Silicon Times Report The Original Independent OnLine Magazine" (Since 1987) September 20, 1996 No.1238 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 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 Voted TOP TEN Ultimate WebSite 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 Courier Internal I-MODEM FAX: 904-268-2237 24hrs BCS - Toad Hall BBS 1-617-567-8642 09/20/96 STR 1238 The Original Independent OnLine Magazine! - CPU Industry Report - Adobe Pagemaker 6.5 - Adobe Photoshop 4.0 - Micrografx Updates - Corel NEWS Updates - Sony Ships PCs - WinNT 64bit Planned - SEGA DigiCam - Internet TV - WEB Surf by Phone - People Talking - Dana's TidBits Apple Updates Mac System 7 CIA Web Site Vandalized Microsoft in Washington 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 provision and distribution of STReport for their members. You may call The STReport Home BBS, The Bounty @ 1- 904-268-4116. Or obtain the latest issue from our WebSite. Enjoy the wonder and excitement of exchanging all types of useful information relative to all computer types, worldwide, through the use of the Internet. 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 ~ 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: 9/14/96: 2 of 6 numbers, ten 2 number matches From the Editor's Desk... The new software is beginning to show itself and the promise what is to be is marvelous. Comdex this year is going to be amazing for the un- initiated. For those in the know, it'll be an exercise in "I told you so". But so what, it'll all be for the benefit of the users. I might add ..that's what it is all about. This missive is short because the issue has some great info this week so I'll let you get right to it. 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 Beginner's Section R.F. Mariano J. Deegan Lloyd E. Pulley Gaming & Entertainment Kid's Computing Corner Dana P. Jacobson 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 Victor Mariano 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 Ron Satchwill 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 AOL STReport Internet rmariano@streport.com Internet CZGJ44A@prodigy.com Internet RMARIANO@delphi.com Internet 70007.4454.compuserve.com Internet STReport@AOL.Com WebSite http://www.streport.com STReport Headline News LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson Telecom Execs Praise Clinton But... The Clinton Administration has drawn praise from telecommunications executives for a new electronic commerce initiative aimed at "preempting" foreign governments attempting to limit Internet transactions. However, some warn the effort may be coming too late to actually halt such attempts at limitations. Communications Daily notes Ira Magaziner, senior adviser to the president for policy development, has offered the first public outline of the initiative, which he says seeks to establish a framework for governments and U.S. states to avoid regulations on electronic commerce and Internet. "We'd be in a market-based mode and would be private-sector driven," Magaziner recently told the State Department Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy, which praised the effort and urged an accelerated schedule for getting something enacted. CD reports a 13-agency task force is completing work on a policy paper Magaziner said could be circulated by the end of year to other agencies and the private sector. In his 45-minute appearance before the committee, he stressed the goal is to keep government out of electronic commerce everywhere, saying he hopes the U.S. can enlist other countries, such as northern European nations, to provide the "critical mass" that would encourage other nations to follow. In addition to major developing countries, the task force also will consider endorsements from emerging nations that could be interested in "leap-frogging" other nations on technology, Magaziner said. However, the effort does require some government role, he said, adding, "If they don't endorse it, they'll be inclined to usurp it." Several experts told CD that timing is critical, as some nations already have announced plans to impose controls, limits or rules on Internet commerce. Magaziner and others noted that removing regulations is more difficult than preventing them. The policy initiative "focuses on (a) contract model rather than regulatory model, wih (the government) providing endorsements for "some kind" of Uniform Commercial Code that would buttress transactions carried out on Internet," the newsletter says. In the same way that two parties sign a contract document in conventional transaction, Magaziner said, a "signature" would be some kind of electronic signal exchanged between two parties seeking to complete a deal. He said the framework shouldn't allow government action other than acceptance of the uniform code. He said the Net also should be a "duty-free" zone in which tariffs are eliminated, adding the action is made imperative by proposals of some nations to set "high duties" on Net commerce. Magaziner said it could take the rest of the decade to achieve multilateral agreements, but the current effort is the critical first step in acting on potential threats to Internet commerce. "We need to act to preempt what may otherwise be action by other governments that would create barriers to trade," he said, such as "non-tariff" barriers being considered in Singapore, Australia and Canada. Microsoft Makes Waves in Washington Word is Microsoft Corp. is becoming a political player in Washington, beginning to influence federal policy with its market muscle and money. "While the effort still pales in comparison to that of Boeing, or the tobacco, auto and telecommunications industries," notes United Press International, "Microsoft's voice is still being heard on many issues, ranging from intellectual property rights to legal immigration." Recently, Tony Williams, chief of staff for Sen. Slade Gorton of Washington state, told the Sacramento Bee newspaper, "They went from not even being in the room to having a seat at the table, and they did it in a very conscious way." UPI says Microsoft began to earn its political wings a few years ago when the Justice Department launched its anti-trust investigation into the company's activities, and Congress became active on such issues as telecommunications reform and software encryption. Mark Murray, the compny's corporate public relations manager, commented, "It's fair to say there are a number of issues currently under consideration at the federal level that affect the software industry. It's clear software companies have to have a presence in Washington, D.C." And the Bee reports that besides campaign contributions, lobbying and appearances by Microsoft CEO Bill Gates with President Clinton, Microsoft has learned the more subtle ways of operating in the capital: "The company donated software to both parties for their conventions and hosted receptions to showcase MS/NBC, its new joint venture with NBC-TV," says UPI. "Company officials supported a dinner for first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in Seattle and the annual Republican House and Senate gala dinner in Washington, D.C." In addition, Microsoft has: ú Hired as one of their outside lobbyists, Grover Norquist, a well-connected conservative with ties to House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other Republican congressional leaders. ú Made "soft-money" contributions to both political parties. (Soft money, which can be given only directly to the parties and is supposed to be for voter education efforts, has become increasingly popular among major corporations because there are no limits on the amount that can be donated, UPI notes.) The Bee says that through July of this year, Microsoft's political action committee, its top officials and employees, have contributed $167,700 to various political campaigns, more than twice the level during a similar period leading up to the 1994 election and 15 times greater than in 1992, the last presidential election. About 40 percent, or $66,000, was in the form of soft money. In 1992, Microsoft made no soft-money contributions and in 1994 it gave only $10,000, the paper reports. So far, the donations have favored Republicans by more than 2 to 1, "but the rest of its contributions have not been as clearly partisan," UPI reports, adding, "Microsoft's PAC hasn't given to either presidential campaign, although employees have given $10,000 to Clinton's re-election effort, and $2,500 to GOP challenger Bob Dole." The Bee says Microsoft has spent $860,000 on lobbying activities during the first six months of 1996, the bulk on its in-house lobbying team. But the company also paid $180,000 to the Washington, D.C., office of Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, a Seattle-based lawyer-lobby firm; $80,000 to Swidler & Berlin, another Washington, D.C., lobbying firm; and $20,000 to Downey Chandler, whose partners include Rod Chandler, a former Republican congressman from Washington state. CIA Web Site Vandalized The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency today pulled the plug on its site on the Internet's World Wide Web after a vandal cracked the page and posted a message declaring it the "Central Stupidity Agency." CIA officials told Jim Wolf of the Reuter News Service the Web page was not linked to mainframe computers containing spy secrets or other classified national security information. Said agency spokesma Rick Oborn, "There is no way to access internal CIA information from this home page," adding the site was tampered with on Wednesday night and had been shut down by the agency on this morning while a task force tried to prevent another break-in. Reuters says the digital vandal turned the CIA home page (http://www.odci.gov/cia) "into a crude