ftp.wwiv.com/ftp.wwiv.com.zip/ftp.wwiv.com/pub/HATCH/WWIVNEWS.ZIP/9407_7.NWS

Text File | 1994-07-24 | 32KB | 501 lines

utilities, along with the latest patches for Windows NT. The new "Microsoft
TechNet Supplemental (Drivers & Patches) CD", which contains a total of some
1000 drivers, is scheduled to be bundled with the latest edition of the
TechNet CD that is supplied to Microsoft TechNet subscribers.

...Both discs are the first CD-ROMs from Microsoft to be offered with
unlimited user licenses, and also provide the first generally-complete
collection of official patches for Windows NT to be available on CD-ROM.
The disc is the first of a series of supplemental monthly CDs that will be
sent to Microsoft Technet subscribers, and future supplemental discs in the
series will include patches for LAN Manager and Windows for Workgroups.

...The blood money Microsoft is asking isn't pint-sized for most of us. For
12 monthly issues of "TechNet" and "TechNet Supplemental (Drivers and Patches)
CDs", $295 gets you a single user license, while $695 set you up for a single
server, unlimited users license. Nope, no word on whether Microsoft considers
distribution of the contents on the Drivers and Patches disk a breach of
copyright.

...From the "We *Told* You So!" department: Dell's having a fire sale these
days, what with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission forcing them to
"voluntarily" recall over 63,000 Royal-made OEM color monitors due to the
high possibility of them catching fire with extensive use.

...The reason the monitors were recalled went like this: Following complaints
filed with the CPSC, that august body determined that faulty and below-
tolerance internal components in the Royal monitors can overheat and cause
a fire. Prior to the CPSC ruling, 132 users reported overheating and in 47
of those instances the monitors have caught fire. After the recall was started,
these figures were lated found to have been roughly three times higher in
actuality due to unreported cases.

...Dell, still stinging from their notebook and stock value fiascos, has
attempted to make rather light of the issue. A Dell spokesperson says that
no injuries resulted from any of the monitors that overheated, and the fires
did not spread beyond the monitor. Other spokespersons assured TechNOTEs that
the use of the word "fire" was a gross exaggeration on the part of the CPSC,
and that the situation as more of a "pungent meltdown".

...For those who got suckered into buying proprietary Dell systems, you only
need to be concerned if you happen to own one of the Model DL-1460NI 14-inch
Super VGA color monitors. These units were sold direct by Dell and through
Sam's Club, Costco, Price Club, and CompUSA. Users can determine the model
of the monitor by checking the identification plate located on the rear of
the unit. The model number is found in the upper left corner of the ID plate.

...If you happen to have this monitor in use, unless you've got a
fully-charged, ABC-rated fire extinguisher handy beside the PC, Dell stresses
that you should immediately unplug the monitor and contact them at 800-913-3355
between the hours of 9AM and 9PM ET, Monday through Friday (11AM to 3PM ET on
Saturday) for an RMA number. The company will send packing materials via
overnight service, and Airborne Express will pick up the monitors for return
to Dell. Dell tech support claims that the turnaround time for the repair is
expected to be 3-5 working days, but reports claim this is in actuality as
long as two weeks. Also, the monitors can only be repaired - Dell will not
exchange the monitors for new and/or already repaired ones, much to the
chagrin of many an angry customer.

...Speaking of Dell, this side nOTE comes from one Austin, Tx computer
dealer: "Seems the other day we got a request for a system quote from the
American Atheist Center. Our boss is a really devout Christian, and is
probably one of the nicest, politest people I've ever worked for. However,
when I told him about the quote and who was asking for it, his response
was 'tell them I said they can go to Dell!' Needless to say, this floored
the entire office for hours!"

