C|NET CENTRAL
TRANSCRIPT
- EPISODE 13 -

Original air date:  6/24/95


HOSTS:  RICHARD HART and GINA ST. JOHN

(MUSIC)

GINA:  Meet the stars of the first online interactive soap opera.

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  And never again miss a jumpshot, double-play, or hat 
trick, by becoming the ultimate wired sports fan.

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  Hi, I'm Richard Hart.

GINA:  And I'm Gina St. John, and this is our first interactive episode.  
We're going to show you how it all works, and it is too cool.

RICHARD:  Also, should you buy it, try it, or skip that new CD-ROM?  
John C. Dvorak has advice, and as always Dave Ross, on "c|net 
central."

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL)

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  Welcome to c|net central.  The San Francisco home of c|net, 
the computer network.  We like to call this show, the first on-air, 
online, interactive showcase for digital technologies.  It's your place 
to find out and see in action all of the latest developments in 
multimedia, computers, and the online world.  We call it "interactive" 
because beginning this week, we're launching c|net online as an 
interactive companion to this program. But it's much more than that:  
It is a full, online service.  Free of charge, to anybody interested in 
the changes in our fast-paced digital world.  Gina is in our online 
production center right now.

GINA:  That's right, Richard.  All this behind me is c|net online, where 
our team of writers, artists, and programmers have spent the last 
year building the Internet's easiest, most fun, and most complete 
resource for all things digital.  A large part of what we've built was 
based on the comments and suggestions of you, our viewers.  
Everything you see on this program, every story, every feature, is 
connected to deep resources of additional information, online, 24 
hours a day.  And for every one story you see on this TV show, there 
are dozens more online.  And best of all, it's free.  Our online address 
is "www.cnet.com."  We'll show you how it all it works throughout 
this maiden program--and bear with us today as together we are 
going to explore some uncharted and somewhat experimental new 
territory.  Richard.

RICHARD:  You know, the Internet is just one of the ways we can stay 
in touch with all that important data that we need throughout the 
day.  For many of us, that data includes scores, statistics, and news in 
the world of sports.  Here now are just a few ways that you can stay 
in touch with your favorite team, no matter where you go.

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  For that I-gotta-know-it-all sports fan, Web sites on the 
Internet are popping up like a 197 hitter with ducks on the pond.

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  One of the most popular is ESPN's Sports Zone.  You want 
the latest line on Darryl Strawberry?  Go to Major League Baseball.  
Click the Straw and there it is.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

RICHARD:  Run and gun over to the NBA page, and you'll get more 
than you ever wanted to know about Rodman, Mr. Robinson, and the 
Shaq.  Like you need more?

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  And if you just can't live without knowing which shots 
were NBNs--nothing but net--and which ones caught air, ESPNet 
provides a quarter-by-quarter shot chart showing the threes, and 
twos, of every brick thrown up.

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  For the toothless tough guys, there's the Hockey Image 
archive--with shots of Gretsky, the great one, and high-sticking 
Mario Lemieux, plus the usual stacks and stacks of stats.

(MUSIC)

VOICE-OVER:  Oh, what a shot!

RICHARD:  Something a little more gentile?  There's the PGA page.  
But don't stop there, there's air hockey, body building, croquet, 
fencing, flying discs, korfball, martial arts, officiating, paintball, 
rodeo, skateboarding, squash, swimming, Ping-Pong, track, triathalon, 
windsurfing, wrestling . . . (deep breath) . . . and walking.  In all, 
more than 1,112 sports and related pages on the Web.  But how do 
you stay on top of things, if you should--heaven help you--actually 
have to go to a game?

BACKGROUND NOISE:

(MUSIC) 

RICHARD:  Oh, so far it's just as the computer predicted.  Say, you 
know, we have had dial-up services for a number of years, where 
you can get a score just by touch-tone dialing, but that gets kind of 
expensive, especially when you realize that there's so many games 
going on.  I mean, you can have a hockey game, a basketball game, 
and a baseball game at the same time, not to mention the start of 
training camp for football.  That's why we have these . . . 

