______ _ __ __
/ ____/___ ____ ___ ____ __ __/ | / /___ / /____ _____
/ / / __ \/ __ `__ \/ __ \/ / / / |/ / __ \/ __/ _ \/ ___/
/ /___/ /_/ / / / / / / /_/ / /_/ / /| / /_/ / /_/ __(__ )
\____/\____/_/ /_/ /_/ .___/\__,_/_/ |_/\____/\__/\___/____/
/_/
This Week's Contents:
My Notes:
1) My New Laptop . . .
Columnists' Corner:
1) How To Register Your Web Pages by Harold Goldstein
(dcbiker@goldray.com)
News:
1) Corel Releases New WordPerfect Products!
2) CompuServe and Netscape Bring Collaborative Computing to You!
Reviews:
1) Symantec's Cafe Java Compiler Reviewed by Doug Reed
(dreed@panda.uchc.edu)
2) Activision's Atari 2600 Action Pack 3 for Windows 95 Reviewed by
Paul Vess (veracity@interpath.com)
3) 10 Minute Guide to Access for Windows 95 Reviewed by
Herbert J. Lidstone (lidstone@eznet.net)
4) Microsoft Office 6 in 1 Windows 95 Reviewed by
Don Hughes (dhughes@wwdc.com)
5) Real Inline Skating Reviewed by Gail Marsella
(71551.320@compuserve.com)
Web Sites:
1) Nevada Goes Online!
(http://www.travelnevada.com)
FTP File:
1) Heal Yourself with Herbs!
Interview:
1) None this week . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date : May 13, 1996 |CompuNotes is a weekly publication available
Issue : 46 |through email and many fine on-line networks.
--------------------------|We cover the IBM computing world with
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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(jlitt@aol.com) |If Doug thinks we can count
------------------------------------------|on you to make things happen
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Patrick's News
Being The Publisher and Managing Editor Has Its Perks!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My New Laptop . . . |
---------------------
As many of you may know from reading CompuNotes on an ongoing basis, I
have recently taken a position with a major computer reseller. We are
nation wide and have worked for companies such as 3COM and Novell.
When I joined them full time I received a few perks, but the best so far
has been a new IBM ThinkPad 755CDV. What a joy! Right now my fingers
feel right at home on the keyboard and I just love the pointing device.
For those of you who have never seen a ThinkPad, there is a little red
dot that sits between the G and H keys on your keyboard. By moving this
pointer with your finger you move your mouse cursor. You click by
hitting of two buttons directly below the space bar.
I love the ability swap out the CDROM and floppy disk; the removable
hard drive and long battery life and the MWAVE sound system and modem.
Speaking of the modem, IBM has made it so the 14.4 internal is upgraded
to a 28.8 via software!
What I didn't like about the ThinkPad was the pre installed software. It
came with IBM PC DOS 7.0, Windows 3.11 and OS/2 Warp. My main operating
environment is Windows 95, so I decided that these had to go. As we all
know from experience, the best Windows 95 installation is the one that is
done from scratch with just DOS on the hard drive. As I went to boot
from a MSDOS 6.22 disk for FDISK I was stopped by two of my co-workers
who were looking on with envious expressions. They warned me that if I
did what I wanted to do I would loose all sound, modem use and the
entire pre installed software. They pointed me to the IBM Web Page where
I was shocked to see a 16 page How To on getting Windows 95 to work on a
ThinkPad. Hmmm, it wasn't that difficult on the NCR Safari I had been
using.
Along with the documentation came instructions on download the eight
necessary patch disks I needed. I faithfully downloaded these disks and
read the instructions. Unfortunately, no where did it mention a fresh
install of Windows 95 just upgrades. I remembered hearing someone say
something about IBM's toll free 24 hour hot line for support. On a lark
I decided to call AT&T's 1-800 directory for IBM. They had one number
listed. You guessed it. It was the support number.
I called and spoke to a gentleman named Mike. We chatted about what I
wanted to do and he played the role of IBM supporter well letting me
know that OS/2 was the best choice for ThinkPads and that going to
Windows 95 was "a mistake." He also did something no other technical
support person has ever done in this case ... made sure I had the patch
disks I needed. That was very helpful. He assured me I could FDISK the
drive and start over. He did say I would lose the pre installed
applications, but that's ok. I didn't need any of them anyway.
As I booted in MSDOS 6.22 I felt more comfortable. In a half-hour or so
I would be on my way to Windows 95, land of applications. Or so I
thought. The DOS installation went OK. I FDISKed everything, formatted
and installed DOS without a hitch. I opened the 16 page tom eof
instructions from IBM then copied all the files from the WIN95
sub-directory on the CD to the hard drive. I rebooted and then started
setup. At the initial screen my system hung. Hmmm, I thought. Maybe it
is something specific to the Think Pad. OK, I looked at SETUP /? And see
that I can turn the Smartdisk cache off. I do this, reboot and SETUP
lets me get further into the installation, but hangs. I try a variety of
other fixes, but I am always hanging ata random section in the
installation. Frustrated, I decide to try to call IBM tech support
again.
Jose answered this time. I ran through what I told the last guy, what
the IBM tech had said and what I had done. Jose told me that MSDOS 6.22
was an unsupported product. Hello? Unsupported? Come on . . . He then
had me go into the Power On Setup of the ThinkPad and INITIALIZE the
system. I did this, restarted and then tried the Windows 95 installation
again. This time I got further than any other time. When it came time to
enter my name and company name it locked up. This time it hit me like a
mouse trap s springing. Each time the machine locked up it was because I
had touched the pointing device on the keyboard.
