Cream of the Crop 22/Cream of the Crop 22.iso/faq/compu53.zip/COMPU53.TXT

Text File | 1996-09-22 | 50KB | 958 lines

CompuNotes, Issue #53, September 22, 1996
Managing Editor: Patrick Grote <[e-mail]>
Web Site: http://users.aol.com/CompNote
See the end of the publication for more information . . .

                         This Week's Contents:

My Notes:
1) New Format - Finally!
2) Raffle Winner!

Columnists' Corner:
1) The Royal Flush by Jeff Bushman <[e-mail]>

News:
1) Listserv Sets New Record!
2) 007 Locks your Files!

Reviews:
1) Describe 5 Voyager Word Processor
   Reviewed By: Doug Reed, Associate Editor <[e-mail]>
2) ENTOMORPH: Plague of the Darkfall
   Reviewed By: Richard Malinski
3) Monocle, Mutual Fund Tracker
   Reviewed By: Dan Simon
4) Better Homes and Gardens Planning Your Home
   Reviewed By: Mike Gallo <[e-mail]>

Web Sites:
1) Virus Company Wins Award and Protects! <http://www.eliashim.com>
2) SuperCuts is on the Web or I HAVE SEEN EVERYTHING NOW!
<http://www.supercuts.com>

Interview:
1) Wearable PCs? Listen in on our interview . . .


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Patrick's News
Being The Publisher and Managing Editor Has Its Perks!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW FORMAT? |
-------------
Ok, so I heard from everyone! Lots of "move the masthead to the end", so
boom, there it is.

I am also looking into replacing the proportional parts of the
publication with fixed font friendly characters.

------------------
WINNER IS . . .  |
------------------
The software package being given away this week is HOME SURVIVAL TOOLKIT
CDROM by Books that Work! Our winner is:

[e-mail]

Send them a congratulatory email!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Columnists' Corner - We bring you a different person each week!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Royal Flush by Jeff Bushman <[e-mail]>|
-----------------------------------------------------
Before we talk about the subject suggested by the above title, I'd like
to take care of a bit of housekeeping.

My last effort on the subject of English usage and the limitations of
spell checking utilities brought me an enormous amount of e-mail. Most
of it was complimentary.

The one piece that was semi-insulting was clever and amusing, suggesting
that if I didn't get paid by the word I probably enjoyed hearing my
keyboard clicks.

Among the complimentary responses (for which I thank those of you who
bothered), were the comments that I had made an error. The error-
reporters were correct. In discussing the use/misuse of "it's" and
"its," I incorrectly said something about "its" not taking an apostrophe
because it's different from other possessive pronouns. As several of you
pointed out, I should have said possessive *nouns.*

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa (let the spell checkers deal with that!).

Today, we deal with another subject involving computers, the internet,
freedom of expression and other matters of little note.

In the area in which I live, there's a computer publication which is
distributed free, through supermarkets. In the current issue, the editor
-- after describing himself as being in favor of free speech and
anything but a prude -- draws the line at child pornography available on
the Web.

Without refuting the specifics of what the gentleman said (after all he
wouldn't have an opportunity to respond), let's examine the subject of
"kiddie porn" as it relates to the internet.

Much has been written about the subject already, most of it in negative
articles about the internet and describing the internet, in effect, as a
hotbed of pornography.

Firstly, when it comes to pornography generally, it's very difficult to
view pornography over the internet, by accident. Someone, pretty much,
has to want to see it and must seek it out.

If an adult wants to create a pornographic display of adults and an
adult wants to see it, most of us don't have a problem with that. Some
do, and while I understand the objections of women who feel that such
activity objectifies and demeans all women, I don't agree.

I have less ability to understand those who object because it's "dirty"
or because it's not what God wants or for similar reasons. I'm not
saying they're wrong, but I don't agree and have difficulty
understanding or dealing with people who have all the answers in a neat
package.

I'm not a viewer of pornography, but I don't have a big problem with men
or women who want to engage in that activity. Child pornography is
another subject, however.

A woman who agrees to be photographed either in the nude or nearly nude
is making a choice which she should be free to make (although in some
situations economic privation may make the appearance of an option
plainly false).

A child is not able to make that choice. (S)he is recognized in the law
as not having the capacity to make a decision and that legal distinction
is reasonable.

Likewise, a parent does not and should not have the right to make that
decision for the her/his child. A child who is posed in a pornographic
picture is *always* being exploited.

When we're dealing with commercial child pornographers, the laws extant
in most states, which punish the purchasers as well as the conveyers of
such trash make eminent sense.

