ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º º ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ º ɼ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ º º Û ÜÜÜ Û Û ÜÜÜ Û Û ÜÜÜÜÛ Û ÜÜÜÜÛ Û ÜÜÜ Û º ɼ Û ÜÜÜÜÛ Û ÜÜÜ Û ÛÜÜÜÜ Û Û ÛÜÜÜÜ Û ÛÜÛ Û º º ÛÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ º º º º ÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ º Éͼ Û ÜÜ ÛÜ Û ÜÜ ÛÜ Û ÜÜÜÜÛ º º Û ÜÜÜ Û Û ÜÜÜ Û ÛÜÜÜÜ Û º ɼ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ º º º ÉÍͼ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÉÍÍͼ º Û Ü Ü Û Û ÜÜÜ Û Û ÜÜÜÜÛ Û ÜÜÜ Û ÛÜÜÜ ÜÛ ÛÜ ÜÛ Û ßÛÛ Û Û ÜÜÜÜÛ º ɼ Û Û Û Û Û ÜÜÜ Û Û ÛÜÜ Û Û ÜÜÜ Û ÜÛßÜÛÛÜ ÜÛ ÛÜ Û ÛÜß Û Û ÜÜÜÛÜ º ɼ ÛÜÛßÛÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÛßÛÜÛ ÛÜÜÜÜÜÛ º ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÊÍÍÍ» º October 1995 Volume 3 Number 10 º ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĶ º Board of Trade BBS New Port Richey, Florida (813) 862-4772 º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ In This Issue ------------- þ ONE BBSCON '95 - A Moment in Time þ ONE BBSCON '95 - What People Where Saying About Tampa Bay þ Windows 95 - The Hype Highway þ Heretic: City of the Damned Review - by Paul Pollack þ The latest news, reviews, humor, and more + + + + + Editor's Welcome ---------------- As with the past October issues of the Pasco BBS Magazine, this issue has full coverage of the ONE BBSCON. In case you are not aware of it, which means that you are not a regular reader of this publication, the ultimate on-line event was held in Tampa this past August. With this issue we continue with the most comprehensive coverage of ONE BBSCON '95 found anywhere. A very special event was made even more special by the fact that it was held on our own home turf. This issue includes an article on what people were saying about the Tampa Bay area. Along with looking at the latest news, this issue also takes a look at how MicroSoft lead people down the "Hype Highway" with the release of Windows 95. There is also a wonderful review of Heretic: City of the Damned, written by our resident game guru Paul Pollack. Of course, all our regular features are back as well. Before concluding this month's openning comments, I want to take a moment to thank Rob Marlowe of the Inner Sanctum BBS here in New Port Richey. Rob has setup a home page on the World Wide Web for the Pasco BBS Magazine on his system. Now the Pasco BBS Magazine can be read on the Internet at http://www.sanctum.com/pasco. People can also telenet into his BBS at sanctum.com and use his gateway to reach the home board of this publication, the Board of Trade BBS. While you're there, I hope you take some time to check out Rob's great board, which is the oldest BBS in Pasco County. Thanks Rob! 'Til next month, thanks for reading! + + + + + ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ PASCO BBS MAGAZINE ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ EDITOR: Richard Ziegler ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ HOME BBS: Board of Trade BBS (813) 862-4772 ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ File request current issue under magic file name PBM. ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ + + + + + ONE BBSCON '95 - A Moment in Time --------------------------------- The Online Networking Exposition and BBS Convention 1995, better known as ONE BBSCON '95, did indeed take place in Tampa from August 16-20, 1995. Now that the frenzy has receded, it is still difficult to believe that the ultimate on- line gathering was held in our community. A well deserved thanks goes to Jack Rickard, Phil Becker and all the staff at ONE, Inc. for putting on another wonderful show. Thanks as well for bringing this show to the Tampa Bay area. It was a blast! This article will look back at some of the events of this past August, the highlights, the low-lights and a taste of the ONE BBSCON experience. There is also a separate article in this issue about what people said about our fair community. Next month's issue will have a couple of follow-up reports and no doubt the Pasco BBS Magazine will be talking about ONE BBSCON '95, the Tampa BBSCON, for years to come. While the final numbers are not in, it appears that somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 people made the annual pilgrimage to the BBSCON. While this was a bit lower than initial estimates, the attendance was up from last year and the total made for the largest gathering of telecommunications enthusiasts in history. There is no argument that it was the biggest event in the history of the Tampa Bay on-line community. It could be that this will remain Tampa Bay's biggest on-line event well into the next century. Attending a convention in your own home area is a bit different. People at work will ask where you are going on your vacation and then give you a strange look when you answer Tampa. Then you have to decide if you should pop for a hotel room or not. Driving back and forth each day has its obvious benefits and problems. As a matter of fact, despite the fact that the convention was being held in Tampa, and there was no doubt whatsoever that I would attend, I did not attempt to make any hotel reservations until the day before the show started. So, needless to say, I did not get to stay at the cheaper hotel nearest the Convention Center. However, I opted to stay down there two nights. But, I will talk more about the hotel and the decision to drive home as this chronology continues. After checking into the hotel on Wednesday afternoon, I took a walk over to the Hyatt to register for the BBSCON. Unfortunately, the registration was being held at the Convention Center. So, I did make the trek from the Holiday Inn, behind the Performing Acts Center, to the Convention Center and back. It is a bit of a hike, one I did not choose to repeat. It certainly was hot, but I guess that should be no surprise. After all, it was August in Florida! After getting back to the hotel, I took a closer look at my ID badge. I noticed that I was from 'New Port Rickey, Florida.' My first thought was that someone on the ONE, Inc. staff was a big fan of the old I Love Lucy show. My second thought was that I probably should get the badge changed instead of keeping track of how many times someone asked where is New Port Rickey? Then I would have to explain it is actually New Port Richey, the badge is wrong. That night, when I bumped into Inner Sanctum Sysop Rob Marlowe, his name badge said New Port Rickey too. I guess the same Lucy fan did his badge. I did eventually get mine changed, Rob left his the way it was. I had no intention of walking to the Convention Center, again, so I took one of the shuttle buses to Wednesday evening's Welcoming Reception. The shuttle buses from the hotels to the Convention Center worked great, there seemed to be one every 15 minutes. The buses had advertisements on the side for eSoft, ONE BBSCON '96 and other BBSCON related items. It was different, and perhaps a bit exciting, to see buses running around Tampa advertising BBS related products. It certainly added to the atmosphere of hosting the BBSCON. It was a pleasant evening on the Tampa Convention Center's River-walk for the Welcoming Reception. Perhaps, a little warm, but not too bad. There was a light breeze coming off the water, and with illuminated paddle boats in the channel, it made for a delightful locale. It was an evening full of conversation with people from around town and around the world. I ran into people I met at previous BBSCONs. One Sysop from Tennessee asked if I had "some sort of pull to get this thing in my own home state." No, I did not have anything to do with it, but this year's BBSCON