ST Report: 21-Aug-98 #1427
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 09/07/98-09:48:34 PM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 21-Aug-98 #1427
Date: Mon Sep 7 21:48:34 1998
[Silicon Times Report]
"The Original Independent Online Magazine"
(Since 1987 - Our 11th Year)
[Image]
August 21, 1998 No.1427
Silicon Times Report International Magazine
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
R.F. Mariano, Editor
STR Publishing, Inc.
Voice: 1-904-292-9222 10am-5pm EST
FAX: 904-268-2237 24hrs
STReport WebSite http://www.streport.com
STR Publishing's FTP Support Server
14gb * Back Issues * Patches * Support Files
(Continually Updated)
ftp.streport.com
Anonymous Login ok * Use your Email Address as a Password
Check out STReport's NEWS SERVER
news.streport.com
Have you tried Microsoft's Powerful and Easy to Use Internet Explorer
4.01?
Internet Explorer 4.01 is STReport's Official Internet Web Browser.
STReport is prepared and published Using
MS Office Pro 97, WP8, FrontPage 98, Homesite 3.01
Featuring a Full Service Web Site
http://www.streport.com
Voted TOP TEN Ultimate WebSite
Join STReport's Subscriber List receive STReport
Via Email on The Internet
Toad Hall BBS 1-978-670-5896
08/21/98 STR 1427
"Often Imitated, Never Surpassed!"
- Email Flaws Discovered - They're BACK! CDAII - AOL 4.0 goes GOLD
- NorthStar 951XD GPS - Compaq $3million URL - Smiles at Apple
- Win98 1 million plus SOLD - Oracle Y2K Fix - The REAL Spam
- People Talking - Battlesphere AT LAST - WOA 98 VEGAS Show
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS ONLINE
ACER BOWED TO MS ..says Ex-Employee
BEWARE OF MYSTERIOUS EMAIL!
STReport International Magazine
Featured Weekly
"Accurate UP-TO-THE-MINUTE News and Information"
Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, Gossip and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D Imports
Please obtain the latest issue from our Auto Subscription, Web Site or
FTP Site. Or, read STReport Online in HTML at 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.
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
[Image]
From the Editor's Desk...
We are now "laying courses in uncharted territory". By that I mean
dealing with manufacturers who've been around for quite a while and
have probably experienced many things in the business community. But
NOT necessarily in the computing community. How many folks do you know
who now use a laptop computer on their boats? Our new feature column,
Bits & Bytes, begins with this issue and already its proven to be an
exciting learning experience for this writer and those who are choosing
to support the venture. Some of the companies we approached for review
materials were eager to cooperate and help. They include Northstar,
Garmin, Furuno, Raytheon, Simrad, Navionics, Maptech, Nautical Software
ChartView Professional, Saltwater Software, Fishnet, to name but a few.
I might add this is only the beginning.. most folks agree the
"hands-on" approach is the best way to reach the market. Sort of like
a "mini or, personal showing". The personal touch coupled with the
computing aspect is a sure winner. Computers one can tuck under their
arm and still call total desktop replacements are a reality now.
Powerful, lightweight, low power demand computers are here today.
These laptops, interfaced with Radar, DGPS, Charters/Plotters and
Sounders while still controlling many onboard items and functions with
soon prove to be the coming wave of Boating/Yachting/Shipping
Navigational Safety/Maintenance/Efficiency and vessel control. Soon,
no responsible Captain would be without a laptop computer on board as a
full time aid.
STReport has been serving the computing community from well before it
was even thought of as a community. In fact, from before the Internet
became a reality to every computer user. We've seen many computer
related enterprises, both large and small, come and go because they
lost grasp of the speed at which this segment of the electronics world
moves. This is one of the main reasons we are delving into the Marine
Electronics World and Computing. Its practically "virgin territory".
The marine recreational areas and computer electronics is now a slowly
awakening albeit very sleepy giant. Those in these monolithic
corporations who remain "horseblindered" believing hard copy magazines
are the "only way" will stumble and fall by the wayside right along
with others who fail to realize the power of the 'Net and Electronic
Publishing . They will surely be left behind as electronic magazines
zoom by with today's NEWS today. Conversely, those who do realize
what's going on and take full advantage of the situation will
successfully prevail and enjoy superior market penetration.
Bits & Bytes is going to be a bunch of fun for both us and you. You
see, I've been an avid boater from my toddler years and its not slowed
a bit. In fact, in my younger years, I operated my own 50' Charter
fishing boat and a few of the 100'+ Party Fishing Boats in the summer
months out of Sheepshead Bay. I was in my glory. Strangely though, I
never realized it. As fate, destiny and a need to feed a family, there
were six of us; four boys and my wife and I, would have it, I went on
to "bigger and better". Now some thirty odd years later, I find myself
back with my true love, involved in the marine world again. As part of
the articles and reviews to be done, I'll try to offer snippets of my
experiences from my earlier marine years and how they relate to today's
marine experiences as far as family fun, navigational, safety and
sportfishing is concerned. Bits & Bytes is gonna be fun for me, I'll
do my best to make it so for you.
[Image]
http://www.streport.com
ftp.streport.com
news.streport.com
ICQ#:1170279
STReport is now ready to offer much more in the way of serving the
Networks, Online Services and the Internet's vast, fast growing site
list and userbase. We now have our very own WEB, FTP and NewsGroup
Sites, 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. You'll be pleased to know you are able to download
STReport directly from our very own FTP SERVER or WEB Site. While
there, be sure to join our STR AutoMailer list which allows a choice of
either Reading Online or Graphics Rich HTML.
STReport's managing editors DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
Ralph F. Mariano, Publisher, Editor
Dana P. Jacobson, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
PC Section Apple MAC Section Shareware Listings
R.F. Mariano Help Wanted Help Wanted
Classics & Gaming Bits & Bytes Kid's Computing Corner
Dana P. Jacobson Ralph F. Mariano Help Wanted
STReport Staff Editors
Michael R. Burkley Joseph Mirando Victor Mariano
Vincent P. O'Hara Glenwood Drake
Contributing Correspondent Staff
Jason Sereno Jeremy Sereno Eric M. Laberis Angelo Marasco
Donna Lines Brian Boucher Leonard Worzala Scott Dowdle
Please submit ALL letters, rebuttals, articles, reviews, etc., via E-Mail
w/attachment to:
Internet: rmariano@streport.com
STR FTP: ftp.streport.com
WebSite: http://www.streport.com
STReport Headline News
LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
E-Mail Security Flaw Found
A flaw in three popular e-mail programs made by Netscape and Microsoft
gives hackers the ability to send viruses that could crash computers or
mangle data, computer experts say. No such attacks have been reported,
but experts fear millions of computer users will need to upgrade their
software to keep their systems safe. "This is something that goes right
to the soft, chewy inside of your computer," computer consultant Russ
Cooper of Lindsey, Ontario, told The San Diego Union-Tribune. The flaw
allows any outsider to send a booby-trapped message that could erase a
computer's hard drive or even steal information. Most e-mail attacks
involve attachments that are harmless unless the user runs the attached
program. The new flaw, however, cannot be so easily avoided. In some test
cases, simply trying to delete e-mail activated the attack.
The attacks cannot be guarded against with "firewalls" or anti-viral
software, two widely used security methods. Finnish researchers
discovered the problem last month. So far, tests have shown its presence
in three programs widely used to read electronic mail: Microsoft Corp.'s
Outlook Express and Outlook 98 and Netscape Communications Corp.'s
current Web browser, Communicator. Netscape and Microsoft have been
informed of the problem. Microsoft has devised a software patch that is
now available at its Web site. Netscape's patch is expected soon at its
Web site.
"We're definitely not taking this lightly," Microsoft group product
manager George Meng told the San Jose Mercury News. "There definitely is
a scenario in which someone could do damage to people's systems."
Microsoft, on its Web site, said the flaw affects versions of Outlook
Express shipped with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or 4.01 on Windows
98, Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT for DEC Alpha, as well as
Windows versions for Macintosh or UNIX machines. The company said users
of the Windows 3.1 and Windows NT 3.51 operating systems are not
affected.
Beware Of Mysterious E-mail, Experts Say
You might think twice about opening a package that arrives in the mail
from an unknown sender. But do you take the same precautions with your
e-mail? Experts as well as the companies that make e-mail programs, say
you should, to protect your computer files from a new security flaw that
has been discovered, as well as other potential attacks by computer
hackers.
Their warnings followed the discovery of a hole in some of the most
popular e-mail programs, which some experts consider the biggest computer
security problem to surface in a decade. The problem was first reported
this week in the San Jose Mercury News, which serves California's Silicon
Valley. The paper said there was a "gaping hole" in the e-mail programs
made by Microsoft and Netscape Communications.
The flaw, discovered by computer security experts in Finland, affects two
Microsoft e-mail programs -- Outlook Express and Outlook 98 -- as well as
Netscape's Web browser. Although both companies moved quickly to correct
the problem, they added that people should know about some of the hazards
inherent in using e-mail -- probably the most popular Internet
application for home and business users -- and think twice about reading
files from unknown senders. Microsoft said it had posted a "patch" to
correct the flaw and had more information available on its Web site (
Netscape said it was working on a patch and should have one available in
two weeks. Both companies emphasized that there had been no reports of an
actual hacker attack through the hole, which was detected in a lab
setting by experts who routinely scan computer programs looking for bugs.
The flaw was found last month by the Secure Programming Group at Oulu
University in Finland. It has alarmed some experts because it appears to
be a comparatively easy way to execute an attack. Tests found hackers
could get to users' files as soon as the user tried to delete an
offending message. The problem is with e-mail "attachments," commonly
used in electronic correspondence to send background files or additional
information. But unlike other flaws, which allow attacks only when the
user actually runs the offending attachment, users with this flaw in
their systems could potentially be attacked without even opening the
files.
"The implications and the repercussions could be so powerful and
long-lasting that if you don't address it immediately, you run the risk
of the problem cascading," Mike Nelson, a computer industry consultant
who previously worked for the security firm Pretty Good Privacy, told
Reuters. One problem with a flaw in e-mail systems is that it cannot be
corrected centrally. Even after companies come out with a fix, it is up
to individual users to hear about it and take the time to install it.
"It is serious to the extent that e-mail is a widely used application,"
said George Meng, Group Product Manager at Microsoft Office. "If somebody
could maliciously send an e-mail to do damage, there are a lot of people
who could potentially be affected."
"It's the same as not locking your car," Shipley said."(The precautions
people can take) with e-mail are literally that simple. And if they don't
take them, either they are afraid of their computers, or they are lazy."
Dave Rothschild, vice president of Client Products at Netscape, said the
company advises e-mail users not to read attachments from unknown
senders. As an alternative, users receiving a mysterious attachment may
write back to the sender and ask them to resend it in the main body of
the text.
New Bills Raise Challenges for Internet Advocates
In a move that critics say seriously threatens the right to free
expression on the Web, the US Senate passed legislation recently that
would restrict access to certain Internet material deemed "harmful to
minors." The senate bill, sponsored by Senator Dan Coats (R-Indiana),
also known as the "CDA II" bill, "would punish commercial online
distributors of material deemed harmful to minors with up to six months
in jail and a $50,000 fine."
Meanwhile, a bill by Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), requires that
schools and libraries use blocking and filtering software on public-use
computers in order to block children's access to "inappropriate"
materials. Both bills were passed as a part of the Appropriations Bill
last week, after a unanimous vote by the Senate earlier in the week to
add them as amendments to that bill.
Barry Steinhardt, president of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said
that CDA II makes a lot of the same mistakes as the original
Communications Decency Act, which was defeated last year after a
nationwide campaign against it led by civil liberties organizations and
free speech advocates.
That campaign -- famous for the "Blue Ribbon" image that, starting in
1996, graced thousands of Web sites-marked the most widespread online
political protest in history. "The CDA II bill looks harmless, but it's a
Trojan horse," said Steinhardt. "It's meant to apply only to commercial
pornographic Web sites, but because of the ambiguous language of the
bill, it will end up coincidentally affecting other commercial sites,
such as Amazon.com or even our own Web site at the foundation," he said.
David Crane, press secretary for Senator Coats, disagrees. "The Coats
bill is not prohibitive, it does not ban anything," Crane said. "It
merely requires that Web sites that contain material deemed 'harmful to
minors' use methods that restrict access, such as use of a credit card,
adult access code, etc." Ari Schwartz, policy analyst for the Center for
Democracy and Technology, said the problem lies in precisely defining
what exactly constitutes material "harmful to minors."
"There is no useful legal test that exists to define what is 'harmful to
minors,' that will not accidentally restrict harmless material in the
process," said Schwartz. The McCain bill is also aimed at restricting
access to pornography, but is specifically concerned with restricting
minors from accessing the Internet at libraries and schools.
"At home, parents can be in charge of what their children see or don't
see on the Internet," said McCain's press secretary, Pia Pialorsi. "But
in public places like a library or school, there have to be other filters
in place."
But those "other filters" -- the blocking and filtering software
currently available -- are crude and overbroad, said Steinhardt. They
inadvertently end up blocking access to sites such as the Quaker
homepage, or the American Association of University Women, he said. "You
can no more create a computer program to block out one community's view
of 'indecency' or 'obscenity' than you can devise a filtering program to
block out misguided proposals by members of Congress," Steinhardt wrote
in an EFF statement. "Both may be desirable, but neither are possible."
But Pialorsi said that McCain and supporters of his bill are aware of the
technological limitations of existing filtering software, and hope to
ameliorate that with the help of staffers at schools and libraries. "We
encourage administrators in schools and libraries to take a hands-on
approach in this, and want to let them determine which sites are
objectionable or not, and how they will block them and which sites they
will not block," Pialorsi said.
Microsoft Told To Hand Over Windows Code
A federal judge has ordered Microsoft to hand over source code to its
Windows 95 and other operating systems in a lawsuit being pressed by a
small Utah-based software company, officials said Wednesday. Officials of
the company, Caldera, said the code would help prove their claim that
Microsoft had illegally restricted the ability of its DR-DOS computer
operating system to compete in a market increasingly dominated by the
Microsoft systems.
At the same time U.S. Magistrate Ron Boyce also ordered Microsoft rival
Novell, which sold Caldera the rights to DR-DOS, to hand over thousands
of related documents to Microsoft. The source code, which is closely
guarded by Microsoft as some of its most valuable intellectual property,
will be handed over only to Caldera lawyers and outside experts and not
to Caldera executives.
Caldera Chief Executive Officer Bryan Sparks said the source code, which
includes programmer notes, could shed light on the company's claim that
Windows 95 was illegally tied to Microsoft's version of the old DOS
operating system and squeezed DR-DOS out of the market. Microsoft
spokesman Jim Cullinan said the company always had intended to hand over
the relevant parts of the source code demanded by Caldera.
"All we were looking for was protection for our confidential information
and our trade secrets," he said. "Once that was in place we felt very
comfortable about giving it over." Caldera, mostly owned by longtime
Microsoft nemesis Ray Noorda, sued Microsoft in July 1996, shortly after
it acquired the rights to the DR-DOS operating system from Novell, which
Noorda founded and ran until his retirement in 1994. A trial in the case
is scheduled for June 1999.
Former Employee Says Acer Bowed To Microsoft
Pressure tactics by Microsoft often led computer maker Acer America Corp.
to use the software giant's products instead of its competitors',
according to a former Acer product manager. Ricardo Correa said in a
series of interviews with Reuters that in making three separate software
decisions, Acer opted to put Microsoft applications on its consumer line
of computers to satisfy Microsoft.
Acer and Microsoft denied Correa's claims and said the charges come from
a disgruntled employee. But the allegations emerge at a sensitive time as
the U.S. government presses ahead with a major antitrust case against
Microsoft charging that the giant software company uses strong- arm
tactics to dominate the market.
Whether Acer and other computer makers live in a climate of fear that
drives them to seek safe relationships with Microsoft is a key focus of
the government's probe of Microsoft. The Justice Department declined
comment on Correa's allegations. Few industry insiders have been willing
to be quoted publicly on the details of their dealings with Microsoft.
But Correa agreed to tell his version of dealing with Microsoft because
he was disillusioned with the industry.
"The account manager at Microsoft would say to me, 'Ricardo, we really
don't consider you a Microsoft partner just because you buy the operating
system,"' adding that Microsoft CEO "Bill (Gates) is not happy with you."
Acer America, a San Jose, Calif. member of the Acer Group of Taiwan,
makes personal computers for sale to business and consumers, and
technology for the industry.
Correa said that Acer planned to place the full-featured Lotus "Smart
Suite"-- which included a word processor, spreadsheet and other programs
-- on its consumer PCs. But when Microsoft got wind of the change, its
top management called Acer's top management in a coordinated campaign, he
said. Correa said that two days before a contract was to be signed with
Lotus in early 1997, "I was ordered to kill it."
Lotus was replaced with a more limited package that included only
Microsoft Word and the reference package Microsoft Bookshelf, Correa
said. Correa said he and his boss managed to keep Lotus on the small
portion of machines that make up the commercial market and they are there
to this day. Lotus, a unit of IBM, had no comment.
In another negotiation, Correa said that one of his bosses soured on a
software licensing deal with Corel early this year. The boss feared
Microsoft would back off from co-operating on a joint technology project.
"He said to me, and this is a quote, 'I would pay $2 million more to keep
Microsoft happy,"' Correa said.
Correa said he handed in his resignation in early April, after an Acer
manager ruled out replacing the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia with World
Book, made by IBM. Later World Book did get on the low end of the line
after protests by IBM, an important customer, he said. Correa, who lives
in San Francisco, said he decided to talk with Reuters because he was
quitting the field of computers and software entirely.
"I'm telling this story because there are so many people fed up in this
industry and I'm fed up," said Correa. Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray
described Correa's allegations as "false and misleading." Acer also
strongly denied the allegations. Michael Culver, vice president and
general manager of Acer's consumer business division, said Correa was a
disgruntled employee who did not understand how decisions were made.
"The financial and business decisions are secondary to 'ease of use'
requirements," Culver said. "In each of these cases, (Lotus) Smart Suite
and Corel were disqualified based on our ease of use testing, not based
on any business negotiations." Culver said that contracts were
confidential and he was unable to disclose terms, but he could say flatly
that "there was no pressure brought to Acer by Bill Gates or anybody else
at Microsoft regarding the decision to bundle Microsoft's applications
versus any of the competitive applications."
Acer's corporate counsel, Suchitra Narayen, said in a fax to Reuters that
the company believed Correa's account was inaccurate or incomplete and
said that he was not in a position to have direct knowledge about
Microsoft matters. But people from other companies who dealt with Correa
disagreed. Steve Houck, a sales account manager with Canadian software
maker Corel, a rival of Microsoft best known for its Word Perfect and
Corel Draw products, said anyone who wanted to license software to Acer
went to Correa.
"He would see the inner workings of that side of the business," said
Houck. "In everything I've dealt with him he's been on the up-and-up and
very professional." Other people who had professional dealings with
Correa also spoke to Reuters but declined to be identified, citing a fear
of retaliation from Microsoft. "You're lucky to get him," said one of
them. "We all know the stories but no one will go on the record. What's
amazing is, he decided to leave the industry."
As part of a broad complaint against Microsoft that goes to trial on
Sept. 8, the government wants a judge to prevent the Redmond, Wash.,
software firm from "taking or threatening any action adverse to any
person" for "failure to license or distribute Microsoft's Internet
browser software or other software product." But fear pervaded Acer,
Correa said, recalling that one of his bosses said: "Look, we cannot
afford retaliation."
Correa said Acer executives feared the software giant would retaliate by
withholding crucial updates and "bug" fixes for the Microsoft Windows
operating system. "If Microsoft does not give us information we are
basically paralyzed," said Correa. But Microsoft said Correa's account
mischaracterized the relationship, noting Gates spoke at Acer's 20th
anniversary celebration in Taiwan in 1996. Correa's allegations center on
events starting in early 1997.
"We have a strong relationship with Acer," said Microsoft's Murray.
"Their decisions over the years on what applications to ship have never
had any impact on our operating system relationship." In fact, Correa
said he greatly admired Microsoft. "Microsoft is probably the most
professional, the most competent, the most directed company I have ever
done business with," he said. "Not once, not twice, but every time they
are able to outperform their competition in single-mindedness, in
determination to accomplish the deal."
Oracle Unveils Year 2000 Solutions
Oracle, the world's largest maker of database software, unveiled today a
group of programs to help mid-sized companies ready their computers for
the turn of the century. The so-called Year 2000 Bug could imperil
thousands of computer systems around the world because their software and
computer chips were not designed to deal with the millennium date change.
Priced at $300,000, the FastForward Financials Y2K package includes
Oracle's software to run payroll, accounting and other functions in a
company. Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., said in 60 days it can
install the software and work with customers so their systems and
software are immune from the damage many experts expect at the turn of
the century.
"Year 2000 is definitely a problem and it's one thing you're going to see
large companies dealing with over the next 18 months," said Martin
Marshall, an analyst with market research firm Zona Research. The Year
2000 computer problem stems from computer programs using a two-digit
format to stand for years. When Jan. 1, 2000, hits, many computers will
interpret the year as 1900. That could wreak havoc on arge computers used
by insurance companies, banks, Wall Street firms and airlines.
The offering from Oracle, which bundles software, support, service and
education in one package, could help Oracle boost revenue in its
applications business. Sales of its applications software, which helps
companies manage payroll, accounting and other functions, have been
erratic in recent quarters while sales of its mainstay database software
have slowed due to increasing competition and a slower overall market.
Praise for Visual Page Package
Surfing the Web is easy, but spinning a Web site can be lots more
difficult. Since most of us don't think in HTML (hypertext markup
language), it doesn't come naturally to write '''' when what we want to
do is show a picture on a Web site. That's where Web site design packages
step in, taking care of all the gobbledegook while you worry about looks.
One of the nicer ones available is Visual Page 2.0 from Symantec Corp. of
Cupertino, Calif.
Visual Page has a point-and-click interface that's as easy to use as your
favorite word processor. In fact, if you have enough skill to do a
newsletter in your word processor, you have enough to use Visual Page to
create a Web page. That's because Visual Page does most of the heavy
lifting for you. As a novice, for example, you might wish to add a bitmap
(BMP) image to a Web page, but you don't know that net browsers don't
want to know from bitmaps. Visual Page automatically saves the file in
GIF format for you.
Those who already have some experience designing Web pages can also take
advantage of absolute pixel positioning, where the location of an object
on a Web page doesn't change the position of other objects, and other
advanced design tools. One of the nicer features of Visual age is a
site-wide approach to tools. Let's say you have a 20-page Web site and
you discover that you've misspelled your employer's name on every page. A
site-wide search-and-replace tool lets you fix that without doing it page
by page.
You can also do site-wide spell checking and link repair and preview your
creation in multiple browsers, since site appearance can vary with the
browser. Visual Page also has built-in FTP support to allow you to
publish or download your Web pages. Although on-line help is available,
the software package comes with really outstanding documentation, with a
"getting started" section that takes the novice by the hand through
creating of a site.
