1997 08 13 computer player bc ocr

Page 1

~.„+,'-,.' ;": it~ ip . ,

'»~j

C RE E

«*'~

BNLh&5»thWfla44 »htW % J«hlWht» M S

D A

'

~

-

A .'W A R~

L 0 M P UTE S !

" »'>

B . L' »

»

W

* •

'

. p! •

t+

j

'p

h

~

h'

) gP

+„'

h»Q»',t '

"~~+

II'

»

'

a % at'

»

ountdown 'to the 'h'0


p

r

• y r

PACKAGE $29¹almo • no setu p fee

• i n c l u d es flat-rate intern et •

,Cess~

no prime-t im e r e strictio

• fr e e software kit website u no traffic • optional tutorial

r

PACKAGE

$15 l mo

• setup fee: 850t e in cludes domain registration, custom

t . etup/ . ' ;-t„,ts~

~ -~

~

~~;

'

'g Ig,ternet fee extra. '=., P yAL."--

g"

r

r

r

r

' P„:

Cf

8 no setup fee 2 Mb storage direct FTP access no traffic charges NETSCAPE Commerce Server MICROSOFT FrontPage Extensions

,Wi( ~~+

, 44: p

N

PACKAGE $3801mo • no setup fee • de d icated

high-speed 128 Kbps digital ISDN connection • no traffic charges Internet GatewayCorporation Suite 503- 889 West Pender Street Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6C 3B2 Phone : ( 6 04) 654-6088 Fax : (604) 669-8489 Toll Free: 1-800-453-1 286 ¹106-3020 Lincoln Ave. Coquitlam, Tel: 942-0370

Internet : http:I/www.intergate.bc.ca Email : st a f f@intergate.bc.ca


-

-

COMP UT

„ .„ e ggN RN 3 3 pertttul9

~v )gg 63t86 CONa Cl SyStetn

PB cache S h t B t'tS(

As„s Tntonmothed

MONITORS AGER 14. N/I

1 44 htB floPPT S~ bE m 1pE an'I B PPY ratiei Ports S2b" UART sana)(k 1 p' 5

255 pB caand 1 Pa <~,"„'„twe«p/5 't„tqSSDVAR h(ini-tower 15 ke board eT Acertt)4 enhanced PPT dr'lve 3 5" I.< >N/1 mon' ltor 'p„er 14" ~ )red drive E )/totherbonrd

-

SSPC(bus d(DELD" cer t(X Enhance d • .~ers Acer 1 R (eternal Voice Acer mouse 2bunon senal

DI4V LR, N/1.28, ADI 17" 5V LR MTSUBISHI 15 HX BISHI IT HX NEC C 50015" NEC M500 15" NECXVs15 MONITOR .....

-

PROVIEW 14' N/I LR,..... PROVIEW15'N/ILRF/S .. SONY 15 SF 15" N/I....... SONY17SE2T17" N/ILR ..

~> 4'$230t1243las

~r; qphltE)DE and + ,

)/IB 56PBm"

iiei pons

t(IAR.Y«Yb d p cer 1S" 4)/(B SGRA)/I AT13DP tm~ ' ~mouse . 2bunonsed )/Iicrosoh 1

I mouse Nu-8$e " butmnseria

~ssanssst2oss

NetworkingProducts

ComputerProblems

D-link Ethernet pocket adaptor....$245 Xircom Ethernet pocket adaptor ....call Mink Ethernet concentrator........$310 Arcnet 93 Ohm Terminator........,.....$5 Ethernet 50 Ohm Terminator ..........$5

4

Complete IBM network management: E-mail & FAX gateways, Remote Access, Backup, Training... x

I I

• •

~

t

>I

•I

-

8 •

s

4MBSIMM70NS 30PIN.. 8MBSIMM60NS 72PIN .. 16MB SIMM 60NS 72PIN ..

Windows ForWorkgroups LANtastic

Windows NT

• •

t

• •

xx

.

,Py

WORDPERFECT 6.1 SUITE ........,......$369 MICROSOFTWORKS FOR WINDOWS ......$69

I

I I s I I

• 4

I I •

• •

• *

...call ...call .call ...call

• •

-t

• •

,

SOFTWARE MICROSOFT WINDOWS95 OEM(with ststem) $149

@@,...

CONNER 800MBTAPEBACKUPEXT .......$265 CONNER 800MBTAPEBACKUPINT........$215 IOMEGA ZIPDRIVEEXT ..................$249 IOMEGA SCSIJAZ IG EXT ........... . . . ..$649

Novell NetWare

I

vv

TAPE BACKUP COLORADO 800MB TAPE BACKUP INT T1000$215

We support and service:

I

)

'

RAM IMBSIMM70NS ........

Pentium 150, 16MB RAM EDO, 1.08GB Hard Drwe 12. t Active Matrix screen.?56K Cache, PCMCIA slot wit h 6x CD ROM, sound card, Windows 95

I

t

Trained and tested to provide superior NetWare Support

a

........$199

...$63 ...$32

..... $219 QUANTUM 1.2 GB12MS128KCACHE,.....$260 W.D. 850MB 10MS64K CACHE ...........,$219 W.D. 1.2GB 10MS64K CACHE.............$279 W.D. 1.6GB 10MS64K CACHE.............$319 W.D. 2.1GB EIDE.......,... . . . . , . . . . . . .,$375 W.D2.5GBEIDE .....,.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..call

,... ...,$259 TOSHIBA 730CDT NOTEBOOK..............„...,.„....$8,300

BACKPACK 800MB TAPE DRIVE EXT ...

.

HARD DRIVES QUANTUM 850 MB 12MS 128K CACHE

Penhum t33. 16MB RAM EDO, 1.08GB Hard Drive Acuve Metnx screen, 256K Cache. PCMCIA slot with CD ROM, soundcard, Windows 95

BACKPACK EXTERNAL BX CDROM ......

.

ATIWINCHARGER 6401MB................ $90 ATI VIDEOBOOST 64D2MB ......... . . . . . .$119 ATI WINTURBO Mach 642MBVRAM........$31 9 ATI3D EXPRESSION 2MB DRAM .......... $169 ATI3D PRO TURBO 4MB ........... . .., ..$290 DIAMONDSTEALTH 64PCI2MB VRAM .....$369

A CERNOTE NOTEBOOK ... .......................... .....$2,399 NEC VERSA 4230 NOTEBOOK .......................... $5,200

MEGAHERTZ PCMCIA Ii/IODEII/I 28.8 ......

.

.$339 .$529 .$980 $1800 $1280 .$549 .$229 .$599

VIDEO CARDS TRIDENT8900SVGA IMB .................$69

I ' I I I Pentium 100, 8MB RAM EDO. 810MB Hard Drnie 10.4' dual scan screen, 256K Cache PCMCIA slot with Windows 95

.

1,44 MBFLOPPYDRIVE

Intel Ethernet Pro16 bit .......,........$169

Upgrade 386's, 486's, Monitor Repair, Hard Drive Upgrades

.

FLOPPY DRIVES 1.2 MB FLOPPYDRIVE

Windows Workgroup ADORN .....$65 Novell Netware 3.12 (5 user).......$960 Novell Netware 3.12 (25user) ...$3299 Novell Netware 4.1(25 user) .....$3299 NE2000 Ethernet network card.....$69 CNET Ethernet card.......................$70 Compex 16 bit Arcnet card ............$89

e

.$330 .$249 .$319

BUPRA 33.6 INTFAXMODEM ................$138 U.S. ROBOTICS 28.8 SPORTSTER EXTERNAL .. $215 U.S ROBOTICS 28.8SPORTSTERINTERNAL ...$199

LANiastic Al version 7.0...............$1 15 LANtastic Starter kit 70................$315 Vl/indows Workgroup ..................$169

x

.$1480

MODEMS CARDINAL28.8 INT.FAX/MODEM .............$158

ass

AT( SD<

-•

....$389 ....$660

CANONBJC240 COLORBUBBLE JET CANONBJC4100 BUBBLEJET..... FUJITSU DL1150COLOUR......... HP 820CXIINKJET COLOR ........ HP 6P LASERJET H PLASERJET5 ........ . . . . . . . . . HP LASERJET6MP.. OKIDATAOL600E LASER RAVEN240524 PIN . RAVEN2467 24PIN Wide/Quiet..... .

I I I

....$310 ....$440 ....$480 ....$810 ....$620 ...$1270 ....$560 ....$699 ....$610 ....$290

PRINTERS CANON BJ30 BUBBLEJET

3 16SSODtAR """ tP / attp/5 )/(inhtower hag d Ne , W p 2.1GBBp "' 4-llR)41munttor . board Ac ' tt)t ReT ke> RA)vt video card bit 2)AB

I

.

ER 15' NADIGI'TA'L-

)/Iird-tower rd drv;e 13GB EipE her board wr 104 «Y„»'" • monitor ~r R Atvt vdeo card '."di A«rr 14" L/RN'™n bit thSB -- Cinusto$t use

Vt D 12GB„ ;den EIDEcardi w t h tB DRAtvt Driv e

Tnton)/loth

I I

0

II •

I

s •

•I'

I

s

• I '


Combatting crime with computers

r '. v 'I

Here comes BOOB

lleul media overhauling the old

Preparing far the

pragramming glitch knomn as IIBh

Interactive infopreneurs struggleto survive

Flatbed Scanners: uc~

Four models put tothe test

H ip Brot h e r

matches us all ill i I I c o m p u t e r s

outthink us? U se uti l i t i e s ta tune

up

l llired c o mmunit e s n ow appear i n g

peur lUin V V machine

Borne helpful advice

netos

columns

8 T ha BC Fi les:Vancouverfirm previews TV-based lUeb

47 Power Learning: Enhancing human/human and

18 Five trendsfor softtuare development

human/computerinteraction 48

22 Teenagegirls edge outbogs in camputerprogramming

Ou

T elecomments: Internet speetl-fresh nptions

forthe near future

84

Y oucan bereplaced bg a machine

48

71

F all Comden Oazzles

SD 181: The science of secrecg

U l hite's Bgtes: 1997: The gear IUin9S stabilizes' ?

61 Rlacgant:Thasweetsang nf success

s of t o j a r e / h a r d l j j a r e

78 OSl2 Readg: Someimprobablepredictions

87

l ip drive a mined blessing

39

llle b analllzar not quite dependable

o nl i n e

37 Putting personalinto gaur Plm 38 Fuzzg Oats?Trg this warm-and-fuzzg database v

38 C omputerswillfinallghearand obeg— mastofthe time

87 Young euplorers heading south SB Heel sites

b oob s

u,,'

7

SS The futureafhanhing

p ro f i l e

66 These boobs mean business

41 Canadianorganizatians struttheirIT savvg

67 Rn insight ful,irreverent look at worh 68 Computersecuritg boob is scarg.but useful

mol time dia/g ames 43 Oot an CO-Bgmstargboohs are created equal

68 Videoconferencing for business 73 Onlineinvestment resources enposed

44 Childrens'software earns tnp marhs

I cede r

4S

7

Lett e r s

62

R l a r hetplace

34

B r i efs

64

C h i nese Sectian

54

Tr a i ning

74

B d vertisers Indeu

W ithllaadlg bamas.patience is a virtue

46 m ore realit gfar gourvirtualcachpit:tea nfferings from microsoft

s o re l ce s

SB Vou Rshed Us

C OM P U T E R P L A Y ER !

JA N U A RY 1 9 9 7



CANADA COeePUTE. < 8.C. ' DI T I O N

j.

e

t

t

e

r

f

r

o

I

t

h

e

e

lj

i

t

e

r

fouuoeesKentLiqinChen, Li Ding PuRUsNRR Douglas Alder EOIToR-IN-Cuter Mara C>ulens,edltoiNtcpon.corn MNlaciuc Eotroe Lara ThaisKing Cot T EDITORWilliam Wood AssocIRTR EOIToR Myles White, Alan Zisman EOITORIAI.AssisTNIT Lauren Blankstein EOITORtat INTRRN jason Chiles ART DIRECToRJennifer Hanlon Scott PRoouclloN Helga Stitt, PaulVanElsberg, SusanMagil, Angela

hen BiU Gates asksWhere do you want to go?', I say Where am I?'" With these words, Thomas Koulopoulos, the president of Delphi Consulting Group and moderator of the Crystal Ball panel at Fall Comdex, Las Vegas, flashed a familiar image of a desktop cluttered with spreadsheets,word files,and a hrovvser onto the screen. The audience burst into Laughter and relaxed. It was nice to know you weren' t alone in thinking that technology isn't as stra'. ghtforward as the gurus proclaim. >althoughtlie room was packed with hundreds of info-hounds eager for a preview of the future, when K<>ulopoulos asked lor a show of hands. only 24 individuals admitted to being "geeks."This may or may not be odd, considering Fall Comdex is the largest computer trade show on the continent, and that at the close of 1996 prettv well everyone has in some way been drawn into the frenzied world of technology. So when the panel of futurists kicked off with a discussion on the importance of "ease of use," the tol>i:: hit home.

lori, SherlyHo, KarinHartwig, ErnestStelzer CONTRotteRChrisM cPhie Aomtrnsiuc Ates jamie Leighton,jamieCotcp.ca Randy Chaster,randyCa >tcp.co Frank Houston,frankiotcpon.corn Marsha Miller,morsha@tcpon.corn AccouNTINc Farida Aini DisTRIRirnoN Har PalSingh Khalsa AoouT TueComa This month'scoverwasdesignedbyPaul VanElsberg fs retouched inPhotoshop 3.0. Compostiion I's typewe~acreatedinAdobeillustrator5.5. Thisimage, shot byjohnNa<vali, featuresRobbi Jayasthegirl who can see the future,

Computer Pluyert (CanadaComputes!BCedition) is published

monthly by CanadaComputer Paper inc. 425 Carrall St., Suite 503 Vancouver, BC V6B 6E3 Tel:(604) 608-2688 Fax:(604) 608-2686

Map wanted

TorontoComputes/ 99 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 408 Toronto, ON M6K 3JB Tel: (416) 588-681 8 Fax: (416) 588-4110 Ottawa Computesl 260 St. Patrick Street, Suite 303 Ottawa, Ontario KlN SKS

Tel: (61 3)789-6431 Fax: (613) 789-6433 Quebec lflclol 360 Notre Dame Quest., Suite 103 Montreal, CJC H2Y IT9

When we look at today's teclu>ologq — the cluttered desktops, the t u rtlish Internet connections, the complicated bn>w-ser configurations, the computer crashes — are we able to consider where we wanr to go? According to Paul Saffo, director of California's Institute for the Future. we are obsessed with t oday's tools precisely because they do not fit i nto our lives. Transl' ted, this means w'e're thrilled by faster modems, bigger monitors, and fancier suites.

Tel: (514) 843-4770 Fare (514) 843-34B4 Copyright 1997 Canada Complstor Paper lnc. unless otherwisespecified. Overseassubscriptions: Can%I25

Mail cheques andmoneyorders (payabfe toCanadaComputer Paperinc.) to:

Lottera eo iRRRRR

Computer Pluyertis distributedfree through

raised io the payer Rr BRRRral caioyoter topics Rre IRRlcoioe. Please ho brief. IR roerot that iua are RRR1IRto look RP RtoriRR froio PRRt ;.ss

hundreds ofstores 8 street boxesaround the Greater Vancouverarea.

tiroiteets; ar solve

(Aflow4-6 weeksfor delivery) Canadian Publication Mail Sales Product Agreementill 70 437 Printed in Canada ISSN 1188-9462

Thepublisherresenesthen'ght torefusesexist, racist, or <>thenvise offensiveadvertising. Thepublisheralsoresene> the nght tobethefin<>Pjudgeofwhat ii upproprlote.

ANNouNCEMeuTs: pressreleoses@tcpon.corn You ASKSUs: yaucltcpon.coin FEBRU ARY1996 ISSut: Games!

AD DEA DUNE: Tuesday, january 14 DlsTRIU B TloN: Friday, january 31

e

4

a

IRRRRR.Roeeost

P"+ @ R'~:« '-~~-:-'i, .-'-~CnnrpeterPiaffer! IRIIIQRRR unth IIRIRRi -::-> Sseada tneputes! "' R'Edition ioIt-i-:N>alt:or RRRil.-.'-:,: „ ~ '=' ERR CarrollStreet iiRR tt@dreoeijo~; =. '=-=% Su ite 883.'-. j j~~"'Rtjhgjjj<-:=' -."9~t4~- . P~

egg

.

s

g,~>+~-".-"'.""ioucouvor,Bt<';

"-'.-.=-;:-..-.;.=.~

The full text ofCP!isavailable to readonline at: http://www.canadacomputes.corn/

C OM P U T E R PL A Y E R !

precluded.

When the Crystal Ball panelists got around to their predictions, where we would be became no less important than how we w<>uid get there. Because if the arrival is successfuh the tool will become invisible, they say.

Foolproof? It used to be so simple. You'd spill coffee <>n your floppy disk and ruin the file. You' d forget to backup the internal hard drive and lose aU your work. Now we have hardware, software, and Internet problems that eclipse the already serious difficulties with ABMs, computer viruses, and information overload. If things keep changing at this pace, one w<mders whether we'U make it through the I()9S days I<> the year 2000. According to many futurists, h<>wever, by the millennium, many of the new technolo-

-

:.

-,

.

'

-

'

.

.:.:.,=.'i+~~ ~. m -

TBB 'BE3 k

; Cdottorail>toeOR.C OOISv'-

JANUAR Y

199 7

In fact, even Byte magazine's peek into the future revolves around the term "ubiquitous," as aresultof ease-of-use. Mare Andreesen, vice president of technology for Netscape Communications, predicts that, in five years time, "the Internet will have begun to disappear, like electricity and telephony, into the woodwork. And it will [be accessible] ever»~here, in vvired or wireless form." Regarding the next wave of computing, Jerry Rogers, president and CEO nf Cyrix Corp., says "the human interface will finally fulfill the ease-of-use model for everyone to feel comfortable. The interface will consist of sophisticated speech recognition and synthesis and virtual reality."

The dim past If these experts are even partly right, then if we just wait, the wagons wiU eventually become cars. the h<>rses wiU be let out to graze, and we' ll forget why we ever adopted the term "horsepower." More concretelywe' ll forget why we called what we see on the monitor a "desktop," why a Web site was caUed a"page,"and what logging off was aU about. At that point. my neighbour will have no recollection of "Rolodex," using a computer will be as simple as driving a car, and my GPSequipped laptop will let me know where I IfntU then. we can only dream about the future and keep "wow-ing" the improvements asthe come.

Happy NewYear!

gies should have become transparent. Like the phone, car, and light switch today, inslr«ctions uill no longer be necessary!

The facts as we understand them..

Subscriptions:$24.9S (includesGST)a year. Americansubscriptions:US$60

ComputerPloyer! 45 Carral Street, Suite 503 Vancouver, BC V6B 6E3

not necessarily because they' re great, but because we' re not content with what we have. For example,. my next-door neighbor w<>uld prefer a GUI that looks more like a R<>Index, wit h s i m pler flip-through o ptions. My sister would like t o skip browser configuration, so she wouldn' t have to call on our resident techie just to surf. For my part, I would have liked my notehook computer to kn<>w I had arrived in Vegas. This way, the tedious attempts to log <>nto the Toronto network — while avoiding the long-distance charges — could have been

One of our staff has drawn our attention to an article in the October 1996 ssue of Tor o n to C o m p u tes! by Christopher Guly about a software program that we developed for the FBI We are very pleased to get free publicity, but would like to point out a few inaccuracies ir Lis article. CIVER-PSYCH is a clinical decision-support and electronic record processing system that was developed by Civerex Systems Inc. for use by mental health professionals. Since it was launched in May 1995, over 1,000 copies have been distributed to over 20 countries. The productthat we developed for the FBI is an adaptation of CIVER-PSYCH butit is NOT called CIVER-PSYCH . The FBI product is c alled th e P sychological Profiling Mod u l e for HOBAS (Hostage/Barricade Data System) and was designed for use by hostage negotiators. CiverexSystems Inc.is an affiliate ofJayKell Technologies Inc., a federally-incorporated software development company that was formed in 1990. Jay-Kell Techn<>logies Inc. have a staff of seven-. Civerex Systems Inc. was formed in 1994 to specialize in

Mara Culens

editorotcpon.corn

the development of medical diagnostic software. It was NOT started out of our basement but shares office spacewith JayKell Technologies. If you would like any more information about oursoftware products,please give us a call at (514) 650-1005. Jean Kelly, President

The Cede I am writing to you about statements made in the article on page 16 of the December issue of Toronto Computes!.It stated that supporters of the Canadian Association of Internet providers voluntary code of conduct are "hoping it will p ave the way f o r regulation of the Internet." In fact, its purpose is to eliminate the need for inandatory government imposed reguhtion. The code defines an initial set of voluntary industry guidelines regarding a number of legal issues. While we agree with Mr. Carroll that information flows freely in the world of the Internet, a very small percentage of that "information" may violate copyright laws, the criminal code and other laws of the country. The code addresses those situatiotls.


s

.ate ' Lima Olsgraced! c on t i n u e d

f r om pag e&

Unfortunately, the article did not actually list the code, so that TC! readers could not examine it for t h emselves. The full c ode i s a t CA I P ' s w e b s i t e (h t t p : //sE~ . c aip.ca).

Ron Kawchuk

Electronic Banking

I have been self~mployed as a Macintosh computer consultant for several years, with operations based in Mississauga. As a Certified Macintosh Evangalist:-), I feel compelled to correct myths and misconceptions in the media regarding the Macintosh platform. When I n o t iced a " Macintosh Misconception" in Paul Lima's November 96 article Demand for used computers grouf-

I' ve been reading free local computer magazbies for quite some time now, and (IMHO) I think they provide invaluable information a bout the computer i ndustry fo r l o w e r mainland residents. H o w ever, I' ve been waiting for an issue that will cover home bar)king. I k now that there has recently been a greatdeal of ads in the newspapers about home banking offered by many banks. Personally, I would like to see an issue which will cover all the banks that offer this service. How it is offered (ie. over internet or a diai up line), what options are available (i.e. stock and mutual fund monitoring) and how much it will cost? P referably, aspects of security will be mentioned. Do you think home banking will ever be (liscusse(lt Terry Hui

ing for indi()ideals, schools, I wrote a short note to him. I demand a "public dressing down" of Paul Lima, one of y ou r b e tter c ontributors! (Please take this demand in a humourous vein). This request is at the insistance of Paul himself. I have successfully installed the latest Mac operating system (7.5.5) on Macs that are 5 years old. Any Mac that contains at least a

"

68030 Motorola CPU is capable of running 90 per cent of the "features" contained in the latest OS, and that includes PowerBooks as well. Call me biased, but the Mac interface is (still) far more (Bill Gates be damned) userfriendly than any other operating system available on the market. I feel much better now: Thanks for a great paper.

StevePatterson,viathe Internet

a •

e- +Pre% •

,

~%Sr A%!:! ®0&".'

E,, ON FI

SnapScan 389 O nepass scanning, ~

::,E4P S,"Pn',"'.

n ear n ,

300 x 600 dpi resolution. 34-bit. Adaptec PC SCSIcard. Saftware for

'"".'.I 41 " .

M a«e or PC: Agfa Scanner CD with Fotatook» and Fotoinap» (scanner dnver so(swam), FotoFlavar» (selecove -

.

coeur oorecdan software), SOFTmpy (Fax-copyavtnt utgity), omnipage

h'

Limited Edition CD (Ooi software) Photolmpact» SE CD and Color rtr (image edmng saftware). Optional

::SNIPS;:; :fSS'

transparency module and Autnmatx:

k-» '

• 4 eb b v

W:,we,(aft bW oar jaii((gi.

Document Feeder avagabl x f

e

'4ehiii'4:and why st,-',4@s' ' ' -+ill"eever go back j

I

;:-'-'iijIilate''on the Iagihig-Mm'

StudioStar 985

0" lcimlnl:h ' lnhi"Aid,

One-pass scann'mg, apdmum mlour

x

,•Naming' 'h' i' i4 are 4"

and 600 x 1300 dpi neol ation, 30 bit

w

4 and Forofure (col ow management target, SOFT mpy, OmniPage

00pB ",,; .-'j,,'. ln TCfsNovember issue the revfe)fvsof Fiist Aid 95 Deluxe, was published at a retail price of $49.95, however that is a US price. Rrst Aid 9$ Deluxe by Cybermedla is approximately CndP5.

limited Edidan CD and Phatashop»

LE CD gmage mgting saftwam). Optkmal transpaency module and v

Automatk Document Feeder available.

www.agfahome.corn

I

Also in the November issue, the fust item in the Bnefs sedion mentions kxker fromQuantum Press inc. The e-ma)l address fisted is no longer available and any interested readers should contact Smtt Norwood (416)225-5255.

AGFA4+

T he complete pi c t u r e .

C OMPU TE R

P L A Y E R ! JA N UA R Y 1 9 9 7


• • 0 • 0 • 0 • • •

Vancouver firm previews TV-basedWeb Files

?.?

three-yearold Vancouver software company calling itself FamnyWare Products Inc. is betting the farm on future demand for consumers to view the WorldWide Web on their

• •

::,',,-ltevu-:,:: ""'-,:,:, :;:,:'::",::-;:-:

-';:::,hO I'Iio'tiS., -

:

:

:

- ;

:

, -

:;

:

: :

?

r'

I

i

i

I

IS A Nl i'CGames,CD RQMS, ComignterBooks, CDMovies, Rentals 8 Sales

VtgjggitgttrgrrSIS /Phone foroureverydaylow priceonnewPC games. W ecarryboth ChineseandEnglishtitles. Over lggconsignedjesedPCgamesatveryOned pricestochoesefrom.Plusawideselection of hint boobs andslratogyguides.Wecarryboth '::ChineseandEngl ishgamemagari nes.

c?./

"

CHlMSRirri

'

~ i

i

140 8026CaPStanWayRiChmOnd,B.C..

'

i

i

'

i

n

orie block nonA oi cembie on Ganfencity, narc to7 -11 http:owww j v .

C OMP U T E R

PL A Y E R !

archiving capabilities. "We're hearing more

tion, and fashion shows. Last month's sched-

and more people complain about how difficult it is to find and archive information on the Internet," says Michael Brown, President of FamilyWare."Family Central provides a front end to the Internet that'sboth exciting and easy to use." Based mostly on interactive images, the Family Central features literal and clickable graphical illustrations when users enter the site, which includes entertaining and informational topics such as "My House" and "Vancouver ata Glance" for access to areas deeper within the site. Using MS Explorer's proprietary zooming features, users can zoom in and out of scenes and negotiate virtual rooins where they can dick on particular links for more information or obtain inform ation onproducts featured. From there,visitors to the site can build their own libraries of links to their favourite areas. FamilyWare's rationale for development of this new type of Web site product is in making the Internet accessible to people who can't afford their own computer, and to make Internetaccess as easy as using your TV's remote control. For more information on FamilyWare, see their Web site at URL http: //www.familyware.corn.

uled events included live broadcasts to MuchMusic and the Internet, as well as live jazz and flamenco performers. Sponsors for th e c afe i nclude Silicon Graphics, NetPower, and Electronic Arts Canada. Web visitors can obtain more information about the Vancouver Film School at http: //www.multimedia.edu/ or t heir Web Cafe at http://www.thewebcafe.com/ or by e-mailing infoithewebcafe.corn

VFS's million-dollar "Media Cafe" The Vancouver Film School last month launched their S I-million Web cafe as a "celebration of media and technology," according to David Baker, head of the school's multimedia campus. The cafe, situated on-campus at 390 West Hastings, consists of 14 stations hooked into the World Wide Web and boasts

I

e

Advantage offersfree seminars Advantage Computers Ltd. has begun offering a series offree day-long seminarsincluding a free lunch. Last month's seminar, presented by the company's own networking guru, covered topics such as local- and wide-area networks, remote access, Internet security, and glimpses into emerging network technologies. Although the company's main goal is to stimulate sales of its Macintosh line of computers, the session offered some valuable information for network enthusiasts and insights into some of the latest technology innovations. Advantage also expects to have relocated to their new downtown offices this month, making the seminars more convenient for corporate customers. For information and online registration for upcoming seminars, check out their Web site at http://www.advantage.corn/seminars/ or send e-mail to seminarsisadvantage.corn Steve Bain is a writer in Yancouver, Canada. He can be reachedon CompuServeat 72623,1233 oron the Internet at Steve@helix.net +

SN l

V We are &press Micro compater authorized dealer Ne also sell used consigned computers & parts 4 Ne do consukinvt, programminfI, networking, on site sennce etc. 1

operating at speeds up to 340 times faster than run-of-the-mill 28.8 modems. Referred to as fhe "data bar," it overlooks a 150-seat, licensed restaurant, bringing new meaning to "out for a byte."The cafe also features a state-of-the-art multimedia sound system and video studio. Hourly rates for using the new facility are set at six dollars for school members and ten dolhrs for non-members. Patrons can surf the Net, create digital documents, send e-mail, chat online, or just play a video game. The film school's operators also hope their new high-tech venue wirr be used for such events as movie shoots, rock-video produc-

I

MRR5

1

living room television. Also, in a vote of conflidence in the p opularity of M i crosoft's WorM Wide Web browsing software, their products incorporate many features and effects compatible only with the latest version of Internet Explorer (version 3.0). Last month,FamilyWare launched a preview of their products from their Web site, Family Central (http: //www.familycentral. corn/), which will be available for free viewing until the end of February. Following this trial period, users will pay a flat annual fee for full access to Family Central's features. The company is touting their Web products as being very intuitive, with superior

J A N UA RY 1 9 9 7

1

f .

Computer Player! Ccrrrado Computes!is looking for

a monthly comic (strip) to make light of technological issues and trends, If being our Comic contributor interests you, ptense create tvvo different comics or comic strips that would be suitable for

our publication, and send it to Us along with your name and phone number. Please note that digital submissions will be given priority.

corn/gam estovers

Via e-mail: «artoons@t«pon.«om Via snail mail:Editor, Cairoda Corrrpvtesr 99 Atlantic Ave. ff408, Toronto, ont., M1SK 3JS Yia fax: (416)588-8574 We will be contacting only those whose submissions are chosen for publication. Published submissions will be renumerated. Submissions will be accepted until Apdil 1, 1997. If you have any questions, please phone (416)S88-6818 ext. 313.


These testimonials are from s ome ) who have played Soultr ap...

pie , ~ :

r% rl

•.. .

«P4

«

4 f

'„:, mac

"<4-

4«' /@r,r Pr,,-'

I

(+ .~PI

'(f's 8! 0883»q/y Bdr'i;".frve r

I s /ikc pl?I'ing g0!!rtke

Di:.ceyou sfr)/( 0/!:n/:g yo;I ivon f be

'T/)e /BC/ d/Br / COu/d r/IB/'/OP;Cr)07P!B

a/id 3Uoei!7/Bt;0' co!71()i»Pd

angles;is I played ives ready cool.

"Tf!r.' Soundfrackis incrcilib/p, so / love ft)e lBCi il ai / CB/) Change (he

rible (0 S(0/! '

In 0/)e 0?rii e, only be/fi'!"

There' s! ven8 etna/I c;ii»Pie thai

/))UStcBs I p/iy."

picks (he bvsf v/evu lor uou" .4 ',r '=P „'

'I

+.4'+ pg. : /'

p P

V

u

'you /ook up,douun, 3bg i'cgrees /)/ouno yUUI vrs/le)re! sHen Blivilni)c I/',P if'

"30!/)»it!g 3D g.';,pt/ics, rtii 8!i!Bei/!g Sound(!Bi/i/ r)00 Unt)IB/ g)ed Ptr)yaot/tty. I /er) ffy d/00 I *'r,'I/ik yoi/ I.ou/0 ge( this' kiiid 0! esppucnice 0'7 r'I PD."

'(t S ii!0!C CXC!f//ig fo Prr7V (tle/) Dur)ke li 0/ir!!lciigCS yori 0!1

so r.i)ny other /cvc/8 l»7(il goes beyond 8 f/Br/!00!18/ S I/00( Pii). !ip"

i

-.

/( s fhe only 3D get)le I ve /)iayed ilia/ l78Srn/8/ig, 8/7701/t)( Of Sl/'Blegy firlili /nto ii -!(S i"Ol /USf ar)Olf7C/ /17'ii'/leSS S/irnoi C»7/ip'

Q'9err «

• ..But don't believe eve hing you read. rience it for yourself. , pqf.„,

)5:

0$

i i.) l 5 L tk 4 t'

g.s>

ll

< e0 ' +~pl!g.ce". ~'

go&

1


• 0 • •

• S• • • •

F ive trencfs for s e

a re de v e l e p m e n t held in Washington, DC, from October 28 to November I — and they reveal the heart of development as it stands today. First, I-Nets (internet, with its worldwide connections, and intranets within companies) ate becoming the preferred method for distributed

threMay tutorials with hefty US$300-$1,000 pricetags,where attendees hear some ofthe best minds in the industry, such as Larry Constantine, Bruce Eckel, Larry O' Brien, and Roland Racko, among others. Five major trends were discernible at this year's show-

• • By JACQUES SURVEYER • •

The Software Developers Conference '96 East provides a endow on the latest trends in development software. Most sessions here are one-,two-, and

information access. More than one seminar cited low start-up costs, ease of use, and open, cross-platform availability of key tools. Second, those I-Net sites are rapidly changing lrom passive info kiosks into active transaction mails with the help of database, security, and Wit e too l s f rom Borland (Intrabuilder), Bluestone (Sapphire), IBI-5thLevel (Quest), Haht (HahtSite), and Speedware (AutoBahn), as well as from heav)weights like Microsoft, Netscape,and OpenMarket.

I -Nets ( I nternet, w i t h i t s worldwide connections. aild intra nets within are becoming the preferred method for distributed infor-

cornpaniesj

A+

e

nlatlorl access. Third, the language of the Internet is Java. The language of open, cross-platform computing is no longer C or C++; it is Java. The flood of tools for Java was notable. In Java compilers an d I D E s ( I n t egrated Developmetn Environs) alone, there were some very i m p ressive ne w p r o ducts. Asymetrix' SuperCede (due in January) currently holds the code-speed crown, but Microsoft's J++, with it s learning-friendly developer's interface, and Symantec's power' ful Visual Cafe (both available now) will give SuperCede a run for the money.

H-- ON. ~ AllgPUL <OPIA,R

I-Net sites are rapidly chang-

E111 ALR

- >IIUSTR Arlori• LI .

>SF ooc„

. Arjo

"

ing from passive info kiosks into active transaction mails with the help o f d a tabase, security. and Nfeb-site tools

'

.

'lira IRR y.—,:

,,'fYp

I

i 'I

I

II

'

I

I

Borland's JOpenBuilder (AKAIatte, aailable in early 1997) and Sun's JavaWorkshop are both written in Java and ate therefore portable across OS platforms. Both pack unique features and RAD development styles and, along with Corel's Java Ogke, stand as proof that Java can be used for industrial.@length projects.

Cone missing

I

Fourth, tools for PC and relational databas-

IJ I

I

I

I

I

I

' ll

I

'•

es, main&arne-performance tuning, and pro-

I I •

I

I •

I I

I

I

tllll% IIIIIIII %ll%1W

C OMP U T E R

P L A Y E R ! JA N U A R Y 1 9 9 7

ject management were nowhere to be found. This was surprising in the latter case, given the constantly repeated message that the best development practices start with good project-management tools. Nonetheless, a sutecobe~ i c b ook on software project management was unveiiled at the show — Steve McConnell'sRaptd Devetopment. In the same thorough yet revealing manner as his Code Complete, McConnell shows what reall y works in software projects — a must~ f o r MIS executives and project managers. Finally, this show covered its own potential demise — the Internet access, bee downloads, media authoring, and CD-ROMbased learning tools avaih&le will obviously sap away cus. tomers,until shows like this readjust their priceto4earninr~perience ratios. O


Givethem Power,Hope,and Knowledge.

k ..J •

CS OFX

Now Shipping with Telephony Technology

•e

• •

Home S oftwa r e Collection

Times have changed. Growing up is a lot more complicated than it used to be. Computers are everywhere. Your kids spend asmuch of their day learning and working on a PC as you do. The advantage that you can give them is immeasurable. With an IPC multimedia PC at home the world opens up. Watch the kids cruise the internet with a super-fast 33.6kbps modem or blaze through interactive CDs on an 8X speed CD drive — and remember to wait your turn! The IPC CSraFX is fully configured with top-of-the-line components from Creative Labs to ATI, and the economical CD/FX system features all the quality you expect from IPC. Choose the Intel Pentium processor that meets your needs and the rest is easy. IPC multimedia PCs are ready to run, just unpack the boxes, plug in a few cables, and away you go! And every IPC system is covered by a full three year parts and labour warranty, toll-free tech support, and on-site service' for the first full year. You' ve waited long enough. Give your kids the power,

IF@' COIFX Bh CseFX

pentium'

systems inclucfe ttarelve ti tee scpftvvlsye titles:

• Microson Winchokvs95 • Microsoft Works95

.NiuosofrMoney 95 • Microsoft Plus!

• MS EnrerrahnmenhPack • Nicrosofl Scenes • Microsoft Encarra96' • MS Dangerous Chearures'

• Wh'h rhmtur gSFiihmnah y pmloadad on harddisre CSIPXalto includes 3 Cpi Movie CO's

u .'

Microsoft „ ideWinderF'„", Gamepad;a

I

Keyboard, mouse, 0 pad

o'I A R ~

~

tlnfstv $7tS Ftdpr tnatptA m

166MHu Peutium' processor Cgnltr SaaS' Steer nsnntA m

2OOMHu Peutium p rocessor

PLOBI Christmas BonusBundle

Monitor not lndndnd CanlV St Casa attar mttneA»

•MtchosofrExpiorer3.0'

hope, and knowledge theyneed to face the future — and keep it all within your budget. Give them an IPC. Call us today at 1-800-567-7413 for a dealer near you.

I

Intel Pentium'processor 32 MBRAM memory 2S6k pipeline cachelexp. to S12kl 1.2GBhigh speed hard drive 1.44 high density floppy drive BKspeed CDROht Chive 3 CDi movies Creative Labs16-bit soundcard Amplified external speakers INB 64-bit video card FM receiverltuner radio card 33,600bpsfax.data modem Voice mail B telephony software

• Microsoft Golf

I

I

llPC CSeFX

I" '

IPC CDeFX Intel Pentium' processor 16MBRAN memory 256k pipeline cachelexp. to 512kl 12 GBhigh speedhard drive 1.44 high density floppy drive BK speed CDROM drive 16-bit sound card Amplified external speakers PCISVGA video card - 1 MB FN receive r/tunerradio card 33,600 bps fax.data m odem Voice mail a telephony software

Keyboard, mouse,a pad Monitor net inclnded

I,

12OMHu Peutlum' processor

o • %%&

tanISr Stgst Pter tnnt p tA m

133MHu Pe u t i um '

p r o cessor

rottfar Stte Spar nadtntA m

166MHu P e n t i um ' p r o cessor

II,

)Whist %%,", ', .

Virtua

, Fighter

Chnstmas 1996 Bonus Bundle is included only with the IPC CSeFX systems.

" Ilt

• 3 Year parts8

labour warranty

Microsoft

Soccer

- FB 8

, ' Qa6 ' "

'AkN'(:&

0 1styear on-site service' i' "'f l

• Toll-free tech support

i

Pills from

AefiVision ",,"

'

1IIRIO Oft I' ) Mech%arrion I h} Pitfall I' 4 or I Earthworm Jitil 'I

e On-thmpot financl'ng

.dksrih,m

s

*

II

, ri

s

J

• •

Abbotsford .. . . . . Pacific Office N Things. Burnaby ... . . . . . . D exton Enterprises . Campbell River....Odyssey Computer Services Chilliwack, . . . . . . M S Computech Electronics Comox ... . . . . . . . Panic Computers Delta /surrey.. . . . strider Computers. Kamloops... . , . . . Specialty Electronics .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

..604.864.0865 ..604.433.9866 ..604.287.3311 .. 604.858.8337 ..604.339. 0929 ..604. 543.4200 .. 604. 851. 9949

ICelowna .. Langley Mission Nelson ... Penticton . Port Alberni Port Hardy

e

s

. .DCC Systems ... . . . . , . . . . . . .Dunsmore Info Services.... . ..Bargain Bytes Computers ... ..Nicalson Computer Supply .. ..Ashnola Computer Services ..Alltech Computer Systems , .Radio Shadr... . . . . . . . . . . .

..604.762.2696 .. 604. 576.0392 .. 604.826.8298 .. 604.354 4666 .. 604,492.7672 .. 604 723.1 127 ..604.949.7771

Prince George . Qualicum Beach R ichmond,.. . . Sidney .. . , . . . Vancouver ... . Vancouver .... Williams Lake ..

s

• I I

Camputime .. . . . . , . . . . . QB Microline Computers .. Cougar Systems,.. . . . . . . S idney Radio Shack .... . . Compatible Computers ... Poison's Office Products .. Information Mgt. Service

e

.. 604.564.3778 , .604,752.5147 .. 604.273.3899 .. 604. 656. 5771 .. 604.322. 0322 604 879 0631 .. 604.392,4675

The inlet inside Logo and Pentium are reg stared trademarks ol intelcorporatmn The tpc togo s a trademark of ID Microcomputers prices and contiguralion subiect lo change nrlhout notice All pncas are cash discounted ' '0 4 C based on 36 month term silh a fsrrmarketvatue buyback option on site service is rmt available in alt regions Monitor not covered by on siteserv rce

PiRSONAL (OMPUTiR5


• • • 0 •

0 •0 • •

About a year and a half ago, a mailing '-'Went out in New Mesico for the guardian af an individual to hring him in forrregistration in kindergarten. The individuiil in Itfestion had no tlarent nr guardian, sin'i,e ,he Ias lfl5 years old. This is a very sInall i

=-:,lnstanEe l}f Ihe hlggest, njessiest'; '"anlf:

miist intractable ijrohfem of the nejIt fel' i .= y ears: the coming af the year lll8$;.„===.-~

e o By ROBERT SLADE ~ + 4

A lof of people likely breathed a siyh ef relief when f984 came and w8nf, Bnd George OrMfelts predictions of soci8fal confrol had not arrived. On fh8 ofher hand, maybe Blg

,

Brother wasn t as formidable a presence as his hffle computer brother — and new HAL and his kind seem poised to become a realpresence in our world, come 288f.

-':.'+':. =-

- ='.-"

3't

he trouble, known in geek shorthand as Y2K;:is . that a great many programs have-been sjvntteq.

that only considerthe last bvodigits of the'year' '

part of the date — for example, "97'. in the cas'e'of 1997. When the centuiy (and the miittnium) fons over to 20IS, the cllrrent date wel sxfdeniy become less than previous dates. Any program that calculates interest, due dates, or anythirig else based on elapsed timecanfaH.;.:-.~ -" -;~„.-=:.=-„: .-.;~Tomake the situatjon::worse, many:."of:the pro.' grams hardest hit bythe Y2K ptebjern «re older, legacy sys-'-'tens. Banking systems, to give only one example, are com.- posed of literally hundreds, if not thousands, of interrelated . It is not enough to simply make a change in: the date formaL Each module must be examined to see how,it uses evetyother module that might use adate, and alsoto see how it looks atevery data record that might contain a date. =~

, :. : : -

-''

-, '- . -

,

It's a dull |oh, hut... Y2K is not an "interesting" problem in computer terms,since it simply involvescomputer maintenance-programming "bull work. AII programshave to be checked to seewhether they (in ternally)usetwo-digit year dates, and then the whoieprogtam (system, if programs are linked together) has. to.be «hecked for every spot that usesthe date nelds-grunt work, plain and simple. An Arthur C. Clarke/Gentry Lee collaboration about raising the Titanic hasone of the charactersget dchoff a "virus'that magically runs through programs to fix the Y2K problem, This is purefiction: it would be impossible to predict the outcome of such aprogram, but it would, in an likeltood, make the problem far worse. Y2K is also not a new problem. Programmers have known about it for years. In fact, there is aminiature example of Y2K every four years: Leap Year. Every February 29, youind f an instance of some technology that hasfailed to dtmil with it Last year, for example, the ArizonaState Lottery installed new terminals for an its locations. On February 29, it was:%end that. gone of the terminals would recognize or adept the

C O M P U T E R P L A Y E R!

J A N U A RY 1 9 9 7

• • By CHRISTOPHER GULY • • Friend or foe? A lot of people wonder as they watch, and participate, in the techn~volutionary ndyssey leading up to the next millennium. Until just recently, Ottawa computer-books tore o w ne r To m Sieciechowicz felt that his retail business was quickly becoming an oxymoron. Last faiI, he had little choice but to catch up with customer demand and created a Web site (http: //www .computerbook.corn/) t o sell his products s e online. "I think it's only a matter of time before consumers will be able to enter virtual retail space and walk down a corridor, open a book, and decide whether to buy it or not," says Sieciechowicz. "When I will be able to buy a suit and get it tailored t o my mea s urements through a computer, I think the days of the shopping mall are almost over." In a speech to US retail executives in early 1995, Wendy Leibinann, president of WSL Marketing Inc., predicted that turn-of-the-century shopping will look something like this: "Open the screen, highlight the store name, enter your store debit-card number, and begin. Pick your category, scroll down the menu, pick your brand, check the price, select the quantity, aisle by aisle,

category by category, until you finish your shopping list and enter how and when you want the merchandise delivered. Think it won't happen? Think again. Consumers have no time."

Cassandra complex cashes in Vancouver-based futurist Frank Ogden (at Web site http://www.drtomorrow.corn/I was preaching that kind of mes. sage a couple of decades ago to some audiences who viewed hun more as a screwball George

Jetson wannabee than a realist. Now, the 76 year-old is iespected as a visionary. Corporations line up and pay Ogden big bucks — enough to earn him almost USS 500,000 annually — to hear Dc Tomormw's" apocalyptic message of 21st-century living. "Virtual reality is going to change our education system," says Ogden matterof-fitctly. Y o u' re going to have brain surgeons who will have been able to practice on a virtual subject 100 times more than t h ey would have been able to as interns working on a few patients or cadavers. "Now, it's not unusual to take a flight where the co-pilot may have only

trained in a simulator and never actually flown a plane before. But that person will be better trained, because they will have been exposed to a lot of more than someone who trained in the air — how to handle engine problems, a seagull crashing into the windshield, an undercarriage that won't go down, and a washroom catching on fire, ati at the same time." Colin Ware, a professor of computer science at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, is developing user interfaces for interactive 3-D graphics. One of his projects involves a "bat," the likely successor to the mouse, that encodes hand position and moves objects around in 3-D graphicsworkspaces.Ware believes 3D computer images will be as commonplace as colour is on desktop computers.

Virtual room, virtual view? "In the next three years, you fe goillg to see people adopting a virtual workplace„" he says. "Instead of having desktop documents and folders, you will have a set of rooms to navigate through." x Will the trappings that come with virtual technology be too cumbersome for consumers? A lot of people, especially in an


421-12391 Bridgeport Rd.

Richmond S.C. V6V 1J4

Best quality, Bestservice,WholesalePrices Prices are subject to change without notice!

586 PCISystem

I'OWERSYSTEMS

Cyrix 6x86 P150+/P166+

PCI/ISA MB w/4x72 Pin Ram Slot Fast VO 4EIDE &1P/2x16550 8MB RAM (exp.128MB) 850MB Seagate EIDE Hard Drive

Triton III PCI MB,512K Pipeline Cache Fast VO, 4EIDE & 1P/2X16550 4x72 & lx168 Pin SDRAM, USB 32MB EDO RAM

Panasonic 1.44M Floppy Drive

10x CDROM EIDE

64bit PCI 1M SVGA Video Card 14" NI,LR.2$ SVGA Monitor 104 Key win95 Keyboard 15" Mid Tower Case w/230w PS 3 Button Mouse & Pad

2.1GB EIDE Hard Drive

Upgrade your 348/486 to 5x86 for only $159

COMPUTERInc.

Systems are Internet Ready with 1 month FREE access. 3years labor and 1 year parts warranty.

6x86 Super Deal

5x86 -100 $8O9 5x586-133 $839

Tel: (604) 244-0793 ~ax: (604~ Z44-9762 Mon-Sat: 10am to 6pm

Panasonic 1.44MB Floppy Drive

Pentium100/120fl33 $1038/$1058/$1158 Pentium150fl66/200 $1228/$1348/$1498 Cyrix 6x86 P150+/P166+ $1045/$1109 AID KS-75/90 $959/979 • Triton III MB 256k PBC USB. • Panasonic 1.44M FD. • Fast VO 4EIDE dr 1P/2x16550 • 1.28G Hard Drive • 16MB EDO RAM(exp. to 128)

3D 64bit 2M (exp,4M) MPEG Video

15" SCEPTRE NI/LR/Digital

Free 3 3D Games (1 CD)

~

I I

Pentium100/120/133 Pentium150fl66/200 6x86 P150+/P166+ AMD K5-75/90 • 64bit 1MMPEG Video • 33.6 Voice FaxModem • 16bit PnP Sound Card

$1 842/$1 908!!!

• Win95 Keyboard • 64bit 1M PCI SVGA Video Card • 15" Case tv/23OW • 14" NI/LR /SVGA Monitor • 3B. Mouse dt Pad

MULTIMEDIASYSTEMS

Monitor Zoltrix 33.6 Voice Fax Modem 16bit Stereo PnP Full Duplex Sound Card Win95 Keyboard 3B M o use & Pad 19" Case w/230w PS 60W Speakers

at

4

I

$1558/$1578/$1678 $1748/$1878/$2028

MOTHERSOARDS

HARD DRIVES 850 MB EIDE ....... . . . . . . . . . . $205 1.08GB EIDE ...... . . . . . . . . . . . $235 1.286B EIDE ...... . . . . . . . . . . . $249 1.66B EIDE ...... . . . . . . . . . , ..$275 2.1GB EIDE ...... . . . , . . . . . . . . $319 2.56B EIDE ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . $359 2.76B EIDE ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . $389 3.5GB EIDE ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . $459 WD1.6GB ...,.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $294 WD 2.16B ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $339 WD2.5GB ...... . , . . . . , . . . . . . $384 2.1G SCSI ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . $525 2.1G WIDE SCSI ...... . . . , . . . .$615 4.5G WIDESCSI ...... . . . . . . .$1355 2940 SCSI Controller..... . . . . . .$249 2940U SCSI Controller..... . . . . .$255 2940UW SCSI Controller .... . . ,$309

14" Proview/PC Partner 'Nl/LR . ..$259 14" Magnavox Nl/LR/.28 . .... . . .$275 15"Proview/PC Partner Nl/LR . ...$345 15" Sceptre Nl/LR/Digital/Pnp . ..$365 17"Sceptre speaker 8 Microphone $699 17" Nl/LR/Digital/Flat . .... . . . . .$675 Samsung 15" Gle .28DP...... . $465 Samsung 15"Gli .28DP........$495 Samsung 17"Gli .28DP........$845 Samsung 17" Glsi.26DP ......$1019 MAG DX1 795E 17" .28DP .......$755

CASES 13" Tower Case w/230w PS . 15" Tower Case w/230w PS . 19" Tower Case w/230w PS . 25"Tower Case w/230w PS . .

.

.

.

...$47 ...$54 ...$67

...$95

FAX/MODEMS Zotrix 33.6 Fax/Modem

...$112

store for more

details today!!! t

Pentium Triton III PCI MB .......$138 Built-in Fast I/O, 4EIDE1P/2x16550 4x72/1x168pin SDRAM PS2 USB ASUS T2P4 HX256K PL ...... . .$199 ASUS VX 256K PL ....... . . . . . .$1 85 586/486 PCI/VLB/ISA MB ...... . .$92 Fast I/O, 4EIDE, 1P/2x16550, 4x72pin

Canon BJC240 Color Printer .....$245 Canon BJC4100 Color Printer ....$299 Color Cartridge (BJC210) ...... . .$25 Brother HL641 300dpi 6PPM.....$365 Brother HL730DX 600dpi 6PPM ..$429 Brother HL760DX 1200dpi 6PPM .$535 Bro. HL16601200dpi 17PPM ...$1379 IC-100 Scanner 400 dpi .... . . . . .$99 IC-150 Scanner 400 dpi OCR ....$119

Come and see our

4

Trident 9680 64bit 1M MPEG .....$49 Cirrus Logic 64bit1M .... . . . . . . . $39 53 Trio64 V+ 64bit 1M MPEG .....$54 S3 3DMPEG 2M (Exp.to 4M ) .....$99 Diamond Stealth 3D 2M ..... .. . $145 ATI Match64 1M ...... . . . . . . . . . $75 ATI 3DMPEG 2M SDRAM,......$165 ATI 3D+ PC2TV 2M SDRAM .....$185 ATI 3D+ PC2TV 4M SDRAM .....$218 ATI TVTuner Card ..... . . . , . . .$149 Matrox Millennium 2M WRAM ...$255 Matrox Millennium 4M WRAM ...$359 Matrox Mystique 2M SGRAM ....$225 Matrox Mystique 4M SGRAM ...,$309 Video Card SOJ RAM 1M....... , .$20

PRINTERS

Speakers 60wa130w ....$25

• 60W Stereo Speakers • 8x CD ROM • 1.6GBEIDE Hard Drive

s••

8Mwl6M EDO .. . . . . . . $43 16M&32M EDO .. . . . . . $89 256Kw512K PL ..., . . . , $20 14"~15" Monitor. ... . . .$99 15"~17" Monitor. .... .$299 1.28G&L6G HD .. . . . . . $30 1.6Gw2.1G HD ... . . . . . $40 2.1Gw2.5G HD ... . . . . . $40 Video RAM I M~2M . . .$18 Win95 Full Version CD $105 MS-Office Pro7.0(OEM) $285 8x~lox CD ROM .. . . . . $19 15"N19" Tower Case. ...$10 3B Mouse~MS. Mouse ..$18

$1565/$1638 $1479/1499

PCI VIDEO CARDS

MONITORS

UPGRADE OPTIONS

I

I

5

MEMORY 3 0pin1M/4M.... . . . . . . . . 7 2pin 4M/EDO ..... . . . . . 7 2pin 8M/EDO ..... . . . . . 7 2pin16M/EDO ..... . . . . . 72pin32M/EDO 256K pipeline Cache ..... . 512K pipeline Cache ..... .

..$8.5/$28 ..$27/$30 ..$41/$42 ..$92/$92 $1 89/$195 .... . .$20 .... ..$40

CPU Cyrix 5x86-100MHz ..... . .$59 A MD 5x86-133MHz ..... . .$79 P entium 100MHz,.... . . . , $162 P entium 120MHz..... . . . . $179 P entium 133MHz..... . . . . $282 P entium 150MHz..... . . . . ....$365 Pentium166MHz..... . . , . ....$475 Pentium200MHz......... ....$645 C yrix/IBM P150+ ..... . . . . ....$155 C yrix/IBM P166+ ..... . . . . ....$215 Please call to check dailyprices

SOUND CARD

Zoltrix16bit Stereo PnP ...... . . .$45 Acer 16bit Stereo PnP...... . . . . . $ 42 Sound Blaster16 Bit PnP ...... . .$89 Sound Blaster 32 PnP ...... . . . $142 60W Multimedia Speakers ...,.. .$29 130W Multimedia Speakers...... .$55 Misumi 104Key Keyboard ..... . . .$22 Panasonic 1.44 Floppy Drive...... $30 PCI 32Bit PnP Ethernet Card...... $47 8 Port Networking Hub ...... . . .$129

TAPE/ZIP DRIVE

lomega ZIP 100M Parallel ..... . .$246 lomega ZIP 100M SCSI ...... . . .$254 Zip disk 100 MB ..... . . . . . . . . . $17.8 Ditto 800M int/ext ... , . . . $ 154/189 Ditto 2G Traven int/ext..... $199/259

CD-ROM

8x Sony/Panasonic/Hitachi ......$142 10x Pioneer/Acer ...... . . . . . . . .$155 12x Panasonic/pioneer...... . . . .$172 We do not accept credit cards

-Lik8~ I8j®AN.'~M'-' I»

<

I


'

':;:;:;..' Covel;,.":"-

A sso c i a t e e d i t o r M y l e s W h i t e h a s p u t f o u r f l a t b e d

scan n e r s

t h ro u g h t h e i r p ac e s , t o d et e r m i n e w h ic h

i s th e b e s t . I n t e r e st e d c o n s u m e r s , t a k e n o t e .

the user extensive options for pre-correcting an image, it was still no match for the HP DeskScan II driver's ability to automatically select the correct image type and exposure. One interesting note: Agfa quotes only "estimated street" prices, but where we checked, the prices were higher — $1,295 and $1,425 respectively. More info: 1400-268-1331 or http: //www.agfahome.corn/

Hewlett Packard Scan)et 4C • ~ By MYLES WHITE•

he ground rules for the testing were as follows: In order to keep as flat a playing field as possible when testing our candidate scanners, we decided to use the same computer — a 486 DX4/100 with 16 MB of RAM, running Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and equipped with a 16-bit, standard ISA bus, Future Domain SCSI adapter — for all tests, on the theory that this still represents the largest number of computer/operating system combos in use. Images from a 3 by 5-inch black-and-white photograph (B-bit, 256 levels of grey), a 6 by 8-inch line drawing (2bit black and white) and a Ci by 8-inch, three-dimensional object (in this case, an Artisoft network card, 24-bit full colour) were scanned into both Corel PhotoPalnt 5.0

The Agfa StudioStarLE. and b1lcrografxPhotoMagic. Each object was scanned three times at 75, 175, and 300 dotsper-inch (or in the case of the Agfa Studio Star, the nearest line-per-inch equivalent) and the average time for each scan was used to create the accompanying chart. During the testing, we discovered a couple of important points to note. While a good TWAIN driver won't necessarily improve a slow scanner, an unsuitable driver can slow down a good unit. We used the older, 16-bit version (2.1) of the DeskScan II driver left over from another test in the first round of HP 4C tests. The test times were so remarkably faster than the competition that we decided to ie-test it, just to make sure our eyes hadn't played games. In the second round, we installed version 2.3 of the DeskScan II driver, which shipped with the 4C, and immediately ran into trouble. Not only were the scans taking two to three times longer, but some at higher res. olutions were crashing our test system. When we reloaded version 2.2 drivers supplied by the company, the problems went away, although the scan times were C OM P U T E R PL A Y E R !

