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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 02 Issue 22
Volume 2, Issue 22 Atari Online News, Etc. June 2, 2000
Published and Copyright (c) 2000
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- CC: Classic Chips
With Contributions by:
John Hardie
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0222 06/02/00
~ CG Expo 2000 Sponsors! ~ People Are Talking! ~ PageMill's Fate
~ BattleSphere, 2nd Run! ~ QuickTime's Future! ~ Juno Sues NetZero
~ Microsoft's Last Gasp! ~ Sega CEO Does Resign! ~ NYKO's Worm Light!
~ PhotoShop 6 Upgrade! ~ QuickTime Grows Up! ~ New "Colony Wars"!
-* Government Files Final Order *-
-* Test Version of AOL 6.0 Found Online *-
-* Instant Messaging "Wars" Continue: Odigo! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Well, unofficially Summer has begun here in New England, with the passing of
Memorial Day. Forget Spring - it seemed to come and go in a couple of days;
then it was Fall-like here. However, Summer has finally arrived with warm
temperatures these past few days. And now we're having a booming
thunderstorm as I sit here putting the final touches on this week's issue.
I didn't finish putting down my new lawn last week. As the weekend
progressed, my energy withered away. I got 95% of the huge side yard
completed - a success in my mind, but I didn't get it all done. I hope to
finish up the majority of it this weekend and finish up some touching-up
over the next couple of weeks. And, I still have to get the pool opened up
for the season!
Because of the holiday Monday, the business week was shortened, as has been
the news. The major news is that Microsoft, as we know it, is soon to be
altered. We should know the final results of the judge's decision next
week.
Other than that, let the summer festivities begin! I'm looking forward to a
terrific summer!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
jmirando@portone.com
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. I'll tell you right off the bat that this
is going to be a short column. Why is it that all three day weekends
seem to be followed by six day work weeks? I'm exhausted.
So let's get right to the stuff from the UseNet...
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Lyndon Amsdon asks for help with STinG:
"I recently had problems accessing some sites with my old version of
sting so I decided to upgrade to 1.22. Couldn't find it but Martin
Byttebier (thanks Martin) helped me out and sent me Kernal 1.22 (1.05)
Serial 1.20, TCP 1.33 and UDP 1.45.
I replaced the old ones on my boot drive with these. When I
booted up all things went well reporting on boot up STinG
version 1.22 (1.05), loading the new Serial, TCP and UDP stx
files and my old Resolve stx file from the old Sting setup.
I then went to the Sting ACC (I'm not multitasking yet) but
it said Dialer Version 1.15 and Sting Version 1.22, is this correct?
I then went to dial up and connect. It dialed up fine and said the
connection speed alright but then crashed with 3 bombs jest before the
bit where it gets the IP number.
I've tried this a few times now with a minimal system i.e. HSModem,
Sting and HDDriver."
James Haslam tells Lyndon:
"No, the problem is that you need to trash all of v1.15 (except for your
Default.CFG and Dial.SCR files), then install v1.20.
Only then can you put in the Kernal, Serial, TCP, and UDP files to upgrade
to v1.22.
Get the archive for v1.20 and the new stuff for v1.22 from my website,
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/jfhaslam/atari.htm and follow the Downloads
link."
Lyndon tells James:
"I did that and just kept my account information. It booted up fine
saying v1.20. I went into the Sting accessory and it said the dialer
version is 1.16 and sting was 1.20. Aren't they supposed to be the
same version?
So I went to load newsie but it keeps on freezing up, not just on
newsie on every program I load.
Surely I need dialer version 1.20 don't I, which it states in the help
files."
G.R. Greenway tells James and Lyndon:
"I've just blown most of today doing that, it took me ages to get my
old copy of V1.5 working again. If I try again I'll put the installation on
a floppy first then boot from it. The odd thing was that the Sting Protocols
CPX kept killing Xcontrol ! (Actually it killed Zcontrol too.) I managed to
get a connection with all the PPP hand-shaking, but nothing would resolve.
(POPWatch, Cab, GapFTP....) All this is under Magic, BTW."
John Garone adds:
"Latest Dialer should be 1.16
If your not using HSMODEM7, try that! Some have had success with
HSMODEM6 but I had to use 7 on my stock Falcon030. I also use only one
CPX, Sting Internals (activated)."
Willem Buising asks for help with multiple hard drives:
"I just purchased an megafile 30 external hard disk. It works fine with my
1040 STf, but I also want to connect it to my MEGA STe, to make a backup of
the internal hard disk.
When I connect it to the ACSI port, switch it on and then switch on the MEGA
STe both the internal and the external hard disk freeze. I can only boot from
the floppy and there is no other device found. When I disconnect the
internal hard disk the external one works fine, it seems that the 2
interfere with each other.
Is there anything like a SCSI ID ore something like that, so that I can make
the internal HD and the external one work at the same time, or is there some
other trick to this?"
Roger Cain tells Willem:
"Yes, this seems like a likely explanation. The HD in the Mega is almost
certainly set to ID 0. You need to change the SCSI ID of the other drive. If
you are lucky there may be an external switch. Otherwise you will have to
dig deep enough to see the back of the drive. Usually, near to the 50-way
input port, there is a group of 3 pairs of jumper pins. Just set the middle
pair and the HD will respond as ID 2.
P.S. Of course, it might be more complicated than this."
Peter West adds:
"He would be better off making the ID 1, which will be one of the end-pin
pairs, as there are some hard disk drivers (such as AHDI - at least
early versions) that will not allow a gap in the number sequence - it
has to be 0, 1,...."
Steve Sweet chimes in with:
"The SCSI ID setting will be on the drive mechanism itself, the
internal drive should have the lowest ID of 0.0. If your using the
Atari HD interface you may be out of luck, i never could get any extra
drives recognized with my Atari HD-i, i eventually bought a link96
internal for my MegaSTE and can now have 8 daisy chained devices on the
SCSI bus."
Larry Gaab asks:
"I own a 1040STf with 4 MB Ram. I use Notator/Creator sequencer. I was
wondering if anyone out there uses WARP 9 or NVDI 4, which I believe
are similar products to speed up graphics on the software you are using.
Anyone know where to get the items and have any recommendations on
which is best for my system, please respond. Maybe someone has one to
sell?"
Daniel Dreibelbis tells Larry:
"If you're using Notator, then I'd definitely recommend getting NVDI.
I had Warp 9 and I had nothing but trouble getting it to tape sync via
MIDI. When I switched to NVDI, the problem disappeared!"
