COMPUNOTES - Issue #56 - November 2, 1996 This Week's Contents: My Notes: 1) ListServ Changes . . . 2) Northern California? 3) The Winner of our CDROM this Issue is . . . 4) Network News - New Mailing List Columnists' Corner: 1) Bushman's Royal Flush - ISP Frustrations . . . News: 1) Computer Museum Celebrates 25 Years! 2) Scrabble in Cyberspace1 Reviews: 1) Product: WinZip 6.2 Reviewed By: Patrick Grote 2) Product: PowerCube Speaker Systems Reviewed By: Patrick Grote 3) Product: Book: Designing for the Web Reviewed By: Dr. Mark 4) Product: Mission Force: Cyberstorm Reviewed By: Doug Reed 5) Product: Norton NT Tools from Symantec Reviewed By: Dr. Mark Web Sites: 1) ZDNet Offers Demo Service 2) Windows Magazine Offers Top Sites on the Web! Interview: 1) None this week! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date : November 2, 1996 |CompuNotes is a weekly publication available Issue: 56 |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 (314) 909-1662 voice |publication! Never dull, sometimes tardy, we (314) 909-1662 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 |honest, constructive Doug Reed, Asst. Editor / Writer Liaison |feedback! We need to hear |from you! Please take the Judy Litt, Graphics Editor/Web Master |time to send us your |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! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Web Site is at http://users.aol.com/CompNote/ Please Add Our Link to Your Homepage! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, send a message to listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com with the command in the body SUBSCRIBE COMPUNOTES-L Full Name. Example: SUBSCRIBE COMPUNOTES-L Patrick Grote To unsubscribe, send a message to listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com with the command in the body SIGNOFF COMPUNOTES-L. Example: SIGNOFF COMPUNOTES-L. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 notes@inlink.com 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! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Listserv is Now Working!| ------------------------- Whoops! Had the wrong instructions for unsubscribing and subscribing to the list! It should all be worked out now! Also, does anyone know what happened to the mailing list that would send you the daily TV schedule? I need to find that again as I want to start taping movies again! ---------------------------- Northern California . . . | ---------------------------- Need some quick help. As many of you know, we spent our summer vacation in Bethany Beach, DE. We are looking for a similar family atmosphere in Northern California for next summer. We'd like to rent a house as we did in Bethany. Somewhere near the ocean is required. Thanks! ------------------ WINNER IS . . . | ------------------ The software package being given away this week is The ASP Shareware Collection! Our winner is: jonwz@ibm.net Send them a congratulatory email! -------------------------- Network News Mailing List| -------------------------- I'm in the networking business and I couldn't live without the following mailing list. Network News is well prepared and is so concise it cuts like a scalpel through the static on the net! Subscribe today: *For More Information /Questions about this newsletter you can contact Alan Gatlin . *To subscribe to NETWORK-NEWS e-mail your request to network-news@lists.primenet.com. My Web Site also contains many links on computing and business needs . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Columnists' Corner - We bring you a different person each week! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Royal Flush by Jeff Bushman | ---------------------------------------------------- Well I'll Be Switched . . . I've recently experienced something that some of you have already been exposed to, and many among the others, will. I've been switched. I supposed it's not as bad as being punished in Singapore, but it's no fun, believe me. I was, until recently, a subscriber (member?) to/of Internet Direct, an ISP that provided pretty good service, with offices in my location. They decided that they no longer wanted to be in the ISP business. They apparently decided that being an Internet Service Provider wasn't an adequately profitable business. Fair enough. Another company, Goodnet, took over all of the subscribers of Internet Direct, and as the change-over occurred, everything was switched over. Almost. What I seemed to have lost initially, was all of my e-mail that I hadn't yet retrieved and deleted. After several days of calling this problem to the attention of Goodnet's technical support people, I did receive this collection of "e-notes." Naturally, I have no way of knowing what e-mail I may have lost in the transition (this question is something like, "what messages didn't you receive?"). Next, I couldn't find my large collection of bookmarks nor my address book. Curses. I wrote again to