The low-end business model of Apple's second-generation Power Macs has reportedly been delayed until July of next year. The delay may be worthwhile because the new Power Mac will borrow technology from other members of its immediate family.
While the models code-named TNT, Tsunami and Nitro are still expected in May, the Power Mac 6100 replacement, code-named Catalyst, and the entry-level Alchemy will reportedly be held until shortly before Macworld Expo in Boston (see MacWEEK, June 13, Page 1). This should help keep buyers focused on the more powerful models and help exhaust inventories of the 6100, sources said.
Catalyst is designed to be the lowest-priced Power Mac with multiple PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slots; prices are expected to be $2,000 and less. Based on a PowerPC 601 processor, Catalyst will handle chip speeds as fast as 150 MHz, but sources said current plans are for it to run at 80 MHz. Unlike the three more powerful members of the family, Catalyst will not easily upgrade to a more powerful chip, such as a PowerPC 604.
It will reportedly arrive with at least 8 Mbytes of memory, expandable with four SIMM slots, and an optional cache of up to 1 Mbyte. While there will be no built-in video I/O, 1 Mbyte of video RAM will come standard, with support for up to 4 Mbytes.
Ethernet will be standard, with support for 10BASE T and Apple AUI (Attachment Unit Interface) connectors. Two GeoPort-compatible serial ports; a standard SCSI connector; and 16-bit, 44-kHz sound-in and -out jacks will round out Catalyst's back panel. Internal hard drive support will reportedly come via a standard SCSI connector, unlike Alchemy's IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) connector. In addition to stacked floppy and CD-ROM drives, Catalyst will include space for one 5.25-inch and one 3.5-inch internal drive.
Like the three models due in May, Catalyst will use several technologies designed by Apple to accelerate system performance, sources said. It has a standard PCI bus for some components and a proprietary Apple RISC Bus (ARBus) for those demanding the greatest throughput. Sitting on the PCI side of the bridge are chips designed specifically to improve the performance of the serial, Ethernet and SCSI ports.
Those components relying on ARBus will get a boost from additional chips intended to speed QuickDraw graphics, memory and cache transfers, and video performance. Sources said Apple's early tests showed existing software running at least 30 percent faster on Catalyst prototypes than on Power Macs at identical clock speeds without being optimized for Catalyst's new technologies.
Apple declined to comment.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
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(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
News: PowerPC servers now Novell's PIN platform
By Stephen Howard
Apple's PowerPC-based Workgroup Servers have been promoted to the new "reference platform" for Novell Inc.'s Processor Independent NetWare, company executives said at NetWorld+Interop 94 in Atlanta last week. Unfortunately, this raised status will delay the software's release.
Last week, President and CEO Bob Frankenberg detailed a strategic shake-up that will limit the Provo, Utah-based Novell to fewer businesses and technologies. Published reports of his moves and comments by company executives set off speculation that Processor Independent NetWare, or PIN, on the PowerPC might not make the cut. But according to Susan Hanson, director of product marketing for PIN, the project to put NetWare on Apple hardware survived Novell's internal review and business analysis.
Novell said it is staying the PPC course, despite the upheaval for PIN this summer. After Hewlett-Packard Co. decided to cancel its PIN version, Novell switched the focus of its porting efforts to Apple servers, said Richard King, executive vice president of the NetWare Systems Group.
This new importance has pushed back Novell's release of PowerPC PIN from the end of 1994 to mid-1995. Hanson said the company is very likely to ship it in the first quarter. However, mid-1995 would be the worst-case time frame.
While Novell is doing most of the work, Apple said it is writing the platform-specific portions and testing PIN in parallel to Novell's work. Apple had been expected to release PIN with its new line of PowerPC servers, which now could be delayed.
NetWare 4.1, which forms the basis of PIN's code, is in beta and will ship by early December. King said future versions of PIN will follow the Intel-standard releases more closely.
For PIN, "our first priority is to ship an equivalent to red-box NetWare," King said. The initial PowerPC release will include file and print server NLMs [NetWare Loadable Modules], along with NLMs for Mac clients and AppleTalk, directory services, routing, and storage management. Ported versions of NetWare for SAA and Network File System NLMs will follow; King said the company will announce a shipping schedule for these add-ons when NetWare 4.1 ships.
About a dozen third parties are working on additional NLMs for PowerPC PIN, he said.
In other Novell news, the release dates of more-capable Mac clients for NetWare are also slipping. NetWare Core Protocols and NetWare Directory Services were to hit Macintosh desktops this year, with a second release by mid-1995 (see MacWEEK, Aug. 1, Page 12). But MacNCP might not ship until the first quarter of 1995.
The advanced 3-D interface to network services resurrected by Frankenberg will not be brought to the Mac by Novell, King said. However, talks with Apple indicate it might be interested in licensing some of the technology, he said.
Frankenberg's biggest news, that Novell would release in 1996 a new network operating system called SuperNOS, will affect managers of Macs and Intel-standard PCs. Novell is aiming for a processor-independent code base in SuperNOS, but the software is likely to be Intel-only initially. Novell officials would not promise seamless connectivity to SuperNOS from existing NetWare requesters on client desktops.
SuperNOS will be a distributed operating system based on object-oriented technologies. King said Novell will detail its object strategy at the end of October but that the OpenDoc format definitely will be supported in SuperNOS, along with Microsoft Corp.'s OLE (Object Linking and Embedding).
MacWEEK 09.19.94
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News: OpenDoc, OLE squaring off
By Jon Swartz
OpenDoc proponents landed a series of body blows that sent Microsoft Corp.'s OLE 2.0 efforts reeling last week.
Adobe Systems Inc. joined Component Integration Labs Inc., the nonprofit association promoting OpenDoc technology, and Novell Inc. adamantly rebutted a rumor published elsewhere that it planned to defect from CI Labs.
In addition, MacWEEK learned that CI Labs plans to significantly expand its base of OpenDoc developers by offering detailed technical information and support this year to in-house corporate and small developers for as little as $495.
Microsoft responded by pushing vendors to bypass OpenDoc and create applications exclusively for OLE, or Object Linking and Embedding 2.0.
That message didn't seem to influence Adobe, however. The OLE developer last week joined OpenDoc sponsors Apple, IBM Corp. and Novell, and vowed to concentrate its efforts on creating OpenDoc versions of Acrobat 2.0, PageMaker and Persuasion. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company will also continue its OLE development.
"We feel OpenDoc and OLE both are valid cross-platform, open document architectures," said Eric Zocher, vice president of engineering for Adobe's applications products division.
At the same time, a Novell official disavowed reports that the Provo, Utah-based company had caved in to pressure from Microsoft and would switch development camps. "There is no truth whatsoever to the story," said Bill Kesselring, manager of OpenDoc technology at Novell. "We remain strongly committed, as always, to OpenDoc."
While Adobe and Novell threw their support behind OpenDoc, a handful of developers claim Microsoft has been coaxing them to develop only for OLE.
One East Coast developer said he received a call from the Redmond, Wash.-based software company after he was quoted in a computer magazine praising OpenDoc. Although he said he wasn't pressured, Microsoft insisted on sending him information about OLE so he could reconsider his position. "[Microsoft's] paranoia is obvious," the developer said. "They've based their future architecture on OLE 2.0."
Other developers claimed that Microsoft used more strong-arm tactics to keep them firmly in the OLE camp. All developers interviewed for this story asked for anonymity, fearing their support from Microsoft would be diminished.
"People are under the impression that they won't get Microsoft support if they work with OpenDoc," Novell's Kesselring said. "OpenDoc poses a threat to [Microsoft's] proprietary technology, which is the source of its revenue."
However, Doug Henrich, director of Microsoft's developer relations group, said the company is working with "so many people developing OLE components we're stretched to keep up with their requests. I would never categorize us as threatening or pressuring developers. If [someone at Microsoft were to do that], they would be fired."
With so much riding on the bottom line, OpenDoc sponsors, as well as the OLE bloc -- Microsoft, Oracle Corp., Caere Corp. and others -- are going to great lengths to expand support for their side.
Andy Poupart, vice president of operations at CI Labs, said the association is exploring several ways to give corporate and individual developers value-added technical information and support. Pricing for the service, which is expected to be announced by the end of the year, has yet to be determined. The service does not include full CI Labs membership.
In related news, Apple denied reports that it had only just decided to make OpenDoc work with OLE 2.0. A company spokeswoman said Apple has always intended to provide interoperability between the two architectures (see MacWEEK, May 17, 1993, Page 1).
MacWEEK 09.19.94
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(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
News: On-line market set to explode
By James Staten
If the on-line services industry hopes to woo the broad consumer market, it will need to change dramatically, said industry experts who gathered at The Online Developers Conference here last week. Many believe some of today's leaders may not survive.
"They will see expansion through millions more early adopters, but most [commercial services] are really hard to use, their cost too high and the bandwidth too low to do anything interesting," said Tom Mandel, consulting editor for Time Online, based in New York.
Gary Arlen, president of Arlen Communications of Bethesda, Md., said, "Neither America Online [Inc.] nor Prodigy [Services Co.] has a loyal enough or large enough customer base to say that people will stay with them."
Experts said commercial services have benefited greatly from early adopters in business. But as they begin to court consumers, these services are experiencing member-retention problems spurred by a lack of differentiation and a failure to provide a compelling multimedia experience.
To lure new users and set themselves apart, AOL, Delphi Internet Services and Prodigy will debut new graphical user interfaces this fall, and CompuServe and AOL will ship Mac CD-ROM multimedia interfaces next year.
Most analysts, though, said they felt that these changes will do little to improve retention rates. "The only differentiation they can hope for is in content," said Lisa Johnson, senior analyst at Link Resources Inc. of New York. "Right now, there aren't a lot of things you can't find on most of the services."
AOL and Prodigy debuted movie clips and multimedia news services; however, their competitors have quickly matched these offerings.
Johnson and other analysts said that while the competition between rival services is heating up, a bigger threat may come from players currently in the content-provider role, such as Time-Warner Inc. and Viacom Inc.
"Most of the content areas on commercial services are research and development efforts where the providers are learning about the business," said Thomas Morgan, vice president of BroadVision Inc., a consumer interactive-services business-development organization in San Mateo, Calif. "What you will see are defectors to new services and larger providers forming their own services.
