There are five difficulty levels and you can race a full season or individual races. More info is available from http://www.microprose.com. Mitsubishi: SURFING WITH YOUR TV Convergence--a fancy marketing phrase that applies to the bringing together of various technologies to accomplish a single goal--entertain you fine folk. Part of that entertainment paradigm is the Internet and the World Wide Web. Understanding the need for appliances to assist in broadening accessibility to the Internet, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. is going to launch TV sets this fall that'll let you use email and retrieve pages from the World Wide Web. The controller will be a remote control device that comes with a special type of trackball that, when moved, will shift a cursor that appears on the screen. There will also be a keyboard image and you can click on the characters to write emails. This product will have a monitor that measures 28 inches, diagonally, and comes bundled with browser software. You will have to hook this set to a conventional telephone line, and a 14.4 kbps modem will come with the TV. This unit will go on sale this October. MSNBC: ROASTER AIRS ON MSNBC No--not "roaster" as in "chicken." Radio talk show host Don Imus, well known for exchanging barbs with notables, will have his radio show televised as he broadcasts, starting September 3rd from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. EDT. The show will appear on MSNBC, the 24-hour cable television network owned by NBC and Microsoft. Imus said he won't change the format of his Imus in the Morning show or tone down his outspoken political wit. Imus became know nationally when he caused an outrage after appearing at a Washington dinner of radio and TV correspondents where he roasted the President about his controversial love life and delivered other questionable remarks about the first lady. NBC: UNAPIX LAUNCHES ADVENTURE SERIES The NBC television network will launch the Unapix series -- Ushuaia: The Ultimate Adventure, from Unapix Entertainment Inc., based on the French hit-TV series, on Saturday, August 31 (8-9) p.m. (ET). There will also be 22, additional one-hour episodes of the real-life adventure series. They will be shown under the title Ushuaia: The Adventures of Nicholas Hulot. The series combines the best of adventure, state-of-the-art technology, and travel to some of the world's most remote regions. NetObjects: ANIMATION PERCOLATION Seems as though most folk would really like to incorporate applets into their WWW sites. However, many of us are so involved in text preparation and HTML coding that actually learning another scripting language, or the Java language itself, is not a viable option due to limited resources--such as bodies and time to get the work done that already faces us. Enter NetObjects with their Fusion program. This is a new WWW site app that provides visual support that'll help you incorporate Java applets into your site(s). Written in Sun Microsystem's Java, Fusion integrates such goodies without complex programming skills required. You simply select the applet tool from the NetObjects Fusion tool bar, then specify the location on y our page where you wish this object to be placed. You can dynamically size the runtime dimensions and location of the applet, with the program then automatically querying the appropriate applet, retrieving, and displaying the applet parameters in a visual interface. You can then edit the parameters. Included is SiteMapper, a navigation applet. Netscape and Now: MORE UTILITY WITH NETSCAPE The ongoing battle for market share between Netscape and Microsoft finds both companies attempting to bring new and better plug-in technologies to their services. Chalk another one up for Netscape--they've just signed an agreement with Now Software to bring AboutTime(TM) and AboutPeople(TM) Internet and intranet calendars and address books using Now Up-to-Date Publisher(TM) with access through Netscape Navigator for WWW use. AboutTime offers a full selection of calendar views without the need to switch pages in Navigator. And AboutPeople enables high-speed search so you can instantly find a name within a large contact list. You'll then have that name displayed, with the address, in a familiar business card format, all without switching pages. Plus, you'll have a drag-'n-drop capabilities for the calendars and address books that reside on your personal Now Up-to-Date(TM) apps on your Macintosh and PC units. Nintendo: TIMELESS TETRIS There are millions of us that still game on our Super Nintendo Entertainment Systems (SNES). Although sales of this particular 16-bit