Silicon Times Report The Original Independent OnLine Magazine" (Since 1987) October 25, 1996 No.1243 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 10/25/96 STR 1243 The Original Independent OnLine Magazine! - CPU Industry Report - PhotoShop 4.0 - Lexmark Retail! - Corel Buys Paradox - Hayes 33.6 - Software Modems? - Kid's Corner - New PowerBook - Killing Cookies - USR to fix Modems - People Talking - Dana's Tidbits COURT BLOCKS JUNK E-MAILER! CDs THAT CAN READ, WRITE AND 'RASE WIRED TRIES AGAIN! 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: 10/19/96: 2 of 6 numbers, no matches From the Editor's Desk... Comdex Fall'96 is right around the corner. Adobe has its lineup ready to go and believe me, their new Pagemaker 6.5 and Photoshop 4.0 are extremely powerful and extremely user friendly. Printing and Artwork are going to be the big thing in the coming months. Users are growing weary of the dot matrix type of output and of course the runny ink of certain "bubble up-jet" type printers. Of course the idea behind the highly solvent ink had to be all about non clogging. Well so much for that! The first time a raindrop hits an envelope addressed with one of these jewels.. Smear city. Non smear. Colorfast bubble printers please. They are a reality now. The big news is Color Laser Printers. they are fast becoming affordable. Over the course of the next few months we shall be covering printers of many different flavors. One for every budget and purpose. In the online world, the Internet continues to dominate the scene.. Of course, among the major online services, CompuServe still offers the very best value despite AOL's constant and I might add, goofy claims. I simply have to say this; "In my opinion, of all the services out there, AOL may be the biggest but for certain AOL is the saddest." Its overloaded, slow, and by far, too highly governed and controlled. Perhaps that's because the larger percentage of AOL's users are among the younger of the young generation needing "guided entertainment." Besides, its fairly obvious that even with all their boring promotions involving a constant flow of free disks, cds and other trash. they have yet to realize their highly structured setup is ultimately going to be the only monkey on their or, should I say ..Steve Case's back. CompuServe Proper. not WOW (an AOL-like clone). is indeed "The Place to be" when it comes to Online Services. The variety of solid information and product support is virtually unbeatable and only surpassed in volume by the Internet itself. But then, the `Net is easily accessed from within CompuServe. In our humble opinion. CIS is "the name of the game" when it comes to Online Services. 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 WebSite http://www.streport.com STReport Headline News LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson Security Woes Plague Big Business A lack of confidence in information security, widespread Internet access and increased malicious attacks by insiders have caused significant information security losses at major U.S. companies, according to a survey conducted by Ernst & Young and InformationWeek Magazine. More than half (54 percent) of the survey's 1,320 participants experienced losses due to information security and disaster recovery within the last two years. Adding computer viruses to the mix, the number rose to 78 percent. Significant losses were caused by malicious acts by company insiders (32 percent), malicious acts by outsiders (18 percent), natural disasters (25 percent) and industrial espionage (six percent). Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of the executives surveyed expressed a lack of confidence in the security of their computer networks, from both internal and external attack. "The threats can come from an unsecured Internet connection, a malicious attack by a disgruntled employee, the loss of a laptop with critical information, industrial espionage or just plain carelessness," says Scott D. Ramsey, national director of information security for Ernst & Young. "While companies spend more money on sophisticated computer hardware, they often fail to devote attention to safeguarding information systems, equipment and the people who use it." The survey also uncovered that while most companies are using the Internet or Intranet for vital business functions, many feel that the information security measures for both are ineffective. While nearly 40 percent expressed dissatisfaction with the overall security level of their companies' Internet connection, less than one-third (31 percent) of the respondents said they could detect vulnerability to hackers who can dial-in through external Internet connections. In fact, 25 percent said someone had used the Internet to attempt to break into their system during the last year. To make matters worse, nearly three quarters (74 percent) lack a formal incident response team. "As increased use of outside vendors and contract employees heightens exposure, organizations must start monitoring the connections between themselves and their service providers," notes Ramsey. "Companies don't realize that the moment they give computer access to a contractor, they are handing the keys to the kingdom to a short-term employee." Lawmakers Pan Encryption Plan A bipartisan group of lawmakers has panned the White House's recently unveiled data encryption initiative, saying it "shortchanges" U.S. business. More than 20 House and Senate lawmakers who have pledged to take up the issue when Congress returns to work next spring say in a letter to Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor that the new Clinton proposal is "flawed," adding it will not only hurt U.S. companies, but will leave law enforcement officials "behind the cryptography-curve." The Dow Jones news service quotes the letter as saying, "We fear these defects will continue to leave U.S. companies at a disadvantage in the world market, leave users of U.S. encryption uncertain about the security of their information and leave U.S. law enforcement and national security agencies behind the cryptography curve." Among the signers are Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler, R-South Dakota. The letter was circulated by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon. As noted earlier, the Clinton administration has announced a plan to loosen export restrictions on data-scrambling technology under an initiative in which: ú Companies would be allowed to export strong encryption in return for a pledge to develop a "key recovery" system that would allow law enforcement officials to unscramble messages with a court's approval. ú Oversight of encryption exports would be transferred from the State Department to the Commerce Department. Existing policy treats strong encryption technology as a "munition" that generally can't be exported. As reported, software makers argue the restrictions hurt their ability to compete in global markets, costing billions of dollars and countless jobs. Despite criticism, the Clinton administration continued to push its initiative. For instance, Attorney General Janet Reno told a meeting of communications lawyers yesterday the administration is seeking to balance privacy and commerce interests with the interests of law enforcement and national security. Said Reno, "I want to make it clear that we believe that strong cryptography is critical if the global information infrastructure is to fulfill its incredible promise, but our ability to protect life and property is threatened by the prospect of unbreakable cryptography. I dread the day when law enforcement agents seeking to use legal, court approved wiretaps to prevent terrorist acts hear nothing but the hiss of encrypted communications they cannot decipher." As reported, measures were introduced in both the House and the Senate this year to liberalize the export rules without mandating a key recovery mechanism. "Lawmakers said they plan to continue to work on those efforts, which won praise from much of the computer industry," Dow Jones reports. Court Blocks Junk E-Mailer CompuServe Inc. says it has been granted a temporary restraining order to prohibit Cyber Promotions Inc. from falsely identifying their electronic mail as coming from CompuServe. Under the order, granted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Cyber Promotions Inc. is required to stop using CompuServe's accounts, equipment or support services to send or receive electronic mail; stop inserting any false reference to a CompuServe account or CompuServe equipment in any electronic message; and stop causing their electronic mail to indicate it was sent from CompuServe or a CompuServe account. "CompuServe's number one job is providing our users with the best online experience available. This is just one step in working to manage the problem of unsolicited or junk e-mail for our users," says Denny Matteucci, CompuServe's president of interactive services. "Our users have told us they don't want junk mail clogging their mailboxes and, frankly, neither do I. Junk mail is as unwelcome in cyberspace as it is through the postal service." The full text of the restraining order is available on CompuServe's web page at www.compuserve.com or on CompuServe at (GO CISCENTER) in the News area. Household Net Access Doubles Twice as many U.S. households now have access to the Internet as this time last year -- the current number is put at 14.7 million -- and a new survey figures growth at Internet-access providers has outstripped commercial online services. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Jared Sandberg says Find/SVP, the market-research firm that conducted the survey with Jupiter Communications, determined that as of last month: ú Roughly 9 million adult Americans logged onto the Internet's World Wide Web daily, while nearly 20 million people signed onto the Web weekly. A year ago, 2.3 million logged onto the Internet each day, while 5.3 million users went online each week. ú Last year, 6.2 million households had access to the Internet, compared to 14.7 million now. ú Today some 38.7 million Americans over the age of 18 have tapped into cyberspace at least once. "What's really dramatic," says Find/SVP Vice President Thomas E. Miller, "is the acceptance of the Internet from home. Consumers are ready for information access from the Internet." The study, projectable to U.S. homes owning telephones, was conducted by randomly dialing 3,255 U.S. households and interviewing adults at least 18 years of age. Of those households, 1,018 were found to own PCs and these homes were asked extensively about their computer usage. "Increasingly," says Sandberg, "those users are bypassing commercial online services for direct Internet-access providers. ... Though more than half of the Internet usage from home is provided by commercial online services, the number of users gaining access to the global computer network from Internet- access providers has more than tripled to 4.4 million households from 1.4 million last year." By contrast, says the researchers, commercial online services have grown only 28 percent, providing access to 8.9 million households, compared with 6.9 million last year. Net Society Delays Address Issue The Internet Society has backed away from a proposal to dramatically expand the number of addresses available on the global computer network. Instead, the group, which helps develop and coordinate Internet standards, will form a nine-member committee to study the issue, reports Aaron Pressman of the Reuter News Service. The group's original proposal was an attempt to quell the growing number of disputes over desirable address names, but society President Don Heath told the wire service, "There just seems to be no consensus at all." Pressman says various objections and questions have been raised about the August proposal, from technical networking issues to concerns about protection for trademarks and intellectual property. Said Heath, "We thought we should try to pull it all together and have a good cross-section of people to discuss it and see if we can't reach a consensus." He added the new committee ought to finish its work by early next year and new names could be doled out four to six months later. The committee could decide not to go forward with any address expansion, but Heath said that was an unlikely outcome, adding, "The facts of life are that people want descriptive names and vanity plates." In August, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority said it would oversee the creation of up to 150 new top level domains, easing the squeeze, especially for names in the private sector category. The authority, operating under charter from the society and the Federal Network Council, is the central coordinator of Internet addresses and other standards. "The society's board of trustees voted in June to accept a preliminary version of the numbers authority proposal, with the proviso that the business aspects of proposal be fleshed out," Pressman notes. "But with the ensuing controversy, the society decided a committee was needed to re- examine the proposal, Heath said. The committee will meet confer mostly by telephone and online, though an open forum is planned for mid-December in California." Look for the new committee to include two members appointed by the society, two by the numbers authority and two by the Internet Architecure Board. The International Telecommunication Union, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the International Trademark Association will each appoint one member. 240 MHz Processor Debuts IBM Corp. and Motorola Inc. have unveiled enhanced versions of their PowerPC 603e microprocessor, including a 240MHz version that is the highest speed volume microprocessor for portable and desktop computers. The first adopters of the 240MHz processor are UMAX Computer Corp. and Power Computing Corp., which have each based Macintosh-compatible computers on the chip. Apple Computer Inc. has also expressed its support for the device. The 240MHz PowerPC 603e offers almost four times the performance of the original PowerPC 603 processor and exceeds by 20 percent IBM and Motorola's target of reaching 20OMHz by end of year 1996. 533 MHz Processor Developed A microprocessor that runs at a speed of 533 megahertz -- more than twice the speed of current PC chips -- has been developed by a 3-year-old startup firm called Exponential Technology. ET officials in San Jose, California, told United Press International the Exponential X will move into volume production in the 1997 second quarter at a price of $1,000 each for large volume orders. It also will be available in 500- and 466- megahertz version. Exponential -- which is backed by Apple Computer, Intochu, Venrock Associates and Woodside Fund -- said the device has been designed for desktop publishing, Web page creation, digital animation and high-end graphics and multimedia. UPI says the chip is designed to operate on machines running on Apple Computer and PowerPC systems. PowerPC is the partnership between Apple, IBM Corp. and Motorola Inc. to produce high- performance processors. Apple Vice President Satjiv Chahil said, "Today's announcement will cause the industry to stand up and take notice. We think the Exponential X has the potential to redefine PC multimedia computing." Chahil added, "This innovation should be especially attractive to power Macintosh users who demand uncompromised performance for their high-end graphics and multimedia applications." Sun Micro Readies Net Computer Watch for workstation giant Sun Microsystems Inc. to be a serious player in the new market for stripped-down "network computers." In fact, Sun CEO Scott McNealy is already demonstrating a working prototype. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporters Joan Indiana Rigdon and Don Clark says that McNealy, appearing at Agenda, an industry conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, indicated Sun plans to ship the machines this year, though he wouldn't disclose prices. "Privately," they added, "Sun executives have said the machines would probably cost more than $500. Many in the industry say the machines will cost $700 to $1,000." Network computers have become one of the most controversial new technologies since Sun and Oracle Corp. began talking about them more than a year ago. "Proponents say the machines, which are far cheaper to maintain than PCs, could one day stamp out the multibillion-dollar market for PCs," the Journal observes. "They also see network computers as a possible way to slow the Microsoft Corp.