parody" reading, "Welcome to the Central Stupidity Agency." A picture of an unknown man replaced that of CIA Director John Deutch and fictional links offered "News from Space" and "Nude Girls." The text also read "Stop Lying." The spokesman added, "If there is any major enemy who wanted to do us damage, this is not anything that causes us great concern," the spokesman said, adding that he had no idea of the culprit's identity. He termed the attack "malicious" and said he was not shrugging it off. The site, visited about 120,000 times a week, would be restored when the agency's technicians were confident they had "cleaned it up," officials said. The agency has formed a task force to look into how the page was penetrated and how to prevent a recurrence. The attack resembled one that forced the Justice Department to close its Web site for a few days last month after intruders turned it into the "Department of Injustice," inserting a swastika and picture of Adolph Hitler. Notes Wolf, "The incident highlighted the vulnerability of Internet sites and drove home the need for multiple layers of security to prevent manipulation of data." Net Rumor Causes Lexis Headaches Phones were jammed today at the headquarters of the publisher of the Lexis-Nexis databases as thousands demanded to be removed from a database that allegedly gave Internet users access to Social Security numbers, credit histories and other personal data. Reporting from Dayton, Ohio, The Associated Press notes, "Furious e-mail messages on the Internet this week claim that anyone can use a Lexis-Nexis computer file to obtain names, addresses, telephone numbers and other information." However, Lexis-Nexis spoksman Steve Edwards told the wire service the claims are false and that the company supplied only information publicly available from telephone listings and courthouse documents. "The outcry is over a computer file called P-TRAK operated by Lexis-Nexis to provide information on individuals for lawyers to use when trying to find witnesses, heirs or people delinquent on child-support payments," AP reports. "Subscribers can access the information by dialing into the database with a modem, the same way users access Lexis-Nexis' library of periodicals and court documents." Edwards says P-TRAK provides only names, addresses, up to two previous addresses, month and year of birth, telephone number and in some cases a person's maiden name, adding, "The information we're providing is all publicly available information. It's information you can retrieve from a phone book or a courthouse." Not included in the information, he said, are any credit histories, bank account information, personal financial data, medical histories, or mothers' maiden names. He said that when Lexis-Nexis began offering P-TRAK last June, Social Security numbers were included in the information. However, he said they were removed 11 days later and are no longer available. Nonetheless, he added, Lexis-Nexis will remove anyone's name from the database at that person's request. Sony Ships First PCs The first Sony PCs have arrived at U.S. retailers. The violet and gray "PC by Sony" models can now be purchased at Good Guys, Nobody Beats the Wiz, Best Buy, CompUSA, Incredible Universe, J&R Music World, Circuit City, and Montgomery Ward stores. The $2,499 PCV-70 comes with a 166MHz Pentium processor; the $2,899 PCV-90 features a 200MHz Pentium processor. A 15- inch (13.9-inch viewable image size) Multiscan Multimedia monitor is sold separately for $579. "The initial reaction we have received so far from consumers, analysts, press and retailers clearly shows that Sony has raised the bar for computer audio and video quality -- as well as added a bit of color to the industry," says James Harris, vice president of sales for San Jose, California-based Sony Information Technologies of America. "Our research indicates that consumers today demand a better and more entertaining PC experience. The PCV-70 and PCV-90 delivers this experience by offering the same quality, ease- of-use and innovative design that consumers have become accustomed to from Sony products." Sony notes that the PCs are designed to fit into a variety of home environments. A specially constructed PC mini-tower features a door that slides up and down to reveal the floppy disk and CD-ROM drives inside. When closed, the front cover of the computer looks smooth and uncluttered. Future Sony PC peripherals will be stackable, much like stereo components. Novell Launches Marketing Strategy Novell Inc. has unveiled an aggressive new marketing strategy, launching a $20 million worldwide advertising, corporate identity and brand campaign. The campaign is designed to strengthen Novell's brand awareness with its key audiences, establish the company as a major intranet market player and clearly define the company's networking vision. "This campaign is the first in a series of major marketing initiatives we plan to deliver ver the next several months," says Steve Markman, executive vice president for Novell's products group. "We want the world to know that we are expanding our territory as the networking software leader and a revitalized Novell is ready to meet our competitors head-on." For its campaign, Novell has tapped the resources of several leading advertising and marketing firms, including Hornall Anderson Design Works Inc., Lexicon and Young & Rubicam. The initiative marks Novell's first substantial corporate identity and brand marketing effort in a decade. Apple Updates Mac System 7 Apple Computer Inc. has released System 7.5.5 Update, a set of system software enhancements that aims to improve the overall reliability and performance of Apple Macintosh and Mac OS-compatible systems. According to Apple, System 7.5.5 Update provides reliability improvements by eliminating some causes of system freezes and improves the reliability of sharing a printer over the network. Apple notes that the update is the third in a series of regularly scheduled system software update releases the computer maker has delivered since March. The software provides one update for all computer systems currently running System 7.5.3 and integrates all improvements found in the System 7.5.3 Revision 2 update, released in June. Performance enhancements include: ú A revised version of virtual memory that can result in significantly better performance when performing some tasks, such as launching an application, especially for PowerPC- based systems using SCSI drives. ú A revised Code Fragment Manager that enables some large PowerPC-native applications to launch faster and some applications to be launched in low-memory situations. ú The Universal System Folder, a single user-created system folder stored on an external hard disk or removable media drive and used to boot up a wide variety of Macintosh and Mac OS-compatible systems, that has been enhanced to support the latest Apple computers, including the Apple Macintosh 5400 and 6400 series. Reliability enhancements include: ú More dependable use of the floppy drive on DOS- compatible systems. ú Improved floppy formatting and better reliability during system startup for 180MHz or higher 604 or 604e microprocessor-based systems. ú A reduction of Type 11 errors on PowerPC-based systems. ú Better use of sound-intensive applications for Macintosh Quadra and Centris systems updated with the Apple Power Macintosh Upgrade Card. ú More dependable operation of the remote control included with the Apple TV tuner and Macintosh TV. Network-specific improvements include: ú More reliable operation of Ethernet controllers in the 5400 and 6400 series systems. ú Better data integrity when accessing a 5400 series system over the network. ú System 7.5.5 Update will install only on computers currently running System 7.5.3, including System 7.5.3 Revision 2. Once the update is installed, the system software version will be changed to System 7.5.5 as indicated in the "About this Macintosh" window. A free copy of System 7.5.5 Update can be downloaded from CompuServe by typing GO APLSUP. 64-Bit Windows NT Planned Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. say they are working together to develop a version of the Windows NT operating system for Intel's upcoming IA-64 64-bit processor line. The companies note that the combination of Windows NT and IA-64 processors will provide seamless support for existing Pentium Pro (IA-32) applications and new applications optimized for IA-64 processors. The first IA-64 processor, code-named Merced, is set to ship within a couple of years. The companies note that the release schedule for the IA-64 version of Windows NT will be synchronized with shipments of Merced processor-based systems. "Our Windows NT operating system and software development environment, optimized for IA-64, will enable the industry to easily take advantage of Intel's 64-bit family of processors," says Paul Maritz, group vice president of Microsoft's platforms group. "This announcement affirms our commitment to providing customers with high-performance software solutions for IA-64." "Our announcement today represents an important milestone in the progress of Intel's IA-64 processor program," adds Albert Yu, general manager of Intel's microprocessor products group. "The Windows NT operating system, optimized for the IA-64 architecture, will further extend the capabilities and performance already seen today with Windows NT and the Pentium Pro processor." Windows NT Server 4.0 Sales Soar New research from International Data Corp. finds that sales of the Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 network operating system have reached more than 150,000 units in the first 30 dayssince its release, reaffirming its position as the world's best-selling server operating system. "Windows NT Server posted another strong