AOL File Library: 9,300 to 9,399/9300.zip/AOLDLs/E-Zines/EZINE_ TidBITS#298 (MAC)/tb298.txt

Text File | 2014-12-11 | 31KB | 608 lines


TidBITS#298/09-Oct-95
=====================

This week we bring you news about new versions of Mosaic and
   Netscape, a continuation of Adam's look at digital cameras, and
   an article about the BeBox, a brand new computer from Be, the
   company started by ex-Apple honcho Jean-Louis Gassee. In this
   issue we also note the outcome of last week's Apple board meeting
   and the easy come, easy go nature of the latest Power Mac
   printing fix.

This issue of TidBITS sponsored in part by:
* APS Technologies -- 800/443-4199 -- <[e-mail]>
   Makers of hard drives, tape drives, and neat SCSI accessories.
   For APS price lists, email: <[e-mail]>
* Northwest Nexus -- 206/455-3505 -- http://www.halcyon.com/
   Providing access to the global Internet. <[e-mail]>
* Hayden Books, an imprint of Macmillan Computer Publishing
   Free shipping on orders via the Web -- http://www.mcp.com/
   Mac Tip of the Day & free books! -- http://www.mcp.com/hayden/
* Power Computing -- 800/375-7693 -- <[e-mail]>
   Now shipping... The Award-Winning First MacOS Compatible!
   See what the press says! http://www.powercc.com/News/quotes.html
* DealBITS: Serving you without interruption since last week.
   http://king.tidbits.com/dealbits/ -- <[e-mail]>

Copyright 1990-1995 Adam & Tonya Engst. Details at end of issue.
   Information: <[e-mail]> Comments: <[e-mail]>
   ---------------------------------------------------------------

Topics:
    MailBITS/09-Oct-95
    Netscape 2.0b1 Now Available
    Extending Digital Cameras
    Being There with the BeBox
    Reviews/09-Oct-95

ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/pub/tidbits/issues/1995/TidBITS#298_09-Oct-95.etx


MailBITS/09-Oct-95
------------------

**Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves** -- Apple's board meeting last
  Tuesday was the subject of wild speculation in the computing
  industry. With diminishing market share, product shortages, a
  shocking $1 billion in unfilled orders, and persistent rumors the
  company will be sold, industry watchers expected extreme pressure
  to be placed on Apple CEO Michael Spindler to produce results or
  step aside. However, it was Joseph Graziano, executive vice
  president and chief financial officer, who announced his immediate
  resignation due to "philosophical differences," and that he would
  leave the company under "amicable" terms by the end of the year.
  Apple investors and shareholders have been increasingly concerned
  about Apple's market share, now estimated at between 7.5 and 8
  percent. Apple affirmed that the company is not for sale and that
  Spindler's job is secure, but warned investors that fourth-quarter
  profits would be "significantly" below projections. [GD]


**eWorld Email Changes** -- Several TidBITS readers on eWorld
  wrote us last week saying they received TidBITS as file
  attachments with a 25K preview rather than as a series of
  messages. These changes are reminiscent of those AOL recently
  inflicted on its users (see TidBITS-292_ and TidBITS-294_);
  however, it looks like the attached files arrive as Macintosh text
  files rather than DOS text files, so at least they're immediately
  useful without conversion. We haven't changed anything about the
  way we send issues to eWorld; if eWorld's new mail handling is
  causing you problems, please ask someone at eWorld about the
  changes. [GD]


**Apple Printing Fix Comes... and Goes** -- Last week, Apple
  released a fix for a crashing problem when printing to already-
  busy network printers using a Power Mac 7200, 7500, 8500, or 9500.
  I'd give you the URL, but two days later Apple yanked the fix off
  its Internet servers, citing unspecified problems. If you managed
  to download and install it in that time, I recommend removing it
  from your System folder. [GD]


