The Berkshire Eagle from Pittsfield, Massachusetts • 28

D2 The Berkshire Eagle, Sunday, June 16, 1996 pzters i The Iititel.liet and clecelley, At the Computer Supreme Court but did not say Wednesday whether it would do tions, such as religious groups, :1 to develop content rating sys- 1 tents that reflect their own values. pm industry group, the Recreational Software Advisory Council, has already developed ratings. How do the ratings schemes work? work? By H. Alan Wallach Special to 'rho Eagle We have an evolution of products which seems to be growing geometrically. ing rut.

Occasionally, we tried a novelty like Sidekick, which some of us adopted and some The common denominator was DOS, and it became the de facto standard. Utility software from bulletin boards supplemented it and provided us with a working environment that we got used to and could manage ourselves: Now the computer world involves not only By Leslie Helm LAB Angeke linws WASHINGTON I major victory for tree- speech advocates, a special U.S. District Court panel on 'Wednesday ruled that the Communications Decency Act, a new federal law restricting indecent communications over the Internet, was unconstitutional. Here's an explanation of some of the key issues: What exactly is the Communications Decency Act? The decency act is a portion of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, passed by Congress in February, that would impose a jail term of up to two years and fines of up to $250,000 on people who disseminate inde- cent" material publicly over the Internet computer network. The intent was to crack down on online pornography, but civil, lit ertarians, online service corn- (' panies and others said it amounted to a sweeping limitation on the right to free speech.

What was decided on Wednesday? A special three-judge federal court panel in Philadelphia, ruling in a lawsuit filed by opponents of the decency act, declared that the law was an unconstitutional infringement of free speech. The court issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement. The ruling was the Arst major legal decision involving the regulation of online communications, and portions of the writtenrulingdeclared emphatically that free and open communications on the Internet was crucial to democratic values. Is the decency act now tipnit9 so. Most analysts consider an appeal likely.

If Wednesdays ruling is ultimately, upheld by the Supreme Court, any new regulatory effort would require action by Congress. Val the decision have any immediate effect on what's on the Internet? The Department of Justice had agreed not to enforce the decency act until the court made its ruling, so the decision' mostly upholds the status quo no special restrictions on online Had the decision gone the other way, many online discussion groups and sites on the Internet's World Wide Webincluding many that had nothing to do with pornographywould have been forced to make dramatic changes: 2 SO that means there are no restrictions on pornography or any other kind of online communications? Laws barring child pornography and obscene communications continue to apply to the Internetthose forms of speech do not enjoy constitutional protection. Most types of pornography and sexual discussions are legally considered indecent but not obscene and thus remain legal on the Internet. Still, most cyber surfers won't encounter pornography or violent materials unless they go in search of it. And most porn sites require payment by credit card, -meaning they're out of the reach of children.

Is the industry doing anything to regulate itself? A group of leading technology companies recently unveiled technical standards that will make it easier for organiza Sites on the World Wide, 1 Web are tagged according to 1 their content. Software installed on the user's PC will then block access to specified categories of sites, such as those containing sexually explicit or violent ma- terial. co: What do .1 need to do to block my kids' access to snap- propriate material? The safest approach may be to use a family oriented Internet service like puServe's Wow. It has a grown- 1 up version with full Internet access, but also comes with a kids version that only offers access to a limited number of approved sites. Chat sessions- and online commerce are off limits.

For those who want to retain direct Internet access, there are a variety of Net filters soft-. ware programs that block potentially inappropriate SurfWatch blocks access to a specified list of sites that is dated monthly. Cyber Patrol lets parents decide what kinds of materials their children can access and during what times of day. Net Nanny lets parents: block access to information that contains words or phrases they: have selected and also creates, I an audit trail so parents can see what areas their child has been accessing online. 1 My child understands more about computers than I do.

Won't he just disable these terns? Most filters require a password to disable. Most filters require a password to disable. STOCKBRrDGE ears ago, when we were being born- barded by artificial intelligence hype, one of the areas that excited people (Wall Street in particular) was the so-called "expert system." 1 An expert system was expected to replace old Sam who has been with the company for 45 years and was getting ready for his gold watch Sam is the only one who knows, for example, that when the milling machine near the water cooler on the south wall starts to sound like it's grinding wood chips you have to kick it with the heel of your foot right. There's no one to take his place, so the think went that we will replace him with a computer and an expert system! Someone will pick his brains and colianit the questions, answers and diagnoses to a computer so that posterity will know what wine cork is the exact size to use as a grommet in the transporter mechanism. The hype has died down, but I would bet that except for a few carefully designed and maintained expert systems experiments, there are very few success stories out there.

