DP Tool Club 31/CDASC_31_1996_juillet_aout.iso/vrac/compu48.zip/COMPU48.TXT

Text File | 1996-06-09 | 64KB | 1,164 lines

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                         This Week's Contents:

My Notes:
1) Sorry about issue delay . . .
2) Vacation ... Again ...

Columnists' Corner:
1) Howard Takes a Shot!

News:
1) Red Lobster Wins Technology Award!
2) Wearable PCs? Are Star Trek type computers here?

Reviews:
1) Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess
   Reviewed by William M Frazier ([e-mail])
2) Allied General (Windows) Reviewed by
   Doug Reed, Associate Editor ([e-mail])
3) Norton Utilities for Windows 95 on CDROM
   Reviewed By: Donald Hughes ([e-mail])
4) NYCD-ROM: New York City Cultural Directory
   Reviewed By: Gail Marsella ([e-mail])

Web Sites:
1) Make Money Reading Advertising? (www.goldmail.com)
2) Mortgages by the Web? (www.maze.com)

FTP File:
1) ONSIZE.ZIP - An Oldie but Goodie!

Interview:
1) Greet Street Creator Tony Levitan - Order Your Father's Day Cards
   Now!

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date  : June 7, 1996      |CompuNotes is a weekly publication available
Issue : 48                |through email and many fine on-line networks.
--------------------------|We cover the IBM computing world with
CompuNotes is published   |software/hardware reviews, news, hot web
4Point, Inc.,             |sites, cool FTP files and interviews. We also
1315 Woodgate Drive       |give away one software package a week to a
St. Louis, MO 63122       |lucky winner for just reading our fine
[phone] voice      |publication! Never dull, sometimes tardy, we
[phone] fax        |are here to bring you the way it is!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Backroom Workers:                     |We are always looking for
Patrick Grote, Managing Editor            |people to write honest,
([e-mail])                       |concise reviews for us. Send
Doug Reed, Asst. Editor / Writer Liaison  |a message to Doug Reed at
([e-mail])                    |[e-mail] with
Judy Litt, Graphics Editor/Web Master     |your list of qualifications.
([e-mail])                           |If Doug thinks we can count
------------------------------------------|on you to make things happen
I am looking for a collection of shareware|you'll receive free software
reviews I put out in the 87-88 timeframe  |of your choice for review.
under my handle of NEVER BEFORE. I think  |We like new writers!
they started as NB*.ZIP. Can you look     |-----------------------------
on your local BBS? THANKS!                |      Go Chicago Bulls!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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                           SYSOPS READ HERE!

    Wanting to make CompuNotes available on as many BBS as possible, we
can't afford to call everyone's BBS every week. What we would like to do
is send those interested sysops a UUENCODED version for posting on their
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Patrick's News
         Being The Publisher and Managing Editor Has Its Perks!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DELAYS ... |
------------
Sorry about the delay in getting the latest issues out to you. There
really is no excuse except to say I am trying to find out which one I
like better, my home computer or my laptop. The laptop is winning.

With it I can sit and watch, say, Rob Roy, like I am now and complete
the newsletter. At my desk in my office I can listen to a CD like, say,
MegaDeath, but I'm alone. With the laptop I can interact with the family
if I want. The only problem I have is this thirty foot patch cable to my
hub in the office . . . .

Since I am going on vacation in the next week, I want to let you know
the next issue will be number 49 out on Wednesday and then our special
bonus issue number 50 out the following Sunday. I'll the be on a two
week break.

We are planning an exciting 50th issue with the release of a database of
all software reviews compiled by Doug Reed the assistant editor, six
software reviews and an exciting interview.

-----------------------
Vacation ... Again ...|
-----------------------
As you all know we'll be swimming in the Atlantic off the oceans of
Delaware. What concerns me is the temperature. According to the National
Weather Service  it has been in the mid 70s at Bethany Beach. I know
this isn't warm enough to swim. What gives? Can someone send
reassurance?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Columnists' Corner - We bring you a different person each week!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Howard Carson's Big City Byte ([e-mail])
==============================================
The satisfaction inherent in work, is embodied primarily by successes we
achieve. A job or task well done elicits pleasure, increased confidence
and self-esteem, because of completion. Completion, though rarely an end
in itself, is the result of a long, mostly logical, sometimes
improvisational or insightful chain of events, leading to some goal.

It's a reasonable philosophy.

Software sometimes helps our work. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes our
work is more readily facilitated with a pencil and note paper, instead
of a Pentium 133, 17" SVGA monitor, 1.2 GB hard drive, Works, Corel Draw
and Quark. Sometimes a pencil and paper are laughably inadequate for the
task at hand. Sometimes a single word or picture will suffice, though
the temptation to employ sagacious maundering is nearly irresistible.
Sometimes an epic description is the de facto standard because no
pictures are available; none at least, that are worth a thousand words.
What is idoneous then, always relates to the subjective demands of the
particular tasks at hand. There is no single piece of hardware or
software which will answer all questions.

We all have certain tools beside software and hardware, which facilitate
the tasks towards which we naturally gravitate during the course of
using our computers to earn a living, care for family, ply an avocation
or create solutions to problems. The most trenchantly useful tools in
our possession are largely intellectual however; the way we approach the
resolution of problems, the way we rationalize anger, the way we
moderate idiosyncracies to accommodate others, the way we come to an
understanding of ever more complex concepts, the way we learn to embody
self-confidence and the way we find different situations in which we may
give of our time and labors.

Are you reading this thinking, `This is self-evident'? Be aware that
many others do not regard the foregoing as self-evident. Far too often,
people are working in fields of endeavor for which they are apparently
overqualified but are in fact ludicrously underequipped to manage; not
because they are stupid or otherwise incompetent, but because previous
experience has not made use of important skills (which have gone dormant
as a result). Humans are forced into this position because the
businesses for which they toil no longer have the labor pool and
concomitant financial resources from which to draw the appropriate
speciality.

Upsetting? You bet! And many employers are attempting to remedy such
situations by simply handing over some allegedly oracular piece of
software and saying, ``Here, this will help you get the job done.'' The
logic is clear: replace human brain power with a piece of software and
hope fervently that the software programmers have managed to include
your needs in the list of configuration options and wizards.