System requirements for Visual Page: a 486-66-megahertz or better chip
with 8 megabytes of RAM and Windows 95 or higher. It also supports
Windows NT 4.0 or higher, but that takes 12 megabytes of RAM. In all
cases, a VGA color monitor is required and the installation takes 20
megabytes of disk space. The suggested retail price for Visual Page is
$99.95. Symantec products are widely available at retail. The company Web
site is
Scanners are becoming commonplace, and the software bundled with most of
them has a "copier" feature that scans a document and sends a copy to the
printer. For about $250, Lumina Office Products of San Jose, Calif.,
offers the Lumina Personal Color Copier, which will make copies even if
the PC is turned off. That's a great idea, since the entire learning
curve is ``press the button marked copy.'' The copier is compatible with
Hewlett Packard DeskJet and LaserJet printers and also Epson Stylus,
Epson Inkjet Lexmark ColorJet and Canon Bubblejet series. It comes with a
document feeder and will handle material up to 8x14 inches.
Of course, it can be hooked to the PC and function as a standard scanner
and fax machine, and it includes bundled OCR software as well as
image-editing software. But being able to make copies without wrestling
with software is an excellent idea and great convenience. The company's
Web site is http://www.luminapcc.com.
Questions and comments are welcome. Send them to CompuBug, PO Box 626,
Summit, NJ 07901. Or e-mail via the Internet Larry-Blasko@ap.org . Please
include your own e-mail address in the body of the message.
Seagate Pushes Out Industry Pioneer Shugart As CEO
Seagate Technology said [today] it is pushing out its chief executive,
Alan Shugart, a pioneer in the invention of the computer disk drive, and
replacing him with Stephen Luczo, the company's president. Seagate, the
world's biggest disk drive manufacturer, said it asked Shugart, one of
its founders, to retire so the company could concentrate on turning
around the company's fortunes after a difficult year. "During the last
several quarters, Seagate has undertaken a variety of actions in order to
improve the company's competitive position..." Luczo said in a statement.
"We believe that as we implement these changes the company's long- term
competitive position will continue to improve..."
Falling prices, slower computer sales and excess worldwide capacity held
back disk drive makers over the last year. Seagate reported a loss for
its fiscal year ending on July 3, of $530 million, reversing the
year-earlier profit of $658 million. Shugart, who began his career with
International Business Machines and joined Seagate in 1979, has been
grooming Luczo, who joined Seagate in October 1993. The time was right
for Shugart to leave with the end of the fiscal year, a Seagate
spokeswoman told Reuters.
Shugart was part of the IBM team that pioneered the original Winchester
disk drive in the late 1960s. He left IBM in the early 1970s to found a
succession of disk drive companies to exploit this development and has
led the industry through boom and bust. Luczo, who also holds the title
of chief operating officer, has been responsible for Seagate's disk drive
and component operations since holding the two positions since 1997.
Luczo was also named to the company's board of directors, the company
announced. Gary Filer and Larry Perlman, current directors, were named as
nonexecutive co-chairmen of the board.
Senate Backs Internet Gambling Ban
The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to try to shut down the
billion-dollar Internet gambling industry, calling it addictive, a
corrupting influence on the young and a source of crime growing out of
control. Senators voted 90-10 to ban all forms of gambling on the
Internet, including the interactive, pay-to-play casino-style games
offered by an estimated 140 sites on the World Wide Web. Most are
operated by businesses based overseas.
"More than a billion dollars will be gambled over the Internet this
year," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., the provision's lead sponsor.
"Internet gambling is unregulated, accessible by minors, addictive,
subject to abuse for fraudulent purposes like money laundering, evasive
of state gambling laws - and already illegal at the federal level in many
cases."
The measure would extend to the Internet - and to new technologies
involving microwave transmission and fiberoptic cable - the current
federal ban on interstate gambling on sports by telephone or wire. It was
included as an amendment to a $33.2 billion spending bill covering the
Commerce, Justice and State departments in fiscal 1999, starting Oct. 1.
The Senate passed the overall spending bill on a 99-0 vote. In the House,
neither the spending bill nor an Internet gambling ban measure has
reached the floor.
The Senate amendment would require Internet service providers to "pull
the plug" on those sites, Kyl said, saying a ban would "likely be
enforced by law enforcement identifying a Web site that provides illegal
gambling and seeking a court order enjoining the activity." During two
days of debate on the Senate floor, the gambling amendment's supporters
contended a ban is needed since there is no way to regulate virtual
casinos. Unscrupulous operators are free to rig their games to cheat
customers or accept bets from children who get their hands on parents'
credit cards, they said. States regulate gambling within their boundaries
but have no control over online gambling activity, including states where
residents have declined to legalize games of chance.
But Internet gambling spokeswoman Sue Schneider said other countries have
found regulation can work and that some foreign governments are operating
their own games. "All prohibition does is build up a criminal
infrastructure," said Schneider, chairwoman of the 55-member Interactive
Gaming Council and chief operating officer of Rolling Good Times, an
electronic magazinethat covers the gaming industry.
"The United States could become the odd man out," she said. Supporters of
the Kyl provision "should talk with their colleagues in Australia and New
Zealand, who have figured out how to do this," she said. Under the
provision, individual gamblers could be imprisoned for 3 months and fined
$500. Businesses running gambling sites could be imprisoned for 4 years
and fined $20,000 or three times the amount of bets accepted.
The provision would not ban:
* State lotteries and off-track betting on the Internet, as long as
the business is on "closed-loop, subscriber-based" computer systems
inaccessible to the general public.
* Sites for popular sports "rotisserie" leagues, in which people
choose rosters of professional thletes and bet on their statistics,
as long as fees are not used to pay off bets.
Kyl said addictive gambling is a growing problem, adding that experts say
youth gambling is rising and could surpass illegal drug use in as little
as 10 years.
"Gaming should be a regulated adult recreational activity,'' said Sen.
Richard Bryan, D-Nev., a co-sponsor of the amendment. ``It is physically
impossible for any state to regulate gaming on the Internet, and the only
responsible choice is simply to prohibit it.'' The Senate earlier
rejected, 82-18, a move to exempt Indian tribes, which may now run
Internet gambling sites. Kyl said that would create a mammoth loophole.
The Justice Department estimates $600 million was bet illegally on sports
alone over the Internet last year, a tenfold increase over 1996, said a
Kyl aide.
However, the department recently expressed concern about Kyl's bill,
saying it opposes prosecuting bettors and questions the practicality of
trying to prosecute foreign-based businesses. Voting against the Internet
gambling ban were Sens. Joseph Biden, D-Del.; Larry Craig, R-Idaho; Tom
Daschle, D-S.D.; Pete Domenici, R-N.M.; Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; Tom
Harkin, D-Iowa; Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii; Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y.;
Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Paul Wellstone, D-Minn.
David Bowie Starts Internet Service
Ground control to davidbowie.com. Rocker David Bowie confirmed Monday
that he'll launch BowieNet, the first artist-created Internet service
provider, in September for $19.95. BowieNet, located at will offer
high-speed Internet service across North America beginning Sept. 1 and
expand worldwide later in the year, the entertainer said. The site will
offer e-mail service as well as special music and entertainment access.
"I wanted to create an environment where not just my fans but all music
lovers could be a part of the same community - a single place where the
vast archives of music information could be accessed, views stated and
ideas exchanged," Bowie said in a statement.
Compaq Pays $3M for Web Address
A man struck it rich by selling a Web site address to Compaq Computer
Corp. for $3.35 million, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. uoting
unidentified sources, the newspaper said Compaq paid Jack Marshall of San
Jose one of the highest prices ever for a Web site - in this case,
www.altavista.com.
The deal settles a two-year fight between Marshall and the computer
giant, which owns the Alta Vista Internet search engine. ``I believe this
is the largest known figure for a domain name transaction,'' said Edwin
Hayward, who runs www.igoldrush.com, a Web site that tracks such
purchases. The trade in Web addresses is not unusual, but most addresses
are sold for far lower prices. Speculators buy popular names for $100 and
then sell the addresses to corporations for much higher prices. In 1996,
a court ruled against the purchase of trademarked names, but generic
names remain fair game. Earlier this month, Microsoft Corp. agreed to pay
$5 million to a small, now-defunct software company from the Chicago area
that said Microsoft stole from it the name of Internet Explorer, the name
of browser software which Microsoft has heavily promoted for three years.
The Alta Vista name wasn't trademarked when Marshall bought the rights in
January 1994 for his startup company, AltaVista Technology. In November
1995, Digital Equipment Corp., now owned by Compaq, launched a search
engine called Alta Vista. Because it didn't own the Alta Vista address,
it was located at But the address was confusing and many searchers ended
up at Marshall's site, overloading his computer.
He agreed to sell the trademark to Digital but kept the right to use the
name on software and his Web site. However, late in 1996, Digital sued
Marshall for the rights to www.altavista.com on grounds Marshall had
violated the earlier agreement by failing to state that his site was not
the Alta Vista search engine. In March 1997, a federal judge in Boston
told Marshall to change his logo and to add a disclaimer but didn't rule
on the domain name itself. The Chronicle quoted unidentified sources as
saying that, in addition to the money, Marshall won a permanent link from
the Alta Vista search engine to his new Web site, www.photoloft.com. On
Aug. 31, Marshall will shut down his site and turn over the name.
ISAMED Enters Clinical Evaluation for Use with Parkinson's Patients
NovaTelligence has just announced the commencement of a two-month
clinical evaluation process to precede the release of their newest
product. Under development for over 11 years, ISAMED a computerized
assessment and reminder system is currently undergoing a preliminary
evaluation in the Department of Neurology, University of Southern
California School of Medicine. The evaluation, under the direction of
Cheryl Waters, M.D., Chief of the USC Division of Movement disorders,
will determine what improvements, if any, should be made to the product
to increase its ease of use.
The ISAMED system consists of two computerized components one for the
physician and one for the patient - which work together to monitor and
manage the ongoing condition of Parkinson's patients and their response
to medications related to the treatment of Parkinson's disease. ISAMED
Pocket - the patient component assists patients with their often complex
medication schedules and records information about their symptoms, side
effects, diets and activity levels. The recorded information is then
transferred to ISAMED Clinic the neurologist component where it can be
analyzed in graphical or tabular format, allowing the neurologist to
fine-tune the patient's medication schedule and recommend lifestyle
changes as needed.
"I think that the development of the handheld computer will take our
capacity for patient care to a higher level," said Mark Lew, M.D., USC
Associate Professor of Neurology, Division of Movement Disorders. "We
will be able to better understand and monitor a patient's response to
treatment and subsequently offer them improved pharmacological
management."
NovaTelligence, a privately held company founded in January 1996, is a
leading provider of healthcare informatics based on the use of applied
artificial intelligence. Based in San Diego, NovaTelligence is a member
of the Microsoft Independent Software Vendor Program. More information
about NovaTelligence is available on the Internet at
www.novatelligence.com
August is National Inventors' Month: Today is the Age of Inventors
Inventors have never been more important than they are today, and Joanne
Hayes-Rines wants everyone to know just how important they are. "Everyone
knows about Thomas Edison and the Wright brothers," she says. "But how
many people know that independent inventors have created such modern
society-changing inventions as the ATM, the disposable diaper, the Nike
shoe, the laser and Velcro?"
She ought to know. Hayes-Rines is President of the United Inventors'
Association of the USA and publisher-editor of "Inventors' Digest," the
largest circulation magazine in the country whose sole purpose is the
uniting and education of inventors. "Together with the Academy of Applied
Science, we're shining the spotlight on inventors by establishing August
as National Inventors' Month," she says. (See
"We want to recognize those talented, brave individuals who dare to be
blatantly creative, and whose accomplishments affect every facet of our
lives," she says. "We also want to change the all-too-often negative
image of the inventor as a wild-eyed, wild-haired genius in the basement
cooking up weird concoctions that threaten to blow up the neighborhood,"
says Hayes-Rines. "Actually, the reverse is true. Inventors are
brilliant, imaginative, fascinating and dedicated to solving problems!
"But because of the negative image, novice inventors are afraid to be
known as inventors. Economists worry that such negative perceptions will
discourage people from being innovative, with serious consequences for
American competitiveness in the next millenium. National Inventors' Month
will encourage this creativity by showing inventors as the people who are
changing the world and making it a better place for all of us."
