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Silicon Times Report Issue 1030
SILICON TIMES REPORT
====================
INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
=============================
from
STR Electronic Publishing Inc.
July 22, 1994 No. 1030
======================================================================
Silicon Times Report
International Online Magazine
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155
R.F. Mariano
Publisher-Editor
-----------------------------------------
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______________________________________________________________________
> 07/22/94 STR 1030 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
"""""""""""""""""
- CPU INDUSTRY REPORT - Taligent to Debut - Wildcat & QEMM
- WordPerfect NEWS! - Compaq Earnings UP - Virus Author Nailed
- Delrina & Chicago - The Final Shakeout - ProCom+ Ver. 2.0
- JAGUAR NEWS!! - People Talking - STR Confidential!
-* 'CHICAGO' UPGRADE PRICED AT $99! *-
-* NINTENDO CHANGES MEMORY TECHNOLOGY 500MHZ! *-
-* GRAY MARKET CD-ROM CAMPAIGN SET! *-
CD DE-BUNDLERS TARGETED!
======================================================================
STReport International Online Magazine
The Original * Independent * Online Magazine
-* FEATURING WEEKLY *-
"Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
======================================================================
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participate in the ITC/PROWL/USENET/NEST/F-Net/Fido Mail Networks. You
may also call The Bounty BBS direct @ 1-904-786-4176. Enjoy the wonder
and excitement of exchanging all types of useful information relative to
all computer types, worldwide, through the use of excellent International
Networking Systems. SysOps and users alike worldwide, are welcome to join
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Node is 1:374/147.3, Crossnet Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is #620.
All computer platforms and BBS systems are invited to participate.
======================================================================
CIS ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX ~ PROWL ~ ITC ~ NEST ~ EURONET ~ CIX
USENET ~ USPOLNET ~ CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ FNET ~ AOL
======================================================================
COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers of;
STREPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198
You will receive your complimentary time
and
be online in no time at all!
"Enjoy CompuServe's forums; where information is at its very best!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
The weatherman routine must be getting old by now, at least for me it
is, so I won't even mention the humidity or whatevers.
Things are however, heating up in the computing world as most of the
major companies are diligently gearing up for the big Fall Comdex push and
Christmas Sales. New fast and powerful versions of most everything will
be making an appearance as a result of the pending release of Chicago.
(Windows 4.0) While I've seen many references to Windows as Windoze...
(usually made by someone with little or no experience with Windows at all)
The truth is, Windows is the ticket! I have been using WFWG 3.11 for what
seems like an eternity and I might add, its been an eternity of computing
pleasure. The likes of which I've never really known until I got involved
with Windows and all it has to offer. Sure, I had a fantastic GUI at one
time in the distant past. Right along with one of the very best MAC
emulators put together, ala Small. But I must admit compared to what I am
using today, well frankly there is no comparing at all. Windows is the
top banana and that's all there is to that. Its multi-tasking is very
fast, rock solid reliable and the power ..is simply incredible.
What's the point you say? Here it is in a nutshell, I've been
lurking in a few areas around the nets and am reading a few threads that
are simply amazing. These guys are very busy preaching the wonders of
either a dying platform or one that's as dead as Kelsey's whatevers only
nobody cares to admit it. To top it off, they're castigating another poor
user for having admitted he bought a PC! They're putting the blame on
this hapless user for having contributed to the pending demise of the
platform they're on! No, its not an Atari or Commodore thread... its MAC!
One must wonder if they too, are beginning to see the handwriting on the
walls.. all the walls. Within the next sixty months we shall most
certainly know. (The final shakeout is definitely at hand)
In the meantime...
If you are planning a change... don't think twice! Go PC as you will
find support and variety you never thought existed. The old idea that
MIDI music, DTP, Photography and Graphics belong with the MAC is truly an
over blown myth. I use Canvas and a host of other suuposedly "only for
the Mac" software on a PC! How? Because Deneba like every other software
publisher who has "seen the light" has written and released Windows
versions of their highly acclaimed Mac Software. All equally as powerful
and easy to use. With Windows 3.11, WFWG 3.11 you'll enjoy a world of
computing the likes of which you've never experienced. Producing rsults
you never thought you would be capable of. On top of which, Windows 4.0
is reportedly the finest GUI yet to be released. Superior to everything
in use today regardless of the platform. Don't waste your hard earned
money on pipedreams, if you are contemplating a change, go PC and discover
the truth. You won't be sorry.
Ralph.....
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
""""""""""""""""
Publisher -Editor
""""""""""""""""""
Ralph F. Mariano
Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
"""""""""""""""
PC SECTION AMIGA SECTION MAC SECTION ATARI SECTION
---------- ------------- ----------- -------------
R.D. Stevens R. Niles J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson
STReport Staff Editors:
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Michael Arthur John Deegan Brad Martin
John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando
Doyle Helms Frank Sereno John Duckworth
Jeff Coe Steve Keipe Guillaume Brasseur
Melanie Bell Jay Levy Jeff Kovach
Marty Mankins Carl Prehn Paul Charchian
Contributing Correspondents:
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Tim Holt Norman Boucher Clemens Chin
Eric Jerue Ron Deal Mike Barnwell
Ed Westhusing Glenwood Drake Vernon W.Smith
Bruno Puglia Paul Haris Kevin Miller
Craig Harris Allen Chang Dominick J. Fontana
IMPORTANT NOTICE
""""""""""""""""
Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
via E-Mail to:
Compuserve................... 70007,4454
America Online..................STReport
Delphi......................... RMARIANO
BIX............................ RMARIANO
FIDONET..................... 1:347/147.3
FNET........................... NODE 350
ITC NET...................... 85:881/253
NEST........................ 90:21/350.0
GEnie......................... ST-REPORT
Internet.............RMARIANO@DELPHI.COM
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
"""""""""""""""""
IBM/POWER-PC/PC SECTION (I)
===========================
Computer Products Update - CPU Report
------------------------ ----------
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Issue #30
By: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
******* General Computer News *******
** Taligent System to Make Debut **
Taligent Inc says it will unveil its Taligent Application Environment
(TalAE) -- an open, portable application system -- in a live code demon-
stration at the Object World trade show in San Francisco next week.
The demonstration will feature Taligent's Task - Centered Computing
model and its People, Places and Things user interface metaphor.
Taligent ultimately plans to market its new application system, which
is based on object-oriented technology. The product will be open for ex-
tension at all levels by software developers, hardware OEMs and systems
vendors.
** IBM Reports Profit **
IBM Corp. this week reported second quarter earnings of $689 million,
its third consecutive quarterly profit after two years of staggering
losses.
Reports say that IBM earned $1.14 per share in the quarter ended June
30, which exceeded Wall Street's expectations of 73 cents per share,
causing IBM stock to soar $6 to $61.875 in mid-afternoon trading on the
New York Stock Exchange.
** Compaq's Earnings Double **
Compaq Computer Corp. this week reported a second quarter profit that
more than doubled from a year ago. Reports say that Compaq earned $210
million (or 78 cents a share) in the quarter, compared with earnings of
$102 million (or 40 cents a share) last year.
** Muppets Come to CD-ROM **
Jim Henson Productions and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Starwave
Corp. say they have joined forces to create a new interactive digital
entertainment venture. The companies plan to deliver their first CD-ROM
and game system titles in 1995.
The companies say the new products will allow families to interact
with their favorite Muppet characters, including Kermit the Frog and
Miss Piggy, while having fun and learning. Jim Henson Productions is
also launching a new interactive media division, Jim Henson Interactive.
** Quantum Buys DEC Storage Business Biz **
For $400 million Digital Equipment Corp has sold its computer storage
business to Quantum Corp., the world's largest maker of disk drives. Re-
ports say the sale includes Digital's disk and tape drive manufacturing,
solid-state disk and thin-film heads operations.
** Nintendo Changes Memory Technology **
A new memory technology is being embraced by Nintendo of America to
bring three-dimensional graphics capabilities to the new 64-bit Nintendo
video game system, the Ultra 64 system.
The technology is designed by privately held Silicon Valley startup
company Rambus Inc., which counts among its investors Dominion, the
investment vehicle of Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates, and venture
firms Mohr Davidow and Kleiner Perkins.
Reports say the Rambus technology is "an interface that connects the
DRAM memory chips to the microprocessor, providing a significant per-
formance increase," adding that; "systems using Rambus technology run at
500MHz."
** Change Seen in Apple Licensing **
Observers say Apple Computer Inc. has backed off its effort to licen-
se its operating system to independent computer makers. Instead, Apple
has focused on licensing its system to Motorola Inc. and IBM, its part-
ners in the PowerPC chip alliance.
Reports from officials close to Apple say IBM and Motorola have been
negotiating with Apple to license Apple's System 7 to run on their own
PowerPC computers, though a deal reportedly is far from being guaranteed.
** Apple Unveils New PowerBook **
Apple Computer Inc. has unveiled the PowerBook 150, the lowest-priced
member of its PowerBook notebook computer line.
Priced at $1,449, the PowerBook 150 is designed for higher education
students, home and small office users and desktop users with casual
second system needs, as well as customers who are entering the mobile
computing world for the first time.
The PowerBook 150 replaces the PowerBook 145B. The new model's enhan-
cements include a software bundle incorporating ClarisWorks and the
PowerBook Mobility Bundle, a larger display, a larger hard drive and
increased RAM expansion.
** 'Chicago' Upgrade Priced at $99 **
The "Chicago" upgrade of Microsoft's Windows software will be priced
at $99. Microsoft still expects to get Chicago to market sometime this
year.
Chicago is expected to include a new graphical user interface as well
as increased processing speed features including a gateway to online
services such as Internet.
Reports say "Analysts believe Chicago has the potential to be Micro-
soft's most lucrative upgrade ever, generating more than $1 billion in
revenue,". "Some trade publications have speculated that Chicago will
not hit the street until early next year, despite Microsoft's promised
end of 1994 deadline."
** Gray Market' CD-ROM Campaign Set **
CD De-Bundlers Targeted
The Software Publishers Association says it will begin an aggressive
campaign against businesses that engage in "gray market" debundling
activities.
Debundling, a violation of copyright laws and distribution agreements
between software publishers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs),
occurs when software intended to be sold with hardware is separately
sold into other distribution channels.
The SPA says it has retained investigators to purchase unbundled CD-
ROMs and track the source of the products. The SPA notes that it expects
to file lawsuits against any company that trades unlicensed CD-ROM
software in violation of the applicable distribution agreements or the
copyright law.
** Feds File Computer Porn Case **
A California couple is on trial in Tennessee on federal charges of
transmitting obscenity through interstate phone lines via a computer
bulletin board system that offered members sexually explicit pictures
and text.
With testimony starting this week, the trial raises questions of how
to apply federal obscenity law and First Amendment free-speech protec-
tions to the sea of words and images flowing through computers across
the land. Some feel the case could wind up before the U.S. Supreme
Court.
The trial marks the first time prosecutors in an obscenity case have
gone after a BBS operator in the locale where its material was received,
rather than where it originated.
** Online Pentagon Files Vandalized **
Large portions of the Pentagon's unclassified computer files report-
edly have been infiltrated through the Internet. Vandals have stolen,
altered or erased records and even shut down systems.
That is the report in The New York Times this week, which adds that
intruders apparently haven't tapped into classified Defense Department
systems, which control critical functions such as nuclear weapons.
(These functions aren't connected to the global Internet network.) The
Times said the invaders are from the United States and abroad.
A spokeswoman for the Defense Information Systems Agency told the
Times that the compromised systems include those used for ballistic
weapons research, aircraft and ship design, military payroll, personnel
records, procurement, electronic mail, supercomputer modeling of
battlefield environments and computer security research.
"There is no information to indicate that command and control systems
were affected by these intrusions," the unidentified spokeswoman added.
** Clipper Chip Alternatives Open? **
Vice President Al Gore says in a letter disclosed this week the
Clinton administration is willing to work on an alternative to the
controversial Clipper chip wiretapping technology.
Reports say that Gore's letter to Rep. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington,
says the administration would "welcome the opportunity to work with
industry to design a more versatile, less expensive system."
The hotly debated Clipper chip was developed in secret by the govern-
ment as the preferred encryption technology for scrambling digital tele-
communications messages.
** Game-Rating Council Formed **
The Recreational Software Advisory Council has been formed by several
computer trade groups as an independent nonprofit organization to admin-
ister a game-ratings program for the software industry.
The backers also say the application form and ratings categories to
be used in the program now are being reviewed by experts and soon will
be made public.
The council -- launched by the Software Publishers Association, the
Association of Shareware Professionals, the Educational Software
Cooperative, the Shareware Trade Association and Resources and others --
"will assign ratings to software titles before they are shipped to
retailers and investigate consumer complaints about products believed to
be misrated," says a statement from the SPA.
The council will include "parents, teachers and concerned experts
from various disciplines," the statement says, adding, "It will not be
controlled by the software industry, but instead will be a separate,
independent organization."
The organizers say they have nearly completed work on the actual
ratings categories, and will introduce a rating program in time for the
holiday retail season.
Glenn Ochsenreiter, SPA special projects director, said, "The ratings
application will inform RSAC of potentially objectionable content in in-
dividual software titles and provide the basis for placing those titles
in specific ratings categories. We created a high degree of objectivity
in the application to provide a consistent basis for ratings."
** Australia: 59% of Software Pirated **
More than 59% of business software installed on computers in
Australia has been copied illegally, according to a report issued this
week by the Washington, D.C.-based Software Publishers Association.
Reports say that the pirated programs have cost the software industry
about $350 to $400 million in lost revenue in Australia.
The world average for pirated business software is 47%, with Great
Britain and Ireland boasting the lowest figures at 27% and Latin
America, India and Pakistan with the highest at 95%. The SPA estimates
that business software worth $7.4 billion was stolen worldwide last
year.
While the rate of pirated software in developing nations is astound-
ingly high, the largest monetary losses to the software industry are
from illegally copied software in the most advanced nations since their
markets are larger. For instance, losses in Britain were about $194
million in 1993, while losses in India and Pakistan were only $103
million.
** Alleged Virus Author Arrested **
A man from the port town of Plymouth in southwest England has been
accused by British authorities of writing three damaging computer
viruses. U.K. police say the unidentified man has been charged and
released on bail awaiting trial in November.
In London, authorities are asking to be contacted by victims of any
of the three data-destroying viruses, called Queeg (named after a
character in a TV science fiction series), Pathogen and Germ.
"Once triggered, the viruses display a message on the computer
screen: 'Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast... Unfortunately
some of your data won't.'"
** Survey Says Home PCs to Rise 21% **
A new study says PCs purchased for the home will make up nearly half
of the entire U.S. computer market by 1998.
The research, conducted by Dataquest Inc., a unit of Dun & Bradstreet
Corp., predicts home PC shipments will rise at a 21% compound annual
growth rate while the rest of the U.S. PC market will grow at an 8.9%.
Reports say more than 5.3 million PCs were shipped for U.S. home use
in 1993, making up 36% of the market.
Dataquest estimates that by 1998 a total of 13.9 million PCs will be
shipped to the home market, 49% of all PCs shipped in the United States.
_______________________________________________
> WinFAX Pro & Chicago STR FOCUS!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
DELRINA DEVELOPING WINFAX PRO FOR CHICAGO
=========================================
New Chicago Version to Greatly Expand PC Fax/Communications Market
SAN JOSE, CA and TORONTO, ONT -- Friday, July 1994 -- Delrina
Corporation (NASDAQ:DENAF, TSE:DC), the world's leading supplier of
PC fax and forms software, today announced that it is developing a
new version of WinFax PRO<tm> to work with the next version of
Microsoft(R) Windows, code-named "Chicago". Delrina WinFax, the
leading PC fax software in the world with more than 5 million units
sold, will have a new version designed specifically for Chicago which
will be available soon after Chicago ships.
