CompuNotes Notes from The Cutting Edge of Personal Computing September 26, 1998 Issue 131 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= To subscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com SUBSCRIBE COMPUNOTES-L FirstName LastName To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com SIGNOFF COMPUNOTES-L For Contact and Other Information See Bottom of Publication! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= *************************** Get Around No Matter What!* ****************************************************************** HoveRoundr Personal Mobility Vehicles - - Hoveroundr, the most advanced personal mobility vehicle in the world. It has major features you won't find in any other product...to help you live an independent lifestyle for years to come. FREE Information! Click Here: http://www.get-it-for-free.com/compunotes/hover.htm ****************************************************************** CONTENTS My Notes: 1=> CompuNotes Notes, mailto:pgrote@i1.net 2=> This Issue's Winner! News: 3=> News of the Week, mailto:pgrote@i1.net Reviews: 4=> Product: Caesars Palace VIP Series Video Poker Deluxe, game Reviewed By: Robin Nobles, mailto:smslady@netdoor.com 5=> Product: Extensis Intellihance(R) 3.0, graphics Reviewed By: Howard Carson & Deadly Design Team (DDT Inc.), mailto:lrhc@interlog.com 6=> Product: The Waite Group's NC GUIDE: Development Strategies for Network Computers, Authored by Piroz Mohseni, book Reviewed By: Don Hughes, mailto:dmha@on.aibn.com 7=> Product: Hexen II: Portal of Praevus, game Reviewed By: Doug Reed, mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com 8=> Product: Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency, games Reviewed By: Doug Reed, mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com 9=> Product: Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics. game Reviewed By: Doug Reed, mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com 10=> Product: Building a Windows NT 4 Internet Server, book Reviewed By: Don Hughes, mailto:dmha@on.aibn.com 11=> Product: XactCopy Reviewed By: Don Hughes, mailto:dmha@on.aibn.com --- BEGIN ISSUE 1=> CompuNotes Notes, mailto:pgrote@i1.net None this week. 2=> Winner! This week's winner: sduckwor@AC.EDU. 3=> News and Game Bits, mailto:pgrote@i1.net or mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com Intel and Netscape to Invest in Linux Big Time . . . http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,26837,00.html?st.ne.fd.mdh Mickey Mouse Fears Microsoft and Bill Gates . . . http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/1998/sep/25/092500378.htm l Andy Grove of Intel Loses His Mind ... Loves His iMac . . . http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/daily/0,2960,14868-101980924,00.html Y2K Blackouts? http://www.abcnews.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/epy2k980926.html Pentagon Retreats from the Web . . . http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/filters/bursts/0,3422,2142332,00.html Prodigy is Going Public . . . http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/1,4164,2141657,00.html Actual OS/2, yes, I said OS/2, News . . . http://www.zdnet.com/sr/stories/news/0,4538,2140718,00.html Intel to Buy Into Micron . . . http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/INV19980925S0004 Microsoft Admits Linux Threat . . . http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/reuters/REU19980926S0001 AMD Price Cuts Soons . . . http://www.crn.com/dailies/weekending092598/sep24dig05.asp ************************************** Learn Electronics In Your Spare Time!* ********************************************************************* Cleveland Institute of Electronics is the World Leader in Electronics Education and we want to send you a FREE Electronics Symbols Handbook and Course Catalog. Request our Free Handbook Now! Click Here: http://www.get-it-for-free.com/compunotes/cleveland.htm ********************************************************************* 4=> Product: Caesars Palace VIP Series Video Poker Deluxe, game Reviewed By: Robin Nobles, mailto:smslady@netdoor.com Requires: Pentium(tm) 90 MHz or better processor, Windows(r) '95 with DirectX 5.0, 16 MB RAM, 2X or faster CD-ROM drive, DirectX certified sound card, 15 MB of hard drive space, 100% Microsoft(tm) mouse or compatible, DirectX certified video card. Does not work in DOS. MSRP: $24.95 Video poker is fast becoming one of the most challenging casino games to play, due to its fast pace and need for quick decisions. Caesars Palace VIP Series Video Poker Deluxe brings the casino and video poker to your computer screen, complete with casino sound effects, beautiful graphics, and realistic game play. The game gives you the opportunity to work on your strategies from the comfort of your own home without losing any real money! Not a bad deal. Installation proved to be simple, and you soon find yourself at the casino register with $10,000 listed beside