Media Share 9/MEDIASHARE_09.ISO/private/mpc93mar.zip/COMDEX.DAT

Text File | 1993-02-14 | 14KB | 233 lines

                            Report from Comdex

          By: Rod McKenzie, Contributing Editor, Madison PC User's Group

     Personal computers have now been around for over ten years.  Attending
     the 1992 version of Comdex, I get the impression that the second
     decade will bring even greater changes than what we've seen to date.
     The changes that computers will make on our everyday lives will be
     even more profound than the changes we have seen so far.  Processor
     power which has increased at a rate of roughly double every 18 months
     will surpass 500 MIPS before the end of the decade. Intel's Pentium
     microprocessor contains parallel processing of instructions,
     implementing a combination of RISC as well as CISC technology.

     The key to change and growth will be increases in mass memory storage
     and rapid access to the stored data.  The highest performance PCs will
     contain substantial solid state memory as well as large hard drives.
     Large cache memory at the processor level is already a reality.

     After arriving in Las Vegas, amid a lot of fanfare, it was clear that
     Microsoft was using the event to launch themselves squarely into the
     database market. Listening to other industry leaders, they made it
     clear that Microsoft's move is well timed.  Microsoft announced two
     products, FoxPro 2.5 for Windows and DOS, along with Access for
     Windows.  The already announced Windows for Workgroup attracted a lot
     of attention since this was the first chance many people had to see
     the product up close.  Another debut in the Microsoft booth was Video
     for Windows.  Full motion video attracted a lot of attention, being
     shown in business applications as well as entertainment applications.

     How business users work with computers will continue to change.
     Lotus' presentation to user group representatives featured John
     Landry, their Senior Technology Officer.  He shrugged off the title of
     Chief Propeller Head, claiming that he preferred instead the moniker
     "Main Techno-Weinie."  He described the old, pre-1990s state of
     affairs for the PC user as data-centric, static, and clerical.  The
     post-1990s model is communications centered, or comm-centric,
     professional, and dynamic.  This becomes a reality when all of the
     information needed to make a decision, or even just to make progress
     in a sequence of tasks, is available on the computer.

     Earlier in the week a speaker from Adobe told users about the
     electronic page. They referred to this dynamic exchange of data within
     a work group not as "information at your finger tips," as Bill Gates
     has phrased it, but Information In Your Face!  The workgroup that uses
     this approach will need substantial database resources.  They will
     need to be "rich," consisting of text, graphics objects, spreadsheets,
     numericals, and even sound and video objects.

     Intel presented their new full motion video called INDEO, for INtel
     viDEO. They showed teleconferencing as well as E-Mail with imbedded
     video and sound clips.  Don't expect to run this with only an 80 MB
     hard disk.  Network servers that support these applications will need
     to be some of the hottest hardware around.

     Lotus Notes is one of the comm-centric applications now in wide use.
     It draws on a database of shared information.  Lotus includes a whole
     programming language that lets users or developers create new
     documents from the contents of the database.  Graphs, tables,
     presentations, text documents, as well as spreadsheets can be
     integrated into Notes applications.

                                On the floor

     Comdex occupied seven sites and over two million square feet of
     displays.  The most interesting products I saw were the notebook and
     handbook-sized computers. For some users these small wonders can
     displace the desktop completely. High-speed modems, memory modules,
     and even network adapters in the credit card size PCMCIA format are
     now available.

     IBM made a good showing of OS/2.  The applications software vendors
     demonstrated their products within several IBM booths, as well as
     independently.  Business users could find applications for inventory
     control, job-cost accounting, payroll, and other jobs reserved to the
     corporate environment.  Fortunately the more popular applications,
     word processors, graphics, spreadsheets, and page layout software were
     demonstrated, too.

     Stac Electronics is getting closer to releasing the drivers for using
     those stacked drives under OS/2.  No promises were given but first
     quarter 1993 seems to be the expected time for that release.  Symantec
     is shipping Norton Commander for OS/2 and plans to bring out other
     products for 32-bit operating systems, including Windows NT.

     One product stands out as a very definite step forward in PC software.
     IMPROV, by Lotus, is a dynamic spreadsheet.  It allows the user to
     group entries into categories and then change the relationship of the
     groups to see quickly the data from different points of view.  This
     software will make the development of numerically based models easier.
     Manipulating the model, making the "what-if's" will be easily done,
     even on large ranges and many categories. Formulae writing for the
     spreadsheet is done with English names for the variables, simply using
     the categories.  An earlier IMPROV has been available on the NeXT
     computer for several years.  It should be a powerful tool for sales,
     financial, and engineering analysis.

     Not to be outdone by a younger sibling, 1-2-3 for Windows version 2.0
     got into the act.  Lotus product managers demonstrated this new
     version of their flagship product.  Many new features, too many to
     list them all, but two that I really think make it stand out: cell
     labels can be rotated to allow long column titles over narrow columns,
     and in-cell editing.  The latter means that when you click on a cell
     that's where the cursor appears.  It's no longer necessary to move up
     to the status line up by the menu bar to edit the cell's contents.

     Other vendors were showing video products to collect images, edit them
     and replay them on their own, or imbedded into other applications.
     Microsoft's Video for Windows allows users to imbed their video
     objects into documents, presentations, or spreadsheets.  The
     independent software and hardware vendors have been busy making new
     products that will further extend this technology.

