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Up and COMERS 12/28/92 Forecast Forecast Affiliated Computer Systems, Inc. Dallas You may know of this outsourcer because of the publicity surrounding its claim that IBM's outsourcing practice violated antitrust laws. That went nowhere, but this 4-year-old firm is now a $179 million company and has caught onto innovative financing _ such as making equity investments in its clients through its financing subsidiary, ACS Capital. Expect more noise this year, including bigger accounts. Compaq Computer Corp. Printer Division Houston Skeptics doubted that anyone could go head-to-head with Hewlett- Packard Co. on printers. But Compaq cannily aimed its first two products at its traditional stronghold (networking), trumped HP's 3SI on a few printer capabilities and beat it on price as well. The addition of printers into Compaq's product line could make the idea of one-stop shopping more alluring, analysts predict. Cooperative Solutions, Inc. San Jose, Calif. This venture capital-funded firm _ founded by former Tandem Computers, Inc. software executives and one of the largest software ventures ever at $29 million to date _ has a highly regarded client/server application development tool set named Ellipse. The product, which works like a fourth-generation language that generates code, bridges the gap between Windows, OS/2 and Unix. It also supports graphical user interfaces and code-sharing among programmers and is rumored to have an integration pact in the works with Texas Instruments, Inc.'s IEF. Digitalk, Inc. Los Angeles Although it's been in the object-oriented programming (OOP) development tool arena for nearly a decade (with Methods and Smalltalk/V), Digitalk recently took object-oriented programming a step further with its Parts technology. Parts is one of the first (if not the first) OOP development tool to allow robust applications to be built without programming. It also allows legacy systems, such as Cobol, to be encapsulated and used in updated OOP applications. This is the future of graphical development environments: providing tools on industry-standard platforms. HyperDesk Corp. Westboro, Mass. The company's HyperDesk Distributed Object Management System (DOMS) helps build applications that let users access data transparently, no matter where it is stored in the distributed environment. This type of ``software backplane'' is going to be crucial for developing true client/server applications. The product is also compliant with Object Management Group's Object Request Broker standard. Intel Corp. PC Enhancement Division Hillsboro, Ore. This Intel division is looking at the kinds of system functions _ printing, backup, management _ that are currently lacking in the local-area network environment and trying to provide plug-and-play ``shrink-wrapped'' servers. The goal is to make LAN systems robust and secure enough that people feel comfortable betting their company on them. Interconnections, Inc. Bellevue, Wash. Interconnections (an Emulex Corp. subsidiary) bought back marketing rights to VMS for NetWare, which it originally developed for Novell, Inc. Now debugged, updated and renamed Leverage for NetWare, the product is getting a big response from companies that would like their NetWare users to access VAX print-and-file services and vice versa _ but don't want to buy a whole client/server system to do it. Transarc Corp. Pittsburgh Transarc is on a roll on the distributed computing front, providing the foundation for a range of de facto industry standards. The company's Encina transaction-processing monitor has already been adopted by IBM, HP, Hitachi Data Systems Corp., NEC Corp. and Stratus Computer, Inc. as the basis for managing distributed transaction processing. Now, the Open Systems Foundation is contemplating using Transarc's transactional RPC and has already bought into the company's Andrew File System for the file management portion of the OSF's Distributed Computing Environment. Ventana Corp. Tucson, Ariz. This collaborative computing software supplier is starting to gain notice for GroupSystems, a set of software tools that provide ``anytime, anyplace'' electronic meetings and support for teams. IBM has been reselling its GroupSystems product as TeamFocus for OS/2 and now has about 90 customers. Visix Software, Inc. Reston, Va. Visix is tapping into the need for client/server application development tools with its Galaxy environment, which analysts consider to be the first true client/server application builder. It is platform- and operating system-independent and was designed specifically for creating large-scale commercial applications. Peoplesoft Walnut Creek, Calif. The 5-year-old provider of human resource and financial packages did about $32 million worth of business in its fiscal 1992, reportedly up 186% from last year. Peoplesoft is making life difficult for the likes of Dun & Bradstreet Software, The Dodge Group, Computer Associates International, Inc., Tesseract and Integral. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. 12/21/92 Large Systems Large Systems CASE price cuts Andersen Consulting halved the price of a starter program for Foundation for Cooperative Processing, a computer-aided software engineering (CASE) workbench designed to build client/server software. Starter Kit Plus, which goes for $49,500, includes eight weeks of training and support, and CASE tools and sample design objects. KnowledgeWare GUI KnowledgeWare, Inc. introduced Flashpoint, a graphical user interface (GUI) builder it purchased from Language Technology, Inc. about a year ago. Flashpoint, which is available immediately, was adjusted to work with KnowledgeWare's other application development tools. The GUI builder is priced at $50,000 until Dec. 28. Multiplatform tester Horizon Strategies, Inc. in Needham, Mass., announced Message Express/Tour, a developer's workbench for testing multiplatform programs. It was developed using the firms Message Express middleware. While Message Express/Tour runs on IBM OS/2 systems, programs tested on the workbench can be implemented across all platforms supported by Message Express, the company said. Priced at $2,399, the product is available now. Data conversion Bachman Information Systems, Inc. plans to resell data migration tools from Evolutionary Technologies, Inc., an Austin, Texas-based spin-off of Microelectronics and ComputerTechnology Corp. With a base price of $200,000, Extract Tool Suite includes Master Set, a suite of four tools that define source and target databases, and Data Conversion Tool, which then graphically maps data from the old to the new database, automatically converting the data, the firm said. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. w robust applications to be built without programming. It also allows legacy systems, such as Cobol, to be encapsulated and used in updated OOP applications. This is the future of graphical development environments: providing tools on industry-standard platforms. HyperDesk Corp. Westboro, Mass. The company's HyperDesk Distributed Object Management System (DOMS) helps build applications that let users access data transparently, no matter where it is stored in the distributed environment. This type of ``software backplane'' is going to be crucial for developing true client/server applications. The product is also compliant with Object Management Group's Object Request Broker standard. Intel Corp. PC Enhancement Division Hillsboro, Ore. This Intel division is looking at the kinds of system functions _ printing, backup, management _ that are currently lacking in the local-area network environment and trying to provide plug-and-play ``shrink-wrapped'' servers. The goal is to make LAN systems robust and secure enough that people feel comfortable betting their company on them. Interconnections, Inc. Bellevue, Wash. Interconnections (an Emulex Corp. subsidiary) bought back marketing rights to VMS for NetWare, which it originally developed for Novell, Inc. Now debugged, updated and renamed Leverage for NetWare, the product is getting a big response from companies that would like their NetWare users to access VAX print-and-file services and vice versa _ but don't want to buy a whole client/server system to do it. Transarc Corp. Pittsburgh Transarc is on a roll on the distributed computing front, providing the foundation for a range of de facto industry standards. The company's Encina transaction-processing monitor has already been adopted by IBM, HP, Hitachi Data Systems Corp., NEC Corp. and Stratus Computer, Inc. as the basis for managing distributed transaction processing. Now, the Open Systems Foundation is contemplating using Transarc's transactional RPC and has already bought into the company' A bitter taste of the real world 06/08/92 Desktop Computing Lindquist, Chris Desktop Computing Picture, Chris Lindquist I have a lot of sympathy for IS managers dealing with support issues. I've been wading through a real-world sample recently, and I don't like it. As a member of the press, I sometimes get special treatment from vendors. I've even had vice presidents and product managers elbow deep in a PC doing technical support for me. After all, no one wants a bad review. But this time I wanted to be treated like a real user and go through all the normal channels. Down to the nitty-gritty The bottom line of my problem is that I want to be able to run OS/2, and I can't. My PC just won't let me, and I have gone through a nightmare of phone calls and E-mail messages to a half-dozen people at four companies with less than satisfying results. I have been running Windows 3.1, and don't get me wrong it is a good product. It is certainly far better than Windows 3.0. I only ran Windows 3.0 on my machine when absolutely necessary. I run Windows 3.1 almost constantly I like it. But I'd rather be running OS/2 2.0. It's the power user wanna-be inside me that really wants OS/2. I like the idea of pre- emptive multitasking and multithreading, even if there are only a handful of applications (one is solitaire oh boy!) that take advantage of the features. I also like the idea of an operating system that can run even the most buggy beta-test software without having to be rebooted when it crashes. I ran OS/2 2.0 on IBM hardware when writing my review of the operating system. It's performance was admirable, if not blindingly fast. I was sure my clone PC (let's call the manufacturer XYZ) with its much faster processor and disk drive and more memory would make OS/2 2.0 a dream to work with. I couldn't have been more wrong. My XYZ machine will not load OS/2 2.0. It takes the install disk fine. But after I put in the second disk (Disk 1 in IBM nomenclature), it locks up and flashes an ``inteTRAP 0008'' error on the screen. I've called the manufacturer, the reseller, my IS department and IBM to find out how to resolve the problem. The manufacturer told me it was my cheap memory. But one of our other systems was loaded with the expensive stuff, and that failed too. The reseller told me he didn't support OS/2, so it wasn't his problem. My IS department said it wasn't sure how to help me and that it was very likely that the system would never run OS/2. I have yet to hear a peep out of IBM and I don't want to pull any strings on this one. I suppose I could use the special ``media relations'' phone number I was given, but I wanted to see what it was like to be a real user, not someone IBM worries would print a bad review. But I still want OS/2. It appears that if I'm going to run OS/2, I'm going to have to get a new system. I suppose I could have a review machine sent to me and use that, but review machines have to go back eventually, and there's nothing I hate more than getting a system just the way I like it and then having to start from scratch again. I also don't want a system from XYZ again. My IS department swears by that company, but I'm more inclined to swear at it. It's done nothing to make me feel confident. Other manufacturers I've tried and heard about run OS/2, and I'm jealous. And my system is quite new, so it isn't likely that a new PC is in my cards in the near future. So unless a miracle occurs, I'm going to keep using Windows 3.1. In another few months, I'll be able to get my techie fix with Windows NT anyhow. Assuming it will load on my system. CW Staff; Lindquist is a Computerworld staff writer * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. omputing Environment. Ventana Corp. Tucson, Ariz. This collaborative computing software supplier is starting to gain notice for GroupSystems, a set of software tools that provide ``anytime, anyplace'' electronic meetings and support for teams. IBM has been reselling its GroupSystems product as TeamFocus for OS/2 and now has about 90 customers. Visix Software, Inc. Reston, Va. Visix is tapping into the need for client/server application development tools with its Galaxy environment, which analysts consider to be the first true client/server application builder. It is platform- and operating system-independent and was designed specifically for creating large-scale commercial applications. Peoplesoft Walnut Creek, Calif. The 5-year-old provider of human resource and financial packages did about $32 million worth of business in its fiscal 1992, reportedly up 186% from last year. Peoplesoft is making life difficult for the likes of Dun & Bradstreet Software, The Dodge Group, Computer Associates International, Inc., Tesseract and Integral. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. OS/2 PC network meets medical center's needs 12/14/92 Desktop Computing Cafasso, Rosemary Desktop Computing A year ago, Hillcrest Medical Center looked at its information systems effort and the 20-year-old applications it was maintaining and knew there had to be a better way. Today, the 500-bed community hospital is in the thick of a downsizing project that will move the bulk of its patient management and administration applications from outdated IBM 4300 mainframes to a network of IBM OS/2-based PCs. Hillcrest expects to go live with the first module, which manages patient registration and admitting, in March 1993. But the hospital got on the downsizing bandwagon in a roundabout way. It had initially been shopping for a laboratory management replacement system when it came across a tiny software development and services company in Rancho Cordova, Calif., called 3Net Systems, Inc. 3Net demonstrated the lab system for Hillcrest, and in subsequent conversations ``the idea began to germinate that we had something here at Hillcrest that could be migrated to the PC LAN environment,'' said John Cooper, administrative director in charge of information services. Hillcrest and 3Net eventually struck a deal: 3Net would assist the hospital in downsizing its core applications for the OS/2 platform. In addition, it would train Hillcrest's small programming staff _ longtime mainframe Cobol developers _ to use Compose-It, 3Net's application development tool. Compose-It, a prototyping and applications generator tool, completed about 70% to 85% of the code. 3Net also agreed to write the remaining code in C++ to complete the software. In return, 3Net will remarket the software applications to other hospitals when completed. Everybody wins It could be a win-win for both Hillcrest and 3Net,'' Cooper said. ``They will have a product to market, and we get downsized.'' Cooper did not provide financial details on the deal. However, he said he expects Hillcrest to save up to $10 million in the downsizing project over the next five years from lost mainframe maintenance and upkeep costs. The project was officially under way in March. Cooper was hesitant to say when he expects the conversion to be finished. ``What we have on the mainframe is a result of 20 years of history,'' Cooper said. ``Exactly when all this will be migrated, we can't say for sure.'' Sandra Brewer, a programmer analyst, said that while the new application development tool has taken some getting used to, it has been a smooth transition. ``We had a two-week training period, and after that, we were fairly comfortable with the product. We were slow at it at first, but we were able to do the work,'' she said. Brewer said the prototyping feature is new territory, but it has delivered a big boost to her programming efforts. ``It's helpful because you can develop a screen rapidly and see how it will work,'' Brewer added. ``With the mainframe, you'd spend a lot more time before you could get the screen designed.'' Hillcrest Medical Center Tulsa, Okla. Challenge: To clone a set of mainframe-based applications for a PC-LAN platform. Technology: IBM OS/2; Novell, Inc. local-area network; 3Net Systems, Inc. application development tools. Goal: To save $10 million in five years by removing mainframe upkeep costs. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ble to get my techie fix with Windows NT anyhow. Assuming it will load on my system. CW Staff; Lindquist is a Computerworld staff writer * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12/07/92 News News An article on wrapping object-oriented code around Cobol code [CW, Nov. 30] inadvertently mentioned Borland International, Inc. as a vendor of the SmallTalk object-oriented programming (OOP) language. Borland sells a version of the C++ OOP language, not SmallTalk. A box that accompanied a story on IBM's client/server strategy [CW, Nov. 30] should have stated that at least 500 people from the company's Endicott, N.Y., Enterprise Systems line of business _ or at least 900 people overall from across the company _ were involved in the effort. Because of a software glitch at our production plant, the information graphics on pages 14, 16 and 109 were incorrect. See the corrected versions at right. DHL's system Servers: IBM RS/6000s; legacy systems from 11 manufacturers including NCR Corp., Stratus Computer, Inc., Pyramid Technology Corp., Prime Com- puter, Inc., HP, DEC. Repository: IBM ES/9000 Clients: Apple Computer, Inc. System 7.0, OS/2, Windows Networking: IBM Token Ring; Novell, Inc. NetWare; and TCP/IP, Open Systems Interconnect and IBM LU6.2 protocols. Integration software: Peerlogic, Inc.'s Pipes Capital costs: $5 million in 1991; $10 million in 1992; $15 million predicted for 1993, with costs decreasing thereafter. At a glance 1956: Consent Decree issued. April 1991: ACS asks Adapso to formally complain to the Justice Department. May 1991: IBM forms wholly owned subsidiary ISSC to handle its outsourcing contracts. Aug. 4, 1992: ACS sends letter to IBM requesting information on ISSC. IBM responds in September. November 1992: Justice Department elevates probe. Vital stats Founded in 1973. Acquired by Kodak for $80 million in 1981. Peaked in 1986 with 1,400 employees. Current employment count is only 370 staff members. Currently serves approximately 900 customers. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. e project was officially under way in March. Cooper was hesitant to say when he expects the conversion to be finished. ``What we have on the mainframe is a result of 20 years of history,'' Cooper said. ``Exactly when all this will be migrated, we can't say for sure.'' Sandra Brewer, a programmer analyst, said that while the new application development tool has taken some getting used to, it has been a smooth transition. ``We had a two-week training period, and after that, we were fairly comfortable with the product. We were slow at it at first, but we were able to do the work,'' she said. Brewer said the prototyping feature is new territory, but it has delivered a big boost to her programming efforts. ``It's helpful because you can develop a screen rapidly and see how it will work,'' Brewer added. ``With the mainframe, you'd spend a lot more time before you could get the screen designed.'' Hillcrest Medical Center Tulsa, Okla. Challenge: To clone a set of mainframe-based applications for a PC-LAN platform. Technology: IBM OS/2; Novell, Inc. local-area network; 3Net Systems, Inc. application development tools. Goal: To save $10 million in five years by removing mainframe upkeep costs. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ble to get my techie fix with Windows NT anyhow. Assuming it will load on my system. CW Staff; Lindquist is a Computerworld staff writer * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IBM maps out OS/2's path 11/23/92 Comdex Lindquist, Christopher Comdex Object technologists will link existing apps tp Pink operating systems Where is OS/2 headed? That was the question answered partially by Lee Reiswig, who heads IBM's Personal Software Products group, as the group made its public debut at Comdex last week. The road is still a bit unclear, but at least there is a road. The company's current operating system lineup includes OS/2, DOS, AIX and the future fruits of Taligent, a joint venture with Apple Computer, Inc. that is developing an object-oriented operating system. Additionally, Taligent's foundation, the Mach kernel, offers portability across platforms for OS/2 and AIX. To which should users or independent software vendors turn? They can look for guidance from a rough road map sketched out by IBM officals last week: Starting next year, OS/2 will offer object technologies that will allow developers to write applications that will later be able to run on Taligents Pink operating system. In addition, these OS/2 developers will be able to run their applications on a micro kernel-based version of OS/2. Meanwhile, Unix developers can stay on Unix and write applications to a version of AIX also based on the micro kernel. The micro kernel is intended to enable portability and multiprocessor support for OS/2 and AIX. Reiswig acknowledged that IBM has just begun to speak to users and developers individually on the latest operating system strategy but said there will be a concerted effort to get the information out. IBM will not only be giving information but will request it. ``It's not what we've done in the past,'' Reiswig said: ``Blast the things out and hope everyone likes it.'' Analysts said the strategy will work but added that it is neither a great solution nor one that is very well spelled out. ``It's the `Anything but NT' strategy,'' said John McCarthy, director of computing strategy research at Forrester Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. ``They're scrambling.'' Where they are scrambling to, of course, is Taligent. Exactly how they are going to get there and how long that will take are the key questions, which no one at IBM or Taligent seems ready to answer. ``I don't know how they're going to do it, and they're not telling anyone how to do it,'' said Andy Mahon, director of advanced software development at New Science Associates, Inc. in Boston. Developers ``have to take it on faith.'' This raises yet another question: After years of hanging tough with IBM on the many reincarnations and repositionings of OS/2, will developers stay the course or transfer all allegiance to competing systems such as NT? It is too early to know for sure. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. re time before you could get the screen designed.'' Hillcrest Medical Center Tulsa, Okla. Challenge: To clone a set of mainframe-based applications for a PC-LAN platform. Technology: IBM OS/2; Novell, Inc. local-area network; 3Net Systems, Inc. application development tools. Goal: To save $10 million in five years by removing mainframe upkeep costs. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ble to get my techie fix with Windows NT anyhow. Assuming it will load on my system. CW Staff; Lindquist is a Computerworld staff writer * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter's notebook 11/23/92 Comdex members, CW Staff Comdex The folks who put on Comdex/Fall 92, the Interface Group, were kind enough to supply a show guide on floppy disk for people who didn't want to cart around the fat 723-page book. Unfortunately for the thousands of laptop users who attended, however, it was only on 5-inch disks. One of the hottest _ or at least most noticeable _ freebie pins at the show came from Stargate Technologies, a networking hardware manufacturer. It wasn't just the look of the battery-operated, flashing accessory that got people to wear them, though: Stargate spotters handed out cash to people seen wearing the pins on the show floor or at local casinos. Rumor had it the Mirage and Caesar's offered the best odds for pin wearers. While Microsoft's Foxpro 2.5 database performed flawlessly in demos, sister product Access wasn't so lucky. Access twice failed to import a graph properly. To top things off, when the room went dark for the final video, nothing happened for an embarrassingly long moment. ``Maybe someone tripped over the power cord,'' one attendee was overheard saying. The annual sexist booth award goes again to Computer Associates, which got some bad press at the spring Comdex event for featuring a fashion show with scantily clad women at its booth. At Comdex/Fall, the company stuck with the fashion show theme but this time trotted out beefcake along with the cheesecake. IBM showed its micro kernel technology in action at its software booth, demonstrating the Carnegie Mellon Mach 3.0 kernel running a few AIX ``personalities'' along with a DOS personality. The one missing? OS/2 2.0, which was not quite ready to demo in public. T. S. Microtech pressed people's hot buttons with a $40 prize for attendees who could stand the transistors' heat and hold a finger on the company's 486-based microprocessor for 40 seconds. Rumors around the show floor held that Apple is talking to IBM about developing a Newton operating system that runs on Intel processors _ another step in Apple's transmogrification to a software vendor. IBM's OEM booth had OS/2-ready versions of PCs from Compaq, AST, Zenith Data and Gateway 2000. An IBM marketing rep said negotiations for these vendors to bundle OS/2 were under way. Don't hold your breath, though. A well-placed Dell source said that after Dell's Glenn Henry and IBM's Lee Reiswig shook hands on a deal for Dell to bundle OS/2, six months passed before IBM's lawyers signed off on the deal. Compiled by CW staff members * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. re time before you could get the screen designed.'' Hillcrest Medical Center Tulsa, Okla. Challenge: To clone a set of mainframe-based applications for a PC-LAN platform. Technology: IBM OS/2; Novell, Inc. local-area network; 3Net Systems, Inc. application development tools. Goal: To save $10 million in five years by removing mainframe upkeep costs. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ble to get my techie fix with Windows NT anyhow. Assuming it will load on my system. CW Staff; Lindquist is a Computerworld staff writer * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IBM gives OS/2 unit more freedom 11/16/92 The IBM PC Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. have been asking users to hop on a low-price bandwagon, but as the crucial fall buying season heats up, the two giants of corporate PC sales have quickly discovered that a high demand for seats is far exceeding supply. ``This is a disaster for us _ customers want to manage their MIS installations and roll out networks, sales force automation projects, etc., and they're furious over this,'' said William Tauscher, chairman and chief executive officer of ComputerLand Corp. in Pleasanton, Calif. Success, it seems, can be hard to handle. The shortages result from a combination of record demand and an inability to get extra parts. IBM acknowledged that demand exceeds supply for much of its Personal System/2 line from the Server 295 on down, and there is probably a two-month backlog for its ThinkPad portable line. It also appears to be on the brink of breaking its promise to meet demand for its low-cost PS/ValuePoint line, according to numerous industry observers. IBM has said it initially delayed ValuePoint's launch to make sure it would not repeat Compaq's continuing supply problems, delivering 14,000 low-end ValuePoints to dealers the week before it announced the product. Yet while IBM officials said it is on schedule so far, several well-placed reseller executives said it is a few days behind promised deliveries of 486SX-based ValuePoints. IBM said it can fill orders for the 486DX models, though that will not be clear until later this month when the machines are scheduled to ship. And callers to IBM's 800 line for ValuePoint systems are experiencing a near-two-month wait for new systems, while some major customers contacted said they were being told by IBM reps to expect similar delays. ``We've been told that [ValuePoint] will probably not be available in quantity for six weeks,'' said Richard E. Nelson Jr., vice president of agency systems at New York Life Insurance Co. Compaq, meanwhile, has caught up with current demand for its Prolinea and DeskPro/I low-priced lines but has made little headway into what reseller executives said was a 200,000-unit backlog. Meanwhile, the third member of the Big Three _ Apple Computer, Inc. _ is backlogged through the first quarter of 1993 with its hugely successful PowerBook and PowerBook Duo notebook lines, and it has spot shortages of up to two weeks on its high-end Quadra 950 line, an Apple spokeswoman confirmed. ``Our backlogs [with the Big Three] are worse than they've ever been in the history of our business,'' Tauscher said. Other dealers agreed, expressing concern about their ability to keep customers happy if they cannot deliver product. The problem, said Seymour Merrin, publisher of ``The Channelmarker,'' a Palo Alto, Calif., newsletter, is that the Big Three ``were all too conservative to figure out that demand was going to be so high, and they kind of `stuffed' themselves.'' The Big Three cannot in some cases provide simple components such as hard drives and monitors in the quantities they need to meet massive demand driven by lower priced machines and innovative products. On its own IBM has the most potential to escape this problem because it can make most of its own components, including processors. But it also has the most to lose if it fails. Most analysts said they feel that Compaq's three-month jump into the low end of the market gives it a solid footing, and that Apple's problems involve unique products, making it unlikely that customers will shift vendors. IBM, meanwhile, is struggling to prove that it can compete profitably in the PC market and needs a successful low-end product to remain a broad supplier. One thing that will determine how well IBM does [as a company] is whether they can get into supply before Compaq does,'' Tauscher said. Compaq should have been back in supply by now, and they're not.'' Tauscher thinks IBM can stem the flow of customers looking at Compaq and claim substantial portions of Compaq's order backlog if it can deliver its ValuePoint line. It will be an uphill battle, however. Computer Intelligence's user surveys show that Compaq actually caught up to IBM in terms of planned PC purchases in the months after the Houston-based PC maker introduced the Prolinea, DeskPro/I and Contura product lines. ``The battle is going to be won on availability, and I'm beginning to see that IBM cannot ship [ValuePoint 486s] in quantity this quarter,'' said Matt Fitzsimmons, who runs a ComputerLand dealership in White Plains, N.Y. BYRosemary Cafasso and Christopher Lindquist, CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. is making life difficult for the likes of Dun & Bradstreet Software, The Dodge Group, Computer Associates International, Inc., Tesseract and Integral. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. PC Expo product report 11/09/92 Desktop Computing Fitzgerald, Michael Desktop Computing CHICAGO _ The recent PC Expo Chicago show attracted almost 30,000 attendees and spawned numerous introductions of portable computers, desktop machines and software with multimedia and OS/2 flavors. New products that were on display at the show included the following: Beaver Computer Corp. (BCC)'s 6.6-pound Avanti Communications Corp. 486 notebooks. These continue BCC's elegant designs and feature a new sloped keyboard. The 486 uses Cyrix Corp.'s 486SLC chip and offers a 200M-byte hard drive. A different version uses a built-in AT&T digital-signal processor and V.32 bis modem. BCC expects street prices to be less than $3,295. SAS Institute, Inc. showed five new pieces of its SAS System for Information Delivery, which will come out when SAS releases Windows and OS/2 versions of its SAS System in early 1993. These components include a spreadsheet, an executive information system, a natural language interface and two new data analysis modules. SPSS, Inc. announced SPSS/PC +5.0, a $295 upgrade package. NEC Technologies, Inc. announced a new laser printer, the 10-page/min. Silentwriter Model 97, which costs $2,149. IBM showed an OS/2 version of its Screen Reader, which vocalizes screen information. Previously, this product for the visually impaired had worked only underDOS. Quill Corp., a large distributor based in Lincolnshire, Ill., came out with its second round of private-labeled PCs, the Q-Tech line. Starting price for a 486SX-based PC is $2,499. It includes an 80M-byte hard drive, a noninterlaced Super VGA monitor, and it is bundled with Windows 3.1 and Borland International, Inc.'s Quattro Pro for Windows. Falcon Systems, Inc., based in Prospect Heights, Ill., released two new computers. One is a $2,295 Multimedia System, based on a 20-MHz 486SX, and the other is a 50-MHz 486DX-based server with 8M bytes of random-access memory and a 200M-byte hard drive for $2,895, the company said. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ged through the first quarter of 1993 with its hugely successful PowerBook and PowerBook Duo notebook lines, and it has spot shortages of up to two weeks on its high-end Quadra 950 line, an Apple spokeswoman confirmed. ``Our backlogs [with the Big Three] are worse than they've ever been in the history of our business,'' Tauscher said. Other dealers agreed, expressing concern about their ability to keep customers happy if they cannot deliver product. The problem, said Seymour Merrin, publisher of ``The Channelmarker,'' a Palo Alto, Calif., newsletter, is that the Big Three ``were all too conservative to figure out that demand was going to be so high, and they kind of `stuffed' themselves.'' The Big Three cannot in some cases provide simple components such as hard drives and monitors in the quantities they need to meet massive demand driven by lower priced machines and innovative products. On its own IBM has the most potential to escape this problem because it can make most of its own components, including processors. But it also has the most to lose if it fails. Most analysts said they feel that Compaq's three-month jump into the low end of the market gives it a solid footing, and that Apple's problems involve unique products, making it unlikely that customers will shift vendors. IBM, meanwhile, is struggling to prove that it can compete profitably in the PC market and needs a successful low-end product to remain a broad supplier. One thing that will determine how well IBM does [as a company] is whether they can get into supply before Compaq does,'' Tauscher said. Compaq sho 11/02/92 New Products; Large systems New Products; Large systems Database management Micro Data Base Systems, Inc. has started shipping Object/1 Professional Pack for Oracle Corp.'s relational database management system. Automatic data transfer to or from windows painted in Object/1 speeds applications development, the company reported. With Oracle's SQL language, applications can query and update data. Two interface levels are offered. Direct calls to the Oracle RDBMS are provided by the low-level interface. A class library for a rich, object-oriented programming environment provides a high-level interface. Object/1 applications can change rows and columns offering low-level locking. Object/1 costs $995. Micro Data Base Systems 2 Executive Drive Layayette, Ind. 47903 (317) 447-1122 Utilities BlueLine Software, Inc. has introduced the Network Performance PowerPak, a consolidated offering of software performance monitoring tools. According to the company, PowerPak enables users to measure response time as seen by the user. All of the key elements affecting that response time can be viewed through a complete menu-driven interface. Interactive viewing of historical data for problem resolution is provided by a Recall facility, and full report writing is available for historical analysis and management planning. Pricing begins at $770 a month. BlueLine Software Suite 690 5775 Wayzata Blvd. Minneapolis, Minn. 55416 (612) 542-1072 Programart Corp. has announced the APMPower application performance analysis system. According to the company, APMPower is a software product that lets users interactively analyze the performance of IBM MVS applications at their OS/2 workstations. It works with Programart's Strobe Application Performance Measurement System. Data collected by Strobe is downloaded from the mainframe to the workstation. The data is then interpreted and followed while it is being displayed in histograms and graphs. Users can diagnose, detect and resolve performance issues in batch and on-line applications through step-by-step guidance of the application performance analysis. Pricing starts at $3,500. Programart University Place 124 Mount Auburn St. Cambridge, Mass. 02138 (617) 661-3020 Software application packages Multiview Corp. has introduced Multiview Fixed Assets, a fixed-assets management system designed for the Hewlett-Packard Co. 3000 computing environment. According to the company, the system helps users perform comprehensive tax, risk and financial management and helps them effectively manage property and maintain accurate asset inventories. The product also has the capability to track assets from acquisition through retirement. Users can choose the most advantageous depreciation method and select from a variety of first-year conventions such as half year, full year, modified half year, next half year, midquarter, midmonth and prorated. Pricing ranges from $2,500 to $20,000. Multiview 1 Van de Graaff Drive Burlington, Mass. 01803 (617) 229-2225 Processors EMC Corp. has announced the EMC ES/9121 memory cards designed for IBM Enterprise System/9121 processors. The memory cards use 65-nsec, 4M-byte dynamic random-access memory. According to the company, state-of-the-art technology provides maximum reliability and response time improvements for I/O-bound users. The ES/9121 product line is made up of memory cards with 16M- and 32M-byte capacities that are installed in sets of four and eight. Memory can run either in the ES/9121 system exclusively or with IBM memory. Memory costs $1,500 per megabyte. EMC 171 South St. Hopkinton, Mass. 01748 (508) 435-100 * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. customers looking at Compaq and claim substantial portions of Compaq's order backlog if it can deliver its ValuePoint line. It will be an uphill battle, however. Computer Intelligence's user surveys show that Compaq actually caught up to IBM in terms of planned PC purchases in the months after the Houston-based PC maker introduced the Prolinea, DeskPro/I and Contura product lines. ``The battle is going to be won on availability, and I'm beginning to see that IBM cannot ship [ValuePoint 486s] in quantity this quarter,'' said Matt Fitzsimmons, who runs a ComputerLand dealership in White Plains, N.Y. BYRosemary Cafasso and Christopher Lindquist, CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. is making life difficult for the likes of Dun & Bradstreet Software, The Dodge Group, Computer Associates International, Inc., Tesseract and Integral. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. Users eyeball OS/2 slimdown plan 11/02/92 Desktop Computing Cafasso, Rosemary Desktop Computing IBM's concept of a streamlined OS/2 2.0 is good news for users, although some customers said they were a little unclear about what IBM would do to make this concept a reality. ``It depends on what they take out,'' said George Oliver, manager of information delivery technology at the Royal Bank of Canada. ``If it's functions, no, we're not interested.'' IBM plans to release the slimmer OS/2 in early 1993 and said the product will operate more effectively on a 4M-byte system. Before OS/2 2.0's arrival last year, IBM had discussed a plan to introduce a so-called Lite version of the operating system with fewer features. This time, however, the goal is to rewrite some of 2.0's code and remove code redundancies so functions remain the same but the operating system takes up less space in memory. With the smaller version, OS/2 would also become a more realistic choice for portable and laptop computers. While IBM currently states that OS/2 2.0 requires only 4M bytes of memory, the company also says that to run it with several applications and to use the multitasking feature, a user would really need at least 6M bytes and, in some cases, up to 8M or 12M bytes. ``We are not fully addressing the problem we have at 4M bytes,'' said Lois Dimpfel, IBM's Personal Systems director at the OS/2 Programming Laboratory in Boca Raton, Fla. Yet Ronan McGrath, vice president of information systems and accounting at Canadian National Railways, was a little uncertain about the 4M-byte goal because ``the PCs coming in now are coming in at 8M bytes anyway.'' Dimpfel said 4M-byte machines ``are still the sweet spot of the industry, especially in the laptop and notebook environments. They are delivering at 4, and when you deliver them preloaded [with 2.0], you want them preloaded with software that works well.'' Dimpfel said IBM will not remove features from OS/2 but instead plans to fine-tune it by recoding portions and getting rid of redundancies. She also said the goal is not simply to cut the 3 million lines of code but to write many of them better. All in good time ``Sometimes, you can make code better just by thinking harder,'' said Paul Pignatalli, an OS/2 2.0 reseller and owner of The Corner Store. ``With time, you can always do a better job.'' Oliver said an IBM official told him two years ago that programmers who wrote 2.0 had done ``a good job of shrinking the kernel.'' At that point, IBM said it could do more shrinking but stopped because the code was pretty good. ``So, maybe they are revisiting it now,'' Oliver added. IBM will also tune performance to improve system response time. These fixes started shipping with the Service Pack that was released last week. Additional boosts will come by year's end with the point release of 2.0, Dimpfel said. The streamlining, however, focuses on the actual operating system mechanics. Reducing 2.0's size means more programs and files can be stored along with it in main memory. That requires fewer trips to disk to fetch things _ tasks that are now bogging down the system. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. improvements for I/O-bound users. The ES/9121 product line is made up of memory cards with 16M- and 32M-byte capacities that are installed in sets of four and eight. Memory can run either in the ES/9121 system exclusively or with IBM memory. Memory costs $1,500 per megabyte. EMC 171 South St. Hopkinton, Mass. 01748 (508) 435-100 * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ----------------------------------------------------- Lack of DRDA support sends IBM users elsewhere 11/02/92 News Ambrosio, Johanna News ARMONK, N.Y. _ Some of IBM's mainframe customers are looking elsewhere for distributed database solutions, citing corporate strategies that require answers not based on big iron, as well as the lack of actual third-party support for IBM's distributed database architecture. That architecture _ the Distributed Relational Database Architecture (DRDA), introduced in June 1990 _ was intended to allow people to access relational database management systems from IBM and others. Some 25 third-party vendors have promised to support DRDA, although only a handful have actually implemented it. Four IBM database products _ DB2, SQL/DS and the database managers in OS/2 and OS/400 _ support DRDA in implementations delivered this year. But DRDA does not appear to be catching on in all 5,500 or so DB2 shops. ``We have no need for DRDA because all our new database development will be on Unix platforms,'' said Monica Simpson, database manager at BASF Corp. in Parsippany, N.J. ``Open systems is our direction.'' At this point, IBM lacks an RDBMS for its AIX version of Unix. Although some of BASF's corporate data will continue to reside in DB2 for a while, ``most of our major production systems are in IMS and VSAM,'' Simpson said. She said the search is on to replace the corporate decision support system, now under DB2, with a Unix-based product. Likewise, the Salt River Project in Phoenix is looking for DRDA alternatives, said John Chatfield, senior principal analyst. ``The issue is that only a couple of vendors have any real products that use DRDA. We have Oracle and Sybase and other products that we need access to, and some of the other distributed database architectures, including Microsoft's, have some real products that meet these needs.'' That is an issue for other customers as well, observers said. `` The power tools that people are using to develop database applications are all on Windows,'' said Chris Bird, president of Model Systems Consultants, Inc. in Stamford, Conn. ``IBM is hurting because they didn't foresee that clearly enough,'' and DRDA is losing steam as a result. Stick to their guns But IBM managers defended the tack they are taking with DRDA, saying it is becoming better accepted and that it is technically superior to other available database connections. Some 10 vendors including Ingres Corp., Oracle Corp., Novell, Inc., Borland International, Inc. and Informix Software, Inc. have licensed DRDA and have promised to build the specifications into their products. So far, however, only XDB Systems has delivered a DRDA product. But Object Technology International, Inc. is slated to do so later this month. About 15 other software vendors have said that they will introduce applications that are DRDA-capable, although these vendors have not licensed DRDA. ``Major players have said they will adapt our protocols,'' said Don Haderle, IBM's director of strategy and architecture in the enterprise database solutions group. ``If this thing had fallen flat, we'd be having a different conversation.'' He added, ``It's not just about database access. You can already buy gateways to connect into DB2 from the workstation, but the question is the overhead that those gateways require. We're trying to provide a standardization, a common protocol, so customers have fewer things to manage rather than more.'' Still, Chatfield said, ``The question is: What is real, and what is real in the near time frame?'' CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. uterworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ----------------------------------------------------- 10/26/92 News News IBM slates trimmed-down OS/2IBM officials confirmed last week that the company will ship a streamlined version of OS/2 2.0 early next year designed to run more efficiently on 4M-byte systems. IBM plans to reduce the size of OS/2 by rewriting some code and eliminating other redundant code. Although users can run OS/2 on 4M-byte machines, IBM admits that without a 6M-byte or higher configuration, users are not able to run several applications in multitasking mode. PRC wins big defense job PRC, Inc., a unit of Black & Decker Corp., won a U.S. Department of Defense systems integration job that could be worth as much as $2.5 billion over nine years. McLean, Va.-based PRC will supply minicomputers and servers from Hewlett-Packard Co., workstations from Everex Systems, Inc. and software from Oracle Corp. and Uniplex Integration Systems, Inc. PRC beat out Control Data Systems, Inc. for the job. DiNardo joins Coopers George DiNardo, formerly chief information officer at Mellon Bank Corp. in Pittsburgh, has gone east. After working as an independent consultant and college educator, he is now a partner at Coopers & Lybrand in New York, heading up the information systems portion of the company's newly reorganized financial industry consulting practice. Network help desk tools released Employees and products from Boeing Computer Services' now-defunct Network Management Systems and Services venture have resurfaced as Networx, Inc., a Bellevue, Wash., purveyor of network help desk and inventory management software. Unix-based Paradigm is said to correlate network alerts and user complaints as well as help desk managers' responses to them, all the way through to resolution. Priced at $9,950, it is scheduled to ship in December. Equifax outsources to ISSC Equifax, Inc., which earlier this year was victimized by hacker break-ins [CW, April 27], is negotiating with IBM's Integrated Systems Solutions Corp. outsourcing subsidiary to contract out portions of its data processing operations. Separately, AMR Corp.'s AMR Information Services, Inc. unit recently won a contract to replace Electronic Data Systems Corp. as the reservation systems provider to Alaska Airlines. The 10-year deal kicks off in April. Short takes American Management Systems, Inc., the systems integrator and software company based in Arlington, Va., made its succession plan clearer last week by promoting Paul Brands to vice chairman and Philip Giuntini to president of the corporation...Apple Computer, Inc. has knocked IBM out of its traditional spot as the biggest PC maker, according to International Data Corp. In the second quarter of this year, Apple shipped some 617,000 units worldwide, while IBM sent 581,000 units out the door. . . . KnowledgeWare, Inc. rebounded from a $4.9 million quarterly loss in the comparable period last year with profits of $743,000 for its fiscal 1993 first quarter, and reported a 36% sales increase to top $29.4 million. . . . Borland International, Inc. topped two categories in the J. D. Power & Associates end-user satisfaction survey on software with its Paradox database management system and Quattro Pro spreadsheet, while Software Publishing Corp.'s Professional Write was the top-rated word processor. . . . IBM announced a new way for employees to get their voices heard through IBM Ideas, which provides bonuses typically ranging up to $5,000 for ideas that please customers, speed product cycles, reduce energy costs or improve quality.