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Randys Rumor Rag 1994 11
RAndY's RumOR RaG
November 1994
NEWS IN YER FACE
The next version of Quicken, to be released this month, will
include a Tax Planner, Snapshot personal finance overview,
improved forecasting, and the HomeBase program navigator.
They're also enhancing on-line services despite company research
that indicates that less than 2% of Quicken customers use
electronic bill paying. Coming in future versions: improvements
in electronic banking, credit card services, and checking
accounts.
---------------
Microsoft continues to pump the Windows95 bandwagon by
marketing a book by Adrian King called "Inside Windows95". How
in the hell can they do a book like this when they haven't even
gotten the second beta out yet?
---------------
Compaq's new ProLinea line is shipping with AMD processors -
but Compaq is not advertising that fact. Said one Compaq
marketing VP, "If we use Seagate or Quantum hard drives, it
doesn't make any difference. The microprocessor, like the hard
drive, is just one of the components of the machine." The move
to use AMD chips instead of the customary Intel is seen by
analysts as a blow to Intel.
---------------
Adobe pulled a good one. They put a time bomb in test
versions of the Mac Photoshop 3, so that the program couldn't be
used after January 1. The programmers forgot to take out the
time bomb in release copies so they had to ship out remedial
disks, apologize for the snafu, and assure users that the bomb
wasn't lethal.
---------------
Maxi Switch will ship a keyboard which includes audiophile-
quality speakers. Also on the keyboard are an omnidirectional
microphone and a master volume control slider. There is an
output jack for headphones or a stereo system, and an input jack
for a second microphone.
---------------
At an OpenDoc conference, WordPerfect misspelled their name
on some slides in a presentation.
---------------
Microsoft claims that Windows95 is an all-new 32-bit
operating system, but the author of a new book "Unauthorized
Windows" claims that it's just a new version of DOS with an
improved interface. Andrew Schulman argues that the kernel uses
some 16-bit code. Microsoft VP Brad Chase admits there's 16-bit
code in the Windows95 but insists the kernel is 32-bit, saying
"We're more 32-bit than OS/2 is."
---------------
December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day, is the date selected by
Novell to launch NetWare 4.1 which will go head-to-head with
Windows NT.
---------------
From the Mark of the Beast Department comes an item about a
bank consortium called Mondex which wants to handle cash in a
digital format. You'll carry a smart card in your wallet and
"money" will be loaded into it at a bank, ATM, or over the phone
- and paid out to anyone with a card reader. They're testing
this thing in England next year. CEO Tim Jones admits "Mondex
won't replace money." Why not just tattoo a barcode on our
foreheads or the backs of our hands?
---------------
Corel is saying that Corel Ventura 5 is in production and
will be shipped by the end of October.
---------------
You may remember that I mentioned a lawsuit filed by Carl
Sagan against Apple for labeling a beta project BHA (for butt-
head astronomer). A judge has thrown out the suit.
---------------
Microsoft will include an extensive graphical tutorial for
users of Windows95.
---------------
P24T OVERDRIVE
You've been buying motherboards with that special "Pentium
upgradeable" socket - but where's the chip to go in it that we've
been promised for the past year?
Intel says that the P24T may be available by the end of the
year. It will deliver performance in the 60-66mhz range of
Pentium-based systems. The release of the chip has been delayed
because the P24T is based on Intel's latest 3-volt design.
Eventually Intel will release an Overdrive processor based
on the next-generation Pentium chip, probably a 133 Mhz version
that won't be available until 1995.
---------------
WORDPERFECT 6.1
By the time you read this, Novell's WordPerfect Applications
Group should have released WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows.
This new version will have a new interface that is
compatible with both their PerfectOffice suite and Windows95. It
features their recently acquired PerfectSense technology which
will find and change all tenses of a key word across files, even
on a network. You'll also get Grammatik 6, a spell checker and
thesaurus that replace words in their proper tenses.
