and unzipping program you can find" Computer Shopper, 10/95 ú "The best of the Windows ZIP utilities" PC Magazine, 9/12/95 Do you need to send files to end users who may not have an unzip utility? If so, click here for information about WinZip Self-Extractor, a finalist for the 1995 Ziff-Davis Shareware Awards. A pre-release version of WinZip Self- Extractor 1.1 is also available. This version includes optional support for Windows 95 long filenames, MS-DOS support (one .exe file works on either MS- DOS or Windows), and improved automation and customization for software installation. Adaptec Power Storage(tm) Hard Drive Upgrade Kit How to solve your data storage needs, enhance your PC's performance, and open the way to the hottest new peripheral devices...in One Easy Step. The Power Storage is the all-in-one external hard drive kit, so it's incredibly easy to add storage to your PC. And because it's external, you don't have to throw away your old internal drive that came with your PC. The Power Storage Hard Drive Kit can be used by you and the kids, in a home or small office, or for multimedia applications. One of the best things about the Power Storage Kit is that the hard drive is a SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface, pronounced "scuzzy") drive. SCSI peripherals and devices are known for their superior performance and compatibility. Expandability For Any PC! Today's computing requires more data storage than ever before -- for new Windows(reg) 95 applications, for multimedia and games, for video, graphics, and those large files you download off the Internet. Now there's an easy way to solve your storage needs and open your PC to today's hottest new peripherals. Adaptec Power Storage kit, gives you the high-speed, high-capacity hard drive you need for today's storage needs -- and, at the same time, provides a convenient external expansion platform that lets you add up to six more peripherals just by plugging in a cable. Power Up Your PC Adaptec Power Storage kit gives your PC a SCSI interface. With SCSI, you'll get the fastest disk access times available. You'll be able to take advantage of true multitasking under Windows 95. And you'll be able to add high-performance peripherals like Zip drives, tape drives, scanners, even recordable CD-R drives. Installation's A Snap Simply install the SCSI connections card in the ISA bus slot of your 386/486 PC, or the PCI slot of your Pentium PC. It takes less than 30 minutes, and requires no technical skill. Then plug in your new Power Storage hard drive and other SCSI peripherals, just like that. You'll never have to open your computer case to add peripherals again! SCSI: The Secret To Your PC's Future Inside every PC is an input/output (I/O) interface, which controls the flow of data between your computer and its peripheral devices (hard drives, printers, scanners, etc.). Most PCs come standard with an I/O technology called IDE or EIDE, a workable solution, but slow and very limited. Computer users today are finding it makes sense to upgrade their I/O technology to SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) for a lot of good reasons: ú Only SCSI lets you use high-performance peripheral devices -- fast, high- capacity hard drives like your new Power Storage drive, recordable CD-R drives, and removable media devices like Zip drives or magneto-optical drives. ú SCSI lets you add up to seven peripheral devices to a single expansion port, just by plugging in a cable. What could be simpler? ú SCSI lets you add external peripherals, not just internal ones (as with IDE/EIDE). ú SCSI moves data in and out of the system at a much faster rate - essential for today's demanding applications and peripherals. ú It provides significantly faster disk access and frees your computer's CPU to work faster at its own tasks. ú Only SCSI supports true multitasking under Windows 95. So while you're scanning an image or backing up your hard disk, you can continue working (or playing) on other things. Take It Outside! The Advantages of External Expansion PC owners have traditionally been limited to internal expansion - and limited is the word for it. With Adaptec Power Storage, you can expand externally, with all these advantages: ú Once you've installed the Power Storage connections card, you can add additional peripherals just by plugging in a cable. You'll never have to open your PC's case to add a new SCSI device. ú Take your SCSI peripherals with you when you're working at a different site -- or when you buy a new system. ú You'll never run out of expansion bays. Add your new high-performance Power Storage hard drive and up to six additional SCSI peripherals to a single expansion point. ú No need to trash your old drives -- you can save your existing hardware, and avoid the laborious floppy-by-floppy transfer of data and applications to your new drive. Adaptec Power Storage Key Features High Capacity: ú One gigabyte external SCSI hard drive. High Performance: ú Connections card -- SCSI connections card supports 10 MByte/sec Fast SCSI-2 burst rate on the SCSI bus; (32-bit bus mastering data transfer for Power Storage/PCI) Hard Drive ú Power Storage hard drive provides 12 ms average seek time. Widest Compatibility: ú Adaptec is the industry standard in SCSI technology, the one that peripheral