was definitely a home game. There was a buffet and the food was quite good. The coconut chicken went over big, and that comes from a guy who doesn't even like coconut. If you want to compare this year's Welcoming Reception to the last couple, I will be happy to pass along my opinion. I would say the Welcoming Reception was somewhere between Colorado Springs and Atlanta. It is tough to top the first one, but it was definitely better than last year. When I returned to the hotel, I took some time to look out the window. Both nights I stayed in Tampa, my hotel room window faced north. I wished that at least one of the nights the room faced south, so I could have had a better view of the downtown area itself, but I never went to the extent of requesting a different room. However, there was a nice view of the Hillsborough River and part of the beautiful University of Tampa campus. Tampa Stadium was off in the distance and I could watch the sunset over Tampa Stadium, which was somewhat poetic considering all the talk of building a new stadium. I certainly hope that civic leaders and residents are not so nearsighted, as to not build a new stadium. If Tampa does not build a new stadium, there are plenty of communities who recognize the value of a NFL team and will do so if we do not. But, I guess that is a bit off-topic. Thursday morning, I checked-out of the hotel and drove the short distance to the Convention Center, a short distance by car anyway. At last year's Welcoming Session they had donuts and coffee free for the taking. Since I did not take the time to stop and have breakfast, I hoped that would be the case again this year. Unfortunately, there was nothing like that, but there was coffee you could buy for $1.50 a cup. Thursday morning's Opening Session took place in a rock concert atmosphere. The lights were down very low and music played in the background. The colorful ONE BBSCON '95 logo was displayed on two huge projection screens, bleachers were set-up and a laser light show took place after Phil Becker's talk. When the lights went out, I almost expected to see controlled substances circulating through the crowd. It was quite dark and half the time I did not know if my tape recorder was getting anything, so I did end up having to shell out some money for the audio tapes of that session. Jack Rickard began the Opening Session by welcoming everyone to ONE BBSCON '95. He talked for a few minutes before introducing members of the ONE BBSCON Executive Advisory Board. He also explained why the concept of the EAB was used for the conventions. The idea was "to form an Executive Advisory Board with different people representing different focuses of the on-line community. I think this has been fairly successful. We've got very good representation here this year." Several members of the board did speak to the assemblage. Next month's issue will take a longer look at the Association of Online Professionals, so we will save some of the organization's Executive Director's remarks for next month. But, we did want to share some of Jack Rickard's humor while he introduced David McClure. Rickard began by talking about other attempts to form a Sysop Association. "Every year it seemed there was someone who came up with the idea of forming some sort of association of bulletin board operators. I watched quite a parade of them come out, announce something, hope for 15,000 or 20,000 members instantly and when they didn't materialize, move on. The question is why can't we get all the BBS operators to do x, whatever x is. Basically, I didn't know. I had never seen all the bulletin board operators do anything. If you got all the bulletin board operators in the world, and laid them end-to-end, they couldn't reach a conclusion, much less lunch. They are a fairly independent group of people and getting them to do anything is a lot like herding cats. I think one of the reasons they run bulletin boards, on-line services and their own Web sites is that the rest of the world didn't do to suit them. So, they built another one where they could have a little control and do it their way." Rickard continued with his introduction. "Politically, almost all of the bulletin board operators tend to be Libertarians. None of them actually join the Libertarian Party, there's too many rules, you don't really buy into all of it, but the tendency is towards Libertarianism, just don't want to actually become a member. When we started Boardwatch Magazine people who ran on-line services were viewed much as you might a group of people who met every Tuesday evening to exchange toothbrushes. They do what? Why do they do that? In recent years, it's not that much of a niche. This has gone quite into the national eye and its become a bit of a mainstream thing. It also lead to a curious desire by our governing structure to do two things, one is to regulate it, and the other is tax it. To defend ourselves we are going to have to make some concessions on the I don't join and I don't get involved position. The first organization I've joined in ten years is now this Association of On-Line Professionals." After some opening remarks from several members of the Executive Advisory Board, Phil Becker gave his traditional state of the industry report. Becker presented a history of on-line, including a slide show featuring ads and articles from years gone by. When Phil Becker concluded his remarks, the second annual BBSCON laser light show took place. Each year Becker tries to top the year before, which has lead to a very elaborate laser light show the past two years. This was the highlight of the rock and roll aspect of the Opening Session. The last one to speak at the Opening Session is the Keynote Speaker and Dr. Robert M. Metcalfe had that honor in Tampa. Metcalfe is best known as the inventor of the local area network technology ethernet and as a columnist for InfoWorld Magazine. His Keynote Address discussed "Convergence and the Information Superhighway." Bob Metcalfe began his speech, "If you think the Information Superhighway is a buzz word that takes itself too seriously, I want to tell you my favorite anagram of the word Information Superhighway. An anagram is simply a rearrangement of the letters and there are dozens of anagrams for the phrase Information Superhighway. My favorite is this, Enormous Hairy Pig With Fan." He also spent some time discussing the Internet. "Some people think that the Internet is this collection of fiber optics that go across the country and connect everyone together. When, actually, the Internet is mostly ethernets connected together. This is how I get to be the inventor of the Internet. There are a lot of people vying to be the inventor of the Internet, so this is my way of getting my oar in too." After the Opening Session, it is time for the first lunch break of the convention. That first lunch was a bit disappointing, especially after the lack of coffee and donuts that morning. They served a box type lunch. This was a chicken sandwich with something that looked like a tomato and something else brown that had a resemblance to lettuce. The banana was yellow, I guess that is one good thing. The second day's lunch was nothing to brag about either, basically a variety of different salads. It was a little downgrade in the food from last year's convention. Saturday's chicken and ham lunch was the best of the show, nothing to brag about, but reasonable in comparison to the other meals. Following lunch, the educational sessions and vendor exhibits kicked off at 1:30 pm on Thursday. One of the BBSCON traditions continues to be The Jack and Phil Show, which is an educational session put on by convention organizers Jack Rickard and Phil Becker. Jack Rickard