Cream of the Crop 22/Cream of the Crop 22.iso/faq/compu58.zip/COMPU58.TXT

Text File | 1996-11-17 | 48KB | 956 lines

COMPUNOTES - Issue #58 - November 17, 1996

                         This Week's Contents:

My Notes:
1) This issue . . .

Columnists' Corner:
1) Reed's Corner <[e-mail]>

News:
1) Adobe Acrobat is a Winner!
2) Helix Software is Granted a Patent!

Reviews:
1) Product: DigiPhone Deluxe (Windows 3.11 or Windows95)
   Reviewed By: Danny Williams <[e-mail]>
2) Product: Exploring Java by Patrick Niemeyer and Joshua Peck
   Reviewed By: Doug Reed <[e-mail]>
3) Product: Hoyle's BlackJack & Solitaire
   Reviewed By: Doug Reed <[e-mail]>
4) Product: Triple Play Plus! Japanese from Random House/ Syracuse
   Language Systems, in their Living Language Multimedia Series
   Reviewed By: Gail BC Marsella <[e-mail]>
5) Product: Website Professional
   Reviewed By: Judy Litt <[e-mail]>

Web Sites:
1) Santa on the Web <http://www.santamail.com>
2) More Season's Greetings!

Interview:
1) None this week!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date : November 17, 1996|CompuNotes is a weekly publication available
Issue: 58               |through email and many fine on-line networks.
------------------------|We cover the IBM computing world with
CompuNotes is published |software/hardware reviews, news, hot web
B440,                   |sites, great columns 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 us with
<[e-mail]>                       |honest, constructive
Doug Reed, Asst. Editor / Writer Liaison  |feedback! We need to hear
<[e-mail]>                      |from you! Please take the
Judy Litt, Graphics Editor/Web Master     |time to send us your
<[e-mail]>                           |opinions, comments and
------------------------------------------|criticisms. Some of our
I am looking for a collection of shareware|better features have
reviews I put out in the 87-88 timeframe  |actually come from our
under my handle of NEVER BEFORE. I think  |readership! Thanks!
they started as NB*.ZIP. Can you look     |---------------------------
on your local BBS? THANKS!                |  Go St. Louis Rams!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Every issue of CompuNotes ever published can be found at the following
ftp site: ftp://ftp.uu.net:/published/compunotes. Thanks to UUNET!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Please Add Our Link to Your Homepage!
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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 BBS. If you can volunteer to receive the UUENCODED version, turn
it into a ZIP and upload it to your BBS, we'll list you in our sysops
directory.

If you are interested, fill out the following lines and send them
back to [e-mail] with SYSOPS.

We'll list your BBS in our SYSOPS LIST which will be included in
each version of CompuNotes we ship out. If you have a WWW link we'll
throw that up on our page.

BBS NAME:
BBS SYSOP:
BBS NUMBER:
URL:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Patrick's News
Being The Publisher and Managing Editor Has Its Perks!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This Issue . . . |
------------------
I popped this issue out to catch up with my delay and to give you
something to read in case I do not call in from Comdex. Enjoy!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Columnists' Corner - We bring you a different person each week!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reed's Corner|
--------------
As you know, Patrick and I have been tossing ideas back and forth about
new things we can do with CompuNotes. This short little column will
introduce our newest ideas to you and explain how you, our loyal
readers, can help.

First up is the First Annual CompuNotes Reader's Choice Awards. At the
beginning of this next year I will sit down and sift through all of the
software we've reviewed in the last year. I'll make a list of nominees
in several categories and then publish the list in CompuNotes, and allow
a month for you to send in your vote on who you think should win.
Winners will be decided in a democratic fashion - those that get the
most votes win. The product getting the most overall votes will win the
"Best Overall Product of the Year" Award. So be looking for your ballot
in the first issue of CompuNotes in 1997.

Secondly, we want to change the way in which websites are presented in
CompuNotes. Rather than the current format - which is little more than
simply a promo to visit the site - we want to do critical reviews of
various commercial and personal sites from around the web. What we need
is several people - at least 8 preferably - who can visit one or two
sites a month and write a review of the site. What we want is a
description of the site, things of interest on the site, as well as the
visual appeal of the site. We would also like mentioned the browser that
the site is optimally viewed with and some mention of the load time
during peak and off-peak hours. Then at the end of the year we will do
Website Awards to complement the Reader's Choice Awards for software. If
there is sufficient interest we could also give an award the worst
website- perhaps the CompuNotes Raspberry Website Award. We'd like a
stable of website reviewers - as I mentioned, at least 8 so you wouldn't
be doing more than one a month. While we could simply accept website
reviews submitted by readers, three problems would arise: 1) we could
reliably depend on getting reviews, 2) duplication would almost
certainly occur, and 3) no guidelines would be adhered to. Of course,
since we can't pay you the only recognition would be admiration and
praise from us and our readers. If you are interested, please let me
know at [e-mail].

