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NetNotify
The Newsletter for Network Professionals
November 27, 1996 - Volume 1. Edition 13
via WWW - http://www.netcent.com/netnotify/
via FTP - ftp://ftp.netcent.com/netnotify/netn1-13.txt
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--------------------------
Just How Bad is Microsoft?
--------------------------
I've been directly involved with the networking industry now for
the past 8 years. In this time, the one thing that always amazes me
is the pure hatred that some have for Microsoft. Even more so, some
of the reasons.
While sitting in the local wateringhole contemplating the meaning
of life -- that's my story, and I'm sticking by it -- I had the
chance to chat with an interesting gent. Throughout our 3 hour
conversation he described, in detail, why he and (according to him)
others hated Microsoft so much. Yet, after three hours of babbling,
I still don't get it.
It's really not that hard to find someone that hates Microsoft.
What is difficult though, is to find someone who can explain the
hatred, with valid reasons, without jumping into back alley
vocabulary that would make even a sailor blush. For examples, just
cruise some of the search engines looking for Micro$oft, Microsift,
or Micro???? -- replacing ???? with your favorite 4 letter
expletive.
Many of the reasons that we've found relate directly to Bill Gates.
True, he is the figurehead for Microsoft, but to convince someone,
why not talk about poor management practices instead of irrelevant
personal "facts". One anti-Microsoft argument is based on the fact
that Bill makes too much money. Hello? Granted, there are folks out
there that don't want money and fame, but I suspect a great deal
would be tickled to be worth billions of dollars.
Probably one of the "best" anti-Microsoft statements that we've
received so far, that are related directly to Gates, compares Bill
to an autistic. It's said that hatred is a product of ignorance,
and there's really no other way to describe a statement like that.
It's easy to blame one's own problems on someone else, but really,
what does that accomplish? Our wateringhole friend hates Microsoft
because his company chose Win95 as the official desktop product.
Apparently, in his world, OS/2 or UNIX would have been a better
choice. How so? In most companies, you'll likely find more
employees that are familiar with Microsoft products than OS/2 or
UNIX -- thus, reduced learning curves and retraining costs. Aside
from that, there's the whole issue of third party support and
products.
For OS/2 fanatics, why not blame IBM? Many of the IBM
representatives I've dealt with to date actively push Windows for
the desktop OS. UNIX fans -- time for a reality check. If UNIX
vendors could really get their act in gear and produce, and adhere
to, a common set of standards to improve interoperability AND ease
of use . . .maybe UNIX would be a valid contender. There are more
"flavors" of UNIX than ice-cream at the local Baskin Robins ice-
cream parlor! The sad truth is that the hatred and dislike for
Microsoft is, in many ways, misguided.
A key advantage for Microsoft is their established market base,
thus, familiarity. When you have millions and millions of users
running Windows on the desktop, that represents a significant
number of companies who might be swayed into using your NOS. Novell
had the opportunity some time ago with their "Novell DOS" and
UnixWare line . . .both of which failed miserably. As for IBM's
OS/2, in comparison to Windows, it's going nowhere fast. Who do you
blame?
Some will criticize Microsoft's business practices by claiming
ideas for Windows were stolen from other companies. Or, better
still, the foundation for Windows and DOS was never really
developed by Microsoft. If one company is able to take an idea,
develop it, market it, and establish mindshare better than any
other company, who do you blame?
Maybe it's not in vogue to like Microsoft but, I must admit, as a
company, there's no comparison. Although I've never had the
opportunity to meet Gates, would I? In a heartbeat. Even if all the
public statements about Gates are true, he's one hell of a
businessman.
On with the show...
Douglas J. Archell
Publisher / Sr. Editor
=======================
What's In This Edition?
=======================
What's New and Feedback
o NetNotify Survey - It's Over
Patches and Fixes
o NetWare Client Related
o NetWare Telephony
o Novell ManageWise
o Cheyenne InocuLAN
General News and Tidbits
o Virus Warnings - Yet Another Hoax
o CompuServe Adds Juice to Their Web Services
Education, Seminars, and Conferences
o Complete MCSE Training Package, A Bargain
Promotions and Price Slashing
o Cool Contest for NT Admins
o Win A Hot Trip to New York, Thanks to Office 97
New Products and Services
o Digital Support Is Easier Than Ever
o New Boca Hub Design Offers Something for Everyone
o More Intelligent Vines and NT Users
o Manhattan Power For Less
o NT Users Get Web Based UPS Management
o The Ultimate UPS Gadget
o SCSI Power for the Laptop - Fast and Cost Effective
o Rapid Remote Control with New Procomm
o New Point on the Compass - P, for POWER
Getting In Touch with Us
=======================
What's New and Feedback
=======================
----------------------------
NetNotify Survey - It's Over
----------------------------
To all that filled out the NetNotify survey, a big thanks! The
poll is now over and we will be making the results available
through the web site in the coming days.
