United States, and the lucky moviegoers will also receive an 8" x 16" full color, exclusive lithograph featuring characters from the film. Tickets have already begun selling for the performances at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, June 21, Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23, at $6 per ticket. For more info, call your nearest Disney Store or the toll free number: 1-888-4-FESTIVAL. DreamWorks: AWARD WINNER JOINS TEAM The ability to hire the most effective producers and directors can make or break a film company. Seems as though DreamWorks SKG continues their quest for such folk and they've just signed a nonexclusive, first-look deal with Mark Johnson. He was the Academy-award producer for the films A Little Princess and Rain Man. His arrangement with DreamWorks SKG is for two years. He is currently working on a Mandalay Film entitled Donnie Brasco that starts Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. Electronic Arts: CHOPPER REALITY Flight combat sims continue to become more and more realistic. Fortunately for most consumers, they are also becoming easier to learn and handle. As you may recall, one of Electronic Arts' brand names is Jane's Combat Simulations. The title now issued under this brand is AH-64D Longbow, which was developed at EA's Austin, Texas subsidiary. This is an authentic sim that lets you experience the controls of the most lethal attack helicopter ever created. You get fully-textured, rolling terrain, highly advanced 3D visuals, plus complex avionics and weapons systems. Produced by Andy Hollis, who also designed Gunship and F-15 Strike Eagle II and III, there are five different mission sets and more than 20,000 square kilometers of terrain, all using U.S. Geological Survey digital elevation maps. Each inch you fly over is unique terrain--there are no repeated tiles. You can fly a near-future campaign mode with more than 40 missions set in the Baltic region. There are also 12 historically accurate missions from Operation Desert Storm and Just Cause, the Panama invasion. You'll also enjoy the single mission generator which creates random missions, based upon your game preferences. With the online tutorial system, you'll be flying the AH-64D Longbow in no time at all. This sim is for PC machines. IN THE BAG Putting their rep on the line, Electronic Arts has predicted that the winner of the NBA(R) Championship will be none other than the Chicago Bulls. Additionally, the company has predicted that the Stanley Cup will be won by the Colorado Avalanche. These timely predictions are the result of game sims played using EA's NBA LIVE 96 for the Sony PlayStation(TM) and NHL(R) 96 for the PC. (In the latter offering, there's even a cool Zamboni-machine rink clean-up between periods! And watch Rodman's hair color change throughout the basketball championship series. The game-by-game predictions for the NBA games are: Game 1: Bulls win in OT, 111-110 Game 2: Sonics win in OT, 104-96 Game 3: Bulls win, 102-100 Game 4: Sonics win, 89-86 Game 5: Bulls win, 101-97 Game 6: Bulls win in OT, 101-98 The NHL 96 predictions are Game 1: Avalanche wins, 3-0 Game 2: Panthers win in OT, 1-0 Game 3: Avalanche wins, 2-1 Game 4: Avalanche wins in OT, 1-0 Game 5: Panthers win in OT, 2-1 Game 6: Avalanche wins, 1-0 Golden Books: ADULTS HAVE GOLDEN BOOKS Some of you folks may remember story books from Golden Books. Now they're all grown up and have a new group, Golden Books Adult Publishing Group, that will produce 15 titles on parenthood and child care over a four year span. There will be several stand-alone titles plus a series that addresses different aspects of child rearing and family relationships. These titles were developed by the editors of Parents magazine in conjunction with Roundtable Inc. The titles are based on market research and communication with the magazine's 11 million readers. The titles will be published in various formats for trade and mass market distribution. The first of these series will be released in '97 and is The Parents Answer Book with over 600 pages. This will be a reference source on concerns of a parenting regarding child health, behavior, development and safety from birth through age five. Heavy Metal: HEAVY-- AS IN METAL This publication celebrates the diversity of its readership--amen! For those folks interested in the cult classic, Heavy Metal is now available on video in a limited edition, seri-cel featuring art from the movie. All of the 413 Suncoast Motion Picture Company stores nationwide are selling this title. The movie, based on the 1981 illustrated magazine, is an animation classic of another world of fantasy, adventure, and action. Heavy Metal features the voices of John Candy and Harold Ramis, with a soundtrack including Cheap Trick, Black Sabbath and Devo. Her Interactive: ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WATSON Nancy Drew, a series of stories involving a teen detective, will come to CD-ROM format in late 1997 as the host for a series of interactive motion-picture games to be published by Her Interactive. The games, based on actual Nancy Drew titles from Pocket Books, will combine interactive motion-picture gameplay and 3D graphic exploration. Her Interactive's first game for girls, McKenzie & Co.