quarter," says Philip Johnson, server operating environments program director at IDC. "In the second quarter of 1996, sales of Windows NT Server grew at nearly double the rate of other server operating system environments, while sales of NetWare were flat compared with the same period in 1995." Jim Allchin, senior vice president of Microsoft's desktop and business systems division, says the rapid customer acceptance of Windows NT Server 4.0 is a direct result of customer-driven enhancements. "During the design process for Windows NT Server 4.0, we spent a lot of time listening to customers in order to deliver the integrated Internet and intranet platform they need," he says. "The incredible rate at which Windows NT Server is being deployed is testament to having delivered a high-quality, rock-solid platform for intranets and the Internet that provides measurable benefits." Boca Plans High Speed Modems Boca Research Inc. says it plans to lead the pack of modem manufacturers building new ultra high speed analog modems. The company, based in Boca Raton, Florida, plans to base its units on a new Rockwell Semiconductor Systems chipset that allows connections at rates up to 56K bps across standard phone lines. "This is record-breaking news for our industry -- in the world of modems, it's like breaking the sound barrier, passing the speed of light, or beating the four-minute mile," says Tony Zalenski, Boca's president and CEO. "With Rockwell developing the technology and overcoming the limitations of the analog connection, the future of the modem, as we know it today, is secure. Rockwell's got the technology, and we plan to ship it." Boca hasn't announced any specific models, prices or release dates. Rockwell Has Fast Modem Technology Rockwell Semiconductor Systems has announced a new modem technology that allows Internet and online service connections at rates up to 5,000 bits per second across standard phone lines. Rockwell says its technology is supported by leading communication equipment providers, and that the technology specifications will be submitted to appropriate standardization bodies in an effort to make the technology a worldwide standard. Unlike traditional modems, which assume an analog connection between users, the new technology takes advantage of the high-speed, digital connection to the telephone network that Internet service providers and corporations already have. For example, when a home subscriber places a local telephone call to an Internet service provider, in many cases the only analog portion of the total connection is the short distance from the user's home to the local telephone company central office. "This new technology gives Web surfers the capability to connect to the Internet at almost double the average connection speed of today's fastest analog modems," says Armando Geday, vice president and general manager of Rockwell Semiconductor Systems' multimedia communications division. Sega Unveils Digital Camera Low-priced digital cameras will be sold in Japan by video game publisher Sega Enterprises Ltd. in its bid to tap a booming market and lure more people to video game centers. In Tokyo, the Reuter News Service says the $270 camera, called the Digio, will be the least expensive digital camera sold in Japan when it goes on sale at the end of November. Reuters notes Casio Computer Co. Ltd. introduced the first personal-use digital camera in Japan, priced at $452, in March last year. Eastman Kodak Co. sells its camera for $361. Sega officials told the wire service the company hopes to use the cameras to draw people into using its game machines and to computer game centers. A Sega spokeswoman added, "We are examining the possibility of providing such services to our digital camera holders as setting up machines at game centers that print out images captured on the camera." Reuters notes quick photo machines "have become a hit in Japanese game centers and are especially popular among teen-age girls." IBM Eyes 3,000-5,000 Buyouts Word is IBM is set to offer buyouts or job transfers to 3,000 and 5,000 employees in order to reduce the number of workers who don't contribute directly to sales. The New York Times reports this morning the new job-reduction plan will offer employees cash to leave the company or the chance to transfer to another part of IBM were jobs are available. Following up on the report, The Associated Press notes IBM has undergone major downsizing in recent years, cutting its staff from more than 400,000 in 1986 to about 230,000 as it tries to revive itself from a slowdown in computer industry. Citing sources familiar with the company's plans, the Times says lawyers, marketing personnel, public relations employees and members of the corporate staff are among those being reviewed under the voluntary plan, which could be presented to workers as early as this week. End of an Era: Boston Computer Society Closes PC Week Online (September 13, 1996) - When personal computers first emerged in force in the early 1980s, users seeking advice or the company of kindred spirits had few options. The vast networks of online newsgroups did not yet exist, and only a handful of publications covered the phenomenon. But the Boston Computer Society had already established a national reputation as a gathering place for IT visionaries. Now, after a whirlwind 20 years of dispensing support, hosting product debuts, and educating computing experts and casual users alike about technology, the 18,000-member organization is shutting down. While declining membership and a dire financial picture were the immediate catalysts for the move, BCS Executive Director Frank Smith said today that the ever-more-collaborative nature of computing (a paradigm shift fueled mainly by the rise of the Internet) led BCS officials to conclude the group had outlived its mission. "Times have changed," said Smith, who was named interim director in July, prior to the board of directors' decision this week to disband the BCS. "If the organization was going to survive, we were going to have to find a different direction." As BCS members began to form subgroups according to their particular interests, including groups for Linux and Unix users and one for virtual reality software users and developers, the main organization's role in dispensing support and fomenting discussion dimnished, Smith said. The situation is vastly different from the early 1990s, when BCS worldwide membership reached a peak of 32,000 and the group produced and sponsored a variety of its own publications, classes and discussion groups. David Drucker, a member of the BCS board of directors and project manager for new product development at Ziff-Davis Publishing's ZD Net, in Cambridge, Mass., recalled the organization's heyday as a time when industry luminaries such as Microsoft Corp. CEO Bill Gates and Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs were likely to stroll into monthly meetings. "It started out as the East Coast equivalent of the groups of garage hackers you have in California now," Drucker said. "The membership grew because there was a desperate need for information sharing. "Everything you see in the industry today, from newsgroups to the whole idea of shareware and freeware, to the social element of computing, had its start at the BCS," he said. "What happened was that its mission was accomplished." The increasing costs of maintaining office space and providing member services outpaced membership, which declined steadily over the past several years, Drucker said. In the fiscal year ended June 30, 1995, the organization lost $125,000 and had a net balance of zero, according to Smith. "Nobody wanted a gruesome death where the society would slide into insolvency. So the board decided to pull the plug," Drucker said. But BCS members hoping to continue collaborating with other users still have some avenues open. Many of the organization's 100 subgroups today announced plans to continue operations. Links to information on various subgroups can be found on the BCS World Wide Web site at http://www.bcs.org/. NEC Gets First Web Community CompuServe Inc.'s Internet division says it has delivered its first "Private-Label Community" (PLC) to NEC Computer Systems. The Internet destination -- WebWay (www.gowebway.com) -- is available immediately on the company's line of Ready multimedia PCs and PowerPlayer gamer systems. WebWay will also be available with all future retail PC systems from NEC. CompuServe's PLC program offers original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) the SPRYNET community (www.sprynet.com) as the foundation to build a customized online presence. A WebWay icon will be present on the desktop to give NEC customers direct Internet access via CompuServe's worldwide network. With the click of a mouse or the push of a button on the remote control, customers go directly to the NEC- branded WebWay home page. The first month of Internet access is free for NEC customers. Pricing options are available for subsequent months at $4.95 for three hours; $9.95 for seven hours; or $19.95 per month for unlimited access. "CompuServe's PLC program allowed us to create WebWay and provide our customers with an enjoyable Internet experience that offers immediate solutions to their questions," says Murali Dharan, vice president of desktop systems for NEC. "Every software and hardware manufacturer knows the importance of having a strong Internet presence," says Craig McCallum, vice president and general manager of CompuServe's Internet division. "CompuServe can create customized online communities for OEMs for a fraction of what it would cost the to design, create and maintain one themselves. Through our PLC program, manufacturers can easily capture their customers' loyalty -- online." Net Threatens Daily Newspapers A panel of