RAndY's RumOR RaG April 1994 CHICAGO UPDATE I hear that Microsoft is having trouble deciding how to package Windows 4 as they prepare to release a new beta. Apparently they've floated trial balloons to see the desirability of several versions which require different system resources (versions which require more than the currently suggested 386 with 4MB). Said one independent software vendor, "They're having difficulties fitting what they want into 4 megs and making their date, so their strategy is to have a mixture of components - here is a minimum set that will fit in four megs and here's an add-on if you want more." Microsoft denies that this is a strategy, saying that offering different versions of Chicago for different footprints is "not a packaging strategy that's under consideration." Most OEMs are skeptical that they can get Chicago in less than 8 megs without leaving out some features. --------------- NEWS IN YER FACE Hewlett-Packard will release the LaserJet 4 Plus at less than $1,800. The new printer will increase printing speed from 8 ppm to 12 ppm, be powered by an Intel i960 processor, and offer the PCL5 language at 600 dpi. --------------- They're having trouble getting OLE 2.0 to work right. Testers report that their machines come to a "virtual halt" when trying to embed documents from one application to another. Says one consultant, "The bottom line is that you need at least a 486-50 with 12 megs of RAM to get anything near acceptable." --------------- Intel is has unveiled plans to get into the game market. Look for some possible titles by the end of the year which will take advantage of higher-powered processors. Look for improved graphics and communications capabilities. --------------- Microsoft is scrambling to ship MS-DOS 6.21 which has DoubleSpace and backup compression removed. Delays are expected, but nothing serious. --------------- Aristo-Soft has a package called Talking Icons which includes a cheater's version of Minesweeper and Solitaire along with other talking Windows utilities. --------------- WinFax Pro Version 4 will test an installed modem for compatibility and capability. Attaching documents is as easy as dragging and dropping with cover sheets being able to use multiple fonts within a block of text. A spell checker is included. Right mouse button support is included as is a query-by-form feature for speeding up phone book searches. The dialog boxes have been redesigned for greater consistency. --------------- Intel bought billboard space across from Apple headquarters which suggests that Apple customers think before buying a computer using the PowerPC chip. --------------- Compaq will put Ethernet on their motherboards by using chip sets from AMD. --------------- Look for Microsoft to soon offer Foxpro 2.6 for $99 with a $19.95 upgrade for existing users. This new Foxpro will run dBase IV code. --------------- LIVE OR MEMOREX? Look for Memorex to jump into software in a large way beginning in April. The new titles will be sold through "nontraditional software accounts" such as drug stores and grocery stores. Prices will list from $9.99 to $14.99. Initially there will be 25 titles with as many as 100 by the end of the year. Titles will include things like self-help, personal productivity, edutainment, and games. The software is fully licensed, not shareware. Support will be provided through 900 number access with callers getting the first half-minute free and paying beyond that point. --------------- GOODBYE AMERICA ONLINE I need to let you know that I have cancelled my subscription on America Online. Back in the fall of 1991 I got a call from the guy who runs the PC section of America Online. He had seen the RaG and had gotten requests for it. He asked if it was alright to make the RaG an official part of America Online and I said that was fine. In return, I was to receive 10 free hours of usage per month with no monthly fee. A few months later I turned off my long distance service because the #$%&@&* modem was costing me too much money. America Online has no 800-number service and I was unable to call. After about a year, the complementary subscription was not renewed and repeated communication with my contact person failed to re- establish it. Meanwhile, I was getting charged $11.95 each month. Well, I got tired of being nicked $12 every month for something I was not using. I have therefore cancelled my subscription. I do not mean to criticize America Online, except that they still do not have 800-number access. I have no complaint with their graphical interface or with what is carried on the service. For $12 a month it is not a bad deal - certainly superior to Prah- duh-gee. In the disclaimer section at the end of this issue I have included the phone numbers for two local BBSs where you can obtain the current issue of the RaG if you wish to do it that way. I have had lots of requests from readers wanting to know where they can get current issues. For your information, the RaG is published the first weekend of each month. --------------- MORE NEWS IN YER FACE As you may have noticed, IBM has been fond of using Star Trek names for beta projects. For example, Ferengi was what is now known as OS/2 for Windows. Seems the folks at Paramount who own the rights to Star Trek feel that their legally protected names have been exploited. --------------- In other IBM news, there are two beta projects underway and industry analysts are unsure of what s going on. I've mentioned the development of OS/2 2.2, but there is another project code- named Warp which is a small operating system kernel that will run OS/2 reliably on a 4 meg PC. These appear to be separate developments and the question is - will these be separate upgrades? --------------- WordPerfect has a project, code-named Envoy, which will allow users to view and annotate documents even if they do not have the software that generated the files. Both Mac and Windows versions will be available. They have problems using the name Envoy since there is already a product with that name already, but it will get worked out. --------------- The