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- Volume 1, Issue 31 Atari Online News, Etc. October 1, 1999
-
-
- Published and Copyright (c) 1999
- 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:
-
- Carl Forhan
- Gary Duvall
-
-
-
- To subscribe to A-ONE, send a message to: dpj@delphi.com
- and your address will be added to the distribution list.
- To unsubscribe from A-ONE, send the following: Unsubscribe A-ONE
- Please make sure that you include the same address that you used to
- subscribe from.
-
- To download A-ONE, set your browser bookmarks to one of the
- following sites:
-
- http://people.delphi.com/dpj/a-one.htm
- http://www.icwhen.com/aone/
- http://a1mag.atari.org
-
-
- Visit the Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi!
- http://forums.delphi.com/m/main.asp?sigdir=atari
-
-
- =~=~=~=
-
-
- A-ONE #0131 10/01/99
-
- ~ IBM Joins Color Craze! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Lynx News!
- ~ Netscape Upgrade! ~ IE Security Patch! ~ Jaguar Survey!
- ~ Game Boy Color Antz! ~ Sega Goes Disney! ~ PC Death-Ray?!
- ~ US Lawyer Quits MS Case ~ Global Net Tax Ban! ~ No More Web Jams?
-
- -* Users Winning In UK Web War! *-
- -* E-mail Top Reason People Go Online! *-
- -* Western Digital Recalls Defective Drives! *-
-
-
-
- =~=~=~=
-
-
-
- ->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
- """"""""""""""""""""""""""
-
-
-
- I don't have a lot to say this week (YEA!). I guess that it's just been one
- of those long arduous weeks when energy starts to drain along with the
- autumn sun. The days are getting shorter, the nights a little cooler. The
- leaves are just getting 'round to their annual color change. The pool has
- been covered for a few weeks, the few remaining vegetables from the garden
- will be picked this weekend. I only got one decent-sized pumpkin due to the
- drought; it's sitting proudly on the front stairs! I have a lot of musk
- melons, but I don't know whether or not they'll ripen in time. Next year,
- maybe I'll have a better crop.
-
- Otherwise, it's been fairly quiet around here lately. Life goes on. Atari
- users are still the ultimate group of computer users around. I still manage
- to learn something new, Atari-related, every week. Nostalgia...
-
- Until next time...
-
-
-
- Atari Auction Site is For Sale!
-
-
- From: webmaster@atariauction.com
-
-
- Due to time constraints of the current owner, Atari Auction
- is being placed for sale. The current owner simply does
- not have the time available to market and build the site
- into the high-traffic, Atari Enthusiast site it can be.
-
- Atari Online Auction at
- http://www.atariauction.com/
-
- 4 domain names:
-
- atariauction.com,
- atariauction.net,
- atari-auction.com and
- atari-auction.net
-
- are available with site.
-
- Software can be purchased or leased.
-
- For details, send an email to:
- atariauctioninfo@auction-concepts.com
- and you will receive a auto-response
- with additional information about
- the Atari Auction site.
-
-
-
- =~=~=~=
-
-
-
- PEOPLE ARE TALKING
- compiled by Joe Mirando
- jmirando@portone.com
-
-
-
- Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Right out of the chute, let me apologize
- for my intro in last week's column. You see, I had twisted something in
- my back last week and was taking pain killers to alleviate it a bit. I
- guess that the combination of the medication and the pain that was left
- over (have you ever noticed that pain killers seem to affect everything
- except for the pain that you're trying to kill??), that made every
- thought I had a mushy one. The really sad part is that everything I said
- in last week's intro was one hundred percent true.
-
- Just a quick note about the TEAM ATARI SETI@home Search Group...
-
- I've noticed that every time I mention SETI@home and TEAM ATARI here in
- this column the group picks up another user or two. While we are by no
- means the smallest group looking for signals from an extraterrestrial
- intelligence, we are still smaller than I'd like to see. Out of all of
- the people who used to use Atari computers, only 33 people have found
- their way into this group. Sure, Atari hasn't made a computer in quite a
- while, and people do move on to other platforms, but there are still
- lots of us who keep up on events in the Atari world and still remember
- how cool Atari computers really are. And out of all those former users
- who moved on to other platforms and those who still use Atari computers
- AND another platform, only 33 people have joined up.
-
- Okay, I understand that not everyone is as interested in astronomy as I
- am, and not everyone wants to use a screensaver that searches through
- data collected by a radio telescope and look for a possible signal from
- outside our solar system, but there must be more than 33 of us. All
- together, the members of TEAM ATARI have contributed almost four years
- worth of CPU time to the project. And that's only happened in the last
- two months or so with the 33 of us.
-
-
-
- Even if you never end up joining in, stop by the main SETI@home website
- and take a look at what's there. It's really quite interesting. And if
- you DO decide you want to join up, just download the software for your
- system and then go to the TEAM ATARI page and join up. Could there BE
- anything cooler than this? I don't think so. The URL for the main
- SETI@home website is http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu. The URL for the
- TEAM ATARI page is
- http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/cgi?cmd=team_lookup&name=team
- aatari.
-
- I could go into more detail here, but I've already done that several
- times and the folks who run the project do it so much than I. Go take a
- look. Even if you don't participate, it's a heck of an interesting
- project.
-
- Another side note... I just received my update of Windows 98 for that
- spiffy laptop. It's supposed to make 98 completely Y2K compliant. Funny,
- but the 'old' version said that too. Let's see now... The average street
- price for WIN98 is about $175.00. The price I paid for the upgrade to
- The Second Edition was $26.00. To be fair, that included shipping, but
- c'mon now, shouldn't all this stuff have been ironed out before the
- FIRST version was ever released??
-
- All I can say is that my good old TT... and in fact even my first ST
- with TOS 1.00 was Y2K compliant. And that machine hasn't been "new"
- since '86 or so. So much for all of Microsoft's advanced technology. My
- TT has been running constantly for about four months now (I leave it on
- continually to avoid heat-up/cool-down chip loosening) and is still
- rock-solid stable. My brand-spanking new PC laptop needs to be rebooted
- daily or it becomes simply too unstable to use. Interesting, ain't it?
-
-
-
- Now let's get to all the news...
-
- From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
- -=-=-=--=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
-
- Ben Hills asks for help with a floppy drive:
-
- "I recently bought an Atari 520STFM from a Bric-a-brac type shop for ten
- pounds. The computer itself works alright, but the floppy drive
- doesn't. Although the drive makes all the right whirring and clunking
- noises it will not read any disks. On closer inspection I found that one
- of the Read/Write heads had actually broken off! I have managed to get
- another 720k drive from an old Epson XT PC. The original drive from the
- ST was an Epson SMD-380. This replacement drive taken from the PC is an
- Epson SMD-300. Both are 720k drives and both look exactly the same, but
- I cannot persuade the replacement drive to work. The drive spins
- correctly, but nothing else happens. So, this is a bit of a long shot,
- but does anybody know what the correct jumper settings should be on this
- SMD-300 drive, or does anybody use an SMD-300 drive in their ST? Any
- help would be greatly appreciated."
-
- Nicholas Bales tells Ben:
-
- "You need to set the drive number to 0 instead of 1. Check the jumper
- settings on the original ST drive, they should be similar."
-
- Matt DeJonge asks about networking his Falcon:
-
- "Hello, all. It is time to take my Falcon out of the closet! I haven't
- touched it in about three years, but the hunger has arisen. My
- question:
-
- I have two PCs on a 10MB 10-Base-T network running at my house. I'd
- like to get my Falcon030 4MB/65MB/4.04 to participate too. What type of
- hardware do I need? I am quite Atari-literate (coded for 6 years in MWC
- and GFA), but I have lost track of what hardware (if any) is available
- to convert from the AppleTalk type port to a RJ-45. Should I run under
- GEM/AES? I'd like to run NetBSD 1.4.1 or Linux, though, if the hardware
- will be supported...."
-
- Martin-Eric Racine tells Matt:
-
- "Have a look at Saka's homepage for an overview of the possibilities:
-
- http://gallery.uunet.be/saka/
-
- [On the AppleTalk type port to a RJ-45 thing,] Currently, none, because
- none of the manufacturers of LAN-to-Ethernet converters agree to
- releasing any programming infos to allow someone to write Atari drivers.
-
- If you still enjoy any of your Atari software yes, run under GEM/AES.
-
- > I'd like to run NetBSD 1.4.1 or Linux,
-
- As far as NetBSD or Linux, they're entirely possible, though a bit
- slow."
-
- Steve Stupple asks for help with his Mega STE:
-
- "I have a Mega STE... you probably figured that one out..., how do I
- install and internal hard drive? it has an Ethernet card fitted... and
- how do I get the thing to go above the 19,200 baud rate on serial 2?"
-
- Jo Even Skarstein tells Steve:
-
- "We really should have a FAQ on this, but here we go again <smile>
-
- * The drive can't be bigger than 1Gb. * It must have parity disabled. If
- this isn't possible on your drive, you can add a parity-generator
- yourself, see http://atari.nvg.org/parity/parity_gen.html for details.
-
- Serial 2, that's an SCC-port IIRC, you should be able to select speeds
- up to 230k4. You should install HS-Modem though."
-
- Don Shoengarth asks for info about an ADSpeed accelerator:
-
- "I have a 1040 STf with a ICD ADSpeed and have no information on it.
- I've found many pages with people who have this product but have yet to
- find the information on it. Did it come with any utilities? When I use
- Profile2 to view its information its says its running a 8mhz.Why?"
-
- "Dr Clu tells Don:
-
- "Got an AdSpeed eh? A fine machine. You'll need a 16 MHz utility to
- tell the machine to jump to the 16 MHz option, and there is also a
- utility to tell it jump back down to 8 MHz. Great machine, before I got
- the TT, the AdSpeed was my main machine. Now it is the secondary
- machine in the front room. But I used it for internet surfing and
- everything else.
-
- I'm not good at sending files yet using any of my Atari utilities, but I
- believe you can find a copy of this one the Dark Forces BBS. I'll see
- if I can find the number."
-
- Stefan Svensson asks about swapping hard drives in his Falcon:
-
- "I tried to change my 125 MB internal hard disk in my Falcon030 to a 2.1
- GB 2.5" Toshiba IDE disk. However, AHDI doesn't seem to recognize this
- correctly and can only allocate 50 MB! AHDI formats the disk fine, but
- when I try to partition the disk, it just says that "boot information
- corrupted".
-
- Is 2100 MB too much for the internal IDE controller?"
-
- Robert Schaffner tells Stefan:
-
- "You should - NOT - format IDE hard drives.. Creating some partitions is
- enough!
-
- Looks like this drive lost manufacture track on the disc. Try HDDriver,
- but I think this drive is dead."
-
- You can use a 10Gig device, the -partition size- is the point. TOS 4.x
- -> 1Gig per partition!"
-
- Claes Holmerup adds:
-
- "It's not too much for the controller - but it's too much for AHDI,
- which only supports up to 1GB IDE-disks. I'd recommend HDDriver
- instead."
-
- The author of HD Driver, Dr. Uwe Seimet, tells Stefan:
-
- "IDE is such a simple interface that there is no controller at all, just
- a few logic chips. Anyway, there is no limit for the capacity of drives
- you can connect to the Falcon's IDE or SCSI port. Note, however, that
- old drivers might not work. Try the demo version of HDDRIVER:
-
- http://home.nikocity.de/nogfradelt/atari_english.html
-
- HDDRIVER supports IDE and SCSI drives of any size."
