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RAndY's RumOR RaG
August 1994
NEWS IN YER FACE
WordPerfect's flashy slide show at PC Expo was produced
using a Macromedia product, not their own Presentations. Hmmm .
. .
---------------
Beta testers report that a PIM is being included as an
applet with Chicago which has the look of a pen-based interface.
This leads some to speculate that Chicago will include features
for the handheld crowd. Also included is a remote access
architecture which includes infrared communications for wireless
messaging. Wordpad is another new applet which combined Write
and Notepad.
---------------
This fall, Adobe will release Photoshop 3.0 for Macintosh,
PC, and PowerPC. Distributed on CD-ROM, this new version will
feature multiple layers, new color correction tools, and an
improved user interface. They suggest that Windows users have a
Pentium, Windows NT, and 32 megs of memory.
---------------
Microsoft recently granted NexGen (producer of 586
generation microprocessors) the right to use the Windows
Compatible logo with the Nx586 processor. As I recall, this
processor is fully code compatible with the Pentium but does not
have a math co-processor.
---------------
Philippe Kahn said to then-Novell CEO Ray Noorda after he
shrugged off Kahn's suggested merger of the two companies: "Why
don't you like me? You're like my father!"
---------------
Aldus is looking to sell their Freehand Graphics software in
order to ward off antitrust and other legal problems which could
block their merger with Adobe. The original developers of
Freehand Graphics (Altsys) has a non-competition agreement with
Aldus which would be violated with their Adobe merger, since
Adobe has Illustrator.
Altsys also collects Freehand royalties which accounted for
half of their 1993 revenue of $7.5 million. Freehand accounts
for only about 15% of Aldus' revenues.
If Altsys regains rights to Freehand, they could license the
software to an Adobe/Aldus rival or sell the package under their
own name. But, says James Von Ehr, president of Altsys, "They
want me to pay a whole lot of money for Freehand that I'm not
willing to pay."
---------------
Look for Quarterdeck to apply their memory management
expertise to limited memory devices such as portable computers
and PDAs, helping them tap the Internet and other information
sources via an easy-to-use GUI.
---------------
"We have plenty of guys with ponytails and earrings" - Steve
Solazzo, IBM marketing director, multimedia applications.
---------------
OS/2 UPDATES AHEAD
An IBM banner at the recent PC Expo in New York exclaimed
"Flight 4.0 to Chicago has been delayed." Looks like IBM is
going to use Microsoft's troubles getting Chicago to market as an
opportunity to sell OS/2.
Look for several new versions of OS/2 to surface this year.
Available this summer will be OS/2 for Symmetrical
Multiprocessing which I mentioned last month. This product is
aimed at Windows NT, which Microsoft is still promising to
upgrade before this fall. Look for a list price in the $395-$795
range (depending upon the number of processors supported). IBM
claims it will support up to 16 processors!
A new version of OS/2 for Windows (with a new name) will be
here by October. It will be smaller and faster and require less
memory. Enterprise OS/2 will also run in 4 megs of memory and
will be similar to the full-blown version of OS/2 available now.
Finally, by year's end you'll also see OS/2 for PowerPC (but it
might be early 1995).
Microsoft is not visibly shaken about possible competition
as predicted Brad Chase, general manager of the Personal Systems
group at Microsoft, "Chicago will break every sales record in the
book."
---------------
OS/2 CD
OK, I've become an OS/2 convert so it is now incumbent upon
me to talk about OS/2 software.
Check out the Hobbes OS/2 CD-ROM. I don't know what it
costs (a friend loaned it to me) but you've got about 3,000 files
covering every category from development tools, utilities,
drivers, games, comm programs, and much more.
Most of the programs are shareware and many are crippled
(until you send payment to the author). Some of the programs are
quite good. My favorite is a character-based communications
program called Livewire. It reminds me of the DOS Procomm.
There are drivers for everything from video to sound card CD
interfaces and tons more. You'll find tips on optimizing OS/2
and other interesting and helpful documentation. There's even an
IBM Corrective Service update which corrects some minor problems
and upgrades you to OS/2 2.11.
This particular CD is available on a subscription basis and
is distributed quarterly. Decent OS/2 software can be hard to
find and this disc is a good place to start.
---------------
MORE PC IN PCS
I get tremendous flack every time I make a statement
concerning homosexuality (either in the RaG or on the local
BBSs). What does this have to do with computers? I don't want
to read this stuff in a computer publication.
If this bothers you, you might as well skip to the next
section right now.
Back in 1991, Lotus was the first major company to grant
health insurance to homosexual couples. Microsoft and Apple have
similar policies. This year, Microsoft publicly opposed
Initiative 608 in the state of Washington which stated that
homosexuals have no rights above any other citizen and that
homosexuality could not be taught in the schools as a health
behavior.