The idea behind punishing the purchasers is that if you jail or threaten
those who would buy the stuff, you'll eliminate the market and thus,
destroy the value in production.

The internet, however, is a bit different.

Essentially, no one buys kiddie-porn on the net. They download it free.
Unless someone favors jailing anyone who views pornography, there's no
real purpose to be served in punishing those who look at pornography
involving children.

Moreover, there is some risk that laws that would do so, would be
violative of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Whether it
would violate the First Amendment, however, isn't the major reason to
object to criminalizing the viewing of child pornography. Though
arguably, they might damage themselves (in my view they're already
pretty damaged), the individuals who look at the vile material don't
create a market for it.

Since the purveyors gain nothing but the nurturing of their own
psychosis, whether 1 or 1 million others download the images, the
downloaders have contributed nothing to the perpetuation of child
exploitation.

There are many who believe that those who view pornography of any type
become more likely to engage in behavior which is related to the
pornography.

They think that men who look at pictures of naked women are going to
become rapists and that someone who looks at pictures of children in
sexual poses or activities will molest children.

No one can say that rapists never look at images of naked women or that
child molesters never view kiddie porn. But numerous studies regarding
adult pornography suggest that men are less rather than more likely to
attempt sexual assault after viewing pornography.

While I've never seen a similar study relating to child pornography, I
suspect the same may be true.

In so saying, no one would suggest that such garbage should be actively
distributed, but the counter-argument that it causes child molestation
is equally unsupported.

The answer seems clear. Those convicted of producing child pornography
should be severely punished. Those who purchase it should also suffer
sanction. Those who view such items on the internet might be worth
psychiatric treatment, but punishment seems entirely beside the point.

You can now load your e-mail program.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS OF THE WEEK| This section is dedicated to verified news . . .
All News (C)opyright  Respective Owner - Will Only Reprint
----------------------------------------------------------------------
LISTSERV SETS RECORD|
---------------------
WASHINGTON, /PRNewswire/ - L-Soft international, Inc. announces that the
largest LISTSERV(TM) list in Internet history has crossed the half-
million subscriber mark. The CNET Digital Dispatch, an e-mail newsletter
used to promote CNET's television show and web site, is distributed
using L-Soft's LISTSERV and LSMTP(TM) products.

CNET started using LISTSERV and LSMTP in tandem about 6 months ago,
cutting delivery times in 8 compared to the sendmail solution that was
used at the time. The increased delivery rates allowed the CNET Digital
Dispatch to nearly double in size over the 6 month period, without any
operational worries. In addition, production costs were slashed by an
estimated $100,000.00.

The CNET Digital Dispatch list co-exists with 35 other CNET lists on a
Windows NT server. The total number of subscribers at the site as of
September 10th, 1996 was over 985,000 (for all 36 lists). Typically, 98%
of the CNET Digital Dispatch subscribers receive their copy in less than
1 1/2 hours.

L-Soft international, Inc. develops and licenses the original (Eric
Thomas) LISTSERV mailing list management software, now celebrating its
10th anniversary. LSMTP and LISTSERV have been designed to work in
tandem, allowing mailing lists and mail delivery to run on the same
Windows NT server. LISTSERV delivers 10-12 million messages on an
average weekday to the subscribers of over 31,000 LISTSERV lists
worldwide.

-----------------
007 LOCKS FILES!|
-----------------
San Bruno, CA: MidStream, Inc. today announced a release of 007 for
Win32 - an innovative software which allows to password protect existing
Win32 executable files.

007 for Win32 protects program itself, not its icon. The software
modifies existing .EXE file, so that the protected program first asks
for a password and would not start unless the correct password is
entered.

007 for Win32 is safe and efficient. Unlike other Windows protection
software, it does not run in the background to provide its
functionality. It neither modifies the registry, nor creates hidden
files or disk sectors, as the protection scheme is incorporated into
executable file itself.

007 for Win32 is small and flexible. It adds less than 1K of data to the
executable file to provide password protection functionality. The
software works with both Windows'95 and Windows NT regardless of
installed file system or network configuration.

007 for Win32 user interface allows to browse disks and directories to
pick up executable files. Passwords can be easily set, changed, and
removed separately for each program. The Verify feature displays
protection status and executable file properties. The Run command allows
to execute the program without leaving 007 for Win32.

The software is ideal for those who wants to prevent unauthorized access
to sensitive software, such as e-mail, tax preparation, or personal
finance programs. The 007 for Win32 security solution is appealing for
both home and office, where users have to share their computers with
others.

