>>Sage 99 counts the number of black or white hats ahead of him and he can tell immediately if he's black or white.
>>
>>The rest keep track of the previous answers and so on.
>>
>>This better be it!
>>
>>alex
>
>Congrats!!!!!!! :)
>
>Yes, this is my solution.

Still, I think in a "real-world" situation (whatever that means in logic puzzles regarding sages and death) Mark's or my suggestion would be perfectly acceptable. There was "one" solution being sought though, so I will abide by the judge's decision... :-(

:-) Renoir