RAndY's RumOR RaG
December 1994

NEWS IN YER FACE
      A  new  medical  software package is called  Voice-Actuated
Medical  Practice Image Retrieving Environment - or  VAMPIRE  for
short.
---------------
      IBM  calls  their  SP2 "the world's most powerful  general-
purpose  computer."  The unit has 512 high-performance processors
producing up to 136 billion calculations per second.
---------------
      Jones  Interactive  has  a new CD coming  out  soon  called
"Charlton Heston's Voyage Through The Bible."  At last, the voice
of Moses comes to computing.
---------------
      Hackers  recently broke into a computer  at  Florida  State
University and posted copies of IBM's Warp and a test version  of
Windows 95 on the Internet.
---------------
      IBM and Hughes Network Systems have concocted a new way  to
provide  software  fixes and program upgrades  via  satellite  to
corporations and retail outlets.
     The system uses a pizza-sized satellite dish mounted outside
the  customer's location via DirecPC, a new service from  Hughes.
The  dish,  card, and software necessary to use the service  will
cost $1,495.  IBM will begin testing with several large corporate
customers starting in December.
---------------
      Microsoft was not content with their recent acquisition  of
Intuit.   Next  on  the list is NextBase Ltd., a British  company
that produces mapping and route-planning software.  Gee, now what
could they have in mind for this?
---------------
      Corel  has  had  discussions recently with  IBM  concerning
producing  a  suite  for Warp.  This would be  similar  to  their
planned CD-ROM only suite for Windows 95.
---------------
      ASF  Associates  (1-800-771-3600) is marketing  the  NCL480
which  is  clip-on light for notebook computers.  It  comes  with
four  nicad  batteries, three Ektron bulbs, an adapter/recharger,
and a carrying case - all for just $40.
---------------
       Are   you  one  of  those  whiners  who's  paranoid  about
electromagnetic  fields?  For just #39.95, you can  get  the  Dr.
Gauss EMF meter from Safe Concepts (1-800-646-7233).  This device
measures  EMF levels and displays them with an analog gauge.   It
also indicates safe distances to keep yourself from appliances.
---------------
      The  sequel to Myst, called Myst II, is in the  process  of
being  created using a $500,000 Silicon Graphics computer  -  the
same  type  of computer used to create the dinosaurs of  Jurassic
Park.
---------------
      Hewlett-Packard is expected to unveil a LaserJet that  will
allow wireless printing via an infrared link.
---------------
      Novell  is  rumored  to be dumping  plans  for  a  separate
multiprocessing version of NetWare, and instead  is  planning  to
"multiprocessing enable" all version of NetWare 4.1.
---------------
Also,  MapInfo's  mapping technology will  be  incorporated  into
future versions of Microsoft Office and Excel.
---------------

WINDOWS 95 UPDATE
      In  January, Microsoft will ship 400,000 preview copies  of
Windows  95  to  users  and businesses that want  to  familiarize
themselves with the product.  You'll pay about$30 per copy.   But
don't  think you can buy the beta and avoid buying the real thing
when  it  becomes  available.  The CD will stop working  at  some
specific  date (which the company hadn't determined yet).   Users
interested  in the final product will have to buy it like  anyone
else.
      Marvel,  the  on-line service soon  to  be  started  up  by
Microsoft,  will include hooks into telephone services  including
voice  connectivity,  fax, on-line databases,  ISDN,  and  remote
network access.  One beta tester says "You forget you're using an
online  service.  It's like being inside a Windows  application."
The content of the Microsoft Network is sparse at this point, but
Mr. Gates himself said, "We won't measure ourselves by the amount
of  content; we want to focus on doing unique things."  Competing
online   services   are  concerned  about  the  product's   tight
integration with Windows 95.
      Charges  will be based on content interaction  rather  than
connect  time,  which  Microsoft  claims  will  result  in  lower
charges.   (Uh-huh)   They plan to use the Microsoft  Network  to
register  software  customers,  take  orders  for  products,  and
provide  software  forums  and  technical  support.   Eventually,
they'll  distribute software over the network as  more  bandwidth
becomes available.
      AutoPlay  is a technology which will allow third-party  CD-
ROMs to play automatically with Windows 95.
      Microsoft continues to claim that Windows 95 will  ship  in
April,  but  industry  insiders predict  it  will  be  more  like
November  or  December.   Microsoft's Mike  Maples  insists  that
they'll  ship "early in the first half of the year."   He  hedges
his  bets  by saying "But there's a significant cost to making  a
false start, so we want to be sure that everything is solid."
      Royalties  paid by vendors to bundle Windows 95  look  like
they're  at  least 20% higher than they currently pay  to  bundle
Windows  3.1.   Microsoft claims that Windows 95 has  more  value
than Windows 3.1.
      Several  printer  manufacturers have  announced  that  they
intend to develop printers that will be optimized for Windows 95.
Among  them  are  Canon,  Epson, Hewlett-Packard,  Lexmark,  NEC,
Olivetti, and Texas Instruments.
      Did you know that Microsoft is planning to continue selling
Windows  3.1 after Windows 95 ships?  PC manufacturers will  have
the  option  of installing both versions of Windows.   Meanwhile,
they're  saying  that  things like Stacker and  DoubleSpace  will
continue to work with the new Windows.
---------------

