C, MAC, UNIX PAGE 178 I THE WORLDWIDE COMPUTING AUTHORITY Create Hilffl on Your Low-Cost Recorders Ignite CD Publishing PLUS I BYTE Rates 17 Mac Accelerators Multi-Lingual Scholar: 63-Language Word^gjrocessor Windows for Workgroups vs. LANtastic In can A McGraw-Hill Publication/0360-5280 Wireless PCs Come Of Age, Page 146 Wish i A PG 1 Your Wish Is Our G -^ — •" "I wish I could get a great PC at a great price without sacrificing performance and features." Your wish is our command! You'll be spellbound by Gateway's ferociously competitive prices on systems that are unequaled in powerful performance, impressive features and graceful integration of components. When readers and editors of the most popular PC magazines are asked which company delivers on its promises, their overwhelming response is Gateway 2000. m "Gateway has gone far beyond conventional ideas of price i^ 1 and performance ... it has created new rules that other PC makers will have to follow if they want to remain players." -PC Computing, 1992 MVP Awards "Gateway 2000 was the big 1992 Best Buy winner, sweeping not only the desktop awards as it did last year, but the newly expanded notebook categories as well ... Altogether, Gateway won five Best Buy awards this year, including Best Overall System Vendor ... It's no surprise that Gateway '" Sig is consistently the people's choice when it comes to systems. - Computer Shopper, 1992 Readers' Best Buy Awards >mmand! N| "I wish I could be sure I'm buying from a PC company that will provide excellent service and support - a company that will be around for me." Your wish is our command! Twice in 1992, Gateway was honored for outstanding service. PC World readers ranked Gateway number one in service and support. And PC Magazine readers gave Gateway the best overall scores in the 1992 Service and Reliability Survey. Just as important is our strength as a company. Warranties and assurances of lifetime technical support don't mean anything unless a company survives to honor them, which is a serious consideration in the shifting sands of today's PC marketplace. Gateway is among the few financially robust companies in the industry. Our 1992 revenues exceeded $1 billion and our earnings are among the strongest in the industry. The company is virtually debt-free. At a time when other companies have been forced to lay off employees, we added 300 people to our staff. You now have 1 ,800 friends in the business. Rest assured Gateway is your oasis that will never leave you high and dry. We'll be here for you! ( \'¥ ' "I wish I could find the combination of features I need in a portable PC - at the right price." Your wish is our command! No matter what you need in a portable, you'll find it in one of our Nomad models or in the Gateway HandBook. IM Gateway customers selected Nomads as the winners in 386 and 486 notebook categories of Computer Shopper' s 1992 Best Buy Awards. "There are faster laptops, there are cheaper laptops, there are color laptops, but there is no better laptop ... Weighing in at only 5.6 pounds, the Nomad combines the powerful punch of a 25MHz i486DX with a working battery life of more than six hours. At long last, we have a laptop that can really go the distance when there's no power outlet in sight." - Computer Shopper, 1992 Readers' Best Buy Awards The Gateway 2000 HandBook was recognized by Popular Science magazine as one of the "Best of What's New" products of 1992, also received BYTE magazine's Award of Distinction. PC Computing describes the HandBook as "an engineering marvel." PC Week agrees. "Gateway's HandBook is just about as small as a fully functional portable can be." Our Caravan Of Extras. Software Selections Your every software need is our command. With mini desktop, desktop and tower systems that include "choice of application software," select one of the following applications, all latest versions: I Microsoft® Excel for Windows™ ■ Microsoft Word for Windows™ ■ Microsoft Word and Bookshelf 92,® CD-ROM Edition ■ Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows'" ■ Microsoft Project for Windows'" ■ The MS Entrepreneur Pack (Works,"' Publisher,'" Money,"' and games) ■ Borland Paradox® or dBASE IV® ■ The Windows Programmer Pack (MS Quick C,™ Visual Basic and more) I Upgrade to Microsoft Office'" for $ 1 75 Free Utilities Cool Tools for DOS, a diagnostic and utilities package, comes with all Gateway desktop systems and includes: ■ QA Plus™ from Diagsoft™ ■ Central Point® Anti-Virus, RAM Boost, Defrag and Emergency Disk Microsoft Windows ™ for Workgroups Windows for Workgroups is ideal for e-mail, group scheduling and resource sharing, and includes an Ethernet adapter and software. Plus the hardware and software is factory-installed. You can see Windows for Workgroups running on Gateway systems in any of over 200 Egghead Software® stores in the U.S. Stop by for a demonstration! ■ $159 Microsoft Windows Sound System ™ This sound system designed especially for business use lets you speak to your PC for hands-free operation. It even reads numbers back to you for proofing. You can also embed audio messages in all your Windows OLE applications. Package includes soundboard, microphone, headset and software. ■ $149 CD-ROM Kit Includes interface card and everything you need to add CD-ROM to your PC. It's MPC-compliant and manufactured for us by Sony.® ■ $225 The TelePath™ Fax/Modem A 14,400bps modem, V.32bis, with 9,600bps fax capability. Includes WinFax Pro,'" Crosstalk"' for Windows, Qmodem™ and more. ■ $195 CrystalScan™ 15-Inch Monitor Non-interlaced 1 5-inch color monitor with flat, square screen - an upgrade option with the purchase of any Gateway 2000 desktop system. ■ $100 (to upgrade from 14-inch 1024NI) Panasonic Color-Capable Printer Add color to your documents with this Panasonic KXP2123 24-pin dot matrix printer. Includes Adobe Type Manager.® ■ Printer, $259; Color Option, $50 Most Gateway peripherals are sold only with the purchase of a Gateway system. For details on our complete line of components, peripherals and software, call direct to our special add-on components division at 800-252-3333. - u u u u u Qateway 2000's Magical Values Desktop Systems 3SX-25 125MHz 386SX Intel® Processor* I 4MB RAM I 5.25" & 3.5" Diskette Drives I 80MB 17ms IDE Hard Drive I Windows Accelerated Video with 1MB DRAM I 14" Color CrystalScan™ 1024NI ! Mini Desktop Case I 5 16-Bit ISA Slots I 101-Key Keyboard IMS-DOSf'Windows™& Mouse I Cool Tools for DOS I MS Works for Windows™ 2.0 $1295 4SX-33V ■ 33MHz 486SX Intel Processor* ■ 8MB RAM, 64K Cache ■ 5.25" & 3.5" Diskette Drives ■ 170MB 13ms IDE Hard Drive ■ Local Bus IDE Interface ■ VESA Local Bus ATI Ultra Pro with 1MB VRAM ■ 15" Color CrystalScan 1572FS ■ Desktop Case (Tower Upgrade) ■ 8 16-Bit ISA Slots, 2 with 32-Bit VESA Local Bus ■ 124-Key Any Key Keyboard ■ MS-DOS. Windows & Mouse ■ Cool Tools for DOS ■ Choice of Application Software $2195 Portable Systems I HANDBOOK" $1295 4SX-25 ■ 25MHz 486SX Intel Processor* ■ 4MB RAM ■ 5.25" & 3.5" Diskette Drives ■ 170MB 13ms IDE Hard Drive ■ Local Bus IDE Interface ■ Windows Accelerated Video with 1MB DRAM ■ 14" Color CrystalScan 1024NI ■ Mini Desktop Case ■ 5 16-Bit ISA Slots ■ 101 -Key Keyboard ■ MS-DOS, Windows & Mouse ■ Cool Tools for DOS ■ MS Works for Windows 2.0 $1495 4SX-33 ■ 33MHz 486SX Intel Processor* ■ 4MB RAM, 64K Cache ■ 5.25" & 3.5" Diskette Drives ■ 170MB 13ms IDE Hard Drive ■ Local Bus IDE Interface ■ Windows Accelerated Video with 1MB DRAM ■ 14" Color CrystalScan 1024N1 ■ Mini Desktop Case ■ 5 16-Bit ISA Slots ■ 101-Key Keyboard ■ MS-DOS, Windows & Mouse ■ Cool Tools for DOS ■ Choice of Application Software 4DX-33 $1695 33MHz 486DX Intel Processor* 4MB RAM, 64K Cache ' 5.25" & 3.5" Diskette Drives 250MB 13ms IDE Hard Drive Local Bus IDE Interface Windows Accelerated Video with 1MB DRAM 14" Color CrystalScan 1024NI Mini Desktop Case 5 16-Bit ISA Slots 124-Key AnyKey™ Keyboa'. MS-DOS, Windows & Mob Cool Tools for DOS Choice of Application Software $1995 4DX-33V ■ 33MHz 486DX Intel Processor* ■ 8MB RAM, 64K Cache ■ 5.25" & 3.5" Diskette Drives ■ 250MB 13ms IDE Hard Drive ■ Local Bus IDE Interface ■ VESA Local Bus ATI Ultra Pro with 1MB VRAM ■ 15" Color CrystalScan 1572FS ■ Desktop Case (Tower Upgrade) ■ 8 16-Bit ISA Slots, 2 with 32-Bit VESA Local Bus ■ 124-Key AnyKey Keyboard ■ MS-DOS, Windows & Mouse ■ Cool Tools for DOS ■ Choice of Application Software 4DX2-66V ■ 66MHz 486DX2 Intel Processor* ■ 8MB RAM, 64K Cache ■ 5.25" & 3.5" Diskette Drives ■ 340MB 13ms IDE Hard Drive ■ Local Bus IDE Interface ■ VESA Local Bus ATI Ultra Pro with 1MB VRAM ■ 15" Color CrystalScan 1572FS ■ Desktop Case (Tower Upgrade) ■ 8 16-Bit ISA Slots, 2 with 32-Bit VESA Local Bus ■ 124-Key AnyKey Keyboard ■ MS-DOS, Windows & Mouse ■ Cool Tools for DOS ■ Choice of Application Software 4DX2-66E ■ 66MHz 486DX2 Intel Processor* ■ 8MB RAM, 256K Cache ■ 5.25" & 3.5" Diskette Drives ■ 500MB 11 ins SCSI Hard Drive ■ 32-Bit EISA SCSI Controller ■ Windows Accelerated Video with 1MB DRAM ■ 14" Color CrystalScan 1024NI ■ Tower Case ■ 8 32-Bit EISA Slots ■ 124-Key AnyKey Keyboard ■ MS-DOS, Windows & Mouse ■ Cool Tools for DOS ■ Choice of Application Software $2495 $2995 $3795 286-Class Performance ■ 1 MB RAM Upgradeable to 3MB ■ 40MB Hard Drive ■ Backlit 7.6" CGA Screen ■ Size 5.9" x 9.75" x 1.4", 2.75 Lbs. ■ 4.5-Hr. NiMH Battery & AC Pack ■ Alkaline Battery Pack ■ 1 Parallel/ 1 Serial Port ■ 78-Key Keyboard ■ MS-DOS 5.0, LapLink® XL, MS ■ Works™ for DOS, Central Point® ■ Desktop & Serial Download Cable ■ Carrying Case NOMAD 425SXL 25MHz 486SXL Intel Processor* 4MB RAM 3.5" Diskette Drive 80MB IDE Hard Drive Backlit 10" VGA Screen, 64 Grays Simultaneous Video with 256K Size8.5" x 11" x 1,8", 5.6 Lbs. 6-Hr. NiCad Battery & AC Pack 1 Parallel/1 Serial Port 79-Key Keyboard & FieldMouse™ MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 MS Works for Windows 2.0 NOMAD 425DXL 25MHz 486DXL Intel Processor* 4MB RAM 3.5" Diskette Drive 120MB IDE Hard Drive Backlit 10" VGA Screen, 64 Grays Simultaneous Video with 1MB Size 8.5" xll"x 1.8", 5.6 Lbs. 6-Hr. NiCad Battery & AC Pack 1 Parallel/1 Serial Port 79-Key Keyboard & FieldMouse MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 MS Works for Windows 2.0 ® $1995 $2695 GATFM&OOO ^Contains an Intel386™ or Intel486'" microprocessor "You've }!o: a friniii in liw'fmsitivss*''' 8 (TO -523-2000 610 Gateway Drive- P.O.Box 2000 • North Sioux City, SD 57049-2000 • 605-232-2000 -Fax 605-232-2023 Sales Hours: 7am- 10pm Weekdays, 9am-4pm Saturdays (CT) © 1992 Gateway 2000. Inc. AnyKey. HandBook. FieldMouse, GystalScan and TelePath are trademarks of Gateway 2000. Inc. The Intel inside Logo is a trademark and Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Prices and configurations are subject to change without notice. Prices do not include shipping. Your wish is our command at *s i :'■■:■■ Qateway 2000! We can grant you the three most universal PC wishes in the wink of an eye. As a fringe benefit, we won't limit you to three wishes here. Most anything your heart desires in computers (sorry, we can't grant wishes for romance or riches), you can get from Qateway. That's because we built our business by listening to our customers' wishes and doing everything in our power to make their dreams come true. At Qateway, we believe you should be able to have it all: the latest technology, glittering performance, quality construction, enchanting service and the fairest prices in the land. All this from a financially healthy company that won't run dry and leave you You don't have to settle for less. With Qateway 2000, you can have it all. Draw up your wish list and give us a call. Well make some truly magical values materialize for you. ■ ' ■ " stranded in the desert. 'GATEWAY2O00 8 0T- 5 2 3 ■ 2 So Powerful It Can't Be A PC. Transform Your PC With The INTERACTIVE UNIX System. Unleash the 32-bit power in your PC with the INTERACTIVE'" UNIX" System from SunSoft. Charge through applications at record speeds. Use real-world multitasking and networking. Get on the path to a distributed computing future. Just Say No To SCO. Why? The INTERACTIVE UNIX System is easy to use, simple to administer, all at a great price. Open Systems Today* says the INTERACTIVE UNIX "system management. ..is easier to use and more comprehensive" than SCO'" and "is simply a masterpiece of good design." Looking Glass Professional" desktop manager makes the INTERACTIVE UNIX System easy enough for novices, yet powerful enough for experienced UNIX users. And the award winning Easy Windows makes setting up graphic environments infinitely simpler. You can't afford not to take advantage of the already low cost of the INTERACTIVE UNIX System. And SCO UNIX/XENIX" users can save an additional 50% by switching to the INTERACTIVE UNIX System today. That's something to say yes to. Everything You Like About Your PC- And A Lot More. INTERACTIVE UNIX System V/386 Release 3.2 supports hundreds of the most popular Intel- based platforms and peripherals. So getting started is fast, easy, and cost-effective. Thousands of UNIX and XENIX applica- tions are at your command. And our VP/ix package runs virtually all DOS software. You get Lotus",' WordPerfect",' and Oracle; You get SCO applications. You get it all. See What Develops. The INTERACTIVE UNIX System is the environment of choice for 80X86 application development. You get access to a full range of development tools including compilers, debuggers and libraries. And for graphical applications, the XI 1 INTERACTIVE environment is a revelation. Partner With Power. The INTERACTIVE UNIX System is apowerful business partner for companies who know something about power. Companies like BMW, Goodyear, Leica, and Dunlop to name a few. That power can be yours, too. All from SunSoft, the leading supplier of 32-bit UNIX system software. Call today and save 50% on UNIX power that's so cost-effective, it can't be anything but a PC. 1-800-227-9227. ^SunSoft ^* A Sun Microsystems, Inc. Business r. April 13. 1992 ©1992 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, SunSoft, the SunSoft Logo. VP/ix and Easy Windows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. INTERACTIVE is ;i trademark of INTERAHlNTiS^temsComoration.UNDtisare^teredQ^emarkofUNIXSystem Laboratories, Inc. Looking Glass Professional isa trademark of VisixSoftware, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the properties of their respective holders. The promotional discount is available to SCO UNIX/XENIX users and is subject to certain restrictions. Contact SunSoft for terms and conditions of promotion. SunSoft reserves the right to stop the promotion at any time. SunSoft can lie reached at 2550 Garcia Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043, (510) 460-3267. B-2/93 Circle 156 on Inquiry Card. BITE February 1993 Volume 18, Number 2 COVER STORY FEATURE Start the Presses PAGE 116 nsxzn 32 MICROBYTES HP, DEC, and Sun unveil new high- powered workstations. 41 REPORT FROM LAS VEGAS Comdex: Bigger Than Ever by Rich Malloy Picking the best products at the show was even harder than usual. 47 REPORT FROM ITALY Computers Italian Style by Andy Reclfern The Italians love stylish computers but crave innovation from abroad. 52 FIRST IMPRESSIONS Lotus Improv for Windows by Kenneth M. Sheldon A radical application comes to Windows. 54 FoxPro 2.5, the cross-platform strategy begins to pay off VideoSpigot for Windows, SuperMatch's video-capture board Falcon()30, Atari's PC with a DSP QMS 1725 Print System, the latest 17-ppm screamer Freelance Graphics for Windows 2.0, prepare presentations painlessly TyIN 2000, a packed adapter card WordPerfect 5.2 for Windows, an impressive upgrade 72 WHAT'S NEW Tektronix offers printers for workgroups, SunConnecl extends LANs to global networks, and more. FEATURES 116 Start the Presses by Jon Udell CD-ROM publishing comes to the desktop. AFFORDABLE CD-R DRIVES by Jon Udell and Howard Eglowstein BUYING A CD-ROM DRIVE by Tom Halfhill THE NEW BREED OF CD PLAYERS by Ed Perralore OPTICAL FLAVORS by Andy Reinhardt 139 Is ITV Here to Stay? by Gary Lit Interactive TV's survival and prosperity [> are in question. STATE OF THE ART WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 146 Overview: Wireless Mobile Communications by John P. Mello Jr. and Peter Wayner The ability to communicate anytime, from anywhere, is almost here. 159 Stretching the Ether by Peter Wayner Technology expands the wireless spectrum. 169 Communications Get Personal by Bob Ryan AT&T's Hobbit powers a new generation of personal communications devices. 177 Resource Guide: Plugging into Wireless 4 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1993 COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: LESTER LEFKOWITZ / TONY STONE WORLDWIDE © 1993 REVIEWS OPINIONS 178 198 205 207 209 213 215 219 221 SOLUTIONS FOCUS Network Fax on Tap by Raymond GA Cote, Steve Apiki, and Stan Wszola The BYTE Lab peers into 1 1 fax servers for PC, Mac, and Unix networks, New Tricks for Slow Macs t> by Rick Grehan The BYTE Lab tests 17 Mac accelerator boards. The Second Premiere by Tom Yager Premiere 2,0 for the Mac offers QuickTime movie editing at its best. 97 222 A BASIC Breakthrough by Tom Yager Visual Basic for DOS makes powerful programs easy to write. Forging a Business Tool: Three Fax Software Packages for Windows by Stan Miastkowski Three next-generation fax software packages bring new abilities to communications. Complete Communications for Small Businesses by Stanford Diehl A new fax and voice-mail card from Prometheus takes on the upgraded Complete Communicator. Stacking Up TCP/IP for Windows by Barry Nance Linking Windows clients with Unix hosts via TCP/IP stacks from Beanie & Whiteside, Frontier Technologies, and NetManage. Correspondence That Looks Good Globally by Birrell Walsh Multi-Lingual Scholar, a word processor for the global market. Reviewer's Notebook: Retooling a Classic by Tom Thompson The BYTE Lab updates its Macintosh benchmarks. 286 12 20 HANDS ON USER'S COLUMN LAN Wars by Jerry Pournelle Windows for Workgroups battles LANtastic for domination at Chaos Manor. BOOK AND CD-ROM REVIEWS Again the Swinging Gates by Hugh Kenner, Dick Fountain, Jon Udell, and Raymond GA Cote Another look at Microsoft's leader, a controversial Windows book, how to program in Oberon, and more. STOP BIT Software Gluttony by Andy Nicholson It's time for programmers to rein in today's bloated, resource- hogging applications. EDITORIAL CD-ROM: Now Is the Time by Dennis Allen LETTERS Operating-system trends, OS/2 at a crossroads, digital photography, the ultimate workstation, and other issues. 225 UNDER THE HOOD The Mac Goes to the Movies by Andrew W. Davis and Joe Burke A detailed look at Apple's QuickTime architecture. 231 SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED Handling Input Events Using C++ by Randall A. Nagy Use the Event class to handle keyboard and mouse input across platforms. 