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MacWEEK 7/13/92 ----------------------- Apple, Microsoft set to present united front Aim to reassure users with joint initiatives By MacWEEK staff San Jose, Calif. - Putting their differences behind them for a day, Apple CEO John Sculley and Microsoft Corp. CEO Bill Gates will jointly preside over what sources described as an Apple- Microsoft "lovefest" this week. At press time, details of the press conference here had yet to be finalized. But sources said Apple and Microsoft may announce plans to cooperate on several technology initiatives, possibly including support by Apple for Microsoft's Open Database Connectivity (ODBC). Other announcements may include a Microsoft commitment to develop applications for PowerPC-based Macs and a joint pledge to cooperate on future extensions to System 7. New versions of Microsoft Works, Mail and Project for the Mac are also expected to debut. The main purpose of the event, sources said, is to help clear the air surrounding Apple and its largest independent software developer. Recent rulings favoring Gates' company in Apple's patent suit against Microsoft and Apple's new "Windows- attack" ad campaign have put an additional strain on what has been a tense relationship. The show of solidarity also is meant to give some assurance to customers that the two companies aren't locked in mortal combat, industry analysts said. "It just points out the complexity in the relationship," said Bruce Lupatkin, managing director of technology research at Hambrecht & Quist Inc. in San Francisco. "[Microsoft] is Apple's biggest developer, but they are also their biggest enemy. They are the reason why Apple's margins are down from 52 percent to 42 percent." Microsoft will announce Works 3.0, the first major upgrade to its integrated program since 1988. The update features an improved user interface, support for eight-bit color and expanded drawing capabilities (see MacWEEK, Feb. 24). Project 3.0 also will debut, sources said. It also features an improved interface and will include more scheduling and resource-leveling options, resource graphs, custom views of plan data, and a customizable tool bar. MacWEEK 07.13.92 News Page 1 (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- Canon engine on track for HP, QMS HP By Matthew Rothenberg Lake Success, N.Y. - Users can expect higher resolutions at desktop prices thanks to a new generation of print engines from Canon USA Inc. Canon's new BX engine will bring true 600-dpi resolution to upcoming printers from QMS Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., sources said. Apple, a longtime Canon customer, also is a potential buyer of the new engines, sources said. Like its predecessor, the SX, Canon's new BX engine reportedly outputs 8 pages per minute. While the SX, which is used in many current laser printers, requires software interpolation for resolutions higher than 300 dpi, the BX has a native resolution of 600 dpi. The BX engine uses improved toner technology to generate clearer images than current toners, sources said. Called UltraFine, the new toner reportedly creates smaller-size dots with less scatter than current toners. Canon USA, based here, refused to comment on the reports. Upcoming printers from QMS, based in Mobile, Ala., and Cupertino, Calif.-based HP reportedly will use different versions of the BX engine. >QMS this month will announce a new PostScript, RISC-based model that outputs tabloid-size as well as letter- and legal- size paper. The new printer, due shortly after the announcement, will cost less than $5,000, according to sources close to the company. The device will ship with simultaneously active AppleTalk, serial and parallel interfaces; EtherTalk will be optional. Its controller will use Crown, QMS' multitasking architecture for handling print resources. The company already offers the $5,495 QMS-PS 815 MR, which uses proprietary software to achieve 600-dpi resolution. QMS declined to comment on the reports. >HP reportedly will add a BX-based model to its LaserJet line. Called the LaserJet IV, the 600-dpi device will be available in several configurations, with prices starting as low as $2,000, sources said. The LaserJet IV reportedly will come with PCL 6, a new version of HP's printer-control language, built in. But as with the LaserJet IIISi, HP is expected to offer a version of the new model with PostScript Level 2, as well as PCL 6, built into the logic board. The LaserJet IV will be available with an AppleTalk interface and reportedly will feature automatic switching among emulations and interfaces. Even 600-dpi, however, could be only a short-lived plateau in the march of printing progress. Photon Imaging Corp. of South Plainfield, N.J., last month announced a fiber-optic system it said can produce 1,200 dpi from low-cost printers. MacWEEK 07.13.92 News Page 1 (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- Lotus to take Mac Notes public with expo preview By Lisa Picarille Cambridge, Mass. - Lotus Development Corp. will mark another step in its effort to redefine itself as a multiplatform workgroup and communications company next month, when it offers the first public demonstrations of a Mac client for its Notes groupware application. Lotus Notes 3.0 for the Macintosh will be shown, although not formally announced, at Macworld Expo in Boston and at the GroupWare '92 trade show in San Jose, Calif. Notes combines electronic-mail and multi-user database capabilities. Intelligent and smooth replication of data between servers in separate departments or sites has made it the premier groupware product