P6 NEWS
      The  first  prototypes of Intel's P6  processor  have  been
produced.   Their main feature is called Dynamic  Execution  ,  a
combination  of  three  technologies  -  speculative   execution,
multiple-branch execution, and data-flow analysis  -  which  were
previously thought or be incompatible.  Dynamic Exchange will let
the P6 execute three instructions per clock cycle.  (AMD's K5 can
execute  4  instructions per cycle.)  "You can do a  lot  with  6
million  transistors,"  said  John  Hyde,  head  of  Intel's   P6
marketing group.
      Speculative execution lets the processor look ahead for  up
to  20  new  instructions  during a cache  miss,  then  uses  the
multiple-branch-execution technology to process them and  prepare
data  until the single instruction from the cache miss for  which
it  had  been waiting comes through.  Said Hyde, "While it  waits
for the cache miss to be satisfied, the P6 basically goes out and
looks to pre-execute new instructions."
      Hyde expects that the P6 will run the same software as  the
486 and Pentium at twice the speed of the Pentium.
     Intel says that the chip is targeted at the high-end desktop
and  server  market.  Now isn't that what they've told  us  every
time they've prepared to obsolete a processor?
---------------

COREL VENTURA
      I  learned desktop publishing using the old GEM version  of
Ventura Publisher.  I remember learning about frames and tags and
all that kind of stuff.  But when they went to Windows, it's like
they didn't quite get it.
     Of course you know that Corel bought the Ventura program and
has  finally  finished reworking it to include in  their  popular
CorelDraw package.  If you returned your coupon included  in  the
Corel 5 package, you should have gotten a bunch of disks or 2 CDs
which  contain not only the new Ventura, but also bug  fixes  and
updates for the rest of the CorelDraw package.
     The look of Ventura has once again changed to look more like
today's Windows applications, especially to conform in appearance
to  the  rest of the Corel family.  Finally, Ventura has  a  much
more logical menu structure.
     This new Ventura imported some of my old Version 3-era files
just fine.  It looks like they've finally done away with the need
to  convert graphics to IMG or GEM formats.  That always drove me
nuts.   Unfortunately,  you're stuck  with  some  of  CorelDraw's
annoying habits - like remembering the last subdirectory you were
in,  etc.  This is a nice feature, unless you've zapped what  you
were  working  on  before  and  the program  starts  looking  for
something that's not there.  Oh well...
      You are advised to have at least 8 megs of memory, but they
recommend  16 megs.  This thing is a system hog!  But it  appears
to  be stable and, once loaded, runs quite nicely in my measly  8
megs.
     I switched to PageMaker a couple of years ago, so it's tough
for  me to get back into the Ventura way of doing things.  All  I
can say is that they've done a good job of fixing the code and if
you're used to the Ventura way of desktop publishing, this update
will definitely make your day.
---------------

