"c|net central"
TRANSCRIPT
-Episode 18-

Original air date:  7/29/95


HOSTS: RICHARD HART and GINA ST. JOHN


RICHARD:  Find out how to play games with people from around the 
world!

GINA:  And the next stop on the information superhighway, 
Hollywood: a behind the scene look at the newest cyberflicks.

RICHARD:  Hi! I'm Richard Hart.

GINA:  And I'm Gina St. John. Those stories plus the news, tips, and 
information you need in this digital world. So stay tuned!

(COMMERCIAL)

RICHARD:  Welcome to "c|net central"! You know, in Hollywood today, 
it seems everybody has a script about the Internet. There was, for 
example, "Johnny Mnemonic," which is probably not the best 
example, but as producers and writers get to know the Net better, 
the scripts will get better. We are expecting more than a half-dozen 
features about the Net before the end of the year. Beginning with the 
release this week of Sandra Bullock's new one, "The Net." 

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

RICHARD:  "The Net," starring Sandra Bullock and Dennis Miller, 
opened strong around the country this weekend. Hollywood has 
gotten the computer virus. You can bet that "cyber" and "Internet" 
are the two major buzzwords in every studio's development pipeline. 

PAULA PARISI (THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER):  Hollywood is very 
opportunistic, and so it will try to take advantage of any trend and 
write any wave that comes along. And obviously, computers are 
something that have become a big part of everyone's life.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

RICHARD:  What is the extent of your computer knowledge?

SANDRA BULLOCK:  Well, as much as I need to know that works for 
my life. In terms of my business and my life, I'm not a computer 
genius, and I'll never profess to be one, but we had some people that 
worked on our film that taught me more than I'll ever need to know 
about computers.

RICHARD:  If "The Net" does well, you can be certain that a wave of 
Silicon flicks will be on theater marquees soon. In fact, poised on the 
on-ramp right now is "Hackers," "Virtuosity," and Stanley Kubrick's 
long in the making "AI."

VOICE-OVER:  "AI" stands for artificial intelligence, and Kubrick has 
been developing this film for a number of years.

RICHARD:  Oh, and don't forget this fall's television offering, 
"Dweebs." And that's just the tip of the hard drive. Steven Spielberg's 
"Dreamworks" is heavy into development of a highly secretive 
project, as is Disney. But are the Hollywood types making movies 
about something they know anything about?

DENNIS MILLER:  I like eight-track technology. I'm stuck in the '60s.

VOICE-OVER:  I think that you will see a lot of people who do not 
know a lot about the computer culture making movies like that, 
where computers are props, essentially....I think you'll see these 
heroic themes that are then applied to a computer, which is a magic 
box that, when it's open, can really do anything. They can take the 
plot in any direction.

RICHARD:  Cautionary tales about our relation with technology is a 
fertile field to plow for dramatic ideas, as well as for cold cash, and 
Hollywood is, it seems, falling all over itself, trying to get on that 
superhighway on-ramp.

SANDRA BULLOCK:  Everyone has had interaction with a computer at 
one time or another and it's so user friendly that it opens the door 
for everybody. And I think now it's just around a lot more and the 
films are reflecting that.

RICHARD:  Hollywood insiders tell us that if "The Net" turns out not to 
be a winner at the box office, the rest of this year's cyberflicks could 
be cyberflops.

(COMMERCIAL)

RICHARD:  The biggest news this week, and it seems all year, has 
been Windows 95. The new operating system went gold last week. 
Microsoft sent it to the manufacturers and it will be available on 
August 24. Meantime, Prodigy, America Online, and CompuServe 
joined forces this week to ask Congress to investigate the planned 
inclusion of Microsoft Network in Windows 95. The services say it 
will cause unfair competition. And be sure to tune in next week 
when John C. Dvorak gives an exclusive, comprehensive first look at 
Windows 95, only on "c|net central."

GINA:  It's time for "buy it, try it, or skip it," the very review system 
this man developed. It's John C. Dvorak. He is our multimedia guru at 
c|net, and resident expert on CD-ROMs.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  That's right.