unit have declined, there are enough players worldwide to continue support of games released for this unit. One of the newest such titles is TETRIS ATTACK from Nintendo. This is an 8-megabit puzzle game that may be played by two, simultaneously. As rows of colorful panels rise from the bottom of your screen, you must rearrange them into vertical or horizontal groups of three or more in order to disintegrate them before the stack reaches the top of the playing field. There are multiple endings as well as hidden codes. There are five different one-player games and two different two-player games. The Puzzle mode challenges you to solve more than 60 different puzzles within a predetermined number of moves. The options menu lets you customize your game play. The game will release early next month. ORION STARS IN A COMBINED EFFORT Orion Pictures Corp. and Rank Film Distributors have agreed to work together for the financing, production and distribution of three major featu re films, two of which are now in production. The motion pictures, which will be released in the United States and Canada by Orion and in international territories by Rank, are Eight Heads In A Duffel Bag, which stars Joe Pesci; Independence, with Drew Barrymore as the star, and a third film whose title is to be announced at a later date. Palladium Interactive: CAREER BUILDING FOR KIDS More and more software is being created for homes where parents are becoming more and more involved with their children's education. To give children a perspective of what awaits them in the work-a-day world, Palladium Interactive is debuting their Bears At Work. This CD-ROM affords our younger citizens a real look at the world of careers via an interactive storybook. There's also a creativity center and a unique, first-of-its-kind, kid-safe WWW site. Designed for children ages 3 to 8, the product is based on the children's book by artist/author Gage Taylor. There are colorful animations, lovable characters, thought-provoking activities, songs, music, and online sharing with other children from around the world. Your youngsters can explore fun-filled occupations that range from Adventurer to Zookeeper. Each of the 26 storybook pages explores a different career choice and features an original oil painting by Taylor. Plus, there's all kinds of information on bears, as well, from polar bears to pandas to teddy bears, and how they live. This title is for Macintosh and Windows 3.1/95 machines. Paramount: FORD HAS A BETTER IDEA--STAR IN DARK DEBTS The much sought after Harrison Ford is being pursued by writer Karen Hall to star in the movie version of her coming, already-acclaimed first novel, Dark Debts. The book is described as the supernatural thriller of the decade. The novel is based on a story about a sexy Jesuit priest with a talent for exorcisms, and the haunted family he tries to help. The novel, which hits bookshelves in early August, has a first shipping of 100,000 copies and Paramount paid $800,000 for movie rights, allowing Hall to write the screenplay as well. Paramount Pictures: L.A.'S EARTHQUAKE--A 9.6 ON THE RICHTER SCALE The folks responsible for the special effects of the futuristic, post-apocalyptic Paramount Pictures' film, Escape from LA, are using Vertigo Technology Inc.'s 3D software. Over 150 complex computer generated effects were required to create scenes of Los Angeles underwater and key landmarks crumbling during an 9.6 Richter-scale earthquake. Director John Carpenter has created this sequel to the classic sci-fi adventure film Escape from New York that also stars Kurt Russell. Philips Media Home: LAUGH AT LIFE Role-playing games can encompass any number of environments. Most of us are most familiar with FRPGs, or fantasy role-playing games, wherein you become part of a magical world replete with all manner of strange creatures and non-player-characters. Philips Media Home now presents a role-playing game with a rather different tact--this title takes you to The Improv for a backstage comedy adventure. For Macintosh and Windows machines, Don't Quit Your Day Job is an interactive role-playing game that turns you into a talent scout. Your assignment is to discover the hottest new comic for the most popular late night show. You must schmooze the characters at The Improv to get your comic into a prime spot in the Improv showroom. You can wander throughout the club with full 360-degree panoramas, and you can check out the phones and even the photos on the walls. But, when is the right time to talk to the cast of characters in order to secure their help? One wrong move and you're flushed to "Hell's Basement." The cast of