**NCSA Mosaic 2.0.1 Available** -- Last Monday, NCSA released
  Mosaic 2.0.1, the browser that started the Web stampede that most
  Internet users risk being trampled under today. Although Mosaic
  2.0.1 isn't faster (or more stable) than its predecessors, it does
  support HTML tables, inline JPEG, some HTML 3.0, and offers good
  control over display characteristics of HTML tags (a feature
  sorely missing from Netscape). [GD]

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/MacMosaic/MacMosaicHome.html
ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu//Mac/Mosaic/


Netscape 2.0b1 Now Available
----------------------------
  by Geoff Duncan <[e-mail]>

  Last Saturday, Netscape released the first public beta of Netscape
  Navigator 2.0. This beta of the "for export" version of Navigator
  weighs in at about 2 MB (binhexed) and comes with a single setup
  program that can install a 68K, PowerPC, or fat binary version. As
  noted in TidBITS-297_, Netscape has seven FTP sites, so if this
  URL refuses connections, put the number 2 through 7 after "ftp" in
  the site name below to access a parallel site. This public beta is
  set to expire on 15-Dec-95.

ftp://ftp.netscape.com//2.0beta/mac/Netscape_2.0b1_Installer.hqx

  Before you ask, no beta version of Navigator Gold - the promised
  edition of Navigator with Web authoring tools - is available, and
  there's no public indication as to when it might appear.


**What's New** -- Here's a rundown of some new features and
  changes in Navigator 2.0:

* Integrated email and newsreader: Though current versions can
  send mail and perform as a basic newsreader, Navigator 2.0 can
  send, receive, and store mail (i.e., serve as your primary
  Internet mail client), and offers enhanced newsreading in a
  separate, three-paned window. The newsreader follows threaded
  discussions, manages newsgroup subscriptions, displays news
  posting with "live" URLs, and features columns and panes that can
  be dragged to suit your tastes. These features don't compare to
  dedicated, evolved products like Eudora and NewsWatcher, but they
  allow Netscape to promote Navigator as a "complete" solution.

* Bookmarks and Address Book: Navigator 2.0 features a separate,
  modeless window that contains an hierarchical, outline-like
  display of bookmarks. Bookmarks not only contain a title and URL,
  but can have optional descriptive text associated with them, and
  you can search on all these items. Navigator 2.0 also has a
  similar built-in Address Book for email addresses. Items can be
  dragged from these windows to other applicable areas of
  Navigator's windows and other drag-savvy applications that accept
  text, but (alas) not to the Finder.

* Expanded HTML tags: Navigator 2.0 implements more of the HTML
  3.0 specification, and incorporates new Netscape-specific tags for
  superscripts and subscripts, logical font size, and font color.
  Probably the most radical change is Frames, which allows the
  creation of multiple, independent, scrollable regions within
  Navigator windows. Each frame, or cell, can contain a separate
  HTML document, and frames can be named and targeted by links in
  other frames or documents. Needless to say, pages using this
  feature can be incomprehensible if viewed in a browser other than
  Netscape.

* Interface changes: Netscape's preferences have expanded to
  consume a series of tabbed dialog boxes, the Help menu commands
  have (finally) migrated to Apple's Help Menu, and there's now a
  Window menu to create and manage windows. Netscape's transfer
  window now appears for all file transfers, allowing users to
  browse while downloading files.

  Under the hood, Navigator 2.0 implements new networking code which
  hopefully improves reliability on SLIP/PPP connections (although
  I've seen mixed reports), includes support for progressively-
  rendered inline JPEG images, supports HTTP file uploads (so forms
  can now prompt for files), and has a new, faster, disk caching
  mechanism.

  One change that may surprise Netscape aficionados is that the HTML
  parser is more rigorous and requires proper use of quotes within
  links and other HTML tags. Previous versions of Navigator had a
  more forgiving parser; many people who bootstrapped their way into
  HTML coding using the "looks fine in Netscape" technique might be
  in for unpleasant surprises, including missing text, missing or
  broken images, or items that draw (or over-draw) other elements
  onscreen. A quick survey shows many Web pages - including some of
  Netscape's own - display these errors.