tech support. They wrote back, telling me how to extract the compressed files. Terrific. I did it. The instructions were perfectly simple, and they seem to have worked. Now, how to access these files? I wrote to tech support again. They responded, suggesting that this would also be perfectly simple. At the main prompt, they said, type: cd\oldfiles. I did that. That's when the lack of clarity became, er, clear. The prompt now suggested that I was in a directory called, naturally, "oldfiles." Give me a list, Mr. Computer. I typed, "oldfiles." No good. OK, how about, "dir"? No dice. Perhaps, "list." Nada. Why don't we type out, "directory"? Zippo. This was getting considerably frustrating. Very well, I'd write to tech support, again, asking the question, i.e., how do I access my old files? Simple question and it should get a simple answer, or, an answer with sufficient detail that the process would be reasonably easy, right? Not yet. It is nearly a week since I asked the question. To date my answer has been, well, missing. It apparently is in the same place as my address book and my bookmarks. It is, as Bob Dole is fond of saying about Bill Clinton, AWOL. My bookmarks are important to me as yours are to you. I use them, not just for fun, but for part of my work. Likewise, my address book has a list of people with whom I've communicated around the country. Never mind the dial-in problems I've had. I can live with those, since I have the ability to telnet in from my college server. But I want my stuff, and I want it now! Is it too much to ask that when one ISP takes over for another, that the new entity send an e-mail to each of its newly-acquired subscribers, describing how to retrieve her/his stuff? I obviously don't want it all to be lost, and I'm not at all certain what I'll do next. I only know that if the problem isn't solved soon, I'll have to figure out some way of showing them that while I may have been switched, they're going to be metaphorically caned. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS OF THE WEEK| This section is dedicated to verified news . . . All News (C)opyright Respective Owner - Will Only Reprint ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Museum Celebrates 25 Years!| ------------------------------------- NEEDHAM, Mass., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ - The world's largest and most significant computer trade show for the information technology industry will commemorate the discovery that changed our lives when COMDEX/Fall '96 opens its doors on November 18. In recognition of the microprocessor's 25th birthday, and the industry it spurred, COMDEX will present a special program, "25 Years of Industry Achievement." The cornerstone of this unique program will be "The Museum at COMDEX," to be erected in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center and open during the five days of COMDEX/Fall '96, slated for November 18-22, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The museum will feature original artifacts from the early years of computing, including microprocessors, calculators, personal computers, storage devices and modems. Visitors will view such "relics" as the Micral, the Altair, the Apple I, the Xerox Alto, the TRS-80, and the eight-inch floppy disk. Interactive exhibits of the 70s, 80s and 90s will place guests at historic scenes of computer discovery and innovation while overhead monitors will set the scene for visits to such locales as a hacker's garage and the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The Museum at COMDEX will chronicle 25 years of innovations, pausing for a look back at this industry's short, but epic, history. Once inside the museum, visitors will be greeted by an oversized integrated circuit decorated with the show's logo, from which emanates a huge nest of wires representing old technologies. This colorful, chaotic techno-cable flows through the museum, exemplifying the different stages of technology through the last three decades. Lights within this scramble of wiring suggest forward movement, leading visitors through the exhibit. The week-long focus and special events celebrating the impact of the development of the microprocessor also include an awards program established to honor individuals who have made a significant contribution to the industry in the ensuing years since 1971. Special forums, including keynote presentations by Andrew Grove, president and CEO, Intel Corporation, Bill Gates, chairman and CEO, Microsoft Corporation, and Jim Barksdale, president and CEO, Netscape, along with "The Crystal Ball" Power Panel, and four SuperSessions: "Research Under Wraps," "Technology Crossfire," "The Next 25 Years," and "Today's Movers and Shakers" present industry leaders engaging in hot-topics certain to captivate their audiences. The "Museum at COMDEX" and its exciting retrospective on the dynamic growth and crowning achievements of our industry, will