"If Microsoft Corp. comes out with [its proposed on-line service code-named] Marvel ..., the industry is going to change dramatically," he said.
Marvel is expected to be similar to an Internet-accessible eWorld, sources said. The Redmond, Wash.-based company intends the service to provide Windows users with affordable on-line technical support, a broad range of educational and entertainment forums, plus full Internet access.
Sources said the company is courting a variety of heavy hitters in the entertainment and financial markets. Specifically, Microsoft is calling on retired co-founder Paul Allen to make his holdings -- which include TicketMaster Inc.; Egghead Software Inc.; Stats Inc., a sports statistics company; and TeleScan, a real-time financial information company -- available on Marvel.
Marvel is expected to be integrated into the Windows operating system, going one step further than Apple's distribution system for eWorld.
"By making it part of Windows, Microsoft can potentially hand it to nearly 85 percent of all PC users," Johnson said.
Industry experts said they also expect Microsoft to price Marvel as much as 50 percent less than current commercial service prices.
"[Microsoft] would essentially be making [users] an offer you can't refuse," Johnson said. "It would grow the market exponentially overnight."
MacWEEK 09.19.94
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(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
News: HP takes color to the masses
Color LaserJet offers speed, low-cost pages
By Matthew Rothenberg
Hewlett-Packard Co. this week will enter the color laser printer race when it unveils the Color LaserJet.
The new model, which is reportedly based on a Konica engine, can output 10 black-and-white or two color pages per minute at a resolution of 300 by 300 dpi; it can print one color transparency per minute.
The Color LaserJet applies CMYK toners directly to the photosensitive drum, then prints them to paper in a single pass, which the company said minimizes registration problems. Each toner color is stored in individual bottles, making it simpler to replenish specific colors.
Besides letter-size color pages, the Color LaserJet will also be able to print black-and-white tabloid pages. According to sources, HP's forthcoming LaserJet 4MV also will handle tabloid-size output (see MacWEEK, Sept. 5, Page 1).
The printer also includes HP's Resolution Enhancement Technology software, which smoothes rough edges on printed text and graphics.
The Color LaserJet can be configured with Adobe PostScript Level 2 as well as 35 Type 1 fonts. It supports automatic switching between PostScript and HP PCL 5, HP said.
The Color LaserJet ships standard with an HP Bi-Tronics parallel interface; LocalTalk, EtherTalk and a variety of other network connections are available via HP's JetDirect multiprotocol interface cards, which fit into the printer's I/O slot.
It runs on a 20-MHz AMD 29030 RISC processor and will ship standard with 8 Mbytes of RAM, which can be expanded to 72 Mbytes. HP recommends that users who want to print PostScript documents install at least 12 Mbytes of RAM.
An HP PCL 5-only version of the Color LaserJet starts at $7,295; a Mac configuration with optional PostScript as well as LocalTalk and Ethernet interfaces will cost $8,500, the company said.
According to Greg Porell, director of color-imaging products and systems at BIS Strategic Decisions Inc. of Norwell, Mass., HP's entry into the color laser printer market will "move color out of niche, vertical markets into everyday work-flow documents."
Porell said the low consumables cost per copy with color laser printers -- about 2.6 cents for black-and-white and 9 cents for color output -- and the convenience of proofing and printing on the same machine brings "on-demand printing down to a general level."
"HP is recognized as the leader in office printing," Porell said. "Now that they're blessing the color laser market, it's helpful for QMS [Inc.] and Xerox [Corp.] and helpful for everybody who's going to come out" with new models.
Hewlett-Packard Co. of Cupertino, Calif., can be reached at (800) 752-0900.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
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(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
News: CD recorder supports daisychaining of drives
By Robin Meyerowitz
Smart and Friendly is now shipping a line of dual-speed devices for recording CD-ROMs.
The CD-R 2000 series has a daisychaining capability that lets up to three CD recorders connect to a workstation to record multiple discs simultaneously. This feature has been available only in the Sony CDW-900E CD Recorder, which can daisychain up to 16 units at a time.
The Smart and Friendly CD-R 2000 also supports the Redbook audio format, which lets users record discs that can be played back on any CD player.
The CD-R 2000 is available in two Mac configurations. The $4,399 CD-R 2000/P Professional, intended for multisession recording, includes GEAR mastering software from Elektroson USA of Bala Cynwyd, Pa. The CD-R 2000/MA Multimedia Authoring format, which lists for $5,699, also includes Macromedia Director.
Smart and Friendly said the CD-R 2000 can record a 650-Mbyte CD-ROM in 37 minutes; it ships with a 2-Mbyte RAM buffer, expandable to 32 Mbytes, that minimizes hard disk delays during recording.
The CD-R 2000 supports multisession Mac CD-ROM, CD-DA (digital audio) and CD-I formats. It also supports mixed-mode CD, Photo CD and Video CD. It can also master discs in the cross-platform ISO 9660 format.
Smart and Friendly is a subsidiary of High Technology Distributing Co. Inc. of Van Nuys, Calif., which will distribute the CD-R 2000.
Smart and Friendly of Van Nuys, Calif., can be reached at (818) 994-8001 or (800) 366-6001; fax (818) 988-6581.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
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(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
News: Common Ground hits Version 2.0
Update has indexing, full-text searches
By Cate C. Corcoran
Attendees at last week's Seybold San Francisco show got a first look at a new version of Common Ground, No Hands Software Inc.'s document-distribution and publishing application.
Slated to ship in November for $189.95, Common Ground 2.0 includes a slew of new notation, viewing, interoperability and document-fidelity features.
Font scalability was limited to fixed resolutions when viewing, faxing and printing documents in the original version, but Common Ground 2.0 maintains the look of fonts at any resolution.
Also new to the program are full-text searches and indexing, both of which are based on Verity Inc.'s search engine. No Hands said it has added conversion of QuickDraw GX files and improved PostScript support, which the company said will simplify the conversion of documents into Common Ground's file format.
Version 2.0 includes hypertext linking, automatic tables of contents, bookmarks, highlights and sticky-note annotation, all of which are visible in a separate navigation window.
No Hands said it has also beefed up Common Ground's security features. Authors will be able to restrict other users' ability to open, print, copy or modify documents via password protection and DES encryption, the company said.
The upgrade will ship with Common Ground MiniViewer 2.0, a 150-Kbyte application that will let users who don't own Common Ground read documents and their tables of contents and hypertext links.
Upgrades to Common Ground 2.0 from the previous version will be $49.95 each, No Hands said.
No Hands Software Inc. of Belmont, Calif., can be reached at (415) 802-5800 or (800) 598-3821; fax (415) 593-6868.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
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(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
News: Retrospect upgrade to support DLT drives
By David Morgenstern
Dantz Development Corp. last week announced that Retrospect will support the high-performance DLT drives set to ship from Mac vendors early in 1995.
The $150 upgrade to the company's Retrospect 2.1 software lets Mac owners use DLT, or digital linear tape, drives based on Digital Equipment Corp.'s 5.25-inch DLT2000 and DLT4000 mechanisms. DLT drives are currently sold in the workstation market by Digital and other vendors.
Dantz said Mac systems can use DLT drives to back up large pre-press, digital video and database applications. Backups of many small files can overstress the DLT mechanism and reduce its efficiency, so Dantz does not recommend the drives for network backup.
Digital's 2000 and 4000 mechanisms provide maximum single-tape capacities of 10 and 20 Gbytes, respectively, and 20 and 40 Gbytes when using built-in hardware compression.
According to Dantz, the 2000 offers data transfer rates from 75 to 100 Mbytes per minute, respectively, with and without compression; the 4000 has speeds of 90 and 120 Mbytes per minute. Data verification can reduce speeds by 40 percent.
"DLT is a great midrange [workstation market] technology that's robust and reliable, but it provides more performance than can really now be used on a Mac," said industry analyst Stan Corker of Framingham, Mass.-based International Data Corp.
The Retrospect DLT upgrade requires SCSI Manager 4.3 and 8 Mbytes of RAM. Dantz recommends the software for Macs with dual-SCSI architecture or a SCSI NuBus accelerator card.
APS Technologies Inc., based in Kansas City, Mo., said it will offer a 4000-based drive for about $5,000 in the first quarter of 1995. Tapes will cost $35 to $40.
Dantz Development Corp. of Orinda, Calif., can be reached at (510) 253-3000 or (800) 225-4880; fax (510) 253-9099.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
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(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
News: System 7.5 piles on the goodies
Extensions, utilities enrich new Mac OS
By Henry Norr
System 7.5 is, among other things, a grab bag of goodies: Along with such major extensions as QuickTime 2.0, AppleScript, MacTCP, PowerTalk, QuickDraw GX and Apple Guide, it includes a rich collection of smaller extensions and utilities. Some of them have been included with Performas but not business Macs, some were freeware or shareware, and some were separate commercial products from Apple or other vendors.
In many cases, third-party developers continue to offer superior alternatives. The main virtue of System 7.5 is that what it includes is now standard equipment, available to more users for less money. That also means other developers are sure to make their own products compatible and offer add-ons that build on the foundations the new system provides.
One item notably missing from 7.5 is HyperCard. Not even the HyperCard player is included on floppies or CD.
Note that some of the software listed below is available only on the CD-ROM version of System 7.5, not the identically priced floppy disk version. (CD-only items are marked with an asterisk.)
Apple menu items
Find File
Find File, a new Find utility based on Find Pro III, a ZiffNet exclusive by Bill Monk, can search on any combination of up to 10 file-attribute criteria. Users can set new search criteria by dragging and dropping sample files, and found items can be dragged to the desktop or folder.
Note Pad and Scrapbook
These venerable desk accessories have been rewritten for Apple by Light Software Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Features are still limited, but users can now change the font and size used in the Note Pad, and both utilities now support Drag and Drop.
Stickies
Stickies is an application that lets users enter quick notes on brightly colored slips on the desktop. They can be reduced in size to save space, saved automatically and exported to other applications via Drag and Drop and the Clipboard.
*Shut Down
A desk accessory that appears at the bottom of the Apple menu, *Shut Down lets users shut down their Macs at any time without returning to the Finder.