I went into the CMOS setup and disabled the pointer. Bing! Windows 95
worked like a charm. I am now loving every minute of using the ThinkPad.
The keyboard hasn't hurt my fingers at all. The screen hasn't made my
eyes soar, something even my desktop monitor can't claim. The hard drive
is speedy. The machine is very solid.
This lead me to wonder ... why in the heck has IBM made it so tough to
add Windows 95 to the machine? On the other hand, why doesn't Microsoft
support things like MWAVE right off the bat? I guess when two companies
work so hard to beat each other you end up with the ThinkPad Windows 95
situation.
I'm looking forward to using the ThinkPad more than 40 hours a week!
I'll keep you informed of any quirks or bonuses I come across . . . .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Columnists' Corner - We bring you a different person each week!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
How To Register Your Web Pages
by Harold Goldstein, dcbiker@goldray.com
Okay, you've taken some classes and, lo and behold, you have produced
some web pages about Hlocuts, a mythical Mexican fruit! Now you'd like
people to visit. Whether personal or business you put your best efforts
into creating an interesting, informative, enjoyable site that you want
people to see, learn from and comment upon. This means that your page
must be properly registered so that it can be found by web surfers and
by people looking for particular products or services.
Why Register?
You've probably used one of the many superb search engines available to
hunt for some elusive information on the web. Altavista, Infoseek and
Yahoo are some of the best known and best performing. Wouldn't it be
great if your URL (Universal Resource Locator; i.e. web address) came up
when people searched for information about Hlocuts?
Some of the search sites, such as Altavista, use automated robots that
are constantly searching for new sites, indexing them for the giant
databases their engines use, and extracting the appropriate keywords.
These sites will find you, generally within 2-4 weeks of your initial
appearance. Others, such as Yahoo, wait for you to request
consideration to be included in their listings. Thus, while doing
nothing will still result in some exposure, you will have no direct
control over the keywords and the text used to describe your site.
Marketing Considerations in Web Site Creation
Here are a few tips to consider in the initial development of your web
pages.
Meta tags are optional lines that can and should be included at the
start of each and every one of your pages. Two of interest here are:
These tags are used by some of the web search engines to determine the
description of your site and the keywords for indexing. Even if you
intend to register your site you may not be exhaustive and using these
meta tags provides a bit of additional control.
The title tag is often ignored or misused:
The Internet Hlocut Home Page.
Some search engines also use this line in creating keywords for their
indices but, more important, when a web surfer likes your page and
bookmarks it then it is this title that appears in his bookmark list.
Three weeks from now, when looking through the list, he better recognize
your title or it will be deleted. How often have you seen, in your
bookmark list, the notation: Introduction. Using that title makes sense
in the micro-context of your own site but not in the macro context of
the web.
Finally, when search engines return the results of a search, many
provide a few descriptive lines about each site. Sometimes this comes
from the synopses you provide but often, especially if you don't
register yourself, these are taken directly from the first few lines in
the body of your page. It is to your advantage, then, to insure that
the first few lines concisely describes what you'd like a potential user
to know about your site. It is these lines that, often, determine if
you will get a quick visit.
How to Register
By using the URLs listed here and at my website
(http://goldray.com/register.sht -- and, from here on, all URLs will be
assumed to have the http:// prefix unless otherwise indicated) you can
have your pages integrated into the web in an afternoon. You'll need to
gather all your pertinent URLs, EMail and postal addresses, contact
names, phone and fax numbers, 25 and 100 word descriptions of your site
in text and html format and maybe a few other things before you start.
If you'd rather not bother with all this work, you can have it all done
for you. Costs range from zero to over $1000; the results range from
registration on a dozen search engines, to a full blown advertising
campaign with hundreds of registrations, mentions on pertinent mailing
lists and usenet newsgroups, press releases sent to all the right
places, etc.
My listings are divided into several parts and each part has but a few
of the URLs on my website. First I provide some sites that further
discuss the concepts of Internet Marketing. Then come several of the
best free registration services as well as some inexpensive pay
services. Then comes some of the important web search engines; even if
they are covered by the free services you'll want to register with them
since they are so heavily used. I also list some of the free Internet
Yellow Pages/Malls which are expressly intended for sites of a
commercial nature. My website also shows Yellow Pages/Malls that charge
for their services.
Finally you'll find some Usenet Newsgroups which are expressly for your
site announcements. While you don't want to become a spammer by
indiscriminately posting on unrelated newsgroups, it is quite reasonable
to post tasteful notices on relevant newsgroups and mailing lists whose
policies do not frown upon this practice. Also it is a good idea to
read related newsgroups and, when appropriate, mention your pages
whenever, for example, the topic of Hlocuts comes up.
Please do check out my registration site: (goldray.com/register.sht) and
let me know if it is useful to you. Please remind me of any links that
are outdated or, if you have found any new gems, let me know so that I
can add it to my list. Good luck!
Discussing Publishing On The Web
Yahoo, (www.yahoo.com/Computers/World_Wide_Web/Announcement_Services/)
as with many subjects, has a great listing of World Wide Web
Announcement Services. Start here, end here and you've almost exhausted
your choices.
Publicizing Your Web Site, by Webcom,
(www.webcom.com/~webcom/html/publicize.html) has pointers to discussions
of the nature of Web publishing, preparations to take before publishing
and excellent site listings.