on personal computers. The software lets users create their own databases, layouts and filters for organizing, displaying and sharing corporate documents and messages. Lotus markets the product primarily to large companies as a platform for custom office- automation tools, dubbed NotesWare. Notes' server software sits on top of IBM Corp.'s OS/2. It will run AppleTalk for Mac clients, alongside IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange) and NetBIOS protocols for IBM PCs and compatibles. While Notes 3.0 incorporates its own messaging facility - Notes Mail - users also will have the option to use Lotus' cc:Mail. Although it offers some of the same capabilities as Apple's forthcoming OCE (Open Collaboration Environment), Mac Notes will use Lotus' own transport, authentication and store-and- forward technology rather than Apple's new system. "While it would be better for Apple if Lotus supported OCE, Lotus is doing its own grunt work, because there is no ubiquitous way to achieve cross-platform compatibility, and Lotus needs that," said Pieter Hartsook, editor of The Hartsook Letter, a Macintosh market newsletter based in Alameda, Calif. Lotus also will show off upcoming Version 3.0 upgrades for its Windows and OS/2 clients, as well as a new version for the NeXT platform, at next month's trade shows. The Mac Notes client is expected to ship by year-end. Pricing has not been announced, but on other platforms Lotus charges $78,500 for 10 servers and 200 users and $295 for additional users. MacWEEK 07.13.92 News Page 1 (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- Mactivity '92 links managers to net solutions By April Streeter and Nathalie Welch Santa Clara, Calif. - Macintosh network managers this week will converge here on Mactivity '92, the conference that in only its second year is becoming a leading venue for sharing networking experience and test-driving connectivity products. The show will be the launching pad for more than two dozen product announcements that will delight packet jockeys, including several new entrants in the router race. But managers shopping for ways to connect roving users to their data networks may find more vapor than hard data. Several companies will trot out their first routers. Emeryville, Calif.-based Farallon Computing Inc. is expected to introduce a LocalTalk-to-Ethernet router that purportedly will include support for TCP/IP protocols. Dayna Communications Inc. of Salt Lake City also will make a first foray into routing with a low-priced $899 single-protocol LocalTalk-to-EtherTalk router. Startup Talking Networks Inc., also based in Emeryville, will demonstrate a novel approach to internetwork routing. Called Talking Router, the Mac-managed TCP/IP gateway software runs on an Intel-based CPU and minimizes AppleTalk routing traffic across the network backbone. The hottest subject of the show could be severs for Apple's popular AppleTalk Remote Access (ARA) software. "I am most interested in seeing products that work with ARA," said Alan Alvaro, programmer analyst at Chevron Information Technology Co. in San Ramon, Calif. "Once users find they can remotely access network servers from home, they want to do it. So far, Apple's Internet Protocol router is not even ARA- compatible." Shiva Corp. of Cambridge, Mass., will be demonstrating the LanRover/L, its recently released ARA server, which is currently the only alternative to using a Mac to support PowerBook users and others dialing in via ARA. But savvy show goers will be looking for advance information about multiport ARA servers reportedly under development by Apple, Cayman Systems Inc., also of Cambridge; and Mountain View, Calif.- based Global Village Communication. Mac users will get a chance to try out TCP/IP applications on the Mactivity ShowNet. InterCon Systems Corp. of Herndon, Va., will announce InterSLIP, a $44.95 program set to ship next month. InterSLIP provides dial-up support for connecting Macs to TCP/IP nets. There will also be no shortage of innovation at this year's show. Salt Lake City-based Mainstream Data Inc. will team with CE Software Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa, to offer QuickMail access to satellite broadcasts of more than 50 news wire services. The conference will also feature a keynote address by Morris Taradalsky, general manager of Apple's Enterprise Systems Division, who is heading up the company's push into corporate networks. "I go to Mactivity to find out what I'm going to be installing next week and next year," said Leon Ablon, president of Ablon & Associates Inc., a New York-based network consulting firm. MacWEEK 07.13.92 News Page 1 (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- Quorum, Apple settle lawsuit By Carolyn Said Menlo Park, Calif. - Clearing a way for developers to port their Mac applications to Unix platforms without fear of legal repercussions, Quorum Software Systems Inc. last week settled its pending lawsuit against Apple. Quorum, which earlier this year announced Mac-to-Unix porting technology, had filed suit asking for a declaratory judgment that its software did not infringe Apple's copyrights or patents, as Apple reportedly claimed (see MacWEEK, May 18). Apple also had revoked Quorum's Apple developer status and barred it from the 1992 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Although terms of the settlement were not disclosed, the companies said Quorum will continue to develop and market its cross-platform products "without threat of legal action from Apple" and has been reinstated in the Apple Certified Developer program. However, "the two companies have no formal