Excitement about National Inventors' Month is running high, with the
Patent and Trademark Office museum opening its new exhibit in honor of
the media celebration on August 11th. Ruth Nyblod, the museum's curator
says, "Our exhibit will be dedicated to the same purpose as National
Inventors' Month: putting faces on inventions!"
The founders of National Inventors' Month have set up a toll-free number,
800-791-3133, for inventors who want to learn more about how to bring
products to market; and parents and teachers who want to encourage
children to be inventive.
AOL 4.0 Upgrade Goes Gold
America Online Inc. Thursday released the final commercial version of new
user software that aims to upgrade the look, feel and functionality of
the nation's largest consumer online service. AOL began offering online
downloads of the "gold" version of its long-anticipated 4.0 upgrade
Thursday and expects to begin offering compact discs of the software in
marketing promotional material next month.
The upgrade could increase usage of the AOL network in coming months as
users download software ranging from 5 megabytes to 20 megabytes,
depending on the software configuration they require. Such a download
could take anywhere from 45 minutes to more than three hours on a
standard modem handling information at 28,800 bits per second. About 2.5
million AOL subscribers already use trial versions of the 4.0 software,
which offers a variety of new features including a new spell check and
changeable fonts for electronic mail and the ability to include
photographs in e-mail messages. The new software also allows users to
switch screen names without having to disconnect from the service.
During its last upgrade, about 70 percent of AOL's subscriber base
upgraded to the service's 3.0 software within six months of the
software's release. The service typically promotes its software upgrades
heavily online and in regular mail to consumers. AOL can handle up to
250,000 downloads of its software daily, said Mike Connors, president of
AOL Network Technology.
The new software is expected to help AOL keep control of spiraling
customer service costs, said Mike Connors, president of AOL Technologies.
Users of early versions of AOL's 4.0 software have called the company for
technical help about one-fourth as frequently as users of the 3.0
software, Connors estimated. Part of the reduction in customer service
calls results from automation features incorporated into the installation
of the software. The new system, for instance, automatically detects the
modem being used on the computer rather than asking the user to enter the
make and model of the modem during installation.
National Hurricane Center Is Online
Up-to-date hurricane information is now at computer users' fingertips.
The National Hurricane Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
are using the Internet to provide the status of hurricanes to the public.
"The whole thing is an informed public. They're getting a direct report,"
Bob Shapiro of FEMA's hurricane liaison team said Friday. "This is kind
of personal. I think it's great." During hurricane watches and warnings,
a 60- to 90-second video clip of a hurricane center official explaining
storm conditions will appear on the site. The Internet address for the
Federal Emergency Management Agency is http://www.fema.gov , and
Hurricane information is available at its sub-site for the Hurricane
Liaison Team: http://www.fema.gov/hlt
Virtual Medical Worlds Magazine
Before you leave for a well deserved summer vacation, we still want to
offer you the ninth issue of the Virtual Medical Worlds Magazine. We hope
you will enjoy it, as if it were a sparkling Tequila Sunrise, a mixture
of exciting flavors with something sweet to taste for everyone of you.
The bar is open at http://www.hoise.com/vmw Or take your pick at the
table of contents buffet below.
As an extra holiday present, we have something special in store for you,
on top of this. As you might remember, a select group of renowned
telemedicine experts have shared their opinions on the establishment of
the Telemedical Information Society for the 21st century at ITIS'98.
Curious to know what they have told in Amsterdam last April and anxious
to join the discussion? Please, read all about it in the three discussion
rounds at http://www.hoise.com/vmw/conference/ITIS98 and enter the
discussion platform. We assure you that it is worth the while!
Whether you will be climbing mountains, lazing at some paradisiacal
beach, or just staying quietly at home, let us know what is going on in
your (telemedicine) mind. We'd love to hear from you and your holiday
adventures ...
Virtual Medical Worlds Magazine
James Stewartstraat 248
NL-1325 JN ALMERE
The Netherlands
Tel.: +31-36-537 3867
Fax: +31-36-537 5002
E-mail: vmw@hoise.com
http://www.hoise.com/vmw
* A VRML based 3D Visualization and sonification Environment
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/EJ-VM-07-98-1.html
* MedExplorer is a big hit for search fans
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-1.html
* Virtual Reality therapy releases fear of flying
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-10.html
* HPCN in neural network applications for industry and medicine
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-11.html
* Maimonides Medical Centre shows way to hospital of the future
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-12.html
* Home telemedicine help, through Internet TV
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-13.html
* Cruise ship offers "On Board Virtual Emergency Room"
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-14.html
* Mobile Assistant is first belt top computer
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-15.html
* Digital dog tag invention inspires DoD to launch a Personal
Information Carrier bid
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-16.html
* Chernobyl patients remotely diagnosed by Japanese specialists
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-17.html
* EU approach is citizen centred care
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-18.html
* Is the EU's Fourth Framework Programme in a healthy state?
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-19.html
* Internet2 looks promising for human anatomy study
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-2.html
* Internet is therapeutic for Nordic psychiatric patients
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-20.html
* Fear and negligence slow IT breakthrough in health care
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-21.html
* Can telemedicine make money?
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-22.html
* Telemedicine benefits are all in the mind
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-23.html
* Remote child heart checkups compare well with the real thing
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-24.html
* New centre speeds up drug approval process
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-25.html
* Telehomecare initiative starts in Singapore
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-26.html
* Is there a European healthcare market for SME's?
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-27.html
* Long Dutch hospital waiting lists to appear on the Web
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-28.html
* High value of telemedicine for renal therapy
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-29.html
* NOVICE provides hospitals with high performance visualisation
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-3.html
* Ovarian cancer treatment discussed over satellite connection
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-30.html
* American nurses play major role in telehealth guidelines
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-31.html
* Health care organizations start using Internet to measure outcomes
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-32.html
* Help tools transform video systems into full-fledged telemedicine
gear
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-33.html
* Teleradiology centre sends patient images over the net
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-4.html
* Digital picture diagnosis saves African Islanders
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-5.html
* Fast computers enable perfect 3D view of the heart geometry
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-6.html
* Advanced health care marketing discussed in Hawaii
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-7.html
* NASA and Yale partner to commercialise telemedicine
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-8.html
* Telemedicine network brings Everest expedition down to earth
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/LV-VM-07-98-9.html
* Ethernet medical network links Pacific Islands
http://www.hoise.com/vmw/articles/SW-PR-07-98-6.html
MIT Requires Online Applications
Students aspiring to attend one of the country's most prestigious
business schools can say farewell to one well-known ritual: the frantic,
down-to-the-wire trip to mail an application by the deadline. Beginning
this month, MIT's Sloan School of Management will accept applications
only via computer - apparently becoming the nation's first graduate or
undergraduate school to adopt such a policy.
Plenty of the nation's 3,400 colleges and universities have been
experimenting with electronic applications, using them as an admission
option for the computer-savvy. But the class that will enter
Massachusetts Institute of Technology's graduate business school in
September 1999 is charting new territory.
"I don't know of anybody who's gone 100 percent that way," said Mark
Milroy, chief officer of programs and services with the National
Association for College Admission Counseling. By wiping out paper
applications, MIT says it will save thousands of dollars in processing,
printing and postage costs - plus hundreds of hours of staff time.
Using a new Internet site started by the folks who sponsor the Graduate
Management Admission Test - the standardized exam for business school
admission - applicants can fill out the required Sloan School forms, pay
the application fees and arrange to have their GMAT scores sent to the
university in one electronic package.
The only items that can't be electronically mailed - at least, not yet -
are college transcripts and outside recommendations. About two dozen
other business schools, including Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth,
Northwestern, the University of Texas, Tulane, Michigan State and the
University of California-Davis, will accept electronic applications
through the GradAdvantage Web site, which went online Aug. 1.
Participating institutions pay $5,500 a year for the administrative Web
site software. Students pay a $12 processing fee for each application.
Only MIT is so far telling its future MBAs to forget about applying if
they can't go online. But exemptions will be considered in the first year
of the new plan.
Experts said it's unlikely many undergraduate schools will require only
online applications anytime soon. After all, it's elitist to assume that
every applicant has computer access, said Timothy J. McDonough, a
spokesman for the American Council on Education, which represents 1,800
colleges and universities nationwide. And Sloan is making no changes in
the back end of the process: Officials there still plan to send
acceptance and rejection letters the old-fashioned way.
Internet Virgins Called Money-making "Hoax"
A company that was to provide the computer equipment needed to show two
18-year-olds losing their virginity on the Internet said Friday the event
was a money-making hoax. Seattle-based Internet Entertainment Group
(IEG), which had signed a contract to supply the computer hardware, told
Reuters the organizers planned to charge Internet users $5 each and then
not deliver on their promise that the couple would have sex.
IEG's President Seth Warshavsky said the couple was going to have AIDS
tests and pick put condoms leading up to their Aug. 4 event and charge
viewers for "age-verification" purposes. Then on the actual day, the
couple would decide they were not ready for sex, he said. Mark Vega, the
lawyer and spokesman for the couple identified as "Mark and Diane," did
not return repeated phone calls, but in a letter posted on IEG's Web site
said the charges were false and defamatory.
Warshavsky said he was informed by Ken Tipton, the organizer of the
event, in a phone call on Friday that it was aimed at fooling more people
than Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" 60 years ago. That realistic radio
drama duped millions of Americans into thinking that Earth was being
invaded by Martians. Warshavsky said that Tipton had been using the
pseudonym Oscar Wells up until the day he signed the contract with IEG.
Wells was named on the Web site as its designer.
"He said the reason he was calling himself Oscar Wells was that this was
going to be the 60th anniversary of 'War of the Worlds' and this was
going to be bigger. The whole thing was kind of a media hoax," Warshavsky
said. Heather Dalton, IEG's spokeswoman, said, "They were not going to go
ahead with the act. They were not going to have sex on the Internet and
they were also going to charge $5 to view the site."
Attorney Vega said Thursday that the site had attracted "hundreds of
millions" of viewers and could become one the biggest ever online events.
He insisted the Web site would have been free and that the event "was not
about making money." IEG, which markets the sex video of actress Pamela
Anderson and rocker Tommy Lee on its Web sites, became involved with the
project Thursday. But 24 hours after signing the contract, the company
pulled out because it said it suspected the organizers' motives and
believed the event would not deliver on its promise.
Warshavsky said, "After investigating it and talking to them further, we
had some serious concerns about their credibility and whether they were
really going to deliver what they said they were going to deliver." IEG
hosts a variety of steamy Web sites and is best known for selling the
Anderson-Lee sex tapes. It was taken to court by the couple, who were
then married, to prevent the tape from being sold. An out-of-court
settlement was reached and the tapes are now available.
Since plans for the event came to light earlier this week, many critics
have been concerned the event was either a cyberspace hoax or a
money-making scheme. But Vega, who specializes in First Amendment cases
at a well-known Los Angeles law firm, has maintained the event was for
real and about freedom of speech. Critics said the couple looked more
like buffed, beautiful actors than dewy-eyed 18-year-olds about to share
their most intimate moment on a lavish Web site.
A T T E N T I O N ** A T T E N T I O N ** A T T E N T I O N
[Image]
LEXMARK OPTRA C
COLOR
LASER PRINTER
For a limited time only; If you wish to have a FREE sample printout sent
to you that demonstrates LEXMARK Optra CSUPERIOR QUALITY 600 dpi Laser
Color Output, please send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope [SASE]
(business sized envelope please) to:
STReport's LEXMARK Printout Offer
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155
Folks, the LEXMARK Optra C has to be the very best yet in its price range.
It is far superior to anything we've seen or used as of yet. It is said
that ONE Picture is worth a thousand words. The output from the Lexmark
Optra C is worth ten thousand words! Send for the free sample now. (For a
sample that's suitable for framing, see below) Guaranteed you will be
amazed at the superb quality. (Please.. allow at least a two week
turn-around).
