SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET (02/27/88)
<It ought to be obvious that rumors for next month's column will be
received with glee. I'd appreciate documentation of source whenever
possible. Rumors related to ANY micro hardware/software/peripherals
are appropriate -- MAS>
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VAPORWARE
Murphy Sewall
From the March 1988 APPLE PULP
H.U.G.E. Apple Club (E. Hartford) News Letter
$15/year
P.O. Box 18027
East Hartford, CT 06118
Call the "Bit Bucket" (203) 569-8739
Permission granted to copy with the above citation
Mac II+ (or Mac III).
Although the 68030 version of the Macintosh won't arrive
until next year (see last November and December's columns),
rumors about what the machine will be like exist already.
Look for a 68882 math coprocessor, 8 Mbytes of RAM, and a
151 Mbyte hard disk (with A/Ux taking 30 Mbytes). The new
system will be priced at about the level of today's Mac II,
and the SE will be discontinued (to be replaced by the
Mac II). However, system software to really take full
advantage of the new processor's capabilities won't be
introduced until 1990 or '91 (hmmm, sounds like an IBM
move). - InfoWorld 25 January and 1 February
Blue's Future Looks Rosy.
The awesome Intel 80486 processor, the chip that does
everything (see last July's column), is ahead of schedule.
Intel expects to introduce a 25 MHz version in late '89 with
a 50 MHz model to follow as early as 1990. The 486 should
arrive just about when needed. IBM has revealed a "game
plan" of "migration" in which price categories remain the
same, but hardware performance is upgraded. Current 8086
machines soon will be replaced by 80286 models, and an 80386
computer at the Model 60's present price will appear in the
Fall. Analysts envision an 80386 PS/2 clone for less than
$1,000 early in the next decade.
- PC Week 9 February and InfoWorld 15 February
Mac Hardware for '88.
The "LapMac" from Apple continues to be a phantom because
Apple still isn't happy with the quality of the display
technology. Apple chairman John Sculley has indicated that
the "Mac SE 40" (a 2 Mbyte RAM with 40 Mbyte, 28 millisecond
access hard drive SE) and a lower priced Mac II (priced at
roughly $5,000 and $6,000 respectively) will be introduced
later this year. Either or both machines also will sport
Apple's newest, 1.6 Mbyte, 3.5 inch floppy drive.
- InfoWorld 1 and 15 February and Random Access 23 January
Sun Killer.
Sony Corporation is entering the scientific work station
market with the NWS-841 (to be known as the "News") a 16-MHz
68020 box with a 68881 math coprocessor, 8 Mbytes of RAM, a
1.44 Mbyte 3.5 inch floppy drive, a 286 Mbyte hard disk and
six I/O ports, including an Ethernet interface. The
operating system will be Unix, and the initial retail price
will be $19,900. - InfoWorld 1 February
What NeXt?
When last heard from (January's column), Steve Job's NeXt
Computer would arrive sometime this Spring (a scheduled
February intro was postponed until April, or was it June?
Seeing is believing). Rumor has it that software likely to
be available with the introduction will be Aldus's
PageMaker, Write Now, Word Perfect, Microsoft Word, and
Excel - so far, no database. - InfoWorld 25 January
Hyper in Only 512K.
Hyper DA will let let owners of 512K Macintoshes use (some)
Hypercard applications. The program uses a subset of the
Hypertalk scripting language to squeeze stackware into the
smallish RAM. - Random Access 23 January
Enhanced A/Ux.
Only 5 percent of existing Macintosh software will run under
the new Unix operating system without modification. At
least 25 companies already have announced A/Ux compatible
products. Meanwhile, plans to improve the operating system
are well underway. Among the improvements: eliminating the
need to reboot when switching between A/Ux and Mac System,
support for color applications, and allowing more than one
program to run on-screen at any time.
- InfoWorld 15 February
Excel-erating.
Microsoft recently demonstrated its upcoming version 1.5 of
Excel for the Macintosh that supports color, runs in
background mode under Multifinder, and includes
user-definable menus. Late this year, version 2.0 will be
released with increased memory support, multiple fonts in a
sheet, cell notes, variable row heights, and sparse memory
management. - InfoWorld 1 February
Mainframe Software Migration to A/Ux.
Ingres 5.0, Relational Technology's fully relational
database, which runs on DEC VAX's and IBM System/3X
minicomputers will be offered in an Apple Macintosh Unix
version. - PC Week 2 February
Display Postscript on the Mac?
Apple vice president, Jean-Louis Gassee has indicated that
Apple has no plans to include Adobe's Display Postscript in
the Mac's system software. Instead, the company plans to
enhance Quickdraw (see following item).
- InfoWorld 25 January
Quicker on the Draw (Find the Hidden Vaporware).
Software wizard Andy Hertzfeld has improved the color
Quickdraw code for the Mac II. His 5K revision of parts of
the system software can improve the speed of some graphics
operations by as much as a factor of three in some
applications. Hertzfeld has offered the improved Quickdraw
code to Apple, and it may be included in September's planned
update of Mac systems software (did you catch that? There's
going to be an update of Mac System in September).
Hertzfeld's routine also may be uploaded to Compuserve in
the near future. - InfoWorld 25 January
OS/3.