Delrina has been working on its Chicago version of WinFax since
November, 1992 when Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman & CEO, first
discussed Microsoft's approach to messaging with Delrina executives.
Since that time, Delrina has been working closely with Microsoft to
ensure that its products will dovetail and continue to add tremendous
value to Windows. Delrina's expertise with WinFax will be used to
build even greater fax features for Chicago.
In March 1994, Delrina shipped WinFax PRO 4, its fourth generation
fax communications and management software. Delrina WinFax PRO 4
redefined the PC fax market with usability improvements, special
functionality for mobile users, expanded messaging capabilities, and
over 50 powerful new features. WinFax PRO 4 also includes seamless
access to Delrina's new enhanced communication services -- Fax
MailBox<tm> and Fax Broadcast<tm>.
As the first non-Microsoft application to integrate Microsoft At
Work, WinFax PRO 4 has already begun to exploit the messaging
infrastructure that is at the core of Chicago. Delrina will build
upon Chicago's basic fax capabilities by adding robust features such
as a customizable interface, mobile capabilities, annotation tools,
OCR, scanning, a cover page designer with over 100 cover pages, and
enhanced viewing. Moreover, Delrina's 32-bit WinFax PRO Chicago with
multi-threading will support Plug and Play, OLE 2, extended MAPI, and
TAPI to fully utilize the communications infrastructure in Chicago.
Brad Chase, General Manager of Personal Operating Systems at
Microsoft commented on Delrina's move to support Chicago, "Delrina's
support is indicative of the huge opportunity that exists for
software developers to build applications and services that can take
advantage of Chicago. Delrina is taking a leading position to
capitalize on this opportunity and develop robust applications that
will add value and leverage the underlying messaging plumbing in
Chicago."
"Chicago is one the most exciting developments in the industry with
the potential to explode PC fax and communications usage," said Mark
Skapinker, Delrina president. "Delrina has been working closely with
Microsoft and other partners to leverage our leadership and ensure
that we are in the best position to capitalize on the communications
convergence and Microsoft's vision of 'information exchange without
limits'."
Bert Amato, Delrina Chief Technical Officer added, "We have spent a
great deal of time understanding Chicago messaging and we will be
launching products and versions of our existing products that will
leverage this new operating system to the hilt. Our focus remains
fax-centric and our products and services will converge further and
further to take advantage of the growing opportunities resulting from
the convergence of the PC with telecommunications."
"We expect the next version of WinFax PRO and Windows to grow the
communications market significantly", said Dennis Bennie, Delrina
CEO. "As fax modem usage has grown, our user base has grown
proportionally. History has shown that applets (piece of an
application) in Windows have grown markets. While some users will be
satisfied with the fax component included in Chicago, most will still
want full-fledged fax capabilities beyond Chicago."
Industry analysts agree that Delrina's new WinFax PRO for Chicago and
Microsoft's new Windows will expand the PC fax/communications market.
Peter Davidson, Industry Analyst, Publisher NetFax News, Burbank, CA
"Microsoft's move to incorporate messaging as part of the operating
system will legitimize PC communications to a new level of acceptance
and use. With a larger and more sophisticated communications market,
Delrina is in an ideal position to cater to this emerging new
marketplace. Users will still want to do much more than the
communications Chicago will offer."
Craig Giudici, Facsimile Analyst, Dataquest, San Jose, CA
"The PC is evolving to be primarily a communications tool. Chicago's
32-bit architecture will provide better responsiveness than Windows
3.1 allowing third-party vendors to build more robust and flexible
communications applications. Delrina is in an unique position to
deliver a fax communications solution that takes PC communications to
the next level of opportunity."
Delrina develops, markets and supports PC-based software products and
services for the fax and data communications, electronic forms
processing and consumer content markets. Founded in 1988, Delrina
employs more than 500 people with headquarters in Toronto, Canada;
and offices in San Jose, CA; Washington, DC; Kirkland, WA; the United
Kingdom; France; and Germany. Delrina can be contacted at
1-800-268-6082.
Public Relations Contact:
Josef Zankowicz, Delrina Corporation, (416) 441-4658
_________________________________________
> Designer 4.1 STR InfoFile
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
Information on Designer 4.1 Technical Edition (TE)
==================================================
This article outlines product strategy and direction regarding Micrografx
Designer and hopefully answers some questions that have been posted
recently. I will attempt to keep the marketing rhetoric to a minimum and
provide information as candidly as possible so you can
understand the reasons behind the release of Designer 4.1 TE.
QUICK BACKGROUND OVERVIEW (DESIGNER 4.0 TO 4.1 TE)
--------------------------------------------------
The release of Designer 4.0 (last year) represented a major step from
Designer 3.1 . A major new interface, a major new code base and many,
many new features. Although great in many ways, Designer 4.0 also created
some unhappy customers. Many of you have voiced your concerns on this
forum.
Through comments from people like yourselves and through our research, it
was clear that Designer 4.0 did not achieve its mark. We needed to
regroup and ensure we were providing the right solution to our target
audience.
The strategy behind Designer 4.1 TE was a two part process: One,
determining who our target audience was and then secondly, ensuring we
were providing the right features that solved their needs.
Although a "minor" (point) release, Designer 4.1 TE represents a "major"
release in providing what our customers have asked for: speed, quality and
functionality.
Also, the "Technical Edition" or "TE" in the product name was used to
highlight the technical orientation of Designer and catch the eye of
people needing a technical illustration tool. It is the
next version of Designer (ie. from 4.0 or 3.1, people should upgrade to
4.1 TE) and there are no plans for other "editions".
THE DESIGNER 4.1 TE TARGET CUSTOMER
-----------------------------------
As a long time product in Windows, many different types of customers
bought and used Designer over the years: engineers, desktop publishers,
home computer enthusiasts, professional artists, and occasional drawing
users to name but a few.
As we researched our user community to determine what was required moving
forward, we found that the majority of Designer users from around the
world were either technical illustrators or engineers. Furthermore, as we
researched emerging growth opportunities in the Windows illustration
category, we discovered a great opportunity for technical illustration
(for a more complete explanation, see the Jesse Berst column in the PC
Week June 27 issue, but in summary Jesse states "Micrografx found an
unexploited market").
As the software industry evolves, companies will continue to succeed based
on their abilities to understand and deliver appropriate products to their
target customers. Micrografx is no exception. The release of 4.1 TE
represents a clear focus on this technical illustration target customer.
Does this focus mean it is not good for desktop publishers, or for the
graphic artist? Not at all. Many of the same features technical
illustrators need are what desktop publishers or graphic artists use.
However our marketing message and focus will be aimed at the technical
illustration market.
NEW FUNCTIONALITY
-----------------
The target audience asked for 3 main items: improved performance, specific
functionality and a quality product. Designer 4.1 TE provides all of
these.
IMPROVED PERFORMANCE
--------------------
Designer 4.1 TE is significantly faster than 4.0. Customers will see
noticeable speed improvements in key areas. One is initial start up. To
give you an example, on a 486/33 with 8 MB RAM, initial start up time has
improved almost 20% over 4.0a.
Further items that have been significantly improved include text redraw
that is faster, gradients that draw faster, screen redraws that are more
"intelligent" (and faster) and the return of a
number of the Designer 3.1 keyboard shortcuts and commands (e.g., Print
View command, all commands available for right mouse button, and opaque
text to name a few). In fact, a number of our own employees who tried 4.0
(and went back to use 3.1) are now using 4.1 TE since the performance is
so much better.
Another way we have improved performance is eliminating the 3D code from
Designer 4.1 TE. Unfortunately, the current state of Windows 3.1 (a
16-bit operating environment) does not lend itself well to working quickly
with 3D. In fact, as many of you know, we delivered a 32-bit graphics
engine with Designer 4.0 in an attempt to rectify some of the limitations.
Unfortunately, this did not work as well as we would have liked.
Furthermore, when we researched 3D use amongst our users, we found very
little use of 3D. And when we asked if they would give up 3D to get a
speed improvement, an overwhelming majority said yes. So based on this
feedback and the resulting speed improvements, 3D was removed from
Designer 4.1 TE.
SPECIFIC FUNCTIONALITY
----------------------
There are a number of enhancements in Designer 4.1 TE that will be a
welcome addition to our customers. Listed below are the key highlights.
IMPORT/EXPORT FILTERS
---------------------
Designer 4.1 TE's import and export filters have gone through a complete
overhaul and now support over 40 import and export filters. Perhaps not a
"glamorous" feature on the surface, it is an essential feature addition.
Enhancements includes a new DXF filter that supports layers (in and out,
keeps layer information in tact), a new CGM filter, a brand new IGES
import filter and significant improvements to our EPS filter. All created
knowing corporations need to seamlessly transfer data in and out of
graphics programs.
Also added was a new PageMaker 5 filter. Now Designer files can be placed
in PageMaker 5 for great looking technical documentation or desktop
publishing work.
CLIPART MANAGER
---------------
A new "drag and drop" clipart manager provides quick visual thumbnails of
the 1500 clipart symbols (10,000 more are on CD-ROM). And many of these
symbols are specifically targeted for technical illustration.
Additionally, we have licensed and provided 500 (of the 1500) specific
TechSymbols from a company that specializes in technical symbols. Also,
this new ClipArt manager takes up much less workspace, has configurable
thumbnail sizes and helps you quickly get the clipart piece you want.
NEW EASY-TO-ACCESS STATUS BAR
-----------------------------
Designer 4.1 TE has a new expanded status line, it introduces quick one
button access to what used to be hard to access elements (fill colors,
line styles, snap points, etc). And the new way to add colors to palettes
is real fast and easy. New detailed selection information is also
displayed on the status bar. The status bar can be displayed as a single
line or two lines of information or turned off altogether.
NEW DIMENSIONING TOOL
---------------------
Easy to use and create dimensioning lines that retain "associative" status
when resizing an object. The new dimension lines can be horizontal,
vertical or aligned and you have full control over automatic extension
lines and gaps as well as arrow heads, fonts, unit of measure and
amount of displayed precision.
EASE OF USE -- CD-ROM-BASED TRAINING/TUTORIAL
---------------------------------------------
To assist in learning Designer 4.1 TE, it comes with a new interactive,
on-line CD-ROM tutorial. Old and new customers alike will be up and using
new Designer 4.1 TE quicker than ever before.
Other ease of use features include bubble hints that pop up next to all
buttons in Designer 4.1 TE and a floating hint window that contains
context-sensitive hints on what buttons and dialogs do as well as step by
step instructions for using Designer 4.1 TE's tools. Of course, these
features can be easily turned on or off.
NEW TEXT ALONG A CURVE
----------------------
Now creating text along a path (curve) is easier and faster than before.
A completely new interface makes creating and editing text more intuitive
to new and old customers. Included are many predefined placements for
open and closed shapes as well as interactive placement. When
interactively editing the placement of text along a curve, a new ribbon is
displayed that contains buttons to control the direction, offset, and
formatting of text placed along a curve.
QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS
--------------------
To be accepted in corporations and by users around the world, software
must be reliable. Although some of our competitors continue to release
significantly buggy code, it is not acceptable for Micrografx and our
renewed focus on customer satisfaction to release anything less than fully
tested software. Once again, Designer 4.1 TE will stand out with its
quality. As some of our QA group said, 4.1 TE is "10 times better than
4.0".
SUMMARY:
Designer 4.1 TE represents a complete commitment to our customers to
deliver what they have asked for. Designer 4.1 TE delivers a product that
will rank as one of the fastest in its category. It provides essential
new functionality to ensure our customers can perform their jobs easier,
faster and with more accuracy. And finally, it is a quality product that
users can depend on.
This release is not just a bug fix as some folks have suggested. Yes it
does fix bugs. But it also provides the additional functionality and
speed that our customers have requested The value that is delivered with
Designer 4.1 TE is well worth the upgrade price of $49.95 ($149.95 for
Designer 3.x users).
I encourage you to try Designer 4.1 TE. Only after you use Designer 4.1
TE will you share my belief that this is one of the best products
available in the Windows market today.
I look forward to comments and will be happy to answer questions.
Grant Wickes, Vice President
Professional Graphics, Micrografx
__________________________________________________________
> Kid's Computing Corner STR Feature
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Kids' Computing Corner
----------------------
TIME WARNER INTERACTIVE'S WORD TALES
====================================
by Frank Sereno
Word Tales is a multi-media learning game intended to teach spelling,
phonics and vocabulary to children ages 4 to 7. Available on floppy disk
and CD-rom for IBM compatibles running Windows 3.1 with a 386SX-16 or
higher CPU, 4 megs of ram, VGA display, a mouse and a Windows compatible
sound card or for Macintosh computers running System 6.0.7 or later with 4
meg of ram and color display. This review will be of the Windows CD-rom
version although the floppy disk and Mac versions are very similar. The
test machine was an AMD386-40 with 8 megs of ram, a Diamond Stealth video
card, a single-speed CD-rom, a Sound Blaster Pro audio card and a Logitech
Kidz Mouse.
Installation is not particularly easy. Most programs include a
program to install an icon on the Windows desktop that will run the
program. Word Tales has no such program and its manual asks that you
start the program from the File Manager. You can create your own icon and
.PIF file to run Word Tales. I feel it is an oversight and inconvenience
that Word Tales does not create a program group or icon for the user.
Word Tales begins with a couple of unimpressive opening animation
sequences, then a green creature named Milo introduces himself and invites
the child to play. The Control Room consists of 5 small video screens, a
larger video screen and a control unit with on/off buttons and a volume
slider. Also shown are some very small characters that become animated
when clicked upon. The larger screen occasionally shows Milo and the
smaller screens are the entryway to the Word Tales drills. Click on any of
the five smaller screens to begin play. Upon completion of 5 Word Tales,
the child will be sent back to the control room and one of the screens
will have the image of a bonus arcade game.
Gameplay is very simple. After clicking on one of the video screens,
the game screen is shown. It consists of one large window with 3 smaller
windows on the right side of the screen. An object is displayed in the
large window and below it is the word for it minus the first letter. On
the left of the screen are 3 letters to use to fill in the blank. Milo is
pictured in the upper right corner of the screen and he will ask the child
to find the first letter as he pronounces the word. Below Milo is a black
box which will be used in the next screen. Below that are a green door
and a red door. Clicking on the red door will take the child back to the
control room and clicking on the green door will take him to the next
exercise without finishing the current one.
Upon clicking on the correct letter, the child will be told his
choice is correct and he will be rewarded with an animation surprise.
Then the picture in the main window will be replaced with a new one
containing many objects. The child now is asked to click on all objects
which start with the same first letter as the original object. In the
black box on the right side of the screen will be a number of blank lines
equal to the number of objects which must be found. When an object is
found by clicking on it, Milo will pronounce the word and it will be
displayed in the black box. The object will also be animated as a reward.
Upon finding all the objects, the entire screen will be animated while
bright music plays. Then the child will be sent to the next Word Tale or
if he has completed 5 tales he will return to the control room where he
can choose to play the arcade game.
The object of the arcade game is to use a robot to bounce apples
falling from a tree into buckets on either side of the screen. The game
is not as simple as it sounds as the top of the robot is curved causing
the apples to fly at odd angles and the player only gets 4 bounces off the
top of the robot or the ground before the apple disappears as a splash of
applesauce. The gameplay seems to be inordinately hard and I have yet to
get more than a few apples into the buckets.
Graphically, this program is not particularly impressive. Animations
tend to be slow and are sometimes jerky. Sounds are not synced with the
animation. Still graphics could be more colorful and detailed.