Sites Offering Registration Packages
wURLd (www.ogi.com/wurld/) provides one-stop registration of your web
resources with all of the popular search engines, catalogs, and What's
New pages. It is fast, easy and free.
Submit It (www.cen.uiuc.edu/~banister/submit-it/) also allows direct
submissions to about fifteen sites. This is a quick, painless way to
get good exposure FAST.
AAA Internet Promotions (www.websitepromote.com/home.htm) has packages
costing from $90 to $160 with wide coverage.
A1 (www.vir.com/~wyatt/index.html) lists over 500 sites that accept URL
registrations; some being general directories, some being electronic
zines'. They'll register you with 100 sites for $159.
General Web Indexing Services
Yahoo (www.yahoo.com/bin/add), one of the best known Internet sites,
allows registration by category with short descriptions.
Send Email with your URL to Infoseek (www-request@infoseek.com) to get
listed with one of the most powerful and most seen search sites.
Alta Vista (www.altavista.digital.com/) is Digital's entry into the
search market. It, probably accurately, boasts the largest web index in
cyberspace. It may be the fastest as well.
On Excite you can 'suggest' (www.excite.com/) that they include your
URL; Excite has supplanted Yahoos at the top of Netscapes Internet
Search URL.
Lycos (fuzine.mt.cs.cmu.edu/mlm/lycos-register.html) is one of the
oldest, and still one of the most powerful search and register sites
available.
The Webcrawler (webcrawler.com/WebCrawler/SubmitURLS.html), likewise,
collects URLs and creates indices. It is an important registration site
since Webcrawler is AOL's search engine.
New Site Lists
There are many sites that specialize in listing new Web Sites. Three of
the better high volume ones are:
Netscapes What's New Page
(home.netscape.com/escapes/submit_new.html),
NCSA Mosaics What's New page
(www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/whats-new.html),
The What's New Too Page
(newtoo.manifest.com/WhatsNewToo/submit.html).
It is difficult to be listed but it could mean thousands of visitors!
Yellow Page Services and Internet Malls with Free Listings
The World Yellow Pages Network (wyp.net/) has placed the entire USA
Yellow Pages into a searchable database. Any business is given a free
home page with its own URL. They also provide a useful listing of
other Yellow Page services that you should consider using.
The New Riders Yellow Pages (www.mcp.com/nrp/wwwyp/submit.html) is a
directory type service indexed by category. If they like you they may
also put you in their annual book.
The World Wide Yellow Pages (www.yellow.com/) is also a key word
directory type service.
Newsgroups/Mailing Lists for Possible Announcement of your Sites
You can post an announcement telling about your new site in appropriate
Newsgroups. Some newsgroups even welcome these messages; take a look
at; alt.internet.services, biz.misc, comp.infosystems.www.announce, or
comp.internet.net-happenings for this purpose.
You an also send Email to the Net-Happenings mailing list (through its
web site at: www.mid.net/NET/). To keep up to date, consider
subscribing to this list (email to listserv@lists.internic.net with
subscribe net-happenings YourFirstName YourLastName in the message).
Other newsgroups or mailing list may be appropriate vehicles based on
the nature of your site and the openness of the Newsgroup/List.
While on the subject, you might consider subscribing to one of several
mailing lists on the topic of Internet Marketing. I find the Internet
Marketing list informative. Subscribe with any message to:
IM-SUB@I-M.COM. Or try their web based newsgroup at:
news://news.popco.com/im.general.discussion. I also enjoy the Web
Marketing Mailing List. You can subscribe by email to:
Majordomo@maillist.garlic.com with subscribe web-marketing in the body
of the message.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS OF THE WEEK| This section is dedicated to verified news . . . All
News (C)opyright Respective Owner - Will Only Reprint
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corel Releases New Products . . . |
-----------------------------------
OTTAWA, Canada, May 8 /PRNewswire/ - Corel Corporation (Nasdaq- NNM:
COSFF) and its subsidiaries today announced that the 16-bit version of
Corel(R) WordPerfect Suite(R) for Windows(R) 3.1x has begun shipping.
This new line of WordPerfect products, which also includes Corel(R)
Office Professional, Corel(R) Quattro(R) Pro 6.0 and Corel(R)
Presentations(TM) 6.0, has been created from the WordPerfect family of
software programs that Corel recently acquired from Novell, Inc. Corel
Office Professional, Corel Quattro Pro 6.0 and Corel Presentations 6.0
for Windows 3.1x are scheduled to begin shipping in mid-May, 1996, while
Corel(R) WordPerfect(R) Suite 7 for Windows(R) 95 is scheduled to be
available in late May, and Corel Office Professional 7 for Windows 95 is
scheduled to begin shipping in mid-July.
"We expect a very enthusiastic response to the unbeatable value of our
new WordPerfect offerings," said Dr. Michael Cowpland, president and
chief executive officer of Corel Corporation. "The new Corel
WordPerfect Suite gives our customers a value-packed collection of
business applications for the price of a word processor, while Corel
Office Professional adds the strength of Paradox(R), Group Wise Client
License(TM) and InfoCentral to meet all of their database, groupware and
information management needs."