**What's Not New** -- But wait, you're saying - where's the
  support for Macromedia Director playback, Hot Java, QuickTime,
  Acrobat PDF, and other technologies you've talked about in
  previous issues of TidBITS? Three features promised for Navigator
  2.0 - plug-ins for third-party technologies, support for Java
  applets, and Netscape's scripting language - are nowhere to be
  found. Well, okay - it's the first beta. But "pre-beta" quality
  Java implementations are included in the Windows and Unix releases
  of Navigator 2.0b1, primarily for developers using Java and doing
  compatibility testing. Why not the Mac?

  Also missing is support for Open Transport. Netscape says
  Navigator 2.0 doesn't work reliably with _any_ version of Open
  Transport. Also, there's no indication of improvements (or even
  changes) to Navigator's AppleScript support.


**First Impressions** -- As with all beta software, this version
  of Navigator has rough edges, both in terms of its interface and
  outright bugs. It's probably worth going over the release notes
  before running the beta.

http://home.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/2.0/relnotes/mac-2.0b1.html

  The most impressive thing about this version is its speed.
  Navigator still uses four simultaneous TCP connections to load Web
  pages, but the new disk caching mechanism and improved streaming
  noticeably improve performance. My rough timings using a 28.8 Kbps
  modem connection indicate this beta of Navigator can be as much as
  10 to 15 percent faster than Navigator 1.1N on some HTML
  documents, although it's not a global improvement.

  The new bookmark interface is both useful and usable, but not
  outstanding. Manipulating and managing items using drag-and-drop
  is straightforward, and I especially like using the Find command
  to locate items quickly. But these new capabilities only emphasize
  the sorry state of managing large numbers of URLs and online
  references. Numerous third-party bookmarking applications are
  appearing, and though Navigator has moved forward, I want
  something about a mile further ahead.

  The beta of Navigator claims it will transparently handle
  preferences and bookmarks from any version of Navigator except the
  non-public alpha releases of 2.0. I haven't seen problems with
  importing bookmarks, but I have seen numerous reports of problems
  handling preferences from pre-2.0 versions (some of which I can
  attest to firsthand), so I recommend backing up and removing
  existing Netscape preference files before running this release.
  Navigator 2.0's prefs aren't backward-compatible with earlier
  releases, so if your existing preferences are important, save a
  copy before trying the beta.

  This version's RAM allocation remains at 3 MB and that seems
  adequate for casual use, but it's a tighter fit now, so increase
  the allocation if you use multiple browser windows, the
  newsreader, or routinely deal with sizable graphics or HTML
  documents. What's more, plan on running this beta with at least a
  4 MB disk cache, since using a small disk cache (or no disk cache)
  rapidly makes the application unstable.

  If you depend on Netscape Navigator, stick with a previous release
  that's been stable on your system. If you try the beta, frequently
  save work in other applications, and don't throw away your
  previous version. Netscape has set up a Web-based form as well as
  an email address for handling bug reports; see How To Give
  Feedback on the Help menu for details. If you have a problem and
  need a solution in a hurry, check the newsgroup
  <comp.sys.mac.comm> where people are already discussing this beta.


Extending Digital Cameras
-------------------------
  by Adam C. Engst <[e-mail]>

  At Macworld Boston this August a number of companies exhibited
  add-ons to the QuickTake and its relative from Kodak, the Kodak
  Digital Camera 40.


