The Philadelphia Inquirer du lieu suivant : Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 48

F4 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Thursday, December 24, 1998 Offbeat characters bedevil season of peace Lively and bloody, they offer twists on thievery, science amok, a plague and pork rinds. On Christmas Eve, you're full of holiday cheer. Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men. But do you have enough goodwill to open your heart and your hard drive to a thief, a heretic, a redneck and a nerdy scientist? Four recently released computer games will tax not only your system's capacity, but your wits and reflexes. The games are fast-paced, bloody, and not Technology in Brief Regulators go online to provide tip-offs to rip-offs Beware of hucksters bearing gifts of cut-rate stocks and dubious investments over the Internet, the Federal Trade Commission and other regulators warned this week.

In an effort to help investors avoid fishy investments touted in cyberspace, two U.S. agencies, as well as national associations and state regulators, surfed more than 400 Web sites last month looking for questionable offers. Their conclusion: People are being hit up for investments in everything from foreign currency, films and restaurants, to "offshore" offerings and insurance policies cashed in by the terminally ill. Buyers should watch, in particular, for investments that are alleged to be preapproved for individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or offshore investments that are supposedly tax-free, regulators said. And think twice about Web sites that ask investors to submit personal financial data online, officials warned.

"Claims that an investment is 'IRA-approved' are a tip-off to a rip-off," said Jodie Bernstein, director of FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "No government organization 'approves' IRA investments." The Commodities Futures Trading Commission said it reviewed hundreds of Web sites as part of its "Surf Day" on Nov. 12 and identified dozens to investigate. "These sites were promoting opportunities to invest in foreign currency and computer trading systems," the CFTC said. "Such sites can dangle the promise of quick riches at little risk," the agency said in a statement.

Kmart to sell software over the Internet for the faint-of-heart. They're not for children, either. Thief: The Dark Project, from Looking Glass Studios, is a gorgeous 3-D shooter that brings a new spin to the genre. In most Dennis McCauley tech.lifeplay Redneck Rampage Rides Again puts a good ol' boy in harm's way as he crashes a stolen UFO. It's less than state-of-the-art.

Kmart Corp. will begin selling software over the Internet and has made Digital River Inc. its exclusive provider of online software titles, as the discount retailer pushes to sell more goods on its Web site. E5 chunks occasionally drop from the ceiling. The game includes a tutorial utility.

As might be expected, Half-Life is for older gamers. It earns its Mature rating by being thoroughly bloody, although it does contain an optional setting that tones down the gore. Unlike most shooters', Heretic II from Activision uses a third-person, over-the-shoulder perspective. You play as Corvus, an elf searching for the cure to a plague that has ravaged his land. Like Half-Life, Heretic II is based on the Quake II gaming engine.

With such lineage, gamers can expect attractive 3-D levels, and Heretic II does not disappoint. The designers have done a good job of crafting a dark, forbidding atmosphere, making good use of sounds as well as graphics. As with the other shooters, Heretic II is definitely not for the younger set. Some rather gross special effects earn the game a well-justified rating. In the final analysis, Heretic II is enjoyable, if rather standard, fare.

If the impeachment hearings have you concerned about the Bubba factor, you'll probably want to avoid Redneck Rampage Rides Again, from Interplay. In the game, you take on the role of Leonard, a good ol' boy from Hickston, Ark. At the game's beginning, Leonard has swiped a UFO and crash-landed it in the desert near Area 51. He'll need to fight his way back to his hometown, battling bikers, aliens, and an assortment of odd creatures. The sequel to the original Redneck Rampage pulls out every backwoods gag imaginable, and then creates a few more.

Pork rinds, for example, are a health power-up. One major problem with the game is its overly linear plot. Monsters must be defeated in a definite sequence, or you cannot progress. A second problem lies with the graphics. Surprisingly, Redneck Rampage Rides Again is a DOS-based game, something we haven't seen often in the Windows 95 era.