the game includes Budd Friedman (the club's founder), Mark Lonow, Abe Yoder and many others. Also, the program offers more than one hour of original, stand-up performances from more than 30 comics. PINOCCHIO NOSES ONTO THE WEB As with almost every new movie that has been launched this summer, The Adventures of Pinocchio has a website at http://www.pinocchio.com. This site features a storybook adaptation, games, animation, more than 100 set illustrations, photos, and production information about the new live-action film. Academy Award-winner Martin Landau stars as the master puppet maker Geppetto, while Jonathan Taylor Thomas (The Lion King, Home Improvement) is the voice of Pinocchio who goes looking for fun and adventure in an unfamiliar world. Others co-starring are Rob Schneider, Udo Kier and Bebe Neuwirth. The film was directed by Steve Barron who re-teams with Jim Henson's Creature Shop (Babe). MORE TITLES FROM PSYGNOSIS ATHANOR Athanor, for PC CD-ROM and PlayStation for release in the winter of '96, is based on the pit-city of Byzance--the only escape comes in the form of sports and entertainment. Athanor is a virtual universe inspired by Greek mythology in which competitors do battle with wild beasts such as the Minotaur, the Hydra, and the Gorgon Medusa. If you survive, you go on to become the city hero. You must solve a series of mysterious disappearances. Over 200 scenes feature real-time 3D backgrounds and characters. CHRONICLES OF THE SWORD Chronicles of the Sword takes place in the time of King Arthur's court with marvelous graphics and movie-style cinematic techniques. The player is Gawain, a Knight of the Round Table, with Morganan, King Arthur's wicked half sister, who's determined to see you fail. The player must deal with the evil within. The game takes you through 100 beautiful environments for the PC CD-ROM and for the PlayStation in July. THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN This title plays upon the seductively twisted imaginations of French film makers, Jean-Pierre Junet and Marc Caro. They have created The City of Lost Children for the PC and PlayStation, which is due this winter. This is a dark, surreal adventure with an unusual cast of orphans, circus strongman and Siamese twins. Quality Education Data: COMPUTERS MAKE FOR SMARTER KIDS Figuring out ways to help our children become better students and improve their academic scores is always of concern to parents and teachers. Now, according to educational market research firm Quality Education Data (QED), their latest independent survey reveals that educational software improves the academic performance of K-12 students. More than 93 percent of the surveyed teachers stated that computer-based instruction improved the grades and performance of their students. Mathematics was cited by 97 percent of those polled as the area most positively affected by such software. Reading was the next highest area of improvement. Additionally, more than 95 percent of the teachers surveyed indicated that student reaction ranged from favorable to enthusiastic when using this type of software, with NONE reacting unfavorably. Even the student's general attitudes toward school improved after using such programs, according to 85 percent of the teachers. QED is located in Denver, Colorado. ReadySoft: GET READY(SOFT) FOR SHADOAN In August, ReadySoft is releasing Shadoan, an animated fantasy/adventure game for the Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn. Shadoan, one in a series of five Kingdom games, features more than 70,000 hand-painted cells of animation that took 300 animators nine months of constant work to complete. There are 30 completely original musical tracks arranged by Hollywood composers who were responsible for scores from Pochaontas to Beauty and the Beast, and the detailed writing and scope of this story is likened to that of J.R.R. Tolkien. The creator of Shadoan, Rick Dyer, was responsible for another marvelous game, Dragon's Lair. Interplay will release the PC and Mac versions, and Philips Interactive Media will distribute for the CD-i players. Shadoan involves the adventures of the hero, Lathan Kandor, who is searching for the last two remaining relics in the Kingdom of Shadoan. He confronts the evil wizard, Torlok, in their final battle. Shadoan demands that players make their decisions with careful thought. Players can choose to work in groups, navigating through the game together, making it a game for the whole family. Shadoan offers a Parental Guidance Option that allows parents to adjust the level of violence in the game's fight scenes. Additionally, there is a closed caption