business relationship," the companies said. Observers said the settlement appeared to show Apple capitulating. "Maybe Apple thought they could buffalo Quorum," said Nina Lytton, editor of the Open Systems Advisor newsletter in Boston. "For this to have been dismissed, in my opinion, Apple must have admitted that Quorum was not infringing." "Apple was out of line in the first place," said Richard Shaffer, principal of Technologic Partners in New York. "Quorum didn't do reverse engineering. What they did was as clean as you can get." Quorum offers two porting products. Latitude, which recently shipped, lets developers modify their Mac applications to run on Unix machines, using a Unix graphical user interface such as Motif. Equal, expected by year-end as a retail product, will allow unconverted off-the-shelf Mac applications to boot under Unix. Rather than posing a threat to Apple, Quorum's products can actually help it, observers said. "Quorum's technology is ultimately beneficial to Apple. In a day when everyone has Windows on the brain, Apple needs to improve the case for the Mac, explaining why it's a compelling [platform for developers]," Shaffer said. "[Porting Mac applications to Unix] certainly won't cut into Mac sales. No one's going to buy a Silicon Graphics machine to run QuarkXPress, for example." Lytton agreed. "This is an overdue recognition of reality on the part of Apple. It's an outdated paradigm and not economically feasible" for developers to stick to a single platform. "This is a win-win for both companies," said Jay Friedland, Quorum vice president of marketing and sales. "Quorum now has a clear path moving into the future. For Apple, it's positive because its developers have broader markets." MacWEEK 07.13.92 News Page 1 (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- Excel remains at top with 4.0 By Rick LePage The most recent upgrade to Microsoft Excel, Version 4.0, comes about six months after the debut of Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 for Macintosh, almost a year after Claris Corp. released Resolve 1.0 and a mere 13 months after the shipment of Excel 3.0. Excel 3.0 was a major upgrade to the product; its additions and improvements - such as outlining, the Toolbar, new macros functionality, goal-seeking capabilities and style sheets - were impressive, and they helped to make Excel even more powerful than it had been before. Version 4.0 is an attempt by Microsoft Corp. to reach even further. Microsoft has added significantly to the program, while making it easier to use. The list of new and refined features is exhaustive. It includes major items, such as customizable Toolbars, an improved Solver, important scientific and statistical functions (see story, next page), drag-and-drop cell manipulation, improved formatting options, and a spelling checker. Microsoft has added a series of modules called Managers and Wizards that streamline formatting, create crosstabs from a database, build slide shows from a worksheet and more. Additions to the charting module include radar, 3-D surface and wireframe options. The interface for manipulating chart items has been improved significantly, and the Chart Wizard makes chart creation a breeze. Weighing in. Your first impression of Excel 4.0 will be based on its bulk. The program comes on seven 800-Kbyte floppy disks, and there are three hefty manuals. Firing up the new Microsoft Excel Setup program, you'll discover that the full complement of files will consume 8.7 Mbytes of your disk space. Microsoft's installer gives you the option of loading a smaller set of files - if you're not interested in the Solver or Analysis Toolpak, for instance - but you will need at least 5.4 Mbytes of free space for the minimum installation. Excel 4.0 itself is 1.8 Mbytes in size, 600 Kbytes more than its predecessor. The three-volume documentation is divided into two User's Guides and a Function Reference. The manuals cover the Macin- tosh and Microsoft Windows versions of the product. We initially thought this approach would be confusing, but we found the documentation extremely clear and complete overall. Since the majority of the core code is the same for each version and the basic operation of each is similar, the combined manuals make sense. Microsoft doesn't play favorites - both Macintosh and Windows screen dumps are sprinkled liberally throughout - and the few platform-specific differences are clearly marked. Tools of the trade. The last version of Excel had a single, fixed Toolbar that contained icons for the commands that Microsoft's research indicated users accessed most. Further research showed that users wanted a totally customizable Toolbar. Excel 4.0 not only sports a con-figurable Toolbar, it supports multiple Toolbars. Nine are shipped with the program, and you can modify, create and dis-play as many as you like, limited by available memory. Toolbars can be "docked" at the top or bottom of the screen or moved about and resized. Microsoft provides 140 built-in tools that can be used in a Toolbar, and with the capability to execute macros from a custom tool, the possibilities are endless. You can even paste pictures created in other applications into a tool, creating custom icons. Management by magic. Much of the new functionality in Excel 4.0 could impolitely be called smoke and mirrors, especially things such as the Managers and the Wizards. The Add-In Manager, View Manager and Crosstab Wizard functions are actually complex macros, but their origins should make little difference to the user. Microsoft has included a number of these add-ins with Excel 4.0: >Scenario Manager