That's it for now! Have a Happy Holiday season!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS OF THE WEEK| This section is dedicated to verified news . . .
All News (C)opyright  Respective Owner - Will Only Reprint
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Adobe Acrobat is a Winner!|
---------------------------
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ - Adobe Systems Incorporated
(Nasdaq: ADBE) announced today that its Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) Reader
software has exceeded distribution of 10 million copies worldwide as the
result of strong demand on the World Wide Web.

Bundled with products from leading industry vendors including Apple
Computer, Inc., CompuServe, IBM, Lotus Development Corp., Netcom On-Line
Communications Services Inc., Silicon Graphics, Inc., and Sun
Microsystems Inc., Adobe Acrobat Reader software is widely used by
businesses to easily and effectively distribute documents
electronically. Vendors bundling Acrobat Reader join the increasing
number of companies using Acrobat software to deliver final form
electronic documents on the Internet, corporate networks, CD-ROM and
other digital media. On the World Wide Web alone, the growing popularity
of Acrobat software has resulted in excess of 20,000 downloads a day of
Acrobat Reader from AdobeUs Web site.

Acrobat software can help customers save time and money by enabling them
to quickly and efficiently share documents over the World Wide Web,
corporate Intranets, CD-ROM, e-mail and other media, without having to
learn new authoring tools or reauthor existing information into other
formats. Through support of the Netscape(TM) Plug-In API and
Microsoft(R) ActiveX(TM) controls, Acrobat Reader 3.0 provides seamless
integration with popular Web browsers, enabling customers to access and
view PDF files directly within their browser window.

"Using Adobe Acrobat to publish our publicly available financial
documents on the Internet has reduced the document delivery process from
days to minutes. We can do this with virtually no cost of reauthoring to
deliver documents in a globally accepted format, PDF," said Gregory
Smith, director of Corporate Finance and Systems at Sallie Mae. "We have
improved the quality of our service by making these documents available
almost immediately to anyone on the Internet, anywhere in the world. In
addition, we are reducing the time and money spent responding to
inquiries and mailing documents around the country and the world."

"Acrobat is the only solution that allows Fidelity to electronically
deliver documents that retain the look and feel of our printed materials
which extends our brand awareness and recognition on the Internet," said
John Noble, senior marketing manager, Fidelity Investments Electronic
Channel Development Group. "Acrobat documents are as robust as paper
delivery, but offer a substantial cost advantage in areas like printing,
storage and mailing costs with electronic distribution versus
traditional media."

Acrobat Reader software allows customers to view, navigate and print
electronic documents in the Portable Document Format (PDF), an open file
format that preserves the fidelity of documents across all major
computer platforms and printers. Supporting Windows(R) 3.1, Windows
NT(R) and Windows 95, Macintosh(R), SunOS,(TM) Sun(TM) Solaris(R), HP-
UX, Silicon Graphics(R) IRIX(TM), AIX(R), OS/2(R), LINUX and MS-DOS(R)
systems, Acrobat Reader is widely available for free through the
Internet or bundled with products and services from a variety of
software and hardware vendors.

------------------------------------
Helix Software is Granted a Patent!|
------------------------------------
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ - Helix Software Co., Inc.,
the world's leading Windows 95 performance enhancement software vendor,
announced today that it has received a basic patent for RAM Compression
technology. The patent is "a method for increasing the efficiency of a
virtual memory system by selective compression of RAM memory contents"
and covers technology found in Helix Software's ground-breaking
Hurricane performance enhancement utility.

"Helix pioneered RAM compression. Although it's been on the market only
a short time, this technology has been in development at Helix for quite
some time," said Michael L. Spilo, President of Helix Software. "The
time has been well spent - using this technology Hurricane has shown
significant, over-all system performance improvement."

Other companies providing performance enhancement software for Windows
95 include: Quarterdeck Corp. (QDEK), Syncronys Corp. (SYCR), and
Connectix Corp.

Helix Software has a long history of awards for their patented memory
and performance enhancing utilities: including Windows Magazine's Win
100, PC Magazine's Editor's Choice, PC Week's Products of the Year,
Windows Sources Expert's Pick, and PC Magazine's Technical Excellence
Finalist for Helix's patented Cloaking Technology found in NETROOM and
Multimedia Cloaking.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEWS OF THE WEEK | Interesting software/hardware you may need . . .
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: DigiPhone Deluxe (Windows 3.11 or Windows95)
Reviewed By: Danny Williams <[e-mail]>
Reviewed on: Pentium-75, 16Mb RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 28.8 modem
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Long distance phone companies are running scared - it is now technically
possible to place a voice call over the same connection you use to surf
the Web for no more expense than what you are already paying for the
Internet connection. No wonder the TelCos are chatting up Congress to
put a stop to these renegade Internet phone programs that are
threatening their $1+ per minute cash cow. So far, however, they need
not worry. Even a well designed, nicely finished product like DigiPhone
Deluxe canÆt overcome the current performance problems rooted in the
underlying technology.

