C|NET CENTRAL
TRANSCRIPT
- EPISODE 1 -

Original air date:  4/1/95




HOSTS:  RICHARD HART and GINA ST. JOHN

(MUSIC)

VOICEOVER:  He might be the only one who knows what happened 
the night Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered.

GINA:  But now, for the first time ever, computers recreate the 
murders in stunning scientific detail.

VOICEOVER:  I am able to take you back to that street, that condo, 
that gate, that night, and you can watch those people.

RICHARD:  And, the car of the future won't let you get lost.  It talks!

GINA:  It's going to go...

(BACKGROUND NOISE) 

DIGITAL VOICE:  Right turn, ahead.

GINA:  How perfect.

RICHARD:  We'll take you for a test drive.

GINA:  Hi, I'm Gina St. John.

RICHARD:  And I'm Richard Hart.

GINA:  It's all next on c|net central!

(MUSIC) 

(COMMERCIAL) 

(MUSIC) 

(COMMERCIAL) 

(MUSIC) 

RICHARD:  Welcome back to c|net central.  And I'm sure by now some 
of you might be asking, "What is this show?"  Let's start with the 
name, c|net.  That stands for computer network.  And one day we 
hope to become, with your help, an entire network devoted to 
programs about our digital world--and this is just the start.  All of 
this is c|net central.  It's a warehouse 100 years old in San Francisco 
filled with all the newest technologies.  Plus, 100 producers, artists, 
writers, and computer specialists.  And now, here in the thick of it 
is...Gina St. John.

GINA:  Thanks, Richard.  Behind me, we built television's first 
independent computer lab.  It's been built to test digital products 
and services so that you get only the very best.  Oh, I need to tell 
you, this is not an infomercial, and we're not trying to sell you 
anything.  We're trying to give you honest evaluations, straight 
answers so you can get the best stuff.

Oh, let me show you where that happens, too.  This is c|net testing, 
and that is our technology tank.  They are seriously messing with the 
future back there.  Oh, and you've got to see this.  This is c|net online.  
We are building the world's first computer online service that is tied 
completely to a TV network.  For every one story we do on TV, there 
will be hundreds more online.  In the weeks to come, we'll show you 
ways to get cheap and free software and connect with our staff 24 
hours a day.

RICHARD:  Maybe you're already a veteran computer jock, or maybe 
you're starting out.  Even if you don't own a computer at all, we want 
you to feel welcome and comfortable.  We want this to be the place 
you turn for information and entertainment in this digital age.

GINA:  That's right, we're not about RAM and ROM and bits and chips; 
we're about the exciting and fascinating stuff that everyone's talking 
about--the Internet, CD-ROMs and new technologies that are 
changing our future.  

Our first example is computer re-creations.  For years, they appeared 
to be little more than amusing video arcade-style cartoons.  But now, 
re-creations are being used to shed light on complex events, like 
plane crashes, devastating accidents, and even the assassination of 
President Kennedy.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

RICHARD:  And now, for one of the most advanced re-creations ever 
made for what some people have called the "trial of the century"--
the O.J. Simpson trial.  It was commissioned by c|net and created by 
one of the country's leading teams of legal and scientific experts to 
demonstrate some of the awesome power of today's computers and 
some of the social implications of that power.

Even though it's an animation, some moments of violence may be too 
graphic for some audiences.  Here now, shown for the first time ever, 
our re-creation of the murders of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown 
Simpson.

(MUSIC) 

VOICEOVER:  The night of the murder, it's very dark in this area, 
very dark on the steps.  There's almost no illumination.  

RICHARD:  Through an exciting new technology called “forensic 
animation,” you will become a silent witness to the brutal murders of 
Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman--a c|net central exclusive.