(TM) -- a comic adventure about life in high school -- was released in November, 1995 and was reviewed in Inside Games and Entertainment Update. Please see our Review section for our thoughts on this title. IBM & NBC: BIG BLUE & THE PEACOCK Look for a new program to debut on NBC Cable that is totally sponsored by IBM. Called Scan, IBM owns this show which will concentrate on how information technology exerts global influence. A variety of stories are under development, ranging from the scanning of ancient manuscripts by priests in the Vatican, to Herbie Hancock's technologically-astute musical performances. Already, 45 stories have been filmed. Concerns about this becoming an IBM Infomercial are unjustified, says NBC, and Big Blue's name is, allegedly, never mentioned in a Scan story, save for the Vatican project. Jupiter: NOT SO BAD--MEBBE You know how we all react to multiple exposure ads, whether on TV, radio, in print or billboards. We simply do not care for the raucous cacophony the constant impinging upon our privacy advertising hammers upon. What is of interest is a survey recently completed by Jupiter Communications and The Westport Company called Consumer Experience Probes: Web Advertising. To be published this month, this report is the result of in-depth joint testing, one-on-one, with users as they cruised through the WWW. Those new to the WWW were surprised to find advertising on the WWW, but the average comment was that such content was unobtrusive. Those who entered the WWW from commservs, such as AOL, understood that every time a graphic was downloaded to their screen, they were paying for the time required for such to occur. These folk were more resistant to ads than those who go through ISPs. Advertising that revealed a familiar logo was more likely to be accessed, with banner ads the most likely to be noticed. For more info on this study, contact The Westport Company at 203-454-5699 or Jupiter Communications at 800-488-4345. Kaplan: VISIT CAMPUSES IN 3D The NewMedia INVISION 'Bronze' Award of Excellence at Spring Comdex was presented to Kaplan Educational Centers, one of the nation's leaders in test preparation, admissions and career services. The award, in the middle/high school education category, was for On Campus 96, a multimedia CD-ROM title that was introduced in July 1995. On Campus 96 is an interactive multimedia guide to schools that combines a fun, three-dimensional interface with audio, video and textual information on more than 1,700 schools. The product offers an alternative solution to travelling and touring college campuses as the CD brings to life the personality of the covered schools. Using the 3-D interface, Campus 96 enables students and parents to research schools based on criteria such as academics, competition, tuition, sports, financial aid, location and more. Kidsdoctor: OPEN AND SAY AAAAHHHH ON THE WEB So you need to know why your kid wants to eat dirt? Ask the Kidsdoctor located on the WWW at http://www.kidsdoctor.com, that will go online with over 200 kids' health topics on everything from stomach aches to eating dirt. This FREE, expert advice comes from a pediatrician with over 40 years of experience, currently on staff with Egleston Children's Hospital (of Emory University Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia), whose name is....honestly, you're not going to believe us here...his name is Dr. Coffin!!! Yes, Dr. Lewis A. Coffin, III to be exact. Wow, there are three other Coffins out there! Anyway, this new concept of information gathering is indexed and has an internal search engine, making the topics and database easy to access. Parents just type in keywords to Ask The Doctor about subjects they're interested in, and click on the Search button. From the Kidsdoctor database a list of topics is generated in which the keyword(s) used in the search appears. Visitors can access a specific topic from that list, and go directly to the article and there will be a full index of topics available at the home page by selecting List. Dr. Coffin will also be writing regular