RAndY's RumOR RaG January 1995 NEWS IN YER FACE The Flexible PC Company is working on a voice interface computer that will fit on your belt. It consists of flexible PCMCIA cards that process and transmit voice commands between a person using a speaker or earphone and the memory and processor cards. The cards can then be plugged into a free-standing computer for input into a data network. --------------- IBM sent out a promo pack to computer industry media which included a version of Warp and a bunch of pro-Warp information. Some reviews were less than glorious except for one which ran in Infoworld. Seems their review was written by a free-lancer who also worked for IBM - and he created the reviewers' guide for Warp! --------------- Compaq has filed a lawsuit against Packard Bell which claims that Packard Bell violated three Compaq technology patents. No one is talking specifics, but it has to do with some of Packard Bell's desktop and notebook computers. --------------- In an effort to boost sales, Lotus is selling their OS/2 SmartSuite with OS/2 Warp for $219. BT&T Consumer Technology is going to give away 250,000 copies of their OS/2 tax return program Taxdollars 1994. --------------- A test of an experimental telephone voting system in Alberta, Canada became a debacle recently. Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company claimed the system could handle 500 calls per minute, but when 11,000 people tried to vote in less than six hours, the system came to a screeching halt. Thousands of voters couldn't get through and others were told their personal identification numbers had already been used. --------------- Corel says they'll develop for both OS/2 Warp and Windows 95. While not elaborating on which of their titles will be released for Warp, the ones they choose will be released next year. --------------- Take a look at the anti-capitalist liberals who want the Justice Department to look into Microsoft's acquisition of Intuit - Howard Metzenbaum, Paul Simon, and Ted Kennedy. (More people died at Chappaquidick than at Three Mile Island) --------------- "Today we have to turn PCs off and on. When you leave a restroom, the toilet flushes automatically." - Apple CEO Michael Spindler, explaining that the computer industry has a long way to go to be truly user friendly. --------------- Seems like Gateway computers have trouble running Windows NT 3.5. Sometimes the software can't be installed or runs poorly on their 486 and Pentium-based computers. Gateway insiders claim it may be because the company uses antiquated video cards and old CD- ROM drives in order to cut costs. --------------- Microsoft's At Work effort has hit the brakes with plans to narrow the technology as a part of Windows 95. Originally seen as a standard operating system architecture and interface for fax and copy machines and office telephones, the efforts have been largely unsuccessful. --------------- Swan Technologies has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was promptly picked up by Zenith Data Systems. --------------- Intel is looking to introduce a 120mhz Pentium in late first quarter of 1995 and is delaying the P24T overdrive until January. Wonder if they'll fix the floating point bug. --------------- Corel has licensed CAD technology for their Windows 95 product which will also be used in a separate product, CorelCAD. --------------- WARP It's here today - a 32-bit operating system that runs your DOS and Windows programs! You don't have to wait until next year. I ran the OS/2 Warp Beta II for a little while and found it a tremendous improvement over version 2.x. Now the real thing is here and I'm just a little disappointed. Installation from CD takes a while but it's better than doing the floppy shuffle. The IBM BonusPak is provided on a second CD. What you'll see after the installation is a new OS/2 with animated folders, good multimedia support, and numerous options to make the system as colorful and as noisy as you want. The big disappointment is that the general release product runs slower than the beta did. What's with that? I'm running with 8 megs and I know it should be faster. Sometimes when double-clicking an object, it can take several seconds for the icons in the folder to appear. On the plus side, in the beta version, installing Windows support rendered my Windows for Workgroups 3.11 unrunable from normal DOS. It would hang up after a few seconds of the title screen. The commercial release of Warp doesn't do that so I don't need to keep backups of my WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI, and WIN.COM. (I still do anyway.) Running Windows from OS/2 still makes the mouse a little sluggish, even after setting the idle sensitivity to 100. The BonusPak included in the package contains several mini- applications ranging from Internet access tools to a bare-bones integrated package called IBM Works to conferencing software. Kiss 12 megs of your hard drive goodbye. IBM Works is pretty sparse, but at least lets you do something with your new operating system. What did you