007 for Win32 is distributed as shareware. The registration fee is
$29.95 plus $3.00 shipping and handling in the USA. The price includes
complete licensed version of the program and free upgrades for one year.
The fully functional evaluation copy with no time limiting is available
for download from many Internet sites and major online services. The
latest version can always be downloaded from company's home pages on at
<http://members.aol.com/mid> or
<http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mid>.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEWS OF THE WEEK | Interesting software/hardware you may need . . .
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Describe 5 Voyager Word Processor
Reviewed By: Doug Reed, Associate Editor <[e-mail]>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
When it comes to word processing, most people think of the big 3 (Word,
WordPerfect, and WordPro). There are other choices out there, if one
only takes the time to look. Describe 5 is the latest version of a word
processor with a rather unique heritage: it was originally designed for
OS/2 and is just now being ported to Windows. Under OS/2, Describe was
one of a very few word processors developed as a native application, and
as such was designed to take advantage of OS/2's more robust
multitasking environment. Porting to Windows (especially Windows 95)
would seem a good move towards increasing sales and name recognition.

Describe 5 is sold in a variety of different packages; the version I
will be talking about in this review is the single user version,
released with the Describe 5 manual and commonly called the Voyager
package. It comes on CD-ROM and supports Autoplay; installation under
Windows 95 is easy and painless. One noticeable difference between
Describe and the big boys is the size of the hard drive footprint
required: Describe only needs 19 MB of space (compared to 28 MB for
WordPro). Describe boots up quickly, and you will probably realize
almost immediately that this word processor is more than just a little
bit different from all the rest.

The first and most noticeable difference is the size of the ToolBar; the
icons placed on the toolbar are much larger than any I've ever seen
before. As a matter of esthetics, I find it a little disconcerting, but
after a few minutes it becomes as natural as the rest. Unlike the latest
versions of WordPro or Word, the toolbar is not task-sensitive, although
it can be customized to display the tools you use most often. In
addition, you will quickly notice that the handy buttons for changing
fonts, styles, and other options appear to be gone; they are present but
are moved up as icons on the toolbar. Changing fonts via the toolbar is
interesting: click and hold on the font icon and it brings up a menu of
font choices, visually showing you what each font looks like. The icons
on the toolbar are not always recognizable, but a quick right click of
the mouse will tell you what each one does. While the toolbar is useful,
finding various options by using the menus at the top of the screen is
not intuitive, but this intuitiveness is due to my familiarity with the
big three, which are all very similar. Once learned, the menus do make a
certain amount of sense.

The other noticeable difference is the presence of the Style menu
hovering over the text area. The Style menu allows you to rapidly switch
between various styles such as a standard document and types of lists
(both bullet and numbered). If it gets in the way, you can move it, or
even turn it off. If you are continually shifting between different
styles, however, it makes for a handy tool. Clicking in the text field
with the right mouse button brings up a menu with a variety of choices.
One very interesting choice that I liked was the insert character
option. This allows you to rapidly enter special characters that you use
often. I work in science, which involves a lot of writing with greek
symbols. Using the insert character option, I can quite rapidly insert
the character I need. In WordPro, I would have to change fonts, type the
letter, and change back (or worse, set up a macro for each letter and
then have to remember the macro).

In its 32-bit incarnation Describe takes full advantage of threads and
multitasking. This means that you can print in the background while
continuing to work on your document, open multiple documents, or even
open several other 32-bit apps and switch between each fairly easily and
quickly. Unfortunately, Describe does not support OLE in Windows 95, so
graphics and data that are imported can only be pasted in and cannot be
edited by the program with which they were originally created. The 16-
bit version that runs under Windows 3.1, of course, does not take
advantage of multitasking or threads.

One area in which Describe excels is desktop publishing. It is very easy
to set up multiple columns, move frames around, and manipulate your
document to produce sharp-looking newsletters and brochures. Using the
Stationery manager you can set up Mastheads, envelope settings, and a
variety of normal tasks associated with printing business-related
documents.

So, what is Describe lacking? Primarily the biggest difference between
Describe and the big three is that Describe lacks auto-spell checking,
and even more importantly, a grammar checker. If you don't like grammar
checkers or don't trust them, then you probably will not miss them very
much. Also missing compared to Word and WordPro are Wizards, the various
tools that can help you rapidly accomplish various tasks (such as
creating a custom layout, or asking for help by asking questions instead
of searching for keywords). Finally, there is the non-task sensitive
toolbar mentioned before. Are these differences significant? It depends
significantly on how you want to use your word processor. If you can
live without them, then Describe is probably just right for you.

