"c|net central"
TRANSCRIPT
- EPISODE 16 -

Original air date:  7/15/95


HOSTS:  RICHARD HART and GINA ST. JOHN


RICHARD:  It's "Full Throttle," an innovative new CD-ROM.

VOICE-OVER:  Open up, God.

GINA:  And online chatting gets a face lift.  See how you'll soon be 
communicating with people from around the world.  Hi, I'm Gina St. 
John.

RICHARD:  And I'm Richard Hart.  Those stories, plus advice on what 
to buy and what to try, and inside information for the digital age.  
Stay with us.

(COMMERCIALS)

GINA:  Welcome to "c|net central," your online resource for computers 
and digital technology.  Today, we're taking a look at a whole new 
way of chatting.  We've had chat rooms for years, with bulletin board 
and commercial online services offering that.  But you see, it's always 
been text-based.  Now, you can actually choose a character called an 
avatar to represent yourself, and you can take on a whole new 
personality.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

GINA:  Most people like to see who they're chatting with.  Until 
recently, online chat rooms were just flat text, a typed-out 
conversation.  Not anymore.

VOICE-OVER:  This is our first virtual escalator.  We're very proud of 
this.

GINA:  Chatting has gone 3D.  Now, you're not just typing text--you're 
also seeing your new friends.  Well, sort of.  They do have some 
pretty strange faces.  These upscale chat rooms offer the same 
anonymity as the simple text sites, but now you get to meet and 
greet, roam about--and best yet, pick your own persona, called an 
avatar.  This is World's Chat, one of the only 3D chat rooms available 
online, right now.  You can become a bear, a man in a business suit, a 
chess piece, a kid, a fish.  There are 15 avatars to choose from.  
Andrea Gallagher is a producer at World's, Inc. in San Francisco, the 
company that created this 3D chat world, and she's going to show me 
around.

ANDREA GALLAGHER:  This is a first-person kind of system.  So, it's 
almost as if you had a camera right at your eyes and you're going to 
see what you would see with this camera.  You don't see your own 
body, but you see everybody else's.

GINA:  You navigate through the world using your mouse or the 
computer keys, or both.  World's Chat is designed as a space station.  
It has a hub and six platforms, and you'll find different people and 
very different-looking images on each platform.

And how do you get the door to open?

ANDREA GALLAGHER:  You just walk through it.  It's a lot like the 
doors in "Star Trek."

GINA:  As you move around, you encounter other avatars.  You can 
walk around them, turn your back on them, or stay and chat.  And 
there can be any number of people in the room, but you can only see 
and talk to the six closest to you.  You may have a special new look 
when you're doing 3D chat, but the actual conversation is still text-
based.  The 3D chat world is anonymous.  Your friends don't know 
any more about you than you tell them.  One difference, though--
these rooms have no lurkers.  You know, people who log on and 
listen, but don't talk.  Here, you must have an avatar and people can 
see you, even if you choose to say nothing.

Hey, you guys, you're on TV!

You can download World's Chat for free.  You need a PC--sorry, Mac 
people--a 486 or higher, running Windows, at least 8 megs of 
memory, a 14.4 modem, and a connection to the Internet.  The 
address is "http://www.kaworlds.com."  Soon, there will be another 
new world to visit.  This one is open to anyone who has a 
membership to CompuServe.  For an extra $4.80 an hour, you can 
check out the animated virtual community World's Away.  It's a 2D 
community being developed right now at Fujitsu Cultural 
Technologies in San Jose, California.

DANA TIMBROOK (FUJITSU):  It's vastly more than animated chat.  At 
the very least, it's animated chat that you have...objects and things 
that can be manipulated within the world.  You can be much more 
expressive in the way you do things than just typing smiley faces 
with text.

GINA:  The people in this world are flatter than World's Chat.  You 
can't walk around them, but you do pick an avatar--and here, you 
can change clothes, faces, and bodies when you feel like it.  You can 
also have a wide range of expressions and quite a range of motion.  
You move around a virtual town with your friends, and you can even 
buy and sell things in this token-based economy.

DANA TIMBROOK (FUJITSU):  There are objects and containers and a 
whole range of things available that have persistence, that continue 
and stay in the world.  It's a place that persists even when you leave 
it.  If you leave a chat room, nothing is there, nothing is left.

GINA:  You can operate from a keyboard or use a command box on 
screen to move your avatar from place to place.  The conversation is 
text-based, but it shows up in colors above the head of the avatar 
talking.  Only six people can have personas at a time, but many 
others can ghost, or lurk, to watch the action.  World's Away will 
start testing during the summer and be up and running for all 
CompuServe users by fall.  Both World's Chat and World's Away say 
this is just the beginning.