looked back at the first Jack and Phil Show, held the year before the first ONE BBSCON, and talked about how the session remains applicable with today's explosion of the Internet. "The original session we did at FIDOCON91, 'How to Make Money with a BBS,' seems a little quaint now. At the time we had people screaming blaspheme and so forth, but it was a very popular session. But, I think there has been something happening in the last year that almost makes it relevant again, we're back where we were in 1991. A number of bulletin board operators are terribly uncertain about where the future of on-line is going. The answer to the question is that most of you in this room already went through this once, you know how it's going to come out. It's the rest of the world that should be confused and they are." Phil Becker added, "Nothing that is happening now is new, except in scale." Rickard and Becker also discussed the traditional rumors how the large telecommunications companies would somehow eventually control on-line communications. Jack Rickard began, "How can this be when MCI, Sprint and the big telephone companies are going to crush all of us? It has to do with something bulletin board operators do better than these other groups can, and it is called customer service. Try this, when you go home call the cable company and tell them your TV does not work, and then can you help me install WinSock?" Phil Becker continued on the same topic. "In yesterday's USA Today, AT&T announced that they're going to monopolize home delivery of the Internet. They can't deal with this, it is not in their realm of possibility for them to do it. All they can do is be big and scare people. You happen to be the people they want to scare, because you're the ones they are afraid of. They can't find you in one place to wipe you out. They can't win this game and they know it." The ninety minute Jack and Phil Show did cover a wide range of topics. Jack Rickard discussed how everyone wants on the Internet. He joked that people will say "I want some Web and I want about seven pounds of it, I think. They're not even too sure what it is." Phil Becker on the national on-line services, "Large commercial services win only by emulating what Sysops teach them how to do." The vendor exhibits were pretty much the standard fare. From Internet service providers to the Giffy girls, most of the major players in the on-line world were there displaying their wares. There was the traditional free stuff and give-a-ways, along with more sales pitches than a normal person would be exposed too in a lifetime. But, there was plenty of interest, as vendors continue to time the release of new products with the BBSCON. The biggest surprise at the vendor exhibits was who was not there. Without giving people any inclination of their plans, PCBoard was noticeably absent from the exhibit floor. To this date, I remain bewildered by the decision of Clark Development Company (CDC), makers of the PCBoard BBS Software, to be a no-show. Was it a non-issue, or was it the story of the convention? I, along with other PCBoard Sysops, made the logical assumption that CDC would be a major player at the BBSCON. After all, they had been at the last three conventions and CDC founder Fred Clark had served as a member of the Executive Advisory Board at previous events. PCBoard had just won the Editor's Choice Award from PC-Magazine and how could anyone be so stupid as to miss this marketing opportunity? There was speculation that because they were running their own "communications retreat" that they decided not to participate. There were "off-the-record" comments on what lead to the decision. But, since Clark Development Company has not commented on their decision, it would be inappropriate for me to talk about it here. Apparently, by their silence, CDC would prefer to keep the rumor mill cranking on that one. As I mentioned earlier, the decision to drive back home to Pasco County, or stay in Tampa for the night, was one I labored over. When I got home Thursday night, I thought, hey, this is kind of nice. Being able to check the board, sleep in your own bed and all that, seemed to make the decision to drive home worthwhile. I had already had some fun, gotten to talk with a bunch of people and started to think we're only halfway through this thing. It was sort of like having two BBSCONs to go to. But, the next morning my perspective was a bit more realistic. I got a taste of what the people who have to drive to work in Tampa go through every morning. My advice to people attending conventions in their own home area, stay, stay overnight! I cannot believe that some people drive down to Tampa five days a week. I had not even left Pasco County before I was disgusted. It really reinforced the idea of how lucky I am that I don't have to make that daily trek. I guess you should not discard any of life's experiences, but having to make the morning drive to Tampa is one that I would not be too anxious to repeat. However, when I drove down there on Sunday morning it was not nearly as unpleasant. There was one more thing I wanted to mention about the hotel. They had a television station called VISITEL, which is a station with information about the area for visitors. Since I live in the area, most of the programming offered little of interest. But, one evening they were broadcasting BBSCON highlights. There was an interview with Phil Becker, along with the entire Jack and Phil Show, playing on the hotel room TV. Since they knew that the hotels were full of BBSCON attendees, I thought it was a very nice touch. With somewhere around 180 different educational sessions to choose from, there was something on just about every conceivable aspect of operating an on-line service. One of the most popular educational sessions of the show has always been the BBS Success Roundtables. The idea of putting a panel of successful Sysops together for a question and answer session is a sound concept. The Sysops have always been willing to share their proven expertise. In addition, these sessions have traditionally yielded some lighter moments. Perhaps, the best line came from Greg Ryan of the Exec-PC BBS. He was talking about how some services market the Internet. "Everybody in this room has received at least ten AOL disks in the last year and some of us are using them as coasters." Some other sessions had their humorous moments as well. A pretty good line came out of a session on Promoting Your Hobby Board. A question from the floor asked about the naming of your bulletin board, and voiced the opinion on how Cyber-something was "getting a little worn out." Alan Bechtold, editor of Sysop News and CyberWorld Report, joked "Yes, I think CyberXpo was the last qualified use of that." Kathy Sussell of New York City's Invention Factory BBS has a delightful sense of humor. She handles the marketing end of the husband and wife board, while husband Michael handles the technical end of things. She put on a session titled How to Happily Run a BBS with Your Significant Other. Kathy Sussell talked about answering technical questions on their voice support number. "I'll tell people I'm not the techie, I just dropped by to answer the phone sometimes. But, I'll get you the answer. They will say 'I'm calling you on a Zoom modem,' and I'll say, 'well that's the problem.'" On Sunday, ONE BBSCON '95 drew to a close. The BBSCON would reconvene in San Francisco on August 7-11, 1996. As I drove back to Pasco County, my mind wandered. It was a time to reflect on an amazing five days. There are moments in life that stand out from the norm. There are moments in life that make up for the day-to-day drudgery. There are moments in life that have a special