-
- Frank Thomsen asks for information about reading Atari disks on a PC:
-
- "I used to have an Atari 1040 ST E for making MIDI music. Later I got a
- PC and sold the good old and trusty Atari. Unfortunately I forgot to
- transfer my old MIDI-files on to the PC and now I have this load of old
- Atari disks that my PC refuses to read. Is it possible to do something
- about that? It would sure make me very happy."
-
- Ernest Schreurs tells Frank:
-
- "I think if you run GEMULATOR, the Atari ST emulator, it will let you
- read Atari disks in your PC. You can then simply copy them over to a
- partition of your PC."
-
- Nicholas Bales adds:
-
- "Unfortunately, PCs often cannot read the format of older STs, although
- the other way round works fine.
-
- You have the following options:
-
- - Send the disks to someone who own an Atari and have them copy the
- files over to DOS disks. This is a 10 minute job that can be done on any
- Atari with a 720K drive. It's a shame you didn't do it before selling
- your ST.
-
- - Try messing with an emulator such as WinSTon or PaCifiST and a disk
- image converter such as MakeDisk. You'll want to convert your disks to
- .ST files, and use the emulator to copy the files contained in the .ST
- disk images onto your DOS hard drive."
-
- Alan Nelson asks for info about attaching files to email:
-
- "I am having a problem sending someone an attached file - his emailer
- can't decode UUE or MIME (he's using a PC), while the editor I am using
- (Everest) with my emailer (Newsie 0.94) can't load the file I'm trying
- to send if I don't encode it first. Everest reports that the lines are
- too long and truncates them, thus presumably corrupting the file.
-
- Has anyone got any suggestions how I can get this poor chap's file to
- him before I resort to using snailmail?!
-
- For reference, I'm using an STFM with STiNG, CAB 2.7 and, of course,
- Newsie."
-
- Kenneth Medin tells Alan:
-
- "If the file is anything but a plain ASCII textfile you _must_ use MIME
- or UUE, preferably the former. Try to mail the file to yourself to
- check if Newsie can unpack it.
-
- If it is a ASCII file with very long lines use another editor that can
- handle them (I'm using QED) and reformat the text."
-
- Hard drive questions seem to be the order of the day this time around.
- Ritchie Swann asks:
-
- "If the file is anything but a plain ASCII textfile you _must_ use MIME
- or UUE, preferably the former. Try to mail the file to yourself to check
- if Newsie can unpack it.
-
- If it is an ASCII file with very long lines use another editor that can
- handle them (I'm using QED) and reformat the text."
-
- Uwe Seimet tells Ritchie:
-
- "AHDI might be the problem. It's old and doesn't support all the SCSI
- hardware you can connect to the Atari. Current driver software should
- better fit your needs, e. g. HDDRIVER:
- http://home.nikocity.de/nogfradelt/atari_english.html"
-
- Ekkehard Flessa adds:
-
- "...You could give CBHD a try, it's for free an can handle large
- partitions. AHDI is completely outdated.
-
- You may obtain CBHD (Archive name: CBHD502.TOS) from:
- http://home.t-online.de/home/Steffen.Engel/CBHD.htm"
-
-
- Well folks, that's it for this week. I'm off to find that bottle of pain
- killers and to try to relax a bit. If you've ever suffered from back
- pain (and who hasn't?) you'll understand.
-
- Tune in again next week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen
- to what they are saying when...
-
- PEOPLE ARE TALKING
-
-
-
- =~=~=~=
-
-
-
- ->In This Week's Gaming Section - Antz! For Game Boy Color!
- """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" G-Police! Jaguar Game Poll!
- New Lynx Games! 'South Park'!
- 'WipeOut'! 'Xena' Ships!
- And much more!
-
-
-
- =~=~=~=
-
-
-
- ->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
- """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-
-
-
- The Return of the Game That Kick-Started an Era!
-
- Psygnosis Releases Wipeout 3, the Ultimate, High-Speed, Anti-Gravity Racer
-
-
- At last, the wait is over! Psygnosis' eagerly anticipated high-speed,
- antigravity racer, Wipeout 3, zooms onto store shelves today, promising the most
- intense, adrenaline-pumping racing experience ever. Since the release of
- Wipeout XL in 1996, gamers have been crying out for more of the extreme,
- addictive gameplay that only the Wipeout series could offer. Now, the
- long-awaited Wipeout 3 is ready to hit PlayStation game consoles
- everywhere, and fans of the series will not be disappointed.
-
- Since its unveiling earlier this year, Wipeout 3 has received critical
- acclaim from the press worldwide. Gaming editors everywhere are marveling
- at the strides Wipeout 3 has made in both technology and in gameplay. PSM
- Magazine instantly declared ``this game is gonna be a monster hit," and
- added ``this looks to be the PlayStation's killer app for the upcoming
- Christmas season." UGO.com called Wipeout 3 ``the best incarnation of the
- Wipeout series yet, and at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3),
- Wipeout 3 was voted the Best Racing Game of the show by IGN.com, over a
- number of high-caliber titles including Sony Computer Entertainment
- America's Gran Turismo 2.
-
- Wipeout 3 truly pushes the PlayStation game console to its limits,
- utilizing full high-resolution mode throughout the game, even in
- multi-player mode. The game also offers all-new craft designs, with three
- new teams in addition to the five available in Wipeout XL, and seven new
- weapons with five of the best retained from its predecessor. Wipeout 3
- features eight new, highly detailed, polished tracks set in various areas
- of a futuristic city. As with the two previous Wipeout games, the artistic
- identity of Wipeout 3 was the brainchild of cult UK graphic design agency,
- The Designers Republic, who created the landscape for each of the game's
- eight circuits, as well as logos and identities for each of the game's
- eight racing teams.
-
- Wipeout 3 features an improved progression system to ensure that the game
- is accessible enough in its early levels to make newcomers feel right at
- home. As players progress through the game, the intensity increases, with
- death-defying spiral tracks and terrifying 90 degree twists and turns,
- providing the most extreme, antigravity racing experience that hard-core
- fans could ever wish for.
-
- Continuing the heritage of its predecessors, Wipeout 3 will feature a
- cutting edge soundtrack compiled by renowned British DJ, Sasha, who, as
- Musical Director, produced five exclusive music tracks for the game, and
- also selected and worked with several international guest acts, including
- The Chemical Brother and Orbital, for the project.
-
-
-
- Electronic Arts Ships Xena: Warrior Princess for the Playstation
-
-
- Electronic Arts announces it will ship Xena: Warrior Princess for the
- PlayStation on Oct. 5, 1999, immediately following the start of the
- television show's new season.
-
- Xena: Warrior Princess will provide game enthusiasts their first
- opportunity to take on the role of Xena, the ultimate mythological heroine
- in a video game and experience epic adventures and non-stop action.
-
- Xena: Warrior Princess will offer many unique gameplay features. They
- include seven enormous worlds -- each based on scenes found in the TV show
- -- that encompass more than 20 unique levels.
-
- Xena will rely on her signature moves (back flips, bicycle kicks and
- 360-degree splits), weapons (sword, staff and Chakram) and special power
- ups (a fire sword called Promethean Blade and a lighting bolt called Hand
- of Zeus) to advance through each level.
-
- The game challenges Xena to progress through multiple levels and battle
- such enemies as Cyclops, Dryad, Golem and Medusa to save her friend
- Gabrielle and defeat the King Valarian and Narsus, the evil Amazon Queen,
- who plot to take over the world.
-
- ``Xena is a natural for a video game, given her dynamic and strong heroine
- character appeal," says Frank Gibeau, vice president of marketing for
- Electronic Arts. ``All the factors that make Xena such a popular television
- icon lend themselves perfectly to creating a heroic female character that
- gamers can appreciate and relate to."
-
- Developed by Universal Interactive Studios, the producers of Crash,
- Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon, Xena: Warrior Princess incorporates many
- recognizable elements from the syndicated action television series. The
- series is produced by executive producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi of
- Renaissance Pictures and is distributed by Studios USA Domestic Television.
-
- Additionally, the game will introduce several newly created characters.
- Among them are Kalabrax, a powerful sorceress bent on revenge with the
- gods, and the Amazon Bird Women.
-
- Additionally, Universal Interactive Studios completed more than 100
- character animations for the game to help smoothly deliver and execute all
- of Xena's action-packed moves. The development team also texture-mapped the
- faces of stars Lucy Lawless (Xena) and Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle).
-
- Xena: Warrior Princess for the PlayStation is a single-player, third-person
- perspective title and supports dual shock analog control to deliver force
- feedback. The game carries a ``T" (Teen) ESRB rating and will have an MSRP
- of U.S. $39.99. More information on the game can be obtained via the
- product Web site at http://www.xenagame.com.
-
-
-
- Get Ready To Blow-Up Rocks... Asteroids for the
- Game Boy Color Blasts onto Retail Shelves
-
-
- Rock blasting action is back! Gamers can experience the biggest arcade hit
- in gaming history anywhere and anytime when Activision, Inc. releases its
- ultra addictive edition of Asteroids for the Nintendo Game Boy Color and
- Game Boy systems. Based on Activision's successful 1998 PC and PlayStation
- game console title, Asteroids will be available at more than 15,000 retail
- outlets throughout the United States and Canada and will carry a suggested
- retail price of $29.95.
-
- Set deep within hyperspace, the original Asteroids challenged gamers to
- shoot a path to the stars as they escape plummeting asteroids careening
- their way and take aim against invading flying saucers. Developed by Syrox
- Developments Ltd., the developers behind the 1998 PC and PlayStation game
- console remakes, Asteroids for the Game Boy will recapture the non-stop
- darting and blasting of the original, but will take the classic game to an
- all-new level by challenging players to brave a multitude of distinct space
- worlds or ``Zones," each comprised of levels of advancing difficulty.
- Zones vary from an update of the classic, and a Black Hole world with
- deadly gravitational pull to a world where hostile suns shoot arching
- flames. A hidden ship and a new difficulty level have been created
- specifically for the Game Boy. Additionally, the game features eye-popping
- pre-rendered 3-D graphics, increasingly difficult space hazards, Game Boy
- printer support and multiple modes of gameplay, including multi-player
- games via Game Link cable.
-
-
-
- Acclaim Brings Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny To
- The PlayStation-R Game Console For The First Time
-
-
- Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. Thursday announced that South Park, its
- top-selling action game based on the hit Comedy Central program, has
- shipped to stores.
-
- ``We're excited that over 20 million PlayStation owners can now play the
- uproarious video game based on the popular `South Park' animated series,"
- said Tom Bass, marketing manager at Acclaim Entertainment. ``With the
- incredible success of both the cable program and the recent hit movie,
- we're looking forward to giving fans a true, interactive gaming experience
- - Mr. Hankey style!"
-
- South Park is a hilarious, first-person, action-packed game that unfolds in
- five episode-based, single-player adventures. Gamers can choose to play as
- Cartman, Stan, Kyle or Kenny in single player mode, or select among a host
- of 20 South Park characters when engaged in multiplayer mode. The story
- begins when a mysterious comet, visible every 666 years, is discovered to
- be heading right for the quiet little town of South Park and causing all
- sorts of mayhem. It is up to the boys and Chef to save the day and bring
- peace to South Park using a host of gadgets including a cow launcher,
- sniper chicken, snowballs, and Terrance and Phillip dolls. Along the way,
- players encounter all of South Park's classic characters - Mr. Garrison and
- Mr. Hat, Mephesto and more. South Park also features custom voices recorded
- specifically for the game by show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, as
- well as Isaac Hayes as Chef.