=================
Patches and Fixes
=================
----------------------
NetWare Client Related
----------------------
NT35B1.EXE and NT35B2.EXE
CIS - GO NWOSFILES
FTP - ftp://ftp.novell.com/pub/updates/nwos/ntclnt/nt35b1.exe
ftp://ftp.novell.com/pub/updates/nwos/ntclnt/nt35b2.exe
Description - NetWare Client for NT.
NPTR95.EXE
CIS - GO NWOSFILES
FTP - ftp://ftp.novell.com/pub/updates/nwos/nc32w952/nptr95.exe
Description - Released IntranetWare version of NPRINTER for Win95.
VLM121_1.EXE -> VLM121_6.EXE
CIS - GO NWOSFILES
FTP - ftp://ftp.novell.com/pub/updates/nwos/inw411/vlm121_[D#].exe
Description - Complete NetWare Client for DOS/MS Windows v1.21.
Same as the version that ships with IntranetWare and NetWare 4.11.
Replaces all previous versions of the VLMs.
-----------------
NetWare Telephony
-----------------
TS221P.EXE
CIS - GO NWGENFILES
FTP - ftp://ftp.novell.com/pub/updates/tlphny/nwtel221/ts221p.exe
Description - NetWare Telephony Services (NTS) v2.21A NLM, which is
required for installing NTS on NetWare 4.11 (IntranetWare).
-----------------
Novell ManageWise
-----------------
MWNT01A.EXE
CIS - GO NWGENFILES
FTP - ftp://ftp.novell.com/pub/updates/mwise/mwise21/mwnt01a.exe
Description - ManageWise NT Agent, v2.1
-----------------
Cheyenne InocuLAN
-----------------
To download, on CompuServe, GO CHEYENNE.
IL0148.ZIP
Description: InocuLAN v1.0 for Win95 patch. Includes performance
enhancements for scanning compressed files, and fixes false alarms
with the "ZZ" boot sector virus.
========================
General News and Tidbits
========================
---------------------------------
Virus Warnings - Yet Another Hoax
---------------------------------
Seems that three hoax virus warnings are filtering through the
industry, creating unnecessary concern. At the risk of sounding
like a broken record, the Good Times virus...it does NOT exist.
Although information on this one has been published time and time
again, users still continue to spread rumors of the virus. Next,
the Irina virus. This piece of work originated as a publicity stunt
for Penguin books, and again, there's no such animal. Last, but not
least, the Deeyenda virus. Allegedly, this virus could be sent as
an email message. By downloading the message to your computer, it
would then hose your system. As an added bonus, those sending the
warnings out were claiming that the American FCC originally issued
the warning. Please note, the FCC does NOT issue virus warnings,
nor can your computer become infected with a virus just by reading
an email message. Special thanks to Sensible Security Solutions for
the latest hoax warnings.
Sensible Security Solutions, Web: http://infoweb.magi.com/~secure-1/
Email: mailto:secure-1@magi.com
-------------------------------------------
CompuServe Adds Juice to Their Web Services
-------------------------------------------
Anyone that likes the current web development tools for CompuServe
users, please raise your hand - 1, 2. OK, for the other five
million users, great news! In a move that's sure to be a crowd
pleaser, the gang at CompuServe Network Services is tickled to
announce support for Microsoft's FrontPage authoring tool. With
FrontPage, users can quickly and easily create hot web sites to be
hosted on CompuServe's extensive hosting facilities. Finally,
support for a REAL web development tool.
====================================
Education, Seminars, and Conferences
====================================
-----------------------------------------
Complete MCSE Training Package, A Bargain
-----------------------------------------
Scholars.com, an approved training provider for the Microsoft
Online Institute (MOLI), recently announced a complete MCSE
training package for $3250 (U.S) and a $99 NT 4.0 Upgrade course
(you must be already certified in either NT 3.51 exams). Using a
combination of Microsoft approved courseware on multimedia CD-ROMs
and certified online Learning Advisors ('instructors') Scholars.com
provides personalized mentoring for students preparing to become
certified. Members of Microsoft's SiteBuilder program can also use
their $50 MOLI training vouchers to reduce the cost of the NT 4.0
Upgrade course to US$49. Drop by Scholars.com's web site for all
the details.