expect, SmartSuite? A stripped down version of HyperACCESS is included and is installed in a folder someone jokingly called the IBM Information Superhighway. At least they still have a sense of humor. Although the comm software is a Lite version, it will still get you online easily and whet your whistle for something more robust. I couldn't test the Internet tools because I don't have Internet access. The point here is that this is a tested 32-bit operating system that is here TODAY. And with Warp, I don't have to get all new software. Everything I have works just fine. I still say that OS/2 is a better DOS than DOS. IBM is selling this pretty cheap and you owe it to yourself to at least check it out. If you've got the system resources I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at what OS/2 has become. Says Dan Lautenbach, VP of IBM's personal software products division, "Our manufacturing facility is working round-the-clock to fill channel orders and help us build inventory." --------------- THE PENTIUM DEBACLE By now you've sure heard about the bug found in the Pentium chip. As I write this, IBM has temporarily ceased selling Pentium-based computers and Intel is distributing a software fix which will disable the instruction which causes the error. In case you've missed out, here's what happened. Electronic Engineering Times recently reported a floating- point bug in the Pentium chip. Intel quickly provided a fix, but did not seem sorry. One spokesman said, "this doesn't even qualify as an errata. The casual user might see [the glitch] once every 27,000 years." Some scientific users who were affected did feel slighted and caused Intel CEO Andy Grove to issue the following apology via Internet: "I am truly sorry for the anxiety created among you ... It's clear ... some of you are very angry at us." A local user came up with these jokes regarding this problem: What's another name for the "Intel Inside" sticker they put on Pentiums? The Warning Label. What algorithm did Intel use in the Pentium floating-point divider? "Life is like a box of chocolates." F. Gump - Intel Why didn't Intel call the Pentium the 586? Because they added 486 and 100 on the first Pentium and got 585.99983605 According to Intel, the Pentium conforms to the IEEE standards 754 and 854 for floating-point arithmetic. If you fly an aircraft designed using a Pentium, what is the correct pronunciation of IEEE? Aaaaaaaiiiiiiiiieieeeeeeeee! Here are some new reasons for buying a Pentium: Your old PC is too accurate; provides a good alibi when the IRS calls; attracted by Intel's new "You don't need to know what's inside" ad campaign; you've always wondered what it would be like to be a plaintiff; current paperweight is not big enough; you always round off to the nearest hundred anyway. Meanwhile, Microsoft is planning to put floating-point emulation into Windows NT. The emulation package will likely be distributed as a patch to NT customers early next year. There are now reports that the Calculator applet shipped with Windows has a bug having to do with subtracting numbers that end in .01. Wall Street moguls Smith Barney checked 600 Pentium computers shortly after Thanksgiving and replaced 200 with new Pentiums which were flown in from Intel. The remaining 400 computers were to have new chips by the end of the year. Intel's Andy Grove recently said, "I think [the Pentium situation] has renewed contact with individuals and heightened our appreciation for OEMs and end users of our products." The Internal Revenue Service has proclaimed that they won't accept excuses from taxpayers that their Pentium caused an error in a tax return. Says the IRS, "If the flaw causes an error in a spreadsheet incorporated into a tax return submitted by a taxpayer, the individual is ultimately responsible." --------------- WINDOWS 95 UPDATE It's difficult to be right all the time, but it's a burden I'll gladly bear. Just a week ago (as I write this) I read where Microsoft was sticking to their first half of 1995 ship date. At that time (actually before that) I said that this was a clue that they were getting ready to push back the date. Of course I was right. By my calculations (not using a Pentium), August is month #8 which leaves Microsoft with only 4 months to market a product containing the year in it's title. What will happen next January 1? Looks like a good time to send out the maintenance release. You've likely heard about the Internet joke where Microsoft was buying the Catholic Church. Actually, Bill Gates would live to buy the church so he could extend the calendar three months so Microsoft won't have to change the name for Windows 95. Given the current situation regarding Windows 95, I predict that they'll change the name before it's released. Microsoft has an agreement with China's Ministry of Electronics Industry for a Chinese language version of Windows 95. Microsoft has set the minimum memory requirement at 4 megs, but they're now recommending using at least 8 megs. Meanwhile, independent software vendors are not going to react well to