The Internet was designed to carry packets of data, sent by whatever
route works best at that millisecond. Packets often arrive at their
destination late due to routing delays, out of sequence, or damaged.
Packets are reassembled in the proper order at their destination, or, in
the case of damaged or missing packets, a resend is requested. For your
HTTP or FTP activities, this all works very well.

Audio has been sent over the Internet with some success via programs
like RealAudio. These are one way transmissions, however, and achieve
smooth sound by saving a few seconds of incoming audio before playing
it. That way if packets are lost. they have those few seconds to arrive
and be sequenced into the audio stream. For things like radio programs,
this procedure works very well.

Because of their interactive nature, telephone conversations are much
less tolerant of delay This makes out of sequence and missing packets a
big problem and can degrade the quality of the sound to the point that
conversation is impossible.

One other technical point troubles Internet phones - projects connecting
Internet phones to regular phones are in their infancy, so you canÆt
call or be called by a regular telephone. Unless your Grandma in the old
country is on-line, you wonÆt be able to call her.

I found it very challenging to hold a conversation with DigiPhone.
Roughly every other syllable was missing and it made for an interesting
game of guessing what the other person was trying to say. Please donÆt
try to close any large business deals or dispense lifesaving advice
using this medium! DigiPhone is not alone in suffering from these
limitations, as all Internet phone products must work with the same
infrastructure which you now know is quite poorly suited for interactive
voice communications. As the fastest connection I have to the Internet
is 28.8bps, I wonder how much better a 56k, ISDN, or faster line would
work.

Enough background. LetÆs look at DigiPhone.

DigiPhone Deluxe comes on a two CD-ROMs each in a small folder. One
folder is DigiPhone Deluxe, which in addition to the basic phone call
making and taking software, includes some extra capability - conference
calling, speed dial, macros, and voice mail and extra software - an FTP
client, Telnet client, and Netscape 2.0. The second folder is DigiPhone
(no Deluxe) which performs the basic telephony functions but is missing
the extras. This second copy is for sending to a friend so you will have
someone to call right away.

There is no printed manual, nor is one necessary, as the installation
and operation are both quite easy. DigiPhone Deluxe installs with both a
"read-me" manual and a "print-me" manual, so if you feel more
comfortable with a book in your hands you may do so. DigiPhone does not
come with any telephony hardware like a headset or earpiece - you must
already have speakers, a microphone, and a sound card in addition to
your Net connection. A quick, optional registration includes you in
DigiPhoneÆs central directory so other DigiPhone users can find you -
sort of like being in your local white pages. If you chose not to be
listed, that too is easy.

DigiPhone differs from some other Internet telephony packages in that it
deals with your phone listing more like the phone company. It is
designed not to cruise a large list of people looking for someone with
whom you may "chat," but more like "real" phones where you call a
particular person to whom you wish to speak. This works great for
privacy and limits the number of "I just wanted to see how this thing
works" calls from total strangers.

Installation was very straightforward and easy - just run INSTALL.EXE
from the CD-ROM. About 5Mb is copied to the hard disk, then the CD-ROM
is not needed to run the program. There is no option to run directly
from the CD-ROM. DigiPhone does includes an uninstall utility

DigiPhone is not as immediately intuitive as it might be because it does
not look or act much like a phone - it looks like a Windows program. To
place a call right out of the box, for instance, one has to select
"Communications," then "Voice" from a menu bar. Of course, that doesn'tÆt
take long to get used to, but I would prefer something like a big,
iconic "Make a call" button. Fortunately, it is easy to customize
DigiPhone by adding a row of big icons that perform various tasks,
including "Make a Call." Different sets of these custom configurations
can be saved and recalled separately, so your phone can have a different
look according to the task at hand.

The "Make a call" window provides a box in which you may type the email
address of the person youÆd like to call, or you can select their
listing from your on-disk phone directory. It is also possible to find
listings from DigiPhoneÆs central directory, either by WWW or email. I
tried both, and found the WWW site to slow to be usable and email takes
about 2 hours to respond.

Once youÆyou've found the address, press the big "Call" button. LED-type
lights keep you aware of whatÆs going on, like finding the address,
connecting to the address, then opening the connection. Once the
connection is open, start talking!