option on the PC platform for the hearing impaired. San Diego: COME ON DOWN San Diego is one busy place--it was the site of America's Cup last year, the Republican National Convention this August, and will be the location for the Super Bowl in 1998. The San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau has been working overtime to bring a contest to the Web called the Star-Spangled Summer of 1996 Win a Free San Diego Vacation. This Internet sweepstakes offers the winner a trip for two to San Diego from anywhere in the world that United Airlines flies. Folks enter the sweepstakes by responding to a brief survey via the Virtually(TM) California website at http://www.virtually.com/vacation. The winner and a guest will also receive hotel accommodations for two in San Diego for two nights at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla, and in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, for two nights at the Rosarito Beach Hotel. There will be an AVIS rental car as well, for a total of four days in San Diego and Mexico; fine dining for two at the Star of the Sea and Cafe Japengo in San Diego; surfing lessons from the San Diego Surfing Academy; and guest passes to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, Sea World and the Old Globe Theatre. And, at the end of this trip, a virtual scrapbook will be provided online by Select Hypermedia, a World Wide Web publishing firm. What a grand contest! Sega of America: SILVER SCREEN FOR SEGA Leveraging intellectual properties into new venues is continually of interest to game publishers. Such is certainly the case for Sega of America. That company has signed an agreement with Ideal Entertainment Inc., giving that company merchandising, motion-picture, and television rights to VectorMan, a top-selling video game from Sega. Ideal is going to produce a computer-animated, science-fiction action film that will be distributed late in 1997. Work will be undertaken with the digital effects producers of Independence Day, Tribaltek. The director will be Joseph Francis, who was the CG supervisor of ID4. The script will be written by Norma Jenkes and Francis. Simba Information: ADS ADD UP SAYS SIMBA Folks are talking about whether money can be made in advertising on the Web. The answer is YES--according to Simba Information Inc., a leading market research company. The four largest online services (America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy, and Microsoft Network) will garner $200.1 million in 1996 and grow to $1.97 billion in 2000. The greatest growth will occur between 1996 and 1997 when Web advertising revenues are expected to increase 265.8 percent to $402.4 million. The growth will peak and then level off between 1998 and 2000 as usage flattens out. Estimates are that 14 leading ad-supported Web sites that include CNN, ZD Net, Yahoo! and CMP's TechWeb, will account for about 75 percent of the entire Web advertising revenue market. CNN and ZD Net will generate the highest ad revenues of about $10.0 million each in 1996, with other big players such as Procter & Gamble, Nissan, Anheuser-Busch, and Nabisco planning Web ad campaigns in 1996 and 1997. Sirtech Software: NET-WORTHY The rush to bring games to the WWW is in full swing. Company size no longer seems to have any impact, as game publisher after game publisher believe net-based games are the key to future success. One company that has been involved in this industry for years is Sirtech Software, and they have now signed an agreement with Engineering Animation, Inc. (EAI), to develop a 3D multiplayer game for the Internet. EAI has been involved with a number of major clients to produce animations, from 3M and Ford to The Discovery Channel and NBC's Today show. Based in Salt Lake City, the company will produce a game that will support as many as 65,000 colors on a full screen scrolling background with total support for Microsoft's Direct X technology. (That should give you a hint as to what platforms this game will support.) New scenarios for the game and different hero sets will all be downloadable from the net. This new online game project, as of this writing, has no title. Spectrum HoloByte: GUNSHIP, HELICOPTER SIM Gunship, a helicopter sim for the PlayStation from Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. http://www.microprose,com, is based on U.S. army attack helicopters and tactics. Simulating aerial combat gamers get to fly some of the most advanced and deadly military helicopters including the Apache and Commanche. Players can choose the arcade mode or an extended campaign that goes on for hours. The campaign has two theaters of