manufacturers design to. You can count on reliable performance and the widest possible compatibility. Easy Installation: ú SCSI connections card installs in minutes into the ISA slot of your 386/486 PC or the PCI slot of your Pentium PC -- no jumpers or switches to set. One-click software installation; supports Plug-and-Play under Windows 95. Multi-Platform Support: ú Works under Windows 95, Windows(reg) 3.1, MS-DOS, Windows NT(tm), OS/2, NetWare, UNIX. Includes Free Software: ú Adaptec EZ-SCSI(reg) Software -- suite of 32-bit applications for your Power Storage hard drive and other SCSI peripherals. ú Remove-It(reg) Software by Vertisoft(tm) -- Safely and easily lets you uninstall Windows and DOS applications and files you no longer need. Adaptec, Inc. 691 South Milpitas Boulevard Milpitas, California 95035 Adaptec Europe Belgium Tel: (32) 2-352-34-11 FAX: (32) 2-352-34-00 Adaptec Japan Tokyo Tel: (81-3)-5276-9882 FAX: (81-3)-5276-9884 Adaptec Singapore Tel: (65) 278-7300 FAX: (65) 273-0163 Literature: 1-800-934-2766 (USA and Canada) (510) 732-3829 Ordering Software: 1-800-442-7274 (USA and Canada) (408) 957-7274 Interactive FAX : (408) 957-7150 Adaptec USA Bulletin Board: (408) 945-7727 (up to 28,800 baud, using 8 bits, 1 stop bit, no parity) CompuServe: GO ADAPTEC Microsoft Network: GO ADAPTEC Internet ftp server: ftp.adaptec.com World-Wide Web: http://www.adaptec.com/ Copyright 1996 Adaptec, Inc. All rights reserved. Adaptec, the Adaptec logo, the IOware logo, Power Storage, AHA, and EZ-SCSI, are trademarks of Adaptec, Inc., which may be registered in some jurisdictions. Microsoft, Windows, the Windows logo, and Windows 95 are registered trademarks, and Windows NT is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation used under license. Remove-IT is a registered trademark, and Vertisoft is a trademark of Vertisoft Corporation used under license. All other trademarks used are owned by their respective owners. Information supplied by Adaptec, Inc. is believed to be accurate and reliable at the time of printing, but Adaptec, Inc. assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document. Adaptec, Inc. reserves the right, without notice, to make changes in product design or specifications. Information is subject to change without notice. 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. Corel Begins Shipping New WordPerfect Products for Windowsr 3.1x (U.S. Versions) in the U.S. Ottawa, Canada--May 8, 1996--Corel Corporation and its subsidiaries today announced that the 16-bit version of Corelr WordPerfect Suiter for Windows 3.1x (U.S. version only) has begun shipping in the U.S. This new line of WordPerfect products, which also includes Corelr Office Professional, Corelr Quattror Pro 6.0 and Corelr PresentationsT 6.0, has been created from the WordPerfect family of software programs that Corel recently acquired from Novell, Inc. Corel Office Professional, Corel Quattro Pro 6.0 and Corel Presentations 6.0 for Windows 3.1x are scheduled to begin shipping in mid- May, 1996, while Corelr WordPerfectr Suite 7 for Windowsr 95 is scheduled to be available in late May, and Corel Office Professional 7 for Windows 95 is scheduled to begin shipping in mid-July. Canadian and international versions of these products and pricing details will be available soon. "We expect a very enthusiastic response to the unbeatable value of our new WordPerfect offerings," said Dr. Michael Cowpland, president and chief executive officer of Corel Corporation. "The new Corel WordPerfect Suite gives our customers a value-packed collection of business applications for the price of a word processor, while Corel Office Professional adds the strength of Paradoxr, GroupWise Client LicenseT and InfoCentral to meet all of their database, groupware and information management needs." Corelr WordPerfectr Suite for Windowsr 3.1x: This integrated suite for Windows 3.1x is an entire office suite for the price of a word processor. It features Corel WordPerfect 6.1, Corel Quattro Pro 6.0, Envoy 1.0, AT&T WorldNet Service software including Netscape NavigatorT Internet browser (US and Canadian versions only), Corel Presentations 3.0, CorelFLOW 2, Starfish Software's Sidekick 2.0 and Dashboard 3.0, Corel Screen Saver, thousands of clipart images and 150 fonts. The Corel WordPerfect Suite will be available in CD-ROM only format and diskette with a companion CD-ROM format for a suggested retail price of $395 U.S. (CD-ROM) and $449 U.S. (diskette and CD-ROM). The diskette and CD-ROM version contains Corel WordPerfect 6.1 on the diskettes and all other applications, fonts and clipart on the CD-ROM. Upgrade pricing is $129 U.S. for the CD-ROM version and $179 U.S. for the diskette version. Corelr Office Professional for Windowsr 3.1x: This professional office suite for Windows 3.1x offers powerful software solutions, incredible ease of use, OLE functionality and open network integration. It includes Corel WordPerfect 6.1, Corel Quattro Pro 6.0, Corel Presentations 3.0, Envoy 1.0, AT&T WorldNet Service software including Netscape NavigatorT Internet browser (US and Canadian versions only), InfoCentral 1.1, Borland's Paradox 5.0, a GroupWise 4.1 client license, CorelFLOW 2, Starfish Software's Sidekick 2.0 and Dashboard 3.0, Corel Screen Saver, thousands of clipart images and 150 fonts. This 