JA N U A RY 1 9 9 7

still slightly higher than the original tests. According to HP, DeskScan II 2.3 is a 32-bit application optimized for Windows 95 and is less suitable for use under Windows 3.x. Why isn't a 1 6 -bit version also include d? Damned if w e know. Your c o mputer's speed and its components can also drastically affect scanning performance. While we didn't completely re-test all of the units under other conditions, we did try out the Agfa StudioStar on a 200 MHz Pentium-based system with 32 MB of RAM and an Adaptec 2940 Ultra Wide SCSI adapter,A scan that had taken 295 seconds (nearly five minutes) on the 486 DX4 took only 45 seconds on the faster system. Our scanners were tested on a PC, but all are available with options for the Mac e n v i ronment. Here's are brief precis of the features in our tested scanners:

And the winner is...the 30-bit ScanJet 4C from Hewlett Packard. Once we reverted to an older (I Ci-bit, pre-version 2.3) DeskScan II driver set, the 4C produced both impressive test times and, more importantly, nearly perfect images without the need for a lot of pre-scan tinkering with image quality correction. Like the StudioStar, the HP uses 24-bits for colour (16.7 million) and the additional 6 for shadow/highlight resolution. It also employs 10 bits for scanning greyscale images instead of the standard 8, which gives, in effect, 1024 shades of grey, although only 256 shades make it to screen (the additonal two I bits are used to refine shadI I I I ow/hig\iiight). Aside from its speedy hardware, however, the automatic preview, image type, exposure, and image-size detection saved even more time. The 4C comes bundled with Corel'sPhotoPai nt 5 ptus. Visioneer's PaperPort for document image filing, Caere OmniPage LE OCR software, and a direct-to-printer "copi-

Agfa-Bayer Studio Star The 30-bit StudioStar ( 24 hit s u sed f o r colour, with an addi4I! • t ional Ci u s e d t o resolve shadows and highlights) comes in two models. The $1,195 StudioStar LE comes with Adobe PhotoShop LE (limited edition) while the full version of the Adobe product ships with the more expensive ($1,395) StudioStar Full. Both models ship w ith Agfa products including FotoSnap (a simple TWAIN driver), FotoLook (the advanced TWAIN driver), FotoTune (a calibration utility to match screen and scanner colour values), FotoFlavor (a filter utility), SOFT copy (a direct-to-printer "copier" application), and Caere OmniPage Limited Edition OCR (optical character recognition software). The StudioStar was the runner up in our scanner challenge, both because of its speed (slower than the HP 4C) and its FotoLook TWAIN driver. Although FotoLook gives

If you look through the US glossy magazines for flatbed scanners, there appears to be more of them than we' ve featured hete — and there are. Gut criteria narrowed the field. Mle asked neatIy 20 vendors to send us a unit that was flatbed, produced colour, had a list price under' Can$2„000 (and would be available in Canada by this

month), could run on at least a PC, wasTWAIN compatible, and had drivers currently available for both Nndows 3. I and%ittdows 95. Sy the time the dust settled, only six models retnained standing. Two of them didn't make it here in time for our test challenge, even though the manufacturers, Nikon USA

(ScatlTouch 110) and EpsonCanada(Expression 636), had been sending uspressreleasesabout them for over two months prior to our request (which was sent nearly a month before we were scheduled to begin testing).


con t i n u e d

f r om pa g e 1Z

office environment, are going to have difftcutty with virtual-reality helmets, goggles, and glove. But I think they won't be necessary as the technology evolves," says%are. Ogden agrees. "There are headbands you can wear that transmit your alpha-beta waves i nto a computer an, through a t ype o f biofeedback and relaxation, you can only think a computer to do something," he says. "But that can be slow and it's not likely to catch on."

Faster, simpler, and easier technology in an integrated system is what the market and the consumer are g o in g t o pu r s ue, says University of Ottawa electrical engineering professor Nicolas Georganas. "Videotron in Quebec is already talking about introducing a box that their customers would place on their television sets, and which would give them phone service, cable-TV, and Internet access fortele-shopping," says Georganas, who heads the U of 0's multimedia communications research lab. "At first, it could be costly. They did that in France,where people can make train,hotel,

and theatre reservations online, but the consumer had to pay for each service separately and the company took ten years to pay off its investment."

That old human touch O f course, academics like Georganas also see the Internet cutting into their classroom territory. So far, he isn't worried."There will be more courses available, but the human contact will still be there, where a student and an instructor will be able to engage in two-way conferencing." British science historian James Burke is

AE ELECTRONICS CORP. six

'

currently looking at the viability of an application using C D-ROM technology and modems called "hypermedia webs."Through them, students would be encouraged to make their own "personal and idiosyncratic connections between data." As a result, knowledge acquisition would be driven by the user's interpretation of information. "If we don't teach our kids to think like that," Burke told Ma c lean's in 1 9 9 5, "it would be like nobody having bothered to teach a kid to read once Gutenberg printed books." +

: M%4;No Surcharge

Tel: 604 279-8867 FaX: 604 279-5510 www.aeworld.corn138-2981 Simpson Rd, Richmond, BC Canada, V6X 2R2

ENTERPRISE HUB 48 $57,000

NETSERVER MODEM 8/16 $4,650/8,750

' NETSERVER I-MODEM 8/16 $10,600/15,860 Asus T2P4 Pentium PCI MB. 256k PB cache, lOBO $229 Asus TVP4Pentium PCI MB, 256k PB cache,IDEIO $219 Asus Pentium Pro 200Mhz PCI MB, IDEIO $429 Asus Dual Pentium Pro 200Mhz PCI MB, IDEIO 1015 Intel Pentium 100/1 20/1 33/150/166/200MHz $199/229/330/438/625/835 Intel Pentium Pro CPUs 180/200MHz $815/1325 30 Pin RAM 4MB $35 72 Pin RAM 4/6/16/32MB $30/55/109/21 9

r

a

$650 ACCPAC

$55 academic

$1395

'4i rnrnr@

Plus Accounting

r w •

ACCPAt"far NindoIRfg

Daytek 1436/1 536/1531/1 731/1704/2102 $295/375/395/750/935/2145 ViewSonic 14" 1000/1 5"655/15 656/1 769m5 $349/496/535/769/915 ADI 15"4V/17" 5V $479/855 NEC CROMA-Clear 15 M500/1 7" M700 $705/1129 Sony SVGA monitor 17"200SX/17"200SF/20sf2 $975/1195/2315 ATI Video Boost/Xpression 1MB/2MB $99/109/105/135 ATI 3D Xpression+ 2MB/4MB $189/225 ATI 3D Xpression+ PC2TV 2MB/4MB $207/245 ATI 3DProTurbo PC2TV, 4MB/8MB $309/435 Matrox 3D Accelerator w/2MB Wram Mystique/Millenium $249/275

• •

$4835 Lease: $170

AE PRO 20

$3190

$2175

$1925

Lease: $112

Lease: $76

Lease: $67

AE 166

AE 133

AE 120 3

s •

w

w•

jgdt ~3'

s

Western Digital EIDE Hard drives 850MB/1.2/1.6/2.1/2.5GB

$255/295/335/439/529 $509/705/1405/2805 $280/300/455

Seagate SCSI hard drives 1.1/2.1/4.3/9.1GB Adaptec 2940 SCSI/Ultra/Ultra Wide R •

e w

w •

LogitechSerialorPS2 mouse

$55

USR Sportster fax/modem internal/external (OEM) $1 80/230 USR Sportster fax/modemNokvr internal (OEM) $195 HP Laser Jet SL/6P HP Scan Jet 4 Color CD-ROM Drives 6X/1 OX

($50us rebate on 5L)

$689/1 055 $1255 $159/169

- Pentium Pro CPU - 32MB 60ns RAM - 256KB cache - 1.44MB floppy drive - 2.1GB WD EIDE HD - Sx IDE CD-ROM - Built-in EIDE controller - ATI M64 2M Xpressl on -17 Sonysf2monltor -19" heavy duty case - 250W Power supply - Enhanced keyboard - Microsoft mouse - SoundBlaster 16 PRP - Amplified speaker set - Windows 95 on CD

- Intel Pentium CPU -32MB 60ns EDO RAM -256KB PB cache - 1.44MB floppy drive - 2.1GB WD EIDE HD - Sx IDE CD-ROM - Built-in EIDE controller - Matrox Mlllenium 3D - 17" ViewSonic monitor - 19" heavy duty case - 250W Power supply - Enhanced keyboard - Microsoft mouse - SoundBlaster 16 PnP - Amplified speaker set - Windows 95 on CD

- Intel Pentium CPU -16MB60ns EDO RAM -256KB PB cache -1.44MB floppy drive - 1.6GB WD EIDE HD - Sx IDE CD-ROM - Built-in EIDE controller -ATIM64 2M MPEG Xpr. - 15" Daytek monitor -19" heavy duty case - 250W Power supply - Enhanced keyboard - Microsoft mouse - SoundBlaster 16 PnP - Amplified speaker set - Windows 95 on CD

C OMP U T E R

P L A Y ER !

- Intel Pentium CPU -16MB 60ns EDO RAM -256KB PB cache -1.44MB floppy drive - 1.2GB WD EIDE HD - Mitsuml 6x CD-ROM - Built-in EIDE controller - Cirrus Logic VGA card -15" Daytek monitor -19" heavy duty case - 250W Power supply - Enhanced keyboard - Microsoft mouse - SoundBlaster16 PnP - Amplified speaker set

JA N UA RY 1 9 9 7


• 0 • 0 • 0 • 0 • •

con t i n u e d

f ro m pag e 1A

er" application. True resolution goes up to 600 by 600 dots per inch, so~ inte r p olation up to 2400dpi.The 4C can be found on the street for between $1,168 and $1,298. There is also a little brother, the ScanJet 4P, limited t o 2 4 -bit c o l our s canning, 8-bit greyscale, a maximum optical resolution of 300 by 300, and without PbotoPaint in the bundle. It's priced between $679 and $759. Automatic document feeders and transparency adapters are available. More i n fo : 1 -800-387-3867 o r ht t p : // www.hp.corn/

Kye international Genius ColorPage SP2 Although the least expensive of the models we tested. the 24-bit ColorPag» SP2 still turned in respectable scanning time performance (it was next fastest compared to the HP 4C).

The PC version of the SP2 comes with ImagePals GO! I mage editing software (requires Windows 95), Photolmpact SE editing software (Win 3.x), a generic OCR appllication, and ScanWizard TWAIN driver (the same package that ships with the Microtek E6 below). With a 24-bit scanning engine offering a maximum of 300 hy600 dpi (4800 by @800 through software interpolation), the SP2 had trouble rendering colours accurately without a lot of pre-scan correcting and did the least satisfactory scans of our three.dimensional test object. The length of its scans is also limited to 13.5 inches instead of a full 14. Nevertheless, it's w o r t h c o n sideration when cost is a major factor and you ne«d the flexibility of a fl a t bed scanner. Available options include a transparency adapter and automatic document feeder for batch OCR p rocessing. List. price: US$299, with t h e

'" Multimedia:" Games:" '" 3D Animation +

Tel: 298-5400 orTol Free:1-800-661.1885 1his year make 0 resolution to

SAVE BIG

on your computer books at

HALF PRICE CONPLIIER BOOKS IlSINS WIIINWS 95

SUg. price I i©

aamNuimmmONi

2 CD-ROMS

CNE STLIDY GUIDI covers version 3.lx CD-ROM

8 1.95

$40.91

Su g . price 1 1 9.99

"4 ~+ $$9+99

4CCESS MR NII%5 IJNLEASHED with CD-ROM

VIQIAL MSIC 40 ~ S"gnpla

5795

COMPLITER

NOW-70

with CD-RONI

PHOTOSHOP

aansrRr

Sug. price

66 .99

~~@< $33.4e

Pf. 8, NIAC,with CD-ROM

SaVeabundle, giVeuSaCO II,W81l gladlyhaldOrmail yOur bankstOyau

It's the name of oIIr slore

4 it's cwr commitment to you! •

I

I

I

I

C OM P U T E R P L A Y ER !

I

I

I t

I

J A N U A R Y 199 7

I

I

Canadian street price around $549. More info: I - 8 0M 56-7593 o r h t t p :// www.geniiiskye.corn/

Mlcrotek labs Microtek E6 The 30-bit M i crotek Labs E 6 ( 1 0-bit greyscale) was neither fish nor foul. It's more expensive than the (unius SP2, but ships with identical I'WAIN software and was, on average. the slowest of the four systems we tested. Despite its more robust resolution (600 by 1200 optical. 4800 dpi interpolated) anil higher bit-rate. the quality of the images w as only slightly hetter than that o f t h e Genius and was in no way comparable to the HP 4C or Agfa SiudinStar. O ur particular E6 came b undled w i t h Adnbe Phr>toSbop (full version — although the serial number was nowhere to be found and it wouldn't install), ImagePals GO! 2, and Caere Ominpage LE OCR software. Its list price is $1,179 (about $1,100 on the street). A "Standard" version, with Photolmpact software instead of PbotoSbop, is listed at $889 (nearer $795 to $829 on the street). At 8.5 by 13 inches„ its available scanning area was the smallest of the four models tested.An automaticdocument feeder ($579) and transparency adapter ($449) an. also available. More i nf o: 1-80 0 -654-4160 o r http: //ss~ m t eklab.corn.

The Inevitable snag» When conducting our scanner tests, several items. both good and bad, were worth special mention. Although there isn't any corporate connection b e t w ee n K ye I nte r n ational (Genius ColorPage SP2), and Microtek Labs (E6), they both shop at the same softw are source (tire name o f w h i ch, w e weren't told). The ScanWizard TWAIN driver for b ot h u n its was identical — same look and feel, same icons, same features, and the same p r oblem. Both c r ashed regardless of the base application into which the image was to be scanned if the "live preview option (changes the preview image as various corrections are made to it) was left turned on and we attempted to switch between greyscale and 24-bit colour modes — producing an "out of memory" message and a General Protection Fault. As mentioned above, Hewlett Packard's DeskScan II 2,3 driver is a 32-bit application optimized for Windows 95 and is awful when used in Windows 3.1 (we suggest you keep your operating environment in mind and beg HP for an earlier, 16bit version of the driver if planning to use it under Windows 3.1). Using the proper driver, it was overall the best of the breed. Its automatic preview feature took time to resolve with each scan, but its time-saving automatic exposure detection, image-type detection, and image-size detection were excellent and so were the results. Our line-art example gave all of the units the hardest time. Although we scanned it as black and white line art, it actually had a spot-colour area as well as thin black lines. All of the units except the HP produced drop-outs in 4 point lines at 75 dpi. Only the HP could "drop back" to less than 24-bit colour to easily pick up the coloured portion of the drawing. When scanned in full

24-bit colour (the only colour option the others offered), only the HP picked up the coloured area w i thout p r oducing colour. where there was none. The other three units gave the thin black lines a variety of rainbow hues. Only the HP didn't offer descreening or some other form of' noise reducgon. Descreening allows you to take high-resolution scans of material ftom a variety of paper stocks without picking up the weave of the paper along with the image.Agfa handles it by allowing you to adjust the "line per inch" settings until the unwanted information goes away, while the Scan Wizard driver with both Micnitek E6 and Geniu~ ColorPage SP2 have pie-set values (e.g., newspaper, magazine, art magazine). We scanned a 3-D object because many people, such as coin collectors and others (as well as writers who scan software boxes), do. That's why its important whether the scanner's cover can be removed. Only the Genius ColorPage SP2 has a cover that's permanently mounted. Although it does have a bend in the middle, it's still not as convenient as being able to do away with the cover altogether. Aside from image editing and OCR software, Microtek included one other noteworthy application. Quick Panel is a set oi four buttons that will direct a scan, without starting a full-screen version of the supporting application, directly to your printer, or to a file supported by your p r inter, fax machine, or drawing application. It's a neat twist on the TWAIN concept of being able to scan directly into an application without starting a second program to process the image. In this case, you can process the image without starting the program. Neat trick.

In the end We subjected the four flatbed, single pass, SCSI-based scanners to a grueling series of scanning tests and, although the Agfa Studio Star, Microtek E6 and Genius ColorPage SP2 all merit consideration, the HP 4C picked up all the marbles. Producing a good scanner is a balancing act. It requires not only good hardware, but also the right marriage of hardware with software drivers, and the Hewlett P ackard aced th e c o mpetition o n b o t h grounds. To begin with, the HP 4C is fast, often two to three times faster than the competitors in our tests over all image types and a range of resolutions. It's also smart. While the Agfa S tudio Star di d b e t ter t h a n e i t her t h e Microtek or Genuis when it came to repro. ducing original colours without a lot of fme tuning in the TWAIN driver, the HP managed this feat consistently, based on its own internal sensing and automatic exposure adjustment. Rarely did it miss correctly detecting the type of image to be scanned (from a long list, including black-and-white line d r awing, black-and-white photo, colour drawing, 16 million colour drawing, colour photo, and v ariations o n ea c h) . P r eviewing w a s refreshed automatically each time a scan was requested (the others required it to be triggered manually each t ime and c o uldn' t d etect what t yp e o f i m age was t o b e scanned). +


North

Bridgeport

CHEVRON Gas station

TeI'; {604) 273.-:.331:6';

D C 3 I'wA I

L J T E F- 0

A A •

• •

r

& M 8 8 -8$8)9l5'-:;=" -':

5$6-100 $$19 Lease: $28/mth* Intel Pentium PCI MB 256K Pipeline Burst Cache Built-in Fast I/O, 4EIDE 8MB EDO RAM 850MB EIDE Hard Drive 1.44MB Floppy Drive 64bit MPEG SVGA IM 104 Key Win95 Keyboard Mini Tower Case w/ 230W PS 3-Button Mouse & Pad

14" NI,LR SVGA Monitor

5$6-133/K5-75 $859/$899 P5 1QQ /120/133 $1019/$1039/$1129 6x86 150+/166+ $1029/$1109

©Q150+

"'",I '-:> '::.':.:Ufff@.-':."'M%A,-' '".--':„"I':.;

$1648

©Q150+

$21SS peafium prp15p $172S

Lease: $57/mth* Lease: $75/mths Triton III-VX PCI MB Triton III-VX PCI MB 256K Pipeline Burst Cache 512K Pipeline Burst Cache .' Built-in Fast VO, 4EIDE Built-in Fast VO, 4EIDE 16MB EDO RAM (exp. to 512MB) 32MB EDO RAM (exp. to 512MB) 1.7GB EIDE Hard Drive 2.1GB EIDE Hard Drive 1.44 MB Floppy Drive 1.44 MB Floppy Drive Trident 64bit 2M Full Screen Diamond Stealth 3D Full Screen Full Motion MPEG Video Card Full Motion 2M EDO MPEG Video 8x CDROM Sx CDROM Zoltrlx 33.6 Fax/Modem , Zoltrix 33.6 Voice Fax/Modem 16bit PnP Stereo Sound Card ~,::: Sound Blaster 32 PnP Sound Card 60W Multimedia Speakers '.,'-'- 130W Multimedia Speakers 104 Key Win95 Keyboard 15" Mid Tower Case w/2 30W CSA PS ; i"'s', 104 Key Win95 Keyboard 19" Mid Tower Case w/230W CSA PS FREE 3-Button Mouse& Pad FREE 3-Button Mouse & Pad 15" NI+R SVGA 1280x1024 Monitor """'' 15" NI,LR SVGA 1280x1024 Monitor

Lease: $60/mth*

P

Intel Pentium Pro (P6) CPU/256K Intel 440FX Natoma Chipset PCI MB Built-in Fast I/O, 4EIDE 32MB EDO RAM (exp. to 512MB) 2.1GB EIDE Hard Drive 1.44 MB Floppy Drive ATI Mach64 2MB EDO MPEG Card 15" NI,LR SVGA 1280x1024 Monitor 104 Key Win95 Keyboard 15" Mid Tower Case w/230W CSA PS FREE 3-Button Mouse & Pad 5'i

MS Offfice 95 Pro Full.........$289 MS Back Office.....................Call

Multimedia Option Mitsumi 4x CDROM )6bit PnP Sound Card 60W Multimedia Speakers

NT 4.0 Workstation...............$289

Windows 95 SRel-2 Included!

NT 4.0 Server/10 user............$899 ISA NE2000 Combo...............$45

P133/166/200 $1748/$196$/$213$:,',' P133/166/200 $2298/$249$/$2668 6x86 150+/166+ $1648/$1728 ,=.:,~'6x86 150+/166+ $2188/$2268

$169

P6-150180/200 $1728/$2028/$2568 ",;::

PCI Ethernet Combo...............$59

Seagate Tapestor 3.2G............239 No Credit Cards Cash or Certified Cheque only

• •

r

a • e

Pentium OPTI PCI MB...................$109 Built-in Fast I/O, 256K PBC 4x72pin SIMM, AWARD PnP BIOS Pentium Triton III VX MB.. ..$119 Built-in Fast I/O, 256K PBC 72/168 SDRAM.PS2,SDRAM, USB 5$6/486 PCI/VLB/ISA MB..............$$9 4EIDE, I P/2x16550. 4x72pin ASUS TVP4 VX 256K..................$189 ASUS T2P4 HX 256K...................$199 Cyrix 5x86-100 CPU.......................$59 AMD 5x86-133 CPU.„....................$79 AMD K5-75 MHz CPU...................$75 Pentium 100/120.........,........ $169/$189 Pentium 133/150...................$293/$369 Pentium 166/200...................$499/$659 Cyrix 6x86 P150+/166+.......$145/$215 I M/4M 30pin.........,..................$11/$29 8M/EDO 72pin (60ns)..................$45 16M/EDO 72pin (60ns)................$94

IPr]cN:,stibject to chirIge e/o I)otic

:~:.-"'.;:;:,:.:i;:-'CQPorat8'P'0";@etC0llls"':.";ll',",::ll-.„:;" I:.':"":;.;;.;:,Bliss.'Qt8 I888IA(I':::8v8Ij8bl8"'-, ":) i '"':

r

• •

e •

Seagate 850MB EIDE.....$199 Cirrus Logic 64bit SVGA............$39 14" - 15" Monitor............. I. IGB EIDE......,...............$225 Trident 9680 MPEG SVGA.........$49 .........$ I 00 1.28GB EIDE....................$245 ATI Mach64 MPEG.....................$85 1.28 tr 1.7 t> 2.1GB........... ...$30/$45 1.7 GB EIDE....................$275 Video DRAM IM P 2M... ..........$20 WD 1.28GB......................$265 S3 Virge 3D w/ Games.................$95 WD 1.6GB........................$285 Diamond Stealth 3D 2M EDO...$149 13/15/19" Case w/ Power........$49/$59/$69 WD 2.1GB........................$335 ATI 3D Plus 2M SDRAM.....,....$175 WD 2.5GB........................$375 Sceptre 15" 1280x1024 .28.......$379 Panasonic 3.5" Floppy........$30 MAG DX700T 17" .25..............$949 Seagate 3.2G Tapestor......$239 Acer/Panasonic 8x CDROM.......$135/$139 (w/ $50 Rebate) Pioneer 10x CDROM.............................159 Pioneer/Panasonic 12x CDROM..........$169 Canon BJC 240 Color.................$249 o• Canon BJC 4100 Color...............$299 HP 680C Color.....................,......$395 Zolirix 16bit PnP Sound.........................$39 Zoltrix 33.6 Fax.......$109 Panasonic 600dpi Laser..............$389 ESS 1868 PnP Sound Card....................$39 Sound Blaster 16 PnP.............................$89 Zoltrix 33.6 Voice/Fax......$129 Panasonic 1200dpi,6p Laser.......$469 USR 33.6 Fax...................$155 Brother WL660 600dpi Laser.....$389 Sound Blaster 32 PnP.........................$139 USR 33.6 Voice/Fax.........$169 Brother HL730 600dpi Laser......$479 60/130W Multimedia Speaker........$25/$45 Supra 33.6 Voice/Fax.......$129 Brother HL760 1200 dpi Laser...$579 R

Mitsumi 104 KB...........$20 Logitech 2B Mouse......$25 MS Mouse,.„................$32 13" Tower w/ PS..........$49 15" Mid Tower.............$59 19" Mid Tower.............$69 ATX 19" Full Tower...$132

Super IDE I/O Card...$30 Adaptec 2940 Scsi......$249 Adaptec 2940UW.......$325 NE2000 Ethernet..........$45 PCI Ethernet.................$59 MS-HOME Packs........$85 .' MS-Office Pro95.......$2$9 NT 4.0 Wkstation......$2$9 NT 4.0 Server/10usr...$899


'".8,.4,.t, Q,,f:., '

~

,

" "

'

gjgof MI4'I

'

"

' ::'"-""" savs ICPB investigator Rick "" ' Muir, who worked with Adams to

',~,:<. '"."',~.:>":,:t%%l .g, + %P,>;.::,,;,.:'.":," ""': crack thelargest fraud ring in Canada. ":::.;:; ."::;=:;:':: Q k : :,,;-:.,;,""' "The point here is that we' re not talking ;:<;:':;-;.;.,;;.",:-;,::.;:: '

• • By ANNA DWYER •• Crime investigators in Canada have seen the future and it's all high-tech. Police departments, insurance companies, and forensic accountants «re turning to computer analysts to crack sophisticated fraud rings «nd trace elusive offenders. Insurance fraud in Canada cost the industry $1.3 billion last year, according to the Canadian Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, and white-collar crime is estimated at nearly $20 billion each year. Most of the money is never recovered and few suspects are investigated — due partially to policing cutbacks and partially to the technical complexity of corporate crime. Most people will shrug this off, because they see fraud as a victimless crime, says Jim Adams, special investigator for the Insurance Crime Prevention Bureau (ICPB). If recent trends are any indication, however, fraud comntitted by organizedwrime rings is becoming quite violent, mith links to other criminal activities, including sophisticated credit-cards seams and gun-smuggling operations, he adds. "What t,'ze industry is missing here is that everyone has their little SIU (special inves-

about someone increasing the size of a TV from 16-inch to a 2w-inch on a claim. We' re saying this has far more reaching implications than insurance companies and we' ve been saying this from day one. Last year, Adams and Muir exp<>sed Project Langchow, a metro-based fraud ring that scammed atleast29 Ontario u»urance companies out of an estimated $12 milli<>n. The investigation also u nc<>vered fraud l i nks between policy holders and government agencies, such as Social Services and Workers' Compensation. "It's all part of the mindset that the system is geared to deal with individual claimants, one guy at a time," Muir suggests.-No one has been able to connect multiple claims n>gether within the industry as a whole." Until nom. The ICPB has set up an elaborate database system that allows investigat<>rs to connect multiple claims to a common element — such as a mailing address or a telep hone number — and add photo IDs t o claims files.

Countering violence Police departments have set up similar central database systems, which they hope will eventually contain DNA fingerprints of convicted sex offenders. This latter system, devel-

oped in l 992 by the RCMP, will become mandatory in Ontario this faH as a result of a provincial review of the Paul Bernardo investigation. This national tlatabase, the Violent

Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS), tracks violent crimes across the country, using database systems to establish connecti<>ns to various police jurisdictions. Such a system mould have led detectives to the many police departments that had previously investigatedBernardo, now serving a life sentence for the murders of K r isten French and Leslie Mahaffy, says Detectivelnspector Kate Lines,head of the OPP's Behavi<>ural Sciences Unit in Orillia. A recent IN. rape investigation mas solved in one hour using this system, although the rapist eluded police for m<>nths. T he insurance industry also l acked t h i s t echnology, however. w he n t h e IC P B received its first Langchow related complaint two years ago. The ICPB investigators, both

former police officers, had only a basic understanding of computer systems at the time. Their "equipment" consisted of a ruler, a pen, and a coffee mug, Muir recalls. 'I'he coffee mug was used to trace circles on white paper, which were connected by pen mark». The diagrams represented each of the suspects, who were using numerous aliases. The primitive diagrams eventually covered four walls and a window.

Getting the righttools Seven months and a storage room full of data later, the ICPB decided the complex rela-

IJNgYj R <OgD~U U C ~ i JN>'l e ~ ! '

tionships of this ring could not be unravelled with the human eye alone. The result was an investment of more than $40,000 in customized computer database systems, scanners, and laptops, as well as combined investigative forces with several provincial police departments. With the stroke of a keyboard, investigators were able to prove instantaneously that suspected members of the ring were using multiple identities. This was a surprise to the two investigators, who were used to doing detective work the old fashi<>ned way. "When I was in the police force I could jump on my hot rod after work to f<>rce the images of that day's autopsy or arrest out of my mind. But with this I'd wake up in the middle of the night seeing nothing hut circles and squares," iviuir notes, referring to the

numerous computer generated di agrams used in the investigation. "It was a hell of a story; not somethingI would have believed ten years ago." Charges have been brought against professionals in the legal and medical communities, as mell as auto body shops, therapists, and dozensof policyholders as a resultofthe two-year investigation. Those involved with the scam are believed to have used bogus companies and elaborate combinations of their names and addresses in order to file numerous claims for a single accident. Even as they face criminal charges, there are still doubts about the true identities of some of these claimants. +

O g @ S g T j E' C ~ Hi ' S w

<J

Cb-

J ~J

I

J' '

LOG'E TGH Products People Love

Cordless HousemanPro •Adnntel radiotethi>ok@fre<syoutoworkma 6footrange 11<ree programmablebutta«tincludingtj<umbbutton, Nouse Warel Sobvare,Hlj>e<I<<m pforWi<>d<>ws95 ' Four separatectann<jsallowtheuseofmultiplemice in z> area •Inrevat<ve shapeprovidesanakemativeforright handedu sers

WingMan Warrior ' Doublfisetedcombatmachinewithopticalpreosion forfirstpersongames

ScanNaC nolor 2000

Tracklmn Marble Three programmablebiimm, jauseWarejtojN>tte,

andHype<I<mpforWin<low>895

• patentejarble™si <imte gchnologyreduceswet an<iincreasesprecision • 5le<j<thu , mbaperatej Tra< kNt<> jjarbleprovideseasy accurate Gmtral R<siiti«t to dirt anddlt, aniit does<>'Irequire cleanin.g

redo ubt

This16.8milliont<>lo<irhandtannerletsyoucreate aworldofy eati>rojeca, jtiti<><l<atijl • loijted< AutoStitch™etornatially merys mi<hple sansintol<l pageimages • Designed farstraightsan«ing'.includes5traightSun feature ' Includes AdobePhotaDel«xetoftv<tte andXerox TextBridegOCR

99

99

unique36j degreeSpinCO ntrOI~teChnO IO gy IndePen deiIIaimingandnaVigationW ithdigital 957 ''Feature Mria!portinterhce

For more infor m a t i on, visit a Logitech authorised reseller near you. Available at these Home Computing locations 0

Pichmar>d Centre South Mall 6551 ¹3 Road C OMP U T E R P L A Y E R !

J A N U A RY

19 9 7

g •

Pacific Centre 777 Dunsrnuir Street

1174 Marine Drive

Metrotown Centre II230 4820 Kingsway


• 5 •

I' I II

I fI

TM

YOUR INTERNETBUSINESS PARTNER SEE US AT

'Sl COMPLEX PA(RIM '97 JANUARY 21 - 23, 1997 - YAN(OUYER BOOTH1503


• • • • • D• • • •

hundred years, which is. So Y2Kwill have a leap day, as well). Seeing spots?

cont i n u e d f r o m p a g e 1 Z date. The entire day's business, estimated at

There is a kind of non-issue addendum to Y2K:

roughly a million dollars, was lost. Leap year problems aren't rare, either: Excel has a variety of known bugs with respect of February 29 (just for your information, every four years is a leap year, except for every hundred years, which is not, except for every four

the sun-spot cyde. Some people might remember from high-school astronomy that sun spots, and solar electrical activity, vary on an 11-year cycle. We are currently on Cycle 23, which will

reach its peak in, you guessed it, AD 2000.

Some doom-andgloom specialists are pointing out that the new electronics technologies that have been developed in recent years will have a

baptism by solar flare then. Amateur astronomers regard these with some bemusement: they are looking forward to the observations that can be made.

warnings

I would say that the real story of Y2K is question as to why management types have left a known

lhe easiest way to organize your money! There's a wealth of valuable information out there .... but finding it isn't easy or quick — until now. We' re bringing you the b est of th e Web — w i t h instant access to th e best f inancial Web sites in t h e world. Plus, with our new Update feature, you can get the latest Quicken enhancements online all year-round.

IQ

PERFECI' YOUR PORT-

TeahX, hsa4;

ass)

+ a rne e e 1WaQe ' DNDDL

• salhg

~

DD~

!(

4eaDDDDa.

hssOsS D A N& h ase4s 4 I S

•D

INYESTMEN1 TRAcKING JUsT GQT EAsi ER QNLINE! Get

-

IM

•r

Sitm& 4

4i D FREE up-to-dateCanadian and V.S.stock quotes D DDD ibD' with the simple dick of a mouse. Both Quicken 6 for Windows and Quicken Deluxe for Windows 95 offer added tools to help you research investments and manage your portfolio!

DDI

DD

R

FoI,Io! Quicken's +IDDD new, enhanced share and price decimal precision will help end those disITepanclesbetween your Quicken portfolio values and your brokeragestatements we've even added average cost capital gains repofbng so yoli can make more advantageous tax decisions.

-" • -' -

overtime, take note: there are only 150 weekends left in this century.

The joke about Bill Gates' reaction to the end of the world might well have a new punch before too long — with some MIS executive stating "and the great news is that we won't have to fix

the Year 2000 bugs!" Spreading the Nord virus Of more immediate concern is that there is news from those fun guys and gals at Microsoft! 0!Ice 97 will include VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) 5.0 as the scripting and integration language for Access, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. Not only that, but Microsoft has followed up on its promise to license VBA to other ven-

vBsloN I

SURF THE NE T FROM WITHIN QUICKEN!

problem so late that it has become a problem. Those who expect to make it up with a little

Pg

payments are due when, i'or how much and in which account. And with new regkster shortcuts, you can schedule paprients, compare spending to your budget, and llew spending by category — right iil the n.gister. We' ve even streamlined account reronriliation and lengthened fields, so > ou can a@ate mon. descriptive account names and memos.

dors: upcoming releases of I/isio (Visio), Chameleon(NetManage), Photoshop(Adobe), and even AutoCAD(Autodesk) will use VBA 5.0.

To date, with the possible (although unlikely) exception of the recent Excel macro virus, successful macro viruses in the wild have been confined to WordBasic, and thus only affected Word. VBA, however, will automatically convert WordBasic

macros to VBAmacros on the fly, so Word macros viruses will continue to propagate on through Olce 97 and other VBA 5compliant applications. In addition, VBA macros are stored in a different format than WordBasic templates. Existing macro virus scanners, therefore, will not be able to detect macro viruses in the new VBA format once they

have been (automatically) converted. Scanner developers are aware of the problem, and working on it, but there will be a period of vulnerability for a time after the release ofOffice97.

More fun foryears to come Technical-support departments and MIS man-

agers face some additional problems this year. With the introduction of Windows 95, support for DOS and Windows 3.x began to fade. After some time with the product, though, it is becoming clearer that Windows 95 is not as compatible with

Quicken 6 includes over 30 shortcuts Sc improvements!

its predecessors aswas assumed, nor is it quite as

Introducing New Quicken 6 for Windows and Quicken Deluxe 6 for Windows 95 on CD-ROM

This has reopened the question of a base platform and operating system. The PowerPCreference platform (and thus the option for MacOS) has not made the inroads expected. On the other hand, Digital's Alpha is doing better than some thought it would. OS/2 is still struggling,

-

'

I n addition t o al l t h e n e w features above, Quicken Deluxe on CD-ROM i s p o w e r-enhanced for W indows 95 so you' ll get all the benef!ts of using a 32-bit application like long file n ames and m o re. Quicken Deluxe also includes: • Canadian Mutual Fund Data • Debt Reduction Planner • Mu ltimedia "Show Me's" • Quicken Home Inventoly • Plus expert finan6al advice, Address 8ook and more!

Quicken 6 for Windows on diskette

$39

> Ir s,I p

95»

Quicken Deluxe 6 for Windows 3.1 or Win 95 CD-ROM

95*

ItlclsiAF $/a lll(1II-l) j I'D"/Dltr

If you' re not using Quicken 6, you don' t have your whole financiai picture!

idi ir ct nistnnx is add 55 slilp/xii i' & handllllg!

m

iIe"

Visit your local retailer today!

-

-

Or call now to order: 1-800-280-8578 ext. 1325 Ouici Dn iD a repDtered tradDmark of Intuit Inc wind<nvs iD D r«gistDrca trDJDmDrk <>I ivliiro~|tt cnrp. o ls4D Intuit Inc.

C OMP U T E R

but still an option. On the home front, with a

(dh cc/ cns!oi11PIs Diifd $5 shippiiig /~ /R1>ldlnlg)

$59

P L A Y E R ! JA N U A R Y 1 9 9 7

easy a path to Windows NT.

.

variety of smaller companies willing to support it, Linux is showing surprising strength. And just when you thought diskette wars wereall over (remember the 2.88 megabyte disks?), they have erupted all over again. CD-ROMsachieved market dominance in distribution media just in

time to face an onslaught of options challenging the CD-R. Zip, Jazz,new generations of magnetooptical: every new issue of the computer magazines has a new player announcing its entry into the removable-storage market. The first DVD (digital video disk) drives are starting to appear, despite the fact that a standard has

not yet been decided. After all, when you canput five gigabytes on a single disk, why wait, right? Robert Slade is a data-security consultant, and therefore a confirmed pessimist. Hecanbe reachedat robertsiadeoisxa ... if rething crashes. +


ewme il 0

V E R H A U L I N G • • By CHRISTOPHER GULY • •

For Scott Remborg, convergence means information will be processed faster. "And faster means more efficient in delivering information with better quality," he says. Going faster doesn*t necessarily mean the more traditional forms of media — including publishing, radio and television — are going the way of the dumpster, however.

Radio and TY offer a form of l ifestyle structure that t h e Internet, so far, does not.

of lifestyle structure that the Internet, so fitr, does not."People will have their supper and put the dishes in the washer in time to watch the six o' clock news on TV," he says. "In my case, I will force myself to wake up at eight o' clock in the morning to make sure I hear the news on the radio."

sion with the specialty channel's US counterpart, found at http: //www.discovery.corn/ More importantly, EXN marrieslV to theNet.

Nevertheless, the purveyors of the more traditional forms of media ate starting to take more than just a peak at the expanding multimedia universe.

washer in time to watch the six o' clock news on TY." Over at Canada's Discovery Channel, executive producer Paul Lewis will spend $5 million over the next five years for a Web site, launched on O c tober 31 , c alled The Exploration Network (EXN). The site is located at http:/~ .ex n . net/ On a name-recognition level, Discovery added the Web site to its existing one (http: // www.discovery.ca/) to avoid any further confu-

0

L D

great story-telling on our n etwork," he explains."What we' re trying to do is take the best of both media and crunch them together."

Not fade away Retaining, not abandoning, traditional forms of media issomewhat the message James Marsh also brought to the Ottawa gathering. As editor-in-chief of McClelland 8r Stewart's Canadian Encyclopedia, Marsh has shepherded the publishing house's first print edition in 1980 through to its new all-in~ne CDROM format.Books, as far as he's concerned, will never become obsolete. The packagein which they come, howeveron CD-ROM or over the Net, for examplewill likely adapt to emerging technologies. "My concern is that producing new media should follow a publishing, rather than a broadcasting model," says Marsh. "Television can be very easily controlled by advertisers. In fact, the great genius of television is in the ads, not in the programming. You can't say that about book publishing. There is a solid relationship with the creative community thatvery few broadcastersenjoy." Like Lewis and Remborg, Marsh agrees that the one thing the Internet and new media offer the publishing world is unmatched access. "With a CD-ROM, you can automatically search a word through the entire data-

Keeping up

"People will have their supper and put the dishes in the

"I don't think books are going to go by the wayside. When I sit on the john, I need something to read," jokes Remborg, senior vice president at Medialinx Interactive (a Torontobased telephone utility/new-media venture), who was in Ottawa recently attending the New Media '96 conference. On a more serious note, however, he acknowledges that radio and TV offer a form

T H E

Kxylol'atioe lletmol'k "Let's say we run a documentary about the Galapagos Islands," explains Lewis, who was among the guest speakers at the New Media conference. "As an EXN-enhanced program, the Internet user can learn more about a particular animal featured on the TV program. Or, perhaps, download the complete interview with the scientist at the Galapagos researchstation when only 30 seconds was used on the documentary. "EXN may also offersidebar stories on Charles Darwin, the first scientists to land on the Galapagos, or a detailed account of his mission aboard the ship, the Beagle." EXN also features an Amazement Park, which lets visitors go on a "cyber-safari" and drop in on the online "technology hall." Lewis emphasizes, however, that The Discovery Channel Canada will not abandon its TV mandate, let alone produce Net-specific programnung."We have beautiful images and

III '

"

- ; :

:

'

SPORTSTER ': SL8133.4 IHTERHAL VOICE FAXMODEM

MEGAHERTZ SLB CELLULAR CAPABI.E PC CARD ETHERNET<MODEM WITH NACK

NIanages voice mail, fax, data messages.Digital answenng machine, multiple private mailboxes, full-duplex speakerphone Caller ID support, World Wide 4eb guidebook, and Connections CD-RbM ftware collection

9399' Sl TStluIWoeS < I'GRNSIKT0$4lhlII2' TKHIIIO LCGY

"<'~>h,~<~Ill'IP~>~ aT~~IIT'

~Ill

For IIlformatlon 14$.525-USRI

Megahertz Ethemet~lvtodems are reliable, flexible PCCards. They combine the power of an ethernet edapter and the rellabllity of a world leading modem on one PCMCIA Card.

The OneTouch Organizer

EXTERNAL Sr79.99

4 79 ~~

Pilot isa lowcostPC Companion that lets you carry your important personal data in your shirt pocket. At the touch of one button you can synchronize Pllor and your PC. With Pilot you access to a date book, address book, to do list, memo pad and many other featwes. Complete with docking cradle, software, stylus II pouch.

rtster SPORTSTER WI~ODEM

SL8133.4 Kbps

IHTKRNAL FAXMODEM FOR WINDOWS Uses the power of Windows for faster file transfers than original Sportsteisl Software upgradeable Free Worldwide Web guidebook, and Collections CD-ROM software collecbon. Plug 8 play.

eooa.

MEGAHERTZ 18.8 CELLULAR CAPABLE PC CARD MODEM WITH NACK

CON

PILOT 1000 PILOT 5000

349" 419,"

1599'

For notebook computers with PCMCIA Type II or Type III slots including features such as the )UACK connector for standard phone transmission and a separate cable port to connect directly to a cellular phone

3 44 99

MODEL

S' IIS.e PmCIA nATAiFAXlrionEkt kkODEL XI18$.. (Replaces model XIK88)

14A%NMODBvL.......A9.99

~ Ag

iijig ' N OW

N W4+

33.6

CAPABLE

For mare information, visit a U.S. Robotics authorised reseller near you Available at these Home Computing locafions 5

0 •

• •

Richmond Centre South Mall is551 ¹3 Road

Pacific Gentre 777 Dunsmulr Street

g

1174 Morine Drive

C OM P U T E R

P L A Y E R!

Metrotown Centre ¹230 4820 Kingsway

J A N UA RY 1 9 9 7


• 0• 0 • • 0 • • •

. " Featui i fro m

'

"

pageZ1

base and get a list of articles, which you can't possibly do with a pile of encyclopedias and dictionariesno matter how big the index." Marsh says McClelland Sr Stewart plans to introduce an online system where Net users can download updates to their existing CDROMs. Ultimately, that w o n' t

change much, offers Remborg, since encyclopedias, by t h eir nature, are archival records. "They get old real quick," he says. "In fact, I think you will soon see CD-ROMs being transformed so that they' re all on a central network.

Here comes the flood After all, the continuing deluge of information coming into homes

and officesacross Canada willfind consumers demandingfastand uptcwlate information, says Remborg. "You don't see people buying books these days. They want their information now and as phone utilities start to offer wider bandwidth into people's homes, consumers are going to expect that fast delivery of information." He sees tomorrow's information

economy as being no different than the way people do their banking today."I would much rather go to an automated hank teller than go into a bank... Let me do my mundane banking through an instant teller. When I have a question about an RRSP (registered retirement savings plan), they (can) give me a quality person to talk to."

WINylay™ MULTIMEDIA MONITORS AND A WORLD OF SAVINGS! In the world of monitors different needs dictate different features. Priorities vary, and

budgets change. Staying in tune with these variations, Sceptre an international ISO 9001 manufacturer, strives to consistently design monitors that offer real solutions rather than dictate fixed market specs.

/jilt

'IIII, ,:jis ,::,:lt

i,"II! Sv'

Sceptre's WINplay™ series is a complete line of Windows'95 CRTs that provide the quality, features and functions comparable to those offered by other leading manufacturers while maintaining very competitive pricing.

jrjlt

ir jl

I~i,

(",,:,: While computer +'„.use is ' increasing in schools,paracilhrIy for teenage girls, though, access remains a problem. students, for iasbmce, practically hive to Sght to use a rxmaputer, ~ the r a tio of students to cornpurets is 21 to l. '-::.-'-:- Nevertheless, ane half of

// E

• Energy Star compliant ~ New„user-friendly design • 3 year limited warranty

x +g¹a ®~~

C OM PU T E R

computer

interviewed, reports that 70 per cent of elementary and high~oal teachers aad 95 per cent of university profes. safs used computers.

L '4

i Small dot pitch

'

Young female

Whatever application, general business, small/home oNce, or just racking up frequent flyer miles on the web, Sceptre's WINplay™ series has a monitor to suite your need.

• Reduced, compact casing + Smaller footprint • Built-in Speakers, Microphone • Low radiation • Mndows~ 95 compatible • On-screen display ~ High resolution

r

So miucit fo'r the old aationJr, I 't/hit beys da:: better at mathVaad science...'.:~~~ 8- - h tocent' /$urtistics Canada :tepolt. on computer, literacyJI ..:found that":27 per cent of Seatales between the ages of 15 «nd 19 had wriuen a computer ptogaua in the previous year. Aurt Ihtdiag put ye/nag women ahead of their male counterparts, 24 per cent of whom had written coded mstructloas fof acoraputef. StatsCan conducted the survey in 1994 aad released the results in a r e port called <Perfecter L@eeuy — A Gnau4ng k'equbernent. power isn*t entirely a surprise. A 1995 national survey found that student math sjdiis had no gender differences. It's not just the students who are becoming more computer literate, however. The StatsCan study, for "'Wrhich 11,500 Canadiaas were

The latest introduction is the J73S. This 17-inch multimedia model is complete with two speakers, earphone jack, and sensitive built-in microphone. With high resolution (1 280 x 1024), low radiation the J73S provides the best of S c eptre's a w a rd-winning WINplay™ series and goes a few steps further to accommodate the growing multimedia market.

v/IS @r JT3sMonitor

, a Sy CHINIPHER GULY • +

Quebec adults reported they cauld use i computer — the same as adults living in

l Manitoba, Saskatchewan and

Gall naw and we will send you a FREE one year membership ta the SCElrTRE TRAVEL CLUB Ivatued at 2¹.95). Use your membership immediately ta take advantage of exclusive discounts unavailable ta the general public. Whether your plans include business er pleasure travel yau will benefit fram inalant warklwide travel savings on alrfarss, hatels. car rentals, tours and cruises.

For dealer nearest you call:

800-788-2878

P L A Y E R ! jA N U A R Y

1997

I® c

hrtp:ttwww.scsprretech.corn

Nova Scotland more than the Iessthtahalf numbers of adults living in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, aad ¹w Brunswick "" " ' 'In British Columbia, % per cent said they were computer literate, whge the nutabers were 60 per cent in Ontario aad 64 per cent — the highest rate — in Alberta.

Acttaa the couauy, Swam says that a bit mote than hrlf the Canadian popula6aa cm use a computer. 4


Feattat'

-@v8"in opreneurs- strugg e to survive

., At

e e='By,AVQ.'EDWARDS'.e-'e :."

interactive~ ' Indus -: ar)leverytlnc agreesi::thae email„ , eteative developers.':::-ire th&:. Steaat ihat4tVCS,dii,'~ . Ilrr -whe.-'sritne - breat rt e'-'15'-aiso--'.acknowledged that the market demands from these developers a keen sense of business savvy if they want to survive. Those paving the way to the brave new future are the "infopreneurs." the iconoclastic developers of multimedia products. Industry observers look to these independent mavericks to provide the creative breakthroughs. The economic realities of the industry, however, threaten the survival of these independent developers. Smaller companies are finding the fierce competition daunting, and the option nf selling out to a larger player is one way of paying debts — but will the developers of the new technology be bankrupt and forgotten after the larger companies have bought their ideas and moved onr When a Canadian company is bought out by an American company, an added level of anxiety is present. Is this the nature of business, or are we selling ourselves down the river? One example of a company that did sell everything and then continued creating and competing in the market is Neo-Visuals Inc. In 1988, Neo-Visuals sold its assets to a major .-'6,:::. ,

American software company (SAS Institute of Raleigh, North Carolina), leaving itself with little more than its name and some equipment. They are now out in the market with an exciting new' CD that brings animation production into the home.

.'<~Neo-Visuah lee. r ceeyarer cwyrrrs eelkeiesfea sariaere

According to Steve White, the President of Neo-Visuals,-It is a bad strategy to want to be acquired, but it happens whether the company is large or small."

Savagery is the norm White deftly explains the conundrum of the multimedia developers: "[Sjmall companies have far inore entrepreneurial skills than do the larger companies.They can create,adapt,and change while the larger company is still trying to decide if the concept should be studied. -The small company will fail, however, if it has not been able to capture a significant position in the market before the larger company can focus its resources and expertise. By that time, a large company ran simply buy any missing technology while using its tremendous resources, channels, and contacts to dominate the market, "It may consequently appear that high-tech is avery savage place:acquire or be acquired.

In truth, it is the normal state of the industry." The multimedia industry is inoving quickly and it hasfew rules orconventions.There are times when selling a concept outright, collecting the money, and going back to create something newer and better might just be the right business move. This wild-west concept of the industry's future Ls shared by Alfredo Coppola, president of Animatics Multimedia Inc. Although Coppola is confident about his pilot project, MODE, an interactive, online soap opera that targets the college student/bar crowd, he is also a pragmatic businessperson. He believes that good business sense lneans being flexible.

According to C o ppola, the i n teractive media industry is without borders. "In the nevv media, it doesn't matter ~here you are, there are so many new guidelines to be written, and new formats to be explored, that it is everybody's open forum. The next five to ten years are going to be very exciting."

Vois scratch my back... It could be seen as a symbiotic relationship.

lr pKkPg<:;:sg' ' .:.'P®""

I ' Ir'

N icer Techoolo I n c.

j'j~pgij/ j'ystrgj//j s

Tel (604) 303-5650 Fax (604) 303-5660 Unit 130 - 3771 Jacomba Rd., Richmond V6V 21NS:." .">"",,.",~ .' '~~:,.:,-.,::,"',".;

I

,e

t

WIN~ I IIJ5NisM, Dare tocomparewith IBhl 8 Toshiba! li'

I

- ACER Novell Certified Mid-Tower Case AO t On y WI::::ji r:9 &S,.t -Acer Triton 11 MB w/256K Pipeline Cache% US/,: ..":, ' - 6x86 Cyrix P166+ CPU w/Cooling System bLlt mlSO'IiirOVlde yOu:the4OIUtiOn! - 16MB EDO (168pin SDRAM Opbonal) — Diamond Stealth3D w/2MB,":(exP. to 4MB) - Our professional consultants will http you: — Quantum 1.28GB EIDE HD"/1.44MB Floppy - ACER 10X CD-ROM /60Vrr Ht-Fi Speakers j s " -' ',. Set up your own small husincsAfftce at - ACER 16bit Enhanced Full Duplex Audio e lowest cost - SupraExpress 33.6K Int. Modemw'P:.F,: . ice. mize yourownrs"saftware package - Win95 Enhanced Keyboard & MS Se - MS Windows 95 Full Version pre-instaIIt@'irr'ring your business to world wide ' INTERNET,~" - Corel WordPelfect 7 Suite rsign / maintenance / Update - 2-month Free Internet Access w/Internet Soft %eb Pago:dc 'E-mail,:,Account and Web Application - 3-year Limited Warranty monitor extra - Ljai'aayou all the equipment

AcsR

'

.,

'

5 wEs TERN DIGITAL gg

Quantum TOSHIBA gK @D Cc LNON All price is suject to change without notice

' •

4f 4

e

+

- Pentium 100MHz TCP CPU / 16MB EDO RAM - 1.0 GB Removable Hard Drive - 12.1" TFT 800x600 SVGA / 128bit Video - 16bit Stereo Audio / Speakers - Removable 6X CD-ROM Module / 1.44FDD - 360' Infra Read Port / Port / Touch Pad - Lithium-Ion Battery w/ Battery-life Indicator - AC / DC Adapter /Carrying Case

..48eductible expense)

l e •

$2066/ Lease for 70/ month "

••

+

o <ego

Lease for $126/month

Lease for 560/month EP S O M

"

Authorize Dealer

CRQ T IVF

e

- Pentium 100MHz TCP CPU /16MB EDO RAM - 1.0 GB Removable Hard Drive - 11.3" DSTN 800x600 SVGA / 128 bit Video - 360' Infra Red Port / Removable Floppy Module — Touch Pad / NiMH Battery - AC / DC Adapter / Carrying Case - Optional P-133MHz k P-150MHz - Optional 6x CD-ROM Module / Lithium

"

i Q Open

'4

'

uip'' mt

Smaller companies need the larger companies, if not for a complete buy-out, then at least for partnerships in development and distribution. The large, powerful companies need the small independents to increase the competition and provide the creative material. Anne McKeon, a marketing manager for Microsoft Canada Inc., is willing to admit that the small-to-medium-sized company can react more quickly to the demands of the market."A lot of the new stuff is coming from smaller companies,who are very cawtive,"she says. "At Microsoft, we are pretty much going to bank on the big ones. like l7iglr t Si >nularr>r." Representatives from Microsoft Canada Inc. seem reluctant to use the term "buyout." The general philosophy is that there is room for everybody: when it comes to making deals, or buying out a company, each deal is different. A developer can create a product and sell it outright, or keep the copyright and have its company name advertised in the software. According to M c Keon, companies like Microsoft are not out to dominate the market."Competition is healthy and gives more choice to the consumer." In this symbiotic world, however, the snull bird who feeds in the mouth of the hippopotamus must be carehd not to be swallowed. Dan Donaldson, president of Omnivore, a software

I'I 8 IllCIOSDil+

s ,~+

I I W I Wll h

Ne r v e

S C~PTR K

(p~ ggg~

FU IIITSU NEC

TCP CPU Upgradable Memory Upgradable: PCI Bus PCMCIA:

133MHz, 150 MHz Use Standard DIMM

All lease ratesarebasedon a 36-month business lease (O.A.C.). Final leaserates, payments andoptions mayvary.

C OMP U T E R

P L A Y ER !

I A N UA RY 1 9 9 7


• •n•• • • • • •

"'.'II|.e Ilfv I '--

Vou can b e r e p l a c ed by a m a c h i n e • • By CHRISTOPHERCULY •

everl~ng from printers or modems to filmmaking equipment. For example, DuPont Canada Inc. is testing a CBRS prototype — originally developed by Atlantis Aerospace Corp. in B rampton, Ontario, to help repair planes — to assist in maintaining equipment that melts plastics into yarn, film, and resin.