...From the "Great White North" department: Word from WWIVNetters in Canada
tell of the demise of Canada's principal computer show. The Canadian Computer
Show would have celebrated its 25th anniversary this fall, and according to
those who've talked to Ross Horton, manager of computer shows for Industrial
Trade and Consumer Shows (ITCS) in Toronto, "the computer industry just was
not showing enough interest in the Toronto-based show this year, and ITCS
decided it would be better to make the decision [to cancel the show] now."

...ITCS runs seven regional computer shows in cities across Canada, and
according to Horton, plans to continue doing so. He also added that the
company hopes "...to return to the Toronto market sometime in 1995 with a
new show, but we've got no detailed plans to discuss at this time."
...While orton also blamed a weak economy and increased competition for the
show's demise, a major factor was undoubtedly the launch last year of
Comdex/Canada, a spinoff of that debaucherous event held each fall in Las
Vegas and repentantly each spring in Atlanta, and may be spinning off to a
summer event in Dallas starting in 1996. Last fall's edition of the Canadian
Computer Show was smaller than it had been in some years, with booths for
about 200 exhibitors filled out of the 500 alotted. Many industry experts
speculated at the time that the new competition posed by Comdex/Canada might
actually kill any chances of future shows based on the apparent lack of
local interest.

...Two VAR's on WWIVNet - MicroSource in Austin, Tx, and Dale's Dataexperts
in Los Angeles, had the same thing to say insofar as to why those who sell
computers prefer Media Vision over Creative Labs. "The only reason that
everyone wants Sound Blasters has nothing to do with how good they are, its
because on every game box the words 'Sound Blaster support included' are
printed in big bold letters. Media Vision's ProAudio line has far better
versatility than CL's overhyped junk, cause less problems with regards to
incompatibilities, and actually cost less when you get down to it. Hell, they
even work right with OS/2!"

...From the "Andy Warhol Memorial 15 Minutes of Fame" department: Ziff-Davis,
publisher of ad-rags such as _PC Magazine_, _PC Week_, and _Computer Shopper_,
has announced plans to produce two half-hour weekly shows for Technology
Information Network (TechTV). In what most are calling a totally expected
move, considering who's producing the weekly shows, Tech TV plans to pair the
two Ziff shows with several half-hour and hour-long computer-related
infomercials.

...Starting in August, two one-hour packages will be broadcast on weekend
afternoons as paid programming on CNBC. The half-hour infomercial segments
will follow the Ziff-produced shows, and will contain material provided by
manufacturers and designed to sell their products. While TechTV will be paying
for the time on CNBC, the two Ziff-Davis segments will reportedly not be
infomercials, which will be interrupted by commercial breaks as in normal
television. Ziff-Davis said its productions, "PC Update" and "The Personal
Computing Show", will reportedly feature segments hosted by computer industry
experts, including editors and columnists from Ziff publications and personnel
from its product testing laboratories. "The Personal Computing Show", on
Saturdays, will demonstrate the use of personal computer products, while
"PC Update", on Sundays, will be a newsmagazine focusing on trends and on
new technologies and products. The infomercials, which will follow the
Ziff-Davis productions, will follow time-honored traditions of hype and
tackyness, and will of course allow viewers to order products through a
toll-free telephone number.

...The laugher of all this is the report that Ziff will retain control of
editorial content for their programs, and has reportedly even reserved the
right to lambast the accompanying infomercials if they see fit! Ziff-Davis
condemning an advertiser in front of millions of couch potatoes? Yeah, right
pal, pull the *other* leg next time.

...From the "Frisbees Don't Fly High Forever" department: TEAC America has
thrown down the first gauntlet in what's expected to be the start of a major
price war in the CD ROM market. In June, TEAC began shipping a quadruple-speed
(4X) CD-ROM drive for $399, which is $600 below comparable drives offered by
NEC, Sony and Plextor. The TEAC drive will have the 600-kilobytes-per-second
quadruple-speed transfer rate, plus a zippy access time of 195 milliseconds.