your name. Whoa. Makes you feel like a high roller, doesn't it? If you need more money, simply borrow it, then "repay" the loan later. The game stores up to nine players in the registry, with only one player being active during a game. You can delete and add players as you choose. The game offers over 100 different video poker machines, including variations of the most common poker machines found in real casinos. You'll find Jacks or Better, Tens or Better, Deuces Wild, Joker's Wild, Cleopatra's Barge, Sklansky's Up the Ladder, and new variations of traditional video poker. To begin, you simply choose a machine in the casino lobby, then choose the denomination of that machine. You can play in denominations from $.25 to $100, depending on how lucky you're feeling. To play the game, you move your cursor over the "play coins" slot on the machine. You can choose to bet from one to five coins per game. Click on Deal/Draw and you're given five cards. Choose which ones to hold, click on Deal/Draw again, and you'll see your final hand. Each poker game is a little different, with different wild cards, minimum winning hands, and special payouts. So, you have a wide variety of games to play, making it very challenging. My only complaint with the game is the lack of explicit instructions on how to play video poker. For example, the instructions on how to play Cleopatra's Barge (which ended up being one of my favorites) is: This is played with a normal deck, no jokes or wild cards. There is a special payout on Four-of-a-Kind, if the fifth card is a 2, 3, or 4. That may be self-explanatory for someone who's familiar with poker, but for me, it wasn't. However, in all fairness, I was quickly able to figure out the rules and had a grand time playing. With this game, you can also play Sklansky's Poker Challenge, a new type of video poker that the game's developers feel will soon be in casinos worldwide. To play Poker Challenge, you simply click on any of the "challenge" machines in the casino lobby. With Poker Challenge, the instructions are much more detailed in the owner's manual, which is very helpful. Poker Challenge is very simple to play, yet very complex. The rules can be learned within minutes, but strategies involve a great deal of skill and insight which are developed over time and game play. Poker Challenge offers literally thousands of different types of decisions. So, this area of the game is perfect for those who are looking for a true challenge. Caesars Palace VIP Series Video Poker Deluxe is an exciting game that is sure to keep you occupied for hours, just like the "real thing." It's hard to click on that "Cash Out" button and quit when you're winning. And when you're losing, it's even harder! The game is fun, realistic, and appropriate for most age groups. Interplay Productions Caesars Palace VIP Series Video Poker Deluxe Product Website: http://www.interplay.com/games/caesvp.html 5=> Product: Extensis Intellihance(R) 3.0, graphics Reviewed By: Howard Carson & Deadly Design Team (DDT Inc.), mailto:lrhc@interlog.com Requires: Windows 95, 98 or NT4, 486/DX33 or higher CPU, Mac System 7.5(R) or later with (hardware) FPU (Mac), CD-ROM drive, SVGA video, Adobe PhotoShop(R)v3.0.4 or later (Mac), Adobe PhotoShop v3.0.5 or later (Windows). MSRP: US$99.95 Extensis Intellihance 3.0 is a Plug-In used in conjunction with Adobe PhotoShop, Jasc's Paint Shop Pro(R) and any other software which makes use of Adobe-standard plug-ins. Intellihance automates color correction, contrast, brightness, saturation, sharpness, cast removal, de-screening and de-speckle. Manual adjustments can be made to individuals images, scans and other source files, using a complete 'Fine Tune' set of controls. Different combinations of settings can saved for future re-use. The Deadly Design Team (DDT Inc.) in Toronto did most of the Intellihance testing. DDT is an Intel/Windows shop and tested the software on the following systems: (clone) Pentium II(R) 266 with 128MB RAM and SVGA video running Windows NT4 (SP3), a Dell Pentium II 333 with 256MB RAM and SVGA video running Windows NT4 (SP3), a Micron Pentium 166MMX with 64MB RAM and SVGA video running Windows NT4 (SP3), and a (clone) Pentium 133 with 32MB RAM and SVGA video running Windows 95 (final release.) Intellihance installed easily and ran quickly on all systems. Intellihance was tested with Paint Shop Pro 5 and PhotoShop 4 & 5 on all systems. Test materials consisted of stock photography images from Rubberball(R), Stockbyte(R), Image Club(R) and family photographs (1950's-1970's vintage, typically average quality) scanned on an HP PhotoSmart (600 x 600 ppi optical x 30-bit color.) Extensis has created a default setup that should accommodate the majority of average quality images. All you have to do is load an image into PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro, load the Intellihance plug-in, click the 'Enhance Image' button in the default 'Quick Enhance' dialog and you're done. You