If you would like a sample printout that's suitable for framingYes, that's
right! Suitable for Framing! Order this package. It'll be on special stock
and be of superb quality. We obtained a mint copy of a 1927 Color
Engraver's Year book. Our Scanner is doing "double duty"! The results will
absolutely blow you away. If you want this high quality sample package
please include a check or money order in the amount of $6.95 (Costs only)
Please, make checks or money orders payable to; STR Publishing, Inc.. Be
sure to include your full return address and telephone number . The sample
will be sent to you protected, not folded in a 9x12 envelope. Don't
hesitate.. you will not be disappointed. This "stuff" is gorgeous!
A T T E N T I O N ** A T T E N T I O N ** A T T E N T I O N
EDUPAGE STR Focus Keeping the users informed
[Image] Edupage
Contents
Server-Level Fixes For E-Mail IBM To Provide Services For Cable &
Security Flaws Wireless
Wall Street Passes Y2K Test Microsoft Asks For Dismissal Of
Antitrust Suit
Pope To Be Seen And Heard On The Smiley Faces At Apple
Internet
Strike Ends At Bell-Atlantic FTC Says Web Site Lied About
Privacy Assurances
Tracking Activity On The Web Password Snatcher
Probe Of Computer Help For Indian $100 Million Ad Campaign For Apple
Nuclear Testing
Microsoft To Fix Minor Windows Lawsuit Over Termination Of E-Mail
Problem Service
Government Lets Manufacturers Swap It's The "Touch" In Typing That's
Info On Y2K Problem Important
Pitney Bowes Seeks Licensing Fees Intel Catches Flak For Web
From PC Metering Users Advertising Tactics
Japan Continues To Invest In French Spending Up On Internet
High-Tech R&D Services
McDonald's Dishes Up Smart Cards This Spam's The Real Thing
ISPs Free From Paying Access Fees The Bigger The Better In Online Ads
Commerce Secretary Daley Pushes Bill Gates Rates Private Deposition
High-Tech Skills Training
NBC Buys Into Intertainer Electronic Arts Buys Westwood
Studios
NYU Uses Financial Aid To Lure
Foreign Students To Its Web
SERVER-LEVEL FIXES TO E-MAIL SECURITY FLAWS
Sendmail Inc., a leading producer of software used to route e-mail
through the Internet, is offering free software patches to fix security
flaws recently found in Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook 98,
and Netscape Mail. The patch will automatically trap e-mail messages
containing attached files that could take advantage of the flaws.
Microsoft and Netscape have already prepared fixes to protect their
programs from attack, but Sendmail executives say it makes sense to
install a fix at the mail server level rather than at the level of
individual computers. (New York Times 11 Aug 98)
IBM MAY PROVIDE SERVICES FOR CABLE & WIRELESS
If negotiations for the $2-3 billion deal are successful, IBM will be
providing British phone giant Cable & Wireless Communications a broad
range of information technology services. The long-term (probably
10-year) contract would be IBM's largest contract for services provided
outside the U.S. (Wall Street Journal 11 Aug 98)
WALL STREET PASSES Y2K TEST
Donald Kittell, an official of the Securities Industry Association, says
that Wall Street passed the first test of its readiness for Year 2000
problems "with flying colors." The test involved the participation of 28
firms executing a simulated trade of about 40,000 stock, bond, and option
transactions that might take place in the last two trading days of 1999
and the first two trading days of 2000. Expanded tests are planned for
next spring. (New York Times 11 Aug 98)
MICROSOFT ASKS FOR DISMISSAL OF ANTITRUST SUIT
Denying that the company is a monopoly and denying that it's illegal to
add features to a product, Microsoft is filing for dismissal of the
antitrust case brought against it by the U.S. Justice Department. The
company maintains that it added Internet features to its software not in
order to destroy rival companies, but merely to defend itself against
powerful companies of which it was "afraid." According to government
lawyer Gina Talamona, "Microsoft said nothing new today." (San Jose
Mercury News 11 Aug 98)
POPE TO BE SEEN AND HEARD ON THE INTERNET
Saying that "historically, the church has always been quick to take
advantage of the technology available to spread its message," a Vatican
spokesman announced that Roman Catholics around the world will soon be
able to use the Internet to watch live video of Pope John Paul II. A link
on http://www.vatican.va will launch the software and start the
broadcast, using RealAudio software from RealNetworks Inc. The first
broadcast will be made this Saturday. (USA Today 11 Aug 98)
SMILEY FACES AT APPLE
"We have smiles on our faces," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs
after announcing that the company received more than 150,000 advance
orders from the U.S. and Europe for its iMac computer in the past week.
"We're going to make loads of them. But will we be able to keep up with
demand? I don't know. There will be tens of thousands on shelves this
Saturday, so that may or may not be enough." (Wall Street Journal 11 Aug
98)
STRIKE ENDS AT BELL-ATLANTIC
The Communications Workers of America and Bell-Atlantic have reached a
tentative agreement that would end its two-day-old CWA strike against the
East-Coast phone company. The union says the agreement will give its
members greater access to jobs in company subsidiaries that develop new
technologies. (AP 11 Aug 98)
FTC SAYS WEB SITE LIED ABOUT PRIVACY ASSURANCES
The Web site Geocities, accused by the Federal Trade Commission of
falsely assuring two million subscribers that their personal information
was not being disclosed to others, has agreed to post its privacy policy
on the site and to discourage children under 13 from using the site
without parental permission. The new privacy statement, which admits that
the company releases personally identifiable information on its
subscribers, is reachable from a link on the Geocities home page.
(Washington Post 14 Aug 98)
TRACKING ACTIVITY ON THE WEB
Another privacy-related story: Lycos, Geocities and NBC's Videoseekers
are among the major Web sites that will participate in a new service,
called Engage, that was developed to track what people are looking at on
the Internet, so that advertisers can target their marketing efforts.
David S. Wetherell, the chief executive of CMG Information Services, the
company behind Engage, gives this example of how the service would be
used: "If someone comes to your bookstore for the first time, you can
find out if they are interested in mountain climbing, organic gardening
and tennis; you can present them books related to their interests
immediately." Mr. Wetherell adds: "We took the highest road you could
possibly take with respect to privacy. We think you can learn a lot more
about someone from their behavior than from their name and address." The
system will keep information on age, sex, income, zip code and number of
children; it will not collect information on sexual or health related
topics and will not store individual names, addresses, and birthdays.
Privacy consultant Jason Catlett says: "Engage has done many good things
to protect privacy, but my worry is that they are firing the starting gun
in the race for the bottom. The worst actors will be left to use the most
sophisticated surveillance techniques as they please." (New York Times 16
Aug 98)
PASSWORD SNATCHER
U.S. law enforcement agencies are hunting a computer vandal who broke
into companies and academic institutions around the world (including
universities such as UCLA and Harvard) and stole about 48,000 encrypted
passwords, which he or she then decoded with a program called "John the
Ripper." The vandal, who is thought to be operating in Europe, first came
to police attention when a graduate student at the University of
California, Berkeley, told officials his computer account had been
compromised. (AP 13 Aug 98)
PROBE OF COMPUTER HELP FOR INDIAN NUCLEAR TESTING
The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether Themis Computer of
Fremont, Washington, illegally sold high-speed microprocessors that were
used in the controversial nuclear tests recently conducted by the Indian
Defense Research and Development Organization. If the company knew or had
reason to know that the devices were to be used in nuclear tests, it
would have been breaking U.S. law to export them without Commerce
Department approval. However, a company executive says it had received
explicit assurances that the microprocessors were intended for
nonmilitary purposes. (San Jose Mercury News 13 Aug 98)
$100 MILLION AD CAMPAIGN FOR APPLE
Apple has prepared a $100 million advertising campaign and marketing
campaign for its new iMac system, which is being sold with slogans such
as, "I think, therefore I iMac." Co-founder and chief executive officer
Steve Jobs is getting credit for giving Apple new momentum, and the head
of a chain of Apple dealers in Florida says: "I think Jobs being Jobs is
what has created the excitement around the iMac." (Wall Street Journal 14
Aug 98)
MICROSOFT TO FIX MINOR WINDOWS PROBLEM
Microsoft will soon place onto its Win 98 site a software patch that
enables users of its Windows 98 operating system to repair a minor and
extremely rare bug that could cause an incorrect date in the computer if
a user's machine is rebooted in the last seconds before midnight.
However, the odds are pretty good that you can relax about it, because
the bug is expected to affect only one in 5 or 6 million users. (TechWeb
14 Aug 98)
LAWSUIT OVER TERMINATION OF E-MAIL SERVICE
Independent filmmaker Peter Hall is suing the Internet service provider
Earthlink Network Inc. $7 million for alleged damages to his business and
his mental health. Earthlink (acting on incorrect information received
from UUNet Technologies) had mistakenly accused him of being a spammer
and had terminated his e-mail account for several days before reinstating
it and apologizing. Some online experts say the term "spammer" is so
scurrilous that it amounts to libel. In addition to libel, Hall is
charging Earthlink with breach of contract, negligence, and a violation
of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The suit is expected to
help clarify the respective rights of Internet service providers and
their subscribers.. (New York Times Cybertimes 14 Aug 98)
GOVERNMENT LETS MANUFACTURERS SWAP INFO ON Y2K PROBLEM
The U.S. Justice Department will allow the 14,000 companies that belong
to the National Association of manufacturers, along with their computer
service suppliers, to cooperate and exchange data to help them solve
their Year 2000 problems. Since no pricing or customer information will
be shared by the companies, the Justice Department does not believe that
the cooperation efforts of member companies will diminish competition
among them. (AP 14 Aug 98)
IT'S THE "TOUCH" IN TYPING THAT'S IMPORTANT
Canadian Web filter maker Net Nanny will begin testing "biopassword"
technology on its Web site, with future plans calling for including it in
their smut filters, incorporating it into office software, and licensing
it to the security and automobile industries. The company bought the
rights to the technology, which was developed at the Stanford Research
Institute, in 1989. Biopassword technology records not only how you type
your password, but also exactly how you do it, blocking would-be
intruders who steal passwords but don't have the same keyboard touch as
the legitimate password-holder. "I once drank three pints of beer in an
hour," says Net Nanny CEO Gordon Ross. "My rhythm didn't match, and I was
denied entry to my computer, because I was impaired." So then what? "When
it ships, it will have a manual override," says Ross. (St. Petersburg
Times 17 Aug 98)
PITNEY BOWES SEEKS LICENSING FEES FROM PC METERING USERS
Postage-meter maker Pitney Bowes says it holds 15 patents covering
"fundamental metering technologies" used for everything from coding and
decoding addresses on envelopes to printing postage using a standard PC.
The company is seeking licensing agreements with firms such as E-Stamp,
that plan to market PC postage systems. E-Stamp's Internet Postage
product, which is expected to hit the market later this year or early
1999, is the first new postage method to be approved by the U.S. Postal
Service in nearly eight decades. E-Stamp's CEO denies that Internet
Postage is infringing on any Pitney Bowes patents: "We don't believe we
need to license patents from anybody in order to bring PC postage to
market." The U.S. Postal Service has declined to comment on the dispute.
(Wall Street Journal 18 Aug 98)
INTEL CATCHES FLAK FOR WEB ADVERTISING TACTICS
In an effort to sell higher-power computer chips, Intel is sponsoring an
"Intel Inside Optimized Content" program that encourages Web sites to use
dense, complicated graphics that slow down a computer's processor when
the pages are downloading from the Internet. An accompanying message
tells the user that a Pentium II microprocessor would speed up the
process. Intel normally reimburses PC makers 50% of their Web-based
advertising costs if the ad sports an "Intel Inside" logo, but ups its
contribution to 75% if the site uses complicated graphics and includes
wording that says the page could be better viewed using a Pentium II
processor. "It's a hell of an incentive," says one Web editor. "PC
companies are going to advertise on sites where they pay only 25% of the
costs, as opposed to sites where they have to pay for half of the ad."