become a reality at COMDEX/Fall '96, through a partnership with The Computer Museum and its founding president and advisor/curator, Gwen Bell. The Museum, along with the entire "25 Years of Industry Achievement" program, has been made possible through the generous and active sponsorship of Intel Corporation; Motorola, Inc.; SOFTBANK Holdings, Inc.; and Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. The Museum, located directly in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center and the COMDEX registration tent, is open to the public with no charge for admission, during the following hours: Sunday, 11/17: noon - 5:00 pm; Monday 11/18 through Thursday 11/21: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm; and Friday, 11/22: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm. ------------------------------ Scrabble Comes to Cyberspace!| ------------------------------ NEW YORK, and HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ - The new Internet- playable Scrabble(R) CD-ROM crossword game is at the center of a Ghostbusters reunion today, as Harold Ramis exchanges tiles and words in cyberspace with Rick Moranis. In an East versus West match-up of Internet proportion, Moranis will be in New York and Ramis, an avid Scrabble player, in Hollywood. The two will attempt their best play on a marble-like 3-D board in the new CD- ROM game published by Hasbro Interactive Worldwide and based on the world's favorite family word game. "Scrabble was introduced in the 1930s and is re-born today as an interactive, fast-playing multimedia experience," explains Hasbro Interactive President Tom Dusenberry. "CD-ROM games are hot, but until now there hasn't been much out there for the broad audience of PC and Mac owners. Scrabble, and our previously released Monopoly CD-ROM, are filling that void in the entertainment software marketplace." Today's Internet game between Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis is the first of several celebrity Scrabble pairings planned by Hasbro Interactive. Images from the Ramis-Moranis match will be posted throughout the event on a custom Web page, accessible from the Official Scrabble Crossword Game Web site, www.scrabble.com. Moranis will be playing for Gilda's Club, a non-residential community for people with cancer. In addition to its Internet play for two to four players, Scrabble CD- ROM features the most formidable Scrabble computer opponent, aptly named Maven. More than 10 years in development, Maven was tested against the world's top- ranked Scrabble players to hone its tile-laying skills. Maven has at its disposal Merriam Webster's Official Scrabble Players Dictionary of 90,000 words, which also can be accessed and customized by players. The computer opponent can be set on five different levels - from basic to championship mode, offering a wide spectrum of game play for children to adults and even the most savvy Scrabble players. In solo play against the computer, players can use the "hint guide" to discover the highest-scoring words and their best placement on the board, capitalizing on Double Word Score and Triple Letter Score spaces, for example. By selecting "definitions" players learn if a word exists and its meaning. The game's 3-D graphics deliver simulated wood tiles that turn to stone with razor-sharp sound effects when a word is played. Hasbro Interactive Worldwide, a division of Hasbro, Inc., is an all- family games publisher. Other Hasbro Interactive CD-ROM games include Monopoly, Clue, Trivial Pursuit, Yahtzee, Othello, and soon- to-be- released Battleship and Risk. For children, Hasbro Interactive publishes five titles for the PC and Macintosh: Tonka Construction, Candy Land, Mr. Potato Head, Playskool Puzzles and Play-Doh. Scrabble was invented in 1931 by an out-of-work architect from Poughkeepsie, New York, named Alfred Mosher Butts. Butts studied the newspaper to determine point values for the letters in his game, which has been described as part crossword puzzle and part anagram. Scrabble brand games are produced and distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Milton Bradley, a division of Hasbro, Inc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- REVIEWS OF THE WEEK | Interesting software/hardware you may need . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Product: WinZip 6.2 Reviewed By: Patrick Grote ---------------------------------------------------------------------- What does it take to become a classic? Is it something that was once produced in abundance, but is no longer? Is it something that has been produced forever, which makes it endearing to our hearts? Is it something many people look to with fond memories, thus propelling it into the classic realm? I don't know, but I do know that WinZip by Nico Mak Computing is a classic. If you have never had the pleasure of using WinZip on its way to version 6.2, let me tell you you've wasted about a year in time without it! Simply stated WinZip saves you time, effort and frustration when it comes to dealing with ZIP, TAR, gzip, Unix Compress, UUENCODE, XXENCOdE, BinHex and Mime files. A mouthful, eh? Most people will use it with ZIP and UUENCODED files though. WinZip is a window sized application that lets you do anything to a ZIP file you can think. This includes basic functions such as creating, adding, deleting, renaming and extracting ZIP files. Advanced features include wizards walking you through common tasks, ability to check out software before installing it, virus scan and UUENCODing a file. The newest feature, and probably neatest, is Favorite Zip Folders. Favorite Zip Folders allows WinZip to organize downloads and all other ZIP files into one convenient list that is sorted by date. Superb! Why should you look at WinZip? Time savings, effort savings, frustration savings! Buy it today! WinZip 6.2 Nico Mak Computing POB 919 Bristol, CT 06011 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Product: PowerCube Speaker Systems Reviewed By: Patrick Grote ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I can remember the first time I heard real sound from a computer. The Commodore 64 sat there playing some mid-80s pop song and I was loving it. Even the games of the day supported this "advanced" sound. Rather than beeps and bips, you heard crashes and taunts. Games appealed to a new sense, the sense of hearing. Sound has come along way since the SID chip on the Commodore 64. Now, every PC sold has a sound card. It isn't if you have sound, but what kind. Every user today has the standard Sound Blaster compatible ship set. Being Sound Blaster compatible doesn't mean you'll hit it off with guys named Sound, but your computer can produce music, sound effects and noise based on what a program tells it to do. The way the program talks to the Sound Blaster is what is compatible. It's like the Sound Blaster language is spoken by all sound cards. Even the most basic sound card today produces decent sound and music. What really matters most is your speakers. Long forgotten, those $10.00 cheap speakers the computer store threw in for free pretty much suck when compared to today's speakers. Without spending an arm and a leg you can attain a sound that just a year ago was unheard of. You can own a speaker set for your computer that makes Doom creepier, Descent II more dizzying and Duke Nukem', well, cruder. You can own the PowerCube Speaker System from Altec Lansing. The ACS45 PowerCube Speaker Systems from Altec Lansing is the first high performance, three piece speaker system to break the $100.00 price barrier. Tipping in at $99.00 it can be found on store shelves for less. OK, I will bore those who need it with the technical details -- Driver Satellites: One 3" shielded Full Range -- Driver Sub woofer: One 4" long throw woofer -- Satellite Power: 6 Watts -- Sub woofer Power: 20 Watts. Bottom line for non-techies ... these babies blow you away! The three parts to the PowerCube Speaker System are the sub woofer, left satellite and right satellite. The sub woofer makes your bass sounds boom, while the satellite works to enhance every other note! Setup and installation was a breeze! Unpack and plug in the cords and we were finished. The cable connects to your speaker out on the sound card. I wish the cables going to the satellite speakers from the sub woofer were a little longer. After the hoop up is complete move on to trying them out. Can't hear anything? Can't find the volume controls? Don't worry, they are electronic! No knobs will break off on this bad boy! Once you get the volume pumping you'll notice no distortion as you pass through normal volume range to eviction range right on through neighbor lynching range. The speakers perform! Altec Lansing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Product: Designing for the Web By Jennifer Niederst with Eddie Freedman 1st Edition April 1996 180 pages, ISBN: 1-56592-165-8, $24.95 Reviewed by: Dr. Mark Requires: Mac or Windows platform ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Designing for the Web doesn't teach the reader how to design. Instead, it aims to help designers adapt their skills to the web. It's a practical guide to the unique considerations of Web design. Although the book is aimed at designers, the techniques in this book are useful to anyone who wants to put graphics online. This book is written by O'Reilly designers who were pioneers on the Web. Author Jennifer Niederst garnered her expertise the hard way. Way back in 1993, she designed the Global Network Navigator (GNN), an early Web- based publication. Looking back at her plunge into the new world of Web design the author says," I wished at the time that there was one place I could go to quickly learn all the technical stuff, without having to ferret it out myself, so I could get on to doing what I enjoyed the most - designing!" Neiderst