Silicon Times Report The Original Independent OnLine Magazine" (Since 1987) August 23, 1996 No.1234 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 08/23/96 STR 1234 The Original Independent OnLine Magazine! - CPU Industry News - Corel News - MS Response to NS - Sony Unveils DigiCam - BIG Screen PC - UPS Tracking Wares - US Soldier a SPY - Poulsen FREE - Active X NOW! - Build Power User PC - Internet Banking - Jagwire HACKERS NAIL DOJ SITE! HIGH TECH EXECS FOR CLINTON! BROWSER WAR RAGES! 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: 8/10/96: 4 of 6 numbers, 3 four number matches & 4 three number matches From the Editor's Desk... Wouldn't you know it?? I thought I'd be a little adventurous and at the same time, be fair to Netscape. So, I installed their latest offering Version 3.0. It works quite well I thought to myself and I also noticed its quite fast. I even got the certified signature thingy. This was all yesterday. This morning, for some strange reason, I noticed a decided slowdown in my system's overall performance. That all the graphical icons for those filenames had changed to netscape icons, that the email and news wanted to call netscape, that when I hit browse the web.. netscape came up and finally, that the plugin for Activex was not working. I thought perhaps something was munged and that a new install would fix things. After all the system was working fine yesterday and the only two changes were the installation of netscape and the active x plugin for netscape. I un-installed both programs and re-booted. Now instead of a smooth boot-up I wound up with a weird notice of a program trying to save a file to my temp folder. In fact three files! Ok, I thought time to re-boot and allow the system to stabilize itself. Upon re-booting, the dreaded Registry File Error box came up. OK, let it re-boot and fix the registry file. NOT. Both the backup and the file itself were the very same therefore it was not going to fix itself. I had to go back to my system.1st (8/14/96 date) and overwrite my system.dat and system.da0 files. I rebooted and all was fine. Or, so I though. I had no Internet Explorer! I had the icon but that was it! When those two other files (Netscape 3 and the ActiveX plugin) were un- installed they took a few "shared files" with them that they should not have. Now, after two hours of reclamation and rebuilding, my system is back to its normal hi speed, sure footed performance. I made myself a promise a few months ago that I'd never install Netscape stuff on my system again after the un-install of 2.0 clobbered five different shared files. I thought that the Netscape programmers had perhaps learned to be a little more considerate of the users. I was wrong. Now, you can bet your bottom dollar that a Netscape product will never live in, on or around any system I am responsible for. This is an interesting issue, we have the Powerhouse article for you and all the latest relative to the `browser wars". There are new games coming out and a number of other goodies.. you'll fine here. Of course, as always the very latest computing news too. Ralph.. Of Special Note: http//www.streport.com STReport is now ready to offer much more in the way of serving the Networks, Online Services and Internet's vast, fast growing site list and userbase. We now have our very own WEB/NewsGroup/FTP Site and although its in its early stages of construction, do stop by and have a look see. Since We've received numerous requests to receive STReport from a wide variety of Internet addressees, we were compelled to put together an Internet distribution/mailing list for those who wished to receive STReport on a regular basis, the file is ZIPPED, then UUENCODED. Unfortunately, we've also received a number of opinions that the UUENCODING was a real pain to deal with. So, as of October 01,1995, you'll be able to download STReport directly from our very own SERVER & WEB Site. While there, be sure to join our STR list. STReport's managing editors DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU! Ralph F. Mariano, Publisher - Editor Dana P. Jacobson, Editor, Current Affairs Section Editors PC Section Mac Section Atari Section R.F. Mariano J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson Portables & Gaming Kid's Computing Corner Marty Mankins Frank Sereno STReport Staff Editors Michael Arthur John Deegan Brad Martin John Szczepanik Paul Guillot Joseph Mirando Doyle Helms John Duckworth Jeff Coe Steve Keipe 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 Net Vandals Hit Justice Department U.S. Justice Department shut down its home page on the Internet's World Wide Web yesterday after it was infiltrated by Net vandals who altered the site to include swastikas, sexually explicit pictures and verbal criticism of the Communications Decency Act. Associated Press writer Jennifer Brown reports the site was changed to read "United States Department of Injustice," next to a red, black and white flag bearing a swastika. The text of the page was written over a background of gray swastikas, and at the top declared in red letters: "This page is in violation of the Communications Decency Act." "The page included color pictures of George Washington, Adolf Hitler, who is called the attorney general, and a topless Jennifer Aniston, one of the stars of NBC's 'Friends.' Other sexually explicit images were shown," Brown writes. Department spokesman Joe Krovisky told the wire service Justice officials were not sure initially what statutes were violated by the intrusion, but certainly would be against the law." Possibilities, he said, might be destruction or defacing government property -- or perhaps trespassing. Krovisky added the department expected to have the page reconstructed and running again by today or tomorrow. The agency web site (reached at Web address http://www.usdoj.gov) is used to post public information, including government news releases and speeches. AP says the intruders used the majority of the web site to criticize the controversial Communication Decency Act, signed in February, which makes transmitting sexually explicit material in ways children might see it a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal appeals court declared the law unconstitutional. In its altered state, the page read, "As the largest law firm in the nation, the Department of Justice serves to punish all who don't agree with the moral standards set forth by (President) Clinton. Anything and anyone different must be jailed." It said the new law takes away privacy rights and freedom of speech, adding, "It is hard to trick hundreds of millions of people out of their freedoms, but we should be complete within a decade." The changed page also had links to other web sites, all unflattering, about Clinton, Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole and conservative commentator Pat Buchanan. Justice Hack Shows Vulnerability If there was any doubt of the continuing vulnerability of the Internet's World Wide Web sites, last weekend's electronic vandalizing of the U.S. Justice Department's Net site should put things in perspective. "The vast majority of sites are vulnerable," analyst Richard Power of the Computer Security Institute has told Aaron Pressman of the Reuter News Service. "The Justice Department shouldn't be singled out." As reported earlier, the Justice Department had to shut down its Web page (http://www.usdoj.gov) for most of the weekend after intruders altered the site to include swastikas, sexually explicit pictures and verbal criticism of the controversial Communications Decency Act. Justice officials told the wire service the compromised site was not connected to any computers containing sensitive files. The site includes copies of press releases, speeches and other publicly available information. Spokesman Bert Brandenburg characterized the security breach as "just like graffiti on the outside of the building." The site was fixed and back in business by Sunday night. Reuters notes other organizations have been targeted in the past. For instance, last year, the Nation of Islam's Million Man March web site was vandalized. And, according to a General Accounting Office report, electronic intruders make an estimated 250,000 attempts annually to break into U.S. military computers. In addition, Reuters notes Windows Magazine recently found security flaws at web sites of a dozen major corporations, quoting editor Mike Elgan as saying, "The Web is spectacularly insecure." Says the wire service, "Relying on security holes that had been documented b software manufacturers months earlier, the magazine's specialists were able to gain various degrees of unauthorized access at the different sites." Elgan says vandals who are exploiting some of the same flaws are motivated by anger over the growth and commercialization of the Internet, adding, "A common theme is that hackers are fed up with non-hackers on the Internet." But the battle isn't lost. Power says, "There's all kinds of measures you can take. Most corporations and institutions don't take them simply because nothing bad has happened to them yet." He noted some sites are using multiple layers of security, well beyond simple password protection. White House Backs Net Commerce A plan to persuade other countries to lower barriers to business transactions conducted over the Internet reportedly will be unveiled this fall by the White House. Electronic commerce is part of a larger program to promote exports over the next five to 10 years, administration officials have told Communications Daily newsletter. "One possibility under discussion," CD reports today, "would designate (the) Internet as sort of (a) tax-free zone in which countries would be encouraged not to levy tax on transactions or services it carried, with (the) proposal covering such items as legal services, movies (and) software." The administration official told the newsletter the federal government wants to establish a principle prohibiting duties on sales across the Internet for those products because some world governments - primarily in Asia -- are considering imposing such a tax. (CD notes Malaysia and China are among countries discussing the tax, although nothing has been imposed.) In addition, says the newsletter, the administration official says the White House is trying to ensure that continuing international discussions setting a framework for online business create a "uniform environment to make transactions easy." For example, there would be the same means of agreeing to contracts or accepting delivery of items in all countries, along with adjudicating mechanisms if a single uniform commercial code changes could be agreed upon, officials said. CD says a United Nations agency already has started to work on uniform commercial code principles for electronic commerce, and the White House hopes to have guidelines finished and accepted in the next couple of years. The newsletter adds the administration "also is planning to look into intellectual property rights, electronic funds transfer and related topics with (an) eye toward allowing (the) marketplace, rather than governments, to set (the) standard, officials said." In addition, privacy and encryption are on the agenda, "and," says CD, "there are different views within (the government) as to how those policies should develop because there are different objectives to be achieved. Encryption in context of developing commercial business is different from encryption in context of law enforcement" Law Limits E-Mail Seizures A communications and computer law attorney says the Electronic Communications Privacy Act may restrict the use of intercepted electronic communications -- such as e-mail messages -- in criminal prosecutions. Carl Salisbury, of Killian & Salisbury in East Hanover, New Jersey, says the federal legislation requires law enforcement authorities to obtain so-called "super warrants" before seizing certain kinds of electronic communications. The failure to comply with the law's requirements can result in exclusion of the seized evidence at trial. But Salisbury notes that despite the extra protection afforded by the law to certain kinds of electronic communications, he is advising clients to use what he calls the "New York Times standard" for e-mail transmissions. "Anything that they wouldn't want to have published on the front page of the New York Times," says Salisbury, "they perhaps ought not to be putting in their e-mail." Grants Seed Next Generation Net Thirteen grants to U.S. universities from the National Science Foundation may lead to development of new technologies that could dramatically improve the Internet of the future. Each university gets $350,000 for research projects and access to NSF's super quick computer network, the very high speed Backbone Network Service or vBNS, reports Aaron Pressman of the Reuter News Service. "The latest research projects include improvements in basic networking technology as well as creation of new multimedia applications that require high speed connections," Pressman adds. "If the projects come to fruition, Internet users around the world could someday meet in realistic, three-dimensional environments that exist only in a computer." NSF officials say that will require not only new software, but also improvements in the basic infrastructure of the Internet, and such research cannot be done on the existing overcrowded network. "The vBNS system can theoretically transfer data at a rate of 155 million bits per second, compared to 45 mllion bits on the Internet's major routes or a home modem's speed of just 28,800 bits per second," Reuters notes. And at the end of the year, vBNS will be upgraded to 622 million bits and to 2.2 billion bits in another few years. Astronomy professor Paul Woodward at University of Minnesota told the wire service he will use a grant to hook up with computers at the University of Illinois to model the behavior of fluid turbulence in the sun, large planets and the oceans. Besides Minnesota and Illinois, other schools winning grants include Baylor College of Medicine, Georgia Tech, Iowa State University, Ohio State University, Old Dominion University, University of Chicago, University of Houston, William Marsh Rice University and the universities of Colorado, California and Pennsylvania. N.Y. Times Wants Your Ideas If you can coin a clever, pithy digital equivalent to The New York Times' famous slogan, "All the News That's Fit to Print," you could win $100 in a contest the paper is hosting. The Times says the new slogan will be used on the newspaper's web site (reached at Web address http://www.nytimes.com). Contestants are asked to summarize, in 10 words or less, the news mission of The New York Times on the Web. Submit entries via e-mail to INTERNET:slogannytimes.com. Entries will be accepted until midnight Oct. 1. Incidentally, this is a repeat of history. After publisher Adolph S. Ochs bought the Times 100 years ago this week and coined the famous masthead slogan 100 years ago this week, it was decided to offer $100 to anyone who could propose a better one. The Times notes today in a statement, "The response was astonishing with thousands of entries including, 'All the News That's Fit to Read,' 'All the News Worth Telling,' 'Free From Filth, Full of News,' and 'News for the Millions, Scandal for None.'" Although a winner was selected (D.M. Redfield of New Haven, Connecticut, for "All the World News but Not a School for Scandal"), the original slogan already had become ingrained in the public mind. The paper paid Redfield the $100, but decided to retain "All the News That's Fit to Print." Net Seen as Candidate Info Source A majority of Americans (65.7 percent) responding to a recent AT&T poll are interested in accessing the Internet to find out where candidates stand on certain issues. Additionally, nearly half said they would rather vote by computer than in person, if that option were available. Nearly a quarter of those responding had ccess to the Internet, and of that group, 20 percent planned to use it to follow the 1996 presidential election. About 35 percent of that group said they felt such information could be accessed more quickly through the Internet than other media. The telephone poll of more than 1,000 respondents was designed to determine attitudes about the Internet In relation to the upcoing elections. It was conducted by the Princeton, New Jersey-based research company Bruskin, Goldring. 