What is frightening therefore, are companies which advertise and promote
software as tools that will allow endless creativity or performance of
virtually any task, while in reality the user of such software is merely
a caretaker and button pusher with little or no substantive, creative
input at all, except to decide which pre-installed macro to run. What is
even more frightening is that everyone utilizing such software is
employing identical sets of `creative' parameters. There is no room
suddenly for individuality, uniquely creative solutions, character, or
proprietary interest in the tasks at hand. The employers who force the
unilateral use of such software will shortly be decrying the lack of
creativity, lack of personal involvement and dearth of style and
character on the part of their employees. Those who are deluded by the
apparent convenience of such software will be the progenitors of their
own doom.

There are other less apparent terrors, though they are no less
upsetting. Spellchecking utilities, for instance. They are excellent
tools to have around, until you observe a dozen or more people in a
typical large office environment using such tools. The realization dawns
very swiftly, that several of the users are not learning proper
spelling. They are making the same mistakes over and over again. The
machine is thinking for the person in a most inappropriate way. It would
appear that pushing utility activation keys or macro function keys, are
timesaving actions that have validity only if the person pushing the
keys can do without the utility in the first place or is the individual
who wrote the macro in the first place! By the same token, one might
surmise that the latest incarnation of the `business college', fails to
teach its students the proper forms and functions of business and office
environments (formatting business letters, personal letters, memos,
newsletters, reports, as well as grammar, syntax and interpersonal
skills), but rather teaches those students how to determine the exact
moment to press the proper function or macro key in WordPerfect, Word,
Notes, Access, Excel, et al. Have a look at these programs and their
supporting utilities. A reasonably experienced office manager can set up
the software so that it prevents anybody in the office from having to
think to deeply about anything.

My old friend Tug Mitchell once found himself in an alley in Norfolk,
Virginia. At the time, Tug was a USMC Drill Instructor. He was cornered
in by four men who had decided Tug didn't deserve to live a long and
satisfying life. The four fools knew of Tug's reputation as a combat
veteran who had seen extensive active service in Vietnam. The four fools
had spent a week preparing themselves for the encounter.

Well, old Tug broke them up into exceedingly small pieces, without
breaking a sweat. His success was not evinced through hatred or seminal
brutality or violent anger. It was accomplished through twenty years of
hard training and practical experience. Twenty years of being told,
``THAT'S WRONG. DO IT AGAIN, THIS WAY!" Twenty years of practicing those
corrections until he genuinely KNEW what he was doing. It embodies a
technique most effectively used when teaching children to spell, by the
way. And read. And count. And do arithmetic. And play piano. And ski.
And skate. And swim. And so on.

Repetition. Correction. Repetition. Correction. Repetition. Correction.
Success.

An eerie suspicion begins to creep inexorably up the spine. As nerves
fire in response to this intrusive, disquieting shiver, new pathways of
revelation and understanding begin to take murky shape. In a sudden rush
of intuitive premonition, the thought circuit completes its headlong
rush toward reality and the neon sign inside the skull cracks on at full
voltage and intensity:

``Someone Out There Doesn't Want Us To Think For Ourselves!''

*****BINGO*****

The decades after the second world war, found corporate philosophy
somewhat archaic. Most large businesses wanted drones working for them.
The more, the better. The late sixties and early seventies revealed the
need for creative solutions to complex global (and local!) problems. The
late seventies, the eighties and early nineties created huge masses of
workers with skills inadequate to survive recession. Those individuals
had trusted in the union movement, societal values and corporate
hegemony to preserve a way of life. Most (if not all) large employers
have searched throughout these decades for all-in-one solutions to the
problems of economical productivity, coupled with a minimum of
complaints from the labor force. They've had precious little success.
Though progressive attitudes exist, the failure to address legitimate
human grievances by the majority of employers has resulted in a
situation similar to that which existed immediately after WWII. Again.

They want us to sit meekly at our desks pushing macro keys. The latest
software for the workplace proves it. If these people have their way, we
will soon be unable to do anything but what our 'tools' have been
programmed to do.

What will we talk about in the office of the not-too-distant future?
Will we meet merely to discuss which set of macros and templates to use
in the coming weeks or months? Will we be allowed any true creative
freedom at all? Will this discussion take place via e-mail only? The
prospect is truly horrifying. Thus, there are some important facts to
consider when purchasing software for your home or office.

Genuinely creative word processing software reached its zenith about
three years ago. Please note that more layout features, more fonts,
pretty colors, fancier GUI's, OLE, DDE, Pipelining, Clipboard
Extendability, cross platform file handling, Wizards, Web Authoring,
etc., can never serve to disguise the fact that if a document walks like
a duck and quacks like a duck...

Consider also that niche platform software programmers have not fallen
into the same corporate, high level, mass marketing, million user traps
which have felled the best programmers working in DOS, Windows, Win95,
Windows NT and OS\2. Those poor devils have been required to take aim at
the lowest common denominator of legitimate conceptual understanding in
the modern office workplace and they've darn near shot themselves in the
foot, in the process. They haven't made the software easier to use. They
haven't made genuine creativity more accessible to a greater number of
people. They've only made it easier to recognize which 3-D, animated, 16
million color icon to click.

Niche platform software on the other hand, generally requires that
certain knowledge and rote principles be in place; like a basic
knowledge of standard letter forms, memos, databases, and so on.
Certainly templates exist, but they aren't the default mode of
operation.

Surprisingly, there is the possibility of overbearing programming even
so. Despite the worst prognostications of niche platform nay-sayers,
surprising volumes of superb, highly advanced software is showing up in
response to the wonderful potential embodied by the upper end of the
niche platform hardware. Some of this software is looking an awful lot
like some of the wildly popular bloatware found on the PC. Programs like
Calamus SL, DAs Vektor, Papyrus Gold, Positive Image, Cranach Studio,
Protext, Notator Logic, Cubase Audio, Apex Media and many, many others
represent the practical limit of independent thought and action by a
user, before the idea of overbearing software control of legitimate
human creativity takes hold.