and co-author Edie Freedman share the painstaking lessons they learned about basic principles, special techniques, and workarounds for effective Web Design. In this book you'll find: > A brief introduction to the Web > A step by step tutorial on putting together a Web Page > Pointers on creating graphics that are optimized for the Web > Recommendations for reducing download times of images > Instructions for adding transparency and interlacing > Discussion of the impact of different browsers and platforms > A listing and demonstration of the HTML tags for design > Tips on using background images and colors > Guidelines on navigational and orientation aids > Conceptualizing your Web site as a whole. The authors ability to clearly present in an organized and meaningful way is clearly demonstrated in the layout of this book. This issue in itself is meaningful in that anyone who designs successfully understands the need for structure and logic flow. As a result this text has been organized into three major topics: Part l: The new environment This section clearly describes the landscape of the web, introducing the reader to a host of terminology, concepts, and peculiarities one may expect to encounter. A clear cut presentation of how a Web page is put together leaves the reader ready to learn specific skills. Part ll: All about graphics for the Web This part deals strictly with Web graphics: the basic specifications, how to create them, and how to fine tune them. This section also includes chapters on Web specific graphic effects such as transparency, interlacing, and imagemaps. Part lll: All about the rest of the page Creating graphics is only one part of the Web page design. A clear and basic understanding of what can and can't be done online is presented. The information is aimed more at design than programming and provides a sampling of tags and other elements that can be added to the Web page. Finally, a brief presentation of multi-page documents and basic interface issues are presented. This book is a must for the designers library. At the end of this text the publisher has provided some excellent suggestions for follow on reading as well as some excellent multimedia materials offered to fully round out the designers reference shelf. This text was not only a great reference text, it was also good reading. Once again O'Reilly has provided excellent authors and publishing to keep all users of the Internet in step with the "how too" mode of the information highway. O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. 101 Morris Street Sebastopol, Ca. USA 95472 (707) 829 - 0515 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Product: MissionForce: Cyberstorm Reviewed By: Doug Reed Requirements: 486/66, Windows 95, 8 MB RAM ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Every once in a great while you discover a game that is truly a gem, a masterpiece worth savoring and playing over and over. Games like Civilization, or Doom, or X-Com, or MULE (now I'm showing signs of my age). MissionForce: Cyberstorm is an unexpected delight, a true blast to play that will easily absorb hours of your time. But is it a masterpiece? The answer to that question is not quite so easy. I will tell you my experience with it and let you decide. Cyberstorm is published by Sierra and is a strategy game based in the "EarthSiege" universe where mankind is battling living machine Cybrids with huge Hercs. In Cyberstorm, the player controls a squad of bioderms (which are sort of like the androids of Bladerunner), which pilot Hercs that the player purchases and configures. Players obtain cash by mining ore during missions, then use the cash to buy/train bioderms or to repair/upgrade their Hercs. The player is given a wide variety of missions to choose from and free range to configure their Hercs to succeed in that mission (depending on the size of their payroll). Lots of "video" tutorials and on-line help guide the player in how to succeed at Cyberstorm. And once you've completed the missions and destroyed the Cybrids, you can hook up your modem and face off against a friend. And the really great thing about this is that they don't even have to buy a copy of the game - you can give it to them! In an interesting move that is hopefully part of a trend, Sierra has included 2 copies of the game in each box of Cyberstorm, so that you and your best friend can quickly set up and go at it. Installation is quick and easy; the game does require Windows 95 and makes use of the new DirectX technology from Microsoft to make Windows 95 games as fast (or faster) than DOS games. What is DirectX? Well, put simply, it is a set of controls for interacting with Windows 95 and your hardware so that a game programmer does not need to worry about whether a game will work on a particular sound card - as long as the card is Windows 95 compatible, the game will run properly. This eliminates a lot of hair-pulling on the