can tune up the default settings if necessary, by clicking on the 'Preferences' button in the quick enhance dialog. The preferences dialog provides manual adjustments (all based on drop list selections) for contrast, brightness, saturation, sharpness, cast removal, de-screening and de-speckle. There is also a 'Fine Tune' button which you can access from the preferences dialog. The fine tune dialog provides a more detailed level of adjustment for the individual selections in the preferences dialog. In preview mode, in the preferences dialog, you've got the option to re-size your viewing window, view at a 1:1 ratio or zoom in and out for greater detail or to see the entire picture. Keyboard controlled previewing lets you flip back and forth to compare the changes you've made to your image (just press and release the Control key.) Advanced Histogram analysis (also in the preferences dialog) provides histograms of your original image and your adjusted image. Processing, previews, zooms and histogram views were extremely fast on the test computers. Once Intellihance is set up, you can speed through the processing of dozens individual images in little more time than it takes to load each one. After Intellihance is set up for your own purposes, it will save you anywhere from 8-12 steps per image in PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro. Note that Intellihance works best when it's processing good to average graphics and photos (i.e.: wildly over or under exposed photos just can't be salvaged.) Intellihance needs to be able to find some reasonable hints in your originals about actual colors and details. Extensis Intellihance is a very useful, productive time-saving addition to almost anyone's plug-in collection. Occasional home users, SOHO, small business and agency designers and graphic artists will find lots of work for Intellihance. Small repro, Quick Print and Prepress shops can also make excellent use of it. Cons: No automatic batch processing ability. With the addition of automatic batch processing, could be serious competition for Equilibrium's Debabelizer(R). Click 'OK' & the plug-in disappears (typical plug-in behavior), but it processing batches a bit of a pain. Pros: Excellent, concise user manual. Intellihance is extremely easy to use. Fast operation. Excellent Preview mode with simultaneous access to all controls. Intelligent image enhancer, not just a brightener. We have a set of two copyright sample images that have been 'Intellihanced'. If you want to see them (they're in a 4.3MB ZIP file, available for 5 days after this review is published), mailto:lrhc@interlog.com Extensis Corporation Intellihance 3.0 for Windows 95/NT (Windows 98 and Mac system 7.5 or later) Product Web site: http://www.extensis.com/products/Intellihance/ 6=> Product: The Waite Group's NC GUIDE: Development Strategies for Network Computers, Authored by Piroz Mohseni, book Reviewed By: Don Hughes, mailto:dmha@on.aibn.com Price $29.99 USA / $42.95 Canada The Waite Groups NC GUIDE is intended for IT managers or the MIS professionals who want to learn more about network-centric model of computing. The intention of the author, Piroz Mohseni, is to focus on "concepts needed to understand and evaluate new technologies suited to individual computing requirements." The book contains 323 pages, Fourteen chapters, and three appendixes. Topics covered are: The NC Paradigm, NC Specifications, Software for the NC, Servers for the NC, The NC and Java, The NC and Databases, Distributed Applications on the NC, The Distributed Object Model, Electronic Commerce, Computer Telephony Integration, Inferno, Java Management API, Java Development Tools, and What's Next. The "NC Paradigm" (Paradigm = pattern or example) or shifts that have taken place in the computer industry. During the last forty year the industry for the most part moved away from the large bulky main frame computer with dumb terminals to a more server based technology. The rise of the home PC and its ability to communicate with other computers via a modem gave rise to another paradigm shift to client server technology. The author explains NC as" A client device that functions by using the distributed network as a source for data, applications, and communication." He farther explains: The NC is a client device...the NC lives and dies by the network. If the network goes down you cannot expect your NC to continue to function...The NC is part of a distributed network such as the Internet or a corporate Intranet. The book gives you a good sound base of knowledge from which you can form your own opinion about NC computers. One of the main things that give the NC an advantage over the desktop PC is lower cost, and less maintenance. Web-TV is one form of the NC that will be aimed at personal usage. The industry has produced some guidelines for NC computing, but there is no official set of standards to go by. This book is your guide to learning more about NC computing, and covers the topic in depth. There are numerous illustrations and screen photographs, diagrams placed throughout the book to reinforce the different concepts presented to a reader. As an added plus, in many spots in the text the author has placed web page listings for such companies as Oracle, Sybase, Borland, Javasoft, etc. The Waite Groups NC GUIDE is a concise easy to read book, and it explains the NC concept in great detail. The NC Guide is a good source of information, and will give a reader a better understanding of the hardware and software issues in the development of NC based systems. Publisher: Waite Group Press A division of Sams Publishing, Corte Madera, Ca. http://waite.com/waite ************************ Rebates for Eating Out!