235 READER SERVICE SOFTWARE CORNER 284 Editorial Index by Company A Small Browser 280 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers with Everything 282 Index to Advertisers by Product Category by Barry Nance, Tom Thompson, Direct Link Cards: 176A, 280A and Ben Smith 243 BUYER'S GUIDE A powerful DOS browser, Mail Order a faster Finder, and Perl-based Hardware/Software Showcase recursive grep. Buyer's Mart 237 239 BEYOND DOS A New OS/2 by Mark 7. Minasi IBM's ServicePak and the Professional Developer's Kit CD-ROM are dissected. ASK BYTE Adobe Type Manager conflicts, the Next as document manager, and more. PROGRAM LISTINGS From BIX: Join "Iislings/frombyte93" and select the appropriate subarea (i.e., "feb93")- From the UUNET: ftp to ftp.uu.net, log on as '"anonymous," and enter your user ID as your password. Type "cd/published/byte" and type "DIR." Files appear in subdirectories arranged by month. From the BYTE BBS at 1200-9600 bps: Dial (603) 924-9820 and follow the instructions at the prompt. BYTE (ISSN 0360-5280) is published monthly with additional issues in April and October by McGraw-Hill, Inc. U.S. subscriber rate $29,95 per year. In Canada and Mexico, S34.95 per year. European surface mail subscriptions S50, airmail S70. Non-European subscriptions, S50 surface mail or $75 airmail. All foreign subscriptions are payable in U.S. funds that can be drawn on a U.S. bank. Single copies $3.50 in the U.S., $4,50 in Canada. Executive. Editorial, Circulation, and Advertising Offices: One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. Second-class postage paid at Peterborough, NH, and additional mailing offices. Postage paid at Winnipeg, Manitoba. Registration number 9321. Registered for GST as McGraw-Hill, Inc., GST #123075573, Printed in the United Stales o( America, Postmaster: Send address changes and fulfillment questions to BYTE Subscriptions, P.O. Box 552. Highlstown, NJ 08520. INSIDE BYTE PAGE 8 COVER CORNER PHOTOGRAPHY: EO. INC. ©1993 FEBRUARY 1993 • BYTE 5 T'j-JP F'JRST OPTJCAL riAFiD DFilVE, "lliiicy'i l9-ii)illi-iOi:oi)il uttim tinio ini'l ouliioi'fomiO'l ovary "...liiol'iMO.i'iOdolivors iii'imlloloil iiorformiiiio), , ." 19 Technology • Irvine, CA 92718 • Int'l (714) 727-3300 • Fox (714) 727-1913 A . -IE Last dbive You'll meeM . . liio PlMO 650 v/ks n voriiri'ilo rockoL" (Ili'isfOjlilflr StOlSOil PCWook "Iho PtWO 6'iO is Jiio i'irsh rov/i'ilii!)lo opiioil [Iriyo v/o'vo ovor losioil iiuil om «jof oiJt.ri.ilil run .no<:!< iiiid iio«:k v/ilii 1 1 • i r • I ifista" Ik< I'd i'i'i MSLWom TYPE: 5.25" OPTICAL CAPACITY: 650/600 MB SIZE: 7.3" (H) X 3.6" (W) X lO.O" (D) WEIGHT: 7.4 LBS MOUNTING: VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL Optical technology has many advantages- making Pinnacle the leader in performance and innovation, removability, reliability, infinite storage capacity, and a lower There is no higher source in the industry. The PMO-130™and cost per megabyte over magnetic media. The PMO™ series are PMO-650™are the Twin Peaks. Plug-n-play for PC and based on Pinnacle's own OHD™ (Optical Hard Drive) technology, compatibles, PS/2, MAC, SUN, HP, DEC, and Silicon Graphics. It's more than a hard drive - It's optical! (800) 553-7070 Drive Type Retail Price 2 Disks 5 Disks 10 Disks 50 Disks PMO-650 Optical Drive Disk) S4,394 54,593 S 5,190 S 6,185 S 14,1 45 Magnetic Hard Drive 1650 MB) 5 3,594 S 6,793 S 16,390 S 32,385 S 160,345 Pinnacle Micro is Circle 121 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 122). THE OPTICAL STORAGE COMPANY* BYTE Topic Index This index helps you find articles that contain information on each of the listed topics. (The topic list changes each month.) Combined with the table of contents (page 4) and the Editorial Index by Company (page 284), you can identify articles by type, subject, title, author, or product discussed. ACCELERATOR BOARDS 198 ADD-INS 54 AT&THOBBIT 169 BASIC 207 BUSINESS 213 C++ 231 CD-ROM 116 CHIPS 32, 169 COMMUNICATIONS 146, 159, 169,177,178,209 DBMS 54 DESKTOP 72 DEVELOPMENT 207 FAXES/MODEMS 178,209, 213 GUIS 207 INTERACTIVE TV 139 ITALY 47 MACINTOSH 198,205,225 MOBILE COMPUTING 146 MULTIMEDIA 205,225 NETWORKS 54,97,215,222, 239 OS/2 237 PERIPHERALS 72 PHOTOGRAPHY 20 PORTABLE 146 PRESENTATION GRAPHICS 205 PRINTERS 54 PROGRAMMING 231,237,239, 286 QUICKTIME 225 SERVERS 178 SHAREWARE 235 SPREADSHEETS 52 SYSTEMS 41,54 TCP 215 TEXT 219 TRANSLATION 219 UNIX 239 UTILITIES 235 VIDEO 198 VIRUSES 97 VOICE 213 WINDOWS 52,54,97,209,215, 222 WIRELESS 146, 159, 177 WORD PROCESSING 54,219 WORKSTATIONS 20,32 XBASE 54 GREAT THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES This powerful print server can tackle your biggest network printing problems ■ Connects any parallel printer directly to your Ethernet LAN ■ Fully Novell Netware 286 and 386 compatible ■ Can attach to 8 file servers simultaneously ■ Fast and easy to install ■ Combines high-speed printing and exceptional printer control ■ Supports encrypted passwords, forms, notify, cancel, and others ■ Full one-year warranty and unlimited free technical support ■ Made in the U.S.A. Ethernet port available in thin or twisted-pair Status LED Powerjack Parallel port plugs directly into any printer Press switch to print status Serial port can be inputor output Make the Rose Connection <® BSl§i 10850 Wilcrest Drive • Houston, Texas 77099 • Phone (713)933-7673 • Fax (713)933-0044 1-800-333-9343 8 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1993 Circle 130 on Inquiry Card. \ 14 IN 1 99D. 15" IN 1991. 17," IN 1992. MAG Innovision wins the Editors' Choice year after year after year, making us truly the growing monitor com- pany of the nineties. The latest addition to dur family of winners is the sensational MX17F, whose "sharp image and com- petitive price make it a compelling choice." So do the MX17F's advanced features. We've combined the latest flat square tube technology with Invar Shadow Mask for distortion-free images and 30% more brightness. Dynamic focus circuitry keeps the whole screen razor-sharp. And non-interlaced resolution — up to 1280 x 1024 — assures the best picture possible, all in all, this microprocessor-based ly controlled display is perfect for Windows* Find out more. Contact us at 1-800-827- 4392 Corporate Center Drive, Los Alamitos, CA 90720. Tel: 714-827-3998. Fax: 714-827-5522. © 1992. MAG Inwmmi. All rights reserved. MAG hwwision and in litgo are tradeniarks 4 MAC Inivmiim. Windows is a registered trademark of Mitrospfi C'irjs. All other brand and product names are trademark or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Circle 1 54 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 1 55). '.•■ ITIAG I'N-'jsf a v l s i a m /*V PMV ■■ 14VC + Monitor Editors' choice T99D : J 'r-m l.'IMMiJ BEST BUY 486DX/33 Laptop Issue. September 1992 We are to note- books what Griselda of SkyUtnd was to Pomeranians; the lightest. iTu WM Compudyne. Latest Technology. Highest MZ/ CompVSA™, the Computer SuperStore (NASDAQ symbol: CUSA)- inventors of big volume, deep discounting PC retailing, and the largest chain of computer super stores in the country. Compudyne manufactures top quality, fully-supported computers as available, from only the largest PC manufacturers at prices typically found only at garage shop clone houses. Result? We're already one, of the largest direct PC companies in the country and guarantee that our prices are the lowest of any currently advertised. 4S6DXJ33 "Honorable mention " August (992 DIAL TO SAVE DOLLARS Notebooks Feast your eyes on "one of the best note- book values around" (Mobile Office 7/92), snugly packed into a slim, trim, 5.5 lb package (including battery). All include these nifty features: • n"x8.5"x 1.6" (yes, only 1.6" thick!) • Full 10", 64 grayscale brilliant VGA screen • Internal 3 1/2" 1.44 MB floppy drive • Built-in trackball saves carrying a mouse •MS/DOS 5.0 and Microsoft® Windows 3. 1 installed ready to run • Lotus® Organizer Personal Information Manager" ■ External SVGA monitor and keyboard support • Expansion Station • User-installable FAX modem and other options • Full keyboard— dedicated 'page up/down', 'home' and 'end' keys • Built-in serial (2) and parallel (1) ports • FCC Class B certification Wli" new MceM "The Compudyne Slim-Note 4DX/33... (uses) a marvelous design that wraps a 33 MHz 486DX in a package just over 6 pounds. (This was one) of our favorites." December 1992 rm\m recomputing Notebook CPU RAM |MBs) Battery Life (Hrs| 386SXL/25 386SXL-25MHZ OPTIONAL 80387SX Z STANDARD, 4&6 OPTIONS 80 3.5+ .1,499 S56/mo' 386SL/25 INTEL 80386SL-25 MHz, 64 K CPU CACHE ADVANCED SL POWER MGM'T. AS ABOVE 80 3,5+ •1,499 S56/mo' 485SX/33 INTEL 80486SX-33 MHZ, BUILT-IN 8K CPU CACHE 4 STANDARD, BS200PTIONS 80 2.5+ .1,999 $74/mo - 486DX/33 INTEL 80486DX-33 MHZ, BUILT-IN 8K CPU CACHE 1 30 2.5+ .2,499 S93/mo' ORDERING M-800-932-COMP(2667) *• International callers dial: 1-214-702-0055 -24 hour fax: 1-214-702-0300 > Corporate credit and volume terms available. HOURS OF OPERATION *• 7am-10pm (CST) Mon.-Fri. and 9am-5pm (CST) Sat. WARRANTIES ► 30-day, no questions asked, return policy.V *■ 1 year limited warranty. SERVICE £ SUPPORT ►■ Toll-free technical support *■ On-site service for desktopst and overnight replacement for portables. ► Next-day shipping for most systems. I-8OO-932-COMP (2667) tWithin 100 miles of any Dow Jones Service Center, "Does not include Windows 3.1 or mouse. \' Must be returned "as new" in original package. Reprinted from "PC COMPUTING" December 1992 page 78. Copyright ©1992 Ziff Communications Company. Quality, lowest Prices. Guaranteed. iv**5l 43^flpb Order one of our pre-configured sys tems or custom-configure your own choosing from a myriad of options All systems include... •Microsoft® Windows 3.1 and MS/DOS 5.0 •Microsoft compatible serial mouse • 200 watt power supply • 101 AT-style keyboards • FCC Class B certification :ffl • Built in serial (2), parallel (1) and game (1) ports • Artisoft's LANtastic® LAN •8 i/o board slots • U/L listing for quick easy upgrades. They support 3 externally accessible 5.25" drive bays and 2 internal 3.5" units. m MICROSOFT® WINDOWS™ READY-TO-RUN Get Horizontal. / (let Vertical. LANtastic in all systems! Our standard desktop systems feature aesthetic yet rugged plastic-over-steel construction with "one screw" assembly For those who prefer the aesthetics and footprint of a desktop tower or need the added drive capacity for file server applications, our mini tower offers an astonishing 6 drive capacity; 4 external