Control panels
Apple Menu Options
Based on HAM, a System 7 utility once marketed by Microseeds Publishing Inc., the Apple Menu Options control panel adds hierarchical submenus to the Apple menu, along with folders containing aliases that offer easy access to recently used applications, folders and servers. Compared with third-party alternatives, however, it takes a heavy toll in memory.
Extensions Manager
Users, network managers and support staffers have for years seen the need for tools to control the loading of system extensions and control panels. Apple has finally responded, incorporating Ricardo Batista's freeware start-up manager.
CPU Energy Saver
Users can have this control panel turn off their Macs automatically at specified times each day or after a specified period of idleness.
Date & Time
The Date & Time control panel now lets users install a configurable clock (based on the freeware SuperClock! by Steve Christensen) on the menu bar.
Desktop Patterns
A migrant to mainstream Macs from the Performas, Desktop Patterns lets users select from among 64 decorative desktop designs.
Launcher
Another utility that has been on the Performa for years, Launcher is designed to simplify starting up your favorite applications. The hard part is figuring out how to configure it (you drag application aliases into its window); once you do, it displays large, At Ease-style iconic buttons for each installed program.
Macintosh Easy Open
Previously distributed mainly in third-party bundles, Easy Open simplifies opening Mac, DOS or Windows documents created with applications that aren't installed. It can automatically take advantage of any format translators on a system, such as the DataViz Inc. MacLinkPlus filters included on the 7.5 CD.
PC Exchange 2.0
At long last, any SuperDrive-equipped Mac is now be able to mount DOS floppies on the desktop. Version 2.0 can also mount PC-format removable media, such as SyQuest drives.
WindowShade
System 7.5's only gesture in the direction of window management, WindowShade lets users reduce windows in the Finder and most applications to just their title bars.
Extensions
Apple CD-ROM 5.0.1
The latest version of Apple's CD-ROM software, including the slick Apple CD Audio Player, is in-stalled on Macs with Apple-brand CD drives.
Color Picker
A redesigned color picker gives users two ways to define colors: by HSL (hue, saturation, lightness) or RGB values.
PowerBook items
Control Strip
Like the latest PowerBooks, System 7.5 includes a new control panel, called Control Strip, that puts a movable, resizable icon bar in front of applications. The icons let users monitor battery life, put the system to sleep, turn AppleTalk on or off, turn file sharing on or off, and control other system functions. It's user-configurable and sports an open architecture, so other developers can add still more functions.
File Assistant
The File Assistant application helps users keep files, folders or disks synchronized -- one-way or bidirectionally; manually or automatically; and over a network, via a direct connection or on floppies.
QuickDraw GX items
ATM GX 3.7
When QuickDraw GX is installed, this new version of Adobe Type Manager scales Type 1 fonts for smooth output on screen and on non-PostScript printers. It will support the special features of GX-enhanced Type 1 fonts, but it also seems to work normally with standard Type 1 fonts even when GX is disabled.
GX fonts
Three TrueType GX fonts (Apple Chancery, Hoefler Text and Skia) and one GX-savvy PostScript Type 1 font (Tekton Plus) incorporate some of the many advanced typographical features GX supports, such as automatic ligatures, fractions and lowercase numbers. Unfortunately, users need GX-savvy applications to use these features, and such programs are not yet available.
PDD Maker GX
With the Portable Digital Document Maker driver, GX users can generate documents from any application (GX-savvy or not) that are readable by other GX users, even if they don't have the original application. It lacks many of the features of third-party competitors -- notably, a Windows reader.
Printer Share GX
With QuickDraw GX installed, this extension lets you give other users on your network access to a printer directly connected to your Mac, whether or not GX is running on their machines.
ColorSync
Apple's color-management system, along with predefined profiles for Apple color displays, is installed with GX.
Type 1 Enabler
PostScript Type 1 fonts must be enabled to work with QuickDraw GX. Type 1 fonts already in users' System folders when they install GX are automatically enabled; this utility lets users enable additional Type 1 fonts later.
Paper Type Editor
This utility lets users define custom paper sizes for Apple printers.
QuickDraw GX Helper
This extension installs a command in the Apple menu that lets users turn GX printing on and off on an application-by-application basis.
Peirce print extensions*
Two bundled printing tools from Peirce Software Inc.'s Peirce Print Tools package add new options to QuickDraw GX print dialog boxes. Watermark lets users put gray text or graphics in the background of each page; Paper Saver lets users output reduced images of multiple pages on one sheet of paper.
GX Type Expo*
The 7.5 package, curiously, does not include any sample applications to show off QuickDraw GX's graphic and typographic capabilities, and almost no commercial applications supporting them are available yet. This self-running Director 4.0 movie, created by Linotype-Hell Co., will give users a taste of what they are missing.
Other extras
PowerTalk mail gateways*
CompuServe Mail for PowerTalk lets users send e-mail via CompuServe from any PowerTalk-savvy application, ExMachina Inc.'s Notify! for PowerTalk lets users send messages to pagers, and STF Technologies Inc.'s PowerFax Personal Edition lets users send faxes from their applications and receive faxes in their PowerTalk In Tray. Also included are Apple's Direct Dialup Mail gateway and demo versions (fully functional but limited to 60 days) of Mail*Link PT/INET; Star-Nine Technologies Inc.'s POP3/SMTP gateway; and the same developer's Mail*Link PT/QM for PowerTalk, which bridges PowerTalk and CE Software Inc.'s QuickMail.
MacLinkPlus*
This is a full set of format translators from DataViz's MacLinkPlus/Translators Version 7.52. These filters work with the Mac Easy Open and XTND file-translation technologies but not with Microsoft Corp.'s proprietary scheme. The manual is available for $10 at registration.
QuickTime Musical Instruments*
Designed to work with QuickTime 2.0, this extension contains 42 musical instrument samples licensed from Roland Corp. Also on the CD-ROM are QuickTime sound files of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart pieces; other QuickTime samples; and an offer for a $42 QuickTime denim shirt.
PlainTalk*
The CD contains Version 1.3 of Apple's speech-recognition and text-to-speech software for Quadra AVs and Power Macs.
Eric's Solitaire Sample*
Apparently tired of being beaten at Solitaire, Apple has included a demo version of a solitaire game from Delta Tao Software Inc.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
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(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Gateways: Attachmate Extra! to get scripting
Mainframe tool supports TCP/IP
By Nathalie Welch
Attachmate Corp. next month will reduce the price of its Mac-to-mainframe software with an upgrade that offers extensive Apple- events controls and compatibility with TCP/IP connections and NetWare for SAA.
Extra! for Macintosh 2.0, shown at NetWorld+Interop 94 in Atlanta last week, will be priced at $295, down from $425 for the previous version.
The upgrade supports the core Apple events as well as a variety of custom events for 3270 terminal sessions, the company said. Extra! is not only scriptable but also attachable and recordable. Several sample AppleScript scripts will be included, such as a miniapplication that performs drag-and-drop file transfers to a 3270 host. Attachmate said Extra! 2.0 users can also take advantage of AppleScript tools, such as FaceSpan and HyperCard, to create graphical Mac-to-mainframe applications.
In addition to AppleScript, the upgrade implements other System 7.5 features, such as the Thread Manager for multiple concurrent sessions.
Support for NetWare for Systems Application Architecture (SAA) comes from a development and marketing deal between Attachmate and Novell Inc. in May 1993. Macintosh users connecting to NetWare for SAA can take advantage of batch file transfers and on-screen reformatting of 3287 printer sessions, Attachmate said.
Extra! 2.0's support of TCP/IP lets users access TN3270-enabled IBM hosts. Attachmate's TN3270 implementation includes fully integrated FTP (File Transfer Protocol) capabilities. The FTP client has been optimized to deal with directory formats specific to IBM's Conversational Monitor System and Time Sharing Option environments, the company said.
Attachmate will offer an $80 upgrade for users of any previous version of Extra! for Macintosh or any competing 3270 terminal emulator.
Attachmate Corp. of Bellevue, Wash., is at (206) 644-4010 or (800) 426-6283; fax (206) 747-9920.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
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(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Gateways: Firefox's NOV*IX controls client TCP/IP
By Stephen Howard
At NetWorld+Interop 94 in Atlanta last week, Firefox Inc. trotted into the Mac market when it announced NOV*IX for Macintosh, its centrally administered alternative to MacTCP.
The NOV*IX line substitutes local TCP/IP protocol stacks with a shared one on a NetWare server. The centralization allows for greater administrative controls and economies that result from sharing TCP/IP addresses.
Expected to ship by the end of the year, Mac NOV*IX replaces Apple's MacTCP with a system extension called FF MacTCP. Firefox's NLMs (NetWare Loadable Modules) reside on a server running NetWare for Mac on top of NetWare 3.12 or 4.x. The NOV*IX line is already available for DOS and Windows, and one server can provide TCP/IP services for all platforms, Firefox said.
NOV*IX lets administrators control security and share one TCP/IP address (or several) simultaneously among all server clients.
Each user defined in the NetWare Bindery can be assigned a unique TCP/IP address. Or, each server could possess a single address that all users access (the server assigns each node a unique TCP/IP port number to prevent conflicts). Alternatively, the Firefox NLMs can respond to a request for a TCP/IP session by assigning a node number temporarily from a predefined pool. In any case, all setup and definition is performed at the server instead of the client.
At the server, the LAN manager can control who gets access to TCP/IP on the network. Because the NLMs identify users based on NetWare account and password information, each user must be logged onto a NetWare server before using NOV*IX's TCP/IP capabilities. Accounts and associated TCP/IP capabilities are defined at the server, so a user can log on from any Mac or Intel-standard PC on the LAN and retain the same TCP/IP address.
The server can also restrict access to specific outside resources on the Internet. For instance, NOV*IX could prevent a LAN-based user from logging onto certain machines or to any machine other than those on a specified list. According to Firefox, many companies want this control when they give their users access to the Internet. The capability will arrive for Windows with the release of NOV*IX for Internet this year.
Also at the show, Firefox announced NOV*IX Mail, an NLM-based SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and Post Office Protocol server.
There will be three NOV*IX packages.
> NOV*IX Client/Server, which provides basic MacTCP emulation and server-based controls, starts at $795 for five users.