Ah, yes!  Let's begin with the Sports Trax, for the serious sports fan.  
This is kind of like a glorified pager that just knows everything that 
your favorite team is doing.  You choose the team, and it follows 
them for two years.  No kidding.  You just replace the batteries.  
There's a little diamond, little players run around.  It knows when 
the game starts, it applauds for a run, cheers for a homer, and chirps 
at the end of an inning.  No buttons to push--it just knows.  It's called 
the Sports Trax.

BACKGROUND NOISE: 

RICHARD:  OK, we're going to do this next.

BACKGROUND NOISE:

RICHARD:  For the more serious and more well-heeled fan, there is 
Super Pager.  This is from the Wireless Broadcast Network.  Sports 
scores, information, stats, injuries are being broadcast around you all 
the time, and you can pick it up on this pager.  I'm telling you, this 
guy even has golf!  Ha! Like I need a pager to tell me that Ben 
Crenshaw just birdied.

BACKGROUND NOISE:

RICHARD:  Yes!

RICHARD:  It's called Sports-To-Go, and from its menu you can choose 
virtually any team, any sport--it even tells you about injuries.  

(MUSIC) 

RICHARD:  I love this.  Minnesota Timberwolves are for sale.  This 
costs about $99.  Plus about $12 a month for the service.

BACKGROUND NOISE:

RICHARD:  Yeah, you wanna move a little to the left.  What if you 
want to get all the scores from all the games at the same time--and I 
mean "all" the games?  That's when you turn to the laptop.  This one 
uses a satellite network.  It works with any DOS-based laptop.  A 
little satellite receiver plugs into the back, and voila!  You have 
satellite sports news.  This picks up the signal; a program called 
Game View puts it up on your screen.  Across here, a scrolling ticker 
tape for the ultimate sports fan.  It even gives you the home team 
weather report.  So now there's no reason you can't be up-to-the-
moment on sports anywhere with these.

(MUSIC)

(CROWD NOISE)

RICHARD:  Did I miss something?

BACKGROUND NOISE:

VOICE-OVER:  Very deep and gone!       

BACKGROUND NOISE:

RICHARD:  Oh, well, it'll come up on the pager in a minute anyway.

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  Would you like more information about those Web sites 
you just saw or some of the gadgets I was using?  Well, whenever 
you see this icon, it means that more info on what you just saw--plus 
additional products and sites we couldn't show you--is available at 
c|net online.  Not just now during the show, but whenever you choose 
to log on.

GINA:  If you have Internet access, c|net online is easy to get to and 
easy to get through.  It's located at the address "www.cnet.com."  
Once you type that in, you'll arrive at our home page.  Just follow the 
icons--the same ones that will appear at the bottom of the television 
screen--to the various areas.  The first is c|net central, where you 
will find the latest-breaking news about computers and the online 
world, updated every day.  c|net's hot list of new gear that you can't 
live without.  A library of 100 CD-ROM reviews, plus reams of 
original content written exclusively for c|net online.  And of course, 
links to the stories you see on this TV show.  You can even tour our 
studios.  Next is the forum--bulletin boards where you can share 
your opinion and connect with other c|net members.  We'll show you 
more about how that works later.  And finally, resources, where 
you'll connect with the most complete shareware library in the 
world, where you can download great games and software.  You'll 
also find extensive technical support and a reference desk with all 
the answers to your computing questions.  I also want to mention 
that when you become a member of c|net online, you're 
automatically entered into a sweepstakes where you can win all sorts 
of digital prizes.  

RICHARD:  If all this talk about the Internet is leaving you feeling a 
little left out, stick around.  First of all, you don't need to be online to 
enjoy this show.  And second, if you want to get online, it's not that 
hard.  Much of the software is free, and there are plenty of people 
working hard to make it easier still.  Including us at c|net central.

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  We'll be right back.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL)

(MUSIC)

VOICE-OVER:  Getting on the Internet has never been easier.  Call 
now, and c|net will send you free World Wide Web software.  Install 
it with a click of your mouse, and you'll be on the Web in minutes.  
Just call 1-800/445-CNET, extension 100.  It's free, so call now and 
get on.