editorials. Miramax: CROW SOUNDTRACK SET FOR RELEASE For lovers of action films, August 2nd is a date most are eagerly waiting because that's the day The Crow: City of Angels reaches 2,500 screens. From Miramax/Dimension, the film stars Vincent Perez, Mia Kirshner and Iggy Pop. In anticipation of large movie attendance, Miramax Records/Hollywood Records is going to release the soundtrack for the movie on July 2nd. There are 15 top artists on the soundtrack, including an update of Stevie Nicks' GoldDust Woman that is produced by Ric Ocasek (remember The Cars?). Other performers include Bush, Deftones, Jurassitol, Korn, Linda Perry with Grace Slick, Pet, NY Loose, PJ Harvey, Rappers Above The Law, Seven Mary Three, Toadies, White Zombie and, of course, the legendary Iggy Pop. Microsoft: UNIX BOUND The browser wars continue to heat up, with many services now offering the consumer THEIR choice of browser. To broaden the audience for their Internet Explorer, Microsoft is now in the process of the development for a UNIX version of their browser, which currently holds second place as far as popularity and use is concerned. With Internet Explorer now available for the Macintosh and Windows market, this move would cement Microsoft in with a browser for the major desktop platforms. Microsoft & CIS: HELPING ONE ANOTHER Microsoft continues to surge forward in their aggressive acquisition of companion deals with a variety of commservs. The latest is CompuServe (CIS) who has signed a strategic alliance agreement with Microsoft Corporation for a variety of commercial, distribution and marketing opps. CIS is going to deploy Microsoft's new commercial Internet service platform, currently code-named Normandy, showing the commserv's move toward an open standards technology and a strengthening of their core business through the use of Internet technologies. Subscribers to CIS will obtain the Microsoft Internet Explorer as the service's WWW browser standard. Plus these companies will work together on future ventures. (Normandy integrates the Microsoft Internet Information Server within the Microsoft Windows NT Server OS.) MTV: CHOOSE OR LOSE--YOUNG ADULTS RESPOND MTV's ongoing political poll entitled Choose Or Lose revealed that two-thirds of the young adults cite education as their top issue of concern for the presidential '96 election. The second of the series Choose Or Lose will be devoted to education. Learn It: An MTV News Choose Or Lose Education Special, which premieres Monday, June 10, at 4:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. (EDT/PDT), will explore some of the key campaign issues relating to education through interviews with teachers, students, parents, politicians and school board officials. The MTV News reporter talks to two teachers and their students in two very different communities in Southern California--George Washington High in South Central, Los Angeles and Dana Hills High in the community of Orange County. A roundtable discussion with three students from each school explores the different qualities of education for these students and the solution to the imbalance in the education systems regarding the proportion of funding that different schools receive and the resources provided. Other topics include school prayer, school uniforms and affirmative action will be debated by students, teachers and politicians. MTV News visits two high schools in Chicago -- one where students are required to wear school uniforms, and one where they are not -- to find out what affect these different school policies have on the student bodies. NBC: MSNBC TO HIT HARD NBC studios is suffering from the malady of a thorn-in-the side among some of the cable operators, courtesy of Bill Gates. There is dissent surrounding the issue of the launch of the Microsoft--NBC (MSNBC) news and information cable program, scheduled to air on July 15 to at least 21 million U.S. TV subscribers. MSNBC will be replacing America's Talking cable channel--this change is being protested by Contintental Cablevision who argues that the change is a fundamental alteration in the NBC cable service and requires fresh contracts. This is contrary to NBC's opinion. Comcast Corp., another leading cable operator, is reported to be seeking new terms for carrying MSNBC, echoing Continental's responses. Tele-Communications Inc., the biggest U.S. cable operator with 13.5 million subscribers, was not contesting the change and will carry MSNBC. Slots are so scarce that financial incentives are exchanged for scarce channel slots. News Corp. Ltd. offered cable operators a $10-per-subscriber signing bonus to carry News Corp.'s Fox news channel. That service is slated for