One more note about the technology - although DigiPhone supports full-
duplex sound cards, most sound cards out there these days are half-
duplex. That means that they can talk and listen but not both at the
same time. For phone use, this means you have to use your DigiPhone sort
of like a 2-way radio - when you are talking, you cannot hear what the
other person is saying. DigiPhone call be set up to use voice activation
or push-to-talk buttons, and both work well once you are used to it.

A set of features that makes DigiPhone stand out from other similar
products is the special effects. Your voice can be disguised with
effects like Reverb, Robotic, and Echo to alter what you sound like at
the other end. DigiPhone Deluxe can also set up a conference call
between three people at once, use encryption to protect your
conversation en route, and record and play back conversations.

Third PlanetÆs tech support proved excellent when the friend to whom I
sent the second copy had some minor trouble getting her copy to work.
Her experience with tech support was outstanding - a real person
answered quickly and walked her through the setup, then connected with
her via DigiPhone to make sure everything was working correctly. She
said the tech was knowledgeable, courteous, and made sure everything was
solved before terminating the call.

Some people joke that Internet telephony is a great way to turn your
$2,000 computer into a $10 telephone. If you only call across town,
then, yes, thatÆs right. If you have contacts overseas, however, and
both of you have a fast connection, then you can save enough money in
phone costs to make this worth the trouble. Of course some people enjoy
simply trying new things and possibly leading the way with this new
adaptation of technology. In either case donÆt throw away your regular
telephone but do spend the ($150 retail, $80 street) for a copy of
DigiPhone Deluxe and take a look at a possible future of long distance
voice communication.

Third Planet Publishing
P.O. Box 797728
Dallas, TX 75379

email: [e-mail]
WWW: <http://www.digiphone.com>

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Exploring Java by Patrick Niemeyer and Joshua Peck
Reviewed By: Doug Reed <[e-mail]>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The last year or so has seen an explosion of books about Java and its
potential for use on the web. Exploring Java by O'Reilly is part of
series, the first of which was the highly acclaimed Java in a Nutshell
by David Flanagan. I've reviewed one other Java programming for
CompuNotes (The Java Programming Language by Ken Arnold and James
Gosling, published in Issue 50) as well as read another that I purchased
(Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days, by Laura Lemay and Charles Perkins).
Exploring Java falls somewhere in between; it is much easier on the eyes
than Arnold and Gosling's prose, but is intended for a more veteran
programmer than is Lemay and Perkin's book.

That isn't to say that Exploring Java isn't good - it is - but I am
warning beginners that they would be wise to consider other books first.
In addition, Exploring Java covers some unique areas that I haven't seen
covered in either of the other two texts, or in anything I've browsed at
my local bookstore. Niemeyer and Peck spend a considerable part of the
book focusing on using Java for network programming - protocol handlers,
security managers, issues and software that while beyond my own realm of
expertise is nevertheless quite important to a number of people
interested in programming with Java.

Exploring Java covers the following topics:
History and principles of Java
How to write simple applets
How to integrate applets into the Web
Java Class Libraries
Using Threads
Using Arrays
Network Programming
Content and Protocol Handling
Using the Abstract Windowing Toolkit
Writing a Security Manager

As I mentioned before, the book is far easier to read than many
programming books that I have read. The text is laden with examples,
some that start small and build throughout the chapter, and others that
are simply "snippets" of code (for example, to show how a particular
statement might be user). Chapter 1 starts with a detailed explanation
of why Java is "hot" and why the potential for using Java (beyond that
of the Web) has insured that Java will have a future. Also included is
an explanation of how Java was developed, and what makes Java different
from other languages. On a broad scale, the chapter explains how Java
handles such issues as memory management, multi-threading, and security.
Chapter 2 is a short tutorial, demonstrating how to create an applet on
a web page and how to make that applet interactive with the user.
Virtually all aspects of applet programming are touched on, from
graphics and event handlers to using multi-threading to create a
blinking applet.

Chapter 3 actually takes a step back and explains the components of the
JDK (Java Development Kit), as well as the applet tags used to integrate
a Java applet into a web page. Chapter 4 then covers the basics of the
Java language, including comment lines, variable types, statements and
expressions, and exceptions. This leads up to Chapter 5, which discusses
objects, and how they are used in Java, along with Packages and
Interfaces. As you might guess, Chapters 4 and 5 are the meat of
programming with Java. Chapter 6 deals with using threading in your Java
programs, including issues such as synchronization and establishing
priority. Chapter 7 discusses the Java API (application programming
interface), the collection of classes and interfaces that comes with
every Java implementation, such as java.lang. Input and output via the
java.io package is covered in Chapter 8, while Chapter 9 covers the
java.net package. Chapter 9 also demonstrates how to write content and
protocol handlers.