The sounds and music used in Word Tales are above average. The music
is interesting and varied. Milo's voice is quite clear and easy to
comprehend.
The interface is another of the point and click variety. Beside the
problem of no installation program, when starting the program there are
various options for gameplay but these involve holding down different keys
or clicking the mouse. It would be much easier if the program allowed the
parent to create a configuration file on the hard drive and have that
control the different options. On the child's side, operation is quite
simple. Negative feedback is very gentle but positive feedback is lacking
in enthusiasm.
Play value is about average. My children did not display a great
deal of interest in this program. One shortcoming that I see is that each
letter only has 1 Word Tale. Once a child has done all the letters a few
times, he will lose interest. The MPC version only used 21 megs of
storage on the CD-rom and that blank space could have been used for more
lessons. Since most stores charge a premium for the CD-rom version versus
the floppy version, one could reasonably expect more value from this
version and it doesn't appear to be delivered to me.
Educational value is good. Children will learn the sounds and the
letters of the alphabet. Children will also learn many vocabulary words
and learn to associate the words with pictures of the objects.
In my opinion, bang for the buck is only a little higher than
average. If you can find this title during special sale, it is a fair
acquisition but I cannot recommend purchasing it at full retail.
Graphics............6.5
Sounds..............8.5
Interface...........6.0
Play Value..........6.5
Ed. Value...........8.0
Bang for the buck...6.5
Average.............7.0
Next time, I'll run a listing of the average scores of all programs
reviewed so far as well as a review of Micrografix Crayola Amazing Art
Adventure.
Of special note.....
PLATO
TRO Learning, Inc.
A few weeks ago I mentioned an offer for discounts on from TRO Learning,
Inc. on their line of PLATO software for the home. I would like to
provide more information on PLATO that I have gathered through
correspondence and an interview with John C. Super, Vice President
Strategic Sales and Planning. First will be the letter I received, then
some notes from the interview. I would like to thank Mr. Super for his
cooperation in providing further information about his company.
"TRO Learning, Inc. acquired PLATO from Control Data Corporation in
September, 1989. Since that time, we have made a substantial investment
in the product to help it better serve education and workplace markets.
As we have continued to expand our sales in these areas, we have
consistently been asked if there was any way we could bring the
instructional power available in learning labs to home computers. We have
begun to do so with the release of 'Math For All Ages'.
This version of PLATO has been specially configured for home use. We
simplified the extensive education management system to allow parents and
students to easily enter and use the system. Since CD-ROM systems are not
yet widely used in the marketplace, we made the courses available for hard
disk installation in this first version. A unique course install/de-
install feature allows for easy free disk space management. Later this
year, we will add to the PLATO capability by releasing a CD-ROM version
with audio capability.
Math is our first focus area. During September, we will make available
reading, writing and life skills courses. Also, we will add complete
geometry, pre-calculus, and calculus courses to 'Math For All Ages'.
Finally, we are considering the possibility of releasing several of our
workplace specific courses if our market evaluations indicate they are
suitable for home delivery.
Sincerely,
John C. Super
Vice President Strategic Sales & Planning"
I talked to Mr. Super on July 5th and he told me a great deal about TRO
Learning and PLATO. The PLATO curriculum includes lessons for students
from 2nd grade through college studies. PLATO also has individual
programs for teaching life skills such as job seeking, career evaluation
and life coping skills such as understanding yourself and others. All of
these programs are currently available for use on either mainframe
computers or with LAN networked systems. TRO is hoping to later introduce
a series of programs to teach parenting skills.
TRO also offers workplace courses for building communications skills, team
building and leading, and the use of statistical process control. These
concepts and skills are all part of Dr. Deming's Total Quality Management
approach to business. His ideas have been implemented in businesses all
across the world, most successfully in Japan. One of the better American
examples is Saturn, the newest division of General Motors.
TRO is now moving to simplify the core management program for use on
single-station home computers. A core program will manage all the various
modules that you may purchase. If hard drive space becomes minimal,
modules may be temporarily removed from the system and reinstalled later.
Modules will be made available on CD-rom in the future. An upgrade path
will be provided for the owners of the floppy disk modules, but the
details and costs of the upgrade have not been finalized at this time.
The CD-rom versions will add vocalization of the problems and lessons
along with animations.
The PLATO curriculum uses tutorials, exercises, applications and review,
each with feedback, to teach the student. Once a student has completed a
module, he can go back to it later for self-assessment or review of the
subject matter. TRO currently sells directly to schools and alternate
learning facilities. They are now implementing direct-to-home marketing
via their toll-free information and ordering service at 1-800-44-PLATO (1-
800-447-5286). The company's directors are still contemplating the best
method of retail distribution so it will probably be a while before you
can purchase these programs at CompUSA, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. Call
the toll-free number and request a catalog of TRO Learning's PLATO
curriculum. In the future, software demos will be available. I hope to
review the software demo and provide more information about the adult
curriculum in a future article.
As always, I thank you for reading!
____________________________________________
> ProComm Plus v 2.0 Windows STR FOCUS! A Cut Above....
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
PROCOMM PLUS FOR WINDOWS 2.0 AND 1.02
NEW!
----
FAX - seamless fax integration with support for Class 1, Class 2, and
SendFax modems; fax viewer with 12.5%, 25%, 50%, 100% image zoom; fax
image rotation for faxes received upside-down; coversheet editor allows
you to create your own coversheets; scheduler for unattended fax
transmissions; support for local and remote polling.
User-customizable Action Bars Load up to five separate Action Bars made up
of the icons of your choice. These icons can run a Windows ASPECT script
file, DOS or Windows program, transmit text, or dial an on-line service or
voice phone number.
Easy-access interface now includes the Quick Select bar, allowing point-
and-dick changes for terminal emulation and communication settings, modem
lights (great for internal modems), receive and transmit buffer graphs,
real time clock, and more. Setup and Dialing Directory also feature a new
look with easily-recognizable buttons and sub-buttons.
Dialing Directory - supports data, fax, and voice phone numbers; entries
can be moved into groups; support for 'traveling' dialing directories that
will automatically include '1+(area code)' when necessary; support for
phone company calling cards (AT&T, Sprint, MCI, and user-definable);
assign up to 5 Action Bars to any directory entry.
Automatic detection and identification for over 700 modems. PROCOMM PLUS
for Windows version 2.0 will examine your system and identify the modem
and COM port you are using!
The Windows ASPECT script language now supports global and local arrays,
and has removed limits on the use of controls such as,checkboxes,
listboxes, etc.
Automatic conversion of Dialing Directories, ASPECT scripts Meta Key
setups and more from PROCOMM PLUS for Windows 1.x. And if you're a WinFax
Pro 3.0 user, we'll take'@our Phone Book and transform it into a PROCOMM
PLUS for Windows 2.0 Dialing Directory ... hassle free!
File transfer protocol IND$FILE for use with IBM mainframes. Supports VM-
CMS, MVS-TSO, and other operating environments.
Full-featured CompuServe script that supports off-line mail reading and
integrated phone book as well as forum message threading. The MCI script
now also provides off-line reading.
Capability to add external, DATASTORM-provided terminal emulations
(.DLT's). These emulations (such as Minitel) can be downloaded from the
DATASTORM BBS (when available) for seamless integration within PROCOMM
PLUS for Windows 2.0.
PWEDIT, the PROCOMM PLUS for Windows version 2.0 script/text editor, which
can edit large files and includes automated access to ASPECT specific
tools (compiler, dialog editor, user window builder),
WINLINK, a PC to PC file transfer script which allows the tagging of files
and directories for quick and easy transfer between machines. Great for
notebooks and laptops.
Built-in MAPI awareness provides Network E-mail users with mail hooks for
forwarding CompuServe or MCI Mail messages, faxes, and text from the scf
een or scrollback buffer.
AND IMPROVED!
-------------
Host Mode now offers fax integration. Callers can specify files to have
faxed back to, them. Each user can have access to private and public
directories.
New network extensions included in the package to support NCSI/NASI and
NetBIOS connections.
The Scrollback Buffer now supports up to 1300 pages of text and graphics
which have previously scrolled off the screen, exactly as they were
originally displayed in full color.
Rapid dial can now dial groups of Dialin Directory entries.
BBS Doorway mode for sending IBM-PC scan codes to BBS doors.
Print logging now features a TrueType font for accurately printed screens.
Support for Caller ID, Distinctive Ring, and fax and data call
discrimination (automatically switches to fax mode for incoming fax calls
and data mode for data calls). Requires a modem capable of these
features.
Meta Keys and Keyboard Remapping now support internal PROCOMM PLUS for
Windows functions.
Easier to use Setup and Dialing Directory interfaces. Improved
organization of menus.
File Clipboard now supports Windows 3.1 Drag-and-Drop capability.
Next week.... a detailed review of DataStorm's ProComm Plus v2 for
Windows.
_________________________________________________
> WILDCAT & QEMM STR Spotlight
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
WC DESQview and Wildcat BBS
---------------------------
Quarterdeck Technical Note #282
WILDCAT.TEC
===========
by Brian P. Doud
Last revised: 6/28/94
Subject: Troubleshooting and configuring Wildcat!BBS under DESQview.
OVERVIEW
--------
There are several issues that need to be taken into account when
setting up a BBS (Bulletin Board System) under DESQview. Though Wildcat!
is the focus here, many of the concepts presented here may apply to other
DESQview-aware BBS systems as well. In addition, much of the information
covered here can be applied to DESQview/X.
The topic of running a multi-node BBS inside DESQview is often
confusing, primarily because of the lack of information available on the
subject. With this technote, it's hoped that some of the fears and
problems associated with BBSes in DV will be alleviated. There are many
issues not covered here which more than likely have to do with the
configuration of the BBS in question, rather than DV or DVX.
Some of the confusion associated with BBSes is in the terminology, so
a few of the commonly used terms will be clarified throughout this
document.
NODES
-----
A BBS node is the way for a caller to contact a BBS. It acts almost
like an interactive answering machine, picking up calls as they come in,
then sending information back to the caller. On a Wildcat!BBS, the node
program (WILDCAT.EXE) is started within a batch file, which assigns a node
id to each node so the BBS software can tell the difference between them.
The batch files for multi-node BBSes are usually identical except for the
node id, so great care must be taken to use one node id per batch file.
Repeating id's over several files can result in incorrect operation of the
BBS.
Though a lot goes on in a node's operation, it can be treated pretty
much like any other program that is run in DV. There are two main
processes that go on when a node starts that can be related to DESQview.
The first is the loading of the node program itself. It requires some
minimum amount of memory, so it is important to make sure that the system
has been configured to provide DESQview windows as much memory as
possible.
The other thing that occurs is the initialization of the modem. When
a problem occurs with the modem's initialization or operation, it can come
from a variety of sources, so the true nature of the problem must first be
determined.
MODEMS
------
Modem problems are, in the vast majority of cases, an issue of
hardware rather than software, so DESQview is usually out of the equation
when trouble arises. However, there are some things to keep in mind when
the BBS isn't functioning correctly as a result of a modem problem.
The first thing to do once the BBS has been set up and testing of the
nodes begins is to run the nodes individually in DOS. This will ensure
that the node works with the existing hardware and software configuration.
This way, it can be determined whether any problems are related to
DESQview. If a new problem arises after the BBS has been operational for
some time, this procedure should be tried again, to make sure the problem
is not related to DESQview.
DESQVIEW CONFIGURATION
----------------------
When setting up a BBS under DESQview, the first thing that should be
checked is DESQview Setup, particularly the Performance section; this will
help to prevent problems down the line. For best results, the Task
Processing Time (Clock Ticks) should be set to 2 foreground/2 background
on a 486 machine, 3 foreground / 3 background on a 386 machine. Also,
Optimize Communications should be set to Y for the benefit of high speed
modems.
Additionally, there are several settings within the DESQview .DVP
file for the nodes which must be carefully set. What follows are some of
the key .DVP settings, and some notes about each (the option in
parentheses indicates the DVX wording).
- Memory Size (DV and DVX): tells DV the minimum amount of
conventional memory necessary to start an application. The
Wildcat! manual recommends 350K, though this number may be
changed if necessary.
- Program (DOS Command): specifies the .EXE, .COM, or .BAT file
that is run. When running a multi-node setup, make sure that
each .DVP is using its own unique batch file. Failure to do
this can result in the conflict between nodes. This cannot
be stressed enough; many of the problems between nodes are the
result of more than one node using the same batch file--this
WILL cause a problem, and must be avoided.
- Writes Directly to screen (DV and DVX): tells DV whether the
program writes its information directly to the screen rather
than allowing DV to manage the video. This option is an
informational setting; it tells DV how a program operates,
rather than what DV should do to the program. Since Wildcat!
is DESQview-aware, this option should be set to N.
- Virtualize text/graphics (Virtualize text): tells DV whether
it should try to put the program in a window. Since Wildcat!
is DESQview-aware, this option should also be set to N.
- (Display DOS Window): this DVX-only option specifies whether
a DOS window should be displayed before the application attempts
to start. While this is generally unnecessary for X Window
applications, it should be toggled on for DOS programs.
- Uses its own colors (DV and DVX): set this option to Y in DV or
toggle it on in DVX to allow the node to start in its normal
display colors. Setting this option to N will cause the window
to display text in the colors set in DESQview Setup.
- Can be swapped out (DV only): communications programs should not
be swapped to disk, as they will lose the phone connection; this
option must be set to N.
These are the most notable settings in DV and DVX that must be
specifically configured. For more information, please consult the
Wildcat! documentation.
MEMORY
------
Memory in DESQview is arguably the most difficult aspect of DESQview
to configure. Fortunately, BBS node software doesn't usually require an
unusually large amount of memory. The advantage of running a multi- node
BBS under DESQview is the ability to run other applications concurrently
with the BBS software. This advantage can be compromised when that
application requires significantly more memory than the node software.
A common hardware device used in conjunction with a multi-node BBS is
an intelligent multiport board, such as that offered by DigiBoard or
Arnet. This device arbitrates COM ports through an interface board rather
than through standard serial po
rts. This is certainly an advantage for
BBSes of 5 or more nodes in size, as it eliminates the need for several
multiport serial cards. A slight disadvantage is that these boards use a
64K area between 640-1024K to function. This limits the amount of High
RAM available, as the area will need to be excluded with a parameter on
the QEMM386.SYS line in the CONFIG.SYS file.
In order to assist in any way possible, we have other technotes which
cover this process in greater detail. There are two technotes that
discuss the subject of getting more memory for each DESQview window. For
DV, you need #161 - WINSIZE.TEC; for DVX, #252 - MAXWINDO.TEC. Whichever
one you need, the problem will likely be corrected by following the
suggestions enclosed.
DOORS
-----
A door, simply put, is a DOS shell. A door is the method for DOS
applications to be run in a node. There are many types of doors, ranging
from the most common--a mail door--to innumerable game doors. The
interface to this is frequently a TSR that is run in the batch file that
starts the node. Front Door is one such type of interface program, though
there are others available. A frequent exception to this is mail doors,
which are generally handled by the BBS software itself, without the need
for a door interface program.
With regard to DESQview, the most common problem is that of the door
program exiting shortly after startup, or simply not loading at all. At
times, an error message is seen which indicates a memory problem. Usually
the reason for this is that the program is requiring an amount of
conventional memory that just isn't available in that window. This
problem should be handled in the same manner as any program that has
insufficient memory to run under DV or DVX: get more memory to the
window(s).
FINAL NOTES
-----------
As mentioned previously, the information in this technote is geared
toward troubleshooting problems with multi-node BBSes, particularly
Wildcat!, in DESQview and DESQview/X. Some of the problems encounted,
most notably with hardware, are independent of the multitasker. In those
situations, it is advisable to consult the manufacturer of the particular
hardware in order to get it properly configured.
This technical note may be copied and distributed freely as long as it is
distributed in its entirety and it is not distributed for profit.
Copyright (C) 1994 by Quarterdeck Office Systems
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo)
Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
___ ___ _____ _______
/___| /___| /_____| /_______/ The Macintosh RoundTable
/____|/____| /__/|__| /__/ ________________________
/_____|_____|/__/_|__|/__/
/__/|____/|__|________|__/
/__/ |___/ |__|_/ |__|_/____ Managed by SyndiComm
/__/ |__/ |__|/ |__|______/
An Official Forum of the International Computer Users Group
*** STReport available in MAC RT ***
ASCII TEXT
for ALL GEnie users!
MAC/APPLE SECTION (II)
======================
John Deegan, Editor (Temp)
> Word Perfect NEWS STR InfoFile
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
F A C T S H E E T
N O V E L L G R O U P W I S E 4.1
Enhancements for End Users
In an unprecedented product release, WordPerfect is releasing Novell
GroupWise 4.1 on 12 client platforms, all of which are identical in
functionality and feature sets (aside from platform-specific
features). The product is built on a "C" engine, containing all the
core functionality for both clients and servers. All the features and
functions are in the GroupWise engine code, the code is then ported to
each of the client platforms, making GroupWise the only seamless
cross-platform messaging system on the market.
Novell GroupWise 4.1 is a fully integrated messaging application that
combines electronic mail, personal calendaring, group scheduling, task
management, rules-based message management and workflow routing into a
single application. New enhancements to the products include Simple
MAPI support, Custom Message and Custom Command capabilities for the
Windows client, AOCE and AppleScript for the Macintosh Client, Native
PowerMacintosh Client, seven new Unix clients, Electronic ListServer
capabilities, and a new line of mobile computing solutions which
include Macintosh Remote, Telephone Access Server and Pager Gateway.
Electronic Mail: E-mail is the foundation and most utilized component
of GroupWise. Through the GroupWise e-mail component, users can
communicate with any other GroupWise user or non-GroupWise user in
their organization. Users can send messages to other users anywhere in
the organzation within a matter of seconds. And through GroupWise's
connectivity solutions, users can communicate with almost any other e-
mail user in the world.
Personal Calendar: The personal calendar in GroupWise enables users
to keep track of personal and scheduled appointments, meetings, and
events. The product ships with several predefined calendar views
including a day and week view with windows for notes and tasks. Users
can also design their own calendar views to view calendar information
in a format that makes sense for them. GroupWise also provides users
with native printing capabilities for the supported client platforms.
Group Scheduler: Through the scheduling component of GroupWise, users
can schedule individual users, groups of users, and resources for
appointments, meetings, and events. The Busy Search function enables
users to check calendar conflicts across post offices and platforms
spanning multiple time zones. While a user can retrieve and view
several users' calendars side-by-side on the same screen to see when
they have available time, the confidentiality of the other users'
calendars is maintained.
Task Management: Similar to sending an e-mail message or scheduling
an appointment, a user can assign another user a task. A specific date
and time can be assigned for the scheduled task to appear on the
assignee's task list, and the sender can specify the priority of the
task when it appears on the assignee's calendar. A completion date and
time can also be specified for the scheduled task.
Ordered Distribution: Serial routing in GroupWise is accomplished
through the ordered distribution feature. Ordered distribution enables
users to send a single message to a specific group of people one-by-
one. After the message is delivered to the first user in the
distribution list and that user marks the message complete, it is
automatically routed to the next user on the list.
Rules-Based Message Management: To help users deal with information
overload, GroupWise includes advanced rules for message management.
Rules enable users to predefine an action or any number of actions on
incoming and outgoing e-mail messages, schedule requests, scheduled
tasks and personal messages. Some of these actions include forward,
reply, move to a folder, delete, reject, and delegate. Rules can be
triggered by any word or combination of words in any part of the
message.
Status Tracking: Through the information screen in the GroupWise Out
Box, users can determine if and when any message is delivered, opened
and deleted; who has completed and who is holding a routed message;
and who has accepted, rejected, or delegated scheduled requests. The
Out Box also enables users to retract, modify and resend schedule
requests, scheduled tasks, and unopened e-mail messages.
Proxy: Through Access Lists, users can grant read or read/write
access to their personal calendars, e-mail messages, tasks, and notes.
However, messages marked private cannot be accessed by authorized
proxies. A user can also grant other users access to message
notifications and calendar alarms.
Enhancements to the Windows Client
Improved and simplified installation of the Windows client for
end user workstations
Improved third-party access, including new capabilities such
as accessing information in the Address Book, and accessing
any item in the GroupWise 4.1 system (e.g., mail messages,
appointments, and tasks) without opening or closing any of the
windows on the screen.
Support for Simple MAPI-enabling integration between GroupWise
4.1 and any other Simple MAPI-compliant application
Integrated remote capability into the Windows client, which
allows the Windows client to run on an Intel-based laptop with
the same executable program that runs on the network. This
eliminates the need for retaining two copies of the software
on a laptop that is connected to the network and also work
off-line.
Support of PerfectFit Technology, allowing greater
interoperability with all WordPerfect Windows products,
including enhancements to the macro language, Coaches and user
interface tools.
Improved performance when running the Windows client under
OS/2, reducing the amount of polling by the notify function
The ability to attach a file with a rule
Ability to automatically set alarms on personal items based on
preference settings
Ability for corporate developers and VARS to create Custom
Messages and Custom Commands
Enhanced View Designer to allow macros to be added to the
recipient personality of a custom view
Custom Messages enable users to extend the electronic messaging
services of the product to other applications. Through the use of custom
message mechanisms, other applications can be registered in the system and
identified in a user's In Box with a unique message type icon. Based on
the conditions defined in a custom message, an executable or DLL can be
executed to act on the information contained in the custom message. In
addition, through Custom Messages an application can use the
store-and-forward mechanisms of the GroupWise system for providing
inter-process communications (IPC). This can be used by technologies such
as OBEX which needs a transport mechanism to exchange, update, and publish
information.
Example #1:
An electronic form from Novell InForms can be represented in the
GroupWise In Box with a unique icon. No longer will an electronic form
need to travel through the system as an attachment to a mail message or
assigned task. In addition, when opening an electronic form, the custom
message will automatically be opened into the InForms Filler program.
Example #2:
When a completed Novell InForms electronic form is returned to the
sender, the custom message will be able to detect that the form is
completed and automatically place it into the database specified for that
particular form.
Custom commands enable users to access other Windows applications
through any GroupWise 4.1 for Windows pull-down menu. Custom commands can
also be incorporated into any message view, which could then trigger any
action or set of actions.
Enhancements to the Macintosh Client
Support for AppleScript
Support for AOCE that will enable GroupWise 4.1 for Macintosh
users to create messages in GroupWise views and send them to
PowerTalk users
Support for drag and drop of attachments
Integrated remote capability into the Macintosh client
allowing it to run on a Macintosh Powerbook with the same
executable program that runs on the network. This eliminates
the need for retaining two copies of the software on a laptop
that is connected to the network and is also used off-line.
Improved Address Book functionality
The ability to define external addresses in the Address Book
Support of administrator-locked preferences, including dimming
of locked elements
Native support for PowerMacintosh
Improved support for viewing attachments through SCC viewing
technology
Improved printing with support for printing multiple calendar
formats
Enhancements to Unix Clients
New Clients: Hewlett-Packard UX (HP 9000), IBM AIX (IBM
RS/6000), SCO UNIX, Data General UX (AViiON), Sun Solaris 2.x,
SunOS 4.1.3 (Solaris 1.X), and SVR4 for Intel platforms
(reference platforms NCR & Novell UnixWare)
Support for multithreaded, multitasking application for the X
Window System
Support for Resizable views
Mail-enabling technology for WordPerfect 6.0 for Unix
Enhancements to DOS Client
Improved and simplified installation of the DOS client for
end-user workstations
Upgraded Speller and Thesaurus to be compatible with
WordPerfect 6.0, 6.0a, and 6.0b for DOS
Mobile Computing Support
WordPerfect offers a wide variety of mobile messaging products that
enable users keep in touch with information while away from the
office. Novell GroupWise 4.1 provides customers with remote access
through Remote GroupWise 4.1 for Windows, Macintosh, and DOS. All
three remote applications allow users to connect to the GroupWise
system through either direct, asynchronous, or wireless connections.
Customers can also access the messaging system through any touchtone
telephone using the Telephone Access Server; and users can access
other users through the GroupWise paging services.
Remote for Windows, Macintosh, and DOS: GroupWise Remote products
provide mobile users with the same features and functions found in
GroupWise, enabling users to send and receive e-mail messages,
schedule meeting and tasks, and update personal calendars. The remote
product will also allow users to take advantage of GroupWise's
workflow capabilities.
Unlike other e-mail vendors, WordPerfect licenses a single mailbox for
GroupWise users, regardless of platform or locations. When GroupWise
Remote users download their mailbox while out of the office or while
connected to the network, they are downloading a copy of their mailbox
from the server.
Other Remote features include:
Download and upload filtering capabilities based on
message type, message size, attachment size, and
message priority. In addition, users can download and
upload folders, address lists, rules, and personal and
system groups.
Calendar and mailbox synchronization
Background processing for Windows and Macintosh Remote
Direct or modem connection
Time-zone synchronization
Telephone Access Server
Through the Telephone Access Server (TAS), users can send and respond
to e-mail messages; accept, decline, and send meeting or appointment
requests; listen to and update their calendars, accept, decline, or
send tasks, and listen to and send notes. Users can also determine if
any message they sent was delivered, accepted, acted upon, and
deleted. In addition, users can have any calendar item or message
faxed to any location if the GroupWise Fax/Print Gateway is also
installed on the system.
To convert text messages into audio messages that can be heard through
the telephone or computer speakers, WordPerfect licensed the OS/2
version of Smooth Talker by First Byte. TAS requires that Dialogic
Boards be installed in the server machine. The boards act as an
interface to the server and allow the server to communicate with
multiple telephone lines simultaneously.
Pager Gateway
The Pager Gateway gives users the ability to send pages through local,
regional, and national paging services. The gateway can be used in
conjunction with, but is not limited to the national paging services
of SkyTel, the Regional services of US West, and the local services of
the Motorola Site Connect Server. Additional features of the gateway
include:
Full status tracking through the GroupWise Out box. Status indicates page
transmission and page content Ability to send all GroupWise message types
(e-mail, appointment, task, phone message, and note) to a pager Powerful
addressing that allows pages to be sent to users configured in the
GroupWise 4.1 system, as well as to people with pagers not in the
GroupWise system. In addition, the pager gateway allows pages to be sent
to configured and unconfigured service providers.
Compatibility with GroupWise rules that allow pages to be sent based upon
messages arriving at or leaving the users mail box Compatibility with any
paging device including mobile hard-copy pagers, the Apple Newton with a
MessagingCard and Motorola's NewsCard Delayed paging allows pages to be
sent at a given date and time in the future.
Charge-back accounting interface for all pages sent Priority paging allows
high-priority pages to be transmitted before low-priority messages.
Supports both numeric and alpha-numeric pagers standard GroupWise 4.1
gateway features also appearing in the Pager gateway: include: remote
administration through the GroupWise Administration program, common
installation, common configuration, process logging Allows users to
specify the number of characters sent.
Electronic ListServer
Made popular by the Internet, ListServer programs provide a means of
sharing non-replication-dependent information through the use of
electronic mail. ListServers allow e-mail users to join forums of
discussion and automatically receive messages that are sent to that forum.
In GroupWise, a list is created by defining a mailbox to which users can
send messages on a particular topic. To be a recipient of a particular
list or forum, users send a message to the specified mailbox with the word
"subscribe" in the message text and they are then added to the mailing
list used to distribute messages sent to the list. All messages and
associated attachments are distributed to each subscriber. All list
participants are maintained as Blind Copy recipients on the list to
preserve the privacy of each participant.
Once the user has been added to the list, GroupWise will send to the
user a custom command that will automatically establish a rule that
will move any incoming message from the list to a specified folder
which is also established by the custom command.
__________________________________________
FIFTY NEW AND ENHANCED PRODUCTS TO BE RELEASED WITH
NOVELL GROUPWISE 4.1 MESSAGING SYSTEM
All Novell GroupWise 4.1 products completely compatible with
WordPerfect Office 4.0a
OREM, Utah July 7, 1994 Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) and WordPerfect, the
Novell Applications Group, today announced Novell GroupWise 4.1, which
features 28 new products and 22 product upgrades to WordPerfect Office
4.0a. The new product line provides enhanced features and functionality
for end users, MIS and technology executives.
GroupWise 4.1 is a fully integrated messaging application that
combines electronic mail, personal calendaring, group scheduling, task
management, rules-based message management and workflow routing into a
single application. The product comprises 12 client desktops, five remote
operating systems, 10 server platforms and 23 gateways, making it the most
open and scalable solution in cross-platform, enterprise-wide electronic
messaging.
"GroupWise has been designed to balance the needs of three computing
groups within an organization: end users, MIS managers and technology
executives," said David V. Clare, senior director of marketing, Workgroup
Applications at WordPerfect. "Workgroup applications can no longer be
developed for end users or system administrators alone; robust feature
sets must be provided for every group that interacts with the product."
"WordPerfect is not only the first workgroup vendor to ship all the
components of a messaging system simultaneously; it is also the only
vendor to provide each computing group in the organization with
significant product enhancements for their area of responsibility," said
Clare.
Ron Raes of Weyerhaueuser Mortgage said, "WordPerfect Office 4.0a
currently allows our users to communicate with each other in our local
offices as well as our remote offices. The product helps us meet our
demanding business needs by automating workflow and allowing us to get at
information more quickly. Now that GroupWise is Simple MAPI compliant, it
will allow our users to mail-enable their word processing and spreadsheet
applications, making it easier for them to distribute information to each
other
and Weyerhaueuser's sister corporations."
Enhancements for End Users
--------------------------
Client Platform Support: GroupWise 4.1 provides client support for 12
computing platforms, and with the exception of platform-specific features,
all clients are identical in functionality and feature sets. New with the
release of 4.1 is a native PowerMacintosh client and support for seven
Unix environments, including Hewlett-Packard UX (HP 9000), IBM AIX (IBM
RS/6000), SCO Unix, Data General UX (AViiON), Sun Solaris 2.x, SunOS 4.1.3
(Solaris 1.X), and SVR4 for Intel platforms (reference platforms NCR &
Novell UnixWare).
Openness: WordPerfect designed GroupWise 4.1 to be more open by using
accepted open messaging standards. Support for Simple MAPI has been added
to the Windows client, allowing users to mail-enable any other third-party
product that also supports Simple MAPI. AOCE and AppleScript support have
also been added to the Macintosh and PowerMacintosh clients. In addition
to industry standards, GroupWise supports PerfectFit technology, allowing
for greater interoperability with all WordPerfect Corporation Windows
products.
Custom Messages and Custom Commands: New to GroupWise 4.1 for Windows
is the capability to extend the electronic messaging services of the
product to other applications. Through the use of custom message
mechanisms, other applications can be registered in the system and
identified in a user's In Box with a unique message-type icon. Based on
the conditions defined in a custom message, an executable or DLL can be
executed to act on the information contained in the custom message. Custom
commands enable users to access other Windows applications through any
GroupWise 4.1 for Windows pull-down menu. Custom commands can also be
incorporated into any message view which could then trigger any action or
set of actions.