Overall, I would say that Describe is a mixed bag. I liked the ability
to easily setup a newsletter or to insert special characters. I also
liked the smaller hard drive footprint and the speed at which Describe
worked. The ability to print in the background without it interrupting
what I am currently working on is very nice. Also nice is the rather
large and extensive manual that comes with the program. I like being
able to look up in the manual to find what I need; I'm not always
sitting in front of the computer day after day. However, if you like the
features of the big three like automatic spell checking and context
sensitive help, then Describe is not the program for you. If you
interested, however, check out the demo of Describe (it has all features
enabled except importing graphics and spell checking) at the Describe
website (listed below). I give Describe good marks, for offering a
reasonably priced word processor with most but not all of the features
of the big three and a few unique features worth giving it a glance.

Describe, Inc.
4820 Bayshore Dr., Suite D
Naples, FL 33962
813-732-5500
http://www.describe.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: ENTOMORPH: Plague of the Darkfall
Reviewed By: Richard Malinski
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mammoth insects once servile beasts of burden seem to have been
transformed by a mysterious plague into hostile creatures. Rumors abound
of attacks by these insects and of missing villagers. The horrors of the
mainland of ADEN seem to be spreading to the islands. What is the truth?
What is to be done? Who's to take action?

Enter Squire Warrick! Warrick is a young fistfighter on a search for his
missing sister. On his quest he travels to the island of Phoros, talks
to people and creatures, boxes with many of them and avoids traps that
are everywhere. To help him on his way, he can cast spells from his
spell book and use the many items he carries in his backpack. The story
unfolds as Warrick tries to find the truth behind the rumors, gathers
information about the mysterious plague and seeks further and further
for his sister.

For those of you who have tried single player role playing games before,
there is much here that will be familiar. The screen through which you
have a birdseye view of the action is similar to games like Zelda and
Ultima VII. In ENTOMORPH around the margin of the screen are various
gauges indicating such traits as hit points (health indicator), mana
level (spell casting power) and armour level (toughness indicator).
There are also spell book and backpack icons. Warrick walks through the
scenes, conversing with the characters in an attempt to gather
information and pushing, pulling, opening, breaking and smashing objects
to get what is hidden inside. He can then pick up and store items like
sponges, potions and amulets in his backpack or inscribe spells (as many
as he finds of the 20-odd different types) in his spell book.

Warrick can also punch and dodge. While this is not as action packed as
Street Fighter, it is involved and takes a while to get the knack of
closing in on and punching an opponent and then dodging away so as not
to get hit. In ENTOMORPH you've also got to watch out for insects that
spit acid or use stingers! While you can increase your strength (armour)
to withstand hits you must rely on your fists and your agility to
succeed. Unlike the Ultima VII or Stonekeep you don't have shields or
swords or spears to help you fend off the aggressive character.

There are many aspects of this game that will make it easy for
experienced role players to get started quickly. There are however, many
aspects in ENTOMORPH that are unique and make it a complex and
intriguing game.

Three elements of ENTOMORPH that are especially good. The music, the
range of insects, weird creatures and the human transformations and the
convoluted plot alternatives really make this a fascinating game.

The music varies from soothingly dreamy to stridently aggressive! The
synchronization of the music and the situations is eerie. The choral
music in the introduction is excellent. The swarming bee-like Panorpids
are followed by music that makes me shiver. I don't replay that last
portion but I do like to play other tracks as a music CD while I'm
typing or reading my e-mail. The music on the Mechwarrior II CD is the
only other game music that I like to listen to as a music CD. Such
superb music really sets the stage and makes playing such games a treat.
The developers have a hit here.

The variations in the creatures make playing this game a challenge.
There are half transformed humans, zombies and wraiths. There are
Mongrels (experiments of the Nobles) and Mutalids (single minded mutant
killers). There are ant-like Thelyds, beetle-like Munchers, blood
seeking bee-like Panorpids, blood sucking mosquito-like Mutrizzba and
acid spitting spider-like things called Urthax. Each of these have their
own strengths and weaknesses and are really awful 'creepy-crawlies'! As
I play this game I often think back to the 1957 film called "The
Incredible Shrinking Man" in which the tiny hero fights what to him is a
giant spider. Yuck!

If you can't beat them, join them! One of the many things that you can
make Warrick do is to drink potions. One of these gives great strength
but also begins his transformation into a big bug. You can determine
whether Warrick becomes a bug or not. It's up to you but not trying out
the transformation does limit your alternatives. The further Warrick
moves on his quest, the more insight you get into the activities of the
Nobles and their experimenting with transforming the life of ADEN into
what they think will be a better society. Typical autocrats but that
makes them all the better to resist and fight.