-Intel Corp. juggernaut. Those companies' technologies run more than 80 percent of the world's PCs." Nonetheless, critics say the NCs may not be able to maintain a cost advantage over PCs, which continue to come down in price, adding the units are a throwback to decades past when companies equipped their employees with "dumb terminals" that relied on overtaxed mainframe computers to do all their computing tasks. NC guru Larry Ellison, Oracle's CEO, got so hot on the topic yesterday that he got in a shouting match with someone in the Agenda audience over the viability of the market. The Journal says Sun is trying to sell NCs on "cost of ownership." Says the paper, "While NCs won't necessarily be cheaper to purchase than PCs, Sun and others say they cut the cost of maintenance by more than half. Since they don't store any software or data of their own, they never have to be updated, unlike PCs. Instead, they will use Sun's new Java network-computing language to download data and applications as the user needs them, Sun says." Rewritable CD-ROMs Due in '97 Lower-cost rewritable compact discs are expected to hit the market early next year following agreement on technical specifications for the reusable CDs. Reporting from San Francisco, United Press International notes Hewlett-Packard, Philips Electronics, Sony, Mitsubishi and Ricoh made the announcement, adding that Philips said its version of the disk drive and software will be priced under $1,000. Of course, hardware for rewritable CDs already is available but at prices in the range of several thousand dollars. John Boose, general manager of Colorado Memory Systems, a division of HP, told the wire service, "Users have been clamoring for the combination of worldwide interchangeability with media rewritability in a high capacity storage device. CD-ReWritable fills that void and builds on the existing benefits of CD-ROM and CD-Recordable technologies." The standards include modifications to make the new machines work with drives for the widespread CD-ROM technology and the new digital video disc, or DVD, format. There currently are more than 100 million CD-ROM drives installed worldwide. General Manager Tadatoshi Sakamaki of the disc media & system products division of Ricoh noted, "CD-ReWritable media offers 450 times the capacity of a 3.5-inch diskette, much lower cost per megabyte, greater durability and a longer shelf life." Apple Offers Photo Printer Option Apple Computer Inc. is shipping the Apple Color StyleWriter 2500 Color PhotoGrade Print Kit, an option package that gives Color StyleWriter 2500 printer users the ability to print photorealistic color documents. The $64 kit consists of a special ink cartridge, paper, printer upgrade software and an ink cartridge storage case. The kit also includes PhotoEnhancer Plus, a photo manipulation program. "As personal images, photo CDs and pictures on the Internet become more readily available, photorealistic printer output is becoming increasingly important to consumers," says Maury Austin, Apple's imaging vice president. "Our research shows that aside from Macintosh compatibility, color print quality is a feature our customers value in the Color StyleWriter 2500." Canon Offers $99 Adobe PostScript Canon Computer Systems Inc. is offering $99 Adobe PostScript software for its entire line of 200, 400 and 600 series color Bubble Jet ink-jet printers. "This exclusive offer to Canon users means that our customers can access all of the benefits of true Adobe PostScript for approximately one- third the cost they can get it from the competition," says Peter Bergman, vice president of marketing and customer care for CCSI. "Graphic artists and engineers ... can take advantage of the software to create accurate proofs prior to printing." Canon customers can call Canon's Special Order Hotline at 800-385-2155 to obtain the specially priced version of Birmy's PowerRIP PostScript software. PowerRIP eliminates the uneven edges that occur when printing images on non- PostScript devices. Canon notes that the software reduces the cost of adding PostScript to a printer because it doesn't require the printer's on-board controller to have a second computer chip and additional RAM in order to run PostScript. Motorola Plans Software Modems Software modems -- that is, modems that are simply software that runs on a computer's microprocessor -- are being touted by Motorola Inc. and may spell the end for chip-based modems. Computergram International reports this morning the company's first products will be launched later this year and will be host-based software running on Windows95 PCs. Mike Tramontano, the company's product manager for information systems, told the newsletter the technology currently is being demonstrated to a number of personal computer manufacturers. Also, he said, Motorola is expecting it to be incorporated in devices such as Personal Digital Assistants and television set-top boxes. "Although there is a hardware component in the form of a transceiver to interface with the phone line," says CI, "the company says its software modems will work out cheaper and lighter than current versions, as well as being more readily upgradable." Tramontano contends the devices won't be any less advanced than their hardware counterparts, adding, "We fully intend to have our software communications products keep pace with the features and function set of hardware-based modems." He says that in the long run, software modems will make traditional modems redundant. Robotics to Fix Flawed Modems U.S. Robotics says it will fix or replace versions of its 33.6 Kbps Sportster modems affected by a flaw that causes some of them to pause while exchanging data. As The Wall Street Journal noted this morning, the company found the flaw in a data-compression algorithm and fixed it several months ago, but "an unspecified number of models sold earlier this year may be affected by it." Six of the affected modems are for Windows- based personal computers and two are for Macintosh computers. In some cases, a remedy can be downloaded from the company's Web site or other online services and bulletin boards. Apple Boosts Product Line Filling gaps in its consumer product lines, Apple Computer Inc. says it will sell two new models of Macintosh computers and will cut prices on some of its existing models by as much as 21 percent. Coming on the heels of news that it was posting unexpectedly upbeat fourth fiscal quarter financial results (GO OLT-236), Apple officials in Cupertino, California, told the Reuter News Service the company will begin selling the entry-level Macintosh Performa 6360 next week for $1,499, a price comparable to entry- level personal computers based on Intel Corp. microprocessors and running Microsoft Corp. software. Reuters notes the Performa 6360 features one of the Apple's fastest microprocessors, a CD-ROM drive and a modem. Also, Apple plans to sell a new model with software that will let customers edit their home videos. The Macintosh Performa 6400/200, priced at $2,699, features a built-in video-editing program from Avid Technology Inc., Reuters said. As reported, Apple discontinued some of its Performa models this summer to cut marketing costs, and the company now says it will cut prices on its high-end Performa 6400 to $2,199 from $2,799, and a model with a slower microprocessor to $1,899 from $2,399. Apple Offers New PowerBook A new family of portable PowerBook computers is being unveiled by Apple Computer Inc. to fill a critical gap in its product line. Reporting from Apple's Cupertino, California, headquarters, Kourosh Karimkhany of the Reuter News Service says the new PowerBook 1400 family is to be sold in mid- November with prices starting at $2,500 and will feature a built-in CD-ROM drive and a bigger screen. Karimkhany says the models are designed to appeal to small office users and students, adding, "Until now, the lack of a CD-ROM drive in its portables has held back Apple in competing with offerings from (IBM), Compaq Computer Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. Analyst Bruce Steven of International Data Corp. told the wire service the new family "isn't going to put them in the leadership role, but it's going to get them back in the game." Reuters says Apple also plans to introduce another new series of PowerBooks in the first half of the 1997 with more advanced multimedia and communication capabilities. The company did not release any more specifications. Apple Unveils School Power Macs Apple Computer Inc. has announced three new Power Macintosh computers designed for use by teachers and students. The $1,899 Power Macintosh 6400/200 is Apple's