Electronic ListServer: Made popular by the Internet, ListServer
programs provide a means of sharing non-replication-dependent information
through the use of electronic mail. ListServers allow e-mail users to
join forums of discussion and automatically receive messages that are sent
to that forum. In GroupWise 4.1, a list is created by defining a mailbox
to which users can send messages on a particular topic. To be a recipient
of a particular list or forum, users send a message to the specified
mailbox with the word "subscribe" in the message text and they are then
added to the mailing list used to distribute messages sent to the list.
All messages and associated attachments are distributed to each
subscriber. List participants are maintained as Blind Copy recipients on
the list to preserve the privacy of each participant.
Mobile Computing: WordPerfect provides a large variety of mobile
messaging products that help users keep in touch with information while
away from the office. In addition to providing Remote GroupWise 4.1 for
Windows and DOS, WordPerfect is also releasing a remote package for
Macintosh. All three remote packages are able to utilize both asynchronous
and wireless connections. Also new with the 4.1 release is the rules-based
Pager gateway which connects users to local, regional and national paging
services and the Telephone Access Server, which enables users to use a
touchtone telephone to listen to and send messages.
Enhancements for MIS
--------------------
Installation: The GroupWise Administration program now provides an
"assisted install" procedure that instructs the installer on each
necessary procedure to complete the install. The installation of a single
GroupWise post office and clients can now be accomplished by a novice
computer user with the appropriate network access in less than two hours.
Additional installation enhancements include: simplified client
installation program, automatic update of locally-installed WordPerfect
Office 4.0a client software and directory synchronization with the NetWare
bindery.
Improved Up-time Support (24x7): New with GroupWise 4.1 is complete
24x7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) up-time support for server and
database maintenance. This includes on-line automated database maintenance
by server processes which automatically maintains the integrity of the
system databases. Also new is automated reporting of problem files to the
administrator and support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
for NetWare Loadable Modules (NLM).
Administration Support: The GroupWise Administration program provides
scalable enterprise-wide administration capabilities, including central
and distributed administration, automatic directory synchronization
between domains and electronic software distribution. All GroupWise 4.1
products are fully plug-and-play compatible with WordPerfect Office 4.0a,
allowing customers to upgrade the components of their systems one piece at
a time without losing information or functionality.
Enhancements for Technology Leader
----------------------------------
Client & Server Architecture: GroupWise clients span 12 desktop
platforms and servers that span 11 operating systems are all built on the
same core-code engine, making them identical in functionality and feature
sets. All GroupWise features reside in the GroupWise engine, which is then
ported to the appropriate platform or operating system. This level of code
integration enables the clients and servers to work interchangeably, with
complete integration of functionality across the enterprise.
Enterprise Scalability: GroupWise 4.1 provides high-capacity server
support for better performance, high up-time characteristics and increased
administration capabilities on the servers. Server platforms supported
include NLMs, OS/2, DOS and the previously mentioned seven versions of
Unix. Both the Message Server (MS) and Office Server (OFS) are supported
natively on OS/2. Support is also provided for native TCP/IP
communications between OS/2 and Unix versions of the server processes, and
universal naming conventions (UNC) mappings for connections made by the
NLMs.
Connectivity/Interoperability: Connectivity between GroupWise and
foreign e-mail systems has been significantly enhanced at the 4.1 level.
The enhancements include better co-existence with other e-mail systems,
including the Internet, X.400, and SNADS; interoperability and directory
synchronization between GroupWise and OfficeVision/VM (OV/VM), Lotus
cc:Mail, and NetWare Global MHS; and a move user utility for customers
migrating from OV/VM or cc:Mail.
WordPerfect is also providing a GroupWise Async Gateway for OS/2,
incoming fax capabilities for the Fax/Print Gateway, a new Pager Gateway
with support for local, regional or national paging services and SMTP
Gateways for all seven supported Unix environments.
Pricing and Availability
------------------------
GroupWise 4.1 Client/Administration Packs (which include 5 licenses)
for all platforms each have a Suggested Retail Price of $695. Additional
licenses range from $135 for one additional license to $9,500 for an
additional 100 licenses. The Message Server Pack is available for the
following prices: DOS, $495; OS/2, $1,495; Unix, $1,995; and NLM, $2,495.
All products are scheduled to release in August 1994.
WordPerfect, the Novell Applications Group, is a worldwide leader in
providing business, workgroup, consumer and electronic publishing
software. Driven by its vision of helping the world communicate, the group
delivers network applications that dramatically improve the way people
work and communicate. WordPerfect is widely recognized for its
multilingual and cross-platform software solutions and is the industry's
premier provider of customer support. WordPerfect markets software in 28
languages and in 117 countries.
Novell, Inc. is the leading computer networking company worldwide,
developer of network services, specialized and general purpose operating
system products, standalone to network applications, and programming
tools. The networks Novell serves span from small businesses to major
enterprises to global internetworks. Novell s NetWare, UnixWare, AppWare
and WordPerfect families of products provide matched system components for
sharing information resources within multivendor network computing
environments.
All brand and product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
_______________________________________
> WordPerfect Support Guidelines STR InfoFile
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
WordPerfect Corporation
InfoShare Information Fax Service
(800) 228-9960
Title: Customer Support Service Options
Number: 1392-6/94
WordPerfect's Classic Service
Business Workgroup Consumer
Applications Applications Products
Audience All Customers who have purchased and registered
WordPerfect Corporation products.
Benefits Toll-free call Toll call Toll call
Six months of 90 days of Free Support
free support free support for the current
Front-line Front-line version, plus
technicians technicians a 90-day upgrade
Mon.-Fri.; 7 Mon.-Fri.; 7 window
a.m.-6 p.m. MST a.m.-6 p.m.
Products
Supported WordPerfect WordPerfect Main Street
Office Products
5.1+ for DOS 3.x and 4.x Clip Art Home
6.0 for DOS all Platforms Clip Art Office
5.2 for Windows 3.x and 4.x Clip Art Premium
6.0 for Windows Gateways Collection
3.0, 2.1 for Symmetry 4.1 (CD ROM)
Macintosh all Platforms ExpressFax + 3.0
6.0a Integration for Windows
for OS/2@ WordPerfect Grammatik DOS/
5.0, 5.1 for InForms Windows all
Unix* 1.0 all versions
5.0, 5.1 for platforms InfoCentral 1.0
VMS* Kap'n Karaoke
LetterPerfect
WordPerfect 1.0
Presentations Random House
2.0 for DOS/ Webster's School
Windows & Office
dictionary 1.0
Other Wallobee Jack
ConvertPerfect WordPerfect
1.0* @ Communications
DataPerfect 2.2, WordPerfect
2.3* @ Works 1.0 for
Language DOS
Modules @
PlanPerfect 3.0 Electronic
- 5.1 Publishing
Shell 4.0 all Products
interims* @ Black's Law
WordPerfect Legal Dictionary
Envoy 1.0* @ Dorland's
WordPerfect Medical
Intellitag 1.0* @ Dictionary
Random House
The following Concise
applications will Dictionary
be supported under Random House
Classic Service College Edition
until the specified Random House
date: unabridged
(CD ROM)
WP 5.0 DOS Rhymer
(July 21, 1994)
WP 5.1 DOS
(July 21, 1994)
WP 5.1 for
Windows (July 1,
1994)
WP for AS/400
all versions
(Dec. 31, 1994)
WP DataGeneral
all versions
(Aug. 1, 1994)
WP 5.0, 5.2 for
OS/2 (Jun 1,
1994)
DrawPerfect
(Nov. 3, 1994)
* Calls for these products are toll.
@ Support for this product is from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. MST
For Classic Service phone numbers refer to your
Reference Manual.
WordPerfect's Priority Service
Business Applications Workgroup Applications
Audience Small to medium-sized accounts and end-users that
desire priority access to second-line technicians
on a per-incident basis; customers who need support
beyond regular business hours or beyond the free
support period.
Benefits Priority Access Priority Access
Second-line technicians Second-line technicians
800 (toll-free) and 900 800 (toll-free) and 900
phone lines phone lines
24 hours per day; 7 days Mon. - Fri.; 7 a.m. -
per week 6 p.m. MST
Pricing Per Incident fee $25 Per Incident fee $150
Credit card payment at Per Incident fee $ 25
time of call (800 lines) Credit card payment at
time of call (800 lines)
Per minute fee $ 2
First minute free (900 Per minute fee $ 6
lines). First minute free (900
lines).
Products
Supported WordPerfect WordPerfect Office
5.1 for DOS 2.x, 3.x and 4.x all
5.1+ for DOS platforms
6.0 for DOS 3.x and 4.x Gateways
5.1 for Windows Library all platforms
5.2 for Windows Symmetry 4.1 all
6.0 for Windows platforms
5.x for OS/2*
6.0a Integration for WordPerfect InForms
OS/2 1.0 all platforms
1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0 for
Macintosh*
5.0, 5.1 for Unix*
5.0, 5.1 for VMS*
WordPerfect Presentations
2.0 for DOS/Windows*
DrawPerfect*
Other
DataPerfect all versions*
WordPerfect Envoy 1.0*
* Priority Service for WordPerfect for Macintosh and
Unix is available from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; WP
Presentations and DrawPerfect is available from 7
a.m. to 6 p.m.; DataPerfect, WP Envoy and WP 5.x for
OS/2 is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST, Monday
through Friday.
For Priority Service phone numbers call 1-800-228-9960 and
request InfoShare document #1039, or call 1-800-321-5906
for a verbal listing.
WordPerfect's Premium Service
Platinum Support Gold Support Silver Support
Audience Large Account Medium/Large Small/Medium
Accounts Accounts
Benefits Account Account Priority
Management Management Access
Priority Access Priority Second-line
Third-line Access technicians*
technicians* Third-line One Contact
Four Contacts technicians* Support Infobase
Four-hour Two Contacts on CD-ROM
Response Eight-hour Subscription to
Assigned Account Response WordPerfect
Coordinator Assigned Magazine
Technical Account Toll-free Call
Bulletins Coordinator Mon.-Fri.; 7
Private BBS Technical a.m. - 6 p.m.
Support Infobase Bulletins MST
on CD-ROM Private BBS
Subscription to Support Infobases
WordPerfect on CD-ROM
Magazine Subscription to
Diagnostic WordPerfect
Toolbox Magazine
Toll-free Call Toll-free Call
24 hours per day Mon.-Fri.; 7
7 days per week a.m. - 6 p.m.
(7x24) MST
*Third-line *Third-line *Third-line
technicians technicians technicians
refer to SWAT refer to SWAT refer to senior
and Technical and Technical and certified
Research Research technicians.
Specialists. Specialists.
Pricing $15,000 annual $10,000 annual $2,500 annual
contract contract contract
($2,500 per
additional
contact)
Products All current and most earlier versions of WordPerfect
Corporation products on all platforms.
WordPerfect Corporation On-site Services and consultation is
available from third-line technicians for $1500 per day, plus
airfare.
For more information about Premium Service programs
call (801) 228-9926.
WordPerfect Electronic Support Services
WordPerfect Corporation also offers 24-hour,
self-help service via public bulletin boards, such as
CompuServe and America Online, and the following options:
InfoShare
To receive faxed information call WordPerfect Corporation's
InfoShare at (800) 228-9960 or (801) 228-9920.
WordPerfect Corporation BBS
You can use WPCorp's bulletin board service to send enhancement
suggestions to development, download printer drivers, utilities
and troubleshooting information, and transfer problem files to
customer support. Use the following numbers to access the BBS
(1200-14400 baud modems): (801) 225-4414 or (801) 225-4444
SpaceWorks
You can quickly search the entire WordPerfect Corporation
technical bulletin database in the customer support forum on
SpaceWorks. For more information and your copy of SpaceWorks
software call (800) 577-2235.
WordPerfect Corporation 1994
WordPerfect Corporation
1555 N. Technology Way
Orem, UT 84057-2399
ConvertPerfect, DataPerfect, DrawPerfect, Grammatik, LetterPerfect,
PlanPerfect, WordPerfect, WPCorp, and WPWin are registered trademarks of
WordPerfect Corporation within the United States and other countries.
Envoy, ExpressFax, InfoCentral, Main Street, Kap'n Karaoke, WordPerfect
Communications, WordPerfect Corporation InfoShare Service, WordPerfect
InForms, WordPerfect Intellitag, WordPerfect Office, WordPerfect
Presentations, and WordPerfect Works are trademarks of WordPerfect
Corporation worldwide. All other brand and product names are trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
_____________________________________
> About Paying for Support STR FOCUS!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Service News
============
The best support money can buy
------------------------------
by Alison Harris
WordPerfect's announcement that it will start charging for support
marks the end of an era. As little as six months ago it would have been
almost unthinkable that virtually every shrink-wrapped software publisher
would be charging for tech support. Now it is virtually unthinkable that
you could get it for free.
I used this space last fall to laud Microsoft on its decision to
charge for support. You get better support, you get accountability, you
don't foot the bill for inexperienced users who use tech support as
training, and you get the software at the lowest cost possible because you
pay only for the support you need.
All of those reasons hold true for WordPerfect as well, but
WordPerfect deserves an extra pat on the back, if only because it made
support something worth paying for. Its example forced other publishers
to ante up. Microsoft alone spent tons of money and hired scores of
people trying to match WordPerfect's support.
Long before other software publishers realized how much support
factored into the sales equation, WordPerfect support was trying to
delight you. You know those DJs you listen to while you're waiting on
hold for software tech support?
Everybody has them now but WordPerfect was the first. It knew it was
a pain to wait on hold at least you could be somewhat entertained, and
somewhat informed about just how long you would be waiting.
WordPerfect tech support reps would even shoot the breeze about
software in general if that's what you wanted to do on their dime, no
less. And they would answer more questions on other publishers software
in one day than many publishers would answer on their own.
According to Kim Cooper, VP of customer services at WordPerfect 1,500
calls a day come in about other companies' software. At an average cost of
$25 per call, you can do the math. WordPerfect never begrudged that cost,
either. It was a kinder, gentler era in support, and I know it was
painful for WordPerfect to see it end. It tried outsourcing its overflow
tech support calls to National Tech Team (again, on its dime), and it
tried setting up SWAT-style teams to handle complex training issues
on-site. But, as Julie Maw of WordPerfect said on an OpCon East panel
last fall, how many people can you hire? How many buildings can you
build?
In addition, given the $49 spreadsheets and $9.95 money-management
software packages on the market these days, how much can one company
afford?
Would you rather have seen WordPerfect go out of business delivering
free support to people who haven't bothered to tear the shrinkwrap off of
their manuals? Or would you choose to have them remain financially viable
and able to invest in creating new and better software applications?
WordPerfect chose the latter option, and that means you get the best
possible deal. You get high-quality software, and the best support money
can buy from a company that has defined what support could and should be.
And for that you should be thankful.
________________________________________
> WordPerfect Upgrades Tracked! STR InfoFile
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
MORE THAN FOUR MILLION WORDPERFECT DOS USERS
HAVE UPGRADED TO NEW VERSIONS OF WORDPERFECT
Easy transition tools, superior file conversions
and a summer promotion encourage WordPerfect upgrades
OREM, Utah July 13, 1994 WordPerfect, the Novell Applications Group,
today announced that more than four million WordPerfect 5.1 DOS users have
upgraded to new versions of WordPerfect.
First released in 1979, WordPerfect is the best-selling word processor of
all time, with nearly 17 million units sold to date.
In a highly competitive and rapidly changing software industry,
users continue to choose WordPerfect as they upgrade their word processing
software, said Glen Mella, vice president of marketing communications at
WordPerfect. Our focus on usability testing has helped us develop easier,
more intuitive software that has led to a significant rate of upgrades as
well as new purchases. Currently, nearly two-thirds of our word
processing sales are to new customers.