* ******************************************************************** Dining A la Card - - Join Now For 60 Days Free And Start Earning 20% Cash Back Right Away! It doesn't cost you a penny to try Dining à la Card now. And the cash rebates are yours to keep without any obligation! Join Now for 60 DAYS FREE and earn 20% Cash Back when you visit any of our participating establishments nationwide! Click Here: http://www.get-it-for-free.com/compunotes/dining.htm ******************************************************************** 7=> Product: Hexen II: Portal of Praevus, game Reviewed By: Doug Reed, mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com Requirements: Hexen II (retail version), Pentium-90, Windows 95, 16 MB RAM, 2x CDROM, 45 MB hard drive space, sound card, mouse or joystick Reviewed on: Pentium-166, 24 MB RAM, Voodoo Rush graphics card, 16x CDROM, Assassin 3D MSRP: $29.99 It seems everybody is doing it this days: once a game becomes successful, release a "add-on" that adds extra enemies, missions, levels, or whatever to tide the gamers over until the release of the inevitable sequel. This also seems especially true for Raven Software, designers of Heretic and Hexen as well as Hexen II. Each successive game has spawned both an add-on and a sequel. Portal of Praevus is the add-on to Hexen II and features both new enemies and a new series of levels and missions to complete. Portal also features a new character class, the Demoness. At the end of Hexen II the player defeated Eidolon, last of the Serpent Riders. All would have seemed to be finished, but now a wizard named Praevus has taken the imprisoned souls of the Serpent Riders and wants to bend them to his evil plans. To reach this new foe, the player must cross a new continent that has appeared on the planet Thyrion, a continent of snow and ice and fearsome beasts. Installation of Portal of Praevus is straightforward although not altogether simple. Portal contains the latest patch of Hexen II (version 1.11) and will update your files if you have not already done so. Be forewarned that the installation of the patch will temporarily require 80 MB of free hard drive space! In addition to installing Portal, the CD also installs a number of shortcuts for starting multiplayer games as well as GameSpy which can help you find multiplayer games on the Internet. For those who like to play human opponents, Portal offers little other than new levels and a new character class; the primary meat of the add-on is for those who like single player games. As I mentioned, there is the new character class: the Demoness. The Demoness is a former minion of Eidolon, and is a being of magic. She has a fairly demonic look - red skin and short stubby wings that can glide for a short distance. The Demoness is an evil character, of course, and makes an interesting addition. However, Portal of Praevus only allows you to play the Demoness in the new missions- you can not replay Hexen II with the Demoness. Having said that, would it really add that much to the experience? I doubt it. New graphical effects dominate the new levels, including falling snow and ice effects that are very cool. There are new monsters as well, adding to the experience. Although Portal does not contain as many levels as Hexen II, it does almost feel like a complete game unto itself. Be forewarned though: if you found Hexen II tough going, Portal is even tougher! The bottom line is this - if you like Hexen II and you haven't gotten tired of first-person games, then Portal of Praevus will be a welcome addition to your library. At the price, add-on packs are tough to resist, and this one does give you a pretty fair amount of meat for the money. Hexen II: Portal of Praevus Activision/Raven Software http://www4.activision.com/games/hexenIImp/ 8=> Product: Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency, games Reviewed By: Doug Reed, mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com Requirements: Windows 95, Pentium-100, 16 MB RAM, 4x CDROM, 100 MB hard drive space, sound card, SVGA, Total Annihilation Reviewed on: Pentium-166, 24 MB RAM, 16x CDROM MSRP: $29.99 Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency (TCC from now on) is an add-on pack for the immensely successful