first tower system for education. The computer, aimed at high school and college students, is designed to handle sophisticated applications, realistic simulations and presentations. The Power Macintosh 5260/120 and 5400/180, two of Apple's most popular all-in-one models for grades K-8, provide 20 to 33 percent performance gains at prices $200 to $300 less than their predecessors. The systems are priced at $1,499 and $1,999, respectively. "For more than 20 years Apple has provided educators and students with powerful, easy-to-use tools for teaching and learning," says Mike Lorion, the computer maker's vice president of K-12 education. "Today's new line of PowerPC systems continues that tradition by giving educators the performance and features they need to meet their technology challenges. Our aggressive pricing on these systems also allows Apple to maintain its price/performance leadership in providing desktop systems to our education customers." French Move to New Phone Numbers France's national phone company, wanting to aid transition to modems and cell phones, is enlarging the country's telephone numbers from eight digits to 10, effectively adding the potential for 410 million new numbers. Reporting from Paris, The Associated Press quotes a recent Finance Ministry report as saying the nation lags behind other Western countries in use of personal computers and cellular phones, and it placed some of the blame on the limited phone combinations. The state-owned monopoly France Telecom had announced the change last year, saying it was running out of dialing combinations. Starting today, local French callers add two numbers at the beginning of the current eight. Paris numbers will start with "01," numbers in the northwest "02," northeast "03," southeast and Corsica "04," and southwest "05." Note: To call a French number from outside of France, omit the zero. Thus, dialing the Paris area from abroad, which previously required a 33-1 prefix, will not change. AP says the 10-digit numbers will boost France's capacity to 470 million phone numbers from the current 60 million and fill demand through 2050. E-Mail Threat Brings Suspension A Stamford, Connecticut, high school student received a visit from the Secret Service and a month's suspension from school after he sent a prank death threat by e-mail to President Clinton. Sent over the Internet Oct. 9, the message read: "To Pres. Clinton: You are Dead." Officials with Trinity Catholic High School told The Associated Press the message was sent by a 17-year-old senior. No criminal charges were filed, but Monsignor Frank C. Wissell, president of diocesan secondary schools, said the youth was suspended, adding the message was "a very immature, inappropriate joke that was not funny." AP says Secret Service agents spoke to the unidentified youngster, his parents and school officials. The agency would not comment on the investigation. America Online Announces The AOL Mmembers' Choice Program; Honors Excellence in Programming on America Online and the Web DULLES, Va., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, America Online (AOL), the world's most popular Internet online service, announced its AOL Members' choice program. This new initiative honors excellence in content programming and recognizes the most popular areas on AOL and the World Wide Web as determined by America Online's more than 6.2 million members worldwide. "The Members' Choice areas and sites are the most popular content areas on the AOL service and the Internet," said Ted Leonsis, President, AOL Services Company. "From NetGuide and Excite on the Web to the New York Times and The Motley Fool on AOL, AOL Members' Choice areas and web sites represent content that has the broadest appeal and is of the highest quality." Online winners are chosen using a formula that measures factors including how often AOL members access their areas. AOL Members' Choice areas on America Online are identified by the AOL Members' Choice Seal, a distinctive stamp of approval, that signifies to AOL members that the recipient is one of the top 50 AOL sites on the service. From exclusive content to national brands like American Express and ABC, AOL Members' Choice Award winners are the leaders in original and entertainment programming for consumers. AOL Members' Choice on the Web showcases web sites recognized by America Online's members and are identified by the AOL Members' Choice logo on their home page. All online users can locate the sites of the AOL Members' Choice on the Web recipients by visiting America Online's web site at www.aol.com. AOL Members' Choice recipients will be honored at a black tie awards ceremony at America Online's Partners Conference on December 4, in Phoenix, Arizona. Additional honors will be awarded at that event, in a number of categories, including "Best New Area/Site of 1996" and "Best Overall Area/Site." AOL members will be voting for their favorites in these categories over the coming weeks. AMERICA ONLINE'S MEMBERS' CHOICE PROGRAM AOL Members' Choice Award Recipients: LoveAOL Romance Keyword: Love MTV Musicspace Keyword: MTV Motley Food Personal Finance Keyword: Fool Preview Travel Reservations Travel Keyword: Travel GLCF Life, Styles and Interests Keyword: GLCF Nickelodeon Online Kids Only Keyword: Nick Better Health & Medicine Health Keyword: HRS Net Girl Internet Connection Keyword: NetGirl Games Forum Usage Games Keyword: Games GemStone III Games Keyword: GemStone NTN Sports/Games Sports/Games Keyword: NTN Kids Only Chat Kids Only Keyword: Kids Chicago Online Digital City Keyword:Chicago WWF Sports Keyword: WWF Genealogy Life, Styles and Interests Keyword: Genealogy Christianity Online Life, Styles and Interests Keyword: Christianity Express Net Travel Keyword: AMEX Grandstand Sports Keyword: Grandstand STATS Sports Keyword: STATS Astronet Life, Styles and Interests Keyword: Astronet Extreme Fans Sports Keyword: Fans Hecklers Online Entertainment Keyword: Hecklers Federation Games Keyword: Federation Career Center Learning and Culture Keyword: Career ABC Entertainment Keyword: ABC Classifieds Marketplace Keyword: Classifieds Warner Bros. Online Entertainment Keyword: Warner Seventeen Kids Only Keyword: Seventeen New York Times News Keyword: Times ABC Kidzine Kids Only Keyword: Kidzine Sporting News Sports Keyword: Sporting News Kesmai Corp. (Air Warrior) Games Keyword: Air Warrior Nintendo Power Games Keyword: Nintendo Orlando Sentinel Digital City Keyword: Orlando Sentinel Family Computing Computing Keyword: Computing Pro CD Reference Keyword: Pro CD Consumer Reports Personal Finance Keyword: Consumer Reports Military City Online Life, Styles and Interests Keyword: Military City Mac Games Forum Games Keyword: Mac Games GamePro Magazine Games Keyword: GamePro Music Message Center MusicSpace Keyword: MusicSpace Hoover Reference Keyword: Hoover Pet Care Club Life, Styles and Interests Keyword: Pets Compton's Reference Reference Keyword: Compton's Soap Opera Digest Entertainment Keyword: SOD Destination Florida Travel Keyword: Florida AnswerMan Internet Connection Keyword: AnswerMan Cartoon Network Entertainment Keyword: Cartoon PCFN Personal Finance Keyword: PCFN Nick at Nite Kids Only Keyword: Nick AOL Members' Choice on the Web: WebCrawler http://www.webcrawler.com Excite http://www.excite.com GNN http://www.gnn.com ZDNet http://www.zdnet.com Deja News http://www.dejanews.com Magellan Internet Guide http://www.magellan.com Switchboard http://www.switchboard.com MTV Online http://www.mtv.com Riddler http://www.riddler.com Sportsline USA http://www.sportsline.com The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com Warner Brothers Online http://www.warnerbros.com Mapquest http://www.mapquest.com Jumbo http://www.jumbo.com Gamespot http://www.gamespot.com Liszt http://www.liszt.com NetGuide http://www.netguide.com iGuide http://www.iguide.com Tripod: Tools for Life http://www.tripod.com HomeArts http://www.homearts.com Windows Internet Magazine http://www.windowsmag.com NetGuide Live http://www.netguidelive.com Epicurious http://www.epicurious.com Extra http://www.extratv.com Salon http://www.salon.com City.Net http://www.city.net TechWeb http://www.techweb.com DC Comics http://www.dccomics.com Zippo's Usenet News Service http:/www./zippo.com The Electronic Newsstand http://www.enews.com Firefly http://www.firefly.com Urban Desires http://www.urbandesires.com Motley Fool http://www.motleyfool.com SOURCE: America Online, Inc. 