...As a result, NEC immediately dropped the price of their 4X internal drive
to the same price as the TEAC 4X, and Plextor is reportedly following suit
in July with the official release of their own 4X drive. Industry experts
cite this as being only the first battle in a major price war over the
CD-ROM market, and will most likely result in a price drop for 2X drives
to under $100, and a probable extinction of the 3X drives which failed to
offer sufficient enough of a performance boost over 2X drives to justify
the almost double cost.

...Meanwhile, over in those Creative Labs, the Sound Blaster people have
reached a settlement with Prometheus Products and Computer Peripherals in
the false advertising suit brought against the companies. In the announced
settlement, Prometheus, producer of Aria audio cards, agreed to change its
packaging and will no longer advertise its products as "Sound Blaster
Compatible." Computer Peripherals, also sued for false advertising, will
"black out" all claims of compatibility with the established "standard".
Both companies, however, have stated that they will instead refer to their
products as having "Sound Blaster emulation" capabilities.

...Creative Labs also announced the continuation of the same false advertising
claim against Cardinal Technologies, as a Federal District Court in San
Francisco granted a preliminary injunction against Cardinal. The judge ruled
that Cardinal must either "block out" the reference  to "Sound Blaster
Compatibility" on its packages, reprint its boxes to delete the claim, or
upgrade the packaged units.

...The curious point of order in this case is that according to Creative Labs,
Cardinal achieved the standards of compatibility in March of 1994, and any
cards issued after that date are not affected by the suit. In the suit,
Creative is asking that Cardinal effect changes to those cards produced prior
to the compliance, and that it is seeking this and other court injunctions
"preserve the standards that have been established as 'Sound Blaster
Compatible." Currently, both IBM and Media Vision have been licensed by
Creative as having this capability and the right to advertise as such.

...In other words, folks, Creative Labs wants the cows to go through USDA
approval after they've been branded, slaughtered, cooked, served and eaten.
Real swift thinking there, eh?

...Comdex/Spring '94 has come and gone, and WWIVNews had a few informants
taking notes of what was hot. This time, Personal OS/2 from IBM was the show
stealer, and managed to get named 'Best of Show' in both BYTE magazine and
The Interface Group's "Best of COMDEX/Spring and Windows World '94" awards
ceremony. Needless to say, it was also the choice of those WWIVNews
representatives as *the* package to watch for with regards to putting Chicago
in its place. Still six months away from official release, Personal OS/2 will
be a tighter, 4 MB version of OS/2 for Windows, will include some badly-needed
complete support for Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and offer an easier
installation while offering better stability than Windows 3.1.
...The Most Significant Technology award was given to OLE Custom Controls
from the Gates Boys at Microsoft. OCC merges the benefits of Visual Basic
Exchange with OLE 2.0, giving Windows programmers easier and more versatile
access to both VBX and OLE facilities. Other finalists in this category
included DEC's 150MHz Alpha at 33 Mhz, and Kurzweil Voice for Windows, a
voice recognition system from Kurzweil Applied Intelligence Inc., the same
folks who first brought you somewhat reliable OCR. WWIVNews reporters chose
this program over the others as being of "more significance than a set of
custom controls for a GUI that shouldn't be so damn hard to program for in
the first place!"

...The "Best Rookie" award was presented to the top first-time exhibitor
with a product that shows outstanding potential. This time, the award went to
Medio Multimedia for "Medio Magazine", a magazine on CD-ROM which integrates
full-motion video, audio, text and graphics with current news stories,
entertainment, reviews, sports and childrens' materials. Those viewing the
demos of this product reportedly support the awarding in this case, and
claim that "this disk is sort of like a family version of 'Entertainment
Tonight', without having to put up with the ignorance of Mary Hart!'

...In the Multimedia Software Category, "Elastic Realty" by Elastic
Realty Inc. took this show's award. The program, a morphing and special
effects software for Windows, features warping, layering and matting
capabilities. Other finalists in the category were MediaShop for Windows, a
multimedia production, integration and authoring package from Motion Works,
and Razor, a professional digital video editing package for Windows from
in:sync corporation.

