ST Report: 10-Nov-95 #1145

From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 11/25/95-09:43:10 AM Z


From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 10-Nov-95 #1145
Date: Sat Nov 25 09:43:10 1995



1

                                      

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November 10, 1995                                                        No.
1145

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>From the Editor's Desk...
     
     Not too much to carry on about this week other than COMDEX!!  The new
products, the updates and the full upgrades are flowing like crazy.  Windows
95, much to the disappointment of those who wish it would go away, has become
the standard of most everyone using the PC.  And I might add, with good
reason.  The speed, ease of use and sheer pleasure of using it makes the
slight effort of becoming accustomed to Win95 hardly noticeable.  If you are
considering making the change and are slightly hesitant due to the ranting
and raving of the DOS Babies and "OU2" zealots. hesitate no longer.  Make a
real change for the positive in your computing productivity and fun.  Get
started with Win95.
     The coming mode of communications is ISDN, in this issue, we begin the
second phase of our ISDN coverage.  Much of what we have is courtesy if the
Compuserve ISDN Forum.  Talk about having the "latest skinny" on what's
happening with ISDN worldwide this forum has it.  We have been working on an
interview with one of Bell South's Head Engineers.  So far, what he's had to
offer in the way of the very near future, as far as Ma Bell is concerned,
makes the Star Wars Initiative antique!
     
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                        Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson



                           AT&T, Novell Enter Pact
     An  agreement has been reached by AT&T to integrate its dial-up Internet
service   with  Novell  Inc.'s  PerfectOffice  suite  of  desktop   software.
Reporting  from  Basking Ridge, New Jersey, the Reuter News  Service  saysthe
deal means Novell users will be able to access the Internet from their PCs at
the touch of a button, once AT&T's WorldNet service is commercially available
early next year.  WorldNet is currently in beta testing, Reuters adds.

                         Daniel Eilers Leaves Apple
     The  latest  victim in the current management shakeup at Apple  Computer
Inc. is Daniel Eilers. Considered one of Apple's most powerful executives and
a key strategist of late, Eilers has resigned after reported differences with
CEO  Michael  Spindler.  The 40-year-old Eilers' departure comes  just  weeks
after  chief financial officer Joseph A. Graziano resigned when he failed  to
persuade  Apple's board to sell or merge the company.  Writing  in  the  Wall
Street  Journal this morning, reporter Jim Carlton quotes industry executives
close  to  the  company as saying Eilers sided with Graziano, alienating  him
from Spindler who, along with the board, rejected such a move.
     "The  executives  say  that  Mr.  Eilers,  head  of  Apple's  world-wide
marketing, was forced to resign after Mr. Spindler shifted the responsibility
for  marketing from Mr. Eilers to Apple's various regions around the  world,"
Carlton  writes. "Another executive said Mr. Eilers supported  the  marketing
breakup,  but  resigned when he found it left him without his job."   Carlton
says  the  loss  of  Eilers "could prove acute for Apple," noting  that  like
Graziano, Eilers "was highly respected in the organization, having worked  in
the  executive  ranks  for  about 12 years."  Earlier  this  year,  following
another shakeup when Vice President Ian W. Diery was forced out of his job by
Spindler, Eilers was promoted from his stewardship of Apple's Claris software
unit to coordinate all of the company's marketing efforts.
     "The  move,"  says the Journal, "put him in a position of  power  second
only  to  Mr. Spindler, along with Mr. Graziano and David Nagel,  a  software
chief  who then was elevated to run engineering. Mr. Eilers' name,  in  fact,
had  surfaced  recently  in industry circles as one who  might  be  named  to
succeed Mr. Spindler, should the chief executive ever be replaced."

                        Ian Diery Tapped to Lead AST
     Former Apple Computer Inc. executive Ian W. Diery has been named the new
president/CEO  of  struggling  computer maker  AST  Research  Inc.   In  this
morning's  Wall  Street  Journal, reporter Jim  Carlton  says  AST  also  now
indicates  it  may  let  its  biggest  shareholder,  South  Korea's   Samsung
Electronics  Co.,  take control of the company.  Carlton characterizes  these
"surprise  moves"  by  AST  as "a bold admission it  needs  outside  help  to
survive."
     Late  yesterday the Irvine, California, company also reported a  larger-
than-expected loss of $96.4 million for the fiscal first period  ended  Sept.
30.  The Journal notes that the loss of $2.36 a share compares with a loss of
$39.4 million, or $1.22 a share, for the same period a year earlier.  Revenue
fell  19 percent to $403.4 million from $495.4 million.  "The results,"  says
the  paper, "bring to six the number of consecutive quarters in which AST has
lost  money amid a cascade of problems that have included new product delays,
component shortages and its inability to digest a $175 million acquisition of
Tandy Corp.'s personal computer business about two years ago."
     Carlton  says in bringing in Diery to run AST, Safi Qureshey's influence
over  the  company he co-founded "is greatly diminished," adding the 44-year-
old  Qureshey will remain as chairman, "but relinquishes most control of  the
company  to Mr. Diery."  On Diery's performance at Apple, Carlton notes  that
the  charismatic  Australian, who was forced out of Apple  last  April  in  a
restructuring  by  Apple  CEO Michael Spindler, "proved  a  fiery,  combative
general who earned praise from some analysts for his operational ability  but
criticism from others for short-sightedness in areas such as Apple's need  to
license its Macintosh operating system."
     However,  observers  think Diery could be just the person  to  turn  AST
around.  Consultant Tim Bajarin told the paper, "Diery comes in with  a  very
strong  vision  of  the personal-computer industry. This  means  that  Safi's
method of guiding the company has not worked and they have to have someone of
Diery's caliber to get them out of the hole."

                      Eilers Says He Wasn't Forced Out
     Daniel Eilers says he is not being forced out of his top-level executive
post  at Apple Computer Inc., that his resignation was his idea.  As reported
yesterday, Eilers, considered one of Apple's most powerful executives  and  a
key  strategist  of  late, has resigned after reported differences  with  CEO
Michael  Spindler.  Some observers think tension between Eilers and  Spindler
could  have surfaced as Eilers apparently sided with Joseph Graziano, Apple's
chief financial officer who quit last month after failing to persuade Apple's
board to sell or merge Apple in order to boost market share.
     However,  Eilers has told Susan Moran of the Reuter News Service,  "Some
people  think  there's this Byzantine plot related to Graziano. Exactly  what
Joe's  mission  was  I  can't tell you ... but no, I've not  been  advocating
selling. In a way, I've worked myself out of a job, but it's the right  thing
for the company."
     He  adds  that  he  firmly  advocated Apple's decision,  also  announced
earlier, to restructure its marketing and sales operations in order to  boost
efficiency  and  become more customer based.  Eilers, who was  promoted  last
April  to  head  the worldwide marketing and customer solutions organization,
says,  "We've  asked  ourselves over the last  six  months  what's  the  most
effective  way  to  get sales and marketing activities  done  at  Apple.  The
conclusion was we needed to hardwire sales and marketing together and  become
closer to customers in particular geographies."
     That means decentralizing, which leaves Eilers jobless, he says.  Eilers
said  Spindler asked him to stay on but in a lesser role, "not  because  they
were  demoting  me but because there wasn't anything. Frankly, I  appreciated
it,  but  I've  become accustomed to the responsibilities I've had.  And  the
pyramid gets narrower at the top."  He told Reuters that Apple's board, which
met  last  month,  discussed the issue and that the  reorganization  and  his
departure  were decided "over the last couple weeks." He says  he  will  stay
through  the transition, possibly until sometime in December.  Meanwhile,  he
only said he has been fielding calls from headhunters," Reuters says.

                      Apple Licenses Newton Technology
     Apple  Computer  Inc.,  looking to further expand its  personal  digital
assistant (PDA) technology into specialized markets, is licensing its  Newton
platform  to  a  pair  of  firms.  Schlumberger  Electronic  Transactions  of
Montrouge, France, and Digital Ocean of Lenexa, Kansas, will separately offer
products based on Newton technology. The agreements' terms weren't revealed.
     Schlumberger  Electronic Transactions, a division of Schlumberger  Ltd.,
plans  to use the Newton technology in integrated "smart card" systems, which
are  designed  to automate medical transactions.  Digital Ocean  Inc.,  which
specializes  in  wireless  connectivity products,  will  combine  the  Newton
platform  and  Global  Positioning System (GPS) and  wireless  communications
technologies into products for the manufacturing, transportation, health care
and  services industries.  "The support of our licensees is critical  to  the
proliferation  of the Newton platform as the standard for PDAs,"  says  Sandy
Benett,  acting  vice president of Apple's Newton Systems Group.   "With  the
addition of Digital
     Ocean  and  Schlumberger  as  Newton licensees,  we  expect  to  see  an
expansion  in  the  range of innovative new solutions  based  on  the  Newton
platform."

                         HP, Apple Linked in Rumors
     There's  no  official comment, of course, but Wall  Street  is  thinking
again  that Apple Computer Inc. is a takeover candidate. This time,  Hewlett-
Packard  Co. is being cast as the suitor.  From Los Angeles, the Reuter  News
Service  says  Apple isn't talking.  "I can't speculate  or  comment  on  any
rumors about mergers, acquisitions or takeovers," a spokeswoman told the wire
service.   Earlier yesterday, a Hewlett-Packard spokeswoman also declined  to
comment on the rumors.  As reported earlier, insiders have said IBM was close
to  buying Apple last summer.  Also analysts have cited other companies  over
the  past  several  months as potential bidders for  Apple,  including  AT&T,
Oracle Corp., and Japan's Canon Inc.

                        Maxtor Accepts Hyundai Buyout
     Disk  drive maker Maxtor Corp. has agreed to a $223 million buyout  from
Hyundai  Electronics Industries for the 63 percent of the  company  that  the
South  Korean firm does not already own.  As reported, Maxtor agreed  earlier
this  year  to  sell 37 percent of itself to Hyundai for $150  million.  This
time, Hyundai has agreed to pay $6.70 a share for the 33.3 million shares  of
Maxtor  it does not own, according to United Press International in a  report
from San Jose, California.
     The  wire  service  notes that Hyundai twice has  sweetened  its  buyout
offer.  Earlier  this week, it offered $6.15 a share, or $204 million,  after
Maxtor  spurned a bid of $5.15 a share, or $171 million.  UPI says a  special
committee  of  its board, composed entirely of non-management  directors  not
affiliated  with  Hyundai, decided to agree to Hyundai's latest  offer  on  a
unanimous  vote.  Maxtor, UPI comments, "has been scrambling to  account  for
older products that have lost value in recent years amid brutal price cutting
and a rush to release higher-capacity drives."
     Last  week the company announced a loss of $44.5 million for its  second
quarter ended Sept. 30, narrower than a loss of $54.7 million in the year-ago
period.  Revenues were off 10.9 percent to $281.4 million from $315.9 million
in the year-ago quarter.

                          Radius Inc. Cuts 150 Jobs
     Macintosh  clone maker Radius Inc. says it will lay off nearly one-third
of its staff -- some 150 workers -- and post an operating loss of $25 million
to  $30  million  in  its fourth fiscal quarter, which  ended  in  September.
Reporting from Sunnyvale, California, the Reuter News Service quotes  company
officials  as  saying  the firm will incur restructuring  charges  "at  least
equal" to that amount in the quarter.
     The  latest staff cuts come just a week after Radius gave pink slips  to
90  employees.   Reuters says the cutbacks are geared to focus the  company's
business  on the graphics, digital video, and other markets. Radius  says  it
will  discontinue  selling  mass market displays and  other  low  value-added
products.   A spokeswoman told the wire service the firm will have about  170
staff  members  after  the  layoffs.  Radius says  it  will  focus  on  "next
generation"   digital  video  tools,  3-D  graphics  cards,   and   rendering
acceleration.
     "Among  the  changes,"  says  Reuters,  "it  will  sell  high-resolution
monitors  rather  than  general purpose ones, and  will  not  sell  CPU's  as
aggressively."   Radius official Dee Cravens blames the company's travails on
Mac  maker Apple Computer Inc., which has had its own problems recently  with
executive  defections,  supply  constraints,  and  margin  pressure  due   to
competitive price cuts.
     Says  Cravens, "This should be a clear signal to Apple that this is  not
healthy  for  both  of  us,"  adding Apple did not understand  the  licensing
process and was too intent on making money from the hefty licensing fees that
it  charges  Radius.  Cravens says Apple should focus on getting more  market
share  for Apple-related products by charging a nominal fee, pointing to  the
dearth of other companies making Macintosh clones.

                      NexGen Hit With Shareholders Suit
     Chip  maker  NexGen Inc. says a suit has been filed against it  and  its
directors by two shareholders.  The complaint alleges that NexGen's directors
breached  their fiduciary duties to shareholders in approving a  merger  with
Advanced Micro Devices.  The two shareholders purport to represent a class of
all  NexGen shareholders. The complaint seeks to prevent the consummation  of
the merger or damages in an unstated amount.
     NexGen  says  the  complaint  is  without  merit  and  that  it  intends
vigorously  to  defend  itself against the claims. "The  board  of  directors
approved the transaction with AMD and believes it is in the best interest  of
NexGen's  shareholders,"  notes  a  statement  issued  by  NexGen.    NexGen,
headquartered  in  Milpitas, California, develops and  markets  x86-class  PC
microprocessors.

                         Dell, FTC Reach Settlement
     Dell  Computer Corp. has agreed to drop patent claims affecting millions
of  PCs  using  the  industry  standard  VL-  bus,  says  the  Federal  Trade
Commission.  The Reuter news service notes that the agency alleged that  Dell
had  restricted competition in the PC industry and undermined  the  standard-
setting  process by threatening to exercise undisclosed patent rights against
computer companies adopting the VL-bus standard.
     To  settle  the FTC charges, Dell has agreed not to enforce  its  patent
rights  against  computer  manufacturers using the  VL-bus,  a  mechanism  to
transfer instructions between the computer's central processing unit and  its
peripherals.   In agreeing to the consent decree, Dell did not admit  to  any
wrongdoing,  nor  did  the  FTC  find that  Dell  had  violated  any  law  or
regulation.  In  addition, the agency did not impose any fines  or  sanctions
against the computer maker.
     Reuter  notes  Dell  was  a  member of the Video  Electronics  Standards
Association  (VESA),  a non-profit standards-setting organization,  when  the
association  began  setting a design standard for a computer  bus  design  to
respond to the demand for faster graphics performance.  VESA members voted to
approve  the  new VL-bus standard in 1992. As part of that approval,  a  Dell
representative  allegedly certified that he knew of no patent,  trademark  or
copyright that the bus design would violate.
     After  the  VESA VL-bus design standard became successful  and  computer
makers  sold  more than 1.4 million PC using the VL-bus, Dell contacted  some
VESA  members and asserted that it obtained a patent in 1991 that  they  were
violating by using the VL-bus standard, the FTC says.  FTC says this  is  the
first  time  U.S.  law enforcement authorities have taken  action  against  a
company  for  acting through a standard-setting association  to  unilaterally
seek  to  impose  costs  on its rivals through abuse of the  standard-setting
process.

                        CompuServe Settles Music Suit
     CompuServe officials say the firm has agreed to pay $568,000 to settle a
pending class action suit alleging copyright infringement through music files
downloaded by subscribers of the online service.  The plaintiff, Frank  Music
Corp.,  originally  sought  $17 million. The Reuter  News  Service  says  the
settlement cost is covered by CompuServe's insurance.
     Reuters  notes  the  U.S. District Court suit, filed in  November  1993,
"alleged  the  copyrights in the song 'Unchained Melody' and  more  than  900
additional  songs  owned  by  other music publisher-principals  of  HFA  were
infringed.  ...  The  claims were based upon the  copying  of  songs  in  the
uploading  and  downloading  of sound recordings  to  and  from  CompuServe's
databases."
         The settlement agreement now will be submitted for court approval to
U.S.  District  Judge  John  Keenan.  As  part  of  the  overall  settlement,
CompuServe, which did not admit liability, will make a payment to  Harry  Fox
Agency  Inc., a mechanical rights licensing agency for music publishers.  The
payment  will be divided among the music publishers whose songs were involved
in  the case.  "CompuServe said it will work with HFA to make it possible for
the managers of a number of interest areas and forums on CIS to take licenses
from  HFA  that permit the future uploading and downloading of recordings  of
the publishers' songs," Reuters adds.