-
-
-
- Electronic Arts Ships NASCAR 2000 for the PlayStation
-
-
- Electronic Arts announced that it has shipped NASCAR 2000 for the
- PlayStation game console.
-
- NASCAR 2000 is the only NASCAR-licensed game for the PlayStation this fall
- and offers the most complete and realistic racing experience for the NASCAR
- fan. The game includes 33 active NASCAR drivers and cars, 18 official
- NASCAR tracks and exclusive TV-style commentary from broadcasters Bob
- Jenkins and Benny Parsons. Five new fantasy road courses allow the player
- to drive on twisting, turning road courses with their favorite NASCAR
- drivers, combining the appeal of traditional driving games with the power
- and competition of NASCAR.
-
- ``I really enjoy racing the new fantasy road courses," said NASCAR legend
- Dale Earnhardt. ``I've raced all the ovals such as Atlanta, Darlington,
- Lowe's Motor Speedway and Bristol many times. I pretty much know every
- inch of those tracks, but these new fantasy tracks are a kick. They keep
- you on your toes."
-
- New in NASCAR 2000 are beautifully rendered, motion-captured interactive
- pit stops. EA SPORTS worked with real NASCAR officials to ensure the
- authenticity of the moves performed during the pit stop. In real NASCAR
- racing the skill of the pit crew is often as important as the skill of the
- driver to the outcome of the race. NASCAR 2000 brings this element of a
- race to life by challenging the user to hit certain buttons in a limited
- amount of time as the car is serviced in the pits. How well this exercise
- is performed determines the length of the pit stop.
-
- ``Races are won and lost in the pits every weekend during the season,"
- said Richard Childress, owner of the No. 3 GM Goodwrench Service Plus car.
- ``Having the interactive pit stops in NASCAR 2000 makes a lot of sense
- because any real NASCAR fan can tell you that's one of the most exciting
- parts of the race. Rather than just sitting back and watching the pit
- stops, the user now plays a big part in how quickly they can get their
- driver back in the race."
-
- A new ``create-a-driver" feature allows users to input their own name and
- race special cars with high-resolution custom paint jobs. Adjustable
- features on the cars include wedge, downforce, gear ratio, individual tire
- pressure, fuel load, wheel lock, individual shock adjustments, and car
- weight distribution.
-
- NASCAR 2000 features a new physics model for the cars, new drivers and new
- tracks. In addition to the five new fantasy road courses, Homestead-Miami
- Speedway has been added to compliment the existing oval, superspeedway and
- road courses. Those tracks include Atlanta, California, Lowe's Motor
- Speedway, Bristol, Darlington, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Martinsville,
- Michigan, North Carolina, Phoenix, Pocono, Richmond, Sears Point,
- Talledega, Texas, and Watkins Glen«.
-
- Dynamic lighting and shading both during day and night races bring a new
- realism to the game. During day races reflections shift over time to show
- the position of the sun. Custom seasons allow the race fan to stack a
- season with shorts tracks, superspeedways or road courses to create a dream
- season. Intense racing action is shown with sparks, car damage and wall
- markings from collisions.
-
- Depending on time available and personal preferences, it is possible to
- race from three percent to 100 percent of a 500-mile race. A short pit
- option can be utilized so that strategic pit stops are needed more
- frequently in short races. Communication between crew chief, spotter and
- driver is crucial to win in NASCAR 2000.
-
- ``We are always listening to our fans to determine what they like in the
- game, and what they want in future versions of the game," said Michael
- Pole, vice president and executive in charge of production at Electronic
- Arts. ``One of the things we heard loud and clear last year was people love
- to race on their favorite oval tracks, but they also wanted the variety
- that a road course offers. So we added five top-notch fantasy road courses.
- They also told us that pit stops were one of their favorite parts of the
- race, so we went out and worked with NASCAR to make sure we nailed our new
- pit stop option. Fans wanted to not only be able to race as their favorite
- drivers, but they wanted to put themselves right into the game, so we added
- create-a-driver. These are just a few examples of how we incorporate
- feedback from the people who buy the games into our future products."
-
- Continuing the tradition of licensing music that is popular with NASCAR
- fans, NASCAR 2000 includes three songs from Blues Traveler. The Blues
- Traveler songs and other original music in the game, along with color
- commentary from Parsons and Jenkins, can be turned on or off depending on
- user preference.
-
- NASCAR 2000 includes 33 active NASCAR drivers and cars updated for the
- current season including Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
- Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin, Terry Labonte, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Tony
- Stewart, Jeremy Mayfield, Rusty Wallace, John Andretti, Kyle Petty, Adam
- Petty, Mike Skinner, Ernie Irvan, Kenny Irwin Jr., Kenny Wallace, Johnny
- Benson, Ken Schrader, Ricky Rudd, Darrell Waltrip, Michael Waltrip, Bill
- Elliott, Sterling Marlin, Bobby Hamilton, Ward Burton, Steve Park, Geoffrey
- Bodine, Wally Dallenbach, Chad Little, Kevin Lepage and Joe Nemechek.
- Historical racing buffs can attempt to grab the checkered flag racing as
- past legends such as ``The King" Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Alan
- Kulwicki, Davey and Bobby Allison, David Pearson and Benny Parsons.
-
- ``NASCAR prides itself on being the most fan friendly sports league in the
- world," said George Pyne, NASCAR vice president of marketing. ``We are
- always looking for ways to include the NASCAR fan in the fun and excitement
- of this great sport. NASCAR 2000 is just another example of this philosophy
- in action. EA SPORTS has captured the excitement of NASCAR and made it
- accessible to everyone with a PlayStation."
-
-
-
- 3DO Releases Army Men Sarge's Heroes for the Nintendo 64
-
-
- The 3DO Company Tuesday announced the release of Army Men -- Sarge's
- Heroes, the fourth game in the highly successful Army Men brand, and the
- first to be created for the Nintendo 64. With the main character ``Sarge,"
- a one-man wrecking ball leading the toy soldier offensive, the Army Men --
- Sarge's Heroes game sets a new standard in character animation in the
- action shooter category.
-
- A multi-million dollar marketing campaign featuring a 10-week television
- advertising campaign and a seven-month print campaign in both consumer and
- gaming magazines back up the biggest game launch in the Company's history.
- 3DO has partnered with major retailers to create a strong in-store
- presence, including special sku and premium item programs.
-
- ``The launch of this game demonstrates how the Army Men brand has caught
- fire," said Trip Hawkins, chairman and CEO of The 3DO Company. ``Sarge is
- one of the most dynamic characters ever created for a video game and he
- resonates with gamers and mass consumers alike. The game appeals to adults
- who remember playing with the plastic toys and to kids who just like cool
- game play. Our marketing campaign reflects the wide audience for the
- Sarge's Heroes game."
-
- The Army Men -- Sarge's Heroes game introduces a cast of nine different
- characters with loads of personality in a rollicking adventure as Sarge
- sets out to rescue the elite Bravo Company Commandos, foil the Tan Army in
- its quest for diabolical weapons, and even take time out for a little
- romance. A wide variety of hand-drawn animations bring the characters to
- life, and Plastosheen, a lighting technique especially developed for this
- game, gives the toy soldiers a realistic plastic look.
-
- In his quest for world domination, the evil General Plastro sends his Tan
- soldiers through mysterious portals to bring back horrible weapons of mass
- destruction like the giant Magnifying Glass. Players lead Sarge though 14
- missions of up to five separate objectives each. Seven levels in the
- ``Plastic World" feature everything from treacherous mountain terrain to
- arctic wastelands, forests, towns, and heavily defended enemy army bases.
- In ``Our World" the player will experience warfare like never before as
- Sarge fights through seven levels set in a suburban home: the backyard
- garden -- complete with giant insects and flowers -- the living room, the
- kitchen, and the bathroom. Seven multiplayer missions for two, three or
- four players extend the fun. Family Mode allows players of all skill levels
- to enjoy the game together.
-
- As Sarge rescues members of his squad, five commandos based on the classic
- Army Men molded poses, he gains the use of their weapons including a
- Bazooka, a Mortar and a Flame Thrower. A cadre of more weapons with
- spectacular effects round out the arsenal. Players may also experience
- sharper weapons effects and environments with the use of the Expansion
- Pak for high-resolution mode. The Rumble Pak puts the player into the
- middle of the action.
-
- Other upcoming games from the Company include BattleTanx: Global Assault
- for the Nintendo 64, Army Men -- Sarge's Heroes, Army Men -- Air Attack,
- Crusaders of Might and Magic, and Vegas Games 2000 for the PlayStation
- game console, and Army Men -- Toys in Space, Crusaders of Might and Magic,
- Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade expansion pack, and
- Family Game Pack Royale for PC.
-
-
-
- Infogrames North America Marches Antz for Game Boy Color Into Stores
-
-
- Antz go marching two by two...hurrah, hurrah...Antz go marching on to Game
- Boy Color...hurrah, hurrah!
-
- Infogrames North America in conjunction with DreamWorks, today announced
- that Antz for Game Boy Color began shipping this week. Based on the hit
- animated film, the game stars the famous ant Z, an insecure little bug who
- has high hopes of finding Insectopia, a mystical world where food is
- plentiful and all insects live in peace.
-
- ``Antz invites kids to experience the miniature world of last year's hit
- movie," said Bonnie Scott, product manager for Infogrames North America's
- I-Heroes Label. ``We are very excited to be working with Dreamworks.
- Through this title kids can explore life through a bug's eyes and get
- involved in a game that has all the charm and humor of the movie."
-
- As Z, the player journeys through termite colonies and anthills on his
- heroic quest to win over Princess Bala's heart. The game spans 19 levels of
- wild adventures including such Ant-oriented hazards as acidic termites,
- larger-than-life water droplets, gum-soled shoes and, the scariest of them
- all, the sun-filled magnifying glass.
-
- CLCE and Light and Shadow Production developed the title that is also
- compatible with the original black and white Game Boy. The game's estimated
- retail price is $29.99 and can be found at all major retail outlets.
-
-
-
- Psygnosis Restores Order on the Streets and in the
- Skies with the Release of G-Police -- Weapons of
- Justice, the ultimate, free-roaming 3D Action-shooter
-
-
- Psygnosis Tuesday released its 3D action shooter, G-Police -- Weapons of
- Justice. The sequel to 1997's critically acclaimed hit G-Police,
- Psygnosis' astounding helicopter game is back with a host of new features
- to thrill hard-core fans of the series and newcomers alike. In addition to
- the helicopters of the first game, G-Police -- Weapons of Justice includes
- three new player vehicles, each one packed to the max with a variety of
- deadly weapons. G-Police -- Weapons of Justice is now available in stores
- everywhere, exclusively for the PlayStation game console.
-
- G-Police -- Weapons of Justice picks up ten days after the first game left
- off. The war between the G-Police and their enemy, Nanosoft, ended with the
- destruction of the Nanosoft cruiser, but G-Police resources are depleted,
- civil unrest is growing, and the organized crime syndicates are gaining
- power. Fortunately, help is on its way in the form of the Marines, but
- things start to go wrong when it appears that their Colonel has a hidden
- agenda.
-
- The G-Police recruit will face 30 new missions this time around, with 25
- weapon-types available to them, and five air and land vehicles at their
- disposal. In addition to the Havoc and Venom, helicopters, players can race
- around the streets of Callisto, digging out trouble in the Rhino, an
- armored car. There is also the Raptor, a giant mech-type vehicle which
- allows players to leap from building to building, or glide down to earth to
- traverse the city with ease.