16-bit professional office suite will be available on CD-ROM only and will carry a suggested retail price of $695 U.S. Upgrade/trade-up pricing is $295 U.S. AT&T WorldNet Service software including Netscape Navigator T Internet browser AT&T brings to Corel customers its "Internet for Everyone" service, with directories and topical areas to help people find useful information, guided tours for newcomers, navigational aids for users of all skill levels and electronic mail. AT&T WorldNet Service will work with most of today's popular Internet browsers, although an AT&T-branded version of the Netscape Navigator browser software, which is included in the package, is preconfigured for easy installation. The service also includes an AT&T toll- free, 24-hour hotline and world-class customer care. Corel Corporation Incorporated in 1985, Corel Corporation is recognized internationally as an award-winning developer and marketer of productivity applications, graphics and multimedia software. Corel's product line includes CorelDRAW, the Corel WordPerfect Suite, Corel Office Professional, CorelVIDEO and over 30 multimedia software titles. Corel's products run on most operating systems, including: Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, MS_DOS and OS/2 and are consistently rated among the strongest in the industry. The company ships its products in over 17 languages through a network of more than 160 distributors in 70 countries worldwide. Corel is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol: COS) and the NASDAQ National Market System (symbol: COSFF). For more information visit Corel's home page on the Internet at http://www.corel.com. All products mentioned are trademarks or registered trademards of their respective companies. Corel, WordPerfect and Quattro are registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and its subsidiaries. CorelDRAW, CorelFLOW and Presentations are trademarks of Corel Corporation. GroupWise and Envoy are trademarks of Novell, Inc. *All pricing information is current as of March 29, 1996. AT&T reserves the right to modify the pricing for the AT&T WorldNet Services at any time. Dvorak STR Spotlight Dvorak Development Founded in 1993, Dvorak Development & Publishing Corporation is the world- leader in second-generation off-line navigators. Dvorak's mission is to design, develop and promote the next generations of navigation front and back- end tools for information navigation and retrieval, agent transactions and automated "two-way" information exchange on the Internet and on-line commercial services. Our Navigators: Imagine the Internet (or another cybernet such as CompuServe) as a skyscraper. Once inside, it's a real mystery just to get around. The rooms have no signs, no one is manning the information desk and even the elevators are hard to find. A first generation browser (like Netscape) would search floor-by-floor and room-by-room to see what's there. Dvorak's second- generation navigators, on the other hand, already possess a blueprint of the skyscraper's layout and are smart enough to know which floor, room and file cabinet to search for desired information. The Products: NavCIS Pro is a second generation Windows off-line navigator for CompuServe. OUI is a second generation off-line navigator for the Usenet portion of the Internet (newsgroups and e-mail). NavStar is a second generation off-line navigator for the Prodigy Information Service. Management: John C. Dvorak: Chairman, is a world-famous PC industry observer and writer. John currently writes fourteen columns each month which appear in a variety of newspaper and magazines including PC Magazine and the San Jose Mercury News. He also hosts a radio show each week and appears regularly on C/Net. Michael Ceranski: President & CEO, is the co-founder of Dvorak Development. This is the third successful software company Mike has founded and bootstrapped. He has also co-authored several books, and currently writes a bi-weekly column, Inside Cyberspace. David W. Holmes: 26, Vice President, Engineering, has been programming since the age of 10. David is responsible for the design and implementation of the Company's core authoring technology. In addition, the Company employs 5 engineers, 3 technical support staff, 2 G&A support staff and two marketing staff members. The company also has one full time employee based near Stuttgart, Germany. Mike Ceranski ... is the co-founder and CEO of Dvorak Development. This is the third successful software company Mike has founded and boot-strapped. The first was co-founded in 1982 with two partners and $25,000 and specialized in security access software for the IBM-XT, IBM-AT and compatibles. After growing that company to 10 people, Mike moved on. In 1989, Mike and a partner founded Athena Software, which specialized in network utilities for Netware. Athena's product line was quickly bought by the software utilities giant Central Point Software (maker of PCTools). Mike worked at Central Point for the next year in a variety of positions including Microsoft liaison, Global Area Network designer, product management and strategic planning, before returning to Colorado. Mike's interests in cyberspace began in 1982 when he first began surfing local bulletin board systems. After learning the arcane arts of Xmodem, Ymodem and