---------------
MAD DOG MCCREE II
If you liked the first one, you'll love the sequel. Expect
more action and tougher scenarios. I've been playing at the Wimp
level and find tough going.
You're back with the old codger, riding a stagecoach through
the desert. Suddenly the old-timer stops the wagon and there, by
the side of the road, is a man riddled with arrows. In his dying
gasp, he gives you the map to a treasure of gold. The adventure
is on.
This game has the same quality of video as the first one.
Sometimes it's fairly sharp, other times it's just a blur that's
shooting at you. As I said, the scenarios are tougher this time
around. I had trouble just getting through the opening sequence.
Along the way you'll have your choice of who you want to
help guide you to the treasure; an Indian guide, a shady
professor, or a colorful female companion. Of course there are
bad guys just waiting to be shot so that they can fall off a
balcony, tumble down stairs, and all the other Western clichs.
This time around they've even thrown in some sizable explosions
and a train robbery.
Mad Dog McCree II is everything the first one was and more.
---------------
WINDOWS95 UPDATE
Starting with the Windows95 Beta 2, which will be shipped by
the end of the year, will be tuned to take advantage of the
Pentium's architecture.
This is a move that will make the operating system and
related applications run as much as 30% faster. Processors
supporting Pentium-like functions, such as the NExGen Nx586
series and the AMD K5, will be able to take advantage of a
Pentium-optimized Windows95.
Microsoft says that some features of Windows95 will look
better on a Pentium - such as when a user drags a window across a
screen, the windows will maintain its contents and not dissolve
to a shadowy outline (this sounds promising - NOT).
---------------
WARP NEWS
At the recent OS/2 Warp product announcement, Patrick
Steward didn't show up (nor did Prez Lou Gerstner) but new
Enterprise Commander Kate Mulgrew was there with Leonard Nimoy
showing up only on video. The Beatles' "Any Time At All", the
Stones' "Time Is On My Side", and Cyndi Lauper's "Time After
Time" blared the message that Windows95 was still a ways off.
Speaking of Warp, IBM is making a $15,000 migration tool
available to developers for next to nothing. Members of IBM's
developers program can get the SMART migration tool set (from One
Up Corp.) for free. This tool will help migrate 16-bit Windows,
32-bit Windows NT, and 16-bit OS/2 applications to OS/2 Warp.
The Source Migration Analysis Reporting Toolset "will scan code,
identify all areas with 16-bit dependent code, and tell you how
to move them."
---------------
OS/2 VS WINDOWS95
IBM recently issued a document which takes Microsoft to task
over certain aspects of Windows95. If you've been following my
comments regarding Windows95, you'll know that I have been
skeptical and remain so. I use Windows about 95% of the time,
but am still leery about Version 1.0 of an operating system from
Microsoft. Anyway, here are some of the points brought forth by
IBM.
IBM claims that Windows95 is really an enhancement to
Windows 3.1 as opposed to being a rewritten operating system.
For example, with Windows 3.1, all applications as well as the
operating system code share a single memory address space. This
memory management model gives good performance, but an error in
any single application can bring the whole system down. Under
Windows95, this same single address space model is retained (the
"System Virtual Machine").
OS/2 eliminates this stability problem by letting you run
Windows apps in their own separate sessions ("Virtual DOS
Machines"), so if an application fails, the effect of the failure
is limited to the individual session.
We've all heard Microsoft tout preemptive multitasking as
one of the great selling points of Windows95. Because Windows95
relies heavily on 16-bit Windows3.1-era code, you won't reap the
benefits of true preemptive multitasking unless you use Win32
applications. Currently shipping Win16 applications cannot be
reliably preempted during execution. Microsoft has a mechanism
dubbed "Win16LOCK" which denies access to the older code when a
16-bit application has called on its services. All other
applications, including Win32 applications, are "blocked" from
executing until the 16-bit application has finished and the
environment has been made safe for the next task.
In practice, the performance hit associated with this
locking phenomena is minimal when running 32-bit applications,
but becomes a major problem when you mix 16 and 32-bit
applications.