If you feel your co-workers aren't logical enough, computers may soon be able to Sl the void. Programs, dubbed "case-based reasoning systems" (CBRS), are popping up in various industrial settings that use "common-sense" approaches to help solve problems with

Complexity? No problem Because aircraft equipment is so complex in its design, the accompanying repair manuals often fail to anticipate problem areas. That' s where CBRS comes in. The pitogram contains problem scenarios and how they were resolved. Rather than ieinventing the wheelor wing — a mechanic simply punches in the

being used by Rogers Cablesysterns Ltd. io

The easiest way to do your taxes. V'ott betl From the makers of Quicken~ and QuickBooks~, QuickTax is the fastest and most straightforward way to do your taxes. QuickTax guides you ttutyugh a simple step-by-step Process, much like an accountant would — but without the expense! Your responses are entered on the right forms, on the right lines —automatically. QuickTax analyzes your unique tax situation, seeks out deductions ... and gives you helpful advice on how to . save money on your taxes. QuickTax's Final Review even doubl~hecks your return to make sure it's complete.

E asy as ... 1, 2 , 3 ! Answer tlulokTtN'e eeeytottnderetund interview questions. Once you' ve gathered up all your receipm, Quickrax guides ynu thmugh all the questions you need to answer. QuickTax then puts your answers in all the right places and perfectos aff the necessary catcxtfations.

Na more Inta nfgftt affffnft, re hmtten panelist

qufokTexrevteweyeur return thoroughly. cnnntt

n lest

Your nnutn is doub ~ xf f o r errors and omissions to help you stake certain that nothing has been left nut nr overfookcnf You'te even alerted to missed dedueions that could save you money or misscxf imhies that could trinket a Revenue Canada audit.

• t n IM

•I

we

• tarte-' esaaasnasrrttrrsmt

ns

«em

No mare wanlasl

tats saa u tarte nttamax stn tae e rennes r trs

• ntr tns etttvs IÃw arrnlnrl itin Iinsanennnaasteat trt ewOantssttf. tes ' r tsaetrsrs nn tvatnmnstnse n tstr' ntntrrr

nt s

3• farfnt yotu ready tofffe forms right from your prfnteg

With t tuickTau you can pnnt vour final tat hnms (ptnaf vie ion) oli allv det matrix, Ink kt or Nwt ptulter Jisst sigtl your

q etme ram insatm*':"i"

return nnd drop it in the mail

No mare hesslasl Tiic iuchi inr Qntrt 7iu fncifgfrftrv interfere sulksynn lhrlxtgft iioiil inr rrhim tftiickly nisi rnnifif.

RRSP Analyzer! Novv, with the new QuickTex RRSP Analyzer, determining ynltr optimal RRSP contribution has never been tmsier. New! The Grefrhfoef Tux Summery window tnottitors your lex situation as you pfepatte your return. You get a mncise look at the effect of different tax strategies —ou'll y know whereyou stand every step-of-the-way. QuickTax alfxt indudeg grrtnrtAudlt that looks for errmg and Deduotkm Finder —for any deductions you might have missed. They' re added features that make it a snap lo get the most out of your tax lettunf

The critics agree. QuickTax is ¹1! "I tevtewed each[taxi package twice ... Quickyax won hands down ... CtuickTax was the only package that ptoduixxf a conect return the first time." Finnnciaf Past, March 1996.

'The clear winner for ease of use by ordinary lolks ... QuickTax."

C BC TV, Ottawa,March 1996.

February 1996

QuickTax will do for your taxes what Quicken did for your cheque book.

t • •

"As for its featme set. Quickrax is richer than any program out there." The Computer Paper, March 199ft.

QuickTax Deluxe offers you all the power of QuickTax phmmultimedia tax advdce on CO-ROM to help you save money naw and in the yeats to comet

With QuickTax Deluxe you get an unbeatable Tex Uftrery with onocteen versions of Ernst* Young'sfvfnnngingYour persnnnl Tiara,as well as lacksnti Tar Savings and20l Nhys rn SmvnnTens by Evelyn ladis. Rnd answers to all your tax questions with the dick of your mouse! You' ll also find over lm vi denclips with tax savings ~ eem llnenahl experts Marshall Loch, hirmer managing cxfitor of Fntrunrmngiuinr, and Cents flats, Senior prindpal in the National

Tax Gnmp at frost ik Younr,. •

And to top it oA,QuickTax Deluxemcludm efcharts Ieutual Femf

Saftrrare. You' ll bc able to otmpnre. sonand rank almuvi everv mutual fund in Canada — available only «ith Quickyax fk lute! Macintosh and French

Visit your local retailer todayl

Or call now to order: 1-SOO-260-6575 ext. 3320 Qvxunnnni!u ttk k t n . t r ni i t J irairmait i

C OMP U T E R P L A Y E R !

i ni n » tn V l i m i t r v t nntttsaieiheri i - t t

j A N U A RY 1 9 9 7

i l h r i t t • i t | c ent o o etn a Intnit it,

symptoms of the mechanical problem to find cases that correspond with the latest challenge. Furthermore, the logic-friendly computer program servesas a database to store worker intelligence — long after an employee leaves. For companies with a keen eye on employee productivity, Atlantis is touting CBRS as a way to reduce time spent on problem solving and quicken the method of obtaining positive results. The only significant corpo rate expense comes with the initial set-up, which can cost as much as $1 million. Atlantis doesn't have a monopoly on CBRS, however. In Burnaby, BC, Simon Fraser University runs i t s o w n Ca s e-Based Reasoning Group, which has developed an artificial-inteUigence software program now

handle customer telephone service calls. Using a CBRS, Rogers service representatives are prepared for typical cable-TV problems and can guide subscribers in solving their own problems based on case scenarios. Meanwhile, Atlantis has been working with Hamilton-based Westinghouse Canada Inc. in testing CBRS to help locate and repair faulty motors that drive industrial equipment. Computers that draw on human experience aren't going to be limited to major companies, however. Once its program becomes commercially available in 1997,Atlantis plans to establish a subscription service for smaller Brms. For a fee, which will start at $100, companies can access CBRS online to get help with solving a problem. Eventually, computers that draw upon human expertise could replace the real thing. A recent study looking at the Westinghouse experiment, conducted by Atlantis and information systems professor Ali Montazemi from McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Business in Hanulton, found that users got more consistent advice from CBRS than from their colleagues. +

c on t i n u e d

f ro m p age Z 3

developer that ltas sold properties to major Canadian publishing houses,suggests that small, inteiactive-media companies look for "hardboi1ed" copyright protection and yearly royalties. Says Donaldson,"When you sell your copyright, it's not just the product you are selling. You are losing the potential to develop your product further." He explains that it is the ideas behind the product that have a viable future. Companies should protect their copyright, he advises, so that they will be able to profit from the auxiliary ideas that stem from the main concept. Isabel Hoffmann, president of Hoffmann and Associates Inc., also feels very strongly about smaller companies holding on to their copyrights — but she takes a patriotic stance. According to Hohann, it is bad business to not get credit for the work that you did. "The more we sell out, the more we deplore the cultural content in Canada, and the more we will suffer. We have a better society here, a better education, a murh better way of living. And I say to companies that sell out, well, too bad,you must not believe very strongly in your cultttre,or in the thing that you have produced."

M.D. Edwards isa freelancewriter. +


a ue a II • • By DAYID ROSEN •• In Orwell's dark satire, l984, the population is watched constantly by an omniscient governinent. Catch phrases constantly assure the populace that the government (in the form of Big Brother) is watching. Pretty bleak stuff, right? Yep. Couldn't happen here, right? Er, not so hst. Bought anything by credit card recently? Well, let's hope it's not something personal, since credit-card files are about as secure as the corner mailbox — sometimes even less so. The theft of a laptop computer a few weeks ago in the San Francisco area with over 900,000 unencrypted credit-card numbers, expiry dates,account names, and addresses demonstrates the care with which credit-card companies protect our privacy. Did you know that all credit-card companies track your every purchase on a hourly basis? The companies say they do this for two reasons: preventing fraud and target marketing to customers. Great. Be nice to that traffic cop who pulls you over during a RIDE spot~heck He or she knows your home address, any outstanding legal warrants, your eye colour, your age, and lots of other interesting personal information.

such as Caller ID from our friendly phone company, we can all learn the names of people who call us in the middle of the nightunless they use the Caller ID block service (available at a cost, naturally).

Even if they don't have Caller ID, anyone can find you are by using Call Return. With some off-the-shelf database software, mailorder companies can easily match your horne phone number wit h y ou r n ame,

address, and last few purchases, all before they answer your phone call. Oh, if you' re thinking about using a cell

Taking its toll If you live or travel in Ontario, you can try out the new ETR 407 Highway, "Canada's First Express Toll Route." Instead of dropping quarters into a basket, you can have the government monitor where you go along the highway and then automatically debit money from your bank account. Don't want to sign up? No problem, the highway hascameras trained on your license plate and happily snaps a picture of your car. In a few weeks, you get a bill in the mail. Not planning on driving on Highway 407? Don't ~orry. Other major streets and highways acrossCanada are being monitored 24 hours aday,7 days a week. Welcome to privacy, Orwell style. Been out walking in any mall, bank, subway station, or other "public" place recently? You' ve probably been caught on camera. Some Canadian cities, such as Hull, Quebec, have surveillance cameras strung up on high poles to combat crime. How'bout cocooning yourself in the privacy of your own home? Anybody who saw the movie Sliver a few years ago will never look at apartment surveillance cameras in quite the same light again. With Pay-Per-View TV tracking w hat youwatch,and when you watch it,you'd better be watching Disney — and nothing else.

' easiest way show

OW)hch(H...

Training tapes Gee, maybeyou should callsomebody and ask them what you should do. Don't call your broker,banker,or anyone else in a large company, though. They often record all incoming calls "for training purposes." Besides, even s upposedly confidential f o lks, such « s lawyers, are required to report the activities in their trust accounts, including the names and amounts of their clients. The law Society says they require this reporting to protect you from your lawyer — but who's protecting us from the law Society? Of course, with controversial technologies

• a printed directorgofbusmessmternetaddresses • categonze dbstmgsofcanadianbusmessmebs>tesforabou I

I

I

I

I

I

I I '

perdag

acreabanbgzeuenenterprises inc. COM P U T E R

P L A Y E R ! J A N U A R Y I 99 7


Cambia Road

INFOW AVE C O M P U T E R INC. 178~311 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC V6X3L7

604 2'73 $3$8

®

-

, ,

..

'

-1.7G

-SoundBI ster 16 Soun Ca

-2.1GB E-IDE HDD M -16'N-

S •

s

L - R SVGA o l tor

-1.44MB 3.5' FDD

-104 (Strindows 95) Keyboard

Lease:

-60W Amp, Stereo Speakers -En clo i a ' 96 8 5 CD Titles s

4

-ATX Tower wI235t/I/ATX PIS

-Logttech Mouse + Pad -Panaso ic Bx CD-RON -Sou dBI t e r 16 Sound Cant

s•

$61/mth'

-Logitech Mouse + Pad Won Sx CD-RON -Soundbtaster 16 PnP Sound Card • • . • -

Up to 512K P.B. Cache +$40 Windows 95 (Release 2) $130 32MB % (from 16M) +$110 OS/2 Warp/Meri.n $120/290 2 .0G HD (from 1.76) +$ 5 0 8 33 6 V , ./ F d M $150 Coral WordPeifect Suite $160 MS Office Pro Win'95 80

6

-1.44MB 3.5" FDD -104 (Windows 95) Keyboard -Mid-size Tower Gese -MS-Com . Mouse+ Pad

- anasonfc Bx CD-RQM -Acer 1 bit Sound Card -60W Amp. Stereo Speakers

1.368 Fujitsu $260 1.768 Fujitsu $298 2.168 IBM /WD $338/348 2.668 Fujitsu/WD $368/388 3.268 Quantum $448 2.1GB Quantum SCSI II $468 2.1GB Seagate SCSI /Wide $678/768 4.26 Seagate 8CSII Wide $1368/1468

ZIP/ JAZ Drive 10 MBZIPD v P r I C I 0 1 8 A Z ri Sl in 52 / 28 'l9 178 100 Z P i s c1/10 GB AZDisc s Panasonic 4x CD-ROM 6 Rewiitable Optical Drive $560

Tape Backup

Ditto 800MB Int/Ext TBD $16N198 Ditto 2 6 8 / 3.268 Int $250/328 Colorado T1000 800M In/Ex $178/218 Seagate 3.2GB TR-3 Int. TBD $298 Seagate 868 TR-4 Int. TBD $525 Traven TR1 /TR3 Tape $39/75

0

2988 $3468/$11 6/mth

$¹e 1 e/$169/mth

P1

I M

M

TN

2 14 7 I mt * $2738/$91/mth

2 00COS P 1 0 0 / 8 M / 8 1 0 M / 6 x C O

2 798 / 9

430CDS P120/16M/1.3G/10xCD/DSTN 430CDT P120/16M/1.3G/10xCD/TFT

$3498I$116/mth $4848/$160/mth

mh

NEC-Verse-2400CD P 10

Lease: $46/irrrlri

-60W Amp. Stereo Speakers

I

Panasonic/So 8x CD-RO 1 5 Pioneer 12x EIDE/SCSI $ 188/Call Acer16bit PnP Sound Card $38 u er16P P 8 Soundblaster 32 PnP $168 Soundblaster AWE 32 (Retail) $298 Backpack 4x CD-ROM Par. Ext $298 Backpack 4x CD-ROM/Sound $448 SCSI 4x CD-ROM ExL $298 Y amaha M15 Stereo 8 esker $8 8

/ 8 G M 4 X C O /OST N

a/nrt/r~ 110GT P100leM/810M/TFT

-Panasonic Bx CD RON -Acer 16bit Sound Card

HDD CQfltIQIIBls Adaptec 1505 SCSI (CD-ROM) $70 Adaptec 2940U PCI SCSI Kit $ 2 68 Adaptec 2940UW PCI SCSI $318 Adaptec3940W PCI SCSI Kit $530

TOSHIBA- S a t e llite 110

-MS-Com . Mouse + Pad

Acer 33 6 Full ex ce I n t 1 4 Su ra . K Int. Voice ax/ 150 USR33,6K IntiExL $160/228 . 6F IID I x V i c I t USR33.6 Full Duplex Voice Ext $268 USR Courier I-Modem ISDN Int. $530 USR Courier I-Modem ISDN ext. $638

' I i i

P120/16M/1G/¹xCD/DSTN P133/16M/1.3G/6x/TFT

-1.44MB 3.5" FDD -1 04 (Windows 95) Keyboard -Mid-size Tower Case

)

Pentium Pro200NHz/256K Cache $call

P 100/8

-PCI 1NB SVGA Card -14" N-I L-R SVGA Monitor

0

.

IBIj/I- ThlnkPect-365XO

-Pentium 120NHz CPU -256K Pipeline Cache

Lease:

.

64MB RAM (from 32M) +$220 Windows 95 (Release 2) $130 +$50 OS/2 Warp/Merlin $120/290 2.56 HD (from 2 1G) WordPerfect Suite $160 USR 33.6 Full DuPlex Vi $190 Coral M S Office pro Win'95 48 0

I - PCI 1NB SVGA ar d -14" N-I L-R SVGA Nonitor

Lease:

-60W Amp. Stereo Speakers

.s• •

ra de s stem from AT St le to ATX Fo rm Factor ATXN/8 and ATXCase $98

-AND K5-75NHz -256K Pipeline Cache

s

-ATI 642MB EDQ NPEG Card

-104 (ytrindows 95) Keyboard %lid-size Tower Case

40W Amp. Stereo Speakers •• . • a• • s . • • s Pent-150(fromP-133) +$80 W i ndows 95 (Release 2) $130 32MB RAM (from 16M) +$110 OS/2 Warp / Merlin $12P/29P 1.7G HD (from 1.286) + $ 40 A 3 3 6 V ' IF x/ M $ 140 Corelwordpedectsuite$160 MS Office Pro in'9 5 80

U

4

-1.44MB 3.5" FDD

Lease: $54/mth'

)r348

Oniy wi th system purchass,

-Pentium Pro 180NHx wI256K Cache intel Venus ATX or Asus ATX MIB %2NB 0ns E DORAN u r f a a Ma

-ATI 2 N BEDQ NPEG Card -15" N-I L-R SVGA Monitor

-1.44MB 3.5" FDD -104 (Windows 95) Keyboard -Mid-size Tower Case & 230W P/8 -MS-Comp. Mouse + Pad

-Panasonic Sx CD-RON

E- I D E D D

Lansdowne Mail

. eLaseraPrinter, ~ 6QQdpi, O 14ppm l LBP-46

-Intel Pentium 166NHx CPu -Triton I 430VXI256K Pipeline Cache -16NB6 ns RAM Ma

-Triton ll 430VX I256K Pipeline Cache - 16NB 60ns A N r faa M e -1.3 B E-IDE HDD e -PCI 2NB 64bit NPEG SVGA Card -15" N-I L-R VGA Monitor

eibridge Way

WWW : http: //www.parkerplace.corn/infowave/

All ICI systems come with 5-year labor 8 2-)rear parts warranty! -Intel Pentium 133NHz CPU

saosisie osaaa

Business Hour: Mon-Sat: 16-7, Sun: 11-7 -

-

L 4

(Within Parker Place Mall with 2nd entrance at 4310 No. 3 Road)

Email: ici®axionet.eom

•-

•~ ICI ~ S Parker Place

2 998I 9 I m t h

/1 I

P133/16M/1.1G/ex/TFT

Sony 17" 200SX/200SF $968/1168 Sony 17 SE2T 1600 x 1280 $1408 Sony 20 300SFT 1600x 1280 $2338 Viewsonic 15'15GS $530 ni P 89 8

I

CL 5446 (MPEG) PCI 1M/2M $50/70 ATI2MEDO/3DX'pn+ $10 8 /168 ATI Mach642M/4M VRAM $248/350 Tl 3D PC2TV 2M SDRA 188 ATI 3DPro PC2TV 4M SGRAM 29 r eativ La 30 a s t e e ' e b 1 i 4 I . it 6 8 Diamond 2M Stl64D/3D $118/168 HP SureStore 6020i CD Writer $868 amaha 4x4 Int. / E 998/ 1 198 Diamond 3D34004MV(OEM) $310 Diamond 3D 3000 4M V (retail) $350 Smart&Friendly¹x4 Ext. Kit $1468 troxM st. D MI4M 6 4 / 8 Coral CD Creater 8 SCSI Ctrl $268 h ili s K B l ank CD Media 1 1 Matrox Mill. 3D 2M/¹M W $268/368

3 Com EtherLink III PCMCIA $ 1 8 0 3Com Ethernet+28.8K Modem $560 Adaptec APA-1460 SlimSCSI Kit $238 Eiger Labs Audio 16bit Sound $260 MegaHertzXJ108T108aseT $ 165 M e aHertz XJ 288 2 .8 Mdm 2 9 8 e aHrtz ¹ 2 e 3 MegaHertz 28.8K+108aseT $ 4 28 New Media Wav Jammer sound $298

J 30pin 1MB I 4MB $10/40 72pin 4M /4M EDO $30/35 72pin 8M /8M EDO $65I60 72pin 16M /16M EDO $110/116 72pin 32M / 32M EDO $ 220I 2 2 5 AMD Ke-75/258K/E-IDE PCI $196 P-100/256K PBC/E-IDE PCI

$298

P-133/266K PBC/E-IDE PCI P-168/256K PBC/E-IDE PCI

$42 8 $570

j

s

$4488/$149/mth

I

I

I

Proview14"/15" N-I L/R $25 0 /335 Acer 15'/17" N-I UR $398/750 MAG 15" 1595/ 17" 1795E $468/750 NEC 15 C500/15" XV+ $548/838 NEC 17 M700/XV+ $109 8 / 1098 nic1" 28 x 4 Sarnsun915" GLe/GLi $46 8 /520 Sceptre 15 N-I UR Pnp $398 7" 7 ii ed ia 75 Sony 15 100SX/100SF $55 0 /638

/ ~]

1

SHARP-PC8050

i

CASIO QV-1QA+

$55Q

Store up to 96 ImageslAdobe included Transfer to PC I Record to VCR

CASIO QV-1QQ

$788

640x480 Res./Store up to 192 Images

a Lease Based on 36-month lease. / All priees reflect 2'Io cash discount and are subjectto change without prior notice. / All trademarksare the property of their respective owners.

/

Color Printer Canon BJC-240 Color $250 Canc BJCQ100Color 0 Canon BJ~550 17 x11' Color $598 Epson Stylus 500/ Pro $37 8 /520 HP Desk Jet 680C Color $398 HP DeskJet 820Cxi /870C 510 650

Laser Printer Brother HL730DX 600dpi 6ppm $448 an -460 00 i 368 HP 5L 600dpi 4ppm 1MB $638 ' H P 8 HP 5/5N/5M $17 2 8 /2128/2468 HP 4V/5Si/58iMx $2598/3678/5150 Fu'itsu 1 /14 m 1 88 with 4 FREE toneis ($300 value) Lexmark OptraR+ 1200dpi 12p $1785

Scanner

Epson E81000C/1200C $1038/1338 HP Scan Jet 4P /4C $668 / 1168 Logitech Pagescan Color $368 Microtek ScanmakerE3 Ra TwinBridge Chinese Partner 4.0 $268 Dragon Writer Chinese $278 GoGo Pen System3x3/ex6 $268/368


a mixe lessin • • By MYLES WHITE •

floppy). and the remainder are still in the wait-and-see category (although the "EZ" seems to be fading fast). We'il take closer looks at the JAZ and LS-120 at another time. The Zip, developed by lomega, but now manufactured primarily by Epson for both companies. comes in two external models (SCSI or parallel) measuring about 6 inches b y 8 i n ches by 1 . 5 inches thick. A third,

Everyone appears to want to r eplace the 1.44 MB floppy disk as the main means of rewriteable, removable storage for the PC. In just the past few years, for example, we' ve had the Bernoulli drive (Iomega — up to 230 MB), the fl<>ptical drive (lomega and Insite Peripherals — 20 MB), the i nternal n u > de l is 2.8 MB floppy (various planned. but w a sn' t developers), the Syquest s hipping b y pre s s d rive (Syquest up to 3 0 time. MB), the magneto optical Zip drives will use 25 (MO) drive (various develMB or 100 M B c aropers, various capacities), k9 thA.t k4 tridges — roughly the the "120 MB floppy" LSsame size, but slightly 120 (Matsushita and 3M), thicker and h eavier the EZ-135 (Syquest), the 0fi )'olla ()csL. ~ than a standard 3.5JAZ drive (lomega), the inch floppy diskette. r ecordable CD-R O M The Zip drive won' t (although it is still a write read from or write to once, read many or WORM standard floppy disks. 100 MB cartridges cost device), and the Zip d r ive (Iomega and about $22 each and can be purchased in Epson). boxes of three. Of this group, four specialty drives — with price tags to match — have survived long enough t o ha v e s e v eral g e n erations Zip drives have significantly faster access (Bernoulli, Syquest, MO. and CD), two have speed than floppy drives (about 29 millisecfailed to catch on (floptical and 2.88 MB ond seek time), but throughput — the speed

ZIP DRIA'E

~Draw

Installing the Zip will also scramble yow drive letters. Even if you onlyhave one fl oppy, it installs as though it were an additional hard drive, not as a

computer, for taking large files home from work.

The SCSI version comes with a 50-pin Centronics to 25-pin SCSI cable. The drive itself has 2S-pin connectors, so at least one of your other external SCSI devices needs a SO-pin Centronics connector (or 'you' ll need to purchase another cable). At first blush, the Zip appears to be a viable alternative backup device instead of a tape drive or floppy drive. You still have to change cartridges more often than for a high-capacity tape, but you'd do it significantly less often than with a standard floppy drive. None of the general backup software currently on the market, however, including Windows 95's backup program, recognizes

® IRNU I

the Zip as a backup device (when it gets to the end of the first cartridge. it stops instead of prompting for another). Although Iomega has freely downloadable backup s o f t w ar e at i ts We b site (http: //www.iomega.corn/), th e s o f tware didn't ship with the Epson version of the drive I bought.

at which data will get from the drive into your system once it has been located — varies d epending on th e i n terface (up t o 6 0 MB/min for SCSI. 25 MB/min for parallel). Because it weighs just over a pound, the external parallel Zip appears ideal for use with notebook computers, and both SCSI and parallel versions come with "guest" software, so the whole drive can easily be moved from computer to

O.ER

second floppy (i.e., drive B:). So, if you have one large liard drive now, partitioned to drives C: and D: , and a C D -ROM installed as drive E:, the Zip wiU insinuate itself just after your last hard drive letter, becoming E: and pushing the CD-ROM to F:. This is no big deal unless you have a lot of software installed from CD-ROM that remembers the letter of the drive. In this case, you' ll either have to edit all of the INI files and Registry entries you can find or reinstall the CD-based software. Iomega or Epson Zip drives are selling on the street for about $2S5 to $299 (parallel or SCSI). +

PROFESSIONAL LEVELSYSTEMS P-PRO 180II/IHz ................Call P-PRO 200MHz ..........

I

"NEW AMD 588 CPUT" P-I DDMHz-$2025 P.133MHz-$2150 ANIDKS •75 MHz- $1325 AMDK5•100MHz-$1375 P.120MHz- $2D 50 P.166MHz-$2330 AMDK5 • SD NIHz—$1350 AMDK5• 133MHz —$145D P e n t ium Triton Il chipsets PCI/ ISA w/256KP.B.C.{Upgradeto 512K) PentiumTritonII chipseis PCI/ ISA Built-in EIDE / IO(2s, 1p) w/256KP.B.C.(UpgradeIo 512K) Support up to200MHzCI*Us Built-in EIDE / IO (2s, ip) Intel enDumProcessor w/FenH,S. Support up io200MHzCPUs 32 MB60nSecEDORAM72Pin Memory AMDK5CPUsw/FanH.S. Panasonic1.44MBFloppy Drive 16 MB60nSecEDO72 Pin Memory 2.1 GBEIDEMode 4Hard Drive Panasonic1.44MBFloppy Drive ATI 3-DXnression64-bil w/TVoutput 1.6 GBMode4 EIDEHard Drive k 2 MBEDORAM 53 Vt64-bIIw/2MB EDO RAM (Includes 3hot3-DGames) Acerview14"34T0.26dpSVGAMonitor Sonv SX-1 0.25do 15"SVGAMonitor Mid 15"Towerw/230waits CSAAPProved Mid 10"Towerw/23f)Walls CSAAPProved 104 KeysWindows95 Keyboard Fujiisu 6725Windows95 Keyboard Logitech2-B(OEM)w/pad Logitech2-B (DEMIw/pad DX IDECD-ROM DX IDECD-ROM SB -16 pnp SB• 16.pnp 60 wattsMLi- 691Speakers 60 wattsMLi -691Speakers

' SONYSX-10.25dp.......,....., .,$540 ' SONY SF-20.25dp ................$629 ' SONY CPD-200SX1T.............$950 ' SONY CPD-200SF 17" ......... . ..$1200 ' MAG M500 0.25 15" ......,.. . , , . ..$680 ' MAG M700 0.2517',..... . . . , , , . . .$975

' NEC M50015"(Multimedia) .........$610 ' NEC C50015" ...................$539 ' NECM70017"(Multimedia) ....,...$1090 'NEC P75017" 0.25dp .....,...,...$1425

...Call

Pentium Pro ATx w/256K Internal Cache Intel Pentium processor w/ Fan H.S. 32 MB 60nSec EDO 72 pin Memory Panasonic 1.44 MB 2.1 GB Fast EIDE, Mode 4 Hard Drive ATI 3-D PROTURBO / Matrox Mystique w/4MB SG RAM MAG DX 700 17" 0.25dp Nl, LR ATx Mid-Tower 1S" w/CSA Approved P.S. Fujitsu 8725 104 Keys Windows 95' K.B. Logitech 2-B w/Pad •

' IOMEGA ZIP DRIVE 100MB ...$255 'AGER 12X CD-ROM IDE ....$189

' VIEWSOh iIC15ES0.28dP ...$445

i

' EPSON 1000CFLAT-BED SCANNER ........, . . . . ..$625

' SUPRA EXPRESS33.6 S / R/FaxNoice (OEM) .......$130

' USR33.6S/R/Fe>r/Voice ' MACOM15" Digiel w/LCD (OEM) „„. . „„ „ . . „ , . $179 0 . 28dP SVGA .....,... . , .,$359 I

' Canon BJ.240 Color BubbleIet ...

" EpsonStylus500Color Inkjet 720dpi ' HP 690C Deskjet Colorprinter.... ' HP 820 CxiDeskjet Colorprinter .. ' HP 870 CxiDeskjet Colorprinter .. ' HP 5L, 600dpi 4ppm........... 'HP6p/6mp,60 0dpiBppm .......

.....$245 .....$370 .....,$460 ......$540 ..., ..$679

......$639 $1025/1295

Panasonrc BXIDE ...........

'AGER BI10X/12X .......... SB AWE 32 Retail Box .......

'SB•32pnp(OEM).......... 'SB-16pnpw/olDElnterface .. SB 16 pnp w/IDEInterface... MLi - 691 60walls speakers ...

* Desktop Microphone ...,..... ' EP - 120120 wattsspeakers ...

...,.....$139 . ji36ijSS/105 .........$289 ...,....,$148 ..........$89 ..........$95 ..........$22

' VIEWSONIC 15GA (Multimedia) .....,$575 ' VIEWSON IC15GS .....,...,......$499 ' VIEWSON IC17EA (Multimedia) 0.28dp $825 ' VIEWSONIC 17GA (Multimedia) 0.27dp$899 ' VIEWSONI1 C7GS,......,.......,$849 ' VIEWSONIC 17PS .......... . . . . ..$975

'ACER54E15" ...................$390 'ACER56E15" ...,.......,.......$430 ' AGER76IE17" 0.27dp ......... . . ..$735

"AGER 78IE17"0.26dp .......,.....$875

e

e I

"CLEARANCE" EC-9001S...,. EC-9001SN ... EC-9001C..... EC-9888 ..., ..

GA-2888......

NE C ' ,

e e

...,.Q60 .....$355 ....,$350 .....$450 .....$500

e a ito i i

WD1,2 GB EIDE10mSecMode4 WD 1.6 GBEIDE10mSecMode4 WD 2.1 GB EIDE10mSecMode4

WD 2.5 GBEIDE10mSecMode4 WD 3.1GBEIDE10mSecMode4 QTM2.1GB/2.5GB......... Fujisu 1.28 GB,.....,........

'>C)j

prices am based oa coD only and subject to change without notice

C OMP U T E R

P L AY ER !

......$260 ..., ..$299 ......$360 ......$449 ,.$350/370 ......$245

FUjiTSU JA N U A RY 1997


W ill c o m p u t e r s By SAUL CHERNOS

n Gulliver's Travels, published in 1726, J onathan Swif t described a fictiona l m achine t h a t wr i t e s books. With today's level of artificial intelligence, such a

feat is no longer futuristic-

Gone are the days of the simple word processor. So-caged "inteUigent" computers can monitor complex operations, analyze data, detect problems and opportunities, provide advice, make decisions, and even take action in real time. Products range from frivolous to practical. Comtrad Industries of Midlothian, Virginia, has developed LitterMaid, a device which does the dirty work for cat lovers. An electronic eye senses when the feline leaves its litter box, and a microprocessor prompts an automatic sifter to d eposit waste into a sealed container. Artificial intelligence has also been used to try to develop the ultimate checkers player. In I959, Samuel'scheckers program won games against some of the hest human players. Chinook, a world championship checkers program developed by researchers at the Liniversity of Alberta in Edmonton, has taken on human experts and has almost always emerged the winner. Chinook's memory contains billions of positions. Its short-range objective is to develop a program capable of defeating the human World Champion in a match, while its long-term goal is to solve the game itself.

a wide array of computerized machines can actually mimic human thought.Recent technological dev e l opments, however, have given rise to concerns that t h e s i l i con brain may one day outthink Pod people's the human brain. Then there's Whale Watcher, a software

If:

outthink u s ? package basedon the combined knowledge and experience of actual whale experts. Manufactured by Acquired Intelligence Inc., of Victoria, BC, Whale Watcher asks users questions in order to identify whales they have observed and is really intended to illustrate the company's more practical products, aU of which centre on the acquisition of human knowledge and experience for use in knowledge-based systems. For instance, Acquired Intelligence has developed an "intelligent," computerized radio-interference advisor t ha t I n d ustry Canada inspectors use to identify and locate sources o f

i nt e r f erence. A c c ordin g t o

Acquired I n t elligence p r esident B r i an Schaefer, the advisor has digitally captured the diagnostic know-how of one of Canada's leading radio inspectors, David Sinclair of Victoria. 'We worked with Dave, and from him discovered the decision-making paths for discoveringthe various forms of interference, and we have embodied these in our system," Schaefersays.He explains that developers of artificially intelligent machines base their work on their understanding of the human brain, seeing complexities and patterns of human thought as "attributions that stem from pattern recognition. When you have a gut feeling or intuition, at some level what is taking place cognitively is that you are doing

a match of the situation — you are observing a known pattern and consequence that's recorded in your brain."

No more routines One of the main benefits of artificial intelligence, Schaefer says, is that it can automate routine tasks, freeing individuals for pursuits involving a higher level of creativity."When you take the most mundane decision-making off the backs of people, you free them up to use their capabilities in more creative ways," he says. "A lot of the work people do, they really do not want to do, and there are at least a couple of routine aspects in aU jobs

Aolmtsoct Ioe@ltleoco Ioc

'. lice + /ovv,c orn/ol/

totetr//toolscs.ootborto.co/~nook/ ;:„:.44lltottiotm' 'Bo ' a k» ~c ol of ' :Ate@clef

II'

,'

C

NB% Lexmark 9030 Color Jetprinter IBitSI~Nuc with new CDartwork Thisnewjetprinter istheperfectprinter forborne oroIce tstanrpinqu gality plussupersha rp' mmges.Indudesthe newWorkslopCDROM,Backedbyaoneyear Warmnty.

Color jetprinter%050 TheR050comblnesinklet affordabilty withlaserquality Highlmpactcolor andcrispblackat 600x600dfx,Thisnew inting needs.IncludestheWorkshopCDROM.Backedbyaone yearExpressWarranty,

99

jet pnnterhmadetohandleyourmostdemanding pr

99

OptraF.Laser Printer Profess ional quality outputwith true600x600 dpi foroutstantinggraphicsandtext print quality,SxppmantfRAMgmartinteligent memory ensureyou'l havetheprinterpower

for alyou l rneeds,Backed byeoneyearexpress

ther Lexmafkmodelsavailable

warmnty,

F or m o r e

i n f o m a t i o n , v i s i t a Le x cmar k a u t h o r i s e d r e s e l l e r n e a r y o u . Available at these HomeComputing locations a

Richmond Centre South Mall 6551 «3 Road

C OM P U T E R P L A Y ER !

JA N U A RY 1 9 9 7

0,

1

0

LEXM)~

,n,

- ~i ,

• •

Pacific Centre 777 Dunsmulr Street

• •

g

1174 Marine Drive

Metrotown Centre ¹230 4820 Klngsway


71

6X86Systems

Pentium Systems

Pentium PlusSystems Pentium Pro Systems Upgrade Options

Cyrix 6x86PI20t-/150+/166+CPU Triton Chipset MBw/Built-in EIDE Qrl dt FastV0,256K PBCache

Intel Pentium 75/100/120MHzCPU Triton Chipset MBw/Built-in EIDE Ctrl dt FastI/O, 256KPipe-linc Best Cache

Intel Pentium 133/150/166/200MHzCPU Triton Chipset MBw/Built-in EIDE Ctrl dt FastI/O, 256KPipe-linc Burst Cache

Intel PentiumProl66/1$0/200MHzCPU Triton Chipsct MBw/Built-in EIDE

8MBRAM(exp.12$MB)

&MBRAM(exp. 128MB)

16MBE.D.O.RAM(exp. 12&MB)

12 GBEIDEHardDrive 144MBFloppyDrive

1.2GBEIDEHardDrive 1.44MBFloppy Drive PCI VideoCardw/IM Memory(exp. to2M) 14" Nl, LR,SVGA,1024x768.28Monitor Mini-towerCasew/200WPS 104 Wtn'95EnhancedKeyboard Iwgitck 3B Mouseman

1.6GBEIDEHardDrive

32MB E.D.O.RAM 2.IGB BDEHardDrive 1.44MBFloppyDrive All Mach64VideoCardw/2M DRAM 15" Nl, LR,SVGA,DaytekMonitor Mid-TowerCasew/230W PS 104WmuJ SEnhancedKeyboard Logitek 3BMouseman

PCI VideoCardw/IM Memory(cxp.to2M) 14' I, LR, SVGA,1024x7N 28Monitor Min&wcr Case w/200WPS 104 Wtn'95EnhancedKeyboard Logitek 3BMouseman

1.44MB FloppyDrive ATI Macb64VideoCardw/I MDRAM 15" Nl, LR,SVGA,Daytck Monitor Mini-towerCasew/230WPS 104 Win'95EnhancedKeyboard Logitek 3BMouseman

Ctrl dtFastI/O, 256XPipe-line Burnt Cache

InternetReadyupgrade:

InternetPackage................................$20

$999/ $1049/$1099 $1018/$1048/$1068 $14 38/$1538/$1698/$1898 $2188I$2?88/$2788 Memory 72 pin 4M ..................................$22

72 pin SM..................................$40 72 pin 16M................................$92 72 pin 32M.....,........,...„..........$179 72 pin 4MEDO..............,..........$23 72 pin SM EDO .........................$41 72 pin 16MEDO.......................$92 72 pin 32M ED0.........,............$179 168 pin 16M/ED0...........$109/$119

Motherboard w/ CPU KS/686 P7S/P120.............$199/249 Pentium 75/100 MHz ........$259/279 Pentium 120/133 MHz ......$299/409 Pentium 150/166MHz ......$499/635 P200/6x86/Pentium pro......$799/Call

• •o• •

Tape/Zip/Jaz Drives lomega Zip Drive, 100MB, SCSI/Para...$249 Iomega JazDrive, I G, Int/Ext.......$505/$625 Zip 100MB/Jaz I GBDisk...............$18/$125 Colorado T1000, 800MB Int/Ext...$1$9'$229 Colorado Jttmho 1.3 GB ........................$299 Comer Int. 420MB/$00MB ..........$1S9!$199

o

a

• • o • • o•

o •

o

o

g

A

Q

Mitsumi CD-ROMgx...........................$135 ToshihaCD-ROMSx............................$145 Sony CD-ROMSx.................,.....„,......$145 Pioneer 10xSCSICD-ROM................$189 NEC 4xSCSICD-ROM.......................$149 HP Surestore 4020i CD-Writer........... $999

Sony 924SCD-Writer.............,.............$759 Blank recordable CD..............................$11

Modems 33.6 KbpsInt. Fax/Data...,...................,$95 33.6 Kbps Int. Voice/Fax/Data ............$109

28.8 KbpsInt. Fax/Data,......,................$89 28.8 Kbps Int. Voice/Fax/Data ........... $109

Supra 33.6Int. Voice/Fax/Data...........$115 VSR 33.6 Kbps Int. Fax/Data ......,......$149 VSR 33.6 Kbps Int. Voice/Fax............$169

Cases/Keyboards/Monses 104 Windows95keyboard ...................$20 Fujitsu 8725/4725..........................$30/$55 Logitech MouseManSerial ...................$33 Logitech MouseMan Bus ......................$89 13 "/I 5" Tower Casew/200W ........$47/$57 19"/25" Tower Casew/230W ........$67I$97

Bridgeport o

o

Sound Blaster 32 AWE/PNP........$169/$145 Panasonic CD-ROM 8x........................$135

Trident 9440 VLB/PCI, I M .......,............$75/$33 Cirrus Logic ULB/PCI, I M ....................$79/$39 S3 Trio 64, I M!2M D .............................$49/$69 S3 Virge 3D, 2M/4M............................$995139 ATI Mach 64, I M/2M D .........................$79599 ATI 3D Xpression, 2M DRAM.....................$159 ATI 3D+, 2M/4M SDRAM..................$169/$199 ATI 3D+, PC/TV, 2M/4M SDRAM.....$1$9/$219 ATI Mach 64, 2M/4M V ...,.................$2295349 ATI TV Tuner Card.......................................5139 Diamond Stl 64, I M/2M D ...................$95/$115 Diamond Stl 64, 2M/4M V.............$249/$319 Diamond 3D 2MEDORAM.......,.............,..$155 Diamond Edge 3D IM/2M D........,.....$179/$199 Matrox Millcnia 2M/4M W..................$249/$345 Matrox Mystique 3D 2M/4M...............$229/$315

VLB EIDE Controller...............................$27 Adaptec 1520/1522SCSI Ctrl ...........$$5/$90 Adaptec 2940 SCSICtrl .........................$235 Adaptcc 2940WSCSI Ctrl .....................$269 Adaptec 3940 SCSICtrl........,......,.........$509

1.08GB EIDE Hard Drive .........$229 1.2GB EIDE Hard Drive ...........$249 1.6GB EIDE Hard Drive ...........$279 2.0GB EIDE Hard Drive ...........$319 2.5GB EIDE liard Drive............$3S9 3. I GB EIDE Hard Drive............5489 1.08GB SCSI-2 Hard Drive .......$319 2. I GB SCSI-2 Hard Drive .........$629 3.1GB SCSI-2 Hard Drive .......$1099 4.2GB SCSI-2 Hard Drive .....,.$1249

16 Bit PnP SoundCard ..........................$39

Sound Blaster 16PNP/IDE..............$89/$99

Video Cards

HD Controllers

Hard Drives

Proview 14"/15 "/17" ...................$259/$369/$649 Daytek 14"/15 "/I 7" .....................$279/$359/$699 Acer 14"/15"/17" ........................$299/$3995749 MAG 15" DX1595fl' ...........................$465/$509 MAG 17" DX1795fl'...........................$S39/$959 ADI 4V 15 "/SV 17" .............................$499/849 NEC 15XV+/XEI 5/XP I 5..........$599/$745/$845 NEC 15" C500/M500...........................$549/$679 NEC 17XV+/XE17/XP17.....$1095/$1335/$1435 NEC 17" M700...........................................$1095 SONY 15SF ll/SX,..............................$619/$529 SONY 17SF ll/SE ...........................$1119/$1379

CanonBJ-30/240C/4100C.......$279/$249/299 Canon LBP 460 laser............,.....,........$379 HP DeskJet 400/6$0/690C.....$269/$38$/$459 HP Desklet 820Cxi/870C...............$48$/$638 HP LaserJet SL/SN.........................$645/1979 HP LaserJet 5/5M/5Si..........$1709/2359/3669 HP LaserJet SMP/4M+ ..............$1370/$2610 HP 4V/4MV/1600C........$2580/$3819/$1$19 HP 6P/6MP...................................$979/$1259 Brother HL-641, 300dpi, 6ppm..............$389 Brother I H.-730, 600dpi, 6ppm........,.....$439 Brother HL-1660, 1200dpi, 12ppm ......$1399 Epson Stylus Ils/500/Pro.........$229/$379/529 OkiData 600e/610e/8oe.....$549/$679/51010 I HP ScanJct 4S/4P/4C.......,..$269/$649/$1119 Logitech PageScanner,.....,........,............$399

28.$ FaxModem.............................,$$9

pentiuma a regieteretitrtu/ e ma rltof/oldCorp.

Multime dia

Monitors

Printers / Scanner

30 Pin IM..................................$8.5 30 pin 4M..................................$28

•• • • • • • o

8MB to16M B. Jlp 16MB to32MB......,..................3112 630MB->12GB->I.6GB HIJ...$$0/$30 1.6GB->2.IGB->LSGB HD.....450/40 14' to 15"monitor............................$110 Use Gigabyte/Asus M/B ...,.......,....$40/$0 nutemedia 9/1I12X Kit.....$239/2nt/$299 Including PX/IPX/12XCD-ROM 16 Bit Sound Card MultimediaStetcoSpeakers 4$ CDtitleswith eacydopedia

IKE I EA parking lot

8 p.

• 8p•

pp.

'

8•

a

o• o • • •

We are her

Hath ate Way

p

u•

a•

4

E

O o

• •

0

North

o

o aop

0

o

0

oo

o•

• ~ •

a

• •

u


c onti n u e d

from page~

that could be done by artificial intelligence." In partnership with UWI Unisoft Wares Inc., also of Victoria, Acquired Intelligence has developed automated, intelligent forms. Schaefer says the idea is to reduce or eliminate most of the routine aspects associated with processing employment applications,

travelwxpense forms, l e ave-of-absence requests, and other paper forms. "Ultimately, somebody sits at a desk and does the decision making to determine whether a request should be approved or denied. It's exactly that kind of administrative decision-making that ran be captured and made part of the electronic version of the form." The company supplied a prototype pro-

gram to the University of Victoria School of Public Administration, which used it to weed out unqualified candidates."There are often thousands of applicants, but one-third of them might not meet any of the criteria," Schaefer said. "Eliminating these cuts the amount nf time required to go through the applications, leaving staff with the most interesting part of the job — interviewing likely prospects."

Aretecomputers ©

Arete 166+ Gyrix P166+ MHz Processor 16 MB EDO RAM 256K Pipelined Cache Fujitsu1.44MB 3.5" FD Fujitsu 2.0 GB HD (10mis) 8xCD-ROM ESS1868 16 bit PNP Sound Card Matrox Mystique 3D w/2MB SGRAM US Robotics 33.6 Fax/ModemNoice BTG 104 Win 95 Keyboard Performance Plus Logitech 3 Button Mouse 8 Powerful Choice >> Blaze through Windows applications Windows 95 CD SR2 8 Cruise the internet Works for Windows 95 u Run advanced multimedia 17" Hyundai DeluxScan 17MB Color The Cyrlx 6x86 is fully cornatible with Windows® 95, Windows® NT, Windows® 3.1, DOS, IBM® OS/2, Novell® end UNIXI, plus the most popular business applications. Monitor with Speakers utilities, graphics programs andgames. Mini Tower Case Norton Sl v. 8.0 6x86 P166+ 901 Warranty 2 Years Parts & Labour pentium 166 ~ 5 26 $2,649

alooftheir

Call for Current Pricing, Prices Subject to Change Without Notice •

C OMP U T E R P L A Y E R !

JA N U A R Y 1 9 9 7

Although artificial intelligence conveys futuristic connotations, the technology is not altogether new. In 1950, the Turing TestComputing Machinery and Intelligencewas proposed. IPL- I I, the first artificial intelligence language, was developed in 1955, and a year later the Logic Theorist was created to solve mathematics problems. Finally, in 1956, the term "artificial intelligence" was formally adopted (see Milestones in the Development of Artificial Intelligence, by Mark Kantrowitz).

Value Added Remarfteier

Est. 1988 Helping people &compufers work together

1he Management of Arete Comjtuters would Cifaeto wish VaCued Patrons 38erry Christmas and a Aayyy 3Vew 1/ear

Forty years of AI

Although significant technological feats have been accomplished through artificial intelligence, there have also been serious mishaps. In 1960, for example, a US Defense Department computer mistook the moon for incoming missiles. And, as computers perform tasks traditionally done by human beings, critics warn about various consequences. Michael Rose nberg of t he Co a l ition A g ainst Technological Unemployment p redicts machines will develop inrreased capability and take over jobs and functions that really should be done by people. "Computers can already do many jobs, but people still think they can't do skilled, intelligent, and thinking work — the jobs that people go to university for, the jobs that involve understanding w h a t yo u ' re d o i ng," Rosenberg says. nBut I think that those jobs, as well, are within the reach of computers, and it probably won't take much more than 15 years to reach that point. Most of the things that were said to be impossible in the late sixties, like language translation and vision systems, have already been done. The only things that haven't been done are significant improvements in abstract and pattern-based thinking to produce a general intelligence, but there have been continual improvements to hardware and software." Rosenberg, who has worked as a programmer on hospital laboratory computer systems, says he is also concerned about the displacement of workers and the subsequent loss of their voice in overall economic decision-making. If the ability to maintain production no longer depends on people, an important check-and-balance will be lost, he explains. He adds that he ultimately believes unfettered technological development will lead to a scarcity of f ood and o ther natural resources. Saul ChemosisaToronto journalist whowritesabout computer, media,political, andsocialissues.Hecanbereached at schemos Cdtorfree.net


W i re d c o m m u n it i e s n o w • • By SANDY MCMURRAY ~ • What do you think of when you see the phrase "wired community?" If you' re thinking of a home like the Jetsons', or the "Home of the Future" frtim the 1939 New York World's Fair, think again. Most of the people touting "wired communities" are selling a high-speed Internet connection plus some vague promises for the future. This is the story of four Ontario communities that are "wired" in one way or another. Each one

ing cable companies to make more channels available to subscribers. Digital cable will also provide a clearer audio and video signal. These services are not yet available, but when they are, Northtown residents will already have the necessary hardware in place. Other Tridel developments, including the Pavillions at King's Landing, will also be wired by Rogers. The Pavillions development is scheduled to open late in 1997 or early in 1998.

is different, but they all have something in com-

library, and the Chamber of Commerce office.

mon: they' re all betting that getting connected now is going to be important in the future.

Northtown

Students in residence at York University's Calumet College would not be impressed by the promise of fast Internet access at Northtown. @he residents of Ontario's first w ired resi dence have "been there,done that." Every bedroom in the Calumet residence has a high+peed ethernet connection to the Internet, allowing residents to surf or network at speeds up to 10 megabits per second. Calumet College, one of seven undergraduate colleges at York University, was built nearly six years ago.AII the wires and plugs needed to network the Calumet residence were installed when the college was built. It was a natural fit, since the college's mandate includes a focus on technology and the arts. In addition to their tuition and residence fees, residents at Calumet pay a $130 fee to access to the college's network. In return, they get access to e-mail, the Web, Internet

On August 27, 1996, the city of Thorold, Ontario, became the first Canadian municipality to launch a community intranet on the World Wide Web, ThoroldNet ( http:// www.thoroldnet.corn/). Tax-paying residents now have limited access to the city's computer network. "We believe this will be the wave of the future," says Mayor Mal Woodhouse,"because it improves the services and information we can offer to citizens while cutting costs, red tape, and eliminating that frustrating line up." ThoroldNet and the Thorold Web site (http: //www.thorold.corn/) offer a number of services to residents. Thanks to ThoroldNet, residents can now apply for building permits,

Northtown is Tridel's new housing development in North York — a 25-acre site on both sides of Yonge Street, just south of Finch. Northtown will eventually be home to some 2,800 families. About 400 families are expected tomove in by January I,1997. When Phase One of Northtown opened in November, the proud new homeowners found their residences wired with Rogers WAVE, the 500 Kbps cable modem system that Rogers has been testing in Newmarket. Northtovvn homeowners are the first in Metro Toronto to enjoy this high-speed Internet access. The Northtown development is also equipped with everything needed to receive new digitalwable services. Rogers says that digital cable, when implemented, will make it possible to compress cable TV signals, allow-

8Mb EDO Memory lr abH itjorjve<Modee l.~Roppjto-

.

Calumet College

CA L L

Call /

= 6 0 8 -Z 6 8 8 B.C. ComtiiitsrsPais ..::,::

'.lf

P, • .

emory

PCI Video card w/ IMb M (exp. Io 2MI 13" mini@me' w/230 walt power supply

28.8 FAX MODEM ...... . . . . . . . '83 104 key thtin'95 jteyboaed 33.6 FAX MODEMWith Voice ...s116 mouse 8 pad l6 BIT SOUND CARD ...... . . . .'38 AND K5-90 '969 II'-433. . . . s)189 13" TowerCase w/power supply. ..'38 CYllX 150+s1079 P-'iso....s1259 P-100.. . . ' 1049 P-'l66 . . . . s'l429 P-120, • ..s1059 ll'-200 . • ..s$59$

AII prices are based on cash and certified eheqire only. AIIprice are subject to change without notice. pleasecall for the latest pricea

l

14" SVGA, Nl, .28 dpi monllor

All 8ystenaa come reit& 2 Years Parts Zr Labour W'anunty

FOR ADVERTISING

F>N>++ I

We Carry Conaputer Parts 4 Accessorie We do REPAIRS, UPCdbLDZS and 'IRADE-1NS too FREE Estimate rmd Reasonable Prices

newsgroups, FTP, and Telnet, as well as Web space for a home page. Approximately 125 students share each of the college's two 10 Mbps ethernet networks. Calumet also has its own (little-used) newsgroup: york. calumet. Both Mac and PC users are welcome at Calumet, as long as their computers can accommodate an ethernet card. Students don't need to know anything about networks or ethernet to connect — the staff at the college looks after all the technical stuff. Residents have access to other equipment in the Calumet computer lab, including printers, scanners,and video-capture equipment. Students can send their documents via the network to be printed in the computer lab, and pick them up later. Of course, connecting an entire college residence as a network provides another opportunity: the chance to enjoy online games such asDoom, Descent, andMarathon. Of course, work comes first — yeah, that's the ticket! If you' re hungry for bandwidth, and you think part-time classes at York might be the answer, think again. Residence at Calumet is limited to full-time students, and costs about $3,800 for the school year. Students are consideredon a first-come, first-served basis,and scholarship students and people from outside Metro Toronto get top priority. Still, it sounds like a cool place to live.

TRITON D * penti s s t em* jntel pentium CpU w/ Cooling Fan Tirihn jl Chipset MB wl 256K Rpellte Cache Pl'ICOS I Gn Boattl 2x EIDE, 2x Fastcom Port, ogg ~Jg I Enhanced printer port 8 Roppy Controjjer gg~ ~ g ~t j

a p p e a r in g

get a dog license, and even sign out a library book without leaving home. Agendas and minutes &om council and committee meetings are posted online. Community information on the site includes the Thor old job hank, local histo. ry, and activities for children in "Kids' Korner." In the future, the city hopes to useThoroldNet to conduct virtual town4iall meetings and electronic plebiscites on community issues. Thorold residents who don't own a computer will be able to access the City's online services via terminals located at City Hall, the

ThoroldNet

"

eSt 7th AV!I, VanCOuVer,BC V

: (6Q4) 872.-8763 9 tl¹ (6og) 872.-88SI-,;;~j~~

.

P100

Muumuu ~ IwrEi. Pa 30 2 56r, 1.6G

iNE

c

5

K MA X )

r7eg

D DRlvE

RAM (256MB MAX) A IMa vinEo cAan

5,

~ 1 4 " SVGA ,28npi MONrroR KEY WIN96 COMPATIBLE KEYBOARD

Ioicow SCOUT 33.6BPS FAX/MODEM

PIQUE

$gz

S WiNnows 95 OEM ON cD RQM

BRIDGEPORT

MU LTIMED1A PACKAGE INCLUDES: •C

- PREAMPED MM SPEAKf RS

Cl

WE ARE cr. HERF CO

BECKMANCOMPUTER 170-IO NIIIridltporlli, Hithmrtal IIC,II 32 lEitriiceit Bethmanpltll Phone :II-VB88 II: 3III-'IB83llen:llri-jri 11-7lit 11-6Klosedli!i Iolidaltl

$ >49 5

- Sx EIDE CD ROM

CI

PP180 V PP200

LOGITECH 2 BUTTON MOUSE

C

19" TOWER CASE WITH 230W POWER SUPPL Two vEAR PARTS/LABOUR WARRANTY

n/itnyyou a-vary

A5T.

Vie@Sonic" I'ee.Ae D~t ( reer

PACKARQ CBHEWLETT

a proipemm

5. p.'.,!

VTECH+

And aixoxcxan

~M P UTEA SVK%M

PLEASE CALL FOR MOMTOR> PRlNTER AND OTHER PERlPHERAL PRIGING

PRICES SUBJECT To CHANGE WITHOUr NOT1CE

C OMP U T E R

PL A YE R !

j A N U ARY 1 9 9 7


J an . 1 99 6

S ine:a 19 8 9 ~:--'p r ~aV.p,,'

Cl „ 'lA': . .