Scholars.com, Web: http://www.scholars.com/ Email:
mailto:cj@scholars.com
=============================
Promotions and Price Slashing
=============================
--------------------------
Cool Contest for NT Admins
--------------------------
The Sunbelt Software crew has a special Thanksgiving Treasure hunt
running for all you NT administrators. Just pop by their web site,
answer a few simple questions, and you may win one of 20 prizes
ranging in value from $50-$2990 (U.S). Winners will be announced on
Monday, December 2nd through their site.
Sunbelt Software, Web: http://www.ntsoftdist.com/treahunt.htm
-----------------------------------------------
Win A Hot Trip to New York, Thanks to Office 97
-----------------------------------------------
Office 97 has hit manufacturing, and with the newly released product,
a cool new contest is at your disposal. To celebrate the new release,
Microsoft is holding a weekly contest through their web site. Prizes
are everywhere, and for the lucky grand prize winner, an all-expenses
paid trip to New York City for an Office 97 event. To enter, pop by
Microsoft's web site and meet the new Office Assistants -- they're
REAL cute ;-). Or, for all the details on the new Office 97 product,
point your browsers to
http://www.microsoft.com/office/office97/documents/o97whnew/wnew.doc .
It's a 9Mb download, but you'll learn all you need to know about
Office 97.
Microsoft, Web: http://www.microsoft.com/office/
=========================
New Products and Services
=========================
-----------------------------------
Digital Support Is Easier Than Ever
-----------------------------------
Call this number for pre-sales tech support, that number for sales,
and the other number for customer care -- WHY? Good question, and
one that the gang at Digital must have been asking themselves too.
Precisely the reason why the curtains are opening on Digital's new
Call Center. Able to handle more than 100,000 calls per month, the
Call Center is an advanced call and telecoverage center staffed by
more than 300 teleprofessionals. Whether you're looking for info on
products, sales information or technical data, the new Call Center
crew will be glad to help. You could probably guess what the number
is, but just in case...
Digital Call Center, Web: http://www.dec.com/ Phone: 800-DIGITAL
-------------------------------------------------
New Boca Hub Design Offers Something for Everyone
-------------------------------------------------
The crew at Boca has been hard at work redesigning their BocaNET-24
-- a 24-port Ethernet hub. With a new slim, rack mount design, the
BocaNET-24 is sure to appeal to the fashion conscious. The added
usage bar graph, displaying traffic levels on the net, and status
LEDs for each port are great new features for all the techies out
there. And for the folks holding the purse strings, the new
BocaNET-24 is sure to please -- priced at less than $17 (U.S) per
port. Compared to the initial design released in early 1995, priced
at $42 per port, the BocaNET-24 offers something for everyone.
Boca Research, Web: http://www.bocaresearch.com/ Email:
mailto:sales@bocaresearch.com Phone: 561-997-6227 Fax: 561-994-5848
Snail Mail: 1377 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33487-2722
-----------------------------------
More Intelligent Vines and NT Users
-----------------------------------
Vines and NT users are just about ready to receive a major boost to
the ol' IQ, care of Banyan's latest release - Intelligent Messaging
for Windows NT. A StreetTalk extension, Intelligent Messaging for
Windows NT offers more robust messaging capabilities that are
highly scaleable and easy to maintain. With backup capabilities
that protect stored messages in the event of failure, and the
ability to add new servers with ease, Intelligent Messaging will
become a staple for most Vines users. As an added bonus, advanced
self-managing features allow you to fine tune the service --
setting parameters such as disk allocation per mailbox and
expiration times -- and generate alerts to notify you of critical
events. Hello proactive management! Available in November,
Intelligent Messaging v1.1 for NT will be priced around $1495 (U.S)
per server.
Banyan Systems, Web: http://www.banyan.com/ Phone:508-898-1000 Fax:
508-898-1755 Fax on demand: 800-932-9226
------------------------
Manhattan Power For Less
------------------------
Now, Manhattan can be yours -- an AST Manhattan that is. Two new
Manhattan models from AST offer the power of the Pentium Pro, at
prices of your basic desktop computers. Common features of the two
models include an Intel Pentium Pro 200MHz processor (argh argh
argh, POWER) 32MB of EDO RAM, integrated PCI Ultra Wide SCSI,
10/100MB Fast Ethernet and Intel LANDesk Server Manager software!
Of the two models (the Manhattan D Series and the Presence Pro),
the latter is sure to be one hot commodity as a complete Internet
server solution. With pre-loaded web server software, authoring
tools, email and training software . . . it's all there. Shipping
this December, the D series starts at the rock bottom price of
$3999 (U.S) and the Presence Pro at $5999 (U.S).
