"c|net central"
TRANSCRIPT
- EPISODE 17 -

Original air date:  7/22/95


HOSTS:  RICHARD HART and GINA ST. JOHN



RICHARD:  Meet the first fully interactive digital rock band.

GINA:  Looking for love in all the wrong places?  Now, you can look 
on the Net.

VOICE-OVER:  We started this incredible whirlwind romance...

GINA:  Hi, I'm Gina St. John

RICHARD:  And I'm Richard Hart.  All that, plus our digital summer 
travel guide and more, on "c|net central."

(COMMERCIAL)

GINA:  Welcome back to "c|net central," your resource for computers 
and digital technology.  Now, first up today:  people meeting online.  
Most people will tell you they use the Internet for communication.  
But communication is getting more personal, as dating services have 
arrived on the Net.  Most dating services have utilized videotapes 
and questionnaires in the past, but now that they're on the Net, 
they're more interactive, faster, and even more secure.  So, my 
advice to the lovelorn is...log on.

Dating.  It used to be a formal affair with very strict rules.

VOICE-OVER:  Say, Kate, next Friday there's gonna be a weenie roast, 
or there will be a bowling party if you'd rather do that.

GINA:  You know, dating has changed a lot since then--and so has the 
way that people meet each other.  Searching for personal ads in the 
newspaper may soon become a thing of the past, thanks to your 
computer and the Internet.  Singles can meet and converse in online 
chat rooms, and dozens of dating services have recently sprung up on 
the Net, attracting thousands of people looking for love in 
cyberspace.  Do these services really work?  Well, we asked one of 
our producers, Alex Michel, to try one out.  He's logging on to 
Match.com.  Alex will log into the service posting a profile of personal 
information, including his photograph.  His picture and profile can 
then be accessed by other people using the service.  Alex can also 
browse their photos.  Match.com has tried to attract women who are 
currently underrepresented on the Internet, by focusing on issues 
like security.

ALEXANDRA BAILLER (MEMBER SERVICES, MATCH.COM):  We use an 
anonymous remailer that strips your real email address from your 
email messages before you choose to reveal your true identity--if 
that's what you ultimately choose to do.

GARY KREMEN (CEO, MATCH.COM):  Our customers are enthusiastic, 
and I think we're going to add a lot of love to the planet.

FEMALE 1:  Oh, absolutely.  I'm juggling two guys and hopefully, if 
I'm lucky, I'll be juggling a few more.

MALE 1:  I actually met a very nice lady online.

FEMALE 2:  She doesn't have to go put on lipstick to write email.

FEMALE 1:  It was my first time on and I guess I got lucky.

MALE 1:  I'm looking forward to maybe meeting some other ladies.

FEMALE 3:  He was my match.

GINA:  Eva Fried has met quite a few people online.

FEMALE 3:  From this ad, I've gotten responses from over 400 men, 
and I've actually even gone out with 20 of these guys.  If anybody's 
watching and they're interested, they can still look it up;  I'm still 
listed and they can contact me.

GINA:  Let's see how our producer Alex is doing with his online love 
life.  How's it going?

ALEX MICHEL:  What do you think about her?

GINA:  Hey, she's cute!  The computer matching program found Alex 
and Wendy to be compatible.  They were then able to start 
communicating via anonymous email.  What impact will all this 
technology have on our relationships?

TRACY CABOT (RELATIONSHIP THERAPIST):  You don't get to meet 
each other right away.  You don't get to hop into bed right away.  You 
really get to know each other, and you write these wonderful love 
letters, and you develop yearning for each other, and you develop 
anticipation--and so when you finally do meet, it's much sexier.

GINA:  But Dina Mambey's story shows that online dating is not 
without its pitfalls.

DINA MAMBEY:  I met a guy online; we started this incredible 
whirlwind romance.  I would get just whole screens full of X's and 
O's, love and kisses.  So, I packed up my stuff, quit my job, left my 
apartment, and moved there to be with him.  For two days it was 
great; the third day it fell apart--he just wasn't the same person.

GINA:  In spite of stories like Dina's, most online singles agree that 
the Internet beats the bar scene.

TRACY CABOT:  When you go to a single's bar, you look for someone 
who's the most attractive--a guy will be attracted to the woman with 
the biggest boobs; a woman may be attracted to a man with the 
fanciest car.  In cyberspace, you're attracted to someone because of 
their humor, because of their intellect, and because they're articulate.

GINA:  Most dating services offer the typical:  photograph and text.  
But some have gone one step further, and now, you can actually hear 
what your potential beloved sounds like.

VOICE-OVER:  Yeah, baby, if you send me mail, you'll not be 
disappointed.