So, by using the serialization of subsystem access and
Win16LOCK, you get what would be better described as a "semi-
preemptive" multitasking environment. OS/2 has featured true
preemptive multitasking of native applications since the
beginning. Regardless of the mixture of applications, OS/2 can
smoothly multitask concurrent programs without the need for the
overhead of a Win16LOCK implementation.
We've also heard that the Windows95 desktop is object-
oriented. But the Windows95 GUI is static. In a true object-
oriented environment, links between individual objects are "live"
and updated automatically. Objects on the Windows95 desktop are
merely pointers to files on the disk. If you create a link to an
executable file, put it on the Windows95 desktop, then rename the
original executable - the link will be severed. These links can
be easily broken by novice users who are unfamiliar with the
Windows95 interface.
In the same vein, Windows95's ability to automatically
convert long file and directory names into 8.3 abbreviations can
have disastrous effects for a novice user who decides to
"reorganize" their hard drive - and in the process break the
important links with the desktop objects.
Another aspect to consider is third party developers. The
key to the success of any operating system is applications. New
APIs from Microsoft appear on regular basis and it will be
difficult for any independent software developer to keep up on
the specs. Many independent software developers would like to
write cross-platform applications, but because of the different
APIs to support, they must poll the kernel, determine which API
is available and write dual or triple path code. With the APIs
still in a state of flux there is no guarantee that the multiple
path code will work.
These are just a few of the concerns expressed by IBM and I
feel they're valid. Now, I realize that there is an ax to grind
here on IBM's part. But after working with OS/2 for a little
while now, I don't see how Microsoft can get the same
functionality and stability the first time out of the gate.
---------------
MORE NEWS IN YER FACE
By now you've likely heard about the acquisition of Intuit
by Microsoft. You may be asking what will happen with Microsoft
Money.
During the last couple of months, Microsoft has licensed
Money to Novell, who will include it in a consumer suite. Intuit
had recently bought Parsons and ChipSoft. Bill Gates said "we
eliminate that area of overlap. There is nothing here that we
think should raise any concerns from a competitive point of view"
by "transferring" Money to Novell.
---------------
"I don't think consumers understand that 25% of the PCs sold
today don't work, and many of the companies that build them use
components we reject." - G. Richard Thoman, IBM Senior VP and
group executive, the IBM PC Co. I just thought you'd want to
know.
---------------
A new CD-ROM called "Greening of the White House", designed
to make eco-friendly changes to the White House was held up while
passing multiple security checks due to the recent crash of a
small plane on the White House lawn.
What's the difference between the new Denver airport and the
White House? You can land a plane at the White House.
---------------
As a result of the recent acquisition of Intuit by
Microsoft, Intuit CEO Scott Cook will become Microsoft's
executive VP of electronic commerce. Electronic commerce? This
whole thing of banking by modem will never take off until banks
stop charging for the service. Let me get this straight - they
charge me money for doing their work?
---------------
CNN at Work is a joint venture between CNN and Intel which
will transmit CNN's Headline News direct to users through a
special hardware component, running over Ethernet networks. This
technology is based on Intel's ProShare videoconferencing system,
but must run on a network as opposed to a stand-alone machine.
---------------
Microsoft has released a tool for doing fast animation in
Windows called WinToon. This is a design engine built upon Video
for Windows which is targeted at C programmers who build
applications or titles from scratch. It allows developers to
digitize animated characters and includes a playback module for
adding finished characters to the appropriate background.
---------------
The DOS version of AutoCAD 13 is being delayed to be
released simultaneously with the Windows version around the end
of November. The NT version is expected to ship in early 1995.
---------------
I hear that the people at Prah-duh-gee are working on a
version of their software for OS/2 Warp.
---------------
Stealth Commie Mikhail Gorbachev will be pitching
Macintoshes in Germany.
---------------
IBM halted production of OS/2 Warp at the last minute due to
a "minor" bug in CONFIG.SYS. Some sources say it was an
installation bug.