Zmodem, he moved onto CompuServe. Mike quickly learned CompuServe was not affordable unless it was used with an off-line navigation tool. Unfortunately, only difficult to use and primitive DOS based navigators were available. With the early 90's came the Windows revolution and Mike patiently waited for a Windows based navigation tool to appear. "It became apparent that no one was going to release a useable, easy-to- understand navigation tool for CompuServe, so I decided to go ahead and do it," Mike said, and thus was born NavCIS. Being a Colorado semi-native, Mike enjoys skiing and mountain biking. Other interests include raising Burmese cats, gourmet cooking, and wine collecting. Mr. Huxley, you ain't seen nothing yet by Mike Ceranski It seems like only yesterday that the "w" word was an arcane term used only by computer gurus. Today the "web" is pervasive and web addresses show up everywhere: newspaper ads, television ads, business cards, junk mail, even give-aways like pens and refrigerator magnets. This is creating further pressure, and everyone from the local insurance agent to neighborhood priests are wondering if they should put up a web site. I can hear them now. "Father, those darn Methodists have just put up a web site and do you know what they called it? `www.god_is_us.org'!! We've got to do something!" I received a call yesterday from a fellow who works for a printing company which specializes in computer manuals. He called and explained his wife was moving from desktop publishing to web publishing and wanted to create a web- based store-front for her services. He went on to describe how hard it is for new users to figure out how to do this. Even finding out how to locate the experts is a perplexing and disheartening process. I provided the contacts I could while explaining I was already overcommitted and unable to help more directly. He also mentioned that he'd noticed our company wasn't ordering manuals lately, to which I explained things were moving so fast with our software that the only way to keep our documentation current was to write detailed, built-in help files. He agreed with my reasoning and went on to say the trend was clear, "printed software manuals are going to be a thing of the past. that's why I'm learning as much as I can about cyberspace. I'm not going to be left behind." This guy realizes that things are changing at a fundamental level and that the printing company he works for isn't the bastion of security he once thought. He doesn't know exactly what he'll do in this Brave New World, but he certainly plans on being prepared for whatever opportunities come his way. I find that both comforting and alarming. Comforting because it demonstrates the resiliency of human nature, alarming because it's another clear example of automation destroying precious jobs. If the web lives up to its potential, numerous industries will be impacted. Much of our current economy is based upon distribution: a manufacturer builds a widget, then sells that widget to a national distributor. In turn, the national distributor sells that widget to a regional distributor who will probably sell it to a chain of stores. From there the widget finally makes it onto a shelf, and is bought by a consumer. If web-based commerce continues the way it is, manufacturers will sell more and more of their products directly to consumers. This allows the manufacturer to offer lower prices while increasing profit margins, gives the buyer direct support and feedback, and removes three layers of distribution and their associated jobs. Another area that will be impacted: shopping malls and sales. If people buy more stuff online, the need to go to a shopping mall will be diminished. As for the sales people who work in these malls today, where will they go when the malls close? Other professions which find themselves safe today may be impacted as well. take Banking for instance. If your latest copy of Quicken can pay all your bills online, balance your checkbook to the penny daily, and do other useful banking chores, the need for personnel at the bank will certainly decrease. Eventually banks might consist of nothing but vaults stuffed will valuables and secure-transaction web servers. Finally, the long distance carriers will be whacked. Why pay 20 cents a minute when you can use the Internet for long distance calls for a buck an hour or less? As Internet sound-transmission technology improves, AT&T's stranglehold diminishes. That's why numerous long distance carriers are already backing legislature to impede non-text data transfer. Besides causing job loss, the Internet will provide many new jobs and job types. Already, people are using new titles such as WebMaster, WebWonk, and WebSpinner to describe their functions in designing and maintaining web sites. As this Brave New World unfolds, one thing can be counted on: the future belongs to the nimble. c1996 Mike Ceranski EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage Contents NO MERGER IN CARDS FOR BRITISH TELECOM AND CABLE & WIRELESS Abandoning merger talks that would have created the world's fifth-biggest communications group in terms of revenue, British Telecommunications and Cable & Wireless said that financial and regulatory obstacles were too great to overcome. However, a business partnership between the