Chapter 10 explains how to use the java.awt package to construct a user
interface for your Java program, beginning with a long and detailed
explanation of GUI concepts in Java and the organization of the AWT and
advancing into the guts of how to implement the environment you want to
create. Chapter 11 deals with the other side of the GUI environment,
namely creating and displaying images with Java. The book concludes with
a glossary lifted from Java in a Nutshell.

Exploring Java is well written and comes with excellent examples to
introduce programmers to Java. I would not recommend it to people who
have never programmed before, nor those who have never programmed in
object oriented languages before. Experienced programmers will find this
book to be superior to Arnold and Gosling's book, especially since it
offers detailed examples of how to use Java for network programming, a
key feature of Java's long-term viability.

O'Reilly & Associates
<http://www.ora.com/info/java>
101 Morris St.
Sebastopol, CA 95472
707-829-0515

Ratings:
Installation/Manual: not applicable
User-Friendliness: Silver Medal
Quality: Gold Medal
User: Programmer

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Hoyle's BlackJack & Solitaire
Reviewed By: Doug Reed <[e-mail]>
Requires: Windows, 4 MB RAM
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BlackJack and Solitaire are two of the most well known card games in the
world, which makes it only natural that they would be adapted to the
computer. Let's admit it - one of the most often played games on your
computer is Solitaire. How many times have you loaded it up while
waiting for someone to call, or just because you're bored? It amazes me
that somebody would even attempt to compete with that old standard, but
Sierra has teamed up with Hoyle cards to create what they think are the
ultimate games of BlackJack and Solitaire for the PC. Having played it,
I would say they have accomplished it; the bigger question might be-
will anybody care?

The two games are sold separately and come on a single CD each and are
installed easily under Windows 95 using autoplay. Windows 3.1 is also
supported, although I didn't test this. The graphics are SVGA, and very
pretty to look at; the color and sheen are definitely reminiscent of a
dealer's table. Although both games can be installed to run solely from
the hard drive, I wouldn't recommend this since it eats up space while
removing background music -the trade off is how quickly the game loads,
which even on a CD-installation is fairly quick. The loss of sound is
hardly worth it. Probably the most noteworthy feature of either of the
two games is that the Windows 95 version of BlackJack allows you to
compete over the Internet.

Solitaire is - well - it's solitaire. What more can you really say about
it? If perchance you don't know what it is - it's a card game played by
one person (hence the name) where the object is to get rid of all of
your cards. Hoyle's Solitaire comes with some 28 variations of
Solitaire, most of which you've probably never heard before. Luckily,
the game screen includes along the bottom a toolbar where you can find
the rules for each of the various games. The computer is strict about
the rules, not allowing for any cheating and making it difficult to
score high. This may be the official rules for Solitaire, but let's face
it - how often do you Solitaire against someone else ;^). Solitaire is a
pleasant diversion when you need a break mentally, but personally if I
really want to play Solitaire, I'll probably just load Microsoft's
version since it boots quicker and is a little kinder and gentler to
play.

To me, BlackJack is the better of the two games for one simple reason -
you have opponents! You can play against computer opponents, human
opponents at the same computer, or opponents from across the Internet.
Just in case you don't have any friends you want to play with, Sierra
has set a special page at their web site where you can find opponents.
You aren't allowed to play for real money, of course, but it still makes
for a better game. Up to four opponents are allowed, and they can be a
variety of human and computer players. Computer players are animated and
occasionally make comments about how they're doing or what you should do
in certain situations (like should you split or take a hit?). The skill
level is adjustable, and a variety of games are available including
tournament play. Tournament play is a little different from normal play
in that there is a set limit to the tournament (dollar-wise) and you
play until either one person reaches the limit or everyone else has
dropped out. Should you require more money in a normal game, you can
always "visit" the ATM.

Both games offer plenty of help in how to play and how to win. Both
games play by the rules, which is especially handy in BlackJack since if
you know the rules and know when to stand, take a hit, etc..., you can
usually win (so I was told by a professional dealer at a bachelor
party). I can't say that I would necessarily recommend these games
unless you love to play cards or are looking for a game that is a
pleasant diversion that doesn't require a lot of thought or wild
maneuvering with a joystick.

