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Randys Rumor Rag 1993 02
RAndY's RumOR RaG
February 1993
NEWS IN YER FACE
An Intel spokesman recently made the following statement:
"There is no place for the 386 on the desktop anymore."
---------------
WordPerfect's much awaited and much praised InForms program
will be delayed a couple more months. I saw this program
demonstrated recently. I have no use for something of this type,
but it appears to be well thought out.
---------------
Nikon has introduced a software package called ImageAccess
which helps Windows users manage images by recording filenames,
acquisition dates, locations, dimensions, creator, and type of
file.
---------------
Looks like everybody's getting into the sound card business.
Some have sounds on the card, others are for voice annotation only
and are packaged with a microphone and speakers. New players
include Mouse Systems, Logitech, and ViVa.
---------------
What's this? I hear of the possibility of a three-button
mouse from Microsoft. I don't know if that's true, but a change in
their mouse product is in the wind.
---------------
The world continues to deteriorate. In perusing the
advertisements in the back of PC Magazine, I notice that we now
have a national adult gay men's online service. This valuable
resource features access from over 1,000 US cities, live uncensored
group and private chat, online games, over 20,000 GIFs, and a
Matchmaker online database. Just what the world needs...
---------------
Look for another acquisition at Microsoft. Now that they've
got a database product, rumor has it they're going to get serious
in the desktop publishing and/or graphics markets. There are
reports of Microsoft poking their noses around Corel and Aldus.
Also, insiders at Microsoft have apparently been buying Aldus
stock, anticipating a deal.
---------------
I hear that when NetWare 4.0 ships, it will be available on
CD-ROM. That will be the end of forty pounds of documentation and
dealers will have to convince their customers to pay $12,000 for a
little CD.
---------------
I hear that the proliferation of sound cards is messing up
network cards with the interference they generate.
---------------
Artisoft has started talks with Dell Computers with the intent
of shipping Artisoft's Ethernet chip with Dell's Ethernet-ready
computers. Another scenario is that they're thinking about putting
LANtastic in the chip.
---------------
Bill Gates was reportedly taken by surprise when Stac
Electronics recently announced a patent infringement suit against
Microsoft. Stac alleges that the data compression technology in
the current beta version of DOS 6 infringes two Stac patents.
They're asking the court to stop Microsoft from using DoubleSpace
in any beta or commercial release of MS-DOS.
---------------
Everex Systems filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at
the beginning of January. Several large retailers had dropped
Everex and Cumulus systems in addition to stop stocking Tandon
products. It's no great loss, I've always thought Everex products
were a piece of junk.
---------------
The Real World series of accounting software is highly
acclaimed by accountant types but the code is compiled Cobol (which
makes for real fun when troubleshooting error messages). It seems
that their Version 6.5 installation program corrupts an important
file from the previous version and won't install from floppy. Have
you guys ever looked at what the rest of the PC world is using for
languages and gotten a clue?
---------------
You re probably unaware that in December Microsoft began
shipping a software developer's kit for its Modular Windows
operating system. This is a subset of Windows 3.1 stripped down to
execute from one Mbyte of ROM. It shares the same API's and will
find a home in a CD-ROM player TV accessory. The intended end use
will be for interactive TV applications such as program guides,
video-on-demand services, home shopping, and interactive game
shows.
---------------
Back in December, Jim Manzi (Lotus) and Philippe Kahn
(Borland) met to discuss a number of issues, the primary one being
the eternal lawsuit between the two companies. They met for about
an hour and Lotus was willing to settle for $100 million. Borland
said that was too much, so life goes on.
---------------
Intel is getting ready to release a new line of 486
processors. This new S series are a combination of the existing DX
and SX series and the SL-based microprocessors. These new S series
processors will be more power efficient with built-in system
management and power-saving features. Chips are expected to be
available in the second quarter with systems using them available
later in the year.
---------------
DATABASE WARS HEAT UP
Borland is planning on a February 1 date for release of
Paradox for Windows (see the review later in this issue).
Meanwhile, Microsoft's release of FoxPro for DOS and Windows will
likely be split between the DOS release in February and the Windows
product in March or April.
Beta testers of both products express concern that the
companies are introducing these products earlier than they should.
Expect to see a Paradox for Windows rollout price in the area
of $140 (street price) for a limited introductory period. As I
write this, Paradox for Windows has gone into production and is
scheduled to hit the shelves about the first of February.
---------------
WHAT ARE THEY SMOKING?