Why am I talking about this now, you ask? Well, yesterday I needed help with problems I was having with Netscape, the most popular "web browser." So I finally broke down and called the company. I didn't want their web page or the ubiquitous FAQ (frequently asked questions) fax I wanted to talk to someone living. What I got was Netscape's expert phone system. It was my first contact with a real expert It asks you a series of multiple choice or yesno questions which are supposed to lead you to a diagnosis and solution to your prob-. lems.

Lucky for me, it was a toll free number. I found it more interesting than helpful My response was too frequently "none of the above." I finally got to talk to a real person. Sadly though, none of the solutions he suggested works. This leads me to why I brought this up in the first place. Computers have not made things simpler, as people would have you believe.

They have made them more version 999.9 of each of these products with that few of us use and which do little more than slow them up. But in addition, our comfortable standards are rapidly disappearing. While Windows has become our standard, it is only the platform on which a continuously evolving set of products, hardware and software, rests. With the Internet, which is likely to connect all of us as the telegram and telephone have done before it, we have an evolu- tion of products which seems to be growing geometrically in numbers and at the same time each is evolving minute by minute. Interaction between products is getting more iffy each day.

A web browser like Netscape has more products, both quantity and variety plugging into it than anything we could have imagined only a couple of years ago. Modems are get- ting faster each day, and the simple "Hayes compatible" standard is not enough to guarantee that things will work together. As with everything else in the computer world, standards are not defined. They evolve from unwitting standard setters like Windows, Netscape, Hayes, Zip and a few others. With our rapidly changing technology, even the standards won't last.

The time spent trying to get things to work together now is ever increasing. And no sooner do we get things working, than they get bigger, faster and different. Why can't we sit for a while? Because new technology uses other new technology. To try something new, you need new stuff to try it with. Today's innovators will use the cutting edge.

The advances in technology are compressing time. Even "Future Shock" has become understatement. Many of you new to the game relish the variety and the challenge and are having loads of fun. Computers are truly the ultimate toy. toy.

The Department of Justice can appeal the decision to the Adventure game makes connections NEW YORK Connections, the new puzzleadventure game based on The Learning Channel's popular "Connections 2" TV series, is subtitled Pa mind game," and that it is Designed to challenge brains more than brawn, Connections is written and hosted by British academic superstar James Burke. The setup, according to Family PC magazine, is that the forces of Adventure game makes connections If' lit, to; I Arlit, tic01011i11! 11.1C101;41iik' ii, E'1( 01T111411 I find myself going through the same phase, with more complications and more time wasted, that I muddled through 10 years ago with my computer. Years ago, we had our big three, word processor, spreadsheet and database manager. Each of us evolved toward our particular favorites and settled into what I call the work vorites and settled into what I call the work- 1 chaos are threatening to unhinge the universe, and you've got to restore order by connecting inventions throughout history with their underlying principles. This can entail tapping out Morse code in a Western frontier town, adjusting the temperature in a medieval castle to cause contraction that releases the sword from the stone or regulating water flow to operate a hydraulic lift.

The program puts technical achievements into their historical context, making for great time-travel adventures and encounters with unpredictable characters. Fortunately, an easily accessible hints feature is available to supply clues and solutions to puzzles that might otherwise stump you Available for Mac and Windows CD-ROM, ages 10 and older, for $49.95 from Discovery Channel Multimedia (800) 678-3343(317) 579- It's a whole new game all the rules have changed G. Shaw Associates, Inc. Dedicated to helping people succeed in the New Work Etwimtunent For more information regarding our seminars, personalized workshops and opportunity network call: 413-684-1036 tanged s9 Inc. succeed ment rding our wkshops 5 online Software stores tware stores crosoft Network.