These images were created through a marriage of computer-
generated animation, motion capture technology, and good detective 
work.  The data came from court records, scientific measurements 
taken at the scene by engineers, and special photography.  The 
attorneys in this courtroom have said it's likely the jury will be 
shown an animation.  That means a computer could help determine 
the verdict.  In a moment, we're going to show you our dramatic re-
creation in its entirety.  But first, we'd like to introduce you to the 
people c|net commissioned to create our ground-breaking animation, 
Failure Analysis Associates of Menlo Park, California.

VOICEOVER:  Hi, how's it coming?  That looks like the condo.

RICHARD:  Dr. Roger McCarthy, Failure Analysis' chief executive 
officer, is an engineer and one of the few experts in the world on the 
subject of re-creating events using computer animation.

DR. McCARTHY:  It's very significant to us as an organization, just 
because of the notoriety and I think also the degree of 
misinformation that has grown up surrounding the murders.

RICHARD:  Dr. McCarthy is on the board of several national safety 
advisory councils and serves as a consultant to the Army Science 
Board.  It was Failure Analysis that exposed the attempts by the NBC 
news program, “Dateline,” to rig a gas tank explosion for an 
investigative report.  From the Exxon Valdez disaster to the collapse 
of a hotel lobby walkway in Kansas City, Failure Analysis and its 
engineers have used cutting-edge technology to solve the mysteries 
behind some of the biggest disasters in the world.

RICHARD:  To create this animation, Failure Analysis engineers had to 
write a script based on their scientific investigation of what 
happened.  High-speed motion capture cameras and computers were 
then used to log actors' movements.  Finally, powerful SGI video and 
animation computers were put to work to render this animation.

DR. McCARTHY:  It's about as close to time travel as we are ever 
going to get.  You can go back in time and see things as they would 
have been seen from any vantage point at that time--limited only by 
the accuracy of the physical objects you build in an animation.  

RICHARD:  For years, computer-generated images have been used to 
re-create car and plane crashes and industrial accidents for civil 
cases.  But in a criminal court, especially in a murder trial, their use 
is rare and controversial. 

ALEXANDER JASON:  I didn't know if it would be something 
laughable, something usable.  I had no idea if it would work out or 
not, or whether I could do it.

RICHARD:  Criminal investigator Alexander Jason created the first 
forensic animation in the country to be used in a murder trial.  In 
1992, Jim Mitchell was accused of murdering his brother, Artie, in 
Corte Madera just north of San Francisco.

ALEXANDER JASON:  Here was a man trapped in the bedroom, no gun, 
doesn't know what's going on.  So he finally sticks his head out to 
look to see if somebody's still there, and he gets shot through the 
head, and that was a fatal shot.  Now, all this is very clear when you 
see it, but when you try to communicate this verbally, it's very 
confusing.

RICHARD:  A Marin county jury eventually convicted Mitchell.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

RICHARD:  Engineers and forensic experts who were given 
unprecedented access to the Simpson/Goldman murder scene have 
assembled this scenario.

DR. McCARTHY:  You are seeing an overhead aerial shot of the Bundy 
Drive geometry of this section of town, where you can see there are a 
number of condos side by side.  This area is where the murder 
occurs.  In reality, it is covered up by trees, there are steps and a 
gate, and a dirt area beside the front entryway and a patio, but we 
took the tree out so you could see that.  Now, we're going to put the 
tree in.  Because the night of the murder, the tree provides incredible 
shade, and it's extremely dark in this area.

At this point, Mr. Goldman comes up to the gate, punches it, and rings 
the doorbell.  Nicole Simpson leaves her condo, and she actually 
leaves the front door ajar to come down and open the gate.  There is 
obviously a speaker-phone and she knows who her visitor is.  
Literally, the assailant has to come from the patio area, or the 
physical arrangements of the subjects make no sense.

The way he attacks them immobilizes them both.  He hits the right 
side of Mr. Goldman's face with his left hand and does so very hard.  
There is a substantial bruise on the right side of his face.  
Simultaneously, or very soon thereafter, we believe the assailant hits 
Nicole Simpson on the left side of her face with the butt of his knife, 
and that knocks the right side of her head into the wall.  We believe 
that knocks her out, which enables the assailant now to come down 
and deal with the number one threat, which is the young, able and 
in-pretty-good-shape Mr. Goldman.