COREL(R) WORDPERFECT(R) SUITE FOR WINDOWS(R) 3.1x:
This integrated suite for Windows 3.1x is an entire office suite for the
price of a word processor. It features Corel WordPerfect 6.1, Corel
Quattro Pro 6.0, Envoy 1.0, AT&T WorldNet(SM) Service software including
Netscape Navigator(TM) Internet browser (US and Canadian versions only),
Corel Presentations 3.0, CorelFLOW 2, Starfish Software's Sidekick 2.0
and Dashboard 3.0, Corel Screen Saver, thousands of clipart images and
150 fonts. The Corel WordPerfect Suite will be available in CD-ROM only
format and diskette with a companion CD-ROM format for a suggested
retail price of $395 U.S. (CD-ROM) and $449 U.S. (diskette and CD-ROM).
The diskette and CD-ROM version contains Corel WordPerfect 6.1 on the
diskettes and all other applications, fonts and clipart on the CD- ROM.
Upgrade pricing is $129 U.S. for the CD-ROM version and $179 U.S. for
the diskette version.
COREL(R) OFFICE PROFESSIONAL FOR WINDOWS(R) 3.1x:
This professional office suite for Windows 3.1x offers powerful software
solutions, incredible ease of use, OLE functionality and open network
integration. It includes Corel WordPerfect 6.1, Corel Quattro Pro 6.0,
Corel Presentations 3.0, Envoy 1.0, AT&T WorldNet(SM) Service software
including Netscape Navigator(TM) Internet browser (US and Canadian
versions only), InfoCentral 1.1, Borland's Paradox 5.0, a Group Wise 4.1
client license, CorelFLOW 2, Starfish Software's Sidekick 2.0 and
Dashboard 3.0, Corel Screen Saver, thousands of clipart images and 150
fonts. This 16-bit professional office suite will be available on CD-ROM
only and will carry a suggested retail price of $695 U.S.
Upgrade/tradeup pricing is $295 U.S.
-----------------------------------------------
CompuServe and Netscape Join for Collaborative!|
-----------------------------------------------
COLUMBUS, Ohio, and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 9 /PRNewswire/ -
CompuServe Incorporated (Nasdaq: CSRV) and Netscape Communications
Corporation (Nasdaq: NSCP) today announced a strategic marketing and
development agreement to deliver a hosted intranet service with rich
groupware functionality. The first collaborative computing solution of
its kind, this intranet solution will integrate key capabilities from
both companies: from Netscape, the Netscape open software platform,
using both Netscape Navigator(TM) client software and Netscape server
software and from CompuServe proven expertise in delivering, managing
and hosting enterprise-wide groupware solutions. This
Netscape/CompuServe collaborative intranet solution will give people the
ability to work together on common documents and projects regardless of
time and location barriers.
Intranets, which are being rapidly adopted as the basis for
corporate-wide collaborative computing solutions, allow companies to
benefit from the ubiquity of the Internet and the convenience of cross-
platform computing. Zona Research predicts that sales of software to
run intranet servers will top four billion dollars in 1997.
"As a market-driven service provider, we're expanding our product line
to take advantage of Netscape's leading Internet products," said Peter
Van Camp, CompuServe's executive vice president, Network Services.
Van Camp continued, "By combining our global network and end-to- end
hosting expertise with Netscape's collaborative computing intranet
solutions, we can offer completely managed, hosted intranet solutions
that leverage IP technology, while empowering corporations to more
effectively share and manage company information. CompuServe's own
consulting group will help companies to customize their hosted Intranet
environment."
"Collaborative computing through the use of intranets is one of the most
sought-after solutions in today's enterprise market," said Eric Hahn,
senior vice president of enterprise technology for Netscape. "This
agreement reinforces Netscape's drive to bring the advantages of the
Internet to the corporate environment and gives customers a `best of
both worlds' solution by combining CompuServe's worldwide reach and
expertise in hosting services with Netscape's open platform approach and
leading-edge collaborative technology."
Through access to a turnkey solution that integrates both Netscape
server and client intranet technology as well as technology for
enterprise collaboration, which Netscape acquired through its
acquisition of Collabra Software Inc., customers will be able to get a
head start in implementing intranet solutions. Building, in particular,
on collaborative features such as email, discussion groups, and
document-sharing this new solution will give users the ability to
access, share and co-develop information in new and powerful ways.
CompuServe will maintain server "farms," based on Netscape technology,
and the secure Internet Protocol (IP)-based global network
infrastructure that enables customers' end-users to gain access to
company Intranets, hosted by CompuServe. CompuServe will install,
service, support and maintain the intranet server farms where customers
will house their private applications in addition to providing server
management, performance optimization, data back-up services and
troubleshooting. The solution is expected to be available to customers
this fall.
Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open
software for linking people and information over enterprise networks and
the Internet. The company offers a full line of clients, servers,
development tools and commercial applications to create a complete
platform for next-generation, live online applications. Traded on
Nasdaq under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation is
based in Mountain View, California.
Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is
available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com, by sending email
to infonetscape.com or by calling 415 528-2555 (corporate customers) or
415-528-3777 (individuals).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEWS OF THE WEEK | Interesting software/hardware you may need . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Symantec Cafe
Reviewed by: Doug Reed (dreed@panda.uchc.edu)
Reviewed On: 486DX2-50, 12 MB RAM, 2xCD-ROM, Win 95
Requires: 486, 8 MB RAM, Win 95/NT
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cafe is the first graphics environment/debugger for Java, the hot new
programming language that is all the rage on the 'Net. Symantec has
beaten several competitors to the market who are planning on introducing
their own GUI's for Java within the next few months. Cafe is based on
Symantec's award-winning development tool for C++, but has been trimmed
down and modified to fits the differences between Java and its ancestor.