     The cost to include this technology is file space.  The typical full
     motion video file will grow in size by 15K per second.  A two minute
     video sequence would occupy nearly 2 MB of disk space.  Full motion
     video clearly shows the limitations of the 386 class of machines.
     Even the fastest 386 shows noticeable pauses and jumps as it struggles
     to keep up with the action.  On the other hand, the slowest of the 486
     class of CPUs delivered smooth video in comparisons of systems by
     Intel.

                      Data Communications and Fax

     I was impressed with the large number of vendors who are now offering
     14.4K bps modems.  They showed units in every conceivable form factor,
     internal, external, pocket modems, and custom internals.  Expect
     prices to drop fairly fast with this much competition around.  Some of
     these are in the PCMCIA format, measuring only 2"x3.5"x0.25".  The
     newest generation of notebook PCs have one or more slots for these
     tiny peripherals.

     Mustang Software recently acquired the shareware product, Silly Little
     Mail Reader, a.k.a. "Slimer."  Besides commercializing the product and
     renamed it Off-Line Express, they've added mail reading capability to
     QModem Pro.  The user can download their mail, sign off the BBS, go
     off line and read the mail while still in the communications program.
     It can flag individual messages and carbon-copy replies.  Messages and
     replies can be made to recipients using different mail modes: QWK
     packets, MCI Mail, CIS Mail, and even sent to a fax machine.  Mustang
     is perhaps best known to users for their BBS software, Wildcat.  They
     demonstrated an eight line BBS running from one 386-class machine
     using external modems and an 8-line Digiboard.  The performance was
     really impressive considering the whole system could be safely stacked
     on a cafeteria tray.

     Most of the vendors of fax software showed versions with OCR
     capability. Delrina Technology's WinFAX Pro is now at version 3.0.
     There's BitFAX for Window/OCR, Eclipse FAX/OCR, and ZSoft now offers
     UltraFAX, to name a few of the more popular products.  Phoenix, the
     BIOS manufacturer, has entered the FAX software arena, and Smith
     Software, a maker of OEM fax software, is now offering retail versions
     of their products, dialing directories, and fax modem software with
     OCR.

     In a recent acquisition, Delrina Technology bought Amaze!nc., the
     producers of the FarSide Calendar and the Kathy Planner.  They have
     stated plans to integrate these with the capabilities of their fax
     products.  We should brace ourselves for flying cows and other
     cartoons from Larson's mind on fax coversheets.  Is corporate America
     ready for this madness?  Well, some people think that corporate
     America already IS madness.

     On the OS/2 front, FAXPro, in Solona Beach, California, is near the
     point of releasing their OS/2 faxing software.  They have a Windows
     product, too.

     Practical Peripherals has introduced a new product called FAXME that
     plugs into one of the cartridge slots of an HP LaserJet II or III
     printer.  It receives incoming faxes and prints them if the printer is
     available.  It draws its power from the printer so it will receive
     faxes provided that they laser printer remains on.  Here's plain paper
     faxing at a cost of $250.

     Another company, a small startup called Teledisk Systems, offers a fax
     receiver that will work with any LaserJet compatible.  Unlike the
     FAXME, their product, FaxPak, has its own power supply and does not
     require that the printer remain on to receive faxes.  There's enough
     memory in the FaxPak to hold 40 pages of faxes.  If there's a fax in
     memory, a warning light on the unit is illuminated.  When the printer
     is turned on, the faxes are transferred to the printer and are printed
     out.  Their list price is $300.

                                In Closing

     Philippe Kahn talked to user group representatives on a rather
     informal basis at a breakfast hosted by Borland.  He reminded users
     that the microcomputer industry is led, in his words, by a "bunch of
     privileged prima donnas."  They have been extremely successful, and
     benefited a great deal from the relentless expansion of the computer
     market, even in the face of world wide recession. He challenged the
     industry to find ways to enrich all members of society, not to further
     its own profits, but to meet its responsibility.

     Emphasizing education and enabling projects, he called on corporations
     to follow his lead.  He committed Borland to donate network database
     software and standard PC based applications to groups working in
     community service.  He further committed to subsidize the development
     of appropriate applications that will make these systems genuinely
     useful.  His theme stressed the importance of extending the reach and
     effectiveness of volunteer and non-profit contributions to society
     through effective use of computer technology.

     Philippe also explained that the newest versions of Quattro Pro for
     DOS and for Windows were completely re-written.  This was done so that
     future versions could be provided using "reusable" code.  The testing
     and debugging required more time.  He has insisted that this product
     be rock solid in performance, rather than something rushed to market
     with problems.  Quattro Pro for Windows is now shipping and has
     received high marks from early users.

                        Awarding Service Projects

     User groups who have active projects to extend computer use in
     community service may be able to gain recognition and additional
     funding for their work. A new series of awards called REACH, has been
     established with industry backing to promote the volunteer activities
     of user groups.  They will highlight efforts in educational projects,
     computerization of community activities, and computer enabled
     assistance to individuals with disabilities.

     REACH stands for Recognizing Exceptional Achievement in Community
     Help.  There will be five awards of $15,000 each, given at Windows
     World, Spring 1993. Given the time limit for applications, it's
     unlikely that the selection committee will consider projects not
     already well along.  One qualification for the awards is that a
     project should be something that could also be done in another
     community or in another setting.  As examples of excellence, it's
     important that award willing projects could be copied if appropriate,
     or modified to fit individual or local needs.