75 High-Tech Execs Back Clinton From San Jose, California, comes word 75 high-tech business leaders have gone on the record endorsing President Clinton for re-election, saying his policies have helped their companies prosper and create jobs. Associated Press writer Catalina Ortiz reports the executives, most from California's Silicon Valley, also said Clinton understood the need to invest in the future through fostering research and education. Venture capitalist John Doerr, one of several executives who spoke with Clinton and Vice President Al Gore by phone, told the wire service, "This administration really gets it." Ortiz says some 20 of the 75 executives gathered at the headquarters of desktop publishing software maker Adobe Systems Inc. Adobe President Chuck Geschke and CEO John Warnock were among the executives acking Clinton. Others include Xerox Corp. CEO Paul Allaire, Broderbund Software Inc. chief Doug Carlston, Silicon Graphics Inc. chairman Ed McCracken, former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief John Young and chairman Bill Hambrecht of Hambrecht & Quist. Also among the backers is Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer and currently head of Pixar Animation Studios, who told Ortiz, "Silicon Valley doesn't traditionally look for handouts. What it looks for is a solid business climate based on economic policy that makes sense. And I think we feel we've had that over the last four years and we're looking for that to continue." Meanwhile, back in Washington, Dole spokeswoman Christina Martin said she expected her camp to get "more than our fair share of endorsements from technology leaders" across the country, adding, "The simple fact is that Bill Clinton has been on the wrong side of Silicon Valley on the issues of taxation, including capital gains tax relief, securities litigation reform, product liability reform, relaxation of outdated export controls on hardware and software, and a host of other mportant issues." Karpov Challenges the World Anatoly Karpov is ready to stare down the world next Monday. The Russian chess veteran is challenging the rest of the world in an historic virtual chess game on the Internet's World Wide Web. Reporting from Helsinki, the Reuter News Service quotes Finnish host Telecom Finland as saying that after every move by Karpov, the rest of the world has 10 minutes to enter moves against him through the Internet. A server then will select the most frequently proposed move and execute it. Net surfers who want to play can visit the Web address http://www.tele.fi/karpov before Monday for details. Karpov retained his title as International Chess Federation world champion in July when he defeated Russian-born U.S. grandmaster Gata Kamsky in a match held in the former Soviet republic of Kalmykia. No. 1 rated Garry Kasparov did not challenge because of a split with the federation. UPS Launches Tracking Software Free Windows-based software is being handed out by UPS that allows customers to track packages using Invoice or catalog order numbers of shippers, not just the UPS number. The software interacts with UPS' World Wide Web site (http://www.ups.com) to find package drop-off points, request a package pickup or compare shipping costs. It also can track up to 100 packages simultaneously. According to a statement from the company's Atlanta offices, the software displays an image of a receiver's signature, unlike previous versions that just indicated a package had been signed for. Big Screen PC to Hit Stores Direct market PC maker Gateway 2000 says it is making its new Destination big-screen PC available through select retail stores. Destination will be available in Nobody Beats the Wiz stores this week, and in CompUSA stores by mid-September. Destination will be the only Gateway product sold through retail chains. The Pentium processor-based Destination system is designed to let users spread out 10 to 15 feet from its 31-inch screen. The system's computer and television functions are controlled through a touchpad-equipped wireless keyboard and a wireless remote control/mouse. Destination is compatible with consumer electronics components such as VCRs, stereo systems and laser disc players. The system can take video feeds from cable television systems, traditional antennas or other video devices. Audio signals from the Destination system can be channeled through home stereo systems to offer surround sound capability. "To explain this new category of convergence technology, we need to allow people to experience Destination," says Gateway 2000 Chairman and CEO Ted Waitt. "In CompUSA and Nobody Beats the Wiz, Gateway 2000 has chosen two chains with dominant positions in their markets, ones whose employees have the skill set to properly maret and sell the product in a retail setting," says Stephen M. Baker, senior analyst for distribution channels research at IDC. Sony Unveils Digital Camera Sony Electronics has introduced its first low-end digital still camera. The $850 DSC-F1 features a 1.8-inch, LCD screen, 4MB of flash memory, wireless infrared image transfer capabilities, a built-in flash, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and several recording modes. Sony says the DSC-F1's charge-coupled device (CCD) provides a VGA-quality 640-by480-dot resolution with 24-bit color. Depending on the resolution, anywhere between 30 and 108 JPEG images can stored in the camera's memory. The DSC-F1 measures 4 by 3 by 1.6 inches and fits into a pocket, briefcase or purse. The camera is set to ship in October. "(The DSC-F1) is the first in a new family of imaging products designed to enable business professionals -- from claims adjusters to Web developers -- to become more productive and creative," says Neal Manowitz, marketing manager for Sony Information Technologies of America. Novell Introduces IntranetWare With more companies adopting intranets -- corporate networks based on Internet technology -- Novell Inc. has announced IntranetWare, a new product that turns its NetWare proprietary network operating system into an intranet and Internet access platform. IntranetWare builds on the distributed services found in Novell's upcoming NetWare 4.11 (code-named Green River). It includes a Web server and browser; a gateway between industry-standard TCP/IP and IPX/SPX networking protocols; and a multiprotocol router for wide-area network and Internet connections. Novel says IntranetWare will ship in the fall at about the same time as NetWare 4.11. Pricing hasn't yet been set. "With IntranetWare, Novell opens our product line and 55 million customers to the future of networking," says Robert J. Frankenberg, Novell's chairman and CEO. "It was only a decade ago that Novell revolutionized networking with NetWare. Now we have again reached one of thosewatershed points in the development of our industry as customers evolve their networks into intranets based on distributed network services and open standards. Once again, Novell is driving the evolution of networking to give our customers' businesses an enduring competitive edge." Net Pioneers Face Bumpy Road According to new research from International Data Corp., today's Internet commerce pioneers face some bleak times before they harvest their first cash crops. However, notes the Framingham, Massachusetts-based market researcher, "merchants with fortitude and vision will survive and ultimately succeed." IDC's key findings: ú Currently, the Internet is best used to build relationships, increase brand recognition and serve as a prospecting tool-- not as a source of an immediate increase in revenue. ú Commerce sites believe a significant Web presence will generate increased sales in retail. Of Web shoppers, 25 to 35 percent say they bought a product at retail based on information they obtained from the Internet. ú Online commerce currently holds the most promise for products and services requiring detailed explanation or satisfying the psychodemographics of a specific class of buyers. ú The Internet is still kin to its roots -- a communication medium. Consequently, most consumers use the Internet for browsing, entertainment and information retrieval. ú Consumers remain uneasy about trusting sensitive credit information to unknown commerce sites or transmitting credit information over unsecured networks. Softbank Takes Control of Kingston Softbank Corp. says it will make a majority investment in Kingston Technology Corp., the world's leading supplier of memory modules. Softbank will acquire an 80 percent equity interest in a newly formed partnership that will assume the business of Kingston. Kingston's co-founders will retain the remaining 20 percent equity interest in the new partnership. According to Softbank, the purchase price will be approximately $1.5 billion plus earnings-related performance payments for 1996 and 1997. The investment will be paid for in cash and $425 million of newly-issued shares of Softbank common stock, amounting to slightly less than 5 percent of Softbank's outstanding shares. Kingston will operate as an autonomous member of the Softbank group of companies. Kingston c-founders John Tu and David Sun will continue to manage the company, retaining all of its current management, its current personnel and its operating philosophies, says Softbank. "Softbank is committed to providing essential infrastructure services through a network of key 'building block' companies that provide the growth tools needed by the evolving digital information industry," says Masayoshi Son, president and CEO of Softbank. "Memory is essential to achieving software and hardware productivity and performance. With the ever-expanding memory needs of today's PCs, workstations and other digital appliances, the memory market opportunity is enormous. Kingston's leadership position -- combined with its grasp of logistics management, marketing, and design -- allows it to fill a critical market need." Softbank has been expanding rapidly in recent month. The Tokyo-based company made headlines last year when it acquired Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., publisher of PC Magazine, PC/Computing and several other major computer publications. Excite Inc. Buys Web Designer For undisclosed terms, developers of the Excite search service on the Internet's World Wide Web have purchased Go Media, a Web design firm based in Austin, Texas. Reporting from Mountain View, California, Richard Bowers writes for the Newsbytes news wire that Excite says all management and staff of Go Media will be retained, and the operations will remain in Texas. This is the second major acquisition for Excite recently. Earlier this month, it bought the McKinley Group, developer of the Magellan Internet Guide. Bowers writes that Go Media "will be working on internal Excite projects and they have stopped work on outside projects." Go Media has developed Web sites for Whole Foods Markets, the City of Austin, Del Webb Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. Chip Maker Sets Layoffs National Semiconductor Corp. is reducing its work force by 170 people, primarily at its Santa Clara, Ca., headquarters. The chip maker announced in June it would takea restructuring charge in the current quarter, partly to cover the costs of work-force reductions. "These reductions are in line with several ongoing activities to reduce costs," says Dick Wilson, National Semiconductor's vice president of human resources. Wilson also attributed a portion of the current reduction to centralization of manufacturing and consolidation of other activities, which had also been announced in June. The work-force reductions in Santa Clara are mainly in general, administrative and manufacturing support areas. "Today's action will strengthen our competitive position," adds Wilson, "as we move in the direction of providing highly integrated, leading edge systems for information highway products, exploiting our analog and mixed-signal expertise." National Semiconductor says employees affected by the reduction are being paid for 60 days and provided with outplacement services and severance packages (including benefits coverage) based on company service. National Semiconductor has 20,000 employees worldwide. In fiscal 1996, the company reported sales of $2.6 billion. Intel Admits CPU Delayed Delays and supply shortages for some of its 200MHz chips are hampering chipmaker Intel Corp. as it grapples with an unprecedented large demand for high-end microprocessors. Writing for PC Magazine Trends Online, Sebastian Rupley says Intel has confirmed "an August/September supply shortage of 200-MHz Pentium chips, which system manufacturers cite as causing 15- to 30-day waits for 200-MHz Pentium systems." Rupley says Intel also has decided "to delay its P55C chip -- the first Pentium CPU to incorporate the MMX instruction set and multimedia extensions -- until the first quarter of 1997." (Originally, Intel planned to make the P55C available in the fourth quarter of 1996.) Intel's Frank Spindler, marketing manager for Pentium processors, told the news wire, "If you compare the rate at which buyers are moving toward the very high end of the Pentium generation to the same move in demand toward the high end of, say, the 486 generation, things are happening much faster now." He notes, however, that demand for 166-MHz CPUs is not trailing off -- it is, in fact, growing. Rupley adds the delay in the P55C's shipment will mean the chip misses the holiday buying season. "Intel has plans to follow the P55C with the introduction of a low-cost version of the Pentium Pro chip for the consumer market," he reports. "Code-named Klamath, the chip will incorporate the MMX multimedia extensions and instruction set and run at speeds of up to 233 MHz." Robotics Denies Price Cuts Despite rumors to the contrary, modem industry leader U.S. Robotics Corp says it has not announced any plans to reduce prices further on its modems. A spokeswoman in the company headquarters near Chicago has told the Reuter News Service the company cut prices this summer, but as a normal course of business, adding U.S. Robotics also has not changed its outlook for the growth in its business. "Nothing has changed," she told Reuters. "We see good growth for the short and long term." Reuters notes rumors circulated the modem maker would cut prices on its remote access product line, but analysts said the talk was unsubstantiated. Southcoast Capital analyst James McIlree told the wire service it dates back to a discount program offered in April to small Internet service providers. Meanwhile, investors have been jittery over another unsubstantiated rumor that Motorola Inc. may plan to exit the modem business, "which in the short term would mean a surge of price cuts but later would mean one less competitor," Reuters said, adding Motorola emphatically denies the report. CD-ROM Shipments Projected at 54M New research suggests that in just four years, worldwide CD-ROM shipments have increased from 2.5 million drives in 1992 to an estimated 54.5 million drives this year. A study of optical disk drives by Disk/Trend Report Inc. in Mountain View, California, also says: ú Read-only CD-ROM drives are expected to provide 94.6 percent of all optical disk drive shipments in 1996. ú Writable CD format drives, such as CD-R write-once models, plus PD drives that can use either CD-ROM read-only disks or rewritable disks, will add another 3.6 percent to the worldwide total of 57.6 million optical disk drives of all types. ú Shipments of CD format drives for computer applications are projected to be dominated by CD-ROM drives through 1999. "Although shipments of the new DVD-ROM drives offering much higher