But the innovative tactic has raised the ire of some Web site owners:
"What they're asking us to do is turn our sites into a demonstration of
their products," says a senior VP at IDG, publisher of Computerworld
magazine. "We're going to optimize our content for our readers, not for
Intel." (Tampa Tribune 17 Aug 98)
JAPAN CONTINUES TO INVEST IN HIGH-TECH R&D
Japan's economy may be on the downturn, but its high-tech companies are
spending more now on R&D than ever, according to a report by the Japan
Economic Institute. The top 20 Japanese companies are spending an average
of 3.3% more on R&D this year than in 1997, for a total of 4.4 trillion
yen or $34.7 billion. "It's essential, a must for Japanese corporations
to keep investing in R&D. It is a long-term operation," says a minister
in charge of trade, industry and energy at the Japanese Embassy in
Washington. The report goes on to say that the driving force behind the
Japanese spending is the worry that Asian trading partners like Thailand
and South Korea will try to export their way out of their problems, and
that by developing better technology Japan can continue to compete
against nations with currency and labor-cost advantages. (Investor's
Business Daily 18 Aug 98)
FRENCH SPENDING UP ON INTERNET SERVICES
French companies are spending more than two-thirds of their $4.5-billion
Internet budget on services, rather than hardware and software, according
to Mark-Ess, a French partner of Washington, DC consulting firm Market
Access. A survey of 40 mid-sized and large French companies shows that
companies are spending on establishing corporate Web sites, and
developing online newsletters and catalogues. But despite the cash
infusion, e-commerce activity in France is negligible, according to
industry figures, which put the latest estimate at around $600 million a
year. Still, the providers of value-added services who assist companies
in their Internet efforts see a market ready to explode: "We started two
years ago with nothing and now have 100 staff and sales of $8 million,"
says a co-founder of Groupe Cyber Informatique. "This should double in a
couple of years." (TechWeb 17 Aug 98)
MCDONALD'S DISHES UP SMART CARDS
More than 800 McDonald's restaurants in Germany will participate in a
pilot project that allows customers to pay for their food using smart
cards. The smart card terminals use VeriFone's Transaction Automation
Loading and Information Systems technology. An initial rollout at 55
restaurants earlier this year resulted in more than 30,000 transactions
during the first 10 weeks of the trial. "This move by the biggest retail
food seller in the world portends the future for the United States," says
Internet analyst Vernon Keenan. "We're looking at a momentum thing here
and VeriFone is not just going to the banks and financial institutions,
but they're trying to create a critical mass between the retailers,
financial institutions, and other money processors, such as First Data
Corp." (Computer Reseller News 18 Aug 98)
THIS SPAM'S THE REAL THING
Hormel Foods has decided to overlook the insult of having its Spam brand
turned into a pejorative synonym for junk e-mail, and is now looking to
the Internet as a way to enhance the brand's image. It's launched the
official Spam Web site http://www.spam.com , a domain name it acquired
years ago, along with hormel.com, hormel foods and others. The company
will capitalize on its Spam brand, selling a line of Spam-logo clothing
that includes boxer shorts and baseball caps. (New York Times 17 Aug 98)
ISPs FREE FROM PAYING ACCESS FEES
A federal appeals court has upheld the Federal Communications
Commission's ruling that Internet service providers should be exempt from
paying local phone companies the access fees that are charged to
long-distance carriers for use of the local loop. The decision was a blow
to Baby Bell companies, which had argued that on a per-customer basis,
Internet users tend to be even more of a drain on local network capacity
than long-distance callers, and should therefore liable for the charges.
The exemption was put into place more than a decade ago, when Internet
access was a fledgling industry, and Baby Bells argued that both times
and the industry had changed, and no longer warranted special protection
from the costs of doing business. (New York Times 20 Aug 98)
THE BIGGER THE BETTER IN ONLINE ADS
A survey conducted by Ipsos-ASI Inc., a Stamford, Conn. unit of a French
research company, shows that consumers are 46% to 63% more likely to
remember larger, more complicated ads than the average recall for
standard banner-type ads. Respondents said that the "interstitial" format
-- filling up the entire screen -- was effective 33% of the time in
conveying an advertiser's message, compared with 16% for banners. "Now we
have hard data that larger, more-complex online ads are generally more
effective than basic banners and can be consumer-acceptable in a
real-world environment," says an associate director of advertising at
Proctor & Gamble, one of the 10 companies that commissioned the study.
(Wall Street Journal 20 Aug 98)
COMMERCE SECRETARY DALEY PUSHES HIGH-TECH SKILLS TRAINING
U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley has unveiled a new Web site
containing profiles of some 170 information technology worker-development
programs throughout the country, and is continuing to push for regional
solutions such as worker retraining to meet the job demands of the
high-tech industry. "There are many innovative programs going on to build
a high-tech workforce, but people don't know about them," he announced at
the second in a series of town-hall meetings in Bellevue, Wash. The Web
site can be found at http://www.ta.doc.gov/go4it . (EE Times 20 Aug 98)
BILL GATES RATES PRIVATE DEPOSITION
A Washington, D.C. appeals court has overturned U.S. District Judge
Thomas Penfield Jackson's order that the deposition of Microsoft chairman
Bill Gates and other Microsoft officials be made open to the public.
Lawyers for several publications and wire services had argued on behalf
of public access, citing a 1913 law that applies strictly to antitrust
cases. Microsoft had objected to the conditions, saying that company
trade secrets could be revealed in the process. The appellate ruling
concluded that Microsoft could be harmed because "the disclosure could
not be undisclosed," and said the depositions "may proceed in the manner
they have to date," which is in private. (Wall Street Journal 20 Aug 98)
NBC BUYS INTO INTERTAINER
NBC has joined Comcast Corp., U S West, Intel and Sony in investing in
Intertainer, a pay-per-view video service on PC screens. The service is
slated for a test this fall in 200 households in Comcast's Willow Grove,
Pa., system outside Philadelphia, and shortly after that will debut in
Denver as an option on U S West's DSL service. Intertainer offers
subscribers streamed video of first-run features and kids' shows for
$3.95 apiece, with 24-hour access. The company is talking to other
potential partners, hoping to expand to 10-20 markets by the end of 1999,
says Intertainer co-chairman Jonathan Taplin. (Broadcasting & Cable 10
Aug 98)
ELECTRONIC ARTS BUYS WESTWOOD STUDIOS
Game publisher Electronic Arts is buying Westwood Studios, the coveted
computer game development arm of Virgin Interactive Entertainment Ltd.,
for $122.5 million. "Westwood is a jewel," says Pat Becker, an Electronic
Arts spokeswoman. "This is a great group of creative people." Electronic
Arts, which publishes both video console and PC-based games, is ranked
the No. 3 video game publisher behind Sony and Nintendo, and hopes the
Westwood acquisition will help boost its PC game business to the top
spot. For the first half of this year, it's trailed Cendant Corp. and GT
Interactive Software in PC game publishing, according to PC Data. "PC
games are a growing business that doesn't suffer from the transition
phase the console business goes through," says Becker. (Investor's
Business Daily 19 Aug 98)
NYU USES FINANCIAL AID TO LURE FOREIGN STUDENTS TO ITS WEB
Many colleges and universities seek to attract foreign students via the
Internet, but New York University is adding a unique financial aid
package to sweeten the deal. NYU has been working with Citibank to put
together its CitiAssist Global financial aid package aimed specifically
at foreign students. The package is unusual in that it offers loans to
students who are neither U.S. citizens nor permanent residents -- the
groups usually targeted by banks for lending. "We want to make the
funding available to people who don't have the money," says the school's
director of financial aid. "Otherwise you have only rich people." Since
posting the information on its Web site, the school has been bombarded
with e-mail inquiries about the program. Future plans include setting up
a mechanism so that applications for aid can be filed electronically.
(New York Times 19 Aug 98)
Bits & Bytes
[BITSBYTES.GIF (64527 bytes)]
Bits & Bytes
by R. F. Mariano
Welcome to STReport's NEW Marine section dedicated to boating and
computing..... Beginning with this issue, this column will be a regular
feature. The purpose of which is to provide our readers with insightful
information about the wonderful world of computers, electronics and
programming aimed at and affecting the maritime community. In the coming
months, we'll be interfacing laptops with the following goodies for your
boats; Radar, DGPS, Depth Sounders, Chart Plotters, VHF, SSB, electrical
system chargers and monitors and just about any other worthwhile
electronic device along with quality Software packages designed to make
the boating world a little safer, more comfortable and of course, more
enjoyable.
Additionally, we are currently assembling the goodies needed that'll be
used with a laptop, thus enabling the boat owner/Captain/marina operator
to automate many of the daily duties involving human intervention. As an
example, keeping an eye on the condition of the vessel's batteries in
relation to when the "shore power" should kick in to re-charge the
batteries. By doing it this way, it conserves power for the marina,
lowers the boater's overall electric bill and maximizes efficient use of
both the power and the facilities. The actual applications for using a
laptop and controlling many electronic functions, inputting course
settings to the system's navigational units, radar units, setting gps
destination numbers, plotting underwater markers, setting "favoeite
fishing spots" etc., the list could go on forever. But I'm certain you
are getting the picture. Its not too difficult to envision that, in the
not too distant future, Laptops becoming part of the oem installed
equipment list at the time the vessels are built.
We will, hopefully, be looking at a marvelous new electronic device that
is designed to not only enhance today's revised formula bottom paints but
also to work with them in protecting your vessel. This new product
protects against barnies and other pesky organisms in a remarkably
efficient fashion. It does it electronically through acoustics! According
to all preliminary reports, it does it well. We have requested the
system for demonstration, testing and review. As soon as its installed,
we will track its results. BarnacleanTM is the original sonic
antifouling system. Made in America, Barnaclean was developed and is
manufactured in Florida by boaters for boaters around the world. It's
maintenance-free, environmentally friendly, and completely automatic, no
wonder Barnaclean was named "Best Gear of '95" by Yachting Magazine!
[northstar1.gif (8273 bytes)]
The coming months will prove to be quite interesting... the first unit we
will be looking over and putting through rigorous testing will be the
NorthStar Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) model 951XD. And
later, the 961XD will grace our column. I can tell you this much
already about this unit... I have yet to hear anything negative about
this unit. In fact, while the last thing I wish to sound like is a
groupie, the truth is NorthStar has a real winner on their hands with the
9xxXD series DGPS. Look for the first installment in our next issue.
About the Northstar 951XD;
[nstar_951.GIF (48085 bytes)]
Integrated Differential GPS (DGPS) receiver and chart plotter
Northstar has proudly announced the addition of the 951X and 951XD to
its family of DGPS systems. The new 951X series has all the features
that made the 941X an instant success, with the added advantage of
Navionics cartography and 12-channel GPS performance. The internal
Tide-Track, with its 24-hour graphic display of high and low tides, the
1,000-waypoint capability, and the 3-D perspective screen that shows up
to 30 of the closest operator-entered waypoints, are just some of the
features that continue to make Northstar the leader in producing the
highest performance navigating systems today.
The 951X series integrated GPS/Chart Plotter sets a new standard for
accuracy, speed, and ease-of-use. The 951X's 12-channel GPS receiver
locks onto every satellite available. The 951XD adds an internal
dual-channel beacon receiver that uses one channel to receive
differential corrections, while the other channel searches for other
available beacons in case you lose the first. The result: a 20-fold
improvement in GPS position, speed, and heading accuracy, all fully
automatic.
The 951X series uses seamless, high-resolution charts by Navionics,
letting you pan smoothly to any area of the world. In addition, the
Northstar adds new high-speed "rapid response" technology that lets you
zoom in or out, or display a new area of the chart, in just a fraction
of a second!