Microsoft expects to release a multitasking operating system
specifically tailored for 80386 computers next year. Among
the more dramatic new features will be an "enhanced
intelligent file system" and support for a multi-processor
PC. - Random Access 6 February
MS-DOS 3.4.
IBM will soon end confusion between the PC's DOS and the old
Apple II version by releasing DOS 3.4. The most obvious new
feature is an optional user-shell with pull-down menus,
windows, and help screens (text, not icon based). The shell
can be controlled either by keyboard or mouse and contains
many features commonly found in hard disk file manager
programs. - PC Week 2 February
Artificially Intelligent Mac.
Apple and Texas Instruments are close to announcing a Lisp
chip that will turn a Mac II into a (relatively) low-priced
(at about $8,000) artificial intelligence delivery system.
Lisp processing currently is performed on TI's Explorer II
systems (at $40,000 to $100,000). Lisp for the Mac also
will come with a high-performance add-in board to let Apple
offer low-cost symbolic processing for AI applications.
- InfoWorld 1 February
50 Mbytes on a 3.5 Inch Disk.
Verbatim Corporation is developing an erasable
magneto-optical drive that will store 50 Mbytes on a single
sided (initially) 3.5 media (only slightly larger than
current 3.5 inch diskettes). The anticipated price will be
under $2,400. - InfoWorld 25 January
High Performance Hard Drives.
Next month Microscience International will unveil a series
of 3.5 inch hard drives with capacities ranging from 40
Mbytes to 100 Mbytes and access times averaging under 20
milliseconds. The 100 Mbyte drive will be available in
versions with high speed SCSI and ESDI interfaces.
- InfoWorld 1 February
Faster Laser Printers.
Adobe Systems says that development of Display Postscript
will soon result in the release of a faster page description
language for laser printers. The new release will be able
to support printers capable of 60 to 80 pages per minute.
Meanwhile, the Postscript clone printers will offer faster
drivers which will considerably improve the realized print
speed of existing desktop publishing software. Alas, these
faster new printers won't be any less expensive than the
current, approximately, $4,000 models.
- PC Week 9 February
dBase IV (Continuing Saga).
Ashton-Tate's new dBase with SQL (query language) looks like
it will be a winner when it finally arrives. The drawback
is that the existing code is still bug-laden, and chances of
making the (currently) scheduled March 31 delivery date do
not look good (latest guess is June).
- PC Week 2 and 16 February
Will IBM Pay Royalties to Apple?
A little over two years ago, Microsoft signed a secret (well
secretive anyway) pact with Apple conceding that the "look
and feel" of Windows was derived from the Macintosh
display. It is possible that agreement may lead to a claim
by Apple for royalty payments on the IBM Presentation
Manager (maybe that's why the planned $795 price is so
steep). - InfoWorld 25 January
New MS-DOS Word Processors.
Palantir Software should become the first third-party vendor
to ship an OS/2 application when "HoustonText" (a temporary
codename) is released at the end of the month. Palantir's
word processor will carry the same $495 price tag expected
for DisplayWrite 4/2 which IBM will ship in the second
quarter. Word Perfect 5.0 with a command for integrating
graphics into a document and expanded memory support should
arrive this month. Lotus's Manuscript also will be upgraded
to include macros, integrated downloading of fonts, and
automatic worksheet import. Both programs will support
numerous "standard" graphics file formats.
- InfoWorld 1 February, PC Week 2 February,
and Random Access 6 February
Expert Shopping System.
Decision Sciences Professor Thomas A. Williams at the
Rochester Institute of Technology has developed "expert
system" software to advise consumers about running shoes,
washing machines, automobiles and the like. The system
makes recommendations by matching product characteristics
with answers to questions about personal characteristics,
preferences, and price ranges. For example, a running shoe
brand would be recommended on the basis of the anatomy of
the consumers' feet, how often and how long they run, and
the kind of terrain they run on. Williams isn't sure there
is a market for his program; he says "the typical consumer
does not approach a purchasing decision in a logical
fashion." - Business Week 7 December
But When Will There Be a Modem For It?
Researchers at Bellcor, and R&D center for the seven
regional Bell companies, reports it has set a record for
moving data across a single optical fiber. Bellcor
engineers were able to send 27 billion bits of information
per second (that's 27 gigabaud) through a hair thin fiber
using 18 different laser beams (each on a different
wavelength). - Random Access 19 December
When it Starts Complaining, it's Finished.
Scientists at NEC say they've made progress on a neuron
computer based on parallel processing. By the end of the
year, they hope to have a working prototype using four
processors to simulate a neural network. The eventual goal
is to form a net of 128 processors and simulate the action
of eight million human brain cells.
- Random Access 26 December
Throw Your Hat in the Ring.
Look for a new piece of software called "President-elect"
that provides for planning strategy and tactics for any of
67 real political candidates in caucuses, primaries, and
media. One experienced reviewer says the program is very
realistic: experience, honesty, and ability get you
nowhere! - Random Access 5 January
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Disclaimer: My employer often is appalled by my opinions, and
my facts may be only vaguely right <slippery when wet>.
ARPA: sewall%uconnvm.bitnet@mitvma.mit.edu Murphy A. Sewall
BITNET: SEWALL@UCONNVM School of Business Admin.
UUCP: ...ihnp4!psuvax1!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL University of Connecticut