Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 06:58:37 PDT From: olcay@libtech.com (olcay cirit) To: cn@libtech.com Subject: Computer News: Volume II, Issue 13 ______ __ __ / ____/\ / \ / /\ / /\___\/ / /\ \ / / / / /_/__ / / /\ \/ / / /______/\ /_/ / \__/ / \\\\\\\\/ \\\/ \\\/ COMPUTER NEWS "Your eye to the computer industry"(tm) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, April 26th 1995 Vol. II, Issue 13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSIDE CN: ---------- LibTech finally got FULL INTERNET last week on Friday. FTP, Telnet, WWW Usenet, everything. Someone suggested that we check out an Interesting net.site each week, and I'm building up a list of sites to check out. This also means that we will finally be able to put CN on the Web (As soon as I master HTML. Currently I have little experience with it.) BTW, be sure and check out the Book Reviews for HTML authoring books. As a final note, I would like to thank Erik Kraft (ekraft@netcom.com), for vital advice in my game-writing, and Saul Ansbacher (cs94353@cs.ualberta.ca) for encouragement. Seeya, -"olo" (Olcay Cirit) THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS: ------------------------- The NullBytes News Service Rob Slade Quick Overview __________________________________________ NEWS: 1. 4 separate APIs for Games in Windows 95 2. Intel to run the 486 into the ground 3. Gates forecasts surge in PC sales 4. Escom buys what is left of Commodore 5. Mitnick to get off the hook? ARTICLES: 1. Book Reviews (5) ETC: 1. Classifieds 2. Lighter Side __________________________________________ __ __ / \ /\_\ / /\ \/\/ / /_/\/\ \/ / \_\/ \__/ EWS: Mitnick to get off the hook? ---------------------------- Kevin Mitnick, the alleged hacker who broke into several computer systems illegally, may get off scot free. John Dusenbury, Mitnick's lawyer, said that the search warrant used by police to enter his Raleigh apartment was flawed. Apparently, it listed the wrong address, so charges against Mitnick should be dropped. (AP) Escom buys what is left of Commodore ------------------------------------ Escom AG of Germany bought the assets of Commodore International Ltd. for a dirt-cheap $6.6 Million. Escom stated that they would resume manufacturing the Amiga and other Apple and IBM compatible computers and sell them under the Commodore name to the European market. Additionally, they stated that they would approach Motorola about processors for an upcoming Commodore PowerPC. However, it is uncertain whether the deal with be approved by Commodore's creditors, or by the U.S. Bankruptcy court. (Knight-Ridder) Gates forecasts surge in PC sales --------------------------------- Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates forecasts sales of more than 60 million personal computers worldwide this year, which would be an increase of 24 percent from 48 million last year. However, Gates' expectations are slightly more optimistic than that of other industry projections. For example, Dataquest Inc. projects and overall increase of 17%, to 56.2 million units. (AP) Intel to run 486 into the ground -------------------------------- Intel Corp. may slow down production of the 486 line of chips to near abandonment to help sales of it's Pentium processor. This may seem somewhat aggresive, but should come as no surprise to people familiar with Intel's strategy: Out with the older, slower chips and in with the newer, faster, smaller chips. This strategy has not changed IBM's plans to keep making 486-based computers. (Mercury News) 4 separate APIs for Games in Windows 95 --------------------------------------- Microsoft is to unveil a set of four Application Programming Interfaces (API) that are designed to make porting DOS games to Windows 95 a bit more palatable. For the first time in known history, Microsoft's API and video boards will work closely together, rather than simply ignoring each other, to maximize game performance. The four APIs--DirectDraw, DirectPlay, DirectSound, and DirectInput allow for Direct and efficient access to computer hardware. DirectSound allows for quick playing and mixing of sounds through the MS Wave system. DirectPlay allows for fast communications links between computers that games can use. DirectDraw allows direct access to functions like copying pixels, etc. with having to go through several layers of graphics interfaces. And finally, DirectInput allows for joystick