RAndY s RumOR RaG August 1993 NEWS IN YER FACE Here's a new one for you. You've surely seen the coffee mugs and pens emblazoned with corporate logos that companies routinely give away. Metromedia Communications is selling the PhonePass. It's a disposable credit card you give to a client which is good for a pre-determined amount of long distance service. The client you give it to uses it like a credit card and then throws it away when it's used up. You can have your logo printed on the card and callers using the card can even hear a customized greeting. Each PhonePass is available for 10-100 minutes of long distance time ($5-$50) and the minimum purchase of cards is $2,500. --------------- Intel is pushing the 486DX2/66 as an attempt to keep users away from AMD chips. AMD is due (as I write this) to release a 486 compatible chip based on non-Intel code. --------------- Microsoft will release a beta of Windows for Workgroups, code- named Snowball, in mid August and a new 3.11 version could be out by the fall. To be an integral part of the product will be IPX and TCP/IP protocol stacks. They're hoping to ease the installation process and reduce memory requirements. The product will be faster with database and disk I/O operations. Another goal is better connectivity with non-Windows environments. --------------- WordPerfect has delayed the release of InForms due to technical glitches, not a lawsuit from Shana Corp. (which markets a forms package called Informed). Shana claims that there is customer confusion over the name, but WordPerfect is sticking with its plans. Expect an interim release of InForms this fall which will include support for DDE and OLE 2. --------------- Quarterdeck is hoping that their new upgraded memory management software will provide the company with some financial stability. Recent releases of DOS have hurt their business severely, recently slipping 23.5%. --------------- Here's an interesting new product - PhotoMorph (from North Coast Software). Select a starting image and ending image, and place markers around the area to be morphed. The software will generate an animation. You control the compression and frames per second. Included is a runtime version of Video for Windows so you can distribute your animation. Several transitional effects are also possible. The list price is only $149.95. --------------- Expected to be released in August is the Scanman EasyTouch from Logitech. What distinguishes this scanner from others, besides its size and appearance, is that it requires no board. It connects to the parallel port (with a pass-through connector). The different software packages with which the scanner will be bundled will be TWAIN-compliant. Suggested list price will be $399. --------------- Oak Technology will introduce a Windows and OS/2 accelerator chip with multimedia capabilities. The chip, called Spitfire, has a video port that will accept full-color, full-motion video and display it in a window. The Spitfire has a 64-bit data path to graphics memory and a series of built-in FIFO buffers for maintaining transfer rates of up to 200M per second. There are four bit maps that allow Windows and NT raster operations to be performed in one step. There is an interface for VESA local bus, PCI, and ISA. --------------- Sales of Novell NetWare 4.0 are sluggish. Users are skittish about giving up what they've got and some are wary of version numbers ending in "0". There are also apparent problems with an inability to load Virtual Loadable Modules to launch under Windows, bindery emulation difficulties when using third party applications, and sluggish login times. There was one day recently when *no* support calls were received for NetWare 4. --------------- FREDDY PHARKAS FRONTIER PHARMACIST Imagine Leisure Suit Larry meets Blazing Saddles and you've pretty much got the idea. This new game from Sierra On-Line is very entertaining. You're an ex-gunslinger turned pharmacist in the Old West. Someone is trying to destroy your town and it's up to you to find out who it is and stop them. (HINT: The person you least suspect is the guilty party.) Along the way you'll encounter lots of interesting characters including an Indian sidekick (Eastern Indian), the local Madame, and the new Schoolmarm. The sound effects are excellent. In addition to the usual background music are interspersed occasional sampled sounds (like glass being broken, the crack of a whip, etc.). The puzzles are challenging and the scenery is very well done. There are several places in the game where a sepia-toned image is gradually transformed to natural color. I wouldn't recommend the game to children, due to miscellaneous sheep jokes and flatulent horses (with