                      Toshiba Has Speedy CD-ROM Drives
     Toshiba  America Information Systems Inc.'s disk products  division  has
launched the XM-3701 series of 6.7-speed CD-ROM drives.  The drives support a
1,000K  per  second data transfer rate and a 120ms random  seek  time.  Jerry
Higgins,  a  Toshiba  vice  president,  notes  that  the  drives  offer  "the
performance  necessary to support smooth full-motion video and complex  high-
end graphics transfers from CD-ROMs."
     According to Toshiba, the 6.7-speed rotation is achieved through the use
of  enhanced error correction and a digital signal processor, as well  as  an
improved optical pick-up head and spindle motor. The drives also support one-
speed and two-speed rotations.
     The  XM-3701 drives employ the same variable speed playback system  used
in  other  Toshiba CD-ROM drives. The system allows the drive  to  read  data
before  the disk reaches a specific rotational speed, allowing enhanced  read
times.  Toshiba  says  the  variable  speed  playback  also  decreases  power
consumption to an average 5.9 watts.  The XM-3701 drives are compatible  with
all  major CD-ROM formats. The drives are available in internal and  external
models, priced at $415 and $515, respectively.

                        Toshiba Offers Faster CD-ROM
     Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. has unveiled the XM-3701 series
of  6.7-speed  CD-ROM  disc drives.  In a statement from  its  disc  products
division  in  Irvine, California, Toshiba says the drives  support  a  1,000-
kilobytes/second  data  transfer rate, and use the  variable  speed  playback
system  used  in previous Toshiba CD-ROM drives.  The internal  drive  has  a
suggested list price of $415, which the external units list for $515.

                       McAfee Promises Net Virus Guard
     With  a  new product called WebScan, McAfee Associates Inc. says it  has
come  up  with a way to protect Net surfers from downloading viruses  on  the
Internet's World Wide Web.  McAfee officials told reporter Joan E. Rigdon  of
the  Wall  Street  Journal that the WebScan software screens programs  before
they're  downloaded  and  if it finds a virus,  it  warns  the  user  not  to
continue.
     Scheduled  to  ship by early next month, WebScan comes bundled  with  an
email program and a Web browser made by Spyglass Inc., but will work with any
other browser software, McAfee officials say.  Rigdon quotes security experts
as   saying  WebScan  is  the  first  software  that  prevents  viruses  from
electronically entering a computer by identifying the bug before the download
actually takes place.
     "Current  antivirus  software simply identifies a  virus  after  it  has
arrived,  giving  it  an opportunity to do damage," the  Journal  adds.  "The
introduction  of  WebScan  points  up some, little-known  security  holes  in
personal  computers hooked to the Internet. Most people assume that antivirus
software will alert them to viruses they download from the Internet. It  will
--  but only when a user scans for viruses, which most people do only once  a
day,  when  they  turn  on  the  computer. Even  then,  the  software  simply
identifies the virus."
     Rigdon  notes that existing antivirus software can be set so  it  checks
for  viruses  any time a computer is ordered to do anything, but most  people
don't use this setting because it takes up too much memory and slows down the
computer's performance.  "Also," she notes, "most people correctly think they
can  avoid getting viruses by not downloading anything from the Internet. But
a new technology called 'server push' can lead people to unwittingly download
programs  simply by looking at a site on the Internet's graphical World  Wide
Web.  ...  Server push automatically sends tiny programs to a user's personal
computer  that  allow the user to see fancier special effects."   McAfee  CEO
Bill Larson told the wire service that so far, no one has figured out how  to
plant  a virus in a server-push program, but that WebScan would halt  such  a
virus should it become a reality.

                        Fastest Mac Clone Introduced
     The  new Power Computing Corp. has introduced what executives there  say
is  the world's fastest Apple Macintosh clone computer.  From the firm's Palo
Alto,  California, headquarters, Susan Moran of the Reuter News Service notes
that  the new machines by Power Computing, the first company to begin  making
Mac  clones,  are built around a 150MHz PowerPC chip. Currently, the  fastest
PowerPCs operate at 132MHz.  As reported, the PowerPC family of chips was co-
developed by Apple, IBM and Motorola Inc.

                         HP Offers Major New Scanner
     A  new scanner that may hasten the decline of the office copier has been
unveiled  by  Hewlett-Packard Co. The HP ScanJet 4Si  scanner  hooks  into  a
computer network to scan 15 pages of documents a minute into a fleet of  PCs.
Writing  in  the  Wall  Street  Journal this morning,  reporter  Jim  Carlton
comments,  "The product is considered a breakthrough because it is the  first
desktop  scanner that operates from a network rather than a single  computer.
It's  also  far  faster than current desktop scanners, which transform  paper
documents into electronic ones at the rate of about five pages a minute."
     The  Journal notes that other scanners, just as fast and versatile, cost
as  much  as  $100,000  and  are  used largely in  specialized  tasks  within
engineering and electronic publishing. By contrast, HP's model is  priced  at
about  $3,000 and will be aimed at the general corporate market.  HP  General
Manager Carolyn Ticknor told Carlton, "It's going to make people like you and
me either work with paper or electronic data. You get to make the call."
     Carlton  says  the  unit "probably won't lead to the  elusive  paperless
office,  because  office  workers still make  voluminous  printouts  of  data
retrieved through their PCs," however "it translates into more bad  news  for
the  world's $27 billion copier market, besieged over the past decade as  the
laser printer made possible the same high-quality reproductions from a PC  as
from a stand-alone copier."

                         Novell to Sell WordPerfect
     Just  16  months  after buying out the word processing  giant  for  $855
million in a bid to wrest a bigger share of that market from Microsoft Corp.,
Novell Inc. now says it will sell most of WordPerfect Corp. along with  other
parts of its office applications software business.
     Analysts say this is a major change in Novell's marketing plan,  turning
away from what has been deemed its losing strategy in the word processing and
spreadsheet  businesses.   Reporting  from  Novell's  Provo,  Utah,  offices,
Associated  Press writer Kristen Moulton says Novell now plans to concentrate
on its industry-leading products for networking PCs instead of those from its
acquisition of WordPerfect and the $145 million asset purchased from  Borland
International Inc.
     AP  says other software companies are negotiating to buy the WordPerfect
software,  QuattroPro  spreadsheet and other business applications.   "Novell
declined to identify the companies," Moulton says, "but analysts speculated a
leading  candidate  was  Oracle  Corp., which  specializes  in  sophisticated
databases  for large computer systems. If a prominent buyer does not  emerge,
the  market  for  office PC programs may shrink to just Microsoft  Corp.  and
IBM's Lotus Development Corp."  AP says the businesses to be sold represented
$86.1 million of Novell's $538 million in third-quarter revenue.
     Novell Chairman/CEO Robert Frankenberg said on a videotape played during
a  news  conference late yesterday his company made the decision "not because
it's  a  business  without a future, but because for Novell it  represents  a
distraction  from  our  strategy."  Frankenberg said  Novell  will  retain  a
WordPerfect  product  called GroupWise, a fast-growing  electronic  mail  and
database program that competes with Lotus' Notes.
     AP  notes  the decision represents defeat for a strategy Novell  founder
Ray  Noorda  initiated  before retiring last year.  "unfortunately,"  Moulton
commented,  "it  came at a time when Microsoft's sales  were  racing  as  the
company  led the way in bundling office programs in so-called 'suites.'  Such
products now account for just over half of all business productivity  program
sales.  Analysts  estimate Microsoft's Office product  represents  85  to  90
percent of suite sales, compared to about 5 to 9 percent for Novell's Perfect
Office and 4 to 6 percent for Lotus' SmartSuite."

                        Videoconferencing Pact Inked
     MCI  Communications Corp. and Intel Corp. today announced they will work
together  on  desktop video and audio conferencing, bringing  together  MCI's
network  MCI  and Intel's ProShare technology conferencing services,  reports
Reuters.   The  industry  standard T.120 application sharing  technology  for
documents  and still images will be used.  "We believe we can offer customers
greater convenience and value by integrating Intel's ProShare technology with
MCI's  network  MCI,"  said Scott Ross, president of financial  and  business
operations at MCI's telecommunications unit.
     Reuters  notes  that ProShare brings video conferencing out  of  special
rooms and to the desktop personal computer.  In a separate announcement,  MCI
said it was introducing a conferencing system that would allow more than  two
users  to  share documents over ordinary phone lines. MCI will use  a  server
provided by VideoServer Inc., which supports the T.120 technology, as well as
existing  analog telephones and PCs. Users will be given a choice of software
providers. Commercial availability is expected in December.

                       Businesses Embrace the Internet
     A  new  survey finds that the Internet is weaving its way into the heart
of  U.S.  businesses.  Market research firm Dataquest reports that nearly  60
percent  of  IS  managers  in medium-size to large organizations  respondents
indicated  that  all departments within their companies have  access  to  the
Internet.  Over 50 percent of those users have access to the World Wide  Web.
More  than 70 percent of the respondents revealed that they find the Internet
a  useful  tool  to  have  at workers' desktops, and  more  than  80  percent
indicated  that it is a reliable source of information. More than 60  percent
of  the  IS  managers surveyed indicated that the Internet is a key  part  of
their  overall  information technology strategy,  citing  greater  access  to
business information as a key reason.
     "In  less  than  a  year we have seen the World Wide  Web  move  from  a
depository  for  company billboards to a legitimate business  tool  that  can
increase   worker   productivity,"  says  Dataquest  analyst   Rick   Spence.
"Traditional information providers from newspaper and magazine publishers  to
NEWSWire  and market research providers are rethinking their business  models
as  they  move  to  Internet  distribution and sale  of  their  products  and
services."   The  IS  managers were also surveyed on their  own  use  of  the
Internet  to obtain service and support from technology suppliers. More  than
70 percent download patches and bug fixes and more than 60 percent obtain new
software products and answers to technical questions via the Internet.
     When  asked  what  percentage  of service  and  support  inquiries  they
believed  would be resolved via the Internet in 1997, more than half  of  the
respondents  believe  that less than 40 percent of their  questions  will  be
answered through interaction with the Web.

                      Clinton's E-mail Praises Schools
     Students  at  two Silicon Valley schools received e-mail from  President
Clinton  yesterday congratulating them on hooking up to the Internet as  part
of  a  new statewide drive toward computer literacy.  Clinton's message says,
"The  connections made on this occasion will allow you to travel as fast  and
as far as your imagination will take you."  United Press International quotes
organizers  from Sun Microsystems as saying the Internet projects at  Arundel
Elementary  School in San Carlos and Piedmont Hills High School in  San  Jose
will serve as prototypes for all schools in California.
     In   conjunction  with  a  few  other  Silicon  Valley  companies,   Sun
Microsystems  has  launched  a  campaign  to  recruit  volunteers  in   every
California  community  to hook up their local schools to  the  Internet.  The
project is called Netday '96 and the firm wants all the state's schools to be
hooked  up simultaneously on next March 9.  Sun executive Scott McNealy  told
the  wire service, "The Internet is an invaluable teaching tool that aids the
educators and students and expands learning outside of the classroom," adding
the  goal  is not just to teach students how to use computers, but to  enable
teachers to use computers and the Internet as a teaching tool.
     For  example,  McNealy says, students can communicate with  students  in
other  parts of the nation or the world; visit a museum by taking  a  virtual
tour; and learn and practice foreign languages among other things.  UPI  says
more  than  50 Sun employees volunteered at the Arundel and Piedmont  schools
for  this  project  and  that Sun plans to publish a  how-to  manual  on  the
Internet's  World  Wide Web so other companies and volunteers  can  undertake
similar projects in their communities.
     The  president  praised computer companies for their efforts  and  urged
other  private firms to forge partnerships with schools to make the  Internet
available  to  all students, adding, "We must all work together.   Grassroots
initiatives  like  this  will help children to take  full  advantage  of  the
information revolution."


                                      
                         The Kids' Computing Corner

                             Microsoft EasyBall
                        serial interface input device
                          for children ages 2 to 6
                           suggested retail $54.95

by Frank Sereno

     Most of today's computer programs have interfaces which require moving a
cursor about the screen to click on icons to start activities.  For young
children, manipulating a mouse requires fine motor skills and much dexterity
which they may have not yet developed.  This can make computer time into a
frustrating and unpleasant experience instead of fun and educational.
Microsoft has developed a new input device which will make computing easier
and more fun, the EasyBall.
     The EasyBall is a large yellow trackball with a single, large blue
button below it on the wide, flanged base.  The bottom has rubber pads which
prevent the unit from sliding across a desk or table.  The EasyBall is large
but it isn't heavy.  It was designed to be used in a child's lap or on the
desktop.  The trackball is a smooth plastic which can be easily cleaned.  The
base can be disassembled by removing a few screws from the bottom to clean
the rollers.
     Microsoft spent much time developing and testing this product.  It only
has one button because most children's programs use only the left mouse
button.  The button has tactile feedback so children know when they have
activated it.  Children can use either hand to move the trackball or press
the button.  The button can even be activated by the palm of the hand or an
elbow.  The wide flanges on the base allow the child to hold the unit easily.
Because gross motor skills are used to operate the EasyBall, it can easily be
used by people with arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.
     The EasyBall has a nine-pin serial plug but it can be used with a 25-pin
adapter.  Microsoft sells an optional adapter which allows two input devices
to be hooked to the same serial port.  The cost is $14.95 and an order coupon
is included with the EasyBall.  The adapter allows  young children and
parents to use their own input devices for their sessions with the computer
without the hassle of changing plugs or driver software.
     Microsoft is currently offering the EasyBall in a "value package" which
includes Explorapedia The World of Nature and EasyBall Pointerland.  The
evaluation unit sent to me did not include this software so I will relate the
information included with the press notes.  Explorapedia is a multimedia
nature hike.  Colorful images, animation and video, sounds, music,
informative text and interactive games take children on a journey through
nature.   Prereaders can enjoy the title because the text is narrated.
Pointerland allows children to choose from several cursors including an
airplane, star and baby chick.  A barnyard scene teaches children how to use
the EasyBall by asking the children to find hidden objects and hot spots by
moving the cursor and clicking.
     The EasyBall is supported by Windows 95 and it operated well with a
regular mouse driver too.  This is a sturdy and well-constructed device which
should stand up to years of use.  The EasyBall is backed by a thirty-day
moneyback guarantee.  The suggested retail price is $54.95 but it is
available at discounters for around $45.  That's equal to the price of a good
serial mouse and it includes a $30 educational program too.  If you are
looking for an input device for a young child, the EasyBall is an excellent
choice.

                                      
                                      
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                     Edmark Announces Destination: Ocean
                         The Newest Addition to the
                  Award-Winning Imagination Express Series
                                      
Redmond, WA - Edmark Corporation, a leading developer of educational software
for  children, announces Destination: Ocean the newest addition to the award-
winning  Imagination  Express series featuring- new  Movie-Making  technology
that  allows kids to create their own interactive movies as well as  stories.
Destination:  Ocean  enables kids ages 6 to 12 to become writers,  animators,
sound  producers,  art directors and publishers while they  develop  critical
communication  skills.   Destination: Ocean joins Destination:  Rain  Forest,
Destination:  Castle and Destination: Neighborhood as the  fourth  member  of
this award-winning series.  Destination: Ocean is shipping now on CD-ROM  for
both Windows and Macintosh computers.
Destination:  Ocean  is  a  rich  marine learning  environment  and  powerful
multimedia  story  and movie-making tool for kids - based on  the  underwater
world of the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, California.  The
beautifully  hand-painted ocean background scenes, animations,  music,  sound
effects  and exciting sea-life stickers provide kids with all the tools  they
need  to  create interactive stories and movies.  Using the new  Movie-Making
technology  in  this  program, kids record and play  back  the  path  of  any
sticker,  adding  an  exciting  new dimension  to  their  storytelling.   For
example, they can make sharks swim through sea kelp while dolphins leap above
the waves.  All of the stickers in Destination: Ocean auto-size, shrinking as
kids  move  them  to the background and enlarging as kids move  them  to  the
foreground.   "Zoom" background scenes provide close-up views of tiny  plants
and animals.  The Ocean Fact Book provides an additional learning opportunity
for  kids;  they  can  look  up fascinating facts about  marine  life,  ocean
preservation, navigation and exploration to weave into their tales.
"Imagination  Express is a powerful tool that frees children and  lets  their
creativity soar," said Sally Narodick, Edmark CEO.  "With Destination:  Ocean
kids will learn interesting information about how the ocean functions, marine
life,  natural history and about how to use sound, motion, graphics and words
to  bring a story to life.  Amazing pride, joy and learning comes to children
when  they role-play, direct and produce interactive stories and movies  with
Imagination Express."
New Technology Inspires Creativity
Destination: Ocean brings powerful new technology to the Imagination  Express
series.   Kids  can  use  the Movie-Making tool to make  movies  as  well  as
interactive  stories.  In addition, moveable text areas now  enable  kids  to
place  text  anywhere  in their scenes, with or without  decorative  borders.
Both  of these powerful new features are automatically added to all the other
Imagination Express destinations when Destination: Ocean is installed.
Movie-Making
Kids  can create "movies" by clicking on a sticker and dragging it to  record
its  motion.  Kids can select theme music for their movies, record their  own
narratives  or sound effects and turn on sticker animations in  every  scene.
When  kids  play their movies, eels slither through kelp while electric  rays
skim across the ocean floor to the sound of the waves above.
Text Tools
Kids can add text to every scene and choose a font, color and size.  They can
then  drag the moveable text areas anywhere they want in the scene,  with  or
without a decorative border background.
"Genius" Stickers
Genius  stickers animate as kids drag them through the scenery.  For example,
as a dolphin swims underwater his tail flips up and down.
Additional Special Features
Auto-Sizing
Stickers  grow  when kids move them to the front of a scene and  they  shrink
when   moved  into  the  background.   Kids  create  scenes  with   real-life
perspective.
"Smart" Stickers
All  stickers go where kids drag them - through the kelp forest or inside the
underwater cave - making every scene feel three-dimensional.
Sticker Tools
The  Sticker Picker contains hundreds of stickers arranged by categories like
Fish,  Divers  and Birds.  Kids can drag and drop stickers from  the  Sticker
Picker  into  each  scene.  The Sticker Editor allows  kids  to  change  each
sticker's size, rotate stickers, turn animations on and off with the click of
a button and attach sound effects to each sticker.
Sound Tools
With  the  sound  tools kids can record narrations in which their  characters
sing,  laugh,  speak or squeal, and they can choose theme music to  accompany
each page.
Story Ideas
Story  Ideas are creatively presented by kids for kids.  They encourage  kids
to  use their own imaginations, by offering ideas for stories, i.e., "Pretend
that  you're a seal, and tell a story about the people you see on  a  fishing
boat," and they suggest different ways to write.
Useful Tools for the Whole Family
View Mode
In  View  Mode  children can see and hear each page of their story  or  movie
unfold on-screen.
Dear Parents Section
In  this section, Edmark's Donna Stanger, award-winning software designer and
teacher  for 20 years shares her ideas on "The Writing Process" to  help  and
encourage parents to become active participants in their children's learning.
The Ocean Fact Book
This  talking  book  provides kids with fascinating  facts  about  the  ocean
environment  and inhabitants, ocean preservation, navigation and exploration.
It is a rich source of information kids can weave into their stories.
The Ocean Resource List
This  list provides kids with the names of organizations they can contact  by
phone,  mail  or  online  to  receive responses to specific  questions  about
oceans,  and  to learn more about the environmental concerns  that  face  our
oceans.   A  few of the organizations include EarthForce, SeaWorld  Education
Department and the Marine Science Society.
Adult Options
Adults  can  use a three-key combination to enter the Adult Options  section,
where  they  can customize the program for every child.  Adults  can  specify
whether  kids  can  edit stickers, add text to pages, and  select  or  record
sounds for their pages.
Educational Benefits
Destination: Ocean provides a wide variety of opportunities for theme-focused
learning.
Children can:

z    Strengthen communication skills.
z    Design beautiful scenes, discover new writing techniques, and exercise
their creativity.
z    Create fictional and non-fictional stories about life in the ocean.
z    Learn about marine life and the natural history of California's Channel
Islands.
z    Discover how the ocean functions and learn how to protect it.
Recognized by Experts
The  Imagination  Express  series has been honored with  several  prestigious
industry awards; a few of the highlights include:
z    1995 Technology & Learning Award of Excellence in both the Home and
  School Categories
z    1995 Newsweek Editors' Choice Award
z    1995 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
Product Availability and Pricing
Imagination Express Destination: Ocean will be available after October 30, at
major software retailers and through software catalogs for approximately $35.
School  Versions of the product will be available at a later date.  For  more
information, customers may call Edmark's Customer Service department at (206)
556-8484.
System Requirements
Macintosh:   Color  Macintosh (256 colors required); 8 MB RAM;  CD-ROM  drive
(double-speed  or  faster recommended); System 7 or  higher;  13"  or  larger
monitor; Hard disk with 4 MB free.  Recommended: Microphone; printer.
Windows:   Windows  3.1  (enhanced mode) or later; 8  MB  RAM;  CD-ROM  drive
(double-speed  or  faster  recommended); 25 MHz  386  or  better;  256  color
SuperVGA; Hard disk with 4 MB free; Mouse; Sound-output device.  Recommended:
Microphone; printer.
Edmark  Corporation, located in Redmond, Washington, is a  leading  developer
and  publisher  of  educational software and  materials,  with  25  years  of
experience  applying  proven  educational  concepts  to  the  development  of
educational  products for children.  The company develops products  for  both
the  consumer  and  education markets, including its  award-winning  line  of
software  for  Windows  and  Macintosh platforms:   KidDesk  Family  Edition,
Millie's Math House, Bailey's Book House, Sammy's Science House, Trudy's Time
and Place House, Thinkin' Things Collection 1, Thinkin' Things Collection  2,
Thinkin' Things Collection 3 and Imagination Express.

                                      
                                      
Final Ramblings

     Most all computer experts preach the importance of tape backups.  I
mentioned this in my article last week and the publisher/editor of this
magazine has written articles about this topic in the last two issues as
well.  It had been a while since I had backed up my system.  Here's what
happened to me over the weekend...
     Since I have Windows 95, I could not use my old, reliable backup
program.  That shouldn't be a problem since Win95 includes a backup program.
But it doesn't support the Travan media that I prefer to use in my tape
drive.  So I start to back it up using some 2120XL tapes.  Win95 Backup runs
right along until the last tape and starts getting media errors.  Meanwhile,
I find a magazine article which gives information about free upgrade software
for Win95 for my tape drive.  So I download the software and back the system
up again on a new Travan media cartridge.  A FULL backup including the all
important Registry file for Win95.  The program appears to run flawlessly and
generates no errors after comparing all files.
     I decided to repartition my hard drive and then use my tape to restore
all the files.  It shouldn't be too hard since I have a "perfect" backup
tape.  The first small problem is that the restore program will run only
under Win95.  So now I get to do the thirteen disk floppy shuffle
reinstalling Win95.  That's forty-five minutes down the tubes.  Then I
reinstall the tape software.  Finally I get to restore my tape.  All seems to
be going well until the tape gets to the Registry file.  BURP!  The program
tells me to restore the Windows directory again but then I get a ton errors
because certain files are in use by the operating system.  I figure they were
okay the first time around so I quit the tape program and start using my
system.
     Some more problems...Norton Utilities is missing files.  So I reinstall
that program.  My desktop wallpaper and sound files weren't restored.  They
were on the drive, but Win95 no longer used them.  I'm not sure how many
little files may be missing.  The biggest problem with Windows in general,
and Win95 in particular, is that it has hundreds of tiny files that seem to
have no importance until you run an application which needs them.
     I'm hoping that somebody comes out with a program that will restore a
tape backup without having to reload Win95 first.  And I'm hoping that it
works a lot better than my current software.  Maybe I need to buy a SCSI unit
instead of the affordable tape drives which run off the floppy controller.
Here's hoping that somebody gets it right.
     Your comments and suggestions are welcome.  If you have any questions, I
will gladly try to provide answers.  Send e-mail to fsereno@matrix.uti.com.
As always, I thank you for reading!




Matrox Millenia STR InfoFile                 Matrox sets record straight!


                              Matrox's Response
                                to errors in
                             PC Magazine article

The  recent  PC  Magazine  First Look of the MGA Millennium  (MGA  Millennium
Speeds  Up  Graphics with WRAM, PC Magazine, October 10, 1995)  was  a  gross
misrepresentation  of the product's capabilities and presented  a  false  and
unfair comparison of the board's speed vs. a competitor's.
Technical Errors
Apart  from  printing the wrong price for the 4MB version of the  board  (SRP
$549),   PC Magazine made the false statement that "3D acceleration  is  only
supported at 640 x 480 resolution with 16.7 million colors, and at 800 x  600
with 65,536 colors." The MGA Millennium, with 4MB of WRAM, is also capable of
supporting  3D Gouraud-shaded, double-buffered and z-buffered resolutions  of
up  to 1152 x 882 in 256 colors . In addition, the MGA Millennium supports 3D
wireframe resolutions as high as 1600 x 1200 x 16-bit.
Incorrect Performance Comparison
The most serious mistake made by PC Magazine in this article is the benchmark
comparisons  against  the  Diamond Stealth 64  Video  VRAM  accelerator.  The
article  states that "...[the MGA Millennium's] Winstone score [is] of  106.0
in 1024 x 768 resolution with 16.7 million colors on the same Pentium/90 test-
bed  that  was used for our June 27, 1995 graphics round up (...) this  score
was bested only by the Diamond Stealth 64 Video VRAM card." This statement is
false,  PC  Magazine  has  admitted that the system  used  to  test  the  MGA
Millennium in the First Look was not exactly the same as the one used for the
graphics round-up.
In  addition,  the Stealth was tested in "small fonts" mode in the  round-up,
while the MGA Millennium was tested in "large fonts" mode for the First Look.
These  two errors in testing methodology constitute gross negligence  on  the
part  of  PC  Magazine.  They caused the false conclusion  that  the  Diamond
Stealth  is  faster  than the Matrox Millennium.  After Matrox demanded  that
the tests be redone correctly, PC Magazine found the following scores:

  Font     Issue 12 test system     First look test system
  Size
            Diamond     Matrox       Diamond       Matrox
 large    Not tested      110          99           106*
 small       107*         113          104          109
* Numbers in italics shows scores that were used to make the erroneous speed
comparison in the First Look article.

Based  on these results, PC Magazine has now admitted that the MGA Millennium
is  consistently and significantly faster than the Diamond Stealth  64  Video
VRAM, and that PC Magazine's article is false and unfair.
Devbits
In addition, PC Magazine improperly reports that "Devbits" has no performance
benefit  on  real  world applications.  The use of Device Bitmaps  or  bitmap
caching  in a graphics driver improves graphics performance in the  same  way
the  system  cache helps system performance.  Just as no system today  should
ship  without  a  cache, no graphics card should ship without  some  form  of
device  bitmap  caching enabled.  In fact, Device Bitmaps  are  a  technology
endorsed  by  Microsoft  and utilized in the drivers of  many  other  graphic
vendors  tested by PC Magazine - including the Diamond Stealth 64 Video  card
used  in  the  comparison.  In contrast to what was reported,  device  bitmap
caching  has  a  large  impact on application based tests.   In  fact,  using
WinStone  95,  the  Millennium achieves a 7% boost in scores  by  efficiently
implementing Device Bitmaps.
Conclusion
This  is the second time in a row that PC Magazine has commited gross  errors
in  testing  methodology and analysis. PC Magazine printed a major retraction
of  its June Issue 12 graphics card roundup in the September 12th issue. They
will  print another retraction of the October article.  These repeated errors
have  caused  Matrox  to conclude that any future article  from  PC  Magazine
comparing graphics accelerators should be examined carefully  for accuracy.



Micrographics Updates STR Infofile


                                      
        Micrografx Steps Up Channel Activity in the Education Market
   The Douglas Stewart Company Signs on as Micrografx's Newest Distributor


Richardson, Texas (November 6, 1995) - Micrografx (R), Inc. (NASDAQ: MGXI), a
leading graphics software developer, and The Douglas Stewart Company, the
premier value-add distributor of computer software for the education market,
today announced an agreement that significantly expands the number of
Micrografx products available to the K-12 and higher education markets.  The
agreement enables The Douglas Stewart Company to distribute Micrografx's
award-winning graphics software via its extensive channel of college
bookstores and educational resellers which will greatly increase Micrografx's
presence in the growing education software market.

"The Douglas Stewart Company offers an opportunity for Micrografx to broaden
its reach in the education market with the most complete graphics product
line available," said Brad Lundberg, director of channel sales and marketing
for Micrografx.  "We anticipate long-term success selling into the education
market based on the suitability of Micrografx products for both students and
faculty.  From elementary to graduate schools, Micrografx applications enable
customers to expand their creativity, and enhance assignments, reports and
classroom presentations."

Bringing Graphics Applications to the Classroom

Under the agreement, The Douglas Stewart Company will make it easy for
students and faculty to purchase Micrografx's value-packed graphics software,
including ABC Graphic Suite (TM) for Windows(R) 95, Crayola(TM) Art
Studio(TM) 2, Hallmark Connections(TM) Card Studio(TM) and Windows Draw(R)
4.0.

ABC Graphics Suite combines Micrografx's award-winning ABC FlowCharter(R)
4.0, Micrografx Designer(TM), Picture Publisher(R), ABC Media Manager(TM),
and Instant 3D(TM)  into a tightly integrated 32-bit graphics package.  With
ABC Graphics Suite, students and faculty can bring term papers and reports to
life by adding diagrams, flowcharts, clipart, illustrations, photo-images,
drawings and 3D images.

For educational customers using 16-bit computers running Windows 3.x, The
Douglas Stewart Company will offer Micrografx's Designer Power Pack and ABC
FlowCharter 4.0, the essential tools needed to graphically enhance any
curriculum content and course assignments.  The Designer PowerPack combines
technical illustration, image editing and powerful graphic effects tools,
while  ABC FlowCharter allows users to create simple to complex diagrams
within a straightforward point-and-click interface.

"Initial response among the retail outlets we've targeted is very positive,"
said Jack Bahlman, division manager of The Douglas Stewart Company.
"Retailers recognize the outstanding quality and value of Micrografx products
and their appeal to both students and faculty looking for tools to help them
get ahead."

Brand Name Creative Products and Volume Pricing for K-12

Educational Resources, one of The Douglas Stewart Company's largest
educational resellers, will target the K-12 market with a new volume
licensing program that offers economical pricing and easy software
administration for both large and small educational institutions.  Through
Educational Resources, schools can purchase volume license and shrink-wrap
versions of ABC Graphics Suite, Crayola Art Studio 2, Hallmark Connections
Card Studio and Windows Draw 4.0.

Among the software titles from Micrografx, Crayola Art Studio 2, Hallmark
Connections Card Studio, and Windows Draw 4.0 are ideal for K-12 educational
institutions.  Crayola Art Studio 2 is a multimedia CD-ROM with two age-
appropriate play areas.  Educational and developmental benefits are woven
into games and activities to promote letter recognition, spelling, pre-math,
observation, evaluation and comparison skills.  The two play areas for kids
three-to-six and six-to-12 years of age are equipped with draw, color and
paint tools that help children explore creativity.  Crayola Art Studio 2
offers a Macintosh, Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 version on one CD-ROM.  Now,
whether a school is using Windows-based or Macintosh personal computers, it
can purchase one software package to extend Crayola creativity to the
computer.