> NOV*IX Elite, at $1,100 for a five-user version, adds terminal emulation and file transfer software from Vicom Technology Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia (see MacWEEK, Jan. 24, Page 10).
> NOV*IX WorkGroups includes the Elite software and Novell's LAN WorkPlace for Macintosh, a suite of TCP/IP tools; the WorkGroup version starts at $1,500 for five users.
Firefox Inc. of San Jose, Calif., can be reached at (408) 321-8344 or (800) 230-6090; fax (408) 321-8311.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Gateways Page 8
(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Gateways: Wollongong to include GX printing
By Nathalie Welch
The Wollongong Group Inc. this year will upgrade its PathWay Access package for remote TCP/IP connections and include software that gives Mac users greater control of TCP/IP-based network printers.
On display at last week's NetWorld+Interop 94 in Atlanta and scheduled to ship in December, the PathWay Print Redirector and PathWay Access 3.0 bundle will be $350. PathWay Print Redirector will be available separately; stand-alone pricing has not been determined.
To provide a more Mac-like look, Version 3.0 of PathWay Access displays scalable TrueType fonts, allows terminal windows to be resized, and offers screen-printing capabilities in both its VT340 and TN3270 terminal emulations. The 3270 emulation now also supports IND$FILE for Mac-to-mainframe file transfers.
Two graphical terminal emulation options, IBM 3179G and VT340 Regis Graphics, are now offered free with the program. Although previously incorporated in the software, each option required a $95 license key.
Compatibility with Point-to-Point Protocol lets PathWay Access users dial in from remote locations to properly equipped TCP/IP networks.
Interface improvements include Drag and Drop support within an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) session and an enhanced e-mail interface with an integrated Usenet newsgroup reader. Wollongong has also included its compiler-based scripting language to help automate tasks.
PathWay Print Redirector extends Apple's QuickDraw GX printing capabilities to TCP/IP-based printers that support either Network File System or Line Printer Daemon protocols.
Although QuickDraw GX is incorporated into Apple's System 7.5 update, PathWay Print Redirector includes QuickDraw GX installer disks for users of System 7.1 and later, the company said.
Features of QuickDraw GX that can be extended to TCP/IP-based printers include creation of desktop printing icons and queue management by dragging files. Users click the icon to access the printer queue and can check the status of their print job, move spooled jobs to other printers or reschedule output.
The Wollongong Group Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif., can be reached at (415) 962-7100; fax (415) 962-0286; sales@twg.com.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Gateways Page 8
(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Mobile: Zinc-air power pack provides up to 25 hours
By James Staten
PowerBook users who work for days far from an AC outlet can now do so without a recharge. AER Energy Resources Inc.'s rechargeable battery pack, which shipped in August, provides up to 25 hours of battery life on a single charge.
The AER Energy Power 220 is a 12-volt battery system that uses zinc-air power cells. This technology yields an energy density two to four times greater by weight than conventional nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal-hydride batteries. Zinc-air cells use oxygen to help create the chemical reactions that generate electricity. As a result, zinc-air batteries require some sort of ventilation to operate.
When fully charged, the Energy Power 220 holds about 240 watt hours of energy, the equivalent of nearly 25 hours of continuous PowerBook operation, according to the company. The battery weighs 6 pounds and measures 11.5 by 5.5 by 2.75 inches. It has two power output jacks so a user can run both a PowerBook and cellular phone.
AER Energy said the unit has a life span of 30 to 40 recharge cycles (for 500 to 600 hours of usage), or approximately one year. According to the company, zinc-air cells are not subject to "memory effect," which can be caused in NiCad and NiMH batteries by not fully draining them before recharging.
The Energy Power 220 is priced at $649 and includes a universal charger. A $99 adapter is needed to connect to the PowerBook 100 series.
AER Energy has signed agreements with Zenith Data Systems Inc. and an unnamed computer vendor to develop internal zinc-air batteries for laptop computers. No release date has been set for the products.
Mark Macgillivray, a market consultant with H&M Consulting of Sunnyvale, Calif., said an internal zinc-air battery could provide 10 hours of use on a single charge while weighing up to a pound less than traditional NiCad or NiMH cells. He said an internal zinc-air battery's form factor may be closer to that of VST Power Systems Inc.'s ThinPack than traditional batteries because of the need for ventilation across the cells. He said such technology to be at least a year away.
AER Energy Resources Inc. of Smyrna, Ga., can be reached at (404) 433-2127 or (800) 769-3720; fax (404) 433-2286.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Mobile Computing Page 12
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Mobile: Asante upgrades its remote-access server
Multiprotocol access is added to software
By James Staten
Asante Technologies Inc. this month will upgrade its remote-access server software, adding concurrent multiprotocol access and dial-up LAN-to-LAN connections.
The NetRAS-Remote Access Server is a modular eight-port device that supports Point-to-Point Protocol, Serial Line Internet Protocol or Apple Remote Access 2.0 (see MacWEEK, July 25, Page 33). It has an expandable chassis that accommodates up to 16 active lines; no modems are provided.
Version 5 of the server software, previously known as NetConnect-RAS, allows concurrent, multiprotocol connections for Internet Protocol, IPX, AppleTalk and NetBEUI.
Protocol autosensing is also supported, so network managers don't need to dedicate ports to specific standards.
Version 5 allows dial-up LAN-to-LAN connections. Administrators can specify connections be made either on demand or at scheduled intervals. Bandwidth-on-demand is also supported; this allows the server to open additional connections when traffic causes network throughput to fall below user-specified requirements. The server closes those connections after traffic subsides.
The software also supports AppleTalk zone filtering, so administrators can restrict access to certain parts of the network. Users can now dial out through the server to bulletin boards, on-line services or the Internet when a Telnet link is available.
Version 5.0 will be available this month and will be free to current users. It will include AsanteView 2.4, the company's SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)-based management software, valued at $1,299.
The eight-port Asante server is priced at $3,975, and the 16-port unit costs $5,999.
Asante Technologies Inc. of San Jose, Calif., can be reached at (408) 435-8388 or (800) 622-7464; fax (408) 432-7511; sales@asante.com.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Mobile Computing Page 12
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Mobile: eWorld goes to Canada, drops surcharge
By James Staten
Apple Online Services trekked north last week for the launch of eWorld in Canada and is celebrating its arrival by cutting daytime access fees.
Canadian customers can now access eWorld at up to 9,600 bps. AOS said localized services will debut later this month and will be available to Canadian and U.S. customers.
eWorld also dropped the $2.95 surcharge on daytime access for all customers until March 15 and is offering new members 10 free hours of access and a waiver of the first month's fee. "Actually, this is really more of a competitive move," said Lisa Johnson, an analyst at Links Resources Inc. in New York. "eWorld is expensive for what you get at this point."
AOS said it plans to bring eWorld to a different country each month: The United Kingdom is scheduled for October.
eWorld costs $8.95 a month, which includes two hours of access. Additional hours are $4.95. Canadian rates are equivalent to those in the United States. eWorld startup kits are free by calling (800) 775-4556.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Mobile Computing Page 12
(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
GA: SummaChrome to print HiFi Color
New ribbons offer spot-color capability
By David Morgenstern
Proving that large color output can hit the spot, Summagraphics Corp. last week showed HiFi Color support for its SummaChrome thermal-wax-transfer printer at the Seybold San Francisco conference. The company also rolled out a pair of CMYK color inkjet plotters for the CAD market.
HiFi Color commonly refers to methods used to boost the color range in computer-based publishing beyond the usual four-color process; it includes alternative screening technologies and ways to get exact matches for custom colors as well as metallic and fluorescent inks (see MacWEEK, March 28, Page 20).
Summagraphics said that in November it will offer gold, silver and fluorescent-pink color ribbons for the $29,995 SummaChrome Imaging System. The company said it will offer additional metallic and fluorescent colors later this year, and it will produce custom colors for corporate printing requirements, such as logos.
Summagraphics' new ribbons complement its printer's usual set of CMY or CMYK colors, and they give the printers specialty and spot-color capabilities found in a traditional printing process.
The 406-dpi SummaChrome can hold a maximum of eight small ribbon cartridges, which are contained in a magazine along with the print head (see MacWEEK, Jan. 31, Page 20). It will support four or five spot colors with CMYK or CMY, respectively. The company said it will provide an Adobe Photoshop plug-in to handle the spot colors. The ribbons are expected to cost slightly more than the regular CMYK ribbons, which are $125 each and provide 53 prints that completely cover a 24-by-40-inch image.
In other news, Summagraphics this month expects to ship the SummaJet 2C series of CMYK color inkjet plotters for the CAD market.
The plotters use a refillable dual-cartridge system with monochrome-black and CMY cartridges that the company said boosts print speed by letting the print head use both cartridges simultaneously. The refillable cartridge technology can reduce typical consumable costs by 25 percent, Summagraphics said.
The $3,499 and $4,499 SummaJet 2C models support 24-by-36-inch and 36-by-48-inch media, respectively. The plotters have a resolution of 300 dpi.
The plotters are based on a 16-MHz AMD RISC processor and come standard with 4 Mbytes of RAM, expandable to 32 Mbytes. The plotters support raster and vector languages, including CALS (Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistics Support) Group 4, DMPL (digital microprocessor plotter language), HP-GL, HP-GL/2 and HP RTL.
The models come with Bi-Tronics parallel and RS-232C serial interfaces; an optional Ethernet interface costs $695.
The SummaJet 2M monochrome plotters can be upgraded for $1,500.
Summagraphics Corp. of Austin, Texas, can be reached at (512) 835-0900 or (800) 337-8662; fax (512) 835-1916.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
GA Page 16
(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
GA: Kodak introduces high-resolution digital camera
By Cate C. Corcoran
Adding to its burgeoning digital camera line, Eastman Kodak Co. last week at Seybold San Francisco introduced a high-resolution digital photography option for Mac users.
The DCS 460 is based on the Nikon N90 film camera and a digital camera back with a CCD (charge-coupled device) that has a 3,060-by-2,036-pixel resolution. With a resolution typically used for studio work, the 460 is a portable device suitable for photojournalists and other mobile users, Kodak said.