Navigation
Charting:
* Nav-Chart cartridges by Navionics
* Scales from 4096 to 1/8 NM
* Display chart data, vessel, waypoints, routes, track
history
* Vessel-centered mode
* Cursor-following Browse mode
* Built-in worldwide chart to 64 NM scale
* Layer display control
* Chart redraw in less than > sec
* "Find-it-Fast" cursor locator pointers
* "No-Chart" indicator
Position Data:
* Latitude/longitude (158 datums) from GPS with one-second
updates
* Phantom Loran-C TDs (calculated from GPS)
* Loran-C TDs (from your existing loran: one second from
Northstar 800, two seconds from other lorans)
* Real-time receiver status screens
The compact 951X combines the most accurate GPS and the best chart
plotter in one unit, and it's rugged and completely waterproof.
Performance. Reliability. Accuracy. The 951X delivers. For more
information, please call Northstar at 800-628-4487.
The 951XD is the unit we have and are installing on one of our test
vessels. All the installation work will be done by us. We will be using
a Digital Camera to provide candid shots of our efforts from the ground
up. The vessel we will be using is a thirty foot, twin engine, cruiser
equipped to support both inshore and offshore sportfishing. Thus far, we
have quite a line-up for you to discover and the the best part is you
will be doing all these things right along with us. Including action
packed Fishing Trips. The DGPS installation will be done this week. The
entire procedure will be covered in our next issue. Once installed, we
shall put this puppy through its paces. Interfacing it with our laptops
and other devices. In the 951XD we'll have a number of extra Charts
provided by Navionics... On the laptops we'll be using Fish Net, Florida
Fishing & Tide Guide, Maptech's Charting Software and Chartview Pro. All
of which will be thoroughly covered in the coming weeks.
[nstar_951_SPEC.gif (66767 bytes)]
[Casts.GIF (10988 bytes)]
Got a question relative to something....
* We have covered or reviewed?
* Want something reviewed?
* Want to tell us a thing or two?
* This is the place...
[email14.gif (38893 bytes)]
[Image] STReport's "Partners in Progress"
Advertising Program
The facts are in... STReport International 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. With a readership of
better that 200,000 per week, 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!
"Partners in Progress" Program.. Call Today!
STR Publishing, Inc. (STR, STReport, CPU Report);
* maintains a commitment to utilizing the power of the Internet and Web
to keep computer users, worldwide, both private and commercial,
informed of new trends in equipment, upgrade reports and future
planning.
* offers highly informative Hardware and Software Reviews, Press
Releases, hands-on stories, user experiences and show reports.
* presents the NEWS about new hardware, new software and how-to
publications within HOURS of its being made public.
* is dedicated to keeping the users informed of what your company has
to offer at incredibly, almost the moment its offered!
* Will maintain the free status STReport has the very best value in
online magazines today
Take full advantage of STReport's Exciting "Partners in Progress"
Programs!
MAXIMIZE your Company's Presence Worldwide. TODAY!
Your company's color ad, banner or teaser as described/submitted by you or
designed by us, will appear in either STReport International Magazine or
on our Website (your choice). STReport is published and released weekly on
Fridays Evenings. (except for July and August when its once a month)
Trade-outs and Special Arrangements are available.
Email us at
rmariano@streport.com
or, for quick action call us at:
VOICE: 904-292-9222 10am/5pm est FAX: 904-268-2237 24hrs
Or, write us at:
STR Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32205
The Linux Advocate
Column #18
August 20th, 1998
by Scott Dowdle
dowdle@icstech.com
ICQ UIN: 15509440
LOGIN:
"WOW!" ...is all I can say about all of the things that have happened
both in the Linux community and to me personally since the last column.
First of all, I gathered about 100 news URLs but decided to cut the news
section to a bare minimum.
There were a ton of software announcements from some major vendors with
the most notable being Oracle, Informix, Ingress, and Netscape... all
promising their enterprise market software for Linux. IBM even jumped
into the fray by stating that they have their enterprise software ported
to Linux but plan on watching how the other vendors do before they
officially announce it and offer support. In a recent interview, an IBM
spokesman said that they have decided to offer everything for Linux but
to the best of my knowledge, they haven't made any formal announcement.
There were a ton of Linux related articles in the online and print
computer press publications. It seems that articles about Linux are
becoming so common, they are hardly worth mentioning anymore. :)
On a personal note, I recently got a job offer I couldn't turn down.
"Systems Programmer" for Montana Communications Network. MCN is the
largest Internet Service Provider in the state of Montana... serving over
100 communities. After having worked in a grocery store for the past 7
and 1/2 years, I am very excited to finally get a job I think I'm going
to love. I don't start until Sept. 1st and I'll be moving from Great
Falls to Billings. Wish me luck. I could have never gotten this job
without the experience using Linux has given me. MCN uses BSDi and
Solaris so I should fit right in... and I'm sure to use Linux for my
development work since portability is a given.
NEWS:
Item #1: Linus speaks again, and again, and again - There was a recent
rash of interviews with Linus Torvalds. Linus has been speaking more and
more about Microsoft and Windows. Check out ALL of the following URLs.
Read every last word! :)
* Linus makes the cover of Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/98/0810/6209094a.htm
* Linus in the print issue and the digital pages of the last BOOT
magazine:
http://www.bootnet.com/youaskedforit/lip_linux_manifesto.html
* Linus in some German computer magazine... English translation:
http://www.heise.de/ct/english/98/16/032/
Item #2: NASA uses Beowulf for law enforcement - It seems that more and
more uses are being found for the "supercomputer off the shelf." NASA has
put together yet another Beowulf cluster as a computer crime
countermeasure. With their 24-node, parallel processing Beowulf cluster
they can now analyze data in real time rather than weeks or days after
the fact. Check out the following URL for more info:
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/14450.html
Item #3: Just what is the Linux Community? - In an article entitled,
"Missing the Whole Point of Linux," Robin Miller zeros in on a concept
that is foreign to the Microsoft crowd. I use the term "Linux community"
all the time and my definition of what it is isn't very different from
Mr. Miller's. Check out the following URL:
http://www.andovernews.com/cgi-bin/news_column.pl?118
Item #4: SunWorld online dedicates an issue to Linux - Check out all of
the articles covering Linux this month at the following URL:
http://www.sunworld.com/sunworldonline/swol-08-1998/
Item #5: Caldera news update - Check out Caldera's news page to learn
more about the following: 1) Court orders Microsoft to hand over source
code to Windows 95 to Caldera Inc, 2) Netware for Linux is released with
support for NDS, and 3) Caldera adopts KDE for next OpenLinux release.
Complete coverage of may be found at the following URL:
http://www.caldera.com/news/index.html
In a related item, Tom Yager of InfoWorld magazine wrote up a review of
Netware for Linux entitled, "NetWare for Linux: neat party trick," which
may be found at the following URL:
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayTC.pl?/reviews/980817nwlinux.htm
Item #6: National Public Radio did another show about Alternative
Operating Systems on their Science Friday program. They had some pretty
high profile guests so check it out ASAP! The entire hour can be found
online in RealAudio format at the following URL:
http://www.npr.org/programs/totn/archives/1998/980724.totn.html
Item #7: Will Ballmer take the fall when Linux supplants Windows NT 5.0?
- Here's a tongue in cheek editorial about the "real" reason Bill Gates
stepped down as President of Microsoft... in the digital pages of
InfoWorld even:
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayNew.pl?/petrel/980727np.htm
SPOTLIGHT: ICQ for Linux? A look at Licq
Given the vast popularity of Mirabilis' ICQ program on the Internet...
and given the fact that they only produce versions of ICQ for Windows and
the Mac... and given the vast hacker qualities that exist among many in
the Linux community... how long was it before a compatible clone of ICQ
became available for Linux? While Mirabilis (recently bought out by
America OnLine) HAS produced a platform independent version of ICQ based
on Java, it isn't very popular... even though it will run on Linux, I'm
told it is a resource hog. Since I don't even have the Java Development
Kit installed on my machine, I opted to try one of the seven Linux native
ICQ clones - Licq. The Licq Homepage can be found at the following URL:
http://pages.infinit.net/fairoff/licq/index.html
First of all, Licq is written by Graham Roff (UIN: 2127503). The reason
there are so many ICQ clones to pick from is because the knowledge that
has been gathered on the ICQ protocol has been made publicly available.
In fact, there is a homepage devoted to keeping up with all of the
programs and co-ordinating the various development efforts (Linux/Unix,
Amiga, BeOS, Atari MiNT, and Acorn). It may be found at the following
URL:
http://www.student.nada.kth.se/~d95-mih/icq/
A Linux specific ICQ development page can be found at the following URL:
http://www.portup.com/~gyandl/icq/
Licq is currently still in development with a version number of 0.40
preview 4. I've been using it since 0.34 and it is very stable and
rapidly developing.
Mirabilis has developed several versions of the ICQ protocol and the
various clones aren't fully compatible with every feature of the latest
official Mirabilis release. For complete details, refer to the previously
mentioned homepages as they have documented everything.
I'd like to say that Graham Roff was a great help to me with getting a
working version of the program. Both he and I are Red Hat Linux 5.1 users
and he was able to assist me with some RHL specific problems that arose
from the fact that the C++ compiler and C++ libraries that shipped with
the initial release of RHL 5.1 were broken. I've sent Mr. Roff a half
dozen or more emails and he always responded in a timely and helpful
manner. Chalk up another one for the Linux community. Licq is based on
the QT QUI widget library ( which is based on C++ and I ended up getting
a newer release of the GNU C++ compiler and the libc6 (aka glibc/thread
safe) libraries, compiling my own copy of QT from the sources provided by
Troll Tech, and then compiling my own copy of Licq. While that might
sound like a daunting task for non-programmers (admittedly, I'm not much
of a programmer yet) it really wasn't much of a task given the fact that
everything was built with GNU Autoconf, and GNU Make. All I had to do was
unpack the source code and type the following commands at the command
prompt:
configure <enter>
make <enter>
make install <enter>
It took a few minutes to compile. GNU Autoconf is designed to examine
your system completely and modify the Makefiles (used by GNU make) so
that they will compile without a problem on your system. While all of the
flavors of Unix are thought to be a sort of "Baltic State," full of
inconsistancy and non-compatibility, reports of such are highly
exaggerated, especially when it comes to software source written by
authors who utilize Autoconf.
I'll provide some screenshots of Licq in action although when I was
grabbing them, I didn't have a whole lot of ICQ activity going on... but
one should be able to figure out how it works and what features it has
(relative to the real version of ICQ) easily since Licq has a very nice
user interface.
Here's the main screen:
[licq-main.gif (11479 bytes)]
The following windows are the various tabs found in the Functions
dialogue box. They should be self explanatory.
[licq-func3.gif (6411 bytes)]
[licq-func5.gif (9435 bytes)]
Licq also supports user to user chat but I didn't have any going to take
a screenshot of. I have used it a few times and it works fine. It looks
exactly like the real ICQ chat window BUT it has a white background with
black text... rather than the other way around in the real ICQ. Many if
the display options can be customized in Licq, either graphically within
the main program or via value assignments in the plain text configuration
file.
I've been using Licq whenever I'm connected to the Internet and it has
performed like a champ even though I've been through 4 beta test versions
now. There have been a handful of times that Licq crashed... but since
it's running on Linux, it didn't harm anything when it did... so I just
started it back up and all was well. While, as I mentioned, there are at
least seven different ICQ clones to pick from for Linux these days, Licq
is the only one I've really used for any length of time because it is the
most mature.
One of the other programs is called Kicq and is built to communicate more
directly with KDE (the desktop environment I use). Kicq looks very, very
much like the real ICQ program and even has all of the animations in the
various dialogue boxes but it doesn't have all of the functionality that
Licq has NOW. It'll be interesting to see how all of the ICQ clones
progress. A couple of the other clones are text based and run fine from
the console/command line or from a remote shell account... but of course,
since the GUI based clones are built for the X Window Systems, remote
operation is a given as well. In conclusion, Licq is a quality product
even in this stage of its development and Graham Roff deserves a round of
applause. I know I'm clapping!