---------------
I hear that the Microsoft-Intuit deal was negotiated by
Steve Ballmer and Mike Maples, not Bill Gates.
---------------
IBM CHALLENGES INTEL
Did you know that IBM is developing a chip, called the
PowerPC 615 processor, which combines the power of RISC with the
ability to run software written for Intel x86 processors.
This effort will likely be supported financially by Apple
Computer and is expected to get to market in late 1995.
This chip has the technology to run the x86 instruction set
in both software and hardware. In theory, the chip will able to
run DOS, Windows, and yes, even Windows95, at speeds equal to or
better than today's Pentiums. This will be a 3.3-volt chip which
actually runs the Intel instruction set rather than emulates it.
It will also have a "huge" cache for performing x86 instructions.
---------------
COREL KICKING BUTT
Corel has finally released Corel Ventura. Although it's
five months late, Corel has some rather aggressive plans for
1995.
President and CEO Michael Cowpland said that Corel will
produce 32-bit software from now on and will release games, a
videoconferencing product, CorelDraw6, and an office suite next
year. They're also looking at CAD technology.
CDOffice is expected to be released in the third quarter of
1995 and will be a CD-ROM only suite for Windows95. You may
recall that Corel acquired the Windows version of WordStar2 and
is working on acquiring groupware, mapping software, and data. A
spreadsheet and two graphics products are being developed in-
house. The spreadsheet is being derived from CorelChart; the
presentation product combines Corel's Show, Chart, and Move; the
business graphics comes from CorelDraw. The Draw product will
not have some of the high-end features, such as color separation
and color management.
Also to be included with the suite will be clip art, photos,
fonts, and other resources. Corel says it will be priced
aggressively.
The Corel SCSI team has been redirected to the
videoconferencing product to provide full-frame, full-motion
using telephony PBX architecture over a local area network.
Corel CD Home brand will encompass 50 titles to be released
in 1995, starting in the first quarter. The titles will be
developed using Microsoft's WinG standard to run under both
Windows95 and Windows 3.1. The first release is scheduled for
February and is an educational game designed to teach children
popular card games and more. The user sits at a table with
cartoon characters, using talking cards.
The next scheduled title is a 3-D high-end graphics game
that supports Pentiums, slated for a late March release.
---------------
EVEN MORE NEWS IN YER FACE
Intel is showing signs of weakness and slipping market
share. IBM will drop the Intel Inside logo from their fall line.
AMD has also announced that more vendors will be using their
processors in the very near future. Acer, Canon, and Digital
Research will use AMD processors and Packard Bell is thinking
about it.
---------------
Look out for gray market CD software. Some firms in
California have been unbundling the software that comes in
multimedia kits, advertising the normal retail product, but
selling jewel-cased OEM versions.
---------------
I continue to have reservations about Windows95, given
Microsoft's track record for Version 1 software. I hear that
their new motto is "At Microsoft, quality is job 1.1."
---------------
Microsoft is tossing about ideas of an encrypted CD-ROM
which would include copies of applications and possibly Windows95
- code-named Ali Baba. There may also be demos of multimedia
software such as Encarta.
---------------
Doom II is expected to reach Id's goal of shipping 1 million
by the end of the year, with an initial ship-in of about 600,000
units.
---------------
Software Toolworks has changed both their name and logo,
with the new name being Mindscape. In the future look for The
Animals! 2, Revenge, Metal Marines, Legions, and Aliens.
---------------
NEXT MONTH
Well, another month has gone by and Microsoft keeps
extending their ship dates for those funky keyboards. I guess if
I bought `em by the boxcar load I'd carry more weight. I hear
that Microsoft's lawyers were thrown into a panic over the
initial advertising on these things - when they said the
keyboards wouldn't cause wrist and carpal tunnel injuries. You
won't see that in their advertising any more. If I can ever get
one here, I'll do a review on them.
Other than that, I don't know what's coming up for December.
=================================
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RAndY's RumOR RaG is published on a monthly basis by RANDALL
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