-
- Finally, there is the Corsair spaceship, which allows players to be
- transported to battles taking place far beyond the Callisto environment.
- All the space missions take full advantage of the PlayStation game
- console's high-resolution mode.
-
- When creating Weapons of Justice, Psygnosis was determined to better its
- predecessor in every way possible and, after listening to feedback from
- fans, the team developed a clear idea of what elements could benefit from
- some improvement. The first was the difficulty of the game. The development
- team looked at the complexity of the flight model and improved the controls
- so that Weapons of Justice is more accessible to newcomers. The game will
- still cater to hard-core gamers, however, with heavy doses of dog-fighting
- and plenty of opportunity to develop their flying expertise and perform
- amazing maneuvers.
-
- The second hurdle of the original game was in the draw-distance. Because
- the game's complex AI pushed the PlayStation's CPU to its limits, the
- graphics engine took a slight hit, causing a shorter draw-distance than
- expected. In G-Police -- Weapons of Justice, this obstacle has been
- overcome with the addition of an ``echo-locator system," a device attached
- to player's vehicle, allowing them to see further into the distance, and
- making navigation much smoother and easier. Improving on the winning
- formula in every way possible, G-Police -- Weapons of Justice will entice
- newcomers to enter into its future-noir world, while ensuring that
- hard-core fans come back for more of the same fast and furious action
- offered in the first game.
-
- Designed specifically for the PlayStation game console, G-Police -- Weapons
- of Justice supports the DUAL SHOCK analog controller, for a truly
- interactive flying experience. G-Police Weapons of Justice was developed
- by the Psygnosis Stroud Studio.
-
-
-
- Infogrames North America Ships Demolition Racer for the PlayStation
-
-
- Infogrames announced Tuesday that its demolition derby-style racing game,
- Demolition Racer, will begin shipping this week for the Sony PlayStation
- game console.
-
- The game will be available for the personal computer later this fall.
-
- Demolition Racer lets players participate in action-packed races with 16
- cars competing against each other on one of 10 different tracks. Set in
- unique environments, Demolition Racer's tracks include an aircraft carrier,
- a chemical plant, and a parking garage, with most of the tracks offering
- players the chance to take alternate pathways or shortcuts.
-
- Developed by the Pitbull Syndicate, the Demolition Racer team includes some
- of the core members who created the highly successful Destruction Derby 1
- and 2 games.
-
- ``We think that Demolition Racer is the kind of game that players have been
- deprived of for a long time," said Steve Allison, director of marketing
- for sports and racing at Infogrames North America. ``It's a racing game
- with a twist. Not only can you inflict damage to cars, you must do so to
- win." Players who cause massive damage to other vehicles, while falling
- behind in the race, will not place well in the final statistics, due to
- Demolition Racer's advanced scoring system. Damage points and one's
- placement in the race are combined with a multiplier to determine the
- winner of each race.
-
- Players can choose from eight different car types and can compete in
- several types of demolition derby events, including demolition racing, bowl
- matches, stock car racing, last man standing, and suicide racing.
-
- Following a collision, vehicles catch fire, billow smoke and visibly show
- damage, such as wobbly tires, while hoods and other car parts fly off.
- Gameplay includes huge jumps that send cars into 360-degree mid-air
- corkscrews, with the pinnacle of destruction being a one-hit takeout move
- that occurs when a car catches air and lands on top of another car.
-
- In an effort to keep up the fast-paced action in Demolition Racer, players
- can earn health points for their car by picking up strategically placed
- repair power-ups, as well as picking up boxes with huge bonus points.
- Players will have to watch out for the black boxes marked with a skull and
- cross bones -- as these do major damage to the player's own car. An
- immediate on-screen points system shows players how many points they
- receive with each hit or power-up, as well as how much health their car has
- left.
-
- Demolition Racer's licensed soundtrack includes songs from Road Runner
- Records' alternative band, Fear Factory; Moonshine Music's break beat trio,
- Cirrus; British techno-dance music trio, Empirion; along with tracks from
- industry veteran, Tommy Tallarico, and a remix from Holland's mix-master,
- Junkie XL.
-
- The game's new engine delivers incredible speed and collisions at 30 frames
- per second and offers intense mulitplayer action via horizontal or vertical
- split screen viewing, and supports the PlayStation analog and Dual Shocka
- controllers.
-
- The estimated retail price for Demolition Racer is $44.99. For more
- information, visit the Demolition Racer web site at www.demolitionracer.com
-
-
-
- New Konami Titles for PlayStation Take Gamers Back to Ancient Times
-
- Suikoden II and Soul of the Samurai Offer Feudalistic Japanese Adventure
-
-
- Konami of America, Inc. announced Tuesday the release of Suikoden II, the
- sequel to the immensely popular Suikoden. Like the original, Suikoden II is
- an action packed role-playing adventure that delivers extensive spell
- attack combinations, detailed tactical map battles and introduces more than
- 108 new characters. Suikoden II offers both beginners and Suikoden saga
- enthusiasts a chance to immerse themselves into this romantic story of
- honor and betrayal.
-
- Suikoden II centers around a magical friendship between two boys who
- survive a vicious war against the Scarlet Moon Empire and long to return to
- their beloved homeland, Kyaro. On their way back home the boys' platoon is
- brutally ambushed -- a trap set by their own commander to derail the peace
- process. Framed for the attack as part of a cover-up, the two are marked as
- traitors and are plunged into another war that only one can survive. The
- two now face the ultimate test of friendship, love and loyalty.
-
- This adult-themed role playing game (RPG) allows players to utilize any of
- the l08 characters to create the most tactical fighting force of infantry,
- archers and spellcasters. Each type of character has distinguishing
- strengths and weaknesses, and gamers must determine the best strategy for
- each encounter. For example, infantry are strong against hand-to-hand
- attacks, but are weak against archery and magic attacks. Players can modify
- the formation of characters in combat and change party members throughout
- the story to create the most effective positioning and attack plans against
- each specific target.
-
- A special new feature to Suikoden II allows gamers to save and utilize data
- from the previous version of the story to augment their military strategy,
- and unlock hidden story lines from the original saga. Characters may also
- fight in combination with one another's designated strengths. Specific
- character combinations within a party can accomplish special attack
- maneuvers. Gamers may also command their unit to flee from an opponent
- without fighting, or bribe an enemy with money. However, there is no
- guarantee of escape and if the bribe amount is too low, the enemy unit may
- not let the party get away.
-
- Gamers can choose various attack items, including flaming arrows, fire
- walls and winds-of-sleep to accomplish their campaigns. Players are also
- able to increase weapon levels at Blacksmith Shops and earn money to buy
- more advanced military items by bartering trade goods at Trading Posts. The
- extensive spell ``rune" list includes more than 48 types of powerful spell
- combinations accessible at various levels of the game.
-
- Suikoden II is now available at retail outlets nationwide. The game is
- rated ``T - Teen" by the ESRB and will be priced $39.99 SRP.
-
- Another exciting title available this month from Konami is Soul of the
- Samurai. Soul of the Samurai begins in the domain of Matsuna in the Tenmei
- era (1781) where legend tells of mysterious practices of resurrection
- taking place. The time is plagued with famine and corruption, as powerful
- feudal lords seek to take over the Bakufu Shogunate. A ninja, Lin, travels
- to Matsuna to investigate her brother's mysterious disappearance.
- Meanwhile, Hiba Kotaro, a gifted samurai, is traveling back to Matsuna to
- visit his parent's gravesite. Kotaro finds his parent's gravesite
- desecrated and senses an evil presence within the entire village. Together,
- Lin and Kotaro must discover who is behind the mysterious evil forces that
- threaten the Shogunate and free all of Japan from its treachery.
-
- Soul of the Samurai's intricate story line, high-resolution graphics and
- authentic Japanese soundtrack will transport gamers into the romanticism of
- feudal Japan. Gamers are able to choose either Hiba Kotaro or Lin to begin
- their adventure.
-
- The samurai, Kotaro, is a gifted swordsman and gamers can utilize more than
- 40 of his sword techniques based on real-life Samurai martial arts. By
- building up mental and experience points acquired after defeating a series
- of enemies, both Kotaro and Lin learn exciting special attack moves. Kotaro
- can utilize his Hawk Dance, Pigeon Sonic or Spinning Eagle to wreak havoc
- on his enemies.
-
- Lin uses her ninja quickness and kicking techniques to defeat her enemies,
- and throws various deadly objects at her enemies. Her special attacks
- include sword techniques Cherry Blossoms and Amaryllis, and throwing
- attacks Night Queen and Crimson Peacock.
-
- The simple controls allow novice players to grasp basic fighting
- techniques, while more advanced gamers unfold special moves through the
- D-pad and button combinations.
-
- But the tale is not over once gamers complete either Kotaro or Lin alone.
- Throughout the story Kotaro and Lin intersect at various points. Gamers
- will have to complete both Kotaro and Lin to discover the full mystery
- behind the evil forces that threaten the Shoguante.
-
- Soul of the Samurai is now available at retail outlets nationwide.
- Available with a ``M - Mature" rating by the ESRB, the title will be
- priced $39.99 SRP.
-
-
-
- Sega Dreamcast Games and Technology Showcased
- At Disney Innoventions Exhibit
-
-
- Sega of America today announced a two year commitment to be an exhibitor at
- Innoventions at Epcot, an interactive showcase featuring the future of
- technology and consumer entertainment products.
-
- Sega Dreamcast at Innoventions, which opens on Thursday, September 30,
- will host over 8 million domestic and international visitors each year to
- experience the latest in videogame technology and witness the future of
- videogame entertainment as it evolves through advanced technology and
- online capabilities.
-
- Sega's 2900 square foot exhibit will feature 34 interactive stations
- including playable games at kiosks and a presentation of ``Shenmue", a
- role-playing videogame that showcases the latest breakthroughs in
- videogaming. The exhibit will continue to evolve throughout its two year
- commitment at Innoventions at Epcot« with game updates and exclusive
- previews of online gaming technology prior to being introduced on the Sega
- Dreamcast Network, the definitive gaming portal for consumers that enter
- the web through the Sega Dreamcast console.
-
- ``Innoventions is an ideal forum for us to demonstrate Dreamcast's ability
- to make the world a smaller, more enjoyable place by connecting people via
- the Internet for the first time through a low cost gaming console. Sega
- Dreamcast's 56K modem and realistic, evolving gameplay represent the future
- of gaming and technology," said Peter Moore, Senior Vice President, Sega
- of America. ``We look forward to continually updating our Innoventions
- exhibit as new technology and Sega Dreamcast games are introduced."
-
- Sega Dreamcast stations at Innoventions will feature games that allow
- guests of all ages to experience the future of gaming. On display will be
- revolutionary new Sega titles, a preview of next-generation game creation
- and the Sega Dreamcast Network. Sonic Adventure, Sega Bass Fishing,
- Sega Rally 2 Championship, Shenmue and the Sega Sports brand
- including NFL 2K, NBA 2K and CART - Flag to Flag will be among
- the first titles featured at Innoventions. Sonic Adventure displays the
- incredible processing power of Dreamcast pushing out 60 frames per second
- doubling the normal 30 frames per second found in a TV broadcast.
- TrickStyle from Acclaim, its much anticipated stunt-based racing game
- will also be featured in the exhibit area.
