Silicon Times Report The Original Independent OnLine Magazine" (Since 1987) May 31, 1996 No. 1222 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! Client/Server BBS Version 5 95/NT Featuring a Full Service Web Site http://www.streport.com Join STReport's Subscriber List receive STR through Internet MULTI-NODE Operation 24hrs-7 days Analog & ISDN BRI Access 904-268-4116 2400-128000 bps V. 120-32-34 v.42 bis ISDN V.34 USRobotics I-MODEM NT-1 FAX: 904-268-2237 24hrs BCS - Toad Hall BBS 1-617-567-8642 05/31/96 STR 1222 The Original Independent OnLine Magazine! - CPU Industry Report - MS ActiveX - MS NetMeeting - MKLinux PPC - Cert for a Fee - Clipper 3 RSN - More Java Buzz - Prodigy Goes Global - ZenoGraphics - New Performa? - Kid's Computing - People Talking COMPAQ, THOMSON TO BUILD PC-TV MS IE 3.0 Beta FREE! Cable Modem Market to Soar 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: 5/25/96: 1 of 6 numbers with 8 1 number matches From the Editor's Desk... Memorial Day was a glorious weekend. maybe we should be on four day work weeks altogether? Ten hours a day four days a week sounds pretty good to me. After all, I'm at it from about half past six in the morning to about the same in the evening. The thirty two bit version of Word Perfect is shipping from the fine hands of Corel. Within the next few weeks we'll have a full review for you. Times are definitely changing, the computer memory gouge of a year ago is disappearing and the prices of Pentiums and Pentium Pro chips are becoming more sensible with every passing week. If the goals of a computer in every home is ever to be reached it has to be sensibly priced. This business of there being cost efficient "dumb terminals" available with people paying a fee to a centralized data and file base is an outrage and in my humble opinion, nothing more than a dodge put together by the control freaks in Washington DC. Of course its thrice removed, but still reeks of that type of control. Comdex is right around the corner. Stay tuned we'll have all the latest for 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 White House Eyes Net Security A White House draft proposal would ask Internet users to give the government the digital "keys" to their computers in exchange for more security when doing business online. "The plan would help ensure secure online communication, which is essential if the Internet is to become a commercial marketplace," commentsAssociated Press writer Elizabeth Weise. At the heart of the plan is a call for development of an encryption system to let individuals, companies and universities alike transact business online through a security "protected by an unbreakable code," Weise says. "In return, however," she notes, "the government wants possession of the encryption 'keys' that are necessary to decipher the code. Otherwise, it fears terrorists and other criminals might use such codes without fear of getting caught. The encryption keys would be available to law enforcement authorities, who could obtain them via a warrant in the same way they now can tap telephones." Ah, and there's the rub. Some are saying the online community simply won't give up that kind of control, while others contend a central "bank" of key codes would become the ultimate target for computer vandals, "like a big bull's-eye," said Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in New York. With the release of the draft policy paper by the Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday, the Clinton administration hopes to roduce within six months a report on how to move forward with the security plan. As Weise notes, the best online security method yet devised is a mathematical system called public key cryptography. (In public key systems, a mathematical process generates two related "keys" for each individual -- one public, one secret. A message encrypted with one key can only be decrypted with the other.) The White House proposal contends that to enjoy such security, users would have to place their private keys in a depository accessible to the government. Law enforcement authorities would then be able to read a user's encrypted messages and documents. "Up until now," AP observes, "the government has restricted the sale of these codes to the United States for reasons of national security. The government fears such codes could be used against American military or government operations. To end the restrictions, the White House proposal calls for inter- government agreements in which foreign countries would keep copies of their citizens' keys and the United States would keep copies of Americans' keys." Weise notes governments would be able to access keys in other countries during investigations by making requests similar to today's extradition proceedings. Study Asks Encryption Reg Change A new study commissioned by Congress suggests the United States should relax -- but not eliminate -- export controls on data-scrambling encryption technologies. Reporting for the Dow Jones news service, writer Scott Ritter notes the 18-month study says the government would be wise to promote widespread use of technologies designed to thwart computer vandals and electronic eavesdroppers. As noted, U.S. companies currently are barred from exporting strong encryption software, a policy the computer industry says could cost it billions of dollars in losses to foreign competitors. The research, conducted by a committee of the National Research Council at the request of Congress, was paid for by the Department of Defense and the Commerce Department. Committee Chairman Kenneth Dam, professor of American and foreign law at the University of Chicago, told the wire service, "Our committee's broad conclusion is that the wider use of cryptology will support personal privacy, U.S. business, law enforcement and national security interests, even though information-gathering for law enforcement and national security purposes may become more difficult. Thus, we believe that federal policies should promote rather than discourage the use of cryptography." As reported, earlier this month Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., introduced legislation to lift export restrictions on the technology, a measure that has support from GOP presidential candidate Robert Dole and Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler, R-S.D. "Meantime," notes Ritter, "the White House has offered a couple of different approaches to end the restrictions, including a so-called 'Clipper Chip,' which would put the code- breaking key in the government's hands. Another proposal would give the key to an electronic escrow agent; the government would have to obtain a search warrant to get the key. Neither proposal has been embraced by the computer industry." Agent Says Net Increases Threats The Internet -- and the access it gives people to the White House - has added to the investigations of the U.S. Secret Service, the agency that watches out for threats against the president, according to at least one agent. Reporting from Sioux City, Iowa, The Associated Press quotes Special Agent Kevin Greba as saying, "With companies online and the way things are today, anybody can send a message to the White House. This has become a problem for us." AP says Secret Service agents interviewed students at a Sioux City middle school last week as part of an investigation into a computer message a student sent to the president. In charge of the agency's office in Omaha, Nebraska, Greba said agents have determined the student's message was not a real threat, adding his agency investigates all incidents to determine whether or not they pose a real danger. Greba said the Omaha office alone investigates cases involving computer messages every month or two. Online Threat May Lead to Charges A Texas college student may be extradited to California to face charges for allegedly threatening a state senator over the Internet. Sacramento, California, officials have charged 19-year-old Jose Saavedra with making "a terrorist threat" against California Sen. Tim Leslie in messages he sent to environmental and political discussion groups berating the senator's support of a failed March ballot measure removing specialprotection for mountain lions. According to United Press International, "One of the messages read, 'I think it would be great if (Leslie) were hunted down and skinned and mounted for our viewing pleasure.'" The wire service says Saavedra was arrested earlier this month in El Paso, Texas, and spent 16 days in county jail before being released on bond this week. His attorney said they will fight the extradition proceedings. UPI reports that if Sacramento officials are successful in bringing Saavedra, a University of Texas at El Paso freshman, to trial in California, he could face up to three years in prison and fines up to $5,000. Meanwhile, Sen. Leslie, who describes himself as an "Internet junkie," told reporters he is concerned such messages will prompt others to take similar actions, especially since the Internet is read by millions of people around the world. "What's so sinister about using the Internet," he said, "is now everyone is privy to it. People all over America are discussing my death threat." The wire service reports some have said Saavedra did not mean the message as a threat and simply used inappropriate language, but Sen. Leslie disagrees. "It's a lesson people on the Internet need to learn," he said."There are limits. And if they cross those limits, they'll be arrested, jailed and brought to trial." Computers at War a Concern More than 120 governments are developing techniques for crippling enemy defenses by disrupting computers in wartime, U.S. senators have been told. And congressional investigators say computer vandals have demonstrated the threat by stealing secrets from Air Force air combat laboratory computers two years ago and now are trying to get into U.S. military computers about 250,000 times a year. Speaking before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations earlier this week, director Jack Brock of the congressional General Accounting Office said, "Terrorists and other adversaries now have the ability to launch untraceable attacks from anywhere in the world. They could infect critical systems with sophisticated computer viruses, potentially causing them to malfunction," he said. Asked if the 120 countries believed to be working on the war techniques were primarily advanced industrial nations, Brock said the National Security Agency knew who they were but that the information is classified. Also Brock testified that a 16-year-old British boy and another computer intruder who was never caught stole order messages from the Air Force's Rome Laboratory in New York that commanders would send to pilots in air battle operations. The invaders "also took control of the Air Force computers, using them to obtain information from NATO headquarters and South Korea's Atomic Research Institute," Reuters reports. The vandals could have created an international incident, the senators were told, if it had been North Korea's nuclear institute that was involved because Pyongyang would have believed the U.S. Air Force was sneaking into its computers. Brock also said GAO investigators found many U.S. Defense Department programs for detecting attacks on computers were poor, training was inadequate and attacks were often not reported even when detected. BBS Sysop Gets Another Sentence