publishing experts agreed yesterday that the print product most threatened by the Internet is the daily newspaper. Meeting at the annual Seybold San Francisco Conference and Exposition for publishing professionals, the panel included Mark Anderson, president of Technology Alliance Partners; Roger Black, creative director of @@Home; Halsey Minor, founder and CEO of c/net; and Richard Patterson, founder and chairman of Cascade Systems International. "People value information, accuracy and timeliness -- attributes that in past eras we would have turned to our daily newspapers for," said Anderson. "Today, one of the real benefits of the Internet is its high information content and the fact that it can be updated frequently and accessed anytime from almost anywhere," observed Minor. Black noted that classified advertising is making breakthroughs on the Internet. "We have a situation in which 40 percent of the average newspaper's revenue base is under fire," he stated. According to Patterson, among the print products safe from the Internet's onslaught are long forms such as novels and magazines that tell great stories, and where a connection between the author and the reader as well as total reading experience is as important as the content. "Good writing, novels and story telling will always survive in print," added Black. Online Service Revenues Climb Led by a surge of business/professional services, online service revenues will reach $30.9 billion by 2000, according to SIMBA Information Inc., a market research company based in Stamford, Connecticut. According to SIMBA, online services experienced record- setting revenue growth in 1995 as a result of the expansion of business/professional services, the exploding consumer market and new entrants in both segments. Online services revenue totaled $17.7 billion in 1995and is expected to grow 16.2 percent to $20.5 billion in 1996, according to SIMBA estimates. Business/professional online services generated 93.2 percent of total industry revenue in 1995. SIMBA divides the business/professional market into seven market segments: brokerage; credit; financial news/research; legal, tax and public records; marketing; professional research and vertical market services. Business/professional services will continue to generate the majority of online sales throughout the rest of the century, accounting for more than 88 percent of total industry sales in 2000, according to SIMBA estimates. Subscriptions to online services reached 16.3 million in 1995, up 63.9 percent over 1994. The total number of online subscribers is forecast to reach 36.4 million by 2000. End user/consumer services such as America Online will continue to dominate the industry. Business/professional services will continue, however, to generate the majority of revenue. "The entire online industry has been affected by several trends, including the Internet, which has had a profound impact on the business and made the role and value of online service providers questionable," says SIMBA analyst Paulette Donnelly. "Other significant themes emanating throughout the past year include online advertising and the surging interest in developing information services for corporate intranets." Adobe Systems Introduces Adobe Photoshop 4.0 New Version of Industry-Leading Image-Editing Tool Dramatically Increases User Productivity and Creative Control; Unprecedented Integration Among Adobe Graphics Applications; Enhances Image Production for the World Wide Web SAN JOSE, Calif. (September 9, 1996)(Nasdaq: ADBE)-Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced Adobe Photoshop 4.0 for Windows and Macintosh, a new version of the world-standard photo-design and production tool. Available in 18 languages, Adobe Photoshop is the product of choice for graphic designers, photographers, Webmasters and multimedia authors for the creation of high- quality print, multimedia and Web graphics. This new version provides features that dramatically increase user productivity and creative control, allow users to work more efficiently with all Adobe's market-leading graphics products, and streamline the process of preparing images for the World Wide Web. "With more than two million users worldwide, Photoshop is the de facto standard for graphic design, digital photography and prepress production," said Bryan Lamkin, director for Adobe graphics products. "In addition, Photoshop has emerged as the leading tool for Web page production. With Version 4.0, we focused on delivering a robust product that gives our users increased functionality in areas that matter to them the most: productivity, creative control, ease-of-use, and image preparation for the World Wide Web." Photoshop 4.0 Enhances User Productivity The Actions feature in Photoshop Version 4.0 dramatically increases user productivity with the ability to automate editing functions, streamlining tasks such as image retouching and downsampling, file conversion, filter operations, and even batch processing of multiple images. A groundbreaking new feature for image editing, Actions allow users to process one image, or multiple images quickly and easily by recording functions as an "action list." Additionally, multiple images can be acquired from a digital camera and processed in batches, so users can be more efficient. To provide consistency within a production environment, Actions can be saved and shared with others. Users will also benefit from pre-saved Actions in Version 4.0 for tasks such as downsampling images to 72 dpi for Web posting, saving GIF and JPEG files with optimal Web settings, and adding drop shadows to text. "Adobe Photoshop 4.0 is a big jump forward, providing users with enormous creativity and productivity gains," said Jeff Schewe, professional photographer and photo-imaging artist in Chicago, Illinois. "The ability to automate routine tasks using Actions provides a huge time-saving benefit." The Guides and Grids feature in Version 4.0 makes it easy to build Web pages, or composites, providing greater accuracy in placing and aligning images. Users will be more productive with precise zooming and panning capabilities using the new Navigator palette. Also, when working with large images, Photoshop users will immediately notice significant improvements in responsiveness with Version 4.0 when scrolling, zooming, moving selections, and compositing layers, allowing them to work more effciently. Adobe Photoshop continues to lead the imaging market with support for the latest hardware and operating ystem advances, offering users increased functionality and performance. Photoshop users will benefit from dramatic speed improvements when using machines with multiple processors on either the Macintosh and Windows NT platforms, due to Version 4.0's extensive symmetric multiprocessing capabilities. Photoshop 4.0 for Window users will also realize performance gains up to 6x throughout the application when running on the new Intel MMX chipset, which is expected to be available in Q1 1997. In addition, Adobe Photoshop 4.0, which runs 32-bit native in Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT platforms, fully leverages the desktop improvements of these operating systems, including the soon-to-be-released version 4.0 of Windows NT. Powerful Creative Control Adobe Photoshop 4.0 provides unparalleled creative control with features such as Adjustment Layers, the Free Transform tool and Custom Gradients. With Adjustment Layers, Photoshop users now have the ability to perform image color adjustments without affecting the original image data. This allows for unlimited experimentation with adjustments such as hue and saturation, brightness and contrast and overall color balance, and provides the option to "undo," or refine the adjustments at a later time. "Adjustment Layers are outstanding and will totally change the way color correction and adjustments are done," continued Schewe. "With enhancements such as Actions, Guides and Grids and Adjustment Layers, Photoshop continues to be the most comprehensive, full-featured image editing program available." The Custom Gradients palette lets users achieve new levels of creativity with the ability to customize multi- color gradients, with varying opacity, that can be saved and shared. The Free Transform tool preserves image fidelity with the ability to perform multiple transformations, such as skew, rotate, and scale, in a single step. In addition, Photoshop 4.0 doubles the number of artistic filters offered in the program by adding forty-eight new creative effects. Adobe Photoshop 4.0 offers breakthrough technology for the protection of intellectual property with the addition of digital watermark capabilities. An industry first in an image-editing application, this feature allows users to embed an imperceptible digital watermark containing artist and copyright information in an image. When a watermarked file is opened, Adobe Photoshop 4.0 will automatically indicate that copyright information is present. Adding a watermark to images can also be automated with the Actions feature, allowing users to add a digital watermark to multiple images in a batch process. Strong Integration Across Adobe Graphics Applications User interface enhancements and improved interoperability available in Photoshop 4.0 will enable users to work seamlessly between Adobe graphics applications. Version 4.0 features an updated look-and-feel that will also be found in future versions of other Adobe graphics applications, such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe PageMaker. Common terminology, shortcut keys, menu structure, and Tab palette design that will be shared among Adobe products will give users a familiar interface and enable them to quickly become more productive with Photoshop and other Adobe software. "Adobe's continual