"c|net central"
TRANSCRIPT
-EPISODE 29-

Original air date: 10/14/95

HOSTS: RICHARD HART and GINA ST. JOHN


GINA:  Windows 95: is it a hit, or has it been all hype?  And 
cybercafes, the hot spots for hanging out and logging on, are taking 
the country by storm.  Hi, I'm Gina St. John. Those stories plus 
personal Web pages and how you can get on the cybermap, when we 
return on "c|net central."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RICHARD:  Welcome to "c|net central."  I'm Richard Hart.  Well, it was 
billed as the ultimate operating system for a new generation of 
computer users, and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates bet his company 
on the speed, power, and ease of use of Windows 95.  It's been two 
months since it first hit the shelves.  So, has Windows 95 lived up to 
its promises?

VOICE-OVER JAY LENO:  Please welcome Bill Gates and the Bill Gates 
dancers.

RICHARD:  It was an event unlike any the computer world had ever 
seen.

VOICE-OVER MALE1: The Windows 95 development team.

RICHARD:  This was supposed to be the launch of a new computer 
operating system, but in the hands of futurist and multibillionaire 
Bill Gates, the Windows 95 event became a celebration of 
technological achievement.

BILL GATES:  Come on, and let's experience the world of Windows 95.

RICHARD:  But the party is over and many computer users woke up 
with a technological hangover.

MALE2:  It's not as easy as I think it should be to use.

MALE3:  I didn't buy Windows 95 because I figured I'd wait until the 
bugs get out of it.

MALE4: I think it's easy to use.  I've noticed that with my machine 
the programs seem to come up and run a little more easily.

FEMALE1: The people I do know who have it say that it takes up a 
lot of memory.

MALE5: The 32-bit power of it attracted me, and I'm very satisfied 
with it.

MALE6: Four hundred thousand beta-test users and they still have 
problems.

RICK SPENCE (COMPUTER INDUSTRY ANALYST):  Essentially, Windows 
95 is sort of a "premium unleaded" gasoline running in a "regular 
unleaded" world right now.

RICHARD:  The operating system of the future is having trouble 
working inside the computers of the present.

RICK S.:  Because a lot of the computers aren't Pentium-based, a lot of 
them don't have more than 8MB of RAM.  So, you have a lot of people 
out there who have what we call legacy systems, and they're going to 
finally have to spend additional money to get everything up and 
running.

RICHARD:  Sales for the upgrade went through the roof right after the 
launch, but they've cooled since.

RICK SPENCE:  In terms of the initial sales, we think it's going to be 
very hard to live up to that hype in the short term.  But we do 
believe that they will sell close to 30 million units by the end of this 
year.

RICHARD:  That makes it one of the most significant computer 
products to hit the market in a decade.  Windows 95 does have a 
great deal to offer.  It's the simplest Windows system yet, and its 
Plug-n-Play features make it easier to take full advantage of just 
about any kind of peripheral--from color printers to CD-ROM drives.  
It also provides full access to the Internet, including the Microsoft 
Network. Some of the first users to jump onto the Windows 95 
bandwagon were large corporations, such as Chevron.  For them, the 
hype surrounding the new system was nothing but a distraction.

JIM LISIAK (CHEVRON CORPORATION):  The hype, it was a lot of fun 
to see, but in Chevron's view it is just another operating system and 
we have strategic business needs for it.

RICHARD:  But what a corporation needs from a computer system is 
different from what you or I need.  In the end, experts say, it's the 
average consumer who will decide the fate of Windows 95.

MALE4:  Windows 95 is a little too hard to set up.

MALE6:  I wasn't able to install it on the computer that I wanted to 
put it on.

FEMALE1:  The response I've heard from other people is that it 
doesn't really live up to all the hype.

RICHARD:  With that kind of reaction, don't count the competition out 
yet.

RICK SPENCE:  You know, if you were to ask me who was the hot 
company a few years ago, Microsoft might not have even come up.  
So, you can never really count a company out, especially in this 
valley, in Silicon Valley.  You have people working in garages; you 
have a lot of brilliant people working on products.  So, anything can 
happen.  I wouldn't count anybody out.

RICHARD:  Some of you might find Windows under the Christmas 
tree.  Microsoft says it is counting on the holiday shopping season to 
bring up those high-volume shipments that they've been forecasting.  
Gina?

GINA:  The number of sites on the World Wide Web is reportedly 
doubling every two months, and many of these sites are personal 
Web pages. In addition to the sharing of information, they're quickly 
becoming the newest form of self-expression.  This is the story of a 
chicken lady, a radio disk jockey...