California computer bulletin board system owner Robert Alan Thomas, convicted of distributing pornography after images were downloaded in Tennessee, now has been sentenced to more time in Utah, where a judge rejected claims of double jeopardy. Reporting from Salt Lake City, Utah, The Associated Press says the 40-year-old Milpitas, California, man was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison and fined $50,000. The sentence will be served concurrently with his prison term in Tennessee. Says AP, "The Utah authorities said they acted on a citizen's tip before downloading 16 images from the same computer system of naked and semi-naked minors that a Memphis postal inspector used to build a case against Thomas in Tennessee." Thomas' attorneys argued the second prosecution amounted to being tried twice for the same offense, adding the criminal charges should focus solely on the board's operation, not on each time a customer logs on. However, U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins rejected the argument, and Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of supplying child-pornography to undercover officers in exchange for 15 others being dismissed. Said Judge Jenkins, "While it was the same bulletin board, it was different events. Different events, different consequences." Thomas and his wife, Carleen, are serving 32-month prison sentences for their convictions last year in a much-publicized Tennessee case involving images of men and women engaging in sex acts with animals. As noted, the case is believed to be one of the first in which the prosecution took place in the locale where the materials were received, rather than where they originated. AP says none of the images in the Utah case depicted sexual acts, but, according to federal prosecutor Richard Lambert, all were accompanied bygraphic and explicit descriptions making it clear they were intended as pornography. "Free-speech advocates," notes AP, "said the precedent threatens to replace the Supreme Court's longstanding 'local community standards' test for pornography with a new 'anything offensive to anyone anywhere' standard that could hobble the rapidly growing Internet." Meanwhile, Thomas attorney Tom Nolan told the wire service the double jeopardy issue likely will be raised in an appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. As reported, the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati already ruled against the Thomases, upholding their Tennessee convictions in January. "That ruling," AP reports, "said every individual community can judge for itself theobscenity of material downloaded from computer bulletin boards - no matter where that board is based." Software Safeguards Net Graphics Maximized Software Inc., an Irvine, California, software publisher, says it has come up a software module that protects copyrighted graphics from Internet piracy. The company's SiteShield product takes a "look but don't touch" approach, says Ken Spreitzer, Maximized's president. The software allows webmasters to identify target pages or images for protection against downloading to a user's disk. "Our product addresses the commercial basis for Internet Web sites, as opposed to public domain material," says Spreitzer. "This encompasses high- profile images such as Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny, original Web- page graphics and catalogs of artists and photographers, to name a few examples. SiteShield is plug-in module for Web server software from companies such as Netscape, Microsoft and The Apache Organization. Maximized Software was founded by Spreitzer in 1992. Before establishing Maximized, Spreitzer achieved industry fame as author of the original Uninstaller for Windows, a program that automatically removes applications from Windows PCs. Kodak, Microsoft Team on System A new imaging technology designed to rastically speed up the editing and transmission of pictures by computer reportedly is in the works in a deal between Eastman Kodak Co. and Microsoft Corp. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Wendy Bounds says, "With the new technology, a file format that lets computers interpret data that make up images, users can manipulate and send images between computers via the Internet and other services." She notes what while similar technology already exists and Kodak is a late- comer to the game, "existing formats are often considered slow and cumbersome for the average consumer." Says the paper, "Kodak therefore will aim its technology and marketing muscle at these consumers -- such as real- estate agents, advertisers, even the average picture-taker -- who are frustrated by the delays that now exist in working with images on computer." The new technology, called "Nifty," aims to save time, writes Bounds, "by applying preliminary changes to only the low-resolution version of the picture, as opposed to the more complicated high-resolution version, which takes up more memory. Once the picture has been completely modified, whose changes are then applied to the high-resolution final version. The Journal looks for Microsoft to announce a software application to usethe format, noting that Microsoft chief Bill Gates, through his closely owned Corbis Corp., recently has acquired or licensed the rights to a great number of still-image archives including the New York-based Bettmann Archive and Philadelphia Museum of Art, which one day could be used with the Nifty technology. Hewlett-Packard Co. also is expected to support Nifty. MCI, Microsoft Team Online MCI Communications Corp. and Microsoft Corp. said today they are working together to create standards- based audio and document conferencing services over the Internet through Microsoft's new NetMeeting communications and collaboration software. In a joint statement, they said NetMeeting will make audio and document conferencing via the Internet "as easy as a phone call, and workgroup collaboration as effective as being in the same room." The software promises to enable more than two people to share any existing Windows operating system-based application across the Internet or corporate LAN, enabling them to review and edit documents. Also, says the statement, NetMeeting's "whiteboard" and "chat" capabilities will enable Web users "to conduct meetings withillustrations, text and comments, and ultimately with the enhancement of value-added video and audio in the same application." Cable Modem Market Set to Soar Internet surfers seeking faster ways to access information will fuel the cable modem market, with unit shipments expected to grow 92 percent this ear, according to new research from Dataquest Inc. The modem market is heating up as new technologies make higher-speed alternatives to analog modems a reality, says Dataquest. Cable modem vendors, teamed with cable operators, have a real opportunity to penetrate the consumer base of the remote LAN and Internet access market, adds the market research firm, based in San Jose, California. "However, ISDN is taking off, and XDSL is around the corner," says Lisa Pelgrim, industry analyst in Dataquest's telecommunications group. "XDSL runs on existing telephone lines and will be a real competition for cable. The most compelling reason to use a cable modem is speed, but speed alone won't be enough to win the battle. Cable companies should take advantage if their unique situation of being a content provider and offer innovative new services in adition to basic Internet access." Dataquest forecasts that the cable modem market will reach 25,000 units in 1996, and will grow 220 percent in 1997 when unit shipments are expected to reach 80,000 units. Oracle Loses Top NC Executive Just as it is preparing to launch its new Network Computer, Oracle Corp. has lost the top executive and the chief technologist behind the new device. The departure of Andrew Laursen, vice president of Oracle's network computing division, comes only days after Oracle announced that the product is ready. Laursen is leaving to join a San Francisco area start-up company called Unwired Planet Inc., which reportedly is working on wireless Internet technology. A source close to the situation told the Reuter News Service that Laursen was approached by UnWired months ago. Laursen's office at Oracle said he is on vacation until next Thursday, but confirmed his resignation. Laursen has been in charge of developing the NC, an under-$500 stripped-down computer whose main function would be surfing the Internet. As reported earlier, Oracle recently announced endorsement from scores of company of the NC standards. Oracle plans to license software technology it developed for making these machines to hardware makers. Oracle has said it already had 2 million orders from telephone companies. "The same day," notes Reuters, "Oracle announced the creation of a separate subsidiary Network Computer Inc. but it did not name Laursen as its chief. Instead Jerry Baker, a senior vice president, was named its president." Apple Unveils New Mac Performa Apple Computer, Inc. has unveiled the latest and fastest member of its home computer line. The new Macintosh Performa 6320CD sports a 120MHz 603e PowerPC microprocessor, 16MB of RAM and a 1.2GB hard drive. Other features include an AppleCD 600i 4-speed CD-ROM drive, a 28.8K bps internal modem, 16- bit stereo sound and an integrated TV/video system that allows users to connect to external video sources and capture images as well as view television programming. "The Performa 6320CD is designed with the sophisticated home user in mind," says Didier Diaz, director of product marketing for Apple's Performa line. "These customers typically have children running multimedia- rich education and entertainment titles and they may work out of their home, or bring work home, and thus have demanding productivity and communications needs. They want their computer to be powerful, versatile and provide lasting value." A total of 16 preinstalled software titles and 15 CD-ROM titles are bundled with the system. The Performa 6320CD is priced at $2,599. Wireless Net Access Test Begins Testing has begun in Washington on the first Internet-access product delivered by a wireless television company, says CAI Wireless Systems Inc. The company notes that the new service uses high-speed wireless modems that are capable of rapidly downloading to customers' computers full-motion video, audio and data at speeds almost seven times faster than the fastest telephone-based modems at costs that are competitive with other commercial Internet access providers. CAI plans to develop similar systems in its other markets throughout the northeastern U.S. The wireless Internet service sends information to terminals at a rate of 10M bps, nearly seven times the rate of today's fastest T1 telephone lines, which transfer data at 1.5M bps. By year's end, CAI expects the data transfer rate to nearly triple, reaching 27M bps, as wireless modem technology advances. The system's return path receives information from customers through traditional telephone lines. CAI's service utilizes multichannel multipoint distribution system (MMDS) technology, which transmits microwave signals over the 2GHz radio band. CAI says MMDS allows superior signal transmission with fewer disruptions than other wireless technologies transmitted at higher frequencies, which are more susceptible to obstructions such as foliage and environmental concerns such as rain. "Our