...The award for best in Multimedia Hardware went to "Video Machine Lite", a
video editing system which allows users to add complex digital video
effects in real time video. MediaPlayback PC and Macintosh, computer
expansion boards and software from International Interactive Media, and the
WWIVNews-preferred MGA Impression Plus 64-bit graphics accelerator from
Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. were named finalists.

...Over in the Best New Portable category, Apple Computers' new line of
PowerBooks, the 500 Series were named winners based on their perceived high
performance and supposed low cost. However, most WWIVNews reps at the show
felt that this was probably more "under the table paid lip service", as
several of the demo units reportedly could not stand up to the amount of
use and abuse they received at the hands of show attendees. Runners-up in
this category were Z-Noteflex, a modular notebook computer system from
Zenith Data Systems, and the WWIVNews-preferred IBM ThinkPad 755 family of
notebooks, also with interchangeable modules and the "nipple".

...The Best System Category award went to TD-4 Personal Workstations from
Intergraph Corporation, which feature dual 90 Mhz Pentium processors and G91
graphics acceleration with an optional 3D GLZ graphics engine. Finalists in
the category were the WWIVNews reps' choice and the WWIVNews Editor's wetdream
machine, the Revolution Q-SMP Symmetrical Multiprocessor system from Advanced
Logic Research Inc., and the MACH 1-166, an entry-level Alpha system from
NEKOTech, a division of Inventory Conversion Inc.

...In the Best Peripherals Category, Imagine-128, a 128-bit graphics and
multimedia processor from Number Nine Computer Corporation was named winner.
Finalists in the category were ViewSonic 17 Monitor OnView from ViewSonic and
SmartRAID, a full 'RAID-ready' storage solution from DPT. The WWIVNews reps'
award went to ADI's 4GLR, a 15" NI SVGA monitor whose flat screen actually
puts NEC's 4FGX to shame.

...Over in the Best Printer arena, for reasons unfathomable Epson's Stylus
Color ink-jet printer was named the winner. Finalists in the category were the
LaserJet 4 Plus and 4M Plus from Hewlett-Packard, which also won the WWIVNews
reps' choice award, and Fargo Electronics Inc.'s PrimeraPro Color Printer,
which the WWIVNews Editor is attempting to purchase for $795 as part of the
dealer incentive program.

...In the Best Software Category, Lotus Forms Version 1.0 electronic-forms
software for designing, routing and tracking forms took the award despite
the fact that integration with Lotus Notes was flawed and incomplete as
demonstrated at the show. The finalists in the category were XRES, a
painting/editing system for large, high-resolution images, from Fauve Software
and Ca$HGRAF, a financial management package designed for small to mid size
businesses, from Target Software Group Inc.

...In the System/Development Software Category, Personal OS/2, winner of
Best In Show, took this award as well. Other finalists were Microsoft's
Windows NT Workstation, which was another example of "under the table paid
lip service", and WinG, which actually deserved recognition due to its
ability to render fast, smooth game graphic animation in Windows 3.1, Chicago,
and Windows NT, despite the fact that it was also from Microsoft.

...The Best in New Communications award went to Scanfix, a multipurpose
desktop scanner that brings low-cost color faxing to the desktop, which
ironically came from from Plustek USA Inc., notorious for producing the
shoddiest scanners this side of the shoddier *and* overpriced scanners from
Umax. Finalists in this category were the CommCard, a high-speed, wireless
fax/modem with data and voice capabilities from Open Sky, and Connection Pro,
a DSP-based fax/voice modem with business audio and digital voice messaging,
from Digicom Systems

...In the normally Novell-dominated Networking category, CorStream server, a
dedicated server for the LANtastic network operating system from Artisoft
Inc., was named this show's winner. Other finalists in the category were
SkyLAN local talk wireless LAN from S&T Co. Ltd and Ben IIO, a 16-bit ISA
Ethernet bus adapter, from Boca Research Inc.