GINA:  He's modest, too. I want to ask what you think of this one; it's 
called "The Masters." Do you golf?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  You know, I used to golf when I was in college, and 
I had two holes-in-one in one round, and a couple of par threes. And 
I gave up the game as too easy.

GINA:  I don't believe you, please.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  I'm telling you, this is the truth. This is called "The 
Masters--An Interactive Journey Through Its Sixty-Year History." 

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  It's an interactive guide to the Masters, one of the 
most prestigious golf tournaments around. There is a record of the 
Masters tournaments over the years as well as player profiles of all 
the champions and major players, including their scorecards and 
video highlights. There is a written interview with Bobby Jones, 
documenting the creation of Augusta National, along with the 1934 
program for the first Masters tournament. Even the tournament 
qualification requirements are posted. It doesn't look like I will get 
invited anytime soon, now that I am a bowler. 

There are archival documents, like this letter from the Golden Bear 
expressing his excitement over his third Masters championship, and 
lots of anecdotes. Do you know how many holes-in-one have been 
made in Masters' history? Thirteen! And there's Curtis Strange with 
his in 1988. What I like best, though, is exploring Augusta National 
without paying the greens fees. I can select any hole; get an in-depth 
written description along with an aerial video of the hole; and a 
contour view of each green, including pin positions. 

"The Masters--An Interactive Journey Through Its Sixty-Year 
History," sells for $39.99 and is available on the PC and Mac.

You know, I like this disc. I think if you are a golfer,  you are gonna 
like it. It almost drove me back into the game, and the putting is cool. 

GINA:  And you'd look so good in golfing clothes, too. Now, golfing is 
really conservative. This, on the other hand, they call a seductive 
meditation and a visual jam.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  This is "The Groove Thing."

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  It's a kaleidoscope for your computer. No enemies 
to destroy. No material to be referenced. No points to score. Just 
colors and patterns and music to groove to. You change the thickness 
of the kaleidoscope by selecting one of these ovals. You select the 
kaleidoscope repeat size by choosing one of these grids. You can alter 
the colorscape as well as the pattern type of the kaleidoscope; you 
can even affect the symmetry of the patterns. Can't decide? Then 
select "Question Mark." That means random, and the computer will 
do the designing for you. There are even different music styles: 
nature, Zen riffs.... You can work and groove. 

"The Groove Thing" sells for $30 and is a hybrid disc, available on 
both the Mac and the PC. This is a definite "buy it."

GINA:  This was a good one, I thought.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Yes, it's outstanding. You put a microphone on your 
computer, and it will change. This thing operates. You can plug in 
your stereo and it'll do all kinds of stuff. This is one of the best 
kaleidoscope programs I have ever seen. And the interface is a killer.

GINA:  You really like it.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Yeah.

GINA: I'm surprised. I just didn't expect you to dig on something like 
this. I don't know why.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  What do you mean, you don't know why?

GINA:  I mean, it just...

JOHN C. DVORAK:  I'm getting this reputation as being an unhip guy.

GINA:  No. You are very hip, John. You are, as a matter a fact, I think 
you are hip to this one. This is a new CD-ROM called "Wild Africa." 

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  This will save you a trip to Africa if you want to 
take a safari. "Wild Africa" is an exquisite exploration of three 
Tanzanian national parks: the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro, and the 
Tarangire. An extended photographic essay documents the three 
parks, along with a comprehensive field guide that provides instant 
access to information on more than 75 species of plants, animals, and 
birds. These clever pull-out menu bars provide a no-clutter 
navigation system, with a particularly brilliant feature: export 
capabilities. With a click of the mouse you can easily transfer any 
text, photograph, and video to your hard drive for your own personal 
reuse. "Wild Africa: Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tarangire" sells for $49.95 
and is a hybrid disc, which works both on the PC and the Mac. 

This is a "buy it." It's a great disc everyone is gonna like. It's got 60 
minutes of video, 250 photographs, saves you a trip to Africa, and 
you don't have to worry about getting eaten by a lion.

GINA:  It was very impressive, it really was.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  I liked it.

GINA:  I like it. I liked all your reviews today, too.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  They were all good.