**Tiffen** was showing a line of essentially identical accessories
  for both the QuickTake and the Kodak Digital Camera 40 (the
  QuickTake and the Digital Camera 40 were designed in a joint
  Apple-Kodak project). For either camera, with the addition of a
  Tiffen adapter for about $20, you can mount a UV Protector ($25),
  a Wide Angle Conversion Lens ($90), a Super Wide Angle Conversion
  Lens ($100), or a Telephoto Conversion Lens ($90) that zooms
  approximately 1.5 times. For close-up work, Tiffen offers a three-
  lens "stackable" Close-up Lens Set ($70) that enables you to focus
  as close as five inches (the QuickTake 150's close-up adapter only
  enables you to focus between 10 and 14 inches). Finally, Tiffen
  offers the 812 Color Warming Filter ($30) to improve skin tones.
  Tiffen offers a number of other accessories such as a tripod, a
  table-top tripod, and a case, but they all look like standard
  photographic equipment, and might be more easily and cheaply
  purchased elsewhere.

    DC Pro (Tiffen's fulfillment house) -- 800/522-7835
      516/434-8800 -- 516/434-9238 (fax) -- <[e-mail]>


**Kaidan** wasn't content to let Tiffen provide the only
  accessories for the QuickTake and Kodak DCS 40. Like Tiffen,
  Kaidan offers a close-up solution and a wide-angle lens, and
  improves on Tiffen's offerings with a ring flash that works with
  the close-up lenses. The CloseTake system comes in a number of
  different bundles, ranging in price from $80 to $260 and including
  +2, +3, and +4 diopter lenses and the CloseFlash unit. The wide-
  angle lens costs about $85, although various bundles with the
  close-up lenses are also available. Potentially more interesting
  to those of us who don't have much of a background in photography
  is Kaidan's $170 QuickPan Panoramic Tripod Head, an attachment for
  a standard tripod that enables you to use a QuickTake (or a normal
  camera) to take pictures at the strict angles necessary for
  stitching together a QuickTime VR movie. Along with five different
  sets of click-stops, the tripod head includes a leveling indicator
  to ensure a straight rotational plane and avoid oscillation in the
  resulting movie. A friend noted that such devices are common
  accoutrements for serious photographers, and may be cheaper from
  photography stores.

http://www.okc.com/kaidan/

  Unfortunately, having the tripod head to make sure you get the
  angles right won't enable you to just knock off a QuickTime VR
  movie. First, you need the stitching software from APDA, and it's
  not cheap at about $500. You can get a sense of the complexity of
  the process from a detailed paper Apple has placed on the Web at:

http://qtvr.quicktime.apple.com/Develop.htm

    Kaidan -- 215/364-1778 -- 215/322-4186 (fax) -- <[e-mail]>


**Printing digital images** becomes more feasible with a small
  color printer from Fargo. Called the FotoFUN, the thermal dye-
  sublimation printer provides what seemed to be excellent output
  from the samples I saw at the show. It's cheap too, at about $500,
  but the trade-off is that it only prints four-inch by six-inch
  pieces of paper. Actually, there's another trade-off, and that's
  materials cost. Supplies for dye-sublimation printers are
  expensive, and the FotoFUN is no exception at about $1 per print.
  You can buy a 36-print package with paper and a ribbon, but Fargo
  also sells a 36-print package with ribbon and postcards, and a
  FotoMUG Kit that includes four mugs and application instructions.
  4" x 6" isn't bad as for a snapshot, and that's the main market
  for the FotoFUN. Although I'm enjoying the freedom of digital
  images tremendously, it's hard to send good quality copies (or
  mugs, for that matter) to my grandparents.

http://www.fargo.com/

    Fargo Electronics -- 800/327-4694 -- 612/941-9470
      612/941-7836 (fax) -- <[e-mail]>


**The Kodak Digital Camera 40** (DCS 40) has come up a few times
  so far. I used one briefly at the show, and it differs from the
  QuickTake 150 in several important ways. First, it features
  exposure controls and has a threaded lens mount that accepts
  lenses without an adapter like the QuickTake. It's good for up to
  800 photos with its lithium batteries; Apple says the QuickTake
  can do 200 images before it needs new batteries, about half of
  which can use the flash. The Kodak DCS 40 has 4 MB of RAM, as
  opposed to the QuickTake's 1 MB, enabling it to hold 48 high-
  resolution images or 99 low-resolution images. It also sports an
  image resolution of 756 by 504 pixels, higher than the 640 by 480
  resolution used by the QuickTake. Finally, unlike the QuickTake,
  the Kodak DCS 40 has an option to erase the last image taken,
  which is useful at times when you have limited space left and just
  took what you know is a bad picture.