MORE NEWS IN YER FACE
       Media  Vision  sold  their  software  division  to  Virgin
Interactive for $1.8 million in cash and some bundling rights for
titles.  Media Vision closed their Westlake office.
---------------
     Cyberia is a new coffeehouse in London which is being billed
as Europe's first "Internet cafe."  The cafe has espresso, Danis,
and  a  tour  of  the World Wide Web with a number  of  computers
available for customers' use.  Cyberia owner Ewa Pascoe says, "We
don't get many anoraks."  (That's British for "nerds.")
---------------
      Stac  Electronics, pockets bulging with  $40  million  from
their  Microsoft settlement, says they'll be producing a  Windows
95 version of Stacker.  The company recently bought out a company
which  produced a remote control and file transfer product  which
will  ease  their transition  to produce client-server  products.
They're also working on NT products.
---------------
      Trial  Release  3  of Microsoft Exchange (their  answer  to
Notes)  will  ship late this year and will lack  the  ability  to
replicate data to remote personal computers.
---------------
      People tell me that Warp is flying off the shelves.   Local
Egghead  stores get a few in each day and they're gone almost  as
soon  as  they're  put  out.  CompUSA  and  some  Egghead  stores
nationally are reporting being sold out of initial shipments.
---------------
      By the end of the year, Microsoft will release to users, at
no  charge,  Internet Assistant for Word.  It will  automatically
generate HTML code for Word documents.
---------------
      Microsoft is trying to reduce the "delta" that often exists
between  platform releases.  This is the amount of  time  between
releasing  PC  and Mac versions of products.  Their  goal  is  to
reduce  the time lag to about 60 days.  Lag times of  up  to  six
months are quite common.
---------------
      I  hear  that Bill Gates was lured into an OS/2  booth  and
given a "Get Warped" T-shirt.
---------------
      IBM  will discontinue selling NetWare in their blue box  at
the  end  of the year, preferring instead to sell their  own  LAN
Server.  IBM sales only accounted for 5% of NetWare sales.
---------------
      Modem  king  Hayes  has  filed for  Chapter  11  bankruptcy
protection.  Dennis Hayes, company president, said that they were
stuck  with  too  much inventory because of a  demand  for  their
modems  earlier  this year and that it severely hurt  cash  flow.
"Our warehouse had more than enough raw material.  Unfortunately,
the  inventory  did  not  come down  fast  enough,"  said  Hayes.
Competitor  U.S.  Robotics looks at this as beneficial  to  their
company, which is in the process of acquiring Megahertz Corp..
---------------
     Prah-duh-gee is planning new software called 3.1 for release
in  the first quarter of 1995.  It will allow users to access the
Internet World Wide Web.
---------------
     IBM is planning to preload both Windows and OS/2 Warp on new
PCs so that customers have a choice.
---------------
      Someone  has found a bug that affects the way  the  Pentium
BIOS  interacts  with  the Premiere II  motherboard.   Intel  has
adopted a hands-off policy, instead opting to revise the  BIOS  -
for  the  eleventh time since it was released this summer.   When
asked  why the fix instead of a recall, Intel said, "Intel  won't
get involved with the end user."
---------------
      Microsoft has apparently been taking lessons from Intel and
is now bashing Windows 3.1.  At a recent Microsoft-HP seminar for
IS  professionals, Microsoft showed a video where users expressed
their  frustrations over some of Windows' shortcomings.  The  was
another hype for Windows 95.
---------------

MICROSOFT UTOPIA
      Here's one you probably haven't heard about.  Microsoft has
been  approaching  system vendors for several months  now  in  an
attempt  to  get  them  to preload a cartoon-like  interface  for
switching between applications - called Utopia.  They're going to
debut the software at Winter CES with an expected street price of
$79-$99.
      Sources say that it requires at least 8 megs of memory  and
operates too slow to be of any practical value.
      Included  in the package are Financial Guide,  a  calendar,
Letter Writer, Checkbook (which lets you pay bills up to 2 months
in  advance  for  a monthly service fee), Household  Manager,  an
address book, Gardening Guide, and a quiz game called GeoSafari.
      Utopia  also  works  with  Money  and  is  integrated  with
QuickBooks.
      The  metaphor is that your hard drive is a house,  and  the
software  lets  you  enter different rooms to retrieve  different
applications and use different functions.  You might go into  the
living  room and see a desk upon which a checkbook rests.   Users
choose  from  eight different "guides"; Blythe, a bee;  Chaos,  a
cat;  Hopper,  a  rabbitt;  Java, a  dinosaur;  Lexi  Lexicon,  a
dictionary; Orby, the Earth; Ruby, a parrot; and Scuzzy, a rat.
      Spies  tell me that Utopia is the brainchild of Bill Gates'
new  wife Melinda French.  My question is this: Are they  growing
their own now up in Redmond?  Who needs or wants this crap?
---------------

ALL THAT TAZZ
      Short  for Tasmanian Devil, Tazz is a stand-alone Microsoft
application for Windows 95 which will work with multimedia modems
capable  of handling voice and data over a single line.  Due  out
at  the  same  time  as Windows 95 is released,  the  anticipated
street price will be in the area of $100.
      According to Mike Maples, "Tazz is a series of things,  and
some of it's for the [operating system] and some will be products
.  .  .  It  encompasses telephone functions, voice  recognition,
system  controls,  a  whole  series  of  various  things."    The
application  could  conceivably  be  used  for  things   like   a
customized voice mailbox.
      A number of modem vendors are working on this modem market.
Among   them   are   Intel,   Hayes,  U.S.   Robotics,   Rockwell
International, and Creative Labs.
---------------