-
- Sega Sports NFL 2K is the football title so realistic people often think
- they're watching an actual game on TV due to details as specific as visible
- breath when teams are playing in a cold climate. Sega Sport's basketball
- game NBA 2K continues the detailed tradition set by NFL 2K by including
- players' individual facial features, tattoos and hairstyles and exact
- recreations of NBA arenas and courts. In an area designed to transport
- guests to an authentic fishing hole, Sega Bass Fishing recreates the
- fishing experience with a unique rod controller which responds to physical
- commands such as casting, reeling and playing the line. Sega Rally 2
- Championship is a true high-speed, off-road racing thriller so realistic,
- players feel as though they are part of the action.
-
- ``Shenmue" was conceived five years ago by Japanese developer Yu Suzuki
- and was designed specifically for the high powered Sega Dreamcast. This
- masterpiece is so lifelike, landscapes change as time passes, responding to
- time of day and weather. Characters move with the grace or clumsiness of
- real humans. Videotapes of ``Shenmue" will detail the creative and
- technical elements needed to make a videogame of this caliber.
-
-
-
- Sega Zaps Stock Trading Into Game Zone
-
-
- Japanese top guns used to slugging it out with online enemies in video
- games could soon be just a click away from punching stock deals into the
- same console.
-
- Dreamcast gaming gear maker Sega and brokerage Nomura Tuesday agreed to add
- share trading to the online games Sega already offers, as part of Sega's
- push to steer e-commerce onto its cheap Internet access platform.
-
- From October, Nomura will provide Dreamcast customers in Japan with
- software to let them access its Home Trade online trading web site --
- extending Nomura's reach in the Japanese retail market.
-
- For Sega -- due to launch the console across Europe in October -- the move
- is part of a drive to get a piece of not just the online action, but also
- the money.
-
- ``It is the intention to develop e-retailing across the board through
- Dreamcast connectivity," said a London-based Sega spokesman. With the
- console now selling at around $199 in the United States, versus $500
- minimum for a personal computer, the appeal to net newcomers is clear.
-
- ``As a low-cost Internet access device, you can see it's a lot more
- appealing than buying a PC," said Frederic Diot, senior analyst at
- research group Datamonitor.
-
- Rather than a direct challenge to the personal computer as a route online,
- analysts say the console -- as well as a similar Playstation upgrade
- planned by Sony and a wireless online Gameboy promised from Nintendo --
- reflect increasing segmentation in the access market.
-
- The share-trading deal comes alongside similar ventures on the Dreamcast
- console in auto sales and horse betting, both targeting the money to be
- made in the segment of the youth market where PCs are uncool, but a game
- like Mortal Kombat may well be worth a night in.
-
- Some may say share-trading is not that different from existing Dreamcast
- games where players ``just pit your wits and your punches against the
- others." But from the investment point of view, the logic behind Sega's
- strategy is clear.
-
- Investors in Internet-linked stocks are getting more anxious about seeing
- real returns, so a proposition that generates actual cash would make sense.
-
- No one at Sega's European offices could say for sure what sort of
- electronic money-making alliances are in line for Dreamcast's European
- launch, but in the UK it will come with a promotional deal with BSkyB and
- soccer sponsorships.
-
- These could lead to cross-marketing, or for instance the direct sale of
- soccer club merchandise through Dreamcast.
-
- Dreamcast's European Internet access will be free, and even though the
- online experience will not be as fast as is now possible in the United
- States, U.S. sales have ramped up expectations for sales of the console.
-
- Reaching half a million units in the first fortnight, they were well in
- excess of even the most optimistic forecasts.
-
- Sega's European spokesman said the target was for a million units in the
- first 12 months, and Datamonitor's Diot said his forecast for end-year
- sales was 700,000, although that had been based on the assumption of a June
- launch.
-
- ``They are trying to see all the different ways they can use the online
- capacity of Dreamcast to generate revenues," he said.
-
-
-
- =~=~=~=
-
-
-
- ->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
- """""""""""""""""""
-
-
-
- Sokomania and Hyperdrome
-
- From: Carl Forhan (forhan@midas.millcomm.com)
-
-
- Just a quick reminder to Lynx fans that Sokomania and Hyperdrome are now
- both available for the Lynx at Songbird Productions, along with many other
- new releases and hard-to-find games like Lexis, Desert Strike, and
- European Soccer.
-
- Ordering details on the Songbird web pages.
-
- Sincerely,
-
- Carl Forhan
- Songbird Productions
- http://songbird.atari.org
-
-
-
- Where Are All The Lynx Fans?
-
-
- Since alt.games.lynx has picked up on posts a bit recently, I figure this
- might be a good time to ask, "Where are all the Lynx fans?"
-
- I understand that there are attractive new portables out there like the
- GBC and NGPC. There are also lots of other ways to spend money, on
- different necessities and interests.
-
- The reason I pose the question is that Songbird Productions is currently
- gearing up for the production of new Atari Jaguar games. Based on a recent
- poll, it looks like each new game will be purchased by 100-300 fans. This
- is a much stronger level of support than I have received for the new Lynx
- games (SFX, Ponx, and Lexis).
-
- Crystal Mines II: Buried Treasure is coming later this fall (hopefully end
- of October, perhaps November). Beyond that, Songbird Productions is
- evaluating future Lynx projects. I need to know there is serious interest
- in new Lynx games to make the process worthwhile. Sales have been decent
- but lower than my projections for the games Songbird has published.
-
- Perhaps some Lynx fans are waiting until the holiday season to purchase
- some new games. I hope so. And I realize that not everyone will want a
- Ponx or a Lexis genre of game. But the only way Songbird can continue to
- deliver new titles to Lynx fans is if current titles sell well.
-
- Thanks for reading this article, and feel free to follow-up this post on
- alt.games.lynx or email Songbird at songbird@atari.org with your comments
- or suggestions.
-
- Sincerely,
-
- Carl Forhan
- Songbird Productions
- http://songbird.atari.org
-
-
-
- Last call for the new Jaguar games poll
-
-
- For those who haven't heard or were recently added to the AtariNews list,
- Songbird Productions will be publishing four new Jaguar games in 1999 and
- 2000. The titles are Skyhammer, Soccer Kid, Hyper Force, and Protector.
-
- Please vote for upcoming Jaguar games that you will definitely purchase
- at:
-
- http://apps3.vantagenet.com/zpolls/poll.asp?id=981715950
-
- Thanks to everyone who has already voted in this poll! Your support is
- appreciated.
-
- Sincerely,
-
- Carl Forhan
- Songbird Productions
- http://songbird.atari.org
-
-
-
- From the Usenet and Jaguar Interactive II:
-
-
- What ever happened to "Worms"?
-
-
- Well, they were at CGE, but I wasn't there to see them or talk to them.
- Telegames is definitely not another ICD, by any stretch of the
- imagination. As per an email that I received from Telegames today, they
- are monitoring the situation of people expressing discontent in JI2. I'm
- willing to wait as long as it takes to get my copy of Worms, but...
- Telegames is ready to cancel the preorders and refund the money.
-
- Here's the email I received tonight from them:
-
- ---- Start of Email ----
- Subject: WORMS and IS2 Cartridges
- Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 16:04:17 -0500
- From: Telegames <sales@telegames.com>
-
- We have been monitoring the comments on Jaguar Interactive II about our
- "broken promises" and are disappointed in many of the comments. We
- regret the delays in the 2nd runs of each cartridge but the problems
- have been beyond our control.
-
- Effective immediately, we will cancel all pre-orders for these products.
- We will promptly refund all prepayments upon request, otherwise, we will
- reflect credits on an individual's account for future purchases.
- Please share this message with others on JI2. We sent an individual
- e-mail to you so that it would not be perceived as a joke posting by
- someone.
-
- Thanks to all for their continued support for Atari systems.
-
- Regards,
- Telegames, Inc.
- ---- End of Email ----
-
- I've been waiting since Aug 1998, but a well-known troublemaker on JI2
- has been an impractical 'conspiracy theorist' who's been stating they're
- 'using the preorder money to fund their Gameboy publishing', and other
- absurd things. No wonder Telegames got pissed and decided to cancel the
- preorders! I stated on there that I was getting frustrated with the
- delays, but would hold out until the carts were produced. As for the PCB
- reason for the delay, I got messages from some people after I posted and
- really realized that 'Hey, it could be a pretty hard task getting PCBs
- made.' It's unfortunate that because of one person going overboard with
- the accusations (well past my frustration levels), this guy pretty much
- ruined it for everyone unless Telegames reconsiders. If nothing else, I
- hope Telegames reconsiders enough to fill at least the preorders that
- were filed with them, and have expressed concern to Telegames in this
- respect. I urge anyone who's preordered from them to do the same at
- sales@telegames.com.
- *sigh*
-
- And a follow-up:
-
-
- >Guys, give Telegames a break. All of you should know by now what a small,
- niche business it is to support Atari platforms. Telegames is not swindling
- money and they are perhaps the most prominent and influential of the
- remaining "classic" (pre-Hasbro) Atari supporters.
-
- >Trust me, they will get the games out when they can. They've apparently
- offered to refund money to those who have pre-ordered, so no one should
- have anything to complain about. Either wait it out or get your money back.
-
- >Sincerely,
-
- >Carl Forhan
- >Songbird Productions
-
- Subject: Re: WORMS and IS2 Cartridges
- Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 18:01:34 -0500
- From: Telegames
-
- We did not state that we would cease our efforts to make another run of IS2
- and WORMS. We stated that we were cancelling all pre-orders and refunding
- payments upon request to remove any doubts about our use of these deposits.
-
- Regards
-
- Ok, perhaps that first message sounded a bit too apocalyptic. I'm pleased
- to know that Telegames is still pursuing the release of these games, and
- ONLY cancelling preorders (I'm leaving my money with them to use for
- credit).
-
-
-
- =~=~=~=
-
-
-
- A-ONE's Headline News
- The Latest in Computer Technology News
- Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
-
-
-
- Phone Costs Sink In Fresh Web War
-
-
- Britain's two biggest Internet access providers unveiled services with
- cheaper calls Monday as the telephone became the new battlefield of the UK
- Web war.
-
- Freeserve Plc launched a plan to let users earn up to 10 hours of free
- Internet calls a month if they spend a minimum on other calls via its
- partner, Energis Plc.
-
- The free calls would only be for evenings and weekends.
-
- AOL UK, part of a joint venture between AOL and German publisher
- Bertelsmann AG, said its subscribers who pay a monthly fee would enjoy a
- reduced flat rate of a penny (1.6 cents) a minute for all their calls to
- the Web.
-
- ``This will increase the amount of time people spend online,'' AOL UK
- Managing Director Karen Thomson told Reuters, who said simplicity of its
- new pricing was a major draw for consumers.
-
- She said this was a major step toward U.S.-style flat-rate pricing that
- made the Internet a mass-market phenomenon there.
-
- AOL said its British users spend an average 17 minutes a day online -- a
- quarter the time of their U.S. counterparts.
-
- In Britain, local calls are metered and cost up to four pence a minute on
- weekdays, deterring prolonged Internet use.
-
- AOL was Britain's largest Internet service provider (ISP) until a year ago
- when Freeserve, the brainchild of electrical retailer Dixons Plc, erupted
- onto the scene offering Web access that was free except for the phone call.
-
- Some 1.3 million people use Freeserve and its main income source to date
- has been a share of phone-call profits.