Oracle recently aroused the wrath of some of their employees
when they sponsored a gay pride display at a company facility.
Diversity Manager (what is that?) Vicki Yee sent a memo stating,
"Gay and lesbian employees who are uncomfortable in the work
environment. . . are not as productive as other employees."
I have about had it with politically correct companies and
municipalities putting a stamp of endorsement on a behavior which
has been proven harmful to those who engage in it. Just a few
years ago, this was a behavior that one was ashamed of. It's a
sad world. (Send your hate mail to me, not to whoever carries
the RaG.)
---------------
INNOVATIVE & USEFUL MULTIMEDIA
I have no problem with multimedia software but too often
it's a gee-whiz thing. It's cool to look at and play with but
serves little or no useful purpose.
From Australia comes PICS (Parts Interpretive Catalog
System), a windows-based multimedia catalog for companies needing
parts cataloging. PICS digitally stores and retrieves complex
parts, equipment, and inventories for businesses ranging from
auto dealerships to coal mines. The system uses a run-time
version of SQLBase from Gupta and works on a 486 with Windows.
Users can point and click to retrieve exploded images of
equipment along with CAD drawings, color images, video and audio
demonstrations. The system enables companies to publish catalogs
of up to 200,000 pages on a CD-ROM using industry-standard
interfaces allowing integration with legacy systems such as
inventory, order entry, and manufacturing.
It sells for $1,100 per PC with maintenance available for
15% of the purchase price per year.
---------------
MORE NEWS IN YER FACE
"We're using Microsoft Mail. We eat our own dog food, so to
speak." - Bill Gates explaining that's he's also a client of
Microsoft, not just their CEO.
---------------
Microsoft is thinking about dropping the price of Windows NT
to make it a stronger competitor with Novell's NetWare. Insiders
say that the 10-20 user network price may drop to the $900-$1000
range (current price is $1,495).
---------------
Novell is considering a 64-bit version of NetWare for an
undetermined future date - which could require a complete re-
write of the network operating system to take advantage of 64-bit
processors. Such a product would require third parties to
rewrite NetWare Loadable Modules and other applications to take
advantage of 64-bit processors.
---------------
Lotus may soon have a challenge to the OS/2 spreadsheet
world with the August introduction of Mesa 2 for OS/2. This will
be a native 32-bit, object oriented spreadsheet from a company
that has become quite popular in the NeXT world. Athena
Marketing Director Tracy Kugelman says that this is a full-
featured OS/2 application and "It's not a port." Mesa will
feature a workbook-like GUI in the form of a layered spreadsheet
with tabs, taking advantage of multithreading capabilities.
---------------
Pro OS/2 IBMers have been wearing T-shorts bearing the
motto: "Chicago - Been there, done that."
---------------
Intel and WordPerfect are negotiating to include Intel's
conferencing software on a new CD-ROM suite called PerfectOffice.
---------------
Corel will slip in a maintenance release of CorelDraw when
they ship Ventura in August.
---------------
Egghead and Microsoft will be distributing 300,000 copies of
a CD-ROM interactive catalog beginning in October. An additional
200,000 will be distributed through sources other than Egghead.
The catalog will be available to customers for $14.95 for a
single issue and $29.95 for a one-year subscription.
Multimedia Know-It-All will look at product areas such as
sporting goods, musical instruments, and travel. It will also
contain information about thousands of computer products
including descriptions, photographs, reviews, prices, and
technical specifications.
---------------
Intel is getting ready to position the Pentium as the low-
end of the business and consumer markets in preparation for the
release of the P-6. The 60mhz and 66mhz lines will be
transformed into manufacturing 75mhz Pentiums.
Speaking of the P-6, Intel has started the quest for a name
for this new processor. Remember, the last time they had an
internal contest among employees and Andy Grove didn't like any
of the names and used an outside firm to come up with the Pentium
moniker.
---------------
I hear that Novell and Lotus are still looking at each other
with the possibility of a merger.
---------------
Here's a new acronym for IBM: I Built Microsoft.
---------------
Did you know that IBM recently approached Microsoft about
the possibility of porting Chicago to the PowerPC. Apparently
IBM's own OS/2 for the PowerPC will be delayed later than
expected. Microsoft officials insist that Chicago is an x86-
specific product. To do this port, IBM would need access to
Chicago's source code. I wonder how they could benefit from
that?
---------------
CHICAGO UPDATE
Beta testers are reporting that while the code is quite
stable for a product at this stage of development, there are some
major problems in the current beta release. Testers have already
submitted 60 pages of known problems with the operating system.
One major problem is the inability to use long filenames.
