9/26/95 CompuNotes Issue #21 Patrick Grote, Publisher and Editor CompuNotes is a weekly publication available through an email distribution list and many fine on-line networks! We feature reviews, interviews and commentary concerning the PC industry. This Week's Contents: ===================== PATRICK'S VIEWS =============== -=> Why Buy Windows 95 <=- -=> Review Response <=- NEWS ==== -=> Microsoft Money for Free <=- -=> Taking Classes on the Net? <=- REVIEWS ======= -=> CloseUp 6.1 for LANs Reviewed by Patrick Grote <=- -=> Alien Logic Reviewed by Doug Reed <=- WEB SITE OF THE WEEK ==================== -=> EPUB Web Is Amazing <=- FTP FILE OF THE WEEK ==================== -=> Darn! <=- INTERVIEW ========= -=> Lorne Shantz Update <=- To subscribe, send a message to subscribe@supportu.com with subscribe in body. To unsubscribe, send a message to unsubscribe@supportu.com with unsubscribe in body. Comments should be sent to feedback@supportu.com. Voice: (314) 984-9691 BBS : (314) 984-8387 FAX : (314) 984-9981 All old copies available from anonymous FTP at ftp.uu.net:/published/compunotes CD-ROM Online Magazine is another good resource. You can subscribe free by sending an email message to CDRMag@nsimultimedia.com with the word subscribe in the body of the text! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Patrick's Views ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Well, my birthday didn't exactly go as planned . . . So, I didn't get a chance to finish my encompassing review of Windows 95. To keep your appetite whetted until it is finished chew on the following . . . Oh, my disclaimer to OS/2 loyalists and Windows zealots . . . I use Warp for my BBS. I think Warp is doomed on the consumer desktop. I use Windows 95 as my operating interface. I don't think Windows 95 is suited for mission critical apps. That should cover it . . . SUBJECT:TOP 10 REASONS TO BUY WINDOWS 95 GUY KAWASAKI'S TOP 10 REASONS TO BUY WINDOWS 95 Below are the "Top 10 Reasons To Buy Windows 95" as delivered by Guy Kawasaki during David Nagel's keynote address at Macworld Boston last Tuesday. 10) Do you know how much it costs to furnish a 35,000 square foot house in Seattle? 9) You always wanted Microsoft to maintain a database of your hard drive. 8) The access number for AOL is always busy, so you'd rather join Microsoft Network. 7) Fewer Mac sales will mean you can get the 8100 you ordered 7 months ago. 6) You finally have an excuse to upgrade your system. 5) You want to plug and plug and plug. (You don't mind waiting for the play?) 4) Your mom is a Mercedes dealer in Seattle. 3) Internet is too full of information, so you'd like Bill Gates to decide what you should see. 2) You think the Justice Department should be fighting monopolies not crime. 1) Bob '95 To clarify last issue's call for writers . . . 1) Yes, even if you haven't written for us before you can be eligible. Send me a letter stating your qualifications and what you would like to review. 2) The REVIEW_LIST@SUPPORTU.COM is an autobot. Don't send your requests to her. :-) When you want to review something, send me a request. 3) Yes, reviews are due a week from the time you receive the product. More time is available if you request it up front. Also, if you receive more than one product you will have successive weeks for each. IE: Two products. First product due on October 10, the second product will be due on October 17. 4) So, to see what products you can request to review, send an email message to review_list@supportu.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NEWS OF THE WEEK| This section is dedicated to verified news . . . All News (C)opyright Respective Owner - Will Only Reprint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ New Version Of Microsoft Money Personal-Finance Software Boasts Attractive, Easy-To-Use Interface, And Online Banking And Bill Paying REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the start of the limited-time offer on Aug. 24, 1995, a quarter of a million people have made the move to obtain Microsoft(R) Money for the Windows(R) 95 operating system. The personal finance software, which makes it easy to manage core home-finance tasks and offers enhanced online banking and bill-payment services, is being ordered or downloaded at a rate of one every seven seconds. The special promotion, which continues through Oct. 31, 1995, offers people the option to download the product at no charge or order disks, and demonstrates Microsoft's renewed commitment to the personal-finance category. "We were confident that this dramatically different version of Money would appeal to large numbers of people, and we are simply thrilled by the terrific response to this limited-time offer," said Pete Higgins, group vice president of applications and content at Microsoft. "We knew that people who had an opportunity to experience this new version firsthand would see how easy and enjoyable it can be to manage their personal finances, and that was our goal with this special promotion." Through Oct. 31, anyone can download a copy of Money for Windows 95 from MSN(TM), The Microsoft Network online service, or from Microsoft's World Wide Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/MSHOME/) at no charge. Those who want product disks and a user's guide can acquire them directly from Microsoft for approximately $9.95 by calling 800-508-8458. The product is scheduled to be available in stores nationwide by Nov. 1, 1995, for approximately $34.95 (U.S.). Money for