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Volume 2, Issue 22 Atari Online News, Etc. June 2, 2000 Published and Copyright (c) 2000 All Rights Reserved Atari Online News, Etc. A-ONE Online Magazine Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor Atari Online News, Etc. Staff Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking" Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile" Albert Dayes -- CC: Classic Chips With Contributions by: John Hardie To subscribe to A-ONE, send a message to: dpj@delphi.com and your address will be added to the distribution list. To unsubscribe from A-ONE, send the following: Unsubscribe A-ONE Please make sure that you include the same address that you used to subscribe from. To download A-ONE, set your browser bookmarks to one of the following sites: http://people.delphi.com/dpj/a-one.htm http://www.icwhen.com/aone/ http://a1mag.atari.org Visit the Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi! http://forums.delphi.com/m/main.asp?sigdir=atari =~=~=~= A-ONE #0222 06/02/00 ~ CG Expo 2000 Sponsors! ~ People Are Talking! ~ PageMill's Fate ~ BattleSphere, 2nd Run! ~ QuickTime's Future! ~ Juno Sues NetZero ~ Microsoft's Last Gasp! ~ Sega CEO Does Resign! ~ NYKO's Worm Light! ~ PhotoShop 6 Upgrade! ~ QuickTime Grows Up! ~ New "Colony Wars"! -* Government Files Final Order *- -* Test Version of AOL 6.0 Found Online *- -* Instant Messaging "Wars" Continue: Odigo! *- =~=~=~= ->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!" """""""""""""""""""""""""" Well, unofficially Summer has begun here in New England, with the passing of Memorial Day. Forget Spring - it seemed to come and go in a couple of days; then it was Fall-like here. However, Summer has finally arrived with warm temperatures these past few days. And now we're having a booming thunderstorm as I sit here putting the final touches on this week's issue. I didn't finish putting down my new lawn last week. As the weekend progressed, my energy withered away. I got 95% of the huge side yard completed - a success in my mind, but I didn't get it all done. I hope to finish up the majority of it this weekend and finish up some touching-up over the next couple of weeks. And, I still have to get the pool opened up for the season! Because of the holiday Monday, the business week was shortened, as has been the news. The major news is that Microsoft, as we know it, is soon to be altered. We should know the final results of the judge's decision next week. Other than that, let the summer festivities begin! I'm looking forward to a terrific summer! Until next time... =~=~=~= PEOPLE ARE TALKING compiled by Joe Mirando jmirando@portone.com Hidi ho friends and neighbors. I'll tell you right off the bat that this is going to be a short column. Why is it that all three day weekends seem to be followed by six day work weeks? I'm exhausted. So let's get right to the stuff from the UseNet... From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup ==================================== Lyndon Amsdon asks for help with STinG: "I recently had problems accessing some sites with my old version of sting so I decided to upgrade to 1.22. Couldn't find it but Martin Byttebier (thanks Martin) helped me out and sent me Kernal 1.22 (1.05) Serial 1.20, TCP 1.33 and UDP 1.45. I replaced the old ones on my boot drive with these. When I booted up all things went well reporting on boot up STinG version 1.22 (1.05), loading the new Serial, TCP and UDP stx files and my old Resolve stx file from the old Sting setup. I then went to the Sting ACC (I'm not multitasking yet) but it said Dialer Version 1.15 and Sting Version 1.22, is this correct? I then went to dial up and connect. It dialed up fine and said the connection speed alright but then crashed with 3 bombs jest before the bit where it gets the IP number. I've tried this a few times now with a minimal system i.e. HSModem, Sting and HDDriver." James Haslam tells Lyndon: "No, the problem is that you need to trash all of v1.15 (except for your Default.CFG and Dial.SCR files), then install v1.20. Only then can you put in the Kernal, Serial, TCP, and UDP files to upgrade to v1.22. Get the archive for v1.20 and the new stuff for v1.22 from my website, http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/jfhaslam/atari.htm and follow the Downloads link." Lyndon tells James: "I did that and just kept my account information. It booted up fine saying v1.20. I went into the Sting accessory and it said the dialer version is 1.16 and sting was 1.20. Aren't they supposed to be the same version? So I went to load newsie but it keeps on freezing up, not just on newsie on every program I load. Surely I need dialer version 1.20 don't I, which it states in the help files." G.R. Greenway tells James and Lyndon: "I've just blown most of today doing that, it took me ages to get my old copy of V1.5 working again. If I try again I'll put the installation on a floppy first then boot from it. The odd thing was that the Sting Protocols CPX kept killing Xcontrol ! (Actually it killed Zcontrol too.) I managed to get a connection with all the PPP hand-shaking, but nothing would resolve. (POPWatch, Cab, GapFTP....) All this is under Magic, BTW." John Garone adds: "Latest Dialer should be 1.16 If your not using HSMODEM7, try that! Some have had success with HSMODEM6 but I had to use 7 on my stock Falcon030. I also use only one CPX, Sting Internals (activated)." Willem Buising asks for help with multiple hard drives: "I just purchased an megafile 30 external hard disk. It works fine with my 1040 STf, but I also want to connect it to my MEGA STe, to make a backup of the internal hard disk. When I connect it to the ACSI port, switch it on and then switch on the MEGA STe both the internal and the external hard disk freeze. I can only boot from the floppy and there is no other device found. When I disconnect the internal hard disk the external one works fine, it seems that the 2 interfere with each other. Is there anything like a SCSI ID ore something like that, so that I can make the internal HD and the external one work at the same time, or is there some other trick to this?" Roger Cain tells Willem: "Yes, this seems like a likely explanation. The HD in the Mega is almost certainly set to ID 0. You need to change the SCSI ID of the other drive. If you are lucky there may be an external switch. Otherwise you will have to dig deep enough to see the back of the drive. Usually, near to the 50-way input port, there is a group of 3 pairs of jumper pins. Just set the middle pair and the HD will respond as ID 2. P.S. Of course, it might be more complicated than this." Peter West adds: "He would be better off making the ID 1, which will be one of the end-pin pairs, as there are some hard disk drivers (such as AHDI - at least early versions) that will not allow a gap in the number sequence - it has to be 0, 1,...." Steve Sweet chimes in with: "The SCSI ID setting will be on the drive mechanism itself, the internal drive should have the lowest ID of 0.0. If your using the Atari HD interface you may be out of luck, i never could get any extra drives recognized with my Atari HD-i, i eventually bought a link96 internal for my MegaSTE and can now have 8 daisy chained devices on the SCSI bus." Larry Gaab asks: "I own a 1040STf with 4 MB Ram. I use Notator/Creator sequencer. I was wondering if anyone out there uses WARP 9 or NVDI 4, which I believe are similar products to speed up graphics on the software you are using. Anyone know where to get the items and have any recommendations on which is best for my system, please respond. Maybe someone has one to sell?" Daniel Dreibelbis tells Larry: "If you're using Notator, then I'd definitely recommend getting NVDI. I had Warp 9 and I had nothing but trouble getting it to tape sync via MIDI. When I switched to NVDI, the problem disappeared!" Nicholas Bales adds: "I think Warp9 is discontinued nowadays. NVDI was and still is far superior. NVDI has the added advantage of replacing GDOS or SpeedoGDOS. This means that it allows you to use TTF fonts and GDOS drivers for printing. I think NVDI is at version 5 nowadays." Ken Kosut asks about using a SyJet: "I was able to find a SyJet 1.5 External SCSI hard drive to replace my ailing SyQuest 200MB which will not format. (I don't have software, manual, or PC to mess around with it. I bought it at a rummage sale at work - and it worked fine on Atari for years.) The SyJet is already formatted to PC. 1.) Is it possible for me to partition, or will I have to reformat entire drive with HDX or HDriver? 