Total Annihilation. TCC is everything that an add-on pack should be, and well worth the value to anyone who wants to keep on playing Total Annihilation. If you've visited the Total Annihilation site, you already know that Cavedog has made available a number of free downloads, including new maps, new units, and an editor to create your own missions. But TCC adds 75 new units, far more than Cavedog has made available on their website. Also on the CD are 50 new maps for multiplayer games, the mission editor, and new campaigns for both the Arm and the Core. The Arm campaign includes a special "Korgoth Encounter" which details missions in which the Arm faces off against the ultimate Core unit: Korgoth, a gigantic Kbot whose destructive power is enough to kill a Commander in a single blast. To further alter your strategic thinking, Cavedog has added an entire new class of vehicles: hovercraft, that can cross both land and water. Cavedog has also included the patch to upgrade your version of Total Annihilation to version 3.0. This latest version includes a number of improvements, including smarter computer AI and the ability to use computer opponents and allies in multiplayer games. Cavedog has certainly made a firm commitment to fully supporting Total Annihilation and keeping their customers happy. I seriously doubt that any of the patches that have been released for Total Annihilation have been "necessary" - in other words, they made enhancements to the game not bug-fixes. The main question with an add-on to an already established game is whether the add-on is worth the price. TCC is definitely worth the price, if you've played Total Annihilation and are hooked on the game (guilty as charged, thank you very much). If you like the single player campaigns, you have two new ones to play. Thanks to the mission editor now you can even create your own, or download new ones from the Internet! With all of the various maps, the longevity of Total Annihilation takes a leap into the stratosphere. I found the improved AI to be considerably more challenging than before, especially in the new campaigns. The graphics are the same as before - incredible and spectacular are the main adjectives that come to mind. The enhancements to the multiplayer modes take an already great game to new heights. If you already own Total Annihilation, I highly recommend you get TCC immediately; you won't be sorry. And if you haven't purchased Total Annihilation, be sure and check out the demo from the official website at http://www.totalannihilation.com. Cavedog Entertainment Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency http://www.totalannihilation.com 9=> Product: Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics. game Reviewed By: Doug Reed, mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com Requirements: Total Annihilation (full version), Windows 95, Pentium-100, 32 MB RAM, 100 MB Hard drive space, 4x CDROM, sound card, SVGA, mouse Recommended: Pentium-133 or higher Reviewed on: Pentium-166, 48 MB RAM, 16xCDROM MSRP: $29.99 Battle Tactics is the second add-on pack for Total Annihilation, the king of the hill in the current RTS wars (IMHO). The first pack, The Core Contingency, added three new campaigns, dozens of maps and new units, and a mission editor. Battle Tactics takes a different slant on things, with an emphasis on the action rather than the resource management end of things. Battle Tactics contains 100 new scenarios, ranging from very short to very long in length. Cavedog promotes this add-on as a means of learning how to play Total Annihilation for beginners and simply a deluge of missions for the jaded expert. Of course, the entire idea that this add-on pack is for beginners sounds kind of crazy; in order to play it you must have already purchased Total Annihilation. Unless of course you just purchased Total Annihilation and are finding it a bit tough... While the idea of an add-on pack to address such a difficulty is rather novel, you have to wonder if Cavedog really thought this all the way through. The majority of missions in Battle Tactics are very short, which is very different from both the single player campaign missions and multi-player play. In both single and multi-player games, the early part of the game is generally spent collecting resources and building your army. But the Battle Tactics missions don't cover that aspect of Total Annihilation; they only cover the actual battles once your units are assembled. The problem for beginners is, how to learn to build that unstoppable armada! The missions themselves are quite fun, and Cavedog has provided a huge variety of missions that should satisfy most Total Annihilation fans. For those who enjoy the single player aspects of Total Annihilation (like me!), Battle Tactics is a very pleasant diversion. Most of the battles can be fought in less than half an hour, fitting ideally within the amount of time I usually have to devote to gaming in the wee small hours of the morning. The bottom line is this: I don't recommend Battle Tactics for newcomers to Total Annihilation since it won't teach them what they really need to know - how to build their army. Instead I would recommend that they spend their time working their way through the campaigns provided in the original game. For those who already enjoy Total Annihilation and who like "quickie" missions to satisfy an urge to get away from reality for half an hour, I highly recommend Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics. Cavedog Entertainment http://www.cavedog.com Total Annihilation website http://www.totalannihilation.com ************************** Get Paid to Surf the Net!