  On the downside, the Kodak DCS 40 is several hundred dollars more
  expensive than the QuickTake, at about $1,000, and downloading the
  images to the Mac reportedly takes a very long time, perhaps
  because decompression is happening in the camera, not on the Mac.
  The QuickTake's images download quickly, and download times of
  more than a minute or two would definitely get in the way of
  dumping the camera to a PowerBook while at an event.

http://www.kodak.com/cgi-bin/
webCatalog.pl?section=Capture&product=KODAK+DIGITAL+SCIENCE+DC40+Camera

    Kodak -- 800/235-6325


**Casio** had a small booth at Macworld too, where they displayed
  a camera that in many ways puts the Apple and Kodak cameras to
  shame. The Casio QV-10 looks like a normal camera, not mutant
  binoculars, except that you immediately notice its 1.8" active
  matrix color LCD display. The display works in real time, so you
  don't have to look through a tiny viewfinder - you look at the
  display to compose your picture. Composition is aided by having
  the lens move, so you can rotate it to shoot straight ahead while
  holding the camera at your waist, or even rotate it around to take
  a picture of your face. The camera stores 96 images at a time,
  although at a low resolution of 320 by 240. You can view one,
  four, or nine images on the LCD screen at a time, and you can
  delete any image at any time. You can control the exposure
  settings and even enlarge specific parts of pictures. You can
  download the images to the Mac, edit them, and upload back to the
  camera. Why would you want to? Well, since the camera can connect
  to a television to display the images, you could use it as a
  presentation device.

  At about $750 in electronics stores, the QV-10 sounds almost too
  good to be true, and it does have a few problems. The low
  resolution is one - the QuickTake and Kodak DCS 40 take much
  higher-resolution images. Battery life is another problem. Since
  you have to run the LCD display while you use the camera, you only
  get about two hours of continuous use (although your images are
  safe even if you drain the alkaline batteries). Also, as far as I
  can tell, it has no flash, which limits its utility in low-light
  settings.

  Finally, Mark Altenberg <[e-mail]> comments that the
  software has problems:

  I was excited about the QV-10 until I launched the Mac software
  and tried to download pictures to my Duo 280c. After numerous
  attempts and several passes through the horrible documentation, I
  couldn't get the camera to connect (it does come with the
  necessary cables). Eventually, I learned I had to turn my Express
  Modem off -  a simple mistake, but there was no indication
  anywhere (even from Casio's tech support) that a user should do
  this. Furthermore, the software is flawed in a number of ways, the
  worst being the menu design: Copy, Cut, and Paste aren't on the
  Edit menu where they belong, and frequently-used commands are on
  sub-menus with no command-key equivalents. There are also two Copy
  commands that work differently. (The difference is explained in
  the manual... if you can find it.) From the looks of the Windows
  manual, a ported version of the software would have been much
  better! Also, downloading images seemed slow; it takes about 20
  seconds to download and view a single image.

  Especially considering Mark's comments about the software, my
  overall feeling is that this is a 1.0 product and that it's worth
  waiting for the next version. If Casio can improve resolution and
  battery life, add a flash, and fix problems with the software,
  this camera could be a winner.

http://metaverse.com/grammy/casio/CAMERA.html


Being There with the BeBox
--------------------------
  by Geoff Duncan <[e-mail]>

  When Jean-Louis Gassee, former president of Apple's product
  division, formed a company called Be, Inc. in 1990, most people
  weren't sure what he was doing. Gassee was a visible and much-
  admired figure at Apple, an executive who knew his company's
  technology and what he was talking about. His decision to leave
  Apple R&D and manufacturing to head up a company dedicated to
  "overcoming the limits of today's computer architectures" puzzled
  many of industry watchers. After all, Apple was already light
  years ahead of its competition in terms of the design and
  functionality of its computers, right?