A recent report from Computer Intelligence InfoCorp shows that
WordPerfect is the number one application for both home and large
businesses.1 According to Chris LeTocq, senior research analyst at
InfoCorp, WordPerfect is achieving an excellent platform balance and is
maximizing its increase in user equity. WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS and
WordPerfect 5.1+ for DOS remain attractive upgrades for DOS users, while
WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows helps WordPerfect DOS users make the easiest
transition to Windows.
Easy Transition for WordPerfect DOS Users
-----------------------------------------
WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS and Windows each offer transition tools that
make it easy for WordPerfect DOS users to upgrade. WordPerfect 6.0 for
DOS includes a WordPerfect 5.1 keyboard that retains familiar keystrokes
as well as a text mode identical to WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS. The product
also improves on the powerful file management capabilities that helped
make WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS the word processing standard of the past
decade.
My clients find that everything in WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS is in
just the right place for WordPerfect 5.1 users, said Kathy Ivens of Ivens
Consulting in Philadelphia. They don't have to learn anything new to use
the product and can discover new features at their own pace. The
usability touches have made the mail merge feature so easy I could teach
anyone to use it.
In WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows, a QuickStart Coach appears when
first launching the product to give users a brief overview. This coach is
designed to assist WordPerfect for DOS users, as well as users of other
word processors as they make the transition to WordPerfect for Windows. A
Transition Advisor is available from the Help menu to display keystrokes
and commands from WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS and shows users how to perform
equivalent tasks in WordPerfect for Windows.
Superior File Conversions
-------------------------
The quality of file conversions is a critical issue for WordPerfect
DOS users. WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS and WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows offer
seamless file conversions for WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS files and the
majority of macros. WordPerfect 5.1+ for DOS also directly imports files
from WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS or Windows.
The ability to convert WordPerfect DOS documents properly is
critical to the success of any move to Windows, said Eric Goldreich of
the Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton law firm in Los Angeles. One of
the primary reasons we selected WordPerfect for Windows over the
competition was the ability to effectively convert our documents.
According to recent internal testing at WordPerfect, WordPerfect 6.0a
for Windows converts WordPerfect documents better than any other Windows
word processor. WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows conversions were particularly
better than Microsoft Word 6.0 for Windows conversions with documents that
included indents, columns, tables, styles, headers and footers.
WordPerfect conversions consistently retain indentation, column look and
placement, alignment of headers and footers, table structure and content,
and also preserve styles remarkably well. WordPerfect for Windows is also
the only Windows word processor that can convert WordPerfect 5.1 macros,
saving users hours of macro re-writing.
Our firm is currently operating in a mixed platform environment so
it s essential that our files transfer cleanly between DOS and Windows,
said Joy Heath-Porter, manager of the support center of the Sidley Austin
law firm in Washington, D.C. It's nice to know that even with many
versions of WordPerfect, we can guarantee quick and accurate file
exchange. We also like the choice of using WordPerfect printer drivers in
WordPerfect for Windows so we can use our heavily formatted WordPerfect
DOS documents with minimal reformatting.
Recent benchmark timings using Microsoft Test 2.0 have also shown
that WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows is two to five times faster than
Microsoft Word 6.0a for Windows in several key areas such as opening
files, scrolling through documents, changing fonts and saving files.
Summer Upgrade Promotion
------------------------
From now until August 31, 1994, customers can take advantage of a
special WordPerfect summer promotion entitled The Perfect Upgrade and
upgrade to WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows or WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS for
$99, or to WordPerfect 5.1+ for DOS for $49.95.
WordPerfect is the only software vendor that continues to offer
toll-free, no-charge support (Microsoft and Lotus only offer toll
support). WordPerfect users receive six months of toll-free, no-charge
support from the time of their first call to support.
1Consumer Technology Index (CTI), 1994 survey
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
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======================
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--------------
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DELPHI-It's the BEST Value and getting BETTER all the time!
************************************************************
ATARI/JAG SECTION (III)
=======================
Dana Jacobson, Editor
> From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
This heat is unbearable! I'm nearing the end of the first of two
weeks of a well-deserved vacation and I've done little but try to find
ways to beat this heat and humidity, unsuccessfully. It's been in the
mid-90s all week, with the humidity just as high. I had various plans
to get things done around the house, but no energy. This stuff is
really brutal. Sitting here in front of a lot of computer equipment
certainly doesn't help much, either!
Don't forget the MIST show in Indianapolis this weekend! If
you're in the area, be sure to check it out. Details of the show may
be found in last week's issue. Also, we've included some tidbits from
"It's All Relative's" Greg Kopchak regarding some of their offerings at
the show, as well as Binary Sound's (formerly Barefoot Software), who
will also be in attendance. Also, the Connecticut's ACT group's show
is next month - possibly the only Atari show on the East coast this
year.
Speaking of these shows, it really bothers me that Atari shows, as
we know them, may be a thing of the past. This isn't something new,
but thinking of these upcoming shows always brings a lot of fond
memories for me. I'm sure that they do for you, as well. These shows
were a major portion of our Atari computing experience. We'd be able to
meet people we've only seen, for the most part, online, from magazines,
and user groups. This would include meeting many of the developers and
dealers. The Atari community is dwindling and our Atari "way of life"
is diminishing along with it. WAACE, the major East coast show, ceased
to exist after the '92 show; the ACT show, through no fault of the
organizers, hasn't been able to pick up the slack left by the demise of
the Washington show. The Glendale show, the major West coast show,
will probably happen again this year. Whether or not it will be able
to continue to attract the users and developers remains to be seen.
The smaller user group shows will come and go, but they're usually just
your typical localized attraction. Alas, they all may be remnants of
an era passing us by...
On a sad(der) note, all of us here at STReport would like to
extend our condolences to Michael R. Burkley and his family. Michael's
father passed away suddenly earlier in the week. As you probably know,
Michael is part of Suzy B's Software and AEO's 'Unabashed Atariphile."
Our thoughts are with Michael in this time of sadness.
Until next time...
****
Delphi's Atari Advantage!
TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (7/20/94)
(1) SYSTEM INFO CPX (6) TERADESK V.1.39
(2) STREPORT SCES BULLETINS *(7) MARCEL WORD PROCESSOR 2.3
(3) CAIN NEWSLETTER #4 *(8) MOUNTAIN READER II
*(4) NO LIMIT! *(9) LOCK CPX
(5) THE OCTALYZER V0.96 *(10) METAMORPHOSIS 24 DEMO
* = New on list
HONORARY TOP 10
The following on-line magazines are always top downloads, frequently
out-performing every other file in the databases.
STREPORT (Current issue: STREPORT #10.29)
ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE (Current issue: AEO - VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10)
Look for the above files in the RECENT ARRIVALS database.
****
> MIST Show Update! STR Show News! - "It's All Relative - New CDs!!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
MIST Show Is _THIS_ Weekend!!
From 'It's All Relative's' Greg Kopchak:
We will have at least three brand new CD's for use with your Atari
computer at the M.I.S.T. show this weekend.
Be sure to stop by and see three of the newest CD's just released this
week. In addition to the three new CD's we also will have the
following CD's:
Animals of North America Winning Pictures MPC - Falcon edition
GEMini by Walnut Creek Shareware and Public Domain - Augusbe 1
Space and Astronomy ModBlaster
Fractal Frenzy Project Gutenberg
We will have Photo Show, Photo Show Pro and the first public showing of
Photo Show STe for use with Kodak Photo CD.
See ExtenDOS by Anodyne Software in action.
See the first public showing of our Audio CD Master, version 3.1.
If you're one of the few people in America who haven't got a CD rom
drive yet, we will also have It's All Relative with BookMaker,
Forecaster III, View II, a special deal on Sound Lab registration, and
Abbreviator ST.
Don't miss Art For Kids - the best junior art program on any platform.
It's All Relative
______________________________________
> CAF '94 Update! STR Show News! - CT Show Rapidly Approaching!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Time is Running Out...
I'd like to remind all Atarians that Connecticut AtariFest '94 has
offered offered showgoers a discount of up to $2 for admission to the
August 27-28 show in Bridgeport, Conn., BUT you must pre-register for the
event by July 25. Details regarding the pre-registration discount are
available in the Atari Productivity Forum in the news/review/shows library
(16) under the filename "CT_TIK.TXT."
Several big-name Atari developers and new Jaguar exhibitors have
already signed up (more on this later from CAF '94 Chairman Brian
Gockley), and there will be more, so let's face it, you WILL be there.
Why not take advantage of a well-deserved discount? For information,
contact Angela or Brian Gockley, ACT Atari Group, 18 Elmwood Avenue,
Bridgeport, CT 06605, (203) 332-1721, or Doug Finch at (203) 637-1034.
E-mail the Gockleys at 75300,2514 on Compuserve, or
75300.2514@compuserve.com via Internet; Finch via 76337,1067 on
Compuserve, D.FINCH7 on GEnie or 76337.1067@compuserve.com or
D.FINCH7@genie.geis.com via Internet. (Consult your on-line service for
proper E-mail protocols.)
Doug Finch
_____________________________________
> Binary Sounds! STR Developer Update! - Barefoot Software Sold!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
ANNOUNCING BINARY SOUNDS
(Formerly Barefoot Software)
Serving the Computer-based electronic musician
Well we guess this is it!!
WE are HERE!! and the manual will be available at the M.I.S.T. show
Sat Jul-23. Binary Rick will be there live to Demo Edit Track
Platinum for your enjoyment (get yours!!)
As we get up to speed, we are checking out the va
rious products on
the old line. But we are making available right away, Edit Track
Platinum, Edit track & SMPTE Track(Software only) upgrades!!
(SMPTEMate will be announced as soon as we can produce them!)
Edit Track & the upgrades include the Platinum manual (of course!)
We are sorry that we must sell the manual to Platinum owners who do
not have them, but we will support ALL registered user the best we
can!
We are working on many exciting products, both software & hardware
to fulfill the needs of the home studio musician at an affordable
price. We will not say more till we get ready to make announcements!
We are available online on Genie & Delphi so feel free to ask
questions.
Best of all we will have special "Honeymoon" pricing in effect
until October-31-94!!!
As of this time we are not accepting credit cards, so send check or
money orders (faster) and order yours today!
List Promotional Sale
Price discount price
----- -------- -----
Edit Track
Platinum 7.1 $150.OO $50.00 $100.00
Edit Track & SMPTE Track(software only)
upgrade from 6.-7.1 $70.00 - $70.00
pre 6.-7.1 $95.00 - $95.00
Platinum Manuals for Platinum owners only!!
$18.95 plus shipping
(All prices U.S. Dollars)
Version #'s can be found in the manual and by checking the Desk dropdown
menu of the program. (Version 6 is Gold, all other versions are same
for pricing)
All prices are subject to net shipping and UPS charges. Texas residents
must also include 8.25% sales tax. Avoid COD charges by sending check
or money order. Allow 7-10 days for personal checks, orders paid by
cashiers' check and money order will be shipped immediately upon receipt
or as soon as stock is available.
----------------
For orders and support we may be reached online at:
Genie - B.SEMAAN or R.LADAGE
Delphi - BOSEM or BONDSERVANT
Our phone #'s and hours for orders and support are:
Bob (713) 499-3129 6-10 PM Central, TUE-FRI. (Other hours, potluck)
Rick (713)776-9118
To contact us by mail:
Binary Sounds
431 Oak Dale Drive
Stafford, Texas 77477
___________________________________
> Industry News STR NewsFile - The Latest Industry News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-/- Alleged Virus Author Arrested -/-
A man from the port town of Plymouth in southwest England has been
accused by British authorities of writing three damaging computer viruses.
UK police say the unidentified man has been charged and released on bail
awaiting trial in November.
In London, the Reuter News Service says authorities are asking to be
contacted by victims of any of the three data-destroying viruses, called
Queeg (named after a character in a TV science fiction series), Pathogen
and Germ.
Says Reuters, "Once triggered, the viruses display a message on the
computer screen: 'Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast...
Unfortunately some of your data won't.'"
The wire service says police are investigating how far the viruses,
first detected in February, have spread and how much damage they have
done.
Reports from Reuter News Service are a regular feature of CompuServe's
Executive News Service (GO ENS).
-/- Feds File Computer Porn Case -/-
A California couple is on trial in Tennessee on federal charges of
transmitting obscenity through interstate phone lines via a computer
bulletin board system that offered members sexually explicit pictures and
text.
With testimony starting this week, the trial "raises questions of how
to apply federal obscenity law and First Amendment free-speech protections
to the sea of words and images flowing through computers across the land,"
Associated Press writer Woody Baird reports from Memphis, adding the case
could wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The trial marks the first time prosecutors in an obscenity case have
gone after a BBS operator in the locale where its material was received,
rather than where it originated.
Robert and Carleen Thomas, both 38, of Milpitas, California, were
charged in Memphis after a Tennessee resident complained about their
members-only "Amateur Action Bulletin Board System."
The two also are charged with sending pornographic videos by United
Parcel Service, and Robert Thomas is accused of receiving child porn by
mail from an undercover postal inspector.
If convicted, they could each face more than 50 years in prison and
hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
Defense attorney Richard Williams argues prosecutors shopped around
for a city where a conservative jury could be found. On this, Devon
Gosnell, an assistant U.S. attorney in Memphis, has declined comment,
other than to say, "The crime occurred here."
Earlier this week, TV screens were set up around the courtroom and
the jury looked at a series of computer-transmitted images received by
the Memphis postal inspector that showed various sexually explicit scenes.
Williams acknowledged pictures and text carried on the Thomases' BBS
were "fetish material" that may well upset the Memphis jury, Baird
reported, but he said it was voluntary, private communication between
adults who knew what they were getting and paid for the privilege. (BBS
members paid $55 for six months access to the system, $99 for a year.)
The Supreme Court in 1973 ruled obscenity must be judged by "local
community standards." However, as AP observes, "the whole notion of
community has since been blurred by networks available for a fee to anyone
in the world with a computer."
Stephen Bates, a senior fellow at the Annenberg Washington Program, a
communications think tank, told the wire service, "The courts will have to
decide if the community standard makes any sense anymore. The essential
impact is that the most puritanical, blue-nosed district in the country
could dictate policy on this issue for the entire nation."
Baird also commented, "Memphis prosecutors made headlines in the late
1970s when they went after the cast and producers of 'Deep Throat,' one
of the first X-rated movies to make its way into the mainstream."
_______________________________________
JAGUAR GAME CONSOLE SECTION
===========================
BUBSY, A "NEW" CRAINMAKER, ES?, AND MORE!
> From the Editor's Controller "Playin' it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It's still hot! The local news earlier tonight announced it as
"official" - it's a true "heat wave." Gee, I didn't realize there had
to be substantiated statistics to warrant one! Officially, there have
to be at least three days in a row in which the temperature is measured
at 90 degrees or higher. Well, we've had that and then some. It's
also predicted to be the same through the weekend. I think that I'm
close to meltdown.....sigh...
Nothing major to report that's new on the Jaguar front. Reports
of the pre-released version of Wolfenstein 3D being more widely
available are coming in more steadily. The "official" release should
happen within a week or so. We should also hear of the news that
Brutal Sports Football is shipping soon, also.
The majority of our SCES coverage is over. We're searching
through our 'files' to make sure that we've left nothing out in our
reporting. Our thanks go out to Paul Charchian and Craig Harris for
their informative reports and articles of the show.
Well, I'd usually go on and ramble some more, but under the
circumstances, I'm going to try and find a cool spot somewhere instead.
Our Jaguar coverage is understandably less this week now that we've
completed our SCES reports and no new games are readily available to us
at the moment. However, stay tuned as the best is yet to come!
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 $49.99 Atari Corp.
J9005 Raiden $49.99 FABTEK, Inc/Atari Corp.
J9001 Trevor McFur/
Crescent Galaxy $49.99 Atari Corp.