GINA:  And the video dating service lets you screen potential 
matches with QuickTime movies.

VOICE-OVER:  The thing I value most is my friends and family.

GINA:  The future holds even more advanced ways of meeting people 
in cyberspace.  New digital cameras and rapidly increasing 
bandwidth will soon allow singles to meet on the Internet through 
video conferencing.  Will all this technology and virtual dating 
replace real dating?  Probably not.  Most people go into online dating 
services to have a face-to-face interaction.  And how do these work 
out?  Well, for Alex and his online connection...pretty good.

GINA:  These services are fun, but they're for adults only.  So, if 
you're a parent and you're worried about where your kids go on the 
Net, there are products you can use, like SurfWatch, which allow you 
to control where your children are going.  They block adult-oriented 
sites.  So, if you'd like more information about this or these dating 
services, check out c|net online.

(COMMERCIAL)

RICHARD:  Now, some of the news headlines from the digital world 
this past week.  Time-Warner, the nation's second largest cable 
operator is beginning a cable modem test in Elmira, New York.  The 
service will cost an additional $9.95 a month and provide Internet 
access a hundred times faster than telephone lines.  Radius will begin 
shipping its Macintosh clone next week.  The equivalent to the Power 
Mac 8100, it will cost about 10 percent less, and it's the first such 
clone to be manufactured by IBM.  And the Macintosh New York 
Music Festival was held last week to promote interactive digital 
music.  More than 100 artists participated in the 5-day event which 
took place at 15 New York City clubs, connected via interactive 
kiosks and the Internet.  Among the performers...interactive music 
pioneers Laurie Anderson and Todd Rungren.  Look for c|net's report 
on the festival next week.  In the meantime, you can connect to the 
shows via the Internet at http://festival.inch.com/.

GINA:  Thanks, Richard.  It's time now for "buy it, try it, or skip it."  
That is the method of review that John C. Dvorak uses--he's our 
multimedia guru here at c|net.  He's going to tell you whether or not 
that CD-ROM you want to buy is top-notch or terrible.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Terrible, usually.  And by the way, I am the guru.

GINA:  You are.  You are.  Now, what do you think of this one, guru?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Actually, this is quite interesting.  It's got a weird 
title, "Four Paws of Crab," but it's quite the CD-ROM.  Artistic 
interactive cookbook meets compelling travel log.  The recipes are 
the foundation of the CD-ROM, complete with correct Thai 
pronunciation, video demonstrations (you kind of forget those are 
not that helpful), and a print feature--thank God.  Who's got 
computers in the kitchen?  The Happy Market is a guidebook for the 
exotic ingredients and equipment of Thailand.  Need a time-out from 
cooking?  Take a time romp.  It's a look at the comparative political 
histories of Thailand and the U.S.  But the section Mirrors is the real 
soul of the CD-ROM.  Meet Nora, who documents her travels through 
Thailand and shares her experiences and thoughts on Thai culture 
and cuisine.

VOICE-OVER:  You suck Coca-Cola from a plastic bag and eat deep-
fried silkworms...

JOHN C. DVORAK:  "Four Paws of Crab" sells for $44.95 and is 
available on the PC and the Mac.  I say it's a "buy it."  It's not bad.  
They've done more than just throw a cookbook on a CD-ROM.  It's 
very entertaining.  I liked it.

GINA:  I'd like to eat all the food on there.  It made me so hungry 
watching that.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Thai food later.

GINA:  You're buying.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Yeah, right.

GINA:  The next title is called "Peter's Numbers Adventure."  Now, 
what is this one about?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  It's a kid's game, and it's not bad.  Here's Peter, 
your child's new computer pal.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Peter is your guide through ten imaginary islands 
of numbers.  Each island is filled with colorful animations and 
learning activities, along with whimsical games like this cauldron, 
where you follow the magic potion and, poof, you create a surprise.  
What sets this product apart is its multilingual feature.  Peter speaks 
four languages.  And the games are even culturally correct.  For 
instance: Americans count forefinger first; Europeans count thumb 
first.  Finger number three really surprised me.  "Peter's Numbers 
Adventure" sells for $49.95 and is available on the PC and Mac.  I 
really like--except for that finger--I really like this CD-ROM a lot.  
But we're giving it a "try it."  Some of the staffers thought it was a 
little lame in parts.

GINA:  OK. OK. OK.  Well, tell me what you think about this one.  I 
love Marilyn Monroe; I'm a huge fan.  So, what was the CD-ROM like?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  You know, there's a computer word.

GINA:  What?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Bytes.