2.) Can HDX (v5.03c) format a drive of this size? I think I would prefer to use my standard AHDI 6.05c. Mostly because of cost." Edward Baiz tells Ken: "If it formatted for a PC, then you should be able to partition it with no problem. I did the same with my Jaz carts. They were formatted for a PC and I just used HDDriver to partition it." Dr. Uwe Seimet, the author of HD Driver, adds: "Partitioning is sufficient. There is no different format for different platforms, i. e. simply creating new file systems (which is done when partitioning) is enough for any cartridge or drive." David Leaver asks an interesting question: "In recent postings Uwe Seimet has referred to Fat32 as if it exists for Magic. Bengy Collins' Magic page lists Fat32 as a feature of Magic. Yet the English manual, while explaining VFAT, makes no mention of Fat32. What's the story? Is there some extension that I need if I want to use Fat32, and, if so, where can it be obtained?" Jo Even Skarstein tells David: "The manuals have not been updated for a few years. You need HD-Driver 7.80 or newer, and some way to initialize a FAT32 file system. For MiNT there is a tool called makefats.ttp, there is probably something similar for MagiC. If not, you can use makefats." Uwe Seimet adds: "Upcoming versions of HDDRUTIL (which is included in the HDDRIVER package) will support the creation of FAT32 partitions when partitioning a drive." Well folks, I told you it was going to be short this week. 'Till next time, keep your ears open so that you'll hear what they're saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING =~=~=~= ->In This Week's Gaming Section - BattleSphere 2nd Run! NYKO News! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" 'Colony Wars' Continues! Sega CEO Gone Over Dreamcast Sales! Classic Gaming Expo 2K Sponsors! =~=~=~= ->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Sega President Steps Down After Loss The president of Sega Enterprises Ltd. stepped down on Friday after the world's third-largest home video game maker reported its third annual loss in a row, despite a 27 percent jump in sales. Tokyo-based Sega posted a group net loss of $398.1 million for the year to March 31, little changed from a 43 billion yen loss the year before and in-line with analysts forecasts following a profit warning by Sega in February. At a press conference after the results, Shoichiro Irimajiri, 60, announced he would step on June 1 after two years as president, to be replaced by the company's chairman, Isao Ohkawa, 74. Ohkawa is also chairman of Sega's 19 percent shareholder CSK Corp Irimajiri, a former executive vice president at Honda Motor Co from 1989 to 1993, will remain at Sega as vice chairman. ``We accepted Irimajiri's request to resign to take responsibility for the losses," Ohkawa said. ``We aim to revive the company by focusing on growing Internet-related services by using Dreamcast." Sega lost money again despite a jump in group sales to 339.1 billion yen, from 266.19 billion the previous year, reflecting the start to sales overseas of the company's ``Dreamcast" home video game machine, the world's first 128-bit game player. The news was released after the Tokyo market had closed. Sega's shares ended Friday at 1,660 yen, down 0.6 percent from the day before and off about 49 percent from January. Analysts, however, questioned whether a management change would be enough to turn around the troubled game maker, especially given many had seen Ohkawa as the driving force in the company anyway. ``Sega has to come up with something more drastic to return to profit....such as withdrawal from the home game machine hardware business," said Hirotoshi Murakami, an analyst at Kokusai Securities. ``Otherwise, the company is likely to stay in the red." Sega has been hit by intensifying competition at home from Sony Corp's popular PlayStation series home video games. Sony launched its latest version of the console, the 128-bit PlayStation2, in March. For the business year just ended, Sega shipped 1.1 million consoles in Japan, while Sony shipped 2.14 million PlayStation units and 1.41 million PlayStation2 units, according to data provided by each company. That rivalry is expected to continue in overseas markets as Sony releases PlayStation2 in the United States and Europe on October 26, while Nintendo Co. Ltd. begins selling its next-generation, 128-bit console Dolphin -- which will replace its Nintendo64 -- at the end of the year. Nintendo, Japan's leading video game maker, on Friday reported a 34.7 percent slide in profit for the year to March, as the negative impact of stronger yen more than offset robust sales of its popular ``Pokemon" game software. Sega sold 3.8 million Dreamcast consoles overseas since beginning to sell the world's first 128-bit game player abroad last year, but heavy advertising costs slashed profit. For the year started April 1, Sega forecast a group net profit of 1.5 billion yen on sales of 336.00 billion yen. ``Sega has so far failed to illustrate how it will profit from the Internet business where it has repeatedly put its focus on," said Morgan Stanley's Morita before the earnings were released. ``It may lose money again this year, given intensified competition in the industry and its weak market share in Japan." NYKO E3Expo 2000 Attendees Flip Over Worm Lights How do you make sure that your new products get noticed in the noise and bustle of a busy E3Expo Show entertainment event? According to NYKO, the answer is to spotlight the show-goers alongside the new accessories. When NYKO decided to use some of its products as giveaways at the recent Electronics Entertainment Expo held in Los Angeles, they were surprised to find how eager the attendees were to get a hold of NYKO's new releases. NYKO was taking the opportunity at this year's E3Expo show to introduce its new product lineup for Sony PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast, Game Boy Color and the new NeoGeo Pocket portable game systems. NYKO introduced a full line of accessories at this show for the popular consoles and portables. Among the products introduced was the Viper 2 which is the industry's first and only handheld licensed controller for the Sony PlayStation game console with several advanced new features. The Shock 'n' Rock and Worm Light for SNK's portable NeoGeo Pocket Color (NYKO is the only marketer and manufacturer of NeoGeo accessories), and the Hip Clip for Nintendo Game Boy Color to name a few. For the past several months NYKO has been holding the No. 1 spot with one of the most successful products in the gaming industry -- the Worm Light. The Worm Light is a patented innovative and effective product designed to light the screen of the Game Boy Color that is typically hard to see in low light conditions. ``We were pleasantly surprised to see how much the show attendees and consumers value and liked our products," said Lisset Fernandez, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at NYKO. ``They were willing to do all sorts of outrageous stunts to get their hands on one of our new Worm