intensity. Moments to reflect upon for all eternity. Moments that recharge the soul. Moments which you know will never be repeated. August 16- 20, 1995 was one of those moments in time. ONE BBSCON '95 now belonged to the ages. + + + + + ÕÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑѸ ÆØØØØØØØØØØØ Board of Trade BBS ØØØØØØØØØص ÆØØØØØØØØØ New Port Richey, Florida ØØØØØØØص ÆØØØØØØØ (813) 862-4772 (28.8 Rotary) ØØØØØص ÆØØØØØ FidoNet 1:3619/10 ØØØص ÆØØØ Øص ÆØ Home of the Pasco BBS Magazine ص ³ ³ ³ Home of the 813 BBS Directory ³ ³ ³ ³ Home of DragonHawk Productions ³ ³ ³ ÆØ Home of Shadoware ص ÆØØØ ØØص ÆØØØØØ Official Support BBS for ØØØØص ÆØØØØØØØ Pasco ComPats Computer Club ØØØØØØص ÆØØØØØØØØØ ØØØØØØØص ÆØØØØØØØØØØØ Member: Electronic Frontier Foundation ØØØØØØØØØص ÔÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÏÏϾ + + + + + ONE BBSCON '95 - What People Were Saying About Tampa Bay -------------------------------------------------------- When a city hosts the ONE BBSCON, or any other major event for that matter, they are going to be the subject of some praise and criticisms. When ONE BBSCON '95 was held at the Tampa Convention Center this past August, Tampa Bay was no exception to this rule. Tampa's efforts to revitalize the downtown area have yet to lead to substantial results, as downtown Tampa remains a ghost town after the sun goes down. This lead to comments that Tampa was a hick town where they rolled up the sidewalks at 6:00 pm. People complained that there was no place to eat, that all the restaurants were closed and that there was nothing to do around town. One of the first comments overheard about Tampa was a poor attempt at humor, but it did hit the nail on the head. "What do the locals do for excitement? Leave town!" Not to indicate that all the feedback was on the negative side. Many people were raving about how beautiful the area was and how wonderful the Tampa Convention Center was. From Wednesday's night Welcoming Reception, until the event closed on Sunday, never was heard a discouraging word about the Convention Center itself. There was also plenty of discussion about something completely out of the control of the local Chamber of Commerce, the heat. There was talk from the organizers of the event that the Tampa location was responsible for a leveling-off in the attendance for this year's show. The editor of the Pasco BBS Magazine asked many in attendance what they thought about Tampa and some of the better quotes are the basis for this article. Phil Becker, one of the primary organizers of the ONE BBSCON, was asked what he thought of Tampa. "I like Tampa quite a bit. It's a bit warm. I was here in February and it was little bit nicer then, I would say, then it is right now. This facility, on the other hand, is why we're here. It is the most gorgeous convention facility, I think, that is available anywhere. It is really why we brought this show here to tell you the truth." Jack Rickard, the other half of the ONE, Inc. team, also commented on Tampa. "It's a little warmish. It was beautiful in February. The attraction is this facility, it's just ideal for this kind of a show. We thought that it would be a real pretty show here and it is. Actually, Florida and the Tampa area with this Tampa Bay On-Line and so forth, there are some pretty active people in the area on-line. I think it has worked out pretty well for us." Jack Rickard continued discussing the site of the Welcoming Reception, along with the strengths and weaknesses of holding the event in Tampa. "I think that river-walk terrace was a delightful setting. A little warm, but it was very scenic and that is what we look for in the Welcoming Reception. Atlanta had some advantages and disadvantages, Tampa has too. We try to go into a place and take advantage of the good stuff and minimize the losses on the things that don't work so well. Tampa is a little light on hotels, they don't have a big hotel, they're a little bit scattered, so we try and focus it here on the Convention Center. I did a hospitality last night with a boat tied up out here by the fountain. Phil Becker did one where he brought in a boat and they went on a cruise. We have kind of focused all the activities right here on the Convention Center, which is the strong card here in Tampa." With this year's event drawing only slightly more people than last year's show in Atlanta, organizers were asked if they felt there may have been a leveling- off in the attendance. Phil Becker replied, "I think the truth is that Tampa is a little further away in people's minds, I think they're worried about the heat in August and I think it has had a damping effect on this year's attendance. It looks like we'll be in the 5,000 range, I haven't seen what the local response will be. We've had a lot of interest locally and that may change, we may get more local traffic than I expect. If the local traffic is typical to what we've seen in past years we'll be in the 5,000 range." Jack Rickard concurred, "It is kind of hard to get people from the rest of the country to come down here, but we do have attendees from thirty countries." What were others saying about the area? There was some talk at Thursday morning's Welcoming Session. Scott Brinker, President and CEO of Galacticomm, Inc. and a Fort Lauderdale resident, went up to the podium and commented, "Welcome to Tampa and the humidity!" Jim Harrer, President of Mustang Software, Inc., began his opening remarks, "First of all I think we ought to give Jack and Phil a hand for, again, hosting this at such a beautiful facility like Tampa. This is just gorgeous guys." Shortly after the Welcoming Session, David McClure, the Executive Director of the Association of Online Professionals, put the warm temperatures in perspective. "I love Tampa. It's warmer than this in D.C., where I come from. If you look at the map, it's all red. If you are going to have to have the weather one way or another, Tampa is gorgeous, I love it." Kathy Sussell, who operates the Invention Factory BBS with her husband, was also asked 'how do you like Tampa?' "I don't," the New York City resident replied. "The area we're in is not really conducive to getting to know Tampa. Well, it's kind of hot, it's August. See, at the convention we are really too busy to get out and see anything. I mean, it looks like a nice city. For me, I'm in the downtown area in the hotel and there is like no people walking around. It is kind of quite at night and there are not many shops, it's hard to buy souvenirs." There was also some talk about the active hurricane season and about how Hurricane Erin had passed through the area just two weeks prior to the event. Phil Becker joked, "I was concerned about that. When the hurricane came through, and I saw another one coming behind it, I said this will work out real good. We'll get all these people in town and then kill them. This will work." Jack Rickard also quipped, "I was praying Hurricane Felix would come this way, kind of cool things down." So, that is some of what people had to say when the BBSCON came to our community. This was one of the largest conventions to take place at the Tampa Convention Center this year and was the largest gathering of on-line enthusiasts in history. A record which should stand until they reconvene the BBSCON in San Francisco next August. + + + + + ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º º º ßÛß ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ Ûßßß ÛßÛ Ûßßß ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ ßßÛßß Û Û ÛßÛßÛ º º Û Û Û Û Û Ûß ÛßßÛ ßßßÛ ÛßßÛ Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û º º ßßß ß ß ß ß ßßßß ß ß ßßßß ß ß ß ß ßßßß ß ßßßß ß ß º º º º ÛßÛ ÛßÛ Ûßßß º º ÛßßÛ ÛßßÛ ßßßÛ º º