Nicholas Bales adds:
"I think Warp9 is discontinued nowadays. NVDI was and still is far superior.
NVDI has the added advantage of replacing GDOS or SpeedoGDOS. This means
that it allows you to use TTF fonts and GDOS drivers for printing.
I think NVDI is at version 5 nowadays."
Ken Kosut asks about using a SyJet:
"I was able to find a SyJet 1.5 External SCSI hard drive to
replace my ailing SyQuest 200MB which will not format.
(I don't have software, manual, or PC to mess around with it.
I bought it at a rummage sale at work - and it worked fine on
Atari for years.)
The SyJet is already formatted to PC.
1.) Is it possible for me to partition, or will I have to reformat
entire drive with HDX or HDriver?
2.) Can HDX (v5.03c) format a drive of this size?
I think I would prefer to use my standard AHDI 6.05c.
Mostly because of cost."
Edward Baiz tells Ken:
"If it formatted for a PC, then you should be able to partition it with
no problem. I did the same with my Jaz carts. They were formatted for a
PC and I just used HDDriver to partition it."
Dr. Uwe Seimet, the author of HD Driver, adds:
"Partitioning is sufficient. There is no different format for different
platforms, i. e. simply creating new file systems (which is done when
partitioning) is enough for any cartridge or drive."
David Leaver asks an interesting question:
"In recent postings Uwe Seimet has referred to Fat32 as if it exists
for Magic. Bengy Collins' Magic page lists Fat32 as a feature of
Magic. Yet the English manual, while explaining VFAT, makes no mention
of Fat32.
What's the story? Is there some extension that I need if I want to use
Fat32, and, if so, where can it be obtained?"
Jo Even Skarstein tells David:
"The manuals have not been updated for a few years.
You need HD-Driver 7.80 or newer, and some way to initialize a FAT32
file system. For MiNT there is a tool called makefats.ttp, there is
probably something similar for MagiC. If not, you can use makefats."
Uwe Seimet adds:
"Upcoming versions of HDDRUTIL (which is included in the HDDRIVER
package) will support the creation of FAT32 partitions when partitioning
a drive."
Well folks, I told you it was going to be short this week. 'Till next
time, keep your ears open so that you'll hear what they're saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - BattleSphere 2nd Run! NYKO News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 'Colony Wars' Continues!
Sega CEO Gone Over Dreamcast Sales!
Classic Gaming Expo 2K Sponsors!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sega President Steps Down After Loss
The president of Sega Enterprises Ltd. stepped down on Friday after the
world's third-largest home video game maker reported its third annual loss
in a row, despite a 27 percent jump in sales.
Tokyo-based Sega posted a group net loss of $398.1 million for the year to
March 31, little changed from a 43 billion yen loss the year before and
in-line with analysts forecasts following a profit warning by Sega in
February.
At a press conference after the results, Shoichiro Irimajiri, 60,
announced he would step on June 1 after two years as president, to be
replaced by the company's chairman, Isao Ohkawa, 74.
Ohkawa is also chairman of Sega's 19 percent shareholder CSK Corp
Irimajiri, a former executive vice president at Honda Motor Co from 1989
to 1993, will remain at Sega as vice chairman.
``We accepted Irimajiri's request to resign to take responsibility for the
losses," Ohkawa said. ``We aim to revive the company by focusing on
growing Internet-related services by using Dreamcast."
Sega lost money again despite a jump in group sales to 339.1 billion yen,
from 266.19 billion the previous year, reflecting the start to sales
overseas of the company's ``Dreamcast" home video game machine, the
world's first 128-bit game player.
The news was released after the Tokyo market had closed. Sega's shares
ended Friday at 1,660 yen, down 0.6 percent from the day before and off
about 49 percent from January.
Analysts, however, questioned whether a management change would be enough
to turn around the troubled game maker, especially given many had seen
Ohkawa as the driving force in the company anyway.
``Sega has to come up with something more drastic to return to
profit....such as withdrawal from the home game machine hardware
business," said Hirotoshi Murakami, an analyst at Kokusai Securities.
``Otherwise, the company is likely to stay in the red."
Sega has been hit by intensifying competition at home from Sony Corp's
popular PlayStation series home video games. Sony launched its latest
version of the console, the 128-bit PlayStation2, in March.
For the business year just ended, Sega shipped 1.1 million consoles in
Japan, while Sony shipped 2.14 million PlayStation units and 1.41 million
PlayStation2 units, according to data provided by each company. That
rivalry is expected to continue in overseas markets as Sony releases
PlayStation2 in the United States and Europe on October 26, while Nintendo
Co. Ltd. begins selling its next-generation, 128-bit console Dolphin --
which will replace its Nintendo64 -- at the end of the year.
Nintendo, Japan's leading video game maker, on Friday reported a 34.7
percent slide in profit for the year to March, as the negative impact of
stronger yen more than offset robust sales of its popular ``Pokemon" game
software.
Sega sold 3.8 million Dreamcast consoles overseas since beginning to sell
the world's first 128-bit game player abroad last year, but heavy
advertising costs slashed profit.
For the year started April 1, Sega forecast a group net profit of 1.5
billion yen on sales of 336.00 billion yen.
``Sega has so far failed to illustrate how it will profit from the
Internet business where it has repeatedly put its focus on," said Morgan
Stanley's Morita before the earnings were released.
``It may lose money again this year, given intensified competition in the
industry and its weak market share in Japan."
NYKO E3Expo 2000 Attendees Flip Over Worm Lights
How do you make sure that your new products get noticed in the noise and
bustle of a busy E3Expo Show entertainment event?
According to NYKO, the answer is to spotlight the show-goers alongside the
new accessories.
When NYKO decided to use some of its products as giveaways at the recent
Electronics Entertainment Expo held in Los Angeles, they were surprised to
find how eager the attendees were to get a hold of NYKO's new releases.
NYKO was taking the opportunity at this year's E3Expo show to introduce its
new product lineup for Sony PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast, Game Boy Color and
the new NeoGeo Pocket portable game systems.
NYKO introduced a full line of accessories at this show for the popular
consoles and portables. Among the products introduced was the Viper 2 which
is the industry's first and only handheld licensed controller for the Sony
PlayStation game console with several advanced new features.
The Shock 'n' Rock and Worm Light for SNK's portable NeoGeo Pocket Color
(NYKO is the only marketer and manufacturer of NeoGeo accessories), and the
Hip Clip for Nintendo Game Boy Color to name a few.