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A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N-A T T E N T I O N 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 Adobe Systems Incorporated is soon to ship Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) 4.0 for Windows(R) and Macintosh(R), 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 prod "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 efficiently. Adobe Photoshop continues to lead the imaging market with support for the latest hardware and operating system 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(R) 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(R) 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(R) and Adobe PageMaker(R). 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. (A more comprehensive list of new features follows in the attached Addendum.) New Features Addendum Adobe Photoshop Version 4.0 for Windows and Macintosh 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(TM) 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 compositing. 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 otherwise 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,(R) 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(TM) 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(TM) Navigator(TM) 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(R) 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, Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Gallery Effects, PageMaker, and Photoshop are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Apple, Macintosh, and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks and AppleScript is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. 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. Copyright c 1996 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Legal notices and trademark attributions. EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage Contents Vulnerability Found In "Smart Card" Security The Rest Of The Story On Computer Costs BBN Gets AOL Contract Thwarting Cookies PC Buyers Influenced Strongly By Salespeople Complementarity Is Key To It Productivity Should The Net Grow Up? Billing Schedule Wiped Off Slate Wired Tries Again To Woo The Stock Market What Ted And God Think About Rupert Internet-From-The-Home Doubles During Past Year Agencies, Schools Compete For Internet II Funding E-Rate Proposed By Clinton Administration PICA Pushes For Cryptography Standards European Commission Eyes Internet Regulations Coming Soon: CDs That Can Read, Write And 'Rase Customized Searching Goes Beyond The Net Frontier And Quest To Build New Voice/Data Network Andreessen Is Our Kind Of Guy The Keyboard From Hell? AT&T Picks Printing Executive As Its Heir Apparent Agreement Reached On Fair Use Of Electronic Multimedia New Sun Chip Provides A Java Jolt Ergonomic Keyboards May Not Reduce Injuries Now Microsoft Wants To Play Games Corel Challenges Microsoft With Paradox Deal Andy Grove Welcomes Japan's Inroads In PC Market Child Pornography Hoax Net Link To Neo-Nazis Custom Campaign Buttons VULNERABILITY FOUND IN "SMART CARD" SECURITY Israeli computer scientists Adi Shamir and Eli Biham say that "smart cards" used by banks and credit card companies can be counterfeited by damaging a card by heat or radiation to cause the card's computer chip to generate an error that can be used to determine the code key and copy the card. (New York Times 19 Oct 96 p20) THE REST OF THE STORY ON COMPUTER COSTS The Gartner Group recently made headlines over its estimate that the typical networked PC costs $13,000 a year to maintain. The breakdown on that estimate is as follows: 21%, or $2,730, is the amortized cost of the computer hardware and software -- the estimate was based on a Windows- equipped PC, standard office software, and the wires, hubs, routers and servers that make up a local area network; 27%, or $3,510, is the cost of providing technical support; 9%, or $1,170, is the cost of administering the system; and 43%, or $5,590, is the cost of the time the user spends "futzing" with the machine -- organizing the hard drive, installing software, waiting for the printer, playing Solitaire, and unproductively surfing the Net. (Forbes 21 Oct 96 p280) BBN GETS AOL CONTRACT BBN Corp. has signed a four-year, $340-million contract to expand America Online's network. The new agreement extends a five-year, $55-million deal inked last year by the two companies. Under the new arrangement, BBN will add a minimum of 70,000 modems to AOL's network each year, allowing the online service to accommodate that many more simultaneous users. AOL says its network already has 170,000 modems. (Wall Street Journal 18 Oct 96 A13A) THWARTING COOKIES For computer users who dislike the idea that Web site operators can track their repeat visits through "cookie" technology, there are several ways to block the software from collecting or relaying that information. PrivNet's Internet Fast Forward < http://www.privnet.com/ > prevents the browser from sending cookies. The program can also block those annoying little ad banners, eliminating the time it takes to download them. Anonymizer < http://www.anonymizer.com/ > functions more as a proxy service - the information is not given out unless the user grants permission. "Surfing feels anonymous, like reading a newspaper," says Anonymizer's creator, "but it's not. What Netscape needs is a feature saying, `Look, I never want to see another cookie again.'" (Scientific American Oct 96 p50) PC BUYERS INFLUENCED STRONGLY BY SALESPEOPLE A new study by Dallas-based Channel Marketing Corp. indicates that only 18% of PC buyers really know what they're looking for when they enter a computer store, leaving the rest very vulnerable to the persuasive patter of sales clerks. More than 55% of computer store customers who made a purchase relied almost entirely on the sales clerk's recommendation, and 84% were influenced in some way by the store. "Customers are increasingly looking to salespeople to tell them which products to purchase," says Channel Marketing's president. (Investor's Business Daily 21 Oct 96 A6) COMPLEMENTARITY IS KEY TO IT PRODUCTIVITY Researchers at Columbia, Carnegie Mellon and MIT have come up with a new explanation for the apparent disengagement between increased investments in computer technology and productivity gains. The key to discerning productivity increases attributable to use of information technology is "complementarity" -- a theory that postulates that productivity gains from expanded use of technology cannot occur in the absence of a number of corresponding developments, such as the introduction of more flexible workplace structures, more delegation of responsibility to lower-level workers, increased skills training for workers and managers, and the installation of new infrastructure, such as Internet connections and "smart" buildings. New research shows that when these complementary factors are taken into consideration, investments in information technology do stimulate productivity and growth. (Technology Review Oct 96 p65) SHOULD THE NET GROW UP? The Economist magazine says that, faced with "pile-ups and pollution on the prototype information superhighway," there seems no alternative to government regulation and the acceptance of pricing formulas that bill users based on how much data they send and receive. (The Economist 19 Oct 96) BILLING SCHEDULE WIPED OFF SLATE Problems with the billing system developed for Slate, the online magazine on politics and culture edited by Michael Kinsley for Microsoft Network, mean that the magazine will continue to be free for at least a few weeks. MSN had planned to begin charging for the weekly publication in November. When the billing problems are resolved, Slate will cost subscribers $19.95 a year. (Washington Post 19 October 1996) WIRED TRIES AGAIN TO WOO THE STOCK MARKET Wired Ventures, Inc., which owns the print magazine Wired, the Web-based publications HotWired and Suck, and the Internet search engine HotBot, is trying again to issue an initial public offering; it has valued itself at $293 million, or about 12 times annual revenues (a valuation that is significantly lower, without explanation, than the one it offered last June, when the company declared itself worth $447 million, or about 17 times annual revenues). Market analysts continue to be skeptical of the offering. A partner at Sequoia Capital, a venture-capital firm, says that the Wired prospectus "reads like an issue of Mad magazine. A public company should be able to convince investors that it can grow in a sound fashion. On paper, Wired Ventures can't." (U.S. News & World Report 21 Oct 96 p68) WHAT TED AND GOD THINK ABOUT RUPERT In a deposition for a lawsuit filed by Time Warner to block New York City from using one of its channels on the Time Warner cable system to transmit Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel, Time Warner vice chair (and CNN founder) Ted Turner calls Murdoch a "slimy" and "very dangerous" person who "bought the government of New York City" by employing the mayor's wife, giving him large political contributions, endorsing him, and "God knows what else." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 19 Oct 96 E4) INTERNET-FROM-THE-HOME DOUBLES DURING PAST YEAR The number of U.S. households linked to the Internet doubled during the past year to 14.7 million, according to Find/SVP, which conducted its most recent survey with Jupiter Communications. And while commercial online services provide access for 8.9 million of those households (up 28% from last year), plain-vanilla Internet service providers are increasing their presence, providing access to 4.4 million households (up from 1.4 million last year). "What's really dramatic is the acceptance of the Internet from home," says Find/SVP's VP. "Consumers are ready for information access from the Internet." (Wall Street Journal 21 Oct 96 B11) AGENCIES, SCHOOLS COMPETE FOR INTERNET II FUNDING Federal agencies are vying for their share of the Clinton administration's proposed $100 million Internet II funding, with the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, NASA, the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the National Institutes of Health all slated for a piece of the pie. These same agencies were involved in the High Performance Computing and Communications program initiated at the end of the Bush administration. At the same time, eight more colleges and universities have signed on as charter members of the project, and coalition members are beginning to jockey for position. Ira Fuchs, president of the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking, says it's important to remember the needs of smaller schools, too: "Right now, it is an elite group. We want to make sure it's not an elitist group." (Chronicle of Higher Education 25 Oct 96 A29) E-RATE PROPOSED BY CLINTON ADMINISTRATION The Clinton administration has presented a framework for a discounted "E- rate" for telecommunications services to educational institutions. Under the two-tiered pricing proposal presented to the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service last week, schools and libraries would receive first- tier services at no charge. This would include "basic connectivity and Internet access, at adequate transmission speeds." The second tier of services would be discounted. Further discounts would be available for schools and libraries in "high-cost or low-income areas." (Education Week on the Web 16 Oct 96) PICA PUSHES FOR CRYPTOGRAPHY STANDARDS The Platform Independent Cryptography Application Programming Interface Alliance (PICA) has endorsed a set of cryptography standards to assist developers in creating security features for new software. PICA members include Apple, IBM, JavaSoft, Motorola, Netscape, Nortel, Novell, RSA Data Security Inc. and Silicon Graphics. Notably missing is Microsoft, which recently released its own cryptography standard, available for free to developers. "Ultimately, they all have to play together," says an analyst at Zona Research Inc. "Unless you include the Microsoft world there is no choice." (Interactive Age Digital 18 Oct 96) EUROPEAN COMMISSION EYES INTERNET REGULATIONS The European Commission has recommended a voluntary code of conduct on the Internet, and suggests that increased use of software labeling and filtering systems could be used to stop the spread of offensive electronic material. "The problem right now is that the labeling and filtering systems are not compatible," says a Commission spokesman, who notes that the new Platform or Internet Content Selection (PICS) is the best candidate for becoming a universal filtering standard. In addition, a Commission report says that "a common European framework to clarify the administrative rules and regulations which apply to access providers and most providers should be assessed... In order to ensure that users have access to rating systems suitable to their needs and in order to avoid a situation whereby they have to rely on rating systems developed for the U.S. where there may be a different approach on what is suitable content for minors, encouragement should be given to setting up European rating system." (BNA Daily Report for Executives 17 Oct 96 A4) COMING SOON: CDs THAT CAN READ, WRITE AND 'RASE Philips Electronics N.V., Hewlett-Packard and others have unveiled an erasable CD-ROM, called CD-RW, or CD-ReWritable. Backers of the new technology say that erasable CDs will become a flexible new storage solution, holding 450 times more data than a typical floppy. Critics fear that "Consumers will be confused," says an industry analyst, who points out that CD-RWs can't be played on most of the currently installed CD- ROM drives. CD-RW drives will appear in the first quarter of 1997, and eventually will replace today's CD- ROM drives. HP hopes to market a temporary solution called "MultiRead" to enable all new CD-ROM drives to handle CD-RW discs. CD-RW technology differs from CD-Recordable (CD-R) technology, which can be recorded on only once. If a mistake is made, the disc is worthless. Meanwhile, the new DVD (digital video disc) drives that will be coming out next year will be able to handle CD-RW discs. (Investor's Business Daily 22 Oct 96 A8) CUSTOMIZED SEARCHING GOES BEYOND THE NET Gerd Meissner, who helped customize the German edition of Edupage, has developed a search service called BOB, The Human Search Engine, which combines searches of the Net with searches beyond the Net, to help you when you're looking for such things as: a special German saying? A bookstore in Bavaria? Or an old pal's address in Paderborn? From the requests made by private users, schools and non-profit organizations, the service chooses at least one every week to research and answer via e-mail -- for free. U.S. customers are welcome. The address is info@adline.de or < http://www.adline.de >. FRONTIER AND QUEST TO BUILD NEW VOICE/DATA NETWORK Rochester, N.Y.-based Frontier Corporation, the nation's fifth-largest long- distance phone service provider, is joining with Quest Communications, which is in the network construction business, to build a $2-billion national voice/data network that will connect almost 100 cities and provide Frontier a 25-year lease for up to a third of the network's carrying capacity. (New York times 22 Oct 96 C4) ANDREESSEN IS OUR KIND OF GUY Netscape co-founder and programming whiz Marc Andreessen admitted on the Charlie Rose TV show that his home PC crashes regularly; that he hasn't been able to get his printer or CD-ROM drive to work; and that he has not yet figured out how to program his VCR. We feel his pain. (Computerworld 21 Oct 96 p138) THE KEYBOARD FROM HELL? The QWERTY keyboard, replete with arcane keys such as "Print Screen," "Scroll Lock" and "Pause," is a source of frustration to hardware makers, who say the keyboard will be the last part of the PC to be redesigned, because what's available now works for most people. Donald Norman, an Apple fellow, has another opinion, however: "The keyboard is the most bizarre, ridiculous, nondesigned monstrosity foisted on the American public. We've put huge amounts of effort into the design of the things you see on the screen, but the keyboard seems handed down by God -- and it's an evil god... Everybody will agree it should be fixed. So we'll put it on the list. But this list is long, and when it comes to ordering it in importance, the keyboard is just never quite important enough to get our attention." A New York-based designer and editor concurs: "The keyboard is the most humiliating and despicable object we have to work with in our daily lives." (Wall Street Journal 22 Oct 96 B1) AT&T PICKS PRINTING EXECUTIVE AS ITS HEIR APPARENT AT&T