Like Kodak's DCS 420, which shipped in June (see MacWEEK, June 20, Page 20), the 460 captures 12 bits per color and stores images on PCMCIA Type 3 cards. The DCS 460 is slated to ship in the fourth quarter for $27,995.
A sound annotation option and microphone lets users record notes corresponding to photos onto the PCMCIA card.
The camera attaches by a standard SCSI cable to a Macintosh that has at least 32 Mbytes of RAM. The DCS 460 is powered by a rechargeable nickel-metal-hydride power pack that supplies 300 exposures per charge. Kodak's Photoshop plug-in for image acquisition and manipulation is included.
A digital camera back with the same resolution and capabilities for 120mm and 4-by-5-inch cameras is scheduled to be introduced at Photo Keno in Cologne, Germany, this week. Called the Professional DCS 465, the back is due to ship in early 1995. Pricing has not been set.
Eastman Kodak Co. of Rochester, N.Y., can be reached at (716) 724-4000 or (800) 242-2424.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
GA Page 16
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GA: ColorPASS RIP server controls Canon copiers
Canon also ships duplex color copier
By David Morgenstern
Tearing into the RIP market, Canon U.S.A Inc. at last week's Seybold San Francisco introduced the ColorPASS 1000, its first RIP server, and a pair of color copiers, including a model that offers automatic two-sided printing.
Based on a 50-MHz Silicon Graphics RISC processor, the ColorPASS 1000 can control Canon's existing CLC 300, 350, 500 and 550 color copier models, as well as the new CLC 700 and 800. The RIP will support 400-dpi resolution for both tabloid-size output and scanning from the copier, Canon said.
The ColorPASS 1000 uses an Adobe PostScript Level 2 interpreter and will come with 64 Mbytes of RAM that can be upgraded to 256 Mbytes. It has a 540-Mbyte internal hard drive and Ethernet, Fast SCSI-2 and RS-232C serial interfaces. The RIP will be available late in the first quarter of 1995, according to sources, and will cost about $37,000. Canon would not comment on price or availability.
The demand for color copier controllers has grown rapidly in the past few years, and Canon's competition includes market leader Electronics For Imaging Inc. and ColorAge Inc. and ColorBus Inc. Canon is not the first copier maker to enter the market; it follows Xerox Corp.'s spring introduction of Mac-based Splash models for its MajestiK copier series.
The new $49,900 CLC 800, available now, is a 400-dpi color tabloid-size copier that can output seven CMYK letter-size pages per minute, Canon said. The copier supports automatic duplexing as well as an optional recirculating feeder for documents up to tabloid size. It comes with a built-in graphics tablet for image editing. The 800 optionally supports a collating sorter for jobs up to 50 pages in length, a $15,000 slide scanner and a film projector.
With some features of the 800 model, the $33,000 CLC 700 offers only manual duplexing. Canon said both copiers use a new print engine with 30 percent smaller dot size and a more stable image-transfer system.
Canon U.S.A Inc. of Lake Success, N.Y., can be reached at (516) 488-6700; fax (516) 328-5909.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
GA Page 16
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BusinessWatch: Supply issues bedevil PC industry
Glut of machines prompts price war
By Jon Swartz
And Apple thought it had supply problems.
While users continue to comb dealer shelves in vain for PowerBook 500s, personal computer makers have problems of another sort: a glut of Intel-standard PCs that has started a fierce price war.
"We are in an oversupply situation," said David Dukes, co-chairman of Ingram Micro Inc. in Santa Ana, Calif. "The natural reaction is to take pricing actions and to rethink distribution strategies."
John Connors, chairman of Merisel Inc. in El Segundo, Calif., said there are "a lot of people jockeying for position. That always puts pressure on prices."
Most manufacturers of Intel-standard PCs have been forced to slash prices not only to stay competitive but to reduce swelling inventories, according to industry observers.
Compaq Computer Corp. of Houston fired the first volley in August, cutting its PC prices by up to 22 percent (see MacWEEK, Aug. 22, Page 24). The IBM PC Co. of Somers, N.Y., countered with reductions of up to 27 percent, and Digital Equipment Corp. of Maynard, Mass., cut its prices by up to 26 percent.
Even Apple joined the fray this month, with cuts of up to 13 percent (see MacWEEK, Sept. 12, Page 1). But its reductions were limited to its high-end Power Mac line, while its PC rivals trimmed prices on low-end machines.
Although the price-cutting frenzy has significantly driven down the operating margins of nearly all the major PC makers, more cuts are likely, industry analysts said. A key reason for continued cuts, they said, is Intel Corp.'s decision to reduce prices of its Pentium-based systems in a bid to improve sales during the crucial fourth quarter.
That means the last three months of 1994 will be rough for PC makers. "I think the [product] slowdown is here to stay," said William Gorman, vice president of the equity research department at PNC Bank in Philadelphia. "This is not a seasonal thing."
Gorman said slower-than-expected sales of Pentium-based systems, combined with likely purchase delays in anticipation of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows95 -- formerly Chicago -- will also prompt further price cuts.
"The channel can't withstand the pressures of growing inventories and moving product at little or no margin," said John Rossi, an analyst at Robertson, Stephens & Co. in San Francisco.
Two early victims of the downward spiral of price cuts and ballooning inventory have been AST Research Inc. of Irvine, Calif., and Compaq.
AST recently blamed the PC price war in part for a loss it expects to report for its financial quarter ended Oct. 2. Compaq, whose inventory has doubled to $2.2 billion this year, delayed orders from several key component suppliers, causing San Francisco-based investment bank Hambrecht & Quist Inc. to lower its earnings estimates for Compaq.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
BusinessWatch Page 20
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BusinessWatch: Time runs out for Timeworks
By Robin Meyerowitz
Time's up for Timeworks Inc.
The Northbrook, Ill.-based software maker shut down operations in July, according to a developer who worked closely with the company and a consultant in charge of selling off the company's assets.
The 12-year-old company, best known for Publish It!, its low-cost desktop publishing program for Macintosh, DOS and Windows, was sold to Birch Capital Inc., a Toronto-based investment group, in January.
The company folded this summer, however, when its sales couldn't keep pace with overhead costs, said John Wheeler of Development Specialists Inc., the Chicago-based financial consultancy that oversaw the liquidation of Timeworks. Among the items auctioned off in Chicago last week were Macs, office furniture and color monitors.
Meanwhile, a new cross-platform publishing program that Timeworks had pinned its financial hopes on, code-named AZ, is still under development.
This month, Lance Lewis, the original developer of Publish It!, bought the intellectual property rights to AZ from Timeworks. Lewis was collaborating with the company on AZ at the time of its demise.
Lewis, president of Foton Software Development Inc. in Phoenix, acquired the manual and marketing materials for AZ. He is currently seeking investors to fund continued development of the project. A Mac version of AZ is expected in February.
Timeworks officials could not be reached for comment.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
BusinessWatch Page 20
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Editorial: CI Labs suffers from mixed messages
The handful of dedicated folks at Component Integration Labs must be confused. Key companies that set up CI Labs to develop, deploy and defend OpenDoc -- Apple; IBM Corp.; and WordPerfect, the Novell Applications Group -- have been subtly undermining the organization's goals.
IBM has said that OpenDoc is fine for developers that want to migrate existing applications into OpenDoc parts. But if you're developing new programs, Big Blue thinks you should skip OpenDoc and jump on the Taligent bandwagon.
It's also been reported that in cozying up to Microsoft Corp., WordPerfect has agreed to play down its OpenDoc enthusiasm in favor of OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) 2.0. WordPerfect has always been a supporter of OLE, but its concurrent backing of OpenDoc is said to be faltering.
WordPerfect's snub of OpenDoc may be the result of Apple's snub of WordPerfect in favor of co-marketing with Microsoft. Apple has climbed onto Bill Gates' steamroller and is touting the combination of Microsoft Office and Power Macs as a one-two punch for business. Apple's aim is to win over more corporate IS executives, and Microsoft can pave that way better than any other company. That harsh reality can't make it any easier for WordPerfect to accept.
But CI Labs' staff must be even more perplexed by Apple's alliance with Microsoft. By advocating Office as the application suite of choice for the Macintosh, Apple is, in effect, saying OpenDoc is a secondary consideration to OLE when investing in a computing solution.
Although these setbacks distress OpenDoc's fervent supporters, CI Labs' work has gained a little momentum of its own recently. Lotus Development Corp. has agreed to work with OpenDoc specifications. And newly merged and more powerful Adobe Systems Inc. last week joined CI Labs as a sponsor. The addition of Adobe's application suite will be a big boost for the OpenDoc camp.
But the anticipated gains from these alliances lie in the future. Today CI Labs has to make sense of the mixed messages its founders have sent to the world.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Editorial Page 24
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Second Decade: Desktop clutter messier in System 7.5
By Henry Norr
"The desktop -- the defining essence of the Mac interface -- is increasingly cluttered, complex and confusing," I complained when System 7 Pro appeared (see MacWEEK, Nov. 1, 1993, Page 40). Almost a year later, with System 7.5 finally reaching the stores and details about Apple's 1995 make-over plans beginning to surface, it's time again to take stock of the state of the interface.
The basic problem is that the typical Mac user in business deals with thousands of files, stored in multilayered folder hierarchies on multiple volumes, yet we do so through a metaphor designed for systems with a few dozen documents on-line at a time.
The futz factor
Yes, System 7.0 brought some important navigational aids, and third-party utilities offer additional palliatives; I make extensive use of both. But I still find myself spending too much time futzing with my desktop -- opening, closing and shuffling windows to reach the files I need and get them where I want them. This is a pet peeve of mine, but I know I'm not alone. (If you're not conscious of a problem yourself, spend some time looking over your colleagues' shoulders -- power users as well as novices -- and I'll bet you'll see what I mean.)
System 7.5, if used to its fullest, compounds the problem because it puts increased emphasis on direct manipulation of objects on the desktop. With QuickDraw GX, drag-and-drop printer icons join PowerTalk's mailbox and catalogs, and the newly built-in Drag Manager makes the clipping -- text or other data dropped into the Finder -- an alternative to the Mac Clipboard.