capacities combined wih backward compatibility for current CD-ROM disks are expected to start at the end of 1996," says a statement from the researchers, "DVD-ROM drive shipments are not expected to pass up CD-ROM drive annual shipments until after 1999." Disk/Trend added the delay will be caused by the time required to establish large-scale DVD-ROM drive manufacturing, will "bring DVD-ROM prices down to levels competitive with CD-ROM drives." Netscape-Microsoft Fight Widens Broadening its anti-trust allegations against its rival, Netscape Communications Corp. now alleges Microsoft Corp. offered improper payments and other inducements to persuade PC makers and Net service providers to use Microsoft's World Wide Web software. The Mountain View, California, Web browser king is asking the U.S. Justice Department to determine whether Microsoft's Web marketing tactics violate a 1994 antitrust settlement with the government. Writing in The Wall Street Journal this morning, reporter Don Clark says Netscape's allegations are contained in an Aug. 12 letter to the Justice Department released yesterday by a Netscape lawyer. For its part, Microsoft "flatly denied the charges," Clark reports, "branding them a desperate response by Netscape to counter Microsoft's momentum in the marketplace." Microsoft Vice President Brad Chase added, "They are trying to divert attention from their products with a PR stunt." Of course, the Justice Department isn't commenting, but the Journal notes, "Even if true, some antitrust attorneys questioned whether Microsoft's alleged tactics would be regarded by courts as anticompetitive." Still, Netscape's allegations "significantly escalate tensions" between the two, "and," says Clark, "raise the odds that the agency will expand a long-running investigation of Microsoft to include Web software." As everyone breathing on the Net knows, Netscape and Microsoft are locked in a fierce battle of competing Web browser programs. As reported earlier, Netscape previous complained to the Justice Department about what it said was Microsoft's attempt to place limits on the number of Microsoft Windows NT Workstation software for competing Web server programs. In the latest letter, Netscape lawyer Gary Reback of Palo Alto, California, alleges Microsoft is using "clandestine" incentives and penalties to convince PC makers to use Microsoft's free Internet Explorer browser, and to make Netscape's Navigator program less accessible to users. He sys PC makers trying to display the two companies' browsers equally have been told by Microsoft that they must pay $3 more for a copy of Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system than those that give favorable treatment to Microsoft's software. "Most weren't named," says the Journal, "but the letter says Hitachi Ltd. has refused to bundle Netscape Navigator with a laptop computer because its operating system license with Microsoft prohibits it. A spokesman for that company's U.S. subsidiary declined to comment until it had consulted with legal counsel in Japan." Reback alleges Microsoft has offered some companies free hardware, free advertising and free software, adding that some international services have been offered as much as $400,000 in marketing funds on condition that they won't sell Netscape or other competing Internet software. But at Microsoft, Chase denied any of its marketing agreements discriminate against Netscape. He told the paper Netscape has been manipulating Internet standards processes to hurt Microsoft and other competitors. Microsoft Apologizes to So. Korea South Korea has received an apology from Microsoft Corp. because the software giant erroneously drew the Korea-Japan border around a set of disputed islets in its CD-ROM world atlas. The Associated Press notes Microsoft's Encarta 96 World Atlas, which was put on the market late last year, identified the islets and the nearby South Korean island of Ullung as part of Japanese territories, triggering ire among some Korean customers. Reporting from Seoul, AP quotes a company statement as saying, "Microsoft sincerely apologizes for the inaccurate labeling of Korean territory," adding it will correct the mistake in its next version of the electronic atlas, which will come onto the market in October. Microsoft said the islets -- called "Tok-do" in Korea and "Takeshima" in Japan -- will be designated as a disputed territory under the effective control of South Korea. "The Encarta atlas also identified a crater lake atop Mt. Paektu on the China-North Korea border as Chinese territory," AP says. "Korean mythology holds the lake as a sacred place, and many Koreans consider it part of their territory. Microsoft said it is checking documents to see if it has made a mistake." Student Named in Egyptian Fraud A 20-year-old engineering student in Egypt's port city of Alexandria has been charged with using his PC to forge 2 million Egyptian pounds, the equivalent of $588,000. Reporting from Cairo, the Xinhua Chinese news service says Mohammed Moustafa Abdul Moneim told police he had a high-powered portable computer and decided to use his computer skills to forge bank notes. The wire service quotes the English-language newspaper The Egyptian Gazette as saying the man allegedly printed the bank notes in collaboration with his brother, Ahmed, and a friend named Adel M. Ali. "When I bought some items with the fake note, the shop owner thanked me for giving him a brand new note, and his compliment encouraged me to print more and more of this 'fine print,'" he told the paper. The police arrested them after an informer overheard Adel talking in a coffee shop about "a fake money deal," the paper reported. U.S. Soldier Accused of Spying A soldier at North Carolina's Fort Bragg is accused of intruding into a military's computer system and giving "secret computer passwords relating to the national defense" to a Chinese citizen. Twenty-year-old Pfc. Eric O. Jenott, a communication switch operator from Seattle, has been jailed at Camp Lejeune since June 26, charged with espionage, damaging military property, larceny and breaking into government computer systems, according to Army documents quoted today by the Fayetteville Observer-Times. The paper adds Jenott could be sentenced to life in a military prison if he is convicted in a court-martial. Jenott lawyer Timothy Dunn said his client is "not a criminal, just a computer hacker who happened to access a very important and expensive, supposedly impenetrable system." In Graham, Washington, Jenott's father, John Jenott, told United Press International his son discovered an apparent weakness in the military's communications system several months ago, and persuaded his superiors to watch him break into the system to prove a point, adding, "If he would have never told them, they wouldn't have known it." The father said Jenott, a member of Fort Bragg's 35th Signal Brigade, also told investigators he gave a friend from China an Internet access code that is not classified. The paper quotes the Army documents as saying Jenott gave secret passwords to "a citizen of a foreign nation." Fort Bragg officials declined comment except to say the case is under investigation. Jenott's father said his son was surprised when he was arrested and accused of compromising the commuications system by accessing it. "He said, 'I'd rather face the death penalty than confess to something I didn't do,'" Jenott's father said. Prosecutors have decided not to pursue the death penalty, the newspaper said. A military court is scheduled to decide next month whether Jenott must continue living behind bars. Poulsen Free, But Job Hopes Dim Famed computer intruder Kevin Lee Poulsen, imprisoned five years for his cyberspace havoc, now is free, but his job prospects are dim because he is under a court order to stay away from computers for the next three years. In Los Angeles, the 30-year-old computerist has told The Associated Press he fears selling cowboy boots at a Western store will be his only opportunity to make some money. Said Poulsen, "It's the only place where I've been greeted with a positive attitude. I can't get a job that I am qualified for, basically. The only thing I am qualified to do is computer stuff. Computer programming. Computer administration." AP notes Poulsen was so adept at manipulating Pacific Bell computers he was able "to spy on FBI agents while they spied on crooks." As reported, before his 1991 arrest, he won a Porsche by using computers to rig radio station phone-in contests. "But now he's in a computer-less world," says the wire service. "He's even had to ask his probation officer for permission to drive because most cars these days contain tiny on-board computers that regulate the engine. His parents had to get rid of their computer before he could live with them in suburban North Hollywood." But he is hopeful he can talk the judge into some leniency. He goes to federal court Sept. 3 in hopes of having some of the computer restrictions relaxed. His motion says, "All of these restrictions reach well beyond public safety concerns and are clearly punitive." Assistant U.S. Attorney David Schindler disagrees, telling AP, "Given the havoc he wrought with computers, absolutely it would be irresponsible to allow him to have untethered access to computers at this juncture." Poulsen also will ask the judge to allow him to go to college and major in computer science rather than work full time to make restitution to the three Los Angeles radio stations that lost more than $20,000. Said Poulsen, "They were giving it away anyway." That comment angered the radio station managers. "Hearing that upsets me," KPWR general manager Marie Kordus told AP. "He has that attitude after five years? Is this how he is going to continue to make his living?" Browser Wars Rage On STR Focus Lawyers Doubt Netscape Charges Will Pass Muster WASHINGTON, Aug 21 - Antitrust lawyers doubt the Justice Department will decide Microsoft Corp has acted improperly, based on charges leveled against the company by rival Netscape Communications Corp . Netscape has asked the department to take immediate action against Microsoft for "far-reaching anti-competitive behavior" involving the market for software used to browse the World Wide Web portion of the Internet. In an eight-page letter, Netscape charged that Microsoft offered improper payments and various inducements to computer makers and Internet service providers to entice them to use Microsoft's browser software. Lawyers questioned whether the tactics described were unlawful and noted that in the market for browser software, Netscape is the dominant player and not Microsoft. "It's a bit of a stretch to call what Microsoft is described as doing a violation of the consent decree or a violation of antitrust laws," said Robert Skitol of Drinker Biddle & Reath. In 1995, a federal judge approved the Justice Department's antitrust settlement with Microsoft, under which the computer software maker agreed to modify its licensing practices. Much of the investigation centered on how Microsoft achieved dominance in the market for operating system software. By contrast, Skitol noted that in the latest dispute Netscape has a commanding lead in the growing browser market, with a share estimated at more than 80 percent. "In the browser category, Netscape is the elephant and Microsoft is the mouse," he said. Netscape said Microsoft's inducements were made on the condition that the parties involved would "make competitors' browsers far less accessible to users than Microsoft's own browsers." "Absent some abuse of market power, it's hard to see how this is unlawful," said Phillip Proger of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue. "If all Microsoft is doing is giving consumers higher value and competing on a value basis, then it's hard to say that's unlawful," he added. Meanwhile, lawyers doubted that the Justice Department would follow Netscape's suggestion and turn the issue back to the Federal Trade Commission for further investigation. They suggested that the department will want to retain the case. A Justice Department spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the matter. Microsoft Responds to Netscape Letter to Justice Department August 22, 1996 STATEMENT It will come as no surprise that Microsoft is competing intensely with Netscape and many others in the development and marketing of Internet-related technologies. Coming from behind, we are devoting substantial resources to developing a wide range of innovative technologies that are cross-platform and based on open Internet standards. By working with many partners and customers and delivering superior products to the marketplace, Microsoft hopes to bring tens or even hundreds of millions of new computer users onto the Internet and contribute to making the Web much richer, more dynamic and more useful. We believe we took a great step forward with the August 12 release of Internet Explorer 3.0, our full-featured Web browser, which has received an enthusiastic consumer response (more than 1,000,000 people downloaded Internet Explorer 3.0 in the first week that it was available) and has won very favorable reviews in head-to-head comparisons with Netscape Navigator. Netscape's August 12 letter to the Department of Justice--and its decision to release the supposedly "confidential" letter to the media earlier this week - is a transparent attempt to divert attention from our progress. The letter is a calculated attempt by Netscape to enlist the government and the media in its marketing campaigns. Netscape's letter consists of a series of wild and irresponsible allegations that have no basis in law or fact. The gist of the letter - that Microsoft is seeking to "restrict consumer choice" in Web browsers - is bizarre in light of Netscape's oft-repeated claims that its browser, Netscape Navigator, is used by approximately 85% of all computer users accessing the World Wide Web and is one of the most successful software products of all time. Navigator is certainly very "accessible" to consumers: Netscape trumpets the claim that every day another 150,000 copies of Navigator are downloaded from its Web site. Microsoft's progress is the result of hard work, product improvement, mutually beneficial partnerships, and creative marketing. The vigorous competition between Netscape and Microsoft has led to the availability of better browsers, attractive promotions for consumers and improvements in the Web experience at a dizzying pace - with no let up in sight. But now Netscape is seeking government aid to protect it from the competitive challenge that Microsoft poses to its position in Web browsers. That is exactly the opposite of what the antitrust laws are all about. As shown below, the allegations contained in Netscape's letter are without merit. Microsoft adheres strictly to all legal requirements, including those in the 1994 consent decree. BROWSER DISTRIBUTION THROUGH PC MANUFACTURERS Netscape claims that Microsoft offers OEMs a $3.00 discount on Windows 95 if the OEM agrees to make competing browsers "far less accessible to users." This is false. OEMs who license Windows 95 for installation on new PCs are entirely free to ship any other software they like on those machines, without any effect on their Windows 95 royalties to Microsoft. There is not and has never been any $3.00 discount for making competing browsers "less accessible." OEMs are free to place icons for other software products on the Windows 95 "desktop" or on the Windows 95 programs menu, where they will be easily accessible to computer users. Also false is Netscape's claim that some PC makers are prohibited from carrying Netscape Navigator under their license agreements with Microsoft. Hitachi has publicly denied Netscape's allegations concerning the company. Hitachi has explained that it has never "refused" to ship Navigator or any other software product due to any provision in a Microsoft license and that Hitachi is always free to choose the best software available to meets its vision for computer