companies will continue, and the chairman of C&W said that "you can do a lot of things without mega-mergers." (New York Times 3 May 9 C4) THE SELLING OF ADA The U.S. Department of Energy is committing $2 million to promote commercial software products written in Ada 95, a programming language developed with substantial government support. (Computer Industry Daily 6 May 96) PENTIUM PRO PC PRICES POISED TO PLUNGE A senior Intel official predicts deep cuts in prices for computers powered by Intel's top-of-the-line Pentium Pro microprocessor, from an average of $4,000 now to about $2,500 by the end of the year. This trend is expected to spark a new round of corporate upgrading, augmented by new Intel motherboard and chip set technology that are both cheaper and easier to maintain than current models. The new technology, called Desktop Management Interface, uses hardware and software standards designed to facilitate remote diagnosis of PC problems and reduce repair and maintenance costs. (Wall Street Journal 3 May 96 B4) EU TAKES A CLOSER LOOK AT THE INTERNET European Union culture and telecommunications ministers met last week to discuss ways of controlling access to the Internet to prevent criminal activity and protect children. "Many member states perceive the need now for some discipline, some kind of regulatory framework or code of ethics," says the Italian telecommunications minister. Some European governments, such as Germany and Great Britain, have already adopted Internet-related laws and others are considering it. (Wall Street Journal 3 May 96 B5B) $500 INTERNET PC WON'T FLY, SAYS FORRESTER A new report released by Forrester Research predicts that the $500 Internet PC "won't deliver" and aren't cheap enough to qualify as a successful consumer electronics product. "The technology is not good enough, the content will be inadequate, and distribution will pose a substantial hurdle." Forrester says that low-cost full-feature PCs priced in the $1,000 range will present a more viable alternative. (Investor's Business Daily 6 May 96 A6) THE PC'S A PRINTING PRESS, NOT A TV Jonathan Wallace, co-author of "Sex, Laws and Cyberspace," (Henry Holt, 1996) thinks Congress made a mistake in its attempt to ban "indecent" content from the Internet: "If Congress had taken a deep breath, it would have realized the correct analogy for the Net is the printing press. Every computer can be used as a tool to create text or redistribute text created by others. The analogy is so exact that there's no justification to apply laws that are different than those for the printing press. What Congress did instead was to treat the Net like broadcast TV -- a grievous mistake." (Information Week 29 Apr 96 p12) The Communications Decency Act is now being challenged in court by the American Library Association, whose legislative counsel Adam Eisgrau notes, "Fear plus ignorance shouldn't equal public policy." (Business Week 6 May 96 p58) CHIPPING AWAY FROM WITHIN The problem of microchip theft from high-tech industries is so widespread that law enforcement officials estimate it adds about $150 to the cost of a personal computer system. Though an increasing number of chip thefts have taken the form of violent armed robberies, the majority of such thefts are accomplished by company insiders. A 1994 survey released by the American Society for Industrial Security indicated that employees were responsible for 57% of all component thefts, with vendors and independent contractors accounting for another 13%. (San Jose Mercury Center News 5 May 96) CANADIAN SATELLITES TARGETED The race into space with direct broadcast satellite TV has created a regulatory black hole that the U.S. government is struggling to fill. A plan by Telesat Canada to finance its $1.6-billion satellite program by leasing capacity to American broadcasters has prompted the Federal Communications Commission to hold special hearings in Washington to investigate whether it can regulate the use of Canadian satellites. (Toronto Financial Post 4 May 96 p1) "THE FLOPPY IS OBSOLETE TECHNOLOGY" Kim Edwards, CEO of removable-disk-drive-maker Iomega, says the days of the floppy drive are over: "We believe that the floppy disk is essentially obsolete technology. It isn't big enough to do anything with, and it's very, very slow. Software is all shipped on CD-ROM. In fact, it's really shipped on the hard drive. Gateway 2000 Inc., for example, preconfigures their machines with software right on the hard drive. Microsoft Crop. Has announced that they're going to stop providing software on floppies. I think that's a huge signal. But to make the Zip the floppy for the multimedia age, we're going to have to do more than just sell the drive as an external box. We've got to get inside the computers." The Zip drive, which sells for $200, uses special removable disks that hold 100 megabytes of data, compared with 1.4 megabytes on a conventional floppy. Iomega's Jaz drive stores one gigabyte on each disk. (Investor's Business Daily 6 May 96 A6) PAYMENT BY THE WORD James Gleick reports that some Web-searching services will now let advertisers sponsor an individual word. For example, if you search for "golf"at Yahoo, an ad for golf offers to let you win a set of clubs, and a click on "golf" at Lycos gets you an ad and a contest offer from Cobra