Info-IBMPC@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.mil ("Info-IBMPC Digest") (03/06/91)
Info-IBMPC Digest Mon, 4 Mar 91 Volume 91 : Issue 45
Today's Editor:
Gregory Hicks - Rota Spain <GHICKS@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
Today's Topics:
Murph's VAPORWARE Column for March 1991
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Date: Mon, 25 Feb 1991 08:23:10 EST
From: Murph Sewall <Sewall%UCONNVM.BITNET@YALEVM.YCC.Yale.Edu>
Subject: Murph's VAPORWARE Column for March 1991
VAPORWARE
Murphy Sewall
From the March 1991 APPLE PULP
H.U.G.E. Apple Club (E. Hartford) News Letter
P.O. Box 18027
East Hartford, CT 06118
Call the "Bit Bucket" (203) 569-8739
Permission granted to redistribute with the above citation
These are rumors folks;
we reserve the right to be dead wrong!
Nutek's Macintosh Motif.
Nutek Computers Inc will offer a three chip logic chip set and software
that will replicate the Macintosh ROMs and system software. The chip
set and software were designed entirely from scratch under 'clean room'
conditions without reference to the internal code of the Macintosh
operating system or ROMs according to Benjamin Chou, Nutek President.
Nutek plans to license the technology to computer makers in much the
same way that Phoenix Technologies licenses their IBM clone ROMs.
Nutek based computers will have their own "look and feel." Nutek has
licensed OSF's Motif interface and removed the Unix and X Window
features. Menus and windows sport a three-dimensional look. The menu
bar will appear across the top of the active window instead of
remaining stationary at the top of the screen. The System 6.x
compatible software consists of Nutek versions of System, Finder, and
Multifinder. The operating system supports current applications and
desk accessories, 32-bit color, and all current third-party
peripherals, including large screen displays, according to Chou. The
technology should be available in the fourth quarter, and the first
computers based on the Nutek's technology could be available in early
1992. - InfoWorld and PC Week 28 January
Macintosh OS for Intel Processors?
Apple is evaluating a program, known internally as Mac30, to port the
Macintosh operating system to Intel's 32-bit microprocessor line
(386SX, 386, and 486). Sources indicate the plan calls for Apple to
license the operating system and SE/30 ROM BIOS to hardware
manufacturers for between $500 and $1,000. The goal would be to
increase Apple's share of the operating system market to as much as 30
percent within five years. - InfoWorld 28 January
Cross Platform Card Stacks.
Oracle Corporation has announced a multiplatform database program that
lets card stacks run under both Macintosh and MS-DOS operating systems.
Oracle Card for the Mac and for Windows will ship in May for $299 each.
Each version of the program will do a "best fit" of fonts and graphics
when stacks are passed from one platform to the other. Oracle also
plans to build Oracle Card for Open Look, Motif, NeXT Step, and
Presentation Manager. - InfoWorld 28 January
Cross Platform Compiler.
Zortech Inc. plans to offer developers a uniform C++ environment for
MS-DOS, Unix, and Macintosh operating systems. An extended DOS version
using Phar Lap Software's DOS Extender already is available. A $295
Macintosh version is slated for April release. A $499.95 Unix version
is currently in beta test and should be ready for market within the
next few months. - PC Week 28 January
i486 Compatible RISC Chip.
NexGen Microsystems is developing an eight chip set of i486 compatible
RISC architecture which is said to offer twice the performance of the
Intel original and 50 percent more speed than Sun Microsystems current
SPARC CPU. The product is in its final stage of testing and could be
released this summer. Computers using the eight chip set and 64-bit
NexBus, which has a sustained rate of 150 Mbytes per second, will not
be cheap to produce. - PC Week 28 January
PM To Go the Way of TopView?
Remember TopView, a character based windowing system briefly touted by
IBM? It appears that the once similarly promoted Presentation Manager
graphical interface will soon be as forgotten (IBM's protests to the
contrary not withstanding). Microsoft's latest strategy envisions
Windows as the "mainstream operating system." A 32-bit version (Win32)
is in the works that also will support preemptive multitasking and
threads. OS/2 will be repositioned as the high end operating system
for workstations and servers. Because OS/2 version 3.0, also known as
"Advanced Windows," will run PM as well as Windows applications,
developers are unlikely to see a need for PM specific applications.
Industry observers caution that Microsoft's history of operating system
development indicates that many more repositioning statements along
with clarifications and possibly some retractions (not to mention the
passage of considerable time) are likely before a next-generation
operating system is available (see next item). - InfoWorld 4 and 11
February and PC Week 4 and 11 February
IBM OS/2 Contingency Plan.