For the past several months NYKO has been holding the No. 1 spot with one
of the most successful products in the gaming industry -- the Worm Light.
The Worm Light is a patented innovative and effective product designed to
light the screen of the Game Boy Color that is typically hard to see in low
light conditions.
``We were pleasantly surprised to see how much the show attendees and
consumers value and liked our products," said Lisset Fernandez, Director
of Marketing and Public Relations at NYKO.
``They were willing to do all sorts of outrageous stunts to get their hands
on one of our new Worm Light or Shock 'n' Rock accessories for their Game
Boy Color or NeoGeo game systems. I was amazed to see people stand on their
heads or flip backwards."
Fernandez continued, ``As the gaming industry continues to grow at an
astonishing pace, NYKO continues to push the boundaries with their full
line of accessories. I look forward to the introductions scheduled in the
coming weeks."
Midway Announces ``Colony Wars: Red Sun"
The Epic Battle Continues in the Highly
Acclaimed Space Combat Series
Midway Games Inc. announced that ``Colony Wars: Red Sun," the third
all-new episode in the hit sci-fi ``Colony Wars" series, will be available
in retail outlets today [Thursday] for the PlayStation game console.
```Colony Wars: Red Sun' has raised the standard of space combat games,"
said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway. ``Midway will
continue to push the boundaries of the genre with 50 different missions
packed with multiple objectives and more than 30 new weapons."
``Colony Wars: Red Sun" has an optimized game engine, all-new graphics,
strong cinematics communicated through 28 full-motion video (FMV) sequences
and a sumptuous soundtrack recorded by a professional orchestra.
The battle for power continues in ``Colony Wars: Red Sun." Instead of
siding with one faction, gamers play as Valdemar, a military agent out for
no one but himself. Red Sun's new free-form game structure allows players
to select their own missions.
GamePro, the world's largest multiplatform gaming magazine, reported: ``An
incredible sequel, `CW: Vengeance's' high-octane space combat and engaging
plot make for an action-packed experience that every PlayStation owner
should delve into."
The optimized ``Colony Wars: Red Sun" game engine offers enhanced graphics
and in-game textures. The overall visual look has impressive new lighting
effects and interactive nebulae and gaseous atmospheres. Attention to
detail is paramount in ``Red Sun." The capital ships, for example, have
animated turrets, adding a greater realism and depth to the game.
With more quality FMV to carry the story along and a completely new
dramatic musical score, ``Colony Wars: Red Sun" is as epic as the previous
chapters in the ``Colony Wars" series. The gripping linear story line,
paired with the new free-form game structure, helps to provide an increased
emphasis on personal involvement as players explore the completely
interactive 3-D environment.
``Colony Wars: Red Sun" Key Features
* New free-form game structure
* Twenty-eight full-motion video sequences
* Fifty different missions with multiple objectives
* More than 30 new weapons
* Eight ships with fully upgradable weapons
* Five solar systems, including two from "Colony Wars: Vengeance"
* Optimized game engine, which further refines and enhances graphics
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
BattleSphere Second Run Inquiry
Posted by BSB (64.220.201.108) on May 31, 2000 at 17:25:21:
OK guys, we have located the major source of componentry we need for a
second run. Unfortunately, second run prices look like they will be up
$10 from the original $69.95 to $79.95. With that bit of bad news out
of the way, now is the time for you all to email me and tell me how
many carts you're willing to buy at this price with $50 pre-orders (of
course, if that number is zero, I both understand and don't expect to
hear from you :-)). While we can make pretty much as many as we want at
this price, this will be your last chance to purchase the game other
than from people selling their used copies.
Scott
Major Sponsors Announced for Classic Gaming Expo 2000
For Immediate Release
Contact John Hardie, Sean Kelly and Joe Santulli
info@cgexpo.com
516-568-9768
http://www.cgexpo.com
PROMINENT INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANIES
ENDORSE CLASSIC GAMING EXPO 2000
VALLEY STREAM, NY (June 2, 2000) -- A prolific line-up of leading
interactive entertainment companies will be sponsoring this year's Classic
Gaming Expo 2000 to be held on July 29-30 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Contributing to this year's event are Hasbro Interactive, Inc., Imagine
Media, Telegames Inc., Intellivision Productions and Digital Eclipse
Software Inc. Their financial and promotional support has proved valuable
in aiding the show coordinators to organize what is touted as the greatest
gathering of industry legends, historic gaming artifacts and classic gaming
fans.
"We are thrilled by the continuing level of interest that CGE 2K has
garnered among some of the market leaders in electronic entertainment,"
said John Hardie, co-promoter of the show. "The contributions, product for
prizes and giveaways, and public relations assistance helps ensure that
Las Vegas will be the center of the electronic gaming universe during the
month of July."
Hasbro Interactive is a division of Hasbro, a worldwide leader in
children's and family leisure time and entertainment products and services,
including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging
from traditional to high-tech. With its recent acquisitions of Microprose
and Atari, Beverly, Massachusetts-based Hasbro Interactive is focused on
bringing the concept of simple yet addictive gameplay back to videogames.
Following the success of their recent updates of such classics as Q*bert,
Missile Command, and Pong, Hasbro is continuing the tradition of making
games that are fun and easy for the whole family to enjoy with their
forthcoming planned releases of Frogger 2, Super Breakout, Galaga and
Pac-Man.
For the third consecutive year, Imagine Media will be a major co-sponsor of
the show. Imagine is one of the largest media companies around and boasts a
network of numerous print and on-line publications including Next Gen, PSM,
DailyRadar.com, Games Business, PC Gamer and others. In addition to
financial contributions, Imagine has been prominently running CGE 2K
articles and press releases throughout the show's promotional period.
Telegames is a group of multi-national operations that are involved in all
aspects of video games and computer software. The Dallas, Texas-based
company is involved in online and direct mail retailing, wholesale
distribution, publishing, licensing, and contract development. The
TelegamesDirect division also stocks a large inventory of new classic video
game systems and software, including Atari, Intellivision, Coleco,
Nintendo, Sega, TurboDuo, and TurboGrafx-16. Telegames currently publishes
products for PC, PlayStation, and Game Boy Color, as well as numerous
titles for Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, and many other classic systems. Visit
them at www.telegames.com for more information.