(COMMERCIAL)

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  c|net online is not just a place to get more information 
about something that you saw on the television show.  It's much 
more than that.  It really is different.  It's an interactive companion 
to the TV show.  What do we mean by that?  Well, it's a community 
where people can share ideas.  A good example of that is the bulletin 
boards in the c|net forum.  Think of each of our bulletin boards as an 
electronic version of the physical bulletin board where you place 
messages and read responses from other people.  Say you're 
restoring an old car, and you needed help finding a part.  You could 
go to a bulletin board and pin up a message.  Later, someone reads 
your message and posts a reply.  And the next day, somebody else 
posts another reply, creating what's called a "thread of discussion" on 
that discussion.  Well, you can do the same thing electronically on 
c|net online's bulletin boards.  Create topics or threads, and comment 
on other people's topics or add to their threads.  There are detailed 
instructions online on how to participate.

GINA:  Thanks, Richard.  You know, when you are ready to buy CD-
ROMs, this is the place to come.  It's our multimedia review with our 
own John C. Dvorak.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Hi.

GINA:  Hi.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  So I've got some hot--you know what?  I think 
people are complaining because I . . . I seem to be, like, a grouch.

GINA:  No!

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Yeah.  So I've decided to change my ways and be 
kind of, like, an up-tempo, cool guy with a lot of smiles and stuff like 
that.

GINA:  Ah ha!

JOHN C. DVORAK:  So, I'm only going to review good products.

GINA:  What do you have today?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  . . . Starting next week.

GINA:  (Laughter)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  This week we've got two good products and one 
turkey.  One of the good products is this outstanding "Doom"-killer  
called "Descent."

(MUSIC)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  You begin deep below the surface of the moon, in a 
maze of mines, at the helm of an advanced spaceship.  You launch 
straight down a mine shaft, twist around never-ending tunnels, and 
fend off deadly robots in an environment that's truly 360-degree 3D.

(BACKGROUND MUSIC)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  There are 30 levels total--and if you get bored 
playing by yourself, you can battle with up to 8 players on a 
network, or go head-to-head over a modem.  "Descent" sells for 
$49.95 and is available on the PC.  I say "try it," then "buy it."

GINA:  Well, why try it?  Why not just buy it?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  You know, these guys . . . well, because you can get 
the first seven levels free and then try it.  You may not like the 
game.  I mean, it's basically a "Doom"-style game, and what's 
interesting to me is that most shareware companies, they start off as 
shareware and become big software companies; these guys are big 
software companies and they have decided to put out some 
shareware.  And in fact, this game is available on the World Wide 
Web and the Internet, and probably a lot of bulletin boards, too.  So 
you might as well go pick up the first seven levels.  If you like it, you 
pay for the rest.  It's cool.  Real cool.

GINA:  What else do you have for us today?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Well, next we've got Rodney Alan Greenblat's 
"Dazzeloids."

(MUSIC)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  "Dazzeloids" is a creative, choose-your-own-
adventure storybook for young children.  The Dazzeloids are a team 
of superhero crusaders out to fight brainwashed zombification of the 
citizens of Compli City.  What's bringing on the zombification?  
Watching too much boring TV.  It's all an evil plot by--who else?  
The bad guys, of course--Mediogre and Pin Bleeper. 

(MUSIC)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  "Dazzeloids" sells for $39.95 and is a hybrid disc, 
meaning it works on both the PC and the Mac.  I say, "buy it."  It's 
pretty cool.  I think that kids are really going to like this thing.

GINA:  I really like it.  I do have to admit, it has a not-too-subtle 
message about TV programming, though.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Yeah, they can be wrong about that, you know.  
(LOOKING AT CAMERA)  TV is good.

GINA:  What's our last title today?

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Well, talking about TV . . . we have a John Tesh CD-
ROM.  Sorry about this--it was used as a doorstop, and it's fallen 
apart.  They could have made a better box.  Anyway, it's called 
"Backstage with John Tesh."

(MUSIC)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  With his resume and slide-show biography . . . 
There's John as a baby, John as a toddler, John as a Little Leaguer.  
Who developed this CD-ROM?  Tesh's mom, I think.  You get 12 full, 
completed songs--big deal.  With--wow!--a full sentence of artist's 
notes.  You get 70 samples of his songs at 10 seconds apiece.  If you 
like Tesh, a 10-second sample is not enough.  If you hate Tesh, 10 
seconds is agony.  There are four full-length music videos.