has chosen John R. Walter, chairman of the R.H. Donnelley & Sons printing company, as its new president and designated successor to current AT&T chief executive and chairman Robert Allen. The selection has disappointed many industry analysts, who were surprised by the company's decision to hire someone without experience in the telecommunications industry. But Walter was able to recast Donnelley from a traditional printing company into an information provider, using digital printing and CD- ROMs. (New York Times 24 Oct 96 A1) AGREEMENT REACHED ON FAIR USE OF ELECTRONIC MULTIMEDIA A committee of educators and publishers, sponsored by the Consortium of College & University Media Centers, has developed a set of "fair use" guidelines for professors and students who want to use copyrighted material in CD-ROMs and multimedia projects. The new guidelines set limits on the amount of a copyrighted work that "reasonably" may be used -- for example, 10 percent or 30 seconds, whichever is less, of an individual musical work. Limits are also set on the number of copies that professors or students can make of their newly created CD-ROMs or videos. Schools that want to use such works in distance learning programs must restrict access to students enrolled in the class through use of passwords or other technologies. More than a dozen academic and industry groups have endorsed the guidelines, and further support is being sought. (Chronicle of Higher Education 25 Oct 96 A28) NEW SUN CHIP PROVIDES A JAVA JOLT As Sun Microsystems prepares to roll out its first network computer, it's also debuting picoJava -- the core of the microprocessors that Sun plans to market to makers of future Java-based devices. Chips with the picoJava core have the Java instruction set embedded in them, making them faster, cheaper, and platform-independent. the chips will be used to power NCs, peripherals, cell phones and pagers. "We do not expect our chip to go into PCs," says a Sun manager. "It has no ability to run compiled code for binary applications. What we are trying to do with this chip is to extend the Java paradigm to other devices that can live on the network, yet the code can be kept somewhere else." (Information Week 14 Oct 96 p32) ERGONOMIC KEYBOARDS MAY NOT REDUCE INJURIES A new study by researchers at CTDNews, a newsletter devoted to coverage of repetitive stress injuries in the workplace, reports that there is no evidence that ergonomic keyboards reduce injuries or increase performance. A number of models were tested, including Microsoft's Natural Keyboard and Apple's Extended Keyboard. In some cases, researchers found that the ergonomic keyboards actually created problems, particularly among hunt-and- peck typists who were confused by the altered configuration. CTDNews suggests that instead of purchasing new keyboards, companies should pay more attention to the proper arrangement of desks, chairs, monitors and keyboards for a repetitive-stress-injury-free work environment. (Investor's Business Daily 23 Oct 96 A6) NOW MICROSOFT WANTS TO PLAY GAMES Microsoft is setting its sights on the PC game market, readying titles such as "Monster Truck Madness," "NBA Full Court Press," and "Deadly Tide" for Christmas shoppers. "Our whole marketing strategy is to create hits," says Microsoft's games marketing manager. "It only takes two or three hit titles to establish a company as a leader." At the same time, the company has hired Alexey Pajitnov, the Russian-born creator of the best-selling game Tetris, to develop puzzle and mind-teaser games for next year. These kinds of games are aimed at women and girls, who enjoy straining their brains more than action-oriented males. "The action titles are a little bit more attractive, but they don't have so long a life as puzzle games," says Pajitnov, who admits his sons prefer the action scene. "Most of the action games, you play it and throw it away. Puzzle games people play for a longer time." (Wall Street Journal 24 Oct 96 B4) COREL CHALLENGES MICROSOFT WITH PARADOX DEAL Corel has bought the rights to the Paradox database software from Borland, in a licensing arrangement that gives Corel effective ownership of Paradox and makes Corel responsible for developing, marketing, sales and support for the Paradox line of products. The deal gives Corel access to the installed base of 1.5 million Paradox users and the company plans to cross- market some of its own software to these users. Borland VP Bill Jordan said the company wants to focus on its software development business. Coverage noted it would also be more difficult for Borland to sell Paradox as a stand-alone product now that Corel has bundled it into its Office suite -- which costs about the same as what Paradox charges for its own. (Toronto Financial Post 23 Oct 96 p14) ANDY GROVE WELCOMES JAPAN'S INROADS IN PC MARKET Intel CEO Andy Grove sees salvation in the advances of Japanese PC makers into the U.S. market: "I view myself as being in a heroic battle against the TV as the center of the entertainment world, and this is a colossal step in the progress we're making." The editor of an industry newsletter concurs: "Traditional PC makers have probably pushed the consumer market as far as they can. It will take outsiders with consumer electronics experience like Toshiba and Sony to break into a larger consumer market." (Fortune 28 Oct 96 p140) CHILD PORNOGRAPHY HOAX The FBI is saying that a recent widely distributed e-mail message inviting recipients to buy child pornography is a hoax; the message was apparently sent from New York City. (Ottawa Citizen 23 Oct 96 A4) NET LINK TO NEO-NAZIS The neo-Nazi Heritage Front has outraged Canada's Reform party by suggesting on the Internet that they are allies. The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center discovered the Heritage Front-Reform link while scrutinizing the racist organization's World Wide Web site. The site details what the movement stands for -- such as an end to high immigration levels -- and then invites users to link to five other sympathetic groups, including racist groups and Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel. (Toronto Star 22 Oct 96 A10). CUSTOM CAMPAIGN BUTTONS In a promotional demonstration set up near voting sites in six cities across the U.S., Microsoft, Eastman Kodak and Hewlett-Packard technologies are being used to allow voters to create their own campaign buttons, sporting their mug next to the presidential candidate of choice. The booths showcase Microsoft's Picture It! software, which will go on sale next month. The company is tracking which candidate is most popular in the button category and will announce their "winner" prior to election day. (Investor's Business Daily 24 Oct 96 A6) Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas (douglas@educom.edu). Voice: 404-371-1853, Fax: 404-371-8057. Technical support is provided by the Office of Information Technology, University of North Carolina. EDUPAGE is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to Edupage: send a message to: listproc@educom.unc.edu and in the body of the message type: subscribe edupage Marvin Minsky (assuming that your name is Marvin Minsky; if it's not, substitute your own name). ... To cancel, send a message to: listproc@educom.unc.edu and in the body of the message type: unsubscribe edupage... Subscription problems: educom@educom.unc.edu. EDUCOM REVIEW is our bimonthly print magazine on learning, communications, and information technology. Subscriptions are $18 a year in the U.S.; send mail to offer@educom.edu. When you do, we'll ring a little bell, because we'll be so happy! Choice of bell is yours: a small dome with a button, like the one on the counter at the dry cleaners with the sign "Ring bell for service"; or a small hand bell; or a cathedral bell; or a door bell; or a chime; or a glockenspiel. Your choice. But ring it! EDUCOM UPDATE is our twice-a-month electronic summary of organizational news and events. To subscribe to the Update: send a message to: listproc@educom.unc.edu and in the body of the message type: subscribe update John McCarthy (assuming that your name is John McCarthy; if it's not, substitute your own name). INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE The CAUSE organization's annual conference on information technology in higher education is scheduled for the end of this month in New Orleans. The conference will bring together