Golf. Another example: AT&T and Sprint both have bought the word "telephone" from various search services. (New York Times Magazine 5 May 96 p32) DIGITAL'S NEW SERVERS DISH UP A CHALLENGE Digital Equipment Corp.'s new line of computer servers, with prices starting at $50,000 each, are taking aim at the lucrative mid-range server market now dominated by Sun Microsystems, IBM and Hewlett-Packard. "This finally gives Digital a workhorse in the midrange," says an industry analyst, who predicts that "within an 18-month ramp-up period, they could be doing one billion dollars of business with this machine." The new products can handle large memory and database functions previously available only on Digital's high- end Turbolaser machines, which start at $100,000 each. (Wall Street Journal 3 May 96 B4) LCD TVs Sharp's new 43-inch rear-projection TV uses a liquid crystal display panel to display images. The system is nearly as slim as a conventional 14-inch CRT TV, and is about 1.5 times brighter than conventional rear-projection TVs. The TV is currently sold only in Japan (for about $3,600), but will be available in the U.S this fall. (Popular Science May 96 p12) IBM LICENSES APPLE MAC/OS IBM has worked out an agreement to license Apple Computer's Macintosh operating system, and although it doesn't plan to manufacture Mac clones itself, IBM will be allowed to sublicense the system to other computer makers and will be able to offer hardware components, such as the PowerPC chip and motherboards, to other clone manufacturers. "This will help Apple expand the low end of the market... where they've had problems," says an industry analyst. A similar agreement with Motorola, signed in February, will allow Motorola to make and sell its own Mac clones as well as sublicense the system. (Investor's Business Daily 7 May 96 A9) LUCENT'S INFERNO SPARKS INTEREST AT&T spin-off Lucent Technologies Inc. has unveiled a versatile new networking software package called Inferno, designed to run over a variety of networks, including the Internet, private data networks and telecommunications etworks. The software consists of operating-system software and a programming language called Limbo, which can be used by programmers to make compatible software for a broad range of consumer electronics devices. "With Inferno, any device can communicate and share information with any device over any network," says the president of Bell Labs. "Inferno is designed to take the chaos out of the electronic Tower of Babel," says the president of Infonautics Consulting. Inferno's versatility puts it in direct competition with Sun Microsystems' Java programming language, which also works across most platforms. Inferno's advantage lies in the inclusion of an operating system, which Java does not yet have, and its lean design, requiring only one megabyte of memory to run, making it suitable for low-cost hand-held devices. (Wall Street Journal 7 May 96 B4) EXPANDED UNIVERSAL SERVICE DEBATED Participants in a May 1 Cato Institute policy forum debated whether the FCC will expand the definition of universal service to include more advanced services beyond voice-grade dialtone. "The real motivations of some of these policies, it seems to me, have very little to do with economics and very little to do with telecommunications," says Cato's director of telecommunications and technology studies. "I think they're part of a wider agenda which says, `Look, we can't have big social program bills any more. God knows, look what happened to the health care program. But we can tack on social aspects to other bills, especially ones that are very widely popular, like the Telecom bill.' So it's sort of social policy by default." A representative from Citizens for a Sound Economy was a little more optimistic that market forces would prevail: "The Telecommunications Act is a lot like sausage made with very high quality meat and a certain amount of fat. What do you do with a sausage? You put it over the fire and you give it plenty of heat. And if you do that, you burn off the fat. The meat of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is to allow for competition." (BNA Daily Report for Executives 2 May 96 A26) CREDIT-CARD ACTIVATED COMPUTER SYSTEM INTRODUCED USA Technologies, Inc. has teamed up with Dell Computer Corp. to produce a credit-card activated computer system, the C3X. The Credit Card Computer Express system is targeted at libraries that wish to offer their patrons affordable access to computer technology and the information superhighway without having to invest in a time-monitoring and billing system. (The Heller Report May 96) ADOBE'S BRAVO GIVES WEB GRAPHICS A NEW LOOK Adobe Systems' new Bravo technology will bring added zip to the Web, allowing online publishers to use magazine-style graphics and typefaces. Sun Microsystems has agreed to include the Adobe software in its Java programming language. Bravo-produced Web graphics will appear the same on any PC, regardless of the computer's configuration or operating system. (Wall Street Journal 7 May 96 B4) DAYS OF THE SMALL ISP ARE NUMBERED With the telephone and cable companies entering the Internet service provider market, the days of the small ISP are numbered, predicts the Yankee Group. Yankee estimates that of the 1,400 ISPs now in the U.S., fewer than 200 