Simple solutions may be best
The good news about System 7.5 is that it shows Apple is aware of the problem. The Performa-derived Launcher control panel and Apple Menu Options' submenus and recent-items folders let you do more with fewer windows; those you wish to keep handy you can now minimize with WindowShade -- a welcome first step in the direction of adding window management to the system.
The bad news is that these are pretty timid steps. WindowShade, for example, doesn't even have a global option (a way to minimize or maximize all your open windows at once), nor will it group and move minimized title bars (a handy feature of a shareware rival called ZoomBar, which, unfortunately, doesn't seem to work under System 7.5).
Worse, there's still no sign of many other file-management and navigation enhancements that should be built into the Finder. My list includes a menu (or, better yet, submenus off the Applications menu) listing all open windows; an automatic window-tiling option; a menu command and keyboard combination for putting selected items into the Trash; Move to, Copy to and Alias to commands (linked to menus of recently and frequently used folders); and a NeXT-style dock that would keep desktop icons in sight (or some other easy way to hide Finder windows or bring icons to the front).
These are simple improvements that could be implemented without a lot of fanfare. They don't require new metaphors, advanced technologies or vast engineering teams. But they'd make the modern Mac a lot less cumbersome than it is now.
Henry Norr, editor emeritus of MacWEEK, welcomes feedback in the MacWEEK forums on CompuServe or eWorld or at henry_norr@macweek.ziff.com.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Second Decade Page 24
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MacWEEK Insider: The enemy of my enemy
By Andrew Gore
Sometimes the weight of events can move even the most set-in-concrete opinions. Take OpenDoc. Since Apple first talked about its object framework last year, I've examined it with a critical eye. After all, Apple is the company that dug into the ground in search of Bedrock, only to find sand.
However, with this week's adoption of the component architecture by Adobe Systems Inc., and with Novell Inc.'s reaffirmation of its support, you could say the news on OpenDoc is positively glowing.
Not only is Adobe implementing OpenDoc in its application suite, it also became a sponsor of Component Integration Labs Inc., the "vendor-neutral" organization responsible for proliferating the architecture. According to insiders, this cost the Mountain View, Calif.-based developer a substantial pile of cash, as much as $500,000 by some accounts. While that's not much compared with the multiple millions Apple reportedly bleeds away yearly on Taligent Inc., it's a lot of cash for a vendor in the under-$500-million club.
That's all well and good, but the most compelling reason I've found to reconsider OpenDoc comes from the purveyors of the standard's only competitor.
Microsoft Corp. has been going to great lengths to stifle OpenDoc adoption. Both publicly and privately, the Redmond, Wash.-based company has cajoled, criticized and, by some reports, coerced developers to keep them from looking seriously at OpenDoc.
Despite reports recently published elsewhere, Apple said some time ago that OpenDoc and OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) should coexist nicely. So what's making the arrogantly self-confident Microsoft go into what almost qualifies as a paranoid fit?
The explanation is twofold: First, there's the Cairo connection. While OpenDoc adoption doesn't adversely affect OLE 2.0, from what I've heard, it could put a wall around Cairo, the object-based version of Windows NT. OpenDoc's component approach to development will deliver, soon, most of what developers want in Cairo, which is years away. This could make Cairo less attractive when it arrives. Also, there's no guarantee that a developer's work in OpenDoc will port to Cairo.
Second, there's the fact that OpenDoc supports all platforms equally -- Windows, Mac and Unix -- and that OpenDoc's component philosophy is the antithesis of monolithic applications. And what does Microsoft make its money from? The monolithic Windows, Word and Excel.
Anything the Windows gang hates this much can't be all bad. Add to that significant support from Adobe, Novell and Lotus Development Corp., and you can't help but feel Apple may at last have found firm ground on which to start rebuilding its relationship with developers. Now, if Apple could only get Microsoft this upset over its tools strategy ...
Andrew Gore is senior editor at MacWEEK. He welcomes feedback at andygore@applelink.apple.com; agore@eworld.com and 72511,224@compuserve.com.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
MacWEEK Insider Page 3
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Review: Native Excel 5 boasts top speed, usability
By Rick LePage
More than two years after the release of Excel 4.0, Microsoft Corp. has finally released Version 5.0 of its spreadsheet application. Excel 5 has been eagerly awaited by many, including cross-platform users, who want parity with the current Windows version, and Power Macintosh owners, who have been stymied by the lackluster performance of the non-native Version 4.
Excel 5 is the first native Power Mac application from Microsoft and part of the Microsoft Office suite of products, which includes Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint. Its $339 estimated street price includes both 680x0 and Power Mac versions.
Longtime users won't find many additions to the function libraries or a lot of new chart types in Excel 5, although there are plenty of new features that add functionality to the program. Instead, Microsoft has focused its energies on usability by streamlining processes and enhancing the general feel of the program.
The main difference between Excel 5 and previous versions is that all Excel files are now workbooks, which are collections of sheets that can be worksheets, macro sheets and charts. You move easily among sheets by clicking on the tabs at the bottom of a worksheet's window, and you can rearrange, delete and rename sheets quickly.
Other aspects of Excel have been changed from earlier versions as well. We're sure a few users will be upset with the changes, but overall Microsoft has done a good job of reining in a program that's bursting at the seams with features.
Big footprints
Size will be the primary concern of many users looking to move up to Excel 5. While Version 4's full installation used 8.7 Mbytes of disk space, the complete installation of Excel 5 requires 22.4 Mbytes for the 680x0 version and 28.7 Mbytes for the native Power Mac version. The application itself takes 4.9 Mbytes for 680x0 Macs and 7 Mbytes for Power Macs. If you're installing a fat binary version of the program, the file sizes for both the full installation and the application will be even larger.
While the disk requirements are large, Power Mac users will get an additional jolt when they launch Excel 5: The minimum memory required to run the program is 8,583 Kbytes, and Microsoft's suggested partition size is 10,631 Kbytes. Use of virtual memory will reduce the partition size by about 6 Mbytes, but spreadsheet jockeys going for the improved speed of a native Excel will not be happy with that solution.
Users of the 680x0 version of Excel 5 should find the smaller RAM footprint of 2,048 Kbytes, minimum, and 2,816 Kbytes, recommended, more amenable to their setups.
Performance
During the past few months, Microsoft has been hounded over the perceived lateness of the Power Mac version of Excel, largely because of Excel 4's poor performance in emulation mode on a Power Mac. We think that once you get past the disk space and memory requirements, the speed of the native Excel will convert many to the new architecture. Recalculation times, chart creation and macro execution all zipped along on the Power Mac 6100 and 8100 we used to test Excel 5. A 25,000-cell, complex recalculation took about four seconds on the 8100, compared to 14 seconds on our Quadra 840AV. By contrast, recalculating the same spreadsheet took almost 50 seconds when running Excel 4 on the 8100.
Excel 5's performance on 680x0 machines is impressive, although on par with Excel 4, which was no slouch when it came to calculation. The speed of the native Excel, however, is such that it should be able to sell Power Macs.
Increased ease of use
Microsoft has focused on enhancing Excel's usability. Many interface roadblocks from previous versions have been eradicated or made less troublesome with Excel 5, and Microsoft has come up with a few good solutions to common problems.
For example, Excel now supports in-cell editing, which means the contents of a cell change as you add or remove text. Lotus Development Corp. premiered this feature in 1-2-3, and we found it much more intuitive than the standard formula-bar entry method used by Excel and most other spreadsheet programs.
Another tweak concerns editing charts placed on worksheets. If you tried to edit a worksheet-based chart in Excel 4, you entered into an editing mode that made it hard to gauge the final results of any modifications. Editing charts with Excel 5 is much more straightforward: Chart items can simply be clicked on and dragged around without having to enter a different mode, and new series can be added to a chart simply by dragging the data onto the chart itself.
Microsoft has also made formatting information much easier in Excel 5. Fonts, styles, numeric formatting, fill colors and patterns are all accessible from a single dialog box, which has file folder-style tabs that let you move among the options. You can accomplish more with one trip to the menu bar and this dialog box than you could in any previous version of Excel.
New wizards
In Excel 4, Microsoft introduced wizards, which were dialog-driven, step-by-step guides for performing complex processes. Microsoft has added a number of useful wizards in Excel 5 that simplify many mundane and complex tasks.
These additions include the Function Wizard, which goes beyond Version 4's Paste Arguments feature by displaying usage information about a function and its projected value; the Tip Wizard, which watches your actions and suggests alternatives that can save time; and the Text Import Wizard, which parses delimited or fixed-length text files during the import process.
Another new wizard is the Pivot Table Wizard, a tool used to perform dynamic analysis on external database information, worksheet lists and other data accessible to Excel. This is one of the program's most powerful new features, letting you view information in a database-style list in a manner similar to cross tabs, but with a lot more flexibility.
Macro expansion
Excel 5 preserves Version 4's macro language, but Microsoft has added Visual Basic, Applications Edition, as the preferred programming environment for Excel 5. Visual Basic is a much richer environment than a conventional macro language for creating finished applications. We found it extremely simple to create macros for performing complex tasks.
Macro creation and execution is similar to previous versions of Excel. A Watch Me mode is offered, and Microsoft has added a number of debugging tools to Excel for monitoring and optimizing macros. Excel 5 also supports AppleScript, and compiled scripts can be called from Visual Basic macros.
Microsoft has added a few other tools for creating custom applications with Excel 5. A Menu Editor facilitates the creation of custom menus, and creating dialog boxes is much simpler than before with the new MacDraw-like Dialog Sheet. Microsoft includes the previous version's Dialog Editor with the new version to preserve compatibility with Excel 4, macros but the new dialog-editing method is a vast improvement over the old model.
Another new feature is the capability to add custom objects, such as list boxes and check boxes, directly onto a sheet without having to write program code.
Sharing functionality
As mentioned earlier, Excel 5 is part of the Microsoft Office suite and will be bundled with Office sometime next month, after the Power Mac versions of Word and PowerPoint ship. Part of the shared functionality of the Office applications is derived from consistent command sets, the use of Visual Basic as a common macro language and OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) 2.0. OLE lets you place Excel objects into other OLE-aware applications and have full access to the features of Excel without having to switch to the application. In our limited testing, we found OLE to be a useful tool for editing documents -- its utility should increase as the number of OLE-aware programs multiplies.