Based on the aged Duke Nukem gaming engine, RRRA's look is way less than state-of-the art. Digital River, which helps software publishers sell their wares on the Internet, offers the world's largest online software database, Kmart said. Digital River's more than 131,000 software titles and other digital products will be sold through http:www.kmart.com which was introduced in May. Customers download the titles from the Web site. Kmart's Web site currently sells electronics and appliances, health and fitness goods, and music compact discs.

Dell to include America Online software on its products Dell Computer Corp. will include America Online service on 1 i -Hi nifl ,7 w-!" Half-Life is a best-seller about a lab experiment that's gone out of control. Its graphics, animation and story are on the mark. such games, your only concern is how to vaporize the most monsters as quickly possible. Thief, however, rewards stealth over violence.

In the game, it's usually better to avoid a confrontation. Set in medieval times, Thief paints an eerie tableau of castles, subterranean caves and haunted cathedrals. The game offers 12 levels, each challenging enough to keep you busy for hours. Thief's artificial intelligence is some of the best yet. For example, if you're caught by a guard while sneaking through a castle, you may have to resort to combat.

The guard will initially try to finish you off. If you're getting the better of him at swordplay, however, he'll run away, shouting an alarm to his colleagues. This is new stuff, folks, and very impressive. Gaming veterans are accustomed to opponents who attack with brain-dead, kamikaze intensity. The idea of a bad guy weighing the damage he's taken, and then deciding not only to break off the fight but sound an alarm, is worth the price of admission all by itself.

Since it's often better to skulk about than do battle, moving stealthily is a skill that must be developed. An excellent tutorial segment helps. Gamers quickly learn to creep along in dark corners, avoiding light as much as possible. A light meter at the bottom of the screen lets you know how visible you are to your enemies. Sound is important too.

Running makes more noise than walking, and surfaces such as tiled floors are inherently noisier than carpets. Fortunately, this works both ways. You can listen for your opponents' footsteps, and occasionally eavesdrop on idle conversation between guards. Stealth won't always succeed, however. Sometimes you'll just Dell products sold in the United States and Canada under a marketing agreement between the companies.

Dell, a direct marketer of computers, will include in its Dimension and Inspiron systems compact disks containing AOL 4.0 software and 100 free hours of service. The companies said that early next year, Dell users will be able to access a pre-installed, customized version of the AOL 4.0 software that features links to Dell's ConnectDirect, an Internet access service. Apple's iMac was last month's leading PC seller 4 Apple Computer Inc. 's iMac was the best-selling personal computer model in stores and through mail-order outlets last month, as the PC maker benefited from holiday buying. The iMac accounted for 7.1 percent of PC unit sales and 8.2 percent of revenue last month, according to researcher PC Data Inc.

The November showing makes the curvy blue iMac, which comes all set up and ready to plug in and use, the overall best-seller during the ZVi months since its August introduction. Apple is trying to entice buyers with low prices, selling the iMac for as low as $1,099 at some retailers, including Best Buy the biggest consumer electronics retailer. The average selling price was $1,226 last month, PC Data said. Hewlett-Packard cuts some computer prices 20 percent Hewlett-Packard Co. cut prices this week on computers I I hlf I solc t0 corPoratins by as much as 20 percent.

The price I "rJ I cuts cover personal computers, workstations and notebook PCs. H-P's Vectra VE PC with Intel 333 megahertz Celeron processor, for example, is expected to sell for as low as $774, down 20 percent. The Kayak XA-s workstation with a 450MHz Intel Pentium II processor is expected to sell for $3,100, down 7 percent. Computer prices almost always fall as the processors that run them become less expensive because of technological advances. H-P said it was able to cut prices this time mostly because of price reductions from component suppliers.