will still be around by 2000. (Internet Business Advantage May 96 p4) ASIAN-BACKED GROUPS WIN WIRELESS LICENSE AUCTION A special Federal Communications Commission auction of wireless licenses for "small business" yielded more than $8 billion from five companies, four of them backed by Asian corporations. The biggest winner was NextWave Personal Communications, which spend $4.2 billion for licenses that will give them potential access to 93.8 million customers in 56 markets. Other big winners were DCR PCS, GWI PCS, BDPCS, and Omnipoint PCS Entrepreneurs. (New York Times 7 May 96 C6) BELL CANADA WANTS SAME FREEDOM AS AT&T Bell Canada president John McLennan says his company and other members of the Stentor alliance of phone companies are handicapped by regulations not faced by alternative long-distance carriers such as Unitel and Call-Net. McLennan points out Bell must currently files proposed prices increases with Canadian regulators where all competitors can review them, and the company cannot change its charges without first obtaining federal approval. McLennan wants the same regulatory freedom enjoyed in the United States by AT&T. (Toronto Financial Post 7 May 96 p 3) ZENITH RECLASSIFIED AS "INTERNET STOCK," AND SHARES SOAR Zenith Electronics, after announcing that its partnership with U.S. Robotics will soon be marketing a new system for providing high-speed Internet access via cable technology, has been reclassified by traders as Internet stock, resulting in its stock tripling in value in just a week. (New York Times 7 May 96 C1) MCI WILL QUADRUPLE BACKBONE CAPACITY A major switching equipment upgrade will enable MCI to cut network congestion and offer high-speed multimedia services. The upgrade will achieve an increase in capacity from 2.5Gbit/sec to 10Gbit/sec without company having to lay additional fiber. (Computerworld 6 May 96 p1) MICROSOFT PLANS "DELICIOUS" JOURNALISTIC ONLINE SMORGASBORD "Slate," the online journal of opinion being developed for Microsoft by former Crossfire television journalist Michael Kinsley ("From the Left, I'm Michael Kinsley") was described in a Kinsley staff memo in April as follows: "In short, I propose that we embrace our destiny as a new form of journalism and abandon the conceit that any particular article or feature is attached to a particular 'issue.' ... Each article in the TOC [table of contents] could simply indicate the day it was posted and the day we're planning to archive it... As we and the readers get used to this new form of journalism, we could abandon the one-week-up convention completely, and simply have a smorgasbord of stuff to which we add new dishes and remove old ones on no fixed schedule, but simply to keep the whole meal tasting as delicious as possible." (New Yorker 13 May 96 p58) PIPEX TO BLOCK PORNOGRAPHY Unipalm Pipex, the U.K. Internet access provider associated with UUNet in the U.S., will provide a means for British companies to block staff access to electronic pornography. Pipex managing director Peter Dawe said that corporate users "would be horrified" at the kind of pornography that is available on the Internet. Mr. Dawe is also the political officer of the Internet Service Providers Association in the United Kingdom. (Financial Times 6 May 96 p6) REGIONAL BELLS WANT RATE HIKES FOR WIRING SCHOOLS The United States Telephone Association would like to raise the average U.S. monthly phone bill by about $10 over the next five years to pay for wiring schools and libraries with new lines for phones and computers, and to subsidize poor and rural customers. The proposal assumes an $11 billion cost for wiring schools and libraries, with local phone companies paying about a third to a half of that. The rest would come from a surcharge on other services, such as cellular. "No single industry should be held responsible for fulfilling this major goal," says USTA's president. "Each has a role and should make a significant contribution to the national education technology mandate." (Investor's Business Daily 8 May 96 A7) APPLE WILL FIX FLAWED MACHINES Acknowledging defects in many of its Macintosh Performa and Power Mac computers, Apple Computer has pledged to repair any faulty machines over the next seven years. Users have complained that the systems freeze up, and some of the monitors change color intermittently. The company also said it will fix problems found in some of its Power Book laptops. (St. Petersburg Times 9 May 96 E1) ALLIANCE SEEKS ELECTRONIC SECURITY An alliance of software companies has established the Electronic Licensing and Security Initiative to develop a system that uses electronic tokens linked to a software package to securely track software rentals, licenses and purchases. The group also plans to develop an electronic clearinghouse to provide and track licenses. Several major software producers, including Microsoft, IBM and AT&T have said they will support the Initiative's technology. (Wall Street Journal 6 May 96 B6) SENATE ELECTRONIC COPYRIGHT BILL BACK ON TRACK Legislation on copyright rules for the Internet, sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), is scheduled for hearings and Hatch has made it clear he wants the bill to "move ahead." The bill would make any electronic copy of copyrighted material an infringement, and does not include a fair use