Conclusions
The pretenders come and go, but for nearly a decade, Microsoft's Excel has remained perched atop the spreadsheet throne. The additions in Excel 5 will ensure that this dominance continues should any new competitors appear on the scene.
The speed advantage of the Power Mac version is impressive, but many users will be upset with the voracious RAM appetite that accompanies those performance improvements. Microsoft has announced that Connectix Corp.'s RAM Doubler utility will be bundled with Microsoft Office; it would be nice if Microsoft extended that offer to the stand-alone Excel as well. (A $50 off coupon for RAM Doubler is included in the Excel 5 package.)
In most other areas, Microsoft has done a good job of increasing usability without sacrificing performance or features. The charting module is still Excel's weakest point, especially given the success of charting packages such as DeltaPoint Inc.'s DeltaGraph Pro, but most users seem to be content with the serviceable charts Excel can create.
Although they are included in Excel's on-line help, we would also like to see the Visual Basic Reference Guide and the Function Reference Guide included in the Excel package. Currently, these manuals are extra-cost items available from bookstores or Microsoft, but they should be part of the package.
These quibbles aside, Excel 5 does an excellent job of improving upon its predecessors and serving as one of the stars in the Mac software firmament.
Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash. can be reached at (206) 882-8080; fax (206) 936-7329.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Reviews Page 1
(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Review: QMS, Xerox color printers: fast and cheap
Laser models make use of color, more practical for office printing
By David Kison
The day of the color office memo is at hand. Along with Hewlett-Packard Co.'s just-released Color LaserJet, QMS Inc.'s $9,999 magicolor Laser Printer and Xerox Corp.'s $8,495 4900 Color Laser Printer provide color output solutions for the everyday demands of mid- to large-sized corporate workgroups.
The QMS and Xerox printers are fast, inexpensive alternatives to high-end color reprographic systems, such as color copiers and dye-sublimation printers. Both provide monochrome and color plain-paper output suitable for jobs such as marketing and sales materials, reports, and presentations. They also offer extensive network connectivity options, which make them good corporate citizens in today's mixed desktop computing environment.
The players
The QMS magicolor is a follow-up to the company's ColorScript Laser 1000, released last year (see MacWEEK, Dec. 6, 1993, Page 1). The magicolor is based on a 600-dpi Hitachi engine with a print speed of 2 pages per minute for full-color paper documents and 8 ppm for monochrome. The engine supports letter- and legal-size paper and has a monthly duty cycle of 5,000 pages.
The magicolor uses a 33-MHz Intel 80960CF RISC processor-based controller and supports PostScript Level 1 and 2, and HP PCL 5C with HP-GL/2. The base configuration comes with 12 Mbytes of RAM, which supports 600-dpi monochrome resolution and 300-dpi color resolution. For 600-dpi color, you'll need at least 28 Mbytes of RAM. (The maximum capacity is 64 Mbytes.) The printer ships with an 80-Mbyte hard disk, 65 PostScript fonts, 13 outline fonts and seven bit-mapped fonts. Standard interfaces include simultaneously active LocalTalk, RS-232 and bidirectional Centronics parallel interfaces. Ethernet and token-ring connectivity is available through QMS' optional CrownNet daughterboards.
The Xerox 4900 Color Laser Printer is based on a 300-dpi Hitachi engine that uses Xerox's patented quad-dot technology to boost effective resolution to 1,200-by-300-dpi. The print speed is 3 ppm for full-color paper documents, 6 ppm for two-color documents and 12 ppm for monochrome documents. The engine supports up to legal-size paper and has a monthly duty cycle of 15,000 pages.
The 4900 uses a 25-MHz AMD 29030 RISC processor-based controller and supports Adobe PostScript Level 2 and HP PCL 5. The base model comes with 12 Mbytes of RAM and is expandable to 48 Mbytes. It ships with 35 PostScript Type 1 fonts, 13 Intellifont fonts and seven bit-mapped fonts. Standard interfaces include simultaneously active LocalTalk, RS-232 and Centronics parallel interfaces. Ethernet and token-ring connectivity is available through an optional network slot.
Installation and configuration
Setting up and configuring the Xerox 4900 was very simple. Installing the various print engine consumables and printer drivers was easy and straightforward. The Installer also copies over a remote configuration utility and Quick Start Tutorial and Tour Guide files.
Installing the QMS magicolor was less than straightforward. Our review unit required a memory upgrade for 600-dpi color and a CrownNet Ethernet daughtercard to be installed on-site. QMS sends technicians to all sites to perform free initial printer installation; we were glad they came because the process was detailed and time-consuming.
The magicolor also ships with numerous cryptically labeled envelopes filled with floppy disks containing drivers, administrative software, printer system software and technical notes for multiple operating systems. If you need to perform an upgrade or reinstall the printer's system software, you could easily become confused.
Performance
To test the performance and image quality of the two printers, we ran a series of print jobs using standard color-imaging applications at ZD Labs in Foster City, Calif. We also tested a late preproduction release of the HP Color LaserJet.
To simulate a desktop publishing environment, we printed a complex QuarkXPress 3.2 document composed of two 1.4-Mbyte color TIFFs, three EPS graphics, text and line art. In this test, the HP Color LaserJet finished first at just longer than four minutes (because of its lower 300-dpi resolution), followed by the QMS magicolor, then the Xerox 4900. The magicolor's faster processor gave it the advantage over the 4900.
Our second test file, a 6.6-Mbyte Adobe Photoshop 2.5.1 image, tested how well each printer manages printer memory. In this test, the QMS and Xerox printers finished 10 seconds behind the Color LaserJet, which is not bad considering that they were rasterizing four times the number of pixels per inch as the HP printer because of their higher resolutions.
Our third test file, a complex 600-Kbyte Adobe Illustrator 5.5 graphic, tested the printers' RIP performance. In this test, the QMS magicolor edged the HP Color LaserJet by a two-second margin, followed a whopping 46 seconds later by the Xerox 4900.
The final test simulated a common use of color printers: printing a business presentation. The test consisted of a five-page Microsoft PowerPoint file with text and simple column and pie charts. This time, the HP printer outdistanced its competitors by as much as two minutes. In this case, the HP's lower resolution had the advantage over the other two printers' faster processors.
Print quality
The output quality of each of the printers proved good for standard business correspondence and presentations. While the output quality from the QMS and Xerox printers was superior to that of the HP Color LaserJet because of their higher resolutions, there was no clear victor. The QMS and Xerox printers also suffered from page curl on saturated pages.
None of the color laser printers approached the print quality of such continuous-tone technologies as dye-sublimation printers, which are capable of producing near-photographic quality output at a comparable initial purchase price. However, dye-sublimation printers have a much higher consumables cost and are far slower.
Documentation and support
Both printers ship with clear and well-written documentation with adequate illustrations and explanations. Technical support at QMS and Xerox was friendly and helpful.
Conclusions
Both of the color laser printers tested offer distinct advantages; no clear leader has emerged in this market. In general, if your organization needs to produce color output for day-to-day business applications, either printer is adequate for the job.
The QMS magicolor offers superb speed and a higher print resolution than the Color LaserJet, making it a good choice for a company's graphic arts department, but its low duty cycle and higher price limits its appeal as a general business machine. The Xerox 4900 is a good choice for general-business users looking for high resolution and a high duty cycle, providing nice image quality in all but the most demanding of general business applications. However, it's somewhat slow for RIP-intensive applications.
QMS Inc. of Mobile, Ala., can be reached at (205) 633-4300 or (800) 523-2696; fax (205) 633-0013.
Xerox Corp.'s Office Document Systems Division of Rochester, N.Y., can be reached at (800) 275-9376; fax (800) 532-9979.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Reviews Page 29
(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Review: HP Color LaserJet: Heavyweight enters ring
By David Kison
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s $7,295 Color LaserJet, scheduled for release today, is the latest and most significant entrant in the burgeoning color laser printer market. With HP's $429 Ethernet and LocalTalk JetDirect networking card and $799 PostScript Level 2 SIMM, the Color LaserJet provides a complete color laser solution for the Mac. We looked at a preproduction version of the Color LaserJet and were impressed by what we saw.
The goods
The Color LaserJet is based on a 300-dpi Konica engine with a print speed of 2 pages per minute for full-color paper documents and 10 ppm for monochrome output. Both letter- and tabloid-size paper are supported; only the former can be in color.
The Color LaserJet's controller is based on a 20-MHz AMD 29030 RISC processor. The base configuration comes with 8 Mbytes of RAM and is expandable to 72 Mbytes. The printer ships with 45 scalable fonts (35 Intellifont, 10 TrueType) and one bit-mapped font. It supports the Enhanced HP PCL 5E with Color (including HP-GL/2) printer language through a bidirectional parallel interface. An impressive 15,000 page-per-month duty cycle ensures its availability for many users or massive print jobs.
The HP Color LaserJet was extremely easy to set up. HP has historically provided superb documentation, and this printer was no exception. Installing the color and black developers and loading the toner was a breeze. HP has designed a spill-proof method of loading toner (using a sliding door and gravity); there are also helpful prompts on the printer's front panel. An installer loads printer drivers and descriptions. HP also includes a software utility for remotely configuring the printer.
We tested the performance and image quality of the Color LaserJet along with the QMS magicolor and Xerox 4900 at ZD Labs in Foster City, Calif.. Despite the fact that we were looking at a prerelease product, the Color LaserJet performed remarkably well; we encountered no glitches during our testing.
Lower resolution
The Color LaserJet offers a lower print resolution (300 dpi) than the QMS or Xerox printers (600 dpi and 1,200-by-300 dpi, respectively). Because we performed all tests at the printers' maximum resolutions, this meant that the Color LaserJet often came out on top, simply because it was doing less work. However, the lower resolution made another difference as well: The Color LaserJet's output quality was noticeably inferior to that of the other two printers.
Conclusions
Our early look at the Color LaserJet shows that HP is offering serious competition to the QMS and Xerox color laser printers. Though it suffers from the lowest resolution of the three, the Color LaserJet's ease of use, speed and aggressive pricing should make it an attractive choice for corporate environments with modest color requirements.