J9010 Tempest 2000 $59.95 Llamasoft/Atari Corp.
J9028 Wolfenstein 3D $59.99 id/Atari Corp.
Available Soon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER
CatBox $49.95 ICD
CatBox + $69.95 ICD
Brutal Sports FtBall TBA Telegames
Hardware and Peripherals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP MANUFACTURER
J8001 Jaguar (complete) $249.99 Atari Corp.
J8904 Composite Cable $19.95
J8901 Controller/Joypad $24.95 Atari Corp.
J8905 S-Video Cable $19.95
______________________________________
Jaguar Developers STR InfoFile
==============================
Current Developer Lists & Titles
>Rainmaker Software! STR Jaguar Developer Spotlight!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
HELLO!
This is a standard release describing Rainmaker Software.
We are Rainmaker Software Inc., a Dallas based company formed to produce
entertainment software.
Formed in 1993, Rainmaker is a young company with old programmers and
artists that have long given up the wide world of UNIX programming and
switched to the PC. Now we're switching again to the ATARI JAGUAR for
the following reasons:
1. I haven't seen this much horsepower since I worked on a Silicon
Graphics 4D35GT with hardware options, and that box cost $100,000.
2. We now have a standard platform to produce for and we no longer
have to rip our hair out worrying about all the different PC
platforms that exist in the world.
3. Atari has a great user base already installed and we're hoping to
see it break the million mark soon, this is the only game system
to own if you want real game playing capabilities and that's from
a hardware engineers perspective.
4. We like it.
We do still plan to produce games for the PC in the future but
unfortunately when you've been exposed to this much power you tend to
wish everyone had a Pentium 90 installed in there house with a triple
speed CD ROM and about 32 Megs of memory, so we're going to have to
watch ourselves.
Who we are:
I am Bryan Kelsch AKA 'Mr. B'.
I have been programming in assembly for over ten years on the PC with a
little 6502 experience thrown in for good measure. I have a strong
knowledge base of hardware and systems architecture and I also play the
role of Treasurer, public relations, accounts payable, accounts
receivable, project manager, hardware driver writer etc ...
Anyone can contact me at:
CIS: 74164,222
INET: bkelsch@rainmaker.win.net
Bruce J. Mack is the finest C programmer/problem solver you will ever
meet. I have yet to see a challenge he won't take on and accomplish with
breathtaking speed. He is also a very good 3D modeler and artist. His
favorite games are D&D RPG's. You can contact him through my addresses.
W. Scott Simmons has a degree in mass com from somewhere in the east.
He is the finest 3D modeler I've ever seen, his creativity on the screen
is amazing. You can contact him at my address or on genie at:
moonson or INET: moonson@genie.geis.com
We are always open to game ideas and suggestions and plan to start a beta
test campaign when we have code ready.
Due to a great mail response, I think we are going to put Tunnel Rat JAG
on hold and put Virtual Warriors on the front burner and try to get it out
around XMAS (or maybe JAN '95) we'll bust a** trying to get it to the
public ASAP, we promise.
Mr. B
______________________________
JAGUAR ONLINE STR INFOFILE
==========================
ONLINE USERS GROWL & PURR!
> E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo! STR NewsFile - CES Competition?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Compuserve's Atari SysOp Ron Luks asks Atari's Sam Tramiel:
Sam:
I saw the following news release this morning regarding a new
electronics show in L.A. which will compete with the show sponsored by
the EIA (the Consumer Electronics Show):
LOS ANGELES, July 15 (UPI) -- Officials announced Friday that the
world's largest trade show dedicated to the $8 billion interactive
electronic entertainment industry will be held in Los Angeles next May.
The E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo -- endorsed this week by the
Interactive Digital Software Association as the industry's official
trade show -- is expected to draw more than 300 industry exhibitors and
30,000 buyers from stores, showrooms and direct marketers.
"The E3 expo is especially critical this spring since the next
generation of interactive electronic entertainment platforms are expected
to be unveiled during the show," said Patrick Ferrell, Infotainment
World president.
Infotainment World and Knowledge Industry Publications are producing
the event, which will open at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 11
and run through May 13.
The expo, in its first year, is expected to compete with the Consumer
Electronics Show, which is slated to take place the same weekend in
Philadelphia.
"While our members will, of course, attend the show that best suits
their business needs, the Interactive Digital Software Association
believes that the E3 show will provide the best opportunity to showcase
our industry, its products and its future," said Doug Lowenstein, IDSA
executive director.
The IDSA's members include Acclaim, Atari, Electronic Arts, Sega and
Sony, which have said they intend to participate in the Los Angeles
trade show.
""""
Question: Does this mean that Atari Corp will *not* be at the CES show
in May in Philadelphia?
How will this affect your participation in the worlds biggest
electronic trade show (Winter CES in Jan 95 in Las Vegas)??
Estimated attendance of 30,000 is "okay" but certainly not earth
shaking. Since Atari's participation was prominently mentioned in the
press release, does that mean some sort of extra committment to this
group and do you see this show growing to a significant level of size?
And finally, if I'm going to have to fly to LA for a trade show, can
you recommend some good restaurants or a 'bootleg' casino with RED DOG?
[grin]
Ron Luks
________________________________________
> "Bubsy"! STR Jaguar InfoFile! - Atari's J. Patton Gives a Preview!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Bubsy will have a new as of yet undecided title. Here is some more
information on Bubsy given to me from the producer.
*15 levels of excitement
*An all new cast of enemies
*high quality 16bit graphics
*music and sound effects from the sound designers of Tempest 2000
*an all new Jaguar specific adventure for Bubsy the Bobcat
The Woolies are back with an insidious plot to warp the values of the
world's youth. The first phase of the plot involves distorting the fairy
tales of the world. To avoid this 'cat'astrophe, Bubsy leaps head first
into this brand new adventure. Will Bubsy be able to defeat the Woolies
and set the folk tales and fables of the world straight? Find out in
Bubsy's first 64-bit adventure.
________________________________
> Jag Rules! Rubber Stamp! STR InfoFile! - "Don't Say It, Stamp It!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
JAG RULES!
Declare your support of the 64-bit Jaguar gaming system and get the JAG
RULES rubber stamp. This quality custom stamp is available exclusively
from Artisan Software. Use it as an economical way to advertise your
enthusiasm of the Atari Jaguar. Stamp your letters and your envelopes.
Stamp your arm as a tattoo. Stamp your money. Stamp school notebooks
and post-its. Use a bright red ink pad (not included) for a vivid
2.25" by 1.5" image of JAG RULES in the impact of the Jaguar logo type
style.
Writing a letter to your favorite software company? Stamp it! Sending
a birthday card to your best friend? Stamp it! Dropping a postcard to
your brother at school? Stamp it!
Let everyone know you're a Jaguar gamer. After all, in the empire of
high technology entertainment systems, JAG RULES!
The JAG RULES rubber stamp is available by sending a money order for
$13.99 (includes shipping and handling) to:
Artisan Software
P.O. Box 849
Manteca, CA 95336
The price within California is $14.80 and includes applicable sales tax.
For an example of the JAG RULES logo, call the CATscan BBS.
Dial 209/239-1552. Download file: JAGRULES.ZIP. File is ZIP'd and
requires PKUNZIP to decompress.
_____________________________________
> ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
=====================
On CompuServe
-------------
compiled by
Joe Mirando
Hello again friends and neighbors. Yet another week has come and
gone and the heat and humidity are back again to make my life miserable.
I'm actually more of a winter person, but I guess I don't have much of a
choice right now. Just wait 'till winter rolls around... I'll be
complaining about the cold and snow and telling you that I'm really much
more of a summer person.
Well, at any rate, let's get on with the purpose of this column...
all the great news, hints, and tips available every week right here on
CompuServe.
Oh, by the way, check out the photos of Jupiter from sources from all
over the world... actually, I should say from all over the solar
system because, aside from photos from amateur astronomers and leading
observatories, there are also lots of pictures from the Hubble Space
Telescope and several satellites. Just log on to CompuServe and type GO
COMET.
NOW, let's get busy...
From the Atari Productivity Forum
=================================
Peter Boyle asks for help with transferring files from an ST to a DOS
machine:
"I have downloaded STTOPC after reading the "PC transfer software?"
thread and the program won't run for me. Seems to have decompressed
alright, but when I try to run it (following its instructions) the
screen flicks for a nanosecond then nothing.
I notice you guys call it ST2PC. Maybe I have a bum version? None of
the other transfer solutions suggested here will work for me because I
only have a PC modem (so I can't try Atari downloaded software) and my
Atari ST won't read IBM disks."
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Peter:
"Your ST should be able to read IBM disks, if they're formatted as 720K
(not 1.44 Meg High Density).
(Usually, with the DOS FORMAT command, you can do that by adding the
/f:720 switch when you format the disk... then the ST should be able
to read the files directly.
I still haven't had a chance to actually use the ST2PC (or STTOPC)
program myself, but others have mentioned having had good luck with it.
I'll have to try to get to checking it out myself..."
As always, I'll keep you posted on what Bob finds. In a similar
situation, Doug Amadio asks:
"Is there a software driver for the IBM that will allow Atari ST
software to run on an IBM and also allow the Atari disk to be read by
the IBM."
Because of a previous request, I won't mention any names, but someone
replies:
"The disk drive on both the IBM and the Atari is compatible. With very
few exceptions, you can take a disk from one system and both read and
write to it on the other. However, you would not be able to run a TOS
(Atari's Operating System) based program unless you first ran some kind
of Atari emulation. There is a product, Gemulator, which does exactly
that, allowing you to run TOS programs on your DOS box.
Another item to note is that there are quite a few programs on the
Atari that have an IBM counterpart. This means you can transfer the
information from the Atari to the IBM and vice versa, running the Atari
program on your Atari, the IBM program on the IBM. A few examples
include Lotus File, Word Perfect and DBase3+ files etc.. You can also
transfer any of the standard file formats back and forth between quite
a few programs. Formats such as TIF, Targa, ASCII, PCX, DXF etc. are
readily readable on various programs on both platforms.
I hope this is of assistance to you. If you had a specific idea in
mind when you asked, please exapnd and I will try to direct you more
pointedly."
Doug asks:
"Where can I get this Gemulator for the IBM."
The afore-un-mentioned party replies:
"Gemulator 3.02 is the product of Branch Always Software, 14150 N.E.
20th Street, Suite 302, Bellevue, WA 98007 Fax: (206) 885-5893 Orders:
(206) 369-5513 Compuserve 73657,2714
The owner's name is Darek Mihoka."
Michael Rutherford tells us:
"I have a 1040 STE that I bought a few years ago anst adapter, adaptec
4070 controler and a miniscribe disk drive. The drive is starting to
act up (it is hard to get it to spin up sometimes) and I am going to
replace the adaptec controller and the drive with a new SCSI drive.
Supra told me that as long as I give the format program the correct
drive specs, I should be able to connect any SCSI drive directly to the
ST host adapter. I can get a 200 to 300 MB SCSI drive for about $200
to $300. That's quite a jump from 30 MB. I remember when I orignally
bouht the Supra drive for my old 520 ST, there was a restriction on the
size of a partition that TOS would handle. It was 16 MB. So now to
the question. Does anybody know if that is still a restriction in the
STE TOS? It would be a shame to have to set up 15 to 20 paritions just
to get at all of the hard disk."
Dazzz Smith tells Michael:
"It depends on the TOS version you have, as to how large a partition
you can use and what software you use, i.e. Supra or ICD."
Michael tells Dazzz:
"The TOS version is 2.06 (I have an STE) and I am using SUPRA. I know
the SUPRA software will format large partitions, but I don't remember
ever seeing anything about partition sizes supported by TOS other than
the original 16 MB limit. I assume that 16 MB would not be the limit
with TOS 2.06."
Dazzz tells Michael:
"...as far as I remember TOS 1.4 (which I have) supports up to 32mb on
a standard partition (Not a BGM partition) So TOS 2.06 should be at
least this."
Michael tells Dazzz:
"I could live with 32 MB. I'll probably create a bigger one just to
see if it works."
Ann Williams asks:
"Can I put a larger sized mfm or rll drive in my megafile 30.(Replace
the 30 meg that is present) I found a ST-251 (60+ Megs) at a computer
show."
Michael Rutherford tells Ann:
"You should be able to use the ST-251. Version 4.10 of the SUPFMT
program includes the Seagate ST-251 as one of the disk drives after you
select 'OTHER'. If you need V4.10, you may have to get it from Supra's
BBS. I think the version on Compuserve is much older. I can't seem to
locate their BBS number, but their corporate number is (503) 967-2410.
They don't charge for the software. You may also need to select the
proper SCSI controller. The one included in my drive is the Adaptec
4070."
Joe Spiegel tells us:
"I have been experimenting w/a British graphics package called
Trip-A-Tron. Basically it is a kaleidoscope-type program that allows
MIDI hook-up to a keyboard, so it seems to be ideal for combo
music/light performances. Unfortunately, I have tried to output it to
a large TV, but using the built-in RF converter, the output is
terrible. Is there a way to convert the output from my 520ST's monitor
port to NTSC video?"
Dazzz Smith tells Joe:
"Ah yes Trip a tron, an early forerunner of the Yaks Virtual Light
Machine!
Can't really help with your problem, but I can tell you that the latest
incarnation of the program will be available for the Jaguar on CD ROM
later this year I believe."
Tony Clifford-Winters adds what he knows about the program:
"I own a copy of Trip-A-Tron, the creation of that marvel Jeff Minter
(Yak), and was aware that it had its roots in Psychedelia (Commodore
64) and Colourspace (8- and 16-bit Atari machines), but I wasn't aware
of Virtual Light Machine. Tell me more. I've hardly scratched the
surface of Trip-A-Tron yet but I'm always ready for a new experience
<g>."
Rob Rasmussen hands Rick Flashman of Gribnif Software...
"...questions for you (and everybody else). I've never used Neodesk,
only Hotwire and of course the desktop. You have said that Hotwire can
run under Geneva, not as an Auto prg but as another application. You
also said Hotwire had not been upgraded to allow multitasking, and that
whatever prg I launch from there will only run in single-tasking mode.
I'm wondering though, how much a prg launcher is really needed since
the task manager and/or the GEM.CNF could handle all that. The item
selector has many desktop features like copy, move files etc. You said
that TeraDesk could be used, but could it launch multitasking prgs?"
Rick tells Rob:
"Charles was at one point planning to upgrade Hotwire to work with
Geneva (the changes are not too big). But I think those plans fell by
the way side (not saying I can blame him, considering the market).
TeraDesk works, but is not multitasking aware.
Geneva supports any desktop that is written to the MultiTOS
multitasking concept (which Geneva emulates). NeoDesk 4 is the only
desktop that currently supports this, but I imagine that there might be
others out there that I haven't seen.
It would be a very long letter if I explained in detail all the
advantages to NeoDesk 4 over Geneva's Item Selector. Needless to say,
NeoDesk 4 has a zillion amazing features that you haven't seen before."
Rob tells Rick:
"I have TOS 4.04, but even with Rainbow TOS on my ST I was never really
concerned with memory fragmenting. Usually I would re-boot my system
to run certain programs (like SmpteTrack, GenEdit, TouchUp, STraight
Fax, certain games that run from Auto folder, etc) that seemed to clash
with my 'normal' setup. So the RAM space would be cleared when I run
the program. Who knows though, in my normal setup, I occasionally had
unexplained crashes, maybe the result of running one prg after another,
gradually running out of big enough blocks of free RAM. Multitasking
presents a problem since each loaded program needs so much memory at
the same time. It seems like there should be a RAM de-fragmenter, since
free but too small blocks of RAM are wasted.