GINA: Thank you so much. If you'd like to check out all of John's 
reviews, you can on c|net online. Just go to c|net central, then click on 
television, and you are there. And don't forget to check out "the c|net 
100." It's the top 100 CD-ROMs available right now. Richard?

RICHARD:  Serious computer game players for years have enjoyed 
playing on a network. That meant that people could play against each 
other, using computers in different rooms. But it generally meant you 
had to be at the office because that's the only place you could find a 
network. But now, virtually everyone is logging on to the Internet, 
and that means that serious gamers can find not only better sound 
and graphics, but better competition--anywhere in the world.

This was once cutting-edge entertainment: Pac-Man, a few simple 
card games, and how can we forget the digital equivalent of cave 
drawings, Pong? But those games are now doomed. Literally, in the 
new world of online gaming. In the old days--like last year--you 
found a game online, downloaded it, and then played it until you had 
it completely figured out. Not much of a challenge. But today, the 
most challenging and exciting games available are online. Thanks to 
Pentium power and folks like Dwango, who are setting up game 
servers all over the country. And there is a new twist: instead of just 
downloading and playing a game, you can now dial up a server--a 
computer that acts like a game arena--and play your friends there, 
or whomever.

GINA:  Richard! Would you please signal before you cut me off!

VOICE-OVER:  You can meet new people every other minute and play 
with people you've never met.  That is the challenge. That is the 
excitement. You don't know what they're gonna do, what they're 
gonna be like, or what will be their level of skills.

RICHARD: Doom and its medieval cousin Heretic are the hottest 
games online right now. In addition to the cool graphics and sound, 
there is the action. Doom players from all over the world get to meet 
each other online in chat rooms where they can set up teams or take 
each other on, one-on-one.

BOB HUNTLEY (INTERACTIVE VIDEO SYSTEMS):  The first time I saw 
a multiplayer environment, it got my attention so strong because of 
the excitement it brought with just two players. I realized you can 
multiply the lobby effort of hundreds of people being able to meet 
each other and logging on these games.

RICHARD:  The key to the game's success was its instant availability 
over the Internet.

BOB HUNTLEY (INTERACTIVE VIDEO SYSTEMS):  It was known 
internationally overnight. We had people dialing in from Hong Kong; 
Vienna, Austria; Australia; Paris; U.K.--and we called and verified 
these people.

RICHARD:  Pretty smart marketing. Once you get people hooked on a 
game through the Internet, they want a more powerful version and, 
for that, they have to pay. But that also means, in the end, only the 
best games survive. Because of that, software developers are now 
scrambling to come up with bigger and better games. Better graphics, 
more action, and formats that allow dozens--if not hundreds--of 
people to play at once.

VOICE-OVER:  They are getting stuff into people's hands without 
having to pay for the video. And so what they are doing, they are 
getting direct contact with their customers because almost all Web 
sites have some immediate feedback.

RICHARD:  Doom is only the first of many game networks available 
online. AT&T's Imagination Network enables players to create their 
own online persona. Meet each other in chat rooms and then head 
out into cyberspace for a game of golf, aerial combat, or fantasy 
game. And family favorites like Monopoly are headed for the 
Internet, using the same idea.  But the most interesting development 
out of all of this didn't come from the game companies. This version 
of Doom featuring "Star Trek" characters and sound effects was 
created by a fanatical and creative Doom player. It's called a WAD. 
That is, simply an outlaw version of Doom created by pirate 
programmers. You can't find the software in the store. It's available 
only on the Internet.

You know, there are a few secret commands you can type into Doom 
to enhance the play. A "cheat" is such a dirty word. For instance, if 
you type in "iddqd", it puts you in god-mode. You are 99% 
invulnerable. If you type in "idkfa", it gives you maximum ammo, 
and typing in "idchoppers" gives you a chain saw.

(COMMERCIAL)

GINA:  The Macintosh Music Festival was in New York last week, and 
the Big Apple played host to some of the largest names in the 
interactive music biz, like Todd Rundgren, Laurie Anderson, and The 
Residents. Take 350 rock and roll bands, 15 of New York City's 
hottest clubs, and the Internet. Mix them all together, throw in a 
little help from Apple Computer, and you get the Macintosh New 
York Music Festival. 