...While Personal OS/2 reportedly stole the show at Comdex/Spring '94, the
program that everyone was *really* talking about was 7th Level's Monty Python
CD-ROM, titled "The Secret to Intergalactic Success." In true Python fashion,
the debut of the program was riddled with all sorts of comical difficulties.

...The reported technical difficulties, it should be noted, had nothing to do
with the title. The microphones in the hotel room 7th Level had rented simply
did not work. This 16-ton weight was dodged by some last-minute adlibbing by
Charles Fleischer, better known as the voice of "Roger Rabbit", who'll be
the target of 7th Level's upcoming "Virgil Reality" title. This, in turn, let
to Fleischer, who will soon have a column in "PC Computing" magazine, being
dubbed "the seventh Python."

...According to those attending the demonstration, the game is not just a
group of clips thrown together to enhance a simple arcade game, but a diverse
collection of classic and original clips combined in a complex puzzle. 7th
Level will also be sponsoring a contest, with the first person to figure out
the "secret to intergalactic success" winnig themselves $5,000 or a high-end
computer.

...In true Python fashion - or Catch 22, depending on how Amerocentric you
choose to be - it will take a high-end computer to run this title in order
to attempt to beat the game and possibly win a high-level computer. 7th Level
recommends a 486-based machine with Windows 3.1, MPC II accessories, and a
double-speed CD-ROM drive are recommended.

...From the "Different Eggs, Basket Full of Holes" department: April saw yet
another strange twist in the software industry when Symantec announced an
agreeement to merge with Central Point Software. Executives at the two
companies say the merger is intended to promote the development and marketing
of "enterprise'' software for networked environments. Symantec, which markets
several enterprise software products, including Norton Administrator for
Networks, Norton AntiVirus for NetWare and Norton Utilities Administrator,
and Central Point, which markets enterprise software products including
Central Point Anti-Virus for NetWare, XTree Tools for Networks and LANlord,
made a joint announcement of the merger on April 4.

...When asked, spokespersons for both companies replied through April that
the companies had merged. However, when May rolled around, Symantec reps
were saying off-the-record - yeah, *right* - that they had bought Central
Point outright, while CP reps were still talking merger. By the first of
June, both sides were beginning to make off-the-record comments to the
effect that the merger *might* not take place as announced. At press time
no official changes to the status of the merger had been announced, and
both sides are now mum on the matter.

...From the "Same Basket, Rotten Eggs" department: As if there weren't enough
flavors of CPU to keep track of, Intel released the SX2 in June. The SX2, a
speed-doubled SX processor, promises to turn your 25MHz 486SX system into a
486SX2/50 system. According to Intel spokepersons, the SX2 offers end users
30 percent more performance than the standard Intel 486SX, but is *not* the
long-awaited "Overdrive" chip. The processor is priced at $189 in the U.S.
in quantities of 1,000 and is compatible with standard DX2 processor pinouts.

...So, where *is* that "Overdrive" chip we've been promised since day one?
Well, you might not have recognized it, but it's the IntelDX4. The IntelDX4
was, according to several Intel insiders, originally planned to be released
as the "Overdrive" chip for the 486DX series of Intel processors. However,
with Intel's losses to Cyrix and AMD of late, the plan now is to attempt to
hold onto the 486 market long enough to get the 32-bit Pentium Overdrive
chip perfected enough to sell to those of us who bought systems with P24T
ZIF sockets before Cyrix and AMD can gain any further toeholds into the
market.