Intel Pentium 120mhz$1060 Intel Pentium CPU 4y. Intel Trlton2 VX, 256K PBC EIDE, 2x16550, Parallel 8MEDO72pi 60 1.44 floppy drive 1.26GB hard drive mode 4 1M 64bit PCI SVGA (2M +$20) 14" SVGA 1024x76& .28 NI 13" tower casewl CSA power 104 Win'95 enhanced KB 3 button mouse with pad

Sf'

SPg ling

Intel Pentiumtssmhz$1210 . Intel PentiumProt00uht II050 Intel Pentium (P5) CPU Intel Marl w/Triton2 HX, 256K PBC EIDE, 2x16550, Parallel 16M EDO 72pin 60ns o. 0I 1.44 floppy drive 1.6GB hard drive mode 4 ATI M64 PCI 2M DRAM w/hiPEG 15" SVGA 1280x1024 .28 Nl digital 17" ATX tower casewl CSA power 'I04 Win'95 enhanced KB Logitecmouse with pad

~+g

PS-100/120I133 01030/10$0/1120 PS-100/120/13351400/1430/1400 PS-SO/1$$/200g190/1340/1550 PS-1SQ /100/200 $1560/1110/1$00 6x66P 126~1130+ 6162611656 6x66P156+l166+ 61070I1146

wl 16M/32M EDO .+$45/145 60W....+$20 wl 1.6G/2.1G............+$30/70 180W.. +$55 wl WD 1.6I2.1/25/3.2 .....+QO/90/160/180 wl 15" monitor/NEC15 "n7" +$100/250/370 wl Sx/12x CD-ROM........ ...........+$130/185 w/16bit sound/ $B16pnp................... +$45/85 w/33.6 faxMod Voice/USR voice.... +$115/160

RANI CPU

4M/EDO 72pin .......................$25/23 8M/EDO 72pin .......................$42/40

16M/EDO 72pin .....................$90/86 32M/EDO 72pin ................,$188/I 85 64M/EDO 72pin.................$440/460 I M/4M 30pin ..........................$11/32 Parity 4M/8M 72pin..............,.$35/52 Parity 16M/32M 72pin ......,$110/210 ' DIMM 8M/16M 168pin.......$70/110 DIMM 32M/64M 168pin...$220/560 SO DIMM 8M/16M 3.3v......$95/155 SO DIMM 8M/16M Sv.........$95/155 INTEL MMX 200mhz .............$940 AMD KS-75/1 00/133.......$80/I 25/I 85 Intel PS-100/120/I 33...$160/I 80/255 Intel PS-150/166/200...$335/465/640 Intel P6-200(256k)/512k..$1160/1780 6x86P120+/133+................$110/130 6x86P150+/166+................$150/210

PRINTER

Panasonic24p/OKI 320T....$240/360 Canon BJC240/4100..........$240/310 Canon BJC4550......................../$560 HP 400C/680C...................$260/390 HP 820Cxi/870Cxi.............$490/640 Epson Color 500/Pro..........$380/530 Panasonic KXP6100 laser.........$390 Brother HL730dx /WL660...$430/320 HP 5L 600dpi,(us$50 rebate).....$630 HP 6P 600dpi,2M,6ppm.............$950 HP 5/ SN! SM .......$1680/2100/2460 HP 4V/Ssi/SsiMx...$2580/3650/5130 HP 4P scaner.............................$640 HP 4C scaner...........................$1120 Microtek E3...,..........................$480 Logitech pagescaner.................$400

DanllINelPS-200CPUs $2710 w/32M KDO...+$100 w / 2.1G......+$50 w/ WD1.6/2.1/2.5/3.2......+$20/70/130/160 w/17" monitor/NKC15"...........+$270/150 w/ 8x/12x CD-ROM................. +$130/185 w/16bit sound/ SB16pnp.............+$45/85 w/SB32PnP ..................................... +$150 wl 33.6 Voice / USR voice......... +$115/160

IOTHERBOARDStFD Triton2 VX 256k PBC/DIMM $120 '" GA586VX 512k PBC/DIMM...$175 GAS86HX 512k PBC...............$195 Asus VX 256k PBC/DIMM.....$190 Asus T2 HX 256k PBC ...........$205 Asus T2 ATX 256k PBC..........$240 Tayan S1470/dimm,256k.... ....$230 Tayan Tomcat III/ Dual PS/512.$340 Intel EV3 256K EcSB16..........$280 Intel Marl T2 ATX 256k..........$175 Intel Tucson T2 ATX s16,256k..$250 Intel Venus 440FX P6,.....,.....$360 Dual P6 Supro Natoma ...........$550 Dual P6 Tayan Natoma........,...$615 CPU fan 486/PS/P6.............$7/8/16 256k PBC..................................$25 512k PBC..................................$50 FD 1,44 ....................................$30

MONITORI Video Card 14 "/15 n/17".............$260/345/650 Acer 15 "/17" digital.......$430/730 MAG DX 15/1795e.......$470/820

NEC CS00/M500...........$530/630 NEC X V17+/M700...$1095/1040 NEC P750(17") 1600.........$1360

Intel Pentium Pro (P6) CPU/256k Intel Venus w/Natoma 440FX EIDE, 2x16550, Parallel

s+d4e 1.44 floppy drive 2.5GB hard drive mode 4 Quantum ATI M64 PCI 2M DRAM w/MPEG 17" ATX tower casewl CSA power

33.6voiceFaxModem, internet.$115

32M EDO 72pin 60ns

+go.

104 Win'95 enhanced KB Lngitec mouseman/MSv2 with pad

rsrsm-soossstssr~esoo

Ill.PO10ne200nlhzCPI $2700 Dill.POITwe2001nhzCPI 53000 wl Adapte c2940/UW .........+$250/$330 wl WD2.5/3.2G eide............ +$20/80 w/2Gscsi /4G Wscsi...... +$150/960 w/ MGA Milleaum 2/4M... +$150I250 MS-HOME CD Pack (w/ only): $80.00

csystem

NS-Escorts'96, MS-Nosey, NS-rVortrs,MS-Bob, NS-DsngeronsCrenlurer. NSSorrrtrters

96' Best10cdpack...................................: $40.00 Windows'95full ver. oncd (wlsystein only):$120.0 Discove Sx/SB32 n 12 titles/S kers..: $340.0

, Hard Drives I Controller 1.08G/1.7G/2.1G...............$240/275/320 WD1.28/1.6/2.1G..............$275/295/335 WD 2.SG/3.1G.........................$385/415 Quantum 1.2/1.7/2.1..........$255/290/325

Quantum 2.5/3.1G...................$340/410 Seagate1,2/1.7/2.1............$258/290/335 Seagate 2.5G........................,..........$350 Quantum 2.1G scsi/W/UW.$460/580/730 Quantum 4.3G Wscsi/UW..$1260/1 300 Seagate4G UW scsi ...................$1490 Seagate9G wide scsi............,....,.$2800 ISA 16bit super I/O 2x 16550...........$35 VESA 32bit 2x16550,.... .........$35 Adaptec 1520/I 522 scsi..............$85/90 Adaptec 2940/2940ultra..........$240/250 Adaptec2940W/2940UW.......$295/320 scsi /wide scsi cable............,.......$15/35

CD-ROMSound I Card 8x Acer/Panasonic..............$140/145 12x Acer/Mitsumi eide..............$185 Aplex 8x SCSI int. SCSI ..........$395 16bit sound card/SB16pnp......$40/85 SoudBlaster 32pnp/retail.....$150/190

SB32AwePnp retail./AWE64...$290/$

Sony I oosx (15)/SF2.....$520/610

60W!80W/230%.....„...... „...$20/25!60

Sony 200SX! S F(1 7).....$920/ I 090 Viev sonic I 7PS/GS......$960/850 Sumsang 17Gli/Glsi....$860/I 020 NEC P IISO/Sony20...$2690/2100 PCI 64b I M/2M.................$40 58 PCI 64 w/MPEG I/2M.......$55/70 ATI 64 1M/2M DRAM.....SSS/100

Fax Modem

Millenum 2M/4M 1600..$250/360

Mouse/logitech 28.....................$8/20

Misteque 2M/4M 1280...$230/320

Logitech3B/MS v.2..............,.......$32 13 "/15 "/19" w/power...........$50/SS/65

Diamond 3D 2M Dram (4m).$150 ATI 3D Rage2 PC2TV 2M...$170 SOJ RAM for Video IM ......,..$15

SPECIAL QuantumFB 2.5/3.2GB.....$340/410 Canon BJC240/4100.........$240/310 SB16pnp/32pnp..........only$83/I 45 ZipDrive (US$50 rebate).....$248 Zip disk/Jaz disk.............$18/125 USR33.6 voice/SpeakerPone..$160

33.6Fax VoiceModt'USR........$115/160 33.6Voice retail int/cxt. U SR ..$210/245 Supra 33.6 voiceFaxModem....... $140

Mouse I Case /Keyboard ATX 17 "/ Full tower.............$110/110 104KB/Fujitsu8725/4725....$20/30l60

Flute 15" 1280x1024 digital..$345 Brother Laser 600dpi, 730DX..$420

wentwwiie.Ca $ 19.0 / m o n t h

We are the First: ln Vancoll ver lo sell: . Inlet PS-I20,133,150,200 systems . EIIQ and PBC . Endeavor Sertals . Aurora and Venus . Inlet P6 IBO/200 CPUs . Intel Iyuat PS/P6 systenss . Intel NMX 200nrlrs CPU

IVe pioueoredin thepoet. IVeuntictputod thepresent. And, you can besure we're working on thefuture.

Tape I Zip Drive HP colorado T1000/E .........$160/210

HP T2000/E..„.....................$230/290 ZIP 100M scsi int/ext ......$2SS(us$50oo) ZIP 100M Parallel.....$248(us$50 rebate) Jaz IG scsi int/ext........,......$505/625 Ditto 800M int/ext............. $155/190 Ditto 2GB Traven int/ext....$200/260 DC2120/2120XL ...................$18/20

Traven TRI/TR3 tape ............$36/70 Zip disk 100M .............................$18 Jaz disk IG.................................$125

CD Nriter

HP SureStore 6020 .................$940 Panasonic 4x/2x w/ctrVslt....,.$695

Yamaha 100 4x/4x in/cx..$1060/1080 Sony CD writer CSP940 w/ctrl...$840 TDK/SONY writable cd-disk.......$12

NETWORKS

l6bit ISA comb Ethernet..................$42 32bit PCl comb Ethernet..................$60 Intel ISA Ethernet pro 10+..........,....$99 intel ISA Ether Pro IO+ comb........$140

intel PCl Ethernet Pro 100.............$140 3com Etherlink 16 comb/10B..$140/120 3com Ether PCI 509B (IOB)..........$150 3com Ether PCI 590 (comb)..........$190 BNCrTerminater/T ...........................$5 Coax cable I OIV20A/SOft.......$1 S/20/35 Netware 5/10 users................$960/1700 NT 4.0 Server 5 /10 user .......$950/1100 NT 4.0 workstation .......................$290 e provide Dealer Price Protection (aII Prices listed arecashdiscounted andthe prices and specifications aresubject to change without notice )


NET

is also the control panel for temperature contml, home security, and emergency services. The Intercom Ontario consortium intends to make "video mail" and other forms of video communication a part of life at Stonehaven West. Intercom suggests the technology could enableparents to have face-to-face communications with a local doctor in an emergency situation; children will be able to work on group projects without leaving home; and students who are home sick from school will be able to establish a video and audio connection to the classroom from their bed, so they don' t miss anything. Intercom doesn't say whether the sick kids will think this is a good idea. Cary Solomon of Spectrum Communities says the emphasis at Stonehaven is not on bandwidth, but on community. FamiTies do not buy houses based on whether or not they' re connected to a Tl, but consider other factors like access to schools and hospitals, and the neighbourhood itself. Stonehaven West's longterm plans include connections with libtaries and other cultural institutions, as well as a relationship with a wired" school that the York Regional school board is currently building. Houses at Stonehaven West start at about $150,000, with the average home going for about $200,000.

c onti n ue d f r o m p a g e 9 1 Stonehaven West "Residents of Ontario can now live and play on the infoway, from the comfort of their own homes." With t hose w o rds, Spectrum Communities announced Stonehaven West in the fall of 1995. Stonehaven West, "Canada's Premier Interactive Community," is located at the south end of the town of Newmarket, Ontario. The project is an ambitious experiment in social and technological planning. According to Robert Campbell, trial manager for the consortium behind the project, Stonehaven West "will provide crucial research regarding how Canadians work, play, and live on the infoway." Stonehaven West has been in the planning stages for about two and a half years. The 80acre, $130-million development is a project of the Intercom Ontario Consortium and its members, including Spectrum Communities, BellCanada, IBM Canada, and Apple Canada. Like the Calumet College residence, family homes at Stonehaven West have been constructed with networks and connectivity in mind. An ethernet connection in the home will connect residents to each other, and to the Internet, using a high-speed ATM network. In each residence."ports" connected to the In Home Network will enable residents to share information between computers, to connect one VCR to several televisions ttuoughout the home, or to play one stereo on speakers all over the house. The In Home Network

Visit our Web site at

COMPUTER

MART

Are we there yeti It remains to be seen exactly what the "wired community" of the future will look like — probably some combination of the technologies mentioned above — but it' s clear that we' re not there yet. +

m •

or call 738-7577 for more info

Intel P-100 16 MB EDO RAM 1.2 GB HD

Intel P-1 66 16 MB EDO RAM 1.7 GB HD

1 MB S3Trio 64 mpeg 15" Case w/230W

1 MB S3 Trio64 mpeg 15" Case w/230W

win95 Keyboard

Win95 Keyboard

Mouse Sound Biaster 16

MS Mouse Sound Biaster 16

Acer 8X CD ROM

Acer 8X CD ROM

Panasonic 1.44 MB Floppy 33.6 Modem W/Voice Triton II VX Motherboard 256 K Cache memcxy 14" Sceptre Digital Monitor

Panasonic 1.44 Floppy US Robotic 33.6 Voice Asus Triton II VXMB 256K Cache

Monitor Extra

Price $1545

Price $1720

Sound Biaster AWE64 $310 Sound Blaster 32 OEM $150 C PU Special P-100 $18 5 Ram SpecialBM EDO $45 ATI 3D Xpression $180

Monitor Sceptre P73 17" Monitor $660 Sceptre 15" On Screen $415 Sceptre 15" P51 $400 Daytek 14" $300 Daytek 15" $385 MAG 15" $515

MEM

8

BBB

i1mm', itrrii

', INTERNETBROWSER ONLY$1298

'

iPS-1PP iP5 12P

$ 1538 , @1578

I

iP5-15P

$1 758

I

HOT PARTS SELETIONS

MOTHERBOARD TRITON VX PENTIUM-100/1 2$133.............$33$359/459 TRITON HX PENTIUM-15$16$200.........$60$70$1058 48$5X86 PCI/ISA 10$1 20r133...................$17$18$195 4/8/1$32MB SIMM RAM............................$38/5$1 28/228 256KB PIPEUNE BURST CACHE............. . ..........$38

AMD DX4-100 PCI/ISA 22.8INTFAXMODEM 168IT SOUNDCARD 8X EIDECDROM DRIVE MICROPHONE 5SPEAKERS

512KB'8 DRAM/EDO RAM.... ....... ..................i.....$2S/30 DRIVES

1 Jll.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE..............................$65/36 1.0$1.2/1.$2.1/2.5GBHDD........-..$238/25$29$38$420 8X EIDECDROM DRIVE.......-.........................-......$145 H P 4XR/2XW CDROM RECORDER...... ........ .......$1148 YAMAHA 4XR/2XW CDROM RECORDER.... ...-......$1048 ..$258 EPSON 100MB ZIPDRIVE.. JAZ IGS SCSI DRIVE ............ ..$589 TAPE DRIVE 800MB/32GB...............................$15$338 VIDEO CARDS AND MOMTORS ATI M64PCI 2MB D/VRAM.. ..$110/288 DIAMOND ST64 PCI 2MB D/VRAM....................$110/328 PCI 84SIT2MB EDO MPEG...........„,,. ..$78 MONITOR 28 NI LR GR 14'/1 5'.-...................$299/438 MONITOR FLAT DIGI 17'.2$26...................,...$750/850 SOUND CARD, MICROPHONE. AND SPEAKERS .............$1$8 MICROPHONE/EARPHONE.. .$90/148 SOUND BLASTER 1$32.... .............. $58 16BIT PNP SOUND CARD.. 60W/I 20W/200W SPEAKERS (AC) ....................$28/4$68 MODEMS 28.8/33.6USR INT.FAX VOICE SPKPHN.................$ 210 28.$33.6 FAX MODEM INT/EXT..........................$138/188 KEYBOARD MOUSE AND CASE MTEK 104E4H WIN95 K/B... $25 .$68/33 FUJITSU 4725/8725 K/B... ...$88 M ICROSOFT WIN95 ERGO....... W IN95 ERGO WITH TOUCH PAD... ...,............. ..........$99 M ICROSOFT MOUSE/LOGITECH 3B ERGO.... ...........$35 .............................$1$28 I.OGITECH 2B/3B....... CASE 13'/15'/19'/FULL..........-................$68/7$8$1 18 SOFTWARE AND DISKS DOS62 5 WINDOWS 3.11WG... .$128 wiNDowS 95 FULL VERSION.. ............2I138 MS HOME 7TITLES (ENCARTA96).......................,...$98 7 CDROM TITLES (GROLER 96). ..................... ........$38 ................$15 74MIN/650MB BLANK CD... .

iP5-2DP $2 1 5 8 ', CX6x86-133+ $1568 , ' GX6x86-166~ 51 828

m

1.44IN FDD, 1MB648IT VIDEO

14 .2 6 NILR GR SVGA

ves5K/e a2e MousE

13" TOWERCASE tjifiN95 INTERNETFUU. VERSION

.

.

.

.

.

.

.586/6x86 TRITON VX PNP GR M/8 . 19' MID TOWER CASE WITH LED . 256KB PB CACHE . 28.8INT. FAX MODEM . 16MB SIMM RAM UP TO 128MB . 8 X INT. EIDE CDROM DRIVE , 1.27GB EIDE HDD MODE 4 . 16 BIT PNP SOUND CARD . 1.44MB FLIJITSU FDD . 60W SPEAKERS AC POWERED . 64BIT PCI 2MB MPEG VIDEO . DES K TOP MICROPHONE . ON BD EIDE/EIO/PS2M PORTS . 7 M P C CDROM TITLES '96 . (2X16550+ECP+P82 MOUSE) G FIOL IER ENCYCLOPEDIA .14' 28 NI LR GR SVGA MONITOR ANI M ALS, CHEESE, ATLAS, TYPING TUTOR, RABBIT , 104K FLIJITSU8725 WIN95 K/B . 2BLOGITECH MOUSE W/PAD

.

.

.

CD COPY/BACKUP SEAVICE....................CALL

~ HIG H E N D ~

i PS-13 3 i P5-16 0 I PS-1 66 i P5-20 0 C X1 SlhC X1 66+

$2308 $2428 $2528 $2828 $2238 $2288

.GA586HX TRITON HX PNP M/8 . 512KB PIPELINE BRUST CACHE . 32MB EOO RAM EXP'L TO128MB . 2.168EIOE HOO MODE 4 . 1 A4MB FUJITSU FDD . ON BOARD EIDE/FDD/EIO . 2USP(16550) 1P(EPP) 1M(PS/2) . ATI30 PC-To-TV 2MB MPEG . 15".28 Nl LR GR FLAT MONITOR . FUJITSU 104 ENH. WIN95 K/B .38 LOGITECH PS/2 MOUSE Sr PAD . 19' MIQ CSA TOWER CASE . SX EIDE CDRONI DRIVE . SOUND BLASTER 32 PNP CARD . 200W STEREO SPEAKERS . USR 33.6 INT VOICE FAX MODEM (UPGRADABLE TO 55.6K) . MICROPHONE INCLUOE

M G N T H L Y P R G M O T IG N :

1 . 8X I N T . E I D E C D R O M IN S TA L L E D $ 1 3 8 2 . 33.8 INT. VOICE M O o E M I NS T A L L E D 4 1 3 8 •

8

®

S

®

I I

C OMP U T E R

P LAY ER!

I

II

JA N U A R Y 1 9 9 7


mini mouse. Compiled by KEVIN LINFIELD

It's virtually art

than c<>nventional modems and doesn't tie up your phone (or c able!) l i n e . Y o u c a n obt a i n mo r e i nf o r mation a i http: //www.wave.ca or call 1-8(X)-THE-%AVE.

Rogers Comm«nic;ui«n Inc. has launched Artwave@Rogers. the first-ever virtual gallery of contemporary art. Featuring contemporary Canadian works from I I <>I the c<>untry's most prominent art museums, it occupies mar< than ISO%'eb pages. Point your far<>urite hr<>wser i<> http: //sswsv.artwave.rogers.

In the palm of your hand Just when you th<>ught notebook computers were getting really small, Hewlett-Packard Ltd. has previewed its new Windows CE-based palmtop

coAl/ and have '1 I< >ok.

Fujitsu Takamisavva is now o ffering a mi ni at u r e , portable. I>an<I-held mouse designed for lls<.vvitll lap<<)p

computers and »t her p<>rtable devices svith a PS-2

mouse port. The Palm Mouse provides one-handed curs<>r control, making it good for travelling, giving computergenerated presentations, or w herever wor k s p ace i s severely limited. Designed to fit in the user's palm, it weighs less than 30 grams and comes with a 1.7 metre cable. Palm Mouse comes with a MSRP of USS36. For more information, visit http: // www.fujitsufta.corn/ or call 1-800-380-00S9.

Olympic fever hits early It is never too early to get a head start! The 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics' Internet home page is now online. Learn more about the

0

upcoming winter games ('in b<>th lapan<.se <>r English) !rom l>ttp://vvww.nagall< >.01)'nl pic.ofg/ The site is p r<>duced hy ll3M, the official internet information System provider to the 1998 games.'I'h» Olympic h<nne page provides a variety of inf<>rmation, including facts, tigures. photos. and video and audi<> clips.

Free days/weelss/months Since last September, inore titan 8<,000 computer calendars li:lve been do<vol<>ad« I !ron> liigiDa) 's Web site. liest <>f all, they' re free! D<>vvnl<>ad <>ne <>f ih<'ir many designs from hitp://www.visi<mx.c<>m/ddmain hini

2;-'

PC with wh;it i» ciain>ed to be th» widest display among its peers. It features an 80-col-

Cross-platform gymnastics

umn, 640 x 240 LCD display. The product-release date is expected t<> be mid-1997. For more ittformation see http: // www.hp.corn/It andheld/

Adobe has aniu>unced ihe avail:<hiliry <>I.4c>'<>b«! 3.0 s<>ibvare for Windows, Macintosh,;ind (1NIX. I Ising i heir popular Portable D<>cument Format (PDF), users can easily produce document» that are easily viewed and transported in many different ways (including through your E<vourite Web br<>svser). Ac>r>I>at for each oper<ting system has a MSRP of USS29S. Don't forget that Ad»be's Ace>(>at Reader (a PDF viewing application) is freely available f<>r %'indows, Mac, OS/2, and UNIX from Adobe's Web site. More information can be found at http: //www.adobe.corn/ or by calling 1-800-272-3623.

HP' newppaimtop HP's i t p PC

Cyrix vs. Intel, where it matters Confused about Cyrix CPU chips and how they compare to Intel's> If you have a Cyrix chip in your PC and were wondering how well you can play games with it, check out Cyrix's Games and Multimedia Web site at ht tp: //wvs~cyrix.corn /process/support/games.htm This site is updated weekly to answer issues or questions regarding Cyrix products with game and multimedia developers,

Vancouver catches the Wave Slowly but surely, Rogers Communication's Wave Service (cable-modem access to the Internet) is gaining steam. Vancouver is the latest city to be able to access the Internet via their TV cable line. Although it costs more, cahle access I<> the Internet is faster

• 0 i0 •

RPC SYSTEMS ' Intel Penlu®B moxed Processor

M.board w/TritonChipsei P-120 PCI$1350 '"Glgabyle 16MB EDO RAM P-133 PCI$1430 ' 512KB Pipeline BurstCache Mb floppy Drive P-150 PCI$1550 '+1.44 1.6GBBDEHard Drive P-166 PCI$1680 ' 2 serial,l Parallel, 1 MousePo!ts P-200 PCI$1860 ' PCI64BiI video Card w/1Mb

' Magnavox 14' SvgaMonitor ' NMB 104 KeyWin95 Keyboard ' 15' Tower Casew/ 230WCSAP/S * Log!tech 3 Button Mouse ' 2 Years Warranty

MONIT ORS8( VIDEO CARDS

Magnavox 14" Nl SVGA.28 $290 Comparlnerl5" Nl LRFlat SVGA.2B $480 Co(npupartner 17' I Flat Screen Nl SVGA $860 Samsung 15" Flat Screen NI,N, SVGA $495 Samsung 17" GLIMonitor $930 SONY 100sx 15'

NEC C500 15"

NECXVI7t / Xel 7 I 1' SVGACard 2M Exp. 512K

SVGACard ISAIMB

$600

$565 $1180/$1460 $45 $65 $59/$69

CirrusLogic SVG A Card I/2MB PCI Ma!rex Milennium 30 2mb/smbV/Rair<PCI $279$/$379

Ma!raxMys lque 2mb/4mb SGRam PCI Diamond Stealth 64DRAM1,'2MBVLB/PCI

$265/$330 $149/$179

Diam(>ndSteallh64 Video VRAM2/4MB $330/460 Diamond Steal!h 3D PCI2MB/4MB $230/$265 AII 30 Xpression+ 2MB/4MB SDRam PCI $199/$239 AII 30 Pro Ii>it>s> 4MB/BMB SGRam PCI $335/$440

C OM P U T E R PL A Y E R !

M01tjEIIONDSILatest Design)

MULT IMEDIA 16 bii sound card & BxCD-ROM 2 Power Speakers w/AC adaptr 120 Waff speakers

$206 $29 $49

Soundblaster32 PIIP

$169 $199

Soundblasler AW E32 16 bitSoundCard Sound blaster 16 Panas onic 8xspeedCD410!n Sanyo2xSpeed KSI CD -Rom AdaptecKSICD-RomCntrlr w/ Soflwae

$58 $99

$155 $99 $85

We are a member of Better Business Bureau DRIVES8( CONTROLLERS 1.2GBEIDE $270 1.788 EIDE $310 2. I GB/ 2.5G8EIDE $345/$430 2.1GBKSI $65o 4.3G8SCS I $1200 2.5" 500MB /810MBIDEfor notebook $250/$395 1.2MB525' Floppy Drive $60 1,44MB3.5' Floppy Drive $35 SYQest230MBdrive w! I disk S39B Conner 800MBtapebackup >N /lape $210 B ackpack BOOm b parallel port backup S19 5 Seagate 8.0G Int !ex!tape backup S1230,'$1370 HP Surest(xe 5000E4GBtape backup S1350 VLB EIDE Controller W/ Multi.l/0 $4o VLB EIDE Cntrlr w/ Enhanced I/O $45 Adap!ec 152211 510 SCSI Ctrlr $125/$105 Adap!ec 2842AVLBSCSI Controller kl! $350 Adaplec 2940/2940W PCISCSI Cntrilr $295/350

I A N UA RY 1 9 9 7

• 0

486DX4-1 00PCI 256k w/ CPU, fan 486DX4 -120PCI 256k w/ CPU, fan P-75 512k w/cpu, fan

$190 $210 $320 $380

P-100 512kw/cpu, fan P-120 / 133 512kw/cpu, fan $400/$510 P-150 /166512I!, w ' /cpu, fan $620/$800

SPeCICllS

Printers Raven Ls-6 I MB 600dpi Laser $585 Brolher-641 Laser $450 Brother-660 2MB 600dpi Okidata OL-4W laser 600dpi HP 340c portable HP 680C Color Desklet 600dpi $420 HP 820Cxi Color Deskjei 600dpi $545 HP 870Cxi Color deskjei 600d $6eo HP Lose(Jet 5L 600dpi ge79 HP Lase(Jet 6P 600dpi $1135 $1295 HP LaserJei 6MP 600dpi $1800 HP LaserJei 5 600dpl HP LaserJeI 4V/4MV $2eoo/$3990 Car on BJC-4100 / BJ-30 $325/$295

NETWORKING

Windows NT 4.0 Server w/5 licence $960 , Lan',astlc 6.0 siarter kli $350 ' Novell 3.12 upgtade (10 user) $1490 Novell 3.12/4.1 {5 user) $880/880 Novell 3.12/4.1 I10 user) $1880 Novell 3.12/4.1 (25 user) $2620/2480 Eagle 2000+ 16 Ethernet Card $100 IBM 16bit Ethernet 10ease-TCard $49 cable, (x>nnector, terminator/I; crimping tool

We repair: -Monitors -Systems -Printers We upgrade laser printers R

0

1

4

~

I

I>

B

ISI •

I


lebanon/gzel not quite deljendable • • By CLIFF CUNNINCHAM• • Usefulness and reliability ate two key elements in the assessment of any software, but they loom even larger when the software is designed to anal)ze and report information on which decisions will be based. Webanalyzer 1.1, by Toronto's Incontext, gets mixed grades in its attemptto dissect Web sites. While its usefulness makes it a winner, its questionable reliability limits its efiectiveness.

Webanalyzer's analysis of the Web site. It was a model of effi ciency and contained everything you need to study the site. Unfortunately, not everything reported was accurate. Elements dearly marked in ied as broken links were no t a l ways broken. Webanalyzer labelled as broken the image

files for James West and Artemis Gordon, but both images appear in the proper places when viewed with ¹t s cape. Since one of the big selling points of Webanalyzer is its abiTity to identify (but not fix) broken links, faulty reports like this will merely serve to waste the time of a Webmaster.

Also labelled as unknown content were the biographical sketches of the main characters, even though they contain nothing but text and graphics. The program consumes lessthan 2 MB of disk space, and requires Windows 95 with 8 MB of RAM. +

I9 • I 0 @;":+.~»»i

;"; '«'.~ ~ ""!'ti.i s+,

Undoubtedly, there is a need for a product like Webanalyzer.Holistically presenting a Web site as a graphical display instead of a myriad of linked pages lets you see what is available at a glance. Simply entering the U RL of a pa g e i s e n o ug h t o s e n d Webanalyzer to work: within 10 to 20 minutes for most sites, every element is available for study in three different views. In the upper right is a concentric map, known as the Wavefront view, which contains icons for documents. images, application links, mail-to links, audio files, video files, FrP, Gopher, and unknown content. The last category can cover a lot of ground: the hundreds of Netscupe Nat !igator plug-ins are labelled unknown, asare file types such as Java and Shockwave. At upper left, the Link view shows all the inlinks and out-links fiom anyspecified flle. Along the bottom, File view lists all site elernents by name, content type, size, date last modified, depth, number of in- and out-links, and title. Simply clicking on any of these headers will sort the entire list by that item. Also impressive are the filters that enable you to display only the elements of interest, such as text or graphic files, or broken links.

This is a test As a test, I analyzed a Web site for one of my hvorite television sho~s fiom the 1960s: Tbe Wdd Wild Stst (hnp://moose.uvm.edu/ -glam~v w l .h t m t). Webanalyzer created a subdirectory to handle all the files associated with the analysis. The files sizes (in KB) were docs (85.8), images (116), mmedia (67.5), report (138), and temp (85.4). The total size, about half a megabyte, was quite manageable, although users might want to check their free space before doing a full analysis of big Web sites. The files in docs are optional:these are created when you want tomake a copy of the site on your hard drive, so that it may be viewed offline. A doser look revealed that the mmedia directory contained audio fdes, while the socalled project file (west.icw, another 21 KB) was in the main Webanalyzer directory. The overview fde, in the report directory, was a thorough, hy p e r linked rep o r t on

' ttt ~

pew a a n d ~ l

alr

Sou riissis Iii eadlr ~ !ii R i usiiiess

~

F

ski .B -

=-

Seevky thecritic',m

~-' ConSiStentlyVatillg g

MfpE.the alt:hoio',f-. « ~ ~~AW~«!%%

4'"

. ~sPr~'

Powerful ""

Flexible

Easy to Use

MYO.B. is a full fledged business management system.Quotes and

Son1e accounting packages force you to work the way they work Not MY' - y o u can design your own Invoices, purchase orders, statements andother forms. MYO.B. Version 7 conforms to the way YOU do business.

Most Canadian accounting packages tllat are powerful

estimates, contact

management, job costing and a report custolmzef

for MYOB.'s 111 reports, are just a few of the powerhd features that set MYO.B. apart.

,RorfoRe' 1-

either aren *t meant for

growing businesses or ate difficult to use. Features like the Setup Weird and CD ROM Mtrning Centre make MY' e a sy to setup, easy to learn, and easy to use!

0

WP

l'!!

«"'

We CUA gAÃTEE if your business requires Flexibility, Power, and Ease of Use, you won't need tolook beyond /IfYON. Suy MYOB. Version 7nou!

Best f Ware'

145 King StreetWest, Suite1000, Toronto, Ontario M5H3X6

For more information: 1-600-640-IIIIYOS (6962) Fax:416-360-2927www.bestware.ca •

-

-

-• • ' ••

A Plus• Adventure Electronics• A8 BSound • Business Depot• Compucentre CompuSmart • Computer City• Doppler Computer Superstore• Future Shop• Inmac Mac Warehouse• Micro Boutique • NEBS• Office Depot • Office Place• London Drugs C OMPU TE R

PL AYER! J AN U AR Y 1 9 9 7


,®4

IeernetSatewasCee. • lOJhewdnteraalehaea 'bee NealNeNes1eiNlgg


Putting • . e By ALAN THWAITS• • Buying a PIM is like hiring a personal assistant. Both come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so the task becomes a matter of getting either the software program or the wetware entity that will a) work hard at doing the needful, and b) do the job in a way that matchesyour needs and style.

~in o

0

o

kqrthve Delvxe, from individual Software loc. includes Windows-compatible CD-ROMaod 3.$inch dlakL$49.9$ formoreIsfonuotlos,contact140W31-$313 or http://www.lodlvidualaoftware.corn/

Needless to say, many are called, but few are chosen.Any Tir»e Deluxe, from Individual Software Inc., is one of the latest contenders. Like any good PIM, An> Tinteoffers a day planner/scheduler, todo list, address book/telephone directory, and a notebook/journal to create and store letters, memos, journals, expense reports, and all the other minutiae that make life in the fast lane so much ftm. That's like saying that the applicant for the job of Personal Assistant to the President (you) can use the telephone, work with a word-

Ii

processor, and greet visitors in a recognizable form of English — good for starters, but nothing to clinch the interview. What makes AnyTime stand out from the PIM crowd, you ask? Well, the designers have focused on two areas — customizable interface and output possibilities (which is like saying the Personal Assistant can not only walk and

Computer Solutions

( Windows NT Certified)

towivo sag

into your

can be both personalized and energetic.

Print lt

Output? Well, it's no good making all those plans if you don't have them at your side, does it? So AnyTime offers more than 100 customizable talk, but can match the style and "cultute" of layouts for your agendas, your business and also meet your output contact lists, travel planrequhements at the end of each day). ners, in templates that fit Multiple options most p o p ular p a p er"Customizable interface" means usability, too. based organizers. Just design the layout to suit Scheduling appointments can be done in any of seven different formats — day, week, month, or yourself, then print pages year views in either calendar or graph style (the that will f i t y o u r D aylatter are handy for seeing what free time — if Timer, D a y Ru n n er, any —you have available).AnyTime offersfull F ranklin, o r Fi lo f a x drag-and-drop cap a b ility — rescheduling binder! You can also print address-book information appointments can be done easily and without fuss,and appointments can be changed to"to directly t o en v e lope, * do s" (and vice versa) the same way. label, and letter formats. AnyTime is good about details. Not things One small q u i bble. AnyTime Deluxe loaded like how much sugar you take in your coffee, but in allowing you to view information m ore slowly o n th i s in as much or as little detail as you wish (four reviewer's 486/33 8MB view levels are available). Or in providing an IVER%machine than APD "autoschedule" utility, with which appointOrganizer or Si d ekick ments can be created from address book (though not as slowly as contacts.Add the ability to organize informaLotus Organizer!). Not an tion by groups, alarms for appointments and issue, though, if the proto-do's (complete with snooze Feature!), and gram is kept working in a "search by keyword" utility, and AnyTi>ne the background. That' s

QMaple0ak 8MB RAM, 1.2 GB EIDE Hard Drive 14" SVGA Color Monitor, Nl, .28 I MB PCI Video Card, 3.5" Floppy Drive Keyboard, Logitech Mouse, MiniTower Case

e lgo n Q

~ A S T . N E c : 'nnm ~

not something you could do with that newly hired Personal Assistant — humans, after all, need some time oN +

tsut h ocre~~~ g!Ig~ NOVELL Autftorlzed Windows NT Certified

e 4/8/16/32 MB (72)........$29/49/109/215 I/4 MB 30 Piu.................$14/35 IutranetWare 4.11 (5/10/25/50/100).......$1025/1950/3488/4800/6488 8/16/32 MB DIMM (168p) .$&5/160/290 Notebook/printer RAM........ call Netwsre3.12 (5/10/25/50/100) ...............$1025/2090/3080/3480/4750 Windows NT4.0 Server 5/10/Workstation/Upg ....$999/1178/389/188 ggfI'RBg: oWiudows For Workgroup 3.11/Windows 95/Add-ou...... $85/140/65 Peutium®chip 120/133/150/166/200 ...$1155/1255/1355/1495/1675 1.2/1.6GB IDE ............... $279/319 I/2/4 GB SCSI HD ... $360/735/1379 IBM OS/2 Warp Server V4.0.... $799 Lsutsstic 7.0.............. $125 2.0/2.5/3.2 GB ....... $379/429/469 HP Colorado 800MB.i/e.......$195/255 Novell GroupWise (50 user) . $6268 ArcServe 6.0 (25user) . $645 Iomega IGB Jazz iut/ext. $529/629 Syquest 230MB SCSI/Par...........$389 32 MB RAM, 2.0 GB EIDE Hard Drive (Information Super Highway'?) 3Com Ethernet IIIB, ISA TB I+/5+/20+/IQO+.......$143/125/I 18/109 14" SVGA Color Monitor, NI, .28 Cardinal 33.6 Modem/V ..$139/179 PCMCIA 14.4/28.8 ..........$95/268 3Com Ethernet llIB, PCI TB I+/5+/20+,......................$155/145/125 I MB PCI Video Card, 3.5" Floppy Drive, Keyboard, USR 33.6 Modem/Vi, int.....$165/175 ISDN Modem, int................. $288 3Com Fast Ethernet 10/100 PCI TB (Cst 5 UTP) I+/5+.......$190/179 Logitech Mouse, ATX Tower Case Intel EtherExpress Pro/10 ISA TB I+/5+/20+.............. $159/139/119 OR Bg: ~ CD-ROM 8/10/12x ..$145/165/199 8x CD-ROM/SB16/Spks.......... $249 Intel EtherExpress Pm/100 PCI TB I+/5+/2Q+........... $194/179/169 Pent!urn~ 180.......$2217 Dual PentiunP Pro-200......$4383 16 Bit Sound Card ...................$45 4x/6x SCSI CD-ROM....... $169/390 NE2000 Compt. ISA/PCI...$49/88 SMC EL 16T ultra ......... $129 SB 16/32/AWE32......$89/175/259 Microphone (Stand on) .............$12 Micrudyne NE2000 Plus TB... $99 IBM Token Ring ISA .....$349 o ize Y r D r eam S Xircom/3com PC Card .. $185/22S Pocket LAN sdaptor ...... $159 I t 8MB to 16MB ............+ $49 1 6 MB to 32MB ........,...........+$99 15"/17" Monitor .... + 119/435 SONY 15" SXI/SF2 ..+ $290/375 Preview 14"/15"/17"....$265/375/710 Matrox 2/4 SGram 2/4mb$245/319 HP JetDirect Printer Server. $43 8 Adaptec 2940 SCSI ........ $278 3Com OfficeCounect ......... $1100 8 /16 Port Hub .........$165/265 ATI I/2MB Dram .... +$50/75 ATI 2/4MB Vrsm .....+ $170/285 ViewSonic15/17/20";$495/879/1935 S3 PCI IMB/2MB ............ $55/75 Mstrox2/4mb Wram+$208/318 Cardinal 33.6 FAX Modem ..$139 SONY 15/17/20" .... $565/1180/2280 ATI 1/2MB Dram ........... $99/109 3Com Switch Hub (24) ....... $4388 APC ups 600/900VA$338/478 Dos/Wiu/Win95.+$50/75/140 1.6/2.0/2.5 Gb HD.. +$40/100/150 NEC 15/17/21"...... $559/1149/2639 Diamond 2/4mb vram ... $255/395 HP SureStor 2/4GB,i.. $1099/1199 SmartPriuter Starter Kit.$215 Cable 25'/50'/100'/500'/1000' (BNC or TB)......... $15/25/35/120/220 8x CD-ROM/SB16/Spks.$249 MS Encarta 97 CD Bundle .....$98 Prrer (M ake your job look nicely) TerminstorlT-connector/Connector ............. $5 each HP 400c/870c/850c.$289/649/675 CanonBJ240/4100/4550 $265/318/598 AST Manhattan S6200 Dual Pentium Pro200, 32MB, CDROM...Call am ; I ma! wamusy oa labor Brother 730/760DX....... $529/655 Epsou C500/Pro .................. $385/519 HP Netserver LC5/Pentium 133 32MB, 2 GB 4x CDROM... $4487 2 years wananty os paris. HP LsserJet 5L/6p ...... $649/1019 HP LI 5/5N/SM....... $1799/2120/2485 HT Dual CPU Server P133, 64MB, 2*2 GB SCSI,8x CDROM $3699 Third year parts warranty, add $50, Fiat year os-she ~, add $ 70. e d ( Slow? spend lots time waiting?) HT Server P133 64MB, 2eIGB SCSI, Sx CDROM................. $2466 6x86-120/150/166....$290/340/430 Pentium-133/166/200..$485/695/850 Acer A-OPEN Server P-133, 64MB, 2 GB EIDE, SxCDROM.$1745 c P o e ( CA An tkorlcod/ .........$3799 Pentium' Pro 150/180/200 w/ATX TowerCase ....................$8S8/1188/1799 Standby Server, Fault-tolerant for any server. G/L, A/P, A/R, WSM. Payroll, Lsnpak, Inventory Control, ServiceCon(neet avvt yahle Sales Analysis, Job Costing, Retail Iuvoing, ScsnPac etc ....available FREE next-day shipping in Downtown area TV tuner(watch TV on screen)...$225 Corel Draw 4.0 ( CD ).............$69 8X+ SB 16+ SpkBundle:.........$249 MS Encarta97 CD bundle ......$99 k (call for updated price) Q uickShot GamePad ..................$14 Logitech 3B mouse.................$25 Toshiba T110CS P-100/SMB /810/DSTN Color........................$2249 1.44MB Panasouic FDD..............$29 C o mpton Encyl. 97................ $25 Maple Oak Computer Solutions Inc. ( S i nce 1990 ) AST JIQ P-75/SMB/500MB HDD/10.4" DSTN .....................$2835 PerfectWorks. .....$25 BC White Page..$88 Fax Book .. ............$25 Suite $00, 1281 W. Georgia Sc Vancouver, BC, V6E 3J7 (New Locals ) NEC Versa 4050H P-90/16MB/810/10.4 " TFT....................... $4150 800 Letters ......... $58 Phone Book ...... $35 B u siness Library ... $24 Teb (604) 681-3770 FaxBack: (604) 681-7771 ~~ IBM Thinkpad 365X PIQQ/SMB/810MB Hdd/10.4" DSTN......$3599 Children's Encyl... $38 7th GuesL....... $22 Sp e ll it ............... $25 Fax: (604) 681-3739 ~ILL'al E- m ak info@unple-oak.corn HP Omnibook 800 P100/810mb HD/16mb/10"DSTN...............$4399 Geometry/Algebra/I'riGonometry........... $25ea Li v i ng Book ......... $23 BBS: (604) 681440B Istemet: hopi/|simflink.net/unple TI, Acer, Sceptre ....... Call e penn'ass v amgictcrcdusdanart of Arv cagenntoa .

.

5

C OM PU T E R P LA Y E R ! jA N U A RY

1997


• • • • 0 • • • • •

• T R V T H I S M MA R IMI-A,N D - F U Z Z V D I C T A B & S E • • By LYNN GREINER ••

a nd C o m p uServe m a i l boxes, H T M L , WordPe+ect, and Word documents, RTF files, and files from the Lexis and Nexis commercial databases. You can also obtain a filter pack with ten other formats. askSam will examine several records of an imported file (you choose how many) and attempt to find fields in them (you define the field delimiter).

Data comes in many forms. Sometimes it' s quantifiable, and can be expressed in fields and objects. Sometimes it's more fuzzy. Electronic-mail messages are pieces of data, as much as are the cells in a spreadsheet. asksam for Wi ndotiis is an e asy-to-use database program that does especially well with the "fuzzy" sort of data. Yes,it can handle fields, in a limited sort of way, but its real strength lies in the organization of free-form information. It w il l automatically find and create such fields as you' re likely to need as indexes (but y o u d o n ' t " n e ed" t h e m). Searches are based on the entire contents of a file.

Records are called Documents,and can consist ofanything from a few words or numbers to a disk-drive full.A Field can be up to 16,000 lines long, and there can be an unlimited number in any record.A file can be up to 4 GB. Data entry, such as it is, can be accomplished by typing into a form (allowing entry only into fields), using word-processing mode (which allows free-form entry anywhere in the record), or by importing an existing file. asksam can inhale text files, dBase databases, various forms of delimited data, Eudora

(NA os as sea

Frolic ln the fields For example, if you are pulling in an e-mail file, you may tell the program to look for a colon (:). It' ll then show you things like "To:" and "From:", and ask if they indicate fields you wish defined. If so — bingo! — you now have proper fields in your database. Well, semi-proper fields, actually. asksam only allows you to define a field's length. There's no masking to make sure, for exam-

pie, a telephone number is numeric, or to check the format of a postal code. If you re looking for a strongly typed database, forget it. usksam's beauty is in its powerful and flexible handling of any sort of textual data, like scanned-in articles (there's an optional OCR module), electronic mail, research notes, addresses, graphics, OLE objects, and so forth. All data can be searched in several ways (there are even proximity searches, where you can hunt for a word within a certain distance of another — say, in the same sentence. and Fuzzy searches that look for approximations), sorted every whichway, and be reported upon. You can even create hypertext menus for navigation within a database or among databases,using icons as the hot spots. Reports are easily designed and formatted, with a helpful dialogue that walks you through selecting criteria, deciding on sort fields, setting up the layout (just drag and drop), and running the report. It can be as plain or as pretty as you like (change fonts, adjust spacing — even change text colours), with simple calculations like record counts or group totals, but no fancy math. askSam supplies a number of templates that can be modified to suit your purposes.

An tec Compuier System C III O'P' = P100 POX@i.,;.„->'

r emium

P1 3 3

Sones',"Q'4499";.'

Series

Affordabte'Pitee ForANjtour Needs!

Such A t~ssiouataed UatuabtePaetuute!

'

;

There's a WYSIWYG word processor ir askSarn, an d w hi l e i t can ' t r iva WordPerfect or Word, it l ets you do m a i merges with ease, creating letters or labels the same way you define Reports. Ant guess what — all of this power is installed ir a mere 4 MB of disk space, from three flop pies! asksam for Windows is a product thai bridges the gap between the overkill oi database programs like Access am Paradrsr., and the total disorganization of: collection of text files. It's a tool for students and secretaries, man agers and moms — in fact, anyone with free form data that needs organizing. +

2607 Kingsyl/ay Vancouver BC VSR 5H4

tel:(604) 435 2038 far:(604) 435 1298 Hours: 10am-6pm(Mon.-Sat), 11am-4pm(Sun.)

SuperPro prolse

9'i$$$ s"- Series $$ 500i,

* Deluxe Mid::;tower case Deluxe 15"/19' tower case ' Triton II VX chipnetPCI Mother board ' Triton II VX chipnet PCI Motherboard * 512K Pipeline burst cache, Rash BIOS ' 256kb pipelined burst cache, Flash BIOS ' 2x fast I/Os, 1x Epp/Ecp LPT * 2x1 6550 fast I/Os, 1x Epp/Ecp LPT + 4 EIDE ports, floppy ports, support USB " 4 EIDE ports, floppy ports, Support USB * Intel Pentium Processor, * Intel Pentium processor or Cyrlx/IBM * 16Mb EDO 60ns RAM, ext. to 128Mb ' 16Mb EDO RAM,extendible to 128Mb "ATI/Diamond 2Mb PCI with full MPEG ' 64 Bit 1Mb PCI SVGA card with MPEG o Western Digital 1.6Gb mode 4 EIDE HDD * 1.28Gb EIDE mode 4 hard disk drive .,8.5," 1.44,@b floppy disk dnve ' 3.5" 1.44 Mb floppy disk drive '"".I28!e6ROM & 16bit Sound BlenterPnP ' 14" .28dp N.l. L.R. SVGA color monitor,;. ,' 8$V:tenpllfaad speakers, Microphone * SxCDROM & 16 bit Stereo sound cnrt$"-::~~ ". ~,%'8" 4MpI $$.1. L.R. flat screen monitor * 80W amplified speakers, Microphone.' :;. n '83,ejCII Int. ebice Fax/Modem, Internet re. * 28.8kb int. Fax/Modem, Internet ready .«)/O'II95,,@yboard, Log!lech mouse&pad * Wln95' keyboard, mouse & pad ~-,j P$00 Is120 P 1 5 0 P1 6 6 P 2 0 0 P120 P133 P 15 0 P 1 6 6 6 x 86P150+ $1859 $1899 $2099 $2259 $2599 $1550 $1639 $1739 $1899 1489

nsktnsa forWladonn $.0,fronsask$am $ystaws.K 8skottes. $19II (stansarii), $$4e Oiinfosskwai). iormme information,contactnsk$am $ystoms at I N 400-1IIS' or {984) $8441$90, i' o-mall at lnfoeasksanLcom or online a t b t t ii:// nnosaakxm.com/ Camngans8stiilbntor. IIIARCenqwtor $ystowsInc. iiinnnn (e0$) y$8818$.E~: mascomliOmsLnat

ou'I/e Net/er Seen Somethiuj This ou/erfut Sefore!

a tonier case::. + Professional ATX 17 * Asus Pentium Pro chip base PCI ~ ' b x m l ' 256k internal cachb built kt" Flush'BIGS ' 2x fast I/Os, 1x Epiijltcp LPT jK~- '~g"'"' * 4 EIDE ports, flop@poi te, :: ~. e. ,t; : :»" * Intel Pentium Pro processor';4 'ce'otgs....„ * 32Mb EDO 60ne RAM,ext. to 256 Mb ': ' Mairox Myebque 2Mb SGWQII SVGA card ' Western Digital 2.1G EIDE HDD ' 3.5" 1.44 Mb floppy disk drive * 12xCDROM 8 Sound Blenter 32 3D PnP 230Weubwoofer amplified speakers, Mlcophone ' WewSmic 17" 1769 ~pi SVGA mcnikir ' USR Sportster 33.6Kb int. speekerphone F/M ' Win95'keyboard, MS mouse & pad Pro 180 Pro 200 Duel Pentium $ 3500 $ 4 0 50 $Cell ',

cer Open

Series

l393il33 ;

335 P 12 0

$2119„,

No. 't Seiuft tuSe I/odd! C%%Ilj * AcerOpen Deluxe 17" tower case * Acct AP53 Tiiton II HX chip PCI Motherboard ' 256K Pipeline burst cache, Flash BIOS ' 2x fast I/Os, 1x Epp/Ecp LPT ' 4 EIDE ports, floppy ports, support USB ' Intel Pentium Processor ' 16Mb EDO 60nn RAIN, ext. to 128Mb ' 648II 2Mb EDO PCI SVGA card with MPEG ' EIDE 1.6Gb mode 4 EIDE HDD * 3.5" 1.44 Mb floppy disk drive * Acer 12xCDROM & 16bit3D stereo sound ' 80W amplified speakers, Microphone * AceiView 15" MA„Law~iabon color monitor ' 33.6Kb.I8$I voice;Fex/Qotiem, Internet re. * Win95' key5qlid,'-:0'.button mouse & pad P100,ls133:„'-'..,;is$50:.-::;-.P166 . P200

$2029:- $22$Ij;;.„;,; ®3 , .':,' $2489 $2780

Systems come with 5 years labour 2 years parts warranty. Cyrix/IBM Sx&6 availabe upon. Weship 0!II 0f town with a small charge. Easiest and best r8t6t8'8'sllii 78 Own plans OEII SaINsare Windows 95' CDfull $129 MS Office Pro. CDfull $349 MS HomeCDbundle $89 8amoveable drive loinaga zip drive Parallel $259 S GSI $ 2 69

Printers Stylus 500 EpSON $370 Stylus Pro $520 HP600C/680C $299/399 HP820C/870C II $ 529/659 HP5l/6P ~ $669/ 9 99 HP5 $1789 BJC240 $249 BJC4100 Ci % $$0$$ $299 Ditto Tape Drive 800M lnl. $159 BJC4550 $599 800M ext. $199 HL730DX tX D th8f $440

C OMP U T E R P L A Y E R !

hlanitor fax/Modem Panasonic P ro15" .27 $48 9 Spcrtster PM17.27 spk $ 995 33.6 Inl. Voice iupg. 55.6) $175 SONY P ro17" .25 $1 0 9 9 33.6 Ext Voice (upg. 55.6) $259 15"ss/sf $549/629 Supra Express 17"sf/se $1179/1399 33.6 Inl. Voice $130 xv/m500 $659/689 ISDN Cardinal/Diamond $265/320 N E C 15 17"xv/m700 $1139/1089 $$niilinadia ViewsonlcI TGA/17GS $950/849 8)VIOX/12X CDROM $139/149/179 17PS .25 1600 $979 SB16/SB32/AWE32 $99/149/299 Acerview 17le .27 $749 Siniin Ram Sceptre 15 "/1 7" $399/699 30pin Im/4m $12/$35

J A N U A RY 1 9 9 7

.0

72pln 4/8/16/32 $29/49/109/199 VX 256K/HX512K $179/209 Asus N 256K/HX 256K $199/229 Vlilao Card xpresslon 2m ~ $1 0 9 Ilant Disk 30xpresslon 2mEDOggg $155 1.2G/1.66/2.1G $ 249/289/339 30 PC2ly2M/4M $175 2.5G/3.2G $379/459 Stealth3DED02m ~ $155 -"" $199 Stealth30ED04m "" Mystique 2m/4m ..... . $229/325 Prices subject io change Mlllenlum 2in/4m ~ $ 2 99/380without nance.All trademarks belong to theirrespe ctive $$otberbonrd owners. surcharge onpaying credscard w ith Gigabyte lease io ownplanavailabls 2s n 42 month

p

b4)


Computers will finally hear and obey-most of the time • • By CLIFFORD CUNNINGHAM•

After 30 years of watching Star Trek and wishing for a computer I could talk to, it was with real excitement that I installed Dragon Dictate version 2.5 for Windows. While it does not provide the seamless integration of verbal interaction we have come to expect from science fiction, it is more than just a first tentative step in that direction. Let Alex the Dragon be your guide in the interactive tutorial that covers the essen-

tial elements. Both the tutorial and the 216. page manual are not only f l awless, but actually a pleasure to use. Being accustomed to manuals whose best destiny is recycling, this one was more than a pleasant surprise. Companies looking to p r oduce their own manuals should check out this one first. Dragon Dictate is available in three editions: Personal (with 10,000 words active; requires 12 MB of RAM), Classic (30,000 words; 16 MB of RAM), and Power (60,000 words; 20 MB of RAM). I tested the Classic edition on a 100 MHZ Micron with 16 MB of RAM.

Speciallzatien All versions have a background vocabulary of 120,000 words. In addition to the standard vocabulary, five aden modules are available

for specialized work in the fields of medicine, the computer industry, law, business, and journalism. Each contains another 60,000 terms, phrases, names, and abbreviations. It is also available in other languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Swedish. First released in 1994,Dragon Dictate was developed by Dr.James Baker under the auspices of the US government's Advanced Research Projects Agency. The p r oject r eceived a f u r ther b o ost i n 1 9 9 3 w h e n President Clinton awarded it a technology reinvestment project award. This is not your average, basement-developed software! It comes with an instructional videotape and a microphone. Just install the software from the CD-ROM, plug the microphone into your computer, and you are all set to begin training Dragon Dictate to recognize your voice. In the i nitial session, which takes about 30 minutes,you have to say a few hundred words (sometimes more than once). Even after this, its recognition capabilities are poor.

