Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 42

6E Reno Gazette-Journal Monday, September 19, 1994 INTERFACE Big changes coming to the Internet when NSF pulls plug Th info avenue: The Reno Gazette Journal computer page would like to hear your suggestions, story ideas, tips, tetters, flames, whatever. Send manto rgJlibcom.dps.com on Internet, leave a message on the library BBS at (702) 785 4191, Guv Richardson on CompuServe 7075 1 ,3525 or AOL, Doc Guy Snail mail: Home Computing, Reno Gazette-Journal, P.O. Box 22000. Reno. Nev.

89520-2000. Fax: 788 6458. By Elizabeth Weise ASSOCIATED PRESS In the beginning, there were only supposed to be 'acceptable use policy-compliant' messages on the Internet. The idea was that the Internet, much of which had been developed by various government agencies, was supposed to be used for research purposes only. The National Science Foundation formulated an "acceptable use policy" for what could be sent over its high-speed trunk lines the backbone of the Internet.

If you were going to use it to send a message, the message had to be related strictly to research or education. But as the Net expanded, suddenly lots of people who from any point A to any point B. "When NSFNET unravels, that ill change. The default fallback connectivity will evaporate with it," Washburn says. All the little guys who run networks that cover a county instead of a country will have to go and talk toother networks around the world and set up arrangements to exchange tralfic with each other.

One thing about part of the Net being publicly funded was that to use any of it, you had to allow everyone to use your wires. The message of a researcher at a college in Texas to a researcher in Maine might go through 15 different systems, but because it was partially publicly funded, no one could demand "tolls." With the public part gone, everything becomes fair game. weren't doing research wanted to be able to send e-mail over those NSF backbone lines but under the doctrine of acceptable use they weren't allowed to. Businesses anted to talk to each other and the rest of the world but they couldn't because NSF, pretty reasonably, didn't think the government needed to be paying to help Boeing send e-mail to General Electric. So in July of 1991 several regional networks got together and decided to fund their own coast-to-coast backbone lines, so that they could send non-research messages and not have to worry about the NSF's acceptable use policies.

They called themselves the Commercial Internet Exchange. The problem was, having two networks went against the notion of a universal network. "People said, 'This is hampering our chances to become a vibrant, effective, efficient regional said Dan Van Bclleghem, program manager for NSFNET. So the National Science Foundation decided to get out of the backbone business. When NSFNET pulls its own plug sometime before the end of this year, the Net will go public in ways that no one can yet predict.

"It's a very significant event," said CIX executive director Bill Washburn. "Even though the Internet is often referred to as chaotic or an anarchy, there has always been an clement of organization that emanates from the NSFNET component." Up until now, you could pretty much find a way to get a message Name changes at Apple, Big Blue I 0 i i BBS Online goil So you are waiting anxiously, breathlessly and tastelessly for Madonna's Oct. 25 release of her new album, "Bedtime Stones." There's good news. You can whet your appetite downloading a sound clip from the album's, "Secret." It'll be on the Warner Bros. Records forums on America Online, CompuServe and Internet's Worldwide Web.

"Secret" will be introduced with a message from Madonna, and users will also be able to access album artwork and new release information. Online subscnbers can enter the "preview" file in America Online by going to Keyword in their menu and typing "Warner," or on CompuServe from any prompt by typing "Go WBPreview" or on the Net at HTTP:iuma.comWarner. CALENDAR CLASSES TMCC TMCC Computer Training Center at Old Town Mall. "Beginning Intermediate Word for Windows" 8 am. to noon Sept 19-21; $140.

"Beginning Intermediate Ouattro Pro for Windows" 1-5 p.m. Sept 19-21; $140. "Beginning Intermediate WordPerfect 6 0 for DOS" 1 5p.m. Sept 19-21, $140. "Beginning Intermediate AmiPro for Windows" 1 5 p.m.

Sept 19-21. $140. "Beginning Intermediate Lotus 123" 5 30-9 30p.m Sept 19-21. $140. "Quickbooks Ouickpay" m.

Sept 19-21. $140. "AutoCAD Release 12-Level 2A" 69 p.m. Sept 19,21,22 9 a.m. to 4 m.