* ******************************************************************** Get paid for using the Internet? With the MyPointsr Program you can! You earn Points in the MyPointsr Program for a wide variety of activities. Visiting a Web site, taking a survey, joining a program, or about anything. Points accumulate in your personal account and can be spent on travel, entertainment, merchandise, and more. And it's totally FREE to you! Sign up now and receive 100 FREE Points to get started! Click Here: http://www.get-it-for-free.com/compunotes/mypoints.htm ******************************************************************** 10=> Product: Building a Windows NT 4 Internet Server, book Reviewed By: Don Hughes, mailto:dmha@on.aibn.com Price $44.99 USA / $63.95 CAN The Windows NT4 Internet Server is a complete guide to setting up and Internet server for a business. The Book comes with a CD-ROM disk containing: more then 250 32-bit shareware application for NT from Winsite. The CD also contains two electronic books from New Riders development archive: Unlocking Microsoft Internet Information Server, and Webmaster's Professional reference. Just for good measure the New Riders folks toss in Internet Explorer 3.0, and their Windows NT Server Simulator. This five hundred and ninety-four-page book contains five parts, and numerous sub chapters. Part one; "The Big Picture" covers the Internet basics and then proceeds to "Business Opportunities with Internet Technologies. There are well-placed diagrams and screen shots used throughout to guide the reader. Icons in the form of a "Saw" or "Pliers" are used to indicate a "Tip" or "Note" appear in the margins on the book. The icon servers to reinforce important information plus give the readers mind a bit of a break. Topics covered in the books fifteen chapter's are: 1. Internet Basics, 2. Business Opportunities with Internet Technologies, 3. Windows NT as Your Internet Server Platform, 4. Basic Communication Fundamentals, 5. Understanding the Transport Layer TCP/IP, 6. Hardware Requirements, 7. Software Requirements, 8. Getting Windows NT up and Running, 9. Getting Web Services Up and Running, 10. Getting FTP Services Up and Running, 11. Getting E-Mail and List Services Up and Running, 12. Getting News Services Up and Running, 13. Other Services for Your Users, 14. Security Practices, and 15. Site Management. The nuts & bolts of "Building a Windows NT 4 Internet Server" start in Part three, chapter eight "Getting Windows NT Up and Running." In these sections the authors take the reader by the hand and lead you step-by-step through the NT install process, and caution the reader not to skip steps. The installation process of NT is clearly defined, well documented, and written in plain English. All the reader has to do is follow the steps given in the section to make "Getting Windows NT Up and Running" a painless task. Once NT has been installed and working, you can start setting up and building your own Internet Web Server. Again the authors walk the reader through the necessary steps required to successfully create a Web Server, beginning with "Web Server 101." The reader then progress through the sections and setting up accounts, e-mail, news services etc. In addition to the Four Parts/ Fifteen chapters in the book, and Appendixes A to D. Appendix A is an Overview of the Microsoft Commercial Internet System, B is the Windows NT Server Command reference, C covers the Security Resources, and D explains what is on the CD-ROM. Building a Windows NT 4 Internet Server covers all the necessary information on hardware and software needed to build an Internet Server and how to connect it to the Internet. The book is well written, containing numerous illustrations, and complete step-by-step instructions for the novice user. The CD-ROM with all the programs and information is an added plus for any NT user. If you want to build an NT Internet server for your company or just want to learn more about the topic, do yourself a favor and purchase a copy of New Riders " Building a Windows NT 4 Internet Server. Building a Windows NT 4 Internet Server By Robert Oliver, Christian Plazas, John Desborough, David Gulbransen, Joel Millecan, with contributions from George Eckel & Rick Segal Publisher: New Riders http://www.mcp.com/publishers/new_riders/ 