Internet access service is lightning-fast," says John J. Prisco, CAI's president. "Anyone frustrated with the agonizing delays associated with surfing the Internet using telephony-based providers will be amazed with our product. And because it is wireless, it has the potential to quickly reach a much larger customer base, particularly in outlying areas where traditional cable has yet to be installed, at much more affordable installation costs." CAI, based in Albany, New York, operates six analog-based wireless cable systems in Albany; New York; Rochester, New York; Philadelphia; Washington; and Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia. CAI also has a portfolio of wireless cable channel rights in eight additional markets, including Long Island, New York; Buffalo, New York; Syracuse, New York; Providence, Rhode Island; Hartford, Connecticut; Boston; Baltimore; and Pittsburgh. HP Announces School Grants Hewlett-Packard Co. says it has awarded $540,000 in grants to six U.S. elementary school districts to help them improve how they teach science. Each school district will receive $30,000 annually for up to three years to develop "hands-on" science programs in which students learn by conducting experiments and studies, rather than just by reading textbooks and listening to lectures. The school districts are Sunnyvale Elementary, Sunnyvale, California; Cheyenne Mountain/Lewis-Palmer, Colorado Springs, and Weld County, LaSalle, Colorado; Meridian, Idaho; Lawrence, Massachusetts; and Arlington Independent, Arlington, Texas. All of the districts are near an HP sales or production operation. A local HP scientist or engineer will help each district implement its program. Nearly 40 school districts in eight states, serving more than 170,000 students, have received grants worth more than a total of $3.1 million since HP began its Hands-On Science Program in 1992. The program was developed with help from the National Science Resources Center, a Washington, D.C.- based organization sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Sciences to improve the teaching of science and math in the nation's schools. Study: Consumers Want Integration Consumers are looking forward to the benefits of home automation and integrated consumer electronics products, finds a new survey issued by the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA). Energy conservation, entertainment and cost savings are all important considerations to the survey's participants. Most participants showed interest in a variety of integrated systems using the PC, telephone, TV or other electronic product to control or monitor the home network. Half of the people surveyed are aware of home systems technology and would like to connect their telephone answering machine, PC, electronic home security system and home stereo to an integrated system. A large group, more than 70 percent, indicated they would want the system to include connection to their TV and VCR. Roughly 60 percent indicated interest in purchasing products with the capability to tie in to a home system. Convenience in entertainment was the top issue with many of those surveyed. Fifty-two percent said they would be interested in being able to watch a rented movie on any TV in the house from a single VCR; 61 percent said they would like to be able to watch cable or satellite TV on any TV in the house. Thirty-one percent indicated that the main function of an integrated system in their home would be entertainment. "The study shows consumers are interested in -- and willing to pay for -- the integration of electronics in their homes," says John Galante, the CEMA's director of integrated home systems. "They want the increased convenience, energy conservation, security and just plain fun and excitement that results from tieing the products together." The nationwide study consisted of a telephone survey of 850 consumers. Gates Sees PC Prices at $500 Bill Gates predicts the price of personal computers eventually will fall to around $500, but that the machines will provide far more power than the so- called network computer being touted for exclusive online computing. Speaking in Boston at a Harvard University conference on the Internet, the Microsoft Corp. CEO said the computer industry is divided over whether the PC will be replaced by the network computer, which will perform many of the same functions as a PC but with less hardware by using the Internet. Reporter Michael Ellis of the Reuter News Service quotes Gates as saying he thinks technology is advancing to the point where the price of PCs could fall to around $500, about the same price envisioned by many proponents of the network computer, including Oracle Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. Says Gates, "I think PCs will get less expensive. They've got to get down to, say, even $500. The market to date has opted for more power at the same price. As the absolute power gets to a certain level ... then eventually the marketplace will move a lot of that innovation into lower prices." He added the debate over PCs versus network computers will be better defined once network computers finally become commercially available. "There's going to be a key milestone to come, though, which is when they actually make one," he said to laughter. "At that point, we'll be able to look at it and say, well, what did they take away." Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 Beta Now Available ú Provides Superset of Today's Popular Web Browser Functionality; ú Leaps Ahead With Next-Generation Platform for Active Web Content via ActiveX Technologies REDMOND, Wash. - May 29, 1996 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate, worldwide availability of Microsoftr Internet Explorer version 3.0 beta software, the next generation of its popular World Wide Web browser and the first to support ActiveXT technologies. For users, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 provides a dynamic browsing experience for viewing content created in Java, JavaScript, NetscapeT Plug-ins and HTML extensions as well as content created with ActiveX technologies and HTML 3.2 extensions. For developers and webmasters, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 introduces a comprehensive, next-generation architecture for creating active Web content, bringing Internet capabilities beyond the browser to applications and operating systems. The software is available now for no charge (other than the cost of downloading) over the Internet at the Microsoft Web site, http://microsoft.com/ie/. . "Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 is a step ahead of the pack," said Brad Chase, general manager in the Internet platform and tools division at Microsoft Corp. "It is the first and only Web browser that gives people choices about how they surf the Net. With a single click of the mouse, they can download Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 free of charge and access cutting-edge Internet content for the ultimate Web experience." Next Generation in Active Content Best Viewed With Microsoft Internet Explorer The new open architecture in Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 supports the full use of programmable, active Internet content and applications. ú ActiveX controls. With ActiveX, developers can build Internet applications by writing ActiveX controls that users can download from the Internet and run in Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0. ActiveX controls create unlimited possibilities for what users can do on the Internet. These cross- platform software components include the thousands of existing ActiveX controls (formerly OLE controls), Java Applets and new ActiveX controls, such as the ActiveMovieT API. ú ActiveX Documents. Users can open richly formatted documents, such as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, directly in the browser. They can use the power of the application to view and edit the data directly. ú ActiveX Script. With native support for Visual Basicr Script and JavaScript, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 provides the most comprehensive and language-independent script capabilities. Microsoft Internet Explorer can be extended to support additional scripting languages such as REXX, CGI and PERL. Web page designers can plug any scripting language into their HTML code to create interactive pages that link together ActiveX controls, Java Applets and other software components. ú Java Applets. In the next beta release, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 will ship with Java Virtual Machine, which includes the Microsoft Just-In- Time Java compiler. Thus, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 will provide a very fast way to run Java applications. Additionally, Java application classes are exposed as ActiveX controls under Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, allowing Java applications to talk to other Java applications, ActiveX controls and operating system features such as multimedia audio and video elements. ú HTML enhancements. Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 provides the broadest support of any browser for HTML standards, including HTML 3.2. This support includes that for borderless and floating frames, style sheets and tables. By embracing and extending HTML 3.2, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 offers unprecedented ease of use and flexibility for developers, and legibility for users. ú Integrated multimedia support. Web pages come alive with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 through built-in multimedia support and ActiveX multimedia controls, including ActiveMovie, providing playback of popular video and audio formats on the Internet. Support is enabled for efficient playback of MPEG audio and video, .AVI files, QuickTimer, AU, .WAV, MIDI and AIFF formats. Developers can use ActiveX technologies to add rich functionality for many types of applications, including interactive multimedia elements, vertical market solutions and more. "ActiveX technology is our choice for providing online commerce controls to our customers," said Gerry Bakker, president of CDI. "Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 provides access to the rich content that ActiveX makes possible." Exciting New Communication, Collaboration and Personalization Capabilities In addition to enabling next-generation Web content, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 also provides users with a host of new features for an easier-to- use and more personalized Internet experience: ú NetMeeting conferencing software. Microsoft NetMeeting, also announced today, offers next-generation communication and collaboration features. NetMeeting makes voice and data communications over the Internet as easy as a phone call, and real-time workgroup collaboration as effective as being in the same room. NetMeeting offers multiuser application sharing and whiteboard and chat capabilities. Because it supports international standards, two or more people can participate in real-time interactive conferences even when separated by countries or continents. ú Internet Mail and News. Microsoft Internet Mail and News, a small, easy- to-use, lightweight e-mail client and news reader, is targeted toward customers looking for a simple way to communicate using SMTP and/or POP e- mail and NNTP news. Based on its support for international character sets, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 is the only Web browser that enables people to read Web pages composed in other languages. ú Secure conversation and commerce. Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 is the first browser to support the safe downloading of code and controls, providing "shrink wrap" for the Internet. With support for SSL2/3, PCT 1.0 and client and server authentication, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 provides the widest set of technologies for keeping conversations private. Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 will also add support for the secure electronic transactions (SET) specification, enabling secure commerce as soon as the specification is released. ú Customizable home page and administration kit. Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 offers a range of ways to customize Internet viewing, including custom organization of the toolbar, favorites folder and home page. For example, users can set their home page to download favorite stock quotes, news, movie times and more so that the information they want is available the moment they log on. The Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK), also announced today, is a new tool that allows corporate information service managers, Internet service providers and Internet content providers to create customized versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer for distribution to their customers and end users. ú Content Advisor. This release also marks the first implementation of a Platform for Internet Content Selection-compliant (PICS) rating system. Microsoft Corp. and the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) joined efforts to build technology to advance parental control over Internet access and content. Together, RSAC's rating system adapted for the Internet (RSACi) and the Microsoft Content Advisor feature make it possible for parents and others to set access to Web sites based on industry-standard ratings of their content. Microsoft and RSAC worked with industry leaders to develop a solution based on the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) Platform for Internet Content Selection. For more information on available parental control software solutions, visit http://microsoft.com/ie/ratings/. "The Recreational Software Advisory Council teamed with Microsoft to develop a solution that lets consumers decide, based on their beliefs, what material is appropriate for themselves and their children," said Stephen Balkam, executive director of RSAC. "The RSACi system enables parents to set levels of nudity, sex, language and violence, and to effectively screen out offensive material." Microsoft Introduces Internet Explorer Administration Kit; Cross-Platform Solution Lets Corporations, ISPs, Others Easily Customize Web Browsers Microsoft IEAK to Be Distributed Without Charge to 700 ISPs Licensing Microsoft Internet Explorer; Also Available at No Charge to Corporate Customers, ISPs, ICPs REDMOND, Wash. - May 29, 1996 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the Microsoftr Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK), a new tool for the popular Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser that allows corporate information service managers, Internet service providers (ISPs) and Internet content providers (ICPs) to create customized versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer for distribution to their customers and end users. The Microsoft IEAK is another of the extensive suite of offerings available with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Other components recently announced include Microsoft Internet Mail and News, and Microsoft NetMeeting Internet conferencing software. The company will distribute the kit without charge to the more than 700 ISPs who licensed Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0. Microsoft has also made it available at no charge to all other qualified ISPs, ICPs and corporate customers; it can be downloaded at http://microsoft.com/ie/. The cross- platform solution supports the creation of master diskette and CD-ROM versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer for the Windowsr 95, Windows NTr Workstation and Windows 3.1 operating systems and is scheduled to be expanded within 60 days to support diskette and CD-ROM distribution for Appler Macintoshr platforms. The CD-ROM version also includes the no-charge Internet Assistants for Microsoft Office applications for Windows 95. "With the Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit, corporate IS managers, ISPs and ICPs can customize Microsoft Internet Explorer to meet the need of their audience," said Brad Chase, general manager in the Internet platform and tools division at Microsoft. "This is a great tool for companies to use to point customers and users to informative sites on the Web or the corporate intranet that they may not have known about." By stepping through an easy-to-use software wizard, Microsoft IEAK users can easily customize the Microsoft Internet Explorer start page, home page and favorites folder to reflect the specific needs of their organization and end users. ISPs are given the option of participating in a second level of customization, which allows them to co-brand Microsoft Internet Explorer with their company logo in the animated flag section of the browser and add their company name to the title bar. "The Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit makes a great product even better for our customers by allowing us to preset Microsoft Internet Explorer so customers have easier access to valuable information," said Mark Chestnut, vice president of sales and marketing at Northwest Nexus. "We will be adding interesting local sites to the favorites menu, which is a feature our customers love." The Microsoft IEAK Wizard also walks ISPs through the process of creating customized end-user sign-up programs that they can freely distribute to users in more than 10 languages. Microsoft is the only company that offers Web browser distribution at no charge and with a high level of customization. "Asia On-Line is the fastest growing online service in Asia, and we need to serve customers in different countries," said Tom C.K. Yuen, chairman of Asia Communications Global, the parent company of Asia On-Line. "The combination of customization features and unparalleled international support makes Microsoft Internet Explorer a perfect browser for our needs." This release of the IEAK adds an additional component for distributors and administrators to include as part of their offerings - the beta version of Microsoft Internet Mail and News. Microsoft Internet Mail and News is a small, lightweight e-mail client and news reader targeted toward customers looking for a simple way to communicate using SMTP/POP e-mail and NNTP news. The IEAK allows for the customization and automatic setup of these services by allowing administrators to preconfigure the names of servers before distributing the software. Corporate IS managers can use the Microsoft IEAK to preset the Microsoft Internet Explorer start page and search page to servers on their corporate intranets. Various departments in the company can have their servers added to the favorites folder. When Microsoft Internet Explorer is then distributed throughout the company, users have easy access to all the corporate resources. ICPs, software developers, Web publishers, PC manufacturers and consumers are all accelerating their adoption of Microsoft Internet Explorer, making it the world's fastest-growing Web browser as well as the only Web browser localized and available in 23 major languages and for all major Windows and Macintosh platforms. More than 8,000 developers have already created Web sites optimized for Microsoft Internet Explorer, and that number continues to climb by 350 sites each week. Many of the leading PC manufacturers - more than 80 - ship Microsoft Internet Explorer preinstalled in their Windows 95-based PCs. (STReport's WEBSite is optimized for Internet Explorer 3.0) Microsoft NetMeeting Conferencing Software Provides Easy Voice, Data Internet Communications; Available on the Web Now Standards-Based, Multiuser Software Enables Easy, Effective Workgroup Collaboration; More Than 20 Leading Companies Delivering Interoperable Products REDMOND, Wash. - May 29, 1996 - Microsoft Corp. today announced that its NetMeetingT communications and collaboration software, in conjunction with the Microsoftr Internet Explorer version 3.0 beta software, is available today worldwide to download at no charge (other than the cost of download time) from the World Wide Web. NetMeeting is the Internet's first real-time communications client that includes support for international conferencing standards and provides true multiuser application-sharing and data- conferencing capabilities. NetMeeting makes voice and data communications over the Internet as easy as a phone call and workgroup collaboration as effective as all participants being in the same room. NetMeeting is another element of the suite of offerings available with Microsoft Internet Explorer. "Talking and working together in real time will clearly be the next big thing on the Web," said Brad Chase, general mananger in the Internet platform and tools division at Microsoft. "Microsoft NetMeeting supports application sharing and conferences among more than two people, and international standards for the broadest possible interoperability. It literally is as easy as making a phone call." Application Sharing and Multiuser Capabilities Set NetMeeting Apart Unlike other Internet conferencing software, the application-sharing capabilities in NetMeeting allow two or more people to simultaneously share virtually any existing Windowsr operating system-based application across the Internet, a corporate LAN or the public telephone network, enabling business professionals and their clients around the world to review and edit documents without leaving their offices. Any participant in a conference can remotely view and control shared applications, enabling remote presentations, telecommuting or Web-based customer service. NetMeeting's whiteboard, chat, file transfer and shared-clipboard features allow groups of people to conduct meetings, share information, and jointly annotate diagrams, text and comments in a shared workspace. NetMeeting supports international standards, allowing two or more people to participate in real-time, interactive conferences even when separated by continents. NetMeeting's Internet telephone capabilities allow point-to-point voice conversations anywhere in the world for the cost of an Internet connection. The User Location Service (ULS) provides a mechanism for users of NetMeeting to locate other people on the Internet, even if their Internet addresses change. A sample of the ULS can be found at http://uls.microsoft.com/. "Audio and data conferencing enables our design centers to collaborate on new product designs, which increases productivity and speeds the release of new products," said Roy Arild, a design and characterization engineer at Cypress Semiconductor. "Support for international standards is a critical prerequisite to make conferencing an integral communications tool." Unmatched Support for Standards to Spur Interoperable Web Conferencing Microsoft NetMeeting is the first software shipped on