Date: Wed, 12 Apr 95 21:42:55 PDT From: olcay@libtech.com (olcay cirit) To: cn@libtech.com Subject: Computer News: Vol. II, Issue 11 ______ __ __ / ____/\ / \ / /\ / /\___\/ / /\ \ / / / / /_/__ / / /\ \/ / / /______/\ /_/ / \__/ / \\\\\\\\/ \\\/ \\\/ COMPUTER NEWS "Your eye to the computer industry"(tm) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, March 12th 1995 Vol. II, Issue 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSIDE CN: ---------- Ahhhh..... CN is _finally_ back! Although this week's issue is somewhat shorter than normal, CN should be back to normal by next week. CN will intermittently be publishing utilities for use by our readers. Currently, I'm putting the finishing touches on a Windows-based speed test program that is similar to PC Magazine's WinBench. Projects for the future will be utilities for Windows and/or Unix (Perl), and Games for Windows and/or the Mac. *Please* feel free to send ideas to me at cnews@libtech.com. Oh, for those of you who were complaining about that 79 char limit under Eudora for Windows, I finally wrote a decent line wrapping script under C-shell, which means the problem has been eradicated. See Ya, -olo THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS: ------------------------- The NullBytes News Service Rob Slade Eric Ward, Quick Overview __________________________________________ NEWS: 1. GNP Computers' Netservices ARTICLES: 1. Book Reviews (8) ETC: 1. Classifieds 2. Lighter Side __________________________________________ __ __ / \ /\_\ / /\ \/\/ / /_/\/\ \/ / \_\/ \__/ EWS: GNP Computers' Netservices -------------------------- SAN JOSE, Calif. (April 10, 1995) -- GNP Computers unveiled a new suite of products and services geared towards large corporations who want to take advantage of the Internet. Combining GNP's core competencies, NetServices provides complete, robust, and cost-efficient solutions for leveraging the Internet into corporate success. NetServices include high- availability DataCenter services, Internet system integration, WWW design & production, and Internet business consulting. NetServices DataCenter services provide a robust environment for reliable data storage and serving for the Internet. Maintained with onsite monitoring, maintenance and security, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, the DataCenter guarantees minimal downtime in case of any system failure. Internet system integration is a natural extension to GNP's current system integration business. By providing Internet connectivity, security, hardware, software, and installation, GNP integrates corporate computing systems with the Internet. GNP has been a leading UNIX system integrator, and one of Sun's largest VARs, for over five years. This expertise is now applied to solving the complex problems of Internet corporate connectivity. The WWW design and production services deliver complete production services for the Internet's World Wide Web. GNP Computers turns clients' content into real-time interactive publications. Services include user-interface design, layout, graphics design, HTML, CGI-BIN scripts, custom programming, Internet promotion services, and more. GNP directs and manages the entire production process from concept to delivery. Internet business consulting provides the necessary analysis and guidance for large corporations interested in turning the Internet into a definable opportunity for improving business processes and increasing profits. GNP Computers performs a complete needs analysis, discovering the dynamic and valuable information, understanding the needs of the client, and creating a path for leveraging the Internet to meet those needs. By transitioning the applicable components of a business onto the Internet, a company can keep its operations lean and focused while taking advantage of this new global medium. GNP Computers is a custom engineering firm headquartered in Monrovia, California, specializing rapid, cost-efficient project realization from a world-class engineering Resource. GNP maintains offices in New York, New Jersey, and Denver. Further Company Info: Address: 606 E. Huntington Drive City/Town: Monrovia State: CA Zip Code 91016 Telephone number:(818) 305-8484 FAX number :(818) 305-9177 Contact for further information: Joe Andrieu ____ /___/\ / /\ \/\ / /\/\ \/\ /_/\/__\ \/\ RTICLES: \_\/ \_\/ Book Reviews ------------ By Rob Slade Books -------------------------------------------------------- 1. "The Internet Yellow Pages" 2. "Internet Explorer Kit for Macintosh" 3. "Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering" 