DANIEL FORTUNE:  Welcome to Sound Bytes. This is Dan Fortune, 
your host today...

GINA:  ...and a little girl.

MAYA MATALON:  And I'm playing games a lot, and then I go and 
eat my elephant people.

GINA:  All come from different backgrounds but they have one thing 
in common: they are part of an estimated 60,000 people who have 
created personal Web pages.  Using text, graphics, and pictures, they 
simply invite you into their lives to take a look around.  Here's a look 
at three of those lives.

MARY CARTER:  I first got acquainted with chickens when I was 
house-sitting for a friend of mine that has chickens. I think what I 
love about chickens is that they stand in such contrast to the high-
tech world that I live in.

GINA:  Graphic designer and author Mary Carter began writing about 
chickens two years ago.

MARY CARTER:  This is a picture album...cartoons...I count the eggs.  
We have very odd things happening with the advanced chicken 
studies. I've gotten messages from Australia, from Great Britain, and 
Scotland. I've been linked to other chicken lovers' pages all over the 
world, and we now communicate regularly.

DANIEL FORTUNE:  It's exciting, it's like watching a town being built, 
or this community.  And it really is; we're like a global community 
working on the Internet.

GINA:  As an inventor, Daniel Fortune created something that 
changed the lives of many quadriplegic people--a computer 
keyboard controlled by your tongue.

DANIEL FORTUNE:  It has nine buttons on it.  What you can do is that 
you can push different buttons and, as you're connected up to your 
computer, you can move the mouse around. We have people that are 
typing 25, 30 words a minute.

GINA:  And even though this invention caught the attention of some 
familiar faces, these days Dan uses his Web pages to talk about 
radio--Internet radio.

DANIEL FORTUNE:  We're not just reaching people in Silicon Valley. 
We can talk to people all over the world, and they can talk back to 
us.

GINA: Dan uses the software system C-U-SEE-ME to broadcast his San 
Jose radio show about computers over the Net.  To share that 
information with others, he created a tutorial about this program, 
available to anyone visiting his personal Web page.

DANIEL FORTUNE:  To me, to have access to the Internet and to be 
able to communicate with not just tens or hundreds or thousands, 
but literally hundreds of thousands of people, that's just a 
phenomenal experience.

GINA:  Six-year-old Maya Matalon wanted to share some of her 
artwork with you.  So, with a little help from Dad, she created her 
own personal Web page.

MAYA MATALON:  This is a drawing I've decided to put on the front.  
I really liked it because it was a cat and a dog.  This is called 
"Watering in the Garden."  It's another one of my favorite ones.  The 
third one was "Flowers in the Vase."  At that time, I was doing lots of 
flowers like this.  Where is that again?  Oh, it's here, right? Probably 
why I turned on the computer is because my dad works with 
computers.  This is a picture of me on my first day of school awhile 
ago--last year--when I was in kindergarten.

GINA:  One question that often comes up with regard to personal 
Web pages is: why go online to read about ordinary people?  Web 
page supports say that's not the point.

MARY CARTER:  It isn't necessarily that they're showing the world 
something that's very, very exciting, but they're excited at the 
potential of being able to do it.

DANIEL FORTUNE:  No matter how humble the home is, it's still a 
home. We're at the dawn of a new age.  I mean, literally, there is a 
whole new generation of technological development that is 
happening right now.  It's unfolding right before our very eyes.

GINA:  And as this new technology unfolds, fans of personal Web 
pages will keep telling their stories to anyone who will listen.  
There's no right or wrong way to create a Web page but there is an 
easy way.  Just check out c|net online at http://www.cnet.com/.  
We've taken the hassle out of home pages by providing a detailed 
way to follow blueprints to help you join the personal Web page 
crowd.  Richard?

RICHARD:  When "c|net central" continues, become a part of cybercafe 
society.  And, a breakthrough in home video.  This camcorder is all 
digital.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RICHARD:  Time now for a look at some of the stories making news in 
the digital world this week.  Netscape announced the Netscape Bugs 
Bounty this week, a program that rewards people who help Netscape 
find bugs in the beta version of its Web browser, Navigator 2.0. Users 
identifying bugs could win up to $1,000.  Information can be found 
at Netscape's site on the World Wide Web.  MIT began its Things 
That Think project this week, which aims to put computer-enabled 
intelligence into everyday objects, such as furniture, sports 
equipment, and clothing.  The project began in conjunction with the 
tenth anniversary of MIT's media lab. And credit card giant Visa 
announced this week plans to provide financial institutions with 
remote banking software that they, in turn, can offer to customers.  
The Windows software enables customers to pay bills, track accounts, 
transfer funds, and exchange data with personal finance programs 
such as Quicken.