We postulate that he puts the point of the knife behind Mr. 
Goldman's head and actually uses the knife like a fork with his hand 
over the mouth to raise Mr. Goldman to his feet.  The medical 
examiner has testified that that wound alone would have been 
sufficient to kill Mr. Goldman if nothing else had been done to him.  
It's obvious from the medical evidence that the assailant has a hand 
over Mr. Goldman's mouth, is having a talk with Mr. Goldman, and is 
emphasizing his points with the knife.

The next fatal blow received by Mr. Goldman is a plunge right over 
his heart, hitting him in the left side of his torso.  Another thrust 
again from the back, upwards under the rib cage which is also a fatal 
thrust.  And he takes a final knife blow in this side, another fatal 
wound.  And we postulate he falls away into the fence.  We see 
abrasion marks down the back of his scalp which we believe is a 
result of falling down the fence, and then he falls over, and that is 
literally the position he is found in by the police the next morning.

With Mr. Goldman dealt with, the assailant is now free to turn his 
attention to Nicole.  The assailant uses the same technique to lift her 
as he does Mr. Goldman.  Hand over mouth, most important.  It's 
clear again that the assailant is talking to Nicole Simpson.  The reason 
we know this is before the final fatal cut of her throat, there are 
three other small cuts on her throat parallel to where the fatal blow 
is going to be administered.  It's clearly again torture.

The final cut across her throat is going to be delivered with her head 
cocked substantially back and the strength in that cut is enormous; 
and by that, I mean she is going to receive a single slice to the front 
of the throat that is going to be so deep it is going to nick her spinal 
cord.  That requires tremendous strength for a single cut.  I don't 
care how sharp the knife is.

The assailant notices he has lost his wool cap, and in the animation, 
he touches his head.  Unlike our animation, which has enough light 
level for you to see what is going on, in the real scene, this was very, 
very dark--and it is a dark wool cap.  He is trying to feel for the wool 
cap.  Can't feel anything through the gloves.  He has to take the 
gloves off to feel for the wool cap.  By taking off both gloves and not 
being careful about it, he actually ends up leaving a glove behind and 
not retrieving the wool cap.

We speculate that something disturbed him in his search and cut it 
short, whether it be a dog barking or some neighbor's voice or 
something.  When the investigators arrive, they are going to find 
Nicole's body in this position, Mr. Goldman's in this one.  They are 
going to find the skullcap here, they are going to find a glove very 
close by it.  Mr. Goldman's pager and his keys are all going to be 
found in these relative positions.

We believe this to be the most detailed reconstruction done to date.  
We hope it remains the standard by which all other reconstructions 
are judged by, even the prosecution's.  

RICHARD:  Of course, an animation from the O.J. Simpson defense 
team would show a different conclusion.  But for this animation, 
Failure’s investigators used evidence presented in court, autopsy 
reports and detailed evidence they gathered from the scene of the 
murders.

DR. McCARTHY:  The medical evidence is literally the most important 
for establishing this scenario of the crime.  The choreography, the 
movement of the characters through the scene, has been driven by 
the medical evidence because the choreography has to produce the 
wounds and they have to be produced in a certain order.  The hat is 
found with--I believe the number is 26--African American hairs in 
it.  There doesn't seem to be any contrary testimony or even dispute 
over the hat as belonging to the assailant, so we merely followed the 
physical evidence of the scene.

RICHARD:  Some of you might wonder, naturally, how we got the 
characters in that animation to behave so naturally.  You will see 
exactly how they did that and more on the next c|net central.