GINA:  Oh.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  "Bernard of Hollywood's Marilyn" is based on the 
book of the same name.  It's the exclusive portfolio of photographer 
Bruno Bernard, who supposedly discovered Marilyn.  Well, she was 
Norma Jean back then.  There are more than 100 photos, some with 
useless pop-up descriptions.  Oh, "beauty contest"! Tell me something 
that I didn't know.  You can explore the various stages of Marilyn's 
life--from Norma Jean and the Birth of Marilyn, all the way through 
Renaissance and The Legacy.  An interactive text describes Marilyn's 
life, along with spoken excerpts from Bruno's private journal...

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

...and trivia facts--did you know that Marilyn was paid 50 bucks for 
that nude calendar?  Don't get excited, the calendar's not included.  
How about Marilyn's timeline.  Count the number of marriages, or 
reference the complete glossary of her 29 films.  And finally, there 
are newsreel clips.  Remember this?

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

Marilyn Monroe sings "Happy Birthday" to JFK.  This must be the all-
time low point in American politics.  "Bernard of Hollywood's 
Marilyn" sells for $69.95.  It is a hybrid disc, which works both on 
the PC and the Mac.  I say "skip it."  Exploitation of a dead woman.  
And you know what?  $69.95?  It costs 69 cents to make one of those 
discs.  I'm giving away a secret--69 cents.  They're selling this for 
$69?  Come on.

GINA:  Still, an all-time low point in American politics?  I mean, there 
was Watergate, you know.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  I think this was worse.

GINA:  OK. Well, thank you very much for your reviews this week.  If 
you'd like to check out all of John's reviews, you can on c|net online.  
Just go in and click on c|net central, then television, and you're there.  
And don't forget while you're there to browse "the c|net 100." It's the 
top 100 CD-ROMs.

RICHARD:  You know, the seasoned business traveler would not be 
surprised to hear that this summer is the busiest in 50 years for 
airlines.  With all the competing fare structures and the seats so 
crowded to begin with, you almost need a computer to help you 
figure out what to do.  And in fact, many of us are beginning to use 
our computers to become our own travel agents on the Internet.

Summertime, and the living is easy.  By air, by car, or by other 
means, more than 230 million of us will take it easy this summer by 
taking off.  And that begins in the great indoors.

VOICE-OVER:  We don't stop here, go down 5, go down Asia 15...

RICHARD:  Jim Hornthal is president of Preview Vacations, an online 
travel service offered through American Online.  He says today, 
personal computers provide the average person access to information 
that used to be reserved for travel agents.

JIM HORNTHAL (PRESIDENT, PREVIEW VACATIONS):  You can look at 
hotel rooms and grounds; you can understand what's included or not 
in various packages.

RICHARD:  Would-be vacationers checking into this site can find 
discount travel packages and even bid on their favorite hot spots 
through an online auction.  Even major travel mags such as "Outside" 
and "Conde Nast" have an online component now.  Click on this 
activities icon to find out about the latest outdoor adventure.  If your 
tastes run to the extreme, try the Great Outdoors Recreation Page, or 
GORP.  They also provide handy links to other outdoor home pages to 
make your online traveling easier.  One of the more ambitious efforts 
recently is Travel Web.  Looking for a hotel in Guadalajara?  How 
about a lodge in the Florida Keys?  Travel Web enables you to make 
reservations yourself, or leave a message for a travel agent in the 
area of your interest.  As with any other kind of travel, watch out for 
sharks.  If you're using a credit card, make sure the online service 
you're using is a secure place for transactions.  And watch out for 
these--summer means construction on the Web, too, so you'll find 
many travel sites here to be a work in progress.  From home 
exchanges in Switzerland to advice for the business travel, there's a 
travel agent as near as your desktop.

(COMMERCIAL)

GINA:  What do you call a five-woman band that makes their own 
instruments, creates a 3D computer-generated sidekick, and invites 
the entire audience to jam with them during the show?  You call 
them D'Cuckoo, and, hey, this ain't no garage band.  Welcome to the 
world of D'Cuckoo, where music, culture, and technology speak the 
same language and nothing is as it seems.  Candice Pacheco and Tina 
Blaine, also known as Bean, are the founders of D'Cuckoo.  Both 
women are composers well-versed in multicultural music.  But it was 
their techno-savvy that allowed them to create their own 
instruments.

TINA "BEAN" BLAINE (D'CUCKOO):  We wanted to created instruments 
that we could play music on that sounded unlike anything else that 
was out there in the world.

GINA:  So how did they do that?  MIDI.  Musical Instrument Digital 
Interface.

CANDICE PACHECO (D'CUCKOO):  Without MIDI, we don't exist.

GINA:  She's not kidding.  Take this D'Cuckoo-rimba.  It looks like a 
marimba, right?