Apparently Big Blue expects Microsoft's OS/2 3.0 (also referred to as
"portable" OS/2 or OS/2 New Technology - see last November's column) to
be delayed and has been at work on their own version for more than a
year. IBM's portable OS/2 is being developed specifically for the
RS/6000 PowerStation line and other high-end architectures. IBM has
full license to the Microsoft product and is not committed to shipping
its own version which is being developed as a backup. IBM has a
license to develop NeXT Step for the RS/6000 platform, but it appears
implementation of that idea has vaporized. - PC Week 11 February
Commodore AmigaDos 2.0.
The last update of the OS found in the A3000, AmigaDos 2.0, has been
sent to developers. It looks like 2.0 will be burnt into ROM soon. -
found in my electronic mailbox
Compaq Selects a RISC CPU.
Compaq has decided to build its next generation of servers (see last
December's column) around the MIPS R4000 RISC processor chip. Although
a formal announcement is not expected until June, the 64-bit R4000 is
described as a 50 MHz, 15 MIP CPU with a "super pipelined design." The
MIPS RISC chip set also will have a 64K instruction cache and another
64K data cache. The operating system for the Compaq RISC systems is
expected to be OS/2 3.0. - PC Week 4 February and InfoWorld 11
February
Shirt Pocket PC.
Hewlett-Packard and Lotus Development are expected to introduce a
featherweight $600 "palmtop" computer next month. Code named "Jaguar,"
the shirt pocket sized 8088 CPU machine offers a display about the size
of a Rolodex card and weighs less than 12 ounces with battery and 1
Mbyte RAM card installed. The machine features 512K of internal
memory, Lotus 1-2-3 2.2 and Metro memo pad, appointment book, and
calender software loaded into ROM. A serial port and infrared
technology will permit users to transfer data to and from desktop
machines in addition to using the tiny QWERTY keyboard. - PC Week 4
February
Pen-based Macintosh?
Apple is said to have laboratory versions of at least six pen-based
computer systems. A final design selection is expected in early
summer, but it will be 1992 at the earliest before Apple will have a
marketable version. - PC Week 4 February
IBM Delays 386SX Laptop.
Shortages of 60 Mbyte disk drives have forced IBM to put off the
introduction of the 7.5 pound Laptop 40SX until late March. The
shortage of the same hard drives has limited the availability of
Compaq's LTE 386/20. When it is launched, the 20 MHz L40SX will
include an internal 2400 baud modem with 9600 bps FAX and an AT-type
bus. At the beginning of the year, IBM hoped to offer its system for
close to $5,000, but a recent reevaluation of its strategy has raised
the expected price to close to $6,000. - PC Week 4 February and
InfoWorld 11 February
Mac Portable Delayed Too.
A RAM addressing problem has forced Apple to delay the planned
introduction of a new Macintosh laptop (see January's column). One
knowledgeable source inside Apple says there's a 25 percent chance that
the $4,200 backlit LCD product (with 2 Mbytes or RAM and a 40 Mbyte
hard disk) will be cancelled completely. The 4 pound, $3,000 Mac
Companion being developed by Toshiba is still in prospect for
September. - PC Week 21 January and MacWorld March
Alternative LapMacs.
Dynamac, a company that converts Macintosh products to portables, will
be producing a $1,299 9.5 inch, backlit flat-panel display for the Mac
LC. The product should be ready by the middle of this month. Dynamac
also will provide 13.5 pound Mac laptops for $4,995 (68020) and $6,995
(68030). - InfoWorld 21 January
Wireless AppleTalk.
Apple has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to set aside
specific frequencies for a proposed radio-based LAN. Unlike the
similar Motorola wireless network system, Apple's proposal will not
require users to obtain an FCC license. - InfoWorld 4 February
Remember the IIgs?
Although it sometimes seems that Apple has forgotten that it makes the
Apple IIgs, the response to the complaint that the new Apple II board
for the Macintosh LC doesn't support IIgs programs is "not yet!" On
the other hand, in recent years Apple has given beta testers numerous
items, including whole systems (the ROM 04 IIgs comes to mind), that
the company has subsequently elected not to market. - found in my
electronic mailbox
New Apple Printers (with Lower Prices).