Microsoft is planning a Windows NT launch for Spring Comdex in
Atlanta with retail availability within several weeks of that.
The initial version will require 12-16 megs of memory and 200
megs of hard disk space!! JEEZ!! Pricing has not been released
but is expected to list for "under $500". There is the possibility
that they will do a $99 limited-time offer like they did with
Access.
The initial release will run on 486 and Pentium processors as
well as Digital Equipment's Alpha chip. According to a beta
tester, "It will be usable, but if you're looking for high speed
and performance, that's coming later."
---------------
POLITICALLY CORRECT CLIPART
While browsing through the current issue of Aldus Magazine, I
came upon an advertisement for a clipart package called Statements.
The ad read: "Contemporary - Powerful - Multi-Cultural". Samples
of the artwork include an apparently homeless man of ethnic descent
sitting at a bus stop. The man's posture connotes despair while on
the other side of the bench sit two well-dressed men, their backs
turned to the homeless man. My favorite image is one of three
children of different ethnic backgrounds holding up a large globe
of the world.
I have a suggestion for companion clipart collections. How
about an environmentally conscious collection featuring Sierra Club
types hugging trees? Maybe they could add some images of a
GreenPeace-er kissing a whale?
I weep for the future...
---------------
DOS 6 PREVIEW
A beta release of MS-DOS 6 recently made it's way into my
hands, so I should probably give you a little preview of what's to
come. Microsoft expects to release this new DOS in March.
I don't want to muck up my hard drive by installing a beta
version of an operating system and risk messing up important
business data - so I installed DOS 6 to a bootable floppy.
On the outside you won't see much difference. Microsoft must
figure that most users use the "$P$G" for a prompt because it's now
the default prompt. I hate it because it gives me an error if I
switch to a drive before putting in a disk. Thankfully the same
rules we've always had apply for changing the prompt or getting rid
of it.
Multiple boot configurations have been a problem for many
people for some time and DOS 6 finally addresses that problem.
Hold down F8 when you start to boot and you'll be asked to confirm
your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT line by line. It's not the best
solution, but it's better than nothing.
The primary change that I can see is that the utilities have
been enhanced. Microsoft has licensed some more utilities from
Central Point, among them a virus scanner. MEMMAKER is a memory
optimization tool which alleviates you from manually figuring out
how best to utilize upper memory blocks. It works similar to QEMM
and the like by rebooting your computer several times to get the
best configuration. There was no change in the amount of memory
available from when I had done it manually with DOS 5 (but then I m
a power user).
DoubleSpace is the Stacker-like utility that lets you get more
space out of your hard drive. I'm chicken to try this in beta test
and don't think much of the technology when it's off the shelf.
I'll pass on this one.
Other than that, it's pretty much business as usual. The MEM
program lets you pause the screen as it flies by and the format of
the readout has changed to be more easier to read and more
complete.
Since I didn't install DOS 6 to the hard drive, I was also
unable to run Windows. I noticed a number of drivers and DLL's on
the disks, but was too chicken to mess up something that works.
The feeling at a command prompt was that DOS 6 was noticeably
faster than DOS 5. I reported last month on rumors of DOS 7
(internally code named Chicago) being readied for a fall 93
release. If that's the case, I'll likely wait.
---------------
WORDPERFECT FOR WINDOWS 5.2
It took me a while to get this into my hot little hands, but
it's finally here.
I still think there are more powerful Windows word processors
out there, but I'm sticking with WordPerfect. This update is
substantially better than their previous product.
The installation is now done through Windows and the overall
feel of the program is markedly faster.
New to this release is a feature called QuickFinder. You
build indexes for groups of files and it scans for keywords with
the speed of lightning. It's really fast and if you have to manage
large numbers of documents, this is one feature you'll love.
WordPerfect for Windows finally has OLE support. That means
drag-and-drop printing from the Windows File Manager is finally
operable.
Also included are several different Button Bars grouped
according to task. You can easily switch by positioning the cursor
over the Button Bar and pressing the right mouse button for a pop-
up menu listing other Button Bars. This is a convenient feature
and all Button Bars are customizable, of course.
There are a number of excellent macros included. My favorite
is the envelope printer which lets you select from three different
return addresses, select the font to be used, and also prints the
Postal bar code. Pretty cool! There's another macro which enables
true typographic quotes which can be automatically started when you
start up WordPerfect.