recent ruling against Microsoft concerning data compression may have an effect on the upcoming Chicago. Some say that it will ship without DoubleSpace, but Steve Ballmer said, "There is and will be compression in Chicago, and [Chicago] will come out on time." --------------- Word is that Novell, WordPerfect, and National Semiconductor are negotiating a low-end bundled network solution. This bundle would include WordPerfect Office, Personal NetWare, and cards and hubs from National Semiconductor, and cables and easy-installation guidelines. The bundle is a month late due to hardware glitches (that means that the cards don't work). --------------- Have you heard about the internal Microsoft memo, allegedly penned by Bill Gates, which states that there will be no reason to buy an Apple once Chicago is released? --------------- Novell has pushed back the expected ship date for the release of NetWare 4.1 beyond the deadline for its special upgrade promotion. They had planned to release Version 4.1 by the summer, but will instead release a maintenance release of Version 4.01 in June which will include bug fixes and patches. --------------- Microsoft recently demonstrated that Chicago will work with NetWare, assuring resellers and others that past incompatibilities will not be repeated. Speaking of Microsoft, look for Access 2.0 to hit the shelves soon. It will support OLE custom controls which lets third party developers plug "applets" into Access applications. There will also be more than 30 Wizards, input masks to validate data as it is entered, support for cascading updates and deletes, customizable tables and queries, and Wizards for mail merge. --------------- Novell recently outlined a plan for a micro-kernel based operating system to be released in 1997. --------------- NEW PIRACY FRONTIER So you probably think that nobody is going to copy a CD, yet a company was recently busted for just such a practice. U.S. Customs officials recently seized move than $200,000 worth of phony CD-ROMs as they arrived in San Francisco from Hong Kong. Among the counterfeited discs were six titles from The Software Toolworks including "The San Diego Zoo Presents The Animals". Apparently there were misspellings on the copied discs like "IBM PC & Compatibes" and "Sandiagozoo". Officials also found illegal merchandise in the Utah offices of C-88 International. --------------- THE BIG MERGER You've no doubt heard by now about the Novell-WordPerfect- Quattro Pro merger. Novell has merged with WordPerfect and the Quattro Pro division of Borland. To me, this makes excellent sense. The stock market thinks otherwise, however. Novell's stock went down when this was announced. But I'm sure Borland could use the $145 million their being paid for Quattro Pro. Look at it this way, you've got the Number One word processor, a spreadsheet that has kicked Lotus' butt since the beginning, combined with the top network system and an operating system. Can you see the killer applications suite here? Time will tell the tale. I think it's a good move for all involved. --------------- DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH In past issues, I have spoken of Diamond products and even endorsed them. A situation has developed recently which requires that I qualify my remarks. Last summer I bought a Diamond Stealth Pro VLB when I upgraded to a local bus motherboard. The card performed well until about December. I started getting lines appearing on the screen and pieces of characters were missing. I talked to the people at Diamond Tech Support and we decided to try upgrading the card's BIOS. That didn't make a difference so they sent me a new card (after I returned mine). The new card worked as it should for about a week - at which point it started acting like the original card. After talking to Diamond Tech Support, it was determined that the card was too slow for my computer. You see, I have a 50MHz machine and the VESA spec only goes to 40MHz. In fairness, Diamond offered to upgrade me to a Viper (which is an excellent card) for a few extra dollars, but could not guarantee that it would not suffer the same fate as my original display card. I decided not to take the chance and asked for a refund. They sent me a fax that they did not offer refunds for their cards. They offered to repair or replace the card if it was defective, but that was it. So, I called my supplier from where the card had been purchased - but they could not even return the card for credit because it was outside of their 90-day warranty. I now have a display card which, to the best of my knowledge, is not defective but won't work on my computer. I did not know of the limitation in bus speed before I bought the card but it looks like I'm stuck with it. I normally do not try to sell stuff through this publication, but if any of you are interested in the Diamond Stealth Pro VLB, please contact me. As best as I can determine there is nothing wrong with the card - but you can't use it reliably on a machine faster than 40MHz. See my number and address in the disclaimer at the end of this issue. --------------- GETTING IT Some people have contacted me and asked where they can get the newest issue of the RaG. There are two local BBSs which will always have the current issue. Check out: COMM-1 at (206) 532-7952 (9600 baud) Hangar 18 at (206) 538-0382 (14.4) I also maintain an conference on Hangar 18 (#101) called "The Facts of Life", which is a forum for discussion of social and political issues from the conservative point of view. Locally I'm considered to be just to the left of Hitler - the Rush Limbaugh of computers. --------------- NEXT MONTH I hope to see the interim release for WordPerfect for Windows. It should be released any day now. I hope it fixes the problems - I'd hate to have to switch to Word. Other than that, I can't think of anything new coming down the pike so we'll just have to wait and see. Catch you later... ================================= 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,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 GEnie Address: RAG