operation, the Persian Gulf and Central Europe. Gunship for the PlayStation has had a graphical and audio overhaul, making it different from its predecessors. From smooth scrolling landscape with geographical features and realistic colors and textures, to bitmapped skies with changeable weather conditions and beautiful sunsets, this title also features a redesigned cockpit that gives gamers an impression of greater depth. Starbucks & Turner: TURNER WAKES UP AND SMELLS THE STARBUCKS Starbucks Coffee Company will team up with Turner Broadcasting Company Inc.'s first original online entertainment network SPIV to produce Double Shot from Starbucks. Double Shot (hyperlinked from the SPIV homepage at http://www.spiv.com/doubleshot) involves news bytes, on and off the field reports about superstar athletes as well as the up and comers, reports of upsets of World Records, and club-hopping celebrities and entertainment live from Atlanta in a kind of cyberspace cafe. TEN & Sirtech: DEADLY DEALINGS Those companies involved in online, multiplayer gaming continue to scramble for content. Each company is trying to one-up the others, each vying for the most viable and most pleasing content--and that sure makes a lot of sense. One of the latest deals to come down the surfway is the one signed between Total Entertainment Network (TEN) and Sirtech Software. This agreement will bring the latter company's role-playing game, Deadly Games, to TEN. Deadly Games is the sequel to Sirtech's Jagged Alliance war strat game. You become one of 70 mercenaries to lead a team on specific missions. You'll end up planting bombs, hurling grenades, and trying to outmaneuver your opponents as you attempt to keep your platoon safe from hostile fire. Currently, TEN has online rights to more than 25 games, ten of which are exclusives. T.J. Maxx: PARENTS PREP WEE PEOPLE The majority of parents, 84 percent, are committed to starting their children's education at home--this according to a survey conducted by T.J. Maxx, the leading off-price retailer in the nation. Parents' commitment to starting their children's education at home has become much more mainstream, as they spend approximately $380 per household on children's educational books and toys. Total projected sales are approximately $11.9 billion, nationwide. Improving their children's performance in school is the primary reason 67 percent of the parents purchase these items. For 25 percent of parents in this survey, spending more quality time with their children is the primary reason for purchasing educational toys and books. Trilobyte: SCOTTISH SECRETS A geographical area that's seldom been touched by interactive entertainments is the land of Scotland, with its mysterious moors and dark castles. With the success of such films as Braveheart and Rob Roy, Trilobyte is about to come to market with a new graphic adventure entitled Clandestiny(TM). This animated interactive game takes place at Castle MacPhiles and the mystery that might lurk beneath its walls. The game features nearly 40 minutes of classic, motion-picture quality animation and combines an original story by renowned author Jahnna N. Malcolm with a dose of Scottish lore and legend. There are also numerous one-of-a-kind puzzles. Young Andrew MacPhiles is the unlikely hero. He's accompanied by his spunky, soon-to-be fiancee, Paula, as he returns to Scotland to claim his ancestral home--aye, Castle MacPhiles. First, he must fulfill an ancient prophesy and defeat a deadly curse that has haunted his family for generations. You'll accompany both Andrew and Paula as they encounter the castle's odd inhabitants--some friends and some foes. There are long forgotten rooms and hidden passageways to find that hold the clue to the castle's mysteries. In conclusion, you'll unveil Andrew's true destiny and his confrontation with the real Beast Within. The game will be distributed for PC CD-ROM machines this fall. Trilobyte: TRUE FILM & CD CONVERGENCE As we've mentioned before, the marriage of Hollywood and Silicon Valley seems, in some cases, to be several years away from total fruition. Not so in the case of Trilobyte who have just completed production of the company's first full-length motion picture and interactive CD-ROM project. Tender Loving Care is the name of the film and this is the first time a motion picture and interactive CD-ROM have been undertaken as a single project. This is also the first project to be completed under the company's film and TV production arm, Trilobyte Productions. The film stars John Hurt (Rob Roy and The Elephant Man) as a psychiatrist caught in a tangled web of seduction and power with a troubled