The program is now mail enabled so you can immediately send a
document via E-Mail. ATM Version 2.5 is included for external font
support. (This seems like too little - too late. Most people I
know including myself use TrueType fonts exclusively.)
Now a part of the package is Grammatik 5. I hate style
checkers. I think they're for people who were sleeping in Junior
High English class. Anyway, if you think they're cool then you've
finally got it.
Gone forever (almost) is that annoying "Updating Printer
Information" message that comes up whenever you change from
portrait to landscape. You'll still get the message when you add
or delete fonts, but changing paper sizes and orientation is no
longer a nuisance.
They've done a good job of upgrading this program. There are
a lot of little improvements such as having the Speller dialog go
away when you're done spell checking (you're done - you don't need
it there anymore).
If you already have WordPerfect for Windows, put out the $39
they want for the upgrade: it's worth it.
---------------
HAYES - MULTI-TECH SUIT SETTLED
Four years of legal hassling has ended with a settlement in
the Hayes escape sequence suit. Multi-Tech has agreed to pay an
undisclosed sum to Hayes and Hayes will make changes to their white
paper which implied that Multi-Tech's TIES escape sequence was
unreliable.
---------------
ACCESS 1.1 TO FIX BUGS
Microsoft engineers are working on Version 1.1 of Access. (I
hear they re planning a Macintosh version of Access.) They're
working on incorporating an Oracle database driver and maybe a
FoxPro driver. The 128MB file size limit will be raised to 1
gigabyte.
There are problems working with Stacker 3.0 (so what), but
here's a listing of the 12 bugs as reported by Microsoft:
1. Incorrect Windows for Workgroups driver can cause file
truncation (correct driver included with Access)
2. Incorrect LAN Manager driver can cause file truncation (correct
driver included with Access)
3. Access setup may have problems with DOS Append
4. ATI Ultra driver not compatible with Access
5. Access setup may leave temporary directory and files
6. Problem importing DBF files where record length exceeds dBase
maximum
7. Access cannot use Btrieve data with indexes across column
boundaries
8. Fixed-width import does not correctly translate extended
characters
9. Cannot hide modal/popup forms with the OpenForm action
10. Form dynaset references are problematic when using form
variables
11. Problem using running sum property with control that evaluates
to #ERROR
12. Beta versions of ODBC drivers will not work with Access
Access sales have gone through the roof since it was
introduced in mid-November. A Microsoft representative estimates
that demand is three times the 100,000 SKU s Microsoft forecasted
for the introductory phase (which will end January 31). It is
estimated that by the end of 1993, Microsoft could have 32% of the
database market. That figure includes versions of Access as well
as FoxPro. (Paradox and dBase currently have about 59% of the
market share.) Interestingly, Paradox for Windows will debut at
exactly the time when the $99 special on Access expires.
---------------
SOUND CARD EXPLOSION
Sales of sound cards has increased dramatically this past
year, largely because of the support in Windows 3.1. Before
Windows supported sound, these cards were sold primarily in home-
consumer markets. Now, they're getting into corporate territory.
As an example of the explosion, Media Vision shipped 6,000 Pro
Audio Spectrum 16 boards last May (92). This past December they
shipped 45,500. Creative Labs shipped 1.52 million sound cards in
1992 compared to 180,000 in 1990. Creative Labs report sales split
15% to business users and 85% to home users.
Turtle Beach Systems claims "At this point we can t make
enough [sound boards] to sell".
---------------
NEW FROM MICROSOFT
Microsoft Profit has a form based interface to tracking
accounting records. There are a variety of forms including
invoices, purchase orders, and checks. Profit uses SmartFill in
the same manner that Money remembers transactions. Wizards are
included for balancing your checking account, sending bills, and
producing mailing labels. There are more than 30 predefined
reports including cash flow, sales, and inventory reports. You can
also create your own customized reports and produce graphs.
The Microsoft Windows Printing System is a hardware/software
combination which optimizes your HP LaserJet when used with
Windows. A module installs like a font cartridge and allows the
printer to talk to the computer. The software works with models
II, IID, IIP, IIP+, III, IIID, and IIIP just like a regular printer
driver. (The system is compatible with DOS and switches to PCL
emulation.) Included in the package are 79 fonts. A full
installation with fonts will consume about 8.2 megs of hard drive
space, but the basics just needs 1.9 megs of space. The system is
designed so that even a 512K LaserJet can print full page graphics.