streamlines the "what-if" process for complex models, allowing you to create summary reports of different scenarios tested. >View Manager saves a snapshot of your current window display. You can have multiple views of a document and move between them as needed. >Report Manager allows you to consolidate portions of a vast worksheet into a single report. Reports can be saved with custom formatting of headers, margins and other items intact. >Crosstab Wizard builds crosstab tables from an Excel database. Crosstabs are new to Excel 4.0 and can be created through macro programming; the Crosstab Wizard helps automate the process of building these tables in a manner similar to that of the Chart Wizard. There also are add-ins that debug macros, create slide shows from worksheets and charts, implement a Microsoft Word- style Glossary add-in, create document summary information, and more. Workbooks. Multiple worksheets, charts and macro sheets can be bound together into a single document type called a Workbook. These files function like a notebook, allowing you to "flip" from file to file. The first page in a Workbook is a Table of Contents; double-clicking on a file name in its list takes you to that document. Files in a Workbook function the same as any normal Excel worksheet, macro sheet or chart. When you copy a Workbook in the Finder, all the files that make up that document are copied with it, which makes it an excellent format for keeping track of complex, multisheet projects. While the files that comprise a Workbook are usually stored in the Workbook itself, you can store a reference to an external file. These files are not copied with a Workbook if you move it around, but the capability to keep "unbound" files in a Workbook makes it easy to update items, such as a financial data worksheet used by many individuals on a network. Making worksheets tick. You will find thoughtful additions and refinements tucked into many of Excel 4.0's corners. The drag- and-drop cell manipulation feature is as intuitive as 1-2- 3/Mac's in-cell editing feature and is implemented very well. With this feature, you can easily move and copy cell ranges, apply automatic series creation, and more without having to access a menu command or the keyboard. Excel 4.0 has other nice touches such as a context-sensitive pop-up menu that displays different commands depending on the type of object the cursor is on. For instance, if the pop-up menu is invoked when the cursor is over a chart, chart formatting commands are shown, while a worksheet will have character and number formatting options available. The Paste Function dialog box has been nicely streamlined and redesigned. Instead of the single scrolling list box of previous functions, the dialog now has two list boxes. The first group functions by type, while the second displays a list of the functions for the chosen type. The Assign to Object dialog box now has a Record button for directly recording macros. You now can have a global macro sheet that opens as a hidden file every time Excel starts, making it simple to create a fully customized environment. Other macro enhancements include the capability to execute a macro when a worksheet is opened, closed or brought to the front. A Zoom tool has been added that allows you to view a document at any size from 10 percent to 400 percent. Drawing and object-manipulation features have been beefed up, and Excel now has a Freehand line tool and offers better control over the layering of objects. The spelling checker is flexible and easy to use. It strikes us as a bit superfluous to check spelling in a spreadsheet, but a Microsoft representative told us that it was one of the most requested features. A Group Edit feature allows you to make formatting changes easily to similar ranges in multiple documents. The list of modifications and enhancements to existing functionality could go on and on, but we wanted to mention a few small but important ones: >Excel 4.0 functions now support up to 30 arguments. >Tab and return characters can be added to a cell's contents. >Text in cells now can be vertically justified and centered. >An AutoFormat command formats a selected range with any one of 14 predesigned presentation templates. You have some control over formatting options, but you cannot create your own. >A Pause macro command has been added that allows macros to suspend operation. >It is no longer necessary to change a 3-D chart's orientation through a dialog box. You can easily reorient a chart view by dragging the chart's handles. Performance. Surprisingly, despite all the additions, we did not find Excel 4.0 sluggish. In our recalculation and database tests (see chart, Page 75), Excel 4.0 was imperceptibly slower than Excel 3.0, and it generally beat out Resolve and 1-2- 3/Mac. Even with all of the standard add-in macros installed, we saw no performance degradation, which surprised us. Another surprise was the fact that Excel 4.0 was able to load and work satisfactorily with an 800-Kbyte database file in a 1-Mbyte memory partition under System 7.0.1. This feat was impressive, although we would stick with Microsoft's recommended 2-Mbyte minimum whenever possible. We did find the Add-In Manager a bit slow to install and remove add-in macros, although the menu manipulation and linking that these procedures must deal with is complex. Accessing add-ins such as the View Man-ager and Report Manager also will create delays. Like any spreadsheet program, as you start to reach beyond the boundaries of normal use with large linked worksheets and massive macro sheets, you will find slowdowns. The complex calculations