|5ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» |5º |EFirst Things First|5 º ^1 Diskovery |5 º |EFirst Things First|5 º |5ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÊÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÊÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ^Cby ^CJay Wilbur Don't you just love it when an underdog comes from out of nowhere, takes on a giant and beats the tar out of him? It's happening right now with Microsoft(r) and GeoWorks(tm). Microsoft, one lean, mean, fighting machine, sits in one corner with their flagship product, Windows(tm) 3.0. While GeoWorks, looking somewhat small, but ready to mix it up, holds up the other end of the ring with their new entry in the IBM GUI (graphical user interface) market, Ensemble(tm). The bell rings and the bout begins! One cannot overlook the fact that Windows has been sold to millions of users worldwide and comes from a company whose name is almost synonymous with PC software. Ensemble and GeoWorks are relatively unknown in the PC world. GeoWorks takes the first blow to the midsection. Microsoft is looking confident--perhaps too confident. With Windows running on a 386 or 486 you can multitask DOS applications. Anything less, hardware wise, and you can only multitask Windows' applications. There is something to be said for this, but not much. If you want to multitask DOS applications on a 386 or better you should be using Quarterdeck's DESQview (tm). Of course that would be a different bout all together. With Ensemble you are allowed to multitask Ensemble apps only. Both sides throw punches, but nobody seems to connect. Windows 3.0 is packaged with some simple starter software. As you use each item you'll find yourself wishing it could just do this or it could just do that. (It can if you don't mind spending a few hundred dollars on add-on programs.) Unlike Windows, Ensemble comes with some heavyweight software right out of the box (a word processor--borderline page-layout software, a draw program, a communications program, a scheduler, a rolodex-like program and others). GeoWorks scores a number of clear hits on Microsoft. Microsoft seems a bit frustrated that such a "out of nowhere" contender could even come close to hitting them. Following this series of blows, Ensemble assaults Windows with its font technology. Ensemble has built-in outline fonts allowing you to choose from over 700 point sizes for any installed font, and can perfectly display it in seconds. (You can get this same technology for Windows if you want to spend a few hundred dollars on add-on programs.) When GeoWorks says Ensemble's Write software is WYSIWYG, they mean it. I have never seen such amazing material printed on my old Mannesmann Tally printer. Since Ensemble supports over 300 printers you are sure to get the same output quality from your printer. GeoWorks lands a shot to Microsoft's head that sends the Big M staggering. For years PC users have been afflicted with what many pundits have labeled "Mac envy". Windows was supposed to be the cure--the GUI to end all GUIs. Sorry folks, it's not. One of the best things about the Mac is the way it iconizes EVERYTHING on the screen. You don't have to mount an application in a program group to use it. If you want to navigate storage devices and launch programs in Windows, you have to use the File Manager. This is Windows answer to the Mac interface? It's nothing more than a text directory tree utility put into a window. GeoWorks has two levels of use. One is similar to the program groups in Windows and the other is similar (so similar that I wonder why Apple, Inc. has not sued them) to the truly intuitive interface of the Mac. (You can get this same technology for Windows if you want to spend a few hundred dollars on add-on programs.) Again, GeoWorks hits Microsoft with a punishing blow that makes this large competitor take a few steps back. Windows is the hulking Goliath and Ensemble the sleek David. If size were the mark of a champion, Windows would be the hands down winner. Unfortunately, there are tradeoffs for size. In this bout it's speed. Geoworks runs circles around Windows on machines of equal technology. As deftly as David, Ensemble uses its brains and speed to out maneuver the Windows Goliath. Take that you Microsoft Philistines! Word on the streets is the folks at Geoworks hired arcade game programmers to write Ensemble in Assembly code. It's a well known fact that good arcade game programmers are great at writing tight code for the sake of execution speed. They have to if they want their games to play with any speed on lesser machines. This was a VERY smart move for the "in training" Ensemble. Letting the champ underestimate you, then going in fast and hitting hard is usually a very successful tactic. This speed advantage allows Ensemble to work on ANY PC with a hard disk and a mouse. From the original XT on up to today's fastest 486, Ensemble supports them all. Yes, Ensemble is actually usable on an XT with a CGA card. I didn't say Ensemble was fast on a 4.77 Mhz XT, I said it was usable. A statement you cannot make for Windows. Although Windows works on a lesser machine, it bogs down and is considered a waste of time for anyone with less than a 286. I use Windows on a 386/33 (speed demon) and at times I find it too slow to deal with. GeoWorks comes out of nowhere, displaying speed and intelligence known only to true champions, and hits Microsoft with a blinding flurry of head and midsection shots that would drop most competitors. Microsoft is not in good shape! In the final seconds before the bell tolls I get a feeling down in my gut that once the below-286 crowd gets word about GeoWorks Ensemble they will embrace it and send it flying to the top of the charts where it belongs. GeoWorks delivers a calculated blow to Microsoft's head that puts the oversized champ on the canvas for the ten count. There is no being saved by the bell in this bout. Of course, like any ex-champion, expect to see Windows 3.0 go into training. Shed a few things here, add a few features there, and instruct the programmers to write the whole thing in Assembly language for speed of execution. At that point we should have a great rematch! See you in 30, J -=- ^CProduct information Ensemble: Windows 3.0: Suggested retail: $199.99 Suggested Retail: $150.00 Average mail order: $122.50 Average mail order: $94.00 GeoWorks Microsoft 2150 Shattuck Ave. 16011 NE 36th Way Berkeley, CA 94704 Box 97017 Redmond, WA 98073-9717 For a working model ($9.95) For a working model (Free) 1-800-772-0001 Ext. 200 (USA) 1-800-541-1261 (USA) 1-800-465-1234 Ext. 200 (CANADA) 1-416-673-7638 (CANADA) 206-936-8661 (Everywhere else) ^C(r)/(tm): trademarks of registered owners