We must always educate ourselves according to certain standards. We must
always learn the basic principles and logical requirements inherent in
our work. We must never rely on software and hardware to do this sort of
thinking for us. If we give in to such temptations, there is a real and
present danger that our basic skills and knowledge may be eroded to a
point where there remains no choice but to rely SOLELY on the software
and hardware to provide basic skills and aptitudes. There is also a
school of thought that proposes we are all better off with computers,
robots and software doing the most mundane tasks in the workplace. It is
claimed that workers are then free to occupy their minds with higher
pursuits.

Perhaps.

But I must politely point out that while some gifted children are
terrific piano players, they learned their skills step by step. They
began their musical education on page 1. Not page 50. Tug Mitchell and
the gifted children are not too different. They have `paid their dues'
by beginning at the beginning. They have earned the privilege of
skipping ahead and pursuing loftier goals in their areas of interest.

Buy software that works quickly and efficiently, by all means. Just
don't buy something that usurps the inherent abilities resident in all
of us, which permit the creation of great and wondrous things. Define
your needs, your abilities and your goals as an employer or employee,
and please make note of the fact Big City Byte is written using a good,
older, high speed text editor running on a niche platform machine, not
$400 worth of Spectac-O-Writer running on a P6 with 64 MB of RAM.

Have a productive day. Caveat Emptor.

Copyright 1996, Howard E. Carson and Proton Research. All rights
reserved.

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>
   Howard Carson, 3 Groves Lane, Ajax ONtario, Canada, L1S 3C7   <<
 >>Email: [e-mail]  Ph: [phone]  Fax: [phone] << >>
  Proton Research   TAF   ABC Solutions   Current Notes Magazine <<
 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
       >>>> NEW ADDRESS AND PHONE NO. EFFECTIVE 17/APRIL/96 <<<<
       >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS OF THE WEEK| This section is dedicated to verified news . . . All
News (C)opyright  Respective Owner - Will Only Reprint
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RED LOBSTER WINS . . . |
------------------------
CHICAGO, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Red Lobster Inc., one of the world's
largest full-service seafood restaurant chains in North America, has
been nominated as a finalist in the Windows World Open technology
competition for its innovative use of Stac Inc.'s (Nasdaq: STAC)
ReachOut(R), the first Internet-enabled complete remote access software
package.  A competition designed to award developers and their companies
for innovative work in solving business problems using the Microsoft
Windows(R) platform, the Windows World Open competition took place at
Windows World '96 June 3-6 in Chicago.

Red Lobster of Orlando was nominated for the honor in the mobile/remote
worker access category - one of eight categories in which only 27 firms
were chosen to compete - for its implementation of Stac's ReachOut
software.  Red Lobster uses the product in its Home Agent program, which
allows guest relations workers, of which 75 percent are physically
challenged, to field calls from customers and vendors at home, rather
than at the office and access Red Lobster's Star2000 database system.

"We started the Home Agent program because we recognized the talents of
employees with disabilities and wanted to make their lives easier and
more productive," said Arlene Marcus, Red Lobster's manager of guest
relations.  "ReachOut is easy to use and eliminates the time-consuming
transportation problems that often face the physically challenged.
ReachOut has been great, and Red Lobster has a happier, more motivated
staff as a result."

The Home Agent program equips guest relations workers with a personal
computer, a telephone, a modem, a transcriber and ReachOut. Using
ReachOut, employees can transmit their data to a departmental server and
retrieve information with the same kind of performance and speed as if
they are working in Red Lobster's offices.

Bette Salem, a guest relations employee with cerebral palsy, said she's
benefited by using ReachOut because it saves her several hours a day in
driving and preparing for work in the morning. "ReachOut is my personal
highway to the office," she said.

In one single package ReachOut provides support for Windows 95, Windows
3.1 and DOS, with modem, network, host and viewer components all
included.  A free 30-day timed evaluation of ReachOut is also available
on Stac's home page at http://www.stac.com.  ReachOut for Windows 95,
Windows and DOS retails for approximately $99.

------------------------------------
STAR TREK WEARABLE COMPUTERS . . . |
------------------------------------
WASHINGTON, June 5 /PRNewswire/ - Today, Computing Devices International
formally launched its new product THE WEARABLE(TM) Computer, which
provides the user with information on demand - anytime, anywhere. A
press briefing and product demonstration were hosted in conjunction with
AFCEA's Technet '96.

This innovative technology is now available across a broad spectrum of
defense and aviation-related applications to provide hands-free digital
and voice communications. This 2-pound-computer provides the digital
processing power of today's PC, yet is so compact it can be worn as a
belt or in a vest.

THE WEARABLE consists of four major components: THE WEARABLE Computer,
configurable peripherals, the support environment and application
software.  The processor board is an Intel 486 DX4 with 75 MHz.  Memory
can range from 8-24 MB RAM, and included is 16-bit stereo sound on
board.

The operating system uses Microsoft DOS and Microsoft Windows to support
software applications.  IBM's Voice Type Applications Factory software
or other COTS speech recognition packages are used for the voice
recognition and recorded voice applications. Product functionality is
supported by up to four PCMCIA Type II or III card slot peripherals and
built-in capabilities on the mother board for keyboard, mouse, VGA
display, LCD display and voice processing.

The applications are vast for THE WEARABLE.  A few of these include:
intelligence data and imagery gathering, combat medical diagnosis and
treatment, maintenance, logistics, training and dictation/language
translation.

Currently, the U.S. Army is using a prototype of THE WEARABLE in Bosnia
for language translation by NATO peace keepers.  This technology is
being used to interview local Serbs and Croatians to obtain information
on location of mine fields.  THE WEARABLE translates the English phrase
into the local language using voice recognition technology and
broadcasts the phrase via a body-mounted speaker to the person being
interviewed.