Light or Shock 'n' Rock accessories for their Game Boy Color or NeoGeo game systems. I was amazed to see people stand on their heads or flip backwards." Fernandez continued, ``As the gaming industry continues to grow at an astonishing pace, NYKO continues to push the boundaries with their full line of accessories. I look forward to the introductions scheduled in the coming weeks." Midway Announces ``Colony Wars: Red Sun" The Epic Battle Continues in the Highly Acclaimed Space Combat Series Midway Games Inc. announced that ``Colony Wars: Red Sun," the third all-new episode in the hit sci-fi ``Colony Wars" series, will be available in retail outlets today [Thursday] for the PlayStation game console. ```Colony Wars: Red Sun' has raised the standard of space combat games," said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway. ``Midway will continue to push the boundaries of the genre with 50 different missions packed with multiple objectives and more than 30 new weapons." ``Colony Wars: Red Sun" has an optimized game engine, all-new graphics, strong cinematics communicated through 28 full-motion video (FMV) sequences and a sumptuous soundtrack recorded by a professional orchestra. The battle for power continues in ``Colony Wars: Red Sun." Instead of siding with one faction, gamers play as Valdemar, a military agent out for no one but himself. Red Sun's new free-form game structure allows players to select their own missions. GamePro, the world's largest multiplatform gaming magazine, reported: ``An incredible sequel, `CW: Vengeance's' high-octane space combat and engaging plot make for an action-packed experience that every PlayStation owner should delve into." The optimized ``Colony Wars: Red Sun" game engine offers enhanced graphics and in-game textures. The overall visual look has impressive new lighting effects and interactive nebulae and gaseous atmospheres. Attention to detail is paramount in ``Red Sun." The capital ships, for example, have animated turrets, adding a greater realism and depth to the game. With more quality FMV to carry the story along and a completely new dramatic musical score, ``Colony Wars: Red Sun" is as epic as the previous chapters in the ``Colony Wars" series. The gripping linear story line, paired with the new free-form game structure, helps to provide an increased emphasis on personal involvement as players explore the completely interactive 3-D environment. ``Colony Wars: Red Sun" Key Features * New free-form game structure * Twenty-eight full-motion video sequences * Fifty different missions with multiple objectives * More than 30 new weapons * Eight ships with fully upgradable weapons * Five solar systems, including two from "Colony Wars: Vengeance" * Optimized game engine, which further refines and enhances graphics =~=~=~= ->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr! """"""""""""""""""" BattleSphere Second Run Inquiry Posted by BSB (64.220.201.108) on May 31, 2000 at 17:25:21: OK guys, we have located the major source of componentry we need for a second run. Unfortunately, second run prices look like they will be up $10 from the original $69.95 to $79.95. With that bit of bad news out of the way, now is the time for you all to email me and tell me how many carts you're willing to buy at this price with $50 pre-orders (of course, if that number is zero, I both understand and don't expect to hear from you :-)). While we can make pretty much as many as we want at this price, this will be your last chance to purchase the game other than from people selling their used copies. Scott Major Sponsors Announced for Classic Gaming Expo 2000 For Immediate Release Contact John Hardie, Sean Kelly and Joe Santulli info@cgexpo.com 516-568-9768 http://www.cgexpo.com PROMINENT INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANIES ENDORSE CLASSIC GAMING EXPO 2000 VALLEY STREAM, NY (June 2, 2000) -- A prolific line-up of leading interactive entertainment companies will be sponsoring this year's Classic Gaming Expo 2000 to be held on July 29-30 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Contributing to this year's event are Hasbro Interactive, Inc., Imagine Media, Telegames Inc., Intellivision Productions and Digital Eclipse Software Inc. Their financial and promotional support has proved valuable in aiding the show coordinators to organize what is touted as the greatest gathering of industry legends, historic gaming artifacts and classic gaming fans. "We are thrilled by the continuing level of interest that CGE 2K has garnered among some of the market leaders in electronic entertainment," said John Hardie, co-promoter of the show. "The contributions, product for prizes and giveaways, and public relations assistance helps ensure that Las Vegas will be the center of the electronic gaming universe during the month of July." Hasbro Interactive is a division of Hasbro, a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time and entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. With its recent acquisitions of Microprose and Atari, Beverly, Massachusetts-based Hasbro Interactive is focused on bringing the concept of simple yet addictive gameplay back to videogames. Following the success of their recent updates of such classics as Q*bert, Missile Command, and Pong, Hasbro is continuing the tradition of making games that are fun and easy for the whole family to enjoy with their forthcoming planned releases of Frogger 2, Super Breakout, Galaga and Pac-Man. For the third consecutive year, Imagine Media will be a major co-sponsor of the show. Imagine is one of the largest media companies around and boasts a network of numerous print and on-line publications including Next Gen, PSM, DailyRadar.com, Games Business, PC Gamer and others. In addition to financial contributions, Imagine has been prominently running CGE 2K articles and press releases throughout the show's promotional period. Telegames is a group of multi-national operations that are involved in all aspects of video games and computer software. The Dallas, Texas-based company is involved in online and direct mail retailing, wholesale distribution, publishing, licensing, and contract development. The TelegamesDirect division also stocks a large inventory of new classic video game systems and software, including Atari, Intellivision, Coleco, Nintendo, Sega, TurboDuo, and TurboGrafx-16. Telegames currently publishes products for PC, PlayStation, and Game Boy Color, as well as numerous titles for Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, and many other classic systems. Visit them at www.telegames.com for more information. Intellivision Productions is a publisher and developer with direct roots to classic video games--the company is run by members of the Blue Sky Rangers, the world-famous programming team that developed games for the Intellivision, Atari and Colecovision consoles at Mattel Electronics in the early 1980s. They've re-released many of these classic games in collections for the PC, Mac and PlayStation, with more to come. Their collections have been widely praised for their extensive historical and technical background information and video interviews. "We think the classic games are even more fun after you've learned how they were created--the blood, sweat, tears and alcohol," said Keith Robinson, President of Intellivision Productions and himself one of the original 1980's programmers. "That's why we love being part of the Classic Gaming Expo--they invite the pioneers of the industry to come and share their horror stories. It's great fun and adds to the whole gaming experience." Digital Eclipse, a developer, publisher and distributor of interactive software titles for PC, Dreamcast, Playstation and Game Boy Color, is well known throughout the classic gaming community as the leader in the development