sound effects). The jokes aren't dirty, they're more corny than anything. --------------- AND SO IT GOES My PageMaker 5 woes continue. After ten days they returned my call. Their fix for the problem with old documents was to link with the original graphics. Unfortunately I don't have the original graphics. I've figured it out that it's the imported CGM graphics causing the problem. If I delete the graphics, the documents will print. If I replace existing graphics with new graphics, the documents will print. Looks like a problem with CGM graphics to me. This was confirmed with the Aldus call. They said that they were aware of a problem with the CGM import filter and a fix was due in the future. To compound the problem, imported CGM graphics from Corel are flipped upside-down. That makes extra work for me to flip them back the way they're supposed to be. I've tried the graphics in other programs and they're fine, so that tells me the problem is with PageMaker. Again, this was substantiated by Aldus Technical Support. Their suggestion was to use the filter from PageMaker4 and cautioned that there may be other problems using the older version. What ever happened to beta testing? --------------- MORE NEWS IN YER FACE The Sierra Network recently signed a pact with AT&T and General Atlantic Partners giving AT&T part ownership in The Sierra Network. The Sierra Network also aligned itself with Prodigy. Said John Williams, vice president of The Sierra Network, "The Sierra Network and Prodigy are a perfect fit. We're like the comics section and they're like the rest of the paper." --------------- Micronics, a major manufacturer of motherboards, is now making motherboards in standard and "green" versions. The board features two standard VL slots and an integrated VL-bus IDE controller. Micronics claims that energy savings could drop to $12 per year compared to $35 for standard systems. Air-conditioning costs could be reduced also, because it takes 1.5 watts of cooling energy for each watt of electricity consumed by a PC. --------------- WordPerfect has new DOS-based fax software available which lets users fax from within any DOS application. Soon to follow is a Windows version which is expected to support OCR and remote communications. The package was previously sold under the name of METZ/ExpressFax and was packaged with computers sold by Dell, Megahertz, Zoom Telephonics, and U.S. Robotics under OEM agreements. --------------- Concerning recent announcements of a layoff of 2,500 employees by Apple, Jay Leno recently quipped they were achieving their longtime dream of becoming the same size as IBM. --------------- I recently attended a WordPerfect product rollout and was amazed at the negative comments by resellers concerning Clinton and his proposed economic policies. A recent survey by Computer Reseller News found a majority of venture capitalists in the technology industry fear the Clinton administratin will be bad for business. I thought I was the only one who had this figured out. --------------- Sierra On-Line is scheduled to release a new Leisure Suit Larry in November called "Shape Up or Slip Out". Larry gets chosen as a contestant on a dating show and, of course, loses. The consolation prize is two weeks at La Costa Lotta health spa. I hear he's surrounded by women, each with a physical flaw that must be corrected. The icon and inventory bars are permanently visible and there are scrolling text bars. Police Quest IV is also due out soon, featuring photo- realistic images. This game was developed by former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates. You've probably heard that Sierra is moving their corporate offices to the Seattle area. Game development and TSN will stay in Coarsegold, CA. Hope Ken and Roberta like latte. Welcome to God's country. --------------- A new screen saver called Coaster has simulations of four well-know roller coaster rides from across the country. The simulations take the rider's point of view and use digitized sound (like the creaking of wood) and graphics. Scenery adjacent to the ride changes as the car moves. List price is $59.95 from Road Scholar Software and the program will be followed up by one that lets you build your own roller coaster. --------------- Microsoft and an un-named CD-ROM drive vendor are rumored to have plans for bundling Windows NT with a drive and SCSI adapter. In an unrelated piece of information, I learned that Microsoft's Mike Maples' son works for IBM on OS/2. Small world. --------------- MICROSOFT DINOSAURS Dinosaurs have been popular for some time and the movie "Jurassic Park" has produced an explosion of interest in dinosaurs recently. Microsoft has finally released their