part of the games programmer and eliminates one of the thorniest issues for PC users- hardware/software compatibility. Cyberstorm is truly beautiful to look at; the look of the Hercs and the motion, sounds, etc.... during a mission will simply blow you away. Yeah - I know, I've said that before, but I meant it then and I mean it now. Your jaw will lay slack as you take in the simply gorgeous graphics. You will be amazed the first time you open up on a Cybrid and his screens flare blue for a millisecond as they absorb the damage. The opening movie scene is on par with that of Mechwarrior II although it is not as long nor quite as pretty. The main screen is slick; the game shows the profile of a running Herc, cycling through the various Herc and Cybrid designs one by one. Some are funny looking, others strange, and some downright nasty. The sounds that accompany the graphics are also extremely well done; on a GUS PnP Pro they sound absolutely fantastic and realistic. The main game screen is the Herc base, where you can perform repairs and upgrades, as well as choose your next mission. The command center is well done, allowing you to choose video training, on-line help, or provide plentiful information about the nature of the mission you've chosen and what you can expect on the world you will land on. Each world is unique; some are rocky, some are forested, etc...providing a variety of challenges so that each mission provides a fresh challenge. Although the basic mission parameters are set prior to departure the actual mission is randomized as far as where targets lie and where enemy mechs approach from. This is a nice touch, insuring at least a little bit of replayability to the game. So, you are probably wondering if there are any problems with this game. One problem that has been the subject of much heated discussion on the newsgroup comp.sys.ibmpc.games.strategic is the fact that Cyberstorm lacks a manual. Yes, that's right, no hardcopy except for a little sheet that tells you keyboard shortcuts and such for playing the game. While I am a firm believer in hardcopy, I can't really say that this game requires it. I was easily able to get the game up and running, and was able to figure out most of the controls on the fly. Unless you just simply hate using a mouse, you can just simply run your mouse over the screen and click - you might be surprised what you can pull up. The other glaring flaw in the game - so I'm told - is that the game progressively gets harder until a point is reached when the Reaper Herc is available, and then the game becomes very easy and almost boring. I haven't reached that point myself yet so I can't say that it is true, but even if it is there is still the multiplayer option, which is where long-term replayability would lie anyway. Bottom line -if you want a game that you will want to find time to play, this is one of those games. The last game that made me feel this way was Master of Magic. I highly recommend Missionforce: Cyberstorm. Sierra On-Line P.O. Box 85006 Bellevue WA 98015-8506 206-644-4343 Ratings: Installation/Manual: Gold Medal (yes, there is no manual but the on-line help is superb) User-Friendliness: Gold Medal Quality: Gold Medal User: All ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Product: Norton NT Tools Reviewed By: Dr. Mark ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Symantec has released another first class product - Norton NT Tools. The result is a sophisticated set of tools and a manager that is designed to enhance productivity, while maintaining your system at optimum performance levels. This allows the Windows NT operating environment to make the most out of your time. Key components let you: >Protect your system against viruses automatically > Manage your files efficiently > Monitor your system continuously to identify problems. In the companion text you will find clear and easy to read information about each Norton NT Tool program. Step-by-step procedures guide you through the tasks associated with each program. Info Desk is an online help and information system designed to provide you with context- sensitive "What's This?" and "How To" help directly from the interface. Utilizing the right click function of your mouse (context-click) anywhere from within a Norton NT Tools program you can get immediate access to a wide range of help and information. Installing Norton NT Tools was quick and easy. The Setup wizard, guides you through installation and lets you specify which programs you wish to install and where to install them. It is suggested that the average user install these programs in accordance with the wizard recommendations. It is very easy to go back and fine tune the program to your needs and specifications but I think the user needs to see the full functional features before customizing the tools to their own needs. I originally installed the tool suite in my own configuration settings and decided