Older Microsoft or compatible clients "may have problems
connecting to and using a shared directory with a long file name
as the directory" says one report. Creating a long filename will
give an error message if an OS/2 namespace is not loaded on the
server, some multimedia applications will not be able to save
files with long filenames. Using DoubleSpace in MS-DOS 6.x will
destroy long filenames in Chicago.
Also, several aspects of OLE 2.0 such as the common dialog
for Insert Object, Paste Special, Convert, Links, and Object
Properties have not yet been implemented. Drag-and-drop has not
yet been fully supported in the Chicago version of InfoCenter,
not is the ability to embed objects or links.
Applications are also having trouble, such as Adobe's
Acrobat 1.0 not functioning correctly; and Word 6.0a will crash
when you add a new data record to a form letter document.
Symantec's C++ version 6.1 and Norton Utilities version 8.0
"refuse to run under any version of Windows except for 3.1."
Of course by now you've likely heard that Chicago will be
delayed until after the first of the year. Some are even saying
that it will be in the April-June period before it gets to the
shelf. Microsoft says they won't ship until they have a month's
worth or product manufactured. Even Steven Ballmer said, "I'd
say there is not a chance we'll have [Chicago] in the stores
before January."
---------------
ANTI-VIRUS ROM
McAffee Associates has come up with a single chip solution
to the problem of virus detection at boot-up. ROMShield plugs
into the vacant boot-ROM socket on Ethernet adapters and prevents
virus infections by installing itself as an extended BIOS before
the system accesses the boot and master boot records. If a virus
is detected, ROMShield suspends the boot process to allow the
user to remove the virus.
The chip has special OEM-definable algorithms for preventing
false alarms but company officials say that it "doesn't
substitute or eliminate the need for postboot virus protection."
The device sells for $69.99.
---------------
PROCOMM PLUS FOR WINDOWS 2
It's been quite some time since Datastorm introduced their
Windows-based telecommunications package. How could they
possibly improve on this excellent product?
Of course the ability to fax from either applications or
from within Procomm has been added. Also added is a configurable
implementation of the IND$FILE protocol for communicating with
IBM mainframes. The Action Bar is now customizable, but the
icons are too large for my taste (and thereby waste valuable
screen real estate).
The first thing you'll notice is that the program runs
considerably faster than its predecessor. There are numerous
options for customizing the program to the way you want it.
Unfortunately there seems to be no way to get rid of the scroll
bars at the right and bottom of the screen. For those with
internal modems, the bottom right of the screen can display modem
lights which emulate those on an external modem. Fortunately you
can turn this whole line of useless information off. You can
attach a WAV file to various events such as file download finish,
carrier detect, etc.
Host mode now carries an option for implementing a fax-back
service. In fact, the whole process of rendering a document to
be faxed seems much faster than other fax programs.
The ASPECT language has been changed. I hope you kept your
WAS files because the installation process will convert them for
use in the new program. If you're like me and dumped your source
files after you compiled them, you'll have to start all over
again. Some scripts will require rewriting.
Speaking of the dialing directory, it has been greatly
enhanced to allow data, fax, and voice numbers as well as other
information about people you call.
The default terminal font is the most ugly, unreadable thing
I've ever seen. You'll want to switch to something like Terminal
- just about anything is better than the default.
One thing missing is support for RIP graphics which are so
popular with BBSs these days. Overall, they've done a great job
of upgrading an already great product. It chews up a little more
hard drive space, but the increased speed and functionality are
worth it.
---------------
NEXT MONTH
Sorry this won't get here in time, but in the September
issue I'll be looking at Woodstock, the CD. I should also have
Mad Dog McCree II - The Lost Gold to review. Beyond that, we'll
just have to wait and see what happens.
=================================
DISCLAIMER
RAndY's RumOR RaG is published on a monthly basis by
AINSWORTH COMPUTER SERVICES and is available on various local
BBS's, GEnie, and in Modem News.
In case anyone cares, RAndY's RumOR RaG is produced on a 486-
50 with 8 megs of memory, 420 MB Connor IDE hard drive, 105MB
Toshiba IDE hard drive, TEAC 1.2 MB and 1.44 MB floppies, Pro
Audio Spectrum 16 running a Hitachi 3750 CD ROM drive, Trident
VLB video card, Sceptre SVGA display, Microsoft mouse, Word for
Windows and transmitted through a US Robotics HST Dual Standard
modem.
Opinions expressed are those of the author. Comments should
be addressed to Ainsworth Computer Services on GEnie, via phone,
analog mail, or whatever method makes you feel good.
AINSWORTH COMPUTER SERVICES
605 W. Wishkah
Aberdeen, WA 98520-6031
(206) 533-6647
GEnie Address: RAG