required by the Solver add-in can tie up your Macintosh, and Microsoft acknowledges this in the documentation by providing tips for trimming execution times. At some point, we would like to see a compiler of sorts for Excel worksheets and macros. Microsoft has made Excel a customizable program, although it takes a fair amount of experience and planning to take proper advantage of the environment. A compiler would help improve speed in complex applications. Lending a hand. Microsoft's on-line help for Excel is excellent. Hypertext-style links allow you to pop to related help topics easily, and all topics are thoroughly cross-referenced with the printed documentation. You now can copy the contents of a help screen to the Clipboard to paste into Excel or other applications. A History function saves a list of the help topics you have accessed during a session, and you can quickly go to frequently referred to topics by saving them as a Bookmark. You also can annotate help screens with notes and observations. System 7 users also will find that Excel's implementation of balloon help for System 7 users is very thorough. Problems? Microsoft has done its job well - it's hard to find chinks in Excel 4.0's armor. The program's bulk may be worrisome to people who put a premium on disk space; the AutoFormat command would be more useful to us if it were customizable like the Toolbars and allowed you to create your own types; and we want to see more than 16 colors available per worksheet. We are sure some disappointment will be felt by users who don't like delays when they choose an add-in command from a menu, no matter how complicated the procedure might be. Overall, however, there are few things to quibble over, especially given the scope of the program. Conclusions. With Excel 4.0, Microsoft has tried to improve usability and increase functionality, admirable goals for any software vendor. While we hear these platitudes often, it is rare to find them accomplished. Excel is $495. Upgrades are $99 (until Sept. 30) for users who purchased Version 3.0 before Feb. 1, and free to those who purchased it after that date. Microsoft Corp. is at 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, Wash. 98052- 6399. Phone (206) 882-8080; fax (206) 936-7329. Reviews Page 75 MacWEEK 07.13.92 (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- The following summaries are based on articles which appear in the July 13, 1992 (Volume 6, Number 26), issue of MacWEEK. ------------------ Reviews: ------------------ Excel remains at top with 4.0 On balance Microsoft Excel 4.0 Microsoft Corp. With the latest release of the premiere spreadsheet for the Mac, Microsoft has succeeded in laying to rest previous complaints about the program's usability and functionality. What is most impressive about Microsoft's efforts here is the scope of the undertaking - Excel shines with new features such as custom Toolbars, improved formatting options and Workbooks. The documentation is excellent and performance is very good, although some of the add-ins can slow things down when accessed. No matter how you total it up, Excel 4.0 is an excellent program with few flaws. ------------------ SnapBack needs flexibility On balance SnapBack Golden Triangle Computers Inc. SnapBack adds an interesting wrinkle to backup by combining a file server and a backup program. Its use of partitions, however, wastes disk space and is a nuisance to administer when the need to increase and decrease partition sizes arises. In addition, the selection interface is very limiting, and retrieval and restoring can be done only from the Finder. Backup speed was quite slow. Overall, we found that better results can be obtained with a conventional backup application and a properly configured AppleShare server. (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- The grand alliance: Apple, IBM still laying foundation for future By Andrew Gore Cupertino, Calif. - A year ago this month Apple and IBM Corp. made history when they announced the most far-reaching pact ever made between two computer companies. At the time, many observers were shocked by both the depth and breadth of the pact's five initiatives: >Joint development of connectivity products that improve interoperability between the partners' platforms. >A new family of PowerPC chips, based on IBM's RS/6000 processor architecture. >PowerOpen, a Unix platform that will combine IBM's AIX and Apple's A/UX. >Taligent Inc., a joint venture that will develop a fully object- oriented software environment. >Kaleida, a joint venture to create a consumer oper-ating system and a cross-platform multimedia standard, an equivalent of PostScript for multimedia-based content. According to David Nagel, senior vice president of Apple's Advanced Technology Group and a director on both Kaleida's and Taligent's boards, the pact has been making steady progress. "First of all, we were able to actually put the two joint ventures together," Nagel said. "Kaleida pulled up the rear, but these are difficult things to make happen." While Kaleida may have been the last piece to come together, Nagel said development of Kaleida's technologies, as well as Taligent's, has been ongoing since the alliance was first struck. "Taligent has fully made the transition from an R&D project to a commercial operation this year," Nagel said. Taligent's primary challenge for now, besides continued development, is figuring out where to position the operating system once it's done, he said. "Eventually, it may well be [a replacement for the Mac operating system]," Nagel said. The main reason Taligent is initially positioned for the