I've not come to the conclusion of this game yet. I'm not sure what is
the best route to take. There are so many branches that Warrick's quest
can take that I'm still finding new opportunities and dead ends. Thank
goodness for saved-games (you can save up to 30 games) because after
each dead end you can then restore without going all the way back to the
start!

Creepy? Complex? Fascinating? Still challenging? Yes to all of these.
Here is a game that is really well done with excellent music, graphics,
plot alternatives and varied creatures.

Strategic Simulations Inc.
675 Almanor Avenue,
Suite 201,
Sunnyvale, CA  94086-2901
[phone]
WWW       -    www.ssionline.com/cgi-bin/start
AOL       -    Stratsim
Compuserve -    76711,250
GEnie       -    SSI.SUPPORT

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Monocle
Reviewed By: Dan Simon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are an active mutual fund investor who likes to keep a tight
watch on the market, Monocle software will impress you and make your
life a little easier.

Monocle is a mutual fund analysis software that comes with a five-year
historical database of over 700 mutual funds. Users who pay an update
fee can download daily updates of the mutual fund market.

The software allows you to chart, using many different criteria, any
fund of your choice and to compare it to a benchmark like the S&P 500 or
a fund of your choice. Benchmarking helps keep you grounded in the
reality of the investment time period. For example, I looked up a mutual
fund I had sold some time ago and was disappointed to see how much it
had gained. However when I benchmarked it against one of the lower
performing funds I currently own, I was pleased to see that my current
fund had distinctly outperformed the other fund.

If you wish to statistically analyze your funds, Monocle will do it
quickly, colorfully and through many means and criteria. It includes the
ability to insert trendlines, insert fibonacci fans and create statistic
groups by relative strength, short term performance and risk/reward
criteria. It can also chart using a variety of indicators including
price history, MACD and stochastics and will allow you to tile or stack
the charts for comparison purposes.

One point I want to make clear is that Monocle allows the user to
analyze mutual funds but not individual stocks. This means Monocle has
unique benefits but they are benefits that must be weighed carefully
against both cost and goals.

The cost of the software is $149 ($249 with the trading system) and a
quarterly data fee $75 or a one year data fee subscription for $240.

Most investors treat mutual funds differently than they do stocks.
Although stock is considered a long term investment, many investors will
micromanage their stock portfolios. They watch the prices and trends
daily in an attempt to buy low, sell high and cycle very quickly,
holding on to most stocks less than 12 months. However, most investors
use mutual funds as a more secure, balanced way of investing long term.
They tend to buy and "let it ride."

For most investors of this nature as well as the average 401k mutual
fund investor, Monocle provides far more advanced tools than they would
need. For this type of investor, it is like flying a jet to work five
miles away instead of driving a car -- a lot more power than you need
for more cost with fairly similar results.

As I stated, for a fee users can download market updates every day.
However the database is down from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST. This is
all right for you west coast folks but is inconvenient for people in
eastern standard time who work during the day. I realize they have to
have time to update their own databases after the market closes but 4-
1/2 hours seems a bit excessive with today's technology.

I liked the ease with which I could find the mutual fund price by date
for any mutual fund on any day over the last five years. And for people
who are considering buying shares in a fund, Monocle has a feature that
has historical and investment information on most funds including cost
of minimum investment, who to contact and dividend history. With a few
simple clicks you can compare the performance history with other funds
you own or others that interest you.

The software was easy to install and is user-friendly for Windows users
who are knowledgeable about the mutual fund market and statistical
analysis of investments. Monocle has generously offered hot keys for
everything from loading funds to the current day's pricing of funds to
save menu time.

Of course there are always little things that the learning curve will
fix in time. One of my difficulties with Monocle is that I did not
readily know how to get rid of one fund's information when I was ready
to chart the next.

Though I do not know how well the software would work on a machine that
meets the minimum requirements, it was very fast on our Pentium. Charts
showed up on the screen the instant I clicked a button requesting it to
create one.

Although I enjoy tracking my stock on a daily basis, I invest in mutual
funds for the long term. After my initial excitement over Monocle, I
realized I would not use this software very frequently because my goals
simply do not require that much fund analysis once I have invested. But
undoubtedly Monocle is a good tool to periodically make sure the funds
meet your goals. And if you are looking for a mutual fund powerhouse of
play, Monocle is certainly the software for you.