Intellivision Productions is a publisher and developer with direct roots to
classic video games--the company is run by members of the Blue Sky Rangers,
the world-famous programming team that developed games for the
Intellivision, Atari and Colecovision consoles at Mattel Electronics in the
early 1980s. They've re-released many of these classic games in
collections for the PC, Mac and PlayStation, with more to come. Their
collections have been widely praised for their extensive historical and
technical background information and video interviews. "We think the
classic games are even more fun after you've learned how they were
created--the blood, sweat, tears and alcohol," said Keith Robinson,
President of Intellivision Productions and himself one of the original
1980's programmers. "That's why we love being part of the Classic Gaming
Expo--they invite the pioneers of the industry to come and share their
horror stories. It's great fun and adds to the whole gaming experience."
Digital Eclipse, a developer, publisher and distributor of interactive
software titles for PC, Dreamcast, Playstation and Game Boy Color, is well
known throughout the classic gaming community as the leader in the
development of classic software titles. The Emeryville, California-based
company has been responsible for the production of such titles as Atari
Arcade Hits 1 & 2, Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits for various formats,
Shockwave's Midway Classics On-Line Collection, and Klax, Paperboy,
Joust/Defender, Marble Madness, Rampart and 720 for Game Boy Color.
Considering the large number of classic titles that we develop each year,
sponsoring Classic Gaming Expo 2000 is a given," said Mike Mika, Creative
Director for Digital Eclipse. "Not only are many of our products geared
toward the classic game player, but we're big fans of classic games
ourselves. We're delighted to be a contributor to Classic Gaming Expo 2000,
and look forward to catching up with our old friends."
Classic Gaming Expo is the industry's only annual event that is dedicated
to celebrating the history of electronic entertainment, bringing together
industry pioneers, gaming enthusiasts and the media for the ultimate in
learning, game-playing and networking. Classic Gaming Expo is a production
of CGE Services, Corp. (www.cgexpo.com)
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Government Files Final Order to Split Microsoft
The U.S. government on Friday refiled its sweeping plan to break Microsoft
into two, including technical suggestions from the presiding judge that
set the stage for his final ruling in the landmark antitrust case as early
as next week.
The government's filing came in the form of an order which District Judge
Thomas Penfield Jackson could sign and issue, mandating the eventual
breakup of Microsoft and restrictions on conduct starting in 90 days.
It was almost identical to the government plan filed late last month,
except that it added several minor suggestions from Jackson and corrected
several typographical errors.
The government proposal would split Microsoft into one company that
manufactures operating systems and a second that makes everything else --
notably the dominant Microsoft Web browser.
A breakup of Microsoft would be the harshest antitrust penalty leveled
against a U.S. corporation since AT&T agreed to spin off the regional
``baby bells" in 1982.
In the case of Microsoft, the judge would delay the breakup until the
software giant finished appealing its case.
In the meantime, the company would face restrictions on its conduct
starting 90 days after the final judgement is filed -- a change from the 30
days in the earlier draft. Microsoft is expected to ask an appeals court to
suspend those provisions.
Shortly after the government refiling was announced on Friday, Microsoft
said it would delay by three weeks its strategy on the next generation
Windows operating system. The company cited the expected court decree as
its reason for the delay.
Microsoft will file comments on the remedy Wednesday, and a spokesman said
that it is clear the case is about to move to the appeals process.
``We are confident the law and the facts are on our side," said Microsoft
spokesman Mark Murray.
Jackson moved into high gear on the case at a hearing earlier this week,
which Microsoft lawyers had expected to be the first of many routine
hearings on a penalty.
But Jackson surprised all sides by probing and exploring possible ways to
break up the company -- at one point considering a three-way breakup --
before telling the government to get the final order ready for him quickly.
During the hearing, Jackson spent time nit-picking the draft government
proposal, at times sounding like an editor helping put a document into
final form.
In an introduction to its changes, the government also took the opportunity
to blast Microsoft's approach to penalties as "a cynical ploy calculated
to raise diversionary issues."
The government said, ``Microsoft was not forthright" even at as late a
stage as this week's hearing.
For example, the government said that although Microsoft wanted more
hearings before the judge decided on a penalty, it did not get specific
about witnesses until after the judge said there would be none.
Once the judge ruled there would be no more hearings, Microsoft announced
that it would have offered Chairman Bill Gates and President and Chief
Executive Officer Steve Ballmer as witnesses.
Had Gates and Ballmer actually appeared as witnesses, they would have been
subject to cross examination and the government could have obtained more
e-mails and other materials they had written.
Microsoft Files Last Word in Landmark Trial
Microsoft again slammed the government's proposal to break up the company
today, a last-minute move before the final ruling in the celebrated case.
In a court filing this [Wednesday] afternoon, Microsoft repeated its stand
that breaking the company into two pieces is extreme and exceeds the trial
record.
Microsoft further tried to amend the government's proposal to open some of
its Windows software source code to the public. The suggestions are
essential to protecting its intellectual property rights, the company
said.
Today's filing revises an earlier proposal by the software giant and marks
the last word by Microsoft and the Justice Department in the two-year
trial. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is expected to issue a
final ruling Friday, though his decision could be handed down as early as
tomorrow.
In April, Jackson issued his initial ruling largely siding with the
government. The judge determined that Microsoft abused its monopoly in the
operating system market to thwart competition for other products, notably
the Internet browser from Netscape Communications. Jackson's final
judgment will represent his solution for preventing Microsoft from further
abusing its monopoly.
Microsoft is expected to appeal the decision and the case is likely to end
up in the Supreme Court as soon as this year or as long as two years.
"The government's proposed final judgment is defective in numerous
respects, making the document vague and ambiguous," Microsoft lawyers
wrote in today's filing. "The government conceded (in May) that Microsoft
had raised some 'legitimate questions of interpretation' regarding the
proposal to split the company.
Microsoft also contended it was denied due process. "Suffice it to say
that it was Microsoft's position and understanding that the hearing on May
24, 2000, was to be the beginning--not the end--of proceedings on the
issue of relief-Microsoft believed, and still believes, that its position
and understanding were well-founded in both law and fact."
The most important portion of today's filing offers corrections to the
government's proposal for opening the source code of Windows.
During a court hearing a week ago, Microsoft lead attorney John Warden
said the government's proposal, as written, would allow competitors free
access to the source code to Windows and Office. Warden identified 14
ambiguous terms in the government's first draft of the proposal that
troubled the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker.
"You can't hem in the source code once it's disclosed," he told Jackson
last Wednesday.
While Microsoft asserts the government's entire remedy plan is excessive,
its proposed changes are acceptance of an inevitably harsh ruling and the
possibility that some restrictions will be placed on it during the appeals
process, said University of Baltimore Law School professor Bob Lande.
