345 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
345 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
RAndY s RumOR RaG
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May 1993
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SPECIAL SOCIO-POLITICAL EDITION
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INTOLERANCE & POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
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In the March issue of the RaG, I did a short piece which has
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attracted considerable attention on the East Coast (or so I'm
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told). Here is the section in question:
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RED HOT & PUBLISH
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Quark is offering a software package called Red Hot & Publish,
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the proceeds of which will go to support AIDS research.
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I hesitate to talk politics here, but I feel compelled to
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speak out. I've seen similar promotions in the photography
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business too.
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While I have sympathy for those afflicted with AIDS, you must
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remember that it is a disease promoted through deviant
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behavior.Don't drag out the .0001% who get it through a tainted
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blood transfusion - this disease is directly related to behavior.
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This country is already spending ten times more money on AIDS
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research than on cancer research.
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I avoid these promotions as I avoid the behavior which spreads
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the disease.
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OK,, that's what was said. I recently got a long distance
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phone call from someone who was very agitated at my use of the word
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"deviant". I explained that the RaG is a benevolent dictatorship
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and the opinions expressed in the RaG were mine. If he did not
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agree with them, he was free to publish a rebuttal. I noted that
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the last time I checked this was still America (spelled with a "c")
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and we were all entitled to our own opinions.
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The caller felt that religion did not belong in a software
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publication. I asked where anything was said about religion. He
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concluded by telling me he would have me kicked off GEnie and
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America Online.
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The next day, I got a call from Jeff Green (publisher of
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ModemNews). Apparently he had been getting numerous calls from gay
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activist groups and circulation of his fine publication was in
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jeopardy. I was amazed.
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Jeff suggested that I give him some sort of statement to try
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to defuse the situation, so here's what I sent him:
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It has come to my attention that my remarks concerning AIDS
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have created a furor in the gay community. Perhaps my use of the
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word deviant appeared strong, but checking my Microsoft Bookshelf
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dictionary reveals the definition differing from a norm or from
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the accepted standards of society .
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No reference was made in my article to homosexuality or
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religious beliefs. As I understand it, AIDS is spread through two
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major methods: promiscuous sex and intravenous drug use. Neither
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of these types of behavior should be considered normal.
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The liberal, leftist activists that are so prevalent today
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preach tolerance of others except when it comes to the politically
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incorrect.
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Well, as I prepare to publish this issue, I have gotten no
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mail one way or the other on either pay service concerning the
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offending issue of the RaG. I have received no communication from
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those in control at either pay service concerning this issue. I
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have gotten no more angry phone calls either.
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A recent article in the newspaper told of the results of a
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study on sexual practices - and the result was that homosexuals
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were only 1% of the population. It's amazing the amount of
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political clout such a small group carries.
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The recent demostration by the homosexual community in
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Washington DC was possibly the most revolting spectacle I've ever
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seen. And I resent attempts by the mainstream media (and Hollywood
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types) to portray homosexuality as normal and socially acceptable
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behavior. I believe our country has lost its sense of moral
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values, leading to the further decay of our society.
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---------------
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NEWS IN YER FACE
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Media Vision recently purchased 40% of Advanced Gravis, makers
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of sound boards and joysticks. Industry insiders expect to see the
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relationship between Logitech and Media Vision to grow much closer
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in the future. (By the way, Media Vision no longer manufactures 8-
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bit sound cards.)
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---------------
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WordPerfect Office 4 is in the second round of beta testing.
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The program takes up 21 disks and features new electronic mail,
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calendaring, and scheduling support for up to 1,000 users. It is
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claimed to run up to 20% faster than the previous beta release.
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Expect to see it shipped later this quarter.
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---------------
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Microsoft will ship Access 1.1 in mid-May. There will be a
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nominal fee.
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---------------
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Borland recently sent a disk-based survey to beta testers.
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When you hit F2 to save your responses to a disk file, you get the
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equivalent of a three-fingered salute.
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---------------
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Every six weeks I get a catalog on disk from one of my major
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vendors of software and hardware. While browsing the listing of
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new products, I came across a CD called "Scary Poems for Rotten
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Kids". Sounds interesting.
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---------------
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Windows NT will be incompatible with DOS 6's DoubleSpace and
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other compression software.
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---------------
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Version 4 of CorelDraw! may hit the streets as early as May
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and Version 3 will continue to be sold at $199.
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The new CorelDraw! will feature multiple page layout, desktop
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publishing features, color separation, optical character
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recognition, direct scanning, and animation. You'll also get 750
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fonts and 17,000 clipart images.
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---------------
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A couple more features of WordPerfect 6 for DOS are becoming
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known. QuickFinder from the Windows version will be part of the
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package. The WordPerfect Coach is an on-line tutor which will
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guide the user through a task with step-by-step instructions.
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---------------
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NEW DOS 6 OPPORTUNITIES
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One might think that with the bundled utilities included in
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the DOS 6 package, some third party developers might be concerned
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about their utility packages.
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Addstor is adding a new product called DoubleTools which will
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enhance Microsoft's DoubleSpace and add extra utilities for disk
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compression.