One chat application currently in development by Steven Spielberg 
and World's Inc. allows hospitalized children across the country to 
play with one another.  Now, if you'd like to find out more about 
these 3D chat rooms, check out c|net online's feature story.  It's in the 
c|net central area, and there you'll find reviews of the latest 3D chat 
rooms and an explanation of what an avatar is and how you can get 
one of your very own.  Richard?

RICHARD:  Remember, you don't have to log on to be a part of c|net.  
As "c|net central" continues, head out on that highway looking for an 
interactive adventure.  And, the way you watch television is about to 
change dramatically.

(COMMERCIALS)

RICHARD:  Here now are some of the technology stories that made 
headlines this past week.  Starting this weekend, Windows users can 
pre-order Microsoft's new office software, which will be available 
August 24, the release date for Windows 95.  So, you just bought that 
superfast 28.8 modem--guess what?  This week, U.S. Robotics 
became the first modem maker to offer new software providing 33.6 
capabilities.  America Online this week released final, nonbeta 
versions of its new Windows and Mac software, including a World 
Wide Web browser.

GINA:  Thanks, Richard.  It's time now for "buy it, try it, or skip it," 
the review system for our own multimedia guru, John C. Dvorak.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Hi.

GINA:  John, what's that on your finger?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Nothing.

GINA:  You've got a CD-ROM on your finger.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  No, I don't.

GINA:  OK, our first title we're going to look at today--it's a kids CD-
ROM.  What is this one about?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Actually, this is quite nice.  I think Old McDonald 
has met his match with this particular title.  Drop AlphaBonk Farm 
into your CD-ROM player and join the Gigglebone Gang.  It's a 
barnyard of laughs learning your ABC's with friendly farmer Alfred 
A. Bonk, glamorous Svelte Velma the Swine, spunky Clyde the Parrot, 
and wisecracking Bunji the Frog.  There are multiple activities for 
every letter of the alphabet.  That adds up to a lot of playtime and 
silliness.

(MUSIC)

My favorite is Poke and Prod.

(MUSIC)

Bunji spits stuff out of his belly and the kid gets to play with it all.  
Move the sprinkling can over the seeds and look, they sprout!  The 
artwork is fresh and innovative, a colorful collage of photographs and 
graphics.  My only complaint is that they're just three items for each 
letter.  Any decent kid's picture dictionary has at least 10 or 20, and 
the letter "X" really bugged me.

VOICE-OVER:  X is for X-Ray, X is for X-Ray, X is for X-Ray.

What happened to xylophone?  AlphaBonk Farm sells for $49.95 and 
is a hybrid disc, which means it works on both the PC and the Mac.  I 
like this disc.  I give it a "buy it."  I think any kid between four and 
six will love this thing.

GINA:  That was a great game.  It's not flash cards.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  It'll keep them busy for a long time.  No, it's not 
flash cards, but it's the future of flash cards.

GINA:  Now, let's move to the past, shall we?  "Rob Roy," not a whole 
lot of people saw this movie.  Why would they make a CD-ROM out of 
it?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Maybe they thought they could make some money 
off the CD-ROM.  The fact of the matter is, everybody and their staff 
here looked at this thing and they all thought it was crap.  So did I.  
It's a pointless interactive exploration of the film "Rob Roy."  There's 
no reason to look at low-resolution movie clips when you've got a 
VCR.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

These random behind-the-scenes photos are useless.  There's no 
description.  There's a history of places, everything from Hadrian's 
Wall to Edinburgh, with a written description, but no photo.  Come 
on, multimedia developers, get your act together!  You can check out 
the monarchs, like the House of Stuart's family tree.  Look!  Mary 
Stuart, James the First, and the rest of the family--what crummy line 
drawings.  The original script is available, broken down by scenes, 
but you can't print it out--useless.  But you can select a clan, lots to 
choose from.  Let's pick MacKintosh.  There's the family tartan, the 
coat of arms, and the motto:  "Touch not the cat, not without a glove."  
Obviously, that clan never washed their cats.  "Rob Roy, Legend of 
the Mist" sells for $39.95 and is available on the PC and Mac.  This is 
a definite "skip it."  Just skip it.

GINA:  So, would you throw that CD if you could get it off your 
finger?  Oh!  You feel better now, don't you?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Yeah, I hit the cameraman.

GINA:  Yeah, I thought so.  What about this one?  Now, this is "Virtual 
Pool."  I can't play pool, I want to learn how.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Killer.  Virtual Pool is more than just a pool 
simulation game.  It's your own virtual pool hall with resident pool 
shark, world champion Lou Butera.

VOICE-OVER:  In shooting the draw shot, you want to keep the cue 
stick low and level, and remember to follow through...

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Learn pool techniques from Lou, like the basics of 
aiming, caroms, combinations and other special techniques.

VOICE-OVER:  Pool leagues across the country run eight ball 
tournaments regularly...