Hallmark Connections Card Studio offers students and faculty an easy and
enjoyable way to create high-quality, uniquely personal greeting cards,
announcements, invitations, signs and certificates.  And for educational
institutions looking for a fast, fun, and friendly drawing program, Windows
Draw 4.0 represents a strong value.  Windows Draw 4.0 includes drawing,
diagramming, photo editing, painting, and a clipart manager, plus more than
15,000 clipart and photo images and 250 fonts.

An Introductory Offer

To promote the entire Micrografx product line in the education market, The
Douglas Stewart Company is planning several in-store promotions, direct mail
campaigns, and discount programs for 16-bit applications through qualified
resellers.  To assist buyers with locating Micrografx products at educational
resellers throughout the country, customers can visit The Douglas Stewart
Company's recently unveiled World Wide Web site, http://campusmall.com.

The Douglas Stewart Company is a national distributor and marketer of
computer software and hardware, electronics and school supplies for
educational resellers serving the K- 12 and college markets.  Headquartered
in Madison, Wisconsin, the company provides marketing and distribution
services to major manufacturers and educational resellers across the U.S. and
Canada.

Micrografx develops and markets graphics software to meet the creative needs
of everyone who uses a personal computer.  Founded in 1982, Micrografx has
become a leading software publisher by responding quickly to customer and
worldwide market needs.  The company's U.S. operations are based in
Richardson, Texas, with a development office located in San Francisco.
International subsidiaries are located in Canada, the United Kingdom, France,
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, and Japan.

Additional information on Micrografx is available on the Internet at
http://www.micrografx.com.


Windows and Windows 95 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the
United States and/or other countries.

Crayola Art Studio is a trademark of Binney & Smith Properties, Inc.

Hallmark Connections and Card Studio are trademarks of Hallmark Licensing,
Inc.




Pagemaker 6.0 Win95 STR Focus

                                      
              Adobe Systems Ships PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95


Major Upgrade Adds Features for Professional Publishing and On-line Delivery
Mountain   View,  Calif.  (November  6,  1995)  (Nasdaq:ADBE)-Adobe   Systems
Incorporated  today  announced the availability of Adobe  PageMaker  6.0  for
Microsoft  Windows  95, a major upgrade to the world's  leading  professional
page composition software. In addition to offering more than 50 new features,
Adobe  PageMaker  6.0 is the first professional page layout program  designed
specifically for Windows 95, upholding Adobe Systems' commitment to deliver a
Windows  95 logo compliant version of PageMaker within 90 days of the release
of  the new operating system. Adobe PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95 is available
immediately from Adobe Authorized Resellers at a suggested  retail  price  of
$895.
                    New Professional Publishing Features
Adobe  PageMaker  6.0  software offers a wide range of new  color  publishing
features  including support for the Kodak Precision Color  Management  System
and  high-fidelity color as well as complete  Photo CD support.  Page  layout
enhancements include multiple master pages, grouping and ungrouping, position
locking and unlocking of objects, object masking and a new table application.
Integrated  automatic trapping, reader's spreads and a  print  fit  view  are
among the new printing and prepress features.
                       On-line Publishing Capabilities
PageMaker  6.0's  new  Create  Adobe  PDF  feature  allows  users   to   save
publications in the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) which can be viewed,
shared  and  printed  across Windows, Macintosh, DOS and UNIX  platforms.  In
addition,  PageMaker  6.0  can  convert publications  into  Hypertext  Markup
Language (HTML) format for distribution on the  World Wide Web.
The  new  PageMaker  program  also emphasizes integration  with  other  Adobe
products.   PageMaker  6.0 features hot links to Adobe  Photoshop  and  Adobe
Illustrator,  and  users can run Photoshop special effects plug-ins  directly
within  PageMaker. PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95 also comes with a Deluxe  CD-
ROM  that  contains  free  software including  the  Adobe  Acrobat  Distiller
Personal  Edition,  the  Acrobat Reader and  Photoshop  LE  for  Windows.  In
addition, users can unlock 220 free typefaces on the Adobe Type On  Call  4.0
CD included with PageMaker 6.0.
"For  professional  page composition in Windows 95, nothing  comes  close  to
Adobe  PageMaker 6.0. Its performance is awesome--like working in real time--
and  the  color  processing  is  excellent,"  said  Lee  Wojnar,  founder  of
Philadelphia-based Wojnar Photography, Inc. "The biggest benefit  of  all  is
that  PageMaker 6.0 works so well with Adobe's other applications,  providing
all the tools for digital publishing."
                           New Windows 95 Features
A  true  32-bit  application,  Adobe PageMaker  6.0  for  Windows  95  boosts
performance  in  key  areas  such  as the Graphics  Device  Interface,  which
accelerates  printing,  drawing operations and rasterization  of  fonts.   In
addition, 32-bit I/O and device drivers enhance performance in networking and
file  transfer,  which  benefits PageMaker users who  share  large  files  in
workgroup settings. PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95 also takes advantage of  the
new  Windows 95 user interface enhancements, such as common dialog boxes.  An
OLE  2.0 client, PageMaker 6.0 allows users to drag objects directly into the
PageMaker program from OLE 2.0 server applications such as Microsoft Word and
Excel.
As  a Windows 95 logo-compliant release, PageMaker 6.0 also meets Microsoft's
requirements  for  use  of  long  filenames,  support  for  universal  naming
conventions pathnames, simple mail enable (MAPI) capabilities and Windows  NT
compatibility.  To ensure compatibility for users of Windows  3.1,  PageMaker
6.0  includes Win 32s dynamic linking libraries, which enable users of 16-bit
Windows to use version 6.0.
                           Price and Availability
Adobe PageMaker 6.0 for Windows 95 is available at Adobe Authorized Resellers
for  a  suggested retail price of $895 U.S.). Registered users of any version
of  PageMaker for Windows can upgrade to version 6.0 for $149. Customers  who
purchased  retail copies of PageMaker 5.0 after June 17, 1995 in  the  United
States and Canada are eligible to receive a free upgrade to version 6.0.  For
more information, customers in the United States and Canada may call Adobe at
1-800-42-ADOBE  (800-422-3623). Localized language versions and  support  and
upgrade policies for other countries will be forthcoming.
                             System Requirements
Windows 95 System Requirements: An Intel486 processor, 8 MB of RAM, Microsoft
Windows  95, default virtual memory settings, 24 MB of free hard drive  space
for  installation (plus extra space for virtual memory), a VGA display  card,
high-density  disk drive and a mouse or other pointing device.   Windows  3.1
System  Requirements: An Intel486 processor, 10 MB of RAM, Microsoft  Windows
3.1  running  in  enhanced  mode, DOS 5.0 or later,  default  virtual  memory
settings,  24 MB of free hard drive space for installation (plus extra  space
for  virtual memory), a VGA display card, high-density disk drive and a mouse
or other pointing device.
Adobe  Systems  Incorporated, founded in 1982, is headquartered  in  Mountain
View,  California.  Adobe  develops, markets and supports  computer  software
products  and  technologies that enable users to create, display,  print  and
communicate  electronic  documents. The company licenses  its  technology  to
major  computer,  printing and publishing suppliers and  markets  a  line  of
applications   software  and  type  products  for  authoring  visually   rich
documents. Additionally, the company markets a line of powerful, easy to  use
products for home and small business users. Adobe has subsidiaries in  Europe
and  the Pacific Rim serving a worldwide network of dealers and distributors.
Adobe's 1994 revenue was approximately $598 million.



TECH... No Babble                         STReport Makes Technology Easy!

                             Pretty Good Privacy

by Joe Mirando
73637.2262@compuserve.com

     Welcome back to all you technophiles, technophobes, technojunkies, and
technowannabes.
     Before we start with this installment of TECH... No Babble, I'd like to
thank the few people who took the time to drop me a line or two to let me
know what kinds of things interest (or frighten) them.  I know that there are
lots of folks that simply won't write to me either because they are afraid to
let on that they don't know about a particular subject, or because they don't
have the time to sit down and write a long explanation about what they'd like
to see in this column.
     Not to worry folks.  I decided to make this installment about PGP after
I got a note that said simply "What is this PGP I keep hearing people talk
about?"  Ten little words.  That's all it took.  Because this person, whom I
have never met or corresponded with before, dropped me a line, we're all
going to learn a little bit about it and about Public-Key encryption in
general.
     So let me know what interests you about today's technology, what
frightens you about it, or whatever it is that you saw recently that you
thought was "cool".  Okay, let the TECH... No Babble begin!
     At a glance, PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) by Philip Zimmerman is a military
grade encryption program available for DOS, Unix, Atari 680xx, Amiga, Apple
Macintosh, and VAX.  Remember those little "secret code" wheels you used to
get in boxes of cereal or by sending in a bunch of product wrappers to the
manufacturer?  They had all the letters of the alphabet and a corresponding
number next to it.  By turning the two parts of the wheel, you could change
the numbers that corresponded to the letters.  You could then "code" a secret
message and give it to you best friend along with the number that told your
pal where to set the two halves of the wheel and he could then decode the
message.  This is cryptography.
     As always, the best place to begin is at the beginning.  Cryptography
has been used, in one form or another, since man decided that he needed to
hide information from some and make it accessible to others.  Since this
column is about modern data encryption, we'll skip over the ancient and
medieval things that people did to encrypt or encypher data and start off
with World War II.  The United States used several methods of encryption,
most of which involved using code names and phrases to obscure the meaning of
messages.  If a company of soldiers got a message to "pat Frank on the back
and help him into the kettle", it could mean that the troops were to assist
the French resistance fighters with which they had already communicated by
engaging the enemy to allow the resistance time to do whatever they had it in
their minds to do.  Of course this is an "off-the-top-of-my-head, no-factual-
information-whatsoever" example, but it does give you a bit of a taste of
what some cyphering was like back then.  Of course, we also used single-key
encryption which substituted letters and numbers in any manner of ways, but
these are less interesting to me than what comes next:
     Surprisingly (or perhaps not), the most effective form of encryption
used by the United States during the war was something called "Code-Talking".
This was the only U.S. code used during the war that wasn't broken by the
enemy.  The code worked so well that it was kept secret for almost 25 years.
The process involved 400 Navajo Indians (all of them United States Marines, I
believe) who would recite a message in a coded version of their native
language which was written down phonetically.  Since there is no written
version of Navajo there was no reference for the enemy to refer to.  This is
the reason that the code was never broken.  See that?  And all you X-Files
watchers thought that it was just a storyline.
     Of course the Nazis had their now famous "Enigma" machine which used a
system of "dials" which changed the characters in a message to such a degree,
and with such seeming randomness, that it was all but impossible to decypher
not only the message, but the method of encryption.  Luckily, the Allies did
crack the code.  The method of encryption used in the Enigma is still used
today in electronic form on some computer systems.  It provides security
against casual "snooping", but is quite inadequate against the high power
computers in use today by most governments and corporations.
     With the advent of affordable mini- and micro-computers, cryptography
has fallen from the hands of the aforementioned powers and is now shared by
the computing public in general. For years, data compression programs such as
ARC, LZH, TAR, and ZIP have provided options to encrypt a file while
compressing it.  While this type of encryption has the advantage of
compressing the data at the same time, it is remarkably easy for someone with
the knowhow to unencrypt.
     Again, it is adequate protection against casual interest, but not
against a concerted effort to ascertain the contents of the encrypted file.
     In 1977, RSA Public Key encryption was born and provided computer users
with a way to encrypt files easily using what are known as Public Keys.
Public Keys enable you to compose, in one way or another, a unique encryption
key that not only encrypts a data file so that it cannot be read without your
specific key, but also positively identifies you as the owner of that file by
virtue of your key.
     This removes the biggest problem with encryption using a "key".  Since
ancient times, to be effective, a key had to be distributed to those people
that you want to be able to read the encrypted file.  This meant that you
would have to distribute the key to those people by a secure means to insure
not only that the key did indeed reach them, but that it reached no one who
should not have it.
     For obvious reasons, this can be difficult.  The "Enigma Code" was
broken during World War II by the Allies but that information was kept secret
to the point of allowing several German attacks to take place even though
information on these attacks had been intercepted and decrypted using the
broken Enigma code.  Most encryption systems up to and including the
encryption system currently used by the U.S. Government, the US Federal Data
Encryption System, still use what is called a "single key" system.  This
single key must be given out by a secure means.  If you have a channel secure
enough to transmit the key, why not just use that channel to transmit the
data unencrypted?
     The answer to problem of transmitting a code key is a bit like the old
adage that the best place it hide is in plain sight.  PGP (Pretty Good
Privacy) adds to RSA the ability to add a digital "signature" to your key.
While anyone can use your Public Key to encrypt a file, only you can decrypt
it.  To do this, you use the other portion of PGP, your "Secret Key" which is
created at the same time you created your public key.  This way, anyone who
wants to send you a secure message may do so easily simply by using your
public key.  Since this key is public, there is no need to hide it.  Your
secret key is another matter.  Your secret key can be used to "sign" a
message which you then encrypt with the public key of the person you wish to
receive it.  Okay this is getting a bit confusing, isn't it?  Let's use all
of this in an example:
     Harry and George are pals who both have computers and both use PGP.
     Harry wants to send George a message of a sensitive nature.  He writes
the message and "signs" it using his own secret key and the password or
passphrase he used when he created his pair of keys (this signs it without
encrypting it) and then encrypts the message using George's puublic key.
When George receives the message his software first decrypts it using his own
secret key and his password or passphrase, then verifies the "signature" that
is supposed to be Harry's using Harry's public key.  Harry's public key can
determine with a high degree of certainty whether or not the message actually
came from Harry.  This is taking for granted, of course, that both Harry and
George are the only ones who know the correct password or passphrase for
their respective secret keys.
     Okay, so now we know that it works, how hard is it to break this miracle
of math and logic?
     It's incredibly hard as it turns out.  Even the lowest grade of RSA/PGP
encryption (there are three grades available) uses a 512 bit key. Although
this seems like a small key (think of it as 64 characters long), the possible
combinations of zeros and ones add up to many billions of separate keys.  It
has been announced that a 384 bit key has indeed been broken.  However, it
took three months and approximately fifty workstations.  While this proves
that no encryption system is impossible to break, it is incredibly time
consuming, even using some very powerful computers.  The highest level of PGP
encryption uses a 1024 bit key.  Without going into detail about the
mathematics involved, suffice it to say that there are many, many more than
twice as many keys possible with 1024 bits as there are with 512 bits.
     Now, if this encryption is so great, why isn't it freely available on
all the online services?
     This is where the PGP story gets interesting.  PGP is very difficult to
break.  Even the United States government would not be able to decode a file
encrypted with it.  This, says the government, puts them at a distinct
disadvantage when dealing with criminals and other enemies.  A better
alternative, they say, is "Clipper".  Clipper is an encryption system
conceived by the National Security Agency.  Clipper can theoretically be used
in everything from the encryption of files to scrambling and therefore
securing cellular phone communications.  The problem, or at least the
perceived problem, with clipper is that the government would hold a master
code that would enable it to decode any message, phone call, or any other
form of communication that might be encrypted.  According to the theory, this
master code would be held in escrow and only used when deemed necessary by
the courts.  Can you say "J. Edgar Hoover"?  I knew that you could. So, who
would use "Clipper" with something like PGP available?  You would.  That is,
you would if you couldn't get a copy of PGP.  The government has classified
PGP and related Public Key encryption programs as they have munitions.  This
means that it is illegal to distribute such a program outside of the United
States (and Canada, I believe).  For this reason, you cannot simply log onto
an online service and download the file.  Because of the "munitions
classification" most online services that allow the software at all require
proof that you live in the U.S. and will not allow access to these files
unless such proof is provided.  For this reason, the program is not widely
available and remains fairly obscure.
     The usual knee-jerk reaction is that this is a government conspiracy to
make eaves-dropping on citizens easier.  There are fears that the government
could outlaw all forms of encryption except for clipper.  Borrowing from the
NRA, many hold that "If PGP is outlawed, only outlaws will have PGP".  The
ramifications of this thought are the same as those for firearms.  If the
government does decide to outlaw certain types of encryption (and I don't
think that this will ever be the case), the question becomes "will they ban
all types of encryption except for Clipper?"  Pig-Latin, anyone?
     Political implications aside, PGP provides a remarkable measure of
"military grade" privacy for anyone with a personal computer and when used
properly ensures almost absolute privacy.  This will become more and more
important to computer users as the Internet becomes more popular.  Picture a
scenario in which someone posts a message using someone else's name.  The
post causes trouble, perhaps of a legal nature, and whether or not the
message was actually posted by who he says he is.  The "signature" portion of
PGP could go a long way toward proving or disproving the authenticity of the
post.  As online shopping and banking become more popular, the need for
security will become more keenly felt and PGP, or something very like it,
would help out nicely.
     Well folks, that's it for this week.  I highly recommend PGP for anyone
who wants or requires encryption and suggest that most of us at least look it
over.
     We'll be back in two weeks with another techno-topic so remember...
     High tech is just like low tech, only faster.