Sierra On-Line
P.O. Box 85006
Bellevue WA 98015-8506
206-644-4343
<http://www.sierra.com>

Ratings:
Installation/Manual: Gold Medal
User-Friendliness: Silver Medal
Quality: Bronze Medal
User: All

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Triple Play Plus! Japanese from Random House/ Syracuse Language
Systems, in their Living Language Multimedia Series
Reviewed By: Gail BC Marsella <[e-mail]>
Reviewed on: Pentium120, 16 MB RAM, Windows 95
Requires: 386DX33, Windows 3.1 or 95, 4 MB RAM, CD-ROM, SVGA
MSRP: $99.95 from publisher, about 30% less from mail order.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The college where I teach has several Syracuse Language Systems programs
available in their language laboratory, where they are well liked. They
don't have this particular title, but only because Muhlenberg College
doesn't teach Japanese. With that good recommendation, I sat down to
review the software.

It comes on a CD-ROM, with a microphone included, and loads
conventionally on either Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. You must have a
sound card and speakers to use this program, although you can get along
without the microphone. The jack on the microphone did not fit my sound
card (an Ensoniq Soundscape) so I was unable to review the speech
recognition feature of Triple Play Plus Japanese, but that's largely an
extra. The program is very usable even without it.

I started using the program as an absolute beginner, with very modest
goals. I do some work for a subsidiary of a Japanese company, so I'd
like to be able to say at least "Please" and "Thank you" in their
language. If you have any doubts that a language reflects its culture,
this program will remove those doubts. You can't speak Japanese properly
without learning a lot of important etiquette points in the process, and
Triple Play does a pretty effective job of teaching you to avoid
cultural landmines while you're learning to pronounce words. For
example, the word "grandmother" depends on context; you say "sobo" if
talking about your own family, and "obasan" if talking about another's
family. Also, the prefix "o-" is added to certain words to show
politeness, but only to some words, not others, and although "-san" is a
common polite suffix, you should never use it to refer to yourself.
Although Japanese is not a tonal language like Chinese, it retains a few
inflections unfamiliar to English speakers, and the program gives
examples of pronunciation very clearly. In several places, you can also
slow down the pronunciation to listen carefully to each syllable.

Interestingly, games and comic strips form the core format of the
system. There are three modes of play: listening comprehension, reading
comprehension, and automatic speech recognition. There is also a
selection of subject areas, games, and comic strips. The games and comic
strips are divided into three groups of increasing difficulty: words,
phrases, and conversations. Not all the games and comic strips are
available for all the modes and subject areas.

You begin on the main screen, where you pick a mode of play, then a
subject area, and finally a game or comic strip type. The games are
familiar - things like picture matching and bingo - and most of them
allow you to practice listening or reading the words or phrases before
you begin playing. The comic strips show conversations in everyday
locations: a cafe, a market, a clothing store, an apartment, and a
library. Real-life situations are presented. The customer in the cafe,
for example, complains that the coffee is cold. The person shopping for
fruit bargains over the price. The library conversation has nothing to
do with books, but rather involves Ken introducing himself and asking
Kathy out for a date.

A short, but well illustrated user's manual explains how to play each
game, and a quick-reference brochure translates the conversations.
Syracuse also provides a card with the Japanese characters (both
hiragana and katakana) and their rough sound equivalents in English.
Finally, a Japanese- English dictionary is included in the package,
although I was surprised to find that the word "hello" was not in it,
and several common expressions are spelled differently in the dictionary
than they are on-screen.

For details and cultural notes on grammar, a button on the main screen
leads to pages of text notes, with sections on common expressions,
various parts of speech, sentence structure, pronunciation, and the
structure of the written language.

This is an excellent program. It won't teach you any technical or
specific business terms, but a few weeks of concentrated practice should
give the beginner a good start on both spoken and written Japanese.

Others in the Living Language Multimedia series include French, German,
Hebrew, Italian, and Spanish.

Random House/Syracuse Language Systems
719 East Genesee Street
Syracuse, NY 13210
[phone]
[e-mail]

Ratings:
Installation/Ease of Use: Gold
User-Friendliness: Gold
Quality: Gold
User: Beginning student of Japanese, age 8 to adult

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Website Professional
Reviewed By: Judy Litt <[e-mail]>
Requires:  Windows NT/95
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The package that the cd-rom for Website Professional comes in claims
that the software is "everything you need for advanced, secure
publishing on the World Wide Web." I'm not sure it's everything, but it
does come darn close.

Website Professional is basically the upgrade to O'Reilly's WebSite
software. It is server software: if you wanted to set yourself up as an
internet service provider (ISP) and you're on a Windows95 or NT machine,
Website Professional includes all the tools you need to get started:

Website Professional Server
A full 32-bit, multithreaded HTTP server that runs under Windows NT or
Windows 95

Server Admin
Configure the Website Professional server to meet the needs of your
environment (virtual servers, intranet, etc.)