the Web to support International Telecommunications Union (ITU) standards for multiuser data conferencing, facilitating a truly interoperable multivendor Internet conferencing world, including multipoint servers, videoconferencing systems, secure firewalls, room conferencing systems, interactive whiteboards and other third-party products. NetMeeting currently supports open, international standards from both the ITU and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The ITU T.120 data conferencing standard enables real-time multiuser collaboration and file transfer over the Internet, intranet or telephone network. NetMeeting also supports the Realtime Protocol (RTP) from the IETF, used to transmit and synchronize real-time streams over the Internet. "Apple is committed to supporting international standards, including T.120 and H.323, for conferencing and collaboration over the Internet," said Carlos Montalvo, director of the Interactive Media Group at Apple Computer Inc. "Our support for these standards is a key element of our strategy for ensuring a robust environment for conferencing and collaboration over the Internet between Macintoshr and Windows-based platforms." Industry Building Products Interoperable With NetMeeting NetMeeting is based on the ActiveXT technologies conferencing platform, announced in March at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference - Building Internet Solutions, with support from over 120 companies. Developers can easily add conferencing capabilities to their products using a software development kit that is also available on the Web. "The Internet continues to grow by leaps and bounds, both in the number of users and the availability of new applications such as the Microsoft NetMeeting Internet conferencing software," said Philip Knell, president and general manager of networkMCI Conferencing. "MCI plans to deliver multipoint Internet conferencing services compatible with NetMeeting." More than 20 companies are today announcing shipping or planned delivery of conferencing products and services that are compatible with NetMeeting (see attached list). Microsoft NetMeeting is available now along with the beta version of Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, and can be downloaded without charge from the Microsoft Web site at http://microsoft.com/ie/conf/. Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day. Microsoft, NetMeeting, ActiveX, ActiveMovie and Visual Basic are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Netscape is a trademark of Netscape Communications Corp. QuickTime is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Inc. ObjectShare.120 is a trademark of VTEL Corp. LiveShare, LiveLAN and Live100 are trademarks of PictureTel Corp. ProShare is a trademark of Intel Corp. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Inc. For online product information: Microsoft Internet Explorer Web page: http://microsoft.com/ie/. STReport's "Partners in Progress" Advertising Program The facts are in... STReport International Online Magazine reaches more users per week than any other weekly resource available today. Take full advantage of this spectacular reach. Explore the superb possibilities of advertising in STReport! Its very economical and smart business. In addition, STReport offers a strong window of opportunity to your company of reaching potential users on major online services and networks, the Internet, the WEB and more than 200,000 private BBS's worldwide. This is truly an exceptional opportunity to maximize your company's recognition factor globally. (STReport is pronounced: "ES TEE Report") STR Publishing's Economical "Partners in Progress" Plans! Take Action! "Discover the REAL Advantage" of STR's EXCEPTIONAL AND HIGHLY ECONOMICAL "Partners in Progress" Program.. Call Today! STR Publishing, Inc. (STR, STReport, CPU Report); ú maintains a commitment to utilizing the power of the Internet and Web to keep computer users, worldwide, both private and commercial, informed of new trends in equipment, upgrade reports and future planning. ú offers highly informative Hardware and Software Reviews, Press Releases, hands-on stories, user experiences and show reports. ú presents the NEWS about new hardware, new software and how-to publications within HOURS of its being made public. ú is dedicated to keeping the users informed of what your company has to offer at incredibly, almost the moment its offered! Take full advantage of STReport's Exciting "Partners in Progress" Programs! MAXIMIZE your Company's Presence Worldwide. TODAY! Eighth Page - $20 per month Quarter Page - $40.00 per month Half Page - $80.00 per month Full Page - $120.00 per month Your company's color ad, as described by you and designed by us, will appear in STReport International Online Magazine. STReport is published and released weekly on Fridays Evenings. All sizes based on a full color, eight and a half by eleven inch page. Email us at or, for quick action call us at: VOICE: 904-292-9222 10am/5pm est FAX: 904-268-2237 24hrs Support BBS DATA: 904-268-4116 or, write us at: STR Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32205 STR hopes you will take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity to provide information concerning your company and your product line to Computer Users, world wide via STReport International Online Magazine (Since 1987). And, at the same time, helping to keep the very best Independent Online Magazine available each and every week for many years to come. STR Editor's Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard" Editor's MailBag Messages * NOT EDITED * for content To: rmariano@streport.com Cc: rlquinn@ix.netcom.com Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 13:48:58 EST Subject: Yessir I'm voting for Dole!! Message-ID: <19960528.134859.3607.0.ronquinn@juno.com> X-Mailer: Juno 1.00 X-Juno-Line-Breaks: 22-23,30-31,36-38 From: ronquinn@juno.com (Ron E Quinn) In reference to your editorial in the April 5, 1996 issue of the Silicon Times Report: I disagree with your assessment that just because we know Clinton after 3 yrs. in office, we should keep him. That makes absolutely no sense. The devil himself could be the president, but I wouldn't want to keep him just because we know how evil he is. You said you would vote for Dole if he had a running mate that was strong on Human Rights, so that leads me to think that you are pro-life. If not, then you should be because the ultimate loss of Human Rights is murder, and that's what is being done every time an abortion is performed. Anyone that doesn't think that abortion is murder is sadly mistaken. I get tired of hearing women advocates say that they don't want the government controlling them. I am all for individual rights, and I think the government has it's fingers in many things that it shouldn't. A bumper sticker I once saw says it all "I am for the rights of all women, including the unborn". I was totally shocked when Clinton was elected as president. It is truly embarrassing to me. It says a lot for the morales of our society that we could elect a man to our highest office that cheated on his wife for several years. Yes, I know he is human and should be given a second chance because we all make mistakes. But the problem with that thinking is that he should be a model for the rest of us. Our children should be able to look up to him and say "I want to be just like him". If one of my kids said that, I would be inclined to wash their mouths out with soap! Yes, I agree that Dole should pick his running mate carefully. I just hope he doesn't jump on the band wagon and select Colin Powell. Powell is for two issues I disagree with, pro abortion and affirmative action. Yes, I said affirmative action. I am against all forms of discrimination, including that one. We can't atone for the past, and I never owned a slave, and what makes you think that just because I am white, that my ancestors weren't slaves or persecuted in other ways. Anyway, after straying from the point. I just want to clarify that we should not vote for Clinton just because he is an evil that we have learned to live with. Look at what Dole stands for, and if you can't go for him, look at the other candidates, or write in your own, but let's not settle for Clinton. Ron Quinn Ron, As for voting for Clinton because he's "an evil we've learned to live with" is a pretty broad intrpretation of what was said. But then, that's the nature of the beast. What was meant, if not stated clearly enough was simple. we know how Clinton operates and that's all it was meant to say. We know he is not a sap for big business, Big Tobacco and every other BIG Dollar making conglomerate as Bob Dole is. Also it meant to say watch out for the Dole ticket as we still have no idea who his running mate will be. With Dole in his seventies. odds are weare actually voting the running mate in as the "next president". Do we "need' another "do nothing but pardon Nixon" Gerald Ford?? I think not. Do we need another "gouge the little guy" Republican like Ronnie ("I had nothing to do with Iran-Contra") Reagan? Again, I think not. I must admit Clinton is nothing to write home about but up to this point. he's our best bet for the little guys in this country and the health of the nation. He isn't supporting the Tobacco giants (aka "Cancer Merchants") like Robert Dole is. To: rmariano@streport.com Date: Wed, 29 May 1996 09:43:46 GMT+8 Subject: Silicon Times Report. Reply-to: elvintan@dupre.lugs.org.sg Priority: normal X-mailer: Pegasus Mail v3.22 Hi, Just wanted to tell U that the Silicon Times Report is a GREAT report. I'm on the mailing list and I read every article. But one thing that REALLY irritates me. Why don't U just send the WHOLE article thru the mailing listserver ? It's a little big, but U can spread it into 2 mails. Having to uudecode it, then PKUNZIPing it into a dir and then reading it is VERY troublesome. It will be a lot easier if I just read the mail ! Hope U listen to my suggestion. Elvin -- Elvin, We're looking into modifying the method of sending out STReport at this time. We should arrive at a solution very soon. Thank you for reading our humble offering. Apple/Mac Section John Deegan, Editor Apple Computer, Inc. Press Release Apple Announces Developer Release of MkLinux, Linux for Power Macintosh Leading User-Supported Version of UNIX to be Available to Power Macintosh Users WWDC, SAN JOSE. California--May 17, 1996--Apple Computer, Inc. announced today that it is making available the Developer Release 1 CD of MkLinux. Linux is a freely distributable version of UNIX. Apple, in conjunction with the Open Software Foundation (OSF), has ported Linux to support a variety of Power Macintosh products. MkLinux (Microkernel Linux) operates on the OSF Mach Microkernel which will be running natively on the PowerPC microprocessor. The Developer Release 1 CD is being distributed free to attendees at the Linux session at Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference, being held in San Jose this week. The Developer's Release 1 available this week will allow software developers to use a pre-release version of the product, and provide feedback to Apple for the final version. In addition, Apple has authorized Prime Time Freeware (http://www.ptf.com) to publish Apple's reference release of MkLinux for the Power Macintosh. Prime Time Freeware, a publisher of freely redistributable software for technical and