Corel Updates STR Spotlight

                              Corel NewsLetter


Dear Strategic Partner:

     Greetings from Corel in Ottawa, Canada! This month we are launching a
literal flood of new products, announcing joint ventures and scheduling both
tradeshow and roadshow participation.
     In November Corel will ship German, French, Spanish, and language
versions of CorelDRAW 6. CorelVIDEO, CorelXARA, CorelFLOW 3, Photo-Paint 6,
Corel Print House, CD Creator 2, CorelSCSI 2.5 and the ArtShow 6 coffee table
book and CD-ROM will be available. In addition, we are releasing new CD HOME
titles including the Interactive Alphabet, The Complete Herman Collection,
World's Greatest Classic Books, Corel Chess, and Internet Mania.
     This impressive line-up of new Photo CD-ROMs will ship - Airshows,
Spain, American Wilderness, New Guinea & South Pacific Islands, Lighthouses,
Costa Rica, Grafitti, Monument Valley, African Wildlife, Exotic Tropical
Flowers, Australia's East Coast, Alligators, Crocodiles, & Reptiles, Textures
By Frank Scott, Contemporary Fabric, Abstracts & Patterns, Intimate
Landscapes, Cards, Agates, Plant Microscopy, Success, Roads & Highways,
Traditional World Dress, Forests & Trees, Color Backgrounds, Ontario,
Mammals, Coastal Landscapes, Contemporary Buildings, Fashion Show, Industry,
Fields & Streams, Merchant Marine, Great Works of Art: Dutch Masters, Parades
of the World, The Mystique of Women, Carrier Aviation, Stamps, Great Works of
Art: Portraits, The United Nations: A 50th Anniversary Collection.
     Corel launched its new LAN-based desktop videoconferencing system at the
Telecon XV trade show in Anaheim, California in October.  CorelVIDEO(
provides full motion picture quality video within a local campus environment
and a high quality connection to the LAN, home or satellite office. The
product uses a single pair of existing unused category 5 UTP wires to
transport audio and video signals without impacting network traffic.

Key product features include:
z    Directories:  Multiple directories can be created by dragging and
  dropping user's pictures into the appropriate directory. Simply double-click
  on the picture of the person you want to call and CorelVIDEO places the call
  for you.  These directories can be viewed pictorially or textually and can
  also hold additional information such as e-mail addresses.
z    Calling Features:  CorelVIDEO supports traditional features such as do
  not disturb, call forward, call waiting and on hold. Users can create their
  own speed dials by dragging the pictures of frequently called people to their
  monitor desktop.
z    Data Sharing: Documents can be modified by multiple users, even if only
  one participant has the software loaded. CorelVIDEO utilizes Future Labs'
  TALKShow( for its data conferencing solution.
z    Freeze-Frame User Snapshots:  Pictures are taken at predetermined
  intervals so co-workers will quickly be able to determine if the person they
  wish to talk to is on the phone, having a meeting or away from his or her
  office. Users can personally manage the accessibility of these snapshots.
z    Broadcast Capabilities:  CorelVIDEO users can make or tune into live or
  pre-recorded programs such as product demos or training sessions.

     Shipping later this month, CorelVIDEO carries a suggested list price of
$499 US per video desktop.  CorelCAM, an ergonomically designed camera, may
be purchased at an additional price of $499 US. Corel's distribution plans
for CorelVIDEO are currently focused on the certification of value-added
resellers, systems integrators and specialized videoconferencing dealers. For
more information please contact Ian McLean, Business Development Manager at
Corel. His internet address is ianmac@corel.ca.
     Corel Corporation has signed an exclusive licensing deal with England's
Xara Ltd. for a product called XARA Studio. This 32-bit vector drawing
package runs under Windows 3.1, Windows NT or Windows 95. Xara Limited will
continue to develop the product in cooperation with Corel.  The name of the
new product is CorelXARA. It is a vector and bitmap illustration tool with
full anti-aliasing features and powerful special effects. Its well crafted ,
easy to use interface and low system requirements make it an ideal standalone
product for new users who do not require color separations or for those who
are looking for a slim, snappy multipurpose graphics tool to pair with their
publishing and presentation package. Pricing for CorelXARA has been set at
$289 US.
     CorelFLOW 3 is Corel's business diagramming software for Windows 95. It
is ideal for business, consumer and technical users who wish to create
professional looking organizational charts, family trees, diagrams,
schematics or layouts. The package contains 6,400 preset symbols that reflect
ANSI and ISO standards, plus thousands of clipart images, photos and
templates and 150 TrueType & Type 1 fonts. Key features include Mutliple
Document Interface (MDI), typographical control, a customizable user
interface, smart symbols, OLE Automation and improved layers control.
CorelFLOW 3 has a suggested list price of $199 US and registered users can
upgrade for $79 US from version 2. Corel will sell both version 2 supporting
Windows 3.1 and version 3 supporting Windows 95 concurrently in the coming
months.
     Corel PHOTO-PAINT 6 is shipping at the end of November as a standalone
product. It includes easy-to-use selection tools, movie file editing, natural
media brush styles, 77 different filter effects, and fully editable text
features. Designed exclusively for Windows 95, Corel PHOTO-PAINT 6 features a
Multiple Document Interface and provides all the tools for photo and bitmap
file manipulation. This standalone version has a suggested list price of $289
US and users can upgrade from either Photo-Paint 5 Plus or the bundled
version that ships with Hewlett Packard scanners for $79 US. The upgrade is
available exclusively through Corel service and support centers.
     Corel Print House is a new graphics product destined for the 'home user'
market. It includes tools to create greeting cards, stationery, banners,
invitations, business cards, signs, calendars, menus, fax report covers,
certificates and labels. The product features an easy to learn, Windows 95
interface with wizards and cue cards to guide users through project creation.
Corel Print House includes over 5000 pieces of clipart, 100 fonts, 1000 ready-
to-use phrases, 1000 photos, over 900 pre-designed samples and more. Although
the product has a suggested list price of $99 US, Corel is launching this new
product in November with a special introductory price of $29.99 US while
supplies last.
     Corel CD Creator 2 is a 32 bit application for Windows 95 and Windows
NT. The primary audience for this product includes multimedia authors,
VideoCD producers, audio enthusiasts, digital photographers, musicians,
archivists, data distributors, system integrators and software developers.
Version 2 includes extensive OLE 2 support, disc wizard, system tests,
comprehensive recorder support, CD Plus Disc format features, a PhotoCD
creator application, audio (.WAV) editing software, a VideoCD creator
application and the product comes bundled with Corel PRESENTS.
     Pricing has been set at $495 US and the product will ship at the end of
November. Users who purchased version 1 can upgrade for $249 US through Corel
Customer Service centers.
     Corel CD Creator for Macintosh lets you record CD-ROM, HFS, Hybrid, CD
Audio, CD Plus and mixed mode discs. The Disc Wizard guides you through the
CD creation process or simply design your disc layout by dragging files or
tracks from the finder and record! You can also create your own customized
jewel case artwork. Additionally, Corel CD Creator for Macintosh is
accelerated for the Power Macintosh! This first version of Corel CD Creator
for Macintosh has a suggested list price of $249 US.
     Corel has teamed up with the market leader in recordable CD systems,
Pinnacle Micro to introduce a new Recordable CD system priced below $1000.
Pinnacle's new RCD 5020 is a 2X recorder/player with a 1 MB cache buffer.
Corel is bundling a custom version of Corel's CD Creator 2 application
software which allows for Windows 3.1, Windows '95 and NT compatibility. The
hardware/software bundle includes an additional Corel CD-ROM with 1000 pieces
of clipart and 100 professional photos. The bundle is slated for full
production mid November and is expected to appeal to the long awaiting
consumer market.
     Selected from more than 7,800 entries for the Corel $2,000,000 World
Design Contest, the 3,000 stunning images in the Corel ArtShow 6 coffee-table
book, 2,600 images on CD-ROM, reveal the beauty and genius of computer-
generated art and design from around the world. The Corel ArtShow 6 coffee-
table book and accompanying CD-ROM has a suggested list price of $49.95 US.
An Artshow 6 CD-ROM only product will be available for $24.95 US.
     Internet Mania will increase user productivity and make gathering
information from the Internet fast and easy. A Home Page Author lets users
create professional-looking World Wide Web pages and powerful FTP utilities
make downloading information easy. With a handy Internet directory, personal
stock ticker and scanning features that automatically notify users of updates
to favorite web sites, this product is sure to be on every 'surfers'
Christmas wish list. Internet Mania has a suggested list price of $24.95 US.
     Jim Unger's classic Herman cartoon series is now available as a complete
collection on CD-ROM. This encyclopedia-style multimedia title features over
5000 cartoons, extensive search and retrieval capabilities, bookmarks, a
screensaver, and a wallpaper utility. The Complete Herman Collection from
Corel is available in November at a suggested list price at $24.95 US.
     Based on the popular children's book by Alan Rogers, Green Bear is a fun-
filled interactive storybook on CD-ROM featuring colorful pages and dozens of
activities. Perfect for preschoolers, ages 3 to 6, this enchanting CD-ROM
story follows Green Bear through the year as he paints his house to match the
colors of each season. This title has a suggested list price of $24.95 US.
     World's Greatest Classic Books includes over 3500 literary works from
the greatest writers of all time. Ideal for book reports, research projects,
reference or just personal enjoyment, the Classic Books CD-ROM is a must have
product. It includes a full text search and retrieval engine, illustrations,
full motion video, the American Heritage Dictionary, detailed author
profiles, and comprehensive printing controls. With a suggested list price of
$24.95 this product is destined to be a winner.
     Corel Chess is a full 3D action chess game for Windows 3.1 and Windows
95. It includes a rotating table, 3D modeled piece sets and elaborately
rendered game settings. Users can replay over 4000 renowned chess matches or
play another person or the computer through 5 levels of difficulty. Corel
Chess has a suggested list price of $24.95 US.
     Welcome to the magical world of the Interactive Alphabet  where the
humor and excitement of animation will help your child learn the Alphabet. A
host of zany cartoon characters act out the story as it is read aloud by a
charming narrator. As children explore they learn letters and more than 500
vocabulary words all within a world of sights and sounds. This educational CD-
ROM is jam-packed full of delightful animations, music and sound effects to
offer any child hours of engaging play-and-learn fun. The suggested list
price for this title is $24.95 US.
     CorelSCSI 2.5 includes extensive support for SCSI peripherals, faster CD-
ROM and optical drive performance provided by Helix cloaking, and advanced
printer support. New features include updated utilities, a device driver for
Panasonic's PD drive - the first combination optical/CD-ROM drive on the
market, and AutoStart, which simulates autoplay capability found in Windows
95. Additional enhancements include advanced diagnostic tools including CD
Plus diagnostics and support, updated scanner drivers with an easier to use
interface, and Windows 95 support making it the complete SCSI solution at an
unbeatable value. The suggested list price for this product is $129 US and
the upgrade for both OEM and retail versions will be sold direct from Corel
for $49.95 US.
     Corel Drivers for Enhanced CD-ROMs allow traditional audio CDs to
include multimedia content such as artist biographies, interviews, photos,
song lyrics, video clips and more. However, not all existing consumer
hardware can recognize these new disc formats. Corel Drivers for Enhanced CD
enables many multi-session CD-ROM drives to recognize CD Plus and hidden
track music formats in a Windows 3.1 and Macintosh 7.x environment. Watch for
this technology to be bundled with upcoming music releases from Sony Music,
Columbia Records, Epic Records, A&M Records, EMI Records Group North America
and other major labels.
     In addition to these new products, Corel is updating CorelDRAW 5 to run
seamlessly under Windows 95. A single CD-ROM with updates that fix problems
encountered using Windows 95 is available free to CorelDRAW 5 customers. To
order, customers can call 1-800-772-6735 in North America or 011 353 1 706
3912 in Ireland. A maintenance release for CorelDRAW 6 is currently in
development and scheduled to ship in early December. The maintenance CD-ROM
corrects outstanding problems found in revision 6.00.118 and adds enhanced
functionality to several of the modules in our flagship product. This update
is also free of charge and available directly from Corel and its service and
support providers worldwide.
     With the ever-growing product line, Corel is planning many public
demonstrations for these new products. In November Corel invites Comdex goers
in Las Vegas, Nevada to participate in a Product Showcase event on Tuesday,
November 14th at the Flamingo Hilton. The 9 am event features a keynote
address by President & CEO, Mike Cowpland and demonstrations of CorelXARA,
Print House, and CorelFLOW 3.
     A free New Technology Seminar Tour that includes demonstrations of the
above new products plus CD Creator 2 and tips and tricks for CorelDRAW 6 is
planned for the last 2 weeks of November. To get a complete list of cities in
Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia please call our fax
back service at 613-728-0826 extension 3080.
     We're pleased to announce this month that CorelDRAW scored the highest
in satisfaction out of all software packages surveyed in a recent Home Office
Marketing Essentials Study conducted by the California-based InTech Group.
Since its inception in 1991, CorelDRAW has won over 215 industry awards for
product innovation, satisfaction, excellence and value.
     If you would like to discuss details in this newsletter or review Corel
product strategy and plans for 1996 don't hesitate to contact me at this
internet address: arlenb@corel.ca.