Computing Devices International, a division of Ceridian Corporation, has
a track record of success that spans more than 45 years over hundreds of
programs and thousands of platforms. Computing Devices International is
dedicated to developing and integrating reliable, affordable electronic
information solutions for defense and civil government customers
worldwide.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEWS OF THE WEEK | Interesting software/hardware you may need . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product:  Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess
Reviewed By:  William M Frazier ([e-mail])
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I guess I was the typical teenage nerd.  Although I wasn't able to live
in the synthetic world of my computer (someone still needed to invent
the home PC when I was a teenager), I did enjoy the game of chess.
Later, when computers were finally available on the mass market, I
bought my first PC, an Apple II Plus.  One of the first games I bought
for it was Sargon 2, the "best" chess program on the market for an Apple
computer.  After my initial exposure to computer chess a number of
things became apparent. Usually, these programs played a better brand of
chess than I did.  I tried most of them.  Sargon 2, 3, 4, etc.
Chessmaster 2000, 3000, etc.  BattleChess.  I could win once in a while
at the lowest computer skill level, and loose always at the higher skill
levels.

Now Davidson & Associates and Simon & Schuster, Inc. are releasing what
I believe will be the chess program for the masses, Maurice Ashley
Teaches Chess.  This program, for beginning and intermediate chess
players, does more than provide a challenging game of chess.  Packaged
on a multimedia CD-ROM, Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess gives basic
instruction to new players, has thousands of interactive challenges to
sharpen game skills and board visualization, and contains strategy
lessons and puzzles for more advanced players.  We finally have a chess
program that not only plays chess, but actually does something to help
improve our skill levels.

Before I go any further, I should explain why Maurice Ashley is featured
in the title of this game.  Maurice Ashley is a 29 year old
African-American chess player.  In 1986 he earned the rank of National
Master and by 1993 he advanced to become an International Master.  He
intends to become the first African-American Grandmaster in the history
of the game.  Mr. Ashley has also taught the game to thousands of young
adults during the past decade.

Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess requires a 486 CPU running at 33 MHz or
faster with at least 8 MB of RAM.  You will need Windows 3.1 with DOS
6.0 or higher or Windows 95, a double-speed CD-ROM drive, a Sound
Blaster or Windows compatible sound card, and a 256 color SVGA video
card.  The program takes 20 MB of hard drive space, although a minimum
installation requires just 1 MB.

Program installation, at least on a Windows 95 machine, is as painless
as it gets.  I just inserted the CD-ROM, and Windows 95 handled the
rest.  After designating the destination drive and directory, the
program loaded and configured automatically.  Documentation is minimal,
just a small booklet stuffed in the CD-ROM jewel case and a couple
readme files on the CD-ROM, but you really don't need anything more to
understand how to play the game.

The program contains four main sections; The Basics, Challenges,
Strategies, and Playing Chess.  A complete training program, combining
the four main sections, is organized to prepare a person for
championship chess.

The Basics, as the name implies, teaches the chess newcomer.  The board
and placement of the chess pieces are introduced.  The Basics also
covers the different moves each piece can perform.  Challenges consists
of a series of exercises involving each piece.  The new and experienced
player learns to sharpen his games skills and board visualization.
Strategies are exercises that improve the players abstract thinking,
reasoning, and analytical skills.  Learning these strategies will give
you an edge over your opponent.  Finally, you're ready to Play Chess.
The gameboard includes game clocks, your choice of either white or black
pieces, and too many other options to list.  You can choose from a 2D or
3D perspective and a variety of different themes for your chessmen.  I
find it easiest to play on a 2D board with traditional chess pieces,
although this may be the result of starting with the rudimentary games
offered for the Apple II computer 15 years ago.

Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess is a game I'm going to keep on my hard
drive.  It's been a long time since I've looked in a chess book for
tips, and my game could use a lot of improvement.  The audio and video
are a real help in re-learning the concepts of chess.  On screen
animation and chalk board displays demonstrate and explain the logic
underlying the strategies of the game.  Besides, this nerd needs to
escape the synthetic world (read World Wide Web), and get back to
something real, like a game of chess.

Davidson/Simon & Schuster, Inc.
P O Box 2961
Torrance, CA 90509
(800)-545-7677
email:  [e-mail]
http://www.davd.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product:  Allied General (Windows)
Reviewer: Doug Reed, Games Editor ([e-mail])
Reviewed On: 486DX250, 8 MB RAM, 2X CD-ROM, Windows 95
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allied General is SSI's sequel to the immensely popular computer war
game Panzer General, and second in the new 5-Star series of games from
SSI, all of which will use the basic Panzer General engine.  The basic
premise is the same as Panzer General; the player takes command of a
group of `core' units and must lead them to victory through a series of
campaign battles.  The difference is that in Allied General the player
has the choice of fighting for the British, the Americans, and the
Russians. With this new addition to the series SSI takes the big leap
from DOS to Windows, a welcome change for wargames (in my opinion).
Allied General is optimally designed for Windows 95 but will also run in
Windows 3.1.

Installation in Windows 95 is straight forward and easy - simply insert
the CD-ROM and go (Autoplay is fully supported).  Allied General is
designed to run optimally in 640x480 resolution with 256 colors;
anything above or below this will not look or work properly.  If you do
not have version 1.1, you should immediately download the patch
(available from SSI's web site and BBS).  The patch fixes problems with
the e-mail system and adds a number of handy new features such as
autoscrolling for the tactical map.

If you've played Panzer General, your first impression upon loading
Allied General is that little has changed.  The wonderful newsreel
footage from World War II is there in all its glory, this time showing
the Allies instead of the Axis (one nice new touch is that sound is
added to the newsreels).  The basic screens all look the same and all of
the icons are the same and appear to be in pretty much the same
location.  SSI took the wise step of not messing with the basic engine
very much, which was a good idea because it was part of what made Panzer
General so popular.  New elements to Allied General include the ability
to build a Dossier on yourself, giving a fairly comprehensive history of
campaigns and battles you have fought (including human and computer
opponents).  During a campaign, you can also see a detailed history of
your core units. The e-mail system is one of the most interesting and
useful I've ever seen.  For the first time, you can actually see a
replay of your opponent's move (of the units visible to you, anyway).
No longer do you have to sit there and wonder, okay, now what units have
been attacked and how much damage was done? Allied General shows you, so
you can start your turn with a pretty clear idea of what to do.  In
addition, SSI has made it much easier to control deployment of your core
units during the campaign by giving you a window which allows you to
choose which unit you wish to place as well as giving you the ability to
`repair' the unit with supplies or replacements or even to upgrade the
unit to superior equipment.