improvements to the interoperability between Photoshop and its other products such as Adobe Illustrator allows us to work much more effectively," said Josh Feldman, creative director for Prophet Communications, a Web design and content creation firm based in San Francisco, California. Enhanced Image Production and Integration for the World Wide Web Already an indispensable tool for print graphics, Photoshop bridges the gap between traditional print and Web publishing, providing the most robust features for the creation of high-quality graphics for both environments. The Actions feature in Photoshop 4.0 not only streamlines graphic artists' design process, but allows users involved in Web image processing to easily perform batch file conversions and downsampling, saving valuable time. "Adobe Photoshop is the ideal tool for our graphics production and Web preparation needs. Features in Adobe Photoshop 4.0 such as Actions make the program even more indispensable to us," continued Feldman. "The Actions palette streamlines the process of working with different file formats while preparing graphics for the Web-a process that is very time-consuming. The ability within Photoshop to automate tasks through Actions such as converting files to different formats will save a tremendous amount of time and effort." New file format support in Version 4.0 provides users with a broad range of useful Web file formats, including Portable Network Graphics (PNG), progressive JPEG and the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Additionally, users will save time and money by having direct access to Photoshop product and technical information, updates and plug-ins, on the Adobe home page via a Web link within Photoshop 4.0. Adobe is the first company to provide dynamic access to product information from within a software application, and will extend this functionality to other Adobe products as new versions are released. New Features Improved Productivity Actions-The Actions palette enables users to record a sequence of editing steps as an Action that can then be applied to another selection in the same image, to another image file, or even to hundreds of files in a batch operation. Users can play an action with selected steps disabled or display selected dialog boxes during playback in order to interactively adjust the filter settings. The order in which tasks are executed can easily be edited by simple dragging-and-dropping functions. Multiple actions can be displayed simultaneously in the Actions palette, and sets of actions can be saved and loaded separately. A special feature of Actions is the ability to batch- acquire images from a digital camera, allowing for an entire set of images to be acquired, retouched, and saved to files automatically. Version 4.0 of Photoshop provides basic support for OLE automation on the Windows platform and for AppleScript on the MacOS. Through these two scripting mechanisms, an external program can launch Adobe Photoshop, open image files, and run any named actions lists on those files. The Navigator-The Navigator palette provides an easy way to move quickly to any location in a magnified image, by clicking the desired view area within a resizable thumbnail of the image. Users can adjust zoom levels on-the-fly with a convenient slider control, or specify zoom levels with greater accuracy in a numeric entry field. Users can enter preset zoom levels (1:1, 2:1, 4:1, and so on), or any continuous zoom level between 0.13% and 1600%. Guides and Grids-Guides and Grids provide a means for accurate alignment of objects within an image file. Guides and Grids help users to align objects such as buttons on a Web page, and layer elements in image ompositing. Guides can be pulled from the rulers to provide precise horizontal or vertical lines to which tool operations can be snapped. Similarly, the Grids feature creates a regular pattern of snap points across an entire image. Both Guides and Grids are fully user-definable. Guide settings are also recordable actions, making it easy for one person to define a specific guide setup to be shared with other users or applied to more than one document. Powerful Creative Control Adjustment Layers-Adjustment Layers in Version 4.0 allow for color correction via a mask through which an image adjustment is applied. An adjustment layer does not make permanent changes to the underlying image pixels, and therefore can be modified any number of times without any degradation in image quality. The standard image adjustments can be applied with an adjustment layer: Levels, Curves, Color Balance, Brightness/Contrast, Hue/Saturation, Selective Color, Invert, Threshold, and Posterize. Any number of adjustment layers can be stacked in the Layers palette, each adjustment layer modifying the layers that lie below. Adjustment Layers can be hidden or discarded at any time, or moved up and down in the Layers palette to affect different image layers. They can also be applied with the same opacity and blending mode controls offered for image layers. Color and tonal adjustments can be interactively "painted" on to the image simply by using any Photoshop painting tools on the adjustment layer. Free Transform--The Free Transform command allows users to scale, rotate, skew, add perspective to, or therwise distort a selected image area in a single step, making complex manipulations of images easier. This also results in greater image fidelity, because the image does not need to be recalculated multiple times. Custom, Multicolor Gradients-The enhanced Gradient tool in Adobe Photoshop 4.0 now supports linear and radial gradients with multiple colors and varying levels of transparency. Actual colors can be defined for the gradient designs, or the current foreground and background colors can be inserted automatically whenever a custom gradient is applied. Users can save their own custom gradient styles and share them with other users on either Macintosh or Windows platforms. 48 New Effects Filters-Photoshop 4.0 now includes more than 90 filters, including 48 new filters that offer a wide range of artistic effects, such as colored pencil, crosshatch, film grain, and much more. Formerly offered as a stand-alone product, Adobe Gallery Effects, these plug-in filters feature the updated, more compact Photoshop 4.0 interface, with dynamic previews. Each filter is 32-bit native, enabling greater processing speed. Digital Watermarking The digital watermarking feature in Adobe Photoshop 4.0 introduces an effective method for creative professionals to protect the copyright of their images. Using PictureMarc software developed by Digimarc Corporation, Adobe Photoshop embeds an imperceptible, digital watermark in any image. While not apparent to the human eye, this watermark is still readable even after an image has been edited, or printed and re- scanned. When a watermarked file is opened, Adobe Photoshop will automatically indicate that copyright information is present. A link in Adobe Photoshop accesses the Digimarc Web site, from which users can obtain copyright and artist information for registered images. New Web File Support Adobe Photoshop 3.0 provided support for transparent, interlaced GIF files with the GIF 89a plug-in. Version 4.0 expands the application's support for new Web file formats, including Portable Network Graphics (PNG), a lossless, portable, well-compressed RGB file format that can include mask-channel information; and, progressive JPEG, a compact file format supported by Netscape Navigator for displaying images with increasing detail as they are downloaded, reducing user wait time for viewing image-rich Web pages. Photoshop 4.0 also adds greater user control over JPEG compression settings, and enhanced support for transparent, interlaced GIF files. Additionally, Version 4.0 now supports Portable Document Format (PDF), the Adobe Acrobat format common on the Web, and can write PDF files directly from the program. Strong Integration Among Adobe Graphics Applications Adobe Photoshop 4.0 features an updated look-and-feel that will also be found in future versions of other Adobe graphics applications. The new refined interface found in Version 4.0 not only provides a cleaner work environment, but will also makes it easier for users to work with multiple Adobe applications. Common terminology, shortcut keys, menu structure, and Tab palette design that will be shared among Adobe products will give users a familiar interface and enable them to quickly be more productive with Photoshop, as well as with other Adobe software. Pricing and Availability Adobe Photoshop Version 4.0 will support Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT, Macintosh and Power Macintosh, and will be available in 18 languages worldwide. The new version is expected to ship in Q4 1996 for the suggested retail price of $895 and will be available from Adobe Authorized Resellers or directly from Adobe. The program will ship on CD-ROM (floppy disks available upon request for a nominal charge), and will include an interactive tutorial CD-ROM, stock photography, sample plug-ins, a digital gallery and Adobe tryout software. Registered owners of any previous full version may purchase the Version 4.0 upgrade for $149. Upgrades from Photoshop LE to the full Version 4.0 are $249. Users purchasing Version 3.0 on, or after, September 9, 1996, will receive a free upgrade to Version 4.0. For more information, customers may call 800-833-6687. System Requirements Macintosh-68030, 68040, or PowerPC based Macintosh running Apple System Software version 7.1 or later (7.1.2 or later on 603- and 604-based Macintoshes); 16 MB application RAM (32 MB recommended); 256- color or greater display adapter; 20 MB available hard-disk space for installation; 20 MB available hard-disk space for operation; and, a CD-ROM