Nothing's perfect You will have to be very patient and dictate for severalhours before it approaches its optimum speed of 50 words per minute with an accuracy of 91 per cent. Note that even this rather high level means that about one

word in every sentence will be incorrectly recognized. The main problem with the current state of the art seems to be context recognition. If I dictate "I want a cup of tea," and follow that "I want a golf tee," Dragon Dictate will most likely spell "tee"as "tea." Until real artificial intelligence is built i nto speech4ictation programs, problems like this will persist. Dragon Dictate does have competition. IBM has its Vo i ce-Type Dic tation, a n d Knrzweil Voice j u st h ad i t s v e r sion 2 released. The IBM program does not require on-the-fly error correction as does Dragon Dictate, where you must keep your eyes on the monitor to catch mistakes as they happen. Letting errors go b y m e ans t h at Dragon D i ctate w i l l l e a rn t h e w r o n g speech patterns, and its performance will get worse. Kurzweil Voice has been criticized for its requirement that mouse pointing be done solely using voice commands (such as up or left). Dragon Dictate p uts a grid on t h e screen whenyou say"mouse grid."Specifying a grid number places another grid on that small section, so that you may verbally click the mouse on a precise point without using directional commands. Overall, dictation speeds with Dr a gon Dictate are about 10 words per minute faster 86

than Kurzweil can handle. Dragon Dictate is capable of reading text to you, but for this you will need a full-duplex sound card. If you do not have this and like to play music CDs through your computer, you will have to close Dragon Dictate first, as all your audio will be muted. Version 2.52, scheduled for release in the first half of 1997, will feature some performance enhancements forusers of IVord 7. Ideally suited for those who cannot use a keyboard, and individuals working in a quiet environment, Dragon Dictate and its competitors are not quite ready for prime time. It is clear, however, that we won't have to wait until the 23rd century to talk fluently with our electronic friends. +

'!a-

'" ~ '

A Ok'Ili a,"ItyO'Iagiie.'$jiifii4 INe,~ +

" ; <~ a I K ~

', ssI4),',0'Nl'-"'' >, II$$00i <ea A A

MONITORS

14 M PC PARTNNER (0.28)

$265 14" SCEPTRE (PNP)( 0.28) — $ 2 95 15" PC PARTNNER (0.28) — $ 365 504 EAST BROADWAY VANCOUVER, B.C. V6T IX4 TEL: 604-8767983, 604-8767990 15 MSCEPTRE N /I,L/R (0.28) — $ 3 9 5 DAYTEK N/I,L/R (0.28) — $ 36 5 BUSINESS HOURS: MON-FRI: 10AM TO 6P M, S AT: 11AM TO 5 PM CC TEC H FAX: 604-8767984 1 5" C C TECH 15 M MAG DX1595 (0.28) $460 PENTIUM TRITON II PENTIUM TR I TON I I PENTI UM TRITON II PENTIUM TR I TON II M MAG DX15T (0.25) 15 $490 256 KB PIPELINFD CACHE 256 KB PIPELINED CACHE, PNP "-I*KB ~PIP LIN B CACHE.PNP 256 KB P IPELlNED CACHE 17 MMAG DX1795E(0.28)/DX1795 (0.26) — $ 7 0 0 / 780 8 MB EDO RAM 8 MB EDO RAM l6 ME~HO HAM l6 MB ~ KB IIAM 17 M MAG DX700T (025 $940 1.2 GB EIDE MODE4 M 840 MB E1DE HDD MODE4 1.6 GB EIDE HDD MODE4 2.1 GB EIDE HDDMODE4 15 SONY 100SX/SF (0.25)(NKW) $ 520/6 2 l l (MPEG) ATI I MB DRAM CARD MPEG IMB SVGA CARD ATI 2MB DRAM (MPEG) ATI 2MB 3D XPRESSION MPEG 17 M SONY 200SX/200SF (0.25) (NEW) — $S90/1060 1.44 MB FLOPPY DR1VE,2S/1P 1.44 MB FLOPPY DR1VE, 2S/I P 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE,2S/I P 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE, 2S/1P 17 M SONY SKIIT $1320 104 WIN95 KEY BOARD 104 WIN95 KEYBOAR 104 WIN95 KEY BOARD 104 WIN95 KEYBOAR I'7 M VIEWSONIC PS $960 MID TOWER CASE 230W MID TOWER CAS 2 3 0 MID TOWER C SE 230W M DTOWERCA E 2 DRIVES MS OR LOGI TE II M O USE 2 BUTTON MOUSE M OR LOGITECH MOI/SE MS OR LOGITECH MO SE 1.2G/1.6G /2.1G WESTERN DIGITAL — $ 260/295/340 2.5/3.2GB WESTERN DIGITAL$385/440 850MB/1.2 GB SEAGATE HDD $190/ $250 P ENTIUM TRI TON I I 0 I NT E L M A R L H X B O A R D TR I TON II CHANGE A,B,C,D PENTIUM 1.6GB/2.1/GB SEAGATE HDD $285/340 256 KB PIPELINED CACHE 256 KB PIPELINED CACHE, PNP 256 KB PIPELINED CACHE, PNP 1.2/2.1/32GB Qi/ANTUM HDD $260/ $350/430 16 MB EDO RAM 16 MB EDO RAM TO ASUS VX OR HX 16 MB EDO RAM MULTIMEDIA 2.1 GB EIDE HDD MODE4 1.6 GB E1DE HDD MODE4 2.1 GB E1DE HDD MODE4 8 SPEED CD ROM (CREATIVE,PANASONIC) — $1 40 MATROX MYSTIQUE 2MBRAM 10/12 SPEED CD ROM ATI2M 3D XPRESSION MPEG MATROX MYSTIQVE 2MBRA $160/185 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE, 2S/1P 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE, 2SP I P 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE, 2S/1P 16 BIT SOUND CARD (PNP) $50 104WIN95KEYBOARD 104WIN95KEYBOAR 104 WIN95 KEYBOAR SOUND BLASTER 16 PNP (W/IDE INTERFACE) — $90 M WITH D O O R 19 TOWER 230 011D TOWER CAS 2 3 W si145/ 210 AT X T O WER CASE 230 SB 32 OEM / RETAIL BOX PNP MS OR LOGITECH IVIOVSE MS OR I.OGITECH MQ SE SB AWE32 RETAIL BOX PNP $285 MS OR I.OGITE H MOUSE SPEAKER 60/160 WATTS $25/40 280W SYSTEM (SUBWOOFER,EQUALIZER) —$90.00 PP

P

C

120 MHX — $759

120 MHX — $896 1 2 6

D

MHX — 99D

E

12 6MHZ —$1086

G

i

A

126MIX — $108D

16 MB EDO RAM 2.1 GB EIDE HDD MODE4 MGA MYSTIQI/E 2MB RAM 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVF. 2*16550 SFRIAL. I*PARALL 104 WIN95 KEYBOARD

ATX TOWER C SE MS OR LOGITECH MOUSE

PR015tl — $159ll

120 MHZ — $1250 y20 M IX

: CALL FOR DAILY PRICE 1 4 4 8

MB 3 0 MB 3 0 MB 7 2 MB 7 2

1 6 MB 7 2

PI N PIN PI N PI N

- - $9 — $28 — $22 — $41

P I N - - - 90

4 MB 7 2 8 MB 7 2 1 6MB 72 3 2 MB 7 2 3 2MB 72

PD I EDO PI N EDO PI N EDO PIN - - PIN EDO

t pygmy

32 MB EDO RAM — $22 2.1 GB EIDE HDD MODE4 —$39 MGA MILLENIUM 2MB WRAM -- $B9 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE - $ 17 9 2B16550 SERIAL, 1BPARALL 104 WIN95 KEYBOARD - $178 ATX T OWE CASE

P, MOTHER BOAD, ZIP DRIVE,

TAPE DRIVE, PRINTER ... OTHER...

M

O R L OG I

CH MOUSE

VIDEO CAW)$ ATI MACH 64D IM/2M DRAM (MPEG) — $90/ 1 05 ATI 3D XPRESSION 2MB MPEG $140 $ 135 ATI TV TUNER$ 180 ATI 3D XPRESSION PC2TV 2MB MGA MILLENIUM 2 MB WRAM (RETAILBox)- $260 MGA MILLENIUM 4 MB WRAM (RETAIL BOX) —$370 MGA MYSTIQUE 2MB/4MBtitETIAL BOX)- $245/ $295 S3 TRIO 64+ (MPEG) IM/2M $60n5 S3 VIRGE 3D 2MB /4MD EDO RAM — — — $100/135

MOl?EhfS

$130/140 28.8 /33.6 INT FAX/MODEM VOICE 28.8 USR WIN MODEM $145 33.6 USR FAX/MODEM INT/EXT $190/220 33.6 USR VOICE FAX/MODEM INT/EXT —$225/250

C O M P U T E R P L A Y E R ! jA N U A R Y

1997


WE OFFER BEST SERVICEs BEST PRICE, BEST QUALITY! 5x86-133 SYSTEM

PENTIUM 100SYSTEM

PENTIUM 133 SYSTEM

PENTIUM 166 SYSTEM

AMD Sx86-133 CPU PCUISA Mother Board Built-in EIDE Ctrl 256K Pipeline Burst Cache 8MB RAM PCI 64bit Video Card 1.08GB Hard Drive 1.44MB Floppy Drive Mini-tower Case w/230W PS 104 Win'95 Keyboard 2 or 3 Button Mouse

Intel Pentium P-100 CPU PCI/ISA Mother Board Built-in EIDE Ctrl

Intel Pentium P-133 CPU PCIflSA Mother Board Built-in EIDE Ctrl 256k Pipeline Burst Cache

Intel Pentium P-166 CPU PCMSA Mother Board Built-in EIDE Ctrl 256k Pipeline Burst Cache PCI 64bit Video Card 16MB EDO RAM 1.7GB Hard Drive 1.44MB Floppy Drive 15" Mid-tower Case, 230W PS

$60 9

256k Pipeline Burst Cache 8MB EDO RAM PCI 64bit Video Card 1.08GB Hard Drive 1.44MB Floppy Drive Mini-tower Case w/230W PS

16MB EDO RAM PCI 64bit Video Card 1.3GB Hard Drive 1.44MB Floppy Drive 15" Mid-tower Case. 230W PS

p eace

$73 5

2 or 3 Button Mouse

104 Win" 95 Keyboard 2 or 3 Button Mouse

$928

$1175

104 Win'95 Keyboard

104 Win'95 Keyboard 2 or 3 Button Mouse

i ease $24/mon

$20/mon AMD Sk86-100 $685

Motherboard

CPU with Motherboard Pentium 100/120 — $309/$339 Pentium 133/150 — $425/$515 Pentium 166/200 $639/$809 Pentium PRO180/200 — — —————$1045/$1499 AMD Sk86 75/90- $205/$219 AMD Sk86 100/133 — ——— ———$249$/$309 Cyrix 6x86 133+/150+- — ————$282/$299 Cyrix 6x86 166+/200+- — —————-$377/call AMD 5x86 100/133 — ———————-$169/$185

Hard Drive WD 1.3G/2.1G EIDE — — ————- -$275/$299 WD 2.1G/2.5G/3.1G EIDE — $345/$385/$435 Quantum 1.7G/2.1G — ————————$290/$339 Seagate 1.08/1.3G EIDE --- - - - $ 237/$257 Seagate 1.7/2.1GB EIDE — — ———-$292/$335 Fujitu 1.08/1.3G EIDE — — ————-$237/$257 Fujitu 1.7/2.1GB EIDE — — ————-$292/$335

Memory 30p I MB/4MB - ——————————-$11/$35 72p 4MB/8MB EDO — --- — ————- $26/$4S 72p 16MB/32MB EDO — — —————- $96/$199 DIMM 8MB/16MB $59/$106 DIMM 32MB/64MB — — ———-———$239/$469

256K/512 Pipeline Cache — ————-$22/$50 -— —— -$19 SOJ Video RAM IM -

Cyrix 166+ $927

AMD Sk86-133 $823 Cyrix 133+

Pentium Motherboard PCI/ISA — — — —- $133 Gigahytc PCMSA ATV - $159 Gigabytc PCMSA VX- $169 -$190 Gigabyte PCUISA HXAsus Trton 11 VX/ T2P4N HX ———$ 195/ $219 Intel Chipset Pentium Pro — ————————-$295 486 PCUISA Motherboard — — ———————$119

$39/mon

$31/mon $796

Monitor -

-

-

-

-

*'

NEC 15 CSOO/XV+ -- — — —-----$545/$635

Viewsonic 15" 15GS-$550 Viewsonic 17" 17GS/17PS — ————- $880/$999 Optiqucst V775 17" 0.26-- — --- - - - - - $859 Sony 15" SX/SFII-$550/$635 Sony 17 " SX/SF-$969/$1169

Printer Canon B JC240/4100 — — —————- $249/$299 Canon LPB-460 Laser- $398 HP Deskjet 680C/820C -- — ----- $398/$505 HP Deskjet 870C-$650 HP 5L/SP Laser 600dpi- — -----$629/$1139 Epson Stylus 500/Pro Color — — — -$380/$525 Brother HL730/760 Laser — ——— - $430/$540 Brother HL641/1660 Laser — ———$389/$1399 Epson ES1000C Color Scanner ---- — — $1039 Epson ES1200C Color Scanner — ————-$1339 Brother IC100/IC150 Scanner — ——--$145/$155

JAZ/Zip/CD Writer JAZ IG SCSI int/ext---- - - - - - - $515/$625 —— ——————$255 ZIP lOOM int/ext —

33.6 Fax/Data/Voice int- $105 Supra 33.6 w/Voice- $140 USR 33.6 Voice, Full Duplex int — —————- $179 USR 33.6 Voice, Full Duplex ext — — ———- $283

Eithernet Adapter ———————$39 16bit ISA IOBase 2/T 32bit PCI I OBase 2/I'-$57 —- $125/255 8 /16Port HUB - - — - - - — — — -

PCMCIA Eithernet Adapter/Comb---- — -$155

1.3GB Hard Drive 1.44MB Floppy Drive 14" Monitor 104 Win'95 Keyboard, Mouse Sor 10x CD ROM, 33.6 fax/modem 168it Sound Card, 60W Speakers

$1495

CD ROM 8x CDROM Panasonic, Hitachi —— - ————- $135 gx CDROM Toshiha- $145 -$165 10x CDROM

Sound Card / Speaker

Video Card Trident 9680 PCI, I M/2M w/sfMPEG — $46/$66 S3 Trio 64bit PCI.IM/2M — — ————$49/$69 S3 3D Virge 2M/4M w/Games- $99/$139 ATI Mach 64D,1M/2M w/MPEG — ——- $79/$99 ATI 3D Plus 2M wMPEG $159 ATI 3D Plus 2M wMPEG, +PC2TV — ———$183 ATI 3D Pro Turbo 4M/8M/+PC2TV — ——- $/$ Diamond Stl 64D, I M/2M — —————$95/$115 Diamond Stl 3D 2000 2M- $155 Matrox Millenia 2M/4M WRAM- — $249/$349

Others PCI Digital Camera, Full Src, Full Color — -$295 TV Tuner w/Video Cap -$285 ComputerEyes, PCI, Video Cap.— ————-$475 J oypad--$18 Joystick-$25 Microphone-$12 Microphone + Earphone-$20 -

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

$49/mon AMDSk86-133 $1393 C yrix 133+

Stereo Sound Card$45 Sound Bluster, 16bit PnP/IDE — ———- $89/$99 Sound Blaster 32 bit PnP- $149 7Wl60W/120W$15/$24/$42

-

Yamaha 2x/4xCDWriter ext — ----- - - - $ 965 Yamaha 4x/4xCDWriter int/ext — --$1050/1090

PCI/ISA Mother Board Built-in EIDE Ctrl.256k pp Cache 16MB EDO RAM PCI 64bit Video Card

15a Mid-tower Case, 230W PS

Modem

SVGA Monitor 14"/15"/17" — —$265/360/659 Proview 14"/15" - $269/369 Daytek 14"/15 "/17" ——————- $279/359/699 ———$299l419/769 SCEPTRE 14"/15"/17" — — MAG DX 15"/17" -$485/$849

MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM

$ 13 6 6

w/system only: Windows'95 Full Ver.— -- — —-$120 MS-Home-$80 M S-Office Pro. 7.0——— —— -- -—— $335

Keyboard Mouse Win'95 104 Keyboard ---- - - - — — $20 - $29 Fujitu 104/8725 —

-

MS Mouse $9 Logitech Mouse 2B/3B — —————- $20/35 Microsoft Mouse -$35

Case 13" /15" w/230W PS — ————- $48/$58 19" /24" wl230W PS — ————$68/$104 Desktop Case -$59

-

Lou atseest Mell

Limited quantity. Prices are cash discounted and subject to change Itli thout notice. Call for thecurrent prices.

201-403 North Rd, Coquitlam, B.C. (LougheedHwy A North Rd) TEL(604)931-5809 FAX:(604)931-5891 Mon.-Fri. 10:00-6:00 Sat. Sun. 11:00-5:00

Hanakans

Bank<

(

Austin Ave


CANAD AN ORGANZATONSSTRUT THE R SAVVY Canadian business execs hungry for h i g h - t ech success stories need look no f u r t her t ha n t h ei r ow n b a ckyard. A consortium o f

i n f l u ential t e c hnology an d b u siness organizations„ o t herwise known a s

C I PA ( t h e C a n adian

information Processing Association), recently celebrated its fourth birthday, with an annual award-giving ceremony. • • By SANDRA MINGAIL ~ • wenty Canadian firms, representing education, telecommunications, retailing, banking, financial, and business c omin unities were h o n oured for their innovations in information technology. Here are a few examples.

Retail Info bonanza In the retailing category, menswear chain HarryRosen Inc.was recognized for implementing point-of-sale information systems. Sales staff at each of the chain's 23 locations enter detailed sales data on new customers: what is his preferred suit label and colour choice? What is the gentleman' s sleeve length or pant size? What credit card does he normally present? Repeat customers receive immediate assistance without having to re-acquaint a salesperson with ineasure-

ments orstyle preferences. All customer data is instantly accessible thmughout the op tion . Merchandising staff track buying habits and make decisions on future purchases. Accounting people have sales figures at their fingertips. Developed by Bellair International, this InStore Retail Information System (IRIS) incorpontes a comprehensive on-screen training module. Staff progress through the selfpaced tutorial, then take an online test that quizzes their recall of system functions. Individuals are certified upon completion of training. Robert Humphrey, president and COO of Harry Rosen Inc., claims a S500,000 operational saving thanks to the system. In addition, data gathered helps deliver a more targeted audience, hence more effective directmail strategies.

Speedy X-ray dlstrlbutlon Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children was another proud winner.

Patient X-rays in the pediatric critical~ unit ate needed quickly. In the past, physicians, nurses,or physiotheiapists who needed X-ray

Web browsers over its internal network. Online medical manuals are currently accessible to assist resident physicians. Lab results that measure patient pressure points in the heart are recorded gnphicauy and exported to a GIF file. This graphic, along with text data, is then added to the HTML-based patient fite.

access would have to physically fetch the Xray to view it by the patient's bedside. In a pm-

ject spearheaded by the hospital's information systems manager, Gordon Tait, healtbcaie spedalists now conveniently access digital images from existing bedside computers. Tait discovered an existing freeware prognm over the Internet. Originally developed for biological use, the program allows application of filters to adjust image viewing options. High-resolution images are converted to low-resolution files, then transinitted over the hospital's standard network. Healthcare specialists, even parents, can conveniently view the chid's X-ray almost immediately after development. A formal system evaluation is now underway comparing the output from these digitized X-iays to the original X-rays. The hospital is also experimenting with several uses of

ÃOIPP

Automated urban development Metro Toronto's own city of Mississauga set new standards for productivity and information access as it took home an award in the government and public-institutions category. Formerly a hodge-podge of manual and semi-computerized pmcedures, planning and approvals have been given a major facelift. Thanks to Max ( M ississauga Approvals eXpress), a client server-based application, municipal stat'f now have a centralized sys. tern for collecting and distributing planning information. The application generates more

THE BIGGEST MEW IDEA INFULLY AUTOMATIC CD DUPLICATION FITSINTO A SMALL 20" SPACE And the smallesf budget

I •

Canserve our environment and save $$$ at the same time

Use Recharged Toner Cartridges NISTEC

ALW-501

AUTOM ATIC CD DUPLICATOR

Alouette Laser provides remanufactured and refilled toner cartridges to laser printer users with savings up to 60%

I I ' • Up to 50 duplicates perloading ~ Makes copiesunattended... from one ormanyMaster CD's • Simple Microsoft' Windows-based, oneclick start operation • Built-in data verification andautomated quality control • Writing drive sealed toavoid contamination. • No disc caddyrequired • includesdedicated application software for Microsoft' Windows3.1 • The lowestprice for thesefeatures

W

R

r

We also carry other toners, developers 8 drum units. Cartridges are tested and completely disassembled when recharged

Are you having problems with your laser printer?

Call now for servicing. FREE PICK-UP AND DEUVERY IN GREATER VANCOUVER

For mare information call

504-331-01'll ASTELENTERPRISES LTO. ilr1257 409 GranvilleStreet, Vancouver,B.C.V6C 1T2 E-lnail: info@astel-world.corn Web site: http: //www.astel-world.corn Fax: (604) 331-0120

11~7 0 Norland Ave. Burnaby, B.C. C OMP U T E R

P L A Y E R!

Fax: 291~ J A N U A RY 1 9 9 7


•• • •

c on t i n u e d

0 • • • • •

electronically. Building permits, rezoning inquiries, condominium applications, committee of adjustment decisions, and digitized property maps are easily accessible through a GUI-based system. Project leader John Alley outlined a number of new initiatives now under development. In the works are a building-inspectors' module to ke y i n s cheduling «nd field results, online foe-safety systems, and build-

f ro m p ag e4 1

than 70 kinds of reports. Over 300 municipal users were trained internally over a two-month period. The system's extensive online help documentation was all they needed to quickly get up and running on Max's graphical interface. All development applications are tracked

ing-cnde analyses. Public Internet access will eventually provide details on committee adjustment agendas, as weU asa developers'fee for service site that will indicate the status of building permits.

More role models Other organizations in CIPA's 1996 winners' circle inciude: Firstline Trust, for its speedy mortgage-application system; the

University of Alberta Library, for its innovative Internet-based ordering and delivery system; New Brunswick Telephone, for its 7-day. 24-hour interactive voice-response ordering program; and Air Canada, for its cost- cutting document-imaging project for cargo waybills. With any luck„more Canadian institutions will catch this IT innovation fever and follow suit.+

con t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 3 4 Porn blockade

how fast canyou seewho owesyou how I much, and how long they' veowedit? Faster than ynu can read this paragraph. QuickBnnks~ for Canada is the breakthrough software designed tn help ynu manage your small business. It's accounting software made easy. Just fill in a screen like the custom

IStar is aiding Canadian parents' fight against online porn with free blocking soi'tware for the Internet. This software enables parents to restrict Internet access to certain times of the day, limit the total time spent online, and b l o c k a c c ess t o s p e c ific resources and sites. For more information, call iStar at 1-888-464-7827 or visit their Web site at http: //www.istar.ca/ for more details.

Online accommodations RooinsPlus Travel Guide proudly announces the completion of their new online accommodation listing at http: // www.roomsplus.corn/ The site provides listings for over 95 per cent of the hotels, motels, bed 8r breakfast operations, and campgrounds throughout Canada and the United States. It also includes over 34,000 golf-course listings. Phone (705) 942-9765 for additional information.

invoice ynu want tn print and send, and the receivable is tracked until it' s paid. Click on the accnunts receivable graph and voila — instant insight into your business.

Best Software ofComdex

I did you really make anymoneyonthat job? That's only one of the things you' ll know v ~th QuickBnnks Pro, an entirely new kind of snfhvare that perfectly integrates time tracking, estimating, jnb

costing and payroll with the legendary rase-nf-use of QuickBnnks. With QuickBnnks Pin, it's easy tn knniv hnw much money you' re making on every jnb. With the dick of a button ynu can see revenues and expenses, induding labour and materials. Choose from 11 handy jnb costing reports

Dream shopplnll? If you are tired after all of your Cliristmas shopping. why n o t s h o p o n l ine? Time Warner recently launched DreamShop — an i nteractive, upscale s h opping s i t e a t htt p://www.dreamshop.corn/ DteamShop offers a wide range of enhanced features, such as online ordering, cmssnterchant shopping, and extensive search functionality. Call DieamShop at (212) 522-7983. +

(there are mnre than 90 iepnrts in all) that keep ynu up-tn-date nn your business.

for Canada The fastest,easiestway to manage your business. Guaranteed.

Future Shop Business Depot

QIIICKBOOKS IS AVAILABLE AT THESE AND OTHER RETAIL STORES Staples Office Depot Cnmputrr City COMPUC ENTRE London Drugs OffKe Place Electronics Bnutique Cnmpusmart

From the makers of Quicken™

Call no@ to order: l.-800-280-6512 ext. 2320 'kB t a nJ Qualm are re lc~ trademarks I Inst Inc. All ulh'r trade,nk an' theg naws i Ihnr n p xhn m nero 0 IWa Inh tr In

C OMP U T E R P L A Y E R !

JA N UA RY 1 9 9 7

Quic/eDrau! .'JD f o r b o t h Ma c an d W indows r e c eived " B est S o f t w ar e o f Comdex Award" at the Fall Comdex in I~s Vegas. Version 1.5 of Qu ickDrau of f ers extensible 3- D a r c hitecture f o r 3 2 - bit Windows and Mac OS. Check out http: // quickdram3d.apple.corn/ for more details.

con t i n u e d

f ro m p ag e ZS

phone or even one of those fancy cordless models, you should know that any 13-yearold kid with a $200 scanner from Radio Shack (and a bit of patience) can listen in on your phone call. Thinking about sending e-mail? Think again. Hackers can read any e-mailmessage they mant. Also, don't forget that the courts have decided that your employer owns your work e-mail accounts and can snoop in your Ilies without telling you. ~ who n e eds privacy? You only have to worry if you' re doing something wrong, right? 11tat's the argument in Los Angeles where police ofgcials are openly talking about IMligerprinting everyone mho has a (~r n ia driver' s license and keeping this information on file permanently. Now, we all know the record of trustworthiness of the IA police department. So relax, Big Brother isn't just watching you. He's matching all of us. +


Not all CD-ROMstorybooks are created equal • • By CARYN MLADEN• • hopping for kids? They loved the Toy .Story CD-ROM so m u ch, maybe they' ll love another one <>f those colourful disks you see on the shelf. What do we have herey Two CDROMs from Corel, a Canadian corporation. Let's see hosv they stack up.

Something fishy Tbe Bunga!o Br>Jx' Tbe Big Fisb IVisb follows Shorty and Carl<>tta as they go Iishin' for a big, mean fish named Mighty Millie — who might not be so mean after all. The drawings are dune in the big, overd<>ne style of traditional animation. The characters are down-home friendly and the text and navigation are easy to understand. It's a pleasant CD, with a few options — including drawing and colouring with the Paint program, and recording and playing back sounds with the Record option. The kids can actively fish, or they can just

listen to one of the five stories as it is read to them. The overall effect is comfortable and amusing. It doesn't pack the wallop of some of the Hollywood-based CD-ROMs, but it' s not supposed to. The point is to provide nonviolent entertainment for children. I know many people will think that fishing is intrinsically violent — at least for the fish — but, rest assured, no fish in this CD will ever get fried. Bsrngalr> Bogs is a series of four books by Frank B. Edwards and John Bianchi, and Tbe Big Fisl> lrs'sb is the l i r st C D-RONI from

bright and the program is easy to install, but I found the overall experience frustrating. The kids in the story are made to appear relatively human instead of c~oonish and this makes their excessively childish voices even more annoying. The drawings are lush and contain all the typical medieval-time attributes — swords, sluelds, armour, castles — but the> are static. Press on a character and it does a little something that does nothing to advance the story or teach your child anything. There arethree stories that you can read

Bungalu Books. Aimed at ki<Ls aged 4 iu IO, I

beginning to end or you can explore around.

find it unlikely that the <>lder kids in this youp will find it compelling enough tu play twice. so y<>u may want to stop at 8. If you want something safe, gentle, optionally creative, and countrified, Tbe Big Fisb le sb is f<>r you.

The user can't quickly skip ahead or escape I'rum an area they Bind uninteresting, however. without closing d<>wn completely. The most frustrating anribute is the lack of interaction available for a creative child. The only past in which a child can actively participate is making music with the ntinstrels. Otherwise, this is a storybook, pure and simple. Unfortunately, the stories are not interesting enough to keep a child's attention very

6'night, Knight N ikoiai i >i Tiyue: In t b e T i m e of f b e Knights is the third in the Nikolai series from Corel and another, I >s tbe Ti>ise of t b e I'baroabs, is coming soon. The colours are

or ~

olden Comgutor

OP

581-4698

loAoc.'

4$6 DX2866 Motherboard 5 CPU, 128K Cache, 5 NB RAM, 1 MB Video Car<LController, with

212 NB Hard Prive Onlti g8 9 KooI Motherboard. 8 AMD SxM 193 (P75 Squiv.), 256K Cache, 8 MB RAN, 1 MB Video Card, Controller, Sr with 212 MB Hard Pave Onl<3 g M '<R'.OO!

7 Only Su er Student S 1:cial! IBM PSZ 386SX16, 41VIB RAM, 60 MB Hard Drive, 13" Colour VGA Monitor Keyb'd, Mouse, <IL loaded with software only $329.00

1onl ~

wi th >6" col. monitor orsy $3$9.oo

$0nl ~

55 6 DX/20 w/<5" coL mon. '$429.oo

210 MB HARD DRIVES ONLY

g99.99

Pininostd~ll e sr> PCI Multi-Media 1 MB Video Accelerator with 16Bit

NavetableFor Windows '9SI Realistic 9D Animation, SoAware NPBQ, Upp. to 2 NB. &ee CP Came. SPecial Bontse

Free 6 Button 88SA Garne Controller

only

Learning Windows Corel Draw

3, 4, 5, or 6 ~onl ' $12.98. Learning Windows '95

NE% MOMTORS

MEMORY ]I. MB 3l) Pin 4 MB 30 1'in 4 MB 72 Pin 8 MB 72 Pin 16 MB 72 Pi n

$10 . 00 $40 . oo $ e a ll $52 . 00 $ 103 . 0tJ

The BnngoloBoys:The Big Ash Nsh, by John Bianchl of BungaloBooks,from AMTEXSoftware Corporation, distributedby Corel Corporation. Wln9$ (only) CD-RONI.SRP$29.9$. NikolniIn TIme:In the Timeof theBnighis, by Isabel and Ono Hoffman, for Coral Corporation CD Home. Mac/Win $. I/Wln9$ CD-ROM.SRP$19.9$.

NEW YEARS Special 10x CD-ROM Kit with asrtpl! I!ed speakers & Award-Winning 3D Sound Card was <t239. !liow only !t199. !! With 4x CDROM o~nl ' 1>149.oo

Neer Tower Cases 19" 890 Wonly g49.95 15' MOW only 59.95

486 DX2j'66 S stem , x88 P150+ Pentium Class $'1,799.o

14"' Acerview 28 NI LR $298 IS"' ADI Microscan .28 NI LR $439 14" PnP Win95 Megaimage Digital .2$ $289

0

$12.98!

$4$9.00

is' Colour Monitor only

~in

g199.00

Tutorial CDs

onl ~

I t>nlv - 256Dx/25 2MB <<AM> <60MBBDD,

long. Modern children think and learn differently than did we. If they are using a computer, they want to interact by pressing buttons and choosing activities every few seconds. They can't do that with ¹k r >fai, so they end up bored. Aimed at children 4 to 10, there is no way a child over 6 will find this interesting, unless they have never used a CD-ROM before. +

Pentium M'board (Upgr. to Z00) with Z56K Pipeline Cache, 4 PCI, 3 ISA, On Board Contr.„2 Ser. 1 Par., BM 6R$6 P150+ CPU, 16 MB FDO RAM, Mini-Towe Case, 1A4 MB Floppy, 1.7 MB Hard Drive, 4x CD, 'B16 (Etluiv.) Sound Card, 14" Acerview SUCrA LR N Mon., Z MB Video Card, 104 Key Win '95 Keyboard

with 128K cache, 8 MB Ram 1 M8 Video Card, 212 MB Hard Drive, 14" Colour SVGA Monitor, Win95 Keyboard, Mouse 4 Pad

Brand new only $649

MS ZB Mouse w/pad, 33.6 V/D/F and DS>VD Modem,

CD-ROM ASSORTED TITLES

PCI Video

Last chance at this i nccrtdible r i c e

1meg Pci Video ()NLY 52.95

386 DX33 Motherboard R CPU

only

7.99

$19.95

1'rices Subject io Change!

Located. inSuper 5 Stocer<3 10269 - 128th Greet, Surrey, BC V9T SC9

Phone: SN-4695 Fax 581-M 2 C OMP U T E R

PL A Y ER !

JA N UA RY 1 9 9 7


' Wd ,

Mul t i m e d i a

renHHO tmareearns to mar 8 can the shelves of your local software retailer. Slickly packaged titles scream for attention. It's no easy task to vveed winners from losers. Thanks to the computersavvy folks associated with the Software Publisher's Association, however, software'sbest are recognized at a once-ay ear awards ceremony equivalent to t h e movie industry's Oscars. Finalists from the association's 11th annual Codie Awards survived the judges' scrutiny. The team of evaluators represented a crosssection of computer magazine journalists,

editions are available. Longtime educational-software publisher MECC — now a division of The I.earning Company — scored well in both consumer and educational sections. The classic historical simulation Oregon Trail II was among the top five winners for Best Adventure and RolePlaying Software. A newer title for MECC, jointly developed with textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin, is M athkeys Unlocking G eometry, Yol. 1 . Abstract math concepts are deftly transformed into concrete activities as players learn that mathematics really does have applications in everyday life. Mathkeys was a warded a fi n a l ist p o s i tio n f o r Be s t

principals, teachers, home-schooling experts,

Curriculum-Based Program.

librarians, and television producers.

Learning assists

A cut above the rest

Don Johnson Incorporated masterminded a program entitled Blocks i n M o t i on. Developed by a team of Swiss teachers and engineers, this award-winning title presents sets of on-screen manipulatives, Children use shapes and colours to construct pictures, then animate their creations. Since there is no mouse dragging required, the program is a boon for those with small-motor challenges. Spatial perception, gravity, cause and effect and p r oblem-solving explorations keep young minds involved . Longtime s o f t w ar e gu ru Su n b u r st Communications scored top marks for its A to Zap! title. Onscreen activities for every letter

• • By SANDRA MJNGAJL• •

A.D.A.M. Software Inc. stole the show, placing in the finalist position in four major categories: Best Curriculum-Based Education Program, Best Educational Program, Best Education Program for Middle School, and Best Education Program for Secondary and Post-Secondary School. The A.D.A.M. CD is a comprehensive title that reveals secrets of the human anatomy. Students examine body systems and structures„view organs in 3-D from different angles, observe cross-sections and radiologies, or dissect 1,000 layers of illustrations of the human anatomy, Both school and student

of the alphabet help young children build letter and simple word recognition. Animated characters escort youngsters through the program and provide assistance when needed. Theatrix Interactive earned two fi nalist places in the early elementary category. Bumptz Science Carnival introduces hilarious Bumptz characters within an amusement-park setting. Over 200 puzzles, 12 animated science movies, and 19 experiments challenge youngsters to explore scientific concepts dealing with light, buoyancy, gravity and magnetism, The second winning Theatrix title, Snootz Math Trek.presents math strategy games as young players help cartoon astronauts from Planet Snoot repair their broken spaceship. Junior-high accolades Hats off t o t h e m u ltimedia artisans at Yideodiscovery Inc. for their Science Sleuths Series. Students land smack-dab in the middle of a science lab with a tough assignmentsolve the mysteries of the exploding lawnmower and the blob. Junior sleuths manipulate a series of interactive on-screen science tools. consult graphs to analyze data, and browse the Sleuth Database. The internationally renowned Julliard Music school for music, dance, and drama„ in cooperation w i t h T h e a tri x I n t e ractive, received finalist ratings in the Middle School category for its Juilliard Music Adventure. This two-in-one title presents players with a

g<eai1h >D

( j> *ll)

"

I

Olcf

J+ ,'J' j t ttitt 'JJ: hh iieet>

77AFtER JIHAD BEFOREREBATE

Diamond Monster 3D Monster 3D with Voodoo Graphics is the killer 30 accelerator for playing the latest 30 entertainment titles including Direct3D games. With 4 MB EDO DRAMand using a PCI, pass through cable, it works seamlessly with your existing 9D graphics accelerator. Monster 3D includes more than IIO awesome game titles and demos

ALJ~~ K'. J~f-I fD Y~I"'

r

269,99 KN -j5,NIR~

I

The ultimate choice for power graphics, the Stealth 3D 3000XL combines fast acceleration with 3D animation and full screen video playback. Jt is bundled with games and professional applications. Configurable to up to 4MB of memory, it supports true colour at high resolutions and refresh rates for business, professional graphics and animation applications.

- Monster 3D

~

i

Diamand Stealth 3D 3000XL Series

on ii YIIAJ"1

I•

Good ol' Shakespeare soared to a finalist position with IY I Publishing's Discovering Shakespeare. Myths, legends, and mysteries of William's 16th century life are captured on compact disk, Added to that are interviews with British and American Shakespearean actors, synopses of 37 pl a ys, and video footage of historical English landmarks. The Princeton Review's Inside the SAT was another winner in this category. This testpreparation software helps students survive the SAT experience through o nscreen lessons, in4epth comments on answer choices, and animation designed to r e inforce learning. The associated Internet Web site offersonline test discussion areas and frequently asked questions for test-takers. Other Codie Award winners included well respected software publishers such as Edmark, for its Thinking Things Collection, and Dorling Kindersely, for its Cartopedia map-making title. Microsoft's 3D M o vie Maker was voted finalist in both Best Home Creativity Software Program and Best New Use of the Computer category. +

The right choice for 3D, the Stealth 3D 11000 is an affordable and powerful graphics accelerator with 30 animation and full screen video playback bundled with games and professional epplications. With 4MB EDO DRAM for the PCI bus, it supports 1094x768 resolution in True Colour. Winner of PC Magazine's 'Editor's Choice" Award

jjealth P

in~

High school and beyond

Diamond Stealth 39%000XL Series

(pi «ipli

~g aea'- +

musical-adventure game set, as well as a suite of musical composition tools to create personal scores. Children discover rhythm, melody, and orchestration as they explore elements of jazz, lain, classical, and pop music.

I•I

0

'IV1,77 isa> «N

)5 pI)

< +AFJB IGATE

Far more in f a r m a t i on , visit a D i a m on d hAulimedia resejler near yo u Available at these Home Computing locations •

Richmond Centre South Mall 6551 ¹3 Road C OM P U T E R PL A Y E R !

J A N UA RY 1 9 9 7

a

g

Pacific Centre 777 Dunsmuir Street

1174 Marine Drive

Metrotown Centre ¹230 4820 K!ngsway


6ames

ea ames,aienceisaviue • • By WILLIAM A. WOOD • e

ith the seemingly unstoppable rise of real-time

t a c t ical

action games (the prime examples being B lizzard's Warcraft I I : Tides of Darkness and Westwood's Command Conquer), is there room for an "old-fashioned," turnbased type of game? Yes, and no. Jagged ANiancer Deadly Gamesis the sequel to Jagged Alliance,a moderate hit from 1995. Both games involve assembling a thun of mercenaries with varied abilities and then running them through tactical, "squatwevel" scenarios. Successful missions generate cash to pay for more skilled metes or better weapons, while unsuccessful ventures earn you nothing but scars — if they don't cost you everything.

The play runs in turns, with each merc having a certain number of action points that are spent running, shooting, setting explosives, and so on. Once one side has moved all its soldiers, the other side gets its turn. The game alternates back and forth until victory conditions have been met or the fixed number of turns runs out. T here i s a lim i t e d amount of crossover insofar as your mercs can "save" action points and use them to interrupt the other player (useful for setting ambushes). This is a far cry,however, from the wild and woolly real-time games, where things happen all over the map, and there's no time to stop and ponder.

Sitting duck As such, Deadly Games may appeal to players who prefer to strategize a bit more„who are less hooked on the adrenaline rush of having to react and control a squad of soldiers while actually under fire. To be fair, there is a different, but no lessanxious feeling when your merc runs out of action points in the middle of an open field, and you have to sit there and helplessly watch the enemy take shot after shot at him. Strategizing, alas, is the element ofJagged

Alliarzce that is most missing from Deadly Games.The former had an overarching goal, and the various firefights were small pieces of a larger puzzle that led eventually to victory. Deadly Garrzes,on the other hand, is little more than a random fight generator, albeit w it h e x tensive options and impressive scenario-editing capabilities. What Sirtech appears to have concentrated on is the multiplayer angle. To this end there is a second CD-ROM copy of the game included, so that you can give it to a friend and flight each o ther by mode m . Unfortunately, this second disk is multiplayer only, which m eans your friend can't practice, so you really have to give up your copy once you' re familiar with it — and then you can't play it alone. Unfortunately for Sirtech, multiplayer play is where the turn-based system starts to drag. Perhaps I' ve been spoiled playingCommand & Conquer by modem, where both players work simultaneously, but waiting for your friend to flnish moving his or her mercs seems to take forever, especially in the beginning of the scenario when your teams are generally

far apart. You can set a time limit on the turns, but then players get cut off in mid-turn, and it just gets ugly.

I know you are, but what am I? Of course, there's an excellent "taunt' feature — every merc has his or her own handful of nasty phrases they' ll yell on command. Maybe that's how you' re supposed to pass the tinie. I enjoyed Deadly Games quite a bit (in single-player mode, that is), but I confess that it

wore itself out pretty quickly. If you' re patient, and you' re not a control

freak (or if you like helpless tension), you will probably enjoy the interesting mix of characters, who all have distinct personalities and fun vocal reactions. If DeadlyGames succeedsanywhere, it is in straddling the line between action game and rale-playing game. Your mercs ate not faceless soldiers, dying like flies; they' re unique men and women, dying like flies. If only they'd been given something more substantial to do. +

I —I ll

0

o /agged Alliance: Deadly Games, from Slrtech Software. PCCa-RORI. Approx. Sil0 (street).

The internet brings a whole new meaning to "networking"! Now everybusiness,regardlessof size or type,has]heopportunityto'nearvodC on the world's largestcomputer network...the Internet.Thefact is, Canadjanbudinessiswaking up tothe valueofInternetAccessandPresenceatan unprecedented rate, recognizingtheI m pact of the Netfrommarketingto communication functions.Imagineextendingyour market area beyondnabonal boundaries, interaraing with newbusinessprospectswithout solicitation,savinghundreds,eventhousands of dollars on yourtelephone andfax bills... and that's just the beginning! Ques6onis...w heredoesyow firm fii into the picture? At ImagInet, wespecialize inhelping busines sesdeterminetheirInternetneeds, and providingthe right corresponding Internetsolution.

CtysBERco TORE'

~20 IfTTSRllET ACC8%% RO DOLLhR S %u

'

0 ii

'

-

I

P E R N X lTH

SO HOURS PE R m OflTH R %E

1

I

SETUP

• Plug and Play local access with no extra setup fees in Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Keiowna, Szluamish and more very soonI • Free Cyberstoree Net Kit that will have you on the net in minutes

• Superior Customer Support and TollFree800 Phone lines "

.

'iLs

• Offer indudes 30 hours per month. Additional hourse $1.50 1

Imaginei Is afull service

TO EXPerience

Internet AccessandPresence

vvhat a quality ISP

company,with servicesindudjng. Corporate Dial Up Accounts/ Dedicated AccessAccounts/W ebPageDesjgn/Web Page Storage Virtual l WebServers / Domain NameRegjsrrauon I Classroom

Can do fOr you tOday!

call (604) 482-3400 • suitezcl • 601 w estbroadway avenae • vancouver,b.c • vsz 4c2 • emaiL saleslkybcatoreset e web: hap: I /cybestcmmt •

• phone: (iios) au-3400 • fsx: (604)arz-3433 • 0 199%19%cybenam system sInc cybenhse is I ngislmal Iradeauk at cybenhm sysbans Inc l4aeeolt hdanclevictor ba nystaed ladaawk oi uiaaaoli GNr.

4

g g ®

R

InternetTraining.. andmuchmore! For more InformationaboutImaginei, or io receive afree consuItation,

call us at 6624332. dedication...imagine.that

C OM P U T E R P L A Y ER! IAN U A R Y

1 99 7


:p~;-

-P~

Games

ore rea i or our vi uacoc i: CN tower looms over the Island airport, and is visible from Pearson International. The landscape and Hoover Dam near Las Vegas are almost photorealistic. The simulation has hours of discovery buiit in, what with planes, time, weather, and the whole world in which to fly.When real flying is cancelled, FS for Windou~s 95 offers loads of fun, as well as some very realistic instrument simulation. If it's time to upgrade from FS for DOS (and that's a great program), here's a wonderful excuse. As a big plus, your DOS scenery can

crafted "tiled" replication of the Earth's surger, better, super. From the first set-up you are immersed in multimedia simulation, face. The colors of Hawaii's Big Island are as with voice, music, sound effects, and visual I remember them, with well rendered lava flows an d m o u ntain excellence. If you know a • sides . The beaches of There are six planes to fly: a very modern F l i g h t Boeing 737400 and anaerobatic Extra 300S the Turks islands are Simulator for > ~<,.'.. ., .::.'""""''-'z:;~ ;, ,~ gl eami n g w h i te.Tokyo's have been added to the usual offerings. There DOS nut (you are also more challenging exercises, lessons, . E'Ii'i',',.",,:,'-'",,',-':.;:;, of f ic e b u i l d ings a n d p erhaps) who I ' , ' I .:i'"""' '-'.„: j <towers rise up towards and mysteryfl ights to be executed.The overwants to upgrade, then I' ve got all level of scenery, particularly in a number ®: I a y o u if you fly low. just the thing. Now you can have j'...,::.~,„':...,:~ of selected locations, is brilliant. The total u:i,:,"kc For FSpilots, this disk is the enhanced landscapes for,",W,:~ '~ ,,'~$ a m u st-have. The only effect is even more realistic than in previous H awaii, Japan, and the Caribbean, ~ tP' ' danger is you may want FSversions. all on one CD. r." m. Because this program runs under Windows T he disk c o mes w i t h a t h i n ...,,,".:::.;!!,:--. to subscribe io a set of Jeppesen charts to plan 95, set-up is easy. Generally, your hardware m anual wit h i n s t ructions f o r J].;:;:.' ""' , I l j ' .,„, i . , t r i p s a n d c h ec k t h e will be recognized without any help. My joyloading the program as well as a ,,;: """"" accuracy of Microsoft's stick needed to be "hand" configured to perbrief cross country sightseeing " ' . simulated world. form fully. The program is optimized for the trip for e ach l ocale. Take the MS Sidewinder 3D Pro — I now have an trip, it's worth it. I claim to be one of the excuse to get one! Documentation is brief, You also get a r estricted collection of first Canadians to fly a but you do get online help. maps for each area, as well as a few airport US-registered C e s sna Flying an on-screen simulation can be more charts and info on runway lengths and so frustrating than the real thing, but the prothrough London's Tower on. I had great fun circling Mt. Fuji in the Bridge. I also circled Big Ben gram has some interesting lessons and advice early morning, dipping into the great caldera a nd B u ckingham P alace, f l e w fr o m to get you started. As in real flying, the comof Hawaii's active Kilauea, and passing Buttonville to Toronto City Centre (the plexity of the simulation can be increased, as between the mountain peaks of Nevis in the Island airport), and circled the CN tower. your skills develop. For sheer fun flying, try Caribbean. the challenges, or go sightseeing. I did i t a l l w i t h Fl i g ht S imulator for The landscapes are not exactly photoYou' ll be amazed at the scenery detail. The Tpindous 95. The CD-ROM program is bigrealistic. Rather you have a very cleverly -

. „

" ' .

'

, . "

,

,

„ ,

.

.

.'

.

.

. ~

.

.

'

'

:

.

:

. "

~

:

:

~~."ig " ®~ t g," .

'

'

:

. .

"

"

'

-

.

-

,

'

'

:

be used with this new version.

'

.

i

i i

i

i

i '

l

Night Simuioror for ugudows9$, from Microsoft. CD-nOM. Ust price: 579.9$. Sceuerr puck for Right Shuulotor,from Microsoft CD-nOM. Approx. 540.

i i

BECOME SN 3D Studio MAX is finally

Peter Walpole ipwalpoleebarint.on.cai flies and writes in central Ontario. +

,

j

7 i 7

i

SP I NE T '

)

t

here and it is HOT....

3D Studio MAX directly competes with other high

R OT NE T

end 3D Graphics packages costing thousands of dollars more... Call today

///IFJFXT HV M+f ~eR.

tor Vancouvers best prices on both full packages and upgrades.

"

I

i i

Tho Art oi OieitoiV lnoo r ,

I

s

+•

IC Technology is Vancouvers Student and Institutional Authority for all Digital Video and Animation Products... PROCESSING SYSTFMS lNC.

TeChnOIOgy~.ic tech.ca

(604) 681-7057 1252 Burrard St. Vancouver ©•

C OM P U T E R P L A Y ER !

~r . .; < , ~ < ,

~t.~< 'i of o ~ o i T i a r

$15$5cAfl Now'PoftAosMo

'*

::::::: :-':: DIGITAl '*:;a~"

'ti

AV Master drings the power of 30 frameS-VHSquality video to your PC. With thisPCIcard you can Capture, Edit and Outputfull motion Video and syncronized Audio with ease... FAMILYVIDEOS,WEDDINGVIDEOS...

CELL Today for a DEJfifO j

P R O D t rC T

0

u

0

s •

VIDEO RECORDER

Outstandini PROFESSIONALVIDEO quality from DPS (makers of the PAR). SCSI-2, PCIbus,Component, S-Video& Betacam @ 60 fields/ sec, 720X480 resolution. Real-time capture and playback Video 4 Animation.

PC to TV ENCODEBS AVerKey Plus Notebook, laptop, desktop An economical but also high

AverKey 3

'f

a 1I

with VGA output to TV, or

4

and S-Video output Ail cables, 800X600 Flickerfree image in 16.7 million colours, Windows 6 DOS

*•~

$49S •

J A N U A RY 1 9 9 7

quality and flicker free product with composite and S-Video out. 640 X 480 NTSC) Flicker-free image in 6.7 million colours, Windows 8 DOS

VCR, Supports composite

o


C olumn s

n ancin uman uman an uman corn uter interaction Power Learning

t's a typical Sunday evening in the not-too-distant future. Your family room buzzes with activity. Little Susie cuddles with her favourite stuffed bear and listens while it offers advice on her p ersonal problems. Teenage Dan constructs a virtual gr'aphic replica of himself, then sends it online to mingle in a virtual neighbourhood. Meanwhile, adults in the household sit in front of the large screen computer monitor and explain the week's schedule to an army of domestic digital devices. Sound like a script from a.science-fiction film? Not at all. In fact, those ingenious folks d own a t Ma s sachusetts I n s t itute o f Technology are devoting months of grey-cell energy and sponsors' big burks to producing working examples of this very scenario. The MIT Media Lab is a research facility dedicated to researrh and experimentation of thehuman/computer interfare.Numerous research groups and consortiums — supported by more than 100 corporate sponsors and several US government agencies — study just how we will interact with computers and telecommunication systems. The list of Media Lab sponsors reads like a who's who from the Fortune 500. Big-time IT p layers l i k e IBM, Mic r o soft , S u n Microsystems, Bell Communications, and Intel rub shoulders with the likes of the

Central Intelligence Agency, Levi Strauss, The LEGO Group, and Nike Inc.

Cive ane the signal One of the centre's newest research arms, the Gesture and Narrative Language group, focuses on instilling psychological and social taaits in toys and virtual agents. One project, for instance, incorporates the use of animated human figures. Since non-verbal signs form an integral part of human communication, these animated agents are programmed to produce not just speech but associated hand gestures, voice intonations, and facial movements — much like a puppet show, but totally machinedriven. Next time you have an intimate chat with someone, better make sure that's a humanoid you' re speaking to! Many online computer junkies venture into MUDs and MOOs — those ubiquitous multi-user environments where no one is who they seem. To date, text has been the major communication method, although this is rapidly evolving into more graphical forms,such as avatars— graphical representations of a user. MIT researchers utilize golf balls with painted faces to represent online users. Each golf ball is programmed with sliders that represent three physical responses to social situations — agreement, social mood, and awareness ofanother avatar's physical presence, Imagine the possibilities — non-verbal communication would then be possible over networked societies.

MIT researchers have constructed prototype stuffed animals — more scientifically, storytelling agents — capable of "listening" to human personal stories and "responding" with inspirational stories. Referred to as SAGE (storytelling agent generation environment), the s t orytelling

system is camouflaged in the body of a stuffed animal. This allows children to have warm-and-fuzzy feelings towards a sophisticated set of electronic circuits. When a child utters a story to the SAGE, its lexical reference system searches its indexed database for a match between linguistic structure of the story and an inspirational response. All responses are based on value systems contained in the Ten commandments. What results is a pseudo-counselling session where the listener (in this case, the child) is left to draw a connection between her story and the SAGE's interpretation.

Never-ending storles7 Give a child a doll and some everyday objects. In no time at all, make-believe play blossoms into i n t r icate storylines. One moment the kitchen chair is a rocket launch pad, the next it's a magical throne.

The Information Highway celled the Internet, that lel At Imaginet, we recognize all computer users were not created equal and that' s exactly why we have crafted our company's Internet Access approach to accomodate any level of user.

Remember the old pull-string doll Chatty Cathy? Pull her string and she would dutifull y y ammer o n ab o u t th i s o r t ha t . Communication is a two-way street, however, and from that viewpoint, Chatty Cathy failed abysmally.

I

I

Only $3.95 sq. ft. Per month( 200-1048 Davie St., CQIAlirILINICI.'rlONS (.'( L'L-.

Sandra Mlngall is a computer educator and consultant. Contact her at mingailildirect.corn

Huggable stories

Internet Office with Space Available Direct T1 Connection Included

IlYBS

Researchers at MIT are intent on capturing a child's spontaneous oral storytelling that emerges with play. A child holds a toy up to the computer screen. The computer asks for its name and then asks the child to share stories about it. The next time the toy is held up for the computer to "see," the machine recognizes the toy and encourages the child to build upon the earlier story. The physical object becomes linked to specific digital information. The benefit of this project? Research material claims children will be more apt to share stories with family and friends and to edit and revise creative material. Parents gain digital memories of their child's development. Yes, well... If the people at MIT Media Lab get their way, embedded digital technology will exist in everything from our shoes to our toasters. In fact, our own body will be used as a Personal Area Network to enable communication between inanimate objerts. But hey, that's another story...

From our easy to install software suite, 24 hour telephone support and in-home installation options to our free "Welcome to the Internet" courses, we have made lt easy for our customers, regardless of their computer experience. With five access packages, from $9.96/mthto $29.95/mth, we have built a premium service at value pricing guaranteed to accommodate any need and budget.

Vancouver, B.C. V6E 1M4 eel: 604.684.7007

Unrestricted Internet Access $18.95 for 150 hours per month

with Free Web Page! $9.95per month for 25 hours (purchased yearly) Business E-Mail Accounts.

wseii.siwash.bc.ca

Call ImagInet today at 662-8332, and ask

~S 4!

about our money-back

guaranteed test drive, and leave the rest to us.

info@siwash.br.ca

dedication...imagine. that C OMP U T E R

P L A Y E R!

j A N U A RY 1 9 9 7


Colu m n s

;:, '-~P

Internetspeed-freah options f' orthe nearf' uture don't know about you, but when I'm online, either communicating with the office or researching on the Net, I spend a fair bit of time m uttering "hurry u p ! " t o m y modem. In spite of technological advances, content seems to expand faster

than the capacity of the transmission media. Three new developments promise to alleviate the problem. ADSL has been talked about for some months, but should become real early next year, WAVE onternet via cable modem) has now launched nation-wide; and 56 Kbps modems are being announced by all

sorts of manufacturers, and will ship in early 199/. Let's take a brief look at each of them, ADSL (asymmetrical digital subscriber line) is a high-speed technology that operates over normal telephone lines. As its name suggests, it gives you different speeds upstream (from you to the server) and downstream (from the

server to you). Initial releases will offer over 2 Mbps downstream, and 1 Mbps upstream, while still permitting simultaneous ordinary voice calls on the same line — and second generation ADSL will more than triple the downstream speed.

Telecomments But, there's a catch — ADSL is distance-sensitive. The farther you are from the telephone

Home Automation.

Take home an Aptiva from IBM and you' re getting much more than an ordinary computer. With the latest technology and entertainment features it's the perfect PC for work or play.

Aptiva Computers See store for details

Aptiva's Home Director lets you turn lights and applianceson and off automatically. So you can set up routines that give your house that lived-in look even when you' re not home. The Home Director Starter Ket is available on the Aptlva C3X. It includes instructions, software, one lamp moduleand one serial interface module (with cable).