Best regards,


Arlen Bartsch
Director, Sales & Marketing



            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
                  FARGO PRIMERA PRO COLOR PRINTERS - 600DPI
For  a limited time only; If you wish to have a FREE sample printout sent  to
you that demonstrates FARGO Primera & Primera Pro SUPERIOR QUALITY 600dpi  24
bit  Photo  Realistic  Color Output, please send  a  Self  Addressed  Stamped
Envelope [SASE] (business sized envelope please) to:
                       STReport's Fargo Printout Offer
                                P.O. Box 6672
                      Jacksonville, Florida 32205-6155

Folks, the FARGO Primera Pro has GOT to be the best yet.  Its far superior to
the newest of Color Laser Printers selling for more than three times as much.
Its  said  that ONE Picture is worth a thousand words.  Send for this  sample
now.  Guaranteed you will be amazed at the superb quality. (please, allow  at
least a one week turn-around)
            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



 Apple/Mac Section
John Deegan, Editor


ISDN Prelims.. STR Focus

                                    ISDN


                     Integrated Services Digital Network


Ctsy ISDN Forum, CompuServe

by Dan Mertz, 72470,1676


     ISDN, four big letters holding little insight to meaning or potential.
Created in the 1980's, ISDN is actually a standard for digitizing all
telephone company services.
     Since the days of Alexander Graham Bell, voice communications have been
carried in analog form.  In the 1950's telephone companies realized the
benefits of digital signals and began the process of converting their cross-
country lines.  The last piece in the conversion process is the local loop.
     After much hype following introduction of the ISDN standards in the mid-
1980's, potential users suggested that ISDN stood for "Innovations
Subscribers Don't Need."  Early in the 1990's users still found little use
for the new standards, mockingly changing the implied meaning of ISDN to "It
Still Does Nothing."
     However, recent developments bring new meaning to ISDN.  In the ISDN
Forum on Compuserve, a user hawking value added re-seller services for ISDN
suggest a new definition -- "I Smell Dollars Nearby."  And, the May 8, 1995
issue of Multichannel News, suggests this more recent meaning for the
acronym: It Starts Delivering Now This paper will briefly discuss the
technical specifications for ISDN, its history, and some of the
implementation issues.  Somewhat more in-depth coverage of current
implementation issues and current uses of ISDN will be provided.
               TECHNICAL                       SPECIFICATIONS
     ISDN contains the standards for digitizing switched communications
(data, video, and other types in addition to voice) from the local telephone
company switching hub into user (premises) equipment.
     One advantage the standard supplies is the ability to transmit over the
already installed twisted-pair copper wire now used for voice(and other
analog) communications.  Each channel can carry 64Kbps per second.  The data,
or bearer channel is called the B-channel.  Also, another channel, called the
D channel (D=delta)is used for signaling.
     There are two types of ISDN service.  They are basic rate interface
(BRI)and primary rate interface (PRI).  The BRI service provides two 64 Kbps
bearer channels and one D channel.  BRI is also referred to as 2B + D.
     The primary rate interface, PRI, provides 23 bearer channels and one D
channel, and is also known as 23B + D.  At the user premises, proceeding from
the wall outlet to the device (computer, phone, fax, etc), the service is
connected to what's known as an NT-1.  From the NT-1 the digitized signal
travels through the ISDN Terminal Adapter.  In early implementation's, these
two devices were separate pieces of hardware that had be purchased from
different sources.  Even today, one must be an informed buyer.
     However, as the technology blossoms, manufacturers are beginning to
build the NT-1 and the ISDN Terminal Adapter into one package.  In computer
applications, like with most add-ons, the package can be implemented as an
external device connected to the computer through a serial port.  An RJ-11
phone jack is built into the external device for connection to the incoming
ISDN line. The hardware can be also be added internally, as a card placed in
an available expansion slot.
     The NT-1, Network Terminating Device, serves as the interface between
the premises equipment and the local phone company network.  The terminal
adapter is where the two (or more) channels are integrated into one data
stream.  It is here that the two 64Kbps bearer channels are combined to
create a total thru-put of 128Kbps.
     There is no special software required to implement ISDN.  The standard,
commercial communications packages like Crosstalk, Procom, and PC Anywhere
work straight from the box.  The special applications like video conferencing
come with software required to operate the application.
                               A BRIEF HISTORY
     Since the beginning days, telephone service has been referred to as POTS
-- Plain Old Telephone Service.  Voice communication was analog.  But, by the
1950's national providers were beginning to understand and deploy digital
service.
     By the 1970's inter-exchange carriers recognized the full benefit of
digital transmission.  Digital transmission provided the ability to
regenerate the signal without increasing noise levels at repeater sites. By
the end of the 1970's an all digital backbone had been deployed on key routes
across the United States.  In the United States, by the early 1980's the
entire telephone infrastructure, except for the local loop and the telephone
itself, had been digitized.  A global goal being fostered (both then and now)
by the United Nations is total digitization of all telephone systems, world-
wide.  Such an infrastructure will allow international data exchange.
     The International Telephone & Telegraph Consultation Committee (CCITT)
was the United Nations Committee responsible for establishing and publishing
the standards for digital data communications -- ISDN, Integrated Services
Digital Networks.  The standards were published and presented in 1984.  From
there, as Communications Week Executive Editor Chris Roeckl puts it, "In the
1980's ISDN was long on hype and short on implementation."  However, recent
developments have placed ISDN at the cutting edge.  Roeckl continues, "But
now organizations are flocking to ISDN to improve communications with branch
locations and telecommuters."
     Presently, the baby Bell's are providing about 300,000 ISDN lines.
That's four times as many as there were in 1993.  Dataquest, a consultancy,
expect the number of ISDN lines in america to triple by 1998.  Bellcore
expects 13 million ISDN lines to be in service by the year 2000.
                            IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
     The literature explores many reasons for ISDN's early failures, but
there were two seemed to be two main problems that spawmed many others.  The
first issue revolved around the manufacture of switching equipment.  While
standards were in place, the interpretations and implementation of those
standards differed.  The two main switch makers, AT&T and Northern Telecom
developed equipment that would not inter-operate.
     As a result, the local service providers were hesitant to launch ISDN.
In a letter to the editor (Communications Week, June 19, 1995) Tom Bader, an
ISDN planner at Ameritech explains.  He says that Ameritech didn't seriously
consider offering ISDN because of a lack of standard switching.   Their view
was that the big demand for ISDN would occur through different switches, but
the switching equipment was proprietary.  He finishes by noting that vendors
are now supplying switches manufactured to common standards, making full
scale deployment of the service possible.  The standardization process was
led by Bellcore in 1991.  The result was NISDN-1.

Three key elements were:
z    Standardization of equipment and services
z    Standardization of telephone company procedures for operations
z    Standardization of procedures for communications between central offices

     The second early issue concerned the Federal Communications Commission's
ruling on how local telephone companies must charge for the service.  When
the Baby Bell's began operation in the mid 1980's, the FCC said charges must
be sufficient to recover the cost of the local loop's operation.  The
procedure was to mandate a per channel charge.
     In effect, a residential subscriber had one channel of communication in
the sense that only one phone call could be handle at a time.  ISDN is a
multi channel service.  As was described above, basic rate interface (BRI)
offers two channels, allowing for data transfer one one channel and voice
communications on the other.
     As a result, the FCC ruled that the user of BRI must be two subscriber
line charges, effectively doubling the cost of the service.  Earlier this
year, Bell Atlantic's "Emergency Petition for Waiver" (2/10/95) asked for
relief from the double charge situation.
     Relief was granted, and the FCC published "Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking" (FCC Document 95-212).  The process is one of requesting comment
on how to charge for ISDN service.  The initial section of the document notes
that when subscriber line charges (SLC's) were implemented in the mid-1980's
ISDN was not even considered.  In the request the FCC suggest five general
alternatives with a total of 14 options (for determining ISDN charges)
offered.  The cut off date for comments was July 14, 1995.  Given the move
for a deregulated environment, it appears that the FCC will rule favorably
for moderate charges, allowing both residential and business users affordable
connection rates.
                        TODAY'S IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
     To be sure, ISDN is in the early stage of adoption, and many
implementation issues remain to be solved.  It is not yet as simple as plug
and play. In a recent survey of network managers using ISDN, 43.2% said the
biggest disadvantage of the service is availability.  At the local phone
company level, availability of ISDN to customers ranges from a low of 18% for
GTE customers to a high of 90% for Bell Atlantic subscribers.
     At the end of Bell Atlantic's recently ended second quarter (6/30/95)
the local telephone company's number of ISDN lines totaled 120,000 up 75%
from year earlier levels.  Southwest Bell will be spending $300 million over
the next five years to make ISDN service universally available in its service
area.  The company notes increasing demand as the force driving the
conversion-spending.
     While demand is on the rise, some feel that usage will not sweep the
nation until implementation gets easier.  The issue of standards was
discussed previously.  But, there are still issues of interpretation that
apparently need to be addressed.  For example, video conferencing needs a lot
of speed and bandwidth.  ISDN is ideal for the purpose.  However, it is
difficult to connect unlike equipment (i.e.- from different manufacturers).
The standard exists.  For video conferencing the standards are found in
H.320.  But, early in the implementation phase, the interpretations and
implementations of the standards vary.
Communications Week recently offered these ISDN implementation procedures:

z    Take control of the process from the beginning.  Don't assume vendors
  are all-knowledgeable.
z    Study and understand ISDN the ISDN technology.
z    Make sure the vendors understand ISDN technology (even the local phone
company representatives)
z    Choose applications & equipment before ordering ISDN service.
z    Don't let inexperienced installers install your ISDN service.

     ISDN lines do need to be configured and conditioned before using.
Finally, cost still appears to be an issue although its relevance is fading.
In the recent past West Virginia University installed 1,700 Basic Rate
Interface (BRI) circuits, but as of 6/5/95 had not deployed them because of
cost.  As was noted earlier, the Federal Communications Commission is now
determining how Subscriber Line Charges (SLC's) should be determined for ISDN
users.  Presumably, the ruling will favor users with lower charges.
     Also, the local telephone companies are realizing elasticity of demand.
Price reductions do lead to increased usage that generates greater revenues
for the local telecos.  Early in June (1995) Bell Atlantic announced a 60%
drop in ISDN charges.  For Basic Rate Interface Service, the per-minute, per-
channel charge for business use dropped from five cents a minute to two cents
a minute.  A Bell Atlantic directors explained the drop by saying, "One of
the most significant barriers to widespread acceptance of this technology was
price."
     UBS securities analyst Linda Metzler, responding to Bell Atlantic's 1995
second quarter results said she was struck by the (financial) contribution of
Bell Atlantic 's integrated services digital network and other enhanced
vertical services.  Analysts expected second quarter earnings per share to be
$1.00.  The actual result was $1.02 compared to 95-cents in the second
quarter of 1994.
                           CURRENT AND FUTURE USES
     What ISDN provides is an economical means for creating an the WAN
portion of an enterprise network.  Prior to ISDN, interconnection could be
achieved through rental of expensive, dedicated T1 lines, or, by using the
existing analog telephone service via a comparatively slow modem.
     Increasingly, there is demand for transmission of graphics, motion, and
sound in addition to text and data.  Bandwidth is essential for all of these
purposes.  For example, Schindler Elevator Corp. maintains a centralized
image database.  Service people equipped with portable PC's can access this
"multimedia" information to obtain pictures of known equipment problems and
suggestions for elevator service, complete with a supervisor walking them
through simple and complicated repairs. ISDN is the medium over which these
images (voice, video, and data) are transmitted.
     ISDN is also providing locally administered, cash strapped, schools with
the ability to interconnect for the first time.  In Cincinnati, ISDN has been
deployed for the purpose of implementing a supporting administrative network.
ISDN will be used this fall to connect 83 schools (PC's, mini's, and
servers).  Local administration explains that ISDN was selected because it
provide the most bandwidth at the best price.
     The implementation will replace a manual system for tracking enrollment,
daily attendance, student records, and accounting & purchasing information.
Also, in-classroom applications, distance learning, videoconferencing, and
any client/server architecture will be supported by the new ISDN-based
service.
     In San Diego, the Technical Museum of Innovation will be connected to
San Diego State University via ISDN service.  This test will provided needed
experience for the museum to offer connection to other schools, allowing
students access to the museums resources without the need for costly time
away from the local school.
     AT&T and MCI recently announced an ISDN based multi-media service that
allows customers to place interactive voice and data calls.  the service can
be used for remote LAN access, videoconferencing, and customer support.
Also, both companies envision that the service will allow buyers to browse on-
line catalogs.  Also, it will enhance interactive support and desktop
collaborations.
     The on-line service Lexis-Nexis is testing the AT&T WorldWork 800
service. The provider is training new users in use of its on-line service
through interactive, multi-media means.  Previously, new users went to one of
50 training centers, or, a trainer went to the customer's site.

The laundry list of uses of ISDN includes:

z    Videoconferencing
z    LAN to LAN Connections
z    LAN to Host Connections
z    Telecommuting
z    Internet Hook-Up
z    Remote Backup
z    Fast fax
z    Commercial On-Line Services
z    Remote Systems Management

     Compuserve and Prodigy are playing with it.  Recently, Compuserve
announced that it would roll-out ISDN connection by means of a 1-800 number.
The service expects local ISDN service to be available in 10 cities by the
end of August (1995).  ISDN almost seems essential for collecting visual
images from the World Wide Web.  Pacific Bell is pushing ISDN as an efficient
means for Internet access.
     Our local newspaper, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, is using ISDN to
receive ads directly from advertisers on a system supplied by ImageNet,
Bernardsville, New Jersey.  At the moment the ISDN service is fragmented.  A
potential user is saddled with the responsibility of selecting the
applications, securing the necessary premises hardware, and selecting the
correct ISDN service from the local provider.  Pacific Bell is working hard
to simplify the process by providing turnkey solutions.  Currently, PacBell
is cooperating with Microsoft and CompUSA to provide a package solution for
Windows 95 and Microsoft NT.
     But, the full capabilities and the applications that use those
capabilities probably remain uncovered.  As the service is adopted,
creativity and ingenuity will spawn new and more productive uses. One
telecommunications recently summed-up the possibilities by saying, "People
are putting in ISDN lines for one thing and now they're finding other uses
for it.  That's the sign of a mature technology."

                              Let the bits fly!







 Atari Jaguar/Computer Section
Dana Jacobson, Editor


                               Jaguar Section


Atari Layoffs!  Mathieson Resigns!
Ruiner Pinball Out!  CATnips!
Mall Store Jaguar Only!
Myst & Mutant Penguins in Production!
And Much more...




>From the Editor's Controller  -  Playin' it like it is!

     Just when it appeared that things were looking up with Atari and the
Jaguar.....BOOM!!  Games are coming out, and fairly rapidly at the moment.
It's something that Jaguar users have been hoping for some time now.  And
then, late last week, Atari had a layoff, fired a few employees, and so far,
one has resigned.  It's not been a pretty sight; and the online community is
reacting with a furor that I haven't seen in a long time.
     It's not uncommon, especially these days in a business such as Atari is
in.  But, it appears that this is really hitting close to home and people are
wondering what is to become of Atari.  Atari's Ted Hoff told us last week
that the Jaguar hasn't been abandoned; and I believe him.  But, for how long?
Much of the development team is gone.  VP Bill Rehbock is gone.  Jaguar
designer John Mathieson has resigned.  And, it's still business as usual.
     Will there be any more in house development of Jaguar software now?
It's certainly reduced with these layoffs.  The "logical" move would be to go
outside Atari and "outsource" Jaguar projects.  But, and this sounds to me to
be a big one, are there development names out there willing to take on the
task?  We'll learn the answer to these questions soon enough, I'm sure.
     I've had a number of interesting phone calls this past week.  I got a
call from Atari's PR firm, Dorf & Stanton asking how everything was going and
what they could do for us here at STReport (and I told them!).  We had an
interesting conversation and things sounded positive from their perspective.
I talked with various sources at Atari and things seem to be business as
usual there after the initial commotion.  I was talking with Don Thomas and
joking around with him when Leonard Tramiel grabbed the phone away from Don
and told me that the sounds emanating from thebackground were really not the
sounds of Leonard beating on Don!  Both Don and Leonard were unwinding after
a long day (I usually call near the end of the day) and both started horsing
around when Leonard entered the room.
     Anyway, I asked Don point blank whether or not Atari would be sticking
it out with the Jaguar.  He told me that Atari was committed to continuing
support for the Jaguar.  He was very firm in his reply.  When asked about
John Mathieson's resignation, I was told that it had nothing to do with the
recent layoffs, but a personal move.  Unfortunately, according to Don, the
timing was poor.
     As I've mentioned online and during numerous phone conversations with
various people, these layoffs probably sound more ominous than they really
are, except for those personally affected.  How it affects the company and
the Jaguar, and the userbase, is still unclear.  Will "out ourcing" be the
answer?  Hard to tell c I see good points and bad.  All I have at the moment
is speculation, so I'll wait until I have more information about what will be
occurring in this regard.  As to the rumors that Atari will be focusing more
attention to the PC side of entertainment software, I don't see any real
focus in this direction at the moment.
     So, what positive news do we have for you?  Good question!  Ruiner
Pinball is out and the reaction so far has been extremely favorable.  Expect
a review of this new game in these pages soon.  I had hoped to have the
review of Hover Strike: Unconquered Lands, but the news from Sunnyvale took
most of my time this past week and the final touches for the review had to
take a back seat.  We also had a few other things planned, but we're putting
them off until later.
     Anyway, back to the positive news and information.  Would you believe a
Jaguar only store?  You bet!  Longtime Atari computer dealer, Run PC, has
recently opened a store in a mall.  It sounded like it was one of your
typical "kiosks" that just contains a small sampling of stock, but I'm told
that it's much more than that.  The store is situated in the middle of the
mall, with four walls (not your pre-conceived idea of a kiosk) and has demo
machines allowing people to get a hands-on feel for the Jaguar.
     Plenty of games and other accessories for people to check out.  It
sounds like this store is not a permanent fixture and likely to only be
around until after the holidays; but it's a terrific idea that could catch
on.  It might also be a terrific permanent idea if business continues to be
successful as it has been so far.  We'll keep you posted on any new
developments.  Great idea, Run-PC!  I'm sure that we're going to be learning
more about Atari's plans and effects of their new "re-structuring" as time
passes.  It's certainly going to be an interesting next few months.  Stay
tuned!

