"c|net central"
TRANSCRIPT
-EPISODE 36-

Original air date: 12/2/95

HOSTS: RICHARD HART and GINA ST. JOHN

RICHARD:  The controversy over online sex heats up on the Net and 
in Washington. And digital movie makers reveal the secrets behind 
their holiday hit.

Hi, I'm Richard Hart.  Those stories, plus a c|net exclusive:  an 
interview with the man behind the Internet's most phenomenal 
success story.  All when we continue on "c|net central."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GINA:  Welcome to "c|net central."  I'm Gina St. John.  One of the 
hottest topics on the Internet continues to be the availability and 
rapid growth of sexual content on the Internet.  At the forefront of 
this political and moral debate: the Communications Decency Act, 
which is now before Congress.  Now most recently, nearly 40 major 
companies and organizations have written to Congress urging them 
not to censor the Internet.  In the meantime, sex online continues to 
be a popular stop along the information superhighway.

VOICE-OVER SAM PHILLIPS:  Hi, I'm Sam Phillips, and I'm going to 
take you for the ride of your life.

GINA:  Sex.  It's business--big business--and with sexy CD-ROMs 
selling by the thousands, and the Internet bursting with erotic 
images, sex is pushing the boundaries of the digital world.  In fact, of 
the 3 billion CD-ROMs sold in 1994, 20 percent, or six million, were 
erotic; twice as many as were sold in 1993.  Half of the 20 most 
popular Usenet forums on the Internet are sex-related topics.  In 
fact, alt.sex ranks as the most popular site, with more than half a 
million hits a day.  In the seventies, when fewer than 1 percent of all 
American homes had VCRs, over 75 percent of all videos sold were 
pornographic.  This launched the era of home videos we know today.  
Now, with "Playboy" and "Penthouse" getting into CD-ROM and online 
services, will erotica drive the sales of CD-ROMs the way it did for 
home videos?  Bob Guccione and Kathy Keaton think so.  They've 
taken "Penthouse" magazine and gone digital, with sizzling CD-ROMs 
like "Penthouse Virtual Photo Shoot."

VOICE-OVER SAM P.:  What do you think about these curves?

KATHY KEATON (PRESIDENT, GENERAL MEDIA INC.):  We decided to 
try and capture something that every man fantasizes about when he 
reads "Penthouse," and that's participating in a photo shoot.  You 
have live models, and you can tell them what to do.  You can tell 
them to dress, undress, change their costumes, change the focus, and 
talk to them.

VOICE-OVER SAM P.: Just because I'm digitized doesn't mean that 
you can ignore me.

GINA:  But seductive CD-ROMs are just the tip of the iceberg.  
"Penthouse" has launched into cyberspace with a site on the World 
Wide Web.

BOB GUCCIONE (CEO, GENERAL MEDIA INC.):  So it's not that 
"Penthouse" is a unique success because it publishes photographs of 
pretty girls.  There are 250 magazines that do that, and the reason 
why we're as far ahead as we are is because we are making these 
moves in advance.  We do see the handwriting on the wall.  We do 
see new directions as they develop, particularly the area of 
technology.

GINA:  But "Penthouse" isn't alone.  "Playboy" is in on the action with 
a site featuring many popular elements of their own magazine: 
pulldown photos, cartoons, in-depth interviews, and their latest 
venture, a worldwide search soliciting women to be featured in their 
upcoming layout, Girls of the Internet.

FEMALE1:  I had some friends in school who modeled, and I thought 
it would be fun and glamorous, and when I found out that this was 
going to be online I thought, what the heck, I'd try it out and see 
what kind of response I'd get from them.

GINA:  It's simple.  With a computer, a modem, and a scanner, you're 
able to email your photo and relevant info (like your measurements) 
off to "Playboy."  Then it's time to wait and see what happens.  So, 
isn't all this talk of sex going a little too far?  We asked Lisa Palac, 
known for her outspoken views on sex and technology.  She 
produced the first erotic virtual reality audio recording, called 
"Cyborgasm," of course.