Certificate Manager
To use a secure server, you'll need a public key certificate (a digital
ID). Certificate Manager helps you obtain and manage certificates

WebView
Helps you visually manage your webs and their links

WebIndex
Creates an index of your web

WebFind
Searches the index created with WebIndex and returns the results to the
user

Cold Fusion
"a database application development tool that enables the rapid creation
of interactive, dynamic, information rich webs." In other words, you can
use it to create search forms, bulletin board conferencing, interactive
training, and more

HotDog Web Editor
An html editor

Map This
An image map creator: software that supports both NCSA and client-side
image maps

Spyglass Mosaic
Browser software that includes support for secure sockets layer (SSL),
HTML 3 specification, and many netscapisms

Website Professional Resources
Examples, additional documentation, reference material, and tutorials

The box even includes a t-shirt (size large)! There are also upgrade
offers to Cold Fusion Professional ($250), HotDog 32 bit (free), and
HotDog Professional ($50). There is also a card with other software from
O'Reilly that can enhance your webs, such as WeBoard ($149) and PolyForm
($119).

Website Professional can be run as either a system service or a desktop
application, and you can change how it's running at any time. Basically,
if you actually plan to run this as a server, or an Intranet that must
run 24 hours a day, run it as a service. I chose to run it as a desktop
application.

Installing Website Professional was a fast, painless experience - which
surprised me. I expected it to be very complicated. Once you've
completed the installation, you run the server self-test to make sure
it's functioning properly (the server, that is). The self-test runs
through your browser. It's basically a series of web pages which test
that the following features are functioning:

Document Retrieval
Directory Tree Navigation
Image Maps
Server-Side Includes
Automatic URL Fixup
Java Applets
WebSite API
Perl vers. 5
Using CGI Programs
WebSite's CGI Interfaces
Security

WebView is the heart of Website Professional. It allows you to
graphically view your webs, and also allows you to launch all the other
programs included in Website Professional. You can view (and print!)
webs in five different modes:

Hyperlink
File Name
Title (helps you find any pages you've forgotten to title)
Label (what goes in the ALT tag)
URL

WebView also allows you to search your web, view authorized users and
groups, view error messages, and view the accesses of a page all by
right clicking on the file name. You can also generate a quick stats
report, which shows a report on:

html files served
non-html files served
erroneous requests served
total requests served
average requests per hour
average requests per day
unique hosts visiting

You can choose to save this report as an html file.

There are a few Wizards in WebView that can help the novice create new
pages:

Find Form
Home Page
Under Construction
What's New Page

Website Professional comes with three books (manuals):

Getting Started
Website Professional Basics
Website Professional Advanced Topics

Getting Started takes you through installing the software and the server
self-test. It's a small book; the other tow are larger.

Website Professional Basics takes you through WebView, a quick tutorial
on html, WebIndex and Web Find, working with image maps, and server side
includes. It also shows you the administration side of Website
Professional: mapping, virtual servers, automatic directory listings,
controlling access, logging, and remote administration. In short,
Website Professional Basics will get your service up and running.

Website Professional Advanced Topics helps you make your webs more
interactive and dynamic. It covers the following:

Enhanced security
Using Cold Fusion
CGI (Windows, C++, Perl, and DOS CGI)
WAPI
Java

Overall, I'm impressed by the ease of use of Website Professional, as
well as the abundance of helper applications bundled with the product.
However, don't expect to be taught how to run an ISP - you'll have to
learn how to obtain a Domain Name, DNS & NLS, connect to the Internet,
how often to back up, etc., etc., on your own. Some of the material
covered in Website Professional Advanced Topics is quite sparse - Java
is barely touched on, even though it has its own chapter. Website
Professional is a great collection of programs to get wannabe ISPs up
and running - assuming they know the basics of running an ISP, Website
Professional has the tools they need.

Website Professional
O'Reilly Software
O'Reilly & Associates
101 Morris St.
Sebastopol, CA 95472
707-829-0515 Voice
707-829-0104 FAX
<http://website.ora.com/>

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
WEBSITES OF THE WEEK! | This section is devoted to cool WebSites . . .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Santa on the Web!|
------------------
SEATTLE, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ - Dump those "bah humbug" feelings and say
"goodbye" to the frantic race against time by avoiding the traffic jams,
long lines at the mall and a stiff, cramped hand from writing holiday
cards and letters. This year ... there's help on the Internet, giving
you more time to enjoy the holidays.

Recharge your run-down holiday spirit - plug into two new Internet sites
from The OutPost Network. One new Web site, HolidayCards.com
<http://www.holidaycards.com> is as refreshing as that first deep breath
of air after escaping from the shopping mall. Another site,
SantaMail.com <http://www.santamail.com>, gives you an inside line,
direct to St. Nick, himself.