     Until next time...



Jaguar Catalog STR InfoFile  -   What's currently available, what's coming
out.

    Current Available Titles

     CAT #     TITLE                    MSRP      DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER

     J9000     Cybermorph               $59.99         Atari Corp.
     J9006     Evolution:Dino Dudes                $29.99        Atari Corp.
     J9005     Raiden                   $29.99         FABTEK, Inc/Atari
Corp.
     J9001     Trevor McFur/
          Crescent Galaxy          $29.99         Atari Corp.
     J9010     Tempest 2000             $59.95         Llamasoft/Atari Corp.
     J9028     Wolfenstein 3D           $69.95         id/Atari Corp.
     JA100     Brutal Sports FootBall        $69.95         Telegames
     J9008     Alien vs. Predator       $69.99         Rebellion/Atari Corp.
     J9029     Doom                $69.99         id/Atari Corp.
     J9036     Dragon: Bruce Lee        $39.99         Atari Corp.
     J9003     Club Drive               $59.99         Atari Corp.
     J9007     Checkered Flag           $39.99         Atari Corp.
     J9012     Kasumi Ninja             $69.99         Atari Corp.
     J9042     Zool 2                   $59.99         Atari Corp
     J9020     Bubsy                    $49.99         Atari Corp
     J9026     Iron Soldier             $59.99         Atari Corp
     J9060     Val D'Isere Skiing       $59.99         Atari Corp.
          Cannon Fodder            $49.99         Virgin/C-West
          Syndicate           $69.99         Ocean
          Troy Aikman Football          $69.99         Williams
          Theme Park               $69.99         Ocean
          Sensible Soccer                         Telegames
          Double Dragon V          $59.99         Williams
     J9009E    Hover Strike             $59.99         Atari Corp.
     J0144E    Pinball Fantasies        $59.99         C-West
     J9052E    Super Burnout            $59.99         Atari Corp.
     J9070     White Men Can't Jump          $69.99         Atari Corp.
          Flashback           $59.99         U.S. Gold
     J9078E    VidGrid (CD)                       Atari Corp
     J9016E    Blue Lightning (CD)      $59.99         Atari Corp
     J9040     Flip-Out            $49.99         Atari Corp
     J9082     Ultra Vortek             $69.99         Atari Corp
     C3669Trayman                  $69.99         Ubi Soft
          Power Drive Rally        $69.99         TWI
     J9101     Pitfall                  $59.99         Atari Corp.
     J9086E    Hover Strike CD          $59.99         Atari Corp.
     J9031E    Highlander I (CD)        $59.99         Atari Corp.
     J9061     Ruiner Pinball           $59.99         Atari Corp.

     Available Soon

     CAT #     TITLE               MSRP      DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER

          Dragon's Lair            TBD       Readysoft
          Demolition Man      $59.99         Atari Corp.
     J9069     Myst (CD)           $59.99         Atari Corp.
               ...Mutant Penguins  $59.99         Atari Corp.
               Atari Kart          TBA       Atari Corp.
               Battlemorph         $59.99         Atari Corp.
               Breakout 2000       $49.99         Atari Corp.
               Supercross 3D       $59.99         Atari Corp.
               Fever Pitch         TBA       Atari Corp.
               Missile Command 3D  TBA       Atari Corp.



     Hardware and Peripherals

     CAT #     TITLE               MSRP      MANUFACTURER

     J8001     Jaguar (no cart)              $149.99   Atari Corp.
     J8904     Composite Cable          $19.95
     J8901     Controller/Joypad        $24.95         Atari Corp.
     J8905     S-Video Cable            $19.95
               CatBox              $69.95         ICD
     J8800     Jaguar CD-ROM       $149.99   Atari Corp.
     J8908     JagLink Interface        $29.95         Atari Corp.
     J8910     Team Tap
          4-Player Adapter)        $29.95         Atari Corp.
     J8907     Jaguar ProController          $29.95         Atari Corp.
     J8911     Memory Track             $29.95         Atari Corp.
     J8909     Tempest 2000:
          The Soundtrack           $12.99         Atari Corp.





Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile  -  The Latest Gaming News!



CONTACT: Patricia Kerr or Jennifer Hansen
          Shandwick USA
          800/444-6663 or 310/479-4997


             Atari Corporation and Run PC Open Jaguar Mall Store
          Spectacular Grand Opening Sells Out of Hot System Titles
                                      

LONGMONT,  CO  (November 7) -- Run PC, a regional retail leader in  computers
and next generation game systems has opened the first Jaguar Mall Store.  The
store  is located inside the 550,000 square foot Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont,
Colorado and is anchored by JCPenny, Sears and Joslins Department Stores. The
prototype  store exclusively demonstrates and sells the Atari  64-bit  Jaguar
home  entertainment system and the Lynx handheld color gaming  system.  Atari
Corporation   has  provided  high-end  interactive  merchandising   materials
including arcade style "hands-on" displays,banners and signage.
"We  are  proud to have worked with Run PC and to have opened the first  ever
Jaguar-only  Mall  location," stated Ted Hoff,  Atari's  President  of  North
American  Operations. "We support the concept of selling product in locations
where customers can see and play the Jaguar system themselves."
In  the first two days since opening on Saturday, November 4, Run PC has sold
out  of  the most popular Jaguar related products. "Everyone who purchased  a
Jaguar  had  to  have a copy of Alien Vs. Predator," stated  Jon  J.  Willig,
President  of  Run PC. "It's clear that I have to re-examine my staffing  and
inventory to prepare for greater sales throughout the Holiday Season," Willig
added, "As a retailer we strongly believe in the Jaguar system. For less than
$150,  we  are  finding  that the system literally  flies  off  the  shelves,
outselling competing systems sold in other mall stores many times over. Atari
has  always  been responsive to our needs and requests. It's  a  pleasure  to
serve our customers with their support."
The  Jaguar-only store is open during mall hours and is located in  the  Twin
Peaks  Mall  on  South Hover Road in Longmont, Colorado. It  is  the  largest
shopping mall in Central Boulder County with a trade area population of  well
over 310,000.
The Atari Jaguar is the world's first 64-bit multimedia gaming system and the
only  game  system manufactured in the United States. About 40 powerful  game
titles are already available for the Jaguar including award-winning hits like
Doom  and  Tempest  2000 as well as new releases such as  Highlander,  Ruiner
Pinball, Pitfall! and Time Warner Interactive's Power Drive Rally. Soon to be
released  titles  include NBA Jam Tournament Edition, Myst, Primal  Rage  and
Zoop.
For  more  than  twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers  with
high  quality, value-priced entertainment.  Atari Corporation markets  Jaguar
the  only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system and is  located
in Sunnyvale, California.
Atari  is  a registered trademark of Atari Corporation. Jaguar and  Lynx  are
trademarks  of  Atari  Corporation.  All other  products  are  trademarks  or
registered  trademarks  of their owning companies.  Alien  and  Predator  are
trademarks  and  copyrights of Twentieth Century Fox  Film  Corporation.  All
rights reserved. Used under sublicense from Activision.

                        Sega Games Come to PC CD-ROM
     Sega  PC,  Sega  of  America's new computer games  division,  has  begin
shipping  enhanced  PC  CD-ROM versions of many of the company's  video  game
titles  this month.  Comix Zone and Tomcat Alley are set to ship  this  week.
Ecco the Dolphin is scheduled to ship prior to Thanksgiving.
     Sega  PC also says its Virtual Fighter Remix game is now available in  a
bundle  with  a  multimedia accelerator from Diamond Multimedia.   Sega's  PC
games  are compatible with Pentium PCs running Windows 95.  "These games  are
optimized for the PC with faster frame rates, added colors, higher resolution
graphics,  more  difficulty levels, added control options  and  Plug-and-Play
ease of use," says Curtis Broome, Sega PC's marketing manager.
     Sega  PC  titles  will  be sold through Sega's traditional  distribution
channels,  and  in  such PC retail locations as CompUSA,  Computer  City  and
Electronics Boutique.




Jaguar Online STR InfoFile    Online Users Growl & Purr!



         CATnips... Jaguar tidbits from Don Thomas        (95.11.05)

     I  think  my  son,  Kyle, is into sports as much as  the  Pope  is  into
religion.   Maybe more, but it is hard to imagine any less. <g> Every  chance
he  gets  he  is rollerblading, shooting hoops, swinging a bat or challenging
some  kids to a game of street hockey. As goalie on his soccer team,  he  has
enjoyed  an  undefeated season and he aspires to travel with an international
soccer  team one day. (Keep in mind he is only twelve.  However, anyone  that
wears a size thirteen shoe gets my full attention no matter how old they are.
<g>)
     So  the  moral of the story is anything that keeps my son  away  from  a
sunny California day must be awesome. I think Ruiner Pinball can be thrown in
that  category  along with a few other Jaguar titles too (like Brutal  Sports
Football and International Sensible Soccer. What else? <g>).
     In  a world where multimedia entertainment is exploited everywhere, it's
got  to  be tough for software engineers to discover new ways to apply  their
talents. In Ruiner Pinball, High Voltage Software has accomplished that  task
very well. Ruiner Pinball is a perfect blend of pinball arcade action and the
interactive  benefits  of  a  high-performance,  next-generation  video  game
system.
     Ruiner  Pinball will captivate you with new twists to the look and  feel
of traditional arcade-style pinball action. In Ruiner, the action takes place
on  two  integrated pinball game machines side-by-side. The manual  offers  a
storyline,  but the fun is indescribable. The features I like are  multi-ball
play,  high-response flippers (and lots of them), an easy to see ball against
the  background, constant scoring updates AND full screen pinball play areas.
I  also  like  the fact that gamers can bypass the ceremony  to  award  bonus
points.
     In  Tower Pinball, included on your Ruiner Pinball cartridge, there  are
three  highly detailed playfields connected end-to-end. The theme  is  spooky
and  sinister rather than militant, but the fun marches on. For hours  during
my  first  night,  I  played  alternately between Ruiner  Pinball  and  Tower
Pinball. Now both games have DONALD as the top four high scores. <g>
     It will be tempting for some people to compare Ruiner Pinball to Pinball
Fantasies  by C-West. To me, the games are entirely different and as  someone
who  loves  to  play  pinball,  I'm glad I  have  both  cartridges.   Pinball
Fantasies  offers  as close to the feel of actual arcade  as  you  can  come.
Ruiner Pinball adds the element of high-end video blasting to the excitement.
There  are mobilized tanks, flocks of flying fiends, missile launchers, cross
platform  ramps,  pulsating skulls and a variety of other unorthodox  pinball
features.
     Ruiner  Pinball  has  shipped and, since it is cartridge  based,  it  is
compatible with ALL 64-bit Jaguar gaming systems. Ask your retailer for it by
name and tell him Don from Atari sent you. <g>


     Atari Corporation Presents Pinball Like You've Never Seen It Before
              Ruiner Pinball for Jaguar 64 hits retail shelves

SUNNYVALE  (November 6) -- With its third software release in as many  weeks,
Atari  Corporation continues to provide the home entertainment system  market
with  new  titles  for both their Jaguar 64 system and CD peripheral.  Ruiner
Pinball, a high speed interactive pinball game for the Jaguar 64 system, hits
retail shelves today.
Ruiner  Pinball   offers  two  games within the single  title:  'Ruiner'  and
'Tower.'  Both feature fast pinball action with all the bells, bings,  clunks
and  pings  from an arcade pinball game---except with Ruiner Pinball,  gamers
can keep their quarters at home!
The 'Ruiner' selection features a double-wide table with intense gameplay and
real  arcade  response as gamers must protect their country  from  a  foreign
attack. 'Tower' transports gamers to an eerie castle in a strange land  where
they  must  fight  an evil Sorceress. If the triple-length table  in  'Tower'
doesn't provide enough of a challenge, gamers must also cast three spells  in
order to defeat the Sorceress and demolish the castle.
In  addition to the several dimensions of gameplay, Ruiner Pinball boasts 3-D
animated  enemies  and targets as well as arcade table sound  effects  and  a
"Tiny Cam," which offers a picture-within-a-picture.
"Atari   Corporation   has  elevated  pinball  into  Next  Generation-caliber
entertainment,"  said  Ted  Hoff,  Atari  Corporation's  President  of  North
American Operations.  "Ruiner Pinball is just one of fifteen exciting  titles
Atari  will  release  this holiday season for the Jaguar  64  system  and  CD
player."
Ruiner  Pinball   is  rated  K-A (appropriate for kids  through  adults),  is
available in stores nationwide and has a suggested retail price of $59.99.
For  more  than  twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers  with
high  quality, value-priced entertainment.  Atari Corporation markets  Jaguar
the  only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system and is  located
in Sunnyvale, California.

More TV Advertising...
     Atari  has  just  confirmed a beefed up advertising  schedule  with  its
agency  for the Holiday Season. Look for enhanced schedules during the  weeks
November  6 and November 20. Shows include the Comedy Channel on cable,  ESPN
(Big  10 Football), the SciFi Channel's presentation of the Star Wars Trilogy
and  select USA movies like Revenge of the Nerds, Uncle Buck and Stop  Or  My
Mom Will Shoot.

Get your video tape now while they last...

Atari's Dealer/Demo tape is selling fast. A lot of people have asked what
demos are on it, so here's a list:

               CARTRIDGE SOFTWARE                 CD SOFTWARE

               Super Burnout                           Blue Lightning
               White Men Can't Jump                         Dragon's Lair
               Ultra Vortek                            Hover Strike
               FlipOut!                           Highlander
               Atari Karts                             Baldies
               Pitfall                                 Myst
               Rayman                             Commander Blood
               Ruiner Pinball                          Iron Soldier II
               Charles Barkley Basketball                   Battlemorph
               Zoop                               Max Force
               Phase Zero                              Primal Rage
               Defender 2000                           Brett Hull Hockey
               Attack of the Mutant Penguins                Missile Command
3D
               Super Cross 3D                          Breakout 2000
I-War

               ADVERTISING
               DEMOS OF THE ADS . LIGHTBULBS AND PC INTRO.

The  tape  is  just  $8.95  plus $4.95 shipping and  handling.  The  tape  is
professionally produced, labeled and boxed. It makes a great gift or it is  a
great  way  to  determine a gift by previewing the software featured  on  the
tape.  Available  to North American destinations only. California  residents,
add  .69  sales tax. MasterCard or Visa accepted. Call 1/800/GO-ATARI  during
business  hours  Monday  Through Friday or send  your  order  via  E-Mail  to
75300.1267@compuserve.com or fax your order to 408/745-2088.



>From the Internet (thanks Frans) ...

In rec.games.video.atari, drichard@cis.ohio-state.edu
(daniel l richards) wrote:

I picked up Highlander CD today and here is what I think.  This is a very
well done game. The backgrounds are some
of the *best* I have seen in a video game and the  storyline is quite cool.
Animated sequences are put in just right to enhance gameplay, not make up for
it. If you enjoyed the Alone In The Dark games for the PC (i did) you will
most likely love this game. The control takes a little while to get used to
but once you do - gotta love those leaping over- head chops! Sure, I died a
few times and was chased around for awhile but once *I* had a sword...heh
heh:) Oh well, I really think this is a great game - BTW, anyone figured out
how to get into that chest yet?

     -- Dan Richards   drichard@cis.ohio-state.edu

In rec.games.video.atari, theexodus@aol.com (TheExodus) wrote:

WHAT IN THE HELL HAS ATARI GONE AND DONE!? I purchased the cartridge version
of "Hoverstrike" when it hit shelves, and was enjoying the hell out of it
until yesterday... when the CD version arrived from Atari
Corp., and as unbelievable as this may sound:  it is EXCELLENT!!