GINA:  And if you have a home computer and Internet access, you 
can get your own copy of our re-creation.  It's yours free to 
download, or transfer from our computer into yours.  Our online 
address is "http://www.cnet.com".  Now, if any of this is Greek to 
you, don't worry.  You can count on us to help you figure it all out.  
Hey, remember, we're c|net, your new home for digital technology.

(COMMERCIAL) 

(MUSIC) 

RICHARD:  Ever wonder what PC users say about Mac users?  

MALE 1:  Are PC users better than Mac users?  Well, let's see...Yeah.

MALE 2:  I didn't know there was much to think about them.  I don't 
know, I don't use a Mac.

MALE 3:  The others are wimps, and I don't think they could read a 
manual.  I think they want their mommy.  

MALE 4:  PC users are more of a serene type.  The Mac user is more 
of a fanatical, wow!, visual kind of person.

MALE 5:  Macintosh is OK.  But for me, hey, I like split-second 
response.  And that's what you get out of DOS.

RICHARD:  When we return, you'll hear the Mac users fight back.

(COMMERCIAL)

(MUSIC) 

RICHARD:  Now, if I told you that soon you might be riding in a car 
with a kind of autopilot, you might think it's a fantasy.  But it's here.  
I know because right now, Gina is taking one on a test drive. 

DIGITAL VOICE:  Keep right.  Followed by right turn.

GINA:  The Guidestar System is designed to give you the most 
convenient and direct route to your destination.  And all you, the 
driver, have to do is pick out where you want to go.  I mean, it 
doesn't matter where you're going.  It could be a specific location, 
perhaps a point of interest, an address--even a tourist attraction like 
the Golden Gate Bridge.

It doesn't matter because all of this geographical data is stored on a 
CD-ROM disc.  Now, the beauty of this thing is, you do not need to be 
a geographical surveyor to use it.  All you have to do is punch in 
where it is you want to go and it will literally tell you the fastest 
route there.

DIGITAL VOICE:  Destination ahead.

GINA:  Now, this device here.  It looks like a mouse, but it isn't.  What 
it is is a satellite antenna and it picks up signals from space, a thing 
called the GPS, the Global Positioning System.  It picks up these 
signals and it brings the signal to this box right down here, and that's 
all there is to it.

Now, the Guidestar System knows exactly where you are.  The 
question is, where do you want to go?  All you have to do is tell it.  I 
say, we're in San Francisco, let's go to Chinatown.  Now you're ready 
to explore the digital frontier.

RICHARD:  Well, not so fast, Gina. Of course, you have to keep in 
mind, as they say, that you can tell the pioneers by the arrows in 
their backs.

GINA:  Oh, you think you can beat my technology?

RICHARD:  Well, it's just that sometimes technology makes things a 
little more complicated than say, a map. 

GINA:  Oh no.  I'm about to make your life complicated.  I challenge 
you.

RICHARD:  OK.

GINA:  All right.

RICHARD:  Name an address.  Punch it into your little machine.  I'll 
get there before you do.

GINA:  All right.  717 Grant Avenue, the Chinatown kite shop.

RICHARD:  You're on.

GINA:  Riding through the city.  Technology to the rescue.  I got it.

DIGITAL VOICE:  Please proceed to the highlighted route.  

RICHARD:  Uh oh.

GINA:  See, the cool thing about this is, it's going to tell me where to 
go.  I don't even need to look at this map.  I do not need to look at it.  
It's going to go...

DIGITAL VOICE:  Right turn ahead.

GINA:  How perfect.

RICHARD:  (HOLDING A MAP) Could you tell me where Chinatown is 
on here?  

BIKER:  Well, let's take a look here.  You see right there by Yosemite?  
It's just to the left.

GINA:  The Guidestar System is the perfect tool for the serious 
traveler.  Immediately at hand are the quickest possible routes to 
restaurants, airports, banks, emergency services and dozens more.  
You need an ATM?  Punch in your bank name and scroll along until 
you find the closest one.  You can either follow a map which can be 
viewed at different scales, or the simple route instruction screen 
which gives you turn-by-turn instructions.

