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Randys Rumor Rag 1994 05
RAndY's RumOR RaG
May 1994
NEWS IN YER FACE
By this fall, Hewlett-Packard will introduce a color laser
printer for under $7,000 list. It will have Resolution Enhancement
Technology and print 300 dpi for color and 600 dpi in monochrome.
You'll get up to 4 ppm in color and 12 ppm in black-and-white.
It's slated for a Fall Comdex introduction and will give users
the choice of PostScript 2 or PCL5E. Of course, they'll work with
JetDirect and other network cards.
They are also planning to increase the speed of new printers,
with plans in the work to jump the next version of the LaserJet 4Si
from 17 ppm to 22-24 ppm.
---------------
At a recent event, the bio slide for Novell Senior VP Mike
DeFazio was spelled "Senoir". Looks like they bought WordPerfect
just in time to use their spell checker.
---------------
Intel's Andy Grove showed off a motherboard prototype with
Intel's forthcoming P-6 chip. When he set it down, the chip fell
out. Grove admitted they still had some work to do on it.
---------------
Someone has suggested that if CSPAN merged with The Home
Shopping Channel on the Information Superhighway, people could buy
their congressman along with computers that aren't available in the
channel.
---------------
Rumor has it that Microsoft is still working out little bugs
in Access 2.0 and won't get it on the shelves until May 1.
Microsoft says mid-April. My suppliers say mid-May
---------------
IBM and Motorola's RISC division is working on a 100MHz
version of the PowerPC 601 using .5-micron CMOS technology.
---------------
Still no word of the new name for the merger of Novell and
WordPerfect. Wordell is likely out and don't count on NoPerfect
either.
---------------
Look for a CD murder mystery from MTV that will feature their
infamous "eye-popping visual effects." There won't be any famous
bands or VJs but there might be some music videos.
In other MTV related news, Sega is working on a Beavis and
Butthead game and the caveman band Gwar will make an appearance.
---------------
WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE?
The longer I continue being involved in computers, the more I
wonder what the software developers are thinking.
The guy I do aerial photography with recently had need to work
with Paradox data from Excel 5.0. Microsoft provides an add-in for
this in the form of Microsoft Query. But when trying to use it he
continued to have problems. A call to Microsoft revealed that the
drivers haven't been completed yet (and they didn't want to hold up
the release of Excel). And they want to charge an additional $7
for them!
"So when will they be ready," he asks? "Can I get my name on
the list so you'll send them when they're ready?"
"Well, we don't have lists so you'll just have to call back
from time to time," says Microsoft.
What in the hell way is this to run a business? Isn't it bad
enough that succeeding versions of software continue to gobble up
megs upon megs of hard drive space without regard to tight code?
Now you release a product which sells on the street for $350-$400
and then nick you for an additional $7 for something that should
have been in the shipping package.
And this is just one example...
---------------
MORE NEWS IN YER FACE
Microsoft continues to have problems getting Access 2.0 to
market. Here are some of the reported problems holding up release:
Object names using back quotes must be renamed or access will not
convert the database to 2.0 format; Users must create user and
group accounts to take advantage of 2.0 security features; Visual
Basic applications using JET database engine are not yet supported
in 2.0 (Microsoft is promising a DLL).
In other Microsoft news, later this year they'll be shipping
the object-oriented 32-bit version of Visual Basic. It will have
enhanced data controls and will come in 16-bit and 32-bit versions
to support Windows NT, Chicago, and Windows 3.1.
---------------
Addison-Wesley is publishing "E-Mail Addresses of the Rich and
Famous." You can get the E-mail addresses of Tom Brokaw, Bill
Gates, Ed Asner, Ross Perot, and others through this $7.95 book
---------------
I hear that Norton Utilities is having problems with Stacker
4, in particular the Speed Disk and Disk Doctor programs. A fix is
not expected for another six months, three months past the 90-day
limit on tech support. Hmmmm...
---------------
Apple has a trade-in program where you can exchange a used Mac
or any brand-name PC, monitor, or printer and get money toward the
purchase of new Apple equipment.
---------------
THE ISH
Are you as sick as I am of hearing endless drivel about the
Information Superhighway - from government geeks who don't know a
modem from monitor, no less?
I've held off talking about the Clipper chip because I've
considered it a stupid idea (look who dreamed it up) and
uninteresting.
Let me see if I've got this straight - data communications are
encrypted with a chip that only the government has the key to? I
don't think so. The last guys I want nosing around my computer are
Bubba and Algore. Isn't their socialist utopian health plan enough
erosion of our freedom? (Oops, I forgot about gun control.) And
when has the government done anything right- with the exception of
running the military and a couple other things (all of which
they're trying to mess up now).
I say NO to Clipper and the concept behind it. I don't want
Janet Reno lobbing in smoke grenades just because she found a
message that I was using in illegal copy of Print Shop. (I'm not!)
---------------
MAINTENANCE RELEASE
I just received the interim release of WordPerfect for Windows
6.0a. It now ships on 12 disks and includes an uninstall option.
They added things like AutoCorrect, which corrects your typing
as you go along; new Coaches and other helps.
They reportedly speeded up certain areas of the program.
Sorry, but I don't see it. If anything the program is even slower
than it used to be. They've taken slow printing and brought it to
a crawl. They just don't get it.
In fairness, they seem to have corrected the problems I had
with faxing. The line spacing used to be compressed and now it
looks OK.
I hate to say it, but I'm giving serious consideration to
switching to Word for Windows. This release can hardly be called
an improvement when it takes an already slow product and slows it
down further. Fortunately the upgrade is free to existing owners
because I wouldn't pay a dime for it. Somebody down there in Utah
needs to wake up and smell the coffee (oops, I forgot the Mormons
don't drink coffee).
---------------
PRO GRAPHICS 1024
If you read last month's column, you know that I'm in the
market for a different VLB graphics card. I've looked at the Media
Vision Pro Graphics 1024 and finally had a chance to install one.
Installation is as easy as it gets, but when I loaded the
Windows drivers, Windows would no longer run. A call to tech
support cleared up the problem and required that I set up the
software for 3 wait states for both reading and writing. The card
then worked fine with Windows, but with so many wait states I could
discern no appreciable speed difference from the stock Windows VGA
driver.
I've always found Media Vision's sound cards to be excellent,
and I'm sure that this card is good too - but they need to get this
thing worked out with drivers. Everybody is buying 486-66 machines
these days and support needs to be there.
---------------
NEXT MONTH
I'm hoping to see Corel 5 for review next month. I know
they've packed a lot of new stuff into it including Ventura
Publisher. I'll probably be using Word for Windows by then so I'll
likely talk about that too. Access 2 should be shipping by then and
I might even have something to say about Microsoft Baseball and lots
of other new stuff.
=================================
DISCLAIMER
RAndY's RumOR RaG is published on a monthly basis by AINSWORTH
COMPUTER SERVICES and is available on various local BBS's and
GEnie, as well as in Modem News.
In case anyone cares, RAndY's RumOR RaG is produced on a 486-
50 with 8 megs of memory,105 MB Toshiba IDE hard drive, Teac 1.2 MB
and 1.44 MB floppies, Pro Audio Spectrum 16 running 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, phone, analog
mail, or whatever method makes you feel good.
AINSWORTH COMPUTER SERVICES
605 W. Wishkah
Aberdeen, WA 98520-6031
(206) 533-6647
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