LISA PALAC (CO-PRODUCER, CYBORGASM):  Well, a lot of people 
really get freaked out with this combination of sex and technology 
because they think, "Oh no, cybersex is going to replace real sex," or 
"People will just stay at home and log on and have sex online, and 
never go out of the house, and never even kiss another person or 
have any other kind of face-to-face encounter."  But, in fact, I think 
the opposite is true.

BOB G.:  Sex is not going to be lost in cyberspace.  It's going to be 
enhanced in cyberspace.  We will learn to be better people, to have 
better relationships, to be more loving, and so on, by the simple use 
of cyberspace.

GINA:  With CD-ROMs like "Noro Dancer" and "Seymore Butts," they 
are not only three-dimensional, but interactive.  In "Space Sirens," 
for example, you click on the part of the model you want to touch, 
and a hand comes out and does the rest for you.  But there's more 
than just CD-ROMs.  With over 5,000 newsgroups, or discussion 
groups, on the Internet, and 2.5 million sites online, there is 
something for almost everyone.  Places to see, things to buy, and 
people to talk to.  Is the information superhighway turning into the 
Red Light District?  Senator Jim Exon thinks so and has introduced 
the Communications Decency Act, which would restrict "obscene 
materials" from the Internet.  The act is currently being considered 
by a House committee.  Now the question is, is this fair, or is this 
undue censorship?

FEMALE2:  The First Amendment and the free exchange of 
information is the bedrock upon which the success and the 
prosperity of this nation was built.  And who is Exon to tamper with 
that?

GINA:  Alameda, California, prosecutor, Don Ingram, agrees with 
Senator Exon's legislation.

DON INGRAM (ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY):  There are a lot of 
people who take the position that the First Amendment is an 
absolute, which is nonsense.  The First Amendment does not say, 
"anything goes."  The First Amendment says Congress will make no 
law respecting the freedom of speech or limiting the freedom of 
speech.

BOB G.:  In the first place these people have no real feeling for 
censorship.  They don't give a damn about kids.  They care about 
votes.

DON I.:  The media belongs to everyone, and the idea that some 
people should be able to take it over, that some people should take 
the information stream and be free to pollute it with any sewage 
they have in mind, is nonsense.

LISA P.:  I think the very same people who are trying to pass 
legislation to ban obscenity--whatever that is--on the Internet are 
the same porn dogs who are logging on at every opportunity to see 
what's available.

DON I.:  The Bill of Rights is not intended as a suicide pact.  People are 
responsible for what they do, and to say that the government can't 
tell me it's me alone, when there are other people out to be 
victimized, is just arrogant nonsense.

GINA:  Whatever your opinion, the fact is sex-related topics are the 
most popular sites on the Internet today.  And just like the very first 
issue of "Playboy" magazine, this business is bound to become more 
and more profitable and controversial.  Should our nation's 
lawmakers leave the Internet alone, or do we need some level of 
government control?  You can share your opinions by going to c|net 
online and clicking on c|net radio.  During the week of December 4, 
c|net radio will take an in-depth look at the issue of online 
censorship.

RICHARD:  When "c|net central" continues, the people behind the first 
full-length motion picture made in a computer.  And the young--and 
now rich--genius behind the World Wide Web revolution.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RICHARD:  In digital news this week, December 1 was the eighth 
annual World AIDS Day.  The purpose of the event is to link people 
around the globe to help stop the spread of AIDS.  This year, people 
exchanged information and ideas using the World Wide Web.

Your email might not be as anonymous as you think.  Legal experts 
are beginning to warn users of online services and corporate email 
users of the fragile state of privacy online.  In two recent cases, 
online services turned over the names, phone numbers, and other 
information about subscribers to attorneys representing people suing 
for defamation.