Windows 95 takes the personal-finance category in a significantly new direction, aiming to attract the 70 percent of households with computers that do not currently use personal-finance software. The product's elegant redesign, its focus on making the core home-finance tasks easy, and its enhanced online home-banking services are intended to make it more compelling for the typical home computer user to shift everyday financial chores to the computer. Microsoft has announced that it will work with 21 financial institutions to offer online banking and bill-payment services using Microsoft Money for Windows 95. The following is a list of banks offering these fee-based online services. (Asterisks appear next to the names of banks that offered these services with the previous version of Money.) Bank of Boston Centura Bank Chase Manhattan Bank* Chemical Bank Compass Bank CoreStates Bank Crestar Bank First Hawaiian Bank First Interstate Bank First National Bank of Chicago* Home Savings of America M&T Bank Marquette Banks Mellon Bank Michigan National Bank* Sanwa Bank California Smith Barney Texas Commerce Bank Union Bank US Bank* Wells Fargo Bank Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day. NOTE: Microsoft, Windows and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Available For Free Download, IWave Sets the Standard for Internet Broadcasting By Enabling Organizations, Individuals to Broadcast Shows, Lectures, Discussions, Music and More in Outstanding Audio Quality to Internet Users Worldwide NORTHVALE, N.J., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- VocalTec Inc. today introduced the Internet Wave, or IWave, a voice communications tool that sets a new quality standard for broadcasting over the Internet. Available free for download from the Internet (http://www.vocaltec.com), IWave gives radio stations, entertainment companies, universities and even individuals a way to broadcast shows, lectures, music and more in a high-quality audio format to Internet users worldwide and all Internet users a way to receive such broadcasts. "IWave's technology is adding another dimension to the Internet -- high quality sound. Now, anyone who wants to be represented on the Internet will have the 'voice' to be heard. VocalTec has set a quality standard for real-time voice. Expect all aspects of the Internet to be enriched," said Martin Schoffstall, senior vice president and chief technical officer for PSINet, the leading Internet service provider. "The Internet is evolving into a full sensory experience and IWave will effect the way the world communicates. VocalTec has developed the compression algorithms to provide sound for even dial-up connections. PSINet, as a pure Internet network, can readily take advantage of these capabilities. We have seen the explosive demand for multimedia on the Internet and have the network technology ready to support IWave." "VocalTec has achieved a level of audio quality that enables radio stations to go 'on-air' online with both speech and music," said Tony Gatto, managing editor, WCBS Radio New York. "IWave opens doors for radio stations around the world to expand their reach to new audiences anywhere, any time and any place with broadcast quality digital audio." "With IWave, every Internet user can be an information and content provider directly from their home PC. It is an amazing concept when you consider that there are more than 25 million users now on the Internet and a new node added every 20 minutes," said Elon Ganor, president and chief executive officer of VocalTec, developer of the revolutionary Internet Phone software, the de facto standard for real-time, voice communications over the Internet. "As an Internet-friendly company, VocalTec is dedicated to providing Internet users with the best possible tools for expanding their ability to communicate via audio over the Internet. IWave is just another example of this." VocalTec's IWave, currently being considered by Viacom, Virgin Interactive Entertainment Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Inc., has two main components -- a server package that includes an encoder and works in conjunction with standard web servers and the IWave Windows- compatible helper application. Both are available free of charge at VocalTec's Web site at http://www.vocaltec.com. The encoder compresses data from Windows .WAV and UNIX .AU files using high-quality compression algorithms similar to those developed by VocalTec for the Internet Phone. The compressed data is then stored on a Web server for retrieval. An encoder for live audio source compression is also available for a charge. IWave's helper application supports any Web browser, including Netscape and Spyglass, and can be downloaded from a Web site by end users for easy installation on PCs. Once installed, IWave automatically recognizes and plays back audio stored at Web sites by an IWave encoder. To support IWave, end users must have Windows 3.1 or higher, a SLIP or PPP connection and a modem that runs at 9.6 Kbps or faster. Those with 14.4 Kbps modems will experience audio with quality similar to that of AM radio broadcasts while those with 28.8 Kbps modems will hear audio of almost-FM quality. Individuals who call into Web sites with IWave will be able to choose randomly what sections of saved audio clips they'd like to hear. An advanced graphical user interface that's easy to implement and fun to use simplifies navigation to and within the server. Audience size for an IWave broadcast is