"Some or all of the conduct restrictions could go into effect pending
appeal, so they want to define it," he said. "That's so much the logical
thing to do if you're Microsoft. There's at least some chance an appellate
court might not stem all of it or some of it pending appeal."
Microsoft also offered a cover brief that addressed the government's
perception of an "Offer of Proof" the software maker introduced last week
in court.
In the filing, made immediately after Jackson refused Microsoft's request
for more time to review the government's proposal, the company asked for
up to six months to review affidavits the government used in drafting its
remedy proposal and to depose government experts.
The document, which apparently lays some of the groundwork for an appeal,
states that Microsoft was not given enough time to address the
government's remedy proposal and covers some issues it would have
addressed during an extended remedy proceeding. Today, Microsoft submitted
additional Offers of Proof with its filing.
"Microsoft has essentially given up on this judge, and they're addressing
the appeals court here," said Rich Gray, an intellectual property attorney
with Outside General Counsel Silicon Valley in Menlo Park, Calif.
Microsoft responded to the government's final remedy plan, or revised
proposed final judgment, filed on Friday. The Justice Department and 17 of
19 states would like to break the software giant into two companies--one
controlling operating systems and the other software applications--and
impose additional restrictions on the Windows operations business
practices.
Jackson could issue his final judgment as early as tomorrow, which would
be 60 days from his ruling and the arbitrary period he set up for
concluding the remedy process. But if Jackson plans to substantially
change the government's remedy plan or issue an opinion with it, he could
take longer.
But the government's proposal is ready to sign, if Jackson so chooses, and
to be entered as the final judgment in the case. The judge could also
delete sections he thinks are inappropriate, or accept some or all of
Microsoft's changes.
Based on last week's hearing, Jackson appears to be leaning toward
breaking up the software company. He even expressed interest in a
three-way split. Any changes he would make to the government's proposal
are not likely to free Microsoft from divestiture, Lande said.
Microsoft Judge Extends Case at Government Request
The judge in the Microsoft case granted the government more time in the
trial Thursday, after it unexpectedly said it might incorporate a few of
Microsoft's suggestions into its proposal to split the firm.
District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson gave the government until Monday to
provide its observations about Microsoft Corp.'s latest filing, which had
been assumed to be its last. After that, Microsoft will have until
Wednesday to add its views.
The Microsoft filing criticized the government's proposals for the
break-up and for temporary conduct restrictions, and made extensive
suggestions for changing them.
``Some number of those seem to make some sense to us, and we would like
the opportunity to go through those in detail and to give the court our
view on that," government lawyer David Boies said in a telephone call
with the judge and Microsoft, according to an official court transcript.
Boies said the government would take Microsoft's points, "at least the
points we agree with, and try to advise the court of our agreement and why
we agree to them."
In New York, Justice antitrust chief Joel Klein told reporters that only a
few at most would make the cut.
``We requested the opportunity to analyze those suggestions and there may
be a few that are acceptable to us," Klein said.
Boies said the government also wanted to explain briefly why it disagreed
with many of Microsoft's suggestions. That could help the government on
appeal, instead of permitting the Microsoft critique of its remedy to go
unanswered.
Microsoft lawyer John Warden asked that the company be permitted to
respond.
The judge -- who has made it clear he wants to get the case completed as
soon as possible -- agreed but asked for assurances there be no further
extensions.
``And that will bring it to a close?" Jackson said.
``That will bring it to a close, your honor," replied Boies.
The government proposal would divide Microsoft into one company that
manufactures operating systems and a second that makes everything else --
notably the dominant Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser and its
Office suite of applications.
The breakup would take effect when appeals courts finish with the case. In
the meantime, the government has proposed tough conduct remedies that
would begin 90 days after the judge rules. The company will ask an appeals
court to prevent the conduct remedies from taking effect.
Microsoft lambasted the government proposal as defective, vague and
ambiguous and made dozens of suggestions.
``We view our revisions to the government's plan as putting lipstick on a
pig," said Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray. "It's still irresponsible,
it's still excessive, it's still damaging to the high-tech economy."
Nonetheless, Murray said, the additional filing will give the government
time ``to correct some of the defects in its proposal that we pointed out
in our filing earlier this week."
The judge had ruled April 3 that the company broke U.S. antitrust law by
abusing its monopoly in personal computer operating systems to the
detriment of consumers and other companies.
During a one-day hearing on remedies last week, Jackson explored possible
methods of breaking up the firm, including a three-way split. In the end,
he asked the government to provide him a ``clean copy" of its proposed
remedy. The government filed that document Friday and Microsoft responded
Wednesday.
Test Version of AOL 6.0 Found Online
America Online followers have obtained copies of a test version of an
unreleased upgrade to its client software, AOL 6.0, and are distributing
it over the Internet, the company has confirmed.
The AOL project, formerly code-named K2 for Karakorum, has been dogged by
security lapses. One teenager, who calls himself "Kenton," says he has
been legally obtaining details of the project for months, posting them on
his Web site, and sharing them with other AOL aficionados intent on
tracking every step of the project.
An "alpha" version of AOL 6.0 was available for download at Techpages.com.
The online giant confirmed that the download was an alpha test version of
its upcoming AOL 6.0 software.
"We are investigating how this was obtained, and we'll take the
appropriate action," said AOL spokesman Rich D'Amato.
Kenton insists he did nothing wrong in gaining access to the software. In
an interview today, he said he made the download public as a statement
that the company should beef up security for its internal software tests.
"I'd like to stress that companies like AOL need to take more actions to
prevent security lapses and breaches," he wrote in an interview conducted
over AOL Instant Messenger.
Kenton said that the alpha version can be found in a file library
accessible to any AOL staff member or volunteer. He said that he was a
community leader for AOL, but was let go when the online giant scrapped
the program for underage volunteers in July 1999.
Kenton and the company have jockeyed for months over online postings of
AOL documentation and various "builds" of AOL 6.0. As previously reported,
Kenton in January posted documents describing AOL's upcoming 6.0 software,
spurring the company's attorneys to fire off a three-page letter
requesting he take down the material.
D'Amato said there has been no update on AOL's legal initiative.
Despite past warnings, Kenton today posted the link to the test software,
and included a screen shot of AOL 6.0's welcome screen. Citing legal
concerns, however, he said he is not hosting the most recent download on
his own Web site.