VOICE-OVER:  This festival is all about the music. What we try to 
accomplish is merging new music with new media.

GINA:  Thanks to the festival debut of Apple's QuickTime VR, anyone 
can take virtual reality tours of the 15 clubs from a home computer. 
Want a band bio of any of the 350 acts--it's just a click away. Who's 
playing where and when? No problem! Plus, all 15 clubs were tied 
together by the Internet and had digital newsstands, where club 
goers could check out anything from show delays to up-to-the-
minute reviews filed by roving reporters with Powerbooks and 
digital cameras. A few clubs even broadcast their entire show to the 
other clubs around the globe with CU-SeeMe, an inexpensive 
teleconferencing system for the Internet. Big name interactive artist 
Todd Rundgren demonstrated his CD-Plus project called "The 
Individualist." CD-Plus is a new format, a hybrid CD. It's a regular 
music compact disc that plays on your stereo and it's also an 
interactive CD-ROM for your computer.

TODD RUNDGREN:  We looked into the economics of doing two 
different versions. It didn't seem to make any sense, so we said we'll 
just do one version.

GINA: And we talked to Laurie Anderson, one of the best known 
interactive musical artists.

LAURIE ANDERSON:  There is a whole other network now, and 
they've all kind of gotten max, and they are just online doing stuff. 
So I think that's where the underground went--online.

GINA:  Besides playing with his band at the festival, Rundgren also 
tours solo with his multimedia pods; it allows his audience to interact 
with him during his show. If you'd like to find out more information 
about the festival, go to the Web site at festival.inch.com. Richard?

RICHARD:  You know, the subject matter of our top story today, the 
movie "The Net," might have a few of you paranoid. I mean, the 
theme is personal information that the government holds on all of us. 
On the other hand, Dave Ross doesn't see that as an obstacle--he sees 
it as an opportunity. And here he is, with the last word.

DAVE ROSS:  

Everybody's worried that the government is collecting fat dossiers on 
everything we do.  Nonsense.  Folks, it's not the government that's 
collecting information on you, it's private companies.

With all this interactive stuff, and caller ID, all you have to do is 
THINK of going to the mall, and a warning lights start flashing at 
corporate headquarters.

And once they peg you as a person who BUYS stuff, they slap your 
name and address on a floppy disk, and off it goes! And pretty soon 
the post office has to start delivering your mail on the Exxon Valdez.

Your name and address are a valuable commodity. And my friends, 
in the spirit of independence that made this country the ornery son-
of-a-gun she is, it's time to protect that name and address.

Look what corporations do.  They COPYRIGHT everything.

(HOLDS UP A SYMBOL FOR COPYRIGHT)

They TRADEMARK everything. 

(HOLDS UP A SYMBOL FOR TM) 

They attach more teeny letters than the fine print in a used car ad.  

This commentary is copyrighted.  

(HOLDS UP COPYRIGHT SIGN)  

You steal it, we send a big guy named Chuck to check your tires.

So it's time we applied the same idea to personal data.  It's YOUR 
name, after all.  If someone puts it on a floppy disk, and sells it, you 
ought to get royalties!  

Which is why I've invented:

The FLOPPYRIGHT! 

Every time you give someone your name and address, you attach the 
FLOPPYRIGHT symbol to it.  That means they can go ahead and sell it, 
but each time they do they have to PAY you.

Call your congressman, call your senator, call your Mom--she's happy 
to hear from you; she won't care what it's about--and tell them to 
demand the FLOPPYRIGHT.  

I don't like third class mail any more than you do, but if they start 
paying to use my name, heck, they can stuff my mailbox until it 
explodes.

I'm Dave Ross tm, and I get the last word. 

RICHARD:  Well, that's it for "c|net central" this week.

GINA:  Remember, everything you saw on the show today is linked to 
additional resources online at www.cnet.com.

RICHARD:  Thanks for tuning in. And don't forget to log on!

(END OF TAPED MATERIAL)