-
- Since Freeserve emerged, some 200 no-subscription ISPs have sprung up in
- Britain, hoping to survive from phone profits, advertising and e-commerce,
- but call costs are under pressure.
-
- Smaller ISPs are already offering free calls, but only at off-peak times
- and often with a monthly fee.
-
- AOL felt obliged to join the UK craze for free ISPs by launching Netscape
- Online last month but has said it is skeptical that this is a business
- model that can last.
-
- Some analysts expect government regulators eventually to pressure ex-state
- monopoly British Telecommunications Plc to charge less for other operators
- to use its local lines.
-
- Worries about Freeserve's long-term profitability depressed its shares last
- week to below the 150p offer price at its launch in July when Dixons sold
- off a fifth of its child prodigy.
-
- They recovered 11 pence to 147p by 1100 GMT.
-
- In other countries, where call costs are lower, free ISPs are still a
- rarity.
-
- Alta Vista, a unit of CMGI Inc., last month launched the first major U.S.
- free-access service which will have to live off advertising and e-commerce
- revenues.
-
- Most U.S. Web users pay around $20 a month.
-
- Thomson said AOL UK, which has 600,000 users, had negotiated major
- discounts with some phone operators it declined to name, and would pass the
- savings on to its users, who mostly pay a monthly 9.99 pound ($16)
- subscription on top of phone costs.
-
- Netscape Online users will not get the cheaper calls.
-
-
-
- Nortel Takes Aim At Web Traffic Jams
-
-
- Nortel Networks Corp. said Tuesday it is developing a speedy networking
- product that aims to make many Web traffic jams obsolete.
-
- Nortel, one of the world's biggest makers of communications gear, will
- bundle five products into a new package available late next year that is
- designed to ease the transmission of data, video and voice through existing
- fiber-optic wires. The bundle will consist of two existing products and
- three in the works.
-
- The Brampton, Ontario-based company touted its OPTera Packet Solution as a
- ``breakthrough" that will unite optical and packet networks into a single
- one to carry all types of traffic.
-
- ``It will provide lightning fast, highly reliable optical switching and
- routing capabilities that replace `Old World' routers responsible for 57
- percent of all Internet failures today, and deliver massive bandwidth where
- and when it is needed," Nortel said in a statement.
-
- British telecommunications company Cable & Wireless Plc has endorsed the
- product, saying it looks forward to using that kind of technology. Nortel
- said it made the announcement far in advance to let potential clients plan
- their purchases.
-
- Clarence Chandran, head of Nortel's carrier packet solutions unit, likened
- the capabilities of the upcoming package to replacing the engine of a
- Formula One racing car. ``You're going to take his existing Formula One
- engine out, you're going to put a new one in, and he's going to have speed
- and reliability going around the corners that he's never had before,"
- Chandran told Reuters.
-
- In the race to develop equipment to cope with the exploding use of the
- Internet, companies such as Nortel and its rivals are fighting to be first
- to market with better products.
-
- Michael Urlocker, analyst at Scotia Capital Markets, said Nortel's news was
- a clear shot at San Jose, Calif.-based foe Cisco Systems Inc. ``They're
- building on something they're market technology leaders in: that's
- optical."
-
- Phone and telecommunications carriers are trying to manage huge growth in
- Internet usage, and have complicated networks that are becoming
- increasingly unwieldy.
-
- Demand for Nortel's optical products is exploding as the market grows. The
- market is expected to increase 56 percent a year to more than US$35 billion
- by 2000, the company said.
-
- Chandran said that the optical division at Nortel has had a "wild ride"
- in the past year as interest in its products surges. ``Even my most
- optimistic views have been surpassed."
-
- ``The pie is growing phenomenally for everybody," Urlocker said.
-
- ``It looks like (Nortel's) playing a more aggressive marketing game," he
- added.
-
-
-
- Survey Says: Electronic Mail Leading Reason To Go Online
-
-
- Electronic mail has replaced research as the leading reason given by people
- in the United States for using the Internet, according to a survey released
- Thursday by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
-
- Approximately 48 percent of U.S. consumers said e-mail was the primary
- reason to go online, followed by research at 28 percent, according to
- PricewaterhouseCoopers' 1999 Consumer Technology Survey. The numbers were
- essentially reversed in last year's survey.
-
- In the United Kingdom, 39 percent use the Internet for e-mail, while 37
- percent use it for research. Both German and French users primarily go
- online for research purposes.
-
- PricewaterhouseCoopers polled 800 users in the United States, the United
- Kingdom, Germany and France.
-
- Around 43 percent of U.S. homes have Internet access, the survey said,
- compared with around 27 percent in last year's survey. In the United
- Kingdom, home Internet access nearly doubled to 24 percent.
-
- U.S. users spend an average 5.3 hours a week online, compared to users in
- the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, who spend 2.4 hours a week online.
-
-
-
- Amazon.com To Let Anyone Sell There
-
-
- Amazon.com will start looking like an online flea market on Thursday as the
- Internet powerhouse begins allowing anyone - from industrial giants to
- artistic grandmothers - to sell products through its Web site.
-
- News of the vast expansion - which will add more than 500,000 items,
- including fly-fishing rods and buffalo steaks, to Amazon.com's product mix
- - sent the company's stock soaring 22.5 percent Wednesday.
-
- ``Amazon wants to get their fingers in every Internet purchase that takes
- place," said Ken Cassar, an analyst at online research firm Jupiter
- Communications. ``This is getting them closer to that goal."
-
- Seattle-based Amazon.com has built itself into an Internet shopping hub in
- just four years. While it once exclusively sold books online, it now offers
- music, videos, auctions, toys and consumer electronics.
-
- It has more than 12 million customers, up from 10.7 million just three
- months ago.
-
- Amazon.com also has been pouring millions of dollars into outside ventures,
- such as online pharmacy drugstore.com and Internet pet shop Pets.com.
-
- But the new services announced Wednesday will make Amazon.com even bigger
- and more far-reaching, and will allow the company to expand without
- incurring huge startup costs.
-
- ``We thought that Amazon's success would be based on their becoming a
- landlord online, not just a tenant, and here we go. They are doing just
- that," said Lauren Cooks Levitan, an analyst at BancBoston Robertson
- Stephens in San Francisco.
-
- The new service, zSHOPS, lets almost anyone - regardless of size, product
- or location - sell online. Amazon.com will only prohibit the sale of guns
- and live animals.
-
- Shoppers can link to zSHOPS from Amazon.com's home page. They can search
- for a specific item, such as a digital camera, or an entire product
- category, like clothing, books or toys.
-
- If shoppers like a particular zSHOPS merchant, they can click on the
- merchant's name to find a list of all the products that the seller is
- offering.
-
- ``Amazon is not the only site out there to host small businesses on their
- site," said analyst Cassar, noting that Yahoo! and Lycos offer similar
- services.
-
- ``What makes them different is that Amazon attracts more shoppers than any
- other site on the Web ... and provides a major thoroughfare that many
- shoppers will come through," he said.
-
- Sellers pay $9.99 a month for space on Amazon.com's Web site, with premiums
- charged for retailers who want their goods prominently displayed on the
- home page of zSHOPS.
-
- In addition, Amazon.com also gets paid by the sellerwhen an item is
- purchased, with the size of the fee depending on the purchase price.
-
- Sellers are required to stock the items they are offering and are
- responsible for shipping the products promptly.
-
- Shoppers can pay zSHOPS sellers directly by credit card, money order or
- check. Amazon.com will also allow zSHOPS buyers to use its proprietary
- 1-Click payment feature, which keeps track of a shopper's credit-card
- number and address so the information doesn't have to be typed in for each
- purchase.
-
- To protect consumers from unscrupulous merchants, Amazon.com will guarantee
- refunds of up to $250 for any item that is broken or not as the buyer
- expected. Those shoppers who use 1-Click payments are guaranteed up to
- $1,000.
-
- In addition, shoppers can find reviews and ratings from other customers as
- they check out a product on zSHOPS.
-
- For the small merchant, zSHOPS is a way to get products to a huge buying
- audience without the costs of developing and marketing a separate Web site.
-
- Phoenix businessman Keith Hertz sees zSHOPS as an opportunity to tap
- shoppers that he'd never reach otherwise for his hand-carved replicas of
- sports stadiums.
-
- ``There is a lot of competition out there and you can never get enough
- exposure to keep your business growing," said Hertz, who heads Sport
- Collectors Guild.
-
- ZSHOPS sellers also have the option to cross link their products with items
- Amazon.com sells itself, such as toys, books and music. That means a
- shopper who searches for a list of books on college sports stadiums will
- see other related products, such as Hertz' mini stadium replicas.
-
- In addition to the zSHOPS launch, Amazon.com also will unveil a new
- Internet search engine this week. That means if shoppers can't find
- something, they can search other shopping sites directly from Amazon.com.
-
- The search program also lets shoppers compare products and prices found on
- Amazon.com with those offered by other Internet merchants.
-
- Although Amazon.com receives no commission for referring shoppers to other
- online retailers, the company still benefits indirectly because its new
- services will attract additional Web surfers to its site.
-
-
-
- Internet Management Case Settled
-
-
- The cash-strapped group assuming management of much of the Internet agreed
- Tuesday to allow a Virginia company to continue for at least four years as
- keeper of the master list of World Wide Web addresses in exchange for a
- $1.25 million payment.
-
- Praised by participants as a landmark in the 30-year history of the
- Internet, the complex settlement aims to resolve the most contentious
- arguments surrounding transition of control over the Web from the federal
- government to the California-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
- and Numbers.
-
- Still, the impact on typical Internet consumers was negligible in that the
- agreement involved largely the behind-the-scenes management of technical
- issues and standards. Organizers said there would have been serious
- problems had the talks failed.
-
- ``We think it's clear there would have been significant risk of disruption
- to electronic commerce, to the growth of the Internet ... if there was
- instability and controversy," said Andrew Pincus, general counsel for the
- Commerce Department, which helped coordinate the settlement.
-
- Executives at Network Solutions Inc., the world's largest seller of
- Internet addresses, promised they will recognize the California group's
- authority over the Web, a festering issue during negotiations that started
- last year.
-
- But they were confident the deal also held a promise of financial security
- for shareholders in their company, whose stock climbed from $65.38 last
- week to $85.50 at close of trading Tuesday.
-
- ``This is a system we need to ensure is stable and something we can build
- the new economy on," said Mike Daniels, the company's chairman.
-
- Commerce Secretary William Daley said he was pleased that ICANN and Network
- Solutions ``worked this out at the negotiating table and not at tables in a
- courtroom."
-
- Since 1992, Network Solutions has coordinated the Internet's most important
- functions under its role as a government contractor and registered more
- than 5 million addresses with the ``com," ``net" and ``org" suffixes.
-
- Under the deal, Network Solutions will act as one of about a dozen
- wholesalers of Internet domains, selling Web addresses directly to the
- public for about $35 a year.
-
- But it will also continue for at least four more years to maintain the
- master list of Internet domains, called the registry. In that capacity, it
- agreed to charge other wholesalers no more than $6 annually for each Web
- address a customer buys.
-
- In exchange, Network Solutions offered to pay in advance half the expected
- $2 million in fees ICANN expects to charge it as a name wholesaler, plus
- the full $250,000 it will pay for maintaining the Internet's master address
- list.
-
- Esther Dyson, the interim chairwoman for ICANN's directors, called the
- agreement ``a huge relief."
-
- ``Everybody here feels they gave a huge amount," Dyson said. ``This is all
- about tradeoffs and compromise."