users. Hitachi has confirmed that, in fact, it ships both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer with its notebook computers today. BROWSER DISTRIBUTION THROUGH INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS Microsoft is working hard to compete with Netscape in the distribution of Web browser software through Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Although Netscape still has a significant lead, we are making progress because of the widely- recognized quality of Internet Explorer 3.0, the improvement in our Macintosh and Windows 3.1 browser offerings, the development path we have set out for future versions of Internet Explorer and related Internet technologies, and our flexibility and willingness to enter into business arrangements with ISPs on more favorable terms than those offered by Netscape. Netscape complains that Microsoft is offering ISPs leads for potential new customers in exchange for agreements by those ISPs to distribute Internet Explorer to many of the customers who sign up ISP service as a result of the Microsoft-provided lead. That is a strange allegation because (a) such cooperative marketing is perfectly sensible and legal, and (b) Netscape is doing it too. To make it easy for computer users to get hooked up to the Internet, Windows 95 will soon include a feature that offers computer users the opportunity to sign up with various ISPs who service their geographic area. The ISP will pay Microsoft a small fee for each customer who signs up for Internet service via this arrangement. Although the terms of the agreement vary, the ISP generally also agrees to distribute Microsoft's Internet Explorer as its preferred browser to customers who come to it through the Microsoft connection. In other words, if Microsoft helps an ISP secure a customer, the ISP will generally do likewise for Microsoft. Significantly, however, these agreements do not obligate ISPs to distribute Internet Explorer exclusively (although we know that many ISPs currently ship Netscape Navigator exclusively). Thus Netscape's claim that Microsoft has offered ISPs "side payments" "on condition that they will not sell any Netscape or other Internet software" is false. ISPs may distribute competing Web browsers, such as Netscape Navigator, even to customers who sign up with them as a result of leads provided by Microsoft. Furthermore, these customers can very easily switch to different browsers at any time, and switch again as often as they like. Netscape Navigator is very easy to find and download on the Web: literally tens of thousands of Web sites contain advertising that solicits consumers to download Netscape Navigator. Microsoft knows well that distribution over the Internet is a very effective means of distributing browsers: as noted, more than 1,000,000 people downloaded Internet Explorer in the first week that it was available on the Web. Consumers will choose and use the browser--or browsers--that best serve their needs. Netscape's complaints about Microsoft's arrangements with ISPs are not only unfounded (because there is nothing wrong with such arrangements), they are also hypocritical: Netscape itself has entered into the same types of arrangements with ISPs. Netscape offers ISPs a chance to obtain customer leads through the retail version of Netscape Navigator in exchange for payments to Netscape (we believe) and promises to ship Netscape Navigator as the ISPs' preferred browser. In fact, we believe that Netscape has recently started to insist that ISPs who distribute Navigator pay financial penalties to Netscape if the ISP later decides to ship Microsoft's Internet Explorer as well. There are literally thousands of ISPs in the world. Microsoft and Netscape are vigorously competing now to enter into agreements with these ISPs to promote their businesses. This is exactly what competitors like Microsoft and Netscape are supposed to be doing under the antitrust laws - to the obvious benefit of consumers. Indeed, many ISPs have told Microsoft that Netscape has begun to offer better terms since Microsoft began offering its browser to ISPs. In any event, the ISP channel is only one of many channels for distributing browsers so there are many opportunities to distribute browser software to consumers without using the ISP channel at all. Certainly Netscape does not lack vehicles to promote its products - with 85 million hits per day, Netscape claims that its Web site is the most widely visited in the world. WINDOWS NT SERVER AND WINDOWS NT WORKSTATION LICENSING For customers seeking an operating systems on which to run server software, Microsoft offers Windows NT Server, which is designed and tested for use as a server platform. For customers seeking an interactive workstation operating system that will also support limited peer services (such as file and print sharing and peer Web services), Microsoft offers Windows NT Workstation with these capabilities under a limited use license at a lower price point. Netscape's apparent suggestion that Microsoft should not be able to offer different versions of its products intended for different uses under different licenses and at different prices is unheard of - this is standard practice in the software industry and intellectual property licensing generally. For example, Netscape's license for Navigator does not permit any concurrent use of that product even though the software easily could be used concurrently. And the Navigator license provides that Navigator may be used on a network only if the user pays for each licensed connection, even though unlimited connections are technically possible. Similarly, Netscape's license for LiveWire Pro (its Web site management and applications development product) permits only 32 connections to the Developer Database when it is incorporated into a software developer's application, even though the Developer Database could easily support more than 32 connections. WEB SERVER APIS IN WINDOWS NT SERVER Microsoft has not used "secret" APIs in Windows NT Server, and Netscape knows it. Netscape is apparently referring to the AcceptEx API, a matter which was discussed in recent correspondence between Netscape and Microsoft. As shown in Microsoft's reply to Netscape (email dated August 15 from Microsoft's Paul Maritz to Rick Schell of Netscape), Netscape is mistaken as to the timing of the development of the AcceptEx API. The AcceptEx functionality was created by developers at Microsoft working on our Web server technology, Internet Information Server in the late summer of 1995. The technology was not sufficiently developed in time to be utilized in the first beta release of Internet Information Server (IIS), which occurred on August 28, 1995. Following this beta release, the IIS developers decided that it would be a good idea to implement the AcceptEx functionality as an API in Windows NT Server API that all software vendors could take advantage of. This was done in the fall of 1995, and fully documented publicly in the very next release of Windows NT Server, which was Service Pack 3.0, released on December 5, 1995. A representative of Microsoft telephoned Marc Andreeseen personally to advise him of new functionality in Service Pack 3.0 that Netscape might want to utilize, and Microsoft delivered Service Pack 3.0 to Netscape by overnight courier. (Microsoft's IIS first implemented the AcceptEx functionality in its second beta release, which occurred on November 15--just three weeks before the functionality was publicly documented.) Therefore, it is not true that Microsoft's IIS developers were "given" these APIs "months" before the rest of the industry. Rather, the IIS team at Microsoft were the developers of these APIs and, upon development, they promptly shared them with the entire industry. Microsoft develops and documents APIs for its operating systems products to make those products more attractive to software vendors as platforms for applications development---not because of any legal considerations. Antitrust rules do not require companies to share technology with their competitors (and we note that Netscape has refused to provide much basic information about Navigator that would enable other software vendors to build Netscape- compatible Internet products). Microsoft's understanding of its own operating systems products and how new technologies can work with those products is not "unfair," just as it is not unfair for Netscape to best understand Netscape Navigator (which it bills as a platform for applications development) and how new technologies can run on top of Navigator. While Microsoft believes that Windows NT Server is the best operating system for hosting a Web server, most Web servers today run on UNIX or other operating systems. If Microsoft does not adequately develop and document APIs for Web server use in Windows NT Server, Web server developers and customers will turn elsewhere for their operating systems needs. PRICING AND PRODUCT IMPROVEMENTS Microsoft's free distribution of Internet Explorer is not in any way "predatory." It is remarkable that Netscape could suggest such a thing since Netscape pioneered the strategy of free browser distribution and used that strategy to obtain its current wide lead in the marketplace. (In fact, Netscape admitted recently that half of all Navigator users have not paid for it.) Microsoft is just trying to compete by employing the same strategy. But there is one difference: Netscape offered its browser free to all only until it achieved a huge lead in browser usage; then it began to charge many customers for the product. Microsoft has made clear that Internet Explorer will be free forever. Netscape's suggestion that Microsoft is somehow violating the antitrust laws by building new features and functionality (such as Internet Explorer and Internet Information Server) into its operating systems is preposterous. Competitors are supposed to innovate. They are supposed to build better products with increased features and functionality. They are supposed to seek to deliver more value to customers at ever decreasing prices. That is what Microsoft is doing by tightly integrating a wide range of innovative new technologies into its operating systems to make them better platforms for computing on the Internet. We believe that everyone should be computing on the Internet and computer operating systems should provide the software people need (like a TCP/IP stack and browser technology) to make the Internet easy to use. Netscape is also rapidly adding new features and functionality to its products--bundling into Navigator, for example, a host of technologies that other software vendors offer separately or might otherwise like to offer separately (such as a mail client, an Internet newsgroup reader, and Internet phone and conferencing capabilities). Similarly, although Netscape complains that Microsoft is bundling tools for the Internet into other Microsoft products, Netscape is doing precisely the same thing: Netscape has bundled Web page creation and editing capabilities into Navigator and called it "Navigator Gold," and it has bundled its LiveWire product into its principal Web server products, Enterprise Server and FastTrack. There is nothing anticompetitive about new features and functionality offered by Microsoft or Netscape: this is competition at work and it plainly benefits consumers. Netscape has stated publicly many times that it is developing Navigator into much more than a mere browser. Netscape is positioning Navigator as a platform for Internet development that will compete head-on with Windows and other operating systems. Yet Netscape apparently believes that Microsoft should be required to freeze development of its operating systems and stand by idly while Netscape develops and brings to market new technologies for the Internet in its Navigator "platform." That is not going to happen and it certainly is not what customers want. The intense competition in the burgeoning Internet software business has greatly benefited consumers and the entire software industry. Microsoft intends to focus on developing great software and widely licensing it to consumers. Netscape would do well to do the same rather than devoting resources to spreading false information about one of its primary competitors. MICROSOFT CORPORATION E-Mail from Microsoft to Netscape The following e-mail from Paul Maritz, Microsoft's Group Vice President for Platforms, and Rick Schell, Netscape's Vice President for Product Development, communicates how Netscape has not been providing the support to ISVs (and Microsoft in particular) that is needed to enable non-Netscape software products to work well with Netscape products, particularly Netscape Navigator. From: Paul Maritz Sent: Thursday, August 15, 1996 6:44 AM To: 'rick@netscape.com' Subject: reply to your concerns re information from Microsoft Rick, I am sending this mail in response to your July 18 email about Microsoft's support for Netscape with regard to our systems products. I will address the examples you cited as instances where you believe Netscape received inadequate attention from Microsoft. I think in each case we provided a lot of help. This included giving Netscape direct access to Windows 95 developers (whose job responsibilities do not include supporting ISVs) during the summer of 1995 when they were extremely busy preparing for the commercial release of that product. ú We provided the RNA phone book and dialer APIs to Netscape just as fast as we could stabilize and document them. Your statement that Microsoft did not provide these APIs until October 1995 is incorrect - we provided preliminary versions in July and August 1995, as we were creating them. We also provided Netscape with access to alpha and beta code and the RNAPH.dll. ú Our Windows 95 developers provided direct technical support to Netscape in July and August 1995 to help Netscape use the RNA adaptor and TCP\IP stack, and our Premier Support group helped with configuring dial up networking. We received positive feedback in mail from Netscape at that time on the support we were providing. ú I don't understand your comment that Microsoft supposedly told Netscape that it "would need" to implement Internet Shortcuts in Navigator. Internet Shortcuts, like many other features of Windows, is technology that Microsoft has made available to ISVs to take advantage of or not as they please. Your statement that we failed to provide Internet Shortcut documentation is just plain wrong. Internet Shortcuts are fully documented. In addition, to assist Netscape further we gave Netscape a prototype .dll in late March or early April 1995 and asked for feedback. Marc Andreessen thanked us in mail and said he'd look at it. We received no further feedback on Internet Shortcuts until June 1995, even though we had repeated our request for feedback from Netscape in late April and Marc had again indicated that he would follow up. In June Netscape began following up on Internet Shortcuts, and direct technical exchanges between Netscape and Windows 95 developers followed. ú Your claim regarding the Windows NT 3.51 Service Pack 3.0 and the AcceptEx API is incorrect. We released Service Pack 3.0 to manufacturing on December 1, 1995, releasing it commercially a few days later - not in September 1995, as your mail says. Netscape was among the first to receive a copy: on December 5, 1995 Microsoft sent Service Pack 3.0 directly to Marc Andreessen via overnight delivery. J Allard of Microsoft telephoned Andreessen personally to advise him that there were updates to Windows Sockets that Netscape might want to utilize. As for the AcceptEx API, your statement that the initial beta release of Microsoft's Internet Information Server took advantage of it is also incorrect. The first beta release of IIS, which was on August 28, 1995, did not take advantage of the AcceptEx functionality. (AcceptEx functionality had just been developed within the preceding few weeks; it had serious bugs, caused crashes, and was untested.) IIS was redesigned to utilize AcceptEx functionality for its next beta release, which was on November 15. Therefore your claim that Microsoft's developers were not required to undertake redesign work to make use of the AcceptEx API is wrong. The IIS developers thought it would be a good idea to make the AcceptEx functionality a feature of Windows NT Server of which all Web servers could take advantage. We did so, and the AcceptEx API appeared in the very next service pack release of Windows NT Server, that being the December release Netscape received just three weeks after the second beta release of IIS. ú I am pleased that you see the benefits of fibers in Windows NT Service Pack 3.0. We do, too, but you should know IIS does not make use of fibers. ú Finally, I would like to note that you had access to the beta releases of the recent major release of Windows NT 4.0 long before that product was released. Microsoft has a clear track record in supporting the ISV community. We recognized a long time ago that ISV support is critical to the success of our company, and we have built the best ISV support organization in the world for that reason. Netscape, like many other companies, has benefited greatly from that support. I found it ironic that you would send mail like this because we believe that Netscape has not been doing a very good job of providing the support to ISVs (and Microsoft in particular) that is needed to enable non-Netscape software products to work well with Netscape products, particularly Netscape Navigator. Indeed, Netscape is not living up to its many public pronouncements that it would provide support to enable products from other vendors to interoperate with Netscape products (and vice versa). There are many legitimate business strategies along the spectrum from very "proprietary" to very "open" that a software vendor may choose (and, of course, there are many definitions of "open"). I have no doubt that Netscape will pursue whatever strategy it believes is in the best interest of the company and its customers, as it should. But Netscape appears to be announcing one strategy and pursuing another that is diametrically opposite. There are at least eight areas in which Netscape's actions flatly contradict its claims of "openness" and support for ISVs that wish to build Netscape- compatible Internet products. 