  On 03-Oct-95 at the Agenda '96 conference in Arizona, Gassee
  announced his company's first product, the BeBox, and suddenly it
  all made sense.

http://www.be.com/


**Being Defined** -- In a nutshell, the BeBox  starts over with
  what we consider a personal computer, using high-performance
  hardware and tools designed to give advanced performance at a low
  price. The BeBox is _not_ a Mac clone, but nor is it a Windows
  machine or a Unix workstation, and it doesn't run _any_ Mac,
  Windows, Unix, or other legacy software. The BeBox uses its own
  multithreaded, multitasking operating system, and takes advantage
  of existing, inexpensive expansion hardware (mostly from the PC
  world) to keep costs down. Theoretically, just about any video
  card, hard disk, modem, networking card, or other peripheral
  device can be used in a BeBox, giving it unrivalled hardware
  versatility.

  The BeBox is built around two PowerPC 603 processors running at 66
  MHz. You might say that two 66 MHz 603s doesn't sound all that
  fast, but when you consider that the entire operating system is
  native code, fully-threaded, and permits preemptive multitasking,
  a lot of those doubts disappear. Be's OS can support up to eight
  PowerPCs, and future models will likely sport faster and more
  numerous processors.

  The BeBox includes three 32-bit PCI slots as well as five 16-bit
  ISA slots to take advantage of the wide range of ISA peripherals
  in the PC world (mostly inexpensive modems and networking cards).
  The BeBox supports IDE and SCSI devices, flash ROM, and 8 slots
  for 72-pin DRAM (rated at 60 ns or better). Also included are two
  MIDI ports, a joystick port, four serial ports (two are PReP-
  compliant), a parallel port, and three infrared (IR) ports for
  sending and receiving IR data. The BeBox also features a 16-bit
  stereo audio system with line, mic, and CD audio inputs, along
  with headphone and line-level outputs.

  In a highly unusual move, the BeBox also includes an utterly
  non-standard, 37-pin "GeekPort" aimed purely at hobbyists and
  experimenters so they can do cool things. The GeekPort allows
  bidirectional data input and output, D-to-A/A-to-D conversion, and
  is configurable to 16 inputs, 16 outputs, or 8 of each. The 37-pin
  connector isn't likely to be confused with anything in the PC
  world (or any world, for that matter), and could be a dream come
  true for tinkerers and wireheads who love to goof with this stuff.
  Imagine the multi-player game controllers, hardware interfaces,
  and other devices that could sprout off a port like this.

  Though the BeBox is based on the original PReP specification and
  uses a number of PReP-compatible chips, it should be noted the
  BeBox is not PReP-compliant and will not be able to run future
  PReP-compatible operating systems from Microsoft, IBM, Apple, or
  other vendors. The BeBox runs Be software, and that's it.

http://www.be.com/TechInfo/BeBoxHWSpecs.html


**The Be Operating System** -- If the hardware sounds interesting,
  that's just half the equation. The Be system software provides
  features you'd expect in a state-of-the-art OS, including
  protected address spaces, preemptive multitasking, inter-
  application messaging and data streams, built-in networking, a
  modern graphic interface, support for dynamically linked "shared"
  libraries (DLLs), loadable device drivers, a fast graphics
  environment and (of course) a multiprocessor microkernel. The Be
  OS also comes with TCP/IP built in (including Telnet and FTP,
  along with support for PPP connections) and is designed to allow
  real-time manipulation of high-bandwidth media like audio and
  video.

http://www.be.com/TechInfo/BeBoxSWSpecs.html

  Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of the Be system software -
  aside from its lack of pre-historic components - is that the file
  system is integrated with a relational database where information
  can be viewed as pre-defined or arbitrary "tables." Information
  can be presented in a normal file system-like hierarchy, but also
  as a database query. Via multithreading, database queries can be
  "live" and continually updated to reflect changes to the stored
  information. These services are also available to applications,
  which can retrieve information as if they were using a traditional
  file system or looking it up from a sophisticated database.