of classic software titles. The Emeryville, California-based company has been responsible for the production of such titles as Atari Arcade Hits 1 & 2, Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits for various formats, Shockwave's Midway Classics On-Line Collection, and Klax, Paperboy, Joust/Defender, Marble Madness, Rampart and 720 for Game Boy Color. Considering the large number of classic titles that we develop each year, sponsoring Classic Gaming Expo 2000 is a given," said Mike Mika, Creative Director for Digital Eclipse. "Not only are many of our products geared toward the classic game player, but we're big fans of classic games ourselves. We're delighted to be a contributor to Classic Gaming Expo 2000, and look forward to catching up with our old friends." Classic Gaming Expo is the industry's only annual event that is dedicated to celebrating the history of electronic entertainment, bringing together industry pioneers, gaming enthusiasts and the media for the ultimate in learning, game-playing and networking. Classic Gaming Expo is a production of CGE Services, Corp. (www.cgexpo.com) =~=~=~= A-ONE's Headline News The Latest in Computer Technology News Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson Government Files Final Order to Split Microsoft The U.S. government on Friday refiled its sweeping plan to break Microsoft into two, including technical suggestions from the presiding judge that set the stage for his final ruling in the landmark antitrust case as early as next week. The government's filing came in the form of an order which District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson could sign and issue, mandating the eventual breakup of Microsoft and restrictions on conduct starting in 90 days. It was almost identical to the government plan filed late last month, except that it added several minor suggestions from Jackson and corrected several typographical errors. The government proposal would split Microsoft into one company that manufactures operating systems and a second that makes everything else -- notably the dominant Microsoft Web browser. A breakup of Microsoft would be the harshest antitrust penalty leveled against a U.S. corporation since AT&T agreed to spin off the regional ``baby bells" in 1982. In the case of Microsoft, the judge would delay the breakup until the software giant finished appealing its case. In the meantime, the company would face restrictions on its conduct starting 90 days after the final judgement is filed -- a change from the 30 days in the earlier draft. Microsoft is expected to ask an appeals court to suspend those provisions. Shortly after the government refiling was announced on Friday, Microsoft said it would delay by three weeks its strategy on the next generation Windows operating system. The company cited the expected court decree as its reason for the delay. Microsoft will file comments on the remedy Wednesday, and a spokesman said that it is clear the case is about to move to the appeals process. ``We are confident the law and the facts are on our side," said Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray. Jackson moved into high gear on the case at a hearing earlier this week, which Microsoft lawyers had expected to be the first of many routine hearings on a penalty. But Jackson surprised all sides by probing and exploring possible ways to break up the company -- at one point considering a three-way breakup -- before telling the government to get the final order ready for him quickly. During the hearing, Jackson spent time nit-picking the draft government proposal, at times sounding like an editor helping put a document into final form. In an introduction to its changes, the government also took the opportunity to blast Microsoft's approach to penalties as "a cynical ploy calculated to raise diversionary issues." The government said, ``Microsoft was not forthright" even at as late a stage as this week's hearing. For example, the government said that although Microsoft wanted more hearings before the judge decided on a penalty, it did not get specific about witnesses until after the judge said there would be none. Once the judge ruled there would be no more hearings, Microsoft announced that it would have offered Chairman Bill Gates and President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer as witnesses. Had Gates and Ballmer actually appeared as witnesses, they would have been subject to cross examination and the government could have obtained more e-mails and other materials they had written. Microsoft Files Last Word in Landmark Trial Microsoft again slammed the government's proposal to break up the company today, a last-minute move before the final ruling in the celebrated case. In a court filing this [Wednesday] afternoon, Microsoft repeated its stand that breaking the company into two pieces is extreme and exceeds the trial record. Microsoft further tried to amend the government's proposal to open some of its Windows software source code to the public. The suggestions are essential to protecting its intellectual property rights, the company said. Today's filing revises an earlier proposal by the software giant and marks the last word by Microsoft and the Justice Department in the two-year trial. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is expected to issue a final ruling Friday, though his decision could be handed down as early as tomorrow. In April, Jackson issued his initial ruling largely siding with the government. The judge determined that Microsoft abused its monopoly in the operating system market to thwart competition for other products, notably the Internet browser from Netscape Communications. Jackson's final judgment will represent his solution for preventing Microsoft from further abusing its monopoly. Microsoft is expected to appeal the decision and the case is likely to end up in the Supreme Court as soon as this year or as long as two years. "The government's proposed final judgment is defective in numerous respects, making the document vague and ambiguous," Microsoft lawyers wrote in today's filing. "The government conceded (in May) that Microsoft had raised some 'legitimate questions of interpretation' regarding the proposal to split the company. Microsoft also contended it was denied due process. "Suffice it to say that it was Microsoft's position and understanding that the hearing on May 24, 2000, was to be the beginning--not the end--of proceedings on the issue of relief-Microsoft believed, and still believes, that its position and understanding were well-founded in both law and fact." The most important portion of today's filing offers corrections to the government's proposal for opening the source code of Windows. During a court hearing a week ago, Microsoft lead attorney John Warden said the government's proposal, as written, would allow competitors free access to the source code to Windows and Office. Warden identified 14 ambiguous terms in the government's first draft of the proposal that troubled the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker. "You can't hem in the source code once it's disclosed," he told Jackson last Wednesday. While Microsoft asserts the government's entire remedy plan is excessive, its proposed changes are acceptance of an inevitably harsh ruling and the possibility that some restrictions will be placed on it during the appeals process, said University of Baltimore Law School professor Bob Lande. "Some or all of the conduct restrictions could go into effect pending appeal, so they want to define it," he said. "That's so much the logical thing to do if you're Microsoft. There's at least some chance an appellate court might not stem all of it or some of it pending appeal." Microsoft also offered a cover brief that addressed the government's