administrators, academicians and other managers of information resources. For full conference information check out or send e-mail to conf@cause.colorado.edu. ARCHIVES & TRANSLATIONS. For archive copies of Edupage or Update, ftp or gopher to educom.edu or see URL: < http://www.educom.edu/>. For the French edition of Edupage, send mail to edupage-fr@ijs.com with the subject "subscribe"; or see < http://www.ijs.com >. For the Hebrew edition, send mail to listserv@kinetica.co.il containing : SUBSCRIBE Leketnet-Word6 or see < http://www.kinetica.co.il/ newsletters/leketnet/ >. For the Hungarian edition, send mail to: send mail to subs.edupage@hungary.com. An Italian edition is available on Agora' Telematica; connection and/or free subscription via BT-Tymnet and Sprint (login: Actually, it _could_ have made it into this week's issue, but we wanted to make sure that everything hangs together well. I give you my promise that "Emulator Wars" will be in next week's issue. Well, let's get on with the reason for this column in the first place... all the news, hints, tips, and info available every week right here on CompuServe. From the Atari Computing Forums Brian Gockley posts this about TOS 2.06: "...Major highlights of 2.06: At any time hitting the ALT + any ASCII code from the numeric keypad will generate that ACSII code in the keyboard buffer (for example ALT + 225 = beta) Support for 1.44MB Floppy by the OS. You still need the 'kit' of the Ajax chip, the drive, and a PAL. Media change for floppies is Empty floppies are detected faster. There is no long delay if you boot with no floppy at boot time (the best way to prevent viruses). One FAT floppies are supported. These are usually disks from PCs. Fuji logo, memory test, and an 80 sec. HD boot countdown at bootup." One of our old friends from Atari, Mike Fulton, posts: "I'm a "Senior Developer Support Engineer" at Sony Computer Entertainment America. Basically that means I'm the guy that gets most of the phone calls from PlayStation developers when they are trying to figure out something. Basically, I'm doing the same thing I was at Atari, except the machine is the Sony PlayStation instead of the Jaguar or one of the Atari computer line. Or at least, I'm doing the same thing as my job description at Atari... the actual work at Atari had a lot of other stuff mixed in with it, but at Sony I get to pretty much concentrate on developer support stuff and leave the other stuff to other people. That results in a lot less stress. There are a lot of familiar faces, too. My boss is Bill Rehbock, same as at Atari. He's the VP of our department, Research & Development. In our group alone, we have several former Atari people. There's Greg Labrec, who was the creative services director at Atari. Diana Anderson worked for Greg over at Atari, and she was here too until about two weeks ago. Don Thomas started about a month ago. And Pradip Fatehpuria, the Atari Works guy, just started a few days back. And in our 3rd Party department, there's another 6 or 8 recent Atari alumni (i.e. from the last 2 years or so). It's a nice building, the pay and benefits are a lot better than at Atari, and of course Sony has the resources to make sure we can get the job done. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the situation." Sysop Jim Ness tells Mike: "Congratulations! It's a bit weird that you have so many ex-Atari people there, but I'm glad you all landed on your feet." In the Atari Gaming forum, Mike White asks: "Does anyone know of an emulator on the PC which allows Atari 400/800 programs to be run on the PC. I know there was one developed for the Atari ST." Albert Dayes tells Mike: "I believe there is one called PC or X-tranformer or something similar to that. I think it was produced by the same company that made Gemulator (Atari ST emulator for the PC)." Actually, the product is called "PC Xformer" (it's pronounced Pee Cee Transformer), and it is indeed from Branch Always Software. In its simplest form, it is software only (you can add a special floppy drive for it if you wish), and from what I hear it works quite well. The Atari ST version is called "ST Xformer". Don't worry, what Darek lacks in imagination, he more than makes up for in programming ability! Mike also asks: "I didn't know you could get a card that allows you to run Atari programs on the PC. Do you know anything about it and where it can be bought?" Mitch Brown tells Mike: "It is called the Gemulator. I have thought of picking one up many times for myself. It is marketed and manufactured by a company called Branch Always Software. They are on the net, but I don't know their address. Just use Yahoo." Kevin Tekel posts this little bit of chopped, re-formed, reconstituted pork product: "From inside back cover of October 1996 Nintendo Power magazine (published by Nintendo): "64 reasons to play the Nintendo 64 instant win game: ..." "reason 8: It's the world's first 64-bit video game system." HAH! LIAR! Obviously Nintendo of America, Inc. has never heard of the ATARI JAGUAR. A fully 64-bit video game system designed in 1993!! (Let's not forget the Atari Lynx... a 16-bit color hand-held video game system introduced in 1989, while intendo is still selling 8-bit lack & white hand-held systems!!)" Raymond Rodgers posts... "...Some news taken from http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/4106/newgames.html, an obviously Jaguar oriented website, but it's info none the less. New game information Here are some new games that are coming out soon! Check them out and see which ones are for you. Towers II BattleSphere Worms Breakout 2000 Zero-5 NEW! I've spoken with Telegames and GO ATARI.....They state that the following games will be entering production later this week (8th oct.): Towers II by JV Games Breakout 2000 by Atari Zero Five by Atari Worms by Team 17....published by Telegames.. That's them....a KILLER line-up if ya ask me! I've been dying to play NEW Jaguar games! Long Live the Jaguar! Towers II is said to be available in the 2nd or 3rd week of November....can't wait! 4-Play went in and added a whole new mode of gameplay to BattleSphere! They expect a few more weeks of cding, then it should take around a month to put it through production. There is talk of a new Jaguar developer....He states that he's working on 4 new Jag titles which sounded great, at the same time.....how he's going to get these published is a mystery. That's all the news for now..." Tom Harker of ICD and 4-PLAY tells Raymond: "I think everyone left in a publishing position will be closely watching the success or failures of this new batch of games published by Telegames and of BattleSere by 4Play. If there is enough support left in the userbase so we don't lose money, then I am sure that someone will be interested in publishing completed titles." Well folks, I know that this week's column is short, but that's most of the worthwhile stuff this week. Tune in again next week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING EDITORIAL QUICKIES A Brightly Shining Republican Light! April 11, 1991. Vice President Dan Quayle hails America's Gulf triumph as. "a stirring victory for the forces of aggression." DUH! STReport International OnLine Magazine [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport HTTP://WWW.STREPORT.COM AVAILABLE through OVER 200,000 PRIVATE BBS SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE All Items quoted, in whole or in part, are done so under the provisions of The Fair Use Law of The Copyright Laws of the U.S.A. Views, Opinions and Editorial Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors/staff of STReport International OnLine Magazine. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Reprints must, without exception, include the name of the publication, date, issue number and the author's name. STR, CPU, STReport and/or portions therein may not be edited, used, duplicated or transmitted in any way without prior written permission. STR, CPU, STReport, at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. STR, CPU, STReport, are trademarks of STReport and STR Publishing Inc. STR, CPU, STReport, its staff and contributors are not and cannot be held responsible in any way for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. STR OnLine! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" October 25, 1996 Since 1987 Copyrightc1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1243