ßßßß ßßßß ßßßß º º º º Since 1985 - Pasco County's Oldest BBS º º º º Sysops - Rob & Carolyn Marlowe º º º º Popular Chat Board, On-Line Games, CD-ROMS, Internet, FidoNet º º º º Ten Lines - (813) 848-6055 Voice - (813) 845-0893 º º º º telenet: sanctum.com º º º º READ THE PASCO BBS MAGAZINE AT: http://www.sanctum.com/pasco º º º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ + + + + + Windows 95: The Hype Highway ----------------------------- As expected, MicroSoft released the latest version of Windows on August 24. As people scurried to upgrade their computers to handle the massive operating system, the release of Windows 95 was expected to bring a billion dollar windfall to the computer industry. As with any new software, the inevitable bugs and problems began surfacing shorting after the release. While there are many interesting stories coming out of this new release, the hype surrounding Windows 95 made everything else pale by comparison. MicroSoft proved to be the masters of marketing and lead millions of consumers down the hype highway. For months, MicroSoft had been heralding the much delayed release of Windows 95 as a way to improve the quality of life for the average computer user, if not the average American. This may have been the most hyped marketing campaign in history, even dwarfing the "new" Coke fiasco. But, credit must be given, where credit is due, and MicroSoft launched one of the most effective advertising campaigns in history. There certainly were some interesting stunts in their strategy. MicroSoft would not allow sales of Windows 95 until August 24, which lead computer stores worldwide to open their doors at midnight to begin selling the software. Despite the fact that there no shortage of copies of Windows 95, some stores were going to the extent of taking reservations for the software. Many stores stayed open until the wee hours of the morning to handle the rush of customers. Some of the stores carried a live broadcast of Bill Gates and MicroSoft had representatives in some stores to answer questions. In New Zealand, where the midnight deadline came hours before stores in the United States could begin selling the software, Auckland business student Johnathan Prentice bought the first retail copy. A Dallas computer store ran a "Best Dressed Computer Nerd" contest, but the whole midnight scenario left many with the thought that most computer geeks needed to get a life. But, the hype was the amazing thing. MicroSoft paid to use the Rolling Stones' song "Start Me Up" for its advertising campaign. Some in the media were reporting that the rights to the rock classic cost MicroSoft up to $12 million, but the actual cost was somewhere between $2-4 million. A hefty outlay, but only a small percentage of the $150 million advertising budget. MicroSoft president Bill Gates' face was all over the television. He was on Larry King Live, the Today Show and featured in a paid half-hour advertisement in most of the major media markets. Some of the stunts were actually fairly original and clever. In Great Britain, farm fields were painted with the Windows 95 logo. In Sydney, Australia, a floating barge carrying a 40 foot re-creation of the software package was towed into the harbor. In New York City, MicroSoft paid to light the 102-story Empire State Building in Windows 95 colors. They brought out the entire run of "The Times of London" and distributed the paper free of charge, with some modifications to hype the release. Tonight Show host Jay Leno hosted a corporate carnival in Seattle, which was beamed via satellite to 43 cities. A look behind the hype generated some gratifying numbers for MicroSoft. They reportedly sold more than 300,000 copies in the United States on the first day, sold 1 million copies over first four days and expected to sell 29 million copies by the end of the year. A look behind the hype generated some unsatisfactory numbers for MicroSoft. Within days of the release, the newspapers were full of Windows 95 horror stories of system crashes and the loss of critical data. Their support line was overwhelmed with people seeking help. Some spent hours on the phone, hours on hold for a long distance call which was not toll free. MicroSoft had 1,600 people taking calls, which they felt could handle in excess of 20,000 calls a day, but they were woefully under-staffed. Many times technicians could not answer questions and were giving the traditional answer to something they cannot explain, the old "virus or disk problem" response. Another unsatisfactory number for MicroSoft, was the fact that their stock lost $4 on the Monday after the release. There will be millions of words written about the release of Windows 95. An article could be written on how we ever got to a point where an operating system takes up 63 megabytes of disk space. Articles have already been written on the claims that Windows 95 can be installed in less than an hour on a 386 with 4 meg of RAM. But, the hype was the amazing thing. Will MicroSoft try the same thing when they release their first bug fix release in November? + + + + + ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ³ ³ The Most Comprehensive Listing ßßßßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ³ ³ of Computer Bulletin Board ßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßß ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ³ ³ Systems in Pasco, Pinellas ßßßß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ³ ³ and Hillsborough Counties ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ³ ³ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ³ ³ ÚÄÒÄ¿Ò Â ÖÄÄÄ "Ö¿  ÖÄÄÄ Ò Â" ³ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ³\ÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ³ ³ º ÇÄÄ´ ÇÄÄ ºÀ¿³ ÇÄÄ Ó·Ú¿ÚÙ ³ÞÛÛßßÛÛÛݳ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ³ ³ Ð Ð Á ÓÄÄÄ Ð ÀÙ ÓÄÄÄ ÓÙÀÙ ³ ß ÜÜÛÝ ³ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ³ ³ ÖÄÄ¿ · ÄÄ· ÖÄ· ÖÄ· ÖÄÄ ³ ßÛÛß ³/ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ³ ³ ÇÄÄ´ º Ķ ºÄз ºÄз ÓÄ· ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÛÛÛßßÛÛÛÛݳ ³ ÓÄÄÙ Ó ÄĽ ½ÄĽ ½ÄĽ ÄĽ ßÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÛÛÛÛÛ³ ³ ÒÄÄ¿ Ò ÖÄÄ¿ ÖÄÄÄ ÖÄÄ¿ ÚÄÒÄ¿ ÖÄÄ¿ ÖÄÄ¿ Ò Â ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ³ ³ º ³ º ÇÄÂÙ ÇÄÄ º º º ³ ÇÄÂÙ ÓÄÒÄÙ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛݳ ³ ÐÄÄÙ Ð Ð Á ÓÄÄÄ ÓÄÄÙ Ð ÓÄÄÙ Ð Á Ð ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ³ ³ ßÛÛÛß ³ ³ ÜÜþ ³ ³ CLARK D. GILBO, Editor & Founder ÜÜßßßß ³ ³ ³ ³ GILBEAU PUBLISHING CO. P.O.BOX 3397, HOLIDAY, FL. (813) 938-6975 voice** ³ ³ THE 813 BBS DIRECTORY HOME BOARD IS BOARD OF TRADE BBS, DATA # IS 862-4772³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; + + + + + Heretic: City of the Damned Review ---------------------------------- Written by Paul Pollack, editor of GamePlay Magazine, New Port Richey, FL Another week, another 3D game. I've run over pedestrians, blown away bombers, blasted a few imps, and now, with the release of Heretic, my dragon's claw is awfully worn. It sometimes seems like this type of game pops up every week, with each new game getting less & less original along the way. The first- person perspective has become over-used. Yes, there's no such thing as a surplus of good titles, but many of the recent games are not good titles, far from it, in fact. That's why Heretic was such a relief. It's an awfully creative idea, with the best 3D engine I've yet to see, and an original concept that sets a positive example for other game companies. There are numerous magical artifacts scattered throughout the game, and the medieval feel only adds to the atmosphere. Heretic is an incredible title. Heretic (shareware version): City of the Damned Statistics: Developer: Raven (using the Doom engine) Publisher/Distributor: ID software Requirements: 486 DX, 4 MB RAM, 9600 BPS+ modem for modem play Recommended: 486 DX/33 with VLB, 8+ MB RAM, supported sound cards, 14.4 modem Available at: Board of Trade BBS -- (813) 862-4772 / (813) 863-5886 Any codes: You betcha (what 3D game doesn't have codes?!). Here: Defective Doom Codes ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ IDDQD -- Kills you ("trying to cheat, eh? now you die.") IDKFA -- Takes away weapons/ammo ("cheater -- you don't deserve weapons") Correct Heretic Codes ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ RAMBO -- All weapons/full ammo RAVMAP -- Full map (must be in map mode) PONCE -- Full health SHAZAM -- Toggle higher weapon power COCKADOODLEDOO -- Become a chicken QUICKEN -- God mode GIMMExx -- Get artifacts (where xx is a letter a-j [not d or j in the shareware version] followed by a number 1-9) SKEL -- Gives you all the keys KITTY -- No clippings mode ENGAGExx -- Warp mode (where xx is the episode number followed by the level number) MASSACRE -- Massacre; kills all creatures on level Remember: As in Doom, the codes will only work on the first four skill levels. Difficulty: Adjustable Report Card: (Remember: these are strictly our opinion) Graphics...................... A+ Sound......................... A Music......................... B+ Plot.......................... N/A Animation..................... A Puzzles....................... N/A Humor......................... N/A Funfactor..................... A+ Re-play factor................ B+ Control\manipulation.......... B+ Technical factor.............. B Concept....................... A Bang for your buck............ A Ending........................ D Overall....................... A The Explanation: Graphics (A+): With Heretic, the artists at Raven have forever redefined what 3-D games should look like. The wall, floor, and ceiling textures look fantastic, and fit in perfectly with the medieval setting, while the weapons all look realistically rendered. The enemies you face are also very well- rendered, which leads me to believe that Heretic has the finest graphics ever to appear in a 3-D game. There's a great attention to detail here. The water seems to almost ripple, the graphics have a medieval touch that fits in perfectly with the concept, and everything stays in perspective while in flight. Of course, Raven has always had great graphics in their titles (Shadowcaster speaks for itself), so it's not that much of a surprise that Heretic has raised the graphical stakes in the world of PC gaming. Sound (A): Heretic makes great use of sound, from the splash present when your character hits the water to the sound of dead creatures collapsing to the floor. Best of all, every single one of the sounds is realistic (or, in the case of the weapons, at least sounds right), and this adds greatly to the overall quality of the title. Music (B+): There's not really that much to be said about this; the music in about all first-person shooters is pretty solid, and Heretic's certainly no exception. Plot (N/A): Heretic's plot was ever more well-hidden than that of Apogee's Rise of the Triad. In fact, I couldn't even find it, although I know that one does exist from the bits and pieces I've seen as well as the ending. The plot, judging from what little I've seen, seems to be about on par with Doom, which isn't saying much. Then again, nobody really cares about the plot in a game like this anyway, mainly because the plot isn't an integral part of the gameplay. Animation (A): For Heretic, Raven used the Doom engine (which is fitting since id published the game), and the result in fantastic. The scrolling and bobbing (on a fairly fast [486 DX2-50 with VLB recommended]) are every bit as realistic as Doom's, and the immersive quality of the title is simply fantastic. Puzzles (N/A): The puzzles in Heretic were similar to those in Doom; find the keycard, unlock the door, find the switch, see what it does, etc. And, like Doom, the puzzles mix in so well with the gameplay that it's impossible to give this a separate rating. Humor (N/A): While there wasn't any humor in the game (unless you think the Doom codes backfiring is funny), it could only hurt the overall quality of the product. With a medieval setting, humor would look out of place and detract from the overall experience. Funfactor (A+): Heretic is a very fun game to play, since it manages to immerse you further into the game world than into other program I've seen; including id's Doom/Doom ][ and Apogee's Rise of the Triad. It's obvious that a lot of work has been put into the game, and it really pays off in the end; wandering through the corridors and shooting enemies with your powered-up ethereal crossbow has never been so much fun! Re-play factor (B+): Although it doesn't have nearly as many new PWAD files as does Doom, Heretic allows up to four players on an IPX-compatible network, and two players via a 9600 BPS+ modem (try a 14.4/28.8 for maximum performance). Raven and id have also included DWANGO.EXE, a program that makes finding an opponent for your on-line sessions much easier. And yes, Heretic does allow the player to run user-created WAD files (again, id has asked for users to create WAD's only for the registered version), so there may be a whole lot of them cropping up pretty soon. But even without modem play, network play, or external WAD's, Heretic is a fun game that'll keep you coming back for more. There's plenty in here for you to discover, and the game world is large and inviting. Control/Manipulation (B+): To control Heretic, you can use either the keyboard, mouse, or joystick, and the game features special support for the Gravis PC GamePad, as well as a few other peripherals (like the Cyberman). While you'll probably enjoy playing with a combination of keyboard and mouse, I found that my Gravis PC GamePad worked the best out of everything I've tried. The controls were smooth, the four buttons were easy to reach, and there were few times when I needed to resort to keyboard control. Technical factor (B+): The game runs about as smoothly as Doom on many levels, and should perform nicely (although you may see some slowdown on some levels) on a 486 DX-33 with VLB/PCI. As for bugs, I didn't encounter much trouble, although I have heard reports of it occasionally freezing up or dumping the user back to DOS. These are just minor faults; they don't show up that often. Concept (A): While the 3D shoot-em-up concept has been used ad nauseum, this is not a typical 3D shooter. What strikes me as so original about Heretic is the fact that it features an inventory system, which goes a long way toward making it the best 3D game on the market. What this system enables you to do is to carry certain items, called "artifacts." Each artifact does a specific job; some are magical, and enhance your weapon power, or make you partially invisible, while others are normal artifacts, like a torch used for lighting the room. You access the inventory system by using a combination of the bracket and enter keys (brackets to select, and enter to activate). One of the artifacts enables you to fly, but unlike ROTT, where you have to keep pressing the button to stay in the air, Heretic allows you to simply move your character up and he'll simply stay there: less realistic, but more convenient. (ROTT v1.1 note: Rise of the Triad v1.1's flying method has changed, and now functions essentially the same as Heretic's. This review was written before v1.1, and as such, some things may not be accurate.) The weapons are also a nice touch; your staff, elvenwand, ethereal crossbow, dragon's