This is a significant improvement over Panzer General where troop
deployment was one unit at a time and you had to try to remember exactly
how many units you had and of what type. As mentioned above, you can
play campaigns as  a commander of either British, American, or Russian
forces.  British commanders have the option of starting in the North
African desert in 1940 or in France in 1944.  American commanders start
with Operation Torch and quickly proceed to the invasion of Fortress
Europe and the opening of the Western Front. Russian commanders will
face the greatest challenge; you start with the invasion of Finland (a
near disaster for the Russians) followed by the invasion of the
Wehrmacht in 1941 which resulted in the greatest conflict in world
history.  What is most interesting about the Russian campaign is that
considerable allowance is made for the fact that, at least initially,
the player is going to lose (most likely badly) to the German onslaught.

In Panzer General, one loss at the start of the campaign was sufficient
for your removal; considerable more leeway is given for Russian
commanders in Allied General.  You also have the ability to replay a
number of famous battles as either the Allied or Axis commander.  These
battles are `set-piece' battles, i.e., the units are in historical
positions with no input from the player as to placement or composition.
Sadly, Allied General like its predecessor does not include any kind of
scenario editor to allow for customized battles.  I would have liked to
be able to see what happened if I tried Patton's plan for the invasion
of Europe (at Calais instead of Normandy).

The game is quick and easy to play, at least under Windows 95.
Newsgroups dedicated to wargames have logged a number of complaints from
players running under Windows 3.1 that the game runs slowly and crashes
often (supposedly fixed with version 1.1).  In Windows 95 I did not
experience any problems or crashes; the game ran just fine.  One
interesting point to note; a number of complaints on one newsgroup have
stated that Allied General does not look as good as Panzer General.  I
don't know what these people are talking about; on my system, running
under Windows 95, Allied General looks just as good (if not slightly
better) than Panzer General.  The only thing I can think of is that
these people are not playing Allied General at 640x480 resolution with
256 colors. Gameplay and tactics in Allied General are much the same as
Panzer General.  Infantry are meant for assaulting and defending cities,
while tanks and aircraft will pretty much rule the battlefield.  Panzer
General has one of the most competent artificial opponents of all
computer wargames on the market, and SSI claims that the AI in Allied
General is even better.  What I've played of the game so far would tend
to bear this out; I did not catch the computer making any glaring
tactical errors.

In general, however, the AI is much the same as the one in Panzer
General; it tends to be fairly conservative when playing on the
offensive or defensive and is rarely daring or imaginative.  Luckily,
though, you can play against human opponents, and there are already a
number of sites on the web where you can find e-mail opponents for
Allied General as well as a multitude of other wargames.  Here Allied
General truly excels over Panzer General since it allows you to see what
occurred during your opponents turn.  However, Allied General will have
an uphill battle against Panzer General for two reasons:  1) many of
those who would play Allied General already have Panzer General and
would see little reason to upgrade (their loss), and 2) the always
strong anti-Windows bias of a considerable number of computer gamers.
This is too bad, because Allied General is an excellent product, well
conceived and executed. If you enjoy wargames, Allied General is
definitely worth purchasing, even if you already own Panzer General.

There is a more than sufficient amount of new material and challenges to
warrant the `upgrade', in my opinion. I truly enjoy Allied General much
more than Panzer General for no other reason than the fact that it is a
Windows product, which means I can be playing a turn AND working at the
same time.  If you have never played a wargame before but are
considering it, then Allied General is a superb introductory product to
the genre, even more so than Panzer General. Grognards may tell you that
Allied General is not a true wargame because, like Panzer General, it
does not allow you to control every detail; to them I say SO WHAT?
These games are fun and provide a considerable amount of replay value.
I give Allied General my highest recommendation to all but the most
jaded hardcore wargamers.  Allied General will certainly enjoy a long
life on my hard drive.  Watch out Wehrmacht, here comes `Old Blood and
Guts' Reed!

Strategic Simulations, Inc.
675 Almanor Avenue, Suite 201
Sunnyvale, CA 94086-2901
[phone]
[phone] (BBS)
http://www.ssionline.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Norton Utilities for Windows 95 on CDROM
Reviewed By: Donald Hughes ([e-mail])
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Symantec corporations' "Norton Utilities" is a unique set of
software tools for Windows 95, allowing the end user to recover lost
data, optimize the hard drive, and repair file structures with ease and
confidence.  If you use Windows 95, this is necessary a "must have"
utility for your computer system.

System Requirements: IBM PC 100% compatible computer, Windows 95,
Pre-installation Tune-up runs under DOS 3.3 or higher, 386DX or higher
CPU, 4 MB of Ram (8 is recommended).

Tune-Up Pre-installation of Windows 95.

Norton Utilities includes a wizard program that walks  the user
step-by-step through the process of "Tuning-up" their computer, prior to
installing Windows 95. The requirements for running TuneUp are: 512k of
free memory, 4 MB of ram and one 3 1/2 inch floppy drive or a CD-ROM
drive. TuneUp executes, Norton Disk Doctor, Space Wizard, and Norton
Diagnostics giving the user's system a comprehensive check over and
repairing hard drive or file errors that may exist. Once the system has
successfully completed "tune-up," the user can now go ahead with an
installation of  Windows 95.  After Windows 95 has been install you can
continue with the installation of Norton Utilities.

Installation of Norton Utilities (Windows 95 previously installed)

Requirements: 4 MB of ram (8 is recommend), 14 MB of hard drive space, a
3 1/2 floppy drive or CD-ROM, and two high-density floppy disks for
creating a set of bootable rescue disks. Note you can skip this step,
however, Norton recommends the user creates the rescue disks at time of
installation.

Installing Norton Utilities: 1.  Start Windows 95. 2.  Insert Setup disk
1 or the CD-ROM in a drive. Note: The CD-ROM drive will automatically
start the setup wizard. 3.  Open the control panel, by clicking Start,
Settings, Control panel. 4.  Double click on Add/Remove Programs in the
Control Panel. 5.  Click on install--Windows will now check all drives
for an install or setup program. 6.  Click Next to accept SETUP.EXE,
then click on Finish, to start the installation process and follow
screen instructions.