limited only by a server's connection bandwidth, for IWave acts like any other Web activity. In addition, Web site providers can set passwords to limit access to IWave sites or recordings or to sell the service. Founded in 1991, VocalTec, Inc. is an international developer and marketer of voice communications and messaging solutions for multimedia and workgroup computing. Its products are at the forefront of computer audio conferencing and are designed to improve productivity, reduce communications costs and maximize business investments in network technology. VocalTec's Internet Phone software, unveiled in February, brings to users a whole new way to communicate -- by enabling real-time conversations over the Internet simply by dialing into the network and taking advantage of the multimedia capabilities built into today's PCs. VocalTec is based at 157 Veterans Drive, Northvale, N.J. 07647, with research and development facilities in Israel. Its Web address is http://www.vocaltec.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVIEWS OF THE WEEK | Interesting software/hardware you may need . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CloseUp/LAN Pro 6.1 Reviewed by Patrick Grote Remote control communications is still the quickest method of accessing Windows over the phone lines or by LAN. Knowing this, many companies have come out with various methods of controlling the PCs. Some us add-on programs, some use new device drivers and even some change your environment. CloseUp is one of the few programs that doesn't modify any of your system files -- almost. Unlike PCAnywhere for Windows that makes a mess of your system by adding VDXs and other junk, CloseUp simply changes your video driver. All the communication issues are handled via a DOS stub loaded when you boot your PC. CloseUp uses a host/remote strategy to allow you to control PCs over the phone line or LAN. The host PC is the PC setup to allow folks to control it. A remote PC is one that dials into the host PC and takes control. Hence, your PC at home would be a remote and the PC at work would be host. You could then call into the work PC and take control of the screen, transfer files and more. As stated earlier, CloseUp uses a DOS stub for host and remote communications. What this leaves you with is a remarkably clean Windows installation. The only change made to your Windows environment is a program that checks to see if you are running CloseUp or not. If you are running CloseUp, your current video driver is replaced with one for remote communications. If you aren't running CloseUp your current video driver is loaded. This method of configuration works well from a compatibility stand point, the display driver isn't the best. On three different machines we were able to get "dots" to appear in our display by loading the CloseUp drivers. These "dots" were irritating. Other than that there were no issues. Making a connection with CloseUp using a modem is pretty easy. Again, it is DOS based, but there is a address book that lets you keep multiple numbers on hand. As well, you can control several items about your environment before dialing out. Actually calling out is a painless process. If you are in Windows when you make a connect, the Windows drivers take over and you are presented with the host's Windows screen. From here you have total control of the Windows environment. If you pull up your remote side menu to change configuration, your screen is cleared and you are in a DOS like environment. After your changes are made the screen repaints in the Windows environment. This can lead to slowdowns if you make many changes. For Windows the speed at 28.8 is really nice. 14.4 is barely acceptable. At 28.8 your screens almost snap while at 14.4 they paint. In a DOS environment either speed is blazing. I was very impressed! Usually this would be the end of the review, but CloseUp 6.1 does something many of the remote control program won't do -- LANs. Sure, some programs allow you to control a node on a LAN. CloseUp 6.1 will as well. What they don't let you do is allow multiple remote nodes control one host. Imagine that! In a school environment the teacher could be teaching one one PC while the students follow along on their machines. Think of the uses in a corporation. Joe in Texas could be demonstrating the latest program to salespeople in California and New York while they watch on their machines. This many to one approach is innovative and affordable. Until now this ability was only available in DOS, but now Windows comes to the forefront. Amazing. Of course, this ability allows you to go across WANs through routers and over 56k lines, etc. CloseUp 6.1 isn't sexy. It isn't marketed spicily. It performs. If you are looking for a feature packed remote control program look no further than Close Up! Norton-Lambert POB 4085 Santa Barbara, CA 93140 (805) 964-6767 CompuServe: GO PCVENI Skyrealms of Jorune: Alien Logic Reviewed by Doug Reed Alien Logic is the first of a new series of adventure games from SSI, the long time producer of the famed "gold box" series of Dungeons and Dragons games. This new game is based on the popular Skyrealms of Jorune role-playing game created by Andrew Leker, Miles Teves, and Amy Leker Kalish. Jorune is a far-off world settled by Earth colonists. Long after the Earth has been forgotten, mankind has settled into its new world alongside a variety of new species. Besides humans, there are the fierce Cleash, the large Corastin, the tall and bony