GINA:  Thanks, Richard.  I am here with John C. Dvorak.  This is the 
man that's going to lay down the law on CD-ROMs--tell you whether 
to Buy It, Try It, Skip It, or Spin It.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  I'm the judge.

GINA:  You are the judge.  Judge CD-ROM.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  The CD Judge.

GINA:  Ah, yeah, I was going to say that, too.  You've got to tell me 
what you think of this because it's called "NASCAR Racing," and I, for 
one, have a need for speed. Will this satisfy it?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  You know, I think it just might.  It might satisfy 
anyone's need for speed.  "NASCAR Racing"--this game is fast.  Take 
your pick from 50 NASCAR cars and sponsors, and 9 tracks from 
Atlantic to Watkins Glen.  You can practice your moves on a traffic-
free test run. When the green flag rises, you'd better keep your eyes 
on the road and your grip firm on the keyboard.  Hopefully, you'll 
graduate from grass-spitting and paint-trading destruction to 
drafting and bumping.  When you need a paint job--and you will--
cruise into the paint shop and redesign the color scheme of your car 
and crew.  From the dashboard to the pit, everything is up to 
NASCAR specifications. Did you know that revving your engine 
excessively is a form of abuse?  When you hear the thunder roar of a  
smoking 350 V-8, you'll know why.  "NASCAR Racing" sells for 
$59.95 and is available on the PC.  I say, Buy It.

GINA:  All right!

JOHN C. DVORAK:  The game is so good you'll get motion sickness.

GINA:  Oh, I like it.  No driver's license, no driver's test, just pedal to 
the metal, you know?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  You know, I think you'll probably improve your 
driving skills, too.

GINA:  I could probably use it, too.  Speaking of tests, let's talk about 
this one.  It's from Kaplan, they call themselves number one in the 
world when it comes to test preparation, and it's "On Campus 96."

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Yes, you can get into college with over 1,700 
campuses to choose from on this CD-ROM.  Kick back in your new 
home in the dorm. Fill out the personal profile.  Do you want to go to 
school in California?  Play on a water polo team?  Study molecular 
biology?  UC Berkeley might be a school for you.  But how are you 
going to pay for it?  Let the financial planners help you out with that 
one.  "On Campus" tells you which colleges accept the common 
application, so you can fill it out and send it on in.  If you still can't 
decide where to apply, throw a tape in the VCR and take some 
campus tours.  Boy, this is useless.  It looks like any college campus!  
"On Campus 96" sells for $49.95 and is available on the PC and Mac.  
Try It.  I think "On Campus 96" is a way to save money.  Look at this-
-five CD-ROMs, it's a good deal.

GINA:  For 50 bucks?  You bet!

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Yeah, and the kids don't have to float around from 
campus to campus to get and see where the action is.

GINA:  Here's one I want to know about.  It's called "Truths and 
Fictions," and it's from Pedro Meyer.  He's the first traditional 
Mexican photographer to jump on the digital bandwagon.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  And this guy's got some pictures in here that make 
you wonder whether they're real or not.  Meyer disrupts the idea of 
photographic reality as visual truth with this bilingual collection of 
politically and socially charged photographs.  Take a tour through the 
virtual gallery.  The collection of photographs are a commentary on 
Mexican-American culture, powerfully combining religious and pop 
culture icons.  Enlarge the caption to see if the image was altered.  
Can you tell where the photographic reality ends and the digital 
imaging begins? You can join Meyer in his digital studio.

VOICE-OVER:  Now I'm able to be able to expand these possibilities 
and, for example, in this case I sat down and I said, "What would I 
like to say?"

JOHN C. DVORAK:  The correspondent's section includes letters and 
quotes debating the cultural implications of technology.  "Truths and 
Fictions" sells for $49.95 and is available on the Mac.  This is a Try It.

GINA:  OK.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  But you know, if you're a photographer, it's a Buy 
It because this is a great CD-ROM for anyone interested in 
photography.  The guy does some unbelievable stuff.

GINA:  It really was intense, just great stuff.  You want to take a 
camera yourself and run around and take pictures.  Well, thank you 
again for your reviews this week.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Well, we'll see you next week.