``Outstanding'' ideas that save the company a lot of money may be worth $150,000. Fusco steps down at Sequoia Bowing to the combined pressures of lower earnings and an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sequoia Systems, Inc.'s chief executive officer, Gabriel Fusco, resigned last week, as did Sequoia's vice president of international sales, Keith Johnson. Fusco will stay at the company as chairman, and two Sequoia officials, Francis Hughes Jr. and Richard Goldman, will serve as interim CEO. Sequoia lowered its financial results for fiscal 1992 earlier this month because it said revenue for first-quarter 1993 will come in below forecasts. CA, Postal Service in accord The U.S. Postal Service signed a five-year, fixed-price software licensing agreement with Computer Associates International, Inc. The Postal Service contract follows on the heels of a similar accord CA reached with Citicorp [CW, Oct. 19]. According to Jerome Doniger, general manager at the technical support division of the Postal Service, similar agreements being negotiated with several vendors will help the service reduce costs as it consolidates operations in its six data centers. CA revenue, profits climb Meanwhile, CA announced that its second-quarter revenue increased 30% over the same period last year. The Islandia, N.Y., software firm reported $431.9 million in revenue for the period ended Sept. 30, compared with $332.8 million in revenue for the same period last year. Pretax income during the period rose 23%, from $61.6 million to $75.7 million. Wang Image offered for IBM hosts Wang Laboratories, Inc. unveiled a version of its imaging software for IBM mainframes. Priced between $21,200 and $128,200, Open/Image for CICS is a set of tools designed to make it easier to build image functions into IBM CICS applications. Wang, which must submit a Chapter 11 reorganization plan by Dec. 16, also announced enhanced versions of Open/ Image Workstation for 3270 and Open/Image Virtual Workstation to support PC and IBM RISC System/6000 platforms. Cuts planned at Computervision Computervision Corp. said last week that it will lay off 700 workers, resulting in a $25 million onetime charge. That charge, paired with recapitalization costs, fueled an $88 million loss for Computervision's first quarter as a public company. Intel sees busy year ahead Pentium, the newly renamed Intel Corp. 586 chip, will ship late in the first quarter of 1993, concurrent with systems that use it, according to Intel President Andrew Grove. In a speech to the New York PC User Group, he also revealed plans to ship 25 new 486-class processors in 1993, all 3.3V products that support Intel's Smart Power Management scheme, and hinted at multimedia software products. Analysts said Intel was likely to show at Comdex/Fall '92 a new software product that will let users play back video messages more easily. Short takes Tandem Computers, Inc. said it has reached an agreement with Chorus Systems, Inc. in Beaverton, Ore., to jointly develop a fault-tolerant ``micro kernel'' to enable building of client/server applications for Unix System Laboratories, Inc.'s System V, Release 4. . . . Comdisco, Inc. announced a new master lease that lets customers sublease equipment to other leasing companies, reconfigure machines and return systems with parts that do not necessarily have the same serial number as when they were first shipped. . . . * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. IBM offers host/LAN E-mail system gateway 10/26/92 News Horwitt, Elisabeth News TAMPA, Fla. With its Of- ficeVision electronic-mail product for local-area networks a clear failure, IBM is now linking its host-based E-mail products to the successful LAN-based mail offerings of Lotus Development Corp. IBM Mail LAN Gateway/2, announced last week, is an OS/2-based package that will support mail exchange between Lotus' CC:Mail and Notes and between IBM's OfficeVision/VM and Systems Network Architecture Distributed System (SNADS) E-mail systems, IBM said. Customers can use Mail LAN Gateway/2 either as a stand-alone system to connect their E-mail users over a private network or as a gateway to IBM Mail Exchange, an intercompany E-mail service offered by IBM's Information Network, an Information Network spokesman said. ``As the world moves from host to LAN office systems, we want to connect those LANs quickly and easily.'' Duracell International, Inc. has tested Mail LAN Gateway/2 and is now using the product in a production environment, said Mike DeLuca, manager of communications. The battery manufacturer, which uses Information Network as its overseas network provider, needed a way to link CC:Mail users at headquarters with OfficeVision/VM and OfficeVision/400 users throughout the company, DeLuca said. Headquarters is moving from OfficeVision/MVS to CC:Mail as it moves from a mainframe- to a LAN-oriented computing environment, he added. IBM's product was easy to implement and has ``great throughput and wonderful translation'' between different types of messages, DeLuca said. Soft-Switch, Inc. in Wayne, Pa., offers a competing SNADS-oriented E-mail gateway product but on a Unix platform that Duracell had no interest in, DeLuca said. IBM Mail LAN Gateway/2 runs on any Personal System/2 with a 386 or 486 processor running OS/2 1.3 Extended Edition. The initial version, linking CC:Mail to SNADS and OfficeVision/VM, is slated to ship in December and is priced at $10,000 per Personal System/2 for unlimited clients. Lotus' Notes support is scheduled to ship by midyear. The current version runs on IBM LAN Server with support for Novell, Inc.'s IPX LANs slated for January 1993 delivery, IBM said. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. orporation...Apple Computer, Inc. has knocked IBM out of its traditional spot as the biggest PC maker, according to International Data Corp. In the second quarter of this year, Apple shipped some 617,000 units worldwide, while IBM sent 581,000 units out the door. . . . KnowledgeWare, Inc. rebounded from a $4.9 million quarterly loss in the comparable period last year with profits of $743,000 for its fiscal 1993 first quarter, and reported a 36% sales increase to top $29.4 million. . . . Borland International, Inc. topped two categories in the J. D. Power & Associates end-user satisfaction survey on software with its Paradox database management system and Quattro Pro spreadsheet, while Software Publishing Corp.'s Professional Write was the top-rated word processor. . . . IBM announced a new way for employees to get their voices heard through IBM Ideas, which provides bonuses typically ranging up to $5,000 for ideas that please customers, speed product cycles, reduce energy costs or improve quality.``Outstanding'' ideas that save the company a lot of money may be worth $150,000. Fusco steps down at Sequoia Bowing to the combined pressures of lower earnings and an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sequoia Systems, Inc.'s chief executive officer, Gabriel Fusco, resigned last week, as did Sequoia's vice president of international sales, Keith Johnson. Fusco will stay at the company as chairman, and two Se SystemView for OS/2 debuts 10/12/92 News Horwitt, Elisabeth News Will allow management of distributed databases, servers, workstations NEW YORK In a new move to retain customers as they move off mainframes, IBM last week announced a slew of distributed systems management products built around a standards-oriented, OS/2-based version of SystemView. The key introduction, due out between December and late next year, includes DataHub, a platform for managing distributed databases, and LANfocus, a product family that is said to allow users to manage and administer local-area network servers and workstations, from a single OS/2 console. Vendors such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sun Microsystems, Inc. are ``doing similar things, but not across the board to the degree that IBM is addressing [management of] databases, workstations, servers and LAN devices,'' said Dick Boyle, a program director at Stamford, Conn., research firm Gartner Group, Inc. Key attributes of the new platform are SystemView's common graphical user interface (GUI), object-oriented data structure and standards support, which enable users to administer a wide range of devices without having to worry about the ``unique parameter definitions'' required to manage each type of system, Boyle said. SystemView Information Warehouse DataHub, a family of products, is said to enable users to manage heterogeneous databases distributed across all major IBM platforms. Some users were cautiously optimistic about DataHub. ``DataHub serves a real need. The issue is when it will extend beyond IBM,'' said John Chatfield, a senior principal analyst at the Salt River Project in Phoenix. A number of leading database administration, performance monitoring and capacity planning software vendors have announced plans to support DataHub. They include Candle Corp., Legent Corp., Platinum Technology, Inc., Boole & Babbage, Inc. and VM Systems Group. More support coming IBM spokesman Tom Aser hinted that IBM plans to provide DataHub support for AIX and Novell, Inc. NetWare. DataHub allows the database administrator to perform functions such as user authorization, table updating, data distribution and backup across heterogeneous databases that comply with IBM's Distributed Relational Database Architecture, Aser said. DataHub is potentially quite useful to the Federal Reserve Bank as a way of integrating administration across ``a bunch of different databases'' now installed at the bank, said an information systems executive at the bank who preferred anonymity. IBM gained credibility as an open, standards-based vendor with its announcement that SystemView will support the Open Software Foundation's (OSF) Motif GUI, as well as OSF Distributed Management Environment application programming interfaces as they become available. The OS/2 version will also support Simple Network Management Protocol and Common Management Information Protocol, IBM said. Early shipments of DataHub are scheduled for next spring, with general availability likely late next year, IBM said. The basic OS/2-based console product is priced at $2,000; prices for database support modules range from $200 to $140,000, based on system size and software tools. Senior editor Johanna Ambrosio contributed to this report. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. Fusco steps down at Sequoia Bowing to the combined pressures of lower earnings and an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sequoia Systems, Inc.'s chief executive officer, Gabriel Fusco, resigned last week, as did Sequoia's vice president of international sales, Keith Johnson. Fusco will stay at the company as chairman, and two Se Pen computing sparks interest 10/05/92 Desktop Computing Fitzgerald, Michael Desktop Computing Anxious managers seem willing to wait for the technology to mature LOS ANGELES Hype kicked the pen industry out of the nest early on, and the Pen Expo conference here recently showed pen vendors still struggling to find their wings. Continued user interest in the new technology may yet lift the pen market, as demonstrated by the approximately 800 users who turned out for the show. The draw for most of them was the hope that pen-based computers will provide capabilities where other portable computers have proved less than useful. ``It's a question of pen-based technology vs. doing things by hand,'' said Richard Mann, assistant district superintendent at the City of Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP). Mann said DWP would like to automate field workers who use paper forms to track crucial information, and he said pen computing may be the answer. Other users at the show said they see pen computers as more functional than keyboard-based computers. A personal computer manager at a multibillion-dollar pharmaceuticals company said his firm's entire sales staff has notebooks but does not use them during the working day. Instead, they handle transactions and file reports in hotel rooms after hours. He said pen computers could help salesmen make quick notes during or immediately after a presentation. Scott Shafer, director of workstation product marketing at NCR Corp., said NCR was encouraged to release its System 3130, shown behind closed doors at the show and scheduled for release this week, because the large majority of some 990 companies worldwide that are testing its existing 3125 pen-based system have said they do not want to roll out pilots until a better platform exists. While user frustration at the shortage of pen systems runs high, there were a fair number of product releases or enhancements at Pen Expo. The NCR 3130 adds several features over the 3125, including a backlit screen with better etching, which provides a better feel for the user, a 40M-byte or 60M-byte hard drive up from 20M bytes before and a ruggedized leather operating case. Meanwhile, the following were among a string of products announced: IBM showed OS/2-Pen, its upcoming pen-based operating system, on its ThinkPad 700T. Tusk, Inc. in Lake Park, Fla., released its All-Terrain SuperTablet, a 10.1- by 12- by 2-in. combination pen and keyboard machine. The SuperTablet is based on the 25-MHz 80386SL and has a math coprocessor and a local-bus video architecture. Base memory is 8M bytes of random- access memory. The device accepts either pen or keyboard input. A base model with an 85M-byte hard drive will sell for $5,995. Communication Intelligence Corp. in Redwood City, Calif., released Version 2.0 of its PenDOS operating environment. Westerville, Ohio-based Concept Technologies, Inc. showed its Stroke of the Hand cursive word processor. JFK Associates, Inc. in Malvern, Pa., demonstrated its RitePad reference design, intended to run DOS programs in a pen environment. The RitePad was designed to weigh 2 pounds in a 10- by 6- by 1-in. form factor and is based on Chips and Technologies, Inc.'s PC/Chip. Go Corp., the Foster City, Calif., maker of the PenPoint operating system, said it would bundle five applications with its operating system in what it calls its Hot Apps promotion. The applications are Ink Development Corp.'s Inkware NoteTaker, Pensoft Corp.'s Personal Perspective personal information manager, Penmagic Software's The Executive Assistant, Sitka Corp.'s PenCentral connectivity software and Notable Technologies, Inc.'s PenCross crossword puzzle. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. interim CEO. Sequoia lowered its financial results for fiscal 1992 earlier this month because it said revenue for first-quarter 1993 will come in below forecasts. CA, Postal Service in accord The U.S. Postal Service signed a five-year, fixed-price software licensing agreement with Computer Associates International, Inc. The Postal Service contract follows on the heels of a similar accord CA reached with Citicorp [CW, Oct. 19]. According to Jerome Doniger, general manager at the technical support division of the Postal Service, similar agreements being negotiated with several vendors will help the service reduce costs as it consolidates operations in its six data centers. CA revenue, profits climb Meanwhile, CA announced that its second-quarter revenue increased 30% over the same period last year. The Islandia, N.Y., software firm reported $431.9 million in revenue for the period ended Sept. 30, compared with $332.8 million in revenue for the same period last year. Pretax income during the period rose 23%, from $61.6 million to $75.7 million. Wang Image offered for IBM hosts Wang Laboratories, Inc. unveiled a version of its imaging software for IBM mainframes. Priced between $21,200 and $128,200, Open/Image for CICS is a set of tools designed to make it easier to build image functions into IBM CICS applications. Wang, which must submit a Chapter 11 reorganization plan by Dec. 16, also announced enhanced versions of Open/ Image Workstation for 3270 and Open/Image Virtual Workstation to support PC and IBM RISC System/6000 platforms. Cuts planned at Computervision Computervision Corp. said last week that it will lay off 700 workers, resulting in a $25 million onetime charge. That charge, paired with recapitalization costs, fueled an $88 million loss for Computervision's first quarter as a public company. Intel sees busy year ahead Pentium, the newly renamed Intel Corp. 586 chip, will ship late in the first quarter of 1993, concurrent with systems that use it, according to Intel President Andrew Grove. In a speech to the New York PC User Group, he also revealed plans to ship 25 new 486-class processors in 1993, all 3.3V products that support Intel's Smart Power Management scheme, and hinted at multimedia software products. Analysts said Intel was likely to show at Comdex/Fall '92 a new software product that will let users play back video messages more easily. Short takes Tandem Computers, Inc. said it has reached an agreement with Chorus Systems, Inc. in Beaverton, Ore., to jointly develop a fault-tolerant ``micro kernel'' to enable building of client/server applications for Unix System Laboratories, Inc.'s System V, Release 4. . . . Comdisco, Inc. announced a new master lease that lets customers sublease equipment to other leasing companies, reconfigure machines and return systems with parts that do not necessarily have the same serial number as when they were first shipped. . . . * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. Intel to close N.J. division 09/28/92 Desktop Computing Desktop Computing Intel Corp. will move its Princeton, N.J.-based Digital Video Interactive (DVI) Technical Operation to Chandler, Ariz., and close the Princeton facility during the next 12 months. The move is being made to better control costs and centralize Intel's DVI activities in one location, a spokeswoman said. The move is expected to save Intel about $20 million a year in travel costs. Eighty percent of the 170 employees in Princeton will be offered transfer packages. The spokeswoman said the move will not affect projdled package is available for $99 in a limited offer. IBM said it has ``enhanced'' its OS/2 Developer Assistance Program. Developers can now join the program by calling (407) 982-6408 or via CompuServe after Oct. 18. IBM also announced it will ship a compact disc/read-only memory with beta-test versions of future OS/2 code and development tools. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ire sales staff has notebooks but does not use them during the working day. Instead, they handle transactions and file reports in hotel rooms after hours. He said pen computers could help salesmen make quick notes during or immediately after a presentation. Scott Shafer, director of workstation product marketing at NCR Corp., said NCR was encouraged to release its System 3130, shown behind closed doors at the show and scheduled for release this week, because the large majority of some 990 companies worldwide that are testing its existing 3125 pen-based system have said they do not want to roll out pilots until a better platform exists. While user frustration at the shortage of pen systems runs high, there were a fair number of product releases or enhancements at Pen Expo. The NCR 3130 adds several features over the 3125, including a backlit screen with better etching, which provides a better feel for the user, a 40M-byte or 60M-byte hard drive up from 20M bytes before and a ruggedized leather operating case. Meanwhile, the following were among a string of products announced: IBM showed OS/2-Pen, its upcoming pen-based operating system, on its ThinkPad 700T. Tusk, Inc. in Lake Park, Fla., released its All-Terrain SuperTablet, a 10.1- by 12- by 2-in. combination pen and keyboard machine. The SuperTablet is based on the 25-MHz 80386SL and has a math coprocessor and a local-bus video architecture. Base memory is 8M bytes of random- access memory. The device accepts either pen or keyboard input. A base model with an 85M-byte hard drive will sell for $5,995. Communication Intelligence Corp. in Redwood City, Calif., released Version 2.0 of its PenDOS operating environment. Westerville, Ohio-based Concept Technologies, Inc. showed its Stroke of the Hand cursive word processor. JFK Associates, Inc. in Malvern, Pa., demonstrated its RitePad reference design, intended to run DOS programs in a pen environment. The RitePad was designed to weigh 2 pounds in a 10- by 6- by 1-in. form factor and is based on Chips and Technologies, Inc.'s PC/Chip. Go Corp., the Foster City, Calif., maker of the PenPoint operating system, said it would bundle five applications with its operating system in what it calls its Hot Apps promotion. The applications are Ink Development Corp.'s Inkware NoteTaker, Pensoft Corp.'s Personal Perspective personal information manager, Penmagic Software's The Executive Assistant, Sitka Corp.'s PenCentral connectivity software and Notable Technologies, Inc.'s PenCross crossword puzzle. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copy Coming of (technology) age 09/28/92 News Nash, Kim S. News North Carolina battle to move off ancient systems to reach cutting edge RALEIGH, N.C. The last staff member who knew anything about the Mohawk Data Sciences minicomputer running North Carolina's statewide accounting system quit in June. Now, not only is the decade-old machine on the verge of keeling over, but the one person who could perform triage is no longer around. The same state that boasts achievement awards for telecommunications and overall information systems structure is nearly archaic in other technology areas. For instance, the Department of Transportation's mainframe-based highway tracking system was written in assembler 20 years ago and is virtually incomprehensible to today's staff. ``Our current [accounting] systems are so old they could die at any minute,'' said Tom Runkle, deputy state controller for information resources management. ``It's hair-raising.'' Pinching pennies Despite the need to quickly update some of these systems, an ever-slimmer budget has forced the state to plan carefully for the future. That so far has included shaving IS staff by laying off six of 60 programmers in the last year. ``We can't afford to do a lot of hiring, so we have to make sure everything we do from now on is as lean as can be,'' Runkle explained. One key piece of its strategy is a recent $1 million investment in computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools from Andersen Consulting in Chicago. Foundation for Cooperative Processing (FCP), a workbench for building client/server applications, is being used to pull accounting, transportation and other dangerously old systems into the future. The state has been doing traditional mainframe-based development since 1989 with Foundation, Andersen's original workbench. That alone puts it several steps ahead of other states when it comes to CASE, said Dale Nelson, president of the National Association of State Information Resource Executives, a group of government IS leaders based in Lexington, Ky. A set of stringent technology laws passed by North Carolina's general assembly predicated the FCP purchase (see chart). Effective Sept. 1, the laws mandate a minimum level of technologic uniformity across the state. Ultimately, all key systems will talk to one other, regardless of the hardware on which they reside. That is a big reason the state stuck with Andersen. Another is the client/server direction the state is taking. Outside consultants drew up blueprints in 1991 for a $1.6 million, 90-user system to track construction projects on the state's 77,000 miles of highways. They suggested revamping the IBM 3090 mainframe-based system to run in client/server mode a concept now coming to life. Analysis and design are complete, and code generation is under way. Simpler, less expensive projects such as non-mission-critical pilots might have eased the state into client/server CASE, but it does not have the luxury of time. At first, the prospect of designing for client/server ``posed serious problems,'' said Stephen Arrants, MIS director. The client/server development experience of North Carolina's programming staff totaled ``zero,'' according to Runkle. As Arrants put it: ``We definitely had a business problem in search of a technology.'' After searching for an integrated tool set that met client/ server needs, the state landed back at Andersen's door, buying an FCP starter kit. The kit included products, training and on-site support on a real-life project. Progress has been steady, with two large, time-sensitive applications due to be deployed soon. So far, $150,000 to $200,000 has been spent on refreshing the old accounting system with graphical front ends. Plus, the client/server highway management system is on track for initial delivery within six months. It will run over 55 local-area networks anchored with IBM OS/2 servers and personal computer clients. But there was a glitch in the beginning. FCP requires that business logic models be developed in the C language, which none of North Carolina's programmers knew. So they had to contend with dual training in C and the Andersen product. ``The boot camp wasn't a practice exercise; we made real things happen fast,'' Arrants said. The menu-driven FCP insulates the programmer from the nitty-gritty of coding graphical user interfaces, Arrants said. ``Everyone bought in quickly once they saw the fast results.'' CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. quarter revenue increased 30% over the same period last year. The Islandia, N.Y., software firm reported $431.9 million in revenue for the period ended Sept. 30, compared with $332.8 million in revenue for the same period last year. Pretax income during the period rose 23%, from $61.6 million to $75.7 million. Wang Image offered for IBM hosts Wang Laboratories, Inc. unveiled a version of its imaging software for IBM mainframes. Priced between $21,200 and $128,200, Open/Image for CICS is a set of tools designed to make it easier to build image functions into IBM CICS applications. Wang, which must submit a Chapter 11 reorganization plan by Dec. 16, also announced enhanced versions of Open/ Image Workstation for 3270 and Open/Image Virtual Workstation to support PC and IBM RISC System/6000 platforms. Cuts planned at Computervision Computervision Corp. said last week that it will lay off 700 workers, resulting in a $25 million onetime charge. That charge, paired with recapitalization costs, fueled an $88 million loss for Computervision's first quarter as a public company. Intel sees busy year ahead Pentium, the newly renamed Intel Corp. 586 chip, will ship late in the first quarter of 1993, concurrent with systems that use it, according to Intel President Andrew Grove. In a speech to the New York PC User Group, he also revealed plans to ship 25 new 486-class processors in 1993, all 3.3V products that support Intel's Smart Power Management scheme, and hinted at multimedia software products. Analysts said Intel was likely to show at Comdex/Fall '92 a new software product that will let users play back video messages more easily. Short takes Tandem Computers, Inc. said it has reached an agreement with Chorus Systems, Inc. in Beaverton, Ore., to jointly develop a fault-tolerant ``micro kernel'' to enable building of client/server applications for Unix System Laboratories, Inc.'s System V, Release 4. . . . Comdisco, Inc. announced a new master lease that lets customers sublease equipment to other leasing companies, reconfigure machines and return systems with parts that do not necessarily have the same serial number as when they were first shipped. . . . * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. TeamNet runs HP 09/28/92 Large Systems Large Systems TeamOne Systems, Inc. recently announced that the TeamNet data and configuration management system now runs on Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Apollo 9000 Series 400 and Series 700 workstations. TeamNet tracks file changes made by any tool that runs on any platform on a Network File System-based network, according to the firm. The Virginia Center of Excellence for Software Reuse and Technology Transfer in Herndon, Va., received a $7.2 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for research in reusable architectures and components, integration of reuse technology into organizations, methodologies to encourage reuse in the software industry and methodologies for determining when reuse is cost-effective. Intersolov, Inc. in Rockville, Md., has begun shipping APS 2.2, an enhanced code generator that produces code for client/server applications. Beta-tested at 16 sites, APS 2.2, which is priced at $9,500, can target code for IBM mainframes, Application System/400s or OS/2 systems. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. w on is as lean as can be,'' Runkle explained. One key piece of its strategy is a recent $1 million investment in computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools from Andersen Consulting in Chicago. Foundation for Cooperative Processing (FCP), a workbench for building client/server applications, is being used to pull accounting, transportation and other dangerously old systems into the future. The state has been doing traditional mainframe-based development since 1989 with Foundation, Andersen's original workbench. That alone puts it several steps ahead of other states when it comes to CASE, said Dale Nelson, president of the National Association of State Information Resource Executives, a group of government IS leaders based in Lexington, Ky. A set of stringent technology laws passed by North Carolina's general assembly predicated the FCP purchase (see chart). Effective Sept. 1, the laws mandate a minimum level of technologic uniformity across the state. Ultimately, all key systems will talk to one other, regardless of the hardware on which they reside. That is a big reason the state stuck with Andersen. Another is the client/server direction the state is taking. Outside consultants drew up blueprints in 1991 for a $1.6 million, 90-user system to track construction projects on the state's 77,000 miles of highways. They suggested revamping the IBM 3090 mainframe-based system to run in client/server mode a concept now coming to life. Analysis and design are complete, and code generation is under way. Simpler, less expensive projects such as non-mission-critical pilots might have eased the state into client/server CASE, but it does not have the luxury of time. At first, the prospect of designing for client/server ``posed serious problems,'' said Stephen Arrants, MIS director. The client/server development experience of North Carolina's programming staff totaled ``zero,'' according to Runkle. As Arrants put it: ``We definitely had a business problem in search of a technology.'' After searching for an integrated tool set that met client/ server needs, the state landed back at Andersen's door, buying an FCP starter kit. The kit included products, training and on-site support on a real-life project. Progress has been steady, with two large, time-sensitive applications due to be deployed soon. So far, $150,000 to $200,000 has been spent on refreshing the old accounting system with graphical front ends. Plus, the client/server highway management system is on track for initial delivery within six months. It will run over 55 local-area networks an Betting the farm on technology 09/14/92 Bernstein, Amy In the field, if you're not ahead, you're vulnerable Nearly 10 years ago, when deregulation punctured AT&T's long-distance monopoly, twin challenges increasing competition and changing consumer demands loomed before staid Ma Bell. The rules of that game were changing from a world where, in place of unchallenged rate increases, one had to provide better service at the lowest possible cost. Deregulation accelerated those trends. Today AT&T still retains a healthy 70% share of the long-distance carrier market. But fierce competition has transformed the entire industry into a technology-driven race in which each player must develop and deliver a constant slew of consumer-friendly products and services while relentlessly holding down costs. Meanwhile, the nation's electric and gas utilities are just coming to grips with their tumultuous era of deregulation. New federal laws make it easier than ever for independent power producers and cogenerators to sell power and/or pipeline transmission capacity directly to consumers for less than the established utilities do. Not surprisingly, change is triggering massive internal restructuring among utilities as they struggle to move to a market-driven culture and infrastructure. As with telecommunications, technology is the critical enabler for the utilities; it is the engine of corporate reinvention. The utilities are still exploring the mandate that telecommunications firms have been implementing for years: Use technology in every way possible to drive down costs unilaterally while continually improving quality and customer service. For telecommunications companies, which are further along in the technology-driven restructuring process, the next big push is to develop a client/server architecture that streamlines the flow of information from mainframes to desktops. This allows employees in far-flung offices to more quickly and efficiently retrieve data, such as customer billing records, on demand. MCI Communications Corp., the Premier 100's No. 1 utility for the fourth consecutive year, has a strong grip on these complex initiatives. The company is committing its substantial information systems resources to everything from virtual private network services to lights-out data center operations. MCI Communications Corp. The nation's second-largest long-distance carrier performed impressively last year: MCI's earnings nearly doubled, to $522 million, on revenue of $2.16 billion close to double the industry growth rate for 1991. One of the company's high-profile new products, the Friends & Family program, alone generated more than 5 million new long-distance customers. No wonder, then, that MCI's IS organization is bucking the industry trend toward flat or downsized resources. In 1992, it had staff increase of 250, to 2,050 total, and a budget increase of 4.5%, to $460 million. In the works is a move toward ``800 portability,'' whereby toll-free 800 numbers would be owned by customers, not carriers. MCI won't detail strategies but admits to readying billing and reporting systems for an anticipated increase in volume. Rollout is scheduled for March 1993. Nearly completed is a new networked customer service system of 7,000 IBM OS/2 licenses and an equal number of Personal System/2 Model 90 workstations. Bell Atlantic Corp. Bell Atlantic, the third-largest provider of local telephone services, is caught up in an effort to essentially ``rebuild everything'' by the year 2000, according to Joseph T. Ambrozy, vice president of IS and chief information officer. System 2000 a $2 billion, 10-year commitment to boosting productivity and competitiveness involves rebuilding virtually all front-end applications driving the company. One facet: a new Unix-based application for 6,000 customer service representatives. Carolina Power & Light Co. Carolina Power & Light's ongoing commitment to total quality management (TQM), now in its sixth year, has deeply affected the way the $2.6 billion utility formulates and implements IS strategy. A new customer billing system initiated in 1988 as a result of TQM studies is slated to go on-line at the end of this year. The new system is expected to yield 25% to 30% improvements in productivity overall. And in the early stages is a new activity-based cost management system that breaks down costs by work effort and project. The DB2-based system should go on-line in late 1993. Southern Co. Southern, in its best year since 1989, posted a 35% gain in first-quarter earnings over '91. The firm serves 120,000 square miles in the Southeastern U.S. and excels at cutting costs while improving infrastructure. Case in point: Under CIO M. Euel Wade Jr., Southern has laid 1,400 of 2,500 miles of fiber-optic cable. The completed backbone network will tie far-flung plants to the company's headquarters in Atlanta. By cutting deals with long-haul carriers that use Southern's transmission-line rights-of-way, the utility is saving $75 million in capital expenditures while strengthening vital voice and data systems. Still in the prototyping stage is a massive geographic mapping and facilities management system that will provide precise information on where and when outages occur. Northeast Utilities Northeast Utilities (NU), the parent company of New England's largest electric utility system, is scrambling to compete in a deregulatory environment. NU's 378-person IS operation is responding, in part, by building innovative new alliances to improve customer service, tighten operations and achieve new economies of scale. For example, an unusual agreement with IBM, Northern Telecom, Inc., AT&T and other providers will result in a Caller ID system that enables customer service representatives to capture critical information during a power emergency. On another front, NU's just-completed Natural Activity-based Accounting System helps IS track precise project expenditures using IBM's DB2 relational database. NU's partner in the $35 million project was Arthur Andersen & Co. Ameritech Corp. Ameritech Services, the technology arm of the nation's seventh-largest telephone holding company, is in the midst of an ambitious restructuring effort designed to help the company lower costs and become more market-driven. The first order of business is linking each of 15 core ``business processes'' customer billing, repair, marketing and so on with the IS people and functions that support them. In this way, the various business units and their IS support teams strive together toward goals such as 24-hour, seven-day customer support. To support this market-driven strategy, Ameritech has budgeted $150 million this year for new IBM Enterprise System/9000 mainframes, an Open Systems Interconnect data network, an NCR Corp.-based client/server network and four new data centers. Duke Power The mandate for IS at Duke Power to help lower the cost of generating electricity reflects difficult economic times at one of the nation's most efficient utilities. One major IS initiative involves streamlining centralized telephone service to utility customers after hours. The IS department is developing a suite of applications that make it easier for service representatives to extract customer account data using the customer's phone number rather than a complex customer ID. The new system will enable fewer people to handle more calls. Baltimore Gas & Electric Despite a 7% cutback in its $65 million IS budget this year, Baltimore Gas & Electric (BG&E) is knee-deep in IS projects. The most important is a wide-area network, budgeted at $2.5 million, that will connect 11 BG&E business locations in Maryland. The data network's open systems architecture should improve local-office access to data and eliminate intraoffice paper trails. During the next couple of years, the network will support many critical new applications running on multivendor platforms, such as a $7 million customer information analysis system that improves anticipation of emergencies such as residential power outages. GTE Corp. GTE is the nation's largest local phone company and the second-largest cellular telephone provider, thanks to last year's $6.6 billion merger with Contel Corp. It is also among the most profitable: Local phone traffic grew 8% last year, besting the 2% industry average. Despite phenomenal growth, GTE's 1992 IS budget of $800 million is about even with last year's, and head count is flat. Roughly 60,000 PCs are in place now, compared with 20,000 three years ago. Like its rivals, GTE is focusing on building a client/server architecture. A three-year, $150 million agreement with Hewlett-Packard Co. will result in hundreds of new servers and workstations. Once completed, the new architecture will allow GTE to internally publish more than 1,200 telephone directories, a job that is now outsourced. The directories contribute $1.2 billion yearly to GTE revenue. AT&T Even with 70% of the long-distance market in hand, AT&T isn't taking anything for granted. The company paid $7.4 billion for NCR last year as part of a long-term strategy to make AT&T a one-stop shop for worldwide voice-data networks and attendant equipment. The acquisition is fueling a major IS push to incorporate NCR's local-area networks and processors into a new client/ server architecture that will make it easier for 21 business units and as many supporting divisions to quickly access data locally. For example, individual customer records that once resided on a central mainframe can now be accessed locally. AT&T views this re-engineering process as essential to speeding up customer service, improving accountability and eliminating the number of people involved in each business transaction. Overall, AT&T expects savings of 65% to 75% over five years from re-engineering and ongoing data center consolidation efforts with no planned cutbacks in IS staffing, which hovers around 20,000. Bernstein is a free-lance writer based in Baltimore * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. Users want action from IBM PC unit 09/07/92 Hildebrand, Carol Fitzgerald, Michael Service, prices, delivery cited as key concerns SOMERS, N.Y. After weeks of boisterous speculation, IBM quietly spun off its personal computer hardware organization into a separate unit last week, saying it is now able to play for keeps in an arena where it has increasingly seemed unable to compete. The new IBM Personal Computer Co., headed by Robert Corrigan, former president of the Entry Systems Division, effectively blends Entry Systems with IBM's National Distribution Division. An approximately $7 billion company, it will feature PC marketing, vastly slimmed-down distribution, product development and manufacturing all under one roof, which Corrigan said will allow it to get better products to the right markets faster. Demanding results Skeptical users and analysts said they are more interested in tangible results than in yet another reorganization by the stumbling computer giant. ``What [IBM does] in terms of organizational structure is not the key issue,'' said Richard E. Nelson Jr., vice president of agency systems at New York Life Insurance Co. He said IBM needed to better target its products as well as lower its prices. ``I'll wait and see this could just be smoke and mirrors.'' Nelson added that there were no IBM products on New York Life's list of approved products for its agents for the first time since the company formulated the list because the last two such products IBM's Personal System/2 Model 70 and L40SX laptop were no longer competitive in price/performance. ``In some ways, their [upcoming] product announcements are more important. This reorganization just shows all the trouble they're in,'' agreed William Bluestein, an analyst at Forrester Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., referring to an expected revamp of IBM's entire PC product line. Several users said a break from the mainframe-dominated mind-set at IBM would improve PC service and support and make pricing concessions easier to gain. Tom Martin, director of computer services at Conyers, Ga.-based Lithonia Lighting, said he thought it would make concessions granted faster. Before, it was difficult ``because too many people had to say yes. Now, if they so choose, they can be more immediate. It gives them a better handle on cost benefits,'' he said. Corrigan said that in IBM's upcoming product announcements, expected on Sept. 9 and 21, the hardware unit will follow OS/2's lead by branching into new distribution channels. The company will initially sell through various channels, including its traditional dealer network, and will contract with IBM's sales force to sell its wares, too. IBM retains the Personal Systems Programming Division (OS/2) and Advanced Workstations Division (RISC System/6000), as well as its Technology Products Group. Corrigan reports to IBM Vice President James A. Cannavino, general manager of the Personal Systems Division. Corrigan will have profit-and-loss responsibility, but the company's results will not be reported separately from IBM's. Corrigan claimed that creating a separate PC company would allow the unit to better control its pricing, features and components sourcing. Checkered past IBM has a mixed history in efforts to revitalize business units by seceding them from the Big Blue union. While its Lexmark International, Inc. printer and Integrated Systems Solutions Corp. subsidiaries thrive, its Desktop Software Unit was dismantled before it had a chance to get off the ground. Some observers wondered how a supposedly separate organization populated by people steeped in IBM culture could succeed. ``With all the same people in place, can we really expect an entrepreneurial spirit to surface from thin air?'' asked Richard Zwetchkenbaum, an analyst at Framingham, Mass.-based International Data Corp. Many users interviewed by Computerworld said that while IBM was taking necessary steps to be more flexible and competitive by spinning off the company, they would not be convinced until they saw tangible evidence. ``We need to wait and see how it is implemented,'' said Lynne Baron, director of systems and technology at Standard & Poor's, Inc. Baron has shifted from IBM largely because of price, but she said proper service and support are also vital. ``If IBM can lower prices to be competitive and still achieve the level of service and support of a Dell, that might be something we would revisit,'' she said. Sources close to IBM said pricing on the new lines of PCs will be very aggressive, although it is unclear whether they will undercut clones. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. to the company's headquarters in Atlanta. By cutting deals with long-haul carriers that use Southern's transmission-line rights-of-way, the utility is saving $75 million in capital expenditures while strengthening vital voice and data systems. Still in the prototyping stage is a massive geographic mapping and facilities management system that will provide precise information on where and when outages occur. Northeast Utilities Northeast Utilities (NU), the parent company of New England's largest electric utility system, is scrambling to compete in a deregulatory environment. NU's 378-person IS operation is responding, in part, by building innovative new alliances to improve customer service, tighten operations and achieve new economies of scale. For example, an unusual agreement with IBM, Northern Telecom, Inc., AT&T and other providers will result in a Caller ID system that enables customer service representatives to capture critical information during a power emergency. On another front, NU's just-completed Natural Activity-based Accounting System helps IS track precise project expenditures using IBM's DB2 relational database. NU's partner in the $35 million project was Arthur Andersen & Co. Ameritech Corp. Ameritech Services, the technology arm of the nation's seventh-largest telephone holding company, is in the midst of an ambitious restructuring effort designed to help the company lower costs and become more market-driven. The first order of business is linking each of 15 core ``business processes'' customer billing, repair, marketing and so on with the IS people and functions that support them. In this way, the various business units and their IS support teams strive together toward goals such as 24-hour, seven-day customer support. To support this market-driven strategy, Ameritech has budgeted $150 million this year for new IBM Enterprise System/9000 mainframes, an Open Systems Interconnect data network, an NCR Corp.