Techpages, which is hosting the download, features technology-related news
and reviews. Techpages is run by Ryan Neeley, also a student, whom Keaton
says is an "Internet contact" of his.
Neeley could not be reached for comment.
Adobe Discusses PageMill's Fate
The company has ceased development of the consumer-level Web-authoring
package but plans to offer an easy path to the forthcoming GoLive 5.0.
Adobe Systems Inc. this week acknowledged that it has pulled the plug on
development of PageMill, its consumer-level Web site-creation tool.
Nevertheless, Adobe said it hopes to make PageMill fans an upgrade offer
they can't refuse.
Responding to an initial report on British Mac site Macworld UK, Raine
Bergstrom, group product manager for Adobe's Internet Products Group, told
MacCentral that Version 3.0 is indeed the end of the road of the consumer
product.
The San Jose, Calif., company will instead focus its development and
marketing efforts on the next version of GoLive, the high-end
Web-authoring application Adobe acquired in January 1999. (Both packages
include Mac and Windows versions.)
"We feel that the GoLive code base is one that's more a 2000, a
millennium, code base, and this is what we've been focusing our
development efforts on," Bergstrom said. "The professional audience is the
one that we've had the most success with. But we're not abandoning our
PageMill users. PageMill 3.0 will still be offered, and we'll continue to
support it."
According to Adobe's Web site, PageMill is no longer available from the
company's online store.
Bergstrom said Adobe hopes that longtime PageMill users are ready to move
up to a higher-level product, specifically the upcoming GoLive 5.0. He
said the company has made a number of interface changes intended to make
GoLive seem more like an Adobe product and render it more appealing to
PageMill users.
Adobe In addition, Bergstrom said, special pricing for GoLive 5 will be
offered to PageMill owners (even those who got the product bundled with an
iMac).
"PageMill users will be treated just as if they had purchased GoLive in
the past," Bergstrom said. "We're treating all our Web authoring customers
the same. For those who got PageMill with an iMac, it's a great deal
because GoLive is a $300 product."
GoLive 5.0 is due in the second quarter of the year for about $300. It
will introduce new features such as an on-board interactive editor for
editing multimedia, "360Code" that enables control over any Web design
source code, beefed-up site planning and management, asset check in and
check out through WebDAV support, and "smart links" that provide
drag-and-drop object sharing with other Adobe products.
A Dynamic Link feature will simplify incorporation of dynamic database and
e-commerce capabilities.
The departure of PageMill, like Claris HomePage before it, seems to leave
a sizeable hole in the market for consumer-focused Web building
applications.
Bergstrom said all users who develop Web pages for business purposes and
"more than once every few months" will eventually use a competitive tool
such as GoLive or Macromedia Dreamweaver.
Bergstrom said he feels consumers who simply wish to produce personal home
pages will create them with the tools provided by other programs such as
Microsoft Word or AppleWorks, and through online building tools such as
Apple Computer Inc.'s HomePage, a component of its iTools services.
"Consumers want to share their memories online, show their pictures to
friends, talk about their hobbies, that sort of thing," Bergstrom said.
"You may see consumer Web building tools offered as a bundle, but I really
don't see many being offered as shrink-wrapped solutions anymore."
Instant Messaging Start-up Connects AIM, ICQ
Start-up instant messaging firm Odigo says it has released new software
that will tear down the barrier between America Online's popular AOL
Instant Messenger (AIM) and ICQ.
The announcement could mark the first instance in which people who use the
two services can communicate with each other. AOL owns both instant
messaging services. Since acquiring ICQ in June 1998, the online giant has
maintained a wall between the two services, but it has always acknowledged
it would let customers communicate with each other if there was enough
demand.
Now it seems New York-based Odigo has taken matters into its own hands.
The company says it has created software that not only connects people who
use its own IM service to AIM and ICQ users, but also lets customers of
AOL's two services talk to each other. AIM and ICQ are the leading IM
services, with 91 million registrants in AIM's Buddy List and 62.4 million
registered ICQ users, according to an April AOL earnings report.
Odigo has 600,000 registered users. Accessing AIM customers is a logical
step as the company tries to boost its service's popularity, according to
Avner Ronen, an Odigo co-founder.
"Our users have also asked for AOL interoperability, and we've done that,"
Ronen said.
AOL declined to comment on Odigo's new software.
With the new software, Odigo acts as a meeting ground for customers.
People who download the software, dubbed Odigo 2.5, can sign in to their
AIM and ICQ accounts simultaneously. The software then loads all of their
buddy lists, and they are able to chat with anyone on those lists.
Odigo users do not need to have AIM or ICQ downloaded on their PCs, but
they do need to have screen names from both services to access their
respective Buddy Lists.
The release is the latest move by New York-based Odigo to communicate with
AOL's instant messaging users through its back door. The company in
January released a version of its instant messaging software that was
interoperable with AOL's ICQ.
Odigo is one of many start-ups attempting to circumvent AOL's grip on
instant messaging. Swedish firm My Solutions recently released software
dubbed MyCQ that allows people to simultaneously log on to multiple
messaging products and communicate on all of them through a single
interface.
Other start-ups are developing ways to integrate the functions of
different messaging products. These include open-source instant messenger
Jabber, Everybuddy and Bantu.
While the idea may catch on, efforts to tap into AIM's list of users
without prior consent historically have sparked swift action from the
online giant.
Last summer, when Microsoft launched its MSN Messenger product, the
software maker allowed its customers to communicate with AIM users by
tapping into its protocols. AOL quickly blocked Microsoft and criticized
the company's unauthorized move as a "hack" into its servers. The two
companies played cat-and-mouse in the ensuing months until Microsoft threw
in the towel last November.
Other Internet companies have tried forcing AOL's hand in opening its
coveted audience to outsiders. Disagreements between AOL and rivals
including CMGI's Tribal Voice and AT&T have spilled into open warfare over
unauthorized attempts by these companies to tap into AIM's database of
usernames.
AOL has said it is willing to work with anyone in the industry to bring
instant messaging to consumers. The company has struck deals with more than
a dozen companies--including IBM, Novell, Lycos, EarthLink, Apple Computer
and Juno Online Services--to integrate AIM technology into their products.
But critics allege AOL has backed away from assisting the development of an
industry standard for universal messaging. They say its licensing deals
only provide for the further deployment of AIM and do not offer a way for
rival services to interoperate.
Many of AOL's instant messaging rivals are getting impatient. Last week,
Yahoo said it would begin exploring ways to join forces with other
companies to develop an instant messaging standard.