to change them back to factory recommended specifications so I could utilize the full power of each tool capability. The package even included free introductory offer on Compuserve that enables the user to access Symantec "Worldwide Service and Support Center." Symantec offers free 90 day support from day of first contact, then offers a PriorityCare, and Premium Care ongoing fee based support. Additionally, Semantec has a "FORUM" area for marketing their other services and products for those that may be interested. The first feature discussed in the text is all about viruses. A review of viruses and their effects are followed by a discussion of their associated risks and the approach Symantec is engineering to keep your system virus free. Symantec maintains a virus hotline and a download area to update your tools with new virus protection elements as they become available. The text presents a step-by-step approach on how to protect your system, scanning your system and how to eliminate viruses detected and restore the integrity of your system. Symantec's File Manager allows the user to finally take absolute control of their files. The user is allowed to customize File Manager to operate in the manner the user defines for their desired mode of operation. The text takes you through a educational who, what, when , where and why presentation of files and file management techniques. Even the main window can be customized to the users satisfaction. Topic areas include: > Performing system-wide actions > Managing existing files and folders > Changing file formats and contents > Finding and selecting files > Comparing and updating files and folders > Connecting to FTP sites > Managing disks, network drives, and shared resources > Customizing your File Manager. I was very impressed by the speed, functionality, user specified configuration capability of this tool. The "Norton System Doctor" is presented next in the text. A remedial review again is what the reader first encounters. A clear step-by-step presentation of when to use the System Doctor, how the sensors work and how to respond to the different sensor modes and alarms, and how to best configure the sensor based upon your systems needs and applications. An entire chapter of the text is dedicated to the various uses and application configuration models for monitoring performance. I found it quite simple to move around and change this tools features on the fly and I was equally surprised of the speed of the application performance as well as the minimal amount of overhead system resources required for execution. The text provides another chapter dedicated to the why and when criteria for using the System Information tool. The last chapter in the text discusses in detail the use of System Information Tabs, generating System Information Reports, and how to use command-line switches. The end of this text provides an index, as well as Symantec Service and Support Solutions, and Disk Exchange and/or replacement request form. Overall rating of this product is superior. The novice all the way to expert user will find this package a must have tool for day to day operations. The speed, efficiency, ease of setup and operation are a great relief for any user. This package provides excellent protection against viruses, ease of file management, and efficient user friendly Monitoring and View Key System Information. Symantec Corporation 10201 Torre Avenue Cupertino, Ca. 95014 USA (800) 441 - 7234 US/Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WEBSITES OF THE WEEK! | This section is devoted to cool WebSites . . . ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Demo Library Online!| --------------------- CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ - Ziff-Davis Publishing's ZD Net, the leading source of online computing information, today launched the ZD Net Demo Library (), the Web's first free software demo center. Part of the popular ZD Net Software Library (), the ZD Net Demo Library was designed to provide users with a centralized source for downloading vendors' free software demos, enabling them to test and evaluate commercial software products before making a purchase. Currently, the ZD Net Demo Library includes links to hundreds of downloadable software demos, organized into six popular categories, including: Applications, Utilities, Internet, Games, Home & Education and Windows 95. The library has sophisticated search and browse functionality, and descriptions are provided for each demo. Links are provided to vendor's Web sites for easy downloading of free demos, and for purchasing, for those companies that allow online purchasing of their software. Many vendors sell their software products online, while others provide contact information for placing and order. "The Web is becoming an important marketing channel for software vendors," said Preston Gralla, ZD Net executive editor in charge of the ZD Net Software