Techwatch: Apr. 27, 1998

ONLINE WARRIORS SUE THE ORIGIN OF THEIR DISCONTENT

Sword-wielding virtual warriors in the medieval world of Ultima Online have become real-life plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Origin Systems, creator of the popular Internet game. Fed up with service lags and other bugs, they charge Origin knew it couldn’t deliver 24-hour real-time play but advertised it anyway. Their lawyer says it’s time the computer-gaming industry quit hyping its wares; he wants Origin to drop its $10 monthly fee until the problems are fixed. The company won’t comment but invites players to call its help line: 512-434-4357.

WORLD WHITE WEB?

As more and more surfers flock to the Net, a new study warns that African Americans may be left behind.

Students who own a home computer Whites 73% Blacks 31.9%

Students who have ever used the Web Whites 65.8% Blacks 48.6% (weighted percentages)

Source: SCIENCE; Hoffman And Novak, Vanderbilt U.

THE NET’S GREATEST HITS

They produce some catchy tunes, but one-hit-wonder bands can be more trouble than they’re worth. You end up shelling out $15 for the CD only to discover that the rest of the album isn’t fit for listening. Now there’s a remedy. A new crop of Websites lets discerning fans mix and match from a long list of digital cuts to make their own custom CDs. At musicmaker.com you can assemble a personal hit parade from 150,000 tracks, from rock to gospel (cost: $9.95 for the first five tracks and $1 for each additional). Edgier cductive.com offers a smaller (4,000 titles), more specialized selection with an emphasis on hip-hop and techno, while supersonicboom.com boasts 51,000 songs. Who ever said Mozart, Louis Armstrong and Puff Daddy don’t mix?