Manhattan Analytics, INC.
Second Floor
912 Manhattan Avenue
Manhattan Beach CA 90266
310-374-2142
800-251-FUND
Fax [phone]
WWW: http://www.ManhattanLINK.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Better Homes and Gardens Planning Your Home
Reviewed By: Mike Gallo <[e-mail]>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Let me just say right up front, this is a really fabulous program! If
you're in the market for a new home and are not quite sure what type of
home to buy, this program can definitely help. The interface and layout
of the program is slick and easy to use. The program does not open to a
blank file with a menu on top. A very nice menu (shaped like a house)
appears instead. A human narrator provides an audio overview for each
major section of the house so that the user knows where to go next. I
tested this program on my wife who is no power user, but does know
enough to get around. She had no problem running the program and did not
need any help from me.

There are four rooms in the house: homeplans, affordability, open house
tours, and design showcase. The homeplans, open house, and design
showcase are not really too different; they merely offer a different
perspective from the floorplan database.

The program comes packed with 561 different floor plans in five styles.
They are traditional, contemporary, country, regional, and vacation.
Each plan has a preview color picture of the front of the home. You can
view the floorplan and even have it tilted into a 3D perspective to get
a better feel how it's laid out. Some homeplans offer an additional
slide show of various parts of the home. The really neat option is for
home plans that offer a virtual reality tour.

The virtual reality tours are done in Apple's Quicktime format and it's
done wonderfully. While in the tour there are several hotspots you can
use to get around. At each point in the tour you can pan left, right,
up, down with the mouse to get a complete 360 degree view of the area!
You can also zoom in and out to see other minute details of the room.
The only drawback to these views is that they tend to make rooms look
narrower than they probably actually are. It's probably a drawback of
the way the pictures are encoded. Other than that, it's a wonderful way
to get a full exposure to a home's design, it's the next best thing to
actually walking through in person.

Searching for that right plan is a breeze. There are five filters field
to help users quickly whittle down the list of homes to review. Users
can search on style, structure, number of baths, square footage, and
number of bedrooms. The program will display a preview picture of your
home so that you can decide whether or not you want to see the
floorplans. These home designs are not cast in stone. Using the included
Multicom Floorplan editor, you can call up the floorplan and edit it.
The floorplan editor could probably sell as its own individual product.
It allows you to add door, walls, windows, furniture, fixtures,
landscaping, and cabinets. The program also provides several reports to
tally up the item mentioned above. The floorplan editor can be run stand-
alone as well. Each of the 561 floorplans has an ID number that allows
users to purchase detailed drawings from Home Planners Inc.

The finance section allows users to perform an affordability analysis to
determine the maximum amount of house you can buy. The finance section
can also contains an audio presentation that summarizes the financing
process. It covers interest rates, closing, application, and the
different types of loan program.
 I had no problems running the program other than the overall speed of
the program. Even with my Pentium and 4X CD-ROM, performance was a bit
sluggish while accessing different parts of the program. Since this
isn't a game, I consider that a minor blemish. I also wished the guided
tours gave more than text information. With all the other multimedia
features in this program, it would have been nice to have a voice talk
you through the tour instead of reading the information. That way I
could have concentrated my eyes on one thing, the home! Again, this is
more of a nice to have feature than a necessity.

Overall, I very highly recommend this program to anyone who wants either
a customized home or who want something more than a cookie cutter
design.

Multicom Publishing
1100 Olive Way, Suite 1250
Seattle, WA 98101
[phone]
Internet: http://www.multicom.com

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WEBSITES OF THE WEEK! | This section is devoted to cool WebSites . . .
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Virus Company Wins Awards and Protects!|
----------------------------------------
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., /PRNewswire/ - EliaShim Safe Software, a leading
provider of anti-virus and security products, is proud to announce that
its World Wide WEB site, www.eliashim.com, continues to gather momentum,
having been awarded both the prestigious "Eye Candy Award" and the
special "Magellan 3-Star Site Award." Just days ago, EliaShim's World
Wide WEB site was selected by Microsoft Network as their "Pick of the
Week" in the links area for Computers and Technology from August 14 to
August 20, 1996.

Having received an Eye Candy Award places EliaShim's World Wide WEB site
in prestigious company with only the top 5% of all WEB sites achieving
this designation. Eye Candy site recipients are visited, reviewed, and
judged in four distinct categories: composition, focus, mechanics, and
creativity. Scoring is awarded on a 100 point basis, with a minimum
composite score of 90. EliaShim received a 93. The Eye Candy Award - WWW
Review Site can be found at http://www.decware.com.

"We at EliaShim thank Eye Candy and the McKinley Group for these honors.
Along with Microsoft's recognition of our World Wide WEB site and our
offer of a free virus removal tool for the Hare.7610 virus, due to hit
August 22 or September 22, 1996, our marketing efforts continue to build
momentum," comments Moti J. Dover, President of EliaShim USA.