professional markets, has scheduled the release of "MkLinux: Mach/Linux for the Power Macintosh" for September 1996. The product, retailing for U.S. $50, will contain an installable version of MkLinux, source code, and extensive documentation on Linux, Mach, MkLinux, and the Power Macintosh. "Apple is supporting Linux as part of an 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 and the scientific research 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. MkLinux 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 is making the source code for Developer Release 1 freely available on the Apple MkLinux web site at http://www.mklinux.apple.com. This includes source code to the Mach microkernel and the required Macintosh platform driver support. Developers interested in MkLinux should check this web site for further information and updates. Price and Availability The MkLinux for Power Macintosh Developer Release 1 CD will be distributed free to attendees of the Linux session at Apple's World Wide Developer Conference this week. The CDs will also be available from Prime Time Freeware for U.S. $10 each. The reference release, "MkLinux: Mach/Linux for the Power Macintosh", is scheduled for publication in September 1996 at a suggested retail price of U.S. $50. Snapshots of MkLinux, along with updates, patches, and late-breaking news, will be available on http://www.mklinux.apple.com. Developers who cannot attend the Linux session at WWDC can obtain a Developer Release 1 CD from Prime Time Freeware at (408) 433-9662, fax (408) 433-0727, email: info@ptf.com or web site at http://www.ptf.com Apple Computer, Inc., a recognized innovator in the information industry and leader in multimedia technologies, creates powerful solutions based on easy- to-use personal computers, servers, peripherals, software, personal digital assistants and Internet content. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple develops, manufactures, licenses and markets solutions, products, technologies and services for business, education, consumer, entertainment, scientific and engineering and government customers in more than 140 countries. Press Contacts: Julia Carey Apple Computer, Inc. (408) 974-4455 email: julia.c@applelink.apple.com Sandra Livinghouse Burson-Marsteller for Apple Computer, Inc. (408) 974-1109 email: slivinghouse@applelink.apple.com NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in receiving Apple press releases by fax call 1-800-AAPL-FAX (1- 800-227-5329) and enter your PIN number. If you do not have a PIN number, please call the Public Relations Hotline at (408) 974-2042. If you would like to receive Apple press releases by email, please send an email message to pressrel@whoville.austin.apple.com. Include the text "subscribe [your full name]" in the body of the message. Customer Information Contact: If you are considering the purchase of an Apple product and would like to have product information faxed to you, please call 1-800-462-4396 in the U.S. or 1-800-263-3394 in Canada. If you do not have a fax machine or would like to locate an Apple authorized reseller near you, please call 1- 800-538-9696. Customers outside the U.S. should contact their local Apple representatives for information. Apple's home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.apple.com Apple, the Apple logo, and Macintosh are registered trademarks and Mac is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the USA and other countries. All other brand names mentioned are registered trademarks of their respective holders, and are hereby acknowledged. PowerPC and the PowerPC logo are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, used under license therefrom. EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage Contents Clipper 3 On The Drawing Board Brokerages Announce Internet Plans Online Banking Company A Hit On Wall Street Apple Pushes QuickTime Standard CERT For A Fee Flat PC Screens Head For The Desktop 1-888-Rip-Off! SKIP Compaq, Thomson To Build PC-TV Northern Telecom Phones Get Javatized Info-Highway Development In Canada Prodigy Goes Global Apple Pares Down Philips Sees Green In Lasers Hughes Dishes Up Data PacTel Offers Internet Access DSVD Modems That Talk To Each Other Public Access Network In Peru Programming Will Become Like Publishing Web Magazine Suspends Publication Africa, Technology, And Growth Intel Video-Phone Technology For Home PC NCSA Hopes Habanero's Hot Speedier Imaging From Kodak Who's Minding The (Data) Store? Wireless Cable Internet Access Yahoo! Caves In On P&G Web Deal Cable Modem Sales To Go Up, Up, Up More Java Buzz Who Will Teach The Teachers? Can The Network Handle The Network Computer? Cyberbooths For Walk-Up E-Mail Microsoft's Browser Gets New Features Bugs Bunny Caught In Trade Dispute CLIPPER 3 ON THE DRAWING BOARD Interactive Week reports that the Clinton administration hasn't given up on its plans to force technology companies to include some kind of electronic key for decoding encrypted communications in their products. As in previous Clipper proposals, the key would be stored with a third party, and law enforcement officials need a court's permission to obtain it. The sweetener in the current proposal, is that in exchange for approving the Clipper chip, the administration would eliminate all limits on exporting U.S. encryption technology. (Investor's Business Daily 22 May 96 A6) BROKERAGES ANNOUNCE INTERNET PLANS Three of the largest financial services companies plan to spend about $1.5 billion this year to increase their presence on the Internet and upgrade their electronic offerings. Charles Schwab & Co., Fidelity Investments and Merrill Lynch & Co. each will use a different approach to incorporating the Internet into their business plans. Charles Schwab says 20% of its business already comes from electronic stock and mutual fund orders. Schwab will expand that to include electronic payment capability, and predicts online orders will "represent 30 to 40 percent of order entry in the next four to five years." Merrill Lynch plans to offer online investment information as well as access to banking services, stock quotes and account statements. "We see our professionals as the ultimate search engines," says the company's executive VP. Fidelity will spend much of its money on new technology and computer systems. (St. Petersburg Times 23 May 96 E6) ONLINE BANKING COMPANY A HIT ON WALL STREET The stock of the Security First Network Bank, which offers banking services via the Internet, more than doubled on is first day of trading. One analyst explained the excitement by saying that "some investors believe this represents the future of banking." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 24 May 96 H6) APPLE PUSHES QUICKTIME STANDARD As part of its revival, Apple Computer is hoping others will adopt some of its technology products as standards. The reasons are obvious: "If your standards get adopted, then others don't," says a Dataquest analyst. Apple's candidates are QuickTime, Cyberdog and OpenDoc, but industry observers are placing their bets on QuickTime, software used to blend sound, video and other elements of multimedia programs. "I think it's pretty much a slam-dunk," says an editor of a Macintosh research service. "Quicktime is already an industry standard in multimedia authoring. And as the Internet infrastructure develops, you'll see more and more rich content on the Web -- animation, sound and video. QuickTime is an engine that can be used to synchronize these different media streams." (Investor's Business Daily 22 May 96 A6) CERT FOR A FEE The Computer Emergency Response Team at Carnegie Mellon University has begun offering its computer security services to subscribers who pay $25,000 a year. The CERT Affiliates Program will respond to break- ins, and provide training and consulting on computer system security. About 30 companies have signed up so far, and CERT says it will continue to provide free but limited incident response services to non-subscribers. Information Week 20 May 96 p32) FLAT PC SCREENS HEAD FOR THE DESKTOP Liquid crystal display screens currently cost about five times that of a similarly-sized cathode ray tube screen, but that should be changing over the next couple of years, say LCD makers. Next year, major LCD vendors expect to halve the difference, bringing prices down to two-and-a-half times that of CRTs. Analysts say when the difference comes down to that point, the desktop replacement market could really take off. "CRT replacement is inevitable, it's just that in the near term there are a lot of hurdles," says an analyst at Stanford Resources. "The place where it makes the most sense are with large-screen LCDs." NEC recently unveiled a 20-inch high-resolution LCD screen with wide-angle viewing designed as a "CRT-killer" according to a NEC engineer. (Investor's Business Daily 23 May 96 A8) 1-888-RIP-OFF! Enterprising entrepreneurs are hoarding and leasing toll-free 888 numbers, and the Federal Communications Commission is contemplating new rules to crack down on the practice. Third-party number brokers applied for and got numbers such as MAC-WEEK, WE ARE GM, etc. and now are pressuring the companies' whose names they've appropriated for thousands of dollars up front, plus royalties, to use the numbers. "It was suddenly like the Wild West -- brokers went crazy," says a Washington attorney representing some of the companies. One holder of 600 desirable numbers says, "We've had some companies tell us this is foul play, blackmail, extortion. But my attitude is, You want the number? Come and get it." (Business Week 27 May 96 p42) SKIP Sun Microsystems is claiming industry support for its Simple Key Management for Internet Protocol (SKIP) encryption and key management system for allowing secure distribution of applets over private and public networks. (Computer Industry Daily 24 May 96) COMPAQ, THOMSON TO BUILD PC-TV Compaq Computer and Thomson Consumer Electronics are teaming up to produce devices that combine the functions of PCs and televisions, and plan to have their first products out in a year or so. Compaq is the biggest PC seller, and Thomson is the largest U.S. maker of TV sets. "What we have is two big companies smelling a market and trying to figure out how to reach it," says the president of a New York technology research firm. "Digital electronics is moving very rapidly into the consumer space and it's very clear there will be TV-PCs or PC-TVs in many forms. What's less clear is who will sell them and where will they go in the house. There's a lot of market research to be done." (Investor's Business Daily 23 May 96 A3) NORTHERN TELECOM PHONES GET JAVATIZED Northern Telecom plans to incorporate Sun Microsystems' Java microprocessors and software in a new class of inexpensive "smart" telephones designed to double as Internet appliances. The move makes Northern Telecom the first telephone manufacturer to license Java chips for its products. The chips will be used in its wired PowerTouch phones and its wireless digital phones, and customer trials should start next year. (Wall Street Journal 23 May 96 B3) INFO-HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA A Canadian government report called "Building the Information Society" urges development of secure systems for buying and selling, transferring money and protecting personal data, and outlines a plan for cooperation between public and private sectors