launch late this year. Walt Disney Co.'s ABC network postponed indefinitely its plans for a news service to compete with the leader in the field, CNN. This new 24-hour news, talk and information network is going to debut on July 15th. The sign-on will be from NBC Cable Network's base in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and from the Redmond, Washington, interactive operation's base. Initially, there will be approximately 14 hours of original programming each day. The number of hours will increase as the network expands. Look for extensive reporting on the Olympics and the two political parties' conventions, plus the campaign itself. The anchors are John Gibson, Jodi Applegate and John Seigenthaler who will lead the network's daytime coverage until 7:00 pm, ET. At 8:00 pm, Internight will feed in with rotating anchors Tom Brokaw, Katie Couric, Bryant Gumbel, Bob Costas and Bill Moyers. At 9:00 pm, Brian Williams will anchor the news and newsmaker discussions and interviews. John Hockenberry will anchor a live, Saturday evening magazine show. And what is all of this broadcasting going to cost NBC and Microsoft? Talk is that each company has committed to spending about $250 million each over the next five years. Secaucus, New Jersey, is where a new studio complex is going to be built for the network. When the service debuts, there will be some 21 million subscribers. Stay tuned for more . . . Netscape: BROWSER POWER Amply demonstrating the reasons for this browser's enormous popularity, Netscape Communications has now been able to determine there are more than 130 plug-ins being developed by various companies--60 are shipping and 70 others are in development as of this writing. Additionally, the company's LiveConnect(TM) is growing in acceptance as it enables live, interactive content for both Internet and Intranet apps. Plus, there are currently, more than 2,300 registered Java resources that are usable with Navigator, according to EarthWeb's Gamelan Java registry. Here follows a complete list of Navigator Plug-Ins now shipping: 20/20 Software: Net-Install Adobe: Acrobat Reader v. 3.0 AlphaBlox: ListBlox Alpha Software: Concerto Apple: WhurlPlug Autodesk: WHIP! Ivan Cavero Belaunde: ViewMovie Business@Web: OpenScape Carberry Technology: Figleaf Inline Chaco Communications: VR SCOUT VRML Corel: CMX Viewer Dataviews: webXpresso Echo Speech Corp: EchoSpeech Farallon: Look@Me Fastman: RapidTransit FTP Software: KeyView FutureWave: FutureSplash GoldDisk: Astound Web Player Heads Off: Play3D IBM: TechExplorer IChat: IChat Plug-In Infinop: Lightning Strike Inso Corporation: Word Viewer Intercap Graphics Systems: Intercap Inline ISYS/Odyssey Development: ISYS HindSite Integrated Data Systems: VREALM Intelligence At Large: MovieStar Iterated Systems: CoolFusion, Fractal Viewer Kinetix: Topper Knowledge Engineering: Maczilla LiveUpDate: Crescendo LMSOFT: Hyperpage Plug-In Macromedia: Shockwave for Authorware, Director, FreeHand Mbed Software: Mbed MDL Info Systems: Chemscape Chime Microcom: Carbon Copy/Net Micrografx: ABC QuickSilver MVP Solutions: Talker NCompass: ActiveX Netscape: Live3D NetScene: PointPlus Open2U: Action Plastic Thought: Web-Active Pointcast: Pointcast Network Progressive Networks: RealAudio Silicon Graphics: Cosmo Player, Cosmo Mediabase Softsource: SVF Software Publishing Corp: ASAP WebShow SSEYO: Koan Starfish Software: Earthtime Summus: Wavelet Image Superscape: Viscape TMS: ViewDirector Totally Hip Software: Sizzler Tumbleweed Software: Envoy VDOnet: VDOLive Visual Components: Formula One/Net Vivo Software: VivoActive Voxware: ToolVox Vream: WIRL Virtual Reality Browser Wayfarer Communications: QuickServer New World Computing: NEW WORLD GIVES YOU NEW WORLDS This happens to be a digital entertainment company that we believe is one of the most underexposed in the business. The company happens to have developed a number of award-winning games, and their upcoming title lineup should excite thousands upon thousands of gamers. We speak of New World Computing and here is a look at what they are currently producing for you. A highly successful fantasy role-playing game for this company was Heroes of Might and Magic. When you manage to produce a hit that sells over 2.5 million units, a good idea is to produce a sequel. That's where Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars comes into play. At the close of the previous title, Lord Ironfist has ruled the land of Enroth for 25 years, after crushing all enemies. Turmoil strikes again and Ironfist has died, and his two sons, Archibald and Roland battle for power. This civil war has you selecting the side you wish to join and bringing