information-systems environment is that it will require less customer education to sell such a sophisticated operating system in complex systems environments, he said. Although the partners haven't made much noise about PowerOpen, Nagel said work continues to progress on the Unix OS. "The great benefit of PowerOpen is it is a cross-platform system that will run on 68K (Motorola 680x0) and RS/6000. The great advantage is users can buy one OS and run all the Mac and RS/6000 applications," he said. Designing and building the RISC chips that will power Taligent, Mac, PowerOpen and OS/2 systems is ahead of schedule, Nagel said. "The PowerPC family has made a lot of progress," he said. "The new design center is running and nearly full-staffed, and that was put together very quickly." Another area where Apple and IBM have made strides is in enterprise computing, according to Nagel. Network management, AS/400 connectivity, Mac extensions for Systems Network Architecture and Apple token-ring technology are all products that either approached completion or were delivered in the first year. In general, the past year has taught the partners how to profit from each other's advantages. "We still compete like hell in the marketplace," Nagel said. "But in some circumstances, where customers have requested a mixed system, the companies are working together where before that would have been unthinkable." As for next year, Nagel hopes that the first major products resulting from the alliance will have shipped. "That certainly will be true of Kaleida. That will be the case with interoperability," he said. "The interesting thing will be to see how they do. "A complex deal [such as the alliance] really forces you to look at what you're really trying to do and find out what things are sacred to you, what aren't and what your destiny is," Nagel said. Apple-IBM News Special Report Page 59 MacWEEK 07.13.92 (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- Apple cuts dealer funding program Angry resellers vow to sell competing PCs By Daniel Todd Cupertino, Calif. - Apple has informed resellers that it will eliminate its dealer infrastructure funding program, effective next March. The program was established last October to help dealers offset the cost of selling and supporting high-end Macs. Angry resellers immediately reacted by saying they would increase sales of competing systems to recoup anticipated losses, making Apple the ultimate loser. "The solutions portion of the fund will be eliminated," said Bob Silver, manager of Apple's U.S. reseller channel development group. "But we will be announcing a new product bonus fund." Silver said while Apple believes the infrastructure funding program has helped resellers handle the cost of supporting and providing systems integration support for Apple's higher-end products, it has outlived its usefulness. "In most cases, the infrastructure that dealers need to support these products is in place and is self-funding," Silver said. However, dealers said the loss of funding from Apple will hurt their businesses and may force them to limit their Mac sales efforts. "This will have a direct impact on our profitability," said Simon Chow, president of Computer Selection, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based reseller. Chow said his company relies heavily on the infrastructure funding program to provide service and support. Dan Neesley, owner of Northshore Computers Inc. in Milwaukee, said the loss of Apple "soft dollars" will force him and other dealers to sell competing products that offer higher margins. His store, for instance, will now push products from Digital Equipment Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. Other resellers were less concerned about the impact of Apple's announcement, though. Ken Krich, president of ComputerWare in Palo Alto, Calif., said, "We are a mainstream store that sells the full line of Macs, so this won't affect our business as much as it will companies that specialize in higher-end Mac sales." Silver said Apple will introduce a new product bonus plan in October that should give resellers more funding for direct marketing and advertising. "We believe the new plan will put more marketing funds into the channel and allow resellers to reach industry associations and other groups they haven't been able to in the past," Silver said. Resellers are taking a wait-and-see approach toward the bonus plan. "The question now becomes how these bonuses will be structured," Krich said. "If they apply to products that are moving in volume, and not just products that are sitting on the shelves, it could help a lot." BusinessWatch Page 52 MacWEEK 07.13.92 (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- The following summaries are based on articles which appear in the July 13, 1992 (Volume 6, Number 26), issue of MacWEEK. ------------------ BusinessWatch: ------------------ Apple cuts dealer funding program Angry resellers vow to sell competing PCs Apple has informed resellers that it will eliminate its dealer infrastructure funding program, effective next March. The program was established last October to help dealers offset the cost of selling and supporting high-end Macs. Angry resellers immediately reacted by saying they would increase sales of competing systems to recoup anticipated losses, making Apple the ultimate loser. ------------------ With eyes on multimedia market, Aldus acquires Fetch database With an eye on the multimedia market, Aldus Corp. last week announced its acquisition of a multi-user, mixed-media database application. Code-named Fetch, the program lets users catalog, browse and