Also recently, shareware.com debuted on the Net.  This site offers 
more than 160,000 downloadable software titles.  There are games, 
utilities, personal financial software, even a ratings guide that tells 
which titles download most consistently and even how long they'll 
take.  The response to shareware.com has been strong, with more 
than 330,000 so-called search pages accessed each day.

GINA:  Disney's new movie "Toy Story" was the highest grossing 
movie at the box office over the Thanksgiving weekend.  But more 
importantly, "Toy Story" is the first feature film to be animated 
entirely by computer.  So we went behind the scenes at Pixar Studios 
to find out how this digital movie was made.

VOICE-OVER TOM HANKS:  Do you know these life forms?

VOICE-OVER TIM ALLEN:  Yes, they're Andy's toys.

GINA:  The story line is simple.  It's about toys that come to life in a 
boy's bedroom.

VOICE-OVER TIM A.:  Listen, hey, hey, hey, hey--

GINA:  Tom Hanks plays the lead toy...

VOICE-OVER TOM H.:  Because of you the security of the entire 
universe is in jeopardy--

GINA:  ...and Tim Allen is the new toy in town.

VOICE-OVER TIM A.:  This is my spot, see.

VOICE-OVER TOM H.: Then I'm buzz, like your space ranger.

VOICE-OVER TIM A.: Universe protection unit. My ship has crash-
landed here by mistake.

GINA:  Every image you see, every toy, every window, every piece of 
furniture, was created by artists on their computers at Pixar 
Animation Studios in Richmond, California.  It's a funky place where 
the working environment seems to breed creativity.  Employees 
move around the halls on scooters, and pets are welcome at 
workstations.  And at those SGI Indigo2 Extreme workstations, 
Pixar's artists are breaking new ground.

JOHN LASSATER (DIRECTOR, "TOY STORY"):  This is a new medium.  
The art form is animation, and this is just a new medium within that 
art form.  When computers come into an art form, people often think 
that somehow the computers create more than they actually do.  
Computers are a brilliant tool, but it's the brilliant people using this 
tool who create things.

GINA:  Animator Ash Brannon is one of those people.  He's been 
working on the film for more than two years. He's a classically 
trained animator who uses his drawing skills to make his computer 
images seem real.

ASH BRANNON (ANIMATOR):  When I get a shot, I want to plan it out 
before I even start on the computer. The way we work on a 
computer is we layer the motion.  We don't go in and pose every 
little joint out initially.  We try to get a basic sense of timing.

GINA:  It's a long, intricate process to make each scene happen.  Each 
second of film is 24 frames, and "Toy Story" is 77 minutes long.  
That's a lot of frames, each one individually created in the computer.  
Every frame has programmed commands--a mass of numbers flying 
by that bring the images to life.

ASH B.:  A shot like this would probably take a couple weeks to do.  
It's about a 20-second, 30-second shot.

GINA:  Ash can tell the computer to move each character, and choose 
camera angles and zooms similar to shots in regular films.  The spiral 
rendering of a single frame gives you an idea of the realness he's 
trying to achieve.

ASH B.:  It's a little frightening and cool at the same time because you 
know that every little mistake you make is going to show up when it 
finally hits the Cineramadome.

GINA:  Director John Lassater loves the new technology.  But he also 
loves toys.

JOHN L.:  Now, this guy...this is my Casper. (HOLDS UP TOY)

GINA:  His office is full of them, and he knows the importance of good 
storytelling.

JOHN L.:  Sure, you know, we love being pioneers, but whenever we 
start a film--be it a short film, a commercial, or "Toy Story," a feature 
film--we focus on the story. Because people watching a film with 
whole new visuals, a whole new technology--that will be interesting 
to them, that will entertain them, for about five minutes.

GINA:  Actress Annie Potts, the voice of Bo Peep, admits she's 
impressed with the technology.

ANNIE POTTS  I mean, it's like landing on the moon.

GINA:  And the animators say Tom Hanks helped them out in an 
unexpected way.