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Quarterdeck is upgrading QEMM-386 to offer better memory
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optimization than DOS 6's MemMaker.
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Qualitas is finishing up 386Max Version 7. The new version
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will have features aimed specifically at Windows users including a
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Multi-Boot Maximizer which lets you maximize multiple boot
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configurations. It will have compressed drive support and include
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a RAM diagnostic program called the Qualitas Memory Tester (and
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uses a graphical user interface). WinSmart determines High DOS
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space and what is available for use.
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Stac Electronics is planning Stacker 3.1 within 30-60 days of
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the release of DOS 6. The upgrade will bind more tightly with DOS
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6 because of hooks that would normally link the operating system to
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DoubleSpace.
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---------------
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RECYCLED DISKS
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A guy by the name of David Beschen has started a company in
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Redmond, Washington called GreenDisk.
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GreenDisk breaks down all the software package materials into
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paper, plastic, and floppies. The company will degauss and
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reformat disks as blank media and label them with a GreenDisk
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sticker. The GreenDisk labeled product will be sold at about 10%
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below new blank media costs.
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Don't start sending all your old disks in yet, he's only
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accepting disks from publishers where the disk has only been
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written to once. Precautions are taken for virus prevention. Thus
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far, CompuTeach and AutoDesk have provided him with about 20,000
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disks from obsolete inventory. It is estimated that only 30% of
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obsolete inventory is recycled.
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---------------
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LOVE YA BABY - LOVE YA BABY
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A company named interACTIVE is marketing a device called
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SoundXchange. This thing looks like a telephone which attaches to
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the side of your monitor.
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You can use it like a speaker phone or pick up the handset to
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record and play sound files. There's a volume control on the front
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panel and a jack for an optional headset. The unit connects to an
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existing sound card or you can get a proprietary card if you don't
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already have sound capabilities.
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Included software is a program for DOS that provides voice and
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text for network communications. There's also a multimedia mail
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package which provides voice, text, graphics, and pictures for
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network communications.
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Recording and playback are limited to 8-bit samples. You can
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only record at up to 11,025 Hz and playback up to 44,100 Hz.
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Compression is proprietary.
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The Model A is for those who already have a sound card and
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retails for $149, the Model B comes with a card (actually a thing
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that plugs into the parallel port) and retails for $289.
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---------------
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FRISBEE CD
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Now that I have incurred the wrath of the gay activists,
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what's to lose?
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While perusing one of my photographic journals, I saw mention
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of a Photo Interactive CD due out soon (by Philips Interactive
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Media) called "The Flowers of Robert Mapplethorpe". It will be
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compatible with CD-I and Photo CD machines.
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The disk will show "how Mapplethorpe used the camera to
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instill monumental dignity and graceful simplicity to the complex
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shapes and brilliant colors of floral sprays and blossoms.
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Photographers can experience Mapplethorpe's unique artistic visions
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via various interactive pathways."
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WOW - place my order now! Here is an artist to be admired.
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No, I have not seen these images. I did see most of the ones in
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the exhibit which was so controversial a couple of years ago. I
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only hope is that these images are better than the ones for which
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he is better known. The images I saw of his more famous exhibit,
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besides being devoid of artistic merit, were not even well done
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from a technical standpoint.
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The politically correct will fall all over themselves to
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endorse such a champion of their causes, expecting the government
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to finance such projects.
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I think this CD could probably be best used as a frisbee.
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---------------
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NEW STUFF
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I've recently had the opportunity to have some hands-on time
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with some new hardware and software.
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Finally I've been able get my hands on the NEC CDR-84. This
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is the hot CD-ROM player with MultiSpin. The disk spins at twice
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the speed for data, doubling the data transfer rate. While I still
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wouldn't want to execute programs from a CD, the NEC definitely
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speeds things up. The odd sounding whisper of the CD working is a
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little different from what I'm used to, but you barely hear it when
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it's working. I find the flip-down door to be a nuisance - someone
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somewhere should come up with a better way to put caddies into a
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CD. These drives are expensive, but the doubled transfer rate is
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welcome. I want one.
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---------------
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All of the 486 machines I've sold up until now have been 33's.
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I recently sold a 486-50 and there's certainly a difference. We
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decided to put one of those little fans on top of the CPU to help
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with cooling. The combination of the 486-50 and the Diamond
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Stealth VRAM S3 card really makes Windows snap. I was impressed.
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PC Tools for Windows is out and they'll probably sell a bunch
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of them. If you like Norton Desktop, this looks like about the
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same thing. I don't like all that crap on the screen and
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fortunately they provide an Uninstall option that gets rid of all
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the changes it made when it installed. I can do without all this
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junk cluttering up my screen. DEL *.*
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---------------
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Microsoft has finally gotten their multimedia encyclopedia out
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the door - Encarta. If you liked Bookshelf, you'll love Encarta.