Ramian, the insectoid Scarmis, the Crugars (an offshoot of the Cougar), the artistic Thivin, the inquisitive Thriddle, and the strange Shantha. The Shantha once ruled Jorune, prior to the arrival of humans. After a disastrous war with humans, the Shantha were nearly wiped out. Shanthas are the greatest sculptors of Isho, the magical power on Jorune. Movement around Jorune is accomplished by entering WarpWorld. When you enter a Warp site, a map appears showing you all of WarpWorld. When you move across another Warp site, you re-enter Jorune at a new site. Once you learn where the various Warp sites go, you can very easily move quickly around Jorune. In addition to moving around, the player will have to learn dyshas, the magical spells of Isho. To do this requires entering WeavingWorld and attracting a dysha to enter the portal by expending crystals the hero has collected. The game begins when you are awakened by the Thriddle King. He tells you that your family and friends have been kidnapped, along with hundreds of other humans, by the Red Shantha, a mysterious being with unknown motives. It is up to you to uncover what those motives are, stop the Red Shantha, and rescue your friends and family. The Thriddle King tells you to master both WarpWorld and WeavingWorld before you take on the Red Shantha, a valuable piece of advice. Graphically, the game is superb. Everything is beautifully rendered and well done. The game itself is intriguing and mysterious enough to drag you in and keep you hooked for awhile. Although I haven't finished it (yet!) I haven't found the game to be either too simple or overly hard. If you are a fan of adventure/role-playing games, this is a good game for you to get. If you prefer hack and slash type adventures, look elsewhere. Although some fighting is required in this game, it is hardly in the same amount as required in most of the gold box Dungeon and Dragons games. Alien Logic has only one major 'flaw', and it is one typical of adventure/role-playing games: no recorder feature to let you replay conversations. Pencil and paper are definitely required to complete this game. However, this is more of a thoughtful game, and I like it. I definitely recommend Skyrealms of Jorune: Alien Logic. Strategic Simulations, Inc. 675 Alamar Ave. Suite 201 Sunnyvale, CA 94086-2901 (408) 737-6800 CompuServe: None URL: None ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WEBSITE OF THE WEEK! | This section is devoted to a cool WebSite . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Epub News: Publishing at the Speed of Light The World Wide Web is an electronic publishing jungle. Since swinging onto the scene September 1st, Epub News is offering a daily machete for explorers authoring, marketing, or publishing with epub tools like Acrobat, Envoy, WinHelp .. and even the Web's native tongue-twister, HTML. "Today's epublisher is faced with a spectrum of choices," says Ted Husted, Editor. "No one tool is small enough, fast enough, or flexible enough to do every job well. Epub News is designed to give epublishers a daily heads-up as to their options, while providing a steady stream of practical how-tos." Epub News is also designed for fast-loading and quick-linking. Each day's addition always appears first, with the prior days' items descending in chronological order. At the foot of the second page is a link to the epub morgue - an item's final resting place. "An article runs on the newspage for eight days, each day taking a successively later position, until it is finally pushed off into the morgue -- but still only a click away," explains Husted. "Our stories stay continuously in print." Ted Husted has been active in electronic publishing since 1988. Author of three shareware authoring tools and several publications, Husted founded epub areas on CompuServe and America Online, and also helped form the EpubNet BBS network and the Digital Publishers Association. Husted's work has been showcased in many magazines, including PC Week and Analog. Most recently, Husted was a featured developer in the book "Paperless Publishing" by Colin Haynes (McGraw-Hill, 1994). "Epublishing offline will remain important," says Husted, "but online is where electronic publishing comes alive. Offline we're books-on-disk: new wine in old bottles. Online, we're a medium with a message: this is now'." Epub News features both original content and direct links to other pages on the Web. In its first two weeks, Epub features included: Cut and Paste HTML + The Virtual Encyclopedia of Absolutely Everything + Acrobat on the Web + Zines Zines Everywhere + The Lost Codes + Epubbin' at the Mall + Get Your Company Online with Wildcat + Beyond Help + Severe Tire Damage + Epublishing with Windows 3.1 + Finding an On-Ramp to the InfoBahn + NeoMax Lifts Off + What Makes Successful Web Sites? + Envoy Goes Runtime. Early reviews for Epub News are up beat. "Epub News looks great -- found some interesting things there," writes Jill Ellsworth, author of "Marketing on the Internet". Daniel Will-Harris, a graphics professional, agrees: "It looks great -- very clean design." To browse Epub News, link to http://www.servtech.com/public/thusted/epubnews.htm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COOL FTP FILE OF THE WEEK | You may need this file . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DARN! Don't Forget! v4.00 for Windows Events Reminder -- Be the most popular person in your family or office when you always remember birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, and other events! DARN! pops up every day, and gives you plenty of warning so you can purchase cards or presents, plan parties, or prepare for meetings. ASP shareware from EmmaSoft Software Co, Inc. You can find this as DARNW40.ZIP on the following FTP site: WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU:/pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/misc/darnw40.zip You can find this as DARNW40.ZIP on the following FTP site: FTP.CRL.COM:/users/su/supportu/darnw40.zip ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK | Interesting people you should know about . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Many of you will remember our interview with Lorne when he was going through the legal battle after his BBS was shut down. Well, there is justice in the world! Read on . . . Wishbook BBS Charges Dropped Monday, September 18, 1995 This morning all criminal charges against Lorne E. Shantz, Sysop of The Wishbook BBS, were ordered dismissed by the court. The dismissal was ordered to be "with prejudice," meaning that criminal charges can never again be filed against Lorne in this matter. The Court also signed orders allowing for the release of information pertaining to Grand Jury actions in the case. Because of these orders it is now possible to discuss some of the heretofore secret aspects of this case. Lorne E. Shantz was the subject of a search warrant in November, 1995 during which, his BBS equipment and software were seized by police authorities upon an allegation that the BBS was distributing obscene material. Although Lorne had maintained a strict, public policy against the uploading of material depicting beastiality, excrement, and child pornography and had personally screened all uploads to physically eliminate this type of material, certain .gifs contained on name-brand CD-Roms were alleged to have contained examples. Lorne maintained, from the beginning that he bought the CD-Rom disks openly and based upon their national advertising in mainstream computer publications and in reliance upon their representation as being "BBS-Ready." Because of this representation, the wide-spread use of these CD-Rom disks on other BBS systems and because of the sheer size and number of images, Lorne did not screen every image. In January, 1995 Lorne's BBS equipment was returned to him with the exception of all of his CD-Rom disks (even those not alleged to contain contraband material) and other equipment relating to the CD-Rom system. In March, 1995, a Grand Jury considered the filing of criminal charges against Shantz. Pursuant to the Criminal Rules, the Prosecutor was notified that Lorne would agree to waive his privilege against self-incrimination and would testify before the Grand Jury. The Prosecutor claimed to have forgotten this formal offer and proceeded to obtain an Indictment without notifying the Grand Jury. The Prosecutor then offered Lorne the opportunity to address the Grand Jury but did not inform Lorne or myself that the Grand Jury had already indicted him. Lorne was charged, criminally, with 20 counts of distributing obscene material. When the Defense learned of these Grand Jury improprieties, it filed a Motion challenging the indictment and asking that the matter be remanded to another, impartial Grand Jury panel. The Court agreed and ordered the matter remanded. In July, 1995 Lorne appeared before another Grand Jury panel. Because Court rules do not allow a Defense Attorney to address the Grand Jury, Lorne was required to solely address that body. Lorne was superb at that proceeding, calmly but firmly telling the Grand Jury that he had no idea of the existence of the material on his BBS and defending his reputation both as a Sysop and Police Officer. At the conclusion of those proceedings, this Grand Jury did not vote an Indictment and chose, instead to end their inquiry. The Prosecution chose not to proceed to alternative methods of charging Shantz, but instead offered to dismiss all criminal charges. The State requested that Lorne agree to promise that he would not offer the .gif images named in the Indictment on his BBS in the future. Since Lorne had publicly testified, under oath, that he never intended to offer such images, he was perfectly willing to so agree. The agreement was accepted by the court this morning and, accordingly, all criminal charges were ordered dismissed. Still undetermined is the status of Lorne's job as a State Trooper. On the date that the Indictment was made public, Lorne was fired from the position he held for approximately 14 years and all accrued benefits, including his pension, were forfeited. That firing is presently under administrative appeal. Lorne will still have to repair a broken life and a new marriage that, unfortunately, has not yet seen peaceful times. My personal feelings of gratification for today's events is exceeded only by my profound sense of gratitude for all of the friends who have supported Lorne in the Nets and especially on the RIME conferences. In the early days, friends were few and very timid, but the folks on RIME were among the first supporters and certainly the most enthusiastic! Momentum slowly gathered and by July, support had become wide-spread and open. Lorne's victory today is certainly a victory for all of his loyal friends and supporters. I truly hope that each of you will share our pride and happiness today. This issue was brought to you by Readables, the publishing house that understands you!