multimedia excursion into the world of Dinosaurs. This CD is extremely well done. The only way it could be better is if the dinosaurs could jump out of the screen and rip your face off. The interface is pretty obvious and easy to navigate. There are several animations and a short video from the PBS series, all using Video for Windows technology. The accompanying sound is outstanding - so get your sound card hooked up through your stereo now. Some of the animations are quite graphic, but then so is nature. My only complaint is the pro-evolution philosophy that is used to explain some things. Your kids will love this. There's even a special mode for watching a slideshow of images and sound. Since the names for some of these creatures are hard to pronounce, there are pronunciations throughout the multimedia experience. You can also print just about anything that's on the screen including "fact cards" which are like trading cards. There are even a couple of screen savers included. --------------- ACCESS 2 WISH LIST Although Microsoft's Access Version 2 has not yet reached beta testing, they're already compiling a list of features which will likely be implemented. (Rumor has it that the program will ship by year's end.) Look for a graphical relation builder which would simplify creation of one-to-many-to-many relationships, table wizards, inproved join semantics, faster SQL pass-through, and an integrated expression builder function to allow development of complex expressions. They're also likely to add Rushmore-like optimization. --------------- EVEN MORE NEWS IN YER FACE In case you haven't noticed, DRAM prices have jumped noticeably. The price of 1 Meg SIMMs recently more than doubled. The culprit, for once, isn't restrictive government regulations. Fire recently destroyed the Sumitomo Chemical Company which produced 60% of the the world's epoxy resin which is used in chip manufacture. --------------- The Windows word processor wars will be heating up this fall. It is expected that Word for Windows will beat out WordPerfect for Windows 6 in getting to market. Word for Windows will support OLE 2 and also include Wizards, background printing, editable print previews, open database connectivity, and automatic calculation of tables. WordPerfect for Windows 6 will not initially support OLE 2, but will have features not found in Word such as expanded spreadsheet capabilities within tables. You'll also see the Coaches feature from the new DOS WordPerfect. WordPerfect reports that in the first few days after the introducion of the new DOS word processor they shipped over 500,000 copies. --------------- It Was Only A Matter of Time Dept.: I see that someone is now offering an adult PhotoCD. Technology marches on... --------------- What's the difference between Jurassic Park and IBM? One's a high-tech theme park for dinosaurs and the other is a movie by Steven Spielberg. Want another take on this one? What's the difference between Jurassic Park and Microsoft? One is a high-tech theme park dominated by expensive, nasty, hungry, predatory monsters that will destroy anything they can get their teeth into, and the other is a movie. --------------- WARNING: If you got a Publisher 2.0 demo disk from Microsoft, be sure it's clean. Reports are that it contains the Forms virus. Microsoft confirms the fact and blames it on a third-party manufacturer. Clean disks will be sent out. Some wonder if this is a ploy to sell more DOS 6 with anti-virus. --------------- By the time you read this, Microsoft should have released Screens, a line of screen savers with collections of photographic images from nature, art, and outer space. Using Wizards, users can add their own bitmap images to the collections. Genigraphics gives users three free conversions for personal photographs with additionals costing $8 each. The nature series contains 48 images from the Sierra Club with a "substantial" portion of the proceeds going to the Sierra Club and users get a $10 reduction on club memberships. Let's all hug a tree now. Also due out from Microsoft soon is Microsoft Arcade. This is a Windows-based rendition of the five most popular arcade games from Atari - Asteroids, Centipede, Battle Zone, Missile Command, and Tempest. The $39.95 package will have sounds digitized from the original games and can be played full-screen if desired. I hear that Microsoft will release 20-30 consumer titles by the end of the year. --------------- Virus zappers McAffee Associates have signed a letter of intent to purchase Buttonware, the shareware kings. --------------- Corel is going to pass on developing CorelDraw 4 for OS/2. Instead, they've decided to develop a common code base to streamline development