-based client/server network and four new data centers. Duke Power The mandate for IS at Duke Power to help lower the cost of generating electricity reflects difficult economic times at one of the nation's most efficient utilities. One major IS initiative involves streamlining centralized telephone service to utility customers after hours. The IS department is developing a suite of applications that make it easier for service representatives to extract customer account data using the customer's phone number rather than a complex customer ID. The new system will enable fewer people to handle more calls. Baltimore Gas & Electric Despite a 7% cutback in its $65 million IS budget this year, Baltimore Gas & Electric (BG&E) is knee-deep in IS projects. The most important is a wide-area network, budgeted at $2.5 million, that will connect 11 BG&E business locations in Maryland. The data network's open systems architecture should improve local-office access 09/07/92 Overview Overview The unkindest cut One aspect of IBM's new PC company that is not being discussed much is the number of employees who won't be transferred. Naturally, IBM, being what it is, is not using the ``L'' word, but sources said approximately 30%, or 6,000 NDD employees, have reportedly already taken advantage of such offers as early retirement programs. Some of the parachutes glint golden: pen and tablet guru Kathy Veith is reportedly spending her newfound free time in a new home in Vail, Colo. Polyglutonous networking Tomorrow, DEC is expected to make its long-awaited announcement of a link between DECmcc Director and IBM's NetView, which DEC co-developed with Systems Center, Inc. The software is expected to let DECmcc manage IBM SNA systems and provide DEC network management capabilities to NetView and Systems Center's NetView/Master. Sparks will fly At a product splash slated for early December, Sun plans to unveil a 20-processor SPARCserver and new low-end systems and multiprocessor desktop machines. Sun President Scott McNealy said prices for Sun servers will remain below the $200,000 mark, however. The new systems will run Solaris 2.0 and its subsequent versions only, as Sun migrates users from SunOS and Solaris 1.0 to the newer operating system based on Unix System V, Release 4. Allies no more Effectively slamming the door after its exit from the AD/ Cycle alliance, Intersolv plans to roll out a new version of APS, a code generator that went head-to-head with IBM's Cross System Product (CSP). Expected late this month, APS 2.2 will target client/server applications for OS/2-based clients. IBM, meanwhile, intends to revamp CSP to produce both mainframe and OS/2 code. The delivery date is undefined. OTC burglary tools? HP recently unveiled an accessory to its popular LaserJet printers that may be very popular with an unforeseen customer check forgers. The package reproduces the little numbers on checks that are scanned and read in bank clearinghouses, reducing the cost of payroll checks to about 10 cents each, instead of the $1 apiece that a check-printing service charges. Also, a $3,000 laser printer compares favorably with $10,000 and up for a special-purpose check printer. Observers such as ANSI's Roy Van Denburgh fear the package which includes a $169 toner cartridge containing special ink and a $249 font program needed to make the magnetic-ink character recognition code will reduce the cost of forgery. Down, but not out (yet)? Sources close to Momenta say the company has finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, after a few months of struggling to find a buyer. Word is the company could now be had so cheaply that someone may buy it, and sources say more than one investor is sniffing. The sources said John Rizzo, former vice president of marketing at Momenta, might be tapped to run a reincarnated company that would market several products Momenta was close to completing. While PCs are the usual target of viruses, Unix-based workstations could be next. Unix machines have so far been protected by the variety of operating system variants, including I/O media that typically harbor PC viruses, but they are far from immune. From an internal Intergraph paper on this issue: ``The potential threat . . . is greater than what has actually been observed. . . . Viruses can spread anywhere that programs are shared. . . . A very good culture medium, therefore, is a LAN with many PCs and one or a few file servers. . . . A non-PC file server could be carrying programmed threats to which it is itself immune and passing them on to PCs which execute programs from the file server.'' Experts suggest that a good checksum program would be a nice addition to any network. So would some news tips. Phone, fax or CompuServe News Editor Alan Alper at (800) 343-6474, (508) 875-8931 or 76537,2413, respectively. Or try Computerworld's 24-hour voice-mail tip line at (508) 820-8555. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. Baron, director of systems and technology at Standard & Poor's, Inc. Baron has shifted from IBM largely because of price, but she said proper service and support are also vital. ``If IBM can lower prices to be competitive and still achieve the level of service and support of a Dell, that might be something we would revisit,'' she said. Sources close to IBM said pricing on the new lines of PCs will be very aggressive, although it is unclear whether they will undercut clones. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. to the company's headquarters in Atlanta. By cutting deals with long-haul carriers that use Southern's transmission-line rights-of-way, the utility is saving $75 million in capital expenditures while strengthening vital voice and data systems. Still in the prototyping stage is a massive geographic mapping and facilities management system that will provide precise information on where and when outages occur. Northeast Utilities Northeast Utilities (NU), the parent company of New England's largest electric utility system, is scrambling to compete in a deregulatory environment. NU's 378-person IS operation is responding, in part, by building innovative new alliances to improve customer service, tighten operations and achieve new economies of scale. For example, an unusual agreement with IBM, Northern Telecom, Inc., AT&T and other providers will result in a Caller ID system that enables customer service representatives to capture critical information during a power emergency. On another front, NU's just-completed Natural Activity-based Accounting System helps IS track precise project expenditures using IBM's DB2 relational database. NU's partner in the $35 million project was Arthur Andersen & Co. Ameritech Corp. Ameritech Services, the technology arm of the nation's seventh-largest telephone holding company, is in the midst of an ambitious restructuring effort designed to help the company lower costs and become more market-driven. The first order of business is linking each of 15 core ``business processes'' customer billing, repair, marketing and so on with the IS people and functions that support them. In this way, the various business units and their IS support teams strive together toward goals such as 24-hour, seven-day customer support. To support this market-driven strategy, Ameritech has budgeted $150 million this year for new IBM Enterprise System/9000 mainframes, an Open Systems Interconnect data network, an NCR Corp.-based client/server network and four new data centers. Duke Power The mandate for IS at Duke Power to help lower the cost of generating electricity reflects difficult economic times at one of the nation's most efficient utilities. One major IS initiative involves streamlining centralized telephone service to utility customers after hours. The IS department is developing a suite of applications that make it easier for service representatives to extract customer account data using the customer's phone number rather than a complex customer ID. The new system will enable fewer people to handle more calls. Baltimore Gas & Electric Despite a 7% cutback in its $65 million IS budget this year, Baltimore Gas & Electric (BG&E) is knee-deep in IS projects. The most important is a wide-area network, budgeted at $2.5 million, that will connect 11 BG&E business locations in Maryland. The data network's open systems architecture should improve local-office access 09/07/92 Desktop Computing Desktop Computing Part of a series of user tips provided by personal computer software vendors, based on questions commonly asked of their customer support personnel. This week's focus is on IBM's OS/2 2.0. Q Should I use the High Performance File System (HPFS) or should I stick with file allocation tables (FAT)? A There are two things to consider with HPFS. First, if you plan on using the feature of OS/2 that allows you to boot DOS by itself, not within a DOS session under OS/2, then you should stick with FAT on the boot drive and any drives you want to access within DOS applications. The other consideration is memory. If you have less than 8M bytes of memory in your computer, you should seriously consider staying with FAT, as HPFS uses 500K bytes of memory. If you have 8M bytes of memory or more and your disk is larger than 60M bytes, you will be better off with HPFS. Q I want to install something similar to HPFS support, which I did not choose when I installed OS/2. Do I have to start my installation over? A No. Simply open the OS/2 System Folder by double clicking on it, then open the System Setup object. You can then choose Selective Install, which will allow you to install any feature you did not choose initially. Q My printer worked fine under DOS but now will not work under OS/2. What should I do? A There are several things that OS/2 does with printing that DOS did not. You will need to ensure that your system is configured so that your printer port is on IRQ7 and your second printer port is on IRQ5. You will also need to ensure that the address on LPT1 is either 3BC or 378 and LPT2 is address 278. Q I have heard about BIOS dates and how some older machines will not run OS/2 unless I have an up-to-date BIOS. What are the right levels? A There are several manufacturers of BIOS chips that require certain levels to run OS/2. Any IBM Personal System/2 with an Intel Corp. 80386SX chip or higher will run OS/2 with no problems. The information below describes the BIOS makers and BIOS levels we know about: American Megatrends, Inc. (AMI) BIOS For AMI BIOS machines, the revision number will be displayed while the memory is counting and will look like this: aaaa-bbbb-mmddyy-Kc for AMI BIOS and AMI BIOS Plus. ee-ffff-bbbbbb-gggggggg-mmddyy-hhhhhhhh-c for AMI Hi-Flex BIOS. If the ID looks any different, then you need to contact the system board manufacturer. If you have an IDE-type hard disk, the ``mmddyy'' above should be 040990 or later. With any other type of hard drive, the ``mmddyy'' above must be 092588 or later, along with the keyboard controller at revision level (the ``c'' in the codes above) F. This is necessary for OS/2 2.0 to function correctly. The ID codes above may indicate you should contact your system board manufacturer for upgrade information for running OS/2 2.0. If the ID codes on your system conform to the above and you need a BIOS update to run OS/2 2.0, you can contact Washburn & Co. at (716) 248-3627 for upgrade information. Phoenix Technologies, Inc. BIOS If your system has a Phoenix BIOS, it must be at Revision level 1.02.05D or later for OS/2 2.0 to operate properly. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. and one or a few file servers. . . . A non-PC file server could be carrying programmed threats to which it is itself immune and passing them on to PCs which execute programs from the file server.'' Experts suggest that a good checksum program would be a nice addition to any network. So would some news tips. Phone, fax or CompuServe News Editor Alan Alper at (800) 343-6474, (508) 875-8931 or 76537,2413, respectively. Or try Computerworld's 24-hour voice-m DME conformity 09/07/92 News Horwitt, Elisabeth News IBM and HP are expected to turn up the volume shortly on user interest in the OSF's DME by announcing network management products that conform to the DME Consolidated Management Application Programming Interface (CM-API). CM-API, which was co-developed for the OSF by IBM, HP and Groupe Bull, enables applications to initiate management tasks via either the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Common Management Information Protocol (CMIP) or the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). HP is expected to announce the shipment of OpenView Unix Release 3.1 with support for CM-API-based access to SNMP and CMIP over Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. HP will also announce that Release 3.2, which will include full CMIP-over-OSI support, will ship in the fourth quarter. IBM is expected in the next few weeks to announce Distributed Systems Management, an OS/2-based local-area network management system that will comply with IBM's SystemView architecture and also support CM-API. While compliance with CM-API is only an initial step toward full DME compliance, it is an important one, according to David Passmore, a program director at Gartner Group, Inc. ``Managing CMIP and SNMP via common semantics is a nice trick,'' he said. CW Staf * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. d printer port is on IRQ5. You will also need to ensure that the address on LPT1 is either 3BC or 378 and LPT2 is address 278. Q I have heard about BIOS dates and how some older machines will not run OS/2 unless I have an up-to-date BIOS. What are the right levels? A There are several manufacturers of BIOS chips that require certain levels to run OS/2. Any IBM Personal System/2 with an Intel Corp. 80386SX chip or higher will run OS/2 with no problems. The information below describes the BIOS makers and BIOS levels we know about: American Megatrends, Inc. (AMI) BIOS For AMI BIOS machines, the revision number will be displayed while the memory is counting and will look like this: aaaa-bbbb-mmddyy-Kc for AMI BIOS and AMI BIOS Plus. ee-ffff-bbbbbb-gggggggg-mmddyy-hhhhhhhh-c for AMI Hi-Flex BIOS. If the ID looks any different, then you need to contact the system board manufacturer. If you have an IDE-type hard disk, the ``mmddyy'' above should be 040990 or later. With any other type of hard drive, the ``mmddyy'' above must be 092588 or later, along with the keyboard controller at revision level (the ``c'' in the codes above) F. This is necessary for OS/2 2.0 to function correctly. The ID codes above may indicate you should contact your system board manufacturer for upgrade information for running OS/2 2.0. If the ID codes on your system conform to the above and you need a BIOS update to run OS/2 2.0, you can contact Washburn & Co. at (716) 248-3627 for upgrade information. Phoenix Technologies, Inc. BIOS If your system has a Phoenix BIOS, it must be at Revision level 1.02.05D or later for OS/2 2.0 to operate properly. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. and one or a few file servers. . . . A non-PC file server could be carrying programmed threats to which it is itself immune and passing them on to PCs which execute programs from the file server.'' Experts suggest that a good checksum program would be a nice addition to any network. So would some news tips. Phone, fax or CompuServe News Editor Alan Alper at (800) 343-6474, (508) 875-8931 or 76537,2413, respectively. Or try Computerworld's 24-hour voice-m OS/2:Quirks & fixes 08/31/92 In Depth Pascal, Fabian In Depth Version 2.0 has much to recommend it, but there are some things you need to know before you try to install it in a mixed-vendor environment OS/2 2.0 has some great attributes and may, given its ability to multitask DOS Windows applications, be the most logical successor to DOS. At this point, however, getting OS/2 2.0 to work smoothly, particularly in a mixed environment, requires time resources and more than rudimentary technical expertise. While OS/2 should run on any IBM-compatible system and does run on many, it may balk at some configurations. For example, I've been working with OS/2 2.0 in a stand-alone mode multitasking OS/2 and DOS sessions on non-IBM hardware (see related story page 95). During a period of about eight days, the OS/2 installation program failed at least 24 times, at different stages and with intermittently variable error messages, sometimes occurring in combination. Problems are still popping up after installation that have yet to be resolved. That there are compatibility problems at this point is not surprising, given the difficulty of introducing a new, sophisticated operating system into a diversified and no longer standardized PC market. What is important is that both IBM and third-party hardware suppliers work fast to resolve problems and that early adopters not be blindsided by complications. After several months of working with my particular configuration, I've developed some knowledge of where problems can crop up, whether they can be avoided and if they can how to do it. Advice: If you decide to use Extneded Industry Standard Architecture (EISA), watch out for compatibility and support problems. Hard disk and vidio performance over a 32-bit data path is significantly faster than that of an AT compatible's 16-bit XT/AT bus, also known as Industry Standard Architecture. If you want to ensure IBM compatibility and support, the 32-bit option is IBM's Micro Channel Architecture (MCA)-based Personal System/2. But some users, like myself, already have or prefer generic hardware. The 32-bit non-IBM alternative to MCA is the EISA bus. I assembled my system from components, which was a risky option because many EISA system board makers (such as Micronics Computers, Inc., the maker of my 486/33 board) do not license OS/2. I'm also dependent on components vendors and IBM working together to solve any issues that crop up. EISA's primary advantage is its backward compatibility with older AT cards such as memory extension, hard disk, video and Bernoulli box adapters, which IBM's MCA does not support. While such XT/AT cards do not take advantage of the full EISA bus potential, such compatibility is important because EISA-specific equivalents have been slow to emerge and tend to be expensive. But with OS/2, preserving old XT/AT cards may not always be possible. Even when it is, performance might not be acceptable. For example, OS/2 does not like some older, slower memory extension cards. When my installation program kept crashing, it took me a lot of trial and error to identify the 8M-byte random-access memory card as one of the culprits. I had to replace the card (which cost $1,000 about four years ago and costs about $250 today) with faster system board memory, which cost about $700. One way to avoid compatibility and support troubles is to consider buying an assembled EISA system. The choice of components may be somewhat restricted, but some of them may come with a licensed, supported copy of OS/2 preinstalled. Advice: Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) drivers distributed with OS/2 support only specific adapters. There are alternatives, but proceed with caution. Given the size of OS/2 system and application files, disks are not a viable option for handling the frequent recommended backups. While a large hard disk with a dedicated backup partition will work, it is safer to use a different physical drive. Either tape drives or faster cartridge drives, such as a Bernoulli box, offer the advantage of ``infinite'' storage for multiple backups (particularly useful for database management). For that reason, SCSI adapters can handle up to seven storage devices and are a good option for OS/2. In theory, SCSI was devised to standardize the interface to storage devices. This should mean that through SCSI, OS/2's built-in support will work with any compliant adapter. In reality, vendor implementations vary, and consequently, the SCSI drivers currently distributed with OS/2 officially support only IBM, Adaptec, Inc. and Future Domain Corp. adapters. If you have or want another adapter (particularly one that takes specific advantage of the EISA bus), you will need to depend on its manufacturer for OS/2 support. A generic driver that also comes with OS/2 allows certain other SCSI adapters to work, but it does not take advantage of any of the special features they may provide, such as EISA-specific performance. If you intend to use removable drives and select a SCSI adapter, not only make sure it supports such drives under OS/2 but also find out which of two available options the adapter-maker has chosen to implement its support: exploiting IBM's built-in OS/2 support for SCSI or developing add-on drivers. Companies exploit the SCSI support built into OS/2 with a base device driver written to IBM specifications. However, because OS/2 recognizes removable media such as Bernoulli cartridges as large floppies, this approach yields slow performance and causes data compatibility problems between DOS and OS/2. For example, I have an EISA SmartCache Plus SCSI adapter from Distributed Processing Technology in Maitland, Fla., and a 44M-byte dual drive Bernoulli box from Iomega Corp. in Roy, Utah, for backups. Distributed Processing has recently released an OS/2-based device driver that recognizes Bernoulli cartridges as floppies. Because floppies are not partitioned, OS/2-written data is not visible to DOS and vice versa. This means I can't read OS/2 data in DOS or DOS-written cartridges in a DOS session under OS/2. Certain vendors' alternative to base device drivers is to develop add-on drivers that in essence recognize removable drives as ``removable hard disks.'' Iomega, for example, has released a driver for the Bernoulli box that supports cartridge partitioning and compatibility between DOS and OS/2 data. However, it works only with Iomega's own proprietary adapter, which is XT/AT, and occupies an additional system slot. At this point, neither of the two options allows bootability from removable media. The next version of OS/2 may allow it by locking the drive, but this option defeats the idea of removable media. Add-on drivers will continue to offer removable drivers and data compatibility without bootability. The best solution would be for OS/2 to support bootability as well as removable media and compatibility. However, because that's not how OS/2 was designed, you will have to compromise based on your needs and preferences. Advice: There are limited options for optimal resolution on non-IBM platforms. The larger the monitor screen and the higher the resolution of the video adapter, the more you will appreciate OS/2's graphical features. You can place more icons and windows on the screen, overlapping them for better viewing. OS/2 comes with built-in standard Video Graphics Array (VGA) video mode that most video adapters support automatically. But the VGA resolution of 640 by 480 pixels limits the number of icons and windows you can display simultaneously and handle effectively on a 14-in. monitor. Unfortunately, there is no equivalent to the VGA standard at higher resolutions. Most vendors have their own proprietary modes, collectively called Super VGA, but few have made OS/2 drivers available. OS/2 comes with built-in support for IBM's Extended Graphics Array mode, with resolutions up to 1,280 by 1,024 pixels, and 8514/A mode, with resolutions up to 1,024 by 764 pixels. (The latter is recommended for 16-in. monitors.) Extended Graphics Array mode is legally restricted to IBM adapters for PS/2 systems, while only one vendor, ATI Technologies, Inc., currently supports 8514/A mode. Therefore, the only options for non-IBM platforms are a VGA or an ATI 8514/A adapter. Advice: Setting up a DOS primary partition on a hard disk may be necessary to avoid behavior problems. True DOS multitasking is seen as one of the prime advantages of OS/2, which is made possible by a built-in version of DOS customized and optimized for OS/2. But I found that in my setup, windowed DOS sessions were sometimes quirky. For example, my DOS windows, set to start as minimized desktop icons, behaved erratically; they were only partially painted and displayed garbage when I typed commands in them. (IBM has acknowledged a bug.) Moreover, some older software may not run under the OS/2 version of DOS. It might be possible to work around this problem by setting up windowed sessions of regular DOS that OS/2 can multitask as well, but this setup can be temperamental. For example, my DOS 5.0 windowed session would not load OS/2's Expanded Memory Manager driver. Therefore, I couldn't load software drivers and resident programs into high memory to make more conventional memory available to programs. OS/2 issued an error message that warned of a conflict with an adapter, but the message did not specify which adapter or memory address was involved. Other programs cannot run in windowed sessions because they ``misbehave,'' (i.e., they access resources in a way that does not allow OS/2 to protect the system from crashes). This is true of programs such as Symantec/Peter Norton Computing Group's Speed Disk defragmentation utility, for instance. My recommendation is to set up a DOS primary partition on the hard disk, from which you can boot DOS and perform tasks that are not possible otherwise. In this context, it is safer to stick with the old (but improved) File Allocation Table, or FAT, format for the OS/2 partition rather than going with OS/2's High Performance File System (HPFS). Even though HPFS has the advantages of longer file names and better performance, it does not allow DOS and DOS applications to recognize and access the OS/2 partition. Solving the problem When I came across the various problems with my configuration, I went through the usual support channels to get them resolved. I made at least 10 calls to IBM, involving six people at several levels within the OS/2 support structure. The staff was very prompt in responding to problem reports and was eager to resolve any glitches. I also placed calls to my SCSI adapter vendor, Distributed Processing Technology, and exchanged information on CompuServe, Inc.'s CompuServe IBMOS2 support forum. Unfortunately, in many instances they could not figure out what was wrong. This was exacerbated by the lack of identical hardware configurations on which IBM can replicate problems. IBM's OEM laboratory tests numerous systems that may include my same components but not my exact configuration. There was only sparse information in IBM's database of reported problems and IBM manuals, and OS/2 2.0 error messages weren't any help either. In the end, I used trial and error to get to the bottom of things. For example, I figured out that my installation program was crashing because of my old memory board and SCSI adapter caching. The fact remains that OS/2 2.0 may not be ripe enough yet for users with low technical expertise or ones who do not have the time and resources to dedicate to problem resolution. What would it take to make OS/2 2.0 viable for a broader range of experience levels and environments? I have a few suggestions: Add some finishing touches. IBM must beef up basic diagnostics, such as memory testing, to identify unacceptable memory prior to installation. It must also move to user-friendly memory mapping and management to identify and help resolve conflicts as well as optimize operation and performance. It should also make its error messages more informative, indicating possible sources of problems and potential avenues for resolving them. Improve generic hardware support. There should be more drivers available for non-IBM components, particularly SCSI and high-resolution video adapters. There is no reason, for example, why Extended Graphics Array should not be available for non-IBM hardware, especially because it could make OS/2 more attractive to more users. The company should improve removable media support. Personalize customer support. Each caller should have one support person as a point of contact per problem. In this way, the user doesn't have to repeatedly describe his configuration and his problem. The contact person should also act as a liaison between IBM and non-IBM technical personnel. Revamp IBM's support database. IBM invented relational technology. It should bring this knowledge to bear on its support database. There should be one record for each customer, one record for each problematic system reported and one record for each problem reported per system. The company should standardize the basic configuration details needed for problem resolution, and it should record these details once for each system. This will save time on reporting and recording information for each problem. With solutions and fixes properly recorded in the same database, it should be easier to match them to problems using an appropriate database management system. Pascal is a Washington, D.C.-based independent consultant teacher and writer specializing in relational databases and SQL technology * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. AMR and CSX shake hands on logistics deal 08/24/92 Executive Report King, Julia Executive Report Anyone who doubts that distribution logistics is hot, consider the following: Two of the biggest names in transportation are racing hand in hand into the multibillion dollar industry. Last month, AMR Corp. and CSX Corp. unveiled a new worldwide logistics information management system that partners hope will be bigger than American Airlines' fabled Sabre reservation system. Known as Encompass, the new offering is touted as the first integrated, ``multimodal'' global trading system. The goal, according to John Stow, president of Cary, N.C.-based Encompass, is to give customers ``a single window to all trading partners.'' Stow says this is accomplished by linking a subscriber company's suppliers, customers and other logistics providers through a single, system-neutral interface. The two giants joined forces in April, announcing the formation of the joint venture. Each partner reportedly invested ``tens of millions of dollars'' since 1986 in hopes of cashing in on the booming market. Today the combined staff consists of 99 full-time employees, including 80 information systems professionals. Company officials say the network-based service is different enough to distinguish itself from competitors. ``The basic difference between us and third-party logistics companies is that they are linked to a physical service they are providing,'' Stow says. ``We are into building an information system where different companies can look into data and then make decisions based on that data.'' Encompass is a sort of party line, Stow explains, connecting shippers, carriers, freight forwarders and consignees. They can then communicate directly with one another and monitor one another's activities. During beta testing, for example, Procter & Gamble Co. detected certain routing delays over the Encompass system. So the company was able to redirect inventory from European warehouses rather than tap products stored in safety stock locations in Japan. Besides Procter & Gamble, other beta testers include Digital Equipment Corp., a major pharmaceuticals firm, three major ocean carriers and three major forwarders. Encompass has also been working closely with 16 other global shippers, 14 major carriers representing all transportation modes and 12 third parties, including brokers, forwarders and logistics management companies, Stow adds. Eventually, he says, the Encompass partners envision that freight forwarders and Fortune 500 firms will use Encompass in much the same way that travel agents employ American Airlines' Sabre system. Encompass uses a combination of off-the-shelf and proprietary software, consisting of a message bus and an applications translation server. The main workstation is an IBM-compatible personal computer using OS/2, operating in either stand-alone or server mode. Pricing varies and includes installation, setup, subscription and transaction fees. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. t $1,000 about four years ago and costs about $250 today) with faster system board memory, which cost about $700. One way to avoid compatibility and support troubles is to consider buying an assembled EISA system. The choice of components may be somewhat restricted, but some of them may come with a licensed, supported copy of OS/2 preinstalled. Advice: Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) drivers distributed with OS/2 support only specific adapters. There are alternatives, but proceed with caution. Given the size of OS/2 system and application files, disks are not a viable option for handling the frequent recommended backups. While a larg Could have done it better 08/17/92 News Hamilton, Rosemary News On hearing that IBM's OS/2 2.0 shipments had passed the 1 million mark, one industry analyst joked that he was surprised IBM had reached that point because it ``did so many things wrong.'' James Cannavino, vice president in charge of IBM's Personal Systems Division, certainly would not phrase it that way. But he agreed last week that ``in reality, we could have done a better job'' handling some portions of the 2.0 rollout. IBM had planned a very aggressive marketing campaign in the weeks following the March 31 debut of 2.0. But the company did not pull that off, in part because it was so tied up with organizing its 2.0 distribution and support mechanisms. ``We spent more time than we would have liked getting the channels loaded and the support system in place,'' Cannavino said. The question, then, is why wasn't IBM ready, given the strategic importance of OS/2 to the company? ``That's a fair criticism,'' Cannavino said. ``We worked very hard to get the product the way we wanted it, and that team building the product used up all the time we had. So the rollout was kind of slowed.'' Despite the initial glitches, Cannavino said that he is impressed with 2.0's progress and is planning to release the previously promised aggressive marketing campaign in the coming weeks. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. Encompass is a sort of party line, Stow explains, connecting shippers, carriers, freight forwarders and consignees. They can then communicate directly with one another and monitor one another's activities. During beta testing, for example, Procter & Gamble Co. detected certain routing delays over the Encompass system. So the company was able to redirect inventory from European warehouses rather than tap products stored in safety stock locations in Japan. Besides Procter & Gamble, other beta testers include Digital Equipment Corp., a major pharmaceuticals firm, three major ocean carriers and three major forwarders. Encompass has also been working closely with 16 other global shippers, 14 major carriers representing all transportation modes and 12 third parties, including brokers, forwarders and logistics management companies, Stow adds. Eventually, he says, the Encompass partners envision that freight forwarders and Fortune 500 firms will use Encompass in much the same way that travel agents employ American Airlines' Sabre system. Encompass uses a combination of off-the-shelf and proprietary software, consisting of a message bus and an applications translation server. The main workstation is an IBM-compatible personal computer using OS/2, operating in either stand-alone or server mode. Pricing varies and includes installation, setup, subscription and transaction fees. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. t $1,000 about four years ago and costs about $250 today) with faster system board memory, which cost about $700. One way to avoid compatibility and support troubles is to consider buying an assembled EISA system. The choice of components may be somewhat restricted, but some of them may come with a licensed, supported copy of OS/2 preinstalled. Advice: Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) drivers distributed with OS/2 support only specific adapters. There are alternatives, but proceed with caution. Given the size of OS/2 system and application files, disks are not a viable option for handling the frequent recommended backups. While a larg Lotus strikes suite deal with HP for Unix apps 08/17/92 News Johnson, Maryfran News PALO ALTO, Calif. Hoping to boost sales of its Unix workstations in commercial accounts, Hewlett-Packard Co. last week struck a deal with Lotus Development Corp. to bring its full suite of business applications to HP 9000 workstations and server platforms. By early next year, HP/UX Unix users should be able to run Lotus' Notes, CC:Mail, AmiPro and Freelance Graphics. Already available on HP 9000 platforms are the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet and Lotus Realtime products. Lotus also has Unix plans with IBM and Sun Microsystems, Inc. ``Having Lotus on your products is a signature of credibility in the marketplace,'' said George Weiss, an analyst at Gartner Group, Inc. While HP may be gaining a showcase set of business productivity applications, several analysts said Lotus stands to benefit even more by expanding its Notes groupware application beyond Intel Corp. and IBM OS/2 platforms into more powerful, networked Unix environments.SU ``You can't go into a Fortune 500 company and make a pitch only for Intel machines,'' said David Rome, general manager of the Unix business unit at Cambridge, Mass.-based Lotus. The HP/Lotus deal will require some tinkering to integrate CC:Mail and HP's OpenMail electronic-mail systems. Yet company officials said the two products will ``play well together,'' giving customers access to HP's messaging backbone through the familiar client user interface of CC:Mail. Running Lotus applications on HP machines might also appeal to workplaces where technical users trade up to more powerful workstations and hand down their old machines to other staff members. ``Managers like to run under one similar operating environment and save administrative costs,'' said John Logan, an analyst at Aberdeen Group in Boston. Scientists and engineers also have to write memos and proposals, analyze statistics and churn out technical reports. ``We are seeing more and more of what you'd consider standard business applications being ported to Unix machines,'' said Mike Horgan, a systems engineer at Hughes Data Systems, Inc. in Anaheim Hills, Calif. Yet when Horgan received a free copy of Lotus 1-2-3 with an HP 9000 Model 710 workstation, he never loaded it or used it. ``We use our Unix workstations for engineering-type applications and strictly PCs and Macs for desktop work,'' Horgan explained. Then again, as prices for low-end workstations plummet into the high-end personal computer space, Horgan and other users said they could envision a greater interest in trying out business applications under Unix. Senior editor Rosemary Hamilton contributed to this story. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. lation, setup, subscription and transaction fees. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. t $1,000 about four years ago and costs about $250 today) with faster system board memory, which cost about $700. One way to avoid compatibility and support troubles is to consider buying an assembled EISA system. The choice of components may be somewhat restricted, but some of them may come with a licensed, supported copy of OS/2 preinstalled. Advice: Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) drivers distributed with OS/2 support only specific adapters. There are alternatives, but proceed with caution. Given the size of OS/2 system and application files, disks are not a viable option for handling the frequent recommended backups. While a larg Dirty downsizing 08/10/92 Executive Report Radding, Alan Executive Report Forget what zealots and slick mags tell you. Here's some straight talk on the grubby political, technical and money issues at the front lines. Keyport Life Insurance Co. fought its way through the downsizing wilderness to the promised land but savored the milk and honey only long enough to discover a bitter aftertaste. ``Security, backup and recovery are problems,'' says Leslie Laputz, vice president of information services at the Boston insurer. For example, running backups over Ethernet with a personal computer is painfully slow (five hours nightly, 10 hours for full backup), even with two tape backup units. ``This environment,'' Laputz concludes, ``is not as mature as the mainframe.'' Apparently, other users and vendors agreed and formed The Major Open Systems Environment Standards Group, or Moses, an informal new group aimed at leading downsizers to safety (see story page 67). Second thoughts in paradise? Downsizing success stories sound so easy: Shoot the mainframe and convert to Unix networked systems running the latest off-the-shelf software for a fraction of the cost. But lost and dirtied information systems managers say getting to downsizing heaven is a difficult journey. The road is full of treacherous twists and turns, they warn, especially when client/server is involved. ``The savings are there, but this is a daunting task,'' says Paul Ricker, vice president of IS at G. Heileman Brewing Co. The La Crosse, Wis., company has downsized Amdahl Corp. mainframes and an IBM 3090 to two Pyramid Technology Corp. servers. IS managers and consultants cite a litany of obstacles: culture shock, staff retraining, lack of application software and development tools, system integration snafus and inexperience with networking. ``Unix has a ways to go'' before it matches the best mainframe policy and procedures, agrees William Bluestein, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. Loosely defined, downsizing usually refers to shifting applications from a mainframe to a smaller platform, such as a midrange system, a Unix server or a PC local-area network. Scaled-down systems are often smaller only in price and may provide more millions of instructions per second, storage, memory and throughput. These small new dynamos serve as conventional hosts or as part of a client/server system. While the downsizing craze began to sweep IS shops in the mid- and late 1980s, many Fortune 1,000 companies are only now taking the plunge. And more are discovering that it's dirty business. ``There is no tradition of operating a Unix glass house,'' explains Mike Prince, director of information services at Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse, Inc. in Lebanon, N.H., a downsizing legend. ``There is no body of common procedures.'' Do it yourself To cope, some users have developed their own procedures and resources in hopes of duplicating the rich administration tools found on proprietary mainframes. The smart (and lucky) ones do fine. Keyport, for example, is proceeding in its four-year conversion from two IBM mainframe hosts to Ethernet and a NetFrame 450 superserver from NetFrame Systems, Inc. in Milpitas, Calif. A key agent processing function was converted in April 1989; the first policies followed 11 months later. By the end of this year, Laputz says, 250,000 policies in several product lines will be switched over. So far, he says, the move has helped slash $1.3 million from the IS budget (now at about $5 million). But with IS interest in client/server booming, such success stories might be harder and harder to come by. A report on downsizing last December by Butler-Cox Foundation, a division of CSC Index, Inc., cited several key technical and management risks of downsizing. The report says problems ``derive mainly from the immaturity of client/server technology, especially that available for PCs.'' Cited were less robust systems software, incomplete and unfamiliar systems development tools, inexperienced developers and incomplete systems and network management tools. Add other possible gotchas, says Ted Klein, president of the Boston Systems Group, such as IS and user resistance and poor alignment with corporate direction, and you have a potentially fatal threat. ``Each one can be deadly if it sneaks up on you.'' Computerworld asked several IS managers and consultants to share their downsizing experiences, advice and cautions. Their tales follow. One of the biggest lures of downsizing is the potentially big savings. Butler-Cox estimates that downsizing from a mainframe environment to client/ server can slash ownership costs 20% to 30% over five years. For minis, savings can hit 10% to 25%, the firm says. Delayed gratification But as Millipore Corp. in Bedford, Mass., discovered, payoffs might not happen right away. Efforts to consolidate three U.S. data centers and downsize began in 1989 and are still under way, says Dan Poulin, director of information services. The goal is to shift from IBM, Data General Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. hosts to two Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. servers running Oracle Corp. software on a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network. Millipore, which manufactures technical separation equipment, figured the new setup would require one-third fewer IS staff members, and it budgeted accordingly, Poulin says. The company hired consultants to supplement its staff during the early stages of the conversion. Up-front investments were also made in networks, user workstations, hardware and software and training. However, actual spending was more than initial projections, Poulin says, declining to cite specific figures. ``But we're ending up with a lot more computing resources'' and lower long-term costs, he says. It's easy for downsizing savings to look very attractive, but beware of oversimplifying, cautions Allan Froehlich, a principal at Nolan, Norton & Co. His advice: ``Watch out for cherry picking,'' or choosing a few ideal applications for downsizing. Initially, Froehlich says, cost justifications for such jobs can look terrific. But when you consider functions that remain on the mainframe, things can look less appetizing. Another difficulty with starry-eyed justifications, he adds, is identifying just what services you will (or won't) get. ``Are are you going to have to do without some things?'' Froehlich asks. People pressure While many IS chiefs agree that downsizing can be a lifesaver, positive feelings are far less universal among IS staffers and users. ``We had to deal with a total mind-set change among the MIS people,'' says Paul MacPherson, supervisor of systems architecture at Toronto-based Trimark Investment Management, a large Canadian mutual fund company. Trimark Investment went from running a large IBM System/38 Model 700 supporting 145 users to a Pyramid Technology Corp. MIS 12 server running Oracle and supporting 150 users on Next, Inc. workstations. The project goes on-line this month. Better price/performance, open systems and a freedom from reliance on a single vendor were the big motivators, according to MacPherson. The firm decided to downsize its Unit Holder Systems Administration application, the core mutual fund system consisting of about 1,000 programs. A key part of the effort involved replacing a host-to-terminal Synchronous Data Link Control network with a TCP/IP network. So Trimark Investment hired consultants for the dual job of handling the conversion and developing TCP/IP and Unix skills for in-house IS staffers. ``Employees must have hands-on experience. They can't just attend classes,'' says MacPherson, who was hired specifically to bring Unix and TCP/IP leadership to the project. That kind of combination of retraining, new hires and consultants is a popular choice of downsizing companies. Still, people issues can be among the toughest. ``Where is the organization going to get the right people?'' asks William Freitag, managing consultant at the Computer Task Group in Bel Air, Md. ``Staffing is a major pitfall.'' J. M. Huber Corp. in Edison, N.J., focused on changing IS culture, says John Shiels, vice president of IS. ``People in IS are going to resist'' downsizing, he says. ``Even for those who don't resist, there will be tremendous cultural changes.'' During the next five years, the $1 billion diversified natural resources and manufacturing company will phase out an IBM 3090 mainframe and switch to an IBM RISC System/6000 running Oracle. Division and corporate financial systems will switch by year's end. Shiels says the cultural change was reflected in how IS treats users. As part of the downsizing preparation, consultants were brought in to work on IS attitude. ``We have to learn to be customer-driven and responsive,'' not autocratic, as in the past, Shiels says. The result? ``The vast majority were receptive to learning new skills,'' Shiels says. Chronic software shortage Even though trained IS people are in place, experienced downsizers say, a lack of applications software and software development tools can be another serious stumbling block. ``More than 60,000 packages are now available for PCs, workstations and minicomputers,'' the Butler-Cox study notes. ``There are, as yet, very few for client/server systems.'' That means IS managers must tackle the dirty job of converting existing applications to the downsized system or simply writing new ones. When Keyport Life began hunting, Laputz soon discovered that ``there was nothing out there in network software for insurance processing.'' So the company hired TriMark Technologies, Inc. in Buffalo Grove, Ill., to develop new software using the Magic/PC fourth-generation language (4GL) from Aker Corp. in Irvine, Calif. The first prototype was delivered in a few months, and user demand for the graphical user interface (GUI)-based environment mushroomed. New enhancements drove software costs over budget, but Laputz says executives didn't complain because users were getting additional functionality. Trimark Investment took another approach: It found a software vendor with a good Canadian mutual fund package and purchased the company. MacPherson says the vendor now serves as Trimark Investment's programming department. Heileman Brewing opted to postpone writing new systems. In the last three years, it downsized to two Pyramid servers, replacing its IBM 3090 and two Unisys Corp. A series machines. The IS group spent nine months replicating as closely as possible the 3090 screens and reports in the new Pyramid/Oracle environment. With the older Unisys applications, however, the company plodded through a complete software development process with some applications still not finished, Ricker says. ``If I did it again, I would just mirror what we had because speed is the key,'' Ricker says. He says it appears that the faster a company gets to the downsized platform, the sooner it begins reaping the cost savings, which in Heileman's case was several million dollars a year. ``Once you are in the new environment, you can start rewriting applications,'' Ricker says. On the other hand, The Andrew Jergens Co., a Cincinnati-based manufacturer of lotions and soaps, didn't have problems with application software when it began converting from an IBM 4381 mainframe to an Application System/400 in 1989, says Charlie Browning, director of IS. Browning says the firm found suitable host-based, off-the-shelf packages to replace most of the obsolete, homegrown applications written in assembler language. ``One of our goals for downsizing was to bring our software up to industry standards,'' he says. The company, however, had less success finding good LAN packages, he says. Since 1989, the company's PC population has swelled from a handful to more than 300 spread over a dozen LANs. ``We bought some specialized applications, but they gave us problems,'' he says. These industry-specific packages had no equivalents on the AS/400 and were not current with the latest LAN operating systems and drivers. ``The vendors were still using old releases of the software, and their support was weak.'' Organizations that opt to develop their own software may encounter development tools that are less than robust. ``There is no integrated set of tools,'' Computer Task Group's Frietag notes. ``You will have to use a combination.'' According to the Butler-Cox study, most client/server tools are fairly new and have ``significant limitations,'' especially in performance, integrity and ease of use. ``We're still out there looking for the right tools for networking and client/ server,'' Millipore's Poulin says. He says the company can ``hammer out the basics'' with the existing Oracle tools, but ``we're still looking for more.'' Ironically, Poulin says, the lack of tools makes him look back longingly at proprietary systems. ``DECnet comes with more tools,'' he says. ``It's a lot easier than TCP/IP.'' Even where tools are available, development is still hardly a breeze. Consider Mead Data Central, Inc. The Dayton, Ohio, manufacturing and information services company downsized its internal administrative systems from an IBM 3090 running IDMS to an NCR Corp. 3000 running Unix with OS/2 and DOS on the desktop. According to Gary Whitney, director of systems evolution, Mead picked a 4GL from Uniface Corp. because it allows fast prototyping. Even so, he says, building a GUI is a lot harder than building a plain 3270 application. ``With the GUI, you have to worry about menu bars, buttons, keyboard mapping,'' Whitney says. Networking tie-ups Say you're lucky enough to best the big problems people issues, lack of application software and development tools and the operating environment. You still need to roll up your sleeves and tackle some other big obstacles, particularly systems integration and networking. Unlike proprietary shops, downsized IS must interact with multiple computer, network and software suppliers, which experienced IS hands say can be chaotic. ``There is a whole different way of dealing with vendors,'' Trimark Investment's MacPherson warns. With the System/38, the firm had to deal with only one vendor (IBM), which took responsibility for making everything work. In the downsized environment, he says, ``we have seven major vendors under our roof.'' In this environment, solving problems means dealing with two, three or more of those vendors simultaneously. ``The key is orchestrating the vendors,'' MacPherson says. ``We learned quickly not to meet with them one at a time. You have to get them all in the same room, or all you'll get is finger-pointing.'' His tactic: Assemble all vendors at once and make them cooperate to confront a problem. On the networking side, many shops ignore the many hassles that can crop up. ``The mistake people make is that they don't look at the communications side early on,'' Ricker says. To avoid problems, Heileman installed an X.25 backbone, Ethernet LANs running LAN Manager and bridges before embarking on downsizing. Even in the best planned shops, simply adjusting to and running LANs can be a headache. ``We're still coming to grips with the operational aspects of LANs,'' Browning says. In the mainframe environment, networking problems could be resolved at the data center, he notes. ``With LANs, any failure at a PC is much harder to diagnose. It's been a learning process for us,'' he says. Keyport was less fortunate: The insurer discovered its 2.5M bit/sec. Arcnet LANs were too slow for the downsized environment and had to upgrade to Ethernet halfway through the project, according to Laputz. The bottom line: No pain, no gain. ``Don't underestimate the difficulties,'' Ricker warns. Radding is a free-lance writer based in Newton, Mass. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. 08/10/92 Overview Overview A separate peace Mark Sept. 2 as the date for IBM to announce that it will spin off its Personal Systems Division as a wholly owned subsidiary, according to sources close to the company. IBM will keep the RISC-based Advanced Workstations Division within IBM proper, but it is looking to split off OS/2 and the PC hardware group into one separate unit, sources said. Complexity breeds delays IBM is telling customers in briefings that software to enable Sysplex or the linking of many high-end processors into one will be delayed. The Sysplex version of CICS, for example, was originally slated to be available next year but has been delayed until 1994. Building a bigger Sun(dial) Just shy of its one-year anniversary, the SunExpress telephone sales subsidiary of Sun Microsystems is shifting its focus to concentrate more on end users than on VARs. Next week, the company will announce a new pricing structure and changed business plan to grab more user interest. Less risky approach It looks like Amdahl's forthcoming parallel processor will be positioned against other RISC-based servers, such as DEC's Alpha machines. Last week, Amdahl CEO Joseph Zemke hinted that shipments of Amdahl's SPARC-based parallel processor, which would host Unix applications and relational databases, would begin in 1993. Zemke told analysts that Amdahl's knowledge of mainframes would give it a performance advantage over other vendors' RISC computers. Transaction reaction A face-off between benchmark auditors over Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) policies raised some hackles at a San Francisco software conference last week. David McGoveran, a Santa Cruz, Calif., database specialist who audits TPC benchmarks for corporate customers, charged that the TPC's vendor-heavy membership creates ``self-serving benchmarks'' that are used out of context in industry advertising. ``The specs allow the vendors to waffle on the benchmarks,'' said McGoveran, who also criticized closed meetings at the TPC's San Jose, Calif., offices. Tom Sawyer, an independent auditor who verifies official TPC results, responded by saying the TPC advisory council is a serious oversight group that forces vendors to resubmit questionable test results. Both auditors noted that vendors also have the right to refuse to publish unfavorable test results. Midrange midlife kicker IBM is a month away from expanding its AS/400 line, according to sources. A high-end model with a four-way processor is in the offing and is currently installed at several customer sites, according to one analyst. Freeze! This is a RAID. Ten systems and storage companies, including IBM, NCR and Seagate Technology, formed a RAID Advisory Board last week. The firms are promoting disk array storage standards, according to Joe Molina, chairman of the new group. But the notion of setting RAID standards left one storage analyst shrugging his shoulders. ``Users aren't looking for standards. Most haven't even seen arrays in operation,'' said Jim Porter at Disk/Trend in Mountain View, Calif. Philip Stromer filed a lawsuit against Sun after he was fired from his technical writer position for alledgedly using his work computer to hurl graphic and insulting messages across a companywide, national E-mail network. Stromer, who admits he pushed the boundaries of good taste, said his intent was purely sarcastic, and he always signed his own name to the messages. In the lawsuit filed in California's Santa Clara County Superior Court, Stromer says Sun violated his right to free expression. Readers have a right to free expression, too. Phone, fax or CompuServe News Editor Alan Alper with news tips at (800) 343-6474, (508) 875-8931 or 76537,2413, respectively. Or try Computerworld's 24-hour voice-mail tip line at (508) 820-8555. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. te and unfamiliar systems development tools, inexperienced developers and incomplete systems and network management tools. Add other possible gotchas, says Ted Klein, president of the Boston Systems Group, such as IS and user resistance and poor alignment with corporate direction, and you have a potentially fatal threat. ``Each one can be deadly if it sneaks up on you.'' Computerworld asked several IS managers and consultants to share their downsizing experiences, advice and cautions. Their tales follow. One of the biggest lures of downsizing is the potentially big savings. Butler-Cox estimates that downsizing from a mainframe environment to client/ server can slash ownership costs 20% to 30% over five years. For minis, savings can hit 10% to 25%, the firm says. Delayed gratification But as Millipore Corp. in Bedford, Mass., discovered, payoffs might not happen right away. Efforts to consolidate three U.S. data centers and downsize began in 1989 and are still under way, says Dan Poulin, director of information services. The goal is to shift from IBM, Data General Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. hosts to two Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. servers running Oracle Corp. software on a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network. Millipore, which manufactures technical separation equipment, figured the new setup would require one-third fewer IS staff members, and it budgeted accordingly, Poulin says. The company hired consultants to supplement its staff during the early stages of the conversion. Up-front investments were also made in networks, user workstations, hardware and software and training. However, actual spending was more than initial projections, Poulin says, declining to cite specific figures. ``But we're ending up with a lot more computing resources'' and lower long-term costs, he says. It's easy for downsizing savings to look very attractive, but beware of oversimplifying, cautions Allan Froehlich, a principal at Nolan, Norton & Co. His advice: ``Watch out for cherry picking,'' or choosing a few ideal applications for downsizing. Initially, Froehlich says, cost justifications for such jobs can look terrific. But when you consider functions that remain on the mainframe, things can look less appetizing. Another difficulty with starry-eyed justifications, he adds, is identifying just what services you will (or won't) get. ``Are are you going to have to do without some things?'' Froehlich asks. People pressure While many IS chiefs agree that downsizing can be a lifesaver, positive feelings are far less universal among IS staffers and users. ``We had to deal with a total mind-set change among the MIS people,'' says Paul MacPherson, supervisor of systems architecture at Toronto-based Trimark Investment Management, a large Canadian mutual fund company. Trimark Investment went from running a large IBM System/38 Model 700 supporting 145 users to a Pyramid Technology Corp. MIS 12 server running Oracle and supporting 150 users on Next, Inc. workstations. The project goes on-line this month. Better price/performance, open systems and a freedom from reliance on a single vendor were the big motivators, according to MacPherson. The firm decided to downsize its Unit Holder Systems Administration application, the core mutual fund system consisting of about 1,000 programs. A key part of the effort involved replacing a host-to-terminal Synchronous Data Link Control network with a TCP/IP network. So Trimark Investment hired consultants for the dual job of handling the conversion and developing TCP/IP and Unix skills for in-house IS staffers. ``Employees must have hands-on experience. They can't just attend classes,'' says MacPherson, who was hired specifically to bring Unix IBM execs to recommend PC spin-off 08/03/92 News Fitzgerald, Michael Hamilton, Rosemary News WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. After nearly a year of consideration, top members of IBM's Entry Systems Division (ESD) will recommend to IBM corporate that it cut loose the personal computer and workstation division into a wholly owned subsidiary, according to sources close to the company. Of course, the top brass at IBM may decide that PCs are too important to the company's future to spin them off. Then again, Frank Metz, IBM's chief financial officer, told Wall Street analysts last week that ``our biggest gross profit problem is in the PS [line of business].'' But if the plan is approved, the new subsidiary will likely have a different name, a la Lexmark International, Inc., which was the IBM printer group. It will also encompass the RISC System/6000 and Personal System/2 product lines, as well as OS/2 and the OS/2 LAN Server product, sources said. James Cannavino, general manager of IBM's ESD, is expected to head the unit. An IBM spokeswoman declined to comment on specifics of any restructuring but said that ``there have been ongoing efforts since December to sharpen the competitiveness of IBM's PC business, and you will continue to see us change.'' While many analysts said a less-fettered PC group would gain competitive force, users contacted were not as positive. Some were concerned that IBM might derail some of its long-term strategies, particularly those based on OS/2. Users concerned ``I would care if they split off the PC group. One of the reasons we went with OS/2 was because it's part of Systems Application Architecture,'' said Keith Sievers, treasurer and vice president of information processing at Federal Kemper Insurance Co. He expressed concern that an independent subsidiary might not work as effectively to integrate products such as DB2 and OS/2. ``I would hate to see them break it up, so we are back to the problem we had five years ago, where we get our platform products from a lot of different vendors,'' Sievers said. But some observers said a separate subsidiary would be free of the IBM bureaucracy and would be able to develop and ship products more quickly. ``Well, they couldn't move more slowly'' than they do now, said Jeff Newman, assistant vice president of IS at Barclays Bank PLC in New York. ``I think they need the ESD back the way it was in the early '80s.'' Another plus under a reorganization, analysts said, is that it will further free the ESD from worries about competing with other IBM units. ``There's no question that IBM has been a politically run organization, with the total information goal mainframe, mini, etc. being the focus,'' said Tim Bajarin, executive vice president at Creative Strategies Research International, Inc. ``Because of this, the PC division has been torn in multiple directions almost from Day 1. A new structure gives them a chance to be really competitive with the rest of the market as it continues being much more PC-oriented.'' Still, IBM will have to resolve how it will sell both hardware and software into traditional IBM shops and how it will provide service effectively. Analysts speculated that IBM will prepare to spin off the PC group, and perhaps some other divisions, toward the end of next year. Mid-Atlantic correspondent Thomas Hoffman contributed to this story. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. with news tips at (800) 343-6474, (508) 875-8931 or 76537,2413, respectively. Or try Computerworld's 24-hour voice-mail tip line at (508) 820-8555. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------- Country rides imaging wave 08/03/92 Large Systems Booker, Ellis Large Systems SACRAMENTO, Calif. Taking into account the increasing cost of storing and handling government paperwork, Sacramento County was able to justify the deployment of an imaging system in one of its departments. End of story? Hardly. Making correspondence and records of the county clerk's office available on-line is only the first application on a platform that goes beyond document imaging and will eventually be the storehouse for text, graphics, images, audio and video. ``It's our belief that anyone in the organization who is entitled to information should be able to access it,'' said Russ Waltrip, director of information systems for the county. Waltrip picked the Image and Records Management (IRM) system from IBM as the platform for this environment. The first IRM application supports the clerk of the board of supervisors and maintains the agenda minutes and correspondence flowing in and out. The application uses a DB2 index on one of the two mainframe hosts, as well as five OS/2 servers running OS/2 1.3. The user workstations are IBM Personal System/2s running OS/2 Presentation Manager. During his evaluation of the imaging market, Waltrip found ``tons of LAN-based imaging applications'' that would have worked if his needs had been restricted to one department. ``But when you're talking about multiple LANs, databases and servers . . . the ability to scale wasn't there,'' he said. Sacramento County currently has 49 local-area networks in place. Asked about future IRM projects, Waltrip said he is excited but hog-tied by the current budget stalemate in California. ``Yes, I have another application planned. But as of now, I don't have a budget,'' he said. But he hinted that a likely next step will be the electronic storage of county property, utility line and voting maps. The maps would be available to the county's 60 or so departments. True Blue client/server Developed jointly with American Management Systems, Inc. in Arlington, Va., the IRM system uses a true client/server architecture with OS/2 hosts and OS/2 Presentation Manager client workstations. IRM was designed to handle any binary large object that can be digitized: Objects are stored in their native format and run under the application needed. IRM is the traffic cop, cataloging both the data object and its attributes so the calling application knows what kind of object is being retrieved and how to display it. It runs on IBM mainframes under IBM MVS/ESA or MVS/XA in conjunction with DB2 and CICS. IBM also offers ImagePlus for MVS/ESA mainframes, AS/400 midrange processors and PS/2s on LANs. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. the rest of the market as it continues being much more PC-oriented.'' Still, IBM will have to resolve how it will sell both hardware and software into traditional IBM shops and how it will provide service effectively. Analysts speculated that IBM will prepare to spin off the PC group, and perhaps some other divisions, toward the end of next year. Mid-Atlantic correspondent Thomas Hoffman contributed to this story. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. with news tips at (800) 343-6474, (508) 875-8931 or 76537,2413, respectively. Or try Computerworld's 24-hour voice-mail tip line at (508) 820-8555. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------- 08/03/92 News Davidson, Lisa News RECOMMENDATION CHANGES UPGRADED FROM BUY TO STRONG BUY: Informix Corp. (Alex. Brown & Sons, Inc.). Second-quarter results for Informix (IFMX) were extremely strong. Well ahead of Wall Street predictions, the company's reported revenue was $60.3 million, marking the fourth quarter in a row that it has posted better than expected operating results. Overall, during the second quarter, Informix, a supplier of Unix-based relational database management systems and application development tools, experienced strong growth. Near-term problems appear minimal, and for the long term, expect a 30% annual revenue growth that will be cushioned by the company's current strong new product cycle. UPGRADED FROM BUY TO STRONG BUY: Maxtor Corp. (Bear, Stearns & Co.). Stronger than expected earnings were posted by Maxtor (MXTR). Revenue was recorded at $327 million, rising 39% from last year. Strength from the disk drive industry and the force of new products such as the 200M-byte 3-in. drive provided the revenue growth. Maxtor has put a great deal of investment into research and development spending a move that should enable a steady pace of new product launches and continued revenue and earnings momentum. DOWNGRADED FROM BUY TO HOLD: Micrografx, Inc. (Needham & Co.). Richardson, Texas-based Micrografx (MGXI) generated 87% of its total revenue from three products: Designer, Charisma and Windows Draw. The remaining revenue came from clip art and imaging editing products and from graphics-oriented systems software products and services. International markets accounted for 53% of fiscal 1992's revenue. Micrografx reported that it will reach Wall Street revenue estimates in the $13 million to $15 million range. This leaves a large gap for disappointment because plans of surpassing those estimates never materialized, and a revenue shortfall leaves room for a bad earnings surprise. Renewal of a contract with IBM to design OS/2 systems software development is anticipated, but it is still unclear when a new contract will be signed. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. their native format and run under the application needed. IRM is the traffic cop, cataloging both the data object and its attributes so the calling application knows what kind of object is being retrieved and how to display it. It runs on IBM mainframes under IBM MVS/ESA or MVS/XA in conjunction with DB2 and CICS. IBM also offers ImagePlus for MVS/ESA mainframes, AS/400 midrange processors and PS/2s on LANs. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. the rest of the market as it continues being much more PC-oriented.'' Still, IBM will have to resolve how it will sell both hardware and software into traditional IBM shops and how it will provide service effectively. Analysts speculated that IBM will prepare to spin off the PC group, and perhaps some other divisions, toward the end of next year. Mid-Atlantic correspondent Thomas Hoffman contributed to this story. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. with news tips at (800) 343-6474, (508) 875-8931 or 76537,2413, respectively. Or try Computerworld's 24-hour voice-mail tip line at (508) 820-8555. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------- Ready for launching 07/27/92 Workgroup Computing Johnson, Maryfran Workgroup Computing PASADENA, Calif. At the Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL), everything promised by the OSF's DCE is already working on its 300-node ground data system network. So why is JPL waiting so anxiously for the OSF's suite of system management tools? ``DCE will actually solve a lot of problems for JPL,'' said Steven Jenkins, a software architecture engineer at JPL, the part of NASA that does robotic exploration of the solar system. ``We invented much of what's in DCE back in the bad old days when you did this stuff yourself, but our solutions aren't necessarily as portable, general or powerful as we'd like them to be.'' Built to span multiple platforms running Unix and proprietary operating systems, DCE is a set of services, tools and utilities that enable distributed computing. ``When you look at the problems DCE was set up to solve remote procedure calls, timing, security, multithreading those are the big problems we ran into with our network,'' Jenkins noted. While there is nothing technically brilliant or ground-breaking about DCE, it does mark the first time an integrated set of these services has been widely accepted as an industry standard before any product is even available. Later this year, the DCE technologies will start showing up as layered components in new operating system releases from IBM, DEC, Hewlett-Packard and other vendors. ``Our plans are rather extensive in this area,'' said Mike Saranga, president of OSF's board of directors and assistant general manager of systems, structures and management at IBM. ``DCE will appear in AIX [IBM's Unix variant] this year and in OS/2 and MVS after that.'' Yet even more critical than DCE to end users and the OSF sponsors is the follow-on set of system and network management software called the DME. Although IBM is doing the final integration of DCE, the OSF decided to keep DME work in-house. Foundation officials said they have changed the integration process to avoid some of the snafus with DCE, which is running at least one year late. ``With DCE, there was too much inspection and coordination going on too far downstream in the technology merge process, which slowed down the assimilation of all the different contributions,'' said Ted Hanss, chairman of the OSF's end-user steering committee. ``With DME, they're not trying to do a mass integration but a step-by-step integration, so it's not everything coming together at one point, with all that additional complexity.'' CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. the rest of the market as it continues being much more PC-oriented.'' Still, IBM will have to resolve how it will sell both hardware and software into traditional IBM shops and how it will provide service effectively. Analysts speculated that IBM will prepare to spin off the PC group, and perhaps some other divisions, toward the end of next year. Mid-Atlantic correspondent Thomas Hoffman contributed to this story. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. with news tips at (800) 343-6474, (508) 875-8931 or 76537,2413, respectively. Or try Computerworld's 24-hour voice-mail tip line at (508) 820-8555. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------- Ignored, misunderstood, OS/2 deserves better 07/20/92 Viewpoint Tillman, Axel Viewpoint No one seems willing to give IBM a fair chance these days. OS/2 is a great product, and I'm tired of reading page after page about new Windows 3.1 features and very little about OS/2 2.0. I am not saying this because my firm has developed an OS/2 product. Our corporate strategy does not rely on OS/2, but I as a user and our guys from development hope OS/2 succeeds because it is the better platform. Some writers claim the race will go to the company with the better marketing. I have to disagree. Everyone I've spoken to who has given OS/2 an objective tryout has been excited about it. But editorial impacts readers 10 times more than advertising, and no one is going to want to try OS/2 if publications consistently ignore or denigrate it. It is hardly surprising, for example, that an operating environment would require less disk and memory space than a full-fledged operating system, but that distinction is seldom made by writers or reviewers. When Windows NT, which may really be an operating system, does appear, however, you can be sure that it will require more memory and more disk space than OS/2. Right now, what I care about is fulfilling my technical requirements in a desktop environment. Beginning the day I installed OS/2 on my 25-MHz 386, I was extremely pleased at the speed with which I was able to accomplish goals I hadn't been able to reach after a year of painful experimentation with Windows. Each task is a mouse click away. The number of system crashes is down to zero, from an average of five per day with Windows 3.0. I also don't have to boot my systems 10 times a day to access my network because OS/2 doesn't lock up the way Windows did when I tried to access network resources. I'll admit that my particular hardware setup probably caused some of these problems. But the fact is that OS/2 2.0 solved them all, and I am now able to run multiple DOS, Windows and OS/2 applications combined with DOS-based network access simultaneously and still have my PC reacting to me. Love at first look I fell in love with OS/2's new graphical interface, the ``Desktop.'' Once you get used to the handling, it's hard to imagine that there was ever another way of doing things. And it is important to understand that I am the sort of person who always said I liked to type at the prompt and know what I was doing. I never expected to warm to a graphical interface, and Windows really didn't convince me. Just recently, I saw some lab- test results comparing OS/2 2.0 to Windows 3.1 and, although the testers tried to compare apples with oranges, OS/2 showed very good performance. Windows 3.1 didn't do all that much better on the application test than OS/2 simulating Windows did, and I suspect that if they had tried comparing performance on 1-2-3, using the OS/2 product from Lotus, the results would have been reversed. The testers also didn't try four simultaneous DOS benchmarks under Windows vs. OS/2, which would have shown the real strength. This is like testing a Porsche against a Ford Fiesta at 55 mph. OS/2 2.0 isn't the best that OS/2 can be. It should be considered a migration pass to purer OS/2 environments. In the meantime, however, the important thing is that it is real and delivers dependable performance. Tillman is vice president of marketing at Trisystems, Inc., In Nashua, N.H. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. t (800) 343-6474, (508) 875-8931 or 76537,2413, respectively. Or try Computerworld's 24-hour voice-mail tip line at (508) 820-8555. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------- IBM downsizes AD/Cycle focus 07/20/92 Ambrosio, Johanna SAN JOSE, Calif. Within the next 30 days, IBM is expected to disclose a major shift in focus for its AD/Cycle computer-aided software engineering initiative that will once and for all extend the framework beyond the mainframe to Unix and OS/2-based local-area networks, users and other sources said last week. IBM executives were not available for comment, but a spokesman did confirm that IBM is ``actively looking at extensions to AD/Cycle'' to address the ``need for workgroup development support.'' Some observers lauded the pending announcement as IBM's response to customers wanting to develop software on OS/2 and AIX workstations. But others viewed it as IBM's acknowledgment of defeat with the much-troubled, mainframe-centric Repository Manager/MVS. ``That's a hard swerve away from the original concept. The idea was to have a central storage place and directory to better develop and reuse code for the entire enterprise. If you map that onto a LAN, it's not the same concept,'' said Howard Fosdick, an independent consultant and former president of the Repository AD/Cycle user group in Chicago. Repository Manager/MVS a key piece of mainframe software that was originally intended as the means by which customers could keep track of development projects throughout the enterprise has been dogged by political infighting and technical problems since its announcement in September 1989. As a result, it never won widespread user favor and is installed at just a handful of user shops. Technical issues involved performance and an underlying model that some said was inadequate from the beginning. Political woes sprung from trying to work with various AD/Cycle development partners a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. ``They tried to accommodate everybody and probably made it more complex than they had to,'' said Dick Stromberg, a consultant at Du Pont Co. in Wilmington, Del., and a Repository Manager customer, although his shop is not actively using it. Muddy waters As a result, Repository Manager's direction has been muddled. IBM managers went from promising OS/2 support in March 1989 to saying in October 1990 that no OS/2 support would be forthcoming. In January, an IBM marketing manager said the Application System/400 platform would be the next to have a version of Repository Manager, but that plan seems to have been superseded by the OS/2 LAN and AIX versions. In fact, some sources, including one at IBM, have said that the company will functionally stabilize, as in halt new development, of the mainframe repository a charge that an IBM spokesman denied. However, the company had also initially denied it was killing the LAN version of OfficeVision but later acknowledged its termination [CW, June 8]. ``They'll chill Repository Manager/MVS but not kill it,'' said Michael West, an analyst at Gartner Group, Inc. in Stamford, Conn. Instead, observers said, IBM will shift mainframe resources over to the LAN and Unix versions. ``Overall, we're fairly pleased'' with the coming OS/2 and AIX wares, said Eric Jones, manager of data services at the Arizona Department of Transportation in Phoenix and one of the few active Repository Manager users. ``We'll now have some other options for software development.'' He said he was also happy with the original Repository Manager, which his shop has used to develop its tools. However, others were not so sure that the new direction would be a hit. ``There are other LAN and Unix repositories available on the market and no particular reason to get into an IBM solution,'' Fosdick said. Among these is Minneapolis-based InfoSpan Corp.'s InfoSpan, a repository product that runs on OS/2 and Unix. IBM salesmen have pitched this product to some customers, and the firm is said to be among the new players in the workstation group of AD/Cycle vendors. IBM has been briefing AD/ Cycle customers about the pending announcements, which will include new development and marketing partners. Still unclear, however, is how IBM will reconcile what has until now been two separate software development environments: one for the AIX world and another for mainframe customers. IBM resells Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Workbench, along with other third-party packages, on the RISC System/6000 platform. Ira Morrow, a vice president at Shearson Lehman Brothers, Inc. in New York, said he applauds the new direction, which he is due to be formally briefed on in about a week. ``More power to them: If it's not working, make it work,'' he said. If IBM's announcement yields a ``practical and pragmatic'' approach to software development, Morrow said, he would evaluate it. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ers and downsize began in 1989 and are still under way, says Dan Poulin, director of information services. The goal is to shift from IBM, Data General Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. hosts to two Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. servers running Oracle Corp. software on a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network. Millipore, which manufactures technical separation equipment, figured the new setup would require one-third fewer IS staff members, and it budgeted accordingly, Poulin says. The company hired consultants to supplement its staff during the early stages of the conversion. Up-front investments were also made in networks, user workstations, hardware and software and training. However, actual spending was more than initial projections, Poulin says, declining to cite specific figures. ``But we're ending up with a lot more computing resources'' and lower long-term costs, he says. It's easy for downsizing savings to look very attractive, but beware of oversimplifying, cautions Allan Froehlich, a principal at Nolan, Norton & Co. His advice: ``Watch out for cherry picking,'' or choosing a few ideal applications for downsizing. Initially, Froehlich says, cost justifications for such jobs can look terrific. But when you consider functions that remain on the mainframe, things can look less appetizing. Another difficulty with starry-eyed justifications, he adds, is identifying just what services you will (or won't) get. ``Are are you going to have to do without some things?'' Froehlich asks. People pressure While many IS chiefs agree that downsizing can be a lifesaver, positive feelings are far less universal among IS staffers and users. ``We had to deal with a total mind-set change among the MIS people,'' says Paul MacPherson, supervisor of systems architecture at Toronto-based Trimark Investment Management, a large Canadian mutual fund company. Trimark Investment went from running a large IBM System/38 Model 700 supporting 145 users to a Pyramid Technology Corp. MIS 12 server running Oracle and supporting 150 users on Next, Inc. workstations. The project goes on-line this month. Better price/performance, open systems and a freedom from reliance on a single vendor were the big motivators, according to MacPherson. The firm decided to downsize its Unit Holder Systems Administration application, the core mutual fund system consisting of about 1,000 programs. A key part of the effort involved replacing a host-to-terminal Synchronous Data Link Control network with a TCP/IP network. So Trimark Investment hired consultants for the dual job of handling the conversion and developing TCP/IP and Unix skills for in-house IS staffers. ``Employees must have hands-on experience. They can't just attend classes,'' says MacPherson, who was hired specifically to bring Unix Open or closed? You decide 07/06/92 Large Systems Bozman, Jean S. Large Systems Users split on picking proprietary or independent relational databases Picking a relational database is a weighty decision. Features, functions, performance and price all go into the selection process. But users still seem divided over whether to buy a database from their systems vendor or one from an independent supplier that runs on many hardware platforms. Relational database management system software sales are split between proprietary and independent databases, according to surveys conducted by International Data Corp. (IDC) in Framingham, Mass. Independent RDBMS sales in 1991 totaled $1.9 billion in the U.S. Roughly $1.6 billion in U.S. sales that year were by systems vendors such as IBM, Digital Equipment Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., said Tony Picardi, director of software research at IDC. The trade-offs between choosing ``open'' or ``closed'' systems are many, users said. Some said proprietary systems can be tuned better to their HP, DEC or IBM machines, providing better performance. But others said it is more important to have database products and tools that can be moved to other hardware platforms, providing more flexibility in future information systems planning. Kenny Services, Inc., a New York division of Standard & Poor's Corp., is migrating from DEC VAXs to faster Sequent Computer Corp. Model 750s by moving its Oracle Corp. RDBMS to new hardware. ``We didn't feel it was cost-effective to run Oracle on the VAXs anymore,'' said Ira Kirschner, director of technical services at Kenny Services. ``Our incremental growth required us to do box swaps to get more power, and each box swap cost about $200,000.'' But longtime DEC and HP computer users, who feel no need to mix and match computer systems, said they benefit by getting database and systems support from the same vendor. And all major RDBMS vendors offer similar features for distributed database applications. ``The classic trade-off is between flexibility and power,'' said Neal Hill, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. ``The systems vendor can tune the database to the operating system, and they can devote more of the code in the database to optimizing performance for their platform.'' ``There are still some performance advantages to using a systems vendor's database,'' said Richard Kislowski, vice president and chief information officer at PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc., a health maintenance organization in Cypress, Calif. ``Five years ago, it made lots of difference compared to the performance of an independent database. Today, the difference is in the 10% to 30% range.'' Kislowski, who uses Rdb 4.0 on a DEC VAX 9000 Model 400 as his primary production machine, sees another advantage: synchronization of releases. When PacifiCare upgrades to DEC's VMS 5.5 later this month, it will know that Rdb was changed to take advantage of the new VMS features. ``When you're dealing with open software, the database might be ported to an HP platform first, rather than to DEC,'' he said. Both DEC and HP give users powerful financial incentives to stay with their proprietary Rdb and AllBase/SQL databases, respectively. A runtime version of Rdb has been provided at no cost for several years and HP offers its AllBase at a steep discount compared with open systems RDBMS products. Support for a wide range of platforms sometimes strains independent vendors' resources, analysts noted. Oracle, Sybase, Inc., The Ask Cos.' Ingres Products Division and Informix Software, Inc. have rollout schedules that ship versions for hardware platforms in waves. Some platforms get the latest RDBMS months before others, causing frustration in mixed-hardware shops. When users of independent RDBMS packages do choose open platforms over proprietary systems, cost savings from cheaper hardware is often cited as the rationale. At BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc., an investment of $1.5 million in Unix workstations is expected to save $2.5 million in annual operating costs. BP Alaska is using IBM's RISC System/6000s as Sybase database servers and Apple Computer, Inc. Macintoshes as clients. IS managers in the open systems world are seeing greater opportunities to buy packaged applications software and write new applications using fourth-generation languages. Red Devil, Inc. in Union, N.J., is nearly finished replacing its IBM mainframe's homegrown manufacturing and financial systems with packaged Unix applications from IIS Corp. The packages will run on top of an Oracle RDBMS, AT&T Series 7000 Unix machines will be the servers, and personal computers running Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 will be the clients. John Coff, Red Devil's director of MIS, said the removal of the firm's IBM 4361 will save thousands of maintenance dollars and cut the operations staff from 14 to one. Give both a try A brand-new venture gets the chance to hand-pick the elements of its IS infrastructure. Encompass, a global joint venture between AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, rail company CSX Corp. and PTT Telecom in the Netherlands chose to link open and closed database systems through client/ server applications. The host systems are DEC VAXs, which connect with Intel Corp.-based PCs running OS/2 and IBM's RS/6000 Unix workstations. ``We have adopted a message-bus technology that allows our applications to be independent of the database and independent of the network,'' said Rick Poff, vice president of development and operations at the Cary, N.C., venture. The VAXs run Sybase's SQL Server database software, as will the RS/6000s; the IBM OS/2 computers run IBM's Database Manager for OS/2. Encompass elected not to run DEC's less-expensive Rdb because of the need to deploy database applications on three types of hardware. ``Sybase goes across many platforms,'' Poff said. ``Rdb does not.'' Applications development is carried out by 120 programmers using the Uniface Corp. fourth-generation language and Objective C. ``One developer in our environment is doing what four to five can do elsewhere,'' Poff said. Encompass' systems, based on AMR's Sabre system technology, book reservations for freight shipments and track those shipments along the way. ``It's a logistics system that allows trading partners to plan, to execute and to analyze their shipment pipeline,'' Poff explained. Among Encompass' customers are Fortune 500 companies, and each of them gets a small Encompass database server in its headquarters. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. -based Trimark Investment Management, a large Canadian mutual fund company. Trimark Investment went from running a large IBM System/38 Model 700 supporting 145 users to a Pyramid Technology Corp. MIS 12 server running Oracle and supporting 150 users on Next, Inc. workstations. The project goes on-line this month. Better price/performance, open systems and a freedom from reliance on a single vendor were the big motivators, according to MacPherson. The firm decided to downsize its Unit Holder Systems Administration application, the core mutual fund system consisting of about 1,000 programs. A key part of the effort involved replacing a host-to-terminal Synchronous Data Link Control network with a TCP/IP network. So Trimark Investment hired consultants for the dual job of handling the conversion and developing TCP/IP and Unix skills for in-house IS staffers. ``Employees must have hands-on experience. They can't just attend classes,'' says MacPherson, who was hired specifically to bring Unix Did they or not? 06/29/92 News Hamilton, Rosemary News IBM came out swinging last week at PC Expo, boasting that 700,000 copies of OS/2 2.0 had shipped since its March 31 availability date. Some analysts were skeptical of the numbers but acknowledged that IBM could be building momentum. Will Fastie at Alex. Brown & Sons, Inc. said this was possible, but he suggested that a significant percentage of those sales were probably upgrades. He added that the pace of sales should slow in the coming months. ``For OS/2 coming out of the block, that is a very significant number,'' said William Bluestein, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. ``That means they are on a run rate to go over a million this year.'' IBM also confirmed that at least three new features for 2.0 will ship in the fall, including support for Microsoft's Windows 3.1. Also expected is the full-blown 32-bit graphics engine and video support for 2.0 multimedia extensions. Audio support for 2.0 multimedia is still on schedule for shipment by the end of this month. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. sion of Standard & Poor's Corp., is migrating from DEC VAXs to faster Sequent Computer Corp. Model 750s by moving its Oracle Corp. RDBMS to new hardware. ``We didn't feel it was cost-effective to run Oracle on the VAXs anymore,'' said Ira Kirschner, director of technical services at Kenny Services. ``Our incremental growth required us to do box swaps to get more power, and each box swap cost about $200,000.'' But longtime DEC and HP computer users, who feel no need to mix and match computer systems, said they benefit by getting database and systems support from the same vendor. And all major RDBMS vendors offer similar features for distributed database applications. ``The classic trade-off is between flexibility and power,'' said Neal Hill, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. ``The systems vendor can tune the database to the operating system, and they can devote more of the code in the database to optimizing performance for their platform.'' ``There are still some performance advantages to using a systems vendor's database,'' said Richard Kislowski, vice president and chief information officer at PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc., a health maintenance organization in Cypress, Calif. ``Five years ago, it made lots of difference compared to the performance of an independent database. Today, the difference is in the 10% to 30% range.'' Kislowski, who uses Rdb 4.0 on a DEC VAX 9000 Model 400 as his primary production machine, sees another advantage: synchronization of releases. When PacifiCare upgrades to DEC's VMS 5.5 later this month, it will know that Rdb was changed to take advantage of the new VMS features. ``When you're dealing with open software, the database might be ported to an HP platform first, rather than to DEC,'' he said. Both DEC and HP give users powerful financial incentives to stay with their proprietary Rdb and AllBase/SQL databases, respectively. A runtime version of Rdb has been provided at no cost for several years and HP offers its AllBase at a steep discount compared with open systems RDBMS products. Support for a wide range of platforms sometimes strains independent vendors' resources, analysts noted. Oracle, Sybase, Inc., The Ask Cos.' Ingres Products Division and Informix Software, Inc. have rollout schedules that ship versions for hardware platforms in waves. Some platforms get the latest RDBMS months before others, causing frustration in mixed-hardware shops. When users of independent RDBMS packages do choose open platforms over proprietary systems, cost savings from cheaper hardware is o Fault-tolerant LANs near takeoff for US Air users 06/22/92 Enterprise Networking Wexler, Joanie M. Enterprise Networking Airport net reduces mainframe dependence PITTSBURGH An airport is one of those places where a fault-tolerant computing environment can really come in handy. Yet while many people think of fault tolerance primarily in terms of mainframe applications, US Air plans to shift such applications off isolated mainframes and onto distributed local-area networks at its new airport here. The airline's collocated mainframes in Winston-Salem, N.C., are vulnerable because they house all corporate databases in one spot, said Ron Soulsby, senior systems engineer at the airline's headquarters in Arlington, Va. Dedicated links back to mainframes ``occasionally suffer outages at inopportune times,'' halting airport-to-data center communications, he said. ``We decided the answer was to go to distributed processing to minimize our outages,'' Soulsby continued. ``Then, if the mainframe links get cut with a backhoe or something, we continue to operate'' using the server-mounted databases ``and then update the central databases when communication is restored.'' Heart of the matter At the core of the distributed move is a $1.5 million redundant Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) backbone from Fibronics International, Inc. in Hyannis, Mass., that links multiple 16M bit/sec. Token Ring networks in each of three US Air terminals. Both the need to protect corporate data and the influx of new applications (see story page 84) are driving the shift in network infrastructure, Soulsby said. He noted that FDDI technology was chosen primarily because of its fault-tolerant properties rather than for its 100M bit/sec. networking speeds though the extra bandwidth provides breathing room for unknown applications sure to emerge in the future. Because FDDI features two dual, counterrotating fiber rings, ``the path in and the path out'' of each Fibronics Token Ring-to-FDDI bridge ``travel in diverse directions,'' Soulsby explained. Soulsby said he conducted extensive interoperability testing that ``was the equivalent of 48 years over three days'' before choosing his FDDI vendor. He said none of the five vendors' equipment he tested had problems passing data on one FDDI ring. However, Soulsby had no luck delivering or retrieving data between FDDI and Token Rings when using multiple vendors' equipment. ``When I combined two LAN topologies, I lost information. Sometimes the request for data got to the device, but the information then wouldn't make it back,'' he said. When testing a homogeneous Fibronics network for three days, he said, the result was that ``only seven bits were not recoverable.'' This is the equivalent, Soulsby said, of the entire Earth's population walking through a portal 4,600 times and only seven people not getting through. Able to meet needs Being a market pioneer cinched the US Air contract for Fibronics. Soulsby said that at the time of the evaluation, the firm ``was the only FDDI vendor that could offer bridging, routing and Token Ring functionality in its own product line,'' as well as compatibility with IBM-based network management. Soulsby acknowledged that ``Fibronics was not chosen because it was the best bridge. No one else could meet my January 1992 deadline for all the pieces.'' US Air chose OS/2 for both its server and client platform because using two different operating systems would require difficult ``partial software upgrades,'' he explained. ``I've seen other airlines make this mistake.'' OS/2 provided the desired multitasking for US Air's servers and could run on the clients. By contrast, all the Unix vendors that US Air considered, he said, wanted him to run Unix on the server and MS-DOS on his clients. On the other hand, IBM would unbundle OS/2. ``Now we run an upgrade on one server, and the rest of the network runs fine,'' Soulsby said. The new airport is running between 600 and 700 OS/2 workstations and nearly 40 servers, he added. Costwise, as US Air grows, he explained, ``we can replicate mainframe cycles on our OS/2 servers five or six times'' before reaching mainframe processing costs. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. cial systems with packaged Unix applications from IIS Corp. The packages will run on top of an Oracle RDBMS, AT&T Series 7000 Unix machines will be the servers, and personal computers running Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 will be the clients. John Coff, Red Devil's director of MIS, said the removal of the firm's IBM 4361 will save thousands of maintenance dollars and cut the operations staff from 14 to one. Give both a try A brand-new venture gets the chance to hand-pick the elements of its IS infrastructure. Encompass, a global joint venture between AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, rail company CSX Corp. and PTT Telecom in the Netherlands chose to link open and closed database systems through client/ server applications. The host systems are DEC VAXs, which connect with Intel Corp.-based PCs running OS/2 and IBM's RS/6000 Unix workstations. ``We have adopted a message-bus technology that allows our applications to be independent of the database and independent of the network,'' said Rick Poff, vice president of development and operations at the Cary, N.C., venture. The VAXs run Sybase's SQL Server database software, as will the RS/6000s; the IBM OS/2 computers run IBM's Database Manager for OS/2. Encompass elected not to run DEC's less-expensive Rdb because of the need to deploy database applications on three types of hardware. ``Sybase goes across many platforms,'' Poff said. ``Rdb does not.'' Applications development is carried out by 120 programmers using the Uniface Corp. fourth-generation language and Objective C. ``One developer in our environment is doing what four to five can do elsewhere,'' Poff said. Encompass' systems, based on AMR's Sabre system technology, book reservations for freight shipments and track those shipments along the way. ``It's a logistics system that allows trading partners to plan, to execute and to analyze their shipment pipeline,'' Poff explained. Among Encompass' customers are Fortune 500 companies, and each of them gets a small Encompass database server in its headquarters. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. -based Trimark Investment Management, a large Canadian mutual fund company. Trimark Investment went from running a large IBM System/38 Model 700 supporting 145 users to a Pyramid Technology Corp. MIS 12 server running Oracle and supporting 150 users on Next, Inc. workstations. The project goes on-line this month. Better price/performance, open systems and a freedom from reliance on a single vendor were the big motivators, according to MacPherson. The firm decided to downsize its Unit Holder Systems Administration application, the core mutual fund system consisting of about 1,000 programs. A key part of the effort involved replacing a host-to-terminal Synchronous Data Link Control network with a TCP/IP network. So Trimark Investment hired consultants for the dual job of handling the conversion and developing TCP/IP and Unix skills for in-house IS staffers. ``Employees must have hands-on experience. They can't just attend classes,'' says MacPherson, who was hired specifically to bring Unix 06/22/92 News News Multilingual GUI tool unveiledA new tool from Uniface Corp. reportedly lets users write one database application that supports four leading desktop graphical user interfaces (GUI). Uniface's universal presentation interface (UPI) translates source code, based on a single command from the programmer. UPI then generates the object code for the four GUIs. The company also announced Uniface 5.2, an enhanced tool kit with 30% faster database drivers. The product supports a variety of relational database management systems. Pricing starts at $5,000. IBM, AT&T finally deliver goodsFulfilling a year-old promise, AT&T and IBM have announced software that enables their respective network management systems Accumaster Integrator and NetView to exchange configuration and alert information. AT&T unwrapped Accumaster Integrator Release 3.0 and an enhanced version of its SNA Management Application. IBM introduced Network Carrier Interconnect Manager and Network Carrier Interconnect Agent. Slated to ship this fall, all four products must be implemented in order to support full, bidirectional interaction between NetView and Accumaster. The total cost for the products is $260,000. AIX cluster software on the way After months of providing the product on a request-only basis to customers, IBM last week announced September delivery of its AIX High Availability Cluster Multi-Processing/6000 software. The product ties together two RISC System/6000s in a cluster, allowing customers to choose three different levels or modes of high-availability support. DEC PC sales lead packSix months of figures from ``PC Market Monitor,'' a monthly report from Computer Intelligence, a La Jolla, Calif.-based research firm, shows that Digital Equipment Corp. moved up from No. 10 to No. 1 in personal computer sales growth during the past three months. The report surveyed 27,000 corporate buyers from December 1991 through May 1992. However, DEC still has a market share of less than 2%. CIM olympics scheduledA group of vendors is planning a Computer Integrated Manufacturing Interoperability Olympics at the 1992 Federal Computer Communications conference in December. Paul Strassmann, director of defense information, had challenged them to develop an open systems environment that supports practical, day-to-day operations across a broad range of workstations and servers. Award honors Grace HopperThe Federation of Government Information Processing Councils and National Trade Productions, Inc. are jointly establishing a scholarship program in honor of the late Rear Adm. Grace Hopper. The scholarship will be awarded to government employees who best exemplify the spirit of her contributions to the country and to computer and information systems overall. Short takes DEC announced that it gave out $5 million worth of equipment to research, education and hospital groups addressing HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. . . . Lansing, Mich.-based insurance firm Jackson National Life Insurance Co. last week signed an estimated $200 million, 10-year outsourcing pact with Electronic Data Systems Corp., renewing a deal signed in 1985. . . . Concurrent Computer Corp. and FD Consulting have formed a partnership under which FD Consulting will provide enhanced versions of its Real-time Market Information Platform System and Ticker Processing System on Concurrent's Unix-based hardware. . . .. . . . . . American Airlines inks PC pacts American Airlines last week signed major personal computer contracts with IBM, Tandy Corp. and Grid Systems Corp. The IBM pact is a multiyear agreement to sell Personal System/2 Models 57 SLC, 90 and 95 to travel agents on its Sabre system and for use by company employees. Grid and Tandy boxes include the MFP/450 and APT/450, both 80486-based machines. They are slated to be used at American ticket counters and gates. Kendall Square goes commercial Kendall Square Research Corp. in Waltham, Mass., will pitch its parallel processing computer to the commercial market in 1993. By the fourth quarter of this year, the company hopes to be working ``closely'' with two or three commercial accounts, with the major push next year. The company has also proven, on paper for now, that its KSR1 computer can incorporate its 1088 processors. Tandem to debut imaging tool Tandem Computers, Inc. will announce a new image processing server at this week's Association for Information and Image Management show in Anaheim, Calif. Tandem created the system by adding data management software from Epoch Systems, Inc. in Westboro, Mass., to magnetic disk drives and optical discs. The Tandem Image Storage Server is available immediately, and it is priced from $103,400 for a system that supports 465,000 images to $333,400 for a system that supports 6.6 million images. User groups forming New York-based Uninterruptible Uptime Users Group is looking to go national. It focuses on continuous availability for all information systems aspects, from infrastructure to data centers and end-user workstations. People interested in establishing local chapters can contact Chip Ralston, membership chairman, at (215) 569-5913. Separately, an independent group of 21 Sequoia Systems, Inc. customers has formed the Sug/gest user group. DeMarquis Walls, vice president of IS and technology at Damark International, is president of Sug/gest. Wang wins pricing lawsuit A Massachusetts federal district judge last week gave Wang Laboratories, Inc. the go-ahead on a pricing policy announced in April 1991 that was promptly frozen after an antitrust suit was filed in protest. Wang will now charge between $1,000 and $1 million for operating system software licenses on used VS computers; fees vary according to system size. Under the old system, folks who bought VS models on the aftermarket could get their operating system software for a flat fee of $1,000. Short takes Intel Corp. joined the ranks of 3.3V chip vendors last week, releasing its 3.3V 80386SL chip. Intel will make both a cached 20-MHz version and cacheless 16- and 20-MHz versions of the chip. . . . Ungermann-Bass, Inc. and Protools, Inc. have delivered on plans to integrate Protools' Foundation Manager local-area network monitoring system with UB's NetDirector hub management system. . . . The U.S. Air Force Academy will buy 1,275 multimedia systems from CompuAdd Computer Corp. The deal, which centers on Intel 80386SX-based systems with proprietary TV/video adapter cards, will earn CompuAdd $2.2 million. . . . NEC Corp. will license a variety of Communication Intelligence Corp.'s pen software, including its PenDOS operating environment, multilingual Handwriting Recognition Systems and Dynamic Signature Verification System. . . . IBM will step up OS/2 marketing efforts with a ``superstore blitz'' and TV advertising. IBM volunteers will hit various retail outlets to promote and demonstrate OS/2 2.0. . . . Dell Computer Corp. has doubled the number of shares of stock it will sell to the public. . . . . . . Digital Equipment Corp. appointed William Steul to fill the slot of vice president and chief financial officer. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. lication, the core mutual fund system consisting of about 1,000 programs. A key part of the effort involved replacing a host-to-terminal Synchronous Data Link Control network with a TCP/IP network. So Trimark Investment hired consultants for the dual job of handling the conversion and developing TCP/IP and Unix skills for in-house IS staffers. ``Employees must have hands-on experience. They can't just attend classes,'' says MacPherson, who was hired specifically to bring Unix DEC software positions VAX as backup for IBM mainframe 06/08/92 Enterprise Networking Horwitt, Elisabeth Enterprise Networking LITTLETON, Mass. Digital Equipment Corp. has introduced IBM Systems Network Architecture (SNA) software that is said to enable DEC VAXs to be used as backup systems for running IBM mainframe applications. The announcement addresses many of DEC's customers who also have IBM systems, DEC said. DEC SNA 3270 Applications Services software consists of a library of routines that can be used to build IBM applications on a DEC VAX, according to DEC. An IBM terminal or personal computer can ``log onto a VMS application with the same routines they use to access an IBM mainframe'' via an IBM terminal interface, DEC spokeswoman Linda Saytes said. In this way, information systems programmers can ``offload their IBM mainframe application backlog'' onto a DEC VAX, she added. Prices range from $500 to $30,000 for the runtime system and $1,000 to $69,000 for the development version. A second software introduction, DECforms, allows programmers to develop IBM-compatible applications on a DEC VAX without dealing with the technicalities of the 3270 data stream, Saytes said. DEC also announced DEC SNA Domain Gateway for Channel Transport, software that is said to allow bidirectional information exchange between IBM SNA and DECnet environments. Domain software ``looks like an IBM PU5 device to another VTAM system so that a DEC VAX can be addressed directly by an IBM terminal,'' she said. The gateway is said to allow VMS-, Ultrix-, DOS- and OS/2-based applications to communicate as peers with IBM System/370 and 390 applications. It runs on DEC Channel Server or Channel Server II and is scheduled for availability in August, with prices ranging from $41,000 to $91,000. DEC also announced the commercial release last month of a line of Ultrix-to-IBM communications software packages that were developed for DEC by Systems Strategies, Inc. The software, which runs on DEC's DECnet/SNA gateway, is said to enable Ultrix systems to access IBM hosts using IBM LU6.2, Remote Job Entry, 3270 and High Level Language Application Programming Interface protocols. Pricing ranges from $195 to $10,676 for runtime versions. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. tablishing a scholarship program in honor of the late Rear Adm. Grace Hopper. The scholarship will be awarded to government employees who best exemplify the spirit of her contributions to the country and to computer and information systems overall. Short takes DEC announced that it gave out $5 million worth of equipment to research, education and hospital groups addressing HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. . . . Lansing, Mich.-based insurance firm Jackson National Life Insurance Co. last week signed an estimated $200 million, 10-year outsourcing pact with Electronic Data Systems Corp., renewing a deal signed in 1985. . . . Concurrent Computer Corp. and FD Consulting have formed a partnership under which FD Consulting will provide enhanced versions of its Real-time Market Information Platform System and Ticker Processing System on Concurrent's Unix-based hardware. . . .. . . . . . American Airlines inks PC pacts American Airlines last week signed major personal computer contracts with IBM, Tandy Corp. and Grid Systems Corp. The IBM pact is a multiyear agreement to sell Personal System/2 Models 57 SLC, 90 and 95 to travel agents on its Sabre system and for use by company employees. Grid and Tandy boxes include the MFP/450 and APT/450, both 80486-based machines. They are slated to be used at American ticket counters and gates. Kendall Square goes commerciaTardy IBM loks to tomorrow 06/01/92 Large Systems Ambrosio, Johanna Large Systems The axiom ``better late than never'' took on a newcomer last month, when IBM introduced its automated tape library some five years later than Storage Technology Corp., its major competitor in the storage sector. Still, IBM executives said they hope to gain a long-term edge with a family of storage systems disk, tape, optical and whatever else comes down the pike that work together. In May, the company added a new release of its Data Facility Storage Management Subsystem (DFSMS) software, an optical server that reads data stored on disk and other products to its storage lineup (see chart). ``We want to enable information across an enterprise with ease of use, available on demand, at the right price,'' said Ray AbuZayyad, general manager of Adstar, IBM's storage products subsidiary in San Jose, Calif. The best way to do that, IBM executives said, is to provide a hierarchy of storage systems that work with IBM and non-IBM computers. IBM said it will allow MVS and VM hosts to back up local-area networks and workstations. The backup system will support IBM platforms including DOS, OS/2 and the RISC System/6000, as well as Apple Computer, Inc.'s Macintosh, Sun Microsystems, Inc. workstations and Novell, Inc.'s NetWare-based networks. This marks the first time that IBM has pursued an ``open'' strategy in its storage products unit. At the heart of IBM's storage strategy is intelligent software that allows the system to make an increasing number of decisions for example, on what medium data should be stored. Programmers and end users would only need to specify what characteristics they desire whether immediate response time is required, for example. IBM has started building these kinds of capabilities into its storage software under the rubric of its Systems Managed Storage (SMS) architecture. IBM claims that some 1,500 customers are using SMS software. A recent study by Computer Intelligence in La Jolla, Calif., said 40% of the 500 customers surveyed have already implemented SMS or are planning to. The remainder have no active plans to do so. The SMS piece may be what sells the tape library, observers said. AbuZayyad said he hopes to sell in the ``low hundreds'' each year. Gartner Group, Inc. analyst Nick Allen said, ``The prospect of integrated software is emotionally attractive.'' He added, however, that ``the low-hanging fruit are gone'' and that IBM will have a tough sell. AbuZayyad, for his part, acknowledged that by waiting five years to introduce a tape library, IBM ``misread the market. We screwed up.'' He maintained, though, that ``the market is not over'' and that customers have expressed a willingness to adopt a coexistence strategy of using both IBM and Storage Tek libraries. Another plus, according to Robert Callery, an analyst at Technology Investment Strategies Corp. in Framingham, Mass., is that ``no matter how fast the robots go, tape will never be as fast as disk.'' Nevertheless, tape will be around for a long time, he said. Whether IBM can capitalize on the tape library market remains to be seen, but in the meantime, there is likely to be one significant benefit for users: price reductions of the automated tape libraries already on the market. ``The IBM library ushers in a new level of competition,'' Callery said. ``Up until now, Storage Tek has had the market just about to itself.'' Allen predicted a 10% to 20% price erosion because of competition between IBM and Storage Tek. And he expects other automated tape libraries to be introduced this year by Amperif Corp. and Hitachi Data Systems Corp. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. arch Corp. in Waltham, Mass., will pitch its parallel processing computer to the commercial market in 1993. By the fourth quarter of this year, the company hopes to be working ``closely'' with two or three commercial accounts, with the major push next year. The company has also proven, on paper for now, that its KSR1 computer can incorporate its 1088 processors. Tandem to debut imaging tool Tandem Computers, Inc. will announce a new image processing server at this week's Association for Information and Image Management show in Anaheim, Calif. Tandem created the system by adding data management software from Epoch Systems, Inc. in Westboro, Mass., to magnetic disk drives and optical discs. The Tandem Image Storage Server is available immediately, and it is priced from $103,400 for a system that supports 465,000 images to $333,400 for a system that supports 6.6 million images. User groups forming New York-based Uninterruptible Uptime Users Group is looking to go national. It focuses on continuous availability for all information systems aspects, from infrastructure to data centers and end-user workstations. People interested in establishing local chapters can contact Chip Ralston, membership chairman, at (215) 569-5913. Separately, an independent group of 21 Sequoia Systems, Inc. customers has formed the Sug/gest user group. DeMarquis Walls, vice president of IS and technology at Damark International, is president of Sug/gest. Wang wins pricing lawsuit A Massachusetts federal district judge last week gave Wang Laboratories, Inc. the go-ahead on a pricing policy announced in April 1991 that was promptly frozen after an antitrust suit was filed in protest. Wang will now charge between $1,000 and $1 million for operating system software licenses on used VS computers; fees vary according to system size. Under the old system, folks who bought VS models on the aftermarket could get their operating system software for a flat fee of $1,000. Short takes Intel Corp. joined the ranks of 3.3V chip vendors last week, releasing its 3.3V 80386SL chip. Intel will make both a cached 20-MHz version and cacheless 16- and 20-MHz versions of the chip. . . . Ungermann-Bass, Inc. and Protools, Inc. have delivered on plans to integrate Protools' Foundation Manager local-area network monitoring system with UB's NetDirector hub management system. . . . The U.S. Air Force Academy will buy 1,275 multimedia systems from CompuAdd Computer Corp. The deal, which centers on Intel 80386SX-based systems with proprietary TV/video adapter cards, will earn CompuAdd $2.2 million. . . . NEC Corp. will license a variety of Communication Intelligence Corp.'s pen software, including its PenDOS operating environment, multilingual Handwriting Recognition Systems and Dynamic Signature Verification System. . . . IBM will step up OS/2 marketing efforts with a ``superstore blitz'' and TV advertising. IBM volunteers will hit various retail outlets to promote and demonstrate OS/2 2.0. . . . Dell Computer Corp. has doubled the number of shares of stock it will sell to the public. . . . . . . Digital Equipment Corp. appointed William Steul to fill the slot of vice president and chief financial officer. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. lication, the core mutual fund system consisting of about 1,000 programs. A key part of the effort involved replacing a host-to-terminal Synchronous Data Link Control network with a TCP/IP network. So Trimark Investment hired consultants for the dual job of handling the conversion and developing TCP/IP and Unix skills for in-house IS staffers. ``Employees must have hands-on experience. They can't just attend classes,'' says MacPherson, who was hired specifically to bring Unix KnowledgeWare and IntelliCorp finish link 05/25/92 Large Systems Nash, Kim S. Large Systems ATLANTA Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) company KnowledgeWare, Inc. and former takeover target and artificial intelligence firm IntelliCorp, Inc. announced a bridge to link KnowledgeWare's software design and construction tools with IntelliCorp's Unix-based back-end development products. When merger talks disintegrated in October, the companies pledged to jointly develop CASE products for their overlapping customer base. Neither firm would reveal how big that joint base is, however. ``This product fulfills that promise,'' said Pete Privateer, KnowledgeWare's staff vice president for strategic product planning. He added that the company has no current plans for future codevelopment with IntelliCorp. CaseConnection/ADW is a bridge designed to let users of KnowledgeWare's Application Development Workbench (ADW) build applications on Unix machines using IntelliCorp's ProKappa, an object-oriented application generator. The product, which is available immediately starting at $40,000, includes software and services to translate entity relationship models in Encyclopedia/ADW, KnowledgeWare's repository, into ProKappa objects and relations. The price increases with the number of models that must be translated. CaseConnection/ADW allows software engineers who use ADW for design and analysis of mainframe and IBM OS/2-based applications to have a companion CASE solution for Unix development, according to IntelliCorp. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. building these kinds of capabilities into its storage software under the rubric of its Systems Managed Storage (SMS) architecture. IBM claims that some 1,500 customers are using SMS software. A recent study by Computer Intelligence in La Jolla, Calif., said 40% of the 500 customers surveyed have already implemented SMS or are planning to. The remainder have no active plans to do so. The SMS piece may be what sells the tape library, observers said. AbuZayyad said he hopes to sell in the ``low hundreds'' each year. Gartner Group, Inc. analyst Nick Allen said, ``The prospect of integrated software is emotionally attractive.'' He added, however, that ``the low-hanging fruit are gone'' and that IBM will have a tough sell. AbuZayyad, for his part, acknowledged that by waiting five years to introduce a tape library, IBM ``misread the market. We screwed up.'' He maintained, though, that ``the market is not over'' and that customers have expressed a willingness to adopt a coexistence strategy of using both IBM and Storage Tek libraries. Another plus, according to Robert Callery, an analyst at Technology Investment Strategies Corp. in Framingham, Mass., is that ``no matter how fast the robots go, tape will never be as fast as disk.'' Nevertheless, tape will be around for a long time, he said. Whether IBM can capitalize on the tape library market remains to be seen, but in the meantime, there is likely to be one significant benefit for users: price reductions of the automated tape libraries already on the market. ``The IBM library ushers in a new level of competition,'' Callery said. ``Up until now, Storage Tek has had the market just about to itself.'' Allen predicted a 10% to 20% price erosion because of competition between IBM and Storage Tek. And he expects other automated tape libraries to be introduced this year by Amperif Corp. and Hitachi Data Systems Corp. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing Catty chatting 05/25/92 Desktop Computing Lindquist, Chris Desktop Computing The bombast and rhetoric about Windows vs. OS/2 have been flying hot and heavy on the bulletin boards so hot on some that the sysops and moderators have banned such discussions. As a result, the number of cheap shots has diminished. And many users seem too busy getting their freshly unwrapped software running to be on the offensive. But while some IS departments are still sitting out the storm, lots of users on both sides of the fence seem to think the war is already over. Just who won depends on whom you ask. Discontent with IBM's effort on OS/2 2.0's behalf continues. On Usenet, a terse message calling for the firing of the IBM marketing manager for OS/2 2.0 was greeted with a response of ``You mean there is one?'' One user excused the lack of marketing in a manner IBM would probably rather not hear. His claim was that OS/2 2.0 simply is not ready for mass-market users yet and that IBM is intentionally waiting a while for the media blitz. ``If IBM mass marketed OS/2 [2.0] in its current form, they would be killing their reputation.'' Predictions on the boards are that the June/July ship of an OS/2 2.0 bug fix should solve most of the problems being encountered by users. Common bugs reported included lack of support for a variety of SCSI and video controllers and interface problems with the Workplace Shell. Want to see the list of OS/2 2.0 developers? Type Control-Shift-Alt-o. Oh, and another bulletin board user who claimed to have a relative working in IBM research and development said that nearly all of the OS/2 developers are currently performing technical support. Why? They're fighting with a 7,000 phone call backlog. Meanwhile, Windows 3.1 users are running into some problems of their own. Again, getting driver updates, such as those for mice and video adapters, can be a slow process. Some heavy communications users are reporting nagging difficulties with Windows 3.1's communications support. Seems that despite the improvements made since 3.0, users still lose data and have trouble establishing high-speed connections. And a developer for a popular communications package told me that while 3.1 is better for communications, if you're serious about needing to multitask while attached to remote systems at high speed, go for OS/2 2.0. One possible solution being reported, if you must use Windows 3.1, is to buy Berkeley, Calif.-based Bio-Engineering Research Laboratories' Turbocom communications driver to replace the one shipped with Windows. CW Staff; Lindquist is a Computerworld staff writer * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. cording to Robert Callery, an analyst at Technology Investment Strategies Corp. in Framingham, Mass., is that ``no matter how fast the robots go, tape will never be as fast as disk.'' Nevertheless, tape will be around for a long time, he said. Whether IBM can capitalize on the tape library market remains to be seen, but in the meantime, there is likely to be one significant benefit for users: price reductions of the automated tape libraries already on the market. ``The IBM library ushers in a new level of competition,'' Callery said. ``Up until now, Storage Tek has had the market just about to itself.'' Allen predicted a 10% to 20% price erosion because of competition between IBM and Storage Tek. And he expects other automated tape libraries to be introduced this year by Amperif Corp. and Hitachi Data Systems Corp. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing IBM elaborates on System View 05/18/92 News Horwitt, Elisabeth News APIs needed to improve integration flexibility for users, analysts say NEW YORK IBM's SystemView strategy will deliver full-function, integrated systems management for IBM Application System/400s and OS/2-based desktops a lot sooner than it will for the mainframe data center, an IBM spokesman said at a briefing last week. Nevertheless, some information systems departments currently faced with massive data center consolidation efforts are choosing SystemView gaps, lumps and all because they see it as the only choice in town. First announced in the fall of 1990, SystemView is an umbrella concept for integrating management of operations, performance, problems and changes across the full range of IBM mainframe, midrange and low- end systems. Central to the concept is a set of interfaces and specifications that, if followed, permit various network and system management applications to share information, respond to a common set of automated applications and interact with users via a common graphical user interface (GUI). Current details So far, IBM has defined the following SystemView specifications: Common User Access as the GUI, SQL as a common querying language, and NetView tools for building automated applications. IBM has made enough progress with SystemView to encourage more than one major IBM shop to stake its data center strategy on the platform. For example, Chemical Bank, based here, perceives the platform ``as the environment that promises the broadest scope for managing change, problems, systems and applications,'' said James Mayer, a senior vice president of information and technology management. However, the bank does not expect SystemView to provide a full solution for five or six years, he added. In addition, Bankers Trust Co. has just finished up a major data center re-engineering effort that integrates IBM and Candle Corp. system management tools under the SystemView umbrella (see story below). ``I think IBM is just scratching the surface with SystemView, but I think we'll follow their strategy,'' said Warren E. Ousley, senior vice president of Bankers Trust. What SystemView needs most now is application programming interfaces (API) that would allow users to integrate whatever third-party and IBM data center applications they want under the SystemView umbrella, David Passmore, a vice president at Gartner Group, Inc. in Stamford, Conn., said. Without these APIs, ``SystemView is just a marketing umbrella,'' Passmore said. Also missing is support for key industry standards, such as the Open Software Foundation's (OSF) Distributed Management Environment, he added. IBM is taking this long to deliver SystemView for the data center because of the effort needed to integrate ``hundreds of [IBM and third-party] data center management products already out there,'' said Bill Warner, IBM's network systems director. In contrast, IBM expects to introduce Distributed Systems Manager, a SystemView-compliant, OS/2 local-area network systems management platform, by late 1992 or early 1993, an IBM spokesman said. Current OS/2 management products, such as IBM's System Performance/2, will conform to SystemView by 1993, he added. Team effort A SystemView platform designed to manage distributed OS/400s is under joint development by IBM and Candle. The platform will take advantage of systems management utilities that were built into the midrange operating system, another IBM spokesman said. Although no time frame was mentioned, IBM indicated that the product will be out soon. IBM recently committed to converging SystemView's GUI with OSF's Motif and supporting the OSF Consolidated Management API that enables the same application to manage devices via the International Standard Organization's (ISO) Common Management Information Protocol or Simple Network Management Protocol, Warner said. IBM's OS/2 SystemView product will support the Consolidated Management API, he added. IBM is also developing a SystemView object-oriented data structure based on ISO protocols. IBM introduced initial object definitions last year and plans to introduce more this year. The Blue view IBM's SystemView has begun to solidify in patches. IBM products conforming to SystemView: Available now: NetView Graphic Monitor Facility, SAA Delivery Manager, Workstation Data Save Facility/VM, LAN Network Manager, Site Manager Services. To come: MVS data center management applications (no release date), AS/400 management utilities (no release date), OS/2 systems management (by early 1993). Third-party products: Available now: Candle CL, AF and Omegamon products (Candle DB to come); Bachman Information Systems, Inc. DBA. To come: Products from Goal Systems International, Inc., Information Retrieval Cos., Platinum Technology, Inc. (no release date). CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. hairman, at (215) 569-5913. Separately, an independent group of 21 Sequoia Systems, Inc. customers has formed the Sug/gest user group. DeMarquis Walls, vice president of IS and technology at Damark International, is president of Sug/gest. Wang wins pricing lawsuit A Massachusetts federal district judge last week gave Wang Laboratories, Inc. the go-ahead on a pricing policy announced in April 1991 that was promptly frozen after an antitrust suit was filed in protest. Wang will now charge between $1,000 and $1 million for operating system software licenses on used VS computers; fees vary according to system size. Under the old system, folks who bought VS models on the aftermarket could get their operating system software for a flat fee of $1,000. Short takes Intel Corp. joined the ranks of 3.3V chip vendors last week, releasing its 3.3V 80386SL chip. Intel will make both a cached 20-MHz version and cacheless 16- and 20-MHz versions of the chip. . . . Ungermann-Bass, Inc. and Protools, Inc. have delivered on plans to integrate Protools' Foundation Manager local-area network monitoring system with UB's NetDirector hub management system. . . . The U.S. Air Force Academy will buy 1,275 multimedia systems from CompuAdd Computer Corp. The deal, which centers on Intel 80386SX-based systems with proprietary TV/video adapter cards, will earn CompuAdd $2.2 million. . . . NEC Corp. will license a variety of Communication Intelligence Corp.'s pen software, including its PenDOS operating environment, multilingual Handwriting Recognition Systems and Dynamic Signature Verification System. . . . IBM will step up OS/2 marketing efforts with a ``superstore blitz'' and TV advertising. IBM volunteers will hit various retail outlets to promote and demonstrate OS/2 2.0. . . . Dell Computer Corp. has doubled the number of shares of stock it will sell to the public. . . . . . . Digital Equipment Corp. appointed William Steul to fill the slot of vice president and chief financial officer. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. lication, the core mutual fund system consisting of about 1,000 programs. A key part of the effort involved replacing a host-to-terminal Synchronous Data Link Control network with a TCP/IP network. So Trimark Investment hired consultants for the dual job of handling the conversion and developing TCP/IP and Unix skills for in-house IS staffers. ``Employees must have hands-on experience. They can't just attend classes,'' says MacPherson, who was hired specifically to bring Unix DB2 users seek advice on how to distribute databases 05/18/92 News Ambrosio, Johanna News NEW YORK Two years ago, customers came to a DB2 user group to complain about performance problems with IBM's premier database management system. This year they came here to talk about their production applications and to share tips about how to distribute data effectively and surmount cultural barriers. Several users attending the International DB2 Users Group (IDUG) meeting, which last week attracted 1,400 people, shared tales of huge DB2 applications distributed and not. Among them were Twentieth Century Services, Inc. and United Parcel Service, Inc. Kansas City, Mo.-based Twentieth Century, a mutual fund company with 1,200 employees, has the vast majority of its mission-critical applications in DB2. UPS, based in Mahwah, N.J., has a 1.1T-byte database implemented in both DB2 and IMS. It is also distributing data to OS/2 servers, which are expected to number more than 200 by next year. Need the whole package Distributing data between DB2 and OS/2 is a ``nontrivial'' task, according to Mark Buckingham, a staff member in the data management group at UPS. ``A number of disciplines need to come together. Strong PC and mainframe skills are a must; the most important skills are the communications ones, '' he said. Howard Fosdick, an independent consultant in Villa Park, Ill., and IDUG's president, said, ``There aren't that many user experiences yet with distributed [databases]. Implementation is a long process.'' The first version of DB2 that allows users to choose to distribute, Version 2.3, just became generally available in March. There are different techniques among the users who are taking the distributed route. For distributing data among different mainframe-based DB2 systems, American Express Travel Related Services Co. in Phoenix is using an IBM technique called Distributed Snapshot. Aetna Life & Casualty Co. wrote its own interface between OS/2 and DB2 for a distributed financial application. Perhaps even more challenging than the technical issues, the attendees said, are the cultural ones. One database administrator who has implemented a distributed database at a transportation concern said, ``The biggest problem is getting these sets of people to talk to one another. DB2 and OS/2 work differently, and then you throw the communications people in and it just gets worse.'' Some users have found that bridging the old with the new works best. At the University of Tennessee, applications can access both IMS and DB2 to allow the university to choose whichever database architecture works best for a given function. Performance is still on users' minds, but now it is an issue of tweaking rather than one of hitting walls. For most applications, users said, DB2's transaction rate is now satisfactory. Instead, the task is to save as many cycles as possible by using software tools and other measures. ``DB2's certainly got a lot of functionality, but it also requires more cycles,'' said Ron Gottschalk, a consultant at National Mutual Life in Victoria, Australia. ``Cost containment is an extremely important issue to management.'' CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ement utilities that were built into the midrange operating system, another IBM spokesman said. Although no time frame was mentioned, IBM indicated that the product will be out soon. IBM recently committed to converging SystemView's GUI with OSF's Motif and supporting the OSF Consolidated Management API that enables the same application to manage devices via the International Standard Organization's (ISO) Common Management Information Protocol or Simple Network 05/18/92 News News Quorum tries to end run AppleQuorum Software Systems has asked a federal court to rule that it has not infringed on any of Apple Computer, Inc.'s copyrights or patents. Quorum was locked out of Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference last week after Apple complained that Latitude, Quorum's cross-platform compatibility tool for Macintosh applications, violates its copyrights on pull-down menus and Color QuickDraw. Apple also revoked Quorum's privileges as an Apple Certified Developer. Quorum said it used the Open Software Foundation's Motif and Open Look pull-down menus and Adobe Systems, Inc.'s Display Motif and SunSoft News for screen rendering. Computer puts satellite out of reachThe space shuttle Endeavour crew's grueling bid to rescue a wayward satellite was prolonged over an hour last week when an on-board computer failed to compute the commands needed to move the shuttle close to the satellite. The shuttle made an additional Earth orbit while engineers worked on the problem. The crew ended up radioing voice commands to the shuttle based on commands from a backup computer on the ground. Sun ships SNMP-based softwareSun Microsystems, Inc. announced SunNet Manager 2.0, the latest version of its Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)-based platform. It is said to be able to manage tens of thousands of network nodes and to support a distributed architecture in which multiple SNMP workstations can send selected alerts to a central system. Slated to ship in July, it is priced at $3,995. Sun said it will migrate SunNet Manager to Solaris 2.0 80X86, IBM RISC System/6000 and Hewlett-Packard Co. HP 9000 systems at an undisclosed date. IBM reveals OS/2 sales figuresIBM officials last week said the firm hopes to sell at least 1 million copies of OS/2 2.0 this year. So far, IBM claims to have shipped about 200,000 shrink-wrapped copies of the software and electronically downloaded another 200,000 copies to customers. Some analysts said they think IBM can sell between 2 million and 4 million copies. IBM's Help Center has been swamped with calls mostly regarding installation and IBM said the overloaded support system is just catching up. CA wins withdrawal of softwareComputer Associates International, Inc. and Application Development Technologies, Inc. (ADT), a Dallas-based software developer, have settled a 16-month battle over ADT's AD/ TEC-SYS package, which is used to estimate software development costs. Originally, CA and co-plaintiff Howard Rubin Associates, Inc. sued ADT for misappropriating trade secrets of CA's CA-Estimax software product and Rubin's RA-Metrics package. The settlement calls for ADT to withdraw AD/TEC-SYS from the market. ADT President David Bryan said he could not afford protracted litigation against CA. Short takesDetroit Edison Co., a $3.5 billion utility, said it will spend about $1 million to buy 367 Grid Systems Corp. GridPad pen computers. The utility said it expects to save $1.6 million in operating expenses in the first year. . . . Stephen C. Daffron, former vice president of information services at The New York Mercantile Exchange, has been promoted to senior vice president of strategic planning and information services. . . . IBM shipped AIX NetView/6000, a network management workstation based on SNMP, last week, a month and a half early. . . . Revenue Canada Taxation has installed the first Hitachi Ltd. EX 520 mainframe at its Ottawa data center.. . . . Cypress Semiconductor Corp. unveiled its second-generation HyperSPARC processor, code-named Pinnacle. The high-performance, superscalar reduced instruction set computing processor is endorsed by Sun and SPARC International, Inc. . . . Digital Equipment Corp. cut Fiber Distributed Data Interface prices up to 59%. Alpha upgrade prices detailedUsers seeking to upgrade to Digital Equipment Corp.'s Alpha systems can now peruse an extensive list of upgrade prices for their VAX/VMS or DECstation/DECsystem machines. Available through DEC's sales force, the price list also includes ``daughter card'' upgrades to the next generation of DECstation/DECsystems. Customers ordering Alpha upgrades now will be guaranteed that price, which includes trade-in values, installation and a one-year warranty. EDS to lose outsourcing pactAfter a four-year outsourcing relationship, Electronic Data Systems Corp. and Freeport McMoRan, Inc. are parting ways. EDS said Freeport, which has shrunk and shifted its business since the contract began, wanted too many concessions to help it through troubled times. Published reports said Freeport gave EDS the boot. EDS will be replaced within the year by IBM's Integrated Systems Solutions Corp. subsidiary, along with Andersen Consulting and ComputerLand Corp. BellSouth talks SMDS, frame relayBellSouth last week disclosed deployment plans for two kinds of packet-switched data networks. It will begin offering both Switched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS) and public frame relay, supported by AT&T's BNS 2000 digital-switching platform, to customers in selected cities this year. A new data services organization, dubbed Data Bubble, will have end-to-end responsibility for the company's various network services. The SMDS service will offer 1.1M bit/sec. to 34M bit/sec. access speeds; the frame-relay service will offer the 1.544M bit/sec. rate. Pricing will be available this summer. Cabled, wireless LANs uniteTwo large smart-wiring hub vendors say they will private-label wireless local-area networks from other companies and integrate those LANs into their Simple Network Management Protocol-based network management schemes. Ungermann-Bass, Inc. is offering Motorola Wireless Enterprise Systems' Altair Plus wireless Ethernet LAN modules for its UB Access/One wiring hub for $3,995. Cabletron Systems, Inc. said it is marketing Windata, Inc.'s $5,200-and-up FreePort wireless Ethernet, unveiled last week (see story page 80). Pa. senate reconsiders taxPennsylvania state Sen. Melissa A. Hart (R-Allegheny) will introduce legislation in the state Senate tomorrow that would repeal the state's sales tax on computer programming, data processing, systems integration and other computer services. She noted that Pennsylvania is the only state to have such a tax, adding that ``its continuation will clearly impair our competitive position.'' Short takesThe Software Publisher's Association has released the SPA Software Management Guide, which offers assistance in establishing policies and procedures for the purchase, registration and use of software. The $80 kit includes the SPAudit auditing package, an informational video and education brochures. . . . In the third quarter, Hewlett-Packard Co. will resell Storage Technology Corp.'s 4220 cartridge tape drives for use with HP 3000 and 9000 systems. . . . Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 for DOS Release 2.4, which costs $495 and includes some graphical features and performance boosts, shipped last week. Lotus will ship 1-2-3 for DOS Release 3.4 in the fall. . . . Cyrix Corp. has gained two customers Wyse Technology, Inc. and Austin Computer Systems for its CX486SLC microprocessor. . . . Wang Laboratories, Inc. confirmed reports that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will resell the Alliance Series line of personal computers. . . . Pyramid Development Corp. is shipping PC/DACS, a $249 security package for IBM's OS/2 2.0 that provides user identification and authentication, session time out, encryption and boot protection. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. oping TCP/IP and Unix skills for in-house IS staffers. ``Employees must have hands-on experience. They can't just attend classes,'' says MacPherson, who was hired specifically to bring Unix IBM set to outline PC revamp 05/11/92 Fitzgerald, Michael Partnerships and cheaper, faster boxes key to regaining market share NEW YORK IBM will use analyst and media briefings here this week to lay out a broadly revamped desktop and server strategy aimed at reversing a market decline hastened by smaller, nimbler competitors, according to sources close to the company. IBM is expected to outline a refreshed and expanded personal computer family that will be delivered in stages throughout the rest of the year, the sources said. IBM executives will tout the newly gained autonomy of the Personal Systems Group as the driving force behind the company's ability to more quickly develop and deliver competitively priced boxes. The computer giant may also reveal intentions to move aggressively to expand its distribution channels and price its mainstream products at levels that will compete with rising clone makers such as AST Research, Inc. and Dell Computer Corp. Analysts agreed that IBM needs to do more than just promise a new look. ``We've seen a lot of talk of the new IBM from IBM execs, without a lot of meat, and we believe that coming product moves will give us that,'' said John Dunkle, president of Hampton, N.H.-based market researcher Workgroup Technologies, Inc. Results coming Robert Carberry, IBM's assistant general manager of technology for the personal systems line of business, recently told Computerworld that IBM ``was beginning to see the fruits'' of its 6-month-old reorganization. He promised a broad rollout of products through the course of the year that would reflect this progress. Among the specific ventures and products expected to be unveiled in the coming months are the following: IBM is expected to announce an equity and development deal with superserver maker Parallan Computer, Inc. in the next two weeks [CW, April 20]. This will lead to joint development of two or three new multiprocessor-based servers, each configured around two to four Intel Corp. processors. Some of these systems will use a new 64-bit data transfer version of Micro Channel Architecture (MCA). IBM will boost the Model 95 server line by adding Intel's unannounced 33/66-MHz DX2 processor during the summer; later it will add in the P5 processor, which sources said will come from Intel in late August. An expanded high-end Personal System/2 strategy will see MCA-based PS/2s that use Intel's coming 33/66-MHz DX2 chip and the P5 as well as future versions of IBM's SLC chip. An expanded lineup of PS/2s that use the AT bus is expected. IBM will expand the midrange of the line in the fall to include products based on its unannounced I486SLC chip. Less clear is whether IBM will use Intel 486 chips in its midrange line. Most observers said that if Northgate Computer Systems, Inc. becomes an IBM subsidiary, its offerings will become the Intel-based, AT bus midrange lineup for IBM, with IBM's SLC being used for the PS/2. IBM will expand the PS/1 into a full-fledged family, including notebook and laptop systems. This move will be topped off with the late-year announcement of a desktop unit based on the 25-MHz 486SX chip. IBM is expected to continue to expand its notebook product line as well both through agreements with Zenith Data Systems and through its own efforts, which are expected to include a midyear announcement of a color notebook and a variety of enhancements. These range from bigger hard drives to faster processors particularly faster versions of IBM's own SLC chip for its existing notebooks in late summer and the fall. IBM executives have given some indications of this strategy already, saying that the company intends to widely use its SLC chip in its product line and plans to release new PC products virtually simultaneously with Intel chip announcements, though the company refused to comment on specific plans. More bundling Some sources said a desire to spread OS/2 as broadly as possible was driving moves such as the expansion of the PS/1 line to the 486 level. IBM has said it intends to bundle OS/2 throughout its product line and last week began packaging the operating systems with PS/2 Models 56 and 57. Analysts agreed that IBM, which has sold 13.9 million PS/2s since the line was introduced in 1987, must continue its push toward pricing its products competitively with clone makers. IBM has made significant strides in reducing prices, but most observers said its pricing must still improve. ``Our bigger concern is whether [IBM and Compaq] are going to produce workstation and desktop products that are going to be price-competitive with Dell and Gateway. They tell us they are, but the proof is in the pudding,'' said William Tauscher, chairman of ComputerLand Corp. Talk is cheap ``They talk stuff, but I haven't seen anything solid yet,'' said Robert McGloughlin, assistant vice president of PC procurement at New York Life Insurance Co. ``It takes time, I know, but I haven't seen the actual changes yet. I'll be optimistic and say they're coming.'' Sources agreed the new IBM was coming but said it might have a high price. Peter Kastner, vice president at the Aberdeen Group, a Boston-based consultancy and market research firm, said he sees more bottom-line troubles. ``Even Apple, which dedicated itself to this model, needed a year and a half of decreasing margins and cutting expenses,'' Kastner said. ``The implication for IBM being: more restructuring.'' CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. 95. Cabletron Systems, Inc. said it is marketing Windata, Inc.'s $5,200-and-up FreePort wireless Ethernet, unveiled last week (see story page 80). Pa. senate reconsiders taxPennsylvania state Sen. Melissa A. Hart (R-Allegheny) will introduce legislation in the state Senate tomorrow that would repeal the state's sales tax on computer programming, data processing, systems integration and other computer services. She noted that Pennsylvania is the only state to have such a tax, adding that ``its continuation will clearly impair our competitive position.'' Short takesThe Software Publisher's Association has released the SPA Software Management Guide, which offers assistance in establishing policies and procedures for the purchase, registration and use of software. The $80 kit includes the SPAudit auditing package, an informational video and education brochures. . . . In the third quarter, Hewlett-Packard Co. will resell Storage Technology Corp.'s 4220 cartridge tape drives for use with HP 3000 and 9000 systems. . . . Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 for DOS Release 2.4, which costs $495 and includes some graphical features and performance boosts, shipped last week. Lotus will ship 1-2-3 for DOS Release 3.4 in the fall. . . . Cyrix Corp. has gained two customers Wyse Technology, Inc. and Austin Computer Systems for its CX486SLC microprocessor. . . . Wang Laboratories, Inc. confirmed reports that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will resell the Alliance Series line of personal computers. . . . Pyramid Development Corp. is shipping PC/DACS, a $249 security package for IBM's OS/2 2.0 that provides user identification and authentication, session time out, encryption and boot protection. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. oping TCP/IP and Unix skills for in-house IS staffers. ``Employees must have hands-on experience. They can't just attend classes,'' says MacPherson, who was hired specifically to bring Unix Managing change 05/04/92 Spotlight Spotlight The following were among the highlights of the Afcom computer operations trade show last week that focused on integrated systems management tools: Legent Corp. and Landmark Systems Corp. agreed to use Landmark's NaviGraph front end on a broad range of Legent's workstation-based packages. The deal will result in a workbench approach to the data center with a unified front end. Additionally, Landmark will team up with other vendors to include more products in the mix. Candle Corp. introduced a bidirectional interface between its Omegacenter data center software and IBM's NetView network management system. A rules-based package unveiled by Systems Center, Inc. allows operators to see the real-time status of both applications and system resources. Additional platforms will be added to the IBM mainframes currently supported. Goal Systems International, Inc. announced OPS/View, an OS/2-based system that coordinates data from Goal's OPS/MVS family of mainframe systems. A Unix-based package from which users can schedule mainframe jobs was announced by 4th Dimension Software, Inc. in Costa Mesa, Calif. Other tasks and bridges to other platforms will be added. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. BM ``was beginning to see the fruits'' of its 6-month-old reorganization. He promised a broad rollout of products through the course of the year that would reflect this progress. Among the specific ventures and products expected to be unveiled in the coming months are the following: IBM is expected to announce an equity and development deal with superserver maker Parallan Computer, Inc. in the next two weeks [CW, April 20]. This will lead to joint development of two or three new multiprocessor-based servers, each configured around two to four Intel Corp. processors. Some of these systems will use a new 64-bit data transfer version of Micro Channel Architecture (MCA). IBM will boost the Model 95 server line by adding Intel's unannounced 33/66-MHz DX2 processor during the summer; later it will add in the P5 processor, which sources said will come from Intel in late August. An expanded high-end Personal System/2 strategy will see MCA-based PS/2s that use Intel's coming 33/66-MHz DX2 chip and the P5 as well as future versions of IBM's SLC chip. An expanded lineup of PS/2s that use the AT bus is expected. IBM will expand the midrange of the line in the fall to include products based on its unannounced I486SLC chip. Less clear is whether IBM will use Intel 486 chips in its midrange line. Most observers said that if Northgate Computer Systems, Inc. becomes an IBM subsidiary, its offerings will become the Intel-based, AT bus midrange lineup for IBM, with IBM's SLC being used for the PS/2. IBM will expand the PS/1 into a full-fledged family, including notebook and laptop systems. This move will be topped off with the late-year announcement of a desktop unit based on the 25-MHz 486SX chip. IBM is expected to continue to expand its notebook product line as well both through agreements with Zenith Data Systems and through its own efforts, which are expected to include a midyear announcement of a color notebook and a variety of enhancements. These range from bigger hard drives to faster processors particularly faster versions of IBM's own SLC chip for its existing notebooks in late summer and the fall. IBM executives have given some indications of this strategy already, saying that the company intends to widely use its SLC chip in its product line and plans to release new PC products virtually simultaneously with Intel chip announcements, though the company refused to comment on specific plans. More bundling Som The Unix server:There's no single prototype 05/04/92 Spotlight Radding, Alan Spotlight Is it a downsizing platform? A multiuser host? A LAN upgrade....? Just wait. Before long, someone's going to proclaim this year as ``The Year of the Unix Server.'' But although it's true that many people are either talking about moving to this increasingly popular platform or simply doing it, it's important to realize that a Unix server isn't a Unix server isn't a Unix server. Consider the following scenarios: Smithway Motor Xpress, Inc. in Fort Dade, Iowa, recently purchased a Unix server. The trucking company wanted a lower cost host for its terminal-based applications, which include company payables, receivables and payroll. So it replaced two small minicomputers from Digital Equipment Corp. with an IBM RISC System/6000 Model 530 that serves 40 terminal-based end users. The end users are much happier with their nearly instantaneous response time. Plus, the RS/6000 has more capacity at half the cost of the minicomputer, says Tim Wheeler, MIS director at the firm. When Textron Financial Corp. in Providence, R.I., decided to upgrade the terminal-based inventory financing application in its floor plan division, information systems managers there rejected the idea of a simple face-lift. Instead, they went full client/ server, replacing the VSAM-based CICS system with a personal computer local-area network and Unix server a Sun Microsystems, Inc. SPARCstation, to be exact. Now a network of 50 PCs works through the SPARCstation to perform on-line transaction processing and ad hoc querying against the DB2 database running on an IBM mainframe. The $150 million division debated between OS/2 or Unix; Unix won when it outperformed OS/2 in accessing the large DB2 database. Now the company is planning to roll out a similar system to all six of its business divisions. The constraints of DOS were what propelled a move to Unix at Austin, Texas-based CompuCheck Travel Management Services, Inc., a division of the Carlson Travel Network. The company's network of 30 PCs was outgrowing its Compaq Computer Corp. 386-based server. ``We had to go to a 486 or another architecture,'' says George Fawcett, director of development. Fawcett fought the OS/2 vs. Unix battle as well, but ``in the long run, the variety of machines and the horsepower on Unix was far better,'' he says. The Data General Corp. two-processor Aviion machine is CompuCheck's new database server. The system went on-line in mid-December. By February, CompuCheck was handling 50% more volume ``without a hiccup,'' Fawcett says. By the end of the year, he says he expects the system to handle twice the volume it handled a year earlier. All three companies and thousands of others bought what are commonly know as Unix servers. All three are happy with the results, which include lower costs, faster performance and better room for growth. But all three have very different computer architectures and different needs. The fact of the matter is, a ``Unix server'' can be a number of different things, depending on how it's used. Most companies use servers in the following ways: As the middle layer in a three-tiered client/server-like architecture that includes a PC LAN, the Unix server and a mainframe, as in Textron's case. As a substitute for a proprietary mainframe or minicomputer in a multiuser, terminal-based architecture, as in Smithway's case. As an upgrade from a PC server that has been serving on a PC LAN, as in CompuCheck's case. In addition, there are four server types a basic file server, an application server (as used by Smithway), a database server (as in Textron's and CompuCheck's case) and a compute server (see story page 67). With just about any Unix machine qualifying as some sort of server, it's little wonder that vendors are scrambling for a place in the market, which is estimated at $3.5 billion for reduced instruction set computing-based multiuser Unix machines alone, according to a recent Aberdeen Group report. Currently, Hewlett-Packard Co. is the market share commander at 48.6%, with IBM following at 17.1% and Sun in third at 7.1%. Amid the haziness and frenzied activity in this market, you still need to choose a machine, the requirements of which change dramatically depending on how you're planning to use it. Generally, system managers evaluate Unix servers according to the following four selection criteria: Hardware configuration, processor and price/performance. The vendor's Unix implementation. The performance of compatible relational database management systems. The degree to which independent software vendors support the Unix platform with applications and tools. But the way to analyze those requirements depends on how you intend to use the machine. The least common scenario is the Textron case. Many people are talking about Unix servers on client/server-based PC networks, but ``commercial Unix servers are still used predominantly as hosts for terminal-based applications,'' says Tom Willmott, vice president at Boston-based Aberdeen Group. Even in HP's best-selling Unix server line the 9000 series 90% to 95% of the machines sold are used as hosts to directly connected terminals. In primarily terminal-based architectures, you need to determine how much capacity and performance you need. The higher your terminal-to-PC ratio, the stronger your integer performance should be, since the server will take on more of the processing. In terms of memory and storage, consultants recommend a minimum of 48M to 60M bytes of the former and 1G to 2G bytes of the latter. To obtain that, look toward the midrange and high end of vendors' server lines, most likely tower (deskside) or full-cabinet (rack-mount) systems rather than the entry-level desktop style. Room for the PC The terminal server should also have slots to accommodate cards for directly attached and LAN-attached terminals or PCs. Typically, you can expect a minimum of 10 to 12 slots on most vendors' high-end machines, although some vendors, such as DG, range up to 20 slots. The server should also support transaction processing with a robust RBDMS and a transaction monitor, such as Tuxedo from Unix System Laboratories, Inc. or Transarc Corp.'s Encina. If your applications are mission-critical or are oriented toward transaction processing or on-line customer service, you will be interested in ``high-availability'' features, which almost every vendor has started to offer to compete with specialized fault-tolerant servers. High-availability differs from fault tolerance in that it merely allows the system to recover quickly from a failure. High-availability features, found only in the larger deskside and rack-mount configurations, include disk mirroring, redundant arrays of inexpensive disks, error-checking and correcting memory, redundant power supplies and the ability to replace disk drives while the machine is running. Multiprocessing power Another area in which vendors are struggling to differentiate themselves is multiprocessing. If your applications demand heavy querying of a relational database by multiple users or on-line transaction processing, you may want to consider machines that allow you to upgrade to a multiprocessing model. There is more to multiprocessing than adding CPUs. The true benefits are seen in symmetric multiprocessing, where compute and I/O tasks run in parallel, and each CPU has equal access to common shared memory. Since the core Unix kernel code such as Unix System V has been slow to support full symmetric multiprocessing, vendors have had to add proprietary extensions to the kernel. IBM, whose RS/6000 line consists only of single processors, takes a different tack. It is working on an architecture that would connect RS/6000s on a high-speed backbone, allowing each machine to be an individual processor on a giant ``massively parallel'' machine. Finally, you also need to find out which vertical-industry applications are available. HP and Sun currently enjoy the broadest support from independent software developers, and IBM and DEC have vast libraries of proprietary software, much of which is being ported to Unix. In many cases, you'll need to convert your current applications to Unix, and the ease of doing that can vary from machine to machine. Porting proprietary applications to the Unix environment requires a major rewrite and should be undertaken by the developer. Client/server setups While Unix multiuser machines are currently more apt to be playing a terminal-to-host than server-to-client role, the client/server market has just begun. Of 800 firms interested in downsizing surveyed recently by Forrester Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., 51% opted for a LAN-based platform, while 18% chose midrange multiuser systems. For organizations making a move to a client/server environment, the biggest concern (before getting into the requirements listed above) is the degree to which the server can support popular networking technologies, a robust RDBMS and software development tools, such as the various SQL tools, access products and databases. The RDBMS decision is often intertwined with which version of Unix to settle on. Such was the case at Textron.``To us, Unix is just another platform,'' says Paul Hamel, vice president of systems and corporate planning at Textron. The answer lay in the RDBMS in this case, Sybase, Inc.'s SQL Server, which offers the Net Gateway to access the DB2 database. Although Hamel was at first interested in IBM's RS/6000, he says he settled on the SPARCstation because ``at that time [early 1991], IBM was having some problems with AIX on the RS/6000, which delayed shipment of Sybase Net Gateway for the AIX.'' At this point, ``all Unix systems are capable of doing client/server computing easily,'' says Nina Lytton, editor of the ``Open Systems Advisor'' in Boston. IBM's most recent release of AIX sports improved I/O, which was the source of its problems in a client/server implementation, Willmott says. HP's HP/UX and Sun's Solaris, with the imminent 2.0 release, are considered the premier commercial Unix operating systems. DEC recently began shipping the Open Software Foundation's OSF/1 as its Unix operating system and, through Network Application Support, provides extensive support for client/server computing. On the PC LAN Organizations migrating to Unix servers from PC LANs are usually searching for better price/performance and greater scalability. The key requirement here is server support for PCs and PC network operating systems. Just because you're at the LAN level, don't be fooled by your expandability requirements. In this regard, desktop servers generally offer fewer options than tower or rack-mount systems. At CompuCheck, Fawcett ruled out all desktop servers because the small chassis limited expansion. ``I need to be able to grow the number of PCs we support without the server degrading,'' he says. No matter which kind of server you choose, the hardest decision you make will probably be whether to go the Unix route at all. ``We were nervous about Unix,'' says Marshall Holman, vice president/senior operations officer at Charter Bancshares, the largest locally owned commercial bank in Houston. ``It is not a simple decision to make.'' But even historical bastions of proprietary IBM systems need to make some tough calls when the current system has hit the wall. In Holman's case, the System/36-based system was taking 10 to 12 hours to do ``overnight'' update processing. He could have upgraded, but ``if we went with a proprietary IBM solution, we have to buy their computer and all that goes with it at their price,'' Holman says. Holman replaced three System/36s with a DG four-processor Aviion Unix server running Enterprise 2000 banking software from Software Alliance Corp. Now, processing time is cut in half, and, according to Holman, the system can handle more than triple the bank's asset base without performance degradation. Unix is no fairy tale and please let's not call it ``The Year of'' anything. But if you are assured that you can make the leap, be comforted by the fact that there is no limit to Unix server choices. Radding is a free-lance writer based in Newton, Mass * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ing to the Butler-Cox study, most client/server tools are fairly new and have ``significant limitations,'' especially in performance, integrity and ease of use. ``We're still out there looking for the right tools for networking and client/ server,'' Millipore's Poulin says. He says the company can ``hammer out the basics'' with the existing Oracle tools, but ``we're still looking for more.'' Ironically, Poulin says, the lack of tools makes him look back longingly at proprietary systems. ``DECnet comes with more tools,'' he says. ``It's a lot easier than TCP/IP.'' Even where tools are available, development is still hardly a breeze. Consider Mead Data Central, Inc. The Dayton, Ohio, manufacturing and information services company downsized its internal administrative systems from an IBM 3090 running IDMS to an NCR Corp. 3000 running Unix with OS/2 and DOS on the desktop. According to Gary Whitney, director of systems evolution, Mead picked a 4GL from Uniface Corp. because it allows fast prototyping. Even so, he says, building a GUI is a lot harder than building a plain 3270 application. ``With the GUI, you have to worry about menu bars, buttons, keyboard mapping,'' Whitney says. Networking tie-ups Say you're lucky enough to best the big problems people issues, lack of application software and development tools and the operating environment. You still need to roll up your sleeves and tackle some other big obstacles, particularly systems integration and networking. Unlike proprietary shops, downsized IS must interact with multiple computer, network and software suppliers, which experienced IS hands say can be chaotic. ``There is a whole different way of dealing with vendors,'' Trimark Investment's MacPherson warns. With the System/38, the firm had to deal with only one vendor (IBM), which took responsibility for making everything work. In the downsized environment, he says, ``we have seven major vendors under our roof.'' In this environment, solving problems means dealing with two, three or more of those vendors simultaneously. ``The key is orchestrating the vendors,'' MacPherson says. ``We learned quickly not to meet with them one at a time. You have to get them all in the same room, or all you'll get is finger-pointing.'' His tactic: Assemble all vendors at once and make them cooperate to confront a problem. On the networking side, many shops ignore the many hassles that can crop up. ``The mistake people make is that they don't look at the communications side early on,'' Ricker says. To avoid problems, Heileman installed an X.25 backbone, Ethernet LANs running LAN Manager and bridges before embarking on downsizing. Even in the best planned shops, simply adjusting to and running LANs can be a headache. ``We're still coming to grips with the operational aspects of LANs,'' Browning says. In the mainframe environment, networking problems could be resolved at the data center, he notes. ``With LANs, any failure at a PC is much harder to diagnose. It's been a learning process for us,'' Inside Lines 05/04/92 Overview Overview Squeezing the juice out Apple is said to be ahead of schedule in co-developing a new chip set with IBM and Motorola. In fact, it could be selling a new generation of Macintoshes built on the RISC chip technology as early as next year, CFO Joseph Graziano told a group of financial analysts last week. Until now, most experts assumed the Power PC technology would not be available for several years. However, Graziano said, working chips might be available by year's end. A Kaleida-scope of no's Sources close to the search for a CEO to head Kaleida, the Apple/IBM multimedia effort, say the companies have approached a number of well-known executives but received thumbs-down. Among those reportedly shaking their head: Trip Hawkins, CEO of electronic game maker Electronic Arts, and Tim Mott, CEO of Macromind, a San Francisco multimedia firm. Greasing the demand curve As expected, IBM said it will announce plans this week to bundle OS/2 2.0 with lower end PS/2 models. The firm already intends to deliver PS/1s with OS/2 included. The move would follow the company's disclosure last week that users can order OS/2 via Prodigy, its on-line information service. Ripping router The first multiprotocol router vendor to support Asynchronous Transfer Mode ``fast'' packet-switching technology plans to announce a new architecture next week. Santa Monica, Calif.-based Retix says its new-generation Routerxchange 7000 will incorporate a parallel routing architecture based on five Intel I960 processors running in tandem on one backplane. The processors are tweaked to simultaneously route all protocols supported OSI, TCP/IP, DECnet IV and V and IPX at throughput rates equivalent to the network's line speed. Faster than a speeding FDDI link DEC is expected next week to announce Gigaswitch, which will act as a high-speed crossroads for DEC's Alpha systems and VAXs, FDDI networks, PC LANs and other vendors' hosts. Based on crossbar switch technology, Gigaswitch can make more than 6 million dynamic connections per second, with a potential aggregate throughput of 3.6G bit/sec. The initial device will support 22 FDDI connections at the full 100M bit/sec. FDDI speed, a 45M bit/sec. long-distance connection and multiprotocol routing. Scattershot marketing? At DECworld '92 in Boston last week, Bill Johnson, DEC's vice president of corporate marketing, disclosed that the company has plans to branch out into an additional 10 to 15 industries this year, on top of the 25 to 30 vertical markets to which DEC already caters. Johnson said one of the new markets for DEC will be the cable television sector. He said the company will also attempt to expand its presence in utilities, pharmaceuticals, health care and insurance. RISCy one-upmanship In a blatant attempt to upstage the Alpha dog-and-pony show at DECworld, HP stationed its own ``RISCworld'' van across the street from the World Trade Center's main entrance last week. Inside the van, HP marketing people were available to explain to DECworld attendees why HP's RISC architecture is the best in the business. The van had disappeared by Tuesday afternoon. Howard Anderson, president of The Yankee Group, pooh-poohs the occasionally voiced contention that the software industry is on the wane. ``If it's run right, a software industry is a cash machine,'' he noted at the consultancy's software pricing forum in New York last week. ``If it's run wrong, it's still a cash machine. You've got to really screw up for things to be otherwise. But there are people around who can do it.'' Know any? Phone, fax or CompuServe News Editor Alan Alper at (800) 343-6474; (508) 875-8931 or 76537,2413, respectively. Or try Computerworld's 24-hour voice-mail tip line at (508) 820-8555. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ix machines alone, according to a recent Aberdeen Group report. Currently, Hewlett-Packard Co. is the market share commander at 48.6%, with IBM following at 17.1% and Sun in third at 7.1%. Amid the haziness and frenzied activity in this market, you still need to choose a machine, the requirements of which change dramatically depending on how you're planning to use it. Generally, system managers evaluate Unix servers according to the following four selection criteria: Hardware configuration, processor and price/performance. The vendor's Unix implementation. The performance of compatible relational database management systems. The degree to which independent software vendors support the Unix platform with applications and tools. But the way to analyze those requirements depends on how you intend to use the machine. The least common scenario is the Textron case. Many people are talking about Unix servers on client/server-based PC networks, but ``commercial Unix servers are still used predominantly as hosts for terminal-based applications,'' says Tom Willmott, vice president at Boston-based Aberdeen Group. Even in HP's best-selling Unix server line the 9000 series 90% to 95% of the machines sold are used as hosts to directly connected terminals. In primarily terminal-based architectures, you need to determine how much capacity and performance you need. The higher your terminal-to-PC ratio, the stronger your integer performance should be, since the server will take on more of the processing. In terms of memory and storage, consultants recommend a minimum of 48M to 60M bytes of the former and 1G to 2G bytes of the latter. To obtain that, look toward the midrange and high end of vendors' server lines, most likely tower (deskside) or full-cabinet (rack-mount) systems rather than the entry-level desktop style. Room for the PC The terminal server should also have slots to accommodate cards for directly attached and LAN-attached terminals or PCs. Typically, you can expect a minimum of 10 to 12 slots on most vendors' high-end machines, although some vendors, such as DG, range up to 20 slots. The server should also support transaction processing with a robust RBDMS and a transaction monitor, such as Tuxedo from Unix System Laboratories, Inc. or Transarc Corp.'s Encina. If your applications are mission-critical or are oriented toward transaction processing or on-line customer service, you will be interested in ``high-availability'' features, which almost every vendor has started to offer to compete with specialized fault-tolerant servers. High-availability differs from fault tolerance in that it merely allows the system to recover quickly from a failure. High-availability features, found only in the larger deskside and rack-mount configurations, include disk mirroring, redundant arrays of inexpensive disks, error-checking and correcting memory, redundant power supplies and the ability to replace disk drives while the machine is running. Multiprocessing power Another area in which vendors are struggling to differentiate themselves is multiprocessing. If your applications demand heavy querying of a relational database by multiple users or on-line transaction processing, you may want to consider machines that allow you to upgrade to a multiprocessing model. There is more to multiprocessing than adding CPUs. The true benefits are seen in symmetric multiprocessing, where compute and I/O tasks run in parallel, and each CPU has equal access to common shared memory. Since the core Unix kernel code such as Unix System V has been slow to support full symmetric multiprocessing, vendors have had to add proprietary extensions to the kernel. IBM, whose RS/6000 line consists only of single processors, takes a different tack. It is working on an arch IBM to put System View on OS/2 platform 04/20/92 News Horwitt, Elisabeth News AUSTIN, Texas One of the first solid product offerings to embody IBM's SystemView architecture, temporarily dubbed Distributed Systems Management (DSM), will appear later this year as an OS/2 2.0-based platform, IBM announced last week. In the long term, DSM will represent the SystemView ``nirvana,'' described by one IBM spokesman as multivendor, enterprisewide network and systems management using common database, graphical user interface (GUI) and communications elements. DSM will bring that architecture to managing multivendor local-area network systems and physical devices, according to Al Rosen, a program manager of systems management at IBM. While IBM has announced a SystemView GUI and data structure and has revealed promises of support from a bevy of third-party partners, it has yet to provide a full-function commercial implementation of the platform. DSM will also address a long-standing user demand that IBM provide one consistent offering for managing its own and other vendors' LANs. ``IBM saw the trap of having three incompatible platforms: NetView/6000, LAN Network Manager and NetView,'' said David Passmore, a principal at Ernst & Young. The initial product will support applications such as centralized software distribution to remote workstations, fault and performance monitoring of databases, applications and the operating system itself, according to Rosen. No pricing or shipment dates were available. Rosen said IBM plans at some point to discontinue the LAN Management Utilities product, which provides OS/2 management functions. The following are additional features slated for the initial DSM platform: Support of both the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and the Open Systems Interconnect Common Management Information Protocol of collecting alerts and other information from disparate LAN devices. A consistent GUI, including topological mapping so that network managers do not have to learn new commands for each type of LAN they manage. A consistent database for integrating applications. A common application programming interface (API) for third-party management software, based on the Common Management API for the Open Software Foundation's (OSF) Distributed Management Environment, Rosen said. Serious support IBM's support of the OSF's API is ``absolutely critical'' to ensure that users can run their favorite third-party management applications on IBM's platform, said John Payne, a network analyst at DHL Worldwide Express. Such support could also help the OSF API become an industry standard that allows users to mix and match applications and network management platforms freely, Payne said. DHL is looking at IBM's NetView/6000, an AIX-RISC System/6000-based platform for managing Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol LANs via SNMP, Payne said. He added that he is very interested in enabling various LAN management functions to access the same database and GUI. DSM will manage everything from LAN servers and workstations to network adapters, routers and media, Rosen said. The next step will be to port to DSM IBM's LAN Network Manager, an application for managing physical LAN devices on Token Ring networks, he added. DSM will eventually run on the AIX-RS/6000 platform, Rosen said. IBM may well be counting on DSM to ``prevent Novell's NetWare Management System from walking away with the [integrated LAN management] market,'' Passmore said. The concept behind DSM and SystemView is ``much broader than'' the NetWare Management System (NMS), which is focused on managing ``the Novell servers themselves'' and the LAN media, Rosen said. IBM and Novell, Inc. will work to add NetWare management to DSM, he added. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. -Packard Co. is the market share commander at 48.6%, with IBM following at 17.1% and Sun in third at 7.1%. Amid the haziness and frenzied activity in this market, you still need to choose a machine, the requirements of which change dramatically depending on how you're planning to use it. Generally, system managers evaluate Unix servers according to the following four selection criteria: Hardware configuration, processor and price/performance. The vendor's Unix implementation. The performance of compatible relational database management systems. The degree to which independent software vendors support the Unix platform with applications and tools. But the way to analyze those requirements depends on how you intend to use the machine. The least common scenario is the Textron case. Many people are talking about Unix servers on client/server-based PC networks, but ``commercial Unix servers are still used predominantly as hosts for terminal-based applications,'' says Tom Willmott, vice president at Boston-based Aberdeen Group. Even in HP's best-selling Unix server line the 9000 series 90% to 95% of the machines sold are used as hosts to directly connected terminals. In primarily terminal-based architectures, you need to determine how much capacity and performance you need. The higher your terminal-to-PC ratio, the stronger your integer performance should be, since the server will take on more of the processing. In terms of memory and storage, consultants recommend a minimum of 48M to 60M bytes of the former and 1G to 2G bytes of the latter. To obtain that, look toward the midrange and high end of vendors' server lines, most likely tower (deskside) or full-cabinet (rack-mount) systems rather than the entry-level desktop style. Room for the PC The terminal server should also have slots to accommodate cards for directly attached and LAN-attached terminals or PCs. Typically, you can expect a minimum of 10 to 12 slots on most vendors' high-end machines, although some vendors, such as DG, range up to 20 slots. The server should also support transaction processing with a robust RBDMS and a transaction monitor, such as Tuxedo from Unix System Laboratories, Inc. or Transarc Corp.'s Encina. If your applications are mission-critical or are oriented toward transaction processing or on-line customer service, you will be interested in ``high-availability'' features, which almost every vendor has started to offer to compete with specialized fault-tolerant servers. High-availability differs from fault tolerance in that it merely allows the system to recover quickly from a failure. High-availability features, found only in the larger deskside and rack-mount configurations, include disk mirroring, redundant arrays of inexpensive disks, error-checking and correcting memory, redundant power supplies and the ability to replace disk drives while the machine is running. Multiprocessing power Another area in which vendors are struggling to differentiate themselves is multiprocessing. If your applications demand heavy querying of a relational database by multiple users or on-line transaction processing, you may want to consider machines that allow you to upgrade to a multiprocessing model. There is more to multiprocessing than adding CPUs. The true benefits are seen in symmetric multiprocessing, where compute and I/O tasks run in parallel, and each CPU has equal access to common shared memory. Since the core Unix kernel code such as Unix System V has been slow to support full symmetric multiprocessing, vendors have had to add proprietary extensions to the kernel. IBM, whose RS/6000 line consists only of single processors, takes a different tack. It is working on an arch Bank net service calls for X.400 and more 04/13/92 Enterprise Networking Horwitt, Elisabeth Enterprise Networking BRUSSELS Committed to supporting networking standards on its international banking network services, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or S.W.I.F.T., has nevertheless had to supplement the CCITT X.400 protocol with homegrown features before the electronic-mail standard could be used in a new bulk file-transfer service. S.W.I.F.T. is a telecommunications network jointly owned by a cooperative of 239 U.S., Canadian and European banks. The organization's X.25 packet-switched network services support interbank communications applications, such as funds transfer, for some 3,000 financial institutions worldwide. S.W.I.F.T.'s newest service, scheduled for June release, is Interbank File Transfer (IFT). The service was designed to support transmission of high volumes of data, such as a series of payments that a government might send to overseas pensioners, said S.W.I.F.T. spokesman Richard Metcalf. This is in contrast to current S.W.I.F.T. services, which support short, highly formatted messages such as large-value payments. The IFT service uses the CCITT X.400 E-mail protocol to support bulk data transfer over S.W.I.F.T.'s X.25 packet-switched network, said Roger Price, a product manager at S.W.I.F.T. Terminal Services. The division is responsible for developing the software that banks use to access S.W.I.F.T. network services. IFT is the first fully Open System Interconnect (OSI)-compliant application to be offered by S.W.I.F.T., the company said. However, S.W.I.F.T. Terminal Services had to make several enhancements to the protocol before it could be used as the basis of the new service, Price said. Enhancements included security features, which are critical in banking transactions, and the ability to handle automated bulk data transfer over a store-and-forward X.25 network, he added. The S.W.I.F.T. subsidiary has proposed the enhancements to CCITT as the basis of file transfer between applications over X.400, Price said. The enhancements were made to the CCITT's 1984 version of X.400 because that is the version that most commercial X.400 products now use, Price said. S.W.I.F.T. plans to support the 1988 version of X.400 as soon as it becomes more widely implemented on products. S.W.I.F.T. Terminal Services also had to come up with software to allow transparent links between bank hosts and IFT services. The company plans next October to release Open Interface for Applications software, which works with IFT interface software to turn either an IBM Personal System/2-OS/2 or a Digital Equipment Corp. VAX/VMS system into a gateway to the new service. The gateway takes transmissions sent from a bank's host and puts them in X.400 envelopes. The last missing piece was software that connected banks' range of mainframes and minicomputers to the IFT gateway. S.W.I.F.T. Terminal Services has tapped Systems Center, Inc. and Legent Corp. to enhance its existing bulk transfer software packages with Open Interface for Applications support. It did not concern S.W.I.F.T. that both firms' products use IBM's LU6.2, and not OSI, as a transport protocol, Price said. More important was the fact that Systems Center's Network Data Mover and Legent's Xcom 6.2 products provided automated bulk file transfer across a variety of systems and are already ``well-established in the financial community,'' he added. A second project now in pilot phase at S.W.I.F.T. involves supporting the EDIfact electronic data interchange formats that many banks now use to standardize messages to their customers, Metcalf said. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. -Packard Co. is the market share commander at 48.6%, with IBM following at 17.1% and Sun in third at 7.1%. Amid the haziness and frenzied activity in this market, you still need to choose a machine, the requirements of which change dramatically depending on how you're planning to use it. Generally, system managers evaluate Unix servers according to the following four selection criteria: Hardware configuration, processor and price/performance. The vendor's Unix implementation. The performance of compatible relational database management systems. The degree to which independent software vendors support the Unix platform with applications and tools. But the way to analyze those requirements depends on how you intend to use the machine. The least common scenario is the Textron case. Many people are talking about Unix servers on client/server-based PC networks, but ``commercial Unix servers are still used predominantly as hosts for terminal-based applications,'' says Tom Willmott, vice president at Boston-based Aberdeen Group. Even in HP's best-selling Unix server line the 9000 series 90% to 95% of the machines sold are used as hosts to directly connected terminals. In primarily terminal-based architectures, you need to determine how much capacity and performance you need. The higher your terminal-to-PC ratio, the stronger your integer performance should be, since the server will take on more of the processing. In terms of memory and storage, consultants recommend a minimum of 48M to 60M bytes of the former and 1G to 2G bytes of the latter. To obtain that, look toward the midrange and high end of vendors' server lines, most likely tower (deskside) or full-cabinet (rack-mount) systems rather than the entry-level desktop style. Room for the PC The terminal server should also have slots to accommodate cards for directly attached and LAN-attached terminals or PCs. Typically, you can expect a minimum of 10 to 12 slots on most vendors' high-end machines, although some vendors, such as DG, range up to 20 slots. The server should also support transaction processing with a robust RBDMS and a transaction monitor, such as Tuxedo from Unix System Laboratories, Inc. or Transarc Corp.'s Encina. If your applications are mission-critical or are oriented toward transaction processing or on-line customer service, you will be interested in ``high-availability'' features, which almost every vendor has started to offer to compete with specialized fault-tolerant servers. High-availability differs from fault tolerance in that it merely allows the system to recover quickly from a failure. High-availability features, found only in the larger deskside and rack-mount configurations, include disk mirroring, redundant arrays of inexpensive disks, error-checking and correcting memory, redundant power supplies and the ability to replace disk drives while the machine is running. Multiprocessing power Another area in which vendors are struggling to differentiate themselves is multiprocessing. If your applications demand heavy querying of a relational database by multiple users or on-line transaction processing, you may want to consider machines that allow you to upgrade to a multiprocessing model. There is more to multiprocessing than adding CPUs. The true benefits are seen in symmetric multiprocessing, where compute and I/O tasks run in parallel, and each CPU has equal access to common shared memory. Since the core Unix kernel code such as Unix System V has been slow to support full symmetric multiprocessing, vendors have had to add proprietary extensions to the kernel. IBM, whose RS/6000 line consists only of single processors, takes a different tack. It is working on an arch Cognos recasts, redesigns its CASE tool 04/06/92 Large Systems Nash, Kim S. Large Systems Power Designer replaces Power House CASE after tests indicate slow speed, poor integration BURLINGTON, Mass. Cognos, Inc. recently started shipping a renamed, revamped edition of an application analysis and design tool that originally went into beta testing more than a year ago. The company reworked the product, whose name was changed from PowerHouse CASE to PowerDesigner, to boost performance and smooth integration with tools from other vendors, according to a Cognos spokesman. Beta-test site managers familiar with both versions of the computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tool said PowerDesigner is faster and has more functions than PowerHouse CASE. It also fills a hole in Cognos' application development line, said Jim Moskos, client services manager for the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs in Hull, Quebec. With the introduction of PowerDesigner, which is available immediately, Cognos fills a function gap in the CASE process, observers said. The $16,500 IBM OS/2-based product ``does front-end tasks that PowerHouse 4GL can't. It makes the line more complete for the software life cycle,'' Moskos said. Targeting its audience Cognos will market PowerDesigner to users of the company's fourth-generation language (4GL) because the two offerings are tightly linked, according to Hans Galldin, director of application development tools at Cognos, based here. ``If you don't have PowerHouse 4GL, this product won't do anything for you,'' Galldin said. The firm claims a PowerHouse 4GL installed base of 20,000 sites worldwide. However, Cognos is not quite an integrated CASE company, according to Moskos. For instance, he noted that the firm lacks a product for the top level of application building business process analysis. Galldin acknowledged this shortcoming. He said Cognos' long-term strategy is in part to develop offerings on that end, either on its own or through partnerships with the traditional integrated CASE vendors. PowerDesigner runs on Intel Corp. 80386-based machines under OS/2 Presentation Manager. It can be used to develop applications for target platforms that include Unix and proprietary systems from Hewlett-Packard Co., Digital Equipment Corp., IBM, Data General Corp. and Sun Microsystems, Inc. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. to turn either an IBM Personal System/2-OS/2 or a Digital Equipment Corp. VAX/VMS system into a gateway to the new service. The gateway takes transmissions sent from a bank's host and puts them in X.400 envelopes. The last missing piece was software that connected banks' range of mainframes and minicomputers to the IFT gateway. S.W.I.F.T. Terminal Services has tapped Systems Center, Inc. and Legent Corp. to enhance its existing bulk transfer software packages with Open Interface for Applications support. It did not concern S.W.I.F.T. that both firms' products use IBM's LU6.2, and not OSI, as a transport protocol, Price said. More important was the fact that Systems Center's Network Data Mover and Legent's Xcom 6.2 products provided automated bulk file transfer across a variety of systems and are already ``well-established in the financial community,'' he added. A second project now in pilot phase at S.W.I.F.T. involves supporting the EDIfact electronic data interchange formats that many banks now use to standardize messages to their customers, Metcalf said. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. IBM rolls out red carpet for OS/2 2.0 arrival 04/06/92 News Hamilton, Rosemary News BOCA RATON, Fla. After months of nearly round-the-clock work, IBM electronically shipped the general availability version of its OS/2 2.0 operating system last week, keeping a critical promise it made to users last fall. ``They have been under a lot of pressure,'' said Gary Weis, senior vice president of networking and technology services at Sears Technology Services, Inc., a division of Sears, Roebuck and Co., which received the electronic version of 2.0 last week. ``They really had to bust their fannies, and they did it,'' he added. Now the hard part begins. While its core group of users are pleased with the final cut of 2.0, it is still unclear whether IBM will win over large numbers of non-IBM customers. One thing is certain: It is going to try. ``It's a real live operating system, not just a face-lift on DOS,'' said James Cannavino, IBM vice president and general manager of the Personal Systems Division. ``I've been here 29 years, and I've never seen so much excitement.'' Pulling out all the stops According to Cannavino, IBM will launch an extensive print advertising campaign as well as offer bargain-basement pricing and has scheduled 800 customer events for the remainder of 1992. Shrink-wrapped versions will not be on most retail shelves until later in the month. Cannavino confirmed that manufacturing of those versions, which will ship to distributors, began last week. The company's performance at last week's meeting of the New York Personal Computer Users Group gives an indication of how seriously IBM is taking its marketing mission. A user group spokesman said he had never seen a company so prepared for a meeting in the group's 10-year history. ``They arrived here at 8:30 a.m. to rehearse,'' for the 6:30 p.m. meeting, said David Blumenstein, spokesman for the user group. ``This is the first meeting we ever had where a company set up a control center. They had cables, monitors, mike technicians it was phenomenal.'' Cannavino was joined in the demonstration by the programming team via a live hookup to answer audience questions. IBM even arranged to have the very first shrink-wrapped version of 2.0 delivered via Federal Express to Cannavino during the meeting, Blumenstein said. Some industry analysts said IBM could surprise skeptics with its strategy to move OS/2. John Dunkle, president of Workgroup Technologies, Inc., said IBM is planning to push OS/2 into ``specialty shops, software stores and nontraditional IBM outlets. ``For those who don't believe that IBM knows how to market, the next three months will show a very strong marketing and merchandising effort,'' Dunkle said. Back in the corporate world, users are finding that IBM has cleaned up the final glitches. ``It does look like they tightened some things up,'' said David Moran, a systems consultant at Unum Corp., an insurance company based in Portland, Maine. ``I've been working with this code from Day 1, and so I've seen all the progression.'' Moran said a 2.0 bug had prevented him from easily changing the color of text within an icon in the Workplace Shell. When he began working on the electronically downloaded code, he found the bug had been fixed. ``They paid attention even at that level of detail,'' Moran said. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. at many banks now use to standardize messages to their customers, Metcalf said. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. AIX database stuck in lab; users express little concern 03/30/92 Workgroup Computing Bozman, Jean S. Workgroup Computing Two years after a statement of intent that it would supply a relational database for the RISC System/6000's AIX operating system, IBM is still trying to get it out of the laboratory and into customers' hands. Although IBM has stopped short of saying when the database will be available, industry analysts said they believe it will be announced later this year, with a 1993 ship date. Last fall, the slow-moving project was shifted to IBM's software laboratory in Toronto, and a new manager was hired in December. Although users surveyed recently indicated little interest in the database, its delivery is important to IBM because it would fulfill the firm's stated goal of getting AIX systems and Systems Application Architecture (SAA) systems to interoperate [CW, March 11, 1991]. Janet Perna, director of database technology at the IBM Canada Toronto Laboratory, told Computerworld that IBM is reusing code from the OS/2 Database Manager to speed development of the AIX SQL database. IBM is also working with independent tools vendors to supply many elements of the AIX database's integrated tool set, Perna said. ``Right now, my main objective is to get it out there,'' Perna said. ``I'm going to focus on building the best engine and working with others on the tools. We'll be going out to those vendors who provide the popular and key tools in the industry.'' IBM will also supply some homegrown tools, she added. The AIX database engine is being built by the same team that designed the OS/2 Database Manager, said Perna, who managed IMS and DB2 development at IBM's Santa Teresa, Calif.-based software laboratory until December. The AIX database team is leveraging Toronto's expertise in the SQL/DS relational database, in AIX compilers and in AIX computer-aided software engineering coding. The RS/6000 database must be able to access data from all SAA SQL-based databases and from non-IBM databases, she said. Meanwhile, IBM may be losing valuable software business because the RS/6000 is two years old, the statement of intent about an AIX database was made in February 1990, and users have many alternatives. ``I do have the idea it's delayed,'' said Peter Kastner, an analyst at the Aberdeen Group in Boston. ``I can get any one of several independent databases today, and they all have good, strong implementations under AIX.'' Information systems managers at some large RS/6000 sites say they may not need IBM's AIX database and that they have based extensive applications on other databases. ``We have a number of applications we developed in Ingres that are fairly important to the firm,'' said Richard Rogers, director of technical computers at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Chicago, which has nearly 100 IBM RT workstations and IBM RS/6000s. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. bug had prevented him from easily changing the color of text within an icon in the Workplace Shell. When he began working on the electronically downloaded code, he found the bug had been fixed. ``They paid attention even at that level of detail,'' Moran said. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. at many banks now use to standardize messages to their customers, Metcalf said. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. Covering the world:Ted Turner's IS 03/30/92 Management Nash, Kim S. Management `Just do it' mentality accomodates global events-on older equipment-at CNN Even after Jay Leno permanently settles into Johnny Carson's chair in May, ol' Johnny may not be giving up the talk show ghost. The king of late night and his overchinned disciple may go head-to-head for the hearts of night owls, thanks to Ted Turner. As the story goes, Turner seized no, created a chance to make a buck. Turner reportedly bought up all the old ``Tonight Show'' episodes through 1980, and rumor has it that he plans to run them directly opposite yuppie favorite Leno to lure older viewers away from NBC. Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. would be nowhere without that kind of gritty tooth-baring and neither would the company's information systems department. ``We exploit our contacts where we can, but sometimes you get a real gut feeling about how to do a project and you just go,'' says Michael Johnson, MIS director for Turner Broadcasting's more than 30 corporate partnerships, entertainment and news divisions. Omnipresent Cable News Network (CNN) is probably the most visible of Johnson's challenges, mostly because there is no typical day there. ``You're either setting up remote feeds from Saudi Arabia, trying to run phone lines from Red Square or throwing together a local-area network to cover the latest earthquake in East Who-Knows-Where,'' he says. Before coming to Turner Broadcasting in December 1987, Johnson was employed as an IS manager at The Coca-Cola Co. Coke's main office is just around the corner from CNN Center in downtown Atlanta, but the soft drink giant's rigid bureaucracy is a world away culturally, he says. Turner Broadcasting may not exactly be a group of freewheelers, but the billion-dollar company has ``the just do it attitude,'' Johnson says in his native Virginia twang. ``Work can be done faster because a lot of things are done on handshakes that you don't have to worry about coming back to bite you.'' When the newsroom needed new computer systems, for example, a couple of IS managers and key CNN staffers sat around a table one afternoon and hashed it out. As Johnson tells it, as of 1990, the volume of information sailing through CNN studios was so great that the old minicomputers from Parallel Computers, Inc. could not keep up. ``We told them, `You need DEC 6310 VAXs, and here's what it'll cost the department.' The job was done within 30 days,'' he says. Turner Broadcasting's 100-member IS staff, split into eight groups, handles everything from supporting secretarial word processing in Atlanta to connecting transponders for satellite communications to following on-air reporters around the world. Flyaway fixtures Despite the prime-time glamour, Johnson stresses that he has to solve the same technical headaches other firms do, the most painful of which is global telecommunications. ``Being a media organization, we want to cover events live, but telecom is part of every company that wants to be a global force,'' he says. CNN airs in 93 countries, and most have ``less than state-of-the-art'' communications, says Fred Gamble, Turner Broadcasting's manager of telecommunications. No matter. Gamble's department put together ``flyaway phone systems'' portable satellite uplinks that can provide a live signal from formerly inaccessible places within hours. ``All we have to do is get a dial tone to it, and we're ready to send data or voice back home,'' Gamble says. Flyaways weren't necessary for 1992 Winter Olympics coverage. Tricia Brownfield, PC systems support analyst, hopped a plane to Albertville, France, and whipped up a Novell, Inc. NetWare network. Four weeks before opening ceremonies on Feb. 8, Brownfield had tied together about a dozen rented PCs and several Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. laptops brought from Atlanta. Two weeks later, she flew back to Turner Broadcasting to link eight more in-studio PCs to the LAN in Albertville. She then connected all these PC nodes to an IBM OS/2-based touchscreen information system erected by the French Olympic Organizing Committee via a T1 line. ``I basically made sure our sportscasters had what they needed for every show,'' Brownfield says. The PC group has recently started talks with IBM about plans to copy the Olympic touchscreen system for use at the Goodwill Games, sponsored by Ted Turner, in 1994. Despite Turner Broadcasting's ``break new ground'' IS spirit, Johnson's crew does not use cutting-edge technology. In fact, a lot of the company's equipment consists of hand-me-downs from companies or parts of companies that Turner Broadcasting has bought during its 20 years in business. For instance, Turner Broadcasting had no mainframe at all until it acquired a 5-year-old IBM 3081 along with MGM/ UA Entertainment Co. in 1986. Instead of buying a server this year to act as traffic cop for the company's 8 to 10 different electronic-mail systems, Turner Broadcasting is likely to pick up an older, cheaper IBM 3081 mainframe, according to Johnson. ``We don't mind staying a step or two behind because the cost savings are there,'' he says. Despite old equipment, the department performs technological feats other companies shy away from. For example, Johnson says the IS department makes a guarantee to any and all end users: ``You need to talk to another department, another country even, and we'll get you there without putting another box on your desk.'' Johnson's biggest project right now is directing the development of the firm's Television Accounting System (TVAC). TVAC is a database for tracking the Turner Network Television cable channel's extensive movie library, which includes Gone with the Wind, the original King Kong and all pre-1950 Warner Brothers, Inc. films. TVAC will help manage movie contracts with local TV stations, covering items such as scheduling and payment for films aired. Johnson's application development group is charged with shifting pertinent data housed in off-the-shelf packages to a custom-made database based on IDMS from Computer Associates International, Inc. TVAC should be functional by the end of the year, Johnson says. Beyond the call of duty Reflecting Turner's own entrepreneurialism, Johnson's staff takes on duties not officially under its rubric. For example, because the data center is staffed 24 hours a day, workers don't mind looking out for reports of downed equipment from affiliates or other remote sites that contract with Turner Broadcasting. Gamble's telecom team is active in this extra function. Like his counterparts in other industries, Johnson has had to decide whether and what to downsize. Although PCs and workstations may be more cost-efficient for some tasks compared with mainframes and minicomputers, Turner Broadcasting isn't making any wholesale moves to smaller boxes. ``The mainframe is still the best machine for high-volume, high-user activity,'' such as hosting Turner Broadcasting's databases, several of which handle more than 300,000 queries per month, Johnson says. But the company also reportedly runs one of the largest Apple Computer, Inc. QuickMail networks in the U.S., which consist of 1,500 Apple Macintoshes of different sizes. About the same number of IBM PCs and clones connected via two dozen NetWare networks also hum through various, mostly administrative, departments. The idea of outsourcing has been evaluated and subsequently nixed. As part of a project to assess how efficient its data center is, Turner Broadcasting gathered proposals from major outsourcers. However, the lowest bid turned out to be about $1 million higher than what Turner Broadcasting was already paying in staff, equipment and maintenance fees, Johnson says. ``We don't have a lot of money to spend, so we've always had to be efficient,'' he says. ``The money this company makes goes to expand the broadcast side. . . . They're the real stars. We just support them.'' Election coverage CNN has only one presidential election under its belt, but that is not stopping its ambitious coverage plans with IS playing a key role. CNN has basically tweaked its 1988 election year setup and added more sophisticated exit polling stations across the U.S., says Michael Johnson, MIS director at Turner Broadcasting. When all was said and done and George Bush was ensconced in the White House, CNN had devoted 600 hours of airtime to the 1988 vote. That kind of reporting is expensive, so this year CNN plans to do a lot of pool coverage through the Voter Research Survey, a New York-based network of wire services. The group's IBM mainframe will feed data from local polling sites to CNN's IBM 3081 in Atlanta. Because the CNN newsroom is run on two ``nearly fault-tolerant'' Digital Equipment Corp. 6310 VAXs, Johnson hired a programmer he knows from his previous position a few blocks away at Coca-Cola to adapt the IBM-styled data for VAX terminals. CNN's newsroom uses sophisticated graphics software on the VAXs so that all of the information coming into the studio and going out over the airwaves is formatted in the same CNN style. ``My job is not to disrupt user comfort,'' Johnson says. ``If we have two disparate pieces of equipment, we make 'em sing.'' CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. nterested in IBM's RS/6000, he says he settled on the SPARCstation because ``at that time [early 1991], IBM was having some problems with AIX on the RS/6000, which delayed shipment of Sybase Net Gateway for the AIX.'' At this point, ``all Unix systems are capable of doing client/server computing easily,'' says Nina Lytton, editor of the ``Open Systems Advisor'' in Boston. IBM's most recent release of AIX sports improved I/O, which was the source of its problems in a client/server implementation, Willmott says. HP's HP/UX and Sun's Solaris, with the imminent 2.0 release, are considered the premier commercial Unix operating systems. DEC recently began shipping the Open Software Foundation's OSF/1 as its Unix operating system and, through Network Application Support, provides extensive support for client/server computing. On the PC LAN Organizations migrating to Unix servers from PC LANs are usually searching for better price/performance and greater scalability. The key requirement here is server support for PCs and PC network operating systems. Just because you're at the LAN level, don't be fooled by your expandability requirements. In this regard, desktop servers generally offer fewer options than tower or rack-mount systems. At CompuCheck, Fawcett ruled out all desktop servers because the small chassis limited expansion. ``I need to be able to grow the number of PCs we support without the server degrading,'' he says. No matter which kind of server you choose, the hardest decision you make will probably be whether to go the Unix route at all. ``We were nervous about Unix,'' says Marshall Holman, vice president/senior operations officer at Charter Bancshares, the largest locally owned commercial bank in Houston. ``It is not a simple decision to make.'' But even historical bastions of proprietary IBM systems need to make some tough calls when the current system has hit the wall. In Holman's case, the System/36-based system was taking 10 to 12 hours to do ``overnight'' update processing. He could have upgraded, but ``if we went with a proprietary IBM solution, we have to buy their computer and all IBM reveals partners, products for Warehouse 03/30/92 News Bozman, Jean S. News SAN FRANCISCO IBM began laying the foundation last week for its 6-month-old Information Warehouse blueprint by disclosing partners and products that will support its distributed database framework. But industry analysts and users at DB Expo '92 here said they believe it will take several more years for IBM and its business partners to top off those warehouse walls with a finished structure. Despite the help from IBM's third-party partners, the work of lashing together the disparate pieces of the Information Warehouse will be borne largely by information systems directors, analysts said. ``There is no free lunch,'' said Roy Schulte, a software analyst at Gartner Group, Inc. in Stamford, Conn. ``You can buy up all the technology you want, but unless you reorganize the data to work with the warehouse, it will be very difficult to get immediate benefits from it.'' Users at some of IBM's largest mainframe sites said they were not rushing to install the Information Warehouse. ``It's hard to quantify an immediate payback for an investment in the warehouse technology,'' said Gary Weis, senior vice president of networking and technology services at Sears Technology Services, Inc. in Schaumburg, Ill. ``Given the current focus in our business this year and next year, you tend not to worry about benefits that will come 10 years down the road.'' ``I don't think the Information Warehouse has a direct impact on us,'' agreed Dan Chorney, chief database administrator at Chevron Canada Ltd. in Vancouver, British Columbia. Critical to IBM's plan Disclosed last September, Information Warehouse is a set of products and facilities for accessing and managing diverse data across IBM and non-IBM systems in a common manner. The framework is key to IBM's push to keep its mainframes central to evolving distributed database management schemes offered by Oracle Corp., Sybase, Inc. and other relational database management system vendors. ``We're not building databases to be islands anymore,'' said Jnan Dash, manager of strategy and technology for IBM's Enterprise Database Solutions Group. ``We have to build bridges between them. Interoperability is the heart and soul of the whole thing.'' With interoperability in mind, IBM's moves to build up the Information Warehouse include the following events: This week, IBM starts to ship Version 2.3 of its DB2 database, which for the first time supports a ``remote unit of work.'' IBM's remote unit of work seamlessly links the IBM core RDBMSs DB2, the OS/400 database, SQL/DS and OS/2's Database Manager so that a user's request to Database Manager will be passed along to DB2. IBM Alliance partner Information Builders, Inc. is extending its Enterprise Data Access/SQL client/server software to support IBM's remote unit of work and ``remote request'' capabilities. Twelve additional vendors disclosed support for the warehouse's Distributed Relational Database Architecture (DRDA) program with third-party database products. Among the new DRDA partners are Cincom Systems, Inc., Sterling Software, Inc., DataEase International, Inc. and XDB Systems, Inc. They join nine early DRDA supporters. Third-party contributions aside, Colin White, a principal at Database Associates in San Jose, Calif., said it will be two to three years before a wide range of products fully support the Information Warehouse. At that point, White predicted, ``The warehouse will give people dynamic access to places where the data resides.'' However, all this functionality will come at a high cost, predicted Herb Edelstein, a principal at Euclid Associates in Potomac, Md. ``The price may be stratospheric. If you've got a lot of platforms that you're trying to connect, EDA/SQL could be a very expensive solution.'' CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. to an IBM OS/2-based touchscreen information system erected by the French Olympic Organizing Committee via a T1 line. ``I basically made sure our sportscasters had what they needed for every show,'' Brownfield says. The PC group has recently started talks with IBM about plans to copy the Olympic touchscreen system for use at the Goodwill Games, sponsored by Ted Turner, in 1994. Despite Turner Broadcasting's ``break new ground'' IS spirit, Johnson's crew does not use cutting-edge technology. In fact, a lot of the company's equipment consists of hand-me-downs from companies or parts of companies that Turner Broadcasting has bought during its 20 years in business. For instance, Turner Broadcasting had no mainframe at all until it acquired a 5-year-old IBM 3081 along with MGM/ UA Entertainment Co. in 1986. Instead of buying a server this year to act as traffic cop for the company's 8 to 10 different electronic-mail systems, Turner Broadcasting is likely to pick up an older, cheaper IBM 3081 mainframe, according to Johnson. ``We don't mind staying a step or two behind because the cost savings are there,'' he says. Despite old equipment, the department performs technological feats other companies shy away from. For example, Johnson says the IS department makes a guarantee to any and all end users: ``You need to talk to another department, another country even, and we'll get you there without putting another box on your desk.'' Johnson's biggest project right now is directing the development of the firm's Television Accounting System (TVAC). TVAC is a database for tracking the Turner Network Television cable channel's extensive movie library, which includes Gone with the Wind, the original King Kong and all pre-1950 Warner Brothers, Inc. films. TVAC will help manage movie contracts with local TV stations, covering items such as scheduling and payment for films aired. Johnson's application development group is charged with shifting pertinent data housed in off-the-shelf packages to a custom-made database based on IDMS from Computer Associates International, Inc. TVAC should be functional by the end of the year, Johnson says. Beyond the call of duty Reflecting Turner's own entrepreneurialism, Johnson's staff takes on duties not officially under its rubric. For example, because the data center is staffed 24 hours a day, workers don't mind looking out for reports of downed equipment from affiliates or other remote sites that contract with Turner Broadcasting. Gamble's telecom team is active in this extra function. Like his counterparts in other industries, Johnson has had to decide whether and what to downsize. Although PCs and workstations may be more cost-efficient for some tasks compared with mainframes and minicomputers, Turner Broadcasting isn't making any wholesale moves to smaller boxes. ``The mainframe is still the best machine for high-volume, high-user activity,'' such as hosting Turner Broadcasting's databases, several of which handle more than 300,000 queries per month, Johnson says. But the company also reportedly runs one of the largest Apple Computer, Inc. QuickMail networks in the U.S., which consist of 1,500 Apple Macintoshes of different sizes. About the same number of IBM PCs and clones connected via two dozen NetWare networks also hum through various, mostly administrative, departments. The idea of outsourcing has been evaluated and subsequently nixed. As part of a project to assess how efficient its data center is, Turner Broadcasting gathered proposals from major outsourcers. However, the lowest bid turned out to be about $1 million higher than what Turner Broadcasting was already paying in staff, equipment and maintenance Sky-high goals nearly met by OS/2 2.0 03/30/92 News Lindquist, Christopher News When IBM set its goals for OS/2 2.0, it set them pretty high. It was to be a better OS/2 than OS/2, a better DOS than DOS and a better Windows than Windows. Lofty goals for any operating system. Now, OS/2 2.0 is here at least it is for those who will be receiving it electronically from IBM tomorrow. Shrink-wrapped releases will not be available until late next month. OS/2 2.0 does not quite achieve all three aims the Windows support is good, but it is not better than Windows but two out of three is not bad. While OS/2 2.0 has some shortcomings, it is not a product to be taken lightly. And its memory needs are anything but light. A full installation will take some 30M bytes of disk space. And while average disk storage on systems is going up steadily, 30M bytes may be too much to ask on some lower-end systems say a 386SX with 40M to 60M bytes of disk space, for example. To be fair, required disk space can be reduced by more than 10M bytes by choosing a minimal installation that excludes unneeded features and applications. Main memory requirements are also high. IBM said the system will run in 4M bytes of random-access memory. And it will. But it will also put hard drives through endurance tests if more than an application or two is opened. Computerworld's original test system, an IBM Personal System/2 Model 70, had 4M bytes of RAM and performance was unreasonably slow. Speed improved dramatically after another 2M bytes of RAM were installed, but 6M bytes is about the minimum anyone will want to use. That may mean some hardware upgrades, but the speed improvements will make the cost worth consideration. The first thing you will notice about OS/2 2.0, naturally, is the installation procedure. This alone makes OS/2 2.0 a better OS/2 because IBM fulfilled one of its key promises: to make installation easier. Installers will be asked if they want to migrate DOS, Windows or OS/2 applications; format the disk; select a file access system; access the on-line tutorial; and that is about it. The Workplace Shell takes some getting used to, but it is worth the effort. The user is presented with a collection of desktop ``objects,'' including folders, applications and drive icons. No menus appear anywhere on the screen until the right mouse button is clicked on either an object or the desktop. Right-clicking for menus is slick. You no longer need to deal with long menu bars cluttering the screen. Menus appear on command and only include relevant choices. Someone should have thought of this sooner. Better to an extent OS/2 2.0 is a better DOS than DOS, to a point. It is slighly slower than running a DOS application under straight DOS. Applications do pick up a bit of a jerky feel under OS/2 2.0, particularly graphics applications running in a DOS window. However, there are some definite advantages. For starters, DOS applications can be multitasked under OS/2 2.0. And the amount of control users have over each DOS session is impressive. By calling up the DOS Settings menu, you can dynamically alter environment settings such as DOS version, memory allocation and number of available file handles. Is it a better Windows than Windows? Yes and no. Load times and execution speeds seem generally slower, particularly in ``seamless Windows'' mode, with Windows and OS/2 applications running side by side. However, Windows applications are certainly usable under OS/2, and considering OS/2's flexibility with DOS applications and its ability to run OS/2 programs, a strong argument could be made for the ``better Windows than Windows'' claim. If a certain Windows application is primary to your needs, you will probably want to stick with Windows exclusively, particularly with the speed and reliability enhancements of Windows 3.1. OS/2 2.0 is not for everyone. Its size alone dictates that. But power users, departments with mission-critical applications in fact, anyone interested in a robust, preemptive multitasking, multithreaded environment should give OS/2 serious consideration. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. copy the Olympic touchscreen system for use at the Goodwill Games, sponsored by Ted Turner, in 1994. Despite Turner Broadcasting's ``break new ground'' IS spirit, Johnson's crew does not use cutting-edge technology. In fact, a lot of the company's equipment consists of hand-me-downs from companies or parts of companies that Turner Broadcasting has bought during its 20 years in business. For instance, Turner Broadcasting had no mainframe at all until it acquired a 5-year-old IBM 3081 along with MGM/ UA Entertainment Co. in 1986. Instead of buying a server this year to act as traffic cop for the company's 8 to 10 different electronic-mail systems, Turner Broadcasting is likely to pick up an older, cheaper IBM 3081 mainframe, according to Johnson. ``We don't mind staying a step or two behind because the cost savings are there,'' he says. Despite old equipment, the department performs technological feats other companies shy away from. For example, Johnson says the IS department makes a guarantee to any and all end users: ``You need to talk to another department, another country even, and we'll get you there without putting another box on your desk.'' Johnson's biggest project right now is directing the development of the firm's Television Accounting System (TVAC). TVAC is a database for tracking the Turner Network Television cable channel's extensive movie library, which includes Gone with the Wind, the original King Kong and all pre-1950 Warner Brothers, Inc. films. TVAC will help manage movie contracts with local TV stations, covering items such as scheduling and payment for films aired. Johnson's application development group is charged with shifting pertinent data housed in off-the-shelf packages to a custom-made database based on IDMS from Computer Associates International, Inc. TVAC should be functional by the end of the year, Johnson says. Beyond the call of duty Reflecting Turner's own entrepreneurialism, Johnson's staff takes on duties not officially under its rubric. For example, because the data center is staffed 24 hours a day, workers don't mind looking out for reports of downed equipment from affiliates or other remote sites that contract with Turner Broadcasting. Gamble's telecom team is active in this extra function. Like his counterparts in other industries, Johnson has had to decide whether and what to downsize. Although PCs and workstations may be more cost-efficient for some tasks compared with mainframes and minicomputers, Turner Broadcasting isn't making any wholesale moves to smaller boxes. ``The mainframe is still the best machine for high-volume, high-user activity,'' such as hosting Turner Broadcasting's databases, several of which handle more than 300,000 queries per month, Johnson says. But the company also reportedly runs one of the largest Apple Computer, Inc. QuickMail networks in the U.S., which consist of 1,500 Apple Macintoshes of different sizes. About the same number of IBM PCs and clones connected via two dozen NetWare networks also hum through various, mostly administrative, departments. The idea of outsourcing has been evaluated and subsequently nixed. As part of a project to assess how efficient its data center is, Turner Broadcasting gathered proposals from major outsourcers. However, the lowest bid turned out to be about $1 million higher than what Turner Broadcasting was already paying in staff, equipment and maintenance Mac network acceptance slow but steady 03/16/92 Integration Strategies Mehler, Mark Integration Strategies Hard feelings die hard. That's a big reason why Apple Computer, Inc. despite a recent surge in networking product innovation, blockbuster technology alliances and growing ties to the integrator community still has a long way to go to make the Macintosh an everyday fixture in enterprisewide, multivendor, corporate environments. ``You can't just take seven years of bashing the PC and make believe it didn't happen,'' says Leo Spiegel, executive vice president of Lan Systems, Inc., a San Diego-based network integrator. ``A lot of people still aren't convinced that Apple is ready to embrace a teamwork concept.'' Last year's ground-breaking IBM/ Apple alliance may change some people's minds about Macintosh's potential as a serious part of corporate networking. As a result of the much-ballyhooed deal, more companies seemed open to welcoming in Macintoshes, joining the host of universities, public agencies and other early adopters on the cutting edge of Macintosh integration (see story page 71). Even so, in many parts of corporate America, the Macintosh is still viewed with some suspicion, though it is lessening. Numbers tell both sides of the story. In 1991, growth in Macintosh worldwide unit sales far outpaced the overall market, rising nearly 30% to $1.9 billion, according to Workgroup Technologies, Inc. in Hampton, N.H. That represents a 10% share of the desktop. More importantly, the percentage of Macintoshes in heterogeneous network environments, now about 1% to 2%, should grow to about 8% to 9% by the middle of the decade, according to Workgroup Technologies senior analyst Bill Clinton. Overall, the number of Macintoshes in networks, estimated by Workgroup Technologies to be 67% in 1990, is expected to rise to 82% in 1993. Nevertheless, analysts say they don't see this miniexplosion in Macintosh enterprise networking translating directly to market share growth. The Macintosh ``is still a more expensive, proprietary system in an era of cost-cutting and open systems,'' says Nancy McSharry, a desktop analyst at International Data Corp. (IDC) in Framingham, Mass. While Workgroup Technologies envisions Apple's share of the market holding steady at about 9% through 1995, IDC is slightly less upbeat. The firm projects that the Macintosh operating system's worldwide share will increase from 7.3% in 1991 to a modest 8.5% by 1995. ``I don't think anything coming from the IBM alliance is going to significantly change that,'' McSharry says. ``Consortiums don't sell products; companies do.'' Alliances lauded Whatever the long-term fate of the Macintosh in enterprise computing, many customers, independent software vendors, systems integrators and consultants give Apple extremely high marks for team play. They point to Apple's four-year success record in connecting the Macintosh to Digital Equipment Corp. VAX systems. Also notable, they say, is a raft of new products and enhancements designed to promote connectivity between Macintosh and personal computer local-area networks, Systems Network Architecture, Ethernet and Token Ring backbones and a range of protocols, including Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Moreover, observers note, substantial progress is being made in addressing both the lack of applications software that runs on the Macintosh and PC platforms and the limitations of the Macintosh as a database development environment. Finally, observers say that although System 7.0 may have been slow to market, it is loaded with robust networking features. Among them are personal file sharing, which eliminates the need for a central file server, and publish and subscribe, an enhanced cut-and-paste function. ``From a technology standpoint, the [prospects for] Mac integration are better today than ever,'' says David Gonzales, a networking consultant at integrator Phoenix Systems, Inc. The implementation of the Macintosh on Novell, Inc. NetWare 3.11 allowed the Anacostia Naval Station in Washington, D.C., to undertake a recent integration job. The project, handled by Phoenix Systems, involves converting a library of military photographs to a digital format using Macintoshes and running the database on a PC LAN. The system encompasses 10 Macintosh IIfx machines being upgraded to the new Quadra on an Ethernet network and 15 PCs. ``We'd love to manage the database on the Mac, but you need a more powerful DOS workstation,'' Gonzales explains. ``We know it will be a long while before we see the development of a new processor [out of the IBM alliance] . . . but in the meantime, we have the capability of marrying the two LANs.'' That perception thing Despite such advances, many information systems managers and integrators are still wary of the Macintosh and are hesitant to link it to enterprise networks. Mike Burdick, a senior consultant at CGI Systems, Inc., a Berwyn, Pa.-based integrator that participates in a pilot networking services partnership with Apple and Bell Atlantic Corp., says purchasers still see the Macintosh as ``too much fun'' for corporate environments. ``There is a lot of bigotry in the industry,'' Burdick adds. ``Corporations are afraid of the Mac because of the lack of competition.'' Jim Groff, senior director of marketing at Apple's Cupertino, Calif.-based Enterprise Systems Division, acknowledges a cultural lag. ``Reality is generally ahead of perception,'' he says. ``To some customers, we're still the 1986-1987 Apple, making niched, high-margin, personal productivity machines for desktop publishing but not serious business machines.'' Groff insists, however, that Apple's 18-month-old change in strategic direction has drawn the interest of blue-chip customers. ``They may not be quite sure what it's all about, but they are listening.'' In fact, Apple and various integrators and partners are working to evangelize all who will listen. John Rees, manager of KPMG Exis, a joint integration venture of Apple and KPMG Peat Marwick, says he sees the Macintosh as a superb front end for the development of custom applications. Exis Corp., one of Apple's three preferred high-end integration partners along with Andersen Consulting and Electronic Data Systems Corp. is at work for 10 clients on a range of downsizing projects, some of which involve Exis' Macintosh decision-support system modeling tool for viewing data in multiple dimensions. ``Apple has done a great job of creating connectivity standards that enhance integration,'' Rees says. Many users are looking forward to running their DOS PCs on AppleTalk, one of the networking goals envisioned in last year's IBM/Apple alliance. ``Certainly IBM, for example, could have put AppleTalk protocols into OS/2 without licensing the source code from us,'' Groff notes. ``But this will make the entire process happen a lot faster. Under the agreement, you can expect to see something new every quarter.'' (See story page 72.) Tomorrow looks bright The future, of course, holds the promise of a new open systems environment drawing on IBM's AIX and Apple's A/UX and running on a new family of reduced instruction set computing processors. So far, probably the two biggest technological impediments to heterogeneous networking are poor applications support and lack of enthusiasm for the Macintosh as a development environment, observers say. ``The whole database and groupware thing remains a problem for [Apple],'' Lan Systems' Spiegel says. ``Again, we're talking about perception being at odds with reality,'' Groff says. ``There is [no shortage] of Mac workgroup applications. . . . How many Notes users are there?'' Meanwhile, most major spreadsheet, word processing and electronic-mail products now run in both the PC and Macintosh worlds. Apple executives and most of their third-party allies say they see marketing, sales, distribution and support as the real networking challenges of the 1990s. ``I worked on one recent engagement with a Fortune 500 account that kicked Apple out,'' says an integrator who asked to remain anonymous. ``Basically, the Apple sales rep wants to push off the support on the dealer channel. . . . Apple has a continuing problem with support.'' Moreover, the vendor's efforts to broaden its channels program to include large systems integrators, consultants and networking specialists are also progressing slowly, at least on the commercial side. Nonetheless, Apple continues to work on getting its house in order. ``We simply have to do more work to increase awareness,'' says Greg Shuk, director of Apple's Federal Systems Group. ``Too few information resource managers understand the Mac.'' Special to CW; Mehler is a free-lance writer based in Jackson Heights, N.Y. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. all of the information coming into the studio and going out over the airwaves is formatted in the same CNN style. ``My job is not to disrupt user comfort,'' Johnson says. ``If we have two disparate pieces of equipment, we make 'em sing.'' CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. nterested in IBM's RS/6000, he says he settled on the SPARCstation because ``at that time [early 1991], IBM was having some problems with AIX on the RS/6000, which delayed shipment of Sybase Net Gateway for the AIX.'' At this point, ``all Unix systems are capable of doing client/server computing easily,'' says Nina Lytton, editor of the ``Open Systems Advisor'' in Boston. IBM's most recent release of AIX sports improved I/O, which was the source of its problems in a client/server implementation, Willmott says. HP's HP/UX and Sun's Solaris, with the imminent 2.0 release, are considered the premier commercial Unix operating systems. DEC recently began shipping the Open Software Foundation's OSF/1 as its Unix operating system and, through Network Application Support, provides extensive support for client/server computing. On the PC LAN Organizations migrating to Unix servers from PC LANs are usually searching for better price/performance and greater scalability. The key requirement here is server support for PCs and PC network operating systems. Just because you're at the LAN level, don't be fooled by your expandability requirements. In this regard, desktop servers generally offer fewer options than tower or rack-mount systems. At CompuCheck, Fawcett ruled out all desktop servers because the small chassis limited expansion. ``I need to be able to grow the number of PCs we support without the server degrading,'' he says. No matter which kind of server you choose, the hardest decision you make will probably be whether to go the Unix route at all. ``We were nervous about Unix,'' says Marshall Holman, vice president/senior operations officer at Charter Bancshares, the largest locally owned commercial bank in Houston. ``It is not a simple decision to make.'' But even historical bastions of proprietary IBM systems need to make some tough calls when the current system has hit the wall. In Holman's case, the System/36-based system was taking 10 to 12 hours to do ``overnight'' update processing. He could have upgraded, but ``if we went with a proprietary IBM solution, we have to buy their computer and all IBM to offer PC help 03/16/92 News Hildebrand, Carol News Firm to unveil three-pronged support program ATLANTA IBM is slated to announce a major initiative in the way of service and support Wednesday, when the company discloses a three-pronged program known as HelpWare. The challenge for IBM, according to Bill Ablondi, an analyst at BIS Strategic Decisions in Norwell, Mass., is ``whether they can make it friendly and helpful rather than putting off people under pressure.'' The program, which will be unveiled in Europe next month and in other foreign divisions throughout the second quarter, is made up of the following segments: HelpLearn a nationwide program of education centers led by IBM-licensed and certified trainers teaching courses on topics ranging from multimedia to OS/2. Educational media include workbooks, video and traditional classroom techniques. HelpBuy an expansion of finance and leasing programs previously open only to bulk buyers of Personal System/2s. IBM will now offer buyers of even one machine the ability to get financing from IBM Credit Corp. Credit approval turnaround time of 24 hours via an 800 telephone number will be offered. HelpCenter billed as a clearinghouse for all questions related to IBM's personal systems and OS/2 operating system, the Houston-based HelpCenter will feature toll-free support from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week. While it is being touted more as a safety net for technical questions, Larry Deaton, IBM's director of personal systems services and customer support, said the IBM staff at the center will have electronic and telephone ties to such laboratories as those in Boca Raton, Fla., and Raleigh, N.C. No customer with technical problems will be turned away, he said. The newly restructured Personal Systems Division of the Armonk, N.Y.