In-depth, computer-animated videos provide specific instructions 
and strategies on nine ball, eight ball, straight pool and rotation.  
When you've got the basics down, move on to trick shots--like this 
"four balls in four pockets" shot.  Zowee!  Nice shot.  For you history 
buffs, check out the humorous history of pool:

VOICE-OVER:  Even Mary, Queen of Scots, was said to have past her 
long hours awaiting her execution playing billiards in her prison cell.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Go ahead, now it's your turn to play.  Walk around 
the table, take a closer look.  You've got control of the aim and the 
angle of the cue stick.  The tracking feature shows you the path of 
every ball on the table, based on the aim and force setting.  You even 
have the option to play pool with your friends over modem and 
network connections.  Virtual Pool sells for $34.95 and is available on 
the PC.  I say "buy it."  In fact, it's a little disappointing that the title, 
I think, doesn't indicate how deep this game is.  This is one heck of a 
great CD-ROM.

GINA:  I'm excited, because you see, I can't play pool.  So if you don't 
mind, I'm going to take this one.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  OK, well, I'll have them send me a copy later.

GINA:  Thanks a lot for your reviews.  He'll have more views next 
week.  And, if you'd like to hear about the other CD-ROMs he's 
reviewed, why don't you check out our c|net online?  Just go to c|net 
central, click on television, and you're there.  And while you're there, 
don't forget to browse the c|net hot 100 list.  It's the top 100 CD-
ROMs.

RICHARD:  Now, John very often reviews interactive games that say 
they're just like a movie.  There's a little problem with that.  
Soundtracks in motion pictures are really, really good if they go 
unnoticed.  They're so tied into the story line.  The problem with 
many video games is that the music is not only bad, it's annoying.  
That's why we think a new game called "Full Throttle" is important.  
It uses a new technology that really does make at least the music 
like a movie.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

Everybody's in leathers tonight because it's a rap party to celebrate 
the completion of a movie.  Actually, an interactive movie.  It's about 
biker bars and about metal bands and what they feel is the next 
generation of interactive adventure.  It's called "Full Throttle" and it 
looks more like a movie than a computer game.  It's actually an 
interactive feature animation available on CD-ROM from the folks 
over at LucasArts, George Lucas' software company.  The company is 
transferring movie making techniques from the silver screen to the 
computer screen, creating a computer game that is truly a cinematic 
experience.  I checked into the back room during the rap party to get 
the inside scoop.

RANDY KOMISAR (FORMER PRESIDENT, LUCASARTS):  There's a lot of 
use of larger characters, cut scenes, close ups that create a cinematic 
environment that tells a story.  It does that, though, all in the context 
of a very, very seamless sense of interactivity.

RICHARD:  The player assumes the role of Ben, a good biker caught in 
a bad situation.  Ben's been framed for murder by corporate 
businessman Adrian Ripburger.

VOICE-OVER:  I'd like to make you just one final offer...

RICHARD HART:  The flaming tattoo is your gaming interface; use the 
hand to add things to your inventory to knock on doors or to exert a 
little muscular influence.  There's the mouth that let's you talk to 
other characters.  And finally, the boot, which gives you a little extra 
brute force.  "Full Throttle" not only looks like a movie, it sounds like 
a movie, with original sound effects.  And the first ever, all digital, 
fully interactive soundtrack, made possible by LucasArts's patented 
sound system, Imuse.

RANDY KOMISAR:  Rather than having the infinite loop that is 
annoying in many, many video games, what they created is a 
technology that allows the sound and the music, the score, to change 
based upon the choices that are made by the character or by the 
player and where you are in the game.

RICHARD:  "Full Throttle" even has its own Hollywood talent.  The 
ruthless Ripburger is the voice of Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker of 
Star Wars.

VOICE-OVER:  I am not waiting for you to die...

RICHARD:  You've got to be innovative to outwit Ripburger.  Take this 
scene:  Ben's having problems getting to the other side.  Brute force 
doesn't seem to be working this time.  Use Ben's inventory, lock 
down the roll top gate, and--ta da!--you're safely on the other side to 
continue on with the adventure.  Oops.  Did I say safely?

MARK HAMILL (VOICE-OVER ARTIST, "FULL THROTTLE"):  You know 
what's great about the gaming people, there's like a subculture out 
there that I was totally unaware of.  Wait till Hollywood realizes 
what the grosses are in that business.  We're leaving Hollywood in 
the dust.

RICHARD:  For a full review of "Full Throttle," log on to c|net online 
and click on features in the c|net central area.  You'll get the review 
in the c|net 100 list that Gina mentioned earlier.

(COMMERCIALS)

RICHARD:  Satellite dishes for consumers have been available since 
the 1970's, but only in the last year have they gone digital.  Not only 
are the new systems smaller and cheaper, but they surprised 
everyone by their popularity.

VOICE-OVER:  If you like movies, you've got every movie known to 
man and a few that aren't...