I installed Norton Utilities on my older 386DX 40 MHz, system with a
single speed CD-ROM, eight megs of ram, and a 486 DX 100 MHz system,
twelve megs of ram, and a double speed CD- ROM--note speed and install
time will vary depending on your system. The install process took
twenty-five minutes on the 386 and seventeen on the 486, including the
time to make rescue disks.  The Wizard install process takes the worry
out of installation for the experienced or novice computer user.

The hard drive space required for a complete installation: Norton DOS
Utilities  3,120K, Norton Windows 95 utilities 6,543,K, and Norton
Companion 1,668k.  The install process prompts the user to add Norton
protection to the recycle bin, empowering better and safer file
recovery, using the right mouse button-which adds to the Windows 85
credence "When in doubt right click." During the process Norton System
doctor (if user selected) is added the start-up menu and will activate
every time you start windows.

The System doctor can be easily removed from the Start-up menu, by
clicking on the START button, the Settings, Taskbar, Start Menu
programs, Remove, and double clicking on STARTUP, then click on Norton
System Doctor, Remove.  This will remove the System Doctor and prevent
the program running every time you bootup the computer.  Thereafter, the
Norton System Doctor can be executed from the Norton Utilities Menu
programs list.

A condensed synopsis of  Individual Norton Utilities:

Norton System Doctor: Runs in the back ground and monitors all system
activity, if an error is detected it will launch the correct utility to
correct the problem.  System Doctor has a superb graphical display, that
instantly shows the user  the amount of CPU utilization, free space,
unfragmented space, Virtual memory free, GDI resources free, user
resources free. The lower part of System Doctor window unitizes the stop
light style format, red, yellow, green.  The user can, at a glance, see
the system status  disk integrity, image information last saved date,
rescue readiness, plus the date and time--in calendar format. The
program can be optimized to suit the individual users tastes.

Space Wizard: This utility locates any duplicated, or outdated, or
unnecessary files that are taking up space on your hard drive. The space
wizard two modes are Express or Comprehensive. The user is then asked
for the drive number to check C:, D: ,etc.  Space Wizard then proceeds
to checkmark the drive, recommending files to delete that will free up
valuable hard drive space. However, this is one program you must use
with discretion when you select files to delete or you may end up
deleting program files. The program does an excellent job selecting
.bak,.tmp, and duplicate files that are taking up hard drive space but
the you must delete judiciously.

Norton Disk Doctor: Provides 32-bit file analysis and repair of standard
or compressed drives. By clicking on options the user can customize this
Utility to suit the system. The program checks the disk partition table,
boot record, file system, directories, and disk surface.  Disk doctor
prompts the user if it locates an error or can be set in the option's
menu to automatically repair any error encountered. At the end of the
programs run, it displays disk tests results.

Speed Disk: 32-bit file optimization, speeds up disk access for improved
system performance. The Speed Disks graphical display bestows more
information on a hard drive then does Windows 95 disk defragmenter. The
options menu allow the end user to customize the utility and even play
wave or midi music during the optimize process

UnErase: New wizards  simplify file recovery, and the enhanced Recycle
bin provides better recoverability of any deleted file.  If  Norton
protection was added during the install process the user must click once
on the Recycle bin, then use the right mouse button to access the
Recycle bin empty function, and empty Norton Protected files.

System information: Shows detailed information on your computer system.
The new 32-bit benchmark displays system performance when running
windows 95 applications. This utility displays System, Memory, Drives
(floppy, hard drive and CD-ROM) Multimedia, Network, Monitor, Printer,
mouse, keyboard information.  This utility will give basic or very
detailed information about your computer  system.

Image: Backs up vital file-system data structures to improve recovery of
erased files or repair of file system if there is damage.  Norton image
can be set to run on windows start-up or at the discretion of the
operator.

Norton DOS Utilities: Why MS-DOS utilities for Windows 95?  The fact is
that if you can not start Windows 95, there is no way to run Norton for
Windows.   Symantec included as  part of Norton Utilities, DOS
utilities: Disk editor, Norton Diagnostics, Norton Disk doctor, Rescue
Disk Recover, UnErase, and UnFormat.

Included manuals: The Users Guide to Norton Utilities is skillfully
written for the advanced and novice Computer users.  The text explains
very detailed computer information in non-technical terms and takes a
giant leap forward in the user friendly category.

The Norton CD-ROM has additional multimedia tutorials that explain how
Windows 95 file system works and how to correct problems, should they
arise.  The Norton Companion on the CD offers a wealth of information,
by text and video clips.  The user can browse though the entire Norton
utilities with ease.  The Companion Gallery is one of the most
informative and creative ways to explain proper software usage-well-done
Symantec.

I was unable to locate a major imperfection with Norton Utilities, as
the program continues to operate flawlessly on both the 386 and 486
computers.   The enhanced Recycle Bin does take some becoming used to,
and it was not long before I turned off System Doctors display at start-
up.  I would also caution new user to be extremely careful when using
the Space Wizard to remove files, or you may accidentally delete program
files-the wizard also advises the user to be very careful when deleting
files.   The CD-ROM versions with its Companion makes it a better buy
for those who have a CD-Rom drive then the disk version. The Symantec
Corporation using Peter Norton's fourteen years experience of creating
utilities for the PC user has made Norton Utilities for Windows 95 a
winner.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: NYCD-ROM: New York City Cultural Directory
Reviewed By: Gail Marsella ([e-mail])
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:             Gail Marsella <[e-mail]>

NYCD-ROM: New York City Cultural Directory

reviewed by Gail B.C. Marsella

NYCD-ROM is a catalog of "what-to-do-and-see" in New York City. It's
well indexed, has elaborate maps, good transportation information, some
short video clips of noted arts people talking about New York, and
lovely pictures of virtually all of New York's attractions. There is
information here on admission fees, handicapped access, parking, hours,
and some history of the various cultural organizations. After browsing
for just a few minutes, you'll realize you're watching an infomercial: a
very attractive advertisement for the best of New York.