Firing photons is so damn cool... the photon is not just a bitmap scaled into
oblivion as it zooms off into the
distance, it actually casts a glow around itself (this little trick was used
in "The Unnatural Night"
mission of the cartridge version, but now it's everywhere).

Polygons... it's official, tech-specs. are as worthless in determining a game
system's performance, as the length
a man claims his penis to be is in determining whether or not a bride will
enjoy her honeymoon.  Texture-mapped
polygon targets abound in "Hoverstrike", and they do not dissolve into a
field of random white pixels when they
explode.

Speaking of "Total Eclipse Turbo"... "Hoverstrike CD" takes Jaguar owners
today, where Crystal Dynamics' "3rd
generation of 32-bit software" promises to take 3D0 and PlayStation owners...
someday.

With the release of "Hoverstrike" and "Highlander" this week, I have the
feeling that not only is Atari holding
out on us, but that the Jaguar is no longer stuck in second gear...

     -- XE


Atari's John Mathieson comments on his leaving Atari as well as questions
about his future, on CompuServe's Jaguar Forum:

Fm: John Mathieson (Atari) 74431,1702
To: James Thornhill, Jr.  102172,2761

Thank you for you flattering comments, however:

> 1) Would it be possible for John Mathieson to get control of the Jaguar and
Jaguar 2 from Atari?

Atari owns Jaguar outright. The only way would be to buy it.

> 2) What would Mr. Mathieson have to do to get the necessary financial
backing.  Could he approach someone like Acclaim, IBM, Id, Nolan Bushnell or
others and get them to take a shot at owning the Jaguar.

It would take a lot of money to buy the rights, and then continue to operate
the product. Many tens of millions. How would you persuade them?

> 3) Would/will Atari allow him to form a competing company?

I don't think this is the problem, however...

> 4) Would John Mathieson even consider such an idea?

This is all very well, but I am an engineer, not a businessman. I do not have
the track record or experience to put together such a deal, even if I wanted
to, which I don't. But thanks for the suggestion.

I am leaving Atari at the end of this week to join a startup. I can't tell
you anything about it yet, but watch out in a year or so. The company is
called VM Labs.

Its been fun in this forum for the last couple of years. Things people say
here are listened to at Atari. I hope you all continue to enjoy the great
Jaguar games that are out and are still coming.

        John




ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine          The wires are a hummin'!



                            PEOPLE... ARE TALKING


On CompuServe

compiled by
Joe Mirando
73637,2262


     Hidi ho friends and neighbors.  I've got some painful news (well,
painful for me anyway) to tell you and I've always believed in just blurting
bad news right out so here goes...
     It may be that People Are Talking's days are numbered.  As you know,
this column has always centered around the posts from CompuServe.  Well,
CompuServe will soon be dropping support for generic terminal programs.  I
don't understand what CompuServe will gain by doing this, but they are
determined that, by the beginning of the year, they will be accessible by
special program only.  The coding necessary for this program is proprietary
and CompuServe has shown no interest in making it available to any platform
other than PC or Mac.  Therefore, I won't be able to access CompuServe to
gather these little jewels because I don't have a PC or Mac and don't have
the resources to get one.  And, truth be told, I don't really see any need
for a Mac or a PC for anything other than CompuServe access.  So I guess that
only time will tell.
     But, since the day of conformity in online access has not yet come,
let's get on with those little pearls of wisdom and other tidbits available
(for the time being) right here on CompuServe.

>From the Atari Productivity Forum

Sysop Ron Luks tells us that...

  "CIS is going to be dropping TerminalPrg interface to the service in
  the months ahead..."

Frank Heller asks Ron:

  "What impact does this have on the Atari using population?"

Ron tells Frank:

  "It means that when the old forum software eventually goes away, you
  won't be able to log on with an Atari computer.  It'll be the same
  situation as AOL and the Microsoft network or Prodigy.  To access the
  service, you'll need to run the services proprietary software (or
  licensed 3rd party versions)."

Martin Ruffe mirrors my own thoughts:

  "Hey Compuserve - this is very bad news. You can't do this unless you
  plan to release AtariCIM. Please reconsider. Many users must come onto
  CIS via non PC/MAC terminals/home computers."

Alberto Sanchez adds:

  "I call with my Atari, and don't have any plans on buying a PC or Mac
  only for having access to RESTRICTIVE systems. I will UNSIGN CIS if I
  can't access with my home computer. If this thing finally happens,
  we'll see on Internet (by the way, the only non restrictive "space")

  Good luck, and continue supporting the VERY BEST user-friendly OS
  (even if the Tramiels don't fight for it anymore)."

Our friend Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Alberto:

  "I guess it is time to start using feed back and start voicing our
  concerns early."

Sysop Ron explains the decision (kind of):

  "I'm afraid that there is no chance for an AtariCIM from CompuServe.
  Nor for an AmigaCIM.  The number of people who log on via other
  computers is incredibly small and shrinking daily."

Our own Atari Section editor, Dana Jacobson tells Sysop Ron:

  "That's gonna really suck!!  What's the sense of having an Atari
  Computing Forum when Atari users won't be able to access it?!?  Is
  there a timetable for this occurring?"

Sysop Jim Ness jumps in and tells Dana:

  "Nothing official.  But, WinCIM v3.0 is supposed to be designed
  specifically for the new software, and 3.0 is said to be due next
  spring (according to news releases from CIS).  So, that's a clue.

  There has been a LOT of objecting in the "sysop underground" about
  this, and despite the very high noise level, CIS has avoided any
  comment about how forums like this one are going to be handled.
  However, from unofficial sources, it appears certain areas like this
  one will continue to use the old hosts and software for some period of
  time, while the rest of the system will switch over to the new hosts
  and software.

  I don't have the official numbers, but well over 90% of the CIS
  membership have PCs or Macs.  The rest is Atari, Commodore, UNIX, and a
  slew of older forgotten machines.

  For the ST, I guess the only workable solution will be the Gadgets
  emulator."

Frank Heller tells Sysop Jim:

  "For what it's worth...  I've been logging on and D/L'ing Atari files
  with my Mac Powerbook 520c. Yes, I know: sacrilege. However...since I
  started using the Mac, my CompuServe bills have been reduced
  DRAMATICALLY. Yes, it's nice to come into the service and talk about
  using Atari's but it is totally stupid to use 'em to run around this
  service...and let's not even get started on the ability to go on the
  net."

Sysop Ron Luks tells Dana:

  "I don't have a time table yet, but I will do my best to keep the old
  software available to this forum so that people can still log on with
  their Atari's. It will mean that this forum may not have access to all
  the new features CIS plans to add to the system, but at least Atari
  owners will be able to log on with their systems."

Dan McNamee at Atari tells Ron:

  "Personally I think this is a very bad move unless they plan to support
  all of the old "dead" platforms.  I only have a STacy at home (no PC
  or Mac), and at work I use a TT for most of my access since my PCs are
  tied up CD mastering applications.  If I can't log on to CIS using
  QuickCIS or STalker, then I can't log on at all. Even on the few
  occasions when I have used WinCIM, I really didn't like it that much
  since I never really felt in control like I do in text mode.  The
  program overall didn't feel intuitive to me, and I had a hard time
  making my way around the service even though I knew where I wanted to
  go.  Also retrieving messages for browsing offline was difficult, and
  reading them was a nightmare at best (and I assume that reading works
  the same way online and offline).  If the future is CIM only, then it
  looks very dim to me.

  I also know from talking to people online that there are a LOT of
  people that only have or use non DOS or MAC systems, and they will no
  longer be able to use the service either.  I'm sure these users are a
  VERY minor part of CISs overall userbase, but losing any customer,
  especially in this manner (forcing them out when they don't want to
  leave) is very bad.

  I hope management reconsiders their position on this for the sake of
  all users that don't use the "accepted" standard machines."

Sysop Jim tells Dan:

  "CIS is being very (I mean *VERY*) closed mouth about their plans for
  members who do not own a Mac or PC or equiv.

  The closest whisper we have been able to get indicates that forums
  such as this one will continue to exist on the older hosts, so that
  existing methods can still be used to access them.

  Other forums will migrate to the new hosts, and there will be no
  software on those hosts designed to be accessed via a standard terminal
  program.  This has already happened with some CIS services."

Ron Luks adds:

  "Currently over 85% of the access to this system ius done under HMI
  (CIM) and by the end of the year, that will probably be closer to 90%.
  That non-HMI percentage includes mostly TAPCIS and other auto-navigator
  users and those programs are being upgraded for HMI support.  Probably
  less than 2% and maybe less than 1% of the entire worldwide userbase
  uses ASCII-only, non-upgradeable systems (like the Atari)."

Peter Joseph posts:

  "As a fellow user of both Atari and PC systems, I felt the same way you
  did when I first used WinCIM.  In fact, the first time I used WinCIM I
  didn't even realize I was online for a minute or so. ;-)  But, like the
  early days of my ST, I got used to it and soon took the plunge into a
  navigator (CSNav).  It too was a scary start but with time that too has
  become very easy and =very= convenient.  I wouldn't go back to terminal
  mode if you paid me now.  Well, it depends on how much you pay me.
  <grin>

  It's unfortunate if CIS has decided to essentially drop support for the
  older systems, but I guess if they expect to stay competitive and on
  the leading edge of technology it won't be by maintaining support for
  unsupported systems that are no longer on the technology roller
  coaster.  Of course, I'm not speaking only of Atari, but all of the
  companies who are now not supporting their older systems.  CompuServe's
  a good service.  Give WinCIM and CSNav another try before jumping ship
  completely.  I will miss the Atari forums if they indeed become
  extinct. <frown>"

Michel Vanhamme wonders aloud:

  "I wonder if this will only affect Atari/Amiga/Unix(?)... users. I
  thought a lot of the PC navigators around actually 'navigate' in
  terminal mode, which would make sense, if only for the increase in
  speed?

  And I do wonder what an imposed graphical interface has to offer for
  reading messages? In other words, if they want to put a graphical layer
  over it, fine, but why should they remove the older terminal mode
  layer?"

Sysop Jim Ness tells Michel:

  "The 3rd party PC and Mac navigators are being readied for the change.
  They may look the same on screen, but they'll operate using the new
  protocols, rather than plain old ASCII."

Sysop Ron Luks adds:

  "Thats a common misunderstanding which Windows 3.1 users often make.
  In Windows 3.1, you essentially have a DOS system with a GUI "laid on
  top" of the basic DOS system.

  CompuServe's service is NOT one service with an optional GUI layer on
  top for a friendlier (?) reader interface.  CompuServe is currently TWO
  distinct sets of software programs accessing a common data set in the
  forum setting.

  If you log on using an ASCII program, you run a set of programs on
  CompuServe's mainframes which are a character-based interface to the
  common data set.

  If you log on under HMI you use a different set of programs to access
  the common data set.

  (The data set-- in the case of forums-- is the actual message headers,
  message text, library files, membership database, etc.)

  For the past 6 years, CompuServe has been adding features equally to
  both the character based (ASCII) interface and the HMI (graphical)
  interface.  Its been a big cost and a lot of work to implement changes
  in both interfaces to make them appear equal.  CIS has hit the
  technological wall in that some of the newer features which can be
  implemented easily in the graphical interface are very difficult and
  system resource intensive to implement in the ASCII interface.

  Much of this goes to a very basic computer concept called client-server
  computing.  This concept is at the core of networked system.  It hits
  the fundamental nature of the commercial online service business.
  You've probably never heard someone explain this in this detail so save
  this message. [grin]

  Under terminal emulation (ASCII) interface, your system is essentially
  a dumb terminal.  99% of the computing work is done by the host end
  (the server).  under HMI (host-micro interface) software, the
  'computing load' can be divvied up between the client PC and the host
  server.  As the information service drastically increases the
  membership base, the number of clients that are served by each host
  system increases dramatically.  This places a huge burden on the CPU of
  each host server for the same amount of computing operations.  Under
  client/server software, to handle this increased system load, many
  operations can be shifted to the client software.  Under typical old
  mainframe (terminal emulation software) 99% or 100% of the increased
  system load must be borne by the mainframes.  This architecture results
  in the inability to handle increased system capacity in an efficient
  manner.

  CompuServe, like the other major online services, needs to dramatically
  increase the overall size of their customer base to make up for the
  drastically reduced hourly connect charges.  ($22.80/hour in 1992 vs
  $1.95/hr in 1995)  Its become a volume (commodity) business and cost
  factors are critical to the business model now.)  Shifting 5%, 10%, 20%
  of the 'computing load' to the client PC can make the difference
  between a profitable system and a horribly money losing system...

  The PC/MAC only situation is now the only standard at the other 3 main
  services (AOL, Prodigy and Microsoft Network).  The other smaller
  services are going the same route.  CIS held out for as long as it
  possibly could but ASCII is simply not up to the multimedia task that
  the VAST majority of customers want.  Complaining about lack of ASCII
  is like complaining when people stopped writing new software for your
  old 8-bit computers.  I sympathize because I use my Atari everyday and
  I hate the current WinCIM. Its everybit as bad as you describe.
  However, the new 3.0 version is a knockout."


Well folks, there's lots more stuff available on CompuServe this week, but
I'm too heart-sick to continue right now.  If you'd like to see what else was
said this past week, log on to CompuServe (while you still can).

Remember to listen to what they're saying when...

                             PEOPLE ARE TALKING



STReport CONFIDENTIAL    "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"



z    Sunnyvale, CA             Atari Lay Off includes more than 20 People!

Super  Snoop, Hard at Work came up with all the  details on the  most  recent
layoff  at  Atari from a recent Ex Atari Employee.  He reports; "On Thursday,
November 2, 1995.. Atari had a huge layoff. Word is that 20 people were given
their pink slip walking papers.

Notable names include:
Bill  Rehbock,  Craig  Suko, Denis Fung (Craig and Denis  wrote  FSMGDOS  and
worked  on the Jaguar game: Hoverstrike and Hoverstrike: Unconquered  Lands),
Dave  Stagus (of NEOChrome fame and various other Jaguar projects,  and  Lynx
projects, and the software for the SLM804 laser printer), and many others.  I
think  Rob  Zydbel  is gone as well. Mike Fulton and Norman Kowalefski  (from
Atari  Germany)  were  let go in the last round of  layoffs.  They  have  ONE
developer support person right now: Scott Sanders.
They  got  rid of almost all of the artists and all of the programmers.  They
kept  the  testing staff for now. Word is that they are planning to become  a
software  company that just distributes and markets video games  for  various
machines.  I  couldn't get a straight answer from people about  the  Jaguar..
that  leads me to believe that it is basically dead once they sell  all  that
they  have left to offer. I think the testing folks are still around to  push
the games in the pipeline through the system and out the door. Then I suspect
that they will be laid off as well. Many here feel the software company story
is a scam to keep things running until they can close the doors.
I  am  sending this report now because there are very few people  left  there
that I care about.  The picture is bleak.  The few remaining that I know will
probably  leave  within the next 30 days. Therefore, I'm not concerned  about
what  happens  there  now.  Especially since many believe  Atari  is  playing
"Happy  Face" so they can suck the remaining loyalists into buying a dead-end
product.   Its  a typical Tramiel Treatment session.  The only thing  they're
interesed in is grabbing what money they can before they shut down.
Craig  has worked for the Tramiels since the early days of Commodore...  back
in  the very early 80s. Incredibly, they laid him off like anyone else.  That
was  the  ultimate  proof these people don't give a  damn  about  anyone  but
themselves. Another example.. they're working the testing guys on 6 day  work
weeks  and  will, more than likely, lay them off as soon as they're  finished
testing  the  games left in the pipeline. It would be nice to hear  what  Ted
Hoff  and  Don Thomas have to say after all that "everything is  better  than
ever!" banter they had recently offered..





                             Editorial Quickies!
                                      
                                      
Famous last words...




                    "Atari Jaguar will have 200 games..."



                                        Guess Who??

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