for all platforms. This common API will appear in CorelDraw 5, scheduled for a spring 1994 appearance. --------------- Bill Gates recently slammed Novell saying this regarding Novell's role in the FTC investigation, "The only issues that are still active are the ones Novell raises to sell more of their attempted clone product". Gates said he is "very disappointed" in the way Novell fueled the investigation. Gates also said, "Novell has stuffed the hell out of the channel and only succeeded in confusing themselves anew. They have a bifurcated strategy offering NetWare as a file server and Unix as an application server". --------------- EIGHT BALLS OF FIRE I think they should call this one "Give Me A Break" instead of "Take A Break". Sierra started advertising this over a year ago, then you suddenly heard nothing about it. I assume they had some programming difficulties or something. Anyway, it's finally here. Pinball has never been too popular on the computer. I think it's because you can't hit and shake the machine (this game allows for that - be careful you don't TILT), and up until now, computer pinball simulations have been lame. Sierra has done an outstanding job with this one. You get eight different games featuring themes from their adventure games. There are three games from Space Quest, two from Nova 9, one from Leisure Suit Larry, Willie Beamish, and the King's Quest series. My least favorite is the Willie Beamish one - because there's so much going on that it's hard to keep track of the ball. Each of the games is different, not just the same game with a different background. Each presents its own challenges. It looks like they have provided for adding games in the future. The action is excellent and as realistic as you'll see on a computer simulation. There are tons of music and sound effects, supplemented by animated characters who may sometimes come out and steal your ball. One of the Nova 9 games has two effects which could not be done with a real pinball machine. You can have up to four different players and the best part is that you don't need a quarter to play. The executable file has a variety of icons available to keep your boss from catching you when you minimize a game. --------------- WINSENSE Do you have trouble making sense out of your Windows INI settings? SoftLogic's Winsense will analyze your system and Windows settings, then recommend numerous fine-tuning changes. Although the program does a decent job of system snooping I'd advise you to be savvy over what some INI options are before deciding to change them. The program gives some information, but one of the settings it recommended I delete is required for a certain program. Winsense will likely do the job for fine-tuning your Windows configuration, but don't blindly accept it's recommendations. --------------- PRESENTATIONS FOR WINDOWS If you've seen the DOS version, you've seen the Windows version. In terms of functionality, they're virtually identical. The product ships with some Bitstream TrueType fonts which you may find useful. The clipart eats up an enormous amount of hard drive space and a full installation takes 24 megs. Like it's word processing cousin, Presentations for Windows takes a little while to load (even on my 486-50 VESA local bus). Creating objects and entering text is easy enough, but I'm too used to the way Corel does it. It would take a user of any other graphics program a little time to get used to placing, filling, and moving objects on the screen. The QuickTutors are helpful, but they don't go far enough and are far less elegant than Microsoft's Wizards. I don't know, it seems like WordPerfect just doesn't get it when it comes to Windows programs. This is a good package that's probably worth what they're charging for it. But there's something about this and WordPerfect for Windows (which I use) which just isn't as smooth as a Windows product should be. For example, if you mess with fonts at all, you get the "Updating Printer Information" message. Although WordPerfect has worked to keep this nonsense to a minimum it shouldn't be there at all. Do what you want to on this one, but I'll stick with Corel. --------------- IBM VS MICROSOFT IBM and Microsoft are at each others' throats again. Microsoft published a document called "Windows NT and OS/2 2.1: The Advantages of Windows NT for Today's Client-Server Computing" which contrasted Windows NT with OS/2. Here are some excerpts from IBM's rebuttal. "The most prominent theme Microsoft stresses throughout the document is that the client/server functions needed for most customers are "built-in" to Windows NT and Windows NT Advanced Server and, therefore, are integrated. Most of the