That's it. You can't play it or interact with it any more than you can
with a catalog from Sears. More seriously, you can't use it as a
reference work to study cultural heritage, either. It's too superficial.
That's understandable, of course. New York has such rich artistic
treasures that no one CD could possibly hold more than a picture or two
on each one. That's what you get here: a picture or two and about as
much background information as an average encyclopedia would give.

As a trip-planning tool it's a little better, because you can look up
information on specific museums, theatres, zoos, and so on. If you are
completely unfamiliar with the City, of course, this won't be enough.
For many of the practical details - which neighborhoods are too rough to
enter, how much you'll pay for food and hotels, how to deal with street
hustlers and the sad plight of the homeless  - you'll still have to
consult someone who lives there or travels there often. Part of the New
York experience has always been harsh; you have to know what to expect
in order to have a good time. If you understand all of that already,
NYCD-ROM may be a useful addition to your library. If you live in New
York, for example, and are less familiar with some boroughs than others,
you'll be given excellent directions. There is a good search engine that
allows you to put in a wide variety of criteria before you search, and
the maps of each borough are well-marked. In addition to street maps,
there are also subway and bus maps.

I have already seen NYCD-ROM in a catalog that sells surplus and
remaindered software, so you should be able to pick up a copy for only a
few dollars. Don't worry if you're low on disk space, either. It runs
directly from the CD-ROM.

NYCD-ROM: New York Cultural Directory Alan Rand Multimedia Group
317-449-1000

------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEBSITES OF THE WEEK! | This section is devoted to cool WebSites . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reward for You to Read Ads . . .|
---------------------------------
ST. LOUIS, June 5 /PRNewswire/ - Imagine seeing ads when you decide to.
Imagine being able to view only ads that suit your interests. Imagine
getting compensated for your time.  A new, free Internet service called
GoldMail is making that vision a reality. It is the first advertising
medium to reward consumers directly for their time spent reading and
responding to ads.

According to the Advertising Research Foundation, the average adult is
exposed to 139 ads a day or more than 50,000 a year.  In addition to
being intrusive, many of these ads may not be relevant. GoldMail is the
first service to attempt to strike a balance between the wants and needs
of both consumers and marketers: on one hand, it provides advertisers
with a way to more effectively target their messages; on the other, it
gives consumers more control over the ads they see and delivers
information tailored to their interests.

"GoldMail matches advertising messages to consumers based on the
demographic and lifestyle information they provide when enrolling," said
Dawn DeCost, Advertising Director for GoldMail. "This information is
used only for targeting the messages, so privacy is protected.  GoldMail
will not sell, rent or provide individual information about our members
to anyone, including participating advertisers."

GoldMail: How It Works To enroll in the service free of charge, U.S.
consumers 18 years and older can visit the site at
http://www.goldmail.com. Starting this summer, members will begin
receiving targeted, interactive advertisements in their own personal
GoldMail box on the World Wide Web. They can retrieve the messages at
any time and have the ability to view, save or skip any advertisement
they choose.  In addition to reading ads, members can order products and
services, request brochures or catalogs, download coupons and even apply
for credit cards.

To earn award points, members must read the ads and answer one or two
simple questions about each.  Extra award points can be earned by taking
additional action such as linking to the advertiser's Web site or
accepting an advertiser's offer.  Award points can be collected and
redeemed at any time for a wide range of merchandise such as housewares,
electronics, sporting goods and jewelry, as well as travel and other
gifts online.

"Simply by taking a few minutes a day to visit their GoldMail box and
read their mail, members will be able to earn enough award points in one
month, for example, to cover the average cost of basic online service
fees," said DeCost.  "Over time, members will accumulate a significant
number of award points redeemable for major merchandise items and travel
packages."

Sign On Early and Zip Away with GoldMail Throughout the summer, people
who enroll in GoldMail are automatically entered into the GoldMail "Zips
& Trips" sweepstakes. The promotion gives consumers a chance to win an
Iomega Zip Drive or travel prizes such as free, round-trip airline
tickets or cruises. Consumers who enroll early have the chance to win
every day during the promotion. The sweepstakes is being advertised on
Yahoo!, one of the most popular Internet search engines.  The drawings
begin June 16.

GoldMail was developed by Maritz Inc., a global leader in the
performance improvement industry.  Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri,
Maritz offers a wide range of integrated marketing services, employee
incentive programs and travel services to many of the Fortune 100
companies.  A privately held corporation, Maritz employs 6,700 people
around the world and generates annual revenues approaching $2 billion.

-----------------------
Mortgages by Web . . .|
-----------------------
MILL VALLEY, Calif., May 28 /PRNewswire/ - www.maze.com. which
introduced a "Charles Schwab approach" to home loans to the World Wide
Web, has joined selected top companies featured at HotBot, according to
ALTA International.  HotBot, a service of WIRED magazine's Web division
HotWired, is the largest Web index.  It allows users to customize
searches by date, geography, domain, or a combination of all three.

Launched May 21, 1996, maze.com has been processing applications for
credit reports, property analyses, and loans since its first days of
operation, according to Andy Turnauer and Brenda Cantu, the mortgage
brokers behind maze.com.  Turnauer is the author of the consumer's
book/software package "Navigating the Mortgage Maze" (Henry Holt, Fall
1996).

"The site features more than low interest rates," Turnauer explained.
"It offers step by step help through the entire loan application
process. Audio, graphic and text aids bring the site to life.  It's a
lot more interesting - and efficient - than filling out a form with a
pen."

As a complement to the site, Turnauer and Cantu offer a
videoconferencing service for individuals and businesses with an Intel
system.  "If you want to have a face-to-face meeting with us to discuss
credit, loan terms, or any other aspect of the process, just call our
toll-free number to set up an appointment for a videoconference," said
Turnauer.

Cantu added, "Although the site is designed primarily for people who
have some experience with the 'mortgage maze,' first-timers will find
the rate sheets, economic commentary and frequently asked questions
provocative and useful."