For more information on the HARE.7610 virus, point your WEB browser to
http://www.eliashim.com. The free virus scan & removal tool, "VS-HARE,"
can be downloaded from this site. Additional information can be obtained
by contacting EliaShim's Director of Sales & Marketing, Carl Frederick,
at 954-450-9611.

----------------------------------------------------
SuperCuts is on the Web or I Have Seen it All . . .|
----------------------------------------------------
WALNUT CREEK, Calif., /PRNewswire/ - Clear Ink, developer of online
marketing programs, launched the SuperCuts web site today, showcasing
the firm's innovative philosophies that define the emerging category of
E-vertising. The SuperCuts site is located at http://www.supercuts.com/.

SuperCuts, an national franchise system that provides more than a
million hair cuts every month in 38 states and Puerto Rico, approached
Clear Ink with a goal of developing a brand enhancement strategy and
deploying an online coupon delivery mechanism. Seizing on the
opportunity to develop a web site for such a well-known franchise, and
have some fun in the process, Clear Ink developed CyberCuts '96.

"Clear Ink was able to take our online marketing strategy, bring it to
life, and improve it," remarked Mike Tatum, manager of online marketing
for SuperCuts. "With Clear Ink, we found a web site design company,
unlike others, that based its design on our marketing strategy and
branding needs."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERVIEW WITH ????? | Weekly Interviews with the Movers and Shakers!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I tend to rank technology's coolness based on how close it gets to
StarTrek like devices. The Xybernaut Mobile Assitant is about as
StarTrekish as we 20th century residents can get.

Chris Chinnock takes a few minutes to explain to us what it means to
have a wearable PC!

You can contact Chris at <[e-mail]> or 203-849-8059.


PG: What is the history of Xybernaut? Who started it and why? How long
has it been in business?

CC: Xybernaut is the successor company to Computer Products & Services
Inc. (CPSI). It is the same folks and address, but new name. The name
was changed to reflect the new direction the company is headed, which is
in products and services for navigating information-space.

CPSI was founded in 1990 (I think) to provide database and information
management services, primarily to the government, military and
intelligence communities. This background in data collection,
formatting, and presentation is what led Xybernaut to see the need for
the Mobile Assistant, and provides the basis for continuing consulting
services in application development. More on that later.

The principle figure and president is Edward Newman. He has a corporate
background that includes senior management positions with Xerox. Ed is
very good at seeing what solutions will become mainstream a few years
out. For example, after early development work with the Army, he coined
the term IETM (Interactive Electronic Technical Manual). This is the
electronic version of the tech manuals and can incorporate many types of
documentation. It is now a key mandate to go to IETMs in all of the
services.

While observing military equipment mechanics, Xybernaut (CPSI) noticed
they often had to climb down from the work area, go find a manual, and
climb back up. Even if the manual was in electronic format, it was
difficult to balance a notebook. In addition, they had to put down their
tools and type in commands with greasy fingers.

All of this lead to the concept of a voice-activated wearable computer
called the Mobile Assistant.

PG: Describe the Mobile Assistant? Technical specs, etc.

CC: After about 6 years of development, the Mobile Assistant was
launched last fall. It is composed of three hardware units and ships
with Windows 3.1 and a voice recognition engine.

The base unit features a 486-based microprocessor, internal hard drive
(from 340 MB to 1.2 GB), RAM to 32 MB, standard keyboard, serial and
parallel ports, a trackball mouse, and 2 PC Card slots (type II and type
II/III). This unit weighs less than 3 pounds and is designed to be worn
on a belt.

The battery pack, also worn on the belt, features advanced rechargeable
lithium ion technology. It will run from 4-5 hours depending upon plug-
ins and usage.

The head-mounted unit includes a display, noise canceling microphone and
an earphone. The display is a 1" diagonal active matrix LCD with VGA
(640 x 480 pixel) resolution. Physically, the headset resembles a visor
with a cube suspended in front of one eye. This single eyepiece is on a
slidebar to position it in front of either eye, depending upon which one
is dominant. The optics produce an image that looks like a 15-inch
monitor at about arm's length. It is intended to allow both the computer
image and the real world working environment to be seen simultaneously.
This is not virtual reality, but rather, augmented reality.

The Mobile assistant is a standard architecture PC. Consequently Windows-
based applications and development tools will run on this platform. The
whole idea behind the Mobile Assistant is to enable a new way to
interact with computer information in a mobile environment. By wearing
your computer and talking to it, workers can now have the information
they need at the work site. In addition, by voice-navigating this
information, they can keep their hands free to manipulate tools, inspect
equipment, or steady themselves on top of a utility pole. Voice-
activated wearable PCs are creating a new class of mobile computing
product which we call hands-free mobile computing.