A printer status window shows a document's progress as it's
printing. You'll see the estimated time to completion along with
graphical and audio reports on paper and toner levels. (When
printing a test page, a voice says "printing started", and
"printing complete" when finished.) You can print on both sides of
the paper by printing the odd-numbered pages first, then the even-
numbered pages. There's even a cut-away view of the printer to
show you the location of any printer jams.
The system speeds up Windows printing because it uses the
native Windows GDI model and avoids having to translate the image
into PCL format. Sophisticated algorithms keep the printer running
at close to the rated speed by balancing the load between the
computer and the printer.
Be aware that the Windows Printing System supports only
TrueType fonts. It does not recognize Type 1 fonts or any other
device fonts.
Suggested list price for the Windows Printing System is $199,
Profit s price has not yet been announced. The Printing System is
available now and Profit should be on the shelves in February.
---------------
ART IMITATES LIFE
I don't know about your town, but where I live I'm not sure if
we have more places selling Espresso or offering Karaoke nights.
One of the products unveiled at the recent CES is a program
called PC Karaoke from Media Resources. The software will be
available as an add-on to Media Resource's multimedia kits at about
$100 more. The kits range from $799 to $1,599 (retail) and include
software, speakers, a microphone, sound card, and a CD-ROM drive.
A Karaoke only package including software, a sound card, and CD-ROM
drive will sell for about $399 MSRP. Additional Karaoke titles
will have a suggested price of $20.
The Karaoke software has SMPTE (a standard time code) and uses
CD-quality 64-track music.
---------------
WINDOWS NT PRE-REVIEWED
I've listed the hardware requirements for Windows NT above and
stand behind my assertion that they're ridiculous for wide-spread
acceptance.
Here are some quotes by prominent people in the computer
industry with their thoughts after using a pre-release version of
NT.
Frame Technology has a good track record for cross-platform
software. V. Siva Kumar (vice-president and general manager of
their desktop division) says, "Windows NT will give you a 30%-50%
performance boost over Windows 3.1, on the same hardware platform.
Windows NT will be a much more stable environment than
DOS/Windows."
At LaserMaster, Bill Neuenschwander (director of public
relations) said, "With 32-bit processing and multi-threaded
multitasking, the Windows NT architecture is ideal for designing
host-based printers."
Corel Draw's media relations manager, Fiona Rochester, said
that "one of the unique things about Windows NT's 32-bit
development is Microsoft's goal to enable programmers to develop 16
and 32-bit applications simultaneously." Corel has a history of
32-bit development with a native OS/2 version of CorelDraw just
released.
The folks at Ventura Software are waiting to see which becomes
the most commercially viable - OS/2 or Windows NT. Said Brian
Standley (vice president of product management), "If Windows NT
ports most Windows applications over without a problem, that makes
Windows NT an easy platform to get applications into."
I still think I'll pass.
---------------
PARADOX FOR WINDOWS
I'm just not a relational database kind of guy. I have never
been able to figure these things out from the start. But last
month I reviewed Access and I really like it (although I still have
trouble figuring out the relational stuff).
Paradox for Windows is here (at least I assume so since I have
one in my hands). This has been a long time in coming and Borland
has lost money and some credibility due to the amount of time it
has taken.
The obvious comparison is to Microsoft's Access. For starters,
the Access package weighs about 5 pounds while Paradox for Windows
runs closer to 7 pounds. Either way, there's a ton of books here,
folks.
Installation is via the Quattro Pro for Windows style with the
graphical view of driving down the highway reading billboards as
you shuffle disks. An absolute minimum installation will consume
about 10 megs of hard drive space - lots of big DLL files.
Loading definitely takes longer than Access. I wanted to see
how fast it took to import a dBase file, but realized that it reads
dBase directly (they're the same company - duh). So I read in a
big dBase file with over 16,000 records.
Now I wanted to do a query. I don't like to read books but I
will at least look at a help screen. As with Access, queries are
very simple to construct. I had performed these same operations
with Access using the same data, and Paradox seemed to take longer
giving me an answer to this particular query.
There are provisions for creating quick forms and reports, but
they're not even close to the quality and complexity offered by
Microsoft's Wizards.
The right mouse button has not been forgotten. Similar to
Quattro Pro for Windows, the right button brings up the object
inspector which gives you a menu of options that relate to whatever
you've clicked on.