1.Netscape Web Site. We find this hard to believe, but it's true: the Netscape web site deliberately searches out and excludes non-Netscape browsers from significant parts of the site. It also looks for and excludes browsers that use JavaScript-compatible scripting languages, such as JScript in Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Your site does not provide a work-around or any choice for the user even if the user believes that JScript would work just fine on the site; the user is stuck because of the deliberate lock-out. Some areas of the Netscape site display a message (to users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer and other browsers) saying, "Sorry, this demo does not work for your version of Navigator." Other areas navigate users to a page that says, "Sorry, you need JavaScript," followed by information on how to download Netscape Navigator. Netscape has a history of blocking non-Netscape browsers from accessing its Web site. Last fall, you may recall, Netscape locked out Internet Explorer and other browsers from its online "general store." Searching for and locking out non-Netscape browsers is not a very "open" thing to do, under any definition. Netscape's actions contradict its own statements on openness, such as this one from your web site: "Netscape was founded on the philosophy that open standards benefit customers by ensuring superior technology and vendor interoperability. Netscape is committed to continuing to deliver all of its products based on open standards. WHAT IS OPEN? Open standards are defined as published specifications that enable multiple vendors to create independent implementations of a given technology. These implementations must interoperate on heterogeneous computing platforms. Open standards-based products respond to a real user need for interoperability and ensure that users have a choice of products from independent vendors. (the emphasis is mine) Despite your public statement, users don't have a choice of browser if they want to use the popular Netscape web site, even though other browsers would work fine (or at least as well as JavaScript, which we have noticed returns various errors on the Netscape site). We believe Netscape should eliminate the deliberate lock-out of non-Netscape browsers on its site. 2.JavaScript. Since December 1995 Netscape has been stating publicly that JavaScript is "an open Internet scripting language" that would be proposed as a standard to the IETF and W3C, licensed to anyone, and supported with published specifications and a published source code reference implementation. (December 4, 1995 press release) Marc Andreessen said in the March 4, 1996 issue of LAN Times that Netscape "went out and got support for [JavaScript] from Sun and 30 or 35 companies, publishing the specification and providing the source code." On another occasion Marc said "We fully publish all the information anyone needs to reproduce everything we do." (Windows Watcher, March 1996) Notwithstanding these statements, JavaScript has not been submitted to either the IETF or W3C. There is no reference source code. As far as we know, no licenses are available. And the JavaScript documentation is terribly incomplete and almost always out of date. There are no interfaces to other popular languages like C++ or Visual Basic. Nevertheless, to promote interoperability on the Internet, Microsoft has built a JavaScript-compatible scripting language, called JScript. Netscape has said publicly many times that it invites development of "clones" of its software products, yet Netscape has provided no documentation to facilitate the development of JavaScript-compatible scripting languages, and, as I said above, Netscape even locks users out of the JavaScript portions of its Web site if they are running non-Netscape implementations of JavaScript, such as JScript. Netscape said that JavaScript would be "freely licensed . . . to the entire Internet community." (December 4 press release) We would like a JavaScript license. But if Netscape now intends to maintain JavaScript as a proprietary scripting language, it should simply say so, and we and the rest of the industry will pursue other means of achieving interoperability if interoperability is deemed desirable under those circumstances. 3.Script Language Hosting. Microsoft would like to offer VBScript as a Navigator plug-in. We have been unable to do so, however, because Netscape has not documented the interface between Navigator and JavaScript. The corresponding interface (ActiveX) is fully documented in Internet Explorer. Using ActiveX any software product can host VBScript, JScript, JavaScript or other scripting languages. 4.Plug in Hosting. The Navigator interface for hosting plug ins is insufficiently documented and changes from version to version of Navigator without notice. This makes it very hard to maintain compatibility for non- Netscape browsers. 5.Control Hosting. We would like to offer ActiveX controls as Navigator plug ins, but are unable to do so because the necessary interfaces are undocumented. These interfaces are fully documented in Internet Explorer. 6.HTML Standards. HTML is the most basic format on the Internet, and Netscape has said publicly many times that it will publish all HTML extensions and cooperate with the open standard setting process through W3C. But it has not. There have been many occasions where Netscape has ignored specifications adopted by W3C or even introduced competing HTML tags. Netscape's lack of support for the important W3C tag for inserting objects in Web pages, for W3C's evolving frames specifications, for W3C stylesheet and layout specifications and for PICS are just a few of the many examples. Netscape has consistently indicated in W3C meetings that it will not submit any proposed HTML extensions to W3C until after it has shipped implementations in Navigator, which largely defeats the purpose of open standard setting. By contrast, Microsoft has adopted the following policy: every significant enhancement to HTML that we propose will be submitted to W3C before being implemented in Internet Explorer, and shipping versions of Internet Explorer will implement final W3C specs. Netscape should make clear whether it intends to truly cooperate with the W3C HTML standard setting process or drive HTML extensions unilaterally. 7.Private Keys and Certificates. Netscape's implementation of private key and certificate storage, which should be an open standard if electronic commerce is to become viable on a large scale, is entirely proprietary. Netscape has repeatedly failed to respond to our requests that it publish the format of its key and certificate databases. Netscape does not allow access to its private key and certificate stores by any other application and there is no documented way for a user to transport a private key or certificate from one browser to another or from one machine to another. Since these keys and certificates will be the property of users and contain personal information, it is especially inappropriate that Netscape should attempt to prevent users from accessing personal information if they are not running Netscape software. Netscape should publish the format of its key and certificate databases so that Web software can freely and securely exchange private keys and certificates. Microsoft has already published an open specification draft called "Personal Information Exchange"(PFX) and has submitted it as a PKCS standard which includes a transfer syntax and a set of API's for multi-platform, multi- broswer exchange of this type of information. If Netscape chooses to implement PFX, you may find it convenient to use CryptoAPI 2.0, which Microsoft will be publishing on September 10. It contains security APIs that may be of interest to Netscape (GenerateKey, AcceptCredential, and GetCertsByIssuer). If you would like them sooner let me know. 8.LDAP. Netscape is planning to make extensions to the LDAP protocol. In the interests of openness and interoperability, we ask that Netscape disclose these and take these extensions in a timely manner into an appropriate forum (such as the IETF) where others can participate, and we can collectively ensure that a useful standard results. Netscape's actions, as described above, contradict the company's insistent claims that it invites third party development of software compatible with Netscape software and that its "market advantage doesn't come from building a proprietary interface that we don't tell other people about." (James Clark, Communications Week, Sep. 25, 1995) Netscape should either live up to its public pronouncements or, if it does not intend to document interfaces and so forth, simply say that. I understand that Netscape has requested a license to the Windows 95 dial up scripting engine. I would be pleased to talk to you about that. I would also like to discuss Netscape's refusal to allow more than a small handful of Microsoft developers to attend Netscape developer conferences (we put no limitation on Netscape attendance at our conferences), as well as Netscape's refusal to allow Microsoft to purchase a license your Commercial Applications Servers. We have been seeking to obtain a license for evaluation purposes through a VAR but have been told that Todd Rulon-Miller has instructed the VAR not to license us, even though the product is generally available in the marketplace. There are a lot of opportunities for our two companies to work together to make sure that our respective products work well together. Since we are competitors, however, working together can also lead to discord. We should work hard to minimize problems and get on with the business of building better Internet technologies. Regards, Paul Maritz Special Notice!! STR Infofile File format Requirements for Articles File Format for STReport All articles submitted to STReport for publication must be sent in the following format. Please use the format requested. Any files received that do not conform will not be used. The article must be in an importable word processor format for Word 7.0.. The margins are .05" left and 1.0" Monospaced fonts are not to be used. Please use proportional fonting only and at eleven points. ú No Indenting on any paragraphs!! ú No Indenting of any lines or "special gimmickery" ú No underlining! ú Columns shall be achieved through the use of tabs only. Or, column format in Word 6-7 Do NOT use the space bar. ú No ASCII "ART"!! ú There is no limits as to size, articles may be split into two if lengthy ú Actual Artwork should be in GIF, PCX, JPG, TIF, BMP, WMF file formats ú Artwork (pictures, graphs, charts, etc.)should be sent along with the article separately ú Please use a single font only in an article. TTF CG Times 12pt. is preferred. (VERY Strong Hint) If there are any questions please use either E-Mail or call. On another note. the ASCII version of STReport is fast approaching the "end of the line" As the major Online Services move away from ASCII.. So shall STReport. All in the name of progress and improved readability. The amount of reader mail expressing a preference for our Adobe PDF enhanced issue is running approximately 15 to 1 over the ASCII edition. Besides, STReport will not be caught in the old, worn out "downward compatibility dodge" we must move forward. However, if the ASCII readership remains as high, rest assured. ASCII will stay. Right now, since STReport is offered on a number of closed major corporate networks as "required" Monday Morning reading.. Our ascii readers have nothing to worry themselves about. Many grateful thanks in advance for your enthusiastic co-operation and input. Ralph F. Mariano, Editor STReport International Online Magazine EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed Edupage Contents Battle Of The Browsers Escalates NSF Bestows 13 Web Grants Justice's Web Site Is Infiltrated Softbank To Acquire Kingston Technology New Software Needed To Run New Chips Paying Parking Tickets Online EchoStar To Deliver Data, Too NC Will Change The PC, Not Replace It AT&T President Reaches Out To Get Wireless Job Sprint To Offer Internet Access Network Solutions Seeks Domain Dispute Solutions Deep Blue Ready For Chess Rematch With Kasparov Growing Pains On The Net Novell Does Intranets If You Liked Slate, You'll Love Stale NCR Server Is Pentium Powerhouse Wal-Mart On The Web Media Convergence Continues Windows NT Requires Pentium Chip For Optimal Performance Edupage In Greek Netscape Broadens Microsoft Conflict Gateway 2000's Destination - Retail Stores Java Gets A Jolt Calling From The Web Saving The Telesat Deal Franchising Hits The Net Gartner Online Internet Banking Service Where Wizards Stay Up Late BATTLE OF THE BROWSERS ESCALATES With the recent release of version 3.0 of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, the browser battle is heating up. Microsoft is sweetening its Internet Explorer deal with the addition of free access to some popular services that otherwise charge a fee, including the Wall Street Journal Web site, ESPN's sports site, and the InvestorsEdge.com financial advice site. In addition, the software giant has the advantage of bundling Internet Explorer with all new PCs shipped with Windows 95, a strategy that will net it 46 million potential users in 1996 alone. The next version of Windows, scheduled for sometime next year, will have the browser built in. Meanwhile, for the time being, Netscape still retains 85% of the market share, and about 30,000 Web sites offer Netscape Navigator as a downloadable option. But Netscape's director of technology has his sights set on higher goals: "People assume that this is the highest hill, but we're not making that mistake," he says. (The Economist 17 Aug 96) Netscape is offering