------------------------------------------------------------------------
COOL FTP FILE OF THE WEEK | You may need this file . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OnSide 2.0 - Menu driven sideways printing program.  Lets you print any
ASCII text file sideways on IBM/EPSON graphics, or ProPrinter compatible
printers. Ten font styles included or create your own with the font
editor.  On- screen drawing makes the process easy.  Fonts can be
magnified and stretched.  Control all print aspects:double strike for
darker print, top/bottom can be set, character width/height and spacing
can be controlled.  $24.95  (ASP)

       You can find this as ONSIZE.ZIP in the following FTP site:
             ftp.asp-shareware.org/asp/programs/utilities/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERVIEW WITH ????? | Weekly Interviews with the Movers and Shakers!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interviews will be back next week! Instead, I decided to run a piece on
the history of the Internet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surely the coolest thing about seeing businesses develop on the internet
is the wide ranging creativity you witness. Take for instance the folks
we interview this week. They saw an opportunity to provide a service,
greeting card delivery, and bring it to the net. Now there is no excuse
when you miss a friend's birthday or, god forbid, your anniversary.

Tony Levitan took a few minutes and answered our questions concerning
the new Greet Street!

1) Greet Street. Hmmm, sounds interesting, what is it?

At Greet Street, our mission is to raise the art of interpersonal
communication to a higher plane, through the seamless blending of
digital technology and consumer-oriented marketing.  Or -- in English --
our goal is to give consumers who are wired access to the best, most
creative, most appropriate and expressive "greetings" which they can use
when communicating with others.

Through our outposts on America Online, the Internet's World Wide Web,
Time Warner's DreamShop and others, we have become the digital domain's
leading merchandiser of thematic communication products.  These products
are better known in the physical world as greeting cards.  And we are
working to ensure that the  analogous digital product -- multimedia
E-mail -- becomes known as E-greetings(tm) (scheduled for debut later in
1996).

2) Where did you get the inspiration for Greet Street?

My partner, Fred Campbell, and I were exploring the new media frontier,
looking  for a merchandising opportunity where we could deliver to
consumers what we call true *electronic advantage* -- using digital
technology to merchandise or market a product or service in ways which
dramatically surpass any other channel of distribution.

After graduating from Stanford Business School in June 1993, we looked
at about 150 different product areas and industries before stumbling
upon greeting cards.  We saw a lot of things in the industry structure,
consumer habits and perceptions and the like that made the opportunity
attractive.

But the idea really crystallized when we put greeting cards -- one of
the world's great communication devices -- together with our belief as
to why people get wired -- to communicate and build community.

3) How has business been so far?

Pretty good and getting better every month.  We expect to do around
$800,000 in sales in 1996.

4) Hallmark has failed miserably with their instore Kiosks. Why do you
think this will succeed? Isn't this just a kiosk on the internet?

What Hallmark and American Greetings are doing in the wired world is
little more than using the Web and online services as front ends for
their kiosk product.  Thus you get a laser printed cartoon with
fill-in-the-blanks copy.  It's a nice product but it clearly has some
serious limitations, most significantly for us, on the content side.  It
just ain't very *wired*.

To the contrary, Greet Street  uses the same high quality cards you'll
find in an upscale card or book store and imprint them with whatever
message you want in the font of your choice.  We'll even mail the cards
for you (anywhere in the world).  And you can book your cards a week, a
month, even a year in advance of when they need to be sent ... this is
our Perfect Memory(tm) service.  High correlation between Perfect Memory
usage and testosterone, no surprise that! :-)

So better paper quality, better freedom of expression and most
significantly, better content.  Greet Street has the exclusive rights to
cards from nearly 40 of the best greeting card publishers in the world,
from the industry's #4 player, Recycled Paper Greetings, Sierra Club,
Graphique de France, Tactless Greetings, down to tiny niche players.

This group represents -- irrefutably! -- the finest collection of
product content in this industry.  And with it's breadth and quality, we
can deliver targeted product to the Web's multifarious niche markets.
After all that's what the Web and digital advantage is all about.
Marketing, merchandising and communicating with customers as individuals
based upon their interests and preferences.

So no, Greet Street isn't like a stodgy kiosk! :-)

5) What machines do you use to run Greet Street?

A few Sun Sparc 20s, handful of Pentium PCs and a whole bunch of
PowerMacs.

6) Do you have any plans for increasing the gift options? Digital
signatures?

Combining awesome personalized Greet Street cards together with Gift
certificates from some of the world's finest merchants in on the near
horizon.  RE: digital signatures, when the technology is firmly in the
hands of consumers, we're there to support it and use it.

7) Who is your main competition and why is your service better?

In the paper card business, there really are only 2: Hallmark and
American Greetings and we have a strong, sustainable advantage against
them in our content.  No other entity can put together the product
relationships to come close to us.

We are better because of the stuff in #4 and because we are solely
focused on this medium.  That singular mind set is vitally important in
an arena that is subject to as much change as the Web.  Hallmark and AG
are doing what we call "leading from behind."  We are the innovators and
they are hustling to keep up.


8) How late can someone order a Father's Day card? Do you have overnight
delivery?

I'd suggest ordering NOW! to guarantee delivery in time for Father's
Day. After all, if you send the card 1st class, we're still all relying
on the US Postal Service (with which we actually have had pretty good
success).

We do also offer Priority Mail 2 to 3-day delivery (order by 7am PST on
Wednesday);

Next Business Day delivery (order by 7am PST on Thursday);

and -- for chronic procrastinators :-> -- Next Day Saturday delivery
(order by 7am PST on Friday).

9) What do you do for fun when you aren't doing Greet Street? Is Greet
Street your full time job? If not, what do you do?

Greet Street is *VERY* full time as we continue driving the electronic
advantage of Greet Street's paper card side and hustle to bring
E-greetings(tm), our multimedia E-mail product, to market.

I occasionally find time to enjoy my family -- wife, 3-year-old son and
golden retriever -- exercise and something I think may still be called,
"sleep."

10) Describe the near term (1 year or so) future of the Internet.

Explosive growth in base usage -- communication and community building;
growing acceptance as a commercial alternative (800#s took a while to
catch on too!); the catalyst for foundation-rocking change in numerous
industries which rely on a middle layer of workers/suppliers to shift
information from one end of the supply chain to the other.

Tony Levitan
Greet Street's Creator of Chaos
[e-mail]

GREET STREET
"Thematic Communication Products for the Digital Domain"
Visit our Web site at http://www.greetst.com

                                --END OF ISSUE--