young couple. Plans call for this film to be distributed theatrically both in the US and abroad. The CD-ROM project, called Tender Loving Care Interactive, will include footage not seen in the movie's director's cut, which will allow you to experience variations in the same story with alternate endings. You don't solve puzzles or kill enemies--instead, you collect hidden insights into each character that can be fully explored. With each discovery, you're forced to examine your own motives and values as the film reaches a chilling conclusion. Additionally, the film production arm of the company has signed a development agreement with Larry Kasonoff of Mortal Combat, Total Recall and Terminator 2 fame, to create The 7th Guest: The Movie, based upon Trilobyte's best-selling game. Ventana Press: SCRIPTING SENTIMENTS WIth Java and JavaScript totally enveloping the WWW, numerous book publishers are shimmying into the market with new books about the language, the scripting environment, the browsers, and the server technologies, the Shockwaves and Sizzles and more. Ventana, one of the first book publishers to recognize the technological advancements offered by Macromedia Shockwave, has now released the Official Netscape JavaScript Book. This is a non-programmer's guide that'll help you create applets for use on the WWW. Plus, there are Online Updates for the book via a dedicated WWW site (http://www.netscapepress.com/support/javascript) that'll help readers stay informed on this technology as it continues to evolve. You, pretty much, learn how to write scripts instantly, thereby adding more pizzazz to your WWW pages. You'll receive instruction in how to use and understand JavaScript, from functions and comments of scripts, to the advanced areas of creating customized objects. Data storage, value manipulation, decision making, script control, troubleshooting, and a number of tricks and tips are all included. More info is available at Ventana's WWW site at http://www.vmedia.com. Walt Disney Co. MADE IN JAPAN--DISNEY SAYS "WE'LL DISTRIBUTE" An agreement between Walt Disney Co. and a Japanese publisher to distribute English-language versions of the animated films of Hayao Miyazaki through its global network, Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co., has been reached. The Tokyo-based publisher holds a majority, equity stake in Miyazaki's company, Studio Ghibli Co. It has long been the wish of Miyazaki to have his movies seen by children around the world. Miyazaki's animated movie, My Neighbor TOTORO, has been translated into English and the film is also available on videotape. Some of the animator's better-known movies include Kiki's Delivery Service and Laputa, Castle in the Sky. Walt Disney will distribute the English versions of Miyazaki's animated movies in the United States. A Japanese subsidiary of Walt Disney will market the animated movies on videotape in Japan andother countries. Warner Brothers: WARNER BROTHERS HAVE A LOT Folks can explore the lots at Warner Brothers studio via their new Virtual Lot on the World Wide Web and America Online. When users enter the Virtual Lot, they are greeted by Superman flying into the scene and a limousine pulling up to the front gate. Clicking on the door of the limo reveals a different Warner Bros. celebrity profile each week. In addition to information about the studio's entertainment programming, the Virtual Lot invites online users to explore the streets of its Burbank studios, interact with other users and experience an array of multimedia offerings. World Wide Web users can enter the Virtual Lot at www.warnerbros.com. America Online members can access the area by typing keyword "wblot." Modeled after the actual lot in Burbank, users can explore the streets of the studio and find animated areas dedicated to specific Warner Bros. programs, regularly scheduled chat events, Quicktime VR virtual tours of popular show sets, photos, audio and video clips, message boards, links to the World Wide Web, Warner Bros. news and much more. Warner Brothers: THE PROPRIETOR The Proprietor, a movie that Warner Brothers has acquired domestic, U.K. and French distribution rights to, tells of a revered French expatriate author (Jeanne Moreau) who, after having spent 30 years in New York, is now returning to Paris and the home in which she lived with her mother before the German Occupation separated the two of them forever. The author, in her 60s, is confronted by two cultures, American and French; two time periods, the past and the present; and relationships with friends and lovers, old and new, as she attempts to reconcilliate her life and memories.