ASH B.:  While Tim and Tom were recording voices, a video camera 
was set up.  We got a nice treasure chest of visual material that 
provided us with ideas for facial expressions.  And Tom went so far 
as to use props and kind of ham it up for the camera.

VOICE-OVER TOM H:  Your helmet does that "whoosh" thing.

GINA:  It's too early to tell whether this movie will be a hit because 
of the technology, the big-name stars, the heavy marketing, or a 
combination of all of the above.

VOICE-OVER M:  To infinity and beyond.

GINA:  Now, cartoon toys are great, but can a human actor be 
replaced entirely by computer graphics?  Well, almost.  In "Jurassic 
Park," Laura Dern's face was grafted onto a stuntwoman's body, and 
that was a first.  Now, in a coming movie called "Do Not Go Gentle," 
Sean Connery is made to look 30 years younger by a computer so he 
can play himself at the age of 33.  Beats a facelift.  Warner Brothers 
will release "Do Not Go Gentle" in the spring of '96.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RICHARD:  The big news this week from Microsoft is the release of a 
much improved 2.0 version of its Internet Explorer.  But Internet 
Explorer has a long way to go to catch up with Netscape.  Three out of 
four people on the Web still use Netscape Navigator. Now this 
competition has gotten personal.  Cofounder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, 
versus cofounder of Netscape, Marc Andreessen.  And who is this 
upstart Marc?  Well, he's much younger than Gates, he's worth more 
than $100 million, and he's very, very smart.

FEMALE3:  Marc Andreessen is a very nice, intelligent guy.

RICHARD:  Sure, because he's standing right over there.  He's also a 
rich guy, owning roughly a quarter of a billion dollars in stock of 
Netscape.

MARC ANDREESSEN:  We often go swimming in that fountain. (POINTS 
TO FOUNTAIN OUTSIDE OFFICE)

RICHARD:  He's also quite a joker.  The company culture reflects his 
own.  For example, there are the Superball fights, the office 
decorations, and all over the campus, you'll find his pet monster, 
Mozilla.

MARC A.:  That's Mozilla. (POINTS TO "GODZILLA"-LIKE DOLL)

RICHARD:  Mozilla is what Marc calls the "killer app."  Get it?  Killer 
App?

MARC A.:  Ladies and gentlemen, Mozilla.

RICHARD:  Can you blame him for going bananas?  A year ago, this 
place didn't exist. Today, it's the fastest growing firm in the digital 
world, worth more than $100 a share before the stocks split.

MARC A.:  May I have a magic cookie?

FEMALE4:  A magic cookie?

RICHARD:  Netscape makes magic cookies, among other things.  
Principally, the most popular program for browsing the World Wide 
Web is Netscape Navigator.  By the way, what is the magic cookie?

MARC A.:  When you're a new user of Navigator, you first access the 
Netscape server on the Net.  The server issues you a unique cookie, 
which then gets passed back to the Netscape server every time you 
get back.  So, we know for a fact that over 10 million unique people 
have accessed the Netscape home page.

RICHARD:  Which means 15 million people use his program, which he 
began as a student of the National Center for Supercomputing barely 
two years ago, for $100 a week.  These days he's posing for the likes 
of "Fortune" and "Business Week."  Are you flustered by it, or are you 
just bothered by all this publicity?  You hate it, don't you?

MARC A.:  Well, I don't think it's interesting, beyond how it helps the 
company.

RICHARD:  But you're an interesting guy to a lot of people.

MARC A.:  That's kind of scary.

RICHARD:  Has success changed Marc?  Well, he has five computers, 
any computer he wants.  So, does he have a corner office, a 
penthouse with a view?  No.  He's got a cubicle like everybody else.  
(STANDING IN CUBICLE) This is it.  And like some of the other 
programmers, he enjoys a good candy bar once in a while.  The 
congratulatory bottles on the shelves remain unopened, however.  
And this is really cool!  Check this out:  we found this in his file 
cabinet.  This is every issue of Digital Dispatch from c|net online.  
Pretty smart guy.  And you know how Bill Gates has a couple of half-
million-dollar sports cars? Marc drives a Mustang.