-based giant is faced with the task of bolstering a PC market share eroded by clone makers able to get by on much lower margins than IBM. Service and support are being targeted as a major differentiator, observers said. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. market holding steady at about 9% through 1995, IDC is slightly less upbeat. The firm projects that the Macintosh operating system's worldwide share will increase from 7.3% in 1991 to a modest 8.5% by 1995. ``I don't think anything coming from the IBM alliance is going to significantly change that,'' McSharry says. ``Consortiums don't sell products; companies do.'' Alliances lauded Whatever the long-term fate of the Macintosh in enterprise computing, many customers, independent software vendors, systems integrators and consultants give Apple extremely high marks for team play. They point to Apple's four-year success record in connecting the Macintosh to Digital Equipment Corp. VAX systems. Also notable, they say, is a raft of new products and enhancements designed to promote connectivity between Macintosh and personal computer local-area networks, Systems Network Architecture, Ethernet and Token Ring backbones and a range of protocols, including Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Moreover, observers note, substantial progress is being made in addressing both the lack of applications software that runs on the Macintosh and PC platforms and the limitations of the Macintosh as a database development environment. Finally, observers say that although System 7.0 may have been slow to market, it is loaded with robust networking features. Among them are personal file sharing, which eliminates the need for a central file server, and publish and subscribe, an enhanced cut-and-paste function. ``From a technology standpoint, the [prospects for] Mac integration are better today t Sync Research provides missing link 03/09/92 Enterprise Networking Horwitt, Elisabeth Enterprise Networking Concentrators allow users to inexpensively link IBM SNA devices via X.25 or frame relay IRVINE, Calif. Users will soon be able to link their IBM Systems Network Architecture (SNA) devices via either X.25 or frame-relay packet-switched protocols without the expense and overhead of IBM's Network Packet Switched Interface (NPSI) front-end processor program, according to vendor Sync Research, based here. One prerequisite, however, is that the host is linked to a Token Ring local-area network. The advantage of linking IBM SNA devices over frame relay or X.25 is the comparatively low cost of on-demand, packet-switched connections as compared with dedicated lines, Sync Research spokesman Lynn Nye said. Concentrated conversion An IBM host typically transmits over a Token Ring LAN using Logical Link Control (LLC) protocols. The new version of Sync Research's SNA Connection/Token Ring Concentrator (SNAC/TRC) is said to convert LLC transmissions to IBM's Qualified Logical Link Control (QLLC) format for transmission over an X.25 or frame-relay network. The SNAC/TRC can link the hosts over an X.25 network to any other device that supports QLLC, including Eicon, Inc. LAN gateways, IBM 3174 Establishment Controllers, OS/2 Extended Edition workstations and certain X.25 packet assembler/disassembler devices, Nye said. Sync Research's SNA Connection/ Network Concentrator (SNAC/NTC) has also been enhanced to support QLLC-X.25 and frame-relay connections. This concentrator supports older IBM cluster controllers, such as the 3274, that do not support QLLC, Nye said. It also provides frame-relay connections for a range of other IBM controllers, such as the 3174, which do not inherently support frame relay, he added. The SNAC/TRC supports up to four Line Communications Processors, each of which supports either one 128K or two 64K bit/sec. network links. The device supports a maximum of 60 virtual circuits, each of which links to a single cluster controller. Sync Research plans to upgrade the Token Ring board to support 1.5M bit/ sec. connections. However, Nye said the current 64K bit/sec. links are more than adequate for most host-to-cluster controller applications. High costs The SNAC/TRC targets users that have already linked their IBM hosts to Token Ring networks and do not want to spend $13,700 and up, plus monthly maintenance fees, for IBM's NPSI, according to Nye. IBM has promised frame-relay support for its front-end processors by the third quarter. However, such links will only connect hosts to one another but not to remote terminal controllers, Nye said. IBM front ends that support IBM's upcoming link will not be able to communicate with Sync Research's frame-relay devices because the packet-switched protocol is still proprietary, he added. The enhanced Network Concentrator is priced at $7,480; the enhanced Token Ring Concentrator costs $9,650. Both are slated for second-quarter delivery. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. eover, observers note, substantial progress is being made in addressing both the lack of applications software that runs on the Macintosh and PC platforms and the limitations of the Macintosh as a database development environment. Finally, observers say that although System 7.0 may have been slow to market, it is loaded with robust networking features. Among them are personal file sharing, which eliminates the need for a central file server, and publish and subscribe, an enhanced cut-and-paste function. ``From a technology standpoint, the [prospects for] Mac integration are better today t Scaled-down OS/2 graphics engine on way 03/09/92 Hamilton, Rosemary BOCA RATON B2Fla. IBM last week adjusted plans to deliver a full-blown 32-bit graphics engine with OS/2 2.0, saying it will instead provide a hybrid engine based on 16- and 32-bit technology. However, IBM said this should not lessen the graphics performance that users have been expecting with 2.0. The change was revealed at IBM's biweekly update on OS/2. Tommy Steele, director of IBM's Personal Systems programming laboratory here said IBM had been working on both engines simultaneously and decided that the full-blown 32-bit engine was not ready to ship with 2.0 at the end of this month. Meanwhile, performance with the hybrid engine had improved enough that the company decided to ship it with the 2.0 code. The full-blown 32-bit graphics engine is being built with the help of Micrografx, Inc. The firm's chairman, J. Paul Grayson said the engine is essentially complete and IBM is being ``very rigorous'' in its testing and decided to hold off on its delivery. Steele said programmers were able to add enough performance improvements to the hybrid engine, originally a 16-bit engine, with more 32-bit code. ``This is something that customers will have absolutely no idea about whether [the full-blown 32-bit engine] is in or not,'' Steele said. ``We need more time to do the rest of the work and the tuning'' on the newer engine, he added. In an interview in early January, Steele said IBM would ship the 32-bit engine with 2.0. A company spokesman said that was the plan at the time, but subsequent testing showed the hybrid engine was the safer bet. IBM also said last week that the 2.0 code is ``frozen'' and that no new functions will be added. More fine-tuning will be done during the next few weeks, and the company is still planning to deliver the code electronically by March 31. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. de the Token Ring board to support 1.5M bit/ sec. connections. However, Nye said the current 64K bit/sec. links are more than adequate for most host-to-cluster controller applications. High costs The SNAC/TRC targets users that have already linked their IBM hosts to Token Ring networks and do not want to spend $13,700 and up, plus monthly maintenance fees, for IBM's NPSI, according to Nye. IBM has promised frame-relay support for its front-end processors by the third quarter. However, such links will only connect hosts to one another but not to remote terminal controllers, Nye said. IBM front ends that support IBM's upcoming link will not be able to communicate with Sync Research's frame-relay devices because the packet-switched protocol is still proprietary, he added. The enhanced Network Concentrator is priced at $7,480; the enhanced Token Ring Concentrator costs $9,650. Both are slated for second-quarter delivery. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. eover, observers note, substantial progress is being made in addressing both the lack of applications software that runs on the Macintosh and PC platforms and the limitations of the Macintosh as a database development environment. Finally, observers say that although System 7.0 may have been slow to market, it is loaded with robust networking features. Among them are personal file sharing, which eliminates the need for a central file server, and publish and subscribe, an enhanced cut-and-paste function. ``From a technology standpoint, the [prospects for] Mac integration are better today t Guglielmi to steer IBM/Apple venture 02/24/92 News Hamilton, Rosemary News SAN JOSE, Calif. IBM and Apple Computer, Inc. are expected to announce today that Joseph Guglielmi, most recently IBM's lead OS/2 executive, will head up Taligent, their object-oriented joint venture, according to industry observers. IBM plans to fill Guglielmi's OS/2 post with Fernand Sarrat, sources said. Sarrat joined the Personal Systems Division as an assistant general manager of personal systems market development in December, after leaving the defunct IBM Desktop Software Group. The change comes just weeks before the expected shipment of OS/2 2.0; some said Sarrat has been working closely on the OS/2 project and is ready to step in. Observers said they expect Guglielmi's appointment at Taligent, which is developing an object-oriented operating system, to be well-received. He was believed to be a candidate for the job more than a month ago. At the Windows and OS/2 Conference in mid-January, where Guglielmi was on hand to promote IBM's desktop operating system, he refused to comment on speculation about the Taligent job but did say, ``I've personally been involved in setting up the company. There's progress being made, and there's a lot to do.'' The longtime IBMer is apparently well-liked by the Apple camp and is considered a smooth marketer who can manage the start-up. Tim Bajarin, president of consulting firm Creative Strategies Research International, Inc., said, ``He was one of those pivotal people [at IBM] who worked with other companies. I think that's part of the reason he won the Apple people over.'' CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. h 31. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. de the Token Ring board to support 1.5M bit/ sec. connections. However, Nye said the current 64K bit/sec. links are more than adequate for most host-to-cluster controller applications. High costs The SNAC/TRC targets users that have already linked their IBM hosts to Token Ring networks and do not want to spend $13,700 and up, plus monthly maintenance fees, for IBM's NPSI, according to Nye. IBM has promised frame-relay support for its front-end processors by the third quarter. However, such links will only connect hosts to one another but not to remote terminal controllers, Nye said. IBM front ends that support IBM's upcoming link will not be able to communicate with Sync Research's frame-relay devices because the packet-switched protocol is still proprietary, he added. The enhanced Network Concentrator is priced at $7,480; the enhanced Token Ring Concentrator costs $9,650. Both are slated for second-quarter delivery. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. eover, observers note, substantial progress is being made in addressing both the lack of applications software that runs on the Macintosh and PC platforms and the limitations of the Macintosh as a database development environment. Finally, observers say that although System 7.0 may have been slow to market, it is loaded with robust networking features. Among them are personal file sharing, which eliminates the need for a central file server, and publish and subscribe, an enhanced cut-and-paste function. ``From a technology standpoint, the [prospects for] Mac integration are better today t 02/17/92 News News Movie machine in store Videotape retailer Blockbuster Entertainment Corp. and IBM have collaborated on the development of a movie station that enables video store customers to preview titles and retrieve reviews from a database on compact disc. Customers will also be able to look up movies by title, star, director, subject matter and rating. The movie stations include an IBM Personal System/2 running OS/2, an IBM 8516 touch display and Intel Corp.'s digital video-interactive compression technology. Blockbuster is testing the movie station in a store in Boca Raton, Fla., to determine whether to roll it out to all of its stores. Supercomputer setup The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) in Champaign, Ill., has plans to install a Convex Computer Corp. C3880 on April 15. The machine is the largest memory system with 2 billion bytes of physical memory and the first arsenide gallium supercomputer to be set up at a National Science Foundation center, Convex said. The Convex C3880 will become the heart of NCSA's numerical laboratory, which explores interactive visualization, multimedia desktop video and virtual reality. Mice in space Gyration, Inc., based in Saratoga, Calif., introduced last week what it said is the first handheld wireless pointer that can control a cursor on a computer monitor while the pointer is manipulated in free space. In other words, the Gyropoint Remote performs like a conventional mouse without a wire attached, the company said. Gyropoint Remote uses gyroscope technology developed by Gyration that allows a device to sense motion internally rather than through contact with a rolling ball, as in a mouse, or external sensor, as in some ultrasonic and magnetic feedback systems. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. de the Token Ring board to support 1.5M bit/ sec. connections. However, Nye said the current 64K bit/sec. links are more than adequate for most host-to-cluster controller applications. High costs The SNAC/TRC targets users that have already linked their IBM hosts to Token Ring networks and do not want to spend $13,700 and up, plus monthly maintenance fees, for IBM's NPSI, according to Nye. IBM has promised frame-relay support for its front-end processors by the third quarter. However, such links will only connect hosts to one another but not to remote terminal controllers, Nye said. IBM front ends that support IBM's upcoming link will not be able to communicate with Sync Research's frame-relay devices because the packet-switched protocol is still proprietary, he added. The enhanced Network Concentrator is priced at $7,480; the enhanced Token Ring Concentrator costs $9,650. Both are slated for second-quarter delivery. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. eover, observers note, substantial progress is being made in addressing both the lack of applications software that runs on the Macintosh and PC platforms and the limitations of the Macintosh as a database development environment. Finally, observers say that although System 7.0 may have been slow to market, it is loaded with robust networking features. Among them are personal file sharing, which eliminates the need for a central file server, and publish and subscribe, an enhanced cut-and-paste function. ``From a technology standpoint, the [prospects for] Mac integration are better today t Developer's exit could further slow Repository 01/27/92 Ambrosio, Johanna Users skeptical that IBM can fill key CASE holes SAN JOSE, Calif. IBM's beleaguered Repository Manager blueprint has suffered another setback with the resignation of one of the project's key technical development managers. Steve Uhlir, manager of Repository development, will officially leave IBM tomorrow, a spokesman confirmed. Uhlir was one of five Repository development managers working out of IBM's Santa Teresa, Calif., laboratory. He had some 70 technical staff members reporting to him. Uhlir is reportedly jumping to a software development position at Sun Microsystems, Inc. He did not return telephone calls by press time. The resignation is yet another indication of the technical and political problems that have plagued the development of Repository Manager since its 1989 announcement, some analysts and users said. It is the centerpiece of IBM's computer-aided software engineering strategy known as AD/Cycle. When completed, AD/Cycle will allow users to mix and match software development tools from different vendors. Despite Uhlir's departure, executives at IBM and the third parties helping to bring the proj ect to fruition said they remain committed to making it work. However, observers said Uhlir's resignation sends out a strong signal that all is not well. ``It's significant when a key manager decides to leave at a critical point in the product's life,'' said Paul Hessinger, chief technology officer at Softlab, Inc. in Atlanta. ``He's done some very good work, and it will be a loss.'' One user who is close to the Repository project and knows Uhlir agreed that IBM has ``lost a valuable asset'' and a ``star technician. But one person does not a project make.'' The user said he is more concerned about the technical issues dogging Repository, most notably the lack of ability to manage several versions of an application, also called ``versioning.'' ``I'm frustrated with IBM for not delivering versioning sooner but also with the third-party vendors for not delivering their products sooner,'' he said. ``People bash IBM with some justification, but it's not all IBM's fault. The business partners haven't cooperated. They've been talking about it since 1989, but talk is cheap.'' To date, only the financially troubled Knowledgeware, Inc. has a software package that keys to Repository Manager, although an Intersolv, Inc. product is due out in March. ``There are too many'' companies developing Repository, said Ira Morrow, vice president of technical planning at Shearson Lehman Brothers in New York. ``IBM has to lead and not just follow the pack.'' Shearson, along with other business units of American Express Co., tested Repository Manager for about two years before returning the tapes to IBM. ``We did not reject Repository; we just postponed it. We will look at it again when it's ready,'' Morrow said. Still, he cautioned that IBM has ``cried Repository too often. I can only sell this to my senior management so many times. I have to be darn sure it works before I will try to sell it again.'' Other users echoed Morrow's wait-and-see approach. ``At one point, we were looking to use it, but we're not waiting with baited breath,'' said Michael Sztejnberg, vice president of technical services at Manufacturers Hanover Corp. in New York. Still other observers questioned whether Repository will ever truly be ready for prime time. Among the technical issues are the following: Performance may not be quite up to snuff. ``The underlying meta-meta model is inadequate,'' said Michael West, program director at Gartner Group, Inc. in Stamford, Conn. ``It has to generate thousands of tables, and it becomes impossible from a performance perspective.'' The lack of immediate support for a client/ server architecture, which has rapidly gained a foothold since IBM announced Repository in September 1989. The lack of Repository support from some of IBM's own CASE tools, including Cross System Product. Complicating matters, some analysts alleged, is the lack of commitment from the third-party vendor community. ``If the market is lukewarm, would you spend money pumping up Repository Manager, or would you concentrate on your existing product and customer set?'' asked Vaughan Merlyn, a partner at Boston-based Ernst & Young. Strong commitment IBM and AD/Cycle business partner executives disagreed. ``We're working as fast as we can,'' said Michael Ryan, senior vice president at Knowledgeware. ``Our commitment remains strong. It's not an easy undertaking.'' Jon Hemming, manager of market strategy in IBM's Programming Systems line of business, concurred. ``I don't blame people for being skeptical, but I don't get the feeling that customers are disenchanted or are moving away from it,'' he said. IBM plans to address the issue of a client/server Repository Manager with an OS/2 version that will not require a mainframe to operate, in addition to a local-area network version, he said. CW Staff2, LAN manager matchup, buyer scorecard logo * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. roff, senior director of marketing at Apple's Cupertino, Calif.-based Enterprise Systems Division, acknowledges a cultural lag. ``Reality is generally ahead of perception,'' he says. ``To some customers, we're still the 1986-1987 Apple, making niched, high-margin, personal productivity machines for desktop publishing but not serious business machines.'' Groff insists, however, that Apple's 18-month-old change in strategic direction has drawn the interest of blue-chip customers. ``They may not be quite sure what it's all about, but they are listening.'' In fact, Apple and various integrators and partners are working to evangelize all who will listen. John Rees, manager of KPMG Exis, a joint integration venture of Apple and KPMG Peat Marwick, says he sees the Macintosh as a superb front end for the development of custom applications. Exis Corp., one of Apple's three preferred high-end integration partners along with Andersen Consulting and Electronic Data Systems Corp. is at work for 10 clients on a range of downsizing projects, some of which involve Exis' Macintosh decision-support system modeling tool for viewing data in multiple dimensions. ``Apple has done a great job of creating connectivity standards that enhance integration,'' Rees says. Many users are looking forward to running their DOS PCs on AppleTalk, one of the networking goals envisioned in last year's IBM/Apple alliance. ``Certainly IBM, for example, could have put AppleTalk protocols into OS/2 without licensing the source code from us,'' Groff notes. ``But this will make the entire process happen a lot faster. Under the agreement, you can expect to see something new every quarter.'' (See story page 72.) Tomorrow looks bright The future, of course, holds the promise of a new open systems environment drawing on IBM's AIX and Apple's A/UX and running on a new family of reduced instruction set computing processors. So far, probably the two biggest technological impediments to heterogeneous networking are poor applications support and lack of enthusiasm for the Macintosh as a development environment, observers say. ``The whole database and groupware thing remains a problem for [Apple],'' Lan Systems' Spiegel says. ``Again, we're talking about perception being at odds with reality,'' Groff says. ``There is [no shortage] of Mac workgroup applications. . . . How many Notes users are there?'' Meanwhile, most major spreadsheet, word IBM router gets a thumbs-up 01/27/92 News Wexler, Joanie M. News NEW YORK IBM's debut in the multiprotocol router arena last week raised nary a user eyebrow but drew kudos from analysts who saw far-reaching benefits from the move, including significant IBM market share. IBM's announcement of the RISC System/6000-based bridge/router, slated to ship in June (see box), made no mention of performance a key competitive selling point. The company was similarly vague about when the device would support IBM's own Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking (APPN) protocols, Fiber Distributed Data Interface networks and source-route transparent bridging. IBM's low- to midrange routing device does ``nothing special if you look at it as just another multiprotocol router,'' said Todd Dagres, director of data communications research at The Yankee Group, a Boston-based consultancy. However, he and several other analysts said IBM's blessing of multiprotocol routing over bridging schemes as well as Systems Network Architecture (SNA) encapsulation techniques should help boost the router market in general over the short term probably to the benefit of its competitors. Bringing in buyers Over the long haul, ``IBM will open up an entirely new market segment: the stalwart, SNA loyalist who is putting in LANs and doesn't know how to internetwork them,'' predicted Janet L. Hyland, director of network strategy research at Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research, Inc. She said that by bringing in that new buyer, IBM is likely to capture 35% to 40% of a greatly expanded router market by 1994. Several users with existing router installations said they see no reason as yet to start peppering their sites with IBM routers. ``Unless I saw a huge price difference, clear-cut technological advantage or far superior performance, we wouldn't change,'' said Andy Marks, manager of data communications at L.A. Gear in Los Angeles. ``I view IBM as a start-up in the routing business,'' said John Scoggin, supervisor of network operations at Delmarva Power & Light Co. in Newark, Del., which runs a substantial SNA network along with many other protocols. He acknowledged IBM's experience with Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol routing for the National Science Foundation's NFSnet network but said ``there have been lots of hardware and software problems. I'd be very cautious.'' Another large IBM shop, Austin, Texas-based American Cancer Society, is familiar with the IBM router ``but probably won't need it,'' said Kyle Cooper, senior technical analyst for OS/2 communications. The reasons are a sparse array of disparate protocols just SNA and Novell, Inc. IPX and a decision to design its applications around IBM's Advanced Program-to-Program Communications, which allows IBM devices to communicate directly with each other. ``That's all we need,'' Cooper said. When IBM's router is enhanced to provide native SNA routing through APPN, IBM's scheme for coordinating resources among computing devices communicating directly with each other, ``that's conceivably where they'll make their mark,'' Dagres said. APPN support on the router is currently a statement of direction, said Jon Fjeld, IBM's product manager of network routing systems. In IBM parlance, that means delivery within two years. He said IBM intends to license APPN Network Node code to other router vendors around mid-1992. Router makers Cisco Systems, Inc., Wellfleet and Proteon, Inc. have said they will license APPN when it is available. Analysts agreed that the router symbolizes a more ``open'' IBM. ``This product doesn't demonstrate the typical shackles of IBM architectures and religious arguments,'' Hyland said. She linked such pragmatic decisions as not supporting APPN today as reflective of the December-reorganized IBM that ``competes more tactically, product by product instead of with galactic architectures.'' Frank Dzubeck, president of Communications Network Architects, Inc. in Washington, D.C., added, ``For the first time in history, IBM released a Decnet protocol. Maybe IBM's statement about openness is more than just a marketing term.'' IBM filled in gaps last week on its long-expected bridge/router: Availability: June 1992. Network support: Token Ring; Ethernet; serial, SDLC, X.25 and frame-relay WANs. Initially routes: IP-encapsulated SNA, Netbios over Token Ring, TCP/IP, Novell's IPX, Decnet Phase IV, XNS. Will route: Appletalk II and Netbios over Ethernet (Q3), native SNA through APPN (within two years). Cost: $9,995 to $18,640. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. eeling that customers are disenchanted or are moving away from it,'' he said. IBM plans to address the issue of a client/server Repository Manager with an OS/2 version that will not require a mainframe to operate, in addition to a local-area network version, he said. CW Staff2, LAN manager matchup, buyer scorecard logo * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. roff, senior director of marketing at Apple's Cupertino, Calif.-based Enterprise Systems Division, acknowledges a cultural lag. ``Reality is generally ahead of perception,'' he says. ``To some customers, we're still the 1986-1987 Apple, making niched, high-margin, personal productivity machines for desktop publishing but not serious business machines.'' Groff insists, however, that Apple's 18-month-old change in strategic direction has drawn the interest of blue-chip customers. ``They may not be quite sure what it's all about, but they are listening.'' In fact, Apple and various integrators and partners are working to evangelize all who will listen. John Rees, manager of KPMG Exis, a joint integration venture of Apple and KPMG Peat Marwick, says he sees the Macintosh as a superb front end for the development of custom applications. Exis Corp., one of Apple's three preferred high-end integration partners along with Andersen Consulting and Electronic Data Systems Corp. is at work for 10 clients on a range of downsizing projects, some of which involve Exis' Macintosh decision-support system modeling tool for viewing data in multiple dimensions. ``Apple has done a great job of creating connectivity standards that enhance integration,'' Rees says. Many users are looking forward to running their DOS PCs on AppleTalk, one of the networking goals envisioned in last year's IBM/Apple alliance. ``Certainly IBM, for example, could have put AppleTalk protocols into OS/2 without licensing the source code from us,'' Groff notes. ``But this will make the entire process happen a lot faster. Under the agreement, you can expect to see something new every quarter.'' (See story page 72.) Tomorrow looks bright The future, of course, holds the promise of a new open systems environment drawing on IBM's AIX and Apple's A/UX and running on a new family of reduced instruction set computing processors. So far, probably the two biggest technological impediments to heterogeneous networking are poor applications support and lack of enthusiasm for the Macintosh as a development environment, observers say. ``The whole database and groupware thing remains a problem for [Apple],'' Lan Systems' Spiegel says. ``Again, we're talking about perception being at odds with reality,'' Groff says. ``There is [no shortage] of Mac workgroup applications. . . . How many Notes users are there?'' Meanwhile, most major spreadsheet, word Us/2 01/06/92 News Laberis, Bill News This year the end of this quarter, in fact is put-up-or-shut-up time for IBM and OS/2 2.0. And while so much attention has been focused on the importance to IBM of its meeting its stated and implied promises with this product, the spotlight needs to be turned on the customer. For big IBM sites and that means many major corporations OS/2 is a critical part of Systems Application Architecture the systems blueprint many of these companies have tacitly bought into. So while the corporate computing world of the desktop has been revolving around the Windows-centric universe, some big users are holding out for OS/2 because their major supplier has indicated they should. There are many critics and skeptics out there who claim IBM will never incorporate all the promised and desired features into OS/2, and even IBM has as much as admitted that the development process has become woefully complex. If the company delivers on promises and expectations, that's great. The customer has more choice, and there's greater competition in the vendor community. But if for some reason the skeptics prove themselves right on this critical technology issue, let's hope IBM thinks of its customers first and doesn't string them along a path that leads to no known destination. Editor in Chief * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. ded router market by 1994. Several users with existing router installations said they see no reason as yet to start peppering their sites with IBM routers. ``Unless I saw a huge price difference, clear-cut technological advantage or far superior performance, we wouldn't change,'' said Andy Marks, manager of data communications at L.A. Gear in Los Angeles. ``I view IBM as a start-up in the routing business,'' said John Scoggin, supervisor of network operations at Delmarva Power & Light Co. in Newark, Del., which runs a substantial SNA network along with many other protocols. He acknowledged IBM's experience with Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol routing for the National Science Foundation's NFSnet network but said ``there have been lots of hardware and software problems. I'd be very cautious.'' Another large IBM shop, Austin, Texas-based American Cancer Society, is familiar with the IBM router ``but probably won't need it,'' said Kyle Cooper, senior technical analyst for OS/2 communications. The reasons are a sparse array of disparate protocols just SNA and Novell, Inc. IPX and a decision to design its applications around IBM's Advanced Program-to-Program Communications, which allows IBM devices to communicate directly with each other. ``That's all we need,'' Cooper said. When IBM's router is enhanced to provide native SNA routing through APPN, IBM's scheme for coordinating resources among computing devices communicating directly with each other, ``that's conceivably where they'll make their mark,'' Dagres said. APPN support on the router is currently a statement of direction, said Jon Fjeld, IBM's product manager of network routing systems. In IBM parlance, that means delivery within two years. He said IBM intends to license APPN Network Node code to other router vendors around mid-1992. Router makers Cisco Systems, Inc., Wellfleet and Proteon, Inc. have said they will license APPN when it is available. Analysts agreed that the router symbolizes a more ``open'' IBM. ``This product doesn't demonstrate the typical shackles of IBM architectures and religious arguments,'' Hyland said. She linked such pragmatic decisions as not supporting APPN today as reflective of the December-reorganized IBM that ``competes more tactically, product by product instead of with galactic architectures Testimonial 01/06/92 Viewpoint Laberis, Bill Viewpoint Ican clearly recall the first time I heard Grace Murray Hopper speak to a large group. It was 10 years ago, and, as a junior member of this editorial staff, I was assigned to cover her conference presentation. My expectations were to be bored by an old-timer (she was 75 then) rambling on about computing days past. I learned two things. First, one of the greatest social sins is to prejudge someone solely on age. And second, what a remarkable woman she was! For a full hour, Grace Hopper held her audience captive in the tender trap of utterly lucid discourse. Her presentation skills were undeniably strong, almost intimidating. Uncanny was her ability to get the crowd focusing on her image of the 1980s and beyond. She believed the conventions of the past the Cobol-dominated world she helped foster would crumble under the weight of a PC revolution that was still years away. For all her achievements and contributions to the world of information technology, we should remember her words from an interview with us a decade ago when she spoke of her praise for people who ``aren't hampered by `We've always done it this way' or `It won't work.' '' Us/2 This year the end of this quarter, in fact is put-up-or-shut-up time for IBM and OS/2 2.0. And while so much attention has been focused on the importance to IBM of its meeting its stated and implied promises with this product, the spotlight needs to be turned on the customer. For big IBM sites and that means many major corporations OS/2 is a critical part of Systems Application Architecture the systems blueprint many of these companies have tacitly bought into. So while the corporate computing world of the desktop has been revolving around the Windows-centric universe, some big users are holding out for OS/2 because their major supplier has indicated they should. There are many critics and skeptics out there who claim IBM will never incorporate all the promised and desired features into OS/2, and even IBM has as much as admitted that the development process has become woefully complex. If the company delivers on promises and expectations, that's great. The customer has more choice, and there's greater competition in the vendor community. But if for some reason the skeptics prove themselves right on this critical technology issue, let's hope IBM thinks of its customers first and doesn't string them along a path that leads to no known destination. Editor in Chief * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. Communications, which allows IBM devices to communicate directly with each other. ``That's all we need,'' Cooper said. When IBM's router is enhanced to provide native SNA routing through APPN, IBM's scheme for coordinating resources among computing devices communicating directly with each other, ``that's conceivably where they'll make their mark,'' Dagres said. APPN support on the router is currently a statement of direction, said Jon Fjeld, IBM's product manager of network routing systems. In IBM parlance, that means delivery within two years. He said IBM intends to license APPN Network Node code to other router vendors around mid-1992. Router makers Cisco Systems, Inc., Wellfleet and Proteon, Inc. have said they will license APPN when it is available. Analysts agreed that the router symbolizes a more ``open'' IBM. ``This product doesn't demonstrate the typical shackles of IBM architectures and religious arguments,'' Hyland said. She linked such pragmatic decisions as not supporting APPN today as reflective of the December-reorganized IBM that ``competes more tactically, product by product instead of with galactic architectures Santa Fe keeps high-tech eye on trains 01/06/92 Large Systems Booker, Ellis Large Systems SCHAUMBURG, Ill. On a slick track in a small New Mexico town, a Santa Fe Railroad freight train derails. The following morning, the 60-ft-wide computerized map that shows the type, status and location of the 250 trains that start across Santa Fe's 10,650 miles of track every day is still flecked with yellow and red flags, indicating rerouted trains that are behind schedule. More remarkably, before this highly computerized system operations center started on Oct. 1, Santa Fe controllers here used a giant magnet board to monitor the whereabouts of trains by drawing data from a mainframe and personal computers. ``The board had no historical reporting or management reports,'' explained T. J. Lewis, information systems manager at the railroad's data center in Topeka, Kan. ``With automation, we saw the potential to better utilize our fleet.'' Driving the display, which wraps around one end of the room, are six IBM Personal System/2 Model 70s running OS/2 and Easel Corp.'s Easel interface software. With each refresh of the screen, several SQL calls are made on the IBM OS/2 Database Manager database, loading 2,000 to 7,000 rows of data from seven key tables. The Model 90s, which are connected over a 16M bit/sec. Token Ring local-area network, are able to open up to 100 windows. The windows can show a portion of the big board's map, the arrival and departure times of trains or details of individual trains and engines, including their maintenance histories. In addition, one of the Model 70s periodically accesses the IBM 3090 600J in Topeka to obtain information from an IMS-based maintenance database of 1,700 trains. One planner said operators now spend 70% of their time on planning, the proportion they used to spend on clerical tasks under the manual system. Santa Fe planners previously accessed computerized information via 3270-type terminals hooked to the 3090, where train schedules and train maintenance databases reside. ``But the planners' principal function, that of tracking trains, wasn't computerized,'' Lewis said. The process was labor-intensive, but it worked. In fact, keeping up the speed of the manual process of ``sticking little tags on magnets'' was a challenge. ``You need to understand,'' Lewis said, ``the response-time requirements were tremendous. These people were used to moving magnets around while they talked on the phone. That was the response time we had to compete with.'' Planning for the new operations center began in September 1990; the first iteration of the $433,000 system was running by Sept. 16, 1991. The future of the systems operation center may include expert systems technology, which would help planners in their task of ordering appropriately sized engines for different trains. However, this component is at least a year away, Lewis said, noting that the replacement of the magnetic board with workstations was just the first of many projects for his 350-person IS shop. ``We already have 20 outstanding projects for 1992,'' he said. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. around mid-1992. Router makers Cisco Systems, Inc., Wellfleet and Proteon, Inc. have said they will license APPN when it is available. Analysts agreed that the router symbolizes a more ``open'' IBM. ``This product doesn't demonstrate the typical shackles of IBM architectures and religious arguments,'' Hyland said. She linked such pragmatic decisions as not supporting APPN today as reflective of the December-reorganized IBM that ``competes more tactically, product by product instead of with galactic architectures Insurer sees future in imaging strategy 01/06/92 Desktop Computing Desktop Computing Central Life Assurance implements paperless work-flow arrangement in accounts department DES MOINES, Iowa Hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean, underwriters at the $2.2 billion Central Life Assurance Co. (CLA) were drowning in paper, that is. But rather than reach for the first life preserver it was tossed, the insurer waited to find something that would help keep it afloat in the long term. During the next few weeks, after 96 years of scribbling out new insurance applications by hand, CLA will complete work on a paperless work-flow arrangement in its new accounts department that will finally give overstuffed filing cabinets a breather. If all goes smoothly, it could rapidly expand to the far corners of the organization. Slow procedures Like many offices, CLA uses data entry clerks to enter information from handwritten documents into a data processing system. And like many organizations seduced by the promise of the paperless office, the problems with that old system were myriad: File cabinets take up valuable floor space, misfilings cause confusion, outdated documents may be mixed in with up-to-date ones, and paper is easily destroyed or lost. ``It was getting to the point where you couldn't tell exactly where a document was at any given moment,'' said Gary Rasmussen, CLA's business analyst. Odds were that the problem was going to get worse before it got better. Business has been good at CLA, which now operates in 44 states and handles more than $18 billion in individual life insurance. The amount of paperwork appeared to be heading in one direction: up. CLA plotted out an advanced imaging system for more than a year and finally decided to build a system that used a cooperative processing approach to integrate data processing, text management and document image processing. Receiving information, data entry, underwriting and policy preparation was all to be tightly linked. The first proposed solution was suggested by folks from IBM. It called for running an imaging system on CLA's Application System/400 and OS/2. It was rejected as too costly. CLA officials instead opted for a desktop system powered by Metafile Information Systems, Inc.'s Metaview software, a high-level, object-driven language for developing imaging applications in a cooperative processing environment. The Metaview system involved less processing power and expense. ``Metaview didn't require our AS/400 at all,'' said George Eldridge, senior vice president of corporate services. Eldridge said the ability to circumvent the AS/400 saved ``hundreds of thousands of dollars.'' First step The data-capture process begins when insurance seekers send applications to CLA. The application is scanned at the mail room, and the images are indexed and checked for quality. The images are stored magnetically at first and then transferred to 12-in. optical disc in a Sony Corp. 50-disk jukebox. The images are accessed via a fiber-optic backbone from a Netframe NF 400. Operators use about 60 Intel Corp. 80386-based IBM Personal System/2s. Files are kept in magnetic storage while active, or about eight weeks. They are then archived on optical disc, Rasmussen said. Up to 700 pages a day are then routed to the appropriate work queues. Correspondence goes to a mail queue, where it is related to a file by policy number, and the network server provides any associated documents. Underwriting files contain all information related to a specific account: financial reports, medical information, photographs and so on. When a file is complete, underwriters review all the documents and then approve or deny the application. Although still in its infancy, the new system has already affected other areas of CLA, particularly customer service. ``We have instant status reports, which saves hours of searching,'' Rasmussen said. ``We call up files while on the phone. Returning calls is a thing of the past.'' If the system lives up to expectations, it will be expanded to include added functions. * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. Netbios over Token Ring, TCP/IP, Novell's IPX, Decnet Phase IV, XNS. Will route: Appletalk II and Netbios over Ethernet (Q3), native SNA through APPN (within two years). Cost: $9,995 to $18,640. CW Staff * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. eeling that customers are disenchanted or are moving away from it,'' he said. IBM plans to address the issue of a client/server Repository Manager with an OS/2 version that will not require a mainframe to operate, in addition to a local-area network version, he said. CW Staff2, LAN manager matchup, buyer scorecard logo * * To subscribe to Computerworld on CD - Call toll free 1 (800) 285-3821 * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994. CW Publishing.All rights reserved. roff, senior director of marketing at Apple's Cupertino, Calif.-based Enterprise Systems Division, acknowledges a cultural lag. ``Reality is generally ahead of perception,'' he says. ``To some customers, we're still the 1986-1987 Apple, making niched, high-margin, personal productivity machines for desktop publishing but not serious business machines.'' Groff insists, however, that Apple's 18-month-old change in strategic direction has drawn the interest of blue-chip customers. ``They may not be quite sure what it's all about, but they are listening.'' In fact, Apple and various integrators and partners are working to evangelize all who will listen. John Rees, manager of KPMG Exis, a joint integration venture of Apple and KPMG Peat Marwick, says he sees the Macintosh as a superb front end for the development of custom applications. Exis Corp., one of Apple's three preferred high-end integration partners along with Andersen Consulting and Electronic Data Systems Corp. is at work for 10 clients on a range of downsizing projects, some of which involve Exis' Macintosh decision-support system modeling tool for viewing data in multiple dimensions. ``Apple has done a great job of creating connectivity standards that enhance integration,'' Rees says. Many users are looking forward to running their DOS PCs on AppleTalk, one of the networking goals envisioned in last year's IBM/Apple alliance. ``Certainly IBM, for example, could have put AppleTalk protocols into OS/2 without licensing the source code from us,'' Groff notes. ``But this will make the entire process happen a lot faster. Under the agreement, you can expect to see something new every quarter.'' (See story page 72.) Tomorrow looks bright The future, of course, holds the promise of a new open systems environment drawing on IBM's AIX and Apple's A/UX and running on a new family of reduced instruction set computing processors. So far, probably the two biggest technological impediments to heterogeneous networking are poor applications support and lack of enthusiasm for the Macintosh as a development environment, observers say. ``The whole database and groupware thing remains a problem for [Apple],'' Lan Systems' Spiegel says. ``Again, we're talking about perception being at odds with reality,'' Groff says. ``There is [no shortage] of Mac workgroup applications. . . . How many Notes users are there?'' Meanwhile, most major spreadsheet, word