AST Research, Web: http://www.ast.com/ CIS: GO AST AOL: KEYWORD:AST
Info Line: 800-7271278 BBS: 817-230-6850
-------------------------------------
NT Users Get Web Based UPS Management
-------------------------------------
UPS management just couldn't be easier. Coming straight from the
gang at APC, the new PowerChute plus v5.0 includes three key
elements -- Web Server Shutdown, WebAlert Notification, and
WebAgent UPS Management. Combined, the three elements provide
smooth, graceful shutdowns in the event of power failure, and some
pretty cool notification services too. A user is downloading that
big report from the office, and a shutdown is pending - no problem,
PowerChute plus v5.0 let's them know through a frame in their web
browser. With WebAgent, administrators can monitor a Web Server UPS
from anywhere on the Internet! Expected to ship January 6,
PowerChute plus v5.0 will sell for a mere $99 (U.S)
APC, Web: http://www.apcc.com/ Email: mailto:apcinfo@apcc.com
Phone: 800-800-4APC
-----------------------
The Ultimate UPS Gadget
-----------------------
To date, most users were accustomed to configuring their UPS
through a computer. Fire up the PC, load the management software,
then clickety click your way through the configuration process.
Don't have a PC to use near the UPS, oh well . . . walk back to
your desk. Well those days are gone now, PowerView is here. A palm-
sized UPS monitoring tool, PowerView allows you to configure your
UPS through a direct serial port connection. An added bonus, not
only can you configure your UPS through PowerView, but you can also
perform real-time monitoring of UPS stats, right from the palm of
you hand -- pretty slick. Weighing in at a mere one pound,
PowerView can be yours for $249 (U.S). Who makes it? APC of course,
who else?
APC, Web: http://www.apcc.com/ Email: mailto:apcinfo@apcc.com
Phone: 800-800-4APC
---------------------------------------------------
SCSI Power for the Laptop - Fast and Cost Effective
---------------------------------------------------
When it comes to adding and removing devices to your systems, the
SCSI interface is sweet. From a single card you can run your hard
disk drives, scanners, and removable devices. Although it has
traditionally been the desktop user that could take advantage of
SCSI's flexibility, now laptop users can too! Adaptec's new
SlimSCSI PC card (APA-1450A) offers a powerful and affordable way
to connect your laptop with the most popular external SCSI devices:
including the Iomega ZIP and Jaz drive, and Syquest's EZFlyer. Why
buy the parallel port versions when you can be cruising with SCSI,
at almost six times the performance. MSRP on this gem . . .only
$119 (U.S)
Adaptec, Web: http://www.adaptec.com/
Email: mailto:sales@adaptec.com
-------------------------------------
Rapid Remote Control with New Procomm
-------------------------------------
The mainstay for most network pros requiring remote control
capabilities just got even better - Procomm Rapid Remote.
Quarterdeck's new 32-bit multi-tasking remote control product
offers a slick wizard-based interface with complete security and
performance enhancements. Advanced screen refresh technology and
color resolution scaling can drastically reduce the amount of time
required to "repaint" your local screen. Rapid turbo file transfers
reduce file transfer times by only transmitting data that has
changed. As for security, data encryption, multi-level password
protection, audit trails -- it's all there. Pop by Quarterdeck's
web site or your local reseller for all the details.
Quarterdeck, Web: http://www.quarterdeck.com/ Phone: 800-354-3222
Info Email: mailto:info@quarterdeck.com
---------------------------------------
New Point on the Compass - P, for POWER
---------------------------------------
The traditional compass has four primary points: North, East,
South, West. The new WebCompass from Quarterdeck adds a new point -
POWER. WebCompass v2.0 is a significant improvement over the
previous version. Offering an "explorer-style" interface,
WebCompass v2.0 empowers users with the tools needed to efficiently
source, organize and manage information from the web. The new and
improved WebCompass allows you to update your predefined topics at
specified times, view data offline (saving you online time and
money) and query more than 20 of the most popular search engines
the net has to offer. Best of all, performance has been increased
by 25% over the previous release! Why just surf when you can power
surf!
Quarterdeck, Web: http://www.quarterdeck.com/ Phone: 800-354-3222
Info Email: mailto:info@quarterdeck.com
========================
Getting In Touch with Us
========================
Publisher - Douglas J. Archell
mailto:darchell@netcent.com
SnailMail - 1760 Storrington St, Pickering Ont. LIV 2Y1
Phone - 905-839-3114 FAX: 905-839-6304
ListMaster - mailto:netnotify-listmaster@netcent.com
Suggestion Box - mailto:netnotify-suggest@netcent.com
Marketing - mailto:netnotify-marketing@netcent.com
Web - http://www.netcent.com/netnotify/
FTP - ftp://ftp.netcent.com/netnotify/
END OF NEWSLETTER #
Copyright c DJA Systems, 1996
Disclaimer http://www.netcent.com/netnotify/nn-disclaimer.htm