retrieve digital media in such file formats as QuickTime, Adobe Photoshop, Encapsulated PostScript, TIFF and snd. Fetch records low-resolution thumbnails of images, which stay in their original location until the application retrieves them.Aldus said it immediately will begin licensing the Fetch technology as a "browsing interface" for companies that publish collections of clip art, photographs, QuickTime movies and sound clips. (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- Coverage of the following companies appears in the July 13, 1992 (Volume 6, Number 26), issue of MacWEEK. See the appropriate page number in the printed edition for more information. ---------------------------------- Products mentioned in this issue ----------- ----------------------- Adobe Systems..................Premiere 2.0............1 Advanced Software..............DocuCompII.............14 AG Group.......................TokenPeek..............33 Aldus..........................Fetch..................52 Andrew.........................MacTwin................34 Andrew.........................NetAxcess..............34 Andrew.........................TokenAxcess............34 Andrew.........................TwinAxcess.............34 Andyne.........................Computing GQL 3.0......34 Andyne.........................Computing Omnis 7 1.1...................34 Apple..........................A/UX 3.0...............84 Apple..........................PowerBook 100...........3 Apple..........................System 7................1 Artisoft.......................LANtastic for Macintosh.............30 AsantTechnologies..............Hub/12.................30 Banyan.........................Vines 5.0..............35 Baseline Publishing............I Like Icons............8 Baseline Publishing............Spectator...............8 Business Sense.................Business Sense 1.6.....27 Canon USA......................BX printer engine.......1 Caravelle Networks.............NetWorks 2.0...........32 CE Software....................Alarming Events 1.1....10 CEL Software...................Blacksmith 1.07........34 Compatible Systems.............Ether*Route/TCP 640....30 Compatible Systems.............Ether*Route/TCP........30 Compatible Systems.............RISC*Router 3000E.................30 CTA............................TextPert OCR software..............18 Dantz..........................Development DiskFit Pro 1.1................8 Dayna Comms....................DaynaStar MiniHub......30 Dayna Comms....................PathFinder.............30 Digital Products...............ShareTalk..............32 Digital Products...............SprintTalk/25E.........32 Dow Jones & Co.................DowVision..............32 Electronics for Imaging........Fiery ColorLaser.......14 Essential Software.............Easy Alarms 2.0........20 Extreme Systems................Extender...............26 Falcon Microsystems............KeepInTouch............16 Famous Engineer Brand Software digiMatic 2.0..........14 Farallon Computing.............Ether10-T Starlet......28 Fifth Generation Systems.......Fastback Express........6 Fulcrum Technologies...........Ful/Text Version 6.....26 FWB............................Hard Disk ToolKit Personal Edition.......8 Gibbs and Associates...........Gibbs System 4.2.......25 Global Village Communication...TelePort/Fax 9600 SendFAX...............30 Golden Triangle Computers......SnapBack 1.0...........78 Informix.......................Software Wingz 2.0......3 InterCon Systems...............InterSLIP...............1 Jeddak.........................SoftLibrarian..........34 Kiwi Software..................Kiwi Power Menus.......16 Lotus Development..............Notes 3.0...............1 Mac*VONK USA...................InForum 1.0............88 Mainstream Data................Newscast for QuickMail.............28 MarketPlace Information........MarketPlace Business..............14 Mass Microsystems..............HitchHiker.............17 Maxen..........................Freedom 120............78 Metatec........................In an Instant..........54 Microsoft......................Excel 4.0.........75, 162 Microsoft......................LAN Manager for NT......4 Microsoft......................Project 3.0.............1 Microsoft......................Windows 3.1...........159 Microsoft......................Windows NT..............4 Microsoft......................Works 3.0...............1 Midnight Software..............DupLocator.............84 Mirror Technologies............Mirror Pocket 40.......17 Mirror Technologies............Mirror Pocket 80.......17 Mitsubishi Intl................i-Printer series.......42 Nest Software..................MacQuill...............20 New Video......................EyeQ 750/8 Authoring Solution... .......40 New Video......................EyeQ 750/8 Playback Solution..............40 Newer Technology...............Variable Speed Overdrive..............9 NewGen Systems.................TurboPS/630En...........9 NewGen Systems.................TurboPS/660.............9 Nikkon Electronic Imaging......ImageAccess............42 No Hands Software..............Magnet..................6 Novell DataClub................Repair Patch...........96 Npath Software.................Tableworks Shortcut....44 Pacer Software.................DAL Server for AIX.....28 Pacer Software.................PacerForum.............88 Personal Library Software......PL/MAC.................27 Personal Training Systems......Personal Training for Microsoft Excel 4.0...20 Photon Imaging.................Laserfan................6 Screen USA.....................DT-S1015...............42 Seikosha