perception of an "Offer of Proof" the software maker introduced last week in court. In the filing, made immediately after Jackson refused Microsoft's request for more time to review the government's proposal, the company asked for up to six months to review affidavits the government used in drafting its remedy proposal and to depose government experts. The document, which apparently lays some of the groundwork for an appeal, states that Microsoft was not given enough time to address the government's remedy proposal and covers some issues it would have addressed during an extended remedy proceeding. Today, Microsoft submitted additional Offers of Proof with its filing. "Microsoft has essentially given up on this judge, and they're addressing the appeals court here," said Rich Gray, an intellectual property attorney with Outside General Counsel Silicon Valley in Menlo Park, Calif. Microsoft responded to the government's final remedy plan, or revised proposed final judgment, filed on Friday. The Justice Department and 17 of 19 states would like to break the software giant into two companies--one controlling operating systems and the other software applications--and impose additional restrictions on the Windows operations business practices. Jackson could issue his final judgment as early as tomorrow, which would be 60 days from his ruling and the arbitrary period he set up for concluding the remedy process. But if Jackson plans to substantially change the government's remedy plan or issue an opinion with it, he could take longer. But the government's proposal is ready to sign, if Jackson so chooses, and to be entered as the final judgment in the case. The judge could also delete sections he thinks are inappropriate, or accept some or all of Microsoft's changes. Based on last week's hearing, Jackson appears to be leaning toward breaking up the software company. He even expressed interest in a three-way split. Any changes he would make to the government's proposal are not likely to free Microsoft from divestiture, Lande said. Microsoft Judge Extends Case at Government Request The judge in the Microsoft case granted the government more time in the trial Thursday, after it unexpectedly said it might incorporate a few of Microsoft's suggestions into its proposal to split the firm. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson gave the government until Monday to provide its observations about Microsoft Corp.'s latest filing, which had been assumed to be its last. After that, Microsoft will have until Wednesday to add its views. The Microsoft filing criticized the government's proposals for the break-up and for temporary conduct restrictions, and made extensive suggestions for changing them. ``Some number of those seem to make some sense to us, and we would like the opportunity to go through those in detail and to give the court our view on that," government lawyer David Boies said in a telephone call with the judge and Microsoft, according to an official court transcript. Boies said the government would take Microsoft's points, "at least the points we agree with, and try to advise the court of our agreement and why we agree to them." In New York, Justice antitrust chief Joel Klein told reporters that only a few at most would make the cut. ``We requested the opportunity to analyze those suggestions and there may be a few that are acceptable to us," Klein said. Boies said the government also wanted to explain briefly why it disagreed with many of Microsoft's suggestions. That could help the government on appeal, instead of permitting the Microsoft critique of its remedy to go unanswered. Microsoft lawyer John Warden asked that the company be permitted to respond. The judge -- who has made it clear he wants to get the case completed as soon as possible -- agreed but asked for assurances there be no further extensions. ``And that will bring it to a close?" Jackson said. ``That will bring it to a close, your honor," replied Boies. The government proposal would divide Microsoft into one company that manufactures operating systems and a second that makes everything else -- notably the dominant Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser and its Office suite of applications. The breakup would take effect when appeals courts finish with the case. In the meantime, the government has proposed tough conduct remedies that would begin 90 days after the judge rules. The company will ask an appeals court to prevent the conduct remedies from taking effect. Microsoft lambasted the government proposal as defective, vague and ambiguous and made dozens of suggestions. ``We view our revisions to the government's plan as putting lipstick on a pig," said Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray. "It's still irresponsible, it's still excessive, it's still damaging to the high-tech economy." Nonetheless, Murray said, the additional filing will give the government time ``to correct some of the defects in its proposal that we pointed out in our filing earlier this week." The judge had ruled April 3 that the company broke U.S. antitrust law by abusing its monopoly in personal computer operating systems to the detriment of consumers and other companies. During a one-day hearing on remedies last week, Jackson explored possible methods of breaking up the firm, including a three-way split. In the end, he asked the government to provide him a ``clean copy" of its proposed remedy. The government filed that document Friday and Microsoft responded Wednesday. Test Version of AOL 6.0 Found Online America Online followers have obtained copies of a test version of an unreleased upgrade to its client software, AOL 6.0, and are distributing it over the Internet, the company has confirmed. The AOL project, formerly code-named K2 for Karakorum, has been dogged by security lapses. One teenager, who calls himself "Kenton," says he has been legally obtaining details of the project for months, posting them on his Web site, and sharing them with other AOL aficionados intent on tracking every step of the project. An "alpha" version of AOL 6.0 was available for download at Techpages.com. The online giant confirmed that the download was an alpha test version of its upcoming AOL 6.0 software. "We are investigating how this was obtained, and we'll take the appropriate action," said AOL spokesman Rich D'Amato. Kenton insists he did nothing wrong in gaining access to the software. In an interview today, he said he made the download public as a statement that the company should beef up security for its internal software tests. "I'd like to stress that companies like AOL need to take more actions to prevent security lapses and breaches," he wrote in an interview conducted over AOL Instant Messenger. Kenton said that the alpha version can be found in a file library accessible to any AOL staff member or volunteer. He said that he was a community leader for AOL, but was let go when the online giant scrapped the program for underage volunteers in July 1999. Kenton and the company have jockeyed for months over online postings of AOL documentation and various "builds" of AOL 6.0. As previously reported, Kenton in January posted documents describing AOL's upcoming 6.0 software, spurring the company's attorneys to fire off a three-page letter requesting he take down the material. D'Amato said there has been no update on AOL's legal initiative. Despite past warnings, Kenton today posted the link to the test software, and included a screen shot of AOL 6.0's welcome screen. Citing legal concerns, however, he said he is not hosting the most recent download on his own Web site. Techpages, which is hosting the download, features technology-related news and reviews. Techpages is run by Ryan Neeley, also a student, whom Keaton says is an "Internet contact" of his. Neeley