AOL rivals have also asked federal regulators to treat the Internet giant's
refusal to open its network to outsiders as a key competitive issue
relating to its pending merger with Time Warner.
CMGI's iCast and Tribal Voice filed a complaint with the Federal
Communications Commission last week, asking officials to "encourage" AOL to
open its network.
Whether Odigo will receive a similar response from AOL remains to be seen.
Odigo's Ronen said the company has tried contacting AOL, but the online
giant has not returned its phone calls.
Nonetheless, Ronen does not see anything wrong with forcing
interoperability on AOL.
"They haven't blocked ICQ, and we are grateful for that, and our users are
grateful for that," Ronen said. "I don't see any reason for them blocking
us."
But Jupiter Communications analyst Seamus McAteer said Odigo's move is
likely to bring action from AOL. As it stands, the AIM and ICQ networks are
its own property, and tapping into their servers could spark AOL to block
access.
"AOL owns the infrastructure; it paid a lot of money to acquire ICQ,"
McAteer said. "If I'm a business manager at AOL and I'm seeing somebody
cannibalizing my relationship with my user base, I'm going to start
raising red flags."
Apple Discusses the Future of QuickTime
With QuickTime being licensed by Kodak for integration into upcoming
digital cameras, expect to see Apple's cross-platform multimedia technology
licensed by other companies. As a result, the underestimated gem could
overcome the misperception that it's "just" a media player.
The licensing agreement allows Kodak to build and sell digital cameras
that allows the user to create video clips in the popular cross-platform
QuickTime. The company will doubtless use QuickTime integration as a
marketing feature. As a result, some end users may be surprised to see how
versatile QT really is. But "power users" won't be shocked.
"Professionals and QuickTime developers will see Kodak's use of QuickTime
as a natural extension of the technology's flexibility," says Frank
Casanova, Apple's director and product marketing manager for QuickTime.
The upcoming Kodak cameras will capture all images in the QuickTime file
format. You can then plug the camera into your Mac or Wintel machine and
download your photos. If you have the QuickTime Media Player on your
system, you can view your work and do some basic photo editing (or much
more, including add special effects, if you've forked out the US $30 to
upgrade to QuickTime Pro). You can also use any of the entry level or
professional graphics packages to fine tune your photos since all these
products can handle the QuickTime format.
Once you have your photos whipped into shape, you can post them on the
Web, e-mail them to friends, use them with Apple's online iTools, save
them on removable media, or do anything you wish with them. Though Kodak
contacted Apple about licensing QuickTime a few months back when they were
contemplating the design of the upcoming products, don't be surprised to
see other companies licensing the Apple technology for digital photography
(and other uses) in the near future.
"We believe this is just the tip of the iceberg because QuickTime is so
flexible and so easy to 'push' in various directions," Casanova says. "Now
that Kodak has taken the first step in licensing QuickTime in this way, I
think you'll find others will follow. And we welcome that business."
Also look for Apple's next version of QuickTime to make inroads into new
areas. At last week's Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple gave
developers a peek at its next version of QuickTime, which will be
available this summer. The new version -- which, despite commonly being
referred to as QuickTime 5.0, has no official moniker or number yet --
includes cross-platform support for MPEG-1 (on which the MP3 format is
based) and MPEG-2 (on which the DVD standard is based).
Casanova says that, since the announcement, Apple has received
"overwhelming support" for those plans. Many universities have MPEG-1
content and soon QuickTime will be able to play such content back and/or
stream it, he says. MPEG-2 offers DVD quality audio and video. MPEG-2 has
been a popular format for videos presented on corporate Intranets, he
says. By offering MPEG-2, the next version of QuickTime can also be used
by the movie industry to handle tasks such as DVD quality streaming of
dailies.
On the other hand, Casanova says when it comes to end users and the
Internet, the Sorenson codec is "way better" than MPEG-2 at any data rate.
So why worry with MPEG support? It's been around longer and there's a lot
of MPEG content around, he says.
"But as people come onto the platform, we find they tend to use Sorenson
codec because of its incredible fidelity," Casonva adds.
Sorenson Video is a QuickTime compatible video codec designed for
developers of applications or Web sites that require compressed video
segments. It offers superior video quality at lower data rates than other
competing compression technologies. The basic edition of the encoder and
the full decoder of the Sorenson video codec are built into QuickTime so
you only need QT to watch Sorenson Video clips.
The next version of QuickTime will also offer support for Macromedia's
Flash 4 format for Web animation (currently, only Flash 3 support is
provided) and will feature QDesign software that has been optimized to
take advantage of the Power Mac G4's Velocity Engine to encode music up to
three times faster. Plus, there's an enhanced QuickTime VR playback
function that provides unlimited spherical views of virtual-reality scenes
dubbed "cubic panoramas." In a QTVR movie, a panoramic image is mapped to
a "virtual" cylinder, creating the illusion that you're inside the scene.
The new QTVR will take it a step further, making possible panoramas in
which the image is mapped to a cube or sphere. This means you'll be able
to look up and down, left or right.
"The evolution of QuickTime VR to play back cubic panoramas takes QTVR to
the next logical level," Casanova says. "There's a passionate group of
developers and engineers in place today. This community is looking forward
to the summer time frame and the QTVR enhancements."
All the upcoming enhancements to QuickTime means an increasing number of
streaming partners and delivery networks for Apple, says Casanova. And the
company will continue to integrate new standards into QuickTime.
RealNetworks has been making lots of noise this week with new partnerships
and new versions of its multimedia technologies. And though the Real
products have more users than QuickTime, Casanova feels Apple's superior
technology is doing pretty darned well.
"Last year over 50 million copies of QuickTime 4 were downloaded," he
says. "It took Real five years to do what we did in one. And it took
Microsoft to do that with its media player. We've grown at an unbelievable
rate, but haven't really sent out a lot of press releases about it. Real
makes products that are very good; we just believe that QuickTime is
better."
He says Apple offers the only industry standards based streaming format in
the world. QuickTime supports multiple operating systems, all for free.
That's right. Unlike Real and Microsoft, whose streaming server licensing
fees aren't cheap, there's no fee unless a company wants to join the
family of QuickTime content providers.
Casanova says that Apple has done "incredibly well" with "some of the
biggest players on the planet" though Real had a three year head start in
promoting its streaming technology. He says that QuickTime 4.x has been
very successful and that the technology continues to attract dozens of new
content providers and partners to the "QuickTime ecosystem." Casanova adds
that you can count on seeing many more QuickTime-enabled sites in the
months ahead.