SPOTLIGHT: VNC = Virtual Network Computer = Real COOL!
For starters, the VNC homepage can be found at the following URL:
http://www.orl.co.uk/vnc/
The VNC homepage has an excellent description of what VNC is, as well as
a good selection of screenshots. While I borrowed from the online VNC
documentation to provide a description of the product, I produced my own
screenshots.
(Begin quote from VNC documentation here)
What is VNC? - A practical introduction
VNC stands for Virtual Network Computing. It is, in essence, a remote
display system which allows you to view a computing 'desktop' environment
not only on the machine where it is running, but from anywhere on the
Internet and from a wide variety of machine architectures.
What makes it different from other systems?
For this simple mode of operation, you could achieve a similar effect by
installing an X server on your PC. The important factors which
distinguish VNC from other remote display systems such as X are as
follows:
No state is stored at the viewer. This means you can leave your desk, go
to another machine, whether next door or several hundred miles away,
reconnect to your desktop from there and finish the sentence you were
typing. Even the cursor will be in the same place. With a PC X server, if
your PC crashes or is restarted, all the remote applications will die.
With VNC they go on running.
It is small and simple. The Win32 viewer, for example, is about 150K in
size and can be run directly from a floppy. There is no installation
needed. It is truly platform-independent. A desktop running on a Linux
machine may be displayed on a PC. Or a Solaris machine. Or any number of
other architectures. The simplicity of the protocol makes it easy to port
to new platforms. We have a Java viewer, which will run in any
Java-capable browser. We have a Windows NT server, allowing you to view
the desktop of a remote NT machine on any of these platforms using
exactly the same viewer. (The NT server is not multi-user - see the
documentation). We developed VNC to give us platform-independence after
the success of our Teleporting system, which was purely X-based.
It is sharable. One desktop can be displayed and used by several viewers
at once, allowing CSCW-style applications.
It is free! You can download it, use it, and redistribute it under the
terms of the GNU Public Licence. Both binaries and source code are
available from the download page, along with a complete copy of this
documentation.
(End quote from VNC documentation here)
What can I use VNC to do?
Well, assuming you have network access via TCP/IP (over the Internet, a
LAN, or whatever), you can run the server on any supported platform, and
then connect to the server by running either the viewer (again, on any
machine platform) or via your Java enabled browser. Let me give you an
example. The following are screenshots I captured from my home LAN which
is made up of my laptop running Linux (limited to 640x480 internal
display) and my desktop running Windows 95 (on the wife's side of the
machine).
The screen capture below was done on the laptop (running the Linux native
VNCviewer) connected to the desktop (running Windows server).
[vnc-Win-in-Xviewer.jpg (23150 bytes)]
As you can see, I'm viewing the Windows 95 desktop in a window on my
Linux based KDE desktop.
The screen capture below is the same thing except instead of using the
VNCviewer to connect, I'm using Netscape since VNC comes with a Java
Applet that it sends to your WWW browser automatically.
[vnc-Win-in-Xbrowser.jpg (23989 bytes)]
As you can tell, this screenshot looks very similar to the previous one,
only the desktop is displayed within Netscape's browser window. To use
your browser to connect to a VNCserver all you have to do is enter the IP
address and the port number. VNC uses the port number 5800 + display
number. In the above case, the URL was "http://desktop:5800". When your
browser starts to load the page, the VNCserver will automatically
transfer a Java Applet to your browser which it will run. A login screen
then appears and you enter the appropriate password.
Now let's take a look at things the other way around...
The screen capture below was done on the Windows 95 machine running the
VNCviewer connecting to my Linux laptop which is running the VNCserver.
[vnc-Win-in-Xviewer.jpg (23150 bytes)]
The resolution is set to 1024x768 on Windows 95 and the X display is also
set to 1024x768. Whenever the desktop being viewed is larger than the
window it is being displayed in, you can scroll around in your window to
access all of the desktop screen. As you can see, I'm running a copy of
ApplixWare (shameful plug) in X.
Notice that the URL for the desktop is "http://laptop:5802". You see,
since Unix, in this case Linux, fully supports multi-users you can run as
many copies of the X Window System as you want. Each X display has it's
own display number. In this example, I've created an account named quest1
and am running the VNCserver as guest1. I just happened to also be
running a copy of the X window system as myself (account dowdle) on the
same machine and dowdle's X display was #1, and guest1's X display was
display #2. To connect to a VNCserver with your browser, you just connect
to the correct port + the display number which in this case equals 5800 +
2 = 5802. If you use the VNCviewer to connect, you also have to give the
display number so this isn't limited to using a browser for the client. I
probably should have done some screen captures of what the VNC login
dialogue box looks like (from the VNCviewer and the Java Applet) but I
think I have enough screenshots for this edition of the column. :)
I don't have access to a Macintosh so I was unable to produce screenshots
that show using the Mac as a server or a client... but I'm sure you get
the idea.
Since the Microsoft Windows desktop and the MacOS desktop can only be run
once, the VNCserver shares a single desktop between users. There is a
share option to allow more than one client to connect to the same desktop
with the local user. When multiple users are sharing the same desktop,
they share the mouse pointer. This can be somewhat confusing but it does
work and you get used to it in no time.
Since the X Window Systems may be run multiple times, even as different
users at the same time, the VNCserver can be run as many times as you
need. Of course, running multiple copies of X tends to hog up system
resources on your average home user machine (my laptop is a Pentium 75
with 40MB of RAM and it can handle two copies of X running just fine, I
haven't tried more than two though). Since a user can pick from dozens of
different window manager programs, what your X desktop looks like is
totally up to you. In the above examples, I was running KDE but you can
start up multiple copies of X with different window managers just fine.
This isn't a feature of VNC really, but of X... I just thought I'd point
that out.
You don't have to run a separate copy of X to allow desktop sharing
though as the Unix version of the VNCviewer has a share option that
allows multiple users to share the same desktop, just like the Windows
and Mac versions do. The same mouse pointer sharing happens and it's kind
of funny to watch. Over the past few weeks I've really given the
VNCserver, VNCviewer, and the VNC Java Applet a real going over and I've
not found any problems with it. I've gone out of my way to put it in
situations that I thought were problematic and it worked just fine. Here
are a few examples:
1) I ran the server and the viewer on the same machine. Then I ran a
second copy of the viewer on the same machine in shared mode... which
means, I had the same desktop in two different windows. Moving the mouse
around in one of them also moves it around in the other. It's kind of odd
to view two pointers moving at the same time but you get used to it. :)
2) I ran the server on both machines (one in Windows and the other one in
Linux) and then I connected to the other one. What this did is let me use
one machine while it had a window opened up to the other. If that doesn't
make sense to you at first just think about it. It works fine.
3) I had many IRC friends connect (not at the same time) to my Linux
laptop running the VNCserver under the guest1 account. This limits them
to being able to access the files owned by guest1 which is just fine. No
risk really, since I set up the guest1 account for guests, right? I
didn't want to put my friends out so I just gave them the URL to connect
to (so they wouldn't have to go out of their way to download the VNC
package) with either Netscape or MS Internet Explorer. No problems were
reported by any of the half dozen people who tried it... including a
person as far away as Singapore. On several occasions I ran a local copy
of the VNCviewer so I could share the desktop with my remote user and it
worked just fine. Doing it this way is very handy for showing people
Linux/KDE for the first time and running a few programs for them. It
works rather nicely.
4) I did attempt the impossible once. Take the previous example and throw
in a banana peal... as while I was sharing a remote user's connection to
the VNCserver running as guest1... I ran the VNCviewer within a viewed
session. It tried to work... it brought up a viewer window inside of the
viewer window but the display was all grey and it never updated. It
didn't crash but it did have to be shutdown because it didn't function
anymore. It didn't crash Linux (as if that was even possible) or anything
but attempting to run a viewer inside of itself simply doesn't work...
and why should it anyway? Didn't I say made every attempt to strain this
system to the limits? This was the last example.
A note on performance: My home LAN is 10BaseT which means it runs at
10Mbits per second over Ethernet cards with an oversized telephone jack
connector. While there are 100Mbit cards and LANs based on them, I didn't
have access to one to try it out. Using a VNC desktop isn't as fast as
the real thing and the speed varies depending on the speed of the
hardware involved and the bandwidth between server and client. Over my
10BaseT network running the VNCviewer, there was a noticeable difference
in speed when compared to the real thing. If I had to guess the speed
difference I'd have to say that it runs about three-quarters the speed of
the real thing but that's just a rough guess. This is a display speed
thing I'm talking about here, as the actual speed a program runs at isn't
altered at all... the display is just slower. When connecting to a VNC
server with your WWW browser, there is even a more noticeable speed
difference. The Java Applet based viewer running in your browser just
doesn't update the screen fast enough and even over 10BaseT Ethernet it
is annoyingly slow, especially if you have to scroll the browser window
to see the whole desktop.
Over the Internet, given my 28.8 PPP connection, a VNC desktop runs
proportionally slower in both the VNCviewer and a WWW browser connection.
While it might be annoyingly slow for some, it does still work. If I had
to guess, I'd say that the VNCviewer is about twice as fast as the
browser based Java Applet... but even over 28.8 the Java Applet is
usable... it is darn slow but usable. Connecting via WWW browser over the
Internet gives one enough encouragement to go get the stand-alone VNC
package so one can try the VNCviewer and see how much faster it is. Of
course, how much bandwidth the users on both the server and client sides
are using for other Internet services (like web surfing, IRCing, etc) is
a factor so keep in mind. Often times I had my wife's desktop using the
Internet through my Linux laptop's 28.8 connection while I had a user
browsing a desktop with VNC. That's a completely different subject (IP
Masquerading) which I plan to cover next column. :)
Oh, I almost forgot to mention... the Windows VNCviewer has many options
not available in the Unix version. For example, there is a full screen
mode. I tried this out and it works great. I had the Windows 95 display
property set to 1024x768 and then switched the VNCviewer into full screen
mode. The result was that my VNC'ed X session consumed the entire display
and was it was no longer in a window. The only way I could tell I wasn't
on the real thing was that the display was a little slower.
VNC is truly an alternative to buying a commercial X Windows Server for
Microsoft Windows or the Mac... which usually run you several hundred
dollars. I've also heard that there is a version of VNC for the 3Com
PalmPilot but it isn't maintained by nor distributed by the ORL folks.
The PalmPilot version was made possible because VNC is free and open
source. I'd expect to see more platform flavors of it to become available
over time.
In conclusion, while I tried to cover everything, please visit the VNC
Homepage for complete information, documentation, and to download your
own copy. I highly recommend it! And besides... if you work in a network,
it's fun to install VNC on other people's machines and have the server
start at bootup so you can connect to their machines while they are using
them... and freak them out by typing random words or moving the mouse
pointer around. Just kidding.
SPOTLIGHT: What will Microsoft's strategy be against Linux?
Given that many major players in the business software world have
committed to providing their products for Linux (Oracle, Informix,
Computer Associates, Netscape, and Corel as examples), how long will it
be before we see some backlash from the Microsoft marketing machine?
While such a question a couple of months ago might have been limited to
the Linux community, the mainstream computer industry press (both online
and in print) have started writing about how Linux is being perceived
more and more as a threat to the success of Windows NT. While I've seen
at least a dozen articles over the past couple of weeks, I'll provide
info on the two most recent I've run across.
A recent story in LANTIMES Online entitled, "Linux legitimacy rallies NT
skeptics," dated August 17th, 1998 can be found at the following URL:
http://www.lantimes.com/98/98aug/808b001a.html
Another story from Network World Online says basically the same thing as
the previous article...