BEAN:  It's just neoprene rubber.  You can buy it in sheets.

GINA:  It's basically a series of electronic triggers.  You hit a pad, and 
it sends a signal. But through the digital wonder of MIDI, that signal 
can sound like anything you want.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

BEAN:  What's actually happening here, Gina, is there's an electrical 
signal that is being converted.  It's coming out of the marimba 
through our MIDI cable, so it travels through this cord all the way 
over to the bank of synthesizers and samplers that are over on this 
side of our stage where we store the sounds.

CANDICE:  MIDI is a way for a lot of synthesizers to communicate to 
each other, sort of like a network on a computer.

GINA:  Same thing with these, the Turtle drums.  But the technology 
doesn't stop there.

RIGBY:  Let's talk about me for a moment.

GINA:  Meet RiGBy, a three-dimensional puppet with a mind of its 
own.

RIGBY:  Ooh, thank you, baby!

GINA:  So, your part of the show.  It's highly entertaining....

RIGBY:  Likewise, I'm sure.

RON FISCHER (RIGBY CREATOR):  There are three things that control 
RiGBy.  One is audio.  There's a woman, Linda Jacobson, who speaks 
into a microphone, and the microphone audio level directly controls 
RiGBy's lip movements.

GINA:  Ron Fischer wrote the software program that brings RiGBy to 
life.

RIGBY:  Hi, everyone.

RON FISCHER (RIGBY CREATOR):  The second thing is, RiGBy's head 
motion is controlled by the mouse, here.  I can move RiGBy around 
like this and make him look left or look right on stage.  And the last 
piece is this device called the space ball here--I just press on it and I 
can make RiGBy's eyes close, look around, look left, look right, and 
smile or frown.

RIGBY:  I am absolutely, kind of like, the fifth Beatle--the sixth 
D'Cuckoo, a member of the band.  A virtual D'Cuckoo.

VOICE-OVER:  So, this is one of the ways you get to jam with 
D'Cuckoo.

GINA:  This MIDI ball is just one of D'Cuckoo's digital show toys that 
allows audience members to be a part of the show.  Just like their 
instruments, this helium-filled ball is full of little electronic triggers.  
Hit the ball and you trigger a sound.  As usual, it's any sound they 
want.

(MUSIC)

If there truly is a rhythm to life, then the five woman of D'Cuckoo 
have their fingers squarely on the pulse.  And to those who say 
technology stifles creativity, then there's a band I think you should 
see.  D'Cuckoo has recorded with Brian Eno and Mickey Hart of the 
Grateful Dead.  Now, if you'd like to check out their rhythmic sounds 
you can, at c|net online.  You can download video footage from their 
concert, check out the entire transcript of my interview with RiGBy, 
their computer puppet, and even link directly with D'Cuckoo on their 
own Web site.  Richard?

RICHARD:  Just as not all bands are interactive, not all CD-ROMs are 
interactive--or at least not enough for Dave Ross, who around these 
parts always gets the last word.

DAVE ROSS:

Welcome again to Digital Literacy 102. 

Today we discuss a type of software that reviewers like Dvorak find 
very upsetting.  It's called "shovelware." 

(DISPLAYS SIGN:  SHOVELWARE)

"Shovelware" is when a publisher takes a previously published book 
that might have sold for 15 bucks, and shovels the whole thing, 
word-for-word, onto a CD-ROM, and charges $69.95.  

Doesn't that just disgust you?  Well it certainly disgusts me.  It's as if 
you went to a movie, and instead of actors and spectacular locations, 
all you saw on the screen was the script being turned, a page at a 
time.

So why would any publisher publish shovelware?

Because people BUY it, that's why.  When you have computer owners 
willing to pay $69.95 to read a $15 book on their computer monitor, 
you'd be NUTS not to sell it to them!  

And why do people buy this stuff?  Think about it.  A perfectly 
rational guy like me, for example, spends $4,000 for a decent 
multimedia computer.  Then he finds that in all the world, there's 
only about five CD-ROMs worth buying for it.

Soon, this guy's wife, an otherwise delightful person, is saying, "I told 
you nothing would run on that thing."  And just to prove her wrong, 
he tells the guy in the computer store, "Quick--sell me everything 
that will run on that thing!" and comes home with a new CD-ROM--an 
animated history of HELP screens.

And that's why you have "shovelware."

And after she finds out what you've been doing, then it's time for a 
new software product called...

(FLIPS SIGN)  

"grovelware."

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

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

RICHARD:  And remember that everything you saw on the show 
today is linked to additional resources at www.cnet.com.

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


(END OF TAPED MATERIAL)