functions, however, were actually previously available separately, or are still separate Microsoft products that are bundled with Windows NT (e.g., the LAN server function in Windows NT Advanced Server was a port of the Microsoft OS/2 LAN Manager product plus enhancements)." "'Built-in' does not mean products are more tightly integrated. Both IBM LAN Server 3.0 and NetWare from IBM for OS/2 products, for instance, are integrated down to ring 0 (privileged kernel areas) of the OS/2 operating system. The fact that Microsoft uses the word 'built-in' is much more of a marketing and packaging statement than it is an integration statement." Another key requirement that Microsoft focuses on is "reliability". We agree that this is a major requirement for client/server environments. We disagree with Microsoft's definition of reliability, which is summarized on Microsoft's chart on page 3 as "tightly integrated security", "built-in fault tolerance", "integrated systems and network management services", and "application and system integrity". Removing the words "tightly", "integrated", and "built-in", per the discussion above, OS/2 and its family of flexible extensions is delivering virtually all of what Microsoft is referring to, plus many more important IBM exclusives, and IBM PSP has demonstrated or announced products that extend our lead as the premier provider of client/server solutions." "The Microsoft document also has distorted Windows 3.0 and Windows 3.1 volumes to emphasize Windows market acceptance. There is no dispute that Microsoft has achieved market success with the Windows 3.x family, but what is misleading about the document is that it uses Windows 3.x volumes when comparing to OS/2's market presence, but uses Windows NT's features when comparing product lines." Given these overall observations, we would like to address the statements one by one. Microsoft Claim: "It [OS/2 2.1] does not run Windows applications as well as Windows does." IBM Response: OS/2 2.1 includes actual Windows 3.1 code to provide Microsoft Windows 3.1 functionality and compatibility. OS/2 can also provide Windows applications with key client/server features, such as crash protection and pre-emptive multitasking, by running them in separate Virtual DOS Machines (VDMs). (These are features that Microsoft presentations concede will not be supported in Windows NT for 16-bit Windows 3.1 applications.) Microsoft Claim: "Today, OS/2 does not support key Windows features [such] as dynamic data exchange (DDE), object linking and embedding (OLE) and even cut and paste between separate Windows virtual device machines (VDMs)." IBM Response: Not true. OS/2's public clipboard enables DDE and cut-and-paste to work correctly between Windows applications in separate Windows VDMs (OLE works correctly between applications in the same Windows VDM, which is equivalent to Windows NT OLE support). Microsoft Claim: "IBM has no single strategy ... long-term, IBM is working on eight different operating systems." IBM Response: IBM recognizes that there is no "one size fits all" strategy when it comes to customer computing environments. The number of operating systems offered by IBM is a result of our long-term leadership in helping customers develop mission-critical systems to meet their needs on a wide variety of hardware platforms. The breadth of IBM offerings is underscored by a singular commitment to serve our customers. On the Intel-compatible platform alone, Microsoft has at least eight operating systems supporting their strategy: Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, Windows NT Advanced Server, Chicago, Cairo, Modular Windows, and Winpad, all of which have differences in their application programming interfaces (APIs). Microsoft Claim: "IBM embraces Windows." IBM Response: It is true that the IBM PC Company resells Windows, and may also pre-load Windows NT when customers request it. IBM recommends OS/2 and its client/server extensions over Windows and Windows NT because it is a superior platform for client/server computing. Microsoft Claim: "Key ISVs, such as Micrografx, are halting their OS/2 development efforts ... " IBM Response: This statement is incorrect. OS/2 Professional magazine published the following in the May 1993 issue: "PC Week recently published an article saying Micrografx was not behind OS/2. On the contrary, J. Paul Grayson, Micrografx CEO, says the company has more people working on OS/2 than ever before. Grayson says Mirrors is doing very well, and they are evaluating new directions for OS/2 products. Among Micrografx's OS/2 offerings are Designer and Windows Draw. Grayson also reportedly attempted to get the PC Week article corrected prior to publication, but was unsuccessful." Microsoft Claim: "... 