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You've got the 29 volume set of Funk & Wagnall's Encyclopedia on
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disk along with tons of digitized images, digitized and MIDI music
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and speech, animation, and AVI digitized video files. There's so
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much here that you'll spend hours looking at all of it, listening
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to the music, watching the full motion video, etc.
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I strongly suggest running it on a 486 (the fastest the
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better) and a CD-ROM that supports high transfer rates and/or
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access times. The above mentioned NEC drive should do nicely or
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one of the other double-spin drives.
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The Timeline feature is especially unique. A scrolling time
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line with plotted events in time lets you examine events and
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civilizations of the past, easily searching for whatever time
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period or event you wish. My only complaint is that it puts forth
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evolution as the means by which mankind was placed on earth. (I
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don't buy the theory of evolution.)
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Encarta is one classy product.
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---------------
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The new Microsoft Mouse is now available. They've spent $10
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million on R&D, the first in-house mouse work done at Microsoft.
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The first thing you'll see different is the shape of the
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mouse. Since ergonomics is such a big thing these days, they've
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designed it so that it fits comfortably in either hand. The
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software lets you customize the mouse's operation quite
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extensively. The new DOS driver automatically loads into upper
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memory.
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You can select which button is the primary button. You can
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have a large, medium, or small Windows mouse cursor as well as have
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the arrow black, white, or transparent.
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Four new options are quite interesting. Locate will have the
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mouse cursor always appear in the middle of the screen when
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starting applications (so you don't have to hunt for it). Snap-to
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will always position the cursor at whatever button is the default
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in a dialog box. Screen-wrap will let the cursor wrap to the
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opposite side of the screen when it hits the edge (instead of
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stopping). Magnify works in combination with a keyboard key and
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opens up a small box around the cursor under which everything is
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magnified.
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---------------
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PC PC's
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I'm seeing more articles in the magazines about ecologically
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and environmentally safe computers. I see stories lamenting that
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trees have to die to make our paper and that we're wasting
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electricity by leaving our computers on all the time.
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For example, Hewlett-Packard ships their products in brown
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boxes marked "For a better environment, this container was not
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bleached white. All packing materials were manufactured with out
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CFCs". How special!
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Enough with the political correctness already! People are
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making unsubstantiated claims which have no basis in fact. We are
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not destroying the planet and I doubt that we're even capable of
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it.
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I live in the middle of spotted owl country. I have seen
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businesses and people struggling to live on a day to day basis.
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And it's all because some hippie throwbacks are trying to impose
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their brand of socialism on us. We are being made to think that
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mankind has messed up everything - and the only solution is
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government control. This isn't about owls or log exports. This is
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a battle over private ownership of land and it's an attack on
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capitalism.
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I am not now, have never been, and never will be politically
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correct.
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---------------
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MORE NEWS IN YER FACE
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Ingram Micro, a major distributor of hardware and software, is
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planning to distribute multiple applications on an encrypted CD.
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A customer will get the CD after making a software purchase.
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You'll then be able to sample the 100-200 programs on the CD. If
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you wish to purchase a program, you'll call a special number, give
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them your credit card number, and you'll receive the necessary
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codes which will unlock the software. Both Mac and PC products
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are planned.
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---------------
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AMD has started shipping 33MHz, 40MHz, and a 25/50MHz 486DX
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clones and expects to ship 500,000 this year. Look for a 3.3 volt
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this about mid-summer.
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---------------
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IBM is ready to rollout OS/2 2.1 on May 18th. Price is
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uncertain at this point.
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---------------
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Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy said at the recent Dataquest
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conference that if he were Clinton for five seconds, he would ban
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any further purchase of DOS and DOS-derived products by the Feds.
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He considers them to be "non-open".
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---------------
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We're still seeing a backorder situation with DOS 6 (expected
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to be resolved by the end of May). Microsoft claims that they sold
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more DOS 6 during the first week than it did DOS 5 during the first
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30 days. Said Richard Freedman, MS-DOS project manager for
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Microsoft, "the projections weren't worth the paper they were
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written on".
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=================================
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DISCLAIMER
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RAndY's RumOR RaG is published on a monthly basis by AINSWORTH
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COMPUTER SERVICES and is available on various local BBS's, GEnie,
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and America Online as well as in Modem News.
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In case anyone cares, RAndY's RumOR RaG is produced on a DTK
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386-33 with 16 megs of memory, Cyrix Fasmath co-processor, ATI VGA
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Wonder+ card (1 MB), 105 MB Toshiba IDE hard drive, Teac 1.2 MB and
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1.44 MB floppies, Pro Audio Spectrum 16 running a Hitachi 3750 CD
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ROM drive, Sceptre SVGA display, Microsoft mouse, WordPerfect for
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Windows and transmitted through a US Robotics HST Dual Standard
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modem.
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Opinions expressed are those of the author. Comments should
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be addressed to Ainsworth Computer Services on GEnie, America
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Online, phone, analog mail, or whatever method makes you feel good.
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AINSWORTH COMPUTER SERVICES
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605 W. Wishkah
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Aberdeen, WA 98520-6031
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(206) 533-6647
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GEnie Address: RAG
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America Online: RumOR RaG
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