11=> Product: XactCopy Reviewed By: Don Hughes, mailto:dmha@on.aibn.com Tested: Windows 95 version & NT Version MSRP: $59.00 XactCopy for MSDOS (Fat16) $149.00 XactCopy for Windows 3.x & Windows 95 (Fat16&Fat32) $349.00 XactCopy for Windows NT (Fat16&NTFS) (Site licensing available) The Computer used during testing of XactCopy, varied, as did the operating systems: Windows 95, Windows 98 and NT 4.0. All computers are Pentium based using Intel CPUs, A 133, 166MMX, 233MMX, ATI graphics cards, and 64 MB ram on each computer. The hard drive types used for the test varied from Fujitsu, NEC, and Western Digital ranging in size from 2.5 to 4.2 GB. ...XactCopy is for PC users who wish to protect their important data from loss...The two Primary design goals of this program are: (1) to increase periodic backup frequency, so that when you have a need to restore data it will be very up to date; (2) to provide a means to minimize system downtime following a catastrophic hard drive failure. ...As the name implies, XactCopy make an identical copy of your system disk drive to a second (backup) disk drive, which you must add to your system. The Backup is kept invisible to the operating system at all times by modification during installation, rendering your data safe from alteration. Following a system disk a system disk failure and its removal from BIOS or the system...the backup disk is automatically converted to a system disk thereby placing the system back into operation almost immediately. ...As a backup and restore program, XactCopy performs routine backups in about a minute. The programs side-by-side display of both disks (system and backup) makes it easy to locate a folder for restoration of deleting...You can restore an entire partition with the click of a mouse. Right about now you are problem thinking exactly what I thought when I read over the manuals information. Either XactCopy was the best backup since sliced bread or just another Software Company's hype. After reading the manual there was a couple of items I was not clear on so I pick up the telephone and contacted DuoCor. My call was answered very quickly, and to my amazement by the president and CEO, Bob Altieri. We discussed that program at some length and as to the programs capability to backup two separate drives (C: drive and a D: drive) onto one larger Backup drive and creating new partitions C: & D. I found out that XactCopy could not do this, as the program would see each drive as a separate unit. Therefore, if you have two drives in your system (C: and D:) you would have to install two backup drives set up as C & D. However, if you have only one system drive and its partitioned C: D: E: etc, XactCopy will make an identical copy on the new backup drive. An added plus when using XactCopy is you do not need to format or partition the new (backup) drive, the program does this automatically for you as it copies. DuoCor recommends that you use a pullout drawer for the backup drive, so the backup data can be safely stored on or off site. I will confess to being a computer utility program junkie from the early days, and have been searching for the perfect backup utility. When Windows 95 came along, I purchased an 800MB parallel port tape drive system as a more effective way to protect my data and backup the larger hard drive. However, I was disappointed to learn that in case of a hard drive failure, one first had to do a minimum Windows 95 install. Next, you had to the install tape software before you could start to restore the all the system files. The tape process worked, but very slowly and took hours to restore a system back into operation. As my hard drive size expanded, I soon out grew the 800-MB tape and purchased a 3200GB-tape drive. The new drive and software allowed for recovery by booting with a special floppy disk, which allows access to the tape drives, restore function at start-up. However, just as before, I found the tape process slow, and new blank backup tapes cost an arm and a leg. When the DuoCor XactCopy software arrived and I carefully read the manual and decided to take the software for a test drive. Just to be on the safe side I backed up the Windows 95 system to the 3200MB tape and verified the back up, before continuing. The only spare 3200MB tape I had available was a partial file backup from our NT system that was no longer needed. Before I could use the tape, it had to be formatted for the Windows 95. The time required to format the tape was just over 12 hours. I next backed up the Windows 95 hard drive and verified the backup, which took another five hours from start to finish. Once the back up was completed and all of the parts arrived, I installed the hard drives using pullout drawers on the Windows 95 test system. Next I powered up the system, set the bios to read the new (unformatted non partitioned backup drive, saved the bios settings, exited and rebooted. Using Bob's suggestion I installed the Backup drive as master on the