plus 1 internal 5.25" and 1 internal 3.5" unit in a mere 8"x 16" desktop footprint for only $100 more. ()ptions,flptions, Options... • Displays: Mono or color VGA; 1024 and 1280 interlaced or non-inter- laced; 14" to 20" • Hard Drives: 40; 80; 105; 120; 211; 483; 68oMBson.2GBs • Internal CD-ROM (Incl. Groliers Encyclopedia, Toolworks, Reference Library and PC-SIG) • Internal FAX/Modem: 9600 bps send/receive fax; 2400 bps modem; incl. WinFax and Quicklink Software. •And many more! Now Featuring VESA local Bus Support! Desktop CPU FLOPPY VIDEOBOARD/ MONITOR 386DX/33 INTEL 80386DX-33 MHz 2 STANDARD, 32 MAX 40 1.2 OR 1.44 16 BIT SVGA CARD/ 14" 840X480 VGA COLOR MONITOR *899 S33/mo" 486SX/25 INTEL 80486SX-25 MHz WITH BUILT-IN 8K CPU CACHE 2 STANDARD, 32 MAX 80 AS ABOVE 16 BIT SVGA CARD/ 14- 800X600 VGA COLOR MONITOR s999 !37/mo 1 486SX/33 INTEL 80486SX-33 MHz WITH BUILT-IN 8K CPU CACHE 4 STANDARD, 32 MAX 120 AS ABOVE 16 BIT SVGA CARD/ 14' 1024X768 SVGA COLOR MONITOR s1199 SM/mo' 486DX/33 CACHE INTEL 80486DX-33 MHz 128K CPU CACHE 4 STANDARD, 32 MAX 120 1.2S 1.44 16 BIT SVGA CARD TRUE COLOR WINDOWS ACCELERATOR CARD W/l MB RAM/ 14 - 1024x768 SVGA NON-INTERLACED COLOR MONITOR s1599 S59/mo' 486DX/50 CACHE INTEL 80486DX-50 MHz 12BK CPU CACHE 4 STANDARD, 32 MAX 200 AS ABOVE AS ABOVE s1999 S7Vmo* 486DX2/66 CACHE INTEL 80486DX2-66 MHz, 128K CPU CACHE, NEW DOUBLE CLDCK CPU 8 STANDARD, 32 MAX 340 AS ABOVE COMPUDYHE THE LOWEST OF THE LOW PRICES. GUARANTEED. Prices and specifications subject lo change without notice. Compudyne Direct, 1 5151 A Surveyor, Addison TX 75244. BTE0231 If you can find a PC that meets or exceeds our equiv- alent specification, but is shipping at a lower advertised price, we'll match the price. 4S6SX/25 Best Bay. December 1992 TiTJ 486SXI25 "Honorable mention" October 13, 1992 £399 S89/mo' Intel™ 386 & 488 & the Intel Inside logo are trademarks of Intel Corp. ™/® Trademarks belong to their registered owners. "Leasing arranged through Leasing Group, Inc; payments based on 36 month open-end rate. Circle 157 on Inquiry Cord. EDITORIAL DENNIS ALLEN CD-ROM: Now Is the Time With new CD-ROM recorders, you can deliver your information on a silver platter If you don't have a CD-ROM drive, buy one. For that matter, you ought to buy a CD-ROM drive for every personal computer in your organization, be- cause something big is happening. The ability to create your own CD-ROMs on the desktop is every bit as revolutionary as was the Gutenberg press. Until now, electronic publishing has been the domain of large organizations that had the dedicated staff to place information onto electronic media. Giant publishing hous- es have functioned like ancient monasteries, where countless scribes painstakingly penned information onto parchment. No one else had the where- withal to do it. Since the debut of CD- ROM, many folks have viewed electronic publishing with a jaundiced eye — a CD-ROM would be great, if only I could get my information on it. Now you can, with the arrival of CD-ROM recorders that sell for less than $8000. In other words, for about the price of an office photocopier, you can have a machine that produces CD- ROMs containing thousands of pages of information. Think of the reference and archive documents you could place at the fingertips of the people in your orga- nization. Better still, think of the library of CD-ROMs that could contain documents particular to your field and your company. Now think of that library sitting on everyone's desk for quick and easy access. If you have remote offices, you can send them weekly updates of your structured databases on CD-ROM. Moreover, people who work in the field could use that CD-ROM on their portable com- puters. We're not talking infoglut, either. I'll bet you can't find an attorney who wouldn't like to have a searchable CD-ROM containing all the briefs ever filed by his or her firm. Neither could you find a single, solitary ac- countant or finance wizard who wouldn't want a com- pany's budgets and expense details on a single CD-ROM. You probably know programmers who would give up their subscription to the Microsoft Systems Journal for a CD-ROM that had every object and program module ever written by their company's development staff. There are as many possibilities as there are megabytes of information. Until now, though, storing that informa- tion on a network has been costly, using exotic and ex- pensive jukebox optical systems. Even if you provide the information on the network, remote offices often can't get to that information. Also consider the issue of dynamic information versus static. Not all information needs to be updated, and such static information shouldn't take up expensive writable media space. As for "live" information, not everyone needs update privileges. For these cases, it makes sense to publish on CD-ROM. The only problem has been that CD-ROM mastering and duplicating costs have been high, especially if you needed only a few copies. Even then, there was no way to build a prototype CD-ROM with your information just to see how usable it might really be. The advent of CD-ROM recorders for less than $8000 presents wonderfully new opportunities. For such a rea- sonable amount, and about $40 for the medium (a price that should drop rather quickly), your company can pub- lish CD-ROMs on demand. The real strength of an or- ganization lies in the ability of each individual to lever- age the collective knowledge, and CD-ROM publishing is the tool that can allow that process to happen. There is one catch, though. Most companies have not yet equipped all their systems with CD-ROM drives, and that has to be done. Fortunately, basic drives are available for as little as a couple of hundred dollars. Unfortunate- ly, you will have to make some choices regarding CD- ROM formats, and our cover story this month ("Start the Presses," page 116) will help you with that. Falling prices of systems should allow your 1993 bud- gets to cover that additional cost of CD-ROM drives in every new computer you buy. Keep in mind, too, that once you commit to CD-ROM drives for your company's internal information, you open the door to vast amounts of CD-ROM-based information from outside sources. In fact, you should expect the selection of CD-ROM ma- terial to grow significantly this year. The point is that CD-ROM has come of age. It is un- thinkable to not include CD-ROM in your strategic plan- ning. And to the computer manufacturers who read this column, it is unconscionable to not include CD-ROM drives in new systems. — Dennis Allen Editor in Chief 12 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1993 Why it's smarter to go with #1 dBASE IV Now there's an easier-to-use, faster and more powerful dBASE® It's packed with the features you've asked for most, making it smarter than ever to use the world's standard PC database. Working smarter is faster With new dBASE IV,® you get the job done faster because you work smarter. Smarter because new IQ!™ optimization technology automatically selects the fastest method to retrieve your data. Smarter because you can create tables, forms, reports, queries and menus in record time — without programming. Smarter because you get 40 different work areas for easier management of large applications. Plus mouse support for fingertip access to features, an enhanced RUN function to run popular DOS applications from within dBASE, and comprehensive multiuser capabilities. All of which means you maintain tight data integrity, more flexibility and more support than ever before. Advanced design tools build applications faster dBASE IV's easy-to-use Control Center comes complete with an innovative set of design tools, including report, form and label generators that help you create your applications quicker. And the Control Center's open architecture makes it easy to enhance or customize your own applica- tions by incorporating any of the third- party add-on products available for dBASE. Faster applications development The industry-standard dBASE language comes with a host of improvements that speed development: ♦ Integrated debugger and a built-in applications generator ♦ More than 40 new commands, functions and keywords — Template Language now included ♦ C language-like low-level file I/O ♦ IBM 8 SAA-compliant SQL ♦ Advanced BLANK support Being the standard means world- class support dBASE has outsold all other databases. With more than three million users and the world's largest community of custom application developers and trainers, dBASE supports your data management needs in ways only the worldwide standard can. Now it's smarter than ever to go with #1. Get more than $250 in software FREE! Now with every purchase of dBASE IV vl.5 we're giving away a Protection Pack that includes Central Point Software's Backup and Anti- Virus programs, free* (retail value $258). So you get the best database and the best data protection. See your dealer today. Or call 1-800-331-0877, ext. 6461 for more information. In Canada call 1-800-461-3327 YES! Send me my free Pro Pack Software! Check DOS disk size required: □ 5 1/4" □ 3 1/2" dBASE IV v1 .5 Serial #: Name: Company: Address: (We cannot ship to P.O. Boxes.) City/State/Province: Zip/Postal Code: Phone: ( ) FAX: ( ) COMPLETE this coupon, ATTACH a copy of your sales receipt (or a copy of purchase order and billing invoice) AND ENCLOSE $9.00 U.S. for shipping and handling (check or money order payable to Borland International, Inc.). Send to: Borland's Pro Pack Offer. P.O. Box 7243, San Francisco, California 94120-7243. Offer good in U.S. and Canada only on dBASE IV v1 .5 purchases between June 1 and September 30. 1992. Only original coupons will be accepted. No responsibility is assumed for lost, late, misdirected or destroyed mail. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Subject to all local, state and federal regulations. Void where prohibited. Offer not valid for Upgrades, Competitive Upgrades, LAN Packs, Volume Packs, or any other Borland promotion except dBASE IV v1 .5 products with Borland's Passport promotion. Distributors and resellers not eligible to participate. Central Point is a registered trademark of ■ Central Point Software. B R 1 A N D Software Craftsmanship •Plus $9.00 U.S. (shipping and handling). Copyright © 1992 Borland International, Inc. All rights reserved. dBASE and dBASE IV are registered trademarks of Borland International, Inc. Bl 4227.2 Circle 65 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 66). What DoThese Popular Locate a file. Open a document. Everyone's getting into Windows™ And 386-based computers continue to be the popular choice for value-conscious Windows users. The most demanding users — the people who know how to get the most for their money — are insisting on computers built around 40MHz Am386 ,M microprocessors from AMD. T/iHOMH; DXL-40 bolb available in fow-eosf These are the fastest 386 CPUs made — up to 25% faster in-system than ordinary 386 microprocessors. So they'll run Windows applications the fast and efficient way they were meant to run. Am 386 microprocessors are available in volume. And with AMD's competitive mSS* prices, 40MHz 386 machines will come 001 Thompson Place, P.O. Box 3453, Sunnyvale, CA 94088.© 1 992 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Microprocessors For The Masses is a service mark and Am386 is a Windows Icons Mean? Create a graphic. Get the most for the money. with some mighty attractive price tags. The Am386DXL and Am386SXL micro- processors are as space-efficient as they are cost-efficient because both are available with PQFP packaging. So holding the line on costs is even easier. Call 1-800-222-9323 today for more information and ask for Literature Pack 16K. Because the 40MHz 386 PC is a window of opportunity you can't afford to miss. a Advanced Micro Devices Microprocessors For The Masses'" trademark of Advanced Micro Devices. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Circle 64 on Inquiry Card. BVTE EDITOR IN CHIEF Dennis Allen EXECUTIVE EDITORS New York: Rich Malloy Peterborough: Rich Friedman MANAGING EDITOR D. Barker ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR Lauren Stickler Thompson NEWS Peterborough: Senior Editor: Dan Muse News Editors, What's New: Martha Hicks, Carol Swartz Microbytes: David L. Andrews News Assistant: June Sheldon San Mateo/West Coast: Bureau Chief: Andrew Reinhardt Senior Editor: Tom Halfhill News Editor: Patrick Waurzyniak Editorial Assistant: Barbara J. Caravello Los Angeles: Senior Editor: Gene Smarte New York: News EditonEd Perratore BYTE LAB Senior Editor & Director: Alan Joch Technical Director: Rick Grehan Technical Editors: Stephen Apiki: systems., networking Stanford Diehl: graphics software, add-ins, peripherals Tom Yager: multimedia, Unix, operating systems, software development Testing Editors/Engineers: Howard Eglowstein, Ben Smith, Stanley Wszola Lab Assistant: Selinda Chiquoine STATE OF THE ART/FEATURES Senior Editor: Michael Nadeau Technical Editors: Janet J. Barron, Anthony J. Lockwood, Robert M. Ryan SENIOR TECHNICAL EDITORS At Large: Tom Thompson, Jon Udell Columns: Rob Mitchell ASSOCIATE TECHNICAL EDITORS Ellen Bingham, Susan Colwell, Jeff Edmonds, Tom Kevan, Cathy Kingery, Margaret A. Richard, Warren Williamson SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jerry Pournelle CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Hugh Kenner, Barry Nance CONSULTING EDITORS Roger C. Alford, Jonathan Amsterdam, Nicholas Baran, Raymond GA Cote, Don Crabb, Anne Fischer Lent, Laurence H. Loeb, Trevor Marshall, Dick Pountain, Wayne Rash Jr., Kenneth M. Sheldon, Jane Morrill Tazelaar, Ellen Ullman, Peter Wayner EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Office Manager: Peggy Dunham Assistants: Linda C. Ryan, Janet A. Young DESIGN Director: Nancy Rice Associate Director: Joseph A. Gallagher Designers: Jan Muller, Sharon Price PRODUCTION AND FINANCE Director: Claudia Flowers PRODUCTION Director: David M. Cohen Production Manager: David R. Anderson Advertising Graphics Manager: Susan Kingsbury Editorial Graphics Manager: Virginia Reardon Graphics Product Coordinators: Barbara Busenbark, Christa Patterson, Donna Sweeney, Lillian J. Wise Advertising Services Manager: Linda Fluhr Senior Advertising Services Representative: Lyda Clark Advertising Services Representatives: Dale J. 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Trademark registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. ^ Member Audit Bureau of Circulation officers OF mcgraw-hiu, inc.: Founder: James H. McGraw (1860-1948). Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Joseph L. Dionne; Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary: Robert N. Landes: Executive Vice President: Harold W. McGraw III; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer: Robert J. Bahash; Sen/or Vice President, Treasury Operations: Frank D. Penglase: Executive Vice President. Publication Services: Norbert Schumacher. 16 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1993 INTRODUCING THE ALR PRO VEIS A SYSTEMPRO™ Compatible Upgradeable 486DX 256KB/5 12KB7lMB 4 Cache 32^bit EISA Dual-Processor Ready 4-MB RAM $2,495 Available nationwide at these locations: ■ ^-■■■UI.JJ.M.W ConnecrtngPbint IS ESS " n,- 55 ' ,...,, COMWIH CENTHS Prices and configurations subject to change without notice. Systems shown wit and pioauc* names aie trademarks or registered trademarks at their respective Novell"".. Netware are necessary B1W2 by Aavanced Logic Research. Inc. Utilizing ALU's fastest i486DX™ and i486DX2™ CPUs, theALR PROVEISA™ has the power to breeze through today's most advanced applications. Built-in SuperVGA graphics let Mark view his dcsiuns'quickly ^"TUKjMWI and clearly, while a 32-bit EISA bus provides the ultimate in PC data throughput And wait until you see what this system can do in a networking environment. Utilizing standard IDE drives, die ALR PROVEISA's available MULTUS™ "multi-seek" controller delivers better performance than expensive SCSI subsystems.* Five levels of system security protect valuable network data from tampering. And let's not forget about expandability - the ALR PROVEISA offers ten EISA expansion slots, twelve drive bays, and room for up ro 256-MB of memory. ALR Power Partner Reseller* Of course, the ALR PROVEISA's most unique feature is its upgrade path to dual processing. When you need even more performance , you can simply plug in a second i486 processor. I magine having the power of two66-MHzi486DX2 processors at your fingertips. Now that's world class speed! To become a part of the winning ALR tradition, call: 1.800444-4 ALR Advanced Logic Research. Inc. 9401 Jeronimo Irvine, CA 92718 (714) 581-6770 FAX: (714) 581-9240 ALR Canada Ltd.: 800-465-5979 ALR U.K. Ltd.: 44-635-52 1922 ALR Deutschland GmbH: 49 69 33 38 11 ALR International (Singapore): 65-742 0866 1 Optional larger secondary read/write back cache. •Requires multiple IDE disk drives and a multithreaded operating system such as Novell" NetWare 1 * 1 . oplional equipment Verify exacl specifications with All? Prices based on U.S. Dollars. All? is a regislered trademdtk o( Advanced Logic Research Inc All other brand owners Intel Inside is a trademark ot Intel corp. "In order to take lull odvdntage of the ALR MULTUS Controller multiple drives and multitasking operating systems such as Circle 1 96 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 1 97). A highly placed engineer reveals his technical assessment of the new $7,995, 59 MIPS, accelerated graphics, eye-popping SPARCstation LX. Compliant I SCD I ©1992 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, and PC-NFS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All SPARC trademarks, indujing the SCD Compliant logo, ate trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International. Inc. SPARCstation is licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. Products beating SPARC ttadematks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems. Inc. All other products or service names menrioned herein arc ttademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. "Can I keep J* c To more than 650,000 people around the world a Sun™ workstation on their desk has become a way of life, a must. Let us present the latest addiction, SPARCstation™ LX. A graphics workstation that will take you screaming through your appli- cations. Whether you work with CAD, AEC, CASE, design automation or document process- ing, imaging and office automation, SPARCstation LX is for you. You can look at the LX in two different ways. Just put on your numbers hat and you'll see 50 MHz, 59 MIPS, 64-bit memory bus, lOMb/sec I/O, and so forth. Or just sit down, load your favorite applica- tion, and you might not want to leave your desk. Because the 8-bit accelerated graphics will make you use the full extent of your software, like interactively manipulating 2-D and 3-D wire- frame models. PARC And the built-in ISDN lets you share documents that combine text, graphics, images, audio, and video with anyone, any- j : where. All with an intuitive graphical user interface called OPEN LOOK? You can even create powerful workgroups of SPARCstation LXs and existing PCs with Sun's PC-NFS 9 technology. Any way you look at it, chances are this re- markable machine will end up staying on your desk. Just call 1-800-426-5321, ext. 520 for more in- formation or a demo. It's worth your time. « Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation A Sun Microsystems, Inc. Business Circle 1 35 on Inquiry Card. LETTERS Operating Systems in Depth Regarding the October 1992 State