...Granted, Pentium is the way Intel is heading, but even they realize that
the "upstarts" got their leverage by capitalizing on the user base that could
not afford to upgrade to the latest and the greatest in CPU power, and milked
them for all this rather potent cash cow could supply! Now, Intel has to
attempt to maintain the path to the future, but recapture the past as well
if they're going to survive. In light of the Cyrix and AMD deals with IBM,
the failure of Intel's agreement with IBM, and the even slight threat of
the dual chipset Nx586 from NextGen, Intel has no choice but to keep the
support promises they thought the Pentium would have bailed them out of.

...From the "Bust the Trust" department: Fujitsu has joined the movement to
establish the Microsoft Windows Application Programming Interface (MAPI) as
an open, published standard. Microsoft, naturally, opposes this move as it -
by their lawyers' reckoning - would take Bill Gates' #2 cash cow and set
it loose on the public domain pasture, resulting in dozens of shareware
and commercial clones of Windows, and turning the DOS/Windows world into the
same sort of chaos that the Unix geeks seem to thrive on as much as they do
on the cold pizza they sleep with.

...This Public Windows Interface movement includes numerous movers and shakers
in the industry, including Amdahl, Borland, Corel, Hewlett-Packard, IBM,
Oracle, The Santa Cruz Operation, Sun Microsystems, WordPerfect and - oddly
enough - Novell's UNIX Systems Group, which recently announced plans to
support the move to make Unix itself part of the public domain.

...From the "Better late than never" department: IBM took its sweet time
getting its PS/2 Premium 56 and 57 systems out the door. Now, after an
expectedly lengthy wait, Big Blue has finally started shipping updated
versions of these systems, featuring increased processor performance and
better graphics.

...Both models use the 25/75 486SLC3 ship, better known as the "Blue
Lightning", IBM's internally developed 32-bit processor. The chip features
16KB of on-chip cache and improves processor-intensive, non-floating-point
application performance anywhere from 40 percent to 424 percent, depending
on which of the older models it's replacing and which hype you choose
to believe. Graphics, on the other hand, are based on XGA2, a faster, less
expensive version of XGA. This makes this "new" standard - if you can believe
it - a cheaper form of 8514 which ironically isn't supported yet by OS/2!

...Those who already own the original release of the 56 or the 57 can upgrade
to the new processors with a Processor Upgrade Card for the cheap-by-IBM-
standards price of $535. This upgrade works in the older PS/2 56 and 57 SX,
SLC and SLC2 models.

...From the "GraspRT Wetdream" department: Fast Forward Video, manufacturers
of the Digital Video Recorder "Bandit", are offering their flagship product
($5995 plus storage - best take out those loans *now* while interest rates
are a little lower...) with several significant newly implemented features.
Bandit, a peripheral device which originally transferred and recorded images
to a 32mb RAM module allowing 20 seconds of video to be played back in real
time, is now capable of recording direct to a SCSI hard disk.

...The new version uses fast SCSI-2 storage for the simple fact that you can
daisy-chain up to six drives - or so the theory goes -  to achieve over 2
hours of recording time. In addition, since the recording drive subsystem is
dedicated to an onboard JPEG compression card, the data never has to pass over
the bottlenected computer bus, allowing full screen video at 60 fields per
second with as little as 5:1 compression.

...Prior versions of the Bandit also had another limitation that no longer
exists. Until now, the unit has only been available with composite ins and
outs, which is not acceptable to the broadcast and professional users. To
meet the demand, YUV and S-Video jacks have been added to the options that
are available. This allows producers and editors to maximizing their image
quality and record broadcast images directly to VTRs they are using, such
as Betacam SP, BPI-31XX, and U-Matic.

...WWIVNews readers are encouraged to let us know when Rusty & Edie manage
to purchase one of these. If this happens, don't be surprised to see Rusty
suddenly showing up as having been the star of "Devil in Miss Jones"!

...From the "Slot Machine" department: Ok, we've all run out of slots in
our machines on occasion, especially when we throw in a video card, a TV
board, a sound card, a multi I/O IDE controller, a SCSI controller, a
modem or two, and a network card, and we've thrown it in a case whose
hard drive bay gets right in the way of the long cards! It's enough to
make you want to scream, right?