RICHARD:  (AT A PAY PHONE)  No, no, no--kite shop.  Is there 
someone there who speaks English?

GINA:  OK, 1/10th of a mile to Grant Avenue.  I'm almost there!.

(MUSIC) 

GINA:  I found the kite shop.  No Richard!

(MUSIC) 

RICHARD:  717.  Yes!  (SEEING GINA)  Oh no!

GINA:  Hey, you like it?  Great kite.

RICHARD:  Obviously, you've been here for a while. 

GINA:  Yeah, a while.  What took you so long?

RICHARD:  Uh, traffic.

GINA:  Guidestar maps are constantly updated and contain the latest 
road information, including routings for freeway and non-freeway 
travelers.  It even knows one-way streets.

(MUSIC) 

RICHARD:  Next week, the Internet.  Exactly what is it?  And, in two 
weeks, John C. Dvorak reviews the best and worst in CD-ROMs.

(COMMERCIAL) 

RICHARD:  Time now to hear what Mac users have to say. 

FEMALE 1:  I'm in life for the giggles and the Mac is one of my most 
enjoyable things.

MALE 1:  It works really well, and it's easy.  You really do get that 
kind of warm and fuzzy feeling from it.

MALE 2:  And I have used a little box and found it very strange.

FEMALE 1:  Windows 3.0 was the Mac interface done in crayon, and 
the 3.1 was a vast improvement, because it was a Mac interface done 
with felt-tips.

RICHARD:  Stay tuned for more c|net central.

(COMMERCIAL) 

RICHARD:  So, all kidding aside, Gina, you would actually say that this 
Guidestar thing works?

GINA:  Oh yeah.  For $5 extra a day from Avis, if I'm in a city I don't 
know, I'd definitely do it.  

RICHARD:  Yeah.  How about spending $2,000 to install one in your 
own car?

GINA:  I think I'd learn how to read a map.

RICHARD:  Cost, along with confusing instructions, is just another one 
of the downsides of technology.

GINA:  And nobody knows that better than c|net's own Dave Ross. 

RICHARD:  He gets the last word.

DAVE ROSS:

I saw this little modem.  I had to make it mine.
So, I paid 'em what I owed 'em, and I put myself online.
The information highway would open every door,
Show me every stock quote, bring me every score.

I'd log on to each database, connect to every circuit.
The one and only drawback is, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO WORK IT!
Sorry, it's just that when I signed on to the average database,
My modem dragged me deep inside some cryptic, evil maze.

And by the time I figured out just where I'm supposed to look,
I could have driven downtown, parked the car, and bought a book.
No need to be impatient, just sit back, stay calm, relax,
And find out just how much fun you'll have by sending out a fax.

Oh not some paper fax, my friend--no, paper is passé.
Today, we send it from the screen, see, that's the only way.
So, you invoke the "send" command.  By now, it's pretty late.
And as you watch the second hand, you wait and wait and wait.

Did it work?  Did it go through?  Did we have any luck?
The computer doesn't tell you, so you're forced to call them up. 
"Hello.  Say, did you get my fax?  You sure you got it all?
The reason that I sent it?  Why, so I wouldn't have to call!" 

Bye!  Oh, by the way, remember when we first got these machines?
The predictions of efficiency and just what that would mean?
Offices would close at three, and you'd be home by four.
What happened?  Now, you work all day, come home, and work some 
more! 

And there's one more thing I'd like to know.  You see this in my 
hand?  Here's the part about the highway I find hard to understand.
Exchange of information is a high and noble goal.
But how come no one warned me there'd be darn so many tolls?!

I'm Dave Ross.  And I get the last word.


RICHARD:  That's it for this first c|net central. Believe me, there's 
much more than we could put into just one show. 

GINA:  We hope to see you next week.  Thanks for tuning in and 
logging on.

(MUSIC) 

END OF TAPED MATERIAL