25 million customers are using Windows already ..." IBM Response: While the shipment volumes of Windows is granted, there are several reasons to question the number of actual Windows users. First, the 25 million number is the number of shipments since Windows 3.0. Most users of Windows 3.0 have upgraded to OS/2 or Windows 3.1. Second, 60 percent of all PCs ship with Windows pre-installed, whether the user intends to use it or not. Last October, Windows magazine estimated that only 1/3 of all Windows shipments were actually being used. Microsoft Claim: "Windows 3.1 leverages existing hardware and software better." IBM Response: It is a pretty safe assumption that most of the PCs that are running Windows 3.1 are 386 or above class machines with 32-bit architectures. While Windows 3.1 runs on more existing machine configurations, it does not fully exploit the capabilities of those machines like OS/2 2.x can, since Windows 3.1 is a 16-bit DOS extender running on 32-bit hardware. In addition, there are more software packages that run on OS/2 2.1, since it runs DOS, Windows 3.1, and advanced 32-bit OS/2 applications. Microsoft Claim: "... Usage of OS/2 has dwindled. This is because Windows NT best addresses customer requirements for high-end operating systems." IBM Response: Contrary to Microsoft's claims, usage of OS/2 has not "dwindled". Shipments of OS/2 2.0 exceed all previous releases of OS/2 combined, and OS/2 2.1 has had a very positive reception in the market and is currently shipping in high volumes. "The assertion that Windows NT best addresses requirements for high-end operating systems is subjective and unsupported. A phone survey done by Communications Week for their 19 April issue asked the question "Which operating system is more strategic to your enterprise network: IBM's OS/2 or Microsoft's forthcoming Windows NT?" Over 1,400 votes were cast for OS/2, with only 75 cast for NT (95 percent to 5 percent)." "The primary correction (besides the inaccuracies about OS/2) is to include Windows 3.1, Microsoft's high-volume client OS. As you can see, it fails Microsoft's own criteria as a client for client/server computing. By these criteria, Microsoft's strategy might be looked at as a server/server strategy." Microsoft Claim: "Windows NT is the most powerful, reliable and open operating system for client-server computing." IBM Response: This statement is subjective and unsupported. Microsoft Claim: "NT runs on all Intel 386/486 and compatible CPUs and will take full advantage of Intel's Pentium processor." IBM Response: This is not correct. The recommended minimum environment for NT is either a very fast (25 MHz+) 386 or 486 processor with 12 to 16 MB of memory. International Data Corporation estimates this to be only 20 percent of the installed base of PCs. OS/2, on the other hand, runs on 386SX or above processors, and requires less memory (6 to 8 MB recommended). Microsoft Claim: "OS/2 2.x only runs on the Intel x86 platform. IBM claims they are porting OS/2 to the Mach kernel, but this means creating an entirely new OS, which is a long and difficult project. For example, Windows NT took over four and one-half years to develop and spent over a year and one-half in large-scale external testing." IBM Response: To compare the development of an OS/2 personality that works on top of the IBM microkernel (Mach-based) to the development of Windows NT is very misleading. Windows NT was developed from scratch to provide complex, high-end operating system functions that are not available in the DOS/Windows environment, such as multitasking, multi-threading, 32-bit memory model, high-performance file system, etc. OS/2 already has all these high-end features, and we do not have to "create" an entirely new operating system to move them to a microkernel environment. We also do not need to "create" the Mach microkernel, which is an established code base developed by Carnegie Mellon University, and is adopted, approved, and licensed by the Open Software Foundation. Microsoft, on the other hand, decided to build the kernel for NT from scratch (which they admit is a long and difficult project). In doing so, they have also decided to keep their operating system proprietary, not truly open to the industry. IBM, on the other hand, is in the process of licensing our microkernel technology to various industry players. Microsoft Claim: "OS/2 2.x does not support multiprocessor systems." IBM Response: As mentioned earlier, OS/2 currently supports the multiprocessing (asymmetric) PS/2 195 and 295 (available today), and OS/2 2.x was demonstrated on a variety of symmetric multiprocessing machines at COMDEX/Spring '93 and