forth your armies to battle for domination. The sequel has several new features, including more gameplay, difficulty settings, new character classes, new terrain and larger battlefields. As many as six gamers can battle via hot seat, modem, network, direct connect as well as the Internet.This title is for DOS and Windows 95 CD-ROM machines. Viper: Operation Red Sector is another release for New World Computing. This offering is a high-intensity flight and combat sim that has you in the role of Jake Mason. He's a fighter pilot whose mission is to destroy the evil forces that threaten Earth's existence--all by yourself. Thankfully, you have the most advanced fighter plane in the world at your disposal. Seems as though the experiment to produce synthetic humanoids has gone awry, and the resulting life form is capable of eliminating all traces of human existence. There's a bloody war between man and machine. A Neural Circuit that can be placed within fighter planes has the ability to read the pilot's brainwaves, but unfortunately, only Jake Mason's brainwaves function with the device. You're going to require lightning quick reflexes and a skillful eye to complete the more than 40 missions to save mankind. As many as eight players can fly head-to-head or in cooperation with one another via a network or the Internet. Two players may compete via modem. This game is for Windows 95 CD-ROM machines. Then comes Wages of War for Macintosh and Windows 95 machines. The year is 2001. Governments are losing their ability to rule as the world's supply of oil is drained. Mercenary-for-hire corporations are legalized by the governments who need them to maintain control. As an upstart mercenary company, you must gain credibility for your operation by succeeding on a variety of missions and managing your business wisely. You'll be negotiating contracts, buying weapons, choosing mercenary squads and leading a hand-picked team on deadly missions. A special A.I. engine called "Assault Ware" is integrated into the game, thereby creating a highly detailed, turn-based combat system. Nintendo: A BIT DEEPER & BUSIER With plans to develop four to five titles each for the Nintendo 64, Recruit Company has become involved in a joint venture pact with Nintendo Company. Operations will start on July 1st, with approximately 60 percent of the startup costs to come from Recruit itself. This new company shall also earn royalty revenues from licenses. THIS SITE GETS AN AWARD FOR PUTTING THEIR HEAD IN THE SAND So here's a funny/interesting fact--Ostriches on Line is an online service dealing specifically with, you got it, ostriches. And, Ostriches on Line received its THIRD award for Excellence in Commerce, Design, Content and Ease of Use in its WWW site by NetMall. Paramount: GOD PLAYS POST OFFICE A new movie is in the works entitled Dear God. This is a comedy about a cynical con artist, Tom Turner (Greg Kinnear), newly employed by the Post Office who's thrown-in with an embittered group of misfits who work in the Dead Letter Office. With their help, Tom discovers that he still has plenty of opportunities to deliver a con of divine proportions. Dear God is directed by Garry Marshall and will be distributed domestically by Paramount Pictures which is part of the Viacom entertainment megalith. Passport Designs: SCORING WELL A particularly noteworthy problem faced by most musicians is the ability to digitally score their masterpieces. Now available, from Passport Designs, is the upgraded product Encore 4.1. This is an update to the company's original music-notation program that now works with far more MIDI synths. Plus, the user-interface has also been improved. The program automatically scores your live MIDI performance, while you play a recorded MIDI file, or as you tap out notes using your mouse. The score is converted to standard musical notation and you can fine-tune it with all sorts of dynamic markings and symbols, lyrics, even guitar-chord diagrams. Also of use is the ability to transpose the score to different keys. Scholastic: AN A+ FOR SCHOLASTIC NEW MEDIA The Parent's Choice Approval Award for 1995 has been awarded to Scholastic New Media, a division of Scholastic, Inc., a leader in educational publishing, for Scholastic Network, its comprehensive online service developed specifically for K-12 schools. The award annually recognizes exemplary software titles and services to help concerned individuals discern the most beneficial new media venues for children. (Guess the 1996 award will be presented in June of '97.) The Network delivers resources to schools nationwide -- resources that tie directly to the school curriculum and create exciting new ways