If you have used Symantec's C++ (version 7.0 or greater) than Cafe will
look just like home. However, in addition to Symantec's own compiler
and interpreter for Java, Cafe includes the latest release of the Java
Development Kit (available free from Sun Microsystems).
Installation of Cafe is straightforward and easy, although surprisingly
Autoplay is not supported. Nevertheless, Cafe is installed used Windows
95's new InstallShield and is added to the list of programs that can be
easily uninstalled. With 8MB of RAM, Cafe boots up fairly quickly; with
12 MB Cafe practically smokes it loads so fast! The layout is fairly
simple to understand; in addition, the user can customize their
workspace to suit their needs. Included from Symantec's C++ are various
elements such as AppExpress, ProjectExpress, Class Editor, the
Heirarchy Editor, and the Cafe Studio (renamed to fit Cafe, in C++ it is
called the Resource Studio). AppExpress is designed to automate the
creation of a skeleton program upon which you can build the application
you are designing. In Cafe the choices are fairly limited: you can
choose to create an SDI (single document interface), Console app, or an
Applet. Applets, in case you don't know, are what all the rage about
Java is about - applicat ions run over the WWW by your web browser.
Cafe creates an HTML file with your program embedded in it, along with
the code required in your application so that it calls the proper
methods, etc... to be used as an applet.
The ability to automate various small, onerous chores is one of the high
points for Cafe. The Cafe Studio is designed so that you can rapidly
and easily create visual elements of your application - menus, buttons,
scrollbars, etc... With Cafe, you don't need to remember the code
required to make a button appear on the screen that the user can push;
Cafe Studio allows you to place the button on the screen where you want
it and Cafe Studio creates the code that goes for that button; you can
concentrate on the other aspects of your code that make it unique. The
Class Editor is designed to make it easy to view a particular class
quickly. This way, you can very quickly look at a particular class and
all of its associated methods and objects without shifting through
hundreds of lines of code to find them all. The Hierarchy editor allows
you to see the relationship of the various classes and to easily create
classes or change the inheritance of a particular class. Drag a
subclass from one class s to another her and Cafe automatically adjusts the
source code to reflect the change you just made.
Cafe also comes with a visual debugger, the first to be released for
Java. The debugger allows the programmer to step through the source
code one line at a time or to step through the execution of methods. The
debugger is fully capable of stepping through multi-threading, which is
critically important to Java applications or applets. The programmer
can freeze individual threads, allowing the rest to be executed. A
careful eye on the newsgroup comp.lang.java has turned up a few
complaints about the debugger, mainly in missing problem code or in not
allowing acceptable code. A soon to be released patch from Symantec is
supposed to fix these problems.
While I'm on the subject of the comp.lang.java newsgroup, let me mention
that this is one area that Cafe really stands out. The Cafe development
and technical support teams maintain a very active presence on this
newsgroup, quickly and capably handling complaints or problems with
Cafe, as well as offering various tidbits, etc... for programming in
Java. Symantec's team is very committed to Cafe and Java, and it shows!
I am very impressed with the level of commitment and support expressed
by Symantec. It is not often these days that you see such an active and
vocal support for a product.
Symantec has also created an entire website (cafe.symantec.com)
dedicated to their Java development products. You can enter the site
once you have registered with the password included with the CD-ROM or
you can even purchase Cafe at the site, either by requesting that it be
mailed or by downloading it over the web. Be prepared- downloading
would probably take a long time and be fraught with the possibility of
corrupted files or interrupted transfers.
In addition to the basic program, Symantec includes a fairly large
number of sample Java programs and applets, allowing you to use them to
get a good feel for how the various parts of Cafe work and how to use
Java to accomplish your programming goals. On-line tutorials for both
Cafe and Java programming are also included, although I felt the Cafe
tutorial was a little on the short side. While the basic program is
covered, along with the Class Editor and Hierarchy Editor, nothing is
said at all about how to use Cafe Studio (although there is plenty of
on-line help explaining how to do so). Also included are the complete
references from Sun Microsystems on the Java Programming Language and
API Specs.
To sum it all up, if you are looking to program in Java and you want a
graphical interface, then look no farther. Cafe is no longer the only
GUI development tool for Java (Sun has release the Java Workshop beta,
which requires 16 MB of RAM and costs considerably more than Cafe), it
still holds some very good qualities. For one thing, the compiler
originally released with Cafe and the recently released
JIT(Just-In-Time) compiler are among the fastest (if not the fastest) of
all the Java compilers out there. The environment is easy to use and
designed for automation of a large portion of the more tedious
programming chores, leaving the programmer free to concentrate on other
things. The level of support from Symantec is very impressive, to say
the least. I'm still a novice at programming in advanced languages but I
am impressed with Cafe and with Java in general. Cafe gets a big
thumbs-up from me - Cappuccino, anyone?
Symantec Corp.
10201 Torre Avenue
Cupertino, CA 95014
408-253-9600
408-973-9340 fax
http://www.symantec.com
http://cafe.symantec.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Activision's Atari 2600 Action Pack 3 for Windows 95
Reviewed By: Paul Vess (veracity@interpath.com)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Come on...you remember 'em. Colorful little spaceships, tanks,
helicopters, the fat little man making hamburgers. I jumped at the chance
to renew old acquaintances when the opportunity knocked at my door to review
this collection of games that started the computer gaming revolution. To
once again re-live a bygone era of strange sights and sounds never heard
before 1979 was too much to pass up.