drive. Windows-386 or faster processor running Windows 3.1, Windows 95, or Windows NT; DOS 5.0 or greater required for Windows 3.1; 16 MB of RAM (32 MB recommended); 20 MB available hard-disk space for installation; 20 MB available hard-disk space for operation; 256-color or greater display adapter; and, a CD-ROM drive. Adobe Systems Announces Adobe PageMaker 6.5 First Professional Page Layout Application to Offer Document-Wide Layers and Automatic Layout Adjustment for Creating Print and Web Documents. Mountain View, Calif. (September 9, 1996) (Nasdaq:ADBE)-Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced Adobe PageMaker version 6.5 for the Macintosh, Power MacintoshAE, Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 Workstsation platforms. Designed for graphics and publishing professionals, version 6.5 adds groundbreaking new features such as document-wide layers, automatic layout adjustment and hyperlinking for creating rich documents for both print and the Internet. Adobe PageMaker 6.5 is expected to ship in the fourth quarter of 1996. The suggested retail price for Adobe PageMaker 6.5 software is $895 (U.S.); upgrades from any previous version of PageMaker are $99. "In 1985 PageMaker launched a revolution called desktop publishing. With the innovative features in version 6.5, PageMaker continues its excellence in print publishing while emerging as a leader in the new revolution of Web- based authoring," said Mike Peronto, vice president, Adobe graphics publishing products. Professional Page Design PageMaker 6.5 adds breakthrough page layout features that expand creative options, save design time and offer new capabilities. By incorporating document-wide layers, PageMaker 6.5 is the first publishing application to enable users to place objects on different layers within a publication. Layers are useful for creating multiple versions, annotations and multilingual documents for print and on-line. To save time when users change columns, margins, page sizes or master pages, automatic layout adjustment reflows text into columns, resizes graphics and repositions objects on the page, eliminating the need to perform these steps manually. With this release, PageMaker becomes the only application to offer both a freeform layout metaphor as well as text and graphics frames, which are useful for designing documents with a fixed structure, such as magazines, catalogs and newspapers. "Document-wide layers will be extremely useful for us when we produce multiple versions of a publication," said beta-tester Tom Tedesco, studio manager at Upper Saddle River, N.J.-based Prentice-Hall. "We often need to work simultaneously on regional versions of a textbook and this effectively cuts our time and effort in half." Adobe Integration Features Helping users increase their productivity with Adobe software, PageMaker 6.5 looks and works more like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, with new standard Adobe menus, new keyboard shortcuts and a revamped interface featuring interactive tabbed palettes which provide easy access to tools and organize on- screen work space. Improved compatibility lets users place native Illustrator files directly into PageMaker publications and see full previews on-screen and drag and drop PageMaker elements between PageMaker and other Adobe software. On-line Publishing PageMaker 6.5 empowers users to create creating compelling on-line publications as well as sophisticated print documents. HTML authoring is streamlined as PageMaker preserves hyperlinks and automatically converts graphics to JPEG and GIF file formats. Users also can drag and drop PageMaker elements into Adobe PageMill and Adobe SiteMill for further HTML authoring. To ensure cross-platform color consistency when publishing Web pages, the on- line publishing color library includes 216 browser colors. New on-line importing options include drag and drop of hyperlinks from browsers into PageMaker and import of HTML content with hyperlinks preserved. For easy navigation both within PageMaker publications and to locations on the World Wide Web, the hyperlinking palette adds authoring and management of hyperlinks. And for delivering graphically rich formatted pages, Adobe PageMaker 6.5 supports Adobe Acrobat 3.0 software, which is optimized for viewing, searching, and linking PDF files on the World Wide Web. Color Publishing PageMaker offers designers the most complete set of tools for creating high- impact color publications. PageMaker 6.5 elevates the state-of-the-art in color printing by refining color technologies and enhancing usability. For even greater flexibility when producing high-fidelity color publications using the six-color PANTONE* Hexachrome process, users can now edit hi-fi color values from within PageMaker. New multichannel desktop olor separation support, using a plug-in from VISU Technologies (sold separately), improves workflow by enabling users to edit Hexachrome color images in Photoshop and place them in PageMaker. In addition, the Kodak Digital Science Color Management System that is included with PageMaker now supports the Inter Color Consortium standard which lets different color management systems use the same device profiles. Compatibility with Products from Other Vendors By definition a page layout product must work well with many third party products. In addition to new import filters, version 6.5 adds new compatibility with Windows NT 4.0 Workstation and improved usability under Windows 95 and NT through right-mouse button support for context-sensitive menus. The QuickTime import filter lets users place selected frames from QuickTime movies in PageMaker documents and include the movies in documents exported to PDF or HTML. PageMaker 6.5 also includes the save for service provider plug-in, a utility that consolidates everything needed to output a publication for easy hand-off to a service provider and includes the ability to preflight files. Added Value PageMaker 6.5 ships with a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Distiller software and Acrobat Reader, Adobe Photoshop Limited Edition software (Windows only), Adobe Table 3.0 software, and for the full retail version only, the Adobe Type On Call CD-ROM with 220 free fonts, unlocked upon registration Each full retail product includes 90 days of complimentary technical support; upgrades receive 30 days of complimentary support in the United States and Canada. System Requirements Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 Workstation Minimum System Requirements: Intel486 processor, Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 Workstation operating system, VGA display card, CD-ROM drive 3.5" disk set available for purchase), Total RAM installed=DD: 8 MB for Windows 95, 16 MB for Windows NT 4.0 Workstation (Plus default virtual-memory settings), 26 MB of free hard- disk space for minimum installation. Macintosh and Power Macintosh Minimum System Requirements: 68030 or greater processor, Apple System Software version 7.1 or later, 9" (PowerBook) or 13" or larger monitor (640 by 480 pixels), CD-ROM drive (3.5" disk set available for purchase), RAM**: 6 MB of RAM available to PageMaker (Macintosh)*, 9 MB of RAM available to PageMaker (Power Macintosh)*, Additional RAM required to run Apple System Software, 26 MB of free hard- disk space for minimum installation. * Based on PageMaker minimum installation ** PageMaker supports virtual memory Availability and Pricing In the United States and Canada, Adobe PageMaker 6.5 is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 1996. The suggested retail price is $895 (U.S.). Registered users of any version of PageMaker can upgrade to version 6.5 for $99 (U.S.). Customers in the United States or Canada who purchase PageMaker after September 9, 1996 are eligible to receive a free upgrade to version 6.5.. For more information, customers can call Adobe at 1-800-42- ADOBE (23623). Localized language versions and support and upgrade policies for other countries will be announced later. About Adobe Based in Mountain View, Calif., Adobe Systems Incorporated develops and supports products to help people express and use information in more imaginative and meaningful ways, across all print and electronic media. Founded in 1982, Adobe helped launch the desktop publishing revolution. Today, the company offers a market-leading line of application software and type products for creating and distributing visually rich communication materials; licenses its industry-standard technologies to major hardware manufacturers, software developers and service providers; and offers integrated software solutions to businesses of all sizes. For more information, see Adobe's home page at www.adobe.com on the World Wide Web. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Illustrator, Distiller, PageMaker, PageMill, Photoshop, SiteMill and Type On Call are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Apple, Macintosh, Power Macintosh and QuickTime are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. PANTONE is a registered trademark or Pantone, Inc. PictureMarc is a trademark of Digimarc Corporation. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Netscape and Netscape Navigator are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. PowerPC is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage Contents Satellite Broadcasters Must Provide Education Too Corporate Spending Up, PC Sales Down System Cracker Got Recipe From Hacker Magazine "Netscape Everywhere" Challenges MS Hegemony Web Surfing By Phone @Home Begins Gradual Rollout HP To Make Ink-Jet Printers For Apple Corel Undercuts Microsoft On Suites The Bottom Line On Electronic Libraries Apple, Sun Want To Get Compatible Windows In The Palm Of Your Hand 3DO Gets Out Of The Hardware Business NCs In Search Of A Niche Intuit Sells Its Bill-Processing Unit Compuserve Cuts Prices For German Customers Motorola To Sell Mac Clones Ottawa To Get NorTel Security Software Internet TV DVD Players Under The Christmas Tree? Vandals At The Gates Of The Internet Lucent's Net Software Makes Internet Calls Easy Vanity E-Mail Bugs College Administrators WIPO Extends Berne Convention To Online Works Money Darts Through Cyberspace ... Where Is It? Diskless PCs From Former Digital Boss Programmable Computer Chips Sega Plans Internet Hook-Up Daimler-Benz Gets Into The Online Business Florida Gulf University Will Rely On Technology SATELLITE BROADCASTERS MUST PROVIDE EDUCATION, TOO A federal appeals court in Washington has ruled that any company providing direct broadcast satellite (DBS) services must "reserve a portion of its channel capacity, equal to not less than 4 percent nor more than 7 percent, exclusively for noncommercial programming of an educational or information nature," in compliance with regulations drafted by the FCC to enforce laws enacted in 1984 and 1992. The unanimous decision rejected arguments by Time Warner and other broadcasters that the law interfered with their First Amendment rights. "It is the right of the viewers and listeners, not the right of the broadcasters, which is paramount," said the court, quoting a 1969 Supreme Court ruling. (Chronicle of Higher Education 13 Sep 96 A29) CORPORATE SPENDING UP, PC SALES DOWN Corporations are spending more than 5% more this year on information technology, but that money isn't going into more desktop hardware and software. In fact, sales of PCs to businesses have declined every month for the past 10 months or so, says Computer Intelligence. Instead, corporations are turning away from the "knee- jerk upgrade" mentality and directing their dollars toward building intranets and training employees. Businesses also are reassessing their investments in client-server systems, which were supposed to streamline processes and empower employees, while eliminating the costly maintenance associated with mainframe systems. Instead, the Gartner Group estimates it costs up to $12,000 a year over five years to maintain a PC on a corporate client-server network. Only 21% of that goes for hardware and software -- the rest is attributable to labor costs, including administration, training and support. (Fortune 9 Sep 96 p104) SYSTEM CRACKER GOT RECIPE FROM HACKER MAGAZINE The person who disabled New York's Panix Internet service probably followed the line-by-line instructions for doing so that appeared in the latest issue of 2600 magazine, the Hacker's Quarterly. "We need to educate the community that it's very, very simple to cause massive mayhem," says 2600's editor, who defended his editorial judgment. "A lot of companies subscribe to us so they can learn before they're victimized." Panix's co-owner says he supports 2600's right to publish such information: "As a matter of principle I don't think they should have been stopped," but adds that unlike most other recipes for breaching security published in the magazine, this one has no known technical defense. (Wall Street Journal 13 Sep 96 B5) "NETSCAPE EVERYWHERE" CHALLENGES MICROSOFT HEGEMONY With Netscape's recent formation of its Navio Communications joint venture company to develop Navigator- based interfaces for consumer electronics appliances, the company demonstrated its intent to challenge Microsoft in the battle for "mindshare" on consumer devices. "Going after these consumer devices is way past due for Netscape," says a Giga Information Group VP. "As soon as Microsoft showed it could make its browser part of the PC operating system, Netscape needed to jump on the consumer device. But it remains to be seen how big the market really is. NCs, set-top boxes and kiosks make sense for a browser, but I'm less convinced about Web telephones." Not surprisingly, Microsoft has already announced its own effort to develop a line of non-PC software products by year's end. "Our strategy continues to be to create synergy between the PC and future non-PC appliances," says a Microsoft senior VP. (Information Week 2 Sep 96 p35) WEB SURFING BY PHONE NetPhonic Communications' Web-On-Call Voice Browser allows users to phone into Web pages rather than use a PC. The system uses voice-recognition technology to dial into a Web site named by the user, and then reads back the text of the Web page. The product is marketed toward people on the go who don't have time to sit at their PCs and surf the Web, but could also be useful for the visually impaired. One drawback -- the NetPhonic software requires a high-end Sun Microsystems workstation to function. (Investor's Business Daily 12 Sep 96 A8) @HOME BEGINS GRADUAL ROLLOUT Several months later than originally planned, the high-speed @Home cable Internet access service is beginning to offer commercial service in Fremont, Calif. for $34.95 per month. The package includes unlimited Internet access, use of a cable modem, e-mail and chat functions, and a customized Web browser. TCI, the cable provider in the Fremont area, will charge an installation fee of $150, which covers a dataport, Ethernet card and @Home software. TCI will gradually expand the service to cable subscribers in Arlington, Ill. and Hartford, Conn. later this year. Meanwhile, Comcast plans to offer @Home in Baltimore and Philadelphia in the next few weeks, and Cox Cable will introduce the service in San Diego and Orange County, Calif. next year. (Broadcasting & Cable 9 Sep 96 p55) HP TO MAKE INK-JET PRINTERS FOR APPLE Apple and Hewlett-Packard are negotiating a deal that would have HP manufacturing ink-jet printers that would be manufactured to Apple specifications and sold under the Apple label. If the agreement is reached, Hewlett-Packard would displace Canon as manufacturer for Apple's ink-jet printers. (New York Times 13 Sep 96 C2) COREL UNDERCUTS MICROSOFT ON SUITES Corel is planning to give away a suite of programs that run on Microsoft's Windows NT systems, charging a flat fee of $895 for each server connected to a company's desktop systems, but nothing for each PC connected to that system. Conventional pricing schemes used by both Corel and Microsoft charge as much as $200 per user hooked up to the system. "This is going to send a shock wave through the industry," says Corel's CEO. "It's a gigantic savings." (Wall Street Journal 13 Sep 96 B7B) THE BOTTOM LINE ON ELECTRONIC LIBRARIES A former Public Library Association official estimates the cost of wiring the nation's libraries at somewhere between $2- and $3-billion -- "a sum nearly equivalent to that spent by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie during the great spurt of library building," notes journalist Nicholas von Hoffman. But, "being able to afford the hardware is one thing," says a senior VP of New York Public Library's Research Libraries. "Being able to replace it year after year and being able to afford the staff to help people use it is another. We could put workstations everywhere, but we don't have enough staff. The equipment is on a three-year, six-thousand- dollar replacement cycle. If people are using things like the World Wide Web, we need one staff member out on the floor for every 20 workstations in use... Right now we have 250 workstations for the public, so one staff member for every 20 workstations becomes a major investment." (Architectural Digest Oct 96 p130) APPLE, SUN WANT TO GET COMPATIBLE Apple Computer and Sun Microsystems have plans to make their computers and Internet software work together more smoothly -- Apple will adapt Sun's Java programming technology to work with Apple's QuickTime Internet video technology, and the companies plan to provide a single support service for Apple desktop users who are linked to Sun servers. (Wall Street Journal 17 Sep 96 B5) WINDOWS IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND Microsoft's new Windows CE software looks and works like Windows 95, but is designed to run on limited- memory, hand-held computers. More than 40 hardware and software companies, including Hitachi, Hewlett- Packard, SkyTel, Casio Computer and Symantec have endorsed the new system, and Casio and HP have said they will use Windows CE in new hand-held devices. The machines will be able to share information with Windows-based PCs and link to the Internet using Microsoft's Internet Explorer software. (Investor's Business Daily 17 Sep 96 A3) 3DO GETS OUT OF THE HARDWARE BUSINESS Video game maker 3DO has surprised investors with its announcement that it will sell all or part of its hardware business by the end of the year, and concentrate instead on making game software for PCs and the Internet. The company has invested millions of dollars developing its Interactive Multiplayer, but was never able to compete effectively against Japanese rivals Sega Enterprises and Nintendo. 