for teachers to motivate and educate students, including original programming, interactive projects with scientists, authors and newsmakers, and activities for teacher support. Sega: SURFIN' SEGA The much anticipated link for use of the Sega Saturn as an Internet connection device is heading into Japanese consumers' hands by the end of July. Designed specifically for the 32-bit Saturn system, this new kit packs-in a modem and all of the software necessary to run the machine. Additionally, the Japanese kit will enable access to NiftyServe which is one of Japan's largest online services. When to expect a similar device in the good ol' USA? Stay tuned . . .we don't exactly know, just yet. Sir-Tech: GRIPPING GAMES, GRAND GALANTRY One of the most experienced game development and publishing companies in our industry is Sir-Tech Software. Based in upper New York, in Ogdensburg, to be exact, this company is truly responsible for the commercial success of computer-based role-playing games. Their Wizardry series has long held the title of being one of the best such series ever produced, with millions of units sold. At E3, Sir-Tech managed a fine performance, showing several new products that are heading our way. There is a new Sir-Tech WWW site at http://www.sir-tech.com. You'll find not only product announcements there, but also demos of their latest games and screen shots and that all-important tech support presence. The company store is also available for access via the WWW and you can buy all sorts of cool Sir-Tech Stuff there. And coming this year are Wizardry Gold, the re-engineered Crusaders of the Dark Savant for Mac and Windows gamers, one of our favorite role-playing titles Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games, plus the FRPG Realms of Arkana--Shadows Over Riva. The latter title will release during Q3. Then, in September, comes the highly anticipated Nemesis: The Wizardry Adventure. Although not a sequel to the Wizardry series, the game opens new environments for Wizardry-gaming. Also of note is the fact that Sir-Tech is now a major sponsor of the U.S. Bobsled Team. The company is going to distribute more than 100K bobsled posters at retail outlets and a bobsled sweeps is underway wherein two customers will be able to go bobsledding with Team USA next winter. You can obtain the sweeps details and entry form at the aforementioned WWW site. Sir-Tech is also a major sponsor of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. This site is located in Canastota, New York. SmartDesk: HELP FOR WRITERS A true surprise in 1987, a small company created, developed and sold a program entitled Collaborator. From Collaborator Systems, the product sold very well and was quite popular with screenwriters. Then, fiction and non-fiction authors decided to use this product for their creative work. So successful was the product that SmartDesk, Inc., decided to acquire the entire Collaborator line of story processing titles. Many game developers also use the program as it simultaneously tracks multiple story lines. Versions are available for Macintosh and DOS machines. Sound Source: DRAGON DELIGHTS The epic adventure film from Universal Pictures, Dragonheart(TM), is no longer relegated just to the movie screen at your local cineplex mass of theaters. Sound Source Interactive has intro'd Dragonheart Medieval Creativity Center. This edutainment is the first in a series of offerings that will immerse children in activities that encourage a variety of creative exercises and a fun way of solving problems. In this title, children will work with Draco, the 18-foot high, 43-foot long dragon featured in the film. They'll go on a quest to locate missing gemstones from Bowen's (the hero knight played by Dennis Quad) shield. When an activity is completed, the child is rewarded with a gem which must be replaced on the shield. When the shield is whole, a final prize is given the youngster. When you "enter" the game, you behold a magnificently illustrated castle that enables point-and-click movement, enabling youngsters to easily navigate throughout the exercises. There are memory challenges, puzzles, games involving logic skills and art activities. This title is a hybrid disc and runs on Macintosh and Windows 3.1/95 machines, all with a CD-ROM drive. Stormfront Studios: BETTER BASEBALL One of the most popular baseball sims ever produced has been Tony La Russa Baseball. The developer of the original game, Stormfront Studios, has now made available Tony La Russa Baseball 3(TM), the new version for PCs of their award-winning multimedia baseball sim. There is a faster, far more responsive game interface plus exclusive head-to-head