1979 was the year David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller, and Bob
Whitehead got together with a music industry executive named Jim Levy, and
created a company they named Activision. This new company's guiding
philosophy dictated that video games are created works and that the authors
of such creations should be treated as such with both recognition and
royalties. Due in large part to this unique policy, Activision became a
pioneer in helping to create the first superstars of the fledgling computer
gaming industry. A year after Activision came into being, it released it's
first game. From 1980 to 1981, sales went from $6 million to over $60
million dollars as the demand for games like Starmaster, River Raid,
Freeway, Barnstorming, H.E.R.O., Pitfall, Stampede, and Ketstone Kapers ran
head on into an insatiable demand for more. It wouldn't be long before
other enterprising companies would jump into the fray in an attempt to
create another "instant success" story. But for the moment, Activision
reined supreme ruler of the video game world as millions of parents,
teenagers, and yes dads, bought the sleek, small shoe box size plastic
console with the fake wood grain decal on the side, the Atari 2600.
Installation of the game was easy enough. I installed it on a
DX2-66 486 PC running Windows 95 and 16 meg of RAM. Installation was quick
and painless, except for requiring me to set my monitor display to 256-color
(640X480). That was a rather large inconvenience to me because I am an avid
graphics intensive guy and I like to mess around with graphic designing and
creating. That meant I had to re-boot before my new settings would take
effect. Also, even though I didn't try it, I doubt this program will run
under Windows 3.1 since the instructions recommend the game be run under
"100% Windows 95 compatible" system.
After re-booting and getting back to the post-install options, I was
greeted with easily understood choices regarding sound effects and
sound-cards, CD options, plus a surprise choice...the "Mom Nag" option.
Yes...that's right folks. You can choose to have a motherly voice interrupt
your play time with admonitions like "go outside and play", or "you are
making too much noise". The "Mom Nag", thankfully, can be muted, so that
you can waste your time in peace. You can choose to have her nag you in 30
second intervals, or very infrequently.
After selecting the install options, I continue to the "Game Menu"
where you can select Breakout, Combat, Canyon Bomber, Double Dragon,
Checkers, Night Driver, Pressure Cooker, Starmaster, Private Eye,
TitleMatch, Space War, or Yars' Revenge. But before I started to play, I
had to read the fine manual (Instructions for Play) just in case I had
forgotten anything from yesteryear. I chose my mode of play...either
keyboard or joystick. I also checked to find out which game options I
needed to select since you can choose to play against the computer, or
another player. If you need to pause the game, no problem. Simply hit the
Escape Key to pause the game and bring up the menu choices, or click on the
menu command bar that is always at the top of your game screen.
I found this game to still be a great waster of time. I definitely
had to mute "Mom" as I played, and I had to keep going back to read
instructions for game play. But after a few weeks I was back up to par.
As you can probably tell, this Atari 2600 Action Pack 3 by
Activision does bring back many great memories for me. Anyone who enjoyed
computer video games when they were simple, colorful, and generally loud,
may find this a novel collection. However, I do wish Activision had spent a
bit more time making sure consumers wouldn't have to spend extra time
changing their monitor display options, (which will probably need to be
reset each time they want to play the game, plus a re-boot), and I wish that
with a program such as this distributed on a CD, that modem play could have
been included. After all, it's hard to share a keyboard with your opponent,
and most computers only have one joystick port making it difficult to run 2
joysticks from the same game-port. It would have been nice to call a friend
and say "let's waste some time and play Atari".
Even though Atari games were hot items during the early 1980's, I
can't help but think very little planning was done to make this software
production more compatible with today's computer systems, and to utilize
modem play, for example. Besides designing useful menus and the "Mom Nag"
feature, these games appear to have been inserted intact into a Windows 95
operating environment. If you ask me (and no one did) I would have
re-written the programs to make full use of the latest technology, including
backwards compatibility. If this collection of games was created to bring
back some great "old memories", that it does admirably. If this collection
was created to appeal to today's average video gamer, it is probably way too
little entertainment. With games to compete against like Heretic, The Dig,
Descent, and hundreds more, perhaps the only hope this collection has is to
appeal to those of us who went out and bought the original Atari 2600
consoles and then dozens of games we "plugged" into the small plastic box
with the fake woodgrain on the side.
Activision
P.O. Box 67713
Los Angeles, CA 90067
World Wide Web: http://www.activision.com
CompuServe: GO ACTIVISION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: 10 Minute Guide to Access for Windows 95
Reviewed by: Herbert J. Lidstone (lidstone@eznet.net
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This small (5" by 8") paperback book of 170 pages guides the reader
through Access for Windows 95. The title, "10 Minute Guide to Access
for Windows 95", is only slightly exaggerated. The smaller print
suggests spending 10 minutes per lesson or chapter, which would total a
little over four hours to learn the "features of Access that a beginner
is most likely to need." A motivated student could learn to use Access
with this book, by carefully reading each lesson, and mimicking the
lessons on the computer.
The first forty-two pages has basic information such as; What Is a
Database, Planning Your Database, and Saving, Closing, and Opening a
Database. These lessons bring the reader to the point of creating a
database.
The next six lessons explain tables and how to create them using the
Wizard and using the Table Design View. By page seventy-eight, the
reader should be able to design a table with a correctly described key,
and with each field’s properties defined accurately.