3DO will unveil the first of its PC games today, which can be played over the Internet and will come bundled with Netscape Navigator. (Wall Street Journal 17 Sep 96 B5) NCs IN SEARCH OF A NICHE "There is certainly a role for thin clients in the business community," says a Gartner Group analyst of the ighly touted network computer, "but it won't replace the PC. Most people will stick with fully configured devices, but employees who can't justify full-function PCs still deserve access to browsing and e-mail." Oracle CEO Larry Ellison concurs -- he sees the NC niche as an inexpensive way to connect everyone -- "from the CEO to the security guards" -- at a cost far below the estimated $12,000 annual expense of keeping a PC user functioning. "People are exhausted from PCs," says the president of Performance Computing Inc. "The NC story sells itself up and down the line. There's a very low cost of ownership." (Information Week 9 Sep 96 p20) INTUIT SELLS ITS BILL-PROCESSING UNIT In order to focus on its core software business and expand its Internet activities, Intuit is selling its electronic bill-payment processing system to the Checkfree Corporation for $227 million in stock. (New York Times 17 Sep 96 C1) COMPUSERVE CUTS PRICES FOR GERMAN CUSTOMERS CompuServe has reached an agreement with Germany's Deutsche Telekom to allow CompuServe subscribers to dial into the online service for the price of a local call. Currently, some users pay a long distance charge. The deal is part of CompuServe's strategy to bolster sagging sales by boosting its European subscriber base. The service now has about 270,000 German users. (Investor's Business Daily 16 Sep 96 A19) MOTOROLA TO SELL MAC CLONES Motorola is introducing a line of personal computers running Apple's Macintosh operating system, with plans to sell the machines throughout the world, including in China. The company is also introducing a new line of PowerPC-equipped computers running Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The two product families are expected to merge into one a year from now. (New York Times 17 Sep 96 C4) OTTAWA TO GET NORTEL SECURITY SOFTWARE The Canadian government will spend $7.3-million to buy data security software from Northern Telecom so departments can trade information and conduct business securely over the Internet. Ottawa will incorporate NorTel's Entrust encryption technology into its systems, allowing secure financial transactions and exchanges of sensitive information on the Net. (Toronto Globe & Mail 16 Sep 96 B5) INTERNET TV Atlanta company ViewCall will include its Internet access service on one million TV sets made by Mitsubishi. Pricing for the service will be comparable to that of AOL, CompuServe, and AT&T. (Atlanta Journal- Constitution 17 Sep 96 D8) And Microsoft will use technology from Toronto- based Digital Renaissance to broadcast original, interactive television programming over the Net. (Toronto Globe & Mail 16 Sep 96 B1) Finally, and NTN Communications Inc. of Carlsbad, Calif. will develop and distribute programming for an interactive TV network Bell is proposing. (Toronto Star 17 Sep 96 B2) DVD PLAYERS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE? The four electronics companies engaged in designing and marketing the new digital video disk players have decided they'd rather work together than miss out on Christmas sales. Electronics makers Philips Electronics, Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp., and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. have agreed to joint-licensing terms that allow Philips to license the patents for all four companies with royalties to be split according to an agreed-upon formula. Philips and Sony, which developed the original CD design, had come up with one concept for the DVD, and Toshiba and Matsushita had developed another. The move to cooperate will mean that DVD players and movies will be on the shelves in time for holiday shopping. (Wall Street Journal 16 Sep 96 B7) VANDALS AT THE GATES OF THE INTERNET At least a dozen World Wide Web sites in this country have recently been attacked by vandals who bombard the site each second with more than a hundred requests for service coming from randomly generated false addresses that tie up the machine. Although the attacks are primarily the work of individuals who are merely passing around a cookbook recipe for mischief, there is no simple defense against them. Computer security expert Eugene Spafford of Purdue University says: "I wish there was cheery news here. It's clear that antisocial individuals with a grudge and a PC can do tremendous damage." (New York Times 19 Sep 96 C1) LUCENT'S NET SOFTWARE MAKES INTERNET PHONE CALLS EASY New software developed by Lucent Technologies is designed to give Internet callers quicker access to one another and allows them to converse via their computers as if they were on a regular speaker-phone. Previous software has been half-duplex -- one party must stop speaking before the other can "capture" the line. Lucent plans to market the software to AT&T, the Bell companies and Internet service providers for distribution to their customers. By the end of the year, Lucent plans to enhance the software so that users can video conference over the Internet. (Wall Street Journal 18 Sep 96 B8) VANITY E-MAIL BUGS COLLEGE ADMINISTRATORS A new e-mail service offered by New Century Technologies gives customers an e- mail address sporting a prestigious university domain name for $25 a year. The customer, who must have a valid e-mail address somewhere else, then receives mail addressed to user@DukeU.com, or whatever school is chosen. The vanity address closely resembles the real thing, except it ends in .com instead of .edu. The universities aren't happy about the impersonation: "You can't assume people understand that the address isn't affiliated with the university somehow," says Florida State's director of Web development. A member of Georgia Tech's licensing committee is even more adamant: "They can't do that. People can't sell anything over the Internet and use our name without paying us royalties. We will fight this." (Chronicle of Higher Education Academe Today 19 Sep 96) WIPO PROPOSAL EXTENDS BERNE CONVENTION TO ONLINE WORKS The World Intellectual Property Organization has proposed extending the right of communication defined in the Berne Convention to all categories of works, including communications over the Internet and other electronic networks. The proposed treaties address literary and artistic works, databases and phonograms, and clarify that the right of reproduction includes direct or indirect reproduction, including copies made on a hard drive or in the working memory of a computer In terms of database protection, the draft treaty says that the "maker of a database eligible for protection under this Treaty shall have the right to authorize or prohibit the extraction or utilization of its contents," and includes a clause that allows contracting parties to limit subsequent use of the database after a copy has been sold or otherwise transferred, creating a restriction similar to the first-sale doctrine in conventional copyright law. The accompanying Chairman's Notes fail to address one of the major points of disagreements -- the extent to which Internet service providers are liable for acts of copyright infringement committed by their subscribers. (BNA Daily Report for Executives 16 Sep 96 A3) WHEN MONEY DARTS THROUGH CYBERSPACE ... WHERE IS IT? Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin asks: "If someone in Washington buys something over the Internet from someone in London, where on the wire under the Atlantic did the transaction take place?" To answer this and other questions involving electronic money laundering, cybercounterfeiting and bank runs on the Internet, the Secretary is announcing two new initiatives to examine consumer protection issues raised by new technologies capable of transferring monetary value. (New York Times 19 Sep 96 C18) DISKLESS PCs FROM FORMER DIGITAL BOSS Former Digital Equipment president Ken Olsen has a new cause -- as chairman of Advanced Modular Solutions, he's pushing a new diskless PC as the perfect solution for companies that want to limit viral exposure by controlling what software is installed on their employees' machines. The tissue-box-size CPUs are used at NASA's space-shuttle operations, ensuring that all 400 workstations have uniform configurations and the network remains free from viruses introduced through workers' home-grown software and pet programs. (Wall Street Journal 18 Sep 96 B8) PROGRAMMABLE COMPUTER CHIPS Next month, Metalithic Systems Inc. will release a $1500 sound board called Digital Wings that uses field- programmable gate array computer chips that can be personalized, allowing the user to create and edit up to 128 soundtracks. When used in combination with Windows 95, Digital Wings will give users access to audio synthesis and editing tools comparable to those of a professional sound studio. (Business Week 23 Sep 96 p86) SEGA PLANS INTERNET HOOK-UP Sega of America has a new $200 Net Link device -- basically a modem for their Sega Saturn game machine -- that allows users to access the Internet and send and receive e-mail using a television screen and the game player. Typing's a little cumbersome, though, unless you also purchase a special keyboard -- otherwise, users must press arrow keys to point to letters on an onscreen keyboard. The company hopes by Christmas to offer users multiplayer games that can be played against opponents anywhere in the world over the Internet. (Wall Street Journal 18 Sep 96 B9) DAIMLER-BENZ GETS INTO THE ONLINE BUSINESS Daimler-Benz's Interservices AG division, known as Debis, is buying a 50% stake in publishing giant Bertelsmann AG's Media-Ways subsidiary, which provides dial-up access to America Online in Germany. Bertelsmann and America Online jointly operate AOL in Europe. (Wall Street Journal 19 Sep 96 B7) FLORIDA GULF UNIVERSITY WILL RELY ON TECHNOLOGY Florida Gulf Coast University, now being built in Ft. Myers on the edge of the Florida Everglades, has been designed to accommodate learning by computers and multimedia and to allow an important role for "distance learning." The university will offer 17 undergraduate and 9 graduate programs, and employ 300 faculty, dministrators and staff. Enrollment is expected to be 2,500 when the school opens and to climb to 10,000 by the year 2003. Faculty, who'll be given 2- 3 yr contracts rather than tenure appointments, will be encouraged to do multidisciplinary work. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 19 Sep 96 D1) 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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