-
- The government clearly wants Network Solutions to separate its functions as
- a seller of Web addresses and as keeper of the registry. One clause in the
- deal offers to allow the company to maintain the master list for up to
- eight years if it splits those operations within 18 months.
-
- Network Solutions announced in August that it split those functions into
- ``discrete business units," but not as full a separation as sought by the
- government. Daniels didn't discuss future plans Tuesday.
-
- ``We have not started even to consider any particular details of what we
- will consider doing," he said.
-
-
-
- Government Lawyer in Microsoft Case Quits
-
-
- One of the lead lawyers for the government in the antitrust trial against
- the Microsoft Corporation has quit the case and resigned from the New York
- attorney general's office just weeks before the judge's initial verdict is
- expected.
-
- Stephen Houck, who resigned Wednesday, led the courtroom fight for the 19
- states suing Microsoft along with the Justice Department. He also delivered
- part of the government's closing arguments to the judge last week.
-
- His decision was not expected to affect the trial's outcome because New
- York and the other states still are pursuing their claims. Iowa's attorney
- general, Tom Miller, is coordinating the states' role in the trial.
-
- ``It's hard to see how this is going to affect the case," said Robert
- Litan, a former senior Justice official. ``Turnover is normal. I don't
- think you can really read too much into this."
-
- Houck did not return messages left at his office Thursday.
-
- Houck questioned only one of the 26 trial witnesses, IBM executive John
- Soyring, who also was from New York. Much of the attention during 77 days
- of testimony, has been on Justice Department lawyer David Boies, who
- questioned Microsoft trial executives.
-
- When Houck sought an expanded role early in the trial - asking a question
- during testimony from the first witness - the judge snapped at him harshly
- and reminded him that only one government lawyer was allowed to question
- each witness.
-
- Houck was perhaps best known for his strong views that Microsoft should
- face the severest penalties for its alleged antitrust violations. On the
- final day of testimony, he told reporters the company was a ``malignant
- despot" and that its behavior ``will justify a very significant remedy."
-
- Houck also was the only lawyer, besides Boies, to question Microsoft's
- chairman, Bill Gates, during a sworn videotaped deposition over three days
- last year. Shown at trial, excerpts from the tape of Gates professing to
- forget key events and appearing to evade questions proved embarrassing for
- the software giant.
-
- Houck mentioned the Gates tape again during closing arguments last week
- when he said the judge ``plainly has seen enough of Mr. Gates' videotaped
- deposition to make your own findings" about his truthfulness.
-
- A Microsoft spokesman, Jim Cullinan, declined to comment on Houck's
- resignation beyond saying, ``He has not applied for a job in (Microsoft)
- law and corporate affairs."
-
- Houck was the head of the antitrust office for New York's attorney general
- until last year's election, when Democrat Eliot Spitzer defeated the
- incumbent and replaced Houck with Harry First.
-
-
-
- PC 300PL: The World's Securest Desktop?
-
-
- IBM claims its new PC 300PL desktops, announced Tuesday, are the most
- secure PCs on the market.
-
- Backing up that claim is a new embedded security processor, available in
- new PC 300PL models. The chip, located on the motherboard of the PCs, will
- support public key, private key security and digital signatures, IBM
- officials said.
-
- "For customers who are crossing the 'e-line' into e-business, security
- becomes a big issue," said Anne Gardner general manager for desktop systems
- at IBM's Personal Systems Group in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
-
- The security processor is able to generate and store keys for private and
- public key-sharing applications, such as those used for encrypted e-mail or
- in electronic commerce. The chip can also generate and store keys for
- digital signatures, according to IBM.
-
- Using hardware to generate encryption keys offers users an additional level
- of trust, Gardner said, because hardware is generally more difficult to
- crack than software-based encryption.
-
- IBM is targeting four areas of security with the chip, including
- authenticity, privacy, information integrity and non-repudiation.
-
- The chip will help, for example, with authentication, allow a company to
- better identify that a party placing an order is really who they say they
- are or develop binding, trackable documents in the case of non-repudiation,
- she said.
-
- IBM will ship PCs including the security processor with the chip turned off
- by default. It can be turned on with a software applet included on the new
- PC.
-
- "It is up to the end user or the network administrator to go in and enable
- this," Gardner said.
-
- The chip is included for no extra charge in PC 300PL models. It will ship
- later with other IBM client systems, including desktops and notebooks,
- Gardner said.
-
- IBM also intends to make the processor available to other PC makers in
- hopes that it will become a standard technology in the PC industry, she
- said.
-
- Besides the security processor, IBM is also including with the new PC 300PL
- models, a utility called User Verification Manager or UVM. IBM says the
- utility can be used along with its Policy Director software to set up user
- identities and determine access rights and privileges.
-
- The new desktops also support Internet Protocol Security or IPSec. The
- technology, which is embedded in network interface cards, allows for the
- encryption of information sent over a network to another IPSec-enabled
- computer. It does so by encrypting the data packets sent between computers.
- This works to prevent information theft by a technique called packet
- sniffing, where packets of information flowing over a network are captured
- and re-assembled, allowing a person to read the data they carry.
-
- The new IBM PC 300PL models will offer Intel Corp.'s latest Pentium III
- processors. They are priced starting at about $1,349, according to the
- company.
-
- IBM isn't the only company working to offer hardware security. Intel has
- included in its 800 family of chip sets a random number generator. The
- random numbers generator translates thermal noise created by an Intel
- processor into random number pattern. That number can then be used by
- cryptography software in encryption.
-
- Intel is also still shipping its Processor Serial Number feature on new
- Pentium III chips. However, due to privacy concerns, it has cancelled plans
- to deliver tools that allow Web sites and other businesses to take
- advantage of the feature. PSN is now used mostly by network management
- software to help companies keep track of their PCs.
-
-
-
- IBM Joins Color Computer Case Craze
-
-
- IBM joined the computer industry's color craze Thursday, introducing covers
- for its ThinkPad i notebook series in ``Sirius red, ``Andromeda green,"
- and five other out-of-this-world hues.
-
- The colorful covers are inspired by an idea made popular by Apple Computer
- Inc. with its successful launch of iMac desktop computers, which come in
- six fruit-related colors.
-
- International Business Machines Corp. joins Dell Computer Corp., eMachines
- and other PC makers in injecting color into new computer offerings as a way
- to differentiate their products from standard beige, gray or black boxes.
-
- IBM's optional color covers, which retail for $29.99, also come in ``Mars
- red metallic, ``Terra green metallic," Eclipse blue metallic, ``Lunar gray
- metallic and ``Polaris Blue."
-
- The covers fit over the top of the ``clamshell" casing of the computer.
- The IBM ThinkPad 1460 and 1480 models also feature an illuminated keyboard
- for use in low-light conditions. They list for $2,199 and $2,399,
- respectively.
-
-
-
- Netscape Releases New Communicator
-
-
- Netscape on Thursday released a new version of its Communicator browser
- that allows consumers to access a shopping portal with one click.
-
- Communicator 4.7, currently available online, includes a Shop@Netscape
- button, a feature of Netscape parent America Online Inc.'s program to
- expand its commerce plan across brands. The button will take users to a
- site that provides links to merchants, news and specials, and themed
- merchandising.
-
- The new version of Communicator also includes an updated version of
- Netscape Radio, which rebroadcasts content from Spinner, and provides links
- to artists and music groups through the Netscape Music section of
- NetCenter.
-
- Netscape has also bundled WinAmp 2.5, a digital music player, with the new
- browser.
-
-
-
- Western Digital Recalls Hard Drives
-
-
- A defective computer chip has forced Western Digital Corp. to recall
- 400,000 hard disk drives.
-
- Western Digital officials said it was unclear how many of the affected hard
- drives actually were in consumer hands or how much the recall would cost.
-
- The company, which supplies equipment to Gateway Inc. and Compaq Computer
- Corp., said many of the disk drives were still in the hands of
- manufacturers and sellers.
-
- The defect can cause the hard drives - the part of the computer that stores
- data - to fail to power up after six to 12 months of use, company officials
- said Monday.
-
- ``No data has been lost, and none is in danger of being lost," said
- Charles Haggerty, Western Digital's chief executive.
-
- The recall is the latest in a string of problems, including recent layoffs
- and a plunging stock price, for the Orange County-based computer company.
-
- The hard drives being recalled are part of the WD Cavair series. They were
- made between Aug. 27 and last Friday, and have drive capacities between 6.4
- gigabytes and 20.5 gigabytes, the company said.
-
- Consumers who purchased computers in the past month can check specification
- sheets on their machines to see if they include a Western Digital drive,
- officials said. The company's Web site, www.westerndigital.com, offers a
- software program that can be downloaded to identify affected products.
-
-
-
- Global Ban on Internet Taxes Sought
-
-
- The Clinton administration and Congress are urging that the World Trade
- Organization impose a permanent global ban on taxes and tariffs aimed
- specifically at Internet commerce.
-
- Of particular concern is the ``bit tax" on transmission of digital data
- proposed by a recent United Nations report as a way for developing
- countries to gain revenue. The tax would increase based on the size of a
- computer file being transferred.
-
- Legislation introduced Thursday by Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., and Sen.
- Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urges U.S. trade officials to work during the WTO's
- November meeting in Seattle for the permanent ban. The measure also says
- the United States should oppose an attempt by any nation to impose a bit
- tax.
-
- ``We want to make sure we arrest this threat before it's too late," Cox
- said.
-
- Some Internet companies, Cox added, have questioned the Clinton
- administration's commitment to the ban, but Wyden said Treasury Secretary
- Lawrence Summers telephoned Thursday to offer full support for their
- non-binding resolution.
-
- ``We need strong U.S. leadership to develop fair rules and a level playing
- field for a healthy global electronic marketplace," Wyden said. ``Both
- political parties have a reason to be supportive."
-
- The 130-nation WTO last year adopted a one-year moratorium on Internet
- tariffs and discriminatory taxes, but several European countries have
- expressed interest in attempting to impose their value-added taxes on goods
- sold there. France, for example, has a 20.6 percent value-added tax on
- goods.
-
- Pakistan and Egypt, among others, want to ``keep their options open," Cox
- said.
-
- ``We're trying to get everyone to understand that this would be mutually
- assured destruction," Cox said. ``It's appealing to people's better
- judgment."
-
- On the domestic Internet tax front, Cox and Wyden agreed that a federal
- commission appointed by Congress should be left free to recommend future
- U.S. tax policy on e-commerce by its April deadline. But if the 19-member
- panel deadlocks or is ``hijacked," in Wyden's words, by one faction or
- another, Congress should consider giving it more time.
-
- The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, created as part of a law
- banning new U.S. Internet taxes for three years, is divided between members
- who fear loss of government revenue to tax-free Internet business and those
- who argue that sales taxes or other taxes would hamper the medium's growth.
-
- ``What we're interested in is, what can they agree on?" Cox said.
- ``Naturally, everyone is not in harmony. Anything that group could agree on
- would likely be good policy."
-
-
-
- Zap! ... And Your PC's Dead
-
-
- With $500 and a trip to the hardware store, saboteurs can build a device
- capable of remotely disrupting computers, automobiles, medical equipment
- and nearly anything else dependent on electronics, according to a
- California engineer who demonstrated a homebrew computer death-ray at the
- InfowarCon '99 conference.
-
- Former Navy engineer David Schriner showed off an unwieldy device
- constructed from a parabolic reflector, a horn antenna and two automotive
- ignition coils, which he aimed at two personal computers about 20 feet
- away.