Forms are explained in the next four lessons. Creating, modifying,
adding special effects, and adding graphics are demonstrated. Creating
forms with AutoForm, Wizard, and "from scratch" are part of the
"Creating a Simple Form’ lesson. The reader should know what forms are
used for and be able to create an attractive form for a simple database
application at the completion of these lessons.
The "Searching for Data" lesson, starting on page one-hundred ten, shows
the find and replace features, and illustrates the use of these
functions in practical applications in simple databases. Alternative
methods in finding data are also described so the reader can fit the
"Searching for Data" concept into context.
Two lessons are devoted to Query. The reader will learn Query Wizard,
printing query results, Design View, sorting, and viewing query results.
Within these two lessons is material relating to reasons and purposes
for queries so the reader is not just learning functions, but is
learning to create a database that will provide information of use to
the reader.
Creating and customizing reports are demonstrated in the next two
lessons. Creating reports using AutoReport, Wizard, and Design View are
covered. By the time page one-hundred fifty is completed, the reader
will be able to create reports from simple data bases having selected
data from the database, in the desired sequence, and with the proper
control breaks.
The last three lessons, Creating a Chart, Creating Mailing Labels, and
Analyzing How Well Your Database Works, completes the book, and the
twenty-five lessons. These lessons will enable the reader to produce
charts of a field in the database, print mailing labels, and perform a
computer analysis of the database design and performance.
I recommend the book for its intended audience, the beginner. The
beginner will be able to set up the database, manage the database ,
search for data, and produce meaningful reports after doing the lessons.
The text starts at the beginning by explaining the purpose of a database
in simple applications. The Table, Form, Query, and Report functions
are introduced with the reasons for using the function under discussion
in simple, practical terms. The reader can work along with the text to
see the results on the reader’s computer to provide instant feedback.
10 Minute Guide to Access for Windows 95
by Faithe Wempen
178 pages
$12.99
Que
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Microsoft Office 6 in 1 Windows 95
Reviewed By: Don Hughes (dhughes@wwdc.com)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first chapter of the book is a complete induction to using Windows
95 for both a novice and experienced Windows user. Those who are
familiar with Windows 95 and its file structure may be tempted to by
pass this chapter. The novice user will benefit from this one hundred
and twenty-two page well-written introduction to Windows 95. Que’s
“Microsoft Office 6.in.1” guide, is divided into seven sections:
Windows, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Schedule+, Access, and Working
together. The last section gives an easy explanation of “Object
Linking and Embedding (OLE)” and covers other topics such as “Paste
Special” and “Insert Object.”
The current software trend is towards smaller (bit size) user manuals,
with the programs CD-ROM containing most of the manual in text format,
should the user required more information. Que’s Microsoft Office
6.in.1 is a large guide that contains over seven hundred and eighty-two
fact filled pages of step by step, tips, cautions, and definitions.
This book is designed to help any computer user quickly create
professional looking presentations and documents with ease. Written in
unpretentious English, the easy to follow tutorials, many containing
screen shots of the actual program ensure the end user of success
completing Que’s bit size lessons.
Contained within the seven chapters are twenty to thirty lesson’s (per
chapter) on using the Microsoft Office Pro Windows 95 program. The
following conventions are used throughout this book: Tip icons,
indication ways for the user to save time when using MS Office, Term
icons, easy to follow definitions, Caution icon (broken pencil) to help
you avoid mistakes. Also shown in the guide is: On-Screen text, What
you type, and Items you select, all appear in bold face as you work
throughout the lessons.
Each individual section of the book starts with an explanation of the
particular program, its button bars and how to navigate around the
screen. The skillfully authored illustrations and screen descriptions,
encourage user to capitalize on the power of Microsoft Office Pro .
The Tips, Term, and Caution icons are placed on the left side on pages,
large enough to catch you at a glance. On page 151 Word, the Caution
icon (broken pencil) states: “Don’t Forget! Save your document regularly
as you work on it. If the power goes off unexpectedly, your most recent
saved version with all you have left.” Good advice for any computer
user, and invaluable for a new user. Nothing is worse then suddenly
sitting in the dark, looking at a blank screen, wondering if you had in
fact saved a copy of your work.
Que's Microsoft Office 6.in.1 is an excellent resource for anyone using
Microsoft Office Pro for Windows 95. If you want learn how to manage
files, create professional looking documents, design spreadsheets for
Excel, or a data base in Access, or organize your busy life with
Schedule+, then this book is for you.
Microsoft Office 6.in.1 for Windows 95. By QUE Contributing Authors:
Peter Aitken, Sherry Kinkoph, Trudi Risner, Faithe Wempen. Compiled By
Faithe Wempen.
A Division of Macmillian Computer Publishing
201 West 103rd street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46290 USA
$29.99 USA / $36.95 CAN / L24.99 NET UK
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Real Line Skating
Reviewed By: Gail Marsella (71551.320@compuserve.com)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real-Line is a CD-ROM that purports to teach - in fact, encourages you
to master - inline skating. I recently reviewed the MatheMagics CD-ROM
from the same company (L3 Interactive), and was looking forward to more
of their imaginative and innovative teaching methods in Real-Line. The
quality of the instruction is predictably very good, with gradually
increasing difficulty, clear examples, both text and video presentation,
and little quizzes at the end of each lesson to make sure the main
points sank in. I do, however, have one fairly serious reservation, and
it has nothing to do with software.
In short: inline skating can be dangerous, particularly the fancy stuff.
The very first screen after the software loads is an elaborate warning
that states, in part, "The maneuvers demonstrated here are dangerous and
could result in serious personal injury or even death...Do not attempt
any of the examples without an instructor..."