Carom

company's central office (the switching centre), the slower the connection will be. Also, the telephone companies will have to put additional equipment in their central offices to handle ADSL. The various flavours of 56 Kbps modems, on the other hand, will operate over standard lines, talking to other 56 Kbps equipment at the rated speed, or dropping down to 28.8 Kbps or 33.6 Kbps for conventional modem connections. This technology, too, is asymmetrical, with upstream traffic at 28.8 Kbps, and downstream at 56 Kbps. The catch here is, the system you' re corn. inunicating with must not only have a 56 Kbps "server" modem, it must also have a pure digital connection to the phone system. USRobotics, one of the first to announce 56 Kbps modems, explains the reasons thusly: most telephone systems have slowly been upgraded from analogue to digital over the years, with the only analogue component left being the line between your home and the central office, yet today's modems still treat the entire connection as analogue, converting your PC's digital signals to analogue for transmission, and converting the analogue signals from the phone system back to digital at the receiving end. The signal conversion from analogue to digital, for specific techni. cal reasons, limits transmission speeds to a maximum of 33.6 Kbps (digital to analogue is not a problem). USRobotics's x2 technology gets around the limit by keeping the downstream data in digital form. Upstream data must still be converted at each end, so it's tied to the slower speed.

Cet cable'p The third high-speed medium is cable modem. Five cable television companies across Canada have now announced the service, christened WAVE: Rogers Cablesystems (the pioneer, vvho partnered with the other

- Aptiva Computers

:==::=::===,= =

Aptiva C23/C33

• Pentium 120/1 33 • 1,6 gig hard drive • 16MB memory • 8x speed CD-ROM

• 30 watt speakers • 15" monitor

• Wavetable 16-bit MWave sound card • 28.8 data/1 4.4fax

• Windows 95 • 3 year limited warranty

Your gateway to exciting new

worlds of vibrant

videos & dynamic sounds. Your connection to

entirely new worlds of people, places and information.

for 4 ~

' eggs

C O M P U T E R P L A Y E R!

( A N U A RY 1 9 9 7

+0~

The Canon BJC-240 offersPhotorealistic color printingwiththeoptional PhotoKit. Be creativewiththe CreativeCD-ROMsoftware.

~i n

o

tneobotlci http:!/wwwaur.corn/ WAVEhttp: //www.wave.ca/Home. html ADSL http: //plainfield.bypau.corn/-ezaret/hlb and.adil.html


C olum n s

e gear io Illhits's

8utss have a lot to look for w ard to in I 9 9 1. To begin with,

you can expect to see new 3 2-bit revisions of just about every software application you' ve ever heard of for Windows95 and Windows NT. In fact, some of them may have arrived just before this issue hits the streets, includ-

ing brand ne w versions of Microsoft Office and IOM/I.otus SmartSuite, as well as the CorelOraw 1suite. C onnectivity with th e I n ternet w il l b e highly featured in au new products. There will be links to updated help files, special Web pages with additional components and e nhancements (such as more clip art o r

fonts), and new file-management interfaces that will make it difficult for a casual observer to determine whether you' re connected to the Net or searching your local hard drive. Net access is becoming a necessity. We can look forward to new versions of both Microsoft Internet Explorer (which will also change the Win95/NT interface again) and Netscape Navigator — in fact, the speed with which both companies are trying to outdo each other won't leave me surprised if we see more than one revision of each before the year — or the war — ends.

Stabilizers on Win95 products will be more stable as a group. Most of the product releases in early to mid-1996 tended to be flaky — which the developers blamed on the environment in which they were forced to work. Most companies didn't have the final shipping code for Windows 95 until you and I saw it and were working from beta (i.e., test) versions of the software developer kits, too. By this round, everyone should be working from the same page and the learning curve should be behind them as well. One of the more intriguing software questions for 1997 will be whether Microsoft will make the latest revisions of Windows 95 available to consumers, Since the program was first released in August, 1995, there have been two updates that have only been sent

AMe Ice-1$$ Qrrr9 Laptop Slecial Basic System Pcntiam i33/imm/ZOO

$08491$2069lfkkt9 1ntel VX Chipset iir. 256K PBC

16 MB EDO RAM (60ns) Western Digital 1.6 GB Hard Drive Mitsumi 1.44 MB Floppy Drive AT1 Mach 64 w/2 MB k MPEG Daytek 15" Digital Control Monitor 19" Tower Case w/230 Watt P.S. Mitsumi Keyboard & Mouse 33.6 Voice Modem for Windows SoundBlaster 16 PnP Sound Card 10X CD-ROM & 80W Speakers MS Windows 95 Full Version CD Two years parts & labor warranty

System Op%onu s

512K PBC/32 MB EDO................+$25/+$105 WD 2.1/2.5 GB Hard Drive............+$45/+$88 WD 3.1/4.0 GB Hard Drive........+S130/+$270 ATI 3D Xpression/f V-Titiier........F$60/+$148 MAG 15 "/I 7" Moniter................+$110/+S375 SoundBIastcr 32 PnP/AWE 64.....+$50/+$190 12X CD-ROM/Encarta 97 Bundle...$30/+$99

Oygrale 3$5Is 4$6

to llNO NS-133 Intel VX Chipset Motherboard 256K Pipeline Burst Cache 16 MB EDO RAM (60ns) ATI Mach 64 SVGA Card w/1 MB One year parts & labour warranty

Only 4459

4soee Pimtium 120 CPU 16 MB EDO RAM 1.0It (jB Hard Drive

1.44 MB Floppy Drive i().4" Color Screen 11 6 Fax Modem 16-Bii Sound 4, 6X CD Windows 95 Full Version

QfSS9

AMD KS-13:1 k. 2%K PBC 16 MH EDO RAM (60ns) WD 1.2 GB I ID 4 L44 MB FD ATI Mach 64 PCI SVGA Card l 5" Tower Case a/230W P.S. 14" SVGA Monitor .28dpi Mitsumi Keyboard & Mouse 8X CD-ROM w/Windows 95

CFO nnn /NIB

Pentium 200 $819 Pentium 166 $659 Pentium 133 $445 AMD K5-133 $309

Nemo ry

4 MB/EDO $29 8 MB/EDO $49 16 MB/EDO $99 32 MB/EDO $199

8II4 Itive WD1.2GB $273 WD 1.6GB $305 WD2.1 GB $355 WD2.5GB $395 WD3.1GB $438 WD4.0GB $555

Aft SOON Card M ach 6 4 $9 9 Video Boost $110 3D Xpression+ $160 3 D PC2TV $ 1 8 0

Non|for

Proview 14" $269 Daytek 15" $379 MAG 15" $ 4 97 MAG 17" $ 7 65 Hitachi 17" $1345 Hitachi 20" $2030 Hitachi21" $2860

s t a i izes'?

to manufacturers of new systems. Dubbed OSRI (OEM Service Release I) and OSR2, these versions have not only fixed some awkward (i.e., flawed) code in the commercial release, but they' ve added enhancements as well, including a new file system (FAT32) in OSR2 designed to make more efficient use of large hard disks, and saving literally hundreds of megabytes of space on drives nearing 2 GB in size. Portions of OSRI appear in what Microsoft calls Service Pack 1 (available from both its

Web site — http: //www.microsoft.corn/ and free for downloading — and by disk, at a price), but not aU of the fixes are there. As of the date I'm writing this and despite repeated requests for information on my part, the company hasn't revealed any plans for public distribution of the OSR2 components — although it has indicated that a new commercial release of Windows 95 (Win98?) may be coming at the end of 1997 or early in 1998. If I were handing out "darts and laurels" this year, Microsoft would definitely be dodging the pointy end over this one.

Picking up speed On the hardware side, we can expect more power, more speed, and a very interesting market. Intel is due to release the P55C (or if you prefer, the Pentium MMX) processor this month. Still optimized for a mix of 16- and

32-bit code, this 233 MHz version of the Pentium will directly support software emulation of audio (with Dolby), video, 3-D acceleration, telecommunications and animation. It mill also come at a price, but should drive the cost of existing Pentium and Pentium Pro processors down as a result. Later in the year. we'U see the first P7 (currently code-named Merced) units sporting a new, 64-bit version of Windows NT. Cyrix and AMD are also poised to offer new products. Cyrix is demonstrating the 'M2" with 6 4 K B i n t ernal cache, some Pentium Pro data-handling techniques, MMX extensions, and the ability to run on.a fast 75 MHz system bus — au neatly packaged to fit existing Pentium processor sockets. AMD's proposed K6 is similar, albeit with 32 KB cache and limited to 66 MHz system bus speeds. Neither is shipping yet. The PowerPC community has something to look forward to as weU.Although Motorola has now pushed its 603e processor to 240 MHz (available in its StarMax 3000/240 with Mac OS), a California startup company, Exponential Technologies (http: //www.exp .rom/),has shown samples of 466, 533, and 566 MHz versions of a PowerPC chip they say will be available in quantity this spring. Y eah, but w h a t a b o u t t h e N e t w o r k Computer/Internet Toaster? What about it? Let's talk again when there are several in the market andsomeone actually buys one. +

Is Your Laser Printer, Personal Copier or

Fax in Need Of A Little...

? "~

', Call Vancouver TonerPlus ,' for a Full Service

Qlla~ni on your I

i

I

Sound Carl ESS 16-Bit $45 SB 16 PnP $90 SB 32PnP $145 SB AWE64 $289

Printer BJC-240 $ 2 53 BJC-4100 $317 HL-730DX $489

~" ~" Tel/fax e I Connnpn non open M-F ii-6 sat 11-5,r604)325-V258 Holidays closed

kQ07-4968 Victoria Drive, Vancouver, BC, VSP 3T7 (Near 34th Ave) nkc®skybus.corn Prices k specifications subject to change without notice. Cash Ec certified cheque only.

next toner cartidge refill is

i

Package includes: Pick-up 8 Delivery Loaner Machine

I I

iI Ozone Filter Replacement i I Limited Time Offer

Voice Nedem Z ol tri x $ 99 (for P100 k W95) US Robotics $175

Copier or Fax and your

',; FREE!!',; I

' .'F

Laser Printer, Personal

* Has your Printer or Copier been cleaned in the last 15 months? * Does your paper Jam, Slip or even Rip"? * Is it making wierd sounds? * Is your page yeifd and print quality Up to par? I

I

Ii+co>EIi.

.

.

,

.

.

.

GutTnro(iEnEMANUFA(TUnlNGLonp

i

I

Try one of oer Fully Remanufactured toner cartridges for your Laser Printer, Personal

I

I

I

I

iI Copier or Fax machine and recieveiI

' ,$10.00offor10%', • ..whateveris more! •

I

I

8

g

SAQE UP TQ call: ($04) 552-3280 50o/ OFF Fax: (604) 552-3281 COMPAAED TOBUYING o

alvANp Npyll

1 00 /o Gu~ranteed

C O M P U T E R P L A Y E R ! IA N U A R V

1997


101

• Tl Connection • 51 8.88 Unlimited/one month • E-mail to pager service(optional) • Roaming Internet Service(optional) • Free set-up softwareandmanual We also sell Canfel palers! businesscustomersare welcome!

M D I

TK l . ECON (CANADA) Lm.

i%JI>t W(I~%Ã ( htl44) A%a.',~l Your Sweet Home http: //www.mdi.ca 700 - 1080 Howe Street, Vancouver, Canada V6Z 2T1

Tel) t604) 602-0'l68 Fcm! (604) 602-110®

• • By DAVID ROSE!sI •

Right now, someone could be reading your email, business plan, tax files, or even (gasp) y<>ur electronic love letters! Is the snooper a hacker or some other shadowy figure? Maybe, but it's far more likely to be your work mates, y<>ur spouse, or even a n<>sey baby-sitter. How can you keep y<>ur personal stuff personal in this digital age? Encryption, of course! The person usually credited w it h f i r st using simple encryption was Julius Caesar. The emperor had to send messages to his trusted generals, family, and acquaintances, but he didn't trust his messengers. He therefore use<i a very siillple cipher system (by our standards anysvay), replacing every "A" in the original document with a "D," every "8" with an "E and so on through the alphabet. Only someone who knew about this "shift by three"code coukl decipher his messages. Of course, you don't have to be a Roman emperor to use encryption: anybody who values his or her privacy should consider using it. Naturally, Caesar's simplistic "shift by three"system can be broken easil y and code-

makers ("cryptotogists" in the lingo) wage a never-ending battle w i t h c o d e-breakers. Today, encryption is a complex world of cat and mouse, of mathrmaticians working with s pies and enough intrigue to f il l a T o m Clancy novel.

The eyes can't have it What, exactly, is encryption? Good question. Encryption is the process by which your orig. inal information is converted into unreadable form to safeguard it from prying eyes. Suppose, for a moment, your original mes.

sage — your business plan, for example — is called a "plaintext." Obviously, tlus plaintext message can be read by anyone who has physical possession of it and the application software to read it. Getting physical possession <>I a document may not be terribly difticultmany a product plan has been purloined by industrial spies posing as office cleaners. A mop-toting inI!Itrator can quickly duplicate your business plan onto a diskette and you won't even know it's been copied. This kind of disaster can usually be avoided by adding a password lock t<> your computer. Once this software is installed, every time

yr uo ' NO SETUP FEE ' TECtl SUPPORT ' LOW USER TOLINERATIO ' NIODENI8PEED8 OF 33.8 KBPS ' SOFTWAlPE INCLUDED http:l/lightspeed.bc.cal Division of Warlight indwstries inc. - since 1987 C OMP U T E R P L A Y E R !

JA N UA RY ! 9 9 7

info©lightspeed.bc.ca


101 you turn on your computer (or awaken it fsom a sleep), it asks you for a password. Puoleansssuch asNorhm's DiskLock (approximatelyy $120) or Kent Marsh's NfgbtWarcb (appsoximately $110) will do a Nxxl job at this. Otherpassword lock programs, however,can be a pretty weak defense, since someone booting up with a systemdisk floppy can circumvent the program.

Gimme the keys Encrypting (or scrambling) your information is the only real way to safeguard it from a determined thief. The essence of encryption involves using a password or electronic "key" to translate your plaintext message into an unreadable file, called a "ciphertext." Commercial programs such as RSA Secure (from RSA Data

lllhet is the lletinnel Sat:tjritg

ljIencilV

Security in Redwood City, California) do a good job of encryption. RSA Secuuw is available for both Windowsbased computers and Macs for approximately $150. Other pmgrams in the same category includeNorton Encrypt (p a rt o f Sy m antec's Norton Utilities) and Kent Marsh'sFolder Bolt. File Guard ($200) from ASD software is also an excellent choice. With your business plan thus encrypted, your ofBce cleaners wouldn't be able to make any sense of it even if they successfully copied the flle. During the encryption process there are two separate functions going on. The flrst, encryption, is the scrambling of your file. The second,decryption„ is the reverse processthat is, using the password to translate the

The NSA is the official communications security body of the US government. Within the intelligence community, they' re known as the «spooks.» The organization was given its charter by President Truman in the early 19Ms and continues research in cryptology today. For reasons of national security, almost all information about the NSA is classified or secret. We do know, however, that the NSA is the largest employer of mathematicians and the

largest purchaser of computer hardware in the world (what, you thought the government was spending millions of dollars to predict the weather?). Just about everyone in the industry agrees that the NSA probably possesses cryptographic expertise many years ahead of the public's knowledge. This means that the NSA can likely break most — if not all — of the commercial systems used today, Have a nice day,

Introdlcia„ the poc ket+ize Kodak IligitalScienceIlC20caleta

usueadable file back into its readable form.

lleleted

Insecaarltles The flrst problem you might encounter is forgetting the password to your file. This can be overcome by thinkingabout a common word or phrase and then modifying it. For example,your dog's name, "Spot,"may be easy toguess,butifyou add a few characters from the top of your keyboard, making "¹@Spot@¹", your password becomes much safer. By the way, good passwords should be at least eight characters in length. The second problem is letting your intended recipient know the password. If you' re really paranoid, you might suspect your mail is being pilfered and your phone bugged. What to do? Turn to PGP (an acronym for "pretty good privacy"), a program written by Philip Ziiiunermann and originally distributed across the Internet. Now also available commercially from Phoenix-based ViaCrypt, PGP lets you send out an encrypted document plus the decryption key. The trick is that the key is also encrypted in a previously coordinated way, so that only the recipient can open the document. Zimmermann's actions drew the attention of the US government, which takes encryption very seriously. Since the government views programs of this sort as "munitions," it charged Zimmermann with illegally exporting military software without the proper licenses. After years of legal wrangling, the US government, finally decided to drop all charges against him. So, a0 is safe in the world again — or is it? +

BltGI gPtlGll

aeesmraups Fire up your newsgroup reader and leam all about the wonderful world of

encryption. Here are a few places to start:

misc. legal. computing

graphic export and what people think about those laws.

sci.crypt concerns discussions about the science of encryption.

alt.security.pgp is a newsgroup geared to uses of Zimmermann's PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption program.

alt.security.ripem contains infor-

mation about the encryption program RIPEM (the most commonly used program inside the United States, but not available for ship-

ment outside the United States).

p 1944 .C,~'~

Ilml

Qmsra

j

TheLCOinsout reiity le you seeyourshot immedistdy. Unlimited stomgeayacity. (Uses COHPACTFU5Hcard)Other

689.99 •

feasures indadeausonnucIhsh,opncnlw'owner. erything youneedkinduded;cables,h ,hetsr'ms,and sobmre

•25,QQ Kn

664.

iiaa

Kodak Saapshot ~ Photo Qaaesr1 Nowplnnad plf inNlfssinto

ca rries

many interesting discussions on the laws surrounding crypto-

'.Qe~mefiee,'

cmase on

gomner I. amplerwith Rmso

I Ildmlsinmd

Ihf lnmim too

ilm ssan nef ml watchit imi uis on youfscreen

,yiumd w ncef(yun KNdon)

279,99 ~. sea.us •)5 QQ

f'l~ )P4'

I

I

i

P54'

7'l~

I

i@Mala QIINtal scleeece IlC40 Ic SCSO Zoom

Get a SSO mail in Slehate, carrying hag, and Navigator Gold from Nettcape, with purchase of a DCOO or DC50 2eo value

F or mor e i n fo r m a t ion, visit a Ko dak aut h o r ised reseller near ya u . Available at these Home C o m puting lacationa

ce •

Richmond Centre South Mall 6551 ¹3 Road

s

Pacific Centre 777 Dunsmuir Street

1174 Marine Drive

C OMP U T E R

PL A Y ER !

R

Metrotown Centre di230 ai820 Kingswcsy

J A N U A RY 1 9 9 7


rn

o

CRKLTIVK STATllliÃ

' Intel Pentium Processor '8 MB72 pin SIMMRAM ' Intel Triton Chipset ' 256k Pipeline Burst Cache '1.3 GB Hard Drive ' 3.5" 1.44 Floppy Drive ' On-board PCI IDEController with high speedserial & parallel ports '1 MB PCI SVGAVideo Card '14 6 1024 x 768N/I UR 0.28 Color Monitor '15 6 Tower Case '104 Keyboard ' Mouse 8 Mouse-pad

System

g Intel/Cyrix Pentium Processor

@8 MB 72 pin SlhAM RAM

g Intel Triton Chipset @ 256k Pipeline Burst Cache @1.3 GB Hard Drive R @ 3.5 1 44 Floppy Drive @ On-board PCI IDE Controller with high speed serial 8 parallel ports y 1 MB PCI SYGA Video Card R I'll 14 R 1024 x 768 N/I L/R 0.28 Color Monitor y 15 Tower Case

—'n n

g 104 Keyboard

I 1 i I I .' I I I I I I I r: r r: I I I I I I i i li I I I I I LI i « I; 1

'

:;-'"@Bx CD-ROhA Drive ' ®"' g 16 bit Sound Card "

Scut / Nedem @33.6 Fax/ Data / Voice Modern

~ eb

$1400

$1430

$52/month

$6g month*

hhany Other Special Offer Items Please Call Us for price!

% P%P~ ~

GB H D

SX IDD ROM

r g

Pri ces are Cash Discounted ff Subject to Change wit h out Prior Notice, AII brand names and trade-

anicREATIvE sPEclAL cREATIvE sPEclAL cREATlvE sPEclAL cREATIYE s'PEcIAL cREATlvEs'PEclAL cREATlvE sPEcIAL cREATlvE rn m a r %g

" s o re the ProPe y « t l e lr respect ve opine~.

A

I ': i-. arne' :" . ' -:"'" ." '6Nono cARo R MQNITQR

6

RRRQARo'

I

,- pC

'CpU Cynx5 8

2MB/4M -+;..'',,-'j;'-.':~ ::'- x M illennium PCI CN ~g; +-;::;::-, -,:.VGA:-Ia IIFI17" Cnlnr61nn anr:

Btt86

'

bis

==- - =

-

at95lt9 "~3 2.0GB/2ZGB n

-~ -

~O ~ g

-

-

,

:"',~-:3

,' +'~ 33.6 y3 ~ +

Ae!4'::!+i' ; S833.6 y34 $255/285,,„':p, '' a&' , 'nor& , n '/ I- I — -- — +340/395 I4 ~ +~4 ® Cgjf~. ~ Maoi990 ':::I Canon GIC 960 C , @4N3'rr8,;.',, Ca Ior Ink/et - -:, nOn BJC-41 $245 '

'

-

'",:-' "'--r nWQ ' cGIVI 6GG — , I~ • ': ®~ t G B/2~GB

virE oo UPooaAanE'- I. L REPA I R

ooRM

66 +anarda ri mi"I niVOi-nn

."."»,';,,'1',„-,'.

=

=

i

69601660/610'i¹uuia".-,' ,

'$NI98$'<1 3GB/16GB -

' 66 ' Grund card

$f'80;~

.

@5I47'j,";." ORIVES

.

'+MLS

'Ir.'.:,.i" :;;.,„:,dir.".:,6

:

'

"':;=-,~~g g2I32:,, ~=;-

I <.'RAQBMB' EDO 16M6116016EDO

$39.99 $16.96 $17.95 $34.95

Our SolarSystemandBeyond!

'OAI: baredon36monthslease, first andlast paymentsin adranreNitb optionto pardraseat10% otendofleaseperiod.

R d L N6 %.$8

$39.99

Tooildt for Nlul5media

$1780

$53/month* $57/month* $60/month"

$24.99

Virtualegas V .

•e

$1530

18 N B

6

JAVA CNA StudyGuide Obese 5for Windows

$53/month* $55/month* j

S 'R.W TFT S oybean,

I-ej-'=~ ="="='-"'-'-'-'-'

800IkS it CDROMS

$1480

j

,:,;-,;:-':;:;.-:;: 8E(,fNSIAI,tAT ,= IOM,.-;,;.:.,;,:";:.:

@Stereo Speakers

Two years Parts and Labour warranty

I anrau nn 'ni' r n n/ I h arnnnnar: n up'Siiilii Pe',hiiNiaren/eas r e,:Spn)par:,

.

en Exxx36mmcrcxKDamsn~

=44$/mORRthe ':,~eiiiioNR~" 6 6

:- Nultimeclie

.

gNAo.'"@'i';,'-';:,"'.;'„:"» ,."$1'too

"~' """"'"'-''l0 -" 1$2.

hAouse 8 Mouse-pad

.

6

u

-

-

-

-

r '-'*

*-

, $32 '.">

"' "" "'"" 6r"'"" -' ' ' ::::-' -' "" I "nnn"',,-.,-.::i::!n:.!nnnrnn

crodent '

e'Data le@

-

0

n // o dern

I;:

iII2fa ':=

,r485


EPSONo

Color Ink Jet Warranty Center

"imaging evolution"

m u r canners

Ink Jets

We are amazed that people buy from other stores and then complain that they were sold the wrong product. At Tricera you may not like what you hear, but at least you will know your choices.

EPSON® ES1000C Scanner Lowest priced scanner able to

output high quality images.

EPSON® Expression 636 Why pay more for a professional quality 36 bit scanner? $132p

Polariod SprintScan35 LE For 35mm slides and negatives this is the best choice.

$999

EPSON' Stylus 500 This is going to be the biggest

selling printer ever — come in and

see why.

EPSON® Stylus PRO XL 13" x 19" Photographic printer Now includes Live Picture. ($800 Extra Value)

EPSON' Stylus PRO Same technologyas the PRO XL but at a fraction the cost.

®

EPSON Stylus1500 Ink Jet Printer

17" x 22" in full colour

• e e •

y

4

EPSON ES1000C Scanner

$820 30 Bit 400 DPI Optical PhotoShop le (upgrade to Full Version 4 for $199 US)

Polaroid SprintScan35 LE 35mm Slide 8 Film Scanner

5th Avenue Parking x

x

te

Tricera

Monday - Friday 9AM - 5PM

$QQQ 30 Bit 1950 DPI Optical Film Profiles give excellent colour matches •


.', rk4A:,.

w/n / S

/'

,

//, '

H

/, '

" " '

.

:"

,

. ,

,~ E

/

,

", ,

- '

'i i/' w

"

w/

w

I

.

'

,

+3

w

Erww

w

I E

'

,

M k/ w / w w / / ~

/

"

w

, , /

3

ws

2

further marginalized as other Canadians use computers tn develop new skiUs"

• • By ALAN THWAITS • •

It's magic! So, it's probably a good time to do a little "future visioning" to see what present and future trends are. Details will, of course, be subject to change, as the "technology warp" we' re living in is enough tomake us aU believers in science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke's Iamous dictum that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." What are the trends we' ll have to pay attention to if we want to make a living in the new wired world? First, there's the move from "marketplace" to "marketspace."Just as the nature of employment has changed radically in the 1990s, so has its context. Our immediate forebears could look forward to working at one or two companies (or institutions) for aU of their working lives, probably with a reasonable benefits package and salaries or wages that incremented at a steady rate. Now, we' re looking at what some a cademics are calling "a return t o a hunter/gatherer economy." Adherents of this model see the economy

oc-i oc'-4

nc-s nc-7

ssa.ao ssa.aa sire.ao

9"-lo" Monitor

la"-la" Momtor 14"- I 5" Mo/k/ror 1'/'-l8 " M O/kktpr

$9s.ao

nc-9 19'-2 I" M onitor or uor a/rimum us

$145.00

c-90

12'-13" Moikktor 13"-1 3* Monitor

Sl29.00

16"-17" Monitor lk/"-2 i" Monitor

Sl77.00

C-/rl

c-92 c-93

sl29.00

r/RI-3 •

14"-13" Monitor

a

U r a l e t o luliont Upgrckde u//th CPU Rdopter*'

48eox4-too $119 Upgrods with 4Bb PC!Motherboard

4 860x4-100 $ 1 7 9 Upgrade with 586 PCI Motherboard

free lastolloNoa

SMi5.00

Glar rauard prh/oc 1800 ro Aro Sri/O.DO

C OMP U T E R P L A Y E R !

In fact, if Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and others promoting the sn-caned "network computer" (AKA the "Internet box") are right, we may be close to the end of operating systems as /we knn /w them. Or, if Java —a programming language that can be accessed and used by any operating system —becomes

I

I

I

P entiumw 15 0 P ent i u m o i 16 6

$ 19 88 $ 2 148

Pentium Cx6x8 6 C x6x8 6 C x6x8 6

$ $ $ $

aI • I

J A N U A RY 1 9 9 7

System Configuration:

Fully Loaded System: A MD K 5 - 10 0 $ 17 28 A MD K 5 - 13 3 $ 17 88 kn 120 Pentium $1798 Pentium® 13 3 $ 19 18

"' for 486 Motherboord onlr?

Put me in the box

Pnrolator http: //www.pnrolator.corn/ Statscan http: //www.statcan.ca/ the standard, the Microsoft-driminated cornputing world may be over. Among those betting nn this are Michael

Cowpland, w h o' s b a sing h i s new Corel/Word/'erfectapplications on Java tech. nology, and IBM, whose OS/2 Warp 4 operating systemcan develop and run Java applets on your desktnp, rather than only in connection with your Internet browser. The third critical trend is not what ynu might expect. It's that the rate nf techno. logical change wiU be so vast and widereaching, and will affect so many of our established institutions, systems, and beliefs, that we' ll see a reversal of values. The outcome of the chaotic change we' re facing, suggests Anne Coulombe, president ol Vancouver-based SciPlan Consulting, will be "a world where computers work for us, within the human framework, rather than the present situation, where we' re adapting to the computing environment." In the brave new world of ubiquitous cons..ctivity, we will once again put face-to-lace.corn. munication at the forefront. A brave new world? Without a dnuht. Il these three trends are anything to go hy. everything we now know about s/kork. learning, and leisure will change. Cnmmnn sense says it's time to start getting ready. Alan Thwalts is a freelance writer based in Mississauga, Ontario. Hecanbereached at praxcommlidirect.corn 4

tel'lech 3$6/4$6 OCU Glare/Guard Screen Fllnrr - Suroorlckrprotection for your Eyes Gkrre/GuarrsSid.500

tilting towards the self-employed cyherpreneur, who combines a mastery of computing technologies with the Internet's time-shifting and distance-negating abilities to market everywhere and aU the time. Yriu say your business is building «nd selling picture frames out of your home office in Winnipeg? Well, with an interactive Web site, a sound business plan, and skills to match the tectrnologies,there's nn reason why you can't support clients in Madagascar or Des Moines, and do your banking in the Cayman Islands. No longer do companies, whatever their sine,need tn "farm" a particular territory to be successful. The second trend is the reality of distributed computing and cross-platform options. When you think about it, the Net (and its siblings. the intranet and the "extranet") are nothing snore than distributed databases. With a reasonably powerful desktop system and easily accessed software tools, it's no problem to retrieve or broadcast data, view images, or interact with other individuals in real timearound the world. Most importantly, to do it rc/i thout regard to platform sPecrlics! Our Winnipeg-based picture framer may use a Mac because that'shis machine of choice, but he doesn't need to know — in fact, couldn't care less — that his clients in Madagascar and Des Moines are running Windo /ws and OS/2, respectively, on their PCs. Or that his Caribbean-based bank accounts are on a UNIX systein.

20 0 133+ 15 0+ 166 + .

Pciooa aub ect to I I a

2 2 98 17 48 17 88 1588

- Intel Triton II VX Chipset, PNP 5IOS - 256K Pipeline 5urst Cache

- 16 Ivl5 EDODRAM,60ns -144MB FDD,1.255 EIDE HDD,M-4 -3~3Vir E3Dw/2MDEDO, MEEG 3" Da k ODD N/k k/2, D/C, M////. - 1~ - 19" Mid-Tower Case with 230W PS

, - Fujltsu Win95 Keyboard — Lor JItech 3 5uttons Mouse

—SX~SeesdCDROM Drive

- Sound 5laster16 6DWSpks - 33.6K. Int. Voice Fax Modem - Windows 95 CD Full, SR2 2 CDs without notice. Please call for the ourront 'ooa. I

.

'

I

rE

Intel Petinin Pro180MHz $2998 -IntelVenus ATX Motherboard

-32 M5 EDO DRAM,60ns -144MB FDD, 2.155 EIDE HDD,M-4 - ATI 3D Xpression+ PCIw/2MB DRAM

- 15NDaytek OSD N/I, L/P, D/C Monitor - 17' Mid-Tower ATX Case with 230W. - Fujitsu Win 95 Keyboard

-Loailtech3 Buttons Mouse -5XSpeed CDROM Drive

- Sound Blaster 32 I'Nl; 6OW Amp.Spks - USP 33.6/56K Int. Voice Fax Modem - I|krindows 95 CD Full, SR2{2 CDs)


II ltt4' • • By PAUL LIMA • •

Bank said it would make secure transacfions available on the Internet, and Royal Bank said it was giving the matter serious consideration. Now all of Canada's banks and major trust companies are online interactively. While David Foot (author of Boom, Bust crnd Echo) claims baby boomers will not jump on the online-banking bandwagon, Canada's financial institutions are ignoring the demographer's prognosis. Internet banking is poised for dramatic growth, according to Banking Technology Issues: 1996 International S u rvey f r o m Da t a pro Information Services Group (DISG). Responding to competitive pressures and consumer demand, banks around the world are shedding traditional distrust of new technologies and offering Internet-based banking services, says DISG. While only 7 per cent of bank IT pmfessionals surveyed in first quarter 1996 offered Internet4anking services, 36 percent planned to do so by 1997. By 1997, 59 per cent of respondents plan to implement Pl anking services, up fmm 19 per cent in 1996. Of those surveyed, 54 per cent cited "customer requests" and "cost benefits" as the priinary reasons for iinplementing online bank-

here was a time when banks were open froin 9 AM to 3 PM. If you had business to conduct outside "banker's hours," you were solidly out of luck. The times, evidently, are changing. Banks arv now keep longer branch hours, but you can conduct most banking transactions 24 hours a day,7 days a week, without entering your branch. Want to deposit checks, pay bills, or withdraw funds? Visit an autoinated banking machine (ABM). Don't want to leave the comfort of your home or ol'fice? Pick up the phone or turn on your personal computer and dial into your cytn.branch to do almost anything you'd do in person, except withdraw cash. While most banks and major trust companies have had an Internet presence for a year or so, their Web sites mere initially places you went for financial information only. Then, last year, Bayshoie Trust issued an electronic wake up call. That company was the first financial institution in Canada to offer actual transactions — personal loans — over the Internet. Consumers were able to apply for unsecured personal loans of up to $15,000 via their home computerand Web connection.

Avalanche Bayshore's inove had a net effect on larger financial institutions. Almost iinmediately, TD

lllg services.

You want It Electronic banking offers consumers more convenience, says Chuck Hounselt, Canada Trust vice president of distribution develop-

ment."Both the Internet and phone greatly improve convenience over branches alone. While the telephone is easy to access and easy to use, the Internet is pmving to be the best tool for customers who have extended travel outside of North America." Hounsell has heard from custoiners as Iar away as Monaco, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh who used Canada Trust's Internet accountinformation service,"As we inove ta provide full banking over the Internet, this convenience wiII iinprove." While all of Canada's banks allow transactions an the Internet, they offer Canadians proprietary software and direct-connections to their computer systems. "The banks want to encourage computerbased banking, but they' re paranoid about security, about hooking (their) intranets to the outside," says a BCuniversity computer-science professor, who preferred not to be nanied because of work he is doing in the industry. Banks, creditward companies, and computer companies, however, who stand to profit froin electronic commerce, are stressing that ewammerce is secure."I think Canadians can trust financial institutions to properly build and execute solutions that meet customer needs and are safe to use," says Hounsell. Even sa, as more consumers use technology to bank, and store more information on their computers, they will have to safeguard both informationand access,says Hounsell.

Sayzhm Trust http: //wwwJmyshoretrust.corn/ Canada Trust . http: //www.canadatrust.corn/ Datapro Information Services Crmip htlp://www.dhtkpruxom/ The Otlzens Sank ofCanada http: //www.OtisensTrust/ AIIIance for CenverSInSTechnoloSles http: //www.mtnlake.corn/paradigm/

Bigger picture Security issues aside, the move to electronic banking is part of a much larger trend, says Phillip Lightstone, director of network services, Newstar Technologies Inc. "Everything is wrapped up with the notion of the paperlessoffice and hard currencyless society. Look at society's changing perceptions. We' re seeing a move from charge cards ta debit cards, but ien years ago the debit card would nat have worked. People' s wouldn'tcarry money amund on a chip." We' re not moving ta electronic commerce simply because we can, says Lightstane."The cost of supporting paper money will be outweighed by the support of electronic money or ewommerce." Ironically, Lightstone says the main challenge is not a technology challenge but one of "changing consumer perceptions of the use of the technology." Bank of Montreal's first mission in intro-

MyCom Computers

snnjeei

lVl4I %% M

5636 DUNBAR ST.(DUNBAR 8 41 ST. AVE.) TEL: (604) 264-98B3 FAX: (604)264-8881 lion - Sat 10:30anI - 6:30psn

PKNTIUM SYSTEMS

P100 P 120 P 133 P 150 P 166 P 200

Intel Triton II main board Intel PENTIUM BOXED CPU 256 Pipeline Burst Cache l6M 72pin EDO SIMM 1.44 MB Floppy Drive 1.66 MQDE4 EIDE HD SVGA MPEG PCI W/2M SB16+ 8X CD-ROM 14" SCEPTRE FLAT LR, Nl, Monitor Med Tower Case W/CSA Power 104 Win95 Keyboard Mouse 8c Pad

W'll'll: NOUN, SI1%%.IAV'R. H klj! NNSISpII

POWer Bar 8C SPeakerS 4, MOre

Nil'IAN:,n"AMIK@%.ll':S. SS. NINARSA~i

$ 18 5 8 $1 8 9 8 $1 9 6 8 $2 0 4 8 $2 1 5 8 $2 3 7 8

l:.';-: 2 Year par/s dclnbour warranty

%AN %) 1I.W

[ )QQIJ@JI ] Canon BJC4100

[SYSTEM OPTIONAL] 17" ViewSonic GS 10X CD-ROM 12X CD-ROM USR Sportster 33.6 W/VOICE SupraExpress 33.6 W/VOICE 2.1G WD HD SB32 PnP Win95 CD (Full Version) Upgrade to 32 M EDO

+ $438 + $35 +$70 + $I75 + $145

+$65 + $98 + $115 + $110

%SQj ii llli%rjc+ I

$299

canonBJc 240 $250

(IN@+Pgg)

C OM PU T E R

P L A Y E R ! IA N U A R Y

19 9 1


• 0 • •

• 0• • • •

Onlin e

c ont i n u e d

Montreal created the image of Coke without a product, creating a demand first."

from pageSS

ducing mbanx was to"create a brand name, then identify what the brand is doing," says Lightstone. Although co-opting Bob Dylan's protest anthem, "The Times They Are AChangin," infuriated many potential inbanx customers, Lightstone claimed it was a "brilliant" marketing concept. "The Bank of

phone, computer, television, or ABM. The bank will offer a full range of services including savings and chequing accounts, term deposits, mortgage lending, Registered Retirement Savings Plans, and bill payment. The bank, owned by Vancouver City Savings Credit Union, expects to "change the face of banking in this country over time," says Linda Crompton, Citizens Bank of Canada president and CEO.

Stay home The Citizens Bank of Canada, on the other hand, is not concerned with creating a popmusic or popdrink image first. Expected to open early in 1997, it will have no tellers and no branches. Citizen Bank custoiners will do all their banking by tele-

• >

o

I

i

I

;

I

a

While banks are offering services b> phone, Internet, and proprietary software they haven't given up on branches yet. According to the DISG survey, banks plar significant investments to upgrade branct systems, including workstations, servers printers, application software, and network ing and telecommunications equipment. Hounsell admits Canada Trust is "reducing some hours in some locations" due primarit) to reductions in over the counter traffic. "Telephone bankingand PC banking,along with ABMs, are emerging as the preferred chan nel for routine transactions. New channels wif not outright replace branches, but they wil contribute to a change in role of branches." He feels customers "are voting with their fin gers to use more convenient alternate chan nels, reserving trips to the branches for morc complicated transactions or financial advice." With the advent of widespread Internei banking services, will there, in fact, still be a

need for banks? It's a interesting question. "There is a fundamental change taking plac» in the nature of financial services and indeed money. People and companies will increasing ly bank online, not in the long term, but ovei the nextfew years.This creates a open, globa competitive banking situation and I think the Canadian banks are in grave danger. "I'm wondering, who will deliver the finan cial services supermarket? Will it be something called a bank or will it be be Microsoft,AT8cT Sony or, as Citibank CEO Walter Wristen sug gests, GE?" ponders Don Tapscott, the chair ot Alliance for Converging Technologies. +

CE COif/iPUTER OVTUT 118%800, No.3 Road,Richmond, B.C. Canada Vlf 3A6 Tei: (604) 278-2633 Fax: (804) 278-2681

Monday-Friday

11:00am - 7:00pm

Saturday

11:00 am - 6:00pm

Sunday& Holidays closed

+ NEW AND USED COMPUTER PARTS 8 COMPONENTS. + WE ALSO PROVIDE SERVICE, MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND UPGRADE OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS. + WE PROVIDE SERVICE FOR CHANGING POWER SUPPLY COOLING FAN AND MONITOR REPAIR TOO ! + FREE ESTIMATES BEFORE ANY WORK REQUEST.

P-100 $1135 P - 1 5 0 $ 1 3 45 P-120 $1165 P - 1 6 6 $ 1 4 85 P - 133 $1260 P - 200 $ 1645 ' Intel Triton Chipset Motherboard w/256K PIPE LINE Burst RAM 16MB EDO RAM (72 Pin) 1.28 GB Enhanced IDE HDD ' 1.44MB (3 1/2") Floppy PCI 1MB Video Card (exp. 2MB) ' EIDE with 2X 16550, 1 Para Port '14 N/I LIR SVGA.28dp, Monitor ' 13" Mini Tower Case

* 101 Keyboard * Mouse 8 Pad

Multimedia 8X CD ROM - Sound Blasier 16 Plug & Play - Speakers (Amp & power) + $270 Modem/ Fax - 28.8 S/R Voice + $140 Memory - 32M EDO RAM (72 pin) + $110 Hard Drive - 1.6GB (Mode 4) + $40 Monitor - 15" SVGA Nl L/R .28dp + $110 Video - ATI Mach 64 EDO 3D/2m + $100 - Stealth 64 EDO 3D/2m + $115 Prln1er - Canon BJC4100C + $299 Mouse - Microsoft/ Logiiech (OEM) + $30 CD-ROM - 10X + $30

64 Bit PCI Video Card With 1m/2m........$39/$60 Ergonomic Keyboard....$23

LIMITEDSTOCKS!!! '.

• •

=

'g

r

C OM P U T E R PL A Y E R !

J AN UA RY 199 7

I

:

- Cooling fan - Parts

Cables- power cord a - set of IDE/Roppy cables - IDE Cable - Dual Floppy Cable

Cleaning Kits-

- 3.5' or 5.25" Head Cleaning Kit - Mouse Pad

- MFM Cable (set) Hardware- Screws, Studs, Edge Connectors, Cables, Rails, EIc...

- A/Iabove prices are torcash s carry only - No visa orcheque will be accepted - Ajlbrand newitems have 1 year warranty - All used parts ' componentshave30 days wananttf. - Allobsoielea damage items have no warranit/.

- Nocash rehrnd - Nbguaranteeonavailablity ofaAetiseditems - Most itemshavelimitedquvsiy, ie Irsi comefust sene bws. - All sales aeNnal.

l l

Power Supply-

TWO YEARS PARTS 8ilABOUR WARRANTY FOR SYSTEMS Company Pe8ey

c on t i n u e d

• p~

•I

f ro m p a ge ~

companies to effect the rollout), Cablenet, Shaw, Videotron, and Western Co-Axial. Depending on the modem type, users can expect rated speeds from 500 Kbps and up (30 Mbps is being tested), without occupying a telephone line. Instead, an Ethernet card in your computer is attached to a special modem, which is in turn hooked up to a cable-televsion outlet. The signals run over the same wires as the television signals, and as long as the computer is turned on and the software (nothing fancy — just a packet driver and a winsock such as Trumpet) is running, you' re a node on the Internet. This service is limited by the cable infrastructure — companies need to upgrade their systems to cope with two-way communication, so WAVE is not available in all areas. The WAVE Web page offers information on availability, plus links to each cable company's home page. A recent study by the New York-based Jupiter Group suggests that, of these three technologies, 56 Kbps modems will achieve the greatest penetration among consumers, simply because of the higher cost and logistical challenges faced by ADSL and cable. It expects 56 Kbps modems to hold 50 per cent of the market by 1998, and over 65 per cent by the year 2000. "Although there's still some hope for technologies such as ADSL and cable modems in the longer term," says Wen Liao, Jupiter's senior analyst for home technologies, "for now improvements in dial-up, in the form oi 56 Kbps modems, will have to do — although this is still not the fat pipe of our dreams." +


• • • • • • • • a .g) Ing

O nli n e

oijn eH oreis ea in

s

I

••

I•

I s

I

s

s

I

• • By PETER O. WALPOLE ••

I

I was thrilled to read that Tandem

-

-

-

:~

-

"

~

~

~

,+

~

Computers, a major technology cor•

I

s

poration, is supporting a UNESCO Antarctic expedition this summer January to February). About 35 young

'I

s

s

I

I '

'I

I •

people (ages 16 to 24) will explore the polar continent. I had planned to follow the trip and report back to our readers. There'sno need, however: Tandem has created a wonderful Web page we can all visit daily. Here you' ll find updates, photos, progress reports, and news releases. The page looks great. Give it a visit. Teachers and parents might want

to involve their youngsters in this new medium with e-mail and research. Surfover to http:://www.onestep.tandem.corn/ and see for yourself.+

PrPUdly Support the 1st fk most powerful internet HomePage a www.superwebsite.coma

• $2P UnlimitedAccess • T1 Connection • World Wide Web •Web Development • E-Mail • Newsnet • FTP

' TfQhlhg courses • Internet Concept • HTML webpage design • Pre-Occupational DTP • Network Technologies • LAN Administration

0 c

o u rc

o c 0

Vo

9 38

H O W E S T R EE T V A N C O U V E R , V 6 Z 1 N9

TEL : 6 0 4 - 3 3 1 - 2 5 1 1 Fa x : 6 0 4 - 3 3 1 - 2 5 2 2 C OMP U T E R

E- ma i l : i n f o @ l y n x . b c . c a P L A Y E RI

JA N U A RY 1 9 9 7


0

I

gett/ Pear S e c i n ( Hard Drives

100/133/150/166/200MHa Pentium Processor-based stems GIGA-BYTE PCI-ISA Board 256 K PipeLine Burst Cache 16MEDO Ram 3.5" Floppy Drive S3 PCI Video Card wl 1M Ram Proview / Daylek 14" SVGA Monitor 15" Mid Tower Case Western Digital 1.2GB EIDE Hard Drive Acerl Milsumi Sx CD-Rom Drive SoundBIasler 16 Bil PRP Card wl Speaker Fujisu Wings 104-Key Keyboard Logilech Mouse w/ MousePad

W.D. IDE $50

$250

WJX IDE le

$299

WJ). IDE 1.6G W.D. IDE 2.1G W.D. IDE 28G W.D. IDE 25G

$340 $430 $470 $530

Printers

Canon BJC-240 Inkjet $279 Canon BJC4100 Inkjet$337 Epson Styles IIs lnkjet $290 $1626/1755/1863/2097/2229 Epson Styles 500 Inkjet $430 HP 680C Inkjet HP 690C Inkjet System Upgrade Options: HP 5L Laser Printer U pg, Io 32M/64MD KDO Rem $1 3 I 3 60 Upg. Io I.EC/?.IC/25C IUI. $50/ 135/190 HP 5P Laser Printer U pg. Io Souodalosser 32 l%P Cord $ 9 5 HP 6P Laser Printer Upg. Io Melrox hlyslique /2 Wrom $185 Upg, lo Pmviesr/Acer 15" h1ouilor $110/165 Upg. Io Pmsseer/Aeer 17" h1ooltor $42IV475 Upg. Io USR 33.ri/27..8 Fex/Modem $180

Monitors

Upg. Io USR 33.6/2221 V/F/Modem $200 U . Io 10X CD-Rom

A~

K I"-

'

$330

Daytek 14", Green Daytek 15", Green Mag MXV17/s 17" Proview 14", Green . Proview 15", Green Acer 15", Green

"

AUTnomzeo RETAILER

Motherboard w/CPU IOOMHzPemium chip-basedMB $455 12OMHzPeulium chip-basedMB $ 4 7 7 133MHzPentium chip-based MB $579

150MHz Pentium chip-based MB $665 166MHzPentium chip-based MB $78 5 2OOMHz Pcnlium chip-based MB $9 50

TapeBackup lomega800MB lot/Est $17 8 /198 lomega2GB/3.2GB Inl $25 0 /330 Colorado 800M fn/Es $215 / 27S Colorado Jumbo1400lnt. 1.3G $28S Seagate Tapeslor 800 Int. $2 1 5 Seagate Tapeslor Traven 3.2G $315 ZIP/JAZ DRIVE ZIP D rive 100hl Par/SCS I $ 2 8 5 JAZZ Drive I G SCSI I NT. $S 40 JAZZ Drive I G SCDI EXT. $6 4S WI

$1psp $33p $42p $47p $850

CCC t

Service Center System Diagnnstic

System R«pair

Internet Email Address: syspro@axlonet.corn I'

• I I '

SALES. UPGRADE. NETWORKING. TRAINING.LEASING. • •

COMPUTER INC.

Tan ent Pentium 133MHZ S st m Intel Pentium 133MHZ CPU 586 ISA/PCI (Tnton II VX Chipset) M/B 256K Pipeline Burst Cache 16MB EDO 72PINS RAM Panasonic 1,44MB Floppy Drive 1.6GB EIDE (Mode 4) Hard Drive New ATI 3D Xpression 2MB Video Card BX CD-ROM w. 16 bit Sound Card 60W Power Speaker w/AC Adaptor 33.6Kbs FaxNoice/Data Int. Modem 15" Mid-tower Case w. 230 Power upp y 104 Keys Windows 95 Keyboard LogitechMouse w/Pad 15" 1280NI .26mm Digital Control Monitor 2 Yrs Parts and Labor Manufacture Warranty

~

1850

'

$279 $165 $250/350 $270/398

Hard Drive Fuulsu 1 3GB/1 7GB Quantum I 7GB / 2 1GB EIDE WD 1.6GB /2.1GB EIDE

$265/$295 $310/$375 $308/$379

e

EM Pentium 166MHZ Machine Intel Pentium 166MHZ CPU 586 ISA/PCI (Triton II VX Chipset) M/B 256K Pipeline Burst Cache 16MB EDO 72 PINS RAM Panasonic 1.44MB Floppy Drive 1.3GB EIDE (Mode 4) Hard Dnve S3 TRIO 1MB EDO RAM VideoCard 13" Mini-tower Case w. 200 Power Supply 1 04 Keys Windows 95 Keyboard Microsoft Mouse w/ Pad 14' 1028 Nl Digital Control Monitor 2 Yrs Parts and Labor Manufacture Warranty

http: //www.ftn.net/-mebrall/tgttLhtml - . Thissite offers a complete resource.for role-playing garners. Included is a complete universal role-playing system (downlmdableg scenarios, 3/terlds, etc... A lot of work went into this site - all for free! Meredith Cpsby http://www.vins- france.corn Here'sinformation about an interesting Website that's fun and informative. Think of it as French wines 101. The RUltiNET" in on-line wine. The Wines of France now have their own Web site. Visitors to this virtual wine cellar can learn more about the Wines of France and add to their enjoyment. The bilingual site consists of five sections including Suggestions from our wine steward, The connoisseur's ABC, Why take a chance?

http://observe.hrv.riasa.gov NASA's Gbservatorium Web Site combines years of NASA exploration and discovery with the latest web technology, giving visitors a site that's literally out of this world. Earth and space photos. The Hubble Space Telescope. Planets. Comets. Black Holes. Eclipses...a body of knowledge as vast and varied as the universe itself. http: //www.altamall.corn/4wjrers/ Free Find Me A Lawyer Service The CANADIAN LAWYER INDEX offers several free services to those in need of legal assistance. You may find something of value and everything is free of charge to users,. Anyone in the world needing a Canadianlawyer merely has to fill in a simple form at out site and we will forward it to the appropriate lawyers in our 2500 lawyer nationwide database. Take a look for yourselves. Bookmark the site, Everyone needs a good lawyer at some point... Regards, JohnStyles

1 530 Monitor opliquesl 15" V655 / 1t' v 775 Samsung 15" GLi / 17" GLis Viewsonic 15" 15GS / GA

5480/$880 $550/$1,045 $540/$645 5880/950 S1,035/ $1,160 CALL

VIeWSOnIC 17" 17EA/17GA

ViewsonIc 17" 17PS/PT770 vrewsonrc 21" PT810/P815 8X /10X CD-ROM JVC Rewrilable CD-ROMw. 1 MedIa SCSI Sound Blasler 16 Sound Card Sound Blasler OEM 32/ AWE 64

E~cx u

lomega Ditto 800MB lnl / 2GB lnl Tape lomega Ditto 3 2GB lnl Tape lomega 100MB Z/p Dnve Parallel' SCSI Seagale3.2GB lnlTape

5 135/$ 'I 60

$695 $95 $175 / 5260

http: //www.vlewz.corn. Yiewz is now available on the World WideWeb. A new e-zine, brought to you by Stewart Hall is directed toward mainstream adults and youth. "Viewz is not about computers and whose is the fastest. It is about the things you can do with a computer and the people who make it happen." Check it out.+

5160/5215 $315

5260 5280

Printer k Modem $580 5249'5379 Supra Express 33.6 Fax/Voice Inl Modem iOEM/ 5155 u S.R 33 6 Fax/Voice Modem lnl./Exl. $225/5259

Cannon BJC-240/ Epsoncolor 500

v Tp/ ' ~ i jx' /J//Cr Ji

your cyberprosnto laraotcpon.corn

www.freenet.d11rham.org/rlvernen I have just placed a new Canadian Content Site. Friends of the Rouge Watershed provides the cybersurfer with a Brief History of the Rouge River and a Tour of the Rouge and its Habitat. Harvey Kirsch

Best Buy Brolher 760DX Laser Pnnler

BSIS

who tn visiton the iIlet,and why.Send

Multimedia

NEW ATI 3D PRO 4MB SGRAM ATI Mach64 3D 2MB SDRAM Malrox Mystique 2MB/4MB SGRAM Malrox MGA Mill 2MB/4MB WRAM

wait to know (in 60 words or less)

. System Upgrade ~ .

/tgnnhII71'r/ a/reer/M rreuernnrl Ir/' lnre/ Cor/nrrori nn

esperately seeking cybersites. We

//1/U roi/i r/ e 6

/ a ] / jl a / 1 / jc'/i

r 'LV///

r'r /u i ' s / e / / 1 'I u ril i / ' i s = J j r ssU/er 2 & 3 years Canada wide warranty available Computer Tutor is available... Windows 95, Office 95, Excel, etc. Lease to own! Please Call more detail Repair a Upgrade welcome, price subject change without notice

'D

Efleclivo dale frOm Dec. 14 06 lo Jan. 20 07 •

I I

C OMP U T E R

I I

• el

-

P L A Y E R!

.

I I I

I I

JA N UA RY 199 7

• •


~~'-„' Vo u Asked U i ~ ~~

ThÃrcf m o u a e '., >>I» ".> g''.> '., w s>.f>»lj

>I

'4.

b u t t o n = f a th w h e e l s

ously (causing tbe task list lo aPPear). I u>ould recomme>ul X-it, as it is a fairly inexpensi t>e utili o > fb«t «rlrfs >nucb to your OS/2 Desktop,

I uoulrl e»cr>urage )r>u lo install OS/2 Warp 3.0 on your machine (assuming you b«i e at least 8,SfB of RA.>SI) and gii'e it a lry. I' ll bel you u>ill like u>bat you see,

Bad reputation

F: drive Fixpak follies

I have a chance to gei the regular OS/2 Warp program at a fairly reasonable p rice. with th e o p tion ti> get t h e "Merlin" upgrade at a later date. I have heard that the OS/2 Warp can be tricky io install. Is there any merit to such talk!

I am using OS/2 Warp 5 with Fixpak 22. Now my LaunchPad keeps looking to my drive F: (a CD-ROM drivel, and hence I see a SYS0039 every time I boot Warp with<>ut putting a disk in the drive or removing the drive altogether. I have double checked that none of my

Q

third-button supp'>rt under OS>/2. If so, how do I enable it?

A

A

Kei'in Linfield responds: B) def«ulf, OS/2 supports «ll tb>ve buttons of Logitecb >nice. Click on lbe Desktr>p or i>arious u>indou's/ico>is to see tf>e egect.8) default, tbe n>idrlle button doesn't rlo «»Ithing except fi>r select. There are fun pmgrams vn tbe FTP site bobbin su,edu that u>ill assist pr>u, though. X-it gitr's Ir>u a large number of title bar icons ffor exitting, mlling up u >indou>s, changing fontsize, etc) andalloursyou to m«p the middle button to any of X-ii 'sfunctions. The der>ice rlriver RODFNTSYS i«ill map tbe rniddle button to be lbe same as pressing tbe left and right buttons simultane-

Thirdly, make sure nothing in your CONFIGSYS references an>thingon p>our CDROiff dri ve. If none of this helps, you may bate to back ouf Ffxpuk 2Z You rlon't >nention if this proble>n r>ccurrerl before installing this Fixpak, so fI>is n>ay not be a solution. Also, check Ir>ur STARTUPC.UD file (i» ibe root directory of I our OS/2 boot partition) for references fo I our CD-RO>lf, If none of this l>elps, you»>«y baie to remoie e>cry>bing fro>n yr>ur l«unchP«d one-0>-one until you finrl tbe >efe>v>>ce ti> yr>ur remoi able drii >e.

items on ih» LaunchPzd make references io drive F:, and it has no reason to iry accessing

Kei>in li>ifiekl respr>uris: OS/2 bas a bad reputation fr>r install«fir>n that j usi isn't true anymore, When version I.x and 2.x u ere current, O.S/2 u>orked on a limited number of sp'stems due to a sei>ere lack of bardu >are dei ice rfri i ers — in p«rticular, drii >ersfor i>ider> cards and CD-ROhfs. That cbangerl, hou'ei>er, u'hen Warp (version 3.0) u>as released. At that time, IB/ff included de>ice drii >ers for hundreds of harduare deiices and OS/2 Warp should u>ork on any current machine.