Sept 24; $275. "Beginning Windows 31 8 a to noon Sept 22 1 23. $100. "Beginning DOS 6.2" 8 a m. to noon Sept 22 23, $100.

"Intro to Personal Computing" 1-5 p.m. Sept 22 a 23; $100. "Intermediate WordPerfect tor Windows 60" 15pm. Sept 22 23; $100. "LAN Survival for Users" 8 a m.

to noon Sept 23; $55. "Intro to Pagemaker for Macintosh" 8 a m. to noon Sept 23 24; $100 "Beginning Excel for Windows" 9 a to 4 p.m. Sept 24; $95. "Begining Lotus for Windows" 9 a m.

to4 p.m. Sept 24; $95. Details: 829-9000. Institute for Business Industry Workshops TMCC Old Town Mall. Details: 829 9000.

MS Project 3.0 tor Windows A beginning-intermediate course How to plan, track, control and generate reports for projects. To be held Sept 26-28 from 8 a m. to noon. Cost $140. Quickbook Quickpay About bookkeeping and accounting To be held Sept 19-21 from 5 30-9 30 Cost: $140.

Lan Survival For Users In conjunction with the Professional Business Studies division. Prerequisite General familiarity with PC software. To be held Sept 23 from 8 a to noon Cost: $55 Word for Windows For beginners, about MS Word for Windows A Saturday class to be held Oct8from9a to4p m.Cost $95. Lotus for Windows For beginners, about spreadsheets. A Saturday class to be held Sept 24 from 9 a m.

to 4 Cost: $95 Excel tor Windows For beginners, about spreadsheets A Saturday class to be held Sept 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost: $95. Sept. 26 Database Management To be field at Career Choices from 1-5 p.m., plus a four- hour lab.

Cost: $95. Registration: 826-8828. Ongoing Computer Training A monthly course beginning the first week of each month sponsored by TMCC community services to help improve computer and English skills. The course teaches typing and keyboarding using WordPerfect, MS-DOS and Lotus 1 2 3. To be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 69pm at Old Town Mall.

Cost: $35. Preregistration required: 829-9010. Mar" OS "When provider A has to negotiate privately with providers or it's very unclear hat those negotiations will entail especially if provider A is small, and provider is huge," says Washburn. "What if provider says 'Who are you? Why are we talking to you? We'll just go out and take all your The 75 provider members of CIX have all agreed to take all the tralfic any other member sends. But there's no guarantee that others will.

hasn't signed on," Washburn notes. NSFNET's date with oblivion keeps getting moved back. But when it does happen, look for some major changes coming to a modem near you. Elizabeth Weise can be reached at weisewell.sf.ca. us Gay and Lesbian BBS voted among best in nation This is not what you would expect from propellor-heads.

The Gay and Lesbian Information Bureau, a bulletin board system in Arlington, known as GLIB, this month was once again voted one of the nation's 1 0 best in a readers' poll by Boardwatch Magazine. Boardwatch is not on the cutting edge of societal concerns. It is a 7-year-old magazine aimed at decidedly nerdy systems operators. It features such thrilling articles as "Digital Help for Analog Users" and "Hayes Announces V.34 Modems." But because the magazine has kept up with the explosion of computer bulletin boards (60,000 or more to date around the nation), it keeps growing in spite of sometimes goofy layouts and rather how shall one put it? geeky prose. For three years, Boardwatch has asked readers to rate their favorite bulletin board.

And from the start GLIB was rated near the top, rising to No. 3 this year, according to the September edition. Editors say GLIB consistently wins points among finicky computerheads for having easy telephone access, good chat areas and features such as several hundred mug shots (so users can see photos of some of the folks they're schmoozing with). "They're doing something right," said Brian Gallagher, a Boardwatch editor. "Service is the thing people are looking for." Although some people assume GLIB is oriented toward sex, systems operator Jon Larimore insists GLIB is geared more toward community issues and routine techno-type stuff, such as providing IBM and MAC shareware.

The steamy image? "That 's a misconception. We're just like anyone else," said Larimore, who runs GLIB as a nonprofit communications system, available free to anyone. "We have a tremendous loyalty and -community spirit." GETTING THERE: To check out GLIB, have your modem dial (703) 578-4542 with settings at 8N1. Robert O'Harrow oharrowrtwp.com $399 $299 $119 $589 $285 $199 $949 $135 $199 $2250 Today: Apple changes Macintosh operating system logo and name; IBM pitches to home market. CUPERTINO.