P6 ALLOCATIONS?
      Could you believe that Intel is planning to allocate  their
upcoming P6 processor based on hardware vendors' advanced R&D use
of the chip and their willingness to provide feedback to Intel?
     Intel's not talking but Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, and AST are
rumored to be among the participants.  The payback is that  these
manufacturers will get priority allocations when the  chip  ships
next year.
      Those not included in the Definition Partners program  will
get their chips based on as-yet-undetermined factors.
      Meanwhile,  marketing  manger of Intel's  Pentium  division
Frank  Spindler  said that the company would fall  "a  few  weeks
short"  of  their goal of selling 6 million Pentiums by  December
31.   But  they  were quick to point out that the rate  was  four
times the rate at which the 486 was adopted.
---------------

EVEN MORE NEWS IN YER FACE
      In  January,  Microsoft  will  release  an  object-oriented
version  of FoxPro called Visual FoxPro.  It is rumored to  be  a
first step in merging FoxPro and Access.  Microsoft has said that
there will be one more version of the DOS-based FoxPro.
---------------
      Logitech  has  introduced  two new  digital  cameras.   The
VideoMan sits next to your monitor and is intended as part  of  a
videoconferencing  solution.  It includes a  built-in  microphone
and  an  adjustable  arm  to focus the  camera  on  the  computer
operator or whatever else you want to shoot across the wire.
      The  FotoMan  Pixtura is a 24-bit camera  that  includes  a
special  software  developer's kit.   The  camera's  non-volatile
memory can store up to 48 images.
---------------
      Wanna make your own CDs?  Corel CD Creator is software  for
popular recorders which will let you create data and audio  discs
as  well as mixed mode discs.  This application supports OLE  2.0
and supports both single and multisession discs.  Don't know what
the  price is, but if you can afford the recorder what difference
does it make?
---------------
      AMD  and  Cyrix  concede that it will be  third  or  fourth
quarter  before  their  Pentium-compatible  chips  will  hit  the
market.
---------------
     Even though Media Vision has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection,  they showed off a new sound card at  Comdex  (behind
closed doors) which uses WaveGuide technology that is designed to
outperform and undercut wavetable-based products.
---------------
       The   death  of  the  5.25-inch  floppy  disk  is  rapidly
approaching.  Many stores don't carry software in that format  or
devote  little  space  to  it.  It is  estimated  that  5.25-inch
products  will be available for at least another five years,  but
manufacturers such as Maxell report that they represent less than
15% of disk sales.
---------------

LAST MINUTE
     As I get ready to wrap things up for this issue, the mailman
brought me a CD from some outfit called The Merchant.  On the  CD
are  presentations by about 20 different companies trying to sell
me  something.  Vendors range from JC Penny to Target to LL  Bean
to  The National Wildlife Foundation.  Each presentation is  very
well done and all of the photographs and video were excellent.
      I'm  not  buying anything from any of these guys, but  they
sure did a nice job of putting things together.
---------------

NEXT MONTH
      I  hope  to take a look at the release package of Warp  and
give  a somewhat detailed review.  I certainly liked the Beta  II
release.    Still  waiting  for  one  of  those  funky  Microsoft
keyboards.   Maybe  I'll  see one under my  Christmas  tree.   Of
course there'll be more news about the continuing hype of Windows
95.
                =================================

                          DISCLAIMER
     RAndY's RumOR RaG is published on a monthly basis by RANDALL
AINSWORTH  PHOTOGRAPHY and is available on various  local  BBS's,
GEnie, and in Modem News.
     In case anyone cares, RAndY's RumOR RaG is produced on a 486-
50  with  8  megs of memory, 420 MB Connor IDE hard drive,  105MB
Toshiba IDE hard drive, TEAC 1.2 MB and 1.44 MB floppies, Trident
VLB  video card, Pro Audio Spectrum 16 running a Hitachi 3750  CD
ROM  drive,  Sceptre  SVGA  display, Microsoft  mouse,  Word  for
Windows  and transmitted through a US Robotics HST Dual  Standard
modem.
      Opinions expressed are those of the author.  Feel  free  to
distribute RAndY's RumOR RaG or post it as you see fit.  Comments
should  be  addressed to Randall Ainsworth Photography on  GEnie,
via phone, analog mail, or whatever method makes you feel good.

     RANDALL AINSWORTH PHOTOGRAPHY
     605 W. Wishkah
     Aberdeen, WA  98520-6031
     (206) 533-6647
     GEnie Address: RAG