I see now how running a singletasking prg that grabs too much memory
can keep other prgs from loading even when you put it to sleep, since
all the prgs are still running together, whether single or
multitasking, asleep or active.
When I boot with Geneva now, I see how it ignores loading ACCs on C:\
unless that path (or any path) is specified in GEM.CNF's ACCPATH
statement. I had thought the ACC names had to be listed in there, but
it makes more sense Geneva's way. Also, I should have seen that no
Install Application is needed to auto-start a prg after running Geneva,
since Geneva will automatically run them, or put them to sleep, from
the RUN and RUNSLEEP statements.
Geneva runs the programs I have listed in RUN statements, but
everytime I run Geneva I may not want these prgs to run. Rather than
editing the same GEM.CNF, I can probably have several CNFs with
different setups in the RUN/RUNSLEEP statements, but I don't know how
to tell Geneva which of these to use during the boot process. Desk
Manager has a "Custom files" feature I've never understood how to use.
If I have Geneva read a new CNF after it has booted (not sure how or if
I can do this), after it has oaded prgs in GEM.CNF, it seems like
memory fragmenting would prevent this new setup from loading properly.
How can I manage tiny text in ST high rez problem I was having seems to
be fixed, as I increased the font size from 9 to 10. However, in medium
rez, which uses the same font size I chose in high, the text is now too
big. Some prg's windows are too big to fit on the screen in medium. I
sort of figured this would happen, since before when high rez text was
too small, it looked fine in medium. Perhaps I need to adjust window
borders, or is this just for gadgets? How can I make it right for each
rez I use? I mainly use high, medium, and 256 color mode. Low sometimes
too. Hmm, I guess that's most of them :) With ScreenBlaster modes, the
'rez' or size of the screen will be smaller anyway, I think.
I haven't switched between 40 and 80 columns in Geneva, so don't know
if that bug is affecting anything here. Why would I ever want to do
that anyway?
I will try putting all my ACCs that MultiDesk used to load, into the
path where Geneva can load them, so that they can be in their own
slots, instead of MD's one slot, and I can have more than one of them
open at a time."
From The Palmtop Forums
=======================
William Cheng posts:
"My old portfolio has finally broken. I have been searching in the
market to buy a replacement. It looks like there are none.
Does anybody know if any company will carry the portfolio? Is there a
possibility that I can buy one with memory expansion?"
Larry Land tells William:
"For $110 you can send your broken Port to Atari for a new (or factory
repaired) one. Sorry, I don't have the address but I'm sure someone
will pipe in with it."
Don Thomas, Ataris Portfolio Guru, tells us:
"Atari U.S. offers an "out-of-warranty" exchange on the Portfolio
computer to U.S. and Canadaian consumers. Simply send the Portfolio to
Atari with $110 (includes $5 for return shipping) and a replacement is
immediately shipped.
Send to: Atari Computer Corp.
390 Caribbean Drive
Sunnyvale, CA 94088"
On the subject of the Casio/Tandy Z-7000/Z-PDA, Luis Caprile posts:
"I am a heavy user of the Z-PDA, I have downloaded quite a few files
from your Forum the work very well...but I have a couple of questions:
1- Is there an x-jack pcmcia Modem for the Z-7000 ?
2- Which files can be compressed with the Compres it! program and
how?"
Sysop Lloyd Wasser tells Luis:
"Here are some answers that might help:
<< Is there an x-jack pcmcia Modem for the Z-7000 ?>>
Not at this time. The only modem that I know works 100% is the
StarCard. A number of users on this forum currently use that card to
great success.
<<Which files can be compressed with the Compres it! program and how >>
I assume any application or data file that is not stored in the rom
(i.e. anything on the internal memory or external PCMCIA card).
Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of compression software so I haven't
tried this yet."
When Jorge della Torre posts that he isn't sure about using Newton cards
in the "Zoomer" because the one he tried formatted slowly, Jim Scheef
tells him to...
"Check the batteries to be sure they are fresh. I bought 2 cards this
week and they both formatted as soon as I inserted them into the
Zoomer. Now if we can figure out how to run Stacker on these cards to
get more capacity..."
Garland Wood provides the needed info:
"I'm running Stacker 4.0 on my Zoomer. The only performance hit that
I've noticed is a slowdown in the DOS screen scrolling speed (GEOS
screens update at their usual slow rate). I haven't found any
incompatabilities with the configuration that I use. I'm Stacking only
the PCMCIA card -- *NOT* the internal RAM disk.
As always, this procedure works for me. Your results may vary. (Be
sure that you have a backup of your data before attempting this
procedure!)
Theory of operation: During the Zoomer boot sequence, it looks for the
file PENRIGHT.BAT on the PCMCIA card. If found, the Zoomer runs that
file. Because Stacker needs to be loaded before GEOS, we use
PENRIGHT.BAT to run Stacker, then continue with the GEOS boot sequence.
I also use the batch file to invoke the File Transfer program before
Stacker or GEOS runs -- if GEOS crashes, I can still get access the
Internal RAM drive.
The PCMCIA card is then also portable (as portable as any floppy
copressed with Stacker) -- any DOS-based machine that can read the
uncompressed card should also be able to access the data. (You are
also able to use the card in any other Zoomer -- even one of
questionable configuration.)
Operation in action: To access the compressed volume: Put in the
PCMCIA card. Reboot the Zoomer. That's it. To get access to the
uncompressed volume: Unlatch the PCMCIA card (observe GEOS warmings and
wait for the files to close). Reboot the Zoomer. Once GEOS is loaded,
latch the PCMCIA card.
Theory of installation: (Read your Stacker documentation for all the
nasty details of how to create container files.) Create PENRIGHT.BAT
as listed below and get STACKER.EXE handy. Transfer PENRIGHT.BAT and
STACKER.EXE to the PCMCIA card. Create a container volume on your
desktop machine named STACVOL.DSK that is the size of the remaining
free space on the PCMCIA card. Clear the attributes of STACVOL.DSK
(not hidden, not read only, ...). Transfer it to the PCMCIA card.
Reboot the Zoomer.
One could use the Stacker RAM drive device driver to create the
container file on the PCMCIA card -- I found that shuffling all those
utilities around and having to edit the Zoomer's CONFIG.SYS made that
method pretty bothersome.
On the uncompressed volume (C:)
STACKER.EXE - Stacker Anywhere
STACVOL.DSK - Virtual Volume Container
PENRIGHT.BAT - Batch file usually used to invoke PenRight!
Pressed into service for a different cause.
Contents of PENRIGHT.BAT -------
a:\pccom /p:1 /b:19200 : Because I crash GEOS often
c: : Switch to volume C:
stacker c: /c a:\autoexec : Load Stacker Anywhere and
: rerun
AUTOEXEC.BAT"
Well folks, that's about it for this week. Hmmm... I think I'm going
to use some of my vacation time to check out this new idea of using
Stacker (a DOS program that compresses files so that they take up less
room and are still executable) on my Zoomer.
Be sure to tune in again next week, same time, same station, and be
ready to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
______________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
"""""""""""""""""""""
- Washington, D.C. PENDING NT MARKET PROBLEMS SCRUTINIZED
"""""""""""""""" ALONG WITH STRAINED COPYRIGHT HOLDINGS
A few weeks ago, STR reported there may be some real problems in
Germany relative to DMCGMBH and its programmers of Calamus for NT as well
as the split-off programmers (Adequate Systems) of Calamus for the dying
Atari Computing niche area. Amid the ruckus and lamenting from one
"offended" party who obviously has very special interests, STReport was
accused of inaccuracies and embellishments ...ad infinitatum by this
party. We present the original report and the substantive report from
Germany along with the source and and a reader verifiable published
source. (A published interview in distribution throughout Europe.)
Our original report from issue 1024:
- Chicago, IL NEW "LIFE" for CALAMUS SL??
-----------
According to our sources in the European marketplace... Calamus SL,
long recognized as a premier DTP package in Europe, is to be supported by
a new company, Adequate Systems, having been formed by a splinter group
composed of the original programmers responsible for the Atari modules and
code. The group broke away from DMC GMBH recently after the announcement
made at this year's CeBIT that DMC GMBH would no longer support Calamus SL
for the Atari marketplace. It was further reported that DMC GMBH has put
all their efforts in the making of the Windows NT version. At CeBIT of
1994 the following happened. DMC GmBH has told their Atari customers,
because of the market situation and Atari, we recommend that you buy a
system capable of using Windows NT.
This upset many Calamus customers both present and future. Concerned
customers switched to the Mac, which was fast becoming less expensive due
to repetitive discounting by Apple. Since NT had, so far, proved very
disappointing to DMC Germany's expectations, especially after Microsoft
announced that it will NOT market the product on a wide scale. NT was NOT
the OS to replace windows for your everyday PC and PC Clone.
It was further reported that Adequate Systems, unfortunately, does
not hold any of the copyrights to Calamus or SL or any portions of the
code contained therein. At this point DMC GMBH is not willing to
relinquish any (c) holdings. However it is rumored that Dr. Reidhl, newly
appointed to the board of Directors of DMC GMBH and marketing manager,
formally of Atari GMBH, is attempting to reach an amicable agreement with
the newly formed Atari SL programming group's company Adequate Systems.
Hopefully, another Chagall-like episode is not in the wings.
And now, a few weeks later.....
Sender: h9251970@miraculix.wu-wien.ac.at
Received: from miraculix.wu-wien.ac.at by arl-img-1.compuserve.com
(8.6.4/5.940406sam) id OAA28677; Mon, 18 Jul 1994 14:50:44 -0400
Received: by miraculix.wu-wien.ac.at id AA14734 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4
for 70007.4454@compuserve.com); Mon, 18 Jul 1994 20:50:47 +0200
From: henry koechl <h9251970@miraculix.wu-wien.ac.at>
Message-Id: <199407181850.AA14734@miraculix.wu-wien.ac.at>
Subject: STComputer 7/8 - 94
To: 70007.4454@compuserve.com
Date: Mon, 18 Jul 1994 20:50:47 +0200 (MET DST)
X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL21]
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Length: 1831
STComputer Magazine Issue 7/8 - 94 In Germany, Juergen Funcke had an
interview with Adequate Systems, the Company that went it's own way from
DMC GMBH.
STComputer: Wie ist der acktuelle Stand der verhandlung zwischen adequate
systems und DMC zur gemeinsamen Weiterentwicklung von Calamus und weitere
Produkte?
English: What is the current status of the negotiations with Adequate
Systems and DMC regarding the development of Calamus and other products?
(both current and future)
Adequate Systems: Die Verhandlung, wie sie jetzt gefuerht worden sind,
gehen im prinzip auf Gesprache zurueck, die wir schon gefuerht haben, als
wir noch fuer DMC gearbeitet haben. Wir wuerden nach wie vor eine solche
Zusammenarbeit begruessen. ZU solchen Verhandlungen ist natuerlich ein
beiderseitiges Interesse notwending. Im moment stellt sich fuer uns die
Situation so dar, das DMC and einer solchen weiteren Zusammenarbeit kein
interesse aussert.
English: The talks, as of now, are the same as they always were... no
agreement - no progress. When we were working for DMC, we would naturally
welcome to work together as we used to, however in such negotiations both
parties need to be interested, as of now, DMC has shown no interest at all
in working together with us. (shortcut version)
Raimund Thiel has also said that "NT ist im moment ein sehr kleiner
Nischenmarkt, und es ist noch nicht abzusehen das sich das anedern wird."
Translated it means; NT is still a very small niche market, and it does
not look like that will change. I only included these parts of the
interview as I can't copy all of that interview, if you wish, I can send
you a German Copy which you may or may not wish to translate, these
however are tidbits of info you may like to know directly from the
horses mouth.
The Interview was from Juergen Funcke who interviewed Raimund Thiel and
Klaus Garms, business partners and owners of Adequate Systems.
Editor Note;
STReport has requested a full copy of the interview. In any case, our
original story stands verified and corroborated.
- San Jose, CA SCOTT SANDERS OF SDS JOINS ATARI JAGUAR TEAM
------------
A week and a half ago I was offered a job at Atari Corp. and
subsequently accepted. My position will be in Jaguar Developer
Support and as primarily a Technical Writer. I have nothing to do
with TOS or the powers that be so please don't ask me to comment (I'm
too new to stick my neck out :)
This does _not_ affect SDS in any way except that our address and
phone #'s will change shortly (I'm moving to Sunnyvale later this
week). Our current addresses and phone # will be good for a month or
two more. I am still, as usual, reachable by E-mail (though don't
expect a response this week).
Thanks.
-Scott @ SDS
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> A "Quotable Quote" "Being thoroughly Modern & Political"
"""""""""""""""""
"Let's Censor Computer & Cartridge Games
and
make a NAME for ourselves!"
...A Connecticut Yankee
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> DEALER CLASSIFIED LIST STR InfoFile * Dealer Listings *
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ---------------
ABCO Incorporated
=================
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155
Est. 1985
1-904-783-3319
1994 SUMMER SPECIALS NOW IN EFFECT!
TWO WEEKS ONLY SPECIAL SALE!!
------------------------
ABCO manufactures custom storage devices!
INTEL 32 BIT 486/66, VLB w/Math CoProcessor
8MB ram upgradable to 64MB 1MB SVGA VESA VIDEO CARD
Sound Blaster Compatible Stereo Sound Card
DOS 6.2 - Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Included
256K CACHE - 1.44/1.2 FLOPPY Drives, Mouse & 101 deluxe Keyboard
340MB IDE hd - 2 SERIAL, 1 PARALLEL, 1 GAME PORTS
250W POWER SUPPLY TOWER SYSTEM - 14" SVGA 1024x768, 28dpi Monitor
66Mhz, S&H Incl 1495.00
695.00 with order, balance COD other higher powered packages available
or, design your own! Call for value added pricing!
Call: 904-783-3319 Anytime, Voice Mail
=====******=====
Syquest Removable 44-105-270mb SCSI Drives
All Size Platters Available
One Platter included with each Drive free!
Diamond Speed Star 24x SVGA/VGA Video Card w/1mbVRAM
Diamond Stealth & Viper 1mb & 2mb - Call for prices
Enhances Windows SPEED and EFFICIENCY
Diamond High Performance Sound Cards Available
Soundblaster Cards and compatibles 8 & 16 bit
Creative Technologies' Sound Blaster 16 SCSI
&
Sound Blaster AWE 32 SUPER Sound Card
Pro Audio Spectrum STUDIO 16 - 16bit - Midi - Audio Recognition
Top of the Media Vision PAS Line - True Multi-Media
IDE Super IO cards & 16550 UART 2 & 4 Port Cards
SCSI ADAPTER CARDS & SCANNERS COLOR & MonoChrome
Call: 904-783-3319 Anytime, Voice Mail
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
COMPUTER STUDIO
===============
WESTGATE SHOPPING CENTER
40 Westgate Parkway -Suite D
Asheville, NC 28806
1-800-253-0201
Orders Only
1-704-251-0201
Information
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
EAST HARTFORD COMPUTER
======================
202 Roberts St.
East Hartford CT. 06108
1-203-528-4448
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
MEGABYTE COMPUTERS
==================
907 Mebourne
Hurst, TX 76053
1-817-589-2950
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
SAN JOSE COMPUTER
=================
1278 Alma Court
San Jose, CA. 95112
1-408-995-5080
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
CompuSeller West
================
220-1/2 W. Main St.
St. Charles, IL., 60174
Ph. (708) 513-5220
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(DEALERS; to be listed here FREE of Charge, please drop us a line.)
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International Online Magazine
-* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *-
AVAILABLE ON OVER 20,001 PRIVATE BBS SYSTEMS
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STR Online! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" July 22, 1994
Since 1987 copyright (c) 1987-94 All Rights Reserved No.1030
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