(MUSIC)

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Too bad these weren't 10 seconds long.  There are 
also video interviews where you select the question to ask.  The 
question that they left out was:  why did John Tesh bother to do this 
CD-ROM?  I think the real reason for the CD-ROM, though, is as a 
front--a smoke screen for John's music catalog.  Look, a printable 
order form!  "Backstage with John Tesh" sells for $29.95 and is a 
hybrid CD-ROM.  Works both on the Mac and the PC.

GINA:  So, are you going to say "buy it?"

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Obviously, not.  This is a definite "skip it."  But 
wait!  You know, it will make a heck of a doorstop.  It's got the right 
angle--it's already been used for one.

GINA:  I don't think you are going to get invited on "Entertainment 
Tonight" this way.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  Ah . . . maybe not.  But you probably will.

GINA:  Oh.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  You know, I have one thing to say that I think 
these guys should be aware of.  If you are going to make a CD-ROM 
which is essentially a catalog, and kind of a fan club newsletter, you 
should at least give people a discount on anything that they order 
from the catalog--a discount to the tune of what they paid for the 
catalog, about $29.95.

GINA:  Well, thank you very much for your freely given opinions this 
week, John.

JOHN C. DVORAK:  See you next week.

GINA:  Richard.

RICHARD:  In addition to the titles that John reviewed here--that is, 
John C. Dvorak--c|net online has compiled a list of 100 must-have CD-
ROMs:  the "c|net 100."  To check them out, go to c|net online and click 
on c|net central.  There you'll find 100 original reviews written 
exclusively for c|net online, as well as transcripts of the reviews that 
you saw today.  In his review of the CD-ROM game "Descent," John 
mentioned a shareware version in which you could try the first 
seven levels.  Shareware is a kind of software you don't pay for 
when you first get it.  You can share it with a friend--hence the 
name.  And if you like it, you buy the full-blown version.  In this 
case, log on to c|net online, click on c|net central, and then on John C. 
Dvorak's reviews.  You'll be able to download this version, the 
shareware version of "Descent," from us to you.  And while you're 
there, don't forget the resources available at c|net online, including 
one of the most powerful ways to search the Internet for other 
shareware, and our own reference desk.  Gina.

GINA:  Next week on "c|net central":  aliens invade the Internet.  See 
an exclusive videotape of a supposed UFO, and find out how you can 
get the footage from c|net online.  And take a ride in a virtual car you 
design yourself.

(MUSIC)

VOICE-OVER:  Let's see . . . I think I would like a teal interior.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL) 

(COMMERCIAL)

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  Here's another sweet spot on the World Wide Web that 
you really should check out:  it's called The Spot.  And it is very 
much like "Melrose Place" or "90210."  It follows a group of young 
people living in a beach house in Santa Monica, but it's on the 
Internet.  It's the first episodic series to appear there.

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  Meet Tara, the 23-year-old film student who idolizes 
Martin Scorsese.  Michelle, she's a part-time model, blond, who 
dreams of becoming an actor.  Kerry, who just got a job at a local 
bookstore.  And Jeff, a quiet type who owns the house where they all 
live--this house, called, The Spot.

(MUSIC)

VOICE-OVER:  Does it really exist?  That's the question:  what is real 
and what's not . . . 

(MUSIC)

SCOTT ZAKARIN (CREATOR, THE SPOT):  There are real people behind 
the characters.  There's not, per se, a Tara Hartwick necessarily, but 
there is a woman who plays Tara.  And she is very much Tara.  She 
responds to the email.  She's on the IRC chat lines.  And she does her 
writing.

(MUSIC)

RICHARD:  When you check into The Spot, you can interact with all 
the characters on a daily basis.  In this episode--an episode means a 
calendar day--Tara talks about a crush she had on her film 
instructor.  And because nothing is private on The Spot, the film 
instructor is here, too.  Sometimes, it can get a little too personal.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

RICHARD:  Another dramatic pitfall, unique to the Net:  wayward 
hackers.  After it was online only two nights, cyberthieves broke into 
the The Spot and stole scripts, files--even Lon's scorecard rating the 
girls he'd been with.