Calif. (AP) Apple Computer Inc. is putting a new face on its Macintosh computers. The company ill announce today a new name and logo for the Macintosh operating system. The operating system will be know as Mac OS.

The logo, a blue rectangle showing a smiling face and the words "Mac OS," ill appear on Apple's products and literature. An operating system consists of software that controls a computer's basic functions, like opening a file, running programs, and keeping track of files. There has been intense industry speculation that Apple would begin selling its PowerPC operating system as an easy-to-operate competitor to Microsoft's Windows. The renaming of System 7.x to Mac OS would bring apple's nomenclature closer to the IBM-clone standard. Apple said the Mac OS designation would apply to future versions of the Macintosh operating system.

The company's new operating system, Macintosh System 7.5, will continue to be know under that name. Apple also planned to formally announce today it will let other companies make clones of its computers. Apple disclosed the that decision Friday. The move marks a departure for Apple, which has previously not licensed its technology. The new Mac OS logo is based on the famed "Happy Mac" icon but adds a profile so the face is at once seen from the front and the side.

IBM today joins other personal computer makers that give brand lines names like sports cars as the company rolls out consumer models for the important fall and holiday sales period. The seven Aptiva models, which started arriving in stores last week, are the first major change to IBM's consumer line since last fall. Most PC makers freshen up brand lines in a shorter period of NEW: Here is the new Mac OS system logo that Apple unveiled today to replace the classic "happy Mac." important to announce Pentium products because there is more and more play for them," Horaitis said. "That's not to say it's going to be at the sweet spot of pricing right away." The two Aptiva models with Pentium chips cost about $2,300 and $2,600, depending on hard drive size and other accessories. The 486 models range from 1 ,200 to 1 ,900.

Monitors are optional. Horaitis said IBM settled on the Aptiva moniker this summer. IBM usually names its machines with letters and numbers, such as RS-6000orPS-2. IBM, usually the No. 1 PC seller, trailed Compaq and Apple Computer Inc.

in sales during the first half of the year. With local reports time. "IBM is making a comeback in the consumer market because they lost momentum severely over the last three quarters," said Richard Zwetchkenbaum, an analyst at International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass. Like other manufacturers, IBM has made CD-ROM drives, stereo speakers and voice messaging software standard features in the new PCs.

The Aptiva models are powered by Intel Corp. 486 and Pentium microprocessors and have hard drive storage ranging from 270 to 727 megabytes. I BM has given them two exclusive communications features. The first, dubbed "Wake Up on Ring," allows the machine to take in a fax or answer the phone even when it is turned off. A feature called "Scheduler" lets a person program the machine for tasks like downloading a news summary from an on-line service before breakfast or sending a bunch of faxes.

As with Apple's AV Macs, some of the new IBM models come with voice recognition capability, allowing spoken commands for some simple tasks. Such features are not yet standard on PCs for businesses and are a sign that consumer demand is driving innovation. "What we've seen in the last year or so is that more and more of the new features come up in the consumer marketplace first," said Angelica Horaitis, director of consumer brands in IBM's personal computer division. "We thought it was very TRION 15" FLAT SCREEN SVGA MONITOR COMPAQ 14" SVGA COLOR MONITOR INTEL 14400 BAUD EXTERNAL FAX MODEM HEWLETT PACKARD DESKJET COLOR 560 HEWLETT PACKARD DESKTOP PORTABLE APC 400 WATT BATTERY BACKUP HEWLETT PACKARD LASERJET 4P APC 280 WATT BATTERY BACKUP COLORADO INTERNAL 250 MB TAPE BACKUP TOSHIBA 1910 DUAL SCAN COLOR NOTEBOOK DISCOVERY CD16 $349 Includes a Sound Blaster 16 upgradable stereo audio card, double speed CD-ROM drive, stereo speakers, microphone, and 15 software titles. EDUTAINMENT CD1 6 $469 Kit for the entire family includes the Sound Blaster 16 stereo audio card, double speed CD-ROM drive, stereo speakers, microphone and 23 titles including Quicken Deluxe CD-ROM.

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