The director of QuickTime admits that there has appeared to be QuickTime
content quality control issues following the release of version 4.1.2 on
the heels of QT 4.1.1. He says that 4.1.1 had some issues that eluded
testers, but some developers discovered.
"It's unfortunate, but this is an Internet-based technology," Casanova
says. "You can put a new version on the Web where it can be downloaded.
The problem was solved, the hole plugged, and we've moved on. We hate it,
but it happens to everyone."
In "moving on," Apple's QuickTime team will continue to drive "the best
and most interesting technologies at an incredible rate," he says. New
products, new technologies, and new customers are part of QuickTime's
future, Casanova continues.
"Even Microsoft licensed QuickTime for some of its titles because it is
the best solution," he adds.
Apple's QuickTime 4 player for Macintosh and Windows users is available as
a free download from http://www.apple.com/quicktime.
Music Software Firm Debuts Mac Product
MusicMatch Inc., a maker of software for playing and organizing music on a
computer, said on Monday is set to unveil a version for Apple Computer
Corp.'s line of machines, targeting a group of avid multimedia fans it says
have been overlooked in the fast-growing space.
The privately held San Diego company also said it had won investment from
computer chip giant Intel Corp. in a deal that boosts its war chest for
battle against rival music software makers Microsoft Corp. and RealNetworks
Inc.
In addition, MusicMatch jumped into a heated statistical fray in the
digital media industry, holding up its own set of figures that it asserted
showed its own music software leads the industry.
So-called ``jukebox" software has become increasingly popular among
computer users in recent months, letting them record CDs, download music
from the Internet, organize songs into playlists and transfer them to
portable digital music players.
Although sometimes overlooked in recent months as Microsoft and Real duke
it out with new products, MusicMatch helped pioneer the jukebox concept
more than two years ago, beating both of its Seattle-area competitors to
market.
With its new Jukebox 1.0 for the Macintosh, MusicMatch said it will bring
those features to owners of Apple computers such as the popular iMac.
Neither Microsoft nor Real make jukeboxes for the Mac platform.
``A lot of the music industry uses Macs because Apple has a real creative
interface, and we wanted to get some more visibility and get out there,"
Bob Ohlweiler, senior vice president of business development for
MusicMatch, said in an interview.
``In retail, they are focused on multimedia and ease of use, it seemed like
a natural fit for us, and there's virtually no major product with the
robustness of MusicMatch on the music side of Apple," Ohlweiler said.
The software will be available from MusicMatch's Web site at
http://www.musicmatch.com starting on Tuesday.
Like MusicMatch's PC-based jukebox, the Mac version would be free, and
would be the first to offer free CD-quality recording, with a sampling rate
of 320-kilobits per second (kbps), more than three times as good as other
versions, Ohlweiler said.
Most jukeboxes offer 96-kbps recording for free, but users must pay around
$30 for an upgrade to get CD-quality, generally considered to be at
128-kbps and above.
Ohlweiler said the Mac product would give MusicMatch 600,000 to 800,000 new
users in the first year of its release. An estimated 6.5 million PC owners
use MusicMatch's software.
While that is far less than the 34 million registered users Real claims for
its jukebox software, MusicMatch countered that it isn't size that matters,
it's usage.
The company cited figures from Internet usage tracking firm Media Metrix
showing that MusicMatch customers used their software about three times
more than Real Jukebox customers.
``As we start getting into monetizing digital music on the Internet, it's
really about usage. And having an application sitting on the desktop not
being used is not as valuable," Ohlweiler said.
Real has also feuded with Microsoft over other software that plays video
and audio over the Internet. Real generally boasts the most users but
Microsoft points to its own growing market share as evidence it will become
the dominant force.
On the Intel investment, Ohlweiler declined to reveal how much the deal was
worth, saying only, ``We're in an extremely good financial position, but
the additional invest from Intel shows they think MusicMatch is an
important partner."
New Features for Photoshop 6?
Adobe Photoshop 6, the next version of the market-leading image-editing
package, will sport a raft of interface improvements along with new layer
and type functions, according to an 11-page "Detailed Feature Guide"
distributed to beta testers. MacUser UK reported details from the
document, which has not been released to the public.
The new layer functions include Layer Styles that make it easier to apply
layer effects, as well as improved bevel controls and new Overlay and
Stroke effects. New masking functions will let you apply layer masks and
clipping paths to the same layer.
Seeking to address Photoshop's glut of palettes, the upgrade will include
a palette "well." You'll be able to resize the Brush and Swatch palettes,
dock all palettes vertically and hide all palettes by hitting shift-tab.
The Tool palette will include menus containing each tool's icon, name and
shortcut key. A Preset Manager will let you create sharable libraries of
presets for brushes, gradients, layer styles, swatches and other elements.
Photoshop 6 will also sport enhanced text features, letting you edit type
on the canvas and convert text layers into outlines. The program,
reportedly borrowing some of InDesign's type capabilities, will also
provide new controls for justification, character width and height and
other typographic settings.
ImageReady, which will reportedly remain bundled with
Photoshop as a
separate program, will offer tighter integration with GoLive and improved
features for creating rollovers.
MacUser UK also reported that the upgrade implements a PDF-based workflow
system that supports voice annotations. Users will be able to export
Photoshop documents as PDF files with layers and transparency intact.
Juno Files Suit Against NetZero, Qualcomm
Internet services provider Juno Online Services Inc. said Thursday it has
filed suit in Delaware federal court seeking monetary damages and an
injunction against NetZero Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. for alleged patent
infringement.
Qualcomm is the publisher of Eurdora e-mail software currently being
distributed by NetZero.
The patent protects technology that Juno said it developed to enable
advertisements and other content to be displayed to an Internet user while
that user is offline. It expands Juno's revenue opportunities while
minimizing telecommunications costs by allowing the company to display
advertising to Web access subscribers even while they read and write e-mail
offline, rather than only while they are online.
The latest version of Qualcomm's Eudora e-mail software includes a setting
called ``sponsor mode" that lets advertising be displayed while the user
reads and writes e-mail. NetZero, a provider of free Internet access, has
begun distributing the new version of Eudora and encouraging its
subscribers to use it, Juno said in a statement.
Juno said the patent was one of several issued to it in 1998 and claims
NetZero and Qualcomm are infringing the patent by producing and
distributing software that implements Juno's offline architecture.
NetZero and Qualcomm spokeswomen were not immediately available for
comment.
=~=~=~=
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