the news of Windows 95's delay. This will send companies scrambling to continue work on 16-bit projects while maintaining development of 32-bit applications. For example, Novell is planning to release both 16-bit and 32-bit suites in 1995 as well as interactive CD-ROM games. The $30 pre-release versions of Windows 95 will not be available until the end of March. Boy, there's a surprise! --------------- WINDOWS 95 PREVIEW I recently had the opportunity to work with the Beta 2 October 1994 release of Windows 95. Much attention has been given in the press to this vaporware and I wanted to see if it was living up to the hype. You who follow the RaG know that I have been critical of Microsoft and the hoopla surrounding Windows 95. I continue to be concerned. I have some concerns over the method Microsoft has chosen to structure memory which can lead to problems running present day 16-bit applications. And, of course, they're not going to make it to market by June 30th. Rather than tell you everything Windows 95 has, you can read that in any of the end-user magazines. What I will attempt to do here is present information based on what I saw and did with this beta release and draw some comparisons with OS/2 Warp. To begin, the installation was from 17 disks and went flawlessly. The installation procedure asked if I had either a network card or a CD-ROM, beyond that it sniffed out my configuration quite well. Expect installation from floppies to take about 45 minutes. I've heard of others taking all day to do it. Go for the CD. Windows 95 did not want to install on any drive other than C. I had been running with Boot Manager and OS/2 on my second hard drive. Microsoft wants it on your first hard drive - period. I have to give credit to Microsoft's art department. They've done a fantastic job of making the operating system look pretty. The attention to detail is very good and the overall look is pleasing yet professional. The obvious first question is "how fast is it?" I've worked with OS/2 Warp and the speed in the release product was disappointingly slower than the Beta. But the speed of the Windows 95 beta was impressive. The whole system really snaps. It's much faster than the best tweaked Windows you'll find today. The way you start a program is easy enough, but I'm wondering if I'll tire of having to click on Start, then maneuver through the pop-up menus. I didn't get a chance to go through much of the help system to see if there's a way to assign a keystroke to an application as you can do now. I would favor this approach. But I do like the way that the fly-out menus appear just by passing the mouse cursor over a menu option. All the reviewers are going nuts over the Explorer. I don't know why. It's just a glorified File Manager. I'm not impressed. I had to hunt like hell to find where I go to format a disk. And can someone tell me what useful function the "My Computer" serves? I realize that it provides access to the control panel and drive icons, but these are features that are duplicated elsewhere. The Macintosh has a garbage can and OS/2 uses a shredder for deleting files. Leave it to politically correct Microsoft to give us a recycling bin. You are given the option of immediately deleting files which are dragged to the bin or waiting until a user-defined number of objects accumulate. Interestingly, Scandisk and Defrag are run from the graphical interface rather than from a command line. The whole interface is quite customizable. Clicking with the right mouse button on any object lets you adjust that object's properties (like OS/2). Everything is very intuitive - I didn't need any kind of documentation to make it work. They've done something to Video for Windows (WinG?) so that AVI files are much smoother and not quite so pixelated. You won't think it's a live video signal but it's much better than we've seen so far. Unfortunately, you're still stuck with a small window. The creative artists have also run wild. When you copy a file, you get a dialog box with a file folder on each side. As the copying progresses, papers fly out of the left folder and drift across the box into the other folder. Cute, but a waste of clock cycles. Overall, it's impressive for this stage of beta testing. I wonder if they'll bloat the code by the time it's released so that it performs like a 286. Wanna bet? --------------- MORE NEWS IN YER FACE Microsoft will give Windows NT the interface of Windows 95 sometime next summer. They'll port the interface within 90 days of Windows 95's release (whenever that is). Says a Microsoft official, "it will be part of the normal NT service packs we send out to users." --------------- Members of HOPE (Hackers On Planet Earth) recently held a 10th anniversary celebration for their quarterly magazine for hackers called 2600. While at a New York hotel which hosted the shindig, members hacked the hotel's computer system, built phone dialing machines, and tried to produce a new magnetic subway fare card. --------------- Somewhere on the Internet is a program called PentiuMath which "simulates" Pentium performance. For example, if you enter 2x2 you get 3.999286 for the answer. A version for the Newton is also available. It's a joke, get it? --------------- Hundreds of citizens have sent letters to new members of the House of Representatives asking support for free online access to congressional documents. Besides the documents already available online, things like Congressional Research Service reports and Federal Election Commission campaign filings are being requested. As I get ready to release this month's RaG, this is a done deal. --------------- Geoworks has started testing the Geos operating system on Intel's 486-based chip (code-named Hummingbird) which is designed for handheld devices. --------------- Media Vision has come out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A court approved their reorganization plan and the SEC. They are expected to be traded on NASDAQ soon. --------------- The Utopia front end for Windows that I talked about last month will be released on March 31 under the name of Bob. This is a hokey interface that lets you assume one of different personalities and maneuver through various rooms to perform tasks. The price is that you'll need at least a 486 with 8 megs of memory. Whoopee - doo. --------------- IBM has released an update to Warp's Klondike and Chess games. They've just added some bells and whistles, but nothing remarkable. You can find the file on any of the pay services. --------------- ENCARTA 95 If you want a preview of the interface for Windows 95, check out the new version of Encarta. This has always been my favorite multimedia encyclopedia and Microsoft has kept improving on it. Of course there are new articles, new video clips, new animations, and just a bunch of new stuff in general. There are even a few interactive activities which are fun and interesting. But it's the interface that's the big news here. You get the same fly-out style of menus that open as you pass the mouse over them as Windows 95 will have if they ever release it (couldn't resist that one). They've done something to Video for Windows because the AVI files now play much smoother and considerably less pixelated. This looked to me like the same technology used in the Windows 95 beta that I tested - very impressive. The sound is also improved with less hiss than previous versions. The politically correct theme of many subjects continues to show through. It's probably from drinking too much latte on the Redmond campus. If you can overlook the liberal bias on some of the cultural and political subjects you'll still be pleased. The street price is running about $75 for Encarta 95 and that's an excellent value. Go try to buy a set of encyclopedias and videos for that price. --------------- MS GOLF 2 If there's anything more boring than actually playing golf, it would have to be watching someone else play it on TV. Computer golf games generate the same level of excitement for me. Microsoft has enhanced their popular Windows-based Golf game to allow more customization of the on-screen players (different colored hair, shirts, and skin). The photo-realistic backgrounds are even better and they include a utility to convert any other courses you're using now. Golf now gives you lessons for aiming your shot, improving your play, etc. They're including the Firestone Country Club now so if you've got the first version you've immediately got two different courses to play. Scorecards print out much more attractively. I found the swing and putting to be more sensitive than before. Older courses which have been converted give poor detail in the distance but that's really no big deal. The rendering overall is much better and you now see the players and course in a full-width screen view instead of the little window you had before. You've still got the sounds of the outdoors and comments on your shots. Microsoft uses the Win32s extensions; for what reason I'm not sure. If you liked the first version, you'll like this one. --------------- NEXT MONTH Beats me what'll turn up. I'll probably never see one of those new Microsoft keyboards so that's likely out. Some months I have an idea of what I'll be talking about next month, other times I don't. Next month will be a surprise to both of us. ================================= DISCLAIMER RAndY's RumOR RaG is published on a monthly basis by RANDALL AINSWORTH PHOTOGRAPHY and is available on various local BBS's, GEnie, and in Modem News. In case anyone cares, RAndY's RumOR RaG is produced on a 486- 50 with 8 megs of memory, 420 MB Connor IDE hard drive, 105MB 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, Word for Windows and transmitted through a US Robotics HST Dual Standard modem. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Feel free to distribute RAndY's RumOR RaG or post it as you see fit. Comments should be addressed to Randall Ainsworth Photography on GEnie, via phone, analog mail, or whatever method makes you feel good. RANDALL AINSWORTH PHOTOGRAPHY 605 W. Wishkah Aberdeen, WA 98520-6031 (206) 533-6647 GEnie Address: RAG