provision for libraries or educational institutions. The Creative Incentive Coalition, a group of software makers, publishers and entertainment companies, is supporting the bill, warning that without protection, content providers will be reluctant to put material on the Internet. The Digital Future Coalition, on the other hand, opposes the legislation, saying it goes too far when compared with protections for analog material. "A few horror stories are not an appropriate guide to public policy... There is middle ground." The DFC is urging specific amendments, including fair use specifications, and a statement that makes clear that a temporary copy of a program running on a computer is not an infringement. (Investor's Business Daily 9 May 96 A4) IBM'S INFOMARKET TOLL BOOTH IBM has persuaded some 30 companies, including Eastman Kodak, Xerox, Reuters, America Online and Yahoo!, to use its new infoMarket electronic-content clearinghouse for displaying and distributing their wares. The infoMarket concept requires customers to pay for only what they use, with the content providers controlling the information and setting their own prices. "Charging only for what you want is a very attractive scheme," says one electronic database provider. The system is based on "Cryptolopes" -- secure electronic packaging that, when opened, bind the user to a contractual agreement regarding the use of the content. If the content is distributed beyond that agreement, the technology can track its usage and bill the original purchaser for subsequent viewings. "It's a complete break from all other ways information has been published on the Net to date," says an industry consultant. "It turns pass-along from a business threat to a business opportunity." (Business Week 13 May 96 p114) GARTNER GROUP GEARS UP FOR TRAINING 'The Gartner Group plans to purchase three well-known firms that offer computer-based information technology training to professionals on the job. Relational Courseware Inc., J3 Learning Corp., and Mindware Training Technologies Ltd. all have agreed to be acquired by the Stamford, Conn. technology consulting company. Gartner has no plans to offer classroom-based learning: "For the busy IT professional, classroom training requires more time and travel," says Gartner's CEO. "Computer-based training gives IT professionals the chance to learn in bit-sized portions, at their own pace." (Information Week 29 Apr 96 p82) COMPUSERVE & NETSCAPE TO OFFER GROUPWARE CompuServe and Netscape are joining forces to use the Internet to offer "groupware" that will allow workers throughout an organization collaborate simultaneously on documents. The product will compete directly with Lotus Notes, a groupware program offered by IBM's Lotus group. (Wall Street Journal 9 May 96 B5) LOWER-END PENTIUMS STILL POPULAR IN EASTERN EUROPE, ASIA Although computer makers were left holding thousands of lower-end Pentium PCs after holiday shoppers bought out the high-end models, there's still a market for those machines in Eastern Europe and Asia. "If you told U.S. resellers you'd sell them a 70-megahertz Pentium for $1,000, they'd call you crazy," says a Hewlett-Packard spokesman. "Those machines are obsolete. But that offer would be competitive and state of the art in the Eastern bloc and China." Meanwhile, other regions are closing the technology gap with the U.S. "The technology time lag between the U.S. and Europe was close to a year just a few years ago. Now it's between three and six months," says the president of Creative Strategies Research International, who adds that the Latin American market is just six to nine months behind the U.S. (Investor's Business Daily 8 May 96 A6) PEACE PIPE FOR MICROSOFT AND ADOBE After feuding for more than five years, Microsoft and Adobe Systems have decided to collaborate on type font technology, and are now working on a universal format called OpenType. Both companies hope that others will back their efforts to make OpenType the standard for software and the Internet. (Investor's Business Daily 9 May 96 A8) AOL, MITSUI, & NIKKEI TO OFFER ONLINE SERVICE IN JAPAN America Online, in partnership with the Japanese trading company Mitsui and the business publishing company Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), will establish an online service in Japan offering a broad range of Japanese- language material. (Financial Times 9 May 96 p17) NET MCTRIVIA Shortly after the McDonald's fast food chain began a $1 million-prize trivia contest last month, answers started appearing on the Internet. About a dozen Web sites have sizable answer lists to the contest, for which prizes are being redeemed through May. One teenage McWebmeisers explained: ''Everyone here in the office was playing the game. It was a big deal for people to try to remember the answers. The more I thought about it, the more I thought what a great Web page, and the next thing I know I've got hundreds of people coming to my page every day.'' (San Jose Mercury Center News 9 May 96) Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas (douglas@educom.edu). Voice: 404-371-1853, Fax: 404-371-8057. Technical support is provided by the Office of Information Technology, University of North Carolina. EDUPAGE is what you've just finished reading. 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