FRED DAVIS (c|net EDITORIAL DIRECTOR):  In these small windowsill 
dishes, the digital come-on is digital means better, and it's not always 
the case.

RICHARD:  DBS, Direct Broadcast Satellite.  A new digital way of 
greatly expanding the number of channels in your television 
universe.  First run movies, every football and basketball game, 
theatrical spectaculars, Irish football.  Football, in Ireland?  It wasn't 
long ago that you had to reinforce your roof or really upset your 
neighbors in the other yard if you wanted to receive a satellite 
signal.  The reason the new dishes are smaller is because the digital 
signal can be compressed and because it requires less power.  Some 
people say these things are so easy to install you can put one up 
yourself, but, while that's true, a professional will do it in much less 
time.  They are a little sensitive when it comes to aiming them just 
right at the satellite, and needless to say, you should be in a place 
that has a good view of the southern sky.  Programming begins at a 
massive uplink site in Colorado where it is sent to two high-powered 
satellites in geosynchronous orbit.  They offer channels from two 
competing services.  You can subscribe to one or the other, or both.  
But don't trash your cable service yet, as c|net's editorial director 
Fred Davis points out.

FRED DAVIS:  When you go out to get one of these little dishes you 
think you're going to have such a great savings compared to cable TV 
because, wow, I'm going to be able to unplug my cable and liberate 
myself from all of that and get all these hundreds of channels.  You 
find out what you're really getting is a hundred some channels, a lot 
of it is stuff you're getting on cable, but if you want to get the local 
news or check in what's happening in your community, you won't be 
able to get that.  So, you can keep the basic cable for the local 
channels, get both digital services, and for $75 to $100 a month, you 
end up with CD sound and an onscreen guide to a 150 channels and 
more pay-per-view movies and sporting events than you could ever 
watch in any month.

RICHARD:  Another cool feature is a built-in TV guide that tells you 
what's on every channel on the system.  By selecting a particular 
program, you can get a complete description of that show.  The basic 
box costs you $600.  For a couple hundred more, you get a version 
that enables you to watch one channel while you're VCR records 
another.  Despite the cost, RCA sold a million of them a year ahead of 
schedule.  RCA's main competitor, Primestar, has taken a slightly 
different approach.  With Primestar, you don't actually purchase any 
expensive satellite equipment.  You just pay a monthly charge that 
includes the satellite dish and all maintenance, as well as more than 
70 channels of programming.  In the coming months, more 
companies will be offering the hardware to downlink DBS to your 
living room, and that should bring down the prices.  And the new 
equipment will support the newest 9 by 16 wide-screen formats as 
well as high-definition TV.  Now, you'll be able to do more channeling 
than Shirley Maclaine.  Prices are sure to drop even more, now that 
Sony has entered the market, too.  If you log-on to c|net online and 
go to the television area of c|net central, you'll find there a complete 
list of all the channels available on DBS broadcast, complete 
descriptions of the systems and services available, and prices.  Gina?

GINA:  You know, virtually every computer sold today has a built-in 
microphone?  And Dave Ross is taking advantage of it as he gets the 
last word.

DAVE ROSS:

You know how sometimes you get a bright idea, and you know you'll 
forget it if you don't write it down?  Well, did you know you can 
speak your idea into your computer?  Yes, you can!  The future is 
HERE!  I just discovered that my computer can function as a tape 
recorder!  If I get an idea, and I want to save it quick, here's all I 
have to do:

I go to the computer, turn it on, switch into the program manager, 
open the sound recorder, press the space bar, and just dictate, "Buy 
20,000 shares of Microsoft."

(PLAYS BACK RECORDING)

Then I choose the save function, and I file it.  Now I'll never lose an 
idea again!...As long as I remember where the heck I filed it.

It's The Third Wave!  It's your own corner of cyberspace!  It's light 
years ahead of the competition!  It's a miracle people could save 
their ideas at all before the computer came along!  I mean, do you 
remember what you used to have to do?

(GRABS A SMALL POCKET RECORDER.  SPEAKS INTO IT.)

Take a letter:  buy 20,000 shares of Microsoft.

(TOSSES RECORDER OFFSTAGE) 

See--how old-fashioned.

(PAUSES)

Let me have that back a minute. 

(LOOKS AT MACHINE)  

Who makes this? 

(SEES BRAND NAME)

Buy 20,000 shares of Radio Shack, too, just in case.

(THROWS RECORDER OFFSTAGE)

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

RICHARD:  If you've got a great idea you'd like to share with Dave or 
with us or with other viewers, do so at "www.cnet.com," our very 
own online service.

GINA:  Or you can send us your suggestions and letters at 
letters@cnet.com.  That's it for "c|net central" this week.  Thanks for 
tuning in, and don't forget to log on!

(MUSIC)

(END OF TAPED MATERIAL)