  The BeBox also gives each window its own graphics environment.
  Although that's not a new idea, since each window has its own
  thread, they don't have to wait for each other to update or
  compete intensely for resources, enhancing the system's overall
  responsiveness to the user.

  The Be interface looks like a suspicious cross between the NeXT,
  Motif, and the Macintosh. The Finder equivalent is called the
  Browser, and lets users navigate the database and file system,
  manipulate applications and files, and (interestingly) open
  command-line console windows.

http://www.be.com/Art/BeScreen1.GIF


**Be Developing** -- With the BeBox, Jean-Louis Gassee faces the
  same uphill battle the Macintosh nearly lost when it was
  introduced: no software. In an open letter to developers, Gassee
  puts it all up front: "we need each other." The BeBox ships with a
  few applications and the Browser, but there's no "BePaint" or
  "BeWrite" that immediately make the advantage of this machine
  clear to high-end users, much less the consumer market. Be is
  trying to woo software developers to its platform with the
  admittedly attractive scenario of a modern operating system
  (unburdened by a decade or more of patched, outdated APIs), high
  performance hardware, and the chance to really put their mark on a
  product.

http://www.be.com/Developer/BeDeveloperLetter.html

  Given Be's connections to Apple, it should come as no surprise
  that Be is targeting Macintosh developers. The BeBox is currently
  bundled with a Macintosh-hosted version of CodeWarrior (meaning
  you do development on a Mac, then bring the application over to
  the BeBox), and a version of CodeWarrior specifically for the Be
  operating system is expected shortly.

http://www.metrowerks.com/press/be.shtml

  Be also plans to take full advantage of the Internet and online
  worlds to facilitate communication between developers, resellers,
  users, and other parties, thereby bypassing a traditional
  bottleneck in developer and customer relations.


**To Be or Not To Be** -- Nobody is going to place a rush order
  for a BeBox so they can do print merges or write memos. Without
  the ability to run legacy software, the BeBox targets users,
  developers, and companies willing to look beyond today's
  technologies and take a chance on a brand new product with no
  track record. Apple was in a similar position a little over a
  decade ago, and as Mac aficionados are fond of pointing out, the
  rest of the personal computing world still hasn't recovered.

  The BeBox should be available in mid-October (directly from Be or
  from selected resellers) at prices starting around $1,600.

    Be, Inc. -- 415/462-4141 -- 415/462-4129 (fax) -- <[e-mail]>


Reviews/09-Oct-95
-----------------

* MacWEEK -- 02-Oct-95, Vol. 9, #39
    SoftWindows 2.0 -- pg. 29
    Xerox XPrint 4920 -- pg. 29
    ATTO ExpressPCI-MC -- pg. 36
    Targa 2000 -- pg. 38
    MapInfo 3.0 -- pg. 40


$$

 Non-profit, non-commercial publications may reprint articles if
 full credit is given. Others please contact us. We don't guarantee
 accuracy of articles. Caveat lector. Publication, product, and
 company names may be registered trademarks of their companies.

 This file is formatted as setext. For more information send email
 to <[e-mail]>. A file will be returned shortly.

 For information on TidBITS: how to subscribe, where to find back
 issues, and other useful stuff, send email to: <[e-mail]>
 Send comments and editorial submissions to: <[e-mail]>
 Issues available at: ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/pub/tidbits/issues/
 And: http://www.dartmouth.edu/pages/TidBITS/TidBITS.html
 To search back issues with WAIS, use this URL via a Web browser:
 http://www.wais.com/wais-dbs/macintosh-tidbits.html
 -------------------------------------------------------------------