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Direct Marketing Organization of Santa Clara, Calif., can be reached at (800) 752-0900; fax (800) 333-1917.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Reviews Page 31
(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
ProductWatch: Mac accounting muscles up
New versions and players in the client-server Mac accounting arena help invigorate that once-anemic market.
By Eric J. Adams
Macintosh accounting, once the 98-pound weakling of Macintosh computing, is beefing up, particularly at the high end. New client-server versions are available from Great Plains Software, Manzanita Software, Softek Design Inc., and newcomers Maconomy NE Inc. and Connected, a division of EveryWare Development Corp. Even midrange multi-user programs, such as State of the Art Inc.'s MacP&L, are getting into the ring with limited client-server support.
"There has been a flurry of activity at the mid and high range of Mac accounting, and in some cases the distinction between the two is blurring," said Brent Williams, an analyst with International Data Corp., a market research company in Mountain View, Calif.
However, anyone investigating client-server accounting programs should proceed with caution, said Jack Irby, an authorized Softek Design A4 consultant and Mac accounting consultant in Huntington Beach, Calif.
"Client-server is one of those terms that is bandied about fairly loosely," he said. "No one has a good definition of it, and everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon."
Consequently, client-server Mac accounting programs differ greatly, which is why some programs cost $5,000 per module and others are $599 for the complete package.
Definitions aside, client-server versions of Mac accounting programs promise to make Mac accounting attractive to large companies that have relied largely on minicomputers or mainframes for accounting.
"The client-server emphasis has always been on Windows, but we've seen some DOS-looking Windows accounting programs," Williams said. "Now we're finally seeing effective use [of] the graphical user interface of the Mac."
Splish, splash
Great Plains, a market leader in Mac-based accounting, has made perhaps the biggest splash into the client-server market with last month's release of its fully scalable Dynamics C/S+, a superset of the company's GUI-based Dynamics accounting software.
Dynamics C/S+ clients can run on Windows, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, System 7.x and Power Macintosh. A number of Unix platforms can act as servers, including IBM RS/6000, HP/UX, Intel 486 or Pentium and Digital Equipment Corp.'s Alpha machines. The software also runs on Sun SPARCstations running Solaris.
Dynamics has helped the Schwab Co., an 80-year-old children's clothing maker in Cumberland, Md., move many accounting processes off of its IBM AS/400 and onto a mixed platform of Macs and Intel-standard PCs running Windows.
"It has allowed us to be far more flexible and creative in how we approach our accounting processes," said Ron Stuart, vice president of finance at Schwab. For example, Schwab, which makes clothing for Ralph Lauren, among others, previously took information from the AS/400 and manually keyed it into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for analysis. Now the information is analyzed directly in Dynamics, Stuart said.
The C/S+ version of Dynamics offers a wider range of possible servers, more distributed processing capabilities and greater accounting functionality than the Dynamics version, according to a Great Plains spokesperson.
Although Maconomy NE is new to the United States, it is an experienced hand at high-end accounting. Its Maconomy client-server program, localized for the U.S. market, can run on a Mac server running A/UX or Oracle-based Unix servers from HP and Sun Microsystems Inc. IBM RS/6000 support is due soon.
Maconomy also boasts Mac TCP communications and a SQL-based report writer. Windows client support will be added before the end of the year, according to Poul J. Hebsgaard, president of the U.S. division.
Hy-Way picks up speed
Hy-Way Sales Inc., an art supply wholesaler in Hartford, Conn., was among the first installations for Maconomy.
"We have 11,000 products and 700 customers, and we can access any of them in a second based on some 60-odd criteria," said Linda Pountney, owner and vice president of Hy-Way. The company is running Maconomy on a souped-up Quadra 950 with a dozen assorted Macs as clients over an Ethernet network. "We never tie each other up even when we're all working at the same time," she said.
Maconomy is available in two bundles. Maconomy Trade includes general ledger (GL), accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) modules; sales orders; inventory; purchase orders; a layout designer; and a report designer. The Job Cost bundle adds job cost and service items modules but omits the sales order, inventory and purchase-order modules.
Connected is entering the U.S. market with its cross-platform client-server program called Connected Accounting.
Version 2.7 of Connected Accounting is a multi-user program built on Omnis 7 that can run on Mac and Windows-based computers, according to the company. A client-server version is due this month, according to Gary Giumarra, the company's president. An Oracle-based version is scheduled for next year. The three modules include Inventory Management, Job Costing, and General Accounting, which includes GL, AR and AP.
Manzanita Software has added client-server capabilities to the 12 modules of its Flexware Version 7.0, which was released in April. Though the program can run only on a Mac server with Mac clients, it is a true client-server program, according to product manager Jack Robinson. When the optional FlexShare module is employed, the program can handle up to 99 users, Robinson added.
The new version is also fully scriptable using AppleScript and responds to Apple events. The recently released FlexWare Development System 7.0, sold separately, lets developers create custom applications by accessing the original source code. The development system includes a built-in interpreter for development, a compiler for speed, an interactive screen formatter and an automatic application documenter.
Another dimension
ACI US Inc.'s 4th Dimension ranks among the pre-eminent Macintosh databases, and two accounting programs have tied their fortunes to it. A4, from Softek Design, went client-server last year with its 4.0 release. Its new Release 5.0 adds a revamped GUI and multitasking capabilities, Irby said.
A4 is the only high-end program that is integrated into one piece, with no individual modules, and it relies heavily on 4th Dimension for its client-server attributes, according to Irby. While A4 is currently limited to a Mac client-server implementation, that will change when ACI releases its Universal client-server version next year.
The second accounting program based on 4th Dimension is Fourth Power Service 2.0 from Honeybee Software Inc. The integrated program is geared for creative service companies, Honeybee President Jeff Klein said.
Joann Taylor, business manager for McGraw-Hill's Communications and Design Division in New York, found the integrated package crucial. "We're using it because all our creative people are on Macs, and we want to tie them into our internal billing cycle," she said.
Bargain basement
Finally, for client-server accounting at lower prices, check out MacP&L from State of the Art. At a list price of $599 for an integrated multi-user version, MacP&L is designed to run over AppleTalk-compatible networks.
The new Version 4.0.5, released last month, includes enhanced AppleScript support for better interaction with other office applications and for automating routines. The program is also designed to link with Timeslips Accounting Link from Timeslips Corp. of Essex, Mass. (a subsidiary of the SAGE Group plc of Newcastle, England), for time-billing; Pos*im from Ensign Systems Inc. of Layton, Utah, for point-of-sale requirements; and Informed software from Shana Corp. of Edmonton, Alberta, for forms automation.
Claire Parez, of Polomar Color Reproductions in Milwaukee, uses MacP&L because it lets several users access the system at one time. But the main reason her consultant suggested MacP&L is for its AppleScript capabilities.
"It extends the reach of the program," said Chuck Rogers, owner of Solutions Inc. of Racine, Wis. "With AppleScript we can change all prices in inventory across the board without having to make the changes individually."
MacWEEK 09.19.94
ProductWatch Page 35
(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Mac the Knife: Spindler spiel spells success
You could tell by the awed expressions few bothered to hide. Last week at Seybold San Francisco, Michael Spindler gave the most memorable and effective speech in his brief career as Apple CEO. The audience had been prepared for the usual but instead got the extraordinary. The Knife was reminded of John Sculley's blossoming as an enthusiastic new-technologies man, which many thought imitative, in turn, of Steve Jobs.
Some speculate that Spindler's onstage panache was audience-inspired. The results of Apple's reborn commitment to the publishing market, first publicized by Spindler last year at the Worldwide Publishing Consortium, reverberated through the hall. The OpenDoc-Adobe announcement enhanced the mood.
Microsoft's keynote contribution was made by former Apple exec Roger Heinen, now senior vice president of Microsoft's developer division. His address was met with such overwhelming enthusiasm that the hall began to empty moments after he started speaking. Heinen tried to sell the concept of Microsoft's new Windows Prepublishing Association and offered a rather nonplused answer when asked when Microsoft would join the WWPC. He drew the largest belly laugh of the day when he observed that Microsoft is "the largest software developer, but we're a relatively minor player in the computer industry compared to behemoths like IBM and HP."
Will see, won't see
Hints about unannounced products were the rule. Spindler spoke of future integration between Adobe Acrobat and QuickTime and also of some intriguing new telephony agreements that Apple is making with several telecom vendors. Adobe's John Warnock chipped in with references to an OCR package that retains the formatting and graphics of the source document. And don't forget, all those designer Mac prototypes Spindler showed off during his speech were losing designs, he was careful to note.
At Apple's booth the hot rumor was that an unannounced Windows version of the QuickDraw GX line-layout and ligature engine may soon give GX a much-needed boost. Apple is reportedly in negotiations with several developers -- including Fractal Design, Deneba Software and Adobe -- to use GX for Windows in their products. And in a Windows-obsessed world, this might be precisely the leg up GX needs.
Even as Spindler spoke he had waiting back on his desk a document authorizing the creation of a new high-level group, tentatively called the Publishing Usage Group. One of its goals will be to get Apple's market share in the low end of the DTP market up from the paltry 28 percent level where it's been languishing. The fact that this group will be feeding so high on the organizational chart implies that Spindler isn't just following a script when he enthuses about publishing potential.
Siesta, no
Radius was content to keep a relatively low public profile about new products. But if you had the right connections, you might have gotten in on (or at least overheard) conversations about the post-SuperMac product line. The Knife reports the company is adopting a mix-and-match policy while it digests its recent acquisition. For example, a future version of the hot Radius LeMans GT video card will accept Thunder daughterboards.
Radius is also determined to beat the competition to market with the first Mac PCI card. If it wins, it will do it with a follow-up to the LeMans. Overall, it has specs similar to the NuBus card: 30-bit accelerated color, 1,600-by-1,200-pixel resolution, you know the drill. Except that it will be 200 percent faster than LeMans -- and sell for the same price.
The Knife can't get your picture published, but he can get you in the MacWEEK mug hall of leakers. If your tip will fly, look him up at (415) 243-3544, fax (415) 243-3651, AppleLink (MacWEEK), Internet (mac_the_knife@macweek.ziff.com) or CompuServe/ZiffNet/Mac.
MacWEEK 09.19.94
Mac the Knife Page 74
(c) Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