in order to accelerate the conversion to electronic commerce. (bdgraham@achilles.net, 23 May 96) PRODIGY GOES GLOBAL Prodigy's new owners, International Wireless and a group of Prodigy executives, are planning to make the online service multilingual beginning later this year. The first step will be a Spanish-language service that will use content from Grupo Carso, a major shareholder in International Wireless. An Asian service will also be operational by the end of the year and an African version will soon follow, according to International wireless, which already owns an online service in Africa. (Broadcasting & Cable 20 May 96 p65) APPLE PARES DOWN Apple CEO Gil Amelio has announced plans to trim the number of different Macintosh models to about 40, which will help cut manufacturing costs and consumer decision-making time. Says one user: "Any action to make it easier for the buyer is great. There are too many choices, and that leads to confusion." By year's end, every Mac shipped will include 12 Mb of DRAM for better handling of graphics on the Web, and the company says all new systems will feature more hardware and software extensions for easier Net connections. (Information Week 20 May 96 p77) PHILIPS SEES GREEN IN LASERS Philips Electronics has figured out a way to use green lasers instead of red to read data from a laser disk. Their shorter wavelength allows the green lasers to read and write denser information, but in order to be practical Philips has to solve their longevity problem. They need to last 10,000 hours to be useful, and right now, they only last about four. (Business Week 27 May 96 p97) HUGHES DISHES UP DATA An arrangement between Microsoft and Hughes's DirecTV will allow PC users to tap into TV signals via Hughes's 18-inch dish antennas. Some newer PCs will be equipped with receivers that decode the satellite signal, in much the same way a set-top box does. The companies say in addition to DirecTV's 175 channels, they plan to offer interactive data services, such as the ability to download sports statistics, selected Web pages, multimedia magazines and information that complements TV shows. (Popular Science June 96 p47) PACTEL OFFERS INTERNET ACCESS San Francisco-based regional phone company Pacific Telesis will offers its customers Internet access at a range of prices topped at $19.95 a month for unlimited usage. The company has engineered its network to deal with a high volume of Internet traffic and has established 24-hour customer service assistance staffed by Internet specialists. (Wall Street Journal 28 May 96 A3) DSVD MODEMS THAT TALK TO EACH OTHER Digital Simultaneous Voice and Data modems (DSVD) can send voice and data simultaneously over the same phone line, but the problem up to now has been that the devices couldn't "talk" with DSVD modems made by a different vendor. The International Telecommunication Union is planning to change all that, and last month approved a new DSVD protocol to solve the communications problem. DSVD modem makers are now looking at ways to retrofit older devices already out in the workplace so that they'll conform to the new standard. (Investor's Business Daily 28 May 96 A10) PUBLIC ACCESS NETWORK IN PERU The Peruvian Scientific Network, begun five years ago with seed money from the United Nations Development Fund and now reaching 22,000 subscribers, is the only cooperative network in Latin America that offers public use of computers and is not financed by a government. A Peruvian political analyst says that "the Peruvian network is the first to capture the true spirit of the Internet and cyberspace because is provides access to everyone even if you don't have a computer. It answers that troubling question about access to new technology and whether the average person will be left out of the technological revolution." For $15 a month the network offers public access to the Internet along with a bank of computers and classes on network navigation. (New York Times 27 May 96 p23) PROGRAMMING WILL BECOME LIKE PUBLISHING Former Dataquest analyst Paul Cubbage predicts that "software will look more like publishing. There's a huge well-spring of people who are willing to develop software -- they just don't want to get into marketing and starting a company. The Internet will be like cable TV: a huge monster that eats up interactive content." (The Economist 25 May 96) WEB MAGAZINE SUSPENDS PUBLICATION The Web Review < http://www.webreview.com >, an online magazine targeted at Web professionals such as site builders and administrators, has stopped publication because advertising revenues are not covering costs. The publisher indicated, however, that the publication would return in June if 5,000 readers would pay $19.95 for a six-month subscription, or $3.33 a month, and pleaded: "Remember: You are voting on the future of the Web and what you will find there. Web Review is not alone in having these problems." (New York Times 28 May 96 C2) AFRICA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GROWTH Sub-Saharan Africa remains the least-connected place on earth, with almost nothing in the way of phone lines, personal computers and Internet connections. There is an average of one phone line for every 217 people, and 72 percent of the population lives in rural areas where, in some places like Chad, that statistic becomes one phone for every 800 people. Computers are almost nonexistent. A program director at the National Research Council says: ''You find in Africa a total lack of computer culture. There are no spare parts. There are no magazines. There's no PC World you can subscribe to.'' And Larry Irving, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration says: ''It's the same thing as not having a port in the 1600s, or a railroad in the 1900s. So if your economy isn't developing now, and you don't have access to the basic infrastructure of the information highway, you won't grow.'' (San Jose Mercury News Mercury Center 27 May 96) INTEL VIDEO-PHONE TECHNOLOGY FOR HOME PC Intel says that hundreds of thousands of personal computers with video-phone capabilities will be sold this year and millions more soon thereafter. Using Pentium chips and compression software, the systems could transmit and receive video and audio information simultaneously over standard phone lines, with images at 4 to 12 frames a second. (New York Times 30 May 96 C2) NCSA HOPES HABANERO'S HOT The National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois, birthplace of the Mosaic Web browser, has developed another Web application that it hopes will take the Web one step further - into collaboration. Habanero -- named for the hottest chili pepper around -- will allow users in different locations to access a Web site and perform real- time group activities, such as editing or developing a spreadsheet. NCSA will distribute the software free, just as it did with Mosaic, in the hope that others will use the program to design their own collaborative applications. (Wall Street Journal 30 May 96 B4) SPEEDIER IMAGING FROM KODAK Eastman Kodak has been working with Microsoft to develop a new imaging technology called Nifty, designed to dramatically speed up the process of editing and transmitting pictures via computer. The Nifty product enters a crowded playing field, with other industry-accepted formats already available, but observers think the company's partnership with Microsoft, which will market a software application for Nifty, will be a big help in garnering market share. The product works by applying editing changes initially to a low resolution version of the high resolution photo. Once all the editing has been done, the changes are made to the high-resolution final version. (Wall Street Journal 29 May 96 B5) WHO'S MINDING THE (DATA) STORE? Two online services are offering data archiving services, making it easier for PC users to back up their files on a regular basis. McAfee Associates' Personal Vault offers storage of up to 10 megabytes of data for $10 a month using McAfee's $49 WebStor software. Subscribers can access the data an unlimited number of times. Connected's DataSafe plans to charge $14.95 a month to store 50 megabytes of material, and will also offer archival CD- ROMs for $24.95 each. (Investor's Business Daily 29 May 96 A6) WIRELESS CABLE INTERNET ACCESS CAI Wireless Systems, with the backing of Bell Atlantic and Nynex, is looking to wireless cable technology to offer subscribers Internet access. The company, which has a pilot program underway in the Washington, DC area, plans to make the service commercially available in one or two markets by late fall. CAI says its technology allows users to download data, audio and video at rates seven times faster than most phone-based systems, but skeptics point out that wireless cable systems require direct "line of sight" access to customers' homes, which is often difficult to achieve in areas with lots of hills, trees or buildings. (Wall Street Journal 30 May 96 B11) YAHOO! CAVES IN ON P&G WEB DEAL Proctor & Gamble recently joined the madding crowd of companies advertising on the World Wide Web, but it cut a better deal than most when it told Yahoo! it would pay only when a user actually used its ad to click to P&G's own Web site. Most companies pay based on the number of "eyes" that view their ad, similar to the way TV and print advertising is priced. "People think Yahoo! has put a stake in the heart of the industry," by agreeing to P&G's terms, says a VP at Lycos, which turned P&G down. WebTrack Information Services says only about 1% to 2% of Web ads are compelling enough for viewers to want to investigate further. (Business Week 3 Jun 96 p44) CABLE MODEM SALES TO GO UP, UP, UP The research firm Dataquest expects high-speed cable modem sales to increase by almost double from 1995's 13,000 shipments to 25,000 shipments in 1996, with shipment levels predicted to reach 80,000 in 1997 and 900,000 by 2000. (USA Today 29 May 96 1B) MORE JAVA BUZZ Sun Microsystems announced several enhancements to its Java programming software, including JavaOS, a Java-based operating system that can run on pagers, telephones and other communications devices, and a technology called JavaBeans, which will allow people to write applets from reusable parts that will work with other applications programs. (Wall Street Journal 30 May 96 A3) WHO WILL TEACH THE TEACHERS? A consortium of education groups wants to recruit 100,000 computer- knowledgeable teachers, each of whom would be willing to volunteer time this summer mentoring five other teachers on how to use technology in the classroom. < http://www.ustc.org/21stcentury/ > (USA Today 30 May 96 1A) CAN THE NETWORK HANDLE THE NETWORK COMPUTER? With new companies every week enthusiastically endorsing the NC (network computer) concept, some critics are cautioning the idea may not pan out. First, there are the consumers: Gartner Group predicts that "the vast majority of PC users will stick with PCs." And then there's the network itself: "The concept of the network computer means you are putting a very large burden on a very thin pipe," says a Gartner analyst. Some folks think it's just another high-tech hype job: "The network computer is the logical extension of Internet hype -- hype and mind share that is totally out of whack with the value that it represents," says the director of managed data services for CompuServe. (Investor's Business Daily 29 May 96 A6) CYBERBOOTHS FOR WALK-UP E-MAIL