-
- When an assistant activated the Rube Goldberg contraption by connecting it
- to a car battery, the conference room filled with a loud buzzing from the
- PA system and a PowerPoint presentation on the projection screen flickered
- and scattered. One of the computers instantly dropped out of its screen
- saver.
-
- When the device was switched off, both PCs were frozen, and wouldn't
- respond to keyboard input.
-
- The effects of High Energy Radio Frequency (HERF) emissions on electronics
- are well known among engineers, and info-warriors have expressed concern
- that adversarial nations may someday include computer-killing devices in
- their arsenals.
-
- Military aircraft are built with hardened electronics designed to survive
- the electromagnetic pulse created by a nuclear detonation. Schriner
- theorized that a single nuclear weapon designed specifically for the
- purpose, "would probably take out all of the electronics on the East
- Coast."
-
- But Schriner, who has devoted his research to small-scale electronic
- warfare, said the demonstration was intended as a "wake up call" to show
- that even low-budget saboteurs can create viable electronic weapons.
-
- "We bought the car battery at Wal-Mart yesterday," said Schriner. "It's all
- stuff you can buy at the hardware store."
-
- The HERF gun is not particularly high-tech, either. The device uses
- technology dating back to Tesla, essentially pushing a 20 megawatt burst of
- undisciplined radio noise through an antenna. The energy is enough to
- interfere with sensitive computer components nearby, creating unpredictable
- results ranging from minor anomalous behavior, to complete burnout.
-
- Schriner said he's built larger HERF guns capable of crashing computers and
- disabling automobiles at a range of 100 feet, with a cost as low as $300.
-
- Jonathan Lemkin, a screenwriter working on an infowar script for Paramount,
- was particularly impressed with the dramatic display and menacing hardware.
- "That's definitely going in the movie," he said.
-
- The computers targeted in today's demonstration worked fine after
- rebooting, and Schriner said permanent damage is uncommon. "But if that
- happens to be a computer in a tank, or in a piece of medical equipment, how
- long does it take to reboot? . . . By that time you could be dead."
-
- Conference organizer and infowar author Winn Schwartau said Wednesday's
- demonstration validates a threat he first tried to warn Congress about in
- 1991.
-
- "They asked if I thought they should add HERF guns to the Brady Bill,"
- Schwartau recalls.
-
-
-
- Switching Mechanisms Give New Insights
-
-
- Probing small magnetic domains, two research groups have turned up
- switching mechanisms that might have an impact on data storage technology.
- Though different in many respects, the experiments at Cornell University
- and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich came up with an
- effect that had not been observed before: the direct reversal of magnetic
- domains with an electrical field.
-
- Currently, all magnetic storage devices use magnetic fields generated in a
- read/write head to interact with magnetic domains on a disk. The recent
- work suggests that on a smaller, higher-density storage system, the
- read/write process might be simplified with electrical currents.
-
- While the results are presently only laboratory experiments, the
- information "will provide considerable new insights into magnetic dynamics
- in the sub-100-nanometer regime, which is the regime that innovative
- magnetic storage devices will most likely be moving into commercially over
- the next decade," said Robert Buhrman, an engineering professor at
- Cornell's School of Applied and Engineering Physics, here.
-
- The Cornell group discovered that magnetic domains in adjacent cobalt
- layers, separated by copper, can be switched between stable parallel and
- antiparallel configurations by reversing the current flow through the
- material. Multilayers of cobalt-copper-cobalt are used to produce giant
- magnetoresistance (GMR), an effect that is now being used commercially to
- push up the storage capacity of disk drives. GMR itself was until recently
- a laboratory curiosity, but has made a rapid entry into the commercial
- arena.
-
- The Zurich researchers were able to create rapidly changing magnetic
- domains in a thin cobalt film by using electrons accelerated to nearly the
- speed of light to trigger the reversal. The group's findings are notable
- because they may one day lead to faster write-head speeds for magnetic
- storage devices.
-
- Physicist Christian Back and several colleagues at the Zurich research
- institute used beams of electrons created by the two-mile-long
- electron-beam linear accelerator at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
- in California.
-
- Back's team found that very small electrical fields, of 200 kA/meter, could
- reverse the magnetization of cobalt film at a switching time of 2 ps.
-
- Currently, the fastest write heads take about 2 ns to make the switch. If
- the Zurich group's experiment is any indication, a magnetic write head
- could feasibly write 1,000 times faster than current write heads. But Back
- is cautious about suggesting whether his team's work will lead to a product
- any time soon.
-
- "[The work] shows we can go down to these times from a physical standpoint,
- but I don't know if it can be done technologically," he said.
-
- Back said he sees the experiments as basic research that holds potential
- for magnetic storage technology, but he believes commercial application is
- "many years away."
-
- However, Back noted that the group has applied for a patent in the United
- States. "People didn't think GMR would ever be a product, either," he
- observed.
-
- The Zurich team seeks to optimize the magnetic process of reversal to make
- it even faster. It's also working with the "damping" process, which occurs
- before the reversal. Damping involves a loss of energy that returns the
- system to the ground state, Back said. He referred to the phenomenon as a
- "precessional magnetization reversal" wherein the magnetism precesses
- around the field direction and eventually precesses into the field.
-
- The experiment applied an electron pulse perpendicularly to the magnetic
- field. That created torque, which triggered the reversal of the magnetic
- fields. Traditionally, the pulse had been applied parallel to the magnetic
- field.
-
- The team has worked on the project on and off since 1995, whenever they
- could get "beam time" at Stanford. Some of the group, including Back, also
- spent time doing research for the storage systems division at IBM Corp.'s
- Almaden Research Center (San Jose, Calif.). IBM has been a pioneer in
- bringing GMR multilayers to high-density disk-drive technology.
-
- Meanwhile, the Cornell results might be applied to building a solid-state
- nonvolatile RAM, according to Buhrman. "We have demonstrated a possible
- current-driven hysteretic switch which could be used as a static-RAM
- device," he said. "The device depends on ferromagnetism but a
- spin-polarized current, and not an external magnetic field, is used to do
- the switching. This could have significant advantages with respect to
- operation of large arrays of such devices."
-
- The currents required, according to the experimental results, would be
- acceptable in thin-film microcircuits when the diameter of the magnetic
- domain being switched is smaller than about 100 nm. The magnetic-field
- orientation would remain after the current is switched off, making it a
- nonvolatile memory effect. The orientation could be easily detected by the
- change in electrical resistance-the basic GMR effect-making it easy to read
- an array of the devices.
-
- The small size of the magnetic domains would make very high SRAM densities
- possible, "but more research and development work will be required to
- establish the competitive and comparative values of this type of device
- over alternatives, such as the magnetic-field switch tunnel junction device
- that IBM refers to as MagRAM," Buhrman said. The switching speeds of the
- memory cells would be well below 1 ns, he said.
-
- IBM researcher John Slonsczewski proposed the experiment a few years ago.
- The Cornell experiment took Slonsczewski's suggestion for using the
- copper/cobalt layers to study the effect of an electric current on magnetic
- domains. The basic setup uses a copper region isolated from a thin cobalt
- layer by a silicon-nitride barrier. The barrier is thinned at one point to
- allow electrons to travel across. On the other side of the cobalt region is
- another copper layer and then a thicker cobalt layer.
-
- The electric current, rather than directly affecting a domain, acts as a
- carrier that transports angular momentum from one domain to the other. The
- current-induced change is called spin transfer.
-
- Buhrman noted that the Zurich work is "using the magnetic field produced by
- a very short pulse of electrons to cause the local magnetic-field reversal
- of a region of ferromagnetic cobalt in a thin film." By contrast, "in our
- case the polarized spins of the electrons do the job themselves; rather
- than the magnetic field they generate via Ampere's law."
-
- The Zurich group used very short local magnetic-field pulses generated by
- high-velocity electrons to demonstrate the speed of reversal possible and
- to get some insights into the dynamics of the magnetic reversal process. In
- this case, the reversal is the direct result of a magnetic field and no
- other magnetic domains are involved. Highly focused electron pulses are
- able to generate high fields in a very small region, which explains how the
- electric field is able to directly switch the magnetic orientation of
- cobalt atoms.
-
- "The volume of material that this group is affecting is orders of magnitude
- larger than the sub-100-nm diameter areas that we are reversing. But in
- both cases it is the dynamics of the magnetic reversal process that is key
- to the potential switching speed," Buhrman said.
-
- The necessity of generating such intense electric fields locally would make
- the effect much more difficult to reduce to some practical system. In fact,
- the high intensity of the pulses creates local damage in the films, which
- would affect the read/write lifetime of a storage system based on the
- effect.
-
-
-
- 3Com, Microsoft Ship Home Net Kit
-
-
- 3Com Corp. and Microsoft Corp. this week began shipping a home network kit
- that allows consumers to link home computers and printers in different
- rooms.
-
- The HomeConnect kit uses Ethernet network cables to link computers,
- printers and scanners to a network hub device, allowing the sharing of
- files and multi-player video game playing.
-
- The home network kits use Microsoft's HomeClick Network Software to
- simplify installation, the companies said Wednesday in a statement.
-
- 3Com and Microsoft reached an agreement in March to create the networking
- kit, which is similar to the Ethernet product 3Com provides for small
- businesses.
-
-
-
- Microsoft Patches Internet Explorer, ActiveX Holes
-
-
- Microsoft has patched a handful of security holes in its Internet Explorer
- browser and ActiveX technology that made computers vulnerable to attack by
- malicious Web site operators.
-
- The first patch takes care of a problem with IE's ImportExportFavorites
- feature, which lets users tranfer lists of frequently visited Web
- addresses. The bug lets a malicious Web site operator run executable code
- on the computer of someone who visits that Web site.
-
- "The net result is that a malicious Web site operator potentially could
- take any action on the computer that the user would be capable of taking,"
- Microsoft warned in a security alert earlier this month.
-
- Microsoft's patch eliminates the problem, the company said today. Versions
- 4.01 and 5.0 of IE are at risk. The patch also fixes a related problem
- involving ActiveX, Microsoft's technology for bringing interactive scripts
- and controls to Web pages.
-
- ActiveX has long been a security headache for Microsoft. Critics of the
- technology fault its "trust-based" security model, in which signatures let
- users choose whether to download an ActiveX control. With this system,
- users are expected to judge that controls signed by well-known companies
- like Microsoft are less likely to be maliciously designed than those signed
- by unknown entities.
-
- In the latest discovery, Microsoft identified eight ActiveX controls it
- said were "incorrectly marked as 'safe for scripting,'" a designation that
- assures users that they can download the controls without posing any
- security risk to their own computers. The controls could be manipulated for
- malicious ends, however, Microsoft said.
-
- The controls in question are Kodak Image Edit: Wang Imaging; Kodak Image
- Annotation: Wang Imaging; Kodak Image Scan: Wang Imaging; Kodak Thumbnail
- Image: Wang Imaging; Wang Image Admin: Wang Imaging; HHOpen: HTML help
- files; Registration Wizard: Internet Explorer Product Registration; and IE
- Active Setup: Internet Explorer Setup.
-
- Microsoft credited Bulgarian bug hunter Georgi Guninski with discovering
- the so-called ImportExportFavorites bug. Richard Smith of Pharlap Software
- and Australian bug hunter Shane Hird were recognized for discovering the
- ActiveX problems.
-
-
-
- =~=~=~=
-
-
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