I haven't had the time and do not possess the technical
ability to give this program a thorough testing. That will be a
job for the hardcore database guys. Borland has done a good job
and users now have more of a choice with Windows relational
databases. If you require a database with more thorough
programming possibilities, then Paradox for Windows would probably
be the better of the two. This is power user software.
---------------
SIPP
No, I'm not talking about chips here - that acronym stands for
Software Integration Partners Program. This is an alliance of
Novell, Lotus, and WordPerfect on the software side; IBM, Digital
Equipment, Hewlett-Packard, and Compaq on the hardware end.
The idea is to bundle software with the above mentioned
hardware at a price below what Microsoft could sell equivalent
software for.
Novell will be offering DR-DOS, NetWare Lite, and their soon
to be released Personal NetWare package while Lotus and WordPerfect
will chip in with cc:mail and WordPerfect Office. Borland and
packard-Bell have both reportedly been approached to join the
bunch.
The end result is to make a dent in Microsoft's domination of
the desktop. Negotiations are still in progress, but look for the
results to surface within the next few months.
---------------
MORE NEWS IN YER FACE
Microsoft is set to challenge Borland's hold on the language
world with a release of Visual C++. New features include a
Windows-hosted integrated development environment, and integrated
GUI debugging tool, and Wizard technology.
---------------
Borland's new Paradox for Windows will go up against
Microsoft's FoxPro 2.5 by the time you read this. Portability
issues threaten the established base of both products so we'll have
to wait and see.
---------------
WordPerfect will soon be shipping a version of WordPerfect 5.2
for OS/2! No word on an exact date.
---------------
Leading computer manufacturers are making motherboard
modifications to support the P24T upgrade expected to be available
next year. Intel has acknowledged the existence of this chip which
is a Pentium overdrive chip for 486 computers. The price is
expected to be in the $600-$650 range and it's suggested that
consumers will find it too pricey. As if the DX2 Overdrives
available now aren't?
---------------
Bitstream is shipping Version 2 of Facelift for WordPerfect.
Enhancements include 10 additional typefaces, faster printing
speeds, the ability to add shadows and fill patterns, support for
color printing, and enhanced network support.
---------------
Prodigy (for those who have never seen a REAL online service)
is reducing their workforce and will contract out certain
membership services. They're eliminating 250 positions.
Meanwhile, they're looking at other sources of distribution,
for example cable TV transmission, CD-ROM, and wireless
transmission to PDAs and the like. Oh, joy...
---------------
PRINT SHOP FOR WINDOWS
It's here! The popular idiot's desktop publisher is now
available for Windows.
Actually, the basic operation is almost exactly the same as
the new DOS version. The typefaces have been translated to
TrueType versions, and you can also use any other typefaces that
are available for Windows.
There's not much I can say that I didn't mention when talking
about the new DOS version last month. They two are virtually
identical. I do wish that you had the option of installing the
fonts separately on this one, but you can always go back later and
get rid of the ones you don't want. You can import and export and
the final printed page looks the same as what you'd get from the
DOS product, so the choice is yours as to which one you'd prefer.
---------------
FORM WITHOUT SUBSTANCE
Here's a hot new CD for the 4 out of 10 of you who voted for
Clinton.
Warner New Media has just released a CD with more than 300
photos of the Clinton campaign combined with sound clips from some
of his speeches. The software is called "Clinton: Portrait of
Victory". Included are sections from the debates, the primaries,
the convention, on the road, and the finale. The Windows version
features video clips, the DOS version does not.
The very thought of such software sends my heart racing (it's
more like making my stomach churn). List price is $39.99. My
suggestion is to use that money and buy Rush Limbaugh's book - it's
a better value and makes more sense.
---------------
COMING SOON
I hope to report on PC Tools for Windows next month and
Sierra's Pinball for Windows is scheduled for February release but
I'm not holding my breath - along with the CD version of Leisure
Suit Larry I. Microsoft's hot new multimedia encyclopedia Encarta
has been delayed and I probably won't see it until March.
=================================
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 America Online as well as in Modem News.
In case anyone cares, RAndY's RumOR RaG is produced on a DTK
386-33 with 16 megs of memory, Cyrix Fasmath co-processor, ATI VGA
Wonder+ card (1 MB), 105 MB Toshiba IDE hard drive, Teac 1.2 MB and
1.44 MB floppies, Pro Audio Spectrum 16 hooked to a Hitachi 3750 CD
ROM drive, Sceptre SVGA display, Microsoft mouse, WordPerfect 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, America
Online, phone, analog mail, or whatever method makes you feel good.
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