PC Expo 1993. Microsoft Claim: "OS/2 does not have integration between 16-bit Windows and 32-bit OS/2 applications. In addition, integration features such as OLE and DDE do not work between separate 16-bit Windows VDMs. In many cases, simple cuts and pastes between VDMs do not work properly." IBM Response: As stated earlier, OS/2's public clipboard enables DDE and cut-and-paste to work correctly between application in separate Windows VDMs (OLE works correctly between applications in the same Windows VDM, which is equivalent to Windows NT OLE support). We also support cut-and-paste and DDE between Windows and OS/2 applications. Microsoft Claim: "This [NT's] complete memory protection prevents errant applications from corrupting data, interfering with other applications, or damaging the system." IBM Response: This is not correct. Because NT runs all 16-bit Windows applications in a single address space, it is possible for one of these applications to interfere with one of the others running in that same space. This can happen between 16-bit Windows applications under Windows 3.0 and 3.1 in the form of UAEs and GPFs, respectively, and can continue to happen under Windows NT. Microsoft Claim: "IBM's strategy ... [is to] show that Windows NT is broken." IBM Response: This is not correct. IBM does not believe that Windows NT is broken. It is late, still unavailable, and definitely unproven. We do, however, believe that Microsoft's client/server strategy and products are not as good as ours, as we offer a more reliable, comprehensive, and available set of client/server solutions. Microsoft Claim: "IBM has promised these features and others that Windows NT has today for the future, but equivalent functionality is still one to three years out." IBM Response: Windows NT is not generally available today, and Microsoft's statements do not reflect IBM's priorities or product plans. OS/2 has a 15-month lead as an available 32-bit operating system, and has features Microsoft does not plan to ship in Windows NT 3.1, such as an object-oriented Workplace Shell user interface and our System Object Model, which incorporates object technology directly into the operating system to allow object reuse between different object languages. In addition, we have announced delivery for the third quarter of 1993, and are beta-testing Distributed SOM, which allows object communication and re-use over networks, between different languages, and potentially even different operating systems (e.g., AIX and OS/2). In addition, IBM has recently stated its intent to use OpenDoc technology from Apple for compound document integration that will support SOM and DSOM, providing application integration across multiple operating systems, including UNIX, and across networks (both of which are features that are lacking in OLE 2.0 from Microsoft). OpenDoc is vendor-independent, and has growing industry support from major players, including IBM, Apple, Novell, WordPerfect, and Borland. Microsoft Claim: "Windows NT is compatible with Windows 16-bit and MS-DOS applications." IBM Response: We believe NT will be compatible with the high-volume applications, but Microsoft will not focus on compatibility for lower-volume or home-grown applications. Also, DOS and Windows applications that ship with and use a DOS device driver will not run under NT without modification unless a new device driver is supplied. Microsoft Claim: "Windows NT's 16-bit application protection model provides error trapping between applications and more importantly provides full integration between applications. OS/2's model breaks application integration." IBM Response: The error-trapping mechanism in Windows 3.1 (and NT) for 16-bit applications is not the same thing as the true protection that OS/2 provides for all applications by running them under separate processes. Error trapping just notifies the user once the damage has been done, and recommends the user reboot (Windows 3.1) or restart the Windows subsystem (Windows NT). Also, as stated earlier, Microsoft is incorrect about OS/2's ability to support DDE and cut-and-paste between Windows applications in separate VDMs, and OLE works correctly between applications in the same Windows VDM, which is equivalent to Windows NT OLE support. Also, IBM has announced its intention to support OpenDoc, which will provide compound document integration across multiple operating system types, including UNIX, and over networks, which are features that OLE 2.0 does not support. Microsoft Claim: "Neither OS/2 nor Windows NT runs on [Intel 386 systems with 4 MB of RAM]." IBM Response: This is incorrect. OS/2 does run on 4MB Intel 386 systems (although 6 to 8 MB are recommended). Windows