Well, great. If you need an instructor to even try the examples, what do
you need the CD-ROM for? When I got into the program itself, it became
clear that the warning is mostly for the advanced techniques. And to be
fair, the program constantly emphasizes safety, all of the demonstration
skaters wear appropriate protective equipment, and three of the 27
lessons are on gear and safety. But still, how many kids will heed
either warnings or safety instructions? How many teenagers will work
cautiously through all the lessons, practicing each one carefully before
moving to the next? You think most of them will? What planet did you say
you were from?
Oh, all right, maybe there are adults out there with enough time to
learn to skate. Maybe skating instructors or experienced competitive
skaters will find some of this material useful. I will continue with
only them in mind.
Computer requirements include a 16-bit sound card, Windows 3.1 or 95, a
486SX-33 class processor, a double-speed CD ROM drive and at least 8
megs of RAM - in short, a pretty high-powered system. (That's AT LEAST,
too; it loads rather slowly on a 486DX-33.) The sound card is an
absolute requirement because most of the instruction is audio.
Setup on Windows 95 is particularly easy; you put the disk in the CD-ROM
drive and the program starts itself. Setup on Win3.1 is the usual drill
(choose Run from the File menu of Program Manager and so on). Both WinG
and MS Video for Windows are required, but the program installs them for
you.
Like other L3 Interactive programs, Real-Line uses the "learning cube"
concept to teach. This is a little disorienting for awhile, but makes
sense once you get used to it. A cube appears in perspective, each face
divided into 9 sections, like a stack of children's blocks three high,
three wide, and three deep. One side has a different picture on each of
the nine blocks; each picture is an entry point, and the three block row
behind the picture holds three lessons, one on each block. A
single-click on a picture gives you a short introduction to the
material. A double-click on a picture causes the three-block row to move
out of the cube and into closer focus, so you can then pick an
individual lesson block.
Each block gives you a choice of text or video explanation. Click the
left side of a lesson block for text (called Transportext, for some
reason) and the right side for video. At any time, you can back up (all
the way back to the original cube if you like) and select something
else. All of the little video segments in a lesson can be paused,
rewound, andreplayed as often as you like. The video did seem a little
fuzzy to me, but that may be a special effect of the filming, or a
function of the fairly slow computer that I ran it on.
The lessons cover everything from moving, turning and stopping, to
dealing with inclines and obstacles on the pavement, to leaping over
park benches. The jargon of inline skating is covered in some detail,
and the instruction on various moves is carefully sketched from several
angles. If you're a grownup (both in age and outlook), or are willing to
closely supervise the child for whom you buy this program, then I
recommend it.
Real-Line
L3 Interactive, Inc.
3000 Olympic Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90404-9729.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEBSITES OF THE WEEK! | This section is devoted to cool WebSites . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nevada Gets Online!|
--------------------
CARSON CITY, Nev., May 9 /PRNewswire/ - Long a favorite destination for
skiers, hikers and mountain bikers, the desert lows and mountain highs
of Nevada have recently won over a new breed of high-tech "athlete":
surfers.
A growing number of computer users who "surf the 'net" are making travel
plans and learning more about the Silver State thanks to the Nevada
Commission on Tourism's Internet site on the World Wide Web.
Launched Dec. 5, 1995, the NCOT Official On-line Travel Guide - at
http://www.travelnevada.com - has grown and expanded into one of the
most comprehensive resources of its kind found anywhere in cyberspace,
said Tom Tait, NCOT executive director.
"With our presence on the World Wide Web, Nevada travel information is
available instantly, 24 hours a day, to 35 million Internet users
worldwide," Tait said.
Initially an electronic version of the 100-page official Nevada Visitors
Guide, the Web site is regularly updated and improved. A hypertext link
to Nevada Magazine was added in April, allowing 'net surfers to read
sample on-line articles from the current edition, and to request a free
copy.
The Web site's "browsability" was improved in April with the addition of
clickable territory maps, allowing users to locate and download detailed
information about events and attractions in each territory. Other
improvements include hypertext links to the U.S. Travel & Tourism
Information and State of Nevada Web sites.
In March, the number of photos on the Web site was doubled and graphic
interfaces were enhanced, and new features such as detailed territory
maps and hypertext links to other Nevada-related Web sites were added.
The Official On-line Travel Guide's home page contains welcome messages
from Gov. Bob Miller and Lt. Gov. Lonnie Hammargren, a regular "What's
New" feature, information on "Getting Here" and "Staying Here," and a
complete listing of accommodations throughout the state.
The NCOT Web site is listed with all the popular Internet directories,
including Yahoo, Infoseek and Lycos.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COOL FTP FILE OF THE WEEK | You may need this file . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALING WITH HERBS 2.1 The most comprehensive guide to the power of
herbs.
The most comprehensive guide to the healing power of herbs. This
Spectacular, colorful, and user friendly program will teach what you
need to know about natures medicines, and how it can effect your health.
Among the many features you'll discover the latest scientific research
and treatments for numerous health conditions. This program provides
the information you need to use herbs confidently, effectively, and
above all, safely. You also find additional information on preserving
herbs and making of herb preparations. Windows 95 and 3.1 compatible.
You can find this as HEALTH21.ZIP in the following FTP site:
ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/win3/edu/health21.zip
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INTERVIEW WITH ????? | Weekly Interviews with the Movers and Shakers!
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No Interview This Issue!
--END OF ISSUE--