Thanks.DanYamane

CD-RO>SI drii>e.

Q

Thanks in advance. BobPsarom

I wondering if the Lc>gitech mouse has

stutemenf in i>our CONFIG.SYS and make sure theydo not cont«in «reference toyour

my drive F: every time Warp boots. IIy anally: ing the file, I found that there are references to drive F: in OS2SYS.INI, but changing those references doesn't work. Neither does killing the Launch&ad then recreating it by double~ticking on the desktop. What has gone wrong?

Start again) I had OS/2 installed on a drive that was drive letter "E:". I instafied Linux on the drive that was "D:". When I did this, all the drive letters changed after "C:" and now OS/2 is on the "D:" drive. It is looking to find everything on the "E:" drive and I have changed everything in the CONFIG.SYS, changed the paths within INI.RC and INISYS.RC to point at the "D:" drive and rebuild the OS/2.INI and OS2SYS.INI files. Looking at the contents af aU these files shows that there are no tnces of"E:" anywhete. It now bootsokay,but says it can't find my desk-

Thanks in advance, Keith Hui. Kei>i>i Iinfield responds: There are a

number of reasons u hy OS/2 is checking the CD-ROisf ei>ery time it boots. Tbe first thing I u'ould do is make sure you hat >e tbe line "set restartobj ects=startupfoldersonly" in peur CONFIGSYS. This u>ill prevent pmgrams not in your startup folder from launching automatically. .Secondly, check your PATH and LIBPATH

A

Noui sound canfs are pmbabfp tbe only thing you n>ay hai>e pmbiems u~'th. /Sfany Sound Bk>sf er~ompatible cardsare not IOOper cent compatile. Since Creatit >e Labs (makers of tbe true Sound Bluster cards) unr>te tlat sound de> v'cedrii>er for OS/2, it checks for these clone cards and mfi>ses to u>ork uftb the>n.

TANGENTCOMPUTER]

X IHC S B D Plug n play. But don't pay* ~ " "Buy any IBM Computer and don't pay for 8 montIM;*"

• ASUS atest Pentiu Triton 2 Mai ", d, P55TVP4

O.A.C. Full payment required after 6 months or additional financing provided at I9.9% Some conditions may appy, askfordetails

Please coll for latest

gpss @

BUp

=:= ==:=

Aptlva,.

• 16MB 0 RAM, 256 K Pipeline B;it;,, M • 1.7 ,"; -: . US Robot cs 28.8K Int "' ice DSVD Modem d ® 2 ',P@' B it S , p~~ ' 8i Pl Sou ' i SB ard to 3ggpg ~y+~de

r»Features: Intel pentium 120-200 NiHz • Japanese 8X Spe"4 '; 1. 8/16MB RAM Expandable to 128MB -

' : . . .

M

/a~ e m purchRAAf ed conitnves

• SONY 15" Nl L/R onitor • 15" Case/230 Watt PS I • LogitechMouse/Pad • Windows 95 Preloaded • 1996 Encyclopedia CD Bundle • Powerful YAMAHA M-15 speaker + 2 Years Parts and 3 years Labour Warranty

2. 1.0/1.6/2.0/3.2 GB HD 3. 28.8K VoiceFaxModem 4. CommunicationsCentre 5. MPEGVideoCard

l .yy'He 6. 4X/658X CD-ROM 7. 14"/15"/17" IBM Monitor 8. Lots of Software pent i tjtn

•i•

Prices subject to change without notice

Quality 8 Service is our Name! ta o - "" " c a mo» Weoffercampetitivepricesonall IBNComputers NEC

ffi' Features OependsonModels >>i1YearWarrenty onManitocKeyboard,Mouse, Speakers

i

'>

e

i

•'

I

lBf>f andApfi»aareregisteredtrademarksof theante>nationalBusinessMachineCo>pcrafio» (Pncessubject tochangewithout aofice!)

2221 west Broadwa», Ya»co»ver, B.c. vSK 2E4 (»ee U»»e>g >Duo»»a>k>n>>)

Intel Processor dealer

Au t horized dealer Authorized dealer

T I (604) 737 99i 8 F C OMP U T E R

(604) 737 9928

PL A Y E R !

JA N U A R Y 1 99 7


s;::%'iw":,':t,:

You Aske d

U s , ; ,: -

The skinny on all Pouer >llacintosb computers. This is great if you ha> e a Pnu'er >Ifn<., but »nfi> e softuare uon't run if you bn>e an olde>, 68K-bnsed computer. "Fat" applications are those that run on

Mac Shrink

by David Rosen

o

O

0

o

Dear Doctor: I was installing some software on my Power Mac 7200 the other day and read about "Fat- software. What is the difference between native software, conventional software, and "Fat" software? Signed: Kevin from Barrie. U~

A

Dear Kevin: Any Pou er Macintosh can run in two modes: it can run "native" software (u >ritten specif ically for the PowerPC chip), or "conventional" so ftu>are (tvritten for older 68XOO-based computers t o m a i n tai n b a c k u>ard compatibility). industry folks sometimes refer to conventional softu>are as "68K" so ftware. On a Pou>erMac 7200, conventional software runs in "emulation" «rode, making the computer functionally equivalent to a Macintosh llci or a Quadra 605. To complicate this further, this perfor«tance also depends on hou many referencestbe software makes to the machine's toolbox" (a set of internal softu>are routines in your computer). Conventional (i.e., 68K) extensions and control panels may r e u rite native parts of the systemsoftu>are, causing slou'er pe>for>nance. That's just the nature of emulation. Native softu>are, on the other band, runs o>lly o>l Pou>er .Sfacintosh computers. The softu>are has been specinlt) r eu>ritten to take adh antage of the Pou erPC chip inside

Fat

so

u se ink c artridge refill k it s w i t h m y StyleWriter ll p rinter? Signed: Claude in Burnaby.

either n 68 K o r a P o u e r Mn c u i t bout modification. Tbe operating s)ste>n auto>naticall) determines u'bleb part to use and ignores tbe other pnrt. Since Fat applications are really tu o progra>ns in one, many installers uill offer either a "Power Ma cintosh" or "Cont>ei>tional" install. So, if you install a softu>are application that bills itself as 'Accelerated for Pouer Macintosh and, once installed, your Mac

Dear Clan<le. APPle Stl le Pl'riter ink cartri<lges are >nade by Canon for Al>pie. Both co>npanies suggest that pb)sical dn>«age to the printer u>ill be caused by tbe use of n third-part) print cart>i<lge or ink refill kits that don't meet tbe manufacturer's stnndards. Not only' that, but, according to Apple, using a third party cartridge or refilli>ig an old cartridge u >ill i>oid the printer's u >arranty Since there bai e been no studies on the ejfectiveness (or safety) on tbe refilled car-

runs sl<nver than you think it should, make

tridges. u e'd recommend sticking u>ith the

sure you have installed the correct version. Both native and conventional versions u>ill run on tbe Pou>er Macintosh, but only tbe native version uill benefit from all the special features of th e Pou>er Macintosh. Signed: The Doctor.

original equipment from Apple or Canonat least for nou> Then again, the Doctor recalls u>hen every printer manufacturer recommended against using refurbished laser cartridges. The scare tactic suggested the cartridges u >ould somebou> damage tbe printer or produce sub-standard results.To be sure, many refilled laser cartridges didn't u>ork as well as their manufacturers claimed, especially in the early years of the industry. lt's easy to be skeptical of any company that says its co«tpetitors'products are no good, bou'ever. Signed: Tbe Doctor.

More font follies Dear Doctor. My LaserWriter II printer sometimes decides not to print large jobs. What do I do? Signed: Chantelle via an ISP.

Q

A

Dear Chantelle: My guess is you' re using too many fonts. Some older printers u>ith small a>nounts of «>em-

ory u >ill not print documents containing

large numbers of fonts unless you select a special option. Try selecting Unlimited Dou>nloadable Fonts in th e Page Setup Options dialogue> box before )'ou print. Signed: The Doctor.

Clmane a refill Dear Doctor: My company has been refilling laser cartridges for years and seems to have good luck with the company me use for this job. Is it okay for us to

are unless )r>u can find so>neone u >itb an oln> Pou>erBook 100 Series adapter. Apple sn) s that tbe use of other AC adapters coukl cause damage tbe can>era..Signed Tbe Dvctr>r.

MacShrink FactSheets areback The Doctor nom makes house calls. Well. perhaps not in person but, hey, what do you mant for free? Back by popular demand, the MacShrink FactSheets nom feature individual articles on how to prevent (and cure) system crashes, start-up problems, printing problems, SCSI hassles and much more. As usual. FactSheets are free for the asking (and a sett addressed, stamped business-size envelope).

You canreachMacShrink directly by sendingyour message to MacShrink@ aol.corn. Yourlast nameande-mail addres. will not be printed. Pleasenote that due to the volumeoi mail, individualquestionscannot beanswered. Allquestion> becomethe propertyof MacShnnk>"andDavid Rosen.

c ont i n u e d

f r o m p a g e SQ

top that is referred to by OS/2.INI. It sounds like a reinstall, but what if I decide to remove Linux and go with FAT and then it moves again back to "E:"? There has to be an easier way.

Thanks,Kenton Groombridge Battery blues D ear Doctor: Although I l ove m y QuickTake I50 digital camera, I'm running out of patience with its ravenous battery habits. Which AC adapter can I use mith my Q uickTake? Signed: Maria in Toronto.

Q

Dear Maria> you can use either tbe QuickTake AC Adapter (Apple part number »M 28 5 1LMA ) or tb e >Macintosh Pt>u>erBook AC Adapter (Apple part ~M4662LVA) uitb tbe cameraAt about $lot>, tbe first option is probably cheaper

A

A

Kevin ltnfl'eld responds> The easiest way u'ould have been to either put Linscr beyond your OSi2 partition, r» add a small partition betu'een C: and D:. Partition Magic would have allou ed you to do either of these tasks, but si nce you bat e already messed uith OSi2's system files, you will most likely> have to reinstall OS/2. I'ou are correct in bat ing to change all references in tbe INl files and CONFIGS~, but you forgot about all of your etctended attributes. Take this as a lesson and reinstall OSi2>. You could aluays upgrade tr> OS>>'2plarp I (Merlin) and start u itb a fresh install. +

SMOKING IS OUT OF FASHION IN VAXCOUVER ...'EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES To SPEED If you think "Cigar" smokedthe racetrack ... see how LMI technologysmokesthe Internet • .. business is business ... networked corporate communications needspeed, power, simultaneous access, instant connection, no lengdistance charges, reduced phone lines, savings on upgrades, as well asfull training andinStallatiOn If you hav.e three or morecomputers, let us help yousmokeyour competition, just like "Cigar".

LMI

TECHNOLOGIES 502-425 CARRALL ST

C O M P U T E R P L A Y E R!

j A N U A R Y 199 7

Don't horse around Saddle up and call us at 662-3312 LMI, specializesin computer Communication SOLUTIONS as well as complete Systems Supply and leasing


Columns

esmeetson o success ILeft My Heart In San Francisco

Hlac Hant n industry friend of l the RantingOne once stated, "if I hear that Ghristmas song again I' ll go mentally insane." Now. ignoring the obvious redundancy in the sentence, we' re left with a n i n t eresting observation: even people whose singing skills could crack a porcelain shower stall get into the festive spirit and croon like old Bing during the holiday season.

If you' re not singing the blues this month, perhaps you left behind the Canadian W inter for — a fev< days an)w'ay.Those in the knosv headed south to The City by the Bay to t ake in th e g lory and w o nder that i s MacWorld SanFrancisco Mac clone maker Power Computing is one of the man) companies in attendance that definitely has something to cr<nv about. Predictions are that the company's, um, appropriation of some k«y executives from Dell Computer and Gatesvay 2000 will have the show floor positively chirping. A lot of people were humming Power Computing's tune this summer when the company started shipping the fastest micros around — Mac or PC. Could it be that these new birds will lead Power Computing into the Windows side of life or does their migration signal the company is primping itself for a serious fight in the low-cost "commodity" PC business? Power Computing scored another major coup when it licensed Be Inc.'s BeOS, leapfrogging ahead of Apple.Readers of November's MacRant column might recall we suggested Apple's rumoured alliance with Be was stalled. Since Apple's own new whiz-bang operating system — code-named Copland — seems to be behind schedule, Apple is said to be looking at Be to provide

some key components, rather than a replacement operating system. Meanwhile, Power Computing said it would continue to pre-load the MacOS on their computers, but ship BeOS on a CDRO M.

Me fdes, updates drivers, and even repairs some hard-drive problems before installing the new system software. Also new to this version is an upI>>ade to Apple's Extension Vlanager. giving you more control over ho w y o u r M a c <>perates. Although the company will charge for the

It Was 20 Years Ago Today...

new operating sistern, a final price svas not available at press time.

. that Apple taught IBM to play. Now, we' re n<>i trying to rewrite a classic Beatles song, but take note that Apple is out of its terrible teens. In fact, to celebrate its twentieth birthday, the company will this month announce a limited quantity, gee-whiz Mac, code-named Sparticus. As mentioned in a previous column, the machine will sport some never-before-seen technology that will delight and astound anyone within ear- or eyeshot. If you' ve ever wanted a showcase Mac, this is it. Wow! What Would Melody Be Without Harmony? By the time you read this, Apple should be shipping the Mac OS 7.6. Code-named "Harmony," the OS comes with lots of new

Unforgettable One of MacRant's many readers pointed out an apparent mistake in a previous column. I quoteth: "Shakespeare's Caesar says, in correct Latin,'Et tu, Brute!'(Act III, Scene I), not, as you put it in bad Latin, 'Et tu Brutus.'" Well, you may not believe us but I meant to . do that. The Ranting One has seen several years ofLatin and more than his share of

goodies i n cluding: Q uickTime 2 . 5 , QuickDraw 5D 1.0,6, QuickDraw GX 1.1.5, Open Transport/PPP 1.0, and Apple Remote Access Version 2.1. The most important — and visible — change, however, will be the system's new instalhtion process, which points out specific Read

Shakespeare. I bad to decide whether to put the correct quote in (without the "s") or the incorrect one (as was printed). If I opted for the correct one, I reasoned,a lot more of you might write and say,-hey, Rant, there's an 's' missing: the guy's name wasn't 'Brute' for goodness sakes"). Even if youcan't carry atunein a paperbag, youcanstill sing your guts out like the proverbial canary to MacRanta<aol.corn.Pleasenote that due to the volumeof mail, individualquestionscannotbe answered.

DATA SYSTEMS

CORP.

THE NETWORK EXPERTS

:p„::.>y~.;„' ':~ , • ACCESSORIES • JOYSTICKS • STEERING WHEELS • VR HEADGEAR • HARDWARE ' COMPLETE SYSTEM

(604) 473-9331 ( site sOluti4~.

'+n k

' ' fol'gcegtf8 slazer 40!router TI bts Net up to 64asyncdial-in ports 'upto24lSON 8channels

'f

i

8'nc ports

I ~

C

. . •

~

1..

tes il/Ip +I'Pletali( e@ond lo».

diol on-c fe@

/ling

4 t-'

t

Nntl'N.

LEGIT'

NEW RELEASES DAILY!

PC CD-ROM • PLAYSTATION • NINTENDO 64 OUT OF THIS WORLD PRICES ON @VER 500 USED TITLES!

'l20 E A S T 3 R O S T R E+ a N ORTH Y A N C OU V E R EARTH

( 604) 9 8 7 - D leg C (347 2 )

data communications equipment

"sales ~ rentals ~ service ZED Data Systems info Ozed.ca http: //www.zed.ca COM P U T E R

P L A Y E R ! l A N U A R Y I 9 9 I>


REMINDER!!!

The Place for C omputer Books WestwfoodNail - 3000 lougheed Hay, Poco464-5$)$ Cllalnplain hffdl - 3200 E$4Ave., Vancouver 431-$5$3

Pphange ComPuter Show Sunday, February 9th, 1997 10am-4pm

— ill g

Admission: $2, Children 12 years & less FREE at. the

"The bookseller with experience and knowledge"

Fireficthters' Club

|z

Nf

JN1r I'1%

6515 BonPor Avenue, Burnaby (behind The Bay, Metrotownf

Bann ett

Hotted by

Metrotown

KIIIIQSt(V

& C o mputers

asty

+ SPARKLE

g 4

Keyboarders New Wrist Protection that's comfortable to wear! Suputn wrist supports with unique built-in pad!

Bilingual System (English/Chinese) Custom Software Design / Programming / Support

o •

• • • l •

• ', '

• •

' I

(604) 873-2854

—QOS/Windows/Mncinionh/Aodio GLM Technology - 1 day turn around time 214-175 W10th Ave., KAP t(igfi quality media Vancouver, BC VSY 1R7 lu —Satisfaction guaranteed lit

Help Soothe Sz Prevent Wnst Pnin! recommended by hand therapists prescribed by doctors,

4 .+%@- N~44 g x.4 4 %

Software package support, M i ssion Critical Statistics, MIS for small business... B il i n gual Documentation... Database Design I' programming, DOS/Windows/OS2... Chinese Systems: TwinBridge, KuoChiao...

Free Initial Consultation

Tel/Fax: (604 435-2338 (Mon.- Sat. 7am - 2pm)

!

$15" ActNow.„CalJ6044893626/800567.1977Fx 6046844589 I used to lan'e ranger numbness and lots uf wrist pain - early warnhngs of Carpal Tiinnel Syudnaue tint lnant nne worried. Bougie a pair for the heck ni it anni lnaw hanl zero pain, zem prohleun since. lint'n a Arear pruduct you' re niakirin

ro onfer. call or send (ot lax/ph. with visa/me( payment

I,

E-Mail:agasian(Nporttkt.ca ht tp: // w w w .emira.bc.ca/gttn

SoernetAIN

ol 319.95/single ot 35.20/pair (Includes taxes, ship. & hand). Indicate colour (black or teal), leff/right ti wrist see; Smut (5-b' arauxl wiisil, Med (e-r"I or icsge I/O"i.

Rhnan lnteniatimial In«. Box 121 5 I, I220-bott Nelson Street, Vancuuyer. BC V0Z 2H2

Kesboorrnrrsan Ihe internet htlp://www.ideos.wis. net/mmilt. html

COMPATIBLE INK JET CARTRIDGES

or LEASE

We Rent IBM Compatibles, 286, 386, 486 8c Most Brands of Printers tn(. 4604) 52

t .6904

Fax: 525-4060

440 CANFOR AVENUE, NEW WESTMINSTER, B,C. V3L 3C9

a

DOS • MAC • Novell • Xenix UNIX • OS/2 • WIN NT Hard Drives • Diskettes • Tape Syquest • Bernoulli • Optical

n

n III

n

I• •

e •

Highest success rate, even with the most difficult situations. No recovery, no charge! We' re your best chance of getting your lost data back.

n

ONLY 1/2 THE PRICE YOU' RE USED TO PAYING! •

Download our Data Recovery Info Kit www.datarec.comiinfokit.htmf •

I I(

4

• •

Ctt/aiitt/ Service Since 1977

RUSH JOBS OUR SPECIALTY AUTHORIZEDWARRANTY DEPOT

/V, /

•L'.e SKTOP 8 NOTEBOOKS REPAIRS • CHERRY-Il'J & ON-SiTE S RVICE

278-0783

24 HOUR SERVICE 686-1550

We Specialize in:

iTlii1iTRUPil:5 Greaaaoat D.

• low cost service & upgrades • new & used parts

1 t04320 JACOMBS RD., RICHMOND

CheCkO IIr Weekly SPeCialS

W e Bu

U s e d C p m ut e rs

Vancouver

R ichm o n d «1 06-9780 Cambie Rd

2744 W. 4th Ave Vancouver, BC

303-7331

732-7816

604-737-2133Fax 737-7311 Sflflg

Spe cializing in Photo Restoration

DIGITAL IPT TAGING

antt Marljpulatjon

Services • OCR • Film reCOrding (35mm or4x 5) • Pre press layout • Scanning • Digital Photo restoration • HEW-1200d i Colour laser • Digital photo Manipulation You h aveto see • Presentation slides it to believe it! • Photo Art T-Shirts EMail denny©portal.ca

C OM P U T E R P L A Y ER !

JA N UA RY 1 9 9 7

Bob R Jerry's Computer Room

GryE SoMEoNE

A SECOND CHANCE. Discuss organ donation with your family and sign a donor card today.

4050 Knight St. Vancouver, BC V5N 3L9

T e I: 876- 3 3 5 3

18BKtDNBY FOUND/LlroN

op~


Japanese R English

1

Multi- l i n gual Web Site Design

Ask for...

THE WQ . »t "

I I a c i n i e s iI I I ac'S l ". t

(t block East of Imperial & Kinrtwsay) Phone: 4374919 Fax: 437k11

Regular store hours: Mon-Fri, 10am -6pm

lockbuste Video

Web Words Ink Services

;DII 4 DN S ] t e ' ,

New 4 0'remwne4 g ' r i :- '

8919 Russell Avenue, Burnaby

(Chinese & Korean too)

j()l 4', ~> ~nf'Jty(gt"fg

. '~;tJ".:. !

Computers

A . , C,t'.e:cOf lt.'5

Q

Co puters

email: info©ww-ink.com

Full 585 - 133 Multi-medta System

• 8 MB RAM • 1 GB Hard drive • 16-bit Sound Card • 55 Watt Speakers • SX CD-ROM • SVGA M o n itor

$1,049

I C MSTD M

I D F.NTIFICA T I DN

450 Gift Certificates for 445 - Save 45 • Buy & sell new & used computer items • Monitor, printer & System repairs • Upgrades with or without trade-ins • Custom applications programmed

I

$5 OFF W IT H T H IS A D

ANY C OU N T I I Y / S T A T E / P R O V I N C E

II

8URNSI DEtIR E A L -ID.CO M

www nowwe g.corrt

A •

I Mitsui 2/4/6X 74 (640mb) onlIJJ 10.99 I This Cupon must be presented at time of purchase min. order 20 pcs., taxes extra

I

Cash, VISA or Mastercard,only

I

I I

The One-Off CD Shop 12 - 12840 Bathgate Way, Richmond, B.C I call (604) 278-5356 f ax ( 6 04) 278-3486g

yt.S

eiltwi PgEgP

Impe rial

Christmas Specials:

NEWWEB

4

!

B&

KINGstjtrgy

604-331-443 2

• Ljl)t~r .Stilntg COnSUJtif',rj

D' e. rs e

BURNABY MEALS ON WHEELS

Needs volunteer kitchen assistants, delivery drivers, and area coordinators to ensure that elderly and disabled adults receive a nutritious meal at noon. As little as 2 hours a week of your time will have a great impact on their lives and yours. The program allows clients to continue to maintain their independence and remain in their own home. Orientation, initial and ongoing training for volunteers will be provided. Call and find out more about these very rewarding volunteer positions. Gontact Gail at 299-5778 Loc. 1

OH LIHE

(Hard-copies atnewsstandseverywhere.) Brery Monday,Ivery thursday, BreryThing.

C OMP U T E R

P L A Y E R!

JA N U A RY 1 9 9 7


-5+f.t' -fd ~~ 0 ~ k<%1:4% ft'. 4f 8 —. f5).-

-%.)JJJ J'h+ T @Rtt $L O' ll C @ 0 4 0

el'

3 Languages in 1 CD-ROijdl

T k@k 4 4JE2lt Mk, — /rt. ') W dk fc.S. do + )Ir 4 %

+

Various sizes & types of hand writing input pens available! Check it out! gjf ®tJ A 0 'I' Itl Ilk+ 0 4

+

%44 . T g i l ILA k.4 c: aJ

Next Demo Dates/Location:

4+J 6 k.+gal,

V.k4t+ e @ef Jgi <fthm

sr- % !NJ5I)r gtJ = /I = + i < 8 A

Er )lg:Feb. 28- Mar. 1

)

5thgk: Ynohnn Centre, Rmd

Professional Interactive Chinese comes with voice recognition, nash cards, games audmany other features.Incorporates two years of Mandarin traiuiug taking you to the intermediate skill level.

48 h r:

+

'@'tr 4. 4!rcl 98. 273-0383 lsd

+$tt ke)$J4e@hh a

Itg rl 33rg)JI>Zg ee

r ejj: l604i 9309i08/ 3 4 1 0 i 80

HIS Information Systems Office hour: Mon-sat., 10:30-6:00 s

'

9

I

4

'

ll

T

i

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

9 9 •

• • • • •

• • • • • • • •

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

('CII@% )

• •

e Coreldraw ' Internetil J5

4 XfJCxNJSR %N %%%

++@

( g@@g

2Ihg

"":(

tp: wwwcwin.corn/enews

9g JI gf NI@ i@

l luJNI%2(J.)

9 I!IiiJIVCD, KafaokVCD Ia gxlg l] 1 5 8 9Jyt 1%%IJt 5%%%Jo t. • XCZIjlt • IEIIIX

(%It13IN )

SNF

NI I

aleIIJEe:-InSe e~ree3 WIIfe ~ex meeee ~efJIA aWe (GAME) S IIJIJfkN CI I I III 4 %

IMItkfl-...........,................... $8.N Ilp

C OM P U T E R PL A Y E R !

J A N U A RY 1 9 9 7

JII+g ~ gPgg

JrP aJ) ' jiN+y a 7 — fl +g JI @ ®@jjjlfII ggjllltpg + vgiII7

@IN! llrhTI%

@e@%%@IINS !JNe

@NJIQ . +Itf9f@ISP I|%i%%

Tl yjill I!I I n t e rue t jI @ • !Iff*fl9 I SP Q!J %

®@T3+g l u teruet3tl@ og g'gj j j % Jig'Tryjijrlrlrrnternet jtI@IYJ ISP 9 g

+P'J ~J

%%(IIRA flll f@% 0 8'iilI'%R • 44 ®' RWJ ' AINI54%JI%T~SYJ"":)

fir Jg > gg@ II'3grnternet gg

@ ' gvggg

9IIJ¹@PelIIIai •

1.@%T%aiba —I¹4%frlk

3 .8@S@ I R J N H N »%% %%IJEÃfllr%% (%8% III S%)

4. @fPI48'.4j®I n ternet fYJg NN

jtj(lk(For Windows 3. I @95) 5. RfPI%@ j1%4kl@yrI|%%9 IP (+ 14.4Xw28.8R w33.6K W ISBN)

+ alpISP II4%@TI fEr NJ% lritjijJ

. Interne t Se rvi ce Provide r

SII% ' Jljg1%)kk%@NI89jtllk@ WCRCN fI !IJI 4 (tlfEIINh%'.RIJlk@

%NIKE+ Jt:I %%%@IMI'ift! — +S • EIS R SIJJk%WNIJJIf8 WOh %N!kk R- 8 % N N %@ja%IIRNI hfJN R. % ~J% • %JJ!aNEJ X+I-8%IINN% IIGR+ ISPRk@f8%ild CJI J i ts @++ • %@gltI4I'fejt+IYJ trill+ • fg jjij C4 - ihi r sP IL!% • 5 flt4%%

g T >g 0 +Un 1 ini tedhccessIi!IUnl ini ted Tine hcceosg% +®gjJ ~0lt t Un 1 ini tedhcce sfg s 99%@ WJAT'

Vi deo CD@gg, jJII )

bttpt//wvvw.cwigbcam/bis/game/

(VCD) ~ Q

18ttllgoTIQ

411!Ill%I%

JIItlfbbrsplNQSPJ R % 4 N I I AA% b9 i%Jl4% j b9xJII5f T~ ®'% 1.5417 %mr JI89%NJ%7 ' 'RN %4 4 + f i s SJ — flfNP yIkR T~ Wfkk(IXIN8%fkiBJrxPW

( c win gairtc)

• Q g CD@+

Office Service, ChineseTypesetting, Translation Services

ISP@k@BIPItOR%8jo.ff9$714 o AN JNI+IN! N i%JÃ%dt'%II)(~ ®8.%ik Nl@NINS!J l@isp kk Nf.8

l!JkgiJ9g@PO+*gg

R s WWW-'Nri56+4f (CWin-WWW)

(SJIII - .: — .X F+ I:00,6:OOR+I • g ~ 4 g ) : s

1tHÃI %

ume*IJ+e@W em~e

[ inte r net g g ) c sg g I N+g I

381ltlkT1%

E-geil

I!1)%%19.95Rf@®%% f0®1I!0% ® i5 ~ 48! g~ f~grJIP g Ntf!J89 In t emet

.

' + +

0$$9,00(9HR)

' fEfggfPIII +g+Q+~ig+IPJJI® o

.

:

0$$19.95

44@@g g + $ @ g rspiN

• • e • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • e • • • • • • • • •

Computer Classroom e Internet, HTML e Photoshop

.

Q /J>EJ II5$$.95

fJ3I%%%%% ' IsPCT'®IrtÃC — Ij +%NI frJ II 8(jrrr%% ~ %Ã@JIJII 8 J a %%@%%NN IR@IJE) "" ":) 2.@fPIjl j: Internet lY3+IJJk4g .-4 I I @N% T %@NI.% f8 %S P(+% I%%T%TI)

.

.

0$$995(f EL)

• fJII fPJ frJ g ag~ fkg 8%4 100%EI!

e Pentium 120 MHz Computer ....................... $1130 e USR 33.6 FAX Modem Int / Ext. . $169.00jt$245.00 e ACER lox Rom , $148.00 e Yamaha 4xCDR ..................... $1080.00 e 1.7 GB HD . .. . ....,.........,......,........,....,...,..... $298.00 .

15$19.95

N-% PJTJ'J,SflllfPIIB® jI!%%200OA@

.

1-703-904-4100

el @ f r) rspgf Ji QIJJkijtf ftRIItrljlf

Computer, Modem, CD Rom Spedal .

1-212-267-3636

e tll ®N( %u e-IJJkIIIf:+R® a

9 g +Q )

• 9 •

1-206447-0300

) w%JA@wisPIJI|%il@iJIIC "b.Vlf @T@9t5 ISP W@JIJJ k4fg) . 4g j : • fltxI:@ISPQIN jg i Erj Jllk f@RC %.'8)llklail j HIIJkJXX '

cD:+II%% @NJrlfN • +XRN' • %tllk •

1400-776-3449

%%%%7 Etr Jig'@NIL ' zlc++illfg fjggiII %@%%8%$ @R 8!J(8%7IN(IJJtk!J k%4%ro W $4!J R II 8 % 2lr%

'e Translation Perfect for Window 3.1 + 95 ( N g ) •

tug)$-34S-2600

44t%5gtltlr (XRRIICRT'+

$368.00 «Twinbridge46 Fonts CD ( Qg g ® 4 6+ 4 ) $428.00

• •

Perfoiaaacc

) • g Nrbgrsl %%AN+% • +ASSI

( +%%II 5 % %$t )

• •

Plpel lac

v

i

' Ms Chinese Window 93,Twuhddse, Richwin, Chinesesno, Unionway, Dragon Writer, Chinese Pio e MAC China Pro $210.00 e Pen device:Q 4®+ g 9 gna w+ 9'gffjsg $25P.PP ' Learning Chinese on CD Rom $28.00 up e MS Cwin 95 + 18 Fonts $369.00

Eprlat Llak

@lhlllgll gt

Chinese Computing, Many Choices

Prodigy

Cfltljtl1~Ict

(Dealer Welcome!)

getCoa

3811!ill@I%

New Year Special

«Twinbridge+postmouse(pg

+:

' Free parking 1 hour

'

'

4& t IP@ 9 lJILInteraetgitlJNgNIIQ 9 Ilg % + 4f 7 9 flrjJIQJJ!4ICostpuserve 44 81IA ISP09gy!JJ • JÃ F%%IIIAPCconputinggQQg'CRISP jg@Q — INIIrwtg

Email: bisocwin.corn http: //www.cwin.corn/bis/

¹203-124 E. Pender Street, Vancouver B.C. V6A 1T3

' I

il "

gL

~ Ill s 4 + 4 )J9~ 4 4 N A -

Jl4kf Ei w4t+1ti~w g j r lt

( zxftfp p ' c '= g

n erne

Interactive Chinese Inakes learning Mandarin Chineseeasierthan ever! Afteryour purchase of our PIC FV, you feast nnl are automatically entered in our contest In for a complete refund if you win within lee 30 days. Phone for details! Winner will be informed aud result will be priated in our monthly ad. Contest alh )JJIJ. ends Feb. 28, 1997.

ee t Many New Powerhei Features including Dragon Translator end 16 TT Fonts

C hin e s e

Q!J$% — )jNIIJlP4

%% 5 * b bl4II%RM • HNJ

ISA!kk%%JNII@RIJa%II hss fHS4%

IR 4 N(I1% 2 4k (R%%% yl%% 4 8 I t % %%%fN@fll!%%II II 8 '.% ) fm4IJJkf@Nl@ka4%%NS!Jfe7th elesimeelj~hee Somfseh R%IINRKJXTIRAI(%%% fE!4 il!R %rllk%%%42 1%%%ff'JNN rkkN@IJ(f!O@llya — fllrllflk!J ' g®lit+ SNR%hafIIJIIN®il pT7%T'I C%4%%7(%IJJISfl 8)7 !gjrlI JI JI@QIII+f~I g @+II@tT Un 1 ini ted Tine Access5 IY3%@g IJN 9 Jarnternetggg g ' lI'iet mltggl+>/J~ 48 A,IJt ~7JÃx1$ A,(9.%@CxI%4 g®(ISP) • E'lily!ag g +IYgjig • jfgllfJ 4i fL34fYgrspgg@@fr7lrJI4!i 4g 0 flkkxl • ftIrfPIP 7%f tJ • IIJIIf j % ~% — fl@N(SJJJ!08X)S ett X% 44 IE%0%%%S%im S0'%%REX+


44 ' . x "iid

C hin e s e

C~,

'|, •

i lgfS+e g a tllg rgi%++g@NIQIY

R — iRsgim @4NH;ABC%84RN

4%5~c ~l%i%flhO IYICR% RRh8 @N%4'jr%i(NJlsll80 RJHI@114* IYj@'tQ jgg • g Jthggg+g Qga +g l eg+ I I A I n ternetgsa+I + J I Q %k WII • Ck%%5'& 4 XRR®NI

Ng@II H • a[In ternet+IYIIE+W fg

• QR "IIX tBIIi" IIEISIRIOItS • S — Aim • Rat'%N7J<%4XS

$%SIIEJSC7J~%4 ' IIA%%I IT'% IIEJ%5%J SSiJ+A @ % % J %%RBEJ%4%) %RIIO IYI%@%NQR — 8 Rnt)7J~%4'BAOS R S btiil %

NQJISS @S • It@II%5t+%$4 4 %h~V-NPIYI84 •

CI IA X btiBC%4%%0IYI%R

• fl "BC%R7 ~~% "IYI4JI@SXKIIR

4%7Ti >RS7Ji%4'CN'%4kIE% • gQ

e gg JI@ggf+g g g i ®JII+'gw • -:)

+4 7Ji@IYiJ%55N@Q j- In t e rne f •It % +%®WJIRWI'%%8Ã%% N %

S A%8 I I H e g4 • Wg®@IYI4*Ne tscape4 ~JJAik%44Realhud ioiYI IIQ ®%@ +54RealhudioIYIPIuginlg(%) o

6 . Internet +QIINIf@P

e l e X m e e lg I n m

et • jN $$%RBI I g g + In t e rn Jm.@glo r id% i deWebIYI% II SR Jg FQII l e b S ite s R~JJlsa%

%%Slee'

ht ty://www.coadex.coa

®Q COROEX@IIEIHoaePage ht ty:/hnnr.iceonl inn.coa

ICEOn inc 1 IIEJHoae Page(I SP)

%ABC%'(lI%%!N'.%6tt."@4') ht tp://www.wiasey.coa Q* IY'I — g ®g.Q@ + g (Rogers liaseyIYIHoaePage(ISP) Cable) s@BIINNg@N

In ternet sljg

I tS(JIRCabi.k@NIII) H II @k R JS IINt •JI5'PJ%4R 4rllN 8 4 i I @J T~ j5 • % %

iNi Cable 4 +

Internet x grani QtllI @Q — ~$ Cable

ROBERSiI7J~%i5 ~JTRR QaCable7i~ a345.J57

Internet

• *+%

+gg~~lb@

ht tp://www.wor ldte I.coa

Wo r ld Ye 1IYI HoaePage (I SP) ht ty://infoaatch.coa

Inf oaa t ch IYIHoae Page(I SP) ht tp:/hnnr.direct.ca IaternetDi rect IYIHoaePage(ISP) h t tp://snnr. in te rga te.bc.ca In t e rne t Ga tewayiYI Hoae Page (I SP) h t tp:/hnnr.uni serve.coa

•s

UNI Serve IYIHoaePage (I SP) ht ty:/ /www.au 1-breae rhaven.de

% 5 — kli h%%% S R % N @ghl f redlegenergbg@ %@ 7i~~3%@RggJJ@%%gIII h t ty:/hnnr.ubc.ca l 5 SIR%%%j=+4A S i I K % $ 6 %4*BCW% %RJÃII%XIf IIEJ$% • %+%h+%$' ht tp://cai ts02.dow.on.doe,ca IYIeCN@e HNB@%%IIEJCSS j=R IIAWIICRS NI RTSRIYI®NNIIl5+Il JÃ%%IYIilk h t tp://hybl.hwc. ca:g100 %%8% Sf¹ A IIEIOSZASKSJNI 514*%%%f%%%® IYi l gg g p a h t tp://hppp rdkOI.P rd.hp. coa Internet j:IY'I®J54~%11a7JQ i k&%48 %

4 %II+N%%%N % $

%$8@

NINSII I 4 PKII H SRRJÃ84(% II%%% %&ISjIIYI ft%0+SNt8%IIEJ @II

SRNNH-%55 I I H - lii'.4N.+

)1% ' V IRJIY'IRikdtrIIH I INI S R Internet •JgJ 9E ~TJXNNrPNf4 ®R

M4 H • -R C S R O N I I A @ %

W8 II W@g, T — N 4 Progress ive Networks IIEIQgsse @g+gg g l ( I I H 4A,NS • @ — CRATE} Internet gg e %@Off J5 T — gg Nf Rea lhudio

IYJ%IBIRNI8% %JÃ%%sM%%%

ht tp://envi ro 1 ink.org

% WII4%NSNI

ht tp://s t i s.usf.gov

%NINNY@%%&® ht tp://usen ix.org

OSENIXQW

))ilksRRI Rr@gtxrERgIPC V4.1%~ SB RI a

h t tp:/hnnr.v i be.coa

j=ew ee.- ime.- lie@ Sml

, $ % 4 % %%95Ã % %@Mac V3.1%III -"g ® k% %II 0 RS "

h t ty://uww.cane t.sk

I(48 % l I3KN

ht tp://netf inder.coa/serfwest

The Surf Board(IRJ@ilg Jg)

EP ~7•

% IIIYI —i tli*IIRN% 8 B 4 % IJ JgReslhud1og fg IIEJ@g s 5, Q@Q late rne4t JNI(iei059N@@II H i I!I PII xIi g ~~ Q Q Q (Hat i on el Pub Ii c Radio)BQJJli Realhudio Q Internet j- g

%4 0 4 @ llEJWeb Si te+NTiI "%i%It "IIEI SR(Q 2, 8 AEJ CGI8. 8

) ' ak- e 4 e 7% IJJ e Ill ht ty:// www.ends.coa twill II % l JHI%@4%fORS$4k • NkQI@ %40Nf • Ji+RSII(JOSSR : E-Rail: j ia l l i eeonline.coa

o

~ ~

g ~8 ' V m .: +vs P/rr4)apQ ggecV'g~ ' II Il +@A f ' +@Ql@ ' A@ggb '" + + / ' f g t gtI,+'f gi fRrrii > rL+48 k i it(+44L'er+J '

' rgN + iii gg .gg,

k l ~ 0 k, H44444 4 ,

. x+AA

EEET! 8I@J)tlat* • Smilk8 • Zsa (QSNIS) 1. windows95++4 I'g(IIU+g lg IIIYdgIN)

4. +IN pll+PowerPoint (PowerPoint Jgp lg II) dti 5. @salindows Nl'(NTg )=s2 IR%4 g)

~- 44dII444B4)B • Af)gWiw4%, g mIi: (604) 6574919 Non-Sat,13:00-21:30) Rai I: j ialei econ line.coaORht tp:/twww.ends.cow.tw

+@@

. tfl@I/JNf:%@WRY

r WC@N4 kkk4% 8k4@4L@:;;: -~@~~ @@@~. ~

m /@ Iafimli8 5 a 8

4 3 . Nt JIRHRHn(SNS @%600MBSJNSR)

4

a

. AI(EA,~4'kN 4 %4i I 8 4f.k4%

2. Internet @II+NJ(g Internet )tr@Iyd@)

sNS -~

.,%4

WIBEQQ

5'%%JINN'NIH IIEIRS • iIE@SAN

NII%%IIIYIOKOEES JIII%R@4kS % — SNt8IIH S C R % 4 % II %%

4'

1

+Re@

3E — II RI IB H Bl l% IR ti: IR

FOR ADVER TISING

6 08- 2 6 8 8

@-@fjgi.gg @+gggg )O(g+

' /kg ' + g ~ l 4 gg g t ilg@4 • EpwiSlKRkNI ' +%%%IN@iR @8 Nf>E<NN~@8%$X%%@Jf8$ •

Canada Sole Distributor

ACCA ACCESS PRODUCTION INC. •

140-3757 Jacombs Road, Richmond, B.C. VbV 2R3 •

res(604)278~7

Fax: (604)2784627 Moderm: F604)278-6207 emaa acca@accapre-press.corn

gf, Axelle exrselkr

Adobe

Al l/IHllz 4 X ~ X t T

aaalk WNSLAS

sb~A I SK%~ % ~ % 4

i@twRs)l: i'),XP/rNPkooWA(gm')-'iS'c nHHrA

PENPOWEll


B oo k s

• • By ALAN THWAITS•

These b o o k s •

The development of the Internet for business purposes has been one of the most significant events of the 1990s. Because the World Wide Web offers a simple, cross-platform interface, outstanding support for delivery of multimedia data, and low deployment costs, businesses large and small are clamouring for their innings in cyberspace. It's been a time of experimentation, turmoil, and — for m any — disappoint m e n t .

and Intranets, thereal action is not where Web denizens might expect. While the "bleeding edge crowd," as they put it, enthuse about realtime video, morphing, and stereo sound, developers of software business tools are working on "the presentation of database information as a solution to real-world business needs. In their book. Lang and Chow lay out the steps required to master database publishing on the Web site. It's aimed at the publishers, WebMasters, and p r o duct ~ ork ~ yam de velopers w ho

B

ful busmessorienied site. For

cle for marketing purposes soon discovered that building a sound business case for Web @ development, and presenting more than simply a "silicon- e based brochure," were a necessity if serious psagts were to be realized. The Srst wave of I Web b USUIC55CS ~d ,

Ch il l .

0 ~ ~~ ~a ed,and fell back. The second wave is seeing a concerted effort by business consultants and software developers to marry the Web's user-friendly features with t h e d ata tools needed to make good business happen.

Know where the action is According to Curt lang and Jeff Chow„ the authors of Database Publishing on the Web

obvious reasons. the knowledge laid out between the covers of D ata ba s e Publishing w i ll a lso be o f value to corporate or entrepreneurial types who are gNEfWHL ISI IN%I planning to include powerful database tools on their sites. The book is d ivided into three sections. The first four chapters cover, in sequence, the background technologies that led to the emergence of Web database tools, the architecture ofWeb database applications and their software components, aQUA for determining appropriate platforms and tools, and the essentials of HTML programming needed for building Web database applications.

101-1')26 WestBroadway, Vancouver, B.C.V6I 1Z2

Tel: (604) 739-0438 Fax: (604) 739-0436 BusinessHoun: Non.-Fri. 10:00-18:00 Sat. 12:OQ-17:00

R ant iu m

R p e c-il l

120MHz 133MHz iSQMHz 166MHz 200MHz

D$1700

$18 0 0

$190 0

$200 0

. 16MB RAM (EDO, 60ns, 72 pin SIMM) . 1.44MB (3.5") floppy disk drive . 1.28GB EIDE hard drive (mode 4, 10ms)

. On Board PCI EIDE HDD controller (control up to 4 IDE devices) . On Board 2 UART 16550 Fast Serial, 1 parallel (EPP/ECP) Ports

. S3 Trio 64, 64Bit SVGA card w/1 MB DRAM PCI . Supra 33.6K Internal Fax Modem w/Nolce Y.34 . BX Internal CD ROM Drive (EIDE) . 16 Bit Sound Card . 13" tower case w/200W CSA approved power supply . 14" SVGA Non-interlaced color monitor (1024x768 NI ©72Hz .26mm) FS LR . 2 External Speakers (120W) . 104 key windows enhanced keyboard . Microsoft 2 button mouse . MS Windows 95 (CD, Full Version)

EDOj$110, HDD:1.28GB=>UGB $50, lygrades:RAK 16NB=>32NBC =>2.1GB $100, NaIIitOI' 14' =>15' $100, 1.286B 14'=>17'[0.28mm )$400, Tawer Case: 13'=>19' 520 All Systems 2 Years Parts and Labour Warranty Prices subject to change. Pleasecall for the latest prices

ship to new business models. Part Two cov Each of the following six chapters takes a ers the nitty-gritty of online publishing anc close look at database tools, examining in turn information delivery (digital publications Cold Fusion, dbWeb, JAGG. DataRamp, news delivery, and directory services), ant LiveWire, and PowerBuilder. Part Three the requirements of electroni< The last chapter in the book is a directory of commerce (including security standard. over g0 database software tools, including midencryption, and e-cash). dleware products, full-text retrieval software, Part Four,"Managing Your Pinject," is a detailer and relational DBMS tools with Web interfaces. roll-out of the nuts and bolts of recognizin~ The accompanying CD-ROM contains a mix opportunities, devising a business plan, an< of appropriate software, including a Windows developing a product or ser NT~innpatible Web server, an vice to be marketed on the Net e valuation version o f C o l d The hook closes with advice Fusil in, the latest version of the b v I I d I ea about putting together appro PER1. scripting language, docu$ 1 c r • $ fvI priate hardware and software mentation for t h e JAVA API tools to support the plannuig. (Application P r o gramming i 8 • I r h A strength of the hook is that Interface), and the WAIS (Wide brainerd as each application of Interne> Area Information Server) tools and models is introducet search engine. and explained, an example of ' Although t e c h nical in business venture using the approach andsubject matter, tool is presented and anal)-zed Database Publishing preThis helps the reader under sents its information clearly stand quickly why the venture and comprehensively. Even a has been successful, and sug newcomer to the worlds of gests information that can lx Web publishing and database transferred to his or her own situation. design will find it of great value. The accompanying CD-ROM holds data The human element base middleware, PERL 5, the SATAN securit) Technologies are, of course, only part of tool, the Apache public4omain Web servei the successful business equation. For project for Windows NT, and the Mini SQL 1.0 rela managers and business developers, undertional database engine. + standing new business models is critical to the success of a busines~riented Web site. Failure to do so resulted in many early business Web sites being abandoned, "left like

~i n

billboards littering the information backroads, the victims of failed enthusiasm or an excessive zeal of losing that competitive e dge," in th e w o rds o f t h e a u thors o f Building Successful Internet Businesses. This book details what it takes to devise and develop Internet business applications for the radically different "marketspace of the Net, To do so, the authors lay out their wisdom in four parts. Part One covers the nature of I n ternet communication svstems and their relation-

n

0

Dorribme ituliSildnlt on tin WcbNNI tntnnnts, by Cvrt Larl9 lid Jef Chnw, from Corlolls Croiip BookL 5$$.99 (Indtides CO-ROkfj. for morc Info, vlrlt http: //www.carloULcom/ Sulldlntt 5uccasfut tntcrntt Nimtnasa, by Diivld 8ilerhreck arid Nltln Borwankar, from IDCBoo@. S$4.99 (iridiides CO.ROiN).

for moreInfo, vtrlt bttp://www.ldgboo4 rom/ Iikiboohonllne/

$ 2200

. Intel Triton VX Chip Set, 256K Pipeline Burst Cache, PCI-ISA Bus . Intel Pentium CPU

*FreeEstimate on Repairs and Upgrades *

m ean

,Your Own Web Site, ~ HaVe you been hearing eVeryWhere You turn "See our Ii iieb Site ~ at ht t P:// IlIIWW.....'7 HaVe yoII th Ought It W O uld be l O 0

expenslvel Or you don't Snow how to go about It?

I

g Let Naxlmum Internet show you how you too can havea web g site for as li tt le as $30.00 per month! You don't even need to I OWna COmPuter tO haVe a Site, MIe Can do all the CreatlOn fOr I you or you may want t o d o lk all yourself. I l Domain name reglsterlng and hosting available. RelOCate yOur ItiiebSlte.

'

I

We also can connect you fo t he Internef, and provide you with yOu r OIlitn e-mall addreSSaS Well. fOr Only $29.95 Per mOnth I

I

I

l

I

unlimited use.

SE LLING 50METHING7 place an add on the Internet classlf leds, with photo for only $5.00 per month. Clip this add and call today for a fr ee consultation

I

at your office today.

.(Jog/ g+0-89+7

http~il~www m~ix net corn e-mall: mall®max-net.corn lm m w

w

m

m

w

w

m

m

I I

w

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

w

m

m

m

m

I


Books

A n in siq htf u,l, irreveren t j AAk . cw.t • • By KEVIN LINFIELD • • Our everyday world is so hectic that it's nice to be able to laugh at situations we might usually take for granted. For anyone who has ever worked in an office, worked with computers, or even dealt with other companies on a day-to-day basis, I would highly recommend reading The Dilbert Principle.

~in

to stay in business with the way they treat customers and their own employees. I do, however, feel the book has a bit too

w 'Dx'k.

much filler. Near the end,the chapters consist of more e-mail and fewer humourous anecdotes. I also did not like the fact that some of

t h eD ilbert comics ate repeated in different c h apters, but now I'm just nit-picking. Overall, I w o uld urge everyone to get this book. +

ITte demand for computer programmerstddff double bgthegear 2005.

Train nowfor ahi h- ayin acorn u er o career as ro rammer.

The Ditbept Ppfaidpte, byScott Adams,from Harper Business.I996. Sax.so.

The book is based on an article Scott Adams wrote for theWall Street Journal that received such a positive response that he decided to expand upon his thoughts and ideas. Subtitled A Cubicle's Eye View of Bosses, Meetings, Management Fads, 6 Other Workplace Auctions,Adams pokes fun at virtually everything and everybody in the workplace. The book contains comics from the Ditbert strip, anecdotes of Adams' experience before he was a cartoonist (he claims 17 years in a cubicle gave him inspiration), and pages of email from people who read the Diibert comic and provide him with anecdotes of their own. Computer users and office ~orkers will appreciate the humour and his multiple jabs at office life and corporate policy. He comments that no matter how absurd he tries to ma. his comic strip, people write to him and say "That's just like my company!" He also comes up with strange analogies that may amuse, but also make us wonder. One example:"Any absurdity in a business setting stands out like a dead nun in a snowbank."

Only NRI at-home training givesyou in-demand programlning skills in three of today's hottest computer languages: BASIC, C, and Visual Basic. Plus„you now train with and keep state-of-the-art programming tools: a Pentium® 133 multimedia computer,e>'~~r: ": syste f Visual Basic, Windows 95, M.'„'' .; and morel

' +$b a' "

:

:

Prepare for today's newest programming opportunities

NEW! p euufui t33 Mna pent iuma process or basal computer!

The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that

create the kinds offull-featured powerful IoboPP ~~nesforcomPuter Prog mers prog~ t odaysemployemandcuenh will increasemuch faster than the average demand. over the next 10Years,with as manyas Youstart with BASIC, buildmg your 400,000 new jobsoPening uPby 2005. conlidenceenough tocreate and modify Now, with NRI, Youcan get the new several progrann of your own. h ii Yo""~ " ' ~ " PP y g ~ • youmoveontomaster(:,asoph,ticated — even a full- or Part-time business of Your languagethat's becomethe programming tool of choice for avariety of applications.

art

l ee

'

!

I

ahigh-level, object-oriented language designedsPecifically for creating programs in a Windows 95environment. Best of all, you mastertheseimportant anguages asY ""am with and eeP th

With NRI's uniqueDiscovery Learning Method, youget hands-onprogramming experience as you master today's most popular languages and programming environments. Stepbystep, youlearn to

Send for your FREEcatalog today! See howNRIcangive youthe programming skills, the full-featured computer system, and the state-of-the-art software you need to

get started in this top-paying field. If the coupon is missing, write to us at NRI Schools, 300 Water Street, Whitby, Ontario LI N 986

CALL1400-321-4634I Ext. 2278 http: //www.mhcec.corn

I

I I

I Af~

INay offend some — goodi If you do not like the wacky humour of the comic strip, you may become annoyed at the frankness and offbeat attitude. Adams admits in the introduction that he made up sill of the statistics and scientific studies that are quoted in the book, and he calls people (including himself) idiots for often performing irrational acts. An example of one of his amusing anecdotes is "Kodak introduced a single-use camera called the Weekender. Customers have called the support line to ask if it is okay to use it during the week." The 336-page book contains 26 chapters on topics such as Business Communication, Pre-tending to Work, Performance Reviews, Downsizing, and even How to Tell if Your Company is Doomed. Having used coinputers for more than 15 years and having worked in an office and as a computer programmer, I found many of the situations described inThe Dilbert Pririciple extremely funny and realistic. It really makes you wonder how some companies are able

most powerful computer systemavailable from anyschool!

I '

& auhuutu I

) 300 WaterStreet,Whitby, ChttartoL1NOnn

NEW! Internet Training! c

!IIC . 3

"

-'

rue "

"

I

:

u

Check one FREEcatalog only 0 COMPVrER PRON G 3 PC ApplicationsSpecialist i Visual Programming inCj Networking with WindowsNT 2 MicrocomputerServicing a Des ktop Publishing with PageMaker J Bookkee ping&Accounting 3 M ultimedia Programming astering Microsoft Office QWebmaster

I

' •

a

I )

. AAS Degree in Accounting AGNEW ! AAS Degreein Business Management

I / Name

I please print)

~ Address

i Cny

I~ Prov. /Code : ~ To@Q@~)Attractor'sgstefft+ SPecfifb~rif saf tat'u'yoeil~afli@& ",:„-~lhfffotej 0iij@~ j ~ i

dge; ~ a

DN A s tate +ilia-att '

I A DiuirumofTheMcarttmHiuCompmum g

C OMPU TE R

Age

II

II I 5574O fWg

P L A Y E II ! I A N U A R Y 1 9 9 7


• • • • 0 • 1 0 • 0

Books

Computer security book is scary. but useful • • By AlAN THWAITS • • n the words of an old Byrds song, "You don't miss your water 'til your well runs dry." Barry Lewis, co-author of Computer Security for Dummies,

puts it this way: "As computer prices fall and interest in the Internet rises, more and more people are at risk of virus attack, lost or stolen passwords,and, most importantly, data loss." Computer Sec u rity for

Dummies is written for everyone, from the casualhome user to the networked office worker. Both authors are computer security consultants who have experience answering the needs of IS firms. What they' ve done in CSD is trans-

late that expertise into information that's of practical and immediate use, al l d o n e in sta n dard "Dummies" style: plain English, a light touch of humour, and some cartoons. The content, however, is solid and very helpful.

Sceptre's Soundx™4000 is cool New processor technology regulates "body" temperature just like Brutus —-

our monitor lizard. Brutus, a cold-blooded reptile. is very good at regulating his body temperature by knowing when to get moving and when toslow down so he doesn't overheat. Sceptre's Soundx " 4000 modular, multimedia notebook is also energy smart while maintaining peak perfofTllance.

An innovative Intel Pentium' processor design makes for more efficient consumptionknowing when to draw energy and when not to. Longer battery life and less heat are just two of the benefits. The Soundx 4000.

;„Tel.) ie pentium'

Somadx

Call now and we will send you a FREE one year membership io the SCEPTRE TRAVEL CLUE (valued at 24.95)

4lNQ

use your membershiplmrrwdletely to take advantage of exclusive discounts unavailable to the general public. Whether your plansinclude business or pleasure travel youwill benefit from instant worldwide travel savings on elrfaree, hotels, cer rentals, tours end crufseL

e Lessthan7lbs • Up to 150MHz Pentiume Processor e 6XCD ROM

e 12.1" TFT, SUGA display e Fully modu(arized e 180' infra ted port e Standard 72 DIMM EDQ Ram • 128 Bit graphics accelerator e Gold series 3 year warranty • 9001 Certified Manufacturer

. ~Et«'M ' : T O S E E httpitwww.sceprrefech.corn . . .