claw, and gauntlets of the necromancer are all pretty much what you'd expect to find in a game of this setting. Yes, some type of sword would be nice, and our resident mythological expert Alex Thomas claims that necromancers don't wear metal (it's against their religion), but these are still solid additions to this already solid game. As a Doom level designer (GLADIATOR, available on the BOT BBS -- get it today!), I noticed that Heretic also has many sector types, the most noticeable is the ability to set the winds (useful for simulating water currents). And all the rest of the game just fits so well together that you can't help but love it. Raven and id have also opted to include an RSAC advisory-board rating with Heretic, and are among the first game publishers to use what may become `the' standard rating system. When you first begin at the menu screen, in the lower left-hand corner, you'll see an RSAC advisory rating warning you of the level three (out of four) blood/gore content found in the game. Although I doubt this rating will persuade someone not to play, it will help concerned parents decide whether the game is appropriate for their child. Bang for your Buck/Worth buying (A): Both Raven & id Software are famous for putting out high quality programs, and with Heretic, it becomes apparent why they have such reputations. Heretic makes full use of the Doom engine, but enhances it with so many neat touches (such as inventory management, the ability to fly, and unique artifacts), that it stands out as one of the best games, if not THE best game the genre has to offer. Whether you buy it or not depends upon what you like. If you are A) a Doom freak, B) a medieval times fan, or C) just someone looking for a great game (that's about all of us, isn't it?), you should check out Heretic. Then again, if you don't like 3D shooters, Heretic probably won't convert you. Your loss, though. Ending (D): I found the ending of the shareware version of Heretic suspiciously similar to that of the shareware version of Doom. Both consisted completely of text appearing on a background, explaining a brief ending, and then telling what to expect when you register the next episode. Well, what should you expect? While on the subject of similarities between Doom and Heretic, let me point out that both titles use a similar approach when it comes to registration. Both Doom and Heretic intentionally take out certain items to increase registration rates; for Doom it was the BFG 9000, Plasma Cannon, and the Berserk power-ups. For Heretic, id and Raven have taken out the Hellstaff, Phoenix Rod, and other power-ups. Overall (A): Heretic is one of those rare titles that not only tries to imitate the best, but to improve upon it. While other attempts like this one have met with mixed results, Heretic ups the genre a notch higher and extends the Doom engine with its innovative inventory management. Although it may seem like a minor addition, I really feel that Heretic's inventory system could be the next big step forward in the genre, as publishers realize that it takes more than just good graphics and a smooth engine to keep people hooked. Soon gamers will be demanding more, as the next batch of 3D games (like Quake & Dark Forces) are released. To be more immersive, there must be more realism, and only through improvements such as Heretic's inventory management will we ever get this. Gamers have been wishing for more realism for quite a while, and it's nice to know that game companies are finally listening to us. Download a copy of Heretic off the Board of Trade BBS today. You won't be sorry! Editor's Note: Thanks again to Paul Pollack for another great article. There will be more from Paul and GamePlay in next month's Pasco BBS Magazine. Paul is an avid gamer and frequent BBSer who, if you would like to contact him, can be reached at Gator's Place BBS (813) 376-0087, or Dr. Duck's BBS (813) 849- 3562. Paul is also the moderator of the GamePlay Conference on the Board of Trade BBS (813) 862-4772. + + + + + ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛ ÛÛ Û ³ ³ Ü Ü ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û Ü Ü ³ ³ ÜßÜ ÜßÜßÜ ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÜßÜßÜ ÜßÜ ³ ³ ÜßÜßÜßÜßÜßÜßÜß ÛÛ ÛÛÜÛ ÛÛ Û Û ÛÛÜ ÛÛÜÛ ÛÛ ÛÛÜÛ ÛÛÛÛ ßÜßÜßÜßÜßÜßÜßÜ ³ ³ ßÜßÜßÜß ßÜßÜß ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û Û ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÞÛÝ ßÜßÜß ßÜßÜßÜß ³ ³ ßÜß ßÜß ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÞÛÝ ßÜß ßÜß ³ ³ ÛÛÜÜÛ ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û Û ÛÛÜÛ ÛÛ ÛÛÜÛ ÛÛ Û ÞÛÝ ³ ³ ³ ³ =======FOR THE SERIOUS ONLINE GAMER======= ³ ³ ³ ³ The hottest gaming magazine ever just got even better! With more reviews ³ ³ of shareware and commercial games/demos, more game hints, Windows 3.1 ³ ³ compatibility, an updated list of the best shareware games, demos and ³ ³ more! This is one magazine you simply can't afford to miss! Now with a ³ ³ terrific all-new 256-color menu system, an awesome new RPG narrative, a ³ ³ complete One Must Fall 2097 strategy guide, and a terrific strategy ³ ³ guide to Privateer. You haven't known gaming until you've read GamePlay! ³ ³ ³ ³ ==========DragonHawk Productions========== ³ ³ ³ ³ Home BBS: Board of Trade BBS, New Port Richey, FL (813) 862-4772 ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ + + + + + EFF Quote of the Month ---------------------- "When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl!" [When cryptography is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy!", ROT-13 encrypted] - John Perry Barlow, EFF co-founder Editor's Note: The Electronic Frontier Foundation Quote of the Month is a collection of the wittiest and stupidest, most sublime and most inane comments ever said about cryptography, civil liberties, networking, government, privacy, and more. For more information on the Electronic Frontier Foundation, contact the EFF via the Internet, phone, fax, or US Mail. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, 1001 G Street NW, Suite 950 E, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 347-5400 (voice), (202) 393-5509 (fax), (202) 638-6119 (BBS), Internet: ask@eff.org. + + + + + ²²²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²²²²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²²± THE NEWS ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²± ²²± ²²± ²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± DIRECTORY ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²²±²²± ²²±²± ²²± ²²± ²²²± ²²± ²²± ²²±²²²²± ²²²²± ²²±²±²²± ²²²± A brief look ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²± ²²±²± ²²²²²²²± ²²²± at some of ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²²± ²± ²²²±²²²± ²²± ²²± the news of ²²²²± ²²± ²± ²²± ²²± ²²²²²²²± ²²± ²²± ²²²²± the month The next TWO BBSCON will take place May 23 to 26, 1996 in Munich, Germany. The headquarters hotel for the third annual European version of the popular ONE BBSCON will be the Sheraton Munchen Hotel & Towers. There will be a Gala Dinner on May 24 and an optional river rafting excursion on May 26. Information may be obtained from TWO BBSCON EST., P.O. Box 206, FL-9486 Schaanwald, Liechtenstein, Europe, or +41 (75) 373 28 32, or at twobbs@online.li. The 904 telephone area code will be splitting on December 3 of this year to form a new 352 area code. This change, which originally was expected to happen some time next year, will affect the Southern section of the current 904 area code. The part of Pasco County in the 904 area code, along with Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy, Marion, and Sumter counties, will have to switch to the new area code. The areas north of that will be able to retain