Library and renowned shareware guru. "By establishing the ZD Net Demo Library, we are performing a great service both to these vendors and to users of the ZD Net Software Library. Now that there's a centralized place to quickly find free demos, users don't have to spend hours searching through individual Web sites. Meanwhile, vendors will enjoy increased traffic to their Web sites and increased distribution of their software demos." Opportunity for Software Vendors Preston and his team of software and shareware editors and testers are continually searching for the latest software demos and shareware titles to include in the ZD Net Software Library. While the ZD Net Demo Library currently includes hundreds of software demos, the team's goal is to link to virtually every viable software demo available on the Web. Vendors who offer software demos on their Web sites but are not currently included in the ZD Net Demo Library are welcome to take advantage of this free marketing opportunity. Interested vendors should contact either Preston Gralla at 617/225- 3221 or preston_grallazd.com. The ZD Net Software Library Introduced in March, the ZD Net Software Library is the Web's most authoritative shareware and freeware collection, posting only the best available titles, each one fully tested, rated and reviewed. ZD Net's emphasis on editorial evaluation of all products included in the library distinguishes the site from other shareware offerings on the Web. ZD Net's software team puts virtually all new shareware and freeware programs to the test, ensuring that they are either useful or fun - and completely virus-free - before recommending them to users through the library, which awards all titles one-to-five star ratings. The ZD Net Software Library consistently maintains more than 10,000 titles, and is continually refreshed with new titles, while old or out-of-date titles are routinely eliminated. Millions of downloads are made by ZD Net users each month. --------------------------------------------- Windows Magazine Picks Top Sites on the Web!| --------------------------------------------- MANHASSET, N.Y., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ - CMP's WINDOWS Magazine, the leading source of information for Windows business buyers, announced the winners of its first Web page design contest. The top sites in seven categories were chosen among more than 1,000 entries, and represent the best-of-the-best in Web design. "The number of sites submitted for our design contest didn't surprise us," said Mike Elgan, Editor of WINDOWS Magazine. "But we were pleasantly surprised with the consistently excellent design quality. Picking the cream of this crop was indeed a tough task." Judge by a panel of WINDOWS Magazine editors and industry experts, sites were evaluated on aesthetics, navigability, ease of use, innovation and appropriateness to the subject of the site. The winners are: Best Overall Page -- Fashion Internet (): "Fashion Internet proves that a Web site can never be too rich or too thin. This site's designers used rich graphics without sacrificing aesthetic appeal to bandwidth." Best Corporate Page -- Tektronix (): "Tektronix offers a stunning front page. The bold, eye-catching image map is functional and quick to load and the site's intuitive navigation and layout make it a friendly place to visit." Best Cultural Page -- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum ()..: "This page offers style and simplicity. It uses a series of small square .GIFs rather than large, bandwidth-hogging graphics, to conserve both online time and space. The effective background appears almost as a watermark." Best Education Page -- Georgetown University Alumni Association (): "This site makes elegant use of white space, complemented with subtle blue and gray graphics, and simple key images over block text." Best Media Page -- The Tampa Tribune (): "The site uses tables to create a two-column layout that plays well, regardless of your browser screen's width. The headline news stories are eye-catching, and the header and divider graphics break up the text nicely." Best Personal Home Page -- Diana's Kitchen (): "The custom graphics are used effectively on this well-designed site. This personal page not only looks good enough to eat, it helps hungry Web-surfers figure out what to eat." Winners will be featured in WINDOWS Magazine's December issue (on sale November 19) and on the publication's Web site (), starting November 1. The best sites in each category will have a choice of one of the following products (latest version) and will also receive PageMill as a bonus: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PageMaker, After Effects. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERVIEW WITH ????? | Weekly Interviews with the Movers and Shakers! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- No interview this week! We'll see you next week! --END OF ISSUE--