For dealer nearest you call

800-788-2878

The book begins by identifying and explaining basic security issues and terms. A quick look at key principles, such as "accountability,""authentication," and "auditing," and a discussion of "risk management" lead to a detailed analysis of the threats that computer users f'ace.

Boo hoo The list is enough to make a grown man weep, as it includes viral attacks, password grabbers, Trojan horses, cuckoo eggs, and time bombs, as well as the more mundane spikes, brownouts, and blackouts, and the ever-present "stupid human tricks." Knowing what the threats are and what risks they pose leads (thank heaven!) to a lengthy dis. cussion of methods that can be used to ensure computer security. These range all way from keeping one's computer physically secure (tie-downs, key-locks, and alarms), to controlling access with system and file passwords (the book looks at most common wordprocessing, spreadsheet, and database apps for Windows 3.1,95, and Mac environments), to the critical importance of backing up, to ways of dealing with viruses and other malicious pro graiils. Of particular interest to users of the Internet will be a section of using e-mail securely. The elements for keeping one's e-mail safe from prying eyes involve encoding, encryption, digital signatures, and anonymous remailers. The book includes a handy list of resources, from easily accessible DOS, Windows, and Mac security utilities, to a description of common virus types and what they do. Also included are addresses of mailing lists, newsgroups, and organizations that deal with computer security issues. How helpful is the book? Well, after reading it, this reviewer now uses system and file passwords on both d esktop a n d pa l mtop machines, backs up data files on a daily basis, and is exploring the use of a PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) aden to Eu dora (for Internetbased e-mail). I'm also feeling alot more secure about not letting the aforementioned well run dry! +

~in o Cerepefer Seeieffy fer ~ fry Feeer T. eevle Scil fierily L Lewis, frere INe Seeks, QS.9PP.


Boo ks

jeoconerencing oo means usin ess o o By LYNN GREINER • o ith travel expenses skyrocketing, many companies are seeking l es s e x p ensive means of conducting inultioffice meetings. One up-andwoming technology is the videoconference, in which participants gather in several locations and "meet" over a video link.

agenda items (when graphics should be displayed, for example, or who is presenting a segment, and so should be onwamera).

Handy with the detaiis This is a useful little volume, for both the

But virtual meetings by electronic means entail new sets of skills, and new organizational challenges we probably haven't considered. E f f ective Vi d e oconferencing: Techniques for Better Business Meetings, by Lynn Diamond, PhD, and Stephanie Roberts, teachesthose skill s and addresses many of the challenges in a clear, concise, and readable format.

~i n

If yoU;-'-'don t-,;,use,-it, „ ',yOU' i

o

lOSeit

WHEN YOU

n

AND BECAUSE fag>4';gyp~~.j%'„',.'-l

EffectiveVldeoconferencing: Tecbnlqnes for Better Business Meetings, by lynn Diamond, PbD, and Stepbanle Roberts, from Crisp Pnblications Inc $13.95.

cAN T USE ALL

TgE FLIES

fx'~4~:

=-:-'.

YOUR IN T ERNET

W HE¹ Y O U

ACCESS IN A

In about IOO pages, the book takes you through the process of organizing and participating in an effective videoconference, using checklists and charts to present the most information in the least spare. It starts by examining what videoconfeiencing is, and when it's appropriate.A handy chart lists variousscenarios and issues,and indicates when electronic mail or other simpler, less e xpensive rommunications would do t h e trick, and when a videoconference is the preferred medium. There are discussions of six strategic advantages to videoconferencing, as well-just what you need to help justify it to the boss.

RE

N EW TO T H E sr<~.rg,.iveicig<a

R'ki'4%'::-..

N ONT H ,

NET, HIND LINK! '

M IND L I N K ! A UTONAT I C A LLY BA N K S

START„S EYERY

Ã'4®'c:-

NEW N E N B ER

Lr-::;p'';:;:.

THE TINE FOR YOU — FR.EE!

OFF WITH A a 'iK:vv ~ae+pc%

Y OU CA N B A N K U P T O O N E

F ULL MO NT H S "'4'<4"::C':-.

MONTH O F

Just enough jargon There's a chapter containing the technical information you need (in no t t o o m u ch detail-just enough to help you make intelligent decisions), and another on planning the meeting. Much of it is useful for any old meeting, not just virtual ones, like the suggestion that the m eeting have a c learly defined purpose and agenda. Other n i tty-gritties i n clude w a r drobe taboos (avoid clothes that match the conference room walls unless you really want to fade into the woodwork), and room setup so ail participants can see each other, with diagrams showing how various layouts win look to remote sites. There's even a section for the moderator that talks about how to efficiently manage the discussions. Appendicesinclude a glossary and a series of checklists and forms you may want to photocopy for regular use: a cost-comparison sheet you can use to prove that the videoconference is, indeed, the most cost-effective solution; a planning checklist; and a storyboard layout you can use to decide how the electronic media should interact with the

reference book you grab whenever a question arises. Whether you' re using the technology, or just thinking about it, it's a worthy addition to your corporate library. +

first-time moderator or participant and the veteran. It lays out the elements of a successful videoconference (even those elusive little details that sneak up and do us in) in a tidy, sensible format. It can be a self-study guide, a workshop text, or simply that well-thumbed

U N U SED TIME — GREAT

WO'RTH O F

FOR Is'ACATIONS, BUSINESS TRIPS OR

B ANKED T I N E iE' g-";"::-'.~~:,

W HEN YOUR L IFE IS JUST TOO B U SY

FREE. qs @.

Why wasteany moretime. Call MINDLINK!today. I,-

, ~IN~ LII~K.

A division of iSTAR internet inc

phone:

'

4 fs 8 56 0 9 ~ r@'-.'-':Vg "'

fax: 4 fs8 .5 ti 2 8 4~'„".;, j",.;..;+'~~"e -mail: i n f o ©mi n d l i n i t . net web:

h tt p : I l w w w . m i n d l i n k . n e t W5 ~ ~ 4 @> ; 4 ";.; . MIND LINK! members: earn free online tim e with o u r ~rnber:,Paferr@. pf'Ogrartl, S%" ;:;"':,, CaII668-5000 for m ore info

C OMP U T E R

P L A Y E R!

J A N U A R Y 199 7


FIB 5

0 e

er a

anco n v e l ' S Ve A • • e

.4 ' 8'

• 4''

It's all here —everything youneedto stay ontop of the latest computerandcommunications technologies! From the world's ¹1 educational conferenceto empowering tutorials...from technology solutions to IT'shottest new products...from keynotes bythree industry leaders to a PowerPanel...

ty-

and muchmore! CDM DEXlPacRim'97 is designed to giveyouan in-depth understanding of key issues,tactics, andstrategies, plusthe knowledgete choosethe products that will providethe most effective payback for your technology investment.

re

t gatv

THECOMDEX/PACRIM EXHIBIT NOR F • Seeover250exhibiting companies! Apple,Borland,Canon,Hewlett-Packard, I '

c

l

I' ho e We to register for the exhibits and conference, for complete information-

$e~<s

WWW.CO I

I

he C E N TLI NEom Canada: 604-6S5-1S96,ext. 1 -433-165 m th s

'

Intel„Microsoft, Novell, and more!

Access thousandsof productsPrevieweverything, fromWindowsMtrto PentiumProcessors,Microsoft Explorer to Java...andmore! • The world's ¹1 dedicatedtechnologyareas featuringCO MDEXInternet, CO MDEX Communications andNetwork Computing,

COMDE XMultimedia, andthe Microsoft PartnerPavilion. See"live" demonstrations in action!

a

To gI call 7-449-5554, e code 76, nd have your fax number ready...we' ll fax your registration form within 24 hou •

THECOMDEX/PACRIM TE(HNOI.067 (ONFERE Nt:E Aworld-classeducational forumof seven tracksandover30sessions — providing the ideas,strategies,andeducational support youneedto maximizetoday's new technologies! Pre-show, in-depth Technical Tutorialso focusing on thetools, tips, andtechniques that will enhance your technical knowledge andbusinessskils! PocverDc rttel — Issue-filled discussion anddebate0nChangingTechnologies, Changing Lifesfyjes: t975-2025! KeynoteAddressesby lene H.Lang, Vice President,Digital Equipment Corporation;Jeff Dossett,General Manager,Microsoft Canadalnc.; and ScottFrame,VicePresident, Office DocumentProducts,XeroxCanadaLtd;,

Ilair1IValI, 21-~3, 'I 997 • %I'VirtCCII!meir TI ~de 5 Ccl1Ven(Iota c.eirltl e •'II'c>II1Cot.I.«ejr, II< II.'ISh Cf1IIi.ITlI. Ia Product names may be trademarks or re9istered trademarks of their respective companies.'c.1996 SOFTBANKCOMOEXInc. 300 First Avenue,. Needham, MA 0219ct-2722 USA PR3578 10/96


News

•0

L as Ve g a s . W h a t c o u l d b e a b e t t e r s e t t i n g f o r No r t h A m e r i c a ' s l a r g e s t

c ompute r e l e c t r o n i c s s h o w ? L i k e V e g as . F a l l C o m de x i s o u t t o d a z z l e ; l ik e V e g as . t h e p r o d u c t s l a u n c h e d a t C o m de x h a v e l i m i t e d l i f e spans. 3y MARA GULENS E» GAETAN MARTEL How can you not be awed by this city devoid of values smack in the middle of the desert". Similarly, how can you not be fazed by the launch of thousands of new products — only 500 of which merited 8t te magazine's attention for 'Best of Show? Being part of a group of 200.0!)t) technology

hounds can be quite exhausting — if not for the hubbub alone. We had been forewarned about wearing comfortable shoes. What we had not anticipated was the endless hiking through pavilions and the unavoidable bus, taxi and restaurant lines. Then again, this show is four times larger than Comdex Canada, seven times larger than Comdex PacRim, and ten times

larger than Montreal's SCIB. Star players were located at the Convention Center, in satellite-shaped configurations featuring something like Microsoft and Friends,

IBM and Friends, Digital and F riends... Internet companies were in four huge tents and the Hilton hotel, ~bile the "others" were at the Sands hotel, divided into national representations and the "flea market." But what a flea market! Numerous companies from Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia offered everything from variously shaped mice to a program designed for conducting orchestral music (although conducting with a mouse does feel a bit odd!). The commercial exhibit itself was both a reflection of the future and a confirmation of major forces. The Network Computer ( NC), generally t h ought t o be mor e "retroware" than "revolutionary," had a d i s creet presence, thereby affirming the i n dustry's reluctance to accept it. There w as greater visibility f o r t he D i g ital V i de o D i s k (DVD) — or Digital Versatile Disk — the new CD-drive designed t o ev e n tually replace current CD-ROM readers.

Wallflower? Apple's low-key attendance, reflected in a dull press conference where the future d o m inated (" We wiill..., we will..."), was like-

wise representative of a strategic withdrawal, probably made in order to be in a better takeoff position. But the question remains: takeoff to where? Another noticeable element was the aggressive arrival of principal players in the masselectronics business. It seems that the word has gottenaround: Sony,Toshiba,Samsung, and others we know through stereo systems or televisions were out in force, At the Sony booth, you could catch a glimpse of the future with wide-screen TV/PCs and the digital home network I 594. While outside the convention centre pampiiiets advertised sleazy escortservices,inside Samsung teamed up with Vogue and Saks 5th Avenue for the "Women, Fashion.and Technology Show." Outfits had "sleek ergonomic design and hideaway dropdown panels," and like the notebook computers, promised "interactive freedom." The Internet was everyw here — as it w a s l a s t year — and offered no real surprises, apart from some products allowing for the i nstant d i s t r i butio n ot ' information. For example, Global Village Coin-munications' News Catcher, a pager-like device that sits next to the computer, wirelessly indicates the arrival of e-mail, news and information 24-hours a day. It' s sort of like PointCast, but with a twist, because you

click on an icon to launch your e-mail program or We b b r o w ser w h e n I i oit ch o s e (http: // www.globalvillage.corn/). The glitziest, most touted launch of all was Microsoft's W i n d ow s CE (Consumer Electronics), an operating system for mobile devices aimed at mobile professionals. Handheld PCs, from LG Electronics, Casio, NEC, and others, will i n clude scaled-down versions of Microsoft Wnrd, fiercer,and l»ternet Lvplorer,as well as two-way synchronization with the PC. This got even some antiPDA folks itching to buy one. Most of the hand-held PCs will be priced around $600 and should be available later this year.

Sensory overload With 2,1(X) booths and probably as many product launches, even choosing which products to mention here is a challenge. We were intrigued by programs such as PictureWorks Technology's NetCard. which allows you to send attached "iMail" (image mail) on a N etCard postcard that can be seen. read and heard by any Windows or Mac user (http://www.pixworks.corn/). Media Synergy's aloha allows you to send s elf-created animation and sound t n a Windows user with an accompanying player (http://www.mediasyn.corn/). There were plenty of p romotional gimmicks to k eep on e e n tertained, like t he sausage guy from sausage. rom (makers of the HotDog Web authoring tool); the Marine with wearable computer gadgets; and jungle explorers with laptops and wireless communication devices. Indeed there was something for everyone. +

P8NAkf@tB8'sktIpp':-'-CANfpN/8P, 4

Pentium 120 Mhz

$3,395

2 MB Video RAM $118.® lmonth for leasing 256 KB write-ba< k LI g L2 Cache Call os for more details 11.3" Super VGA LCD (800X600) 1.0 GB Hard Drive 16 MB EDO RAM memory (exp. to 40 MB)

Intel Pentium 166 Mhz Processor

Why Bvy 486> Is-;ONE.'Y.$:799.IIII-.,ltielUdi'itg:

P.-IOOIItthi I itIIS hei.Caril, 8$II18B IIaitI IIri'vi,::.lNh;.RAM IA4:MBFlvypy Qi„J04Ke jt'nI;:fIir%jasS

16 bit Stereo Sound System w/ FM Synthesizer

Infrared File Transfer. HP IrDA Compliant

Trtton Chipset (made by Intel) 2 MB PCI 64 bit Video Card wl MPEG function

256KB Pipeline Burst Cache

383.stt lmonth for leasing Call os for more details

l5" Super VGA Monitor N-l, L-R.

1.3 GB EIDE Hard Drive l6 MB EDO RAM memory 1.44 MB Floppy Drive 104 Keyboard for IVIN 95'

CALL OSFOg NFFERENT MODHS

MieroSofl Serial Mouse

Notebook Upgrade:

System Upgrade'.

~ l4.4 PCMCIA I ax/ Modem Card .. $ b9.00 ' 28 8 PCMCI A Fas/ Modem Card . $220.00 ' 33.6 PCMCIA Fax/ Modem Card ... $260.00 ' 1 l.3" (TFT) Active Matrix LCD . . $420.00 ' I2.1" ITFT) Active Matrix LCD .... $8$0.00

' Upgrade to 32 MB EDO memory ...$ $9.00 ~ 230 Watts Power Speakers ..............$59.00 ' l 6 bit Sound card .......................... $49.00 * 10 X CD- ROM..............................$ l49.00 * I.6 GB I 2.! G 8 ................... S 49.00i 95.00

. 3 3 '.6 FaitMmkiii tI S ltobeCcs Cempailh li

:: ' $ l3'j.: gt!t

I I"

I a I

I

C OMP U T E R

PL A Y ER !

i

) A N U A RY 1 9 9 7


Columns

S ome i m p r o b a b l e p r e d i c t i o n s ince this is the January issue, I have been requested by the editor to give

OS/Z Heady

solne plediction of the future. Psychics are never right, however, so I might as well make improbable predictions that, if they ever came true. would make me rich and famous {well, maybe not rich). I

I

Scct i a M c L e c d ~ 2nd FI.,1495 W.11th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. V6H 3Y6

NiÃfgg>

%%RS Tel:737-3503; Fax:737-3524 i

Ia YYRII4:omas Th Klsin; gi Iliam Ting http:/<n<n>tt>.webhat>en. corn/mo neyI

i 4& jRfM — WR~ W 58 ' j FRANÃQF-%C(% 8 W7 ~ J8%%%154INI i 115 KM S Q R R N % i 62 %8$ R R %Ãkl Fk @M % % %%%C~I2t"~ WBP ~J. 1 W s ~ 7 9k JS R 2 4

~ 8 pRPSHFJ~ R RII4%5'%8 RRS~AI"]%&i

I

%44%%8%II.~ (St<>2%888~~) ' S H+ A E ~ k % % 4 =hNW S H+ AA I @% e-mail:

I I I

I

(Z):

I%N(&): I 4-

4~ sls N4

%N:

)vebhaven.corn) [55fltt — I @ ' 4 Ng Jl ge~f p ( t o mk@

s

@ JJJ@g

I predict: • Microsoft will release Microsoft Office for O S/2 w i t h m o r e f e a t u res t h a n t h e i r Wind<>ws versi<)n. • DOS will make a big comeback as all the best games are played under DOS. • OS/2 will actually be advertised and promoted by IBM, and they will even preload it on every computer they sell! • ('ames will be so slow on new machines thai special game accelerators wiII flood the market. • Multiprocessor machines will mak«a big splash and keep 386i and -'i86 chip makers in husiness (imagine hooking up more than 5()0 Intel 486s in parallel!). My final prediction: >>>licrosoft v>ill provide v oice supp<>rt wit h a n e w v e r s io n o f Windows and everyone willsay how amazing it is and wonder why it wasn't done earlier (for those missing the sarcasm, OS/2 Warp 4 includes V<>iceType Navigation and Dictation).

Hot news Powe<uest has released Partition Magic 3.0 with full support of NTFS and FAT32.As reviewed in a n e arlier issue of Toronto Computes!, Partiti<)n Magic lets you resize,

e

0

move, and create hard-drive partitions on the fly without destroying data. It now includes IBM's Boot M a nager a n d M i c r ohelp's

Applications Mover. More information can be obtained from http: //www.powerquest. corn/ The first unlimited and public version of Xfree86i for OS/2 is now generally available. Xfree86 is a full and unrestricted client and server version of the XI I Window system running natively under OS/2 Warp. More information is a t h t t p: //borneo.gmd.de/ -veit/os2/xf86os2.html Frustrated that your favourite software is not native to OS/2? Check out the Petition Page at http: //wwwv.teamos2.orI»<petit!<in/ and start or sign a petition telling companies that you want good native OS/2 software.

Pease sen me a su scription to and enter me in the Feb 1/97 draw for Brian Costello HomeTax. A one-year subscription costs $24.95 (IncI. GST) to cover postage and handling, I am Paying the full OmOunt, POyable tO Canada COmPuteS!, by C3 Cheque or money order or, 0 VISA 'J Master Card¹ Exp. Name:

Company (i applicable)

Prov.

Code:

Send to:

SUBSCRIPTIONS

(604) 688-2120 Facsimile 688-4270 vancouver Bc vSB 6E3 503-425 Car<all Sl.

P L A Y E R!

activate by putting slat«ments in y<nlr CONFIG 8 1'5 S<)nl«<)1 Ill« p<)polar <)nes lh:0 I hav« tried include. • s«t sckillfcaturrrnablcd=l ) v i ll p r o v id» a list i>1' running> pr<>«esses lh;il can b«kill«d (vvh< n pressing> ("I'Rl. and clicking> <>n thc

cl<>ck <>n the Warp Centre lo green numb«rs <)n a hla< k backgr<>und. Computer Player! Canada Computes! BC Edition

Sub)grip)i<><)s are Iransfer<)ble bi>I >)i>n-rek>ndable

C OM P U T E R

With th« r elease of Warp 4 (M«rlin), IB><>l has included a number of undi>cumcnt«d switches for thc W;uli Centre that y<)u can

t,'Isk list bolt<)n I >f the )II 'Irli (.«ntre). ' sct s c us«pf«tty<'l<)ck=on I<) c h ;lni >c lh«

Address: City: Phone Number:

Secret Merlin tips

J A N UA RY 1 9 9 7

scll fldutllity=c:)>os2)>apps)>pnlscck.g xe

( of w h ;it«vcr apl)lie;ltk)n y<)u wilnt ) w i l l

run PMSEEK (or w h a t ever 1<>u sg lect) instead i>1' the default search utility (which I'm sure 99.99 per cent of us hate).

• set sccanbenuked=l is claimed t<> protect the Warp Centre from being killed if the WPS is restarted (I have not verified this <>ne!).

Personal top software Every year I indicate my personal favourite native OS/2 software that I think every OS/2 user should take a look at. This year has had its ups and d<)wns, with the releas«<)f OS/2

Warp 4.0 and the demise of DeScrih«. 1. P<>werguest's Partition Magic (partition utility) 2. Global Village's FaxWi>rks Pro (enhaflc«d fax pfol» ln)) 3. IBM DualStor >.0 (tape backup softsvarel SoITouch System's CammaTech ( Itiiitirs 5, TruSpect<-,I's Photo)(>raphics (imaging software) 6. Sundial Systems Mesa 2 2.16 (spreadsheet) Netscape Navigator for OS/2 8. EmTec's lap-0-Comm (modem commu. nication s<)ftv, are) 9. IBM AntiVirus 2.5 10. Mail Reader/2 (MR/2) e-mail client

Parting gift? I'm surprised that something like this hasn't surfaced before, but news im the Internet is claiming that removing Windows 95 from a B<)ot Manager machine will corrupt any HPFS partitions.

Mike Matrella claims that when he used Windows 95's uninstall feature, it corrupted the partition table, rendering his entire hard drive unreadable. Other users have claimed that similar things have happened to them when thev tried to remove Win95. If you want to remove Windows 95 from your OS/2 machine, it might be best to format its partition directly from OS/2.

Paper OS/2 magazines arealldead Earlier in the year I reported that OS/2 Professionaland OS/2 Developer had passed on. Asof January's issue, OS/2 Magazine, the sole surviving dedicated OS/2 publication, will cease to exist. We mourn the passing ol these magazin«s, and h<>pe that other publications vvili carry OS/2 new» and r«views. Di>n't fi>rget t<> k«ep reading OS/2 R«ady for all <if the hest in OS/2 nesvs, revicsvs, lips, and tricks.

Freeware of the Month Daniel K<ilp has cr<.ate<!:I Mesa l'<><>lhar Cusl<)nlizcr.;iud has rec«nlll u p d al«d it f<)r %1«s;I .1.()

With it. y<)ii can customiz« the 1<)<>ll);ir in Mesa f<>r ()!i/2 t<> includ« ic<uls anil c<)mmand» that 1<>u 1'«cl cuit yolir n«cds.,lnd y»u can ch.lnge th«comrnanils inv<)ked f<)r each butt<>n. ( et i t — and i n f o r m atii>n <>n it — lr<>m http: //wvnv.ccs.neu.edu/h<>mc/dkul p/

Kevin Linfield i) a Toronto-based consultant and I<eelance writer. He can bereached viae-mail at linfieldltorfree.i)et


B ook s

Online investment resources e~ • • By BRANDI JASMINE• • nrvstur's Guide to the Net and its sequel, Fmperf Inrresting on the Net,

are a pair of comprehensive guides to online services that cuts through the current media hype about the

~in

0

Investors rddde to theHet, by Paul g. Farrell, from JohnWiley fr Sons,Inc. 1996. 0471-144444. $34.9S. Expert Investing on the Net, by Paul 8. Farrell, from John Wiley fr Sons, Inc. 1996. 0471-158674, $34.95.

Online resources

CNN Personal FinanceCenter http: //gnn.corn/gnn/meta/finance/ InvestmentNewsOnline Press Release Center

http: //Inorfg.corn/ The MoneyMentor http: //www.moneymentor,corn/mm menu.html CNNfn Financial Network http: //cnnfn.cor n/ Associate Press http: //wwwl.trlb.corn/NEWS/Apwlre.html Knight Ridder Financial

http: //www.asia-inc.corn/knight/ lexis/Nexis http: //www.lexis-nexls.corn/

Internet, describing instead the digitalwlectronic financial services that investors have been quietly using for the past 30 years. Inrresfor s Guide starts off by briefly examining the offerings of the "Big Three" online services: Compuserve, America Online, and Prodigy. The descriptions are fair and balanced, as is the advice tlu'oughout. The real meat of the book, however, is in the services that have been, thus far, the reserve of highbudget corporate offices: Dow-Jones, Reuter's, Knight-Ridder, and Bloomberg. These services have quietly created their own proprietary networks over the past 3() years, their main clients being large corporations, institutional investors, and news media. They are now developing both proprietary and Internet-compatible resources for investors, with the result that their information is increasingly affordable and accessible — but you still have to know where to look for t h em. Inrrestors Guide provides that information, while gently nudging techn«phobic investors into the digital age. The Internet section is less interesting to the experienced Netter, but could be a valuable

The Financial Markets section highlights online financial newspapers, newsletters, investment clubs, and media that make appearances on the online services, financial services, and, to a l i mited but i ncreasing extent, on the World Wide Web.

osed however, the CNNfn Financial Network site, does not seem to be mentioned, but this is nitpicking, considering the relative newness of the service and the longcT lead-time of print publications. A small investment made in t his hook could quickly pay for itself many times over. In addition t o t h e m e ga-sites, individual investors, researchers, and analysts will be able to find a plethora tif major and minor stock exchanges, government archives, statistics, industry research, and databases, as well as information on alternative securities. One minor beef is that the lxiok does not offer an online index. It would be most handy to be able to access a Web site that archives the book's GIRLS in one place on the Web, or via CD ROM. This is, again, a min<sr shortfall, however.

today on fn narneraherso,igaa Altonto aot 2,SN Iaaa Svusr• C x a > ss s

es uua feel rsaars rs' sl s'ua Ssrrs'rXsro ssuu. Gt 1 a

sre soOnsas arras mamtr ISsu ' rr (

This set of books is destined to become a dog-earedreference manual in many offices, as investors realize the potential cyberspace offers them. +

Services you can now access in cyberspace indude Associate Press. Knight Ridder Financial, and Lexis/Nexis. One of the best of such sites,

:. Multimedia '" Games '"

guide t<i the cautious newbie. It starts off with the obligatory introduction to Yahoo!, and to other search engines and financial Web sites. including some notables: the GNN Personal Finance Center, the Investment News Online

:. 30 Animation '"

Tel: 298-5400orToll Free:1-800-661-1885

Press Release Center, and The Money Mentor. T eieiinic M y P 4 8 g e r *

1

fu; asu

- New NEC Replay Numeric Pager — Free Activation - Three Month Free AirTime - Three Mo nth Free Voice Mail - Custom greeting ta 4 hour storage - Batteries Included

- Only $8 25 pe r month - An for the l ow price of elg mnnl. n g

ILefe 1@lllt;~4k4eITl USR 33.6 Int. FaxPnP $149.95 USR 33.6 Int. Voice/Fax PaP $169.95 USR F-Duplet voice mail 33.6 H29.95

USR ge.g En. Fax

Think CpLI/pLotherboard

Think Savings Cyrix /IBM 5 86-100 Pci/15A ssaK$165.95 Intel P-120 Triton VX 256k PPL $299.95 Intel P-133 Triton VX 256k PPL $ 4 0 9.95 Intel P-150 Triton VX 256k PPL $495.95 Intel P-166 Triton VX 256k PPL $629.95 Intel P-200 Triton VX 256k PPL $779.95 GisabyteGA-586VX TritonII $ 16 9 .9 5 Asus Triton II P/I-P55TVP4 $185.95

CALL FOR AMD & CYRIX CPUs

H a ~

$ g g 5.95 4MB

4Ef

$ 4 5.9 5 16MB 72Pin $ 9 3.9 5 purist cllalinn ulTlinlil' uauniun 1 6MB 72Pln EDO $ 9 3 . 9 5 1 MB 3OPin Simms $ 1 0 . 9 5 SCXMMM l T & l 7 X L&7 s'ass.os 4 MB 3OPin Simms $ 2 8 . 9 5 Preview 1 4" N.l. I/R .'g O SVGA sss5.95

Cet'6 PsiscE sx Seek

s639.95 s545.00

Canon B/C-040 cuor saodpxMo xsoasl $ 245. 9 5 Canon LBP-aou laser OOOdpi $375.95 Brother HLdgu Laser 300dpi S41 5.95 Brother HLTOO Laser '1 gOOdpi S599.95

NEC M700 17

sot 9.95 s959.95 st085.95

In Lhrinl Colour Trident9440 PCI 1M esp. to 2M S 34.95

53 Trio 64+ MPEG EDO 1MB 5 48.95

cln

R n I caii for

SEST PRtC'E! CRT

an ra t e SO iss/Lass prisrsr/ssssso

$559.95 $1130.95 Diamond Pro 17TXM 1600'1200 17' 25$1369.95 DiamondScan20H 20",28 $2289.95 Diamond PRO 21TX21",30 $2470.95

sgo9.9g

aaaaL nrem mtaa nn sauaaa. iaaa HP

i

o r n lo u t e r MEMBER of

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

TWO YEARS PARTS AND LABOUR WARRANTY ON 3J SYSTEMS

B>ct Io It o i= A~re

104 Win95 KB

17' . g 0 FLAT Screen NECCSOO 15"

SONy 15SF 8 .gs Pnp

DiamondScan 15HX15",28 DiamondScan 17HX17",26

Media mouse w/pad

P 'sw 1 g" .ga FLAT SCREEN

MONI TORS

T' CPP&3 SP'EC~

Cyrix/IBM 5X86-100 CPU 486 PCI/ISA W/256K Cache 4MB Ram 1.44 Floppy Drive 630MB Hard Drive PCI Cirrus Logic 64bif I MB 13" Tower Case W/PS.

Zoltrix 33.6 Ini. Fax/mod/Yoice$115.95 BMB 72Pin EDO

Vicwsanic 17PS

T S U B I S HI

5 Ã8 6- 1 QOM h x

72Pin Slmms $23.95 Supra 33.6 Int.fox/roice/lllodam$136.95 4 MB 72Pin EDO $ 2 3. 9 5 Zoltrix 33.6 lnt. Fax/modem$99.95 BMB 72PinSlmms $43.95

Aptiva,.

MI

Pentium-I Entity Level ASToem motherboard 256k Pipeline, Triton rr 430yx chlpset BMBRAM EXP.f 28MB 850MB EIDEHARD DRIVE MODE 4 3.5" 1.44MBFLOPPY DRrf/E PCI EIDEW/2x16550UrIRT SERIAL 1Xbi-directional Parallel

CirrusLogic 64blf w/1MB (exp. 2mb) 14" N.L LR. .28 syAG MOlVITOR

13" TOWERCASE WI230W POWER SUPPLY MEDIA MOUSE/PAD

THE BEST'PRICES!

IlRlVER S'EDG K TRRI MultiMania

PanasoniBx c CD-ROM $145.95 Cirrusl ogic 5446 2mb Mpes S 64.9 5 1.44 Floppy Drive S 2 9.95 $1 8 9.95 Hitachi Bx 53Virgo30 2M8/4mfo 595.95/129.95Saaeaie 030M8 CD-ROM $135.95 ATI Iuladr 64 2MDramMPEG $9 8.95 1.0968 Hard Dmre $%39.95 I ioneer 10xCD-ROM $159.95 Dimoond Steaith64 2M Dram Mpeg $109.95 I.SGB HardDrive $255.95 $2 7 5.95 PioneerCD-ROM 12X $169.95 Diaomad Stealth64 2Myram30 $245.95 I.TGBHardDrive 16Bil Pnp ~ c dr liana $45.95 DiamondSteartha4 4mbVram 30 $315.95 2.IGB Hard Drive IBM $319.95 Metrosstat 2m/4m Wuu $245.ss/$349.ps 2.7GB Hard Dmre $409.95 Sonndglaster 16(Pnp) $85.95 Matmx Mlsterrue2M/4M $238.ss/$298.ss Seasala4.20Gb SCISHD $1320.95 Sogndglasler 32 PnP $139.95

Z performance

ymtef P-133 tp/256K Pi pe/stre ro/ Tri ann 17 430VX C/rspsaa AST oerrs ipfor/rerfrorr nl, l niVIB EDO 2trsrrr72Pi rr

1.2GB ElDfi Hnrd Drisra, 1.44Floppy Drive PCI Ershrsrscari 1DE (srrork3W4) ioi /6550a:2 I PrrhnxsoeriParnllel Pore (Bs-Directs'onrsl)

AT7 rrsrso/r64 raocekrrsasrrr nr/f/IQkdram /Sfpeg 15s CSA TerrierCraxerp/23/frrr PowerSrapply 104 rrrirr95 Brsb. Ksyborsrr/ C~ipfodirs Mosrxenr/p mf vxvriotp 15" 1280 "1024.2B SFGA /Vlorriror BKElDE CD RCSifrf drino 16bit Sorarnd PnP,60nr SaarooSpeakers

5305 Viaton'a Drive, Vancouver, BC, VSP3VS 3.9859, 323.9$15 Ca@ 323.1157 TIi:{SO4)3~

r xg$x Inioniai eaIlail address Ianagdiraotca ('s{g[pgJ fI

Tntel I I:e t i u m e 1 3 3 M H

C om p u te r

c 'apECML pM C E

C OMP U T E R

P L A Y ER !

J A N U A RY 1 9 9 7


5068-B Kingsway,(2 Blocks East of Metrotown Center) Burnaby, V5H 2E7 Tel: (604)451-8682 F ax; 451-8611 h ttp: //www.netci.corn E m a il: info@netci.corn Hours: M-F: 9:30AM to 6:30PM, Saturday: 10:00AM to 5:30PM 3D Micro ............ 3J Computers... Able Compu ter Rentels ........... .

Cyrir6x66Processor-based Upgradable Systems

6x88-120 (P150+) $1044 6x&8-133 (P166+) $1106

P-100 Triton-VX P-120 Triton-VX

6x86-120 (P150+) $1499 6x86-133 (P166+) $1620

Sx 8 6-120 (P150+) $1883 Sx 8 6-133 (P166+) $1948

$1021 P-100 Triton-VX $1478 $1090 P-120 Triton-VX $1548

nn

e

P-150 Triton-VX P-166 Triton-VX P-200 Triton-VX

$1254 P-150 Triton-VX $1398 P-166 Triton-VX $1565 P-200 Triton-VX Pro-280 ATX

P-150 Triton-HX P-166 Triton-HX P-200 Triton-HX Pro-200 ATX

$1711 $1855 $2022 $2688

$2095 $2239 $2399 $3060

m o nt

)

) instant Quotation ( ~ Available at our store and tt ttpr//www.netci.corn ~

L~

~

~

~

~

~

~

f

Christmas

5125

ShrnSJe Het 557 Pentmm53oyy 2 DienmSUSBReady 5 I49

' Glgsbyte 5SBVK PCIw/ SIDE,highspeml l o

Jumperless Jytotherboard Fswaucpus QDI Explorer II Speed Easy $149 IOMEGZip A DriVe parsueTSCSI $247

10MEGA Jaz 1GEa.pc/an4628 Pioneer 12X co-RDM $179

ATi 3D Rage ii PC2TV 2MBSORAM esp 4MB $172

$858

256K PswlneBurstCache,rnua II 4annt, RashSOS

ODI Explsvev-a/Luskyahr w/EIOE, MghspmI to

514a

256K IeeretrwBOFSTCaChe, Trecran CISP Set, FlaehBIOS

AS USPrl-P55T2P4 wr EIDE, bish specs 10 rATX 256K PrpurrwBurst Cache,Trees 6,Flash

TTANTOMCAT SIDuelPeoeum Socius7

51 2K pipehneBurst cache,Tntoe ILFtash, 6 RAMslats

SI76

Inlet Vemm PenumnPvow/ BIDE, highspeml IO.......... 5365 256KBurstCache AlxS AMIRashSOS

P 720 P133

P 150 P 7 66

$189 $299 $378

g

$499

5X-733 K5-PBO /5-700 nxf33+ BXT50+exf86+

$ 68 $ 89

$105 $149 $159 • •

9

$218

5

4548 4 EOO8/y/B BEOO765tt/ TBEDO 325TB32EDO

$29 $30 $45 $45 $98 $95 $198 $195 ''os 9 I WESTERN DIGITAL

Weelnm Digital T.DBGB lorna 526064K AC2IOOOA

Wesisto Dlggal 1.3 GB lorna esm 126K Acktxtum Weehmnlglhl T.SGS lowe mm 92SK ACneee Saga Weahtn Digest 2.1 GB Soma sam 926K Asesttm 5345 westets mgasl E.s GB ta s u m926KAcssstm sgas Weetem Digital 3.1 GB TOms 52OO T2SK Aosstcu

Quantum' O uentuttt Ousslum Qoentum OJIAntutn

45eagate

2.1Ga tenw sum 926K Fhehes 5335 3. 2 Ga t oms Sem 926K pheheo 1 . 7GSt t n se es tsm msaCce 2 5 G B T trna 5400 126K Snecce5355

Seagate 1 28GB 42OM 5660 649 ST31276A5246 snsgete 1.2BGB To.s seesseen ststxtss 5255 aemnle 2 .16GS Te 9 Seas 26SKSteetese Ssyg

Mspgar Mnxtur Master Msxlnr

2.0 G a t saw 4466 126K mvsseel

Seagate Sengets

1.06 GB Turns 4500 226K 67510eon 5345 2.I GB TOMM 5405 522K 6732430995595

S

1 3 GB 12OTS 4466 926K M71336A 5256 I 7 Ge Sxrns 4496 'Iteti MMT599 p eg

4.26GB toms 54oo 512K 571523ow STSSS

C OMP U T E R

P L A Y ER !

Slyhm RS / Styhs Csee Stylus Prolor Pc 5 Mac Photo PC Camera Ssgg oeshh Mc/62oc IT ocul 475/546/65S LeserJet 5L600dpi 1MB 5665

gg

MTDHSuhwmdtv 25W Snundahster 16Pnp

serrhssnreseee3? PnPhe!96 6 MS sacer%a'Br

aonndalsshev AISESEPnPhdl Discovery sk Krt with SB 32 PeP 12 titles

Mitsumi EIDECD-ROMBX/I 2X

Acsr 12K /Pioneer lox/12XEIOE PsnsmmhEIOECD-ROMlok SX

ssg

514S

Lava ISADuel UARTT6550 SCSIISA Adeplec t522A/t542F SCSIPCIAdephc2940/2940W SCSIPciAde 394DUW Mulgchsnnel

BTC 104Windnws95 Keyboard Fujitsu 6725 /4725 /Focus 2001 ulesn WingsnntuvetILB. wahTeuchPsd Logitech 20Mouse/ 3BktlouseMsn Logitech Bus/TreckMan ComboMarble I 5"/1 9'/24" /I 7 ATXtower case200W Cerelanvnfor Windows95 MS AccessV7.0lor Windows95Full /Up MS NTSaner 4.0 Full /Up MS NTWorkstation 4.0 Fug/UP Ms ExcheogsSenmr /w 5Clhnls for NT3.51 MS ONcePROfor Windows95 Fug/up MS Plus95/Pubgsher97 Ms SOLServer6.0 for NTFull/U

) A N U A II Y . 1 9 9 7

2a.s/33.6 v.sdInt Pvi

$789

'i 'rt

5254

SD Rage-II PC2TV2MBsoanm I 3D Peo Tiuebn PC2TV4MBsees TV Tuner for 3D Xpressioa

5396

Sl 35/195

=

5169/I59/tss 5138

Sdg/S9 GVCTBBITPnP /PCI32sa PnP Combo ssg/Ba 3CDMEatmsnktstdt 305098 Condm/5 Peck St 55/699 3COM XLPCI3C900Combo/SC905 te/lagay stya/las INTELBhevgxpsussPto/te+ Flesh 5135 APC Beck-UPS ProPnP260/420/650 5199/336/42S

Stg/SSS 535

SBW279 5245/316 5559

sas

522/35 555/105 559/65/125/ite

3249 5369/136 Scat 5379/165 51235 5739/499 565/95 tit 216/599

$172 $278 $139

ATI VideoBoost I MBEDO/2MBEDO ATI Mech64Winturbo2/4MB VRAM

589/IDS $275/459

.

.

.

.

.

It

.. 62 ...17

.13 . 15 .... 7 ...,4I

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

..4I

, . •, •

-

Stealth 3D 2558EDO , Ste a lth Video 2281TV

Hnrdwem MPAG/IV Tunergot TVSeries) • • • • PO gnaenhm2/4 WRAM •

TV Tun es/lamlb XL MPEG Etna NIAMRadonglmhle

St 76 /419 512B

Ss Trhsdu+ /Chem5445 64ba RIPEGTMB iahta

Preview N.l. L.R,,2e Dighal le" /I5" Daytek N I. L R .26Digital I5" /17" Scepre 15" P51 17" P73/P73A

DX15T15'.25, Tnanrou 7OOT17" .25 Ttiaitroa

Optiouest V775.26 I60091250 Aceruiew 76ie

v~ SONY t5 100SXSuper Fine 25 SONY 17 Eggsx /SF 25 g NEC 15XV+ /T TXV+

N ~ ~

o

HEC CSOO MSOO'IS" NI. LR.

NEC M700 17"

Slsndersgaluengersl 15 /17" /21"

~P

5139/139

Sade/359 5240/sos

,SsPCI30valGE2MBEDO /dgtaEno

Sg ~

$148 $288

PC I Myetb am 2/4 SnflAM

~

• wwew~

....31

....3l

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

C .C Tech Computers.......... . . .

CAAST........ CDISCenterFoi DighelImaging. CE Com puter Onset ............. CNSTechnologyLtd. CodyBoola Ltd ....... .

.

Comweg Syucou.... CrudiveComputes ..

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

h t a lma~ I ta" n r/ 21"

.10

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.. 62

Cyberslote .................... thde Remvety DhmondMultimedia EglechSystemLld . FsonlcsTechnologies Inc......... Gemm Lovers' Lihrery ........... GoldenTopComputer Halt Prim .

.45

.

.....8 ... 43 ... I6

ICI Intoweve,.....,....

lmegi.uel Insists Solutions ............... tntusction

.. 45,47 .6t . 76 2, 36

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Irdunst ughlSpeed ...... JRS Computers Inc.............. Kodlek ....................... Lexmsrk ................

....51 .26

L MI ............ . . . . . . . Logitech . Lynx internet...

..16 ,...57

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

MspieOskComputere

37

M aximum Inleinel........... . . . .

MDI Telecom ............... Melio Training .............., .. Microtorum ................... M eosutt ................. . . . MlndLink. Muutrontcs ot Censdeud......... MugiLink. Mycom Computus ..... MTDB .....,................. NSKComputu Ltd.........,.. Nsdrmtsyslsns Ltd............. Mink Computer inc ............ Nkxu Techtmlogy Inc....,...... .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

NR/McGrauHill ..

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

54M/755 SZBOT355

536S/770

359/559/75D

$509 $968

666& 766

554g

5920/119B 5625/1 09g 654diso IO

st gas

.

.

,.5 9 .5

..,49 .....74 ...67

.

Nu-Age Computers Pits .......... Oasis Computer Inc..............

.....3

Pc-TopComputere&Elechonics

....27 .....19 .... 24

Quicken ...................... Real tdudthofion Rimst Intetnehonsl Inc, .......... RPC Computer Becbonks ....., . Sceptm Tschtmlogim Inc ........

senna

stta/144

.

.

5299/499

ATI GraphicProTurbo 2/4M VRAM

ADI is'4V!17" 5V N I. L.R. 522 535/59/45

.

:

.

.

512ar

Cslhr ID, smart ring, full n p. USR2a. g/33.6V.S4 Fnx/DetnPnPlsL 517S USR25. 8/33.6V.34VohmS hsv+ oneiaL/Exk Saga/249

5139

g' CNET TBBIT/Pta SgaaComboICDAXanodal

16 ba Super I/Ogs,19.19 w/tag@ha

Iqg~@

56'6 165

CR~ T I / ~ Sousdshslev32PnPOEM

$2 8 8/388

g Sutnngxpe oss33.6V.34Vohe/Ptm Int PNP

Sl 46

wyetutngM15 FM20DSPStereo SPK.

• 5

Ditto Easy 3288 lut. Ext.

I

Lebtec LCS-26t2 20W3DSoundw/ Subwoofer

9

ISA Adeptec 1505tor SCSIZip /PCI JezJet SCSI 5 5 5 /12l Jax Traveller paFatte port to scsl loe JazExt. Drive 579 TAPE3M 500MB /2.0GB /3.2GB 539/31/49

52746 966 $276/669/2 265

ScenJet4S/4P/40

'

+

51199/1369

Iaseriei5 '6P 60oup

s

I OMEBA Zip Disk18ONB $19 . %dies Zi Dnve o M / Pa . P47/247„ Jaz Drive 1GSCSI/Iat.EKL $479/628: ss.c IOMEGA Jaz PCTGB Disk 5128 Ditla Easy 2GB Iat. /Ettt. $19 8/288

5249 5299/559 5349 531B/5395 5530

LeserJet 5P/SMP600dpi

5346

256K Burstcache, Teton,II 43otot, nash A7l style

$call $ 168

ling " "„„

n99T209

Intel Marl w, EIDE,hioh speed lo ............,.......

Pro-200 P100

N

.

.

e

LBP450 Losergggdpl

.

.

Inte rnetDi rect.................. Internet Gelewey.......

.

s

Cih~sump uuO~su Su BJC-4I00/4550 Color

.

Ic Tectumtogy

OptlQnest V775.26 Tsgthtgaa

I n t e r n e t N N N : h t t p: //www.netcl.corn

tuc-240 Color

5175

' Gigebyte sg6HXPCIw/BIDE, blab speml 10 8199 51 2KPipelineBurst Cache,Triton g 439HK, Fhsh BIOS

.

.

Speciels/

(Notice: Please visit our web site or kingsway store for latest system price.) e

.

.

.

~ J

SupraExpress 33.6 Voice Fax Modem lnt.V.34 with 1 Month Full Internet Access, $128

••

.

ATIC Computer................. BSCCmnmdtus ............... BC Computers Plus ............. Beckmen Computer .... BIS lnlormehon Systems... Bob &Jertys Compulet Room BuySSeBPnus ......... .

win95eoiisi25 NTworssisiion4.09299 MOHoroelewrn)599 MsesinreK.9. 595 Msoirroepror 05459

6 : e s' s M520 Traen g 430VK25gn75-2gghnh 1 Inmm

.

.

Anitsc Computes,.....,.....

) Far LatestJgystedap Price Please Toy Odpt Oapr

ei

F a x : 4 5 1 - 8 611 Email:Info@netcl.corn

.

ATech Comp uters

15" N.l. L.R. $98 16MBEDD $49 32MB EDO $99 2.1GBHarddrive $48 Matrox 2W$88 2.5/3.1GB HD$68/128 Multimedia BxCD,SB16, Speaker $238 10X /12XCD-ROM Drive $28/49 15" SONY SX $19S S832 PnP 568

Tel: 451-86&2

.

Agh ................ .. . . . . .. . Aiomee LssmPtoducls lttc........

Aslel Enterprises ud.

BMB 60ns EDO, 256K Buystcnche • 16MB 60nsEOO, 256K BurstCache • 32MB 60ns EDO, 256K Burst Cache 1.3GB EIDE hard drive, Mode 4 1.6/1.7GB EIDEhard drive, Mode 4 • 2.1GB EIDE hard drive, Mode 4 3.5" 1.44MB fioppy disk drive • 3.5" 1.44MB floppy disk drive • 3.5" 1.44MB floppy disk drive PCI EIDE 2x16550UART • PCI EIDE, 2x1 6550UART • PCI EIDE,2x16550UART Cirrus Logic 5446 PCI video card • ATIVideo Boost1MB EDO • ATI3D Xpyession+ PG2TV 2MB 1MB DRAM,FvllScreenM PEG exp. 2MFull Screen MPEG SDRAM exp4M, Full Screen MPEG • 14n Monitor N.I.LR, • 15' Monitor N.I.L.R, Digital Control • 15' Monitor N.I.L.R, Digital Control 1024x768, .28 dp 1280x1024,,28 dp 1280x1 024, .28 dp • 13n Mini-tower case 230W • 15n Med-tower case 230W • 17' A7X-tower case 230W CSA • Logitech 28 Mini mouse • Logit ech 3B MouseMan • Microsoft 2B Mouse (PS/2) • 104 Windows 95 Keyboard • 104 Windows 95 Keyboard • 104 Windows 95 Keyboard • 2 Year Parts and Labour Warranty • 8X EIDE CD-ROM Drive • 12X EIDE CD-ROM Drive • SoundBlaster 16 PnP(Creative tab) • SoundBla ster16 PnP (CreativeLab) • 60W Multimedia speakers • 60W Multimedia speakers & MIC • 2 Year Parts and Labour Warranty • 2 Year Parts and Labour Warranty se

.

.

r•

• • • • •

6

.

ADDAX Conmukus.............. AE Electronics ...........,..

Email address, Personal home page. Rosetup tee, 75 Hours

, 17.9

.

ACCA ACCESSProduction Inc ...... ACCO Computer ........

Fu I Internet Access

P-100 Triton-HX $1862 P-120 Triton-HX $1930

.

Sogbsnk Comdexhc............ Spans BignguelSyshm Simng Gomputus ........ SubscriptionFarm System-pro Computets .......... Tengent Computers ...... TheDne-ol CDShop...... TheWordFactory TriesteComputerCenter US Robotics .. VencouveiToutePlus....... WarrenDennyOighelImaging ZEDDehSystemsCarp Zeven.................,. .

.

.

.

....47 ..70 .

.

.

. 59

.

.

...12

.

63

.

... 49 .61


Dream Machine

The Performer

Faronics 5200M32

• Intel Pentium 200CPU • 2.1 GB HardDrive • 32MB EDO RAM • Intel VX Chipset Mainboard w/512k PB Cache • Flash RomBios • Enhanced IDE Controller, Mode 4 • 2 High Speed Serial Ports 8tEnhanced ParallelPort • 1.44 MB Floppy Drive • 10X CD-ROM • ATI 3D Xpressions 2 MB PCIVideo Card 64 Bit • "comes with Mech Warrior 2 & Wipeout • Enhanced Windows 95 Keyboard • Microsoft Mouse w/Pad • Faronics Mini-Tower Case • U.S. Robotics 33.6 Data/Fax Modem Creative Labs Soundblaster 32w/Wavetable • Labtec Amplified Speakers • 17" Viewsonic PT770 or 17" Mag Innovision DX700T • Microsoft Windows 95 OEM w/CD • Microsoft Office Pro w/Bookshelf Full OEM The Dream can be yours for .........

$3,$99.00

Faronics 5166M32

At Faronics, all Systems. come.Standard with 512k Fspeline Bnrst Cache - A Big Performance Boost

C2,699.00

o'.",i.

Nome PC Faronics 5'I 50-16 • Intel Pentium 150CPU

• Intel Pentium 120CPU • 1.28GB Hard Drive • 16MB EDORAM • Intel VX Chipset Mainboard w/512k PBCache • Rash Rom Bios • Enhanced IDE Controller, Mode 4 • 2 High Speed Serial Ports & Enhanced Parallel Port • 1.44 MB Floppy Drive • IMB PCI Video card 64 Bit • Enhanced Windows 95 Keyboard • Faronics Serial Mouse w/Pad • Faronics Mini-Tower Case

scvtSin

s O' „t,s'

$1,295.00~;;,

v

X

r

S

r

s

s

8995.00~:;,

v

I

Itdi'

Additions

pentium

$65.00

........ $149.00 :::::::: $169'00

o,':.';,

The Starter Faronics 5120-16

so

• 1.6GB Hard Drive • 16MB EDO RAM • Intel VX Chipset Mainboard w/512k PB Cache • Flash Rom Bios • Enhanced IDE Controller, Mode 4 • 2 High Speed Serial Ports & Enhanced Parallel Port • 1.44MB Floppydrive • 2MB PCI Video Card64Bit • Enhanced Windows 95 Keyboard • Faronics Serial Mouse w/Pad • Faronics Mini-Tower Case

PnP30 Surround Sound Card Creative Labs Soundblaster 16 ....... Creadve Labs Soundblaster 32 ...... 14 Faronics Monitor ........................ 15" Faronics Monitor ........................ 8X CD-ROM .......................................... 10X CD-ROM ...........................................

• Intel Pentium 166CPU a2.1GB Hard Drive • 32MB EDORAM • Intel VX Chipset Mainboard w/512k PBCache • Flash Rom Bios • Enhanced IDE Controller, Mode 4 • 2 High Speed Serial Ports & Enhanced Parallel Port • 1.44MB Roppy Drive • 10X CD-ROM • ATI 3D Xpressions 2MB PCIVideo Card 64 Bit •" comes with Mech Warrior 2 & Wipeout • Enhanced Windows 95 Keyboard • Microsoft Mouse w/Pad • Faronics Mini-Tower Case • U.S. Robotics 33.6 Data/Fax Modem • PnP 3D Surround SoundCard • Lab tec Amplified Speakers • 15" Faronics Monitor Nl, Low Radiation • Microsoft Windows 95 OEM w/CD Performance Price .........

Customizethe Systemsto anyConfiguration - Just Call or Faxfor a Quote

Super Specials U.S.Robotics 33.6 Data/Fax Modem ................ $149.00 Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Full CD .................. $95.00 Follow That Sleigh Entertainment Software ....... $19.00 Upgrade Any System to the intel HX Chipset ................... $20.00 Faronics 8 Port Hub.............................................................. $129.00 Faronics Ne2000Combo Network CardISA ......................$49.00

ReceiveFreeInternet Accessfor OneMonthwith anySystemPurchase

pppeml-;i ~II ggIIgg Zpmypr;lg~ p~~y~ ~ 'a

s

• Faronics 5133M16• Intel Pentium 133CPIj • 1.6GB Hard Drive • 16MB EDO RAM • Intel VX Chipset Main board w/512k PBCache • Flash RomBios • Enhanced IDE Controller, Mode 4• 2 High SpeedSerial Ports 6t Enhanced Parallel Port • 1.44MB RoppyDrive • &X CD-ROM 2MB PCIVideocard 64Bit •EnhancedW indows 95Keyboard •MicrosoftMousew/Pad •FaronicsMini-TowerCase •LI .S.Robotics33.6Data/Fax Modem •PnP 3D SurroundSoundCard • Labtec AmplTied Speakers• 15" Faronics Monitor till, Low Radiation • Microsoft Windows 95 OEM w/CD • Microsoft Encarta, Works, Money 6tTwo Family CDs

n

'5'

a sr s ....,.....g

Add HP 6/NCPrinter,.......,.....,......,......... N7$" AddMicrosoft OfficeProFul OEM...,..... N99.'

f95

I

lease for

474

permonth

I

'- NpeIIL

II@ III()~ ~

g

.

-

Q®@.

o •

.

~eggm .

'IINIgj

Prices and Specifications Subject to Change without Notice

57A- 53ClipperStreet, Coqiltlam, B.C. V3KGXg Hours:Mon.- Fri. 9-6;Sat. - Sun. 11-5

Loocheed Htvy Wheaton Pontiac

O

R

TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Check Oot tsotv.rocooics.cato

VISA

n

2

~T oys r us

~Sandys United < e Blvd. 4 o cn

We gladly accept these Credit Cards - No Surcharge

a ss ta

This is how to get to Faronics.


$1 9.95 per/moelh' Activate your new Internet account today and SAVE 825.00 when we waive the regular set-up fee.*

i n Va n co av e r M

Oatsile the Lower Mainland

Internetw~v DIFsct direct ca.

Includes .

5®fVIC8' AVOIIObI8 Itis VOtlCOUV®I' LOVE®f NOIAIOAJ I VICfOFIOp

Abbetafeld, NOnOimO, KelOVrnO, KOmlOOPS OndCOtIOry

MIGrosoft

"Coll ~

trrt @rr>ot Prrr>ctto»loy to get r>st>v>r>o rl, o»rl wo'll mr>r'ly»» rl s»r>r»>»tory rr>ltwr». >H»o rl>r»rig>ri»r.l»d>r>gtvt>orotrk t»plot>>r'" 3 0 l»>ti>rtst>vsry r>»trr>) lotorsotAir>r>pt rr>tt>rior Trrrir>sosrl <w»rjittor>» fr>rv»>vis>>»r»v>ro tlotv» vory w>tt> c>tyerr>ter offer >r>r>yr>ot fr>»eorr>t>ir>rrrl will> ooy ott>r>r l r>rw lirtr>vk oro l>oloro ot>plicob4 tr>»rr» Co»o>lrr toto>i>st D>rort >r r>prov»t>»r ol cois>plsts lii>rrroo»>r>t»rior>v witt> Mirl»r>t>rrl, >vorprrrr>ts,or>»l'>r>r eb Sits (3s»its 5

interact Explorer

keoloprr>orrt t»rrvive QHor f»p>rm M»>try 0 l,l PPy

I

k

4

I I I

I

I

I


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.