of the Art section on operating systems, I am slightly confused as to why the au- thors keep comparing IBM's OS/2 to Mi- crosoft's Windows NT. Windows NT is not aimed at the average computer user but toward high-end servers. OS/2, on the other hand, is aimed at the average user. Johan Hellman Stockholm, Sweden In "OS/2 at the Crossroads" (October 1992), Mark Minasi says OS/2 2.0 is doing "in a word, badly." Elsewhere in that issue, Steve Mastrianni says, "Interest in OS/2 2.0 is growing by leaps and bounds" ("OS/2 2.0 Programming Tools Arrive — Finally"), and "[tool] vendors, noting the overwhelming response to OS/2 2.0, have announced products or plan to release products...." It's great to see that BYTE permits differing opinions. Then in the State of the Art Resource Guide, which lists companies that have announced support for OS/2 2.0, Microsoft is listed. Is this a test to see if we're paying attention? Bill Zinsmeyer CompuServe address: 70324.64 Mark Minasi's "OS/2 at the Crossroads" is the first article I've found that accurately reflects the feel and experience of using OS/2 2.0. Other articles have re- flected the authors' newness to OS/2 2.0's Workplace Shell or have used Windows as the standard by which to judge OS/2 2.0. Keep up the reporting on OS/2. Dave Werner Hong Kong In the Resource Guide to the October 1992 State of the Art section on operating-system trends, The Periscope Co., which sells Periscope/32 for OS/2, is incorrectly listed in the Windows NT section. We should be in the OS/2 2.0 section. Also, in "OS/2 2.0 Programming Tools Arrive — Finally," Steve Mastrianni says he doubts that you'll need more debugging tools than the ones IBM provides. The IBM kernel debugger is somewhat useful, but it has no source-level support and very limited symbolic support. In addition, it is hard to use and has a TTY-type serial interface. Periscope/32 for OS/2 supports full-screen source-level and symbolic debugging, and it has a user- friendly interface. Dan Navarra Director of Sales and Marketing The Periscope Co., Inc. Atlanta, GA WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. Address correspondence to Letters Editor, BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458, send BlXmail c/o "editors, " or send Internet Mail to letters@bytepb.byte.com. Letters may be edited. 0S/2ATTHE CROSSROADS Digital Photography ' I 1 he article "Smile for the Computer" (November 1992) was informative but missed one important application for digital photography. I produce training materials, often on technically demanding topics such as ad- vanced manufacturing equipment. Using Digital Vision's ComputerEyes/RT board, along with a standard VHS video signal, I capture images. I import a bit- mapped image into a vector-based illus- trating package, such as Micrografx De- signer, and use it as a template to overlay a line drawing of the image. I then add text, fills, shading, and gradients as needed and delete the bit map. This technique allows for the development of very accurate drawings of complicated subject matter quickly and without a tremendous amount of artistic interpreta- tion. It also produces better results on low-end printers than if I used the bit maps directly. And the file sizes of the line drawings are much smaller than the bit maps they replace. James Barfield St. Ann, MO A20 Revisited Charles Bretana Jr.'s letter "A20 Issues" (November 1992), which responds to Mark J. Minasi's "Exorcis- ing the A20 Poltergeist" (August 1992), contains a sub- stantial error. The 386SX truly has only 24 address lines. Bretana's comment that the 386 extended mode requires access to a 4-GB address space confuses virtual memory with physical memory. Andrew Klossner Wilsonville, OR Yon 're right, but Bretana brings up an interesting point. Unfortunately, my response didn 't make it into the November 1992 issue. Briefly, the internal memory regis- ters on the 386 family are 32 bits wide, enabling the 386SL and 386SX to use the 386 protected mode on which Bretana originally commented. However, Intel wanted the 386SL and 386SX to displace the 286, so those chips have only 24 physical address lines. From a hardware point of view, there are 24 address lines; from a software point of view, there are 32. — Mark J. Minasi The Ultimate Workstation I was disappointed by your choice of an entry-level Nextstation in "Stalking the Ultimate Workstation" (November 1992). Considering the relative prices of other machines in the test, a Nextstation Turbo Color (with a 33-MHz 68030 CPU, 16 MB of RAM, a 400-MB hard drive, and a 21 -inch color display) would have been a more telling comparison. Such a system sells for under Si 1,000 and would have fared better in the benchmarks. Ben VonZastrow Oakland, CA 20 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1993 Break 640K nine ways with Vermont Views Plus! © 1992EdBravcrman Create the ultimate user-interface for your multi-megabyte DOS application — no matter which C compiler and DOS extender you use. Vermont Views Plus now supports all nine popular DOS extenders — and we're still counting! 640k barrier shattered! The 640k barrier is gone at last! And Vermont Views Plus is here to give you the interface power you need to exploit the potential of the huge memory spaces now freely available. Vermont Views Plus will help you create user-interfaces with the convenience and power of GUI interfaces, but with the speed, compactness and portability possible only with character-based interfaces. Vermont Views Plus combines a powerful, menu-driven interface designer with a C library of over 600+ functions. You get the convenience of a fourth generation language with the power, flexibility, and blinding execution speed of native C code. Vermont Views Plus for DOS includes full, documented source code for all libraries. Put graphics to work With all the memory available, there is every reason to enhance your text-mode applications with graphic displays. Vermont Views Plus can transparently translate all text-mode menus, forms, and other screen displays into DOS-extended graphics modes. You can easily add charts, graphs, pictures, and other images using one of the popular third-party graphics libraries. Vermont Views Plus support DOS Extender 286 386/486 Borland C++ 3.1 • WatcomC9.0/386 • Intel 386/486 C • Phar Lap • • Rational Systems • • Ergo • • The ultimate DBMS interface! Vermont Views Plus is the ultimate interface tool for sophisticated database applications. Use it with any DBMS that has a C-language interface (including Oracle, Informix, Ingres, Sybase, db_VTSTA, and c-tree). You'll find it a snap to create branching data-entry forms with memo fields, scrollable regions, choice lists, and context- sensitive help. Build prototypes almost instantly. Easily extend the prototype into the final application. Slash your total development time! The universal solution Any interface you create with Vermont Views can be ported easily among DOS, OS/2, UNIX, POSIX, QNX, and VMS. UNIX versions include encrypted source code, so you can port your applications among machine architectures without further cost. Never any royalties or runtime fees. For MS/PCDOS, Vermont Views Plus is $795; Vermont Views standard edition is $495. For UNIX, POSIX, and VMS, prices start at $1,795, depending on machine class. 1 Pinnacle Meadows Richford, VT 05476 USA Phone (802)-848-7731 FAX ( 802)-848-3502 #373 For a FREE demo of the ultimate application interface, call 800-848-1248. The drive and determination to advance can be seen in many forms. Here's a couple we think you'll be excited about. iFtKPRO Introducing the Microsoft database management systems. Some people aspire to become famous athletes. Others to become great scholars. But for a group of us here at Microsoft, there's nothing more important than creating a new line of databases with the tools and technology you need to do your everyday tasks. For example, some of you will need dBASE compatibility and unequaled per- formance.That's why we have Microsoft FoxPro 2.5. Some of you need seamless access to data in multiple formats. For you we have the Microsoft Access '" database for Windows: But all the tools in the world won't do you much good if you can't get help when you need it. So we have a world-class product support organization to quickly answer all of your database questions. In addition, we've created a special program for developers that will put you directly in touch with some of our senior product support people. In the future, our technology will con- - B tinue to evolve with you in mind. So what you create today will still work tomorrow. In short, there will be no dead ends. We're also committed to supporting open standards and compatibility. Cur- rently, we are working with ANSI to develop a standard Xbase language. Plus we fully support the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) technology, which will allow you to access files from even more of today's database management systems. And to ensure there will always be a vast supply of industry- specific products and services to meet your database needs, we're forming strong business partner- ships with many other companies. So if you'd like additional information on Microsoft's database solutions, give us a call at (800) 882-2000, Dept. JF6. And find out just how motivated we are to be- come your database company. Microsoft Making it easier MICROSOFT WINDOWS Both Microsoft FoxPro 2.5 and Microsoft Access were created to take complete advantage of the Windows operating system. 9)1992 Microsoft Corporation. All rights resereed. Printed in the USA. In the 50 United Slates, call 1800) 882200(1. Dept. JF6. Customers in Canada, all 1800) 563-9048. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, call 1206) 936-8661. Microsoft and FoxPro an- registered trademarks and Microsoft Access and Windotes are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. dBASE is a registered trademark of Borland International. Inc. Since the beginning of time, people have been obsessed with reaching ever increasing rates of speed. So what else is new with Microsoft FoxPro 2.5? 30.33 f ■" "f " = E 3.85 Microsoft FoxPro version 2.5 is the fastest PC database management system available today. Plenty. For starters, the new Microsoft FoxPro" 2.5 for Windows™ has a rich and pro - ductive environment with an intuitive graphical interface. Which means it's never been easier for you to use and de- velop powerful Xbase applications. Plus there's a virtual hardware store of tools for both developers and users. For developers, there are profession- al tools designed to help you create the most powerful applications possible. Like the Trace and Debug windows, Project Manager, Menu Builder, Screen Builder and Report Writer. For users, there are handy tools that make it easy to do complex database tasks without programming. Like Relational Query By Example (RQBE), which allows you to build and see queries instantly. Or the graphical Browse tool, an intuitive way to view data. And finally, Quick Screen and Quick Report, two easy ways to create objects and see data. And now with the arrival of FoxPro 2.5 He EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH -m'.'..M..w.-i- for both the Windows and MS-DOS ! oper- ating systems (and soon for the Macintosh and UNIX*), you can have the most power- ful and most graphical Xbase applications across all major PC platforms. And if you are thinking about migrating to Windows in the future, have no fear. Because Microsoft FoxPro for Windows will easily run all your FoxPro 2.0 files. But no matter which platform you choose, you can count on Microsoft FoxPro to provide you with the fastest PC-based database management system. For additional information, just zip on over to your nearest reseller, or call us at (800) 882-2000, Dept. JF7. We'll be more than happy to tell you all the ways Microsoft FoxPro 2.5 for Windows can get your adrenaline pumping. Microsoft Making it easier FoxPro 2.5 takes advantage of Windows and allows you to create dazzling applications. 'Query lest performed by Miero Endeavon. he., tut md^tntdrnt an^ttlth^ firm (Notrmber 1992). &199L\\lir>,xr>ft Corporation. All nghts mewed. Printed in tiw U&l. ^ United Statfs and Camilla, call (206) 'J.UiHlUil. Mirrtmft. \IS-DOS and FoxIMi tm: n%'isteml tmdcnuirks and Windows is a trademark (if Mirrosofl Inc. UNIX is a ngistvml trademark of UNIX Systems Laboratories. People always seek the most direct route to achieve their goals. So you've probably been looking for a database like Microsoft Access. With AccessWizards, you have a guide to walk you through complex tasks, one step at a time. If you're a database user or programmer, we'd like to show you a great shortcut. It's called Microsoft Access." It's a new database management system for Wmdows T "that can give you something no other database can. Easy access to the power- ful features you need to do your job. To start with, Access takes complete advantage of the Microsoft" Windows operating system. Which means it has never been easier to create great- looking forms and reports. Plus you can store objects like pictures, graphs, sound, and video. Right in your database files. And if you ever get stuck, there are ReportWizards, FormWizards and Chart- Wizards to come to your rescue. They'll ask you questions about format, content and style.Then they'll automatically cre- ate your report, form or chart. There are also Cue Cards to walk you through the most difficult database tasks. Guiding you one step at a time. In addition, it's easy to create complex queries by using the graphical Query By Example, ^bu just drag and drop tables, join fields, and plug in all of the specifics. And you developers can write sophis- ticated database applications with Access Basic. A powerful, extensible program- ming language. What's more, Microsoft Access can easily read and write all the major database formats directly, including dBASE; Paradox 8 and Microsoft SQL Server. So you and your coworkers can still use all your old files, no matter what format they are in. That means, your investment is safe and everyone can easily migrate to Microsoft Access at their own pace. To receive additional information on Microsoft Access, call (800) 882-2000, Dept. JF8. We'll give it to you straight. Microsoft Making it easier Create complex queries visually with our graphical Query By Example. ©1992 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. In the 50 United States, call (800) 882-2000. Dept. JF8. Customers in Canada, call (800) 563-9048. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, call (206)936-8661. Microsoft is a registered trademark and Microsoft Access and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. dBASE and Paradox are registered trademarks of Borland International, Inc. Circle 163 on Inquiry Card. PROTECT YOUR SOFTWARE NO BUTTON, NO ACCESS. Dallas Semiconductor is re-shaping the world of software protection and distribution control with a new family of microchips called Buttons. We put the lid on software piracy by packaging microchips in button-shaped, stainless steel cans. The chips contain missing but critical information to make the software run. We offer a variety of Authorization Buttons and features so you can select the level of protection and price point that are right for you. Security Continuum Button Type Unique Serial # Read/Write Memory Password Protection Expiration Timer Decoy Responses DS1420 ID Button X DS1427 Timer Button X 4K bits X DS1425Multi Button X 2K bits X X Complete Compatibility Buttons are compatible across all ISA, EISA, and MCA machines — on underpowered notebooks as well as the anti-compatible Brand X's. We achieve this total compat- ibility through microchips that are self-powered, unlike other protection devices that must draw power from the host machine. Snap In, Snap Out Authorization Buttons interface to the PC's parallel port via the DS1410 Button Holder. They simply snap in and out. The DS1410 accepts two Buttons concurrently. The future will be a dongleless world. New computers that accept Buttons directly, including palm and note- books, are being designed at OEM's today. Made in the U.S.A. At Dallas Semiconductor, we design and manufacture our own microchips. And we're the only ones in the software protection business who do. Sixty intricate process steps and a 64-bit unique serial \ -_■.. number lasered into — I" K t E ! each chip prevent \^ Authorization Button. duplication. / Call 800-258-5061 To learn how to button down your software give us a call. DAt-MS ivare, v V "'"_^ DALLAS A SEMICONDUCTOR 4401 South Beltwood Parkway, Dallas, Texas 75244-3292 Telephone: 214-450-8170 FAX: 214-450-3715 LETTERS I am concerned about the absurd comparisons made in your "Stalking the Ultimate Workstation" review. Ben Smith and Raymond GA Cote did a disservice to your readers by comparing the least powerful Next computer to other, much more expensive and fully configured comput- ers. They should have tested the Nextstation Turbo Color or the Nextdimension systems. These are much faster ma- chines, and they would have been less expensive than most of the computers tested. Eric M. Hall San Francisco, CA We received many letters about our "Stalking the Ulti- mate Workstation" review. Most came from Next enthusi- asts whose main criticism was that we didn't compare a more powerful Nextstation against the higher-perfor- mance (and more expensive) workstations from other vendors. It's important to note that none of the other machines were fully configured or optimized, either. And perfor- mance didn't always win out. IBM's RISC System/6000 exceeded in raw performance, hut it scored low for its user interface and cost. It's impossible to perform a scientific comparison of systems that have different CPUs, operating systems, and user interfaces. The only way to evaluate this spectrum is to call them as we see them, and that's what we did. Thanks for your letters. — Ben Smith FIXES • In the Ask BYTE section (see "BYTE on UUNET," November 1992), the address given for FTP access to UUNET is incorrect. The correct address is ftp.uu.net. You should then log on as "anonymous" and use your user ID (i.e., "userid@host") as your password. • David Giller's letter ("Unix for Nothing," November 1 992) on Linux contains the correct FTP address but the wrong case syntax. The FTP address should read nic.fu- net.fi:/pub/OS/Linux. • In "Style Meets Substance in Matrox Studio" (Novem- ber 1992), the price for the Matrox Studio package is in- correctly quoted at $14,000. The correct price is $15,995. • Compaq's color notebook computer is incorrectly refer- enced as the Compaq LTE 386 Lite/25 in "BYTE's Es- sential Guide to Notebook PCs" (BYTE's Essential Guide to Portable Computing, 1992). The correct name is the Compaq LTE/Lite 25C. Also, in the same issue, the text box "Portable Fax Software Rated for DOS and Win- dows" on page 52 contains a misleading statement about Eclipse Software's Eclipse Fax. In most cases, Eclipse Fax performs true manual receive. The author was refer- ring to manual receive attempts made through a hotel switchboard when he stated otherwise. For more details on Eclipse Fax, see "Forging a Business Tool: Three Fax Software Packages for Windows" on page 209.' • In BYTE's Essential Guide to Windows, 1992, we incor- rectly identified XTree Co.'s product as XTree Gold for Windows. The correct product name is XTree for Windows. The address is 41 15 Broad St., Building 1, San Luis Obispo, C A 93401. ■ 28 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1993 Deliverin Windows™ NT Development Tools from WATCOM Featuring powerful new GUI debugger NOW available in Beta Calll-800-265-4555 to enroll. J"MBfc*i«iJWS»^ ; y) ► The Widest Range o 32-bit DOS, 32-bit Windows, OS/2 2.0, AutoCAD ADS ► The Industry's Leading Code Optimizer Advanced global optimizer with new 486 optimizations ► The Most Comprehensive Toolset Debugger, profiler, protected-made : compiler and jinkei, 32-bit DOS extender witti royalty-free run-time, licensed components from Microsoft SDK, and more ► The Best Value in 32-Bit Unleash 32-bit Power! WATCOM C9.0/386 lets you exploit the two key 32-bit performance benefits. The 32 -bit flat memory model simplifies memory management and lets applications address beyond the 640K limit. Powerful 32-bit instruction processing delivers a significant speed advantage: typically at least a 2x speedup. You Get: ► 100% ANSI and SAA compatible compiler and libraries C9.0/ 386 passes all Plum Hall Validation Suite tests ► Extensive Microsoft compatibility simplifies porting of 1 6-bit code ► Royalty-free run-time for 32-bit DOS, Windows and OS/2 apps ► Comprehensive toolset includes debugger, linker, profiler and more ► DOS extender support for Rational, Phar Lap and Ergo ► Run-time compatible with WATCOM FORTRAN 77/386 32-bit DOS support includes the DOS/4GW 32-bit DOS extender by Rational Systems with royalty-free runtime license ► Virtual Memory support up to 32Mb 32-bit WindOWS support enables development and debugging of true 32-bit GUI applications and DLL's. ► Includes licensed Microsoft SDK components 32-bit OS/2 2.0 support includes development for multiple target environments including OS/2 2.0, 32-bit DOS and 32-bit Windows ► Access to full OS/2 2.0 API including Presentation Manager ► Integrated with IBM Workframe/2 Environment AutoCAD ADS and ADI Development: Everything you need to develop and debug ADS and ADI applications for AutoCAD Release 1 1 Novell's Network CforNLM's SO* includes C/386 The Industry's Choice. Autodesk, Robert Wenig, Manager, AutoCAD for Windows: "At Autodesk, we're using WATCOM C/386 in the development of strategic new products since it gives us a competitive edge through early access to new technologies. We also highly recommend WATCOM C/386 to third party AutoCAD add-on (ADS and ADI) developers." FOX Software, David Fulton, President: "FoxPro 2.0 itself is written in WATCOM C, and takes advantage of its many superior features. Optimizing for either speed or compactness is not uncommon, but to accomplish both was quite remarkable." it!, Robert Can; Vice President of Software: "After looking at the 32-bit Intel 80x86 tools available in the industry, WATCOM C was the best choice. Key factors in our decision were performance, functionality, reliability and technical support." IBM, John Soyring, Director of 7 OSI2 Software Developer Programs: "IBM and WATCOM are working together closely to integrate these compilers with the OS/2 2.0 Programmer's Workbench." LotUS, David Reed, Chief Scientist and Vice President, Pen-Based Applications: "In new product development we're working with WATCOM C because of superior code optimization, responsive support, and timely delivery of technologies important to us like p-code and support for GO Corp's. PenPoint." Novell, Nancy Woodward, V.P. and G.M., Development Products: "We searched the industry for the best 386 C compiler technology to incorporate with our developer toolkits. Our choice was WATCOM." WORLOj ^ <& COMPUTER tf LANGUAGE QE5TIN rTrrrrm^H ^Hr** IT3 CL ASS g-l i f-ldL^^M ^ ^^^ WA1COM C7.U VZTT'IH ~~^^^~ WAT 1-800-265-4555 LANGUAGE LANGUAG E The Leader in 32-bit Development Tools 415 Phillip Street. Waterloo, Ontario. Canada. Telephone: (519) 886-3700, Fax: (519) 747-4971. -Price does not include freight and taxes where applicable. Authorized dealers may sell lor less. WATCOM C and Lightning Device are trademarks of WATCOM International Corp. D0S/4G and D0S/16M are trademarks ot Rational Systems Inc. Other trademarks are the properties of their respective cwners. Copyright 1992 WATCOM International Corp. Circle 1 48 on Inquiry Card. InNu TravelMate™ 4000 WlnSX™ or WinDX^MHz • 4MB RAM std. (20MB max.) • 120MB HDD • 5.6 pounds $2,799/$3,299 SRP* TravelMate 4000 WinDX2™/50MHz • 8MB RAM std. (20MB max • 200MB HDD • 5.6 pounds $3,899 SRP* r \ Texas Instruments comes on strong with the widest selection of powerful 486 notebooks at incredible prices. From 25MHz to the world's most powerful 50MHz notebook in a 5. 6-pound package, there's a TI TravelMate just for you. Take a look at these numbers. You get superior 486 perfor- mance with an extraordinary three to five hours of battery life. B MICROSOFT- WINDOWS . REAW-tO-RUN ■, ■■■. --■ ■■' W:- TravelMate 4000 WinSX/25MHz COLOR • 4MB RAM std. (20MB max.) •120MB HDD • 6.3 pounds $3,699 SRP* TravelMate 4000 WinDX2/40MHz COLOR • 8MB RAM std. (20MB max.) • 200MB HDD • 6.3 pounds $4,499 SRP* On our color models, you get 256 simultaneous brilliant colors on a large 9.4" display. All these numbers add up to outstanding perfor- mance and value. ^ There' s one more important number. For J/l V Texas more information and the dealer nearest you, call 1-800-527-3500. Instruments * Manufacturer's Su££ested Recti! Price. Dealer prices may vary. TravelMate, WinSX, WinDX and WinDX2 are trademarks of Texas Instruments, The Ready- to- Run logo is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. The Intel Inside logo is a trademark ot Intel Corporation. Circle 1 41 on Inquiry Card. NEWS MICROBYTES Battle of the Workstation Stars It was a Super Tuesday in November for Unix workstations as three arch rivals — Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard's workstation systems group, and DEC — un- veiled several systems built around new high-power CPUs. Sun staked a claim in the low-end workstation turf by unveiling workstations based on the low-priced RISC microSparc microprocessor. HP's workstation systems group based in Chelms- ford, Massachusetts, took jabs at DEC, IBM, Silicon Graphics, and Sun with sys- tems based on the single-chip Precision 7100 processor. In addition, DEC introduced the first of its Alpha AXP workstations based on 64-bit RISC technology. Only Sun's Sparcclassic and Sparcstation LX and DEC's Alpha AXP workstations running Open VMS AXP were shipping in volume as of last December. The other workstations are slated to ship in the first quarter of this year. DEC also plans to TALE OF THE INDUSTRY TAPE s ~ — Not available HP 715/33 M ^^^^^_ DEC 3000 Model 400 HP 735 IHMMKMM^ DEC 3000 Model 500 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ DEC 7000 Model 610 MIPS 50 100 150 200 ■ SPECmark89 ■ SPECint92 SPECfp92 SPECmarkS9 measures CPU-intensive, single-stream performance. SPECinl92 and SPECfp92 measure CPU and FPU performance, respectively. MIPS ratings are based on the Dhrystone I.I benchmark. Higher numbers are better. NANOBYTES Portable workstation developer Tadpole Technology (Cam- bridge, U.K., and Austin, TX) says it will make notebook work- stations based on the PowerPC 601 RISC processor being de- signed by IBM and Motorola. Un- der terms of an agreement that at press time was contingent on the completion of equity negotiations between the two companies, Tad- pole will develop and IBM will market the notebooks. □ "Multimedia for business, govern- ment, and education is in its ado- lescence, but for the home, it's very much in its infancy," says Mike Braun, IBM's assistant general manag- er for multime- dia. In Braun's view, the home offers two po- tential "spaces" of interest: the living room (entertainment) and the den (computers). Commodore's CDTV, Philips' CD-I (Compact Disc Interactive), and Tandy's VIS are "aimed at the living room," Braun says, but "they're not making it, and they won't make it." The reason? "People ex- pect something at least as good as TV or in the price range of Nin- tendo, but these are in the mid- dle," he explains. □ The mainframe as a multimedia server? At Comdex, IBM had an ES-9000 mainframe and showed various full-motion video applica- tions running across network and Tl leased-line connections to Dal- las, Texas; Raleigh. North Caroli- na; and Chicago. IBM also rolled out UltiMotion, its software solu- tion for delivering full-motion video and audio on a computer. □ 32 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1993 High Performance Full Compatibility with all Cross Platform Support More Inputs than other CD-ROM interface. Sound Blaster applications and ett$Ute$ ail functions are 16-bit boards, including 2-miUion-user installed base. accessible from DOS, OS/2, MIDI, joystick, and multiple Windows or MPC. audio sources. Sound Hastate ASE We're not playing games anymore. Sure, games are great. But with new applications ranging from voice recognition to full-blown integrated multimedia, it's time to get serious about PC audio. With Sound Blaster 111 16 ASP.™ The 16 ASP comes with all the features you'd expect on a professional- quality sound board, plus more than $500 in bundled software. . .all for a suggested retail of just under $350. But the real secret lies in Creative Labs' exclusive Advanced Signal Processing tech- nology: realtime hardware data compression that delivers hill CD-quality stereo at a frac- tion of the CPU power required by other 16-bit boards. And downloadable algorithms that enable future upgrades like voice recogni- tion, time control and special effects. So if you thought the original Sound Blaster set the standard for games, you're right. But the 16-bit PC Sound Barrier has now been broken. With Sound Blaster 16 ASP: the new Sound Standard for CD-quality PC Audio. For more information caU 1-800-998-LABS. CRE TIV! Sound CREATIVE LABS, •• :: !ET1 ® Copyright 1992 Creative Labs, Inc. All specifications subject to change without notice. ; ::;3