secondary channel. After Windows 95 was up and running, I inserted the first disk of the two 1.44 floppies and ran the XactCopy setup program. The time necessary for XactCopy to backup C: D: E: to the backup drive was 16 minuets. No this is an miss print. After I installed the software and clicked on the programs back-up button XactCopy verified, the new backup HARD DRIVE, and cloned the primary drive at blistering speed. I was overwhelmed at the backup speed of XactCopy, and its ability to clone my system drive with it's partitions C: D: E. I simply could not believe any backup program would operate this fast. The day before I used the tape drive on the same system drive and it took five hours to backup and verify the data. Amazingly, XactCopy backed up the entire system drive in sixteen minutes! However, I was not prepared for just how fast XactCopy restored a system back to full operation in the event the main drive fails or becomes corrupted. To test the recover process, I shut down the system, and removed the drawer containing the system disk, then restarted the computer. It was not long before I got the "hard drive failure error." In the XactCopy's manual they tell you to go back to the BIOS settings, remove the hard drive 1 from the settings, save the setting, and restart the computer. Once the computer had rebooted, a message "Backup Drive restored" appeared on the screen. Following the manual instructions, I then rebooted the system on more time and totally astounded at what happened next. In just under six minutes since I shut down the system, removed the main drive, rebooted, and reset the bios, and rebooted two more times the computer was up and running with Windows desktop on the screen. The raw power of XactCopy is its ability to back and restore a system to full operation in a matter of minutes. You do not have to spend hours reformatting the hard drive, reinstalling the operating system, and restoring the hard drive from tape. If this had been a "real" hard drive failure I simply would have ordered a new drive, and when it arrived, swap drive positions, setting the new one as the backup drive on the secondary channel. Then it is just a matter of running the XactCopy install program to reset the drives and do a complete system backup. DuoCor's XactCopy program has one rule you need to follow very closely, which is the system drive and backup drive must be the equal in size. However, the back up drive can be larger then the main drive. Thinking ahead DuoCor built into XactCopy a "Reclaim" utility that allows the user to access the extra space on the backup drive. If you have a 3-gigabyte hard drive as system and a 4.2-gigabyte as the backup, the extra space on the 4.2 GB drive can be reclaimed and used to its capacity. The DuoCor Company has produced a product that excelled beyond their advertisement claims. The relative ease one can restore a down system to full operation is downright astounding. No business should be operating with this product installed on the critical system. If you are a small business owner or operate a complex network, and need a fast easy way to backup and restore, XactCopy is necessary have utility. The current costs of disk drives are lower almost weekly, making XactCopy affordable for the average home computer user as well. XactCopy is an ideal choice for College and University Students, who can ill afford a hard drive failure during the school year. DuoCor's XactCopy is one impressive software package easy to install, and come with a hard cover binder style forty-seven page manual written in plain English. The main screen design is very functional, and easy to use. The end user can select various backup times from Monthly, Weekly, Daily, Hourly, and Minutes. It just does not get any easier to backup and restore data using XactCopy. In my testing for the review, I used three different operation systems Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT. In all three cases, XactCopy did what DuoCor claimed the program was capable of, restoring files, folders, partitions or a complete system in minutes. Although XactCopy is currently being tested for Windows 98, and was reported that the Windows 95 version worked in Windows 98. I decided to try this and installed 98 on our test computer. During this test, I found that XactCopy works under Windows 98 just as it does with Windows 95. If you are using a computer and need to have a reliable backup and lightning fast way to get your system restored, then purchase XactCopy and a backup hard drive. Xactcopy's speed and ability to restore a system back to full operation in minutes is the only backup system you will ever need. Finally the next generation backup system has evolved to address the needs of all users. XactCopy may be the most reliable backup system in existence today. Its user friendly, fast, flexible and backing up your hard drive, simply cannot get much better then this. 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