4. "Windows Hothouse" 5. "The Complete Idiot's Next Step with the Internet" 6. "Internet CD" 7. "The Usenet Book" 8. "Aether Madness" -------------------------------------------------------- "The Internet Yellow Pages" %A Harley Hahn %A Rick Stout rick@crash.cts.com %C 300 Water Street,Whitby, Ontario L1N 9B6 %C 2600 Tenth St., Berkeley, CA 94710 %D 1995 %G 0-07-882098-7 %I Osborne McGraw-Hill %O U$29.95 800-227-0900 1-800-2-MCGRAW FAX: 1-717-794-2080 %O lkissing@osborne.mhs.compuserve.com %P 812 %T "The Internet Yellow Pages" An Internet "Yellow Pages" is no less ambitious a project than a "White Pages," probably more so. The pace of change on the Internet is rapid, and ill-suited to the long lead times of book publishing. In addition, the volume and range of information on the net is staggering. Nevertheless, even the very brief "catalogues" found in introductory guides tend to be a lot of fun and serendipitously useful. This is fun. The "coke servers" are here, addresses for famous people, programming resources, UFO theorists, software utilities, government information and all the various and varied topics of the net. There are cartoons and graphics included; about two per page; which seem to take the place of the advertising in a regular yellow pages directory. (The authors are promoting "The Internet Complete Reference" (cf BKINCORF.RVW) less agressively in this edition.) This is useful. For Internet resource people, this is a lot faster than "grep"ing the active-groups and list-of-lists files when the persistent "What can you do on the Internet?" question pops up. The closest competition, "New Riders' Official Internet Yellow Pages" (cf BKNRYLPG.RVW) is more formal but actually contains fewer listings, and is not as likely to find information on what you are looking for. This needs work. The entries lean heavily on gopher entries and are light on mailing lists. The large format and 800 pages of listings look impressive until you see the amount of white space and number of cartoons. (The white space ("yellow" space?) *does* make the layout attractive and easy to read.) The subject categories could stand some input from a "real world" document such as a real yellow pages directory or the Sears list of subject headings. The index is vital, and needs the most work of all in order to make this a major reference work. The authors solicit comments and entries to catalog@rain.org. Certainly, any major net entity would be well advised to send them a note. Commercial information providers might even want to take out an ad to replace some of those cartoons. (If so, I want a cut.) copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994, 1995 BKINTYLP.RVW 950311 "Internet Explorer Kit for Macintosh" %A Adam C. Engst ace@tidbits.com %A William Dickson wrd@beer.wa.com %C 201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290 %D 1994 %G 1-56830-089-1 %I Hayden Books %O U$29.95/C$39.95 800-858-7674 75141.2102@compuserve.com 317-581-3743 %P 446 %T "Internet Explorer Kit for Macintosh" Maybe this should have been called "Adam and Bill's Excellent Internet Adventure". Like many successful net entities, it is more easily described by what it is not, than by what it is. This book is stated to be a companion volume to the "Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh" (cf. BKINTSKM.RVW). It is not, however, an extension or follow-up to the previous volume, which it is almost, but not quite completely, unlike. It isn't really a kit. Mac client software for archie, finger, WAIS and Gopher is included, but isn't really essential to the book. It isn't really for the Macintosh. The content has to do with people using the net, and the access method doesn't really matter. It is, in many senses, exploratory. The material does not demonstrate great expertise and is not complete. Chapter two, for example, deals with the search for people and email addresses, but doesn't even mention the MIT Usenet-addresses mail server. The book *is* very realistic about how to approach the net. The Internet "community" and "Try it, see what happens," feeling is there. It is not the usual Internet "beginner's guide". With chapters on searching for people, discussion, live chat, "stuff", resources and information, ejournals, and peace of mind, the closest comparison might be with Gilster's "Finding It On the Internet" (cf. BKFNDINT.RVW). Where Gilster's book is organized and thoroughly explanatory, this is a lengthy conversation between two witty netizens. It's sometimes hard to follow, but entertaining and well larded with tips, information and interesting points. "Dave", the editor, generally breaks in at the end of a chapter with a question or two, and the resulting summary is a concise, but generally cogent, analysis of the uses and pitfalls of the applications under discussion. (The authors also occasionally "dialogue" with non-interactive documents, such as Brad Templeton's "Ask Emily Postnews" network etiquette satire, or the whitehouse.gov presidential mailbots.) Those primarily interested in getting down to work on the Internet will find the organization and verbosity frustrating. Those who are interested in exploring, or playing with, the net will find a readable, funny, and friendly guide. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKINEXMC.RVW 950308 "Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering" %A Stephen Kan %C 1 Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867-9984 %D 1995 %G 0-201-63339-6 %I Addison-Wesley %O U$39.75 800-822-6339 617-944-3700 Fax: (617) 944-7273 %P 344 %T "Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering" This is an introduction to quality enhancement methods and measurements. It is broadly based, but also gives depth to the discussion in many areas. Areas such as the definition of quality and statistical modelling, which may be new to software developers and managers, start from simple and clearly explained concepts. Chapters cover the definition of quality development and quality management models, measurement theory, software quality measures (metrics), quality identification tools, defect removal, the Rayleigh model and expectation of defects, exponential models for expectations, the use of Rayleigh and other models in management, complexity, and customer satisfaction measurement. There is very thorough bibliographic material at the end of each chapter. The quality of this work, in one sense, is beyond question. In terms of the book's own definition of "fitness for use," however, there are some points to be raised. Software, as we all know, is digital. It is subject to catastrophic failures which cannot be predicted by statistical models of "errors per thousand lines of code". The need for customer input is repeatedly stressed. The Patriot missile system failure, mentioned in the book, was based on a customer requirement for a maximum fourteen-hour run time. Customer specifications, obviously, required an error recall function for the Therac 25. Unfortunately, neither the customer nor the company thought it necessary to have a final check display of the parameters taken by the machine, assuming the recall would work in all cases. Mention is made of "object orientation" and the reuse of software. It was reuse of an object, valid in its own environment, which led to the Pentium fiasco. Finally, there is the *cost* of quality, pointed out in "Four Days With Dr. Deming" (cf. BKDEMING.RVW). Kan's work, voluminous as it may be, is only an introduction. Thus, it would be primarily of use in a very large effort where the project manager had technical and statistical assistance simply for project management. As an example, I give you the Internet. The "quality standard" of "rough consensus and running code" must make quality specialists shudder. Without it, however, we'd be looking at a network based on OSI. (No sniggering from you UDP hackers in the back, there.) copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKMAMSQE.RVW 950221 "Windows Hothouse" %A Mark Clarkson %C 1 Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867-9984 %D 1994 %G 0-201-62669-1 %I Addison-Wesley %O U$34.95/C$44.95 800-822-6339 617-944-3700 Fax: (617) 944-7273 %P 288 %T "Windows Hothouse" I am not sure whether this is an introduction to Microsoft's Visual C++, an introduction to C++ with artificial life examples and the Visual C++ environment, or an introduction to artificial life topics with examples limited to Visual C++. Whichever one it is, it's a lot of fun. Clarkson makes no bones about the book's being primarily for fun, but the material is also well-founded. As he says, you can't build your own genetics lab simulator without learning something along the way. The chapters cover artificial life (and an introduction to the Visual C++ environment), Conway's game of LIFE, more Windows stuff, worms, frogs and genetics, approach/avoidance behaviour, plant patterns, biomorphs and core wars. But you also get lessons in 3D modelling, multidimensional arrays, genetic inversion, polymorphic inheritance, pointers and the proper way of dealing with strings. Even if you are well-versed in these areas, you'll likely enjoy the book. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKWNHTHS.RVW 950222 "The Complete Idiot's Next Step with the Internet" %A Peter Kent pkent@lab-press.com 71601.1266@compuserve.com %C 201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290 %D 1994 %G 1-56761-524-4 %I Alpha Books %O U$19.95/C$26.99 800-858-7674 75141.2102@compuserve.com %P 373 %T "The Complete Idiot's Next Step with the Internet" Kent's book has some miscellaneous stuff for those who have gotten past the first hurdles of learning what the Internet is, and how it works. The chat and game material will depend on your taste, and the UNIX tips will depend on what you do. Chapter five is a helpful introduction to quick ways to get known on the net (aside from spamming). There is a very useful discussion of mail and newsreaders in chapter six which could be of great help to those who get charged by the hour, or are limited to a certain period online per day. The thing that really sets this book apart from the pack, though, is the coverage of SLIP (Serial Link Internet Protocol) and dial-up IP connections (known in the book as "dial-up direct"). CSLIP (Compressed SLIP) and PPP (Point to Point Protocol) are also discussed, but SLIP gets the most ink. This is the most detailed coverage I have seen in any Internet book to date (although I have high hopes for Gilster's forthcoming "The SLIP/PPP Connection") and the *only* one deemed to be of any real use in setting up a SLIP link. Not all Internet providers who supply SLIP accounts are forthcoming with details: if you are looking at getting a dial-up IP connection, this book is definitely worth looking at. The contact information for commercial, shareware and freeware IP software will be *very* useful. It's not perfect. (Big surprise.) It covers both DOS and Windows, but not the Mac. (Mac users *may* find the discussion helpful anyway, since there is little else.) The organization could use some work. A disk with the book provides "Pink SLIP" software for the Pipeline Network (presumably similar to the SLIPKnot software which is more widely available). The discussion of SLIP installation and operation is quite terse. Enquiring minds would still like to know, for example, how to set up a dialer for Microsoft's own WINSOCK.DLL, whether UMSLIP sends its initialization before or after the one I specify, or why Kent doesn't mention KA9Q. For most beginning users, Kent's directions should be sufficient, so long as nothing major goes wrong. And, if it does, at least you have a basis for asking informed questions. If you want more information on mail readers, news readers, or dial-up IP, this is a good source. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKCINSIN.RVW 950223 "Internet CD" %A Vivian Neou %C 113 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 %D 1994 %G 0-13-123852-3 %I PTR Prentice Hall %O U$49.95/C$64.95 (515) 284-6751 FAX (515) 284-2607 %O beth_hespe@prenhall.com %P 260 %T "Internet CD" If you have a machine with a minimum of a 386 CPU, 4 meg of RAM, a CD reader, either an Ethernet connection to the Internet or a modem, and either DOS 5.0/Windows 3.1 or UNIX (SunOS 4.1 preferred), then: For seasoned Internauts, this has FYI, RFC, IEN and IETF documents. (For newcomers, these are the primary reference documents for the design and development of the Internet.) There are also archives of the BIND, namedroppers and TCP/IP mailing lists. For Internet newbies, this has SLIP software and email, gopher, telnet, ftp and WAIS clients. The book, itself, could say an awful lot more about SLIP and how to set it up, although this is partially rectified by a SLIP (sort of) FAQ. There is a very brief chapter describing the various Internet applications. For the technically dauntless, there is a version of Linux, with everything. All of this material *is* available on the Internet. It is, however, here in a compact starter set. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKINTNCD.RVW 950227 "The Usenet Book" %A Bryan Pfaffenberger bp@watt.seas.virginia.edu %C 1 Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867-9984 %D 1995 %G 0-201-40978-X %I Addison-Wesley Publishing Company %O U$26.95/C$34.95 800-822-6339 617-944-3700 Fax: (617) 944-7273 %P 468 %T "The Usenet Book" As the author states, Usenet news is second only to email in the significance of its contribution to mass communications. Usenet may be the first "Internet" application that many newcomers experience, and is often confused with the Internet, itself. With thousands of newsgroups; some calm, some incendiary, some useful, many trivial; and traffic volumes equalling hundreds of novels per *day*, Usenet can be a very hostile place for the newcomer. This book is a thorough compilation of Usenet information. As well as basic Usenet news concepts (chapters one, two and four), chapter three describes the basics of dial up and IP connections. Chapters five, and fifteen to seventeen, cover Usenet customs and culture, describing the spectrum of behaviour, as well as the accepted taboos. Chapters six through fourteen deal with the variety of newsreaders that users may encounter, from commercial services to tin, nn and rn, to Trumpet for Windows, and Newswatcher for the Mac. More than a hundred pages are devoted to the newsgroup reviews in chapter eighteen. This group is quite select, as it must be for the volume and value the author has put into the reviews. It is, therefore, backed up with a list of newsgroups with FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions lists) archived at the MIT server, and a subject index to newsgroups. (Your humble scribe was just puffed all to heck to find out that someone had *finally* noticed the Book Review Index list.) The last part of the book has chapters on creating a newsgroup, becoming a Usenet site, and Usenet issues and future. A book of this size, dealing with an entity as vast as Usenet news, could not be without errors. "Bogus" newsgroups are mentioned as the outcome of mistyped or incorrectly created entries. You will, however, frequently see valid newsgroups described, by the system, as bogus. This happens when traffic is low and groups are "eliminated" by the server to conserve disk space. The section on FAQs lists (in detail) how to get them from the MIT server by ftp, but doesn't mention the mail server. (And the author was caught by the Sexotica GIF/Kaos 4 hoax. Yes, be careful of file postings on the net--but there *is* a lot of worthwhile stuff, and a *very* low incidence of infection.) The book could use some reorganization, and a definite trimming of some repetitious material. This is, however, the best general reference on Usenet news that I have seen to date. Internet trainers should very definitely look at it. New, and old, Usenet devotees will likely find it timesaving and useful. Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKUSNTBK.RVW 950301 "Aether Madness" %A Gary Wolf gary@wired.com %A Michael Stein mstein@igc.apc.org %C 2414 6th St., Berkeley, CA 94710 %D 1995 %G 1-56609-020-2 %I Peachpit Press %O U$21.95/C$30.95 510-548-4393 fax: 510-548-5991 800-283-9444 %P 297 %T "Aether Madness" Despite the title, this is a very gentle book. It is a topical (and therefore almost automatically superficial) guide to information and resources in the online world. The coverage is broadly based, drawing from BBSes, commercial online systems, and the Internet. Unlike many other works in the same vein, this one is refreshingly free of arrogance and dogma. The major part of the book (Travel Tales) reads like a series of short magazine articles. The articles can't be exhaustive (nor can the list of topics), but both material and variety is well chosen. The entries are readable, and easy to take. An interesting feature is the glossary. There is no attempt to provide a tutorial for life online, but the glossary entries are at least a paragraph in length, and sometimes extend to a page or more. This allows the reader to pursue explanations at his or her own pace. This book is neither complete enough to serve as a reference, nor organized enough to be a training guide. Those who are curious about the online world, however, will find it an easy and probably appealing entre. Read the "Travel Tales" that sound interesting. Look up the glossary references for new terms. Eventually, you may find it worthwhile to buy a "modem". Online aficionados may also find this a way to expand horizons. The net is wide. There are lots of interesting tidbits herein. Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKAETMAD.RVW 950303 _____ / ___/\ / /\\\\/ / ___/\ / /\\\\/ /____/\ \\\\\\/ TC: Classifieds ----------- The classified ad section is free for anyone who would like to post an advertisement. There is a limit of 10 ads per issue. Ads are assigned on a first-come-first-served basis. There is a limit of 200 lines per ad. Anonymous postings are accepted, as well as non-computer related topics. By posting, your message will get to +/- 1860 people. NOTICE: PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES DISPLAYED HERE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE ENDORSED BY COMPUTER NEWS. ---Begin Classified Ads--- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***************************** HELP WITH VB ***************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted By: Olcay Cirit Subject: Can some one out there please help? Hi! You might know me as the editor of this highly-respectable emag. :) I was wondering if anybody on the CN list would know how to use the MCI interface (that is, with API calls) to be able to continuously play a MIDI file *Asynchronously from within a Visual Basic 3.0 for Windows application. Thanks, olcay ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***************************** MISCELLANEOUS ***************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted By: Computer News Server Subject: LIST OF SERVICES & FEATURES FOUND IN COMPUTER NEWS: Services: ========= Classified Ads Features: ========= Weekly News Reporting Weekly Book Reviews Monthly Internet Entertainment Reviews Humor Section "Lighter Side" Suggestions for any new features, services, or how we could improve any one of our features or services, can be directed to cnews@libtech.com. --- ---End Classified Ads--- __ / /\ / / / / /_/_ /_____/\ \_____\/ ighter Side -------------------- Uses for your dead CPU: ----------------------- 1. Hair Comb 2. Control the light system in your house 3. Target Practice 4. Earrings, Nose-Rings, &c. 5. Tell your wife that you got it for her anniversary 6. Send it to Intel! OH, MOST WISE AND CORPULENT ORACLE... ------------------------------------- CN SWIPED this piece from the Usenet Oracularities List: The Usenet Oracle has pondered your question deeply. Your question was: > When reading data from multi-byte registers over the > embedded EOC channel on the ISDN U interface (as in > Bellcore TR-897), what order should the bytes be > read in? The TR doesn't seem to specify. And in response, thus spake the Oracle: } That would all depend on the interlocking crux of the inverse bit map. } Most ISDN signals travel on the outside of the dielectric which would } inverse the multi-threaded layer of the step. } } You owe the Oracle 4 bytes and a nibble AND THIS PIECE, TOO: The Usenet Oracle has pondered your question deeply. Your question was: > how to get into world wide web And in response, thus spake the Oracle: } Like the silken web of a spider there are many ways into the world wide } web. The principal categories of entry are 1) as a spider; 2) as a } meal; 3) as something so big that it destroys the web. Where species } best determines how you enter a spider's web, your temperament } determines your fate in the www. Supporting access to the internet is } necessary (LAN connection, PPP, SLIP, etc), next a browser that reads } the HTML files (e.g. Mosaic, Netscape, etc), and that is about it. } Internet connections are getting easier and easier to find with } Internet Access Providers all over the world. Browsers are available } from many locations on and off the internet (Compuserve, FTP, etc). } Enter the web as a spider and, like the spider, mutual of omaha will } (wait, sorry, wrong commercial). Like the spider, you will find many } valuable treasures. Enter as a meal and the vastness will devour you. } Enter as a destroyer and the web will engulf you, sticking to your } unprotected skin, and the angry spider will bite you over and over. } Go now, my disciple, tread softly on the web, and its riches shall } exceed your mildest dreams. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer News is Copyright (C) 1995 by Olcay Cirit. All Rights Reserved. ALL TRADEMARKS/COPYRIGHTS CONTAINED HEREIN, MARKED OR UNMARKED, BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. THE TEXTS CONTAINED HEREIN MAY BE REDISTRIBUTED IN WHOLE OR IN PART PROVIDED THAT THE ARTICLE REMAIN INTACT AND THAT THE ABOVE NOTICE BE DISPLAYED. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. THIS ARTICLE MAY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BE RESOLD OR REDISTRIBUTED IN ANY FORM FOR ANY COMPENSATION OF ANY KIND WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM MR. OLCAY CIRIT. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To SUBSCRIBE to Computer News, send e-mail to majordomo@libtech.com with the following in the body of the message: subscribe cn To UNSUBSCRIBE from Computer News send e-mail to majordomo@libtech.com with the following in the body of the message: unsubscribe cn ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suggestions/Submissions/Comments may be directed to ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer News is edited by Olcay Cirit