NT does not. Microsoft Claim: "IBM Asserts: OS/2 2.1 runs Windows applications faster than Windows NT on identical hardware ... Windows NT performance is equivalent to OS/2 2.1." IBM Response: Some independent performance tests on Windows NT and OS/2 have been described on public bulletin boards that have drawn the conclusion that DOS and Windows applications run faster on OS/2 than on Windows NT; however, IBM has not and will not "assert" anything officially until the Windows NT code is made generally available. Microsoft Claim: "Microsoft has met every development milestone with Windows NT and plans to deliver it as promised in Q2 1993." IBM Response: The following would seem to suggest otherwise: MacWeek, 13 July 1992: "NT is on track to ship by the end of the year [1992] and is expected to cost less than 500 USD, Gates said." Computer Reseller News, 28 September 1992: "Walker says that Windows NT will ship during the first few months of 1993." Newsbytes, 28 September 1992: "The new date is now 'early 1993', with Microsoft officials saying that it 'needs more time to respond to customer suggestions for improvements in the Windows NT system'." Software magazine, December 1992: "At the ITAA conference ... Mike Maples, Microsoft's executive vice president, said NT would ship in April." InfoWorld, 15 March 1993: "NT could ship to customers later than the promised date of 30 June, but no more than 30 days late, Walker said." Windows World, Spring 1993: Gates said in his keynote address that Windows NT would ship within 60 days [by 22 July] and that Windows NT Advanced Server would ship within 30 days of Windows NT [by 21 August]. PC Week, 5 July 1993: "Gates also said Microsoft will ship Windows NT by the end of the month [July] ...". --------------- COREL KODAK MOMENT Later in August, Corel will release a series of Kodak PhotoCD products called "Corel Professional Photos". They plan to release more than 40 titles within the next two months and will have approximately 100 by the year's end. Each title will have an SRP of $49.95. Corel plans to donate $1 for each CD registration to Child Find, a charity that locates missing children. There are 100 images per disk, all royalty free and compatible with both PC and Mac. Included on the disks are utilities to aid the user in manipulating and utilizing the images. There will be a screen saver and wallpaper flipper utility along with Corel Mosaic (visual file manager) and Corel PhotoCD Lab (slide show program). There will also be five musical accompaniments to each disk along with the excellent Corel-Audio CD player. Some of the first titles will include the Arctic, birds, churches, insects, lingerie, Porsches, sunrises and sunsets, and trees. --------------- INFORMS A lot of people who manage large numbers of forms have been waiting for this one for some time. I don't have the time to really get into the program, and have no need for such a thing in my businesses. (I do have a dealer copy though.) I saw the package demonstrated at a WordPerfect rollout and the reps put it through its paces better than I could. It's impressive. Not only can you create forms, fill them in on the screen and print them out - but you can link them with any popular database format. Forms can be easily distributed throughout a network and a QBE feature makes queries easy. The electronic signature feature is one WordPerfect is particularly proud of. After you electronically sign a form, that form cannot be modified using a TamperSeal technology. This is a two-part package. Within a corporation, only a few people are likely to need the designer module. The filler module is the one more people will probably use. You also get the standard spell checker, ATM, over 100 form templates, calculations with over 120 functions, and Bitstream TrueType fonts. If you need to manage numerous forms across a network, this is the one that will certainly fill your needs. --------------- NEW SOUND CHIPS Media Vision is now offering OEMs two new chip sets - the Jazz and Jazz 16 - with low power consumption for adding sound to laptops. The Jazz chip set includes the MVD1208 8-bit audio controller, the MVA408 8-bit code and the MVA514 mixer. The Jazz 16 includes the 16-bit MVD1216 audio controller, the MVA416 16-bit codec, and the same mixer used n the Jazz chip set. Each chip set can play and record either mono or stereo sound at up to 44.1kHz. ================================= 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 486- 50 with 8 megs of memory, Diamond Stealth Pro VESA VLB (1 MB), 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, America Online, 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 America Online: RumOR RaG