...Well, there's a bit of hope for people like us. Ultralink offers a simple
but sophisticated ISA bus expansion system is now available for users of
laptops, Microchannel and other non-ISA personal computer platforms to use the
wide range of data acquisition, control and peripheral I/O cards available for
the ISA bus. PC users who are out of motherboard expansion slots now have the
ability to expand economically and without disturbing existing system
configurations.

...The Ultralink Model 120 consists of a single PC card and cable which
connect a passive ISA backplane to a host PC's parallel printer port. Up to
16 ISA I/O cards can be installed in the passive backplane. The unit operates
with Centronics compatible and enhanced parallel printer adapters at data
rates up to 100K bytes per second, and both 8 and 16 bit ISA I/O data
transfers are supported. The 'Link also incorporates logic which expands
address space and interrupt levels available on the expansion backplane.

...Another feature offered by the 'Link is a concept that's foreign to most
PC users - hotswapping. This feature allows insertion or removal of cards
from the expansion backplane without shutdown or opening of the PC. In
addition, the expansion backplane is only active during data transfers with
resident I/O cards, reducing backplane electrical noise for sensitive data
acquisition applications.

...Now, if all this sounds familiar, keep in mind that IBM once had an
"expansion chassis" for the original XT's that used another XT chassis
as a semipassive backplane. That unit, however, didn't support even 1/4th
of the peripheral cards on the market at that time, and you couldn't put
any hard drives in it either! Those interested in the Link should be prepared
to shell out an MSRP of $159, not to mention a case of some sort to hold
the unit.
...From the "Jocko Homo" department: Sick of Flying Toasters? Want something
a bit more <snicker> "sensual"? Well, romance-novel cover boy Fabio has a
screen saver of his own now, and it can be yours for a mere $29.95! That's
right, you too can have 17 images of the fab Fabio plastered all over your
computer screen for all your secretaries to gawk at. For those who need
something with more "meat" on their screens, the Fabio Screen Saver and
Wallpaper for Windows from GT Interactive is expected to appeal to millions
of female and not-so-female PC users nationwide.

...According to the company's vice president of marketing, Allan Blum, "Fabio
is one of the most recognized romance figures in the world." Guess that
depends on who's looking. Of course, if they *really* wanted to do a screen
saver of someone gracing the cover of a paperback, Doc Savage would have
probably been a better choice. If anything, he'd have been far more real!

...Ten years after the first PC hit the market, we're now finally coming to
realize just how important it is to keep your system internals as cool as
possible. While some systems can get by on just having a cooling fan on the
CPU and the power supply, others have found that using a fan card is a far
better solution to the heat problem.

...However, there's one problem - the damn things take up a slot and all
they do is move air! T. S. MicroTech, maker of what's still the only patented
internal cooling fan for PCs, has realized this fact, and has released a new
version of its FanCard that pulls double-duty by supplying I/O for both air
*and* data. The FanCard/Combo uses the same two bidirectional fans as the
original versions, but this time they've placed on a multi-I/O card. The
new Combo allows for maximum cooling for your machine while providing a full
complement of I/O ports.

..."But wait! There's more!" Ronco aside, the FanCard/Combo also has an
optional 6v connector, which will power most multimedia speakers, as well
as two serial ports, one parallel port, and one game port. All ports can be
enabled or disabled individually, and the controller supports up to two IDE
hard disks and two floppy drives, all of which are also disableable.

...There's two drawbacks to this card, however: There isn't a Local Bus
version yet - the Combo is an ISA bus card only - and with this in mind the
MSRP of $95 seems quite a bit steep for those of us who need a VLB version.
TSM is reportedly working on a such a card, but had no release date at
press time.

...From the "Open Sesame" department: Last May, Texas Instruments announced
its participation in the development of an industry standard model for printer