Apple plans to introduce two new, low-end printers on March 11. The
four pound, bubble-jet technology StyleWriter will have a small
"footprint" and a list price under $600. The Personal LaserWriter LS
will list for under $1,300. The LaserWriter LS will not be upgradeable
to PostScript, but will use a custom chip to compress and decompress
page images in order to speed printing and will accept data via the
serial port (also in the interest of faster throughput). Both the
StyleWriter and LaserWriter LS will use True Type technology (expected
to ship at the same time). Apple is said to be planning to release
True Type fonts ahead of System 7.0 via an INIT for the current
operating system. - PC Week 4 February and InfoWorld 11 February
Solid-Ink Color Printer
Dataproducts Corporation plans to introduce two solid-ink color
printers this summer. The major advantage of these printers over
current thermal transfer printers is that they can print on any kind of
paper. The Dataproducts Jolt printer line is expected to start at
about $5,000 (approximately $1,000 less than similar color thermal
printers - see last month's column). - PC Week 11 February
17 Page Per Minute LaserJet.
Hewlett-Packard plans to be one page faster than the competition with a
$5,200 17 page per minute printer targeted for network users. The 300
dot per inch LaserJet IIIsi will offer users a choice of Token Ring or
Ethernet connectivity. - PC Week 21 January
Plug and Play Hard Drive.
Jasmine Technologies should already be out with a 20 Mbyte portable 2.5
inch hard drive about the size of a portable cassette player which
draws its power from a micro's SCSI connector. The company hopes to
have 40 and 80 MByte versions available by the third quarter. -
MacWorld March
100 MHz i486.
Intel intends to compete with RISC chip makers by introducing a 100 MHz
version of its i486 chip by the end of this year or early next year.
System designers may have some difficulty taking advantage of the CPU's
capabilities. At that clock speed, RAM would need to be in the 10
nanosecond range and caches would have to be about twice that fast.
Today's 32-bit bus designs represent another potential bottleneck. -
PC Week 21 January
Low Cost i486.
Intel plans to market two, lower cost 20 MHz versions of the i486
processor (see January's column). The P23 will be an i486 without at
math coprocessor at a price of about $250. The $350 P23N will have the
internal math coprocessor. Systems based on the chips are expected to
run faster than 33 MHz 80386 PCs for about the same price. Computers
using these CPUs could be available by this summer. - PC Week 11
February
Even Smaller Footprint Hard Drives.
The Small Form Factor Committee, which includes the major CPU and hard
disk drive manufacturers, has agreed that the next generation of drives
should use a 48 mm (1.8 inch) disk and fit into a case with external
dimensions smaller than 54 mm (2.16 inches). The drives, which will
cost approximately $30 per megabyte, should support up to 200 Mbyte
capacity by the middle of the 1990's. - PC Week 28 January
IBM Puts Its Signature on Word Processing.
IBM and Xyquest are preparing to release a word processor named
Signature (see last January's column) which will be file compatible
with both DisplayWrite 5 and XyWrite III Plus. The DOS-based version
should ship during the second quarter with a Windows version due later
this year followed by an eventual OS/2 PM version. - PC Week and
InfoWorld 4 February
PostScript II.
Adobe has licensed Storm PicturePress JPEG image compression software.
Adobe is expected to incorporate a custom version of PicturePress's
technology into PostScript II. - MacWorld March
Hayes LAN.
Modem maker Hayes Microproducts has announced a network operating
system designed for small work groups. The primary selling point for
the DOS-based LAN with a character and icon driven user interface (also
includes mouse support) is ease of setup and use. The basic five user
package will become available this month with an expander packages for
up to 128 users and 255 workstations shipping in April. - PC Week 11
February
WordPerfect for Windows Delayed.
WordPerfect won't fulfill its previously announced plan to ship
WordPerfect for Windows during the first quarter of this year. Some
analysts are skeptical that the company can meet its second quarter
deadline. Amy Wohl, of Wohl Associates, a consulting firm, is of the
opinion that "WordPerfect can get WP for Windows shipped in the second
quarter if there are 48 days in June." - PC Week 4 February
Wordstar for Windows.
Wordstar International has acquired the source code to Legacy, a
Windows-based word processor, from NBI Inc. Wordstar intends to merge
Legacy's code with its own technology and create Wordstar for Windows
1.0 by the end of this year. - InfoWorld 28 January
Quattro Pro 3.0.
Even though version 2.0 shipped only last fall, Borland has sent its
answer to Lotus 1-2-3 version 3.1 and Excel version 3.0 to beta
testers. Quattro Pro 3.0 boasts enhanced WSYWIG capabilities and will
run both with and without Windows 3.0. - InfoWorld 4 February
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End of Info-IBMPC Digest V91 #45
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