the current area code. This is the latest in a series of area code splits taking place all over the country. The increased usage in electronic equipment, such as pagers, modems and cellular phones, has created the demand for additional telephone number. The second annual trade show put on by Sysop News...and CyberWorld Report will take place June 11-13, 1996 at the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information on cyber.Xpo.96 contact Offinger Management Company, P.O. Box 2188, Zanesville, OH 43702-2188, (614) 452-4541, or at cyberxpo@muskingum.edu. If you want evidence of just how mainstream on-line communications have become, just look to the season opening telecast of ABC's Monday Night Football. When Dallas running back Emmitt Smith ran for a 60 yard touchdown on the game's third play, play-by-play announcer Al Michaels stated: "The Cowboys have just sent the Giants a message in all caps!" + + + + + ROTFL! ------ Computer humor courtesy of Sandy Illes Top Ten Ways To Know You Need A New Computer 10. It says, "I can't let you do that Dave," even though your name isn't Dave. 9. It won't boot unless you put the battery re-charger on it. 8. The error messages now say, "Please trade me in... please!" 7. It makes better toast than zip files. 6. It auto-dials 911 and begs for help. 5. You have to literally boot it just to get the floppy drives to work. 4. Unix systems sneer at it and call it a dweeb. 3. Even 286's sneer at it and call it a dweeb. 2. It acts like it thinks BIOS stands for: "But I'm Obviously Stupid." 1. It singes your fingers when you type on the keyboard. Editor's Note: Thank you to ROTFL Digest!, and its editor Sandy Illes for allowing the above to be reprinted from a prior issue of the on-line humor magazine. For more information on ROTFL Digest! contact Access Media Systems at (905) 847-7362 (Voice/FAX), or call the CAP/Canada BBS at (416) 287-0935. Email: sandy.illes@canrem.com, or Sandy Illes 1:250/710. + + + + + S H A R E W A R E R E V I E W ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ Program ³ Jack Flash ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ Author/Vendor ³ MVP Software ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ Special Requirements ³ 386 or higher ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Jack Flash Review ----------------- Jack Flash and the Mutiny of the Things is a new game written by Christian Aschoff of Germany's CAPS Softwaredesign ULM and distributed by MVP Software. The first of Jack Flash's four worlds is being distributed via the Shareware market. It is an enjoyable game with nice graphics and colorful enemies. The game scenario begins with a news broadcast by Norbert Nanotech. It seems that Professor E. Eddison (known as Evil Eddi) has brought the "Things" to life with his "Energy Generators." Now the battle begins with nowhere to hide from the aggressive apples, combative carrots, lunatic light-bulbs and all the other strange things the doctor has brought to life. The hope for civilization lies with the one and only Jack Flash and his Suck-O-Matic. As Jack Flash, you try to suck the life out of all the bad guys and save the universe in the process. With parallax-scrolling, decent sound card support and a sense of humor, Jack Flash Mutiny of the Things is a nice addition to MVP Software's catalog. + + + + + °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° ² ² ² Board of Trade BBS New Port Richey, Florida ² ² ² ² Home of the Pasco BBS Magazine ² ² ² ² Home of the 813 BBS Directory ² ² ² ² Home of DragonHawk Productions ² ² ² ² Home of Shadoware ² ² ² ² (813) 862-4772 ² ² ² ² 12/24/48/96/144/28800 baud ² ² ² ² Official Distribution Site: ² ² Alive Software, Apogee Software, Epic MegaGames, Gamer's Edge, ² ² Id Software, Impulse Software, MVP Software, Safari Software, ² ² Software Creations, Soleau Software and Union Logic Software ² ² ² °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° + + + + + PBM Flashback - October 1994 ---------------------------- The October 1994 issue of the Pasco BBS Magazine featured a report on ONE BBSCON '94 in Atlanta. One of the highlights was the Sysops who were quoted during the BBS Success Roundtable educational sessions. The sessions are quite informative, but the sessions are not without their lighter moments. Here is some of what Kathy Sussell of the Invention Factory BBS had to say about running a bulletin board in New York City. "We had a very big (line) noise problem. The infrastructure of New York City is falling apart. It is kind of hard to be a high tech company in a low tech town." Editor's Note: PBM Flashback will appear on a regular basis in future issues. Most issues will have this brief look back at some of the features which have appeared over the history of the Pasco BBS Magazine. + + + + + Corrections and Clarifications ------------------------------ In last month's Catalog of Free On-Line Magazines, one magazine's home BBS had the incorrect telephone number. The GamePlay Magazine's home BBS, the Board of Trade BBS, had the wrong number. Since this is also the home BBS of the Pasco BBS Magazine, the correct number can be found several places in this issue, but it shows just how easy it is to get someone's number wrong. If you notice mistakes in the magazine, please let us know so the appropriate correction may be run. + + + + + Next Month ---------- The November issue of the Pasco BBS Magazine will have more ONE BBSCON '95 coverage. There will be a report on the Association of Online Professionals and a look ahead to ONE BBSCON '96, which will be held in San Francisco next August. Along with all the latest news, all our regular features will be back. Do not miss the November issue of the Pasco BBS Magazine, which will be available on or before October 22. + + + + + Important Information --------------------- The Pasco BBS Magazine is distributed free of charge, as long as it is unaltered and complete. When uploading make sure the original archive is intact with all files included. The Pasco BBS Magazine is the sole property of the Board of Trade BBS and Richard Ziegler. It is legally copyrighted material and all rights are reserved. No part of this magazine may be used without permission. No compensation of any kind may be received for the viewing, distribution, or for any other use of the magazine files. By submitting something, you are agreeing to allow publication of the material in the magazine. Articles reprinted with permission remain the property of the cited source. Guest contributions may not necessarily reflect the views of the Pasco BBS Magazine. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions, however, this is normally only done to correct spelling or grammatical errors. The editor makes all determinations on what and when articles will run. Every effort is made to insure that all information contained within the Pasco BBS Magazine is accurate, but inadvertently mistakes can appear. The Pasco BBS Magazine, Board of Trade BBS or Richard Ziegler cannot be held liable for information contained within this document. It is intended that this magazine exists for the personal enjoyment of the readers. Rather than place a trademark symbol at every occurrence of a trademarked name, it is stated that trademarks are only being used in an editorial fashion with no intention of any infringement of the trademark itself. More information can be found in the other files distributed with the magazine's archive. Comments, questions, suggestions and submissions can be left on the Board of Trade BBS (813) 862-4772, or mailed to Board of Trade BBS, P.O. Box 1853, New Port Richey, FL 34656. + + + + + (C)Copyright 1995 Richard Ziegler - All Rights Reserved + + + + +