input with low CPU overhead (EETimes, April 24, 1995) ____ /___/\ / /\ \/\ / /\/\ \/\ /_/\/__\ \/\ RTICLES: \_\/ \_\/ Book Reviews ------------ By Rob Slade Books -------------------------------------------- 1. "HTML Sourcebook" 2. "Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML" 3. "The Underground Guide to Laser Printers" 4. "NetPages" 5. "51 Reasons" -------------------------------------------- "HTML Sourcebook", Ian Graham, 1995, 0-471-11849-4 %A Ian Graham igraham@utirc.utoronto.ca %C 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012 %D 1995 %G 0-471-11849-4 %I John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (who do not honour copyright) %O U$29.95 800-CALL-WILEY 212-850-6630 Fax: 212-850-6799 %O jdemarra@jwiley.com %P 416 %T "HTML Sourcebook" For those who are serious about creating World Wide Web pages and presentations, this is a very thorough reference. Chapter one is a lesson in HTML (HyperText Markup Language). It covers elements right up to multimedia and forms. The overview, though, is quite brief. Anchors are explained as links to other documents, but the function of linking to a specific section of a document is not covered. This function *is* covered in chapter two, which details all the HTML elements, including those proposed for HTML+. Subsequent chapters deal with Universal Resource Locators (URLs); the Common Gateway Interface (CGI); tools, editors and document translators; browsers; servers; and examples. The material is technical and detailed, right down to mention of security considerations on clients. The pace and technical level may not be suitable for beginners, who may want to look at Lemay's "Teach Yourself Web Publishing With HTML" (cf. BKWPHTML.RVW). The organization of the all important second chapter takes some getting used to. The anchor element is included with "List Elements", is not referenced by the "anchor" entry in the index, and the "A element" index listing is out of order. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKHTMLSR.RVW 950323 "Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML", Laura Lemay, 1995, 0-672-30667-0 %A Laura Lemay lemay@lne.com lemay@netcom.com %C 201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290 %D 1995 %G 0-672-30667-0 %I SAMS Publishing %O U$25.00/C$34.95 800-858-7674 800-428-5331 800-428-3804 317-581-3743 %O 317-573-2500 317-581-3535 317-581-3718 fax: 317-581-4669 %O 75141.2102@compuserve.com 75141.2104@compuserve.com %P 392 %T "Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML" For those of us, hoary old techies that we are, who had to deal with TeX, SGML, and the manual insertion of escape codes into documents for the earliest laser printers, HTML (HyperText Markup Language, the instruction set for World Wide Web) holds no terrors at all. For the other ninety-nine percent of the computer-using populace, Lemay has written a solid, realistic, well-paced and readable introduction to the topic. Having seen numerous recent exhortations that "Web publisher" is one of the "coming" jobs, I hope she makes a fortune. The fourteen chapters give a thorough coverage to both HTML tags and W3 page design. Topics include background; presentation and page design; basic, linking, formatting, media and form tags; examples; W3 servers; gateway scripts; and HTML tools. Appendices list further resources and a summary of commands. The "in a week" timeframe may be stretched by the forms and gateway scripting, but a dedicated student equipped with server and browser should be able to be well familiar with everything in the book after seven days. Lemay's pacing, organization and structure are sound. The content is clear and the text quite readable. Given the subject matter, some of the typos are ironic, but none should be a hindrance. In fact, the only problem I have with this book is that nine out of every ten readers will be using it to turn out the same guff we've seen on twenty thousand other Web servers. The ones, though, might make it worthwhile. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKWPHTML.RVW 950322 "The Underground Guide to Laser Printers", Jeffries et al, 1993, 1-56609-045-8 %A Walter Vose Jeffries et al. %C 2414 6th St., Berkeley, CA 94710 %D 1993 %G 1-56609-045-8 %I Peachpit Press, Inc. %O U$12.00/C$17.00 510-548-4393 fax: 510-548-5991 800-283-9444 %O trish@peachpit.com 73171.657@Compuserve.com markj@aw.com %P 162 %T "The Underground Guide to Laser Printers" BlackLightning is a firm that remanufactures (refills and refurbishes) laser printer toner cartridges. For many years, they have published "The Flash" magazine, initially as a newsletter for their own customers, and eventually as a self-supporting business, in its own right. This book reprints articles from the first four years of "The Flash". As well as background on the operation of laser printers and the manufacture of toner, there are several articles on maintenance, and even minor repairs. One chapter gives a very thorough troubleshooting guide based upon image analysis. Given the background of remanufacturers, they present detailed information on the refill process. As a bonus, there are interesting tips on specialty toners and procedures for photolithography work, cheques, photo transfers for cloth, colours, and even rubber stamps. The 1993 date means that the newest small, personal laser and LED printers are not covered. Still, the information is very valuable, and would likely repay the cover price many times for anyone with a laser printer. For those in technical support positions, this is necessary information. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKUNLSRP.RVW 950327 "NetPages", Susan Estrada, 1994 %A Susan Estrada susan_estrada@aldea.com %C 2380 Camino Vida Roble, Carlsbad, CA 92009 %D 1994 %I Aldea Communications, Inc. %O U$5.95 +1-619-943-0101 fax: +1-619-929-0580 info@aldea.com %P 214 %T "NetPages" Godin and McBride did the "1994 Internet White Pages" (cf. BKINTWHP.RVW) and haven't yet attempted an update. Hahn and Stout claim the "original" (cf. BKINTYLP.RVW), and New Riders the "official" (cf. BKNRYLPG.RVW), "Yellow Pages", both of which are in their second editions. Now, Aldea has produced blue, white and yellow NetPages in one volume. It is my understanding that NetPages is intended to be supplied like the phone book, with both hardcopy and online versions being provided free of charge and the project to be funded by the sale of advertising. (My copy, labelled "Spring 1995", was also marked "$5.95".) I assume this is the first edition: for a network directory, it is very slim. The blue pages are a remarkably cogent and concise "at a glance" guide to the Internet. Email components, mailing lists, codes of conduct, good references, and business on the Internet are covered quickly, but with all the major points covered. (The bibliography is terrible, but you can't have everything.) The white pages have first business, and then individual, listings. This is very handy in terms of finding people, but an additional page colour might be of benefit here, to distinguish the two sections. The listing system is automated; you send email to np-add@aldea.com, so there are frequent errors. (Send email to np-faq@aldea.com to get details of the submission format.) In this version, there are fewer than 160 companies listed in the yellow pages. The information in the book states that it will be published twice annually. For information on availability, send email to np-pickup@aldea.com. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKNETPAG.RVW 950313 "51 Reasons", Martha Stone-Martin, Laura Breeden, 1994 %A Martha Stone-Martin %A Laura Breeden %C 114 Waltham Street, Suite 12, Lexington, MA 02173 %D 1994 %I FARNET, Inc. %O (617) 860-9445 stories@farnet.org %P 124 %T "51 Reasons" This book contains fifty-six short articles about some aspect of Internet use. Fifty-one represent works loosely based in each of the fifty states (in the U.S.) and the District of Columbia, while five are author profiles. The articles cover a wide range of topics. Most do not go into detail about the applications used. Some are a bit odd, such as the history of SIMTEL20 (which does not mention the recent shut-down at WSMR) and the promotional piece for Cisco Systems. This is good material for promoting Internet use. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BK51RESN.RVW 950314 _____ / ___/\ / /\\\\/ / ___/\ / /\\\\/ /____/\ \\\\\\/ 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, and 1 ad per person. Ads are assigned on a first-come-first-served basis. There is a limit of 100 lines per ad. Anonymous postings are accepted, as well as non-computer related topics. By posting, your message will get to +/- 1890 people. NOTICE: PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES DISPLAYED HERE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE ENDORSED BY COMPUTER NEWS. ---Begin Classified Ads--- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***************************** MISCELLANEOUS ***************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted By: Computer News Server Subject: LIST OF SERVICES & FEATURES FOUND IN COMPUTER NEWS: Services: ========= Help with Windows Problems Help with DOS Problems 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. --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***************************** EQUIPMENT WANTED ************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted By: ivar.sonne-moerch@dkb.dk (IVAR SONNE-MOERCH) Subject: Equipment Wanted Epson PC Portable Motherboard ----------------------------- There once was a young hopeful student whose first computer was more movable than portable: A beautiful grey, light-blue-screened Epson PC Portable. It worked fine until one day he cleaned it, forgetting to turn off the power supply. Result: Disaster! The Motherboard was gone. The no-longer-so-young and yet hopeful student still wants to use his Moveable and in vain has been searching high and low for an Epson PC Portable Motherboard. Can anyone help? Greetings from Copenhagen, Denmark Ivar.Sonne-Moerch@dkb.dk --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***************************** SITUATION WANTED ************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted By: CharlieIn@aol.com Subject: Situation Wanted SITUATION WANTED: APPLICATIONS CONSULTANT/SYSTEM ANALYST Financial Applications Development Software Conversions - Installation and Customized Training Design And Implementation - Sales/Marketing Support - Domestic/International Professional system executive highly skilled in the design and development of computer hardware and software applications. Proven abilities in solving intricate MIS problems and bottlenecks with efficiency and effective cost controls. Proficient in the use and application of local and wide area networks and in the use of popular software products. Exhibits strong communication skills with all levels of management. Effective project manager. Send inquiries to charliein@aol.com --- ---End Classified Ads--- __ / /\ / / / / /_/_ /_____/\ \_____\/ ighter Side -------------------- Reprinted from Edupage: ----------------------- >EDUCOM REVIEW is our bimonthly print magazine on learning, >communications, and information technology. Subscriptions are $18 a >year in the U.S.; send mail to offer@educom.edu. When you do, we'll >ring a little bell, because we'll be so happy! Seriously! (Not the >bell part, the happy part.) More Wisdom from the Usenet Oracle: ----------------------------------- The Usenet Oracle has pondered your question deeply. Your question was: > If you can't reach there, well, then I obviously didn't > want you to scratch there. Think about that next time- > oh, sorry, there isn't a next time. > > Zot! > > You owe the Oracle a new mattress. And in response, thus spake the Oracle: } "Well, hello there, me. How am I today?" } "Me? I'm fine! And me?" } "I'm fine! What do I want me to do?" } "Simple! I want me to find us." } "That's simple. Which one of us do I want me to find?" } "All of us. In case I haven't told myself, there's a crisis facing the } world. And only I and me, along with us, can help." } "But before I go, I've got one question for me." } "I'm welcome to it. Ask." } "How come I'm telling me to do it? Why don't I do it?" } "I'd be glad to help, but I'm in an asylum for the insane." } "How did I get there?" } "For talking to myself." The screen went blank. } So it was that the Usenet Oracle went searching for his other selves, } not knowing that they had already been accounted for. } } You owe the Oracle "Things the Oracle Would Say to Homer Simpson" for } $50, Alex. To find out all about the Usenet Oracle, including how to participate, send mail to oracle@cs.indiana.edu with the word "help" in the subject line. One of Rob Slade's .sigs: ------------------------- >============= >Vancouver roberts@decus.ca | "If a train station >Institute for Robert_Slade@sfu.ca | is where a train >Research into rslade@cyberstore.ca | stops, what happens >User Rob_Slade@mindlink.bc.ca | at a workstation?" >Security Canada V7K 2G6 | Frederick Wheeler Well, Fred, I guess the work stops here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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