Its Web site line channel along with other carries dozens of products, all big players such as Oracle oriced slightly below the lowest Microsoft is not abandoning priced slightly below the lowest Microsoft is not abandoning ptIceu IJCIVW WIC LOWCOL, LibUit, lb ILUI, ilkhilLia crosoft Network. Its IA I street prices. more traditional retail channels. Product section should grow Smsdl percentage dramatically over the next sev- eral months, Online Interactive The market-research firm IDC president Tim Choate says. also predicts that direct and virtual shelf space is seller channels will remain much cheaper than a storefront, dominant for the foreseeable Online can represent thousands future.

of products," Choate says. "We "We looked at the total mar; street prices. more traditional retail channels. Product section should grow Smsdl percentage dramatically over the next sev- eral months, Online Interactive The market-research firm president Tim Choate says. also predicts that direct and virtual shelf space is seller channels will remain much cheaper than a storefront, dominant for the foreseeable Online can represent thousands future.

of products," Choate says. "We "We looked at the total mar; bi.igiluy street prices. more traditional retail channels Product selfctou grow ion sh id ramatically over the next sev- all percentage eral months, Online Interactive The market-research firm IDC president Tim Choate says. also predicts that direct and re- "Since virtual shelf space is seller channels will remain much cheaper than a storefront, dominant for the foreseeable Online can represent thousands future. of products," Choate says.

"We "We looked at the total By Jan Ozer PC Magazine NEW YORK The Seattle-based software distributor Online Interactive wants to become your local computer store. A new licensing agreement with Microsoft lets Online Interactive sell and deliver most of Microsoft's software programs, including Windows 95 upgrades, over the Internet. And it's all done without sending credit-card information over the Internet. Online Interactive's model is simple: Visit the AtOnce site, pick your software and it's downloaded to you in encrypted format. You then enter your credit-card information, which is verified over a private network via a toll-free number.

After authorization, a key that unlocks the software is sent to your PC. Online Interactive, which started distributing over America Online, opened a new branch last August on the Mi NEW YORK he Seattle-based software distributor Online Inter- active wants to become your local computer store. A new licensing agreement with Microsoft lets Online In- teractive sell and deliver most of Microsoft's software programs, including Windows 95 upgrades, over the Internet. And it's all done without send- ing credit-card information over the Internet. Online Interactives model is simple: Visit the AtOnce site, pick your software and it's downloaded to you in encrypted format.

You then enter your credit-card information, which is verified over a private net- work via a toll-free number. At- ter authorization, a key that un- locks the software is sent to your PC. Online Interactive, which started distributing over ica Online, opened a new branch last August on the BY Jan Ozer I distributor Online Paid Advertisement The Berkshire Mall Specialty Leasing Program Works. Just ask Randy Cormier, Owner of Classics, of the Berkshire Mall. The store has been open one year and is doing incredible business.

Sunday, June 30, Classics will have a Grand Opening, Renaming and Relocation event in their new store location off Center Court in the former Blue Angel location. Live 105.5 WBEC will be doing a live remote from 12:30 to 2:30, and Arlo Guthrie will be on hand doing a bookCDT-Shirt signing in the store at 1:00 pm. Also, there will be many other exciting events and sales for this Grand Opening. Lava lamps, Grateful Dead shirts, Tie dye T-shirts, stickers; patches and much more will be on sale. Come and see Arlo Guthrie, watch a hacky-sack demonstration and be the winner.

of a POO store shopping spree if your new store name is chosen. Stop into Classics before June 28, 1996 for details on the contest. Don't miss Bonner McAllester's Our Berkshites column every other Tlutrsday on the Op-Ed page. can carry Microsoft Word and ket for packaged software, anahundreds of related add-on lyzed for software that could be products, while traditional re- delivered over the Net, and still sellers can barely find shelf think that only 5 percent to 7 space for mainstream software." percent will be sold online by It's probably too early to burn the year 2000," IDC senior vice your Egghead Cue Card, how- president John Gantz explains. ever.

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Large developers such as "Even though it's a relatively Microsoft, along with most in- small percentage," Gantz says, dustry analysts, predict a rela- "it will be a very significant I tively small role for online channel for users seeking ap software distribution. Though plets to complement their pri- CI committed to the emerging on- mary programs." 0 0 0 AlA 0 111 l-ge itt COUNTY NETWORK esd14' Amer-'. I il 'N' 114 Local STOP Mi-1111--01)TNI An PER Month unlimited adtess--- Paid Advertisement in si a local number 110111 he CtiN CUT IM I 0 a Join) The Berkshire Ma BCORDER tathtRIVIONT STA cWDp1-tiT' trab Specialty 11 1 lty Leasing ---N, -1044'-F, 528-N 003 Program Works! 50 'phone lines to serve We have it ills why nnfloin NOWT Just ask Randy Cormier, Owner of Classics, of the Berkshire Mall. The store has 743n been open one year and is 11 ...01:. Available ONLY at Limited time offer.

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