its own deal-sweetener with Navigator 3.0 -- its Netscape Inbox Direct feature allows users to receive daily downloads of news from 26 content providers, including the New York Times and c-Net. (Investor's Business Daily 19 Aug 96 A1) NSF BESTOWS 13 WEB GRANTS The National Science Foundation has announced 13 grants of $350,000 each to U.S. universities for research projects aimed at developing technology to improve the Internet of the future. In addition to the cash, each school will have access to NSF's vBNS (very high speed Backbone Network Service). Types of projects funded include improvements in basic networking technology as well as creation of new multimedia applications based on high-speed networking. (Investor's Business Daily 16 Aug 96 A14) JUSTICE'S WEB SITE IS INFILTRATED The U.S. Justice Dept.'s Web site < http://www.usdoj.gov/ > took on a quite different look after crackers broke in this weekend and altered the page to include swastikas, obscene pictures and criticism of the Communications Decency Act. The site was shut down following the discovery Saturday morning; the department expects to reconstruct the page and have it running again by Monday, if not before. (St. Petersburg Times 18 Aug 96 A12) SOFTBANK TO ACQUIRE KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY Japan-based Softbank Corp., which has built an empire based on software distribution, trade shows, publishing and Internet media ventures, has announced its intention to buy 80% of Kingston Technology Corp., the world's largest maker of plug-in PC memory boards. While some industry analysts admitted they were mystified as to why Softbank would expand into a business area that's currently flat in growth and notorious for cyclical price swings, Softbank president and founder Masayoshi Son defended the $1.5- billion deal as a good business strategy: "Through this investment, we are spreading our risk so when the basket gets tipped, not every egg falls out and gets cracked." (Wall Street Journal 16 Aug 96 A3) NEW SOFTWARE NEEDED TO RUN NEW CHIPS As chipmakers strain to find new ways of packing even more power onto tiny wafers of silicon, an industry consultant notes that more transistors per chip is not all that's needed for improved performance. The real boost in speed will come from combining into a single chip functions that previously required several processors, such as memory and logic circuits. "As we push below 0.25 micron, the software tools available to design integrated circuits are not going to be able to keep up with the added complexity," says G. Dan Hutcheson. To avoid what it calls a "productivity gap," Sematech has signed a multimillion contract with Synopsys for an advanced design system that can handle circuits of 0.25 microns and smaller. (Scientific American Aug 96 p33) PAYING PARKING TICKETS ONLINE The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles has made paying speeding tickets and renewing automobile registrations much easier - now motorists with access to the Web can visit their site at < http://www.state.ma.us/rmv> to conduct business. Other services, such as ordering vanity license plates, will be available by fall. The state anticipates the move online will eventually allow it cut back on the $6 million annual DMV allocation. (Business Week 19 Aug 96 p6) ECHOSTAR TO DELIVER DATA, TOO EchoStar Communications has successfully completed a public test of the technology it will use in cooperation with Intel Corp. and Comstream to deliver data via satellite to subscribers. Transmission rates could be several megabits per second, says EchoStar's director of program management, who adds that the opportunity to download Web content at higher speeds is attractive to people hampered by slow phone lines. "If the download could be made quickly and it could be stashed on their hard drive, that might be something they'd be interested in," he says. In the recent test, subscribers who use EchoStar's system to receive video and audio content were given cards to install in their PCs, enabling them to receive data as well. (Broadcasting & Cable 12 Aug 96 p86) NC WILL CHANGE THE PC, NOT REPLACE IT High-tech industry observer George Gilder says the PC will win out over the TV as the dominant information source: "On the Net, the viewer gets his or her first choice of information, instead of the lowest common denominator." Gilder also sees the NC/PC controversy as a motivation to redesign the PC: "There's a huge opportunity for new devices on the network in schools, libraries, kiosks, homes and businesses. The NC won't displace the desktop, but it will deeply influence the PC." (Information Week 5 Aug 96 p12) AT&T PRESIDENT REACHES OUT TO GET WIRELESS JOB AT&T president Alex Mandl, who had been the presumptive heir to the company's top position when chief executive Robert Allen steps down in a few years, has resigned to become chairman of Associated Communications, a small company that offers wireless phone and data service. Industry analysts see Mandl's decision as an indication of just how much deregulation has changed the telecommunications business. (New York Times 20 Aug 96 C1) SPRINT TO OFFER INTERNET ACCESS Sprint Corp. is the latest entrant into the Internet service provider field, announcing plans to roll out its Sprint Internet Passport over the next few months. "I still don't understand what's taken them so long," says a director at Forrester Research Inc., noting that the company has been operating a major portion of the Internet backbone since 1992. Sprint's gradual approach is a cautious response to some of the mistakes it saw rival AT&T make in its WorldNet launch. "The reason we waited as long as we did is to assure that the service we delivered was the best in the business," says a Sprint executive. The company, which claims to carry as much as 60% of the data traffic to and from the U.S., is hoping to snag 20% of the market within a year. (Wall Street Journal 20 Aug 96 A3) NETWORK SOLUTIONS SEEKS DOMAIN DISPUTE SOLUTIONS Network Solutions Inc., which August 9 announced another round of revisions to its Domain Name Dispute Policy, is imposing additional requirements on the trademark holder who challenges a domain name registrant with trademark violation. The trademark registration must be identical to the domain name, and trademark holders must provide NSI a certified copy of its trademark registration, as well as a copy of a written otification addressed to the domain registrant of the trademark holder's prior claim. In an attempt to avoid being named in any more lawsuits, the new NSI policy implements an interpleader-like procedure, where NSI turns over control of any disputed domain name to the court and will carry out all court orders without being named a party to the suit. The new guidelines go into effect Sept. 9, and text of the revised policy can be found at < http://rs.internic.net >. (BNA Daily Report for Executives 19 Aug 96 A7) DEEP BLUE READY FOR CHESS REMATCH WITH KASPAROV The IBM computer "Deep Blue" that lost its six-game chess match with world champion Garry Kasparov will get a second chance with another six-game match- up May 3-10 in New York. Deep Blue has 32 parallel processors and can attain computational speeds that allow it to analyze 200 million moves a second. The Deep Blue project team is working to program more knowledge of chess into the computer and to develop new programming tools that the machine could use to help it adapt to an opponent's strategy between games. Project manager C.J. Tan says: "We're not conducting a scientific experiment any more. This time, we're just going to play chess." (New York Times 20 Aug 96 B1) GROWING PAINS ON THE NET The inadvertent shutdown of America Online a few weeks ago was only the beginning, say some industry observers, who predict that outages at overburdened Internet providers will become more common in the future. "Maybe for the first time in the history of the Internet, the demand is exceeding the supply that echnology can deliver," says the CEO of Advanced Network & Services. Because flat-rate pricing is the dominant Internet service provider business model, there is no financial incentive to conserve the resource, warns the executive VP of Nynex Science & Technology. He predicts that the Internet eventually will collapse under its own weight, but will reemerge with "a lot more tollbooths on that highway than there are now." (Business Week 26 Aug 96 p62) NOVELL DOES INTRANETS Novell Inc. has joined the intranet gold rush, unveiling a collection of programs designed to run on corporate networks. IntranetWare, as the package is called, includes a new version of Novell's network operating system, a program that routes messages among networks, a new version of its Web server program, and two programs for creating and managing Web sites. The new product will be available November 1. Industry observers say Novell faces an uphill battle in its fight for intranet market share, with Netscape and Microsoft already claiming dominance, but one analyst at International Data Corp. notes the company has a vast arsenal of independent distributors and resellers that will use its product to set up intranets for client companies that an't do it themselves. "This isn't revolutionary or earth- shattering, but it's absolutely necessary for Novell to maintain any credibility at medium and small-size customers." (Wall Street Journal 20 Aug 96 B4) IF YOU LIKED SLATE, YOU'LL LOVE STALE Just six weeks after Microsoft launched its online magazine Slate, some New York writers have developed a parody called Stale. Stale writers Daniel Radosh and Michael Tritter feel their alternative should serve to take Microsoft down a notch from its proclaimed pinnacle of Web publishing: "They come off as saying that they're on a mission to civilize the Web, as if they're the only ones who can make it safe for America," says Radosh. And in case you tire of the humor, each Stale spoof is electronically linked to its Slate mate. (St. Petersburg Times 19 Aug 96 p12) < http:www.stale.com > NCR SERVER IS PENTIUM POWERHOUSE NCR Corp. has a $140 million solution to power computing. The company, a unit of AT&T, developed a way to combine 32 200-Mhz Pentium Pro chips into one server, and then link 128 of the servers together, giving them access to the combined computing power of 4,096 Pentium Pro chips. (Investor's Business Daily 20 Aug 96 A8) WAL-MART ON THE WEB Discount shopping has hit the Web, with the arrival of Wal-Mart on the Web, an online shopping site for Wal- Mart and Sam's Club merchandise. The site features electronic greeters, just like in the real store, and once inside, you can fill up your virtual shopping cart, pay with a credit card, and have everything shipped to you via UPS. < http://www.wal-mart.com >. (Tampa Tribune 19 Aug 96 B&F5) MEDIA CONVERGENCE CONTINUES The value of mergers and acquisitions in the media, electronic and entertainment sectors in Europe and North America jumped to $20.1 billion in the first half of 1996, says a report issued by the mergers and acquisitions group Broadview Associates, which predicts that the global battle over the delivery of digital entertainment services by satellite "cannot fail to drive M&A activity over the next few years. The opportunity is just too big, and the risk/reward ratio too acute for even the most bullish to consider going alone." (Financial Times 19 Aug 96) WINDOWS NT REQUIRES PENTIUM CHIP FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE Trade publication Byte Magazine reports that Microsoft's latest Windows NT version suffers a slowdown when run on computers equipped with a Cyrix 6x86 microprocessor running at 150 megahertz rather than a comparable Intel Pentium chip. The Windows NT 4.0 operating system ran 16% slower than a previous release of NT on a Cyrix chip, and 24% slower than Windows 95. Cyrix says the problem is a hardware malfunction, and is offering customers a free software patch. (Investor's Business Daily 20 Aug 96 A8) EDUPAGE IN GREEK We are pleased to announce a Greek-language version of Edupage, prepared by Leonidas Athanasopoulos in Athens. Welcome to our Greek readers of Edupage! See < http://www.fnet.gr/edupage/ > Edupage is now translated from English into Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak and Spanish. NETSCAPE BROADENS MICROSOFT CONFLICT Netscape Communications has stepped up its attack on Microsoft in the ongoing browser battle, accusing it of offering improper payments and other inducements to persuade PC makers and Internet service providers to use Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser software. The allegations are contained in an Aug. 12 letter to the U.S. Justice Dept. Microsoft has denied the charges, calling them a "PR stunt," and accusing Netscape of manipulating Internet standards to the detriment of Microsoft and other competitors. "This is really the pot calling the kettle black," says a Microsoft VP. Meanwhile, Netscape's lawyer counters, "Microsoft's enemy is not Netscape, its enemy is consumer choice. They don't want consumers to choose another way of getting to the Internet." (Wall Street Journal 21 Aug 96 B8) GATEWAY 2000'S DESTINATION - RETAIL STORES Gateway 2000 , which has made its name in mail-order sales, has lined up two retail chains to sell its $4,000 Destination PC. The machine, which sports a big 31-inch screen, will be available in about 200 Nobody Beats the Wiz and CompUSA stores this fall. "We're creating a new product category and they need to see how the elements... can work," says Gateway CEO Ted Waitt.(Tampa Tribune 21 Aug 96 B&F8) JAVA GETS A JOLT Ten big names in high-tech have invested in the $100 million Java Fund, designated to support start-up companies developing Internet software that uses the Java programming language. The group includes Cisco Systems, Comcast, Compaq Computer, IBM, Itochu, Netscape Communications, Oracle Corp., Sun Microsystems, Tele-Communications Inc., and U S West. "Nothing like this level of adoption and endorsement has ever happened in computers," says John Doerr, a partner in Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, which will administer the fund. Java Fund sponsors hope to seed some 25 start-ups: "We've got to jump-start the development of these applications," says Sun Microsystems chief of technology Eric Schmidt. "The Java Fund will find the next killer app." Schmidt predicts Java could be used to provide real-time stock quotes via the Internet, or to send and receive e-mail via "smart" cell-phones. (Wall Street Journal 21 Aug 96 A3) CALLING FROM THE WEB NetSpeak Corp., which makes WebPhone Internet telephone software, is working with Rockwell International Corp. to develop Internet-based call centers on the Web. The technology will allow electronic shoppers to browse a Web site and place voice calls to the company by clicking on an icon. (Investor's Business Daily 22 Aug 96 A6) SAVING THE TELESAT DEAL Canadian and American negotiators are scrambling to hammer out a deal in an effort to reach a face-saving agreement that would allow Telesat Canada to launch its $1.6-billion satellite program this fall. Washington is trying to persuade Ottawa to model its policy on a new pact between the U.S. and Mexico that allows direct-to- home satellite companies to use satellite services from the other country to beam signals to their home markets. (Toronto Financial Post 20 Aug 96 p1) FRANCHISING HITS THE NET The First Internet Franchise Corp. is selling franchises to set up service businesses offering Web page design, Web page hosting, hardware sales, leased-line sales and other Internet-related services. The company, which has sold 15 licenses so far, has been approved in 41 states, and has applications pending in the remaining nine. for $23,900, First Internet provides business training, billing software, marketing and advertising materials and access to value-added reseller programs. (Investor's Business Daily 21 Aug 96 A6) GARTNER ONLINE Gartner Group Inc. is launching an online information technology