Additional functionality can be obtained by using the PC Card slots.
Again, industry standard plug-ins can be used to achieve wireless
communications (cellular voice, RF data), GPS positioning, and even
video capture and conferencing.

PG: What is the target market for the Mobile Assistant?

CC: There are a number of markets we are pursuing. Perhaps the most
obvious in maintenance. As described above, a mechanic can now voice
access information on his wearable PC, on the Internet or corporate
Intranets. This eliminates hunting for the latest documentation, allows
for incorporation of expert systems to speed diagnosis and repair, and
generally allows the equipment to be repaired and back on line a lot
quicker. Maintenance needs cover many industries like aviation, heavy
equipment, ground and sea-based transportation, electronics, and medical
equipment.

Another major application area is inspection. Here, the need is to voice
input data directly into a PC-based document, bypassing transcription,
data entry, and report generation tasks. For example, inspectors of
plants and equipment can use their hands to check gages and other items
while filling out their inspection forms by voice. A wearable PC allows
them to do "what if" analysis in the field, possibly preventing costly
mistakes. Insurance adjusting is a variation on this theme. Here,
inspectors can quickly fan out after a natural disaster to process
claims on the spot and even video document the condition of properties.
Home healthcare is a third exciting area. Visiting nurses can use their
wearable PC to access medical records, interface with diagnostic
equipment, and even communicate with distant medical experts.

The whole idea behind all of these applications however, is to save time
and money. We see wearables as productivity tools that can do just that.
If you get a power plant up and running 2 hours faster or a commercial
aircraft back on line 1 hour faster, these are significant cost saving
that can easily justify the cost of the wearable equipment.

PG: Where have large orders for the unit come from? Why? How are they
using it?

CC: We have received two large orders so far. 100 units from Rockwell
International and 60 units form NeuroSystems. Both are VARs pursuing
different segments of the market. Rockwell is looking at maintenance and
industrial applications, while NeuroSystems is looking at utility and
power companies, as well as aerospace and medical applications. Dozens
of other companies have bought units also.

It is fair to characterize the market today as in an evaluation phase.
This is a novel concept, but not revolutionary. It uses mature
technologies, but packaged in a way that provides a new and more natural
way of interacting with information. These initial evaluators are
developing applications and learning how best to use this new tool. We
do not think wearables will replace laptops of PDAs. Rather, they will
provide another tool in the mobile computing arsenal that will be
deployed in situations where it's benefits warrant.

PG: Is the voice recognition yours or someone elses?

CC: We use a voice recognition engine from Verbex. This has proven to be
a robust engine in many demanding environments. It is a software package
that runs thru the Mobile Assistant's sound card. Other software engines
can also be used in this manner. Hardware assisted recognition engines
are also possible by using the PC card slots.

PG: What is the Mobile Inspector?

CC: Mobile Inspector is one of our first application software packages.
It is a tool that allows inspectors to quickly turn their inspection
procedures into voice-activated PC-based procedures. It is a Windows-
based package that lets the actual inspector, not a programmer, to
construct his form the way he wants using drag and drop tools. The
Verbex voice recognition package comes with over 4600 words and can
accommodate the addition of special industry-specific terms.

PG: Can the external CDROM be worn? What speed is it?

CC: Not really worn. CD-ROMs have a hard time in moving environments,
much worst than hard drives. We can attach a CD-ROM to the Mobile
Assistant and use it to download data, but in a stationary environment.

PG: Will you be at Comdex? Where?

CC: Yes, probably in the IBM speech recognition booth, although this is
not firm yet.

PG: What are the future plans for the Mobile Assistant?

CC: Within a month, we will formally unveil our next generation system.
It will feature a 586-based processor, bigger hard drive, lighter weight
and smaller package. An improved battery pack should also be ready that
will allow a full 8 hour workday, and is a bit light. I will forward the
press release when we have it.

PG: What do you like best about the Mobile Assistant?

CC: For me, it is exciting to be involved with a product that is
reshaping the mobile computing market. This is just the beginning of the
wearable PC category, so it is going to very fun the participate. We
want to grow this category and we welcome competition....the more
developers and users the better because it matures this segment that
much more quickly. Xybernaut has very strong hardware, service support,
and intellectual property to enable it to become the premium player in
this segment. That is exciting!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date : September 22,1996|CompuNotes is a weekly publication available
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