HolidayCards.com offers genuine, high-quality holiday cards, letters and
gifts to be sent anywhere in the world. Visitors to this Web site can
choose from dozens of colorful cards for Christmas or Hanukkah -
traditional, religious, lighthearted or irreverent. The site includes
cards especially for kids (e.g., Suzy Zoo and Curious George) and even
cards to send to pets (who just hate to be left out). There are even
cards for Kwanzaa and Thanksgiving.

To help express just the right sentiment HolidayCards.com lists
traditional poems and classical Christmas quotations that can be
imprinted on the cards. One card costs $3.75 (payable via a secure
online credit-card transaction), which includes imprinting a personal
message on the card, affixing a postage stamp and mailing via the U.S.
postal service.

Gifts can also be purchased and sent with each card order, including:

 .. "Your Words" from AT&T - an innovative personal gift that lets the
card sender add a spoken message to the card,
 .. Nordstrom department store gift certificates,
 .. Magazine subscriptions,
 .. Beer of the Month Club membership,
 .. Rustic, limited-edition birdhouses made in Washington state.

To help keep your spirits up, HolidayCards.com also invites you to 'join
in' on some fun features (even Rudolph can play):

 .. Good or Bad Poll - Rate your performance in 1996 (it's confidential,
so be honest) and get an instant report card from Santa on where you
stand with him.

 .. Christmas Trivia Quiz - Test your knowledge of key holiday moments
in film and television.

 .. Christmas Stories - Post your story on this page, sharing your
favorite holiday experience.

 .. Recipes - Exchange your favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes.

SantaMail.com
The OutPost Network is also introducing SantaMail.com
<http://www.santamail.com>, a companion Web site to HolidayCards.com.
SantaMail.com lets children of all ages write and get personal letters
from Santa, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph the Reindeer or those hardworking elves.
Every child's letter will have a North Pole postmark (from the village
of North Pole, Alaska). SantaMail.com letters are $2.95.

-------------------------
More Season's Greetings!|
-------------------------
MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ - Cyber greeting cards move at
lightning speeds over the internet. Across cities, states, countries,
arriving in seconds. Faster than a speeding bullet, a sleigh and
reindeer - or the postal service.

Where do all these greetings go? "To friends, family, loved ones,
business associates, cyber pals, and of course Santa Claus," says
Marjory Williams, founder and CEO of Awesome Cyber Cards, the
international provider of cyber greeting cards over the World Wide Web.

Who will receive the most cyber mail? Well, of course, who else? "Santa
Claus," says Williams without hesitation.

Awesome Cyber Cards will send tens of thousands of Christmas, Hanukkah,
and New Year's cards. "But we are betting on Santa as the Most Popular
Single Recipient," says Williams.

Awesome Cyber Cards and An Awesome Site for All Ages will offer free
holiday WWW features <http://www.marlo.com/holiday.htm>. A major
attraction will be letters to and from Santa Claus.

Returning from last year will be "Dear Santa"
<http://www.marlo.com/dearsant.htm>, an easy-to-use, fast, kid- safe way
to send a note to Santa and receive one back instantly on the computer
screen. No email address or contact information is needed.

Older kids - and adults who want to have Santa send a note to a child,
grandchild, niece, nephew, or friend - can write to Santa and get a note
back by email at "2 and From Santa" <http://www.marlo.com/santa.htm>.
What if a child doesn't know the email address or puts in a wrong
address? Santa has the uncanny ability to spot many address errors. In
that case, he still writes a letter but sends it to the computer screen
rather than to an undeliverable email address. Whether this is due to
the wonders of technology or Santa's magical powers, no one knows for
sure.

But Santa won't get all the attention this holiday. Awesome Cyber cards
received 1,800,000 "hits" and 600,000 page visits from card senders in
October alone. Before the holidays even started. Why?

"Cyber cards use the newest technology," says Williams, "to do the
oldest things. To say 'hello,' 'I love you,' 'hope you have a good
holiday,' 'I miss you,' or 'hey, you sure do make the holidays fun.'"

Awesome Cyber Cards, a division of Marjory Williams Ltd., is a service
and technological leader in the electronic greeting card industry. First
available on the World Wide Web in December 1995, Awesome Cyber Cards
serves visitors from over 70 countries and receives 1,800,000 hits and
600,000 page visits per month. Marjory Williams, founder and CEO of
Marjory Williams Ltd., previously founded SHE/Laura Caspari, the first
specialty retail chain in the United States to target career fashions
and to bring together a focused presentation for executive women.
Williams has been named the Entrepreneur of the Year by the governor of
Minnesota and Business Woman of the Year by the National Association of
Women Business Owners. The WWW address for Awesome Cyber Cards is
<http://www.marlo.com/card.htm>.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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  --END OF ISSUE--