BACKGROUND NOISE:

RICHARD:  Because The Spot is interactive, you can share their hopes 
and fears through Spot Mail.  In this episode, we're sending a 
message to Tara.  That's right, Tara.  Letting her know that she is 
going to be on a TV show.  Will she write back?  Has she seen the 
show before?  Or is she only into film?  Stay tuned . . .

BACKGROUND NOISE:

RICHARD:  If you would like to check it out for yourself, the address 
is "www.thespot.com."  And of course, you can find that address--and 
the address of any place you see us visit here on "c|net central"--
when you visit c|net online.  Gina.

GINA:  It's time now for our viewer email.  First off, a couple of 
weeks ago John C. Dvorak reviewed a new CD-ROM from Bobcat 
Goldthwait called "How to be Perfect."  Well, John gave it anything 
but a perfect review, and in response, one of our viewers, Eric 
Goldberg, writes:

"John C. Dvorak was priceless, it was like getting yelled at by my vice 
principal all over again.  Honestly, I would have been scared if he did 
like this CD.  I mean, he's not exactly the hippest guy on the planet.  
No offense."

None taken, at least by me.  John, on the other hand, may be getting 
back to you, Eric.  Another viewer wrote us about our show dealing 
with the Simpson-Goldman murder animation created by Failure 
Analysis which we commissioned.  It received worldwide attention.

"I am intrigued with the fine simulation done for the crime scene for 
the Simpson case and would like to learn more about the techniques 
involved in creating such a simulation.  I heard that it was possible 
to download the simulation and would like information on how to do 
so."

You can still download the animation from c|net online.  All you have 
to do is go to c|net central, television, and you'll find the animation 
there.  And you can also find information on this in a special feature 
there called "Computer Animation in the Courtroom" written 
especially for c|net online.  Richard.

RICHARD:  Next is a guy who still swears he doesn't use email, but he 
has lived long enough--which in technology terms is about ten years-
-to appreciate the passing of other similar technologies.  Here's Dave 
Ross, with the last word.

DAVE ROSS:

You know what the problem is with kids today?  They're spoiled!   
But  parents--it's not too late.  It's not too late to sit your kids down 
and tell 'em what it was like back in the old days.  You know . . . 
1980.

Get those kids in here.  Take the 3D helmets off their heads and sit 
'em down right here.  It's not too late to tell 'em about the days when 
a floppy disk actually flopped.

Tell 'em how we used to make phone calls.  Hey kids!  You know the 
expression "dial a number"?   WE actually DIALED numbers.  Why 
did we dial?  Because back then there was just one phone company, 
and it figured we needed the exercise, that's why.  And it didn't 
believe in voice mail either, which meant we had phones that 
actually RANG.   They had to be answered by something called a 
PERSON.

Scary, isn't it?  One little virus in the phone system, and those days 
will be back.

And we had pretty good computers all right, but we didn't have 
screen savers.  When I was a kid, the screen saver was something we 
called the POWER SWITCH!  That's right--we actually SHUT THE DARN 
THING OFF! 

And we had games, too--but none of this 32-bit, full-color, live-
action, high-resolution, 3D, stereo, F-18 cockpit simulation stuff.

No, kid, we played PONG.  You BET it ruined the TV.  Heck, it left a 
line right down the center of my face.

All right, that's it.  Now go finish balancing your dad's accounts 
receivable.  And don't make any noise.

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

GINA:  Pong, I forgot about that.  Do you remember there was a game 
called Tennis?  It was like Pong, but the blips were bigger.

RICHARD:  You're serious?

GINA:  Yes.

RICHARD:  Sort of an enhanced Pong?

GINA:  Upgraded.

RICHARD:  Dave would love that.  Well, that's it for our first episode 
of "c|net central" connected to c|net online.  That relationship 
between a television show and online service, we think, is unique.  
Send us your comments and suggestions to "letters@cnet.com."

GINA:  And don't forget to check out our new Web site at 
"www.cnet.com."

RICHARD:  Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget you can always log 
on!

(MUSIC)

END OF TAPED MATERIAL  