could not be reached for comment. Adobe Discusses PageMill's Fate The company has ceased development of the consumer-level Web-authoring package but plans to offer an easy path to the forthcoming GoLive 5.0. Adobe Systems Inc. this week acknowledged that it has pulled the plug on development of PageMill, its consumer-level Web site-creation tool. Nevertheless, Adobe said it hopes to make PageMill fans an upgrade offer they can't refuse. Responding to an initial report on British Mac site Macworld UK, Raine Bergstrom, group product manager for Adobe's Internet Products Group, told MacCentral that Version 3.0 is indeed the end of the road of the consumer product. The San Jose, Calif., company will instead focus its development and marketing efforts on the next version of GoLive, the high-end Web-authoring application Adobe acquired in January 1999. (Both packages include Mac and Windows versions.) "We feel that the GoLive code base is one that's more a 2000, a millennium, code base, and this is what we've been focusing our development efforts on," Bergstrom said. "The professional audience is the one that we've had the most success with. But we're not abandoning our PageMill users. PageMill 3.0 will still be offered, and we'll continue to support it." According to Adobe's Web site, PageMill is no longer available from the company's online store. Bergstrom said Adobe hopes that longtime PageMill users are ready to move up to a higher-level product, specifically the upcoming GoLive 5.0. He said the company has made a number of interface changes intended to make GoLive seem more like an Adobe product and render it more appealing to PageMill users. Adobe In addition, Bergstrom said, special pricing for GoLive 5 will be offered to PageMill owners (even those who got the product bundled with an iMac). "PageMill users will be treated just as if they had purchased GoLive in the past," Bergstrom said. "We're treating all our Web authoring customers the same. For those who got PageMill with an iMac, it's a great deal because GoLive is a $300 product." GoLive 5.0 is due in the second quarter of the year for about $300. It will introduce new features such as an on-board interactive editor for editing multimedia, "360Code" that enables control over any Web design source code, beefed-up site planning and management, asset check in and check out through WebDAV support, and "smart links" that provide drag-and-drop object sharing with other Adobe products. A Dynamic Link feature will simplify incorporation of dynamic database and e-commerce capabilities. The departure of PageMill, like Claris HomePage before it, seems to leave a sizeable hole in the market for consumer-focused Web building applications. Bergstrom said all users who develop Web pages for business purposes and "more than once every few months" will eventually use a competitive tool such as GoLive or Macromedia Dreamweaver. Bergstrom said he feels consumers who simply wish to produce personal home pages will create them with the tools provided by other programs such as Microsoft Word or AppleWorks, and through online building tools such as Apple Computer Inc.'s HomePage, a component of its iTools services. "Consumers want to share their memories online, show their pictures to friends, talk about their hobbies, that sort of thing," Bergstrom said. "You may see consumer Web building tools offered as a bundle, but I really don't see many being offered as shrink-wrapped solutions anymore." Instant Messaging Start-up Connects AIM, ICQ Start-up instant messaging firm Odigo says it has released new software that will tear down the barrier between America Online's popular AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and ICQ. The announcement could mark the first instance in which people who use the two services can communicate with each other. AOL owns both instant messaging services. Since acquiring ICQ in June 1998, the online giant has maintained a wall between the two services, but it has always acknowledged it would let customers communicate with each other if there was enough demand. Now it seems New York-based Odigo has taken matters into its own hands. The company says it has created software that not only connects people who use its own IM service to AIM and ICQ users, but also lets customers of AOL's two services talk to each other. AIM and ICQ are the leading IM services, with 91 million registrants in AIM's Buddy List and 62.4 million registered ICQ users, according to an April AOL earnings report. Odigo has 600,000 registered users. Accessing AIM customers is a logical step as the company tries to boost its service's popularity, according to Avner Ronen, an Odigo co-founder. "Our users have also asked for AOL interoperability, and we've done that," Ronen said. AOL declined to comment on Odigo's new software. With the new software, Odigo acts as a meeting ground for customers. People who download the software, dubbed Odigo 2.5, can sign in to their AIM and ICQ accounts simultaneously. The software then loads all of their buddy lists, and they are able to chat with anyone on those lists. Odigo users do not need to have AIM or ICQ downloaded on their PCs, but they do need to have screen names from both services to access their respective Buddy Lists. The release is the latest move by New York-based Odigo to communicate with AOL's instant messaging users through its back door. The company in January released a version of its instant messaging software that was interoperable with AOL's ICQ. Odigo is one of many start-ups attempting to circumvent AOL's grip on instant messaging. Swedish firm My Solutions recently released software dubbed MyCQ that allows people to simultaneously log on to multiple messaging products and communicate on all of them through a single interface. Other start-ups are developing ways to integrate the functions of different messaging products. These include open-source instant messenger Jabber, Everybuddy and Bantu. While the idea may catch on, efforts to tap into AIM's list of users without prior consent historically have sparked swift action from the online giant. Last summer, when Microsoft launched its MSN Messenger product, the software maker allowed its customers to communicate with AIM users by tapping into its protocols. AOL quickly blocked Microsoft and criticized the company's unauthorized move as a "hack" into its servers. The two companies played cat-and-mouse in the ensuing months until Microsoft threw in the towel last November. Other Internet companies have tried forcing AOL's hand in opening its coveted audience to outsiders. Disagreements between AOL and rivals including CMGI's Tribal Voice and AT&T have spilled into open warfare over unauthorized attempts by these companies to tap into AIM's database of usernames. AOL has said it is willing to work with anyone in the industry to bring instant messaging to consumers. The company has struck deals with more than a dozen companies--including IBM, Novell, Lycos, EarthLink, Apple Computer and Juno Online Services--to integrate AIM technology into their products. But critics allege AOL has backed away from assisting the development of an industry standard for universal messaging. They say its licensing deals only provide for the further deployment of AIM and do not offer a way for rival services to interoperate. Many of AOL's instant messaging rivals are getting impatient. Last week, Yahoo said it would begin exploring ways to join forces with other companies to develop an instant messaging standard. AOL rivals have also asked federal regulators to treat the Internet giant's refusal to open its network to outsiders as a key competitive issue relating to its pending merger with Time Warner. CMGI's iCast and Tribal Voice filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission last week, asking officials to "encourage" AOL to open its network. Whether Odigo will receive a similar response from AOL remains to be seen. Odigo's Ronen said the company has tried contacting AOL, but the online giant has not returned its phone calls. Nonetheless, Ronen does not see anything wrong with forcing interoperability on AOL. "They haven't blocked ICQ, and we are grateful for that, and our users are grateful for that," Ronen said. "I don't see any reason for them blocking us." But Jupiter Communications analyst Seamus McAteer said Odigo's move is likely to bring action from AOL. As it stands, the AIM and ICQ networks are its own property, and tapping into their servers could spark AOL to block access. "AOL owns the infrastructure; it paid a lot of money to acquire ICQ," McAteer said. "If I'm a business manager at AOL and I'm seeing somebody cannibalizing my relationship with my user base, I'm going to start raising red flags." Apple Discusses the Future of QuickTime With QuickTime being licensed by Kodak for integration into upcoming digital cameras, expect to see Apple's cross-platform multimedia technology licensed by other companies. As a result, the underestimated gem could overcome the misperception that it's "just" a media player. The licensing agreement allows Kodak to build and sell digital cameras that allows the user to create video clips in the popular cross-platform QuickTime. The company will doubtless use QuickTime integration as a marketing feature. As a result, some end users may be surprised to see how versatile QT really is. But "power users" won't be shocked. "Professionals and QuickTime developers will see Kodak's use of QuickTime as a natural extension of the technology's flexibility," says Frank Casanova, Apple's director and product marketing manager for QuickTime. The upcoming Kodak cameras will capture all images in the QuickTime file format. You can then plug the camera into your Mac or Wintel machine and download your photos. If you have the QuickTime Media Player on your system, you can view your work and do some basic photo editing (or much more, including add special effects, if you've forked out the US $30 to upgrade to QuickTime Pro). You can also use any of the entry level or professional graphics packages to fine tune your photos since all these products can handle the QuickTime format. Once you have your photos whipped into shape, you can post them on the Web, e-mail them to friends, use them with Apple's online iTools, save them on removable media, or do anything you wish with them. Though Kodak contacted Apple about licensing QuickTime a few months back when they were contemplating the design of the upcoming products, don't be surprised to see other companies licensing the Apple technology for digital photography (and other uses) in the near future. "We believe this is just the tip of the iceberg because QuickTime is so flexible and so easy to 'push' in various directions," Casanova says. "Now that Kodak has taken the first step in licensing QuickTime in this way, I think you'll find others will follow. And we welcome that business." Also look for Apple's next version of QuickTime to make inroads into new areas. At last week's Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple gave developers a peek at its next version of QuickTime, which will be available this summer. The new version -- which, despite commonly being referred to as QuickTime 5.0, has no official moniker or number yet -- includes cross-platform support for MPEG-1 (on which the MP3 format is based) and MPEG-2 (on which the DVD standard is based). Casanova says that, since the announcement, Apple has received "overwhelming support" for those plans. Many universities have MPEG-1 content and soon QuickTime will be able to play such content back and/or stream it, he says. MPEG-2 offers DVD quality audio and video. MPEG-2 has been a popular format for videos presented on corporate Intranets, he says. By offering MPEG-2, the next version of QuickTime can also be used by the movie industry to handle tasks such as DVD quality streaming of dailies. On the other hand, Casanova says when it comes to end users and the Internet, the Sorenson codec is "way better" than MPEG-2 at any data rate. So why worry with MPEG support? It's been around longer and there's a lot of MPEG content around, he says. "But as people come onto the platform, we find they tend to use Sorenson codec because of its incredible fidelity," Casonva adds. Sorenson Video is a QuickTime compatible video codec designed for developers of applications or Web sites that require compressed video segments. It offers superior video quality at lower data rates than other competing compression technologies. The basic edition of the encoder and the full decoder of the Sorenson video codec are built into QuickTime so you only need QT to watch Sorenson Video clips. The next version of QuickTime will also offer support for Macromedia's Flash 4 format for Web animation (currently, only Flash 3 support is provided) and will feature QDesign software that has been optimized to take advantage of the Power Mac G4's Velocity Engine to encode music up to three times faster. Plus, there's an enhanced QuickTime VR playback function that provides unlimited spherical views of virtual-reality scenes dubbed "cubic panoramas." In a QTVR movie, a panoramic image is mapped to a "virtual" cylinder, creating the illusion that you're inside the scene. The new QTVR will take it a step further, making possible panoramas in which the image is mapped to a cube or sphere. This means you'll be able to look up and down, left or right. "The evolution of QuickTime VR to play back cubic panoramas takes QTVR to the next logical level," Casanova says. "There's a passionate group of developers and engineers in place today. This community is looking forward to the summer time frame and the QTVR enhancements." All the upcoming enhancements to QuickTime means an increasing number of streaming partners and delivery networks for Apple, says Casanova. And the company will continue to integrate new standards into QuickTime. RealNetworks has been making lots of noise this week with new partnerships and new versions of its multimedia technologies. And though the Real products have more users than QuickTime, Casanova feels Apple's superior technology is doing pretty darned well. "Last year over 50 million copies of QuickTime 4 were downloaded," he says. "It took Real five years to do what we did in one. And it took Microsoft to do that with its media player. We've grown at an unbelievable rate, but haven't really sent out a lot of press releases about it. Real makes products that are very good; we just believe that QuickTime is better." He says Apple offers the only industry standards based streaming format in the world. QuickTime supports multiple operating systems, all for free. That's right. Unlike Real and Microsoft, whose streaming server licensing fees aren't cheap, there's no fee unless a company wants to join the family of QuickTime content providers. Casanova says that Apple has done "incredibly well" with "some of the biggest players on the planet" though Real had a three year head start in promoting its streaming technology. He says that QuickTime 4.x has been very successful and that the technology continues to attract dozens of new content providers and partners to the "QuickTime ecosystem." Casanova adds that you can count on seeing many more QuickTime-enabled sites in the months ahead. The director of QuickTime admits that there has appeared to be QuickTime content quality control issues following the release of version 4.1.2 on the heels of QT 4.1.1. He says that 4.1.1 had some issues that eluded testers, but some developers discovered. "It's unfortunate, but this is an Internet-based technology," Casanova