The San Diego-based software company Atcom/Info has developed public access cyberbooths where travelers can log on to read their e-mail or surf the Web in airports, hotels, convention centers, or other public spaces. A user would enter credit card information to use e-mail systems such as AOL or Netcom, at fees ranging from $3 for 7 minutes to $20 for an hour. (New York Times 29 May 96 C5) MICROSOFT'S BROWSER GETS NEW FEATURES Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser is getting a new look. New versions will include groupware software called NetMeeting, which allows PCs in various locations to simultaneously work on the same applications program for collaborative editing. In addition, will be capable of facilitating audioconferencing over the Internet, a feature recently announced by Netscape in its Navigator software. (Wall Street Journal 29 May 96 B5) Explorer will also recognize the Recreational Software Advisory Council's (RSAC) Web ratings that will allow parents to block Web sites rated as having a high degree of violence, nudity, sex or objectionable language. (USA Today 29 May 96 1D) BUGS BUNNY CAUGHT IN TRADE DISPUTE The wascally wabbit and his Looney Tunes friends have fallen victim to the brewing China-U.S. trade war over software and film piracy. China's Central Television, the country's main government-owned network, was scheduled to start showing vintage pre-1950s cartoons, dubbed into Mandarin, beginning Saturday, International Children's Day. Until a decision by the United States on trade sanctions, the series and all other US-imported programs will be banned from CCTV airwaves. (Toronto Globe & Mail 30 May 96 A10) 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... 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An Italian edition is available on Agora' Telematica; connection and/or free subscription via BT-Tymnet and Sprint (login: " On the Jaguar scene, John Moreno asks about using an "ST" monitor with his game console: "Does anyone know what the resolution on the Atari SC1224 monitors is? I'm thinking of getting one for my Jag and wanted to know if it was worth it." Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells John: "I believe the SC1224 is 320x200 x16 colors and 640x200 by 4 colors." Tom Harker of ICD tells Albert and John: "Analog RGB moniotrs don't have small color limitations. Most should be able to handle 16.7million colors since they are analog. The color limitations are on the ST computer end. The old digital RGBi monitors were usually limited to 16 colors." Sysop Bob Retelle adds: "From all reports, the SC1224 is an *excellent* choice for the Jaguar. As Tom mentioned, it should be able to handle all the color the Jag can throw at it, and it's picture is sharp enough to give you excellent detail. At the price Don Thomas is asking, it would be a steal for a Jaguar! The only possible drawback I can think of is its small screen size, but if you're the only one watching the screen, that might not be a big deal." Do you remember a while back when there was some discussion about a "grass- roots" campaign to develop a CIM type navigator for the Atari line of computers? Well, it turns out that CompuServe has decided to adapt their service to HTML, the same language that is used on the World Wide Web. What this means is that in order to use all of CompuServe's cool options, you won't need to ask CompuServe for permission to develop a special application. All you'll need is a Web Browser like NetScape, Mosaic, or Internet Explorer for the PC, or CAB, Chimera, or Oasis for the ST. This is good news... as long as one of the Atari Browsers reaches a reasonable level of usability and compatibility with the current and future HTML standard. Mark Kelling posts: "Well, I guess everyone on the team has received the note from Steven about CIS' reponse to the request to let our team develop an HMI CIM type product for the ST. We were turned down in case you haven't heard, and told to concentrate on Web Browser development for the ST. This was quite disturbing to me, thinking that CompuServe had pulled the plug without even giving us a chance. Seeing a nearly simultaneous announcement that the Apple Newton CIM product had been released seemed like a slap in the face. This CIM for the Newton seemed like _exactly_ the product we were on the path to developing -- a cross between an automated browser (like QuickCIS) and the full CIM package and offering the best of both. Well, I saw the announcement today about the "new" CompuServe approach to doing business which they have code named "RED DOG" (hmmm, maybe after a hard night drinking? ;-) ) and my misgivings are gone! This new system will allow full and totally unrestricted access to every nook and crany of CompuServe using your trusty Web Browser. No more HMI, no more B Protocal, no more CIM. If you can browse the 'Net, you can access Compuserve! All to be in place by Christmas time. With a properly configured browser, this should be fantastic. And it means one less application cluttering up my hard drive! Now, that part about developing the browser makes sense. The bottom line for us Atari users is that we, now more than ever, need to get CAB/STik whipped into shape and supporting full Netscape HTML 3.0 functionality and a PPP connection. This _can_ be done. Let's all throw our efforts behind CAB/STik and by Christmas we won't have to feel left out of the latest and greatest developments in the world of CompuServe." The Big Kahuna himself, Chief Sysop Ron Luks, tells Mark: "I appreciate your enthusiasm and agree that RED DOG is better news for Atari owners than an Atari CIM, but I need to correct some overly optimistic statements you made. First of all, RED DOG projects (Internet/HTML applications) will begin appearing by year end. That does not in any way mean the existing information service will all be converted to HTML by year end. Far from it. Secondly, there has been NO information that the Forums will be converted to HTML. In fact, there's a lot of doubt about that aspect. ASCII access to forums will remain longer than previously anticipated, though, which is a good thing for Atari owners... Herb Kahn's statements WERE exactly as you quoted. I shouldn't have said you were wrong-- I should have said HErb Kahn was wrong. [sorry, grin] And yes, Mr Kahn's press release was incorrect and misleading to say the least. The fact of the matter is that the full service will NOT, repeat, will NOT be available under HTML by year end. This is more than just saying CIS will probably miss the target date (like most software misses target dates). This isnt even the plan as announced by every other spokesman for CompuSErve. To be honest, I'll be surprised if even a "significant" part of the service is available in HTML by year end. Some parts, yes-- most parts, very, very unlikely-- ALL parts- no way in hell. As for forums, the problem is that there is no equally capable, off the shelf solution available under Internet/HTML technology TODAY. If such software does not exist, what are the odds CIS can have it written in less than a year and a half? REmember, this is the company that couldnt port their HMI forums from DEC mainframes to NT servers in 3 1/2 years of trying hard...... The bottom line is that good things are coming but Mr Kahns press release did a disservice to everyone else involved in supporting this service." Mark tells Ron: "That's OK. I should know by now that in the world of computers and software, hype is king! Promise the impossible, delay the inevitable, and finally release something that isn't quite what was originally announced. But, it doesn't hurt to hope, does it? ;-) Anyway, all of CIS _is_ already available through the Internet (technically). You can Telnet in from any 'Net provider which offers that option and access any ASCII area you can normally reach when you log in to the regular CIS phone node. If you have a Telnet Tool on your System 7.5 Mac you can even use MacCIM through the Telnet connection to access the HMI locations too! BTW, it's great to have Netscape, AOL and CIS all running and active at the same time through the Telnet links. Not very useful, but it impresses those PC types who can't make the same thing happen on their Pentium machines! ;-)" I jump in and tell Mark: "I'm glad that I'm not the only one that found the recommendation odd. I had heard nothing about HTML development for CIS, and didn't immediately connect HTML with CIS. I'm quite hopeful about CAB/STik in general. The amount of development that the authors have put into these applications is impressive (even more because it's not a commercial product). I'm also looking into OASIS because it is supposed to provide PPP right now. I haven't had time to take a serious look at it yet but, at this point, ANY Browser is a godsend for us. The problem is that without a healthy (read "large") userbase, we may have to wait for quite a while each time a new feature is added to either CIS or HTML itself... remember waiting to get CIS B+? Zmodem? BTW, your "P.S." doesn't throw me one little bit! I'll bet you get a great big check every time you post anything positive! As soon as I have a chance to check out OASIS or hear anything from anyone else, I'll post it here." Mark misunderstands my point about zmodem and tells me: "I'm still waiting for Zmodem on CIS, unless they snuck it in without telling me! ;-) The OASIS product sounds interesting. Where can I grab a copy? What info do you have it? One good thing about the HTML conversion (or parallel evolution) of CIS is that it would seem to be a rather straightforward move. Also, we Atari users wouldn't be the only group benefiting from Browser access. Mac and PC users would be at the top of the list to benefit from the change. We can jump on the bandwagon with them. The cash expended by CIS on constantly updating and improving the CIM product is quite a large amount. Why not let Netscape and the other Browser retailers spend all that cash instead?" I tell Mark: "I'm still waiting for ZModem on CIS as well... but I was refering to the early telecom programs for the ST in general and not the ST/CIS interface in particular. I'll upload the latest version of Oasis after I've gone through the documentation. I'm not accustomed to having a prg before someone uploads it here to CIS. I want to see if there is some sort of prohibition against uploading it to commercial services... It's unlikely, but possible. I fully agree about CIS allowing the use of HTML for access. It will indeed free up a good deal of their resources. They'll still have to set things up in HTML format, but that's gotta be easier than designing, de- bugging, distributing, and supporting their own proprietary access program. My only worry (well, not my _only_ worry) is that we'll be constantly two or three upgrades behind what CIS has to offer." Well folks, that's about it for this week. Tune in again next time, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING EDITORIAL QUICKIES "Men are very confident people. My husband is so confident that when he watches sports on television, he thinks that if he concentrates he can help his team. If the team is in trouble, he coaches the players from our living room, and if they're really in trouble, I have to get off the phone in case they call him." Gilda Radner 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. 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