RAndY's RumOR RaG September 1992 NEWS IN YER FACE Microsoft has finally released their Windows 3.1/DOS 5 bundle which includes a one-step setup procedure. Suggested list price is $199.95. And speaking of bundles, it's rumored that Microsoft is considering adding Access (the home-grown database) to its Office suite. Lotus is rumored to be prepared to counter with a database in SmartSuite (Acefile?). By the end of Microsoft's fiscal fourth quarter, they claim to have shipped more than 3 million retail copies of Windows 3.1. I hear that Microsoft is working on a Windows 3.1 "lite" that could run decently on 286 systems. The reason behind this much denied product is so that Microsoft could penetrate non-US markets where 286-based computers are plentiful (Spain, for example). --------------- Word has it that Computer Associates and Micrografx are both looking at buying out Software Publishing. --------------- Apple Computer Inc. will include direct access to Kodak Photo CD systems in the next version of QuickTime. While the Photo CD imaging currently requires a workstation, by mid-1993 Kodak hopes to bring the capability to the desktop using the Macintosh. --------------- You've no doubt read about Wang filing Chapter 11. My only question is why did it take so long? Here is a partial list of their creditors and the amounts owed, just in case you were wondering: IBM Credit $2.7M Microsoft $2.1M Seagate $2.1M Hewlett-Packard$1.9M Panasonic $1M Intel $992.8K Canon USA $770.9K --------------- Hewlett-Packard is introducing a product called Dashboard for Windows. It's designed like a car's dashboard and gives users precision control over the Windows desktop. --------------- Borland is working on getting a surprise upgrade to dBase IV 1.5 out the door this fall. Meanwhile, don't expect to see dBase for Windows before June 1993. --------------- Novell has introduced an enhanced version of NetWare Lite and will bundle it with DR DOS. --------------- Demand for the Cyrix 486 chips is far exceeding demand. Once Cyrix's second source agreement with Texas Instruments kicks in later this month, more product should be available. --------------- By the time you read this, Intel should have announced the 66MHZ 486DX2 processor. This is the high-end speed doubler and Intel hopes to ship 20,000 initially. Volume shipments are not expected until September. A number of major hardware vendors have lined up to support the new chip. Running Windows, it is expected you'll see a 30% improvement over a 486DX-50. --------------- Recently, the HST Dual Standard modem was shrunk to fit in a smaller case. Now, they've added faxing capabilities. If you own a Dual Standard, call US Robotics Customer Service for information on how to upgrade. Basically, you send your modem in and they send you a new one - oh yeah, it costs $299 (depending upon the vintage of your old modem). Seems kinda pricey when I can buy a plain fax card for less than half that. I'll have to think about it. --------------- Things may heat up when Borland gets more into Windows applications. Borland lacks a word processor to bundle in a package (like Office and SmartSuite), but there is speculation that they may offer a DOS version of Quattro Pro with the Windows version, calling it a "transition pack". A source close to Borland said, "that's vintage Philippe because it would tick everyone off." --------------- MULTI-TECH FIGHTS HAYES You've probably seen advertisements in the magazines concerning Hayes' Test Kit which checks to see if your modem uses proper escape sequences (some don't). Basically, you transfer a test file and if it aborts, your modem has a problem with escape sequences. On July 29, Hayes received an order from a Minneapolis court in response to claims by Multi-Tech that Hayes' recent campaign and the related Test Kit are causing Multi-Tech to lose sales. Multi- Tech claims that if a modem is set to recognize the TIES escape sequence, the data file contained in the Test Kit will cause the modem to escape into command mode, the transmission of the data file will stop, and the computer user will think that the modem is fatally flawed. Hayes was surprised to learn that Multi-Tech had abandoned the proven, reliable escape sequence technology that has become a "Hayes" standard. The court refused to stop Hayes advertisements, but issued a ten-day order stopping distribution of the Test Kit. --------------- WORDPERFECT NEWS Last month I reported on the new DrawPerfect packages that are in the works. Now they've changed the name, and Drawperfect will be called WordPerfect Presentations. They're now saying that the DOS version will be released in early 4th quarter of 1992 and the Windows version will be released later in the 4th quarter. One of the features I just noticed is banner printing (might be for networks though). The product will support 20 popular sound cards, contain over 100 MIDI files of music clips, and lets you record and playback both WAV and VOC files. The DOS English-Canada version of WordPerfect 5.1 is now shipping an interim release dated 3/9/92. It corrects some minor problems with the software and includes a new macro. Expect to see the debut of WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS at Fall Comdex. I don't know anything about features, but officials say that a beta version may be available by then. I wouldn't be surprised to see them do like Microsoft did with Word and produce a DOS word processor that looks like the Windows version. --------------- BORLAND NEWS The ship date for Quattro Pro for Windows has slipped by several more weeks. Borland denies that the removal of the lotus slash-key interface was to blame. (Borland removed the Lotus-like segments following the recent court ruling that Quattro Pro for DOS infringed on Lotus' copyrighted menu command structures.) Borland insiders say that this ruling may get the product out faster since the 1-2-3 compatibility would be removed and not require testing. They also claimed that the 1-2-3 compatibility layer was removed because it was "obsolete" and "no longer needed . . . because users are used to a graphical interface." Another problem is pulling all references to the 1-2-3 interface from the documentation. I'm glad that Borland's not bitter over this court decision. Said Spencer Leyton, senior vice president of business development for Borland, "If Lotus had an operating system, my bet is they wouldn't want anybody to support it." Beta testers continue to say that some features of Quattro Pro for Windows are superior to Excel 4.0. By the time you read this, Paradox 4.0 (DOS) should be on the shelves. Support for multimedia objects, event trapping, faster query performance, and extended PAL commands are among things to look forward to. --------------- VENTURA UPDATE I tried the Ventura for Windows 4.0.1 update. This update is supposed to fix some problems in the initial release and speed loading of the program. It now takes longer to load than before! First I tried loading one of the example files and it locked up the computer. Next I reloaded the program (after rebooting) and it locked up before the program was loaded. Third - DEL *.