stats for nearly every major league ballplayer. The strategy and arcade-styles of play have also been enhanced. The stats represent the first use of pitcher-versus-batter data in a computer sim and are quite similar to the info most major league managers and coaches use as they set-up their game lineups. New stats also help define each batter's performance with runners in scoring positions, whether they are at home or on the road, pitch-hitting and those tiring, late-innings of close games. The game's announcers (Mel Allen, Lon Simmons and Hank Greenwald) now refer to each player by name, and all I/O operations have been optimized for significant ballplayer reaction. This title is for Windows(R) 95 and DOS(R) 5.0 machines. Sun: CLINKING WEB GLASSES The sun's warmth and radiance nurtures the grapes in the Napa Valley and helps to produce some of the finest worlds in the world. Sun also warms and nurtures a new WWW site the company has created that will be part of the Napa Valley Wine Auction. This coming Saturday, June 8th, is the date for this worldwide-accessed auction action over the MBONE (Multicast Backbone) Internet area that supports real-time activity. This online auction capability is the result of collaboration between Sun Microsystems and Precept Software. To bid, you can access a bidding applet built using Java(TM) that'll allow you to submit your bids either in advance, or in real-time during the actual auction. The auction runs from 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm, and through use of Precept's FlashWare MBONE viewer (which is free for download), you can watch the proceedings. Head for http://www.nvwa.org to view the auction WWW site and register for your wine bidding action. The MBONE viewer is available at http://www.precept.com. The auction is sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintners Association and nearly 2,000 folk are expected to attend the festivities. TEN: SCORE TEN ON NETSCAPE Two very hip players on the Web have combined their talents that will result in the integration of Netscape Navigator into Total Entertainment Network's (TEN), front-end software. TEN, an interactive network for game players, and Netscape Communications Corporation's Internet client software will be featured as part of TEN beginning this summer. This merge of talents results in TEN widening its technological lead in the Internet gaming market--Netscape gains distribution through hit games. Together these companies provide TEN members with one of the most-used Web browsers. Information about Netscape and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://home.netscape.com. The software will first be available for Windows 95. TEN is on the Web at http://www.ten.net/. TerraGlyph: TINY TOONS DOESN'T DO SHAKESPEARE Buster and the Beanstalk from TerraGlyph for Windows95 is a new animated game for ages three to nine that features Buster Bunny, Plucky Duck and other characters from the Tiny Toons cartoon series. Typical for Tiny Toons, when this title is booted up, folk are met with a warning: Shakespeare this ain't. Righto, this game for kids ages three to nine (and lots of older folk, too) is full of puns. An irreverent imitation of Jack and the Beanstalk, this explore-and-click scavenger hunt rewards you with a brief bit of animation when you click on the right objects in at least 10 different screens. OUCHSTONE TOUCHES-DOWN ON THE WEB Do you love movies and are you interested in the various stars? Now Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures have launched Movies.com, a site on the World Wide Web that will profile recently released and upcoming films from Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures such as Spy Hard, starring Leslie Nielsen and Nicolette Sheridan, and The Rock, starring Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage. There'll also be feature stars of the week, What's Hot with gossip from Hollywood, and more. TV Ratings: TOP TEN TV RATINGS FOR WEEK OF MAY 27-JUNE 2 1. Home Improvement, ABC 2. Coach, ABC 3. ABC Sunday Night Movie, ABC 4. Seinfeld - Special, NBC 5. NBA Playoffs - Sunday, NBC 6. 20/20, ABC 7. NBC Monday Night Movies, NBC 8. PrimeTime Live, ABC 9. 60 Minutes, CBS 10. Friends, NBC Walt Disney Pictures: A NEW MOUSEKETEER AT DISNEY MOTION PICTURES Diane Keaton who is recognized as an Academy Award-winning actress and acclaimed filmmaker, has begun meetings with The Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group to produce and direct motion picture projects. According to the agreement under discussion, Keaton will produce and direct motion picture projects that she and her production entity, Blue Relief, will