America...............SP-2415AP...............8 ShirtPocket Software...........EasyServer Python......33 ShirtPocket Software...........EasyServer Viper.......86 ShirtPocket Software...........SpeedyCD...............20 Shiva..........................Hublet.................30 Sigma Designs..................MultiMode 120...........9 Sigma Designs..................MultiMode 150...........9 Softsync.......................Accountant, Inc. 3.0...80 Sonic Systems..................Diskless Mac (TDM).....33 Sony Electronic Publ. Group....RGM-1901 Reference Graphic Monitor.......10 Startup Talking Networks.......Talking Router..........1 Strata.........................StrataClip 3d..........44 Strata.........................StrataType 3d..........44 SuperMac Technology............ThunderStorm...........40 Symantec.......................Q&A for the Macintosh..............3 Synergy Software...............VersaTilities..........30 Tandberg Data..................Panther 2000...........26 Tandem Computers...............MacOffender............28 Tandem Computers...............Tandem VLX.............28 Tandem Computers...............TandemTalk.............28 Tech Noir......................QuadCache25.............4 Tech Noir......................QuadCache33.............4 Tenon Intersystems.............MachTen................85 Torque Systems.................RenderServer...........44 TotalIntegration...............FASTedit/CT............44 Tuesday Software...............Tbx System.............25 Utilitron......................Guaranteed Undelete....14 Varityper......................Series 3000 Imagesetting System...40 YARC Systems...................Presenter Professional 3-D 1.2...............40 YARC Systems...................YARCRenderMan..........40 (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ----------------------- Excel 4.0 by the numbers In the modern age of media dominance, the message is often hidden in the numbers. For example, how many Southerners, real or imaginary, can simultaneously mount a credible quest for the presidency? If you turned to your handy spreadsheet to figure out the answer, chances are pretty good the spreadsheet that you launched was from Microsoft. In fact, judging from the units shipped of the new version of Excel in the last three weeks of June, there is a growing probability that now you're using Excel 4.0. The Knife has learned that during that brief period, Microsoft shipped an astounding 142,000 copies to the channels. Sources say that about half was the upgrade package. But no matter how you slice and dice these numbers, the bottom line is that this is probably the most successful Mac application launch ever. With sales performance figures like that, it's easy to understand why Microsoft and Apple are getting together this week to publicly reinforce their mutually beneficial (albeit somewhat dysfunctional) relationship. Things happen mighty fast in the exciting world of microcomputers, and companies that don't cultivate strategic alliances often are left behind. You can think of it as corporate co-dependency. Windows pain. With Windows being the smash hit that it is in the free marketplace, it's not surprising that Insignia Solutions, the company that invented IBM PC emulation on the Mac, is preparing to take the next logical step. Sources tell the Knife that next month the company will announce a Windows emulation product for the Mac. Actual shipments should begin in early fall. This exercise in overlapping Windows technology should at the very least inspire some creative advertising copy. A way out of InBox. The Knife has received reports that CE Software last week signed a deal with Sitka to take over support for InBox, Sitka's nearly moribund electronic-mail product. Not all the details have been finalized, but Sitka is known to have insisted that its InBox customers not feel abandoned because of the deal. Sources have told the Knife that current InBox users will be offered a low-cost upgrade to CE's QuickMail. That alone should ease tensions in some quarters. Some skeptical types have speculated that CE was at least partially motivated to acquire InBox by the prospect of acquiring the Sitka mailing list. Sitka has bundled InBox with TOPS, its peer-to-peer networking product that at the height of its popularity enjoyed an installed base of more than 600,000 nodes. CE could acquire a few hundred thousand new clients as a result of the deal. The whole thing should be finalized in time for next month's Macworld Expo in sunny Boston. GO AT&T. There is a lot of interest in the upcoming AT&T Co.-GO Corp. announcement. Sources have told the Knife that AT&T's major contribution (besides the cash money) to the suspiciously PDA-like products the two companies are expected to jointly announce is the Hobbit RISC chip that will drive them. Those who keep up with such matters will remember that Hobbit was originally developed expressly for Apple's own line of PDAs. Of course, the real irony of this situation is that while the Apple PDA OS is still in development, GO's is almost ready to, well, go. As a result, the pricey AT&T-labeled PDAs might very well appear in executive briefcases before fruits of Apple's high-profile efforts begin to roll off the assembly line. n Don't let this week's orgy of moderation in New York distract you from the acquisition of that MacWEEK mug. If you've got the info, the Knife's got the time. Contacts begin at (415) 243-3500, fax (415) 243-3650, MCI (MactheKnife), AppleLink (MacWEEK) and CompuServe/ZiffNet/Mac. MacWEEK 07.13.92 Mac the Knife Page 162 (c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. -----------------------