* Why did Ventura Publisher for Windows ship with a version of ATM that will not work under Windows 3.1? --------------- MS GOLF FOR WINDOWS I haven't played golf since about 1971 - and don't intend to begin in the near future. I've played golf on computers, but the realism has been lacking. Microsoft's new golf game for Windows is definitely something new. The game features photo-realistic backgrounds in 256-color VGA. While they're not full of detail, the effect is excellent. If that's not enough, there are about two dozen WAV files containing sounds of the club hitting the ball, the ball going in the cup, hitting a tree, going in the water, birds, frogs, you name it. These sound effects work best with a sound card, but most can be played without one through a specially designed driver for your PC speaker. You can play with up to eight partners and the options for setting up your shots are plentiful. Before playing a round, you can practice at the driving range or on the putting and chipping greens. At the end of the game, you can even print out your scorecard. My favorite feature is that the game allows "mulligans" (take another shot without a penalty) and "gimmie's" (counting a putt as in when you're close enough to make an easy shot). Additional courses are available from Access Software with a wide variety to choose from. Included in the package is an offer to purchase a special course developed by the folks at Microsoft (only $9.95). Suggested price is $65, but street prices will probably be about $45. --------------- NEW IBM DOS? IBM is working on a graphical interface for DOS that gives the same look and feel of OS/2's Workplace Shell. This new OS/2 "Lite" may fit on 3 disks and carries hardware requirements of a 386 with 2 MB of memory and 10-14MB of disk space. This new DOS will be able to run DOS and Windows applications, but they've left out HPFS, the mini-apps that come with OS/2, and some other extras. IBM is also looking at a version of OS/2 that would be completely bootable from a single disk. Don't expect to see any of this until sometime in 1993. Said one IBM official, "Our goal is to keep DOS small and fast." I guess they've got a sense of humor after all. --------------- MULTIMEDIA UPGRADES Have you ever used a CD-ROM equipped computer? If not, then you're missing out on plenty. Many companies are offering multimedia bundles, usually consisting of a sound card, CD-ROM drive, necessary cabling, and an assortment of CD software. The pricing of these bundles can be quite reasonable. My recommendation is to check out the offerings of Media Vision. (I think their products are superior to Creative Labs.) They offer several different kits at a variety of prices. I recently installed a Pro Audio Spectrum Plus Upgrade Kit and the procedure was relatively painless. Once the card and drive are installed and all the wires connected, it's a simple matter to run the enclosed software and reboot. I was amazed at the speed of the CD drive. After reading countless articles about the slowness of CD drives, I was expecting the worst. However, loading a clipart image from the Corel CD seemed to take no longer than loading from a hard drive. There are lots of software titles being published on CD with more being added daily. With CD drive prices coming down, expect to see an explosion in this area. I find the caddies a nuisance but it looks like everyone uses them. (A caddy is a plastic box that houses the CD when you insert it into the drive. I'm told that the reduction in moving parts makes the drives last longer.) With the exception of encyclopedias and some business and reference materials, the price of CD software is getting quite reasonable. There are plenty of excellent titles available for under $100. Expect more of the big companies to be releasing CD titles in the near future. Remember, as today's programs get larger and larger, distribution on CD doesn't seem such a bad idea anymore. --------------- MICROSOFT SURPRISE Microsoft will soon surprise everyone with the October release of Windows for Workgroups. This bundle of Intel 16-bit Ethernet cards and a special version of Windows was originally scheduled for release in 1993. Windows for Workgroups contains coaxial Intel EtherExpress 16 cards bundled with a special version of Windows 3.1 which has built-in peer-to-peer functionality, electronic mail, and scheduling applications. A good guess for the list price is about $500. Expect an upgrade offer from Windows 3.0 or 3.1 in the range of $60-$100. Also part of the product is networked DDE capability, so you can run DDE applications across several machines transparently. --------------- PRINT SHOP DELUXE It's been a couple of years since we saw an update to the popular Print Shop program. Broderbund is back with a new DOS version which is much more flexible in layouts. Included are over 300 graphics covering a wide variety of subjects. There are 30 fonts that print out without the jagged edges commonly associated with Print Shop. The Print Shop Deluxe includes full page designs and borders and layouts to help you design whatever you're creating. Graphics can be converted to EPS, CGM, PCX, and TIFF for use in other programs. You now need at least a 386SX to run this program along with 1 MB of memory, a hard drive, and VGA. Upgrade from an older version is $39.95. You may want to wait until October when a Windows version is released. --------------- NEXT MONTH Well, I'm still waiting for Sierra On-Line to release Pinball for Windows. I've had it on order for months and they keep pushing back the ship date. Who knows . . . Expect some talk about CD software, in particular Microsoft Bookshelf and other popular titles. Other than that, we'll just see what happens. ================================= 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, 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