Tom Wolfe book is year's leading seller on Amazon.com Internet book retailer Amazon.com this week said that A Man in Full, Tom Wolfe's saga of the contemporary South, was its best-selling book of 1998, outselling the Tom Clancy antiterrorism thriller Rainbow Six. Other popular titles included personal-investment books The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman and The Electronic Day Trader by Marc Friedfertig, George West and George Piecznik. Pa. regulators look into Internet auction jurisdiction Pennsylvania regulators are examining whether they have jurisdiction over Internet auctions. Like much of cyberspace, Internet auctions are rapidly developing into a booming business.

eBay, one of the most popular sites, reported gross merchandise sales of $195 million in the last three months. The site offers collectibles, sports memorabilia and other items. The company automatically tracks bids. When the sale ends, the winner and the seller I 77 5 Cv yr Wfl 1 Full of bad language and bathroom humor, this game gets old fast. Although it's mildly entertaining, it deserves to be Redneck Rampage's last ride.

Thief is available from Eidos Interactive at http:www.eidosinterac tive.com You'll need a Pentium II 266 if your system is equipped with a 3-D card, and a Pentium II 300 if not. Half-Life is available from Sierra Studios at http:www.sierrastudios While the publisher says it requires a Pentium 166 with 32 megabytes of RAM, you'll need a far beefier system to realize the best graphics. Activision's Heretic II demands a Pentium 200 with 32 megabytes of RAM. You can get more information at http:www.activision.com Redneck Rampage Rides Again is available from Interplay at http: www.intt, play.com It won't run worth a lick, though, unless you have a Pentium 133 with 32 megabytes of RAM. Dennis McCauley's e-mail address: dennis.mccauleyphillynews.com Heretic II puts the player in the role of an elf seeking a cure for a plague.

It projects a properly dark and forbidding atmosphere. have to fight, so the game provides training in use of weapons such as the sword, blackjack and bow. You can purchase upgrades and additional weapons prior to missions, depending on how much loot you were able to find on your previous mission. You won't be able to sneak Thief: The Dark Project past an outdated system, however. The game demands a Pentium II 266.

If you have the hardware, Thief is a steal. Sierra Studios' Half-Life ranks among today's best-selling games, and deservedly so. For action gamers, Half-Life is the real deal. The graphics, character animations, story elements and atmosphere are all dead-on. In Half-Life, you assume the role of Gordon Freeman, a researcher as- signed to a classified government lab hidden deep inside a New Mexico cave.

A lab experiment gone horribly awry leads to an alien infestation of the facility. You'll need to fight your way out, of course, battling hordes of monsters with the occasional assistance of surviving security guards. A creepy twist to the plot has government assassins and commando teams bent on silencing all witnesses to the fiasco, especially you. The designers manage to pull this off with a chilly taste of X-Fifes-like conspiracy. You may notice, for example, a briefcase-toting bureaucrat watching dispassionately as you battle aliens.

Half-Life brings its own selection of weapons to the party, including old standbys such as the MP-5 submachine gun and RPG grenade launcher. Alien weapons become available in the game. A clever system of health power-ups come from first-aid stations and vending machines. What makes Half-Life so good is its attention to detail. Research colleagues recognize you, and address you by name.

At times you'll need to interact with other scientists or guards to accomplish a task. The environment is deftly rendered as well. With the research facility itself coming apart at the seams, support columns lie toppled, and Philadelphia Online Previous tech.lifeplay and Games columns are available from Philadelphia Online, The Inquirer's site on the Internet: http:home.phillynews.com voltgames. asp Is the Palm Pilot really that powerful? Some reports say that the popular handheld organizer can unlock car doors and make free phone calls. Its maker says no.

handle the transaction themselves. eBay offers technical support and feedback. The auction field is a prime example of the tricky issues facing an industry suddenly confronted with rapid change on the Internet. Some see dollar signs and the chance for renewed interest in auctions, while others fear unfair competition from unregulated auctioneers. Pennsylvania licenses auctioneers, apprentice auctioneers, auction companies and auction houses.