says. "You can put a new version on the Web where it can be downloaded. The problem was solved, the hole plugged, and we've moved on. We hate it, but it happens to everyone." In "moving on," Apple's QuickTime team will continue to drive "the best and most interesting technologies at an incredible rate," he says. New products, new technologies, and new customers are part of QuickTime's future, Casanova continues. "Even Microsoft licensed QuickTime for some of its titles because it is the best solution," he adds. Apple's QuickTime 4 player for Macintosh and Windows users is available as a free download from http://www.apple.com/quicktime. Music Software Firm Debuts Mac Product MusicMatch Inc., a maker of software for playing and organizing music on a computer, said on Monday is set to unveil a version for Apple Computer Corp.'s line of machines, targeting a group of avid multimedia fans it says have been overlooked in the fast-growing space. The privately held San Diego company also said it had won investment from computer chip giant Intel Corp. in a deal that boosts its war chest for battle against rival music software makers Microsoft Corp. and RealNetworks Inc. In addition, MusicMatch jumped into a heated statistical fray in the digital media industry, holding up its own set of figures that it asserted showed its own music software leads the industry. So-called ``jukebox" software has become increasingly popular among computer users in recent months, letting them record CDs, download music from the Internet, organize songs into playlists and transfer them to portable digital music players. Although sometimes overlooked in recent months as Microsoft and Real duke it out with new products, MusicMatch helped pioneer the jukebox concept more than two years ago, beating both of its Seattle-area competitors to market. With its new Jukebox 1.0 for the Macintosh, MusicMatch said it will bring those features to owners of Apple computers such as the popular iMac. Neither Microsoft nor Real make jukeboxes for the Mac platform. ``A lot of the music industry uses Macs because Apple has a real creative interface, and we wanted to get some more visibility and get out there," Bob Ohlweiler, senior vice president of business development for MusicMatch, said in an interview. ``In retail, they are focused on multimedia and ease of use, it seemed like a natural fit for us, and there's virtually no major product with the robustness of MusicMatch on the music side of Apple," Ohlweiler said. The software will be available from MusicMatch's Web site at http://www.musicmatch.com starting on Tuesday. Like MusicMatch's PC-based jukebox, the Mac version would be free, and would be the first to offer free CD-quality recording, with a sampling rate of 320-kilobits per second (kbps), more than three times as good as other versions, Ohlweiler said. Most jukeboxes offer 96-kbps recording for free, but users must pay around $30 for an upgrade to get CD-quality, generally considered to be at 128-kbps and above. Ohlweiler said the Mac product would give MusicMatch 600,000 to 800,000 new users in the first year of its release. An estimated 6.5 million PC owners use MusicMatch's software. While that is far less than the 34 million registered users Real claims for its jukebox software, MusicMatch countered that it isn't size that matters, it's usage. The company cited figures from Internet usage tracking firm Media Metrix showing that MusicMatch customers used their software about three times more than Real Jukebox customers. ``As we start getting into monetizing digital music on the Internet, it's really about usage. And having an application sitting on the desktop not being used is not as valuable," Ohlweiler said. Real has also feuded with Microsoft over other software that plays video and audio over the Internet. Real generally boasts the most users but Microsoft points to its own growing market share as evidence it will become the dominant force. On the Intel investment, Ohlweiler declined to reveal how much the deal was worth, saying only, ``We're in an extremely good financial position, but the additional invest from Intel shows they think MusicMatch is an important partner." New Features for Photoshop 6? Adobe Photoshop 6, the next version of the market-leading image-editing package, will sport a raft of interface improvements along with new layer and type functions, according to an 11-page "Detailed Feature Guide" distributed to beta testers. MacUser UK reported details from the document, which has not been released to the public. The new layer functions include Layer Styles that make it easier to apply layer effects, as well as improved bevel controls and new Overlay and Stroke effects. New masking functions will let you apply layer masks and clipping paths to the same layer. Seeking to address Photoshop's glut of palettes, the upgrade will include a palette "well." You'll be able to resize the Brush and Swatch palettes, dock all palettes vertically and hide all palettes by hitting shift-tab. The Tool palette will include menus containing each tool's icon, name and shortcut key. A Preset Manager will let you create sharable libraries of presets for brushes, gradients, layer styles, swatches and other elements. Photoshop 6 will also sport enhanced text features, letting you edit type on the canvas and convert text layers into outlines. The program, reportedly borrowing some of InDesign's type capabilities, will also provide new controls for justification, character width and height and other typographic settings. ImageReady, which will reportedly remain bundled with Photoshop as a separate program, will offer tighter integration with GoLive and improved features for creating rollovers. MacUser UK also reported that the upgrade implements a PDF-based workflow system that supports voice annotations. Users will be able to export Photoshop documents as PDF files with layers and transparency intact. Juno Files Suit Against NetZero, Qualcomm Internet services provider Juno Online Services Inc. said Thursday it has filed suit in Delaware federal court seeking monetary damages and an injunction against NetZero Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. for alleged patent infringement. Qualcomm is the publisher of Eurdora e-mail software currently being distributed by NetZero. The patent protects technology that Juno said it developed to enable advertisements and other content to be displayed to an Internet user while that user is offline. It expands Juno's revenue opportunities while minimizing telecommunications costs by allowing the company to display advertising to Web access subscribers even while they read and write e-mail offline, rather than only while they are online. The latest version of Qualcomm's Eudora e-mail software includes a setting called ``sponsor mode" that lets advertising be displayed while the user reads and writes e-mail. NetZero, a provider of free Internet access, has begun distributing the new version of Eudora and encouraging its subscribers to use it, Juno said in a statement. Juno said the patent was one of several issued to it in 1998 and claims NetZero and Qualcomm are infringing the patent by producing and distributing software that implements Juno's offline architecture. NetZero and Qualcomm spokeswomen were not immediately available for comment. =~=~=~= Atari Online News, Etc.is a weekly publication covering the entire Atari community. Reprint permission is granted, unless otherwise noted at the beginning of any article, to Atari user groups and not for profit publications only under the following terms: articles must remain unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of each article reprinted. Other reprints granted upon approval of request. 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