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New eWorld Weather Takes the Guesswork out of Mother Nature's Next MoveeWorld

CompuServe, Inc. announced that it would indefinitely suspend member access to over 200 Internet newsgroups

Sundance Film Festival's New Media Center Premiers with Apple Computer as Official Sponsor


New eWorld Weather Takes the Guesswork out of Mother Nature's Next MoveeWorld

Exclusive, 24-hour Weather Forecasts with Hourly Updates - a First in On-line Weather Reporting

Boaters, skiers, business travelers, pilots and outdoor recreationalists can now go on-line to obtain timely weather forecasts via eWorld Weather, pioneered by WeatherLabs, Inc. and exclusively available on eWorld, Apple's on-line Service. Unlike other on-line weather services, eWorld Weather offers four choices for understanding the day's weather - morning, day, afternoon, evening and overnight, enabling people to more accurately plan their day. This thorough reporting helps replace ambiguous statements such as, "Partly cloudy with a 50% chance of rain" with more precise information such as, "It will rain this morning, but not this afternoon." Weather observations are provided for nearly 600 U.S. and over 1,000 international locations. Areas include major metropolitan cities, towns, vacation spots and even remote villages.

Each forecast report includes a wide variety of meteorological parameters, or methods by which to gauge Mother Nature. Meteorological jargon is replaced by friendly icons and easy-to- understand terms, appealing to the casual weather watcher. Current conditions and forecasts on eWorld Weather prove more comprehensive than those on other on-line services. For example, conditions include: temperature, comfort index (i.e. wind chill during the winter and heat index during the summer), barometric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, visibility, dew point, relative humidity, sky, precipitation, expected amount of rain or snow and easy-to-understand air conditions (i.e. "dangerously cold"). All forecasts are reported in both Metric and Imperial units for true global usage.

eWorld subscribers will find forecasts extended out to three days and international weather maps, indicating weather conditions. The easy-to-navigate user interface allows users to begin viewing major regions of the world or reach further levels of geographical detail.

A weather discussion bulletin board is available for posting weather questions which will be answered by a WeatherLabs meteorologist, such as "How are tornados formed?" or "What is the meaning of the dew point?" Weather chat is available for live on- line chat sessions with special guests such as radio and television weather personalities, research scientists and meteorologists. eWorld Weather can be viewed by taking the shortcut, Go: weather.


CompuServe, Inc. announced that it would indefinitely suspend member access to over 200 Internet newsgroups

CompuServe, Inc. announced that it would indefinitely suspend member access to over 200 Internet newsgroups because German authorities consider them pornographic under law. The Columbus, Ohio-based unit of H & R Block did not identify the newsgroups under the suspension.

"We were told to do what is necessary to comply with German laws," said CompuServe media relations officer Russ Robinson.

Robinson said that a Munich prosecutor first came to CompuServe offices in the German city "several weeks ago" in the company of police officers as part of an ongoing government investigation into pornography on the Internet. Late last week the company was served with orders to comply with German law.

"We are put in the position of defending content we do not control. We believe some of it (the German order) is defensible, but some is subjective."

- Russ Robinson, CompuServe media relations officer

A CompuServe press release states that as "the leading global service, CompuServe must comply with the laws of the many countries in which we operate. However laws in different countries are often in conflict, and this creates new challenges unique to the emerging online industry."

Robinson said CompuServe has ordered a speed-up in development of parental control software for its online service, which it hopes to have in place by the end of January. Two other major online services, America Online and Prodigy, already have software that allows parents to restrict access to certain sites.

No software exists to restrict user access to selected news groups by geographical location, but CompuServe and the other online companies are trying to develop such an ability.

Members of CompuServe may still access the suspended newsgroups if they have a direct connection to the Internet outside CompuServe. The German investigation, and grumblings in the U.S. Congress to ban certain content on the Internet, may signal the start of more rules for the previously unregulated Internet.


Sundance Film Festival's New Media Center Premiers with Apple Computer as Official Sponsor

Apple and Sundance Celebrate a Three-Year Agreement; Robert Redford's Sundance Institute Embraces Apple as the Leading Computing Platform

Recognized as the preeminent venue for discovering emerging independent film talent, the Sundance Film Festival today breaks new ground by opening the Sundance Film Festival's New Media Center, of which Apple Computer, Inc. is the official sponsor. Here, up-and-coming independent filmmakers will be introduced to some of the most innovative new media tools and solutions available to the film community.

The 1996 Sundance Film Festival is a 10-day event that takes place from January 18 to January 28 in Park City, Utah. On January 20, the Sundance Film Festival's New Media Center will open its doors to the more than 20,000 expected Festival-goers to demonstrate how artists are using Apple's multimedia technology to create enhanced CDs (audio CDs that also include multimedia content), create special effects based on 3D for modeling and animation, to incorporate virtual reality scenes into titles, and more. All presentations will be based on the Apple Macintosh platform. Additionally, Apple will use QuickTime Live!, the company's new virtual venue for live entertainment, to bring interviews with film makers from the Sundance Film Festival to the world via the Internet.

The Apple/Sundance partnership stems from common goals and interests: both organizations are heavy supporters of the environment, children in the arts and diversity in culture.

"Apple Computer's support of the Sundance Institute's New Media Center is a real indication of their commitment to the Institute and the independent film community," said Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute.

The Sundance Film Festival's New Media Center will feature not only Apple hardware, but also the company's award-winning multimedia software including QuickTime, QuickTime VR and the Apple Internet Connection Kit. Other products that will be showcased include: Adobe Systems, Inc., Adobe Premiere, After Effects and PageMill; Macromedia's full line of multimedia authoring solutions including, Director, FreeHand, Extreme 3D and ShockWave for the Internet; Strata's Studio Pro comprehensive 3D modeling package; Power Production Software's creative tools for creative people including, Storyboard Artist, Digital Box Office, and Costume Pro; Nixon, the first Enhanced CD soundtrack developed by Hollywood Records, and FWB's Hammer line of world class storage solutions.

"As the finest new directors from around the world vie to come to Sundance to present their latest material, we'll also unveil our latest offerings through the Sundance Film Festival's New Media Center," said Satjiv S. Chahil, vice president of Apple's Entertainment Industry and New Media group. "Just as the Festival offers a place to discover emerging film talent, it now is going that extra step by offering Festival-goers an exclusive environment to see how multimedia technology opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for filmmakers. Apple is committed to provide these up-and-coming film talents with the latest multimedia products."

Apple and Sundance Sign Three-Year Contract For the next three years, Apple will be the official sponsor of the Sundance New Media Center at the Sundance Film Festival, establishing the Macintosh as the premier computer platform of the Institute. Both Apple and Sundance see this association as a collaborative relationship with an eye to the future.

Additional Sundance Institute Activities Include the June Filmmaker's Labs, Producer's Conference, and Directors Session--each of which will use the Power Macintosh computer line. The PowerMac is used widely throughout the creative and multimedia communities. In fact, San Jose-based market research firm Dataquest found that 63 percent of multimedia developers use the Macintosh to create their content.

Background

The Sundance Institute, established in 1981 by Robert Redford, is dedicated to the support and development of American independent filmmakers, and to the national and international exhibition of new, dramatic and documentary files. The Institute's annual programs, including the Feature Film Program, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Independent Producer's Conference, offer essential artistic and business resources to emerging independent filmmakers each year. A program of the Institute since 1985, the Sundance Film Festival has become the largest US-based film festival, and the hub for influencing and rewarding independent film production and film makers.

To access live interviews at the Sundance Film Festival, Macintosh or Windows PC users can access the QuickTime Live! World Wide Web site at:

http://live.apple.com"