education service, building on its acquisition of computer-based training companies J3 Learning and Relational Courseware earlier this year. The Gartner Group Internet Learning Center will offer courses in programming, operating systems, systems management and other computer-related skills. . (Information Week 12 Aug 96 p84) INTERNET BANKING SERVICE The Bank of Nova Scotia and IBM Canada will be offering Canada's first fully transactional Internet banking service this fall. Scotiabank's computer- banking service will use the public worldwide computer network rather than a private data network to offer a wider range of services than those now offered by other Canadian financial institutions. (Toronto Star 20 Aug 96 A9) WHERE WIZARDS STAY UP LATE The New York Times praises the new book by Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon ("Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet") for "rescuing from oblivion the collection of geeks and nerds, bureaucrats and geniuses, who changed everyday life for millions of people all across the planet." The book is published by Simon & Schuster, and an excerpt appears in the current issue of Educom Review. (New York Times 21 Aug 96 B2) 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: Esquimalt Digital Logic Inc The Oases Company 820 Dunsmuir Road Voice: 604 384 0499 Victoria, BC Fax: 604 384 0575 Canada V9A 5B7 Email: omen@oases.com Web: http://www.oases.com/~omen/ Press Release August, 1996 Subject: OMEn becomes OASES, and Goes Multi-Media * In Brief * System name * Macintosh/Power Mac Version * Other Versions * Programming * Movies * Interactive Textbook, the Multi-Media Literature System * Download Oases * Prices * Availability * In Brief Many exciting developments have been taking place at EDLI, and it's about time we told you what they are! We've made the operating system more available and changed the name. Of course, we have been continually improving it, and it's got some features that even Mac and Windows don't have. The App-Launch program and directory "bookmarks", plus the ability to play a sound or view a picture simply by clicking on the file, help users navigate and find things easily, and behind the scenes, new calls such as picture (RLE) encode-decode provide good support for new items such as movies and shrinking large picture files. And, at last, we have some software of value to end users as well as to programmers: a means to create your own multi-media literature materials. If our plan for helping people to distribute their creations workout, you may even be able to make money writing such materials. Everything is on-line (or about to go on line) at our web site (URL at top): the Oases system itself; programming manuals and Eazy-Asm assembler; the premiere edition of Interactive Author, the multimedia literature creation software; and more. * System name The OMEn (Open Multitasking ENvironment) operating system has been renamed Oases Open Software Environment (how about "Open Architecture Software Environment System", if you're hooked on acronyms). This is expected to make the system more appealing to many English speaking users, as "OMEn" always seemed to have a little black cloud over it in spite of many attempts to ward it off! * Macintosh/Power Mac version The Macintosh version of Oases is on sale. It runs on all tested models from Mac-512KE through Power PC 6100/60. The Macintosh version runs exactly the same software as the Atari version, except for a couple of very machine-specific programs like the Atari-ST VIDI-Recorder. The display, too, looks virtually identical to other versions. Oases for Mac will make use of any mounted Macintosh volume, including file servers and CDs. Currently Supported displays are monochrome, 256 colour and 32768 colour ("Thousands" setting). * Other Versions The PC porting is currently on hold owing to the range of other commitments, but will certainly be completed at the earliest possible date, hopefully by the end of the year. We expect the current range of products to generate interest in a joint venture for completing the PC and other portings. We are planning a joint venture with another company to create an inexpensive single-board OASES "embedded control" computer based on MCF5202, Motorola's new 68000 compatible RISC processor. Because Oases runs the same software on any machine, users would be able to test their software on their Atari/Mac/PC before trying it in the controller (except hardware dependent sections, of course!). This system may later be made available in a general "PC" configuration as well. Speed should be similar to the better 68EC040 systems. * Programming A design goal of OASES was to create a system inherently easier to write application software for than other systems. Virtually all the applications for Oases have been written using Eazy-Asm structured assembler. A program can be as simple as opening a window with a call to the Display Manager, and a loop where the program goes to the "postbox" and waits for an applicable event. Shutdown is normally as simple as "_CloseTask". The OASES Programming Reference Manual is only around 400 pages, and can be downloaded from our web site. * Movies We've come out with a simple spec to define Oases movies containing animated graphics, still-picture "slides", and sound. Movies are played in the Interactive Textbook program, and other software can easily be written to play movies. The movie spec allows creation of movies and slideshows from any source of pictures and sounds. And, we've taken a VIDI-ST video digitizer for Ataris and made the Atari-ST VIDI-Recorder program to create Oases movie animation sequences with 8 different video frame rates and sizes in four or sixteen levels of gray, with aspect ratios for most "normal" displays plus two for "ST-Medium-Rez" mode, with its tall pixels. A 2.5 or four megabyte ST or STE is demanded. The lowest frame rates and small sized pictures give over a minute of recording time on a 4 megabyte machine. The Picture-Condenser utility program helps to trim down movies with larger pictures so they can better fit on a floppy disk. (Oases 3.38 and above automatically un-condense pictures for display.) * Interactive Author and Interactive Textbook These are our "star" programs. The premiere version of Interactive Author is now available on our web site (URL on letterhead). It allows its user to create and use multimedia"interactive textbook" literature on any conceivable topic, for reference works or educational curriculum. The "pages" of the "textbooks" may contain text, pictures, sounds, slide-shows and movie clips. Page-link buttons dynamically link pages, similar to hypertext. And, as if that wasn't enough, "evaluation" items add the ability to use Interactive Textbooks for self-paced studies and distance education: all the teacher has to do is sit the student down at the computer. The student cannot proceed through the book without correctly answering the evaluation questions, and so when he/she returns having completed the "textbook", the teacher will know the material in it has been mastered. We hope to compile a catalog of interactive textbook multimedia literature developed by other authors, and to offer distribution with commissions/royalties for well-written, original-material-only works. Free Interactive Textbooks are also available for download on the web site... including "Using Interactive Author", which contains instructions for creating your own Multi-media literature. * Download Oases The Oases system is "protected" by having a colour coded software licence. It may, however, be run without the licence, and is available at our world wide web site: http://www.oases.com/~omen Without the licence, it is possible to save only small files, and not large ones, to disk. But, it is entirely possible to use it, and to run Interactive Textbooks created by other users. Distribution copies will run as licenced until the end of the month they were released: i.e, OASES338 will save any files until the end of July. * Prices Oases system licenses, printed software development manuals and software developer registration are the only items for which EDLI currently charges: The premiere edition of Interactive Author and all our other items are free, or available on disk for shipping & handling charges. Oases-for-Macintosh costs $69.95 Canadian. Oases-for-Atari is $44.95; or both licenses for $99.95. (approx. US$ equialents: $52.95, $33.95, and $74.95) Order by August 15th and get 25% off any above item. Order Interactive-Author Professional Edition for the special pre-release price of $69.95 Cdn/$52.95 US, with delivery late fall or early winter '96. * Availability Oases products are available from: EDLI (Contact information at the top) In the UK, Oases is also carried by: Floppyshop P.O. Box 273 Aberdeen, Scotland UK AB9 8SJ General phn., fax: (01224) 586208 Credit Card orders: (01224) 312756 We are interested in dealers... If you are an interested dealer, or know of one, please get in touch. Genie Sold ..AGAIN STR Infofile IDT Acquires Genie Online Service IDT Corp., one of America's largest Internet service providers, says it has purchased the Genie Online Service from Yovelle Renaissance Corp. The deal's terms weren't disclosed. Genie, the online service formerly owned by General Electric, provides multi-player gaming, interactive chat, and bulletin board services. Once a major player in the online field, Genie's subscriber base has dwindled to about 20,000 customers in the United States. The service currently has 20 employees in Rockville, Maryland. Hackensack, New Jersey-based IDT says the acquisition will allow for the continuance of the Genie Online Service and provides for long-term access to General Electric Information Services' technical support. IDT has also gained the rights to more than 100GB of Genie content. "The acquisition of Genie is a home run all around," says IDT CEO Howard Jonas. "Genie's loyal users will enjoy continued quality service. IDT gains valuable content infrastructure for the new Genie Interactive offering. And IDT gains a profitable online service within the framework of a profitable transaction." MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1996 AUG 21 (Newsbytes) -- By Nick Gorski. Twelve years ago this week these Newsbytes stories were filed: Commodore's Coup; Apple Clones Creep In; Adam On The Comeback Trail; This & That. These stories were taken from the extensive archives at the Newsbytes Website at http://www.newsbytes.com Commodore's Coup In a move that signals a new "arms race" between Commodore and the rest of the computer world (Apple in particular), the company has purchased Amiga Corp. of Santa Clara, California. The new Amiga computer reportedly has excellent graphics capabilities and runs on the same chip as the Apple Macintosh. The move may have surprised Atari's Jack Tramiel. As one Commodore insider reportedly told a Wall Street Journal reporter, "This is the high-end machine Jack wanted. He knows it, we know it, and he's going to have a fit." Commodore's newly acquired 32-bit machine is in direct competition with Tramiel's plans to offer a Macintosh-like computer for "under $1,000." Nobody is saying how much Commodore paid to acquire the small Silicn Valley firm. Creeping Clones More pirated Apple computers were the source of new litigation from Apple this week. Three companies -- one in Louisiana and two in California -- were charged with importing and selling fake Apples, mainly to schools in the US. The difference between these suits and others is that they allege the Apple-clones came, not from Taiwan, but from Korea. Meanwhile, 239 Apple-like computers were seized by Customs agents at a Kansas City warehouse, while another 700 are reportedly being stored in an undisclosed Los Angeles location. (Wendy Woods writes: This week I saw what Apple's attorney Jeff Blatt confirmed is an illegal Apple in a San Francisco store on Clement Street. It's called the DataVision, alias the Romar, alias the Zeus, alias the Breeze. The computer is made by Sailing Industries of Taiwan. Apparently they get around.) Adam Gets Up Again A $15 million advertising campaign by Coleco is gearing up to reintroduce the Coleco Adam computer. Unfazed by $35 million in fourth quarter losses, Coleco has spent more millions to redevelop the Adam. Coleco now feels assured it has a marketable product. Children will be the market target for Coleco's ads. The computer will be sold in Toys 'R' Us stores and other mass outlets. While many remain skeptical the company can turn around its reputation for building bug-infested home computers, the company is certain its problems are over. This and That They Come, They Go, Some Stay: More magazines are running aground in their attempt to remain afloat. Sadly enough, this includes a recent Newsbytes subscriber, Peelings II. Among other deaths are SYNC, Software Supermarket, Basic Computing, Professional Engineering, Softalk's ST. Game, and Atari's Atari Connection. Among those still going strong, in order of subscription list magnitude, are PC Magazine, InfoWorld, Byte, and Popular Computing. (List: courtesy Computer Publicity News.) The Birth of Smart TVs? General Electric has announced plans to introduce the first television-based cntroller that regulates all your other appliances. The HomeMinder, available by Christmas, will manage all your electrical minions and even take messages. There are two versions of the system, one priced at $500, the other at $1,300. Both require that every appliance be hooked into a small module that connects to your electrical outlets. The actual hardware details have not been disclosed. GE expects only a tiny fraction of the public to buy the device at first. "But as people get familiar with it, we think the market will boom," said Judy Ziegler of GE. Jaguar Section "Slam Racer"?! SuperCharger CD! More Don Thomas Kudos! And more... From the Editor's Controller - Playin' it like it is! It's been how long since the last game for the Jaguar has appeared? Wow! Can you imagine what it's going to be like this fall, and eventually, the holiday season to not hear promises from Atari (and inevitable letdowns)? I wonder how many of us will be looking forward to Sony, Nintendo, or Sega systems instead? This will be weird! We're all eagerly awaiting the release of Towers II. I'm still waiting to get some formal confirmation on a date. As soon as I learn more, I'll pass it along. We've also been hearing rumblings of Slam Racer from Sinister Developments coming out, when finished. We also hope to learn of other games that have a chance of making it onto the Jaguar scene. I was hoping to get in some Jaguar time during my vacation. Summer vacations, for me, usually mean that I can expect a good percentage of rainy days giving me an excuse to stay indoors (and play the Jaguar). It didn't happen this time around. I was fortunate by actually having some incredible weather this year - and took advantage of it. I look forward to getting in some time, however, and reviewing some games that never seemed to get covered while the Jaguar was "a hot topic". Former Atari all-around good guy, Don Thomas, continues to draw some well-deserved praise after his recent announcement of going to Sony - we've included a few of those snippets again this week. We've also included some information on the SuperCharger CD that's almost due out. No, it's not a new Jaguar CD game. It's a unique item for the old 2600 with a number of never- released games. Check out the article and messages pertaining to this item, especially if you're an avid 2600 person. I may even dust off mine if I can find a spot for it! Until next time... Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News! From CompuServe's Video Gaming Forums: Sinister Developments News Sinister Developments has met with the distribution company and is willing to publish the Jaguar game 'Slam Racer' as long as Sinister Developments finishes the actual game coding. Sinister Developments has also agreed to look at one of their games which was to be converted to the Jaguar, Cricket by Telegames. Sinister Developments should be receiving the original source shortly and starting conversion work. Slam Racer Information Slam Racer is an overhead view car racing game (similar perspective to Power Drive Rally, but a different type of game). The main features of the game are: ú Smooth animation all at 60 fps ú Rendered car graphics ú Intelligent computer cars ú Track obstacles (like gates which raise and lower randomly) ú Full Hidemasking (ability to hide behind any object with height). Looks very cool when driving under suspension bridges. ú 8 channel sound ú Networking for up to 8 or 16 players (If we can manage it!!) Release date is unknown at the moment but work is progressing well. Jaguar Online STR InfoFile - Online Users Growl & Purr! Fm: Daniel Skelton 73742,464 To: Dana P. Jacobson 71051,3327 (X) Hi, Dana, The Supercharger CD, which is titled "Stella Gets A New Brain" is a combination Audio CD/CD-ROM containing the 12 released games for the Starpath Supercharger, a device that plugged into the Atari 2600 allowing enhanced gameplay. A 13th uncompleted game, Sweat, is included on the disc, though it is not really playable, just of historical interest. There are a couple of Beta versions of Starpath games (one of which is spectacularly different from the released version!) and at least one surprise. All of these games play on a standard audio CD player. Simply plug the Supercharger into the CD player (instead of into a cassette player, as used in 1983). The games load quicker than even the "fast" load side of the old Supercharger tapes. The remainder of the CD is devoted to a development system which allows the creation of new 2600/Supercharger games including cross-assemblers, file converters, and source code for several Starpath games; a comprehensive archive of the output of Starpath, including box artwork, rule books, enclosures, and ads; and a comprehensive archive of Vectrex materials including brand-new cleaned scans of the rare color overlays, suitable for printing on a color printer. The package is accompanied by a manual which gives historical data on the games, includes a foreword from one Starpath designer and an interview with a second, and includes the entire content of all game manuals for all of the Starpath games. My involvement with the project was the assembling and scanning of the Supercharger/Vectrex game archives; layout of the user's manual; creation of the cover artwork; and generation of brand new box mock-ups for all of the included games that did not ship in boxes (or were never released). That last part was a lot of fun, trying to adapt my artwork to look like the classic game boxes. The cost for the package is $18, which is designed only to cover or expenses. Shipment is limited to 350 copies. To get on the list, you should mail to Glenn Saunders ('krishna@primenet.com'). Shipment is imminent, with all materials being complete and only a review of final CDs and manuals standing between us and shipping the product. Hope you have found this information useful and interesting. RETROGAMING AT ITS BEST! Dan Skelton Antique Videogame Aficionado, Proud Jaguar Owner, and member of the CyberPuNKS The Supercharger is a device that loads special games into the 2600. While it originally used audio cassette tapes to load the games, this CD is a compilation of all the Supercharger games, plus some utilities to load regular 2600 ROMs and I think a few programming tools. A CD compiling all of the Starpath Supercharger games, originally sold on cassette, on one CD, plus a CD-ROM portion with many goodies. All this for $15 + $3 p&h, and fully legal too (ie we got permission to make the CD). Most of the posts right now are asking where the CD is, and it has yet to go to press. Once it does, we should have ours in 3 days and the booklet in 7 days, then they'll begin shipping. We had some last minute problems with the images on the CD-ROM portion, and then our CD guy got sick. Hopefully he'll find the time soon to send it to press. People are getting antsy. THE OFFICIAL STARPATH CD ORDER FORM E-MAIL ADDRESS (for list cross-referencing): NAME: ADDRESS: CITY: STATE/PROVINCE: ZIP or equivalent MAILCODE: COUNTRY: One Starpath Supercharger CD & Booklet 15.00 US Dollars Shipping & Handling Continental US 3.00 International 8.00 TOTAL More Reflections on Don Thomas' Leaving Atari: Fm: SNAP347 103625,1027 To: Don Thomas 75300,1267 (X) Well, you might be tired of hearing farewell but farewell, mein friend... You've done so much for the whole Atari community and Classic Atari OnLine and I thank for that. I could have never started CAO without you and I'm sure this forum wouldn't have thrived as it did without you. Thank you for putting in the extra hours that you didn't have to (you probably sold a few Jaguars by doing that) and thanks for putting up with my flack for the last 6 mo. or so. Now go kick some Nintendo/Sega butt with Sony!!!! You will not be forgotten, David Schmudde Classic Atari OnLine Sb: #116824-CATnips (epilog) Fm: Ralph @ STReport 70007,4454 To: Ron Luks (SYSOP) 76703,254 >> I hope you remember to download and archive all these "farewell" messages. Sure is one of the most positive testaments I've seen since the forum opened 15 yrs ago. I don't recall anyone getting as nice a sendoff. << And.... that doesn't even come close to reflecting the warm send-offs Don received in E-Mail... I know of no other Atari rep more deserving. Don's positive efforts through these last few years definitely neutralized and overcame the hateful atmosphere generated among many of us during the computer years by a few maligned Atari reps. Don has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is a true professional in every sense of the term. In fact, he has more than simply "set an example" for the rest of us, he's lived it. I can say he is one of the very special people I'll always be proud to call a friend. I am confident Don Thomas will do quite well at Sony. He's one of the "good guys". Ralph Mariano @ STReport International Online Magazine Fm: Michael Gribbin 105127,3327 To: Don Thomas 75300,1267 (X) Don, What can I say that everyone else hasn't already? You're the greatest. I have poked around here for a few years now, and let's just say that my wife and I have a great deal of respect for you and the way you have handled yourself in this forum through good and bad. Good luck at Sony, and I also hope to be 'seeing' you around CServe. Also, I finally got an adapter and have my Jag running in a refurbished Atari monitor and kiosk--it's excellent! All thanks to your (and Atari's) help--I figure I've got one heckuva long-term collectors item in that setup! And you know what?--there are probably two dozen games to play on it that I would never part with. Thanks again for the help... Michael Gribbin Sb: Differing Opinion Fm: Chuck Bertolino 70742,2444 To: All I along with everyone else wish Don all the best, salute his place in Atari history. I can't overlook Don's responsibilities as Public Relations/Customer Service representative, and wouldn't have wanted to trade places with him for anything in the world. But I'll be darn if I wasn't frustrated at what appeared to be a glib attitude towards Atari's fumbling of one game release after another... The much ballyhooed Club Drive, god must we forget Checkered Flag, these were the games if done right, I believe could have set Atari above the rest. Instead what we got after all the glitter of the marketing hype, was not the next generation of graphics that we had all longed for, but a look at entry level polygon graphics, a snow job at best. I would have preferred a more honest appraisal, a more critical view, maybe that's what did Atari in more than anything else........I can't believe the guys at Atari weren't looking at these games and saying the same things we were........these games look like crap. Especially after AVP. It could have been done right...........and it should have been! The games made the difference. b: #116777-CATnips (epilog) Fm: Steve Bernhard 74134,2022 To: Don Thomas 75300,1267 Don, All I can say is thanks. Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication. When I needed a favor you were always there for me and I have appreciated all of them. I may not know you on a personal level but I can sense that you are a man with character. From the beginning I've always sensed that your dedication to Atari and the online community not only resulted from your fondness of Atari but also came from the heart. I've dealt with many companies, big and small, and I can honestly say none of them gave me more personal prompt professional help than yourself. Yes I believe character matters and your character is something you can be proud of. Wishing you only the best at Sony! -Steve Gameware Express Microsoft Announces Utilities for Advanced Web Page Development HTML Layout Control and ActiveX Control Pad Facilitate Creation of Interactive Web Content for Users of Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 REDMOND, Wash. - June 10, 1996 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate availability of beta versions of the Microsoftr HTML Layout Control and the ActiveXT Control Pad, complementary products that facilitate the development of leading-edge, ActiveX-based Web content. ActiveX is an umbrella term for Microsoft technologies that enable developers to create interactive content for the World Wide Web. Support for ActiveX technologies and HTML standards are key features of Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, released last week in beta form. The HTML Layout Control, available for download at no charge from Microsoft's Web site, (http://microsoft.com/ie/ie3/layout.htm/), provides frame-based layout for Web pages. It is based on the draft Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) specification recently published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The ActiveX Control Pad, also available for download at no charge from Microsoft's Web site (http://microsoft.com/intdev/), is an authoring utility that simplifies the addition of ActiveX Controls as well as scripts written in the Visual Basicr programming system, Scripting Edition , or JavaScriptT to HTML pages using a simple point-and-click process. Together, these utilities will enable Web developers to create a new generation of exciting, interactive Web pages for users of Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 and other ActiveX-enabled browsers. HTML Layout Control Provides Greater Design Precision for Web Page Designers Until recently, Web page designers have been limited in their ability to control the placement of features in Web pages and thus create sophisticated user interfaces for their Web sites. For example, the current HTML standard does not provide Web page designers with precise, 2-D coordinate control over individual objects placed on a page, nor does it provide the ability to overlap objects and frames to facilitate the creation of more sophisticated pages with interactive designs. The HTML Layout Control is a preliminary implementation of the draft specification published by the W3C (http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/WD- layout.html) for 2-D-style layout extensions to the HTML CSS standard. Microsoft has been working closely with the W3C on standards for 2-D, frame- based layout capabilities, including exact x and y coordinate placement, and on creating pages with overlapped (z-ordered) objects. "We are delighted to be working with Microsoft on extending the W3C Cascading Style Sheet mechanism to support 2-D layout," said David Raggett, lead architect for HTML at W3C. "The separation of document structure and layout style will be critical to fulfilling the potential of the Web when sites are rendering to graphic displays, PDAs or paper. The HTML Layout Control is a valuable first step toward this goal. We look forward to continued collaboration with W3C members in this regard." Web page developers can immediately implement 2-D support with the HTML Layout Control in Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 and other browsers supporting ActiveX Controls. Over time, 2-D-style layout capabilities based on the final W3C specification will be natively supported in other Microsoft authoring tools and will become a standard feature of Microsoft Internet Explorer. ActiveX Control Pad Provides Integration of Controls, Script and HTML ActiveX Controls are language-independent and can be created using programming languages such as C++, future versions of Visual Basic, or Java. More than 1000 ActiveX Controls are available today from a wide variety of software vendors. Using the ActiveX Control Pad, Web developers can easily incorporate ActiveX Controls and scripting logic into HTML documents using a simple point-and-click process. "We're responding to developers who have told us they need tools to take advantage of ActiveX," said Bob Muglia, vice president, developer tools division, at Microsoft. "The ActiveX Control Pad does exactly that. With the integration of ActiveX Controls, HTML and Visual Basic Script, developers can create interactive Web sites that make the Web come alive for users of Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0." The ActiveX Control Pad consists of the following components: ú A text editor for editing HTML document source code ú An object editor for placing ActiveX Controls directly into an HTML document, and for visually setting properties on ActiveX Controls ú A Script Wizard for adding Visual Basic Script or JavaScript-compatible scripting to HTML documents ú A palette of ActiveX Controls that can be incorporated into Web pages The development process is expedited by the Script Wizard, which guides developers through the process of creating scripts that integrate the behavior of multiple controls and add programming logic to respond to users' actions. For example, using the Script Wizard, a developer can add code that triggers the playing of a video clip when a user clicks a "play" button embedded on a Web page. The ActiveX Control Pad also provides a WYSIWYG page editor for creating rich, 2-D layouts within a Web page in conjunction with the Microsoft HTML Layout Control. Licensing Information In addition to posting downloadable beta copies of the ActiveX Control Pad and HTML Layout Control, Microsoft plans to make the final releases of both technologies available to users and developers free of charge in the third quarter of this year. In addition, the HTML Layout Control will be shipped with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 (both in later beta versions of the product and in the released version). Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day. Microsoft, ActiveX and Visual Basic are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. JavaScript is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc. STReport's "Partners in Progress" Advertising Program The facts are in... STReport International Online Magazine reaches more users per week than any other weekly resource available today. Take full advantage of this spectacular reach. Explore the superb possibilities of advertising in STReport! Its very economical and smart business. In addition, STReport offers a strong window of opportunity to your company of reaching potential users on major online services and networks, the Internet, the WEB and more than 200,000 private BBS's worldwide. This is truly an exceptional opportunity to maximize your company's recognition factor globally. (STReport is pronounced: "ES TEE Report") STR Publishing's Economical "Partners in Progress" Plans! Take Action! "Discover the REAL Advantage" of STR's EXCEPTIONAL AND HIGHLY ECONOMICAL "Partners in Progress" Program.. Call Today! STR Publishing, Inc. 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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" August 23, 1996 Since 1987 Copyrightc1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 1234