MARC A.:  It's a car.  It's a Mustang.  It's a Ford.

RICHARD:  Oh, there is one thing.

MARC A.:  (ABOUT D'ANNE SCHJERNING) She was employee number 
two, I was employee number three.

RICHARD:  What kind of a guy is he?

D'ANNE SCHJERNING (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, NETSCAPE):  Who, 
Marc?  He drives me crazy.

MARC A.:  Yeah, $20, $30, $40, $100, $200.

D'ANNE S.:  We are trying to get him into long pants.  And I have 
threatened I don't know how many times! (SHOT OF MARC IN 
SHORTS)

RICHARD:  Today, Marc definitely wears the pants in this family.  As 
director of technology, he's responsible for keeping Netscape at the 
leading edge, and he uses the Net to do it.  First, by spending a half 
hour each morning reading the news.

MARC A.: A lot of the computer press these days has daily news, so I 
read that, I read a lot of the world news, "U.S. News," "Business 
News," and so on.  I read CNN.  There's a concept!  I read the "Wall 
Street Journal," I read all these things online.

RICHARD:  He has a girlfriend, but he didn't have a recent photo.

MARC A.:  Oh, that's Elizabeth. (SHOT OF PICTURE OF LITTLE GIRL) 
She's four.  Just kidding.

RICHARD:  What's Netscape's secret?

MARC A.:  Netscape's secret is that we're in the middle of an 
exploding market.  The demand for software in this market is just 
going through the roof.  Just like the demand for hardware is going 
through the roof, the demand for routers is going through the roof.  
The demand for all this stuff is just exploding.

RICHARD:  And what is Marc Andreessen's personal secret?

MARC A.:  I think I'm really fortunate in that we've got a lot of really 
smart people working here.

RICHARD:  How does he stay so humble?

MARC A.:  You remain humble by focusing on your products and 
focusing on your customers and making sure that you have a solid 
business.

RICHARD:  Have you changed, or has anything changed about you 
since Netscape was formed?

MARC A.:  I'm sure I'm the wrong person to ask.

ANDREW GRANT (MARC'S PERSONAL ASSISTANT):  "Laid back," I 
wouldn't use.

RICHARD:  O.K.

ANDREW G.:  "Workaholic," yes.  "Intense"?  Not as much as I am.

D'ANNE S:  Yeah, but he's a sweetheart.

RICHARD:  Marc Andreessen is basically a pretty dull guy.

MARC A.:  I told you that coming into this, and I'll tell you that going 
out of it.

RICHARD:  Let's get out of here.  And how much time would you 
guess the king of the Web browser spends actually browsing the 
Web?  Marc says less than 15 minutes a day.  Hey, he's a busy guy.

GINA:  Well, we know someone who's been spending more time on 
the Web: Dave Ross.  He's been looking for love online and he gets 
"the last word."

DAVE ROSS:  (DAVE STRUMS AN ELECTRIC GUITAR)

I had my reservations, but my friends said I'd be fine,
I'd meet the perfect woman if I'd just go online.

Give technology a chance, it's never too late to start,
So I opened an account, and I then opened up my heart.

Put up a little menu, listing all my needs and wants,
And within an hour, I got your response.

You dragged my icon into your life--why you did, I wish I knew.
'Cause now I have the virtual courtship blues.

You said I had a handsome interface, that your name was Desiree,
You liked to watch the tide come in and watch it roll away.

You liked to watch the seagulls, see the big ships go by,
You had an easy smile and deep brown eyes.
 
But when I finally met you, I just didn't know what to say.
You turned out to be...a longshoreman named Jose!

I got the virtual, the virtual courtship blues.
The never-know-who-might-flirt-with-you virtual courtship blues!

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

RICHARD:  If you haven't seen them already, you really ought to see 
shareware.com and c|net radio, both new additions to c|net online.  
Check them out.

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