At a meeting last week, the state Board of Auctioneer Examiners asked its attorney, Bernadette Paul, to research the jurisdiction issue. Auctioneers want to know what the guidelines are for their new competitors, officials said. The 3,239 individuals and groups licensed and regulated by the state can face sanctions by the board for violating the law. Company spokeswoman Kristin Seuell said eBay would work with any state that wants to regulate Internet auctions. Internet auctioneer to target small businesses through Yahoo Live Internet auctioneer Onsale Inc.

said this week that it would provide links from its Internet auctions to the "Small Business" Web page of Internet navigation guide Yahoo Inc. Onsale said that it would update information every 15 minutes on the Yahoo site, and that buyers would be able to place a bid directly from links on Yahoo Small Business. Items for sale from Onsale include personal computers, consumer electronics, housewares, sports and fitness equipment, vacation and travel packages, and specialty foods. The company's links to Yahoo Small Business will focus on items of interest to small businesses, such as computers, printers and scanners. HomeSeekers to list properties on Microsoft Web site HomeSeekers.com which provides online residential real estate listings, will be allowed to list its properties and Web sites on Microsoft MSN Advisor Web site.

HomeSeekers.com said last week that the real estate agents and other parties that post listings on its Web site will have the option of making their property listings available to consumers on both services. HomeSeekers.com, which is based in Minden, said its listings will be shared with HomeAdvisor when the content provider has a licensing agreement with HomeAdvisor, Microsoft's real estate referral service. iMALL to offer discounts to subscribers iMALL which operates one of the largest virtual shopping malls on the Internet, and telecommunications giant Corp said this week that they had reached an agreement for iMALL to IBI offer a discount program for subscribers. The plan would allow WorldNet service subscribers to receive discounts on products from Stuff.com, iMALL's recently launched online shopping portal. Current and new WorldNet subscribers will be eligible for up to $20 worth of annual discounts at Stuff.com.

Stuff.com debuted last month, targeting consumers and small to medium-size merchants looking to sell their products online. work at longer range than infrared. "The risk has been dramatically overstated," West said with a laugh. Janice Roberts, 3Com senior vice president of business development, said a potential thief also could use a laptop computer with an infrared signal or a universal remote control to try to unlock a car. Even so, she said, the company will do anything it Liiu lu iiiuivc tuu aiiiu uiouw uf a Falui III break-in even slimmer.

Another report said the device can be programmed to fool certain older pay phones by reproducing tones that gain access to long-distance lines. Roberts said the company knew of no cases in which the Palm III was used to break into a car or make free calls. Whatever the versatility of the Palm III, it is apparent from user newsgroup postings that these extreme adaptations are pursued mostly by folks with a lot of time on their hands. Dillon Pyron, a systems administrator at Advanced Micro Devices, said he tried for a while to get the device to work as a TV remote control, but with little success. "It's not one of my high-priority items," he said.

By Larry Slomaker KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE The Palm III, the third generation of handheld electronic organizers made by 3Com has proven to be an amazingly versatile device, fostering near-cultlike devotion among its many innovative users. But not all near-cultists can be managed. As a result, 3Com officials have been startled by reports in recent weeks that users can adapt the Palm III to mimic keyless car-entry devices. And they have been surprised by reports that some hackers put a Palm twist on the art of phreaking or tricking old pay phones into making free long-distance calls. Until now, the Santa Clara, company has reveled in the enthusiasm generated among users.

They have adapted the $369 device (more than two million sold, the company says) for uses from tuning a guitar to surfing the Web, far afield from the basic functions of storing schedules and phone numbers. "It's doing things that the manufacturers! never dreamed of," said Kenny West, president of PalmPilotGear H.Q., a software and accessories store in Arlington, Texas. The Palm III has an infrared beaming capability that allows it to exchange infor- Using software not made by 3Com, some users reportedly have been able to copy infrared commands such as those emitted from a TV remote control or a garage-door opener. But 3Com, which acquired the product; then called PalmPilot, when it bought U.S. Robotics in 1997, went into all-out damage control when USA Today reported this month that the device's infrared capability allows it to be "programmed to pick car locks." That's a bit of an over-simplification.

A user could copy an infrared signal from a regular car-door opener, but the two devices would have to be placed close together and aimed directly at each other, preferably in the dark. In addition, most U.S. cars use radio signals, which are more secure and.