RICHARD:  Just when you've decided on a home video format, along 
comes another one--DV for digital video--which offers the highest 
resolution you can get as a consumer: 500 lines. As a matter of fact, 
right now you are watching me on the new Sony DCR 700.  In 
addition to a color viewfinder, it provides other features, such as a 
digital zoom, digital image stabilization, and CD-quality audio.  On the 
top, there's a button called "photo" because you can do time-lapse 
photography and a slide show with it.  Digital video means you can 
make as many copies as you want without losing any quality.  On the 
other hand, the cameras cost $3,000 to $4,000.  The cassettes are $24 
each and there is no digital VCR yet.  However, you will be able to 
record soon with one of these directly to the hard disk drive in your 
computer, going digital all the way.  Which, by the way, is how we 
put this program together each week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GINA:  What happens when plugged-in people congregate for a little 
indoor surfing?  You get cybercafes.  Desmond Crisis, the newest 
member of the "c|net central," team takes a tour of these high-tech 
hangouts.

DESMOND CRISIS:  So, let's say you need to get on the Internet but 
you don't have the hardware required to get online.  What's the 
solution?  Try a cybercafe.  Hi there, I'm Desmond Crisis, the new, 
early adopter of emerging technologies.  It's the coolest thing since 
the acoustic coupler--the hottest mix of coffee, tea, and TCP/IP now 
brewing at your local pit stop. This is the Icon Byte bar.  It's a 
cybercafe.  Now, it looks just like any other restaurant until you get 
inside.  See, they decorated it like the inside of a computer--a very 
artsy computer.  Now, anyone can decorate their restaurant like a 
computer, but here's what makes this place truly unique.  It's a 
public access computer hooked up to the Internet.  From here you 
can browse some of your favorite pages with Netscape, log into IRC, 
and chat with people all over the world, or log into C-U-SEE-ME and 
use live video to communicate.

JOEGH BULLOCK (OWNER, ICON BYTE BAR AND GRILL):  You can jump 
in and start surfing around.  You may not know where you're going, 
you may not catch as many waves, but you're going to be able to 
access it pretty quickly and get a taste for it.  Often times, people 
come here from Europe and send email to friends as a postcard.

FEMALE2:  Some have got quite a few friends back in England who, 
you know, they have their email addresses.

DESMOND:  I've just sat down at the Cafe Net terminal at the Captigo 
Cafe in Los Angeles. One of the things that's interesting about this is 
they seem to have a real high-speed connection, and to keep things 
quick, instead of running DOS or Windows applications they've built 
it under Unix and X-Windows.  From here you can chat, email, 
browse the Web, or Telnet to the site of your choice for a fistful of 
quarters.

MALE7:  It's very interesting that you can come into a coffeehouse 
and actually be able to sit down and get your email without actually 
having to have a computer at home.

MALE8:  Instead of going home or going to a bar I can come in here, 
chat with my friends, play on the computer a little. It takes the fear 
out of people who are not familiar with computers.

DESMOND:  As the world becomes increasingly more crowded, 
complex and antagonistic, it becomes necessary for people of diverse 
interests to gather, recognize a common humanity, and communicate.  
One such place for doing this is the World Cafe here in Santa Monica, 
California.  This is like the mother ship.

MALE9:  There's a Romulan, that's a Federation, and they're trying to 
kill each other for the planet.

DAVID TECK (OWNER, WORLD CAFE):  What we did is we created, you 
know, a kind of a Tiki environment around computers. Six months 
ago, I didn't know a mosquito bite from a megabyte.  I wanted 
people to feel comfortable around computers, with computers.  It's a 
wonderful vehicle for social interaction.  Next thing you know, you've 
got two or three people right around you and all of a sudden you've 
created a half-dozen friends around the computer.

FEMALE3:  Unlike television--you just sort of, like, see it--this is like, 
"Oh, yeah, I had that experience and I think I'll write to you."

DAVID TECK:  I haven't seen anybody come up to me and say, "Hey, 
what the heck is this?"

DESMOND:  With over 80 Internet eateries worldwide, the cybercafe 
may become the long distance phone booth of the future.  And you 
don't even need multiple body piercings.  Blue hair helps.  According 
to one java joint owner, the idea itself is as old as the apple barrow--
provide access and an atmosphere where people can exchange ideas.  
Cybercafes are not just for technocrats or digerati, they're for 
everybody.  So get in and get on.

GINA:  Now, once you get your cybercafe, how will you decorate it?  
Well, one option is cyberart.  That's the intersection where the  
digital world and the art community meet, and it's a new art form 
that is picking up steam.  As you'll notice here at c|net, we often 
display technology-based art, and today we're featuring some 
cybersqueaks.

RICHARD:  By the way, no tribbles were harmed during the filming of 
this production.  If you want to know more about anything you see 
on the set, check out "on the set" at c|net online, and if there's 
something you think we ought to have on the set, send us a 
suggestion at letters@cnet.com.

GINA:  That's all for "c|net central" this week. Thanks for tuning in 
and logging on.
