gerber@sirius.astro.uiuc.edu (Richard Gerber) (05/07/91)
Just to fan the flames a bit and show how important PR is: From USA Today: NEW PC PRODUCTS GET CHANCE TO PERFORM Multimedia unit takes spotlight PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Five breakthrough products - including the first multimedia personal computers ... - will be unveiled today at Demo '91. ...About 300 executives paid the $1,995 fee to be here and see the products perform. "There's a general notion this is a mature industry," says Stewart Alsop, conference sponsor and editor of the P.C. Letter. "But the point I'm making is there are still innovative and creative new products that are really driving this business." His evidence: MULTIMEDIA: Tandy Corp. takes the wraps off the first multimedia personal computers. The PCs have been given new components and software so they can simultaneously process a variety of media -- video, still pictures, animation, drawings, stero sound and text. ... Such capabilities have long been available in computer systems that cost more than $20,000. Tandy's machines, called MPCs, are priced from $2,599 to $5,499. They are expected to be in Tandy's Radio Shack stores by late summer. Alsop says multimedia PCs are so new he doesn't know how they will be used, but he's sure there is a demand for them. ... CHANGES: UserLand Software Inc. will show software that makes it easier for Macintosh users to customize all types of software. It's called UserLand Frontier and will be available in October. No price has been set. Frontier makes it possible to write computer scripts ... to alter software so it better suits specific tasks. It also makes it possible to connect different software programs so changes made to one will automatically be reflected in the others. Says UserLand founder Dave Winer: "Think of the computer as a cocktail party where right now people (or the software) can't talk to each other. Now with Frontier, we can do a lot of schmoozing between software applications." --------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard